Skip to main content

Full text of "Arcana of spiritualism: a manual of spiritual science and philosophy"

See other formats 


.<r 


£•  J 


^^ 


-••  -V 


. .  ■>• 


hi!*     *£. 


In.  - 


,Hq, 


S*  .>** 


"  •  -  °         «5>  °fr 

-h,    '"    «*    ...,    *>>    "" 


**o« 


•  »  1 


»  f  1 


*  *  »  o  c       ^^ 


^  0 


0  6  °   "    •   *  . 


.4    P>. 


4?^ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2011  with  funding  from 
The  Library  of  Congress 


http://www.archive.org/details/arcanaofspirituaOOtutt 


ARCANA 


OF 


SPIRITUALISM: 


A   MANUAL   OF 


Spiritual  Science  and  Philosophy. 

BY  HUDSON  TUTTLE, 


*  + 


AUTHOR  OF  "LIFE  IN  THE  SPHERES,"  "ARCANA  OF  NATURE,"  "  ORIGIN 
AND  ANTIQUITY  OF  MAN,"    "CAREER  OF  THE   GOD-IDEA  IN    HIS- 
TORY," "CAREER  OF  THE  CHRIST-IDEA  IN  HISTORY,"  ETC. 


When  Alps  dissolve,  and  worlds  shall  fade  away, 
When  suns  go  out,  and  stars  no  longer  blaze, 

I  scarcely  shall  have  reached  my  primal  day. 
I,  only  I,  can  claim  to  be  the  real~ 
I  am  the  type  of  Nature,  — her  Ideal. 

Spirit. 

The  Soul  is  immortal.  —  Pythagoras. 


/ 

i 

BOSTON: 
ADAMS  &  CO.,  25  BROMFIELD  STREET 

1871. 

0/  ■ 


7* 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871, 

By  ADAMS  &   CO., 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


Stereotyped  by  C.  J.  Peters&>  Son,  Boston. 


Printed  hy  Geo.  P.  Carter  &  Co. 


PREFACE. 


INE  is  the  task  of  an  amanuensis,  writing 
that  which  is  revealed  to  me.  Doubtless 
I  have  often  failed  in  my  endeavor  to  compre- 
hend the  meaning  of  the  impressions  I  have  re- 
ceived, or  in  clothing  them  with  appropriate  words. 
I  presume  many  questions  remain  unanswered. 
The  field  of  inquiry  is  vast  as  space  and  time ; 
and  often  there  are  not  words  to  describe  the 
spiritual  realities  and  relations  which  hitherto  have 
not  been  unfolded  to  mortal  understanding. 

I  have  faithfully,  carefully,  and  conscientiously 
presented  my  impressions  as  they  have  been  given 
me  by  my  masters,  the  invisible  spirits,  claiming 
neither  the  honor  nor  dishonor  pertaining  thereto. 
I  have  written  in  hours  of  pleasure  and  of  pain ; 
when  life  was  a  joy,  and  when,  overtasked,  it  be- 
came a  weariness :  but  ever  have  I  been  cheered 
by  the  presence  of  spirit-friends,  and,  bathed  in 
their  magnetism,  been  supremely  blessed. 


a  Preface. 

I  cannot  resist  expressing  my  thanks  to  the 
many  friends  who  have  aided  me  in  publishing 
and  disseminating  my  previous  works,  and  my 
appreciation  of  the  kind  words  they  have  spoken 
and  written.  Many  of  them  I  may  never  meet 
on  earth ;  but  they  will  be  ever  cherished  in  most 
sacred  remembrance,  until  we  clasp  each  other's 
hands  on  the  "Ever  Green  Mountains  of  Life." 

H.  T » 

Boston,  1870. 


CONTENTS. 


General  Statement  of  Principles      .         .         .13 

I. 

Introduction 19 

II. 

Evidences    or  Spiritualism  :    a   Discussion    of    the 
various  Theories  advanced  for  its  Exposition. 

The  necessities  of  immortal  being.  Proofs  of  immor- 
tality drawn  from  the  constitution  of  the  mind.  Science 
not  necessarily  conflicting.  Are  we  self-deceived  ?  Unre- 
liability of  the  senses  in  the  border-land.  Hallucinations. 
The  circle,  —  are  its  members  hallucinated  ?  Theories 
examined.  Evil  spirits.  The  Devil.  Electricity.  Mag- 
netism. Od  force.  Failure  of  any  one  theory  to  explain 
all  phenomena.  Interposition  of  spirits  must  be  accepted. 
Identification  of  spirits 25 

III. 

Evidences  of  Spiritualism. 

Materialism.  The  impossible.  The  positive.  The 
senses.  Belief  educational.  Why  have  not  these  phe- 
nomena occurred  before  ?  Spirit  is  individualized  force. 
One  fact  of  more  value  than  a  thousand  theories.  How 
is  it  possible  for  spirits  to  return  ?    Not  new.     First  man- 


6  Contents. 

ifestations.  They  assume  a  new  character.  They  extend 
to  other  localities.  Spiritualism  in  France.  Unexpected 
report.  The  evidence  of  psychometry.  Spirit-identifica- 
tion by  psychometry.    What  good?    Personal  experience     58 

IV. 

Matter  and  Force:   their  Relations  to  Spirit. 

The  present  tendency  of  thought.  Force.  Motion,— 
resolution  of  into  heat,  light,  electricity,  magnetism. 
Atomic  attraction.  Chemical  affinity.  Theories.  Spec- 
ulations. Grand  cycle  of  correlation.  Cause  of  motion 
in  living  beings.  Cause  of  heat,  light,  electricity.  Rela- 
tion of  this  doctrine  to  life.     Intelligence.     Spirit     .        .    91 

V. 

Physical  Matter  and  Spirit. 

Divisibility  of  matter.  Its  eternity.  What  is  matter  ? 
What  an  atom  ?  An  attribute  ?  A  principle  ?  Proper- 
ties ?  Resolution  of  all  phenomena.  The  chemical  atom. 
The  basis  of  positive  science.  The  theory  of  atoms  and 
of  forces.  Shape  of  the  atom.  Space,  is  it  an  entity  ? 
The  old  notion  of  the  impenetrability  and  inertia  of  mat- 
ter discarded.  Cause  of  change  in  properties  by  chem- 
ical union.  The  atom  nothing :  force  everything.  The 
highest  philosophical  ground.     The  spiritual  sense  . 


116 


VI. 

Spiritual  Atmosphere  of  the  Universe, 

Instrument  employed  in  investigation.  The  impressi- 
bility of  the  brain.  Impressibility  of  animals.  Sympathy 
a  form  of  impressibility.  Influence  of  the  external  world 
on  the  nervous  system.  Reichenbach's  experiments.  In- 
fluence of  magnets.      Influence  of  crystals.      Crystallic 


Contents.  7 

flame.  Impartation  of  influence.  Polarity  of  the  body. 
Abnormal  sensitiveness  of  the  diseased.  Disease  and 
sleep.  Influence  of  the  moon.  Of  the  sun.  Of  locality. 
Of  churchyard  ghosts.  The  image  sometimes  remains. 
Individual  spheres.     Conclusions 133 

VII. 

Relation  of  the  Spiritual  to  the  Animal  in  Man. 

The  lower  faculties  of  the  mind  traced  in  the  animal 
world.  Their  necessity.  The  spirit  cannot  lose  any  of 
its  propensities  at  death.  Instinct  never  misdirects.  Per- 
fectly selfish.  Man  never  satisfied.  Sin,  cause  of.  The 
animal  faculties  united  with  the  intellect,  insatiable.  Their 
true  relations.     Illustrations 164 

VIII. 

Animal    Magnetism,  —  its    Boundaries,    Laws,    and 

Relation  to  Spirit. 

Necessity  of  investigating  the  laws  of  magnetism.  Mag- 
netism among  the  ancients.  Man  possesses  this  influence 
over  animals.  Animals  can  influence  man.  Each  other. 
Why  do  we  think  of  those  who  are  thinking  of  us  ?  In- 
fluence of  man  over  man.  Generalization.  Atmospheric 
ether.  Impressibility  of  the  brain.  Psychometry  applied. 
Application  to  fortune-telling.  Animal  magnetism  as  a 
curative  agent.     Application  to  spirit -communion     .        .174 

IX. 

Spirit — -its  Phenomena  and  Laws. 

Immortality  the  base  of  all  religion.  Tendency  of  sav- 
age mind.  Definitions  of  spirit.  Pre-existence.  Evolu- 
tion of  the  spiritual  body  from  the  physical.  Degrees  of 
the  magnetic  state.     Natural  and  induced.     Illustrations  198 


8  Contents. 

X. 

Spirit  —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws. 

Magnetism  intensifies  the  spiritual  perceptions.  Not 
imagination.  Clairvoyance  :  applied  to  the  realm  of  spirit. 
Testimony  of  the  seeress  of  Prevorst.  Of  Swedenborg. 
Spirits  retain  and  appear  in  their  earthly  form.  Do  the 
senses  of  spirits  recognize  physical  objects  ?  Does  the 
spirit  of  the  clairvoyant  leave  the  body  ?  Double  pres- 
ence. Impressions  made  on  the  mind  never  effaced. 
Prophecy .  .        .        .         .  222 

XI. 

Spirit  —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws. 

Cause  of  failure.  Value  of  Clairvoyance.  Condition 
of  the  freed  spirit.  Can  the  spirit  possess  senses  inde- 
pendent of  the  physical  body  ?  The  spiritual  organism. 
The  most  subtle  form  of  matter.  An  erroneous  hypothe- 
sis. Electricity  not  employed.  Progress  of  the  elements. 
Spiritual  elements  realities.  Spirits  of  animals.  Spirit- 
ual attraction  and  repulsion.  In  the  spiritual  world  the 
same  law  holds  supreme.  Why,  if  material,  spirits  can- 
not be  seen.  Why  seek  immortal  existence  outside  of 
physical  matter  ?  Origin  of  the  spiritual  body.  How  far 
the  body  affects  the  spirit 249 

XII. 

Philosophy    of    Death  :    a    Review    of    some    Old 

Theories. 

What  is  life  ?  What  is  death  ?  Christian  idea  of  death 
terrible,  but  that  of  the  ancient  Greeks  beautiful.  Ter- 
rors of  death.  Myths  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body. 
Christianity  takes  a  deep  draught  from  Paganism.  Mo- 
hammed receives  the  dogma  of  the  resurrection.  Teach- 
ings of  the  Bible.     Resurrection  of  Christ        .        .        .  269 


Contents.  9 

XIII. 

The  Change  called  Death. 

Ultimate  of  nature's  plan.  Death  is  not  change  of 
being  :  it  is  change  of  spheres.  The  spirit  and  the  body. 
Man  should  mature  like  the  fruit  of  autumn  before  death. 
Death  no  occasion  for  rejoicing.  The  spirit  after  death. 
How  received 282 

XIV. 

Mediumship. 

Mediumship  and  spirit-influence  among  savages.  The 
Australians.  The  Maori.  The  African  and  New  Zea- 
lander.  Connection  between  the  person  and  his  name. 
The  hermits  of  the  Ganges.  The  Red  Indian.  The 
Pythonic  oracles.  Position  of  the  medium.  Why  dis- 
reputable media  are  used.  Sensitiveness  does  not  exon- 
erate media  for  their  waywardness.  Mediumship  consti- 
tutional. Impressibility,  how  induced.  Mediumship. 
Mental  excitement.  Sickness.  Fasting.  Death.  Or- 
ganic impressibility  preferable  to  induced.  Desire  for 
mediumship.  How  to  become  a  medium.  Influence  of 
individuals  on  the  communications.  A  physical  state 
negative  to  mediumship.  Why  communications  are  con- 
tradictory. Contradictions  referred  to  the  circle.  How 
circles  should  be  formed.     Responsibility  of  mediumship  289 

XV. 

Mediumship  during  Sleep. 

Sleep.  Dreams.  Somnambulism.  Spiritual  commu- 
nications given  in  dreams.  Presentiments.  Prophetic 
dreams,  origin  of.  Facts  from  Martineau.  Abercrombie. 
Macnish.  Addison.  Coleridge.  Dreams  of  animals. 
The  dreaming  dog.      Presentiments.      Mr.   Calderhood, 


io  Contents. 

Prof.  Bohm.    Of  accidents.    Future  events.    Death.    Pro- 
phetic dreams.     Susceptibility  during  sleep.      .        .        .315 

XVI. 

Heaven  and   Hell,   the   Supposed   Abodes   of   the 

Departed. 

Where  located  by  the  ancients.  Beneath  the  earth. 
Above  the  clouds  :  between  the  earth  and  moon.  Comets 
the  location  of  hell.  The  childhood  of  the  race  outgrown. 
Heaven  the  actual  of  desires.  Why  another  state  is  asked 
for.  The  "  New  Jerusalem."  The  popular  idea.  Elec- 
tion, how  known.  From  whence  come  these  dogmas. 
The  terrors  of  hell.     The  joys  of  the  redeemed        .        .  351 

XVII. 

The  Spirit's  Home. 

Law  rules  supreme.  The  same  holds  good  in  the  spirit- 
world.  No  miracle.  An  unknown  universe.  What  and 
where  is  the  spirit- world  ?  The  testimony  of  spirits  relia- 
ble. What  they  say.  Nature  works  in  cycles.  Where 
do  the  refined  atoms  go  ?  Form  of  the  zones.  Distance 
of  the  spheres  from  the  earth's  surface.  Their  thickness. 
Matter  when  it  aggregates  takes  the  form  in  which  it  ex- 
isted on  earth.  Relation  of  the  spirit.  Spirit-locomotion. 
Can  they  pass  to  other  globes  ?  Relation  of  light  to  the 
spheres 375 

XVIII. 

Religious  Aspect  of  Spiritualism. 

Spiritualism  considered  wanting  in  a  vital  system  of 
ethics.  Reasons  offered  by  the  church  for  doing  right. 
Not  an  easy  affair  to  become  a  Spiritualist.  Spiritualism 
the  essence  of  philosophy.     Doctrine  of  salvation.    We 


Contents.  1 1 

are  responsible  for  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  all  others. 
The  teachings  of  spirits  on  the  moral  capabilities  of  man. 
Equality  in  the  future.  The  ideal  of  Spiritualism.  How 
may  it  be  obtained  ?  The  object  of  being.  The  creed  of 
Spiritualism 394 

XIX. 

The  Old  and  the  New. 

The  Radical  and  Radicalism.  Protestantism  brings 
from  Catholicism  everything  but  the  Pope.  A  religion  of 
abnegation.  Religionists  not  necessarily  insincere.  Is 
the  present  form  of  religion  demanded  ?  Christian  and 
infidel.  Can  Christianity  live  ?  Churchianity  bedridden. 
Churchianity  dying.  Spiritualism.  Comprehends  the  uni- 
verse. An  American  religion.  Perfectly  democratic. 
Leaderless.  Persistency  and  extension.  The  Spiritual- 
ist. Pleasures  of  a  belief  in  Spiritualism.  The  coming 
contest.   The  totality  of  Spiritualism  .        .        .        .412 

List  of  Authorities 448 

Index 451 


SPIRITUALISM. 

GENERAL   STATEMENT   OF   PRINCIPLES. 

What  is  Spiritualism  ? 

SPIRITUALISM  is  the  knowledge  of  everything 
pertaining  to  the  spiritual  nature  of  man  ;  and, 
as  spirit  is  the  moving  force  of  the  universe  in  its 
widest  scope,  it  grasps  the  domain  of  nature.  It 
embraces  all  that  is  known,  and  all  that  ever  can  be 
known.  It  is  cosmopolitan  eclecticism,  receiving  all 
that  is  good,  and  rejecting  all  that  is  bad,    (324,  9.)  * 

Who  are  Spiritualists  ? 

Those  who  believe  that  departed  spirits  commu- 
nicate with  man,  however  else  they  disagree,  are 
Spiritualists  ;  but  only  as  they  cultivate  the  noble 
faculties,  and  harmonize  their  lives,  are  they  enti- 
tled to  the  name  in  its  highest  meaning.     (330,  332.) 

Principles  on  which  All  Agree. 

There  are  certain  fundamental  principles  on  which 
all  agree  as  forming  the  basis  of  the  Spiritual  philos- 
ophy. 

*  The  references  indicate  chapters  and  sections  in  the  body 
of  the  work. 


14  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

Man  a  Dual  Being. 

Man  is  a  duality,  —  a  physical  structure  and  a 
spirit.  The  spirit  is  an  organized  form,  evolved  by 
and  out  of  the  physical  body,  having  corresponding 
organs  and  development,     (i 55,  6,  8.) 

Immortality. 
This  spiritual  being  is  immortal,     (ii.,  iii.) 

Death. 

Death  is  the  separation  of  this  duality,  and  effects 
no  change  in  the  spirit,  morally  nor  intellectually, 
(xii.,  xiii.,   183,  219.) 

Relations  of  the  Spirit  to  the  Spirit- World. 

The  spirit  holds  the  same  relations  to  the  spirit- 
world  that  man  holds  to  physical  nature,  (xvii.,  189, 
190,  197.) 

A  Future  State  of  Awards* 

The  spirit  there,  as  here,  works  out  its  own  salva- 
tion, receiving  the  reward  of  well-doing,  and  suffer- 
ing for  wrongful  action. 

Salvation  —  how  Attained. 

Salvation  is  only  attainable  through  growth.  (305, 
312.) 

No  Arbitrary  Decree. 
There  is  no  arbitrary  decree,  final  judgment,  or 


General  Statement  of  Principles.        1 5 

atonement  for  wrong,  except  through  the  suffering 
of  the  guilty,     (xvi.,  xvii.) 

Relation  of  the  Earth-Life  to  Spirit-Being. 

The  knowledge,  attainment,  and  experience  of  the 
earth-life  form  the  basis  of  the  spirit-life.     (159.) 

Destiny  of  Spirit. 

Progressive   evolution  of  intellectual   and   moral 

power  is  the  endless  destiny  of  individual   spirits. 

(152.) 

The  Spirit-World. 

In  the  spirit-world,  as  on  earth,  we  receive  all  we 
are  capable  of  receiving ;  all  seeking  congenial  em- 
ployment, and  gratifying  their  tastes,     (xvii.) 

Hell  and  Heaven. 

Hell  and  heaven  are  not  places,  but  conditions  of 
mind.  Inharmony  is  hell ;  harmony,  heaven,  (xvi., 
271.) 

Origin  of  Spiritual  Beings. 

All  spiritual  beings  were  eliminated  from  physical 
bodies.     (157.) 

Grades. 

There  are  all  grades,  from  the  sage  of  ten  thou- 
sand years  to  the  idiot  and  infant,     (xvii.) 

They  are  Frequent  Visitors. 

They  are  often  near  those  they  love,  and  strive  to 
warn,  protect,  and  influence  them. 


1 6  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

Mediumship. 

The  departed,  whatever  may  have  been  their 
moral  or  intellectual  condition,  can  return,  and  com- 
municate through  properly  endowed  mediums,  (ii., 
xiv.) 

Character  of  their  Influence. 

This  influence  may  be  for  evil  as  well  as  for 
good.     (247.) 

Communications  Fallible. 

Communications  from  spirits  must  thus  be  fallible, 
partaking  of  the  nature  of  their  source.     (245,  247.) 

All  Communications  from  one  Source. 

The  spiritual  communications  of  all  ages  emanate 
from  this  one  source,  and  must  be  alike  tried  by  the 
test  of  reason. 

There  can  be  no  Miracle. 

As  law  rules  supreme  in  the  spiritual  as  well  as 
physical  realm,  there  can  be  no  miracle  nor  super- 
natural event.     (198.) 

Brotherhood  and  Divinity  of  Man. 

Spirit  is  the  reality,  and  individualized  spirit  the 
highest  type,  of  creation.  In  this  sense,  mankind 
become  brethren,  commencing  and  continuing  their 
progress  on  the  same  plane  of  development.  In  this 
sense  all  men  are  divine,  and  are  endowed  with 
infinite  capabilities. 


General  Statement  of  Principles.         1 7 

Incentives  of  Spiritualism. 

Spiritualism  encourages  the  loftiest  spiritual  aspi- 
rations, energizes  the  soul  by  presenting  only  exalted 
motives,  prompts  to  highest  endeavors,  and  incul- 
cates noble  self-reliance.  It  frees  man  from  the 
bondage  of  authority  of  book  and  creed.  Its  only 
authority  is  truth  ;  its  interpreter,  reason.     (324.) 

Its  Object. 

It  seeks  for  a  whole  and  complete  cultivation  of 
man,  —  physically,  morally,  and  intellectually.    (324.) 

Influence  of  the  Departed. 

As  the  departed  take  deep  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  earth,  they  mingle  in  all  the  reforms  of  the  day. 
The  temperance  movement,  women's  rights,  the 
high  duties  and  responsibilities  of  parentage,  aboli- 
tion of  all  slavery,  the  thorough  education  of  all,  the 
establishment  of  universal  peace,  the  promulgation 
of  correct  religious  views  in  contradiction  to  prevail- 
ing errors,  and  all  movements  for  the  elevation  and 
improvement  of  mankind,  claim  their  attention,    (ii.) 

It  can  have  no  Creed. 

Every  individual  must  be  a  law  unto  himself,  and 
draft  his  own  creed,  but  not  seek  to  force  such  on 
others. 

Organization. 

If  Spiritualists  organize,  it  is  because  organization 
is  the  best  method  to  reach  desirable  results,  and 


2 


I 


1 8  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

the  means  by  which  each  receives  the   combined 
strength  of  all. 

Such  organization  must  be  based  on  absolute  per- 
sonal freedom,  and  unquestioned  right  to  individual 
opinion  and  action,  so  far  as  the  rights  of  others 
remain  inviolate.  There  must  be  agreement  to 
differ. 


I. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  Reformation  was  the  proclamation  of  salvation  by  grace,  once  preached 
by  Paul  and  his  companions.  —  D'Aubigne. 

Reform  is  evolved  by  the  progressive  growth  of  the  human  intellect. 


H 


OW  often  do  we  hear  it  said,  in  derision,  this 
or  that  man  is  a  theorist,  a  visionary,  an  ideal- 
ist, and  has  no  practical  powers !  Is  this  prevalent 
impression,  that  the  ideal  is  valueless,  correct  ?  Is 
the  world  of  the  senses  the  only  world  ?  and  are  the 
men  of  the  yardstick  and  scale  the  only  valuable 
portion  of  mankind  ? 

If  we  look  deeper  into  this  question,  we  shall  find 
that  the  ideal  world  is  the  real,  of  which  the  vaunted 
real  world  is  but  the  shadow. 

What  are  these  realities  ?  They  are  incarnations 
of  ideas.  Look  at  the  ponderous  engine!  Its  bones 
are  wrought  of  iron  ;  its  sinews  are  of  steel ;  its  vital 
energy  is  fire.  How  perfectly  it  performs  its  work  ! 
How  wonderfully  its  parts  are  adjusted  to  each 
other  !  It  is  the  very  embodiment  of  the  real  and 
the  practical.  Yet  what  would  it  be  without  the 
thought  that  gave  it  birth  ?  A  mass  of  inert  metal 
slumbering  in  the  earth.  Ideas  have  found  express- 
ion in  the  length  of  that  piston,  in  the  form  of  those 


20  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

valves,  in  the  polish  of  that  cylinder,  in  the  conden- 
sation of  that  steam,  in  the  draft  of  that  fire  ;  and, 
from  those  ideas,  the  engine  has  been  actualized. 
Whether  it  be  placed  in  the  hull  of  a  ship  to  propel 
it  against  adverse  waves  and  winds,  or  mounted  on 
wheels  to  drag  freighted  cars  with  the  speed  of  the 
wind,  it  once  formed  a  part  of  the  mind  of  its  archi- 
tect. 

Before  the  iron  of  which  it  is  formed  is  mined, 
the  machine  exists  in  the  mental  world.  The  in- 
ventor plans  and  projects  ;  and  when  he  enters  the 
shop,  and  by  his  hands  builds  after  these  plans, 
he  but  clothes,  with  iron  and  steel  and  brass,  his 
ideal. 

What  this  machine  does*results  from  the  amount 
of  mind  he  imparts  to  it.  So  far  as  it  represents  his 
idea,  it  is  perfect ;  and,  so  far  as  it  does  not,  it  is 
imperfect.  The  idea  is  its  soul,  which  we  discern 
when  we  examine  its  motions,  clearly  visible  through 
the  garb  of  metal.  The  boiler  is  tested  at  forty 
pounds'  pressure.  We  see  the  index  move  at  forty- 
two  ;  and  the  steam  escapes  to  restore  the  necessary 
equilibrium.  The  inert  metal  has  life,  it  is  intel- 
ligent, it  relieves  itself  when  endangered.  Mind 
has  fashioned  it :  it  retains  the  skill  of  the  molding 
hand. 

The  picture  exists  in  the  mind  of  the  painter 
before  he  places  it  on  canvas,  and  often  with  a  force 
and  beauty,  an  exquisiteness  of  outline,  a  brilliancy 
of  coloring,  which  shames  his  every  attempt  at 
reproduction.     The  statue  exists  in  the  mind  of  the 


Introduction.  2 1 

sculptor  before  it  is  chiseled  in  marble  ;  and  how 
often  does  he  revile  the  unyielding  stone ! 

This  is  all  plain  enough  ;  but,  in  the  higher  walks 
of  morality,  what  there  ?  Vastly  more.  Not  to  the 
actualizing  man  belongs  the  honor  of  the  grand 
achievements  of  history.  It  is  to  the  idealists,  the 
fanatics,  we  owe  everything. 

The  spread  of  Islamism  was  the  actualization  of 
an  idea.  Mohammed,  in  his  tent  in  the  desert,  with 
only  his  wife,  surrounded  by  the  awful  and  terrible 
sublimities  of  nature,  felt  the  promptings  of  a  spirit- 
ual presence,  and  that  "  there  is  but  one  God.- "  all 
the  idol  worship  of  his  people  was  vain,  all  their 
mythology  childish.  "  There  is  but  one  God."  He, 
the  first  to  receive  the  sublime  knowledge  of  the 
grand  unity  of  all  things,  —  he  was  the  "  prophet  of 
God."  Chadisjah,  his  beloved  wife,  said,  in  the 
simple,  trustful,  all-receiving  faith  of  a  wife,  "  I 
believe ; '    and,  thus    strengthened,  he  went  forth. 

What  was  there,  against  the  bigotry,  intolerance, 
superstition,  and  ignorance  of  those  who  surrounded 
this  plain,  simple  man,  that  bore  him  up,  and  in  the 
end  subjugated  all  adverse  elements  ?  It  was  an 
Idea.  "  There  is  07te  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his 
prophet?  That  is  a  plain  thought ;  but,  to  that  peo- 
ple and  time,  it  was  a  clean  Damascus  blade.  It 
destroyed  the  old  ;  and,  like  a  whirlwind  gathering 
force,  it  spread  from  people  to  people,  and  still  rolls 
onward  along  the  African  continent,  displacing  the 
tenets  of  all  other  sects,  not  excepting  those  of 
Christianity.      Beginning  with  the  humble  man  in 


22  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

his  tent  in  the  desert,  it  is  now  received  by  300,000,- 
000  souls,  or  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  human 
family. 

The  ideas  of  universal  brotherhood  floating  in 
the  atmosphere  of  the  world  gather  around  a  child 
born  to  a  poor  carpenter  in  Nazareth,  and  so  desti- 
tute they  cradle  him  in  a  manger.  When  the  child 
matures,  he  becomes  possessed  with  the  idea  of 
brotherly  love.  He  scorns  the  inequality,  injustice, 
and  shams  of  the  world.  He  believes  in  the  univer- 
sal applicability  of  love,  and  that  it  is  better  to 
suffer  wrong  than  to  do  wrong ;  to  do  as  we  would 
be  done  by. 

We  may  ask,  Is  there  power  in  these  ?  Yes : 
there  is  power  enough  to  overturn  a  world,  and  res- 
urrect a  new  and  glorious  race  of  angelic  beings. 
Those  ideas  have  worked  through  eighteen  centu- 
ries, and  are  still  at  work  with  stronger  force  than 
ever. 

There  is  this  singular  peculiarity  about  the  men 
who  first  receive^  ideas,  —  they  cannot  keep  them. 
When  the  rising  sun  gilded  the  face  of  the  Egyp- 
tian Memnon,  he  answered  the  light  with  songs  ;  so, 
when  the  sun  of  truth  gilds  our  mental  horizon,  we 
cry  out  at  the  beautiful  vision.  No  sooner  does  the 
man  perceive  that  he  has  a  new  idea,  than  he 
becomes  impressed  that  he  has  a  mission.  It  is  not 
egotism  ;  it  is  not  a  desire  for  notoriety.  The  same 
power  which  gives  him  the  idea  fills  him  with  an  irre- 
sistible impulse  to  reveal  it.  He  cannot  conceal  it : 
he  rushes  forth  to  light  the  lamp  of  his  neighbors. 


Introduction.  23 

He  cannot  be  diverted.  Wealth,  ease,  comfort,  home, 
wife,  children,  friends,  the  gentle  amenities  of  life, 
may  plead ;  and  poverty,  disgrace,  ruin,  and  mar- 
tyrdom with  rod,  fire,  and  dungeon,  may  menace, 
—  he  rushes  on  to  promulgate  the  new.  He  has 
gained  an  insight  into  the  everlasting,  the  inscru- 
table ;  and  his  lips  glow  with  the  words  with  which 
he  sets  it  forth.  He  controlled  by  the  soft  pleas- 
ures of  this  life  ?  They  are  ephemeral.  He  prose- 
lyted ?  Never.  In  him,  an  idea,  for  the  first  time 
since  creation,  has  found  a  tongue  of  flame.  It  is  no 
fault  of  his  that  he  becomes  fanatical,  and  overesti- 
mates the  importance  of  his  treasure.  The  world 
gains  by  the  equilibrium  resulting  from  a  thousand 
such.  Stand  aloof,  men  of  the  world,  who  cannot 
understand  anything  unless  it  is  set  down  in  dollars 
and  cents,  quarts  and  bushels.  Stand  aside !  you 
are  the  freight,  the  dead  freight,  which  such  fanatics 
are  to  carry  through  ;  and  the  only  possible  use  you 
serve  is  a  retarding  influence,  which,  out  of  kind- 
ness, we  call  conservative,  by  which  you  keep  them 
I  in  sight. 

Spiritualism,  in  its  rapid  growth,  illustrates  the 
power  of  an  idea.  That  idea  is  the  grandest  as  well 
as  dearest  possible  to  conceive.  Immortality  of  our 
being,  and  of  our  ties  and  bonds  of  affection  and 
intelligence. 

It  comes  to  prove  this,  and  does  so  through  the 
sweet  voices  of  the  loved  departed.  The  idea  of 
"  one  God"  is  cold  and  far  off  compared  with  this. 
Immortality  demonstrated  is  above  all  else  what  we 


24  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

most  desire.  The  voice  of  prayer  has  daily  and 
hourly  pleaded  for  this  great  revelation,  now  freely 
shed  like  the  light  of  the  morning  sun.  The  world 
has  been  slowly  preparing  for  its  advent.  Ideas  do 
not  burst  suddenly  on  the  minds  of  men,  like  flash- 
ing meteors,  but  rather  like  the  slowly  breaking 
twilight  of  the  perfect  day.  Their  dawn  is  deter- 
mined by  the  advance  of  culture. 

There  is  growth  in  the  human  race,  from  infancy 
to  manhood.  When  civilization  flourished  on  the 
fertile  banks  of  the  Nile,  and  the  Hebrew  warrior 
tended  his  flocks  on  Assyrian  plains,  it  was  in  its 
infancy.  Its  birth  is  shrouded  by  impenetrable 
mists  of  mythology ;  and  its  early  history  is  the 
record  of  its  childish  prattle,  a  description  of  its 
toys  and  cobble-houses.  The  actions  of  the  great- 
est, most  learned,  and  accomplished  of  the  Egyp- 
tians possess  a  marked  puerility,  such  as  is  expected 
of  children.  The  early  nations  represent  the  child- 
hood of  the  race,  — -  rude,  fearful,  revengeful,  super- 
stitious/believers in  devils,  hobgoblins,  and  afraid  of 
the  dark. 

The  present  is  the  age  of  dawning  manhood. 
The  baby-clothes  (creeds,  superstitions,  traditions) 
are  fast  being  laid  away  in  the  world's  lumber-room, 
with  all  the  useless  utensils  former  generations  con- 
sidered necessary  for  the  government  of  the  people. 
The  rack,  the  gibbet,  the  gallows,  the  guillotine, 
horrid  engines  of  torture,  once  thought  requisite  to 
maintain  government,  are  cast  off  with  the  igno- 
rance which  prompted  their  use. 


Introduction.  25 

s/The  world  to-day  has  outgrown  its  yesterday 
thoughts  ;  and  to-morrow  will  outgrow  the  best  per- 
formances of  to-day.  Each  year  adds  growth  to  the 
moral  and  intellectual  world,  as  the  circling  sun  adds 
a  new  layer  to  the  tree.  Each  year's  growth  encir- 
cles all  others  ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  ideas  of  the 
race  are  higher,  its  attainments  more  noble,  and  it 
basks  in  a  brighter  light.  Each  year  adds  to  the 
moral  and  intellectual  temperature  of  mind ;  makes 
it  glow  with  superior  truth  and  wisdom.  This 
growth,  slow,  but  visible,  is  a  progress  as  uncontrol- 
lable as  the  movement  of  the  heavenly  bodies  around 
their  central  suns. 

Grown  to  manhood,  the  infant  garments  cannot 
be  strained  on  ;  and,  were  it  possible  to  force  them 
on,  they  would  cramp  the  free  movement  of  his 
body,  bind  his  limbs  in  stiff  contortions,  and  destroy 
freedom  and  manliness.  Creeds,  dogmas,  beliefs, 
are  such  garments  to  the  spirit.  When  the  expand- 
ing mind  is  forced  to  take  up  its  abode  in  the  habil- 
iments of  the  past,  its  best  motives  are  crushed ;  its 
feelings  are  stifled  ;  its  holiest  emanations  dried  up ; 
and  it  becomes  as  barren  as  the  desert-sands  of 
Sahara,  as  cold  and  frigid  as  the  icebergs  around 
the  frozen  poles. 

Everything  moves  toward  a  crisis,  attains  its 
maximum,  and  then  declines,  performing  a  per- 
petual oscillation.  The  planet  departs  from  its 
orbit ;  the  world  varies  in  its  motions :  but  a  devi- 
ation in  one  extreme  is  counterbalanced  by  a  de- 
viation  in    the    other ;    and,   through   a  perpetual 


26  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

oscillation,  the  world  moves  in  a  given  orbit  around 
the  sun. 

So  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  —  like  a  ship 
crossing  the  ocean,  driven  hither  and  thither  by 
storm  and  current  in  many  a  devious  wandering, 
but,  as  a  whole,  making  a  straight  course  to  the 
destined  port. 

Underneath  the  superficial  dross  is  an  omnipotent 
principle  which  none  can  resist  nor  gainsay.  By 
the  force  of  this  principle,  the  race  moves  faster  or 
slower  in  proportion  to  the  number  at  the  oars,  and 
the  vigor  of  their  exertions. 

Great  men,  leaders  of  the  race,  are  thrown  up 
from  the  waves  of  the  intellectual  sea,  and  mounted 
on  the  highest  billow's  crest,  not  so  much  by  their 
own  exertions  as  by  the  irresistible  undulations  of 
that  sea.  It  is  not  difficult  for  them  to  lead,  but 
the  easiest  thing  in  the  world.  They  lead  because 
they  cannot  help  it.  Some  enter  one  sphere  of 
action,  doing  good  ;  some,  another.  All  are  for  their 
place  and  season. 

Sensual  and  crude  as  the  doctrines  of  Mohammed 
are,  the  beliefs  before  him  were  more  sensual  and 
depraved.  He  had  a  far  more  ignorant  and  animal 
race  to  reform  than  had  Christ ;  and  hence  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  institute  the  transcendental 
doctrines  of  the  Nazarene.  Had  Mohammed  ap- 
peared in  Jerusalem,  he  could  have  worked  no  re- 
form. Had  Christ  appeared  in  Mecca,  his  sublime 
visions  of  universal  love  and  wisdom  would  have 
been  lost;  for  the  sensual   Arabians  could  not  ap- 


Introduction.  27 

preciate  such  transcendental  ideas.  They  would  far 
exceed  the  perfection  with  which  he  invests  his 
God.  But  Christ  in  his  place,  and  Mohammed  in 
his,  were  where  they  should  be  to  do  the  most  good. 

Reformers  may  introduce  and  sustain  a  few  fun- 
damental truths  ;  but  the  great  mass  of  their  teach- 
ings must  necessarily  be  erroneous.  None  are  born 
so  far  in  advance  as  to  see  the  absolute  right. 
Their  words,  in  consequence,  are  comparative.  As 
the  ages  pass,  the  ideas  of  yesterday  become  obso- 
lete, giving  place  to  the  new  of  to-day,  which  are 
destined  to  become  old  to-morrow. 

There  are  a  few  principles  which  are  established 
here  for  time  and  eternity  ;  but  the  mass  of  knowl- 
edge styled  truth  is  only  true  for  its  time,  and  liable 
at  any  moment  to  be  outgrown.  There  is  a  class 
which  desires  to  make  this  imperfect  truth  eternal 
truth,  by  preventing  mankind  from  outgrowing  it. 
These  are  the  conservatives,  —  poor  men  who  have 
turned  their  eyes  backward,  looking  the  wrong  way. 
Against  these,  reformation  must  wage  open  war. 

While  the  reformer  would  have  mankind  throw 
off  the  garments  of  boyhood,  —  cast  aside  the  top, 
the  doll,  and  toy,  which  pacified  its  babyhood,  and 
occupy  its  mind  with  manly  things,  —  the  conserva- 
tive would  compel  it  to  wear  its  infant  dress,  cling- 
ing for  safety  to  its  leading-strings,  and  delight  it- 
self with  gewgaws  and  tinsel.  Even  its  new  clothes 
must  be  cut  after  the  old  infantile  pattern.  But, 
despite  the  stoutness  of  the  seams,  human  minds 
will    grow.      They   cannot   arrest        ^-^  their   own 


28  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

growth,  though  they  strive  ever  so  hard  to  starve 
themselves  into  mental  dwarfs.  Reform  takes  even 
these ;  and,  though  they  may  not  remain  afar  in  the 
rear,  they  are  moved  along. 

We  said  there  were  levelers  and  builders,  and  that 
both  were  useful.  The  radical  utters  his  thoughts 
in  so  rabid  a  form  ;  is  so  cutting,  harsh,  and  vindic- 
tive ;  and  comes  down  on  his  hearers  with  such 
crushing  force,  —  they  become  angry,  and  will  not 
hear  him.  He  misses  the  mark ;  for  men,  when 
excited  by  anger,  lose  reason,  and  refuse  persuasion. 
They  cannot  be  driven  into  a  new  belief,  but  a  well- 
known  call  they  will  follow  anywhere. 

The  builder  comes  along,  and  finds  a  state  of  con- 
fusion left  by  the  leveler.  He  sets  himself  at  work 
to  heal  the  laceration,  applying  balm  and  healing 
ointment.  His  words  are  so  sweet,  that,  although 
new,  they  are  palatable  ;  and  men  incline  to  accept 
them.  He  comes  not  with  the  grim  battle-ax  and 
brand,  rushing  to  the  fray  with  clang  of  arms  ;  but 
gently,  as  a  south  wind  reviving  the  drooping  flower, 
he  stoops  over  fainting  humanity,  and  speaks  cheer- 
ingly  of  a  better  life  and  more  exalted  aims.  My 
heart  is  with  such.  The  temple's  spire  of  their  con- 
struction glitters  in  the  sunlight  of  peace  and  love. 

Great  changes  can  be  wrought  in  peace,  or  by 
concentrating  giant  forces,  in  confusion,  convulsion, 
and  ruin.  Niagara's  stream,  in  its  never-ceasing 
flow,  little  by  little,  undermines  and  wears  the  rock 
away ;  but  should  we  concentrate  the  work  of  ages 
in  a  single^flEbrt,  and  compel  the  waters  to  plow  out 


In  troduction.  2  9 

that  channel  at  once,  the  mighty  rush  would  sweep 
clear  the  country  from  Erie's  tide  to  the  Atlantic 
main.  So,  if  we  would  destroy  long-standing  insti- 
tutions, however  erroneous,  we  must  proceed  by 
degrees,  else  disorder  and  the  horrors  of  anarchy 
result. 

We  do  not  dishonor  the  institutions  of  the  past, 
but  profoundly  respect  them  for  the  good  they  have 
accomplished.  They  have  been  the  instruments 
through  which  mind  has  attained  its  present  perfec- 
tion ;  the  steps  by  which  it  arose  ;  and  now  are  the 
landmarks  set  up  along  the  shores  of  the  wild  sea 
of  life,  marking  the  deeds  of  its  various  ages.  But 
they  are  not  for  the  present :  they  cramp  its  vital 
energies,  and  restrain  the  best  emotions  of  the  soul. 

We  lament  the  error,  sin,  and  depravity,  which 
exist,  and  justly  too ;  but  we  forget  that  there  is  a 
cause,  and  that  cause  —  ignorance.  Alas  for  human 
ignorance !  It  has  immolated  its  myriad  victims  ; 
and  still  its  all-devouring  jaws  are  stretched  wide 
with  insatiable  rapacity.  It  is  the  prolific  cause  of 
all  crime,  all  degradation,  all  misery.  It  is  an  ac- 
cepted truth,  that,  if  man  perfectly  obeyed  every  law 
of  his  moral,  intellectual,  and  physical  nature,  he 
would  be  perfectly  happy,  perfectly  free  from  all 
pain,  unnatural  desires,  and  sufferings.  He  obeys 
not,  because  he  is  ignorant.  Give  him  knowledge 
upon  these  great  subjects  ;  and  he  would  do  better 
in  proportion  to  the  light  he  receives.  Pour  a  flood 
of  wisdom  into  the  world,  so  much  that  every  by- 
lane  and   every  alley  shall   be   filled,  and   evil  will 


30  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

expire.  Error,  sin,  and  evil,  are  the  results  of  sub- 
jecting ourselves  to  other  laws  than  those  of  our 
normal  being.  If  we  sufficiently  understood  these 
laws,  we  should  never  suffer  from  them. 

The  child,  before  it  learns  the  nature  of  physical 
matter,  is  delighted  with  the  brilliant  flame,  reaches 
forth  its  tender  hand  to  grasp  the  glittering  object, 
and  is  burnt. 

Henceforth  it  understands  the  relations  of  heat  to 
its  physical  frame,  ■ —  that  it  causes  intense  pain,  — 
and  avoids  it,  however  much  it  glitters.  Man,  taken 
collectively,  has  been  a  child.  When  first  an  inhab- 
itant of  the  globe,  a  rude  savage,  totally  unacquainted 
with  the  material  universe,  and  its  controlling  laws, 
he  was  surrounded  by  darkness,  and  was  compelled 
to  walk  empirically.  Like  the  child,  attracted  by 
brilliant  objects,  he  strove  to  obtain,  perhaps  finding 
them  useful  in  supplying  his  wants,  perhaps  causing 
him  intense  suffering.  In  either  case,  he  discovered 
their  nature,  and  the  relations  they  sustained  to  him. 
By  degrees,  the  light  dawned.  Fact  after  fact  was 
learned,  law  after  law  deduced,  until  he  knew  the 
general  bearing  he  sustained  to  the  microcosm  of 
which  he  is  a  part. 

Still  the  unknown  far  exceeds  the  known,  and 
the  anxious  student  of  nature,  who  has  surpassed  all 
his  contemporaries,  looks  off  on  the  limitless  sea  of 
knowledge  which  stretches  beyond  the  shores  of  his 
present  acquirements,  and,  in  an  agony  of  aspiration 
after  the  unknown  truths  of  the  mystic  beyond,  is 
abashed  at  his  own  insignificance ;  that  he  is  a  trav- 


Introduction.  3 1 

eler  on  the  shores  of  the  intellectual  sea,  and  has 
tasted  but  a  few  drops  of  its  waters.  Newton  gives 
voice  to  his  feelings,  exclaiming,  "  I  am  but  a  boy 
gathering  a  few  pebbles  on  the  ocean's  strand." 

Being  thus  ignorant  of  the  laws  which  govern  the 
external  and  internal  universes,  we  must  expect 
transgressions,  and  their  accompanying  punish- 
ments in  the  form  of  misery  and  suffering.  As 
soon  as  man  learns  the  higher  principles  of  right 
and  wrong,  so  soon  will  suffering  cease.  This  must 
be  learned  empirically,  as  he  learned  the  properties 
of  fire,  air,  and  water.  In  these  experiments,  he  will 
often  make  missteps,  and  suffer  many  a  fall.  Some 
there  are,  who,  guided  by  superior  intuition,  safely 
steer  their  barks  among  shoals  and  rocks,  where 
others,  less  gifted,  would  certainly  perish.  Such 
are  born  reformers,  —  men  who  see  far  down  the 
vista  of  a  thousand  ages,  and  chart  the  unknown 
seas  for  the  direction  of  future  generations.  These 
are  the  true  reformers,  which  the  world  finds  or 
evolves  at  long  intervals,  to  clear  away  the  accumu- 
lations of  rubbish,  and  build  new  systems  for  expand- 
ing thought.  Theirs  it  is  to  walk  far  ahead  of  their 
times,  and  mark  the  way  by  the  recognition  of  before 
unknown  laws,  throwing  a  strong,  clear  light  over 
the  darkness. 

It  matters  little  whether  born  on  a  throne  or  in  a 
manger  :  when  they  arise  in  their  manhood,  all  con- 
ventionalisms crumble  away,  and  king  and  peasant 
stand  in  the  same  light.  When  sublime  intuitions 
fill  their  overflowing  souls,  and  they  reveal  man's 


32  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

relations  to  the  universe  and  to  his  fellow-man,  all 
distinctions  vanish  in  the  rapturous  gush  of  elo- 
quence, as  the  frost-work  of  night  vanishes  in  the 
rays  of  the  rising  sun.  Confucius  was  nobly  born  ; 
Zoroaster  stated  his  ideas  from  a  throne ;  Moham- 
med was  a  noble :  their  converts  count  by  the  hun- 
dred million.  Some  eighteen  centuries  ago,  a  poor 
carpenters  son,  of  so  low  origin  he  was  cradled  in  a 
manger,  arose,  and  with  a  breath  overturned  all  the 
cherished  idols  of  his  time,  and  founded  a  transcen- 
dental system  of  purity,  which  is  the  ideal,  even  now, 
of  the  civilized  world. 

So  it  is  written  in  all  history.  The  origin  of  the 
man  is  of  small  account :  the  truths  he  utters  avail 
everything.  Say  you  there  is  no  need  of  new 
truths ;  that,  the  older  the  world  grows,  the  worse  it 
becomes  ?  You  contradict  history,  the  all-answering 
experience  of  the  past.  You  repeat  a  myth,  first 
dreamed  by  the  poets,  and  since  set  up  as  a  revela- 
tion. The  golden  age  is  the  goal  towards  which  we 
are  going,  not  the  one  we  left.  It  is  in  the  future, 
not  in  the  past,  which  only  reveals  fitful  gleams 
through  the  thick  night  of  its  darkness.  There  is 
the  turmoil  and  conflict  of  animal  passions,  with 
here  and  there  a  noble  man,  a  great  thought,  a  glo- 
rious deed.  Such  are  the  redeemers  of  history.  All 
have  perished  in  oblivion.  The  great  conquerors, 
who,  with  their  murderous  hordes,  rushed  across  the 
world,  scattering  the  affrighted  nations,  have  scarce 
a  place  left  to  write  their  names.  A  few  years,  or 
centuries, — all  the  same  in  time,  —  have  obliterated 


Introduction.  33 

their  ravages,  as  they  do  the  path  of  the  avalanche. 
The  disturbances  they  caused  were  no  more  than 
ripples  on  the  surface,  soon  subsiding  in  the  smooth 
outline  of  history.  Great  crimes,  as  well  as  great 
benevolence,  are  all  lost  in  the  sea  of  life.  They 
are  all  forgotten.  They  are  but  the  accidental  rip- 
ples beneath  which  the  vast,  interminable  sea  ebbs 
and  flows,  controlled  by  undeviating  laws. 

Oblivion,  which  devours  the  dross  of  the  world, 
leaves  only  the  great  and  shining  truths.  A  truth 
once  revealed  is  never  forgotten.  All  that  mankind 
has  conquered  from  nature  remains  conquered  for- 
ever. No  inquisition  can  suppress  it ;  no  irruption 
of  savage  hordes  blot  it  out. 

Creeds,  dogmas,  superstitions,  shall  pass  away, — 
all  the  paraphernalia  by  which  mock  legislators  seek 
to  force  men  to  be  moral ;  governments  shall  fade ; 
and  the  ephemeral  world  grow  old,  and  perish :  but 
the  least  thought  of  truth  lives  forever !  It  is  en- 
dowed with  productive  power ;  and,  as  each  age 
claims  it,  it  gives  birth  to  truths  for  that  age, 
and  thus  grows  continually,  extending  its  influence 
broader  and  broader ;  and  mankind,  in  remote  gen- 
erations, drinks  at  its  fountain  of  clear  waters,  pro- 
nouncing the  name  of  its  author,  calling  him -blessed. 

There  is  need  of  untiring  action.  Each  reform 
presupposes  and  calls  for  a  greater.  The  desires 
of  humanity  are  not  left  long  unanswered  before 
fresh  thoughts  are  ushered  into  the  world,  at  whose 
breath  old  institutions  crumble  away,  and  new  start 
up  as  by  the  touch  of  the  magician's  wand. 
3 


34  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

Is  not  reform  needed  ?  Shall  we  be  content  ? 
There  is  no  content.  As  long  as  a  slave  sends  up 
a  petition  to  sympathizing  Heaven  ;  as  long  as  the 
chains  of  despotism  canker  the  limbs  of  the  down- 
trodden masses  ;  as  long  as  ignorance  and  attendant 
crimes  encompass  us,  —  so  long  will  the  world,  lost 
in  darkness,  cry  loudly,  wildly,  from  its  bed  of  tor- 
ture, "  Light !  more  light ! " 

Tell  us  not  of  the  past.  I  respect  it  for  its  truths ; 
but  the  world's  genii  have  elevated  us  far,  far  above 
the  bravest  thoughts  of  our  forefathers.  We  have 
actualized  their  wildest  idealities.  Our  own  ideal  is 
for  the  future.  Men,  one  and  all,  feel,  deeply  feel, 
that  great  wrongs  are  to  be  righted,  great  errors  to 
be  overcome,  and  anxiously  wait  the  blast  the  trump 
of  their  leader  shall  send  down  the  gale.  They 
expect  a  higher,  purer  morality.  They  feel  that  the 
age  of  thought  is  in  store  for  the  future,  dimly  seen 
through  the  long  vista  of  events  by  the  Hebrew 
seers  and  prophets  of  past  ages,  shadowed  forth  in 
the  constitution  of  mind,  —  an  age  of  thought  whose 
brilliant  morning  lights  up  the  mental  world  by  its 
rapid  coming. 

The  age  of  thought  is  full  of  promise.  Ignorance 
shall  vanish,  and,  with  it,  its  viper-brood,  —  crime, 
error,  evil,  misery,  and  suffering.  A  thousand  or  a 
million  years  may  intervene;  but,  surely  as  mind 
progresses,  the  future  shall  yield  this  fruit,  and  the 
whole  earth  shall  partake  of  it  in  harmony. 


II. 


EVIDENCES  OF  SPIRITUALISM  I  A  DISCUSSION  OF  THE 
VARIOUS  THEORIES  ADVANCED  FOR  ITS  EXPOSI- 
TION. 

We  ask  no  one  to  come  to  the  investigation  of  Spiritualism  biased  in  its 
favor.  We  only  ask  that  there  be  no  prejudice  against  it,  and  vision 
directed  through  a  perfectly  clear  glass. 

How  vast  is  the  power  of  spirits  !  An  ocean  of  invisible  intelligences  sur- 
round 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  sanctify 
and  purify  their  hearts.  .  .  .  They  are  everywhere  ;  above  us,  on  the 
right,  and  on  the  left.  Their  coming  cannot  be  calculated.  How  impor- 
tant we  do  not  neglect  them  !  —  Confucius,  B.C.  551. 

i.     If  a  Man  die,  shall  he  live  again? 

N"  O  question  can  be  asked  so  full  of  import,  or 
appealing  with  greater  force  to  the  human 
consciousness.  On  its  affirmation  depend  our  hopes 
and  aspirations :  its  negation  converts  creation  into 
a  sham,  into  which  man  seems  thrust  for  no  purpose 
but  to  have  the  brief  hour  of  his  existence,  fraught 
with  pain  and  disappointment,  blotted  out  in  eternal 
night. 

2.     Atheism 

Is   a   mental   state   into  which  some   of  the   most 
profound  thinkers  fall     The  student  of  nature  can-* 


36  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

not  avoid,  if  he  logically  follows  the  views  science 
at  present  entertains,  arriving  at  its  goal.  This 
tendency  has  been  long  foreseen  by  the  theological 
world,  which,  in  various  ways,  has  sought  to  arrest 
its  progress.  The  shafts  hurled  by  dogmatic  be- 
lievers have  always  rebounded  against  themselves. 
Nothing  is  gained  by  denial.  It  is  the  responsi- 
bility of  every  new  truth  to  vindicate  itself:  it  must 
not  only  produce  positive  evidence  in  its  favor,  but 
reveal  the  errors  in  the  theories  it  would  supplant. 
Cicero  gave  more  attention  to  the  arguments  brought 
against  him  than  those  he  could  urge  in  his  favor. 
To  show  the  old  false  is  essential  to  establish  the 
new. 

3.     Immortality  and  Science. 

Science  is  an  interpreter  of  the  senses.  The  phe- 
nomena attending  the  death  of  man  and  of  animals 
are  apparently  the  same.  The  processes  of  decay 
destroy  their  bodies,  resolving  them  into  identical 
elements.  In  vain  is  appeal  made  to  the  senses  for 
knowledge  of  existence  beyond  the  grave.  Their 
voice  is,  "  Dust  to  dust ; '  a  resurrection  of  new  or- 
ganic life  out  of  the  dead  atoms.  Man's  physical 
body  is  composed  of  perishable  compounds,  and,  of 
necessity,  must  perish.  Dissolution  is  the  terrible, 
but  unavoidable,  end  of  living  beings.  Composed  as 
they  are  of  elements  antagonistic,  gross,  and  conflict- 
ing, the  embryonic,  called  life,  cannot  be  preserved. 
A  living  being  represents  a  balance  of  the  forces  of 
decay  and  renovation.     In  the  maturing  organism, 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  37 

the  latter  predominate  ;  in  age,  the  former  rule  with 
constantly  increasing  power  until  they  gain  the  vic- 
tory in  d^ath.  Such  is  the  history  of  all  organic 
forms.  Out  of  the  imperfect  material  afforded  by 
the  physical  world,  immortal  beings  cannot  be  pro- 
duced. 

4.     Conditions  of  Immortality. 

An  immortal  being  presupposes  the  perfect  har- 
mony of  its  constituent  elements.  The  forces  of 
decay  and  renovation  must  not  only  balance,  they 
must  so  remain  forever.  Immortality  is  this  har- 
mony eternally  preserved ;  and,  if  attainable  with 
physical  elements,  an  immortal  lion  or  panther,  oak 
or  pine,  would  be  as  possible  as  an  immortal  man. 

5.     Impossible  with  Physical  Elements. 

But  such  conditions  cannot  obtain.  Organic  forms 
live  for  an  hour,  and  perish.  They  revolve  in  desig- 
nated orbits,  fulfill  appointed  missions,  and  pass 
back  to  elementary  atoms.  The  grass  and  herbs 
of  the  fields,  the  trees  of  centuries,  growth,  the  deer 
browsing  the  branches,  the  lion  devouring  the  deer, 
all  the  multitudinous  forms  of  animated  nature,  with 
man  boasting  of  his  superiority,  grow  old,  and  die. 
Identically  do  they  all  decay.  Their  dissolving  ele- 
ments are  absorbed  by  the  earth,  drunk  by  the  rains, 
wafted  away  by  the  winds.  All  are  resolved,  and 
mingle.  The  farthest  oasis  in  the  desert  is  refreshed 
by  the   gifts  brought  by  the  winds  and  rain :  the 


38  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

palm  is  taller,  the  grass  greener.  Life  rejoices  in 
the  harvest  of  the  old.  So  is  it  always :  life  preys 
on  death ;  and,  in  a  perpetual  cycle  of  change  from 
death  to  life,  the  world  is  filled  with  beings,  and  a 
fleeting  happiness  secured  to  each. 

6.     Does  the  Mind  perish  ? 

Man's  aspirations  —  are  they  also  to  perish  ?  Phys- 
ically, man  is  an  animal;  mentally,  "Ah!  what?'3 
asks  the  skeptic.  "  What  is  memory  but  an  inter- 
preted succession  of  what  before  were  automatic 
actions  ?  And  reason,  godlike  reason,  which  places 
an  impassable  abyss  between  man  and  animals, — 
what  is  it  but  comparison  of  perceptions  ?  What  is 
mind,  as  a  whole,  but  the  result  of  certain  chemical 
changes  in  the  grate,  or  electricity  of  changes  in  the 
battery  ?  Does  not  the  brain  secrete  thought  as  the 
liver  secretes  bile  ? "  *  These  questions  are  very  well, 
but  they  yield  no  explanation  of  spiritual  ideas :  they 
only  give  new  names  to  well-known  facts. 

Man  has  the  wants  of  the  animal ;  but,  after  these 
are  supplied,  he  feels  the  breath  of  new  and  vastly 
higher  aspirations.  Indefinable,  awful,  inexpressible 
desires  and  longings  seize  him.  He  feels  that  he  is 
akin  to  that  which  is  supreme.  He  thinks  blindly 
that  this  afflatus  is  the  breath  of  Deity,  and  shadow- 
ing forth  his  ideal.  He  describes  it  as  God,  endowed 
with  all  the  attributes  he  admires, — justice,  love, 
wisdom,  all  infinite  in  quantity  and  degree.  What 
is  this  shadow,  which  the  mortal,  man  the  animal, 

*  Carl  Vogt. 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  39 

calls  God,  and  worships  with  such  devotion  ?  Start- 
ling is  the  revelation.  It  is  man's  own  immortal 
essence.  As  in  a  mirror,  he  sees  his  own  divine 
qualities  reflected  back  from  the  domain  of  nature. 
It  is  not  true,  as  has  been  said,  that  men  assimilate 
to  their  gods  :  on  the  contrary,  their  gods  are  con- 
crete representatives  of  themselves. 

How  do  these  ideas  of  immortality  arise,  if  not 
true  ?  Nature,  interpreted  by  the  senses,  demon- 
strates mortality.  How,  then,  did  man  learn  this 
wonderful  truth  ?  Savage  man,  standing  by  his 
dying  brother,  who  presented  the  same  appearance 
as  the  deer  pierced  by  his  arrow,  said,  "  The  deer  is 
dead,  but  my  brother  still  lives,"  and  solved  the 
problem.  Did  he  learn  this  by  dreams  ?  He 
dreamed  of  meeting  his  departed  friends,  just  as 
we  now  dream,  and  supposed  they  still  existed. 
But  he  dreamed  of  seeing  animals  also ;  and  why 
did  he  not  bestow  immortality  on  them  ? 

7.  If  Man  is  not  Immortal,  how  can  he  un- 
derstand Immortality  ? 

You  might  as  well  talk  mathematics  as  immor- 
tality to  an  ox,  so  far  as  his  understanding  is  con- 
cerned. Why  ?  Because  he  has  not  the  elements 
of  either  in  his  organization.  The  ox  never  counts 
the  blades  of  grass,  nor  estimates  their  form  or  size. 
Only  so  far  as  they  appease  his  hunger,  can  he  appre- 
ciate their  qualities.  He  has  no  comprehension  of 
anything  beyond  the  gratification  of  his  appetite. 


4-0  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

In  man,  these  relations  are  suggested  because  he 
has  the  mental  qualities  which  represent  the  laws 
of  mathematics. 

So,  if  man  were  mortal,  vain  would  it  be  to  talk  to 
him  of  immortality ;  for,  not  having  the  capabilities, 
he  could  not  understand  that  existence.  As  well  a 
finite  being  comprehend  an  infinite,  as  a  mortal 
immortality.  That  man  aspires  for  immortal  life  is 
presumptive  evidence  that  he  has  the  possibilities 
of  that  life. 

8.     Opposition  of  Science  and  Spiritualism. 

The  facts  of  science  are  opposed  to  Spiritualism  : 
at  least,  such  is  their  interpretation,  as  given  by 
scientific  men,  who  ignore  the  facts  of  Spiritualism 
as  miraculous,  and  do  not  even  recognize  their 
existence.  But  spiritual  phenomena  are  as  positive, 
and  amenable  to  law,  as  physical,  and  quite  as  far 
removed  from  the  supernatural.  They  cannot  be 
explained  by  orthodox  science.  Scientists  have, 
without  exception,  signally  failed  ;  and  the  magni- 
tude of  their  failure  has  been  in  direct  proportion  to 
their  greatness.  They  start  wrong,  with  the  suppo- 
sition that  everything  claiming  to  be  spiritual  must 
be  miraculous  ;  and,  the  further  they  go,  the  more 
erroneous  they  become. 

9.     This  Conflict  is  not  Necessary. 

Science  has  become  exclusively  external.  One 
does  not  penetrate  beneath  the  outer  garb  of  ap- 


Evidences  of  Spirifoialism.  41 

pearances :  the  other  seeks  the  vital  soul  of  things, 
and  works  outward.  Physical  science  has  not  the 
whole,  complete  truth.  Spiritualism  supplies  the 
deficiency.  It  adds  new  elements  to  every  fact,  and 
modifies  the  conclusions  drawn  therefrom.  Shall  its 
facts  be  accepted  ? 

10.     Are  they  Legerdemain  ? 

When  an  investigator  enters  a  circle,  and  wit- 
nesses manifestations,  the  first  explanation  which 
suggests  itself  is  that  they  are  produced  by  legerde- 
main. The  precautions  of  honest  skepticism  against 
fraud  are  not  detrimental  nor  offensive ;  and  every 
precaution  should  be  taken  to  render  the  facts  trust- 
worthy. A  manifestation  which  admits  of  doubt  is 
valueless,  although  it  may  be  genuine.  Experiments 
should  always  be  instituted  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
avoid  all  possibility  of  e*rror.  Spiritualists  usually 
are  more  severe  in  their  tests  than  skeptics  ;  and  it 
is  improbable  that  they  are  self-deceived.  Mediums 
rely  on  their  own  communications,  and  hence  are 
not  only  deceivers,  but  deceived.  But  are  they -self- 
deceived  ?  They  rely  on  a  power  which  influences 
them  to  write,  speak,  and  act  in  a  manner  foreign  to 
themselves.  What  is  that  power  that  enlightens, 
purifies,  and  refines  those  subjected  to  its  influence  ? 

11.     Impossibility  of  moving  Matter. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  human  being  to  move  physi- 
cal matter  without  contact ;  and  the  moving  of  pon- 


42  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

derable  substances,  without  such  contact  of  the 
medium,  settles  the  question  of  self-deception  and 
collusion.  A  rap,  or  the  playing  of  a  musical  instru- 
ment at  a  distance  from  the  medium,  is  conclusive 
on  this  point.  The  movement  of  a  table,  while  the 
hands  of  the  circle  rest  on  its  surface,  of  itself  is  not 
satisfactory ;  but  it  becomes  so  by  the  intelligence 
of  its  answers.  If  it  answers  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  identify  the  controlling  force  with  the  departed 
whom  it  purports  to  be,  imparting  facts  unknown  to 
the  medium  or  circle,  the  cause,  whatever  it  may  be, 
is  removed  outside  of  the  circle. 

The  facts  which  prove  that  matter  has  been 
moved  without  contact,  musical  instruments  been 
played,  and  intelligence  manifested  superior  to  the 
medium,  are  so  common  for  the  present  we  take 
them  for  granted.  Volumes  might  readily  be  filled 
with  them  ;  but  skepticism,  to  be  thoroughly  con- 
vinced, *must  witness  for  itself,  as  belief  cannot  grow 
out  of  the  statement  of  what  others  have  seen. 

12.     Are  the  Senses  Reliable? 

If  the  medium  does  not  deceive,  perhaps  the  circle 
are  self-deceived :  perhaps  their  senses  are  unreli- 
able. Nowhere  else  are  they  so  deceptive  as  in  the 
border-land  lying  between  the  known  physical  realm, 
and  what  has  been  called  the  supernatural.  It  has 
become  fashionable  to  ridicule  everything  of  a  spirit- 
ual character  as  miraculous,  and  hence  unworthy  of 
credence.     Because  the   senses  are  sometimes  de- 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  43 

ceived,  their  evidence  is  entirely  discarded  unless 
susceptible  of  proof.  This  is  by  no  means  justifi- 
able. All  knowledge  is  referable  to  them  ;  and  we, 
in  the  end,  are  compelled  to  accept  their  testimony. 

They  often  become  deranged.  The  ear  hears,  the 
eye  sees,  when  there  is  nothing  external  to  produce 
sight  or  sound,  the  cause  residing  in  organic  changes 
in  the  nerves  or  brain.  The  deaf  hear  roaring  or 
whistling  sounds,  as  of  the  wind,  or  falling  water,  or 
rush  of  steam  ;  the  abnormal  action  of  the  auditory 
nerves  simulating  the  effects  of  sounds  naturally 
produced.  This  does  not  prove  that  there  is  no 
reliability  in  hearing.  Two  deaf  persons  listening 
for  the  same  sound  would  not  receive  it  alike. 
Hissing  to  one  would  be  roaring  to  the  other,  prov- 
ing that  neither  heard  an  external  sound.  The 
normal  ear  would  hear  no  sound,  and  its  evidence 
would  be  receivable.  The  records  of  insanity  fur- 
nish innumerable  instances  of  the  deception  of  the 
senses,  which  have  been  employed  to  account  for 
spiritual  phenomena.  If  the  senses  are  not  to  be 
trusted,  if  the  normal  cannot  be  distinguished  from 
the  abnormal,  it  should  be  known,  and  distrust 
awakened. 

The  savants,  who  annually  publish  "expositions' 
of  Spiritualism,  talk  as  if  the  world  was  a  world  of 
hallucinations,  —  an  unreliable,  phantom  existence. 
It  is  true  all  are  liable  to  hallucinations  ;  and  such 
liability  does  not  necessarily  indicate  insanity.  Dis- 
ease often  produces  hallucinations  ;  as  in  delirium 
tremens,  fevers,  and  fasting. 


44  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

Among  the  sane,  sight,  and,  among  the  insane, 
hearing,  are  oftenest  imposed  upon.  Brierre  states, 
that,  out  of  sixty-two  patients  in  his  asylum,  thirty- 
eight  had  hallucinations  :  of  sixty-six  cases  admitted 
into  the  Bicetre,  thirty-five  had  hallucinations.  The 
fiends  and  reptiles  of  delirium  tremens  are  repro- 
duced in  the  maniac  who  fancies  himself  pursued,  or 
wild  beasts  ready  to  devour  him. 

"  A  patient  in  the  York  Dispensary  used  to  com- 
plain bitterly  of  a  voice  repeating  in  his  ear  every- 
thing that  he  was  reading  ;  and,  on  one  occasion,  he 
distinctly  heard  the  same  voice  commanding  him  to 
throw  himself  into  a  pond  in  his  garden.  He  obeyed 
the  voice ;  and  when  removed  from  the  water,  and 
asked  why  he  had  done  so  rash  an  act,  he  replied 
that  he  much  regretted  it,  but  added,  *  He  told  me 
that  I  must  do  it,  and  I  could  not  help  it/  " 

"The  poet  Cowper  was  distracted  by  hallucinations 
of  the  sense  of  hearing.  '  The  words/  says  his  biog- 
rapher, '  which  occurred  to  him  on  waking,  though 
but  his  own  imaginations,  were  organically  heard ; 
and  Mr.  Johnson,  perceiving  how  fully  he  was  im- 
pressed with  their  reality,  ventured  upon  a  question- 
able experiment.  He  introduced  a  tube  into  his 
chamber,  near  the  bed's  head,  and  employed  one, 
with  whose  voice  Cowper  was  not  acquainted,  to 
speak  words  of  comfort  through  this  contrivance. 
The  reality  of  his  impressions  is  shown  by  the 
remarkable  fact  that  he  did  not  discover  the  artifice. 
His  attendant,  one  day,  found  him  with  a  penknife 
sticking  in  his  side,  with  which  he  had  attempted 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  45 

suicide,  believing  he  had  been  ordered  to  do  so  by  a 
voice  from  heaven." 

Hallucinations  of  the  sense  of  touch  exist  but 
rarely  among  the  insane.  Haslam  records  a  case  of 
a  man  who  fancied  himself  pursued  by  a  gang  of 
villains,  learned  in  the  secrets  of  pneumatic  chem- 
istry, who  used  their  knowledge  to  inflict  punish- 
ment on  him.  They  would  draw  out  the  fibres  of 
his  tongue;  stretch  a  veil  over  his  brain,  and  thus 
intercept  the  communication  between  his  mind  and 
heart ;  or,  by  means  of  magnetic  fluids,  almost 
squeeze  him  to  death. 

Berbiquin  believed  that  hobgoblins  were  con- 
stantly coming  to  and  leaving  his  body,  supporting 
themselves  on  him  in  order  to  fatigue  him,  and 
oblige  him  to  sit  down.  These  invisible  enemies 
traveled  over  him  day  and  night ;  and  their  weight 
was  sometimes  such  that  he  was  afraid  of  being 
smothered. 

Hallucinations  of  smell  are  of  rare  occurrence,  or 
are  complicated  with  those  of  other  senses.  "Pa- 
tients do,  however,  complain  of  very  bad  odors,  and, 
at  other  times,  of  very  pleasant  ones,  when  neither 
have  any  existence.  We  had  a  very  good  example 
of  the  former  in  an  insane  patient,  who  complained 
exceedingly  of  the  injury  done  to  her  health  by  the 
sulphurous  fumes  with  which  some  one,  as  she  be- 
lieved, continually  filled  her  room." 

The  same  author  describes  a  lady  with  disordered 
mind,  in  whom  "  all  the  senses  were  abnormal.  She 
heard  a  voice  from  her  stomach  continually  torment- 


46  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

ing  her,  and  directing  her  actions,  and  at  length 
made  her  believe  that  she  was  possessed.  She  saw- 
fearfully  distorted  forms  in  her  room,  defiling  before 
her.  Her  food  tasted  like  vinegar,  or  other  things 
which  she  detested.  When  walking,  she  felt  drenched 
with  ice-water ;  and  she  was  frequently  annoyed  with 
disagreeable  odors. 

The  author  previously  quoted  thus  presents  a 
succinct  view  of  this  subject:  "Hallucinations  may 
be  continuous,  remittent,  intermittent,  or  periodical. 
They  may,  although  rarely,  be  at  the  will  of  the 
individual,  so  that  he  can  recall  them  at  pleasure. 
They  may  have  one  character  to-day,  and  another  to- 
morrow. In  some  cases,  in  which  the  sense  of  sight 
is  hallucinated,  closing  the  eyes  will  dispel  the  affec- 
tion. Sometimes  the  patient  hears  sounds  through 
only  one  ear,  or  sees  imaginary  objects  through  one 
eye;  the  other  eye  or  ear  being  unaffected.  Again 
the  number  of  voices  will  vary.  In  some  instances, 
an  animated  dialogue  is  sustained  with  all  the  force 
of  reality  ;  in  others,  two  or  more  distinct  voices  are 
recognized  by  the  patient ;  and  a  linguist  will  occa- 
sionally hear  voices  in  different  languages." 

13.     What  is  Hallucination? 

Hallucination  is  the  perception  of  the  sensible 
signs  of  an  idea :  "  illusion  is  the  false  appreciation 
of  real  sensations."  "  Either  may  exist  (the  former 
rarely)  in  persons  of  sound  mind  :  but,  in  that  case, 
they  are  discredited  in  consequence  of  the  exercise 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  47 

of  reason  and  observation  ;  or,  if  credited,  they  do 
not  influence  the  actions." 


14.     Spiritual  Phenomena  Hallucinations. 

It  is  said  that  those  who  witness  spirit-manifesta- 
tions are  hallucinated,  and  the  facts  of  Spiritualism 
are  thus  summarily  classed  with  those  of  insanity. 

A  proper  understanding  of  both  series  of  facts 
shows  the  puerility  of  this  assertion.  If  a  score  of 
persons  subject  to  illusions  were  in  company,  no  two 
would  be  hallucinated  alike.  If  one  saw  the  table 
move,  there  would  not  be  another  to  corroborate 
him.  If  two  should  see  the  table  move,  it  would  be 
presumptive  that  their  sense  of  sight  was  normal ; 
and,  if  three,  it  would  be  positively  certain. 

At  circles,  all  the  members  see,  feel,  and  hear 
alike.  How,  then,  can  it  be  called  illusion  or  hallu- 
cination ?  The  facts  presented  show  many  points 
of  resemblance  to  those  of  Spiritualism.  How  far 
departed  minds  may  influence  the  insane  is  a  ques- 
tion Spiritualism  only  can  solve.  The  ancients 
believed  insanity  wholly  caused  by  spiritual  obses- 
sion, and  they  had  a  shadow  of  the  truth.  But  any 
one  experienced  in  spiritual  manifestations  can  draw 
a  sharp  line  between  the  narrow  hallucinations  of  the 
insane,  or  illusions  of  the  sane,  and  the  ever-chang- 
ing, broad,  and  characteristic  facts  of  Spiritualism. 

If  it  is  considered  probable  that  the  members  of 
a  circle  are  hallucinated,  that  thousands  should  be 
so  is  not   only  improbable,  but   impossible.     Wise 


48  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

and  learned  men  have  unqualifiedly  endorsed  its 
facts,  and  bravely  announced  their  belief.  It  is  not 
a  single  case  of  insanity,  but  of  millions,  all  infatu- 
ated alike,  if  they  are  infatuated  ;  and,  as  the  quoted 
facts  show,  rarely,  if  ever,  are  two  individuals  con- 
temporaneously alike,  —  the  chances  of  their  being 
so  become  infinitely  improbable. 

A  list  of  the  names  of  those  who  have  embraced 
Spiritualism  would  include  the  leading  men  of  the 
nation,  —  statesmen  who  wield  the  most  power,  scien- 
tists, and  almost  all  the  advanced  and  radical  think- 
ers. Dare  any  one  brave  the  sneers  of  coming  ages 
by  declaring  all  these  hallucinated  ?  If  the  senses 
are  valueless  in  informing  as  to  a  table's  moving, 
how  can  they  be  trusted  as  to  its  not  moving?  If 
twenty  persons  think  they  see  it  move  when  it  is 
stationary,  who  is  to  judge  whether  it  be  stationary 
or  not  ?  Then  we  float  into  a  sea  of  unreality,  and 
science  itself  has  no  basis.  If  the  senses  of  sight, 
hearing,  touch,  are  unreliable,  presenting  what  is 
false,  then  there  is  no  certainty  anywhere.  But  this 
once  favorite  theory  is  thrown  aside  by  more  enlight- 
ened opponents,  but  is  still  urged  by  those  who  have 
not  taken  the  trouble  to  acquaint  themselves  with 
the  phenomena. 

15.     Is  it  Evil  Spirits,  or  the  Devil? 

The  opposers  of  Spiritualism  have  each  a  favorite 
theory,  which  they  maintain  with  dogmatic  compla- 
cency.    There  is  a  respectable  party,  who  have  at 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  49 

once  fallen  on  a  sure  and  perfect  method,  which 
quiets  their  nerves,  and  satisfactorily  explains  the 
whole  subject.  When  Luther  lit  the  fires  of  the 
Reformation,  and  Catholicism  saw  the  fierce  flames 
rise  high,  and  lap  its  most  cherished  institutions, 
the  priesthood  mounted  the  summits  of  their  grim 
towers,  and  shrieked,  in  one  long,  wild  refrain,  "  The 
Devil !  the  Devil !  " 

When  England  threw  off  the  Catholic  yoke,  and 
became  spiritually  free,  there  came  across  the  wide 
sea,  and  echoed  along  the  shores  of  the  channel,  that 
awful,  sullen,  and  portentous  growl,  "  The  Devil ! ' 

When  a  comet's  glare  flashed  out  on  the  evening 
sky,  and  shook  out  its  fiery  train,  the  Pope  prayed 
to  be  saved  from  the  arch-fiend,  the  Devil ! 

When  a  concussion,  manifesting  intelligence,  is 
heard,  and  a  table  moved  by  invisible  power ;  when 
individuals  fall  into  an  unconscious  state,  and  have 
the  realities  of  the  future  life  revealed  to  them,  — 
the  clergy  mount  their  pulpits,  and  shriek,  "The 
Devil ! '  Ah  !  Satan,  you  are  much  abused.  You 
are  the  scape-goat  for  all  the  folly  and  ignorance  of 
the  world. 

The  party  who  receive  this  theory  is  large,  and 
headed  by  strong  leaders.  Whether  referred  to  the 
Devil  or  evil  spirits,  this  important  question  arises  : 
If  evil  spirits  can  communicate,  why  not  the  good  ? 
Ah  !  here  is  an  unfortunate  dilemma.  Can  a  benev- 
olent God  let  loose  on  mankind  an  innumerable  host 
of  demons,  and  allow  them  to  delude  the  children  of 
men,  and  obstruct  all  avenues  by  which  the  good 
4 


50  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

and  loving  ones  can  hold  the  same  intercourse  ? 
Such  a  conclusion  would  be  a  profanation  of  Deity, 
contradictory  to  the  Bible  by  which  the  theory  is 
supported.  Take  the  parable  of  Dives  and  Lazarus. 
Dives  was  an  evil  spirit ;  but  he  could  not  return 
to  earth,  and  hence  requested  Lazarus  to  bear  a 
message  to  his  brethren.  The  Bible  thus  proves 
that  the  good  spirits,  if  they  desire,  can  communi- 
cate ;  but  the  bad  cannot. 

"  The  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit.  The  good  tree 
cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  nor  the  evil  tree  good 
fruit."  Spiritualism  makes  men  better.  It  teaches 
a  sublime  code  of  morality.  It  destroys  infidelity. 
It  inculcates  virtue,  goodness,  and  purity.  It  holds 
out  the  greatest  inducements  for  right  doing.  It 
destroys  oppression.  It  gives  assurance  of  an  after- 
life, and  the  presence  of  loved  ones  gone  before.  It 
threatens  a  terrible  retribution  on  those  who  do 
wrong.  Can  such  sweet  waters  flow  from  a  bitter 
fountain  ? 

1 6.     Is  it  Electricity? 

Static  electricity,  as  generated  by  an  electrical 
machine  or  other  means,  is  always  detected  by  elec- 
trometers. When  of  any  degree  of  tension,  it  gives 
a  spark ;  but  even  when  accumulated  to  the  extent 
of  human  means,  as  in  the  Leyden  battery,  it  does 
not  move  objects  in  the  manner  that  tables  are 
moved.  It  can  only  affect  objects  directly  in  its 
path,  and  that  for  an  almost  infinitely  short  space  of 
time.     Wheatstone   calculated    that  it  would  past 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  5 1 

around  the  globe  in  the  tenth  of  a  second.  How 
instantaneous  must  be  its  passage  from  one  neigh- 
boring object  to  another  !  In  electricity  generated 
by  a  machine  or  battery,  perfect  insulation  is  requi- 
site, as  in  telegraphic  apparatus.*  In  a  circle,  as 
usually  constituted,  there  is  no  insulation,  no  gener- 
ating battery,  not  a  single  condition  necessary  for 
the  production  of  an  electrical  effect ;  and  the  most 
delicate  instrument  science  can  devise  for  the  detec- 
tion of  that  force  gives  not  the  least  indication  of 
its  presence.  Lightning  might  rend  a  table  into 
splinters,  if  in  its  path  ;  but  it  could  not  rock  it  to 
and  fro.  The  snapping  sound  of  the  electric  spark 
is  entirely  different  from  the  rappings. 

17.     Is  it  Magnetism? 

Those  who  understand  the  laws  of  the  magnet 
well  know  that  a  table,  however  violently  it  may 
move  when  subjected  to  magnetic  tests,  gives  not 
the  least  indication  of  magnetic  attraction.  There 
are  extremely  few  substances  in  nature  capable  of 

*  The  "wise  men"  who  illustrate  this  theory  by  instancing 
the  electrical  eel  as  producing  electrical  shocks,  and  the  cases 
where  individuals  have  been  in  an  electrified  state,  yielding 
sparks,  forget  to  mention  that  the  human  organism  has  no 
special  electrical  apparatus,  like  the  gymnotus  ;  and  the  elec- 
trified condition  is  rarely  met  with  in  circles  or  mediums.  If 
the  moving  object  is  electrified,  every  floating  shred  of  dust 
will  indicate  the  fact ;  and  laying  the  hands  of  the  medium  or 
circle  on  a  table,  so  far  from  "charging"  it,  would  instantly 
discharge  it,  however  strongly  electrified. 


52  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

exhibiting  this  property.  Iron  is  the  principal  one  ; 
and  it  has  been  questioned  whether  the  others  do 
not  derive  the  slight  magnetism  from  a  trace  of  iron 
they  contain.  Wood  may  be  termed  the  antipode 
of  iron,  magnetically.  An  iron  article  moves  no 
better  than  one  of  wood.  The  table,  when  moving, 
will  not  attract  the  smallest  iron  filing,  any  more 
than,  electrically,  it  will  attract  a  pith  ball.  It 
sounds  exceedingly  wise  to  refer  a  fact  to  electricity 
or  magnetism,  and  has  been  quite  the  fashion.  The 
human  body  cannot  charge  a  table  electrically  or 
magnetically.  It  never  exhibits  the  latter  force. 
Both  these  hypotheses  are  untenable.  The  odic 
force  is  equally  so.  In  none  of  Reichenbach's  ex- 
periments, did  he  find  odic  force  capable  of  moving 
a  particle  of  matter.  Acting  on  the  nervous  system, 
it  attracted  or  repelled  persons  susceptible  of  its 
influence.  It  acts  entirely  and  exclusively  on  living 
beings,  and  has  not  the  least  effect  on  inorganic 
bodies.  This  theory  flourished  for  a  time,  made 
popular  by  its  sounding  name,  and  the  ignorance  of 
those  who  received  as  well  as  of  those  who  taught 
it.  Od  force  has  no  more  intelligence  than  iron  or 
lime  or  heat.  How,  then,  account  for  intelligent 
communication  ?  Does  it  absorb  them  from  the 
minds  of  the  circle  ?  How  account  for  its  intelli- 
gence transcending  the  knowledge  of  the  circle  ? 

1 8.     Mental  Phenomena. 

So  theorists  attempt  to  account  for  the  mental 
manifestations,  as  trance,  writing,  etc*,  by  mesmer- 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  53 

ism  or  psychology.  Here,  there  is  a  show  of  ar- 
gument for  impressibility,  —  allowing  a  spirit  freed 
from  the  physical  body  to  communicate  is  the  same 
which  allows  a  mesmerizer  to  impress  his  thoughts 
on  the  mesmerized  subject.  The  spiritual  and  mes- 
meric are  mixed,  because  they  depend  on  the  same 
laws  and  conditions.  It  is  probable  that  much  that 
is  received  as  spiritual  might  be  readily  traced  to 
special  mesmeric  causes.  But  mesmeric  impressions 
do  not  go  outside  of  the  person  or  objects  en  rapport 
with  the  subject.  They  never  reveal  what  is  un- 
known to  those  in  connection.  Spiritual  impressi- 
bility reaches  outside  of  surroundings,  and  reveals 
the  thoughts  of  the  spirit  who  is  en  rapport.  No 
one  pretends  psychology  moves  articles  of  furniture 
without  physical  contact.  It  can  be  employed  only 
in  the  domain  of  mind,  and  fails  even  then  of  a  com- 
plete explanation. 

How  can  the  following  fact  be  explained  by  any 
law  of  psychology  ?  I  state  it  because  of  the  au- 
thority, not  because  it  is  unique.  It  is  related  by 
Dr.  Hare  ("  Spiritualism  Scientifically  Demonstrat- 
ed,"  p.  171). 

"  I  was  sitting  in  my  solitary,  third-story  room  at 
Cape  Island,  invoking  my  sister,  as  usual,  when,  to 
my  surprise,  I  saw  '  Cadwallader '  spelled  out  on  the 
desk.  '  My  old  friend,  Cadwallader  ? '  said  I.  '  Yes/ 
A  communication  of  much  interest  ensued ;  but, 
before  concluding,  I  requested  him,  as  -a  test,  to 
give  me  the  name  of  the  person  whom  I  met  in  an 
affair  of  honor,  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  when  he 


54  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

was  my  second.  The  name  was  forthwith  given,  by 
pointing  out  on  the  desk  the  letters  requisite  to  spell 
it.  Now,  as  the  spirit  of  General  Cadwallader,  dur- 
ing more  than  fifteen  months  that  other  friends  had 
sought  to  communincate  with  me,  had  never  made 
me  a  visit,  why  should  his  name  have  been  spelled 
out  when  I  had  not  the  remotest  idea  of  his  coming, 
and  was  expecting  another  spirit,  —  the  only  one 
who  had  been  with  me  at  the  cape  ?  Further,  the 
breakfast-bell  being  rung,  I  said,  '  Will  you  come 
again  after  breakfast  ?  ■  I  understood  him  to  con- 
sent to  this  invitation.  Accordingly,  when  after- 
wards I  reseated  myself  in  statu  quo,  I  looked  for 
him ;  but,  lo !  i  Martha/  my  sisters  name,  was 
spelled  out." 

19.     Position  of  Scientists. 

Scientific  men  have  generally  been  the  most  un- 
fair and  prejudiced  opposers.  They  are  quick  to 
say  that  they  are  the  only  class  capable  of  investiga- 
tion. They  scorn  the  idea  that  ordinary  persons 
can  make  close  observations.  In  every  experiment, 
they  know  certain  well-determined  conditions  must 
be  fulfilled ;  and  nature,  not  themselves,  determines 
these  conditions.  When  these  savants  attempt  to 
investigate,  they  invariably  reverse  this  axiom  ;  and, 
if  they  are  not  allowed  to  enforce  conditions,  at 
once  discard  the  whole.  They  are  moral  cowards, 
who,  daring  not  to  acknowledge  the  truth,  avail 
themselves  of  this  means  to  extricate  themselves. 
Sir  David  Brewster,  seeing  a  table  rise  into  the  air, 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  55 

said,  "  It  seems  to  rise."  He  did  not  believe  his 
eyes,  or  else  did  not  say  that  he  did.  When  Far- 
aday was  told  that  his  table-turning  theory  had 
failed,  that  tables  actually  rose  into  the  air,  he  dared 
not  go  and  see  for  himself,  but  expressed  himself 
u  heartily  tired  of  the  whole  matter."  To  honestly 
investigate  the  phenomena  is  to  become  a  believer. 
This  is  the  invariable  result.  Those  who  oppose 
them  are  unexceptionably  those  who  know  nothing 
about  them. 

It  is  the  misfortune  of  theorizers  that  there  are 
two  classes  of  phenomena  to  account  for,- — the  phys- 
ical and  the  mental ;  and  a  theory,  however  nicely  ad- 
justed to  one,  is  sure  to  be  overthrown  by  the  other. 
It  has  been  a  favorite  hobby  with  many  to  say,  with 
a  wise  accent,  "  It  results  from  some  unknown  law 
of  mind."  If  the  mental  phenomena  were  alone,  this 
might  satisfy  superficiality  ;  but  is  not  the  rising  of 
a  table  into  the  air  a  wonderful  feat  for  an  M  unknown 
law  of  mind "  ?  So  account  for  the  physical  phe- 
nomena, and  there  lies  an  immense  field  of  mental 
manifestations  wholly  beyond  explanation. 

Many  of  the  theories  advanced  require  a  much 
greater  stretch  of  credulity  than  the  acceptance  of 
the  one  of  its  spiritual  source. 

20.     The   Intelligence   manifested   is    Human 

Intelligence. 

It  is  conceded  that  the  communicating  power, 
whatever  it  be,  manifests  intelligence.     It  is  of  the 


56  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

same  order  as  our  own.     It  is  human  intelligence, 
partaking  of  all  its  qualities. 

21.     it  is   not   derived  from  the   medium   or 

•  Circle. 

This  intelligence  is  not  derived  from  the  circle  or 
the  medium.  Volumes  of  facts  might  be  introduced 
in  proof  of  this  point.  It  is  not  derived  by  absolute 
knowledge,  nor  clairvoyantly. 

This  conclusion,  sooner  or  later,  must  be  reached. 
The  bigoted  churchmen,  who  attempt  an  explana- 
tion on  any  other  ground,  little  understand  the 
dangerous  weapons  they  handle.  Admit  that  these 
manifestations  are  explainable  by  "  unknown  laws  of 
mind,"  by  "  odylic  force,"  or  electricity,  will  not  the 
same  explanation  apply  to  the  records  of  the  Bible  ? 
Christ  becomes  a  poor  deluded,  biologized  person  ; 
the  miracles,  only  feats  of  "  odylic  force."  Let  the 
doctors  of  divinity  take  this  ground,  and  they  pro- 
claim Christianity  a  despicable  sham,  and  them- 
selves arrant  deceivers. 

22.     But  one  Recourse. 

There  is  but  one  recourse,  —  the  acceptance  of 
its  spiritual  origin  ;  and  then  Christianity  becomes 
spiritualized,  and  the  so-called  supernatural  in  Hin- 
dostan,  China,  Persia,  Europe,  and  America,  at 
once  becomes  amenable  to  law,  and  order  is  dis- 
cernible amidst  even  the  confusion  of  dogmatic 
beliefs. 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  57 

23.     Identification  of  Spirits. 

The  strongest  arguments  in  favor  of  the  spiritual 
origin  of  the  manifestations  are  found  in  the  physi- 
cal phenomena.  The  independent  moving  of  inani- 
mate objects,  sounds  produced  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  medium,  are  entirely  outside  of  the  laws  of 
mentality.  Let  us  suppose  a  concussion  is  pro- 
duced :  how  can  it  be  identified ;  how  proved  of 
spiritual  origin  ;  how  referred  to  a  certain  individ- 
ual ?  If  a  friend  was  concealed  in  an  adjacent  room, 
and  the  only  means  of  communication  was  by  his 
rapping  on  the  door,  how  would  you  proceed  to 
identify  him  ?  Would  it  not  be  by  his  correctly 
answering  questions  which  none  other  could  an- 
swer ?  And,  if  he  thus  answered  you,  would  you 
not  consider  his  identification  complete  ? 

It  is  precisely  in  this  manner  that  spirits  commu- 
nicate by  rappings,  and  in  this  manner  can  they  be 
identified.  When  identified,  the  real  cause  of  the 
manifestations  is  determined. 


III. 

EVIDENCES   OF   SPIRITUALISM. 

What  was  I  before  I  was  born  ?    What  am  I  now  ?    What  shall  I  be  to- 
morrow ?  —  Gregory  of  Nazi  an. 

The  world  will  perish ;  but  the  soul  of  man  is  immortal.  —  Gregory  of 

Nyssa. 

/  It  (Spiritualism)  has  more  evidence  for  its  wonders  than  any  historic  form 
of  religion  hitherto.  It  is  thoroughly  democratic,  with  no  hierarchy; 
but  inspiration  is  open  to  all.  It  is  no  fixed  fact;  has  no  puncttim 
stans;  but  is  a  punctwn  fluens.  It  admits  all  the  truths  of  religion  and 
morality  in  all  the  world-sects.  —  Theodore  Parker. 

24.     Materialism. 

WE  have  learned  to  discard  the  supernatural 
and  miraculous.  Even  the  churches  have 
become  skeptical ;  and  their  great  leaders  scoff  at 
the  spiritual.  What  Hume  wrote  in  the  last  cen- 
tury, and  which  branded  his  name  with  infamy,  has 
now  become,  in  reality,  a  part  of  their  belief. 

This  skepticism  and  materialism  is  a  natural  re- 
action against  the  superstitions  of  the  dark  ages, 
as  Spiritualism  is  a  counteraction  against  its  dark- 
ness. 

25.     The  Impossible. 

In  producing  proof  in  favor  of  spirit-communion, 
we  are  necessitated  to  use  the  evidence  of  others. 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  59 

Those  who  have  never  seen  objects  move  say  it  is 
an  impossibility.  That  is  a  word  of  ready  use,  but 
is  an  expression  of  conceit  and  ignorance.  The  wise 
will  rather  acknowledge  that  he  knows  too  little  to 
say  anything  is  impossible.  Of  the  laws  which 
operate  in  the  vast  unknown,  we  know  not ;  and  it 
is  puerile  to  draw  positive  conclusions  from  the 
little  that  is  known.  Columbus  and  Harvey,  Kepler, 
Galileo,  and  every  one  who  has  given  expression  to 
a  new  thought,  has  been  met  by  the  "  impossible." 
After  a  time,  their  truths  become  possible  enough ; 
and  the  present  always  smiles  at  the  positive  expres- 
sions of  past  ignorance. 

26.     The  Positive. 

There  are  few  things  which  are  positive.  Mathe- 
matics is  the  only  science  which  we  can  regard  as 
fixed.  A  problem  in  geometry,  as  that  the  square 
formed  on  the  hypothenuse  of  a  right-angled  trian- 
gle is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  squares  formed  on  the 
other  two  sides,  depending  as  it  does  on  the  unvary- 
ing relations  of  numbers,  can  never  change,  and  is 
a  positive  expression.  Outside  of  mathematics,  the 
positive  realm  is  very  narrow,  although  daily  enlarg- 
ing with  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  If  an  object 
has  never  been  observed  to  move,  the  evidence  of 
witnesses  may  yield  an  infinitely  probable  proof. 
Circumstantial  evidence  in  law  rests  on  this  prin- 
ciple. 

It  is  considered,  if  several  witnesses  of  known 


60  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

veracity  agree  in  their  statements,  it  is  morally  cer- 
tain that  they  speak  the  truth.  Thus,  if  a  witness 
is  of  sufficient  veracity  and  clearness  of  sight  to 
speak  the  truth  ten  times  out  of  eleven,  then  there 
are  ten  chances  to  one  that  any  statement  he  may 
make  is  correct.  If  another  witness,  of  equal  relia- 
bility, aver  to  the  same,  the  chances  are  ten  times 
ten,  or  one  hundred.  If  a  third  testify  to  the  same, 
the  probabilities  are  ten  times  one  hundred,  or  one 
thousand. 

27.     The  Senses. 

The  testimony  of  the  senses  is  received  in  law 
as  prima-facie  evidence.  No  judge  would  suppose 
that  he  was  imposed  upon,  and  no  counsel  argue 
that  witnesses  should  be  set  aside  because  no  faith 
can  be  placed  in  the  eyes  or  ears.  Life  and  death 
are  made  dependent  on  the  senses :  otherwise  all 
received  rules  of  evidence  must  be  set  aside.  We 
live  in  a  dream-world ;  and  so  hallucinated  are  we, 
that  there  are  none  to  tell  us  of  our  hallucination. 
We  receive  Berkeley's  idea,  that  the  external  world 
is  only  a  fancy  of  the  mind  without  any  real  exist- 
ence. 

When  thousands  of  reliable  witnesses  testify  that 
they  have  seen  objects  moved  without  contact,  the 
probabilities  are  infinite  that  they  have  done  so. 
No  amount  of  negative  testimony  is  of  any  avail. 
That  a  thousand  individuals  have  not  seen  a  table 
move,  does  not  invalidate  the  testimony  of  one  who 
has. 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  61 

28.     Belief  Educational. 

We  place  the  greatest  reliance  on  the  evidence  of 
our  senses  ;  and,  although  we  say  we  take  that  of 
others  reported  to  us  as  equally  valuable,  practically 
we  do  not  believe  until  we  have  seen,  especially  that 
which  is  unusual,  and  out  of  the  common  order. 
Our  egotism  makes  us  consider  ourselves  the  best 
judges  in  the  world.  Belief  is  very  much  a  matter 
of  education ;  and  we  have  little  hope  that  all  the 
argument  possible  to  produce  will  be  of  any  avail. 
Hence  we  rely  on  facts.  The  advent  of  Spiritualism 
is  through  facts,  and  not  theories.  Its  purpose  is  to 
destroy  theories,  and  place  positive  knowledge  in 
their  stead. 

29.     Spirit  is  Individualized  Force. 

It  is  in  the  invisible,  the  intangible,  not  in  the  ex- 
ternal and  tangible,  that  force  resides.  Power  must 
be  an  attribute  of  spirit,  and  spirit  only ;  for  the 
gross  external,  what  in  common  speech  is  called 
matter,  is  nothing  without  life. 

30.     One  Fact  is  of  more  Value  than  a  thou- 
sand Theories  ; 

And,  if  it  can  be  proved  that  spirit  can  move  matter, 
its  modus  operandi  is  of  secondary  consideration. 

31.     Why  not  given  to  the  World  before. 

Had  it  in  any  former  age  assumed  its  positive, 
rationalistic  character,  the   world   would   not   have 


62  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

been  ready  to  receive  it.  Mediums  would  have 
been  destroyed  as  wizards  and  witches,  and  dark- 
ness would  have  been  triumphant. 

Spirits  cannot  exceed,  in  their  communications, 
the  intellectual  temperature  of  the  age;  nor  can 
man.  The  most  exalted  genius  is  chained  by  the 
demands  of  his  time.  He  cannot  far  exceed  it : 
neither  can  spirits ;  else,  as  is  expressed  in  a  homely 
proverb,  they  will  be  casting  pearls  before  swine. 
This  objection  can  be  made  against  every  system 
in  the  world.  Why  was  not  Christianity  introduced 
before?  Was  it  not  needed  as  imperatively  three 
thousand  years  ago  as  now  ?  There  is  a  repug- 
nance, in  some  quarters,  to  the  doctrine  that  spirits 
return  to  earth.  The  old  mythological  idea,  that 
they  slept  until  the  resurrection  trump,  or  went  di- 
rect to  a  place  from  whence  they  could  not  escape, 
has  secured  such  a  strong  hold  that  it  is  difficult  to 
eradicate  it.  The  objection  has  been  ably  met  by  a 
distinguished  writer. 

