y

. LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

GIFT OF

Class

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven ; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

Genesis, 28. 12.

God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.

I Cor. 1. 27.

ARCANA OF NATURE

By

HUDSON TUTTLE

n

With an INTRODUCTION

Giving an Account of the Phenomenon of its Authorship,

and the "Superior Condition" of ANDREW

JACKSON DAVIS, EMANUEL

SWEDENBORG, and

other Psychics,

By EMMET DENSMORE, M.D.

(Witt) portraits ant Illustrations)

I

SECOND EDITION. FIFTH THOUSAND, REVISED AND AUGMENTED

AN SONNENSCHEIN & CO.

NEW YORK: STILLMAN PUBLISHING CO.

313 Forty-first Street, Brooklyn

(5/73

rz

COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY EMMET DENSMORE

[Printed in United States ] Second Edition Publisht April, 1909

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS.

With Dr. Densmore^ compliments

471 Park Avenue,

Stew York.

May, 1909.

Index

182029

T'y

jffliXoico B'sTorcaasd .id

•iioY wsH

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS.

Page: Illustrations — Portraits, Plates I-IV.

Editor's Preface 7

Introduction, comprising :

Memoir of Emanuel Swedenborg 11

" " Andrew Jackson Davis 23

" " Hudson Tuttle . 39

" Cora L. V. Richmond 65

" W. J. Colville 74

Clairvoyance of A. J. Davis . 99

ARCANA OF NATURE, reproduced from origi- nal plates 101

PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT, extracts from 407

Appendix 461

Index 469

182029

PREFACE.

The Psychical Research Society was organized in England in 1882, by prominent men and women inter- ested in the problem of a continued life after death, and for the purpose of examining into the validity of alleged psychic manifestations. One result of its activities has been to enlist the cooperation of noted men of science, and to create a popular interest in these manifestations.

The writer is imprest that the phenomena to which attention is called in this volume deserve consider- ation from the psychic student as well as from the gen- eral public. As explained more fully in the Introduc- tion, the utterances of none of these seers are to be accepted as authoritative; and the Arcana of Nature is republished because of the phenomenal nature of its production rather than from any claim that it is a valuable contribution to science.

The Arcana of Nature is herein reproduced as it first appeared, including the charts and diagrams.

The orthografy of the Introduction, including the biografies, quotations and Appendix, is made to con- form to the recommendations of the Simplified Spelling Board.

EMMET DENSMORE.

NEW YORK, September, 1908.

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

Mr. Colville in his biografy on page 85 givs strong testimony as to the beneficial effects, both upon his mental and physical powers, resulting from the exercise of spiritual gifts.

Like benefits 'are even more strikingly shown by Dr. Davis, a graduate of medicin, who, now in his 83rd year, is busily engaged in the practis of his profession.

The facts of Swedenborg's life afford a further illustration of the benefits associated with the use of psychic powers. It is well known that he was activly occupied in the production of his philosophical works until within a few months of his death. "The Rev. Nicholas Collin, Rector of Swedenborg's chureh in Philadelphia, who visited Swedenborg in 1706 (N. Y. Sun, Sept. 6th, 1908), thus depicts his personal -appear- ance: 'being very old (seventy-eight) when I saw him, he was thin and pale, but still retained traces of beauty and had something very pleasing in his physiognomy and a dignity in his tall and erect stature/ Sweden- borg's bodily activity in his later years was much remarkt upon. Cuno (also a contemporary) bears witness that when Swedenborg was in his late seventies he was for his age a perfect marvel of health. He says that altho Swedenborg was more than twenty years older, he (Cuno) would be afraid to run a race with him becaus 'he was as quick on his legs as the young- est man/ Somewhat later Cuno testifies: 'When I dined with him the last time he told me that a new set of teeth was growing in his mouth; he was then a man 81 years of age'."

7

8 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

On pages 99-101 is given a recent letter from Di*. Davis giving further particulars of his clairvoyance and explaining the conditions which enable him to make quotations, word for word, from books and wri- tings which he has never seen.

On page 33 may be found an explanation of Dr. Davis 's Superior Condition, and on page 35 a quota- tion from the poet Wordsworth which characterizes this state as "that blessed mood." The following quo- tation from Lowell's "Columbus," written when the poet was but twenty-five years of age, shows plainly that he also was cognizant of the Superior Condition : And I believed the poets ; it is they Who utter wisdom from the central deep, And, listening to the inner flow of things, Speak to the age out of eternity.

"NEW YORK, April, 1909.

INTRODUCTION.

HERBERT SPENCER was once invited by a physician of high standing — a personal friend of the writer, then living in London — to witness some psychic phenomena which the physician had seen and described to the philosopher. Mr. Spencer declined the invitation and, smiling benignantly, replied that on account of well- known laws such occurrences were impossible. Mr. Spencer's reply was not scientific. Science bids us not to declare beforehand what is or is not possible, but to study the facts, and from them deduce the law or laws that govern their appearance. While the feasi- bility of ocean navigation under steam still lacked demonstration, Mr. Lardner, then a well-known Eng- lish scientist, published a pamflet to prove mathemati- cally that it would be impossible for a vessel to carry enough coal, even when freight and passengers were excluded, to propel it across the Atlantic. The first steamship to cross carried some copies- of Mr. Lardner 's pamflet then just issued.

In the following pages, some well-established marvels are related, and it would seem the part of wisdom not to declare beforehand that they are impossible, but rather to ascertain if they are true ; and if true, to find their meaning.

It is a proverb that there is no royal road fo learn- ing. But in these days so prolific of discoveries — when the sciences are so multiplied that few can hope to cover more than a small portion of the field — it must have occurred to many that there is great need for a

10 INTRODUCTION.

royal road. It is hoped that the following pages will give the reader a glimpse of such a possible pathway.

In succeeding pages there is given a brief account of the lives of three seers strikingly similar in their intellectual and philosophical qualities and the eleva- tion of their spiritual natures. Two of the three are still living, have reached a happy, vigorous and useful old age, and are conspicuous examples of those who have successfully traveled an unusual road to knowledge.

Brief sketches of two other psychics are added in which similar phenomena are noted.

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG

Emanuel Swedenborg was born in Stockholm, Swe- den, on the 29th day of January, 1688, and died in London, March 29th, 1772. His seership is established by the fulfilment of prophetic revelations, and the exercise of seemingly miraculous powers. He was the son of Jasper Svedberg, Bishop of Skara. In his child- hood he displayed a disposition so devout that his parents thought at times "an angel spake thru his lips." He was graduated as Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Upsala at the age of 21. After grad- uation he traveled in Europe, carrying letters to well- known men in the prominent seats of learning. He studied music, wrote poems in Latin, and published a periodical devoted to inventions and mathematics. Attracted by his genius, Charles XII. of Sweden ap- pointed him Assessor in the College of Mines. In 1719, after distinguished engineering services on behalf of his country in a naval war, he was raised to the nobility, and the name Swedenborg was first assumed by him. In 1724 he declined the chair of mathematics at the Upsala University. From 1721 to 1744 were years of foren travel, of study and research on such diverse subjects as mining and smelting, mathematics, physics, astronomy, and anatomy, whilst numerous publications emanated from his pen. In his Principia, published in 1734, there are clear anticipations of later scientific teachings, to which fuller reference is made on a sub- sequent page.

It is plain from Swedenborg 's own words that he was

a sensitive or a psychic. The clairvoyant state, whether

11

12 INTRODUCTION.

induced by mesmeric — now termed hypnotic — passes, or by expectant waiting at a seance, or self -induced on the part of a sensitive, presents characteristic physical conditions very different from those observed in the normal state. One marked difference observed is in the breathing which becomes less rapid and lighter, with the vital functions at a low ebb. The following narra- tion is taken from Swedenborg's Spiritual Diary:1

"If we carefully attend to profound thoughts, we shall find that when we draw breath, a host of ideas rush from beneath as thru an opened door into the sphere of thought, — whereas, when we hold the breath, and slowly let it out, we doubly keep the while in the tenor of our thought, and communicate as it were with the higher faculty of the soul; as I have observed in my own person times without number. Retaining or holding back the breath is equivalent to having inter- course with the soul ; attracting or drawing it amounts to intercourse with the body. " . . . . * ' I was first accus- tomed to breathe in this way in infancy when praying my morning and evening prayers ; then at times after- wards, when I was exploring the agreements of the heart and lungs, especially when I was writing from inner thought what I published on these subjects, and this during several years. At this time I noticed fre- quently that there was a tacit respiration, scarcely sen- sible, about which it was given afterwards to think and then to write. In this way for many years from in- fancy I was introduced into such breathings, especially thru intense speculation, in which the (ordinary) breathing subsided; otherwise, no intense speculation of truth can be given. Then afterwards, when heaven

1. Life and Mission of Em. Swederiborg, By Benj. Worcester, 6th ed., Boston, 1907. Pp. 200, 201, 202.

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 13

was opened, so that I spoke with spirits, I breathed so completely in this way that I did not take in a (common) breath for the space of about an hour, only just enough air being drawn to enable me to think. "

It was in 1744 that the great change occurred in Swedenborg's life. It is referred to by himself as: "the opening of my spiritual sight/ ' "the manifes- tation of the Lord to me in person, " "my introduc- tion into the spiritual world. ' ' From this time he gave up all worldly learning and labored solely to expound spiritual things. He claimed to be in actual contact with the spiritual realm, and to associate with spirits of an advanced order; in fact, in his first published work after his great illumination, entitled Arcana Celestia, he avers that the truths therein set forth were revealed to him by an angel of the Lord.

Swedenborg gives a detailed account of the first time a spirit appeared to him.2 He was dining late at an inn; was hungry and ate with a good appetite. To- wards the close of the meal he noticed a dimness before his eyes which increased, leaving him for a short time in darkness, then suddenly departed; and, as he had been alone, he was frightened to see a man sitting in the corner of the room, who spoke to him, saying: "Eat not so much." Swedenborg further relates that he then went to his room, and that the same spirit came to him during the night — he was not then afraid — and said that the Lord had chosen him (Sweden- borg) to unfold to men the spiritual sense of the Scriptures.

In February, 1772, John Wesley, who had not met Swedenborg, and was then in the midst of his evan-

2. Worcester's Life, P. 203.

14 INTRODUCTION.

gelizing labors in London, received a letter from the seer stating that he had been informed in the world of spirits that Mr. Wesley desired to see him and that he would be pleased to have him call. A full account of this remarkable incident is given in the following letter from J. T. Hawkins,3 a well-known English engineer, and intimate friend of the Rev. Samuel Smith referred to: "I have a clear recollection of having re- peatedly heard the Eev. Samuel Smith say, about the year 1787 or 1788, that in the latter end of February, he, with some other preachers, was in attendance upon the Rev. John Wesley, taking instructions and assisting him in the preparations for his grand circuit which Mr. Wesley was about to commence; that while thus in attendance a letter came for Mr. Wesley which he perused with evident astonishment; that after a pause he read the letter to the company as follows: 'Sir: I have been informed in the world of spirits that you have a strong desire to converse with me ; I shall be happy to see you if you will favor me with a visit. I am, Sir, Your humble servant, Emanuel Swedenborg.' Mr. Wesley frankly acknowledged to the company that he had been strongly imprest with a desire to see and converse with Swedenborg, but had never mentioned that desire to anyone. He wrote Swedenborg in reply that he was then busily engaged in preparing for a six months' circuit, but would do himself the pleasure of waiting upon him soon after his return to London. To this Swedenborg replied that the visit would be too late, as he should go into the world of spirits on the 29th day of the next month, never to return/' This prophecy was fulfilled by Swedenborg 's death on March

3. TafePs Documents concerning Swedenborg,

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 15

29th, and Wesley never met him. These facts had such an influence on the Rev. Samuel Smith, as well as on several others of his fellow ministers, that they later seceded from the Methodist ranks to become adherents of the New Church.

Another instance of Swedenborg 's psychic powers is related by Professor Scherer of Tubingen University. Swedenborg was one evening at a social gathering in Stockholm where he had much interested the company by his narrations regarding the spirit world. They asked for a test, and suggested that he foretell which of the party would die first. After a short meditation he confidently designated Oloff Olofsohn; and further specified that he would die at forty-five minutes past four the following morning. A member of the party set out to call at Olofsohn 's shortly after the time of his predicted death, and was met by his servant with the tidings that his master had been attacked by apoplexy and had died at the precise time stated.*

Kant, a painstaking scientist as well as a great phi- losopher, a partial contemporary of Swedenborg, made special inquiry into and verified several of the remark- able incidents related of Swedenborg. He published a work containing the results of his investigations from which the subjoined account is extracted.5

' ' The following occurrence appears to me to have the greatest weight of proof and to place the assertion re- specting Swedenborg 's extraordinary gift beyond all possibility of dout: In the year 1759, towards the end of July, on Saturday, at four o'clock p. m., Sweden- borg arrived at Gottenburg from England, when Mr.

4. Worcester's Life. Page 389.

5. Dreams of a Spirit Seer, P. 158. (Goerwitz' trans, ed. by F. Sewajl, London, 1900.)

16 INTRODUCTION.

William Castel invited him to his house, together with a party of fifteen persons. About six o'clock Sweden- borg went out, and returned to the company quite pale and alarmed. He said that a dangerous fire had just broken out in Stockholm, in the Sodermalm (Gotten- burg is about 300 miles from Stockholm) and that it was spreading very fast. He was restless and went out often. He said that the house of one of his friends, whom he named, was already in ashes, and that his own was in danger. At eight o'clock, after he had been out again, he joyfully exclaimed, * Thank God, the fire is extinguished the third door from my house.' The news occasioned great commotion thruout the whole city, but particularly amongst the company in which he was. It was announced to the Governor the same evening. On Sunday morning, Swedenborg was sum- moned to the Governor who questioned him concerning the disaster. Swedenborg described the fire precisely, — how it had begun, in what manner it had ceased, and how it had continued. On the same day, the news spread thru the city and, as the Governor had thought it worthy of attention, the consternation was consid- erably increased because many were in trouble on ac- count of their friends and property which might have been involved in the disaster. On Monday evening, a messenger arrived at Gottenburg, who was despatched by the Board of Trade during the time of the fire. In the letters brought by him the fire was described precisely in the manner stated by Swedenborg. On Tuesday morning, the royal courier arrived at the Gov- ernor '& with the melancholy intelligence of the fire, of the loss it had occasioned, and of the houses it had damaged and ruined, not in the least differing from that which Swedenborg had given at the yery time it

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 17

happened; for the fire was extinguished at eight o 'clock. "

Another incident, also vouched for by Kant and related by him in his works,6 concerns a lost document which Swedenborg revealed by means of personal in- tercourse with one who had past into the spirit world. In Kant's own version:

"Madame Marteville, the widow of the Dutch am- bassador in Stockholm, some time after the death of her husband, was called upon by Croon, a goldsmith, to pay for a silver service which her husband had pur- chased from him. The widow was convinced that her late husband had been much too precise and orderly not to have paid this det, yet she was unable to find the receipt. In her sorrow, and because the amount was considerable, she requested Mr. Swedenborg to call at her house. After apologizing to him for troubling him she said that if, as all people say, he possest the extraordinary gift of conversing with the souls of the departed, he would perhaps have the kindness to ask her husband how it was about the silver service. Swedenborg did not at all object to comply with her request. Three days afterwards the said lady had com- pany at her house for coffee. Swedenborg called, and in his cool way informed her that he had conversed with her husband. The det had been paid several months before his decease, and the receipt was in a bureau in the room upstairs. The lady replied that the bureau had been quite cleared out, and that the receipt was not found among all the papers. Swedenborg said that her husband had described to him how, after pull- ing out the lefthand drawer a board would appear

6. Dreams of a Spirit Seer, P. 157. 2

18 INTRODUCTION.

which would be required to be drawn out when a secret compartment would be disclosed, containing his private Dutch correspondence, as well as the receipt. Upon hearing this description the whole company arose and accompanied the lady into the room upstairs. The bureau was opened; they did as they were directed; the compartment was found, of which no-one had ever known before; and, to the great astonishment of all, the papers were discovered there, in accordance with his description/'

Perhaps most picturesque because involving highly placed personages, is the incident of Queen Louisa Ulrica, the facts of which are well authenticated. Fol- lowing is the account written by Count Hopken, a dis- tinguished litterateur of the period, a senator, and one time prime minister of Sweden.7

"Swedenborg was one day (in 1761) at a court re- ception. Her majesty (the queen dowager Louisa Ulrica) asked him about different things in the other life, and lastly whether he had seen or talked with her brother, the prince royal of Prussia. He answered No. Her majesty then requested him to ask after him and to give him her greeting, which Swedenborg promised to do. I dout whether the queen meant any- thing serious by it. At the next reception, Sweden- borg again appeared at court, and while the queen was in the so-called White Room, surrounded by her ladies of honor, he came boldly in, and approached her majesty, who no longer remembered the commission she had given him a week before. Swedenborg not only greeted her from her brother, but also gave her his (her brother's) apologies for not having answered her

7. Life, by Worcester, P. 334.

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 19

last letter; he also wished to do so now thru Sweden- borg, which he accordingly did. The queen was greatly overcome and said: 'No-one except God knows this secret/ 3

For the last thirty years of Swedenborg 's life (and he died at 85) he was, as it were, living in two worlds — transacting business and attending to social duties in the material sphere in a perfectly normal manner, whilst his spirit, as it appears, was with equal facility visiting the scenes of the invisible realm and communi- cating familiarly with its denizens. During these years he wrote voluminously and exclusively on his observations and inspirations received from the latter sphere, and the volumes produced under this influence are those which are now usually associated with his name. Most of his previous works are now practically unread and obsolete as science or literature; whereas those produced after his illumination still circulate the world over and constitute a vast store of ethical teaching, symbological interpretation and profound spiritual insight.

As to the genius and endowments of Swedenborg, the following is quoted from F. W. H. Myers' Human Personality, P. 6. "Even as Socrates called down philosophy from heaven to earth, so, in a somewhat different sense, it was Swedenborg who called up phi- losophy again from earth to heaven — who originated the notion of science in the spiritual world, as earn- estly tho not so persuasively as Socrates originated the idea of science in this world ... It was to Swedenborg first that the unseen world appeared before all things as a realm of law. . .of definite progress according to definite relations of cause and effect." It is to Swe- denborg, then, that we owe the beginning of psychic science.

20 INTRODUCTION.

It is not, however, because of any possible value to psychic or material science that this summary of the more important facts of Swedenborg 's life has been introduced, but to give emphasis to the suggestion that a general law governs the lives of sensitives — whether of past ages or of the present time. The phenomenal phases of Swedenborg 's life are unusually well attested. The sceptic, who will carefully scrutinize these testi- monies, can hardly fail to see grounds for accepting their genuineness; and he will find great difficulty in explaining the facts except on the hypothesis of the continued life of the spirit after the death of the body, and of the possibility of communication between discarnate spirits and those yet in the body. The fact that Swedenborg minutely observed and reported a fire at a distance of three hundred miles — at a time when there were no telegrafs, telefones, or modes of rapid transit — proves nothing if not that Swedenborg was clairvoyant and had the power of sight thru some other method than that of the bodily senses. When the power to see without eyes is demonstrated, it surely will strengthen our hope that we have continued life after the death of the body ; even if it affords no proof absolute of such an hypothesis. But when Madame Marteville requested Swedenborg to visit her deceased husband and learn what had become of a lost receipt, and when a few days afterwards Swedenborg called on this lady and said that he had seen her husband, and pointed out the secret drawer, of which Madame Marte- ville knew nothing, and -in which the lost receipt was found, there is then strong confirmatory evidence that M. Marteville still lives and that Swedenborg conversed with him. For the sceptic there remains the hypothesis of clairvoyance. If Swedenborg was able to see and

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 21

note the progress of a fire three hundred miles distant, he might perhaps, by the same powers, search M. Marte- ville's house and locate the secret drawer. Such an explanation involves the supposition that Swedenborg intentionally misstated the facts — an impossibility to any-one having a knowledge of Swedenborg 's char- acter. The same remarks apply with even greater force to the Queen Ulrica episode hereinbefore detailed.

There is yet a more difficult task for the sceptic, and that is to explain the foretelling of future events. In the case of Oloff Olofsohn, the guests had demanded of Swedenborg a test of the reliability of his revela- tions of the spirit world, and asked him to state which of them would die first. It is well worth noting that Swedenborg not only designated the person, but speci- fied the hour and the minute at which the death would take place on the following morning. The theories of telepathy and clairvoyance will not in the least aid the sceptic in this instance. It could not be telepathy because there was no-one living who was aware of the time, and so mind-reading was impossible. It could not be explained by clairvoyance as the death had not yet taken place, and no amount of clear-seeing could see what did not yet exist. If this were the only case of genuine prophecy on record, the sceptic might urge that it was a lucky guess and a coincidence. But since equally remarkable fulfilments of prophecy were com- mon with Swedenborg, and are not infrequent with numbers of living sensitives, some other explanation must be sought. An adequate solution is not difficult. If there be a continued life of the spirit after death, and if the events of both worlds are subject to law, and if there are intelligences in the sphere of causes in touch with these laws — an intelligence of this kind

/ OF THE •*

I UNIVERSITY )

22 INTRODUCTION.

may have imprest Swedenborg's mind with the exact minute at which Olofsohn's death would take place.

Swedenborg himself was not in dout as to this prob- lem. In a letter to Venator, minister of the Land- grave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and speaking of the events above discust, he says:8

i 'These must by no means be regarded as miracles; for they are simply testimonies that I have been in- troduced by the Lord into the spiritual world and have intercourse and converse there with angels and spirits, — in order that the church, which has hitherto remained in ignorance concerning that world, may know that heaven and hell really exist, and that man lives after death a man as before; and that thus, no more douts may flow into his mind in respect to his immortality. ' '

8. Life, by Worcester, P. 348.

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS.

Andrew Jackson Davis was born August llth, 1826, at Blooming Grove, Orange County, N. Y., in very humble surroundings. His father eked out a precari- ous living by weaving, shoe-making and farm-laboring. He was a good-hearted man, strictly honest, with strong convictions but with a weakness that led him to waste his scanty resources in drink. The family was in a chronic state of poverty until he succeeded in over- coming this unfortunate habit. This happened when his son had attained his eleventh year. After many removals the family settled down in a fairly comfort- able home in the village of Hyde Park, N. Y. Jackson was not a promising youth, either intellectually or physically. Up to this time he had past his life at home, under the influence and protection of his mother, excepting for a very short period of schooling. At school, during a bare five months' attendance, he had shown no aptitude for learning and was naturally dull and backward, while his timidity and awkwardness made him the victim of the contempt and persecution of his fellow-pupils. But for his ever sympathetic mother, the lad would have led an intolerable life. His father regarded his delicate sensibilities, his physical weakness, and his continued dependence on his mother as signs of an effeminate nature for which he knew only one remedy, and that was to send the boy out to fight his own battles. The mother, however, insisted that the boy was yet too young, was not strong, still needed home care, and carried her point. She herself had a pronounced psychic temperament, had seen vis-

23

24 INTRODUCTION.

ions all her life and received warnings and prognostica- tions which were often strikingly fulfilled. To the boy she related many of these experiences which by the husband were regarded as foolish hallucinations; and when young Jackson himself had intimations from the invisible world, his mother understood and believed them. This happened on one occasion when the boy; was sick with a fever, and the doctor had forbidden him cold water. He told his mother that he heard a voice saying, ' * You may drink the sweet water of maple trees," upon which she acted with promptness. The maples, which abounded in the near woods, were tapt for their sap, and a supply secured for the sick lad, which brought about his speedy convalescence.

Several attempts were made by the parents to place young Davis where he could acquire a trade and earn a living. In his eleventh year he obtained a situation in a plaster mill where he was set to tend the hopper. This was several miles from his home, and he slept in his employer's attic. The monotony and long hours of this work, together with his home-sickness, soon drove him to return to his mother even tho he knew this act would meet with his father's keen displeasure. At this time somnambulism first manifested itself ; and he received dream impressions of labor-saving ma- chines, wooden models of which he strove to produce by the aid of his penknife. His father, however, would have none of this trifling and laziness, as he termed it, and the boy had to turn to something more immediately practical. A Hebrew merchant, then opening up in the village, engaged him as a helper at a few shillings a week, but after the goods had been unpacked and ar- ranged, the boy's incapacity for business, for selling goods, even for making a simple calculation, was so

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 25

evident that his employer had to discharge him, and he again returned home to encounter his father's frowns. But the mother had a ready excuse: "Why, he wants more schooling/' she insisted. So, in his twelfth year, he again attended a rudimentary academy for about six weeks and made some slight advance on his past achievements, mastering the greater part of the multiplication table, simple and compound addi- tion, a passable hand-writing and the spelling of words up to three syllables. Sickness then stopt his further schooling. After his recovery, he was taken on as house-porter by a lawyer who had become interested in the family, but Jackson's natural awkwardness, in spite of his best endeavors, was such that he failed^to give satisfaction. He was next tried on a farm at shepherding and hoeing, and became, he says, quite handy at the latter. It was during this outdoor work, when alone in the open fields, that he several times heard strange music and voices, and an intimation was given him that he should go to Poughkeepsie. After a while he prevailed on his parents to move to that vil- lage, within walking distance, and his father finding employment in a factory, they settled in what has since become famous as the home of the "Pough- keepsie seer." Here his father tried him on a shoe- maker's bench, but finding him lacking in aptness, he was again sent to school for ten weeks, making, how- ever, little advancement save in writing and cifering. So obtuse was he at this time, that, as he states, his mind was apparently stupified whenever the larger studies were placed before him. His backwardness and dullness, he admits, grieved him in the school-room, but a few skips in the open air, he adds, would restore his usual contentedness. This was his last schooling —

26 INTRODUCTION.

about five months in all, with not a word of grammar, history, literature or science. During one season at home his parents had treated him to a Peter Parley's Geografy, the pictures in which amused him.

After two more years of discouraging experiences, and after the death of his mother in the year 1842, he was engaged by Ira Armstrong as a clerk in the shoe business and was practically accepted as a member of the Armstrong household. In Armstrong he found a patient and benevolent employer who taught him prac- tical business habits. Towards the end of 1843, a trav- eling mesmerist named Grimes came to the village. Young Davis attended one of the public meetings and volunteered with fifteen other youths as subjects for experiments. Grimes, however, was unable to exert any influence on him by passes, and Davis returned home with no confidence in the alleged phenomena. But a few days later, William Levingston, who lived near, and was an expert mesmerist, called at the shoe store and asked Davis to come to his house for an ex- periment. This was on December 1st, 1843, when Davis was 17 years of age. The passes, in this case, were entirely successful. As Levingston 's subject, the boy was soon entranced, and, whilst utterly uncon- scious, was put thru a series of astonishing perform- ances before several spectators who had been called in unknown to Davis. At the bidding of the operator, he read, while blind-folded, letters from a newspaper, told the time of watches, and diagnosed diseases. From this time on he was in frequent demand in the rural community, both as a study for the serious and a source of entertainment for the frivolous. For some time he freely diagnosed diseases and suggested remedies ; then, at the instigation of his spirit guides, a small fee was

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 27

required from those who could afford it. Young Davis now gave up his business engagements and devoted himself to the vocation which seemed so unmistakably marked out for him. The fame of his cures spread abroad, and his services in connection with those of his magnetizer, Mr. Levingston, were in constant de- mand.

Interspersed with this regular daily occupation, the young man had some remarkable personal experiences which are fully related in his autobiografical writ- ings. In one of his trances he believed himself to have been carried from Poughkeepsie, across the Hudson River, to the Catskills, and symbolic visions not only opened to him his future career but gave him stimu- lating and cheering incitements thereto. Later, he found himself in a remote churchyard where he was visited by two spirits who revealed themselves as Galen and Swedenborg, and who engaged him in prolonged converse, mingling gentle correction and instruction with lofty philosophic exposition, promising to watch over and aid him in the coming years. It is significant that the influence of both these historic characters is ap- parently shown in the writings and life-work of Dr. Davis who, now at an age beyond four-score, is still ac- tively engaged in the practice of medicine, while not less interested in the spreading of that spiritual gospel of which Swedenborg was a distinguished pioneer.

For nearly two years young Davis traveled between Poughkeepsie, Danbury, Bridgeport and other towns, once only going as far as Albany. He was accompanied by Levingston, and for a time, also, by a lecturer, a Mr. Gibson Smith, who had become convinced of the helpful nature of Davis 's clairvoyance. This continued up to the age of nineteen. His normal condition at

28 INTRODUCTION.

this time was that of an unlettered country youth, somewhat awkward of manner, and given to fits of moodiness and meditation, with occasional visions of a brighter and freer state. On the intimation, he as- serts, of his spirit guides, he severed his relations with Mr. Levingston and attached himself to Dr. S. S. Lyon.9 Dr. Lyon gave up a business in Bridgeport to ally himself with the young seer. They proceeded to New York on a tour that was to combine clairvoyant medical diagnosis and lecturing. After a few weeks Davis was moved to look for an amanuensis to record the words he felt he was soon to be inspired to dictate. The Rev. William Fishbough, of New Haven, was se- lected, and the choice proved a happy one in every way. In addition to the manipulator, Dr. Lyon, and the scribe, Mr. Fishbough, three responsible and qualified witnesses10 were present at every lecture to vouch for the genuineness of the proceedings. Dictations were made daily, and the time occupied each day varied from, forty minutes to four hours, the entire work being completed in one hundred and fifty-seven lectures, the first of which was delivered on November 28th, 1845, and the last on January 25th, 1847.

The whole of Nature's Divine Revelations was dic- tated when the author was in a profound trance, an illumined state which Mr. Davis called the " Superior Condition," as will be further explained hereinafter. This work is an 8vo volume of nearly 800 pages, divided into three Darts In the First Part, the author

9. Magic Staff, P. 297.

10. These were the Rev. J. N. Parker, Theron R. Lapham, Dr. T. Lea Smith; also at different lectures several hundreds of others, many of standing and weight, whose names are given in Davis's "Address to the World," in the forepart of Nature's Divine Revelations.

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 29

essays proof of a spiritual existence, and goes into the rationale of magnetism, clairvoyance, and the source of his own inspiration. The claim is made that the magnetic state is a further development and extension of the motive powers of organic life; also that closely associated with and involved in all visible existences, there are invisible "correspondences" or "representa- tives." These move in a sphere of their own, which again opens into a still more refined and advanced sphere. The uniformity of law thruout all these spheres is insisted on, namely the law of progression, development and immortality of all things in a purified and perfected state of existence. "All forms," it is asserted in this first part, "are external effects and are mortal. They cannot be depended upon as afford- ing proofs of immortality, or as demonstrating even the probability of a future life. But there is an in- ternal, invisible quality and essence that may be found by search and analysis to be the truth of all truths and the real of all realities — the internal principle of the Eternal Positive Mind."

Part Two is devoted to a scientific exposition of the material universe from its primal, amorphous state by the formation of successive nebular zones, and of mil- lions of suns with their respective planets from these zones. The geological history of the Earth is traced minutely, as well as the development of the mineral, vegetable and animal divisions, and the later segrega- tion of man into races and nations. The origins of languages, of mythological beliefs, of creeds and other human social institutions are treated; the books of the Bible are compared with other ancient writings; the person and character of Christ are given considerable space, and an eloquent tribute paid to that illustrious

30 INTRODUCTION.

figure. Swedenborg is one among several historical personages eulogized for their special contributions to the progress and unfoldment of the race. The nature of death, considered from a spiritual or non-material- istic point of view, is strongly presented as an agree- able transition.

In Part Three, an effort is made to apply a remedy for the evils of our present civilization ; to bring under a natural law the different societies and aggregations of human beings, corresponding to the laws operating in the planetary system, so that each individual will gravitate to that employment and environment best suited to his peculiar temperament and qualifications. Detailed suggestions are given for the formation and operation of great co-operative associations.

There is a profound optimism manifested thruout Davis' work; and in his closing paragrafs it is evident that he believed he was ushering in the establishment of a new heaven on earth, or at any rate was elucidat- ing the methods by which such an evolution from modern society could be consummated. In his " Ad- dress to the World," which was dictated by him at the conclusion of the volume, altho published as the Preface, he says: "The physical and mental organiza- tion of man enforces the conclusion that there are no possible limits to social progress and spiritual attain- ment and elevation ; for man is a microcosm, or a com- bined expression of all the perfections contained in the divine essence that animates and preserves the har- mony of the universe. Upon the constitution of man (who is a type of divine wisdom) are based those im- portant principles which, when duly comprehended, will construct of the whole world one brotherhood."

The foregoing is a necessarily inadequate sketch of

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 31

the scope and contents of a work which, not without defects of prolixity and obscurity in portions, yet shows great breadth of view and profound philosophic thought.

In Nature's Divine Revelations, the author under- took to unfold what he terms the Harmonial Philos- ophy. In subsequent productions, notably in "The Great Harmonia," this was expounded in fuller de- tail. This last named work was brought out at in- tervals in five volumes entitled respectively, The Physi- cian, The Teacher, The Seer, The Reformer, The Thinker. In the first volume, the author discourses on the origin and nature of man, the philosophy of health, disease, sleep, death, psychology and healing; in the second, spirit and its culture are treated, followed by an argument on the existence of God; the third con- sists of a series of lectures on clairvoyance and inspira- tion; volume four is devoted to physiological vices and virtues, marriage, parentage, divorce; and in the fifth we have a review of the history of philosophy, with some account of the great teachers of antiquity; also a somewhat metaphysical study of the origin of life and the law of immortality. Other notable vol- umes in a voluminous output, numbering about thirty books in all, are The Penetralia, Philosophy of Spiritual Intercourse, History and Philosophy of Evil, Truth versus Theology, Death and the After Life, The DiaJcka and their Earthly Victims, Special Providences, The Inner Life, treatises on practical medicine, and auto- biografic works, especially The Magic Staff, Beyond the Valley, and Events in the Life of a Seer; finally, a few works of imagination embodying moral and spir- itual teachings.

It is to be noted that the foregoing productions writ-

32 INTRODUCTION.

ten subsequent to Nature's Divine Revelations are quite unlike that work in their general style and arrange- ment, are less fluent and consecutive and more nearly resemble the productions of a writer in the normal condition. Their general teachings, however, are in entire accord with those of Davis 's first effort. When they were produced, both the magnetizer and the scribe were dispensed with, and the author was only approxi- mately entranced. This independent condition was first attained on May 16th, 1847.11

The nature of the ' ' Superior Condition ' ' is explained by Dr. Davis in various passages occurring in several of his books. The following are quotations:12

"It is impossible by words to convey a full and ade- quate conception of the manner in which I arrive at truth. I can only employ such words as convey all the ideas that words can convey, of this process. My information is not derived from any persons that exist in the sphere into which my mind enters, but it is the result of a Law of truth, emanating from the Great Positive Mind, and pervading all spheres of existence. By this, truth is attracted to, and is received by, the mind... I do not receive these (impressions) from the Great Supreme Mind, but from this second sphere, focus or medium which legitimately belongs to this globe alone. When you ask me a question, I am then existing in the medium or sphere of the body; but in investigating and finding the answer, I pass to the sphere where I can associate with the truth and reality ... Furthermore, the manner in which I obtain my information may be compared to a process of chemi- cal analysis. In analysing a body the chemist separates

11. Great Harmonia, Vol. 1., P. 204.

12. Nat. Div. Rev., Pp. 44 and 46.

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 33

its constituents until he has found its simple elements ... It is by a process of spiritual analysis that I obtain truth: I pass from the body with a desire for a par- ticular kind of information. This desire attracts the particular kind of truth of which I would be informed, separates it from all other things, and causes it to flow into the mind. And when I thus obtain the truth of which I am in quest, I return to communicate it thru the organization."

In a recent publication, Dr. Davis has written the following in further explanation of the Superior Con- dition :

"In answer to the question of your correspondent, who wants to know whether the contents of my works can be regarded as communicated by discarnate beings : this question has been frequently asked and as often answered in the various volumes, and I have always imagined that the answers have never been either ob- scure or inconsistent. I will try again, and I must write in the third person: — On entering into the Su- perior Condition, the entire mental possessions or powers of the clairvoyant become sufficiently exalted to associate with the Sun of Knowledge perpetually shin- ing in the second (or next) sphere of human existence. This Sun is the accumulated intelligence and wisdom of the consociated inhabitants of the spirit world. The clairvoyant's mind was fed and illuminated by direct contact with the focal knowledge, producing a feeling of living in the state after death, and of being a spirit like each of those who reside in the higher world. From the fountain of this higher world came all the contents of Nature's Divine Revelations, and all the contents of the books subsequently written and pub- lished. But it should be remembered that frequently,

34 INTRODUCTION.

while in the Superior Condition, the clairvoyant has seen and held converse with many spirit individuals. On such occasions he has invariably given, as near as possible, the exact words of the individual giving the communication. All readers of the books will easily recall instances of such conversations and special messages." — Light, London, Eng.

In a still more recent communication from Dr. Davis,13 he has given the following additional infor- mation which is also in the third person: " Inasmuch as Davis was a mere stripling, a weak boy or youth, when delivering Nature's Divine Revelations, a steady sustaining magnetizer (Dr. S. S. Lyon) was indis- pensable to his continuing in the physical organism. After years of experience and growth, Davis found that he could attain the Superior Condition at will, no longer needing a visible magnetizer. In speaking the contents of Nature's Divine Revelations, as when writing his subsequent volumes, he invariably de- scended from the exalted mental state down into the physical organism, approximating the natural or normal condition common to all persons when in their ordi- nary states; because, while in the profound trance or Superior Condition, he could neither move his tongue to speak nor control his hand to write. His memory was wonderfully illuminated and thus afterwards he could speak or write all facts or impressions obtained. ' '

A more general statement of the nature of this condi- tion is found in Mr. Davis 's book entitled Answers to Questions** as follows :

"The Superior Condition, in contradistinction to one's ordinary state, consists of a practical and con-

13. Private letter to Dr. Densmore, April 12th, 1908.

14. Page 42.

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 35

scious growth of the intellectual and moral endow- ments. These faculties are opened and lifted to a higher degree of operation . . . Nothing of passivity or indifference is possible. The mind is not only exalted to the fellowship of eternal principles, where it can discern the essences and properties of visible bodies, but the faculties are active and conscious of inherent energy and truth . . . The result of such superior exer- cises is stamped upon the individual's character, and the ultimate effects are interior elevation and an educa- tion of the whole mind." Mr. Davis further says: "The inspired poet has truthfully described the Su- perior Condition as:

That blessed mood, In which the burden of the mystery, In which the heavy and the weary weight Of all this unintelligible world Is lightened — that serene and blessed mood In which the affections gently lead us on, Until the breath of our corporeal frame, And even the motion of our human blood, Almost suspended, we are laid asleep In body, and become a living soul; While with an eye made quiet by the power Of harmony, and the deep power of joy, We see into the life of things. ' ' 15

A marked resemblance may be traced between the Superior Condition of Dr. Davis and the psychic mani- festations of Swedenborg. In the preceding sketch is given, in Swedenborg 's own words, a description of his breathing and physical condition when in a state of great mental illumination, which shows an obvious similarity, physically and mentally, to the state de- scribed by Dr. Davis and by Wordsworth.

15. Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey."

36 INTRODUCTION.

Of the scientific value of Dr. Davis 's writings, which deal with the physical structure and evolution of the universe, it is not my purpose to attempt an estimate. It is self-evident that the elaborate and technical dis- courses on astronomy, geology, natural history, eth- nology, sociology, and a host of other departments of science display a familiarity with these several sub- jects, as well as with literature and history, that per- haps cannot be found in the writings of any other author, however learned. In this connection, it will be interesting to the student who consults Nature's Divine Revelations, to note the testimony that in two cases Davis 's statements in matters astronomical antic- ipated later discoveries in science. The Russian as- tronomer Maedler, and the French Le Verrier are the two discoverers alluded to, and a full statement of the facts are given in Mr. Fishbough's notes on pages 159-161 of the work in question.

It is, however, to the phenomenal character of this book, and the extraordinary circumstances under which it was produced that special attention is called. For- tunately, Mr. Fishbough, and those associated with him, had a full appreciation of its peculiar value, and they have placed on record 16 an account so precise and circumstantial, and so well confirmed by trustworthy witnesses that (apparently) no intelligent and open- minded person can read this account and dout its truth- fulness and accuracy. That an uneducated youth of nineteen, who could barely read and write, possessing only a slight knowledge of the rudiments of arithmetic, who had read no books except Peter Parley's Geografy and a few chapters in the Bible; who never had any

16. Introduction, Nat. Div, Rev., Pp. xiv, xv.

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 37

desire or aptitude for study ; who, while entranced took matters in his own hands and arranged an itinerary for diagnosing and treating the sick, and who, while thus engaged, manifested masterful familiarity with anatomy, physiology and medicine; who, after some months of engrossing absorption in this work, com- menced the dictation and in a year's time produced a book of the characteristics mentioned — this is surely a phenomenon that deserves careful consideration and demands an explanation. The attitude of the ostrich, with its head in the sand, is not a becoming one to the philosophic or scientific student. Ignoring these facts so carefully observed and witnest seems ostrich- like and imbecile.

The theory of the "sub-conscious mind" and the "subliminal self" does not in the least aid the sceptic who denies the possibility of discarnate existences. These phrases, if they mean anything, tend to show that the mind and consciousness, in the utmost recesses of our nature, are independent, or may act independently of our physical bodies — a step, indeed, on the road to- ward the perception of an independent life of the spirit after separation from the body.

If Dr. Davis 's explanation of what he names the Superior Condition be not accepted as the correct ex- planation of how his books were produced, it is incum- bent on the objector to account for the phenomenon. If the hypothesis of the Superior Condition be accepted as the true explanation of the origin of these books, then the riddle of the ages has been solved, and we have an assurance and proof of a progressive life after death to console us for the disappointments and seem- ing misfortunes of our earth life.

Fortunately, this demonstration of the continuance

38 INTRODUCTION.

of conscious life after death has separated the spirit from the body does not depend upon the development or peculiarities of any one individual. As we have al- ready seen, a careful study of Swedenborg's life shows that he often found himself in a state, both physical and spiritual, that was essentially the same as that experienced by Davis.17 Davis 's condition, while yet adolescent, was first induced by hypnotic passes ; he was afterwards able to induce this condition without a magnetizer or other assistance except such as he may have received from spiritual beings. Swedenborg re- lates that a condition approaching ecstasy was induced in his childhood by a peculiar method of breathing; afterwards, and when past middle life, and apparently by the aid of spirits, he was intromitted into the spirit world, and came into rapport with its body of accumulated knowledge. This condition of sympathetic relation was characteristic of both Swedenborg's and Davis 's experiences, and altho it came to them at very different ages and was accompanied by very differing manifestations, in essentials they were the same.

17. Introduction, Nat. Div. Rev. P. xvii.

[NOTE: On page 99 will be found a recent communication from Dr. Davis written after the first edition of this work was publisht, explaining the method by which he is enabled to make verbatim quotations from books to which he has had no access except by clairvoyance or impression.]

HUDSON TUTTLfi.

The life of Hudson Tuttle is no less phenomenal and interesting than the lives of Emanuel Swedenborg and Andrew Jackson Davis. When a boy in his teens young Tuttle produced The Arcana of Nature, here- with reprinted, substantially, as it first appeared. I wrote Mr. Tuttle for permission to republish his vol- ume, and asked various questions relative to the phe- nomenon of its production. Mr. Tuttle 's response con- stitutes a brief autobiografy, and gives the leading features of a most remarkable life. It is so compre- hensive and adequate, and its sincerity and truthful- ness are so apparent, that it has seemed desirable to re- produce this correspondence in its entirety.

NEW YORK, February 8th, 1908. Dear Mr. Tuttle:

You have exprest surprize in previous letters that anyone should be interested in your personality. I am as much of a democrat and as far from hero-worship as most people. But your experience seems to me unique in some striking features, and important for its evi- dential value. You said in one of your letters that you had, at the time Arcana of Nature was written, no library, no books of reference, and, as I conjecture, no aid from anyone; that it was as if you were alone on an island with only a pad and a pencil.

The subject matter of the Arcana of Nature was no dout at that time absolutely Greek, not only to the average man in your county and state, but also to the average professional and educated person, except those specially devoted to scientific pursuits. Under such circumstances, the above facts become a matter of deep interest, and I should think an account of them, prefaced to an edition of your work as first printed, would add greatly to its value and interest.

39

40 INTRODUCTION.

Pardon me for being entirely frank. The realms treated in your Arcana of Nature are those with which I have but little acquaintance, and I am not competent to arrive at an opinion as to whether any original contribution was made in your book that was at the time new to science. To my superficial view, it seems that in your account of the origin of man you harked back to the writings of Lamarck, and that the author or authors made no allusion to the principles of Nat- ural Selection and Sexual Selection which were, at the time your book was written, already exprest in Darwin's writings, tho not yet made public. But even if it should be found that there was no original con- tribution to Science in the Arcana of Nature, the phe- nomenon of its production is a matter of the greatest interest. The survey of astronomic and philosophic knowledge given, and the familiarity with the various theories of world-building shown in the first part, the more extensive geological scheme expounded in the sec- ond part, and the philosophy of the universe with which you conclude, are all wonderful in their brevity, in their masterly expression, and in the inherent evi- dence they give of having been written or dictated by experts in science and philosophy. It is as tho half a dozen university professors of the highest class, having had a life's experience in teaching, had collaborated.

It may be difficult for you at this date to supply full confirmation of the facts; but it is important that all corroborative evidence be brought together to support your statements.

I would like you to explain in detail the beginning of your psychic experiences ; at what age you were en- gaged in writing the Arcana, and how long you were thus occupied? Were you conscious of the meaning of your writing as the sentences were produced ? Did you have any aid from scholars or others familiar with preparing matter for the press? Do you yet experience an influence similar to that which con- trolled you when writing the Arcana f Very truly yours,

EMMET DENSMORE.

HUDSON TUTTLE. 41

BERLIN HEIGHTS, OHIO,

Feb. 15th, 1908. Dear Dr. Densmore:

The following statement is in answer to yours of Feb. 8th:

I was born in what was then a wilderness on the southern shore of Lake Erie, in Berlin, Ohio, 1836. My early surroundings were deeply imprest on my very soul. My father was intensely zealous in his religious views, and the conflict between his natural tenderness of heart and sympathy for suffering, and his views concerning the awful punishment of the wicked, made him gloomy and even morose. He never had this sub- ject out of his mind, and until I was sixteen years old, I do not recollect to have seen him smile. How many times when I was guilty of laughing, he corrected me with : " Christ never laughed. He wept. You had better cry than laugh."

Mother, true to her Highland blood, had the gift of second sight ; her predictions were remarkably correct, and she had a keen intuitive insight in business affairs. There were fourteen years between my youngest brother and myself, hence I was reared without the companionship of children. The Bible was read in the morning and the last thing in the evening, followed by prayer. It was about the only book in the house. The ministers said it was the only one we needed, and if piously studied furnished an exhaustless fount of information.

Father's house was headquarters for the itinerant preachers, both orthodox and heterodox, who on cir- cuits carried their doctrines into the wilderness of sin. As my father was a Unitarian, more of that persuasion came. They were the heterodox and were always ready

42 INTRODUCTION.

for combat. Hence dogmatic discussion was my spir- itual diet. The meetings were held in a log school-house. The preachers expounded texts of scripture. The ser- mons were doctrinal, and the more dogmatic the greater the praise elicited. The Unitarian held up to ridicule the Three-in-One God, while the Trinitarian held the denial of Christ as God worse than atheism. While returning from meeting, doctrines were discust; they were the subject when we reached home; they were brought to the breakfast table, and when the preacher mounted his horse to ride away, he gave the opposing doctrine a parting shot. My child life was opprest and filled with gloom by this blasting theology. As my mind strengthened, douts grew. I could see no reason for receiving the doctrines of one sect more than another and came to disbelieve and detest the whole cruel scheme.

My education had been sadly neglected. The district schools were poor affairs and I did not accept the little they offered. I could read, write and spell before I attended school. I think my mother must have taught me. Altho a truant, and disliking the atmos- phere of the classes which I did not attend more than one day a week, I had an intense desire for knowledge for its own sake. I thirsted for it as a famished trav- eler on a desert waste longs for the splashing fountain. Yet it seemed there was no possible way for the grati- fication of my desires. This came in a strange and un- expected manner.

Retrospecting after these many years' experience with the knowledge I now have, I recognize that I had been previously at times under a psychic influence then unknown to me, but which I am now able to study in my own case as tho it concerned another person.

HUDSON TUTTLE. 43

Memory will ever retain the impression of the first time my hand wrote without being moved by my will. Wholly inexplicable, confusing and bewildering, I douted my sanity and was troubled with fear of the consequences. I was then in my sixteenth year. I was invited to attend a seance at the home of a friend, a retired Congregational minister, Mr. Crawford. He was a disciple of 0. S. Fowler, the phrenologist. The Rochester rappings had aroused Mr. Crawford's in- terest and he called in a few friends to experiment. As yet there had been no mediumship manifested in the neighborhood, and these meetings were held in the hope that some developments might be made.

One bleak and blustering night in early March, I walked across the fields two miles or more to attend one of these gatherings, impelled by an irresistible impulse, yet ashamed of my interest in the subject. At the meeting were several acquaintances and some strangers. I was ill at ease. We gathered round the table in the usual manner. After a time I began to feel a calm restfulness which I mistook for sleepiness and strove against; my arm and hand began to move unwilled, greatly to my annoyance, as it attracted attention. A pencil was placed in my fingers, and my hand on a sheet of paper. After the awakening this disturbance caused had past, I fell again into a semi-unconscious state, and my hand began writing, illegible scrawls at first, then here and there a word became readable, and soon whole sentences. Names of spirits were written in full, and questions testing identity correctly answered. Among the strangers to me were Mr. and Mrs. Vreden- berg, of Norwalk, O. He was a man of business, ex- tremely proud of having graduated from an eastern college, and both were born Episcopalians. They

44 INTRODUCTION.

were not invited to the seance, but had happened to pay a visit at the time. He regarded the rappings as a joke, and was with difficulty persuaded to join the others at the table. After my hand began to write fairly readable scrawls, Mr. Vredenberg in a tone betraying his scepticism asked for a communication for himself. Soon my hand began to move slowly, making a scrawling mark. In a few minutes the contraction was firmer, and here and there words could be made out. Pausing a little time, it began afresh and covered a new sheet of paper with writing fairly legible. It was a communication from Mr. Vredenberg 's father and was signed by his name so like his autograf when in this life, that Mr. Vredenberg sprang to his feet and, with tears in his eyes, exclaimed: "It is marvel- ous ! Who can dout for a moment in the face of such evidence ?" Mrs. Vredenberg afterward became a medium, and altho both remained members of the Episcopal church they kept up their interest in these manifestations. At a late hour the seance was ad- journed, and I returned home in a half conscious con- dition, not fully realizing the manifestations thru my hand.

The pyschic state into which I entered that evening for the first time is peculiar and distinct from that which accompanies physical phenomena. When I sat at the table I felt an overwhelming drowsiness, altho this did not reach unconsciousness. I was unable to ask questions, except I roused myself out of this state, and then sunk back to receive the answers. In the state in which I received writing, either automatically (so- called) or by impression, the condition was not one of lethargy approaching sleep, but an indescribable intensi- fication of mental power ; a broadening of the horizon ;

HUDSON TUTTLE. 45

a flow of thoughts reaching far out from the subject under consideration, flashing thru the mind. It was as tho I had listened to an exhaustive lecture and had taken a few notes. My mind had received a great deal more than had been written.

The next day I was aware that I had been in a state of which I had never before had experience. A close analysis convinced me that I had deceived and had been deceived. The members of the seance had been fully convinced that the power was beyond myself, whilst I attempted to account for the manifestations by the thoughts of the members of the circle being re- flected on my mind. I was exceedingly miserable, and declared I never would place myself again in a position to be imposed upon or to impose on others. How could it be spirits when reason said spiritual existence was impossible? Yet the thought of the possibility of life's continuance beyond the grave thrilled me with joy.

I had not related the occurrences at the seance to the home circle, for I was not at all sure how my story would be received. There was an even chance of my father making the devil responsible, and for- bidding further inquiry. That evening, however, he sat reading a paper devoted to Spiritualism, which some friend had sent him. Zealous as he was, he was not of the narrow sort who refuse to see. He would read, whether he agreed with the writer or not. What he was reading seemed to strike him favorably, and he said to mother he would visit the Fox family if he were able. We all laughed at this unexpected utter- ance. Now is the time favorable for making a confes- sion, I thought, for the sense of guilt hung heavily on my conscience. I was not permitted to tell my story,

46 INTRODUCTION,

as fate had arranged to have it told for me. There was a knock at the door, and in came Mr. Crawford, the ex-minister, with several others present the night be- fore. They were clamorous for a seance. I hoped father would refuse, but to my astonishment he was favorable, and a brother, who was home for the day, said we ought to have rappings as well as others. I was firm in my decision not to sit again, but yielded after long persuasion; and I will add that this yield- ing to the wishes of those desiring seances was a marked peculiarity which I vainly strove against. However firm my resolve, when people came and im- portuned, a higher and stronger influence came and broke my will.

We gathered round the table — a massive dining- table with drop leaves and of solid walnut. It was heavy, quite a lift for two persons. We sat only a short time when rappings were heard and the table be- gan to rock. My brother sat at one side of the table and I at the other. In the seances afterwards held, I always sat at the side where the leverage was weakest, so that no-one could accuse me of moving it. Father at once drew away, declaring it to be of the devil, but after a little while his curiosity gained mastery and we again closed around the table. A spirit declared itself as present, and by means of the alfabet gave the name of Harriet, a favorite sister of my father, who had past from this life more than twenty-five years before. He was overcome with emotion, and for a time unable to speak. To him it was as tho the heavens were opened and his dead walked forth. Fear, terror, superstition fell off in a moment, and in their place came the recog- nition of the joy and gladness of spirit life. No more douts, despair, or foreboding over dogmas. All been swept away for ever.

HUDSON TUTTLE. 47

As I have previously stated, in the sixteen years of my life I had not seen my father smile. A cloud always rested on his brow. Now his face glowed with joy, and I will add, during the after years of his long life — he lived to be 89 — he was one of the happiest of men. He had lived the first part of his life in fear; the last portion was to him the beginning of the heav- enly life. The sister who thus gave her name continued frequently to announce her presence. My sister, who lived two miles away, joined our circle one evening, and at once our spirit aunt controlled her to write, and thenceforth Aunt Harriet's communications were given by writing thru my sister's hand. The messages to my father were such as a sister writing to her brother would naturally give. When he approached the end she appeared to him several times, assuring him with words of cheer that she would be with him to receive his emancipated spirit and welcome him home. He had been unconscious; he awoke and said: "The long day's work is over, — I will rest," and stretching up his hands as tho grasping other hands, with a look in his eyes as tho seeing unutterable things, he whis- pered "Harriet," and fell back on his pillow. No one who saw that scene could dout that in the supreme moment when the veil fell from his mortal eyes, the spirit whose name he whispered met his spirit vision.

To return from this digression. During the seance, I resisted with all my will the influence that seemed to grasp me, and succeeded until almost the close, when my hand was spasmodically contracted and began to move against my will. A pencil and paper were fur- nished and several messages written, among which was one from Harriet to father.

The news spread rapidly and curious crowds came

48 INTRODUCTION.

by day and night. None were turned away, for father believed that the gospel freely received should be freely given, and allowed no one to pay for the time we de- voted to the seances, or for the entertainment of those from a distance. My parents had discarded the ortho- dox Trinity for heterodox Unity, and had met the persecution of bigotry for the sake of what they re- garded as truth. They now received Spiritualism as a higher truth, that should be given as freely as re- ceived. For years they had opposed a paid ministry, citing the disciples as examples.

In the two years or more during which rarely an evening past without our rooms being filled with anxious seekers, not a penny was received. I should have despised myself had I entertained a thought of degrading the high mission by receiving money for it. The same feeling has remained. That truth should be sold like corn in the market is most repulsive to me. He who has a truth, a thought, an idea, which can be of value to others, is in duty bound to proclaim it.

The intelligences producing the physical manifesta- tions were somewhat opposed to the writing control. If the seance was successful I fell into a semi-trance, intensely sensitive. The least word, or jarring ques- tion, even when the intention was commendable, grated and rasped. I am unable to convey an adequate idea of this condition. As illustration, a gentleman called for a seance, and for an hour we sat without the least sign. He then removed his hands, and the table tipped, spelling the name of his father. At this, the gentleman seized the table and began rocking it, saying: "See, I can move it as well as any-one." The implication ordinarily would have past with a smile, for I had no desire to convince any-one; but in the condition in

HUDSON TUTTLE. 49

which I then was, it came like a blow, and I awoke with hot words of anger. I was unable to explain to him how or why he had offended me, for I did not under- stand it myself ; and when I had recovered my normal state I was overwhelmed with shame that I had for- gotten myself. It was a long time before I recovered my former confidence, or would allow myself to fall into an unguarded sensitive state. As soon as I felt its approach, I would involuntarily start back. This may appear a trifling cause to produce such a result. An imperceptible mote in the eye causes intense pain; a grain of iron will deflect the magnetic needle.

Many popular lecturers came with their theories ready formed, and desired to prove these theories by their influence over me. In the state of unrest my mind was then in, I willingly submitted to the experiments, but in no instance had any-one the slightest effect on my consciousness. A Mr. Mann, for example, living in Milan, a near-by town, and a passing acquaintance, became deeply interested in the reports of the Rochester rappings, and brought together twelve persons to hold seances. Hearing of mine, he invited me to join them. Expecting under such favorable conditions to receive wonderful results, I drove over the six miles of country roads to meet with them. I found an earnest party assembled, and Mr. Mann arranged us round a table, but instead of joining hands, we clasp t with both hands a bright copper wire which made a connecting circuit. I attended five consecutive meetings, at none of which occurred the slightest manifestation. Nor did we obtain better results when the conductor was laid aside and we sat in the usual manner. Mr. Mann was of an exceedingly positive temperament and success- ful as a mesmerist. On two occasions after the seances

4

50 INTRODUCTION.

he attempted to "put me under influence/' but utterly failed.

In these seances, where everything seemed so favor- able, it is difficult to understand what could have been the obstruction. Somewhere the line was broken or grounded. For my own part, I felt none of the influence which always precedes the manifestations — rather the reverse — a negative blankness as tho facing a wall.

Our sittings were continued at home, and at every one satisfactory tests were given. I regret that I did not keep a record of these. I had no thought at that time that they possest significance or value. I have instanced some of these, as they have occurred to my mind, in various writings. The following is here cited as an example of many : I had been away for some days at my brother's, and came home just as night was fall- ing. ' * We are so glad you came, Hudson, ' ' mother said, "for we are in a lot of trouble. Your father thinks his spirit friends ought to tell him where his lost pocket-book is." Then she told me how while I had been away, he had sold some cattle, put the money in his pocket, and when he came home to the house found it gone. He soon came in and desired a seance, for, he said: "We have given so much time to them, it is no more than fair they should return a slight favor." I sat at the table, and by its moving when the right let- ters of the alfabet were reached, we were given the following: "It is under a rail you split today." "Have you been splitting rails?" I asked. He had, but felt certain he had not lost the pocket-book there. He, however, went across the fields and turned the pile of rails over, and not finding the book returned with his hitherto unbounded confidence shaken. He was anxious to have an explanation why he had been de-

HUDSON TUTTLE. 51

ceived. The response came: "We told you the truth. You took up the right rail, but the bark was left, and the book is under that. Too dark to find it until morning." In the morning, the money was found exactly as described.

After experiencing the sensations of the state that came to me in these sittings I recall many instances in the past when I felt the same influences. Two of these I will give as examples.

A young minister opened a school at Milan in an old unused academy bilding. The teacher, fresh from college, thought education consisted in a knowledge of Greek, Latin and mathematics, and into these I was thrust with fifteen unhappy classmates. I remained six weeks, when the homesickness brought on by lone- liness in that deserted bilding culminated in illness which sent me home. The short time I was there was yet long enough to learn how little I could expect to know of the appalling intricacies of Greek and the immensity of the field extending before the mathema- tician. Otherwise, my time and strength seemed thrown away. While at this school, compositions were called for, and I wrote one in hexameter on "Our Pil- grim Fathers. " In writing this, I felt the mysterious influence which exalted my mind above and out of myself. The next day, I was called to the principal's desk, and asked where I found the article. On my strongly claiming the authorship, he severely repri- manded me for dishonesty, and I was in disgrace. The next day he had the manliness to do me justice, and exonerated me before the class, saying that the only reason he had for thinking I had plagiarized was the excellence of my composition.

The other incident was at a school examination at

52 INTRODUCTION.

Berlin Heights. I was studying simple arithmetic. My scant attendance would have brought on the vengeance of the truant officer had there been one at that time. The class had gone over square and cube roots some time during my absences, and when I attempted to work out the problem, it was like groping in a fog. The time had almost expired, and I was congratula- ting myself on not having been called, when an examiner said in a voice which to me sounded like the crack of doom: " Master Tuttle will explain the process of ex- tracting the cube root. ' ' I have no recollection of going to the blackboard, writing out the example and giving the lengthy explanation demanded. The applause which greeted me when I took my seat came as in a dream.

The seances had been held for a year, perhaps more, I cannot now remember. I had given everything to others, but to me the result was meager and I was discouraged. I received communications for those who came, and they wept with joy at the words from those from whom they had parted at the bitter grave. When I came out of the ecstatic state, the cold grey world met me, and I was in the shadows of the valley of despond. At that time, a light broke thru the clouds. My mother, to whom this travail of spirit was un- known, clairvoyantly received a message saying that I must choose one of two paths: one leading over a level plain, thronged with travelers, the other over diffi- cult mountain summits, accessible only by labor and self-sacrifice. "If he chooses the last, I go with him; if the first, he passes to others. " When she told me I recognized the application, and so perfectly did it accord with my state of mind, that I believed the kind spirit who had given the vision, had interested him-

HUDSON TUTTLE. 53

self in my welfare. I resolved, if this were so, how- ever rugged the path, however great the sacrifice I might be called to make, I would take up the burden of duty.

By the advice of my adopted guide, I discontinued the public sittings and sat by myself in the retirement of my room. I do not mean that the usual seances were entirely abandoned. It was impossible to resist the appeals of friends, and they came often. But they did not interrupt my private sittings. I retired to my room and wrote under the influence of friends in spirit life. It was a source of surprize and delight to feel the new thoughts that streamed thru my mind. When I douted my hand would be seized and write auto- matically, without my knowing a word written. I usually wrote by impression, or a blending of that pro- cess with the automatic, the processes varying with the difficulties of thought transference. Thus, while an idea may be reproduced by impression, a date, a fact, a quotation, a name, are most difficult, and for these automatic writing was employed.

I was instructed both by the writing and by the im- pressions which came outside the written lines. The writers were my teachers, and were my only source of knowledge, for I had access to but few books and to none on the subjects in which I was interested. I was in a farmhouse, far from town, and libraries were inaccessible. I had attended the district school six months in all, and five months at a small academy. My desire was to become cultured and not a mere in- strument in the hands of those who influenced me. These guides said to me that my desire indicated wisdom — they would be my teachers, and I on my part must assist. And thus we entered into a compact, with

54 INTRODUCTION.

promises on both sides, and after all these years I can say that I have kept this compact to my utmost ability. My teachers promist me hard labor, physical and men- tal, trials, losses of friends, but, with this, an educa- tion. My gratitude has constantly increased at the renewed instances of their thoughtful care and wisdom. When the labors of the day were over, I would go to my quiet room and take up my pen. Fatigue left me, and there came a delightful exaltation, and at each successive sitting it seemed to me I could see and understand more clearly and perfectly as tho my hori- zon had lifted and broadened. I was not strong physi- cally, and was usually exhausted, at the beginning of the sitting, with my day's work, yet, strange as it may appear, the more weary I was physically, the clearer and stronger the exaltation. Changing and variable were the sensations as I was more or less receptive, or dif- ferent intelligences came. At times there were broken passages and words used with reckless disregard to meaning. At such times, when there was this obstruc- tion, there was a rapid exhaustion of vital force and I suffered physically and mentally. Then again, when conditions were perfect, I seemed to stand outside of myself, and with eager interest read the sentences as written, elated with the new ideas they gave me — every seance being a lesson written for my instruction, and, as I afterwards learned, as a preparation for something better. I will say here that these experiences have not changed with the years. I have become accustomed to them and ceased to observe them carefully as at first. I learned that it was a waste of time to write when not at my highest receptivity, for the writing was invari- ably rewritten. As might be inferred, my first efforts were imperfect, and partook of my want of scholarship

HUDSON TUfTLE. 55

in proportion as my personality obtruded and became an active factor. There were two methods by which my guides could accomplish their object. They could, by perfect possession, use me as a writer uses a pen. This would be the so-called automatic control. The other was by stimulation of my mind to a full understanding of their thoughts ; to receive as well as transmit. This was the more difficult, but was the method I desired, and for which I covenanted my life's service.

The first article I published was on Prayer, in the Spiritual Telegraph. Its acceptance gave me needed encouragement. I then began writing a story founded on events in spirit life. It was entitled "Scenes in the Summerland, or Life in the Spheres." When completed there were no apparent means for its publication, but its authors said it would be issued in due time. Soon after, Mr. Datus Kelley, a retired business man, who originally owned the greater part of Kelley 's Island, a famous pleasure resort, visited us and I read a portion of the MS. to him. "You will publish the book?" he asked. "The authors say it will be pub- lished," I replied, "but I do not know how it is pos- sible, for I have neither means nor influential friends. ' ' "I will publish it myself/' he replied. He placed it in the hands of Partridge & Britton, publishers of the Spiritual Telegraph, in 1853. It was among the first, if not the first book, to treat of this then novel subject, and it met with a flattering reception and large sales — I think running thru six editions. It has been republished in England.

Before this book was finished, I began writing the Arcana of Nature. I cannot give the exact date of its beginning, for so much was prefatory and preparatory. It was completed in 1853, my eighteenth year. The

56 INTRODUCTION.

intelligences who wrote it were distinct from those who gave messages, or wrote on other subjects. It was as I supposed completed when I received a message to destroy the MS. and all I had previously written, as too imperfect to be of any value. There was a surprizing bulk, and with regret I gathered up my treasures and gave them to the flames. Then I began anew, I confess, with discouraged feelings, for perhaps when finished, it would not please, and if acceptable, I saw no prospect of its publication. Yet I was impelled to write in season and out, and at length, by men- tal and physical sacrifice, the book was completed. No authority had been consulted; no-one had seen the writings, or been asked for advice. As far as other aid was concerned, I might as well have been placed, as you say, on an uninhabited island, with only a pencil and pad of paper. The time this work was in hand may have reached a year, but it was only a small part of the writings given me during this time. These were on a variety of subjects, messages to friends who came — altho this was almost forbidden by the control — and contributions to the spiritualist press.

"Is it correct?" I anxiously asked. "It will not be rewritten, but revised. " * ' When will it be published ? ' ' "Not until we weed oat the imperfections whicl have come thru you."

For two years the MS. lay on my table, and nearly every day some correction or addition would be made, usually no more than changing words or condensing sentences. When I sat down to this work, I would turn over the pages mechanically without the least idea of the change intended. Several times, thinking the revision was completed, I was almost sure arrangements had been made for its publication, but to my disap-

HUDSON TUTTLE. 57

pointment, these would fail and I was hopeless. At last, the authors signified their satisfaction. Soon after, Mr. Kelley came on one of his frequent visits. After retiring from business, he devoted his mind to scien- tific study, and whenever he had difficulty in under- standing problems all new to him, he would come to me to have them made plain. I read to him from the work, and he was so pleased that he at once said he would guarantee its publication. He placed it with William White & Co., then publishers of the "Banner of Light. " Owing to financial embarrassment of this firm it was not published until 1859.

The proof was read by S. B. Brittan, then in the employ of the firm. He looked upon inspirational writ- ing with somewhat of superstitious reverence, and care- fully avoided changes affecting the sense. He said to me several years afterwards, that the writers were in- clined to arrange words after the Greek idiom, and to condense by elision of words until the sense was ob- scured. I was very desirous to preserve the MS. which unfortunately was lost.

I could not at the time have undertaken the proof- reading except by the control of those who wrote the text. I did not understand many passages, and not until years after, by earnest study, was I able to com- prehend them. Many correspondents have asked me for explanation of passages, forgetting that my inter- pretation may not be as correct as their own.

The copy of Arcana I forwarded to you is exactly as I received it (from the spirit guides), notes and all. The notes were written just as the text. Dr. Brittan, when he read the proofs, said he had verified these notes as far as he could. Of course, I had no means of doing so. Almost all the books referred to I read afterwards — some years later.

58 INTRODUCTION.

Fortunately, soon after its appearance, the Arcana attracted the attention of Dr. N. M. Ashenbrenner who translated it into German, and it was published at Erland, Germany, in 1860. The translator gave an account of the origin of the book in an appendix. The famous Dr. Buechner read the book without reading the appendix, and became possest of the idea that its author was a professor in a college near Cleveland, Ohio. He made free use of the Arcana in the compo- sition of his renowned work entitled Matter and Force (Kraft und Stoff). He selected passages from it for mottoes to head his chapters, quoted largely, and even appropriated, omitting to give credit. He was engaged by the Turn Verein of this country to give one hundred lectures in the principal cities and towns. I have no memorandum at hand, but think it was in the winter of 1872. Dr. Buechner was in Cleveland, and the Secre- tary of the Cleveland Turn Verein, Dr. Cyriax, invited me to a banquet given in honor of the lecturer and the exiles of '48, perhaps twenty-five being present.

After the introduction, Dr. Cyriax said in substance : "My dear Doctor, you have spoken in highest praise of the Arcana of Nature, you have said it was far in ad- vance of the profoundest scientist of the day; you have quoted it largely and followed its lead. Now do you know who wrote it?"

"I suppose this young gentleman, tho I confess disappointment in his years, and I had taken him for a professor in your college."

"No," replied Dr. Cyriax, "he did not write it. He was a boy at the time, uneducated, working hard on a farm, and when weary from labor, at night, the power I call spirits and you scoff at, came and wrote it thru him. He had no library, no books even, nor access to any."

HUDSON TUTTLE. 59

"With a great "Ha, Ha," Buechner said, "It was too good a joke." "Oh, no," said Mr. Teime, editor of the German paper, "it is every word true, and you must tell us how it is." Teime was a man of remark- able character, a materialist because circumstances held him there, but kindly disposed toward the possibility of life after death. Dr. Buechner made no attempt at explanation, for he evidently preferred to think it a joke; but, during the dinner he turned to me and said : " If spirits do all this, what is spirit ? " I replied, "You claim matter is the foundation of everything, and has within itself all possibilities ; hence you should first tell us what matter is ; then will I define spirit. ' ' As no-one can define matter, as its ultimate component atoms exist by hypothesis, utterly unrecognized and un- recognizable by any of the senses, the listeners at once appreciated the dilemma of the Doctor, and a broad German laugh followed, by which he was greatly dis- concerted. At the close of the banquet, he came behind my chair and began a phrenological examination, in which science he claimed to be an adept. He closed by curtly saying, "It is all there, right in his head, and there is no occasion for calling in the spirits."

The Arcana was among the first (if not the first) work on spiritual thought introduced to the German public; and strange to say, in the hands of Buechner it was made to support his materialism. Some wise critics in this country said it was strictly pagan.

As an episode in my experience, I may mention a painting illustrating the geological history of the Earth. After I had perhaps half finished the first draft of the Arcana, I began, under the same general influence, but a different personality, the painting of a panorama covering the same field. It was on canvas

60 INTRODUCTION.

six feet wide and reached the length of six hundred feet. It was painted with the usual distemper colors. Prior to this time, I had never seen a panorama, and the preparation of the canvas and paints was done under the direction of my guide. The first scene was a glowing fire mist, the next a condensing nebula. Then, the molten, heaving, lava surface was repre- sented, and the painting was thenceforth continuous to the end. The surface grew dark, black clouds ap- peared, watery vapors condenst, falling into boiling seas; vegetation came on the coast lines, wonderful forests of the Coal Age covered land and water; the atmosphere cleared and reptiles came, gigantic sau- rians of hideous shape basked on the shores and sported in the waves ; these again giving place to equally huge animals of the Tertiary Age. Then Man came — the hair-clad Adam of the pre-Stone Age. It was painted with great rapidity, directly with the brush, without preliminary sketching. Professor Brainerd, who held the chair of chemistry and toxicology in the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College, came to see the paint- ing, and, as he was about to deliver a course of lectures on the then new theme of Geology, he desired the loan of it to illustrate his discourses. He used it for several courses with great success, but its origin was not men- tioned; it past for the highest expression of scien- tific discovery. Afterwards, another lecturer* secured the loan of this scenery for an indefinite time, and used it as an advertisement of his lectures. Its source was again kept concealed. Unfortunately, while in this service, it was caught in a flood and the paint washed from the canvas.

*See Statement of Prof. Leland in Appendix.

HUDSON TUTTLE. 61

%

The engravings in both volumes of the Arcana were made by the same influence that wrote them. There was some objection raised to the expense of these, and they said, " Bring the blocks and we will engrave them." I had never seen an engraved block or a graving tool, but set to work under their guidance, and the result was the chart and the other cuts as they ap- pear. I do not contend that the merit of the engrav- ings is notable in any way, but they are certainly much beyond my normal, unaided powers.

I had not finished the Arcana before the Philosophy of Spirit and the Spirit World was begun. It was in- tended as a second volume, and it was proposed to treat the world of spirits as the first volume had the realm of matter. It was inspired by an entirely distinct in- fluence, the first being materialistic, the second spir- itualistic. I have often thought it difficult to harmonize the two, the viewpoint of the authors is so different. William White & Co., Boston, published this volume.

I also began and completed The Origin and An- tiquity of Man, which was published by the same house. This was followed by the Career of the God Idea, Career of the Christ Idea, Ethics of Spiritualism, Studies in the Outlying Realms of Psychic Science, Mediumship and its Laws, and The Arcana of Spirit- ualism. In the meantime, by different spirit authors, many tracts, stories and articles on a wide range of subjects were written.

When Studies in the Field of Psychic Science was fin- ished, my guides advised me to publish it myself. As then situated, I dared not take the risk. Then they advised me to publish by subscription and I might rely on them to sustain the venture. With hesitation I followed their advice and secured about five hundred

62 INTRODUCTION.

subscribers. Owing to crop failures, the subscriptions did not come in promptly, the printer's bill was due and my receipts did not equal more than half the amount required. The last night I was too nervous to sleep. The only way out was a loan, and as the book was apparently a failure, how would I be able to meet the loan ? In the morning a man who worked for me stopt at the post office for my mail. In crossing a deep creek he slipt into the water and when he gave me my letters they were a sorry looking lot, saturated and covered with mud. One forlorn envelop bore the postmark of London, England. It contained a hundred pound note of the Bank of England. There was not a line, word or mark on the sheet in which it was wrapt. I never learned from whom it came. This I know, it paid the bill.

I have related the above experience in the hope that, even at this late date, it may meet the attention of the unknown benefactor to whom I would like to express my gratitude.

HUDSON TUTTLE. 63

Emphasis has been laid on the lives of Swedenborg and Davis because of their phenomenal and evidential value and spiritual significance rather than on the orig- inal contributions to science and philosophy which their writings may reveal. Tuttle's record is not less significant. While his statements in the Arcana are not all in conformity with present day science,* his life discloses characteristics so phenomenal, and is fraught with such pregnant meaning that some ade- quate explanation is imperatively called for.

At first glance, it may appear that the phenomena attending the induction of these seers into the clair- voyant state are very different. A closer analysis shows that the essentials are the same in each. Swe- denborg was inducted into communication with the great fountain of knowledge thru mental concentration and thru a peculiar process of breathing. Davis was thrown into the clairvoyant state by passes from a hypnotist. Tuttle was inducted into a similar state by making one of a circle of persons arranged about a table, while the minds of these persons were in a state of expectancy concerning occult phenomena.

*For example, in Sec. 61 of the Arcana of Mature may be found the query, "Why did the Creator give rings to Saturn which, surrounded by six moons, can have little need of them, while Mars is left in total darkness?" Again, in Sec. 105: "But why * * * was a moon given to the Earth and not to Mars, which is twice the distance from the Sun?" In 1853, when the Arcana was written, science knew nothing of the two moons which we now know revolve round Mars. This would seem to demonstrate that whatever the source from which Mr. Tut- tle's inspiration came it was limited to the knowledge which men of science at that time possest.

UNIVERSITY

64 INTRODUCTION.

Davis was at first thrown into a profound trance; Swedenborg and Tuttle were usually only partly entranced; but the essential results were reached by each of the three in a similar manner, namely, the mind of each, when conditions were favorable, received instantaneous and far-reaching illumination. Davis names this state the Superior Condition, and explains that when entering it the clairvoyant becomes sufficiently exalted to associate with the inhabitants of the spirit world, and to come into sympathetic relation with the accumulated intelligence and wisdom of its inhabitants ; and furthermore, that the clairvoyant's mind is so uplifted and illuminated by this contact with "the ac- cumulated intelligence and wisdom" that a feeling is produced as of living in the state after death, and of being a spirit like those in the spirit world.

