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A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
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THE FUTURE LIFE
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THE LAW OF PSYCHIC PHENOM-
ENA. i2mo. $1.50.
A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION OF
THE FUTURE LIFE. i2mo. $1.50.
A. C. McCLURG AND CO.
Chicago.
A
SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
OF
THE FUTURE LIFE
BY
THOMSON JAY HUDSON
AUTHOR OF "THE LAW OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA," ETC.
CHICAGO
A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY
COPYRIGHT
BY A. C. MCCLURG AND Co.
A.D. 1895
3 SeBitate tfjts Folume
TO
NOEL LAWRENCE ANTHONY,
TO WHOSE KINDLY COUNSEL, ENCOURAGEMENT, AND
ASSISTANCE IN ITS PREPARATION I OWE
MORE THAN I CAN EXPRESS,
AND WHOSE FRIENDSHIP IS ONE OF THE GREATEST
PLEASURES OF MY LIFE.
2064890
PREFACE.
NEARLY three years have now elapsed since the publica-
tion of my first work, " The Law of Psychic Phenomena,"
in which I formulated, tentatively, a working hypothesis for
the systematic study and correlation of all psychic phenomena.
Before venturing to publish that work, however, I had devoted
many years to a patient and thorough investigation of the
subject, with the view of ascertaining whether any psychic
phenomenon had ever been observed and recorded that was
inexplicable under the terms of my hypothesis. Not being
able to find a record of such a phenomenon, but finding, on
the contrary, that every psychic fact furnished a fresh illus-
tration of the correctness of my theory, I ventured upon its
publication. Since then I have continued the search, aided
by many able reviews and criticisms of my work, the result be-
ing that I have been unable to find a fact or an argument that
militates against the truth of the hypothesis then formulated.
I have, therefore, felt justified in appearing before the public
again, for the purpose of carrying to their legitimate conclu-
sions some of the principles laid down in " The Law of Psychic
Phenomena."
That work was devoted almost exclusively to the consider-
ation of the mental characteristics and powers of man as we
find him in this life. The present work is devoted to a scien-
tific inquiry concerning his prospects for a future life.
In pursuing this inquiry, I have endeavored to follow the
strictest rules of scientific induction, taking nothing for granted
that is not axiomatic, and holding that there is nothing worthy
of belief that is not sustained by a solid basis of well-authenti-
cated facts. In other words, I have studied the science of
the soul precisely as the physical sciences are studied ; namely,
from an attentive observation, and a systematic classification,
of the facts pertaining to the subject-matter. The facts of the
soul, as the terminology indicates, consist of what are known
as " psychic phenomena." These phenomena have, from time
immemorial, excited the wonder and fed the superstitions of
all the races of mankind; and it is humiliating to observe
that in no age or nation have the superstitions arising from
such phenomena assumed a more gross and palpable form
than in the last half of the nineteenth century, and in those
nations possessing the highest degree of civilization and cul-
viii PREFACE.
ture. In the meantime, however, scientists have begun the
study of the phenomena with the view of ascertaining some-
thing of their nature and proximate cause ; and although the
study is yet in its infancy, enough has already been learned
not only to remove them from the realm of superstition, but
to develop the fact that psychic phenomena furnish the only
means by which science can solve the problems of the human
soul.
The object of this book is to outline a method of scientific
inquiry concerning the powers, attributes, and destiny of the
soul, and to specifically point out and classify a sufficient num-
ber of the well-authenticated facts of psychic science to demon-
strate the fact of a future life for mankind.
The earlier chapters are devoted to a review of the principal
arguments for immortality heretofore advanced, with the view
of showing their invalidity from a scientific standpoint, as well
as demonstrating the necessity for a new departure in the
methods of treating this the most important problem of human
existence. The phenomena of so-called spiritism necessarily
come under this category ; and for that reason, as well as for
the purpose of a correct classification of psychic phenom-
ena, I have felt compelled to devote considerable attention to
the refutation of the arguments recently advanced in support
of the spiritistic hypothesis. I have also been compelled, in
the interest of correct classification, to devote some attention
to the psychic phenomena mentioned in the Old Testament.
If my interpretation of these two classes of phenomena runs
counter to the opinions of others, spiritists, on the one hand,
may derive consolation from the fact that my interpretation
of their phenomena leads to the same general conclusion which
they have deduced, namely, that man is heir to a future life ;
and on the other hand, those who hold to the doctrine of
plenary inspiration and to the literal interpretation of the
Scriptures, will endorse my general conclusions, since they
confirm the essential doctrines of the Christian religion, and
invest them with a scientific value possessed by no other
religion on earth.
In demonstrating the fact of a future life, I have simply
analyzed the mental organization of man, and shown that, from
the very nature of his physical, intellectual, and psychical struc-
ture and organism, any other conclusion than that he is des-
tined to a future life is logically and scientifically untenable.
T. J. H.
WASHINGTON, D. C., Sept. 5, 1895.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
PAGE
Bacon's Monument to Common Sense. The First to recognize
the True Value of a Fact. The Law of Correct Reasoning.
Its Simplicity. The Essentials of a Correct Hypothesis.
Inductive Reasoning. The Copernican System. Defec-
tive Methods of Reasoning employed by the Greek Philos-
ophers. Speculative Philosophy subject to the Law of
Reaction. The Inductive Sciences insure Permanent Prog-
ress. Natural Theology at a Standstill. The Conflict
between Religion and Science. Voltaire and Paine. Their
Assaults upon Dogma. Their Religion. The Triumph of
Science. The Doctrine of Evolution. A New Contro-
versy. Religion and Science not Antagonistic. Immortal-
ity a Proper Question for Scientific Investigation. If True,
it is Important. If Important, it can be Demonstrated . . 17
CHAPTER II.
DEFECTIVENESS OF THE OLD ARGUMENTS.
The Four Leading Arguments : i. Analogical Reasoning inhe-
rently Defective. Metamorphosis. Butler's Analogy.
Physical Laws not Identical with Spiritual Laws. Illustra-
tion is not Proof. Averroism. Emanation and Absorp-
tion. 2. Prescriptive Authority. The Hiding-Place of
Power. The Priesthood and Divine Revelation. Induc-
tive Arguments of the New Testament. 3. Philosophical
Speculation. Emerson's Belief. His Despair of Proof.
Plato's Phaedo. His Three Arguments for Immortality.
The .Doctrine of Contraries. Reminiscence. Reincarna-
tion. The Capacity of Great Men for Minute Subdivision.
The Soul a Simple Substance. The Phaedo a Promoter
of Suicide. 4. Instinctive Desire. A Valid but not Con-
clusive Argument 32
X CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
SPIRITISM AND HYPNOTISM.
PAGE
The Phenomena of Spiritism. Scepticism of the Church.
The Present Attitude of Science. Spiritistic Phenomena
Genuine. The Two Hypotheses. The Spirit Medium Self-
Hypnotized. The Intelligence Manifested. Experimental
Hypnotism produces the same Phenomena. The Power of
Telepathy. The Law of Suggestion. Suggestion controls
the Medium. The Manufacture of Mediums by Hypnotism.
The Hypothesis of Duality of Mind. The Objective and
Subjective Minds. The Condition of the Medium and the
Hypnotized Subject Identical. They are governed by the
Same Laws. Socrates as a Roman. The Spirit of " Can-
tharides " Invoked. The Medium not necessarily Dishon-
est. The Laws of Telepathy 53
CHAPTER IV.
SPIRITISTIC PHENOMENA.
The Typical Seance. " Test " Cases. The Way Proselytes
are made The Telepathic Explanation. What Telepathy
is. Views of Rev. Minot J. Savage and of Mr. F. W. H.
Myers. Their Test Cases Explained. The Small Resid-
uum of Phenomena which they cannot account for. The
Shipwreck. An Alleged Spirit Communication from a Vic-
tim. A Telepathic Explanation. Telepathy vs. Clair-
voyance. A Typical Case. " Stretching " the Theory of
Telepathy. Views of Mr. Podmore 70
CHAPTER V.
SPIRITISTIC PHENOMENA (continued').
Experimental Telepathy. Deferred Percipience. Cases in
Point. Planchette. Latency of Telepathic Impressions.
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream. Daniel's Telepathic Power.
Final Explanation of Mr. Savage's Test Case. The Mother's
Message to her Son. The Son's Message to the Psychic.
The Last Resource of Spiritism. Mr. Savage's Crucial
CONTENTS. XI
PAGE
Question. The Unscientific Attitude of Spiritists. Thun-
der considered as the Voice of an Angry God. The Sim-
plicity of Nature's Laws. The Alleged " Simplicity " of the
Spiritistic Hypothesis. It saves Thinking. Reasoning in
a Circle. Why cannot Spirits communicate with the Liv-
ing ? Not a Pertinent Question. The Real Question is,
Do they so Communicate ? The Evidence is against the
Spiritistic Hypothesis. " Spirits of Health and Goblins
Damned " 90
CHAPTER VI.
ANCIENT PSYCHIC PHENOMENA.
The Importance of Correct Classification of Phenomena.
The Science of the Soul. The Phenomena of the Soul.
Old Testament Records. The Pentateuch. The Higher
Criticism. The Psychic History of the Children of Israel.
Unreasoning Scepticism. Aaron's Rod. Moses as a
Psychic. His Methods and his Instrumentalities. The
God of Moses. His Human Characteristics. His Advice
to "spoil the Egyptians." Moses' Interview with God on
Mount Sinai. The Molten Calf. The Anger of God.
His Determination to destroy the Children of Israel.
Moses argues the Question. He causes God to Repent.
Renewal of the Covenant. Objective Moses vs. Subjec-
tive Moses 115
CHAPTER VII.
ANCIENT PSYCHIC PHENOMENA (continued).
The Prophets of Israel. Elisha's Methods. He saves the
Three Kings. Human Characteristics of Elisha's God.