32.      HOW  IS   IT   POSSIBLE   FOR   SPIRITS  TO  RETURN? 

By  the  same  method  by  which  they  leave  the 
world.  How  do  they  leave  ?  Let  the  skeptic  an- 
swer. If  it  be  asked,  "How  can  they  converse  ?,;  we 
reply,  "  How  can  men  converse,  thousands  of  miles 
apart,  by  an  earthly  telegraph  ? "  We  are  told,  by 
the  medium  of  electricity.  You  have,  then,  our  an- 
swer ;  and  we  would  press  the  inquiry  by  asking  if 
men,  by  a  knowledge  of  the  eternal  principles  of 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  63 

nature,  can  daguerreotype  a  human  countenance 
upon  a  metallic  plate,  think  you  it  must  be  impos- 
sible for  spirit-friends  to  stamp  an  idea,  a  thought, 
a  sentence,  a  book,  upon  the  human  intellect  ? 
Which  is  the  more  reasonable  to  suppose,  —  that 
God,  in  the  constitution  of  his  universe,  left  no 
means  of  communication  for  his  children,  or  that 
he  has  given  to  all  the  agencies  of  reciprocal  ap- 
proach and  friendship. 

33.     Not  New. 

Although  greatly  developed  in  the  present,  spirit- 
communication  is  by  no  means  new.  The  world 
was  not  prepared  to  receive  the  phase  they  have 
taken  now ;  but  history  is  filled  with  accounts  of 
spirit-manifestations.  Poets  have  sung  of  it  in  all 
ages.  It  has  entered  into  the  sacred  and  current 
literature  of  all  races.  The  Old  Testament  is  filled 
with  it :  it  is  the  warp  and  woof  of  the  sacred  books 
of  all  nations.  So  far  from  being  new,  it  is  as  old  as 
mankind. 

In  the  year  364  of  our  era,  or  fifteen  hundred  and 
five  years  ago,  in  the  reign  of  the  Roman  Emperor 
Valens,  mediums  conversed  by  means  of  rappings, 
and  employed  the  alphabet.  The  spirit-pendulum, 
almost  exactly  in  result  like  the  dial,  was  then  in 
use.  It  consisted  of  a  ring  suspended  by  a  thread 
over  a  bowl  of  water,  around  the  margin  of  which 
the  alphabet  was  arranged.  By  successively  swing- 
ing to  the  desired  letters,  words  and  sentences  were 
spelled.     Numa  Pompilius  used  it  in  this  manner  in 


64  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

augury.     Such  a  pendulum  has  been  used  by  mod- 
ern mediums  successfully. 

The  subject  passed  into  disrepute  as  a  black  art, 
and  dealings  with  the  Devil.  Learned  men  scoff  at 
the  dial  as  a  new  trick.  If  it  be  one,  it  is  fifteen 
centuries  old. 

34.     First  Manifestations. 

In  the  little  village  of  Hydesville,  N.  Y.,  stood 
a  small,  unpretending  dwelling,  temporarily  occu- 
pied by  an  honest  farmer  and  his  family,  —  a  wife 
and  two  daughters.  He  removed  to  it  on  the 
nth  of  December,  1847;  and,  from  the  first,  the 
manifestations  began.  "The  noises  increased  night- 
ly ;  and  occasionally  they  heard  footsteps  in  the 
rooms.  The  children  felt  something  heavy  lie  on 
their  feet  when  in  bed  ;  and  Kate  felt,  as  it  were,  a 
cold  hand  passed  over  her  face.  Sometimes  the 
bed-clothes  were  pulled  off;  chairs  and  dining-tables 
were  moved  from  their  places.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox, 
night  after  night,  lighted  a  candle,  and  explored  the 
whole  house  in  vain.  Raps  were  made  on  the  doors 
as  they  stood  close  to  them  ;  but,  on  suddenly  open- 
ing them,  no  one  was  visible."  They  were  far  from 
superstitious,  and  still  hoped  for  some  natural  ex- 
planation, especially  as  the  annoyance  always  took 
place  in  the  night. 

35.     They  assume  a  new  Character. 

In  March,  1848,  they  assumed  a  new  character. 
The  children's  bed  had  been  moved  into  the  room 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  65 

of  their  parents ;  but  scarcely  had  Mrs.  Fox  lain 
down  when  the  noises  became  as  violent  as  before. 
The  children  shouted,  "Here  they  are  again."  Their 
father  shook  the  sashes  to  see  if  they  were  not  moved 
by  the  wind,  when  the  lively  Kate  observed  that  the 
sounds  were  imitated.  She  then  snapped  her  fin- 
gers, and  asked  it  to  repeat,  which  was  done.  She 
then  simply  made  motions  with  her  thumb  and  fin- 
ger, and  the  rap  followed.  The  invisible  power, 
whatever  it  was,  could  see  and  hear.  Mrs.  Fox's 
attention  was  arrested.  She  asked  it  to  count  ten, 
which  it  did.  "  How  old  is  my  daughter  Marga- 
ret ? "  Twelve  raps.  "  And  Kate  ? "  Nine.  "  How 
many  children  have  I  ? "  Seven.  "  Ah  !  you  blun- 
der," she  thought :  "  try  again."  Seven.  Then  she 
suddenly  thought.  "  Are  they  all  alive  ? '  No  an- 
swer. "How  many  are  living  ? "  Six  raps.  "  How 
many  dead  ? "  One  rap.  She  had  lost  one  child. 
She  then  asked  if  it  was  a  man.  No  answer.  Was 
it  a  spirit  ?  Raps.  She  then  asked  if  the  neighbors 
might  hear  it ;  and  Mrs.  Redfield  was  called  in,  who 
only  laughed  at  the  idea  of  a  ghost,  but  was  soon 
made  serious  by  its  correcting  her  about  the  number 
of  her  children,  insisting  on  one  more  than  she 
counted.  She,  too,  had  lost  one ;  and,  when  she 
recollected  this,  she  burst  into  tears. 

36.     They  extend  to  other  Localities. 

It  is  needless  to  recount  the  numerous  investiga- 
tions that  were  made,  and  how  the  little  girls  always 
5 


66  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

escaped  suspicion  of  imposture.  Having  become 
intelligible,  the  spirits  determined  to  improve  their 
opportunity ;  and  rappings  were  heard  in  the  house 
of  Mr.  Grainger,  a  wealthy  citizen  of  Rochester,  and 
in  that  of  Dr.  Phelps  at  Stratford,  Conn.  In  the 
latter,  they  became  very  destructive ;  cut  the  cloth- 
ing off  his  boy,  broke  windows,  threw  down  glass 
and  porcelain.  He  says,  "  I  have  seen  things  in  mo- 
tion above  a  thousand  times,  and,  in  most  cases, 
when  no  visible  power  existed  by  which  the  motion 
could  be  produced.  There  have  been  broken  seven- 
ty-one panes  of  glass,  more  than  thirty  of  which  I 
have  seen  broken  before  my  eyes." 

Such  was  the  advent  of  the  mighty  spiritual  move- 
ment. If  it  had  not  been  discovered  that  the  sounds 
were  intelligent,  and  the  discovery  followed  out,  the 
old  house  might  have  been  considered  as  haunted, 
deserted  ;  and  nothing  more  resulted.  But  the  time 
had  arrived  for  this  development ;  and,  seized  by  the 
powerful  and  flexible  American  mind,  it  has,  in  a 
score  of  years,  become  the  spiritual  life  of  millions. 

37.     Advent  of  Spiritualism  in  France. 

About  the  time  Spiritualism  was  first  introduced 
into  the  United  States,  or  somewhat  previously,  M. 
Cahagnet,  a  working-man  of  France,  had,  by  means 
of  clairvoyance,  solved  the  great  problem  of  spirit- 
ual existence,  and  the  possibility  of  intercourse  with 
spirits. 

When  perusing   his   book,  "The  Celestial  Tele- 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  67 

graph,"  every  one  must  be  forcibly  struck  with  his 
candor,  his  honesty  of  purpose,  untiring  zeal,  and 
general  accuracy.  We  can  only  regret,  that,  in  his 
ardor,  he  admitted  statements  without  sufficient  cir- 
cumspection, which  weaken  rather  than  strengthen 
his  positions.  His  magnetized  clairvoyants  taught 
him  almost  all  the  great  principles  of  spirit  exist- 
ence, as  believed  by  Spiritualists  at  present.  The 
identification  of  spirits  was  well  understood  by  him  ; 
and  his  best  clairvoyant  rarely  failed  to  give  accu- 
rate descriptions  of  spirits  that  she  said  were  pres- 
ent. 

A  few  instances  of  this  result  illustrate  the  count- 
less facts  narrated  by  this  author. 

"  M.  Renard,  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken,  —  a 
a  man  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  little  knowl- 
edge I  possess  in  magnetism,  —  being  called  to  Paris 
on  business,  begged  me  to  send  Adele  to  sleep,  and 
give  him  a  sitting  similar  to  what  he  had  read  of  in 
my  journal.  I  was  most  happy  to  comply  with  the 
wishes  of  so  sincere  a  friend,  and  so  judicious  and 
well-informed  a  man.  Scarcely  was  Adele  asleep, 
when  he  called  for  a  person  named  Desforges,  an 
old  friend  of  his,  who  had  been  dead  fifteen  years. 
Desforges  appeared.  M.  Renard  had  so  accurate  a 
description  given  him  of  his  friend,  that  left  no 
doubt  as  to  the  reality  of  his  apparition.  A  dispute 
took  place  between  him  and  Adele  (though  he  was 
not  en  rapport  with  her)  as  to  the  dress  of  this  per- 
sorr,  —  Adele  maintaining  that  he  appeared  to  her  in 
a  blouse  slit  in  front ;  while  M.  Renard  declared  that 


68  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

he  had  never  seen  him  in  such  an  article  of  dress, 
and  usually  wore  a  jacket  or  round  vest.  After 
puzzling  his  brains  for  some  time,  M.  Renard  recol- 
lected, in  fact,  that,  some  time  before  he  left  his 
friend,  people  began  to  wear,  in  his  part  of  the  coun- 
try, blouses  of  this  kind ;  and  he  wore  such  a  one  as 
Adele  described.  It  would  be  useless  to  mention 
the  minute  details,  attitudes,  language,  &c,  with 
which  Adele  persuades  persons  consulting  her  on 
such  a  point." 

"  Up  to  this  day,  I  had  never  desired  that  any  of 
my  clairvoyants  should  see  any  of  the  deceased 
members  of  my  own  family,  for  a  reason  that  will  be 
appreciated ;  viz.,  that  they  might  have  depicted  to 
me  an  image  engraven  on  my  memory.  I  had  a 
mind  to  try  Madame  Gouget.  I  asked  for  my 
mother  by  her  Christian  name,  and  also  by  her 
maiden  name,  and  was  very  much  surprised  when 
Madame  Gouget  told  me  she  saw  a  very  old  woman. 
After  a  minute  description,  and  particularly  as  to  a 
mark  that  she  told  me  she  perceived  on  the  left 
cheek  of  this  woman,  I  recognized  in  her  my  grand- 
mother, who  was  precisely  as  Madame  Gouget  de- 
scribed her  to  me.  This  apparition,  uncalled  for, 
and  which  I  was  far  from  expecting,  was  owing  to 
the  resemblance  of  the  names  of  my  mother  and 
grandmother.  I  ought  not  to  have  asked  for  my 
mother  by  her  maiden  name.  I  had  already  fallen 
into  a  like  error  with  Adele,  when  several  members 
of  the  same  family  presented  themselves  on  account 
of  the  resemblance  in  the  names.     To  make  sure 


Evidences  of  Spirihialism.  69 

whether  Madame  Gouget  really  beheld  my  grand- 
mother, I  put  to  her  questions  the  answers  to  which 
removed  all  my  doubts  in  this  respect.  My  mother 
appeared  at  the  same  time  ;  and  the  portrait  she 
painted  of  her  was  quite  true.,, 

"  Louise,  Adele's  niece,  comes  in  haste  to  tell  her 
that  her  brother  is  about  to  appear  to  her.  '  Oh, 
here  he  is  !  It  is  my  brother  Alphonse,  who  died  in 
Africa/  — '  When  ?  ■  — '  Four  years  ago/  — '  On  what 
day?'  —  'I  don't  know/  — 'Ask  him/  —  The  nth 
of  August/  — l  How  is  he  attired  ? '  —  'In  the  uni- 
form of  a  dragoon/  — '  Is  that  his  dress  in  heaven  ?' 
— ■ '  No  :  it  is  that  of  the  corps  in  which  he  served 
before  his  death  ;  and  it  was  in  this  costume  that  I 
saw  him  on  earth/  — '  Why  is  he  dressed  thus  ? '  — 
*  Spirits  must  surely  appear  in  the  costume  and  con- 
dition by  which  they  were  known  on  earth  :  other- 
wise we  should  be  unable  to  recognize  them/  — 
'  Since  you  did  not  ask  for  him,  who  told  him  to 
come  and  see  you?'  —  'My  little  niece/  —  'Is  she 
with  him  at  this  moment?'  —  'Yes;  and  how  beauti- 
ful she  is  I  Her  fine  black  hair  falls  in  ringlets  on 
her  shoulders,  as  on  the  day  of  her  first  communion.' 
—  'And  Alphonse  —  does  he  appear  to  you  hand- 
some ? '  — '  Oh,  indeed  he  does.  His  forehead,  which 
was,  however,  very  dark,  appears  to  me  as  white  as 
snow.  He  tells  me  that  it  will  not  be  long  before  I 
see  my  mother,  father,  and  brother-in-law.  I  have 
no  wish,  however,  to  see  the  last-named  one  :  he 
was  too  wicked  on  earth.'  — '  If  in  heaven  there  is 
no  wickedness,  you  must  not  think  of  the  past.'  — 


7<d  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

'  I  won't  see  him  ! '  Adele  stretches  out  her  arm  to 
detain  her  niece,  who  has  just  quitted  her,  despite 
her  efforts.  It  is  surprising  to  see  the  mimicry, 
the  apparent  mutual  understanding,  the  contrariety. 
One  cannot  doubt  the  reality  of  the  scenes  in  which 
the  imagination,  as  we  may  believe,  is  not  always 
strongest ;  for  nothing  appears  to  respond  to  the 
caprices  of  the  clairvoyant." 

The  way  was  thus  prepared  in  France,  where 
Spiritualism  has  made  a  rapid  but  singular  growth. 

38.     Unexpected  Report. 

The  often  abrupt  and  unlooked-for  message  from 
a  spirit-friend  is  conclusive  evidence  that  it  does  not 
originate  in  the  minds  of  the  circle  or  medium. 
Prof.  Hare  records  some  interesting  facts  bearing 
on  this  subject. 

"Agreeable  to  my  experience  in  a  multitude  of 
cases,  spirits  have  reported  themselves  who  were 
wholly  unexpected,  and  when  others  were  expected. 
When  I  was  expecting  my  sister  in  Boston,  my 
brother  reported  himself.  Lastly,  when  expecting 
her,  'Cadwallader*  was  spelled  out,  being  the  name 
of  an  old  friend,  who  forthwith  gave  me  a  test  prov- 
ing his  identity.  As  this  spirit  had  never  visited 
my  disk  before,  I  had  not  the  smallest  expectation 
of  his  coming." 

"  Being  at  Cape  May,  one  of  my  guardian  spirits 
was  with  me  frequently.  On  the  third  instant,  at 
one  o'clock  A.  M.,  I  requested  the  faithful  being  in 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  7 1 

question  to  go  to  my  friend  Mrs.  Gourlay,  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  request  her  to  induce  Dr.  Gourlay  to 
go  to  the  bank  to  ascertain  at  what  time  a  note 
would  be  due,  and  that  I  could  be  at  the  instrument 
(his  dial)  at  half-past  three  o'clock  to  receive  the 
answer.  Accordingly,  at  that  time,  my  spirit-friend 
manifested  herself,  and  gave  me  the  result  of  the 
inquiry.  On  my  return  to  the  city,  I  learned  from 
Mrs.  Gourlay  that  my  angelic  messenger  had  inter- 
rupted a  communication  which  was  taking  place 
through  the  spiritscope,  in  order  to  communicate 
my  message  ;  and,  in  consequence,  her  husband  and 
brother  went  to  the  bank,  and  made  the  inquiry,  by 
which  the  result  was  that  communication  to  me  at 
half-past  three  o'clock  by  my  spirit-friend." 

In  the  experience  of  Mrs.  Gourlay,  a  medium 
relied  on  by  Prof.  Hare,  many  interesting  facts  are 
stated.     Among  others,  the  following  :  — 

"While  spending  the  evening  of  Jan.  21,  1854,  at 
the  house  of  a  friend,  it  was  proposed  by  the  lady 
and  her  husband  that  we  form  a  circle.  We  had 
not  been  long  seated  at  the  table,  when  three  ladies, 
two  of  whom  I  had  never  seen,  favored  us  with  their 
company,  and  took  their  seats  at  some  distance 
from  the  circle.  They  had  been  seated  in  the  room 
but  two  or  three  minutes,  when  the  following  was 
given  through  the  table  :  — 

" '  My  dear  Mother,  —  In  love  I  meet  you  this 
evening.  O  mother  !  why  do  you  mourn  my  death  ? 
I  have  just  begun  to  live.     Grieve  not  for  me.     I 


72  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

wish  my  husband  to  investigate  Spiritualism,  I  will 
communicate  to  him.  Why  should  you  erect  a  mon- 
umental slab  to  my  memory  ?  Let  me  live  in  the 
hearts  of  my  friends  ! 

"'Sarah  North/ 

"  When  the  gentleman  who  took  down  the  com- 
munication read  it,  I  was  surprised  at  hearing  the 
name,  '  North/  that  being  my  maiden  name.  As 
there  was  no  Sarah  in  our  family,  I  asked  the  spirit, 
'Who  is  Sarah  North?'  Before  it  had  time  to  reply, 
one  of  the  ladies  referred  to  approached  the  table  in 
tears.  She  said,  '  That  is  from  my  daughter  Sarah. 
I  have  been  engaged  to-day  in  the  solemn  duty  of 
erecting  a  tombstone  to  her  memory.' " 

39.     Value  of  Dark  Circles. 

As  an  incentive  to  investigation,  dark  circles  have 
their  uses  ;  but  they  are  usually  of  far  greater  disad- 
vantage than  benefit.  The  cause  of  Spiritualism  is 
the  worse  for  what  they  have  done.  The  opportu- 
nities for  trickery  and  deception  are  so  great,  and 
the  chances  for  detection  so  small,  that  it  is  difficult 
to  distinguish  the  true  from  the  false.  They  should 
be  discouraged  by  Spiritualists.  The  amusing  feats 
of  rope-tying  and  ledgerdemain,  at  best,  are  the  work 
of  earthly  spirits,  and  without  instruction.  There  is 
no  spiritual  phenomena  that  cannot  occur  in  a  room 
J  sufficiently  lighted  to  allow  objects  to  be  discerned 
as  well  as  in  absolute  darkness  ;   and  the  medium 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  73 

who  refuses  to  submit  to  conditions  which  do  not 
conflict  with  those  necessary  for  the  manifestations 
should  be  mistrusted.  So  far  as  true  spiritual  phe- 
nomena are  concerned,  tying  the  medium  with 
thread  or  twine  or  tarred  cord,  or  confining  with 
handcuffs,  is  as  well  as  with  ropes.  It  is  by  pre- 
tense to  the  contrary  that  charlatans  flourish,  who 
insist  that  a  rope,  easily  slipped  and  untied,  is 
essential.  They  flourish  because,  whenever  proper 
safeguards  are  used,  no  manifestations  occur,  the 
"  conditions  "  not  being  right ;  and,  when  these  are 
removed,  they  give  "  astounding  manifestations," 
because  there  is  no  chance  for  detection.  The  time 
is  not  far  distant  when  all  those  who  have  been  con- 
vinced by  "  dark-circle  manifestations,"  or  have  been 
connected  with  and  upheld  them,  will  suffer  deepest 
disappointment. 

The  faith  based  on  such  "  tests  "  constantly  seeks 
new  wonders,  asking  for  greater  and  still  greater ; 
and  the  believer  thus  brought  into  the  fold  is  not 
of  value  in  extending  the  influence  of  Spiritualism. 
These  manifestations  have  given  no  positive  evi- 
dence in  favor  of  Spiritualism.  They  are  impos- 
sible of  demonstration,  and  the  most  exact  so  liable 
-to  error  as  to  be  valueless  as  proof. 

40.    Moving  Physical  Objects  without  Contact. 

The  only  physical  phenomena  from  which  all 
sources  of  error  are  eliminated  are  the  moving  of 
physical  objects  without  contact,  and  the  identifica- 


i 


74  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

tion  of  spirits  by  means  of  the  intelligence  mani- 
fested by  the  movements.  This  is  the  absolute  test 
of  Spiritualism. 

Prof.  Hare,  in  his  careful  and  extended  experi- 
ments, recognized  the  value  of  such  manifestations, 
and  invented  an  apparatus  which  rendered  decep- 
tion impossible.  His  researches  are  the  most  per- 
fect scientific  demonstration  of  Spiritualism  yet 
produced,  and,  if  made  in  any  other  field,  would 
have  been  received  without  question.  Prof.  Hare's 
method  is  purely  scientific.  His  experiments,  insti- 
tuted with  great  philosophic  ingenuity,  can  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  test  by  any  one,  and,  if  acknowledged 
as  correct,  are  perfectly  demonstrative.* 

Of  the  several  contrivances  he  employed,  only 
two  need  be  mentioned.  The  first  isolated  the 
medium  by  mounting  a  small  board  on  balls,  rest- 
ing on  the  top  of  the  table.  The  medium's  hand 
resting  on  the  top  of  the  board,  of  course,  at  the 
slightest  movement,  the  balls  would  roll.     Valuable 

*  "  The  most  precise  and  laborious  experiments  which  I 
have  made  in  my  investigation  of  Spiritualism  have  been 
assailed  by  the  most  disparaging  suggestions  as  respects  my 
capacity  to  avoid  being  the  dupe  of  any  medium  employed. 
Had  my  conclusions  been  of  the  opposite  kind,  how  much 
fulsome  exaggeration  had  there  been,  founded  on  my  experi- 
ence as  an  investigator  of  science  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury !  "  Speaking  of  the  above  apparatus,  "It  was  on  stating 
this  result  to  the  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science, 
that  I  met  with  much  the  same  reception  as  the  King  of  Ava 
gave  the  Dutch  ambassador  who  alleged  water  to  be  at  times 
solidified  in  his  country,  by  cold,  so  as  to  be  walked  upon." 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  75 

communications  were  received  by  the  movements 
of  tables  thus  situated.  The  second  apparatus  was 
more  ingeniously  contrived.  "A  board  is  supported 
on  a  rod,  so  as  to  make  it  serve  as  a  fulcrum,  as 
in  a  see-saw,  excepting  that  the  fulcrum  is  at  the 
distance  of  only  one  foot  from  the  end,  while  it  is 
three  feet  from  the  other.  This  end  is  supported 
by  a  spring-balance,  which  indicates  pounds  and 
ounces  by  a  rotary  index.  Upon  this  board,  at 
about  six  inches  from  the  fulcrum,  is  placed  an 
inverted  glass  vase  nine  inches  in  diameter."  Into 
this  vase  a  wire  cage  or  basket  is  let  down  so  as  to 
approach  within  an  inch  of  the  brim.  The  vase  is 
filled  with  water.  Now  it  is  apparent  that  any  press- 
ure on  the  board  will  be  indicated  by  the  balance ; 
but  the  medium's  hands  placed  in  the  water  cannot 
give  that  pressure,  as  the  cage  effectually  cuts  them 
off  from  contact  with  the  vase.  If  manifestations 
are  obtained  in  this  manner,  they  cannot  be  referred 
to  human  agency.  Yet  Prof.  Hare  obtained  not 
only  movements  of  the  balance,  but  communica- 
tions, in  presence  of  his  scientific  friends.  The 
balance  indicated  a  pressure  of  eighteen  pounds, 
and  "would  probably  have  been  depressed  much 
more,  but  that  the  water  had  been  spilled  by  any 
further  inclination  of  the  vase." 

Manifestations  thus  obtained  are  no  more  posi- 
tive than  the  movement  of  a  table  without  contact ; 
but  errors  are  more  readily  detected  and  guarded 
against. 

If  Prof.  Hare's  investigations  be  received,  it  must 


76  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

be  admitted  that  spiritual  beings  do  communicate, 
or  that  there  exists  an  unrecognized  force,  possess- 
ing intelligence,  and  capable  of  identifying  itself  as 
being  that  of  our  departed  friends,  —  a  conclusion 
requiring  far  greater  credulity  than  the  first.  The 
moving  of  tables  is  the  most  common  of  manifesta- 
tions :  but  I  introduce  the  following  statement  from 
Owen  as  a  representative  of  its  class  ;  and,  if  admit- 
ted, it  at  once  silences  all  theories  yet  advanced  by 
scientific  men  to  explain  the  phenomena. 

"  The  imposition  of  hands  is  710 1  a  necessary  condi- 
tion. In  the  dining-room  of  a  French  nobleman,  the 
Count  d'Ourches,  residing  near  Paris,  I  saw,  on  the 
first  day  of  October,  1858,  in  broad  daylight,  a 
dinner-table  seating  seven  persons,  with  fruit  and 
wine  on  it,  rise,  and  settle  down,  while  all  the  guests 
were  standing  around  it,  and  not  one  of  them  touch- 
ing it  at  all.  All  present  saw  the  same  thing.  Mr. 
Kyd,  son  of  the  late  Gen.  Kyd  of  the  British  army, 
and  his  lady,  told  me  (in  Paris,  in  April,  1859),  that, 
in  December  of  the  year  1857,  during  an  evening 
visit  to  a  friend,  who  resided  at  No.  28  Rue  de  la 
Ferme  des  Mathurins,  at  Paris,  Mrs.  Kyd,  seated  in 
an  arm-chair,  suddenly  felt  it  move,  as  if  some  one 
had  laid  hold  of  it  from  beneath.  Then  slowly  and 
gradually  it  rose  into  the  air,  and  remained  there 
suspended  for  the  space  of  about  thirty  seconds,  the 
lady's  feet  being  four  or  five  feet  from  the  ground ; 
then  it  settled  down  gently  and  gradually,  so  that 
there  was  no  shock  when  it  touched  the  carpet. 
No  one  was  touching  the  chair  when  it   rose,  nor 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  77 

did  any  one  approach  it  while  in  the  air,  except 
Mr.  Kyd,  who,  fearing  an  accident,  advanced,  and 
touched  Mrs.  Kyd.  The  room  was,  at  the  time, 
brightly  lighted,  as  a  French  salon  usually  is  ;  and, 
of  the  eight  or  nine  persons  present,  all  saw  the 
same  thing  in  the  same  way.  I  took  notes  of  the 
above,  as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kyd  narrated  to  me  the  oc- 
currence ;  and  they  kindly  permitted,  as  a  voucher 
for  its  truth,  the  use  of  their  names. 

Here  is  no  drawing-up  of  a  heavy  object,  without 
effort,  with  the  fingers,  the  concomitant  which  Mr. 
Faraday  speaks  of  as  indispensable.  And  the 
phenomenon  occurred  in  a  private  drawing-room, 
among  persons  of  high  social  position,  educated 
and  intelligent.  Thousands  in  the  most  enlight- 
ened countries  of  the  world  can  testify  to  the  like. 
Are  they  all  to  be  spoken  of  as  "  ignorant  of  their 
ignorance  "  ? 

41.     The  Evidence  of  Psychometry. 

Since  the  application  of  the  impressibility  of  mind 
to  the  delineation  of  character,  and  its  extension  by 
experimental  research  by  Mr.  Denton,  few  doubt  the 
\J  truth  of  psychometry,  as  the  new  science  has  been 
named.  It  is  found  that  an  autograph  placed  on 
the  forehead  enables  a  sensitive  person  to  delineate 
perfectly  the  character  of  the  writer. 

If  the  mind  so  affects  the  paper  that  the  charac- 
ter of  the  writer  be  obtained,  it  is  a  matter  of  just 
inference  that  a  spirit's  autograph,  if  truly  originat- 


78  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

ing  from  a  spirit,  would  not  give  the  character  of 
the  medium  through  whom  it  was  written,  but  of 
the  spirit -writer.  If  this  be  true,  it  goes  a  great 
way  in  the  support  of  Spiritualism.  It  is  the  next 
thing  to  an  absolute  demonstration.  My  experi- 
ments on  this  subject  have  been  various  and  suc- 
cessful. I  first  procured  an  autograph  letter  from 
the  medium.  This  gave,  by  psychometry,  his  true 
character,  which  was  as  follows :  — 

"  This  is  a  very  passive  organization.  This  per- 
son could  be  easily  molded  to  the  influence  of 
others.  Naturally  is  very  pure  in  thought,  yet 
adapts  himself  to  the  company  he  is  in.  In  mat- 
ters of  right,  could  meet  tremendous  opposition 
unflinchingly  ;  yet  would  repine  at  his  lot.  Is  very 
susceptible.  Natural  powers  not  large ;  yet  there 
appears  a  degree  of  activity  or  excitement  in  the 
mind  produced  by  apparently  foreign  agency,  —  I 
can't  understand  it.  There  seems  a  contradiction, 
as  of  two  minds  ;  but  it  is  certain  his  natural  pow- 
ers are  not  as  large  as  they  appear  to  be.  They  are 
very  active.  This  person  has  large  spirituality ;  is 
refined  and  spiritual  in  his  thoughts  ;  is  rather  cast 
down  by  the  things  of  this  world,  too  much  for  his 
own  good.  The  animalities  are  all  small ;  and  he 
lacks  energy  and  decision ;  is  not  persevering."  I 
here  asked  if  he  could  be  impressed  by  spiritual 
agency.  "  Yes ;  but  it  would  be  by  an  inferior 
order  of  spirits,  unless  he  wrote  mechanically." — 
"What  organs  induced  him  to  take  the  stand  he 
has  in  regard  to  Spiritualism  ? "  —  "Approbativeness, 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  79 

or  that  peculiar  organization  which  had  rather  be 
talked  badly  about  than  not  at  all.  There  is  not 
enough  depth  about  him  for  a  Spiritualist ;  and  he 
can  do  that  cause  no  good,  but  would  be  apt  to 
bring  it  into  disrepute  by  the  unsatisfactory  com- 
munications he  is  liable  to  receive,  and  the  manner 
he  relates  them,  and  the  explanations  he  attaches.'' 

This  delineation  was  very  satisfactory.  The  fol- 
lowing autographs  were  obtained  through  this  me- 
dium, being  written  mechanically.  The  difference 
between  the  influence  they  gave,  and  that  of  the 
medium,  is  remarkable.  The  first  was  derived  from 
the  autograph  of  President  Taylor. 

"  This  is  a  stern,  resolute  man.  His  will  and  his 
energy  are  predominant  He  never  stops  to  exam- 
ine the  right  of  the  cause  in  which  he  is  engaged, 
but  does  his  work  as  he  is  commanded.  He  is  not 
consecutive,  nor  has  he  given  the  subject  sufficient 
thought  to  be  liberal.  He  would  be  an  infidel,  or, 
at  least,  inclined  that  way.  There  is  no  order  about 
him.  His  pride  is  in  being  slovenly.  He  never 
stops  to  consider  the  justness  of  his  cause,  but  how 
he  may  accomplish  his  end  ;  is  Jesuitical,  consider- 
ing the  cause  as  justifying  the  means.  Would  make 
a  good  warrior  as  regards  courage  and  perseverance, 
but  would  be  deficient  in  the  qualities  which  make 
a  great  commander.  He  would  not  be  apt  to  see 
the  traps  a  wily  foe  might  lay  for  him,  if  not  remind- 
ed continually  of  it  He  would  be  a  good  Indian 
warrior,  to  command  a  few  hundred  or  a  thousand 
men,  but  would  be  incapable  of  a  greater  command." 


80  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

—  "  What  kind  of  a  statesman  would  he  make  ? "  — 
"  Indifferent.  He  was  never  designed  for  any  civil 
office.  He  could  not  stand  the  necessary  mental 
labor  and  anxiety  of  mind.  He  requires  a  great 
deal  of  bodily  exercise,  and  can  bear  little  mental 
toil.  His  thoughts  have  been  revolutionized ;  and 
he  has  become  progressive  and  hopeful.  It  ap- 
pears that  he  has  entirely  changed  his  mode  of 
life,  his  occupation,  and  that  his  mind  does  not 
act  in  its  old  and  accustomed  channel.  There  is  a 
great  agitation  of  feeling,  a  retrospective  on  past 
incidents,  regrets  for  deeds  committed  in  former 
years,  for  which  I  am  unable  to  account.  Spiritual 
feelings  seem  to  be  slowly  awakening." 

The  reason  for  the  last  remark  will  be  seen  when 
it  is  known  that  the  psychometrist  first  obtained 
impressions  of  the  earthly  character,  and,  lastly,  of 
the  spiritual. 

The  next  autograph  was  one  of  Lord  Bacon. 

"  This  is  a  character  which  looks  deeply  into  the 
philosophy  of  things.  His  mind  is  contemplative 
and  reflective.  He  would  be  liable  to  be  led  into 
the  fields  of  philosophical  inquiry :  if  so,  his  philos- 
ophy would  be  inductive,  and  deal  in  facts  and 
causes.  I  cannot  express,  by  words,  the  depths 
of  mind.  It  seems  as  if  this  was  a  mind  that  had 
been  years  and  years  maturing,  yet  possessing  all 
the  vigor  and  strength  of  youth,  —  so  mature  in  its 
wisdom,  so  laborious  in  its  research.  It  is  a  won- 
derful mind,  —  one  of  giant  powers,  of  capabilities 
sufficient  to  grasp  the  ultimate  of  causes,  and  solve 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  81 

the  vastest  problems  of  nature.  It  has  wonderful 
powers,  —  an  intellect  like  a  God  ;  and  over  that 
intellect  sits  a  superior  and  pure  morality,  unlike 
that  which  controls  the  actions  of  other  men. 
There  is  ethereality  of  thought,  a  boundlessness  of 
desire,  a  mighty  grasping  after  the  great  truths 
which  lie  beyond  the  sphere  of  human  knowledge, 
that  I  cannot  express.  The  influence  is  cheerful, 
hopeful,  loving,  angelic. " 

This  delineation  ascribes  far  too  pure  a  morality 
to  Paeon.  It  represents  his  present  rather  than 
his  earthly  life. 

42.     Spirit  Identification  by  Psychometry. 

Admitting  the  truth  of  Spiritualism,  it  has  been 
said  that  it  was  impossible  to  identify  our  friends  ; 
but  here  we  have  the  key  which  unlocks  all  the 
mysteries  that  lie  in  the  invisible  domain  beyond 
the  senses,  and  a  complete  identification  of  our 
spirit-friends.  We  have  also  a  test  for  the  truth- 
fulness of  the  medium :  for,  if  he  writes  himself,  it 
will  give  his  own  character ;  while,  if  a  spirit  writes, 
it  will  give  the  character  of  the  spirit.  We  also 
have  the  truthfulness  of  the  communication  deter- 
mined by  the  character  of  the  spirit-author.  A  test 
of  identity  has  been  asked  for ;  and  here  it  is  given. 
Spiritualists  will  do  well  to  subject  communications 
to  this  test,  and  demonstrate,  to  their  own  satisfac- 
tion, their  correctness.  I  ask  the  skeptic  to  answer, 
—  as  the  two  last-given  delineations  could  not  have 

6 


82  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

been  derived  from  the  medium,  whose  character,  as 
given,  is  so  decidedly  different,  and  as  the  psy- 
chometrist  knew  nothing  of  the  character  of  the 
writer,  —  from  whom  could  the  last  delineations 
have  been  derived  ?  Until  this  is  satisfactorily 
answered,  this  test  must  be  considered  as  a  dem- 
onstration that  the  spirit  exists,  and  holds  inter- 
course with  earth. 

These  two  delineations  are  not  given  as  sufficient, 
of  themselves,  to  prove  beyond  a  doubt  the  value  of 
psychometric  delineations.  They  are  taken  from 
a  mass  of  similar  readings,  as  illustrations  as  well  as 
proofs.  The  experiments  are  so  easily  tested  that 
any  one  may  prove  the  position  for  himself.  A 
hundred  illustrations  would  not  set  the  principle 
before  the  mind  more  distinctly. 

Following  this  method,  the  autographs  of  spirits 
may  be  employed  for  their  identification,  and  that 
even  when  they  are  executed  by  impressions.  The 
influence  of  the  latter  is  more  mixed,  partaking  of 
the  character  of  the  medium,  but  always  reveals  its 
spirit  origin. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  give  a  compilation  of 
the  facts,  but  an  outline  of  the  philosophy,  of  Spirit- 
ualism; Facts  have  already  been  compiled,  and 
volumes  innumerable  might  be  written.  Little  is 
gained  by  them,  except  as  they  excite  inquiry  ;  for 
no  amount  of  written  statement  can  equal  a  single 
seaiice  with  a  truthful  medium.  Spirit  communion 
must  be  brought  in  direct  contact  with  our  reason, 
we  must  receive  the  direct  words  of  our  dear  de- 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  83 

parted  friends,  to  have  the  reality  of  their  exist- 
ence become  to  us,  not  only  a  belief,  but  absolute 
knowledge. 

43.     What  Good. 

It  is  often  asked,  "  What  is  the  good  of  spiritual 
communications  ?  "  The  question  is  urged  as  if  it 
really  was  an  argument.  We  might  as  well  ask, 
"  What  is  the  good  of  the  stars  shining,  or  the  rising 
of  the  sun  ?  What  is  the  use  of  human  existence  ; 
of  life  in  any  of  its  multitudinous  forms  ? '  To  an- 
swer would  extremely  perplex  the  most  astute  meta- 
physician. We  take  existence  as  a  fact,  nor  can  we 
answer  wherefore.  The  world  exists,  and  man  ex- 
ists ;  but  who  can  tell  what  good  is  to  grow  out  of 
that  existence  ? 

Whether  Spiritualism  is  moral  or  immoral  in  its 
tendencies  ;  whether  we  understand  its  uses  or  not, 
—  affects  not  the  grand  question  at  issue.  On  other 
grounds,  how  can  this  heartless  question  be  asked  ? 
Is  it  not  a  good  to  us  to  know  that  our  loved  ones 
exist  on  the  other  side  of  the  grave ;  to  have  all 
doubts  and  misgivings  swept  away  by  their  sweet 
voices  speaking  to  us  of  an  infinite  future  ?  Chris- 
tianity is  of  little  worth  compared  to  this  beautiful 
demonstration.  Prostrated  though  we  are  at  the 
side  of  the  cold  grave,  through  our  blinding  tears, 
and  the  night  of  our  sorrow,  we  see  the  loved  forms 
of  our  departed  angels  ;  and  their  words  of  cheer 
sound  sweetly  over  the  agitated  ocean  of  our  grief. 
Cut  bono  f    The  value  of  all  we  possess,  though  it 


84  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

were  the  oceaned  world,  would  be  freely  given  for 
one  single  word  from  their  angel-life. 


44.     Personal  Experience. 

In  the  "  Banner  of  Light,"  1865,  might  be  noticed 
an  obituary.  That  short  paragraph  related  an  event 
which  overwhelmed  us,  and  gave  us  to  drink  of  the 
bitterest  cup  of  grief. 

Aggie,  a  sister  adopted  in  our  family  circle  as  our 
child,  and,  under  our  care,  matured  into  the.  fulfill- 
ment of  the  brightest  destiny,  went  from  us  a  per- 
fect representation  of  health.  We  answered  the 
telegram  that  said  she  could  not  live,  but  too  late. 
Even  the  poor  consolation  of  a  parting  word  was 
denied  us.  Her  beautiful  features  still  showed 
marks  of  terrible  pain,  —  that  was  all.  She  was 
frozen  to  marble. 

I  had  thought  that  the  spiritual  philosophy  would 
sustain  one  in  this  trial ;  that,  knowing  the  spirit 
existed,  the  keen  edge  of  our  grief  would  be  taken 
off.  For  the  time,  this  was  not  so.  We  are  accus- 
tomed to  form  our  judgment  by  the  senses. 

As  we  stand  before  the  corpse  of  our  departed 
friend,  our  grief  overwhelms  our  intuitions,  and 
darkens  our  spiritual  perceptions.  When  we  cry 
in  our  agony,  the  waves  of  feeling  deafen  our  ears 
to  the  sound  of  spirit-voices.  Our  eyes  meet  the 
wreck  of  the  beautiful,  inanimate,  still,  cold,  dead, 
and,  with  the  heartlessness  of  our  materiality,  tell 
us  there  is  nothing  beyond.     Soon  will  the  elements 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  85 

claim  their  own  from  the  sleeping ;  and  a  year 
shall  suffice  to  dissolve  the  being  which  for  a  time 
cheered  us  by  her  winning  ways,  and  scatter  her 
ashes  to  the  winds. 

Thus  Materialism,  stifling,  dark,  and  dreadful, 
took  the  place  of  Spiritualism,  and  was  sustained 
by  the  senses,  and  unopposed  by  spiritual  percep- 
tions too  lacerated  to  feel.  The  days  came,  and 
went :  slowly  our  minds  assumed  their  normal  con- 
dition ;  and  the  desire  to  communicate  with  the  de- 
parted remained  to  be  answered. 

Then  began  the  most  complete  and  satisfactory 
series  of  communications  I  have  ever  witnessed. 
They  were  free  from  any  collusion  on  the  part  of 
any  one  outside  of  ourselves,  as  Mrs.  Tuttle  and 
myself  were  usually  the  only  persons  at  the  table 
or  in  the  room. 

We  had  often  endeavored  to  have  the  table  tip, 
but  had  failed.  Now,  however,  we  had  a  spirit  in 
the  shadow,  in  unison  with  ourselves  ;  and  the  gate- 
way of  communication  was  opened. 

I  had  previously  seen  her  clairvoyantly,  but  so 
dimly,  so  shadowy,  I  doubted  whether  it  was  not  a 
conjuration  of  a  disturbed  mind.  Those  doubts 
have  been  removed.  It  was  before  her  funeral ; 
and  the  attractions  of  earth  remained  unimpaired. 
She  was  sad,  and  unable  to  speak.  Her  spirit- 
mother  was  with  her ;  and,  in  thought,  I  asked  her 
if  she  intended  to  remain,  and  witness  the  painful 
ceremony  of  the  morrow.  She  answered,  "  I  would 
not  have  my  child  see  it :  we  go  away,  not  to  return 
until  all  is  over." 


86  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

We  held  a  seance  nearly  every  evening ;  and  she 
was  always  present,  and  gave  us  some  word  of  as- 
surance. Sometimes  she  failed  to  answer  correctly, 
the  table  being  uncontrollable.  At  other  times,  all 
her  ^answers  were  perfectly  correct  for  an  hour's 
questioning.  We  soon  learned  to  discriminate ;  and, 
so  far  from  supposing  that  undeveloped  spirits  came 
at  those  disturbed  seances,  we  knew  the  fault  lay  in 
our  own  organizations.  The  details  of  these  seances 
are  very  interesting  to  us,  but  not  to  the  public.  I 
shall  relate  but  one  incident,  as  it  illustrates  the 
spirit's  power  of  prophecy. 

Shortly  after  her  departure,  and  at  our  stance, 
she  informed  us  that  her  father,  who  was  slightly  ill, 
could  not  recover.  This  was  against  our  reason ; 
for  his  sickness  was  not  considered  serious.  Two 
weeks  afterwards,  she  fixed  the  day  of  his  death  at 
nearly  three  months  ahead.  About  two  weeks  pre- 
vious to  the  time  she  had  fixed  for  that  event,  she 
came,  and,  by  the  tedious  process  of  spelling  by  the 
alphabet,  gave  the  following  communication  to  her 
sister :  — 

"Emma,  prepare  to  go  to  Eraceville.  Father  has 
dictated  a  letter  to-day,  wishing  you  to  come.  He 
is  not  yet  ready  to  die  ;  but,  if  you  do  not  go,  you 
will  not  have  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  his  society 
on  earth  again.  The  letter  will  reach  you  on  Thurs- 
day ;  and,  on  Friday,  you  must  go." 

The  letter  came,  and  the  spirit-voice  was  obeyed  ; 
and  if  conferring  happiness  on  those  who  are  dear, 
during  the  last  days  of  their  mortal  life,  be  a  life- 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  87 

long  comfort  to  us,  we  are  thankful  for  that  thought- 
ful admonition. 

Her  father  lived  twelve  hours  past  the  time  she 
had  appointed ;  but*  at  the  very  time  he  sank  away, 
so  completely  that  all  thought  he  had  breathed  his 
last,  he  recovered,  and  exclaimed,  — 

"  What  a  beautiful  scene  !     I  saw  "  — 

He  could  not  complete  the  sentence.  He  strug- 
gled through  the  night ;  and  just  as  the  sun  arose 
in  the  east,  and  the  birds  awoke  the  earth  with  song, 
his  spirit  arose  into  heaven,  and  awoke  to  the  song 
of  angels. 

I  often  asked  her  to  go  to  the  "  Banner y>  circle- 
room,  and  communicate ;  but  she  said  that  she  could 
not  approach  on  account  of  the  number  of  strange 
spirits  congregated  there.  She  said  that  she  could 
do  so,  however,  if  I  went  with  her. 

At  length  the  opportunity  offered.  I  met  Mrs. 
Conant  several  times  ;  but  I  did  not  urge  a  seance. 
I  too  well  understand  the  laws  of  spirit-commu- 
nication to  think  satisfactory  results  can  be  com- 
manded: they  must  flow  voluntarily.  I  almost  be- 
came assured  not  to  expect  anything  through  Mrs. 
Conant ;  but  one  evening,  as  we  were  engaged  in 
conversation,  she  suddenly  became  entranced.  Her 
manner,  her  tears,  identified  the  controlling  spirit. 
Aggie,  in  broken  accents,  said  that  this  first  direct 
contact  with  earth  completely  overpowered  her ;  and 
she  could  only  say  how  much  she  loved  us  all,  how 
sad  our  grief  made  her,  and  that  we  must  not  mourn 
for  her  any  more. 


88  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

To  a  skeptic,  there  was  furnished  no  test ;  .  but 
that  was  to  come.  She  remarked  that  she  had 
found  a  medium  through  whom  she  could  write  all 

she  desired,  and  I  must  meet  her  at  Miss  S 's 

at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  next  day. 

I  met  the  engagement  punctually.  I  had  never 
seen  the  medium  before,  and  did  not  give  her  my 
name.  I  simply  told  her  I  had  called  for  a  seance. 
We  sat  down  on  opposite  sides  of  a  table  ;  and  she 
told  me  I  could  write  whatever  questions  I  desired, 
and,  after  folding  the  paper  tightly,  lay  it  on  the 
table.  I  wrote,  "  Will  the  spirit  who  made  this  en- 
gagement write  her  name  ?  " 

I  rolled  the  paper  closely,  and  laid  it  on  the  table. 
Immediately  the  medium  wrote,  "  Maggie."  This 
was  written,  as  is  all  she  writes,  reversed  ;  so  that  it 
must  be  held  before  a  mirror  to  be  read.  I  wrote, 
"That  is  wrong."  Instantly  the  medium's  hand 
was  again  influenced ;  and  the  "  M  '  was  stricken 
off,  leaving  the  name  correctly  spelled,  —  "  Aggie." 
Then  I  wrote,  "  I  do  not  want  to  ask  questions : 
write  whatever  you  please." 

To  this,  the  following  was  the  reply ;  and,  consid- 
ering that  to  the  medium  I  was  a  total  stranger, 
the  accuracy  with  which  the  names  were  given 
is  astonishing.  Aggie's  guitar  had  been  left  at  a 
friend's,  and  had  not  been  touched  by  any  one, 
remaining  exactly  as  she  left  it,  leaning  against  the 
wall.  She  alludes  to  it,  as  well  as  to  the  favorite 
horse  "Bill;"  and  both  allusions  are  tests  of  iden- 
tity. 


Evidences  of  Spiritualism.  89 

"Dear  Hudson  and  Emma,  —  I  am  with  you, 
as  I  promised  last  evening ;  but  I  cannot  control 
this  medium  as  readily  as  I  supposed  I  should  be 
able  to.  But  I  shall  improve,  and  shall  be  able  to 
control  yourself  so  perfectly  that  you  will  be  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  my  presence.  I  have  the 
same  affection  for  you  as  while  on  earth.  I  shall 
never  change.  I  am  with  you,  in  spirit,  always,  and 
hope  to  control  Emma  so  perfectly  that  I  can  fulfill 
my  imperfectly  performed  mission  on  earth.  I  am 
very  happy :  do  not  grieve  for  me. 

"  Dear  Emma !  dear  Emma !  I  am  very  near  you. 
How  I  do  want  to  give  you  proof  of  my  identity ! 

"  Bring  my  guitar  home,  and  lay  it  on  the  table : 
perhaps  I  can  play  on  it. 

"  Do  you  remember  I  loved  to  see  Emma  ride  ? 
but  I  was  afraid  of  '  Bill/ 

"  Dear  little  Rosa  and  Carl !  you  miss  me,  don't 
you  ?  but  I  am  still  with  you,  and  will  lead  you  to 
truth  and  right,  if  you  will  be  patient  and  unwaver- 
mg. 

I  received  other  answers  equally  correct,  but  of 
too  personal  a  character  to  insert  here.  There  was 
no  failure.  Every  question  written,  and  rolled  into 
a  ball,  and  placed  on  the  table,  was  answered  in 
less  time  than  I  have  occupied  in  writing  this.  But 
here  let  me  insert  a  word  of  caution,  for  I  would 
not  convey  the  impression  that  such  is  invariably 
the  result ;  for  the  next  day  I  called  for  a  seance, 
and  did  not  receive  a  single  answer  to  my  written 
questions. 


90  Arcana  of  Spirihialism. 

By  our  daily  converse  with  this  beloved  spirit  are 
we  strengthened  in  our  knowledge  of  spirit-life. 
We  know  that  she  exists  as  a  bright  immortal  in 
the  spirit-land ;  and  daily  our  prayer,  carved  in  the 
marble  headstone  over  her  grave,  ascends  :  — 

"  Wait,  darling,  wait ! 

You  have  reached  the  heavenly  strand ; 
But  those  you  love  are  toiling  up 
To  the  heights  of  a  better  land. 

"  Oh,  pause  by  the  shining  gates  of  pearl, 
Look  down  the  narrow  way ; 
And  guide  us,  by  your  angel-hand, 
Into  a  perfect  day." 


IV. 


MATTER   AND    FORCE  I    THEIR   RELATIONS    TO   SPIRIT. 

In  the  study  of  nature,  questions  of  force  are  becoming  more  and  more 
prominent.  The  things  to  be  explained  are  changes,  active  effects, 
motions  in  ordinary  matter ;  and  the  tendency  is  to  regard  matter, 
not  acted  upon,  but  as  itself  inherently  active.  .  .  .  The  study  of 
matter  resolves  into  the  study  of  forces.  Inert  objects,  as  they  appear 
to  the  eye  of  sense,  are  replaced  by  activities  revealed  to  the  eye  of  in- 
tellect. The  conceptions  of  gross,  "corrupt,"  "brute  matter"  are 
passing  away  with  the  prejudices  of  the  past;  and,  in  place  of  a  dead, 
material  world,  we  have  a  living  organism  of  spiritual  energies.  ■ — 
Youman. 

45.      TO   COMPREHEND    SPIRIT, 

THE  laws  of  the  physical  elements  must  be  un- 
derstood. The  moving  powers  of  the  universe 
reside  within  the  atom.  These  can  only  be  studied 
by  their  effects,  and  must  be  pursued  through  long 
and  intricate  mazes  of  investigation.  The  follow- 
ing pages,  though  seemingly  foreign  to  our  subject, 
will,  in  the  end,  be  found  to  have  a  most  important 
bearing  on  the  correct  comprehension  of  the  source 
of  power,  and  even  the  intelligence  of  the  spirit- 
world. 

The  new  theory  of  force  has  been  triumphantly 
arrayed  against  the  possibility  of  immortality.  This 
theory  is  here  presented,  and  its  relations  to  spirit- 
ual existence  examined.     Wonderful   and   beautiful 


92  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

is  the  correlation  presented,  and  broad  as  the  uni- 
verse the  field  of  investigation. 


46.     Ancient  Science. 

The  science  of  the  ancients,  if  they  can  be  said  to 
have  possessed  a  science,  was  an  evolution  from  the 
mind  independent  of  facts.  The  Greeks  were  im- 
patient of  the  study  of  external  phenomena.  They 
set  the  intellect  entirely  above  facts,  and  supposed 
that  it  was  capable  of  working  out  a  system  of  na- 
ture from  itself.  Aristotle,  perhaps,  departed  from 
this  method  ;  but  it  remained  for  modern  science  to 
establish  its  firm  basis  directly  on  observation.  In 
this  consists  the  difference  between  the  ancient  and 
modern  methods.  One  reasons  from  within  out- 
ward ;  the  other,  from  the  external  to  the  internal. 
Locke's  sensuous  theory  is  scorned ;  but  it  is  the 
sheet-anchor  of  science,  and  every  one  of  its  induc- 
tions presupposes  its  truthfulness.  Hence  the  in- 
ductive method  has  been  accused  of  materialism  ;  a 
charge  certainly  merited,  and  from  which  it  cannot 
escape.  Locke's  method  is  correct,  and  the  induc- 
tive method  is  correct ;  but  neither  have  the  whole 
and  complete  truth.  Because  we  derive  knowledge 
from  the  senses  does  not  prove  that  all  our  knowl- 
edge is  thus  derived.  Beyond  stands  the  unex- 
plained and  unexplainable  I.  Smelling,  tasting,  see- 
ing, hearing,  feeling,  one  or  combined,  never  yield 
reason.  Because  by  the  inductive  method  we  ar- 
rive  at   truths   does   not  prove  that  it  is  the  only 


Matter  and  Force.  93 

channel  to  truth.  The  mind  capable  of  understand- 
ing phenomena  by  observation  of  facts  should  be 
able  to  evolve  the  laws  of  those  or  other  facts. 


47.     Present  Tendency  of  Thought. 

The  present  tendency  of  thought  is  material,  so 
far  as  abolishing  miracles,  and  the  determination  of 
phenomena  by  laws,  are  concerned  ;  but,  in  another 
direction,  it  has  an  opposite  tendency.  The  laws 
themselves  assume  a  spiritual  outline.  Scientists 
are  throwing  aside  matter,  and  applying  themselves 
to  the  study  of  force.  Here  they  find  the  bridge 
spanning  the  chasm  between  matter  and  spirit ;  and 
^ach  day  they  approach  nearer  the  latter  unseen 
and  mysterious  realm.  Each  day  the  existence  of 
gross  matter  becomes  more  doubtful.  It  is  asked, 
"  Is  an  atom  more  than  a  centre  for  the  evolution 
of  forces  ?  And  what  assurance  is  there  that  such 
centres  will  not  instantly  dissolve,  fading  into  some 
other  forces  ? '  When  a  stone  is  dropped  into  water, 
its  surface  is  thrown  into  waves.  Now  it  is  a  seri- 
ous question  of  science,  one  of  vast  importance,  "Is 
not  an  atom  like  the  central  portion  of  those  waves, 
—  a  vortex  from  which  waves  of  force  are  constantly 
thrown?'  Then  arises  the  question,  "  Is  there  any 
matter,  is  there  anything,  but  force  V  But  we  can- 
not divest  ourselves  of  the  idea  of  substance  ;  the 
testimony  of  the  senses  of  the  existence  of  matter, 
the  body  of  the  universe,  to  which  force  holds  the 
relation  of  spirit. 


94  .■  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

48.     Progress. 

This  tendency  is  observable  in  all  departments  of 
science,  but  more  particularly  in  astronomy.  From 
the  cumbersome  crystalline  spheres  of  Ptolemy  to 
the  epicircles  of  a  later  date ;  from  these  to  the 
subtle  vortices  of  an  electrical  medium  wafting  the 
planets  on  their  swift  currents,  as  set  fcrth  by  Des- 
cartes, —  lengthy  steps  were  taken :  but,  from  the 
latter,  the  domain  of  force  was  at  once  revealed  by 
Newton  in  his  incomparable  doctrine  of  gravitation. 

In  the  same  manner,  at  the  close  of  the  last 
century,  chemistry  made  a  great  advance  by  the 
discovery  of  the  indestructibility  of  matter.  The 
intellect,  befogged  by  educational  prejudice,  could 
never  have  arrived  at  this  fact,  except  by  mechani- 
cal means.  The  balance  of  Lavoisier  was  more 
penetrating  than  the  minds  of  the  most  astute  phi- 
losophers. His  balance  proved  that  matter,  how- 
ever changeable  in  form,  in  weight  is  unchangeable. 
The  invisible  gas  pressed  downward  as  much  as  the 
heavy,  black  coal  from  which  it  escaped.  The  es- 
caping smoke  was  as  heavy  as  the  burned  wood. 
Matter  might  be  converted  from  a  solid  to  a  fluid 
or  a  gas,  or  from  a  gas  to  a  solid  ;  but  nothing  is 
lost  by  the  protean  metamorphosis. 

49.     Force. 

Similar  is  the  step  now  taken  in  regard  to  force. 
Force  is  never  lost.  There  is  just  so  much  in  the 
universe,  and   none  is   destroyed,  as  there  are  so 


Matter  and  Force.  95 

many  atoms  ;  and  there  is  no  less,  no  more.  Heat, 
light,  magnetism,  electricity,  from  their  discovery, 
treated  as  subtile,  imponderable  fluids  pervading 
matter,  have  been  proved  to  be  forces,  propagated 
by  determinate  laws,  mutually  convertible  into  each 
other,  and  all  capable  of  being  produced  by  motion. 
From  a  given  amount  of  electric  force,  a  definite 
magnetic  power,  heat,  light,  or  motion  may  be  ob- 
tained, or  vice  versa.  When  one  of  these  expends 
itself,  and  cannot  be  discovered  in  its  original  con- 
dition, it  can  always  be  found  in  one  of  its  other 
forms.  This  definite  quantitative  change  has  re- 
ceived the  name  of  "  correlation  and  conservation  of 
forces!' 

50.     Explanation  of  Force. 

It  must  be  held  in  remembrance,  that,  by  the 
term  "  force,"  nothing  is  explained.  It  is  used  in  the 
sense  of  power  to  produce  an  effect ;  but,  of  the 
cause  of  the  individual  phenomena,  we  are  just  as 
ignorant. 

Our  actual  knowledge  results  from  comparison  of 
the  phenomena  to  which  the  term  is  applied.  If  a 
piece  of  caoutchouc  be  stretched  by  an  application 
of  weights,  it  will  yield  in  proportion  to  the  weight 
applied ;  and,  when  the  weight  is  removed,  it  will 
recoil  with  exactly  the  amount  of  force  which  was 
applied.  This  power  is  held  by  each  of  its  compo- 
nent particles,  and  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
conservation  of  force.  The  term  may  be  objection- 
able, but  is  less  so  than  any  other,  and  expressive 


96  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

of  the  meaning  implied.  Force  is  indestructible 
and  uncreatable.  A  spring  pressed  downwards  by 
a  weight  of  a  hundred  pounds  will  recoil  with  the 
force  of  a  hundred  pounds  when  the  weight  is 
removed.  The  pendulum  of  a  clock  continues  to 
swing  until  the  original  power  used  in  winding  up 
the  weight  becomes  exhausted,  and  not  a  moment 
longer.  If  a  thousand  oscillations  equal  a  power 
of  an  ounce,  then  an  ounce  is  subtracted  from 
the  original  force  which  was  applied  by  that  number 
of  movements.  This  is  a  cardinal  principle,  equally 
important  with  the  eternity  of  matter,  and  should  be 
thoroughly  understood.  To  turn  a  wheel,  the  water 
must  fall :  every  pound  of  power  gained  by  the 
wheel,  the  water  must  lose.  The  stroke  of  the 
wheel  consumes  a  definite  quantity  of  steam.  The 
labor  of  man  consumes  muscular  power. 

51.     Motion. 

The  first  idea  of  force  is  motion.  The  gross 
idea  of  motion  is  change  of  matter  in  space.  The 
more  subtile  conception  fades  into  vibrations  of 
matter  without  any  relative  change.  Thus  we  have 
a  glimpse  of  an  impalpable  something  transmitted, 
which  operates  powerfully,  but  changes  not  the  sub- 
stance in  its  path.  Thus  sound  is  motion :  it  is 
nothing  but  motion.  If  the  ear  be  placed  at  one 
end  of  a  long  metallic  rod,  and  the  other  end  be 
struck,  it  shortly  receives  an  impression  of  sound 
conducted  through  the  rod.  The  rod  has  not  moved : 
it  has  only  allowed  something  to  pass  through  it. 


Matter  and  Force.  97 

That  something  is  vibration,  capable  of  exciting  the 
auditory  nerves  producing  hearing.  Motion  only  has 
passed. 

52.     Resolvability  of  Motion. 

Motion  is  resolvable  into  heat,  light,  magnetism, 
electricity,  and  what  may  be  called,  for  want  of  a 
better  name,  spiritual  power.  The  production  of 
heat  by  motion  is  among  the  most  common  occur- 
rences. Wherever  there  is  friction  between  moving 
surfaces,  heat  is  produced.  In  machinery,  oil  is 
applied  to  all  the  irregularities  of  the  surfaces  so 
that  they  may  slide  freely  over  each  other.  In 
heavy  machinery,  there  is  great  difficulty  in  pre- 
venting the  rapidly  revolving  parts  from  burning. 
Car  axles  often  take  fire  from  this  cause.  By  rough- 
ening the  surfaces,  greater  friction  is  produced,  more 
heat,  and  consequent  loss  of  power.  What  becomes 
of  this  lost  power  ?  Is  it  annihilated  ?  No.  The 
precise  amount  of  power  absorbed  by  friction  is  re- 
produced as  heat.  Friction  results  from  the  tearing 
asunder  of  the  inequalities  of  the  opposing  surfaces  ; 
and  the  force  necessary  to  tear  these  asunder  is 
equivalent  to  the  heat  produced.  In  other  words, 
if  this  heat  was  applied  to  convert  water  to  steam, 
the  steam  would  tear  off  precisely  as  many  particles. 
Of  course  no  allowance  is  here  made  for  waste. 

53.     Equivalent  of  Motion. 

The  equivalent  of  one  degree  Fahrenheit,  ex- 
pressed  in  motion,  has   been  approximately  deter- 


98  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

mined,  by  Mr.  Joule,  as  seven  hundred  and  seventy- 
two  pounds,  falling  one  foot.  Other  experimenters 
have  arrived  at  widely  different  results ;  but  his  com- 
putations are  made  with  so  much  care  and  nicety 
that  they  are  generally  received. 

54.     Light. 

Light  often,  and  electricity  always,  accompanies 
friction,  when  the  opposing  surfaces  are  different. 
If  they  are  homogeneous,  heat  results  ;  if  not,  elec- 
tricity. The  intense  electricity  of  the  electrical 
machine  is  derived  from  the  friction  of  the  rubber 
against  the  glass  wheel. 

55.     Affinity. 

By  means  of  an  electrical  current,  decomposition 
can  be  effected,  or  chemical  affinity  evoked.  By 
means  of  heat  or  electricity  or  affinity,  the  circle  is 
completed  by  the  production  of  motion.  All  of 
these  are  motions  of  atoms  ;  and  all  that  is  required 
is  their  proper  direction  to  produce  motion  of 
masses. 

56.     Exceptions. 

There  are  apparent  exceptions,  readily  explain- 
able ;  but  it  is  a  general  truth  that  heat  expands  all 
bodies.  Every  increment  of  heat  widens  the  dis- 
tance between  the  component  atoms,  and  weakens 
their  attraction,  until  the  latter  becomes  so  small 
that  the  body  assumes  a  fluid  state,  or  becomes  gas- 
eous.    A  gaseous  body  may  be  considered  as  hold- 


Matter  and  Force.  99 

ing  a  large  portion  of  heat  as  a  force  necessary  to 
preserve  its  gaseous  form.  Mechanical  pressure  can 
wring  this  heat  from  it ;  or,  in  other  words,  the 
capacity  of  the  condensed  gas  for  heat  is  not  so 
great  as  in  its  expanded  state.  Heat  and  cold  are 
relative  terms.  When  a  body  is  said  to  be  heated, 
the  meaning  is  that  it  is  so  in  comparison  to  other 
bodies.  As  there  is  a  tendency  to  equilibrium,  to 
heat  one  body,  we  employ  another  having  the  re- 
quired temperature.  Thus  we  understand  that  a 
fluid  or  gas  is  such  from  heat  alone. 

57.     Heat  and  Cold. 

The  experiment  of  compressing  air  beautifully 
illustrates  this.  If  air  be  confined  in  a  tube,  and 
forcibly  compressed,  a  flash  of  light  is  seen  ;  and,  if 
tinder  be  placed  in  the  tube,  it  will  become  ignited  : 
the  reverse  of  this  occurs  when  compressed  gas  is 
allowed  rapidly  to  expand.  Then  it  absorbs  heat, 
and  produces  the  phenomenon  of  cold.  When  car- 
bonic-acid gas  is  allowed  to  escape  from  a  Harrow 
orifice,  from  great  condensation,  its  expansion,  on 
meeting  the  air,  is  such  that  it  is  frozen,  and  falls  in 
a  shower  of  snow.  So  cold  is  this  frozen  carbonic- 
acid  gas,  that,  if  a  closed  vessel,  filled  with  water, 
be  surrounded  with  it,  and  thrown  into  a  red-hot 
crucible,  the  water  will  be  almost  instantly  frozen. 
A  little  thrown  on  mercury  will  congeal  it  into  a 
solid  which  can  be  hammered  out  into  bars.  If, 
when  the  mercury  begins  to  melt,  it  be  allowed  to 


ioo  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

drop  into  water,  it  will  form  tubes  of  ice  in  passing 
through  it,  it  is  so  intensely  cold.  In  this  experi- 
ment, a  portion  of  the  gas  obtains  the  heat  neces- 
sary to  convert  it  into  a  diffused  gas  ;  but,  by  so 
doing,  it  takes  so  much  from  another  portion  that 
the  latter  becomes  solid. 

When  the  piston  of  the  tube  before  mentioned  is 
pressed  downwards,  a  soft  and  elastic  cushion  ar- 
rests its  progress.  In  common  terms,  it  is  said  this 
is  the  air  ;  but  it  is  not.  It  is  heat.  The  atoms  of 
air  do  not  touch  each  other.  They  are  surrounded, 
and  held  apart,  by  heat.  The  piston  meets  with 
this  resistance,  which  cannot  be  overcome  more 
than  the  power  of  gravitation. 

58.     Transformation  of  Force  into  Heat. 

The  power  applied  to  the  piston  is  converted  into 
heat ;  and,  if  the  compressed  vapor  is  allowed  to  ex- 
pand, it  does  so  with  precisely  the  same  force  with 
which  it  is  compressed,  and  the  heat  disappears.  It 
is  the  same  with  steam.  It  expands,  and  forces  the 
piston  forward  ;  but  loses,  in  the  same  ratio,  its  ap- 
parent heat.  So  slight  is  the  quantity  used,  compared 
with  the  whole  amount  of  heat  which  steam  contains, 
that  it  is  scarcely  appreciable.  If  the  whole  amount 
could  be  used,  the  power  of  the  steam-engine  would 
be  multiplied  indefinitely.  As  at  present  construct- 
ed, the  steam  is  rejected  while  at  a  high  tempera- 
ture ;  and  thus  a  major  portion  of  the  power  is  lost. 
This  presupposes  the  waste  of  fuel. 


Matter  and  Force.  101 

59.     Force  in  Animals. 

If  the  full  capacity  for  power  substances  offered 
be  wanted,  it  is  supplied  by  the  animal  frame.  The 
most  careful  experiments  show  that  a  pound  of 
carbon  in  the  animal  system  will  produce  more  heat 
than  twenty  pounds  burned  in  the  most  economical 
furnaces.  If  this  heat  be  converted  into  motion,  we 
find  the  animal  has  the  advantage.  Mettucci  found, 
that,  by  applying  an  electric  current  to  the  limbs  of 
a  frog,  notwithstanding  the  defects  of  the  apparatus, 
a  much  greater  power  was  obtained  than  by  any  ar- 
tificial apparatus. 

60.  Electricity. 

The  friction  of  similar  bodies  produces  heat ;  that 
of  dissimilar  bodies,  electricity.  The  old  explana- 
tion, of  positive  and  negative  fluids,  is  utterly  base- 
less ;  and  that  of  a  single  idio-repulsive  fluid  has 
been  discarded.  The  terms  "  positive  "  and  "  nega- 
tive'" have  served,  for  a  long  time,  to  conceal  igno- 
rance, and  show  learning,  and  are  without  meaning 
when  applied  to  two  suppositional  fluids. 

Perhaps  not  many  will  dissent  in  the  end  to  the 
statement  that  electricity  is  the  polarization  of  ordi- 
nary matter,  —  a  force  propagated  in  waves,  and 
only  varying  in  a  few  particulars  from  heat. 

61.  Conduction. 

With  the  exception  of  fused  metals,  it  is  almost 
certain  that  no  body  conducts  electricity  without 


102  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

decomposition.  It  is  conducted  because  chemical 
affinity  is  annulled,  and  the  particles  become  polar- 
ized. The  phenomenon  of  induction  is  opposed  to 
the  theory  of  a  fluid,  and  favorable  to  that  of  polari- 
zation. When,  for  example,  the  air  becomes  what 
is  termed  positive  to  the  earth,  it  is  found  that  any 
part  of  the  atmosphere  is  negative  to  that  above, 
and  positive  to  that  below.  This  is  experimentally 
illustrated  by  placing  thin  plates  of  mica  on  each 
other,  like  a  pack  of  cards ;  placing  the  pile  between 
two  metallic  covers,  and  charging  the  latter  like  a 
Leyden  jar.  Upon  separating  the  plates  of  mica,  it 
will  be  found  that  the  surface  of  one  side  is  positive, 
and  the  other  negative ;  each  plate  being  thus  polar- 
ized. 

This  polarization  enters  into  the  structure  of  the 
plate  itself.  If  a  coin  be  placed  on  a  pile  of  thin 
plates  of  glass,  and  electrified,  on  removing  it,  and 
breathing  on  the  plate,  an  image  of  the  coin  is  dis- 
cernible. Even  when  the  plate  is  ground  and  pol- 
ished, the  image  can  be  reproduced ;  so  that  we  may 
suppose  that  the  image  can  be  produced  by  each 
lamina  of  particles.  If  the  plate  is  exposed  to  hy- 
drofluoric acid,  the  design  is  beautifully  etched.  Or 
if  the  plate  be  coated  with  collodion,  and  be  passed 
through  the  usual  photographic  processes,  the  image 
appears  on  the  collodion  surface.  The  glass  is  not 
only  polarized,  but  induces  its  peculiar  state  in  other 
bodies  with  which  it  comes  in  direct  contact. 

The  brush  flame  of  an  electrical  discharge  has 
been  employed  as  an  argument  in  support  of  the  ac- 


Matter  and  Force.  103 

tual  emission  of  a  fluid ;  but  the  variation,  according 
to  the  material  of  the  discharging  point,  is  an  unan- 
swerable objection.  The  flame  results  from  a  vapor- 
ization and  combustion  of  the  conducting  material. 
This  is  shown  by  collecting  the  vapor  in  a  tube  over 
the  flame.  Iron  which  is  fused  at  a  high  temper- 
ature can  thus  be  vaporized  and  condensed.  This 
wonderful  phenomenon  furnishes  a  clew  to  the  for- 
mation of  mineral  veins,  which,  as  a  general  rule, 
run  in  the  direction  of  what  may  be  called  the  great 
magnetic  currents  of  the  earth.  Metals  can  be 
taken  up,  and  conveyed  to  remotest  distances,  by 
electric  currents  ;  and  their  deposition  produce  as- 
tonishing crystalline  forms  of  beauty. 

62.     Sound. 

We  may  safely  state,  although  there  are  cases 
where  it  is  not  yet  proved,  that  electric  currents 
always  produce  change  by  transmission.  Even  in 
muscle,  they  induce  a  certain  change,  as  is  proved 
by  their  influence  ceasing  after  a  time,  and  renew- 
ing after  a  moment's  cessation.  The  external  por- 
tion of  muscle  is  always  in  a  positive  state  to  the 
internal ;  that  is,  the  component  atoms  are  polarized. 
It  is  far  more  reasonable  to  refer  electrical  effects 
to  a  force  than  a  fluid.  We  do  not  call  to  our  as- 
sistance anything  but  force  to  account  for  the  phe- 
nomenon of  sound ;  yet  beautifully  parallel  are  the 
two  classes  of  phenomena.  Electrical  discharges  will 
break  glasses ;   so  will  sound.     They  may  become 


104  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

sonorous  like  the  latter.  Some  bodies  readily  con- 
duct sound ;  while  others  arrest  it,  or  are  non-con- 
ductors. The  same  distinction  holds  in  regard  to 
electricity.  It  has  even  been  proved  by  Becquerel 
that  some  compounds  may  be  decomposed  by  sound, 
just  as  all  can  be  by  electricity. 

Electricity  produces  heat  and  light  of  the  greatest 
known  intensity,  and  is  readily  converted  into  mag- 
netism ;  and,  lastly,  it  produces  chemical  affinity, 
organizing  and  disorganizing  in  so  powerful  and  del- 
icate a  manner  as  to  be  the  most  serviceable  of 
chemical  agents. 

63.     Light. 

Light  is  the  most  intricate  and  least  defined  of 
the  imponderables  or  forces.  So  incalculably  ex- 
tended and  intricate  are  its  relations,  that,  in  its 
chemical  activity,  it  is  difficult,  or,  rather,  impossi- 
ble, to  determine  where  its  action  leaves  off,  and 
that  of  chemical  affinity  begins.  In  its  optical  rela- 
tions, it  follows  determinate,  mathematical  laws.  Re- 
fraction, reflection,  polarization,  and  absorption  are 
precisely  like  similar  phenomena  of  rays  of  heat. 
Conduction  of  heat,  and  transmission  of  light,  are 
similar.  Heat  intensifies  chemical  affinity ;  but 
light  is  essential  to  a  great  majority  of  chemical 
actions. 

64.     Analogy  to  Sound,  v 

Light  and  sound  present  many  striking  analogies. 
They  progress  in  straight  lines.     When  they  meet 


Matter  and  Force.  105 

an  impenetrable  body,  they  are  reflected  in  the 
same  manner.  When  they  pass  into  a  medium  of 
different  density,  they  are  alike  refracted ;  and, 
lastly,  sound  can  be  polarized  in  a  similar  manner 
to  light. 

Light  acts  as  a  chemical  force.  Its  power  to  change 
the  salts  of  silver  is  shown  in  the  beautiful  art  of 
photography. 

65.     Magnetism. 

Magnetism  can  be  produced  by,  and  can  produce, 
electricity  ;  and  electricity  produces  heat,  light,  and 
chemical  affinity.  Perhaps  one  of  its  most  curious 
effects  is  its  disturbance  of  rays  of  light  or  heat 
when  passing  its  influence.  A  ray  of  polarized  light 
can  be  made  to  swerve  from  its  course  by  the  at- 
traction of  a  magnet.  The  direction  of  chemical 
force  is  in  like  manner  effected. 


66.     Affinity. 

The  attraction  of  atoms  is  called  chemical  affin- 
ity ;  that  of  masses,  gravitation.  Wonderful  are  the 
effects  produced  by  this  force,  many  times  inexpli- 
cable. If  electricity  produces  it,  it  is  the  inexhaustible 
fount  of  electricity.  All  the  various  forms  of  bat- 
teries depend  on  chemical  action ;  and,  could  the 
electricity  generated  by  combustion  of  coal  or  wood 
be  secured,  it  would  afford  a  power  incalculably 
greater  than  that  of  the  engine  in  the  furnaces  of 
which  they  are  consumed. 


io6  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

67.     Quantity  of  Electricity. 

The  amount  of  electricity  depends  invariably  on 
the  amount  of  chemical  action.  If  the  electric  cur- 
rent be  employed  to  decompose  a  fluid,  as  water,  it 
will  be  found  that  precisely  the  same  amount  of 
oxygen  unites  with  the  zinc  in  the  battery  as  is  set 
free  at  the  terminal,  or  pole  in  the  fluid ;  and  the 
quantities  of  hydrogen  are  equal.  If  different  fluids 
are  acted  on  from  those  in  the  battery,  then  the 
relations  of  the  element  united  with  the  zinc,  and 
set  free  in  the  fluid,  are  as  their  equivalents.  Thus 
if  hydrochloric  acid  be  placed  in  the  battery,  and 
the  poles  be  immersed  in  water,  for  every  thirty-six 
parts  by  weight  of  chlorine  united  with  the  zinc, 
.eight  parts  of  oxygen  would  be  liberated  from  the 
water ;  for  such  are  their  combining  weights  or 
equivalents. 

68.     Heat. 

Chemical  affinity  never  occurs  without  evolving 
heat.  It  is  the  source  of  all  our  artificial  heat  and 
light.  The  flame  of  a  candle  or  of  gas,  the  heat  of 
the  grate,  comes  from  the  clashing  particles  uniting 
in  new  gaseous  compounds.  The  relations  of  heat, 
light,  electricity,  magnetism,  and  chemical  affinity 
are  thus  intimate ;  and  they  are  all  resolvable  into 
motion,  and  can  all  be  evolved  from  motion.  When- 
ever any  of  them  produce  motion,  they  lose  precisely 
so  much  of  their  individual  characteristics  as  there 
is  motion  produced. 


* 


Matter  and  Force.  107 

69.     Theories. 

It  is  indifferent  what  theory  we  advocate,  —  the 
theory  of  vibrations  in  an  ether,  or  of  matter  itself, 
or  of  emission :  this  inter-relation,  or  correlation  and 
conservation,  holds  good  of  one  as  well  as  the  other. 

Force  is  as  indestructible  as  matter ;  and  the  im- 
ponderables are  only  various  manifestations  of  force. 
The  present  tendency  of  scientific  thought  is  to- 
wards the  theory  of  vibrations  of  matter  itself,  and 
perhaps  the  weight  of  argument  is  on  that  side  :  but 
it  fails  to  explain  many  phenomena  ;  and  the  action 
of  gravitation  across  planetary  spaces  calls  to  aid,  if 
not  a  universal  ether,  something  very  similar.  The 
theory  of  emission  has  been  discarded  long  since. 
The  "  imponderables '  must  be  regarded  as  forces, 
not  as  matter.  As  there  is  so  much  matter  in  the 
universe,  and  not  a  particle  can  be  lost  or  destroyed, 
there  is  so  much  force,  and  not  the  sufficiency  to 
float  a  down  on  the  wind  can  be  created  or  de- 
stroyed. 

This  resolution  of  "  imponderables '  into  motion 
solves  some  of  the  greatest  cosmical  problems.  Mo- 
tion being  an  indestructible  attribute  of  matter,  the 
revolution  of  worlds  falls  into  its  province.  The 
original  heat  which  once  diffused  the  planetary  bod- 
ies as  vapor  through  space  calls  for  no  other  expla- 
nation than  is  furnished  by  conservation  of  force. 

When  the  exact  numerical  relation  of  heat  and 
motion  is  determined,  the  calculation  is  very  simple 
to  ascertain  how  much  heat  the  velocity  of  a  plane- 


108  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

tary  body  represents.  The  moment  the  particles  of 
cosmical  vapor  met  and  united,  —  in  other  words, 
condensation  began, —  heat  was  generated.  It  was 
the  great  obstacle  in  the  way  of  condensation.  From 
the  amount  of  heat  represented  by  the  present  mo- 
tion of  the  earth,  the  degree  of  heat  of  the  original 
chaos  can  be  determined.  It  is  found  that  only  the 
four  hundred  and  fifty-fourth  of  the  original  force 
remains  ;  but  if  this  remainder  were  converted  into 
heat,  as  it  would  be  if  the  planets  were  all  to  fall 
into  the  sun,  and  the  whole  system  suddenly  be 
brought  to  rest,  it  would  raise  the  temperature  of 
the  entire  mass  to  twenty-eight  million  degrees  cen- 
tigrade, or  fifty  million  degrees  Fahrenheit.  When 
we  consider  that  the  highest  temperature  we  are 
capable  of  attaining  is  by  the  oxhydrogen  blow-pipe, 
and  that  this  does  not  exceed  three  thousand  six 
hundred  degrees  Fahrenheit,  but  is  sufficient  to  not 
only  melt,  but  vaporize,  platinum,  the  most  infusible 
of  metals,  we  can  at  once  learn  the  incomprehen- 
sibleness  of  fifty  million  degrees,  or  more  than 
thirteen  thousand  times  that  number.  If  the  entire 
mass  of  the  system  were  pure  coal,  and  at  once  lit  up 
in  terrific  combustion,  only  the  thirty-five  hundredth 
part  of  this  heat  would  be  generated. 

A  simple  calculation  affords  us  a  view  of  the 
result  if  the  earth  were  suddenly  stopped  in  its 
orbit.  The  momentum  of  a  ponderous  ball,  eight 
thousand  miles  in  diameter,  hurled  sixty-eight  thou- 
sand miles  an  hour,  is  at  once  converted  into  heat. 
A   rifle-ball    arrested   becomes  too  warm  to  touch. 


Matter  and  Force.  109 

The  earth  is  raised  to  sixteen  thousand  five  hundred 
and  sixty  degrees  Fahrenheit,  a  temperature  suffi- 
cient to  convert  its  most  obdurate  minerals  into 
vapor,  into  a  vast  cometary  chaos.  If  arrested,  it 
would  fall  into  the  sun  ;  and  the  degree  of  heat 
developed  by  such  a  catastrophe  would  be  four  hun- 
dred times  greater,  or  six  million  six  hundred  and 
twenty-four  thousand  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

70.     The  Sun  the  Fountain  of  Life. 

The  heat  of  the  sun's  surface  —  the  great  perpet- 
ual fountain  of  life  —  has  been  estimated,  from  what 
appear  to  be  correct  data,  to  be  from  seven  thou- 
sand to  fifteen  thousand  times  greater  than  the 
oxhydrogen  blow-pipe.  This  incomprehensible  tem- 
perature is  maintained  invariably,  and  an  immense 
flood  of  light  and  heat  radiated  into  space.  Meet- 
ing the  surface  of  the  planets,  it  warms,  enlightens, 
and  sets  at  work  the  processes  of  life.  It  is  the 
origin  of  living  beings,  who  derive  from  its  exhila- 
rating rays  all  their  motion,  or  living  force,  which 
stands  directly  correlated  to  sunlight  and  heat. 

We  are  all  children  of  the  sun,  from  the  humblest 
worm  to  the  divinest  man.  All  are  storehouses  of 
these  forces,  which  can  be  at  any  time  called  forth. 
When  wood  is  burned,  it  is  not  newly  created  heat 
we  produce,  but  the  light  and  warmth  of  the  sun 
exerted  in  building  up  the  cells  of  the  wood. 

A  diamond  shines  in  the  dark,  after  exposure  to 
the  sun's  rays,  from  the  absorption  of  those  rays. 


no  Arcana  of  Spirifoialism. 

Wonderful  thought !  when  we  burn  the  dark  and 
shining  coal,  we  set  at  liberty  the  sunlight  and  sun- 
heat  treasured  up  by  plants  in  the  dark  age  of  myth- 
ically gigantic  vegetation  flourishing  in  the  marshes 
of  the  coal  period !  We  create  nothing.  The  coal  is 
simply  a  treasury  of  the  heat  and  light  of  the  sun. 

71.     Beautiful  is  this  Circle  of  Transforma- 
tion. 

The  heat  of  the  sun  builds  up  a  plant.  It  is  a 
storehouse  of  these  forces  to  the  animal  that  eats 
and  digests  it.  The  original  heat  is  liberated  by  the 
chemical  action  in  its  system  ;  and  it  is  warmed 
thereby,  and  tremendous  muscular  power  derived. 
The  same  chemical  processes  occur  when  wood  is 
burned  in  the  furnace  of  an  engine.  The  treasured 
heat  is  reconverted  to  the  original  motion  of  the 
chaos  of  the  beginning.  Thus  the  force  of  the  ani- 
mal frame  and  of  the  engine  are  reproductions  of 
the  primal  forces  of  the  planetary  bodies. 

72.     The  Realm  of  Life. 

Ascending  in  this  generalization,  we  inquire  if 
this  correlation  holds  in  the  realm  of  life  ;  if  the 
aggregate  motions  we  call  life  may  not  be  trans- 
formations of  the  terrible  forces  of  nature. 

73.     Wonderful  are   the   Motions   of    Living 

Beings  ; 

So  mysterious,  they  seem  to  spring  directly  from 
the  will,  and  at  once  to  be  connected  with  a  forbid- 


Matter  and  Force.  1 1 1 

den  domain  lying  outside  of  matter.  But  careful 
study  finds  that  the  circulation  of  the  fluids  in  the 
animal  frame,  and  the  motions  of  their  organs,  dif- 
fers not  from  the  motion  observed  in  the  cascade, 
the  rush  of  winds,  or  the  orbs  of  space.  Motion 
cannot  be  produced  without  the  consumption  of 
force.  A  pound  of  carbon  in  the  furnace  yields 
a  certain  amount  of  power. 

74.  Force  and  Chemical  Change. 

Chemical  decomposition  yields,  according  to  con- 
ditions, electricity,  light,  heat,  magnetism,  or  mo- 
tion. 

75.  Vegetative  Life  is  purely  of  Growth: 
Animal  Life  expends  itself  in  resistance 
to  External  Agencies. 

Thus,  in  plants,  a  certain  amount  of  the  force 
derived  from  their  food  is  employed  in  resisting 
the  causes  of  decay ;  but  the  balance  is  entirely 
used  in  growth.  The  materials  of  which  they  are 
composed  are  of  so  fixed  a  character  that  little  force 
is  consumed  in  opposing  their  oxidization.  We  see 
however,  in  the  compounds  forming  the  flower  and 
fruit,  an  instability  held  in  equilibrium  only  by  a 
strong  effort,  and  which  invariably  exhausts  the 
vitality  of  the  plant.  As  soon  as  the  connection 
of  fruit  or  flower  ceases  with  the  parent  stem, 
vitality  no  longer  resists,  and  decay  at  once  com- 
mences. 


112  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

■ 

76.     New  Direction  in  Animals. 

In  animals,  the  forces  of  the  system  are  also  used 
in  growth,  but  another  direction  is  given  to  them. 
The  animal  has  a  nervous  system,  which  the  plant 
has  not,  by  which  its  various  parts  are  brought  in 
unison.  In  both  is  observed  what  has  been  called 
vital  force. 

What  is  this  vital  force  ?  Consider  an  organized 
being.  It  is  a  representative  of  all  the  forces  and 
conditions  which  have  ever  acted  on  it,  or  on  its 
remotest  ancestors.  It  is  the  concrete  expression 
of  all  these.  In  it,  these  forces  have  acquired  a 
momentum.  They  are  not  wholly  dependent  on  ex- 
ternal circumstances,  but  are  able  to  re-act  on  sur- 
rounding conditions.  The  sum  of  forces  thus  indi- 
vidualized, the  momentum  of  force  thus  represented, 
is  what  is  called  vitality.  Whatever  power  a  being 
gains  from  its  food  or  otherwise,  not  expended,  is  so 
much  gained  by  vitality. 

It  is  not  an  original  force  imported  from  ances- 
tors, which  weakens  as  it  departs  from  the  parent 
stock,  as  has  been  argued.  This  is  refuted  by  the 
propagation  of  plants  by  cuttings,  or  the  embryonic 
growth  of  animals.  The  bud  or  the  sperm-cell  can 
only  give  direction  to  the  causes  of  growth,  which 
yield  vitality  as  the  surplus  of  the  force  extracted 
from  the  sustaining  material. 

77.     Use  of  the  Nerves. 

By  means  of  the  nerves,  all  the  organs  of  the 
body  are  brought  into  harmony.     They  are  the  con- 


Matter  and  Force.  1 1 3 

ducting  wires  by  which  the  forces  generated  in  the 
system  are  kept  in  equilibrium.  Where  they  do  not 
exist,  there  is  no  motion.  They  convey  the  excess 
of  force  existing  in  one  organ  to  another  when  it  is 
deficient,  or  to  organs  which  do  not  generate  the 
force  which  they  need. 

As  force  cannot  be  created  nor  destroyed,  its 
manifestations  depend  on  chemical  changes  within 
the  organism.  This  is  true  of  the  force  used  in  the 
voluntary  and  involuntary  motions  of  the  body. 
Even  the  movement  of  a  finger,  or  the  exhalation 
of  a  breath,  necessitates  consumption  of  material  in 
the  body.  That  is,  every  motion  requires  force, 
which  is  derived  from  some  of  the  component  par- 
ticles of  the  organism  entering  into  new  combi- 
nations, and  thereby  becoming  effete,  and  rejected 
by  the  system.  They  cannot  be  used  a  second 
time. 

The  vital  force  stands  in  direct  relation  to  chemi- 
cal force,  or,  in  other  words,  to  the  amount  of  de- 
structions of  tissues.  It  is  precisely  parallel  to  the 
results  obtained  by  a  galvanic  battery.  An  atom  of 
acid  unites  with  an  atom  of  zinc  :  the  attached  wire 
transmits  force  by  which  we  can  separate  the  most 
firmly  united  compounds,  produce  light,  heat,  or 
magnetic  force ;  but  we  can  never  obtain  any  more 
force  than  that  afforded  by  the  original  attraction  of 
the  atom  of  acid  and  zinc. 

Thus  it  is  that  force  is  derived  from  the  oxidation 
effected  in  the  body,  which  must  be  proportional  to 
the  material  consumed.     In  fevers,  where  the  waste 

8 


H4  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

is  great,  the  production  of  heat  is  correlated  with 
motion. 

78.  Oxygen  the  Creator  and  Destroyer. 

The  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  that  bathes  us 
constantly  is  the  natural  agent  of  change,  which, 
while  it  stimulates  the  living  organism,  seizes  its 
particles  at  death,  and  hurries  them  to  swift  decay. 
It  is  only  because  the  organs  exposed  to  its  ac- 
tion constantly  present  substances  for  which  it  has 
a  greater  affinity  that  they  are  preserved.  Thus  the 
living  lung  has  as  much  attraction  for  oxygen  as 
the  dead  ;  but  it  presents,  spread  through  its  count- 
less capillaries,  the  blood,  for  which  oxygen  has  a 
greater  attraction.  It  is  thus  controlled  by  vitality. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  the  mucous  membrane 
and  gellatinous  and  cellular  tissues  :  they  readily 
combine  with  oxygen,  and  are  protected  by  the  sub- 
stances they  present  to  take  up  oxygen.  In  case 
where  such  substances  cannot  be  presented,  as  in 
starving,  they  yield  at  once  to  the  action  of  oxygen. 

79.     Compensation. 

There  is  absolute  compensation  in  the  organic 
system.  It  has  a  certain  amount  of  force,  which,  if 
used  in  one  direction,  cannot  be  in  another.  If  the 
involuntary  motions  are  increased,  the  voluntary  are 
weakened  ;  if  the  voluntary  are  violently  overtasked, 
the  involuntary  are  weakened,  sometimes  to  such  an 
extent,  that,  no  force  being  left  to  carry  on  the  vital 
processes,  death  results. 


Matter  and  Force.  115 

The  force  which  in  plants  is  applied  to  unlimited 
growth  is  employed  by  animals  in  motion.  This  is 
effected  through  and  by  the  muscles.  Muscular 
growth  does  not  imply  the  exertion  of  force :  for 
the  conversion  of  blood  into  muscle  is  only  a  change 
of  form,  their  composition  being  the  same ;  and 
change  of  form  does  not  require  expenditure  of 
force,  only  proper  condition. 

80.     Correlation  of  Mind. 

Arising  to  the  lofty  regions  of  the  intellect,  this 
correlation  still  holds.  If  man  puts  forth  intellectual 
effort,  it  is  so  much  force  taken  from  some  other 
direction,  and  is  measured  by  organic  change  in  the 
body.  This  by  no  means  explains  the  phenomena 
of  mind,  as  is  claimed  by  the  too  ardent  advocates 
of  materialism.  If  standing  alone,  it  may  appear  to 
do  so  ;  but,  if  the  evidences  of  continued  existence 
furnished  by  Spiritualism  are  sufficient,  then  a  high- 
er correlated  power  is  introduced,  and  finite  man 
must  rest  on  the  borders  of  the  infinite.  Spiritual 
beings  are  composed  of  higher  forms  of  matter  ;  and 
hence  immortality  does  not  present  the  impossibil- 
ity of  forces  isolated,  and  the  materialist  has  no 
room  for  his  objections. 

We  have  pushed  this  investigation  to  its  extreme 
limit,  and  direst  conclusions,  that  we  might  show 
more  vividly  how  beautifully  the  ultra-material  phi- 
losophy blends  with  the  spiritual,  as  illustrated  in 
the  succeeding  chapters. 


V. 


PHYSICAL   MATTER   AND    SPIRIT. 

Matter  and  force  are  inseparable.     We  know  nothing  of  force  except 
through  matter,  and  nothing  of  matter  except  by  its  forces.  —  Youmans. 

8 i.     The  Old  Problem. 

PHILOSOPHERS,  from  the  earliest  times,  have 
attempted  the  solution  of  the  question,  if  the 
substances  with  which  our  senses  are  brought  in 
contact  are  capable  of  an  indefinite  division,  or 
whether  a  point  is  reached —  the  ultimate  molecule 
—  where  division  can  go  no  farther.  No  arguments 
can  reach,  nor  experiments  solve,  the  problem  ;  and, 
from  the  idle  conjectures  of  Democritus  and  Leu- 
cippus  to  the  experimental  researches  of  Wollaston 
and  Faraday,  there  is  no  advancement  except  in  the 
form  of  the  investigation. 

Matter,  infinite  space,  and  infinite  duration,  are 
the  elements  of  creation.  That  space  and  time  are 
infinite,  we  pause  not  to  prove.  The  eternity  of 
matter  requires  consideration.  We  have  no  proof 
to  the  contrary.  That  it  is  not  is  an  assumption, 
and  the  affirmer  must  first  produce  evidence.  Our 
senses  never  yielded  us  knowledge  of  the  creation 
or  extinction  of  matter.  All  the  deductions  of  sci- 
ence are  based  on  its  eternity.     We  see  it  change 


Physical  Matter  and  Spirit.  117 

form,  —  it  becomes  solid,  liquid,  or  gaseous,  but 
never  diminishes  in  quantity.  The  candle  burns, 
yielding  light ;  it  is  consumed,  apparently  destroyed : 
as  a  candle,  it  exists  not ;  but,  as  gaseous  products 
floating  in  the  air,  every  atom  remains,  and,  if  sub- 
jected to  the  test  of  the  balance,  would  exactly 
poise  the  candle.  So  of  the  coal  and  wood  in  our 
grates  :  it  is  destroyed  as  coal  and  wood,  but  not 
as  matter. 

82.     Eternity  of  Matter. 

We  cannot  imagine  either  the  extinction  or  the 
beginning  of  matter.  We  contemplate  nature,  not 
as  having  beginning  nor  end,  but  as  an  infinite  se- 
ries, a  few  of  whose  members  only  are  brought  be- 
fore us.  It  stretches  before  us  like  an  endless  way, 
up  and  -down  which  we  can  travel,  but  never  to 
either  termination ;  and  having  no  data,  nothing 
positive,  we  cannot  judge  whether  the  path  has  or 
has  not  termination.  So  far  as  we  know,  it  has  not. 
Here  is  an  end  to  all  speculation  ;  and,  until  some- 
thing more  than  the  idle  conceits  of  men  are  pro- 
duced, we  are  obliged  to  rest  content  with  the  ap- 
parent eternity  of  matter.  I  say  apparent,  because 
such  are  the  teachings  of  our  senses.  Forms  perish 
with  appalling  rapidity  ;  death  vying  with  life,  and 
resurrection  triumphing  again  and  again  over  the 
power  of  dissolution  :  yet  the  atoms  of  which  all 
these  countless  swarms  of  existences  are  formed 
remain  unchanged.  Compared  with  the  fleeting 
existence   of    animated    nature,    or   even   with   the 


1 1 8  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

durations  of  the  worlds  of  space,  which  grow  old 
and  are  absorbed,  matter  is  eternal.  So  let  it  rest 
until  proof  to  the  contrary  is  produced.  I  disturb 
not  its  repose.  Nothing  in  sacred  volumes,  more 
than  in  the  walks  of  nature,  contradicts  our  conclu- 
sion. Nowhere  do  they  teach  that  God  created 
matter. 

83.     What  is  Matter? 

It  is  an  aggregation  of  atoms.  What  is  an  atom  ? 
It  is  the  type  of  the  universe  ;  for  in  it  are  concen- 
trated all  the  laws  and  principles  in  nature.  Is  it  a 
real,  tangible  existence  ?  or  is  it,  as  taught  by  some 
philosophers,  a  mathematical  point,  from  which,  as  a 
centre,  forces  are  manifested  ?  This  question  is  dif- 
ficult to  decide  ;  and  in  this,  as  in  all  others,  we  are 
compelled  to  fall  back  on  the  evidences  of  the 
senses,  and,  until  the  production  of  proof,  abide 
their  decision.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  the 
propagation  of  force  from  a  mathematical  point,  or 
rather  a  centre,  where  nothing  exists.  It  is  wide  of 
the  spirit  of  our  system  of  philosophy,  which  refers 
all  productions  of  force  to  matter.  It  is,  at  most, 
but  a  flight  of  imagination  ;  but,  let  it  be  decided  as 
it  will,  force  must  be  referred  to  the  atom,  —  to 
matter.  The  atom  exists  because  this  force  is 
present.  The  force  is  a  part  of  the  atom.  In 
other  words,  and  as  a  general  expression,  the  at- 
tributes of  matter  are  co-existent  and  co-eternal 
with  it. 


Physical  Matter  and  Spirit.  1 1 9 

84.     Definitions. 

By  attributes,  I  mean  direct  manifestations  of 
the  primary  force  into  which  the  phenomena  of  the 
atom  are  resolvable. 

Principles  are  combinations  of  these. 

Properties  are  primary  results. 

All  of  these  are  the  means  by  which  the  exist- 
ence of  matter  is  manifested  to  our  senses  ;  and 
without  them  we  could  not  conceive  of  its  existence. 
I  have  neither  space  nor  inclination  to  enter  into 
a  metaphysical  discussion  of  this  question.  I  refer 
to  this  plain  statement. 

85.     An  Atom  without  Attributes. 

How  could  the  atom  exist  without  extension  and 
attraction  and  corresponding  repulsion  ?  Vigorous, 
indeed,  must  be  the  imagination  which  can  build  a 
world  of  such  atoms.  Robbed  of  its  attributes,  the 
atom  has  no  tangible  existence.  Here,  resting  our 
deduction  on  the  basis  of  facts,  the  testimony  of 
sense,  we  conclude  that  the  atom,  and  the  forces 
which  it  manifests,  are  co-eternal,  co-existent.  Their 
relations  we  cannot  conjecture. 