If this explanation of the Superior Condition be accepted as a working hypothesis, the phenomenal fea- tures of Swedenborg 's life are easily understood; and we at once perceive how a wholly uneducated and unso- phisticated boy of nineteen years of age could have dictated Nature's Divine Revelations, and how at about the same age, another equally unlettered youth could have written the Arcana of Nature with absolutely no access to books, and no assistance from any-one except from his spirit guides who were at the same time his collaborators.*

*Additional particulars pertaining to the life of Mr. Tuttle may be found in the Appendix.

CORA L. V. RICHMOND."

Mrs. Cora L. V. Richmond (nee Scott) was born in 1840, near Cuba, Allegany County, N. Y. Her father, David W. Scott, was a mathematician and inclined to philosophic studies. Her mother, Lodensy Butterfield, had psychic gifts. Both parents were interested in new truth and reform work. Cora was neither pre- cocious nor over-studious. She attended the local school. When eleven years of age she was asked to prepare a composition and took her slate and pencil into an arbor in the garden, expecting first to write the essay on the slate and then copy it on paper. In a little while she took the slate to her mother, saying she had fallen asleep and somebody had been writing on her slate. The writing began: "My dear sister/' and was from a sister of Mrs. Scott who had past away in childhood. A few days later Cora was seated at the feet of her mother, when sleep again overtook her, and the mother thinking she had fainted, applied restoratives. Noticing a trembling motion of the hand, she placed the slate and pencil in the child's hand, which immediately began to write. In this way, sev- eral messages, signed by different members of the family who had gone to spirit life were written, each of them testifying to their existence in another sphere. Neighbors at once became interested in the phenome- non, and called to ask questions and receive communi- cations.

18. I am indetted to H. D. Barrett's Life and Work of Cora L. V. Richmond, Chicago, 1895, for these facts and for par- ticulars and quotations hereinafter given, E. D. 5 65

66 INTRODUCTION.

A few months after the first writing on the slate, Cora was controlled by what purported to be the spirit of a German physician, but who withheld his name. For some four years the German physician, at a given hour every day, controlled Cora to diagnose and give medical advice to those who came to her father's house for that purpose. This occupied two, three, and some- times six hours a day. Under the direction of this phy- sician she drest wounds, and sometimes performed minor surgical operations. Cora had no knowledge of any other language than English, but the influence con- trolling her sometimes spoke thru her in German. From the beginning of her mediumship, it was stated thru the child that her mission was to be a public speaker, and that her efforts in the art of healing were experiences to fit her for her lifework.

During much of the four years of preparation, Cora once a week devoted some time to a private circle of friends at her father's house, and as her development progrest, meetings were held at her home for such neighbors and friends as chose to listen to her addresses.

When twelve years of age, Cora was directed by her guides to cease attending school and since that time has never pursued any studies save while en- tranced by her guides. As before stated, Cora's public work began when she was eleven years old, but it was not until she was fifteen that she began to give lectures before large audiences. Previous to this time, she was engaged in the smaller towns and villages, or where local circles had been formed for the purpose. She sometimes spoke upon subjects selected by her audience after she had taken the platform, and sometimes her guides selected their own topics. At first she did not

CORA L. V. RICHMOND. 67

usually speak for more than thirty minutes, but the time was soon extended to forty and fifty, and some- times an hour or more. The phenomenon of a child twelve years of age discoursing to people on the most abstruse questions in ethics, theology, science and phi- losophy, in a scholarly manner, and on subjects se- lected by the audience, attracted wide attention.

Cora went to Buffalo in 1854 to minister to a spiri- tualist society that had been formed in that city. Prof. J. J. Mapes, a scientist of New York City, whose atten- tion had been called to the child's phenomenal work, came to Buffalo in 1854 to attend some of the lec- tures. Prof. Mapes was asked to name a subject for an address, which he gave in two words: " Primary Rocks." After the lecture, the professor was called upon to speak on the same subject. He rose and said : "I am a college-educated man, and have been all my life an investigator of scientific subjects and associated with scientific men, but I stand this afternoon dum be- fore this young girl."

In 1856, Cora took up her residence in New York City. The Hon. J. W. Edmunds, Horace Greeley, Prof. J. J. Mapes, Prof. Robt. Hare (then of Philadelphia) had become much interested in her work, and aided in the movement to give her an opportunity to reach audiences in the larger cities. In New York, her lec- tures at once became so popular that it was necessary to secure the most commodious halls. On different occa- sions the largest theater in the city was secured, and even this was taxed to its utmost capacity. Many prominent ministers attended these meetings, and the daily papers — notably the N. T. Herald — gave a ver- batim report of the lectures, and frequently indulged in comparisons to the discomforture of the ministers who engaged in the discussions.

68 INTRODUCTION.

N. P. Willis, poet and litterateur, gave his impres- sions in the Home Journal of which he was then edi- tor, and from which the following is quoted:

"The lady speaker was introduced to the audience a few minutes after we took our seats in a pew of the Tabernacle — a delicate featured blonde of seventeen or eighteen, with flaxen ringlets falling over her shoulders, movements deliberate and self-possest, voice calm and deep, and eyes and fingers no way nervous. The sub- ject being given her by a gentleman in the audience (* Whether Man is a part of God') she commenced with a prayer — and very curious it was to see a long-haired young woman standing alone in the pulpit, her face turned upward, her delicate bare arms raised in a clergyman's attitude of devotion, and a church full of people listening attentively while she prayed. A pas- sage in the Bible occurred to me: 'Let your women keep silence in your churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak'. . .But my instinctive feelings, I must own, made no objection to the propriety of the performance. The tone and manner were of an abso- lute sincerity of devoutness which compelled respect; and before she closed I was prepared to believe her an exception — either that a male spirit was speaking thru her lips or that the relative position of the sexes is not the same as in the days of St. Paul . . . Upon the plat- form, in the rear of the pulpit, sat three reporters ; and the daily papers have given outlines of the argument between the fair medium and an antagonist clergyman who was present. No report can give any fair idea of the ' Spirit presence/ however, — I mean of the self-possest dignity, clearness, promptitude and un- deniable superiority of the female reasoner. I am perhaps, from long study and practice, as good a judge of fitness in the use of language as most men, and in a full hour of close attention I could detect no word which could be altered for the better — none indeed (and this surprized me still more) which was not used with strict fidelity to its derivative meaning. The practist scholarship which this last point usually

CORA L. V. RICHMOND. 69

requires, and the curious, unhesitating and confident fluency with which the beautiful language was deliv- ered was (critically) wonderful. It would have astonished me in an extempore speech by the most accomplished orator in the world... My experience in Spiritualism has always been unsatisfactory. The Fox girls and others have tried their spells upon me in vain. It has seemed to me that I was one of those to whom was not given the 'discerning of spirits.' But it would be very bigoted and blind not to see and acknowledge the wonderful intellectual demonstration made by this young girl ; and how to explain it with the her age, habits and education, is the true point at issue. I think we should at least look at it seriously, if only in obedience to the Scripture exhortation which closes the chapter on this very subject: ' Covet earnestly the best gifts.' '

In the autumn of 1857, Cora was engaged in lec- turing in the vicinity of Boston. At Cambridgeport, the subject was given her by Prof. Felton of Harvard University. He chose a Bible text from the book of Ecclesiastes, 9th chapter, 10th verse: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." At the conclusion of the lecture, Prof. Felton rose and with deep emotion exprest his appreciation of the discourse, stating that it had made a deep and lasting impression on his mind.

As has been said, Cora's first work was done while she was really but a child, and the phenomenal spectacle naturally attracted the widest attention. She visited England the first time when she was thirty-two years old, and the receptions tendered her both in London and the great manufacturing centers of Lancashire and Yorkshire, were only a little less enthusiastic than those given her in America, at the beginning of her work. The first important course of lectures was given at St.

70 INTRODUCTION.

James' Hall, London, a bilding seating over 2,000 per- sons, and so keen was the general interest that many were turned away after the house was filled. Later, when lecturing in the northern cities and towns, nota- bly in Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds, Rochdale, Bradford, Oldham, Halifax, Liverpool, Dar- lington, York, Newcastle-on-Tyne, the most marked enthusiasm was shown by her audiences, and the local newspapers gave considerable space to reports of her lectures and discussions of the noteworthy features of her addresses.

In 1880, five years after the close of her first stay in England, she again visited that country for a short time, and was met by large audiences both in London and the provinces. At the close of her first discourse in St. James' Hall, on the subject of "Body and Spirit," the Rev. Sir William Dunbar, Bart., who occu- pied a place on the platform, rose, and after making some commendatory remarks, said: "I certainly have been very much edified by the address to which I have listened this evening and, but that the rules of my church forbid, I would ask the lady to address a con- gregation from my pulpit."

Mrs. Richmond began her Chicago work in 1876, and this led to her appointment as Pastor of the First So- ciety of Spiritualists in that city. Subsequently, she became Pastor of the Church of the Soul, and this pastorate has remained unbroken to the present time. The interest aroused, and her position there, may be gauged by the fact that for several years, the Times, of that city, on each Monday morning, published a full stenografic report of her address delivered the previous evening.

Mrs. Richmond has published several volumes of dis-

CORA L. V. RICHMOND. 71

courses, the first of which was entitled The Sciences and their Philosophy, and were given in New York in 1859. In 1871, she published a poem entitled Hesperia, treating in a highly allegorical manner the history of America, its present, and a prophecy of ideal days to come. More recently she has published a vol- ume entitled Psychopathy, or Spirit Healing, and The Soul in Human Embodiments. The latter is based upon the hypothesis of pre-existence and embodiments — in contradistinction to the re-incarnation theory as taught by Alan Kardec and later by the Theosophists — and affirms that the soul is uncreate, without beginning and without end.

The phenomena of Mrs. Richmond's life and work are explainable on the hypothesis that her mind, when entranced, passes into a superior condition analogous to that experienced by Swedenborg, Davis and Tuttle. This is confirmed by the following quotations from her autobiografy :19

"From the very first of my control, that is, the writing on the slate in the arbor, at Lake Mills, Wis- consin, to the present time, I have never been conscious of anything that transpired in the outward world dur- ing the time I was under control. This state or condi- tion has not changed since I became a medium. I could not thru my own knowledge state or testify in court that I had ever spoken in public, ever delivered an address or poem in my life. While passing under control, I do not experience any peculiar sensations or physical changes. Unconsciousness to physical sur- roundings and consciousness of spiritual presence are almost simultaneous. The added or larger consciousness

19. Barrett's Life, Pp. 726, 728, 735.

72 INTRODUCTION.

of spirit being accompanied by a seeming expansion of all the powers, and by great freedom of mind."

''From the first I always saw (as soon as outward objects ceased to be visible, and without any thought that outward things were passing from me) spirit pres- ences. As soon as I became aware of these spirit presences and companions, they were as real to me as tho in human form. They seemed to me as natural, in the sense of true being, nothing uncanny or ghostlike about them, but certainly, if as natural, they never seemed the same as if in human form. Whether I saw .or perceived them, I did not know, nor did I try to know in my younger years. ' '

"Not only did I see or perceive spirits every time I was entranced and the controls were using my organism to write or speak, but I was distinctly aware of being a separate consciousness, out of, or not acting upon or thru my own body. I went away to all intents and purposes having only a sympathetic psychic con- tact with my organism. I visited people whom I knew, and places with which I was familiar, also persons and localities I had never seen in my normal state ; but my experiences were especially with those in spirit life. I was as one of them; my father, grandparents, rela- tives, friends, many of whom I had never seen in earth life, were my companions in these seasons of inner consciousness ... I have often noted that those of whom I had previously been thinking and concerning whom I was most anxious when in my outward state, were those whom I first visited in spirit (when entranced). Yet I have also been aware of having visited people yet in earth form, whom I had never met in human form, and have afterward recognized on being introduced for the first time outwardly as those whom I had seen in

CORA L. V. RICHMOND. 73

spirit. There are others whom I have seen in vision, yet have never met in person, and whom when we do meet, here or hereafter, I shall know, I am sure. Nothing could better prove how spirit annihilates time and space; and may we not look forward to the time that my guides assure us is coming, when the written word, often so long delayed and so anxiously looked for, shall no longer be necessary?"

W. J. COLV1LLE.

W. J. Colville was born in England in 1860. The following facts of his life are gleaned from a recently published autobiografy.20

My mediumship originally declared itself in early childhood. I was practically an orphan from birth. My mother past to spirit life in my infancy, and I was left in charge of a gardian. I was separated from children altogether and compelled to associate exclusively with persons of mature age.

How I first came to see my mother clairvoyantly I do not know, but I distinctly remember becoming con- scious, at frequent intervals, of the gentle, loving pres- ence of a beautiful young woman, who invariably ap- peared to my vision attired in garments of singular beauty ... I cannot recall any occasion when this lady spoke to me as one ordinary human being converses with another, but I recollect that when I saw her most plainly and felt her presence most distinctly, I was conscious of information flowing into me. I can only liken my .experience to some memorable statements of Swedenborg concerning influx of knowledge into the interiors of human understanding.

I should probably never in those early days have thought of such a problem as clairvoyance, had it not been for the surprizing fact that what I saw perfectly other people did not see at all. I was first led to realize the unusual character of my vision when I mentioned the presence of the " beautiful lady in

20. Universal Spiritualism, Fenno & Co., New York, 1906.

74

W. J. COLVILLE. 75

white" to two persons who were with me. I saw her very distinctly, yet they declared that we three were the only occupants of the apartment. The mystery of the fourth inmate was for me greatly intensified, when it appeared to me that the other two persons, besides her and myself, could pass thru her and she thru them, while they appeared completely unconscious of each other 's presence . . . The first evidence of my own clear vision, which came to me so spontaneously that for a considerable season it caused no astonishment, related to beholding a form existing on another plane of be- ing than the one usually termed terrestrial. This form was seemingly human in every detail, and was attired in artistic dress . . . The second evidence of clairvoyance did not refer to sight, as ordinarily understood, but to mental enlightenment, and this not only of a gen- eral but of a particular character, going deeply and precisely into manifold details of private family his- tory, and including many revelations which brought consternation to the hearers when I reported my ex- periences. The people among whom I was being reared were desirous of hiding from me many facts concerning my parents of which my spirit mother evidently wished me to become aware. The third feature in my clairvoyance was the actual predicting of coming events ... A single example will illustrate : My grand- mother's sister in Lincolnshire had decided to visit Sussex, but had not communicated her intention to any one, altho her mind was fully made up. I had never seen my great-aunt, and had rarely heard her mentioned, yet I distinctly saw her in the house where I was then living, and accurately described her appear- ance, even to the strings of the cap which she wore when, a few days later, she paid her sister a visit.

76 INTRODUCTION.

As I grew from childhood to riper age, and in the meantime attended schools and became interested in many external pursuits and objects, my mediumship became less prominent and, with the exception of an occasional prophetic dream of rare lucidity, which al- ways came as a needed warning, I gradually drifted into a more prosaic state of life.

When I was nearly fourteen years old and a mem- ber of a church choir, I went to hear Mrs. Cora L. V. Richmond, who was lecturing in Brighton where I was then residing, and was aroused by her stirring dis- courses to my true vocation. Altho my public career as a lecturer and globe-trotter did not begin until nearly three years later, it was on the evening of Whit- Sunday, May 24th, 1874, that I experienced the first thrill of consciousness that it was to be my principal lifework to travel nearly all over the earth, guided by unseen but not unknown inspirers, who would carry me safely if I would but be faithful to the mission en- trusted to me. When I was walking home, after greatly enjoying Mrs. Richmond's eloquence, I regis- tered a vow that if good and wise intelligences in the unseen state would inspire me as they were wont to in- spire this marvelous woman, I would most gladly take service with them and go whithersoever their counsels led me. I earnestly desired and confidently expected that inspiration would come to me, and come it did that very evening and within an hour from the time I invoked it. Had no obstacles been placed in my way, I should have assumed the role of public speaker before my 14th birthday; but my legal gardian re- fused to grant permission until I was at least two years older, tho she did not prevent my occasionally appear- ing at private gatherings, nor was she able to deprive

W. J. COLVILLE. 77

me of some wonderful experiences of a mesmeric or hypnotic character which opened my eyes in my early teens to many of the marvels of psychology.

From the beginning of my public work I could not be influenced by any professional mesmerist or practis- ing physician engaged in the conduct of jiypnotic experiments.

I can remember sitting on the platform of a London hall one Sunday evening, March 4th, 1877, and gazing out upon a large concourse of people gathered to hear me. A hymn was sung and I rose and offered a prayer the words of which formed themselves in my mouth without forethought or conscious volition. After a second hymn, the presiding officer announced that the youthful occupant of the platform was prepared to discourse under inspiration on any theme the audience might think proper to suggest. I heard this without the slightest trepidation. I had become tense, callous, self- assured, and completely confident that an intelligence beyond my normal would render me equal to the occa- sion. A subject was decided upon by show of hands, and I rose to lecture. I spoke unfalteringly for fully an hour and resumed my seat unexcited and unfatigued. . . . Three or four subjects were then given by the audience for an impromptu poem, and no sooner was a decision reached as to which topic had received the greatest show of hands than I rose for a third time and heard myself reel off a number of verses as easily and fluently as tho I had learned them by heart, tho I am certain they were nowhere in print, and I was listening to them for the first time. The report of these meetings attracted considerable attention at the time.

Soon after my appearance in London I was called

78 INTRODUCTION.

to various parts of England. I went as an inexperi- enced child to places rough and smooth, aristocratic and uncouth, religious and atheistic; and wherever I went I found my unseen prompters ready to help me in all emergencies.

In the nineteen months between March, 1877, and October, 1878, I toured as a lecturer in England; and near the close of October, 1878, I left England for America. . .No sooner had I landed than I felt quite at home on what was in no sense to me a f oren soil . . . In Boston, my work grew apace; then I was called to New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and other leading cities. Nearly five years had sped when, in 1883, I found myself again in England. The following year I returned to the United States and in 1885 revisited England. In 1886 I visited California for the first time, and spent five months on the Pacific slope, ad- dressing audiences daily ... I had already been greatly interested in mental therapeutics, or spiritual healing, and had devoted a considerable portion of my time to its advocacy by means of lectures and classes. At the close of a lecture delivered on a camp ground border- ing on Lake Merritt, Oakland, California, a lady (Mrs. Lily Bothwell) who had long been a cripple, handed her crutches to her husband, walked home and did not resume the use of artificial support. This "mir- acle" of healing took place unknown to me at the time, for I was not aware there was a crippled woman in the assembly. I do not claim any part in the accom- plishment of this marvel except that I declared at the end of a discourse on the philosophy of mental healing: "You can use your limbs if you determine to use them, no matter how long they have failed to serve you." I had no idea I was addressing anybody

W. J. COLVILLE. 79

in particular, and no member of the audience was more astonished than myself when the ' i miracle ' ' occurred.

During that summer of 1886, I received pressing invitations to visit Australia. Nine years previously, at the very outset of my public work, I had been as- sured by my unseen preceptors that there was a great work for me to do at the Antipodes . . For ten years I saw nothing of England . . . Those ten years had been busy and eventful ... I had traversed America from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico... I had produced a number of books, edited several periodicals and con- tributed many articles to magazines and newspapers ... It was a psychic or telepathic incident that led me in the winter of 1894 to turn my attention back to Europe. I well remember December 8th, 1894. On that day, between 2 :30 and 3 p. m., I was seated at a desk in New York writing an article for a periodical. I was scribbling away at full speed, when I was sud- denly arrested by a vision of Lady Caithness, at whose house in Paris I had lectured in 1884-5, and whom I had not seen for over nine years. She appeared to be sitting at a desk writing a letter addrest to me, and in which I was informed of many interesting events connected with the erection of her new resi- dence, "Holyrood," to which she had recently moved from an older quarter of Paris. The letter further embodied a request that I should contribute an article for a periodical she was then editing, and also exprest a hope that I should be able to accept her offer of an engagement to deliver a course of lectures at Holyrood during the ensuing June. For nearly thirty minutes this vision continued with me, and then, before the letter appeared finished, it suddenly vanished, and I re- sumed my interrupted article. I went to Boston for

80 INTRODUCTION.

Christmas, and while there, on December 24th, I re- ceived, among other letters from New York, the identi- cal letter from Lady Caithness, dated Paris, Dec. 8th, which I had beheld in my vision. In the course of the letter I learned that it was written between 7:30 and 8 p. m., Paris time, which is five hours ahead of New York, and therefore the time coincidence was as nearly exact as it well could be ....

Nearly two years were spent south of the Equator in my platform mission, among the cities visited being Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Newcastle, in Australia, and Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, in New Zealand. During all these antipodean wander- ings I found my psychic faculties fully as clear and as much in evidence as in other lands.21

Altho I am an inspirational speaker and am fre- quently conscious of the presence of individual spirit friends, whilst I am on the platform and also when engaged in literary work, I should be deliberately men- dacious did I claim that I had read nothing and that my library was a pack of cards. . .Nevertheless, it is a bald fact that I do on frequent occasions make state- ments that are quite beyond my normal waking knowl- edge, and many of these statements are made thru my lips and thru my pencil when I am conscious that my lips and hands are being guided by unseen spiritual prompters . . . My own conviction is that much is lost and nothing gained by denying spiritual cooperation and insisting on absolute spirit control; my experience being that invisible helpers supplement the knowledge

21. The remaining paragrafs are from a letter by Mr. Col- ville to Emmet Densmore, dated Alameda, California, April 14th, 1908,

W. J. COLVILLE. 81

I possess and very often give me new information which I have never derived from reading. It is often my ex- perience that if I have a book with me for a few min- utes and get into its psychic atmosphere, I can write an intelligent review of it, or give a lecture upon it. . . I was in Perth, West Australia, in 1896, when Marie Corelli's novel, The Treasure of Heaven, a Romance of Riches, reached Australian shores. The book had been widely advertized before its arrival, and a com- mittee of arrangements had secured my consent to include a review of that book in a course of lectures I was then delivering in the Town Hall. The local book- sellers expected the books to arrive several days earlier than they came, and I had anticipated reading the book thoroly, and quoting from it verbatim on the public platform. Somewhat to my consternation, I could not get hold of a copy until the evening on which I was to speak, and as the book contained nearly 500 pages I gave up hope of reviewing it in my lecture and decided to treat the topic from my own standpoint, merely mentioning the fact that Marie Corelli's novel had just reached the city. My surprize and pleasure were both great when at the close of the lecture I was personally congratulated upon my exhaustive review of the entire story and complimented on my amazing memory, for I was told that I had quoted passage after passage, in almost the exact words of the author, and had given a full synopsis of the entire tale, as tho I had digested its every detail. I have often had experi- ences similar to the above and am therefore fully as- sured that it is quite possible to speak intelligently upon matters with which in my ordinary state I have merely the most superficial acquaintance; but it does seem necessary, in my case, that there should be some

6

82 INTRODUCTION.

starting point in my mentality from which the thread of discourse shall consistently proceed.

To bring my narrative very near the present day, I select for special mention one of the most impressive evidences of supernormal intelligence which it has ever been my good fortune personally to receive. One night in February, 1906, I made one of a small group of psychic students assembled at a friend's house in Newark, New Jersey. The party consisted of only four persons, namely, my hostess, her son and daughter and myself. It was nearing midnight, and we were quietly discussing telepathy and clairvoyance in a well-lighted room. Our conversation drifted toward European travel, when a request was made to me to experiment with a phase of concentration of attention on a crystal or other glittering object as mentioned by Prof. F. W. H. Myers, and other investigators. "We all four of us sat without speaking for fully ten minutes; then sud- denly I beheld in the air of the room, the vision of a large ocean steamship and, near it, the date March 29th. Not having the least idea that the vision concerned me individually, I took it for granted that some of the other members of the party were about to take an unexpected trip across the Atlantic, and for some little time we talked together on the beauties of Europe and the excellent accommodation afforded by French and German steamers, having first ascertained, by ref- erence to a newspaper, that a French, also a German vessel, were to leave New York on the date indicated. After retiring to my room, I was imprest to try my hand at automatic writing, an exercise which I had occasionally conducted, usually with indifferent results. On this occasion, however, I felt strongly impelled to let the pencil move just as it would without taking

W. J. COLVILLE. 83

notice of what was being written. The writing ceased suddenly and I felt no inclination to handle a pencil again that night, or even to read what had been writ- ten until the following morning. My astonishment was indeed great when next day I found written in full detail the substance of what here follows: "Your friends in Australia have decided to request you to leave San Francisco on the Oceanic steamer 'Sierra/ due to sail March 29th. You must and will go then. There are several grave reasons for your so doing. Among them an event of great importance in Cali- fornia, the details of which you will learn in due sea- son. This is an important crisis in your life, and when you realize all it signifies, you will indeed know that unseen watchers gard diligently your pathway. " No name was signed to this communication except the cryptic signature, "One who knows.'*

I was expecting to go to the Pacific Coast for the month of April, and thought it possible that I might take a steamer from Vancouver to Sidney some time during May, but far from having any expectation of leaving San Francisco before March had ended, I had written to parties there to make arrangements for a lecture course to extend to the close of April. So im- prest was I, however, with the forceful influence that accompanies the writing which I have substantially quoted, that I allowed myself to follow its leading to the letter, and I soon had occasion to know that the first part of the information was accurate, for within a few weeks I received a letter from the editor of a magazine in Sydney, urging me to comply with the re- quest of a committee of friends who had signed their names to a letter requesting me to leave San Fran- cisco, March 29th, on the "Sierra/' I hastily can-

84 INTRODUCTION.

celled engagements and reduced my stay in San Fran- cisco and vicinity to only five days in order to obey that unlocked for mandate. The second portion of the writing I did indeed soon come to understand. Reaching Sydney April 19th, 1906, passengers and crew were shocked by the awful tidings of earthquake and fire in San Francisco, which was the first news that greeted us on arrival. Altho I have had numerous proofs of telepathy and clairvoyance, I cannot select another instance more remarkable and convincing than those above submitted.

Whatever theories may suggest themselves to intelli- gent readers calculated to throw light on the mystery of such predictions, I can only add my testimony to that of others to the effect that unseen intelligences frequently 'give us correct and useful information, thereby proving to every unprejudiced student of psychology that there are ways of receiving knowledge quite beyond the scope of those commonly acknowl- edged avenues of information which alone are accepted by the materially minded.

I have often been asked to describe the difference between telepathic and spiritual messages, and I have rarely been able to distinguish clearly between them . . . My experience in countless instances has satisfied me that while psychic communion between friends can be clearly demonstrated, it is almost impossible to dis- criminate between a message received from a communi- cant on earth and from one who has past to the other side of existence. What, indeed, is that * ' other side ' ' but the side to which telepathy is indigenous. And can we afford to be sure that when we are functioning telepathically we are not behaving just as we should continue to behave were we suddenly divested of our

W. J. COLVILLE. 85

material envelopes? If the physical frame be but a sheath or vehicle of the abiding entity, which is the true individual, then all these fascinating evidences of thought transference, or mental telegrafy or telefony, constantly accumulating, are but so many convincing proofs of the reality of our spiritual nature in the earth life, and which will prove continuous in the hereafter.

Now that I have rounded out nearly thirty years of public service, I feel it a solem duty, as well as a high privilege, to bear unequivocal testimony to the always beneficial effect which mediumship has had on me from all standpoints. Mentally and physically I owe much to those very endowments and experiences which mis- taken people imagine are weakening to mind and body. That there are dangers and drawbacks I do not deny, but thru all my varied and protracted experiences on and off the platform, for more than a quarter of a century, I have invariably found that the directions given me from unseen helpers have been sound, eleva- ting and truthful to the letter in all particulars ; while the telepathic incidents . . . have always been interesting and helpful, never mischievous, and invariably cal- culated to throw a bright light on many a mystic problem.

This account of Mr. Colville's life is added to that of the preceding psychics, both for its intrinsic interest and for the added force of its testimony. Other lives, similar in character and familiar to students of psychi- cal research could readily be added; but enough have been given to show that the ''Superior Condition" ap- plies to many, is not confined to one sex and is mani- fested by persons of varying peculiarities.

86 INTRODUCTION.

Mr. Colville's experience regarding the beneficence of psychic influences is particularly interesting; and, taken together with Swedenborg 's long and fruitful career — continuing to produce, as he did, important works almost to the day of his death — together with the fact that Mr. Davis, Mr. Tuttle and Mrs. Rich- mond are each in mature age, efficiently following use- ful vocations, ought effectually to dispose of a some- what prevalent notion that the condition of the psychic is necessarily associated with weakness of intellect or character, or debilitating to the physical organism.

Among those in whom the Superior Condition has been induced, who have made contributions to science, Swedenborg takes first place. The nebular theory of the origin of the physical universe, now so widely accepted by physicists, was, in its fundamental prin- ciple, first presented to the world by Swedenborg in his Principia. He there declares that the solar sys- tem was formed out of a single chaotic substance which was first collected in the form of a colossal sphere and afterward hy rotation threw off a ring, which in turn, during continued rotation, divided into separate parts, these finally assuming spherical form and evolving into planets. Kant's great work on the Heavens, elab- orating this theory, was not published until 1755, or twenty-one years later. The conception of an etheric, interstellar medium, the atomic theory, the vortical magnetic element and the uniformity of law thruout space from atom to sun, are, among other doctrines far in advance of his age, to be found in- corporated in the various writings of the Swedish seer, and this fact goes far to sustain the claim that Sweden- borg had access to exalted sources of knowledge. Further, it is the opinion of many German writers

KANT AND SWEDENBORG. 87

that the metaphysics of Kant bear the impress of Swedenborg's influence, notably in the former's view of the two worlds.22 This is the more remarkable since Kant's first discovery of the similarity of his conclu- sions with certain of Swedenborg's writings filled him with disdain, but which in after years was turned to admiration and esteem. The following quotation from Kant23 shows his attitude when he began the study of Swedenborg's works:

"The system of Swedenborg is very similar to my own philosophy. It is not impossible that my own rational views may be considered absurd by reason of that affinity. As to the offensive comparison, I de- clare, we must either suppose greater intelligence and truth at the basis of Swedenborg's writings than first impressions excite, or that it is a mere accident when he coincides with my system — a lusus naturae. Such a wonderful agreement exists between his doctrines and the deepest results of reason, that there is no other alternative whereby the correspondence can be ex- plained."

Kant is thought to have exerted more influence than any other writer in saving science and philosophy from being overwhelmed by the tide of scepticism.2* This result was brought about by very simple means — the structure being erected on a few fundamental postulates. It is this : a sense of duty is a primal mo- tive of human nature, and in order that there may be life in accordance with duty, there must be freedom, which thus becomes a postulate of our moral nature. As progress toward harmony is gradual, and can never

22. Prof. Heinze, quoted in Introd. to Dreams of a Spirit Seer, P. 28.

23. Leipsic, 1838, iii. 95.

24. Ency Brit. 9th ed., also Lewes' Biogr. Hist, of Philos- ophy.

88 INTRODUCTION.

be absolutely reached, there must be infinite progress towards harmony (happiness) and this involves im- mortality as another postulate of the moral nature. There must be a cause able to connect happiness with the moral life, and since God is the only conceivable cause, we have freedom, immortality and God as postu- lates of our moral nature. This is a sane and hopeful philosophy, and has done much to change the pessi- mism and scepticism of Hume into optimism and hope ; at the same time, the hypothesis of the Superior Con- dition— a direct connection between the seer and the illuminated denizens of the spirit-world — which ex- plains the phenomenal lives given in preceding pages — is for many persons a far more direct pathway to a knowledge of immortal life.

Three of the seers whose lives are sketched in the foregoing present a theory accounting for the forma- tion of worlds, and an explanation of the cosmic laws governing such evolution. Such presentation might reasonably have been expected, if the alleged source of the seers' illumination be accepted as the true one. Swedenborg's Principia was written in middle life, whereas Davis 's Divine Revelations, and Tuttle's Ar- cana of Nature were contributed by uneducated boys, not yet out of their teens. If, however, these seers were en rapport with cosmic principles, and illumi- nated to perceive the laws by which such evolution proceeds, it would be reasonable to expect considerable similarity in their respective versions; and a striking resemblance in their fundamental aim is noticeable. Mrs. Richmond's Soul in Human Embodiments deals more with the spiritual than the material universe, but it also manifests the firm grasp on first principles ex- ihibited in the writings of the above named authors.

CONFLICTING TEACHINGS. 89

It should go without saying that none of these reve- lators ought to be accepted as a final authority. While each, if the hypothesis of the " Superior Condition" be accepted, sustained sympathetic and illumined rela- tion with the accumulated knowledge of the spirit world, it was always, it should be borne in mind, as human be- ings, hampered by human limitations. Therefore, tho we accept the hypothesis of a spirit world to which various seers may be intromitted, and have converse with its inhabitants, their limitations and peculiarities might be such that each account of what is seen or otherwise experienced in that world will differ so radically in some important respects that one or the other must be in error. Dr. Davis and Mr. Tuttle teach that the spirit has been evolved from primal forms of life, so has had a beginning, and that each spirit, or conscious ego, thru material processes is developed, not only to moral existence, but that the self -consciousness so evolved is destined to continue forever. Mrs. Rich- mond and Mr. Colville, on the other hand, teach that the essential ego — which they call soul — is uncreate and never had a beginning, and as both these views can- not be true one must be in error. However, as to the all-important matter of immortal life, all are in accord ; and, except to the philosophic mind, the question whether the immortal spirit had a beginning or not is of comparatively small moment. When Swedenborg reports upon the important facts of his visits to the spirit world and of his converse there with spirits and angels, he agrees in essentials with the other seers who give their testimony. The main purpose, he says, is that we may know "that man lives after death a man as before ; and that thus no more douts may flow into his mind in respect to his immortality. " In this

90 INTRODUCTION.

he agrees with the other seers. But when Swedenborg visits the spirit world and reports that good spirits are there cleansed of all evils, while evil human spirits are purged of all good qualities that they may enjoy every degree of depravity, he disagrees with all the others; both he and they cannot be right, and the in- dependent thinker is stimulated thereby to consider and determine for himself the reasonableness or unreason- ableness of the varied teachings.

Science has not yet given an explanation of genius. Lombroso25 speaks of "numerous men of genius who at some period of their lives were subject to halluci- nations " and exclaims: "How many great thinkers have shown themselves all their lives subject to mono- mania or hallucinations. ' ' Many of the contemporaries of Swedenborg believed him to be, if not insane, at least a monomaniac, and Lombroso concurs in this opinion, and among many others, places Loyola, George Fox, Savonarola and Luther in the same cate- gory. In the case of Swedenborg, the Madame Marte- ville and like incidents can only be explained on the supposition that Swedenborg was intromitted into the spirit world ; and the hypothesis of delusion to account for them is an assumption.

If the hypothesis of a spirit world be accepted, and it is shown that psychics are able to come into sympa- thetic relation with the inhabitants of that world, and with their accumulated knowledge, the problem of genius becomes less difficult; and we have no need to resort to the assumption that greatly gifted men and women are more or less affected with insanity. There is plausibility in Davis 's explanation of the spiritual

25. The Man of Genius.

VARIOUS MYSTICS. 91

state, and this explanation may apply to the manifes- tation of genius in every field of higher human achievement. History and biografy are rich in in- stances that would seem more adequately accounted for on the above theory than by any other known hypoth- esis. Socrates' own testimony that he was guided thru life by an inner voice connects him definitely with this solution. Joan of Arc had visions and heard voices. She had absolute faith in her spirit directors and instructors and claimed that St. Michael was her gardian and that it was under his leadership that she accomplished the delivery of her country from the English yoke. Jacob Boehme, the untaught shoemaker- philosopher, born in Lusatia in 1575, " always profest that a direct inward opening or illumination was the only source of his speculative power. He actually be- held the mysteries of which he discoursed. Nature lay unveiled before him; he was at home in the heart of things. Such was his own account of his qualifica- tion. If he failed it was in expression ; he conf est him- self a poor mouthpiece, tho he saw with a sure spiri- tual eye. ' ' 26 He experienced three illuminations, pro- gressively illuminating, the first of which lasted seven days. As with Swedenborg, the operation of the supe- rior or interior consciousness did not prevent the nor- mal functioning of his external or bodily faculties. From 1612 to his death in 1624 he wrote out what had been revealed to him, and published some thirty books treating on the profoundest problems — the origin of the universe, the nature of God and of evil — whilst his devotional writings are comparable only with those of Thomas a Kempis.

26. Ency. Brit. 9th ed.

92 INTRODUCTION.

There are numerous examples to which this expla- nation may apply. Mozart, at the age of four could play minuets; at five began composing; at the age of seven published two sonatas for piano and violincello, and at the same age gave public concerts in which he played on both the harpsichord and violin. William Blake, poet and artist, born 1757, of whom Swinburne says : " He was the single Englishman of supreme and simple poetic genius of his time," was as distinctly clairvoyant as any of the psychics mentioned herein. He beheld visions daily, and believed himself to be in frequent intercourse with the great personages of the past. We have already seen how vividly Wordsworth depicts the divine afflatus that overtook him in privi- leged moments, and noted how closely it corresponds with the Superior Condition as defined by Mr. Davis, while his entire Ode on the Intimations of Immortality is luminous with a knowledge of the spirit.

"Just as George Sand says, the very great writers, and some besides who have spoken to the point, confess to inspiration.* They rarely feel the need of a stimu- lant, for to them the exercise of the imagination is of itself an intense emotion of pleasure or pain. They rarely keep fixed times for their work, but wait for the inspired moments 'sleeping and trifling away/ in Goethe's phrase, 'all unprofitable days and hours/ The inspired moments, it is held by all, come without the slightest premonition. 'The artist/ so Balzac puts it, 'is not in the secret of his intelligence. He works under the empire of certain circumstances, the union of which is a mystery... On one day, without his

*These extracts, are taken, by permission, from "The Act of Composition," by Wilbur L. Cross, in Atlantic Monthly, May, 1906.

PHASES OP INSPIRATION. 93

knowing it, an air is stirring, and all is relaxed. For an empire, for millions. . .he could not write a line. . . Then some night in the street, some morning on rising, or in*the midst of a joyous revel, a coal of fire touches that brain . . . that tongue ; suddenly a word awakens ideas; they are born, they grow, they ferment.' The experience of Balzac's was also Ibsen's. "Writing to Bjornson from Italy back in 1865, Ibsen said that for a year or more he had not known which way to turn, for his literary work would not advance at all. 'Then one day,' to quote him exactly, 'I went into St. Peter's . . . and there all at once there dawned upon me a strong and clear form for what I had to say.' What dawned upon Ibsen on that day was the motif of the most impressive tragedy of the nineteenth century. He be- gan writing at once, both forenoon and afternoon, — which he had never before been able to do, — and within two months Brand was complete. In explaining how he was able to maintain thru five acts his uncompromis- ing attitude toward modern civilization, Ibsen said at a later date, most curiously: 'In the time when I was writing Brand I had standing on my table a scorpion in an empty beer glass. From time to time the animal fell sick ; and I used to throw down to it a bit of soft fruit, upon which it would cast itself with frenzy, and poured out its venom therein; and so it grew well again. '

"As writers have recalled some period of inspira- tion such as came to Ibsen, they have felt that there was a mysterious power working in and thru them at the time, wholly apart from their ordinary conscious- ness. Horace called the power the Deus in nobis. So did George Eliot. This great novelist was, as we all know, an agnostic. On a visit to Cambridge, she once

94 INTRODUCTION.

took the occasion to declare with terrible earnestness, as she stood there in the presence of the historic church, her disbelief in God and mortality. But when, some years later, she described how 'the creative effort af- fected her/ she could find nothing better than the old language of supernatural direction. 'She told me/ says the account by her husband, 'that in all her best writing, there was a ' ' not-herself " which took posses- sion of her, and that she felt her own personality to be merely the instrument thru which this spirit, as it were, was acting. Particularly she dwelt on this in regard to the scene in Middlemarch between Dorothea and Rosa- mond, saying that, altho she always knew they had sooner or later to come together, she kept the idea reso- lutely out of her mind until Dorothea was in Rosa- mond's drawing-room. Then, abandoning herself to the inspiration of the moment, she wrote the whole scene exactly as it stands, without alteration or erasure, in an intense state of excitement and agitation. ' . . .

. . ."So real was the presence of fate to Hawthorne that he once thought of making it the subject of a short story. When the idea came to him, he wrote out this remarkable memorandum: 'A person to be writing a tale, and to find that it shapes itself against his intentions; that the characters act otherwise than he thought ; that unforeseen events occur ; and a catas- trophe occurs that he tries in vain to avert.' As if to confirm by fact what Hawthorne only imagined, Thack- eray wrote about himself some thirty years later. After complaining that his Pegasus refuses the bit, and goes as he pleases at slow or swift pace, the humorist adds : 'I wonder, do other novel-writers experience this fatal- ism? They must go a certain way, in spite of them- selves. I have been surprized at the observations made

CHARACTERISTICS OF GENIUS. 95

by some of my characters. It seems as if an occult Power was moving the pen. The personage does or says something, and I ask, how the dickens did he come to think of that ? . . We spake anon of the inflated style of some writers. What also if there is an afflated style, — when a writer is like a Pythoness on her oracle tri- pod, and mighty words, words which he cannot help, come blowing, and bellowing, and whistling, and moan- ing thru the speaking pipes of his bodily organ?'

"When the great writers go on to describe the psychic states they are in during the process of compo- sition, we come to most interesting phenomena. To the ancients, the inspired writer was a madman; but to distinguish his state from ordinary madness, it was called 'amiable madness/ Shakespeare but repeated Horace and Plato when he spoke of 'the poet's eye in a fine frenzy rolling/ Macaulay, Balzac and Disraeli also insist on an unsoundness of mind in the poet just short of insanity. And Schopenhauer tried to deter- mine the exact line between the two states. But nearer the truth are probably more pleasing analogies. Thackeray, on finishing The Newcomes, told his chil- dren, as he was walking with them in the fields near Berne in Switzerland, that the story had all been re- vealed to him somehow, as in a dream. George Sand, when writing a novel, was under the spell of a hallu- cination, wherein a crowd of half-distinct characters hovered about her, separated from her, as it were, by a transparent veil, and speaking in thin voices. And when the novel was completed, they all vanished, leav- ing no trace behind. So apart from her ordinary self were they, that not even the names she gave them were afterward remembered. Of her first novel, she says: '! felt, on beginning Indiana, an emotion of a very

96 INTRODUCTION.

definite and intense kind, resembling nothing that I had experienced in my preceding literary work. But that emotion was rather painful than agreeable. I wrote continuously and without plan, and literally without knowing whither I was going, — even without being aware of the social problem I was elaborating.' The swords of George Sand would seem incredible, were it not for the testimony of Goethe to the uncon- sciousness of much of his own work. Some of his lyrics, Goethe told Eckerman, he carried about in his head for many years as beautiful dreams that came and went, and finally wrote them out for Schiller, who wanted them for publication. ' But others of them, ' he added, in the most extraordinary confession I have to relate, 'have been preceded by no impressions of fore- bodings, but have come suddenly upon me, and have in- sisted on being composed immediately, so that I have felt an instinctive and dreamy impulse to write them down on the spot. In such a somnambulistic condition, it has often happened that I have had a sheet of paper lying quite askew before me, and I have not discovered it till all has been written, or I have found no room to write any more. ' . . . Shakespeare may have known, as Freytag neatly explains him, that to a drama is neces- sary a rise and fall in the action, cut by a climax and leading on to a catastrophe; but he svas not thinking of that when he wrote Macbeth. He was there and elsewhere guided by an inward and unconscious logic more rigorous than any critic's formal account of it, illustrated by diagrams. 'What he thought,' said his first editors, who knew him, 'he uttered with that easiness, that we have scarce received from him a blot in the papers.'. . .So rapidly did Macaulay write, that the first draft of the History of England looks like

SPONTANEITY OF GENIUS. 97

colums of dashes and flourishes, says Trevelyan. There was only one manuscript of Gibbon 's Decline and Fall; and the same is true of Johnson's Lives of the Poets. 'I appeal,' says Shelley, 'to the greatest poets of the present day, whether it is not an error to assert that the finest passages of poetry are produced by labor and study. The toil and the delay recommended by critics can be justly interpreted to mean no more than a careful observation of the inspired moments, and an artificial connexion of the spaces between their sugges- tions, by the intertexture of conventional expressions/ " . . .Not all minds move with the unconscious logic of Shakespeare's, Gibbon's, or George Eliot 's. Eossetti, the most fastidious of writers, illustrates the point exactty. There are extant three versions of The Blessed Damozel, separated by the extremes of a quarter century. The first version was made in Rossetti 's youth, long before the period of opium and chloral. For the idea of it, he did not ' cudgel his brains/ says his brother; it came to him in the course of his read- ing in Dante. But when the poem was once written out under the sway of a clear inspiration, Rossetti spared no pains 'in clarifying and perfecting'. . .As Rossetti first published it, The Blessed Damozel is a poem of entrancing but irregular beauty ; as he finally left it, every detail has been weighed and considered with reference to every other detail, that its art may be faultless. And yet, after all that may be said in praise of the execution, The Blessed Damozel remains in all prime essentials what it was when first printed in an amateur art journal. Had not the original con- ception been a 'thing of beauty,' no superadded labor could have availed; the manuscript would have gone into the fire. One must first have the diamond before he can polish it."

98 INTRODUCTION.

It would require volumes to enumerate the men and women of genius to whom this hypothesis of di- rect inspiration might apply. It is but recently that a poet past from us whose spiritual insight and lofty ideals are only equalled by the melodious phrase in which they are clothed. The author of The Holy Grail and In Memoriam was transcendently inspired, and the following statement in his own words is suggestively significant: "Yes, it is true that there are moments when the flesh is nothing to me, when I feel and know the flesh to be the vision, God and the Spiritual the only real and true." 2T

For more than a hundred years scepticism has gradu- ally but steadily increased. It has now become wide- spread and has even invaded the church. It is hoped that the facts recorded in the foregoing biografies — prominent among which is the phenomenal production of the Arcana of Nature — may aid in the work of checking prejudice and of spreading enlightenment.

27. Alfred, Lord Tennyson: A Memoir, by his son. (Mac- Millan, 1897) P. 90.

His son also states (P. 92) : "Of all the Idylls of the King "The Holy Grail" seems to me to express most my father's highest self. Perhaps this is because I saw him, in the writing of this poem more than in the writing of any other, with that far away, rapt look on his face, which he had whenever he worked at a story that touched him greatly."

As a further example of the poet's strong spiritual percep- tions, the following is taken from a letter he wrote to a bereaved friend as quoted in his Memoir (P. 105) : "I dout whether I can bring you any solace, except indeed by stating my own belief that the son, whom you so loved, is not really what we call dead, but more actually living than when alive here. You cannot catch the voice or feel the hands, or kiss the cheek, that is all; a separation for an hour, not an eternal farewell."

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS 99

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS'S CLAIRVOYANCE

Method of quoting from books he has never seen. In the foregoing Introduction it is seen that Mr. Davis, Mr. Tuttle and Mr. Colville are able to make verbatim quotations from books which they have never seen and to which they have had no access — except thru clair- voyance or by impression. Deeming this matter of general interest, I wrote Mr. Davis after the publica- tion of the first edition, requesting some information on the subject. Following is an extract from this inquiry, together with Mr. Davis 's reply in full :

(Letter from E. Densmore to A. J. Davis) : "Your writings are very frequently embellisht with quota- tions from various authors. On Page 110 of The Seer (Vol. Ill of The Great Harmonia) is a poem quoted from George Herbert. It is delightfully appropriate and explanatory of your text and an unusually beautiful gem in itself. My inquiry is as to whether, when you used such quotations in your various works, you obtaind them from the books themselves, or whether you were enabled by the aid of your 'Superior Condition' to write them without having the books before you. Your works are replete with these quota- tions, both in prose and poetry. On Page 241, for instance, of the same work, you have made extended quotation from the writings of Dr. Hufeland. I am presuming that you did not have access to cyclopedias and libraries and that you were enabled to make the quotations from Hufeland and like cases by aid of your illumination. If you will enlighten me on this point I will feel under great obligation."

(Letter in reply to above, from A. J. Davis, Jan. 9, 1909):

"Dear Friend Densmore:

Your interesting questions I find very difficult to plainly elucidate. And why? Because it is intrinsi- cally impossible for the human mind to rise above its

100 INTRODUCTION

own comprehending attributes. Perfect self-compre- hension is therefore impossible. A fountain can send aloft its spray only as high as its inherent propulsive power can uplift the water. 'The Superior Condition' is incomprehensible to one who has lived all his life in the sphere of the ordinary and commonplace. To such a mind the Superior Condition is an imaginary mental state. Therefore, it seems impossible to eluci- date what seems absolutely impossible. But what or where is the line of least resistance between a, certainty and an impossibility? Is it not in the space, between the little known and the boundless universe of the unknown ? But what seems now to be impossible is this moment being tunneled by some intrepid engineer, and forthwith the stakes of the seemingly impossible are driven by some self-satisfied agnostic farther in the misty distance.

Grant me, my dear friend, the full benefit of the foregoing, and I will attempt to answer your puzzling interrogatories.

Hav you a few moments, in this hurry-up state of the world, to glance over Cyrus Oliver Poole's remarks in the Preface to The Thinker — otherwise Great Har- monia, Vol. V. — wherein you will find Mr. Poole's testimony that there were 'no books' in the room where I was writing ' The Pantheon of Progress.'*

*At the time this was written, Mr. Poole was a prominent citizen of Buffalo, N. Y., a man of wealth and good standing in the community. The following quotation is taken from his letter dated Buffalo, Sept. 12th, 1859 : "A little over two months ago, Mr. Davis took possession of his writing room in my house. No book was in, or has been used in, the room except Webster's dictionary. He has only been engaged in writing about four hours of each twenty-four, invariably in the early or positiv part of the day. And now, lying1 upon his table, are many hundreds of his manuscript pages, with quotations from the writings of the most ancient authors

down to the present time During this short visit, Mr.

Davis has written and prepared for publication the fifth volume of The Great Harmonia (entitled The Thinker, a work of over 400 pages).

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS 101

Now mark! In the Pantheon you will find the per- sonal history and mental productions of many of the leading deities of mankind. Also, many quotations from the sacred writings. And yet in the Cook resi- dence, which was hired by him as a summer cottage, only 20 miles from the Falls of Niagara, there were no books, save the light literature of novels and maga- zines. And yet I made many extracts from publisht volumes — all seemingly impossible. But all at once the impossible vanisht, and the certainty comes plainly to the senses.

Here I ask you to consider my experiences. I find that whenever my orbit, so to speak, intersects the orbit of any other mind, also in the line of my special investigations, the thoughts and the actual words of that mind, seem as familiar to me as are my own! So perfectly plain and so familiar are the thoughts and verbal clothing of the other mind that I can, as it were from memory, quote the very living sentences and reflections of the other personality. This experience is what I term an intersection of individual orbits. Let me further explain this experience. Suppose, for example, I am 'imprest' to investigate the world's growth in Architecture. In the early morning I begin. By special concentration (in which I am remarkably gifted) I enter upon the Superior Condition, and com- mence (by perfectly excluding every other line of human interest) to search out all tribes, races, nations, etc., who hav developt caves, cabins, huts, mounds, mansions, palaces, etc., until I arrive at the most mag- nificent structures on the face of the earth. This searching I continue morning after morning, week after week, until I am full — until I feel impregnated — enlarged in my whole body — my bosom seems swolen with the myriad germs of thought. But not with thought : with the germs of thought. When I feel thus pregnant with the movements of approaching parturi- tion, then I commence to write every morning. I seem to write from memory! Distinguisht architects, when my orbit intersects their orbits, seem like familiar, old

102 INTRODUCTION

friends; and, now and then, what they had written (their very words) I can remember and quote if they seem appropriate.

You say this does not explain the facts. True ; there are occasions (when writing) when the wise physician, Galen; or the lawgiver, Solon; or Swedenborg, the revelator; or some other exalted mind (unsolicited) yield me, by distinct impression, the aid I need at that moment; whereby errors are corrected, or some mis- take effaced from my chapters. And yet, doutless, I continually make mistakes or something equivalent, — and thus ' I live and learn. '

"Fraternally,

"A. J. DAVIS."

Dr. Davis 's plain statement speaks for itself and has the ring of truth even to those who know nothing of his integrity and sincerity. None the less is Mr. Poole's clear and positiv testimony, in the foregoing foot- note, valuable as corroboration of the circumstances attending the production of Vol. V of The Great Har- monia, known as The Thinker. Perhaps in no other work of Dr. Davis 's is manifest so copius an erudition within the compass of 'a few hundred pages ; and it is therefore fortunate to hav this independent and definit statement concerning its composition. In Part II of this volume the author gives a summary of the lives, characters and tenets of over thirty great world teachers — from Brahma, Confucius, Plato, Epi- curus, Jesus, down to Wesley, Swedenborg, Channing, Emerson — to mention a few of the most notable names — and from many of their writings verbatim quotations are made. Even on the supposition that Davis had secret access to an encyclopedia whilst writing this book, it would in no way explain how, with his almost entire lack of education, he could construct -a philo-

ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS 102A

sophical synthesis of human progress, based upon a chronological sequence of the chief religious 'and ethical influences extending from the remote past to the present age. In this work the author not only exhibits -a familiarity with the distinctiv features of each upward step of the human race, but what, in literature, is more rare, he is able to view this progression as a whole, to assign to each stage its proper value, and from this data to bild up an inspiring philosophy. I quote a characteristic passage summarizing the ideas and ideals of what Davis terms the Hannonial Philos- ophy:

It teaches by the laws of cause and effect, by clairvoyance in the thinking faculties, and by reasonings intuitiv and correspondential, that omnipresent and immutable Progress is Heaven's first law; that the so-called "imperfections" of the globe and the discords of nations will be eventually overcome by the perfect workings of our universal Father God; that immortal Truth livs and will prevail everywhere, and is the only "light" which can dispel mental darkness

and unite humanity ; That there never was and can

not be a "miracle" in the popular theological understanding of the term; that all religions, creeds, sects, theories of man, laws, institutions, and governments, are of human origin, and (to the Harmonial thinker) indicate the wants of the age and the status of the different minds in which they appeared ; that man's only infallible authority, or "rule of faith and practice," is the divine Light which ever shines in the highest faculties of his mental organization; that in proportion as man's affections become refined and his thoughts harmoni- ously exalted, so, in the same proportion, will the world be

102B INTRODUCTION

visited with holier conceptions of God, with sentiments of Brotherhood more sacred, and with contemplations of the universe more enlarged and worthy; that the conditions and experiences of the individual after death will be in accord- ance with the development of sentiments and the intellect before leaving the earth; and, lastly, that human character is the effect of causes both interior and circumstantial, is ever susceptible to ab extra influences, and will ultimately be harmonized *

*The Thinker, Vol. V., Gr. Har.

ARCANA OF NATURE;

OR,

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION.

OUR BARK IS REASON, NATURE IS OUR GUIDE.

By HUDSON TUTTLE.

BOSTON: BERRY, COLBY AND COMPANY,

"BANNER OF LIGHT" OFFICE. 1860.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by

HUDSON TUTTLE, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

STEREOTYPED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.

DEDICATION.

FOB years I have been led through the paths of science by invisible guides, who have manifested the earnest zeal of a father for a feeble and truant child. They have upheld my faltering footsteps; they have supported my weary frame, and in darkest hours thrown their sacred influence around me. Like the reader of these pages I am a student in their portico, receiving my mental food from their hands. From these invisible authors I draw the concealing veil, and to them dedicate this volume.

H. T.

WALNUT GROVE FARM, Oct. 25, 1859.

103

PREFACE.

LONG and patiently have we labored on this volume, which is now consigned to the public, although we are deeply conscious of its many imperfections.

Our purpose has been honest. We have endeavored to trace received facts to their legitimate sources, and found by their light as perfect a system as possible.

We do not present our work as a finished volume, but one as perfect as the present plane of science will admit; and every new discovery, which bears on any subject it investigates, will find a niche for its reception in future editions.

We shall profit by the criticism which it will provoke, and endeavor, at some future period, to bring it up to the high

ideal we framed when we first sat down to compose it.

105

106 PREFACE.

If the facts we have gleaned, and the theories drawn from them, afford interest or pleasure to the reader, — if thought is awakened on the mighty problem, How and Why Nature exists, — we shall feel that our task has not been wholly in vain. •

THE AUTHORS.

PLAtf.

I. To show how the universe was evolved from chaos, by established laws inherent in the constitution of matter.

II. To show how life originated on the globe, and to detail its history from its earliest dawn to the beginning of written history.

III. To show how the kingdoms, divisions, classes, and species of the living world, originated by the influence of con- ditions operating on the primordial elements.

IV. To show how man originated from the animal world, and to detail the history of his primitive state.

V. To show how mind originates, and is governed, by fixed laws.

VI. To prove man an immortal being, and that his immortal state is controlled by as immutable laws as his physical state.

CONTENTS.

PART 1.

CHAPTER I.

Page A GENERAL SURVEY OF MATTER. . . . . 113

CHAPTER II.

THE ORIGIN OF WORLDS.

Nebular Theory of the Creation of the Universe. — Geological Testimony. — Increase of Temperature. — The central Ocean of Fire. — Volcanoes sympathetically related. — Earthquakes.

— Torridity of Climate of the Ancient Eras. — Figure of the Earth and Planets. — Geography of the Moon. — Lunar Vol- canoes. — Physical Constitution of the Sun. — Rings of Saturn. — The Asteroids. — Intimate Relation between the Members of the Planetary System. — Size. — Distance. — Density. — Direction of Revolution and Rotation.— Eccen- tricity and Obliquity of Orbit. — Planetary Laws. — Comte's Calculations. — Nebulae. — Herschel's Conclusions. — Refuta- tion of the prevailing Theory. — Nebulae of Andromeda, Argo, and Orion, Change of Form in ; Distance of ; Constitution of.

— Magel lanic Clouds, Constitution of. — A Review of the Heavens, and Conclusions 134

107

108 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.

THE THEORY OF THE ORIGIN OF WORLDS.

Cometary Vapor. — Primordial Nature of Nebulous Vapor. — Origin of Comets. — Production of Planetary Zones. — Ex- periment. — Cause of Revolution and Rotation. — Form and Size of a Stellar System ; Centre of ; Motions of. — Special Design, &c 160

CHAPTER IV.

HISTORY OF THE EARTH, FROM THE GASEOUS OCEAN TO THE CAMBRIAN.

It becomes liquid. — Law of cooling Bodies. — Creation of Water.

— Deposition of the Metals. — Scenery, &c 174

PART II.

CHAPTER V.

LIFE AND ORGANIZATION.

Relations of Life to the physical World. — Impenetrability and Extension. — Elasticity. — Gravity. — Electricity. — Heat. — Light. — Affinity. — Absorption. — Capillary Attraction. — En- dosmosis. — Catalysis. — Cause of the Ascension of Sap. — Of the Circulation of Blood. — Secretion. — Respiration. — Nervous Power. — Digestion. — Creation of Life by Electric Currents. — Author's Experiments. — Conclusion 183

CHAPTER VI.

PLAN OF ORGANIC BEINGS.

Blending of all organic Beings in the Cell. — Vegetable and animal Lines of Advance. — Embryonic Growth. — Four Archetypes of Creation. — Four Types of the Vertebrata. — The Plan of Living Beings. . 199

CONTENTS. 109

CHAPTER VII.

INFLUENCE OP CONDITIONS.

Definition of Species. — Hybridization. — In the Horse. — Ox. — Sheep. — Deer. — Dog. — In Plants. — Influence of Conditions.

— Of Domestic. — Of Natural. — Design in Structure. . , 216

CHAPTER VHI.

DAWN OF LIFE.

The primitive States. — The primitive Ocean. — Dawn of Life. — Gestation of the Globe. — Difference of the great Divisions.

— Progress of Life. — Preservation of Organic Remains. — Traces of. — Mingling of the Extremes of Classes. — Perma- nency of Type. — Reproduction of 263

CHAPTER IX.

THE HISTORY OF LIFE THROUGH THE SILURIAN FORMATION.

The Age of Mollusca. — Conformity of all living Beings to one Archetype. — Silurian Life. — Sea of the. — Graptolites. — Polypes. — Corallines. — Crinoidians. — Lily Encrinite. — Mol- lusks. — Cephalopods. — Crustaceans. — Trilobites. — Nauti- lus. — Vertebrata. — Silurian Scenery 268

CHAPTER X.

THE OLD RED SANDSTONE SERIES.

Blending of the Formations. — Definition of the Term Period. — Duration of. — Disappearance of Species. — Reign of Fishes. Ganoids. — Cephalaspis. — Pterychthys. — Coccocteus. — Pla- coidians. — Devonian Scenery. — The Law of Progress. . . 278

CHAPTER XL

CARBONIFEROUS OR COAL FORMATION.

Conditions of. — Origin of the Coal. — Lepidodendron. — Stigmaria.

— Arborescent Ferns. — Calamites. — Norfolk Island Pine. — Carboniferous Scenery. — Luxuriance of Vegetation. — Islands

110 CONTENTS.

of the South Sea represent the Coal Era. — The marine Depths. — Fucoids. — Orthoceras. — Cephalopods. — Tere- bratula. — Productus. — Ammonites. — Fishes. — Ganoids. — Sharks. — Sauroids. — Terrestrial Reptiles 284

CHAPTER XII.

PERMIAN AND TRIAS PERIODS.

Changes of Conditions. — Permian Flora. — Magnesian Limestone. — Fishes. — Reptilian Fishes. — Plants. — The Sea. — Grand Convulsions, and Change of Level. — Inference and Proof. — Confirmed by the Trias. — Ideas of Perfection. — Mollusks. — Sauroids. — Petrified Sea Beaches. — Office of the Ocean. — Sand Rock of the Connecticut Valley. — Nature ever the same. — Chelonians. — Birds. — Ornithorhynchus. — Laby- rinthodon. — Saurians. — Rhinochosaurus. — Extinction of the Coal Flora. — Distribution of Plants and Animals. — Convul- sions the Exception. — Gypseous Deposits. — Salt Beds. — Scenery of the Trias 290

CHAPTER XIII.

OOLITE. — LIAS. — WEALDEN.

Llas. _ Pentacrinite. — Cuttle Fish. — Belemnite. — Sauroids. — Lepidoteus. — Port Jackson Shark. — Rays. — Marine Reptiles.

— Nothosaurus. — Ichthyosaurus. — Plesiosaurus. — Oolite Proper. — Corals. — Description of a Coral Isle. — Tere- bratula. — Insects. — Gavial. — Cetiosaurus. — Megalosaurus. Plan of Vertebral Articulation. — Pterodactyle. — The Weal- den. — Iguanodon. — Heliosaurus. — Dawn of Mammals in

the Marsupials. — The Saurian Age. — Scenery of this Era. . 307

CHAPTER XIV.

THE CRETACEOUS OR CHALK PERIOD.

A Transition Age. — Existence of Species. — Origin of the Chalk.

— Now forming. — Of Flints. — Birds like the Albatross. — The Polyphychodon. — Mososaurus. — Ichthyosaurus. . . 319

CHAPTER XV.

THE TERTIARY.

Eocene. — Miocene. — Pliocene. — Drift. — Climatic Changes. — Zones of Temperature. — Origin of Flora and Fauna. — Eo-

CONTENTS. Ill

cene Fauna. — Lophiodon. — Palaeotherium. — Rhinoceros. — Anoplotherium. — Gracilis. - - Cetaceans. — Zeuglodon. — Scenery. — Approach to the Present. — European Fauna. — Mastodon. — Mammoth. — Dinotherium, &c. — Indian Fauna.— Sivatherium, &c. — South American Fauna. — Gigantic Sloths — Megatherium. — Mastodon. — Glyptodon, &c. — Theory of Drift. — Causes of. — Now forming. . . . .... 322

CHAPTER XVI.

A CHAPTER OF INFERENCES. ..';.-. . . . •'•* .331

CHAPTER XVII.

ORIGIN OF MAN.

Embryonic Growth of. — His Relations to the Animal World. — From whence derived. — A Savage. — Human Fossils. — Their Testimony. — Caucasian Civilization. — Its Origin. — Dissem- inated from the Highlands of Asia. — Earlier Period still. — Number and Origin of Races. — Primitive History of. . . 338

PART III.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE HUMAN BRAIN. Comparative Anatomy. — Embryonic Growth of the Brain. . . 361

CHAPTER XIX.

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN AND NERV- OUS SYSTEM, STUDIED WITH REFERENCE TO THE ORIGIN OF THOUGHT. .'. 373

CHAPTER XX.

THE SOURCE OF THOUGHT STUDIED FROM A PHILOSOPHI- CAL STAND-POINT. ....,,,,, ,393

112 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXL

RETROSPECT OF THE THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT, AS HEREIN ADVANCED. — CONCLUSIONS. — FACTS FOL- LOWED FROM THEIR SOURCE TO THEIR LEGITIMATE RESULTS.' . 400

CHART OF THE PROGRESS OF LIFE.

THE

ARCANA OF NATURE

PART I.

CHAPTER I. A GENERAL SURVEY OF MATTER.

1. WE are placed in the midst of a blooming crea- tion, surrounded by constantly changing scenes and phenomena, exciting our admiration by loveliness, or awe by their sublimity. Within and without, wherever the mind turns, it meets the stern play of mysterious forces. We know creation exists, and that we are its components; that is all the child or the savage, who stands on the plane of observation, can compre- hend. The why and the wherefore are veiled from our ken, and we know not how, or by whom, the mighty fabric, creation, was set in motion. The scaf- folding has been removed, and the manner in which the edifice was constructed obscured. The creation of to-day covers up that of yesterday, from which it was born.

2. It is not strange that man in his savage state should gaze with mingling adoration and awe on the mutations around him. He was, and is, the represen- tative of the childhood of the race. His mind has the

8 113

114 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

child 's understanding; his reflection is shallow, his ob- servation superficial. Not able to deduce laws, and trace effect to its cause, he believes that invisible beings control the elements; that their being good and evil exposes him to the whirlwind and tornado, as well as gives him the sunshine and the harvest. He supposes that he can change their purposes by prayer; and hence arise his theological and religious ideas. As these dogmas advance, the multitudinous array of spirits become concentrated in a good and an evil Deity, to whom the act of creation and its mainte- nance are referred.

3. Such is the theological age of mankind. It views God as the Author of nature, standing outside of, and independent of, his works, and acting on mat- ter as a mechanic, moulding and fashioning as pleases his despotic fancy. It is a sad belief which places us in the hands of an unaccountable master — mere toys to dance to this tyrannic will. Yet the greater portion of mankind prefer the stagnation of thought it en- genders, to the restless research produced by its denial. It is far more quieting to settle all questions as to the origin of nature by reference to a personal God, than to enter the unsettled realm of philosophical specula- tion; yet the transition has been made, and intelli- gent minds have been thrown into the middle of the vexed ocean of observation and hypothesis. The world is casting off its chrysalis shell, and with it its theological state, and breathes a more philosophical atmosphere. Between the two conditions war contin- ually prevails. To those who still remain in the at- mosphere of theology, no amount of evidence nor force of logic can prevail. Their armor is metallic self- complacency, impervious to light. For ages the battle

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 115

has been waged on the metaphysical plane with uncer- tain success; for where words are substituted for ideas, as in that of metaphysics, which is the out- growth of theology, complete, exterminating victory is impossible.

4. The champion* of theology against scientific views, at the present time, boasts of the successful issue of the battles wherein metaphysics have been the arena, and boastfully invites his opponents to the arena of what he calls science! True, science has been so little understood, and nature so wrongly inter- preted, that its facts could not previously be success- fully arrayed against the prejudices of the biassed mind. But every day has brought new light, and forced the conviction that the last battle was soon to be fought on strictly scientific grounds. Theology has been constantly frightened by the revelations of nature. When Galileo contradicted its assertion that the world was flat and the centre of the system, its throne seemed ready to crumble, and each new devel- opment of mind has battered it with unparried blows.

5. Slowly the light has dawned, and men of unfet- tered minds now feel that the true philosopher must not be guided in his interpretations of nature by any theory or bias of others. But as a little child, free from prejudice, he must walk out into the fields of causation, and observe and theorize for himself. What has been said, what written, before his day, should appeal to his judgment ; if true, it should be received ;

* Hugh Miller, who wages the battle through three volumes — Footprints of the Creator, Old Red Sandstone, and Testimony of the Rocks, through all of which he has been much more ready with ridi- cule and polemics than facts, much more ready to misconstrue and misunderstand, and to compel a verdict in his favor than to arrive at the truth.

116 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

if not, be cast away as worthless trash, no matter if it bears the signet of a God. We well know that in nature there are no interpolations or misinterpretations. It comes to us fresh and new, unsoiled by the hands of selfishness or deception. If we read aright from its pages, and it clearly contradicts any pretended rev- elation, we are assured that such revelation is an im- posture, no matter if descended from immemorial time, and half the world bow to its dictation.

Nature interpreted liy Reason is the ultimate test of all truth; correct observation the avenue to the mys- teries of causation. Such is the philosophical code.

6. Now the philosopher has stepped upon this planet, every thing, nursed and petted in the past as truth, is severely scrutinized. He has the mental cru- cible which digests solar systems, and extracts the pure metal from the dross. He calls unprejudiced observation to his aid, and by it unlocks the gates of mystery. First he observes the regularity of phe- nomena, which tells him there is no chance; that like causes produce like effects, yesterday, to-day, and for- ever. All idea of chance is utterly excluded. There is an observed order never disturbed; organic and in- organic matter is ruled by an undeviating method. That method he terms law, because it is similar in its tendency to artificial enactments. Still no force or power is expressed; the modus operandi is con- cealed; he is baffled in this direction by the porten- tous sentence, "Thus far, and no farther. " Turning, he inquires, What is matter? Was it ever created, or is it eternal ? What is its constitution ? After survey- ing the entire field, he reasons thus: Matter is eternal, as far as a finite mind can conceive. This is an axiom lying at the very foundation of nature. It is to him

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 117

self-evident. In opposition to this view, the theologian brings the creative fiat of God. But what does he assume? The self -existence of God! How can he answer the pertinent question, Whence came the Om- nipotent Being who could create the universe from nothing? The mystery said to involve the God-head has little weight against the demonstrations of science. To the calm mind it is vastly more rational and probable that the universe, with all its suns and worlds teeming with living beings, is the result of blind, fortuitous chance, than the creation of a Being capable of creating it by an effort of his will; for it is axio- matic that it is easier to create the lesser than the greater.

7. Beneath all the ceaseless changes, and the state of unrest, there is that which never changes. The fundamental constitution of matter remains eternal. Subjected to the intensest heat, the most powerful re-agents, the most corrosive compounds, its form changes; it may become gaseous, liquid, or solid; it may unite in new combinations, and acquire prop- erties it did not previously possess; yet it is never de- stroyed ; it has only changed states, and can be brought back by re-agents to nearly its original form. On this principle is founded the splendid compensations which chain together the kingdoms of nature. In the great laboratory of nature the process of renovation, of birth, death, and resurrection, is constantly going on, but there is no annihilation. The assumption of the latter is uncalled for, and whenever entertained be- comes a shadowy dogmatism. Science is brought to light by observation. Generalizations are based on facts. There are facts to warrant the conclusion pre- viously stated. When we admit that a single atom

118 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

has been, or can be, created or destroyed, at any past or future time, by any means whatever, at that mo- ment the basis on which reason rests is destroyed, and we wander in a boundless ocean of theological speculation, involved in Egyptian night, without pro- tection against the wildest and most fanatical system of world-building. By what evidence can it be proved that matter ever has been created, or can be destroyed? Here, on the threshold of our investiga- tions, all the countless systems of cosmology, bearing presumptuous titles to their embodied ignorance, all metaphysical subtilty and theological cant, must alike be discarded. We must have calm, clear data, fresh from the realm of nature.

8. The denned order observed is termed law. If laws are traced upwards, we find they unite in prin- ciples. Farther on still, principles become attributes, which are the primoidal elements of force, beyond which it is impossible at present to reach. In this series we arise by gradations: several facts define a truth; several truths become a law; several laws a principle; several principles determine an attribute.

9. The eternity of matter depends on the eternity of its attributes. There is no reason why these attri- butes should be separated from their object, and termed spirit, as has always been done. On the contrary, there are emphatic reasons why they should be studied in combination, as only by so doing are mental and physical sciences harmoniously united. How can we imagine a tangible existence without impenetrability and extension? It at once becomes evident that these are necessary conditions, as a thing occupying no space, having neither breadth nor thickness, is nothing. What idea could be formed of it, if it had not weight,

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 119

and was unsusceptible of motion? When we say mat- ter, we mean also its properties; for common sense, in opposition to theories, intuitively knows that there can be no separation between them.

10. Unlike the old philosophers who considered matter dead, and only moving when acted on by ex- ternal forces, we infer from observation that motion is its inseparable constituent or companion. Through- out the labyrinth of creation there is no rest ; all matter is in motion. It is superficial observation which teaches that matter never moves unless acted on. The ship is propelled by the winds, the engine by steam, and so on through the endless manifestations of force. Hence philosophers have concluded that matter pos- sesses an inherent resistance to motion, which they have called inertia. Superficially considered, bodies do offer resistance to forces tending to move them ; but what is the character of that resistance? Friction is always strongly opposed to motion; always present to chain objects to their present locality. The rock, which rears its gray head on the mountain, has remained without perceptible change for ages, gravity and the opposition of the soil around it preventing it from perceptibly moving ; and until these are overcome, it is chained there. It is not an inherent resistance of the rock itself, but of the forces which are exerted on it. Although apparently motionless, it has been in per- petual circulation. Time after time it has rolled around with the world, oscillated around the sun ; and ceaseless change and motion have gone on in the in- ternal arrangement of its particles through all time. "When we see the great world flying through space, rotating on its axis, and revolving around the sun, im- pelled, as by an omnipotent breath, wafting onward

120 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

whole fleets of stars, as eddying waters, we see matter has inherent motion. Here no resistance from other forces is offered, and matter is free to obey its strong- est impulse. But the moss-grown rock, does it per- form a function in these gyrations, or is it a passive object, acted on by a mysterious power? Motion be- longs to the atom. The world is but an aggregation of atoms, and as its motions are just what those of a single atom placed in its orbit would be, each atom must be its own motor, and the combined influence of all is the influence of the earth. The power which wafts suns and worlds on their orbits must reside in themselves. Mathematical and inductive reasoning demonstrates this supposition. The agency of an Al- mighty Being constantly propelling them, does not meet the demands of science. A force imparted to the planetary systems at the beginning, without being constantly replenished, would at length become ex- pended in overcoming the resisting medium existing in space. That motion innate in matter possesses the simplicity which nature demands, and we can trace its operation down from the great suns wafted on its wings, to the crystallization of a solid from solution, and the infinite movements of the living organiza- tion. Motion is ever the same, directed in different channels and fulfilling different missions, nevertheless the same, whether aggregating the particles of salt in a cubic crystal, or binding with iron bands world to world, and sun to sun, in the grand network of solar and stellar systems.

11. Life is born of motion. It is first traceable in the mutual attraction between atoms in solution arranging them in definite forms; in affinity, the at- traction and repulsion of particles. It, perhaps, may

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 121

appear startling that the forces which create the crystal are living forces ; but the data are many which support such a conclusion. In the lower order of animals, where life nearest approaches the mineral, the form and skeleton of the animal conform to the laws of crystalline growth, as the plates of the sea urchin, the rays of the asteria, and the calcareous framework of the coral ; and even in the higher mammalia the bones always are crystalline, being formed of elongated crys- tals which grow in their cartilaginous beds precisely as they would in a solution. The petrifaction of wood differs not materially from the growth of bone.

12. The mysterious process of absorption in the plant or animal does not differ in the least from ab- sorption in the mineral. The same force which takes up a fluid through walls of animal membrane, causes chalk and other porous minerals to absorb a fluid, or a capillary tube to lift it higher than its level.

13. The process of secretion, though intricate in character, can be imitated with mineral walls instead of living tissue. These facts may be regarded as faint proofs, but it cannot be denied that they furnish the clew — the footprints to the law binding the organic to the inorganic. Life of necessity depends on the mineral. It is breathed forth and sustained by it.