The Evolution of the Monotheistic Idea through Psychic
Phenomena. The First Conception of the Idea of a Living
God. The Evolution of the Spiritual Man. The First
Great Step through Psychic Phenomena. The Jewish Ori-
gin of Monotheism. The God of Abraham. The Dispen-
sation of Moses. The Second Great Step in the Evolution
of the Spiritual Man. The Decalogue. The Influence of
Egyptian Civilization. The Wisdom of Moses. Egyptian
Ethics and the Jewish Religion. The Progress of the
Prophets reflected in their Conception of the Character of
God. Isaiah's God no longer the God of Israel alone . . 132
Xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE ADVENT OF JESUS.
PAGE
The Third Great Step in the Evolution of the Spiritual Man.
The God which Jesus Proclaimed. Intellectual Prodigies.
The Intuitional Powers of Jesus. His Psychical Powers.
His Perfect Knowledge of the Laws of tlie Soul. Mod-
ern Confirmations of the Truth of his Philosophy. The
Psychic Methods of Jesus. His Reason always in the As-
cendant. His Perfect Moral and Religious Character.
Psychic Phenomena the Evidence of his Divine Mission.
Paley's Views. The Divine Heritage. The Vitality of the
Christian Religion 144
CHAPTER IX.
THE INTUITIVE PERCEPTION OF TRUTH.
Books that thrill the Reader with Pleasurable Emotions. The-
ories to account for it. Literary Style. Personal Mag-
netism. The Soul's Love of Truth. Books Popular in
proportion to their Truth. The Scriptures. The Philoso-
phy of Jesus. Intuitional Perception of its Truth. Evo-
lution of Religion. Christianity the Final Goal. The
Impossibility of improving upon True Christianity. The
Absolute Religion 160
CHAPTER X.
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS.
Spiritistic Phenomena among the Early Christians. Testi-
mony of the Christian Fathers. The Departure from Jesus'
Example. Paul's Explanation of Spiritistic Phenomena.
John's Tests. Paul's Ecstatic. The Oriental Ecstatics.
Modern Occidental Ecstatics. Alleged Perception of Divine
Truth in the Ecstatic Condition. Neither Jesus, Paul, nor
John believed in Spiritism. Primitive Christianity pro-
moted by Psychic Phenomena. Constantine. The Priest-
hood. Prohibition of Psychic Manifestations among the
Laity. The Beneficence of the Inhibition 171
CONTENTS. Xiii
CHAPTER XI.
MODERN PSYCHIC PHENOMENA.
PAGE
Mesmerism. Telepathy demonstrated by the Followers of
Mesmer. Braid's Discovery. Hypnotism. Discovery of
the Law of Suggestion. Clairvoyance. The Rochester
Knockings. Mesmeric Subjects and Mediums. Spiritism
as a Step in the Process of Evolution. Its Effect .... 189
CHAPTER XII.
HAS MAN A SOUL?
Intuitive Perceptions of the Existence of a Soul in Man.
Plato's Philosophy. The Doctrine of Body, Soul, and
Spirit. The Doctrine of Jesus. Modern Scientific Scep-
ticism. Requirements of Modern Science. The Dual
Hypothesis. The Phenomena of Dreams. The Objective
and Subjective Mental States differentiated. Limitations
of Powers of Reasoning in the Subjective Mind. Its Per-
fect Power of Deduction. Telepathy and Prevision . . . ic
CHAPTER XIII.
HAS MAN A SOUL? (continued}.
The Perfect Memory of the Subjective Mind. Memory and
Recollection Differentiated. Sir William Hamilton's Views.
Intuitional Powers of Perception of Nature's Laws.
The Seat of the Emotions. The Three Normal Functions
of the Subjective Mind. The Infant's Development from
Savagery to Civilization. Total Depravity. Dangers of
Subjective Control. Telepathy a purely Subjective Faculty.
Abnormality of Psychic Manifestations. 111 Health a
Condition precedent to their Production. They grow
Stronger as the Body grows Weaker. Strongest in the
Hour of Death. The Objective Mind perishes with the
Brain . 212
XIV CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIV.
HAS MAN A SOUL? (continued').
PAGE
Recapitulation. A Prima Facie Case. Concurrent and An-
tagonistic Hypotheses. The Law of Suggestion. A Case
of " Mediumistic " Development. The Alleged Spirit Con-
trol assumes a Dictatorship. It develops a Passion for
Music. Music the Language of the Emotions. A purely
Subjective Faculty. Subjective Music and Objective Music
Differentiated. The Dual-Mind Theory. Absurdities In-
volved in the Single-Mind Theory 225
CHAPTER XV.
DUALITY DEMONSTRATED BY ANATOMY.
The Brain not the Sole Organ of the Mind. Surgeon-General
Hammond's Researches and Experiments. The Instinctive
Faculties. The Subjective Mind acts independently of the
Brain. Instinctive Acts Performed after the Brain was to-
tally eliminated. Children Born without a Brain perform
all the Instinctive Functions. The Medulla Oblongata and
the Spinal Cord the Organs of the Subjective Mind. Idiots
without a Brain evince Talent for Music, Mathematics, etc. . 239
CHAPTER XVI.
DUALITY DEMONSTRATED BY EVOLUTION.
Duality in the Lower Animals. A Primordial Fact. A Physi-
cal Basis for Immortality. The Ultimate Goal of Psychic
Evolution. Evidence of Design in Psychic Development.
Definition of " Design." Nature conceals God. Man
reveals God. The Functions of the Soul. Design evinced
in the Facts of Organic Evolution. The Benevolence of
God. Painless Death. The Universal Anaesthetic. God
is ever kind to the Victim of the Inevitable. Man Re-
enthroned 250
CONTENTS. XV
CHAPTER XVII.
THE DISTINCTIVE FACULTIES OF THE SOUL.
PAGE
Every Faculty of the Mind has its Use or Function. Faculties
of the Soul which perform no Normal Function in this Life.
The Man and the Brute psychically Differentiated. Ego-
Altruism. The Instinct of Self-Sacrifice. Conditions pre-
cedent to the Attainment of Immortality 259
CHAPTER XVIII.
FACULTIES BELONGING TO A FUTURE LIFE.
The Necessity for limiting the Powers of the Subjective Mind in
this Life. Man a Free Moral Agent. The Law of Sug-
gestion a Necessity. Limitations of Power pertain only to
this Life. Induction unnecessary in the Future Life. In-
tuition takes its Place. Induction Impossible when the
Power of Perception exists. The Higher Intuitional Powers
Useless in this Life. The Power of Correct Deduction in
Man and Animals . 268
CHAPTER XIX.
THE DYNAMIC FORCES OF THE MIND.
The Buddhistic Nirvana. A purely Intellectual Existence with-
out Memory, Emotion, or Personality. The Basis of their
Philosophy. Incomplete Observation of Psychic Powers.
Ignorance of the Law of Suggestion. Requisites for the
Retention of Personality. Memory. Consciousness.
Will. Will is Desire. The Strongest Desire of the Soul.
Egoism and Egotism of the Soul. Egoism the Normal
Desire for Retention of Personality. Egotism Abnormal
Self-Conceit. The Dynamics of the Soul. The Kinetic
Force of the Soul . 277
XVI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XX.
THE AFFECTIONAL EMOTIONS OF THE SOUL.
PAGE
All the Affectional Emotions Retained in the Future Life.
Telepathy the Means of Communion in the Future Life.
Telepathy neither Vestigial nor Rudimentary. It performs
no Normal Function in this Life 292
CHAPTER XXI.
PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS.
The Abnormality of Psychic Manifestations. The Dangers at-
tending Psychic Activity. The Different Forms of Psychic
Development. Psychic Powers inversely Proportioned to
Health. Unsuspected Dangers. Musicians. Stenogra-
phers and Type-writers. Compositors. Genius and Insan-
ity. Opinions of Scientists. Dr. MacDonald. Summary.
Biographical Facts. The Great Practical Lesson of Psy-
chic Science. Immorality, Vice, Crime, and Insanity the
Result of Psychic Activity 298
CHAPTER XXII.
LOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC CONCLUSIONS.
A Perspective View of the Arguments Presented. The Final
Syllogism. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
The Christian's Heaven. The Revelations of Modern Sci-
ence Identical with those of Jesus. 317
A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
OF THE
FUTURE LIFE.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Bacon's Monument to Common Sense. The First to recognize the
True Value of a Fact. The Law of Correct Reasoning. Its
Simplicity. The Essentials of a Correct Hypothesis. Induc-
tive Reasoning. The Copernican System. Defective Methods
of Reasoning employed by the Greek Philosophers. Specula-
tive Philosophy subject to the Law of Reaction. The Inductive
Sciences insure Permanent Progress. Natural Theology at a
Standstill. The Conflict between Religion and Science. Vol-
taire and Paine. Their Assaults upon Dogma. Their Religion.
The Triumph of Science. The Doctrine of Evolution. A
New Controversy. Religion and Science not Antagonistic.
Immortality a Proper Question for Scientific Investigation. If
True, it is Important. If Important, it can be Demonstrated.
" /\/\ A ^' ^ e imn i ster an d interpreter of Nature, does and
* * * understands so much as he may have discerned
concerning the order of Nature by observing or by meditat-
ing on facts : he knows no more, he can do no more. 1 ' 1
These words are Bacon's ; the italics are mine.
If the great Lord Chancellor had written and expounded
but that one sentence, he would have been entitled not
1 Novum Organum, book i. p. I.
2
1 8 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
only to the eternal gratitude of all mankind, but to the
credit of having builded the grandest monument to Common
Sense that was ever erected by human genius. This eulo-
gium will not seem extravagant when it is remembered that
Bacon was the first man who taught the world the true
value of a fact ; that is to say, he was the first to discover
and formulate the fundamental truth that all successful
inquiry concerning the order of Nature must of necessity
be founded upon a solid basis of well-authenticated facts.
When we contemplate the wondrous civilization of an-
cient Greece and Rome, their advancement in the science
of government, the beauty and grace of their literature, the
subtleties and refinements of their philosophy, the tran-
scendent genius of their artists, the grandeur and nobility
of their architecture, it seems strange, incomprehensible,
incredible, that the discovery of this self-evident truth was
left for a civilization built upon a soil which was not res-
cued from barbarism when the Parthenon began to decay
and the Coliseum to crumble. But such was the tardiness
of human progress the conservatism of the human mind
in the days before it had broken the shackles of authority,
when opinions had the force of enactments, and dogmas
were regulated by statute. What is now, to the unperverted
mind of the average school-boy, a self-evident proposition,
struck the scientific mind of the Elizabethan age with the
force of a revelation ; and it is safe to say that the world
owes all its subsequent progress in material science to the
process of reasoning and of scientific investigation formu-
lated and developed by Francis Bacon. Nay, more. The
world not only owes all its substantial progress to that
source, but the inductive process is the sure guaranty of
the stability of our civilization, and of its constant advance-
ment for all time.