86.     Resolution  of  Phenomena. 

All  the  phenomena  presented  by  matter  appear 
to  be  resolvable  into  the  forces  of  attraction  and 
repulsion.  This  is  opposed  to  the  received  idea, 
that 'inertia   is   its    characteristic.     Matter   is    sup- 


120  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

posed  to  have  no  internal  force.  If  it  is  not  acted 
upon  from  without,  it  remains  forever  at  rest.  If  it 
is  possible  for  matter  thus  to  remain,  we  never  see  it 
in  such  a  condition.  A  post  planted  by  the  road- 
side is  at  rest  compared  with  the  objects  around  it ; 
but  it  is  not  really  at  rest ;  for,  not  to  mention  the 
internal  changes  in  its  structure  by  which  it  shortly 
is  reduced  to  dust,  each  day  it  makes  the  circuit 
of  the  globe,  and  yearly  journeys  around  the  sun. 
Does  the  globe  move,  and  compel  it  to  move  ? 
What  moves  the  globe  ?  Ah !  now  we  arrive  at 
the  end.  Every  atom  the  globe  contains  exerts  its 
influence,  and  their  combined  force  is  the  motion  of 
the  globe. 

87.     The  Atom. 

To  the  microscope,  the  finest  powder  to  which  a 
substance  can  be  reduced  presents  all  the  aspects 
of  the  entire  body.  Gold  may  be  hammered  so  thin 
that  one  grain  will  cover  fourteen  hundred  square 
inches.  A  microscope  can  detect  the  gold  on  the 
thousandth  part  of  a  linear  inch  ;  so  that  gold  may 
at  least  be  divided  into  particles  a  fourteen  hundred 
millionth  of  a  square  inch  in  size,  and  still  retain 
its  character.  Coloring  substances,  such^s  indigo, 
show  an  almost  incomprehensible  divisibility.  A 
single  drop  of  strong  indigo  in  solution  can  be 
shown  to  contain  at  least  five  hundred  thousand 
distinctly  visible  portions,  and  will  color  a  thousand 
cubic  inches  of  water.  As  this  mass  of  water  is  at 
least  five  hundred  thousand  times  larger  than  the 


Physical  Matter  and  Spirit.  121 

drop,  it  is  certain  that  a  particle  of  indigo  must  be 
smaller  than  the  twenty-five  hundred  billionth  part 
of  an  inch.  A  fragment  of  silver  a  hundredth  of  an 
inch  in  size,  when  dissolved  in  nitric  acid,  will  ren- 
der distinctly  milky  five  hundred  cubic  inches  of 
common  salt.  Hence  the  size  of  a  particle  of  silver 
thus  dissolved  must  be  less  than  a  billionth  of  a  cu- 
bic inch.  The  attenuation  presented  by  solutions  are 
far  exceeded  by  the  complex  beings  revealed  by  the 
microscope.  Atomies  are  revealed  no  larger  than 
the  particles  of  dissolved  indigo,  living,  moving, 
having  organs  of  prehension,  digestion,  and  assim- 
ilation, and  a  circulating  fluid  or  blood,  with  glob- 
ules bearing  the  same  comparative  size  to  them  as 
ours  do  to  us. 

Millions  of  these  beings  heaped  together  would 
be  scarcely  perceptible  to  the  unassisted  eye.  Ev- 
ery advance  made  in  the  perfection  of  the  micro- 
scope reveals  grades  of  animalculae  hitherto  unseen ; 
and  these  feed  on  still  more  minute  forms.  These 
examples  only  show  the  possible  division,  but  do 
not  touch  the  question  of  infinite  divisibility.  The 
definite  extension  of  the  atmosphere,  showing  the 
limitation  of  the  repulsion  existing  between  its  gas- 
eous atoms,  appears  to  settle-  the  question  ;  for,  it 
is  argued,  were  the  particles  infinitely  divisible, 
their  repulsion  would  be  infinite.  This  conclusion 
is  not  inevitable ;  and  doubts  have  also  been  cast 
on  the  determination  of  the  limits  of  the  atmos- 
phere. 


122  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

88.     The  Chemical  Atom. 

The  chemical  atom  may  be  regarded  as  formed  by 
a  group  of  smaller  particles ;  and  the  number  uniting 
to  form  a  group  is  what  we  call  the  combining  num- 
ber: but  this  is  conjectural.  There  then  remains  but 
one  theory ;  and  that  is  the  one  advanced  by  Bos- 
covitch,  or  some  one  of  the  modifications  of  which 
it  is  susceptible.  We  must  confess  that  we  know  of 
force  ;  but,  of  matter,  we  know  nothing.  What  we 
call  matter  —  that  which  we  see,  feel,  taste;  which 
manifests  gravity,  impenetration,  &c.  —  is  not  mat- 
ter, but  the  forces  which  surround  and  conceal  some- 
thing beyond.  This  something  lies  beyond  our  ken ; 
and  all  we  know  of  it  we  learn  from  its  phenomena. 
It  is  difficult  for  the  mind  to  grasp  the  idea  of  sub- 
stance without  atoms,  and  there  is  a  necessity  of 
employing  the  term  ;  yet  all  we  know  of  it  may  be 
expressed  by  a  centre  radiating  force.  Whether  that 
centre  is  a  mathematical  point,  or  occupied  by  a 
determinate  atom,  we  cannot  ascertain  ;  though  the 
latter  inference's  most  consonant  with  the  finiteness 
of  our  minds.  This  point,  this  something,  around 
which  the  forces  of  the  universe  cluster,  and  from 
which  they  radiate,  is  called  an  atom.  It  is  unbeat- 
able and  indestructible.  On  this  basis,  all  positive 
science  rests  ;  and,  without  it,  its  inferences  would 
be  wholly  unreliable.  It  may  change  its  form,  from 
solid  to  liquid,  from  liquid  to  gas  ;  it  may  be  ap- 
parently dissipated,  as  wood  in  a  grate,  as  food  in 
the  animal  body :   but  it  always  re-appears.     The 


Physical  Matter  and  Spirit.  123 

atom   is    eternal,  whether   a   particle,    or   a   centre 
of  force. 

There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  theory  of 
atoms  and  the  theory  of  forces.  The  former  ex- 
plains, satisfactorily,  but  few  phenomena ;  while  the 
latter  adjusts  itself  to  all.  Certain  inferences  sug- 
gest themselves,  when  the  latter  is  received,  which 
generalize  the  most  diverse  phenomena. 

89.     Doctrine  of  Impenetrability  false. 

The  facts  presented  by  the  combinations  of  potas- 
sium and  sodium  overthrow  the  long-held  statement 
that  matter  is  impenetrable.  The  mutual  diffusion 
of  gases,  the  contraction  in  bulk  of  liquids  when 
employed  as  solvents,  confirm  the  idea  that  matter 
is  highly  penetrable.  If  the  component  atoms  are 
considered  as  widely  separated,  we  may  consider 
foreign  atoms  as  introduced  in  the  interspaces,  and 
affording  no  proof  of  penetration.  But  we  cannot, 
from  the  foregoing  facts,  consider  such  to  be  a  cor- 
rect view  of  the  constitution  of  matter.  As  space 
cannot  be  a  conductor  and  a  non-conductor,  there 
must  exist  some  bond  of  union  between  the  particles 
so  remotely  situated.  Take  the  theory  that  an 
atom  is  a  centre  of  force,  it  occupies  all  the  space 
over  which  its  force  is  propagated.  When  aggre- 
gated into  masses,  they  fill  all  the  area  of  the  sub- 
stance. The  influence  of  force,  which  is  all  we 
know  of  matter,  must  extend  to  infinite  distance. 
Matter,  thus  considered,  fills  all  space ;  for  all  space 


124  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

is  filled  with  the  gravitation  of  atoms,  and  gravity  is 
a  constituent  part  of  matter.  Suns  and  worlds  are 
but  central  condensations  rotating  in  the  midst  of 
matter.  Every  atom,  while  it  constantly  retains  its 
own  individuality,  extends  throughout  all  space, 
penetrating  and  being  penetrated  by  all  others. 

90.     Form  of  the  Atom. 

The  shape  of  the  primary  atom,  so  often  conjec- 
tured, and  conceived  in  the  manner  one  would  fancy 
the  outline  of  a  mathematical  point,  becomes  clearly 
defined.  Its  form  depends  on  the  manner  in  which 
the  force  is  propagated  from  the  centre.  If  by  con- 
secutive waves,  it  assumes  the  powers  of  a  sphere  ; 
if  with  greater  strength  in  the  direction  of  an  axis, 
of  an  oblate  spheroid ;  if  it  circulate  around  the  axis 
in  the  manner  electric  currents  are  supposed  to  do 
around  a  magnet,  polarity  may  be  manifested.  Its 
form  would  depend  on  the  disposition  of  force. 

91.     Atom  a  Centre  of  Force. 

When  two  atoms  having  affinity,  as  an  atom  of 
metal  and  an  atom  of  oxygen,  unite,  the  Newtonian 
theory  regards  them  as  simply  arranged  side  by  side 
in  a  manner  easily  conceived,  and  often  forcibly  rep- 
resented ;  but  why  such  a  union  radically  changes 
the  properties  of  the  constituent  elements,  why  an 
atom  of  acid  uniting  with  an  atom  of  alkali  pro- 
duces a  neutral  substance,  is  not  explained.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  an  atom  be  regarded  as  a  centre  of 


Physical  Matter  and  Spirit.  125 

force,  when  two  unite,  they  mutually  penetrate  to 
the  very  centres  of  each  other,  forming  one  mole- 
cule with  powers  determined  by  the  new  combina- 
tion of  forces.  The  manner  in  which  two  or  more 
atoms  unite  or  separate  under  the  influence  of 
stronger  forces,  may  be  illustrated  by  the  union  of 
sea-waves,  and  their  subsequent  separation  into  the 
original  waves. 

92.       IS    THERE    SUCH   AN     ENTITY   AS     SPACE    PENE- 
TRATING the  Pores  of  all  Substances  ? 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  its  want  of  properties ; 
more  difficult  to  understand  those  which  it  appar- 
ently possesses.  If  we  consider  matter  as  an  objec- 
tive substance  acted  on  by  forces,  then  the  atoms  of 
gas,  fluid,  or  solid,  cannot  touch  each  other,  but  are 
separated  by  intervals  of  space.  Space  penetrates 
all  substances  with  a  fine  network  of  cells.  The 
component  atoms  of  a  body  have  been  likened,  by 
these  atomic  philosophers,  to  the  stars  scattered  in 
the  vaults  of  the  sky,  being  comparatively  equally 
far  removed  from  each  other.  There  can  be  nothing 
continuous  in  the  universe  but  space.  Every  sub- 
stance must  be  broken  and  limited.  How  does  this 
agree  with  the  conducting  and  non-conducting  prop- 
erties of  bodies  ?  A  stick  of  shellac,  penetrated  by 
space,  and  having  its  particles  far  asunder,  is  an 
insulator.  If  space  was  a  conductor,  it  could  not 
be ;  for  there  could  be  no  such  thing  as  insulation. 
Hence  space  is  an  insulator.     A  pile  of  loose,  dry 


126  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

sand  is  a  non-conductor ;  but  fill  its  pores  with  water, 
and  the  mass  becomes  continuous  and  a  conductor. 
In  the  same  manner,  if  space  were  a  conductor, 
penetrating  all  bodies,  not  the  least  insulation  could 
be  effected. 

Conducting  bodies  have  their  atoms  widely  re- 
moved from  each  other,  and  are  penetrated  by  space. 
If  space  is  a  .non-conductor,  these  atoms  are  in  the 
condition  of  metallic  dust  stirred  into  melted  resin. 
As  each  particle  is  surrounded  by  an  insulating  film 
of  resin,  the  mass  is  a  non-conductor ;  so,  each  atom 
being  enveloped  in  non-conducting  space,  the  mass 
becomes  a  non-conductor.  Hence,  as  space  is  the 
only  continuous  portion  of  bodies,  it  must  be  a  con- 
ductor. 

But  it  cannot  be  both  a  conductor  and  a  non-con- 
ductor. According  to  the  atomic  theory,  if  the  spe- 
cific gravity  of  the  metals  be  divided  by  their  atomic 
numbers,  the  result  is  the  number  of  atoms  in  equal 
bulk  of  the  metals.  It  would  be  presumable  that  the 
metals  containing  the  largest  number  of  atoms  — 
that  is,  having  atoms  nearest  together  —  would  have 
the  greatest  conducting  power.  This  is  not,  how- 
ever, the  fact.  Iron,  containing  nearly  three  times 
the  number  of  atoms  of  gold,  is  only  one-sixth  as 
good  a  conductor.  Copper,  containing  nearly  the 
same  number  of  atoms,  is  a  sixfold  better  conduc- 
tor ;  being  nearly  equal  to  gold,  the  best  of  all  metals, 
although  containing  the  fewest  atoms.  Silver,  hav- 
ing the  same  number  as  gold,  is  only  three-fourths 
as  good  a  conductor.     The  results  are  reversed  in 


Physical  Matter  and  Spirit.  127 

lead,  which  contains  almost  the  same  number  of 
atoms  as  gold,  but  is  only  one-twelfth  as  good  a 
conductor. 

These  facts  are  very  perplexing,  and  difficult  to 
harmonize  with  the  atomic  theory ;  and  the  difficulty 
is  augmented  by  those  presented  by  the  alkalies  and 
their  compounds.  As  an  example,  take  potassium, 
the  metallic  base  of  potash.  We  shall  find,  by  com- 
parison of  its  specific  gravity  and  atomic  weight 
with  that  of  its  hydrate,  that  the  same  bulk  of  metal 
potassium  containing  forty-five  atoms  will  contain 
seventy  atoms  of  the  metal,  and  two  hundred  and 
ten  atoms  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen.  In  other  words, 
the  same  space  which  contains  four  hundred  and 
thirty  atoms  of  potassium,  when  that  metal  unites 
with  two  thousand  one  hundred  atoms  of  oxygen 
and  hydrogen,  can  not  only  contain  them,  but  two 
hundred  more  atoms  of  potassium.  So  it  is  possible 
that  a  piece  of  potassium  contains  less  potassium 
than  an  equal  part  of  potash  formed  by  its  union 
with  oxygen  and  hydrogen.  If  the  bulk  occupied 
by  the  atoms  of  potassium  can  contain  not  only 
two-thirds  more  atoms  of  potassium,  but  nearly  five 
times  as  many  atoms  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  its 
atoms  must  be  very  wide  apart,  occupying,  consid- 
ering the  compounds  thus  produced  as  absolutely 
solid,  but  one-sixth  of  the  area.  That  potassium  is 
a  conductor,  implies  that  this  intervening  space  is  a 
conductor,  which  it  is  not.  Other  compounds  show 
similar  results.  Thus  the  volume  containing  five 
hundred  and  thirty  atoms,  of  metal  potassium  will, 


128  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

in  the  state  of  nitre,  contain  four  hundred  and  six- 
teen atoms,  and  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
twelve  atoms  of  nitrogen  ;  and,  as  carbonate,  the 
volume  of  four  hundred  and  thirty  atoms  will  con- 
tain two  hundred  and  fifty-six  more  atoms,  and  two 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-four  atoms  of 
oxygen  and  carbon,  or  three  thousand  four  hundred 
and  thirty  atoms. 

In  adding  water  to  sulphuric  acid,  and  in  most 
solutions  of  salts,  there  is  contraction  of  bulk. 
There  is  not  only  penetration,  but  a  clear  space 
formed  by  penetration.  It  is  thus  evident  that  the 
impenetrability  of  matter  must  be  discarded. 

If  atoms  are  so  remote  from  each  other,  it  is  easy 
to  account  for  the  entrance  of  other  atoms  between 
them.  It  is  also  evident  that  little  is  known  of  the 
atom.  The  equivalent  number,  which  chemists  con- 
sider as  expressive  of  the  number  of  atoms,  cannot 
express  that  fact,  but  rather  the  relative  cohesive 
attraction,  or  weight  of  the  atom, 

93.     Change  of  Properties. 

Having  received  these  views,  it  is  easy  to  under- 
stand why  such  radical  changes  in  properties  occur 
by  the  union  of  different  elements.  The  compound 
atom,  as  long  as  the  conditions  of  its  creation  hold, 
is  in  every  respect  a  new  element.  No  one  would 
infer  beforehand,  that  the  union  of  the  intense  alkali, 
caustic  potash,  with  the  powerful  acid,  sulphuric, 
would    produce   a  salt   having   the    properties    of 


Physical  Matter  and  Spirit.  129 

neither.  The  union  of  potash  with  nitric  acid  yields 
nitre,  or  saltpetre ;  of  sodium,  a  beautiful  metal, 
with  poisonous  chlorine,  common  salt,  on  which  life 
and  health  depend.  How  can  we  suppose  such 
changes  to  occur  by  the  placing  of  particles  side 
by  side  ?  Very  simply,  if  these  particles  penetrate 
each  other,  and  for  the  time  become  one,  with  prop- 
erties produced  by  the  sum  of  the  forces  of  both. 

94.     Objections. 

It  will  be  said  that  the  impenetrability  of  matter 
is  demonstrated  by  the  senses,  and  has  been  held  as 
an  axiom  in  natural  philosophy.  "  Whatever  occu- 
pies space,  and  is  revealed  to  the  senses,  is  termed 
matter."  A  bar  of  iron  is  felt  by  the  hand,  and  is 
impenetrable  to  it.  It  is  seen  by  the  eye  because 
it  reflects  light ;  it  has  wreight ;  we  say  that  it  is 
absolutely  impenetrable.  This  is  only  true  when 
affirmed  in. respect  to  the  human  body.  It  may  be 
very  penetrable  to  other  substances.  Beneath  the 
elements  known  to  the  senses  may  he  an  innumer- 
able number  of  other  elements,  not  recognized  by 
the  senses,  because  not  holding  the  proper  relations 
to  them. 

95.  We  thus  learn  that  the  Atom  is  of  little 
Moment  :  the  Forces  which  emanate  there- 
from are  the  Essentials. 

Whether  we  regard  it  as  a  particle,  or  as  a  centre 
of  force,  changes  not  the  result.     If  a  particle,  we 
9 


130  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

can  never  know  anything  of  it  except  by  means  of 
the  attributes  or  forces  flowing  from  it.  We  never 
see,  feel,  hear,  taste,  nor  touch  matter :  it  is  its 
properties  and  its  atmosphere  which  affects  us.  All 
visible  effects  are  produced  by  invisible  causes.  Co- 
hesion, which  unites  atoms  into  solid  masses,  or  grav- 
itation, chaining  world  to  world,  does  not  result  from 
external  pressure,  but  internal  force.  All  the  forces 
of  nature  act  from  within  outward.  The  most  ma- 
terialistic philosophers  admit  this ;  and,  in  the  study 
of  nature,  questions  of  force  "  are  becoming  more 
and  more  prominent.  The  things  to  be  explained  are 
changes,  active  effects,  motions  in  ordinary  matter, 
not  as  acted  upon,  but  as  in  itself  inherently  active. 
The  chief  use  of  atoms  is  to  serve  as  points,  or  vehi- 
cles of  motion.  Thus  the  study  of  matter  resolves 
itself  into  the  study  of  forces.  Inert  objects,  as  they 
appear  to  the  eye  of  sense,  are  replaced  by  activities 
revealed  to  the  eye  of  intellect.  The  conceptions 
of 'gross/  ' corrupt '  'brute  matter '  are  passing  away 
with  the  prejudices  of  the  past ;  and,  in  place  of  a 
dead,  material  world,  we  have  a  living  organism  of 
spiritual  energies." 

This  is  the  highest  ground  taken  by  philosophers 
at  present ;  and,  while  they  congratulate  themselves 
on  their  Positivism,  they  really  are  entering  the  ves- 
tibule of  Spiritualism. 

When  the  mind  is  freed  from  the  ideas  created  by 
the  senses  of  physical  matter,  and,  with  intellectual 
vision,  understands  that  what  it  calls  fixed  and  un- 
changeable are  fleeting  shadows  of  unseen,  spiritual 


Physical  Matter  and  Spirit.  131 

energies,  it  is  ready  to  comprehend  how  this  force 
can  be  immortalized  in  specialized  forms  and  spirit- 
ual beings. 

96.     Perfection  of  Man. 

The  rudiments  of  the  organs  of  sense  appear  low 
down  in  the  scale  of  being.  If  we  receive  the 
theory  that  living  beings  were  created  by  the  forces 
of  matter,  and  not  for  them,  it  is  probable  that 
there  is  a  sense  for  every  order  of  manifestation  of 
which  matter  is  susceptible.  In  man,  all  the  organs, 
of  which  rudimentary  indications  are  given  in  the 
lower  order  of  beings,  are  perfected ;  and  we  have 
thus  a  right  to  suppose  him  to  be  susceptible  to 
every  sensation  matter  is  capable  of  imparting. 
Were  it  otherwise,  he  would  possess  some  rudi- 
mentary sense  for  future  ages  to  perfect.  Sight, 
hearing,  taste,  touch,  are  all  as  perfect  in  animals  as 
in  man,  and,  in  many,  even  more  perfect ;  but  he 
surpasses  them  in  nervous  sensibility,  —  a  faculty 
dimly  seen  in  the  animal  world,  and  reaching  to 
the  spirit  realm. 

This  may  almost  be  called  a  new  sense,  and  must 
be  regarded  as  still  rudimentary.  A  dim  shadow  of 
its  capabilities  is  revealed  by  the  clairvoyant.  In 
its  direction  more  than  in  any  other,  are  we  to 
expect  progress.  Through  it,  matter  reaches  up  to 
spirit ;  and,  by  it,  we  learn  the  laws  of  that  mystic 
realm.* 

*  I  here  cannot  refrain  from  alluding  to  the  corroboration 
of  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  first  volume  of  the  "  Arcana, 


132  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

of  Nature."  When  it  was  written,  years  ago  (1858),  I  searched 
in  vain  for  the  least  scientific  testimony  confirming  its  state- 
ment of  principles.  I  was  impressed  that  there  were  per- 
sons in  Europe  holding  nearly  the  same  views,  but  could  not 
procure  their  works.  I  wrote  as  impressed,  with  faith  in  the 
utterance  of  the  controlling  power  :  "  The  power  which  wafts 
suns  and  worlds  on  their  orbits  must  reside  in  themselves." 
"  Motion  belongs  to  the  atom."  "  Motion  is  ever  the  same, 
directed  in  different  channels,  and  fulfilling  different  missions, 
nevertheless  the  same."  "Life  is  born  of  motion"  (p.  20). 
"  Life,  then,  is  the  specialization  of  the  living  principles  of 
matter."  And  it  is  there  held  that  intelligence  is  specialized 
through  life  from  the  intelligence  organizing  creation.  The 
theological  press  sent  up  one  long  hiss  :  the  most  dignified 
of  its  journals  said  it  was  good  pantheism.  Now,  as  I  write, 
this  very  doctrine,  that  matter  is  nothing  but  force  (being,  in 
its  various  manifestations,  but  a  modification  of  motion),  is 
everything,  is  scientific  orthodoxy.  In  the  "Arcana,"  it  is 
stated  that  there  is  no  inertia.  The  statement  was  ridiculed ; 
but,  now,  the  idea  of  "  inert,  brute  matter  "  has  passed  away, 
and  many  works  have  appeared,  extending  over  the  whole 
ground,  from  physical  motion  to  intelligence.  (See  compila- 
tion by  Youmans  of  the  essays  of  Joule,  Mayer,  Helmholtz, 
Carpenter,  and  Faraday,  —  "  The  Correlation  and  Conserva- 
tion of  the  Physical  Forces.") 

It  is  notable  that  the  first  volume  of  the  "Arcana,"  hav- 
ing been  translated  into  German,  should  be  repeatedly  quoted 
by  the  learned  and  fearless  Buchner,  in  his  work  on  "  Mat- 
ter and  Force,"  in  proof  of  Materialism. 


VI. 


SPIRITUAL    ATMOSPHERE    OF    THE    UNIVERSE. 

An  atmosphere  more  sublimate  than  air 
Pervades  all  matter,  be  it  here  or  there  : 
No  finite  power  its  wrappings  can  disperse  ; 
For  its  thin  billows  lave  the  universe,  — 
Each  portion  linking  to  all  other  parts, 
Whether  stars,  blossoms,  or  responding  hearts 

Emma  Tuttle. 

97.     The   Instrument  employed   in   Investiga- 
tion. 

AS  the  investigator  reaches  the  threshold  of  the 
domain  of  spirit,  he  meets  phenomena  protean 
in  form  and  expression,  but  having  a  common  family 
type.  The  object  of  the  present  chapter  is  to  at- 
tempt, from  observed  facts,  a  generalization  which 
shall  unite  the  strangely  diverse  phenomena  of  im- 
pressibility. In  the  study  of  this  subject,  we  have  a 
perfect  instrument  ready  formed  for  our  purpose,  — 
the  sensitive  brain.  Through  its  impressibility  we 
become  cognizant  of  spiritual  forces,  and,  by  its  aid, 
are  enabled  to  enter  the  secret  courts  of  the  spirit. 

98.     The  Impressibility  of  the  Brain. 

-   The  faculties  of  man  may  be  usually  traced  in 
rudimentary  form  in  the   lower  animals  ;   and   the 


134  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

impressibility  of  his  nervous  system  forms  no  ex- 
ception. Its  presence  can  be  seen  in  the  lowest 
zoophytes  or  plant-animals.  They  seek  the  darkest 
places,  and  shrink  from  the  influence  of  the  light. 
This  is  the  only  sense  they  manifest.  It  is  pos- 
sessed by  all  animals  ;  but  the  experiments  of  Spal- 
lanzani  on  bats  show  that  they  are  possessed  of 
highly  somnambulistic  faculties. 

99.     Impressibility  of  Animals. 

"  Completely  blinded  bats  were  not  in  the  slight- 
est degree  obstructed  in  their  motions.  They  flew 
about  by  night  and  by  day  with  their  wonted  rapid- 
ity, avoiding  all  obstacles  which  lay,  or  were  inten- 
tionally placed,  in  their  way,  as  dexterously  as  if  in 
full  possession  of  their  sight.  They  turned  around 
at  the  right  time  when  they  approached  a  wall,  rest- 
ed in  a  convenient  situation  when  fatigued,  and 
struck  against  nothing.  The  experiments  were  mul- 
tiplied, and  varied  in  the  most  ingenious  manner. 
A  room  was  filled  with  thin  twigs ;  in  another, 
silken  threads  were  suspended  from  the  roof,  and 
preserved  in  the  same  position  at  the  same  distance 
from  each  other  by  means  of  small  weights  attached 
to  them.  The  bat,  though  deprived  of  its  eyes,  flew 
through  the  intervals  of  these  threads,  as  well  as  of 
the  twigs,  without  touching  them  ;  and,  when  the 
intervals  were  too  small,  it  drew  its  wings  more 
closely  together.  In  another  room,  a  net  was  placed, 
having  occasional  irregular  spaces  for  the  bat  to  fly 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  135 

through,  the  net  being  so  arranged  as  to  form  a 
small  labyrinth  ;  but  the  blind  bat  was  not  to  be 
deceived.  In  proportion  as  the  difficulties  were 
increased,  the  dexterity  of  the  animal  was  aug- 
mented. When  it  flew  over  the  upper  extremity  of 
the  net,  and  seemed  imprisoned  between  it  and  the 
wall,  it  was  frequently  observed  to  make  its  escape 
most  dexterously.  When  fatigued  by  its  high 
flights,  it  still  flew  rapidly  along  the  ground,  among 
chairs,  tables,  and  sofas,  yet  avoided  touching  any- 
thing with  its  wings.  Even  in  the  open  air,  its 
flight  was  as  prompt,  easy,  and  secure  as  in  a 
close  room,  and,  in  both  situations,  altogether  sim- 
ilar to  that  of  its  associates  who  had  the  use  of 
their  eyes." 

It  is  this  impressibility  that  enables  animals  to 
influence  each  other,  man  to  influence  man,  or  vice 
versa.  That  such  influences  exist,  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  The  few  facts  I  relate  are  representative  of 
volumes  which  might  be  collected.  The  tiger  shows 
the  faculty  of  "  charming,"  with  the  other  members 
of  the  feline  family.  An  interesting  instance  of  its 
exertion  is  recorded  by  Lieut.-Col.  Davidson. 

"  My  detachment,  after  passing  through  several 
low  forests,  was  one  morning  encamped  at  Gorapi- 
char,  on  a  somewhat  cleared  spot,  but  still  com- 
pletely surrounded  by  jungle,  reputed  to  be  swarm- 
ing with  tigers  and  all  other  wild  animals.  I  issued 
orders  that  none  of  the  Europeans  should  lose  sight 
of  their  tents  :  but  they  were  all  wild  lads,  desperate 
after  sport ;  and  one  of  them,  named  Skelton,  walked 


136  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

away  from  camp,  with  fusil  in  hand,  and  the  honor- 
able company's  ammunition  in  his  pocket,  eager  to 
distinguish  himself  by  the  death  of  a  tiger. 

"  The  consequence  was,  that,  had  it  not  been  that 
he  was  soon  missed  by  his  comrades,  he  would  un- 
doubtedly have  been  eaten  up  by  a  tiger  for  his  dis- 
obedience of  orders. 

"  He  was  reported  absent ;  and  I  ordered  a  strict 
search  to  be  made  for  him.  A  party  of  the  Euro- 
peans immediately  issued  forth,  and  soon  found  the 
sportsman,  standing,  musket  in  hand,  wholly  immov- 
able and  stupid,  eagerly  staring  at  a  bush  about 
thirty  yards  in  advance.  They  spoke  to  him  ;  but 
he  could  not  answer.  They  rushed  up,  and  tried  to 
rouse  him  ;  but  his  eyes  continued  fixed.  And  then 
they  observed  the  head  of  a  tiger,  with  his  brilliant 
eyes  riveted  on  the  intended  victim,  while  his  long 
curly  tail  was  gracefully  waving  over  his  back  in 
fond  anticipation  of  a  bloody  feast.  They  shouted  ; 
and  the  tiger  speedily  vanished.  Skelton  was  con- 
veyed back  to  his  tent ;  and  so  great  was  the  shock 
given  to  his  brain,  that  many  days  elapsed  before  he 
recovered  his  usual  vivacity :  and  there  was  no  more 
tiger-shooting  during  the  remainder  of  the  march  to 
Asseer-Gurh. 

"I  was,  in  the  year  1831,  executive  engineer  of 
the  province  of  Bundlecund,  and  dwelt  within  the 
forests  of  Calpee,  in  a  stout,  stone  building  on  the 
margin  of  the  precipice,  about  sixty  feet  above  the 
waters  of  the  ancient  river,  the  Jumna,  and  writhin  a 
few  yards  of  that  classic  spot  at  which  one  of  the 


Spiritua  I  A  tmo sphere.  137 

incarnations  of  Crishna   made   his    appearance   on 
earth. 

"  While  within  the  building,  my  attention  was 
drawn,  one  morning,  to  piercing  cries  of  great  dis- 
tress, which  I  knew  proceeded  from  one  of  that 
beautiful  species  of  squirrel  called  'gillairy/  or 
striped  Barbary  squirrel.  I  quickly  ran  to  the  spot 
whence  the  sound  proceeded,  which  was  at  the  very 
edge  of  the  precipice,  then  covered  by  many  stunted 
bushes  and  trailing  plants ;  and  there  I  observed  the 
gillairy  about  four  or  five  feet  from  the  bank,  leap- 
ing backwards  and  forwards,  with  his  tail  erect, 
upon  a  slender  branch  overhanging  the  river.  The 
animal  paid  no  attention  whatever  to  my  presence ; 
and  I  could  not,  for  some  time,  discover  the  cause 
of  his  outcries.  On  looking  more  carefully,  I  ob- 
served the  head  and  about  a  couple  of  feet  of  the 
body  of  a  large  snake.  The  body  of  the  reptile  con- 
tinued to  undulate  in  a  very  gentle  manner :  but  the 
head  seemed  to  be  almost  on  fire,  so  very  brilliant 
were  the  almost  fire-shooting  and  triumphant  eyes, 
that  seemed  to  anticipate  his  victory  over  the  help- 
less squirrel,  which  seemed  absolutely  spell-bound  ; 
for  it  made  no  effort  to  escape,  which,  under  any 
other  circumstances,  it  could  have  done  with  facil- 
ity, by  dropping  down  on  a  protruding  part  of  the 
precipice,  a  few  feet  below  the  bough  on  which  it 
traversed.  Its  cries  became  more  and  more  urgent 
and  piercing  ;  and,  moved  by  compassion  for  suffer- 
ing, I  shot  the  serpent.  The  squirrel's  cries  instantly 
ceased ;  and  it  dropped  down,  and  disappeared." 


138  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

The  influence  of  this  subtle  power  of  animals  on 
man  has  been  recorded  by  the  eminent  and  bold 
Dr.  Caldwell. 

"  We  knew  a  gentleman,  who,  in  the  largest  cham- 
ber, covered  with  a  carpet,  in  the  midst  of  deep 
darkness,  could  tell  if  a  cat  entered  it  with  her 
stealthiest  tread,  and  in  perfect  silence.  Nor  could 
he  tell  in  what  way,  or  through  which  of  his  exter- 
nal senses,  he  made  the  discovery.  When  interro- 
gated on  the  subject,  his  only  reply  was  that  he 
experienced  a  peculiar  and  disagreeable  feeling, 
which  told  him  that  there  was  a  cat  in  the  room. 
Nor  could  he  look  on  one  during  daylight  without 
experiencing  a  sense  of  horror/' 

100.     Sympathy  a  Form  of  Impressibility. 

This  sympathy  is  strongly  marked  between  inti- 
mate friends  and  relations,  and  gives  the  philosophy 
of  the  old  saying,  "  The  Devil  is  always  near  when 
you  talk  about  him."  Some  interesting  cases  have 
been  recorded  by  Dr.  Pratt. 

"  A  lady  residing  in  my  family,  an  invalid,  under 
medical  treatment  at  the  time  of  this  occurrence, 
was  seized  suddenly  with  what  appeared  to  be  an 
apoplectic  fit,  about  two  o'clock  P.  M.  The  fit  con- 
tinued till  the  next  morning,  the  patient  being 
perfectly  insensible  to  all  surrounding  friends  and 
influences :  after  which  she  aroused  to  conscious- 
ness, stating  that  she  had  received  a  severe  blow 
upon  the  forehead,  in  the  region  of  the  organ  of 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  139 

benevolence,  which  had  deprived  her  of  her  senses  ; 
that  her  head  now  ached  severely ;  that  she  felt 
faint,  &c.  She  had  no  recollection  of  the  time 
passed  in  the  fit. 

"  Three  days  after  this  event,  the  cause  of  the  fit 
was  satisfactorily  explained  to  my  mind,  as  follows : 
The  lady's  'other  half  arrived,  an  invalid,  having 
been  struck  down  about  two  o'clock  P.  M.,  three 
days  before,  by  the  fall  of  a  tackle-block  from  a 
mast-head,  the  blow  being  on  the  frontal  portion  of 
the  head,  scalping  his  forehead,  and  stunning  him 
for  nearly  twelve  hours,  and  rendering  his  life  ex- 
tremely doubtful. 

"  Case  2d.  A  lady  with  whom  I  conversed  last 
winter,  whose  husband  was  an  itinerant  clergyman, 
informed  me  that  she  had  repeatedly  risen  from  her 
bed  late  at  night,  and  prepared  for  the  reception  of 
her  husband,  whom  she  had  no  reason  to  expect 
home  at  that  ■  time,  only  from  vague  impressions. 
1  For  two  years,'  said  she,  '  I  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  doing  this  ;  and  I  have  never  once  been  mistaken 
in  my  impressions.  My  husband  would  often  ex- 
claim, "  Why,  Mary !  what  made  you  think  I  was 
coming  ? '      I  could  only  answer  that  I  thought  so.' 

"  Case  3D.  A  gentleman  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  while  plowing  in  the  field,  was  suddenly  shot 
through  the  heart,  —  at  least  this  was  his  impres- 
sion. His  sensations  were  such  that  he  could  not 
work ;  and  he  put  out  his  team,  and  returned  to  the 
house,  stating  that  he  believed  that  his  brother,  who 
was  then  a  soldier  in  the  Mexican  war,  had  been 


140  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

• 
shot  through  the  heart,  or  had  fallen  in  battle. 
Two  months  after  that,  the  news  arrived  of  his 
brother's  death  in  battle,  by  a  ball  through  the 
chest,  occurring  on  the  same  day  and  hour  of  his 
impression. 

"  From  these  examples  it  appears  that  there  is 
such  a  phenomenon  in  the  mental  constitution  as 
communication  between  mind  and  mind,  not  only 
among  friends  present,  but  even  sometimes  when 
absent,  however  distant. 

"  This  is  an  effect  of  sympathy.  Every  one  has 
heard,  in  his  own  circle,  of  numerous  instances  of  it. 
I  am  informed  for  example,  by  a  lady  nearly  related 
to  me,  that  her  mother  always  had  such  a  warning 
at  the  time  any  near  and  dear  friend  died.  This 
occurred  so  often  as  to  leave  no  doubt  whatever  of 
the  fact.  It  happened  that  this  lady,  more  than 
once,  made  the  voyage  to  and  from  India ;  and 
that,  during  the  voyage,  she,  on  several  occasions, 
said  to  her  daughter  and  to  others,  '  I  feel  certain 
that  such  a  person  is  dead/  On  reaching  port, 
these  impressions  were  found  to  be  true." 

Referring  such  astounding  phenomena  to  sympa- 
thy is  far  from  furnishing  an  explanation.  What  is 
this  sympathy  ?  It  must  have  a  cause  ;  and  from 
its  universality  and  resemblance  among  all  races  of 
men,  and  between  every  form  of  animal  life,  its 
cause  must  be  universal,  held  in  common,  binding 
together  all  these  diverse  phenomena.* 

*  For  more  extended  evidence  on  this  subject,  see  chapters 
on  Spirit. 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  141 

101.     Influence   of   the   External  World   on 

the  Nervous  System. 

The  experiments  of  Reichenbach  not  only  prove 
the  sensitiveness  of  the  nerves,  but  the  kind  of 
influence  exerted  by  the  inorganic  and  organic 
worlds.  His  experiments,  instituted  with  the  most 
consummate  care,  had  they  been  made  in  an  ortho- 
dox channel,  would  have  been  considered  conclusive. 
The  day  of  his  honor  is  in  the  future ;  for,  although 
stumbling  in  many  of  his  conclusions,  the  noble 
stand  he  assumed  for  the  sake  of  truth  is  worthy  of 
all  praise.  The  results  obtained  from  organic  life 
are  no  less  apparent,  and  confirm  his  conclusions. 

102.     Reichenbach's  Experiments. 

The  requisite  sensitiveness  to  see  and  feel  the 
magnetic  flame  in  a  marked  manner  seems  to  ac- 
company diseases  of  the  nervous  system.  Such  is 
the  case  with  most  of  the  subjects  introduced  by 
Reichenbach  in  his  attempt  to  establish  the  fact  of 
such  influence.  It  is  not,  however,  wholly  depend- 
ent on  disease  for  its  manifestation,  sometimes  be- 
ing possessed  by  persons  enjoying  perfect  health. 

103.     Influence  of  Magnets. 

The  exaltation  of  nervous  sensibility  in  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  tax-collector,  Nowotny,  was  wonderful. 
"  In  her,  all  the  exalted  intensity  of  the  senses  had 


142  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

appeared,  so  that  she  could  not  bear  the  sun  nor 
candle-light ;  saw  her  chamber  as  in  twilight  in  the 
darkest  night,  and  clearly  distinguished  the  colors 
of  all  the  furniture  and  clothes  in  it.  On  her  the 
magnet  acted  with  extraordinary  violence,  in  sev- 
eral ways  ;  and  she  manifested  the  sensitive  pecu- 
liarity in  all  respects  in  such  a  high  degree  that  she 
equaled  the  true  somnambulist  (which,  however,  she 
was  not)  in  every  particular  relating  to  sensory  irri- 
tability. 

"  She  perceived  a  distinct  luminosity  as  long  as  the 
magnet  remained  open  ;  but,  on  placing  the  arma- 
ture on  the  poles,  the  light  disappeared.  The  flame 
seemed  to  be  somewhat  stronger  at  the  moment  of 
lifting  up  the  armature  ;  then  to  acquire  a  permanent 
condition,  which  was  weaker.  The  fiery  appearance 
was  about  equal  in  size  at  each  pole,  and  without 
perceptible  tendency  to  mutual  connection.  Close 
upon  the  steel  from  which  it  streamed,  it  seemed  to 
form  a  fiery  vapor ;  and  this  was  surrounded  by  a 
kind  of  glory  of  rays.  But  the  rays  were  not  at 
rest :  they  became  shorter  and  longer  without  inter- 
mission, and  exhibited  a  kind  of  darting  ray  and  ac- 
tive scintillation  which  the  observer  assured  us  was 
uncommonly  beautiful.  The  whole  appearance  was 
more  delicate  than  common  fire :  the  light  was  far 
purer,  almost  white  like  the  sun's  rays,  mingled  with 
iridescent  colors.  The  distribution  of  light  in  rays 
was  not  uniform  :  in  the  middle  of  the  edges  of  the 
magnet  they  were  more  crowded  than  at  the  corners, 
where  they  formed  little  tufts." 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  143 

The  case  of  Miss  Sturmann,  daughter  of  an  inspec- 
tor of  farms  in  Prague,  is  still  more  curious. 

"  She  was  suffering  from  tubercular  affection  of 
the  lungs,  and  was  subject  to  somnambulism  in  its 
slighter  stages,  with  attacks  of  tetanus  and  catalep- 
tic fits.  When  I  stood  in  a  darkened  ward,  holding 
a  ninety-pound  magnet  open  at  a  distance  of  six 
paces  from  her  feet,  while  she  was  perfectly  con- 
scious of  what  was  going  on  around  her,  she  ceased 
to  answer,  and  fell  into  tetanic  spasms  and  complete 
unconsciousness  from  the  influence  of  the  magnet. 
After  a  while  she  came  to  herself  again,  and  said 
that  at  the  moment  I  had  removed  the  armature  she 
had  seen  a  flame  flash  over  it,  about  the  length  of 
a  small  hand,  and  of  a  white  color,  mingled  with 
red  and  blue.  She  had  wished  to  look  at  it  more 
closely,  when  she  became  unconscious  from  its  influ- 


ence." 


104.     An  Electro-Magnet 

Presents  the  same  appearance  as  a  steel  magnet, 
showing  that  it  is  really  the  magnetic  force  that  is 
observed. 

When  the  poles  of  an  electro-magnet  were  brought 
near  those  of  a  steel,  the  flames  from  the  latter  were 
repelled  as  by  a  strong  wind. 

Subjected  to  purely  physical  tests,  the  magnetic 
flame  is  found  to  be  devoid  of  heat,  and,  when  ap- 
plied to  a  delicate  daguerreotype  plate,  to  yield  only 
dubious  traces  of  light.  No  degree  of  condensation 
by  a  lens  renders  it  visible  to  common  eyes. 


144  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

105.     Influence  of  Crystals. 

After  many  and  carefully  repeated  experiments, 
it  is  found  that  natural  crystals  possess  a  power 
equal  to  that  of  magnets.  Amorphous  bodies  are 
without  influence ;  but  crystalline,  with  few  excep- 
tions, manifest  this  property. 

"  It  has  never  yet  been  observed,  in  ponderable 
matter,  that  the  form,  the  arrangement  of  the  mole- 
cules, can  be  the  cause  of  new  forces  acting  at  a 
distance."  —  Pouillet  in  Mullers  Physics,  167. 

Reichenbach  concludes  that  the  influence  of  a 
crystal  on  a  sensitive,  while  the  same  substance  in 
an  amorphous  state  has  no  influence,  contradicts 
this  statement.  But  it  does  not  necessarily.  The 
minute  crystals  of  such  bodies  are  opposed  one  to 
the  other,  just  as  if  it  was  formed  of  minute  mag- 
nets indiscriminately  aggregated,  so  that  their  poles 
would  mutually  neutralize  each  other.  Remove  one 
of  these  crystals,  and  indefinitely  enlarge  it,  it  is 
then  free  from  neutralizing  influences  :  its  force  acts 
in  certain  defined  directions,  and  can  be  felt.  There 
is  no  new  force :  it  only  becomes  appreciable. 

A  crystal  of  quartz  is  a  fine  substance  with  which 
to  experiment.  When  drawn  down  the  inside  of 
the  hand  of  the  subject,  it  produces  the  same  feeling 
as  a  magnet.  The  sensation  is  like  that  of  a  pleas- 
ant, light,  cool  breeze.  When  the  motion  is  reversed, 
passing  the  point  of  the  crystal  from  the  hand 
upward,  the  sensation  becomes  4isagreeable.  From 
the  many  experiments  recorded  by  Baron  Reichen- 


Spiritual  A tmosphere.  145 

bach,  one  is  selected  as  an  illustration.  At  the  Uni- 
versity Hospital,  the  experiment  was  made  on  Miss 
Sturmann. 

"  I  made  a  pass  over  her  hand  with  the  apex  of 
a  rock-crystal  six  inches  long,  and  two  thick.  The 
effect  ensued  immediately:  the  patient  felt  the  warm 
and  cool  sensations  very  sensibly  when  the  passes 
were  made  over  her  hand.  When  I  applied  the 
magnet  in  the  same  manner,  the  sensations  were  of 
the  same  kind,  but  weaker  and  reversed.  The 
action  was  so  strong  that  it  affected  the  whole  arm 
as  far  as  the  shoulder,  the  warm  and  cold  sensations 
being  prolonged  all  the  way  up.  When  I  subse- 
quently applied  a  crystal  three  times  as  large,  it 
acted  so  powerfully  upon  the  hand,  immediately 
upon  the  first  pass,  that  her  color  came  and  went 
suddenly,  so  that  I  did  not  venture  on  a  second  ex- 
periment with  her.  .  .  .  Finally  I  tried  the  same  on 
Miss  Maix.  On  this  very  sensitive  patient  —  who, 
however,  always  remained  fully  conscious  — the  crys- 
tals acted,  not  merely  on  the  line  of  the  pass,  but 
over  a  broad  strip  up  and  down  the  hand,  which 
action  ascended  the  arm.  Miss  Reichel,  to  appear- 
ance a  healthy  and  strong  girl,  possessed  such  sen- 
sibility to  the  crystal  pole,  that  she  perceived  its 
approach  even  at  a  considerable  distance.  Like  her 
predecessors,  she  found  the  pass  downward  cool, 
and  upward  warm.  Lastly,  I  became  acquainted 
with  Miss  Maria  Atzmannsdorfer,  and  found  her  to 
feel  the  pass  of  the  crystals  strongest  of  all.  Even 
little  crystals  of  fluor  spar,  &c.,  an  inch  or  so  long, 


10 


■ 


146  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

produced  a  sensation  of  cold  when  passed  down  the 
hand.  With  rather  thin,  acicular  crystals,  I  could, 
so  to  speak,  describe  lines  upon  the  hand ;  but  the 
pass  upward  produced  warmth  of  the  hand,  and  so 
adversely  upon  her  that  it  affected  her  whole  body 
unpleasantly,  and  began  to  produce  spasms  as  soon 
as  I  repeated  it." 

These  results  were  tested,  not  only  on  cataleptic 
patients,  but  many  prominent  physicians,  physicists, 
and  chemists  ;  and  especially  were  the  results  re- 
markable on  the  naturalist,  Prof.  Endlicher. 

The  peculiar  force  is  exerted  in  the  direction  of 
the  axis  of  the  crystal ;  is  strongest  at  the  two  poles, 
and  of  opposite  effects,  agreeing  in  this  with  the 
positive  and  negative  poles  of  the  magnet. 

The  force  of  the  crystal,  however  much  it  may 
affect  the  nervous  system,  is  not  of  a  magnetic  char- 
acter. The  largest  and  purest  crystal  of  quartz  or 
lime  will  not  attract  the  minutest  dust  of  iron  ;  has 
no  directive  tendency,  like  a  magnetic  needle,  if 
ever  so  delicately  suspended.  Nor  can  it  induce 
magnetism  in  a  steel  bar,  nor  influence  the  polar 
wire  when  placed  in  the  helix,  producing  no  induced 
current.  While  the  magnet  and  crystal  are  alike  in 
their  effects  on  the  sensitive  nerves,  the  magnet  has 
properties  which  the  crystal  has  not,  such  as  direc- 
tive and  attractive  qualities,  and  relations  to  terres- 
trial magnetism  and  -electricity.  These  properties 
stand,  in  relation  to  the  other  force,  as  light  does  to 
heat  in  the  burning  of  a  taper.  They  can  be  sep- 
arated, so  that  the  magnet  would  have  no  directive 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  147 

tendency,  but  will  affect  the  sensitive ;  as  the  light 
of  a  taper  can  be  cut  off  by  a  screen  of  certain  sub- 
stances, and  yet  allow  the  heat  to  pass  unimpeded. 
The  crystal  is  built  up  by  the  operation  of  definite 
chemical  forces,  but  of  too  low  an  order  to  yield 
magnetic  force.  They  act  on  atoms,  magnetism  on 
masses ;  herein  being  related  to  chemical  affinity, 
which  holds  precisely  this  relation  to  gravitation. 
It  resembles  the  magfiet  in  having  polarity  to  sensi- 
tives :  it  is  quantitively  different  at  the  two  poles. 
Cold  is  produced  at  the  pole  corresponding  to  the 
—  M,  and  heat  at  that  corresponding  to  the  -J-  M. 
The  north  pole  is  the  stronger. 

If  crystals  are  brought  in  contact  with  amorphous 
substances,  they  impart  their  power ;  and  the  latter 
produce  sensations  as  crystals  do.  The  influence 
is  not  permanent,  but  rapidly  disappears.  It  is 
transmitted  through  matter  in  the  same  manner  as 
attraction,  no  intervening  substance  producing  any 
more  effect  than  air,  except  a  slight  retardation. 
Like  the  force  of  the  crystal,  this  imparted  influence 
is  limited,  and  cannot  be  indefinitely  accumulated. 
In  crystals,  it  increases  with  their  size ;  but  varies  in 
different  substances.  Thus  a  small  crystal  of  cobalt 
is  more  powerful  than  a  large  one  of  quartz ;  and  the 
influence  of  the  minute  crystals  of  morphine  is  dis- 
tinctly felt. 

106.     Crystallic  Flame. 

Of  the  result  of  experiments  made  to  determine 
whether  crystals  yield  a  visible  flame,  Reichenbach 
gives  a  most  convincing  record. 


148  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

"  I  instituted  an  experiment  with  the  heightened 
vision  of  Miss  Sturmann.  A  room  was  made  as  dark 
as  possible  :  she  entered,  remained  some  time,  till 
her  eyes  became  accustomed  to  the  obscurity,  and 
then  I  placed  before  her  a  large  watch-crystal.  She 
actually  at  once  perceived  a  flame-like  light  over  it, 
half  the  size  of  a  hand,  blue,  passing  into  white  above, 
remarkably  different  from  the  magnetic  light,  which 
she  described  as  much  redder  and  yellower.  The 
flame  was  movable,  in  a  waving  and  sparkling  con- 
dition ;  and  then  a  light  glare  over  the  support  on 
which  the  crystal  rested,  of  the  diameter  of  almost 
forty  inches,  just  as  a  magnet  had  done  when  flame- 
like appearance  and  light  radiating  from  it  could  be 
easily  distinguished."  Miss  Reichel  described  the 
flames  in  the  same  manner.  "  She  said  that  they 
were  of  peculiar,  star-like  forms,  which  assumed 
different  shapes  as  the  crystal  was  turned.  It  was 
evidently  the  crystalline  structure  of  the  stone,  its 
combination  in  different  directions,  which  caused 
the  production  of  luminous  appearances  and  inter- 
nal reflections,  such  as  could  not  of  course  exist 
in  this  way  in  a  steel  magnet."  Is  this  light  con- 
nected with  that  observed  in  the  crystallization  of 
many  substances  ?  Probably  it  is.  It  is  proved  by 
Prof.  Rose  that  crystallization  is  entirely  free  from 
heat  and  electricity.  The  polarity  of  crystals,  their 
access  of  growth,  conclusively  prove  that  the  pro- 
duction of  their  beautiful  forms  is  the  result  of 
magnetic  forces. 

A  bar  of  soft  iron,  when  applied   to  a  magnet, 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  149 

becomes  itself  magnetic,  and  so  remains  as  long  as 
held  in  contact,  but  not  a  moment  longer.  Magnet- 
ism then  is  destroyed  ;  but  that  peculiar  force  recog- 
nized by  the  sensitive  remains  much  longer,  and 
therefore  acts  on  them  precisely  as  a  magnet. 

Cataleptic  persons  readily  distinguish  water  to 
which  a  magnet  has  been  applied  ;  and  whatever 
substances  the  magnet  may  have  recently  touched 
produce  on  them  impressions  almost  as  strong  as 
the  magnet  itself.  They  are  also  affected  by  water, 
or  other  substances  which  have  been  electrified  by 
having  a  current  of  electricity  passed  through  them. 

107.     Impart ation  of  Influence. 

When  a  magnet  is  passed  over  a  person,  he 
becomes  temporarily  endowed  with  magnetic  prop- 
erties. When  Prof.  Endlicher  passed  the  magnet 
over  himself,  "to  his  surprise,  he  now,  as  had 
never  happened  before,  could  attract  the  hand  of 
the'patient  with  his  hand  ;  cause  it  to  attach  itself, 
and  follow  everywhere,  just  as  the  magnetized  glass 
of  water  had  done.  He  retained  this  power  for 
nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour :  by  that  time  it  had  by 
degrees  disappeared.  The  same  unknown  something 
which  had  been  left  in  the  iron  rod  by  the  magnet, 
and  had  likewise  passed  into  the  water,  must  there- 
fore have  been  conveyed  into  the  whole  person  of 
the  physician.  It  manifested  itself,  from  the  same 
cause,  to  the  same  effect  in  his  fingers."  This  ex- 
periment was  subsequently  repeated  in  a  variety  of 


150  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

forms.  In  particular  cases,  this  physician  let  his 
hand  lie  in  Miss  Nowotny's,  while  he  rubbed  the 
back  of  it  with  a  strong  magnet.  The  patient  here 
said  that  she  felt  the  force  increase  in  the  hand  of 
the  physician,  by  starts,  with  each  pass  of  the  mag- 
net. It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  this  force  can  be 
transferred  from  the  magnet  to  an  individual,  ena- 
bling that  individual  to  exert  a  powerful  magnetic 
influence  which  he  did  not  previously  possess  ;  in 
fact,  placing  him  in  the  exact  position  occupied  by 
the  strong  natural  magnetizer.  Here  the  chasm 
between  magnetic  and  crystallic  influence,  the  force 
of  the  inorganic  world,  is  bridged,  and,  with  the 
power  of  animal  magnetism,  proved  identical.  Wa- 
ter can  be  magnetized  with  the  hand  as  well  as  the 
magnet ;  and  the  force  of  the  hand  is  conducted  and 
retained  in  precisely  the  same  manner. 

108.     Polarity  of  the  Body. 

Such  being  the  case,  we  ask,  "  Are  we  endowed 
with  polarity,  like  a  crystal  or  magnet  ? "  Experi- 
ments show  that  we  .  are.  Our  dual  structure  — 
two  hemispheres  of  brain,  double  organs  of  senses, 
two  hands,  two  limbs  —  points  to  this  fact.  Sensi- 
tives at  once  detect  the  difference  between  the  hands. 
They  describe  the  current  as  passing  up  the  right, 
and  down  the  left,  arm.  This  difference  can  be 
nothing  else  than  polarization  such  as  is  seen  in  the 
magnet.  Of  one  of  the  baron's  patients,  he  remarks, 
"  She  found,  not  only  her  right  hand,  but  the  whole 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  151 

right  side  of  her  body,  opposed  to  her  left :  nay,  the 
mere  approximation  towards  her  of  my  right  or  left 
hand  affected  her  in  a  very  different  manner."  This 
patient  observed  that  the  fingers  were  always  tip- 
ped with  light  in  the  same  manner  as  the  poles  of 
a  magnet  or  crystal.  This  is  confirmed  by  repeated 
experiments  ;  and  I  have  often  observed  the  same. 
If  a  small  magnet^  or  a  crystal  a  few  inches  in 
length,  can  exert  such  an  influence  on  a  sensitive, 
causing  even  cataleptic  spasms,  agreeable  sense  of 
coolness,  or  disagreeable  warmth,  how  much  greater 
the  influence  of  that  vast  magnet,  the  earth,  with  its 
tremendous  polar  attraction,  and  rivers  of  electric 
influence !  The  planetary  bodies,  the  sun  and  the 
moon,  must  also  exert  a  strong  influence.  This 
conclusion  may  excite  a  smile  of  derision  in  those 
who  have  foregone  conclusions,  and  class  such  ideas 
with  the  absurdities  of  astrology.  To  them  we  have 
nothing  more  to  urge  than  the  simple  facts.  The 
conclusions  towards  which  they  lead  are  inevitable, 
and  wide  of  the  vagaries  of  astrology. 

109.   Abnormal  Sensitiveness  of  the  Diseased. 

The  concealed  processes  of  nature  account,  when 
understood,  for  many  of  the  vagaries  and  inconsist- 
encies of  men,  especially  of  those  rendered  peculiarly 
sensitive  by  disease.  Sometimes  there  seems  to  be 
a  kind  of  polarity  developed,  so  that  the  individual 
is  restless  when  lying  in  any  other  position  than 
that  with  his  head  to  the  north.     The  painful  sensa- 


152  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

tions  so  otten  experienced  by  those  suffering  from 
disease  can  be  often  dispelled  by  placing  them  in 
this  position,  and  their  restoration  to  health  be 
greatly  accelerated.  These  statements  are  con- 
firmed by  the  following  facts  recorded  by  Reich- 
enbach : — 

"  Mr.  Smith,  a  surgeon  of  Vienna,  had  received  a 
chill  of  the  right  arm,  and  had  for  some  time  suf- 
fered from  acute  rheumatism,  with  the  most  painful 
cramps  running  from  the  shoulders  to  the  fingers. 
His  physicians  treated  him  with  the  magnet,  which 
quieted  the  cramps  ;  but  they  always  returned.  I 
found  him  lying  with  his  head  to  the  south.  On 
my  remarking  this,  they  brought  him  in  direction  of 
the  magnetic  meridian,  with  his  head  to  the  north. 
Directly  after  coming  into  this  position,  he  uttered 
expressions  of  pleasure :  he  declared  he  felt  refreshed 
and  strenthened.  A  pleasant  uniform  warmth  dif- 
fused itself  in  the  chilled  part ;  he  felt  the  pass  of 
the  magnet  incomparably  more  cooling  and  agree- 
able than  before ;  and,  before  I  came  away,  the 
stiffened  arm  and  the  fingers  became  movable,  and 
the  pain  had  wholly  disappeared." 

The  sensitive  Miss  Nowotny  had  sought  a  posi- 
tion exactly  corresponding  to  the  direction  of  the 
needle  :  she  found  any  other  insupportable.  When- 
ever she  was  placed  in  any  other,  her  pulse  rose,  her 
face  flushed  with  increased  flow  of  blood  to  her 
head,  and  she  became  restless  and  uncomfortable. 
Of  all  positions,  that  of  having  her  head  to  the  west 
was  most  unbearable,  being  much  worse  than  that 


Spiritual  A tmosphere.  153 

of  south-north  position.  While  in  that  position, 
her  sensations  to  external  things  became  strikingly 
changed.  The  usually  agreeable  passes  of  the  mag- 
net became  unpleasant,  and  large  ones  insupport- 
able. Substances,  as  sulphur,  before  disagreeable, 
were  almost  indifferent ;  and  others,  like  lead,  were 
agreeable.  The  results  of  experiments  on  eight 
different  subjects  were  the  same.  These  patients 
recalled  to  mind  how  uncomfortable  they  always 
were  in  church,  without  understanding  the  cause. 
The  Catholic  churches  are  all  built  from  west  to 
east,  so  that  they  had  to  take  the  west-east  position, 
the  worst  of  all  for  a  sensitive,  and  often  fainted 
from  exhaustion. 

no.     Disease  and  Sleep. 

Thus  it  is  observed  that  terrestrial  magnetism  is 
appreciable  by  sensitive  persons,  modifying  sleep, 
"  disturbing  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  the  func- 
tions of  the  nerves,  and  equilibrium  of  the  vital 
force." 

These  facts  bear  strongly  on  magnetism  as  ap- 
plied to  the  cure  of  diseases.  Processes  which  will 
cure  if  the  patient  be  in  one  position  will  only 
aggravate  the  disease  if  in  another.  They  unravel 
the  mystery  which  has  shrouded  the  domain  of 
mesmerism,  and  account  for  failures  under  seem- 
ingly identical  circumstances.  In  one  case,  the 
magnetizer  has  the  powerful  influence  of  the  earth 
working  with  him  ;  in  another,  against  him. 

Of  the  influence  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  planets,  we 


154  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

have  all  to  learn.  Undoubtedly,  with  their  light  and 
heat,  is  emanated  the  subtile  force  which  is  meas- 
ured only  by  sensitive  nerves.  When  any  substance 
is  exposed  to  the  sunlight  for  some  time,  it  becomes 
luminous  to  the  sensitive,  and  exerts  a  magnetic 
influence.  This  influence  is  conductible.  When  the 
patient,  remaining  in  a  dark  room,  takes  hold  of  a 
wire  passing  out  into  the  sunshine,  he  at  once  ex- 
periences the  cooling  sensation  of  magnetism.  With 
the  sun's  rays,  water  can  be  magnetized,  a  weak 
magnet  strengthened ;  and,  when  an  individual  ex- 
poses himself  for  a  brief  time  in  the  sunshine,  he 
becomes  capable  of  exerting  a  strong  magnetic  in- 
fluence. 

in.     Influence  of  the  Moon. 

The  moon's  rays  afford  the  same  results ;  but  they 
seem  to  have  a  stronger  attractive  power,  drawing 
strongly  the  subject's  hand  towards  the  object  from 
which  they  emanate. 

112.     Influence  of  the  Sun. 

Here  is  the  key  to  the  relation  of  sunlight  to  phy- 
siology. It  is  well  known  that  many  diseases  are 
aggravated  when  night  approaches,  while  others  are 
more  severe  during  the  day.  All  varieties  of  ner-  V 
vous  pains  are  generally  more  unbearable  at  day 
than  at  night.  This  fact  has  been  observed,  but,  by 
the  materialism  of  modern  science,  referred  summa- 
rily to  imagination.     The  silence  of  the  night  gave 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  155 

free  reign  to  fancy ;  and  small  aches  became  un- 
bearable. During  the  day,  the  half  of  the  earth 
illuminated  is  positive  to  the  other  illuminated  hem- 
isphere ;  and,  when  darkness  reigns,  the  transition 
from  one  state  to  the  other  is  as  certain  as  that 
of  the  exchange  of  light  and  darkness. 

The  sensations  of  evening  are  different  from  those 
of  morning.  We  have  enjoyed  the  light,  and  been 
positive,  during  the  day.  When  night  advances,  we 
are  to  sink  into  its  negative  embrace.  We  are  to 
become  passive  in  the  enveloping  darkness,  and 
enter  a  state  "  twin  brother  to  death."  At  morning 
we  arise  from  invigorating  rest  to  meet  the  positive 
day.  It  is  more  restorative  to  sleep  during  the 
night.  It  is  then  the  subtile  magnetic  forces  are  in 
harmony  with  that  state.  Sleep  during  the  day,  in 
the  most  secluded  apartments,  is  restless  and  fever- 
ish. This  distinction  is  recognized  by  animals  of 
all  species,  and  by  plants.  The  former,  during  the 
presence  of  the  sun,  absorb  oxygen,  and  throw  off 
carbonic  acid  :  plants,  on  the  contrary,  absorb  car- 
bonic acid,  and  yield  oxygen.  During  the  night,  the 
vital  powers  of  the  former  are  reduced  to  their  low- 
est ebb  ;  and  the  latter  reverse  the  process  of  com- 
bination, and  throw  off  carbonic  acid,  and  absorb 
oxygen.  Night  is  no  more  terrible  than  day ;  yet 
the  mind,  overcome  by  the  negative  condition  im- 
posed then  on  all  things,  peoples  it  with  fancies.  It 
is  the  established  season  for  ghosts,  especially  the 
hour  of  midnight.  Night,  too,  is  the  wakeful  season 
for  the  author  and  thinker :  they  find  it  more  fruit- 


156  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

ful  of  original  thoughts ;  for  their  minds  are  then 
passive,  and  can  drink  truth  through  their  intui- 
tions. After  being  in  the  intense  sunlight  for  a 
length  of  time,  how  agreeable  is  the  shade,  or  a 
darkened  room !  The  effects  are  remarkably  in- 
tense. In  negative  diseases,  the  effect  of  sunlight 
is  wonderfully  beneficial ;  and,  in  positive  diseases, 
darkness  is  equally  so.  Cataleptic  persons,  in  whom 
it  may  be  thought  the  normal  condition  of  the  fac- 
ulties is  so  vitiated  that  they  are  not  reliable,  are 
not  the  only  ones  affected  ;  but  often  the  nerves  of 
persons  in  health  become  susceptible  to  such  deli- 
cate influences.  The  magnetic  flames  arising  from 
almost  all  bodies,  especially  those  undergoing  chem- 
ical change,  are  by  such  discernible,  and  probably 
the  prolific  cause  of  ghost-seeing.  It  is  said  that 
only  nervous,  and  hence  unreliable,  persons  see 
ghosts  :  but  this  is  not  as  strong  an  objection  as 
has  been  supposed ;  for  it  is  possible  only  for  those 
with  a  delicately  vibrating  nervous  organization  to 
perceive  what  is  unperceivable  to  common  eyes. 
As  illustrations,  a  volume  of  evidence  might  be 
compiled. 

113.     Influence  of  Locality. 

"  An  occurrence  which  took  place  in  Pfeffers  gar- 
den at  Colmar  is  tolerably  well  known,  and  has 
appeared  in  many  published  accounts.  I  will  briefly 
mention  some  of  the  most  important  points.  He 
had  appointed  a  young  evangelical  clergyman  as  his 
amanuensis.     The  blind   German  poet  was  led  by 


Spiritual  A  tmosphere.  157 

this  person  when  he  walked  out.  This  occurred  in 
his  garden,  which  lay  at  some  distance  from  the 
town.  Pfeffel  remarked,  that,  every  time  they  came 
to  a  particular  spot,  Billing's  arm  trembled,  and  he 
manifested  uneasiness.  Some  conversation  about 
this  ensued  ;  and  the  young  man  unwillingly  stated, 
that,  as  often  as  he  came  over  that  spot,  certain 
sensations  attacked  him  which  he  could  not  over- 
come, and  which  he  always  experienced  at  places 
where  human  bodies  were  interred.  When  he  came 
to  such  places  at  night,  he  usually  saw  strange 
sights.  With  a  view  to  cure  this  man  of  his  delu- 
sion, Pfeffel  returned  with  him  to  the  garden  the 
same  night.  When  they  approached  this  place  in 
the  dark,  Billing  at  once  perceived  a  weak  light, 
and,  when  near  enough,  the  appearance  of  a  form  of 
immaterial  flame  waving  in  the  air  above  the  spot. 
He  described  it  as  resembling  a  woman's  form,  one 
arm  laid  across  the  body,  the  other  hanging  down, 
wavering,  erect,  or  at  rest ;  the  feet  elevated  about 
two  hands'-breadths  above  the  ground.  Pfeffel 
walked  up  to  it  alone,  as  the  young  man  would  not 
accompany  him  ;  struck  about  at  random  with  his 
stick,  and  ran  across  the  place  ;  but  the  spectre  did 
not  move  nor  alter.  It  was  as  when  one  passes  a 
stick  through  flame,  —  the  fiery  shape  always  re- 
covered the  same  form.  Many  things  were  done 
during  several  months,  parties  taken  thither ;  but  the 
matter  remained  always  the  same,  and  the  ghost-seer 
always  held  to  his  earnest  assertion,  consequently  to 
the  supposition  that  some  one  must  lie  buried  there. 


158  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

At  last,  Pfeffel  had  the  place  dug  up.  At  some 
depth,  a  solid  layer  of  white  lime  was  met  with, 
about  as  long  and  as  broad  as  a  grave,  tolerably 
thick ;  and,  when  this  was  broken  through,  they  dis- 
covered the  skeleton  of  a  human  body. 

"  It  had  been  covered  with  a  layer  of  quick-lime, 
as  is  the  custom  in  time  of  pestilence.  The  bones 
were  taken  out,  the  hole  filled,  and  the  surface  lev- 
eled. When  Billing  was  again  taken  there,  the 
appearance  was  gone,  and  the  nocturnal  spirit  had 
vanished  forever."  —  Dynamics,  p.  142. 

* 

114.     Of  Church-yard  Ghosts. 

When  the  baron  conducted  some  of  his  sensitives 
to  a  church-yard,  they  at  once  recognized  a  similar 
appearance  over  all  the  graves,  especially  the  more 
recent  ones  ;  and  they  at  once  referred  them  to  the 
same  class  as  that  of  the  magnet  or  crystal.  Al- 
though this  flame  has  been  a  prolific  source  of 
ghost-stories,  we  need  not  call  ghosts  to  our  aid  to 
furnish  an  explanation.  We  know  that  this  flame 
is  produced  by  chemical  change.  All  bodies  under- 
going change  exhibit  it.  Of  course  the  decompo- 
sition occurring  in  a  grave  furnishes  an  abundant 
source  ;  and,  as  these  gaseous  products  slowly  arise, 
so  will  the  flame. 

It  is  said  truly,  that  not  to  all  is  given  the  sight 
which  enables  them  to  see  the  ghosts  which  hover 
around  church-yards  ;  for  all  are  not  sufficiently 
sensitive :  but  many  are,  and  are  derided  as  cow- 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  159 

ardly  or  fanciful,  when  the  objects  they  perceive  are 
realities  to  them,  as  much  as  the  tombstones  are  to 
others.  It  requires  no  stretch  of  fancy  to  shape  the 
upright,  waving,  luminous  cloud  into  human  form. 
Educational  prejudice,  the  horror  of  the  place,  the 
dread  season  of  night,  generally  beget  sufficient  fear 
to  at  once  so  shape  the  clouds  much  more  distinctly 
than  those  we  form  into  angels  and  beasts  as  they 
float  through  the  sky. 

These  ghosts  are  nothing  more  than  the  luminous 
flame  produced  by  the  chemical  changes  always 
accompanying  it ;  and  it  can  be  seen  by  the  sensi- 
tive. It  is  strange  that  this  fact  of  chemistry  should 
have  given  rise  to  the  most  unbelievable  stories  of 
goblins  and  ghosts,  having  no  more  existence  than 
a  wisp  of  flame,  or  fog-like  cloud. 

115.     The  Image  sometimes  remains. 

Sometimes  the  image  of  a  thing  remains  im- 
pressed in  the  place  where  it  has  stood.  M.  Teste, 
in  his  journal,  cites,  with  respect  to  this,  a  curious 
experiment.  A  female  somnambulist  enters  the 
room,  and  exclaims,  "What  a  pretty  girl  is  sitting 
on  that  chair ! '  At  this  exclamation,  M.  Teste 
observes  to  her  that  she  is  mistaken  ;  that  no  pretty 
girl  is  there.  Far  from  giving  in  to  this  declaration, 
she  sees  one  on  each  chair ;  and  there  were  six  of 
them.  Unable  to  account  for  this  hallucination,  he 
contented  himself  with  gathering  exact  details  of 
the  dress  of  these  little  girls,  and  confessed  that  a 


160  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

little  girl  precisely  similar  had  been  playing  there 
for  a  moment  before  the  somnambulist  entered, 
and  had  jumped  upon  the  six  chairs,  one  after 
the  other,  sitting  down  on  them.  "  I  have  often 
recognized  that  the  image  of  natural  objects,  set 
in  a  certain  place,  remained  there  for  a  long 
time.,, 

Mrs.  Denton,  an  extremely  sensitive  person,  re- 
lates, that,  on  entering  a  car  from  which  the  passen- 
gers had  gone  to  dinner,  she  was  surprised  to  see 
the  seats  all  occupied. 

"  Many  of  them  were  sitting  perfectly  composed, 
as  if,  for  them,  little  interest  were  attached  to  this 
station,  while  others  were  already  in  motion  (a  kind 
of  compressed  motion),  as  if  preparing  to  leave. 
I  thought  this  somewhat  strange,  and  was  about 
turning  to  find  a  vacant  seat  in  another  car,  when 
a  second  glance  around  showed  me  that  the  pas- 
sengers who  had  appeared  so  indifferent  were  really 
losing  their  identity,  and,  in  a  moment  more,  were 
invisible  to  me.  I  had  had  sufficient  time  to  note 
the  personal  appearance  of  several ;  and,  taking  a 
seat,  I  awaited  the  return  of  the  passengers,  think- 
ing it  more  than  probable  I  might  in  them  find  the 
prototypes  of  the  faces  and  forms  I  had,  a  moment 
before,  so  singularly  beheld.  Nor  was  I  disap- 
pointed. A  number  of  those  who  returned  to  the 
cars  I  recognized  as  being,  in  every  particular,  the 
counterparts  of  their  late  but  transient  representa- 
tives." 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  161 

Il6.       PSYCHOMETRICAL    DREAM. 

The  explanation  of  the  following  dream  may  seem 
incredible ;  but,  after  a  thorough  understanding  of 
the  vast  generalization  we  are  attempting  of  mental 
and  physical  phenomena,  it  may  cease  to  appear  so. 

"  Several  years  ago,  during  a  severe  winter,  the 
Schuylkill  River,  near  Philadelphia,  became  thickly 
bridged  over  with  ice  ;  and  thousands  of  persons 
resorted  thither  for  the  purpose  of  skating,  sliding, 
&c.  Among  other  inventions  for  the  amusement  of 
those  visiting  the  place,  there  was  a  post  sunk 
through  the  ice,  at  the  top  of  which  there  was  a 
point,  and  a  horizontal  revolving  arm  attached  to  it. 
To  the  end  of  this,  the  drag-ropes  of  sleds  were 
attached  ;  so  that,  by  pushing  the  shaft,  the  sleds, 
with  persons  on  them,  might  be  made  to  revolve 
swiftly  in  a  circle  upon  the  ice.  Among  the  rest,  a 
negro  got  upon  the  sled ;  and  the  person  in  charge 
of  the  shaft  caused  it  to  revolve  so  rapidly  that  the 
negro  was  thrown  outward  by  the  centrifugal  force, 
and,  striking  violently  against  a  large,  projecting 
piece  of  ice,  was  killed  instantly. 

"  This  occurrence  was  witnessed  by  a  physician, 
a  friend  of  my  informant,  who  happened  to  be  pres- 
ent. On  that  very  evening,  the  physician  had  occa- 
sion to  prepare  a  dose  of  pills  for  one  of  his  patients, 
a  lady  extremely  susceptible  to  magnetic  influences. 
As  he  was  mixing  the  ingredients  of  the  pills,  and 
rolling  them  in  his  fingers,  he  related  in  all  its  par- 
ticulars, to  persons  in  the  office,  the  occurrence  he 


ii 


1 62  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

had  witnessed  on  the  river  during  the,  day.  The 
pills  were  afterwards  despatched  to  the  lady  by 
another  person.  The  next  day,  the  physician,  see- 
ing one  of  the  lady's  family,  inquired  concerning  her 
health.  In  the  answer  that  was  returned,  it  was 
stated,  among  other  things,  that  she  had  had  a  sin- 
gular dream  the  night  previous.  She  dreamed  that 
she  was  somewhere  on  the  ice,  where  many  people 
were  sliding  and  skating ;  that  she  had  there  seen  a 
negro  thrown,  from  a  revolving  sled,  against  a  cake 
of  ice,  and  instantly  killed,  &c.  Her  dream,  as  re- 
lated, was  an  exact  reproduction  of  all  the  essential 
statements  of  facts  which  had,  without  her  knowl- 
edge, been  given  by  the  physician  while  he  was  pre- 
paring the  medicine,  and  concerning  which  facts  she 
had  received  no  information  from  any  quarter.,, 

The  physician  imparted  his  influence  to  the  med- 
icine, which,  acting  on  an  impressible  mind,  repro- 
duced his  thoughts  in  the  form  of  a  dream. 

So  the  mechanic  imparts  a  portion  of  himself 
to  his  wares  ;  and  the  various  articles  of  food  are 
impregnated  with  the  spheres  of  their  producers. 
Dwellings  partake  of  the  influence  of  all  those  who 
have  once  entered  them.  Garments  reproduce 
the  character  of  their  wearers.  Dwellings  wherein 
countless  persons  enter,  and  the  products  of  various 
climes  are  stored,  are  always  pervaded  by  innumer- 
able influences.  These  affect  all  more  or  less,  but 
only  the  extremely  sensitive  in  a  marked  degree. 
Many  who  are  not  susceptible  while  oppressed  by 
the  cares  of  the  day  are  highly  so  during  the  nega- 


Spiritual  Atmosphere.  163 

tiveness  of  night,  and  the  passivity  of  sleep.  These 
surrounding  influences,  blending,  often  re-appear  in 
dreams. 

117.     Individual  Spheres  blending 

Produce  the  distinctive  characters  of  communities 
and  cities.  The  emanations  from  the  earth, — 
which  Reichenbach  terms  "odylic,"  —  which  all  min- 
erals exhibit,  also  exert  an  influence  in  the  deter- 
mination of  the  character  of  the  people  dwelling  on 
its  surface.  Sometimes  persons  feel  this  subterra- 
nean influence  keenly,  although,  in  ignorance  of  its 
cause,  they  fail  to  understand  why  they  are  disagree- 
ably or  agreeably  affected. 


118.     Conclusions. 

The  preceding  facts  lead  to  two  conclusions, — 
first,  the  impressibility  of  the  nervous  system,  not 
only  of  man,  but  of  all  animals  ;  second,  that  ema- 
nations capable  of  exciting  influence  on  the  nervous 
system  are  thrown  off  from  all  organic  and  inorganic 
substances. 

Granting  these,  no  matter  what  theory  of  trans- 
mission we  receive,  that  of  pulsation,  or  of  simple 
force,  there  must  exist  a  bond  or  medium  of  com- 
munication. A  brain  in  England,  to  affect  a  brain 
in  America,  must  do  so  through  a  connecting  sub- 
stance. Admitting  the  facts  of  impressibility,  the 
existence  of  a  spirit-ether,  universal  and  all-permeat- 
ing, becomes  self-evident. 


VII. 

RELATION     OF    THE    SPIRITUAL   TO    THE   ANIMAL    IN 

MAN. 

Not  that  I  think  their  sense  divinely  given, 
Or  prescience  theirs  to  mark  the  will  of  Heaven  : 
But  still,  through  Nature's  vast  and  varied  range, 
The  airs,  vicissitudes,  and  seasons  change  ; 
New  instincts  sway  ;  and  their  inconstant  mind 
Shifts  with  the  cloud,  and  varies  with  the  wind. 

Virgil. 

Brahma  inscribes  the  destiny  of  every  mortal  on  his  skull ;  and  the  gods 
themselves  cannot  avert  it.  —  Hindu  Maxims. 

Man  is  a  civilized  animal. 

119.     The  Brain. 

THE  brain  is  the  organ  of  the  mind  in  animals 
as  well  as  in  man.  Its  different  sections  man- 
ifest different  faculties.  The  passions  reside  in  its 
base  ;  the  intellect,  in  its  front ;  and  the  moral  and 
spiritual,  at  its  summit.  Although  the  mapping  of 
its  surface,  as  practiced  by  phrenologists,  may  be 
regarded  as  in  a  great  measure  visionary,  and  far 
from  scientific,  these  great  divisions  are  recognized 
by  all.  Animals  have  the  base  of  the  brain  as  fully 
developed  as  man  ;  but  in  them  the  frontal  portion 
is  defective,  and  the  upper  region  almost  wanting. 
In  savage  man,  the  latter  is  scarcely  more  expanded 


The  Spiritual  and  Animal  in  Man.    165 

than  in  the  animal.  In  proportion  as  the  front  and 
coronal  portions  of  the  brain  expand,  man  becomes 
civilized,  and  removed  from  the  animal  world.  The 
manifestation  of  mind  in  the  animal  has  been  called 
instinct ;  in  man,  intellect ;  and  an  impassable  gulf  is 
said  to  exist  between  the  two  by  those  who  study 
the  subject  in  the  fog  of  metaphysics.  Anatomy, 
however,  is  the  umpire,  and  decides  that  the  differ- 
ence is  in  kind,  not  in  degree.  Intellect  is  instinct, 
modified  by  the  development  of  faculties  before 
latent  The  passions  of  man,  considered  purely  by 
themselves,  are  the  same  as  those  of  animals.  With 
them,  they  constitute  nearly  their  whole  mentality ; 
with  him,  a  minor  part,  —  the  base  on  which  his 
superior  intellectuality  rests. 

120.     Instinct. 

If  the  actions  of  animals  are  observed,  all  the  fac- 
ulties which  connect  man  with  physical  matter  can 
be  unerringly  traced.  Their  possession  is  a  neces- 
sity. Desire  for  food,  the  sexual  instinct,  love  of 
offspring,  gregariousness,  the  dawn  of  friendship, 
constructiveness,  exist  in  all  the  mammalia.  In 
them,  these  traits  are,  as  it  were,  concreted,  and  are 
exhibited  in  their  pure,  unadulterated  form,  going 
straight  to  their  mark,  unguided  by  reason.  In  man, 
their  office  is  the  same  ;  but  they  are  controlled  by 
superior  faculties,  which  have  become  active.  They 
are  the  motive  power ;  but  are  guided,  instead  of 
rushing  blindly  to  their  object 


1 66  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

121.     Reflections. 

It  may  pain  us  to  contemplate  this  connection,  by 
which  our  immortal  nature  dips  into  the  stratum  of 
materiality ;  but  it  should  rather  elevate  our  concep- 
tion of  the  harmony  and  divine  order  of  nature. 
From  this  lower  stratum,  the  spirit  draws  its  life ; 
and,  how  high  soever  may  be  its  future  flight,  it  will 
hold  to  this  connection. 

Does  the  noble  tree,  throwing  aloft  its  branches, 
swayed  by  storms,  and  fanned  by  zephyrs,  despise 
its  roots,  winding  through  rugged  ways  in  the  dark 
recesses  of  the  rocky  earth  ?  Does  it  consider  their 
office  an  ignoble  one  ?  There  must  be  roots  before 
an  oak ;  and  those  roots  are  of  the  dark  and  material 
soil.  Far  above,  the  flower  may  fill  the  air  with 
fragrance,  or  the  mature  fruit  tempt  the  passer-by ; 
but  they  remain  steadfastly  grasping  the  material 
world. 

So  with  the  spirit,  expanding  upward  into  the 
light  of  the  divine.  Its  progress  is  accretive :  it 
loses  nothing.  The  passions  are  roots  by  which  it 
takes  hold  of  the  physical  world,  and  is  sustained. 

122.  \  The  Spirit  loses  Nothing. 


/ — 

As  the  tree  loses  not  its  leaves  when  it  expands 

its  blooms,  but  profits  by  them  continually,  the  spirit 
throws  away  none  of  its  faculties. 

It  is  a  strange  philosophy  which  teaches  that 
spirit  does  not  retain  its  propensities  after  the  dis- 
solution of  the  body.     It  is  a  theory  belonging  to 


The  Spiritual  and  Animal  in  Man.    167 

the  time  when  the  definition  of  spirit  was  the  best 
that  could  be  given  of  nonentity,  —  without  emotion 
or  love,  retaining  only  the  susceptibility  of  enjoy- 
ment and  suffering. 

What  is  it  that  sends  the  Howards,  the  Nightin- 
gales, the  Dixes,  on  their  visits  of  mercy  to  the  suf- 
fering and  needy  ?  We  say  it  is  their  benevolence, 
the  warm  sympathy  they  feel  towards  the  sufferers. 
This  is  true  ;  but  it  is  also  true,  that,  without  decis- 
ion, firmness,  and  combative  energy,  —  the  forces  of 
the  lower  brain,  —  they  would  not  stir  from  their 
own  comfortable  firesides.  They  would  feel  deeply 
for  misery  ;  but  theirs  would  be  a  passive  sympa- 
thy, never  putting  itself  in  action. 

The  engine  may  be  ever  so  well  constructed  in  its 
mechanism  ;  but  if  water  is  withheld  from  the  boiler, 
and  fire  from  the  grate,  it  is  useless.  I  would  not 
be  understood  as  advocating  the  supremacy  of  the 
basal  brain.  Far  from  it :  I  only  say  that  its  office 
is  important  and  necessary,  when  confined  within 
proper  limits.  It  should  never  dictate  to  the  spirit- 
ual perceptions  ;  but,  as  the  steam  of  the  engine  is 
controlled  by  the  power  it  itself  evokes,  so  should 
the  energy  of  the  passions  be  governed.  If  other- 
wise, and  the  motive  power  be  allowed  to  guide 
itself,  there  is  explosion,  collision,  and  ruin. 

123.     No  Perversion  in  Animals. 

Concrete  and  intense  as  are  the  basal  faculties  in 
animals,  they  are  rarely,  if  ever,  misdirected  or  per- 


1 68  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

verted.  They  go  straight  to  their  object,  and  no 
farther.  To  provide  themselves  with  food,  and  care 
for  their  offspring,  are  their  ruling  motives.  They 
experience  none  of  the  insatiable  desires  which 
elevate  or  degrade  mankind.  They  are  content, 
because  all  the  materials  which  their  natures  de- 
mand are  found  in  their  sphere  of  action. 

Their  appetites  require  only  materials  wherewith 
to  build  up  their  bodies  ;  and  these  the  herbivorous 
animals  find  in  the  grass  of  the  field,  and  the  car- 
nivora  in  the  flesh  of  the  inoffensive  herbivora. 
Their  passions  are  included  in  the  circle  of  increas- 
ing their  species,  and  defending  themselves  and  off- 
spring from  danger.  The  imperfect  affections  lead 
them  to  supply  the  necessities  of  their  offspring  for 
a  short  time  only,  and  perhaps  give  them  the  grega- 
rious tendencies  by  which  some  species  are  always 
herded  together. 

124.     The  Result. 

The  result  of  this  combination  is  perfect  selfish- 
ness. The  care  of  its  selfhood  is  the  perpetual 
effort  of  the  animal :  only  when  caring  for  its  young, 
does  it,  for  a  moment,  depart  from  its  selfishness. 
If  it  sees  danger,  it  flies  ;  or,  if  it  thinks  itself  able, 
it  defends  itself:  but  it  never  becomes  a  conqueror. 
Selfish  as  it  is,  throughout  the  extent  of  the  animal 
world  there  is  not  an  Alexander  nor  Napoleon. 
Many  lay  by  a  winter  store  ;  but  an  Astor  or  Girard 
they  have  not.  Their  appetites  are  greedy ;  but  no 
epicure  disgraces  their  ranks. 


The  Spiritual  and  Animal  in  Man.    169 

125.     Perversion  —  its  Cause. 

Seeing  this,  men  often  allude  to  it,  and  hold  it  up 
as  an  example  worthy  of  imitation  ;  but  it  does  not 
prove    the    animal   anywise   superior   to   the   man. 

/"The  animal,  finding  all  its  desires  gratified,  has  no 
need  of  violating  its  constitution.    Not  so  with  man. 

(With  him,  the  animal  nature  becomes  the  slave 
of  a  superior.  It  is  the  force  by  which  that  supe- 
rior manifests  itself  on  the  material  world.  Man 
being  far  from  perfection,  his  uneducated  intellect 
often  mistakes  its  wants  ;  and,  hence,  perversions 
and  abuses.  The  instinctive  qualities  of  the  appe- 
tites and  passions  are  lost  in  the  blaze  of  intellect ; 
often  in  ignorance,  a  worse  guide. 

126.     Man's  Intellectual  Nature. 

Having  considered  man  in  his  connection  with 
the  inferior  world,  let  us  view  him  under  the  new 
aspect  bestowed  by  the  addition  of  the  above-named 
higher  attributes.  At  once,  he  becomes  another 
being.  Here  he  is  joined  to  the  Infinite.  Here 
gleams  the  light  of  his  immortal  nature,  and,  as  we 
shall  show  in  another  place,  rests  the  strong  philo- 
sophical proof  of  his  immortality.  This  nature  bends 
every  appetite  and  passion.  It  is  restless,  insati- 
able, striving  after  the  unattainable.  We  see  here 
glimmerings  of  an  immortal  nature,  with  cravings 
unsatisfied  by  the  best  the  physical  world  can  be- 
stow. 


1 70  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

127.     Desires  Insatiate. 

The  conqueror,  the  epicure,  the  drunkard,  each 
seeks,  after  his  own  misguided  fashion,  to  answer 
the  demands  of  his  nature.  They  mistake  those 
demands,  and  are  plunged  in  mire.  The  hero  mar- 
shaling Greece,  subjugating  Persia,  and  rushing 
from  the  Mediterranean,  past  Babylon  and  Tyre, 
to  the  confines  of  India,  grasped  the  sceptre  of  the 
world.  His  immortal  aspirations  were  not  appeased 
by  the  control  of  empires,  but  increased  :  fori  it  is  a 
law  with  our  desires,  if  we  pervert  them,  the  greater 
the  perversion,  the  more  ardent  they  become  ;  for 
we  ever  give  them  food  of  which  they  cannot  par- 
take. The  whole  realm  of  the  world  satisfied  not 
the  conqueror.  He  paused,  red-handed,  sick-hearted, 
by  the  ocean  shore.  He  gazed  off  at  its  illimitable 
space,  dimly  shadowing  his  own  soul,  and  wept  that 
there  were  no  more  worlds  to  conquer.  The  cov- 
eted prize  turned  to  dust  in  his  grasp.  It  was  not 
conquest  the  soul  of  Alexander  wanted.  His  com- 
bativeness  mistook  the  spirit's  desires  for  infinite 
perfection  for  infinite  conquest,  and  drove  the  mad 
man  on.  }Napoleon,  breathing  his  regrets  to  the 
desert  air  of  St.  Helena,  is  a  type  of  the  happiness 
bestowed  by  misguided  ambition. 

Nor  does  the  acquisition  of  wealth  bestow  more 
happiness.  Astor's  millions  made  him  their  slave, 
as  immense  wealth  always  enslaves  its  possessor. 
Out  of  it  he  received  the  necessaries  of  life ;  and 
the  remainder  was  a  useless  toy.     Yet  he  was  close 


The  Spiritual  and  Animal  in  Man.    171 

in  calculation,  and  strove  to  increase  his  millions, 
dwarfing  his  mentality  in  direct  proportion  as  he 
increased  his  wealth.  He  found  that  there  is  little 
happiness  in  riches :  they  did  not  still  the  cravings 
of  his  soul.  The  drunkard  thinks  happiness  can  be 
obtained  by  the  cup.  His  love  for  the  pure  bever- 
age distilled  from  heaven  mistakes  the  desire  of  the 
spirit,  and  drinks  the  distilled  poison.  -  That  never 
appeases  :  the  more  given,  the  greater  the  demand, 
until  the  body  breaks  down  under  the  burden. 
With  all  the  animal  faculties  the  amount  of  happi- 
ness yielded  is  very  limited,  being  only  sufficient  to 
insure  their  activity. 

The  amount  of  pleasure  the  epicure  enjoys  is  of  a 
base  kind  and  evanescent  quality.  So  of  the  others. 
There  is  nothing  permanent  nor  enduring  in  their 
character.  They  yield  no  pleasure  after  their  grati- 
fication. They  who  expect  to  find  happiness  from 
them  will  be  disappointed  ;  for  it  will  be  so  brief, 
and  so  coarse  in  quality,  as  not  to  be  worth  its  cost. 
The  spirit  is  unsatisfied  with  these.  Immortal  and 
infinite  in  capabilities,  it  demands  expansion  in  the 
spiritual,  not  physical,  realm.  The  happiness  be- 
stowed by  them  is  only  sufficient  to  insure  the  per- 
formance of  their  appropriate  functions,  and  no 
more.  Not  one  jota  more  can  be  wrung  from  them. 
If  pressed  to  yield  more,  they  recoil  on  their  pos- 
sessor, and  either  compel  him  to  desist,  by  the 
pangs  of  disease,  or,  if  he  persists,  by  the  dissolu- 
v    tion  of  the  physical  body. 

Mentally  their  gratification  yields  nought  but  dis- 


\*]2  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

satisfaction  ;  physically,  disease  and  death.  Ah !  it  is 
a  loathsome  train  that  follows  their  paths.  See  their 
bloated  forms,  their  haggard  countenances,  as  they 
groan  beneath  the  smarting  lash  of  their  own  mis- 
guided passion!  Theirs  is  the  way  of  death, — 
death  that  comes  to  them  a  ministering  angel  of 
mercy,  throwing  from  their  immortal  spirits  the 
crushing  weight  of  their  physical  deformities. 

128.     Moral  Aspect. 

The  animal  faculties  arc  not  necessarily  sinful. 
Their  functions  are  as  holy  as  those  of  the  intellect. 
Sin  is  the  result  of  over-action,  misdirection,  or 
unguided  activity.  (Man's  salvation  depends  on  his 
intellectual  and  moral  faculties,  which  overlie,  and 
should  control,  his  being.  \  To  effect  this  desirable 
end  is  the  chief  object  of  education.  In  olden  times 
men  fled  to  the  wilderness,  and  secluded  themselves 
in  the  solitudes  of  mountains,  that,  by  contempla- 
tion and  humiliation,  they  might  obtain  this  mas- 
tery of  their  passions. 

They  regarded  their  voice  as  sinful.  We  regard 
their  licence  as  sinful,  but  their  natural  functions  as 
right.  Blind,  and  purely  selfish,  they  rush  to  ruin 
unless  controlled.  They  arc  not  subdued  by  allow- 
ing them  unlimited  sway.  They  cannot  burn  them- 
selves out ;  for  use  permanently  increases  their 
power.  Give  them  free  rein  ?  As  soon  open  the 
throttle-valve  of  a  locomotive,  and  allow  the  monster 
to  rush  along  the  track  without  the  guiding  intel- 


The  Spiritual  and  Animal  in  Man.    1 73 

ligence  of  the  engineer.  They  are  not  the  equals  of 
the  intellect,  and,  unrestrained,  are  always  destruc- 
tive. 

129.     In  the  Ideal  Man, 

All  faculties  are  so  perfectly  balanced,  that  the 
spirit  is  free  from  the  strife  of  untoward  desires. 
This  lofty  ideal  may  be  seldom  attained,  amid  the 
cares  and  perplexities  of  earthly  life,  where  it  comes 
in  rude  contact  with  materiality  ;  but  it  is  possible. 


130.     The  Mandate  of  Conscience. 

It  is  not  desirable  to  trample  the  desires  with 
haughty  pride  beneath  our  feet ;  to  fast  on  a  tower, 
or  to  lacerate  our  flesh.  Far  preferable  to  say  to 
these  terrible  forces  which  hold  us  to  organic  exist- 
ence, ^So  far  as  you  subserve  the  maintenance, 
growth,  and  development  of  my  spirit,  it  is  well ;  but 
trespass  not  one  step  farther.^} 


131.     The  Test  of  Conduct. 

Man  is  a  half-civilized  animal ;  and  often  the 
genii  of  his  wild  nature  show  their  terrible  forms,  or 
refuse  obedience  to  the  voice  of  conscience.  Is 
there  ever  a  doubt  whither  to  go  ;  which  to  allow 
guidance  ?  Ask  which  is  the  highest  motive  of 
conduct,  and  give  that  the  preference. 


V  1 1 1. 

ANIMAL   MAGNETISM,  —  ITS   BOUNDARIES,  LAWS,   AND 

RELATION    TO    SPIRIT. 

The  occult  science,  designated  by  the  ancient  priests  under  the  name  of 
regenerating  fire,  is  that  which,  at  the  present  day,  is  known,  as  animal 
magnetism,  —  a  science,  that,  for  more  than  three  thousand  years,  was 
the  peculiar  possession  of  the  Indian  and  Egyptian  priesthood,  into  the 
knowledge  of  which  Moses  was  initiated  at  Heliopolis,  when  he  was 
educated ;  and  Jesus,  among  the  Essenian  priests  of  Egypt  or  Judea ; 
and  by  which  these  two  great  reformers,  particularly  the  latter,  wrought 
many  of  the  miracles  mentioned  in  Scripture.  —  Father  Rebold. 

132.     Necessity  of  investigating  the  Laws  of 

Magnetism. 

IT  is  so  common  for  Spiritualists  to  refer  every- 
thing of  a  psychological  character  to  spiritual 
influence,  that  it  seems  necessary  to  enlarge  on  the 
facts  of  animal  magnetism,  or  mesmerism.  Being 
similar,  and  governed  by  precisely  the  same  laws, 
the  phenomena  are  intimately  blended  ;  and  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  study  the  subject  fully  to  deter- 
mine what  are  and  what  are  not  of  spiritual  origin. 
I  have  not  sought  to  present  a  compend  of  facts, 
but  to  give  one  or  more  as  representing  each  class. 

133.     The  Name. 

Dissatisfaction  has  been  repeatedly  expressed  at 
the  term  "animal  magnetism;"  and  "mesmerism," 


A  nimal  Magnetism.  175 

"neurology/1  "patheism,"  and  " psychodunamy,"  em- 
ployed. All  of  these  terms  are  more  objectionable 
than  the  first.  With  proper  definition,  no  confusion 
can  occur  by  confounding  with  magnetism  (and  its 
simulate  phenomena  those  observed  in  magnets) 
living  bodies  attracting  or  repelling  each  other. 
The  adoption  of  the  name  of  Mesmer  has  been  the 
means  of  bringing  the  subject  into  disrepute.  He 
knew  nothing  of  the  true  method  of  determining 
truth  ;  and,  ecstatic  from  his  discovery,  he  made  such 
wild  conjectures  and  improbable  claims  that  even 
the  friends  of  the  measure  became  disgusted.  Had 
he  possessed  a  calm  and  reflecting  mind,  his  state- 
ments would  have  been  quite  differently  received. 

It  at  once  fell  into  the  hands  of  selfish  men,  who 
sold  it  for  money.  Mesmer,  himself,  led  in  this 
movement ;  and,  ever  since,  it  has  been  its  fate  to 
be  the  stock  in  trade  of  charlatans  and  impostors. 
The  early  decision  of  the  French  Academy  has  been 
taken  as  conclusive  ;  and  men  capable  of  investigat- 
ing it  have  not  been  attracted  towards  an  unpopular 
field.  But,  aside  from  Mesmer  and  his  prolific  brood 
of  charlatans,  there  is  a  truth,  which,  from  most  an- 
cient times,  has  been  recognized.  Mesmer  simply 
gave  his  name  to  facts  thoroughly  known  to  the  an- 
cients, and  grouped  them  under  a  wild  hypothesis. 