14. Admit that God, by a special act of creation, formed man out of the dust ; then it must be received as a correct deduction that matter has the capability of becoming a living being. Then it must possess an inherent principle of life, the development of which is seen in every living organism. Creation is con- stantly going on around us, and we see comparatively inert matter awake from sleep to whirl in the restless activity of sentient organisms. But there is no neces-

122 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

sity of calling to our aid an external force. We see that it possesses the living forces. When placed in the proper circumstances, its before dormant powers awake under the new order, and the so-called inert matter becomes what is termed living matter. Life is not necessarily sentient. The lowest animal cannot be distinguished from the lowest plant, and the lowest plant grows, as a crystal enlarges in solution, by the elongation of a central axis. But this plant lives, and its life is the same as that of the ox, the deer, or of man. The plant is simply an animal without a nerv- ous system, and consequently devoid of feeling. All the functions of the animal, except that of the nervous system, are strictly vegetative ; secretion and excretion, absorption and assimilation, are identical. Some phi- losophers claim, that an impassable chasm exists be- tween the organic and inorganic worlds; but where is it to be found? If life in its general aspect is but the mutual interchange of relations,* then matter itself must be admitted as living. Has it not motion in the terrific winds, which lash the heaving billows of the ocean, and in wild magnificence stalk onward amid ruin and desolation? Has it not its sympathies and antipathies in the relations existing between the ele- ments of the chemist? Has it not its attractions in the world atoms it sends on their mighty orbits ? With what anxiety we watch the agitated needle as it trembles beneath the concussions of the northern lights ! And how astonished are we at the play of contending electric and magnetic forces between bodies differently charged! Assuredly if this is not life, it has all the appearance of being. Life is individualization, and

* JfeJarth and Man, Guyot, p. 23.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 123

when the crystal forms from solution after a definite model, is it not an attempt at individuali- zation? Is it not the first step towards an organized being?

15. If there is not life in matter, from whence is it derived ? How is the inorganic material rendered capa- ble of supporting the living being ? These are questions which must be met, if the popular idea is sustained. But they cannot be satisfactorily answered. There is the universal life of creation visible in the heaving bosom of the ebbing sea, the flow of the majestic river, the activity of the silent forces which support on their Atlas shoulders this globe of ours; that scintillates in the stars as it rolls them on their vast revolutions ; that pulsates in the waves of light and heat, and sends the vibrating magnetic current on its swift pathway. An all-pervading life is seen in the wild storm, with its brow begirt with the red lightnings, and its hoarse voice of thunder; in all the ceaseless changes of the inorganic world. If this universal life is concentrated and unitized, a living organism is the result. If we rightly study the origin of life in its vegetable or ani- mal forms, we must begin at its dawn in the low- est living beings, and observe its affinities. The lowest form of life is a simple mass of jelly floating in the waves of the sea, devoid of all organs whatever, devoid almost of structure, being little more than a mass of crystalline cells. It is closely, very closely, allied to the mineral, and is so simple in its structure, as seemingly to be propagated without parentage, simply by spon- taneous development.

16. Such is the first specialization of universal life above the crystal. There is no impassable chasm to be passed by one leap, but the smoothest transition, and

124 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

without scarcely any change in the governing laws. The principles of crystallization still remain, and the cellular mass is but a higher order of crystallization.

17. We would now view this subject from another standpoint. All specialized life begins with the CELL. The CELL is the basis of the plant and of the animal. All tissues are cellular, and tissue is the material of which the animal is constructed. The leaf is the basis of the plant, and the cell of the leaf. The microscope has proved this splendid generalization. The neces- sary inference from this is, that the simplest, or pri- moidal form of life should be a simple cell, or mass of cells ; and on an examination of the secret chambers of the great deep, this proves true. There we find the first specialization of life as a simple cell, a nitroge- nous bag, filled with an aqueous fluid, so feeble the forces which hold it together that it dissolves at a touch, and it can only be distinguished from the water in which it floats by the strongest light. Is it not closely allied to the mineral? Is it not an important step in this investigation to prove that special life can be supported by a simple nitrogenous sack, wholly mineral, filled with fluid?

18. But it may be claimed that life is more closely related to the imponderable agents, light, heat, and electricity, than the mineral. True, but are not these agents material? Have they not their laws? And though we admit that they are pulsations in an ethe- real medium, their basis is material. But for a mo- ment admitting that they are not, of what avail is it to the argument? Do not the same forces prevail throughout the whole extent of nature? All the ob- servable difference is their greater intensity in their specialized form. If in this great pyramid the apex of

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 125

individualized life pierces the higher realm of greater laws, does that cut it off from its foundation, or sep- arate it by an impassable chasm? Not in the least; but it beautifully illustrates the perfect unity which pervades the works of nature.

19. We have seen life around us in the organic world, and we know, that should all living forms be taken from our earth, it would not wheel along its orbit dead and inert matter, but would be all alive, as at present, with the unrest of the stern elements. It was the same in the primal ages, when the bald earth turned towards the sun its bleak and rugged islands, floating in an almost universal ocean, over which the black clouds of storm and whirlwind constantly low- ered, and not a living form sported in the waves ; even then, life manifested its power, and like a great intel- ligence, labored in perfecting the rude and imperfect world.

Life, then, is the specialization of the living princi- ples of matter.

20. Thus far we have considered life in its general aspect, common alike to all forms of matter: now we will trace it upwards, and observe the gradations by which it arises to its specialized forms. Its specializa- tion was produced by the mutual attraction of affini- tizing particles. As each crystal in a solution of sev- eral salts draws to itself only those particles which will unite with itself, so each tree and animal only uses such portions of its food as are adapted to the demands of its nature, and casts the remainder aside. A moment's investigation will convince the reflecting mind that this conclusion is true. What one being rejects as poisonous to its constitution, another assimilates as most nourishing food. The deadly nightshade twines

126 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

its roots among those of the farinaceous corn, drinks its food from the same soil, is moistened by the same drops of rain; yet one is poisonous in every vein, while the other is nutrient in the same degree. Why is this, unless the mutual attraction of affinitizing par- ticles be admitted?

21. If a solution of sulphate of soda and common salt be made, crystals will be deposited, but they will observe a defined order. On one projecting point of the enclosing vessel an atom of salt will be thrown down, on another an atom of the sulphate. Each of these will attract such particles only as will unite with itself, while it rejects the others. Thus two widely distinct substances will grow out of the mixed solution, each as pure as if formed from a pure solution of its own.

The nightshade and corn grow in a similar manner, each assimilating those particles adapted to its own constitution, and rejecting those which would be in- jurious. We shall, in a subsequent volume, find the same holding good in the domain of mind, each mind assimilating food which corresponds with its development.

22. The plant is destitute of a nervous system, and consequently cannot feel. The same is true, or nearly so, of the lowest animals, or rather beings in which animal and vegetable unite. The animal, as it arises from the primoidal cell, where animal and vegetable are confounded, acquires a nervous system, and by its agency the new faculty of sensation. In a future sec- tion the relations of sensation to nervous development will be fully discussed: here we will assume positions to be proved hereafter.

23. The development of the nervous system, and its concentration in the brain, produces specialized intel-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 127

Hgence. Here we must not confound universal and special intelligence. One is adapted to the wants of the individual, the other to the universe ; and although a parallel may be observed between them, the same term should not be used to express so widely remote objects. In nature we observe an order of action — law — a precision and appropriateness, which forces on the superficial observer the conviction of the exist- ence of an omnipotent, independent Being, working on inert matter by the force of his despotic will. We have seen how the savage personifies the cause of such phenomena, and worships the creature of his fancy, which is a principle, or at most an attribute.

24. It is supposed that the presence of such a being is seen in the beautiful order of the planets, as they move harmoniously in their orbits — in their rounded form, and the order of their arrangement. The pres- ence of principles is seen. Is there any thing more? Why does the dew-drop, trembling on the petals of the flower, always become a globe? Is it because its atoms strive to approach the centre, and produce an equilibrium, which state can only be found in a per- fect sphere? or does it require a special act of Deity to round every drop? The same principles which round the dew-drop round the great world. One effect requires as much interference as the other. If such principles be granted to matter, then the rounding of globes from matter left to itself does not show in dependent intelligence. The same force which causes the stone to fall to the ground, chains the moon in its orbit; and if the agency of an independent being is required for the latter, it must be employed wherever a particle falls.

25. What is this intelligence? It is the perfect

128 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

adaptation of cause to effect. It is seen in every flower that blushes by the wayside stream; in waving harvests and forest trees ; in suns and planets, and the activity of life. The same force which unites an acid and an alkali separates the materials of the world in the gaseous ocean of the beginning; binds its strata, its oceans, rivers, lakes, and mountains together; fixes with certainty the size, distance, and period of revolu- tion of the planets, and the complicated order of the universe. We call it an intelligent force, because such relations of cause and effect present an analogy to the operations of an intelligent being; but this is only superficial and apparent. The phenomena of nature which we refer to intelligence are not to be compared to the operations of the human mind. The two are decidedly different, and only resemble each other in the harmony each induces between causes and effects. The use of the term intelligence, as applied to nature, leads to confused and erroneous views, and could another word be substituted, less ambiguity would pre- vail in this disputed realm.

26. A survey of the grand history of creation deeply impresses the progression of nature on the mind of the student. Nature has progressed from age to age; each great epoch bears witness to this fact. Why is it so? Why did not the creation of to- day follow the turbulent strife of the igneous ages? Was it not because the crude form of the elements forbade? They were only capable of supporting the lowest forms, and only the lowest were produced. In the analogy to-day presented by the soil of granitic mountains, lichens and moss first appear; and not till they have grown for a time, unless organic matter be introduced, can higher organized plants grow. Pot-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 129

ash obtained from wood ashes adds greatly to the fer- tility of such soils, after they become capable of sup- porting vegetation, although it is saturated with pot- ash from granite. Chemists say that potash from granite rock and from wood ashes is identical; the plant says emphatically it is not. It becomes dwarfed and refuses one, it luxuriates when supplied with the other. Phosphate of lime obtained from bones is among the most stimulating fertilizers known; but phosphate of lime obtained from the lower rocks is worthless. Chemistry declares the element the same, whether obtained from bones or from stone; the plant makes a closer analysis.

27. Here we see an actual refinement in elementary matter, inappreciable to the rough tests of chemistry, it is true, but detected by the sensitive rootlets of the plant. Here are facts which unlock the great mystery of progression from age to age. It reaches beyond effects, down to the constitution of matter. Each era was as perfect as the then existing plane of refine- ment of matter would allow.

Chemistry says there are sixty-four primary ele- ments; this chemistry teaches the infinite gradation of elements; or, accepting the popular method of speaking, the number of elements is infinite. There is infinite variety. The potash that has passed through the organization of the plant is not the same potash that existed in the mineral. It has a higher form. It can now nourish animal life, which it could not do before. The phosphate of lime in the bones of the animal is not that of the mineral. Both potash and lime are now capable of intensifying vegetation; i. e., supporting higher forms.

28. The same elements nourish the animal as the

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plant; but the plant drinks up mineral elements, the animal cannot. Hence the plant is the laboratory where the crude elements are refined for the produc- tion and support of higher forms of life. The same element, or what is so considered, changes its form by each assimilation ; and hence the infinite variety in the form and properties of matter, elements being but stages of progress, between which there is ia continu- ous series of steps.

29. As change is limitless, progression is infinite. Infinite progress and the infinite divisibility of mat- ter presuppose each other. If there are limits to the divisibility of matter, their progress, whenever it at- tains the ultimate, bounded by this organic limit, must cease, and nature fall into eternal stagnation. If, as we have attempted to prove, infinite progress is a law of nature, we must, according to the present system of philosophy, seek the cause of this progress in the infinite diversity and divisibility of matter.

30. The unlimited diffusion of musk, the minuteness and perfectness of nutrient fluids in the microscopic infusoria, the impalpability of odors of all kinds, have been catalogued as proving the infinite divisibility of matter; but these sink into insignificance when com- pared with the so-called imponderable elements, which by their ethereality refuse the test of the scales, and only indicate their presence by their effects. The sub- tile elements, heat, light, electricity, and magnetism, incomprehensible as they appear, are exceeded by the still more sublimated elements of spirit and of thought. But of this in another place.

31. The eternal mutation of the elementary constit- uents of matter produces infinite variety, so that not an atom in nature is like another. All are different.

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This is beautifully illustrated by the prism. A ray of light passing through it, is divided into a rainbow of colors. If the particles composing each color were identical they would all concentrate in a distinct band ; on the contrary, although concentrated in a band by itself, scattered particles are spread over the whole spectrum. Each color is differently constituted from the others, and each component particle is different from all the others. If it were not so, no scattered rays would be found. Thus infinite variety, eternal permutation, is the order of creation.

32. This outline will be filled when we extend the subjects of which it treats, and apply to facts the prin- ciples here discussed.

33. Nothing more strongly impresses us than the necessity which drives cause to its effect. Effects are produced by absolute necessity, and cannot be other- wise under given conditions. There is an iron neces- sity, unyielding, inflexible, and unheeding prayer or intercession. It sinks the ship though freighted with saints. It turns not aside for an archangel. Fire will burn a saint as well as a demon. Who can see the storm march on with resistless fury, unheeding the prayers of those it crushes, the mad ocean dash over the foundering bark, or the oscillations of the stellar heavens, without becoming deeply impressed with the imperative necessity which governs nature? We can- not stay our breath, assuage the storm, calm the ocean, control our birth or death, or violate the least estab- lished order. It is the same to fire whether it burns living or dead matter — the wood in our grates, or our dwellings. It is the same to gravity whether it brings the apple to the ground, chains the planet in its orbit, or drags us from the brink of the precipice to destruc-

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tion. Well was it spoken long ago, that nature could be governed only by obeying her laws. Think of it as we will, we are hedged in on every side by impera- tive necessity. The worm which crawls along the pathway, the world rolling in its orbit, man grasping at the solution of mysteries, every thing, organic and inorganic, is driven on by destiny. There is no rev- ocation or suspension of the denned order. It is the property of steam to explode, of fire to burn; and these never vary. We seek to understand these con- ditions and properties, and are happy only as far as we conform to them.

34. We would not array this course of reasoning against the existence of a God. We have not, nor shall not, enter the domain of theology. That whole province is left to the theologian, who may prove the existence of such a God if he chooses, and show how these attributes are but efforts of his will. We are in the field of philosophy, and are justified only in going so far as our observations lead us. We have laid aside educational prejudice as far as possible, and sought to trace facts to their causes. In the strict ob- servance of this principle we cannot go farther than the attributes of matter, until new light is shed on the pages of nature. But if the theologian, pursuing another path of inquiry, meet us at this point, then the system of creation is complete, and we cordially grasp hands as brothers in the study of divinity.

35. We have arisen by successive steps from the first manifestation of life, in the attraction of atoms through the cell, to sensation and intelligence. We do not bring assumptions of the metaphysicians to our aid; we rest on the observation of nature alone, far above cant and the idle play of words.

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36. It is admitted that the physical world is gov- erned by fixed and immutable law. We shall en- deavor to prove the same true, not only of the world of life, but of mind. The operations of law in the two last provinces are obscure, and hence their phenom- ena have been referred to the direct action of Deity; for men had rather refer an effect they do not under- stand to miracle than to confess their ignorance. But slowly the domain of chance and mystery has been narrowed, until small indeed is its area ; and there is hopeful promise that it will become absorbed in the sunny land of science, and not a corner of creation left for the goblins, Chance and Miracle, to hide their wretched forms.

37. We assume what we shall henceforth endeavor to prove: that every cause pursues an established path to its effect ; i. e., every phenomenon is produced by established law. We may be ignorant of the modus operandi it pursues; it may appear mysterious; yet we are assured law is in operation, however veiled. In the philosophical study of nature we must adhere strictly to facts and their deductions, nor be drawn aside by educational prejudice, or received religious ideas, nor be frightened from conclusions by conse- quences. We must reason from the data before us with boldness and decision. In so doing we make a sure advance in knowledge, for every step taken in the right direction gives us a more comprehensive view of nature, and draws us nearer to the Infinite Mind.

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CHAPTER II. THE ORIGIN OF WORLDS.

Nebular Theory of the Creation of the Universe. — Geological Testi- mony. — Increase of Temperature. — The central Ocean of Fire. — Volcanoes sympathetically related. — Earthquakes. — Torridity of Climate of the ancient Eras. — Figure of the Earth and Planets. — Geography of the Moon. — Lunar Volcanoes. — Physical Consti- tution of the Sun. — Rings of Saturn. — The Asteroids. — Intimate Relation between the Members of the Planetary System. — Size. — Distance. — Density. — Direction of Revolution and Rotation. — Ec- centricity and Obliquity of Orbit. — Planetary Laws. — Comte's Calculations. — Nebulae. — Herschel's Conclusions. — Refutation of the prevailing Theory. — Nebulae of Andromeda, Argo, and, Orion, Change of Form in ; Distance of ; Constitution of. — Magellanic Clouds, Constitution of. — A Review of the Heavens, and Conclusions.

38. IF we commence an excavation on a level plain, we shall, as we descend, cut through various layers of clay, sand, and gravel reposing horizontally one above the other. If it is a plain bordering a river, for the first hundred feet or more, we shall find these strata of alluvial formation referable to floods which have occurred during long centuries, each having thrown down a deposit of clay, mud, or sand, borne from the distant sources of its tributaries.

39. After descending through these recent deposits, containing remains of existing plants and animals, such as flourish on the river borders, we meet with older strata, containing forms with which we are totally unacquainted. As we continue to descend, we meet with more unique forms, and these in rapidly dimin- ishing numbers until we come down to the primi- tive slates, gneiss, and quartz, when 'all vestiges of life fade out.

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Lastly, after penetrating through these, all of which present unmistakable evidence of having been deposited from water, we meet with the granite, show- ing absolute proofs of having resulted from igneous causes. Though the various superincumbent strata differ widely in character in different localities, the granite invariably underlies them. It is the founda- tion on which all the other formations repose; it is the framework of the globe; it is not only the uni- versal subjacent rock, but, on careful inspection, it is found to be the common parent of all others, how- ever widely they differ from it in their various char- acteristics.

40. The primitive fires have written its history in its composition and crystallization too clearly to be mistaken — spread all around the world; torn and dis- torted, overlapping the more recent strata; thrown into lofty mountain ridges, cresting the Andes and Himalayas, by the terrific grandeur of the scenes it produces, it ever speaks of its fiery birth.

What lies beneath the granite? In this investiga- tion we have found the same conditions as are ob- served in a partially cooled lava-tide. As we descend, the temperature constantly and rapidly increases. This remarkable fact has been long observed, and has been a perplexing problem in science. The increase varies with locality, as the underlying rock is a better or worse conductor, from thirty to over one hundred feet for a degree. The mean of all observations is about fifty-four and one-half feet for a degree.

41. If this increase is constant, as stated by some authors, it is a problem reduced to numerical cer- tainty that at a depth of less than fifty miles the most refractory substances must become fluid. Even

136 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

if Reiehe's determination of one degree for every seventy-six and three tenths feet be accepted, or, more liberal still, one hundred feet for a degree, the thick- ness of the crust above the melting point of rock is but slightly increased.

42. This increase of heat cannot be constant. Wherever rocks or earth are of like character for transmitting heat, it is certain that the greatest escape of heat must be at the surface of the earth, especially if the surface is covered with water. If forty feet at the surface of the earth increases the heat one degree, it will require more than forty feet to produce another degree. The ratio will increase until the central lava is reached: experiment on a small scale will prove this position. If a quantity of iron rods are bound together, and one end of these rods is placed in a furnace, and the other end in water, it will be seen that the heat will escape much the fastest from the ends that connect with water than at the ends con- nected with the furnace, and that the increase of heat will be less, in proportion to the distance, as it ap- proaches the furnace. If iron is thus affected, all other substances must be in a similar manner. This proves the earth's crust to be much thicker than has been generally calculated. The thickness of the earth's crust is unquestionably very uneven. In some places it may be two hundred miles, in others, espe- cially along the range of volcanic action, it may not be ten miles. The average thickness may be nearly one hundred and fifty miles. The very different re- sults obtained of the increase of heat, as a given depth is reached, is owing to the different substances hav- ing different powers of transmitting heat, or the in- ternal lava being at a greater or less distance from the surface.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 137

43. Is this crust the result of a cooling process con- tinued through decades of millions of years, and was the earth originally a globe of lava? What evidences have we in answer to the assertion that such is the truth? The records of geology tell a plain tale. They could relate vastly more were the earth quarried. The form of the globe is that which it must be of necessity were it originally a fluid mass rotating in space with its present velocity. Its spheroidicity holds a direct ratio to the rapidity of its rotation — a relation which is inexplicable, unless its rotation determined the polar contraction, which it could not do unless the earth was fluid.

44. If the centre of the globe yet remains fluid, as the increase of heat as we descend proves, and this ocean of fire is enclosed by a thin crust, some indi- cation of this internal state must be exhibited on the surface, as the crust contracts by cooling. Volcanoes are such manifestations. They are passage-ways to this deep-seated fiery sea. That they do not arise from local causes is certain from the fact that the volume of lava thrown out often exceeds several times the mass of the entire mountain. It has long been known that the power of volcanoes, wherever it may be located, is deeply seated, for a sympathy exists between widely-separated vents. Theories world- wide have been framed on stupid and ignorant assertions made by hobby-riding philosophers, and received as truth by learned societies because supported by such men. The theories of subterranean rivers and lakes of fire of small extent, the action of the alkaline bases, and the energy of electric currents, stand on a par with the thousand other erratic wan- derings of befogged reason guided by diseased fancy.

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Universal effects cannot be accounted for by local causes.

45. The situation of volcanic vents along great fissural lines, as on the crusts of mountain chains where great distortions of the strata have occurred, is a strong indication of their deep-seated origin.

46. The chain of the Andes, stretching from the Polar Sea along the western shore of the Americas, in a series of magnificent crests, and ending in the terrific fires that illumine the frozen shores of the ant- arctic continent, is the external manifestation of a great fissure which extends down to the realms of internal fire. If the theory of internal heat were true, along such a fissure volcanoes should be situated; but if not, then we should not oftener find them there than isolated on the plain, for all these mountain chains running in the same direction are of the same age, although situated in different hemispheres — a fact illy conforming to the idea of local causes.

47. Active volcanoes are generally situated near the sea — a fact which strongly supports the theory of internal fire; for there, where the land is constantly removed from the coast line, and carried away by the ocean, the established equilibrium of the pressure of the crust on the subjacent lava is disturbed, and along the line of such disturbance volcanoes and earth- quakes would be expected. Thus the inexplicable phe- nomenon becomes a link in the chain of evidence here brought together.

48. The same great waves which produced the fis- sural lines determined the form of continents, thus again showing the sympathetic relations existing be- tween remote effects.

49. The conclusions derived from induction are

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confirmed by observation. Along the entire range of the Rocky Mountains the remains of extinct vol- canoes are plainly visible. They are now silent, like those of Auvergne in France; but they are, perhaps, reposing for renewed efforts. In the Cordilleras and Sierras active vents are met with. Popocatapetl, Casiguino, and others, together with the entire length of the Andes chain, are but a series of volcanic ac- tivity. The four great Mexican volcanoes, Colima, Jorullo, Popocatapetl, and Orizaba are on the same fissural line. Jorullo, when it broke forth in 1759, sprang directly over the linear line which connects the other three. On the same night that Orizaba was in action, four hundred and eighty miles to the north- ward, Aconcagua was belching forth its fires, and two thousand seven hundred miles still farther north, Casiguino, which had remained at rest for twenty- six years, burst forth anew, accompanied by an earth- quake felt over an area of more than one thousand miles.

50. Such phenomena prove the cause of volcanic activity to be deep seated and wide spread. The earthquake felt at Lisbon traversed the Atlantic, and was plainly perceptible at Quebec and on the great lakes of America, and from Sweden on the north, to Africa and Martinique on the south, an area many times the size of Europe. To understand phenomena of such magnitude we must recognize adequate causes. Are we not forced to admit that we stand on a thin crust, beneath which the primitive fires yet burn slowly and dimly in their expiring hours ? A thin and yield- ing crust, which bends in lightning waves to the earth- quake, sinks and rises, forming extensive fissures; bends and contorts under the energy of the interior

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forces which here and there burst forth in volcanic fury. Lo, all beneath is fire, the fire of the new-born world, still unsubdued!

51. Though admitted to be extremely probable, it may be objected that the theory of the earth's former fluidity cannot be demonstrated. It of course cannot, from its nature, be demonstrated like a problem in mathematics, but there are other methods of arriving at correct results. We are endeavoring to unite the detached links of evidence in a perfect chain of argu- ment. The decrease of temperature, caused by the slow decrease of the eccentricity of the earth's orbit, has been produced as sufficient cause for the high tempera- ture of ancient times. Admitting that such variations cause changes of temperature, they cannot exceed a few degrees without endangering the safety of the system; and the immense forests of tropical plants which flourished at the present poles during the ancient coal period, together with the entire flora and fauna of the early epochs, indicate a high temperature in those localities. This warmth of climate has been referred to the form of the ancient land and water. If the land was all at the equator, and the water at the poles, it is evident that a much warmer climate would result. The elevation of arctic lands, or moun- tains, greatly depresses the warmth of climate, and the character of the strata reposing on the summits of these, shows that they are of comparatively recent origin. But allowing the most favorable distribution of land and water possible, it would fall far short of producing the requisite elevation of temperature which is well known to have existed, especially during the coal era, at the present location of the poles. Hence we must admit that a more than, torrid

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prevailed at the poles, or that the poles are not fixed, as has been supposed, but have removed from their former position. If we take the first position, we meet with unanswerable objections. If the temper- ature at the poles exceeded the heat of the tropics, the then existing torrid zone must have been a desert, the furnace heat of which no living being could en- dure; and what is still more fatal to the position is, that by no tenable theory can this astonishing tem- perature be accounted for. For at the dawn of the coal period the crust of the earth had attained at least three fourths its present thickness; and if at present the escape of internal heat is not sufficient to melt a stratum of ice one millionth of an inch in thickness, how can such an astonishing temperature be accounted for by this argument ? If, on the other hand, we pre- suppose the movement of the poles, no great elevation of temperature need be entertained; for if we remove the poles, we also move the equator towards their former position. Present facts point towards this theory. It is readily seen that the ice phenomena of the poles must leave deep traces on the rocks. Hence, if the poles have been removed, the point they formerly occupied, as well as their line of advance, must be plainly traceable. Investigations to determine this point have not yet been made, both from the char- acter of the region in which these phenomena probably occurred, and also from the vagueness in the few ob- servations which have been made. It is probable that the site of the north pole in the tertiary period, was near the Caspian Sea, and that it advanced to its pres- ent locality in a parabolic line. When this region, to- gether with Thibet and Northern India, is carefully explored, it is highly probable that facts having a

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strong bearing on this question will be developed. Of the probable cause of the changing of the poles, mathe- matics would suppose that it was a poising or balan- cing of the earth, to induce an equilibrium which at first was not established. Conjecture might call to its aid the less probable causes of cometary collisions or planetary attractions.

52. The strata of the terrestrial spheroid are not only concentric and elliptical, but the lunar inequalities show that they increase in density from the surface to the centre. This certainly would have occurred if the earth was originally fluid, for the denser parts would subside towards the centre, and the lighter remain at the surface. The pressure of the superincumbent mass contributes to this result, but not in the degree phi- losophers have supposed. It has been computed that if gravity alone exerted its influence, steel would be compressed into one fourth, and stone into one eighth, of its volume, if placed at the centre of the earth. This would make the earth much too dense to agree with its ascertained influence on the moon; and hence it may be inferred that another force exists. What can it be but the antagonistic expansion caused by the earth's central heat ? This conclusion must be received, or the idea of the earth's cavernous structure be adopted — a conclusion worthy only of the dreams of ignorance.

53. Every contortion of the earth's strata, every mountain peak and gorge, every uplifting or depression of continents and islands, is direct testimony of the fiery state at present prevailing in the central regions of the globe. The composition of its rocky frame- work speaks in an unmistakable voice, seconded as it is by the structure of all the planets and stars revealed

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by the telescope. Planets are not round, in the form of a liquid mass freely suspended in space, but spheroidal, a form necessarily generated by the revolution of a spherical liquid mass on its axis; but to the telescope their surfaces reveal the jagged, mountainous surface produced by volcanic action on their crusts.

54. The moon, by its nearness, affords the best opportunity for examination. The surface shows mountainous masses, towering to a great height from the centre of vast and rugged plains, and in other places several long chains extend in a remarkable man- ner from a common centre. Dip valleys occur abun- dantly. They are known to be such by the manner in which the light of the sun falls into them. The height of the mountains have been estimated by Schorceter, a German astronomer, to be five miles, while the valleys are four miles deep. The same astronomer affirms that in proportion to its size the surface of the moon is much more broken than the earth's. Herschel supposed that he had obtained de- cisive evidence of the existence of volcanoes in the moon. Not only did he discover, as he thought, the light of their fires, but accumulations from their action, after the fires were extinct. When it is considered that an object at the distance of the moon must be a mile in diameter to become visible to the highest magnifying power, we can scarcely realize the extent of convulsions which make themselves recognizable to earth. They, at least, must greatly transcend the most terrific the earth witnesses at present.

55. Thie surface is torn and distorted in every conceivable manner, and presents a very rough and jagged aspect. Such is the condition of the moon, almost devoid of an atmosphere, and with but little

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water to level down by its disintegrating energy the broken surface, it remains a witness of its own fiery birth.

56. The planets are too far removed to be closely examined. Venus and Mars, the only ones which can present any proof, speak in the same language as the moon. Their surface presents mountainous ele- vations with intervening plains, and it is evident that they were produced by similar conditions.

57. The sun, by its constitution, bears according testimony. If it is the residual mass remaining after the detachment of the zones, or matter which formed its planetary system, and if its condition originally was gaseous from intensity of heat, then it remains as a self-evident deduction that a mass four hundred times larger than the combined volume of all the planets and other bodies of our system must remain incandescent for a much longer period after the bodies thrown from it have cooled. This must occur from two causes: first, the superior size of the sun, which, ac- cording to Galle,* is seven hundred and thirty-eight times greater than the combined volume of all its planets; and second, the enormous condensation of its superior mass. Now, the time elapsing between the birth of Neptune and Mercury, to finite comprehension is inconceivably great, and probably the first planet was inhabited while the latter was yet involved in the central body. The superior attraction, and hence the greater condensation, of the atoms of so large a body would produce a much higher heat than would be emitted from the smaller planetary bodies. The tem- perature, at the sun's surface, at present, must exceed

* Cosmos, vol. iv.

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by a thousand times that of molten iron. If the nebular theory be true, such a high temperature would necessarily exist, for reasons previously stated. I am well aware of the conflicting hypothesis, which is intended to sweep away this proof of the nebular origin of our system, and am prepared briefly to state the objections which array themselves against it. At most it is merely assertionary ; and in the absence of antagonistic explanations, it has been adopted out of deference to its able supporter, Herschel. This hypothesis supposes the sun an opaque body, like the planets, but surrounded, several hundred miles from its surface, by a light and heat-generating atmosphere, or protosphere. The solar spots are breaks in this pro- tosphere, through which the dark body of the sun is revealed. This hypothesis does not account for the existence of the. penumbra around the dark nuclei of the spots, for the depressions or shadows so frequently ob- served, nor the mottled, shagreen aspect of its surface. If it were true, the nuclei should be totally dark; whereas the light they emit, according to Herschel, is two thousand times that of the full moon. When we consider that Drummond's dazzling light produces a black spot when projected on the sun's disk, we can realize how brilliant these spots may be, and yet appear totally black. This hypothesis not only fails to account for the observed phenomena, but its foundation is mere conjecture. A light-producing atmosphere is wholly a fancy, and utterly without support. It simply serves for the classification of facts in the absence of any opposite theory. It was supposed that the nebular theory failed to account for the facts observed, for the polariscope showed that the sun's light emanated from

a gaseous body, and not from a fluid or solid; but we 10

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will endeavor to explain all the heretofore unexplained phenomena in the simplest manner by its application.

58. First, let us inquire what conditions must pre- vail on the sun's surface if it is a molten mass. We can arrive at an approximate conclusion by studying the operation of like causes on earth. Increase the heat two thousand times above the melting point of iron, and it were easy to infer the conditions that would prevail. The most stable elements would be- come fluid, and incandescent with a light equal to the rays of the sun. The more unstable elements would be vaporized, and form a dense atmosphere around the fluid nucleus, while the gaseous elements would be driven off to an immense distance. These materials would, according to their degree of attenuation, form various concentric atmospheres, all luminous from intensity of heat. Apply these inferences to the sun. We shall then see the intensely incandescent fluid nucleus surrounded by a series of concentric luminous atmospheres.

59. The theory of a protosphere, as advanced by Herschel, derived its chief support from the evidence of the polariscope. This instrument made the light of the sun tell its own history. It proved that its light was derived not from a solid, but from a gaseous body. So far as this fact is concerned, it is equally applicable to one as the other theory. The proto- sphere and nebulous atmosphere would affect light identically the same. So far both theories explain the fact. Now, we ask, which gives the most rational explanation of solar spots? One theory presents no cause for the existence of the protospheres ; the other goes far back, to the beginning of things. It is evident that the dense stratum lying next the solar nucleus,

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formed of vaporized metals and metaloids, would not mingle with the permanent gases, which, greatly expanded by the intense heat, would tend to fly to an immense distance. If otherwise, from well-known laws, a homogeneous mass would result, as permanent gases are vacuums to each other. The lower stratum, formed of molten gases only at excessively high tem- peratures, would constantly arise, until it reached an elevation where it could rise no farther. Then con- densing, it would be precipitated, to arise again. The still more attenuated external envelope, constantly sat- urated with the internal heat, would refuse to mingle with it, and thus distinct atmospheres would be formed. Unsubstantiated as this theory may appear, it has greater support than the gratuitous assumptions popu- larly received.

60. Sir John Herschel, in his explanation of the solar spots, adhered to his favorite hypothesis of a " protosphere, " and maintains that this protosphere is broken through by hurricanes, or other vast aerial com- motions, and through the openings thus made the dark body of the sun is revealed. Granting that the body of the sun is a molten mass, from which his light and warmth originate, on the supposition of solar hur- ricanes a far more tenable hypothesis can be framed. Disturbances in the dense substratum would generate whirlpools on its surface, which, by well-known laws, would produce deep, cup-shaped depressions, such as are seen in the solar spots. It is well known that light, passing from one medium into another, is greatly affected by the limiting surface between the two mediums. If the rays strike that surface at a large angle, some of them pass through, but most are re- flected from it. If, however, the limiting surface pre-

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sents an acute angle, all the rays will be refracted. Such a surface is presented by the highly-inclined sides of the solar vertices, and hence refracted, all the light will appear black. The transition from partial reflection to partial refraction will take place suddenly, as a given angle on the borders of the vertex is reached, and the dark nucleus be sharply denned. As the cur- rents will be smoother around its border than farther removed, the light of the penumbra should be greatest there — an inference exactly according with observation. If, however, the spots are produced by whirlwinds, they should be of regular form, whereas they are very irreg- ular. Granted; but the objection is equally applicable to both theories, and while one totally fails to account for this discrepancy, the other offers an easy solution. The spots are seen by us through the rarer upper medium, which, agitated by currents, must greatly dis- tort objects seen through it, and though the spots be perfectly circular, they would appear jagged and dis- torted when viewed through this outer envelope. Com- plicated as the phenomena are, presented by the solar disk, this theory offers a rational explanation of them •all. The luminous mountains observed in eclipses of the sun, the mottled aspect of its surface, pores, streaks of light, &c., are all explicable by varying reflections and refractions of light produced by currents 'and agi- tations in the sun's aerial envelope. The assumption of hurricanes may be considered gratuitous; yet when it is considered that the solar spots occur almost al- ways within a zone extending thirty degrees each side of the equator, a region corresponding to our torrid zone, in which whirlwinds prevail, it must be admitted that the supposition at least is plausible.

61. Turning now to the individual consideration

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of the planets, we find the facts presented pointing in the same direction. The rings of Saturn were seized by the vigorous intellect of Laplace, and brought to the support of his theory. If the idea of special creation or final cause be supported, well may it be asked,. Why did the Creator give rings to Saturn, which, surrounded by its six moons, can have little need of them, while Mars is left in total darkness? If there was any special design in the plan of the solar system, the rings should be given to a moonless planet; that they were not, teaches the reverse. What is remarkable, Saturn's rings are in precisely that position they should be, according to the princi- ples of mathematics. If the nebular theory is true, we should not expect rings around the small planets with slow diurnal motion, but around a large planet of rapid diurnal revolution. It is evident that a ring thrown off from a dense nucleus, in which the centrip- etal and centrifugal forces are balanced, must ulti- mately become resolved into a planetary body, from its inability to maintain its equilibrium. For like rea- sons we should not expect such zones on the outskirts of the system, for those planets were formed from gaseous matter. It would be still more improbable to find them at a great distance from any of the planets. The rings of Saturn occur just where they would be expected according to the nebular view. Surrounding a large planet, and one in which the cen- tripetal force is extremely great, mark the coincidence that, at that distance from the planet, theory would indicate that zones would be most likely to occur; when the rapidly condensing nucleus, still half gas- eous, half fluid, was sufficiently consolidated to give stability to the detached zone, while it gave it mobility

150 THE AKCANA 0$ NATURE, 0&

of form. Only where the centrifugal force is very great, as it is in Saturn, can such rings be preserved. This relation is more than an occurrence of chance; it is a result of law, in accordance with which the solar system was created and is sustained, as is fully shown by the result of Laplace's calculations, which make Saturn's rotations to that of his rings as 427 to 438 — an amount of difference that was to be expected. Look farther, and another remarkable coin- cidence occurs. Between Saturn and his rings an attenuated zone of vapor is suspended, which some- times covers, as with a gauzy veil, the face of that planet. Such a phenomenon is not presented by any other planet; and a moment's reflection will serve to convince any one that the preservation of a vapory zone is impossible, unless suspended, like this one, be- tween two oppositely attracting forces.

62. In further support of the theory of nebular con- densation, the asteroids speak in unmistakable lan- guage. If creation be referred to a final special cause, the existence of a swarm of very small bodies, moving in a very irregular manner, must remain involved in mystery. If, however, the theory here presented bo accepted, their existence beautifully harmonizes, with its inferences.

63. The zodiacal light, that twilight zone surround- ing the sun, may be considered as a residual product of nebulous condensation, and when considered in this light is a strong evidence in its support.

64. From the individual consideration of the bodies of our system, we pass to their general consideration. If they were evolved by one cause, then a general similitude must pervade the entire system. Such is a legitimate deduction; but if they were created by a

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 151

final cause, the utmost diversity should be manifested. What are the facts? The first relation we will dis- cuss is that of distance. If we take the distance of the earth from the sun as 1.0000,* Mercury will be represented by 0.38709, Venus by 0.72333, Mars by 1.52369, the Asteroids by 2.4500, Jupiter by 5.20277, Saturn by 9.53885, Uranus by 19.18239, Neptune by 30.03628. We perceive here, as a general expres- sion, that each exterior planet is twice the distance of the next interior one. This is not perfectly true, nor according to theory should it be, but it approximates closely to the general expression.

65. As an illustration of this relation, it is interest- ing to learn that astronomers predicted the existence of a planet in the gap between Mars and Jupiter long before the Asteroids were discovered, and also the distance of Neptune from the sun before that body was observed.

As respects size, the planets nearest the sun are the smallest, and there is a gradual increase as the distance from the central orb increases. The zone from which Saturn originated was vastly larger than that which gave birth to Mercury, and consequently that planet must be proportionately large. Thus, as a general expression, the size rapidly decreases as we approach the sun. The external zones must have been composed of rarer material than the internal, and consequently there must be a relation of densities. If the density of the Earth be represented by 1.00, the density of Mercury will be represented by 1.12, Venus by 0.92, Mars by 0.95, Jupiter by 0.24, Saturn by 0.14, Uranus by 0.24, Neptune by 0.14. These

* Humboldt's Cosmos, vol. iv. p. 107.

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numbers are presented not for their accuracy, but because they give an approximation to the truth. The collateral sources of error are so many and great, that it would be absurd to pretend that these were more than estimates; yet crude as they are, they represent a general order. Velocity of rotation, degree of conden- sation, and difference of elementary constitution, fully account for the iregularities observed.

66. If the solar system originated from an ex- tremely flattened spheroid of revolution, all the zones thrown off must of necessity rotate in the same, or nearly the same, plane, and the planets evolved from these zones must pursue pathways corresponding to the orbits of their parent zones. Apply this inference, deduced from purely theoretical grounds, to nature. We find that the planets revolve in orbits which almost perfectly coincide. The Asteroids depart widely, it is true; but other causes have operated on them than on the others, and they cannot be intro- duced as an objection. Mercury departs widest, and its inclination is scarcely more than seven degrees.

67. Kepler's great planetary laws must not be for- gotten, which combine the elements of planetary motion in a relative proportion, so that when one is given the others can be deduced. They show in the most beautiful manner the intricate network which binds the solar system together, and prove, of them- selves alone, creation by law, and not by special design.

68. Thus in our system we perceive a general order pointing to one great source. The planets all move around the sun in the same direction, and almost on the same plane. The satellites move round their primaries in the same direction as the planets; with

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 153

the exception of those of Uranus, their diurnal rotation corresponds with their motion around the sun, and with the sun's rotation, and their orbits have small eccentricity. Such are the elements of planetary re- lations. They point, not to a creation by an arbitrary power, but to a grand law of evolution. Those who argue the theological side of this question may ad- vance in its support that the revolution of the planets around the sun in the same direction is necessary for the stability of the present order; but they must ac- knowledge that so far as stability is concerned, it would be as well if the rotation on their axes were in opposite directions, or if the sun did not revolve in the same direction as the planets.

69. Taking for granted that the system was evolved from a vaporous ocean, and that the volume of the sun filled the entire orbits of each of the successive planets when they were eliminated, M. Comte made a mathematical calculation what the rotation of such a mass should be, and the results he thus obtained very nearly coincide with observation. Thus the sun, when it filled the earth's orbit, previously to the evolu- tion of the earth, should rotate on its axis in 365 days. Comte 's calculation made its period 357 days — a close approximation in so intricate a problem. The moon's rotation differed from the results of his calculations by only two and a half hours. The same agreement was found with all the planets, in no case differing more than one forty -fifth of the period. If Comte 's calcula- tions are received, then the nebular theory becomes a demonstration of mathematics. If they are erroneous, it is difficult to detect the source of error.

70. Having glanced at the mechanism of our sys- tem, and the constitution and inter-relation between

154 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

its members, we will suspend our investigations here, and arise to the contemplation of systems outside of our own, and attempt to discover the relation they hold to the theory we are discussing.

71. When Sir John Herschel directed his great re- flector to the scattered nebulae, before irresolvable, and found them separated into countless stars, he came to the conclusion that if telescopic power were sufficiently increased, all nebulae could be resolved into stars. After years of patient and conscientious investigation, however, he reversed his previous conclusions, and maintained that "there are nebulosities not of a starry nature." When the mammoth telescope of Rosse re- solved nebulae which Herschel deemed irresolvable, many astronomers returned to the latter 's first conclu- sions, and maintained that the resolvability is solely a question of distance; that all nebulae are galaxies of stars, some of them far surpassing in splendor our Milky Way, and that distance alone veils their beauty from our eyes. Such is the prevailing supposition, and by assuming it as demonstrated, its supporters consider the nebular theory demolished. We do not attack this position because it conflicts with our

theory, for so far as it militates, if all the nebulae were blotted from the heavens, the theory would stand unharmed ; for al- though nebulae first suggested the idea of cosmical world vapor yet uncondensed, its support is derived from various and widely separated sources. It were scarcely to be expected that cosmical vapor could

THE HISTOEY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 155

be observed, as the same causes which condensed one mass into worlds would operate with equal force on all others. Its discovery is a remarkable illustra- tion; its denial and disproof does not affect the theory.

72. Contrary to the idea that nebulae are vastly remote star clusters, independent of our stellar system, we hold that they are intimately connected members of it. In support of this heterodox theory, we present the stellar mechanism. Their distribution in space, and relation to surrounding stars fully maintain our position. "The spaces which precede or which fol- low simple nebula?," says Arago, "and a fortiori, groups of nebulae, contain generally few stars." Her- schel found this rule invariable. Thus every time that, during a short interval, no stars approached, in virtue of the diurnal motion, to place themselves in the field of his motionless telescope, he was accustomed to say to the secretary who assisted him, "Prepare to write; nebulae are about to arrive."

73. If there were no physical connection between nebulae and our stellar system, it would be a singular occurrence for a nebula to be thus situated in a star- less space; that two should be thus situated would be highly improbable, and that thousands should corre- spond in such a remarkable manner would be infinitely improbable. This law applies still farther. In those regions where stars are sparsely distributed, nebulae abound. In the zone where stars are very numerous, they are extremely rare; while clustered around the poles of this zone, they are abundant. Scarcely any nebulae lie near the plane of the Galaxy, but they are crowded around the galactic poles. Such evidence is overwhelming, and cannot be regarded otherwise than

156 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

as clearly demonstrating nebulas to be integral members of our system.

74. Distance is not the veil which renders nebulae irresolvable. It is taken as an approximate datum that the stars are remote inversely as their magnitude. Thus a star of the eighth magnitude is vastly farther removed than one of the first. This assumption, of course, is based on the supposition that all stars are of the same magnitude, but this is sufficiently accurate for our purpose. Of course the same will apply to nebulae, and those scarcely discerned by the telescope must be considered more remote than those discernible by the naked eye. Hence, if all nebulae are clusters of stars, the largest should be resolved, while the diffi- culty of resolution should increase as the magnitude diminishes. Such are not the facts. While the indi- vidual stars of a nebula of the eighth magnitude are clearly seen, the great nebula in Andromeda, two and a half degrees long and one degree wide, appears as a diffused mass. According to the popular theory, the instrument which fails to reveal a star when near, renders it plainly perceptible when removed to eight times the distance.

75. According to astronomers, the Milky Way is a lens-shaped nebula, and our sun is one of its compo- nent stars, situated near its centre. Its major axis is estimated at seven or eight hundred, and its minor at one hundred and fifty times the distance of Strius. Now, the best telescopes fail to resolve the remote re- gions of this zone, while they easily resolve nebulae of the eighth magnitude, which are supposed to be a million times the distance of Sirius. What shall we say of an hypothesis which supposes a telescope capa- ble of revealing individual stars, a million times the

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 157

distance of Sirius, while it totally fails to reveal stars two hundred times the distance of that star?

76. The Magellanic clouds afford another strong evidence that nebulas are a part of our system. "The nebula major, as well as minor, consists partly of large tracts and ill-defined patches of irresolvable neb- ula, and of nebulosity in every stage of resolution, up to perfectly resolvable stars, like the Milky Way; as also of regular' and irregular nebulae, properly so called, of globular clusters in every stage of resolva- bility, and of clustering groups sufficiently insulated and condensed to come under the designation of clus- ters of stars. ' '*

77. From the intimate relation which exists in these tracts of nebula?, they must be regarded as situated at nearly the same distance from us; yet while some por- tions show stars, others exhibit not the least indication of resolvability.

78. After a careful review of the heavens, we can- not otherwise regard these vapor-like masses than cos- mical vapor in various stages of condensation. We find that its state is constantly varying, sometimes ap- pearing as elliptical disks, single or in pairs, occasion- ally fan-shaped, as an electrical flame variously branched, or like well-defined rings enclosing an unoc- cupied centre. Here and there are spots gradually fading away from a bright nucleus, which is usually a star; at other times forming a luminous homogeneous spot. These stars are not accidental bodies projected on a nebulous ground, but a part of the nebulous mat- ter which surrounds them. In these masses a mutual relation of parts must exist.

* Herschel, Observations at the Cape, p. 146.

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79. The nebulas in Andromeda and Orion are among the few which are discernible to the unassisted vision. On a clear evening the one in Orion is plainly visible, resembling a luminous wisp of cloud. When highly magnified it presents a mottled or curdled sur- face. There is no indication of stars, and the appear- ance is entirely different from those nebulae which are resolvable. Here are two large nebulas, very much nearer to us than stars of the eighth magnitude, plainly perceptible to the unassisted eye; yet, while the tele- scope resolves nebulae seen only by its aid a thousand times farther removed, it fails even to approach a resolution of these. Such are the evidences which favor the hypothesis, that all, and more than all, the largest telescope reveals, form one great world-conti- nent. Thus the distance of sixty-one cygni from the sun is computed to be six hundred and fifty-seven thousand semidiameters of the earth's orbit, a dis- tance which takes light two years to traverse; and Herschel estimates that a star revealed in the Milky Way by his twenty feet reflector is so remote that light would be two thousand years traversing the in- comprehensible interval. Such is the vast extent of the stellar system to which our sun belongs. Yet it has bounds. It is supposed we are nearer one side of this system than the other. If so, there is a possibil- ity, with sufficient telescopic power, of looking out into space, as, when on the border of a forest, we can look out on one side, but trees and branches shut out the view in the opposite direction. This has been accomplished,* and the patient observer has been grati- fied by the appearance of the illimitable space-ocean seen through the vista of stars.

* Herschel's Astronomy.

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80. If the stellar system is circumscribed on one side, it must be on all others. If so, it is not infinite, but has limits. Star clusters and detached stars are but component members of one system evolved by a common cause. After we have investigated the origin of the solar system, we shall apply the same principles to the creation of this stellar system, or world-continent.

81. The magnificent condensations which must be taking place in nebulae are occasionally observed. Direct observations show that changes of form are occurring in Andromeda and Argo, and in the interior portions of the great nebulae in Orion. These move- ments are confined to a series of aggregations and condensations. Herschel, by noting the variations in the light of a star passing through the nebula in Orion, and year by year finding less and less interfer- ence with the stellar light, drew the inference that motion was occurring on that border where the star was located. Other masses are not as favorably situ- ated, having no star near them by which we can mark the changes which are gradually progressing, and are so much farther off that the movements must be so great, to produce a visible effect, that millions of years must be allowed. When we consider the distance at which the nearest is situated, we find that a concen- tration of a million of miles in their diameter would not be apparent, as it would not appear, at that dis- tance, more than the thinnest line.

82. In view of such facts we must admit the exist- ence of self-luminous vapor scattered in detached masses through the regions of space. When we look out into the sidereal heavens, and sweep past these bodies with the telescope, the growth of worlds be- comes to us as the growth of trees in a forest. Here

160 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

we see a tall, magnificent oak. Did it grow from an acorn? By its side we see a smaller oak, one still less, a sapling, a little oak just creeping out from the acorn shell, and an acorn. Are we not justified in concluding that the oak, tall as it is, sprang from the acorn? Here, time is represented by distance. Sev- eral centuries which intervene between the develop- ment of the oak from the acorn are supplied by a few feet of ground. If all the undergrowth was de- stroyed, and we were placed by the side of the oak, perfectly ignorant of its origin, we should reflect with- out making the least advance towards an accurate con- clusion. The undergrowth reveals its history.

83. So it is among the stars. Here is a world- ocean; there it condenses; in another place the pro- cess is carried still farther; and, in another, a mass transformed into a stellar system is presented. Space here supplies countless ages of time, and by a few moments ' observation of the heavens we can read the history of a million of ages.

CHAPTER III. THE THEORY OF THE ORIGIN OF WORLDS.

Cometary Vapor. — Primoidal Nature of Nebulous Vapor. — Origin of Comets. — Production of Planetary Zones. — Experiment. — Cause of Revolution and Rotation. — Form and Size of a Stellar System ; Centre of ; Motions of. — Special Design, &c.

84. COMETS show the possibility of reconverting solid matter to its original vaporous form. When these wanderers rush down from the outskirts of the

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system past the sun, they are subject to the intense heat of its rays — a heat in some instances two thou- sand times that of red hot iron. This temperature not only vaporizes the matter of which they are com- posed, but expands it to vast dimensions until it is so attenuated as to appear like a speck of cloud or lock of down, admitting the passage of the sunbeams through them uninterruptedly, reflecting light from their internal as well as external surface, and not inter- cepting the light of the smallest star.

85. Of like nature was the world-vapor from which our system was evolved. After the foregoing researches we are justified in assuming data, and proceeding to harmonize the diversity of facts which are embraced by our theory. Let us assume the exist- ence of a mass of world- vapor, the diameter of which, at least, is as great as the distance of Sirius.

86. Of the primordial condition of this vapor nothing can be known. To say that it was an ocean of fire involves inexplicable difficulties. The heat mani- fested at a later epoch undoubtedly resulted from condensation — was an effect, instead of a cause. After great condensation by gravitation, matter is first presented to our contemplation as an intensely heated vapor. Previous to this epoch nothing is known.

87. Having assumed the existence of such a mass, let us study the changes which must necessarily occur according to well-known physical laws. This ocean of vapor would contain all the elements, gaseous and solid. No compounds could exist from its intense heat ; but all would be resolved to primitive elements, and these elements mingled in a homogeneous mass. Every atom of this ocean would tend towards the

11

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common centre. This would round into a spher- ical form, and by condensation develop heat, which would resist condensation until radiated. The pro- cess, in consequence of the vastness of the mass, must progress slowly. As the temperature diminished, chemical laws would operate. The denser material would gravitate towards the centre, while the lighter would constantly tend towards the external; hence the central portion of the mass must become more and more dense than the external. Particles of like nature would attract each other, and similar masses would result. These would take directions towards the centre in accordance with their form and density. They would rotate in various directions around the common centre; but there would be an infinite im- probability that a perfect equilibrium would be pre- served: a greater number, or larger flocculi, would revolve in one direction than another. These would establish an independent rotation of their gaseous en- velope, which would gradually draw into itself all the other flocculi, and the entire mass would revolve in common on its axis. Thus rotation was produced. Of the existence of such flocculi we have proof in the matter which constitutes comets; for, according to Herschel, "the luminous part of a comet is something of the nature of smoke, fog, or cloud, suspended in a transparent atmosphere. ' '

88. This process we can see, by the aid of a pow- erful glass, in the heavens. As before stated, and in remarkable harmony with the theory, it is not the largest nebulaB which are resolvable. The large and irresolvable nebulaB are of irregular outline, showing that they are not condensed. Arago says, "The forms of very large diffused nebulae do not appear to admit

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of definition; they have no regular outline." In such nebulae the process of condensation has not pro- ceeded far enough to round them into symmetry. On the other hand, the globular and spiral nebulae are resolvable. The spiral nebulae, which are in a transi- tional form between the irregular irresolvable, and the globular resolvable nebulae, as theory would advocate, must be more condensed, and hence small, which is true. In them there must be a partial aggregation. The spiral streaks of light which their surfaces present, cor- respond to the paths of aggregating matter moving towards the centre, as developed in the preceding course of reasoning. At the centre, spiral nebulae are resolvable — a fact also remarkably in accordance with the abstract theory. At the centre the smaller masses should unite into larger ones, and these into still larger, until a few bright orbs should take the place of the detached masses.

89. Globular nebulae bear out the theory still farther. They are always resolvable, and always present a dense clustering of their constituent masses around the centre; and as the degree of this concen- tration must vary, so do we find all degrees of aggre- gation.

90. Comets, according to Laplace's theory, had no place in our system: they were chance wanderers from system to system. This theory has never satis- factorily accounted for their existence, and on this ground a great objection has been urged against the whole nebular theory. But let us see if the appar- ently insurmountable objection cannot be rationally explained. The flocculi before mentioned would, under the influence of their irregular forms, take spiral pathways toward their common centre. On their

164 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

journey they would unite in larger and larger masses, until complete condensation resulted; but it would be improbable that all should be thus drawn in. Com- posed of lighter material, those from the most exter- nal portions would be delayed until the formation of planetary zones, when they would remain distinct, and revolve in orbits of their own. Coming from all parts of the external region, and remaining distinct and uninfluenced by the rotation in common impressed on the gaseous envelope, their motion would have no relation, in direction, to that of the planets. In accord- ance with this abstraction of theory, we find that out of two hundred and ten comets known in 1855, one hundred and four were direct, and one hundred and six were retrograde. Another very significant fact is, that although comets come from all parts of the heavens, they are by no means equally distributed; they are far more abundant at the poles of the ecliptic than at its plane. It is estimated that for every comet coming from the plane of the ecliptic, 11.5 come from its poles. This fact not only overthrows Laplace's theory, and that of Lagrange, who considered them fragments of exploded planets, but clearly proves that they are not accidental bodies; it shows that they were created by some law. While planets revolve in circular orbits corresponding with the plane of the ecliptic, and in one direction, comets are their oppo- sites in having a close relation to the poles of the eclip- tic, revolving in extremely eccentric orbits, and having both direct and retrograde motion. These character- istics, peculiar to them, were undoubtedly received by the physical properties of the rotating nebulous ocean. 91. When the mass had sufficiently contracted to establish a rapid rotation, its poles would contract

THE HISTORY AND I^AWS OP CREATION. 165

until it became an extremely flattened spheroid, or lens-shaped. The external portions of this mass, over- coming by their centripetal force their gravity, would become detached, and form a ring around the central mass, such as Saturn's rings illustrate. If the rota- tion of the central mass were perfectly arranged, all the zones, and hence planets, must revolve in iden- tically the same plane. If we consider, however, that the independent flocculi, previously to their being drawn into the central aggregation, must revolve in orbits cutting the common rotation at every conceiv- able angle, the slight diversity existing among the planets is readily accounted for. Those planets first formed would partake of this disturbing cause more than those formed after perfect rotation had been established; and we find that the orbit of Mercury, the latest formed of the planets, makes an angle with the sun's equator of only one third of a degree. The earth's orbit makes an angle of seven and one third degrees, and the external planets still greater.

92. A German professor instituted a very beauti- ful experiment in illustration of the nebular theory. He suspended a globule of oil in a fluid of precisely its own density, which of course negated the gravita- tion of the globule thus suspended ; it at once assumed a globular form. By an ingenious contrivance it is made to rotate on its axis. It immediately be- comes spheroidal, and its spheroidal form increases until a fine ring is thrown off near its margin. This ring continues to revolve, soon breaks up into detached masses, which unite, and, rotating on its axis, the resulting globule again throws off rings imitating in miniature the solar system.

93. The various rings must be of the same den-

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sity as the material of which they are formed; and as the density increases from the surface to the centre of the nebulous mass, the density of the rings, and hence of the planets, must conform to this arrangement of materials, the most external being the lightest, and the internal the heaviest; which is true to a remarkable extent.

94. The rotation of the planets on their axes in one direction points to a common law of genesis. This was determined by the form and rotation of the rings from which they originated. Laplace supposed that the breaking up of the rings, and the direction and amount of rotation of the resulting planet, were dependent on the difference of velocity in tne external and internal portions of the rings; but the phenom- ena resulting from differently formed rings are obvious. Zones thrown from an exceedingly large and nearly spherical mass would be shaped like a hoop, having very much the greater diameter at right angles with the plane of its rotation, while a zone thrown from a smaller rapidly rotating spheroidal mass would have its greater diameter corresponding with its plane of rotation. In the former case the resulting planet would have a slow rotation ; and from the small difference be- tween its interior and exterior portions, a retrograde rotation might be established. In the latter case di- rect and rapid rotation must follow. Apply this course of reasoning to the solar system. As a rule, the large planets have a rapid while the small planets have a slow rotation. This is fully explained by the inference drawn from the theory, which is self-evident, that a large planet necessitates a large zone; and the differ- ence between the exterior and interior velocities must generate great rotatory power. Uranus, and probably

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Neptune, have a retrograde motion, judging from the motion of their moons, and hence have been urged as objections against the nebular theory. But when we consider the circumstances of their evolution, the difficulty, so far from being insurmountable, vanishes. Uranus is of small size compared with the two next interior planets, Jupiter and Saturn. From the vast- ness of its orbit, the zone from which it was produced must have been extremely slender; in consequence there would be little difference between the relative velocities of its internal and external portions. Hence the direction of rotation of the planet would be but slightly influenced by this cause, and hence a rotation nearly perpendicular to the plane of its orbit. While Saturn's orbit is only one half the diameter, its size is eight times greater. Hence its genetic zone must have had a considerable breadth, and in consequence the planet has a direct rotation differing from its plane of translation by only thirty degrees. The orbit of Jupiter is only half that of Saturn, while its size is more than three and one half times greater. Hence the plane of rotation of this planet differs from its orbit but three degrees. The zones from which Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury were formed, considering the small size of these planets, must have been extremely small; and hence the plane of rota- tion again diverges.

95. Having thus inquired into the causes of the planets' genesis, we may ask an explanation of their rotatory force. It is an axiom that in a nebulous mass the farther particles have to travel before reaching the centre, the more rapid will be their velocity. The larger the genetic ring, the greater the velocity of the planet. We see this condition in Jupiter ; and it rotates

168 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

in less than ten hours, while Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury, whose rings must have been slender, take double that time. The smallest takes the longest.

96. These facts are without meaning unless the nebular theory be received. By its aid all this diver- sity of phenomena is harmonized, but without it they become meaningless, and each one casts a slur in the face of the received hypothesis of a final cause.

97. The satellites repeat in miniature the solar system. They rotate on their axes in the same direc- tion they go around their primaries, and their orbits diverge but little from the equations of their prima- ries. When we pass inward across the planetary or- bits, we find two bodies of nearly the same size ; then they rapidly increase in volume, and then decrease as rapidly. This singular arrangement is repeated by all the secondaries. Jupiter's two outer satellites are the largest, and according to Lassell, the same is true of the four satellites of Uranus. In Saturn, from the large number of satellites, their arrangement is still more complete. The three outer satellites are large, the inner ones small. Those next to the planet can scarcely be discerned by the best telescope, while one of the external ones is nearly the size of Mars.

98. By the nebular theory we can not only deter- mine where satellites should be found, but their number also. We know these problems depend on the rota- tory velocity of the planets. In order to form a sat- ellite the centrifugal force of the planetary mass must exceed its gravity, that the exterior atoms can be thrown off. Although great changes in velocity may have taken place, we are justified in supposing that in those bodies where it is greatest at present it has ever been the greatest. Now, granting these data, those

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planets which rotate with the greatest velocity should have the most satellites. Apply this to the planets. Let us estimate what proportion the centrifugal force bears to gravity. In Mercury it is ^j in Venus, ^ ; these planets are destitute of moons. In the earth it is 2-|^, and the earth has one moon; in Mars, A.; in Jupiter, ^ and this planet has four satellites ; in Saturn, ±, and the planet has eight moons; in Uranus, |, and the planet has six satellites. There is one exception to theory here. Venus has, according to the received computation, greater centrifugal velocity than the earth, and should have a moon. According to several noted astronomers* it has one, and Lam- bert calculated its elements. If, however, this should prove erroneous, it remains that the diameter of Venus is variously estimated, and its centrifugal force in con- sequence may hold a less instead of greater ratio to that of the earth's. If so, these relations are incon- testable arguments in favor of our theory.

99. Another fact still remains equally conclusive. The moon rotates but once on its axis at each revolu- tion around the earth, and hence always presents the same surface to the earth. We may well ask why this is so; for, as a work of design, it is a failure. As a luminary, to us it would have served its purpose equally well if it revolved with greater rapidity, and for the benefit of any future inhabitants of the moon such an arrangement would be vastly better. Accord- ing to Laplace, the supposition that this arrangement resulted from chance is infinitely improbable, but that by the genetic laws of our system such an arrange- ment would be very likely to establish itself; and he

* Cassini, Roedkier, Montague, &c.

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also shows, from the same laws, that the lateral oscil- lation called the moon's libration would arise.

100. Equally beautiful relations exist with the satellites of the other planets. This relation has be- come familiar in regard to Jupiter's moons; and such is the relationship between them, that, the distance of two of them being given, that of the others can be accurately found by calculation.

101. These views have yet to be extended to our stellar world system. The same principles are dis- played throughout its infinite domain as in the forma- tion and revolutions of a satellite. A moon and its primary is a type of the universe. The solar system is lens-shaped, because it was evolved from a rotating spheroid; the stellar system, to which we belong, is lens-shaped, because it was evolved from a greater rotating spheroid. Remarkable is the correspondence between comets and nebulas. While comets crowd around the poles of the plane of revolution of the planets, nebulae crowd around the poles of our stellar stratum, the line of whose orbit is represented by the Milky Way. Such a correspondence and similarity of constitution point to a similar origin, and it becomes a legitimate inference that nebula are to the central sun of our stellar system what comets are to our solar system: they are comets to the great central sun.

102. That such a central orb must exist, is a necessity of all systems of nature. There must be a centrality to chain sun to sun, else they would rush in straight lines through space, until, meeting with a controlling attraction, they would form orbits, and a system would grow up by the arrival of new members, as each body added its attraction to that previously excited. A centrality would be thus created, were the

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stars thrown into the immensity of space, like grain from the hand of the sower. It is a necessity of the law of gravitation and repulsion.

103. If this stellar system has a centre, it has a circumference, as already proved by observation, a glimpse having been obtained of the exterior space- ocean which laves it on every side. So far as obser- vation extends, it has a plane of revolution corre- sponding to our zodiac, around the poles of which the nebulous comets cluster.

104. Such is the nebular theory of the creation of worlds. It is in direct opposition to the popular hypoth- esis of creation. While every fact yet observed corre- sponds and supports the one, all negate the other. The mystery said to shroud the Deity is worthless in a scientific investigation. We must have facts, and a positive philosophy based on nature and reason.

105. If the universe was created by a final cause, why were some of the planets so abundantly supplied with moons, while others were left destitute? Special pleading may say that the moonless planets are so near the sun that they do not need moons. Nay: from the brightness of their days, the nights, by con- trast, must be very dark, and need moons as much, if not more, than more external planets. But why, ad- mitting the explanation, was a moon given to the earth, and not to Mars, which is twice the distance from the sun? Why were eight moons and three rings given Saturn, while Uranus has but four, (or, accord- ing to Herschel, six,) although he is twice the dis- tance from the sun ? What freak of fancy gave Saturn his rings, and left the other planets destitute? Still farther: if these moons were created for the pur- pose of giving light to their planets, why were not

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the largest, instead of the smallest, placed next to the planet, and not so far off as to be nearly use- less, while the smallest are of little use from their diminutive size? These questions are not cavil, but pertinent, and each one has power to overthrow the hypothetical dream of a final or partial cause. Moon revolves around its primary planet, planet around its sun, which, in common with the countless host which spangle the canopy of night, revolves around one com- mon centre, which binds this stellar continent into one system, and moves in an infinitely extended orbit, as one planetary system around an inconceivably remote centre; and this centre is not established for one such system, but for a multitude, scattered through infinite space. Grand conception of the unity of nature! 106. Thus began the present order of nature. Mat- ter could not have remained dormant, and at that particular time have awakened to action. Perhaps it had existed in an infinite number of universes before, passing back to its primitive condition each time, slightly more refined, until it became capable of form- ing a system as perfect as the present. The reader may say this is too imaginative. Not so; for does not the earth show the marks of infancy, and do we not see infant worlds in process of condensation? The WORLD must have had a beginning. Matter with- out a beginning must have been active, in whatever form it existed; and the play of antagonizing forces would have built up and destroyed system after system, in the lapse of an infinitude of ages. Matter, under the stimulating influence of the great principles or laws of nature, has been urged on in its progression, from its lowest state through various channels, until it ultimated in the various elements we, witness

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us. The primitive ocean was a stupendous mass of unorganized matter, in which, the forces of electricity acted and reacted, in drawing together like materials; in separating order from disorder, and giving to each world the elements which suited it best. The world- forming experiment succeeded to the utmost that could be desired and to-day the bright sunshine and the blue sky disclose the wisdom of God, as seen through his attributes acting on matter.

107. The earth attracted to itself the elements which were best adapted to its condition, and from those combinations the gorgeous scenes which are spread around us have arisen. The azure arch, the grand ocean, the activity of animal life, all, all declare the harmony and adaptation of these conditions, which connect remotest suns, chain the comets in their fiery paths, and ultimate in thought, wisdom, love, and

INFINITE INTELLIGENCE.

108. We will now turn our attention from the mag- nificent contemplation of solar system and stellar uni- verses, to the special phenomena presented by our earth. As it is a type of the universe, if we under- stand nature as there presented to us, we shall under- stand it as it is presented in all other worlds. Let us analyze the effects we observe around us, and seek their cause.*

* Works consulted in the astronomical portion of this work : Hum- boldt's Cosmos ; Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy ; Olmsted's Astron- omy ; Fourier, Theorie Analytique de la Chaleur ; Poison, Theorie Mathematique de la Chaleur ; Sargey, Physique du Globe ; Newton's Principia ; Madler's Astronomy ; Herschel's Observations at the Cape ; Nichol's Thoughts of some Important Points relating to the System of the World ; Philosophical Transactions, vol. Ivii. ; Delambre's Historic de 1'Astronomie Moderne ; Laplace, Expos, du SystSme du Monde ; Nichol's Architecture of the Heavens ; Vestiges of Creation, and Sequel.

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CHAPTER IV.

HISTORY OF THE EARTH, FROM THE GASEOUS OCEAN TO THE CAMBRIAN.

It becomes liquid. — Law of Cooling Bodies. — Creation of Water. — Deposition of the Metals. — Scenery, &c.

109. THE intensity of the heat which resulted from the pressure of the atoms composing the earth, by the power of gravitation, was very great. As the earth radiated its surplus heat into space, it contracted its area until it became fluid. Its limits, at first ex- tending beyond the moon, were greatly reduced, still of course its density was less than that of the atmos- phere. Grand and awful was the scenery presented during the infinite period in which the forces of radiation and segregation worked on to their destiny. The lurid firmament glowed with the internal fires. Through the red haze the sun and stars shone with portentous hue. The blue sky and the mild beaming of the planets enlivened not this scene of wild com- motion, but the terrific forces of the conflicting ele- ments of the new-born world labored on in convul- sions and fire.

110. By radiation the temperature continually de- creased, and after a long succession of ages, a slight crust began to form over the fiery surface. A crust,

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however, would not begin to form until the tempera- ture of the whole mass was lowered almost to the solidifying point. The process was like that which would occur in a globe of water in the same position. Under the influence of a high temperature, it would first exist as a vast body of steam. When the heat diminished sufficiently, the vapor would become fluid, and as the temperature diminished, the whole mass would be affected equally, for by the well-known laws of fluids, currents from the centre would tend to reduce the temperature of all parts equally. A crust of ice would next begin to form, until the entire globe became reduced to 39% degrees, when the currents would cease; the surface would not fall to the centre, but would remain growing colder and increasing in thick- ness. If we endeavored to elevate the temperature of a fluid globe, it would be of little avail to apply heat to the surface, for the cold portion, being the heavier, would remain as near the centre as possible, while the heated surface, becoming lighter, would tend to remain in its position, and being an extremely bad conductor of heat, the subjacent stratum would remain unaf- fected. If we commenced with a globe of ice, its cen- tral portions would remain congealed until it was brought to the surface by the superficial stratum being converted into steam. The same principle is seen in heating a quantity of water. If the heat is applied beneath — the same as heat applied at the centre of the earth — the temperature rapidly increases, but if the process is reversed, the heat being applied at the top, the lower stratum will not be affected in the least. The same law holds good for all fluids; and had this fact been given its full weight by theorists, or by those who dispute the theory of original fluidity, there

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would never have been such untenable objections urged against it.

111. It is not a universal law that heat expands all bodies. Within certain limits it is true, but at some given temperature the increase of heat contracts instead of expands. Thus, if water in the form of ice at zero is heated, it contracts until it reaches 39 degrees ; then it expands in a regular ratio with every increment of heat. Nor is it true that cold always contracts; for if melted iron be cooled, although con- traction holds good to the point of solidification, the law then changes, and cold expands; though, in dif- ferent elements, the points where the laws of contrac- tion and expansion supplant each other greatly vary, being in fresh water 39% degrees, while in iron it is 2000 degrees, all substances have these points, and in consequence many of the most astonishing effects around us are produced. To suppose that a crust should form on the surface of our planet, while the internal mass was intensely heated, is unphilosophical. The external particles, becoming relatively dense, would sink towards the centre, thus establishing tre- mendous currents to and from the surface, which would continue until the whole mass was cooled to that point where granite atoms are not contracted, but expanded, by cold. Near this point a crust would begin to form. It is thus rendered certain that the temperature of the interior of the earth is little above the melting point of granite, and the central portion is not materially higher than that which laves the under surface of the congealed rock.

112. This overthrows the wild speculations which supposed the centre of the earth to be intensely heated, and several times denser than at the surface. The

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 177

temperature which must exist — just above the melt- ing point of granite — would in a measure annul the force of gravity; and hence the density should not increase until water at the centre would occupy only one sixteenth its present volume, but it should remain nearly the same, and the density of the earth should be that which calculations based on other data have declared it to be — a result perfectly satisfactory, as has been shown in the discussion of the nebular theory.

113. At length a crust was formed over the fluctu- ating, igneous ocean. This, at first, was constantly ruptured by the waves beneath. It continued to thicken, and to attract to it affinitizing particles. But the equilibrium was unstable. The contraction of the fluid and solid matter being very unequal, the crust necessarily broke in fragments, and so gave vent to the internal fires. Tossed into wave-like folds and jagged pinnacles, the surface presented the appearance of an ocean congealed during a violent tempest. There were no mountains, but numerous elevations, for the crust was not yet sufficiently thickened to be elevated to any great height without breaking and immediately giving vent to the disturbing fluid. The rocky crust was not like common granite as it now exists, but porous and friable, from the slight pressure under which it was formed and the escape of internal gases. It was not the dense, hard substance which now juts up to the sky in the wild mountain peak, but was soft, and read- ily acted on.

114. It may be interesting to inquire at what point the fluid globe would begin to solidify. Not at the cen- tre, as has been supposed, but at the surface, as has

been previously shown. At what part of the surface? 12

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The earth, while an almost aeriform fluid, must have been very much more spheroidal than at present. Cur- rents would rise from its centre to its equator, and currents set in a counter direction; but these currents would not rise in a perfectly perpendicular direction, but would take the course of the least resistance from the centre, which would be along the axis of motion: arriving at the poles, they would produce such a sur- plus of matter there as to disturb the mechanical equilibrium of the spheroid, and hence would set towards the equator in spiral lines. During their long passage over the surface, they would become cooled by radiation, and when the internal portions had become sufficiently cooled, solidification would occur; first, on the equator, from which line they would as gradually extend towards either pole. Fragments of solid matter, formed before reaching the equator, would meet simi- lar fragments coming from an opposite direction. They would not be drawn into the current setting towards the centre, but would remain congealed together. Thus it is evident an equatorial zone would be first produced, and the polar hemispheres closed up by the growth of its edges.

115. During these ages of violence, all the elements which are volatilized by intense heat existed as vapor, and the immense atmosphere of all the gases, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbonic acid, many of the metals, and other elements enveloped the earth with its dark folds. All the oxygen that now enters into the compo- sition of the oxides, of water and the metals; the hydrogen that now forms a part of the wide extent of ocean; the carbonic acid that is now combined in the lime-rock, and the vast beds of mineral coal, were all united in that nebulous atmosphere. In connection

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with this atmosphere, the granite contained every element in the world. All the metals not volatilized were united in the granite, though in such minute quantities that they could not be detected, and it had to be subjected to the law of crystallization and the action of electricity before they were separated.

116. The next advance made by the elements was the production of that essential substance — water. Oxygen found its equivalent of hydrogen, and water was the result. It of course first existed as vapor, en- veloping the earth in its magnificent folds. As soon, however, as its temperature was sufficiently reduced, it condensed and fell in showers on the heated surface ; slow and mistily at first, but as time advanced it fell in floods from the black sky. Then commenced a new series of actions and reactions, which, for terrific grandeur and awful sublimity, can only be equalled and witnessed in the primal evolution of worlds. A new and potent condition was here introduced, and its results were vast and incomprehensible. The wa- ter, falling from the atmosphere, ran down into the hollows of the rocks, penetrating the crevices, and, coming in contact with the internal heat, became con- verted into steam, rending the new-formed rocks into fragments, and producing the awful effects witnessed in the volcano and the earthquake. The atmosphere, like a sponge, absorbed large quantities of water from the seas and ocean, and gave it back in one continual shower, furnishing an immense power to disintegrate the porous rock. The water, by collecting in larger basins, formed thermal lakes and oceans, which boiled like great caldrons, sending up steam and spray. At this period mountains were of slisrht elevation ; but around their jagged heads the clouds gathered, and poured their torrents down their broken sides.

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117. The continual falling of water gradually puri- fied the atmosphere, by washing out its crudities and absorbing its gases and other foreign materials. This increased the density of the ocean, and caused it to act on the rocky surface with greater force. The water, having great dissolving power from its high tempera- ture, and acting on porous rock, rapidly disintegrated it, dissolving the soluble portions, and washing the frag- ments into the hollows. The fragments thus washed down were spread over the floor of the boiling sea, and consolidated into gneiss rock, bearing a striking resemblance to granite, differing only in having its materials stratified. The metals, besides a vast quan- tity of other mineral matter, were dissolved in the ocean. Then they acted and reacted on each other, until, by well-known crystalline forces, they were de- posited in mineral beds and metaliferous veins. Elec- tricity, as it circulated through the ocean, or around the earth, created a silent but mighty influence on these depositions. This concentration of the previously diffused metals has conferred a great and very impor- tant benefit on mankind. If the metals had remained diffused in such infinitesimal quantities through the granite, they would be unattainable ; but nature, seem- ingly aware of the wants of distant ages, set her forces at work in the great world-crucible, and ex- tracted the elements for future usefulness, while the useless portions were again converted into rock. By this forethought, as it were, man receives numberless blessings; in fact, without this separating and refining process, the world would be incapable of supporting human life. The ocean dissolved all the metals, and then deposited them — gold, silver, iron, &c. — each in a concentrated form.