The laws of correct reasoning are as immutable as the
law of gravity; and, properly applied, are as certain and
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 19
exact in their results as a law of mathematics. They are the !
natural laws of the human intellect ; they are inherent in
its nature and constitution. But what is true of every law
of Nature is also true of the law of reason ; namely, that /
until it is discovered and formulated by man, he is not in
a position to avail himself of its uses, or to reap the \
benefits of its beneficence. Like every other law of Na-
ture, when once comprehended the law of correct rea- \
soiling was found to be simple to the last degree. It
is well stated in the opening sentence of the " Novum '
Organum," and quoted at the beginning of this chapter.
It may be restated thus : Nothing can be known with
certainty except by an appeal to facts. This is inductive
reasoning.
Broadly speaking, there are but two methods of reason-
ing ; namely, induction and deduction. The former consists
in reasoning from particulars up to generals, and the latter
in reasoning from generals down to particulars. Each is
proper in its legitimate sphere ; but all conclusions depend
for their validity upon the correct employme_nt_of_ each in
itsproper domain, by which one is never allowed to take
the place or usurp the functions of the other.
Inductive reasoning, then, consists in observing, verify-
ing, and classifying all the facts attainable pertaining to the
subject-matter undergoing investigation, with a view of
arriving at the general principle or law which underlies all
the observable phenomena. This is the first great step in
the process, without which man can never be certain that
he knows anything. The utmost care, therefore, is neces-
sary in this step in order to avoid the pitfalls which beset
the pathway of every honest investigator. The first of these
pitfalls is inaccurate observation ; the second is insufficient
verification; and the third, is the,_cpjatant tendency of the
human mind to generalize from an insufficient number pi
facts. There are many other sources of error which beset
2O A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
one who would conduct a scientific investigation ; but as it
would be foreign to the purpose of this book to discuss the
subject in detail, I will content myself by pointing out one
that does not seem to have attracted its due meed of
attention.
Referring to the general tendency of the mind to gen-
eralize from an insufficient number of facts, a propensity
which also includes inaccurate observation and insufficient
verification, it will be observed that there is also a ten-
dency _tprange facts into factions, and to determine general
principles by suffrage. This often happens after an inves-
tigator has committed himself to an hypothesis. He soon
finds that his theory is contradicted by some of his facts,
but he consoles himself with the reflection that the majority
of his facts sustain his hypothesis, and he triumphantly
quotes the old maxim that " Exceptions prove the rule."
No more pernicious and fatal error can be entertained.
There are no exceptions to the operations of a law of Na-
ture. There exceptions do not prove the rule. This maxim
holds good only in its application to human laws. It is appli-
cable to them because it often happens that a rule of com-
mon law which applies with substantial justice to a great
majority of cases, will work irreparable wrong in an excep-
tional case. Hence courts of equity are established " for
the correction of that wherein the law, by reason of its
universality, is deficient." 1 * But Nature's laws require no
courts of equity to provide for exceptional cases. Excep-
i tions prove the rule in human enactments in that they pro-
voke attention to the rule and thus give it emphasis by
antithesis. In case of an apparent exception to a supposed
law of Nature, one of the two propositions must be true :
i . If it is truly a law, the exception is only apparent, and
fuller investigation will demonstrate that fact, and thus em-
phasize the rule; 2. On the other hand, if one fact refuses
1 Blackstone.
. L>*VV /> ) ,
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 21
to range itself under the terms of a supposed law, that fact
demonstrates the invalidity of any hypothesis.
Particular stress is laid upon this point for the reason
that, as before remarked, it seems to have been lost sight of
in many quarters where one would expect to find the
strictest rules of scientific investigation rigidly enforced.
Newton fully appreciated the weight and importance of the
distinction, as is shown by the fact that he long delayed the
publication of the " Principia," because of the apparent
refusal of one phenomenon to submit to the terms of his
hypothesis; and not until it was demonstrated by subse-
quent discovery that the apparent exception did not exist,
did he venture to give to the world the theorem which
made his name immortal.
Having established a general principle or law by induc-
tion, the process of deduction begins ; and if no fact re-
mains to negative the principle, we can take our stand upon
the constancy of Nature and the immutability of her laws,
and confidently explain the past and predict the future.
And this is the test of the correctness of an hypothesis,
that it enables one skilled in the science to which it apper-
tains to predict correctly, to state with scientific certainty
what will happen under a given state of circumstances.
Thus a knowledge of the laws pertaining to the movement
of the heavenly bodies enables the astronomer to predict
the phases of the moon and the eclipses with mathematical
exactitude. We may take the science of astronomy as an
illustration of the processes of inductive reasoning and of
all scientific investigation. By the accurate observation of
facts for a long series of years by many and independent
observers ; by comparison of the results of their observa-
tions, and by a system of checking, tabulating, verification,
and revision constantly employed, aided by the genius of
such men as Kepler and Newton, the Copernican system
of astronomy was finally wrought out, and the laws govern-
22 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
ing planetary motion were formulated. This was induction,
reasoning from particular facts up to general principles or
axioms. By deduction, the astronomer, taking as his premises
these general principles thus established (the constancy of
Nature being always assumed), is enabled to explain all the
salient features of planetary motion, and to predict with un-
erring accuracy the phenomena of the future. On the other
hand, the Ptolemaic system, which preceded the Coperni-
can, may serve as an illustration of the defective methods
of the ancients, arising from inaccurate observation, insuffi-
cient verification, and premature generalization.
It must not be understood that, because Bacon was the
first to discover and formulate the law of inductive reason-
ing, he was the first to reason inductively. Men had always
reasoned by that method, more or less. Nor must it be
inferred that, because he was the first to discover and make
known the true value of a fact as an element of logic, he
was the first to employ facts as a basis of reasoning. The
first man who ever observed the sun rising at one point of
the compass and setting at the opposite, observed three
hundred and sixty-five facts every year, from which he
reasoned inductively up to the general principle, that the
sun rises in the east and sets in the west; and he was
enabled to predict, from day to day, that the sun would
continue so to rise and set. It so happened that the man
was approximately right, having observed a sufficient num-
ber of facts to justify his belief. But the same man, doubt-
less, was equally certain that the earth was flat, and that his
horizon marked the boundaries of the habitable world. In
this he was wrong, and his error arose from defective ob-
servation of an insufficient number of facts. Nor in
this was he alone. His defective methods of reasoning,
differing only in degree and not in kind, were shared by
all his contemporaries, and by all his successors, great
and small, down to the days of Plato and Aristotle, and
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 2$
from Plato and Aristotle down to the days of Queen
Elizabeth.
Until that time all men reasoned by defective methods ;
for the fundamental law of reasoning had not been dis-
covered. Hence the wisdom of a Socrates or a Plato
afforded no protection against the fatal error of deducting
the most momentous conclusions from assumed premises;
nor could the_ logic of Aristotle, which, as Bacon declares,
"corrupted natural philosophy," prevent him from "con-
structing the universe out of his Categories." l The wisdom
of the Greeks, according to Bacon, was disputatious ; their
science was spectacular ; their history was composed largely
of tales and rumors of antiquity, and they were always
more intent on founding sects and systems of philosophy,
and fighting for supremacy in wrangling, than zealous in
their search for truth. Their teachings, therefore, often
seemed to justify the charge of Dionysius against those of
Plato, that they were "the words of idle old men to
inexperienced youth;" and of the Egyptian priest who
said of the Greeks that " they were ever children, and had
neither antiquity of knowledge nor knowledge of antiquity ; "
and of Bacon, who, quoting the above, added, " And surely
in this they are like children, they are ready to chatter,
but cannot beget."
Nevertheless, no one can fail to appreciate the subtlety
of their philosophy, the vigor of their intellects, or the
virility of their manhood, whatever may be said of the
soundness of their methods of searching for truth. In spite
of defective processes of reasoning they have bequeathed to
posterity an immortal literature, a deathless fame, and a
philosophy which, in many instances, demonstrates an
intuitive perception of truths which modern science can
only illustrate and confirm. But of true science they had
nothing worthy of the name. Like their philosophy, it was
1 Novum Organum.
24 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
speculative, and hence was unable to withstand those ever-
present reactionary forces which impel the human mind to
rebel against any system of science, philosophy, or belief
not based upon observable phenomena or demonstrable
propositions.
Hence it was that all the learning and the philosophy, all
the arts and the civilization of ancient Greece and Rome
could not avert their decadence, nor rescue the intellectual
world from the dismal horrors of the long night of mediaeval
barbarism. It is a common remark that the physical
effeminacy of the people of ancient Rome, resulting from
the luxurious habits engendered by the refinements of their
civilization, rendered them an easy prey to the hordes of
vigorous barbarians of Northern Europe, and was thus the
primary cause of their downfall. Other instances exist where
ancient civilizations have risen and flourished and fallen.
Every year fresh discoveries are made of the remains of
prehistoric civilizations which must have been in decay, if
not extinct, long before tradition began. And in every
case, historic or prehistoric, there exist evidences that their
extinction was the result of practically the same causes as
those which led to the downfall of the Roman Empire.
From these facts it has been argued that j:here must ejdst a
natural law pertaining to civilization analogousjo the law of
organic_nature ; namely, that growth results in maturity,
maturity in degeneracy, and degeneracy in disintegration,
in other words, that the law oXJiuman .development is not
the law of constant_progress. jmt that civilization moves in
successive cycles." Such reasoners look with gloomy fore-
boding upon the present state of progress in science and
the arts as a sure precursor of the imminent decadence of
those nations who have attained the higher civilization,
and of their ultimate relapse into barbarism.