134.     Animal  Magnetism  among  the  Ancients. 

To  Apollonius  of  Tyana  must  be  given  the  palm 
of  mesmerizers.     He  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of 


\ 


176  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

prodigious  fascinating  power,  and  was  not  only 
famous  for  curing  diseases,  and  his  powers  of  clair- 
voyance, but  also  for  foretelling  events.  While 
delivering  a  public  lecture  at  Ephesus,  in  the  midst 
of  a  large  assembly,  he  saw  the  Emperor  Domitian 
being  murdered  at  Rome  ;  and  it  was  proved  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all,  that,  while  the  murder  was  per- 
forming, he  described  every  circumstance  attending 
it  to  the  crowd,  and  announced  the  very  instant  in 
which  the  tyrant  was  slain.  It  is  recorded,  that,  so 
great  was  his  nervous  influence,  that  "  his  mere  pres- 
ence, without  uttering  a  single  word,  was  sufficient 
to  quell  a  popular  tumult."  As  we  are  thus  draw- 
ing examples  from  antiquity,  we  might  mention  the 
narrative  recorded  in  the  Holy  Writ,  —  the  case  of 
Saul  when  he  entered  the  woman  of  Endor's  house. 
She  knew  not  who  he  was  ;  but,  when  her  spiritual 
powers  were  excited,  she  immediately  recognized 
him.  Swedenborg  gives  a  striking  illustration  of 
the  development  of  this  sense.  By  its  aid,  he 
seemed  to  become  en  rapport  with  the  spheres. 

Once,  while  dining  with  a  company  of  friends 
some  miles  distant  from  his  own  town,  he  became 
greatly  agitated,  arose,  walked  out,  but  soon  came 
in  composed,  and  informed  the  company  that  there 
had  been  a  great  conflagration  in  his  town ;  that  it 
had  spread  nearly  to  his  residence,  but  had  there 
been  extinguished,  while  within  only  a  single  door 
of  his  house.     This  was  all  true. 

Innumerable  anecdotes  might  be  related  to  prove 
that  the  mind,  when  in   a  peculiar  state,  receives 


A  nimal  Magnetism.  177 

knowledge  of  things  of  which  none  of  the  senses 
can  be  the  channel  of  communication.  I  call  this  a 
sense.  Perhaps  "  impressibility  of  the  brain ' '  would 
be  a  better  term  ;  but  it  is  certain  this  sensibility 
differs  from,  and  cannot  be  referred  to,  any  one  of 
the  senses. 

Animal  magnetism  was  acknowledged  in  very 
ancient  times.  Thus  it  has  been  recorded  of  Py- 
thagoras, who  flourished  five  centuries  before  Christ, 
"  that  his  influence  over  the  lower  animals  was  very 
great.  He  is  said  to  have  tamed  a  furious  bear, 
prevented  an  ox  from  eating  beans,  and  stopped  an 
eagle  in  its  flight/' 

135.     Man  possesses  this  Influence  over  Ani- 
mals. 

The  power  of  man  over  the  horse  is  well  known. 
Rarey  became  famous  for  his  magnetic  force,  which 
inspired  him  with  such  confidence  that  he  fearlessly 
met  the  most  vicious  animals. 

According  to  Bruce,  the  African  traveler,  all  the 
blacks  of  the  kingdom  of  Sennaar  are  completely 
armed  against  the  reptiles  of  their  clime.  "  They 
take  horned  serpents  into  their  hands  at  all  times, 
put  them  into  their  bosoms,  and  throw  them  at  each 
other,  as  children  throw  apples  or  balls  ;  during  which 
sport,  the  serpents  are  seldom  irritated,  and,  when 
they  do  bite,  no  mischief  ensues  from  the  wound. 
He  positively  affirms  that  they  sicken  the  moment 
they  are  laid  hold  of,  and  are  so  exhausted  by  this 


12 


178  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

power  as  to  perish.  "  I  constantly  observed,  that, 
however  lively  the  viper  was  before,  upon  being 
seized  by  these  barbarians,  he  seemed  as  if  he  had 
been  taken  with  sickness  and  feebleness,  frequently 
shut  his  eyes,  and  never  turned  his  mouth  towards 
the  arm  that  held  him." 

We  see  the  same  power  in  the  influence  house- 
breakers possess  over  the  most  savage  of  watch-dogs, 
and  showmen  who  enter  the  cage  of  fierce  lions. 

136.     Animals  can  influence  Man. 

This  influence  may  be  exerted  in  an  opposite 
direction ;  and  well-attested  anecdotes  are  extant, 
showing  that  man  may  become  fascinated  by  the 
lower  animals. 

A  gentleman  once  walking  in  his  garden  acciden- 
tally saw  the  eyes  of  a  rattlesnake ;  and,  by  watching 
it  closely,  he  found  to  his  dismay  that  he  could  not 
withdraw  them.  The  snake  appeared  to  him  to  swell 
to  an  immense  size,  and  in  rapid  succession  assume 
the  most  gorgeous  colors,  rivaling  the  rainbow  in 
beauty.  His  senses  deserted  him,  and  he  grew 
dizzy,  and  would  have  fallen  towards  the  snake,  to 
which  he  seemed  irresistibly  drawn,  had  not  his  wife, 
coming  up  at  the  moment,  thrown  her  arms  around 
his  neck,  thereby  dispelling  the  charm,  and  saving 
him  from  destruction. 

Two  men  in  Maryland  were  walking  along  the 
road,  when  one,  seeing  something  by  the  way, 
stopped  to  look  at  it,  while  his  companion  went  on. 


Animal  Magnetism.  1 79 

But  the  latter,  perceiving  he  did  not  follow,  turned 
around  to  know  the  cause,  when  he  found  that  his 
eyes  were  directed  towards  a  rattlesnake,  whose 
head  was  raised  and  eyes  glaring  at  him.  Strangely 
enough,  the  poor  fellow  leaned  as  far  as  possible 
towards  his  snakeship,  crying  piteously  all  the  time, 
"  He  will  bite  me  !  he  will  bite  me  ! " 

"  Sure  enough  he  will,"  said  his  friend,  "if  you  do 
not  move  off.  What  are  you  standing  there  for  ? " 
Finding  him  deaf  to  all  his  entreaties,  he  struck  the 
creature  down  with  his  cane,  and  pushed  his  friend 
from  the  spot.  The  man  thus  enchanted  is  stated  to 
have  been  sick  for  several  hours.  But  we  cannot 
multiply  cases  of  this  description,  which  are  com- 
mon fireside  anecdotes. 


137.     Animals  can  Influence  each  Other. 

Cases  of  snakes  fascinating  birds  are  common. 

Prof.  Silliman  mentions,  that,  in  1823,  he  was  pro- 
ceeding in  a  carriage,  with  a  friend,  along  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson  River,  when  he  observed  a  flock  of 
small  birds,  of  different  species,  flying  hither  and 
thither,  but  never  departing  from  the  central  point. 
He  found  that  this  point  of  attraction  was  a  large 
snake,  which  lay  coiled  up,  with  head  erected,  eyes 
brilliant,  and  incessantly  darting  its  tongue.  When 
disturbed  by  the  carriage,  he  went  into  the  bushes, 
while  the  birds  alighted  on  the  branches  overhead, 
probably  to  await  the  re-appearance  of  their  deadly 
enemy. 


180  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

A  man  from  Pennsylvania,  returning  from  a  ride, 
saw  a  blackbird  flying,  in  lessening  circles,  around 
the  head  of  a  rattlesnake,  uttering  frightful  screams 
all  the  time.  He  drove  the  snake  away,  and  the 
bird  changed  its  note  to  a  song  of  rejoicing. 

Newman  relates  an  anecdote  of  a  gentleman,  who, 
while  traveling  by  the  side  of  a  creek,  saw  a  ground- 
squirrel  running  to  and  fro  between  a  brook  and  a 
great  tree  a  few  yards  distant.  The  squirrel's  hair 
looked  extremely  rough,  and  showed  that  he  was 
much  frightened.  Every  return  was  shorter  and 
shorter.  The  gentleman  stood  to  observe  the  cause, 
and  soon  discovered  the  head  of  a  rattlesnake  point- 
ing directly  at  the  squirrel,  through  a  hole  in  the 
great  tree,  which  was  hollow.  At  length  the  squir- 
rel gave  up  running,  and  lay  down  close  by  the 
snake,  which  opened  his  mouth,  and  took  in  the 
squirrel's  head.  The  gentleman  gave  him  a  cut  with 
the  whip,  which  caused  him  to  draw  back  his  head, 
when  the  squirrel,  thus  liberated,  ran  quickly  to  the 
brook. 

Such  curious  phenomena  have  long  been  observed 
and  speculated  upon.  To  extend  the  list  is  unneces- 
sary ;  for  almost  every  one  has  observed  the  facts  for 
themselves. 

They  establish  the  conclusion  that  this  influence 
or  impressibility  is  not  the  result  of  sympathy  or 
imagination ;  for  it  is  experienced  by  animals  that 
cannot  be  said  to  have  any  great  degree  of  either. 
It  is  a  power  possessed  by  animals  as  well  as  by 
man.     Animals  influence  man  ;  man  influences  ani- 


Animal  Magnetism.  1 8 1 

mals ;  animals  influence  each  other ;  and  man  con- 
trols man. 


138.      Why    do    we   think   of   those    who   are 

thinking  of  us  ? 

How  often  do  we  think  of  those,  who,  while  we 
know  it  not,  are  approaching  us  !  So  general  is  this 
experience,  that  it  has  passed  into  a  proverb. 

I  find  two  facts,  illustrating  this,  in  the  "  Univer- 
.coelum." 

"A  clergyman  informed  me  that  his  mother-in- 
law,  Mrs.  P ,  residing  in  Providence,  R.I.,  had  a 

distinct  consciousness  of  the  approach  of  her  hus- 
band, on  his  return  from  sea,  although  she  had  no 
other  reason  to  expect  his  arrival  at  the  time.  This 
impression  commenced  several  hours  before  he  made 
his  appearance ;  and  she  accordingly  prepared  her- 
self for  his  reception.  She  knew  the  instant  he 
placed  his  hand  upon  the  door,  and  had  arisen  from 
her  seat,  and  advanced  to  meet  him,  before  he  en- 
tered. 

"The  wife  of  a  clergyman  in  Maine  lately  in- 
formed me  that  her  father,  while  lying  on  his  death- 
bed, had  a  distinct  perception  of  the  approach  of  his 
son,  who  resided  in  a  distant  town,  though  none  of 
the  family  expected  him  at  the  time.  When  he 
mentioned  that  his  son  was  coming,  and  near  the 
house,  they  supposed  him  to  be  wandering  in  his 
thoughts  ;  but,  in  a  few  minutes  afterwards,  the  son 
entered." 


1 82  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

The  following  is  taken  from  the  transactions  of 
the  French  Academy,  found  in  "  Newman's  Magnet- 
ism. 

"On  the  ioth  of  September,  at  ten  o'clock  at 
night,  the  commission  met  at  the  house  of  M.  Itardt, 
in  order  to  continue  its  inquiries  upon  Carot,  their 
mesmeric  subject,  who  was  in  the  library,  where 
conversation  had  been  carried  on  with  him  till  half- 
past  seven  ;  at  which  time,  M.  Foissac,  the  magnet- 
izer,  who  had  arrived  since  Carot,  and  had  waited 
in  the  antechamber,  separated  from  the  library  by 
two  closed  doors  and  a  distance  of  twelve  feet,  be- 
gan to  magnetize  him.  Three  minutes  afterwards, 
Carot  said,  i  I  think  that  Foissac  is  there ;  for  I  feel 
myself  oppressed  and  enfeebled/  At  the  expiration 
of  eight  minutes,  he  was  completely  asleep.  He  was 
again  questioned,  and  answered  us,"  &c. 

Carot  did  not  know  that  M.  Foissac  was  near, 
and  yet  by  some  means  the  irresistible  influence 
overcame  him. 


139.     Influence  of  Man  over  Man. 

It  has  been  an  adage  from  all  antiquity,  that  young 
people  were  not  so  healthy  for  living  with  the  old. 
The  Hebrews  acted  on  this  idea  when  they  pro- 
cured a  young  damsel  for  their  old  king  David,  that 
he  might  be  invigorated  by  her  strength.  There  is 
an  anecdote  extant  of  an  aged  female  who  compelled 
her  servants  to  retire  in  the  same  bed  with  herself, 
that  she  might  prolong  her  life  thereby,  and  carried 


Animal  Magnetism.  183 

this  horrid  vampirism  to  such  an  excess,  that,  her 
maids  all  becoming  sickly  after  a  time,  she  could 
induce  none  to  work  for  her,  and,  in  consequence, 
expired. 

An  eminent  physician  states  a  fact  pertinent  in 
this  connection. 

"I  was  a  few  years  since  consulted  about  a  pale, 
sickly,  and  thin  boy  of  about  five  or  six  years  of  age. 
He  appeared  to  have  no  specific  ailment ;  but  there 
was  a  slow  and  remarkable  decline  of  flesh  and 
strength,  and  of  the  energy  of  all  the  functions,  — 
what  his  mother  very  aptly  termed  'a  gradual  blight/ 
After  inquiring  into  the  history  of  the  case,  it  came 
out  that  he  had  been  a  very  robust  and  plethoric 
child  up  to  his  third  year,  when  his  grandmother,  a 
very  aged  person,  took  him  to  sleep  with  her ;  that 
he  soon  after  lost  his  good  looks,  and  that  he  had 
continued  to  decline  progressively  ever  since,  not- 
withstanding medical  treatment/' 

The  boy  was  removed  to  a  separate  sleeping 
apartment,  and  his  recovery  was  very  rapid. 

A  case  lately  came  under  my  observation,  where 
a  consumptive,  on  the  very  verge  of  the  grave,  ex- 
pecting to  die  every  hour,  and  of  course  too  feeble 
to  move,  on  being  magnetized,  arose  under  the  in- 
fluence, and  walked  about  the  room  ;  yet,  as  soon  as 
the  invigoration  became  expended,  she  was  as  weak 
as  previously,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  ex- 
pired. She  was  too  near  death  to  recover ;  and 
though  magnetism  might  protract  life,  and  cause 
a  momentary  excitation,  it  could  not  save. 


184  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

It  is  from  this  cause  that  magnetic  practice  ex- 
hausts the  magnetizer;  not  from  his  exertion  in 
making  passes,  but  the  drain  of  nervous  force. 


140.     Generalization.     Spiritual  Ether. 

Whatever  this  influence  may  be,  it  must  pass 
across  greater  or  less  distances  to  produce  the 
effects  observed.  It  cannot  be  transmitted  across 
a  void  :  it  must  have  its  own  means  of  conduction. 
What  do  the  facts  teach  ?  They  all  point  in  one 
direction,  and  are  susceptible  of  generalization,  as 
flowing  from  one  common  source,  —  a  universal 
spiritual  ether.* 

141.     The  Impressibility  of  the  Brain, 

Discovered  in  1842,  by  Dr.  Buchanan,  opened  a  new 
field  for  human  thought.  To  his  surpassing  powers 
of  research  we  owe  the  opening  of  the  portals  of  a 
new  science,  comprising  and  generalizing  all  mental 
sciences.  Psychometry  is  the  key  by  which  the 
mysteries  of  many  of  the  most  occult  sciences  may 
be  explored.  It  gives  the  historian  a  barque  which 
will  conduct  him  safely  down  the  stream  of  time, 
beyond  all  preserved  chronicles,  where  his  tattered 
manuscript  becomes  confused  in  dates,  and  records 
imperfectly,  and  wafts  on  the  psychologist  through 
millions  of  cycles,  down,  down  to  the  beginning  of 
life  in  this  -world,  when  desolation  and  raging  ele 

*  For  extension  of  this  subject,  see  Chapter  V. 


A  nimal  Magnetism.  185 

ments  made  the  earth  a  chaos  of  contention.  It 
enters  into,  and  supersedes,  phrenology.  While  the 
latter  deals  with  the  external  structure,  —  with  the 
wheel-work  and  gearing,  as  it  were,  —  and  foretells 
what  the  action  of  the  mind  will  be  when  the  power 
is  applied,  the  former  enters  and  lays  bare  the  most 
interior  desires  and  most  secret  thoughts,  and  speaks 
what  is,  not  what  can  be. 

If  by  phrenology  we  would  know  the  character 
of  a  friend,  he  must  be  present ;  but,  for  this  "  soul- 
measurer,"  only  an  autograph,  a  lock  of  hair,  or  piece 
of  apparel,  is  requisite.  Thus,  not  only  in  our  scien- 
tific researches,  but  also  in  our  business  relations,  it 
offers  us  a  sure  and  unwavering  guide. 

This  field,  which  promises,  more  than  any  other,  to 
reward  the  explorer,  is  as  yet  not  fully  defined.  So 
varied  are  the  conditions  to  be  determined  and 
proven,  and  so  much  skill  is  necessary  in  instituting 
experiments,  that  one  may  almost  be  charged  with 
presumption  for  making  the  attempt.  Mr.  Denton, 
following  in  the  steps  of  Dr.  Buchanan,  has  extended 
his  experiments  over  almost  every  field  of  research  ; 
and  so  great  are  the  number  of  the  impressible,  that 
the  skeptic  can  easily  convince  himself  of  their 
truth. 

142.       PSYCHOMETRY    APPLIED. 

As  previously  stated,  the  reading  of  letters  is  not 
its  only  application.  It  is  a  good  barque  for  the 
historian  and  antiquarian,  carrying  them  down  the 
stream  of  time,  where  the  written  account  becomes 


1 86  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

confused  and  contradictory.  How  interesting  would 
be  the  true  character  of  Alexander,  Caesar,  or  Napo- 
leon, obtained  in  this  manner,  free  from  the  preju- 
dices of  their  biographers  or  their  times  !  The  linen 
which  shrouds  the  Egyptian  mummy  will  yield  a 
good  delineation  of  the  character  of  the  class 
thought  worthy  to  be  embalmed.  The  relics  from 
Herculaneum  will  give  the  character  of  Romans 
two  thousand  years  ago.  The  character  of  those 
races  that  scattered  mounds  and  fortifications  over 
the  American  continent  can  be  determined  from 
their  relics. 

Nor  does  susceptibility  rest  here.  It  takes  the 
paleontologist  by  the  hand,  and  leads  him  down 
through  the  carboniferous  shales  and  sandstones, 
and,  by  the  aid  of  the  smallest  organic  remain, 
gives  him  a  perfect  description  of  the  world  in  its 
various  stages  of  growth  and  development,  describ- 
ing the  dark  waters,  the  smoky  atmosphere,  and  the 
huge  and  unique  forms  which  peopled  the  ancient 
world.  It  revels  amidst  the  extinct  fauna  and  flora 
of  the  ages,  and  is  the  only  method  by  which  a  cor- 
rect idea  of  the  aspect  of  this  planet  in  its  infantile 
state  can  be  gained. 

In  magnetism,  the  aura  reproduces  the  magnet- 
izer's  thoughts  in  the  magnetized  :  so  the  invisible 
aura  of  the  manuscript  reproduces  the  precise  action 
of  the  brain  by  which  it  was  produced,  and  conse- 
quently the  same  thoughts,  more  or  less  distinct  in 
proportion  to  the  impressibility  of  the  psychome- 
trist. 


Animal  Magnetism.  187 

This  capability  of  a  manuscript  or  a  lock  of  hair 
to  yield  the  character  of  the  writer  or  owner  is  anal- 
ogous to  the  phosphorescence  of  bodies  exposed  to 
light.  When  the  sun  shines  on  some  substances, 
they  will  continue  to  shine  for  a  length  of  time  after 
the  sun  has  withdrawn.  They,  as  it  were,  partake 
of  the  nature  of  the  sun. 

Not  that  the  individual  while  performing  the  ex- 
periments is  magnetized  ;  no  trace  of  this  can  be 
discovered  :  but  as  it  succeeds  best  with  those  who 
are  easily  influenced,  and  whose  organs  of  impress- 
ibility are  large  and  active,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  mind  is  influenced  in  precisely  the  same 
manner,  though  not  to  the  same  degree.  The 
two  influences  are  identical  in  their  nature,  vary- 
ing only  in  quantity.  In  one,  the  whole  energies 
of  the  mind  are  employed ;  while,  in  the  other,  the 
influence  of  a  scrap  of  writing  is  all  that  can  be 
used. 

This  is  proved  by  an  impressible  person  placing 
his  hand  upon  the  head  of  one  whose  character  he 
wishes  to  delineate,  and  the  influence  will  be  felt 
sooner  and  with  greater  intensity  than  from  an 
autograph.  Impressibility  is  the  best  delineator.  It 
enters  into  the  depth  of  the  mind,  lays  bare  all  its 
thoughts  and  emotions,  and,  from  this  deep,  pene- 
trating gaze,  understands  Man.  It  recognizes  the 
mind  itself,  and  hence  can  better  give  the  methods 
of  its  just  control. 

As  spiritual  susceptibility  increases,  the  influences 


1 88  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

of  the  stars  will  be  recognized ;  and  from  the 
emanations  of  light,  leaving  their  twinkling  orbs 
millions  of  ages  ago,  their  history  and  composition 
will  be  determined. 


143.     Likes  and  Dislikes. 

Impressibility  may  become  so  intense  as  to  be 
very  annoying.  The  spirit  is  constantly  bruised  by 
conflicting  emanations.  So  great  sometimes  are  the 
shocks  thus  received  as  to  lead  to  disastrous  results. 
Our  likes  and  dislikes  of  persons,  places,  or  objects, 
for  which  we  can  assign  no  reason,  may  be  thus 
accounted  for. 

"In  the  town  of  North  Walsham,  Norfolk,  1788, 
the  '  Fair  Penitent '  was  performed.  In  the  last 
act,  when  Caliste  lays  her  hand  on  the  skull,  a  Mrs. 
Berry,  who  played  the  part,  was  seized  with  an 
involuntary  shuddering,  and  fell  on  the  stage.  Dur- 
ing the  night,  her  illness  continued ;  but  the  follow- 
ing day,  when  sufficiently  recovered  to  converse,  she 
sent  for  the  stage-keeper,  and  anxiously  inquired 
where  he  procured  the  skull.  He  replied  from  the 
sexton,  who  informed  him  it  was  the  skull  of  one 
Norris,  a  player,  who,  twelve  years  before,  was 
buried  in  the  graveyard.  That  same  Norris  was 
her  first  husband.     She  died  in  six  weeks." 

She  was  highly  susceptible,  and  the  shock  pro- 
duced by  the  influence  from  the  skull,  recognized 
by  her  to  be  so  like  that  of  her  former  husband, 
was  too  great  for  her  to  bear. 


Animal  Magnetism.  189 

144.     Application  to  Fortune-telling. 

Fortune-telling  is  an  application  of  psychometry. 
It  is  easy  for  an  impressible  person  to  take  another's 
hand,  and  narrate  the  events  of  their  past  lives.  In 
this,  fortune-tellers  generally  succeed.  If  highly 
impressible,  they  may  receive  intuitions  of  the  fu- 
ture. There  are  many  remarkable  instances  on 
record  of  persons  who  at  once  read  the  past  lives 
of  those  with  whom  they  come  in  contact,  among 
whom  the  celebrated  German  author,  Zschokke,  is 
perhaps  most  conspicuous.  He  writes  of  himself  as 
follows  :  — 

"  '  What  demon  inspires  you  ?  Must  I  again  be- 
lieve in  possession  ? '  exclaimed  the  spiritual  Johann 
Von  Riga,  when,  after  the  first  hour  of  his  acquaint- 
ance, I  related  his  past  life  to  him,  with  the  avowed 
object  of  learning  whether  or  not  I  deceived  myself. 
We  speculated  long  on  the  enigma ;  but  even  his 
penetration  could  not  solve  it.  Not  another  word 
about  this  strange  seer  gift,  which  I  can  aver  was 
of  no  use  to  me  in  a  single  instance ;  which  mani- 
fested itself  occasionally  only,  and  quite  independ- 
ently of  my  volition,  and  often  in  relation  to  persons 
in  whose  history  I  took  not  the  slightest  interest. 
Nor  am  I  the  only  one  in  possession  of  this  faculty. 
In  a  journey,  I  met  an  old  Tyrplese.  He  fixed  his 
eyes  on  me  for  some  time,  joined  in  the  conversa- 
tion, observed,  that,  though  I  did  not  know  him,  he 
knew  me,  and  began  to  describe  my  acts  and  deeds, 
to  the  no  little  amazement  of  the  peasants,  and  as- 


190  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

tonishment  of  my  children,  whom  it  interested  to 
learn  that  another  possessed  the  same  gift  as  their 
father. 

"  I  myself  had  less  confidence  than  any  one  in 
this  mental  jugglery.  So  often  as  I  revealed  my 
visionary  gifts  to  any  new  person,  I  regularly  ex- 
pected to  hear  the  answer,  i  It  was  not  so  ! '  I  felt 
a  secret  shudder  when  my  auditors  replied  that  it 
was  true,  or  when  their  astonishment  betrayed  my 
accuracy  before  they  spoke.  Instead  of  many,  I  will 
mention  one  example,  which  pre-eminently  astound- 
ed me.  One  fair  day,  in  the  city  of  Waldshut,  I 
entered  an  inn  (The  Vine)  in  company  with  two 
young  student-foresters.  We  were  tired  of  ramb- 
ling through  the  woods.  We  supped,  with  a  numer- 
ous company,  at  the  table  d'hote,  where  the  guests 
were  making  very  merry  with  the  peculiarities  and 
eccentricities  of  the  Swiss,  with  Mesmers  magnet- 
ism, Lavaters  physiognomy,  &c,  &c.  One  of  my 
companions,  whose  national  pride  was  wounded  by 
their  mockery,  begged  me  to  make  some  reply,  par- 
ticularly to  a  handsome  young  man  who  sat  opposite 
to  us,  and  who  had  allowed  himself  extraordinary 
license.  This  man's  former  life  was  presented  to 
my  mind.  I  turned  to  him,  and  asked  him  whether 
he  would  answer  me  candidly  if  I  related  to  him 
some  of  the  most  secret  passages  of  his  life,  I  know- 
ing as  little  of  him,  personally,  as  he  did  of  me. 
That  would  be  going  a  little  farther,  I  thought,  than 
Lavater  did  with  physiognomy.  He  promised,  if  I 
were  correct  in  my  information,  to  admit  it  frankly* 


Animal  Magnetism.  191 

I  then  related  what  my  vision  had  shown  me,  and 
the  whole  company  were  made  acquainted  with  the 
private  history  of  the  young  merchant,  —  his  school 
years,  his  youthful  errors,  and,  lastly,  with  a  fault 
committed  in  reference  to  the  strong-box  of  his 
principal.  I  described  to  him  the  uninhabited  room, 
with  whitened  walls,  where,  to  the  right  of  the  brown 
door,  on  a  table,  stood  a  black  money-box,  &c. 

"  A  silence  prevailed  during  the  whole  narration, 
which  I  alone  occasionally  interrupted  by  inquiring 
whether  I  spoke  the  truth.  The  startled  young 
man  confirmed  every  particular,  and  even,  what  I 
scarcely  expected,  the  last  circumstance.  Touched 
by  his  candor,  I  shook  hands  with  him  over  the 
table,  and  disclosed  no  more.  He  asked  my  name, 
which  I  gave  him  ;  and  we  remained  together,  talk- 
ing, till  past  midnight." 

145.   Animal  Magnetism  as  a  Curative  Agent. 

Magnetism  has  been  from  earliest  ages*  and 
among  all  races,  employed  in  the  cure  of  disease. 
The  practice  of  rubbing  or  pressing  or  squeezing 
the  limbs  of  a  person  suffering  under  pain  or  weari- 
ness is  carried  to  a  great  extent  in  India.  Even 
among  the  lower  orders,  the  wife  may  often  be  seen 
employed  in  this  soothing  avocation,  to  the  great 
relief  of  her  fatigued  husband.  Females  practice  it 
professionally  in  most  of  the  principal  bazaars  ;  and 
there  are  but  few  men  or  women  of  rank  or  opu- 
lence who  are  not  subjected  to  the  operation  before 


192  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

they  can  procure  sleep.  Such  is  the  fact.  The  mind 
of  the  operator  is  mesmerically  fixed  on  the  body 
of  the  patient,  with  the  hope  and  view  of  removing 
pain  ;  and,  by  a  series  of  the  most  powerful  and 
continued  grasping  of  the  hands  (used  as  indices  to 
the  will),  this  object  is  ultimately  accomplished." 

The  cure  which  I  shall  now  relate  could  not  in 
.any  conceivable  manner,  nor  with  any  candor,  be 
attributed  to  the  effects  of  imagination.  It  can  only 
be  explained  by  the  action  of  mesmerism. 

"The  wife  of  one  of  my  grooms,  a  robust  woman, 
the  mother  of  a  large  family  of  young  infants,  all 
living  within  my  grounds,  was  bitten  by  a  poison- 
ous serpent,  most  probably  by  a  cobra  or  coluber 
naja,  and  quickly  felt  the  deadly  effects  of  its 
venom.  When  the  woman's  powers  were  rapidly 
sinking,  the  servants  came  to  my  wife,  to  request 
that  the  civil  surgeon  of  the  station  (Bareilly  in 
Rohilcund),  Dr.  Grimes,  might  be  called  to  save 
her  life.  He  immediately  attended,  and  most  read- 
ily exerted  his  utmost  skill ;  but  in  vain.  In  the 
usual  time,  the  woman  appeared  to  be  lifeless  ;  and 
he  therefore  left,  acknowledging  that  he  could  not 
be  of  any  further  service. 

"  On  his  reaching  my  bungalow,  some  of  my  ser- 
vants stated,  that,  in  the  neighborhood,  a  fakir,  or 
wandering  medicant,  resided  who  could  charm  away 
the  bites  of  snakes,  and  begged,  if  the  doctor  had 
no  objection,  that  they  might  be  permitted  to  send 
for  him.  He  answered,  'Yes,  of  course  :  if  the  peo- 
ple would  feel  any  consolation  by  his  coming,  they 


A nimal  Magnetism.  193 

could  bring  him  ;  but  the  woman  is  dead/  After  a 
considerable  lapse  of  time,  the  magician  arrived,  and 
commenced  his  magical  incantations. 

"  I  was  not  present  at  the  scene :  but  it  occurred 
in  my  park,  and  within  a  couple  of  hundred  yards 
of  my  bungalow  ;  and  I  am  quite  confident  that  any 
attempt  to  employ  medicines  wo^d  have  been  quite 
useless,  as  the  woman's  powers  were  utterly  ex- 
hausted, although  her  body  was  still  warm.  The 
fakir  sat  down  at  her  side,  and  began  to  wave  his 
arm  over  her  body,  at  the  same  time  uttering  a 
charm ;  and  he  continued  this  process  until  she 
awoke  from  her  insensibility,  which  was  within  a 
quarter  of  an  hour." 

146.     Use  of  Prayer. 

Many  miraculous  cures  are  recorded,  seemingly 
granted  to  the  voice  of  fervent  prayer.  The  expla- 
nation of  such  cures  requires  no  miraculous  interpo- 
sition. A  person  actuated  by  blind  faith,  by  prayer, 
concentrates  his  mind  to  a  degree  it  is  possible  for 
him  to  do  by  no  other  method.  His  magnetic  power 
is  intensified,  and  directed  on  the  patient.  In  this 
manner,  prayer  becomes  a  magnetic  process  ;  and  the 
cure  follows  necessarily,  not  from  any  foreign  inter- 
position, but  as  an  effect  of  an  adequate  cause.  By 
thus  accounting  for  the  benefit  sometimes  derived 
from  prayer,  I  by  no  means  would  be  understood  as 
referring  all  so-called  miracles  to  that  cause.  Super- 
stition, credulity,  and  design,  have  their  full  share  in 
their  production. 
13 


194  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

147.     Magnetic  Healing  among  Savages. 

This  magnetic  power  is  not  unknown  even  to 
savage  people  ;  and  they  have,  although  ignorant  of 
the  law,  complied  with  the  essential  conditions  of 
magnetic  induction.  Thus  the  Indians  of  Oregon 
produce  the  trance  by  songs,  incantations,  and 
passes  of  the  hand.  The  Dakotahs  made  the  same 
manipulations  ;  and,  at  a  given  moment,  the  novice 
was  struck  on  the  breast  lightly,  when  he  "would 
fall  prostrate  on  his  face,  his  muscles  rigid,  and 
quivering  in  every  fibre." 

The  trance  thus  induced  was  lightly  clairvoyant. 
Capt.  Carver  says  that  a  medicine-man  correctly 
prophecied  the  arrival  of  a  canoe-load  of  provisions 
to  his  starving  tribe.  Such  was  the  faith  reposed 
in  his  prevision,  that,  at  the  appointed  time,  the 
village  assembled  to  welcome  the  canoe,  which 
arrived  exactly  at  the  mentioned  hour. 

The  magnetic  process  of  cure  resembles  the  trans- 
fusion of  blood  from  healthy  veins  to  those  which 
are  exhausted.  New  life  and  vigor  is  transferred  by 
means  of  nervous  influence.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  spirit  magnetism,  transfused  through  medi- 
umistic  influence. 


148.     The  Application  to  Spirit-Communion. 

A  spirit,  when  controlling  a  medium,  is  governed 
by  the  same  laws  as  the  mortal  magnetizer.  It  is 
for  this  reason  that  the  resulting  phenomena  are 


Animal  Magnetism.  195 

mixed  ;  and  it  becomes  difficult  to  distinguish,  in 
partially  developed  mediums,  between  the  magnet- 
ism of  the  circle  and  that  of  the  spirit  attempting 
control.  The  utmost  caution  is  requisite  to  prevent 
self-deception.  If  the  medium  is  in  the  peculiar 
susceptible  condition  usual  to  the  early  stage  of 
development,  he  will  simply  reflect  the  mind  of  the 
circle  ;  and  what  purports  to  be  a  spiritual  commu- 
nication will  be  only  an  echo  of  their  own  minds. 

The  state  which  renders  the  medium  passive  to 
a  spirit  renders  him  passive  to  mortal  influence  in 
the  same  degree ;  and,  from  the  similarity  of  all 
magnetic  influences,  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish 
spirit  from  mortal.  Circles  often,  in  this  manner, 
deceive  themselves  by  their  own  positiveness.  They 
repel  the  approach  of  celestial  messengers,  and  sub- 
stitute the  echoes  of  their  own  thoughts.  They  find 
contradiction  and  confusion,  which  they  compla- 
cently refer  to  "evil  spirits."  Tread  lightly  and 
carefully  this  path,  O  lover  of  truth  !  for  many  are 
the  by-ways  of  error. 

Nothing  canbe  gained  to  the  cause  of  truth  by 
misstatement,  or  exaggerating  the  importance  of  one 
fact  to  the  detriment  of  another.  Honest  investiga- 
tors of  Spiritualism,  coming  to  the  task  without 
previous  •  knowledge  of  animal  magnetism,  refer 
every  phenomenon  they  meet  to  spiritual  agency, 
when  it  is  probable  that  at  least  one-half  of  all  they 
observe  is  of  a  purely  mundane  source.  So  far  as 
healing  by  laying-on  of  hands  is  concerned,  it  has 
been  shown  to  be  of  ancient  date,  and  explainable 


196  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

by  organic  laws.  There  is  no  reason  why  a  magnet- 
izer  should  not  cure  disease,  and  relieve  pain,  as  well 
as  a  disembodied  spirit ;  and  the  probabilities  of  suc- 
cess are  in  his  favor.  If  a  spirit  perform  such 
cures,  it  is  unquestionably  by  and  through  the  same 
means. 

All  that  we  said  at  the  commencement  of  this 
chapter,  in  regard  to  the  selfish  charlatanism  of  mag- 
netizers,  is  equally  true  of  spirit-healing.  Good,  true, 
and  honest  men  there  are  whose  nervous  systems 
are  strengthened  by  invisible  friends  to  relieve  suf- 
fering ;  but  Spiritualism  is  brought  to  the  very  dust 
by  the  actions  of  others.  The  worst  forms  of  empir- 
icism, quackery,  and  humbug,  are  loudly  advertised 
and  extolled  in  its  sacred  name.  The  foul  brood  that 
were  fostered  in  the  field  of  animal  magnetism 
almost  bodily  adopted  the  new  and  more  startling 
system.  They  have  brought  shame  to  the  hearts 
of  true  Spiritualists. 

149.     Let  us  not  be  Misunderstood. 

Our  object  is  to  draw  a  sharp  line  between  phe- 
nomena really  of  spirit-origin,  and  those  referable  to 
mortal  action.  We  may  possibly  discard  a  half  or 
two-thirds  of  all  manifestations  alleged  to  be  spirit- 
ual ;  but  the  remainder  will  be  all  the  more  valuable. 
A  cause  is  not  strengthened  by  a  mountain  of  irrel- 
evant facts,  but,  rather,  weakened.  The  refutation 
of  a  few  of  these  is  oft-times  taken  for  the  overthrow 
of  all. 


A  nimal  Magnetism.  197 

150.     A  Safe  Rule 

Is  to  refer  nothing  to  spirits  which  can  be  accounted 
for  by  mortal  means.  Thus  sifted,  those  that  re- 
main are  of  real  value  to  the  skeptic  and  the  inves- 
tigator. 

Man  in  the  body  is  a  spirit  as  well  as  when  freed 
from  it.  As  a  spirit,  he  is  amenable  to  the  same 
laws.  The  magnetic  state  may  be  self-induced,  or 
inducted  by  a  mortal  or  a  spirit  magnetizer.  This 
is  true  of  all  its  manipulations,  whether  in  somnam- 
bulism, trance,  or  clairvoyance. 

Fully  recognizing  this  fact,  it  will  be  seen  how 
exceedingly  liable  the  observer  is  to  mistake  these 
influences. 

When  a  circle  is  formed,  and  one  of  its  members 
is  affected  by  nervous  spasms,  it  does  not  necessa- 
rily follow  that  such  member  is  spiritually  controlled. 
That  cannot  be  certainly  predicted  until  a  spirit  has 
identified  its  control.  It  is  only  by  thus  testing 
the  phenomena,  that  a  sound  and  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  spiritual  laws  can  be  gained.  It  may  please 
the  marvelous  to  refer  to  one  source  all  manifesta- 
tions, from  the  involuntary  contraction  of  a  muscle, 
the  removing  of  pain  by  laying-on  of  hands,  the  inco- 
herencies  of  a  sensitive  entranced  by  the  overpower- 
ing influence  of  the  circle,  to  the  genuine  impressions 
of  spiritual  beings ;  but  it  will  not  satisfy  the  demands 
of  science,  which  ultimately  will  seek  to  co-ordinate 
all  facts  and  phenomena. 


IX. 


SPIRIT ITS    PHENOMENA    AND    LAWS. 

The  ethereal  regions  are  like  a  populous  city,  filled  with  immortal  spirits,- 
as  numerous  as  stars  in  the  firmament.  —  Philo. 

Shall  we  know  our  friends  again  ?  For  my  own  part,  I  cannot  doubt  it ; 
least  of  all  when  I  drop  a  tear  over  their  recent  dust.  Death  does  not 
separate  us  from  them  here:  can  life  in  heaven  do  it?  —  Theodore 
Parker. 

When  a  man  is  dead,  the  flesh  and  the  bones  are  left  to  be  consumed  by 
the  flames  j  but  the  soul  flies  away  like  a  dream.  —  Shade  of  Anti- 
clea. 

151.     Necessity  of  Immortality. 

HO,  when  the  great  thinkers  of  earth  perish, 
can  but  exclaim  with  Goethe,  when  his  friend 
Wieland  died,  "  The  destruction  of  such  high  pow- 
ers is  something  which  can  never,  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, come  in  question  "  ? 

"  Who  builds  on  less  than  man's  immortal  base, 
Fond  as  he  seems,  condemns  his  joys  to  death." 

An  old  author  observes,  "  The  very  nerve  and  sinew 
of  religion  is  hope  of  immortality."  It  enters  into 
the  fountain  from  which  flow  the  great  and  exalted 
deeds  of  patriots,  martyrs,  thinkers,  and  saints.  It 
elevates  above  the  shadows  of  mortal  life,  showing 
that  there  is  nothing  real  except  in  the  eternal,  and 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    199 

that  the  gratifications  of  the  delights  and  passions 
of  the  present  life  are  unworthy  of  an  immortal 
being.  This  belief  at  once  lifts  the  soul  out  of 
the  slough  of  selfishness,  and  directs  it  to  mag- 
nanimity and  virtue.  The  various  religious  sys- 
tems of  the  world,  while  based  on,  and  seeking 
to  unfold,  this  grand  idea,  offer  little  consolation 
to  the  reflecting  mind.  They  yield  no  broad,  uni- 
versal philosophy  in  which  we  can  feel  secure,  ab- 
solutely know  that  we  shall  exist  in  the  beyond, 
and  breathe  the  power  and  beatitudes  of  that  exist- 
ence. This  is  not  written  in  disparagement  of 
any  of  the  countless  religious  sects.  They  are  not 
useless  in  the  economy  of  progress ;  but  they  have 
most  signally  failed  in  producing  a  philosophical  and 
consistent  system  of  immortal  life.  They  all  set  out 
with  the  mistaken  idea  that  heaven  is  to  be  gained 
by  belief  in  certain  creeds,  and  the  admission  of 
certain  dogmas ;  whereas,  if  man  is  immortal,  im- 
mortality is  conferred  on  him  as  the  highest  aim  of 
creative  energy,  admitting  of  no  mistakes.  His 
spiritual  state  must  surpass  his  mortal,  which  is 
its  prototype ;  extending,  and  carrying  on  to  con- 
summation, the  outline  sketched  in  mortal  life.  We 
exist  — how  or  why,  we  cannot  determine  ;  and  we 
can  no  more  blot  out  our  existence  than  that  of 
the  stars  of  heaven.  What  is  the  logical  deduction 
from  this  fact  ?  That  the  emotions,  affections,  and 
culture  of  this  existence  cannot  be  lost.  The  least 
fraction  of  our  existence  cannot  be  eliminated  or 
destroyed. 


200  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

152.     Eternal  Progress  of  Spirit. 

What  follows  ?  That  the  imperfect  attempts  of 
this  life  will  be  perfected  in  the  next,  which  is  the 
reality  of  which  this  is  only  the  shadow.  Whether 
we  die  drawing  our  first  living  breath,  or  after  a  full 
century,  has  not  the  least  weight  in  final  growth  and 
development  of  the  spirit.  Eternal  progress  is  writ- 
ten in  the  constitution  of  nature  ;  and  man,  as  a 
spirit,  embodies  every  law  of  progress.  Whether 
as  a  spirit  clad  in  flesh,  or  as  a  spirit  in  the  angel 
realm,  he  is  amenable  to  the  same  laws,  and  by  pre- 
cisely similar  methods. 


153.     Failure  of  Religious  Theories. 

It  is  here  that  the  theories  of  sects  utterly  fail, 
and  the  reflecting  mind  pauses  in  doubt.  They 
fail  because  they  do  not  grasp  the  wants  of  the 
human  soul,  that  rebels  against  the  doctrine  of 
reward  and  punishment,  asking,  Why  not  live  on, 
working  out,  each  for  himself,  his  own  individual 
destiny  ?  It  feels  a  sense  of  deep  injustice,  of 
gigantic,  blundering  mistake,  in  any  other  idea  of 
its  future* 


154.     Does  Spiritualism  meet  this  Demand? 

We  can  only  determine  after  a  close  and  careful 
investigation  of  its  facts  and  philosophy.  This 
research  must  not   be  in  the   subdued   light   of  a 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    201 

cringing  fear  of  the  supernatural  and  miraculous, 
but  guided  by  the  umimpeachable  evidence  of  posi- 
tive knowledge. 

We  are  deeply  conscious  of  our  pretensions  when 
we  set  at  defiance  the  high  authorities  of  the 
schools,  and  not  only  affirm  the  inter-communion 
of  the  spheres,  but  attempt  the  reduction  of  the 
entire  domain  of  ghosts,  witches,  demons,  familiar 
spirits,  prophecy,  —  in  short,  the  spiritual  realm,  — 
to  the  supremacy  of  law,  and  assert  over  its  conflict- 
ing elements  the  most  austere  positivism.  The 
sciences  concentrate  here ;  and  all  are  hewn  col- 
umns and  arches  in  the  spiritual  temple,  whose 
foundations  rest  on  the  hard,  elemental  basis  of  the 
material  world,  and  whose  towers  pierce  the  blue 
empyrean  of  heaven. 

155.     What  is  Spirit? 

Ages  before  the  shepherd  kings  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  pyramids,  or  strove  to  express  their 
innate  ideas  of  the  immortal  in  sphinx  and  temple, 
man  asked,  "  What  is  spirit  ? "  This  question  has 
perplexed  philosophers  in  all  ages  ;  and,  the  greater 
their  acumen,  the  more  widely  have  they  deserted 
the  path  of  truth,  and  consigned  themselves  to  the 
bewildering  maze  of  speculation  ;  and,  to-day,  the 
churches  representing  the  concrete  Spiritualism  of 
the  past  can  give  no  satisfactory  answer. 

Spirit,  according  to  the  lexicon,  is  "  the  intelli- 
gent, immaterial,  immortal   nature   of  man."     Can 


\ 


202  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

intelligence  exist  without  materiality  ?  Can  nothing 
think,  feel,  reflect?  You  might  as  well  talk  of 
music  existing  in  the  air,  after  the  destruction  of 
the  instrument  which  gave  it  birth,  as  of  a  thought 
standing  out  disrobed  of  matter.  Matter,  according 
to  this  definition,  is  that  which  is  cognizable  by 
form,  color,  extension,  to  the  senses :  spirit,  used  in 
contradistinction,  is  the  opposite.  It  has  no  exten- 
sion, and  is  not  cognizable  by  the  senses.  Can  a 
better  definition  be  given  of  nonentity  ? 

If  there  are  spiritual  beings,  the  fact  of  their 
existence  proves  that  they  are  composed  of  matter ; 
for  an  effect  cannot  spring  from  nothing.  If  intelli- 
gence could  exist  "  detached,"  that  existence  could 
never  be  made  manifest.  Through  and  by  matter 
only  can  any  effect  occur. 

156.     Spiritual  Beings, —  of  what  Composed. 

The  material  of  which  such  beings  are  composed 
we  may  not  understand.  It  is  different  from  the 
matter  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  The  fault 
rests  with  us  ;  for  it  is  impossible  to  comprehend 
that  of  which  we  have  neither  experience  nor  name. 
The  speculations  of  a  caterpillar  on  its  butterfly  state 
would  be  as  pertinent.  Feeding  on  acrid  leaves, 
and,  perhaps,  never  leaving  the  branches  which 
yield  it  support,  how  can  it  comprehend  the  nec- 
tar of  flowers,  and  coursing  over  the  plains  with 
the  winds  ?  O  man !  the  glory  of  the  immortal  as 
vastly   transcends    the    mortal !     Await,    groveling 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    203 

worm !  wind  a  cocoon  around  you,  and  the  sun  in 
the  genial  spring  will  resurrect  you  a  winged  spirit 
of  the  air.  Await,  O  man,  the  hour  that  enshrouds 
your  mortal  body ;  and  the  warmth  of  angel-love  will 
awake  you  to  spirit-life. 

157.     What  is  the  Origin  of  Spirit? 

Theologians  inform  us  that  it  is  from  God,  and, 
at  death,  returns  to  God  who  gave  it.  This  solu- 
tion presupposes  the  eternal  existence  of  spirits,  that 
they  exist  ready  made,  awaiting  bodies  to  be  devel- 
oped that  they  may  inhabit  them;  and  that  therefore 
the  earth-life  is  a  probationary  state.  The  history 
of  this  theory  would  be  extremely  interesting,  for  it 
is  woven  through  the  tissue  of  received  theology ; 
but,  in  its  beginning,  we  should  find  it  a  myth, 
early  taking  root  in  the  childish  minds  of  primitive 
men.  From  a  conjecture,  it  has  become  a  dogma. 
It  ignores  the  rule  of  law,  and  makes  the  birth  of 
every  individual  a  direct  miracle. 

158.     Pre-existence. 

Where  and  how  does  the  spirit  exist  before  enter- 
ing the  particular  human  body  from  which  it  ascends 
to  heaven,  or  descends  to  hell,  granting  the  forego- 
ing view  ?  A  school  of  philosophers  have  solved 
the  question  by  supposing  that  it  passes  through 
successive  organisms  countless  times.  This  is  a 
very  old  idea,  and  is  received  at  present  in  almost 


204  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

its  original  form,  as  advocated  by  the  Pythagorean 
and  Platonic  schools,  by  many  Spiritualists.  There 
are  those  who  think  they  can  distinctly  recollect 
passages  in  their  previous  existence  ;  who  honestly 
believe  that  they  remember  when  they  animated 
various  animals.     It  was  so  in  ancient  time. 

"  Some  draught  of  Lethe  doth  await, 
As  old  mythologies  relate, 
The  slipping  through  from  state  to  state." 

But  memory  is  not  always  silenced.  Sometimes 
the  potent  draught  is  not  sufficiently  powerful ;  and 
then  we  decipher  the  mystic  lines  of  some  of  our 
previous  states :  — 

"  And  ever  something  is  or  seems, 
That  touches  us  with  mystic  gleams, 
Like  glimpses  of  forgotten  dreams." 

Plato  regarded  this  life  as  only  a  recognized 
moment  between  two  eternities,  the  past  and  the 
future.  Innate  ideas  and  the  sentiment  of  pre- 
existence  prove  our  past.  To  Plato,  representative 
as  he  was  of  the  highest  attainments  of  ancient 
thought,  such  might  be  satisfactory  evidence ;  but 
to  us,  with  the  knowledge  we  possess  of  physiology 
and  of  the  brain,  they  are  of  no  value.  The  double 
structure  and  double  action  of  the  brain,  by  which 
impressions  are  simultaneously  produced  on  the 
mind,  fully  explain  the  sentiment  of  pre-existence. 
For  if  these  impressions,  by  any  means,  are  not 
simultaneously  produced,  the   mind   becomes  con- 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    205 

fused,  and  the  weakest  impression  is  referred  to 
the  past.* 

Beautiful  as  these  dreams  appear,  we  are  brought 
back  from  their  contemplation  to  the  less  pleasing, 
stern,  and  rugged  highlands  of  science,  where, 
though  fewer  flowers  bloom  beneath  our  feet,  the 
ground  is  firmer,  and  our  possessions  more  sure. 
These  dreams  are  beautiful ;  but  they  are  only 
dreams,  undefined  actions  of  the  mind,  whereby  it 
embodies  its  fancies,  and  mistakes  them  for  realities. 
They  are  as  valuable  as  the  vagaries  produced  by 
opium  or  hasheesh,  and  no  more.  We  vainly  ask, 
"  Why  do  we  lose  consciousness  of  our  states  ?  Is 
our  earth-life  a  dream -life  ?  Can  we  never  know  the 
actual  ? " 

The  indelibility  of  ideas  and  impressions  held  by 
mental  philosophers  is  a  strong  argument  against 
pre-existence,  and  it  really  has  no  scientific  support. 
(§  182.)  It  is  a  pleasing  speculation,  but  necessi- 
tates a  miracle  at  the  birth  of  every  human  being. 
A  detached  spirit,  though  a  germ,  becomes  clad 
with  flesh.  There  is  no  fixed  order  or  conceivable 
law  by  which  such  an  event  could  occur.  This 
mortal  state  is  not  preferable  ;  for  the  spirit  con- 
stantly desires  to  escape  it.  Is  it  forced  by  God  to 
undergo  this  metempsychosis  ?  Does  it  do  so  from 
choice  ?  In  such  event,  the  growth  of  man  becomes 
entirely  different  from  that  of  animals  ;  but  we  know 
that  he  is  subject  to  the  same  laws  as  they  are. 

*  See  Prof.  Draper's  "Physiology,"  where  this  point  is  ably 
discussed  ;  also  his  "  Intellectual  Development  of  Europe." 


206  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

Or  shall  we  say  that  they,  too,  are  flesh-clad  spirits  ? 
Grant  this,  and  we  are  lost  in  an  ocean  of  myth. 
From  the  animalcule,  with  its  body  formed  of  a 
single  cell,  to  the  barnacle-clad  leviathan  ;  from  en- 
tozoa  to  the  elephant,  —  all  are  incarnate  spirits. 
There  then  is  no  law  of  development,  no  unity  of 
organic  forms  ;  or  else  on  this  progressive  growth 
and  unity  a  new  and  extraneous  force  is  exerted, 
without  use  or  purpose.  Creation  becomes  an  ever- 
present  miracle  ;  or,  if  we  refer  this  scheme  to  fixed 
laws  in  the  spiritual  realm,  we  but  transpose  the 
causes  we  see  acting  in  the  physical  world  into  the 
spiritual,  when  they  are  at  once  beyond  our  recog- 
nition. 

The  individualized  man  stands  before  us.  He, 
as  a  mortal  being,  had  a  beginning.  We  date 
that  by  years  at  his  birth.  What  reason  have  we 
for  not  dating  the  origin  of  his  spirit  at  his  birth 
also  ?  If  man  exists  for  the  purpose  of  the  evolu- 
tion of  an  immortal  spirit,  the  contemporary  birth 
and  development  of  body  and  spirit  is  a  self-evi- 
dent truth. 


159.     Man  is  a  Dual  Structure  of  Spirit  and 

Body. 

The  physical  body,  by  its  senses,  is  brought  in 
contact  with  the  physical  world.  It  is  the  basis  on 
which  the  spiritual  rests.  Though  the  spiritual  body 
pertain  to  the  spiritual  universe,  yet  the  most  inti- 
timate  relations  exist  between  these  two  natures : 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    207 

earthly  existence  depends  on  their  harmony,  and 
death  is  simply  their  separation. 

Such  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible  ;  and  it  was  so 
interpreted  by  the  holy  fathers.  Paul,  that  profound 
thinker,  speaks  as  follows,  in  words  identical  with 
those  of  modern  Spiritualism  :  — 

"  Some  men  will  say,  How  are  the  dead  raised, 
and  with  what  bodies  do  they  come  ?  God  giveth  a 
body,  as  pleaseth  him.  So  also  is  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead.  It  is  sown  in  corruption  :  it  is  raised 
in  incorruption.  It  is  sown  in  dishonor :  it  is  raised 
in  glory.  It  is  sown  in  weakness  :  it  is  raised  in 
power.  It  is  sown  a  natural  body :  it  is  raised  a 
spiritual  body." 

St.  Augustine  interpreted  this  doctrine  by  an 
anecdote. 

"  Our  brother,  Sennardius,  well  known  to  us  all 
as  an  eminent  physician,  and  whom  we  especially 
love,  who  is  now  at  Carthage,  after  having  distin- 
guished himself  at  Rome,  and  with  whose  active 
piety  and  benevolence  you  are  well  acquainted, 
could  not  nevertheless,  as  he  related  to  us,  bring 
himself  to  believe  in  life  after  death.  One  night 
there  appeared  to  him,  in  a  dream,  a  radiant  youth 
of  noble  aspect,  who  bade  him  follow  him  ;  and,  as 
Sennardius  obeyed,  they  came  to  a  city,  where,  on 
the  right,  he  heard  a  chorus  of  most  heavenly  voices. 
As  he  desired  to  know  whence  this  heavenly  har- 
mony proceeded,  the  youth  told  him  that  what  he 
heard  were  songs  of  the  blessed ;  whereupon  he 
awoke,  and  thought  no  more  of  his  dream  than  peo- 


208  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

pie  usually  do.  On  another  night,  the  youth  ap- 
pears to  him  again,  and  asks  him  if  he  knows  him  ; 
and  Sennardius  told  him  all  the  particulars  of  his 
dream,  which  he  well  remembered.  '  Then/  said 
the  youth,  'was  it  while  sleeping  or  waking  you 
saw  these  things?'  —  'I  was  sleeping/  answered 
Sennardius.  '  You  are  right/  replied  the  youth  :  '  it 
was  in  your  sleep  that  you  saw  these  things  ;  and 
know,  O  Sennardius,  that  what  you  see  now  is  also 
in  your  sleep.  But,  if  this  be  so,  tell  me  then  where 
is  your  body  ? '  —  'In  my  bed-chamber/  answered 
Sennardius.  'But  know  you  not/  continued  the 
youth,  'that  your  eyes,  which  form  a  part  of  your 
body,  are  closed  and  inactive  ? '  —  'I  know  it/  an- 
swered he.  '  Then,'  said  the  youth,  '  with  what  eyes 
see  you  these  things  ? '  And  Sennardius  could  not 
answer  him  ;  and,  as  he  hesitated,  the  youth  spoke 
again,  and  explained  the  motive  of  his  question. 
'As  the  eyes  of  your  body/  said  he,  '  which  lies  now 
in  bed,  and  sleeps,  are  inactive  and  useless,  and  yet 
you  have  eyes  wherewith  you  see  me  and  those 
things  which  I  have  shown  you,  so,  after  death, 
when  these  bodily  organs  fail  you,  you  will  have  a 
vital  power  whereby  you  will  live,  and  a  sensitive 
faculty  whereby  you  will  perceive.  Doubt  therefore, 
no  longer,  that  there  is  life  after  death.' "  * 

This  episode  illustrates  a  great  truth.  Man  is 
dual,  —  a  spirit  and  a  body  blended  into  a  unit :  the 
body  relating  to  the  external  world  by  the  senses ; 
the  spirit  taking  cognizance  of  the  spiritual  world 

*  See  "Arcana  of  Nature,"  vol.  ii. 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    209 

through  its  spiritual  perceptions.  The  spirit  is  the 
companion  of  the  body ;  and,  as  long  as  the  two 
remain  united,  it  perceives  the  relation  of  the  exter- 
nal world  through  and  by  the  aid  of  the  corporeal 
senses.  So  much  is  the  spirit  concealed  by  the 
physical  body,  so  intimately  are  they  blended,  that 
it  is  with  difficulty  its  existence  is  perceived.* 


160.    The  Spirit  retains  the  Faculties  it  pos- 
sessed while  on  Earth. 

Plutarch  well  observes,  in  the  strict  spirit  of  induc- 
tive philosophy,  that,  if  demons  and  protecting  spirits 
are  disembodied  souls,  we  ought  not  to  doubt  that 
those  spirits  inhabiting  the  body  will  possess  the 
same  faculties  they  now  enjoy,  since  we  have  no  rea- 
son to  suppose  that  any  new  faculties  are  conferred 
at  the  period  of  dissolution :  such  faculties  must  be 
considered  as  inherent,  though  obscured  or  latent. 
The  sun  does  not  for  the  first  time  shine  when  it 
breaks  from  behind  a  cloud  ;  so  the  spirit,  when  it 
first  throws  aside  the  body,  does  not  then  acquire 
the  faculties  which  are  supposed  to  characterize  it, 
but  they  are  then  only  freed  from  the  obscurations 
of  the  mortal  state,  as  the  sun  is  from  the  fetters  of 
the  cloud. 

*  The  threefold  division  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  is  of  very 
ancient  date.  Philo  represents  man  as  a  threefold  being, 
having  a  rational  soul,  an  animal  soul,  and  a  body.  As  the 
term  "  soul "  represents  nothing  but  a  fancy,  it  is  here  dis- 
carded. 


210  Arcana  of  Spirihtalism. 

The  physical  body  evolves  the  spiritual  being.  In 
individualized  spirit,  creative  nature  culminates.  In- 
dividualization of  spirit  can  take  place  in  no  other 
manner.  The  most  exalted  angel  once  was  clothed 
in  flesh  ;  and  through  the  flesh  only  can  such  exist- 
ence be  obtained. 

161.     Is  there  Positive  Evidence? 

Are  there  facts  to  prove  these  statements  that  are 
so  dear  to  the  heart  ?  Can  it  be  proved  that  the 
spirit  exists  freed  from  the  physical  body  ?  Aside 
from  the  facts  of  spirit-intercourse,  the  question  can 
be  answered  by  the  phenomena  presented  while  the 
spirit  is  confined  to  the  body.  Spirit-communion  is 
the  great  and  all-conclusive  proof;  but  there  is  a 
border-land,  over  which  we  can  journey  to  that 
ttltima  thule  of  psychological  philosophy. 

162.     The  Field  almost  Unexplored. 

In  this  vast  and  untrodden  domain,  we  tread  the 
boundaries  between  materiality  and  spirituality.  We 
gain  glimpses,  as  it  were,  of  the  energy  of  the  refined 
principles  which  actuate  and  vivify  the  world,  and 
yet  remain  unseen  and  unknown.  Here  we  reach 
the  borders  of  the  forces  which  control  materiality, 
and  as  yet  are  not  understood. 

Science  has  recorded  scarcely  a  fact  to  assist  the 
explorer.  Scientists  scoff  and  sneer  at  those  who 
rise  above  the  husks  of  their  technicalities.     What 


Spirit  —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    2 1 1 

can  they  teach  ?  Nothing.  They  are  content  with 
empiricisms.  They  attempt  a  solution  of  spiritual 
relations  !  they  deny  their  existence  !  They  fail  in 
the  solution  of  much  less  difficult  problems.  Why 
opium  or  tobacco  or  alcohol  produce  their  several 
effects  ;  why  certain  sounds  are  agreeable,  and  oth- 
ers disagreeable ;  why  certain  forms  are  pleasing,  and 
others  the  reverse,  —  they  know  not ;  and  so  intent 
are  they  with  making  accurate  record  of  the  facts, 
that  they  overlook  the  object  for  which  these  facts 
stand. 

163.  Between  Wakefulness,  and  the  Deep 
Unconsciousness  preceding  Death,  there  is 
a  gradual  transition. 

The  interval  has  been  divided  by  authors  into 
stages  or  degrees  ;  but  in  an  arbitrary  manner,  and 
without  subserving  any  end,  except  to  confuse  the 
minds  of  their  readers.  There  are  no  lines  of  de- 
marcation between  the  various  hypothetical  divis- 
ions ;  and  there  is  no  need  of  any  in  pursuing 
investigation.  The  magnetic  state,  as  manifested 
in  sleep,  becomes  somnambulism,  or  deepens  into 
clairvoyance.  The  phenomena  presented  by  these 
states  or  degrees  are  resultants  of  one  common 
law,  and  are  intricately  blended. 

164.     The  Magnetic  State, 

In  its  approach,  may  perchance  be  confounded  with 
natural  sleep.   The  spirit  is  dormant  and  unconscious. 


212  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

4 

When  it  deepens,  the  mind  awakens  in  a  new,  spir- 
itual life :  its  faculties  become  exalted,  and  its  sensi- 
tiveness intensified.  A  distinguished  writer  lucidly 
describes  this  state. 

"  Sometimes,  however,  there  is  said  to  supervene 
a  coma ;  at  others,  exaltation,  depression,  or  some 
anomalous  modification  of  sensibility ;  and  occasion- 
ally a  state  somewhat  approaching  to  that  of  revery, 
wherein  the  individual,  although  conscious,  feels  in- 
capable of  independent  exertion,  and  spell-bound,  as 
it  were,  to  a  particular  train  of  thought  or  feeling. 
The  occurrence  of  muscular  action,  and  of  muscular 
rigidity,  is  described  as  taking  place  in  some  in- 
stances to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  These  results 
are  said  to  constitute  the  simpler  phenomena  of 
mesmerism.  We  shall  illustrate  them  by  some  ex- 
tracts from  accredited  writers  upon  the  subject. 

"  In  this  peculiar  state  of  sleep,  the  surface  of  the 
body  is  sometimes  acutely  sensitive  ;  but  more  fre- 
quently the  sense  of  feeling  is  absolutely  annihilated. 
The  jaws  are  firmly  locked,  and  resist  every  effort  to 
wrench  them  open;  the  joints  are  often  rigid,  and 
the  limbs  inflexible  ;  and  not  only  is  the  sense  of 
feeling,  but  the  senses  of  smell,  hearing,  and  sight 
also,  are  so  deadened  to  all  external  impressions, 
that  no  pungent  odor,  loud  report,  or  glare  of  light, 
can  excite  them  in  the  least  degree.  The  body  may 
be  pinched,  pricked,  lacerated,  or  burned  ;  fumes  of 
concentrated  liquid  ammonia  may  be  passed  up  the 
nostrils  ;  the  loudest  reports  suddenly  made  close  to 
the  ear ;  dazzling  and  intense  light  may  be  thrown 


Spirit" —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    213 

upon  the  pupil  of  the  eye :  yet  so  profound  is  the 
physical  state  of  lethargy  that  the  sleeper  will  re- 
main undisturbed,  and  insensible  to  tortures  that  in 
the  waking  state  would  be  intolerable." 


165.     Testimony  of  Iamblichus. 

lamblichus,  a  philosopher  of  the  Alexandrian 
school,  thus  describes  the  state  that  philosophers, 
by  the  practice  of  theurgy,  could  arrive  at ;  showing 
a  perfect  understanding  of  what  is  now  called  the 
superior  or  magnetic  state.  "  The  senses  were  in  a 
sleeping  state.  The  theurgist  had  no  command  of 
his  faculties,  no  consciousness  of  what  he  said  or  did. 
He  was  insensible  to  fire  or  any  bodily  injury.  Car- 
ried by  a  divine  impulse,  he  went  through  impass- 
able places  without  knowing  where  he  was.  A 
divine  illumination  took  full  possession  of  the  man  ; 
absorbed  all  his  faculties,  motions,  and  senses,— 
making  him  speak  what  he  did  not  understand,  or 
rather  seem  to  speak  it ;  for  he  was,  in  fact,  merely 
the  minister  or  instrument  of  the  gods  who  pos- 
sessed him."  A  more  correct  description  of  the  in- 
terior state  cannot  be  found  in  any  work  on  that 
subject. 

166.     Tertullian 

Describes  one  of  the  inspired  sisters  of  the  Monta- 
nists,  a  sect  of  the  second  century  believing  in  the 
direct  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  There  is  a  sister  among  us  endued  with  the  gift 


214  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

of  revelation  by  an  ecstacy  of  spirit,  which  she  suf- 
fers in  church  during  the  time  of  divine  service. 
She  converses  with  angels,  and  sometimes  also  with 
the  Lord.  She  sees  and  hears  mysteries,  knows 
the  hearts  of  some,  and  prescribes  medicines  for 
those  who  need  them." 

167.     Insensibility  of  the  Magnetic  State. 

The  senses  in  the  magnetic  state  are  more  pro- 
foundly insensible  than  in  sleep.  It  has,  in  conse- 
quence, often  been  employed  to  alleviate  pain  ;  and 
unconsciously  it  is  employed  by  every  nurse  and 
physician.  Facts  are  here  introduced,  more  for  the 
purpose  of  illustration  than  proof,  though  they  serve 
both  purposes.  Those  first  produced  have  a  partic- 
ular significance,  as  they  relate  to  patients  who  did 
not  understand  the  manipulations,  —  patients  sev- 
ered, by  race  and  speech,  from  the  distinguished 
physician  who  relates   them. 

168.     Experiments  in  India  by  Esdaille. 

His  first  experiment  was  made  on  Madhab  Kanra, 
who  was  suffering  intensely  from  a  severe  surgical 
operation.  In  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  after  he 
began  making  passes  over  him,  he  exclaimed,  "  I 
was  his  father,  and  his  mother  had  given  him  life 
again."  "  The  same  process  was  persevered  in  ;  and 
in  about  an  hour  he  began  to  gape,  said  he  must 
sleep,  that  his  senses  were  gone,  and  his  replies 
became   incoherent.      He   opened    his    eyes   when 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    215 

ordered,  but  said  he  only  saw  smoke,  and  could 
distinguished  no  one.  His  eyes  were  quite  lustre- 
less ;  and  the  lids  opened  heavily.  All  appearance 
of  pain  now  disappeared  ;  his  hands  were  crossed  on 
his  breast,  instead  of  being  pressed  on  the  groins  ; 
and  his  countenance  showed  the  most  perfect  re- 
pose. He  now  took  no  notice  of  our  questions  ;  and 
I  called  loudly  on  him  by  name  without  attracting 
any  notice. 

"  I  now  pinched  him  without  disturbing  him  ;  and 
then,  asking  for  a  pin  in  English,  I  desired  my  as- 
sistant to  watch  him  narrowly,  and  drove  it  into  the 
small  of  his  back.  It  produced  no  effect  whatever  ; 
and  my  assistant  repeated  it  at  intervals  in  different 
places  as  uselessly. 

"  Fire  was  then  applied  to  his  knee,  without  his 
shrinking  in  the  least ;  and  liquid  ammonia,  that 
brought  tears  into  our  eyes  in  a  moment,  was  inhaled 
some  minutes  without  causing  an  eyelid  to  quiver. 
This  seemed  to  have  revived  him  a  little,  as  he 
moved  his  head  shortly  afterward  ;  and  I  asked  him 
if  he  wanted  to  drink.  He  only  gaped  in  reply  ;  and 
I  took  the  opportunity  to  give,  slowly,  a  mixture  of 
ammonia  so  strong  that  I  could  not  bear  to  taste  it. 
This  he  drank  like  milk,  and  gaped  for  more.  As 
the  i  experimentum  cruris}  I  lifted  his  head,  and 
placed  his  face,  which  was  directed  to  the  ceiling  all 
this  time,  in  front  of  a  full  light,  opened  his  eyes, 
one  after  the  other,  but  without  producing  any  effect 
upon  the  iris.  His  eyes  were  exactly  like  an  amau- 
rotic person's ;  and  all  noticed  their  lack-lustre  ap- 


216  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

pearance.  We  were  all  now  convinced  that  total 
insensibility  of  all  the  senses  existed." 

This  experiment  is  interesting  ;  for  it'  shows  that 
the  magnetic  state  can  be  produced  without  mental 
sympathy ;  that  the  consent  of  the  parties  is  not 
necessary ;  and  hence  that  the  result  depends  on 
purely  physiological  causes  —  a  conclusion  justified 
by  the  influence  animals  exert  over  each  other,  as 
serpents  charming  birds,  &c. 

It  furnishes  another  interesting  reflection.  The 
same  effects  are  produced  in  India  as  among  our- 
selves :  latitude  and  climate  have  not  the  slightest 
influence. 

169.     Magnetic    Practice  may  or  may  not  Ex- 
haust the  Operator. 

After  operating  on  patients,  the  magnetizer  may 
or  may  not  feel  exhausted,  depending  on  his  mag- 
netic endurance  ;  but  the  most  enduring  will,  after  a 
continuous  exercise  in  treating  disease,  become  de- 
pressed, and  temporarily  weaken  in  his  power.  If 
the  patient  be  very  susceptible,  and  the  operator  the 
reverse,  he  will  be  able  to  induce  important  results 
without  any  effect  on  himself.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
he  be  impressible,  he  will  suffer  from  exhaustion. 
This  will  be  still  greater  if  he  treat  a  disease  under 
which  he  is  himself  suffering.  If  scrofulous,  and  he 
treat  a  case  of  that  kind,  he  will  surely  aggravate 
his  own  malady :  no  degree  of  positiveness  can  avail 
against  this  danger.  Every  successive  operation 
renders  him  more  susceptible,  and  liable  to  imbibe 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    217 

the  disease  of  his  patient :  in  other  words,  he  loses 
his  resisting  power. 

To  produce  the  most  striking  and  beneficial  re- 
sults, the  operator  should  be  in  vigorous  health,  and 
in  a  highly  positive  state.  After  operating,  the  in- 
fluence should  be  thrown  off,  by  bathing  the  hands, 
and  exercise  in  the  open  air.  Those  who  are  suf- 
fering from  disease  should  never  attempt  to  heal 
others  by  magnetism. 

170.     Objects  can  be  Magnetized. 

Deleuze  first  pronounced  the  fact  that  objects 
can  be  magnetically  charged,  and  that,  when  sent 
to  distant  patients,  they  will  produce  the  same 
effect  as  though  the  operator  were  present.  This 
has  given  rise  to  repeated  charges  that  it  was 
mere  imagination  ;  but  it  is,  rather,  a  beautiful 
illustration  of  the  law  of  magnetic  transfer.  Some 
substances  absorb  and  retain  this  magnetism  bet- 
ter than  others  ;  and  there  is  a  wonderful  corre- 
spondence between  the  mental  and  physical  worlds, 
by  which  every  emotion,  passion,  and  faculty  of  the 
mind  has  its  analogue  in  the  material  world.  This 
analogy  produces  the  strange  and  seemingly  freak- 
ish regard  we  have  for  different  substances.  The 
precious  stones,  noble  metals,  amulets,  &c,  assume 
scientific  relations  ;  for  they  represent  certain  facul- 
ties. Silver,  gold,  diamonds,  and  flowers  are  ad- 
mired because  of  the  fundamental  relations  they 
sustain  to  the  sympathies  of  the  brain. 


218  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

171.     Somnambulism. 

The  mind  of  the  sleep-walker  is  in  a  highly  sensi- 
tive condition,  being  able  to  read  the  thoughts  of 
others,  however  distant ;  reading  writing  or  print 
placed  behind  his  head,  and  performing  the  most 
difficult  feats  of  clairvoyants  or  magnetized  subjects. 

In  this  state,  the  spirit  becomes  in  a  measure  in- 
dependent of  its  corporeal  form,  and  infinitely  ex- 
panded. The  senses  are  no  longer  windows  of  the 
soul ;  but  the  mind  sees  and  hears  by  some  entirely 
new  method,  and  becomes  en  rapport  with  the  men- 
tal atmosphere  of  the  world. 

The  following  facts  are  related  by  the  philosopher 
Fishbough  :  — 

"When  a  boy,  residing  in  Easton,  Pa.,  we  for  a 
time  roomed  with  a  young  man  who  was  much  sub- 
ject to  fits  of  somnambulism.  On  one  occasion,  he 
was  suddenly  aroused  to  a  consciousness  of  his  situ- 
ation, and,  as  he  informed  us,  for  a  moment,  before 
he  was  restored  entirely  to  his  natural  state,  it  was 
as  *  light  as  day/  and  he  could  see  minute  objects 
with  the  utmost  distinctness,  though  a  moment 
afterwards  he  was  obliged  to  grope  his  way  in 
darkness  to  find  his  bed." 

Sunderland,  in  "  Patheism,"  records  a  case  of  a 
Mr.  Collins,  of  East  Bloomfield,  N.  Y.,  "  who,  while 
asleep,  would  often  arise,  and  write  poetry  and  long 
letters  in  a  room  perfectly  dark.  He  would  make 
his  lines  straight,  cross  his  t's,  dot  his  i's,  and  make 
it  perfectly  legible.     He  seemed  to  be  clairvoyant 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    219 

when  in  this  state,  and  would  often  tell  what  a 
sister  and  brother-in-law  were  doing,  and  where 
they  were,  when  several  hundred  miles  off.  .  .  .  His 
statements,  though  many  and  often,  were  always 
found  correct.     This  was  in   1827." 

The  following  case,  which  has  received  extensive 
publicity  in  the  journals  of  the  day,  is  related  on  the 
authority  of  the  archbishop  of  Bordeaux.  A  young 
clergyman  was  in  the  habit  of  rising  from  his  bed, 
and  writing  his  sermons,  while  in  his  sleep.  When- 
ever he  finished  a  page,  he  would  read  it  aloud, 
and  correct  it.  Once,  in  altering  the  expression, 
"  ce  devin  enfant"  he  substituted  the  word  "ador- 
able" for  "devin;'  and,  observing  that  the  word 
" adorable'  (commencing  with  a  vowel)  required 
that  "  ce r'  before  it  should  be  changed  into  "  cet?  he 
accordingly  added  the  "  t."  While  he  was  writing, 
"  the  archbishop  held  a  piece  of  paste-board  under 
his  chin  to  prevent  him  from  seeing  the  paper  on 
which  he  was  writing  ;  but  he  wrote  on,  not  at  all 
incommoded.  The  paper  on  which  he  was  writing 
was  then  removed,  and  another  piece  substituted  ; 
but  he  instantly  perceived  the  change.  He  also 
wrote  pieces  of  music  in  this  state,  with  his  eyes 
closed.  The  words  were  under  the  music,  and  once 
were  too  large,  and  not  placed  exactly  under  the 
corresponding  notes.  He  soon  perceived  the  error, 
blotted  out  the  part,  and  wrote  it  over  again  with 
great  exactness." 

The  case  of  Jane  C.  Rider,  known  as  the  Spring- 
field somnambulist,  created,  some  years  ago,  much 


220  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

wonder  and  speculation  among  intelligent  persons 
acquainted  with  the  facts.  I  find  the  following 
account  preserved  in  my  notebook  with  a  reference 
to  the  "  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,"  Vol. 
XL,  Nos.  4  and  5  (which  I  have  not  now  on  hand), 
for  more  particular  information.  Miss  Rider  "would 
walk  in  her  sleep,  attend  to  domestic  duties  in  the 
dark,  and  with  her  eyes  bandaged  ;  would  read  in  a 
dark  room,  and  with  cotton  filled  in  her  eye-sockets, 
and  a  thick  black  silk  handkerchief  tied  over  the 
whole.  These  things  were  witnessed  by  hundreds 
of  respectable  persons.  She  learned,  without  diffi- 
culty, to  play  at  backgammon  while  in  this  state, 
and  would  generally  beat  her  antagonist ;  though,  in 
her  normal  state,  she  knew  nothing  about  the  game, 
and  remembered  nothing  whatever  which  occurred 
during  her  fits." 

A  young  lady,  while  at  school,  succeeded  in  her 
Latin  exercises  without  devoting  much  time  or  at- 
tention apparently  to  the  subject.  At  length  the 
secret  of  her  easy  progress  was  discovered.  She 
was  observed  to  leave  her  room  at  night ;  and,  tak- 
ing her  class-book,  she  proceeded  to  a  certain  place 
on  the  banks  of  a  small  stream,  where  she  remained 
but  a  short  time,  and  then  returned  to  the  house. 
In  the  morning,  she  was  invariably  unconscious  of 
what  had  occurred  during  the  night ;  but  a  glance 
at  the  lesson  of  the  day  usually  resulted  in  the  dis- 
covery that  it  was  already  quite  as  familiar  to  her 
mind  as  household  words. 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    221 

172.     Are   we   more  Wise   when  Asleep   than 

when  Awake  ? 

How  else  account  for  the  wonderful  feats  and 
extensive  knowledge  of  the  somnambulist  ?  We 
dwell  more  exclusively  on  the  sleep-walker  than  on 
the  magnetized  subject,  because  he  is  free  from  the 
charge,  that  might  be  preferred  against  the  latter, 
of  being  influenced  by  the  will  of  an  operator.  He 
is  free  from  any  such  bias  ;  and  whatever  he  accom- 
plishes proceeds  from  himself,  and  represents  the 
workings  of  his  own  spirit 


X, 


SPIRIT  —  ITS    PHENOMENA   AND    LAWS    (CONTINUED). 

I  am  well  convinced,  then,  that  my  dear  departed  friends  are  so  far  from 
having  ceased  to  live  that  the  state  they  now  enjoy  can  alone  with  pro- 
priety be  called  life.  —  Cicero. 

The  essence  of  spirit  is  pure  and  eternal  force. 

The  ancients  supposed  the  " rational  soul"  exercised  the  functions  of  the 
senses  in  its  every  part,  being  il  all  eye,  all  ear,  all  taste." 

173.    Magnetism  Intensifies  the  Spiritual  Per- 
ceptions. 

WHEN  the  body  is  inanimate ;  when  the  slug- 
gish flow  of  the  blood  is  the  only  indication 
of  life  ;  when  the  nerves  have  lost  their  sensation, 
and  the  senses  are  dead,  —  the  somnambulist,  like 
the  clairvoyant,  revels  in  a  world  of  his  own,  and 
finds  his  new  senses  vastly  superior  to  those  that 
are  dormant. 

The  materialist  says,  "  Look !  here  is  an  eye  :  it  is 
an  organ  of  sight.  Images  are  formed,  on  the  retina, 
of  external  objects.  Here  is  an  ear :  it  is  adjusted 
to  the  waves  of  sound."  Images  are  formed  on  the 
retina  after  death,  and  there  is  no  sight :  they  are 
formed  equally  well  in  a  camera.  Waves  of  sound 
vibrate  on  the  ear,  and  yield  no  sound.  The.  eye, 
on   the   other  hand,   may   be   destroyed,   its   optic 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    223 

nerves  withered,  and  still  sight  remain ;  the  ear 
destroyed,  and  yet  hearing  remain,  —  as  illustrated 
by  clairvoyance.  There  is  something  behind  and 
beyond  all  these  external  organs,  which  sees,  hears, 
and  feels.  Millions  of  vibrations  reach  it,  through 
the  sensitive  brain,  from  the  external  world, —waves 
of  light,  heat,  magnetism,  electricity,  nerve-aura, 
and  sound ;  but,  where  the  physical  avenues  are  all 
closed  in  a  somnambulistic  or  clairvoyant  sleep,  it 
rises  above  them  all.  In  that  pure  region  the  mind 
is  most  active,  and  grasps  ideas  as  though  robed 
in  light,  and  becomes  en  rapport  with  the  mental 
atmosphere  of  the  universe. 

174.     Not  Imagination, 

Dr.  Gregory  has  ably  met  the  theory  which  ac- 
counts for  clairvoyance  and  magnetism  by  the  imagi- 
nation. 

"  We  have  often  seen  persons  in  the  mesmeric 
sleep  who  could  see  and  describe  correctly  what  was 
done  behind  them,  or  otherwise  out  of  the  range  of 
their  vision  had  their  eyes  been  open,  whereas  their 
eyes  were  fast  closed,  and  turned  up,  so  that,  when 
forced  open,  only  the  whites  were  visible,  and  more- 
over insensible  to  light.  In  other  words,  we  have 
often  seen  and  tested  the  fact  of  vision  without  the 
use  of  the  external  eye.  This  fact  is  observed  in 
natural  somnambulists,  independent  of  artificial  mag- 
netism. When  a  person  with  closed  and  insensible 
eyes  perceives,  both  in  the  daylight  and  in  the  dark 


224  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

(and  sleep-walkers  often  see  better  in  the  dark),  the 
objects  which  surround  him  ;  when  his  motions  and 
actions  are  readier  and  more  exact  than  in  his  wak- 
ing state ;  nay,  when  he  performs  feats  of  climbing, 
keeping  his  balance  in  dangerous  positions,  writing, 
and  doing  various  handiwork,  which  in  his  ordina- 
ry state  are  beyond  his  powers,  —  it  is  impossible 
either  to  ascribe  this  to  imagination,  or  to  doubt 
that  he  has  a  peculiar  means  of  perception  of  exter- 
nal objects.  And  this  implies  some  external  influ- 
ence which  finds  its  way  to  the  sensorium  commune. 
"We  have  seen  mesmeric  sleepers,  without  the 
slightest  attempt  to  use  their  closed  and  insensible 
eyes,  discover  the  contents  of  sealed  packets  and 
closed  boxes,  either  by  putting  these  on  the  head, 
or  holding  them  in  the  hand,  and  sometimes  by  lay- 
ing them  on  the  epigastrium.  We  have  seen  the 
contents,  unknown  to  any  one  present,  described 
with  the  utmost  accuracy.  In  Major  Buckley's 
remarkable  experiments,  upwards  of  a  hundred  high- 
ly educated  persons  have  read  mottoes  inclosed 
in  nuts  and  boxes,  the  nuts  being  procured  at  vari- 
ous shops,  by  different  persons,  who  were  totally 
ignorant  of  their  contents.  Hundreds  of  mottoes 
and  thousands  of  words  have  been  thus  read  ;  and 
many  of  the  readers  have  never  been  mesmerized  at 
all,  but  have  found  themselves  enabled  to  read  the 
contents  of  the  nuts,  &c,  by  the  aid  of  a  light,  which, 
when  Major  Buckley  made  passes  over  his  own  face, 
and  perhaps  over  the  nuts,  rendered  them  transpar- 
ent to  the  readers.     Can  any  one  suppose  that  im- 


Spirit  —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    225 

agination  will  explain  these  facts  ?  And  is  not  the 
natural  conclusion  from  them  —  namely,  the  exist- 
ence of  an  external  influence  —  greatly  fortified  by 
the  testimony  of  Major  Buckley's  subjects  to  the 
luminous  emanations  ? 

"  We  have  seen  the  substance  of  the  contents  of 
a  closed  letter,  unknown  to  ourselves,  and  the  name 
of  the  writer,  deciphered  in  an  instant  by  a  sleeper 
who  placed  it  on  her  head,  and  who  could  not  read. 
The  letter  had  that  moment  arrived,  and  was  totally 
unexpected  ;  and,  as  we  were  trying  some  experi- 
ments on  the  sleeper,  we  asked  her,  before  looking 
at  the  letter,  whether  she  could  tell  me  anything 
about  it.  She  gave  me  at  once  the  whole  substance 
of  it  with  perfect  accuracy.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  means  by  which  she  acquired  this  knowl- 
edge of  its  meaning,  imagination  at  least  was  not 
concerned  ;  and  the  very  remarkable  nature  of  the 
letter  no  one  could  by  any  possibility  have  guessed. 
But  the  patient  was  always  extremely  susceptible  to 
the  influence  of  handwriting,  and  could  accurately 
describe  the  writer  of  any  letter  shown  to  her. 

"  We  have  also  frequently  seen  persons  in  the 
mesmeric  sleep  who  described,  with  perfect  accu- 
racy, things  and  persons  at  a  distance,  whether  in 
another  room,  another  house  or  street,  or  at  greater 
distances  still,  to  the  extent  of  three  or  four  hun- 
dred miles.  Some  did  this  with  the  aid  of  the  writ- 
ing or  hair  of  the  absent  person  ;  some  obtained  the 
trace  of  the  absent  from  persons  present ;  some  from 
knowing  the  absent  themselves.  But,  in  all  cases, 
15 


226  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

they  had  a  more  or  less  vivid  vision  of  the  place,  and 
of  the  people  in  it ;  and,  in  all  those  we  have  studied, 
there  was  convincing  evidence  that  they  did  so,  hav- 
ing once  obtained  the  trace  or  clew,  independent  of 
thought-reading.  They  uniformly  stated  some  facts, 
afterwards  confirmed,  which  were  either  unknown 
to  us  or  to  any  one  present,  or  even  contrary  to 
our  belief;  and,  when  they  persisted  in  their  own 
account  of  a  fact,  they  were  always  right.  No 
doubt  some  of  these  persons  possessed  the  power 
of  thought-reading,  even  when  they  did  not  use  it ; 
but  granting,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  what  is 
impossible,  that  they  learned  all  they  knew  by 
thought-reading,  is  that  less  wonderful  than  vision 
at  a  distance  ?  or  is  it  more  explicable  by  the  imagi- 
nation ?  Nay,  is  not  thought-reading  itself  vision  at 
a  distance,  and  through  opaque  bodies  too  ?  Surely 
our  mind,  or  it-s  organ,  the  brain,  are  not  in  contact 
with  that  of  the  sleeper  ;  and,  if  in  communication 
with  it,  this  can  only  be  through  some  external 
medium,  such  as  is  implied  in  the  facts  previously 
adduced.  And,  admitting  such  a  medium,  distance 
is  a  matter  of  small  importance,  as  it  is  in  the  case 
of  light,  electricity,  gravitation.  But  whatever  be 
the  true  explanation  of  the  facts,  —  and  they  are 
facts  which  every  patient  inquirer  can  verify,  —  they 
cannot  be  explained  by  the  theory  of  imagination. 
For  the  sleeper  evidently  perceives  for  himself,  and 
in  spite  of  suggestion,  or  of  leading  questions,  or  of 
direct  contradiction,  adheres  to  his  story,  and,  as  we 
have  often  seen,  is  found  to  have  been  right     In 


Spirit  —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    227 

the  appendix  to  Mr.  Colquhoun's  historical  work  on 
Magic,  Witchcraft,  and  Animal  Magnetism/  will 
be  found  a  very  beautiful  case  of  vision  at  a  distance 
in  a  young  lady  of  Edinburgh,  the  operator  being  a 
gentleman  of  high  character  and  literary  standing, 
who,  before  he  mesmerized  this  young  lady  on  that 
one  occasion,  had  never  seen  a  person  in  the  mes- 
meric sleep.  In  that  case,  the  sleeper  was  found 
right  on  disputed  points.  We  ourselves  have  seen, 
within  the  last  six  or  seven  months,  and  repeatedly 
tested,  three  or  four  most  interesting  cases  of  the 
same  kind,  in  which  the  same  fact  presented  itself. 
And  we  have  also  lately  seen  a  sleeper,  thoroughly 
blindfolded,  play  cards,  beating  all  opponents  ;  deal- 
ing more  rapidly  than  they,  and  reading  their  hands 
as  easily  as  her  own.  We  confess  ourselves  utterly 
at  a  loss  to  perceive  how  imagination,  granting  it  to 
have  produced,  or  to  have  a  share  in  producing,  the 
mesmeric  sleep,  can  explain  facts  like  these,  which, 
we  repeat,  are  well-established  facts. 

"  We  have  also  had  frequent  opportunities  of  see- 
ing the  interesting  facts  of  medical  or  physiological 
and  pathological  intuition.  We  have  heard  unedu- 
cated persons,  in  the  mesmeric  sleep,  describe,  in 
their  own  language,  —  which,  although  not  techni- 
cal, was  usually  superior  to  their  waking  speech, 
—  the  structure  and  functions  of  their  own  bodies 
in  a  manner  truly  striking.  We  have  seen  them  do 
the  same  to  persons  en  rapport  with  them,  and  point 
out,  with  singular  accuracy,  the  weak  or  diseased 
parts  so  as  to  astonish  those  who  best  knew  the 


228  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

truth.  We  have  seen  this  repeatedly  done,  in  the 
absence  of  the  persons  whose  systems  were  de- 
scribed, from  their  hair  or  handwriting,  and,  in  one 
remarkable  case,  without  farther  aid  than  the  name 
and  residence  of  the  sufferer.  We  have  seen  the 
sleeper  go  over  the  whole  of  his  person,  and  point 
out,  as  he  did  so,  the  parts  in  which  pain  was  felt  by 
the  other  party,  whom  he  had  never  before  seen  nor 
heard  of.  We  have  seen  two  sleepers,  unknown  to 
each  other,  give  the  same  account  of  the  cause,  the 
precise  nature  of  the  treatment,  and  the  cure,  of  an 
accident  occurring  at  a  great  distance  from  either 
of  them  ;  and  their  statements  were  in  all  points 
confirmed.  One  of  these  sleepers  was  told  that  an 
accident  had  happened,  but  nothing  more.  The 
other  discovered  it  on  being  simply  asked  to  visit 
the  sufferer,  which  she  was  in  the  habit  of  doing  in 
her  sleep.  The  imagination  theory  is  quite  inade- 
quate to  explain  these  and  hundreds  of  similar  facts, 
which  are  recorded  by  trustworthy  observers. 

"  We  might  go  on  to  adduce  many  other  varieties 
of  mesmeric  phenomena,  equally  beyond  the  reach 
of  that  theory ;  but  this  would  be  tedious,  and  is 
quite  unnecessary.  Those  already  given  are  suffi- 
cient to  establish  our  proposition,  which  is,  that, 
granting  that  the  imagination  suffices  to  account 
for  the  phenomena  of  electro-biology,  or,  more  cor- 
rectly, those  in  which  suggestion  is  employed,  there 
are  yet  many  facts  which  cannot  be  brought  into 
that  category.  Those  physiologists,  therefore,  who, 
after  having  long  denied  the  suggestive  phenomena, 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    229 

f 
when  observed  and  described  by  the  cultivators  of 
animal  magnetism,  as  occurring  in  the  magnetic 
sleep,  now  admire  them  under  a  new  name,  as  oc- 
curring in  the  waking  state,  are  mistaken  in  suppos- 
ing that  the  same  explanation  applies,  or  can  apply, 
to  all  mesmeric  phenomena. 

"  This  mistake  has  arisen  from  their  very  imper- 
fect acquaintance  with  the  phenomena  to  be  ex- 
plained. Had  they  studied  the  phenomena  of  the 
mesmeric  sleep,  as  they  did  those  of  suggestion  in 
the  waking  state,  —  and  this,  as  we  know  for  certain, 
they  have  not  yet  done,  —  they  would  have  been 
less  confident  in  their  theory,  or  at  least  in  the  ex- 
tent of  its  application  ;  and  we  cannot  doubt,  that, 
when  they  have  done  so,  they  will  find  themselves 
competent  to  acknowledge  facts  which  that  theory 
is  utterly  inadequate  to  explain. 

"  It  is  of  no  avail  for  them  to  deny  the  facts  here 
adduced,  because  they  regard  them  as  impossible, 
or  because  they  cannot  bring  them  under  their  fa- 
vorite hypothesis.  Such  conclusions,  a  priori,  and 
more  especially  when  the  alleged  facts  have  not 
been  investigated  by  those  who  reject  them,  have 
no  logical  value  whatever.  They  denied  also,  until 
a  very  recent  period,  the  very  facts  they  now  admit  ; 
and  yet  these  very  facts  are  true,  —  nay,  they  were  as 
true  when  described  by  the  Mesmerists  as  occurring 
in  the  sleep  as  they  are  now.  We  know,  in  addi- 
tion, that  these  particular  phenomena  may  easily  be 
produced  in  the  waking  state  ;  but  the  phenomena 
are  identical.     And  surely  those  whose  account  of 


230  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

these  truly  wonderful  and  long-rejected  phenomena 
are  now  found  to  have  been  accurate  and  faithful 
may  expect  that  their  statements  concerning  other 
equally  wonderful  phenomena  will  also,  when  exam- 
ined, prove  to  have  been  equally  faithful  and  true  to 
nature. 

"We  have  seen  several  lucid  subjects,  possessed 
of  the  power  of  vision  at  a  distance,  yet  who  could 
not  read  a  closed  letter,  which  latter  feat  would  seem 
to  require,  if  not  a  higher,  yet  a  different  state." 

175.     Clairvoyance. 

Clairvoyance  is  independent  of  the  physical  body 
for  its  existence,  but  not  for  its  manifestations.  It  is 
not  a  product  of  disease,  as  has  been  supposed.  Dis- 
ease, by  weakening  the  physical  powers,  may,  at 
times,  furnish  the  conditions  essential  for  clairvoy- 
ance. The  spirit,  overburdened  and  concealed  by 
the  rubbish  of  worldly  life,  shines  through  the  dark- 
ness of  the  flesh. 

Clairvoyance  is  simply  the  clear  seeing  of  the  spir- 
it ;  and  to  say  that  it  is  caused  by  the  disease  which 
allows  it  to  be  manifested  is  confounding  cause  wTith 
effect.  It  is  a  positive  condition  of  spirit-life,  occur- 
ring both  during  sleep  and  wakefulness  ;  appearing  in 
different  individuals  with  varying  degrees  of  lucidity. 

176.     Applied  to  the  Realm  of  Spirit. 

When  applied  to  the  realm  of  spirit,  clairvoyance 
is  decisive.    The  revelations  of  different  clairvoyants 


Spirit  —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    231 

vary ;  but,  in  their  main  features,  they  coincide  as 
perfectly  as  can  be  expected  when  the  ever-chang- 
ing and  extremely  subtle  conditions  of  this  state 
are  considered.  The  Seeress  of  Prevorst  was  very 
reliable  ;  and  her  revelations  have  a  greater  signifi- 
cance from  the  extreme  purity  and  beauty  of  her 
spiritual  life. 

177.     Testimony  of  the  Seeress  of  Prevorst. 

"  Unfortunately,  my  life  is  now  so  constituted  that 
my  soul,  as  well  as  well  as  my  spirit,  sees  into  the 
spiritual  world,  —  which  is,  however,  indeed  upon 
the  earth  ;  and  I  see  them  not  only  singly,  but  fre- 
quently in  multitudes  and  of  different  kinds,  and 
many  departed  souls. 

"  I  see  many  with  whom  I  come  into  approxima- 
tion, and  others  who  come  to  me ;  with  whom  I  con- 
verse, and  who  remain  near  me  for  months.  I  see 
them  at  various  times  by  day  and  night,  whether  I 
am  alone  or  in  company.  I  am  perfectly  awake  at 
the  time,  and  am  not  sensible  of  any  circumstance 
or  sensation  that  calls  them  up.  I  see  them  alike, 
whether  I  am  strong  or  weak,  plethoric  or  in  a  state 
of  inanition,  glad  or  sorrowful,  amused  or  otherwise  ; 
and  I  cannot  dismiss  them.  Not  that  they  are 
always  with  me  ;  but  they  come  at  their  own  pleas- 
ure, like  mortal  visitors,  and  equally  whether  I  am 
in  a  spiritual  or  corporeal  state  at  the  time.  When 
I  am  in  my  calmest  and  most  healthy  sleep,  they 
awaken  me :  I  know  not  how  ;  but  I  feel  that  I  am 


232  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

awakened  by  them,  and  that  I  should  have  slept  on 
had  they  not  come  to  my  bedside.  I  observe  fre- 
quently, that,  when  a  ghost  visits  me  by  night,  those 
who  sleep  in  the  same  room  with  me,  are,  by  their 
dreams,  made  aware  of  its  presence.  They  speak 
afterwards  of  the  apparition  they  saw  in  their 
dream,  though  I  have  not  breathed  a  syllable  on  the 
subject  to  them.  Whilst  the  ghosts  are  with  me,  I 
see  and  hear  everything  around  me  as  usual,  and 
can  think  of  other  subjects;  and,  though  I  can 
avert  my  eyes  from  them,  it  is  difficult  for  me  to  do 
it.  I  feel  in  a  sort  of  magnetic  rapport  with  them. 
They  appear  to  me  like  a  thin  cloud,  that  one  could 
see  through,  which,  however,  I  cannot  do.  I  never 
observed  that  they  threw  any  shadow.  I  see  them 
more  clearly  by  sunlight  or  moonlight  than  in  the 
dark ;  but,  whether  I  could  see  them  in  absolute 
darkness,  I  do  not  know.  If  any  object  comes 
between  me  and  them,  they  are  hidden  from  me.  I 
cannot  see  them  with  closed  eyes,  nor  when  I  turn 
my  face  from  them  :  but  I  am  so  sensible  of  their 
presence,  that  I  could  designate  the"  exact  spot  they 
are  standing  upon ;  and  I  can  hear  them  speak, 
although  I  stop  my  ears.  .  .  .  The  forms  of  the 
good  spirits  appear  bright ;  those  of  the  evil,  dusky. 
"  Their  gait  is  like  the  gait  of  the  living,  only  that 
the  better  spirits  seem  to  float,  and  the  evil  ones 
tread  heavier,  so  that  their  footsteps  may  sometimes 
be  heard,  not  by  me  alone,  but  by  those  who  are 
with -me.  They  have  various  ways  of  attracting 
attention  by  other  sounds  besides  speech ;  and  this 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    233 

faculty  they  exercise  frequently  on  those  who  can 
neither  see  them  nor  hear  their  voices.  These 
sounds  consist  in  sighing,  knocking,  noises  as  of 
the  throwing  of  sand  or  gravel,  rustling  of  a  paper, 
rolling  of  a  ball,  shuffling  as  in  slippers,  &c.  They 
are  also  able  to  move  heavy  articles,  and  to  open 
and  shut  doors,  although  they  can  pass  through 
them  unopened  or  through  the  walls.  I  observe, 
that,  the  darker  a  spectre  is,  the  stronger  is  his 
voice,  and  the  more  ghostly  powers  of  making 
noises,  &c,  he  seems  to  have.  The  sounds  they 
produce  are  by  means  of  the  air,  and  the  nerve- 
spirit,  which  is  still  in  them.  I  never  saw  a  ghost 
when  he  was  in  the  act  of  producing  any  sound 
except  speech,  so  that  I  conclude  they  cannot  do 
it  visibly ;  neither  have  I  ever  seen  them  in  the  act 
of  opening  or  shutting  a  door,  only  directly  after- 
wards. They  move  their  mouths  in  speaking ;  and 
their  voices  are  various  as  those  of  the  living.  They 
cannot  answer  me  all  that  I  desire.  Wicked  spirits 
are  more  willing  or  able  to  do  this ;  but  I  avoid  con- 
versing with  them." 