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118. The demarkation between granite and gneiss is indeterminable. It is impossible to ascertain where granite leaves off and gneiss begins. The disintegrated granite, consolidated without stratification, differs not from the original rock. This is the origin of the gneiss, which was deposited by the action of water. Hence there are all shades of difference between granite and gneiss. The difference between the true granite and the micaceous slate consists in the mode of deposition in calm or troubled water, different degrees of tem- perature, and numberless other causes.

119. Although the primitive stratified rocks were mostly deposited at this period, their formation is by no means restricted to this interval, as it continued long after the advent of life.

120. The slates reposing on the gneiss were de- posited in a cooler and deeper sea, and were formed from fine material. The blending together by indefi- nite sha dings, of the primitive rocks, is incontrovertible proof of their common origin and of the theory here advocated.

121. At this period the earth presented a strange scene. Confusion of the elements universally pre- vailed. The land and water intermingled, the sea being an archipelago, in which the thickly interspersed islands were but masses of rugged rocks. The low, irregular peaks scarcely appeared above the waves, and their ragged sides spoke of their fiery birth. The wild landscape of confusion and disorder contrasted with the black, lowering atmosphere and the lurid glow of the internal fires, when the crust yielded to the con- traction or internal pressure, and deep fissures were formed, allowing the molten tide to issue forth. Crea- tion put on a strange garb in those her morning days,

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yet order reigned supreme amid the wildest confusion, Even then the vast plan of creation, in all its minutiae, was written within the secret chambers of the con- stitution of the atom, and all this commotion was only its throes and spasms, as it strove to enter higher and higher planes of perfection.

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PART II.

CHAPTER V. LIFE AND ORGANIZATION.

Relations of Life to the physical World. — Impenetrability and Ex- tension. — Elasticity. — Gravity. — Electricity. — Heat. — Light. — Affinity. — Absorption. — Capillary Attraction. — Endosmosis. — Catalysis. — Cause of the Ascension of Sap. — Of the Circulation of Blood. — Secretion. — Respiration. — Nervous Power. — Diges- tion. — Creation of Life by Electric Currents. — Author's Experi- ments. — Conclusion.

122. To SUPERFICIAL observation, nothing can be more dissimilar than the inanimate crystal and the active, intelligent animal. Countless distinctions can be drawn, each one of which seemingly places an im- passable chasm between them. But when research is carried beyond superficiality, most of these distinctions become confounded or vanish.

The organic being represents every physical property and force found in the mineral. Impenetrability and extension are the same in both. The elasticity of the lungs, arteries, and heart is similar to that of a me- tallic spring.

Gravity acts on the most refined living matter iden- tically as on the falling stone; on the currents, circu- lating through veins and arteries, as on the babbling waters of the brook or flowing river. It establishes the equilibrium by which endosmose is manifested in the organic body.

123. Heat holds the same relations to living as to inert matter. This is true, whether we consider its

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evolution within the organism, or its external applica- tion. It warms the body, and if intense, decomposes the unstable organic combinations, evaporates their aqueous parts, coagulates the albumen, and crisps the tissue. The only opposition offered is by the strength of the affinity which holds the compounds together. As soon as this is overcome, the body is disorganized. Nowhere can the presence of a vital force be recog- nized independent of physical agents.

124. Electricity readily traverses organic bodies, and effects the same changes in the salts held in solu- tion by their aqueous fluids, as in an artificial solution.

125. Light exercises a great influence over organi- zation. The relation of the eye to light is purely physical. It is a perfect optical instrument, achro- matic, and adjustable to all required focal distances.

Affinity, or the attraction of atoms to each other by invariable principles, wields a potent influence in or- ganization. The same elements, governed by the same laws, act in the organic as in the inorganic world. The chemist, understanding the properties and rela- tions of one, may learn and comprehend those of the other.

126. The principle demonstrated by a glass tube lifting water higher than its level, or capillary attrac- tion, has a wide application in the realm of life. This is the universal phenomenon of absorption. When a porous body is plunged into a fluid, its pores become filled with the liquid, and the latter is elevated above its source, as the wick of the lamp lifts the oil to the flame, because the oil is attracted to, and wets the walls of its fibrous tubes, and flows upward till its attraction is overcome. A glass tube, one twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter, will lift water one and one-

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fifth inch. It will be readily inferred, that in organic bodies where the pores are from one two-thousandth to one six-thousandth of an inch in diameter, capil- larity must produce very important effects.

127. If a piece of chalk slightly rests on water, it will become moistened throughout. Cartilage, or muscle, acts in the same manner, as can be seen in the living animal. From the hints furnished by cap- illarity came the discovery of endosmosis, by Du- trochet.* This may be defined, as well as explained, by saying, that when a membrane — as a piece of bladder or intestine — is interposed between two fluids of different densities, a current will be established through the membrane from the rarer to the denser fluid, whereby the quantity of the latter will be aug- mented and its density decreased; and also a counter current from the denser to the rarer fluid, whereby its quantity will be decreased and its density augmented. The first is called endosmosis, the second exosmosis. The rapidity with which this interchange is effected depends on the relative density of the two fluids; the greater the difference, the more powerfully and rapidly will it be performed. The currents continue until pre- vented by the similarity of the two fluids. The force of endosmose is sometimes equal to seventy pounds to the square inch.

128. As physiologists explain many of the most intricate animal functions by endosmosis, before pro- ceeding farther, I will show what relation the physical facts bear to living things. I will apply it to the

* This curious subject is illustrated by numerous experiments, in article "Endosmosis," in the Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology; Dutrochet's Memoires Anatomiques et Physiologiques, and in Mat- teucci's Lectures on the Physical Phenomena of Living Beings.

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absorption of the chyle by the absorbents. The rarer chyle is brought on one side of a thin membrane, the dense blood on the other, and, as would occur in the purely chemical experiment, the chyle pours its soluble portion into the veins, which reject its insoluble or undigested portion. When the hand is plunged in water it absorbs it, the skin becoming a membrane between it and the blood.

129. Understanding the application to be made of our facts, we return to the physical investigation.

130. Matteucci found that the rapidity of the cur- rents is considerably affected by the direction in which they traverse the membrane. When he employed the skin of the torpedo, placing water on the internal side, and a saturated solution of sugar on the other, the cur- rent was so rapid as to raise the interior fluid 80 de- grees; but when the positions of the fluids were re- versed, it only raised it 20 degrees. This fact explains the transudation of sweat from the surface of animals, as the structure of the dermal membrane, with few ex- ceptions, is such that endosmosis is from the internal to the external surface. The same principle is involved in the secretion of mucus, by which the bodies of fishes and reptiles are protected against the water.

131. It is remarkable that any thing which destroys the functions of the membrane in the body destroys its endosmotic power when employed in experiment; as gangrene, decomposition, drying, &c.

132. Exosmose, in relative quantity, bears no rela- tion to endosmose. It may be very slight, so that while the denser fluid is greatly diluted, the rarer does not increase its specific gravity, or the reverse. Chyle passes into the absorbents, but there is no correspond- ing current of blood passing out. It is only in an

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abnormal state that the serum of the blood flows into the intestines, and only in disorganization does the red blood flow into them.

133. Organic membrane is the best material for experiment; but to illustrate the purely physical na- ture of the process, a mineral wall can be successfully substituted. A thin lamina of baked clay, lime, sand- stone, or plaster of Paris will give identical results.

134. The vitalists maintain that absorption is purely vital, or dependent on a super-physical force. A more rational school of physiologists refer it to both vital and physical forces combined. Neither theory is alone admissible, as the experiments with membrane from which the vital principle has fled, and still more emphatically with mineral walls, overthrow them. If, when membrane is used, the currents are slower than in the living animal, the fact is fully accounted for by the collapsed state of its pores and the stag- nation of its fluids.

135. If the leg of a frog,* be immersed in ferroci- anide of potassium, every portion of its tissue will in a short time become penetrated by the salt. The same will occur if a living frog be employed, but with greater rapidity, for the salt, as soon as absorbed, is taken into the circulation, and immediately trans- mitted to all parts of the body. Absorption is fre- quently observed in man. Turpentine applied exter- nally is soon manifested in the urine. Prussic acid spread on the skin is immediately taken into the cir- culation, and conveyed to the vital organs, which it destroys.

136. Bacchetti's experiments prove that endosmose

* Matteucci, Lectures, &c., p. 5, 73.

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occurs with greater rapidity when the separated flu- ids are in motion. The fluids of the body are in con- stant motion; hence the rapidity of absorption.

137. The action of medicines and of poisons has engaged the attention of the profoundest physiolo- gists and theory after theory has been framed and exploded. The discovery of endosmose has at least developed the great principles which govern their effects. Poiseuille proved that endosmose took place from Seidlitz water, sulphate of soda, and common salt, to blood. This is precisely the result which fol- lows their application internally. The faeces contain an abundance of albumen, the serum of the blood flow- ing in an endosmotic current into the saline solution introduced into the alimentary canal.* He also dis- covered, what is equally remarkable, that when morphia is added to a saline solution, it weakens the endosmosis of the serum, and even changes its direction. Such are its effects when administered for diarrhoea. It checks the flow of serum into the intestines, and ulti- mately changes the current in an opposite direction. When the solution in the stomach is denser than the blood, there is a flow of serum to dilute it, and thirst is excited.

138. It were a useless task to enter into a minute description of the countless phases of vegetable ab- sorption. In all, certain general principles prevail. All, or nearly all, have roots through which they de- rive their nourishment, by absorption from the sur- rounding soil. The ascension of the sap through the trunk of the tree was long referred to vital force, but can now be fully explained by physical principles.

* Matteucci, Lectures, &c., p. 7—10.

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139. The lower orders of plants, as the crypto- gamia, absorb their nourishment by their entire struc- ture, as a sponge is moistened ; but in the higher orders absorption is confined to the roots, except in abnormal circumstances, when other parts, as the leaves, perform that function.

140. The primary force Which propels the sap up- wards can be traced to its seat by an ingenious pro- cess. The stem of the tree is cut off ; the sap continues to flow. It is cut still lower, to the main roots, past them to the smaller ones, to the radicals, to their very extremities; and there only does it cease. Their ex- tremities spread a delicate membrane, on the inside of which, in the embryo plant, is a solution of the nourishment stored for its support, and afterwards the elaborated sap; on the other, the aqueous solution of its mineral food. Endosmose consequently results, and the water, with its dissolved elements, passes into the plant. Exosmose also results, carrying out what is called the excretion of plants.

141. Prof. Henslow remarks, "If we suppose the plant capable of removing the imbibed fluid as fast as it is absorbed by the spongioles, then we may imagine a supply being kept up by the mere hygroscopic prop- erty of the tissue; much indeed in the same way that the wick of a candle maintains a constant supply of wax to the flame which consumes it/'* This explains the fact that absorption continues in a detached branch when its cut extremity is plunged in water. So long as the leaves exhale, absorption continues by the open mouths of the exposed vessels.

142. The force of endosmose has been stated to be

* Treatise on Botany, in Cabinet Cyclopaedia, p. 117.

190 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

as great as seventy pounds to the square inch. Hale found that of the spongiole of the vine to be fourteen pounds to the square inch. This would lift the sap thirty one feet hig*h. If we add the power of the capillaries to this, a force will be obtained sufficient to lift the sap twenty feet higher; for if a tube one twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter lift water one and one fifth inches, the pores, or tubes, in the trunk of a tree one six-thousandth of an inch in diameter, would lift water over twenty feet. But the attraction is not exerted in a direct channel; one set of pores unites with another, and thus extends it indefinitely. As fast as the sap is transmitted to the leaves, it is evaporated or sent downwards by another set of vessels. Unite these three forces, and the ascent of sap, mysterious as it appears, is explained as clearly as the falling of water down the channel of the brook.*

143. Nor does the selecting power of the spongioles imply a vital force. This choosing power results from the size and conformation of their pores. When coloring matter is added to the liquid so as to dis- tinguish the various atoms, the finer particles seem to be absorbed, and the coarser rejected. If a plant will take up a salt of one base, it will an isomorphous salt of another base, though its properties may be en- tirely different, and highly injurious. Plants readily absorb soluble substances extremely detri- mental. As tannin, which in small quantities speedily kills them, common salt, also, is destructive to some plants.

144. Every condition which physiologists lay down as favorable to absorption in the living being, is in

* Treatise on Botany, in Cabinet Cyclopaedia, p. 117.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CKEATION. 191

strict accordance with the physical laws of endos- mose — solubility, penetrability, or vascularity, eleva- tion of temperature, movement of the fluids. These are not mere coincidences; they point to an estab- lished law common alike to all forms of matter.

145. Digestion is a chemical and mechanical pro- cess, and can be readily performed by the chemist in a retort. The food before entering the stomach, or digestive sac, is masticated by the teeth, and mixed with saliva, the flow of which its presence provokes. It has been suggested that the bubbles of air entangled in the viscid saliva aid digestion. When injected into the stomach it is mixed with a secretion poured out by the latter. This secretion is pepsin diluted with acidulated water. The motion of the stomach, by shaking its contents together, has a similar effect as shaking a bottle in which substances are placed which act chemically on each other. The action is promoted. The secretion of pepsin, and the nervous influence will be treated hereafter. After being sub- jected to this process, the food flows from the stomach as chyme, a thick, white, creamy mass. Mysterious as the process may appear, it will take place as well out of as in the stomach. If starch be placed in a glass vessel with a few drops of pancreatic fluid, it will rapidly dissolve, every trace of it vanish, and sugar or dextrine take its place. There exists in pepsin, and Magendie asserts in the saliva, a substance similar to diastase in its action on starchy matter.

146. The chyme, as it passes from the stomach, meets the bile secreted by the liver, and is again de- composed. Chyle results — a fluid better prepared to enter into organized forms. The absorbents, distrib- uted along the alimentary canal, by their closed ex-

192 THE AECANA OF NATURE, OR

tremities absorb it, as the spongioles drink up the fluids of the soil. Physiologists were long in doubt how the fatty portion of the chyle was absorbed by the chyliferous vessels, as it is not digested by the fluids of the stomach. It is not presented to these ves- sels in a solution; hence it must be excreted. But it is found that endosmose occurs from a fatty fluid to a free alkali. If two funnels are filled with sand, and water poured on one, and an alkaline fluid on the other, and after these have passed through oil be poured on each, it will not penetrate the sand thus united with water, but will be readily absorbed by the other. The closed extremities of the chyliferous vessels are filled with an alkaline fluid which attracts and absorbs the undigested fatty particles.*

147. The endosmose of the contents of the alimen- tary canal to the blood presupposes exosmose of the blood into the intestines. The character of the faeces fully confirms this inference. The blood throws out in this manner a peculiar secretion.

148. It is necessary that the blood remain slightly alkaline; but the neutral azotized substances which it so abundantly receives would soon destroy this state, if it were not replenished by the alkaline chyle, lymph, bile, and pancreatic fluids. In this process it would be difficult to determine one point of superchemical action. From first to last it can be performed in the retort with reagents.

149. The modus operandi of vegetable circulation has been already explained. Equally simple is it in the lower animals. It becomes more complex in the higher orders, but its principles remain the same. The

* See Carpenter's Principles of Human Physiology.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 193

capillary veins, distributed among the capillary arte- ries, take up the blood by endosmose through their membranous walls. They unite in veins which draw away their contents by capillarity. At their termi- nation, the heart, by each pulsation, produces a vacuum, and draws in the contents of the veins, as a force pump draws in the contents of its feed-pipe. The regular pulsations of the heart result from the nervous influence received from its appropriate ganglion, and although intricate and but partially understood at present, will, undoubtedly, be found to conform to physical laws.

150. Kespiration, by which oxygen and other sub- stances of the air are united with the blood, and ani- mal heat generated, is partly mechanical, partly chemical — mechanical in the introduction of air into the lungs ; chemical in the decomposition there effected. The lungs are constructed of delicate air cells, through the walls of which the mesh of capillary vessels are spread. In this manner, in a small space, an enormous surface of blood is exposed to the atmosphere; not stagnant blood, but blood in rapid circulation. It conies loaded with carbonaceous and effete matter, broken down cell walls, disorganized tissue, fatty parti- cles from the chyliferous vessels, and spreads itself out to the oxygen. The latter, impelled by its affinity for carbon, unites with it, or is absorbed by the blood, to work changes as it courses through the arteries. The dark, venous blood is immediately converted into arterial fluid, and rushes back to the heart, to be sent again on its mission of organization. The conversion of venous into arterial blood can be effected out of, as well as in the body. If dark, clotted blood be

shaken in oxygen, it becomes arterial in its proper- is

194 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

ties. Indeed, the surface of blood when exposed to the air always retains its color and fluidity.

151. Still more mysterious is secretion. Many of its phenomena cannot be accounted for with our pres- ent limited knowledge. Yet experiments indicate that even here established chemical and physical principles reign. It is found that albumen attracts the endos- motic current from almost all other fluids. It is peculiar in this respect. This explains why it is so tenaciously held in its appropriate channels. The se- creting organs act by endosmose, or furnish a fluid which acts on the constituents of the blood by catal- ysis, either eliminating substances already formed, or forming new ones by this agency. When serum, salt and sugar, are mingled in solution, and placed on one side of a membrane, and water on the other, the salt and sugar pass through into the water, leaving the serum ; in other words, are secreted, as urine is secreted by the kidneys. When water and alcohol are placed in a bladder, the water passes out, leaving the alcohol.

152. The recent discovery of the artificial formation of tissue throws great light on the phenomena of secre- tion. Organization of tissue can be artificially per- formed by acting on albumen with phosphoric acid, or by agitation. The fibrous tissue which results pre- sents to the microscope all the appearances of organic living membrane. M. Gluze made a microscopic ex- amination of this artificially formed substance, and as- serts that it resembles serous membrane. "Fibres are plainly distinguishable in the amorphous mass, and groups of globules." Dr. Lyon found these globules of various sizes, and having an elliptical shaped nu- cleus, which appeared when every chance of mistake

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 195

was obviated.* This discovery lets us far into the secret of secretion. The saturated solution of albumen conforms to the conditions of the blood, and the me- chanical motion is like the rush of the blood through the arteries. In either case, in the living body, or the test glass of the chemist, there is a deposition, almost identical, of fibre and nucleated cells, f

153. There is no will or consciousness in the circu- lation, or any of the functions of which we have treated. The respiration of the zoophyte is the absorp- tion of oxygen from the surrounding water, and its circulation the endosmotic current from one cell to another through their walls. In more complex — hence termed higher — animals, the nutrient fluid is confined to appropriate channels, and is exposed to the action of the oxygen of the air or water in appropriate organs.

154. There is a physical necessity for the oxygen of the air to unite with the carbon of the blood; they are forced in contact by the pulsations of the heart; the pulsations of the heart are produced by the nervous influence of its ganglion, which acts on the muscular fibres of that organ by electric currents generated by the decomposition and recomposition constantly taking place in the organism; such are the conclusions to which experimental research leads.

155. The discussion of nervous force and its phys- ical relations we leave, until we treat of the origin and philosophy of mind.

After thus glancing over the phenomena developed by life, we are ready to ask, "What is organization,

* Annual of Science, 1853, p. 252. T M. Melsen, An. of Sci.

196 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

and what is life?" Organization is formation from previously existing particles. It is the arrangement of those particles in a definite order. Hence the first move- ments of matter in the gaseous ocean of the beginning was towards organization. The crystal is organized from solution, as is shown by its polarization and re- fraction of light, in a very complex manner. The solar system was organized from the chaos of the be- ginning. After having proved that vital and phys- ical forces are identical, can we regard life otherwise than the resultant of the extension of those forces which develop the crystal and the world? The living being exists as the product and personification of phys- ical causes. Examine the organization of the lowest being — which is only a cell or mass of cells. Its walls are nitrogenous, the contained fluid, water. When these cells unite, they form a gelatinous mass of scarcely greater consistence than the fluid in which they 'float; each cell drawing into itself nitrogenous particles, and reproducing by division. Such is the dawn of life.

156. The present course of reasoning would be complete, if, by fulfilling the proper conditions, a cel- lular mass could be created from an inorganic solution. For if life came on this globe in its early ages by the concurrence of physical conditions, then by under- standing and producing that concurrence, the chem- ist should be able to evoke it at any time in his labora- tory. But, even if we understood the proper conditions and complied strictly with them, the result becomes vitiated by an unforeseen obstacle. It becomes difficult, if not impossible, to guard against the introduction of germs of the lower order of animals, which fill the air and water, and penetrate into all porous substances,

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 197

ready to germinate whenever favorable conditions per- mit. To wholly exclude these is of the first consequence in experiments in this direction.

157. [I performed an experiment in this province, in 1856. My battery was two large copper plates, en- closing one of zinc, buried deep in the moist earth. I took a glass jar, and placed in its mouth a glass tube bent so as to form an escape valve to any gas which might be generated in the vessel; a tube to insulate the negative pole; a tube through which to introduce the matrix fluid, and the wire of the positive pole. The mouth of the jar was now placed in a mould of sand, and filled with fusible metal. The negative wire was inserted in the tube, and the glass melted around it by a blow-pipe. The poles, I should state, were of platina, in the form of ribbons, and approached within the sixteenth of an inch for the space of one inch. The jar was now immersed in boiling water, and a solution of glauber, epsom and common salt, iron, and lime, (in the proportion they exist in sea water,) dis- solved in six ounces of distilled water, was poured while boiling through the tube, which penetrated nearly to the bottom of the jar. Immediately a cur- rent of carbonic acid was directed into it, (from a vessel previously plunged in boiling water,) generated by sulphuric acid and •carbonate of potash; the air escaping through the valve. When full, and the fluid had become saturated, a globule of mercury was dropped into the valve tube, and the other tube her- metically sealed. The apparatus was shaded from the light. By its side was placed a sealed jar, containing distilled water, through which an electric current passed. The apparatus was formed in April; slight .decomposition took place, but no other change until

198 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

the next November, when in the first jar a thin, gelatinous mass could be seen by a strong light, stretch- ing between the poles. The other jar remained un- changed. I do not know what would have been the result if the experiment had continued for a great length of time ; but during an unusually cold night the fluid in the jar unfortunately slightly congealed, and the gelatinous creation disappeared.

158. In another experiment I used a similar solu- tion; but to guard more faithfully against the admis- sion of germs, I enclosed the battery in the jar. It did not seem necessary to employ such intense currents as "Weekes supposed requisite, but constancy seemed the desirable quality. I united two platinum plates with a copper ribbon, bringing the poles very near together. The battery thus formed I inserted in a glass jar with a nicely-adjusted stopper, and then poured the pre- pared solution boiling hot into the vessel, and inserted the stopper. I placed the apparatus in a shaded po- sition, and occasionally observed it. In about five months acari made their appearance in the fluid.]

159. There is a wide field here open for research. Perhaps it is hasty to introduce the few and unsatis- factory experiments made in this field into philosophi- cal discussion ; yet it must be admitted, dubious as they may be, they coincide remarkably with the conclusions towards which the preceding investigations have led us. The justly discarded experiments of Dr. Cross and Mr. Weekes rather provoke contempt than yield support. If life originated on the globe by the con- currence of physical and chemical causes, and from its rude beginning progressed to its present elevation and diversity, it is a necessary inference that it began in its lowest type. Hence, if originated by artificial

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 199

means, it should also be of the lowest type; whereas, in the famous experiments of these students, a being comparatively high in the scale of existence was sup- posed to have been produced. This fact alone is suffi- cient to negate their experiments and their resulting inferences.

160. But there can be no reason why the lowest forms of life should not be originated by artificial means. If the essential conditions are understood and conformed to, it will be readily seen from foregoing principles, that life can be as easily developed as the crystal. Failure must be expected in the commence- ment, from the unknown realm which such experi- ments explore. But success will follow in the exact ratio to the knowledge acquired.

CHAPTER VI. PLAN OF ORGANIC BEINGS.

Blending of all organic Beings in the Cell. — Vegetable and animal Lines of Advance. — Embryonic Growth. — Four Archetypes of Creation. — Four Types of the Vertebrata. — The Plan of living Beings.

161. INFINITE as are the variations in specific organic life, one great plan or archetype prevails, to which all conform. Specific distinctions are depar- tures, in a greater or less degree, from this GRAND ARCHETYPE. A still greater variation is called Ge- neric; a still greater Class, and the greatest of all, KINGDOM. The lowest and Universal Archetype is the CELL. The cell is the lowest form of life, yet it com- bines the essence of all forms. It is the fundamental

200 THE AKCANA OF NATURE, Ofc

material from which all living beings are created. Bone, sinew, muscle, brain, all are the product of the union of cells. The great subdivisions of natural his- tory arise from the difference of aggregation the cell assumes. In their wide divergence from the prim- itive type, it is easy to draw the distinctions of class ; but in their point of contact, difficult, indeed, is it to define characters. Great are the distinctions between the oak and the bird carolling in its branches; the bee and the flower from which it sips the nectar; but when we trace the widely separated chain of beings, — vegetable and animal, — downward, they meet and in- separably blend. Naturalists have wrangled about the proper position the zoophytes should occupy, and their lower members have been repeatedly transposed from vegetable to animal, and animal to vegetable, and it still remains unsettled. They have been con- founded, because they assumed that the zoophyte must be referred either to one kingdom or the other — a mis- take, for their structure is strictly intermediate. They are the link which unites vegetable and animal, and to the inquiring mind become important as revelators of the plan of creation.

162. The lowest plant with which we are ac- quainted is composed of an aggregate of cells, not differing in appearance in the least from each other, and each being a distinct and perfect individual. They are condensed in a homogeneous mass, irregular and formless. One step higher they unite in a linear direc- tion, as in the protophyte; and still higher, they multi- ply transversely, and produce a leaf -like expansion, as in the ulv&. But even here the component cells appear to live, each by and for itself; each being able to mul- tiply itself by division — which is performed by throw-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 201

ing a wall around a portion of its contained fluid, and thrown off as a bud or germ. Somewhat higher, a dis- tinct separation is made between the germ and the sperm cell, but here both are confounded.

163. Scarcely distinguishable from the protophyte is the protozoa, which occupies the same relation to the animal kingdom as the former does to the vegetable. It is a gelatinous mass of independent cells, without determinate form, each cell having a separate exist- ence, and multiplying itself by division. It has nei- ther organs of prehension, digestion, or sense ; a simple mass of living jelly, nourished directly by absorption from the element in which it floats.

164. Reproduction in both protophyte and protozoa, is effected in precisely the same manner — by throwing off buds, or gemmae, and by division. The smallest fragment is capable of reproducing an entire being. This method of reproduction appears in some of the higher orders of animals, especially in the mollusca and Crustacea, which are capable of reproducing lost parts and limbs. Parallel instances occur in the vege- table kingdom. The bryophyllum can be divided into the minutest portions, and each fragment will produce a perfect plant. We render this principle practical in multiplying desirable varieties of plants by cuttings or grafting. The same principle manifests itself in the vertebrata in abnormal growths, often greatly affecting the foetal and mature form.

165. The intricate blending of plant and animal is shown by the impossibility of fixing a clearly-defined difference of character between them. It has been supposed that all animals have stomachs, which plants have not ; but this does not hold true of the zoophytes, which are either destitute or nearly so of a digestive

202 THE AECANA OF NATURE, OB

cavity. Anotlier distinction is said to exist — that plants are nourished by mineral, while animals require organic food. But it is questionable whether any plants but the very lowest forms can nourish wholly deprived of organic nourishment. A better distinction, because based on a higher organ, is the presence of a nervous system in the animal, which the plant has not. But this is also objectionable; for the protozoa has not a trace of a nervous system, nor has the sponge, or hydra, and their allies. It has been conjectured that the nervous system existed in these forms in a diffused state; but the conjecture is not supported.

166. The vegetative growth is seen in all animals, as in the arms of the cephalopod and pentacrinus, in the excessive multiplication of rings in worms, the multiplication of rays in the fins of fishes, and of vertebrae in serpents.

167. The archetype of the vegetable kingdom is the LEAF. The cell builds up the leaf, the leaf the plant. Botanical science boasts of no grander gener- alization, than that which refers all the organs of the plant to modifications of the leaf. A leaf is coiled and sent downwards to become the absorbing organ of the plant; a leaf ascends to form the central axis, or stem ; the leaf is the respiring and digesting organ ; it is modified in the calyx and petals ; still further in pistils and stamens, and still further in the fruit. These modifications are proved by intermediate forms.

168. The vegetable kingdom is divided into two lines of development, Cryptogamic and Phrenogamic; but as it is sufficient, in this investigation, we confine ourselves to 'the laws governing animals, and shall not endeavor to trace out the affinities and relations of the orders of plants.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 203

169. The specific characters of animals are depar- tures from their common archetype, not obtained by the addition or destruction of organs, but by the greater or lesser development of organs which all pos- sess in common. To this archetype no organs are ever added or lost. Thus the proboscis of the elephant is but an extended nose. The wing of the bat is not an additional organ, but an extended or altered hand. The neck of the giraffe does not contain any additional vertebrae, but the same number extended by extraor- dinary elongation. The shell of the turtle is but modified vertebral ribs and sternum, nor its horny jaws additional organs, for they are iormed from the same elements which produce the teeth of reptiles.*

If, from the conditions in which the animal is placed, particular organs are not required, and hence are not developed, they are present in a rudimentary con- dition. In fishes we find the rudiment of lungs, even when not sufficiently developed to serve as an air bladder to regulate the specific gravity of the body. The abdominal sternum and ribs are faintly traceable in the abdominal muscles of mammals. In those mam- mals which are destitute of a clavicle, that bone is rep- resented by a ligament. When these traces of unde- veloped organs cannot be found in the adult animal, they can be in the embryo. The bronchial arches of fish exist in the embryos of all mammalia, and some- times remain permanent in monstrosities. The rudi- ments of teeth can be detected in the embryo whale, but are never developed. The rudiments of the canine teeth, and of the incisors of the upper jaw, which are not subsequently developed, are present in the embryos of all ruminants.

* Carpenter's Comparative and General Physiology.

204 THE AECANA OF NATURE, OR

170. The unity which pervades the realm of life is proved by the successful restoration of the outlines of extinct plants and animals from a petrified fragment of bone or scale, and the correctness of influences drawn from such sources of the habits of their possess- ors. To such strict rules has comparative anatomy been reduced, that a scale or a tooth reveals the size, form, disposition, and habits of the animal. It does this with the same exactness, whether the tooth be recent, or taken from a fossiliferous rock; thus not only proving that living beings are formed after one great plan, but that that plan embraces all the extinct species of the past. From the dawn of life on this earth to the present time, fossils testify that one prin- ciple has maintained in the realm of life.

171. Embryonic development not only supports the theory of progressive development, but bears evidence of the unity of origin of all organic beings. Zoophyte, fish, mammal, man, all commence at the same point — the germ cell. As each matures, it diverges more or less from this archetypal form. Nature moulds all her children after this first model, before they advance to any higher form. In the accompanying figure, 3 represents the mature animal of the lowest grade, 2 represents an early form of the mammalian ovum, 1 represents the cellular structure of plants. It will be

readily perceived that there is no apparent difference whatever in the two cellular masses, (2 and 3,) both being alike com- posed of nucleated

Chlamydomonus— Early State of Mammalia cells.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 205

172. The embryo lobster is a miniature trilobrte. The lobster began where the development of the trilo- bite terminated; or, in other words, the latter was a permanent larva of the former.

The white-fish is an osseous, while the sturgeon is a cartilaginous fish; but the young white-fish begins life precisely where that of the sturgeon terminates. The thin cartilaginous line which is its vertebral col- umn, becomes ossified, however, while the sturgeon's is not ossified except at its apophyses. The sturgeon's mouth is far back on the under side of its head, and its tail is unequally forked. In these points the embryos of all osseous fishes remarkably conform. The cartilaginous fishes are permanent larva of the osseous.

173. Agassiz, seizing these facts with an acumen of a master mind, moulded a classification the most perfect science has yet possessed. He starts with- the well-attested proposition that the longer two classes re- main alike in foetal growth, the nearer they are allied, and they are widely separated in proportion to the rapidity with which they separate. He also decides the position of species in the scale of progression by embry- ology. It is difficult to ascertain by appearance which is the highest, the lobster or the trilobite; but embry- ology decides the question by proving the trilobite to be the larvial lobster. It were equally difficult to say which were the highest, the white-fish or sturgeon; but this science proves the latter to be permanently on the same grade as the larva of the former.

174. By assuming the unity or common origin of living beings, naturalists have been enabled to decide the position of species by the study of transitional forms. In this manner the complex limbs of mam-

206 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

malia were traced downward to the thread-like expan- sions from the sides of the lepidosiren. The position of the amphioxus was decided by embryonic growth. It is destitute of a head and skeleton, a thread-like line represents the spinal nerve and column. But all the mammalia are like the amphioxus in their early fetal life. It represents the larva of all the mam- malia.

175. The change of form, once supposed restricted to the transformation of a caterpillar into a butter- fly, and a tadpole into a frog, are now known to be universal. Species all begin at the same point, and diverge in proportion to the degree of their develop- ment. In the lower orders there is but a slight differ- ence between the larva and the mature form, but the higher the development, the greater this difference becomes.

176. Science has verified the aphorism of the ancients — all life originates in the egg. Mammals, as well as birds, are at first ova, or eggs, and are sub- ject to as much greater transformations than the tad- pole, as they are higher.

177. It is by connecting the metamorphoses which occur before, with these which transpire after, birth, that the key to the gradation of species is obtained, and the presence of a great unitizing law, and the common origin of all species, deduced.

178. Strange as beautiful are the changes which occur in the germinating egg. First a dark line ap- pears, on each side of which two ridges rise, the edges of which gradually approach each other, and unite, enclosing a semi-gelatinous fluid, in which two white fibrous threads are seen lying side by side. The dark line is the vertebral column, and the threads the rudi-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 207

mentary spinal cord, on the development of which the character of the animal depends. A series of dots next appear along the line of the fibres, — the rudi- ments of the vertebrae, — which soon become rings enclosing the spinal cord, and throwing out spinous processes.

Thus far the end is nutritive, and the vegetative functions predominant. The heart is but a pulsating dilatation in the main trunk of the circulating system. The respiratory system — as yet useless — is undevel- oped. The heart is next divided into two chambers, one for the reception of the blood, the other for send- ing it through the system. Here the development of the circulating apparatus of fishes is arrested. The heart is next divided into three chambers, by which arrangement one half of the blood is aerated. Here reptiles are arrested. The embryo mammal rests not here, but acquires a fourth chamber to its heart, by which all its blood is sent to its lungs, and thus the highest degree of activity secured to its circulation.

179. Thus not only are species united by interme- diate forms in an unbroken chain of being, but also by foetal growth; the same law seems to prevail in the gestation of the individual being as of the globe. Not only is the same principle manifested in the unity of present types, but in all those of the infinite past. How are such facts to be explained ? Inductive philos- ophy draws its conclusion — one which cannot be sub- verted. As all living and extinct organisms can be traced to one point, all must have diverged from that point. All types must have originated from the com- mon archetype. They cannot exist by separate acts of creations, without supposing a constant miracle. As such an assumption is without proof, and discarded

208 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

by inductive science, which teaches that all beings are fashioned after a determinate plan, there can be no independent creations.

180. To that plan or archetype we now turn. IT

IS THAT WHICH THE CONSTITUTION OF MATTER WOULD

CALL INTO EXISTENCE AND SUSTAIN. Living beings pur- sue different courses in their divergence from this com- mon point, by which arise species, genera, and dis- tinctions of classes. They are divided into four great divisions, in accordance with the methods by which they seek the same ends — adapt themselves to the conditions surrounding them — by different means. These great divisions are Radiata, Mollusca, Articu- lata, and Vertebrata, commencing with what is usually termed the lowest, and ascending to the highest. The idea, however, which has caused them to be arranged thus is incorrect. They do not overlap each other, and there is no continuous development from the radiata to the vertebrata, as certain philosophers have taught. Cuvier presented the subject aright, when he remarks that each division is modelled after a type peculiar to itself.*

181. The RADIATA are little more than a simple digestive sac, or stomach, the orifice of which is usually surrounded by a set of arms or tentacula, for draw- ing in their food. In its lowest genera, the body is little else than a mass of living jelly, without form, and destitute of any stomach whatever. There is a tendency in all its groups to a radiate or crystalline growth, as in the star-fish and the ancient stone-lily. All are destitute of proper locomotive organs, though some families have movable spines, which assist their

* RSgne Animal, 11.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 209

locomotion through the water. Some species, in which the radiate structure is obscure, conduct us towards the mollusca; others lead to the articulata; while the sponges and corallines evidently approximate to the vegetable kingdom, so close, indeed, that it is difficult to assign their true position.

182. The MOLLUSCA have a soft body, enclosed in an elastic muscular skin. This skin is, in most in- stances, loosely applied to the body. From this skin calcareous particles transude and solidify in the shell, which seemingly separates the animal from the other divisions by a vast interval, but in reality is of the same nature as the framework of the coral, and has no influence on the grade of the animal it protects. They have not a spinal cord, but medullary masses distributed in different parts of the body, the principal one, called the ~brain, enclosing the gullet. The organs of the senses and motion have not the regularity of mammals; and still greater are the variations in the position of the respiratory organs and heart. Their circulation is a complete circle ; but they have but one fleshy ventricle, and that placed between the veins of the lungs and arteries of the body, and not, as in fishes, between the veins of the body and arteries of the lungs. When there is more than one ventricle, they are not united, but disposed in different parts of the body, so that they may be said to have several hearts. Equally great variations exist in their organs of deglutition and digestion. On one hand they approach the zoo- phytes; on the other, in the cephalopods, they almost equal fishes, having a true brain, a symmetrically formed body, and acute senses.

183. The plan of the ARTICULATA is to spread the skeleton on the outside of the body. Instead of having,

14

210 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

like the mollusca, an organization for digestion, they have a 'muscular development adapting them for ac- tivity. The crust which envelops them and forms their shell is an exudation from their skin, similar to the formation of the shell of the mollusk. Their nervous system consists of two parallel nervous cords swelling into ganglia at each segment, and terminating in a larger ganglion in the head. It includes, on the one hand, annelidae scarcely superior to the lowest mol- lusks; on the other, beings endowed with instinct almost approaching intelligence.

184. The VERTEBRATA are characterized by a back bone, a spinal cord, a concentrated brain, and an in- ternal skeleton. It extends from the amphioxus to man. These four divisions extend side by side, as diverging branches from a common source. Their higher members differ most, as in them we see the ultimate departure from the common type, while their lowest members approach nearest. If we would study them understandingly, we must not place them in suc- cessive order, but side by side, and compare correspond- ing genera ; placing the lowest species of each together, and the higher in opposition, preserving each line of progress -inviolate.

185. Thus, at the foot of the radiata we find the sponges, half vegetable, half animal, without digestive cavity, without any organs whatever, living appar- ently by absorption from the water, which circulates through pores in its gelatinous mass.

From these we pass to the foot of the molluscous division, the tunicata. In the ascidia and aggregata, the soft and gelatinous beings are united in masses, each individual communicating with the others organi- cally, thus connecting the mollusks with the zoophytes.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 211

Such was the resemblance, that early naturalists con- founded this family with them.

186. Passing to the foot of the articulata, we meet with the intestinal worms, the gordians, and leeches, the organization of which is equally simple ; the alimen- tary canal being, in the entozoa, a channel cut through the substance of the body, and the absorbent system being simply a diffusion of the nutrient fluids through the substance of the animal. The nervous system, where its presence can be detected, is a simple filament of a nervous character.

187. Passing, lastly, to the foot of the vast verte- brate series, we find the amphioxus so lowly organized, that, until subjected to strict and scientific investiga- tion, it was supposed to be a mollusk. Although so soft as to be transparent, it has all the necessary char- acteristics to be allowed a place with fishes.

188. The ammocetes is scarcely higher in structure, not having even a vestige of a bone in its glutinous body, not even a tooth. How remarkably do the divis- ions conform! The molluscous type prevails, and we find a general failure of all the characters by which they are generally distinguished. There is a common approach to the universal archetype.*

189. Now let us compare the highest members of the divisions, or the branches, in their most widely separated forms. In the radiata we meet with the enchinus, with their beautifully arranged calcareous shells, a complicated digestive, prehensile, locomotive, and generative system. At the head of the mollusks we find the cuttle-fish, having all the agility of the fish, with feet capable of seizing their prey, walking,

* Lyell, Hugh Miller, &c.

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and swimming. They have a large, concentrated brain with well-developed ganglia, and acute organs of sense.

At the head of the articulata, if development cf in- stinct be the test, stand the hymenoptera, or the com- mon bee, which has excited the admiration of all ages by its habits, almost akin to reason.

At the head of the vertebrata is man, who, by the endowment of reason, becomes the ultimate of cre- ative power.

190. The sub-kingdoms are branches thrown off at various points, and, each receiving a peculiar direction, endeavors by different means to attain the same end. The vertebrata attain a solid consistency for the at- tachment of their muscles by their osseous skeleton; the articulata obtain the same by their external, der- mal crust; the mollusca, by the thickening of their mantle, or by means of their shells; the radiata, by their calcareous internal framework. In obtaining their food, the vertebrata usually pursue and capture it ; so do the articulata ; but the other divisions, being usually stationary, are provided by long arms sur- rounding the mouth, which seize their prey and force it into the digestive cavity. In their circulatory, respi- ratory, digestive, and secretory apparatus, — in short, in every thing but external form, — all the four divisions correspond in their uses. True, superficially there are great deviations, but when attentively considered, it will be found that these modifications are produced by the non-development of some parts, or the greater rel- ative growth of others. Certain organs are essential to the existence of life, and these are always present. Other organs adapt the species to peculiar habits or conditions, and these are added.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 213

191. We will here leave the general and trace the special. The vertebrata are subdivided into widely separated families; and our argument will receive greater force by tracing out the affinities of its orders, than by discussing affinities of unknown and obscure beings, as those which stand at the foot, or commin- gling of the sub-kingdoms, generally are. For a few pages we will confine ourselves to the investigation of the red-blooded vertebrate series.

192. The back bone is the symbol of this division. The vertebral column is divided into vertebrae, each one of which, viewed* by the acumen of genius, proves to be the archetype of every bone in the body. I pre- sent this theory as a conclusive proof of the unity of design in animate nature ; of its common origin ; of developmental growth by influence of conditions, and as the fundamental philosophy of the different and various vertebrated classes.

193. Each vertebra has a central portion, called its centrum. From this, two proceed, or branch off, one on each side; they ascend and meet above, forming a ring enclosing the spinal cord, and two descend, usually being greatly prolonged, and meet in the sternum, enclosing the viscera. These are the ribs. Thus two rings, joined at their circumference, form a type of a vertebra; through one of which the spinal cord passes, and the other containing the viscera. This typical form is modified so as to meet the wants of every part of the body. In the skull and limbs it undergoes its extreme transformation. The brain is formed by the consolidation of the four first ganglia of the spinal cord, and the skull is produced by the aggregation of

* R&gne Animal.

214 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OB

their four enveloping vertebrae. The fore limbs or legs are detached appendages of the occipital verte- bra, removed to varying distances, and the hind limbs or legs are appendages of the pelvic segments.

194. It is interesting to observe the points at which embryonic growth is arrested in different tribes. All the vertebrates begin alike. In all, the spine, by which they are characterized, is a fibrous sheath filled with cells containing jelly, while the elements of the vertebrae are laid down by fibrous bands. At this stage the skeleton of the "lancelot" — amphioxus — is arrested. The fibrous bands are next converted into cartilage, and divided into definite sections. At this stage, the skele- ton of the sturgeon is arrested. Ossification imper- fectly commences, and the. type of cartilaginous fishes is presented. The deposition of osseous material is complete, and the higher grade of osseous vertebrata obtained.

The vertebrate type of structure is displayed in four different forms. Fishes, reptiles, birds, and mammals. These form a series which can be traced from the low- est fish to the highest mammal. Fishes merge into reptiles in the extinct sauroids, and reptiles approach very closely to fishes in many of the extinct saurians.

The reptilian branch is composed of a great diver- sity of forms, which, however, bear a close anatomical relationship. There is a wide difference between the skeletons of frogs, serpents, lizards, and turtles; but this depends not on the acquirements of new parts, but the suppression or greater growth of existing organs. The limbs in serpents are suppressed, but their rudi- ments exist under the skin. The shell of the turtle is formed of modified ribs and vertebrae ; and the skele- ton of the lizard is but the more perfect development of all the parts.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 215

195. Birds, although they present analogies to rep- tiles on one hand, and to mammals on the other, can- not be regarded as intermediate between these classes. They are fashioned after a type peculiarly their own, and which, through transitional forms, leads to the batrachians.

196. Mammals are the highest organized of the four classes — a fact seemingly dependent on the longer period or duration of the embryo with the parent. They are connected with reptiles by the marsupials and edentata, and from this extreme ascend to man. Not that all mammalia originated from a common stock. On the contrary, as previously shown by the affinities of its various classes, widely remote must have been their source. The marsupials, with birds, are branches of the batrachians; the pachyderms and herbivora are branches of the herbivorous saurians; the carnivora, cf carnivorous saurians ; the quadrumana, of carnivora ; and man of quadrumana. So their affinities teach.*

197. In tracing what has been called the " chain of beings," naturalists have committed the great error of arranging the sub-kingdoms in an ascending series, tracing their pretended chain from one to another. So sure as there is one chain of being, there are four; for one type has as much right to the preference as another. If we would successfully follow the line of progress, from the lowest to the highest, in that series at which man stands at the head, we must confine ourselves to the vertebrata, descending to the foot of that sub-kingdom, and commencing with the most "archetypal" form. Such a form has been already named as the lowest of fishes — the amphioxus. In the

* See frontispiece, with its explanation.

216 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

fossil world we find sauroid fishes combining the char- acter of fish and reptile. The character of the fish is separated, and pursues a line of progress of its own; the reptilian character pursues its path. The batra- chians are related to the labyrinthodon and its allies, and the birds in the remarkable series of unknown species which have left their footprints on the sandy rock. In the tertiary, or perhaps previously, the saurian reptiles began to combine the qualities of the mammal with those of the saurian. Soon after we find the huge pachyderms of that era ushered into existence, and the saurians becoming extinct.

198. Having delineated the general plan of organ- ized creation, and clearly indicated how widely the divisions separate, as well as how closely they approxi- mate, I shall next endeavor to show that the condi- tions of the inorganic world are capable of producing the differences observed, by modifying the primordial archetype. If this can be done successfully, the argu- ment is irresistible, as even the strongest opposers of the developmental theory admit.*

CHAPTER VII. INFLUENCE OF CONDITIONS.

Definition of Species. — Hybridization. — In the Horse. — Ox. — Sheep. — Deer. — Dog. — In Plants. — Influence of Conditions. — Of Do- mestic. — Of Natural. — Design in Structure.

199. NATURALISTS, ever since the dawn of science, have been engaged in combat in regard to the proper

* Lyell, Hugh Miller, &c.

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definition of specific characters. This appears singular to those whose observation is limited, for it is easy to distinguish between a horse and a dog, an ox and a sheep; but if he follows the naturalist down into the walks of the lower orders, he will find all his distinc- tions melt away, and he will no longer feel surprised at the confusion of philosophers. Morton* terms spe- cies "a primordial organic form," a definition true, but impractical, because of the impossibility of determin- ing what are, and what are not, " primordial forms." Cuvier, Buffon, and other eminent naturalists, indorse the maxim in natural history, that "the faculty of procreating a, fertile offspring constitutes identity of species, and that all differences of structure and exter- nal appearances incompatible therewith are solely the effects resulting from variety of climate, food, or acci- dent; consequently are forms of mere varieties, or of races, of one common species." This, however, is un- true, as will be subsequently proved. For if true, all the canidas, as well as many other genera, can be re- ferred to one species, as they are all prolific together. 200. No general definition can be given. When it can be shown that two races have a separate origin, they are termed species; and in absence of proof, this is inferred, when peculiarities of organization are observed transmitted from parent to offspring. When races originating from a common stock present marked differences, they are called varieties, and the variety is called transient when it manifests a disposition to disappear, or permanent when it continues fixed. The limits of species are every day becoming more indis- tinct. The report of every voyager adds to the cata-

* Types of Mankind. Nott and Gliddon.

218 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

logue of already countless beings in which the reputed limits of species are fast vanishing away. Naturalists pride themselves in the discovery of new species, more than the thorough acquaintance with those already known, and have by the multiplicity of specific names, many of which are known to be synonymous, filled their catalogues with confusion. A spot on a butter- fly's wing, a greater length of limb of a quadruped, or of wing of a bird, is often sufficient proof, with them, of diversity of origin, and a true difference of species. Instead of aiming at a philosophical system of nature, to which the study of special forms is sub- ordinate, they have ignored all idea of unitizing their observations even by hypothesis, and scorned all at- tempts at theorizing. They have met in associations, and occupied their time in filling ponderous volumes with dry and prolix details utterly devoid of value. By such means scientific reputation is acquired, while the cause of science remains stationary. In opposition to such a course, from the facts recorded in the vol- umes of science, I shall deduce a theory, and endeavor to support it by many examples and observations. I have presented the plan of creation. Now, if it can be shown that the conditions of the inorganic world can produce new species, then we have the key which will unlock the mysterious halls of nature.

201. That species unite and blend, cannot be better supported than by the difficulty, before alluded to, of forming a proper definition. To all intents, any defi- nition will apply to variety as well as species. If the origin of a variety is unknown, it is called a species. That species hybridize, and that their offsprings are fertile, has been clearly established. Though far from agreeing with those theorists who refer all the inter-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 219

mediate forms to hybridization, yet it seems certain that many species have originated from inter- mixture.

202. In presenting the subjects of hybrids, I will first introduce the equine, (equus caballus, Lin.,) or horse family, composed of five species : the horse, dzigguetai, ass, zebra, onagga, and quagga. The off- spring of the horse and she ass, the hinny, is rarely met with, being small, refractory, and useless, and hence not profitable to rear. The hinny copies the horse much more than the ass. The head and ears are small, and precisely like the father 's ; the legs, feet, and tail slender, like the mother's. The offspring of the female horse and male ass, the common mule, is much better known, being bred on account of its har- diness. It reverses what is seen in the hinny, and is much closer related to the ass than the horse.

203. The female ass and the male quagga breed together, but the male offspring, crossed with a mare, produces an offspring more docile than either parent, combining their best physical qualities — strength and speed. Cuvier mentions his having seen the cross be- tween the ass and zebra, as well as between the zebra and horse. It must be remembered that the ass and horse are not the nearest related of the equine genus. Bell and Gray are even disposed to found a new genus for the former.

Doubts are entertained whether the horse is not derived from several different stocks. The unlimited productiveness among the different varieties has coun- tenanced the idea that they all sprang from a solitary pair, of Mesopotamian origin. Hamilton Smith has, however, by his researches overturned this superan- nuated idea. He separates horses into five primitive

220 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

stocks, existing as the remnant of a previous creation, represented by the fossil bones of horses exhumed from the tertiary. Some of these races have been entirely subdued, such as the Tarpans, the Kirguise, and Parmere, woolly white race, and the wild horse of Poland.

204. Britain had a race peculiar to itself, described by Caesar as having bushy manes and tails of a dun color, with a black stripe on the spine. It was the ancestor of the Shetland and Scottish ponies. A wider difference exists between the Shetland pony and the Arabian courser than between the fox and the wolf. They must be referable to widely remote stocks, yet they are prolific inter se, as are also their offspring.

205. Hybridization occurs in the ox tribe (bovine). The ox stands in exactly the same position in this re- spect as the horse, the best naturalists contending for plurality of species. The origin of our domestic cattle is wholly unknown, and at least antedates the oldest Egyptian monuments. The American bison produces hybrid offspring with the domestic stock, which repro- duce without limit, when coupled with either parent stock.

206. Dr. Morton has proved that the domestic goat and sheep are derived from a plurality of species. When the goat and sheep are coupled together, they produce the most prolific hybrids. This example is very important, from the fact that the sheep and goat not only are different species, but belong to different genera, while they produce hybrids which also breed prolifically. These facts are sustained by indisputable authority.*

* Buffon, Quadrupddes, xxii. p. 400 ; xxx. p. 230,

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 221

207. Still more extraordinary is the hybridity of the deer and ram.* Hellenius gives the following synop- sis of his experiments: —

"I have thus from this pair (female deer — cervus capriolus, and the male sheep — ovis aries) — obtained seven offspring, viz. : four from the ram and deer, two of each sex ; two from the deer 's first hybrid male off- spring, viz., by crossing the latter animal with the Finland ewe, and by crossing this same male with the female offspring of the deer and ram; one, a ewe, by pairing the Finland ewe with one of her own progeny, from the first hybrid male derived from the deer and ram."

It is evident that, with little care, or in a state of nature, by bringing together many pairs, a new race, intermediate between the deer and sheep, could be unlimitedly propagated. Molina, in his Natural His- tory of Chili, records that the inhabitants of that country have, for a long time, been in the habit of crossing goats and sheep to improve their flocks; and he also says that the offspring thus obtained are un- limitedly prolific. All well-read naturalists maintain that the dromedary and camel are distinct species,f and they were figured on the monuments of Nineveh, at least 2500 years ago, precisely as they appear at present. But they and their offspring propagate un- limitedly together.

208. Perhaps no question has caused so much con- troversy as the origin of the domestic dog. The best authorities promulgate doctrines diametrically differ- ent. One class refer all varieties to a common origin

* Carl R. Hellenius, quoted in Types of Mankind, from the Memoirs of the Royal Swedish Academy of Stockholm, as sanctioned by Dr. Morton.

t Linnaeus, Smith, Cuvier, Lessing, &c., and sustained in Types, &c.

222 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

in the wolf; another class suppose that they are de- rived from various species, created in different coun- tries; and still another refer them to domestication of the wolf, fox, jackal, &c., and the infinite hybridiza- tion between the races thus produced. This is a question having a direct bearing on the transmutation of species. If it is proved that the poodle and New- foundland dogs have a common origin, all boundaries to the limitless modification of species are removed, and if the last theory be resorted to, the fact that all the canine species are prolific inter se demolishes the limitation of species.

209. It is probable that the domestic dog of our day is derived from several species, and also from the wolf, fox, &c., which have been domesticated. Pallas observed in Moscow the offspring of the dog and black wolf, which were prolific among themselves. The Australian dingo is a fine example of a wild dog, and is undoubtedly a distinct species. The Indian dogs of America were probably derived from the American wolf by domestication. Richardson remarks that his men, while engaged in his famed arctic exploration, often mistook the wolf for the Esquimaux dog. He also observes that the Indian hare-dog so nearly re- sembles the prairie wolf, that on comparing live speci- mens he could detect no difference in form, fineness of fur, or position of spots. All races of dogs are pro- lific when bred together, and their offspring are unlim- itedly prolific.

210. What has been said of dogs might be repeated of our domestic fowls, our cats, and our swine. We are entirely ignorant of their origin, but they probably are derived from blending of several distinct species, which have become lost in amalgamation.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 223

211. The amalgamation occurring among plants is still greater than among animals. The fertilizing pollen is transferred from one to another by insects, and undoubtedly many of our reputed species are only hybrids originating in this manner. Let it be proved that hybrids are fertile, and we have an explanation of the creation of many of the intermediate species and genera. But I would by no means lay as much stress on hybridity as some have done. It is one among many causes which operate in effecting changes of specific character.

212. There is one fact connected with hybridization which has not received the attention it deserves as a cause of specific change. Hybrids may or may not be fertile ; but if being impregnated by another species forever after influences the succeeding offspring, then a new argument presents itself in hybridity. Dr. Harvey says that an Arabian mare, being covered by a quagga, gave birth to an offspring with the distinc- tive characters of the male parent. She afterwards was covered by a full-blood Arabian horse, and pro- duced three successive foals all bearing the marks of the quagga. Another mare, after having produced a hybrid by a zebra, was afterwards bred with the horse, but always after her offspring were distinctly marked like the zebra. Such facts are still more distinctly seen when different breeds of the horse, ox, dog, &c., are bred together, and are likewise seen in human generation. If these facts be admitted, then the fertil- ity of hybrids can be rejected ; but it must be admitted that the mother is capable of impressing her full-blood offspring ever afterwards with the marks of the hybrid- izing male, and such offspring, being fertile, will trans- mit such characters ; and thus new races may originate,

224

which will become species as soon as their source becomes lost.

213. Equally great are the effects of conditions. They mould plastic life into whatever channel they work out, and such is the harmony which exists be- tween organic forms and their environing conditions, that philosophers have ever supposed that in this har- mony they saw the evidence of design, and that living forms were created in reference to the conditions in which they were to be placed. In this dogma we perceive no vestige of law. It is wide of the field of philosophical research, and could issue from none other than a theological source. In strict induction, if a changeable form is placed in unchangeable conditions, it must either conform or perish.

214. Let us pause for a moment in our deductions, and introduce facts having direct reference to the sub- ject under review. If it can be proved that species permanently change by any concurrence of circum- stances whatever, then the theory of their primordial creation and special design in their adaptation goes by the board. The influence man exerts over domes- tic animals is very great, and it is interesting to observe the great variety he has produced by varying the cir- cumstances which suround them.

215. Gardeners and agriculturists are well aware of the influence exerted by favorable conditions on plants. They know that so often as they furnish these they reap a rich harvest; the result following given influences takes place with mathematical cer- tainty. Many single wild plants, when furnished with a superabundance of food, have their stamens con- verted to petals, and become double, as the poppy, peony, &c. Others change their color, as the hy-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 225

irangea; when planted in compost, they have red flowers; in bog earth, blue; and in loam, yellow. In the primrose a more remarkable change occurs. It was Linnaeus 's opinion that the primrose, oxlip, cow- slip, and polyanthus, between which there are specific differences, were varieties of one species. This opin- ion is confirmed by experiment. Still greater changes have been produced by cultivation, which show that when the true knowledge of cultivation is thoroughly understood, almost any desired change can be pro- cured. A salt and bitter plant, like the chardock, with green, wavy leaves, was taken from the sea side and transplanted into a rich soil, where it became changed into two plants, between which exist specific distinc- tions— the cabbage and cauliflower. The apple was derived from the sour crab, which ornaments the banks of rivers, and by variations in its culture, runs into the countless varieties which add value to the orchard. The influence of culture in this remarkable instance is forcibly shown by comparing the greening or pippin with the crab apple.* The plum was de- rived from the bitter sloe; the luscious peach from a poisonous shrub of the Persian deserts. The sour, red currant, by culture, is changed into a new variety, larger and sweeter than the cherry. The wild straw- berry, by the same process, becomes of enormous size and of exquisite flavor. Equally great changes are effected in the blackberry and raspberry.

216. By the total extinction of the original types of the cereals, it is evident that they have so widely departed from their original form as to be no longer recognizable. These transformations must antedate

* Lyell, Principles. 15

226 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

the age of the pyramids, as wheat precisely like that of the present has been obtained from exhumed mum- mies. Even at that remote era cultivation had wrought nearly its ultimate change of form. Wherever man has trod, he has carried the cereals with him; yet no- where do they occur wild. It will not appear singular or strange that a rough weed is transformed into wheat, when to the facts previously stated we add others equally conclusive. The inestimable potato is de- rived from a diminutive root growing wild in Chili. The carrot, in a wild state, is a slender, dry root, unfit to eat. The delicate cauli rapi, is, wrhen wild, a dry stem. Professor Henslow's experiments confirm this position as to the mutability of species. He proves that the centaurea -nigra and nigrescens pass into each other by cultivation, as do the species of rosa, primula, and anagallis. The garden daisy is only the cultivated wild species. Future botanists will continue to multiply these facts.

217. The derivation of wheat has been reduced by M. Fabre, of Agae, France,* to a certainty, by direct and careful experiment. He took the seeds of the segilops ovata, a rough grass, native of Southern France and Italy, and after twelve successive years' cultiva- tion it became perfect wheat, and not a single plant ever reverted to its former aegilopic character. He conducted his experiments in an enclosure, surrounded by a high wall, which silences the objection which might arise, that the aegilops hybridized with neighboring wheat. Each year effected a slow change, advancing the plant one step nearer the true wheat. This experi-

* For a full delineation of this remarkable experiment, see Agri- cultural Report for 1857, quoted from Journal of Royal Agriculture, p. 574.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 227

ment reconciles the vague traditions which refer the origin of the cereals to the East, where the aegilops is a common wild grass, and, under favorable circum- stances, might have assumed a wheat-like appearance. If wheat is thus derived, it is probable that the other cereals had the same origin. This is supported by the statement of the noted botanist, Lindley. He says, "At the request of the Marquis of Bristol, Lord Hervey, in the year 1843, sowed a handful of oats, and treated them in the manner recommended by contin- ually stopping the flowering stems ; and the produce in 1844 has been, for the most part, ears of very slender barley, having much the appearance of rye, with a lit- tle wheat and some oats." "How then can we be sure that all the cereals are not offshoots from some unsuspected species ?" The surmise of the great botanist has been verified and established as an im- portant fact of botanical science.*

218. So great have been the changes effected in do- mestic animals, that their origin is obscured or totally lost. It is probable that the dog, horse, ox, and sheep were derived from many sources, and the great va- riety now existing undoubtedly came by the blend- ing of the various stocks produced by them. The savage tribes of the primitive ages each strove to domesticate the wild animals of the forest; and when the tribes united in nations, their domesticated ani- mals became common property, and mingled together. This is far more rational than to suppose one tribe first domesticated a particular animal, and from them it was disseminated to all others. The dog, for instance,

* For a full delineation of this remarkable experiment, see Agri- cultural Report for 1857, quoted from Journal of Royal Agriculture, P. 574.

228 THE ARCANA OP NATURE, OR

of the Esquimaux is a northern wolf; of the western Indians, a prairie wolf; of the east, a domesticated wolf, fox, or jackal. By blending these various stocks the great variety observed is produced. These varia- tions are very ancient, dating back at least five thou- sand years, as the mastiff, hound, &c., are faithfully delineated on Egyptian monuments.

219. The horse has been discovered as a fossil of the tertiary, and even then existed as two distinct spe- cies.* The present races are probably descendants from these original stocks. Climate and culture have also greatly affected them. There is a specific distinc- tion between the Shetland pony and the Arab steed. It is stated that the common horse, transported to Ara- bia, in time becomes better formed. Climate has a great influence on animals. In 1764 the French introduced horses and cattle into the Falkland Islands. The horses have increased, but greatly degenerated, and, although in good condition, are so small and weak that they cannot be used in taking the wild cattle.

220. Darwin remarks that "at some future period, the southern hemisphere probably will have its breed of Falkland ponies, as the northern has its Shetland breed, "f

Although but one breed of cattle was imported, yet, occupying a territory of only one hundred and twenty by sixty miles, they have separated into three distinct varieties. Those on the high lands are of a mouse color, and calve a month earlier than those on the low lands. On the north of Choiseul Sound they are dark brown, while south of it they are white, with

* Lyell's Elements. De Labucks, Geological Observer. t Darwin, Voyage of a Naturalist, vol. I. p. 247.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 229

black heads and feet. The various herds do not mingle, and it is remarkable to see one variety of the ox thus producing three essentially new branches. It has been conjectured the wild and fierce auroch was the original parent of our domestic stock, and it may be one of the roots from which they are derived, but they cannot be referred entirely to this source. They manifest too mixed a type to be derived .from a single stem.

By culture the Devons, Durhams, &c., have been, as it were, created out of the original stock, and made permanent. What are termed improvements in stock consist in adding to those parts of the animal most valuable as meat, and lessening the less valuable por- tion. This has been almost reduced to a science, and breeders successfully strive to perfect their animals in these points. There appears no limit to their success in this direction, as each year produces a nearer advance to the ideal. The same is true of horses, which are bred in reference to different pur- poses. The draft horse becomes the strongest of ani- mals; the racer the fleetest; the hunter endowed with surefootedness, and capable of leaping fences and hedges which would confine most other animals. Each variety has been bred with reference to an ideal, and by long and patient care that ideal ihas been obtained.

221. Ofttimes man has taken advantage of acci- dental peculiarities, and by proper care made them permanent. As an illustration, in 1791 a ewe, belong- ing to a farmer in Massachusetts, produced a male lamb, which, from its singular length of body and shortness of limbs, received the name of the otter breed. These peculiarities, disabling it from leaping

230 THE ARCANA OP NATURE, OR

fences, &c., seemed to render the breed desirable, and determined the owner to make an effort to propagate it. The first year he obtained two with the same characteristics, the second a greater number ; and when these were bred together a new and strongly-marked race was permanently established.*

222. A new breed of Merino sheep, distinguished for their long, smooth, and silky wool, has been estab- lished in a similar manner.f

It has been objected that man has only taken such species under his care as were capable of the greatest degree of education, or transformation. This, how- ever, is entirely an assertion. As the origin of all domesticated species is lost, we do not know what were the species man first reclaimed. Nor can we ascertain the amount of change six thousand years' domestication would produce on any of the present wild species. Man annuls time by producing the concurrence of the most favorable conditions. His influence is not arbitrary or unnatural, as has been sup- posed by those who have been blinded by the dust of controversy, but is simply a condition whereby change is effected. By understanding the causes he can induce such effects as he pleases, and rule the animate world with iron sway. But enough has been stated to show how potent is his influence. It is too well known to be disputed, and I turn to the operation of natural causes.

223. Often have I remarked the dwarfed appear- ance of stems of grain which had accidentally strayed from the border of the field. None feel the effects of degenerating causes as much as that lover of the rich

* Philosophical Transactions, 1813.

t Owen, in a lecture before the Society of Arts, Dec. 10, 1851.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 231

and cultivated soil, the Indian corn. It can be seen by the side of fields, or when choked with weeds but a few inches high, and maturing but a few grains.

224. An English botanist states, that ' l on the chalky borders of a wood he gathered perfect specimens, in full flower, of the centaury, not half an inch in height. By tracing the plant towards the wood, it gradually increased in size until it became a glorious plant, five feet in height." As it is certain that the conditions of the parent are transmitted to the off- spring, how long could the plant be thus dwarfed be- fore a new and smaller species would result? I have seen specimens of the nightshade, usually three feet high, growing in a cleft of rock, which were not one inch high, and matured but two flowers and one seed. The influence of soil and climate cannot be disputed. When pines and firs grow up the mountain side, meet- ing the increasing cold and more barren soil, they become smaller and smaller, until covered by almost perpetual frost.

225. Fungi and lichens are more affected by the circumstances of their growth than any other vegeta- tion. In their classification exists the greatest dif- ficulty in fixing their characters. Fries asserts that out of the different states of one species (telephora sul- phur ea) more than eight distinct genera had been con- structed by different authors. It would seem, then, that the absolute number of species among the fungi is not nearly so great as has been supposed, and the kind produced by a decomposing infusion, or a bed of decaying solid matter, will depend as much on the material employed as upon the germ itself which is the subject of it. * The Haarlem Academy of Sci-

* Carpenter's Comparative Physiology, p. 62.

232 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

ence proposed as a question, "According to some bot- anists, algae of a very simple structure, placed under favorable circumstances, develop and change into different plants, belonging to genera more elevated in the scale of organic being; although these same alga?, in the absence of such favorable circumstances, would be fertile and reproduce their original form. ' ' * This statement has never been disproved. It is stated by the greatest of living physiologists, that while young, the lichen is a perfect alga, but as it matures, a dry habitat is best suited for it. In every respect it is an alga, except that it grows in the air, while the other grows in water. Knowing as we do the susceptibility of the cryptogamia to external influences, we are justi- fied in predicting an unlimited amount of change when the proper influences are applied.

226. Darwin records in his journal many interest- ing facts having a direct bearing on the question under discussion. He records, unknowingly, the tendency of species to conform to the conditions which surround them. The changes the damp climate of the Falk- land Islands had effected on the horse and ox have already been referred to, but they are far from com- pleting the list. The rabbit has been imported into the same inhospitable clime, and succeeds so well that it abounds in a wild state. The rabbit is a native of Northern Africa, and would not be supposed capable of enduring the extreme transition it has done in being removed from its torrid home into the damp climate of the Falklands, where there is so little sunshine that wheat ripens only occasionally. But, instead of be- coming extinct, it has originated three varieties, — black, gray, and piebald, — so very distinct that even Cuvier,

* Charlsworth's Magazine of Natural History, ii. p. 448.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 233

unacquainted with their origin, judging by the skull, thought they were distinct species.

227. The common hog has run wild on the island, and has become of a jet black color, the boars having enormous tusks, and being extremely fierce.

228. The only native carnivorous animal is a large wolf-like fox. On the authority of Darwin, this fox is the only instance on record of so small and broken a fragment of land having so large an indigenous quadruped peculiar to itself. Those who believe in miraculous creation will find this fact hard to digest. With countless others it requires a special act of cre- ation, ungoverned by law, and fortuitous as chance. How beautifully, however, is it in accordance with the theory we are supporting. The parent fox is brought to the island from some other land, perhaps America, on a floating raft, drifted by wind and current; and linding an abundance of food, and no enemies, multi- plies, and after many generations is moulded by the new conditions which operate upon it, until it is no longer recognizable. It deceived even Cuvier on its origin.

229. Keeling Island has but one quadruped — a rat, which was introduced by a ship wrecked on the coast. It is pronounced by Waterhouse identical with the English kind ; but it is modified by its new home, be- coming smaller and deeper colored. Oceanic birds straggle over the low Pacific Islands, as the rail shot on Ascension, a solitary straggler, proves. Becoming attached to particular haunts, they cease to migrate, and under the same influences which modified the ox, the horse, and the rabbit of the Falklands, originate new species. How else are we to account for varieties found on all these islands, and on every portion of the

234 THE AKCANA OF NATURE, OR

continents? On Keeling Island a snipe and a rail were found, not lovers of the water, but of the dry land, and feeding on dry herbage.

230. Perhaps nothing can be written so admirably illustrating and substantiating the theory that living beings conform to the conditions in which they are placed, as this naturalist's account of the Galapagos Archipelago. This group of islands lies directly under the equator, six hundred miles from the western coast of South America. Entirely of volcanic origin, they glitter in the vertical rays of a torrid sun, every height crowned with its crater, and the course of the lava streams still distinct. Each of the several islands has its own animals peculiar to itself, even the tortoises of different islands differing in size and character. Each island of the group has a variety of mocking thrush peculiar to itself ; there are twenty-six species of plants found nowhere else. It has been a theme of speculation among scientific men, why each island should have a distinct flora and fauna from the others, when lying so near each other as to be in sight. A distinct creation was believed necessary for each. Here their theory, philosophy, and knowledge termi- nated But are we necessitated to leave the domain of science? Not as long as positive knowledge can be acquired. These islands are of recent origin. They were upheaved from the profoundest depths of the ocean. Through the spaces between them, a strong current constantly sweeps, effectually cutting off all intercommunication, and the chance or possibility of an 'animal passing from one to the other would be far better, if five hundred miles of calm ocean interposed between them. All the animals and plants show a marked relation to those of the contiguous South Amer-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 235

ican coast. From such data I draw the inference that these islands have been separately planted and colo- nized by drifted seeds and animals, and, as in previ- ously cited instances, these have changed until their parentage is obscured.

231. From the hot and arid climate of these islands the character of the plants may be inferred. Their leaves are so small that the dwarfed underwood ap- pears entirely leafless, and except in places moistened by springs, this cheerless aspect is universal.

There is only one indigenous mammal, and that an inhabitant of but one island — a mouse closely related to the mouse of the new world. On another island a rat has been discovered, and from its being related to the rat of Europe, has been referred to that species, as a variety of the latter, imported in vessels, modified by climate.

232. There are twenty-six kinds of birds, all pecu- liar to the group, except a lark-like finch, a native of North America. They are composed of hawks, owls, wrens, doves, waders, &c., almost all of which, not- withstanding the tropical climate, are of a dusky color. They are generally smaller than the continen- tal species, as well as duskier hued — a fact showing them to be immigrants, as transplanted species gener- ally decrease in size. The plants have also degenerated, being forced to grow in this coarse and arid volcanic soil. All the insects also are small and dull colored, conforming to the weed-like vegetation on which they feed.

233. It is now established that fishes do not pass very great intervals of open sea. Hence they are nearly as much confined in their specific ranges as the land fauna. This group of islands has sixteen species

236 THE ARC ANA OF NATURE, OR

peculiar to itself, belonging to twelve genera, which are widely distributed.

234 Of mollusks they have sixteen species of land shells, ninety species of sea shells, all peculiar to them, except one land shell, a native of Tahiti, and forty- three sea shells, twenty-five of which are natives of the western coast of America ; and the others are widely distributed. Eight of these are varieties.

235. "Why," exclaims the above naturalist, "on these small points of land, which within a late geologi- cal period must have been covered by the ocean, which are formed of basaltic lava, and therefore differ in geo- logical character from the American continent, and which are placed under a peculiar climate, — why were their aboriginal inhabitants associated, I may add in different proportions, both in kind and number, from those on the continent, and therefore acting on each other in a different manner, — why were they created on different types of organization ? It is probable that the Cape de Verd group resemble in all their physical conditions far more closely the Galapagos Islands than these latter physically resemble the coast of America; yet the aboriginal inhabitants of the two groups are totally unlike, those of the Cape de Verd Islands bear- ing the impress of Africa, as the inhabitants of the Galapagos Archipelago are stamped with that of America. ' ' *

236. Let us pause, and apply the present philoso- phy to the solution. A strong current sweeps past the Galapagos, drifting palms and terrestrial vegeta- tion on their south-eastern shores.f This current

* Darwin's Voyage of a Naturalist, \. p, 249. t Colbett, p. 58.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 237

furnishes a conveyance for the hardy seeds, which are thrown into the ocean by the South American rivers. Rafts formed of floating timber are often met at sea,* bearing strange communities of organic beings. Voy- agers on tropical rivers are often exposed to great danger by these rafts, which are bound downward to the sea. Martius, when ascending the Amazon, saw them in immense numbers. On them were very singu- lar assemblages of animals pursuing their uncertain way. On one he saw a stork — probably having a nest — and a party of monkeys. On another a number of ducks and divers were perched beside a group of squirrels, and on the trunk of an enormous cedar were a crocodile and a tiger cat. If the large rivers have such extensive rafts, small ones, at least occasionally, would send them down to the sea.

237. Lyell remarks,f "It is highly interesting to trace in imagination the effects of the passage of these rafts from the mouth of a large river to some archi- pelago. Some of those in the South Pacific were raised from the deep, in a comparatively recent time, by the operations of the earthquake and volcano, and the joint labor of coral animals and testacea. If a storm arise and the frail vessel be wrecked, still many a bird and insect may reach by flight some island of the new formed group, while the seeds and berries of herbs or shrubs which fall into the water may be thrown upon the strand. But if the surface of the sea is calm, and the rafts are carried along by a current, or wafted by same light breath of air fanning the foliage of the green trees, it may arrive, after a passage of several weeks, at the side of an island, on which

* Sphix and Martius, vol. iii. 1011-13, quoted by Lyell. t Principles of Geology, p. 642.

238 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

its plants and animals would be landed as from an ark, and thus a colony of several hundred new species may at once be naturalized. ' '

238. This reveals the secret of the introduction of species into remote islands, without the assistance of a special creation. Let us delineate the -above history a little farther. One by one, different species are im- ported to each island of a group, gaining thereby accessions to its species independent of the others; and if, as in the Galapagos, strong currents sweep between contiguous islands, the flora and fauna of each will remain distinct. Each island will possess a climate in many respects peculiar, being more or less elevated above the sea, arid, or moist, with equable rains or severe droughts, &c. ; consequently, the influence exerted on the newly-arrived immigrants would materially vary. If the latter survive the change, and are sufficiently hardy to resist the detri- mental causes, they will be forced to undergo modifi- cations such as we have already observed would take place. The immigrants would be derived from the nearest continent, and, in opposition to change, they would retain their original peculiarities. Hence the aboriginal species of the Cape de Verds partake of the characters of those of Africa, and the Galapagos Islands of America, from which a rapid current sweeps past them.

239. A peculiarity of all island flora and fauna is their heterogeneous character, and the great number of genera compared with the number of species. They are composed of only the most enduring plants and animals — those which are capable of being trans- mitted without much injury. Why is this, if each island is peopled by special design? On the other

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 239

hand, if species are introduced by floating seeds, or animals transported on rafts, it would be a rare occur- rence for more than one species of a genus to become established in its new home. These modifications occurring, would not only alter and transform it out of its original species, but its genus also, to another closely allied. Those species which are also natives of the adjoining continent have either not been natur- alized a sufficient length of time to become modified, or they are endowed with a strong power of resisting encroaching conditions.