I cannot so interpret the history of mankind. Our present
civilization is built upon a radically different foundation
Ji^f^-r-f^f^ri^ I .C-
OF THE FUTURE LfFE. 2$
from that of any of the nations whose history may be cited
as a precedent. The difference may be illustrated by a
single reference. Taking Greece as an example presenting
the most striking contrast between the highest degree of
her enlightenment and the lowest degree of her degeneracy,
the most obvious fact pertaining to the character of her
civilization is this : that in not one of the arts or sciences
in which she excelled the most barbarous nations which
surrounded her was there a single element of power that
could give promise of national perpetuity, or even of
substantial national progress. The Greeks excelled in
philosophy, but it was almost purely speculative, and was
therefore subject to the law of reaction. Their science was
as speculative as their philosophy, and subject to the same
law. They excelled in mathematics, but in the absence of
other sciences, of which mathematics is but the handmaiden,
it was not an element of power. They excelled in art and
in literature, but in neither was there an element of national
strength ; for though the art of Phidias has never been
surpassed, and Homer's rank after the lapse of ages is
unchallenged, the sculptor's chisel and the poet's tablet
were poor weapons of defence against the superior physical
force of their enemies.
On the other hand, the civilization of the present day is
founded upon the inductive sciences. v In the inductive
sciences the law is that of eternal progress. In them there
is no possible element of reaction. A proposition or
principle of natural philosophy, once established, is as
firmly fixed as a proposition in mathematics, and is never
afterwards disputed. Every step, therefore, is a step in
advance. Every new demonstration of a law of Nature
furnishes the basis for a fresh start in a thousand different
directions. There is, therefore, no possibility that, either
in the purely demonstrative or in the purely experimental
sciences, the world can ever again go backward, and there
is as little probability that it will ever stand still.
'<~~^
26 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
The inductive sciences have within themselves the
inherent principles of perpetuity and of progress. Not
only that, but they are constantly providing external de-
fences against assaults by physical force. No hordes of
barbarians can now swoop down upon a superior civilization,
and conquer its people by means of mere muscular superi-
ority ; for the inductive sciences have provided appliances
which confer upon intelligence and skill a vast superiority
over combined muscular and numerical strength, though
the latter may be inspired by the most desperate physical
courage. Science, and not muscle, is now the prime factor
in the struggle of nations for supremacy; for the victories
of war, as of peace, are organized in the laboratories of the
inductive sciences'?
The obvious inference is that, other things being equal,
so long as the world is under the dominion of the inductive
sciences, no civilized people can ever again be conquered
except by the agents of a higher civilization.^^'
It is unnecessary to dwell further upon the obvious im-
portance of the discovery which Bacon made ; and my only
excuse for reciting the a b c of the processes of induction
is that it is always proper, and frequently important, in the
discussion of any question, to recur to fundamental prin-
ciples. Besides, whilst there is no law of nature more simple,
or more easily comprehended, than the fundamental law of
human reason, yet there is none that is more habitually and
persistently disregarded and set at defiance. It is safe to
say that nine-tenths_of_ all that mankind believe.s, or thinks
it believes, is destitute of any_splid basis of fact. It is,
perhaps, not so much the fault as the misfortune of human-
ity that this is true. We must not forget that, much as
mankind has achieved in the way of wresting from Nature
the secret of her laws, the intellectual world is yet in its
infancy. It is less than three centuries since man began
to comprehend the first principles pertaining to the power
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 2J
which enables him to make an intelligent search for truth.
Gigantic strides have been made within that time, it is true ;
but they have been in_one direction only. The material
universe has been explored, the dynamic forces of Nature
have been enslaved, and the physical condition of man
has been ameliorated.
But many problems still remain unsolved which are of far
greater importance to mankind than any that have yet
yielded to the processes of induction ; and they are prob-
lems upon which none of the physical sciences throw the
faintest glimmer of light.
Natural theology stands precisely where it did when
Thales philosophized and Simonides sang ; and the argu- '
ments are identical with those which Socrates employed in i
his confutation of the atheism of Aristodemus. Not one of
the physical sciences in which we excel the Idumeans has
advanced us one step in the solution of the great problem '
propounded by Job, " If a man die, shall he live again? " ~
Indeed, the discoveries of modern science seem to have
weakened, rather than strengthened, the old arguments em-
ployed to prove the existence of Deity or the doctrine of
immortality. Modern physical science has at least weak-
ened the hold which those beliefs had upon humanity ; for
the scientific mind is prone to hold that what is not proved
by induction is, to a certain extent, disproved. And no
scientist has ever attempted to demonstrate either of those
propositions by induction. Bacon himself does not seem
to have regarded theology, natural or revealed, as being
susceptible of being brought within the domain of science.
On the contrary, he appears to have regarded the essential
doctrines of religion as sufficiently well established by rev-
elation. He warns his readers, however, against " an un-
wholesome mixture of things human and divine," and
advises them to " render to faith the things that are
faith's."
28 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION'
It does not seem probable that Bacon, whose mind was
cast in a severely logical mould, could have overlooked the
wide discrepancy between the methods of reasoning which
he taught, and those which were at that time necessarily
employed in sustaining the fundamental doctrines of religion.
Nor does it seem possible that he was insensible to the diffi-
culties which must environ the Church when it should be
called upon to defend its faith against the assaults of scep-
ticism, armed with the weapons which he created. Be
that as it may, it was not until many years after Bacon
wrote that the secondary effects of his philosophy became
manifest. As soon, however, as the students of material
science became imbued with his "wisdom, and began to
apply the severe rules of his logic to the investigation of the
problems of the physical universe, they began to inquire
why the same rules were not applicable to things spiritual ;
and as soon as it was prudent to do so, they began to demand
that the theologian should give as good reasons for the faith
that was in him as were required of the scientist for the
elucidation of the simplest propositions in natural philos-
ophy. It is needless to remark that this demand has not
yet been met with an adequate reply, although the Church
has been engaged, with a zeal entirely disproportioned to
its success, in defending its strongholds.
It was not, however, until after the beginning of the pres-
ent century that the real battle between science and religion
took a definite form, or that science assumed a seriously
threatening aspect towards the fundamental doctrines of
religion. It was not until within the memory of men now
living that scientists, worthy of the name, became the aggres-
sive opponents of the doctrine of a future life, or attempted
to disprove the existence of Deity. The great conflict be-
tween religion and science, previous to that time, which
may be said to have been begun in the destruction of the
Alexandrian Library and ended with the Inquisition, was
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 2$
waged on entirely different grounds. Thus, when Hypatia ]
was stripped naked in the streets of Alexandria by Cyril's
mob of monks, dragged into a church, and there killed by
the club of Peter the Reader, it was for the offence of teach- |
ing mathematics and the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. '_
The subsequent conflicts were principally respecting such
questions as the nature of the Godhead, the nature of the
soul, the nature of the world, the age of the earth, the cri-
terion of truth, and the government of the universe. For
many hundreds of years these questions were discussed, the
principal arguments employed against science being feebly
typified by those of Cyril against Hypatia. Even as late as
the eighteenth century the religious polemics of the day
were not Directed jgainstjhe fundamental truths of natural
religion, but against Jthe system of theology which is based
upon the interpretation which__the priesthood has given to
revelation. The works of Voltaire and of Paine may be
cited as the best known examples. Each of these writers
has been stigmatized as an atheist : but Voltaire believed in
God, and steadily upheld the truths of natural religion ;
whilst Paine, were he living to-day, would find congenial
employment in the Unitarian pulpit. The effect of their
polemics was great in their day and generation, but it was
not lasting. They_shook the foundations of creed and ;r
dogma, but not of religion. They were not atheists them- ,
selves, yet it cannot be denied that their writings have been
instrumental in converting many to atheism who have not <
been able to distinguish between dogma and religion. This
effect, however, in the very nature of things, could not be
permanent ; for no argument not based upon scientific in-
duction can long prevail against the instinct of worship which
is inherent in the human mind, or that hope of a life beyond
the grave which springs eternal in the human breast.
The science of the nineteenth century, however, has
developed an entirely new aspect of the question. The
30 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
conflict between religion and science still goes on ; but the
questions are different and the weapons are not the same.
It is no longer a question of geography, or of astronomy,
or of the shape of the earth, or of its relative magnitude
and importance as compared with the other planets in the
solar system. All these questions have been settled, and it
will not be denied that in each of these conflicts the palm
of victory has been awarded to science.
The doctrine of evolution has now given rise to another
controversy (it can .no longer be called a conflict) between
science and religion, or, rather, between scientists and a
portion of the Christian Church. On its face it is a con-
troversy relating to the creation and government of the
world, whether it was by a special creative act of
1 God, followed by incessant divine intercession, or by the
% operation of primordial and immutable law. The Church,
however, is by no means united in its opposition to the
doctrine of evolution. On the contrary, many of its most
progressive and enlightened adherents accept the doctrine
without qualification, whilst others attempt to harmonize it
with the Mosaic account of creation. There can be little
doubt of the ultimate triumph of science in this, as in other
controversies ; and there can be as little doubt that, when
the day of its triumph comes, it will be found that true
religion has lost nothing. Religion has never lost anything
as_a result of the triumphs of science, but only as a result
of misdirected zeal in opposing science. Religion, there-
fore, has nothing to fear from the doctrine of evolution,
or from any other science, if religion is truth ; for nojruth
is inconsistent with any other truth .
The real danger consists, not in the conflict of religion
with science, but in the failure of the Church to meet the
demands of science. The latter reaches its conclusions
from the observation of facts, and holds that nothing is
worthy of belief that is not sustained by observable phe-
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 31
nomena ; and it demands of the Church the same quality
and character of evidence of what that institution claims
to be truth as is demanded of science in support of its
propositions. The failure to meet this demand is filling
the civilized world with materialism ; for scientists are prone
to hold that whatever is not susceptible of scientific proof
by the processes of induction is, ipso facto, disproved. On
the other hand, this proposition is offset by many of the
clergy by the declaration that questions relating to immor-
tality and the existence of a God are not proper subjects
of scientific investigation ; that spiritual truths must be dis-
cerned by spiritual perception, must be seen by the eye
of faith alone, and are necessarily undemonstrable by
scientific induction. Herein lies the fundamental error,
an error which is fast driving the scientific world into the
ranks of materialism ; for science holds that _truth _is only
sacred in the sense that j^rror should never be allowed to
usurp its_rjlace, and_ that jmything which man desires _to
know is a legitimate subject of scientific investigation. In
this declaration science is undoubtedly right ; and it might
well go a step farther, and declare that anything which it is
important for man to know can sooner or later be scientifi-
cally demonstrated by the processes of inductive reasoning.