178.     Testimony  of  Swedenborg. 

Swedenborg  also  relates  similar  facts. 

"  I  have  conversed  with  many,  after  their  decease, 
with  whom  I  was  acquainted  during  their  life  in  the 
body  ;  and  such  conversation  has  been  of  long  con- 
tinuance, —  sometimes  for  months,  sometimes  for  a 
whole  year,  —  and  with  as  clear  and  distinct  a  voice, 


234  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

but  internal,  as  with  friends  in  the  world.  The  sub- 
ject of  our  discourse  has  sometimes  turned  on  the 
state  of  man  after  death ;  and  they  have  greatly 
wondered  that  no  one  in  the  life  of  the  body  knows, 
or  believes,  that  he  is  to  live  in  such  a  manner  after 
the  life  of  the  body,  when,  nevertheless,  it  is  a  con- 
tinuation of  life,  and  that  of  such  a  nature,  that  the 
deceased  passes  from  an  obscure  life  into  a  clear 
and  distinct  one,  and  they  who  are  in  faith  towards 
the  Lord  into  a  life  more  and  more  distinct.  They 
have  desired  me  to  acquaint  their  friends  on  earth 
that  they  were  alive,  and  to  write  to  them  an  account 
of  their  states,  as  I  have  often  told  them  many 
things  respecting  their  friends :  but  my  reply  was, 
that  if  I  should  speak  to  them,  or  write  to  them, 
they  would  not  believe,  but  would  call  my  informa- 
tion mere  fancy,  and  would  ridicule  it,  asking  for 
signs  or  miracles  before  they  should  believe  ;  and 
thus  I  should  be  exposed  to  their  derision.  And 
that  the  things  here  declared  are  true,  few,  perhaps, 
will  believe ;  for  men  deny,  in  their  hearts,  the 
existence  of  spirits,  and  they  who  do  not  deny  such 
existence  are  yet  very  unwilling  to  hear  that  any 
one  can  converse  with  spirits.  Such  a  faith  respect- 
ing spirits  did  not  at  all  prevail  in  ancient  times, 
but  does  at  this  day,  when  men  wish,  by  reasonings 
of  the  brain,  to  explore  what  spirits  are,  whom,  by 
definitions  and  suppositions,  they  deprive  of  every 
sense  ;  and,  the  more  learned  they  wish  to  be,  the 
more  they  do  this." 


Spirit  —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    235 

179.  Spirits    retain,    and    appear    in,    their 

Earthly  Form. 

That  spirits  appear  in  their  earthly  form,  and  in 
possession  of  the  senses,  is  almost  the  universal 
testimony  of  clairvoyants. 

180.  Do  the  Senses  of  the  Spirit  recognize 

Physical  Objects  ? 

I  have  made  it  a  subject  of  investigation  ;  and, 
aside  from  the  direct  affirmation  of  spirits,  I  drew, 
from  facts,  the  conclusion  that  they  can  do  so.  I 
will  mention  but  one  seance ;  as  the  chances  of 
error  were,  in  this,  perfectly  wanting,  and  the  result 

extremely  accurate.    Mrs.  T sat  at  a  small  table 

near  which  was  the  light.  I  sat  at  the  opposite  side 
of  the  room  by  another  table,  on  which  were  some 
nuts  and  a  pitcher.  We  were  conversing,  by  means 
of  the  tipping  table,  with  a  near  and  dear  friend.  I 
asked,  "  Can  you  see  us  with  your  own  eyes  ? ' 
"Yes."  —  "Do  you  see  objects  in  the  same  man- 
ner ?  "  —  "  Yes."  —  "  To  prove  to  me  that  you  can  do 
so,  if  I  turn  all  these  nuts  into  the  pitcher,  and  then 
turn  out  a  part,  can  you  rap  once  for  each  nut  that 
remains  ? "  —  "  Yes."  I  then  transferred  the  nuts  — 
above  a  quart  —  to  the  pitcher,  and  turned  out  a 
portion.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  was  quite 
dark  at  this  table,  and  by  no  possibility  could  I  have 
even  unconsciously  known  the  number.  Having 
thus  prepared  the  pitcher,  I  said,  "  Please  rap." 
Eleven  and  a  half  raps,  —  the  last  a  feeble  or  tiny 


236  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

rap.  I  turned  the  nuts  out,  —  eleven,  and  a  broken 
half!  It  had  not  occurred  to  me  that  it  was  possi- 
ble for  one  of  the  nuts  to  be  broken.  I  repeated 
this  experiment  several  times,  and  at  each  trial  the 
number  was  accurately  given.  The  inference  is  un- 
avoidable. That  spirit  must  have  seen  by  means 
strictly  its  own,  and  independent  of  earth.  And,  as 
spirits  are  not  organically  unlike,  all  spiritual  beings 
must  see  likewise. 


181.      Does   the    Spirit   of    the    Clairvoyant 

leave  its  Body  ? 

It  does  in  proportion  as  it  enters  the  highest  spir- 
itual state,  even  to  complete  separation,  which  is 
death.  The  facts  cited  relative  to  double  presence 
may  be  introduced  here  also. 

An  interesting  magnetic  treatment  is  detailed  by 
Cahagnet  in  his  "  Celestial  Telegraph,"  wherein  he 
sets  one  clairvoyant  to  watch  another. 

"  I  perceive  that  Adele  purposes  entering  into  the 
ecstatic  state :  I  make  up  my  mind  to  try  a  decisive 
experiment,  and  I  leave  her  to  her  wilL  I  forthwith 
send  Bruno  to  sleep,  put  him  en  rapport  with  her, 
and  beg  him  to  follow  her  as  far  as  possible,  recom- 
mending him  not  to  be  alarmed,  and  to  warn  me 
only  if  he  should  see  danger.  I  wished  to  be  as- 
sured by  myself  of  the  pretended  dangers  of  ecstacy. 
Frequently  had  Adele  told  me  that  she  had  been  on 
the  point  of  not  coming  back  to  re-enter  her  body ; 
and,  as  I  thought  that  she  only  wanted  to  alarm  me, 


Spirit  —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    237 

I  wished  to  know  what  opinion  to  come  to.  At  the 
lapse  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  Bruno  exclaims,  in 
great  alarm,  "  I  have  lost  sight  of  her  !  "  I  had  re- 
lied on  him,  and  paid  little  attention  to  Adele,  whose 
body  in  the  mean  while  had  grown  icy  cold  ;  there 
was  no  longer  any  pulse  or  respiration  ;  her  face 
was  of  a  sallow  green,  her  lips  blue,  her  heart  no 
longer  gave  any  signs  of  life.  I  placed  before  her 
lips  a  mirror,  but  it  was  by  no  means  tarnished  by 
them.  I  magnetized  her  powerfully,  in  order  to 
bring  back  her  soul  into  her  body,  but  for  five  min- 
utes my  labor  was  in  vain.  Bruno,  alarmed  at  my 
want  of  success,  as  well  as  the  persons  present  at 
this  sitting,  tended  greatly  to  disturb  me.  I  thought 
for  a  moment  that  the  work  was  consummated,  and 
that  I  had  an  indubitable  proof  that  the  soul  had  de- 
parted from  her  body.  I  was  obliged  to  request  the 
persons  present  to  pass  into  another  room,  in  order 
that  I  might  recover  by  myself  a  little  energy.  At 
the  lapse  of  a  few  moments,  I  entertained  the  hope 
that  I  should  not  have  such  a  misfortune  to  deplore ; 
but,  physically  speaking,  I  was  utterly  powerless." 

182.     Double  Presence. 

There  is  another  class  of  phenomena  of  unique 
character,  —  the  double  presence,  when  the  spirit  is 
seen  and  recognized  at  a  distance  from  the  body. 
The  peculiar  state  which  enables  a  second  person  in 
that  locality  to  perceive  the  spirit  on  its  arrival  is 
simply  one  of  delicate  impressibility.     The  freedom 


238  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

of  the  spirit  from  the  body  is  clairvoyance,  and  any 
clairvoyant  is  capable  of  executing  this  "double 
presence/'  so  mysterious  to  old-school  psychological 
writers. 

This  "double  presence,"  the  body  being  in  one 
place  while  the  spirit  is  at  another,  has  been  long 
recognized  by  the  Germans. 

"  One  of  the  most  remarkable  cases  of  this  kind  is 
that  recorded  by  Jung  Stilling,  of  a  man,  who,  about 
the  year  1740,  resided  in  the  neighborhood  of  Phil- 
adelphia, in  the  United  States.  His  habits  were  re- 
tired, and  he  spoke  little.  He  was  grave,  benevolent, 
and  pious  ;  and  nothing  was  known  against  his  char- 
acter, except  that  he  had  the  reputation  of  possessing 
secrets  that  were  not  altogether  lawful.  Many  ex- 
traordinary stories  were  told  of  him,  and,  among  the 
rest,  the  following :  The  wife  of  a  ship  captain, 
whose  husband  was  on  a  visit  to  Europe  and  Africa, 
and  from  whom  she  had  been  long  without  tidings, 
overwhelmed  with  anxiety  for  his  safety,  was  in- 
duced to  address  herself  to  this  person.  Having  lis- 
tened to  her  story,  he  begged  her  to  excuse  him  for 
a  while,  when  he  would  bring  her  the  intelligence 
required.  He  then  passed  into  an  inner  room,  and 
she  sat  herself  down  to  wait :  but,  his  absence  con- 
tinuing longer  than  she  expected,  she  became  impa- 
tient, thinking  he  had  forgotten  her ;  and  so,  softly 
approaching  the  door,  she  peeped  through  some 
aperture,  and,  to  her  surprise,  beheld  him  lying  on  a 
sofa,  as  motionless  as  if  he  were  dead.  She,  of 
course,  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  disturb  him,  but 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    239 

waited  his  return,  when  he  told  her  that  her  husband 
had  not  been  able  to  write  to  her  for  such  and  such 
reasons  ;  but  that  he  was  in  a  coffee-house  in  Lon- 
don, and  would  very  shortly  be  at  home  again.  Ac- 
cordingly he  arrived  ;  and,  as  the  lady  heard  from 
him  that  the  causes  of  his  unusual  silence  had  been 
precisely  those  alleged  by  the  man,  she  felt  ex- 
tremely desirous  of  ascertaining  the  truth  of  the  rest 
of  the  information :  and  in  this  she  was  gratified ; 
for  he  no  sooner  set  his  eyes  on  the  magician,  than 
he  said  he  had  seen  him  before,  on  a  certain  day,  in 
a  coffee-house  in  London  ;  and  that  he  had  told  him 
that  his  wife  was  extremely  uneasy  about  him  ;  and 
that  he,  the  captain,  had  thereon  mentioned  how  he 
had  been  prevented  writing  ;  adding  that  he  was  on 
the  eve  of  embarking  for  America.  He  had  then 
lost  sight  of  the  stranger  amongst  the  throng,  and 
knew  nothing  more  about  him." 

A  partner  of  my  grandfather,  having  gone  to  the 
West  Indies  on  business,  and  staying  much  longer 
than  was  expected,  he  consulted  a  fortune-teller,  who 
enjoyed  a  local  fame,  more  from  curiosity  than  any 
faith  in  his  pretensions. 

He  was  left  sitting  in  a  room,  while  the  fortune- 
teller, excusing  himself,  went  out.  After  waiting  an 
hour,  my  grandfather  walked  out  into  the  orchard. 
There  he  saw  the  fortune-teller  lying  under  a  tree  as 
if  he  were  dead.  He  returned  to  the  house  ;  and  in  a 
short  time  the  man  came  in,  and  told  him  that  his 
partner  was  then  taking  dinner  at  such  an  hotel  in 
Jamaica,  and  was  on  his  way  home.     As  soon  as 


240  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

possible  his  partner  returned,  and  almost  the  first 
words  he  said  was  to  inquire  for  the  fortune-teller. 
He  said,  that,  while  taking  dinner  at  such  a  hotel, 
he  saw  him  pass  through  the  room,  but  so  quickly 
that  he  could  not  speak  to  him. 

183.   Impressions  made  on  the  Mind  never 

Effaced. 

Locke  supposed  perfect  sleep  to  be  dreamless, 
while  the  Cartesian  doctrine  teaches  that  the  spirit 
never  sleeps.  The  former  theory  rests  on  negative 
evidence,  and  is  opposed  to  facts.  An  impression 
once  received  is  never  lost.  Even  in  torpidity,  re- 
sulting from  injury  of  the  brain,  when  its  functions 
appear  completely  suspended,  it  is  found  that  indel- 
ible impressions  are  made. 

A  case  is  given,  by  Dr.  Abercrombie,  of  a  boy 
who  had  his  skull  fractured  and  trepanned.  He  was 
quite  insensible  during  the  operation,  and  had  not 
the  least  memory,  after  his  recovery,  even  of  the  ac- 
cident. Fourteen  years  afterwards,  he  was  attacked 
by  a  fever ;  and,  during  the  delirium,  he  astonished 
his  mother  by  a  minute  account  of  the  operation, 
even  to  the  dress  worn  by  the  surgeon.  After  the 
fever  had  passed,  he  again  lost  the  memory  of  the 
event. 

This  is  farther  shown  by  the  experience  of  per- 
sons when  drowning. 

"  One  of  the  most  singular  features  in  psychology 
is  the  fact,  which  is  perfectly  notorious,  that  the  fac- 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    241 

ulty  of  memory  acquires  an  activity  and  tenacity  in 
the  case  of  persons  about  being  drowned  which  it 
never  exhibits  under  ordinary  circumstances.  An 
accident  occurred  some  weeks  since  at  New  York, 
which  threw  a  number  of  persons  into  the  North 

River.     Among  others  were  Mr. and  his  sister  ; 

the  first  named,  editor  of  a  weekly  paper  in  Philadel- 
phia. They  were  both  finally  saved.  Mr. de- 
scribes the  sensation  while  under  the  water,  and  in  a 
drowning  condition,  to  be  pleasant,  but  peculiar.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  every  event  of  his  life  crowded 
into  his  mind  at  once.  He  was  sensible  of  what 
was  occurring,  and  expected  to  drown,  but  seemed 
only  to  regret  that  such  an  interesting  '  item '  as  his 
sensations  should  be  lost." 

In  noticing  this  statement  in  an  exchange,  I  am 
reminded  of  an  incident,  which,  dissimilar  as  it  is  to 
the  one  just  narrated  in  its  general  features,  had  the 
same  remarkable  awakening  of  the  memory  which 
such  cases  sometimes  exhibit.  I  can  vouch  for  the 
truth  of  what  follows,  as  well  as  testify  to  vivid  rec- 
ollections in  my  own  case,  when  exposed  to  the  haz- 
ards of  drowning,  which  reproduced  in  a  few  mo- 
ments the  events  of  my  past  life. 

"  Some  years  since,  A  held  a  bond  of  B  for  several 
hundred  dollars,  haivng  some  time  to  run.  At  its 
maturity,  he  found  he  had  put  it  away  so  carefully 
that  he  was  unable  to  find  it.  Every  search  was 
fruitless.  He  only  knew  it  had  not  been  paid  nor 
traded  away.  In  this  dilemma  he  called  on  B,  re- 
lated the  circumstance  of  its  disappearance,  and  pro- 
16 


242  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

posed  giving  him  a  receipt  as  an  offset  to  the  bond, 
or  an  indemnifying  bond  against  its  collection,  if 
ever  found.  To  his  great  surprise,  B  not  only  re- 
fused to  accept  the  terms  of  meeting  the  diffi- 
culty, but  positively  denied  owing  him  anything,  and 
strongly  intimated  the  presence  of  a  fraudulent  de- 
sign on  the  part  of  A.  Without  legal  proof,  and 
therefore  without  redress,  he  had  to  endure  both  the 
loss  of*  his  money,  and  the  suspicion  of  a  dishonora- 
ble intention  in  urging  the  claim.  Several  years 
passed  away  without  any  change  in  the  nature  of 
the  case,  or  its  facts  as  above  given,  when  one  after- 
noon, while  bathing  in  the  James  River,  A,  either 
from  inability  to  swim, .or  cramp,  or  some  other 
cause,  was  discovered  to  be  drowning.  He  had 
sunk  and  risen  several  times,  and  was  floating  under 
the  water,  when  he  was  seized,  and  drawn  to  the 
shore.  The  usual  remedies  were  applied  to  resusci- 
tate him  ;  and,  though  there  were  signs  of  life,  there 
was  no  appearance  of  consciousness.  He  was  taken 
home  in  a  state  of  complete  exhaustion,  and  re- 
mained so  for  some  days.  On  the  first  return  of 
strength  to  walk,  he  left  his  bed,  went  to  his  book- 
case, took  a  book,  opened  it,  and  handed  his  long- 
lost  bond  to  a  friend  who  was  present.  He  then  in- 
formed him,  that,  when  drowning,  and  sinking  as  he 
supposed  to  rise  no  more,  in  a  moment,  there  stood 
out  distinctly  before  his  mind,  as  a  picture,  every  act 
of  his  life,  from  the  hour  of  childhood  to  the  hour  of 
sinking  beneath  the  water,  and  among  them  the  cir- 
cumstance of  his  putting  the  bond  in  a  book,  the 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    243 

book  itself,  and  the  place  in  which  he  had  put  it  in 
the  book-case.  It  is  needless  to  say  he  recovered 
his  own  with  interest. 

"  There  is  no  doubt  that  this  remarkable  quicken- 
ing of  memory  results  from  the  process  which  in 
such  cases  is  going  on,  —  the  extinguishment  of  life. 
It  is  somewhat  analogous  to  the  breaking-in  of  the 
light  of  another  world,  which,  in  so  many  well- 
attested  death-bed  scenes,  enables  the  departing 
spirit,  even  before  it  has  absolutely  left  its  clay  tene- 
ment, to  behold  and  exult  in  the  glories  of  the  future 
state.  Is  it  not  a  fair  inference,  that,  when  the  soul 
shakes  off  the  clogs  and  incumbrances  of  the  body, 
it  will  possess  capacities  for  enjoyment,  of  which,  on 
earth,  it  was  unsusceptible  ? 

"  As  regards  the  memory,  it  will  be  observed  by 
most  persons  how  readily  in  life  we  forget  that 
which  we  do  not  desire  to  remember,  and  in  this 
way  get  rid  of  much  unhappiness.  Can  we  do  this 
after  death  ?  This  is  an  important  practical  ques- 
tion." 

Most  important !  Death  quickens  the  memory, 
The  past  is  retained  forever.  The  quick,  intense 
thought  of  the  drowning  person  is  a  foretaste  of 
that  eternal  spirit-life. 

184.     Prophecy. 

Only  by  impressions  descending  from  the  spirit- 
World  can  prophecy  be  explained.  Certain  spirits 
understand  and  combine  causes  and  effects,  and  can 


244  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

tell  more  readily  what  will  be  the  result.  Prof.  Greg- 
ory remarks,  — 

"  By  some  obscure  means,  certain  persons  in  a 
peculiar  state  may  have  visions  of  events  yet  future. 
And,  indeed,  it  is  only  by  admitting  some  such  in- 
fluence that  we  can  at  all  account  for  the  fulfillment 
of  prophetic  dreams,  which,  it  cannot  be  doubted, 
have  frequently  taken  place.  Coincidence,  as  I  have 
before  remarked,  is  insufficient  to  explain  even  one 
case,  so  enormously  great  are  the  chances  against 
it ;  but,  when  several  cases  occur,  it  is  absolutely 
out  of  the  question  to  explain  them  by  coinci- 
dence." 

Volumes  might  readily  be  filled  with  the  facts  of 
prevision  and  prophecy.  We  do  not  expect  to  do 
more,  confined  as  we  are  to  narrow  limits,  than  to 
give  illustrative  facts. 

"  Major  Buckley,  twenty -three  years  ago,  before 
he  had  heard  of  animal  magnetism,  was  on  the 
voyage  between  England  and  India,  when,  one  day, 
a  lady  remarked  that  they  had  not  seen  a  sail  for 
many  days.  He  replied  that  they  would  see  one 
next  day  at  noon  on  the  starboard  bow.  Being  asked 
by  the  officers  in  the  ship  how  he  knew,  he  could 
only  say  that  he  saw  it,  and  that  it  would  happen. 
When  the  time  came,  the  captain  jested  him  on  his 
prediction,  when  at  that  moment  a  man  who  had 
been  sent  aloft  half  an  hour  before,  in  consequence 
of  the  prophecy,  sung  out,  '  A  sail ! '  — '  Where  ? ' 
— i  On  the  starboard  bow/  I  consider  this  case 
interesting  because  it  tends  to  *show  a  relation  be- 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    245 

tween  magnetic  power,  which  Major  Buckley  pos- 
sesses in  an  eminent  degree,  and  susceptibility  to 
the  magnetic  or  other  influences  concerned." 

"  A  soldier  in  a  Highland  regiment,  then  in  Amer- 
ica, named  Evan  Campbell,  was  summoned  before 
his  officer  for  having  spread  among  the  men  a  pre- 
diction that  a  certain  officer  would  be  killed  next 
day.  He  could  only  explain  that  he  had  seen  a 
vision  of  it,  and  that  he  saw  the  officer  killed,  in  the 
first  onset,  by  a  ball  in  the  forehead.  Next  day  an 
engagement  took  place ;  and,  in  the  first  attack,  the 
officer  was  killed  by  a  ball  in  the  forehead.  I  am 
told  that  this  instance  of  second  sight  may  be  en- 
tirely depended  on." 

Governor  Tallmadge  records  an  experience  worthy 
of  repetition,  from  the  high  moral  and  intellectual 
character  of  that  distinguished  man.  He  was  one  of 
the  party  on  board  the  U.  S.  war-ship  "  Princeton," 
on  the  memorable  occasion  when  the  "  Peace-maker  " 
exploded.  During  the  first  three  discharges,  his 
position  had  been  at  the  breech  of  the  gun.  After 
dinner,  he  returned  to  the  deck,  when  he  observed 
that  the  great  gun  was  about  being  discharged  for 
the  fourth  and  last  time,  and  he  assumed  his  former 
position.  There  was  some  delay  of  the  party  com- 
ing on  deck,  and,  while  waiting,  he  was  seized  with 
sudden  dread  ;  and,  under  an  irresistible  impulse,  he 
retired  to  the  ladies'  cabin.  Immediately  he  heard 
the  report,  and,  the  next  moment,  the  intelligence  of 
the  terrible  disaster.  Five  distinguished  men,  two 
of  whom  were  members  of  the  Cabinet,  had  been  in- 


246  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

stantly  killed.  The  gun  had  burst  at  the  very  spot 
where  he  had  stood  ;  and,  if  he  had  remained,  he 
would  have  been  demolished. 

The  day  previous  to  the  burning  of  the  "  Henry 
Clay,"  on  the  Hudson,  Mrs.  Porter,  being  entranced, 
in  the  presence  of  several  persons  announced  the 
event.    • 

On  the  authority  of  Mrs.  Swisshelm,  it  is  stated 
that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson,  of  Alleghany  City,  proph- 
esied "  the  great  fire  of  1845,  in  Pittsburg  ;  the  Mex- 
ican war,  and  its  results  ;  the  war  between  Russia 
and  the  Western  powers  ;  and  the  speedy  limitation 
of  the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope." 

While  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  an  exile  on  the 
Island  of  St.  Helena,  he  made  the  following  remark- 
able declaration  respecting  the  future  of  the  United 
States  :  "  Ere  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
America  will  be  convulsed  with  one  of  the  greatest 
revolutions  the  world  ever  witnessed.  Should  it 
succeed,  her  power  and  prestige  are  lost ;  but,  should 
the  government  maintain  her  supremacy;  she  will  be 
on  a  firmer  basis  than  ever.  The  theory  of  a  re- 
publican form  of  government  will  be  established, 
and  she  can  defy  the  world." 

History  furnishes  many  examples  of  the  hero's 
mind  becoming  ecstatic  with  the  vast  labor  it  was 
called  to  perform.  Hannibal  had  his  star  of  destiny, 
as  well  as  Napoleon.  While  pausing  at  Etovissa, 
he  is  said  to  have  seen  in  his  sleep  a  youth  of  divine 
figure,  who  told  him  that  he  was  sent  by  Jupiter  to 
guide  him  into  Italy ;  and  bade  him  follow  without 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    247 

turning  his  eyes  on  either  side.  He  followed,  though 
he  trembled  with  terror :  but,  his  curiosity  becoming 
too  strong  for  his  resolution,  he  looked  back,  and 
saw  an  immense  serpent  moving  along,  felling  the 
bushes  and  trees  in  its  way  ;  and  after  it  followed  a 
dark  cloud,  with  loud  thunder.  When  he  inquired 
what  this  commotion  meant,  he  was  told  that  it  por- 
tended the  desolation  of  Italy  ;  to  go  on,  and  ask 
00  more. 

The  claim  that  there  is  an  independent  organ  or 
faculty  of  prophecy  or  prescience  is  an  unsupported 
hypothesis.  As  the  foreseeing  of  an  event  cannot 
change  the  cause  of  the  occurrence,  the  intelligence 
that  foresees  must  judge  from  cause  to  effect  The 
mortal  prophet  may  not  reason^  but  receive  as  in- 
spiration ;  but  the  source  of  the  inspiration  must  be 
ascertained  from  a  thorough  knowledge  of  causes. 
Prophecy  presupposes  fixed  and  unalterable  rela- 
tions between  causes  and  effects.  The  mind,  capa- 
ble of  grasping  the  chain  of  causes  leading  to  a 
given  effect,  can  foreknow  that  effect. 

The  prediction  of  an  astronomical  event,  as  an 
eclipse,  although  founded  on  the  absolute  relations 
of  numbers,  is  as  truly  a  prophecy  as  the  prediction 
of  an  event  in  history.  If  the  astronomer  inform  a 
companion  when  an  eclipse  will  take  place,  without 
giving  the  data  of  his  calculations,  that  companion  is 
in  the  position  of  the  prophet  inspired  by  celestial 
intelligence.  He  can  hear  and  understand  the  pre- 
diction ;  although  he  cannot  arrive  at  it  unaided,  nor 


248  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

know  the  process  by  which  others  have  gained  their 
knowledge. 

The  truth  of  science,  of  all  knowledge,  is  proved 
by  the  facilities  it  affords  to  predict  the  unknown. 


XI. 


SPIRIT ITS     PHENOMENA   AND     LAWS    (CONTINUED). 

All  the  immense  space  by  which  we  are  surrounded  is  peopled  with  an- 
gels, whose  eyes  are  continually  turned  towards  us.  The  most  har- 
dened in  wickedness  still  shrinks  from  observation.  The  thought  that 
he  is  watched  checks  the  criminal  in  the  fury  of  his  passion.  Can  the 
Christian,  then,  who  knows  that  celestial  spirits  not  only  behold  his  every 
action,  but  also  read  his  most  secret  thoughts,  —  can  he  ever,  in-  mere 
levity  and  thoughtlessness,  deliver  himself  up  to  evil  ? 

Hilary  of  Poictiers. 

185.     Cause  of  Failure. 

THE  problem  of  man's  immortality  has  been 
vexed  from  immemorial  time  ;  yet  the  theo- 
logian and  metaphysician,  after  all  their  gigantic 
efforts,  have  accomplished  nothing  by  way  of  demon- 
stration. They  have  never  met  the  question  fairly, 
and  scanned  it  by  the  light  of  natural  law.  Forced 
to  admit  certainty  into  the  domain  of  the  physical 
world,  —  a  term  by  which  we  mean  what  they  un- 
derstand by  the  world  of  matter,  —  they  have  ever 
regarded  with  holy  horror  the  introduction  of  cause 
and  effect  into  the  realm  of  spirit.  On  the  threshold 
of  this  realm,  the  inductive  philosophy,  that  magnifi- 
cent system  which  traces  effects  to  their  causes, 
which  discerns  a  cause  beneath  every  effect,  has 
been  dismissed  as  a  profane  and  erring  guide,  and 


250  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

in  its  place  a  will-o'-the-wisp  has  led  them  through 
the  reeking  miasm  of  metaphysical  controversy,  and 
along  the  slippery  paths  intersecting  the  night-envel- 
oped swamp-lands  of  bigoted  and  insane  theological 
disputation. 

186.     Value  of  Clairvoyance. 

One  fact  of  clairvoyance  —  one  manifestation  of 
spirit  presence  —  outweighs  all  the  logical  argumen- 
tations the  world  has  ever  heard.  We  said,  that,  if 
spirit  existed,  it  must  have  form.  It  must  retain, 
whatever  others  it  may  acquire,  the  five  senses.  It 
must  be  organized.  Let  us  investigate  this  prop- 
osition. The  clairvoyant  has  entered  the  deepest 
trance.  His  body  lies  oblivious  ;  as  near  the  portals 
of  death  as  it  is  possible  for  it  to  be  without  enter- 
ing within  the  gates.  All  avenues  to  the  senses 
are  closed  ;  the  blood  flows  slowly  and  turgidly 
along  its  channels  ;  the  nerves  have  lost  their  irri- 
tability ;  and  the  brain  cannot  feel.  The  blinding 
lightnings  affect  not  the  eye  ;  the  crash  of  thunders 
are  not  heard  by  the  ear.  Limb  after  limb  can  be 
severed  unfelt.  Such  is  the  state  of  the  body. 
What  is  that  of  the  spirit  which  has  thus  tempo- 
rarily deserted  it  ? 

187.     Condition  of  the  Freed  Spirit. 

Not  unconscious,  not  senseless,  not  inactive,  but 
like  a  freed  eagle  it  soars  in  the  light  of  a  new  exist- 
ence.    The  channels  through  which  it  obtained  a 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    251 

knowledge  of  the  world  are  closed,  it  is  true :  but  it 
has  no  necessity  for  them  now ;  for  spiritual  light 
acts  on  the  spirit  eye,  waves  in  the  spirit  atmosphere 
vibrate  on  the  spirit  ear,  and  feeling  becomes  as 
a  refined  consciousness,  which  is  far  more  delicate 
and  exquisite  by  all  conception  than  it  ever  pos- 
sessed in  the  body.  It  sees,  it  hears,  it  feels,  while 
the  body  can  be  burned  to  ashes  without  pain,  or 
even  automatic  irritability. 

188.     Can  the  Spirit   possess  Senses  indepen- 
dent of  the  Physical  Body  ? 

The  materialist,  mistaking  the  instrument  of  man- 
ifestation for  the  cause,  asserts  that  the  spirit  origi- 
nates in  certain  combinations  of  matter,  and  must 
perish  with  the  combinations  which  gave  it  birth. 
This  dependence  of  mind  on  the  physical  body  is 
only  apparent,  and  its  independence  is  shown  by 
clairvoyance  as  well  as  by  facts  drawn  from  other 
sciences. 

189.     Laura  Bridgeman. 

The  mental  development  of  Laura  Bridgeman 
proves  that  intellect  of  a  high  order  may  exist  in- 
dependent of  the  senses.  Completely  deprived  of 
sight  and  hearing  at  an  early  period  of  childhood, 
she  was  a  blind  and  deaf  mute.  Dr.  Howe,  her  kind 
and  angelic  teacher,  says  :  "  As  soon  as  she  could 
walk,  she  began  to  explore  the  rooms  and  the  house : 
she  became  familiar  with  the  forms,  density,  weight, 


252  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

and  heat  of  every  article  she  could  lay  her  hands 
upon.  I  found  her  of  a  well-formed  figure,  a  strongly 
marked  nervous-sanguine  temperament,  a  large  and 
beautifully  shaped  head,  and  the  whole  system  in 
healthy  action."     She  returned  to  his  institution  in 

1837. 

He  continues:  " After  waiting  about  two  weeks, 

the  attempt  was  made  to  give  her  knowledge  of 
arbitrary  signs,  by  which  she  could  interchange 
thoughts  with  others.  There  was  one  of  two  ways 
to  be  adopted :  either  to  go  on  to  build  up  a  lan- 
guage of  signs  which  she  had  already  commenced 
herself,  or  to  teach  her  the  purely  arbitrary  language 
in  common  use  ;  that  is,  to  give  her  a  sign  for  every 
individual  thing,  or  to  give  her  a  knowledge  of  let- 
ters, by  combination  of  which  she  might  express  her 
idea  of  the  existence,  and  the  mode  and  condition  of 
existence,  of  anything.  The  former  would  have  been 
easy,  but  very  ineffectual ;  the  latter  seemed  diffi- 
cult, but,  if  accomplished,  very  effectual.  I  deter- 
mined, therefore,  to  try  the  latter." 

After  describing  the  interesting  process  by  which 
he  taught  her  to  associate  names  with  things,  he 
goes  on  to  say,  "  Hitherto  the  process  had  been  me- 
chanical, and  the  success  about  as  great  as  in  teach- 
ing a  knowing  dog  a  variety  of  tricks.  The  poor 
child  had  sat  in  mute  amazement,  and  patiently  imi- 
tated everything  her  teacher  did  :  but  now  the  truth 
began  to  flash  upon  her ;  her  intellect  began  to 
work  ;  she  perceived  that  here  was  a  way  by  which 
she  could  herself  make  up  a  sign  of  anything  that 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    253 

was  in  her  own  mind,  and  show  it  to  another  mind, 
and  at  once  her  countenance  lighted  up  with  a 
human  expression.  It  was  no  longer  a  dog  or  a  par- 
rot :  it  was  an  immortal  spirit,  eagerly  seizing  upon 
a  link  of  union  with  other  spirits !  I  could  almost 
fix  upon  the  moment  when  the  truth  first  dawned 
upon  her  mind,  and  spread  its  light  to  her  counte- 
nance. I  saw  that  the  great  obstacle  was  overcome, 
and  that  henceforth  nothing  but  patient  and  perse- 
vering, but  plain  and  straightforward,  efforts  were  to 
be  used." 

At  the  end  of  the  year,  a  report  of  the  case  was 
made,  of  which  the  following  is  an  extract :  "  It  has 
been  ascertained,  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt, 
that  she  cannot  see  a  ray  of  light,  cannot  hear  the 
least  sound,  and  never  exercises  her  sense  of  smell, 
if  she  has  any.  Thus  her  mind  dwells  in  darkness 
and  stillness,  as  profound  as  that  of  a  closed  tomb  at 
midnight  Of  beautiful  sights,  and  sweet  sounds, 
and  pleasant  odors,  she  has  no  conception :  never- 
theless she  is  as  happy  and  playful  as  a  bird  or  a 
lamb;  and  the  enjoyment  of  her  intellectual  facul- 
ties, or  the  acquirement  of  a  new  idea,  gives  her  a 
vivid  pleasure,  which  is  plainly  marked  in  her  ex- 
pressive features." 

Describing  the  interesting  process  by  which  he 
taught  her  to  associate  names  with  things,  he  goes 
on  to  say,  "  If  she  have  no  occupation,  she  evidently 
amuses  herself  by  imaginary  dialogues,  or  by  recall- 
ing past  impressions :  she  counts  with  her  fingers, 
or  spells  out  names  of  things  which  she  has  recently 


254  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

learned,  in  the  manual  alphabet  of  the  deaf  mutes. 
In  this  lonely  self-communion,  she  seems  to  reason, 
reflect,  and  argue.  But,  wonderful  as  is  the  rapidity 
with  which  she  writes  her  thoughts  upon  the  air, 
still  more  so  is  the  ease  and  rapidity  with  which  she 
reads  the  words  thus  written,  —  grasping  their  hands 
in  hers,  and  following  every  movement  of  their  fin- 
gers, as  letter  after  letter  conveys  their  meaning  to 
her  mind.  It  is  in  this  way  she  converses  with  her 
blind  playmates  ;  and  nothing  can  more  forcibly  show 
the  power  of  mind  over  matter  than  a  meeting  be- 
tween them.  For,  if  it  requires  great  skill  for  two 
pantomimists  to  paint  their  thoughts  and  feelings  by 
the  movements  of  the  body,  and  the  expressions  of 
the  countenance,  how  much  greater  the  difficulty 
when  darkness  enshrouds  them  both,  and  one  can 
hear  no  sound  !  When  Laura  is  walking  through  a 
passage-way,  with  her  hands  spread  before  her,  she 
knows  instantly  every  one  she  meets,  and  passes 
them  with  a  sign  of  recognition  ;  but,  if  it  be  a  girl 
of  her  own  age,  and  especially  if  it  be  one  of  her 
own  favorites,  there  is  instantly  a  bright  smile  of 
recognition,  and  twining  of  arms,  a  grasping  of 
hands,  and  a  swift  telegraph  upon  the  tiny  fingers. 
"  When  left  alone,  she  occupies  and  apparently 
amuses  herself,  and  seems  quite  contented  ;  and  so 
strong  seems  to  be  the  natural  tendency  of  thought 
to  put  on  the  garb  of  language,  that  she  often  solilo- 
quizes in  the  finger-language,  slow  and  tedious  as  it 
is.  But  it  is  only  when  alone  that  she  is  quiet ;  for, 
if  she  becomes  sensible  of  the  presence  of  any  one 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    255 

near  her,  she  is  restless  until  she  can  sit  close  beside 
them,  hold  their  hand,  and  converse  with  them  by 
signs.  In  her  intellectual  character,  it  is  pleasing  to 
observe  an  insatiable  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  a 
quick  perception  of  the  relations  of  things.  In  her 
moral  character,  it  is  beautiful  to  behold  her  contin- 
ued goodness,  her  keen  enjoyment  of  existence,  her 
expansive  love,  her  unhesitating  confidence,  her  sym- 
pathy with  suffering,  her  conscientiousness,  truthful- 
ness, and  hopefulness." 

Her  spirit  was  locked  within  her  body,  without 
-the  least  contact  with  the  world  through  the  most 
useful  of  the  senses  ;  yet  she  not  only  thought,  but 
thought  in  the  same  manner  as  those  who  possess  the 
perfection  of  the  senses.  If  thought  depend  on  the 
senses,  then  the  quality  of  thought  should  change 
when  the  senses  are  useless.  That  thought  is  the 
same  in  kind,  under  all  circumstances  bf  expression, 
is  conclusive  that  it  is  superior  to  the  organs  of  the 
senses.  Mind  in  man  is  the  resultant  of  the  spirit- 
ual organism  modified  by  the  physical  body.  After 
the  dissolution  of  the  latter,  such  modification  does 
not  exist,  and  the  mind  is  animated  from  the  spirit- 
ual organism. 

190.     The  Spiritual  Organism. 

If  the  spirit  exist  in  the  immortal  land  as  an  en- 
tity, of  what  material  is  its  body  composed  ?  We 
say  body  ;  for  again  we  meet  the  division  of  mind 
and  body,  applying  with  the  same  force  to  the  spirit 
as  to  the  man. 


. 


256  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

Admitting  the  existence  of  spirit,  we  are  forced 
either  to  believe  that  it  exists  as  a  detached  intelli- 
gence or  as  an  entity.  The  first  position  we  have 
endeavored  to  show  untenable.  If  the  latter  be  ac- 
cepted, it  follows,  as  sequence,  that  that  entity  is 
derived  from  the  mortal  body,  or  enters  a  body 
prepared  for  it.  The  latter  position  presupposes 
miracle,  the  direct  interposition  of  Divinity ;  pre- 
supposes an  interference  we  never  see  in  this  life, 
and  have  no  reason  to  suppose  exists  in  the  here- 
after. Mind  cannot  change  from  one  body  to  an- 
other without  a  miracle ;  and  as  it  is  possible  to 
account  for  all  connected  phenomena  by  referring 
them  to  an  entity  derived  from  the  physical  body, 
and  in  a  strictly  scientific  manner,  this  conclusion 
must  at  last  be  accepted. 

191.     The   Spirit  Organism  the   most  Subtile 

Form  of  Matter. 

As  the  senses  cannot  recognize  the  matter  of 
which  the  spirit-organism  is  composed,  and  as  all 
idea  of  matter  is  derived  from  them,  we  cannot 
form  a  just  conception  of  all  its  qualities.  We 
know  that  it  must  be  the  most  subtile  form  of  mat- 
ter. Electricity,  supposed  to  be  the  most  refined, 
has  often  been  assumed,  and  that,  too,  by  intel- 
ligent Spiritualists,  to  be  the  constituent  of  the 
spirit-forms.  Somehow  it  is  supposed  that  spirits 
are  intimately  connected  with  electricity  and  mag- 
netism. 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    257 

192.     An  Erroneous  Hypothesis. 

Prof.  Hare  truthfully  observes,  "  It  appeared  to 
me  a  great  error,  on  the  part  of  spirits  as  well  as 
mortals,  that  they  should  make  efforts  to  explain  the 
phenomena  of  the  spirit-world  by  the  ponderable  or 
imponderable  of  the  temporal.  The  fact  that  the 
rays  of  our  sun  do  not  affect  the  spirit-world,  and 
that  there  is  for  that  region  an  appropriate  luminary, 
(luminosity  ?)  whose  rays  we  do  not  perceive,  must 
demonstrate  that  the  imponderable  elements,  to 
which  they  owe  their  peculiar  light,  differ  from  tie 
ethereal  fluid,  which,  according  to  the  undulatory 
theory,  is  the  means  of  producing  light  in  the 
terrestrial  creation.  Thus,  although  in  manifesta- 
tions our  electricity  takes  no  part,  their  electrici- 
ty may  be  the  means  by  which  their  wills  are 
transmitted  effectually  to  the  phenomena  which 
it  controls.,, 


193.      Electricity    and    Magnetism    not    Em- 
ployed. 

But  it  is  not  possible  to  build  an  individual  out  of 
electricity  or  magnetism,  even  if  it  be  considered  an 
element  and  not  a  force.  If  material,  its  atoms  have 
almost  infinite  repulsion,  on  which  its  phenomena 
depend  ;  and  how,  out  of  such  material,  can  start  a 
form  which  can  never  perish  ?  But  neither  of  these 
are  elements  :  they  are  forces,  and  cannot  act  outside 
of  matter. 
17 


258  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

194.     What,  then,  is    the   Character  of   the 
Matter  which  forms  the  Spirit  Organism  ? 

Refined,  ultimated  matter  is  derived  from  the 
progress  of  the  physical  elements.  Eternal  progress 
is  written  in  the  constitution  of  matter.  There  is 
a  constant  flux  and  reflux  through  the  domain  of 
living  beings.  By  every  absorption  and  elimination 
the  elements  advance.  This  is  not  recognized  by 
the  gross  tests  of  chemistry,  but  there  are  other  and 
more  conclusive  tests. 

^The  rootlets  of  plants  make  a  delicate  analysis, 
and  prove  this  proposition.  In  New  England,  the 
soil  composed  of  disintegrated  granite,  and  hence 
rich  in  potash,  is  sterile  until  enriched  by  ashes. 
Chemistry  pronounces  potash  from  the  soil,  and 
potash  from  ashes,  identical ;  but  the  delicate  spon- 
gioles  of  plants  perceive  a  difference.  Lichens  and 
moss,  the  lower  forms  of  vegetable  life,  will  readily 
grow  in  the  granite  soil,  but  the  higher  vegeta- 
tion require  the  elements  to  pass  through  these 
lower  orders  before  they  can  absorb  and  assimilate 
them. 

Another  illustration  from  the  same  source  is  fur- 
nished by  the  results  of  phosphorus  from  bones, 
and  phosphorus  from  limestone  deposited  in  the 
early  ages  of  the  earth.  While  the  former  is  highly 
beneficial  to  growing  plants,  the  latter  is  useless. 
While  one  has  been  assimilated  by  living  beings  a 
countless  number  of  times,  the  other  has  remained 
fixed  in  the  roek,  and  has  not  departed  from  its  pri- 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    259 

mal  form.    Chemistry  declares  the  two  identical,  but 
plants  do  not  acquiesce  in  its  decision. 


195.     Progress  of  the  Elements. 

Such  facts,  which  can  be  greatly  multiplied,  prove 
what  may  be  termed  the  progress  of  the  elements. 
This  progress  is  slow,  but  we  cannot  doubt  its  exist- 
ence. Only  in  those  cases  where  the  elements  have 
been,  as  it  were,  fossilized,  can  we  compare  their  pres- 
ent with  their  past  over  a  sufficiently  long  interval 
of  time ;  but,  whenever  we  can  do  so,  a  difference  is 
discernible.  However  small  such  progress  may  ap- 
pear, infinite  time  will  yield  any  desired  modifica- 
tion. 

Every  cycle  of  change  through  which  matter 
passes  eliminates  some  parts  to  a  higher  state.  It 
is  from  such  illustrations  that  the  spiritual  elements 
are  derived.  They  are  the  aroma  of  the  material 
world,  the  fragrance  of  its  perfect  bloom. 

196.     Spiritual  Elements  Realities. 

The  spiritual  elements,  such  as  the  earth  ema- 
nates, which  go  to  form  the  spiritual  spheres,  and 
enter  into  the  organization  of  spirits,  are  realities. 
They  possess  all  the  properties  of,  earthy  matter, 
together  with  new  ones  which  they  acquire  by  their 
refinement.  Carbon  is  represented  by  a  spiritual 
carbon,  oxygen  by  a  spiritual  oxygen,  etc.,  through 
the  long  catalogue. 


260  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

197.     Spirits   of  Animals. 

Another  explanation  concerning  the  unindividual- 
ized  beings  whose  spiritual  essence  ascends  into  the 
vast  ether,  and  gravitates  like  an  evaporating  cloud 
to  its  appropriate  position,  is  here  afforded.  True, 
they  are  not  individualized,  they  do  not  retain  their 
identity ;  but  they  again  enter  into  somewhat  similar 
forms.  If  of  sufficient  refinement,  the  aroma  passes 
at  once  to  the  spirit  sphere ;  if  not,  they  re-unite  with 
gross  matter,  and  again  enter  the  cycle  of  living  be- 
ings, to  be  again  and  again  eliminated,  perhaps  to 
travel  up  to  the  human  form  divine,  and,  becoming 
embodied,  stand  forth  as  eternal  as  the  everlasting 
planets :  nay,  more,  —  when  these  shall  fade  like 
the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision,  they  will  rise  above 
the  wreck  of  worlds,  rejoicing  in  increasing  wisdom. 

198.     Spiritual  Attraction  and  Repulsion. 

The  poison  wolfsbane,  twining  its  roots  around 
and  among  those  of  the  fruitful'  corn,  extracts  from 
the  same  dew,  the  same  rain,  the  same  soil,  the  most 
deadly  poison ;  while  the  corn  elaborates  the  life-giv- 
ing grain.  Particles  seek  like  particles.  They  are 
repelled  from  dissimilar  ones,  and  thus  the  intricate 
and  mysterious  web  of  nature  is  woven. 

199.     In  the  Spiritual  World,  the  same  Laws 

hold  Supreme. 

The  force  which  builds  up  the  wolfsbane  and  the 
corn,  side  by  side,  builds  up,  from  the  ascending 


Spirit —  its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    261 

atoms,  the  orange  and  the  vine  which  decorate  the 
landscapes  of  the  spirit-spheres. 


200.      Why,    if    Material,    cannot    Spirits    be 

Seen  ? 

We  are  here  met  with  an  objection  which  is  urged 
as  conclusive.  Why  can  we  not  see  spirits  if  they 
are  material  ?  We  cannot  see  the  atmosphere,  and, 
if  we  trusted  our  eyes  alone,  should  never  know  that 
it  exists ;  yet  it  is  composed  of  matter  as  tangible  as 
iron  or  adamant.  Its  name,  "gas,"  came  from  "ghost," 
because  it  was  long  considered  to  be  the  spirit  of 
matter.  We  learn,  by  deeper  investigation,  that 
vision  is  a  very  untrustworthy  guide  in  determining 
materiality. 

Whether  a  body  is  visible  or  invisible  depends  on 
the  relations  the  body  bears  to  the  light.  Experi- 
ments instituted  by  Sir  John  Herschel  and  M. 
Stokes  prove  that  the  same  rays  of  light  falling  on 
one  body  remain  invisible,  while  they  become  lumi- 
nous on  others.  If  the  solar  spectrum  be  received 
on  a  screen,  and  then  all  the  visible  light  to  the  ex- 
treme violet  be  cut  off,  perfect  darkness  is  the  re- 
sult. There  is  to  appearance  no  more  light ;  but  if 
a  piece  of  glass  tinged  with  oxide  of  uranium  or  a 
bottle  of  sulphate  of  quinine,  or  a  paper  moistened 
with  the  latter,  is  placed  in  the  space  beyond  the  vio- 
let, they  become  visible.  In  respect  to  this  extraor- 
dinary fact,  Grove,  in  his  admirable  and  profound, 
yet  incomplete,  "  Correlation  of  Physical  Forces,"  a 


262  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

work  that  has  attracted  the  attention  of  the  scien- 
tists of  the  old  world  and  the  new,  makes  these 
observations,  which  I  quote  in  full,  for  they  are  too 
choice  to  be  presented  otherwise  :  — 

"  Other  substances  exhibit  this  effect  in  different 
degrees ;  and,  among  the  substances  which  have 
been  considered  perfectly  analogous  as  to  their  ap- 
pearances when  illumined,  notable  differences  are 
discovered.  Thus  it  appears,  that  emanations,  which 
give  no  impressions  to  the  eye  when  impinged  on 
certain  bodies,  become  luminous  when  impinged  on 
others.  We  might  imagine  a  room,  so  constructed 
that  such  emanations  alone  were  permitted  to  enter 
it,  which  would  be  dark  or  light  according  to  the 
substances  with  which  the  walls  are  coated,  though 
in  full  daylight  the  respective  coatings  of  the  wall 
would  be  apparently  white  ;  or,  without  altering  the 
coating  of  the  wall,  the  room,  exposed  to  one  class 
of  rays,  might  be  rendered  dark  by  windows  which 
would  be  transferred  to  another  class  of  rays. 

"  If,  instead  of  solar  light,  the  electrical  light  be 
employed  for  similar  experiments,  an  equally  strik- 
ing effect  can  be  produced.  A  design,  drawn  on 
paper  with  sulphate  of  quinine  and  tartaric  acid,  is 
invisible  in  ordinary  light,  but  appears  with  beautiful 
distinctness  when  illumined  by  the  electrical  light 
Thus,  in  pronouncing  on  a  luminous  effect,  regard 
must  be  had  to  the  recipient  as  well  as  emittent 
body.  That  which  is  or  becomes  light,  when  it  falls 
on  one  body,  is  not  light  when  it  falls  on  another. 
Probably  the  retinas  of  the  eyes  of  different  persons 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    263 

differ,  to  some  extent,  in  a  similar  manner ;  and  the 
same  substances,  illuminated  by  the  same  spectrum, 
may  present  different  appearances  to  different  per- 
sons, the  spectrum  appearing  more  elongated  to  one 
than  another,  so  that  what  is  light  to  one  is  darkness 
to  another. 

"  The  force  emitted  from  the  sun  may  take  a  dif- 
ferent character  at  the  surface  of  every  different 
planet,  and  require  different  organisms  or  senses  for 
its  appreciation. 

"  Myriads  of  organized  beings  may  exist,  imper- 
ceptible to  our  visions,  even  if  we  were  among  them  ; 
and  we  might  also  be  imperceptible  to  them." 

The  visual  organs  of  nocturnal  animals  and  birds, 
such  as  the  felines,  bats,  owls,  etc.,  can  plainly  rec- 
ognize objects  in  what  to  other  animals  is  darkness, 
This  is  partially  accounted  for  by  the  enlargement 
of  the  pupils  of  their  eyes :  but  not  fully ;  for  the  pupil 
of  the  eye  of  a  bat,  that  sees  with  remarkable  quick- 
ness, is  not  as  large  as  that  of  man,  who  could  not 
see  at  all  in  an  equal  darkness.  Are  we  sure  that 
these  nocturnal  animals  are  not  sensible  to  rays  of 
light  to  which  the  animals  of  daylight  are  strangers  ? 
**  Of  insects,  it  has  been  suggested,  by  an  eminent 
naturalist,  that  they  see  by  means  of  light  unknown 
to  man.  To  them,  light  may  sparkle  in  colors  which 
we  know  nothing  of,  and  to  each  of  these  tiny  beings 
nature  may  array  herself  in  hues  which  even  the 
rainbow  does  not  equal.  Their  eyes  are  constructed 
on  an  entirely  different  plan  from  those  of  animals, 
although  conforming  to  the  requisites  of  the  known 


264  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

laws  of  light.  This  departure  must  have  its  origin 
in  adaptation  to  a  different  luminosity  from  that 
which  meets  our  own  vision.  Some  insects  can  see 
well  at  night ;  a  fact  certainly  not  referable  with  them 
to  enlargement  of  the  pupils  of  their  eyes,  for  the 
thousands  of  facets  composing  those  organs  are  not 
expansive.  When  the  world  is  wrapped  in  darkness 
to  other  insects,  they  wing  through  the  air,  perceiv- 
ing objects  by  a  glowing  luminosity  of  too  low  in- 
tensity for  the  vision  of  the  former. 

201.     Why   seek   Immortal   Existence   outside 

of  Physical  Matter? 

Why  seek  immortality  among  the  refined  elements 
rather  than  in  those  of  the  physical  world  ?  Why 
should  it  be  found  there  more  than  here  ?  These 
questions  lead  to  an  investigation  of  what  constitutes 
immortality. 

In  the  healthy  organism,  the  forces  of  renovation 
balance  those  of  decay.  As  soon  as  a  fibre  or  nerve 
tissue  or  bone  particle  is  worn  out,  new  material  is 
ready  to  supply  the  waste.  So  rapid  is  this  wonder- 
ful process  of  decay  and  renovation,  that,  according; 
to  the  latest  and  most  correct  researches,  all  the  softer 
tissues  of  the  body,  all,  except  the  bones  and  teeth, 
are  renewed,  in  health,  every- thirty  days.  Thus  the 
body  is  restored  twelve  times  every  year,  and  an  in- 
dividual at  sixty  years  of  age  has  had  seven  hundred 
and  twenty  different  organisms.  This  change  pro- 
ceeds during  sleep,  as  well  as  in  the  hours  of  wake- 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    265 

fulness :  in  fact,  respiration  is  most  rapid  during 
sleep ;  but  in  age  is  retarded,  becoming  more  and 
more  sluggish,  until  it  ceases  altogether,  and  death 
closes  the  earthly  life. 

We  have  here,  seemingly,  as  perfect  an  arrange- 
ment as  it  is  possible  to  obtain  ;  and,  we  ask,  why 
cannot  such  an  organization  be  perpetual  ?  Mark 
the  decline  of  such  structures,  and  the  answer  is  re- 
ceived. 

Could  such  conditions  remain  forever,  could  ren- 
ovation always  balance  decay,  animal  and  vege- 
eble  living  forms  would  never  perish  ;  an  immortal 
lion,  oak,  or  pine  would  be  as  possible  as  immortal 
man.  But  they  cannot  obtain  with  the  material  of 
the  physical  world. 

See  how  physical  forms  perish.  They  reach  ma- 
turity strong  and  vigorous  ;  nothing  appears  to  dis- 
turb the  harmony  of  their  being.  But  insidiously 
the  power  of  decay  claims  mastery.  The  senses 
harden  ;  the  absorbents  become  obstructed  with 
bone-forming  material,  and,  deposition  going  on  in 
the  bones,  they  become  hard,  almost  mineral.  In 
old  age,  they  become  too  deficient  of  life  to  heal 
when  broken.  Through  the  important  organs,  as 
the  heart,  in  its  very  valves  on  which  life  depends, 
bony  atoms  are  deposited.  The  minute  arte- 
ries thus  obstructed,  the  muscles  waste,  contract, 
and  harden  at  their  points  of  attachment.  The  en- 
tire mechanism  of  complicated  fibres,  channels,  cells, 
and  fluids,  becomes  impaired,  and,  at  length,  fails 
altogether. 


266  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

It  is  not  want  of  vitality :  it  is  a  necessity,  grow- 
ing out  of  the  elements  of  which  they  are  formed. 

The  being  sets  out  to  be  immortal,  but  fails  be- 
cause it  builds  with  imperfect  material.  We  are 
thus  compelled  to  look  higher,  to  more  elevated  and 
progressed  matter. 

202.     Origin  of  the  Spiritual  Body, 

With  a  proper  understanding  of  words,  we  may 
employ  the  terms  "matter"  and  "  spirit,"  the  latter 
meaning  the  ultimated  elements  which  pervade  and 
arise  from  and  underlie  the  physical  world. 

From  the  former,  the  physical  body  is  created  ; 
from  the  latter,  the  spiritual.  This  dual  development 
commences  with  the  dawn  of  being,  and  continues 
until  death.  The  physical  form  appropriates  the 
physical  portion  of  the  food  ;  the  spiritual,  the  remain- 
ing portion. 

The  two  forms  mature  together ;  one  pervading, 
and  being  the  exact  copy  of,  the  other.  Such  being 
the  close  relation  between  them,  every  impression 
made  on  one  must  affect  the  other.  Food  which 
nourishes,  stimulants  which  excite,  all  exercise  a 
powerful  influence,  —  an  influence  felt  for  infinite 
time.  The  spirit,  when  it  takes  its  departure,  must 
bear  the  stain  or  beauty  of  its  physical  organism. 

203.       HOW    FAR   THE     BODY     AFFECTS     THE    SPIRIT. 

Does  the  mortal  affect  the  immortal  ?  Does  the 
grossness  of  this  life  exert  an  influence  on  the  wel- 


Spirit — its  Phenomena  and  Laws.    267 

fare  of  the  spirit  ?  Reason  can  make  but  one  an- 
swer, and  that  in  the  affirmative.  The  Parable  of 
the  Sower  is  a  beautiful  illustration  of  the  effect  of 
external  conditions  on  the  spirit.  The  same  grains, 
falling  on  different  ground,  produce  widely  varying 
results.  If  an  acorn  be  planted  in  a  rocky  soil,  it  will 
grow  into  a  distorted  shrub.  You  may  transplant  that 
shrub  into  fertile  ground,  and  bestow  on  it  the  best 
of  care,  —  it  will  become  quite  different  from  what  it 
would  have  been  had  it  remained  ;  but  it  will  never 
mature  into  the  noble  tree,  the  forest's  pride,  as  it 
would  had  it  been  planted  first  in  a  mellow  soil. 

The  winged  seed  of  the  rock-maple,  matured  by 
sap  drawn  from  the  crevices  of  stony  hills,  is  blown 
far  away  by  the  winds.  Perhaps  it  alights  on  a 
barren  rock,  just  made  green  by  a  patch  of  moss. 
The  moss  is  moistened  by  dews,  and  the  seed  swells 
with  life,  thrusts  forth  its  roots  into  the  moss  so  full 
of  promise,  sends  upwards  its  tiny  leaflets,  and 
makes  fair  augury  of  a  tree  like  its  noble  parent. 
But  its  food  soon  fails.  There  are  nights  without 
dew,  —  it  almost  famishes  ;  there  are  frosts  telling 
on  its  unprotected  roots.  So  a  century  goes  by, 
when  a  traveler,  chancing  to  ascend  the  hillside, 
sees  a  scraggy,  scarred  bush,  so  different  from  what 
he  has  seen  before  that  he  considers  it  a  new  species 
of  maple.  Perhaps  a  seed  from  the  same  bough 
was  wafted  at  the  same  time  to  some  fertile  dell, 
and  now  stands,  straight  and  tall  as  monumental 
shaft,  the  pride  of  a  century. 

As  the  spirit  and  the  physical  body  are  matured 


268  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

together ;  as,  while  connected,  they  are  mutually  re- 
lated, —  it  is  clearly  self-evident  that  one  cannot  be 
injured  without  at  least  a  sympathetic  effect  on  the 
other.  A  wrong  done  to  the  immortal  is  retained 
forever.  If  a  man  lose  a  limb,  he  has  a  scar  telling 
of  the  wound.  Although  he  live  a  century,  it  is  not 
outgrown.  The  least  mark  is  indelible.  If  the  phy- 
sical body  so  tenaciously  retain  the  witnesses  of 
former  transgressions,  how  can  any  one  expect  to 
proceed  for  a  life  in  a  systematic  course  of  wrong 
to  his  immortal  nature,  and  escape  with  impunity  ? 

It  is  a  fearful  mistake.  The  spirit  is  the  real,  of 
which  the  body  is  the  fleeting  shadow ;  and  impres- 
sions on  that  real,  compared  with  those  of  the  body, 
are  as  lasting  as  the  signature  of  the  storm  and  whirl- 
wind, scarred  with  fire  on  granite  mountains,  con- 
trasted with  the  fitful  shadows  of  a  phantasmagoria. 
Write  a  wrong  on  the  spirit,  —  only  the  eternal  ages 
can  erase  it.  Do  a  deed  of  sin,  and  never  can  it  be 
repealed.  The  words  of  the  passions,  their  deeds 
of  error,  are  written  on  the  adamantine  book  of  the 
individual's  life ;  and  the  furnace  blast  cannot  burn 
their  record  out,  the  ocean  cannot  wash  it  away. 


XII. 


PHILOSOPHY    OF  DEATH.  —  A    REVIEW    OF    SOME    OLD 

THEORIES. 

There's  no  such  thing  as  death  : 

'Tis  but  the  blossom  spray, 
Sinking  before  the  coming  fruit, 

That  seeks  the  summer's  ray ; 
'Tis  but  the  bud  displaced, 

As  comes  the  perfect  flower ; 
?Tis  faith  exchanged  for  sight, 

And  weariness  for  power. 


Nothing  of  him  that  doth  fade, 
But  does  suffer  a  sea-change 
Into  something  rich  and  strange. 


The  soul,  the  marvel  of  this  great  celestial  departure  which  we  call  death, 
is  here.  Those  who  depart  still  remain  near  us :  they  are  in  a 
world  of  light ;  but  they,  as  tender  witnesses,  hover  about  our  world  of 
darkness.  .  .  .  The  dead  are  invisible,  but  they  are  not  absent. 

Victor  Hugo. 

204.     What  is  Life  ? 

RICHMOND  defines  life  as  "a  collection  of 
phenomena  which  succeed  each  other  during  a 
definite  time  in  an  organized  body."  This  definition 
applies  equally  well  to  death  as  to  life,  for  in  the  dead 
body  changes  go  on  in  succession  as  well  as  in  the 
living.  De  Blainville  defines  it  as  "  the  twofold  inter- 
nal movement  of  composition  and  decomposition,  at 


270  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

once  general  and  continuous  ;  "  a  definition  which  in- 
cludes the  entire  mineral  world,  and  makes  a  gal- 
vanic battery  a  living  being.  "  Life,"  says  Lewes, 
"  is  a  series  of  definite  and  successive  changes,  both 
of  structure  and  composition,  which  take  place 
within  an  individual  without  destroying  his  identity." 
Spencer  gives  this  in  another  form  :  "  Life  is  a  defi- 
nite combination  of  heterogeneous  changes,  both 
simultaneous  and  successive." 

How  completely  these  definitions  fail  will  be  seen 
if  we  suppose  a  philosopher,  unacquainted  with  the 
phenomena  of  life,  to  apply  any  of  them,  and  draw  a 
conclusion  as  to  what  life  really  is.  They  all  exclude 
its  more  refined  mental  and  spiritual  phenomena, 
and  apply  to  mineral  changes  and  mechanical  con- 
trivances as  well  as  to  the  complex  manifestations 
of  living  beings.  Conscious  of  its  weakness,  the  lat- 
ter author  adds  to  his  definition,  making  it  stand 
thus  :  "  Life  is  a  definite  combination  of  heterogene- 
ous changes,  both  simultaneous  and  successive, 
corresponding  with  external  co-existences  and  se- 
quences." Thus  completed,  what  idea  does  it  con- 
vey of  life,  with  its  wonderful  manifestations  of 
intelligence,  and  subtile  workings  of  spirit  ?  Cut 
out  of  the  most  concrete  abstractions,  it  fails  in  dis- 
tinguishing movements  in  a  plant  from  those  in  a 
crystal.  His  illustration  of  the  growth  of  a  plant 
towards  instead  of  away  from  the  light  is  against 
him  ;  for  solutions  throw  out  crystals  on  the  side 
where  the  light  falls,  rather  than  in  an  opposite 
direction. 


Philosophy  of  Death.  271 

205.     What  is  Death  ? 

If  it  be  difficult  to  define  life,  equally  difficult  is  it 
to  define  death.  The  rule  which  would  apply  to 
everything  below  man  does  not  hold  good  with  him. 
As  his  life  stands  in  the  way  of  all  general  expres- 
sions, so  his  death  prevents  a  generalization  in  the 
definition  of  death.  Ascending  through  all  the  lower 
forms  of  life,  in  his  being  the  arch  is  complete  ;  the 
structure  stands  firm,  erect,  beautiful,  after  the  scaf- 
folding of  the  body  falls  off.  Death  is  change,  is 
re-organization  :  with  man,  it  is  immortal  life. 

206.     Christian  Idea  of  Death  Terrible,  but 
that  of  the  ancient  greeks  beautiful. 

Christians  have  connected  everything  revolting 
and  terrible  with  Death.  They  have  painted  him 
as  a  ghastly  skeleton  upon  a  white  horse,  grasping 
a  spear  in  his  fleshless  hand,  or  as  a  devouring 
monster. 

They  have  the  honor  of  originating  these  myths  : 
there  is  nothing  like  them  in  the  pagan  world.  The 
Greeks  painted  Death  as  a  beautiful  sleeping  child 
or  youth.  In  Eastern  countries,  it  is  believed  that 
death  results  from  the  love  of  some  god,  who 
snatches  the  spirit  to  heaven.  The  Lacedemonians 
represented  Death  as  asleep  on  a  bed  of  down, 
watched  by  Morpheus  and  the  Dreams.  Death  from 
drowning  was  imputed  to  love  of  the  nymphs,  by 
whom  the  spirit  was  conducted  under  water  to  a 


272  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

beautiful  place  adorned  with  evergreens  and  flowers. 
All  these  myths  shadow  the  truth.  The  pagan  was 
as  near  it  as  the  Christian.  If  Spiritualism  render 
any  service,  it  will  be  in  sweeping  away  all  these 
myths,  and  giving  in  their  place  a  positive  statement 
of  spirit-existence. 

207.     Terrors  of  Death. 

Death  has  long  been  looked  upon  as  a  dreadful 
gulf,  which  divides  the  mortal  life  perhaps  from  ob- 
livion, —  the  vale  of  tears  and  sorrows  where  man's 
noble  faculties  would  perish  in  the  darkness  of  eter- 
nity. Those  who  pretended  to  have  full  faith  in  the 
belief  of  the  church  had  little  else  but  what  has  been 
described,  —  a  deep,  everlasting  sleep  of  mind  in  the 
cold  earth,  to  comfort  them. 

A  heavy  veil  of  mist  has  hung  over  the  rudimen- 
tal  sphere,  in  regard  to  the  great  change  all  must 
meet  when  the  body  becomes  worn  and  wasted,  and 
many  depart  for  the  second  sphere  with  these  dread- 
ful conceptions  in  their  minds,  and  with  dear  friends 
and  relations  near  by  whose  minds  are  full  of  terror 
at  the  approaching  scene,  while  the  departing  spirit 
approaches  that  gulf  which,  when  passed  over,  it  had 
been  told  could  not  be  repassed,  and  from  the  other 
side  of  which  no  traveler  could  return.  With  these 
dark  clouds  encompassing  the  departing  spirit,  death 
was  feared  as  the  fell  destroyer  of  the  race  ;  and 
the  safe  and  easy  journey  was  rendered  tedious,  and 
a  real  gulf  of  anguish. 


Philosophy  of  Death.  273 

208.     Myths  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  Body. 

The  doctrine  of  the  final  resurrection  of  the  body 
has  prevented  a  true  conception  of  death.  No  mat- 
ter to  what  dogmas  the  devotees  clung,  in  the  finale 
all  agreed  in  this.  This  belief  is  not  dependent  on 
Christianity :  it  extended  throughout  the  ancient 
world.  In  Egypt,  it  was  the  death  of  Osiris  by  the 
malignant  Typhon,  and  restoration  to  life  by  the 
lovely  Isis,  which  was  represented  in  religious  festi- 
vals. In  Syria,  it  was  Adonis,  cut  down  in  the  bud 
of  his  age.  Every  year,  his  death  and  resurrection 
were  celebrated,  at  Bylus,  with  magnificence.  It 
lasted  two  days.  The  first  was  given  to  sorrow  for 
his  death  ;  the  second,  to  universal  rejoicing  at  his 
resurrection.  In  India,  the  same  story  is  related, 
except  that  Adonis  is  Sita,  the  last  consort  of  Maha- 
deva,  whom  he  finds,  and  bears  with  lamentations 
around  the  world.  In  Phrygia,  Atys  and  Cybele 
were  the  personages  of  the  myth.  Atys,  a  beautiful 
shepherd-boy,  beloved  of  the  mother  of  gods,  sud- 
denly dies  ;  and  she,  frantic  with  grief,  wanders  over 
the  world,  scattering  the  blessings  of  agriculture. 
He  is  at  last  restored  to  her.  Every  year  the  as- 
sembled nations  performed  the  drama  with  sobs  and 
tears,  succeeded  with  frantic  demonstrations  of  joy. 
The  Northmen  constructed  the  same  drama ;  but 
Atys  became  Baldur,  their  god  of  gentleness  and 
beauty. 

In   the   Druidic  Mysteries,   the   initiate  was  led 

through  the  most  terrible  scenes,  shadowing  forth 
18 


274  Arcana  of  Spirihcalism. 

their  belief  in  the  transmigration  of  souls.  He  died, 
was  buried,  was  resurrected.  The  priests  inclosed 
him  in  a  little  boat,  and  set  him  adrift  on  the  black, 
stormy  waves,  pointing  him  to  a  distant  rock  as  the 
harbor  of  life. 

Among  the  Incas  of  Peru  and  the  Aztecs  of  Mex- 
ico, the  Mysteries  were  enacted  with  the  horrible 
accompaniment  of  human  sacrifice.  The  walls  and 
floor  of  the  obscurely  lighted  temple  were  washed 
with  human  blood.  The  initiate  descended  into  the 
dark  caverns  under  the  temple,  along  a  path  called 
the  "path  of  the  dead."  Shadows  flitted  before  him, 
and  shrieked  and  wailed  around  him,  sacrificial 
knives  threatened  him,  and  dreadful  pitfalls  and 
snares  yawned  before  him.  At  last  he  reached  a 
narrow  fissure,  through  which  he  was  thrust  into  the 
open  air,  and  received  by  awaiting  thousands  with 
indescribable  acclamations. 

There  existed,  among  the  most  prominent  North- 
American  Indian  tribes,  a  dim  and  shadowy  resem- 
blance to  these  systems. 

209.     Christianity  takes  a  Deep  Draught  from 

Paganism. 

Christianity  at  its  rise  presented  the  aspect  of  a 
new  Jewish  sect ;  and,  through  the  apostolic  age,  it 
was  only  the  more  liberal  growth  of  the  Jewish  tree. 
In  consequence,  it  imbibed  the  myths  and  dogmas 
of  the  Hebrew  world  in  a  great  degree.  Among 
these  dogmas  was  that  of  the  resurrection  of  the 


Philosophy  of  Death.  275 

body.  Vague  allusions  are  made  to  this  doctrine  in 
the  New  Testament  The  phrase  "  resurrection  of 
the  body"  does  not  occur  in  the  Scriptures,  and  is 
not  referred  to  in  any  public  creed  until  the  fourth 
century.  This  was  not  because  the  doctrine  was 
not  believed,  but  because  it  was  so  generally  re- 
ceived that  it  was  not  mentioned.  As  soon  as  it  was 
disputed,  it  was  at  once  almost  unanimously  affirmed, 
and  its  disbelief  was  stigmatized  as  heresy.  The 
uniform  belief  of  all  Christendom,  from  the  time  of 
the  Apostles  to  the  present,  has  been  that  the  iden- 
tical body  of  flesh  which  we  now  possess  shall  be 
resurrected,  and  again  serve  the  spirit  for  habiliment. 
St.  Augustine  says,  "  Every  man's  body,  however 
disposed  here,  shall  be  restored  perfect  in  the  resur- 
rection ; n  and  his  words  have  never  been  disputed  by 
orthodox  Christians. 

Young,  who  is  commonly  classed  with  the  poets, 
thus  dolefully  sings  :  — ■ 

* 

"Now  charnels  rattle  ;  scattered  limbs,  and  all 
The  various  bones,  obsequious  to  the  call, 
Self-moved  advance, —  the  neck,  perhaps,  to  meet 
The  distant  head ;  the  distant  head,  the  feet. 
Dreadful  to  view  !     See,  through  the  dusky  sky, 
Fragments  of  bodies  in  confusion  fly, 
To  distant  regions  journeying,  there  to  claim 
Deserted  members,  and  complete  the  frame." 

How  refreshing  to  turn  from  this  disgusting  scene 
of  horrors,  and  listen  to  a  song  of  truth  !  — 

"  If  lightning  were  the  gross,  corporeal  frame 
Of  some  angelic  essence,  whose  bright  thoughts 


276  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

As  far  surpassed  in  keen  rapidity 
The  lagging  action  of  his  limbs  as  doth 
Man's  mind  his  clay,  with  like  excess  of  speed 
To  animated  thought  of  lightnings  flies 
That  spirit  body  o'er  life's  deeps  divine, 
Far  past  the  golden  isles  of  memory." 

Through  the  middle  ages,  this  doctrine  prevailed, 
with  only  an  occasional  dissenting  voice.  It  was 
supported  by  scholasticism,  with  subtlest  logic  and 
metaphysical  hair-splitting.  Science  has  shattered 
it  to  dust ;  but  most  conservative  theologians  still 
cling  to  it,  and  hold  up  its  disgusting  details  as 
boldly  and  nauseatingly  as  ever.  They  contend 
that  the  example  of  Christ's  resurrection  proves 
the  resurrection  of  all.  A  distinguished  divine,  Dr. 
Spring,  writes  :  — 

"  Whether  buried  in  the  earth,  or  floating  in  the 
sea,  or  consumed  by  the  flames,  or  enriching  a  battle- 
field, or  evaporating  in  the  atmosphere,  all,  from 
Adam  to  the  latest-born,  shall  wend  their  way  to  the 
great  arena  of  the  judgment.  Every  perished  bone 
and  every  secret  particle  of  dust  shall  obey  the  sum- 
mons, and  come  forth.  If  one  could  then  look  upon 
the  earth,  he  would  see  it  as  one  mighty  excavated 
globe,  and  wonder  how  such  countless  generations 
could  have  found  a  dwelling  beneath  its  surface/' 

When  this  doctrine  is  held  up  in  its  ugly  deform- 
ity, its  utter  untenableness  shown,  and  the  keen 
edge  of  ridicule  pointed  against  it,  the  Christian  will 
spiritualize  the  whole  scheme.  He  has  no  right  to 
do  so.     The  recognized  authorities  in  theology  re- 


Philosophy  of  Death.  277 

ceive   the   words   literally,  and    it   is   heterodox  to 
believe  otherwise. 

Mohammed  engrafted  this  dogma  into  his  theo- 
logical system,  and  it  is  taken  now  in  its  literal  sense 
by  orthodox  Moslems,  though  a  powerful  sect  repre- 
sents the  heterodox  idea  of  spiritualization. 

210.     The  Resurrection  of  Christ. 

"  The  resurrection  of  Christ  proves  the  resurrec- 
tion of  all  human  bodies/'  says  a  distinguished  theo- 
logian :  "  Christ  rose  into  heaven  with  his  body  of 
flesh  and  blood,  and  wears  it  there  now,  and  will  for- 
ever. Had  he  been  there  in  body  before,  it  would 
have  been  no  such  wonder  that  he  should  have  re- 
turned with  it ;  but  that  the  flesh  of  our  flesh,  and 
bone  of  our  bone,  should  be  seated  at  the  right  hand 
of  God,  is  worthy  of  the  greatest  admiration." 

The  Christian  dogma  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
body  has  its  source  in  the  wild  speculations  of  Zoro- 
aster, the  Persian  law-giver  and  prophet ;  and  in  the 
dogmas  of  the  Egyptian  priesthood.  It  was  adopted 
by  the  Jews,  who,  in  their  close  relations  to  that 
ancient  people,  were  deeply  impressed  with  the 
melodramatic  outlines  of  this  doctrine  as  taught  at 
its  source.  The  scheme  ran  thus  :  The  good  Or- 
muzd  created  man  pure  and  happy,  and  to  pass  to  a 
heavenly  immortality ;  but  the  baleful  Ahriman  in- 
sinuated his  hateful  presence,  and  destroyed  the 
plans  of  the  Creator  by  introducing  corruptions 
among  mankind,  to  be  expiated  by  disease  and  death 


278  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

of  the  body,  and  the  consignment  of  the  unclothed 
spirit  to  the  terrible  sufferings  of  hell. 

But  the  great  battle  between  the  god  of  evil  and 
the  god  of  good  goes  on  unceasingly ;  and,  in  the 
end,  the  good  shall  triumph,  and  the  evil  one  sink 
into  discomfiture.  All  evil  deeds  will  then  be  can- 
celed, and  the  original  order  of  things  restored. 
Then  all  souls  shall  have  their  shattered  bodies  re- 
stored intact,  and  the  grand  march  of  creation  com- 
mence anew. 

If  we  substitute  Satan  for  Ahriman,  we  have  the 
Jewish  doctrine  complete.  Satan  corrupts  mankind  ; 
for  which  they  suffer  death,  and  the  punishment  of 
hell.  The  resurrection  of  the  body  restored  man  to 
his  original  condition  of  purity.  In  other  words, 
God,  the  infinite  and  eternal  spirit,  came  to  earth, 
took  on  a  human  body,  and  ascended  with  it  to 
heaven,  and  eternally  retains  the  garments  of  flesh 
and  blood,  in  order  to  teach  man  that  in  like  manner 
his  spirit  will  ascend.  But  Paul  says,  "  Flesh  and 
blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God." 

211.     Teachings  of  the  Bible. 

The  church  has  misunderstood  the  teachings  of 
the  gospel.  You  will  not  accuse  me  of  desiring  to 
uphold  the  infallibility  of  the  Bible.  I  wish  to  do  it 
justice  as  a  record  of  spiritual  impressions  and  phe- 
nomena. Its  teachings  are  filled  with  Spiritualism. 
Paul  writes,  "  But  some  one  will  say,  How  are  the 
dead  raised  up,  and  with  what  bodies  do  they  come  ? " 


Philosophy  of  Death.  279 

"  Thou  fool !  that  which  thou  sowest,  thou  sowest 
not  that  body  that  shall  be,  but  naked  grain  ;  and 
God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  has  pleased  him." 
"There  are  celestial  bodies  and  terrestrial  bodies." 
"There  is  a  natural  body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual 
body."  "  The  first  man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy :  the 
second  man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven."  "  Flesh 
and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God." 
"  We  shall  all  be  changed  ;  and  bear  the  image  of 
the  heavenly,  as  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the 
earthy." 

212.     Objections  of  Science. 

Let  us  look  at  the  objections  against  the  resur- 
rection of  the  flesh,  and  the  assigned. reasons  which 
render  it  a  necessary  part  of  the  orthodox  scheme 
of  salvation.  The  dogma  of  a  literal  hell  of  fire 
being  received,  that  of  the  resurrection  is  unavoida- 
ble ;  for  fire  and  physical  torture  cannot  apply  to  a 
disembodied  spirit.  The  old  body  must  be  drawn 
from  the  tomb,  and  united  with  the  spirit,  that  both 
together  may  suffer  for  sins  that  both  together  have 
committed.  A  living  Presbyterian  divine,  in  the 
fervor  of  his  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  sinners,  exclaims, 
"  The  bodies  of  the  damned  in  the  resurrection  shall 
be  fit  dwellings  for  their  vile  minds.  With  all  those 
fearful  and  horrid  expressions  which  every  base  and 
malignant  passion  wakes  up  in  the  human  counte- 
nance stamped  upon  it  for  eternity,  and  burned  in  by 
the  flaming  fury  of  their  terrific  wickedness,  they 


280  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

will  be  compelled  to  look  upon  their  own  deformity, 
and  to  feel  their  fitting  doom." 

When  the  reasoner  starts  from  wrong  data,  he 
runs  as  wild  a  course  as  the  mathematician  when  he 
begins  with  wrong  figures  to  work  a  problem.  The 
admission  of  the  dogma  of  hell  brought  with  it  this 
one,  still  more  absurd.  If  the  body  be  resurrected, 
what  body  shall  arise,  —  the  body  that  died,  or  that 
which  is  possessed  while  in  health  ?  Physiologists 
affirm  that  the  fleshy  portions  of  the  body  change 
in  from  seven  to  thirty  days  :  at  the  end  of  a  year, 
not  a  particle  of  the  former  body  remains.  If  the 
body  changes  every  month,  we  have  twelve  new 
bodies  a  year,  and  at  threescore  years  and  ten  we 
have  possessed  eight  hundred  and  forty  bodies.  At 
the  final  day,  which  shall  be  the  honored  seat  of  the 
soul  ?  One  has  as  good  claim  as  the  other.  Per- 
haps all  will  be  claimed,  —  a  theory  which  seems 
necessary  if  it  be  necessary  for  the  flesh  and  spirit 
to  suffer  together  for  the  sins  conmitted  together,  — 
and  the  miserable  soul  will  possess  a  body  as  large 
as  the  writhing  Titan,  Tityrus,  whose  fabled  body 
covered  nine  acres !  If  the  last  body  be  the  hon- 
ored one,  and  resurrected  just  as  the  spirit  left  it,  as 
a  major  portion  of  mankind  die  of  disease,  what  a 
loathsome  assemblage  must  the  last  day  present ! 
In  this  case  the  saint  will  be  obliged  to  drag  his  de- 
formed body  through  eternity  !  The  "  living  skele- 
ton "  must  forever  remain  a  skeleton ;  Daniel  Lam- 
bert, the  mammoth  man,  will  weigh  half  a  ton,  either 
in  one  place  or  the  other.     The  pale,  sickly,  cadav- 


Philosophy  of  Death.  281 

erous,  deformed,  remain  pale,  sickly,  cadaverous, 
deformed,  for  ever  and  ever.  But  Dr.  Hitchcock 
evades  the  otherwise  inexplicable  difficulty,  by  say- 
ing, "  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  resurrected  body 
should  contain  a  single  particle  of  the  body  laid  in 
the  grave,  if  it  only  contain  particles  of  the  same 
kind,  united  in  the  same  proportion,  and  the  com- 
pound be  made  to  assume  the  same  structure,  as  the 
natural  body."  What,  then,  becomes  of  the  cardinal 
idea  which  renders  resurrection  necessary,  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  sinful  body  ?  Such  a  resurrection 
would  not  at  all  meet  the  requirements  and  necessi- 
ties of  the  hypothesis.  The  explanation  is  a  denial 
and  desertion  of  the  dogma,  and  more  unreal  than 
that  stupendous  myth.  It  illustrates  how  entangled 
the  philosopher  becomes  when  he  attempts  the  im- 
possible task  of  harmonizing  science  and  theology. 
The  device  is  a  willful  subterfuge  to  escape  the  diffi- 
culty ;  a  forlorn  hope  of  an  expiring  cause. 


XIII. 


THE  CHANGE  CALLED  DEATH. 

For  my  own  part,  I  feel  myself  transported  with  the  most  ardent  impa- 
tience to  join  the  society  of  my  two  departed  friends.  I  ardently  wish 
also  to  visit  those  celebrated  worthies  of  whose  honorable  conduct  I 
have  heard  and  read  much,  or  whose  virtues  I  have  myself  commemo- 
rated in  some  of  my  writings.  To  this  glorious  assembly  I  am  speedily 
advancing;  and  I  would  not  be  turned  back  in  my  journey,  even  on 
assured  conditions  that  my  youth,  like  that  of  Pelius,  should  again  be 
restored.  .  .  .  And,  after  all,  should  this  my  firm  persuasion  of  the 
soul's  immortality  prove  to  be  a  mere  delusion,  it  is  at  least  a  pleasing 
delusion,  and  I  will  cherish  it  to  my  latest  breath.  —  Cicero. 

O  my  sons,  do  not  imagine,  when  death  shall  have  separated  me  from  you, 
that  I  shall  cease  to  exist.  ...  If  the  souls  of  departed  worthies  did 
not  watch  over  and  guard  their  surviving  fame,  the  renown  of  their  illus- 
trious actions  would  soon  be  worn  out  from  the  memory  of  men. 

Cyrus,  as  reported  by  Xenophon. 

Dying,  she  shall  be  welcomed  by  her  father,  her  mother,  and  her  brother, 
in  that  other  world.  —  Sophocles. 

Do  not  say,  Socrates  is  buried :  say  that  you  buried  my  body. 

Socrates. 

213.     Ultimate  of  Nature's  Plan.. 

N"  ATURE,  by  one  plan  ever  pursued,  seeks  one 
grand  and  glorious  aim,  —  the  elimination  of 
an  immortal  intelligence.  From  the  chaotic  begin- 
ning, through  the  monsters  of  the  primeval  slime, 
through  all  the  evanescent  forms  of  being,  up  to 
man,  that  plan  has  been  undeviatingly  followed,  and 
that  aim  held  in  view.     Without  this  attainment, 


The  Change  called  Death.  283 

creation  is  a  gigantic  failure,  and  the  results  are 
objectless  combinations  of  causes.  The  great  tree 
of  life  strikes  its  roots  deep  into  the  soil  of  the  ele- 
mental world,  and  stretches  up  its  branches  into  the 
present.  Its  perfect  fruit  is  man,  immortal  in  his 
spiritual  life.  Such  is  a  necessity  of  his  constitu- 
tion. Through  no  other  being  can  that  result  be 
reached.  The  laws  that  perfect  a  tiger,  a  lion,  an 
ox,  or  a  horse,  each  after  its  type,  making  them 
more  and  more  perfect  of  their  kind,  apply  to  him 
physically.  With  them,  however,  the  end  in  that 
manner  is  reached.  After  a  perfect  tiger  or  deer  or 
ox  is  attained,  what  then  ?  Nothing.  Causation  in 
that  direction  is  satisfied.  After  a  perfect  physical 
man  is  created,  what  then  ?  Everything.  Only  a 
small  fragment  is  gained.  He  walks  on  the  bound- 
aries of  a  vast  and  illimitable  ocean  of  capabilities, 
only  the  means  of  attaining  which  have  been  ac- 
quired. Does  nature  satisfy  herself  with  the  bud  of 
promise,  the  flower  even,  or  with  the  mature  fruit  ? 

Man,  as  man,  cannot  fulfill  his  destiny.  There  is 
want  of  time,  there  is  want  of  opportunity.  A 
being,  capable  of  infinite  growth,  must  have  infinite 
duration  in  which  to  expand.  The  opportunity,  the 
duration,  is  bestowed  by  death. 

214,      Death   is  not   Change   of   Being:    it   is 

.  Change  of  Sphere. 

The  spirit,  whether  in  the  body  or  out  of  it,  is 
the  same ;   so  the  man,  who  goes  out  of  the  door 


284  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

of  his  house,  is  the  same  individual  that  he  was 
within. 

215.     The  Spirit  and  the  Body. 

The  spiritual  being  is  severed  from  the  physical 
body,  perhaps  forcibly,  perhaps  slowly,  by  the  matu- 
rity of  age.  However  severe  the  forces  that  rend 
and  obliterate  the  mental  form,  they  have  no  perma- 
nent effect  on  the  spirit,  for  that  is  unaffected  by 
physical  forces  or  elements.  If  the  body  be  crushed 
to  atoms  by  the  falling  avalanche,  the  spirit  is  unaf- 
fected, because  the  mineral  mass  is  a  void,  through 
which  it  passes  swiftly  and  unharmed.  So,  of  all 
the  terrible  forms  in  which  death  presents  itself,  the 
spirit  passes  the  storm,  leaving  the  body  wrecked 
and  shattered.  The  kernel  is  left ;  and,  although 
the  chaff  is  blown  away,  existence  remains. 

216.     Man  should  Mature,  like  the  Fruit  of 
Autumn,  before  Death. 

Yet  the  plan  of  nature  teaches  that  man  should 
mature  in  age,  and  the  separation  take  place  as  grad- 
ually and  beautifully  as  the  fruit  drops  in  autumn 
from  its  parent  limb.  It  is  not  desirable  to  enter 
the  spirit-world  before  a  ripe  experience  in  this. 
There  is  a  great  loss  by  so  doing.  The  instinct  of 
life  is  a  barrier  against  the  temptation  to  enter  the 
spirit- world.  Death  is  fearful,  and  justly  so,  to  those 
who  regard  it  as  a  leap  into  profound  darkness,  and 
it  is  idle  to  talk  to  a  heart  lacerated  by  the  iron  hand 
which  tears  from  it  the  dearly  loved. 


The  Change  called  Death.  285 

217.     Death  no  Occasion  for  Rejoicing. 

As  every  extreme  induces  an  opposite  extreme, — 
from  the  grim  picture  of  the  fleshless  skeleton  with 
his  remorseless  scythe,  from  the  lament  and  low 
moan  of  utter  desolation,  —  the  Spiritualist  paints 
death  with  rapture,  and  entitles  apotheosis  "gone 
to  the  summer-land,"  "passed  on,"  "re-born,"  and 
speaks  of  the  shroud  as  a  marriage-robe.  Let  us 
not  be  hasty.  As  flesh-clad  spirits,  we  walk  the 
courts  of  immortality  as  much  now  as  we  shall  in 
the  infinite  future.  We,  as  spirits,  are  now  in  the 
spirit-world  ;  and,  unless  we  pass  from  this  sphere 
with  all  its  duties  completed,  we  have  nothing  for 
which  to  rejoice.  Enter  the  chamber  of  the  dead, 
The  senses  reign  supreme.  They  stifle  our  intuition. 
They  have  the  logic  of  appearance.  Call  to  the 
dear  one  ;  and  over  that  narrow  chasm  no  answer 
will  return.  Dark,  terribly  still,  fearfully  sullen,  the 
oblivion !  —  Oblivion  ? 

Wait,  lacerated  heart,  and  throbbing  brain  ;  wait, 
until  the  senses  are  less  active,  and  the  interior  soul 
asserts  itself.  Then,  perhaps,  you  will  feel  more 
reconciled  with  fate. 

218.    The  Spirit  after  Death  —  how  Received. 

Not  alone  passes  the  spirit  to  its  new  domain. 
Those  it  has  loved,  those  gone  before,  are  there  to 
welcome  it.  The  outcast  and  prodigal  are  met  on 
the  threshold  by  benevolent  spirits,  who  lead  them 


286  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

into  the  new  and  delightful  pastures,  and  endeavor 
to  awaken  their  understanding  to  the  new  and  su- 
preme life  they  have  entered.  Death  comes  as  a 
liberator.  The  body  can  no  longer  subserve  the 
purposes  of  the  spirit.  It  can  only  inflict  pain. 
Worn  out  by  age,  destroyed  by  disease,  or  lacerated 
by  casualty,  it  fails  in  its  uses,  and  is  cast  off.  The 
steps,  by  which  the  doorway  is  reached,  are  painful ; 
but,  once  there,  all  is  rest.  The  quivering  limbs,  the 
contracting  muscles,  do  not  indicate  pain,  but  sim- 
ply the  disturbed  equilibrium  of  forces.  The  spirit 
enters  the  clairvoyant  state  deeper  and  deeper  —  that 
is,  more  and  more  separated  from  the  body  —  until 
the  final  parting.  Often,  while  yet  connected  wTith  the 
body,  it  recognizes  dear  friends  on  the  heavenly 
coast ;  and,  as  the  setting  sun  gilds  the  landscape,  so 
the  spirit  reflects  on  the  countenance  the  glories  it 
beholds,  and  the  pale  lips  smile  sweetly,  as  though 
they  would  speak  of  infinite  beatitudes. 

From  the  threshold  it  is  led  by  welcoming  friends, 
and  introduced  to  its  new  life.  It  has  lost  nothing  : 
it  has  gained  nothing.  It  is  the  same  individual, 
with  no  faculty  diminished  or  increased,  before  whom 
extends  the  same  vast  and  interminable  ocean  of 
progress,  to  be  navigated  only  by  the  culture  of  its 
own  inherent  powers. 

219.     Mourn  not  the  Dead. 

The  believer  in  this  beautiful  apotheosis  should 
not  shadow  the  joys  of  the  departed  by  putting  on 


The  Change  called  Death.  287 

the  weeds  of  woe.  To  those  who  regard  death  as 
the  "  King  of  Terrors,"  it  may  be  well ;  but,  for  him, 
it  is  contradictory  to  the  belief  expressed.  We 
know  the  feelings  of  the  lacerated  heart,  and  deeply 
sympathize  with  its  agonized  throbs  when  robbed 
of  its  idols.  Over  the  grave  the  mourner  gazes 
sadly  and  wearily,  the  senses  crushed  and  torn,  and 
the  spirit  dimmed  by  the  pelting  rain,  insensible  to 
the  impressions  of  the  invisible  world.  The  dark 
clouds  of  the  physical  senses  obscure  the  spiritual 
sun  ;  and  we  cry  out,  from  our  rack  of  torture,  to 
those  who  are  gone,  and  over  the  chill  void  even 
echo  refuses  her  answer.  If  we  loved  the  living,  we 
worship  the  dead.  We  would  pay  them  respect. 
We  would  change  for  them  the  order  of  our  lives, 
and  constantly  give  outward  expression  to  our  grief. 
We  give  such  expression  in  our  garments.  The 
sackcloth  and  ashes  of  the  heathen  devotee  become 
with  us  crape  and  black  satin.  If  the  dead  are 
truly  dead ;  if  they  go  down  to  the  grave  as  a  final 
goal ;  if  they  pass  to  an  infinitely  removed  hell,  or, 
almost  equally  deplorable,  to  a  heaven  where  they 
forget  us  in  the  new  scenes  with  which  they  are  sur- 
rounded ;  if  death  destroy  all  human  emotions  and 
feelings,  and  if  we  meet  on  the  shining  shore  our 
departed  ones  as  cold,  intellectual  passivities,  —  oh, 
then,  let  us  put  on,  not  only  mourning  garments, 
but  the  hair-cloth  of  the  ancients,  that  its  irritation 
may  constantly  remind  us  of  our  irreparable  loss  ! 
Let  us  wear  it,  not  for  a  year,  but  for  our  mortal 
lives,  till  it  cuts  through  nerve  and  sinew,  and  the 
>ones  to  their  marrow. 


288  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  we  receive  the  Spiritual  phi- 
losophy, and  believe  that  death  is  only  the  gateway 
to  another,  better,  and  brighter  state  of  existence ; 
that  the  spirits  of  the  departed  are  constantly  around 
us,  and  that  all  that  is  required  is  a  channel  for  us 
to  receive  words  of  love  from  them,  —  why  should 
we  put  on  the  meaningless  weeds  of  woe  ? 

If  our  grief  repeat  itself  on  the  minds  of  the 
departed,  it  is  selfish  in  us  to  repine,  and,  by  our 
sorrow,  give  pain  to  those  for  whom  we  suffer. 
Mourning  garments  perpetuate  and  keep  alive  this 
unwarranted  grief.  They  are  fitting  for  a  barbarian, 
or  a  believer  in  the  doctrines  descended  from  an  age 
of  barbarism,  but  not  for  those  who  know  that  death 
is  the  usher  to  a  higher  plane  of  existence. 

Respect  for  the  dead  !  —  not  to  be  paid  with  crape 
and  solemn  faces,  sighs  and  tears,  but  by  a  well- 
ordered  life,  that  shall  reflect  the  purity  of  those 
loved  ones,  who  look  down  on  us  from  the  vernal 
heights  of  immortality. 


X  I  V. 

MEDIUMSHIP. 

They  are  the  mystic  lyres, 

Attuned  by  hands  above, 
That  waft  from  heaven's  celestial  choirs 

The  songs  of  angel-love. 

I  believe  there  is  a  supernatural  and  spiritual  world,  in  which  human  spirits, 
both  bad  and  good,  live  in  a  state  of  consciousness.  I  believe  that  any 
of  these  spirits  may,  according  to  the  order  of  God,  in  the  laws  of  their 
place  of  residence,  have  intercourse  with  this  world,  and  become  visible 
to  mortals.  —  Dr.  Adam  Clarke. 

No  man  was  ever  truly  great  without  divine  inspiration.  —  Cicero. 

220.     mediumship  and  spirit  influences  among 

Savages. 

THE  rude  and  childish  methods  of  savage  tribes 
to  divine  the  future  depend  on  the  supposed 
interferences  of  spiritual  beings,  with  which  they 
people  the  regions  of  the  air. 

I  have  gathered  up  the  various  views  entertained, 
by  different  nations  and  tribes,  of  the  influence  of 
spirits.  Childish  and  conflicting  as  many  of  them 
appear  to  be,  it  will  be  seen  that  one  cardinal  idea 
underlies  them  all. 

221.     The  Australians. 

When  the  Australians  desire  success  in  the  chase, 
they  make  a  grass  image  of  the  kangaroo,  and  dance 
19 


290  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

around  it,  believing  that  the  image  gives  them  power 
over  the  real  kangaroo.  The  same  custom  is  found 
with  the  Algonquin  Indians ;  and  they  believe  that 
an  arrow  touched  with  the  magical  medawin,  fired 
into  the  track  of  an  animal,  arrests  it  in  its  course 
until  the  hunter  can  overtake  it.  Among  other 
tribes,  images  of  persons  over  whom  injurious  in- 
fluences are  wished  to  be  exerted  are  made,  and  the 
destruction  of  the  images  is  supposed  to  affect  the 
persons  represented.  The  same  custom  is  found 
with  the  Peruvians,  in  Borneo,  and  in  India. 

222.     The  Maori. 

Among  the  Maori,  the  magicians  set  sticks  in  the 
ground,  to  represent  each  warrior  who  is  to  start  on 
an  expedition,  and  they  whose  sticks  are  blown  down 
are  to  die.  The  Feejeans  divine  by  shaking  a  branch 
of  dry  cocoanuts  :  if  all  fall  off,  the  sick  person  will 
recover  ;  if,  not  he  will  die.  They  divine  by  observ- 
ing their  limbs :  if  the  right  trembles  first,  it  is  well ; 
if  the  left,  it  is  bad :  by  the  taste  of  a  leaf,  or  whether 
they  can  bite  it  through,  or  whether  a  drop  of  water 
will  run  down  their  arm,  or  drop  off. 