240. When animals which inhabit a cold northern latitude, and covered with a thick, warm coat of fur or wool, are transported to a southern latitude, they will gradually shed a considerable portion of it ; but they will obtain it again if returned to the north. The color of the ermine and alpine hare changes to white during the winter. Cold and heat have a marked effect not only in the color, but in the quantity, of cloth- ing necessary for their preservation. Diet, too, has its effect. When meagre and sparing, it has a tendency to produce hair — a fact which may help to explain the acquisition of the thick coats of fur by arctic ani- mals. The fur becomes finer as the severity of the cold increases, for cold contracts the pores of the skin, and the hair takes the size of the aperture through which it grows.*

241. The vital organs are also changed by circum- stances. This is wonderfully seen in the Peruvian race of men, who are noted for their enormous expan- sion of chest. They lived at a height of between seven thousand five hundred and fifteen thousand feet

* Goldsmith's Animated Nature, vol. i. p. 72 ; also Krantz's History Of Greenland, vol. i. p. 72.

240 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

above the sea level, and hence a much greater quan- tity of air was necessary to be inhaled to supply the respiratory functions: in consequence, the lungs were enlarged, and the thorax from infancy abnormally dilated: in the lungs there was a kind of natural em- physema.* There was a time when the Incas did not dwell on those extreme heights, at which time their chests were not unusually developed: such enormous lungs would, if supplied with common air, injure, if not rapidly consume, the physical system. They re- moved to the rarified and elevated stratum of air, and their lungs conformed to its peculiar influence, and after a few generations, the peculiarity became heredi- tary, and was possessed by the unborn child. Thus we see the production of one of the most prominent physi- cal characteristics of the Inca race.

242. Organs are lost, or dwarfed, by inactivity. If they are enlarged by conditions bringing them into uncommon activity, they are decreased by influences unfavorable to their growth. Thus the mole rat, (mus typhlus, Pal.,) dwelling constantly beneath the surface of the ground, and consequently in total darkness, has no use for organs of vision, and they are in consequence undeveloped.f That such is the fact, and that it is not design, is clearly proved by this animal — having the rudiments of eyes — mere round black bodies — situated beneath the folds of the skin. They, however, serve no purpose, and are failures so far as special design is concerned in the structure of the animal. The common mole is a transitional form. It has little use for eyes while travelling in its dark subterranean

* Smith, Natural History of the Human Species, p. 38. t Cuvier's Animal Kingdom, p. 116.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 241

passages, and hence they have become so small that it was believed at one time that it was blind.

243. Fishes inhabiting cavern lakes are sometimes blind, as those of the Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky, U. S. — a result of similar conditions to those which destroy the vision of the mole rat.

Mollusks, when they inhabit water, strongly im- pregnated with carbonate of lime, acquire shells of great thickness; the presence or absence of a single element effecting such important changes that it is difficult to recognize the species. In water strongly impregnated with carbonic acid, — as the Lake Sol- fatara, in Italy, — the confervae, and other simple cellu- lar plants flourish so vigorously that they completely fill the water. Around springs where carbonic acid escapes, vegetation partakes of an almost carbonifer- ous luxuriance.

244. There are conditions furnished by some coun- tries more favorable to the existence of particular be- ings than others. Thus North America is the oldest land on the globe,* and we find its fauna remarkably harmonizing with its ancient character. In it the most ancient beings exist. It is in North America where the gar-pike lives, and the gar-pike is the only existing rep- resentative of that age when the gar-pike only lived.* The fishes of the North American lakes greatly differ, but live in similar situations as allied European species. There are fishes in Lake Superior with spines on their obercular bones, all the scales hard, and, what is never observed in existing hard-scaled fishes, they have fatty fins. These facts are set down by naturalists as strange. But they are in beautiful harmony with the

* Agassiz, Geology of Lake Superior. 16

242 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

theory here presented. The American continent was elevated above the ancient ocean, and its northern por- tion has never since been wholly submerged. It has fostered its ancient fauna, some of which have had power to resist the changes which have slowly occurred without being removed from the types to which they belong; others have completely changed; while others still, unable to withstand the opposing, changing influ- ences have perished. It is observed that the fresh water species of the North American lakes are allied to European species living in similar situations, proving that similar conditions ever reproduce simi- lar forms.

245. Another illustration is found in the Australian continent, which does not carry us back to such remote eras as America, but ushers us into the oolitic epoch. By influences which are exerted in a manner of which we are at present ignorant, the flora and fauna of the oolitic period are retained. Marsupials occupy the place of the true mammalia, and oolitic rays and sharks swarm the adjacent ocean.

246. It is objected that animals cannot change, because their instincts are permanent, and hence are inadequate to maintain life under any other circum- stances than that for which they were especially de- signed. But instinct is far from permanent. It changes with the organic modifications effected in the animal. A few facts only will be introduced from the innumerable instances where such changes have been produced. The wild hare digs a deep and intricate bur- row, to protect itself against its enemies; but when tamed, and conscious of protection, it neglects to pro- vide this security for itself.* It has been observed

* Darwin, vol. ii. p. 175.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 243

that when a warren is stocked with tame rabbits, they and their immediate offspring neglect to dig burrows, and remain exposed to the weather; but after two or three generations they find the necessity of provid- ing themselves shelter, and resume their former habits of burrowing.

247. On the Pacific Islands early voyagers and travellers found the birds and animals extraordinarily tame. They could be approached and caught with the hand, or killed with a switch. On the Galapagos Islands, which are but little frequented by man, they are very tame; in the Falklands they were, accord- ing to Pernety, once quite as tame. They have learned caution by experience. In early times, when all the other birds were tame, the black-necked swan was wild and sly : " being a bird of passage, it brought with it the wisdom learned in foreign countries.7'

248. "All the birds at Bourbon Island in 1571 and 1572, with the exception of flamingoes and geese, were so extremely tame that they could be caught with the hand. Again, at Tristan d'Acunha, in the Atlantic, Carmichael states that the only two land birds, a thrush and a bunting, were so tame as to suffer themselves to be caught with a net. From these several facts we are warranted in the conclusion, first, that the wild- ness of birds, with regard to man, is a particular instinct directed against him, not arising from any general caution originating from other sources of danger; secondly, that it is not acquired by individual birds in a short time, even when much persecuted, but that in the course of successive generations it be- comes hereditary. With domesticated animals we are accustomed to see new mental habits or instincts acquired, and rendered hereditary; but with animals

244 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

in a state of nature it must always be difficult to dis- cover instances of acquired knowledge. In regard to the wildness of birds towards man, there is no way of accounting for it, except as an inherited habit. Com- paratively few young birds in any one year have been injured by man in England; yet almost all, even nestlings, are afraid of him: many individuals at the Galapagos and Falkland Islands have been pursued and injured by man, but have not yet learned a salu- tary dread of him. We may infer from these facts the havoc the introduction of any new beast of prey must cause in a country before the instincts of the indigenous inhabitants have become adapted to the stranger's craft or power."*

Such are the facts, and such the conclusions, of one of England's best naturalists. The instincts acquired by domestication are of such a character as to be easily referable to the influences brought to bear on the domesticated species. Lyell's objection,f urged against the unlimited adaptation of habit, because the instincts acquired by domestication have an intimate relation to the habits of the species in a wild state, when rightly considered, so far from being an objec- tion, sustains the theory it is designed to disprove; for it is evident that the original habits should mod- ify the influences of domestication to a greater or less extent. This author remarks, "It is undoubtedly true that many new habits and qualities have not only been acquired in recent times by certain races of dogs, but have been transmitted to their offspring." He might have extended the same remark to all domesti- cated species.

* Principles of Geology, p. 594. t Principles of Geology, p. 593.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 245

249. A race of dogs employed in hunting the deer on the Santa Fe table land in Mexico affords a beauti- ful illustration of a newly-acquired instinct.* The dog of pure breed will never attack a deer from be- fore while it is running, but will step aside, and make his assault on its flank or rear. He watches the fa- vorable moment when the deer rests its weight only on its fore-legs, and then by a sudden effort overturns it. The weight of the animal thus thrown often ex- ceeds six times that of its adversary; whereas newly- imported dogs, though much larger, not having this instinct, often have the vertebrae of their necks dislo- cated by the violence of the shock.

250. A new instinct has been acquired by that mongrel race of dogs employed on the banks of the Magdalena, in South America, to hunt, the white- lipped peccary. The address of these dogs consists in not attacking any individual of the herd, but keeping them all in check. These dogs, when first taken into the field, understand this mode of attack, but dogs of another breed will start forward at once, become sur- rounded and torn in pieces in a moment.

251. The English greyhound, when transported to the Mexican table land, situated nine thousand feet above the sea, where the mercury in the barometer stands at nineteen inches, was found to be unable to endure the fatigues of the chase in the attenuated at- mosphere, lying down after a short time and gasping for breath. But the offspring of these same hounds were as fleet as the best in their native country, and not in the least incommoded by the rarefied state of the atmosphere.f

* M. Roulin, Ann. des Science Nat tome xvi. P. 16. t Principles, 594.

246 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

252. The peculiar habits of the pointer and re- triever, first taught them by art, have become heredi- tary, and when first taken into the field their peculiar traits are manifested far more than in other races after long and patient teaching.* Shepherd dogs manifest a remarkable aptitude for their vocation, and dogs to which any peculiar trick has been taught often transmit the same to their descendants.

Instances are on record in which dogs, by design having been deprived of their tails, have transmitted this lack of tail to their offspring ; but there are breeds of tailless dogs of a remote origin. There is a wide field open for investigation in regard to the extent the mental influence of the mother affects the offspring, for although many marvellous fables are related by credulity, the subject is of great importance. "And when it is borne in mind that the races of animals among which the so-called spontaneous variations are most apt to spring up, are also those which are most susceptible of the modifying influences of external con- ditions, it seems highly probable that these spon- taneous variations are attributable to the influence of external agencies in modifying the constitution of the parent, "f

253. I now turn to the consideration of another point in the influence of conditions. It has always been argued by philosophers, as well as theologians, that living beings were created by design, in harmony with the position they occupy, by an external force; thus inverting the true order of cause and effect, or rather totally ignoring the immediate cause. I desire to introduce a few instances which are said to show

* Experiment of Magendie.

t Smith, Nat. Hist, of the Human Species, p. 38.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 247

the presence of design in the most remarkable man- ner, and apply to them the theory presented in this chapter.

254. Paley, in his Natural Theology, remarks that the similitude between the form of a fish and a boat "is not the resemblance of imitation, but the likeness of applying similar mechanical means to the same pur- poses." "In their mechanical use, the caudal fin may be reckoned the keel, the ventral fins the outriggers, the pectoral fins the oars/' and we may now add, "the caudal fin the screw-propeller.'7 Such are the supposed instances of design in the structure of fishes. Look still deeper, and answer the question how the form of fishes could be changed so long as they are inhabitants of the water. Whether they conformed or not to the conditions imposed, the nature of the aqueous element would soon induce the necessary changes to establish harmony between its inhabitants and itself.*

255. The same remarks apply to birds. In their organization are combined all the mechanical contri- vances essential to aerial locomotion. Their form is the only one compatible with flight. As the elements through which transportation is effected are similar, except in density, the form of the two types is simi- lar; but while the locomotive organs of one are ex- erted on a dense medium, those of the other are exerted on -a very ethereal one ; hence the difference in the size of the fin of a fish and the wing of a bird. Of course the body of the bird is constructed of so light a ma- terial, that it floats upon the water, and its limbs are readily converted into oars. The effect of its feet is further increased by the membrane stretched between

* See Paley's Natural Theology.

248 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

the toes, which expands when the foot is thrown back- wards, and contracts when brought forward, and is further favored by the oar-like backward position of the legs — a position, however, unfavorable for walking.

256. Owen refers the existence of marsupials in Australia to special design. On account of the severe droughts of that country, and the extensive fires which follow, the native animals are obliged to make distant migrations, such as the young of the herbivora could not accomplish. But the marsupial dam has a pouch in which she conveys her young, and thus becomes adequate to transport them to great distances. He here shows as close reasoning in the relation of causes and effects as he has on another page, where he con- siders the vacancy between the incisors and molars of the horse designed to receive the bit of his master, man. As I have attempted to prove, on a preceding page, the existence of marsupials on that continent is referable to entirely different causes, and their adap- tation to the mentioned peculiarities of the climate is incidental. Had they been natives of the prairies of the west, this author undoubtedly would have seen design in their relation to the fires which annually sweep over those vast grassy plains, enabling them to escape with their young; but it is found that the herbivora are enabled to escape destruction, and multi- ply in vast numbers, and wihen transported to the region for which the marsupials were designed, flourish with the same vigor as in their native clime.

257. Darwin* saw, on the Paranas of South Amer- ica, a very extraordinary bird, called the scissor-beak,

* Darwin, vol. ii. p. 175.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 249

which he considers as manifesting design in a remark- able manner. This is shown in its beak. It is a flat- tened laterally, and is as thin and elastic as a paper- cutter; and, what is different from other birds, the lower mandible is much the longest. The design of this arrangement is shown by the use made of it by the birds. They fly like swallows over the water, with their lower mandible plunged beneath the surface, with which they plough up small fish, which are caught by the upper and shorter half of its bill. The experiment has never been tested, and consequently it is impossible to say how long a time must elapse before the bill of a swallow, or tern, would become thus flattened, were they to adopt the habits of the scissor-beak ; but this can be inferred — that the compression of the beak would continue from generation to generation to augment, should such habits be adopted ; and it is well established that the instincts of species, so far from being un- changeable, are frequently greatly modified. With every modification of instinct come new manners of life, and these, reacting on the organism, tend to make it conform to the given influences.

258. The same naturalist, speaking of one of the antarctic aquatic birds, — the steamer, — says, "It feeds entirely on shell-fish from the kelp on the tidal rocks ; hence, its head and beak, for the purpose of breaking them, are surprisingly strong." Here he places cause and effect in proper relation ; but the special design he would have his readers infer is wholly uncalled for. As the blacksmith's arm is developed by constant exertion, the beak, and the muscles which give it power, increase in strength by the constant straining they receive in detaching from the rocks and crushing the hard shell of their molluscous food.

250 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

259. For another illustration, take an instance from the great numbers which present themselves, — the em- bryonic growth of the human lungs, — and let the ad- vocates of design give a philosophical explanation of its meaning, and of the class of facts it represents, if possible, or, if they cannot, confess the error of the hypothesis they maintain.*

260. The lungs are placed at first on each side of the spine, like the air bladders in fishes, and to carry out the analogy of the fish-like heart, branchial aper- tures appear on each side of the neck, like fishes' gills, and the aorta gives off a regular set of branchial arte- ries, some of which become obliterated, while some re- main in the adult man. No one will maintain that the human foetus is organized for aquatic respiration, or that a special act of God fashions each individual in this manner for no possible use. On the contrary, it better accords with the simplicity manifested in na- ture to refer to an immutable law all vital organiza- tions, thus referring to a similar origin all tribes, races, and species, and forming of the diversified world of living beings a unit.

261. It were a useless as well as an endless task to catalogue the instances where design — adaptation — of structure is apparent. It meets us on every hand, exciting our curiosity and wonder. Were there no breaks, however, in this infinite network, the support- ers of Final Cause would present a far more plausible theory. As it is, breaks occur, and still more, we see the equilibrium of species broken and restored before our eyes, and recognize the law by which harmony is produced. In such instances it is effected by the dis- turbed or newly-acting forces, not by special design.

* For further illustration, see chapter on Origin of Man, p. 338.

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The mastiff transported into Denmark becomes the lit- tle Danish dog, and when taken to warm climates becomes the Turkish dog, almost destitute of hair. Are these changes the result of special design, by which the animal is adapted to the climate, or the re- sults of the climate? Some countries are noted for the long, soft hair of their native animals, as Syria and Persia. The sheep, the goats, the dogs, and the rab- bits of Syria are remarkable for the fine, glossy length and softness of their .hair ; and even the cat loses its savage color and assumes the most beautiful appear- ance. Is this design, or the result of conditions with which we are but partially acquainted?

262. The objection resolves itself thus: If an all- wise Creator fashioned things as they are, why has he left so many waste places and deserts on the earth ? Why did he not create the world perfect in the begin- ning, and not leave it to toil through an infinitude of ages to attain the position it might as well have occu- pied in the commencement. Man, when first seen on this earth, was a savage, and from that primal state he has arisen by slow and painful progress. Why did not an omnipotent cause create him perfect in the be- ginning? Not that I deny the existence of an om- nipotent Divinity, but I deny the special manner in which he is supposed to act. If such theorists believe in the existence of an omnipotent, wise, and benevolent cause, acting on matter by special design, then it fol- lows, as a clear and logical deduction, that the universe should have been created as absolutely perfect as its cause; and from this conclusion there is no escape. What are the facts? Rude and imperfect was the first rough model of creation. Amid the most awful convulsions, creation after creation was destroyed, and

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new ones took their place; each succeeding one higher than the preceding. By a slow and painful progress, from the mollusk of the cambrian, the sauroid of the devonian, the saurian of the permian, the pachyderms of the tertiary, to man of the present, the silent but irresistible forces of nature have labored on. Here rest the pertinent questions, Why did an almighty and benevolent design permit so much waste of time and such infinite suffering, when by a word it could have been obviated? Why not have created man perfect, and not a savage, and thus have prevented the war, crime and misery incidental to his advance from that state to one of civilization?

263. Reject it we may, yet it cannot be denied that there is something connected with the constitution of matter which has written the history of the globe; and so long as this remains unchanged, not a sentence of that history could have been written differently.

264. An omnipotent design, as interpreted by reason, would not give animals useless organs; but almost all species have such. Of what use is the foetal trans- formations by which the mammalia approximate to fishes and reptiles before assuming their perfect form ? Of what use are the branchial arches and openings to the human foetus? Why have all mammalia the rudiments of organs developed in reptiles? Why do the males of all mammalia possess the sexual organs of the female in an undeveloped state, and vice versa? It were puerile to answer these questions by reference to mystery, when they so plainly point to the great principles which chain all living beings together, and make life in all its manifestations a unity.

265. The conclusions to which the facts here given lead, may be concisely presented, and when expressed,

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form the theory of creation of organic beings we have labored to support.

(1.) Living beings are not adapted by special design to the conditions in which they are placed, but are modified by the conditions which surround them. The adaptation and harmony observed, is the result of the pliancy of life to physical influences.

(2.) All living beings originated from similar points, and species are only differences from common arche- type, and have no more real existence in nature than genera,

(3.) The best established theory in natural history cannot be proved with mathematical certainty, and such clear proofs cannot be expected in a theory of such extensive application. All that can be expected is the inferential testimony of facts, analogy, proba- bility, and induction. By such a course I have en- deavored to arrive at and sustain a consistent view of organic creation. We have seen how unstable the characters of species are, conforming to the influences which bear on them. Lyell remarks, If once there appear grounds of reasonable doubt in re- gard to the constancy of species, the amount of trans- formation they are capable of undergoing may seem to resolve itself into a mere question of quantity of time assigned to the past duration of animate exist- ence.* Linnaeus asserted that " genera are as much founded in nature as the species which compose them ;" but his observation was limited to comparatively few species, and so far from supporting this view, modern naturalists are confounded in the maze of existences, and are not only at a loss to assign the true character

* Principles of Geology.

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of species, but still more of genera, which ''have no existence in nature." These latter divisions have be- come purely arbitrary, and science is fast proving that the former are also in a great measure conventional. Blumenbach observes that "no general rule can be laid down for the determining the distinction of species, as there are no peculiar characteristics which can serve as a criterion. In each case we must be guided by analogy and probability." We see on what trivial characteristics naturalists are obliged to rely for the determination of specific distinctions. Facts which we have recorded, not only clearly prove that species have not only been modified into other species, but even changed to other genera by the influences brought to bear on them.

266. In treating on this subject, vast periods of time are understood to have elapsed, through which ener- vating influences operated. Not understanding this well-determined point, numerous objections have been urged against the unitary view of life and its devel- opment. The changes in the organic as well as in- organic world are slow, and rarely are observable in the brief period of human existence. In the chro- nometer of nature, a thousand years is as a single swing of the pendulum — a moment of time. The number of sand-grains on the ocean's shore would be scarcely sufficient to express the duration of a single epoch.

267. It is objected that we never observe the birth of a new species. Setting aside the examples pre- viously given, which incontrovertibly prove that we Jiave seen new species produced before our eyes; and granting that the creation of new species were never observed, of what avail is the objection? It is far

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more easy to prove that species once numerous have become extinct, than to prove the creation of a new race. Within the memory of persons now living, the number of known plants and animals has quadrupled in some classes. New and conspicuous species have been discovered in parts of the old continent long in- habited by civilized man. According to Lyell, it is impossible to determine whether a newly-discovered species has just come into existence, or is very old. He attempts to show how impossible it is to determine this point. Let us glance at the number and distribution of species. The phaenogamous plants are computed at 80,000 species.* If we take the data furnished by the British catalogue of insectsf and plants, there are nine species of insects for each kind of plant, or 720,000 for the globe — an estimate at least one half too small. The number of species of existing mammals known is 1200 ;J of fishes, 6000 ;§ of birds, 8000. || To these must be added the reptiles and tlje whole invertebrate series. The inhabitable surface beneath the water is computed to be twice that of the land, and of the denizens of this vast tract of marine wild we know scarcely anything. Every portion, however, has its forms of life, even where the water is below the freezing point.lT "Whether in lakes of brine, or in those subterranean seas hidden beneath volcanic mountains, or in warm mineral springs, the wide expanse of the ocean, the upper region of the air, and even the surface of per- petual snows, supports living beings." ** The number of polypes exceeds that of insects, and the sea swarms with innumerable forms of mollusca and zoophyta.

* Lindley. t Catalogue of British Insects, t Waterhouse. § Cuvier. || Gray, Genera of Birds. f Arctic Explorations.

** Darwin, Voy. Nat., vol. i. p. 85.

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Parasites are supported by all animals, and these have their parasites. Without including the innumerable infusoria, we may safely estimate the number of species at present inhabiting the globe at 2,000,000. Hence, should one species become extinct every year, it would require 2,000,000 years to depopulate the earth. If this extreme rate was equally distributed over all classes, the lot would fall among the mammalia but once in 1666 years.

268. But only in this class would the loss be marked and obvious. The same course of reasoning equally applies to the introduction of new species. The lot might fall among the inferior classes, which are con- cealed from view beneath the ocean, for thousands of years, before a single change occurs among the more prominent occupants of the land.

269. The facts relating to the great changes effected in the dog are explained by some naturalists so as not to contradict the popular vi§w, by saying that the dog is probably a domesticated wolf ; and great as it varies in different lands, there is anatomically no difference between the fur-clad dog of the arctic zone and the almost naked dog of Guinea. This special pleading does not explain why the dog, when becoming wild, does not revert to the wolf, which it should do, were species permanent. The poodle left in the wilderness should become, not a wild dog, but a wolf! Admit, for argument, that all races of dogs had a common origin, —

270. The dilemma is equally unfortunate for the supporters of the popular view ; for these races are per- manent, specific, and will not revert to their original type. So far as anatomical structure is concerned, the fox differs less from the wolf than the poodle dog from

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the Newfoundlander. Singular that one of the most conspicuous naturalists should introduce as an argu- ment that the races of dogs anatomically agree. So do the lion and tiger agree so remarkably, that Cuvier found it difficult to distinguish their skulls. But they are of different species. It might be thought otherwise, however, were there any theory to sup- port.

271. The mummies have been dragged from their resting place in the catacombs of Egypt, and with the pomp bestowed by a shallow philosophy, held aloft as settling the dispute forever! The mummied bulldogs, and cats, differ not more from the recent species than the mummied human beings differ from the present inhabitants of the Nile. Such is the decision of scien- tific men. With what species of dog were the mum- mies compared — the poodle or the greyhound? With what species of ox — the auroch or the devon? With what species of cat — the Syrian or American? Such vagueness shows rather haste in forcing conclusions, than scientific exactness. Were no differences observa- ble, great ones might really exist, as Cuvier failed in pointing out any difference between the skull of the lion and tiger ; and were one known only as a mummy, and compared with the other in a living state, the conclusions derived from such data would be very erroneous.

272. Viewed from one more point: Old as Egyp- tian civilization is considered, it by no means stood on the verge of time, and animals taken under the care of man had had ample time to assume the domesti- cated form, from which, as all the conditions usually bestowed had been applied, the departure is extremely slow, until science lends its aid, and peculiarities are

17

258 THE AECANA OF NATURE, OR

sought and obtained by bestowing the necessary influences.

273. It has been objected, that as every change in habit or organization was brought about slowly, be- fore such species could become changed by new cir- cumstances, others already adapted to such would sup- plant them. This may be true of the present, when almost every possible set of influences has produced its peculiar species ; but it is not true of the ancient world when a few types filled the places of the countless number of the present. Then before there were other species to take the place of such as were undergoing changes to meet the requirements of new influences, it will be admitted that those influences could operate through an infinitude of ages undisturbed. Thus fall all the baseless objections of Lyell, and the facts he has recited become abortive.

274. Hugh Miller, in his three labored volumes, though the most popular writer on the theological side of this question, succeeds little better in estab- lishing his own position than in defeating his antago- nists. I hold the argument to the one cardinal point : Living beings are changed by, not adapted to, condi- tions. What has this author written to controvert this position? Nothing. Yet it is the cardinal point, and once admitted, the creation of organic beings is explained. He has found what he calls high forms, too low in the rocks to accord with this theory; and he has found all the four great divisions represented, when the zoophyte should only exist by the theory. We limit our statements by our knowledge ; and should an air-breathing reptile be found in the lower silurian, it would not invalidate the theory presented. It would only show an error in the position assigned

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to the origin of that branch, and instead of saying reptiles originated in the permian, we should say they first existed in the silurian. What if pines were sup- posed to be first introduced into the coal era, and they should now be found in the silurian? A mistake as to time; that is all. Life is said to have begun where we first find organic remains; but it is very prob- able, nay, certain, that it existed thousands of ages previous to its leaving any trace on the rocks. What is more, all the great divisions should be found side by side, each ascending a pathway peculiar to itself.

275. I have not space to review the above-men- tioned works, which are remarkable for the effrontery which pervades them, the bold and unscrupulous state- ments, garbling and misconstruing the words of his opponents. He has blended the weakest statements of Oken with a man-of-straw theory he has framed, and made Lamarck responsible for its folly; and with a juggler's art confounded both of these with the theory of creation by law, as it stands revised today. But many facts can be found in his works of great weight against the hypothesis they were designed to support. Lyell, in controverting the progressive theory, states, that when a body of salt water is slowly con- verted into fresh, the salt water animals are invariably killed outright, and never make any advance towards fresh water species. Miller, however, much as he has at stake, admits that at the Lake of Stennis, on the Isle of Stromness, great changes occur in plants and animals, when they ascend from the sea into the fresh water of the lake. The flounder ascends the highest, and is changed the most. It becomes thicker and more fleshy, than in its native habitat, the sea. The sea weeds greatly change as they enter the brackish waters

260 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

of the lake. Some of the hardier kinds become so dwarfish that they resemble conf ervse, and only by trac- ing them through the intermediate forms is the iden- tity of species established. On the other hand, when fresh water species approach the salt water, they are dwarfed, until nags and aquatic grasses are but little tufts a few inches only in height.

276. Another objection has been urged : that if con- ditions modify species subjected to their influence, all species thus operated on should be similarly modified, which it is said, is not the truth. The European subjected to the climate of Negroland never becomes a negro. The animals of the old world, if trans- planted to the new, never become like the indigenous species and vice versa. It is asked, If climate modi- fies the species peculiar to it, why is there such a diversity of kinds in the same country ? This appears at first a very plausible and weighty objection, but it is baseless. The European is not changed to a negro by the climate of Africa, because of a superior condition which he personifies, and which reaches back to the birth of the Caucasian race. That the African climate may produce a negro race, it must operate on such a stock as it did when that race sprang into existence. When two species are subjected to identi- cal conditions, it is not to be inferred that they will produce identical offspring. Every species stands the representative of all influences which have ever oper- ated on it since its birth, and these become a condition in determining the transformations which a similar climate will produce. The reasoning which sustains the contrary is like that which would assert that an equal blow would drive a ball weighing a thousand pounds the same distance as a ball weighing a single

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 261

ounce. The primordial conditions by which species originate have greater power than external circum- stances, and changes are the combined result of both. The dog taken to the arctic circle becomes covered with long and thick fur; if to the tropics, he becomes almost naked — varieties resulting between which specific distinctions exist. The objection here urged would presuppose that in one case it must become a lion, in the other an arctic bear, thus totally rejecting the influence exerted by specific character, and primordial difference in the life principle. The European may be greatly changed by African climate; but instead of becoming a negro, those peculiarities which consti- tute his race will divert external influences into another channel, and a new variety will be the result.

277. As a necessary consequence, as the doctrine of creation by law conflicts with that of miracle, its combatants are of the theological school. Hence the denunciatory and egotistical style which even their greatest and best champion assumes. But even he cannot remain consistent. In one place he states* " Every individual, whatever its species or order, begins and increases until it attains to its state of fullest development under fixed laws, and in consequence of their operation. The microscopic monad develops into a foetus, the fcetus into a child, the child into a man; and however marvellous the process, in none of its stages is there the slightest mixture of miracle: from beginning to end, all is progressive development according to a determinate order of things." Con- trary to this, he devotes several pages to prove the pos- sibility of miracles when he asserts miracles "are

* Footprints of the Creator, p. 49.

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thus evidently not impossibilities, but even not im- probabilities." Such is the conflicting reasoning of this author, who maintains the immutability of law in one place, and its suspension in another. In the latter opinion he is sanctioned by Agassiz, who, unable to account for the existence of life otherwise, refers it to the grand miracle of creation. The harmony of nature proves the immutability of law; miracle pre- supposes the suspension of law; hence nature utterly repudiates all miraculous interference in her domain, where every thing, from the mote that dances in the sunbeam to the intellect emanating from the congeries of the human brain, is governed by established prin- ciples.

278. Leaving for a time the discussion as based on observation of the living world, I pass downward to the beginning of life on this planet, and endeavor to give, by tracing the history of organic beings through the vast epochs of the fossiliferous strata, the causes which have swept from earth existing races, and ushered new creations into existence.

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CHAPTER VIII. DAWN OF LIFE.

The primitive States. — The primitive Ocean. — Dawn of Life. — Ges- tation of the Globe. — Difference of the great Divisions. — Progress of Life. — Preservation of Organic Remains. — Traces of. — Ming- ling of the Extremes of Classes. — Permanency of Type. — Repro- duction of.

279. REPOSING on the gneiss is the vast system of primitive strata. They are composed of finer material, and were consolidated at a lower temperature than the rock on which they repose. During the myriads of ages which slowly passed away while they were de- positing on the floor of the ocean, the great cooling process went on. The silent forces of nature labored amid throes of volcanic fury, breaking in fragments the thickening crust, or belching out the fiery lava from every vent or opening, preparing the angular and unprogressed world for the reception of living beings, which as yet were absent from this desolate planet. Life was absent, except the all-pervading es- sence, filling the atmosphere and the sea, beaming in the rays of the sun, ready to spring into identified existence.

280. The primitive ocean, beneath which the early stratified rocks were deposited, was not impregnated with the same mineral ingredients as the present sea. It must have held in solution a greater variety of ele- ments, and in greater quantity. It was hot, but not boiling, as was the ocean of gneiss. The light which fell into its shallow depths was softened and changed by penetrating the thick, vapory atmosphere.

264 THE ARCANA OP NATURE, OR

In this stage of the infant world, all those conditions necessary for the evolution of life are observed — a subdued light, warmth, a solution of aliment, and intense electric currents excited by the solution and precipitation of vast quantities of matter!

281. As the dawn of life is fixed at this point, it were well to extend our subject, and bring all possible light to bear on the mysteries of its origin.

282. In placing the beginning of life in the last ages of the metamorphic — or primitive stratified — rocks, I am well aware of the opposition the view will receive from the professors of geological science. However it may be in opposition to established theo- ries, it is not opposed to received facts. In the lower silurian rocks we meet with low organized mollusks, and these extremely rare. Below the silurian is a vast thickness of what might be mistaken for non- fossiliferous rocks, called the Cumbrian and cambrian systems. These are ten thousand feet thick, and hence must have been millions of years in forming, as the accumulation of sediment at the bottom of the ocean is very slow. That vast series of deposits has recorded all that was possible of the first denizens of the ocean. In the lowest portions of these rocks the indications of life expire, and there is no record to tell us that the earth, before that time, was otherwise than a bleak and desolate waste. Let us consider how re- mains are preserved in the rocks. The shell, or hard envelope, is all that is ever preserved, and if the animal has not this covering, or an equally durable frame- work, not a trace of its existence will escape the de- composing action of the vast interval of time we eon- template. Animals like the slug, the unprotected mol- lusks, the hydra, and the jelly-fish, could not be pre-

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served. Does not this account for the absence of fossils in the lower cambrian? If we continue in a straight line backwards beyond the last fossil imprint, as guided by the waymarks we have observed, the un- protected mollusk, the zoophyte, jelly-fish, and such lower forms alone, must have peopled the ocean of the slate. They could not leave any impression on the strata forming beneath the ocean in which they dwelt, and though they swarmed in the deep, no record of their existence would be left. The only method by which to learn the existence or form of life in this non-fossiliferous period is by induction from the facts we have given. By such reasoning we infer, or rather prove, that living forms must have made considerable advance previous to the silurian period. There was time sufficient for great progress. Every foot of the cambrian is equivalent to thousands of years, and during all that vast interval of time the great principle of progression was continually active.

283. The latter ages of this period are marked by the remains of a few shells, indicating the advance of the unprotected mollusks in the acquirement of protecting organs. Uncertain traces of other organ- isms are also stamped on the rock. These were marine vegetable forms, of the fucoidal character — sea-weeds. Vegetable food must have been in existence, or rather coexistent, or the first animals could not have been sustained. Vegetable and animal life undoubtedly appeared at the same time. That either division of life could exist on earth without the other, would be inconsistent with facts every where else observed. The identification of a single fucoid is evidence of the contemporary existence of animals. These have not left a trace of their existence, except in the last ages

266 THE AECANA OF NATURE, OR

of the silurian system. But dim and faint as these traces are, they establish the theory here advocated, by proving, even at that early day, that the plan of organic being was well determined, and that represen- tatives of all the diversified classes existed. Radiata, mollusca, articulata, and vertebrata were then repre- sented.

284. One subject more remains for consideration here — the CELL reproduction. As life advanced, it could not be unfolded so as to produce higher and more perfect forms by spontaneous generation, and hence the necessity of parentage. As a law of nature, what is true to-day is true for eternity ; the method of increase in the lowest forms of life now, would be the same as that in the early silurian period. In the PRO- TOZOA, and kindred species, reproduction is performed by division. The little sac of vitalized matter com- mences to contract about its centre, and continues to be more and more divided, until the two portions break asunder, and each becomes as perfect as the original. There is no confluence or action of the male and female principles, both being united in the same individual. Reproduction by division is common to all the lower tribes. In the protozoan, (microscopic animals of the lowest kind,) as in the mineral, if it be divided into any number of parts, each will give a per- fect idea of the animal. In higher types, as the HYDRA, if its gelatinous body be minutely divided, each part will become as perfect as the parent. The same is observed in the plant; a twig reproduces the perfect plant, and a single bud generates a tree. This is the first and lowest form of reproduction. The parent subdivides, and it is difficult to say which part is the parent, which the offspring. The next step is taken

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by nuclei forming in the cellular mass, which attract a portion of the material in which they are embedded around them, and then bursting the cell walls, become independent existences. Both of these processes are imitated in the tissues of all living beings. The ani- mal and plant grow by the multiplication of cells.

The extreme rapidity with which they multiply is astonishing, a single cell often increasing in a single hour to a million, each being equally perfect as the first.*

285. It is probable that life has been produced spontaneously in all ages; but when so produced, it must necessarily begin with a simple cell, similar to those first introduced on earth. The cell is the begin- ning of all forms of life; even in reproducing life in any manner, as by division or parentage, the cell is the first form, and from this simple beginning all the infinite series of vegetables and animals have proceeded. Having discussed the origin of life, we shall endeavor to detail its history, by the light of science and the revelations of the rocks.

* General Physiology. Carpenter.

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CHAPTER IX.

THE HISTORY OF LIFE THROUGH THE SILURIAN FORMATION.

The Age of Mollusca. — Conformity of all living Beings to one Arche- type. — Silurian Life. — Sea of the. — Groptolites. — Polypes. — Corallines. — Crinoidians. — Lily Encrinite. — Mollusks. — Cephalo- pods. — Crustaceans. — Trilobites. — Nautilus. — Vertebrata. — Silurian Scenery.

286. WHEN the SILURIAN FORMATION is examined, it will be observed that the great tribes of the inver- tebrata are all represented by types of their lowest existing forms. This is a highly interesting and con- clusive proof of the previous reasoning, and renders untenable the theory of one line of ascension, and the transformation of one class into another. Start- ing from the same point and era of time, they continue side by side, each perfecting itself after its own plan of being. Conditions ever varying in the turbulent state of the nascent planet would greatly change the mode of development, but not beyond well-defined and narrow limits, which the universal causes of life imposed; and hence the resulting resemblance of structure.

287. The plan of the RADIATA is not essentially dif- ferent from that of the MOLLUSCA. As the infinite va- riety of crystalline forms can be reduced by cleavage to a very few primitive geometric figures, so when the external and superficial organs of the endless series of species are lopped off, a few types only remain ; and these, at their beginning, meet in one. The diversity of species, is the result of external acquirements ; but

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all are true to one type, and it is readily seen that all conform to a single plan or archetype of growth. This conformity has misled the naturalist, and in attempts to generalize he has inferred that as the mol- lusk approaches so near the fish, it must have been their parent. But observation refutes this view, as there was not sufficient time for such changes before fishes appear; and still more, nature does not wait for the mollusk to become perfected, but ushers both into existence in the early silurian, in their lowest state. The true place of the lowest mollusk is not below the lowest fish, but by its side. So all the highest forms of the four great classes should be arranged side by side, and their lowest types should be arranged in the same manner, just above the GELATINIFERA.*

288. The tendency of each type is not to change into the next higher, but to perfect itself after its own plan. The mollusk does not attempt to transform itself into a low organized vertebrate. This, from its plan of structure, would be impossible ; but it changes by degrees to a more perfect mollusk. The cephalopod, in its way, is a perfect animal. It is perfect after its own plan of organization. No form could be more admirably adapted to the demand made upon it. It is entirely above whole groups of fishes, and is evidence of the wide divergence of its line of develop- ment from the fish into which it has been said to be transformed. It is a perfect mollusk, the ultimate of its class. The same holds good in the other divisions, and the branches given off by these, whenever they reach their ultimate of progress, become extinct. The

* The lowest form of the cell life.

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germinal impulse given to the first types was to repro- duce their own peculiarities, and throw off branches of a higher grade of the same class. This is a grand generalization, and is supported by established facts. Let us now turn to the early strata of rocks, and observe how well their testimony accords with the present theory. Already it has been remarked that slight indications of organized forms are found in the Cambrian, beneath the silurian. It is thus rendered certain that the earth was peopled with organic beings for an immense period previous to their leaving any trace. To contemplative science the beginning of the series is deficient. It is, as in the arithmetical series of figures, 1, 2, 3, to infinity, when the first terms are de- ficient, and the series begins with 4, 5, &c. But these terms can be readily calculated from the terms given by the law of numbers. So can the first terms of the organic series which the past presents, be determined from the terms given, by the laws of life. To do this has been the aim of the reasonings and inductions of the preceding pages, and we find that the results, theo- retically ascertained, harmonize with observed facts. That part of the series which has been determined by a course of reasoning based on the forces of nature, agrees with the positively determined progress of life, presented by accurately observed phenomena of the present era — an interesting evidence of the correct- ness of the course of reasoning pursued.

289. The silurian sea was far from teeming with life. Profound silence reigned in the animate world; the wild cry of the sea bird, and the dashing of mon- sters in the ocean foam, did not enliven its desolation. The dash of the billows, the howl of the storm, the volcano with its flames, and earthquakes, were the

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only sounds which, roiled through the atmosphere, and these only spoke of turbulence and destruction. Huge craggy rocks were thrown in wild confusion every- where, and between the rugged islands the shallow sea spread its black and desolate waves. Such were the scenes surrounding the infancy of life. At this early period of time, the innumerable cells composing gela- tinous life had branched off into the four great classes, as we have observed. The beings that inhab- ited the dark waters were such as our theory infers should dwell on an infant planet. They combined in one being the characters represented in several distinct species in after time.

290. The GRAPTOLITE, half sea weed, half coral, rooted itself in the floor of the sea, and waved its branches, teeming with offspring, in the flowing tide. In it is exemplified the great law, previously referred to, of a progress from the compound to the simple, whereby the first types were compounds of several characters afterwards separated into distinct types. This principle is universal and will be often referred to in future pages, as the primitive types of plants and animals are always the aggregation of two or more genera, which, perhaps, in the next period are separated. Thus in the sponge the vegetative prin- ciple predominates over the animal. In the graptolite the animal was not separated from the fucoid. In the earliest types the greatest complexity existed, and classes and families are mixed together in apparently strange confusion. Such are the conditions, our in- ductions inform us, which should exist in the infancy of vitality. Polypes, as the lowest types are called, were the first to stamp their impress on the rocks, and they have changed but little under all the varying circum-

272 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

stances by which they have been surrounded. They are organized for resisting changes, and have thus been capable to abide the mutations which have swept all the other contemporary tribes from the globe. It is not astonishing, then, to find the identical species of polypes, in every period, and inhabitants of the present ocean. The corallines, however, were lower than the existing species.

291. Among the most beautiful forms of these was the chain coral, still represented in tropical seas. These corallines built up their crystalline skeletons on the rocky elevations beneath the waves of the ocean, ex- tracting particle after particle from solution, and de- positing in the form of solid rock. They possessed the power to extract calcareous particles from water containing so small an amount of lime, that no chem- ical test can reveal its presence. The lime rock has all passed through the laboratory of life, and has been principally deposited by zoophytes. This may appear startling when its vast thickness and extent are consid- ered, and the cause referred to an insignificant, almost lifeless mass of jelly ; but when the unceasing labors of these world-architects is duly considered, doubt will be dispelled by admiration. In the present sea, where their labor is greatly circumscribed, and they possess few of the advantages of former times, they have de- barred the ships of commerce from access to large areas, by reefs hundreds of miles in extent, and have converted oceans into archipelagoes by the countless islands they have reared from the crests of subma- rine mountains. Polynesia embraces an area of sev- eral hundred thousand square miles, thickly inter- spersed with islands, of their architecture; and they iare now depositing a thick stratum of limestone over

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 273

the whole of that area. By contemplating such wide- spread results from apparently insignificant causes, the mind in a measure grasps the idea of the astonishing activity of life in the ancient world.

292. If, instead of the mineral particles being de- posited on the inside of the polype, we suppose it to be arranged on the external surface, there would re- sult an animal of the same grade of organization, but widely differing in its form and habits; and these cir- cumstances would tend to make it diverge from the original, and in time become a totally distinct being. We then have a stony plant, a soft molluscous ani- mal, invested with a cup-like shell, or what is called a CRINOIDIAN. A few unimportant species exist at present, but at their first introduction they occupied a very conspicuous position. The lily encrinite was very beautiful, resembling a lily; and as the support- ing stalk was flexible, it could move in the water in search of its prey.

293. The MOLLUSKS were similarly protected by an exudation from their previously unprotected skins, of mineral particles.

The CRUSTACEANS were represented by the trilobite, a singularly formed being, resembling the young lobster. It had only the rudiments of feet, and those seem- ingly unnecessary organs, the antenna?, were but just budding forth. Its eyes were immovable ; but this in- convenience was obviated by their elevation on foot- stalks, and formed like those of the dragon fly, that it might see in every direction.

294. The MOLLUSCA were represented by their lowest types, in conformity to the views already expressed; but many of its genera attained a much greater state of perfection. A variety of cephalopods swarmed

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the ocean. Their highest type, the nautilus, exhibited a great advance in the structure of its organs and its habits on univalve mollusks. It has a powerful mus- cular system and regular organs of life. The rudi- ments of a true internal skeleton and the nervous centres are enlarged and concentrated in the head. The organs of prehension and locomotion, though simple, are powerful. Its mouth was furnished with beak-like jaws, and an extensible tongue. In some varieties of mollusks designed to float in the water, the shell is so thin that they can scarcely be said to have a covering; the nautilus was furnished with an ap- paratus for rising and falling in the water, controlled by its will; showing that it had an instinctive in- telligence— an inference supported by its large nerv- ous centres.

295. Bivalve and univalve shells were extremely rare, and those which existed were such as were able to abide the great changes in surrounding conditions. The rocky character of the early seas was not adapted to their support. These, with fucoids, the stony coral, the encrinite, and the trilobite peopled the silurian sea. The trilobite was an exact representation of the em- bryo lobster. This presents curious reflections on the advance of life. The lobster begins at the same point where the early crustaceans leave off, perfects the plan they foreshadowed, and acquired organs of locomotion, movable eyes, antennae, and more complicated organs of life. The same principle is observable here as in the embryos of all higher animals, which have a strong resemblance to lower types.

296. Thus is presented the history of the dawn of life. We are astonished at the predominance of the invertebrate orders, and the total absence of the verte-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 275

brate. I say total absence, for throughout the long duration of this era not a form of this class, sufficiently high to be preserved, flourished in the marine wilds. But it must have begun in the same era with the others, and preserved a parallelism of development, though not, until nearly the close of this period, was it suf- ficiently developed to be capable of preservation. The first trace of a vertebral column — the distinguishing characteristic of this class — would be nothing more than a thin line of cartilage. This would enlarge, but would not immediately ossify. Even in the Devonian period fishes had only a cartilaginous skeleton, and even at this day the conspicuous family of sharks, sturgeons, and rays have not a single truly ossified bone in their skeletons. But this line of cartilage could not be preserved, as it would readily decompose ; and this accounts for the apparent absence of verte- brata in this period. Subject to the law of eternal progress, the simple cartilaginous being gave off, as branches, the osseous tribes, and perpetuated itself in the cartilaginous orders. The deposition of mineral particles in the cells of the cartilage of the skeleton is as simple as their exuding from the surface of the body and forming a shell, or internally, and producing a radiate structure. The same law governs all these examples, and is seen at work in the vertebrate embryo, ossifying the cartilaginous framework. Ossification would proceed gradually, and in consequence all de- grees of transition would result from the amphioxus to the solid frame of the mammal.

297. Having thus glanced at the types of the silu- rian age, the mind is enabled to comprehend the first steps in the ascension of life, and the beautiful philoso- phy of its progress. This age may be appropriately

276 THE ARCANA OP NATURE, OR

styled the reign of mollusks. They were the predom- inating type, and the cephalopods that roamed the marine wilds of the silurian seas unquestionably held the first rank of the beings which peopled the ancient world. Large, strong, and voracious, they were the aquatic carnivora, preventing the too great increase of the more peaceful forms. They were the kings of their age — what the sharks are in the present sea; and no contemporary animal was their equal in fierceness and courage, or the strength of their arms.

298. The landscape was wild and stern. The waving forest, the beautiful green mead, formed no part of the scene. The softness, the mildness, and loveliness which enter into the present landscape, were not seen, but all was rugged and terrific. The dark ocean spread around the globe, intersected with innu- merable islands, which reared their rugged heads above the waves. Continents then slumbered beneath the ocean, and on their surfaces the thick strata were de- positing. The earth was a desert waste of broken rocks and volcanic fragments. But beneath the waves the fucoids waved their long, green leaves, and con- verted the silent abysses of the ocean into gardens of beauty. There they exhibited their variegated hues, and furnished exhaustless food for the myriads of strange forms of animal life in that early age of won- ders. It was a bleak and desolate world where the ocean concealed the germs of life. The sea was dotted with islands, covered with rocky crags, on which not the least vestige of life appeared; and here and there a higher projection or ridge gave prophecy of future mountain chains, or marked the configuration of con- tinents. Its color was not the splendid blue of the reflected sky, but black and leaden— a fit covering for the ragged surface it concealed from view.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 277

299. The silent and invisible forces of nature were aided by the storms and tornadoes that drove the murky and dense atmosphere with tremendous fury over the waste. The earthquake rocked the yielding crust to and fro in great undulations, and from the deep fissures of the broken strata the molten lava flowed out, spreading its fiery contents over the bottom of the sea. On such scenes the sun and stars looked luridly down through the hazy atmosphere, and from the murky sky the red moon threw her portentous light. The awful, the sublime and terrific were mingled confusedly together in a period transpiring but once in the life of a planet.

300. From the wide extent of aqueous surface, — the sea covering nearly the whole globe, — and the internal heat of the earth, there existed an almost equal temper- ature over the whole globe, and consequently a unity of type in all latitudes. Hence we do not meet with zones of peculiar fauna or flora, for a nearly uniform torrid temperature every where prevailed. By these means life in all the early periods, from the poles to the equator formed a single flora and fauna.

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CHAPTER X. THE OLD RED SANDSTONE SERIES.

Blending of the Formations. — Definition of the Term Period. — Dura- tion of. — Disappearance of Species. — Reign of Fishes. — Ganoids. — Cephalaspis. — Pterychthys. — Coccocteus. — Placoidians. — De- vonian Scenery. — The Law of Progress.

301. ONE leaf of the volume is read; turn it back, and the next in the series is the OLD RED SANDSTONE, or DEVONIAN. Here let us pause to correct the com- mon error, that a strong demarcation exists between the formations. This is so far from correct, that it is impossible ofttimes to decide on the exact point where one terminates and the other commences. In nature there are no arbitrary divisions, as in the books, but the formations are found running into each other by in- sensible degrees. A PERIOD, in geology, does not rep- resent a given time, but an immense interval, or an almost infinity of ages. The beings which flourish when it commences may die out, or change entirely in ap- pearance before its close. To say that such an age was distinguished for the high order of its fishes, or its rep- tiles, is extremely vague; for at its commencement there may have been nothing more than the feeblest traces of those orders, while they may have swarmed the sea at its termination, the duration intervening be- tween the dawn and eve of a great epoch being almost incomprehensible. Understanding this, we are not con- founded when told that the silurian was distinguished by the development of cephalopods, as though they

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all at once sprang into existence. This only applies to the last ages of that period when it changes into the Devonian.

302. The cartilaginous fishes had given origin to a few species of shark; but this is not anomalous, as the duration from the dawn of life to the time when the latter were introduced, is as incomprehensible as the number of leaves in the forest. By almost insensi- ble differences the silurian rocks pass into the Devonian, and the development of its living forms as gradually takes place. It is those only, who, blinded by prejudice, seek to sustain the traditionary notion that each era is a day in creation, at the end of which all existing forms were swept away, and then, by a mandate of God, new races sprang forth, who make violent demar- cations between geological periods. Species disappear one at a time; new ones are introduced, and the whole goes on in such a quiet, insensible manner, as far as life is concerned, that all ideas of confusion, disorder, or arbitrary rule are wholly out of place. The mighty operations of Nature may work on in ruin and desola- tion ; but her greatest effects occur in the slow but sure movements which silently labor through decades of centuries. A steady advance takes place each day, but these advances can only be determined by compar- ing periods of time thousands of years asunder.

303. The duration from the dawn of life to the commencement of the COAL period, has not inappro- priately been called the REIGN OF FISHES:

304. During this long course of ages, fishes were the highest forms which peopled the vast but shallow ocean. As has previously been stated, mollusJcs pre- dominated in the silurian ; but near its close the ver- tebrate kingdom was represented by some low forms,

280 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OB

of which the shark was the highest branch, and next the ganoid fishes, hereafter to be described. These two tribes flourished to the almost total exclusion of all others. The ganoids are represented by the North American pike and sturgeon. They were much more numerous than the placoidians, sharks, or rays. In fact, the ganoids attained their maximum of develop- ment, and immediately began to decline. In the direc- tion of their singular organization, they attained the limits of perfectibility, and consequently died out, to give place to other families with larger progressive lim- its. It is a universal law that species exist as long as they advance, but the moment they become stationary they begin to decline, and eventually perish. The in- organic world is perfecting, and unless species advance in the ratio of its advancement, the conditions become unfavorable to their existence. This is a law to which reference will be frequently made, as it permeates the entire dominion of nature.

305. The peculiarity of the ganoids is their com- pound character. They were allied to the archetype of the fish on one hand, and to the insect on the other ; and not until ages after, were these two characters separated. They were covered with bony plates, pos- sessed a rudimentary cartilaginous skeleton, and in the arrangement of their organs, their eyes and head, were combinations not now seen in distinct species. These large plates were formed by the consolidation of scales, which, in after ages, became distinct.

306. Of all the ganoids, the CEPHALASPIS was the most singular. It was a compound of fish and trilo- bite. Its head, or rather body, was shaped like a saddler's knife, while its tail was like the trilobite's. It was more crustacean than fish, having all the habits

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 281

of the former. It approached in many particulars the ray. Rendered, by its slow motion, incapable of escaping its enemies by flight, its fine armor formed a defence which was undoubtedly impregnable to the strongest of its antagonists ; for the soft-bodied cephal- opods, from which it had most to fear, would find it difficult to crush its knife-like shell.

307. The PTERICHTHYS was another species, allied more closely to the insect in the articulations of its fins, and its head connecting with the body by a very small articulating surface. The neck of fishes — if they may be said to have any — is as large as their body, while that of insects is so small that the head is almost sev- ered. Such was the neck of the pterichthys. Its body was covered with large enamel-coated plates, beauti- fully articulating together, both serving as a protection against its enemies, and for the attachment of muscles, the osseous system being so imperfectly developed that it was useless as a support to the muscles. Such is the unique combination of characteristics in this being, which was mistaken by eminent naturalists for a beetle, then for a crustacean ; and not until after great research and study was its true position determined.

308. The COCCOCTEUS was still higher in the scale. It approached the fishes in the greater development of its skeleton and the position of its organs. The ar- ticulation of the head was like the insect. It was very large, and its jaws powerful, covered with enamel, and set with sharp, conical teeth. Its body was pro- tected by enamelled plates. Its tail was long, and had two fins at its extremity, and from its flexibility gave its possessor great locomotive power. Protected by its enamelled covering and swiftness of motion, it had no enemy to fear.

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309. Another group, of similar organization, dif- fered only in their envelopes, or covering, which, in- stead of being plates of enamel, were of the minutest scales, giving their skin the appearance of shagreen.

In another tribe the fins were very much enlarged, and armed with spines, and the scales were so en- larged that eight or ten covered the whole body.

310. While the ganoids swarmed the sea, the placoidians, in their infancy, were few in number. They were, however, fleeter and more voracious than their contemporaries, and from the remains of their spines and teeth preserved in the rocks, their number was large, and several species flourished. The rays or scates kept them company, and were nearly as per- fect as at present.

Such were the inhabitants of the Devonian oceans. The trilobites had almost expired, and many other curious forms of the previous age had become extinct, or advanced to a higher plane.

311. The land becoming more elevated, and its area enlarged, began to be clothed with a green man- tle, as vegetation advanced out of the sea. Those species which were capable from the constitution they received from the primordial CELL of progress, emerged from the sea, and clothed the shores with verdure. They planted themselves on the tide-washed shore, and gradually extending, at length passed beyond the reach of the tides, as they became more and more adapted to their new mode of life. At this time, and from this source, originated the terrestial CRYPTOGAMIA, that clothed the rocks and shores of the waning Devonian period with dark-green verdure. The moss attached itself to the rocky surface, the fern grew in the low places where the dampness of the soil furnished a f av-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 283

orable condition, and the fungi, the mushroom, puff balls, &c., germinated every where. It has been previ- ously remarked that the mushroom is one of the simplest aggregations of cells. Its germ is a simple cell, and when this becomes subject to the proper conditions, it contracts on its axis, and produces two similar cells. These again divide, and this process continues, until the germinal force becomes exhausted. This multi- plication occurs with such rapidity, that a single cell multiplies into billions in twenty-four hours.* The conditions for the complete development of the cryp- togamia (flowerless plants) were extremely favorable. AYarmth, moisture, and intercepted light all contrib- uted their influence, and they flourished with a luxu- riance they never have since attained; and the gigan- tic forms which then towered in forests of unrivalled grandeur, strike the imagination with wonder at the concurrence of conditions which could develop its huge trunks from the lowly rush, the puff-ball, and the moss.

312. The lowest forms of the vegetable and animal kingdoms here first attained their maximum of growth, and then declined, giving place to the next higher tribes, which in turn were displaced by others higher formed constitutionally for advancement. However imperfect this vegetation would be in the present age, it was perfectly adapted to the period in which it flourished. This reveals the fallacy of that reasoning which speaks of the perfect organization of these an- cient forms. True, they were perfect for their time

* This curious subject is illustrated by numerous experiments, in article "Endosmosis," in the Cyclopedia of Anatomy and Physiology, in Dutrochet's M£moires Animiques et Physiologiques, and in Mat- teucci's Lectures on the Physical Phenomena of Living Beings,

284 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

and place, but far from perfect in the absolute sense.

Subject to higher conditions life will gradually con- form, and a new flora and fauna will be evolved from the old. Thus are we prepared to see the forms de- scribed in this section unfold in the next age, under the stimulating conditions of the carboniferous period, into the grandest forests that ever clothed the earth.

313. Whenever an animal or vegetable type has attained its highest state, and is becoming extinct, and another of a similar type is taking its place, the last is always higher in the scale of being than the first, and is caused by intermixture with some other genera, or species allied to it in its form and habits.

CHAPTER XL CARBONIFEROUS OR COAL FORMATION.

Conditions of. — Origin of the Coal. — Lepidodendron. — Stigmaria. — Arborescent Ferns. — Calamites. — Norfolk Island Pine. — Carbonif- erous Scenery. — Luxuriance of Vegetation. — Islands of the South Sea represent the Coal Era. — The marine Depths. — Fucoids. — Orthoceras. — Cephalopods. — Terrebratula. — Productus. — Am- monites. — Fishes. — Ganoids. — Sharks. — Sauroids. — Terres- trial Reptiles.

314. THE coal era may emphatically be termed the reign of plants. The islands were low, and the cli- mate, still feeling the influence of the external heat,

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 285

was extra-tropical, and warmer at the poles than at present. The general diffusion of the ocean, and the entire absence of continental masses, greatly contrib- uted to this result. The atmosphere was damp, and of a high temperature. Its thick and murky charac- ter moderated the scorching heat of the sun. It con- tained a large amount of carbonic acid. Thus com- bined the best possible conditions for the growth of cryptogamic vegetation, and it came, clothing the low islands with gigantic forests.

315. Fossil coal is unquestionably formed from plants, after a somewhat similar manner as peat forms in the bog. The vegetation from which it was formed was succulent, and easily decomposed, and has left slight traces to the eye of the organic origin of its product. To the microscope it reveals its vegetable structure. But the characters presented are not those of the present. The observer discovers a new world. He is ushered among lepidodendrons, sigillarias, and arborescent ferns, plants combining the characteristics of several species in a single form.

316. The LEPIDODENDRON was a large forest tree, allied to the pine, and still closer to the club-moss. The club-moss of the present is a very small plant, but a few inches in height; but this ancestor of the present plant was a noble tree, rearing its fluted and scarred trunk sixty feet or more without branches. Then it sent out numerous arms, leaving the trunk at an acute angle, and covered with moss-like leaves, forming a delicate and somewhat beautiful foliage. When stripped of its leaves it resembled a decaying pine.

317. The STIGMARIA were the roots or types of another forest tree, half pine, half cycadea, or palm.

286 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

It closely resembled the zamia in its internal struc- ture, and the palm in appearance. The leaves, like the palm, were attached directly to the trunk, and fluted the trunk where they grew, and scarred it where they were attached. It was one of the few woody plants, and entered largely into the production of the coal.

318. The humble fern, or brake, we left on the bor- ders of the silurian sea, added frond to frond, until it became a forest tree, rivalling the palm in beauty, and dividing into innumerable species, spread in dense jungles over marsh and plain. The brakes of our swamps and marshes seldom exceed a few feet in height, and at the present time, even in the torrid clime, but few species attain a height of more than four feet. The gigantic carboniferous ferns were thirty or forty feet in height, and supported a crown of leaves rivalling the palm.

319. The scene presented was gloomy and sad. A sombre hue pervaded the dense islands covered with ferns, interspersed here and there with gray rocks. The sooty blackness of the sky was similar in character and appearance to stone coal smoke, casting a gloom over the whole landscape.

320. All the low lands were clothed with tree ferns, forming the densest and most impenetrable jungles. Beneath these the humble ferns found shelter. The more barren and sterile places were occupied by the tapering spires of the CALAMITES. Above these the lepidodendron bore aloft its splendid coronal, singu- larly disproportioned, however, to its huge columnar trunk. Above these, in the forest, "the sigillaria ele- vated its crown of leaves on its fluted and gracefully tapering column. More than a hundred feet above all of these, the Norfolk Island pine reared its pyramid of

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 287

foliage, rising, tier above tier, in a magnificent cone of vegetation."

A dark, sombre green pervaded the whole scene, un- enlivened by the bright and brilliant coloring which, by contrast, constitutes the chief attraction and beauty of the present vegetable world.

321. From these dense forests the coal was formed, and stored away in the earth's great garner house for tlie use and advancement of man. The extreme luxuriance of vegetation during the deposition of the coal can be faintly appreciated when it is considered that a century's growth of a tropical forest would not produce more than a stratum of coal one or two inches in thickness. The total thickness of the English coal beds is one hundred and fifty feet, and it cannot be less in America. To produce this great thickness, it thus appears, would require eighteen hundred such forests, each requiring a century's growth, or more than one million of years. A single stratum of coal, four feet in thickness, would be produced in a tropical region, if the material could all be saved, in about five thousand years. The esculent coal plants were not as productive of coal as the tropical forest trees, and hence the time of their formation must greatly exceed this estimate.

322. The greater portions of the forests were in the valleys and basins, partially covered with water. The plants grew, and, falling down, became the soil for the next generation; and although decomposition went rapidly on, the growth was so rapid that a stratum of organic matter slowly accumulated, and when the whole became submerged beneath the waves a cover- ing of sand or mud was thrown over it. When the land again emerged from the ocean, it was prepared

288 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

for the support of a new forest. The organic mate- rial thus collected, subjected to the enormous pressure of the superincumbent strata, and acted on by the in- ternal heat, formed the crystalline coal, which is so necessary to the progress of civilization. To obtain an idea of the coal plants, and the aspect of the earth while they clothed its surface, we must go to the low islands of the Indian Ocean, where a uniform temper- ature and a moist atmosphere prevail. New Zealand and the neighboring isles furnish the best examples of the coal flora: there it yet lingers, still resem- bling its former appearance. The lepidodendron, club moss, and fern, are nearly the only plants in their for- ests. There we observe the same sombre hue, the same death-like silence, uninterrupted by a warbler's note, or the least stir of animal life. With its coralline seas, and islands clothed with cryptogamic forests, this region of the South Sea is a miniature of the coal era.

323. Dense as were the terrestrial forests, the fu- coids which covered the floor of the deep flourished with equal luxuriance. They furnished sustenance and pro- tection for innumerable aquatic animals. The ammo- nite, the orthoceros, and other cephalopods, were in their decline. Terebratula spirifer and productus are characteristic types.

The fishes of the silurian were small and clumsy. The predominant tribes of the Devonian were much larger, and more numerous; but, from the first, they were accompanied by a cartilaginous tribe, the plan of whose structure was wholly different, and aiming at higher results.

324. The ganoids of the Devonian attained their maturity. They had reached the end of their line of

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 289

progress, and now the bony pike and sturgeon alone survive the depressing influences which have blotted out their more gigantic progenitors. The sharks rap- idly increased in numbers, and became the terror of the deep. Their hardihood and endurance adapted them to all circumstances and places. The contem- porary family of sauroids were a compound of fishes and reptiles, or rather, half-developed reptiles from the fishes. The analogy between them and the reptile has not been allowed, and much dispute has occurred in assigning them their true place. They were larger and more powerful than the shark. In the structure of their teeth they approached the crocodile, while the structure of their jaws was as truly lacertian. In them are found the first traces of ossification; which, singular as it may appear, is highly corroboratory of our theory. This commenced in those centres which first begin to ossify in the embryo reptile.

325. In the different species of sauroids which swam in the carboniferous sea are found all grades, from the fish to the imperfect reptilian; the former abounding at the commencement of the period, and the latter near its termination.

In some species are observed the wrinkled and knot- ty covering, the jaws and teeth, of the crocodile, and other reptiles. Thus the diffarreation between fishes and reptiles is actually presented to our observation.

Though the traces of terrestrial reptilian life which have been discovered are extremely dubious, yet, as they could live either in the water or on the land, it is almost certain that some of the lowest species of reptiles inhabited the cryptogamic forests. They, how- ever, acted a minor part in the earth drama.

326. While huge and insatiably carnivorous sharks

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290 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

and gigantic sauroids swarmed in the ocean, the coral and associate zoophytes were building their island homes, laboring on from century to century, rearing the groundwork of continents yet unborn. The sea- weed waved its delicate fronds around the continen- tal germs, and in its unique foliage forms of fishes and mollusks found their home. In the reign of fishes, no higher forms (except near its close) disputed their supremacy, and their different types and modifica- tions filled all the offices, performed all the functions, now executed by manifold classes of beings.

The coal, emphatically, was the reign of gigantic cryptogamic vegetation. There was nothing, however, but what was in strict accordance with the conditions of the earth. Law ruled as sternly then as now, and was unfailingly producing order and beauty from the wildest confusion.

CHAPTER XII. PERMIAN AND TRIAS PERIODS.

Changes of Conditions. — Permian Flora. — Magnesian Limestone. — Fishes. — Reptilian Fishes. — Plants. — The Sea. — Grand Convul- sions, and Change of Level. — Inference and Proof. — Confirmed by the Trias. — Ideas of Perfection. — Mollusks. — Sauroids. — Petrified Sea Beaches. — Office of the Ocean. — Sand Rock of the Connecticut Valley. — Nature ever the same. — Chelonians. — Birds. — Ornithorhynchus. — Labyrinthodon. — Saurians. — Rhinochosau- rus. — Extinction of the Coal Flora. — Distribution of Plants and Animals. — Convulsions the Exception. — Gypseous Deposits. — Salt Beds. — Scenery of the Trias.

327. HAVING glanced over the first ages of life, and from its origin traced its history, we enter another

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vast period of duration. It will be readily compre- hended that better conditions prevailed on the earth for the maintenance of animal life after the renova- tion of the atmosphere effected by the deposition of the coal. The carbon, which before had prevented the existence of any high order of animal life, was stored away in the coal measures and limestone rocks, and the atmosphere approached its present composi- tion or state.

328. The vast interval of time under consideration may be divided into the Permian and Trias. The Permian flora was little more than a continuation of the coal.

The deposition of the magnesian limestone was ac- companied by too great convulsions to allow the work- ing of the peaceful energies of vitality. The deposit immediately above the coal is apparently formed of the debris of worn-down granite, and is a proof of the powerful disintegrating force of the Permian ocean. The coal strata were closed or covered up by volcanic convulsions and sedimentary deposits.

329. On this deposit of coarse, sandy material, the magnesian limestone reposes. This undoubtedly was formed by chemical precipitation. The precipitating agent must be looked for in the volcanic exhalations, which must have been thrown out during such great disturbances, as the conditions of the strata indicate. If it is considered as a precipitate, — and it can be ac- counted for in no other light, — it must not be supposed that it took place suddenly, or in a year, or a century, but was slowly deposited, during which time genera- tion after generation of mollusks and corals, and the little animalcula of the deep, flourished, and at death were entombed in this great charnel house, by the fine sediment cast down by the waters.

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330. The fishes of this period were small in size and slow of motion. The reptilian fishes were also small and feeble, compared with their ancestors, al- though numerous in some localities, charging the entire rock with animal matter arising from their decay. A remarkable feature of all the fishes of the early ages is the formation of their tails after lacertian models; and only in later times do we meet with fishes with a tail formed of two equally divided parts.

331. There was a dwarfish tendency in plants, and few large species existed. There is nothing, in fact, remarkable in this portion of the earth's history, ex- cept the convulsions which prepared it for the predomi- nance of reptilian life in the next. It was an age of renovation, when antagonistic conditions were re- moved, the atmosphere purified, the sea cleansed of its surplus magnesia and lime. Life remained nearly stationary until all this was accomplished, when it branched out in different channels, and advanced with great rapidity towards its ultimate state of perfection. The sea has been the great nursery of animate ex- istence.

332. During the first periods of time, when the earth was nearly covered by the ocean, and only islands reared their unstable heads above the waters of the deep, the germs of life grew, and matured, and sported on the crest of the billows. When the desert land turned its desolate front to the scorching sun, the sea swarmed with living beings. The ocean is the stimulating element, the great storehouse of cel- lular life.

333. The Permian is remarkable for the changes effected at that time in the position of the strata of the earth. The convulsions which prevailed through-

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out its duration, have left their stupendous impress, deep and wide, on the rocky framework of the globe. Vast upheavals and corresponding depressions oc- curred, whereby the relative positions of sea and land were wholly changed. Even in large areas, the strata of rocks were forced up in dome-like elevations, like blisters. Fissures, hundreds of miles in extent, were produced, which gave vent to lava, that overflowed the surface in extensive sheets. These fissures, how- ever, did not always discharge lava, but simply produced anticlinal ridges, descending on either side. The earth's crust was broken by the most terrible and tremendous convulsions, and the fissures thus formed were filled and often overflowed with volcanic matter.

334. After these changes, new conditions were pre- sented to living beings, and stimulated by them, they commenced a rapid advance.

From the waymarks observed in the sauroid fishes and reptilian forms, and remembering the principle, already advanced, of the extinction of a lower order as soon as it has attained its ultimate development, and the introduction of an order having a greater progres- sive limit, we should now infer the existence of rep- tiles. Turning one leaf over, the TRIAS is brought to view, and confirms the correctness of our inference.

335. THE TRIAS. — After the igneous force had spent its energy, contorting and twisting the strata in every possible manner, filling up the fissures with trap, and pouring out rivers of basaltic lava, there came a period of repose. Magnificent results had been ac- complished by the vast forces called into activity. The thick beds of magnesia n limestone, produced by chemi- cal solution, had been precipitated, and the purified

294 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

sea, exerted a new influence by the inorganic elements that were presented to the beings that made it their home. The oscillation in the earth's surface, and the new disposition of land and water, produced climatic changes, which reacted in modifying the various ter- restrial types of life.

336. The past age was one of change and renova- tion. It introduced few new species, but modified the inorganic elements. It prepared the way for the TRIASIC fauna, which came as prophesied by the sau- roid fishes and reptiles of the preceding era, and which the changes wrought by the convulsions of the Permian proclaimed would be produced. From the changes wrought in the sea we infer that as it was capable of sustaining a higher order of beings, they would occupy the new field it afforded. How correct the inference! How in accordance with the theory that conditions essentially change or modify living types ! A few feeble reptiles, and a few small marine types of the same order, but a little above the sau- roids, sported on and near the fern-clad islands of the coal. These survived the wreck of the Permian; and when nature again exerted her creating powers, when the equilibrium was established, they began a rapid advance. The purified sea greatly affected the radiata. The lily encrinite grew in splendid groves, and all the allied species attained their acme of perfection. The lily encrinite has been often produced as an illus- tration of the perfection of ancient animals, and as proof that, instead of progressing, the world is at present at a standstill, or is retrogressing. This en- crinite 's shell was composed of over thirty thousand distinct pieces, set together in an admirable manner to meet the wants of the enclosed animal. It was

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provided with a long, flexible stalk to support it, jointed like a vertebral column, and allowing the en- crinoid to search in every direction for its prey. But it is a question whether complexity of structure is an indication of development. On the contrary, the most complex beings are often the lowest. Animals are always adapted to the conditions which surround them, and in this aspect, and this alone, may be re- garded perfect. A fish is perfect in its adaptations to the element in which it lives, but is very imperfect in regard to terrestrial conditions. Man is perfect for his sphere, but unqualified for an aquatic life.

337. The encrinites were perfect in their adapta- tions, as are all other types. They were the scaven- gers of the deep, feeding on decaying substances which floated within their reach. Their bony armor shielded them from enemies. Their complexity, however, does not show advancement. Some writers, in speaking of the ancient beings, always refer to their extreme complexity and perfection, and some go so far as to consider bulk a measure of advancement. The ichthy- osaurus is pronounced the highest form of lizards, as its structure was complex, and its size extremely large. It is now known, however, that several contemporary forms were altogether superior to it in every respect. This method of reasoning into which many fall, is fallacious.

338. The mollusks of the TRIAS show a marked approach to those in the present seas; and this ap- proximation is also seen in its fishes. As previously intimated, the ganoids, placoids, and sauroids were the predominant inhabitants of the deep. All of these had the reptilian conformation of their tails. The same is found in the embryo of the fishes of the pres-

296 THE ARCANA OP NATURE, OR

ent time. This fact has an important bearing on the progressive theory. The mature shark is on the same plane where the white fish begins its life, or the white fish begins where the shark leaves off. We cannot too strongly impress this principle, derived from re- searches in embryonic growth; for the fact that the embryos of one age represent the beings of a former age, shows a close connection between all the mem- bers of the animal kingdom, and is a strong evidence of their unity of original form. The fishes of the present have almost without exception equally lobed tails. The sauroids of the trias were small and vora- cious. They had parallel teeth and strong jaws, with which to crush the shells of mollusks, and the harder portions of their other prey. The external row of teeth were long, and pointed inward, enabling them to take sure hold of and preventing the escape of their slippery prey. They had attained their glory long be- fore, and were slowly expiring.

339. In many localities the ancient sea beach has been fossilized, preserving the minutest traces of the beings that flourished when it was sand or mud, and washed by the ebb and flow of the tides. The im- pressions that arise while viewing such a formation are indescribable. Here was once the shore of the ocean, now hundreds of miles away. Here was the ancient coast line, against which the wild storms drove the mad billows in ceaseless strife, to wear down and disintegrate the rocky breastwork. Here is the labor of millions of ages. And an appreciation of the powerful agency of the waves breaks on our minds. The ocean has been the great leveller by which hills and mountains have been washed away and strewn over its coralline floor. Its waves never rest. Ceaseless

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as the march of time, either in gentle calm or angry storm it labors on in its self-appointed task. The lunar influence is constantly disturbing its repose; and thus is the moon made the instrument of developing the capabilities of our planet. Yes, here the blue waters rolled in wild freedom, and these strata of sand rock were then formed, with their markings and fossils, the whole consolidated into rock, and preserved as a section of earth's history, written by the rolling billows. Here the same appearances are observed as are now seen on the sandy shore — the ripple marks, the fossils, and the tracks of birds. When the tide ebbs, it frequently leaves large flats strewn with shells, marine insects and worms. The sea birds are attracted to these places, and cover it with their tracks in their search for food. Worms burrow along the surface, and crabs wander from one small pool to another. The whole surface is indented with ripple marks. This is pre- cisely the appearance formed in the petrified sea beach of the Connecticut valley, and elsewhere. Undoubt- edly the strata in which they occur when depositing were extensive flats left dry by the ebb, and covered by the flood tide. On these marine birds and reptiles would congregate, and would leave the impressions of their feet. The sea worms and crustaceans would each leave their peculiar track. The retiring waves would deposit a new stratum of sand over the whole, on which the same process would be repeated.

340. As we uncover and remove layer after layer of the sandstone, all these diversified markings are brought to view. The footprints of birds, reptiles, and turtles, the marks left by the sea worm and crusta- cean, and the ripple marks, are as fresh as those now seen on the sea shore. And not only these, but the

298 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

rain drops of the storm are impressed in the now solid rock. When these strata were a level tract bordering the ocean, when the birds and reptiles congregated there the shower wrote its history also. Wonderful reflection, that so simple an occurrence as the falling shower should be permanently registered. Men may toil and strive with all their energies to write their names on the scroll of fame — their giant efforts are failures, compared to these. Here in the sandrock, the triasic shower has written its ineffaceable history, as a chapter in that of the globe. Not only this, but the direction of the wind is also recorded by the slant of the indentations. Thus are we reminded that the great laws of physical nature were ever the same as now. In those remote ages, the winds blew, the tem- pest raged, the shower descended, the ocean heaved restlessly by the action of the tides, as they rose and fell on its shore, or calmly rippled over the exten- sive flats. Birds and reptiles, guided by instinct, fre- quented their appropriate haunts in search of food; the marine lacertians crept along the oozy shores. In all her physical and instinctive actions, Nature was the same as now. Her laws were progressive as at pres- ent, and ever tended to a higher plane.

341. We will now inquire what were the forms that frequented those banks, and what are the conclu- sions of geologists in regard to the fossil footprints. A great variety of species are readily determined ; for such is the unity of nature in all ages, that from a footprint, a fragment of bone, a tooth, or scale, the form and habits of the species can be deter- mined.