In making this declaration I make no distinction between
physical and spiritual laws. A psychic fact is just as much *
a fact as a granite mountain. If there is a God, it is im-
portant for man to know it ; and there are facts which will
prove it. If there is a life beyond the grave, it is important
for man to know it ; and there are facts which will demon-
strate it beyond a peradventure. It is to the task of
presenting a few of these facts that I address myself in
succeeding chapters.
) <A^f
CHAPTER II.
DEFECTIVENESS OF THE OLD ARGUMENTS.
The Four Leading Arguments : I. Analogical Reasoning inherently
Defective. Metamorphosis. Butler's Analogy. Physical
Laws not Identical with Spiritual Laws. Illustration is not
Proof. Averroism. Emanation and Absorption. 2. Prescrip-
tive Authority. The Hiding- Place of Power. The Priesthood
and Divine Revelation. Inductive Arguments of the New Testa-
ment. 3. Philosophical Speculation. Emerson's Belief. His
Despair of Proof. Plato's Phaedo. His Three Arguments for
Immortality. The Doctrine of Contraries. Reminiscence.
Reincarnation. The Capacity of Great Men for Minute Sub-
division. The Soul a Simple Substance. The Phaedo a Pro-
moter of Suicide. 4. Instinctive Desire. A Valid but not
Conclusive Argument.
BEFORE proceeding with the line of argument which it
is proposed to adopt in the discussion of the subjects
under consideration, I deem it proper to say a few words
regarding the methods of reasoning which have heretofore
prevailed, with the view of pointing out a few of the salient
defects in the arguments commonly employed, as viewed
from a purely scientific and logical standpoint. This will
not be done in any spirit of censure or fault-finding ; for I
cannot be unaware of the difficulties which have heretofore
environed the whole subject-matter, and of the practical
impossibility of formulating a conclusive argument in the
absence of those facts which have come to light only within
the last quarter of a century. No one can justly be blamed
for failure to reason inductively in the absence of facts per-
DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 33
taining to the subject-matter of his speculation ; and no
man can be justly censured, except from an ultra-scientific
standard of reasoning, for accepting, without too critical an
examination, such arguments as were available in support
of a doctrine which has given to mankind so much of com-
fort and consolation as the belief in a future life has afforded
v
to a great majority of the human race. For, much as we
may deprecate many of the dogmas of the Church, much
as we may deride the crude speculations of men regarding '^
the future destiny of the soul and its rewards and punish-
ments, the fact remains that they have all served their pur-
pose in their day and generation ; and it is difficult now to )
see how the world could have gotten along without them. 7
Their terrors have been a potent means of restraint from
wrong-doing among men whom nothing else could restrain ;
and their promises have filled the human heart with conso-
lation in this life, and placed the iris above the door of the
sepulchre. Each dogma, each system of religious belief,
has been a step in the evolution of the human mind towards
a knowledge of the attributes, the powers, and the destiny^
of man.
In looking backward, therefore, over the tortuous and
difficult pathway which the human mind has been com-
pelled to tread in its search for evidences of the reality of
that most important of all the objects of human aspiration,
immortal life, it would ill become us to despise, or affect to
despise, any one of the gradients by which mankind has
been gradually lifted into a purer intellectual atmosphere,
and enabled to enjoy a clearer perception of truth. In
this spirit it is proposed briefly to examine the arguments
which have heretofore been advanced in support of the
doctrine of a future life, and to test their validity by the
simple but infallible rules of logic which every intelligent
reader understands and appreciates. If the old arguments
are found invalid or inconclusive from a scientific stand-
34 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
point, it will then be in order to inquire what science has
to offer in their place.
In order that I may not be accused of misstating the
fundamental grounds upon which mankind has built its
hopes of a life beyond the grave, I quote the following pas-
sage from Alger's admirable work, in which is summarized
the "suggesting grounds on which the popular belief rests " :
" When, after sufficient investigation, we ask ourselves from
what causes the almost universal expectation of another life
springs, and by what influences it is nourished, we shall not find
adequate answer in less than four words : feeling, imagination,
faith, and reflection. The doctrine of a future life for man
has been created by the combined force of instinctive desire,
analogical observation, prescriptive authority, and philosophical
speculation. These are the four pillars on which the soul builds
the temple of its hopes ; or the four glasses through which it
looks to see its eternal heritage." 1
These being the " four pillars " on which the temple is
built, it is obvious that if either one of them is found to
rest upon an insecure foundation, the whole structure must
be in danger ; and if all are found to have been built upon
logical quicksands, the superstructure must inevitably fall.
Dropping the architectural simile, it must be said of the
four grounds of belief that some of them embrace valid
arguments, but none of them are conclusive. The first in
the order named "instinctive desire" also stands at
the head in point of validity. Its discussion, however, will
be reserved for the last of the series, for reasons which will
be obvious when it is reached.
The question of "analogical observation " will first receive
our attention, although a large part of that which comes
naturally under the head of " philosophical speculation "
must also be included under this head. I cannot sum up
the leading analogical arguments in favor of an immortal
1 Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life, p. 38.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 35
life in better language than by quoting again from the
same author : *
" Man, holding his conscious being precious beyond all things, ,
and shrinking with pervasive anxieties from the moment of des-
tined dissolution, looks around through the realms of nature, with
thoughtful eye, in search of parallel phenomena further devel- '
oped, significant sequels in other creatures' fates, whose evolu-
tion and fulfilment may -haply throw light on his own. With
eager vision and heart-prompted imagination he scrutinizes
whatever appears related to his object. Seeing the snake cast
its old slough and glide forth renewed, he conceives so in death
man but sheds his fleshy exuviae, while the spirit emerges,
regenerate. He beholds the beetle break from its filthy sepul-
chre, and commence its summer work ; and straightway he
hangs a golden scarabasus in his temples as an emblem of a
future life. After vegetation's wintry deaths, hailing the return-
ing spring that brings resurrection and life to the graves of the
sod, he dreams of some far-off spring of humanity, yet to come,
when the frosts of man's untoward doom shall relent, and all the
costly seeds sown through ages in the great earth-tomb shall
shoot up in celestial shapes. On the moaning seashore, weeping
some dear friend, he perceives, now ascending in the dawn, the
planet which he lately saw declining in the dusk ; and he is
cheered by the thought that
' As sinks the day-star in the ocean-bed,
And yet anon repairs his drooping head,
And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore
Flames in the forehead of the morning sky,
So Lycidas, sunk low, shall mount on high.'
" Some traveller or poet tells him fabulous tales of a bird
which, grown aged, fills his nest with spices, and, spontaneously
burning, soars from the aromatic fire, rejuvenescent for a thou-
sand years ; and he cannot but take the phoenix for a miraculous <
type of his own soul springing, free and eternal, from the ashes
of his corpse. Having watched the silkworm, as it wove its
cocoon and lay down in its oblong grave apparently dead, until
at length it struggles forth, glittering with rainbow colors, a i
winged moth, endowed with new faculties and living a new life
1 Op. cit., pp. 38, 39.
36 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
in a new sphere, he conceives that so the human soul may, in
the fulness of time, disentangle itself from the imprisoning
meshes of this world of larvae, a thing of spirit beauty, to sail
through heavenly airs ; and henceforth he engraves a butterfly
on the tombstone in vivid prophecy of immortality. Thus a
moralizing observation of natural similitudes teaches man to
hope for an existence beyond death."
From time immemorial the metamorphosis of the cater-
pillar into the butterfly has been used as a standard illustra-
tion of the thought that the soul will survive the decay and
dissolution of its earthly investiture. Thus, the late Bishop
Butler, whose work is still a standard reference book in
many of our leading universities, begins his argument by
reference to the metamorphosis of " worms into flies," the
hatching of birds from the egg, and even the birth of men
from the womb, as so many evidences of a future life ;
because, he says, " that we are to exist hereafter "... is
" according to a natural order or appointment of the very
same kind with that we have already experienced." 1
Without stopping to show the invalidity of this specific
argument (for it has often been refuted), I will proceed with
what I have to say regarding the general defects in the sys-
tem of analogical argumentation when reasoning from purely
physical phenomena up to conclusions relating to spiritual
laws.
I approach the subject with much diffidence for the
reason that this form of reasoning has been resorted to by
so many able men that it seems almost iconoclastic to say
that it is one of the most unsatisfactory, not to say danger-
ous, forms of reasoning that can be imagined. Indeed,
it is absolutely_jigyoid of the first _essential_ element of
correct logical induction.
/ Analogical reasoning belongs to the realm of poetry and
rhetoric, not to that of logic, nor to that of science,
1 Butler's Analogy, part i. ch. i.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 37
except within certain clearly defined limitations. " Poetic
license " confers the right to employ almost any figure of
speech or comparison, however fanciful ; and the same may
be said of the productions of the rhetorician. But when
we are dealing with scientific questions on a purely logical
basis, the field in which analogical reasoning may be prop-
erly employed has very decided limitations. It may be
proper to employ it when dealing with matters which are
known to be governed by the same, or substantially the
same, laws ; but never when instituting comparisons, either
between subjects which are known not to be governed by the
same laws, or between subjects which are not known to be
governed by the same laws. It seems like arguing a self-
evident proposition, to enlarge upon the foregoing ; but the
necessity for making my meaning clear is evident when we
consider the fact that the world has, through_cquntless^ages,
pinned its faith in a future spiritual life largely upon analogic s
drawn from the physicaljuniverse.
In all inductive reasoning there is one proposition that
is, or may be, always assumed ; namely, the constancy of
Nature. Thus, by the observation of a series of phenom-
ena, say the rising and setting of the sun, we are enabled
to predict with absolute confidence that it will, on any
given day in the future, rise in the east and set in the west.
Why? Because we have such confidence in the immuta-
bility of the laws of Nature that we assume that the order
of the rising and setting of the sun will never be reversed.