223.     The  African  and  New  Zealander. 

Even  the  spirit  of  the  dead  can  be  affected,  by 
charms,  incantations,  and  prayer,  or  directly  through 
its  body.  The  African  fastens  the  jaw-bone  of  his 
enemy  to  a  drum,  that  the  constant  jar  may  torment 


Mediums  hip.  291 

him.  The  Indian  wears  the  paws  of  the  bear,  or  the 
tusks  and  teeth  of  savage  brutes,  to  give  him  cour- 
age. The  New  Zealander  forces  small  pebbles  down 
the  throat  of  an  infant  to  harden  its  heart.  If  the 
properties  of  amulets  pass  to  the  wearer,  much  more 
would  the  food  influence  the  character.  The  flesh 
of  timid  animals  makes  the  courageous  man  weak, 
while  that  of  ferocious  animals  gives  him  strength 
and  courage. 

224.     Connection  between  the  Person  and  his 

Name. 

The  supposed  connection  between  the  person  and 
his  name  led  to  a  diversified  series  of  superstitions. 
The  Indians  of  British  America  have  the  greatest 
aversion  to  repeating  their  names,  as  have  the  abori- 
ginals of  the  United  States,  of  South  America,  and 
Van  Dieman's  Land.  A  Hindoo  wife  never  under 
any  circumstances  mentions  the  name  of  her  hus- 
band, a  custom  also  observed  in  East  Africa.  The 
Kafirs  extend  this  custom  beyond  the  husband  to  his 
relatives.  Savages  avoid  speaking  the  names  of  the 
dead  with  mysterious  horror,  speaking  only  by  allu- 
sion. They  avoid  speaking  the  names  of  fatal  dis- 
eases. .  .  .  The  Yezides  never  mention  the  name  of 
Satan.  The  Laplanders  dislike  calling  the  bear  by 
name,  and  in  Asia  the  same  dislike  is  found  for  men- 
tioning the  name  of  the  tiger.  Brahma  is  a  sacred 
name  in  India,  as  Jehovah  is  to  the  Jews,  or  the 
great  name  of  Allah  to  the  Mohammedans.  To 
speak  the  name  is  to  connect  one's  self,  or  get  en 


292  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

rapport,  with  the  object  named.  Among  savage  peo- 
ples, the  belief  in  the  existence  and  presence  of  spir- 
itual beings  is  almost  universal ;  and,  though  the 
means  employed  to  hold  converse  with  them  may 
appear  undignified  and  juvenile,  the  communications 
thus  received  are  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  re- 
ceiver. The  shaking  of  the  bunch  of  cocoanuts 
gives  as  divine  a  revelation  to  the  Feejean  as  the 
pen  of  the  inspired  medium  to  another  race. 

225.     The  Hermit  of  the  Ganges 

Retires  to  the  eternal  solitudes  of  the  mountain 
caverns  or  the  impenetrable  wilds,  and,  by  fasting 
and  prayer,  reduces  the  physical  body,  thereby  be- 
coming susceptible  to  the  influence  of  immortal 
intelligences. 

226.     The  Red  Indian, 

When  arriving  at  the  age  of  manhood,  retires  to  the 
forest,  and  fasts  until  he  receives  a  revelation.  So 
do  their  "medicine  men,"  by  reducing  the  flesh, 
bring  themselves  in  contact  with  the  spirit. 

227.     The  Pythoness  and  Oracles. 

The  prophecies  of  the  Delphian  oracle,  which, 
perhaps,  were  the  most  truthful  the  world  has  ever 
possessed,  were  delivered  by  susceptible  women, 
under  the  narcotizing  influence  of  a  subtile  vapor, 
issuing  from  a  crevice  of  the  rocks ;  and  the  other 


Mediums  kip.  293 

Grecian  oracles,  though  not  as  famous,  were,  at 
times,  of  a  remarkable  character.  The  Pythons,  or 
mediums,  in  all  instances  purified  themselves  by 
fasting  and  ablution.  The  unclean  could  not  enter 
the  presence  of  the  divine  spirits. 

228.     Position  of  the  Medium. 

The  medium  occupies  a  fearful  position.  He  is 
the  channel  through  which  the  thoughts  of  angels 
flow,  and  the  purity  of  their  expression  depends  on 
the  purity  of  his  life.  ...  The  most  crystal  water, 
when  made  to  flow  over  bogs  and  marshes,  becomes 
foul  with  slime,  and  the  most  heavenly  thoughts  and 
emotions  become  turbid  and  fermented  to  error,  when 
forced  through  the  channel  furnished  by  an  impure 
mind. 

229.     Why  Disreputable  Media  are  Used. 

"But,"  it  is  asked,  "why  do  spirits  descend  to 
employ  such  persons  as  mediums  ?  Do  they  not 
know  that  this  very  thing  is  a  stumbling-block  to 
the  believer,  and  a  weak  point  for  the  attack  of  the 
skeptic  ? " 

All  this  is  well  considered ;  but  are  you  sure  they 
do  so  from  choice  ?  The  number  of  persons  organ- 
ized for  mediums  of  necessity  is  small.  There  are 
thousands  of  spirits  wishing  to  communicate,  for  one 
medium.  So  anxious  are  they,  that  every  opportunity, 
offering  the  least  chance  for  intercourse  with  their 
friends,  is  eagerly  seized. 


294  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

230.     Sensitiveness   does   not   Exonerate   Me- 
diums for  their  Waywardness.  _ 

The  sensitive  condition,  the  cause  of  mediumship 
and  its  necessary  accompaniment,  renders  the  me- 
dium easily  affected  by  surrounding  circumstances. 
Hence,  the  waywardness  of  character  they  too  often 
exhibit,  and  for  which  they  are  unqualifiedly  cen- 
sured. They  should  seek  the  best  gifts,  and  order 
their  lives  after  the  highest  ideal.  The  fact  of  their 
mediumistic  susceptibility  does  not  remove  in  the 
least  their  responsibility  ;  nor  can  their  shortcomings 
be  excused  by  saying  that  they  are  instruments  in  the 
hands  of  controlling  intelligences.  No  good  and 
pure  spirit  will  ever  lead  astray ;  and  if  intelligences, 
whatever  may  be  their  claims,  attempt  to  lead  from 
the  path  of  rectitude  and  honor,  they  should  be  at 
once  discarded.  True  and  noble  spirits  will  ever 
urge  onward  in  the  way  of  right ;  encourage  the 
faltering,  and  heal  the  wounds  of  the  fallen. 

231.     Mediumship  Constitutional. 

Mediumship,  both  for  physical  manifestations  and 
of  a  psychological  character,  is  purely  constitutional. 
It  cannot  be  bought  or  sold.  It  does  not  depend  on 
moral  or  intellectual  development.  We  have  seen 
wonderful  physical  manifestations  through  individ- 
uals of  most  questionable  morals,  and  received 
communications  in  writing  of  a  very  satisfactory 
character  from  dear  departed  friends,  through  igno- 
rant and  inferior  persons. 


Mediums  hip.  295 

232.     Influence  of  the  Medium. 

As  every  medium  has  a  personality  more  or  less 
positive,  every  one  colors  his  communications  in  a 
more  or  less  decided  manner.  Each  has  a  peculiar- 
ity of  his  own.  Subtile  differences  in  organization 
allow  certain  manifestations  more  readily  than  oth- 
ers ;  andf  by  a  permutation  of  innumerable  conditions 
on  the  part  of  the  medium  and  spirit,  a  wonderful 
variety  of  phenomena  results. 

233.     What  is  the  State  of  Mediumship  ? 

What  is  this  peculiarity  of  organization,  and  how 
acquired  ?  It  would  be  difficult  to  tell  what  it  is. 
It  is  often,  and  usually  is,  possessed  at  birth ;  or  may 
be  slowly  or  suddenly  acquired-  The  spirit  seems 
to  have  less  hold  of  the  body,  and  to  be  more  sensi- 
tive for  that  reason.  By  sitting  in  circles,  the  con- 
dition may  be  acquired,  after  the  manner  that  a 
musical  string  will,  by  repeated  vibrations,  become 
harmonious  with  another,  if  that  be  fixed. 


334.     Illustration  from  Musical  Instruments. 

If  two  strings  are  stretched  with  unequal  ten- 
sion, —  one  having  the  points  of  tension  fixed,  while 
those  of  the  other  are  movable,  —  the  latter  will  not 
respond  in  unison  with  the  former.  But  every  vibra- 
tion of  the  first  will  tend  to  move  the  points  of  ten- 
sion of  the  latter,  and  will,  after  a  time,  bring  them 
into  such  position  that  the  two  strings  will  be  in 


296  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

unison.  The  time  required  to  produce  this  result 
will  depend  on  the  violence  of  the  vibrations,  and 
the  facility  with  which  the  points  of  support  yield. 
This  may  result  by  a  single  vibration,  or  it  may  re- 
quire days,  months,  or  years. 

"  When  a  tuning-fork  receives  a  blow,  and  is  made 
to  rest  on  a  piano-forte  during  its  vibrations,  every 
string,  which,  either  by  its  natural  length  or  by  its 
spontaneous  subdivisions,  is  capable  of  executing 
corresponding  vibrations,  responds  in  a  sympathetic 
note."  The  strings  not  thus  in  harmony  remain 
silent.  "  Some  one  or  other  of  the  notes  of  an  organ 
are  generally  in  unison  with  the  panes  or  the  whole 
sash  of  a  window,  which  consequently  resound  when 
those  notes  are  sounded."  The  same  effect  may  be 
often  observed  in  thunder ;  the  sound  rolling  away, 
growing  gradually  lower,  until  a  note  is  touched 
which  makes  the  windows  and  the  whole  house  jar. 
The  long-continued  vibrations  of  neighboring  bodies, 
when  not  in  unison,  affect  each  other,  every  vibration 
striving  to  reduce  the  other  to  concord.  Adjacent 
organ  pipes,  not  in  unison,  will  often  after  a  time 
force  each  other  into  harmony  ;  and  "  two  clocks 
whose  beats  differed  considerably,  when  separate, 
have  been  known  to  beat  together  when  fixed  to 
the  same  wall,  and  one  clock  had  forced  the  pendu- 
lum of  another  into  motion,  when  merely  standing 
on  the  same  stone  pavement."  These  illustrations 
may  not  appear  at  first  pertinent ;  but,  on  mature 
reflection,  they  will  be  acknowledged  as  the  rough 
exponents,  in  the   physical  world,  of  the   science, 


Mediums  kip.  297 

adaptations,  and   harmonic   relations  of  the  spirit- 
ual. 

235.     Influence  of  the  Controlling  Spirit. 

A  spirit,  determined  to  develop  a  friend  as  a  me- 
dium, may,  by  constant  magnetic  effort,  induce  a 
state  of  harmonious  vibration  between  himself  and 
his  friend,  just  as  the  fixed  string,  by  throwing  the 
other  into  vibration,  at  length,  by  slow  approxima- 
tions, draws  it  into  harmony,  or,  in  other  words, 
makes  it  echo  its  own  notes.  It  then  becomes  a 
medium  for  the  utterance  of  the  other. 

236.     Spirits   not  Evil  because   they  Fail  in 

their  Communications. 

Here  we  have  unfolded  much  that  passes  as  the 
work  of  "evil,  undeveloped  spirits.',  Suppose,  while 
the  above-mentioned  strings  are  out  of  harmony,  we 
strike  one,  and  the  other  vibrates  :  it  only  yields 
discord.  Its  tone  has  no  resemblance  to  that  which 
awoke  it.  It  has  spoken,  but  it  has  not  spoken  a 
word  of  what  it  was  told  to  speak.  Is  it  false  ?  No. 
It  has  made  an  effort,  and  done  the  best  it  can. 
That  effort  will  enable  it  to  respond  more  truthfully 
at  the  next  trial.  It  may  fail  again  and  again,  but 
sooner  or  later  it  will  give  forth  harmonious  re- 
sponses. 

While  holding  a  seance  of  peculiar  interest  with 
Dr.  D.  and  family,  his  wife's  sister  became  subject 
to  strange  muscular  vibrations.     Some  laughed,  oth- 


298  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

ers  wisely  said  it  was  fancy,  while  others  would  have 
said  an  evil  spirit  had  taken  possession. 

A  few  evenings  after  this,  the  family  held  a  seance 
alone  ;  and  a  beloved  brother,  who  was  accidentally 
killed  a  year  previous,  wrote  wonderful  communica- 
tions through  her  now  firm  hand.  The  eagerness 
of  the  spirit  rapidly  broke  down  the  opposing  obsta- 
cles ;  but  had  the  friends  cried,  "An  evil  spirit !  "  at 
the  commencement,  the  nervous  vibration  would 
have  corresponded  with  this  opposition,  until  a  dia- 
bolic influence  would  have  readily  suggested  itself. 
There  are  spirits  far  from  good,  but  the  greatest 
prudence  should  be  employed  when  judging  of  phe- 
nomena from  the  material  plane. 

While  the  medium  is  passing  through  this  transi- 
tional state,  he  is  often  violently  controlled  ;  and  the 
paper  on  which  he  essays  to  write  is  covered  with 
hieroglyphical  marks.  With  perfection  of  control, 
contortions  and  unintelligible  writing  will  cease,  and 
a  beautiful  sense  of  harmony  yield  exquisite  thoughts, 
set  to  musical  words. 

237.     Impressibility  —  how  Induced. 

Impressibility  may  be  natural  or  induced.  Fasting, 
the  use  of  narcotics,  stimulants,  sickness,  or  loss  of 
sleep,  are  favorable  to  the  manifestation  of  the  spirit- 
power.  Whatever  weakens  the  body  increases  im- 
pressibility, and  thus  allows  the  nearer  approach  of 
the  spirit-world. 

Various  substances  from  the  vegetable  and  mine- 


Mediums  kip.  299 

ral  kingdoms  have  been  employed,  more  especially 
by  savage  peoples,  to  induce  a  state  of  excitement 
or  intoxication,  whereby  sensitiveness  might  be  pro- 
duced. Tobacco,  the  maguey,  coco,  and  chucuaco, 
were  used  by  the  Californians  ;  the  coaxihuitle,  or 
snake-plant,  by  the  Aztecs  ;  the  cassine  yupon,  or 
ilex,  and  the  iris  versicolor,  or  blue-flag,  by  the 
Northern  Indians. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  ancients  to  purify  them- 
selves, and  fast,  going  out  into  the  deserts,  amid 
solitude  and  gloom,  to  obtain  what  they  mistook  as 
divine  inspiration.  Christ  went  out  into  the  wilder- 
ness, and  fasted  forty  days.  Narcotizing  drugs  and 
vapors  were  also  used  by  the  priestesses  at  the  ora- 
cles ;  and  hasheesh,  and  other  substances  which  ex- 
cite the  brain,  are  now  employed  in  the  East  to 
induce  a  delirious  trance. 

The  state  produced  by  any  of  these  methods  is 
unreliable,  and  may  be  compared  with  the  natural 
or  true  trance,  as  muscular  motion,  produced  in  the 
dead  body  by  galvanism,  may  be  compared  with  the 
movements  of  life. 


238.  A  High  Degree  of  Mental  Excitement, 
by  Prostrating  the  Body,  Awakens  Spirit- 
ual Impressibility. 

P.  B.  Randolph  has  related  some  facts  of  his  early 
experience,  among  which  we  regard  the  following  as 
specially  remarkable  :  He  said,  that,  some  eight  or 
ten  years  ago,  he  followed  the  sea,  in  the  capacity  of 


300  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

cabin-boy.  The  captain  and  mate  were  severe  men, 
and  he  was  subjected  to  much  abuse  from  them.  On 
one  occasion  they  had  beaten  him  cruelly,  and  driven 
him  to  utter  desperation,  when  he  felt  an  interior  im- 
pulse to  cast  himself  into  the  sea,  and  so  end  his 
troubles.  He  ran  for  that  purpose  towards  the  side 
of  the  vessel ;  but,  just  as  he  was  about  to  take  the 
fatal  leap,  he  saw  the  apparition  of  an  arm  and  hand 
rising  above  the  water,  and  motioning  to  him  to  go 
back.  He  suddenly  stopped,  and  nearly  fell  back- 
ward ;  but,  after  persuading  himself  that  this  figure 
was  a  mere  phantom  of  the  imagination,  he  rallied, 
for  a  still  more  desperate  effort,  resolving  not  to  be 
diverted  from  his  purpose  that  time.  As  he  ap- 
proached the  side  of  the  vessel,  however,  he  saw  the 
whole  form  of  his  deceased  mother  floating  above 
the  waves,  and  this  time  she  addressed  him,  speaking 
to  his  internal  hearing,  and  commanded  him  to  de- 
sist from  his  purpose,  saying  that  the  time  for  him 
to  leave  the  world  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  that  there 
was  an  important  work  for  him  to  do  in  the  future. 
He  was  thus  saved  from  the  suicide's  death,  and 
strengthened  to  endure  the  insults  of  his  persecu- 
tors. In  several  other  instances,  he  had  been  saved 
from  danger,  and  strengthened  under  adversity,  by 
the  interposition  of  his  spirit-mother. 

239.     The    Exaltation    produced   by   Sickness 

Is  illustrated  in  the  case  of  Prof.  Hitchcock,  detailed 
t>y  himself  in  "  The  New-Englander,"  and  it  is  one 


Mediumship.  301 

of  the  most  striking  on  record.  He  had,  "  during  a 
fit  of  sickness,  day  after  day,  visions  of  strange  land- 
scapes spread  out  before  him,  —  mountain  and  lake 
and  forest ;  vast  rocks,  strata  upon  strata,  piled  to  the 
clouds  ;  the  panorama  of  a  world,  shattered  and  up- 
heaved, disclosing  the  grand  secrets  of  creation,  the 
unshapely  and  monstrous  rudiments  of  organic  being." 
He  became  sensitive,  by  sickness,  to  the  atmosphere 
of  the  strata.  It  is  recorded  by  his  son,  that,  during 
a  recent  illness,  he  saw  spread  out  before  him  the 
beds  of  sandstone  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  covered 
with  tracks,  and  by  them  was  enabled  to  determine 
points  on  which  he  had  during  health  studied  in  vain. 

240.  Mediumship   induced  by  Fasting. 

The  sensitive  state  induced  by  fasting  is  often  seen 
in  the  case  of  religious  enthusiasts.  The  practice 
was  valued  by  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,  and  is  yet 
held  in  high  veneration  by  savages.  The  young  In- 
dian must  go  out  into  the  wilderness,  and  fast  until 
the  Great  Spirit  manifested  himself,  before  he  could 
become  a  brave.  Trance  and  ecstasy  were  usually 
attained  by  fasting.  The  ideal  prophet  never  tasted 
food,  and  held  constant  intercourse  with  the  Deity. 
Frequently  the  fasting  was  carried  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  develop  the  most  fearful  form  of  madness. 

241.  Spiritual  Perceptions  at  Death. 

Death,  by  annulling  the  physical  powers,  seems  to 
produce  a  state  of  clairvoyance ;  and,  under  favorable 


302  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

circumstances,  the  spiritual  faculties  are  awakened 
in  a  remarkable  degree. 

A  gentleman  says,  that,  during  partial  drowning, 
"he  saw,  as  if  in  a  wide  field,  the  acts  of  his  being, 
from  the  first  dawn  of  memory  to  the  moment  of 
entering  the  water.  They  were  all  grouped  and 
arranged  in  the  order  of  succession  in  which  they 
happened,  and  he  read  the  whole  volume  of  exist- 
ence at  a  glance ;  nay,  its  incidents  and  entities 
were  photographed  on  his  mind,  limned  in  light? 
and  the  panorama  of  the  battle  of  life  lay  before 
him.,, 

"  Miss  Nancy  Bailey,  of  Merrimac,  formerly  em- 
ployed in  the  factories  here,  visited  Nashua  last 
week,  for  the  purchase  of  a  wedding-dress,  bonnet, 
bridal-cake,  etc.,  preparatory  to  her  marriage  on 
Wednesday  next.  She  had  completed  her  pur- 
chases, and  was  on  her  way  to  the  depot,  on  Satur- 
day evening,  when  the  cars  left.  She  therefore 
returned  to  the  house  of  a  friend,  Mrs.  Mitchell,  on 
Canal  Street,  near  the  Jackson  Corporation.  About 
half-past  three  on  Sunday  afternoon,  as  she  sat  at 
the  window,  she  threw  up  both  hands,  exclaiming, 
i  Why,  there  is  Mr.  Drew ! '  (the  name  of  the  gentle- 
man to  whom  she  was  to  be  married,  and  who  is  a 
resident  of  Concord,  Vt.)  Mrs.  Mitchell  went  to 
another  window,  but  no  one  was  in  sight.  At  this 
moment  a  crash  of  glass  called  her  attention  to  Miss 
Bailey,  who  had  fallen  forward  against  the  window. 
Help  was  instantly  called.  She  was  placed  upon  a 
bed,  and  soon  expired. 


Mediumship.  303 

"  Miss  Bailey  was  about  twenty-six  years  old,  and 
latterly  had  not  been  in  perfect  health.,, 


242.      Organic    Impressibility    Preferable    to 
that  which  is  induced. 

There  is  always  incompleteness  and  imperfection 
in  sensitiveness  produced  by  the  methods  previously 
stated.  The  state  may  be  induced  by  various  means, 
but  the  most  reliable  is  the  normal  organization  which 
bestows  sensitiveness  and  health  at  the  same  time. 
Sensitiveness  is  common  to  all  individuals :  it  only 
varies  in  degree.  It  appears  in  intuition,  discrimina- 
tion of  character,  and  many  other  forms.  It  depends 
on  the  delicacy  of  the  nervous  system,  —  the  more 
delicately  this  is  toned,  the  greater  its  liability  to 
disease  ;  and  hence  the  majority  of  sensitives  suffer 
more  or  less  from  pain.  Perfect  health  is  essential 
to  the  highest  order  of  impressibility.  Abstaining 
for  a  time  from  food  or  contact  with  the  world  con- 
duces to  sensitiveness  of  the  nervous  system,  but, 
carried  beyond  narrow  limits,  introverts  the  mind  on 
itself,  and  destroys  the  essential  conditions.  This 
state  is  often  seen  in  the  insane,  who  are  usually 
highly  and  painfully  impressible  ;  but  impressions  of 
their  own  minds  are  received  as  foreign,  and  strange 
hallucinations  result. 

The  body  must  be  pure.  When  inflamed  with  an 
improper  diet,  or  saturated  with  stimulants  and  nar- 
cotics, the  mind,  reciprocating  the  physical  condition 
thus  created,  is  a  seething  mass  of  passions,  a  maga- 


304  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

zine  which  a  spark  may  explode,  and  not  willingly 
do  the  pure  spirits  approach  to  it.  The  prophets  of 
old  fasted  and  dieted,  that  they  might  gain  immortal 
inspiration  :  they  ordered  their  lives  in  purity,  that 
they  might  allow  the  invisible  world  the  closer  to 
approach  them.  Be  assured,  that,  although,  for  want 
of  better,  all  mediums  are  employed,  sooner  or  later 
those  who  are  not  lifted  out  of  the  moral  sloughs 
into  which  they  have  fallen  will  be  discarded,  and 
only  those  who  possess  an  upright  character  will  be 
reserved  for  the  noble  office. 

243.     Desire  for  Mediumship. 

Such  is  a  general  view  of  the  conditions  favorable 
to  mediumship.  It  is  not  a  gift  to  a  few,  but  is  pos- 
sible to  all.  Obedience  to  its  essential  requirements, 
an  honest  purpose,  a  pure  heart,  are  demanded  of 
those  who  would  attain  its  highest  walks.  , 

244.       HOW    TO    BECOME    A    MEDIUM. 

You  may  have  natural  powers  as  yet  unawakened, 
or  you  may  be  capable  of  becoming  mediumistic 
after  sufficient  trial.  There  is  only  one  course.  If 
you  understand  animal  magnetism,  you  know  that 
-the  subject  must  become  passive,  and  have  no  care 
for  the  result.  As  the  law  of  magnetic  control  is 
the  same,  whether  mortal  or  spirit  be  the  operator, 
the  same  passivity  must  be  observed  by  the  medium. 
Sitting  in  circles  is  the  best  of  all  means,  especially 
if  a  medium  already  developed  be  present.    Retiring 


Mediumship.  305 

alone  at  a  certain  hour  is  also  a  good  discipline. 
Anxiety  to  receive  communications  is  among  the 
greatest  obstacles  to  success.  Pray  for  the  best 
gifts,  and  according  to  your  possibilities  your  prayer 
will  be  answered  ;  for  remember  that  the  dear  de- 
parted of  the  realms  of  light  are  equally  desirous 
with  yourself  to  converse,  and  will  avail  themselves 
of  every  opportunity  to  do  so.  Remember,  that, 
though  they  avail  themselves  of  every  channel,  the 
noble  angels  of  light  love  best  to  approach  the  pure 
in  heart  and  pure  in  body. 

245.     Influence   of    Individuals  on  the    Com- 
munications. 

The  presence  of  some  persons  wholly  prevents 
communications.  Often  in  circles  have  we  seen  a 
single  word,  or  the  nearer  approach  of  a  particular 
person,  wholly  interrupt  the  spirit-control.  This  has 
occurred  even  when  the  offending  person  was  a  near 
and  dear  friend  of  the  spirit  purporting  to  communi- 
cate. Some  persons  have  remarked,  and  very  natu- 
rally too,  that,  if  the  spirit  were  the  one  it  claimed 
to  be,  it  would  certainly  continue  its  communica- 
tions. They  did  not  understand  the  delicacy  of  tone 
existing  between  the  medium  and  spirit,  or  the  won- 
derful fragility  of  the  conditions  necessary  for  com- 
munications. It  is  not  that  the  medium  or  the  spirit 
is  offended,  but  it  becomes  impossible  to  proceed. 
To  draw  an  illustration  from  the  physical  world, 
take  the  effects  of  certain  vapors  on  the  processes 


20 


306  Arcana  of  Spirihialism. 

of  photography.  Prof.  Draper  says  that  the  artist 
often  fails  in  taking  daguerreotypes  most  inexplica- 
bly. All  conditions  apparently  are  perfect,  yet  no 
distinct  impression  is  made.  This  will  always  result 
if  the  minutest  quantity  of  the  vapor  of  iodine,  bro- 
mine, chlorine,  or  other  negative  substance,  is  pres- 
ent. So  sensitive  is  the  plate  to  their  vapors,  that 
he  recommends  never  to  leave  those  substances  in 
the  same  room  with  the  camera. 

The  brain  of  the  medium  and  the  auric  chain  by 
which  communication  is  held  are  far  more  sensitive 
than  the  daguerrean  plate  to  the  presence  of  neg- 
ative bodies.  The  harsh  word,  the  suggestion  of 
trickery  and  fraud,  disturb  the  medium  in  the  circle 
far  more  than  when  in  a  normal  condition ;  for  he  is, 
by  his  mediumship,  thrown  into  the  most  susceptible 
state  his  organism  will  allow,  and  the  least  inhar- 
mony  affects  his  nerves  with  greater  force. 

246.     A  Physical  State  Negative  to  Medium- 
ship. 

Incredulity,  or  a  reasoning  skepticism,  produces 
no  ill  result ;  but  bigotry,  sneering  unbelief,  and  a 
rude  curiosity,  can  never  be  gratified  with  satisfac- 
tory communications.  Persons  with  such  charac- 
teristics, if  they  are  able  to  communicate  at  all,  must 
do  so  with  spirits  of  their  own  grade,  —  spirits  who 
are  not  to  be  repelled  by  their  insolence,  and  who 
are  of  unreliable  character ;  and,  thereby,  such  in- 
quirers may  be  led  to  repudiate  the  whole  matter. 


Mediumship.  307 

There  is  a  physical  state  negative  to  mediumship  ; 
and,  in  a  circle,  it  acts  directly  against  "  control." 
This  may  be  independent  of  mentality,  and  is  of  a 
purely  constitutional  character ;  and  mediums  may 
fall  into  it  by  exhaustion.  For  this  reason,  there 
are  times  when  the  spirit-world  is  able  to  approach 
much  nearer  than  at  other  seasons.  Besides  a  flood- 
tide,  there  is  an  ebb-tide  of  inspiration.  It  results, 
not  from  the  fault  of  the  departed,  but  from  the  defi- 
ciency of  the  medium. 

The  investigator,  for  the  same  reason,  who  expects 
least,  usually  receives  most ;  and  it  is  observable  that 
the  most  astounding  tests  are  received  when  least 
expected.  Strong  desire  and  an  exacting  expecta- 
tion defeat  themselves  by  re-acting  on  the  conditions 
of  passivity,  which  are  absolutely  essential. 

247.     Why  Communications  are  Contradictory. 

There  are  many  causes  beside  the  ready  one 
usually  assigned,  —  namely,  that  of  evil  spirits.  By 
education,  we  regard  spiritual  beings  as  infallible 
and  omniscient.  They  do  understand  more  than 
we ;  their  views  are  broader,  and  their  judgment 
more  penetrating :  but  they  are  otherwise  as  fallible. 
We  ask  questions  a  deity  only  can  answer  ;  and  be- 
cause they  make  an  attempt,  and  fail,  or  do  not 
make  an  attempt,  we  are  too  ready  to  refer  the 
deficiency  to  intentional  fraud.  There  is  as  much 
diversity  among  spirits  as  among  mortals,  and  the 
method  of  communication  with  them  is  not  perfect. 


308  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

First,  of  the  imperfection  of  the  method.  If  a 
chemist  wish  to  test  an  experiment  in  which  delicate 
and  refined  manipulations  are  necessary,  how  care- 
fully he  studies  all  the  involved  conditions,  and  how 
accurately  he  attempts  to  fulfill  them  !  Even  then, 
employing  substances  he  can  see  and  feel,  he  often 
fails.  But,  of  the  spiritual  elements,  little  or  noth- 
ing is  positively  known,  and  it  is  impossible  for  a 
circle  to  fulfill  every  requirement.  The  members 
of  it  deal  with  emanations  too  subtile  for  the  senses, 
yet  inconceivably  susceptible.  Can  it  be  thought 
strange  that  circles  meet  with  disappointments  ? 

The  second  consideration  is  explained  by  a  correct 
view  of  spirit-life.  A  thousand  million  people  toil 
and  strive  on  earth :  the  rich,  by  depressing  the 
poor,  strive  to  grow  richer ;  the  poor  take  vengeance 
on  their  oppressors.  On  one  hand  are  the  savages 
of  civilization,  the  law-breakers  ;  on  the  other,  the 
merciless  artificial  law  gibbets  the  offender.  On 
every  side  is  war,  deception,  falsehood,  jealousy,  pas- 
sion, rage,  hypocrisy,  bigotry ;  and  the  dark  parent 
of  all  this  foul  brood,  ignorance. 

The  spirit-world  is  the  extension  of  earthly  life. 
When  spirits  from  such  earthly  conditions  gain 
access  to  a  medium,  they  present  their  personality ; 
and  nothing  less  than  intentional  falsehood  and  de- 
ception, or  error  through  ignorance,  can  be  expected. 

"  Can  an  evil  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit  ?  f  "  Do 
men  think  to  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of 
thistles  ? "  "  A  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit/'  Then 
how  can  any  rational  mind  expect  to  gather  truth 


Mediumship.  309 

from  an  untruthful  mind  ?  How  arrive  at  the  truth, 
when  these  thriftless  minds  distort  and  confuse  the 
little  truth  which  may  be  uttered  through  them  even 
by  low  spirits  ?  How  can  they  trust  the  spirits  of 
those  whom  they  would  not  trust  while  on  earth  ? 

Is  it  rational  to  throw  away  all  communications, 
and  declare  none  to  be  spiritual,  because  there  is 
disagreement  ?  Would  it  be  in  accordance  with 
reason  to  say  there  was  no  human  race,  because 
there  exists  disagreement  among  the  minds  which 
compose  the  human  family  ?  In  all  the  spiritual 
communications  yet  given,  there  is  not  the  thou- 
sandth part  of  the  contradiction  that  exists  among 
authors  on  earth. 

The  truth  must  be  forced  upon  the  human  mind, 
that,  after  death,  the  spirit  is  as  much  an  individual 
as  before  the  change.  Death  effects  no  alteration 
in  the  form,  or  organization  of  the  mind,  but  leaves 
the  spirit  the  identical  individual  it  was  in  this  life, 
with  its  own  peculiar  thoughts  and  ideas.  As  every 
spirit  is  a  separate  being,  every  one  thinks  and  acts 
for  himself,  at  his  own  cost. 

248.     Contradictions  referable  to  the  Circle. 

Do  not  men  enjoy  heaven  on  earth  ?  Are  there 
not  many  who  enjoy  heaven  forever  ?  Are  there 
not  those  who  carry  a  hell  in  their  minds  continu- 
ally ?  But  these  "  live,  move,  and  have  their  being,,, 
on  the  same  earth !  So  it  is  in  the  spirit-world,  as 
has  often  been  declared   by  clairvoyant  mediums, 


310  Arcana  of  Spirifotalism. 

A  circle  is  formed.  Its  members  are  all  of  a 
strongly  positive  character.  There  are  spirits  who 
wish  to  communicate.  The  members  of  the  circle 
are  not  unfolded,  and  hence  a  spirit  of  narrow  devel- 
opment is  attracted.  The  circle  ask  questions  on 
various  topics,  and,  at  length,  touch  on  doctrinal 
themes.  If  the  circle  be  of  Universalists,  the 
spirit  will  appear  to  be  a  Universalist,  and  will  de- 
clare that  there  is  no  hell  or  devil,  and  that  God  is  a 
being  of  love  and  benevolence.  If  the  circle  be  of 
Presbyterians,  the  spirit  will  appear  to  adopt  that 
creed,  and  declare  there  is  a  hell,  a  triune  God,  etc. 
If  the  circle  be  of  Atheists,  and  ask  if  there  be  a 
God,  the  spirit  will  answer  in  accordance  with  their 
minds.  If  of  Unitarians,  then  God  will  be  a  unity, 
and  the  spirit  will  agree  with  the  circle.  And,  let 
the  circle  be  composed  of  what  sect  or  society  it 
may,  the  spirit  will  appear  to  be  of  corresponding 
belief.  Not  that  every  spirit  will  thus  change,  but 
there  are  many  who  will.  On  earth,  such  minds 
may  be  seen  in  every  community,  —  minds  that 
ever  agree  with  those  present,  let  them  be  who 
they  may,  or  whatsoever  be  their  belief.  They  die, 
and,  as  their  spirits  change  not,  when  they  would 
converse  with  a  circle,  their  opinions  are  entirely 
ruled  by  the  positiveness  of  that  circle.  Here  is 
one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  disagreement ;  for 
the  different  circles  who  receive  such  communica- 
tions compare  them,  and  discover  contradictions. 
Suppose,  that,  in  the  Atheistic  circle,  there  be  one 
person  who  believes  that  there  is  a  God.     He  asks 


Mediumship.  311 

whether  it  is  so.  The  spirit  never  has  seen  such  a 
being ;  but,  seeing  the  mind  of  the  questioner  so 
positive  that  such  a  being  exists,  it  answers  affirm- 
atively. Now,  if  the  Atheist  ask  the  same  ques- 
tion, the  spirit  looks  into  all  their  minds,  and  sees 
but-  one  dissenting  opinion.  He  says  he  has  never 
seen  one,  and  he  does  not  believe  that  such  a  being 
exists  !  In  all  probability,  if  a  circle  should  receive 
several  contradictions  like  this,  its  members  would 
become  disgusted,  and  cry,  "  Delusion  ! '  Ignorant 
of  the  principles  of  this  communication,  and  of  the 
philosophy  of  the  spirit-world,  they  are  blind  led  by 
the  blind.  "  And,  if  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  both 
will  fall  into  the  ditch." 

Again,  a  circle  is  formed  of  low  and  vile  charac- 
ters, who  commence  by  swearing,  and  intend  noth- 
ing but  sport.  They  wish  for  no  instruction  how  to 
be  better,  or  how  to  become  developed.  Who  is  so 
irrational  as  to  suppose  that  developed  angels  will 
converse  with  this  assembly  ?  None,  certainly.  But 
spirits  lower  than  themselves  —  those  who  love  to 
lie,  to  cheat,  and  to  steal,  who  disregard  all  right  — 
are  attracted  to  such  a  circle,  and  answer  all  ques- 
tions by  lies,  except  so  far  as  they  may  secure 
to  themselves  the  confidence  of  their  questioners. 
Test  questions  they  may  answer  correctly.  Mean- 
time, they  will  send  those  persons  who  repose  con- 
fidence in  what  they  say  in  a  vain  and  wild  chase 
after  wealth.  The  members,  of  such  q.  circle  will 
report  what  they  have  seen  and  heard,  and  how 
well   they  have   enjoyed   themselves.      Those  who 


312  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

know  their  character  will  say,  in  heart,  that  with 
such  they  want  nothing  in  common.  There  are  also 
spirits  who  delight  in  torture.  If  these  can  find  a 
medium  suitable  for  their  purpose,  they  will  do  with 
him  as  they  choose,  making  him  act  and  speak  in  a 
most  reprehensible  manner.  The  position  of  such  a 
medium  is  not  enviable. 

Another  circle  is  formed  of  honest  investigators. 
Their  motives  are  pure  and  worthy :  their  minds  are 
elevated  and  refined.  To  this  circle  no  lying  tongue 
utters  sentiments  derogatory  to  the  high  character 
of  the  circle  ;  but  the  most  elevated  and  exalted 
minds  will  be  attracted  towards  the  place,  and  there 
deliver  their  sublime  truths.  Here  is  a  circle 
formed  upon  the  right  principles ;  and  its  mem- 
bers can  hold  perfect,  good,  and  worthy  intercourse 
with  the  invisibles. 

249.  How  a  Circle  should  be  Formed. 

When  a  circle  is  to  be  formed,  the  spirits,  if  possi- 
ble, should  determine  who  should  compose  it ;  but, 
if  this  cannot  be  done,  candor,  purity,  and  harmony 
should  be  made  necessary  pre-requisites  to  entering 
it.  The  number  of  members  is  immaterial,  but  it  is 
seldom  possible  for  more  than  ten  or  twelve  to  be 
brought  together  in  sufficient  harmony.  The  regu- 
lar meetings  should  not  be  oftener  than  twice,  nor 
less  than  once,  a  week.  When  the  circle  meet 
oftener  than  this,  the  conditions,  by  which  communi- 
cations are  held,  become  weakened ;  and,  if  longer 


Mediumship.  3 1 3 

intervals  occur,  the  influence  of  the  previous  circle 
is  lost.  Music  is  promotive  of  harmony ;  a  fact 
recognized  in  all  ages.  Having  thus  formed  the 
circle,  the  mind  should  cast  aside  all  care  and  anx- 
iety, and  become  passive  ;  asking  nothing,  but  ready 
to  receive  whatever  manifestation  may  occur,  be  it 
small  or  great.  Remember  that  satisfactory  results 
cannot  be  commanded :  they  must  flow  of  their 
own  accord. 


250.     Responsibility  of  Mediumship. 

The  position  of  the  medium  is  one  of  greatest 
responsibility.  As  the  clearest  mountain-stream  is 
contaminated  by  passing  through  fens  and  sloughs 
on  its  way  to  the  sea,  so  the  purest  spiritual  truths 
are  distorted  in  their  transmission  through  an  im- 
pure or  imperfect  medium.  It  is  a  terrible  force 
with  which  he  deals.  He  should  not  venture  to  play 
with  the  lightning  unless  he  understand  its  laws. 
If  he  be  not  conscientious,  and  honestly  desirous  of 
knowledge,  it  is  better  for  him  to  stand  aloof.  Re- 
flection, thought,  is  the  gateway  of  intuition.  The 
gods  love  the  worker. 

"  Pray  for  the  best  gifts,"  and  improve  such  as 
are  given  you,  in  the  gentle  spirit  of  humility,  and 
with  earnest  striving  for  improvement.  It  is  not 
well  to  scorn  mundane  means  ;  for,  so  far  as  their 
knowledge  extends,  men  are  more  practical  teach- 
ers than  are  spirits,  and  it  is  not  to  supply  a  royal 
road  to  knowledge  for  indolence  that  communica- 


314  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

tion  is  held.     If  mediumship  does  not  ennoble  you, 
you  are  the  worse  for  it. 

Do  not  suppose  that  the  spiritual  agency  is  to  fur- 
nish an  easy  road  to  learning,  or  that  it  will  elevate 
you  without  effort  on  your  own  part.  The  mortal 
author  is  of  equal  authority  with  the  spirits,  and  in 
some  paths  may  be  even  more  valuable.  Written 
language  has  preserved  the  thoughts  of  ages,  and 
none  can  avoid  the  labor  of  their  acquisition.  If 
you  enter  this  great  field,  determined  to  make  the 
truth  your  own,  and  to  excel  in  your  search,  your 
impressibility  will  be  of  greatest  service ;  and,  with 
the  care  and  wisdom  of  a  father  or  a  teacher,  your 
spirit-friends  will  guide  and  direct  you.  The  higher 
the  mental  culture  you  attain  to,  the  more  impressi- 
ble you  become  to  unrecognized  truths  ;  and,  receiv- 
ing them,  you  can  gain  a  better  understanding  of 
them,  and  give  them  clearer  expression.  The  me- 
dium can  be  an  automaton,  a  machine  for  communi- 
cation, without  receiving  more  benefit  to  himself 
than  does  the  planchette  when  it  writes :  he  can 
enter  the  sphere  of  ideas  only  by  the  culture  of  his 
intellect. 


XV. 


MEDIUMSHIP    DURING    SLEEP. 

All  good  thoughts,  words,  or  actions,  are  the  productions  of  the  celestial 
world.  —  Zoroaster. 

Nothing  so  nearly  resembles  death  as  sleep ;  and  nothing  so  strongly  inti- 
mates the  divinity  of  the  soul  as  what  passes  in  the  mind  on  that  occa- 
sion :  for  the  intellectual  principle  in  man,  during  this  state  of  relaxation 
and  freedom  from  external  impressions,  frequently  looks  forward  into 
futurity,  and  discerns  events  before  time  has  yet  brought  them  forth ; 
a  plain  indication  of  what  the  powers  of  the  soul  will  hereafter  be, 
when  she  shall  be  delivered  from  the  restraints  of  her  present  bondage. 
■ — Xenophon. 

251.     Sleep. 

THE  rarest  occurrences  are  by  no  means  the 
most  extraordinary.  On  the  contrary,  the  most 
wonderful  cease  to  attract  attention,  because  they 
are  daily  presented.  Every  night  man  falls  into  a 
state  resembling  death,  from  which  he  awakes  a  res- 
urrected spirit.  Activity  and  repose  are  alternate 
states  of  the  body.  During  sleep,  the  waste  is  re- 
duced to  a  minimum,  and  the  recuperating  processes 
go  forward  with  increased  activity.  This  is  the  ex- 
ternal aspect  of  sleep ;  but,  on  attentive  study,  it 
exhibits  a  class  of  phenomena  equally  astonishing 
and  mysterious  with  those  attending  the  waking 
hours,    It  is  not  a  simple,  but  a  very  complex,  state ; 


316  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

in  which  ecstasy,  trance,  clairvoyance,  and  medium- 
ship  can  be  recognized. 


252.     Dreams. 

We  shall  discuss  the  occult  problem  of  the  origin 
of  dreams7  showing  to  what  extent  they  are  refer- 
able to  impressibility,  and  in  what  degree  to  other 
sources.  They  are  not  susceptible  of  explanation 
by  one  common  cause.  The  dreams  of  the  dyspep- 
tic are  entirely  different  from  those  of  the  prophetic 
cast.  There  are  dreams  originating  from  the  dis- 
turbed body,  and  from  the  restless  mind  ;  and  there 
are  other  dreams  wherein  mesmeric  and  psychomet- 
ric influences  are  discernible  ;  and  yet  others,  with 
high  states  of  clairvoyance  ;  and  still  others,  result- 
ing from  purely  spirit  impressions. 

It  is  not  presumable  that  the  mind  is  more  wise, 
or  has  greater  capacity,  while  asleep  than  while  it  is 
awake ;  yet,  in  the  class  of  dreams  now  under  dis- 
cussion, it  is  enabled  to  do  what  it  could  not  do 
during  its  waking  moments,  and,  what  is  more,  it 
obtains  knowledge  wholly  independent  of  the  senses^ 
as  is  proved  by  the  following  facts  :  — 

It  is  related  that  a  lady,  blind  from  birth,  was 
enabled  in  dreams  to  see  objects  distinctly,  and 
describe  them  accurately ;  yet,  on  post-mortem  ex- 
amination, it  was  found  that  the  optic  nerves  were 
completely  destroyed. 

Harriet  Martineau  relates  a  story  of  an  old  lady, 
blind  from  her  birth,  who  yet  saw  in  her  sleep ;  and, 


Mediumship  during  Sleep.  317 

in  her  waking  state,  correctly  described  the  cloth- 
ing of  individuals.  This  fact  has  many  bearings. 
If  dreams  are  only  renewed  cerebral  impressions, 
and  we  do  not  dream  of  anything  of  which  we  do 
not  already  know  the  elements,  as  the  Spencerian 
materialists  teach,  how  account  for  dreams  revealing 
objects  when  the  eye  has  never  received  a  ray  of 
light  ?  It  can  be  done  successfully  only  by  admit- 
ting that  the  mind,  during  sleep,  passes  into  a  supe- 
rior state,  and  acquires  new  capabilities  ;  and  does 
not  such  an  admission  strike  at  the  basis  of  the 
vaunted  system  ?  If  mind  can  thus  arise  above, 
and  pass  beyond,  its  material  or  physical  existence, 
can  it  be  presumed  that  it  is  simply  the  result  of 
the  elements  of  its  physical  existence?  If  the 
mind  can  appreciate  color  and  form,  without  ever 
having  received  knowledge  of  such  qualities  through 
the  eye,  then  it  is  independent  of  the  sense  of  vision 
for  its  knowledge. 

This  independence  of  the  mind  is  farther  shown 
by  the  strange  phenomena  dreams  present  in  their 
annihilation  of  time  and  space,  thus  trenching  on 
the  domain  of  spirit-existence.  Every  one  will  have 
remarked  this  in  his  own  experience. 

Dr.  Abercrombie  speaks  of  a  friend,  who,  in  a 
dream,  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  spent  two  weeks 
in  America.  On  re-embarking,  he  thought  he  fell 
overboard,  and  awoke  to  find  that  he  had  been 
asleep  but  ten  minutes. 

Macnish  says,  that  he  dreamed  he  made  a  voyage 
to   India,  spending  several  days  in   Calcutta,   con- 


318  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

tinued  his  journey  to  Egypt,  visited  the  cataracts 
and  pyramids,  and  held  confidential  interviews  with 
Mohammed  Ali,  Cleopatra,  and  Saladin,  the  whole 
journey  apparently  occupying  several  months  ;  but 
he  slept  only  an  hour. 

Addison  says  :  "There  is  not  a  more  painful  ac- 
tion of  the  mind  than  invention  ;  yet  in  dreams  it 
works  with  such  ease  and  activity,  that  we  are  not 
sensible  when  the  faculty  is  employed.  For  in- 
stance, I  believe  every  one,  some  time  or  other, 
dreams  that  he  is  reading  books,  papers,  or  letters  ; 
in  which  case,  invention  prompts  so  readily  that  the 
mind  is  imposed  on,  and  mistakes  its  own  sugges- 
tions for  the  composition  of  another.3" 

Coleridge  composed  "  Christabel "  and  "  Kubla 
Khan"  in  sleep;  and  Tartini  dreamed  that  the  Devil 
came,  and  played  what  he  afterwards  wrote  out  as 
the  "  Devil's  Sonata."  Dr.  Franklin  solved  difficult 
political  problems,  and  Dr.  Gregory  obtained  import- 
ant scientific  ideas,  in  dreams. 

Animals  frequently  dream,  especially  the  dog,  to 
whom  man  imparts  a  strong  magnetic  influence. 
The  dog  is  also  sometimes  somnambulic,  as  the  fol- 
lowing anecdote  shows  :  — - 

"  I  was  attracted  by  a  very  curious  sound  from 
the  dog,  and  a  strange,  fixed  look  from  his  eyes, 
which  were  set,  as  though  glazed  in  death,  and 
neither  changed  nor  quivered  in  the  slightest  degree, 
though  the  blaze  of  a  cheerful  wood  fire  shone 
brightly  upon  them.  After  stretching  his  limbs 
several  times,  and  whining,  he  gradually  arose  to 


Mediumship  during  Sleep.  319 

his  feet,  and  assumed  the  attitude  of  pointing,  in 
every  particular  just  as  I  had  seen  him  a  hundred 
times  in  the  field.  When  my  surprise  had  a  little 
abated,  I  spoke  to  the  dog :  but  he  manifested  no 
consciousness,  nor  took  the  slightest  notice  of  my 
voice,  though  several  times  repeated ;  and  it  was 
only  when  I  touched  him  that  the  spell  was  broken, 
when,  running  several  times  around  the  room,  he 
quietly  resumed  his  place  before  the  fire."  * 

253.     Somnambulism 

Is  to  sleep  what  the  magnetic  state  is  to  wakeful- 
ness, and  presents  a  parallel  series  of  phenomena, 

Many  instances  are  recorded,  and  have  been 
brought  within  the  observation  of  many,  that  some 
persons  will  answer  questions  correctly  when  they 
are  soundly  asleep.  Such  can  be  made  to  dream 
anything  desired  by  whispering  in  their  ears.  They, 
in  other  words,  naturally  fall  into  a  magnetic  slum- 
ber, differing  only  from  that  artificially  induced  by 
the  superior  vividness  of  the  impressions  of  the 
latter.  As  an  illustration,  take  the  following  fact 
from  Macacio  :  —  f 

"  In  his  work  on  sleep,  he  relates  a  striking  ex- 
ample as  having  occurred  in  his  presence.  It  was 
in  the  case  of  a  certain  patient  of  a  friend  of  his, 
Dr.  Gromier,  —  a  married  lady,  subject  to  hysterical 

*  Quoted  by  S.  B.  Brittan. 

f  Reports  et  Discussions.     Paris,  1833.     Quoted  in  "Foot- 
falls on  the  Boundaries  of  another  World." 


320  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

affections.  Finding  her  one  day  a  prey  to  settled 
melancholy,  he  imagined  the  following  to  dissipate 
it.  Having  cast  her  into  a  magnetic  sleep,  he  said 
to  her,  mentally,  "  Why  do  you  lose  hope  ?  You 
are  pious :  the  Holy  Virgin  will  come  to  your  as- 
sistance. Be  sure  of  it."  Then  he  called  up  in 
his  mind  a  vision,  in  which  he  pictured  the  ceiling 
of  the  chamber  removed,  groups  of  cherubim  at 
the  corners,  and  the  Virgin,  in  a  blaze  of  glory, 
descending  in  the  midst.  Suddenly  the  somnam- 
bule  was  affected  with  ecstacy,  sank  on  her  knees, 
and  exclaimed,  in  a  transport  of  joy,  "  Ah,  my  God ! 
So  long  —  so  very  long  —  I  have  prayed  to  the  Holy 
Virgin  ;  and  now,  for  the  first  time,  she  comes  to 
my  aid ! " 

254.     Spiritual  Communications  given  in 

Dreams. 

The  following  facts  are  presented  as  illustrations 
and  proofs  of  spirit-intercourse  during  sleep.  No 
philosophy  but  that  accepting  direct  spiritual  influ- 
ence can  explain  them. 

"A  farmer  in  one  of  the  western  counties  of 
England  was  met  by  a  man  whom  he  had  formerly 
employed,  and  who  again  asked  for  work.  The 
farmer,  rather  with  a  view  to  be  relieved  from  his 
importunity  than  with  any  intention  of  assisting 
him,  told  him  he  would  think  of  it,  and  send  word 
to  the  place  where  the  man  told  him  he  should  be 
found.  Time  passed  on,  and  the  farmer  entirely 
forgot  his  promise.     One  night,  however,  he  sud- 


Mediumship  during  Sleep.  321 

denly  started  from  his  sleep,  and,  awaking  his  wife, 
said  he  felt  a  strong  impulse  to  set  off  immediately 
to  the  county-town,  some  thirty  or  forty  miles  dis- 
tant ;  but  why,  he  had  not  the  least  idea.  He  en- 
deavored to  shake  off  the  impression,  and  went  to 
sleep  again  ;  but  awoke  a  second  time  with  such  a 
strong  conviction  that  he  must  start  that  instant, 
that  he  directly  rose,  saddled  his  horse,  and  set  off. 
On  his  road  he  had  to  cross  a  ferrv,  which  he  could 
only  do  at  one  hour  of  the  night,  when  the  mail  was 
carried  over.  He  was  almost  certain  that  he  should 
be  too  late,  but  nevertheless  rode  on,  and,  when  he 
came  to  the  ferry,  found,  greatly  to  his  surprise,  that, 
though  the  mail  had  passed  over  a  short  time  pre- 
viously, the  ferryman  was  still  waiting.  On  his  ex- 
pressing his  astonishment,  the  boatman  replied,  '  Oh, 
when  I  was  on  the  other  side,  I  heard  you  shouting, 
and  so  came  back  again/  The  farmer  said  he  had 
not  shouted  ;  but  the  other  repeated  his  assertion 
that  he  had  distinctly  heard  him  call.  Having 
crossed  over,  the  farmer  pursued  his  journey,  and 
arrived  at  the  county-town  the  next  morning.  But, 
now  that  he  had  come  there,  he  had  not  the  slight- 
est notion  of  any  business  to  be  transacted,  and  so 
amused  himself  by  sauntering  about  the  place,  and 
at  length  entered  the  court  where  the  assizes  were 
being  held.  The  prisoner  at  the  bar  had  just  been, 
to  all  appearance,  proved  clearly  guilty,  by  circum- 
stantial evidence,  of  murder ;  and  he  was  then  asked 
if  he  had  any  witnesses  to  call  in  his  behalf.  He 
replied,  that  he  had  no  friends  there  ;  but,  looking 


322  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

around  the  court  amongst  the  spectators,  he  recog- 
nized the  farmer,  who  almost  immediately  recog- 
nized in  him  the  man  who  applied  to  him  for  work. 
The  farmer  was  instantly  summoned  to  the  witness- 
box  ;  and  his  evidence  proved,  beyond  the  possibility 
of  a  doubt,  that,  at  the  very  hour  the  prisoner  was 
accused  of  committing  murder  in  one  part  of  the 
county,  he  was  applying  for  work  in  another.  The 
prisoner  was  of  course  acquitted,  and  the  farmer 
found,  that,  urged  on  by  an  uncontrollable  impulse, 
which  he  could  neither  explain  nor  account  for,  he 
had  indeed  taken  his  midnight  journey  to  some  pur- 
pose, notwithstanding  it  had  appeared  so  unreason- 
able and  causeless.  *  This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and 
it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes.' 


y  j) 


255.     Presentiments. 

There  are  many  cases  recorded  of  persons  hurry- 
ing home  impelled  by  some  presentiment.  "  Mr. 
M.  Calderhood  was  once,  when  absent  from  home, 
seized  with  such  an  anxiety  about  his  family,  that, 
without  being  able  in  any  way  to  account  for  it,  he 
felt  himself  impelled  to  fly  to  them,  and  remove 
them  from  the  house  they  were  inhabiting ;  one 
wing  of  which  fell  down  immediately  afterwards. 
No  notion  of  such  a  misfortune  had  ever  occurred 
to  him,  nor  was  there  any  reason  whatever  to  expect 
it ;  the  accident  originating  from  some  defect  in  the 
foundation." 

A  circumstance  exactly  similar  to  this  is  related, 


Mediumship  during  Sleep.  323 

by  Stilling,  of  Prof.  Bohm,  teacher  of  mathematics 
at  Marburg ;  who,  being  one  evening  in  company, 
was  suddenly  seized  with  a  conviction  that  he  ought 
to  go  home.  As,  however,  he  was  very  comfortably 
taking  tea,  and  had  nothing  to  do  at  home,  he  re- 
sisted the  admonition  ;  but  it  returned  with  such 
force  that  at  length  he  was  obliged  to  yield.  On 
reaching  his  house,  he  found  everything  as  he  had 
left  it :  but  he  now  felt  himself  urged  to  remove  his 
bed  from  the  corner  in  which  it  stood  to  another ; 
but,  as  it  had  always  stood  there,  he  resisted  this 
impression  also.  However,  the  resistance  was  vain  ; 
absurd  as  it  seemed,  he  felt  he  must  do  it :  so  he 
summoned  the  maid,  and,  with  her  aid,  drew  the  bed 
to  the  other  side  of  the  room  ;  after  which,  he  felt 
quite  at  ease,  and  returned  to  spend  the  rest  of  the 
evening  with  his  friends.  At  ten  o'clock,  the  party 
broke  up  ;  and  he  retired  home,  and  went  to  bed 
and  to  sleep.  In  the  middle  of  the  night,  he  was 
wakened  by  a  loud  crash  ;  and,  on  looking  out,  he 
saw  that  a  large  beam  had  fallen,  bringing  part  of 
the  ceiling  with  it,  and  was  lying  exactly  on  the  spot 
his  bed  had  occupied.* 

A  gentleman  residing  some  miles  from  Edinburgh 
had  occasion  to  pass  the  night  in  that  city.  In  the 
middle  of  the  night,  he  dreamed  that  his  house  was 
on  fire,  and  that  one  of  his  children  was  in  the  midst 
of  the  flames.  He  woke,  and  so  strong  was  the  im- 
pression upon  his  mind,  that  he  instantly  got  out  of 
his  bed,  saddled  his  horse,  and  galloped  home.     In 

*  "  Univercoelum." 


324  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

accordance  with  his  dream,  he  found  his  house  in 
flames,  and,  arriving  in  time,  saved  his  little  girl, 
about  ten  months  old,  who  had  been  forgotten,  and 
left  in  a  room  which  the  devouring  element  had  just 
reached. 

A  clergyman  of  distinguished  ability  and  truthful- 
ness relates  the  following.  It  shows  how  vividly  the 
mind  may  be  impressed  with  the  perception  of  for- 
eign intelligences,  or  that  it  is  capable  of  leaving 
the  body,  or  of  acquiring  or  perceiving  through 
spiritual  senses,  in  either  case  confirming  spiritual 
existence. 

"  I  was  engaged  at  that  time  in  pursuing  theo- 
logical studies  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  G.,  in  a  village  in 
the  vicinity  of  Boston.  During  the  night,  I  seemed 
to  enter  a  place  which  I  had  never  before  seen.  I 
walked  up  the  main  street,  which  was  shaded  with 
large  trees,  noticing  the  prominent  buildings  as  I 
passed  them.  It  seemed  to  be  Sunday  evening: 
the  shops  were  closed,  and  all  business  suspended. 
The  street  led  me  to  a  large  building  containing  a 
hall.  I  saw  horses  and  carriages  in  great  numbers 
standing  near.  Entering  the  hall,  I  found  a  large 
audience  gathered.  It  was  a  meeting  for  religious 
purposes.  At  last  the  preacher  rose  up,  and  his 
features  impressed  themselves  upon  me,  and  his 
very  words,  although  he  seemed  an  utter  stranger. 
The  vision  made  a  deep  impression  upon  my  mind. 
It  seemed  not  a  dream,  but  a  reality. 

"  On  the  Sunday  evening  ensuing,  I  walked  with  a 
friend  to  attend  a  religious  meeting  in  a  neighbor- 


Mediums  kip  during  Sleep.  325 

ing  village  where  I  had  never  been.  On  entering 
the  street,  it  seemed  familiar  to  me,  and  I  remem- 
bered it  to  be  the  place  I  had  seen  in  a  vision  a  few 
days  preceding.  Anxious  to  see  if  my  dream  wrould 
correspond  with  the  reality  throughout,  I  pursued 
the  path  which  I  seemed  to  have  taken  before,  till  it 
led  me  to  the  building,  which  I  at  once  recognized. 
Entering  it,  the  hall  was  familiar ;  and,  when  the 
preacher  arose,  I  knew  him  at  once.  The  street, 
building,  and  preacher  corresponded,  in  every  par- 
ticular, with  those  impressed  on  my  consciousness 
during  the  previous  vision." 

I  have  heard  my  mother  relate  an  episode  of  par- 
allel character  in  her  life.  She  was  always  highly 
impressible,  and  was  called  "  our  family  seer."  She 
dreamed  that  she  was  traveling  over  a  very  moun- 
tainous country  in  a  wagon.  Being  fatigued  with 
riding,  she  alighted,  and  walked  up  a  hill,  from  the 
summit  of  which  she  obtained  a  charming  prospect 
of  a  beautiful  river  and  its  valley. 

Three  years  afterward,  she  was  traveling  through 
Alleghany  County,  N.Y.,  became  fatigued,  alighted, 
and  walked.  When  she  came  to  the  summit  of 
the  hill,  she  thought  the  prospect  familiar ;  and,  all 
at  once,  she  remembered  her  dream.  She  had  been 
there  before  in  spirit,  although  not  in  body. 

If  all  we  know  is  derived  by  and  through  the  senses, 
of  course  knowledge  of  a  scene  we  are  to  see  three 
years  hence  must  be  denied.  Ah,  materialist !  with 
your  sensatory  scheme,  how  do  you  meet  these  facts 
of  prescience  ?     Is  a  mind  asleep  more  active  than  a 


326  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

mind  awake  ?  We  do  not  want  to  hear  about  "  un- 
known laws  of  mind ; '  but,  if  these  facts  can  be 
explained,  let  us  have  the  explanation. 

"  Mr.  Robert  Curtis,  a  citizen  of  Newport,  Ind., 
who  bears  the  reputation  of  being  a  very  honest 
man,  related  to  us  the  following  wonderful  state- 
ment of  facts  and  circumstances :  About  twenty- 
eight  years  ago,  he  was  very  sick,  and  it  was  thought 
by  his  friends  and  physicians  he  could  not  live. 
Although  they  each  and  all  endeavored  to  conceal 
their  opinions  from  him,  yet  he  well  knew  what 
their  views  were  from  conversations  he  overheard. 
This  caused  him  to  feel  wretchedly.  During  this 
state  of  feeling,  he  dreamed  that  a  man  came  to 
Richmond  who  cured  him  by  the  use  of  his  hands. 
This  made  him  feel  better,  and  he  commenced 
regaining  his  health,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months  was  able  to  go  to  work.  About  four  years 
after,  he  became  quite  sick  again,  and  from  that 
time  the  state  of  his  health  was  very  poor  until 
cured  as  hereinafter  stated.  About  three  weeks 
before  Dr.  A.  J.  Higgins  came  to  this  city,  he 
dreamed  again  that  a  man  came  to  this  city,  and 
that  he  was  cured  by  him  in  the  manner  above 
stated.  This  time  he  saw  the  man  distinctly  in  a 
dream,  and  retained  in  his  memory  his  personal 
appearance,  and  knew  him  to  be  the  same  man  he 
had  dreamed  about  twenty-eight  years  ago.  When 
Dr.  Higgins  arrived,  he  was  impressed  that  he  was 
the  man  who  had  come  to  cure  him.  He  at  once 
repaired  to  this  city,  and,  on  seeing  Dr.  Higgins, 


Mediumship  during  Sleep.  327 

recognized  him  as  the  man  whom  he  had  seen  in  his 
vision  three  weeks  before.  He  applied  to  him  for 
treatment,  and,  sure  enough,  was  cured  in  the  man- 
ner suggested  in  his  dreams."  * 

The  following  are  related  by  William  Fishbough, 
and  are  of  almost  parallel  character  :  — 

"  Mrs.  W.,  a  lady  of  unquestionable  veracity,  re- 
siding in  Taunton,  Mass.,  informed  me,  that,  several 
years  ago,  a  family,  intimately  related  to  her,  removed 
to  the  State  of  Ohio.  Some  time  subsequent  to 
their  removal,  the  family,  by  some  untoward  occur- 
rence which  I  do  not  remember,  was  thrown  into 
deep  affliction,  which  rendered  the  presence  and 
sympathy  of  Mrs.  W.  very  desirable.  About  this 
time,  Mrs.  W.  had  an  impressive  dream,  in  which 
were  represented  to  her  mind  the  general  condition 
of  the  family,  the  appearance  and  architectural  struc- 
ture of  the  house  in  which  they  resided,  the  species 
of  the  trees,  and  the  relative  positions  and  appear- 
ance of  these  and  all  other  objects  near  the  house. 
The  whole  scene,  with  all  its  minutiae,  was,  as  it 
were,  at  one  glance  vividly  daguerreotyped  upon  her 
mind,  although  she  had  never  had  the  slightest  de- 
scription of  the  place.  On  subsequently  relating  her 
dream  to  her  friend  who  had  returned  from  Ohio,  he 
confirmed  it  as  true  in  every  particular." 

"  Many  of  our  readers  will  remember  the  blow- 
ing-up of  the  steamboat  ■  Medora/  at  Baltimore, 
several  years  ago,  attended  with  the  loss  of  many 
valuable  lives.     An  authentic  account  (which  I  must 

*  Correspondent  "  Religio-Philosophical  Journal." 


328  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

m 

now  relate  from  memory)  subsequently  appeared  in 
the  papers,  of  a  sailor,  belonging  to  a  small  vessel 
which  plied  up  and  down  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  fore- 
seeing the  occurrence,  with  all  its  essential  particu- 
lars, in  a  dream,  a  night  or  two  before  it  took  place. 
He  related  his  vision  to  his  shipmates,  who  of  course 
deemed  it  unworthy  of  attention  until  after  they 
heard  of  the  fate  of  the  steamer.  The  vessel  to 
which  the  man  belonged  sailed  up  the  bay  on  the 
day  of  the  catastrophe  ;  and,  as  she  approached  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  a  vessel  was  seen  lying  at  anchor 
in  the  harbor,  with  flag  at  half-mast.  On  seeing 
this,  the  man  who  had  had  the  dream  immediately 
exclaimed,  'That's  for  the  "Medora"  !.'  Strange  to 
say,  they  found  that  the  'Medora'  had  been  blown 
up,  and  lives  had  been  destroyed,  precisely,  in  all 
essential  particulars,  as  had  been  foreshadowed  in 
the  dream." 

"The  reader  will  remember  the  tragedy  of  the  mur- 
der of  Mr.  Adams  by  John  C.  Colt,  which  took  place 
in  New  York  several  years  ago.  Two  days  before 
the  murder  of  Mr.  Adams,  his  wife  dreamed  twice 
that  he  was  murdered  ;  and  that  she  saw  his  body 
cut  to  pieces,  and  packed  away  in  a  box.  The 
dreams  made  a  deep  impression  upon  her  mind  ; 
and  on  the  disappearance  of  her  husband,  and  be- 
fore he  was  found,  she  was  inconsolable.  The  facts 
were  precisely  in  accordance  with  the  dream. " 

The  following  is  a  condensed  account  of  a  case 
recorded  in  Sunderland's  "  Pathetism." 

"On  the  night  of  May  11,  18 12,  Mr.  Williams  of 


Mediums  kip  during  Sleep.  329 

Scorrier  House,  near  Redruth,  in  Cornwall,  dreamed 
thrice  that  he  saw  a  man  shoot,  with  a  pistol,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  in  the  lobby  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  The  dreams  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  his  mind  ;  and,  the  next  day,  he  related 
them  to  many  of  his  friends  whom  he  met,  describ- 
ing minutely  the  man  whom  he  had  seen  assassi- 
nated. A  friend,  to  whom  Mr.  Williams  related  his 
dream,  recognized  his  description  of  the  person  as- 
sassinated as  answering  precisely  to  Mr.  Perceval, 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  whom  Mr.  Williams 
had  never  seen.  Shortly  afterward,  the  news  came, 
that,  on  the  evening  of  the  nth  of  May,  a  man  of 
the  name  of  Bellingham  had  shot  Mr.  Perceval  in 
the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Commons,  precisely  as 
Mr.  Williams  had  dreamed,  and  on  the  same  night. 
After  the  astonishment  had  a  little  subsided,  Mr. 
Williams  described  most  particularly  the  appearance 
and  dress  of  the  man  whom  he  saw  in  his  dream 
fire  the  pistol,  as  he  had  before  done  of  Mr.  Per- 
ceval. About  six  weeks  after,  Mr.  Williams,  having 
business  in  town,  went,  accompanied  by  a  friend,  to 
the  House  of  Commons,  where  he  had  never  before 
been.  Immediately  that  he  came  to  the  steps  at  the 
entrance  of  the  lobby,  he  said,  '  This  place  is  as  dis- 
tinctly within  my  recollection,  in  my  dream,  as  any 
room  in  my  house ; '  and  he  made  the  same  observa- 
tion when  he  entered  the  lobby.  He  then  pointed 
out  the  exact  spot  where  Bellingham  stood  when  he 
fired,  and  which  Mr.  Perceval  had  reached  when  he 
was  struck  by  the  ball,  and  where  and  how  he  fell. 


330  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

The  dress,  both  of  Mr.  Perceval  and  Bellingham, 
agreed  with  the  description  given  by  Mr.  Williams, 
even  to  the  most  minute  particular.,, 

"  A  mother,  who  was  uneasy  about  the  health  of 
a  child  who  was  out  at  nurse,  dreamed  that  it  had 
been  buried  alive.  The  horrid  thought  woke  her ; 
and  she  determined  to  set  off  for  the  place  without 
a  moment's  delay.  On  her  arrival,  she  learned,  that, 
after  a  sudden  and  short  illness,  the  child  had  died, 
and  had  just  then  been  buried.  Half  frantic  from 
this  intelligence,  she  insisted  upon  the  grave  being 
opened  ;  and,  the  moment  the  coffin-lid  was  raised, 
she  carried  off  the  child  in  her  arms.  He  still 
breathed,  and  maternal  care  restored  him  to  life. 
The  truth  of  this  anecdote  has  been  warranted. 
We  have  seen  the  child  so  wonderfully  rescued : 
he  is  now,  in  1843,  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life,  and 
filling  an  important  post." 

"  The  Jesuit  Malvenda,  the  author  of  a  Commen- 
tary on  the  Bible,  saw  one  night,  in  his  sleep,  a  man 
laying  his  hand  upon  his  chest,  who  announced  to 
him  that  he  would  soon  die.  He  was  then  in  per- 
fect health,  but  soon  after,  being  seized  with  a  pul- 
monary disorder,  was  carried  off.  This  is  told  by 
the  skeptic  Bayle,  who  relates  it  as  a  fact  too  well 
authenticated  even  for  the  apostle  of  Pyrrhonism  to 
doubt." 

"  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  dreamed  one  night  that  he 
was  in  Italy,  where  he  had  fallen  ill.  The  room  in 
which  he  seemed  to  lie  struck  him  in  a  very  peculiar 
manner ;  and  he  particularly  noticed  all  the  details 


Mediums  kip  during  Sleep.  331 

of  the  furniture,  etc.,  remarking,  in  his  dream,  how 
unlike  anything  English  they  were.  In  his  dream, 
he  appeared  to  be  carefully  nursed  by  a  young  girl, 
whose  fair  and  delicate  features  were  imprinted  on 
his  memory.  After  some  years,  Davy  travelled  in 
Italy,  and,  being  taken  ill  there,  actually  found  him- 
self in  the  very  room  of  which  he  had  dreamed,  at- 
tended upon  by  the  very  same  young  woman  whose 
features  had  made  such  a  deep  impression  upon  his 
mind.  The  reader  need  not  be  reminded  of  the  au- 
thenticity of  a  statement  resting  upon  such  authority, 
eminent  alike  for  truth  that  would  not  deceive,  and 
intelligence  that  could  not  be  deceived. " 

Brittan  thus  relates  a  case  of  spiritual  impressions 
given  in  a  dream  :  — 

"  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  Mr.  S.,  who  has, 
in  several  instances,  been  the  recipient  of  spiritual 
impressions,  communicated  generally  during  the 
hours  of  sleep.  In  the  course  of  our  interview,  he 
related  the  following,  which  is  worthy  of  record. 
For  some  time  he  had  visited  a  young  lady,  whom 
he  had  selected  as  his  companion  for  life.  They 
had  pledged  their  fidelity  to  each  other,  and  the  day 
on  which  it  was  proposed  to  legalize  their  union  was 
at  hand.  .  .  . 

"  We  were  standing  on  the  bank  of  a  stream,  whose 
waters,  like  the  current  of  human  life  and  love,  were 
divided,  broken,  and  interrupted  by  many  obstacles, 
when  he  related  its  vision  and  its  fulfillment,  in  sub- 
stance, as  follows  :  He  slept,  and  dreamed  of  walk- 
ing on   the   bank  of  that   stream.      Suddenly  the 


332  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

object  of  his  love  appeared  walking  by  his  side. 
She  was  arrayed  in  a  white  flowing  dress.  A  white 
handkerchief  was  folded  under  the  chin,  and  tied  on 
top  of  the  head.  Her  countenance  was  pale  as 
marble.  She  walked  by  his  side  for  some  distance, 
and  finally,  extending  her  hand,  she  said,  '  Reuben, 
I  must  leave  you,  — farewell ! '  —  and  anon  disap- 
peared. 

"  Several  days  had  elapsed,  when  a  messenger 
came  in  great  haste  to  request  his  immediate  pres- 
ence at  the  residence  of  his  loved  one.  He  obeyed 
the  summons,  and  found  her  the  victim  of  incurable 
disease.  Her  stricken  form  was  invested  with  white 
apparel,  and  her  whole  appearance  corresponded  to 
his  vision.  He  seated  himself  by  her  bedside,  to 
watch  the  irregular  and  feeble  pulsations  which 
marked  the  last  efforts  of  expiring  nature.  At 
length  she  held  out  her  hand,  which  he  received  in 
his  own ;  and,  as  the  spirit  went  out  of  its  fallen 
temple,  there  was  a  faint  utterance  from  the  lips  of 
mortality,  and  the  attentive  ear  caught  the  last 
words,  — i  Reuben,  I  must  leave  you  :  farewell ! 


i )) 


256.     Prophetic  Dreams. 

If  the  preceding  facts  point  to  the  communion  of 
spiritual  intelligences,  the  following  more  conclu- 
sively establish  the  proof  of  this  intercourse. 

"  About  three  years  ago,  a  seafaring  man  by  the 
name  of  Toombs  returned  to  his  family,  who  re- 
sided in  this  place.     His  widow  resides  here  still. 


Mediums  kip  during  Sleep.  333 

One  night,  not  long  after  his  return,  he  awoke  his 
wife,  telling  her  to  look  at  the  coffin  standing  by 
the  side  of  the  bed  ;  but  she  replied  that  she  could 
not  see  it,  nor  anything  in  the  room,  as  it  was  totally 
dark.  He  insisted  on  getting  up,  and  looking  into 
it ;  as  he  said  he  saw  a  coffin  there  as  truly  as  he 
was  alive.  He  arose,  and,  on  looking  into  it,  imme- 
diately exclaimed,  '  It  is  myself!  it  is  me!'  She 
tried  to  convince  him  the  next  morning  that  it  was  a 
dream  ;  but  he  said  he  was  certain  that  it  foreshad- 
owed his  death.  The  second  day  afterward,  as  he 
was  walking  on  the  edge  of  the  wharf,  his  foot 
slipped,  he  was  precipitated  into  the  river,  and,  be- 
fore assistance  could  be  rendered,  he  was  dead. 
His  body  was  taken  home,  and  his  coffin  at  last 
stood  in  the  identical  place  to  which  his  attention 
had  been  directed  in  the  vision."  * 

"  The  next  example  I  shall  cite  came,  in  part, 
within  my  own  personal  knowledge,"  says  Moore,  in 
his  work  on  "  Body  and  Mind."  "  A  colleague  of 
the  diplomatic  corps,  an  intimate  friend  of  mine, 
M.  de  S.,  had  engaged,  for  himself  and  his  lady, 
passage  to  South  America  in  a  steamer,  to  sail  on 
the  ninth  day  of  May,  1856.  A  few  days  after  their 
passage  was  taken,  a  friend  of  theirs  and  mine  had 
a  dream,  which  caused  her  serious  uneasiness.  She 
saw,  in  her  dream,  a  ship,  in  a  violent  storm,  founder 
at  sea  ;  and  an  internal  intimation  made  her  aware 
that  it  was  the  vessel  on  board  which  the  S.'s  pro- 
posed to  embark.      So   lively  was  the  impression, 

*  "  Univercoelum."     1848. 


334  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

that,  on  awakening,  she  could  scarcely  persuade 
herself  that  the  vision  was  not  a  reality.  Dropping 
again  to  sleep,  the  same  dream  recurred  a  second 
time.  This  increased  her  anxiety ;  and  the  next 
day  she  asked  my  advice  as  to  whether  she  ought 
not  to  state  the  circumstances  to  her  friends.  Hav- 
ing at  that  time  no  faith  whatever  in  such  intima- 
tions, I  recommended  her  not  to  do  so,  since  it 
would  not  probably  cause  them  to  change  their 
plans,  yet  might  make  them  uncomfortable  to  no 
purpose.  So  she  suffered  them  to  depart  unadvised 
of  the  fact.  It  so  happened  however,  as  I  learned 
a  few  weeks  later,  that  fortuitous  circumstances  in- 
duced my  friends  to  alter  their  first  intention,  and, 
having  given  up  their  places,  to  take  passage  in 
another  vessel. 

"These  particulars  had  nearly  passed  from  my 
memory,  when  long  afterward,  being  at  the  Rus- 
sian Minister's,  his  lady  said  to  me,  *  How  fortunate 
that  our  friends,  the  S/s,  did  not  go  in  the  vessel 
they  had  first  selected  ! '  —  i  Why  so  ? '  I  asked. 
'  Have  you  not  heard/  she  replied/  '  that  the  vessel 
is  lost  ?  It  must  have  perished  at  sea  ;  for,  though 
more  than  six  months  have  elapsed  since  it  left  port, 
it  has  never  since  been  heard  of/ 

"  In  this  case,  it  will  be  remarked  the  dream  was 
communicated  to  myself  some  weeks  or  months 
before  its  warning  was  fulfilled.  It  is  to  be  con- 
ceded, however,  that  the  chances  against  its  fulfill- 
ment were  not  so  great  as  in  some  of  the  preceding 
examples.     The  chances  against  a  vessel,  about  to 


Mediums  kip  during  Sleep.  335 

cross  the  Atlantic,  being  lost  on  that  particular 
voyage  are  much  less  than  are  the  chances  against 
a  man,  say  of  middle  age  and  in  good  health,  dying 
on  any  one  particular  day. 

"  In  the  next  example  we  shall  find  a  new  element 
introduced.  Mrs.  S.  related  to  me,  that,  residing 
in  Rome,  in  June,  1856,  she  dreamed,  on  the  thirti- 
eth day  of  that  month,  that  her  mother,  who  had  been 
several  years  dead,  appeared  to  her,  gave  her  a  lock 
of  hair,  and  said,  '  Be  especially  careful  of  this  lock 
of  hair,  my  child  ;  for  it  is  your  father's,  and  the 
angels  will  call  him  away  from  you  to-morrow/ 
The  effect  of  this  dream  on  Mrs.  S.'s  spirits  was 
such,  that,  when  she  awoke,  she  experienced  the 
greatest  alarm,  and  caused  a  telegraphic  notice  to 
be  instantly  despatched  to  England,  where  her 
father  was,  to  inquire  after  his  health.  No  imme- 
diate reply  was  received;  but,  when  it  did  come,  it 
was  to  the  effect  that  her  father  had  died  that  morn- 
ing at  nine  o'clock.  She  afterwards  learned  that 
two  days  before  his  death  he  had  caused  to  be  cut 
off  a  lock  of  his  hair,  and  handed  it  to  one  of  his 
daughters,  who  was  attending  on  him,  telling  her  it 
was  for  her  sister  in  Rome.  He  had  been  ill  of  a 
chronic  disease ;  but  the  last  account  she  received  of 
his  health  had  been  favorable,  and  had  given  reason 
to  hope  that  he  might  yet  survive  for  some  years. 

"  I  proceed  to  furnish,  from  among  the  narrratives 
of  this  character  which  have  thus  recently  come  to 
my  knowledge,  a  few  specimens,  for  the  authenticity 
of  which  I  can  vouch. 


336  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

"In  the  year  181 8,  Signor  Alessandro  Romano, 
the  head  of  an  old  and  highly  respected  Neapoli- 
tan family,  was  at  Patu,  in  the  province  of  Terra 
d'Otranto,  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  He  dreamed 
one  night  that  the  wife  of  the  Cavaliere  Libetta, 
Counselor  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  his  friend 
and  legal  adviser,  who  was  then  in  the  city  of 
Naples,  was  dead.  Although  Signor  Romano  had 
not  heard  of  the  Signor  Libetta  being  ill,  or  even 
indisposed,  yet  the  extreme  vividness  of  the  dream 
produced  a  great  impression  on  his  mind  and  spir- 
its ;  and  the  next  morning  he  repeated  it  to  his 
family,  adding  that  it  had  disturbed  him  greatly,  not 
only  on  account  of  his  friendship  for  the  family, 
but  also  because  the  Cavaliere  had  then  in  charge 
for  him  a  lawsuit  of  importance,  which  he  feared 
this  domestic  affliction  might  cause  him  to  neglect. 

"  Patu  is  two  hundred  and  eighty  miles  from 
Naples  ;  and  it  was  several  days  before  any  confir- 
mation or  refutation  of  Signor  Romano's  fears  could 
be  obtained.  At  last  he  received  a  letter  from  the 
Cavaliere  Libetta,  informing  him  that  he  had  lost 
his  wife  by  death  ;  and,  on  comparing  dates,  it  was 
found  that  she  died  on  the  very  night  of  Signor 
Romano's  dream. 

"  This  fact  was  communicated  to  me  by  my  friend 
Don  Guiseppe  Romano,  son  of  the  gentleman  above 
referred  to,  who  was  living  in  his  father's  house  when 
the  incident  took  place,  and  heard  him  relate  the 
dream  the  morning  after  it  occurred. 

"  Here  is  another,  which  was  narrated  to  me,  I 


Mediums  kip  during  Sleep.  337 

remember,  while  walking,  one  beautiful  day  in  June, 
in  the  Villa  Reale  (the  fashionable  park  of  Naples, 
having  a  magnificent  view  over  the  bay),  by  a  mem- 
ber of  the  A legation,  one  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  agreeable  acquaintances  I  made  in  that 
city. 

"On  the  16th  of  October,  1850,  being  then  in  the 
city  of  Naples,  this  gentleman  dreamed  that  he  was 
by  the  bedside  of  his  father,  who  appeared  to  be 
in  the  agonies  of  death,  and  that,  after  a  time,  he 
saw  him  expire.  He  awoke  in  a  state  of  great 
excitement,  bathed  in  cold  perspiration ;  and  the 
impression  on  his  mind  was  so  strong,  that  he 
immediately  rose,  though  it  was  still  night,  dressed 
himself,  and  wrote  to  his  father,  inquiring  after  his 
health.  His  father  was  then  at  Trieste,  distant  from 
Naples,  by  the  nearest  route,  five  days'  journey  ;  and 
the  son  had  no  cause  whatever,  except  the  above 
dream,  to  be  uneasy  about  him,  seeing  that  his  age 
did  not  exceed  fifty,  and  that  no  intelligence  of  his 
illness,  or  even  indisposition,  had  been  received. 
He  waited  for  a  reply  with  some  anxiety  for  three 
weeks,  at  the  end  of  which  time  came  an  official 
communication  to  the  chef 'of  the  mission,  request- 
ing him  to  inform  the  son  that  it  behooved  him  to 
take  some  legal  measures  in  regard  to  the  property 
of  his  father,  who  had  died  at  Trieste,  after  a  brief 
illness,  on  the  sixteenth  day  of  October. 

"  It  will  be  observed,  that,  in  this  instance,  the 
agitation  of  mind  in  the  dreamer  was  much  greater 
than  commonly  occurs  in  the  case  of  an  ordinary 


22 


338  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

dream.  The  gentleman  rose,  dressed  himself  in  the 
middle  of  the  night,  and  immediately  wrote  to  his 
father,  so  great  was  his  anxiety  in  regard  to  that 
parent's  fate.  The  same  may  usually  be  noticed  in 
the  record  of  cases  in  which  the  dream  is  fulfilled, 
even  if  the  person  to  whom  it  occurs  is  a  skeptic  in 
all  such  presentiments. 

"  Such  a  skeptic  is  Macnish,  author  of  the  •  Phi- 
losophy of  Sleep ; y  yet  he  admits  the  effect  which 
such  a  dream,  oecurring  to  himself  in  the  month  of 
August,  1 861,  produced  upon  his  spirits.  I  quote 
the  narrative  in  his  own  words  :  — 

"  6 1  was  then  in  Caithness,  when  I  dreamed  that 
a  near  relation  of  my  own,  residing  three  hundred 
miles  off,  had  suddenly  died,  and,  immediately 
thereafter,  awoke  in  a  state  of  inconceivable  terror, 
similar  to  that  produced  by  a  paroxysm  of  night- 
mare. The  same  day,  happening  to  be  writing 
home,  I  mentioned  the  circumstance  in  a  half-jest- 
ing, half-earnest  way.  To  tell  the  truth,  I  was  afraid 
to  be  serious,  lest  I  should  be  laughed  at  for  putting 
any  faith  in  dreams.  However,  in  the  interval  be- 
tween writing  and  receiving  an  answer^  I  remained 
in  a  state  of  most  unpleasant  suspense.  I  felt  a 
presentiment  that  something  dreadful  had  happened 
or  would  happen ;  and,  though  I  could  not  help 
blaming  myself  for  a  childish  weakness  in  so  feel- 
ing, I  was  unable  to  get  rid  of  the  painful  idea 
which  had  taken  such  rooted  possession  of  my 
mind.  Three  days  after  sending  away  the  letter, 
what  was  my  astonishment   when  I  received   one 


Mediumship  during  Sleep.  339 

written  the  day  subsequent  to  mine,  and  stating 
that  the  relative  of  whom  I  had  dreamed  had  been 
struck  with  a  fatal  shock  of  palsy  the  day  before,  — 
that  is,  the  very  day  on  the  morning  of  which  I  had 
beheld  the  appearance  in  my  dream !  I  may  state 
that  my  relative  was  in  perfect  health  before  the 
fatal  event  took  place.  It  came  upon  him  like  a 
thunderbolt,  at  a  period  when  no  one  could  have  the 
slightest  anticipation  of  danger/ 

"  Here  is  a  witness  disinterested  beyond  all  possi- 
ble doubt ;  for  he  is  supplying  evidence  against  his 
own  opinions.  But  are  the  effects  he  narrates  such 
as  are  usually  produced,  by  a  mere  dream,  on  the 
mind  of  a  person  not  affected  by  superstition  ?  In- 
conceivable terror,  though  there  was  no  nightmare  ; 
a  presentiment  lasting  for  days,  taking  rooted  pos- 
session of  the  feelings,  and  which  he  strove  in  vain 
to  shake  off,  that  something  dreadful  had  happened, 
or  would  happen !  Yet,  with  all  this  alarm,  unnat- 
ural under  ordinary  circumstances,  how  does  the 
narrator  regard  the  case  ?  He  sets  down  his  terrors 
as  a  childish  weakness,  and  declares,  as  to  the  coin- 
cidence which  so  excited  his  astonishment,  that 
there  is  nothing  in  it  to  justify  us  in  referring  it  to 
any  other  origin  than  chance." 

Major  Andre,  the  circumstances  of  whose  la- 
mented death  are  too  well  known  to  make  it  neces- 
sary for  me  to  detail  them  here,  was  a  friend  of  Miss 
Seward's,  and,  previously  to  his  embarkation  for 
America,  he  made  a  journey  into  Derbyshire  to  pay 
her  a  visit ;  and  it  was  arranged   that  they  should 


34-0  Arcana  of  Spiritualism.  \ 

ride  over  to  see  the  wonders  of  the  Peak,  and  intro- 
duce Andre  to  Newton,  her  minstrel,  as  she  called 
him,  and  to  Mr.  Cunningham,  the  curate,  who  was 
also  a  poet. 

"While  these  two  gentlemen  were  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  their  guests,  of  whose  intention  they  had 
been  apprised,  Mr.  Cunningham  mentioned  to  New- 
ton that  on  the  preceding  night  he  had  had  a  very- 
extraordinary  dream,  which  he  could  not  get  out  of 
his  head.  He  had  fancied  himself  in  a  forest ;  the 
place  was  strange  to  him  ;  and,  while  looking  about, 
he  perceived  a  horseman  approaching  at  great  speed, 
who  had  scarcely  reached  the  spot  where  the  dreamer 
stood,  when  three  men  rushed  out  of  the  thicket, 
and,  seizing  his  bridle,  hurried  him  away,  after 
closely  searching  his  person.  The  countenance  of 
the  stranger  being  very  interesting,  the  sympathy 
felt  by  the  sleeper  for  his  apparent  misfortune  awoke 
him  ;  but  he  presently  fell  asleep  again,  and  dreamed 
that  he  was  standing  near  a  great  city,  among  thou- 
sands of  people,  and  that  he  saw  the  same  person 
whom  he  had  seen  seized  in  the  wood  brought  out, 
and  suspended  to  a  gallows.  When  Andre  and 
Miss  Seward  arrived,  he  was  horror-struck  to  per- 
ceive that  his  new  acquaintance  was  the  antetype 
and  reality  of  the  man  whom  he  had  seen  in  the 
dream. 

"  One  fact,  however,  may  still  be  related,  as  a 
specimen  of  many  others  which  occurred  in  Sel- 
ling's experience.  Having  at  one  time  occasion  to 
write  on  business  to  his  friend  Hess,  Stilling,  while 


Mediumship  during  Sleep.  341 

engaged  in  writing,  suddenly  felt  a  deep  internal 
impression,  as  though  a  voice  had  spoken  with  him, 
that  his  friend  Lavater  '  would  die  a  bloody  death, — 
the  death  of  a  martyr/  He  was  impressed  to  write 
this  to  Hess,  which  he  accordingly  did.  In  ten 
weeks  after  Stilling  had  this  impression,  Lavater 
received  a  mortal  wound  from  the  hand  of  a  Swiss 
grenadier,  incited,  as  it  was  supposed,  by  some  polit- 
ical jealousy. 

"  Dr.  George  De  Benneville,  a  physician  and  Ana- 
baptist preacher,  who  resided  at  Germantown,  Pa., 
before  and  during  the  American  Revolution,  was 
also  subject  to  interior  impressions.  Being  an  ex- 
ceedingly benevolent  man,  he  spent  much  of  his 
time  in  bestowing  gratuitous  medical  attention  upon 
the  poor. 

"  One  morning  he  told  his  family  that  he  felt  im- 
pressed to  ride  into  Philadelphia,  nine  miles  distant, 
by  a  consciousness  that  a  vessel  had  just  arrived  in 
port,  having  on  board  a  poor  sick  sailor  who  needed 
his  assistance.  He  accordingly  went  to  Philadelphia, 
and  found  the  sick  sailor  just  as  he  had  described. 

"During  the  Revolution,  while  Philadelphia  was 
occupied  by  the  British,  Dr.  De  Benneville  resided 
a  portion  of  the  time  at  Reading,  Pa.  One  day 
while  there,  he  ordered  his  horse  and  chaise,  saying 
that  the  British  had  on  that  day  evacuated  Philadel- 
phia, and  that  matters  there  required  his  immediate 
attention.  His  family  at  first  thought  him  wander- 
ing in  his  mind  ;  but  they  suffered  him  to  depart. 
A  day  or  two  afterward,  intelligence  arrived  that  the 


342  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

British  had  actually  evacuated  Philadelphia  on  that 
very  day."  * 

The  following  is,  if  anything,  of  a  still  more  pos- 
itive character,  and  is  vouched  for  by  high  au- 
thority :  — 

"In  the  winter  of  1835-6,  a  schooner  was  frozen 
up  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  close  to 
Dorchester,  which  is  nine  miles  from  the  River  Pe- 
deudiac.  During  the  time  of  her  detention,  she  was 
intrusted  to  the  care  of  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of 
Clarke,  who  is  at  this  time  captain  of  the  schooner 
'  Julia  Hallock/  trading  between  New  York  and  St. 
Jago  de  Cuba. 

"  Capt.  Clarke's  paternal  grandmother,  Mrs.  Ann 
Dawe  Clarke,  to  whom  he  was  much  attached,  was 
at  that  time  living,  and,  so  far  as  he  knew,  well. 
She  was  residing  at  Lyme-Regis,  in  the  County  of 
Dorset,  England. 

"  On  the  night  of  the  seventeenth  day  of  February, 
1836,  Capt.  Clarke,  then  on  board  the  schooner  re- 
ferred to,  had  a  dream  of  so  vivid  a  character  that 
it  produced  a  great  impression  upon  him.  He 
dreamed,  that,  being  at  Lyme-Regis,  he  saw  pass 
before  him  the  funeral  of  his  grandmother.  He 
took  note  of  the  chief  persons  who  composed  the 
procession ;  observed  who  were  the  pall-bearers,  who 
were  the  mourners,  and  who  was  the  officiating  pas- 
tor. He  joined  the  procession  as  it  approached  the 
church-yard  gate,  and  proceeded  with  it  to  the  grave. 
He  thought,  in   his    dream,  that   the  weather  was 

*  "  Univerccelum." 


Mediums  hip  during  Sleep.  343 

stormy,  and  the  ground  was  wet,  as  after  a  heavy- 
rain  ;  and  he  noticed  that  the  wind,  being  high, 
blew  the  pall  partly  off  the  coffin.  The  graveyard 
which  they  entered,  the  old  Protestant  one,  in  the 
centre  of  the  town,  was  the  same  in  which,  as 
Capt  Clarke  knew,  their  family  burying-place  was. 
He  perfectly  remembered  its  situation  ;  but,  to 
his  surprise,  the  funeral  procession  did  not  pro- 
ceed thither,  but  to  another  part  of  the  church- 
yard, at  some  distance.  There,  still  in  his  dream, 
he  saw  the  open  grave,  partially  filled  with  water, 
as  from  the  rain  ;  and,  looking  into  it,  he  particu- 
larly noticed,,  floating  in  the  water,  two  drowned 
field-mice.  Afterward,  as  he  thought,  he  conversed 
with  his  mother ;  and  she  told  him  that  the  morn- 
ing had  been  so  tempestuous  that  the  funeral,  origi- 
nally appointed  for  ten  o'clock,  had  been  deferred  till 
four.  He  remarked,  in  reply,  that  it  was  a  fortunate 
circumstance ;  for,  as  he  had  just  arrived  in  time 
to  join  the  procession,  had  the  funeral  taken  place 
in  the  forenoon  he  could  not  have  attended  it  at  all 

"This  dream  made  so  deep  an  impression  on  Capt. 
Clarke,  that  in  the  morning  he  noted  the  date  of  it 
Some  time  afterward,  there  came  the  news  of  his 
grandmother  s  death,  with  the  additional  particular 
that  she  was  buried  on  the  same  day  on  which  he, 
being  in  North  America,  had  dreamed  of  her  funeral. 

"When,  four  years  afterward,  Capt.  Clarke  vis- 
ited Lyme-Regis,  he  found  that  every  particular  of 
his  dream  minutely  corresponded  with  the  reality. 
The  pastor,   the   pall-bearers,  the   mourners,  were 


344  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

the  same  persons  he  had  seen.  Yet  this,  we  may 
suppose,  he  might  naturally  have  anticipated.  But 
the  funeral  had  been  appointed  for  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning ;  and  in  consequence  of  the  tempestuous 
weather,  and  the  heavy  rain  that  was  falling,  it  had 
been  delayed  until  four  in  the  afternoon.  His 
mother,  who  attended  the  funeral,  distinctly  recol- 
lected that  the  high  wind  blew  the  pall  partially  off 
the  coffin.  In  consequence  of  a  wish  expressed  by 
the  old  lady  shortly  before  her  death,  she  was  bur- 
ied, not  in  the  burying-place  of  the  family,  but  at 
another  spot,  selected  by  herself;  and,  to  this  spot, 
Capt.  Clarke,  without  any  indication  from  the  fam- 
ily or  otherwise,  proceeded  at  once,  as  directly  as 
if  he  had  been  present  at  the  burial.  Finally,  on 
comparing  notes  with  the  old  sexton,  it  appeared 
that  the  heavy  rain  of  the  morning  had  partially 
filled  the  grave  ;  and  that  there  were  actually  found 
in  it  two  field-mice,  drowned. 

"This  last  incident,  even  if  there  were  no  other, 
might  suffice  to  preclude  all  idea  of  accidental  coin- 
cidence. 

"  The  above  was  narrated  to  me  by  Capt.  Clarke 
himself/'  says  Moore,  in  his  work  on  "  Body  and 
Mind,"  "  with  permission  to  use  his  name  in  attesta- 
tion of  its  truth." 

257.     Presentiments  of  Death. 

Presentiments  of  the  person's  death  are  by  no 
means   rare :   volumes   might  be   filled  with  them. 


Mediums  hip  during  Sleep.  345 

During  the  late  war,  I  have  noticed  many  such  re- 
corded. No  philosophy  but  spirit-impression  can 
explain  the  origin  of  such  presentiments  ;  for  knowl- 
edge is  conveyed,  which,  to  say  the  least,  is  super- 
mundane, and  outside  of  and  above  the  capacity  of 
man.  To  prophecy  the  hour  of  a  person's  departure 
has  never  been  achieved  by  the  reason  of  man. 

"  Mrs.  Dorothea  Foos,  aged  ninety-nine  years, 
died  at  her  residence  in  Elisor  Street,  Baltimore,  on 
Saturday  evening,  having  lived  to  see  five  genera- 
tions. Mrs.  Foos  dreamed,  some  nine  years  ago, 
that  she  would  die  on  the  5th  of  April,  1845,  and 
her  acquaintances  have  often  heard  her  state  her 
presentiment.  About  ten  years  ago,  she  accident- 
ally fell  out  of  bed,  and  broke  her  hip,  and  otherwise 
injured  herself,  so  that  all  hopes  of  her  recovery 
were  given  up  ;  but  she  steadily  insisted  that  she 
should  get  about  again,  and  not  die  until  the  5th  of 
April,  1845  \  and  singular  though  it  be,  yet  such  is 
the  fact  She  did  live  until  Saturday,  the  5  th  of 
April,  1845,  and  died  on  that  day. 