342. The same stock from which the carboniferous reptiles originated also gave birth to the CHELONIAN

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or turtle tribe, and to birds. On the surface of the rock the marks of the turtles can be seen in connec- tion with the footprints of gigantic birds. The turtle does not differ from the saurians as much as from the present birds, but it does quite as much as the primi- tive forms of that class. A turtle is little more than a lizard enveloped with a shell. The ribs of the lizard are flattened, the vertebrae consolidated into the shell, the breast bone is spread out on the under side, but the internal structure conforms to the reptilian archetype.

The primitive birds were of gigantic size. The length of a footprint of some species is over twenty- one inches, and the length of step five feet. To ob- tain an idea of birds of such enormous size, we must take the Australian emu and its congeners, to which they approach in structure. They have not the power of flight, are roughly shaped, and have strong analo- gies to mammals on the one hand, and to reptiles on the other.

343. The ornithorhynchus of the Australian conti- nent, where the ancient fauna, as well as flora, appears to have been regenerated, marks the gradation of the bird into the lizard and the mammal.

344. These primitive birds were low in organiza- tion. They were waders, half aquatic, half terrestrial. Their heavy bodies were not calculated for flight, and, like the ostrich, they had small wings, useful for run- ning, but not for flight. I would not be understood as saying that the ostrich, emu, and their congeners are on the same plane as these ancient birds. They have advanced very much from that stock. The birds are a branch thrown off from the principal trunk ; but I shall not trace out their analogies, except as far as necessary to establish their origin.

300 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

345. The haunts of birds being on the land, and their bodies so light as to float on the water, they could hardly escape being devoured; or should they by chance or accident be carried or fall into the sea, few remains of course, could be preserved. Geologists do not recognize the existence of birds from the trias to the chalk. Their remains could not be preserved on dry land, though it cannot be doubted but that they did exist through all that vast period of duration. They had not multiplied so greatly as now; and if one of their carcasses should float down into the sea, and sink, and should escape the million chances of be- ing devoured by some ravenous shark or reptile, and become invested with sediment, which is hardly pos- sible, how infinite the improbability that the geologist should strike the exact spot, and exhume its remains! Where the remains of an animal are found in two ages, but not in an intermediate one, it is the simplest induction of philosophy that it existed in the interme- diate time. Though not the least indication of birds has been discovered from the trias to the chalk, yet they must have certainly existed during that almost infinite number of ages, and advanced towards their final destiny; for, in the chalk period, birds like the albatross sailed over the deep ; and its allied types peo- pled the earth. This advance must have occurred in this unwritten interval. Bold as this proposition may appear, it is fully borne out by analogy.

In connection with the other markings in the trias, or new red sandstone, are the curious impressions of the feet of a quadruped. These resemble the impres- sion of a gigantic hand. The fore feet were extremely small, while the hind feet were disproportionately large. They belonged to a huge batrachian, whi^h, ifor sj&e

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 301

and structure ranks the first of its class. It has re- ceived the name of labyrinthodon. It was not wholly frog, but partook strongly of lacertian (lizard-shaped) characteristics, as did all the types of the primordial world. In it we see the batrachian, separating from the saurian, just as in the tadpole we see it separa- ting from the fish. Its jaws were greatly prolonged, broad and flattened like the alligator, with a deep-sculp- tured exterior. They were thickly set with irregular conical teeth, prolonged in front into tusks, like the alligator 's, and the analogy was continued in the warty covering of some species, and the conformation of the ribs. On the other hand it approached the fishes. In the smallness of its fore extremities and extreme development of its posterior, it approached the mar- supials, as also in the internal structure of its bones. An eminent comparative anatomist affirms that one species actually leaped about on its posterior extremi- ties, like the kangaroo. At this point. we date the advent of the marsupial type of MAMMALIA in which began this extensive order, which now stands preemi- nent over all others.

346. SAURIANS were stated to have been contempo- rary with the unique beings already described. These were of the composite character so often remarked. At present the saurians are isolated, and there are but few intermediate species connecting it with other orders. This gap is supplied by the extinct fauna so completely that not a link in the chain is wanting, nor a vacancy left unsupplied. The PHYTOSAURUS was allied to the bird and the mammal, while it was closely related to the CHELONIA, or turtle, and had the general form of the lizard. Its jaws were converted into a horny beak, like the bird, or turtle, and wholly devoid of teeth. It was terrestrial and herbivorous.

302 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

347. The DYCINODON was a closely allied genus. Its relations were with the poisonous serpents, the car- nivorous quadrupeds, the tortoise, and the true lizards. Its jaws, or rather beak, had sharp, cutting edges, and from the upper grew two long tusks, like the fangs of serpents. It was carnivorous, and probably used them in attack and defence.

348. These saurians and their congeners form a curious and remarkable group, in which we see a union of beings now widely separated. They consti- tuted at that era of time a waymark by which to trace the ascent of life, slowly but surely, urged on by per- fecting conditions, until it mounted upward to supe- rior forms.

349. There was a gradual extinction of the coal flora, and the substitution of higher species. The cli- mate yet remained tropical farther north than at pres- ent. The ocean was not yet divided by continental masses, and by its circulation preserved a more equal temperature than at present. As islands enlarged and mountain chains became elevated, marking the outlines of the present continents, the oceanic circula- tion became impeded, and, combined with the eleva- tion of the land and decreasing temperature of the interior of the earth, served to depress the temperature of the atmosphere. As different localities began to have widely diverse climates, the fauna and flora also changed so as to conform to the new state of the earth. Animals and plants nearly resembling each other, but of different species, are found on both continents, as the wolf, bear, deer, ox: how came they so nearly to resemble each other, and yet not identical? The question is answered by considering the time and conditions in which they flourished up to the Permian

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or new red sandstone, allowing the types then in ex- istence to universally diffuse themselves; then, as the climate and conditions changed, they conformed or be- came extinct. This view does not do the least vio- lence to established science, as the modifications as- sumed are slight, perhaps only requiring a change of color, or the acquisition of a shaggy coat, or a few spots and markings. Each continent has now its own fauna and flora, distinct, yet resembling each other, and differing only as much as the climate and other conditions of the localities vary. The influences which have been exerted on living beings have been slow and silent, but have acted through millions of years, and are fully sufficient to account for the grad- ual change of species.

350. Nature labors slowly and silently. Convul- sions and disasters are the exceptions. The catastro- phes some writers have pictured by their imaginations have been much exaggerated, or have no reality. Great changes and stupendous oscillations have oc- curred, but most of them with the comparative still- ness and with the ordinary forces of nature.

At intervals the booming of the earthquake, or the thunder of the volcano belching out its igneous flood, interrupted the general calm; but such were excep- tions to the silent, onward movement. It is customary with popular writers to speak of universal commotions, disasters, and convulsions, as though the elements of the globe held a very unstable equilibrium. This is very true of its infancy; but from the silurian up- wards, comparatively few terrific convulsions, chang- ing materially the surface of the earth, have occurred, and these have been separated by vast intervals of time. Some of these, however, must have been of

304 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

the most awful and violent character. The oscilla- tions of level that occur in the course of ages, are so slow that long periods of observation are necessary to detect them. In different countries this is now occur- ring on the most extended scale, as in Greenland, Scandinavia, and South America, elevating or depress- ing at the rate of a few inches only in a century ; but no disorder is observed. Disturbances as slight as these, acting through long periods, would produce great changes.

351. The mysteries of geology have been made the stronghold of those who desire to see confusion and the miraculous interposition of Deity in every thing they cannot comprehend; but as the light of facts in- crease, they are driven out of this position.

352. The sulphate of lime or the gypseous deposits, interspersed through the saliferous formation, origi- nated by the exhalations of sulphuric acid gas from the earth acting on the carbonate of lime. This ori- gin is indicated by the total absence of organic re- mains; also that wherever it comes in contact with limestone, the latter is corroded and changed from a carbonate to a sulphate of lime. At this era of time, the earth emitted vast quantities of this acid ; hence the gypseous deposits are mostly found in this formation.

Salt, (chloride of sodium,) though occurring in con- nection with the beds of gypsum, had not a common origin. It was formed in the early epochs of earth's history, intimately combined with water and many other substances, and is evidently of marine origin. Some authors have asserted that the salt found in the ocean is of terrestrial origin, and was washed down and deposited there by rivers. This theory is not sus- tained by good evidence. Of the many rivers that

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 305

discharge their contents into the ocean, but few of them have the least trace of salt. And the very small quantity so found can be satisfactorily accounted for in the rivulets and springs that take their rise in beds of salt, the porous salif erous rocks, or of earth impreg- nated with salt in consequence of its being in a recent period of time covered by the ocean, and also from the millions of tons annually used by the inhabitants of earth.

The beds of salt were undoubtedly formed by arms of the sea being cut off by bars formed across their entrances, and also by portions of the sea being raised above its surface, taking with it a large quantity of salt water in its basins, or depressed parts. If the water running or falling into these places is less than the evaporation, salt would soon be deposited. Much of the salt of commerce is made in this manner in artificial beds. When an arm or bay of the sea is cut off, and rivers run into it loaded with mud or sand, but not equal to the evaporation, the sediment would mix with the salt, and in time a saliferous rock be formed. The sudden falling or sinking of these salt-beds and rocks, and their being covered over with deposits of earth, are well understood, and need no further description.

353. All the deposits of salt in the earth testify to their marine origin. Many examples of this kind are now going on. In the eastern continent, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Aral, is an extensive tract of country showing abundant evidence of its being but a short time since, covered by an arm of the ocean. The basins, or depressed places, are filled with salt water; some of them are fully saturated, and

depositing salt, while others are being mixed with. 20

306 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

sediment carried into them. The wells dug in this tract are brackish, and often very salt. This large extent of country, including the Black Sea, the Cas- pian Sea, and the eastern end of the Mediterranean, is probably more than one hundred feet below the sur- face of the Atlantic Ocean. According to Humboldt, the Caspian has a depression of near two hundred feet. Lakes in different parts of the world are found with the water salt at the bottom and fresh at the sur- face; they receive 'and discharge fresh water, without mixing with the heavy salt water at the bottom. On- ondaga Lake, in the State of New York, is an example of this kind. Further evidence of the depression of these seas, and the causes of their being so, will be found in another part of this work.

354. The scenery of the trias, and saliferous peri- ods, was wild and beautiful. On the far extended flats, washed by the tides, and strewn with sea weeds, gigantic birds congregated. The marine turtles, leav- ing their briny homes, crawled over the oozy or sandy shores, and the unique labyrinthodon slowly moved among the wondrous group. On the higher grounds the zamia and palm sheltered the rhynchosaurus, the parent of the oolitic marsupials, and in the thick for- ests reptiles fought their battles of extermination.

Let us now turn over another leaf, covered with the dim hieroglyphics, which we have endeavored to read, and the OOLITIC page is presented to view.

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CHAPTER XHI.

OOLITE. — LIAS. — WEALDEN.

Lias. — Pentacrinite. — Cuttle Fish. — Belemnite. — Sauroids. — Le- pidoteus. — Port Jackson Shark. — Rays. — Marine Reptiles. — Nothosaurus. — Ichthyosaurus. — Plesiosaurus. — Oolite Proper. — Corals. — Description of a Coral Isle. — Terebratula. — Insects. — Gavial. — Cetiosaurus. — Megalosaurus. — Plan of Vertebral Articu- lation. — Pterodactyle. — The Wealden. — Iguanodon. — Heliosau- rus. — Dawn of Mammals in the Marsupials. — The Saurian Age. — Scenery of this Era.

355. FOR convenience, the oolite is divided into three sections — lias, oolite proper, and wealden.

The LIASIC sea was muddy and unsuitable for the growth of corals. The zoophyte cannot exist in water the least muddy; and this fact reveals the agency which has suddenly extinguished whole banks of polypes in the ages of the past. They can only live in the clear, pure sea. The mud-like series, at the be- ginning of this age, plainly indicates why there were no corallines. Their place was occupied by the cri- noids, animals of the same class, but higher in struc- ture. We have already become familiar with some of its genera, for they were long ago introduced, and their habits were traced in the encrinite and stone lily.

356. The PENTACRINITE of the lias, from the crys- talline growth of its shell and its perfection, is the most interesting. The long, supporting stem was built up of rings, enveloping a thin line of flesh. On this stem the body rested in the exquisitely cup-shaped shell. The mouth was surrounded by numerous arms, enveloped nearly to their extremities by the same

308

shell-like covering. Its shell was composed of 150,000 pieces. Its stem was usually attached to floating tim- bers or other floating bodies, like the barnacle, which attaches itself to the -bottom of ships, and depended entirely on winds and tides for locomotion. From the luxuriance of the entire group, and their abundance, and the absence of other tribes, which had previously acted as scavengers, they must have subserved the latter purpose, and cleansed the sea of many of its im- purities.

357. Of the CUTTLE FISH there are two divisions, represented by the sepia and the nautilus, or its an- cient prototype, the ammonite. The 'ammonites were provided with a shell not unlike the spiral univalves, except that it was divided into chambers by parti- tions, while the sepia had no other external protec- tion than its dense dermal mouth. It had also the rudiments of an internal skeleton, and was higher in its organization.

358. The BELEMNITES combined both these char- acteristics so uniquely, that it has long puzzled the researches of the paleontologist. The chambered shell was straightened out into a cone, and instead of being on the outside, was placed within the animal. This shell acted as a float, by which the animal could sink or rise at will in its native element. The bel- emnite was strong and rapacious, and its powerful tentaculaB could sustain successful warfare against much larger fishes. Standing upright in the water, it rapidly ascended from the marine depths, and unper- ceived seized its fishy prey, and dragged it down into the sea caverns, to devour at its leisure. When pursued, it ejected a 'black and acrid fluid, which blinded its enemies and concealed its flight. This ani-

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mal had all the characteristics which now belong to all the species of the family, exemplifying the plan be- fore alluded to, that the compound always came be- fore the special.

359. Of the higher groups of fishes, a few species of sauroids still lingered — the lepidoteus, resembling the bass, and other types resembling those of the Aus- tralian seas. The Port Jackson shark, a family found nowhere else but around the shores of that strange land, would almost seem a direct descendant from the fishes of the lias. Its mouth, as in all other sharks, is on the under side, and so far back of the nose that it cannot seize its prey without turning on its side. To do this with requisite rapidity while in motion, re- quires a firmer apparatus than the simple fin; and this is supplied by long and bony spines, deeply-rooted in the flesh, and moved by powerful muscles. Its fins are large and numerous, and are erected or depressed by spines. These spines are the only remains pre- served of these fishes, for their soft bodies rapidly perished, and by their size and markings, and by re- mains of teeth, the various species are determined. We are to hope that the science of comparative anat- omy will yet attain a perfection sufficient to enable the expert investigator from seeing a single tooth, or fragment of bone, to give a full description of the beings to which they belong, their habits, &c. This certainly is attainable; for all science can be reduced to an absolutely positive state.

Rays were introduced during this period. They are a singularly formed family. 'The eyes are on one side of the body, and the mouth on the other. They are colored like the sea bottom, to avoid their enemies, and steal unperceived on their prey.

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360. Reptiles became the rulers of this age. While the reptiles of the trias inclined to, and partook of, the character of birds, batrachians, and crocodiles, those of the lias inclined to the type of marine lizards. Of these only one species is at present known, the bliryn- chus cistatus, a small lizard of the recent volcanic Galapagos Islands.

361. The NOTHOSAURUS was exclusively marine, of large size and insatiably carnivorous. Contemporary with this were the PLESIOSAURS and ICHTHYOSAURS. The plesiosaurus was beautifully formed. Its body was slim and gracefully rounded, resting on the water like the swan, which it closely resembled in the arched and serpent-like neck. Its neck was longer, in pro- portion to its body, than that of any other animal. The giraffe has but seven vertebrae in its neck, and the swan has but twenty-three; but the plesiosaurus had between thirty and forty. This long and slender neck supported a small, serpent-like head, so that this reptile resembled a large serpent, joined to the smooth body of a lizard. Four strong paddles, representatives of the four limbs of quadrupeds, propelled it through the waves. It was, however, a sluggish animal, and preferred the estuaries and shoals, where it would lie motionless ; or, being drifted by the tides, with its neck arched backward, it was ready to dart its head at any fish that chanced to approach sufficiently near.

362. The ICHTHYOSAURUS, or fish-lizard, as its name imports, was a compound between the fish and lizard, as the preceding was of a snake and lizard. Its body was like the porpoise, its head and jaws were like those of the crocodile, its tail like that of the fish. Its head was very large, its jaws long and slim, and provided with a terrible array of conical, curved sharp

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 311

teeth. This class of animals seized their food by sud- denly snapping their jaws together— this being nec- essary in order to obtain a firm hold of their slippery prey. The eyes were very large, and gave the mon- ster a hideous aspect. They were formed somewhat like the eagle's, a series of scales surrounded the pupil, by which the sight could be greatly contracted or expanded, and the eye flattened, so that the reptile could see as well under water as above. The Ichthy- osaurus was thus adapted to all depths, and moved as freely in the darkness of the deep as in the broad sunshine. Its small brain indicates feeble instinctive cunning and stupid habits. Its vertebral column was precisely like that of the fish, opposing concave sur- faces to each other, the borders being united by cartilage.

363. The greatest freedom of motion was thus given, by which it could propel itself through the water by the use of its tail alone. The latter was formed like the heterocircal fishes. Like the whale, it was pro- vided with large paddles, differing, however, from the cetacea, in having four instead of two, thereby ap- proaching mammals. These enormous paddles were wielded with great muscular force. The ichthyo- saurus must have excelled the shark in rapidity of motion. To make its analogy still closer to the ceta- ceans, its skin was smooth, and it inhaled air by breath- ing ; and to make its adaptation to its home and mode of life in the great deep still more perfect, by a peculiarity of its organization, it could swallow its prey while under water, and remain for a long time deprived of air. This completes a hurried view of the liasic fauna. Its flora was nearly the same 'as that of the preceding period, but there was a remarkable de-

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velopment of cycadea, palms, pines, fir, and other conifera.

364. OOLITE. — This formation is characterized by the deposit of calcareous matter, either in the form of mud or pure limestone. In the labors of world-build- ing, the corals again flourished, not as luxuriantly as in previous ages, but still sufficiently* to rear extensive reefs, and fill up large areas entirely with their re- mains-. In examining fossil islands formed by these corallines, the same habits are observed which char- acterize the corallines of to-day. They built their structures in the shallow parts of the ocean, where the sea was warm and the waters calm. And in the same manner they grew or worked in a circular form, and when they reached the surface of the water, a beautiful lagoon was enclosed, in which the quiet fishes and the delicate denizens of the deep congre- gated, free from the rough billows without.

365. There the coral-feeding fishes dwelt within the purple branches of the living grove, and at death their remains were embalmed in the fast-forming rock.

366. The sea urchin and its congeners floated with- out, and the sea weed lodged on the jagged coast, as the little architects piled up their rocky skeletons in defiance of the waves. Fishes of innumerable kinds here sported in the calm waters, waiting for the rough ocean without to become tranquil and clear.

367. The coral family teach us one of the processes of world-building. The zoophyte attaches itself to the rocky apex of a submarine mountain, and slowly its stony framework rises above the waves. Ages pass away, and an earthquake elevates the isle above the surrounding waste. Now the sea weed drifts up on

* Smith, Nat. Hist, of the Human Species, p. 38.

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the glittering beach, and a soil gradually accumulates, in which seeds, drifted by currents from distant climes, could spring up and clothe the coral beach with vege- tation. In the Pacific, the palm first rears its splendid coronal of leaves above the rocky isle, while yet the waves dash by its side. Now a reptile, from a distant continent, after a long voyage, alights on the beach, and terrestrial animal life begins to flourish in this little world.

368. This process is one way or form of world- making, except the animals and plants are already in existence. The order of their introduction, however, is the same by necessity; for if animals were intro- duced before plants, they would inevitably perish. Plants prepare the way for animals. Time sufficient does not elapse for development and growth, and under the prevailing conditions that would be im- possible. Nature introduces certain types, and ever after takes them as archetypes, ever reverting to the original stock.

369. On the coral banks, where the sea weed waved and the purple polype spread out its arms in search of food, crustaceans, — descendants of the trilobite, the lobster, the crab, the shrimp, and limulus — sported on the sparkling sands and there too the mollusca and other aquatic forms congregated. The hardest and most vigorous of these, the terebratula, found as congenial a home as among the wave-washed rocks of the silurian wastes. It is a fine illustration of the theory presented. It attained a high degree of per- fection early in the morn of creation ; but by its native vigor it has met all the changes which have overtaken and destroyed contemporary races. It became modi- fied, however, by every new condition, yet remains

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essentially the same to the present day. Insects began to sport with tiny wings through the forests. They were mostly of the beetle tribe, but they -are too un- important to require more than a passing notice in this general survey.

370. Marine reptiles were multiplied by the intro- duction of a huge GAVIAL, of exclusively aquatic hab- its. The cetiosaurus presents a compound of the whale and the carnivorous saurians. Although it had a whale-like body, it was covered with a thick, warty skin, and had four crocodilian extremities, armed with long, sharp claws, and was web-footed like aquatic birds. Its head was like the gavial of the Ganges, with long jaws and conical teeth, enabling it to dash through the water with extreme rapidity and seize its finny prey.

371. The terrestrial saurians approached very near the lowest of the thick-skinned mammals; and as this occurred myriads of ages before the birth of those quadrupeds, it is a strong indication of the develop- ing process silently at work. Never has the lizard so nearly approached the mammal; and where these ap- proximate types die out, the true mammal begins.

372. The megalosaurus represents the carnivorous genera. It is difficult to obtain an idea of the colossal proportions of this monster. The crocodile could sport between its limbs, and would furnish it with a slight breakfast. Such is the plan of creation, that the first individuals introduced advance in size for a certain period, and then decrease as they approach a more developed state. The body of the megalosaurus is short and barrel-shaped, covered with a smooth skin, and supported on huge, elephantine limbs. Its tail, though reptilian, was much reduced in size and length.

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Its head, though long and laterally compressed, was in appearance quite mammalian. The shortening of its head and tail, and the swelling out and shortening of its body, and its elevated position, were approaches to the mammalian type. The bones of the extremi- ties were round and hollow, like quadrupeds', and its vertebra were united by flat surfaces. The different classes of animals are distinguished by the manner in which the vertebra articulate. The vertebra of the fish's spines are concave, uniting only at their edges; those of reptiles are ball-and-socket articulation; those of mammals unite by flat surfaces, with intervening cartilage, allowing the least motion and greatest strength. Between these extremes exist all shades of conformation. This distinction is a certain index of the position of the animal. The vertebra of the megalosaurus opposed merely flat surfaces to each, other — a strong indication of its close alliance to quadrupeds; an analogy carried still farther by five vertebras being united to support the hind part of the animal instead of two, as in reptiles.

373. Another strange form of this age of wonderf was the pterodactyle, or flying lizard. In the bird the wing is of the same form as the fore arm of quad- rupeds, and the necessary resistance to the air is fur- nished by long, stiff feathers. In the bat, which is the only truly flying quadruped, the bones of the fingers, by their extreme prolongation, furnish a framework over which a thin membrane is spread as a sail is extended over the yards of a ship. But the pterodac- tyle was formed on a different plan. The prolonga- tion of the little fingers of the fore limbs furnish the framework by which the membrane of its enormous wings was extended. Its neck was long and slender*

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supporting a crocodilian head, with large eyes like the ichthyosaurus. It was the cormorant of the oolite, flying over the sea and darting down on its finny prey. It was at home on the billows of the sea, and moved with great celerity through the waters. It would dash the spray from its powerful wings, and fly away like a huge condor to some jutting crag, where its young were nestled.

374. The WEALDEN is not divided from the pre- vious deposits by any sharp line of demarcation. It is a local deposit, the delta of a great river which probably poured its waters across a vast continent, now beneath the Atlantic Ocean. A few new species of reptiles were introduced, having close analogies to the mammalia.

375. The IGUANODON, now represented by the little iguana of the tropics, roamed through the dense forests, browsing the tender shoots of the trees. Like the megalosaurus, its body was short, and supported by huge legs. Like the hippopotamus, it possessed a short, thick head, and a short, vertically-flattened tail. Its teeth were at first sharp and conical, then knife-like as they were worn off, thus becoming admirable instru- ments to clip off the twigs and herbage on which it fed.

Before the true affinities and relation of parts of the animal to the whole were understood, from broken vestiges of the iguanodon it was 'assumed that it must have been at least seventy feet in length. Now, how- ever, as this intricate subject is better understood, its length has been determined at twenty-five feet, and its height eleven feet. The head and neck were one fourth its length, the tail one third, leaving fourteen feet for its barrel-shaped body. In it we see the pachy- dermal type strongly represented both in external appearance and internal organization.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 317

376. The heliosaurus, the wood-saurian, and the saurian of the wealden roamed the wild forest.

377. The dawn of mammalian life in the MARSU- PIAL type has already been adverted to. Unmistakable traces of its existence occur in the oolite. Three genera are there represented, and are related to the kangaroo and the opossum. The marsupials are the lowest mammals, and are allied to the batrachians of the trias, as has been already shown. Slowly had those primordial types progressed through the millions of years which elapsed from that time to the first indi- cations of marsupials in the oolite. If time is all that is required for such changes, time sufficient elapsed for greater ones to take place. But something more than the lapse of time is required. The great principle is, that life is altered by conditions, and every modifica- tion in those conditions modifies the organic beings which they originate. Thus marsupials were like those of the recently-formed Australian continent. The structure of their bones was like the batrachians, from which they are removed only by a single stage of progress.

378. Such are the animals which roamed the land- scape of what has appropriately been called the sau- rian age. They attained their maximum, and from this point gradually declined. The low, flat country was their favored haunt. There the iguanodon trampled down the tree fern and the cycadea and fed on their tender leaves, and the huge megalosaurus pur- sued its prey with thundering roars through the for- est. Out on the deep the ichthyosaurus plunged through the foaming billows with the swiftness of the wind, while by its side the cetiosaurus sported in the foam, or engaged in fierce conflict. In the quiet estu-

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aries, where the small fishes congregated, the plesio- saurus watched with eagle eye its unsuspecting prey. Over the oozy shore reptiles of monstrous form and terrific aspect drew their slimy bodies, or, emerging from the sea, basked in the rays of the sun. The ich- thyosaurus often left the deep, and straggled up the beach to enjoy the warmth, as the seal is now often seen to do. High above, flapping the air with its enormous wings, the pterodactyle screamed over the watery waste, or suddenly darted down on its prey, dashing the white foam from its breast, and arising with the velocity of an eagle into the upper air.

379. Land and sea witnessed the terrible encounters between the gigantic >and ferocious denizens of the forest, and the equally voracious monsters of the deep. Viewing nature as it now is, as the ideal of beauty, — trained as our minds have been to recognize nothing but nice adaptations and perfection of design, — it is impossible to contemplate the wildness of the ancient world without awe. The uniqueness of its forms, their gigantic proportions, the fierce and savage dispo- sition pictured in strong jaws and jagged teeth, im- press us more with fear than beauty. Their colossal bones were made for deadly struggles, and their strong claws and jagged teeth were made to tear and rend their prey.

380. The booming roar which rolls through the for- ests skirting the Granges or the Mississippi, or terrifies the timid animals on the banks of the Orinoco, was echoed by a thousand voices, rolled in thundering tones over the sea, and reverberated through the forest. There too were cries of combatants in the agonies of death, 'as those huge reptiles grappled in deadly strife, breaking down forest trees in the encounter, and rivu- lets of blood flowing from their lacerated veins.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 319

381. Death has always existed. Carnivorous races, with their instincts of destruction, were always present, as the police of nature, to keep within proper limits the herbivorous tribes which otherwise would, by their own increase, die out by starvation. The capabilities of life necessitate those of death. The conditions of life are such as presuppose death. The same conditions which build up one organization compel the destruc- tion of another. The existence of the carnivora neces- sitates the death of the herbivora. All things grow old and decay. The period of their existence is termi- nated by death, when the atoms of their structure enter new organizations, and perform the offices of life in a perpetual state of progression towards its ultimate state of perfection. Thus life and death are balanced in perpetual oscillation.

CHAPTER XIY. THE CRETACEOUS OR CHALK PERIOD.

A Transition Age. — Existence of Species. — Origin of the Chalk. — Now forming. — Of Flints. — Birds like the Albatross. — The Poly- phychodon. — Mososaurus. — Ichthyosaurus.

382. THIS was a transitional period, like the Per- mian. The conditions which supported the reptiles of the oolite were slowly changing to those best adapted to mammals. The rocks, however, are silent here, and it seems that this link in the chain of beings was want- ing; but because the relics of mammals are not yet discovered, it does not necessarily follow that they did not exist. As the record now stands, a great abyss

320 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

exists between the reptiles of the oolite and the mam- mals of the tertiary. A section of the history is want- ing; but further research may supply it at any time, and until then, analogy must fill up the gap. Because the transition types of mammalia, which the chalk should contain, are not yet discovered, they are not to be considered wanting, any more than the interval elapsing between the sandstone deposits of the Con- necticut valley, in which the tracks of birds exist, and the chalk should not be considered destitute of birds, although there 'are no vestiges of their having existed during that vast interval of time. Reason and analo- gy teach us, that from the first introduction of a race, or species, until its last appearance, it must have ex- isted. A species cannot exist after it has once lyeen extinguished; but it may be dwarfed by unfavorable circumstances, and remain undeveloped until stimu- lated in succeeding ages. Though we have no certain indications of these transitional quadrupeds during the chalk period, they must have existed. The marsupials of the oolite must have continued, and the conditions of the mammalian reptiles would lead to the conclu- sion that they only changed their forms to reappear in the pachyderms of the tertiary.

383. The chalk undoubtedly originated in the de- composition of mollusks and corallines. But the inten- sity of this process has been greatly over-rated. The growth of zoophytes was not more luxuriant than in the Pacific Seas at the present time, where the identi- cal chalk-forming process may be seen in the lagoons of the coral isles in the deep ocean.* Whole genera of fishes are expressly adapted to feeding on coral, and

* Matteucci, Lectures, &c., pp. 5, 73.

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in the clear water of the blue lagoons they may be seen quietly browsing the tender branches, like a herd of herbivorous animals. The fecal matter of these is pure carbonate and phosphate of lime, and from it the great mass of chalk is formed. Specimens of this recently-formed chalk cannot be distinguished from that of the cliffs of England. In the chalk, the petri- fied fecal matter of these coral-feeding fishes is found in great abundance, clearly indicating a common origin with the beds now forming in the Pacific and Indian Seas.

384. In the lower chalk, singular beds of flint occur in stratified bands, like water-worn pebbles on the 'beach. Fanciful conjectures have been formed of their origin, but are only conjectures, except that of crystalline aggregation, by which it is supposed that silicious particles were separated and drawn together, while the chalk existed in a semi-fluid state. On care- ful microscopical examination, it is found that the basis of the pebbles is usually a sponge. Sponges flour- ished in the chalk seas in great abundance, and we can readily comprehend how a growth of sponges followed a growth of corals. Their skeletons are admirably calculated to catch the floating particles in the water, or the silicious shells of animalcula, and bind them together; and we often find that the flint-pebbles imi- tate the sponges in their grotesque forms. Meagre as are the relics left us, we readily discern that there was a manifest approximation to the present forms of life. Could all the beings which flourished during the chalk period be exhumed, it is certain that there would be no blank, but a complete gradation from the wealden to the tertiary pachyderms. The positive traces which we do possess are the remains of some aquatic birds 21

322 THE ARCANA OP NATURE, OR

like the albatross, of the polyphychodon, of a huge marine saurian, and of the mososaurus, allied to the existing monitor. The ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus still lingered, with many of their congeners; but the great reptilian day had passed forever, and mammals were to take the place of the iguanodon and the ich- thyosaurus, and marine reptiles were to be supplanted by sharks. In the never-ceasing revolutions of organic nature, the lower must give precedence to the higher; the superior always tramples on the inferior.

385. But we will not longer contemplate the expir- ing period of the huge reptiles which we have so long observed with feelings akin to awe. Guided by induc- tive reason and the chart furnished by analogies, we are now prepared to fold back another leaf in our his- tory, and enter on the examination of the higher types of the tertiary period.

CHAPTER XV.

THE TERTIARY.

Eocene. — Miocene. — Pliocene. — Drift. — Climatic Changes. — Zones of Temperature. — Origin of Flora and Fauna. Eocene Fauna. — Lophiodon. — Palseotherium. — Rhinoceros. — Anoplotherium. — Gracilis. — Cetaceans. — Zeuglodon. — Scenery. — Approach to the Present. European Fauna. — Mastodon. — Mammoth. — Dinotheri- um, &c. Indian Fauna. — Sivatherium, &c. South American Fauna. — Gigantic Sloths. — Megatherium. — Mylodon. — Glypto- don, &c. — Theory of Drift. — Causes of, — Now forming.

386. THE convulsions which occurred near the dawn of the tertiary substituted a new equilibrium for the old.

387. The elevation of mountain masses, and the

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increasing height of mountain chains, produced great climatic changes. Land and water were divided by deeper channels from each other. Continents were reared from the waves in such forms as the mountain chains had previously determined. The currents of the ocean were changed. These forbid the wide dis- semination of species, and mountain chains and oceans prevented their free access to all countries. Thus cut off in detached provinces, each country, presenting different conditions of climate or soil, fashioned its in- habitants to suit the circumstances it presented. Each continent took the same types, and modified them into its own, differing from all others in proportion as its conditions differed, or, if the circumstances were unfavorable, the species or race became extinct. Look at the bear of Europe and of America. For an al- most infinite period they must have remained distinct, yet how slight the difference presented ! Does not this point to a common origin at some period in the past? And the wolf, the fox, and a large number of other animals, how near is the resemblance of the different species of both hemispheres! This certainly indicates, if it does not prove, a common origin in the past.

388. This change of climate, although favorable to the growth of mammals, was the death knell to the great saurian tribe, and they passed away, and in their place came the tertiary quadrupeds, the huge pachy- derms, the ancestors of the elephant and the hippopot- amus.

389. EOCENE. — The flora of the lower tertiary was composed of palms, pines, and cycads. It was the flora of the tropics, and indicates a diversity cf low, moist, hilly, and mountainous land. In its forests the gigantic pachyderms found sustenance and shelter.

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There roamed those types nearest approaching the wealden reptiles, the iguanodon and dinosaurus. There the LOPHIODON, and extinct tapir, and the PAL^E- OTHERIUM, allied to the tapir and rhinoceros, dwelt in the dense jungle.

390. The ANOPLOTHERIUM was still farther re- moved from the tapir towards the ruminants. As yet there were no true ruminants ; and these indications of their dawning existence are remarkable and interest- ing. Like the hippopotamus, it traversed the bottom of rivers, feeding on the aquatic herbage.

391. Approaching still nearer the ruminants, the ANOPLOTHERIUM GRACILIS possessed all the elegance and rapidity of motion of the gazelle.

In the marine fauna we discover the advent of the CETACEANS. The zeuglodon, a whale-like animal, hav- ing reptilian affinities, indicates an arctic climate, as warm water to some species of the whale is like fire. In the cetiosaurus the whale, the porpoise, and croco- dile were united. These animals were still further separated and individualized in several species.

392. The scenery of the older tertiary had all the sublimity and grandeur of the weald. The billows sang the requiem of the entombed monsters, it is true ; but equally gigantic mammals supplied their places.

In the marshes these singular forms waded through the oozy soil, browsing the succulent herbage in com- pany with the alligator and the gavial. The cry of foxes and wolves rang through the forests of pines and palms, proclaiming the presence of the destroyers of the herbivora. Perhaps bears and hyenas were there to assist in the work of destruction.

On the uplands species were intricately blended — the opossum and kangaroo dwelling by the roots

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of trees, amid whose branches troops of monkeys sported in company with birds of gaudy plumage. Over the extensive plains strewn with flowers, and teeming with insects, the gracilis flew with the rapid- ity of the wind.

393. NEWER TERTIAKY. — The higher we ascend in the strata, the nearer the forms approach present ex- isting fauna. We no longer observe one fauna on each continent: by causes previously explained, each had its own.

394. In Europe the lower lands were inhabited by the hippopotamus, rhinoceros, mastodon, mammoth, several species of elephant, ox, deer, horse, and ante- lope. In the rivers, half buried in mud, the colossal dinotherium, or terrible beast, wallowed in search of aquatic herbage. It was several times larger than the elephant, and was a compound of the tapir, the elephant and the hippopotamus. The most bulky of any land animal that ever dwelt on the globe, it wielded its huge carcass with difficulty on land, and was at home only when buoyed up by the waters of stagnant rivers.

395. The Indian fauna was distinguished by the sivatherium, which combined the characteristics of the tapir and hippopotamus with those of the RUMINANTS. Its tapir-like head was surmounted by two pairs of horns, one like those of the ox, the others palmated, like the deer's.

The South American continent was remarkable for its gigantic sloths. The little sloth, which now climbs among the branches of the trees, cannot be compared with its elephantine ancestors that with their powerful claws tore down large forest trees. The megatherium and mylodon are the most prominent genera, connect- ing the sloths with the pachyderms.

326 THE AEG AN A OF NATURE, OR

396. The glyptodon connected the sloth, the pachy- derms, and armadillo, and like the mylodon, was cov- ered with the scaly envelope of the armadillo, and like it attained the same colossal proportions.

397. Contemporary with these was a species of horse, since become extinct. The ox, deer, lion, tiger, hyena, bear, wolf, all were represented by their proto- types. The landscape was almost like that now pre- sented, for nature had put on its present aspect with the introduction of advanced beings.

398. THE DRIFT. This period of time was marked by excessive cold. It commenced near the close of the tertiary formation, and continued until a compara- tively recent period of time. The whole earth was affected by its influence. A climate similar to wrhat is now found within the arctic circle existed as far south as the thirty-fifth parallel of latitude, embracing most of the space now occupied by the temperate zones. The equatorial portions of the earth had only a temperate climate. These statements are fully borne out by the following facts : Immense bodies of rocks, stones, and earth are found in various places in both continents, and in both hemispheres, deposited on earth and rocks totally different in character from each other. Granite, gneiss, trap, sienite, and various other substances, are now found lying promiscuously on limestone, shale, clay, &c., often in great quanti- ties. These substances are often worn and grooved, bearing similar marks of transportation that are now found within the arctic circle. The nearest places where these boulders are found, in their proper place, in connection with rocks of like character, are often many hundred miles distant. These boulders, or lost rocks, as they are often called, are found in North

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America in considerable quantities as far south as the Ohio River, in nearly all parts of Europe, in Asia near Mount Sinai, in Arabia, and in India. In Africa they are found in Liberia, within a few degrees of the equator. They are also found in the southern hemi- sphere in corresponding latitudes. We see the same process now going on near the north pole; and as like causes produce like effects, we are justified in ascrib- ing the removal of the rocks, stones, &c., to this cause, especially as no other theory is adequate to account for these effects. The drift came on gradually, and left in a similar way. It was geologically of brief duration, compared to the tertiary and earlier eras of earth's history. It, however, probably continued at least forty thousand years. A few great convul- sions evidently took place during this period, espe- cially the one that ended the tertiary. The evidence of this is seen in the different degrees of elevation the drifted materials are found above the ocean, or any large body of water. These substances are found at all elevations, to more than a thousand feet above the sea, and near to many places that evidently prove a sudden and violent upheaval, they being found below as well as above these ruptures.

399. The large lakes of North America were in the early period of the drift connected together, forming an immense body of fresh water. Much of this exten- sive area was covered with shallow water, which is proved by the long, narrow depressions, or hollows, that are found through this region, made by icebergs, as attested by the many boulders left in them. In no other part of the world is stronger evidence of the arctic character of the climate than in this. The grooves worn in the solid rock are larger and more nu-

328 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

merous than are found any where else, many of the transported boulders weighing more than one hundred tons, and coming from many hundreds of miles. As this area of country is elevated several hundred feet above the ocean, containing no marine fossils that be- long to this period, it fully refutes the theory advo- cated by some persons, that the drift was produced by strong currents of water wafting icebergs from the Polar Ocean to more tropical regions.

400. The position of the drift on the earth's sur- face is an interesting subject of inquiry. As the for- mation of transporting masses of ice, and the genera- tion of the currents which bore them towards the equa- tor, were polar phenomena, and only extended so far as the heat of the tropics permitted, we can infer that at the equator, and on either side to a distance vary- ing between twenty and thirty degrees, a mild and beautiful climate prevailed, even during the severest portion of the drift. The parching heat of the tropics would be mitigated by the winds and currents from the colder regions, and an eternal spring-time would prevail in the favored zone. Here the scattered rem- nants of the tertiary fauna could seek refuge, and abide the coming of a more propitious age. The ter- rific movements of icebergs, and the coldness of the atmosphere, undoubtedly blotted out every vestige of life on either side of this tropic zone. Whole tribes of animals became extinct, but the seed of other races preserved a precarious existence by flying to the equa- torial regions.

401. This tropical zone did not correspond to the present equator. Facts strong and conclusive prove that great changes have taken place in the position of the poles, and hence of the equator. Geological ob-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 329

servations show that during the drift the tropics in the new world were removed north of the present equa- tor, while in the old world they were removed to the south. Lyell* records the existence of drift, com- posed of sand, pebbles, and boulders, at the mouth of the Ganges, four hundred feet below the surface. While he admits that these boulders could never have been transported by the water of the river, he loses himself in idle conjecture. By only one method can the existence of drift in this situation be accounted for. When it was deposited, the Ganges must have flowed from an arctic country, and borne on its bosom masses of ice, with these pebbles and boulders frozen into them. The river, in no other manner could have formed this deposit, flowing as it does for several hundred miles through a level alluvial country, formed of rocky masses torn from the Himalaya Mountains, and transported nearly a thousand miles. This fact is almost a positive proof that an arctic cli- mate prevailed along the course of the Ganges, and perhaps to the south of its mouth. The stratification of the four hundred feet of superincumbent deposit unmistakably shows the great length of time since such a climate prevailed. Judging from the premises, it is rational to suppose that here the drift began, and we observe its first ages, while in North America, on the shores of the lakes, its last or closing ages are observable. Between these periods the north pole had changed from its position, — which must, probably, have been near the Sea of Aral, or the Caspian, to its present position, — and the equator swung round con- formably, bringing the Indias into the tropics, and giving North America a temperate clime.

* Principles of Geology, p. 280.

330 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

402. The closing of the drift period is strongly marked on the southern shore of Lake Erie, and all the great North American lakes, and it is clearly indi- cated that they had assumed nearly their present form at that period.

403. No more favorable position of land and water can be conceived of for the production of powerful currents than that of the present Atlantic Ocean. The American continent checks the great equatorial current, forcing most of it north, through the deep Atlantic, into the polar basin, as an under current, when it rises and becomes a surface current, carrying with it immense quantities of ice to a more southern clime. Yet in no place south of the sixty-fifth degree of latitude is exhibited any thing to prove a climate of equal intensity to the drift, as it appeared at this period very much nearer the equator.

404. As to the cause of the extraordinary depres- sion of temperature, unique in the history of the globe, several theories have been advanced, none of which, however, offer an adequate explanation. One conjecture only approaches probability. This hypoth- esis is, that the solar system, in its journey around the great central sun, passes through regions of space of widely varying temperature. This is an extremely plausible conjecture, but is wholly unsubstantiated by facts.

405. During the drift, little progress was effected in the vegetable or animal worlds. Life in all its phases appeared almost suspended. It was compara- tively a long Sabbath of rest. A large proportion of the animal kingdom disappeared forever. The earth, however, was far from tranquil. Several violent con- vulsions occurred, materially changing its surface.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 331

But however cheerless the aspect our planet then assumed, it was essential to the great plan of its devel- opment. It prepared the way for the brilliant and im- portant era which succeeded it, when man became the ruler of the world.

CHAPTER XVI. A CHAPTER OF INFERENCES.

406. AFTER the foregoing brief survey of the struc- ture of the earth, we are ready to discuss the meaning of our observations. As mammalian vertebrata stand at the head of the animal kingdom, if we trace their origin to lower types, the argument will be sustained without entering into the detailed account of the origin of the other branches and kingdoms. In this course of reasoning we shall be guided by analogy and the relations subsisting between the different groups of beings examined.

407. It will be remembered, if we examine existing beings only, that many of the connecting links are lost, and a far greater isolation is observed than really exists. The connecting links are buried in the rocks; that is, the transitional forms have become extinct. Of these our knowledge is extremely limited ; for although a great number have been entombed, each era may be supposed to have had as great a number of beings as the present, and meagre indeed is the whole number discovered, compared with that o-f existing beings. If,

332 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

then, the material appear so unsatisfactory and inade- quate, it is not surprising, but rather the amount of testimony the rocks unfold is astonishing. All that they tell us sustains the progressive development of living beings, and we feel assured that were they fully examined, they would continue to confirm our posi- tion, and never furnish a contradictory fact.

408. In this chapter we shall point out only a few of the analogies which exist — only those directly rela- ting to the 'ascent of the main branch which terminates in man. It is a false idea that infers progressive development teaches that all animals stand directly related to each other in a line of progress, and were derived one from the other. That this is false will soon be made apparent. The frontispiece represents the theory here advocated. The dark shaded line is the main branch, having its roots in the primitive state, and ascending upward through all the different strata. It begins with sauroid fishes, but in the coal saurians assume the supremacy, and the sauroids, con- tinuing in another direction, at length expire. In the coal another branch is thrown off — the batrachians — which, at the termination of that period, gives rise to birds, and in the oolite to marsupials. In the mean time, the main branch has continued on, slightly diver- ging, and in the beginning of the tertiary period the saurian stock gives birth to pachyderms. The main branch, continuing upwards, gives off the herbivora. carnivora, quadrumana, &c. The sauroid fishes were the first vertebrata of high organization which were introduced. As their name implies, they united the reptilian character with that of the fish. They did this in all degrees, and so remarkably that Ansted, in his Ancient World, page 104, remarks, ^Sjo intima+&. ij?j

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 333

the resemblance, and so nearly perfect is the passage between fishes and reptiles through these sauroid fishes, that very little is wanting to complete our knowledge of the extinct forms, notwithstanding the variety of existing species with which to compare them/' In the old red sandstone, fishes, it would seem, " attained their maximum of development in point of vigor, and in some respects in structure; and it is not a little interesting to find, that at this point, so far as we can tell, the true reptiles were introduced." Some of the sauroid fishes in the Devonian attained the size of the largest reptiles, to which they approached in almost every point of structure. Immediately after, we meet with reptiles as strongly approaching the sauroids — a character long retained, and appearing strongly in the ichthyosaurus, or fish-lizard. Now, I put the question to those who believe in special causes, Why is this, if no great principle is concerned ? Why is this blending at the very point where inductive reasoning places the divergence of the reptilian character from its combina- tion in the sauroids? The theory presented offers a plain and philosophical explanation, and on no other grounds can a rational cause be presented. The sau- rians point to the sauroids for their origin, and no- where else is the analogy observed. The inference is, then, strong, and to our mind certain, that they origi- nated there.

409. It will be seen by the diagram, that we have made the batrachians (frogs) a branch of the saurians, and the marsupials and birds diverging branches of the batrachia, and that the era of this division is placed in the Permian. The reasons for this theory are, the analogies presented by the intermediate members of the groups under consideration. The tracks of

334 THE ARCANA OF NATURE. OR

batrachians and birds are found in the strata of the new red sandstone; the reptiles have left a few frag- ments of bone, from which their affinities can be deduced; but of the birds nothing but the tracks re- main. According to the great osteologist, Owen, the batrachians of the Permian, of which the labyrintho- don may be taken as the representative, were superior to the present batrachians, because they approached nearer the saurians — a higher type. This objection rests on the assumption that each succeeding branch must be superior to the preceding, while, on the con- trary, the reverse is often true. The branches repre- sent lines of separation of peculiar characters, and not necessarily of progress. If the present theory be true, and the batrachians really sprung from the saurians, the first batrachians should be saurian in character. Such is the fact; the labyrinthodons were like the saurians in the form of the head, the teeth, and the position of the breathing apparatus at the end of the snout, as in the crocodiles, allowing them to drag their prey under water, and devour it without ceasing to respire. Its affinities with the reptile is still further shown by the bi-concave form of the vertebrae, — a char- acteristic of fishes, — which Owen affirms indicates a de- cided "aquatic, if not marine theatre of life."* The present batrachians have the ball-and-socket articula- ting vertebrae, but in their embryonic state they have the bi-concave, thus reverting in the same remarkable manner to the original labyrinthodons, as the lobster to the trilobite of the early ages.

410. The marsupials and cursorial birds show a re- markable affinity to the batrachia. Rymer Jonesf

*Owen On the Reptilian Fossils of South America, Phil. Trans., 1845, t General View of the Structure of the Animal Kingdom.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 335

considers the former the connecting link between the oviparous and placental vertebrata. The affinities of the bird and the marsupial is shown by the small size of the brain, the exposure of the cerebellum, the absence of the septum lucidum and corpus callosum; in the great development of hind limbs at the expense of the fore extremities; in the tendency of the feathers of one to the hairy covering of the other; and in the rudiments of the pouch in birds, which is developed for the protection of their young in marsupials. I do not understand these similarities as proving so much the development of one from the other as their common origin. If both are considered branches of the batrachia, the similarity of organiza- tion is readily explained, as each would partake more or less of the original stock.

411. What do the rocks say on this point ? In the Permian the tracks of batrachians are preserved, hav- ing all the characteristics of the marsupials. There is the large and strong hind foot and limb, the small and weak fore extremity, the walking and leaping locomo- tion. In the next age the true marsupials appear. If intermediate forms teach anything, or if comparative anatomy is of any value, the origin of the two groups under consideration is clearly referable to the saurians. It will thus appear that the mammals were not devel- oped from batrachians through marsupials or birds, but the latter had taken a course peculiarly their own, and progressed upwards in a channel parallel or slightly diverging from the former.

412. The marine mammalia — whales, &c. — also pursued a path peculiar to themselves. The first advance is made by the ichthyosaur, in the form of its body and shape of its paddles; then, after several

336 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

intermediate forms, each approximating closer to the cetacea, in the oolite the cetiosaur, which is decidedly whale-like, and in the tertiary the true whale make their appearance. Can a more beautiful illustration and proof of the theory of development be presented?

413. The origin of the pachyderms can be traced to the dinosaur of the oolite and wealden. In this line of progress first we have the fish saurian, then the true saurian, next saurians advancing to the pachy- dermic mammals, and lastly, true pachyderms, even before we leave the age remarkable for its reptilian types.

414. By tracing out such analogies the herbivorous mammals are referred to the herbivorous saurians, and the carnivora to the carnivorous saurians of the oolite. The quadrumana, in the form of their teeth, general structure, habits, &c., approach the carnivora; and, as will be shown in the next chapter, their highest species closely approach the lowest of the human race.

415. How can these facts be explained? Is not their testimony conclusive in establishing the suprem- acy of great principles, and the government of nature by an established order? I leave the reader to judge. I would not befog his understanding with words, but present him the plain, ungarnished facts on which the theory of law reposes.

416. Before I do so, however, I would render him such assistance as he requires to a full understanding of the position entertained, by the following series of engravings : —

The amphioxus, (Fig. 4,) standing at the foot of the vertebrata, almost worm-like, and only determined to be a vertebrate by characters traced upward through intermediate groups.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION.

337

Fig. 4.

Fig. 5.

The different species of sauroid fish, typical form, (Fig. 5,) present an uninterrupted transition from fish to reptile.

In the ichthy- osaurus, (Fig. 6,) we see the charac- ters of the reptile slowly predomina- ting over those of the fish.

Fig. 6.

The cetiosaurus, typical form, (Fig. 7,) is the original of the whale.

Fig. 7.

Carnivorous and herbivorous saurians, typical forms, (Fig. 8 and 9.) Here we see the dawn of the herbiv- ora and carnivora.

Fig. 8.

Fig. 9.

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THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

Fig. 10,

Fig. 11.

P a chy de rmoi d Saurian, (typical form,) (Fig. 10.) The original of the Pachy- derms, or thick-skin- ned animals, as the elephant, hippopota- mus, &c.

The Labyrintho- don (Fig. 11) is the earliest batrachian type, indicating its origin by its strongly- marked saurian char- acter— the original of the oviparous and implacental verte- brata.

CHAPTER XVII. ORIGIN OF MAN.

Embryonic Growth of. — His Relations to the Animal World. — From whence derived. — A Savage. — Human Fossils. — Their Testimony. — Caucasian Civilization. — Its Origin. — Disseminated from the Highlands of Asia. — Earlier Period still. — Number and Origin of Races. — Primitive History of.

417. As the crowning work of creation, and the ruler of the alluvial age, man, by his prominent posi- tion, appears isolated from the animal world. But this separation is only apparent, for in reality the clos- est relation exists. As life in its ascension has left, as

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 339

waymarks along its pathway, all gradation of species from the cell to the most perfect animal, it has left a gradation from the animal to the most perfect human beings.

418. He is the perfection and personification of the grand archetype of creation. In him are combined zoophyte, fish, reptile, and mammal, and he acknowl- edges this relationship in bone and muscle, in diges- tion, nutrition, and reproduction. In one respect, and only one, does he rise above the animal. He pos- sesses morality and spirituality. In every other re- spect, whether organic or functional, man is an animal.

419. His embryonic growth proves this in a conclu- sive manner. Man commences at the foot of the scale, and advances over the whole vast interval that life has traversed since its early dawn. Let us not revolt at the facts of fetal growths, nor evade the sub- lime generalizations it supports. Man at first is a zoophyte. The embryo is a confused gelatinous body, without the least appearance of different organs. Gradually this primordial model is transformed, first to the rank of the fish ; not agreeing in external form, it is true, but in the conformation of its brain, its nerv- ous and circulating systems — relations of vital im- portance. It next ascends to the rank of reptiles, then to that of mammals, and lastly its brain is still farther developed, and it arises to the grade of a human being. It passes through all the grades of life, from the lowest to the highest.

420. The numerous cases of monstrosity, or fetal deformity, furnish incontrovertible evidence of man's near relationship to the animal world, as well as of the progressive theory advanced in this volume.

"It will be found," remarks Knox, "on examining

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the mass of mankind, that some cannot extend their limbs and arms to the proper degree; that some have webbed fingers and toes; that some have no arms, but merely hands, (like the whale,) others no legs, but merely feet; or the thighs or arms are too short; in some the back is straight, not curved and arched ; some have the nails round, others pointed like claws; some have hair lip and cleft palate. On the best formed neck of man or woman the finest openings may occa- sionally be seen — the remains of branchial arches, or gills, which all animals, man not excepted, have in their fetal state."*

If the laws of embryonic growth act unimpeded, the human foetus grows out of the lower stages ; but if im- peded it retains a trace of its transition, or remains permanently at some lower stage, which should be only temporary in man, but permanent in the animal.

421. It is an axiom universally true that " nothing is made in vain;" but if we accept the common view, that man originated by special act of creation, innu- merable instances are furnished in his organization of. atrophied organs which are of not the least use to him, and as much out of place as organic remains would be in the rocks if the world, as it now is, were created by a fiat of divine will. For instance, "in man the third eyelid is readily seen as a minute scale, serving no possible use whatever; and did not birds exist, we could scarcely conceive of its high organization. In the latter it is of essential service, and is always pres- ent, but developed only in those tribes which require its aid. Why is the nodule of bone in the arm, where it can be of no possible use — the two small addi- tional bones occasionally found attached to the ster-

* Knox, Races of Men.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 341

num. — the signification of the two small folds which loosely traverse the knee joint?" "Man has three bones in each toe except the first. In birds we meet with four or five bones in some of the toes. But we would say wrongly that the toes of birds were formed on a different plan from man's. In the embryo bird and man each of these bones are composed of two, which coalesce in man, but remain distinct in birds. In man there is a little cartilage, scarcely perceptible, connected to one of the bones occupying the nostrils, (called tubercle bones,) which serve no possible use. In the horse these shut off the great cavity of the nostrils from the vestabular cavities in front, thus protecting them from foreign bodies: in the whale they acquire their greatest development, growing to the size of bolsters; returning, after breathing, into the vast nostrils from which they are momentarily withdrawn, sealing them against a thousand fathoms of water as the animal plunges into the abysses of the ocean. " The thin lines of cartilage in the abdominal muscles of mammals and man are remnants of the sternum and ribs of the saurians. In the herbivora a strong muscle supports the head while grazing. The same exists in man, but as it is not required, it is only a thin white line of cartilage.

422. Man has no caudal extremity; but in this he departs not from the mammalian plan, for in him, as well as in the apes and orangs, the caudal vertebrae become united in the os coccygis, and more or less in those animals which approach nearest to them. In the marsupials and edentata — which recede from him, and approach the reptile — they increase aston- ishingly, and the alliance is carried still farther by the form of the spinal articulations and processes.

342 THE AECANA OF NATURE, OB

423. Thus what is irregular in man is regular in lower animals. The webbed hand and foot are promi- nent in the beaver and otter, constant in the human foetus, sometimes but rarely seen in the matured man. The fold of skin found at the inner angle of the eye of the Esquimaux and Bosjesmen is not found in the mature Caucasian, but is always present in the Caucasian foetus. One is arrested in its development, the other advances.

424. The philosophical Lamarck* seized this clew, and wrought from it the startling generalization that man derived his existence from the orang. Whether this theory be true or false, we know, viewing the sub- ject with the calm eye of philosophy, we must look for man's origin in the laws of the physical and or- ganic worlds. His form being natural, he must have been originated and sustained by natural laws. Then, if man was developed from the animal world, there must have been a common stock from which all races were derived. That stock must have been lower than the present orang, which is an undeveloped branch of its more complex ancestor.

425. Let us trace the remarkable approach man makes to the quadrumanous animals. The orang, of which many fabulous accounts have been given, un- doubtedly, of all animals, is nearest related to man. The Angola orang is covered with short black hair, which is longest in those places covered with hair in man. It has the face of a man, with flat and con- tracted jaws furnished with teeth closely resembling his. Its ears are like man's in most respects. This external correspondence is continued in its anatomical

* Lamarck, Philosophical Zoology.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 343

structure. In every thing but slight and unessential particulars they are entirely and exactly the same. Its organs of speech are quite perfectly formed, and it has a rude language, by which it can convey its wants and desires. From its large and almost human brain, it would be inferred that its intellect must be far above that of other animals.

This is true, according to the descriptions given of its manners. ' "I have seen it," says Buffon, "give its hand to show the company to the door. I have seen it sit at table, unfold its napkin, wipe its lips, make use of the spoon and fork to carry the food to its mouth, pour out its drink into a glass, touch glasses when invited, take a cup and saucer, put in sugar, pour out its tea, leave it to cool before drinking. It was gentle and inoffensive; it even approached stran- gers with respect."

426. "M. L. Brosse bought two young ones, that were but one year old, from a negro ; and these at that early age discovered an astonishing power of imita- tion. They sat at table like men, ate of every thing without distinction, made use of their knife, spoon, and fork, both to cut their meat and to help them- selves. When carried on shipboard, they had signs for the cabin boy expressive of their wants. The male was seasick, and was bled in the arm; and every time afterwards when he found himself ill, he showed his arm, as desirous of being relieved by bleeding."

427. The pongo is an African orang, which also bears a close resemblance to man. Its face is human, being without hair, eyes deeply sunk in the head, the body almost hairless, and scarcely differing from the human, except there are no calves to the legs. It walks erect in its wild state. It builds itself a hut to

344 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

protect it from the sun and the tropical rains; makes use of clubs for attack and defence. They usually go in troops, with a leader at their head, whose com- mands they obey, and when one of their comrades die, they bury it with leaves and branches.

428. An almost equal intelligence is shown by an African baboon. "They are under a regular disci- pline, and go about whatever they undertake with sur- prising regularity and skill. When they rob an or- chard, it is not singly, but in large companies, and with precalculated deliberation. On these occasions part enter the enclosure, while one is set to watch. The others stand without, and form a line reaching all the way from their comrades within to their ren- dezvous without, which is generally in some craggy mountain. Every thing thus disposed, those within throw the fruit to those without as fast as they can gather it, or if the wall or hedge be high, to those that sit on the top, and these hand the plunder to those next to them on the other side. Thus the fruit is picked, and sent from one to the other, all along the line, till it is safely deposited at their headquarters. The sentinel, during this whole time, continues on the watch, extremely anxious and attentive; but if he perceives any one coming, he sets up a loud cry, and the whole company scamper off. Such anecdotes might be unlimitedly multiplied; but those cited suf- fice to show how near the highest quadrumana ap- proach man in intelligence. ' ' *

429. On the other hand, a series of facts present themselves showing how closely man approaches the orang. Take, for example, the type of the negro, and

* Animated Nature, vol. ii.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 345

compare it with the orang. The nose thick, flat, and confounded with the prominent cheeks; lips very thick and everted ; jaws projecting, and chin receding ; large facial development, and skull thick and heavy; the head compressed laterally, and the forehead low and retreating, which, combined with the prominent jaws, reduces the facial angle to seventy and even sixty-five degrees. The foramen for the passage of the spinal cord, and the articulations of the head and neck, are far back, like that of the orang, and unlike the Caucasian.*

430. Vorlik says, it is difficult to view the female negro pelvis, without the idea of degradation, so much does its form approach that of the simiae. He considers the Hottentot pelvis as indicating greater "animality in comparison even with the negro." The uncivilized races, in their long, lean, and slender limbs, approach the animal much nearer than the civilized man. In the negro the bones of the leg are bent out- ward and forward; the calves of the legs are very high: the voice is feeble and hoarse; their intellect low, in some tribes quite puerile; thought is habitu- ally dormant; war is a passion which in them excites the most brutal feelings, and they do not shrink from cannibalism. This is a true picture of the lowest tribes.

431. The Bosjesmen are often quoted for their extreme degradation. "They live among rocks and woods; have a keen, vivid eye, always on the alert; will spring from rock to rock like the antelope; sleep in nests they form in the bushes, and seldom pass two nights in the same place; supporting themselves

* Smith, Natural History of Human Species,

346 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

by robbery, and by catching wild animals, as reptiles and insects, which they use for food." Thus we perceive in these degraded beings an absence of al- most every faculty peculiar to a human being. Their heads are large, but the mass of the brain lies in the occiput. Their foreheads are low and retreating, and the slenderness of their limbs, hairy bodies, and ex- treme agility closely ally them to the orang.

432. A noted traveller,* on encountering some boat loads of slaves from Dongola, observed their close approach to brutes, and their orang expression. He says that this was startling and painful, and he could scarcely draw the line of demarcation between the lowest of the negro races, and their near kins- man, the wild man of the woods. " Though made in God's image, there beamed no ray of divinity from their countenances, and they sat on the deck with their long arms wound round their knees, and their chin resting upon them, precisely as we see in apes; and as I have been electrified while gazing on these caricatures of humanity by a transient gleam of in- telligence, so here I was struck by the closeness of man's approach to the inferior grades of animal exist- ence." Almost every traveller in Negroland has re- marked this approximation. It was observed in ancient times, and has never since ceased to be an object of interest, and has called forth the acutest discrimination of the naturalist, to draw the specific and generic distinctions between man and the brute.

433. To the views here presented it has been ob- jected that the facial angle bore no relation between the most degraded race of men and the highest

Stephens, Arabia Petraea and the Holy Land.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 347

orang. Although the facial angle gives little idea of amount of brain, as a measure of intelligence, I do not think the argument suffers from the admission of all that is claimed for this measurement, which is the angle formed by a line drawn from the most promi- nent portion of the forehead to the most promi- nent point on the upper jaw, intersecting a line drawn from the occipital condyle to the floor of the nostrils. (See Figs. 18, 19.) A moment's reflection will show how valueless this measurement must be, as it bears little or no connection with the size, the lateral or occipital development of the brain : granting, however, that it has, let us submit to the test. In the dog this angle is 20 degrees; in the great chimpanzee it is 40 degrees ; in the lowest Ethiopians 65 to 70 degrees, (according to Smith, Natural History of the Human Species, p. 18;) in the Australian it is 85 degrees; in the European it is 95 degrees; and the ancient Greek artists gave the lofty mysterious and shadowy grandeur to their sculptured gods by an angle of 100 degrees.* Thus this vaunted argument supports rather than conflicts with our theory, for it shows a gradual and perfect transition, such as should exist if the brain measures the amount of intelligence. Hence, if the brain serves the same purpose in ani- mals as in man, they must in a greater or less degree possess all his faculties. They have reflective faculties, powers of observation, and remembrance of the same. They adapt themselves to circumstances, and profit by the same. The beaver builds a far more ingenious dwelling than the Hottentot ; the dog is faithful, affec- tionate, and almost reasoning; the elephant adapts means to ends, cause to effect, with reasoning pre- cision.

* Owen on the skeleton.

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THE ARCANA OP NATURE, OR

434. The lowest races of men have no habitation but the clefts of the rocks, and have not even the fore- sight of the squirrel in laying up a store of food. The Patagonians have not the mercy or affection of brutes, for they destroy their parents as soon as they become too aged to be useful.*

435. Man in childhood has the brain of the animal, and manifests the animal's disposition and instincts; but he loses these as his brain matures. When this growth is arrested, he remains on the animal plane, as is witnessed in the criminal and the savage.

436. On the other hand, the higher animals have the moral region of the brain in an atrophied condition, as fishes have the lungs of mammals, but undeveloped. In them, that region of the brain producing morality is undeveloped. It is almost equally so in the lowest races of men, and it were as impossible to teach the Hottentot morality as the orang.

437. Perhaps the ideas here presented will appear

in a stronger light if the eye is enlisted by aid of representa- tions. The following engravings have been selected, with great care, from authentic sources, chiefly from the Types of Man- kind : —

It is useless to point out the difference or the similarity, which FIg 12. exists between the

* TJ. S. Exploring Expedition Report.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION.

349

Fig. 13.

Skull of a Chimpanzee. Skull of Negro— Types.

negro from types, (Fig. 12,) and the young chim- panzee, (Fig. 13,) as the likeness is too obvious. These resemblances are not superficial, but pervade every fibre of their organization. The skull, as the index of intelligence, as remarkably coincides, as will be seen by the following illustrations: —

In the ne- gro (Fig. 15) we observe the same retreat- ing forehead, p r o t r uding jaws, flattened nose, and full back head, as mz- 14- Fis- 15-

in the chimpanzee, (Fig. 14.) If the entire skeleton be compared, like affinities will be observed.

350

THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR Skeleton of Orang and of Man.

Fig. 16 and 17

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 351

Here, likewise, the resemblance is too obvious to require a particular description, in all the general features being perfect. If the skeleton of the lowest negro were compared, instead of the Caucasian, the resemblance would be still more perfect.

438. Nor does the possession of language separate man from the animal. All animals have intonations by which they express their desires. Language is the expression of thought, and brutes assuredly do this to each other. The dog calls others to him by a peculiar bark; the lion roars; the tiger growls; the birds sing; each has a language of its own, to manifest affection, call its mate, or vent its rage. The elements of the organs of speech are present in all animals, and on their development depend the sounds employed by each species. They are quite imperfect in the orang, more perfect in the negro, yet not sufficiently so as to enable him to articulate difficult combinations of sounds. The sounds of a language depend on the form of the organs of speech, and hence the difficulty of one race speaking in a perfect manner the language of another. The negro and the Indian never speak Caucasian dialects without a brogue imparted by the peculiarities of their organs of speech. So the modification of these gives the growl to the tiger, the roar to the lion, and a voice of its own to each species of animal.

439. Man must have begun his existence as a sav- age. If we trace history backwards into the night of its traditions, we find all early nations to have been the rudest savages. In the dim twilight, mythology reveals its Protean form, and sanctions our conjecture. The farther backwards we go, the lower man becomes, until, lost by history, tradition failing, reason induc- tively concludes that he must have been extremely

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low at the beginning. At every step we take in opposite direction, man becomes better and wiser. At no period of the past has he been equal, either intel- lectually or morally, to his present attainments.

440. We are now ready to inquire where man originated. This has been a vexed question, and as it has usually been discussed theologically, and not scien- tifically, little knowledge has resulted. The races of mankind, when first they become known, were distrib- uted over the greater part of the eastern hemisphere; yet they appear to have originated in a common centre, and traditions of different nations indicate that this centre of dispersion was located on the high central regions of Asia. From this region all man's dogmati- cal knowledge, early inventions, and traditionary rec- ords emanate. Here the dog, the horse, ass, camel, ox, sheep, goat, cat, and gallinaceous fowls were first domesticated, and in or around it many of these still exist in a wild state. Here must have been the seat of man's first development, or these high lands must have afforded protection to a portion of human beings, when a more ancient zoology was swept away by convulsions of which mention is made by the tradi- tions of all nations. The latter is probably the correct opinion ; for we find this region skirted by lofty moun- tains, such as a people fleeing from destruction would naturally seek; and these still bear the sacred names which a grateful people would bestow. To the south of these high lands, far into the Indian Ocean, every where are written the records of the grandest and most prolonged convulsions, which probably gave rise to the myth of the deluge. On the islands of the Indian Sea, which appear to be the crests of mountains, rival- ling Dhawalaghiri in height, and which may have

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 353

escaped those convulsions which, destroyed the then existing fauna, we find the pithecus, or orang outang, in stature as large as a man, and in strength equalling eight or more, which, from its strong resemblance, has received the name of "wild man of the wood/7 and which, of all brute creation, approximates nearest to man. Still more remarkable, on the eastern coast of this southern border, the transition from brute to man is made by degraded Papua tribes, cannibals, so low in the scale of humanity, in them gleams not a ray of spirituality or morality.

441. Man originated, probably, near the equator, where the climate was better adapted to his defence- less condition, and food abundant. If facts continue to support the present theory, that the simiae of the oceanic islands, are the remnant of an earlier zoology, the seat of man 's original development should be placed on the submerged continent, the tops of whose moun- tains those islands alone represent.

442. If we admit that man derived his origin from the animal world, then that region whose fauna ap- proaches nearest the human type should be the one to claim his birth. This fauna is the Asiatic, or Asiat- ico-oceanican. Thus the inductions of science beauti- fully harmonize with the sacred traditions of mankind.

443. To this point all races, except the black or negro race, are referred, and in so much are all races allied; but instead of originating from a common parent, they had each separate stocks, and originated in nations in many localities. To explain: the negro or woolly-haired race originated at a much later period than the others, under the influence of the moist and heated atmosphere of Africa, in the tropics, and, un- awakened from their torpidity by the change of scenes,

23

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and contentions of nations, were stagnated or arrested in their growth, and to this day remain low and unde- veloped. On the contrary, the ancestors of the brown or Mongolian, and the white-skinned or Caucasian races, were forced to emigrate to different countries in Asia and Europe, and were subjected to a colder climate, to the vicissitudes of hot and cold seasons, to the contentions of clans or tribes, to hostile strife, for sustenance in a country which did not spontaneously afford it, all serving to stimulate and call into action the mind and the body. From these various but contigu- ous localities, numerous tribes or nations emanated to the north, east, south, and west; and, as before mentioned, when these were first recognized by his- tory, they had already advanced to a respectable civ- ilization.

444. Two races only are mentioned as originating in or near the continent of Asia, because the others, notwithstanding the prominent position given them by most writers, are considered secondary, and branches to these main stems. The Indian of America has too much resemblance to the Mongolian of the old world to be advanced to the position of a primordial race, and the Malay indicates a strongly mixed character. Thus we perceive that races of men originated in na- tions separated from each other and subject to condi- tions, the power of which we have previously estab- lished as irresistible. The Caucasian did not originate from the negro, nor is the negro a degraded Cau- casian, but both came from orangs of different color and character; but while one has remained stationary, the other has advanced. Various types of mankind were in existence when the old world was peopled with a now extinct fauna.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 355

445. It is the generally received belief, that all species of animals, man included, had a single pair of each species as their first ancestors, and that, con- sequently, all animals belonging to one species are descendants of this primeval pair. We find nothing in nature to warrant such a conclusion; countless millions of primitive cells had a spontaneous origin, before any animal form originated by paternal descent. There probably never existed two animals belonging to any type exactly alike. The gradual divergence from the first primitive cells was owing either to some inherent difference in the cells themselves, or to the various conditions with which they were surrounded. All the innumerable distinctions now found in the vegetable or animal kingdoms are owing to these two causes. No distinct family of animals ever originated from a single pair. The human race is no exception.

446. In accordance with these principles, the orangs, the immediate ancestors of the human family, were very different from each other. Some were black, some nearly white, some brown, &c. The different localities in which they lived, some on a mountain, some in a valley, some in a hot, some in a temperate climate, also produced a difference. An animal or vegetable diet would have a marked effect. The trans- ition from the orang to man was gradual. No one could tell where the one ended, or the other began, any more than we can tell where the boundary exists between a hill and a valley. For example: we cannot tell when the different families composing the Anglo- Saxon race became sufficiently amalgamated to de- serve the name. In like manner the human races originated. The great types, the Mongolian, the Cau- casian, and negro, did not change from one to the

356 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

other, but descended from different types of the orang. The intermediate distinctions now seen in our race are owing principally to three causes: first, in- herent differences from the most remote times, perhaps from the first primitive cells; second, from intermix- ture; and third, from different conditions to which they have been subjected.

447. Many of the facts connected with the discov- ery of fossil human bones are worthy of more than a brief mention. Where they occur mixed up with those of extinct species of animals, it becomes difficult to as- sign other than a contemporary existence.

In the caverns of Bize, in France, human bones and shreds of pottery were found in red clay, min- gled with the debris of extinct mammalia. The cele- brated Marcel de Serres found, in the cavern of Pondees, the remains of human skeletons and pottery in the same deposits with the bones of an extinct rhinoceros, the horse, and the stag. Human bones were found in caves near Liege, together with those of the hyena, elephant, and a feline, not much less than a lion, buried beneath a thick bed of stalagmite. Mr. M'Enery collected from the caves of Torquay human bones and flint knives from among a great variety of extinct species, such as the elephant, rhi- noceros, hyena, &c., all beneath a crust of stalagmite.

In Upper Saxony, the gypsum caves and fissures in every direction are filled with red alluvial clay, con- taining in clusters bones of mammalia, rhinoceros, horse, hyena, &c., and man.

The burial place of the people who inhabited France when the Irish elk and the rhinoceros were indigenous, has been discovered. It is a cavern in the side of a calcareous mountain in Southern France, which bears

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 357

traces of a vast amount of labor in preparing it for a sepulchre, and securing it from observation. Its en- trance had been closed, and its existence was discov- ered by sinking a shaft fifty-six feet. In it were dis- covered great quantities of human bones, with those of the rhinoceros, reindeer, stag, horse, and a large bovine, probably the remains of offerings to the dead. This people must have lived long before the rude Celt dis- possessed them, for the existence of these extinct mam- mals is not mentioned even by tradition.*

448. In English caverns, the bones of bears, hyenas, and of man mingle in such a manner that they must have been deposited contemporaneously. In some of them, the same osseous breccia contains the bones of elephants, hippopotami, lions, and man.f When sub- ject to muriatic acid, no difference could be detected between the bones of the mammals and man, their age being so great that nearly all their animal matter had disappeared. The renowned Buckland does not admit that the bones discovered by him were of a former period, and fallaciously infers, without the least rea- son, that whenever the bones of man and extinct ani- mals occur together, those of man must have been introduced at a recent period — an inference doubted even by Cardinal Wiseman.J

Fossil human bones have been discovered in caverns of the Jura,§ and mingled with pottery and remains of the rhinoceros, hyena, bear, and other animals in the tertiary limestone at Cristolles.

* Smith, Nat. Hist, of Human Species. t M. Roblin, Ann. Dis. Science Nat., tome xvi., p. 16. t Lectures on the Connection of Science and Revealed Religion, Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise. § Durfort Cave ; Pirmas and Serres.

35£ THE ARCANA OP NATURE, OR

The Quebec and Guadeloupe skeletons, which were so summarily disposed of by scientific men, have all the characteristics of fossils. The stone in which the latter is embedded is harder than marble, and shows no signs of having its material disturbed since their deposition.

449. Dr. Schomerling observes, that the fossil human and animal bones which he discovered in France must have been contemporarily deposited.*

450. Human bones have been found in Belgium, mixed with those of bears, hyenas, elephants, horses, and deer, and identical with them in appearance, color, and fossilization.f

451. The distinguished naturalist Lund discovered fossil human bones in Brazil, in eight different locali- ties, and so mingled with the relics of extinct animals that their contemporary existence cannot be for a mo- ment doubted. In a cave, near the borders of a lake, called Lagoa Santa, he obtained specimens of thirty individuals, of all ages, from childhood to maturity. They were firmly incorporated in the solid rock, and were accompanied by the relics of an ape, and the usual extinct mammifers. Immense blocks of stone, with which nature has covered this mausoleum by the force of great convulsions, attest the antiquity of these fossils.

Agassiz estimates the age of a human foot and jaw, discovered by him in the coast limestone of Florida, from data furnished by the growth of the land, at 135,000 years4

In the blue clay underlying the bluffs of the Missis-

* Dr. Moultrie.

t Researches, pp. 56-66.