It is upon this assumption of the constancy of Nature, or
rather upon the absolute verity of this assumption, that all
advancement in the arts and sciences depends ; for if it
were not true, we could derive no certain information from
our experience or from our observation of the phenomena
of Nature. If gravity operated one day and on the next
refrained from operating, the whole human race would be
instantly put to confusion and lose faith in the integrity of
38 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
the Creator. Inductive reasoning, therefore, could have
no possible value as a means of interpreting the laws of
Nature but for the fact that we know that Nature is ever
constant.
Reasoning by analogy is one form or modification of
induction. It, too, depends for its validity upon the truth
of a proposition which is generally assumed to be true.
Unlike induction proper, it reasons from the phenomena of
one subject up to the general principles pertaining to
another subject. It may, or it may not, be a valid form
of reasoning ; for its validity depends upon the truth of the
assumed proposition that __ the laws governing the subject-
matter observed are identical with those of the subject-matter
under investigation,. It is obvious that this proposition
must be tacitly assumed, for otherwise there could be no
possible excuse for employing that form of reasoning. It is
also obvious that if the proposition is true in any given case,
the argument is valid ; and it is self-evident that if it is not
known to be true, the argument is, ex necessitate, logically
invalid; a fortiori, if the proposition is known to be
untrue.
Thus, it would be perfectly legitimate for the scientific
observer familiar with the natural history of the silkworm
to infer the probable metamorphosis of any other larva into
a winged insect ; because the laws pertaining to the one
may legitimately be assumed to be substantially identical
with those pertaining to the other. But the case presents
a far different aspect when he assumes to reason from the
metamorphosis of the caterpillar into the butterfly up to an
immortal life for man, for the obvious reasons, first, that
the one is an insect and the other is a mammal, so that
even the physical laws governing the one are not identical
with those pertaining to the other ; and, second, that the
one retains a physical organization through every change in
the metamorphosis, whereas the other is wholly deprived
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 39
of any bodily organization, so far as our powers of observa-
tion inform us, the moment the first change takes place.
Lord Bacon seems to have been fully alive to the intrinsic
invalidity of conclusions relating to spiritual life which are
drawn from physical phenomena, when he said,
" Our inquiries about the nature of the soul must be bound
over at last to religion, for otherwise they still lie open to many
errors ; for, since the substance of the soul was not deduced
from the mass of heaven and earth, but immediately from God,
how can the knowledge of the reasonable soul be derived from
philosophy f "
The italics are mine. It is quite certain that if he had
lived in a later era he would not have hesitated to set forth,
with his accustomed clearness, his utter condemnation of
analogical reasoning when employed to demonstrate proposi-
tions relating to spiritual law by reference to physical facts.
He would certainly have taught mankind the much needed
lesson that there is a vast difference between illustration
and_proof, between poetic license and scientific__demoji-
stration.
It seems evident, therefore, that this old and standard
argument for a future life must at least fail to be convincing
for the very simple and purely logical reason that one of
the premises necessary to its completeness is known to be
untrue. It does not possess even the negative merit to
which the most of Bishop Butler's analogies are limited ;
namely, that " there is no presumption, from analogy,
against the truth " of the proposition advanced. More-
over, " the presumption, from analogy," is decidedly against
the continued existence of man after the death of the
body, for the obvious reason that the insect dies after
the metamorphosis has been completed. Indeed, most of
the analogies drawn from our daily observation of the laws
of the physical universe lead inevitably to the conclusion
that " if a man dies," he does not " live again." For it is
4O A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
a fact within the experience of the most superficial observer
that Nature constantly follows the one routine, birth,
growth, maturity, decay, death. Nor does it relieve us of
the difficulty to say, as has often been said, that the seed
which falls from the tree to the ground contains the same
life principle which it derived from the parent stem ; that
the seed, as a result of its own decay and physical disin-
tegration, springs into renewed life, and another tree is
produced, still retaining the same life- principle. Such an
analogy can at best be employed to prove only the self-
evident truth that a man, in a certain sense, lives in his
. own posterity. Moreover, the argument is equally as good
for pre-existence as it is for future existence. It does not
touch the question of the continuance of the individual life
| after the death of the body ; or, if it does, it legitimately
leads to the old pagan doctrine of emanation and absorp-
tion, which in one form is embodied in the vast system of
Buddhism, and in another in that of Averroism. This sys-
I tern supposes that, at the death of an individual, his soul
returns to or is absorbed into the universal mind from
whom it had originally emanated. Averroes taught the
\ Saracens that the transition of the individual to the uni-
versal is instantaneous at death ; but the Buddhists main-
tain that human personality continues in a declining manner
^ for a certain term before nonentity, or Nirvana, is attained.
" Philosophy among the Arabs, and indeed throughout the
East, saw an analogy between the gathering of the material of
which the body of man consists from the vast store of matter in
Nature, and its final restoration to that store, and the emana-
tion of the spirit of man from the universal Intellect, the
Divinity, and its final reabsorption. 1
This is, perhaps, the most plausible analogical reasoning
on that subject that has ever been promulgated ; but as it
1 Draper, " Conflict between Religion and Science."
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 41
assumes the very thing logically necessary to be proved,
namely, that man has a soul, and that the soul has a future
existence, it must be held not to answer the requirements
of logic or of modern science. The doctrine however, with
various modifications, is still an essential part of the philo-
sophy of a great proportion of the human race ; and Europe
itself was only saved to Christianity by the timely establish-
ment of the Inquisition, which carefully eliminated the
advocates of the doctrine of emanation and absorption.
In closing my remarks on this branch of the subject, it
cannot be too strongly insisted upon that no analogy sought
to be instituted between the operations of physical nature
and those of the spiritual realm can possess any possible
logical validity unless it is first clearly shown that the laws
of the two worlds are identical. And as it is manifestly"
impossible to know the laws which prevail in the unseen
universe, it follows that reasoning from such analogies is,
not only unsatisfactory to the last degree, but, measured
by logical and scientific standards, it is, to employ no
harsher expression, positively nugatory. It is like jrying
to demonstrate_a._p_roposition. in mathematics_Jjyjciting_ a ,
rule in grammar. Nor does it avoid the objection to
express the analogy in the negative form, which was such
a favorite of the late Bishop Butler ; for it is the logical
equivalent of saying, "There is no presumption, from
analogy, to be found in _the_ rules of grammar against the
possibility Qi squaring the circle. Therefore the circle
can be squared."
The second in the order of treatment, of the common
grounds of the belief in a future life, vs, prescriptive authority,
Little need be said on that subject, for the reason that no
one, in this enlightened age, claims that the dictum of any
man has any legitimate weight as an argument in the
absence of facts upon which to base his claims. '' Such a
doctrine," says Alger, " is the very hiding-place of the power
42 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
of priestcraft, a vast engine of interest and sway which the
shrewd insight of priesthoods has often devised, and the cun-
ning policy of states subsidized. In most cases of this kind
the asserted doctrine is placed on the basis of a divine revela-
tion, and must be implicitly received. God proclaims it
through his anointed ministers; therefore, to doubt it or
logically criticise it is a crime. History bears witness to
such a procedure wherever an organized priesthood has
flourished, from primeval pagan India to modern papal
Rome." No one, of course, holds that the prescriptive
authority claimed by the priesthood possessed any scientific
value, per se, as an argument in favor of a future life ; and
it is mentioned here only because it is elsewhere set down
as one of the grounds of belief in immortality. The basis
of the authority of the priesthood is that of divine revelation,
which is set down in books which all may read, and each for
himself estimate its value as a basis of belief. In the mean
time there are few who claim that the Bible records possess
any scientific value as arguments in favor of anything therein
set forth. There are more who hold modern science in con-
tempt when it sets itself up as a critic of divine revelation ;
and some go so far as to affect to disdain the principles of
induction when they are sought to be applied to the eluci-
dation of the problems of spiritual life. Such men forget
that the sole value which any one claims for the records
of the New Testament consists in the fact that it is an
attempt to prove the doctrine of a future life by the forms
of inductive reasoning. What is the New Testament but
a record of facts from which the Christian Church pro-
ceeds to argue that immortal life for mankind is logically
demonstrated? Take, for instance, the record of the life,
death, and resurrection of Christ. Here is a fact, or a
series of facts, from which the principle of immortality is
deduced. Thus Paul pinned his whole faith in immortality
on the fact that Christ was raised from the dead ; and he
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 43
used the purest forms of induction to express the grounds
of his belief.
" Now, if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead,
how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the
dead ?
" But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ
not risen;
" And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and
your faith is also vain." 1
Now, whilst this one fact was a reason all-sufficient to
induce Paul to believe in the doctrine of a future life, it
does not fulfil the requirements of modern science ; not
because of any defect in the form of reasoning, but because
it is held, first, that the fact is not sufficiently authenticated ;
and, second, that, even if it were perfectly verified, there are
other alleged facts which render the conclusion invalid.
Thus, it is held that the "twelve men of probity" who are
summoned as witnesses of the fact, did not observe the
phenomenon under the test conditions required by modern
science for the verification of phenomena which are claimed
to belong to the domain of the supernatural.
But, supposing the fact of the death and the subsequent
resurrection of Jesus to have been verified beyond a scien-
tific doubt, there is another alleged fact which must be con-
sidered in that connection. It is alleged that he was a God,
equal in power and coexistent with the Father. If that be
true, it does not follow, because he had the power to resume
his physical investiture after having been crucified, dead, and
buried, that a mere man possesses the same power of resur-
rection after the death of the physical body. In other words,
the mere fact that Christ, a God, rose from the dead does
not demonstrate the principle of immortality for mankind.
Again, supposing that Jesus was a mere man, invested
only with the powers and attributes of common humanity,
1 i Corinthians xv. 12-14.
44 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
and hedged about by the same limitations ; and that God,
as a special manifestation of Divine favor, or for some inscru-
table purpose, wrought a miracle in behalf of Jesus and
restored him to life, it does not follow that God will repeat
the miracle in behalf of each individual for all time to come.