"  A  young  lady  of  this  city,  highly  esteemed  and 
respected,  who  had  been  sick  for  some  length  of 
time,  but  was  supposed  to  be  convalescent,  had  a 
dream  a  few  nights  since,  in  which  it  appeared  to 
her  that  she  would  die  at  eight  o'clock  the  same  eve- 
ning. On  awaking,  she  informed  her  family  of  her 
dream,  and  remained  firmly  impressed  with  the  idea 
that  she  should  die  at  the  hour  designated,  and, 
under  that  belief,  called  her  brothers  and  sisters 
around  her,  giving  them  good  advice  with  reference 


346  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

to  the  future.  Strange  to  say,  and  remarkable  as  it 
may  seem,  on  the  approach  of  eight  o'clock  she  mani- 
fested a  calm  resignation,  and,  almost  as  the  clock 
tolled  the  hour,  her  spirit  took  its  flight.  Thus  she 
foretold,  by  a  singular  presentiment,  the  day  and 
hour  of  her  own  death."  * 

"One  of  the  most  remarkable  cases  of  presentiment 
I  know,  is  that  which  occurred  not  very  long  since 
on  board  one  of  Her  Majesty's  ships,  when  lying 
off  Portsmouth.  The  officers  being  one  day  at  the 
mess-table,  a  young  Lieutenant  P.  suddenly  laid 
down  his  knife  and  fork,  pushed  away  his  plate,  and 
turned  extremely  pale.  He  then  rose  from  the 
table,  covering  his  face  with  his  hands,  and  retired 
from  the  room.  The  president  of  the  mess,  suppos- 
ing him  to  be  ill,  sent  one  of  the  young  men  to 
inquire  what  was  the  matter.  At  first,  Mr.  P.  was 
unwilling  to  speak ;  but,  on  being  pressed,  he  con- 
fessed that  he  had  been  seized  by  a  sudden  and 
irresistible  impression  that  a  brother  he  had,  then  in 
India,  was  dead.  '  Pie  died/  said  he, i  on  the  12th  of 
August,  at  six  o'clock :  I  am  perfectly  certain  of  it.' 
No  argument  could  overthrow  this  conviction,  which, 
in  due  course  of  post,  was  verified  to  the  letter. 
The  young  man  had  died  at  Cawnpore,  at  the  pre- 
cise period  mentioned/'  f 

"  Barrow,  in  his  interesting  book  entitled  '  The 
Bible  in  Spain/  gives  a  singular  instance  of  presen- 
timent, —  the  coming  event  casting  its  shadow  be- 
fore.    A  sailor,  on  coming  on  deck  in  the  morning, 

*  "  Rochester  American."  \  Fisbbough. 


Mediums  kip  during  Sleep.  347 

informed  him,  with  deep  solemnity,  that,  during  the 
night,  he  had  been  impressed,  that,  in  a  few  hours, 
he  should  meet  his  death  by  drowning.  The  sailor 
was  the  most  active  and  intelligent  of  the  crew. 
No  reasoning  or  ridicule  could  efface  the  impression 
that  he  had  received :  it  seemed  written  upon  his 
very  soul.  During  the  evening,  the  wind  arose,  and 
freshened  to  a  gale.  The  sailor  in  question  went 
aloft  to  take  in  sail.  While  engaged  in  that  duty, 
he  lost  his  hold  and  footing,  and  fell  overboard.  A 
boat  was  immediately  lowered,  and  every  effort  made 
to  save  him,  but  in  vain.  The  narrator  saw  his 
face  shining  out  like  a  thing  of  light  as  he  sank 
fathoms  deep  beneath  the  waves."  * 

Last  year,  on  bidding  my  aunt  adieu  after  a  short 
visit,  and  hoping  to  see  her  soon,  she  told  me  in 
tears  that  she  had  a  presentiment  that  she  should 
not  live  until  the  summer  had  passed.  When  at- 
tacked at  length  with  mortal  sickness,  in  midsum- 
mer, she  said  that  medicine  would  be  unavailing, 
and  prophesied  the  exact  hour  of  her  departure. 

There  is  a  class  of  presentiments  received  in  re- 
gard to  those  who  are  near  and  dear  to  us  for  which 
animal  magnetism  gives  a  partial  explanation,  and 
probably  does  account  for  many  facts  ;  but  spiritual 
impression  must  be  called  to  fully  account  for  oth- 
ers. The  same  law  by  which  one  person  obtains  an 
impression  from  another  enables  him  to  obtain  an 
impression  from  a  spirit. 

"A  lady  of  my  acquaintance  correctly  saw,  in  a 

*  "  Univerccelum." 


348  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

dream,  all  the  main  particulars  of  the  burning  of  the 
steamboat  '  Lexington/  on  Long-Island  Sound,  a 
few  years  ago,  on  the  night  of  the  occurrence  ;  and, 
on  awaking,  she  related  the  account  to  her  husband 
in  general  terms  just  as  it  subsequently  appeared  in 
the  newspapers."  * 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  that,  notwithstanding  their 
educational  fears,  children  are  never  frightened  at 
the  appearance  of  spectres. 

"  A  lady  with  her  child  embarked  on  board  a 
vessel  at  Jamaica,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  her 
friends  in  England,  leaving  her  husband  quite  well. 
It  was  a  sailing  packet ;  and  they  had  been  some 
time  at  sea,  when  one  evening,  while  the  child  was 
kneeling  before  her,  saying  his  prayers  previous  to 
going  to  rest,  he  suddenly  said,  looking  eagerly  to 
a  particular  spot  in  the  cabin, '  Mamma,  pa ! *  — '  Non- 
sense, my  dear  ! '  the  mother  answered  :  '  you  know 
your  papa  is  not  here  ! '  — '  He  is  indeed,  mamma/ 
returned  the  child  :  '  he  is  looking  at  us  now/  Nor 
could  she  convince  him  to  the  contrary.  When  she 
went  on  deck,  she  mentioned  the  circumstance  to 
the  captain,  who  thought  it  so  strange  that  he  said 
he  would  note  down  the  date  of  the  occurrence. 
The  lady  begged  him  not  do  so,  saying  it  was  at- 
taching a  significance  to  it  which  would  make  her 
miserable.  He  did  it,  however  ;  and,  shortly  after  her 
arrival  in  England,  she  learned  that  her  husband 
had  died  exactly  at  that  period. 

f'A  gentleman  of  this  city,  in  whose  veracity  I 

*  Fishbough. 


Mediums  hip.  during  Sleep.  349 

have  every  confidence,  recently  related  to  me  a  fact 
which  came  under  his  personal  knowledge,  as  fol- 
lows :  A  lady,  residing  with  her  son  in  one  of  the 
Eastern  States,  recently  dreamed  that  her  daughter, 
living  in  New  York,  was  taken  suddenly  and  dan- 
gerously ill.  Her  son  dreamed  the  same  dream  on  the 
same  night.  Though  neither  of  them  had  previously 
had  any  faith  in  dreams,  in  this  instance  their  dreams 
made  a  deep  impression  on  their  minds,  and  they 
mutually  related  and  compared  them  on  the  next 
morning.  Shortly  afterward,  a  telegraphic  despatch 
arrived,  announcing  that  the  daughter  was  severely 
and  dangerously  ill.  The  mother  set  off  for  New 
York  with  the  first  conveyance,  and  found  her 
daughter  in  a  condition  precisely  as  represented 
in  the  dream  of  herself  and  son." 


258.     Conclusions. 

It  thus  appears,  that,  during  sleep,  many  individ- 
uals become  susceptible  to  spirit-influence  who  are 
not  so  in  the  waking  state.  During  the  positive 
conditions  of  day,  they  are  incapable  of  receiving 
impressions  ;  but  the  negative  influence  of  night, 
and  the  passive  state  of  sleep,  open  the  gateway  for 
the  entrance  of  spiritual  impressions.  Sometimes, 
as  is  proved  by  preceding  facts,  the  sleeper  passes 
into  a  truly  clairvoyant  state.  It  is  from  these  that 
we  conclude  normal  sleep  to  be  its  first  stage,  deep- 
ening into  it  by  imperceptible  gradations.     _' 

There  is  one  other  consideration,  —  that  of  the 


350  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

allegorical  form  in  which  dreams  that  we  refer  to 
impression  often  appear.  This  is  susceptible  of  easy 
explanation.  Persons  usually  have  signs,  well  deter- 
mined in  their  own  minds,  by  which  they  recognize 
the  coming  of  events.  Thus  one  believes,  that,  if 
he  dream  of  fire,  he  is  sure  to  have  a  quarrel ;  or,  of 
dark  and  turbulent  water,  that  sickness  is  in  store. 
If,  it  is  said,  a  spirit  can  impress  these  signs,  why 
not  impress  the  plain  truth  ?  We  say,  because  the 
sign  is  more  easily  impressed.  If  the  spirits  at- 
tempted to  impress  the  details  of  sickness  or  of  dis- 
putation, they  would  be  obliged  to  call  into  activity 
the  organs  of  fear,  combativeness,  etc.,  which  might 
at  once  destroy  the  passiveness  of  the  person,  and 
abruptly  terminate  their  communication.  By  using 
a  sign  that  the  sleeper,  during  sleep,  does  not  recog- 
nize as  significant,  they  obviate  this  difficulty. 

But  they  do  not  employ  signs  except  in  those 
cases  where  from  experience  they  have  found  them 
necessary.  The  passivity  of  individuals  varies ; 
and  often  the  unvarnished  facts  can  be  presented, 
even  when  revolting,  without  disturbing  the  essen- 
tial conditions,  or  not  until  presented,  when  the 
sleeper  generally  passes  at  once  to  wakefulness. 


XVI. 

HEAVEN  AND  HELL,  THE  SUPPOSED  ABODES  OF  THE 

DEPARTED. 

Heaven  is  a  place  with  many  doors,  and  each  one  may  enter  in  his  own 
way.  —  Hindoo  Maxim. 

259.     Where  Located  by  the  Ancients. 

THE  abode  of  the  departed  was  placed,  by  the 
ancients,  in  unexplored  regions  of  the  globe. 
The  sphericity  of  the  earth  is  of  recent  discovery. 
The  world  was  thought  to  be  a  level  plain,  bounded 
by  the  sea ;  and  the  Persians  thought  a  chain  of 
inaccessible  mountains,  two  thousand  feet  high,  sur- 
rounded it,  preventing  any  one  from  falling  off. 
When  the  Roman  general,  Decius  Brutus,  with  his 
army,  reached  the  coast  of  Portugal,  and  for  the 
first  time  gazed  on  the  infinite  expanse  of  water, 
and  saw  the  great  red  sun  go  down  into  the  crimson 
billows,  he  was  seized  with  horror,  and  turned  back 
the  eagles  of  his  legions. 

To  the  Greek  and  Roman,  only  a  very  small  area 
was  known,  and  their  ardent  imaginations  reveled 
in  creations  outside  of  this  geographical  knowledge. 
There  was  ample  space  to  locate  the  realms  of  the 
dead,  and  transfer  the  mystic  under-world  to  the 
surface. 


35  2  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

On  the  starry  heights  of  Mount  Olympus,  the 
synod  of  the  gods  met  in  luxurious  bowers,  and 
from  its  summit  Jupiter  thundered  his  mandates 
over  the  world.  In  the  remote  west  extended  the 
golden  gardens  of  the  Hesperides.  In  the  east,  the 
tall  towers  of  the  divine  city  of  Maru  pierced  the 
amber  light.  Far  in  the  raging  desert  of  Ethiopia 
gleamed  the  banquet-hall  of  the  blessed.  In  the  Cen- 
tral Ocean  lay  the  Isles  of  Immortality ;  and  far  to 
the  north,  beyond  the  sunny  avalanches  of  the  Cau- 
casus, spread  the  happy  land  of  the  Hyperboreans. 

Those  were  beautiful  dreams,  and  it  is  with  regret 
we  see  the  iron  hand  of  science  encroach  on  this 
exciting  realm  of  poesy. 

260.     The  Childhood  of  the  Race  Outgrown. 

The  child  grows  to  manhood.  He  can  no  longer 
detect  the  face  in  the  moon,  which,  in  childhood,  he 

so  plainly  saw. 

.* 

'*  How  pleasant  were  the  wild  beliefs 

That  dwelt  in  legends  old  ! 
Alas  !  to  our  posterity 

Will  no  such  tales  be  told  ? 
We  know  too  much  :  scroll  after  scroll 

Weighs  down  our  weary  shelves. 
Our  only  point  of  ignorance 

Is  centred  in  ourselves." 

It  is  the  mystery,  growing  out  of  vague,  unde- 
fined knowledge,  which  clothes  the  distant  land  with 
the  poetic  garb  of  a  paradise. 


Heaven  and  Hell.  353 

The  dying  Hindoo  hoped  to  reach  the  "white 
isle,"  the  fragrant  dwelling  of  immortal  man.  The 
ancient  Briton,  at  death,  found  a  home  in  the  "  noble 
island,"  far  amid  the  dashing  waves  of  the  Western 
Ocean. 

The  Hebrew  Scriptures,  in  similar  manner,  re- 
ferred to  the  lost  paradise,  the  Garden  of  Eden. 
As  its  reception  extended  among  the  nations,  con- 
jectures were  rife  as  to  the  locality  of  the  wonder- 
land. It  was  once  thought  to  be  in  the  bosom  of 
India ;  then  in  the  fragrant  vales  of  Georgia ;  then 
in  the  inaccessible  recesses  of  Mesopotamia ;  then 
to  be  some  oasis  in  the  Arabian  desert,  where  life 
met  death  in  strange  contrast,  and  the  weary  pilgrim 
saw  the  spirit-like  palm,  shading  the  sparkling  foun- 
tain, in  the  midst  of  desolation. 

The  cosmography  of  the  twelfth  century  confined 
paradise  to  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  Asia,  made 
inaccessible  by  a  wall  of  fire,  surrounding  it,  and  as- 
cending to  heaven.  * 

Still  later,  the  Canaries  were  named  the  Fortunate 
Islands,  from  a  supposition  that  they  were  the  origi- 
nal Eden.  To  discover  the  original  site  of  Eden 
was  one  of  the  strong  motives  actuating  Columbus 
in  his  voyage  to  the  west. 

261.     Located  beneath  the  Earth. 

The  most  popular  ancient  belief  of  Jews,  Greeks, 
Romans,  Etruscans,  Germans,  and  Christians,  was, 
that  beneath  the  earth  there  was  a  vast,  gloomy 
23 


354  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

world  of  the  dead.  This  was  held  by  the  Scandina- 
vian nations,  and  lingered  to  recent  times  in  the 
beautiful  fictions  of  elves  and  fairies.  Its  name  was 
derived  from  the  grave.  The  Hebrew  word  "  sheol? 
and  the  Greek  " hades"  meant  the  grave.  It  was  a 
dark,  gloomy  world  of  shadows,  from  which  only  a 
few  peerless  heroes  and  sages,  by  the  interference 
of  the  gods,  were  transplanted  to  Elysium.  The 
classical  description  of  this  abode  is  terrible,  —  a 
scene  of  gloom,  of  passion  ;  suffering,  or  a  lethargic 
state  that  only  relieves  from  suffering. 

From  Hades  lead  two  paths,  —  one  to  Elysium, 
one  to  Tartarus.  If  the  blessed  spirit  reached  the 
former,  life  became  a  joy.  Flowery  fields,  fragrant 
breezes,  social  happiness  in  friendly  reunions,  con- 
tributed to  his  peace.  Here  the  hero-gods  of 
pagans,  and  the  saints  of  the  Christians,  found 
repose. 

If  the  doomed  spirit  walked  the  other  path,  it 
reached  Tartarus,  where  the  old  earth-giants  lay, 
transfixed  with  thunderbolts,  like  mountain  masses 
half  concealed  by  cinders  and  lava.  The  furies 
are  seen  in  the  darkness,  by  the  light  of  the  riv- 
ers of  fire  on  the  banks  of  which  they  stand.  All 
around  groan  the  wretched  sinners,  torn  by  tor- 
tures, the  recital  of  which  curdles  the  blood.  Here 
is  the  pagan  system,  worked  up  by  the  Romish  hier- 
archy into  purgatory,  paradise,  and  hell.  Hades 
is  the  probationary  stage.  In  quite  modern  times, 
excited  ecclesiastics  have  seriously  taught  that  vol- 
canoes were   entrances   to   the   awful   under-world, 


Heaven  and  Hell.  355 

and   many   a   legend   now  told   records   this   early 
belief. 

262.     Heaven  above  the  Clouds. 

The  cloudland  has  not  been  left  unoccupied. 
There  the  Caledonians  fixed  their  realm  of  shades. 
The  vast  atmosphere  is  the  hall  of  spirit-existence. 
The  departed  heroes  ride  on  the  wings  of  the  tem- 
pest. The  shriek  of  the  wind,  the  bellow  of  the 
thunder,  are  their  voices,  and  the  lightning  flames 
their  red  eyes  of  wrath. 

The  Lapland  heaven  is  in  the  pure  regions  of  the 
aurora  borealis.  The  streamers  are  the  play  of  the 
departed. 

263.     Heaven  between  the  Earth  and  Moon. 

The  Platonists  located  heaven  in  the  space  be- 
tween the  earth  and  moon.  The  Manichaeans 
thought  the  departed  went  to  the  moon,  where 
their  sins  were  washed  away ;  and  then  to  the  sun, 
to  be  purified  by  fire. 

The  Hebrews  thought  the  sky  a  solid  arch,  sup- 
porting an  inexhaustible  supply  of  water,  beyond 
which  dwelt  God  and  his  angels  in  regal  splendor. 
This  conjecture  of  a  solid  firmament  the  ignorant 
mind  at  once  receives  as  direct  evidence  of  the 
senses,  and  is  world-wide.  Beyond  the  solid  firma- 
ment, in  which  the  stars  are  set,  a  mysterious  region 
of  space  exists,  which  invites  the  fancy  to  people 
with  its  own  creations. 


356  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

264.     Heaven  in  the  Sun. 

The  Aztecs  and  Incas  regarded  the  sun  as  the 
third  and  highest  state  of  future  existence.  While 
the  wicked,  comprising  the  great  majority,  were  con- 
fined in  everlasting  darkness,  and  a  second  state  of 
innocent  contentment  was  enjoyed  by  those  more 
favorable  to  the  gods,  the  heroes  who  fell  in  battle, 
and  sacrificial  victims,  passed  directly  to  the  sun,  to 
follow  his  shining  course  through  the  heavens  ;  and, 
after  years,  they  became  the  spirits  of  the  clouds, 
and  singing  birds,  reveling  in  the  rich  fragrance  of 
the  gardens  of  paradise.  It  is  extremely  singular, 
that,  with  this  complexity  and  variety  of  being  for 
the  future  life,  these  strange  races  assigned  no  form 
of  physical  torture,  which  is  often  the  first  notion 
of  the  after-life  to  suggest  itself  to  rude  minds. 

265.     Comets  the  Location  of  Hell. 

The  diffusion  of  astronomical  knowledge  has  broken 
the  heavenly  crystalline  sphere  to  fragments  :  but  the- 
ologians are  not  at  a  loss  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
smattering  of  science  they  usually  acquire ;  and  a 
comet,  appearing  in  the  celebrated  Dr.  Whiston's 
time,  convinced  him  that  it  was  the  real  hell  so  long 
sought.  He  thought  it  admirably  contrived  for  pun- 
ishment,—  rushing  to  the  sun,  and  acquiring  a  tem- 
perature thousands  of  degrees  above  molten  iron, 
and  then  traversing  regions  of  space  where  the  cold 
reaches  an  intensity  inappreciable   to   us.      Truly, 


Heaven  and  HelL  357 

this  is  a  fine  arrangement  for  torture.  God's  wrath 
has  fixed  itself  in  the  mechanism  of  the  cosmos  ! 
In  the  cometary  hell,  the  undying  soul  oscillates  be- 
tween the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  suffering  from 
a  kind  of  intermittent  fever. 

266.     Heaven  the  Actual  of  Desires. 

Heaven,  as  idealized  by  the  world-weary,  is  a  place 
of  eternal  rest.  It  is  not  strange  that  such  should 
be  the  toiler's  dream  of  felicity.  Bowed  beneath  the 
excessive  labor  of  this  life,  without  means  of  escaping 
its  drudgery,  or  a  hope  of  bettering  his  condition,  to 
him  the  most  desirable  state  possible  is  one  of  rest. 

Heaven  is  always  what  the  mind  most  desires.! 
The  weary  traveler  in  the  desert,  famished  and 
dying  with  thirst,  has  no  higher  aspiration  than  the 
palm  groves  of  an  oasis,  with  its  leaping  fountains 
and  luscious  dates,  where,  sheltered  from  the  sun's 
fierce  rays,  he  can  slake  his  thirst,  satisfy  his  hunger, 
and  repose  in  undisturbed  quietude. 

It  is  thus  with  those  weary  of  life's  incessant 
struggle.  The  mass  of  mankind  are  born  to  poverty 
and  labor.  Their  lives  are  an  unceasing  battle  with 
hunger  and  cold.  They  have  no  moments  of  recrea- 
tion, wherein  the  noble  aspirations  which  the  lowest 
human  being  is  capable  of  feeling  can  be  gratified. 

267.     Why  Another  State  is  asked  for. 

At  death,  after  fourscore  years  of  struggling,  when 
we  look  back  across  the  fleeting  years,  when  we  ret- 


V 


35 8  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

rospect  all  we  have  done,  how  small  has  been  the 
work  accomplished  !  We  have  supported  the  wants 
of  the  body  as  best  we  could,  and  have  given  it 
bread  to  appease  its  hunger,  and  protected  it  from 
cold,  but  many  find  it  impossible  to  supply  even  a 
crust  and  a  ragged  garment.  The  superior  spirit- 
ual nature  lies  an  uncultivated  waste;  briers  and 
brambles,  slimy  morasses  and  hideous  dismal  swamps, 
everywhere. 

When  the  old  man  asks  himself,  "  What  have  I 
accomplished  in  all  my  past  life  ? '  too  often  his 
answer  is,  "  You  have  existed  ;  just  existed!'  The 
worl4  never  knew  it  possessed  you  ;  and,  when  you 
die,  it  will  not  miss  you.     You  have  existed. 

The  man  feels  such  to  be  his  history,  and  his  un- 
satisfied spirit  prays  for  another  state,  where  he  can 
retrieve  the  mistakes  of  this,  and  find  ideal  happi- 
ness. The  form  of  that  happiness  varies  with  each 
individual.  What  one  considers  as  most  delightful 
is  not  so  to  another ;  but  the  main  idea  promul- 
gated by  Christianity  is  of  rest  Heaven  is  where 
the  wicked  shall  cease  from  striving,  and  the  weary 
shall  be  at  rest. 


268.     The  "New  Jerusalem." 

The  "  New  Jerusalem  "  of  the  church  is  a  celestial 
city,  which,  if  words  mean  anything,  is  believed  to 
be  founded  for  the  express  accommodation  of  earthly 
mortals.  Some  genius,  skilled  in  theological  dog- 
mas, has  instituted  the  following  calculations,  from 


Heaven  and  Hell.  359 

data  furnished  by  the  Bible,  and  his  results  have 
been  published  by  leading  orthodox  journals. 

"And  he  measured  the  city  with  the  reed,  twelve 
thousand  furlongs.  The  length,  the  breadth,  and 
the  height  of  it  are  equal.     Rev.  xxi.  16. 

"  Twelve  thousand  furlongs  —  7,920,000  feet,  cubed, 
is  496,793,088,000,000,000,000  cubic  feet.  Half  of 
this  we  will  reserve  for  the  throne  of  God  and  court 
of  heaven,  and  half  the  balance  for  streets,  leaving 
a  remainder  of  124,198,272,000,000,000,000  cubic 
feet.  Divide  this  by  4066,  the  cubical  feet  in  a  room 
16  feet  square  and  16  feet  high,  and  there  will  be 
30,321,843,750,000,000  rooms. 

"  We  will  now  suppose  that  the  world  always  did, 
and  always  will,  contain  900,000,000  inhabitants, 
and  that  a  generation  lasts  33  years  and  4  months, 
making  2,700,000,000  every  century,  and  that  the 
world  will  stand  100,000  years,  making  in  all  270,- 
000,000,000,000  inhabitants.  Then  suppose  there 
were  a  hundred  such  worlds  equal  to  this  in  number 
of  inhabitants  and  duration  of  years,  making  a  total 
of  270,000,000,000,000,000  persons  ;  then  there  would 
be  a  room  16  feet  square  for  each  person,  and  yet 
there  would  be  room." 

Whoever  the  author  of  this  sublime  nonsense  of 
mathematics  may  be,  he  has  exhibited  the  folly  and 
ignorance  of  the  day.  Is  humanity  to  be  thrust 
into  such  a  dove-cote  of  a  heaven  ?  Are  we  to  be 
incarcerated  for  eternity  in  such  a  gigantic  bee-comb  ? 
Every  rational  sense  forbids.  Such  is  the  church 
view  of  the  future  life.     How  degrading !  how  pue- 


360  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

rile  !  how  unmanly  !  Let  the  waters  of  Lethe  close 
over  the  soul  forever,  let  oblivion's  wing  nestle  it, 
rather  than  endure  a  spiritual  existence  in  such  a 
place !  The  streets  of  gold,  and  throne  of  God  cov- 
ered with  precious  stones !  What  a  show  of  learn- 
ing !  How  little  sense !  Contemplate  the  mikly- 
way.  Every  sweep  of  the  telescope  brings  thou- 
sands and  thousands  of  suns  to  view,  each  having 
its  fleet  of  attendant  worlds.  If  each  of  the  worlds 
which  flash  through  the  crystal  vault  of  night  were 
to  send  a  single  delegate  to  the  throne  of  God,  this 
heaven  would  overflow,  being  packed  to  its  utmost 
capacity. 

Such  a  heaven  would  be  the  grand  miracle  of  cre- 
ation, such  as  an  Oriental  despot  would  build  could 
he  possess  Aladdin's  lamp,  and  have  all  his  desires 
gratified  by  the  discovery. 

It  is  not  the  sage's  heaven,  nor  that  of  the  ra- 
tional man,  any  more  than  is  the  sensual  paradise  of 
Mohammed. 

In  this  nonsense,  the  mathematician  omitted  what, 
in  theological  discussions,  is  of  most  vital  import- 
ance. He  has  assumed  that  all  mankind  are  to  be 
saved,  when  any  divine  would  have  assured  him  that 
at  least  nine  out  of  ten  are  doomed  to  quite  another 
place.  According  to  his  calculations,  the  "  Celestial 
City"  has  been  created  many  times  too  large  for  the 
accommodation  of  earth. 

Many  will  go  in  through  the  church,  if  not  other- 
wise. Men  with  arithmetics  for  consciences,  and 
vultures  for  hearts,  are  entering  through  the  church 


Heaven  and  HelL  361 

doors,  and  obsequious  divines  are  bowing  them 
through  just  because  their  hearts  are  vultures,  and 
fat  with  prey.  Ah !  is  there  a  police  in  the  streets 
of  the  «  Celestial  City  "  ? 

The  soul  in  the  Christian  heaven  is  not  quite 
at  rest.  One  faculty  is  retained.  It  can  sing.  Di- 
vines say  that  this  is  about  the  only  employment 
of  ransomed  souls,  —  singing  praises  to  God  on 
golden  harps  !  They  always  sing  a  tune  of  praise. 
What  a  delightful  world,  where  all  emotions  are  lost 
in  swells  of  music !  Is  heaven  to  be  a  singing- 
school  ? 

This  ideal  is  higher,  but  of  the  same  kind,  as  that 
of  the  Hottentot,  who  dreams  of  heaven  as  an  im- 
mense cauldron  of  soup  walled  in  by  sausages. 
Nor  is  it  far  from  Mohammed's  paradise,  gratifying 
to  Orientals,  peopled  with  houri,  sweeter  and  more 
beautiful  than  visions  of  beauty,  and  perfumed  with 
musk. 

Such  beliefs  debase  instead  of  elevate.  They  are 
the  ideals  of  individuals,  not  humanity's  desires. 
They  answer  not  its  prayers.  On  the  one  hand, 
they  present  ignoble  and  unworthy  incentives :  on 
the  other,  they  appeal  to  the  lowest  passions  of  man. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  the  ideal  of  hell,  an  imagi- 
nary region  concocted  from  the  Greek  idea  of 
Hades,  by  the  imagination  of  bigoted  sectaries. 
Superstition,  the  child  of  ignorance,  united  with 
bigotry,  offspring  of  malice  and  hate,  personified  a 
God  possessing  these  qualities  pre-eminently;  and 
this  God,  in  his  vindictiveness,  forms  a  hell  where  he 


362  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

chains  the  spirit,  cursed  with  immortality,  to  suffer 
inconceivable  tortures. 


269.     The  Popular,  Evangelical  Idea  of 

Heaven 

Is  a  narrow  place,  where  the  soul,  so  happy  at  its 
narrow  escape  from  torment,  thinks  of  nothing  but 
a  song  of  praise ;  and  hell  is  a  burning  pit  where 
their  God  can  wreak  out  his  vengeance. 

In  human  affairs,  law  never  punishes  for  punish- 
ment's sake,  but  for  some  benefit  intended.  But 
this  punishment  has  no  such  meaning.  It  is  given 
after  the  whole  world  has  been  judged,  and  no  more 
offences  can  be  committed.  Then  the  major  por- 
tions of  humanity  are  thrust  into  eternal  perdition. 

The  bigoted  church-member,  who  has  held  false- 
hood cheap,  and  conscience  a  bad  guide,  but  has 
made  long  prayers,  and  paid  his  parson,  will  have  the 
extreme  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  infidel,  who  has 
comforted  his  fellow-man,  and  endeavored  to  aid  the 
needy,  and  share  their  burdens  with  the  suffering, 
go  down  into  the  maelstrom  of  fire.  If  he  has  an 
enemy,  that  enemy  is  predestined  for  wrath.  He 
has  no  faith  in  himself.  He  believes  deeds  of  no 
avail  \  belief  is  all  in  all.     And  in  that  he  is  right. 

As  a  red-faced  divine,  bloated  with  a  high  salary 
and  "faith  in  godliness,,,  remarked,  "If  we  reject 
our  Saviour,  and  depend  on  ourselves,  we  depend  on 
a  poor  staff!  "  He  knew  very  well  that  he  could  not 
depend  on  himself* 


Heaven  and  Hell.  363 

Away  with  this  demoniac  doctrine,  sanctioning 
malice,  hate,  revenge,  the  foul  brood  engendered 
in  the  dark  struggles  of  man's  passionate  nature ! 
Away  with  doctrines  representing  the  Supreme 
Ruler  of  the  universe  as  more  satanic  than  Satan  ; 
representing  Him  who  dwells  in  light  unapproach- 
able, whose  attributes  are  infinite  love,  justice,  and 
truth,  as  gratifying  infinite  revenge ! 

How  horrid  are  these  doctrines  !  how  repugnant  to 
humanity  !  how  contrary  to  reason  !  Confession  of 
sins,  prayer,  eating  a  morsel  of  bread,  subscribing  a 
ritual  and  baptism,  ordaining  a  man  for  heaven,  while 
the  omission  of  these  dooms  him  to  hell ! 

The  Catholic  confesses  his  sins  to  a  priest,  and  is 
forgiven  :  the  Protestant  sets  the  priest  partially 
aside,  and  appeals  directly  to  the  Son  of  God,  acting 
as  his  own  priest,  and  obtains  forgiveness.  Belief 
is  all  that  is  required,  —  faith,  faith,  faith.  Nothing 
that  one  can  do  balances  a  farthing  in  his  favor. 
Prayer  and  belief  outweigh  all  the  good  deeds  of  a 
lifetime.  My  infidel  friend,  you  are  stigmatized 
while  living,  and  the  chances  are  all  against  you 
after  death.  The  holy  church  will  not  even  open 
its  portals  for  your  funeral  ceremonies,  unless  its 
anointed  preacher  officiates,  and  preaches  you  straight 
to  destruction,  and  holds  you  up  as  an  example  and 
warning  to  all.  Perhaps,  in  unwonted  benevolence, 
a  hope  for  you  will  be  expressed,  but  so  dubiously 
that  it  implies  more  than  direct  assertion. 

And,  over  childhood's  tiny  grave,  the  agonized 
mother  is  reminded  of  infant  depravity  by  the  godly 


364  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

preacher.  Unregenerated,  depraved  infants  !  O  hu- 
manity !  how  awful  the  depths  of  thy  conception 
where  superstition  and  bigotry  control !  Emotion, 
feeling,  the  noble  and  generous  and  angelic  thought, 
is  blotted  out ;  and  hate,  misanthropy,  malice,  re- 
venge, are  mistaken  for  the  love  of  God.  I  appeal 
to  the  mother  for  decision.  Mother !  behold  your 
child  nestling  in  your  arms,  beautiful  as  a  vision ; 
its  sunny  curls  falling  over  its  high  forehead,  its 
eyes  joyous  as  heaven,  its  smiles  an  angel's  gleam, 
—  do  you  hold  to  your  heart  a  depraved  being,  who, 
until  regenerated,  is  a  demon  ? 

I  anticipate  your  answer,  as  I  anticipate  that  of 
Mother  Nature,  when  asked,  whether  all  mankind, 
whom  she  holds  to  her  bosom,  are  depraved..  Man's 
fall,  his  inherent  depravity,  his  redemption  through 
sacrifice,  and  his  final  heaven  or  hell,  are  intricately 
blended,  logical  sequences  of  each  other,  and  rivals 
in  absurdity. 

The  churches  are  fast  being  forced  to  admit  that 
the  Adamic  creation  is  a  myth ;  andj  science  demon- 
strates that  man,  so  far  from  being  created  perfect, 
was  ushered  into  existence  a  nude  savage.  His 
history  has  been  one  of  progress.  He  has  never 
retrograded,  never  fallen  ;  but  step  by  step  has  he 
conquered  ignorance,  tamed  the  elements,  bound 
the  forces  of  nature,  until  the  present  time,  wherein  ■ 
he  stands  superior  to  any  past  age. 

Man  fallen  ?  Then  is  civilized  man  below  the 
savage !  Progress  is  retrogression,  and  noonday  is 
Egyptian  night ! 


Heaven  and  HelL  365 

It  is  quite  certain,  that,  had  we  not  what  is  called 
revelation,  we  never  should  have  dreamed  of  man's 
fall,  and  still  less  of  his  redemption  through  the  sac- 
rifice of  another.  They  are  a  part  of  the  theological 
trappings,  outgrowths  of  ignorance  forced  on  a  bet- 
ter age,  and  only  serve  to  fetter  its  power. 

But,  it  is  said,  the  church  does  not  believe  in  a 
hell  now.  Why  then,  because  a  Beecher  chooses  to 
deny  its  existence,  is  there  such  a  clang  and  clatter 
in  church  circles  ?  Don't  believe  in  it  ?  It  cannot 
do  otherwise.  It  can  do  without  a  heaven,  or  a 
God  ;  but  it  cannot  do  without  a  hell,  or  a  devil. 

Heaven  and  hell,  as  those  terms  are  understood, 
mean  harmony  and  discord.  They  are  not  localities, 
but  conditions  of  mind. 

As  God  is  associated  with  happiness,  or  heaven, 
so  is  evil  personified  in  a  devil,  or  hell.  All  good- 
ness is  centred  in  one,  all  evil  in  the  other. 

270.   The  Artists  and  their  Influence  on  the 
Features  and  Character. 

We  are  not  to  suppose  heaven  or  hell  all  in  the 
future.  They  are  not  to  be  reached  by  death,  but 
are  already  with  us.  We  shall  reach  them  continu- 
ally through  all  the  future  eons.  They  are  of  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  to-morrow.  We  constantly  express, 
in  our  physical  contour,  the  motives  which  actuate 
us.  The  indwelling  devil  or  angel  cannot  and  will 
not  be  concealed. 

As  the  blossom  expresses  a  prophecy  of  autumn, 


366  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

so  youth  reveals  the  infinite  possibilities  of  man- 
hood Man  and  woman,  words  standing  for  the 
crowning  glories  of  creation  ;  yet  how  strangely 
contradictory  thereto  are  the  faces  one  meets  in 
the  streets  !  Men  and  women,  who  should  meet 
us  radiant  as  immortal  angels,  pass  us  like  dis- 
turbed demons.  Childhood  is  beautiful ;  but,  as 
soon  as  we  pass  that  boundary,  how  the  features 
distort !  how  ugly  they  become !  Why  is  this  ? 
Because  every  faculty  of  the  mind  is  a  sculptor  who 
incessantly  works  with  finest  chisel  at  the  features. 
Sleeping  or  waking,  constantly  they  mold  the  plas- 
tic clay.  They  are  never  satisfied  with  their  model. 
The  passions  chisel  their  wrinkles  and  lines,  deep, 
terribly  deep,  and  hideous  ;  and  the  intellect  and  the 
morals  set  their  artists  to  smooth  them  out,  polish 
them  off,  and  sharpen  the  outlines.  Yield  to  the 
former,  and  the  countenance  becomes  ugly  and 
coarse  and  brutal,  more  and  more  so,  from  year  to 
year ;  and,  when  old,  the  man  is  animal  and  repul- 
sive. But,  if  the  intellect  and  the  morals  are 
allowed  to  work,  the  man  becomes  beautiful,  and 
the  aged  somewhat  divine.  Delicate  artists  are 
these.  They  force  the  plastic  body  to  become  an 
exact  semblance  of  the  mind.  They  pluck  the 
hairs  from  the  head  ;  they  polish  the  scalp  ;  they 
sprinkle  with  gray  ;  they  stoop  the  form  ;  they  hold 
it  erect ;  they  change  the  tone  of  the  voice,  the 
laugh,  and  the  glance  of  the  eye.  How  terrible  is 
the  work  of  some  of  these  artists !  The  bloated 
form,  the   leering   eye,  the  foul   blood  revealed   in 


Heaven  and  Hell.  367 

purple  veins,  the  thin  white  locks,  the  palsied  step, 
the  feeble  intellect,  —  such   models  fill   the  world. 
^How  beautiful  the  image  of  noble  age,  when  from 
\    the  cradle  the  artists  of  truthful  and  living  thoughts, 
J   of  the  keen  intellect  and  godlike  morality,  and  the 
I    sensitive  chisels  of  spirituality,  have  constantly  la- 
bored, toning  down,  softening,  sharpening,  and  vivi- 
fying the  features  !     Such  men  we  sometimes  see 
reposing  on  the  brink  of  the  river  of  time  ;  and  they 
always  electrify  our  souls,  and  fill  us  with  emulation. 
They  are  like  gleams  of  golden  sunlight  amid  dark- 
..    ness,  and  quicken  our  faith  in  immortality. 


271.     Election — -how  Known, 


It  is  a  question  often  asked  by  Christians,  "  Am  I 
elected  for  heaven  ? " 

It  is  presumable  they  were,  for  they  set  out  in  the 
prescribed  route,  joined  a  church,  and  assented  to  a 
creed,  but  they  have  no  certain  knowledge.  There 
are  marks  by  which  a  church-member  can  readily 
be  distinguished  from  the  so-called  worldling ;  but 
the  marks  by  which  a  church-member  elect  can  be 
distinguished  are  more  obscure.  Hence  Christians 
are  often,  if  not  always,  in  doubt. 

They  need  not  be ;  for  their  lives,  their  thoughts, 
and  actions,  tell  them  each  day,  each  hour,  where 
they  are,  and  whither  they  are  going. 

Can  we  then  doubt  the  future  of  that  man  who 
gloats  over  that  part  of  the  judgment  which  thrusts 
nine-tenths   of  humanity  into   utter  darkness,  and 


368  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

gnashing  of  teeth  ?     He  who  desires  such  a  finale 
would  be  first  to  share  it  were  it  real. 


272.     From  whence  came  these  Dogmas  ? 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  except  by  comparative 
mythology.  They,  with  many  other  dogmas,  —  the 
resurrection  of  the  body,  the  fall,  &c.,  —  sprang  ori- 
ginally from  the  heated  imagination  of  savage  men, 
who  understood  little  of  nature,  and  less  of  them- 
selves. The  mythology  of  the  ancients,  scorned 
and  despised  with  loathing  by  the  church,  reveals 
a  wonderful  story.  It  contains  the  germ  of  theol- 
ogy. The  Greeks  and  Romans  believed  in  a  state 
called  Hades,  or  the  region  of  departed  spirits. 
This  they  divided  into  Elysium  and  Tartarus.  It 
was  located,  both  by  Jew  and  Pagan,  in  the  interior 
of  the  earth,  or,  as  they  understood,  supposing  the 
earth  to  be  flat,  beneath  its  foundation.  Hence  the 
word  came  to  express  darkness  and  obscurity. 

Impressed  with  the  correspondence  which -must 
exist  between  things  spiritual  and  things  physical, 
the  ancients  believed  that  the  departed  spirit  or 
shade  retained  all  its  faculties,  thoughts,  feelings, 
desires,  and  in  a  phantom  world  pursued  imaginary 
occupations  corresponding  to  those  most  pleasing  to 
it  while  on  earth. 

This  primitive  idea,  the  belief  in  a  future  life, 
gathered  around  it  the  wildest  and  the  greatest 
fancies  of  poesy. 

To  the  Egyptians,  more  than  to  any  other  people, 


Heaven  and  Hell.  369 

theology  owes  -its  dogmas.  It  has  derived  them 
from  their  simple  customs.  It  has  transferred  his- 
tory into  the  future  life.  In  Egypt,  when  a  person 
died,  even  if  a  king,  his  corpse  was  carried  over 
the  Lake  Styx,  at  night,  by  a  ferryman,  Charon,  to 
the  judges  of  the  dead.  All  his  good  deeds  were 
balanced  against  his  evil.  If  the  latter  predomi- 
nated, the  corpse  was  refused  the  honor  of  being 
embalmed  by  the  inexorable  judge.  As  they 
believed,  that,  unless  the  body  was  preserved,  the 
spirit  could  not  enter  it  again,  —  either  perishing,  or 
wandering  in  darkness,  —  it  was  the  most  fearful  of 
punishments. 

The  Greek  poets  translated  it  beyond  this  life, 
and  gave  the  judges  power  over  the  departed  spirit. 
Christianity  has  adopted  the  myth,  with  the  resur- 
rection of  bones  and  the  scattered  dust  of  mummies, 
and  substituted  Christ  for  the  judge  of  the  dead, 
hell  for  Tartarus,  paradise  for  the  Elysian  Fields. 

Greek  imagination  then  possessed  a  wide  and 
exhaustless  field.  It  peopled  Tartarus  with  spirits 
who  had,  while  mortal,  offended  the  gods,  and  pic- 
tured exquisite  suffering  for  each  offender,  —  starva- 
tion, with  fruits  and  food  suspended  only  a  hair's 
breadth  beyond  reach  ;  a  burning  thirst,  with  un- 
attainable water  gushing  past ;  and  similar  pun- 
ishments,—  that  made  immortality  a  curse,  and 
annihilation  a  blessing.  In  the  Elysian  Fields 
dwelt  good  and  perfect  spirits,  enjoying,  in  the  most 
delicious   climate,  everything  they  desired.     These 

myths  have  been  fostered  from  age  to  age,  always 
24 


370  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

combined  with  the  religious  element,  always  its 
concrete  expression. 

They  have  been  nurtured  by  theological  teachers, 
for  they  support  the  entire  fabric  of  Christianity. 
It  will  be  readily  seen  that  a  devil  is  as  necessary 
to  its  schemes  as  is  a  God,  and  much  more  so.  Hell 
is  a  resultant  of  heaven.  If  reward  for  right-doing 
be  offered,  there  must  be  punishment  for  wrong 
action. 

Hell,  the  "  burning  pit,"  the  "  heated  furnace," 
where  "  the  worm  "  —  man  —  dieth  not,  and  the 
fire  is  unquenched,  where  even  one  drop  of  water 
is  denied  the  parched  tongue,  is  the  place  where 
an  all-just  God  sends  the  children  of  men,  whom  he 
has  created  in  his  own  image  ;  created  just  as  he 
desired  to  create  them  ;  sends  them  there  because  they 
are  as  he  made  them,  and  do  as  he  intended  them  to 
do  !     Such  is  the  teaching  of  the  Christian  Church. 

« 
273.     The  Terrors  of   Hell. 

Hell  is  the  place  unspeakably  awful,  where  the 
redeemed  will  have  the  holy  joy  of  seeing  their 
friends,  their  dearest  relations,  their  bosom  compan- 
ions, burning  in  the  sullen  waves  !  It  is  the  place 
where  the  pious  churchman  will  have  the  unspeak- 
able satisfaction  of  seeing  his  infidel  brother  at  last 
brought  to  realize  the  truth  by  experience,  and 
where  he  will  suffer  the  wrath  of  a  justly  indignant 
Godhead ! 

In  this  enlightened  day,  is  there  one  who  believes 


Heaven  and  Hell.  371 

a  doctrine  so  monstrous,  —  so  opposed  to  humanity, 
and  such  a  libel  on  God  ?  There  are  many  who  say 
they  do  believe  ;  and  whoever  has  attended  a  revival 
well  knows  that  these  dogmas  are  a  part  of  the  ma- 
chinery by  which  the  bewildered  convert  is  urged 
forward  to  what  has  rightly  been  called  the  "anxious 
seat,"  and  into  the  church  wherein  his  manliness  and 
individuality  are  swallowed  up. 

The  preacher  speaks  gently  of  the  beauty  of 
heaven ;  the  joy  of  the  redeemed ;  then  of  the 
sinfulness  and  weakness  of  that  worm  of  the  dust, 

—  man,  and  his  utter  inability  to  save  himself.  He 
can  only  expect  salvation  through  Christ,  resting  on 
his  sufferings  for  us  poor  sinners.  Then,  when  the 
partial  convert  begins  dimly  to  feel  his  position,  the 
preacher  bursts  on  him  in  tones  of  thunder,  "  Hell 
is  beneath  you,  and  Satan  behind  you  ;  fly,  fly  from 
the  wrath  to  come  !  fly  !  "    Where  ?  "  To  the  church, 

—  to  our  church.  Its  doors  are  open,  leading  to 
heaven  ! '  Well,  he  rushes  —  not  into  heaven,  but 
into  the  church.  I  think  such  converts  are  always 
in  doubt  whether  they  are  elected.  I  doubt  about 
them  too. 

This  is  the  way  of  church  religion,  —  belief  in 
hell !     Ah,  wretched  belief ! 

Father,  in  that  final  day,  your  impious  son,  your 
impious  daughter,  will  be  seen  on  the  other  side ; 
husband  and  wife  will  be  separated ;  friends  torn 
from  the  bosom  of  friends,  and  the  eyes  of  the  saved 
will  be  greeted  by  the  sufferings  of  the  doomed, 
— father,  mother,  husband,  neighbor,  friend.     Your 


372  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

children,  your  wife,  your  neighbor,  your  friends, 
will  be  cast  off.  Standing  on  some  eminence,  you 
will  see  them  writhing  in  flames,  whose  every  pulsa- 
tion is  a  throb  of  their  hearts,  and  whose  every  swell 
is  a  sigh  of  their  anguish  !  You  can  see  them  there 
for  eternal  ages,  doomed  to  suffer  unending  misery 
while  the  ages  go  slowly  by.  Worlds  will  dissolve, 
suns  and  stars  melt  away  like  early  frost-work,  yet 
shall  their  agony  be  just  begun.  And  God,  who 
created  them  for  his  own  pleasure,  to  do  as  they 
have  done,  that  they  may  be  damned  just  as  they 
are  damned,  will  smile  as  he  gathers  the  righteous, 
a  mere  wreck  of  mankind,  —  smile  at  the  glorious 
result  of  his  infinite  wisdom,  love,  and  justice  ! 

Go  to  the  savage  cannibal  of  the  South  Seas,  — 
ask  him  for  his  idea  of  God  and  hell ;  gp  to  the  wild 
Indian,  dancing  around  his  tortured  captive,  —  and 
their  answer  will  put  to  blush  the  ideal  of  Chris- 
tianity ! 

274.     The  Joys  of  the  Redeemed. 

What  can  be  the  joy  of  the  redeemed  ?  It  is  the 
joy  the  holy  inquisitor  feels  when  he  gloats  over  the 
quivering  body  of  the  tortured  heretic.  Emotions, 
love,  affections,  the  human,  lost,  —  all  that  we  prize 
worth  living  for  is  gone.  Redeemed  or  otherwise, 
such  existence  is  a  curse.  I  should  prefer  condem- 
nation to  such  redemption.  From  my  very  soul  I 
loathe  and  despise  the  God  of  infinite  hate  held  up 
for  worship  by  the  theological  world.     He  is  a  hea- 


Heaven  and  Hell.  373 

then  idol,  and  nothing  more.  Let  me  follow  those  I 
love.  Let  me  share  their  sufferings,  rather  than  re- 
joice over  them. 

A  heathen  teaches  us  a  lesson  of  humanity. 
When  missionaries  from  Rome,  more  than  twelve 
centuries  ago,  penetrated  the  northern  wilds  to 
preach  to  the  Saxon  savages,  it  is  said  that  Roth- 
bod,  a  Frison  chief,  was  converted ;  "  but,  at  the 
moment  in  which  he  put  his  foot  into  the  water 
for  the  ceremony  of  baptism,  he  suddenly  asked  the 
priest  whither  all  his  Frison  companions-in-arms 
had  gone  after  their  death. 

"  To  hell,"  replied  the  priest. 

"Well,  then,"  said  Rothbod,  drawing  back  his 
foot  from  the  water,  "  I  had  rather  go  to  hell  with 
them  than  to  paradise  with  you  and  your  fellow- 
foreigners.  " 

Such  would  be  the  response  of  every  human 
being,  unless  blinded  by  theological  dogmas  ;  for 
theology  is  that  kind  of  learning,  of  which,  the  more 
one  learns,  the  less  one  knows,  and  of  which  erudi- 
tion is  worse  than  ignorance. 

The  priests  who  perform  very  long  prayers,  and 
the  churchmen,  have  a  religion  which  may  be 
summed  up  in  praying,  quarterage,  and  remaining 
in  doubt  whether  they  are  elected;  on  the  "left* 
will  be  the  philosophers  and  sages,  all  the  brave  and 
noble  minds  of  the  past  ages,  and  nine-tenths  of  the 
rest  of  the  world.  There  the  infidel  will  meet  that 
long  line  of  freethinkers,  greatest  and  most  noble 
of   whom    is   Thomas    Paine,  —  men   who    fought 


374  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

bravely  for  human  freedom,  and  with  great-hearted 
benevolence  sacrificed  their  positions  and  their  hap- 
piness, and  endured  contumely  and  bigoted  hate  for 
the  sake  of  principle. 

275.     There  will  be  Good  Company  there. 

Throwing  these  dogmas  aside,  losing  the  incen- 
tives they  furnish  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  fear  of 
punishment  on  the  other,  are  we  in  danger  of  the 
immoralities  from  which  they  were  invented  to 
guard  us  ?  I  would  present  the  examples  of  the 
illustrious  men  who  have  cast  them  aside,  and,  if 
they  prove  it,  I  answer,  Yes  ;  but,  if  otherwise,  No. 

We  may  lose  the  inhuman  incentives  of  fear ;  but 
we  gain  that  which  is  of  immeasurably  more  advan- 
tage, —  the  human  elements. 

Guided  by  them,  by  our  moral  instincts,  we  shall 
rarely  stumble,  and,  walking  in  the  sunlight  of  right- 
eousness, we  shall  know  "  if  our  faith  be  abiding,  and 
our  calling  sure." 


XVII. 


THE    SPIRIT^    HOME. 


Is  there  no  grand  immortal  sphere, 

Beyond  this  realm  of  broken  ties, 
To  fill  the  wants  that  mock  us  here, 

And  dry  the  tears  from  weeping  eyes ; 

Where  winter  fades  in  endless  spring, 

And  June  stands  near  with  deathless  flowers  j 

Where  we  can  hear  the  dear  ones  sing 
Who  loved  us  in  this  world  of  ours  ? 

James  G.  Clarke. 

There  is  another  invisible,  eternal  existence,  superior  to  this  visible  one, 
which  does  not  perish  when  all  things  perish.  —  Bhagavat  Geeta. 

Go,  give  to  the  waters  and  the  plants  thy  body,  which  belongs  to  them ;  but 
there  is  an  immortal  portion,  O  Djaatavedas  !  transport  it  to  the  world 
of  the  holy.  —  Rig  Veda. 

276.     Preparation. 

ON  entering  the  spiritual  domain,  and  in  our 
investigation  of  the  spiritual  philosophy,  we 
must  cast  off  the  trammels  of  the  schools,  which 
have  so  long  fettered  the  natural  action  of  our 
minds.  The  cant  of  the  metaphysician,  and  the 
egotism  of  the  theologian,  are  the  chaff  which  has 
for  centuries  buried  the  truth  from  the  honest 
thinker.  They  avail  us  not.  As  candid  investi- 
gators, nothing   but  positive  testimony  will  avail ; 


376  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

and,  in  obtaining  that  testimony,  we  must  walk  out 
into  the  fields  of  nature,  and  question  the  great 
principles  which  speak  in  sighing  winds,  babbling 
brooklets,  in  the  myriad-tongued  forest  murmuring 
to  the  passing  zephyr. 

277.     Law  Rules  Supreme. 

When  we  question  Nature,  she  tells  us  law  reigns 
supreme.  Not  a  thistle-down  floats  on  the  breeze, 
not  a  sand-grain  is  thrown  on  the  ocean's  beach  by 
the  rolling  billows,  not  a  bubble  of  foam  floats  on 
the  hurrying  stream,  but  its  every  motion  is  gov- 
erned by  immutable  laws.  Law  bounds  the  great 
world,  and  dashes  it  on  in  its  orbit.  It  sends  the 
rushing  comet  round  the  central  fire,  and  floats 
whole  solar  systems  on  their  courses  as  a  feather  is 
upborne  by  the  passing  winds.  Not  an  atom  finds 
its  appropriate  place  in  the  living  organism  but  is 
guided  by  unerring  law. 

What  more  uncertain  than  the  wavy  motions  of 
the  gossamer  thread  as  it  dances  in  the  summer 
winds  ?  Yet  every  motion  is  governed  by  law,  —  by 
the  same  power  that  chains  the  moon  in  its  orbit,  or 
rolls  the  earth  around  the  sun. 

278.     The    Same   holds  good  in  the  Spiritual 

Realm. 

If  we  think  that  we  are  leaving  the  province  of 
order  and  control  of  established  principles  when  we 
pass  from  the  material  to  the  so-styled  spiritual,  we 


The  Spirits  Home.  2>77 

labor  under  the  greatest  possible  mistake.  As  the 
ultimation  of  the  material  universe,  the  spiritual  is 
governed  by  the  same  established  principles,  mod- 
ified by  superior  conditions.  Gravity,  attraction, 
and  repulsion,  the  properties  of  atoms,  the  rela- 
tions which  exist  between  them,  all  are  preserved ; 
and  we  enter  as  real  and  substantial  a  world  as  is 
the  one  we  leave. 

279.     No  Miracles 

Are  observed  in  the  phenomena  of  spiritual  life. 
True,  we  do  not  understand  many  of  the  mani- 
festations we  observe,  because  the  substances  with 
which  we  deal  are  impalpable  to  our  senses,  and 
are  recognized  only  by  their  effects  ;  but  this  only 
shows  our  ignorance,  and  not  the  interposition  of  a 
miraculous  power. 

280.     An  Unknown  Universe 

Exists  beyond  the  material  creation.  It  is  formed 
from  emanations  arising  from  the  physical  universe, 
and  is,  a  reflection  of  it.  This  is  the  spiritual  uni- 
verse. We  have  been  taught  by  our  learned  teach- 
ers a  system  of  spiritual  philosophy  so  vague  and 
undefined  that  it  has  served  rather  to  blind  than  to 
enlighten  us.  It  has  inculcated  the  wildest  errors, 
and  by  its  influence,  even  now,  we  are  liable  to  be 
led  astray. 

If  spirit  be  identity,  if  it  be  organic  after  its  sepa- 
ration from  the  body,  then  it  must  have  a  home,  and 


378  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

that  home  must  be  a  reality.  These  are  incontro- 
vertible propositions,  and  are  necessarily  inferred 
from  the  fact  of  spiritual  existence.  A  single  prop- 
osition crushes  the  spiritual  fabrication  of  the  theo- 
logian, whose  definition  of  spirit  is  the  best  one 
possible  of  non-entity.  According  to  his  system,  a 
spirit  is  a  refined  shadow  of  nothing,  —  a  collection 
of  thoughts.  But  thought  is  an  effect \  not  a  cause ; 
and  standing  in  his  position,  and  expecting  thought 
to  exist  after  the  decay  of  the  body,  is  as  rational  as 
to  look  for  the  hum  of  a  dead  bee,  or  the  song  of  a 
bird  after  it  has  flown. 

Nothing  cannot  originate  something.  If  the  spirit 
exist,  it  must  be  an  entity ;  and,  if  such,  must  be 
composed  of  matter.  It  must  be  organized  ;  and, 
if  organized,  it  must  have  a  dwelling-place.  This 
conclusion  brings  us  back  to  the  first  inquiry,  — 

281.     What  and  Where  is  the  Spirit-World? 

To  understand  this  subject,  we  must  inquire  into 
the  secret  processes  of  nature,  beneath  its  external 
manifestations  to  the  senses.  In  this,  as  well  as 
the  manner  of  spiritual  life,  and  kindred  subjects 
connected  with  spirits,  the  revelations  of  the  clair- 
voyant and  of  departed  intelligences  must  be  relied 
on  for  our  information. 

282.     Their  Testimony  is  Reliable. 

When  the  fact  of  spiritual  communion  and  iden- 
tity is  proved,  then  the  intelligence  they  impart  is 


The  Spirit's  Home.  379 

as  reliable  as  the  report  of  a  traveler  in  a  distant 
country.  The  major  portion  of  our  knowledge 
depends  on  such  reports  ;  and,  if  the  tale  of  travels 
in  England  or  Europe  be  received  as  true,  why 
not  receive  the  report  of  a  departed  spirit,  who  has 
made  himself  familiar  with  the  scenes  he  describes  ? 
This  subject  does  not  admit  of  argument.  It  is 
self-evident,  that,  if  spirits  exist,  their  description  of 
their  abode  is  as  authentic  as  is  the  report  of  travel- 
ers. 


283.  And  what  do  they  tell  us  ? 

That  the  universe  is  undergoing  a  refining  process, 
and  the  spirit-world  is  formed  from  the  ascending 
sublimated  atoms. 

Before  entering  on  the  discussion  of  how  this  is 
effected,  let  us  inquire  philosophically  whether  this 
refining  process  is  really  going  on ;  whether  there 
really  is  a  progressive  movement  in  creation,  from 
crude  and  undeveloped  conditions  to  ethereality  and 
perfection. 

The  present  order  of  nature  cannot  have  had  an 
infinite  existence.  If  we  trace  backward  the  geo- 
logical records,  through  the  rocky  tablets  of  earth, 
through  fossiliferous,  transition,  and  primitive  rocks, 
we  arrive  at  a  beginning  of  the  present  system. 

The  earth  has  the  marks  of  infancy,  and  has  yet 
attained  but  its  youthful  state.  In  the  beginning, 
geology  tells  us,  it  was  a  vast  ocean  of  gaseous 
matter ;  then  it  cooled  down  to  a  liquid  globe  ;  then 


380  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

a  crust  formed  over  it,  and,  by  slow  degrees,  it  was 
molded  into  the  beautiful  creation  of  the  present. 


284.     Nature  Works  in  Great  Cycles, 

Every  returning  coil  being  above  the  preceding. 
Matter,  without  a  beginning,  must  have  passed 
through  an  infinite  number  of  changes,  of  which 
the  present  order  is  but  a  single  and  incompleted 
coil. 

In  the  infinite  duration  of  the  past,  universe  after 
universe  must  have  been  born,  have  grown  old  and 
decayed,  and  new  ones  have  been  breathed  forth 
from  the  chaotic  elements  of  the  preceding.  Still 
labored  the  forces  of  organic  nature,  and  at  every 
mighty  return  matter  became  more  refined,  its  capa- 
bilities enlarged,  and  consequently  the  next  system 
became  more  perfected.  This  continued  until  mat- 
ter, by  its  superior  refinement,  became  capable  of 
forming  a  universe  as  perfect  as  the  present. 

The  object  of  the  mutations  of  the  organic  world 
is  the  individualization  of  spirit  in  man ;  so  the 
ultimation  of  inorganic  mutations  is  the  refining 
of  spiritualized  matter  for  the  support  of  that  spirit 
when  identified. 

These  cycles  of  revolution  are  like  those  of  the 
Hindoo  theo-cosmology,  which  teaches  that  every 
three  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  years  all  created 
things  flow  back  into  the  infinite  soul  of  Brahma, 
or  God,  and  from  thence  are  evolved  as  a  new 
creation.     But  the  periods  of  return  are  millions  of 


The  Spirit \s  Home.  381 

ages,  instead  of  a  few  thousand  years,  and,  at  every 
return,  matter  arises  above  its  former  level. 

In  the  individualized  spirit,  the  atoms  which  com- 
pose its  organism  are  elaborated  by  and  derived 
from  the  physical  body.  So  are  the  spiritualized 
atoms,  which  ascend  from  animate  nature,  elabo- 
rated. 

To  the  perception  of  the  spirit,  or  of  the  clairvoy- 
ant, these  ascending  atoms  are  as  plainly  perceptible 
as  is  the  ascent  of  vapor  from  water.  It  exhales 
from  all  substances,  as  mist  rises  from  a  sheet  of 
water. 

The  mineral  mass,  by  the  processes  at  work  among 
its  atoms,  and  the  disintegrating  chemical  action  of 
electricity  and  magnetism,  throws  out  ethereal  parti- 
cles into  the  great  ocean  of  unindividualized  spirit. 

The  plant,  taking  up  crude  mineral  atoms,  subjects 
them  to  the  refining  process  in  its  interior  cells,  and 
eliminates  the  finer  particles. 

The  animal  feeds  on  the  vegetable,  and  subjects 
it  to  a  refining  process,  ultimating  a  proportion  of 
its  atoms  and  exhaling  them  into  the  atmosphere. 
When  the  animal  dies,  the  spiritual  element,  which 
retains  not  its  identity  after  the  dissolution  of  the 
body,  escapes,  as  a  drop  of  water  evaporates,  and 
mingles  with  the  great  ethereal  ocean. 

The  spirit-world  is  derived  from  these  atoms. 
Hence  it  is  born  from  this  earth  as  the  spirit  is  born 
from  the  body.  It  depends  on  the  earth  for  its 
existence,  and  is  formed  through  its  refining  instru- 
mentality.    Without  the  earth  there  could  not  have 


382  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

been  corresponding  spirit-spheres,  and  there  would 
not  have  been  a  necessity  for  them  ;  so  that  the 
existence  of  the  spirit-sphere  presupposes  the  ex- 
istence of  a  central  world. 

285.     Where  do  these  Particles  go  ? 

Attenuated  as  they  are,  these  atoms  gravitate,  or 
they  are  impelled  by  attractions  and  repulsions. 
They  are  not  attracted  to  earth  more  than  the 
inflated  balloon  ;  and,  like  it,  they  arise  from  the 
earth's  surface  until  they  reach  a  point  where  their 
gravity  and  repulsion  are  in  equilibrium.  There  they 
rest.  But  atoms  will  partake  of  different  degrees  of 
refinement,  and  the  most  refined  will  not  rest  where 
the  grosser  find  an  equilibrium.  Hence  more  than 
one  zone  will  be  formed. 

286.     The  Form  of  these  Zones. 

If  the  earth  were  at  rest,  these  ascending  particles 
would  rise  in  straight  lines  from  the  earth's  centre, 
and  a  complete  sphere  would  be  formed,  entirely 
enveloping  the  earth.  But  the  earth  rotates  on  its 
axis  every  twenty-four  hours,  or  a  thousand  miles 
an  hour,  a  velocity  sufficient  to  throw  out  the  equa- 
tor twenty-six  miles  further  from  the  centre  than  is 
the  distance  of  the  poles  from  the  same. 

As  the  understanding  of  this  proposition  is 
essential  to  the  proper  conception  of  the  subject, 
we  will  illustrate  it  by  the  familiar  instance  of 
drops  of  water  being  thrown  from  the  surface  of  a 


The  Spirt 'fs  Home.  383 

grindstone  in  rapid  motion.  Two  forces  produce 
the  phenomena.  The  centrifugal  force  tends  to 
throw  the  water  off  in  straight  lines  from  the 
surface :  the  same  force  tends  to  throw  the  world 
off  in  a  straight  line  from  its  orbit.  The  cen- 
tripetal force  draws  the  drops  of  water  to  the 
centre  of  the  wheel,  and  chains  the  earth  to  the 
sun.  The  motion  of  the  earth  in  its  orbit  is  a  mean 
between  these  two  forces.  The  same  principles  are 
true  in  regard  to  the  diurnal  motion  of  the  earth  on 
it's  axis.  All  its  atoms  are  chained  to  the  centre  by 
gravity,  but  the  rapid  motion  which  they  are  obliged 
to  perform  ever  tends  to  project  them  in  straight 
lines  from  the  surface  into  space.  This  does  not 
occur,  but  their  gravity  is  lessened,  more  at  the 
equator  than  at  the  poles,  as  they  are  obliged  to 
move  faster  at  the  former  than  in  the  latter  position ; 
and  hence  the  poles  draw  inward,  while  the  equator 
bulges  outward.  The  tendency  is  to  produce  a  ring, 
if  the  velocity  were  sufficiently  increased. 

287.     Spiritual  Atoms,  being  affected  by  the 

same  Laws, 

Partake  of  the  earth's  rotary  motion,  and  revolve 
with  it.  If  the  spheres  completely  surrounded  the 
earth,  as  first  supposed,  the  earth  remaining  at  rest, 
as  soon  as  it  began  to  move,  the  superior  velocity  of 
the  equatorial  regions  over  the  poles  would  draw 
away  the  particles  from  the  latter,  and  concentrate 
them  at  the  equator,  producing  a  zone,  the  axis  of: 


384  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

whose  revolution  would  coincide  with  the  earth's 
axis,  or  it  would  revolve  parallel  with  the  equator. 

288.     The  Rings  of   Saturn 

Furnish  a  fine  illustration  of  the  form  and  appear- 
ance of  the  spirit-zones.  They  are  belts  or  rings 
rotating  around  that  planet,  and  sustained  in  their 
position  by  the  equilibrium  between  the  centripetal 
or  tangential  force  and  the  gravity  which  draws 
them  toward  the  central  body. 

The  spirit-spheres  are  rather  zones  than  spheres. 
They  are  one  hundred  and  twenty  degrees  wide  ; 
that  is,  they  extend  sixty  degrees  each  side  of  the 
earth's  equator.  If  we  take  the  sixtieth  parallel  of 
latitude  each  side  of  the  equator,  and  imagine  it 
projected  against  the  blue  dome  of  the  sky,  we  have 
the  boundaries  of  these  zones. 

289.   how  far  are  they  from  the  earth's 

Surface  ? 

The  first  zone,  or  the  innermost  one,  is  sixty 
miles  from  the  earth's  surface.  The  next  external 
is  removed  from  the  first  by  about  the  same  dis- 
tance. The  third  is  just  outside  of  the  moon's 
orbit,  or  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  thousand  miles 
from  the  earth. 

Although  atoms  may  be  sufficiently  refined  when 
they  are  first  ultimated  from  earth  to  pass  by  the 
first  and  enter  the  second  zone,  yet  the  second 
zone  is,  speaking  in  a  general  sense,  the  offspring 


The  Spirit's  Home.  385 

of  the  first,  as  the  first  is  the  offspring  of  the 
earth ;  and,  from  the  second,  the  third  is  elaborated 
by  a  similar  process  to  that  by  whicH  the  earth 
exhales  spiritualized  matter.  From  the  third  sphere 
rise  the  most  sublimated  exhalations,  which  mingle 
with  the  emanations  of  the  other  planets,  and  form  a 
vast  zone  around  the  entire  solar  system,  including 
even  the  unknown  planets  beyond  the  vast  orbit  of 
Neptune. 

Our  sun  is  a  star  belonging  to  the  milky-way. 
The  mild  radiance  of  the  galactic  zone  is  produced 
by  an  immense  assemblage  of  stars,  so  crowded 
together  that  their  light  blends,  and  appears  as  a 
solid  mass  to  the  eye.  With  the  telescope,  how- 
ever, it  appears  as  a  dense  mass  of  stars.  This 
system  of  suns,  if  it  could  be  viewed  from  a  great 
distance,  would  appear  on  the  sky  as  an  extremely 
flattened  sphere,  and  our  sun  would  be  seen  as  a 
little  star  placed  in  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
starry  mass. 

As  the  emanations  from  the  refined  planetary 
spheres  form  a  sphere  around  the  solar  system,  so 
the  refined  emanations  from  all  the  solar  systems 
form  a  still  more  sublimated  series  of  zones  around 
the  milky-way.  The  same  great  principles  pervade 
all  of  these  spheres.  The  impress  of  the  same  law 
is  witnessed  in  the  magnificent  spheres  which  sur- 
round the  almost  infinitely  extended  galaxy,  as  in 
the  primary  zones  which  surround  the  earth  and 
planets. 
25 


386  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 


290.     There  is  no  Miracle  here, 

But  the  supremacy  of  the  same  great  principles 
which  cause  the  stone  to  fall  to  the  ground  or  the 
sun  to  shine. 


291.     The  Thickness  of  the  Spheres  Varies, 

The  first  is  nearly  thirty,  while  the  second  is 
twenty,  and  the  third  is  but  two  miles  in  thickness. 
The  first  is  the  oldest  by  immeasurable  time,  as  it 
was  the  first  to  begin  to  form  ;  and,  until  it  sup- 
ported organizations,  it  could  exhale  but  a  small 
amount  of  refined  matter  to  the  second,  and  of 
course  the  process  was  delayed  still  longer  in  the 
creation  of  the  third. 

How  beautifully  harmonious  nature  has  framed, 
not  only  the  constitution  of  physical,  but  of  spiritual 
things  !  There  is  observable  the  nicest  adjustment 
of  harmony  and  adaption.  So  fast  as  creations  are 
called  for,  they  are  supplied.  Nature  toiled  through 
illimitable  ages  to  produce  an  identified  intelligence. 
She  looked  through  all  these  ages,  and  with  prophet's 
eye  saw  that  she  would  succeed,  and  that  her  suc- 
cess would  necessitate  a  home  for  that  spirit  other 
than  the  gross  world  it  had  left.  Then  she  began 
to  build  its  habitation,  and  that,  too,  by  the  same 
process  by  which  she  sought  to  perfect  her  master- 
piece of  creative  force,  —  an  identified  human  spirit. 
Creative  energy  is  at  work  now  as  much  as  when 
earth   was   evoked    from   chaos.      It   toils    unceas- 


The  Spirit's  Home.  387 

ingly ;  and,  qs  the  heat  and  vapor  of  its  workshop, 
the  refined  atoms  constantly  rise,  floating  away  to 
their  appropriate  spheres. 

It  will  be  inferred  from  this  that  the  spheres  are 
gradually  increasing,  while  the  earth  is  slowly  di- 
minishing. Yes  :  this  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
truths  which  we  can  contemplate.  The  tall  moun- 
tain which  proudly  rears  its  granite  peak  among  the 
clouds,  bidding  defiance  to  the  sleet  and  storm,  on 
whose  atlas  shoulders  the  sky  lovingly  rests,  on 
whose  brawny  back  vast  forests  slumber,  from 
whose  sides  great  rivers  well ;  the  earth-engirdling 
ocean,  with  its  countless  isles  and  bordering  conti- 
nents ;  the  moon  and  planets  which  light  up  the 
evening  sky,  —  all  are  undergoing  the  refining  pro- 
cess, and  in  future  ages  will  be  resolved  into  spiritual 
elements. 

The  mountain  shall  crumble,  the  ocean  shall  be- 
come dry,  and  the  moon  and  stars  fade  from  the 
canopy  of  night ;  but  they  will  exist,  in  a  more 
active  and  perfected  form,  carrying  out  the  grand 
design  of  creation. 

The  surface  of  these  zones  is  diversified  with 
changing  scenery. 

292.  Matter,  when  it  Aggregates  there,  is 
prone  to  assume  the  forms  in  which  it  ex- 
isted here. 

Hence  there  are  all  the  forms  of  life  there  as  on 
earth,  except  those,  such  as  the  lowest  plants  and 


388  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

animals,  which  cannot  exist  surrounded  by  such 
superior  conditions.  The  scenery  of  mountain  and 
plain,  river,  lake,  and  ocean,  of  forest  and  prairie, 
are  daguerreotypes  of  the  same  on  earth.  It  is  like 
earth  with  all  its  imperfections  perfected,  and  its 
beauties  multiplied  a  thousand-fold. 

293.  The  Spirit  holds  the  same  Relation  to 
this  Spiritual  Universe  that  Man  holds  to 
Physical  Nature. 

The  surface  of  the  spheres  is  solid  earth,  in  which 
trees  and  flowers  take  root,  and  the  waters  of  the 
ocean  surge  perpetually  on  the  shore.  An  ethereal 
sky  arches  overhead,  and  the  stars  shine  with  in- 
creased refulgence.  The  spirits  breathe  its  spiritual 
atmosphere ;  they  drink  its  crystal  waters ;  they  par- 
take of  its  luscious  fruits ;  they  bedeck  themselves 
with  its  gorgeous  flowers. 

It  is  not  a  fancy  world,  nor  world  of  chance  or 
miracle  ;  but  a  real  world,  —  in  fact,  more  real  than 
is  earth,  as  it  is  its  perfection. 

The  spirit  walks  on  its  surface,  it  sails  on  the 
lakes  and  oceans  ;  in  short,  follows  whatever  pursuit 
or  pastime  it  pleases,  and  the  elements  there  hold 
the  same  relations  to  it  that  the  elements  of  earth 
held  to  it  while  in  the  physical  form. 

I  will  not  enter  at  present  into  a  minute  descrip- 
tion of  scenery  as  it  appears  to  the  spirit  or  the 
clairvoyant.  Words  are  but  feeble  auxiliaries  in  the 
delineation  of  a  subject  so  far  removed  above  mortal 


The  Spirit's  Home.  389 

comprehension.  It  is  a  reflection  of  the  earth,  and 
holds  a  close  correspondence  to  it,  but  can  no  more 
be  compared  with  it  in  beauty  than  the  finest  min- 
iature with  the  coarsest  charcoal  sketch. 

I  pass  to  the  consideration  of  the  next  important 
inquiry. 

294.     How   do    Spirits    pass    from    Earth    to 

the   Spheres  ? 

Philosophers  teach  us  that  an  ether  pervades  all 
space,  on  which  the  pulsations  of  light  and  heat  are 
thrown  by  luminous  bodies.  This  ether,  they  tell 
us,  pervades  all  space  and  all  substances,  and  is  the 
medium  for  transmission  of  the  influence  of  the 
imponderable  agents. 

By  their  description  of  this  ether,  we  can  readily 
understand  the  spiritual  ether,  which  also  pervades 
all  space.  It  is  not,  however,  like  the  former,  except 
in  its  universal  diffusion.  It  is  a  much  more  refined 
and  active  agent,  and  is  a  peculiar  emanation  from 
all  globes. 

Ultimated  as  it  is,  the  organization  of  the  spirit 
is  still  more  refined,  and  hence  it  floats  as  a  cork 
immersed  in  water,  or  a  balloon  in  the  atmosphere, 
having  its  gravity  with  respect  to  the  earth  entirely 
destroyed. 

The  ultimated  particles  from  the  earth  rise  and 
rush  out  of  the  vast  openings  at  the  poles  in  a 
spiral  direction  produced  by  the  rotation  of  the 
earth.     Then   they  diffuse  themselves  through  the 


390  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

atmosphere  of  the  first  zone,  each  following  its  own 
peculiar  attractions. 

On  these  rivers  the  spirit  is  wafted  from  the  sub- 
lunary scene,  and  is  ushered,  in  a  moment,  into  the 
spirit-world. 

295.    The  Philosophy  of  the  Spirit  traveling 

with  such  Rapidity 

Is  as  simple  as  is  that  of  the  other  great  principles. 
As  its  gravitation  is  destroyed  by  immersion  in  an 
ether  more  dense  than  itself,  it  rises,  or  is  repelled 
from  all  the  physical  worlds.  When  it  comes  to 
earth,  the  action  of  the  gravitation  of  the  earth  is  to 
repel  it  from  it,  and  not  to  attract.  But,  by  an  effort 
of  will,  the  spirit  becomes  positive  to  the  place  where 
it  desires  to  go.  Then  there  arises  an  immediate 
attraction  to  that  place,  and  it  flies  through  the  thin 
ether. 

296.     Can  they  pass  to  other  Globes  ? 

This  depends  on  their  degree  of  refinement. 
While  some  are  very  pure  and  ethereal,  others  are 
gross  and  unrefined.  The  sensualist,  the  depraved 
debauchee,  in  many  instances  are  so  gross  that 
gravity  chains  them  to  the  earth's  surface  as  it  does 
man.  They  are  denser  than  the  spirit  ether,  and 
hence  have  weight,  and  cannot  rise  from  earth. 
Others,  who  are  more  spiritual,  can  only  rise  to  the 
first  sphere ;  while  others,  stilly  more  refined,  pass  at 
will  through  the  universal  ocean  of  ether,  visiting 


The  Spirit's  Home.  391 

other  globes  and  other  solar  systems.  The  degree 
of  purity  or  spirituality  determines  whether  or  no 
the  spirit  shall  be  chained  to  earth,  or  allowed  free- 
dom to  travel  the  ocean  of  space. 

297.     Objections  may  Arise. 

If  the  spheres  spread  out  above  us,  why  do  we  not 
see  them  ? 

Why  do  we  not  see  spirits  with  the  normal  vis- 
ion ? 

The  questions  are  easily  answered.  It  is  from  the 
relation  which  they  bear  to  light  Air,  like  almost 
all  other  gases,  is  invisible.  No  one  ever  saw  at- 
mospheric air,  yet  no  one  doubts  its  existence.  It 
transmits  light  without  intercepting  the  rays,  and 
hence  is  invisible  ;  for  we  cannot  see  anything  un- 
less it  reflects  light  by  which  we  can  see  it  If  so 
material  a  substance  as  air  is  unseen,  though  it 
surges  above  our  heads  in  a  great  ocean  forty-five 
miles  deep,  how  can  we  expect  to  see  the  refined 
ether  of  which  these  zones  are  formed  ? 

Still  further.  When  we  look  through  a  clear 
plate  of  glass,  we  cannot  see  the  glass  interposed 
between  us  and  the  objects  beyond.  Perfectly  clear 
water  transmits  the  rays  of  light  so  completely  that 
it  is  invisible  unless  seen  by  reflection. 

After  such  instances,  can  we  ask  why  the  spheres 
are  not  visible,  and  why  they  do  not  intercept  the 
light  of  the  sun  and  stars  ?  The  objection  is  fully 
met  here  on  scientific  grounds,  and  does  not  de- 


392  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

pend,  for  its  explanation,  on  the  mere  words  of  the 
angels. 

One  question  more  arises,  namely  :  - — 

298.  What  is  the  Relation  of  Light  to  the 
Spheres  ?  Is  there  Day  and  Night  there 
as  here  ? 

The  sun's  light,  as  is  well  known  to  the  chemist, 
is  composed  of  an  indefinite  number  of  rays  min- 
gled together.  He  divides  them  with  his  prism, 
and  shows  the  seven  colored  rays,  the  chemical 
rays,  the  magnetic  rays,  &c.  We  find  that  light,  as 
it  is  emanated  from  the  sun,  is  composed  of  differ- 
ent kinds  of  rays,  each  adapted  for  peculiar  pur- 
poses. 

Each  of  the  spheres  retains  the  rays  useful  to  it, 
and  transmits  the  more  gross  rays  which  are  adapted 
to  earthly  conditions.  The  spiritual  portion  of  light 
is  retained  as  it  passes  from  the  sun  to  earth,  while 
the  coarser  portion  is  transmitted.  Hence  the  sun 
and  stars  as  certainly  appear  from  the  surface  of  the 
zones  as  they  appear  from  the  earth,  and  the  supe- 
rior do  not  intercept  the  view  from  the  lower  spheres, 
because  they  are  much  more  refined  than  the  latter, 
and  these  are  more  ethereal  than  earth.  The  rays 
of  light  designed  for  the  first  sphere  pass  through 
the  higher  without  interruption,  for  they  retain  only 
their  own  element. 

The  light  of  the  heavenly  bodies  is  much  greater 
when  seen  from  the  spheres  than  when  observed 


The  Spirit's  Home.  393 

from  the  earth.  The  splendor  of  the  stars  is  greatly 
increased,  and  the  radiance  of  the  sun  fills  the  atmo- 
sphere with  a  flood  of  silver,  gilding  the  scenery  with 
an  ethereal,  indescribable  light. 

If  the  sun  is  the  source  of  the  light  received  by  the 
spheres,  and  these  revolve  around  the  earth,  it  fol- 
lows, as  a  necessary  deduction,  that  there,  as  on 
earth,  day  and  night  must  follow  each  other  with  the 
unvarying  regularity  of  the  rising  and  setting  sun. 
That  there  should  be  such  alternations  of  light  and 
darkness  is  a  necessity  of  man's  spiritual  nature. 
He  wearies  of  the  never-changing  scene,  and  the 
activity  and  repose  of  nature  are  more  agreeable  to 
him  than  is  a  monotonous  sameness.  It  is  also  es- 
sentially the  result  of  the  plan  of  creation ;  for  nature 
allows  of  no  rest.  Worlds  and  zones  must  revolve 
around  central  luminaries ;  and,  as  they  bring  differ- 
ent portions  of  the  surface  beneath  the  central  light, 
day  and  night  —  that  is,  the  presence  and  absence  of 
the  luminaries  —  must  result. 

Thus  have  we  glanced  at  some  of  the  prominent 
principles  connected  with  the  spirits'  home,  and 
sought  to  sustain  them  by  the  facts  of  science. 
They  may  excite  prejudice  by  their  novelty  ;  they 
may  be  rejected  by  credulity ;  they  may  be  scorned 
by  the  pride  of  external  philosophy :  yet  they  de- 
pend not  on  any  of  these  for  support,  but  on  their 
own  truthfulness.  * 

*  Prof.  Hare,  speaking  of  the  spirit-spheres,  says,  — 
"  From  the  information  conveyed  by  communications  sub- 
mitted in  the  preceding  pages,  as  well  as  others,  it  appears 


XVIII. 

RELIGIOUS   ASPECT   OF    SPIRITUALISM. 

Love  for  all  men,  but  fear  of  none.  —  Luther. 

But  though  he  has  been  brave  in  battle,  killed  wild  beasts,  and  fought  with 
all  manner  of  external  evils,  if  he  has  neglected  to  combat  evil  within 
himself,  he  has  reason  to  fear  that  Arimanes  and  his  Devs  will  seize 
him.  —  Zoroaster. 

299.     Spiritualism  is  not  wanting  in  the  Re- 
ligious Element. 

SPIRITUALISM  is  considered  to  be  wanting  in 
a  vital  system  of  ethics,  to  be  wanting  in  vivify- 
ing religious  tendencies,  and,  as  a  philosophy,  to  be 
thoroughly  infidel.  As  a  divine  remarked,  "  It  is 
the  teachings  of  the  demon  allies  of  the  infidel 
world." 

that  there  are  seven  spheres  recognized  in  the  spirit-world. 
The  terrestrial  abode  forms  the  first  or  rudimental  sphere. 
At  the  distance  of  about  sixty  miles  from  the  terrestrial  sur- 
face, the  spirit-world  commences.  It  consists  of  six  bands  or 
zones,  designated  as  spheres,  surrounding  the  earth,  so  as  to 
have  one  common  centre  with  it  and  with  each  other.  An 
idea  of  these  rings  may  be  formed  from  that  of  the  planet 
Saturn,  excepting  that  they  are  comparatively  much  nearer  to 
their  planet,  and  at  right-angles  to  his  equator,  instead  of 
being,  like  Saturn's  rings,  so  arranged  that  their  surfaces  are 
parallel  to  the  plane  in  which  his  equator  exists. 

"The  interval  between  the  lower  boundaries  of  the  first 


Religious  Aspect  of  Spiritualism.      395 

It  is  true  that  it  discards  many  things  which  were 
regarded  as  divine  truths  ;  but  if  it  is  to  bring  no 
new  light  into  the  world,  if  the  old  is  to  remain, 
of  what  avail  is  it  that  the  angel  host  communi- 
cates with  earth  ? 

The  pure  precepts  of  the  great  thinkers  of  the 
past  will  remain  forever :  they  rest  on  the  eternal 
foundation  of  man's  relationship  to  man,  and  can- 
not perish.  But  their  interpretations  may  be  false, 
we  may  misunderstand  them,  or  new  light  may  give 
to  them  a  wholly  different  meaning.  Spiritualism 
may  interfere  with  many  darling  beliefs  of  the 
churches,  but  never  with  their  truths.  It  presents 
different  motives,  but  the  end  it  wishes  man  to  at- 
tain is  the  same. 

spiritual  sphere  and  the  second  is  estimated  at  thirty  miles  as 
a  maximum;  but  this  interval  is  represented  to  be  less  as 
the  spheres  between  which  it  may  exist  are  more  elevated  or 
remote  from  the  terrestrial  centre.  .  .  .  The  first  spiritual 
sphere,  or  the  second  in  the  whole  series,  is  as  large  as  all 
the  other  five  above  it.  This  is  the  hell,  or  Hades,  of  the 
spirit  world,  where  all  sensual,  malevolent,  selfish  beings  re- 
side. The  next  sphere  above  this,  or  the  third  of  the  whole 
series,  is  the  habitation  of  all  well-meaning  persons,  however 
bigoted,  fanatical,  or  ignorant.  In  proportion  as  spirits  im- 
prove in  purity,  benevolence,  and  wisdom,  they  ascend." 

Prof.  Hare  divided  the  spheres  into  six  circles  each,  the 
homes  of  distinct  classes  ;  but  he  admits  this  division  to  be 
somewhat  arbitrary.  The  value  of  this  communication  could 
be  better  estimated  if  he  had  stated  how  he  had  received  it. 
There  is  incompleteness  and  want  of  coherence  in  the  state- 
ment itself.  The  inner  or  second  sphere  cannot  be  of  larger 
extent  than  the  external ;  and,  as  the  second  sphere  is  the 


•m 


396  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 


300.     Incentive  offered  by  the  Church. 

The  Church  offers  two  reasons  for  right-doing : 
fear  of  punishment,  —  by  far  the  stronger  induce- 
ment, —  and  hope  of  reward ;  eternal  misery  on 
one  hand,  eternal  happiness  on  the  other.  Hell 
and  heaven  are  foreign  elements  to  be  sought  or 
avoided.     They  are  not  of  the  soul. 

301.     Incentive  of  Spiritualism. 

It  is  an  easy  thing  to  become  a  Christian,  as  that 
name  is  now  employed,  —  that  is,  to  become  a  mem- 
ber of  a  church,  to  be  regular  in  attendance  on  Sun- 
home  of  all  spirits  after  leaving  the  mortal  body,  it  cannot  be 
only  that  of  the  bad ;  and  it  would  be  just  as  rational  to  di- 
vide this  life,  or  the  first  sphere,  into  six  circles,  as  any  of  the 
future  states. 

It  may  be  truly  said  that  the  spirit  friends  of  Prof.  Hare 
stated  a  great  and  cardinal  truth,  —  that  the  spirit-spheres 
surround  the  earth ;  but  either  from  want  of  knowledge, 
or  from  imperfection  of  their  means  of  communication,  they 
failed  to  give  the  details  in  a  perfect  manner.  However  pains- 
taking in  his  experiments,  he  seems  to  have  received  these 
communications  with  almost  unquestioning  credulity,  and  did 
not  subject  them  to  the  criticism  necessary  for  the  elimina- 
tion  of  error.  Judging  from  the  "internal  evidence'5  of  the 
statement,  we  infer  that  he  was  prone  to  fashion  theories  and 
"submit"  them  ready  formed  to  the  "spirits,"  rather  than  to 
await  their  spontaneous  disclosures.  This  method  is  the  one 
most  liable  to  error  of  any  that  can  be  pursued.  A  positive 
element  is  introduced,  disturbing  in  its  influence,  and  shutting 
out  explanation  and  correction. 


Religious  Aspect  of  Spiritualism.      397 

days,  to  be  regular  in  paying  quarterage  or  pew 
rent,  and  to  be  regular  in  prayers  and  confessions 
of  short-comings. 


302.     It   is   not  an  Easy  Affair  to  become  a 

Spiritualist. 

You  have  no  powerful  body  to  support  you  when 
you  fail,  to  conceal  your  errors,  or  to  praise  your 
virtues  ;  but  on  your  own  exertions  you  must  rely, 
and  must  achieve  your  own  salvation.  Churchianity 
is  a  retreat  for  mental  laziness.  There  the  grand 
problem  of  salvation  is  worked  out.  All  that  is  re- 
quired for  the  convert  is  to  receive  the  solution.  He 
must  be  like  an  infant  or  an  imbecile,  with  open 
mouth  ready  to  swallow  the  theological  pap.  The 
more  docile,  the  more  he  stultifies  his  intellect,  the 
better  member  he  becomes. 

From  this  lethargy  it  is  difficult  to  awake.  I 
always  feel  uneasy  when  church-members  declare 
themselves  Spiritualists.  The  bite  of  the  theologi- 
cal mad  dog  is  rankling  in  their  veins  :  they  are 
ever  ready  to  return.  So  long  have  they  been  led, 
that,  when  they  find  themselves  cut  loose,  they  are 
like  children  taken  into  the  park,  or  young  colts 
let  out  to  pasture.  The  field  cannot  contain  them. 
They  run  here,  and  they  run  there,  and  all  over  the 
premises,  in  no  time.  But  they  weary  of  this  when 
they  find  the  old  landmarks  are  washed  away,  that 
the  old  compass  is  useless,  and  the  log-book  obso- 
lete, and  their  own  powers  their  only  reliance, — 


398  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

they  soon  weary,  and,  oh,  how  they  sigh  for  the 
flesh-pots  of  Egypt ! 

How  many  have  we  seen  of  such  poor  souls,  float- 
ing out  on  the  great  sea,  weary  with  effort,  and 
ready  to  catch  at  a  straw  for  support !  How  cheery 
the  old  days  of  unquestioning  belief  appeared  to 
them  !  How  they  wished  they  had  not  begun  to 
think!  It  is  not  well  to  make  converts  of  such 
unless  they  have  power  sufficient  to  uphold  them. 
You  make  a  poor  Spiritualist  of  a  good  church- 
member.  You  baptize  him  into  a  sea  of  trouble, 
only  to  see  him  in  the  end  grow  weary,  and  return 
to  the  fold,  when  the  opiate  of  formulas  drowns  his 
tremulous  efforts.  The  church  is  necessary  for  such 
until  it  is  outgrown.  We  have  often  met  men  who 
have  no  business  to  be  outside  of  its  pales.  They 
have  not  come  out  by  legitimate  thought :  some 
friend  has  broken  a  paling,  and  let  them  out.  To 
such,  we  say,  return,  —  the  sooner,  the  better.  If 
you  cannot  walk  without  using  a  broken  pale  for  a 
crutch,  out  here  on  the  breezy  coast  of  philosophy, 
you  had  better  return ;  and,  for  fear  you  will  come 
out  again,  replace  the  paling  carefully  after  you. 

303.    Spiritualism  the  Essence  of  Philosophy. 

Religion  is  often  accused  of  wanting  in  philoso- 
phy. Spiritualism  is  the  essence  of  philosophy.  It 
asks  nothing  without  giving  a  reason,  teaches  noth- 
ing without  giving  a  cause.  It  causes  the  individual 
to  become  just  and  pure,  because  no  other  being  in 


Religious  Aspect  of  Spiritualism.      399 

the  universe  will  receive  as  great  a  reward  for  his 
right  doing  as  the  individual,  and  because  every 
being  in  the  universe  will  be  better  for  that  right 
doing.  It  asks  us  to  improve  ourselves  by  aiding 
others,  in  the  same  effort  and  time  ;  it  teaches  that 
we  aid  in  molding  our  own  immortal  natures. 

304.  The  Individual  cannot  control  his  own 

Organization. 

In  this  imperfect  world,  he  is  born,  trailing  the 
aggregated  sins  of  his  ancestors  after  him.  The 
sins  of  the  fathers  are  visited  on  the  children.  Nor 
do  we  have  more  control  of  the  conditions  which 
surround  us.  If  the  word  "religion'  means  any- 
thing, it  means  doing  right.  To  do  right  is  to  obey 
all  the  laws  of  our  being.  If  hungry,  it  is  a  religious 
precept  to  feed  the  body  ;  if  cold,  to  protect  it ;  if 
intellectually  starving,  to  seek  for  truth.  Thus  we 
ascend.  Religion,  beginning  with  the  head,  ascends 
to  the  contemplation  of  eternal  laws. 

305.  The  Doctrine  of  Salvation,  through  the 
Blood  of  Christ,  is  a  Sham,  an  Imposition, 
a  Libel  on  Reason  and  Common  Sense. 

We  are  responsible  for  the  thoughts  and  actions 
of  all.  A  crime  cannot  be  committed  in  the  wide 
world  but  each  individual  feels  its  effects.  We  are 
atoms  of  the  social  world,  and  disturbance  of  one 
disturbs  all.     A  wrong  deed,  whether  individual  or 


400  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

national,  re-acts  on  the  whole  world.  In  its  larger 
sphere  of  nationality  we  can  better  observe  its  ef- 
fect. We  thought,  as  a  nation,  we  could  do  wrong 
with  impunity :  our  statesmen  told  us  we  could  do 
so.  But  the  centuries  came  round  ;  and  the  higher 
law,  written  in  the  constitution  of  things,  laughed  at 
and  scorned  by  the  nation,  asserted  itself.  At  once 
we  found  ourselves  face  to  face  with  eternal  justice. 
The  cannon  booming  from  Sumter  was  its  voice. 
The  nation  found  it  still  had  a-  heart,  —  that  it  could 
be  just/  It  met  the  issue,  poured  out  the  blood  of 
a  million  sons,  and  billions  of  treasure,  meeting  the 
wrong  in  a  death-grapple,  where  defeat  was  annihi- 
lation. 

So  far  as  it  has  stood  firmly  on  absolute  justice, 
has  it  been  successful  ;  so  far  as  it  has  compromised, 
it  has  met  defeat.  We  fear  justice  is  not  yet  ap- 
peased, or  the  nation's  heart  purified.  I  do  not  wish 
to  become  a  prophet,  nor  to  excite  fear.  I  only  state 
what  must  come  in  the  course  of  events.  There  are 
rivers  of  blood  yet  to  cross,  fiery  plains  yet  to  pass, 
before  we  efface  our  past  wrongs,  and  plant  our- 
selves on  absolute  truth  and  justice,  the  only  basis 
of  a  free  and  noble  people. 

Talk  about  the  laws  of  men !  They  copy  those 
of  eternal  right ;  and,  if  they  fail  in  this,  if  they  are 
worded  by  selfishness  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
Mammon,  alas  for  the  generation  they  govern  !  So 
is  it  in  all  history.  So  in  the  biography  of  every 
man. 


Religious  Aspect  of  Spiritualism.      401 

306.    We  are  not  placed  here  for  Self  alone. 

Beautiful  are  our  relations  to  others,  —  relations 
which  are  not  only  for  this  life,  but  grow  brighter 
in  eternity. 

A  kind  word  is  never  lost.  If  it  bears  not  fruit  in 
this  life,  it  will  in  the  next.  A  spirit  told  me  an  in- 
cident in  his  own  life.  When  on  earth  he  met  a 
newsboy.  He  was  an  impudent,  impish  rogue,  on 
whose  scarred  and  besmeared  face  one  could  not  see 
a  line  of  goodness.  Well,  the  spirit,  who  was  then  a 
mortal,  gave  him  a  kind  word.  A  new  light  bright- 
ened that  dull  countenance  ;  a  new  purpose  seized 
him.  "  Come  with  me/'  said  the  man.  He  placed 
him  at  school,  where  he  soon  equaled  and  surpassed 
his  fellows.  He  entered  life  with  high  purpose,  and 
exerted  a  wide  influence. 

Said  the  benignant  spirit,  "  I  met  that  boy  in  the 
spirit-world.  His  gratitude  was  unbounded.  It  was 
the  first  time  we  had  met  since  I  placed  him  at 
school,  a  boy,  with  his  humanity  almost  blotted  and 
trampled  out.  The  happiness  I  received  from  this 
little  action  has  brightened  the  joy  of  heaven.  It  is 
by  such  deeds  we  create  our  heaven.,, 

Oh,  let  us  learn  of  the  angel !  The  urchins  of  our 
streets  meet  no  kindness.  They  meet  scorn,  jests, 
coarse  rebuffs,  turn  where  they  will.  They  are  in 
the  rough  tide,  rushing  swiftly  to  the  destruction  of 
the  little  humanity  they  possess.  We  stretch  not 
out  our  hands  to  help.  Instead  of  helping,  we  accel- 
erate the  current, 
26 


402  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

307.     What  the  Church  has  done. 

The  Church  has  for  two  thousand  years  been  at 
work.  Go  down  into  our  back  streets  and  alleys, 
and  answer  if  this  is  a  Christian  land  !  We  have  our 
work-houses,  orphan  asylums,  retreats  for  the  inebri- 
ate and  insane,  our  jails  and  penitentiaries,  and  our 
refuges  for  the  Magdalenes  :  we  are  benevolent  to 
the  individual  in  a  kind  of  a  way,  but  we  make  no 
attempt  to  control  the  fountain  from  which  all  this 
disease  and  death  flows.  The  man  of  business  calls 
to  his  workshop  his  hands,  and  pays  them  more  or 
less.  What  is  it  to  him  if  they  live  or  starve  ?  Is 
he  not  to  be  in  the  tread-mill,  competitors  on  every 
side  ?  and,  if  he  pauses  to  look  after  others,  will  not 
he  go  under  ?  If  the  wheels  at  the  top  of  society 
grind  so  fine,  those  at  the  bottom  grind  to  powder. 
The  poor  are  crushed  out,  physically  and  spiritually. 

308.     What  Spiritualism  can  do. 

What  we  say,  we  say  understandingly.  If  the 
grand  principles  of  Spiritualism  were  put  in  uni- 
versal practice  to-day,  in  three  generations  there 
would  not  be  necessity  for  an  asylum,  a  jail,  a 
penitentiary,  a  lawyer,  a  judge,  a  reverend,  in  the 
wide  land.  Time  only  would  be  necessary  for  hu- 
manity to  outgrow  its  scars  and  deformities. 

If  it  is  easy  to  awaken  the  soul  to  visions  of  the 
beautiful  and  true,  it  is  equally  easy  to  crush  out  the 
little  light  it  may  possess. 


Religious  Aspect  of  Spiritualism.     403 

We  scorn  the  Irishman,  who,  by  oppression  and 
poverty,  has  become  an  ignoble  serf,  —  the  coal-dig- 
ger, whose  language  has  been  reduced  to  a  few  hun- 
dred words,  and  those  relating  only  to  his  immediate 
wants.  We  scorn  the  outcast,  the  unfortunate  and 
criminal.  Rather  should  we  pity.  Let  us  remember, 
that,  if  placed  in  their  situation,  with  their  anteced- 
ents, we  should  do  precisely  as  they  do. 

Mocking  pharisee,  who  draw  your  cloak  close 
around  you  for  fear  of  contact  with  these,  did  you 
have  a  choice  of  endowment  given  you  ?  Were  you 
consulted  as  to  the  sphere  of  life  into  which  you 
desired  to  be  born  ?  Do  you  suppose  the  vagabond, 
whom  you  thank  God  for  not  being  like  unto,  wished 
to  be  born  to  his  estate  ?  Then  take  no  praise  for 
being  as  you  are,  nor  blame  him  for  not  being  better 
than  he  is. 