$ In an Essay contributed to Types of Mankind.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 359

sippi, human bones have been found below those of the megalonyx, perfectly fossilized by oxide of iron.

452. In making an excavation at New Orleans, an Indian's skull was found beneath four cypress forests. The time necessary to produce each of these cypress strata is estimated at 14,400 years. Between each was a period of rest, estimated at 500 years, or 57,600 years since the skull was deposited in the position where it was discovered.

Such is the geological testimony of the date of man's introduction — testimony which has steadily aug- mented, notwithstanding the derision bestowed on it by popular writers. One hundred and fifty thousand years ago, at least, the Indian propelled his canoe on the Mississippi's flood, the Gulf, and above the Florida Reefs. This conclusion is as legitimate as any deduc- tion of science. If we would learn the date of his birth in the old world, to these 150,000 years we must add the length of time necessary for the migration of the Indian from the older world. To this period the duration of authentic history becomes but a moment. Such is the evidence of fossil records, whether found beneath the cypress forests of the Mississippi, the coral reefs of Florida, in the caverns of the Canary Islands where the Guanches and his faithful dog are entombed together, or in the bone breccia of Euro- pean and Asiatic caves.

453. It may be objected to the date of the skull found at New Orleans, that at the time calculated, viz., 57,600 years, the place in question must have evidently formed a part of the Gulf of Mexico; also that some of the other instances are overcharged. This may be the case. Yet still the evidence of man's existing on earth a long period previous to the chrono-

360 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

logical period assigned, is clearly proved. We can hardly date his first appearance on earth less than 100,000 years previous to the present time.

454. Tracing the origin of the inhabitants of the new world to the old, or through countless decades of centuries to the high lands of Asia — from that com- mon focus of the Caucasian type, nations went forth, or rather the germs of nations, in clans and tribes, as the unproductive territory became crowded. It was a hunter age ; the arts were confined to the manufacture of the bow, the war club, and the spear, the canoe and rude dwelling; and the untilled earth gave a poor reward to the hand of the unskilled husbandman. Population must be sparse, must be clannish, roving, pastoral. Sparse, because a hunter requires a large territory for support ; pastoral, because, seeing the im- portance of having food when game is scarce, he would attempt the domestication of the more gentle species ; roving, because his flocks would require fresh pastures ; and clannish, because only by uniting in tribes could he obtain safety from the wild beasts of the forest, and his more lawless fellows.

Such was man's origin. By migrations of clans along great rivers, or across extensive plains; by the union of tribes, or their ruthless wars; by the expul- sion of the weaker to new or less fertile territory; from these various causes the world became peopled, and each grand division by a peculiar race.

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PART III.

CHAPTER XVin.

THE HUMAN BRAIN.

Comparative Anatomy. — Embryonic Growth of the Brain.

455. THE brain and nerves have been universally conceded to be the organs of mind. Through, and by them all manifestations of intelligence and animal activity are exhibited- Without the nerves, the bones and muscles would remain inert, and not a motion would be produced by all the complicated fibres of the body. Without the brain the nerves could not trans- mit messages of intelligence, and although they stretched out in infinite ramifications through the body, there could be no beneficial result. They would be like telegraphic wires, totally useless until a battery is employed to transmit the messages.

The brain of man is many times larger in propor- tion to the bulk of his body than that of any other being, and not only larger in bulk, but larger in that region where experiment informs us the intellectual faculties lie. In all other respects his brain is like the typical brain of the animal. Even in this respect we do not perceive any departure from the general plan which we have, in the previous pages, endeavored to prove pervades all the realm of life. We have fol- lowed that plan in its general bearing; and now shall

362 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

particularize by applying it to the brain and nerves. We wish to draw from this fount the weighty evidence it affords in support of the progressive development of mind, and to elucidate the vexed question so long agitated — What is the origin of mind? No study on which we can enter so beautifully unfolds the inti- mate relation between brain and mind as the compara- tive study of the vast chain of beings extending from the plant to man. In this first section, as an intro- duction to the sequel, this will be our investigation; commencing with the lower, and step by step ascend- ing to the higher, delineating the successive advance- ment of the nervous system, and the accompanying advancement of intelligence in the animal, thereby not only proving that mind depends on brain for its mani- festation, but delineating the rise and progress of that system, until man possesses it in the greatest degree, and in consequence manifests the greatest intelligence. The great hiatus supposed to exist between intellect and instinct will be thus filled, and mind brought under the jurisdiction of determinate laws.

This study forms an appropriate introduction to the investigation of mental phenomena in the light of physical science.

456. The zoophytes are the lowest beings of the animal kingdom. The sponge and jelly fishes are as near plants as animals. Their entire economy is car- ried on by vegetative growth. Although attaining a large size, there is no trace of nervous fibres in their jelly-like mass. They, however, give indications of a diffused irritability, but there is nothing manifested like sensation or volition. They are also destitute of muscular fibres, and their movements are performed by the irritability of the cellular masses of which

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 363

they are formed, which perform the office of both nerves and muscles. The protozoa have not the least trace of a nervous system, and although some physi- ologists have suggested that it might exist in a "dif- fused form," yet, if we consider the office of the nerves, it will be readily seen that they would be useless to these beings. Nerves are employed to unite in harmony the various organs of the animal, and bind them together into one determinate action. If there are no organs to unite in this manner, — if the functions to be performed are all vegetative, — then nerves would be useless, as we see all the vegetative functions carried on in the plant without the assist- ance of nerves, by means of the circulating fluid which unites with the strongest buds, the roots, branches, and leaves. The irritability they manifest is the same as that exhibited by some plants, and unaccompanied by any consciousness whatever. This faculty is ex- alted, and supplies all the demands of the animal. The same is recognized in the tissues of all animals.

457. In the hydra, actenia, and their allies, lines of nervous matter are dimly traced; but the function they perform must be very limited, and is perhaps of no account in the economy of the animal, as the mor- bid irritability they manifest is fully explained by the foregoing, and by changes produced by light, heat, and other external causes. It is true that we can know very little of the degree of sensibility possessed by the lower members of the animal kingdom; yet we can estimate it from the amount of nervous influence on the functions of vitality, or, in other words, the amount of nervous matter they possess The only motions which are at all referable to nervous action in the hydra and its allies, is performed in capturing or

364 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OB

catching its prey, and this is identical with the cesoph- agic muscles and stomach of higher animals. The comparison of these lower orders should be with plants, and not with animals, so completely vegetative are all these organs. The next higher step is taken by the rotifera animalcula, in which the nerves first show an unmistakable existence. In one of these, six or seven gray bodies exist, enveloping the dorsal portion of the oBsophagus, closely connected together, and clearly perceptible. The upper one, which may be considered as a ganglion, is the largest, and gives off slender filaments of nerves, which join in a gan- glion at the back of the neck, forming a circle of nerves analogous to the mollusca. From these two nerves filaments are sent off to the head, and another branch off to the abdominal surface of the body. Muscular fibres also exist in these animalcula, showing the con- nection between the development of muscle and nerve.

Now, at the threshold of our investigations, we find the key by which the whole mysterious province of mind is unveiled — the nervous system. It is the step which elevates the animal above the plant. Until the existence of nerves, the animal lives wholly a vegetative life, and every function in its economy is purely vegetative. The acquisition of nerves places it at once above ihe plant, by bestowing, in the place of mere irritability, dependent on external cir- cumstances, nerves, which convey sensation and thought. The step is not abruptly taken, but slowly through a host of intermediate forms; and we find traces of a nervous system long before we leave the domain of simple irritability. The transition is al- most imperceptible.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 365

458. The intestinal worms are among the lowest members of the animal kingdom. Confined within narrow limits, and surrounded by their food, they are nearly destitute of locomotive organs, and are little more than a digestive sac, or stomach. In them, however, lines of nerves can be detected, remarkably like those seen in the embryo chick of the twenty- fourth hour. It also perfectly corresponds with the first appearance of the spine in all vertebrate animals, and affords a beautiful illustration of the law, that the higher classes of animals are developed through the forms perfectly retained by the lower. The embryo chick, at its twenty-fourth hour, has advanced to the plane of the intestinal worms, and its nervous system is identical with them. The type, or beginning of the nervous system, is a nervous centre or ganglion, to which gather sentient nerves, and from which nerves of motion lead to the muscles, over which it is neces- sary to exert nervous control. It is not an indication of consciousness when these ganglia exist. Motion; resulting from them is the same as the contraction of the glottis or the oesophagus in swallowing. The exci- tor nerves conduct the impression to the centre, and the motor nerves send the nervous fluid to contract the muscles.

In insects (articulata) this type is repeated in every ring of their bodies, but there is a tendency to concen- trate several ganglia in the head. At the metamor- phosis, when the fly advances from the worm, its su- periority of grade is manifested by the concentration of three or four of the first ganglia in the head.

459. The large nervous centre in the oyster corre- sponds in position to the medulla oblongata in the brain of man. Surrounding the oesophagus are two

366 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

other centres, which guard that passage, and exercise the functions of an inferior sense. All the conscious- ness of external nature the animal enjoys must be de- rived through these. They are analogous to the central ganglia in man.

460. The next step is taken by the gasteropoda — slugs, snails, &c. They are far in advance of the oyster, and enjoy the sense of sight and smell, and have organs of locomotion, to enable them to seek and select their food. In some species the centres observed in the oyster are very distinct, in others almost per- fectly blended. This, too, has an important bearing on human anatomy, for the medulla oblongata, to ob- servation, appears a single organ, but when carefully dissected, is found to be composed of two centres, so blended and bound together by intersecting nerves, that they are almost indivisible. The approach made by the four great divisions of living beings, as they ascended in the scale of life, has been previously noticed. This is beautifully seen in the cephalopoda, the highest of the mollusca. In them we see the con- centration of the cephalic ganglia into one mass; and sometimes these are even protected by a cartilaginous plate, forming the rudiments of a nervo-skeleton. In them we meet with organs of hearing, and very acute organs of sight, and the entire surface of the body pos- sesses sensibility.

461. The articulata not only have the simple exeito- motor system, but they also have the concentration of ganglia, previously noticed, in the head. They have both the sympathetic and the motor systems, and these are disposed in such a manner that they can be isolated from each other.

462. Leaving the invertebrate, we enter the verte-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 367

brate sub-kingdom. Here we find the same general plan; nothing is suppressed: we still find nervous centres, excitor and motor nerves; but there is a greater concentration in the head ; on the sensory gan- glia the cerebral hemispheres are placed, and on the medulla oblongata rests the cerebellum, in the mam- malia, and form by far the largest portion of the brain, covering and completely concealing the brain of in- sects. In them it is also protected by a hard, bony envelope, necessary to its delicate structure.

In fishes, however, the primordial ganglia remain distinct, and the cerebrum is scarcely developed. Be- tween these extremes, all degrees of development exist.

As in the early human embryo, so in fishes we can plainly determine that the brain is composed of several distinct ganglia, of which those representing the cen- tral hemispheres are the smallest. The cartilaginous fishes, sharks, rays, dog-fish, &c., have by far the best developed brain of any of the fishes; and by them is manifested the greatest degree of instinct, or rather intelligence. There are numerous anecdotes told of the cunning of the dog-fish; how it will bite a fish off from a hook, yet never get caught by it; and also surprising feats are told of the shark, all corroborating the statement that the amount and quality of brain determines the amount of intelligence manifested by an animal.

463. The brain of reptiles has a still greater devel- opment of the cerebrum, and a corresponding increase is manifest in intelligence. The tadpole of the frog has the brain of the fish, which changes to that of the reptile as its transformation is perfected.

464. In the brain of birds, our attention is at once attracted by the enlargement of the cerebrum, which

368 THE AECANA OF NATURE, OR

extends so far backward as to completely cover the ganglia, which, in previously described animals, were seen behind it. The cerebellum also is increased in size, as is also the medulla oblongata. The brain of the bird has a remarkable resemblance to the human embryo of the twelfth week. In thus ascending the scale, there is a gradual prolongation of the cerebrum over the cerebellum, and at length the cerebellum it- self is wholly covered by the cerebrum. In the roden- tia, however, it remains in view, thus placing them at a much lower position in the scale. In proportion to the increase of the cerebrum, all the ganglia con- nected with the organs of sense diminished; and this comparison holds good even with the spinal cord, so that in man it is smaller than in many animals of far inferior size. The higher we advance, the more com- plicated is the internal structure of the cerebrum, the deeper and more numerous the convolutions. In man all these convolutions exist in a far greater de- gree than in animals. It is only in the mammalia that convolutions can be said to exist, and only among the higher carnivora do we find any indications of the posterior lobes. The depth of the convolutions marks the grades of intelligence of the animal. These convolutions are so marked, that Professor Owen founds a classification on them, and states that the character and the amount of intelligence can be de- termined by them.

The general form of the brain of apes and mon- keys, its development behind the cerebellum, and the degree of inclination of the fissure sylvii, is as perfect as the embryonic brain of man. The ape has the an- terior convolutions and the super-orbital parts large and deep. They are much longer and deeper than in the inferior animals.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 369

465. The brain of the chimpanzee approaches nearer to the human brain than that of any other ani- mal, in the depth and disposition of its convolutions. It is broader through the back and narrower through the front, marking a greater degree of intelligence in man; it is not as high, because of the absence of the moral organs. It also approaches the human brain in the absence of the corpus trapezium. These convolu- tions are prominent. The brain is an organ exactly corresponding to the quality of mind it is designed to produce, and always producing the same quality of mind in any given form.

466. The amount of intelligence that man or ani- mals possess is not altogether a question of size, for the brain of the elephant is much larger than man's; but it is a question of size of brain compared with relative size of bodies. The elephant's brain, in order to be compared with man's, must be reduced in the proportions that the body of the elephant is larger than man's body. Then, if the degree of develop- ment of the different organs is taken into account, the true amount of intelligence possessed by the elephant can be ascertained. Female animals have smaller brains, with fewer convolutions, yet are perhaps as in- telligent as the males. The size of the body should correspond to the size of the brain.

467. Still more astonishing is the manner in which animals in their gestation pattern after the gestation of the first types of creative life. The brain of man, with his dependent nervous system, begins at the same point, and ascends to and surpasses the highest. For a moment let us turn to this interesting subject, as we not only approach the philosophy of mind by its in- vestigation, but also reveal in still stronger light the

mysterious network of organic life. 2

370 THE ARCANA OP1 NATURE, OR

468. In the vertebrata the first germs of organic life are a mass of nucleated cells. At first these are uniformly arranged, but soon collect around the cir- cumference, leaving a clear space in the centre. These cells are arranged in two layers, from the internal of which all the organs of vegetable life are elaborated; from the external, those of animal life. The trans- parent line observed in the animal layer, and which is confined to it, assumes a pear-like shape. Its edges are then elevated till a gutter is formed, and gradually approach each other until they nearly join. These edges are dotted with square spots, the germs of the future vertebrae.

469. At this period there is no appearance of nerv- ous matter. The parts corresponding to the head and spine are transparent, and filled with a clear, aqueous fluid. About the sixth week the pia mater is percep- tible, so arranged as to form three vesicles, filled with a limpid fluid.

470. The bones of the skull are formed of three vertebras, and hence three vesicles first appear. The anterior first becomes perceptible, and the other two soon follow, and are soon after divided into two others. The two front represent the olfactory ganglia, the two middle the optic, and the posterior the cerebellum. The spinal cord is represented by a long canal, con- necting with these vesicles.

471. The spinal cord always appears before the brain. It is composed of two slips of neurine, which remain distinct in man until the fourth month, in the horse till the sixth, and permanently in birds and rep- tiles. They do not really unite in man; the space be- tween them is filled with cellular neurine.

472. What is still more extraordinary, the spinal

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 371

cord in mammalia extends down into the caudal ver- tebras; but at the third month it suddenly rises into the second lumbar vertebra, and the coccygis, previ- ously formed of seven pieces of bone, which represent the tail of animals, is reduced to its permanent number by their consolidation.

473. The brains of fishes and birds have no corpus callosum ; the same is true of the human foetus till the third month, at which time it commences to form at the anterior, and slowly grows towards the posterior portion.

474. The commissure of the cerebellum) becomes perceptible at the fourth month. At the fifth the cere- bellum cannot be distinguished from the scate's. The grooves then become perceptible on its surface, and at the sixth the stems and branches of the arbor vita? appear.

475. The optic ganglia at the second month are but plates of neurine, uncovered by the hemisphere; but they are in opposition at the medial line, and unite during the third month. At this period they resemble those of fishes. Not until the seventh month do we see the characteristic divisions of the cerebrum, and then it scarcely covers the sensory ganglia, as in rodents.

At the second month we perceive springing from beneath the corpora striata, on each side, a thin, deli- cate tissue, composed of medullary neurine, which is reflected inward and backward, and scarcely covering the corpora, invested with pia mater; this is the com- mencement of the cerebral hemispheres. Towards the end of the third montH, they extend over the thalami, but not to the optic tubercles. During this period they nearly cover them, and convolutions then appear in lines and grooves. The upper and lateral surface remains perfectly smooth.

372 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

476. At the seventh month the convolutions are all marked, but imperfectly developed, and the hemi-, spheres cover the cerebellum. In the eighth month the hemispheres are prolonged over the cerebellum, the furrows deepen, and the convolutions gradually per- fect, which process continues through the ninth.

477. The 'hemispheres develop from the forehead backward ; and this is not only true of man, but of all vertebrata. The process of growth is the same in all, to a certain point; there the lowest stop; others go farther before their development is arrested; man goes farthest of all, and hence he is most intelli- gent. The brain in all is formed on one plan; the period at which the development is arrested varies.

478. In the scate we find the brain of the vertebrate embryo. The rudimentary hemispheres are placed in front of the optic tubercles; but they never develop beyond their rudimentary form. Their cerebral hemi- spheres are hollow, with their walls formed of cellular neurine, into which the fibres of the crura expand, as in the human embryo.

The rudimentary hemispheres in reptiles are equally interesting. They begin as membranous sacs, and slowly mature, to correspond with the human em- bryo of the third month, and then their growth is ar- rested.

The above facts prove conclusively that the brain is modelled after a great archetype, and that, too, by universal and immutable law. The plan by which embryos grow is that which is pursued by the birth of races and species. Nature, in her gestation of man, has left arrested developments all the way along the path of her progress. The same law governed, through the illimitable past, the saurians and mastodons of

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 373

the geological world. Life has ever been the same, and living beings ever held the same relations to nature that they now hold.*

CHAPTER XIX.

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM, STUDIED WITH REFERENCE TO THE ORIGIN OF THOUGHT.

479. IN the thin line of nervous matter of the hydra and amphioxus, we read a prophecy of the convoluted brain of the mammal and of man. It is a prophecy written in the constitution of things, and affords to contemplation a splendid survey, when it reads in the positive symbols of Nature the efforts she puts forth to work the perfected brain out of the crude elements. From matter we ascend to spirit, through the brain. It furnishes the only gateway through which we can pass. Here the living processes termi- nate in a cynosure of perfection.

480. The human brain is surrounded by a halo of power. It overturns mountains, dries up the sea, re- creates, improves, and revises the works of nature, and enthrones itself as a deity in the material world. The throbbing brain with every beat diffuses thought — plans, improves, or models world-wide schemes for the emancipation of suffering and distress. It is the emblem of that eternal pulsating brain of the universe,

* For extension of the facts of embryonic growth, see Carpenter's Comparative and Human Physiology ; of comparative anatomy and structure, see Siebold and Stannius' Comparative Anatomy, Wilson's Anatomy, and Solly on the Brain.

374 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

whose thoughts are immutable laws, and on whose magnetic streams fleets of suns and worlds, with their teeming intelligences, are wafted as toys on the ocean's breast.

481. Thus it is our first step, on entering the domain of mind, to describe the mechanism of this wonderful structure which bridges over the chasm between matter and spirit, by which the only access can be obtained to the mysterious causes, the effects of which are manifested as mind or spirit.

The brain is confined in a solid box of bones, car- tilage, or other dense substance, the material of which the protective skeleton is formed differing widely in different classes of animals.

482. In the lowest tribes, the ganglia of which it is composed are small, and the vertebrae at the sum- mit of the brain are not enlarged; but as the brain enlarges, the bony envelope must also enlarge, and at length it spreads out until it is difficult to recognize the primitive form of the vertebra in the plates of bone of which the skull is formed. It may appear irrational that so hard and unyielding a substance as bone can be modified by the plastic and yielding brain ; but this proposition is maintained by unanswerable facts. Even in the mature man, after the skull has attained its growth, if the brain changes its form, the skull is obliged to yield to it. The growing brain fashions the vertebrae which enclose it. The skull is composed of these enlarged and greatly modified vertebrae, rounded into its beautiful form by the brain, which it encloses.

483. In an anatomical examination of the brain, this osseous envelope first meets our eye after remov- ing the integument, or scalp. It is composed of two

THE HISTORY AN0 LAWS OP CREATION. 375

tables, or plates of bone, between which a cellular framework is placed. In front, over the eyes, three tables spread apart, leaving a large cavity filled with the same. The object of this is to protect the brain from injury, as a blow that would crush the skull if formed by one plate, would only break the outer table, leaving the inner unharmed. The wide separation in front has the same object in view, as the forehead is much more liable to injury than any other portion of the head.

484. In the skull of the embryo, in the cartilage which first envelops the jelly-like brain, opaque points are observed, sending out rays like frostwork on a window pane. This ossification commences near the centre of each of the bones of the skull, and enlarg- ing in all directions, meets along the lines called sutures. The irregular edges, closing together, pro- duce the angular appearance, dovetailing the pieces together. This arrangement is another safe-guard to the enclosed brain, as an injury which cracks only one part of the skull cannot extend farther than one of these sutures.

485. If we now carefully remove the skull, a dense, white, glistening membrane is brought to view envel- oping the brain. This is the dura mater. It consists of two layers united by cellular tissue; the external is formed from the internal periosteum of the skull.

486. If the dura mater be now removed, the brain will be brought to view, with is convolutions and hemispheres. The cerebrum is divided, along the me- dian line of the head, into two equal halves, or hemi- spheres, the office of which is precisely alike. Be- tween these the dura mater throws down a partition, to prevent them from pressing against each other.

376 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

487. The brain is covered with a delicate mem- brane,— pia mater, — which dips between the -convo- lutions, and is designed to give support to the delicate network of vessels which supply the great nervous centre with blood.

These membranes are admirably adapted for the office they are designed to fill. The external layer of the dura forms a dense tissue around the brain; the internal is smoothly polished, to prevent friction. The pia mater, though sufficiently dense to support its blood-vessels, is not sufficiently so to interfere with the pulsations of the brain. It will be seen that the brain, with its investments, does not fill the cavity of the skull, nor does the spinal cord fill the channel of the spine. In old people especially, when the tissues shrink, the bones remaining nearly permanent, a large space is left unoccupied. If this was not obviated by some peculiar contrivance, the brain would be thrown from side to side, and be ever in danger of paralyzing concussions. The dura not only envelops the brain, but is prolonged down the spine, and from its inner surface pours out the eerebro-spinal fluid, like the synovia! membrane of the joints, which always keeps the cavity full. If the brain enlarges, a portion of the fluid is absorbed; if it diminishes, a fresh fluid is poured out; so that the pressure is always the same, and the cavity always full. In this fluid the nerves float as a prepared brain floats in a jar of alcohol. They are surrounded by a liquid cushion, which pre- vents all jars or concussions. The spinal cord, after passing through a perforation in the base of the skull, becomes very much enlarged, from the deposition of cellular neurine, and is called the medulla oblongata.

488. We now 'Come to the brain, resting at the

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 377

summit of the nervous system, the great centre in which the ganglia are all represented, which wills and controls the entire body. It is the human brain we are investigating, and are at once impressed by the enor- mous development of the cerebral ganglia, and the compression and consolidation we observe. The brain is composed of six pairs of ganglia, but these are so concentrated within the skull that it is with difficulty that they can be distinguished; and only by tracing them downward, where they separate in the loosely aggregated brain of the lower vertebrata, can their in- dependent existence be clearly proved. As in them we find optic and auditory thalami and olfactory gan- glia, in which the nerve-fibres of sight, hearing, and smell terminate in cellular neurine, by which their effects are manifested. Reposing on the medulla is the cerebellum, almost concealed by the backward folding of the cerebrum. It is much smaller in man, proportionally, than in most animals, in which it crowds the cerebrum forwards, being much the largest. When cut in section, it presents the curious appear- ance called the arbor vita, representing the branches of a tree, from the peculiar distribution of its nerve- fibres and the cellular neurine, by which the muscles are united and reduced to harmony.

489. Reposing on these, and almost entirely envel- oping them, is the cerebrum, the acknowledged organ of thought; and hence the most interesting portion of the system. The brain is not the homogeneous, pulpy mass which it appears to be to the casual observer, but it is the finest organized and most finished struc- ture in the animal organism. The finest machine, the delicate diamond-pivoted watch, is a rude effort to its delicate fibres, some of which do not exceed the

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40,000th of an inch in diameter. The course and functions of these is interesting to the student of cere- bral anatomy, and prepares the way for subsequent conclusions. There are fibres uniting the opposite sides of the brain. It will be recollected that there are two cerebral organs for each function. As there are two hands, two feet, two lungs, two eyes, &c., so there are two organs in the brain of precisely the same character. On each side of the median line, organs exactly alike are situated, so that there are two brains in the skull, one on each side of this line. But if there was no tie of union between these two portions of brain, diverse manifestations would be produced, and the body would become an awkward instrument. To obviate this, the two are tied together by fibres. In the optic nerves this is accomplished by a crossing of fibres, so that the right optic nerve communicates with the left side of the brain, and the left optic with the right. But in the cerebrum, fibres from the exterior of every portion of one hemisphere cross in the corpus callosum, and terminate in every portion of the other hemi- sphere, beginning and ending in the cellular neurine which >coats their exteriors. By this arrangement the brain becomes unitized, and impressions made on one region are immediately transmitted to every other. Another set of fibres collect from every portion of the cerebrum, and terminate in every portion of the cere- bellum, by which their action is unitized.

490. From every portion of the cerebrum go out the fibres of volition, and after visiting the minutest fibrilla3 of the body, return along the pathway of their going out as fibres of sensation, terminating in the same place where they began.

491. If the cerebellum exercises such an important

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 379

function on the muscles, it must be closely connected with them; and we find that from its centre surface fibres collect, pass down the spine, and after visiting every part of the organism, return, terminating in the same locality from whence they set out.

492. This will be better understood by reference to the engraving, which is an ideal representation of the manner in which the fibres are distributed. It rep- resents a section of one hemisphere, g represents

Ideal Section of the Brain. the GorV™ callosum;

c c, the fibres unit- ing the cerebrum and cerebellum ; a, the fibres of volition, re- turning on the ante- rior of the spinal cord, as nerves of sensation; d, the vo- litional, or motor nerves of the cere- bellum; II, its exci- Fig' 18' tor, or sensational

fibres. The lines X X illustrate the manner in which

all the fibres radiate to the surface of the hemispheres ;

V Y cellular neurine, by which the fibres receive

their nervous power.

493. When the fibres which pass down into the spinal cord are traced out, it is found that this unitiz- ing is still further increased by a crossing of all the fibres from one side over to the opposite side of the cord, as is proved by injuries on one side of the brain affecting the opposite side of the body, instead of the same side, as it must necessarily, if there was no in- tersection of the nerves,

380 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

A similar union exists between the ganglia of the spine. They are arranged in pairs, and might act independently of each other, unless brought into con- stant sympathy. (See Fig. 19.) MO shows the manner in which they are united by crossing fibres.

494. By what a perfect system is every portion of the body brought and kept in sympathy! Not the minutest cell secreting bile or mucus, not a fibrilla of muscle, not a gland, but is visited, and has open com- munication with the great central office. Its wants are all sent directly and instantaneously there, and the supplies are forwarded. The least disturbance in one portion of the organism is felt by the whole frame, and any cause prostrating one organ pulls the others after it. Physicists speak of the influence the blow of a hammer would produce on the earth, repeating itself on the space-ether until it vibrated on the re- motest star in space: more perfect is the sympathy which exists in the vital organism. The beatings of the heart are reciprocated by the brain, and it pulsates in measured time with the former. If the heart cease its labor for a moment, the blood stops circulating through its channels, and the brain no longer per- forms its function ; its adjustments are useless, its ma- chinery stops, it dies. If the liver purifies not the blood, the base of the brain becomes inflamed, and animal ferocity and brutality are manifested. So of other functions; all are represented in the brain, which is first to speak of impurities in the circulating fluid. How soon do the lungs reciprocate the affec- tion of the liver, and how completely does a disease of the stomach prostrate the entire system! The stomach is the laborer, preparing Ifood for all the other organs; and if its work is not well done, they

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 381

feel its neglect. The brain receives one fifth of the entire circulating fluid, and in consequence is first to be influenced by its qualities. The thoughts and emotions it manifests have an intimate relation to the quantity and quality of the blood, and these de- pend on the food.

495. Having briefly described the prominent fea- tures in the structure of brain and nerves, we now turn to the functions they perform in the animal econ- omy, and to the manner in which they produce their peculiar phenomena.

496. Physiologists have endeavored by various methods to arrive at the true functions of the nerves and brain, and have usually studied the subject in the same manner that they would the office of any other physical organ. The old method of vivisection has been discarded as cruel, and leading to unimportant results ; yet, so far as it can be applied, it has contrib- uted very much to the positive knowledge of the cere- bral functions. The study of their comparative devel- opment in the lower animals has contributed largely to our stock of knowledge, and is one of the promi- nent methods in use at present. In connection with pathological facts, comparative anatomy is the main source of external research.

The impressibility of the mind — a recent discovery, and still more recently applied — would seem, by the vast amount of light it has in so short a period poured on the mysteries of mental science, to be the key by which its most secret chambers can be unfolded. While the other methods are more external in their observations, this enters the innermost recesses of the soul, and reveals the wonderful operations which go on within the congeries of the nerves unseen and un- known by the external observer.

382 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

497. The spinal cord of man is composed of a series of ganglia homologous and perfectly analogous to the spinal cord of insects.

The number of ganglia determines the number of vertebrae, being thirty-two in man. Each ganglion has its particular function to perform, and it never departs from the office assigned it. The auditory, ol- factory, optic, and phrenic ganglia give rise to the auditory, olfactory, optic, and phrenic nerves, which convey to them respectively the sensations of hearing, smell, sight; and from the phrenic the impulse is con- stantly conveyed to the diaphragm, which keeps it in perpetual motion, causing respiration. The functions of each are determinate, and never change.

498. It will be inferred that as there are thirty- two vertebras, there are thirty-two ganglia, and the same number of pairs of nerves. These nerves are wholly composed of continuous fibres, and, in their minutest capillary ramifications, are composed of four distinct sets of fibres, designed for appropriate offices. This is true of every nerve thrown off from a gan- glionic centre, although the relative number of fibres in these four classes greatly vary in different nerves; e. g., the nerves which go to the internal viscera, send few fibres to the cerebrum, while the optic nerve sends a very great number. In the one case the ob- ject is to convey the impression of external objects to the whole mind at once, in the other to supply, simply, nervous force; and as this can be done with- out the aid of the cerebrum, few fibres are sent by the visceral nerves to it, and hence we feel not the disturbances which may exist in the internal organs as acutely as we otherwise should — a circumstance ex- tremely benevolent in its effects, as it contributes

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION.

383

largely to human happiness. The nerves are divided into four sets; the excito-motors and the sensatory and volitional.

499. The exci to-motor system is that of insects, and the others are added in proportion as we ascend the scale — the volitionary preponderating in man. When the junction of a nerve with the spinal cord is examined, this system becomes plainly perceptible and distinct from the others. The annexed figure represents a longitudinal section of a spinal ganglion, the fibres extremely magnified. L represents the mo- tor nerves; the lighter lines, the nerves which convey the impressions from the appropriate organs to the

Ideal Section of a Vertebral Ganglion

Fig. 19.

ganglion; the darker lines are the nerves which con- vey motion in obedience to the dictates of the re- ceived impression. 0 represents nerve fibres connect- ing opposite organs, passing through the ganglion. The fibres represented by X X go to the brain, and come in contact with every portion of its surface, both of the cerebrum and cerebellum, and return in parallel courses to the points from whence they originate. 500. The excito-motor system is not necessarily

384 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

connected with consciousness ; on the contrary its func- tions terminate with automatic actions. Where it exists alone, and there is no concentrated cerebral mass, though the animal may manifest motion gov- erned, apparently, by will, yet its motions are not con- scious or volitional, more than those of the sensitive plant. As we ascend the scale, a greater number of fibres are sent to the cerebral mass, which aug- ments in size, and the two systems become blended. Even in man they can be separated, and his instruc- tive actions referred to those nerves which manifest them in the insect.

501. The spinal cord, medulla oblongata, and sen- sory ganglia represent the nervous system of insects and fishes. From these all nervous power is de- rived, and the influence of the cerebrum over the or- ganic functions is extremely limited, if it may be said to have any influence at all. Impressions con- veyed to appropriate ganglia are reflected by the mo- tor nerves, independent of volition. That this theory is correct is supported by the strongest facts of physiology. It is certain that all the functions of life can be carried on independently of the cerebrum or cerebellum. Infants have been born destitute of these, yet lived apparently healthy for a considerable time.

Animals and birds have been known to live for months after the removal of both the cerebrum and cerebellum. The amphioxus has scarcely a vestige of either, yet manifests the instincts necessary to its existence.

502. A mammal will live for a considerable length of time after its nervous system has been reduced to the condition of that of the mollusk, by dissecting away all except the medulla, and cutting off the cord

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 385

below the respiratory ganglia. If the cord is cut above this ganglia, respiration ceases, and of course death results.

503. When the cerebrum and cerebellum are re- moved from the living animal, all consciousness, sen- sation, and will must cease, and whatever movements the animal may exhibit cannot be referred to them.

504. These movements are never spontaneous, but are always excited by an irritant. Even the respira- tory movement is excited by the presence of venous blood in the lungs. It is thus certain that the nervous power which controls the involuntary motions does not reside either in the cerebellum or cerebrum, but in some portion of the cord; that the impression con- veyed by an excitor nerve goes no farther than its ganglion, and is from thence reflected through the required motor fibres to the muscles, causing them to contract, independent of the will.

505. When the spinal cord is severed into several pieces, similar movements occur. If the spine of the frog be cut in the middle and behind the head, its limbs become completely paralyzed to the will, yet they move if touched, and with almost intelligent ac- tions avoid a heated body; but its four limbs do not act in concert, as they do when the intervening spinal cord is not severed.

The spinal axis is nearly the whole nervous system of insects, and experiments in this direction succeed in a remarkable manner with them. When the mantis religinosa, or walking-stick, is approached, it assumes a defiant posture, elevating its head and the front por- tion of its body, and raising its long, sharp claws. If while in this position it be suddenly cut in two imme- diately in front of its middle pair of legs, the posterior

25

386 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

portion will remain balanced as before, resisting every effort to overthrow it, and regaining its position when overthrown, and when irritated running from the irri- tating body, moving its wings in the same manner that the unmutilated insect previously had done. These movements are independent of volition, as the voli- tional ganglia have been severed. Still further in il- lustration, if the head be severed from the previously severed thorax, the ganglia which this section of the body contain will set in motion the long arms, and fix their claws in the finger that disturbs them.

506. If the head of the centipede be suddenly cut off, when the insect is in motion, it will continue to move ; or if cut into several pieces, each piece will con- tinue to move, for each piece has a motor nervous centre. If any pair of its limbs are selected, and their nervous centre dissected out, then all the others con- tinue to move, but they remain paralyzed. There is no consciousness in these movements, for when it reaches an impassable obstacle, it turns neither to the right nor the left, but the stump is forced against the object, the limbs continuing to move.

507. The same phenomenon is seen in reptiles. If the head of the turtle is cut off, of course the move- ments of its body cannot be referred to volition ; yet it loses not its power of motion or of avoiding obstacles. If its limbs are touched, they withdraw; if molested, it runs away ; if a burning body is brought near it, it turns aside. These movements are the result of the excito-motor system, independent of the will.

508. By this system, the lower animals become almost automatons, and it is as easy to account for the nervous influence as for the circulation of the blood. Even in man it exists in his involuntary

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 387

movements. This peculiarity in the structure of the articulata guides them to the attainment of certain determinate ends. In the most remarkable families, a mixture of the automatic and intellectual is observ- able. The bees, wasps, &c., are the most instructive of the articulata; yet in them there is a fixed regu- larity in the actions of all individuals, and they never depart from narrow limits. These insects have a great concentration of ganglia in their heads, and there is evidence of the presence of a cerebrum, by which manifestations not strictly automatic are produced. They can adapt themselves to different circumstances; they do not build an hexagonal cell over the worm which has stolen into their hive ; the form and position of the comb they adapt to the cavity in which it is built. The certainty of their actions depends on the uniformity of their organization, making them all to will alike, as well as to produce automatic impulses. Bees have a memory, as they have been known to re- turn in the spring to places where they obtained honey in the fall. That species of wasp which feeds its young on spiders, when it catches a spider too large for it to carry, will bite off its limbs one by one, until it is able to rise with it. This wasp makes a cell of mud, in which it deposits a spider and an egg. If, on trial, the spider is too large to be forced into the small orifice, the wasp reduces it in size, by bi- ting off its superfluous portions, till it can enter. Such instances might be multiplied to volumes; but this represents the class, and is sufficient to prove the exist- ence of a high order of conscious faculties.

509. Such are the facts from which the reflex ac- tion of the spinal cord is inferred; and it becomes a fact in science that the entire motions of the lower

388 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

animals, and the involuntary in man, originate in- dependently of the will, in the spinal ganglia, by im- pressions conveyed by one set of fibres reflected to appropriate muscles by another set — the excito-mo- tor system.

510. The medulla oblongata is simply the cranial prolongation of the cord, and contains the ganglia in which the respiratory and stomato-gastric nerves ter- minate. The act of swallowing and that of respira- tion are consequently purely automatic. Mastication and the prehension of food by the lips, though par- tially controlled by the will in >adults, in infants are purely automatic. There is a class of secondary auto- matic motions, which at first appear to be controlled by the will, but are at length performed without its agency; as the musician can play a familiar air while engaged in conversation; and we often walk a long distance on a familiar road without bestowing a single thought on the movements of our limbs. The will at first induces the movement in the motor nerves, and does so until there becomes such an intimate relation between the impulse of the will and the object on which the motors are exerted, that they continue to act under the stimulus of the object alone after the will is with- drawn. This has been a vexed question to the meta- physician; but when he leaves the dusty path of his wonted verbiage, the solution is readily effected.

511. The enormous development of the cerebrum in man endows him with intellect; yet it is remarkable how many of his actions are automatic, or instinctive. While many of the lower animals have astonishing intelligence, and even moral and sympathetic natures, in constructing their habitations, in the care of their young, and treatment of their companions, man par-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 389

takes largely of their instinctive faculties. What he gains in volitional or mental power, he loses in in- stinctive.

512. It is not necessary that the will understand the structure of the organs on which it operates, but it requires practice to harmonize the muscles and the will, as the child only gains control over its limbs by long practice; and equally arduous is the penman's task to gain the necessary control over the muscles of the hand, and the musician to govern his vocal organs. Thus is the distinction drawn between it and instinct, one being referable to the spinal axis, the other to the brain.

513. The office of the brain can be studied by the light of comparative anatomy. The first observation which we make in regard to the cerebellum, when we glance over the dissected brains of the vertebrata, is, that it is small in animals of weak muscular power, while it is large in those frequently called on to display great and energetic movements. While the motor sys- tem gives force to the muscles, an organ is necessary to systematize their actions and regulate their move- ments in accordance with one design. Gregarious fishes, and other aquatic animals with small muscular power, immersed as they always are in a dense fluid, have a small cerebellum; while in the fierce shark, capable of rapid motion, and endowed with prodigious muscular power, and birds of strong wing and remark- able balancing powers, as the eagle and birds of prey, it is large. It is large in the monkey, larger in the ape, still larger in the orang, and largest in man, who, by his upright position, brings in requisition the great- est amount of muscular action, and who, by cultiva- tion, performs the most complicated and various move- ments.

390 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

514. That such is its function is proved by dis- secting it out from the brain of the living animal. When this is done, they lose not the power of motion, but the power of combining the several muscles is totally lost, and the animal is unable to stand, or move its feet, harmoniously. The power to move them by the will is unimpaired, and only the unitizing influence lost. It is not the severity of the opera- tion which produces this effect, for the cerebrum can be removed without any such result. The cerebellum is also closely connected with the passions, imparting strength and energy to their manifestations.

515. It has been previously remarked that on dis- secting away the cerebrum from the brain of the liv- ing animal, it immediately lost all consciousness, per- ception and will. This fact plainly indicates the office of that portion of the brain — that it originates will and all the mental manifestations. It is very small in unintelligent animals and in idiots, and larger in proportion to the intelligence displayed, its size, if of the same quality or fineness, holding an exact pro- portion to the degree of intelligence.

516. The spinal axis has been shown to be the seat of involuntary motion; the office of the cerebellum to be the unitizing of muscular action, and to give energy to the passions; while the cerebrum is the organ of thought, of volition, and spiritual energy. Previous to the time of Gall, although this function was assigned to it, yet it was regarded as a single organ; but in- stead of analyzing it in a positive manner, the field was deserted by all, save the metaphysician, who, fully persuaded that words were adequate to the solution of mystery, heaped up great volumes of verbiage, till lost in his own wanderings.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 391

Nature is our guide, and positive science will only satisfy the questioning mind. Mind is never brought to view by the scalpel of the demonstrator. The cere- brum presents to him but an inert mass of fibres and cells. Even the microscope detects not the difference between the fibres of different organs. But if differ- ent regions of the cerebrum perform different func- tions, we know there must be a difference between their component fibres, or their manifestation would be the same.

517. The manifestations of mind are divisible into determinate classes. The emotions are distinct from the intellect; the passions from morality. It would be extremely unphilosophical to refer these diverse manifestations to the same organ, if that organ be re- garded as a whole; but if they are referred to the activity of different regions, appropriated to their pro- duction, then mental science becomes reduced to the greatest simplicity. Mind is divided into five classes — passions, perception, will, intellect, and morality. Each of these must have its own region of brain, by which it is manifested. Starting with this proposition, com- parative anatomy lends important aid in ascertaining the locality of these regions. Animals with a large development along the base of the cerebrum possess fierce, reckless passions, sexual inpulses, and love of offspring, and are deficient in docility, intelligence, and all the higher qualities. If, while only the base of the cerebrum is developed, such propensities are displayed, then it is a legitimate deduction, that the base of the brain is devoted to the passions. This is the predominant portion in all animals, and of many races of men. A thick neck indicates a large devel- opment of the base of the brain, and is proverbial fo:

392 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

great strength of the animal passions. The lion and tiger are broad across the base of the skull, and how truly does the fact speak their (fierce dispositions! The passions should be thus situated. There they quickly feel the stimulus and wants of the body. They can satisfy corporeal wants and become to the intel- lect what fire is to the furnace and steam to the engine. They connect intellect with the body.

518. Animals with a large development of the frontal portion of the base of the brain have an intui- tive perception of natural phenomena. This space, then, is devoted to the perceptions. If a line be drawn from the upper portion of the ear backward, with a slight elevation, it will form the upper boundary of the region of the passions. If this line is continued forward to the centre of the forehead, all that portion lying beneath it, in front of the extreme angle of the eyebrows, is the organ of the perceptions, devoted to the observation of transpiring phenomena,

519. Most animals manifest another class of facul- ties. The peacock is proud, the ass is stubborn, the horse and dog show a remarkable friendship to their masters; nearly all have a love of power, and desire for mastery, and energy of character. This group may be called the will, and it is located on the poste- rior coronal region of the brain. If a line be drawn perpendicularly upward from the cavity of the ear, the space included behind and between It and the previous line is the region of the will.

520. In animals the frontal portion of the cerebrum is extremely low, and never overhangs the eyes ; but in man it juts far over the eyes, and rises up square and broad, and with its growth in this direction, and in exact proportion with it, is the manifested intelligence.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 393

A high, broad, jutting forehead, is proverbial of wis- dom. Men in all ages have ascribed such heads to their gods, their heroes, and their sages. This, then, is the region of intellect.

521. The enormous growth of man's cerebrum carries him far beyond the animal in mental develop- ment. Not only is the coronal and frontal portion enlarged, but between and reposing on these lies an entirely new growth, or at least its convolutions are not perceptible in the animal. With it there is a manifestation of a moral nature, which is displayed in exact proportion to its size. This, then, is the moral region, removed farthest from the influence of the body, and connecting it with spirit. There en- throned, it acts the sovereign over the propensities with love and kindness, and smiles at the approach of death, which lifts the curtain that conceals from mortal vision the ennobling futurity which awaits the im- mortal spirit.

CHAPTER XX.

THE SOURCE OF THOUGHT STUDIED FROM A PHILO- SOPHICAL STAND-POINT.

522. To THE cerebrum, nerve fibres from every por- tion of the body concentrate. The nerves of sensation from the fine capillary ramifications in the heart of organs, and over the surface of the viscera and skin, send up their fibres to transmit intelligence with the central office, and, side by side, returning in an oppo-

394 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

site direction, send out the nerves of volition, along which circulate the messages to appropriate muscles to contract or expand, according to the nature of the in- formation received. The nerve fibres are hollow tubes, and from the point of their origin to their termination they are continuous throughout, never uniting with other fibres, so that the minutest capillary is in direct connection with the brain, forming a continuous tube. In the minute division of their extremities, the capil- laries of volition unite with those of sensation, and form a circuit from and to the brain. In a similar manner are the excito-motor fibres related with each other; but the circuit formed by them terminates in a spinal ganglion. If a motor fibre be traced from its termination to its source, it will be found to end in a ganglion, while a volitional fibre can be traced directly to the brain.

523. Throughout their whole extent the smooth and parallel fibres remain identically the same. They can- not generate nervous influence ; their office is simply to transmit the generated power. This is proved by sev- ering a nerve. When the nerve of a limb is severed, all volition and sensation is lost, and even the galvanic efforts of the excito-motors are stopped, as the nerve no longer communicates with a ganglion. Sensation and volition, then, do not reside in the nerves them- selves, but at their origins, whether brain or gan- glion. This is the first step towards the determination of their nature and functions. We have now, by the simple process of intersecting a nerve, proved that the nervous influence is confined to the ganglionic centres. These are composed of the terminating nerve fibres, and of a gray, nervous matter, differing entirely from the nerve material. This gray neurine is only found

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 395

at the surface of the cerebrum, where the fibres termi- nate, spreading around their extremities. To one or the other must be assigned the source of nervous influ- ence: and physiologists, by the most careful and close observation, have assigned this function to the gray neurine, while the fibres are simply conductors. The next question asked is, How is the nervous power generated? Physiology is silent; it records the facts, and asks the first question — From whence is it de- rived? But how, it knows not. Anatomy throws a feeble light on this important question.

524. The professor, over the dead brain, dissects fibre from fibre, and gives each a high-sounding name ; but his real knowledge goes no farther than this exer- cise of his memory, and the mere externals of mechan- ics. The life which vivified the organ has gone ; all its pulsating centres are still ; the blood is stagnant in its vessels ; it throbs not, it thinks not, nor gives a clew to the process by which, in the flush of life, it manifested divine thought or the gush of emotions. But thought has been produced by that brain, and brains just like it are producing thought. How? Look at the gray neurine which coats the surface of the cerebrum. It is entirely made up of cells, globular bodies, filled with a peculiar limpid fluid. On the exterior surface they appear recently formed or immature; but as they approach the extremities of the fibres, they become matured and disappear. What is their office? They are certainly not useless, nor are their continual growth and decay unattended by useful results.

525. The brain receives one fifth of the entire amount of blood in the system. It flows into it as pure arte- rial blood, and comes away loaded with refuse matter — a dark, sluggish, venous fluid. It has been at work,

396 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

and has produced great changes in that organ. "We find that it has principally circulated through the gray neurine, which, from the innumerable capillaries which circulate through it, is a complete mesh of blood ves- sels. There, then, has it performed its mission, what- ever it may be. As the amount of blood an organ receives is in proportion to the exercise to which it is subjected, and as the fibres of the nerves only transmit nervous influence, it would not be expected that they would require any great amount of blood, but in that region where the power is generated a great quantity would be required.

526. The fact that the cells of which the gray neu- rine is composed are immature on the external surface, shows that there they are formed, while their matu- rity, as they approach the extremities of the fibres, shows that they are forced inward by the birth of new cells on the outside. Their formation uses up the great quantity of blood thrown to the brain, but the brain becomes no larger by their constant production, and the amount of gray neurine remains the same. We must conclude, then, that the cells must be used up in the process by which thought is manifested. They are crowded inward, and when brought in contact with the conducting fibres they disappear. The cells thus formed by the secreting organs dissolve when they have performed their mission, and so do these gray cells. Do they pour their contents back into the blood ? No ; for that could subserve no possible purpose ; then they must pour it into the nerve tubes, or fibres, as they furnish the only possible means of absorption.

527. This process will be better- understood by referring to the engraving, where V represents tftie gray neurine. A cell forms at the surface,, and is.^rq)wded

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 397

inwards, until it reaches the extremities of the fibres V, into which it pours its contents.

528. The analogy between the brain and the secre- ting organs is remarkable, and has been frequently mentioned. In fact its office includes that of secretion, and hence the analogy.

529. Nervous matter contains a greater quantity of phosphorus than any other tissue in the body, if the bones are excepted. That intense thought necessitates the waste of nerve tissue is proved by the remarkable increase of phosphorus in the secretions of the kidneys after intense thought. That waste is not of the fibrous substance, but necessarily of the gray neurine. To manifest thought, the cells pour their contents into the tubular fibres ; and this fluid, after performing its mis- sion, must enter the blood, and affect its properties, before secreted by the kidneys as waste and effete matter.

530. We here have a reason for the greater flow of blood to the brain while intensely thinking. As every thought necessitates a waste of cells, a greater quan- tity of blood must circulate to repair the damage. The activity of one organ, or part of the system, pre- disposes a greater flow of blood to itself from the same cause. So fast as the cells are used up, so fast must their place be supplied; and if the mind is constantly excited, the circulating vessels enlarge, and the brain itself increases in size.

531. Again, why can we not constantly think in one channel? The mind tires; there are bounds which it cannot pass, and if driven beyond that point, it falls prostrated, and a complete lassitude ensues. Why it this? The present theory beautifully explains this fact. A peculiar train of thought calls into activ-

398 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

ity certain regions of the brain. The intensity of thought determines the rapidity of the destruction of the cellular neurine. This predisposes the flow of blood to those regions : soon they become inflamed ; they cannot answer the demand ; and then the mind in that direction is prostrated; while in other channels, where new regions of brain are brought into action, it may be perfectly healthy and strong.

532. The cerebellum cannot exercise its functions of unitizing the actions of the muscles without means whereby to create the nervous influence it employs; hence it has its own mass of cellular neurine by which its office is fulfilled.

533. The ganglia, to which the thirty-two pair of nerves centre, if they administer to the involuntary muscles to create action independently of the brain, if the theory here advanced be true, must have a mass of cellular neurine by which their functions are per- formed; and we find that the various enlargements of the spinal axis are not produced by the addition of new fibres, but by the interposition of cellular matter.

534. Wherever the cellular neurine is formed, we observe the accompanying nervous action; and all the recorded facts are in harmony with the proposition that the nervous power resides in the cellular neurine. That the manifestation of nervous power depends on the destruction of these cells, is shown by the increase of phosphorus in the blood after mental exertion. The only channel for it to escape is through the tubu- lar fibres. Observe the harmony. These tubes origi- nate in this neurine, and go out into every portion of the body as nerves of volition; returning, they come back as nerves of sensation, terminating in the same place where they originated. Around their extremi-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 399

ties lies the source of their power, the cellular matter. Impressions acting on the surface of the body are transmitted to it by appropriate fibres, and there pro- duce sensation, causing the destruction of cellular material in transmitting the return message.

535. The influence of the nerves is widely felt in the secreting and elaborating processes of the body. Every movement in the organism is ultimately refer- able to them. The secreting organs are largely sup- plied with nerves, and the nature of their secretion on them entirely depends. Thus, if the mind is agitated with intense grief or anger, the lacteal and salivary secretions become bitter and poisonous, showing that the nature of the secretion depends on the kind of in- fluence conveyed by the nerves. Whether that in- fluence is exerted to keep the diaphragm in perpetual activity, to secrete bile in the liver, gastric fluid in the stomach, milk in the breasts, the law remains the same. It is worthy of remark that all these and similar processes go on independently of the will, and are as well executed after its paralysis as before, because their functions depend on the spinal axis. The nerves which go out to perform all these functions, originate in ganglia of their own, from which they receive the stimulus appropriate to their functions.

536. It is evident that the nervous influence em- ploys some form of electricity to contract and expand the muscles. A muscle at rest is in an entirely nega- tive state, but one in motion is positive. The expand- ed muscle is positive to the relaxed muscle. From such facts it is apparent that by inducing positive and negative relations in the muscles, the brain controls the body.

537. We would not be understood as maintaining

400 THE AECANA OF NATURE, OR

that mind is originated by and dependent on the body ; but that its manifestation is thus produced, is an un- deniable fact. The condition of the physical frame determines the kind and degree of thought that is manifested. The greatest thinker of the age, by one hour's attack of disease, often loses all his mental powers, and when old age steals on him, he becomes a second child, as prattling and foolish as he was at first. Reason wanes with the decay of the body, and when the latter dies, with a few faint fliekerings, like a lamp without oil, seems to expire with it. We are simply endeavoring to show the method by which mind exerts its influence on the nerves, and by the nerves on the body. The method is one of the most simple in man's physical economy. The cells of the vascular neurine are the agents it employs, while the fibres are the channels through which it transmits its messages, and is made cognizant of external impressions,

CHAPTER XXL

RETROSPECT OF THE THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT, AS HEREIN ADVANCED. — CONCLUSIONS.— FACTS FOL- LOWED FROM THEIR SOURCE TO THEIR LEGITIMATE RESULTS.

538. MATTER is eternal. Its existence depends on fixed and determinate attributes. It has weight, form, extension, divisibility; and without these it could not exist. On these the universe rests, so that the princi- ples of nature can be philosophically referred to the constitution of matter itself.

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 401

539. If chaotic matter is left free to obey these in- herent principles, it will evolve the order of creation we behold, around us. So long as matter has its present attributes, it will act as it has done, and pro- duce the effects we now see it produce.

540. The attributes on which its existence depends are fully sufficient to account for every effect, either in the external world or the world of mind.

They exhibit life, and there are human beings.

They exhibit intelligence, and there are intelligent beings.

When we have a sufficient cause, shall we seek for a higher one, and thus render philosophy as cumber- some as the crystalline spheres of Ptolemy? But here is the objection: this view sweeps away the existence of God. Yes, it sweeps away Brahma, Buddha, Jupi- ter, and Jehovah; but it leaves the great principles of intelligence and love, on which these were all founded. It sweeps away all the gods of mythology and conjec- ture, and reveals the GREAT UNKNOWN enthroned in the universe! It makes the unknown God known to his creatures, and proves every part of nature per- vaded by the Omnipotent Presence. He works not by miracle, but by law. His will is the principles of mat- ter; and in infinite intelligence he always wills aright. He is a- progressive being ; is one with nature, and the existence of the two depend on each other.

541. The external world is nature, the internal is God. The two make a perfect unity of materials and principles.

542. But this is not the God of theology. Granted; but it is the God of nature. It is not a Unitarian God, or a Trinitarian God, but the laws and principles of nature personified.

26

402 THE ARCANA OP NATURE, OR

543. All the mythological conceptions of Deity are vague and dim sha do wings of these great principles, which become personified in the human mind from its difficulty of grasping abstract principles.

544. The universe was not created as man con- structs a house. There is adaptation of cause and effect ; for matter, having determinate attributes, moves in fixed channels, and seeks an equilibrium, and that equilibrium is obtained when the elements sustain a certain relation to each other. That relation we call cause and effect; and it is the intelligence which shadows forth in the mind of man the necessity for the existence of a Supreme Being.

545. But these attributes cannot be passed by, as they furnish a sufficient cause for all the phenomena of nature. They must be God, or the will of God.

It has been proved, or rather it is self-evident, that matter is eternal. This is an admitted proposition. Its existence depends on its inherent properties. But if these properties exist by the will of God, then there could not have been any matter previous to the time he willed these into existence, and he must have cre- ated matter — an inference which cannot be supported, as it presupposes the self-existence of a being so vastly transcending matter that he can speak it into exist- ence ; whereas it is far more reasonable to suppose the eternity of matter.

546. These properties of matter act in determinate channels. If they are the will of God, he is bound and circumscribed by them, and cannot will otherwise than as they dictate. He can will what he pleases, but he must will in accordance with these principles, because these principles are perfect. If he could be supposed to will a world to be oblong or square,

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OP CREATION. 403

gravity, one of his own principles, would pay no heed to it, but would round it just as it would a dew-drop. We cannot suppose God to annul, alter, or destroy his own perfect attributes.

God is thus shadowed forth in nature. His highest personification on earth is the human spirit.

547. The beginning was a chaos. Perhaps universe after universe had matured and passed away; nature had toiled on in perpetual and untiring activity, long before the last great revolution of all systems had returned back again to chaos. However that may be, we find at the beginning of the present order a chaotic, gaseous ocean filling the immensity of space. In that ocean, matter, true to its instincts and its innate prin- ciples, rounds itself into suns, sending off rotating worlds, all balanced in perfect equilibrium; for the contending elements battled until the equilibrium was gained, or until all the causes and effects in creation balanced each other. This stupendous result was accomplished by the same law that rounds the dew- drop, and makes the stone fall to the earth.

548. When the earth became prepared, by the for- mation of a crust and the condensation of water, for the reception of life, life came.

549. Life is a principle of matter. Living beings are the individualization of that life. Deep down in the transition rocks we found the primordial cellular forms, and observed the dawn of an infinite progress. Its individualization was the result of conditions such as are now occurring in the depths of the sea, pro- ducing the lowest forms of life; so that should the world be divested of life, it could begin a new series of advancement, differing only from that recorded in the rocks by the superiority of the present conditions of the earth to those of the original chaos.

404 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

550. Life began as a simple cell. This is proved by the convergence of all living forms at that point, by embryonic growth, and its history as revealed by the strata beneath our feet.

551. The intelligence manifested by living beings is the individualization of the intelligence of nature.

552. Thus originating, living forms progressed through the vast epochs recorded by geology, each era surrounding it by better conditions.

553. The individualization of life depends on con- ditions, and it adapts itself to them, is formed by and maintained by their influence.

554. Hence, as each age became more perfect, phys- ically, life moved onward in the same ratio.

555. When the earth became sufficiently perfected, man came. At first not superior to the orang. Then he became a savage, then half civilized. His intellect was but developed instinct; his desires and aspira- tions, at first, scarcely above the animal. He was, how- ever, subject to the mighty law of progress, which impelled him onward. The savage became civilized, the civilized man enlightened.

556. The latent germ of a spiritual nature in the animal, in man became awakened, and developed a spiritual life, glorious and immortal.

557. This is a brief view of the theory advanced and endeavored to be supported in the preceding pages. It proves nature to be an harmonious whole, without jar or contention, and leaving the external world, it carries the same principles into the domain of mind, and shows that as fixed and determinate laws rule its erratic manifestations as in the physical nature.

The universe is bound together with the same sym-

THE HISTORY AND LAWS OF CREATION. 405

pathetic relations as the human body. Not an atom moves, but it affects the farthest star. Not a breeze blows, not a wave beats on the shore, but it affects all the worlds of space.

558. "We have now drawn to its close the imperfect outline of the plan of creation, which we proposed for the first volume. The grand forces which we have discussed have had an ultimate end to accomplish. Through ill defined and through devious paths we have endeavored to trace their progress, in the mighty flow of matter upwards towards its ultimate. That ultimate — the sublime aim and end of all the restless activity of nature — we have found to be man. For him the inferior world exists, and by it he was cre- ated. With the material relations of his mind, its de- pendence on the highest form of physical organization, brain, the plan of this volume closes; but a vast field yet remains to be explored. It is a field yet unknown, and positive science has failed to grasp its facts and phenomena. The incomprehensible spirit realm, shrouded in mystery and fable, comprising the ma- jor portion of nature, invites our attention. Having constructed a firm basis in the physical world, we shall endeavor to extend the same course of positive reasoning into that higher world which is but its re- flection and ultimation. The origin, method of ex- istence, and laws of spirit and the spirit world, will be the important themes the second volume will dis- cuss, showing crude matter's progress to perfection in the infinite spheres of spirit progress.

THE

PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT *

INTRODUCTORY.

FROM the realm of physical causes, we ascend to the domain of spirit. We pass from the world of the senses to the mysterious world beyond their ken. No reasoning can be sound if based on hypothetical data. If we conceive of spirit at all, it must be thru the medium of matter; if not composed of matter, it is nought, — something cannot origi- nate from nothing; an infinitude of nothings is nothing still. This view may be considered materialistic, but it is not materialism as commonly understood. Philosophers investi- gate matter, its attributes and laws, as far as the limited range of their senses; and when it becomes too attenuated to reveal itself, they complacently call it spirit, and assign for it a confused and contradictory existence.

The line of demarcation drawn by them may be preserved, as it is a convenient designation ; yet it is false in theory and fact.

All things which exist are material; without matter nothing exists.

This is the sublime axiom on which this volume is based. We know of nothing which conflicts with it, except the theo- ries of men, some of which are entitled to respect, but are incapable of bearing the test of reason.

As the human mind is an epitome of Nature, as it is con- structed to understand and investigate surrounding creation, we must look to its mysterious workings for the true explana-

*This work was written while the author was still in his teens, and was first publisht as Vol. II of Arcana of Nature. Lack of space prevents the reproduction of the whole work, but these extracts will show its general trend.

407

408 , THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

tion of the phenomena we fail elsewhere to understand. We look on its failure to comprehend the creation of something from nothing as a significant fact pointing to a truthful solution of the question : —

What is spirit? Is it a fog, a vapor? Who can compre- hend, define it? Man dies. His spirit is immortal; so we are taught. How does it exist? Has it an identified being, or is it, like Nature in the Indian cosmogony, absorbed, after a fleeting existence, into the bosom of the infinite Brahm, the great fountain of spirit, to flow out again in perpetual cycles of evanescent forms? We cry: "0, let our selfhood be pre- served. If we exist, let us remain as we are." Such is the soul's aspiration. Any other state of being is non-existence. If consciousness is lost, all is lost; for eternal death and eternal sleep are one. The manner of the future existence is the problem — whence eometh the soul, whither goeth?

Clairvoyance has given us a clear response. It has led into the mysterious vale of spirit, and, except for recent manifestations, affords the only insight to be obtained of the inner life of man. It proves that he is composed of spirit as well as body, or, to use the words of another who has forcibly exprest the truth known to the ancient sages, "Man is an intelligence served by organs."

When man is studied from the material standpoint, there seems no reason why he should be immortal. The mind appears to be an emanation from the elementary combina- tions in the physical body, and as the hum of the bee is no longer heard after the insect has past, so mind dies when the form which calls it forth expires.

But here a new light dawns. The bright beams of Law, studied in the physical world, illumine the philosophy of spiritual existence.

In the physical realm we learn the origin of the spirit, and, by questioning spirits, solve the problem of man's immortal destiny.

Sublime beauties unfold to our enraptured vision here on the threshold of this unseen world. Eternal progress is the

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 409

law of spirit as well as of matter; and how appreciate the spirit of a thousand ages?

We pause for a moment to review the dogmatic theories the world in its ignorance has entertained. Our task is light, for what can the dark materialist know of spirit? What the so-called Spiritualist who attempts to rob existence of mat- ter? Stupendous systems of theology, time-hoary volumes of saints and fathers, we revere you. We recognize the attempts you have made, tho they have been abortive. But your day has past. The present demands a more satisfying system than a childish play on words, the polemics of the schools, the cant of the doctors.

Such this volume will strive to unfold — to prove the immor- tality of spirit, and the manner of its existence in the Spirit World, its origin, law and destiny.

We shall strive to retain the positive method of treating our subject as rigorously as in our Arcana of Nature, tho perhaps the reader who does not grant our position may not think we do so. But we may have only to tell him that we receive clairvoyance as positive testimony, and assume spirit intercourse as an admitted fact.

410 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

CHAPTER I.

EVIDENCES OF MAN'S IMMORTALITY DRAWN FROM HISTORY.

Universality of the belief in future existence. — Teachings of Nature. — When was this problem solved? — Records of the Hindoos; their sacred books. — Of the Hebrews, Ascetics, Hermetics, Persian and Chaldean beliefs. — Ancient sages. — Greeks. — Poets. — Hesiod. — Mythology. — The Middle Passage. — Epimenides of Crete. — Cassandrat Princess of Troy.

AMONG nearly all tribes and races of men exists a deep and abiding faith in immortal existence. It enters the heart by intuition, and there molds a beautiful creation, peopled by mythic dreams and wild fantasies, yet ever fostering the cardinal idea which the human mind in every stage of its development so loves — its own immortality. To the reflecting mind, the universality of this belief becomes a strong proof of man's future existence. It is so contrary to the effects transpiring around us, so foren to the course observed in objective nature, that it would almost seem the voice of a superior being must have whispered it to man in a gush of inspiration.

Observe physical phenomena; do they furnish any evidence of a higher spiritual state after the death of the body? Rather of destruction. The tree which blooms to-day, the pride of the vegetable world, to-morrow lies in the dust, and in a few years nothing remains. It has gone into the atmos- phere and the soil, to support other organisms. Generation after generation of forests have thus decayed. From the wreck of the old the new receives birth. Nature works in mighty cycles, ever returning. The old particles are absorbed, and it matters not whether the atoms of the moldering oak

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 411

are carried by winds to nourish the palms waving their deli- cate foliage in the tropical breeze, or to sustain the physical system of man. Nothing is lost. New forms spring from the old, and the perpetual circulation never rests.

To savage man, in his rude estate, this wonderful scheme of compensation is incomprehensible. Like a child, he views the turmoil of the elements, wholly ignorant of the causes underlying the effects which are presented to his awe-struck imagination. He must be imprest with this decay and destruction in all its frightful deformity, unmitigated by the compensation of renovation. He saw his companions die, become inanimate masses of flesh, presenting the same symp- toms when dying, and aspect after death, as the animal shot with his arrow. No circumstance indicates the future to his rude mind; yet, standing there beside the lifeless corses of his friends, he worked out the grandest problem that can be presented to the mind of man — his own eternal existence.

At first the solution assumed the crude forms of his own mind, for it is with difficulty the greatest philosopher can grasp the manner and form of the spiritual essence. Could the immediate growth of vegetation, from the decaying atoms of the old, suggest the idea of the transmigration of the life principle from the animal gasping in the pangs of death to the one gasping its first breath of life? However this may be, the earliest legends, which are handed down from the mythic ages, represent the rude savage as already believing in a complicated system of mythology, which entertained the immortality of man, and the form and method of his future life — a ceaseless transmigration from one form of existence to another.

The problem was solved by the men who, as it were, stood on the verge of time. How did they arrive at its solution? Not thru the senses, for these taught eternal death; not by reason, research or reflexion. There must have been a time in the remote ages when this belief was not entertained — when man was too rude to receive it. If so, at some definite period he must have been enlightened on this vitally impor-

412 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

tant subject. How else could he have received it but by the voice of his own spirit? If the spirit is immortal, should it not know the destiny which awaits it? If so, then is the early shadowing forth of the future life readily explained. It is the yearning of the immortal spirit conscious of its god- like destiny, striving to embody its intuition in words.

The earliest authentic records of mankind are accorded to the Hindoos. They had a complicated system of mythology worked out of the fundamental idea of immortality. Their sacred books teach that Brahm is the eternal spirit, from whom all existence flows, and back to whom all returns. He causes a mighty ebb and flow of creation, death and renova- tion, in a perpetual return, perfectly compensating itself. From him all grades of intelligences came, from those scarcely his inferiors, to man. They believe that every man is accom- panied thru life by two spirits; one keeps an account of his good, the other his evil deeds. They believe that within the external, mortal body resides a spiritual body from which the mind emanates — a true conception, and more wonderful for being so early learned. After various probations on earth, in hell, and paradise, the spirit casts off this spiritual form, and is completely absorbed in Brahm, the great foun- tain from whence it came. The spirit-body returns to be again born on earth. These ideas are vague, yet they contain a great truth — the eternal progress of spirit, in refinement and elevation, until too sublimated to be comprehended by man, it becomes lost in infinity, as the eagle soaring upward vanishes in the empyrean.

Man is acted on by a host of invisible intelligences some of which influence his passions, others drown him with the lethargy of ignorance; and only by the most determined efforts can he cast aside their detrimental influence.

Their sacred books describe fourteen spheres, the abode of spirits. The earth is one of these spheres, having six gradua- tions of paradise above, and seven of punishment below it, each more terrible than the other. These spheres are de- scribed as being formed of redhot copper, thickly set with

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 413

thorns, or festering with deadly serpents, while the lowest is a pit heated to redness with burning charcoal. When a man dies his soul is immediately conducted to Gama, the judge of the dead, before whom is laid the record of his life. Then, if he is sinful, and has led a wicked life, he is given to evil spirits, who come up from the lower spheres, and they, according to his sentence, drag him over rocky paths, thru beds of thorns, cast him among slimy reptiles, into caldrons of boiling water, or on beds of burning coal. Such are the sufferings of those who live ignoble lives, as fabled in the savage mind — fabled tortures but tortures which fable only can convey. Fire, with its excruciating pain, can but feebly represent the anguish of a mind swayed by passions.

The spirits above the earth, where the spirits of the good ascend, or the Paradise of India, elicit the lavish encomiums of Hindoo poets. Those who are charitable and zealous in doing good ascend to the first sphere, above which there are various degrees of holiness, to the fifth, or sphere of Vishnu, where martyrs ascend. The sixth, or sphere of Brahma, is only attained by those who never speak a falsehood, and by widows burned on the funeral piles of their husbands.

Again, we remark the mingling of rich veins of truth among the fables, by which a heated imagination sought to set them forth.

Almost all the rhetorical figures employed by the Hebrew chroniclers were used by the poetical Hindoo thousands of years previously. His Paradise is all the heart could desire. The sky is the softest cerulean, the waters of the clearest crystal, and umbrageous trees and odorous flowers perfume the air. The most enchanting melody is made by the spirit of music and the singing stars. The floor is of gems, and the pillars of the temple are precious stones. Godlike saints and beautiful women wander thru the groves, beneath the silver li^ht, devoting their time to contemplation and sacrifices to the gods. Indra, the presiding god, is seated with his wife on an ivory throne, by the side of a beautiful lake, covered with lilies and lotus blossoms, her countenance beaming like

414 THE AECANA OF NATURE, OR

a gleam of lightning, and her beauty filling paradise with the odor of a thousand flowers.

The mythology of India was transplanted into Egypt; but so dim are the records of those early times that the time and manner of its transference are wholly lost. The analogy of beliefs is very striking; so much so, that the question is settled in the minds of the learned that Egypt was colonized from India; or, at least, the dominant sacerdotal element of the nation was Indian. New gods were added to the calen- dar, new forms of worship instituted, but the central idea of immortality was not lost. It remained amid all its puerile trappings, and ever exercised omnipotent sway.

There were two principal sects among them; one believed in transmigration, the soul passing by successive stages thru every being of earth, water and air — a circle it completes in three thousand years, — and then again re-entering a human body. They supposed that it would enter the same body that it left; and hence the extraordinary care they exercised in embalming the dead, and the enormous expense they lavished on mausoleums.

Fully imprest that the world was evil, and this life a pro- bationary state, in which they resided as a punishment for crimes committed in a preceding, they looked forward with delight to the tomb, which they called their eternal home. Their sacred writings, as well as those of all other nations, abound with instances of communications between sainted men and superior intelligences, who ruled over particular objects and persons. They had oracles from which they received prophecies; and from the fame they acquired, and the confidence placed in them, they could not have been tricks of conniving priests. Those who aspired to receive com- munications from the invisible world fasted and prayed, that the spirit might obtain ascendancy over the body. This is the philosophical method by which clairvoyant perception is obtained, and in it we can easily perceive the source of superhuman knowledge sometimes manifested by these oracles. It is also remarkable that the prophecies were delivered by

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females, in whom these faculties are generally larger than in man. Such was the confidence placed in these, that they were consulted on all important occasions, and most implicitly obeyed.

Beneath the same oriental sky, remarkable as the cradle of mankind, but of another race, the colossal proportions of the Chinese sage towers gloomily thru the mists of time. The religion of China is referable to Confucius, who lived five hundred and fifty years before Christ. He was one of the few genii who arise in the infancy of races, and with sudden stride leap across the abyss of ages, carrying whole nations with them. He* is deified, as all great men are; and from Thibet to the Yellow Sea, from the Himalayas to India, the hills of the Celestial Empire are dotted with his temples. His compiled sayings are the sacred books of the Chinese. In them occurs the remarkable passage:

"How vast is the power of spirits ! An ocean of invisible intelligences surrounds us everywhere. If you look for them you cannot see them. If you listen you cannot hear them. Identified with the substance of all things, they cannot be separated from it. They cause men to purify their hearts, to clothe themselves in festive garments, and offer oblations to their ancestors. They are everywhere — above us, on the right, and on the left. Their coming cannot be calculated. How important we should not neglect them !"

He taught that every individual was attended by a gardian spirit, who watched over and protected its charge; and the Chinese have images of these hung up in their houses, and worship them with oblations.

Persia and Chaldea were contemporary with the preceding. Their religious teachers, the Magi, explained the sacred books of Zoroaster, and possest the power of prophecy. They taught that the human spirit once had wings, which it lost by its connection with the body, but which it would regain before reaching the celestial regions. Every individual had a gar- dian spirit to protect him from evil. The good and bad actions were believed to be written down and every soul pun-

41 G THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

ished according to its deeds, ascending into spheres of happi- ness, or descending into a gulf of woe. They supposed that the inferior spirits could communicate with man, and that certain individuals by consulting the sacred books, and by holiness of life, could approach near to the gods (superior spirits) and communicate with them. They understood by a holy life a rigid regime, and habits which would develop the spiritual perception at the expense of the physical system, — the proper course to develop clairvoyance.

The wise men of the ancient nations understood the mes- meric art. From immemorial time disease has been cured by laying on of hands, and clairvoyant vision has occurred.

In Moses' time the Egyptian priests charmed the deadliest serpents, rendering them harmless and obedient, and per- fected the art of magnetic influence to a great extent, ever concealing it, however, from the people's view by mysterious rites. Egypt was ancient in the youthful days of Greece, and Rome came after the decay of Greece; but the mantle of Egypt fell upon them, and they treasured and improved her knowledge.

"They believed that departed human spirits lingered around their former localities and families to protect them. They invoked them in time of domestic trouble, and offered sacri- fices to appease them when they thought they had been wronged, or were angry. They erected costly tombs, and at stated seasons repaired thither to offer prayers and offerings to the spirits of departed ancestors, whom they called manes."

They at length erected splendid altars, and offered sacri- fices to them as gods. If a man was a public benefactor, it was natural for the people to carry offerings to his tomb; and thus began hero-worship. The spirits of departed heroes were supposed to become intermediate between mortals and the great gods, blessing the nations or individuals whom they protected, guiding their feet from evil, and filling their souls with great and noble deeds.

Hesiod, one of the most ancient of the Greek poets, records this belief:

PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 417

"Thrice ten thousand holy angels rove

This breathing world; the immortals sent from Jove,

Gardians of men, their glance alike surveys

The upright judgment and the righteous ways:

Hovering they glide to earth's remotest bound;

A cloud aerial veils their forms around."

The Hindoo idea of a subtil, invisible body, confined to the external, physical body, was transplanted into the Grecian mythology. It taught that man is composed of these elements — the soul, the invisible body, and the physical body. The invisible body was the tenement of the soul, and was carried with it when it went to the delights of paradise, or to suffer the penalties of its sins in Tartarus. After its sen- tence expired, it was sent back to re-enter another body, more or less honorable, according to its sentence. The Ely- sian abode of the blessed, exhausted all the metaphors of the poets. The day was always serene, and a soft, ethereal light rendered the scene enchanting. Majestic groves and beautiful gardens variegated the landscape. The River Eridanus flowed thru banks of flowers, and on its scented borders dwelt heroes and sages, artists and poets. There they engaged in the pleasures which formerly delighted them. There friends met in social festivals ; the husband met his wife, and children greeted their parents, very much as the spiritual philosophy teaches.

On the other hand, they threw together all that was terrible and repulsive in the description of Tartarus, the abode of the damned. It was surrounded by a river of fire and a terri- ble wall. Here those who had lived sinful lives were scourged by the Furies ; or had huge stones suspended over their heads, ever ready to fall ; or hungry wolves or vultures gnawed at their vitals, which forever grew again ; or stood in water, enduring the pangs of deadly thirst, yet unable to obtain a single drop to cool their parched tongues; or starved while delicate fruits were suspended just above their reach.