If it was a miracle, it was clearly outside of the domain of
natural law, and each repetition of it must also transcend the
order of Nature. The only other alternative is to suppose
that the miracle wrought at the resurrection repealed the
old law of Nature and instituted a new one in its stead. We
are nowhere taught that a miracle permanently changes the
order of Nature. If it did, the miracle at Cana would have
changed all the waters of the earth into wine ; and the
miracle of the loaves and fishes would have released man
from that part of the primeval curse which has compelled
him to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow.
It will thus be seen that prescriptive authority, even
when sanctioned by the words of the only book which has
been held by the Christian world to have had a divine
origin, is not invested with a sufficient power of conviction
to silence the objections of modern science. The sceptical
world still demands the same proofs concerning the realities
of spiritual life that it requires as the price of its assent to
the propositions of material science. I hope, before I close
my labors on this volume, measurably to satisfy the demands
of intelligent scepticism ; but in the mean time I beg the
reader to remember that in these preliminary observations
I am attempting to give voice to a few of the objections of
modern science against the qualitative character of the
proofs of a future life afforded by the Bible. My individual
estimate of the New Testament records as a proof of
immortality will be given in its appropriate place.
The third ground of belief in a future life is the result of
philosophical speculation. This is a topic of such vast
magnitude that it could only be briefly summarized within
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 45
the limits of a volume like this. It would be foreign to the
purpose of this book to undertake such a task, and it could
lead to no useful result if all the arguments embraced under
this head could be given in full. They all begin and end
with the confession of the utter impossibility of demon-
strating a future life by scientific methods ; or if the author
fails to make the acknowledgment, he forces the conviction
upon his readers that such is the fact. Thus Alger, in his
masterly epitome of the thought of mankind on the destiny
of man, from which quotations have already been made,
has this confession to make : " The majestic theme of our"
immortality allures yet baffles us. No fleshly implement of i
logic or cunning tact of brain can reach the solution. That
secret lies in a tissueless realm, whereof no nerve can report '
beforehand. We must wait a little. Soon we shall grope
and guess no more, but grasp and know."
Thus, again, America's greatest philosopher, Emerson,
whose sublime faith overreached the bounds of logic and
disdained the trammels of science when it failed to reveal
what his soul saw so clearly mirrored in the vault of heaven,
whilst confessing his inability to give scientific grounds for
the faith that was in him, dogmatically asserts that " man
is to live hereafter." Continuing, he says : " That the
world is for his education is the only sane solution of the
enigma." Again, he makes this confession: "I am a~
better believer, and all serious souls are better believers, in '
immortality than we can give grounds for. The real evidence '
is too subtle, or is higher than we can write down in propo- '
sitions. We cannot prove our faith b^syllogisms" ~
This is the melancholy outcome of all philosophical or
metaphysical speculation regarding the destiny of man after
the portals of the tomb are passed. It leads us into a maze
of doubts and alternate hopes and fears, and ends with the
despairing confession that " we cannot prove our faith by
syllogisms."
46 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
It sounds very unscientific, but I must confess that I
attach more of scientific value and importance to Emerson's
dogmatic assertion that " man is to live hereafter " than I
do to the aggregate of the philosophical speculations known
to the literature of the subject. His was one of those pure,
lofty, and poetic souls whose Jntuitive perception and recog-
nition of truth is oftentimes as perfect as a mathematical
demonstration. As before remarked, this statement sounds
unscientific ; but I will endeavor to show, in the proper
place, that it is not wholly so. Those who have read " The
Law of Psychic Phenomena," especially that part of it
relating to the subjective element in poets and poetry, will
readily comprehend my meaning.
Perhaps the best specimen of philosophical speculation
on the subject is Plato's " Phsedo," wherein he puts into
the mouth of Socrates an elaborate argument for immortal
life. How far it represents the actual opinions of Socrates
it is impossible to know, for it is on record that Socrates
repudiated some of the sentiments which Plato ascribed to
him in some of his earlier works. But as Socrates was
dead when the "Phgedo" was written, and as Plato was
not present on the occasion when the argument was said to
have been made, it seems but just to the memory of Socrates
to give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, it is on
record that his utterances during his trial do not agree with
those ascribed to him by Plato when he was philosophizing
with his friends on the day of his death. However, as it is
the philosophy, and not the history, of the Greeks that we
are discussing, we will relegate that question to its ancient
obscurity. The argument, or rather the three arguments,
may be briefly summarized as follows :
His first argument is, that everything in Nature has its
contrary. Day follows night, sleep is followed by vigilance,
fair is the contrary of foul, justice of injustice, etc. From
this he infers that, as life is the contrary of death, it follows
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 47
that life must succeed death and be produced from it. It
might just as well be said that every acid must necessarily
become an alkali, or everything bitter must sometime
become sweet. It is, in fact, one of those analogical argu-
ments which have been discussed, in which conclusions as
to spiritual things are drawn from physical phenomena.
His second argument is based on the assumption that all
our present knowledge is merely reminiscence ; that is, our
acquired knowledge is nothing but the recollection of what
we knevvji^a former state, and that, having existed in a
former state, we may confidently count on a continued
existence in a future state.
This is a modified form of the doctrine of reincarnation
so long held by the Hindu philosophers, and which is now
rapidly gaining a foothold in the Western world. It is need-
less to say that ^there are no facts to sustain such a doctrine ;
but the class of minds in which it finds a lodgment cling to
it all the more pertinaciously on that account. There are
many thousands of people in this country at present who
fully agree with Plato in his doctrine of reminiscence ; and
many of them are full of reminiscences of their own former
incarnations. The singular Jart of it is that none but the
great jnen of formerjimes appear to have been reincar-
nated in the nineteenth century.' It is also somewhat
remarkable that one man can occupy so many different
bodies at the same time. I suppose that Socrates at the ?
present moment inhabits some thousands of different mod-
ern earthly tabernacles. George Washington is also very \
generously distributed among the American people. And
so of other great men. If we are to believe all that we are '
told by those who are favored with " reminiscences " of a
former life, there are three very obvious deductions which
seem inevitable. The first is that no common man is ever
reincarnated ; second, that the_capacity of great men for .
minute subdivision is illimitable^ and third, that reincar-*-
48 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
nation does not improve the mental capacity of the
reincarnated.
It is difficult to treat the doctrine of reincarnation
seriously ; but from the fact that its followers are becoming
numerous it assumes the aspect of a mental phenomenon
which must be considered with others of a cognate char-
acter. It is, in fact, a j^ycjiic phenomenon, and properly
belongs to the domain of experimental psychology. The
idea originated among a people who for thousands of years
have practised hypnotism and kindred arts, and have con-
sequently built up a philosophy upon a basis of subjective
hallucinations. Having practised their arts in utter igno-
rance of the law of suggestion, it follows that their information
regarding the other world is just as defective as that obtained
in this country through spirit mediums or other forms of
hypnotism, and for the same reason. As in spiritistic
^ communications, all that is requisite is the proper suggestion
to prove any doctrine whatever; and any one can easily
! obtain a large and varied assortment of " reminiscences of
a former life " by employing a hypnotist and submitting to
' his manipulations and the proper suggestions. All " remi-
niscences " of that character may be traced to that or cognate
_ causes.
The third argument of Plato is, that compound substances
\ alone are liable to corruption, or disintegration ; and that
"> 'the soul, being a simple substance, cannot be affected by
the death of the body.
This, like the other arguments, .is founded on mere
assumption without proof. How does any one know that
the soul is a simple substance ? What facts demonstrate it ?
Considering the various powers, functions, and affections of
the soul, together with the multiplicity of its ideas and
emotions, there are just as good reasons for asserting that it
is a compound substance as there are for asserting the
contrary.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 49
This, then, is the philosophical argument of Plato. It is
neither better nor worse than that of any one of his
successors who assumes premises that are either not demqn-
strably true, or are demonstrably untrue. It lacks every
essential element of a logical argument ; and, were it pro-
mulgated to-day for the first time, it would receive the
assent of no one acquainted with the elementary principles
of correct reasoning. In its day, however, it received the
instant and enthusiastic assent of a very large class of
people. The doctrine that death is not affliction, but, on
the contrary, a direct and sure entrance to a happier life, so
influenced the minds of many that they laid violent hands
upon themselves in order the sooner to attain that happier
life. It is even said that Ptolemseus Philadelphus pro- .
hibited Hegisias of Cyrene from teaching it in his school,
for fear of depopulating his kingdom. Cicero tells us that (
it was written of Cleombrotus of Ambracia that, " having
paid his last compliment to the sun, he threw himself head-
long from the top of a tower into hell; not that he had
done anything worthy of death, but had only read Plato's
Treatise on the Immortality of the Soul."
It is needless to remark that, as a promoter of suicide,
the treatise has long since lost its potency.
The fourth in the series of arguments commonly em-
ployed to prove immortality is that of instinctive desire.
No more beautiful summary of the argument exists in the
English language than that of Addison :
" Plato, thou reason'st well,
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after immortality ?
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror
Of falling into naught ? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction ?
T is the divinity that stirs within us ;
'T is heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man." l
1 Addison's " Cato."
4
50 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
"The strongest argument" in favor of immortality, says
Cicero, " is that Nature herself is tacitly persuaded of the
immortality of the soul ; which appears from that great
concern, so generally felt by all, for what shall happen after
death."
Alger summarizes the argument, and at the same time
hints at the answer, as follows :
' " It is obvious that man is endowed at once with fore-
knowledge of death, and with a powerful love of life. It is not
( a love of being here ; for he often loathes the scene around him.
It is a love of self-possessed existence ; a love of his own soul
in its central consciousness and Abounded royalty. This is the
, inseparable element of his very entity. Crowned with free-will,
walking on the crest of the world, enfeoffed with individual
faculties, served by vassal nature with tributes of various joy,
he cannot bear the thought of losing himself, or of sliding into
I the general_abyss of matter. His inferior consciousness is
permeated with a self-preserving instinct, and shudders at every
glimpse of danger or hint of death. The soul, pervaded with a
guardian instinct of life, and seeing death's steady approach
to destroy the body, necessitates the conception of an es-
cape into another state of existence. Fancy and reason, thus
set at work, speedily construct a thousand theories filled with
details. Desire first fathers the thought, and then thought
.. woos belief."