The  missionary  may  talk  religion  to  starving  men ; 
and,  when  the  beggar's  children  cry  for  bread,  he  may 
give  them  —  tracts.  Spiritualism  has  quite  another 
office.  The  poor  have  we  with  us  always  ;  and,  be- 
cause consumption  exceeds  production,  there  is  mis- 
ery and  crime.  It  is  hideous  —  this  wolf-pang  of 
hungry  poverty  —  to  see  disease,  engendered  by 
want,  snatching  one's  children  in  its  greedy  jaws  ; 
to  see  it  obliterate  the  lines  of  health  from  their 
features,  and  write  there  the  livid  lines  of  death ! 
It  is  well  the  law  is  written  in  blood,  —  well  that 
constant  pressure  obliterates  the  keener  senses  of 
the  soul ;  else  these  chained  savages  of  society  would 
lay  their  firm  grasp  on  the  bread  of  the  wealthy. 


404  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

It  is  not  done.  But  let  us  not  suppose,  there- 
from, they  have  no  feeling.  A  human  heart  in  fus- 
tian beats  as  ardently  as  in  broadcloth.  The  mother 
in  rags  has  as  deep  affection  for  her  child  as  the 
mother  in  satin,  though  sometimes,  in  its  struggle 
through  misery,  it  appears  more  like  animal  instinct 
than  human  affection. 

I  know  not  that  the  fault  is  with  the  individual : 
it  is  with  the  nation  and  the  times.  We  rush  reck- 
lessly forward.  The  struggle  for  existence  is  ter- 
rible, and  the  path  of  advance  is  paved  with  human 
hearts.  The  under-structure  of  society  can  have,  at 
most,  but  little  pleasure,  and  the  time  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  even  that  is  denied  to  them. 

Why  wonder  at  their  excesses  ?  The  physical 
frame  is  prostrated  by  excessive  labor.  Stimulants, 
for  a  time,  restore  its  tone.  It  is  as  natural  for  the 
overtasked  to  seek  them,  as,  when  thirsty,  to  call 
for  water.  A  passing  enjoyment  is  wrung  from  the 
soul-blasting  intoxication ;  but  draw  the  mantle  of 
charity  over  their  failings,- — it  is  all  that  these  poor, 
crushed  souls  can  obtain. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  man  of  business,  the 
thinker,  and  the  writer ;  the  men  who  hold  the 
commerce  of  the  globe,  and  with  ship  and  sail 
weave  the  web  of  nationalities  close  and  strong ; 
who  represent  the  brain  as  the  others  do  the  hands 
of  society, — by  overtasking,  fall  into  the  same  state. 
Constant  strain  produces  corresponding  depression. 
The  man  leaves  his  desk  weary,  drooping,  enfeebled. 
Sleep  does  not  refresh  hirna     He  cannot  enjoy  any- 


Religious  Aspect  of  Spiritualism.     405 

thing.     He  only  feels  at  home  when  following  the 
path  of  business  which  habit  has  prescribed. 


309.  But  what  has  Spiritualism  to  do  with 

the  Poor  or  the  Rich  ? 

It  has  much  to  do. 

Just  ahead,  there  is  equality.  The  green  fields  of 
heaven  are  not  owned  nor  sold  by  title-deed.  There 
are  no  mortgages  there,  —  no  rents  ;  but  as  the  air 
is  free  here,  so  are  all  things  free  there.  At  once 
death  shakes  from  poverty  its  dead  weight,  and  man 
no  longer  feels  its  canker,  nor  is  crushed  by  what 
poor  mortals  call  the  justice  of  the  law.  He  will  not 
be  compelled  to  see  his  ragged  children  grow  up  in 
ignorance,  and  destined  to  become  serfs  to  Mam- 
mon. 

How  inconsistent  we  are  !  We  make  laws,  and 
rob  man  of  his  mother  earth,  which  Nature  pro- 
claims belongs  to  him  who  will  cultivate,  and  then 
blame  him  for  poverty  and  crime.  It  is  well  we  can 
go  no  further.  Title-deeds  will  not  hold  the  sun- 
light, nor  the  air,  nor  the  water  ;  else  they  would  be 
so  held,  and  the  unfortunate  would  then  be  cen- 
sured for  not  breathing  and  seeing. 

310.  In  Plainest  Statement,  do  we  not  all 

do  the  best  we  know  how  ? 

Can  we  not  always  give  reasons  for  our  conduct, 
satisfactory  to  ourselves  ?     We  censure,  because  we 


406  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

judge  from  our  own  standpoint,  wholly  ignorant 
of  the  thoughts  and  motives  which  actuate  the  cen- 
sured. We  always  yield  to  the  strongest  influence, 
right  or  wrong. 

If  a  tiger  spring  on  a  man,  and  rend  him,  who 
blames  the  tiger  ?  He  is  only  acting  out  the  re- 
quirements of  a  tigers  nature.  When  a  man,  born 
with  a  tigers  organization,  and  that  inflamed  by 
years  of  wrong,  acts  out  his  nature,  is  he  more 
to  blame  ?  Is  he  more  blamable  than  the  man, 
born  with  a  benevolent  organization,  who  acts  be- 
nevolently ? 

Do  not  understand  me  as  upholding  "  whatever  is, 
is  right."  On  the  contrary,  I  hold  that  "whatever 
is,  is  wrong!'     We  must  all  join  in  righting  it. 

311.     "Whatever  is,  must  be." 

And  there  should  be  no  praise,  no  censure,  for  its 
being  thus. 

This  doctrine  varnishes  no  fault.  There  is  only 
one  right  way,  and  that,  the  obedience  to  law  :  and, 
if  you  fail,  do  not  support  yourself  by  saying,  "  I  am 
as  I  am  ; '  for  the  first  step  in  progress  is  the  recog- 
nition of  this  very  doctrine  ;  and,  the  next,  endeavor- 
ing to  overcome  the  impediments  of  your  condition. 
Your  remaining  in  the  wrong  plainly  says  you  are 
ignorant  of  the  right. 

The  ideal  man  of  Spiritualism  is  perfect.  Would 
that  I  could  paint  to  you  the  beatitudes  that  cluster 
around  such  a  one,  and  breathe  into  you  his  lofty 
aspirations ! 


Religious  Aspect  of  Spiritualism.      407 

That  ideal  man  loves  truth  for  its  own  sake,  be- 
cause it  is  truth,  —  not  from  any  good  he  expects  to 
derive  from  it;  loves  justice  because  it  is  justice; 
loves  right  because  it  is  right. 

There  are  many  who  profess  to  love  truth,  justice, 
right ;  but,  on  analysis,  they  love  only  their  special 
forms,  —  not  the  divine,  eternal,  and  universal.  We 
see  men,  every  day,  ready  to  defend  what  they  call 
by  these  names  ;  but  they  so  style  some  special- 
ity, and  know  little  of  universal  justice,  right,  and 
truth. 

The  love  of  these,  in  their  universal  quality,  is  the 
perfection  of  manhood.  This  love  sustains  the  mar- 
tyr, and  makes  the  burning  coals  a  bed  of  down, 
compared  to  their  violation.  They  are  the  fountains 
from  which  flow  all  the  nobleness  of  a  true  life,  and 
they  never  yield  bitter  waters. 

When  the  love  of  these  exists,  the  individual  never 
fails  in  their  requirements  ;  for,  where  the  universal 
exists,  the  special  will  well  out,  as  occasion  demands, 
from  its  exhaustless  fountain. 

The  effect  of  these  three  great  principles,  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Spiritual  philosophy  of  ethics  on 
the  character  of  the  man,  is  the  development  of  per- 
fect manhood. 

That  is  the  great  end  and  object  of  living.  If  we 
do  not  advance,  we  might  as  well  not  live.  If  we 
are  not  growing  in  wisdom,  and  developing  angelic 
qualities,  our  life  is  a  waste,  and  we  should  make  haste 
to  recover  the  right  path. 


408  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

312.  If  this  be  the  Purpose  of  Life,  we  in- 

quire  HOW   IT   MAY   BE   OBTAINED. 

By  discarding  those  things  which  are  only  for 
to-day,  and  doing  those  which  have  an  eternal  rela- 
tion. 

Every  organ  has  an  appropriate  function  to  per- 
form, and  the  proper  action  of  all  is  a  sacred  duty. 
Take  our  being  as  a  whole,  and  the  natural,  legiti- 
mate use  of  all  faculties  and  powers  is  equally  holy. 
It  is  perversion  that  causes  disease  and  suffering; 
and  the  perversion  of  the  morals  is  as  disastrous  as 
that  of  the  passions.  To  cramp  or  dwarf  one  depart- 
ment of  our  being,  and  cultivate  another  to  excess, 
is  detrimental,  even  if  the  overwrought  faculty  be 
the  highest  moral  feeling. 

313.  We  say,  Do  that  which  has  an  Eternal 

Relation. 

Happiness,  then,  is  not  evanescent,  but  is  an  abid- 
ing quality.  The  business  of  the  world  is  the  con- 
trary. Take,  for  example,  the  man  devoted  to  the 
acquisition  of  wealth.  A  very  narrow  portion  of  his 
mind  is  cultivated  by  his  pursuits,  and  the  remainder 
is  dwarfed.  Perhaps,  morally,  he  is  idiotic.  He  may 
be  a  shrewd  dealer  in  stocks,  and  thoroughly  posted 
in  his  business ;  but,  not  having  cultivated  any  other 
department  of  his  being,  he  is  dwarfed.  At  death, 
his  brokerage  is  gone ;  and  the  man  stands  on  the 
other  side  of  the  grave  a  miserable,  enfeebled  soul. 


Religious  Aspect  of  Spiritualism.      409 

If  the  angels  dealt  in  stocks,  he  would  feel  at  home. 
He  finds  that  he  has  no  treasures  laid  up  in  heaven, 
and  that  his  life  has  been  wasted  in  an  idle  chase  for 
brambles,  of  no  consequence  to  the  grand  growth  of 
eternal  life. 

Such  a  treasure  is  the  proper  cultivation  of  the 
mind.  I  say  proper  cultivation,  for  there  is  a  learn- 
ing worse  than  ignorance.  The  bias  given  by  a 
creed,  or  any  cramped  religious  system,  is  more 
detrimental  to  the  spirit's  growth  than  absolute  de- 
ficiency of  all  learning.  Such  systems  warp  and 
distort  the  mind.  They  form  a  medium  through 
which  it  views  humanity ;  and  that  medium,  being 
untruthful,  conveys  nothing  but  error. 

This  culture  is  founded  on  the  principles  of  truth, 
justice,  and  love.  These  have  their  existence  in  the 
constitution  of  man,  as  well  as  in  external  nature, 
wherein  their  divine  manifestations  can  be  read. 


314.     The  Great  Object  of  Being  is  a  Manly 

Life. 

We  are  not  dwellers  on  the  shores  of  time,  but  of 
eternity.  Though  we  do  the  best  we  know  how,  we 
have  capabilities  of  doing  infinitely  better.  Life  is 
a  school  for  discipline.  We  should  co-ordinate  and 
harmonize  all  our  faculties,  living  and  acting  true  to 
our  highest  .light. 

Not  in  an  organization,  a  party,  do  we  wish  to  find 
the  excellency  of  Spiritualism,  but  in  the  individual. 
It  makes  no  difference  how  strong,  how  excellent, 


410  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

how  pure  the  party  is  to  which  he  belongs,  if  he  is 
wrong.  The  sacrifice  of  the  world  would  be  of  no 
avail.  Sin  lies  not  with  the  body ;  all  transgression 
is  of  the  spirit.  The  higher  powers  should  rise 
above  the  lower,  and,  duly  co-ordinated,  should  con- 
trol them. 

315.    We  make  our  own  Heaven  and  our  own 

Hell, 

And  walk  an  angel  or  a  devil  therein,  —  not  in 
free  realms  of  spirit-life,  but  now  and  here  on 
earth. 

Such  I  consider  to  be  the  religious  aspect  of  Spir- 
itualism. It  is  the  combined  moral  excellence  of  the 
world.  It  is  the  essence  of  Christianity  ;  but,  while 
the  latter  involves  itself  in  creeds  and  churches,  the 
former  acknowledges  no  other  creed  than  the  laws 
written  in  the  natural  world,  no  other  interpreter 
than  reason,  no  church  but  mankind. 

While  the  churches  descant  on  the  efficacy  of 
prayer,  Spiritualism  teaches  that  one  good  deed  is 
worth  all  the  formal  prayers  since  Adam's  time. 

He  believes  in  prayer,  but  in  that  prayer  by  which 
the  workman  molds  iron  into  an  engine,  and  wood 
into  steamships,  —  the  prayer  of  the  hand  as  well  as 
of  the  heart. 

While  the  church  prays  God  to  help  the  needy 
and  suffering,  the  Spiritualist  becomes  the  messen- 
ger, giving  that  help.  Such  is  he,  —  large-hearted, 
open-handed.     That  is  the  difference.     He  has  gone 


Religious  Aspect  of  Spiritualism.     411 

past  all  the  churches,  and  drank  at  the  fountains 
where  the  apostles  drank.  All  the  trappings  are 
stripped  away,  and  the  pure  ethics  of  the  world's 
sages  —  of  Plato,  Confucius,  Pythagoras,  and  Christ 
—  are  the  ethics  of  Spiritualism. 


XIX. 

THE   OLD   AND   THE    NEW. 

Christ,  very  man  and  very  God,  has  purchased  for  us  an  everlasting  deliv- 
erance. He  who  died  for  us  is  the  eternal  God.  His  passion,  therefore, 
is  an  eternal  sacrifice,  and  has  a  perpetual  efficacy :  it  satisfies  the  Di- 
vine Justice  forever  upon  behalf  of  all  who  rely  upon  it  with  a  firm,  un- 
shaken faith.  —  Zwingle. 

Scripture  satisfies  the  soul  with  holy  and  wondrous  delight :  it  is  a  heavenly 
ambrosia.  —  Melancthon. 

We  create  our  own  heaven  or  hell,  and  walk  an  angel  or  a  devil  therein. 

Man  is  his  own  saviour. 

316.     The  Radical  and  Radicalism. 

THERE  is  a  philosophy  of  history.  Every  age 
furnishes  a  prophecy  of  the  ages  to  follow, 
which,  if  we  fail  to  read,  it  is  because  of  our  igno- 
rance. The  deeds  of  each  century  are  evolved  out 
of  those  that  preceded  it.  The  past  contained  the 
germs  of  the  present,  and  the  present  of  the  future. 
We  call  the  present  the  best,  rightly  perhaps,  per- 
haps wrongly  ;  wrongly  to  the  conservative,  in  whose 
mind  the  golden  age  glimmers  in  the  remote  past, 
and  to  whom  the  future  is  a  dreadful  night.  The 
Radical  believes  the  reverse.  The  sun  has  yet  to 
rise  in  full  splendor  on  the  glories  of  that  age.  One 
gazes  wistfully  backwards  ;  the  other,  forwards. 


The  Old  and  the  New.  413 

Society  began  in  savage  clans,  —  began  in  intense 
individualism.  From  thence  onward  the  process  has 
been  one  of  subduing  the  individual.  During  the 
middle  ages,  Church  and  State  combined  to  stifle 
individual  thought,  and  their  success  was  indicated 
by  the  ignorance  that  prevailed,  —  the  brutality 
and  merciless  cruelty.  There  has  been  a  great  re- 
action against  these  forces  ;  and,  moving  on  in  a 
circle,  we  have  again  reached  individualism,  but  in 
a  new  form.  We  began  with  the  individualism  of 
the  brute :  we  end  with  the  individualism  of  the 
intellect.     Our  circle  is  a  spiral. 

The  conservatives  say  this  is  not  progress.  Pro- 
gression with  them  means  forever  following  the  same 
round,  just  as  the  squirrel  inside  its  revolving  cage 
thinks  turning  the  cage  means  getting  ahead.  So 
they,  blinded  by  the  fog  of  creeds,  think  that  move- 
ment in  the  same  orbit  forever  is  most  desirable. 

There  are  those  in  the  world  who  think  otherwise. 

You  have  noticed  a  large  family  attaining  matu- 
rity, and  following  in  the  exact  footsteps  of  the 
father.  Perhaps  one,  however,  tires  of  this  method, 
and  seeks  out  a  new  path.  Fired  with  youthful  zeal, 
he  sets  up  for  himself,  and  discards  the  trammels  of 
habit  which  confine  his  brothers.  He  is  the  radical 
of  the  family.  Just  so  do  the  radicals  of  society 
arise.  They  are  prodigal  sons,  but  not  fed  on 
husks.  They  have  their  sorrows  and  their  joys. 
They  are  the  pioneers,  who  clear  the  pathway  across 
wild  continents  of  ignorance,  and  from  mountain 
summits  obtain  the  first  glimpses  of  the  beautiful 


4 H  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

regions  in  store  for  those  who  follow.  To  them 
comes  the  inspiration  of  great  thoughts,  floating 
like  visions  of  Eden  through  the  chambers  of  their 
minds,  lighting  the  future  with  resplendent  beams, 
and  sending  rosy  twilight  over  the  gray  bleakness 
of  the  present. 

Radicalism  is  the  ultima  thule  of  Protestantism. 
It  is  the  consequence  of  the  granted  right  of  private 
opinion.  If  one  man  has  the  right  to  protest,  so  has 
another  ;  and  this  protestation  may  go  on  to  the 
complete  separation  of  all  individuals,  leaving  all 
believing  and  acting  differently. 

This  result  is  quite  the  opposite  of  that  desired 
by  a  respectable  class  of  thinkers  who  consider  har- 
mony the  desired  end,  —  that  individuals  should  all 
think  and  act  alike.  On  every  hand,  we  hear  much 
said  about  "  harmonious  development."  They  would 
have  us  believe  that  all  disagreement  should  be 
avoided,  and  perfection  attainable  only  by  means  of 
perfect  unity.  This  view  is  little  better  than  the 
conservative  idea  of  sacrificing  man  to  society,  mak- 
ing his  personality  of  no  account  compared  to  the 
State.  Such  will  find  an  example  in  China  of  the 
result  of  their  theory.  Disagreement  being  avoided, 
the  State  interfering  whenever  conflict  occurs,  har- 
mony results,  but  it  ends  in  stagnation.  The  indi- 
vidual is  lost  in  the  routine  of  senseless  forms  and 
ceremonies.  There  is  no  growth,  and  Chinese  civi- 
lization is  effete,  not  in  dying  with  old  age,  but  be- 
cause it  is  unable  to  break  through  the  crust  of  its^ 
concreted  ideas.    Conflict,  radicalism,  tempest,  is  the 


The  Old  and  the  New.  415 

only  cure.  So  in  the  world  everywhere  ;  thus  has  it 
been  for  all  time ;  and  the  Protestant  of  to-day  is  the 
conservative  of  to-morrow. 


317.     Infidelity. 

An  infidel  is  a  disbeliever  in  the  popular  theology 
of  the  day.  The  Christian  is  infidel  to  the  creed  of  the 
Mohammedan,  and  the  latter  is  an  infidel  in  the  esti- 
mation of  the  Christian.  The  Brahman  is  an  infidel 
to  Christianity,  and  the  Chinese  are  infidel  to  Brah- 
manism.  To  disbelieve  in  the  current  theology  is 
infidelity,  and  brands  "infidel"  on  the  disbeliever. 
Infidelity,  as  now  used  by  the  church,  so  far  from 
being  a  term  of  reproach,  is  the  most  honorable  title 
that  can  be  bestowed  ;  for  it  means  a  thinker,  one 
who  can  and  does  think  for  himself,  and  act  on  his 
own  responsibility.  In  all  past  time,  the  infidel,  he 
who  was  branded  and  scourged  by  the  established 
theology,  has  been  the  reformer  of  the  world.  In 
order  to  vindicate  a  new  truth,  some  old  and  deep- 
rooted  errors  must  be  overthrown  ;  and  to  those  the 
reformer  must  become  infidel,  and  show  how  errone- 
ous they  are,  as  well  as  prove  his  own  truth. 

Jesus  Christ  was  an  infidel,  as  well  as  his  apostles, 
to  the  Jewish  laws  and  ceremonies,  and  dearly  paid 
the  penalty  usually  attached  to  this  crime.  Melanc- 
thon,  Luther,  and  Calvin  were  infidels  to  the  theology 
of  their  day,  as  were  all  the  great  reformers  down  to 
the  present.  The  infidel  has  good  company.  Coper- 
nicus, Kepler,  Galileo,  Newton,  Laplace,  and  Her- 


41 6  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

schel  are  with  him  in  science  ;  and  Confucius,  Zoro- 
aster, and  Christ  are  with  him  in  religion.  He  need 
not  be  ashamed  of  his  followers,  but  rather  be  thank- 
ful that  he  is  allowed  to  enter  a  court  so  august, 
where  all  the  great  minds  that  earth  can  boast  are 
arrayed  in  a  galaxy  of  splendor. 

Some  minds  progress  faster  than  others,  and,  grasp- 
ing new  ideas,  perceive  the  falseness  of  the  doctrines 
entertained  by  their  fellows,  and  attempt  to  make 
them  believe  like  themselves.  This  brings  on  their 
devoted  heads,  from  the  bigoted  opposition,  the 
blighting  cry  of  "  Infidel ! '  The  martyr  is  always 
an  infidel.  He  cannot  be  otherwise  ;  for  no  one  can 
believe  the  theology  of  the  day  if  he  reasons  on  its 
teachings,  and  compares  them  with  the  revelations 
of  nature.  Theologians  have  always  endeavored  to 
shut  out  the  light  of  nature,  and  suppress  the  ac- 
tivity of  reason  :  they  have  thought  that  both  were 
blind  leaders,  and  that  infallibility  could  be  found 
only  in  the  Bible  and  their  creeds. 

It  is  well  known  to  every  thinking  man  that  we 
cannot  believe  without  evidence.  Believing  by  faith, 
having  faith  to  believe,  and  believing  to  have  faith, 
are  contradictions  in  terms,  and  an  impossibility. 
We  may  be  educated  into  a  belief;  but,  as  soon  as 
we  reason  on  it,  we  cannot  believe  it,  unless  it  be 
rational,  and  appeals  to  our  understanding.  We  may 
think  we  believe,  yet  we  never  can  believe  an  unrea- 
sonable doctrine. 

Slowly  the  minds  of  the  age  are  admitting  that 
nature  and  reason  —  which  is  the  philosophical  inter- 


The  Old  and  the  New.  417 

pretation  of  nature  —  are  the  only  reliable  standards. 
They  must  be  true.  Nature  is  the  same  eternal,  im- 
mutable handiwork  of  God.  When  a  revelation  is 
given  us  from  God,  it  will  be  in  accordance  with 
nature,  clear  and  unmistakable,  and  not  ambiguous, 
and  needing  succeeding  interpretation.  Now  when 
a  book  purports  to  be  from  God,  infallible  in  its  au- 
thority, and  binding  on  us  to  believe,  declaring  that 
we  must  believe  or  be  damned,  it  is  evident  that  it 
is  imposible  to  prevent  ourselves  from  reasoning  on 
it.  If  we  have  the  right  to  reason  on  it,  we  have  the 
right  to  reject  it  if  it  appears  false.  God  has  made 
nothing  in  vain.  Hence,  the  possession  of  reason 
presupposes  the  right  to  reason  :  this  right  proves 
that  we  also  have  a  right  to  reject  the  false,  and 
receive  the  true,  —  to  subject  everything  to  close 
and  rigid  examination,  whatever  may  be  its  claims. 

The  infidel  is  one  who  asserts  this  privilege.  He 
knows,  that,  if  the  Bible  is  of  God,  it  cannot  be  in- 
jured by  the  closest  scrutiny ;  and,  if  it  be  untrue, 
of  course  he  does  not  wish  to  believe  it,  and  he  feels 
it  to  be  a  duty,  if  not  an  honor,  to  expose  its  errors. 
He  knows  that  the  truth  never  suffered  by  reason 
or  comparison  with  nature ;  that  only  error  hides 
itself  away  from  the  light,  and  loves  darkness  and 
mystery. 

He  takes  the  book,  and  compares  it  with  the  infal- 
lible standard  God  has  given  him, —  nature.  It  fails. 
It  presents  antagonisms,  contradictions,  and  absurdi- 
ties. How  can  he  believe  it,  crush  his  reason,  shut 
his  eyes  to  the  light,  and  greedily  swallow  whatever 
27 


4i8  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

is  presented  therein  ?  How  can  he  help  being  an 
unbeliever  ?  Have  faith  !  He  cannot  have  faith 
without  reasons  for  faith.  He  cannot  believe  with- 
out evidence.  His  eyes  are  open,  and  he  will  not 
close  them.  He  has  not  swallowed  an  opiate,  and 
he  is  wide-awake.  To  him,  the  claims  of  infallibility 
for  the  book  destroys  it ;  its  antagonism  with  the 
facts  of  nature  destroys  it ;  and  he  cannot  help  dis- 
believing it,  strive  he  ever  so  hard  to  force  himself 
to  its  reception.  This  is  the  philosophical  infidel. 
It  is  not  from  a  love  of  skepticism  that  he  is  so,  but 
from  the  unimpeded  action  of  his  reason. 

318.     Protestantism   brings   from  Catholicism 
everything  but  the  pope. 

Its  basis  is  the  same,  —  the  Bible.  Its  depart- 
ure from  Catholicism  is  a  departure  from  reason. 
Granting  its  data,  the  logic  of  Catholicism  is  un- 
answerable :  man  being  incapable  of  arriving  at  di- 
vine truth,  an  infinite  God  delivers  to  him  an  in- 
finite revelation.  Man,  as  finite,  cannot  comprehend 
this  revelation  ;  hence  the  necessity  of  inspired  teach- 
ers or  priests  to  interpret  it  to  him.  Protestantism 
places  finite  man  in  direct  contact  with  an  infinite 
God,  —  a  finite  comprehension  with  an  infinite  rev- 
elation. In  the  latter  case,  what  is -the  benefit  of 
the  exercise  of  reason,  when  the  object  is  beyond 
the  grasp  of  reason  ?  Practically,  the  two  systems 
are  the  same  ;  and  whatever  power  the  Bible  exerts 
is,  by  means  of  the  idea  of  infallibility,  attached  to  its 


The  Old  and  the  New.  419 

utterances.  It  is  claimed  that  Protestantism  is  the 
system  demanded  by  the  present  age.  We  ask,  is 
this  a  fact  ?  Not  only  is  it  what  we  demand  now,  but 
has  it  elasticity  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  fu- 
ture ?  Daring  questions  to  ask  of  a  system  founded 
eighteen  centuries  ago,  and  claiming  for  its  founder 
not  only  the  Son  of  God,  but  the  eternatl  Father  him- 
self. They  may  be  sacrilegious,  but  they  are  of  vital 
interest. 

319.     A  Religion  of  Abnegation. 

To  analysis  what  does  this  religion  yield  ?  Em- 
phatically it  is  of  denial  and  abnegation.  It  has 
been  well  said  that  "Thou  shalt  not"  has  a  great 
preponderance  over  "  Thou  shalt "  in  the  Decalogue. 
It  is  a  passive  religion.  It  sets  up  the  preposterous 
claim,  that  religion,  that  morals,  can  be  created  out- 
side of  man,  and  forced  upon  him.  Here  originate 
missionary  schemes.  Contrary  to  this,  the  field  of 
the  world  shows  that  moral  precepts,  however  calcu- 
lated to  impress  themselves,  have  no  power  unless 
received  by  the  intellect.  Unless  so  received,  they 
remain  dead  beliefs,  without  any  bearing  on  the 
lives  of  their  receivers.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  such 
is  the  state  of  ninety-nine  Christians  in  a  hundred, 
and  that  they  never  gauge  their  actions  by  the  pre- 
cepts of  their  religion.  It  is  received  that  "  It  is 
easier  for  a  camel  to  pass  through  the  eye  of  a 
needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  ; ':  that  the  poor  and  ill-used  of  the  world  are 
blessed  and  enviable  ;  that  we  should  love  our  neigh- 


420  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

bors  and  enemies  as  ourselves ;  that,  if  one  takes  our 
cloak,  we  should  give  him  our  coat ;  that  we  should 
take  no  thought  for  the  morrow ;  that  we  never 
should  resent  injuries,  and,  if  struck  on  one  cheek, 
we  should  turn  the  other  also.  When  Christians 
say  they  believe  these  precepts,  we  cannot  charge 
them  with  insincerity.  They  are  not  hypocrites  and 
deceivers.  They  think  they  do :  but  if  one  should 
practice  them  ;  if  he  began  by  selling  all  he  had, 
and  giving  it  to  the  poor,  and  some  cold  day  bestow- 
ing his  last  coat  on  a  beggar,  —  these  same  Christians 
would  cry,  "  O  fool  V  or  be  swift  to  thrust  him  into 
a  mad-house.  As  for  loving  their  enemies,  it  is 
beyond  the  pale  of  necessary  virtues,  unless  to  burn 
them  for  not  believing  like  those  in  power.  The 
heathen  Romans,  at  the  rise  of  Christianity,  ex- 
claimed with  surprise,  "  See  these  Christians,  how 
they  love  one  another  !  "  They  would  not  say  that 
now. 

320.     Religionists  not  necessarily  Insincere. 

Not  insincere :  they  received  certain  moral  max- 
ims supposed  by  them  to  have  descended  from  infal- 
lible wisdom,  wholly  foreign  to  their  intellect,  which 
is  pre-occupied  by  a  set  of  everyday,  practical  judg- 
ments. It  is  easy  to  foreknow  which  must  go  to 
the  wall.  The  Christian  code  becomes  from  this 
cause  only  serviceable  to  illustrate  the  beauties  of 
Christianity,  not  the  lives  of  its  professed  believ- 
ers. 


The  Old  and  the  New.  421 


321.      Is   the   Present   Form   of    Religion   de- 
manded by  the  Age  ? 

We  question  not  the  origin  of  Christianity.  It  is 
an  existing  fact.  We  ask,  Is  it  the  religion  demanded 
by  the  present  age  ?  and  from  it  can  a  religion  ade- 
quate to  the  wants  of  all  future  time  be  evolved  ?  In 
other  words,  will  it  continue  a  foreign  element  to  be 
foisted  upon  its  recipient,  or  has  it  the  vitality  of 
growth  ?  Apparently  it  progresses.  Luther  and  Cal- 
vin and  Wesley  each  have  done  somewhat  to  improve 
the  old  ;  but,  in  essence,  it  is  the  same.  Man  grows 
intellectually,  pushing  the  domain  of  thought  wider 
and  wider ;  yet  he  is  content  with  his  father's  reli- 
gious formula ! 

322.     Christian  and  Infidel. 

Perhaps  we  may  be  severe,  if,  to  the  question, 
"  What  constitutes  a  religious  man  ? '  we  answer, 
change  of  heart,  baptism,  —  either  by  plunging, 
sprinkling,  or  pouring, — joining  a  church,  regular 
attendance  at  meetings,  and  regular  prayers.  If  a 
man  do  all  this,  is  he  not  accounted  as  a  Christian, 
regardless  of  any  moral  delinquencies  inside  of  elas- 
tic laws  ?  And  if  he  do  not  do  these,  but  is  him- 
self absolutely  morally  perfect,  is  he  anything  else 
than  a  loathed  infidel  ?  Infidel !  Proud  name  of 
honor,  under  which  are  ranked  all  the  mighty  intel- 
lects of  the  ages !  He  is  the  thinker,  who  dares 
grandly  to  stand  alone  in  his  belief,  and  to  endure 


422  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

the  curses  of  vile-mouthed  bigotry  and  religious 
hate.  This  "change  of  heart"  leads  to  the  strangest 
manifestations  of  intellectual  obliquity.  What  does 
it  mean  ?  Simply  that  the  individual  will  forsake 
his  evil  ways,  and  strive  to  do  better.  It  is  the 
work  of  a  moment.  The  hardened  sinner,  with 
conscience  calloused  to  every  emotion  of  justice 
and  right,  can  at  once  become  a  beautiful  Chris- 
tian !  This  is  Catholicism.  The  murderer  kisses 
the  crucifix,  and  dies.  Paradise  awaits  him.  Had 
he  not  kissed  the  crucifix,  hell  would  have  been  his 
everlasting  doom. 

Does  such  a  religion  satisfy  ?  Do  we  not  demand 
a  religion  of  growth,  whereby  we  may  each  day  feel 
that  we  are  more  manly  and  nearer  to  heaven  ? 
What  is  the  incentive  for  well-doing,  if  coming  at 
the  eleventh  hour  is  as  well  as  coming  at  the  first  ? 
Rather  is  it  not  a  premium  on  guilt  thus  to  be  easily 
pardoned  ? 

323.     Can  Churchianity  Live  ? 

It  has  been  said,  that  if  the  church  so  willed,  by 
adopting  Spiritualism  as  its  own,  it  might  bring  a 
new  and  vivifying  element  to  its  aid,  and  thereby 
prolong  its  existence.  It  could  not  do  this  even  if  it 
desired  so  to  do.  It  cannot  let  go  its  concreted  dog- 
mas for  the  individualism  of  the  new  philosophy.  It 
cannot  admit  free  discussion.  Its  dogmas  must  be 
assented  to  whether  they  are  understood  or  not.  In 
this  manner,  even  the  truths  of  the  church  become 
superstitions  and  prejudices.     Its  dogmas  are  dead 


*m- 


The  Old  and  the  New.  423 

rituals,  and,  so  far  from  producing  activity  of  thought, 
they  produce  moral  idiocy,  an  unresisting  passiveness 
to  their  voice.  Sects  in  their  infancy,  when  com- 
pelled to  battle  against  persecution  and  antagonistic 
influences  by  the  free  discussion  of  their  beliefs,  are 
forced  to  gain  an  honest  acquaintance  with  the  be- 
liefs of  their  opponents,  and  to  have  a  living  interest 
in  their  dogmas.  When  they  become  established,  and 
a  new  generation  inherit  their  beliefs,  these  dogmas 
form  no  part  in  the  lives  of  their  believers.  There 
is  no  life  except  at  distant  revivals,  when  the  inani- 
mate corpse  is  galvanized  into  contortions  resem- 
bling the  movements  of  a  living  being. 

Churchianity  cannot  change  without  breaking  the 
crusts  of  its  petrified  beliefs  to  atoms,  and  emerging 
as  something  entirely  new.  It  has  come  to  the  end 
of  its  course.  It  plants  itself  directly  in  the  path  of 
human  advancement,  and,  so  far  from  hoping  to  ex- 
tend its  dominions,  it  must  be  content  to  hold  its 
own. 

What  are  its  missionaries  doing  ?  Nothing.  They 
honestly  complain  of  want  of  interest  in  the  Hin- 
doo, the  Chinaman,  the  South-Sea-Islander,  the  red 
Indian.  They  give  us  no  assurance  of  the  Chris- 
tianization  of  a  single  savage.  They  claim  church- 
izing  a  few,  —  that  is,  persuading  them  to  conform 
to  their  ritual,  which  is  being  baptized,  or  sprinkled, 
and  attending  church.  But,  if  the  missionaries  were 
recalled  to-day,  in  fifty  years  they  would  be  forgotten, 
and  their  labors  vanished.  Perhaps  some  cannibal, 
while  feasting  on  his  slain  enemy,  might  relate,  as  a 


424  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

tradition,  that  white  men  once  came  and  taught  how 
they  had  once  crucified  God,  and  thereby  saved 
themselves  and  as  many  cannibals  as  might  choose 
to  believe  the  story.     There  their  labors  would  end. 


324.     Churchianity  Bed-ridden. 

Much  has  recently  been  said  about  a  woman  who 
has  been  bed-ridden  for  thirty-six  years,  has  had  all 
the  contagious  diseases  of  her  time,  and  yet  lives, 
the  last  of  her  race,  having  survived  all  who  cared  for 
her.  Yet  few  have  seen  the  striking  resemblance  this 
bed-ridden  matron  furnishes  to  the  church,  —  a  strik- 
ing resemblance,  only  the  latter  has  been  bed-ridden 
for  immemorial  time,  and,  still  worse,  is  unconscious 
of  the  fact.  With  a  weak  spine  and  a  constitutional 
"general  debility,"  she  insists  that  her  wrinkled 
face  blooms  with  immortal  youth,  and  with  a  cracked 
voice  she  drones  songs  set  to  heavenly  harmony.  She 
declares  she  knows  more  than  her  generation,  and 
would  tie  all  her  grandchildren  to  her  apron-string. 
Too  weak  to  rise  herself,  she  insists  on  leading  the 
world.  Then  she  has  taken  so  much  medicine  in 
her  day  that  she  has  become  a  doctor.  For  moral 
ailments  there  is  no  end  to  her  herbs  and  bitters. 
She  is  a  believer  in  blood-letting  and  the  cautery. 
Having  had  every  disease  affecting  humanity,  she 
understands  heroic  remedies.  From  measles  to 
small-pox,  from  whooping-cough  to  cholera,  she  is 
ready  with  prescriptions.  She  has  a  special  class 
of  moral  pill-venders,  who  deal  out  remedies  to  sin- 


The  Old  and  the  New.  425 

sick  souls  from  musty  saddle-bags  coming  all  the  way 
down  the  ages  from  Moses.  Ah  me  !  dear  old  lady, 
you  have  been  beautiful  in  your  day ;  but  you  are 
bed-ridden  now,  and  you  do  not  know  it.  The  world 
has  been  carrying  you  on  its  journey  and  you  did 
not  know  it.  The  people  thought  you  were  an  ark 
of  the  covenant,  to  be  carried  on  poles,  and  kept  in 
the  van  of  progress.  They  have  found  you  to  be  only 
human,  with  nought  but  conceit  left  of  your  charms ; 
with  only  arrogance  and  imbecility.  Even  in  your 
prime  you  will  remember  that  you  thought  the  Devil 
rode  on  a  comet,  and  put  your  faith  in  aristocracy, 
and  placed  your  signet  on  slavery.  The  blood  of 
one  hundred  million  martyrs,  torn  by  irons  and 
burnt  with  flames,  is  clotted  on  your  mantle.  Those 
palsied  hands  of  yours  have  kept  a  tight  clutch 
at  the  throat  of  mankind.  Now  that  the  sun  of 
truth  has  arisen,  and  your  aged  eyes  are  blinded, 
do  not  insist  that  you  can  see  better  than  any  one 
else ;  but  keep  to  your  bed,  and  the  world  will  bear 
your  moans  and  mutterings  from  sheer  pity  of 
your  weakness. 

325.     Christianity  is  Dying. 

It  has  been  an  experiment  serving  an  important 
good.  It  has  fulfilled  its  mission.  It  has  ceased  to 
extend  its  dominion.  As  each  year  passes,  it  counts 
proportionally  less  numbers.  Let  us  not,  however, 
reject  it  as  a  whole.  Rather  carefully  garner  what- 
ever truth  it  may  contain,  to  employ  in  the  new  edi- 


426  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

fice  which  is  being  built.     That  edifice  is  the  sum 
total  of  humanity,  —  it  is  Spiritualism. 


326.     What  is  Spiritualism  ? 

This  religion  is  a  philosophy :  this  philosophy  is  a 
religion.  It  takes  man  by  the  hand,  and,  instead  of 
telling  him  that  he  is  a  sinful  worm  of  the  dust,  cor- 
rupt from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  sole  of  his 
foot,  it  assures  him  that  he  is  a  nobleman  of  nature, 
heir  to  the  Godhead,  owning  all  things,  for  whom  all 
things  exist,  and  is  capable  of  understanding  all. 
He  is  not  for  to-day ;  not  acting  for  time,  but  for 
eternity ;  not  a  mushroom  of  a  night,  but  a  compan- 
ion of  everlasting  worlds.  Ay,  more  :  he  will  bloom 
in  immortal  youth  when  these  worlds  fade,  and  the 
stars  of  heaven  are  dissolved.  What  he  writes  on 
his  book  of  life  is  no  writing  on  sand :  it  is  indel- 
ible. 

What  a  position,  then,  is  occupied  by  man  !  On 
one  hand  are  the  lower  forms  of  nature,  —  the  brutes 
of  the  field  ;  on  the  other,  the  archangels  of  light, 
towards  whom  he  is  hastening,  one  of  whom  he  will 
become  after  death  shall  have  cast  from  his  spirit 
its  earthly  garments. 

Spiritualism  is  not  a  religion  descending  from  a 
foreign  source,  to  be  borne  as  a  cross  :  it  is  an  out- 
growth of  human  nature,  and  the  complete  expres- 
sion of  its  highest  ideal.  Have  you  a  truth  ?  —  it 
seizes  it.  Has  the  negro  of  Africa  a  truth  ?  Spirit- 
ualism asks  not  its  origin,  but  makes  it  its  own. 


The  Old  and  the  New.  427 

You  may  take  the  sacred  books  of  all  nations,  —  for 
all  nations  have  their  sacred  books,  —  the  Shaster 
of  the  Hindoo,  the  Zendavesta  of  the  fire-worshiping 
Persian,  the  Koran  of  the  Mohammedan,  the  legends 
of  the  Talmud,  and  on  them  place  our  own  Testa- 
ments, the  Old  and  the  New :  you  have  brought  to- 
gether in  one  mass  the  spiritual  history,  ideas,  emo- 
tions, and  superstitions  of  the  early  ages  of  man  ; 
but  you  have  not  Spiritualism,  —  you  have  only  a 
part  of  it.  You  may  take  the  sciences,  —  the  terres- 
trial, intimately  connected  with  our  telluric  domain, 
teaching  the  construction  and  organization  of  our 
globe,  and  the  cosmical,  treating  of  the  infinite  no- 
menclature of  the  stars  :  you  have  not  Spiritual- 
ism, —  you  have  but  a  part  of  it. 

327.  Spiritualism  comprehends  Man  and  the 
Universe,  all  their  varied  Relations,  Phys- 
ical, Intellectual,  Moral,  and  Spiritual. 

It  is  the  science  and  philosophy  underlying  all  oth- 
ers. It  reaches  to  the  beginning  of  the  earth,  when 
the  first  living  form  was  created ;  for  even  then  man 
the  immortal  was  foreseen,  and  the  forces  of  nature 
worked  only  in  one  direction,  —  that  of  his  evolution. 
It  reaches  into  the  illimitable  future,  borne  onward 
by  man's  immortality. 

Would  you  narrow  its  domain  to  the  tipping  of 
tables,  a  few  raps,  the  trance  of  mediums  ?  You 
might  as  well  represent  the  vast  Atlantic  by  a  drop 
of  water,  the  glorious  sun  by  a  spark  of  fire,  as  to 


428  Arcana  of  Spiritualism 

represent  Spiritualism  by  these  phenomena.  Yet 
these  are  not  to  be  spoken  of  lightly.  They  are 
the  tests  of  spirit  identity,  of  which  the  world  has 
so  long  stood  in  need  ;  accidents  of  the  mighty 
gulf-stream  of  Spiritualism  sweeping  past  the  prom- 
ontories of  the  ages,  an  accumulating  flood  of  ideas 
and  principles. 

328.   It  is  emphatically  an  American  Religion. 

It  was  born  on  American  soil,  and  has  all  the 
tendencies  of  the  American  mind.  The  other  great 
religions,  the  Jewish  and  Mohammedan,  are  of  Se- 
mitic origin  ;  and  it  has  been  argued  that  the 
Semitic  race  was  ordained  for  the  express  purpose 
of  giving  true  religious  systems  to  the  world.  Their 
systems,  however  grand,  partaking  of  the  visions  of 
the  Orient,  are  foreign  to  us.  The  new  is  internal 
in  its  growth,  practical,  and  has  the  coolness  and 
calmness  of  the  West. 

The  Semitic  race,  the  harsh  Jew,  the  Arab,  dic- 
tating morals  to  us !  We  have  taught  the  world  a 
lesson  in  government :  it  is  ours  to  send  back  to 
Palestine  a  new  and  superior  religion.  Is  it  a  graft 
on  Christianity,  as  Christianity  was  on  Judaism  ? 
So  far  as  the  new  always  must  be  on  the  old,  and 
no  more.  It  is  not  a  "revival"  of  religious  ideas. 
There  has  been  cant  enough,  quite,  about  morals : 
what  is  wanted  is  knowledge.  Give  man  that,  and 
his  morals  will  be  right.  His  demand  is  not  for 
a  revelation  embodied  in  a  book,  to  be  expounded 


The  Old  and  the  New.  429 

by  a  hierarchy  allied  with  mystery,  with  partiality 
for  a  privileged  few ;  but  a  system  meeting  the 
wants  of  the  people,  entering  directly  into  their 
social,  intellectual,  moral,  and  political  lives  ;  which 
is  not  afraid  of  the  soil  of  labor ;  not  offended  with 
the  jar  of  commerce,  nor  abashed  at  high  places. 

329.     It  is  a  Perfectly  Democratic  Religion, 

Presenting  a  just  view  of  man's  duty,  destiny,  and 
immortal  relations ;  having  its  proof  drawn  from 
the  physical  world,  and  responded  to  by  the  intui- 
tions of  the  soul.  Can  history  yield  one  page 
wherein  the  divinity  of  man  is  advocated,  and  the 
right  of  each  to  perfect  that  divinity  until  it  be- 
comes a  law  unto  itself?  Spiritualists  are  the  only 
people  who  have  this  fire  on  their  altars  ;  who  by 
religion  are  democratic.  Spiritualism  is  purely  so. 
See  how  it  arose,  and  how  it  has  advanced.  From 
a  simple  rap  in  an  old  house,  in  an  obscure  hamlet, 
it  has  steadily  marched  onward  for  the  last  score  of 
years.  It  never  has  had  a  leader ;  yet  its  aim  and 
its  doctrines  are  remarkably  consistent.  The  refined 
and  educated  medium,  enjoying  the  advantages  of 
the  city,  and  the  boy-medium  of  the  backwoods, 
receive  communications  enunciating  the  same  great 
truths,  and  embodying  the  same  philosophy.  All 
over  the  land  such  communications  are  received,  in 
substance  identical.  There  is  harmony  amidst  di- 
versity ;  for,  however  much  communications  may 
differ,  they  do   so   no  more  than  individual  ideas 


430  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

differ,  and  they  substantiate  the  individuality  of  the 
intelligence  purporting  to  communicate.  In  the 
fundamental  elements  of  their  teachings  there  is 
perfect  accord.  It  is  a  singularity  of  the  Spiritual 
movement,  that  it  has  spread  with  a  rapidity  unpar- 
alleled in  the  history  of  any  other  innovation,  while 
it  has  not  received  the  aid  of  any  leader. 

330.     Leaderless. 

No  one  stands  at  the  head  of  its  believers  to 
direct  their  movements,  or  to  extend,  for  personal  ag- 
grandizement, its  philosophy.  Its  teachings,  on  the 
contrary,  denounce  all  leadership,  all  individual  wor- 
ship, making  every  believer  to  rely  solely  on  himself, 
and  seek  his  salvation  through  and  by  his  own  ex- 
ertions. There  are  those  who,  by  a  superior  mental 
and  spiritual  endowment,  write  and  speak  more  than 
do  others  ;  but  their  words  are  severely  questioned, 
and,  if  they  bear  not  the  test  of  criticism,  they  are 
thrown  aside.  It  speaks  so  strongly  of  individual 
responsibility,  that  the  watchword  of  the  true  Spir- 
itualist is,  "  I  am  a  man,  and  you  are  another."  It 
has  taught  equality  until  leadership  is  dishonored ; 
and  he  who  would  undertake  it  would  immediately 
be  cast  down. 

It  seems  to  be  a  great  universal  movement  dif- 
fused throughout  all  ranks  and  classes  of  society, 
and  from  myriad  sources  the  little  streams  flow  into 
its  vast  channel  of  reform.  Other  movements  have 
had  great  and  talented  men  to  present  and  vindicate 


The  Old  and  the  New.  431 

their  claims  to  the  world ;  they  have  had  leaders 
who  were  considered  infallible :  but  Spiritualism 
sprang  into  being,  and  no  one  can  determine  when 
or  how  or  by  whom  ;  and,  in  scarcely  a  score  of 
years  after  the  first  rap  was  heard,  its  speakers  are 
declaiming  in  every  city,  and  its  scores  of  period- 
icals are  scattered  broadcast  over  the  land,  while  its 
advocates  are  in  number  more  than  those  of  any 
sectarian  organization  in  the  Union.  Is  not  this  an 
unaccountable  fact,  unless  the  myriad  spirits  of  the 
departed,  standing  behind  the  scenes  of  their  invisi- 
bility, push  on  the  work  ? 

I  say  leaderless.  The  first  media  are  heard  of 
no  more.  They  were  wonderful  rapping  media ; 
and,  after  serving  their  time,  their  oracle  departed. 
A  short  time  since,  one  of  our  prominent  speakers 
wailed  like  Jeremiah  over  the  departure  of  former 
workers  in  the  field.  He  did  not  understand  that 
men,  like  seasons,  have  their  time,  and  afterwards 
wither  away.  The  spring  gives  us  blossoms  ;  the 
summer,  fruit :  each  is  good  for  its  time. 

The  individual  is  his  own  priest  If  he  has  sins, 
he  must  confess  them  to  himself.  If  Christ  did  not 
die  for  him,  God  did  not  make  Satan  to  torment 
him.  What  he  loses  there,  he  gains  here.  If  he 
has  sinned,  he  must  work  out  his  own  salvation. 
This  doctrine  is  wonderfully  egotistical,  and  brings 
with  it  the  burdens  of  isolation.  Out  of  such  mate- 
rial are  the  spiritual  ranks  filled.  It  necessitates 
thought  and  constant  warfare.  It  is  not  an  easy 
doctrine.      Do   you  wonder,  then,  that   sometimes 


432  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

recruits  go  over  to  the  other  side  ?  They  are  tired 
of  the  conflict.  There  is  no  certainty.  The  old, 
loved,  and  reverenced  may  any  day  be  overthrown, 
and  wholly  unexpected  results  obtained.  They  go 
over  where  there  is  certainty  and  rest.  Infallibility 
of  a  creed  is  an  easy  doctrine.  To  all  questions  an 
answer  is  ready,  —  "  God  willed  it."  Nothing  unex- 
plained ;  everything  set  at  rest  by  the  mystery  of 
godliness. 

Shall  we  think  it  desirable  that  Spiritualists  all 
have  one  cut  of  garments  ?  The  Catholic  said  that 
Catholics  should  have  that  a  thousand  years  ago 
The  priests  made  a  suit  of  baby-clothes,  and  the  laity 
have  worn  it  ever  since.  They  tied  leading-strings 
to  these  children,  and  have  never  untied  them. 
That  we  consider  folly.  The  difference  between  it 
and  fashioning  garments  for  the  present,  however,  is 
only  a  difference  of  time,  not  of  character.  Baby- 
clothed  Catholic,  or  frock-coated  Spiritualist,  —  in 
principle,  the  fitting  of  garments  is  the  same.  It  is 
fashioning  all  men's  garments  after  one  pattern,  not 
the  pattern,  that  is  disclaimed. 

A  creed  advocating  vicarious  atonement,  or  dis- 
carding the  same,  is  equally  acceptable.  It  is  not 
what  the  creed  contains,  it  is  the  creed  itself,  which 
we  repudiate.  To  subscribe  to  a  creed  acknowedges 
the  supremacy  of  its  doctrine  over  the  individual. v 
Its  boundaries  are  those  set  by  its  makers,  and 
yielding  to  it  is  hedging  one's  self  by  those  bound- 
aries. , 


The  Old  and  the  New.  433 

331.     Its  Persistency  and  Extension. 

Christ  was  born  in  a  manger :  how  many  centu- 
ries elapsed  before  a  single  million  believers  bowed 
at  his  shrine  ?  Mohammed  arose  out  of  the  royal 
family  of  Arabia,  and  propagated  his  revelations  by 
the  sword  ;  yet  how  many  years  before  he  counted 
his  followers  by  millions  ? 

The  press  has  used  its  mighty  energies  to  put 
down  the  young  giant :  the  enginery  of  the  church, 
and  all  the  skillful  appliances  of  public  opinion,  have 
been  brought  to  bear,  but  in  vain.  Rapidly  it  springs 
into  strength,  and,  proving  the  old  fable  of  Atlas 
possible,  bears  the  world  on  its  broad  shoulders. 

The  mortal  world  may  be  divided,  but  the  nobility 
of  intellect  of  the  spirit-world  is  one.  From  it  flows 
the  power  reposing  beneath  all  manifestations  wher- 
ever displayed,  always  the  same,  varied  only  by  cir- 
cumstances. The  plan  is  matured  in  the  spirit- world, 
and  from  thence  measured  out  to  man  as  he  needs. 
We  are  engaged  in  a  movement  which  is  ultimately 
to  overturn  the  fabric  of  the  world's  present  moral, 
social,  and  intellectual  philosophies,  and  its  most  dar- 
ling theologies  ;  a  movement  wide  and  deep  as  infini- 
tude. Yet  in  this  desperate  conflict  we  acknowledge 
no  leadership  except  that  of  the  spheres. 

The  most  humble  medium,  or  obscure  circle,  is  per- 
forming a  work  perhaps  greater  than  that  of  the  most 
able  lecturer  on  the  rostrum.  This  we  assuredly 
know,  —  whatever  each  does,  it  will  harmonize  with 

the  work   of  others.      We  may  walk  blindly,  but 
28 


434  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

there  are  eyes  which  see  for  us :  we  cannot  go 
astray.  Thus  is  every  individual  trained  to  be  a 
leader  of  himself,  —  the  ultimate  of  democracy,  a 
genuine  American  idea.  To  this,  many  millions  of 
Americans  assent,  and  their  ranks  are  rapidly  in- 
creasing. It  encroaches  on  the  desk  of  the  preacher, 
and  enters  the  halls  of  legislation. 

While  we  ask,  "  Can  ideas  so  intensely  radical  and 
revolutionary  flourish  on  any  other  soil  ?  "  they  pass 
swiftly  the  barrier  of  ocean,  and  re-appear  under  the 
thrones  of  despots.  No  police  can  prevent  their 
utterance  in  France,  they  startle  the  critical  sages 
of  Germany,  and  are  received  by  the  autocrat  of 
Russia.  The  revolution  they  must  work  in  Europe 
will  be  great.  They  will  go  forward  silently  at  first, 
but  the  red  hand  of  war  cannot  long  be  stayed. 
The  formy  the  idea  around  which  the  masses  will 
rally,  the  future  will  determine. 

No  barrier  can  obstruct  these  ideas ;  for  they  be- 
long to  human  nature,  and  are  forced  onward  by 
omnipotent  spirit-power.  They  cannot  become  dead 
beliefs,  for  they  are  of  the  practical  maxims  of  life. 
They  can  be  understood  by  a  Carrib  or  Esquimaux : 
they  supply  intellectual  food  for  the  profoundest 
sage.  They  yield  to  each  just  the  mental  suste- 
nance his  capacities  require. 

332.     It  has  Revealed  no  New  Moral  Truth. 

The  opponents  of  Spiritualism  loudly  exclaim, 
"  Has  it  presented  a  single  new  moral  truth  ?     Show 


The  Old  and  the  New.  435 

it:  show  what  it  has  accomplished."  We  do  not 
claim  that  it  has.  It  would  be  impossible  for  it  to 
do  so.  Christianity,  the  vaunted  engine  of  civiliza- 
tion, uttered  no  principle  which  was  not  known 
immemorially  before  its  advent.  A  new  system  is 
not  what  we  demand.  We  are  systematized  to  death 
already.  We  want  to  be  rid  of  what  we  have.  To 
patch  up  the  ruins  of  theocratic  religion  is  not  the 
mission  of  Spiritualism.  It  comes  as  the  great  light 
of  our  century,  because  a  sufficient  number  of  ad- 
vanced minds  are  educated  up  to  its  plane,  and  are 
disenthralled  from  reverence  for  any  system.  They 
receive  it  because  it  is  not  a  system  ;  because  it  is 
poured  out  copiously  and  freely  as  the  sunlight,  to 
be  received  or  rejected,  as  pleases  the  hearer. 

Would  you  harness  this  young  giant  in  theologi- 
cal traces,  and  compel  it  to  drag  the  dead  systems 
of  the  past  after  it  ?  Then  would  you  defeat  its 
purpose,  and  set  back  the  hands  on  the  dial  of 
human  progress  many  a  weary  hour.  Spiritualism 
is  the  philosopher's  highest  conception  of  his  rela- 
tions to  the  spiritual  universe,  his  fellow-men,  and 
spirits  ;  the  living  thought  of  the  age,  ultimating 
not  in  the  perfection  of  religion,  but  in  intellectual 
superiority,  which  goes  onward  and  rounds  the  char- 
acter in  moral  completeness. 

Man  needs  not  an  external  revelation,  but  an  in- 
ternal illumination,  whereby  he  can  understand  the 
relations  he  sustains  to  himself,  his  brother-men, 
and  the  physical  world. )  Such  an  illumination  is 
bestowed  on,  though  not  perceived  by,  all.      The 


436  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

myriad  hosts  of  the  angel  world  are  around  us. 
They  mingle  in  the  affairs  of  men.  Their  atmos- 
phere is  an  exhaustless  fount  from  which  we  draw 
our  thoughts. 

Not  to  the  skin-clad  prophets  and  seers  of  old, 
fierce  wanderers  of  the  desert,  are  we  to  look  for 
truth.  They  may  instruct  us,  but  they  are  not  au- 
thority. They  placed  themselves  outside  of  human- 
ity. They  were  warped  and  dwarfed  by  seclusion, 
and  narrow  indeed  were  their  views  of  human  needs. 
Not  so  to-day.  A  fountain  of  exhaustless  flow  is 
presented  to  every  one,  intoxicating  as  Castalian 
waters,  as  life-giving  as  the  fabled  springs  of  per- 
petual youth  ;  and  every  one  can  become  inspired 
with  divine  life,  and  be  a  lord  and  prophet  unto  him- 
self. This  is  the  work  of  Spiritualism ;  and  the 
world's  cherished  creeds  are  rapidly  falling  from 
their  bases  of  sand,  undermined  by  the  resistless 
force  of  its  tide. 

333.     The  Spiritualist. 

Spiritualist  !  a  believer  in  the  Divine  incar- 
nated in  the  human  spirit ;  in  the  glorious  intercom- 
munion of  the  spheres,  from  the  most  insignificant 
to  the  great  Father  of  all !  Proud  name  of  honor ! 
more  glorious  than  king,  emperor,  or  czar !  Why 
do  we  hear  it  hissed  and  employed  as  a  name  of 
reproach  by  the  churches,  which  profess  to  believe 
in  spiritual  existence  ?  There  can  be  but  two  par- 
ties, —  the  Materialists  and  the  Spiritualists.     They 


The  Old  and  the  New.  437 

must  be,  then,  Materialists.  They  are  welcome  to 
the  honorable  name  which,  from  the  purely  sensuous 
plane  that  they  occupy,  they  so  well  deserve.  We 
receive  the  name  of  Spiritualist  with  joy.  We  do 
not  wish  to  tone  it  down  with  an  adjective.  We  are 
not  Progressive  nor  Liberal  nor  Christian  Spiritual- 
ists, but  Spiritualists,  —  by  that  word  signifying 
that  we  are  liberal,  progressive,  and  Christian.  Let 
us  take  this  firm  and  decided  stand,  never  ignoring 
our  name,  nor  striving  to  pass  for  anything  but  what 
we  are.  We  should  be  proud  of  our  name,  so  broad 
and  catholic,  and  write  our  professions  in  dignified 
lives.  When  we  compel  respect  by  making  the 
churches  fear  us,  we  shall  gain  it,  but  not  before. 

334.     Pleasures  of  a  Belief  in  Spiritualism. 

With  what  pleasure  we  contemplate  the  world  of 
spirits  that  surrounds  us  !  There  are  congregated 
the  wise  men,  the  sages,  the  prophets,  and  the  phi- 
losophers of  the  ages  gone.  They  have  all  passed 
up  the  glittering  pathway  to  the  immortal  land. 
We  are  travelers  up  the  same  way,  and  they  are  our 
instructors  and  guides.  True,  the  veil  of  invisibility 
divides  the  world  of  spirits  from  the  world  of  men  ; 
but  otherwise  there  is  little  distinction.  Do  you 
think  Clay  and  Webster  feel  less  interest  in  the 
republic  than  when  they  made  the  nation  tremble 
with  their  eloquence  ?  They  are  more  cosmopol- 
itan,—  feel  more  universal  love  for  the  race,  not 
less  for  their  own  nation. 


438  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

Intricate  and  beautiful  are  our  relations  to  the 
angels  of  the  spirit- world.  They  are  our  friends, 
our  relatives,  the  good  and  great  gone  before  us ; 
superior  in  knowledge  and  experience,  with  love  and 
friendship  increased  in  the  measure  of  their  greater 
capacity. 

Ah  !  you  who  profess  to  believe  that  the  spirit  at 
death  is  removed  to  a  far-off  country,  —  that  it  has 
no  communion  with  earth,  —  you  should  behold  the 
groups  of  those  spirits  as  they  bend  over  their 
earthly  friends,  and  the  intense  interest  they  mani- 
fest in  their  welfare. 

We  have  all  a  greater  interest  in  the  hereafter 
than  in  the  present :  our  deepest  hopes  lie  there, 
and  we  listen  with  rapture  to  the  voices  from  the 
great  beyond. 

My  gray -haired  friend,  years  ago  you  were  called 
to  lay  in  the  cold  and  narrow  grave  the  loved  com- 
panion who  made  life  a  constant  June  day  of  joy. 
You  wept  then  ;  and  now,  as  I  lift  the  misty  curtain 
of  the  past,  you  weep.  The  heart  grows  sad  as  I 
tread  the  halls  of  sacred  memories.  The  years  have 
come  with  iron  feet ;  but  they  never  can  obliterate 
the  memory  of  the  departed,  which  beneath  the 
searching  frosts,  like  the  mountain  evergreen,  grows 
fresher.  Ah !  you  consigned  the  body  back  to  the 
mother-earth :  the  spirit,  fledged  in  immortal  life, 
rested  over  you  unseen,  perhaps  unfelt.  Has  that 
spirit  departed  ?  Are  you  left  lonely,  forsaken,  a 
weary  pilgrim  without  hope  ?  Let  me  raise  the  veil, 
and  show  you  how  intimately  the  world  of  spirits 


The  Old  and  the  New.  439 

blends  with  the  world  of  men.  Could  I  open  your 
spiritual  perception,  could  I  quicken  your  sight,  I 
could  show  you  that  loved  one,  the  same  as  when 
you  first  knew  her  in  youth  and  beauty,  a  guardian 
angel  by  your  side.  You  are  susceptible  to  her 
holy  influence,  and  have  recognized  many  times  in 
the  past  a  gentle  voice  saving  you  from  paths  of  dis- 
appointment. 

Mother,  you  have  wept  for  a  darling  child,  a  young 
bud  you  had  watched  with  tenderest  care,  and  saw 
him,  with  the  joy  a  mother  only  can  feel,  bursting 
into  bloom.  Just  when  you  thought  your  fruition 
complete,  when  life  became  most  involved  in  the 
loved  one,  a  chilling  breath  snatched  it  from  you. 

A  little  grassy  hillock  in  the  churchyard,  a  little 
white  slab  with  a  name !     Is  that  all  ? 

Nay,  the  body  resting  there  is  not  your  child,  but 
his  worn  garment.  Your  child  basks  in  the  sun- 
shine of  heaven.  It  was  a  cruel  stroke  which  tore 
him  from  your  bosom,  and  your  very  heart-strings 
broke  with  the  blow.  You  are  sad  now,  as  you  look 
though  the  long  vista  of  events,  and  a  tear  wells 
from  your  mother-heart.  Is  your  child  lost  ?  Does 
he  sleep  with  the  body  ?  Has  he  gone  far  away, 
where  not  until  death  can  you  behold  him  ?  Nay, 
he  is  here,  in  radiant  beauty,  with  an  affection  for 
you  heightened  by  the  harmony  of  his  angel-life. 

Many  of  you  —  alas !  how  many  !  —  sent  your  loved 
ones  forth  to  red-handed  battle.  One  died  in  the 
fierce  struggle  of  Antietam,  pierced  by  sharp  bayo- 
nets ;  another  was  torn  to  fragments  by  a  Parrott 


440  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

shell,  and  scattered  like  chaff  to  the  winds  ;  another 
went  down  in  a  fierce  cavalry  charge,  his  dear  form 
battered  by  the  iron  heels  of  a  thousand  horses  as 
they  swept  like  a  whirlwind  over  the  plain  ;  another 
lay  wounded  amid  the  dead,  and  his  precious  life 
went  out  beneath  the  crushing  wheels  of  ponderous 
artillery ;  another  died  a  thousand  deaths  in  the 
prison  of  horrors,  the  name  of  which  is  too  loath- 
some to  utter. 

Mother,  the  vacant  chair  at  your  hearth  is  a  source 
of  unending  affliction.  Weeping  wife,  when  your 
infant  asks  for  its  father,  you  will  say,  "  He  went 
forth  to  the  strife,  and  was  drawn  into  the  fierce 
whirlpool  of  death  :  all  that  he  has  left  us  is  his 
proud  name  and  immeasurable  sorrow." 

Patriotism  supports  you  not.  Your  country's  gain 
is  your  countless  loss.  Brothers,  fathers,  sons,  and 
friends,  who  went  forth  with  high  hopes  and  lofty 
ambition,  are  now  beyond  the  veil  of  darkness,  and 
on  earth  write  their  names  no  more.  The  poor 
privilege  of  gazing  on  their  inanimate  clay  was  de- 
nied you ;  and  you  think  of  them  as  bleaching  in  a 
Southern  jungle,  or  with  rude  hands  concealed  in  a 
common  grave,  where  the  wreck  of  valor  was  indis- 
criminately plunged. 

Is  this  the  reward  for  your  sacrifice,  bitter  anguish, 
and  tears  ?  Ask  the  question  of  Spiritualism,  and 
its  answer  is  a  balm  more  precious  than  Gilead's. 
Like  the  sound  of  the  waterfall  to  the  parched  trav- 
eler in  the  desert  come  the  silvery  voices  of  departed 
friends,  softening  and  subduing  the  asperities  of  life, 


The  Old  and  the  New.  441 

cheering  us  onward  to  better  aims  and  loftier  en- 
deavors. They  call,  sweetly  and  musically  call,  "  O 
man,  brother,  sister !  come  up  hither :  partake  of 
these  fountains,  and  thirst  no  more.,, 

You  have  heard  of  the  happy  dying.  How  beau- 
tifully shone  the  light  of  heaven  over  their  reposing 
features !  and  even  after  the  dissolution  a  smile  like 
the  radiance  of  sunset  played  upon  their  calm  faces. 
Ah !  death  is  the  key  whereby  the  spiritual  percep- 
tions are  unlocked ;  and,  long  before  its  final  stroke, 
it  opens  man's  vision  to  the  future,  and  he  sees  the 
bright  springs  and  clear  waters  and  green  fields  and 
radiant  spirits  immortal. 

From  this  standpoint  we  can  take  a  broad  survey 
of  our  relations  to  the  future.  We  are  not  creatures 
of  a  moment :  our  existence  is  not  like  that  of  a 
cloud  sweeping  the  sky,  to  be  dissolved  into  noth- 
ing ;  but  ours  is  a  companionship  of  worlds  and 
stars,  —  ay,  more  enduring  than  are  they.  Friends, 
relatives,  neighbors,  have  preceded  you,  whom  you 
will  greet  in  the  hereafter.  Sages,  philosophers,  the 
great  and  good  of  the  ages  past,  await  you  there, 
where  you  shall  mature  in  the  light  of  angelic  wis- 
dom. 

We  have  many  lessons  to  learn  from  this  contem- 
plation. By  it  we  comprehend  our  duty  to  lower, 
and  our  relation  to  higher,  orders  of  intelligences. 
The  brutes  of  the  field  (our  ignoble  brethren),  all 
the  forms  of  life  beneath  us,  require  our  kindness, 
love,  and  sympathy :  the  angels  of  light,  our  elder 
brothers,  call  forth  our  emulation,  reverence,  love, 
and  wisdom. 


442  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 


335.     The  Coming  Contest. 

Spiritualists  cannot  be  held  by  organizations,  ex- 
cept such  as  draw  them  together  by  the  ties  of  uni- 
versal brotherhood.  Its  purpose  is  to  disintegrate 
and  to  individualize.  Organization  has  been  at- 
tempted, but  with  disastrous  results.  It  is  willed 
by  the  vast  motive  power  of  this  measure  that  hero- 
worship  shall  form  no  part  of  its  gospel.  Truth 
alone  shall  be  praised.  You  might  as  well  take 
the  fragmentary  granite  boulders  of  the  field,  and 
endeavor  to  mold  them  into  one,  as  to  unite  so 
many  Spiritualists,  and  form  them  into  an  organ- 
ization, acknowledging  a  creed  or  a  leader.  All  the 
creeds  in  the  world  cannot  hold  them.  There  are 
no  holy  books  for  them,  no  holy  days.  If  you  ap- 
peal to  their  superstition,  you  appeal  in  vain. 

Spiritualism,  embodying  the  glorious  ideal  of  the 
freedom  of  body  and  mind,  absorbs  all  that  elevates 
and  ennobles  our  conceptions  of  this  life  and  the 
life  hereafter,  of  nature,  and  of  human  relations. 
It  is  a  gigantic  system  of  eclecticism.  It  seizes  the 
good  everywhere.  Like  the  bee,  drinking  nectar 
from  the  poisonous  nightshade  as  well  as  from  the 
fragrant  rose,  it  absorbs  the  truths  of  Catholicism, 
of  Mohammedanism,  of  Buddhism,  of  Philosophy. 
It  is  not  a  religion  ;  it  is  not  a  philosophy :  it  is  a 
perfect  union  of  the  two  with  science. 

Witness  its  results  in  the  world.  All  reforms  are 
marshaled  under  its  banner.    The  temperance  move- 


The  Old  and  the  New.  443 

ment,  woman's  rights,  land  reform,  magnetism,  phre- 
nology, all  the  new  and  unprotected  issues  which 
look  to  the  amelioration  of  human  burdens,  whether 
physical  or  mental,  have  become  parts  of  its  gigan- 
tic scheme.  Their  only  advocates  are  the  spiritual 
press.  A  conservative  Spiritualist  is  a  rare  object, 
and  either  becomes  a  reformer  or  goes  over  to  the 
party  to  which  he  of  right  belongs. 

You  have  heard  of  Spiritualists  becoming  Catho- 
lics. It  is  a  very  wonderful  change,  but  not  so 
wonderful  when  understood.  As  Spiritualists,  they 
learn  that  there  are  but  two  issues,  —  going  ahead, 
and  going  back.  They  are  not  capable  of  going 
ahead,  and  hence  at  once  take  the  fearful  lean  into 
the  lap  of  the  mother  church.  Be  not  alarmed  if 
men  forsake  the  light,  and  return  to  the  old.  Lead- 
ers may  desert  the  standard  of  the  new  to  rest  at 
ease  in  the  lap  of  the  mother  church,  or  to  enjoy  the 
offices  she  gives.  These  are  accidents  to  be  ex- 
pected :  they  have  no  universal  significancy,  except 
as  they  show  the  necessity  of  standing  with  the  one 
or  the  other  cause.  Those  who  are  fully  vitalized  by 
Spiritualism  never  can  desert :  with  them,  there  is 
no  falling  from  grace. 

In  Spiritualism,  Protestantism  has  worked  itself 
clear  of  Romanism  ;  cast  off  creed,  church,  and 
priest,  and  allowed  freedom  to  all. 

Catholicism  is  a  child  of  the  old  world ;  Spiritual- 
ism, of  the  new.  The  former  has  grown  old,  is  in 
decay :  the  latter  is  in  its  infancy.  The  result  is 
easily  seen  :  it  is  jiot  in  a  distant  future.     The  inteU 


444  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

ligence,  learning,  and  hope  of  the  age  are  on  the  one 
side  :  on  the  other  are  bigotry,  superstition,  and  dark- 
ness. On  the  one  hand  is  conservatism,  or  Cathol- 
icism, resting  on  the  infallibility  of  a  book  expounded 
by  infallible  teachers,  surrounded  by  gorgeous  trap- 
pings calculated  to  excite  the  attention  of  rude  na- 
tures, to  stifle  inquiry,  denying  the  right  of  reason, 
ignoring  the  individual,  and  absorbing  all  into  its 
masses :  on  the  other  hand,  Spiritualism,  setting  the 
individual  free,  trampling  on  the  traditions  and  my- 
thologies of  the  past,  declares  man  to  be  the  most 
sacred  object  in  the  universe. 

The  two  systems  are  diametrically  opposed.  One 
looks  to  the  past ;  the  other,  to  the  future.  Which 
shall  triumph  ? 

Humanity  never  goes  backward :  it  moves  ever 
towards  the  right ;  for  there  is  a  Divine  Power  which 
wrenches  human  actions  after  an  omnipotent  plan. 
The  leaf  torn  from  the  branch  by  the  autumn  winds, 
the  bird  caroling  its  song  of  gladness,  the  sand- 
grain  rolled  by  the  tide,  the  drop  of  dew  on  the 
flower,  —  all  things,  from  the  least  active  of  tiny  life 
to  the  gigantic  efforts  of  the  elements,  —  work  after 
a  prescribed  plan,  from  which  there  cannot  be  the 
least  departure.  So  with  man.  He  works,  seem- 
ingly fortuitously ;  but  there  is  no  chance.  He  puts 
forth  his  bravest  efforts  in  the  tide,  striking  out  for 
this  or  that  object ;  but  the  strong  current  bears 
him  onward  to  a  goal  well  known  and  undeviatingly 
approached,  however  unknown  to  him.  The  Divine 
Energy  has  marked  out  a  plan,  an  archetype  to  be 


The  Old  and  the  New.  445 

attained  in  future  ages ;  and  the  powers  of  darkness, 
though  they  ally  themselves  to  hold  the  wheel  of 
progress,  will  find  that  they  do  so  only  to  be  crushed 
into  oblivion.  They  will  retard  it  only  for  a  time. 
The  bringing-together  of  such  opposing  forces  will, 
of  course,  produce  conflict.  They  already  begin  to 
mingle  in  our  national  affairs,  in  the  affairs  of  all 
great  nations. 

Spiritualism  in  France  speaks  through  its  past 
heroes,  and  she  feels  the  effects  of  superior  wisdom. 
It  is  the  dawn  of  a  new  day,  when  departed  intelli- 
gences will  mingle  in  the  affairs  of  men.  Again, 
it  speaks  to  the  Czar  of  Russia,  through  a  spiritual 
medium ;  and  the  people  of  the  vast  steppes,  stretch- 
ing from  the  Baltic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  from  the 
Altai  to  the  Arctic  Sea,  feel  its  breath :  the  chains 
of  the  serf  fall  from  his  festered  limbs ;  and  millions 
arise,  free  men,  ready  for  a  glorious  career  of  prog- 
ress. In  England,  the  higher  classes  are  impressi- 
ble to  spirit  thought,  and  its  civilization  begins  to 
glow  with  new  vigor.  The  garroted  masses  awake 
at  the  new  voice.  Priest  and  king  feel  that  what 
they  considered  solid  earth  —  earth  formed  of  pros- 
trate human  beings,  cemented  together  by  concrete 
blood  and  tears  —  has  no  consistency,  but  heaves 
like  the  billows  of  the  stormy  sea.  The  breath  of 
the  Divinity  is  abroad.  They  hear  its  call,  and 
arise. 

Thus  marshaled,  the  two  forces  are  to  wage  a  war 
of  extermination.  Not  here  alone,  but  over  the 
whole  world ;  and  the  end,  after  misery  and  suffer- 


446  Arcana  of  Spiritualism. 

ing,  will  be  the  destruction  of  creeds,  superstition, 
and  dogmas,  the  severing  of  all  shackles,  whether 
of  body  or  spirit,  and  the  production  of  a  universal 
brotherhood  of  free  men. 


336.     The  Totality  of  Spiritualism 

May  be  expressed  in  a  few  words.  Its  aim  is  the 
aim  of  nature,  —  the  production  of  a  perfect  man, 
and  the  elimination  of  a  perfect  spirit.  That  has 
been  the  ideal  of  Creative  Energy  through  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  past  from  the  chaotic  beginning. 
The  stars  sang  together,  "  Let  us  make  a  perfect 
man."  The  terrible  saurians  of  the  primeval  slime, 
the  gigantic  brutes  of  prehistoric  ages,  chanted  the 
same. 

In  the  perfect  man,  there  can  be  no  self-abase- 
ment ;  there  can  be  no  appeal  to  any  one  else ;  there 
can  be  no  dwarfing  of  any  faculty  of  the  mind.  Go 
by,  blear-eyed  Theology,  that  calls  the  body  sinful 
and  corrupt ;  that  would  blot  out  the  noblest  emo- 
tions of  the  soul.  Your  ideal  is  the  Stylite  on  the 
top  of  his  high  pillar,  flagellating,  lacerating,  and 
starving  the  flesh,  that  his  miserable  soul  may  gain 
heaven. 

Evolved  from  and  by  the  elemental  forces  of  na- 
ture, being  their  concentration,  or  rather  centre- 
stantiation,  man  is  an  integral  part  of  the  whole 
universe.  In  him  everything  is  represented.  He 
is  capable  of  comprehending  all,  because  a  part  of 
all.     In  his  mind  is  laid  the  orbits  of  starry  worlds : 


The  Old  and  the  New.  447 

solar  systems  and  galactic  universes  dance  through 
the  congeries  of  his  brain.  He  makes  grooves  in 
which  he  compels  the  elements  to  run,  by  embody- 
ing his  ideas  in  matter.  All  he  does  is  the  concre- 
tion of  pre-existing  thought.  The  engine,  —  beauti- 
ful, perfect,  a  miracle  of  workmanship, — the  telegraph, 
and  the  steamship,  are  ideas  clothed  with  matter, 
embodied  thoughts. 

For  a  moment  lay  aside  all  prejudices  ;  let  your 
religious  education  be  as  though  it  had  never  been  ; 
and  calmly  contemplate  this  being,  with  such  ante- 
cedents, such  universal  relations,  such  boundless 
capacity,  and  such  a  destiny.  Will  you  not  scorn 
any  system  that  offers  violence  and  insult  to  the 
integrity  of  his  character  ?  ay,  trample  underfoot  the 
supposition  that  he  is  destined  for  anything  but  the 
unlimited  progress  of  angel-life  ? 

Such  are  the  broad  deductions  of  Spiritualism. 

Man  is  not  to  be  miserable  on  earth  to  enjoy 
heaven  in  the  hereafter.  We  stand  in  the  courts  of 
heaven  as  much  this  hour,  we  see  as  clearly  the  pres- 
ence of  God  now,  as  we  shall  a  thousand  ages  hence. 
We  are  our  own  saviours,  achieving  our  salvation. 
This  is  the  religion  of  the  future,  the  highest  type 
of  civilization.  Other  systems  will  linger  with  the 
races  of  men  whose  highest  ideal  they  represent ; 
but  from  the  courts  of  the  world's  intellectual  nobil- 
ity they  will  vanish,  and  be  spoken  of  as  myths 
which  once  aided  infantile  progress,  leading-strings 
necessary  to  walk  by  until  the  use  of  our  limbs  had 
been  attained. 


LIST   OF  AUTHORITIES. 


Abercrombie. 

Alger,  "  The  Future  Life." 

Barrow,  "  Bible  in  Spain." 

Bellows,  "  Re-statement  of  Christian  Doctrines." 

Berbiquin. 

Blockhouse,  u  Australia." 

Brittan,  "  Man  and  his  Relations." 

Bruce. 

Buchanan,  "  Anthropology  and  Journal  of  Man." 

Brierre. 

Buchner,  "  Stoft  und  Staft." 

Bucknill  and  Tuche,  "  Insanity." 

Capron,  "  Modern  Spiritualism:  its  Facts  and  Fanaticism." 

Cahagnet,  "  Celestial  Telegraph."    /0m 

Charlevoix. 

Child,  L.  M.,  "  Progress  of  Religious  Ideas." 

Cicero. 

Collins,  "  New  South  Wales." 

Cook,  "  First  Voyage." 

Confucius. 

"  Correlation  of  Forces." 

Colquhoun. 

Columbus,  Letters  of, 

Crow,  "  Night  Side  of  Nature." 

"  Curiosities  of  Medical  Science." 

Davis,  A.  J. 

Davidson,  Lieut.  Col.,  "  Illustrations  of  Magnetism." 

Deleuze,  "Animal  Magnetism."— » 


List  of  Authorities.  449 

Denton,  "  Soul  of  Things." 

Draper,  Prof. 

Dubois,  "Moeurs,    Peoples  de  l'Inde." 

Esdaille,  James,  M.D.,  "  Mesmerism  in  India." 

Fishbough,  "  Macrocosm  and  Microcosm,"  and  Contribution 

to  "  Univerccelum." 
Furgerson,  J.  B. 

Gregory,  "  Lectures  on  Animal  Magnetism." 
Gregory  of  Nazianzen. 

Hardinge,  Emma,  "  History  of  American  Spiritualism." 
Hare,  Prof.,  "  Spiritualism  Scientifically  Demonstrated." — ^ 
Herschel,  "Astronomy." 
Howitt,  "  History  of  the  Supernatural." 
Lane,  "  Modern  Egypt." 
La  Place,  "  Theorie  au  des  Probabilities." 
Leger,  "Animal  Magnetism." 
Livy. 

Liebig,  "Animal  Chemistry." 
Locke. 

Keisser,  Prof. 

Macacio,  "  Reports  et  Discussions,"  1833. 
Mayne,  "British  Columbia." 
Macnish,  "  Philosophy  of  Sleep." 
Moore,  "  Soul  and  Body." 
Munzinger,  "  Ostafukanische  Studien." 
Miiller,  "  Physics." 
Newman,  "  Fascination." 

Owen,  "  Footfalls  on  the  Boundaries  of  Another  World,"  ^ — 
Parsons,  "  Creeds." 
Parker,  Theodore. 
Peucer. 

Polac,  "  New  Zealand." 
Pliny. 

Ravenstein,  "  Manhat." 
Rebold,  Father. 
"  Resurrection  of  Spring." 
Reichenbach,  "  Dynamics  of  Magnetism." 


450  List  of  Authorities. 

Rivero  and  Tschudi. 

Sahagun,  "  Hist,  de  N.  Espagne,"  quoted  by  Prescott 

Schoolcraft,  "  Indian  Traits." 

Spencer,  "  Psychology." 

Socrates. 

"  Spiritual  Magazine,"  vol.  ii. 

St.  John. 

Swedenborg,  "Arcana  Ccelestia." 

Talmadge,  "  Healing  of  the  Nations." 

Tertullian. 

Townshend,  "  Facts,  etc.,  of  Mesmerism." 

Tyndal,  "  Heat  as  a  Mode  of  Motion." 

"  Univerccelum." 

Vogt,  Carl,  "Anthropology." 

Ward,  F.  de  W.,  "  India  and  the  Hindoos." 

Williams,  "  Figii." 

Youmans,  "  Chemistry." 

Zoroaster. 

Zschokke. 


INDEX. 


Adamic  creation  a  myth,  364. 

Adam  Clark,  belief  of  in  regard  to 
Spiritualism,  289. 

Affinity,  97-105. 

Animal  life,  112. 

Animals  can  influence  man  magnet- 
ically, 138. 

Apollonius  of  Tyana,  175. 

i 'Arcana,"  the,  quoted  in  support  of 
Materialism,  132. 

Atheism,  35. 

Atom,  what  is  an,  93,  1 18-120.  Di- 
visibility of,   121.     Form  of,  124. 

--"The  chemical,  122.  A  centre  of 
force,  124. 

Attributes,  definition  of,  119. 

Belief  educational,  61. 

Berkeley's  idea  of  the  atom,  60. 

Body,  how  far  does  it  affect  the 
spirit  ?  266.  Resurrection  of,  a 
myth,  273. 

Brain,  organ  of  the  mind,  164.  Im- 
pressibility of,  134. 

Bruce,  anecdote  by,  171. 

Cahagnet,  experiments  of,  66. 

Charity,  404. 

Change  of  properties  by  chemical 

union,  128. 
Circles,  how  they  should  be  formed, 

312.     Dark,  value  of,  72. 


Clairvoyance,  68-230.  Value  of  as 
evidence  of  man's  immortality, 
250.  Applied  to  the  realm  of 
spirit,  230. 

Coming  contest,  442. 

Compensation,  114. 

Communications  from  spirits,  why 
contradictory,  310.  All  from  one 
source,  16.  Influence  of  persons 
present  on,  305.  Influence  of  the 
circle,  310. 

Conscience,  its  authority,  173.  Test 
of  conduct,  173. 

Conduction,  101. 

Conducting  power  of  metals,  126. 

Confucius  quoted,  era  of,  35. 

Correlation  of  forces  in  the  realm  of 
life,  no. 

Crystallic  flame,  or  od  force,  147. 

Crystals,  influence  of  on  sensitives, 
144. 

Dead,  mourn  not  for  the,  286. 

Death,  14.  Process  of,  265-284. 
Maturity  desirable  before,  284. 
No  occasion  for  rejoicing,  285. 
Reception  of  the  spirit  after,  286. 
Greek  conception  of,  271.  Ter- 
rors of,  272.  Of  man  and  animals 
apparently  the  same,  ^6.  Spirit- 
ual perception  of,  301.  All  facul- 
ties retained  after,  166. 


452 


Index. 


Dreams,  316.  Of  animals,  318. 
Prophetic,  332.  Psychometric, 
161.  Why  allegorical,  350.  Spir- 
itual communion  in,  320. 

Double  presence,  237. 

Duality,  206. 

Earth,  effect  of  its  being  suddenly 
brought  to  rest,  108. 

Eden,  garden  of,  353. 

Elysium,  354. 

Elements,  undiscovered,  129.  Prog- 
ress of  the,  258. 

Electricity,  101.  Positive  and  nega- 
tive state  of,  a  baseless  hypothe- 
k  sis,  101.  Quantity  of,  106.  Ve- 
locity of,  50. 

Election  to  heaven,  how  known  by 
the  church-member,  367. 

Esdaille's  experiments  in  India,  214. 

Evil  spirits,  are  they  the  cause  of 
spiritual  phenomena?  48.  Com- 
munications referred  to,  195. 

Force,  74-107.  In  animals,  - 10 1. 
Explanation  of,  95.     Vital,  112. 

Formation  of  mineral  veins,  103. 

Fox  family,  64. 

Facts  from  Prof.  Hare's  experience, 
70.  From  Mrs.  Gourlay's  experi- 
ence, 71.  From  R.  D.  Owen's 
experience,  j6. 

Fortune-telling,  187. 

Ghost-seeing,  156-158. 
Goethe,  quoted,  198. 
Grey,  quoted  on  magnetism,  222. 
Gregory  of  Nyssa,  quoted,  58. 

Hades,  354. 

Hallucination,  43.    Instances  of,  43. 

Poet  Cowper,  43.     What  is?  46. 

Are  spiritual  phenomena  referable 

to,  47. 


Hare's  apparatus  for  testing  com- 
munications, 74. 

Heat,  106.     Heat  and  cold,  99. 

Healing  by  laying  on  of  hands  refer- 
able to  organic  laws,  196. 

Heaven,  popular  ideas  of,  362. 
Where  located  by  the  ancients, 

35x-355-    In  the  sun>  356-    The 
actual  of  desire,  357. 

Hell,  terrors  of,  370.     Located  in 

comets,  356. 

Hermits  of  the  Ganges,  292. 

Ideal  and  real,  19,  20. 

Ideas,  their  force,  21.  They  cannot 
be  kept,  22. 

Identification  of  spirits,  81. 

Ignorance  the  cause  of  crime,  24. 

Impenetrability,  an  error,  123. 

Impressibility,  181.  Of  the  brain, 
134-184.  How  induced,  298.  Con- 
ditions requisite  for,  303.  By  nar- 
cotizing drugs,  298.  Influence  of 
mental  excitement  on,  299.  Ex- 
altation produced  by  sickness, 
300.  Induced  by  fasting,  301. 
Manifested  in  insanity,  303.  In 
animals,  134.  Impressibility  and 
sympathy,  138.  Natural  or  or- 
ganic, preferable  to  induced,  303. 
Mrs.  Denton's  testimony,  160. 
Distinction  between  spiritual  and 
mesmeric,  53. 

Impressions  never  effaced  from  the 
mind,  240. 

Immortality,  necessity  of,  198.  And 
science,  36.  Arguments  in  favor 
of,  39.  Why  to  be  sought  outside 
of  physical  matter,  264.  Impos- 
sible with  physical  elements,  27* 
Conditions  of,  ^.  Why  asked 
for,  357.  Failures  of  all  religious 
systems  to  prove,  200. 

Inertia,  119. 


Index. 


453 


Infant  depravity,  364. 

Influence  of  the  external  world  on 
the  spirit,  141.  Of  animals  over 
animals,  179.  Duration  of,  159. 
Of  man  over  man,  182.  Of  con- 
trolling spirits,  277. 

Infidelity,  the  infidel,  415. 

Instinct  and  intellect,  165. 

Knowledge,  how  obtained,  30. 

Law,  as  supreme  in  the  spiritual  as 
in  the  physical  world,  260,  376. 

Leadership,  its  causes,  26. 

Life,  what  is?  269.  Its  purpose,  408. 
Animal  and  vegetable,  distinction, 
in,  112. 

Light,  its  analogies,  97-104.  Rela- 
tions of  to  matter,  261. 

Likes  and  dislikes,  explained,  188. 

Living  beings,  a  balance  of  forces, 

36. 

Locality,  influence  of  on  the  mind, 

156. 
Laura  Bridge  man,  251. 

Man,  a  dual  being,  14,  206.  Per- 
fection of,  131.  The  ideal,  173. 
Intellectual  nature  of,  169.  His 
desires  insatiate,  170.  His  spirit- 
ual aspirations,  171. 

Matter,  indestructible,  94.  Impen- 
etrability of,  a  false  theory,  123. 
Elerients  of,  116,  117.  What  is? 
118.  Impossibility  of  moving 
without  force  applied,  41.  Moves 
without  visible  contact,  73. 

Materialism,  58. 

Magnetism,  105.  Effect  of  on  the 
operator,  214.  Charging  objects, 
159,  217.  Intensifies  the  spiritual 
perception,  222.  Not  imagination, 
222.  As  a  curative  agent,  191, 
192.  Why  the  word  is  retained, 
174.     Among  the  ancients,   175. 


Esdaille's  experiments  in  India, 
214.  Application  of  to  Spiritual- 
ism, 194.  The  cause  of  spiritual 
phenomena,  51.  Magnetism  and 
electricity,  146. 

Magnetic  state,  classification,  211. 
description  of  by  Iamblichus,  213. 
By  Tertullian,  213.  One  of  in- 
sensibility, 214.  Magnetic  influ- 
ence of  animals  over  man,  man 
over  animals,  and  over  man,  177, 
178.  Magnetic  healing  among 
savages,  194. 

Magnets,  influence  of,  141.  Elec- 
tro-magnetism, influence  of,  143. 

Mediumship,  16.  Among  savages, 
289.  Of  the  Australians,  289. 
Of  the  Maori,  290.  Of  the  Afri- 
cans and  New  Zealanders,  290. 
A  physical  state  negative  to,  306. 
Possible  to  all,  304.  Developed 
by  sleep,  349. 

Medium,  how  to  become  a,  304. 
Responsibility  of  the,  313.  Posi- 
tion of  the,  293.  Not  excused  for 
waywardness  because  sensitive, 
294.  Why  disreputable  media  are 
employed,  293.  Influence  of  on 
communications,  295.  Necessity 
of  culture  for,  314. 

Memory  quickened  by  death,  243. 

Mental  phenomena,  52. 

Mind,  does  it  perish?  38.  Correla- 
tion of,  115. 

Miracles,  in  the  spirit-world,  2>77i 
386. 

Motion,  96.  Equivalent  of,  and  re- 
solvability,  97.  Economy  of  in 
living  beings,  101,  no.  Of  cos- 
mical  bodies,  104. 

Mysteries,  the  Druidic,  273-275. 
Of  the  Incas,  274. 

Nervous  sensibility,  181. 


454 


Index. 


Nervous  sensibility,  facts  in  proof, 

189. 
Nerves,  use  of,  112. 
Necessity,  399. 
Necessity  of  culture  for  mediums, 

u  New  Jerusalem,"  the,  358. 

Od  force,  the  cause  of  spiritual  phe- 
nomena, 52. 
Organization,  17. 
Oxygen,  creator  and  destroyer,  114. 

Paganism  and  Christianity,  274. 
Passions,  use  of,  167.     In  animals, 

168.      Perversion  of  and  cause, 

169. 
Phenomena,  mental,  52. 
Polarization,  102. 
Polarity  of  the  body,  108. 
Positive,  the,  59. 
Prayer,  use  of,  193. 
Prescience,  225. 

Present  tendency  of  thought,  93. 
Presentiments,  322,  330.     Of  death, 

344- 
Prevision,  194. 

Pre-existence,  203. 

Principle,  definition  of,  119. 

Principles  on  which  all  agree,  13. 

Progress  of  the  elements,  258,  259. 

Prophecy,  explanation  of,  244. 
Through  trance,  246.  Of  Bona- 
parte, 246.     Explained,  247. 

Prophetic  dreams,  332. 

Properties,  definition  of,  119. 

Psychometry,  184.  Evidence  in  sup- 
port of,  J  J.     Applied,  185. 

Pythoness,  the,  and  oracles,  292. 

Radicalism,  412. 

Resurrection,  273.  Of  Christ,  277. 
Teachings  of  the  Bible,  278.  Ob- 
jections of  science,  279. 


Refinement  of  matter,  380,  381. 
Reformers,  levelers  and  builders,  28. 
Reichenbach,  experiments  of,  141. 
Right,  whatever  is,  407. 

Salvation,  how  attained,  14,  402. 
Dependent  on  intellectual  growth, 
172. 

Saul,  consults  the  woman  of  Endor, 
176. 

Science,  ancient,  92.  Science  and 
immortality,  36. 

Scientists,  failure  of  to  explain  Spir- 
itualism, 40. 

Second  sight,  245. 

Seeress  of  Prevorst,  231. 

Senses,  are  they  reliable,  42,  60. 
Deception  of,  43. 

Sensations  while  drowning,  241,  Im- 
perishable, 242.  Abnormal  in  sleep 
and  disease,  153. 

Sensitives,  influence  of  the  earth, 
planets,  sun,  etc.,  on,  153,  154. 

Sensibility  of  the  nerves,  131. 

Sleep,  315.  May  be  development 
of  mediumship,  349.  Relation  of 
night  and  day  to,  155.  Sleep- 
walking, 319. 

Somnambulism,  319. 

Sound,  compared  with  electricity, 
103,  104. 

Space,  is  there  such  an  entity?  125. 

Spheres  of  influence,  blending  of  in- 
dividual, 163. 

Spirit,  definition  of,  61,  201,  266. 
Origin  of,  15,  203.  Eternal  prog- 
ress of,  200.  Organization  of,  255. 
Destiny  of,  15.  Loses  nothing  at 
death,  166,  209.  Condition  of  af- 
ter death,  250.  Does  it  leave  the 
body  in  trance?  336.  Compre- 
hension of,  91.  Identification  of, 
57.  Independent  of  the  body, 
251. 


Index. 


455 


Spirit-healing,  charlatanism  connect- 
ed with,  190. 

Spirit-body,  words  of  Paul,  207. 
Words  of  St.  Augustine,  207. 

Spirit-elements  realities,  259. 

Spirit-presence,  Victor  Hugo  quoted, 
292. 

Spirit-world,  the,  15.  Where  lo- 
cated, 378. 

Spirit-zones,  382,  392. 

Spirit-communications,  how  obtained 
by  the  eastern  hermits,  292.  By 
the  Indians,  292.  Relation  of  to 
the  spirit-world,  388. 

Spirits,  influence  of,  17.  Employ- 
ment of  in  heaven,  361.  Of  ani- 
mals, 260. 

Spiritualism,  definition  of,  13,  426. 
Incentives  furnished  by,  17.  Ob- 
jects of,  17.  Can  have  no  creed, 
17.  Qui  bono?  8^.  Personal 
experience  in,  8^.  Science  op- 
posed to,  40.  Why  not  given  to 
the  world  before  ?  61.  Ideal  man 
of,  407.  Not  new,  63.  First  mod- 
ern manifestations  of,  64.  Advent 
of  in  France,  66.  Is  it  electricity  ? 
50?  Is  it  magnetism?  51.  Is  it  the 
work  of  evil  spirits?  48.  Parker's 
opinion  of,  58.  A  democratic  re- 
ligion, 429.  Religious  elements 
of,  394.  Leaderless,  430.  Incen- 
tives of,  396.  Its  persistency  and 
extension,  433.     The  essence  of 


philosophy,  303.  Has  revealed  no 
new  moral  truth,  434.  Pleasures  of 
a  belief  in,  437.    Totality  of,  446. 

Spiritual  phenomena,  legerdemain, 
41. 

Spiritual  universe,  how  formed,  ^77, 
Where  located,  378. 

Spiritual  beings,  of  what  composed, 
202. 

Spiritual  body,  origin  of,  266. 

Spiritual  attraction  and  repulsion, 
260. 

Spiritual  ether,  184. 

Spiritualists,  who  are,  13. 

Sun,  force  from,  263.  The  fountain 
of  life,  109. 

Superstition,  291. 

Swedenborg,  instance  of  his  impres- 
sibility, 176. 

Trance,  how  produced  by  savages, 

194. 
Test  of  truthfulness,  197. 
Testimony,  negative,  60. 
Thought,  independent  of  the  senses, 

255- 
Transformation  of  force,  100.   Cycle 

of,  no. 
Ultimate  of  nature's  plan,  282. 
Vital  force,  112. 
World  of  the  dead,  354. 
Zschokke,  experience  of,  189. 


C85    82 


«    --MB?/ 

Y^>  '   •  *  • 


»  *  11 


o 

•* 


0  <ryr 


•  m  o 


-^.^ 


V 


>  <  •  • 


%  .£iV 


<^    *'TvT%    ,0 


Deacidified  using  the  Bookkeeper  process. 
Neutralizing  agent:  Magnesium  Oxide 
q    Treatment  Date:  Nov.  2004 

-  „  -  °*    o°      PreservationTechnoIogies 

•  ••    .  '^*  .\:~"  A  WORLD  LEADER  IN  PAPER  PRESERVATION 

*^>  -i*'  *  ^  1 1 1  Thomson  Park  Drive 

*<*        A>*  r^    .  A,  ♦  jA  Cranberry  Township,  PA  16066 

■    **V  °^P1"^   *"  "\0^  •  tKvJ  (724)779-2111 


C  »P 


^ 


*\  C0^'*,)^.'  ^°o     "    ^  .c°"°'     ""*■ 


*<2* 


*****       *filHlr#       SS^ 


.^* 


,•«- 


.4"* 


.0 


*0.** 


0'