Some souls, too good for Tartarus, but too bad for Para- dise, wandered in vast forests, exposed to scorching winds, until purified; others were plunged in deep water; and others 27

418 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

were obliged to pass thru intense fire to obtain the same' result. If they were purified by this process they ascended to the gods ; if not, they were sent back to the earth to assume again the mortal form, and pursue another probationary period.

The Greeks divined the future by observing mysterious rites, and by direct inspiration. Inspirational prophecy was uttered by persons who were believed to be possest by spirits ; and while unconscious, motionless, and speechless, the spirit spoke out of their breasts. Prophecy was also made by persons who were seized with a sudden frenzy, or enthusi- asm; and by those who fell into a trance, and when they awoke related what they saw. Music was often employed to excite the prophetic frenzy, and it is well known that the succession of harmonious sounds on sensitive nerves is highly promotive of ecstasy or clairvoyance.

Cicero says: "They whose minds, scorning the limitation of the body, fly and rush abroad when influenced and excited by some ardor, behold things which they predict. Such minds, which inhere not in their bodies, are influenced by various causes."

It is said that Epimenides, of Crete, had power to send his soul out of his body and recall it at pleasure. During its absence he was as one dead, cold and inanimate. He fre- quently held intercourse with the gods (superior spirits) and was counselled by them. When a terrible plague devastated Athens, its citizens sent for him. He came, and erected altars to the Unknown God, and probably by exciting the religious enthusiasm of the people, by mesmeric and medic- inal aid combined, arrested the further progress of the disease.

Of Hermatimus, a famous prophet of Clazomenae, it is recorded that his soul left his body, and wandered into every part of the world. While thus entranced, his wife, sup- posing him dead, had his body burned, according to the custom of the country. So much was his wonderful gift of divination prized by the people, that they erected a temple to him, and paid him divine honors.

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Cassandra, Princess of Troy, when a little girl, was play- ing with her brother in the vestibule of Apollo's Temple, and tarrying too late to be carried home, was put to sleep on a couch of laurel leaves. From that time she continually heard the voices of the gods, or of spirits, who, by the ancients, were considered gods. She constantly foretold the destruction of Troy, and warned her countrymen of the stratagem of the wooden horse. She also foretold the man- ner of her own death, and of the Grecian conqueror who carried her away.

The wife of Paris, Oenone, is said to have had the gift of prophecy, and to have discovered the medicinal properties of plants.

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CHAPTER II. PROOFS OF IMMORTALITY DRAWN FROM HISTORY, CONCLUDED.

The Roman Sybils. — Oracles of Delphi. — Selection of Pythia.

— Dodonian Oracles. — Brutic Oracles. — Pythagoras : his doctrines. — Socrates, his teachings. — Platonism. — Bibli- cal Records. — Christ. — Early Church Fathers. — Witch- craft.— The Solution of the Problem by the Present Age.

— A new argument drawn from the nature of the Human Spirit.

HISTORY is very ambiguous concerning the Eoman Sibyls, a name bestowed on certain women supposed to be inspired by the gods. They fell into an ecstatic state, and were sup- posed to communicate directly with them. The most famous was the Cumaean sibyl, said to have written the Sibylline Books, which were consulted on all momentous occasions, and were considered as giving positive answers to all questions of state.

The oracle of Delphos was famous thruout the whole civil- ized world. Some shepherds were pasturing goats around the site of this temple, when they observed that when they put their heads in a certain place they ran and leaped wildly about. When the herdsmen did the same, they raved like madmen. The news of this miraculous grotto spread rapidly ; a seat called a tripod was erected over the fissure, and a woman, chosen by the priests, was placed there during one month, in the spring of the year, to receive the inspiration, and answer those who came to consult the oracle. Lawgivers came to learn the most beneficial course to be pursued with their people; kings came to know the fate of wars; individ- uals came to consult on the affairs of life. From the magni- ficent gifts of those who received benefit, a splendid temple

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIEIT. 421

was erected, and adorned with the most costly ornaments. This temple was situated on the south side of Mount Par- nassus, and on the eastern side welled the Castalian fountain, in which the Pythia, or priestess, bathed before she ap- proached the tripod. She crowned herself with laurel and ate some of the leaves. As soon as she inhaled the vapor from the cavern she grew pale, her eyes sparkled, and she trembled in every limb. The priest attending wrote down the words she uttered in her frenzy.

The effects of the vapor from the cavern appeared to be supernatural to the ancients, but in the light of modern science it is readily explained on natural principles. All narcotics in a greater or less degree, awaken the latent sensi- tiveness of the nervous system. In general this cannot be turned to a good account, disease following it so closely; but with Indian hemp, or hashish, and exhilarating gas, it is otherwise, no permanent debility following their permanent use. Exhilarating gas produces the most startling effects; and undoutedly a vapor very similar escaped from the cavern, and was breathed by the priestess of Delphos. The inhalation of this gas produces almost precisely the same symptoms recorded of the Pythia, and were it breathed by sensitive persons, the symptoms would be identical.

Delphos was noted for the ambiguity of its answers, while Delos was famed for the directness and conciseness of its replies. Delphos was most famous, however, and the most ancient, being founded twelve hundred years before the Christian era. So infallible were its predictions deemed, that it became an adage : "As true as a response from the tripod."

The selection of Pythia was intrusted to the priests, and with the practical mesmeric knowledge they possest, they of course selected the most impressible person they could find; and as will be readily seen that the value of the predictions depended on the degree of impressibility of the Pythia — an inference supported by the fact that tho its truthfulness was always admitted, it was also confest that this varied from tune to time, sometimes being remarkable for distinctness,

422 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

and significance, and at others equally so for its ambiguity.

Dodona was the most ancient of all the oracles of Greece. It dates back fifteen hundred and fifty-eight years before Christ. The oracles were delivered by a priestess whom Herodotus supposes to have been brought from Egypt.

The truthfulness of these oracles is as well authenticated as any portion of ancient history. Some of their responses silenced at once the charge of deception. So startlingly accu- rate were some of these, that a noted historian, unable to account for them in any other manner, refers them to the agency of the devil.

Croesus, wishing to consult the oracles, first desired to test their truthfulness, and sent a messenger to seven of them, asking what was his employment on a certain day of the month. Designing to be employed in an occupation least liable to be conjectured, he cut in pieces a tortoise, and a lamb, and boiled them together in a brass vessel. The Delphic Pythia sent him as an answer :

"I count the sand, I measure out the sea; The silent and the dumb are heard by me. E'en now the odors to my senses rise — A tortoise boiling with a lamb supplies, Where brass above and brass below it lies."

Satisfied that the oracle was truthful, he presented his inquiries — first, whether he should be successful in his war with Cyrus, the Persian, and as to the duration of his king- dom. Her reply was, that his kingdom would stand until a mule ascended the Persian throne; and when he crost the river dividing his territories from the Persian, a great king- dom would be overthrown. He interpreted these answers as favorable to himself, prosecuted the war, and was soon overthrown and taken prisoner. Indignantly he sent a mes- senger to rebuke the oracle, but received the very soothing reply that Cyrus, being half Mede and half Persian, was the mule referred to ; and when they said a great kingdom would be overthrown, it was not by any means the Persian that they

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 423

meant, but his own; and hence the prediction had been ful- filled to the letter.

The Brutic oracle told Cambyses he would die in Ecbatana. Supposing it to mean the great city of Media, he carefully avoided that place. Years afterwards, he was suffering from an excruciating wound, and stopt to rest in an Assyrian village. Feeling that he would die there, he inquired the name of the place. They told him Ecbatana. The prophecy was fulfilled.

The emperor Justinian had frequent intercourse with divine beings. They awoke him from slumber by touching his hand or hair. He knew them so well that when they came he could distinguish the peculiar intonation of voice of each.

Pythagoras, one of the wise men of Greece, born five hundred and eighty-six years before Christ, taught that man was composed of an immortal mind, which was a portion of the Divinity and had its seat in the brain; a sensitive, imma- terial spirit, the seat of the passions, and a natural body, which the soul assumed as a temporary garment. At death the spiritual portion was conducted to the regions of the dead, to be happy or miserable until sent back to the earth to inhabit a new body. When purified by successive proba- tions, it ascended to the regions of the stars, which he be- lieved inhabited by spirits. He profest to hold direct com- munication with immortal beings, and to have visions. If tradition speaks truly, he possest extraordinary magnetic power, and by it could make animals and men obey him.

Socrates made frequent allusion to a demon or angel, which ever attended him from his youth, who never spake otherwise than truthfully, and he always obeyed the warnings of its divine voice. He says: <rWhen I was about to cross the river, the usual demonic sign was given me; and when- ever this takes place, it always prohibits me from accomplish- ing what I am about to do. In the present instance I seem to hear a voice which would not suffer me to depart. I am therefore a prophet, tho not a perfectly worthy one, but

424 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

such a one as a man who knows his letters indifferently well — merely sufficient for what concerns himself."

It was a current doctrine in Greece that every man had a gardian spirit or genius; and the more friendship existed between the person and the genius, the happier and the greater would he become. In other words, the more he culti- vated his impressibility, the more knowledge would be given him from the celestial sphere.

The doctrines of Plato were similar to those of Pythagoras. He is represented as saying: "The soul of each of us is an immortal spirit, and goes to the gods to give an account of its actions."

Volumes might be filled with instances like those we have introduced, all substantiating the claims of ancient spiritualism.

The Bible records some of the most startling manifestations. In those primitive times angels were seen, and conversed with by men. Saul's consultation with the witch at Endor is one of the most characteristic spiritual manifestations. She knew him not until she entered the superior or clairvoyant state. Then Samuel the seer appeared, and stretching aloft his airy arms, denounced him with awful, prophetic voice. She who was called a witch possest high clairvoyant powers, and the same is true of all the prophets of the past.

Looking far into the misty past, we are too apt to refer everything we do not understand to trick or delusion; but when we consider the implicit faith placed in the ancient oracles, not only by the ignorant, but by the wisest philoso- phers, sages and lawgivers, it is preposterous to suppose they were entirely deception. False prophets are frequently mentioned, and their existence proves the true. The office of prophet conferred great honors and emoluments, and it would be strange if the temptation proved not too strong, and designing persons did not attempt the part of true oracles.

Clairvoyance has ever been possest by only a very few, while the call for prophets has been constant and universal.

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But there has always been enough of the true to preserye the confidence of mankind.

The dawn of the present era beheld many startling spirit manifestations, which fairly support the spirit philosophy.

The life and death of Christ was invested with spirit manifestations. Spirits appeared and conversed. His dis- ciples meet, and suddenly a great light is thrown around them, a divine flame is on every tongue, and the poor, despised illiterate fishermen of the shores of Galilee surprize the strangers from widely remote countries, by addressing each in his own tongue. They lay their hands on the sick, and they are healed ; on the blind, they see ; on the lame, they walk. Some are cast away on an iland, and astonish the people by shaking off poisonous reptiles which fasten on their hands, and while they are expected to drop down dead, cure the sick by a touch.

The early fathers worked similar wonders, and were all imprest that the air was filled with invisible spirits, both good and bad. Clement, Appolonius, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin, Tatian, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, all testify positively to the existence of spiritual intelligences. Origen believed that the spirits of the just went to the throne of God, and that they might by prayers and intercessions redeem those they loved on earth. He believed that man retained all his facul- ties and desires after passing the shadowy gulf of death.

Even down to the present, many believe in witchcraft, incantation, and foretelling the future; and so deeply rooted is this belief, that it is impossible to eradicate it. What mean the persecutions of its devotees? Have they been destroyed simply from a foolish effort to deceive? There is a truth somewhere beneath all this rubbish — a great truth easily extracted.

In quite recent times an extensive persecution arose from this cause. The Salem massacre blots the page of American history. It is evident that the individuals connected with that tragedy were ignorant of the cause for which they were deemed guilty.

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So has it ever been in the world's history; a miraculous power is constantly at work behind the moving canvas of human affairs, and here and there, only, crops out, like granite peaks from mist, revealing the deep force concealed. Whenever it has appeared it has been considered super- natural, and mistaken for a direct manifestation of God.

To the present age has been reserved the honor of solving the vext problem. The analytical philosophy arranges the facts brought by history, and is delighted with their harmony. It sees one great law pervading the entire mysterious domain. To one force all facts are referable. The sublime philosophy of mind and spirit, which but today has been advanced, solved them all. That law is the impressibility of mind by which clairvoyance, in all its phases, and spiritual intercourse are maintained. History shows that both of these are very ancient. They were ill understood ; and when a spirit spoke, its voice was considered as emanating from the gods.

True, it may be objected that we are not warranted in referring the historic facts to clairvoyance and spirits; but we refer them to those sources as an effect is referred to its cause. It is an admitted fact that one mind can control another, and that some minds can pass into the clairvoyant state without assistance, in which state they can read the past and predict the future. If mind is thus susceptible to-day, it is probable that it was so a thousand or four thousand years ago. And when we find an event of the past, trans- piring in precisely the same and under the same conditions as one at present, is it not logical to refer both to a common cause t

The priestesses were sensitive subjects; and when they entered the prophetic state they exhibited the livid, deathlike complexion, the contortions and rigidity of muscles, so well known to those who have investigated animal magnetism. It would be singular indeed if mind became susceptible to magnetism but a few years ago after having remained unsusceptible for ages, and equally remarkable if the faculties were not made available, As steam was known to the. ancients

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without their applying it to any useful end, so did they know the existence of mental impressibility without comprehending its vast importance.

For similar reasons do we refer many of the mysteries of the past to spiritual intelligences. If man is immortal, and retains his consciousness after death has consigned, with rude hand, his body to the dust, he must desire to come back and converse with his friends on earth. If the spirits of the good can look down from their celestial heights with calm indifference, and never desire to communicate the light which alone can dispel their earthly brother's douts, they must have lost the humane feelings which constitute the great and benevolent soul.

The Christian world unanimously believes in a future state. We will not stop to prove this step in our reasoning. Admit that there is a future state, what must necessarily be its characteristics? The immortal spirit, freed from the body, must be the same as it was in the body; with all its emotions and desires the same. Does not the father in a distant land desire to converse with his absent child? Does he not cross oceans and continents, breasting storms and dangers, to clasp him to his breast? How yearns the mother's susceptible heart for her absent son! Can the love of that father or mother be blotted out by death if he or she retain individ- uality beyond its shadow? Can friendship and the holy conjugal emotions become extinct? If not, then will the freed spirit, roaming among the bowers of the blessed, think of earth and loved ones toiling here, and, forsaking the pleasures of paradise wing its way swiftly to earth and hover round the loved.

This is the philosophy of the belief in gardian angels, which has existed in the world from immemorial time; and the host of genii, the ancients believed, overlooked the affairs of cities and nations. How plausible that the man who shed his blood in defence of his country should, after death, retaining the same thoughts and desires, remain near to watch and protect it ! Thus these myths of the past have a sound

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basis, and are not all vagaries of the imagination, as they seem. Beneath the most fantastic and grotesque forms of mythology of ttimes the grandest spiritual truths are concealed.

But these gardians would be engaged very unprofitably if they could not communicate with or influence in the least those they garded. Nature never suffers such an imperfect arrangement; and as surely as there are gardian spirits, they communicate.

The following propositions rest on the admission of man's existence after death: —

1. If he exists, he must retain all his ideas, thoughts, facul- ties, desires, and emotions unimpaired.

2. If he retains these, he will desire to commune with those he loves on earth.

3. If he becomes a gardian spirit over those he loves, he must have some avenue thru which to communicate with them. This conclusion is not only true for the present, but for all past time. It is inherent in the constitution of man ; and tho we may suppose impressions were made with more difficulty on the crude and undeveloped mind than at present, yet that they were produced on the most susceptible, facts conclusively show.

We are born into a world of which we at first know noth- ing. Above and around us spread the clouds and the sunshine. Above us nightly watch the silent stars, and around us is the activity of animate nature. Thru all these, the soul develops step by step, until at last it feels the mighty power within, proclaiming its own divinity. If the soul is immortal, it should know it. The great consciousness of its existence should dawn like a divine radiance, and fill it with inexpressible hopes and aspirations. Hence this universal consciousness we have shown to exist is a strong philosophical argument. It is not educational, it is not imbibed, for there must have been a time when it was not known. From whence came this knowledge? Was it whispered by the spirits of the departed into the ear of the savage as he lay pillowed beneath the waving trees? Or was it the dim and undefined

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aspiration of his own spirit for the Great Unknown beyond the Lethean flood of death? We would say, the aspiration of his spirit, questioning itself — answered by itself.

Thus, amid all the vicissitudes of time, one great and fundamental belief has pervaded the heart of humanity. On the immortality of the spirit the theologies of the world have rested. Above the sphere of mortal affairs, in the clear ether, the spirits of the dead exist, and frequently communi- cate with their earthly brothers. They were the mediators between the unapproachable holiness of the deity and man.

Amid the labyrinths of mythologies and theologies of the past, the great law previously adverted to — impressibility of the mind, or mesmerism — pervades, working spontaneously beyond the comprehension of present understanding, and astonishing the nations by its miracles. The vast and appar- ently disorderly fabric is reduced to system and order, and from its confusion, reason, pursuing the guidance of induc- tive philosophy, bilds a temple whose foundations are on the earth, but with spire piercing the veiled heavens of the spirit spheres.

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CHAPTER HI.

EVIDENCES OF MAN'S IMMORTALITY.

The method by which we propose to make our revelations posi- tive.— Proofs: Moving of tcbles and other ponderable objects. — Intelligence manifested. — Laplace's problem of probabilities. — The chain of arguments, objections and theories considered. — Identification of a spirit. — Identifies the individuality of all others. — Varied forms of com- munication: Object of. — Our evidence.

WE subject ourselves to the humiliating task of proving our own identity before applying ourselves to the main purpose of this volume. In doing this we shall treat our subject as we should were we of earth, and attempting its substantiation by positive testimony. If we accomplish this purpose, we make our words as positive and conclusive as in the Arcana of Nature, where direct facts were adduced. Before the witness is heard, it must be ascertained whether he is trustworthy, and what he purports. If we meet this test, our description of the spirit-world becomes as positive as the narrative of the traveler; for we are guided by our senses, and write as they teach us.

If a single spirit can be identified, the proposition is proved; for the method that will identify one spirit will identify all others. A spirit visits a circle, and moves the table, the chairs, or elevates the medium or members of the circle above the floor, doing so without any visible contact or agency whatever. This is admitted and it is unnecessary to quote facts in support. A force is exhibited, a mysterious force, which received science has not, cannot account for.

So far, individualized intelligence is not manifested. The

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force may be produced by magnetism, Od force, or any other of the unintelligent agencies of nature. Of all this class of phenomena, we will not pause to dispute, as they are unessen- tial in establishing our position; for when the main point is admitted, these will readily fall into place.

It is true, no intelligence is manifested; but mark, a ques- tion is asked — the table moves in response. The answer is correct. One question may be answered correctly by chance. A happy coincidence may give the second answer correctly, and even the third, we will admit; but how stands the case when a hundred successive questions are answered correctly? Now the question of intelligence resolves itself into Laplace's problem of probabilities. Again a single question being answered correctly, if the force which moves the table is not an intelligent force, or backed by intelligence, there is an infinite improbability if the answer is not yes or no. What then can be said when a hundred consecutive questions are answered correctly, without a single failure? The chances of error are reduced to nothing, and, in a mathematical sense, the proposition is established.

From whence is this intelligence derived? From the mind of the circle or medium? It may be, when the answers are known to them, which for the argument we admit; but there are instances where the answers are unknown to anyone present — answers which only one being knows, and that being is in the spirit-world. How strong the inference! Such is the conclusion derived from physical manifestations. They present themselves in the following chain: —

Physical matter is moved by an invisible force.

This force is not derived from the circle, the medium, or any human agency, as it is superior to human intelligence. There is infinite improbability against it being anything else than what it purports.

The intelligence manifested is not mundane.

It identifies itself with the individual from whom it pur- ports to emanate, by answering questions which that individ- ual only can answer.

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We have not completed the extensive list of manifestations. We write, we impress, we speak, we produce trances and visions; we appear under favorable conditions, show a phos- phorescent hand, or directly touch the person.

In answering questions thru any of these channels correctly, the doctrine of probabilities can be usefully applied.

In all these manifestations objections arise, which we will briefly consider:

1. It is the work of the devil.

2. It is evil spirits.

3. It is electricity, "detached and vitalized."

4. It is Od force.

5. It is Deception — a cheat.

6. It is Hallucination.

All these theories, one after another, have been exploded, with countless others of lesser fame, until, weary of repeated failures, their sapient propounders have ceased to promulgate them. However, we will give each a brief review.

1. The tree is known by its fruit. Our communications in general have high moral tone, which internal evidence alone establishes their claims, and negates the supposition of their diabolic origin.

2. There are spirits — not evil but degraded, miserable spirits — who communicate with earth ; but the same law which permits them, also allows the good to converse. Ah, ye Christians, who promulgate this theory, what can be your idea of the just and good deity you worship, who allows the myriads of the damned to deluge the world with their contami- nating presence while he debars the counteracting influence of the good? Law never works in opposite ways. The road which allows one passenger to go, allows all. Good and bad alike visit you, and communicate their best thoughts. You have reason. Judge for yourselves.

3. Until we are told how electricity can be detached and vitalized this assumption is worthless. Electricity has no more intelligence than water. Whence,, then, is the mani-

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fested intelligence derived? And more, in and around the article moved, not the slightest indication of this agent can be detected.

4. The claims of Od force are still less worthy of consid- eration. It is forced into a position of which its discoverer never dreamed, and given power which in all his investiga- tions he never detected. The flames which play around the poles of magnets and crystals, only detected, so thin are they, by the most sensitive nerves, — what have they to do with moving ponderable bodies, or suspending them in the air?

5. Mediums may deceive; circles may be humbugged. We admit, for argument, that in nine cases out of ten they are; but the tenth, we will not admit. When the medium is, by invisible hands, lifted to the ceiling, and suspended there; or when the table is elevated in the same manner, or when ques- tions are answered which no man on earth, even their pro- pounders, can answer — we hold that the supposition of deception is puerile.

6. It is impossible to hold the supposition that all these phenomena can be accounted for by supposing the spectators are hallucinated. If so, then the real world melts and fades into a dream, and there is no reality in anything. If the senses are not to be trusted here, why anywhere? If the eye sees what is not, the ear hears what is not, the touch feels what is not, then, observation and boasted scientific accuracy, goodby. The world becomes a magnificent f antasmagoria in which we dream, but are not. The German mysticism becomes realized — we think Nature exists, that we exist; but it is all a thought, a juggler's delusion, for there is nothing in space but a void.

Our manifestations have been varied as theories arose, until new opposers find themselves in a very unfortunate dilemma, for whatever explains the facts sweeps away all the supernat- uralism of the past.

So varied, so numerous, so common have our communi- cations become, that the introduction of facts would only

28

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encumber pages we propose to fill with other matter.* We only attempt to roughly sketch the main argument, and plainly state conclusions derived from facts elsewhere stated. The identification of a spirit decides the controversy. How would you identify a friend concealed by a wall, if you could not recognize his voice? You would ask for proof that he was really the one he purported to be, and he would tell you some incident, some sentence peculiar to him, and to him only. We are concealed by the wall of invisibility. You ask: Are you whom you purport to be? We answer with some familiar sentence. Is not the identification perfect? There is an individuality acknowledged; our responsibility and trust allowed, and our revelations become positive knowledge. Such are the views with which we commence this volume; and tho we shall ever argue the questions under consideration, many will not admit of more than a simple narration, as the descriptions of our homes, etc., which must be received on our word.

* Several volumes of facts have been compiled, which are accessible to the inquirer, and to which he is referred : — Night-Side of Nature ; Hare's Work on Spiritualism ; Owen's Footfalls ; The Telegraph papers ; the Shekinah, etc.

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CHAPTER IV.

Position of Christianity. — Jewish Religion. — Of Christ's Ref- ormation. — Mutual relations of Revelation and Science. — State of the World. — Impossibility of believing what is contradictory to Reason. — Tolerance. — The combat be- tween the Conservative and Reformer. — Spiritual beings the true Philosopher's Stone. — The Truth declared. — The true Object.

CHRISTIANITY has taken one step, for it is progressive. The new dispensation supplanted the old. The Jewish theol- ogy answered the wants of an early and savage race. Hard as iron, inflexible and bloody, it was the religion for the Jews, the most cruel and bloodthirsty tribe of ancient days; so brutal and avaricious that he was as universally hated as despised.

The Jehovah of the Jew was an enlarged view of himself. His religion was like his God. It assumed the arrogance of bigotry, and declared a handful of savages God's chosen people, authorized to slay and mangle their enemies whenever interest dictated; to sack cities, and butcher thousands, God thundering his assent, urging them on to carnage, and par- ticipating until his garments were red with slaughter. Such a religion, bad as it appears, was the best religion they could comprehend; and no better could then be given them.

After some thousands of years, Christ the ideal came, and gathering all the best ideas of the ages, advanced to the out- posts of thought, and began a new dispensation. This ideal, pure as the crystal stream, has been corrupted until it no longer slakes the thirst of the present. Does it teach enough of God, of immortality, of the true life? Let the aspect of the world, its wranglings and discord answer. A perfect

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revelation does not need an interpretation, nor an explana- tion, for it is a clear enunciation of the truths of nature. It is characteristic of imperfection to be misunderstood, to require notes and explanations. We do not expect perfection in the world of mind, but we expect a more perfect state than existed two thousand years ago. As the race progresses, new and higher revelations are received. Revelation is progres- sive, and if it sets its landmarks, is certain to become an encumbrance. As mind advances, new truths flash out along its path, sending their illuminating rays into the past, and penetrating the darkness of the future.

Science, classified, demonstrated facts and conclusions drawn therefrom — moves slowly onwards, and the so-styled revelation has given way before it. One strong position after another has been surrendered; here a grim castle, there an impregnable redout, walled by superstition, has been evacu- ated, for science hears no capitulation or compromises; it heeds not the voice of any book, be it never so old or sacred. With inquisitive eye it pries into the mysterious, the hidden and obscure, and boldly enters the most sacred domain. With rude hand it takes down the holy volumes of the nations, and reasons on their words with cold impiety.

All thru the thick folios its explanations disagree from the word. How shall the truth be known?

Which explanation has been received? Which taught in the schools? Invariably the facts of science. Science is ever stern and inflexible. It never retreats from its positions, while it has forced the so-styled infallible revelations to bend before its invincible evidence.

Glance for a moment at the efforts which have been made to reconcile the first chapter of Genesis with the geological account of the creation. Volume after volume has been writ- ten, but facts remain unanswerable. There can be no recon- ciliation. Something cannot be created from nothing; the world, instead of six days, must have been countless millions of ages in forming. One says that the rainbow is a symbol of God's covenant with man. Who accepts this explanation,

THE PHILOlaOPHY OF SPIRIT. 437

or believes that no bow was painted on the storm billows before the flood? Nature has spoken and her revelation is received. The prism forms an artificial rainbow, and thereby explains how light striking the falling drops of rain is refracted. Wherever the shower has fallen, the bow has girted its brow — ay, millions of years before the flood.

Who believes in a universal deluge, or that the earth is flat, and the center of the universe, around which the sun and stars revolve?

The revelations of nature have been received. The most sacred books of the nations have answered their end, and no. longer satisfy. When urged on the present they are failures.

Look abroad over the world. Do you see harmony, con- cord, peace ? Rather the worst discord — of ideas and actions. Reform after reform is called for by those suffering under the grievous weight of existing institutions, while the old is left behind by reforms arising from its ruins. The new and the old have their advocates, who cling with fanatical devotion to their own systems, and listen to the claims of no other. The errors of the world cover it with a thick and impene- trable forest, which arises before the reformer like that which met the Pilgrims' gaze along the Atlantic's frozen shore. They met with difficulties, but with indomitable energy grap- pled with the ruggedness of nature. They cleared away the forest, blasted the rocks, and drove the plow over the hi Us where the red Indian still chased the deer with his swift arrow, and now the golden fields of corn bend to the winds.

Thus melts away the growth of error before the reformer. Trees of centuries' growth are to be felled; the soil amelio- rated by plow and harrow; the rank weeds, ready to spring up, mown down; and when everything is prepared, and the seeds of truth sown with a strong arm, they will bloom in immortal verdure ... To introduce a true and dignified rationalism is the prime object of spirits. ... To cut humanity loose from the fetters of superstition, and to free reason from the chain of creeds, is a work sufficient to enlist the services of arch-angels. . . .

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CHAPTER V.

CONSIDERATION OF SPIRITUAL PHENOMENA, AND THEIR DIS- TINCTION FROM SUCH As ARE NOT SPIRITUAL BUT DEPENDENT ON SIMILAR LAWS.

Introductory. — Division of the subject. — 1. Mesmerism; 2. Somnambulism; 3. Hallucinations; 4> Apparitions; 5. Dreams; 6. Influence of the medium; 7. Influence of condi- tions; 8. Position and Intelligence of the Communicating spirit.

CREDULITY, which believes without positive evidence, is as reprehensible as unyielding scepticism. Human nature, how- ever, inclines to one or the other extreme. It believes all, or rejects all, and the fable of "strainers at gnats, and swallow- ers of camels" is ever enacting. . . .

Man is a spirit as much while in the body as out of it, and consequently, as far as his corporeal state will permit, governed by the same spiritual laws. From this cause con- fusion arises, as there is a perfect blending of phenomena at the borders of the two stages; so great is this confusion that we can safely estimate that one-half of what are called spiritual manifestations are of mundane origin. Not that direct humbug is used, but mediums and circles are deceived.

In considering this subject, we shall, for brevity, divide it into : —

1. Mesmerism; 2. Somnambulism; 3. Hallucination, and Insanity; 4. Apparitions; 5. Dreams; 6. Influence of Medi- ums; 7. Influence of conditions on communications; 8. Posi- tion and intelligence of the Communicating spirits.

1. Mesmerism — Is the key to the spiritual philosophy, by which only it can be understood. One spirit in the body can

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 439

influence another spirit in the body. Such is the general statement of the law of psychological influence. We shall, in its proper connection, show that we influence mediums pre- cisely as the magnetizer does his subject, and that the body is nothing in the intercourse of spirits.

2. Somnambulism. — This is a state of mind very nearly allied to that produced by mesmeric passes, but is not induced by them. Volumes might be filled with facts, showing how, when apparently wrapt in profoundest slumber, the somnambulist has performed most surprizing feats, such as climbing from a chamber window to the roof without aid, which would be impossible for any-one to perform when awake; getting into and out of positions which appear incredible. It is said that a lad in the Highlands scaled a perpendicular precipice, which had never been scaled before, and had always been deemed inaccessible.

In this state, which verges on clairvoyance, and sometimes is identical with it, the spirit is freed from the body suffi- ciently to possess senses of its own, and have no use for those of the body. In it, beautiful pieces of music have been composed, sermons written, and surprizing mental operations performed. In pronouncing on such exhibitions, care should be used not to confound the operations of the mind with spiritual influence, as has been rashly done, for it must ever be remembered, man himself is a spirit, and capable of manifesting spiritual phenomena.

Still more caution should be used in the next class of facts. The mind remembers all the occurrences of its life. They may be dimmed on memory's tablet, but never effaced, and the proper conditions will awake them fresh as the occur- rences of the hour. Sydney Smith experienced this when drowning. He says that all the events of his life, even to the most minute, rushed, in a minute, before him. This is true of all spirits, and it is this that makes the good action and glorious thought bestow reward, while crime and evil inflict punishment by ever presenting their horrid forms. Under- standing this, we can readily account for those remarkable

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mental manifestations, when, during sickness or some de- rangement, the most -trifling occurrences absorb the whole mind. An ignorant servant girl, during sickness, converses in the learned languages quite to the astonishment of her attendants. Now, this was not spiritual communication in tongues, but a natural result of mental derangement. Years previous she had resided with a scholar, who often repeated these passages, and thus wrote them ineffaceably on her mind.

Another anecdote is told of an individual equally astonish- ing her employers by imitating the sounds of a violin. This was not the freak of a musically disposed spirit, but the girl had previously dwelt with a musician, and in her sleep imitated the sounds which then had vibrated on her mind. . . . . . Let us pass to what are called hallucinations, but which are really spiritual influences. In this catalog we shall place the oracles of all ages, the fantasies of their priests and priestesses, and the cases of real (not forged) witchcraft. History is filled with instances of such influence, which is classed under the general head of aberration of mind, by philosophers. One must suffice for illustration, and the reader can examine the history of the world for countless others.

Almost at random we select that of Joan of Arc, so won- derful that the world repeats the question of De Quincy: "What is to be thought of her?" The shepherd girl of Domremy for five centuries attracted the attention of man- kind. We give the details of her inspiration, because she illustrates the spiritual relations and nature of mind in a most beautiful manner. Her temperament was extremely sensitive and finely organized. She was modest and retiring. In her earliest childhood she held converse with spiritual beings, which she supposed fairies and elves, beneath an old tree by the banks of a little rivulet, which was consecrated as a place they loved, by the popular traditions. Her senses were so fine that she could see them, and hear exquisite music. In her thirteenth year she saw apparitions, and angel forms as bright as noonday. She was standing alone in her father's

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 441

garden, when suddenly she saw a most brilliant and beautiful light shining into her face, and while almost overcome by the wonderful sight, she heard a strange but sweet voice bidding her "be a good girl, and God would bless her." Her heart was pure and unsullied.

While alone with her flocks, another vision came. In the sky above her, wonderful and majestic forms floated, and she was addrest in mysterious language. Then it was told her that she should deliver France.

It is a singular inclination of the mind to endow the celes- tial being that most occupies the thoughts with the attributes of a special gardian. The Hebrews supposed that Jehovah had especial control of their nation, and the spiritual beings who guided their prophets they personified in him. In Greece the national gods spoke thru the oracles in the same manner. So Joan supposed that the spiritual being she saw, and who guided her, was the angel Michael. When on trial, several years after, she said, "I saw him with these eyes as plainly as I see you now."

She said: "When the saints were disappearing, I wanted to weep, and beseech I might be borne away with them; and after they had disappeared, I used to kiss the earth on which they rested."

She was deeply imprest with her revelations, and as an omnipotent power seemed to endow her with the mighty mission of delivering France, she would not be turned from it by any circumstance. She devoted herself, soul and body, to her country. She rejected the matrimonial offer of a young countryman, because she felt the necessity of her remaining free. Against the wishes of her parents and friends, she set out for the court of the French king, penni- less, and without any credentials, inspired by the irresistible destiny of her mission. Kebuff succeeded rebuff; but at last she imprest two gentlemen with her enthusiasm, and they conducted her to the throne. Still the king would not grant her audience. His courtiers questioned her. They were influenced by her enthusiasm, and recommended her to the

442 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

king. He, clouting her truthfulness, seated a follower on the throne, while he, in plain dress, mingled with the crowd. He thus proposed to test the spirit she said controlled her, for if she was simply an enthusiast she would address herself to the throne, but if guided by a higher power she would single him from the crowd.

The modest, retiring shepherd girl was conducted into the august presence. She seemed to forget herself and only remember her mission. She stood erect, and gazed around her; turning from the throne, she approached the king; "In the name of God," she said, "you are the king. I am Joan sent by God to aid you, and I announce that you shall be crowned at Rheims." She added, after a pause, "Why will you not believe me? God has pity on you and on your people; for St. Louis and Charlemagne are on their knees before him, pray- ing for you and them."

Her prophetic power was very clear. A soldier coarsely jested her in the streets, when she quietly replied that it did not become a man so near his end. That same day he was drowned. When equipt for war, in knight's armor, she declined accepting a sword, saying that there was one with five crosses lying in the church vault of St. Catharine's, and this, and none other, she would have. A messenger was sent, and the old, neglected sword found, as she had predicted. A banner was made, as she directed, and the assembled army saw her with exultation. Thousands of deserters again en- listed; so wild was the -army's enthusiasm that she at once became their chief.

She said that in seven days she would raise the siege of Orleans, and on the seventh day the English departed.

She said she would go out of Orleans in the morning, and return by a bridge then occupied by the enemy, and she accomplished the superhuman feat. After the siege of Orleans was raised, she desired the king to go to Rheims and be crowned. While he debated in his mind whether it would be expedient to ask her what her spirit said on the subject she read his thoughts and exclaimed, "You desire to know

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 443

what the voice says. I heard it declare, Daughter, Go for- ward ; I will be thy helper — Go ! And when I hear that voice I feel so joyous, it is too wonderful to tell."

The expedition to Rheims was full of danger, for the place was still in the hands of the enemy; but the king concluded to go He first besieged Troyes, but failing in provisions, a council of war recommended a retreat. It was, however, interrupted by Joan, who exclaimed, "The city is yours, if you remain before it two days longer." She now fulfilled her prediction, and without encountering a single shot he marched his army into Rheims, and was crowned King of France.

At her trial for witchcraft by the English, she predicted that Paris would be lost by them within seven years, which was also verified.

Lastly, Christlike, she foresaw her own destruction. "I shall only continue for a year or a little more," said she, "I must try to employ that year well." Her character sets scepticism at defiance, and on no other supposition but the interference of a superior intelligence can we account for the sudden transformation of a retired, modest shepherd girl into a hero possessing the original fire of the prophets of old.

Of greater influence were the beams of spiritual knowledge the spirit world poured forth thru the mediumistic powers of the sages and prophets of old; Mann, Zoroaster, Confucius, Christ, Mohammed, and Swedenborg, and an opposite influ- ence which impelled the conquerors of the world to scourge mankind, and an Alexander and Napoleon to become more destructive than the most savage beasts. . . .

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CHAPTER XII.

ANIMAL MAGNETISM: ITS PHILOSOPHY, LAWS, APPLICATION AND RELATION TO SPIRITUALISM.

FROM the normal state to the death of the body, or com- plete separation from it of the spirit, are successive steps by which the mind leaves the physical form. In the normal state it is inseparably united; then it rises partially above it, and manifests the newly-acquired faculty of impressibility; then it becomes magnetic and clairvoyant, and exhibits a noble freedom from corporeal restraints. It sees when the eyes are closed, hears the slightest sound when the ears are tightly sealed, and by its superior knowledge conclusively shows that the body is rather detrimental than auxiliary to the expansion of thought.

In the normal state there is a mutual dependence of the mind and body which qualifies man for the earthly sphere. Born in intimate relations, nourished together, supported by the aid they furnish each other, there is of necessity a remark- able dependence. But on the part of the mind, this is only seeming, not real. Back of the nerves and brain, of cell and cell-contents there is a necessity for higher and superior energy — just as beneath all the changing phenomena of external nature great and incontrovertible principles are seen upholding on their Atlas shoulders all created things. We must go farther than matter to account for the phenomena observed. We cannot refer mind entirely to the body. It does not originate in the chemical transformations in the brain; these were means of its manifestations; and, wnen the complicated nervous structure is described, it is considered as

THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRIT. 445

the engine without steam, nicely adjusted for the operations of intelligence, but inert until moved by that superior force derived from the spiritual aggregate of refined matter which composes the spirit body.

If mind was wholly dependent on the physical body it could not act without it. Clairvoyance would be as impossible for man as for brutes. But clairvoyance is established, and yields a weighty argument that mind can become independent.

If, in clairvoyance, all means of deception are destroyed, and the subject retains all the senses unimpaired, altho the external organs are sealed, then the independent existence of mind is demonstrated. Not only one case, but innumerable ones have occurred and are occurring of the strictest inde- pendent prevision and spiritual sight.

If the decline of the intellect in old age is brought forward in support of the dependence of the mind on the body the counterfact can be arrayed against the conclusions deduced therefrom. There are men who, like Humboldt, to their oldest age retain their intellectual powers unimpaired, and, like him, can note the decay of the physical form, mark each change, and calculate with the calm eye of philosophy the period of dissolution. He devoted life exclusively to the cultivation of his intellect, and advanced beyond the influence of physical decay. While his body was falling into the grave, his spirit was unimpaired, and ready to become an independent being as soon as the thread which bound it was broken.

Mind is an effect of superior causes, and if those causes do not reside in the physical form, there must be some higher source to which it is referable. Beneath the external phe- nomena is the spiritual nature of man, as incarnated in his spiritual body, to which mind must be referred.

There must be a medium of communication, otherwise no influence could pass from one influence to another. Even intangible motion cannot be communicated without the inter- vention of tangible matter. If one individual influences the thoughts and actions of another in a distant apartment, sim- ply by the effect of his will, then it is self-evident that some-

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thing passes from one to the other. This proposition does not require proof, for it is self-evident that nothing cannot create something.

What is this something? Facts conflict with the hypothesis of its being matter radiated from one individual to another, as light was once supposed to be transmitted. On the other hand, all these phenomena show a striking relationship to light, heat and kindred agents, and whatever explains one, is alike applicable to all. We have already discust this subject, and to the universal ether-ocean referred these phenomena, and as waves in this medium of a certain length, produce light, of another length, heat, of another, magnetism, so of another length they produce psychological phenomena. As a lumi- nous body is capable of producing waves of light, a living being is capable of producing zoethic waves. These waves are transmitted with greater rapidity than vibrations of light, their velocity being about 250,000 miles per second.

Now, let us inquire how, by means of these undulations, one individual can influence another.

According to the above theory, the brain vibrates like the strings of a musical instrument; and as no two brains are exactly alike, so no two vibrate alike. This illustration is more than merely an illustration. Both depend on similar laws, for the strings produce vibrations in the air which are felt by the tympanum of the ear; the brain excites undu- lations in ether which are imprest on other brains. The nervous system alone can feel these waves. The string of the instrument excites similar vibrations in contiguous strings ; for the atmosphere transmits the waves of sound, or being set in motion by one string, by its momentum sets the other string in vibration.

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CHAPTER XIV. PHILOSOPHY OF CHANGE AND DEATH, CONCLUDED.

A. Clairvoyant Revelation. — A Death-bed Scene. — Parting of Spirit and Body. — Spiritual Experience. — What they say of the Middle Passage. — Revelation of an Atheist. — Of a Spiritualist. — Robert Owen. — The Arcana of Death disclosed.

[ONE calm and beautiful evening I became entranced. A voice whispered to me, "I will show you now the philosophy of death." I seemed to leave the body. I existed outside of, and independent of, the physical form ; yet I observed a con- necting line uniting my spirit to its shrine. The spirit took my hand, and we past from my room into the air. The stars shone beautifully from the icy arch, and the moon flooded the landscape with a deluge of silver light. Silently in slum- ber, wrapt in its gray mantle, lay the weary earth. We seemed the only living beings of the shadowy landscape. On we past with the swift wings of thought until we came to a palatial dwelling. A light feebly shone from a single window, speaking of disease even in that sumptuous resi- dence. No bell announced our arrival, no knocker rang thru the hall. The window furnished an open way, and unan- nounced we entered.

On a couch lay a beautiful child, just blushing into wom- anhood. Disease had wasted the physical form until her spirit stood so far across the threshold of the spirit world as to cast over the dying clay the radiance of heaven.

The rose had vanished, but her eyes spoke volumes of an- gelic love, for they already saw the bright spirits around her.

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They met the fond expression of a grandmother and a sis- ter, ready to receive her in their extended arms.

At her side her mother bent beneath the intolerable weight of grief, and at the foot of the couch stood her stern father, his pride subdued by wretchedness. It was heart-rending to witness the scene. For death is a grim monster whose jaws receive our fondest loves, and hide them from our view for- ever; and unless we are imbued with the spiritual philosophy, dark indeed is the gloom which hangs like an impenetrable pall over the grave.

A holy radiance stole over the face of the dying girl. She extended her hand as if to grasp another's.

"How beautiful !" broke from her pale lips. "I come," and she went to those who awaited her.

The wasted form still reclined on the sumptuous couch, but the light of the spirit was gone. Dark and dreary was the scene in that apartment.

But what was the process by which the spirit was freed from its earthly body, and ushered into the next plane of its existence? Very simple and very beautiful. It was a higher degree of clairvoyance. Slowly the spiritual form withdrew from the extremities and concentrated in the brain. As it did so a halo arose from the crown of the head, which gradually increast. Soon it became clear and distinct, and I observed that it was the exact resemblance of the form it had left. Higher and higher it arose, until the beautiful spirit stood before us, and the dead body reclined below. A slight cord connected the two, which, gradually diminishing, became in a few minutes absorbed, and the spirit had forever quitted its earthly temple. New faculties were bestowed, new and dazzling sensations experienced and the grand spheres of spirit life darkened the mansions of earthly pride.

Thus I investigated this awful subject, which in the clouded minds of all exerts such fear and horror. Death has long been looked upon as a dreadful gulf, which divides the mor- tal life, perhaps, from oblivion, the vale of tears and sorrow where man's noble faculties perish in the darkness of eter-

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 449

&ity. Those who profess unflinching faith in Christianity are disturbed by fears and uncompromising douts, and see little hope for an existence beyond the "narrow house." No tid- ings are borne across the dark river. The promist land is a "bourne from whence no traveler returns" to tell its tales of joys or sorrows. A heavy veil of mist hangs over the rudi- mental sphere in regard to the great change all must meet when the body becomes worn and wasted, and the soul trem- bles on the brink of the awful gulf, which, it is taught, once past, could never be repast.

With these dark clouds encompassing the departing spirit, death is feared as the fell destroyer of the race, and under these impressions the safe and easy journey is a real gulf of anguish.

After my clairvoyant view of the sad yet joyful scene with which I began this chapter, I received communications from several spirits descriptive of their sensations at the approach of death. Some of these may be interesting, as they illustrate the grand philosophy we are striving to set forth. The following is one instance. H. T.]

"While a resident of earth, I was indoctrinated in the re- ligious absurdities which prevail in that sphere. I was taught to believe in a personal God and devil, one having supreme control over heaven and the other over hell; and, still more absurd, the mission of Christ. He came not, as I supposed, to forgive sins, but as a reformer, to point the way.

It was after a life spent in the pursuit of worthless ob- jects that I lay on the couch of death, and my thoughts awak- ened to unusual activity. I thought of all the past scenes of my life, and the frightful gulf I was soon to pass. As I thus reclined in gloomy thought, not a single star presented its beacon light to give me hope. Kind and regretful friends stood weeping at my bedside. 0, how I desired to speak one word, and tell them not to wring my soul with anguish by their tears. But I could not utter my request. Not a word past my frozen lips.

I had no treasure over the unfathomed gulf. Tho my

29

450 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

wife had gone before me to heaven, yet I did not suppose I should recognize her. Consequently, I had no treasure in the spirit-land. From the dark picture of my sorrowing friends I turned to one still darker. The dreadful gulf I was fast approaching presented an appalling aspect, which it seemed impossible to endure.

A deep sleep enshrouded my faculties. During its contin- uance I neither saw nor heard anything which past around me. This I had since learned was the sleep of death which I had so much feared — the gulf which had caused me so much anguish. After slumbering an indefinite period, I awoke into life in another sphere. A holy, sacred light pervaded all ob- jects, and a halo-like glory emanated from every object I saw. The first object I saw was she whom I once called my wife. She spoke to me in tones of love. My astonishment was boundless, my joy equally great, for it seemed that she had returned from a long absence to greet me with her love.

I looked around me. Below, and seemingly a part of my- self, lay a form of earth, cold, stiff and motionless. Around it stood friends weeping for a departed brother. That form I recognized as my own. The sorrowing I recognized as my friends. And yet, altho separated from my body, I was myself. While I was reflecting why this was as it appeared, my gardian spirit whispered, "You have crost the dark chasm of your imaginary terrors, and are in the land of spirits."

I answered that heaven could not be on earth; but she replied that "heaven was where there was a happy mind." I askt her again and again where I was, to receive the same response.

Still my friends sorrowed at my bedside; and while con- templating the strangeness of the scene, I first became aware that I was invisible to them. I could see them, but they could not recognize my presence.

My gardian said that brighter scenes of beauty awaited me, and beckoned me to follow. We seemed to tread upon the airy flood and not to be subject to the laws of gravita-

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 451

tion. TVe floated out on the polar current into the unlimited ocean of space.

My thoughts were aroused into extreme activity. I looked around and first began to realize and enjoy the second state of existence. The reality of that state I enjoyed; gazed on its radiant sun which filled the atmosphere with its beams, and was received as a brother by a society of spirits who were harmonious in their desires.

Here I enjoyed the love of kindred spirits. I rapidly arose from my former position, and all my errors were gradually exchanged for truth. I have often considered it very strange that thinking being's, enjoying the light and perfections of nature, should fall into such egregious errors as I did while on earth. But when I behold every hour, minds receiving supe- rior light falling into more absurd errors, I cease to wonder at my former ignorance. Here is no contention, but peace and harmony — not hell, but happiness. My punishment for my errors was the shame I experienced at my former de- lusions, which I knew all spirits discovered when they beheld me. But this soon past away and I was happy."

[The second communication which I introduce is of an en- tirely different character. H. T.]

"I was an atheist. How I came to assume that position may seem strange; but the same reasons have convinced the understanding of the majority of mankind. .

After a life spent in research into the concealed laws of nature, and the laws which govern the external world, I re- clined on the couch of death. No dreadful gulf was to be past, no frightful scene to be enacted. My mind was peace- ful and quiet, for I had done my duty. I felt the calm result- ing from an upright life. Soon I was to pass from earthly scenes forever, becoming as tho I had never been. Like the animal whose existence terminates at the same point where it commences, so I supposed it would be with me; for we might as well expect the hum of the bee when the insect had past, as life after the body was dead. This was my philosophy, and from my material standpoint I could see none more

452 THE ARCANA OP NATURE, OB

reasonable. I felt the dreamy sleep approach. My senses were entranced; my speech was gone; I knew I was dying. I slept a dreamy slumber.

After an indefinite period past in oblivion, I awoke to life. A divine glow pervaded all objects; my thoughts ex- panded; oblivion was past; my spirit ransomed, yet I knew it not. My belief was unshaken, and I still awaited the ap- proach of death. I lookt below me on a rigid corpse, which I knew was myself; yet I was an identity. My mind was confused and bewildered. It seemed as if I was dreaming; yet the str.ange scene and its reality convinced my understand- ing. I disbelieved what I before believed, and believed that which I had always regarded as folly. All my theories I knew to be false, for there was a reality beyond the grave.

ft was years, however, before I entirely overcame the idea that I might possibly be dreaming. After I had mingled with the millions of earth's departed, and beheld the grandeur of this sphere, the vague idea of my living a dream-life would unavoidably steal over me.

But did you not receive punishment? No more torment, no severer punishment, than that of remaining in the belief that I dreamed and the unsatisfying state of mind I possest on earth. We know no hell but that which is in the mind — no devil but that which every man becomes unto himself." . .

[As further illustrative of this interesting subject, I will introduce a short article from my friend Robert Owen, given me soon after his death. The reader must bear in mind that each spirit is held responsible for his own sentiments.]

"Tho we never met in the body, I was strongly attracted to you, and received with pleasure the letters you wrote in an- swer to mine. Most sincerely do I thank you for that heart- ful communication which I received, previous to my death, from my most respected and esteemed friend, Dr. Hare,* of the spirit world. You know not the comfort and pleasure I received from it. True to his. promise, he was the first to

* Alluding to a communication from him thru me. See Appen- dix. H. T.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 453

welcome me to my new home. His youth was renewed, and joy, pleasure and goodness beamed from his countenance as he benignantly gave me his hand, and raised me from the ruins of my mortality.

How blessed is spiritualism? Had I died in my infidelity, most dark, painful and cruel would have been my transi- tion ; as it was, it was sweet, pleasant and joyful. I had lived more than my allotted time on earth — so long that my body had nearly perisht atom by atom. But I accomplished a great, noble work, such as no other individual could or would ever have accomplished. Peculiar circumstances and influences developt in my mind ideas none others ever possest ; and for half a century I labored to bild a social fabric, which, in goodness, purity, spirituality, brotherly affection, and practical benefits, should shame the old, time-worn, and obso- lete systems of the world founded in sin, error and corrup- tion. For fifty years I labored unfalteringly, happily at this task. You may say I accomplished little. So I sometimes thought; but I now see that a great good has grown and will grow out of my efforts. I appealed to the wrong source. I petitioned and memorialized the rotten, tyrannical gov- ernments of the world, instead of man himself. I scorn the idea now.

In this sphere those three great curses which I combated while on earth are removed. I found a sufficient number to afford me sympathizing association such as I never dreamed of. Those three plagues of the world are its superstitions, by which it tramples on the weak martyr, and crucifies its saviors, to glorify them in succeeding ages ; legalized marriage, consigned to the mummery of a priesthood, from which arise all the prostitutions of the world and the degradation of the female sex ; and private property, the distinction of mine and thine, from which arise all the robberies, frauds, falsehoods, and crimes of the world. Against these I have ever waged war, and ever shall until they are overthrown. I find this is my heaven. Surrounded by a group of kindred minds, we all, as one, strive to perfect a social system which we shall im-

454 THE ARCANA OF NATURE, OR

press on the impressible of earth's inhabitants, and endeavor to actualize in the world life. Let kindred spirits be drawn together in harmonious groups; let them be surrounded by proper conditions, and crime, error and folly would rapidly give place to goodness, love, virtue and general peace. War would perish, kings and rulers cease to be, love and joy reign over the delighted people.

Of this I shall write in detail another time, and in a more fitting place. Other spirits have given my experience at death when they wrote their own. No one, however, can sufficiently appreciate the value of the boon conferred by spiritualism. Belief is everything while crossing the dark river. One spirit voice converts the darkness into light, in which the forms of loved and cherished ones appear. EGBERT OWEN."

Such are the arcana of death. It is not a fearful but a pleasant change; from the chrysalis state the spirit bursts into full maturity. The earth is the infant school where the spirit prepares for eternity, and the infant sustains the simi- lar relations to the man that the man sustains to the spirit.

But the transition is not always accompanied with such sur- roundings as here described. Often men are buried beneath avalanches of rocks and ice, or miles of ocean; in deep wells or bottomless fissures. How can the spirit in such cases de- part? Does physical matter wall it in as it does the body? This cannot be. As a crystalline body transmits light, so mat- ter transmits spirit. As one is transparent to light, the other is transparent to spirit, and offers no obstructions to its pas- sage. The solid rock, or the wall of a room does not offer any resistance to the passage of a spirit more than the thin and yielding air. The relation between matter and spirit, or spirit and matter, is not the same as exists between spirit and spirit, or matter and other matter. Spirit holds the same relations to spiritual things as man holds to physical, but gross matter is to spirit a nonentity so far as it offers ob- struction to progression.

With these illustrations, the philosophy of the great change

THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRIT. 455

becomes comprehensible. One thing is clearly ascertained — death does not change the mind, but only the body, from which the mind is withdrawn. In whatever condition the spirit was when death came, there will it be in the future, until it progresses from it: how far it is advanced in love and wisdom when it sinks into the clairvoyant sleep of death, there will it awake, and at the precise point where the mortal fell asleep, there will the immortal commence a new life, with all its former acquisitions, and no more.

Death thus divested of the terrors with which mythology has invested it, is but a pleasant journey from one clime to another, painless and sweet ; a peaceful sleep, silent and pro- found; an awakening of the spirit in the spirit-land. When the muscles contract it is not with pain, but by the changing electric equilibrium induced by the departing spirit.

Man, when matured by age, dies, as the ripe fruit drops from its stem. Death begins when the body commences to deteriorate and when sensation ceases its task is ended.

Such is the gateway to eternal life — the sleep of the body — the heaven of the spirit.

45G rME ARCANA otf NATUKE, OR

CHAPTER XVIII.

SPIRIT LIFE.

MANY a savage will in the distant future arise to a plane of development which we cannot now comprehend; the scorned criminal will surpass the piety of Channing, and the miserable beggar become a more profound philosopher than Descartes. Such is the consoling doctrine of progress. We should pity these outcasts, while we recognize the presence of an immortal spirit germ, capable of infinite unfolding. A diamond is concealed beneath the reeking rubbish, which will one day burst forth in brilliancy. The rudiments of a mind exist, which, when placed in the proper conditions, will sur- pass the piety of a Paul, the philosophy of a Herschel, the grasp of thought of a Humboldt. This is the doctrine of reason, based on the progressive nature of man.

Men are not alike, nor can they ever be. Conditions sur- rounding them will stamp their character indelibly. Yet all can be good and great. The brutal men of the world are results of brutal conditions, and by making the conditions harmonious a millennium will be ushered in.

Men never cultivate all their faculties. One philosophizes at the expense of his moral and social natures, another moralizes at the expense of his intellect; none cultivate all these equally. The constant use of one set of faculties, and the inactivity of the others, induces disease. As the mind holds an intimate relation to the body, any mental disturb- ance equally affects the physical system; and the excessive activity of one portion of the brain, and the inactivity of the remaining portion, induce inhannony, and thereby bodily dis- ease and intellectual eccentricity. Why are there such multi- tudes of wrecks of humanity dragging their wretched forms

THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRIT. 457

thru life? Simply because the law of harmonious develop- ment has not been heeded. Infinite time only can complete this harmony. The man who cultivates his whole being, and not a part to the neglect of the remainder, may not flash out in an unexplored field beyond the extreme outposts of his daring predecessors, but he will be founded on a solid base, and in no danger of a fall. The mind should grow as a tree, each year adding a new circle to its former limits. Then it will be always prepared for the change.

There is no forgiveness. Law pays not the least regard to prayers or intercessions. Do wrong, that is become inhar- monious with yourself, or with Nature, and you will be inevi- tably punished. You cannot escape until the utmost farthing is paid.

If you lose a limb, is it ever restored? If you are burned, does not pain follow? Is not a scar left? This is a bitter proposition, but it is, nevertheless, true. The contrary doc- trine of atonement is ruinous belief, which no one in his manly moments can entertain. Man cannot do wrong a life- time, and then, by a deathbed prayer, obtained thru fear, be forgiven, and enter heaven as happy as saints. This is not a doctrine to live by, however good it may appear to die by. Such prayers, such repentance, avail nothing. The spirit retains its wounds and its stains. The wounds may heal but scars remain to record the laceration. Man should live right on earth, and then, when death throws open the portals of the spirit-world, he will but step across the threshold, from one room to another. Death does not close the period of repentance. Whenever the mind resolves to change, and thenceforth become better, more upright and manly, it can do so.

Earth is the primary school, where mind is prepared for the college of eternity. If the youth ignorant of his gram- mar or arithmetic should be sent to Harvard or Yale, he would find it an extremely difficult task to keep with his class. His classmates, having a basis already made, and minds trained in the processes of thought, will learn so much faster than he

458 THE AEG AN A OF NATURE, OB

who is not trained by previous study, that lie will be dis- couraged, and his mind thrown into constant confusion.

Such is the situation of those who leave earth unprepared for the next state. They are freshmen among sophomores. They want congeniality, sympathy, guidance.

Conditions are changed. The slave is a slave no more. The inferior races cannot be subdued and abused. The strong cannot triumph over the weak, for right makes might, and not might right. The means of progress are thrown within the reach of all, and those who desire can advance much faster than on earth.

The son, gone before, may become the teacher of the father who remains, and, many a slave, toiling in the stagnant rice swamps, amid rank, miasmatic exhalations, will in future ages instruct his brutal master in the beautiful doctrines of love and peace. The red man, who flees before civilization towards the setting sun, has capabilities transcending mortal conception, and one day will call us all pupils to his revelations.

However high the attainments of mind, however exalted its aspirations, still higher can it attain. The wisest have a meager knowledge. Man looks upward to the unknown with humiliation; and the angel from his star-lit home looks up- ward likewise, and when he beholds the wisdom beyond, the knowledge he has acquired becomes an insignificant leaf from an interminable forest. Thus forever. There are no limits to the wisdom of the universe, no limits to the capabilities of the human mind for the reception of truth and the enjoyment of happiness.

The astronomer (in the spirit-realm) is not confined to one world; but rambles at will over the universe, exploring the worlds he dimly saw as points of light thru his telescope. Then his heart beat high, and his voice was low and agitated as he strained his vision to catch a glimpse of the sparkling point of light; now he journeys over it, and notes all the variations he observed. He can stand and look on revolving systems projected against the blue groundwork, propt by

THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRIT. 459

Titan's hands, and watch their stupendous movements, and on that magnificent map draw his mathematical diagrams, and develop by calculation and observation the silent forces which control the rotating globes.

The poet from sequestered retreats weaves the subtil web of fancy, adorning a wild thought with exquisite diction. He roams in worlds of his own creation. There he holds the mirror of his soul to nature and paints the flitting shadows as they come and go in infinite variations. He writes not for himself alone. The poets of the past are his fellows. . . .

The chroniclers of bygone ages discuss the events of the past, draw inferences, and prophesy. Those old historians of a thousand ages, thru which they have lived, having a deep interest in the actions of nations and races, can give lessons in philosophy deep as the oracles of the gods.

In such minds often originate ideas which, imparted to some impressible mind on earth, overturns all previous theories, and lights up a world-wide conflagration. . . .

There is no hope for the suicide to better his condition by plunging recklessly into the unknown. Death should not be de- sired. It comes soon enough, at least before you are prepared. Your motto should be, I will leave the world better than I found it. Each should employ the talent he possesses. What use is death? If you should ask the disembodied suicide, who hung himself because mad with care or misfortune, if death had removed these or bettered his condition, his answer would be a wail of agony. To avoid a few forebodings, he plunged into the sea of despair.

Men look for heaven at an indefinite period ahead, and think it forms no part of their daily lives. They do not endeavor to make heaven of their lives, each day becoming better. Heaven and hell are not localities, but conditions of mind. The earth is as well adapted for man's happiness as the spheres for the happiness of spirits, and there should happiness begin. . . . Some look far ahead and then see a time when the weary soul will find rest. Discouraged and dissatisfied with the world, they can see no hope but in the

460 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT.

future life. Then their fancy paints Eden, and they imagine that the good and great will meet to sing forever on golden harps the praise of God. . . . Their clouded minds cannot perceive the grand scheme of causes which is at work elevating mankind. They see no good thing in the human heart. . . . They labor under a great error which is ruinous in its results. Instead of bringing their religion home, and embodying it in their lives, they have considered the world a vale of tears, to be endured until death sets the spirit free. . .

Heaven is around you. In your minds you should nourish it, until it grows into your life, modifying your actions, har- monizing your thoughts and desires. The good deed, the kind word, the loving heart — these are the elements of heaven. If you do a deed of charity, making comfortable the cheerless home, adding fuel to the fire, food to the empty larder; if you suppress the conflagration of passion; if you control the wayward desire which threatens to plunge you into immoral actions — have you not created a heaven in your breast?

Do not look across the shade of death for heaven, for it is in your own hearts, and you can go on cultivating its presence until your most secret thought will breathe naught but peace, love and good will toward your fellow-men.

Patient reader, hoping to welcome you to this clime, of which, with feeble effort, we have endeavored to enlighten you, we bid you adieu.

APPENDIX.

[Extracts from sundry letters from Hudson Tuttle to Emmet Densmore, written March and April, 1908.]

BERLIN HEIGHTS, OHIO. DEAR DR. DENSMORE:

I send you the Origin of Man, on page 6 of which and on following pages, are passages about living matter which I had in mind; but on looking at them, I see this refers to Arcana of Nature. I think you will get me into the study of my own books as never before. I have always referred this statement to Origin of Man — published later than Arcana of Nature. I suppose this was because the critic in the Inde- pendent made so much fun over it as a statement worthy of an idiot or a lunatic. Really it is stated much stronger in Arcana of Nature, beginning with Par. 7, Page 17. Yet more so in Par. 10, in which Inertia is thrown aside, this so-called axiom being to the writers not self-evident but the reverse. I know not if this was a new statement at the time, but the textbooks in colleges taught that Inertia was a funda- mental attribute of matter. Now, in a recent article, Prof. Edgar Larkin, of the Lowe Observatory, advocates this very theory, taking Professor Thomson's "electrons," and stating that their pulsating (vibrating) centers of force live and think! That is what Arcana substantially says; but the critics were so amused over the idea of a "living earth," a "live rock," that they had no time to think of the more astounding statement.

I note what you say of Lamarck. I was imprest that he, and later, Alexander Humboldt, were associated with other

461

462 APPENDIX.

intelligences assisting in my writings, tho at the time I did not know their position in the world of thought. In fact, I only came to know this years after. But this is sub rosa. I do not wish to quote great names, and it has not been their desire — the guides always saying my writing was composite from many, welded together in passing thru my brain. But it seems to me if Lamarck had so clearly stated these laws, the opponents of Darwin would at once have brought them forward. In fact, why were they not accepted until Darwin put forth his theory? Natural Selection is only one of many causes, and the great Central Cause embracing all in its infi- nite sphere lies beyond in the spiritual part of the Cosmos.

I cannot help you much in establishing priority, for the thoughts came to me — I know not from where, or whether old or new. They certainly were new to the textbooks of that day. But I do not care about priority. I know that not only these points but all was given me — to my own mind — fresh and new. I could not distinguish what was new, or distinctively from my teachers, from that taught in books, unless they referred to authorities, when they thought their position would be strengthened thereby.

I want the book, Arcana of Nature, judged on its merits, as well as by its source. I have often thought had I been a "Professor," and set forth this vibratory theory of thought with the brain for a pulsating center and receiver, I might have received a Nobel prize, if such had been provided in those days. When, in Origin of Man it was said "Matter is living," the critics, especially one in the Independent, shrieked with laughter. Now, every scientist holds this idea of matter.

There is one point I want to emphasize; it is this: The Arcana of Nature was proposed by its authors to be a basis on which they were to bild a spiritual temple. In the second volume and other books they unfolded the theory of evolution into the realm of spirit. Spirit is governed by law; the

APPENDIX. 46.3

spirit world is a realm of law. Spiritual beings are evolved by law. Are not these new ideas? They are the pervading and central ideas of all my writings.

My volume Origin of Man is really an enlargement of the chapter on Man, in Arcana. I was always more pleased with it than with any other of my books. It seemed so complete and makes its points with such mathematical certainty.

I would like to call your attention to a passage on Pages 197-8 — enclosed in brackets, which details some experiments in germ culture. Now this passage might be taken as written by an editor, or some outsider. Why it was thus marked I never could understand. It might be inferred that I inserted it. And as I did not perform the experiments, that would be an error. I stumbled at it at the time, but then thought it not my place to judge what should be expunged. I now think it better to leave out this passage. In some respects the experiments are remarkable, but their value depends on the character of those who make them, and in the present case, there are no data,

Volume IE of Arcana of Nature, afterwards published under the title of Philosophy of Spirit, was written imme- diately after the first volume, as its sequel. It was written by an entirely new influence, or by intelligences distinct from the others, and who bilt on the base prepared. I felt as tho a new element had come into the circle of those who had been with me. The style indicates this. This second volume was mostly, if not all, written before the first volume was pub- lished. I never regarded the book with much favor, for it seemed to me that entirely too much space was given to the discussion of light, heat, electricity, etc. It has been years since I read the book, and to-night, looking it over, I am struck with the marvelous manner in which the way is pre- pared by this objectionable feature for the introduction of spirit ether and the wave theory of thought.

464 APPENDIX.

There is this feature noticeable in my writings. What is •written is always a small part of what comes to me. Thus as regards the cell. What was thrown into my mind on that subject would have made a volume. Yet the matter written was the cardinal idea condenst.

The automatic and inspirational, even now, are so shaded together that I am at a loss to determine by which method much of my writings is achieved. The inspiration when it comes to some point that my mind fails to grasp will sud- denly change into the automatic and my hand seems to know more than my mind.

The writing of this Memoir has been perplexing, as that portion of my life mostly seems a dream, and I have not a scrap of data to aid my memory. But I have endeavored to make a plain, simple story of the occurrences.

My memory normally is strong, but thoughts which came in the sensitive state made no lasting impression, and I am un- able to recall why or how any passage came to be written. . . . In reply to your inquiry, while I knew Robert Owen personally, and no dout gave him seances as I did to so many others, I cannot recall time or place.

I have often discust in my mind whether it would have been better or worse for me had I been able to give all my time and energies to the psychic side of my life, instead of dividing them between that and the arduous labors involved in my business life. I confess the burden at times has been almost more than I could bear, but, as I have said, when it prest too heavily, always relief has come. I once said to a friend that if I had to live my life over I should take the world side, for I have had rather a genius for getting on when I applied myself in that direction.

There is one thing that has occurred to me that perhaps may have an interest in a record of my psychic life. It is that the influences do not come at all times. Sometimes I

APPENDIX. 465

have prolific periods, and again, I go over a desert country. For days, weeks, even months, I feel deserted and alone. The very fountains of thought seem dried up. No incitement can compel me to write, or if I attempt, it is worthless, or worse, unreliable. These are the lonely intervals I spoke of. It sometimes seems to me that I have never written anything of value, and am sure I never can again. At the same time, when I study it, this is one of the most convincing tests that some superior intelligence comes into my life.

In regard to diet, I have never been a meat-eater. Almost the first communication we had from spirits was that meat was bad food, and killing wrong. Father at once adopted the idea and for many years only guests had meat at his table. We have chicken, now and then, with fish — not often. My digestion has always been such that I never took a thought of my food. Whatever comes I use, always making out with cereals and vegetables as far as I can. We have tea and coffee — weak — the water is too hard — I have thus avoided it.

(Written in January, 1909)

In the current Progressive Thinker (Jan. 23rd, 1909) I publish a story for children, entitled The Hoarding Squir- rel. Its interest lies in the fact that after I hav been engaged in the exacting conditions of the higher inspirations, I am often in a state of collapse. Then a different influence, of a spritelier nature, is wont to control me, and I thus pro- duce stories, verse, short paragrafs or personal matter. I presume I hav a hundred of these stories, many of which hav been publisht in local papers. They are prompted by various inspirers, and the contrast they present with my ordi- nary works is plainly observable.

The squirrel story is true to the letter. It all happend right here, but I never thought of making a story of it unti1 one evening, weary with writing, there came this message: "Now we'll hav a story of the squirrel" — and I was rested by

466 APPENDIX.

writing some more ! Some of these stories are wierd and hav a spiritual significance.

Fraternally yours,

HUDSON TUTTLE.

THE ORIGINAL PLATES.

DEAR DR. DENSMORE:

All editions of Arcana, Volume I, were from the same plates. The treatise by Datus Kelley, which appeared in the Appendix of the first edition, had nothing to do with my work. Mr. Kelley availed himself of the opportunity to add it to the book. I could not object, under the circumstances, altho my inspirers said it was all wrong; therefore I do not wish it to appear in this new book.

You can assure your publishers that the book is substantially as first printed.

I am, ever,

HUDSON TUTTLE. BERLIN HEIGHTS, OHIO. June 3rd, 1908.

STATEMENT OF PROFESSOR LELAND

SAMUEL PHELPS LELAND, Ph.D., LL.D., Scientific and Literary Lecturer.

SEABREEZE, FLORIDA,

May 26th, 1908.

Sometime about 1858 or '59, while I was engaged in the study of Geology, and in making surveys and giving lectures on the science, I first saw a panorama of creation painted by Hudson Tuttle some time before. It was a long canvas mounted on a portable frame and made to wind from one perpendicular cylinder on to another. After carefully examining the painting, I secured it, and used it for several years to illustrate my scientific lectures in various parts of

APPENDIX. 467

the United States. It was scientific in its details, and was so arranged as to present to the onlooker a continuous and con- nected story of creation, each great period blending into another without a break. Each geologic period was shown by the characteristic animal and vegetable forms which inhab- ited the earth at that time, surrounded by the conditions of that age. It was a wonderful work, and I found it of inval- uable service to me. I never had to make an apology for any inaccuracy in it.

(Signed) SAMUEL PHELPS LELAND.

STATEMENT OF M. H. AND M. L. DARROW.

MILAN, OHIO,

May 30th, 1908. DEAR TUTTLE:

Perhaps you will think us a little slow in replying to your inquiry, and we fear our reply will be of little use to you. At the time you wrote the Arcana, my wife (born the same year as yourself) was a school-girl at Berlin Heights (1853-4) under the tuition of Henry Armstrong, and well remembers that your writing and painting was the subject of everyday conversation among the students and their parents. My wife at that time was a writing medium of considerable note, locally. For myself, I was only a boy but little older than yourself, with no knowledge, or thought, of the occult; but my brother, twenty years older, investigated the matter of your work, and I often heard him say it was the most won- derful phenomenon of the century. But he, like almost all of that period, has crost the divide.

These recollections are all I have to offer you. I will be pleased if they can be of any service to you.

With great esteem, (Signed) M. H. and M. L. DARROW.

INDEX TO INTRODUCTION.

PAGE:

Arcana of Nature, origin and production 65

Armstrong, Ira, first employer of Davis 26

Aschenbrenner, Dr. N. M. Transl. Arcana into German.. 58

Blake, Wm. clairvoyant 92

Boehme, Jacob 91

Breathing, abnormal in psychic state 12

Buechner, Dr. and Arcana of Nature 58

" meets Tuttle in America 58

Colville, W. J., memoir of 74-85

" early psychic experiences 75

" influenced by Mrs. Richmond 76

" platform work at 17 77

" lectures in America 78

" remarkable healing incident 78

" clairvoyance, incidents 79-82

" distinguishes telepathic and spirit messages .... 84

" personal benefits from mediumsnip 85

Davis, A. J., memoir 23-38

" first mesmeric experiences 26

" visions and trances 27

" lectures and authorship in New York 28

" various productions 31

" "Superior Condition*' defined 33-35

" explains method of quoting from books he has

never seen 99-100

Darrow, M. H. and M. L., testimony concerning Tuttle. . 466 Dunbar, Rev. Sir Wm., testifies to Mrs. Richmond's

powers 70

Eliot, George, acknowledges inspirational power 93

Felton, Prof., testimony regarding Mrs. Richmond 69

Fishbough, Rev. Wm., as scribe of A. J. Davis 28

Geological panorama, painted by Tuttle 59

Goethe, on inspiration of his poems 96

Hawthorne, inspirations of writers 94

Hopken, Count, relates incident regarding Swedenborg.. 18

Humboldt, associated in production of Arcana 461-2

Ibsen, inspiration described 93

"Independent," criticism of Arcana 462

Inertia, doctrine enunciated in Arcana 461

470 INDEX TO INTRODUCTION.

PAGE:

Joan of Arc, visions of 91

Kant, investigation into Swedenborg's career 15

" quotation regarding Swedenborg's philosophy 87

" demonstration of immortality 87-88

Lamarck, associated in production of Arcana 461-2

Lardner, Prof., steamship navigation 9

Larkin, Prof., confirms Arcana regarding Inertia 461

Leland, Prof., corroborative statement concerning Tuttle 466

Le Verrier, discovery anticipated by Davis 36

Levingston, Wm., mesmerizes A. J. Davis 26

Lombroso's classification of Swedenborg 90

Lyon, Dr., succeeds Levingston as Davis's operator 28

Maedler, discovery anticipated by Davis 36

Marteville, Madame, lost receipt found by Swedenborg.. 17

Mozart, early development 92

Myers, F. W. H., eulogy on Swedenborg 19

Nature's Divine Revelations, origin and synopsis 28-30

Olofsohn, O., death foretold by Swedenborg 15

"Philosophy of Spirit," origin and aim 61, 463

extracts from 407-460

Plates of Arcana, statement regarding 465

Poole, C. O., Statement regarding Davis's Clairvoyance 100

Queen Luisa Ulrica, Swedenborg's message to 18

Richmond, Cora L. V., memoir of 65-73

early psychic experiences 65-67

lectures in New York 67

" England 69

pastoral work in Chicago 70

writings of 71

own account of her inspiration 71-73

Rossetti's "Blessed Damozel," comparisons 97

Sand, George, describes origin of first novel 95

Shakespeare on genius 95

Shelley on inspiration and genius 97

"Soul in Human Embodiments," by Mrs. Richmond 71-88

Spencer, Herbert, and spirit phenomena 9

"Spiritual Diary" of Swedenborg, quotation from 12

Stockholm, Swedenborg's clairvoyance of its great fire.. 15-16

Subconscious mind, inadequacy of theory 37

Subliminal self, theory unsatisfactory 37

"Superior Condition," defined by A. J. Davis 33-35

INDEX TO INTRODUCTION. 471

PAGE:

Swedenborg, memoir 11-22

first spirit apparition 13

" correspondence with Wesley 13-14

forecasts of death 14-15

clairvoyant account of Stockholm fire 15-16

" incident of Marteville lost receipt 17

psychic message to Queen Ulrica 18

compared with Socrates 19

own view of his spiritual experiences 22

beneficial effect of psychic experiences 7

Tennyson's testimony to the reality of spirit 98

Thackeray, on the "afflated" style 95

" tells how "The Newcomes" was written 95

Wesley and Swedenborg incident 13-14

Willis, N. P., account of Mrs. Richmond's powers 68

Wordsworth, Wm., description of "superior condition".. 35

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