As I have before intimated, this is the strongest of all the
old arguments in favor of immortality. It is a valid argu-
ment as far as it goes, for it is an observable phenomenon
an instinct of the human mind which points in the
direction of a future life. But whilst it is a valid argument,
it is not conclusive, for the reason that it lacks the one
essential element of a conclusive argument. A phenomenon
V can only_be said to be a conclusive demonstration of the
truth of a proposition when there remains^ no other way of
accounting Jg the phenomenon. This is true, a fortiori,
'- when we are seeking to account for a mundane phenomenon
\j'by referring it to a supermundane cause. Thus, if man,
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 51
and man only, desired to live, and if his "desire for life had
reference only to an existence beyond the grave, and if that
desire were clearly shown to be instinctive and universal,
then it might be said to be a conclusive argument in sup-
port of the hypothesis of a future life. But this " instinctive
desire," which so strongly possesses the mind of a man, for
a future life, is easily accounted for by reference to that
instinct of self-preservation which is proverbially " the first
law of nature," is common to all physical organisms, and is
no stronger in man than it is in the lowest order of animal
life. Man, however, recognizes the fact that his physical
organism must perish; but, in the egotism of his manhood,
he rebels against the thought of dying as the brute dieth.
He looks upon himself as the crowning glory of physical
nature. He counts and measures the steps of his evolution
from the^ primordial germ, compares the brief span of his
existence with the aeons which have been consumed in his
Production, and_ concludes that somehow he has been
cheated bv dissembling Nature of his fair proportion of
time and opportunity. At first he rebels against being
classed as a lineal descendant of the lower organisms ; but
the steps of his evolution are too plainly defined in the
structure of his predecessors, his pedigree is too clearly
written in that of his own, to admit of rational doubt.
Compelled to own his relationship to the rest of animated
Nature, he finds consolation in the thought that, whilst he
may be a product of evolution, he is no longer subject to
its laws. He is the product of a process. He is like a
machine, which is produced by means of a great variety of
processes, but is emancipated from all connection with
those employed in its construction the moment it is com-
pleted and sent out into the world to perform its functions.
Thus, it is argued, is man emancipated from the processes
of his evolution and placed upon the apex of Nature, from
which point his only means of further progress is by flight
52 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
into some unknown region where the object of his creation
can be accomplished. 1
With such assumptions does man console himself for his
obvious relationship to his fellow worms, and for his lack of
time in this life to work out what he fondly conceives to be
his mission and destiny. He ignores, or denies, the fact
that the same processes of evolution which produced him
are still at work in himself and in all his environment,
the same survival of the fittest, though modified by the
state of his progress in civilization ; the same struggle for
life, though modified by the element of an enforced altru-
ism, if such a term is admissible, which compels the inclu-
sion of his race in the object of his struggle. He forgets,
too, that the same element which he is pleased to term
altruism in himself, is common to many of the lower ani-
mals ; and that his_longing for a future life may be traced
to that instinct of self-preservation which he possesses in
common with all animated, nay, all organic Nature, and
without which the world would soon be depopulated. It
seems clear, therefore, that instinctive desire, whilst it is a
valid argument as far as it goes, is very far from being con-
clusive ; and must, therefore, for the present, be classed in
the same category with many other phenomena of the
human mind which seem to point in the direction of a
supermundane existence, but logically fail because they are
explicable by reference to principles of natural law with
which the world is well acquainted.
1 See Fiske's " Destiny of Man."
CHAPTER III.
SPIRITISM AND HYPNOTISM.
The Phenomena of Spiritism. Scepticism of the Church. The
Present Attitude of Science. Spiritistic Phenomena Genuine.
The Two Hypotheses. The Spirit Medium Self-Hypnotized.
The Intelligence Manifested. Experimental Hypnotism produces
the same Phenomena. The Power of Telepathy. The Law of
Suggestion. Suggestion controls the Medium. The Manu-
facture of Mediums by Hypnotism. The Hypothesis of Duality
of Mind. The Objective and Subjective Minds. The Condi-
tion of the Medium and the Hypnotized Subject Identical.
They are governed by the Same Laws. Socrates as a Roman.
The Spirit of " Cantharides " Invoked. The Medium not neces-
sarily Dishonest. The Laws of Telepathy.
T HAVE now briefly reviewed a few of the leading argu-
1 ments upon which the Christian world has built its
hopes of a future life. I have endeavored to show why it
is that none of them are convincing to the minds of those
who are accustomed to the methods of reasoning which are
applied to the solution of the problems of the material uni-
verse. It has been shown that no one has attempted to
apply the processes of induction to the solution of the great
problem, and for the very good reason that, outside of Bibli-
cal records, no facts have been adduced, no phenomena
have been observed, by the writers on the subject of a future
life, upon which immortality for mankind can be legiti-
mately predicated. We now approach a field of observation,
however, which bristles with facts and phenomena which
millions of our race believe to be demonstrative of a life
54 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
beyond the grave. It is unnecessary to say that I allude to
the phenomena of so-called spiritism.
It has been customary for the Christian Church to ignore
the claims of spiritists to recognition as fellow-workers in
the realm of spiritual philosophy. It has derided their pre-
tensions to an experimental knowledge of the truth of one
of the essential doctrines of the Christian Church ; namely.
the doctrine of immortal life. It has persistently denied
the genuineness of their phenomena ; or, where compelled
to admit the verity of the manifestations (which differ in
no essential particular from those recorded in Holy Writ) , it
has attributed them to diabolical agency. Scientists, until
within a very few years, have been content with a general
denial of the existence of the phenomena, and a disdainful
refusal to investigate. Their attitude is identical with that
of one of their number, who, when called upon to explain the
phenomenon of the fall of meteoric stones, exclaimed :
" There are no stones in the air ; therefore no stones fall
from the air." The materialistic scientist says, " There are
no spirits; therefore there are no spiritistic phenomena."
Happily for mankind, and much to the credit of a vast
number of consistent members of the Christian Church, as
well as of thousands of the ablest scientists in the civilized
world, this attitude is no longer popular, but is fast giving
way to one of intelligent and honest investigation. This
change is largely due to the London Society for Psychical
Research, which comprises among its members a large
number of scientists whose reputation as careful investigators
in the realm of natural science is international. The result
is that there is no longer a rational doubt of the genuine-
ness of so-called spiritistic phenomena among those who
have taken the trouble to apply the strict rules of scien-
tific inquiry to the subject-matter. They declare that no
phenomenon in the realm of physical science is better
authenticated than those of so-called spiritism. This being
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 55
true, it follows that the causes must be investigated with
the same care and in the same spirit of candor that has
characterized the investigation of the fact ; and to that end
the millions of human beings who have claimed a super-
mundane origin for the phenomena are entitled to a respect-
ful hearing. For, if their hypothesis is demonstrably true,
the question of spirit life is no longer a speculative prob-
lem ; and if it is not true, it is important that the world
should know to what power or law of Nature the phenomena
are to be attributed.
In dealing with the phenomena under consideration I do
not propose to waste the time of the reader by the discus-
sion of each particular phase of manifestation. A volume
of the size of this would be all too small to discuss exhaust-
ively the many-sided problem, or to explain the various
characteristics of the phenomena. Besides, it would be
but a repetition of what I have already done in another
work. 1 It will only be necessary here to discuss the one
salie_nt feature which is common to all the phenomena ;
and that is the intelligence which is manifested. This intel-
ligence claims to be from the denizens _of another world ;
and spiritists hold that there is indubitable evidence in the
manifestations themselves that they proceed from spirits of
the dead.
It will, however, be necessary to discuss the subject of
spiritism at some length, for the reason that in the consid-
eration of scientific problems it is of the very first impor-
tance that the phenomena under consideration should be
properly classified. There are two hypotheses employed to
account for so-called spiritistic phenomena. One is that
they proceed from disembodied spirits ; and the other is
that they are produced by the conscious or unconscious
1 For a full discussion of the various phases and characteristics of
spiritism and other psychic phenomena, see the author's work entitled
" The Law of Psychic Phenomena."
56 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
exercise of powers inherent in the living man ; and that the
known powers of the embodied human soul are sufficient to
account for all that is mysterious in the phenomena. Both
these hypotheses cannot be true. One must be true and
the other false. There can be no compromise, as some
spiritists would have us believe. They are not concurrent
hypotheses. They are absolutely antagonistic. Hence the
importance of properly classifying the phenomena at the
threshold of our argument. For if it is found that they are
produced by the living, then we have a solid basis of fact
from which we can deduce the most momentous conclusions
regarding the destiny of man. But if it can be demon-
strated that the whole, or any part, of spiritistic phenomena
./ are produced by disembodied spirits, the whole subject is
thrown into logical chaos ; for a future life for man is not
demonstrated by showing that spirits communicate with the
living, for the very obvious reason that we still have no
means of determining whether any communicating spirit is
that of one who has once lived upon the earth, or is an
" evil spirit," or an " elemental," or an " elementary," or a
" devil," or any other of the denizens of the other world
with which it has been peopled by superstition.
It is well known to all observers of spiritistic phenomena
that the one essential prerequisite to their production is the
presence of a so-called " medium." The tenn " medium "
has been bestowed upon those who are instrumental in the
production of the phenomena, because of the assumption
that the intelligence conveyed is from spirits of the dead to
the living. The instrument through which these messages
are conveyed is, therefore, designated as a "medium." This
term, consequently, implies a theory of causation ; and as it
is better to avoid giving an implied assent to any theory by
the employment of a careless terminology, I shall hereinafter
employ the more non-committal term of psychic to designate
the person in whose presence these manifestations occur.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 57
The psychic is usually seated at a table around which
several others are gathered, and the collective company is
designated as a " circle." After all are seated and quiet is se-
cured, the psychic enters into a state which may be described
by the generic term of trance. This state, it may be pre-
mised, is identical with that of hypnosis, and it varies in
depth from that of an apparently normal condition to that
of profound objective insensibility. This condition is self-
induced, and during its continuance various phenomena are
produced ; though each psychic is usually confined to one
class of manifestations. In the presence of some psychics
percussive sounds are heard, called " spirit raps." These
are sometimes heard on the table, at other times on the
floor, or on the walls, ceiling, or furniture of the room. In
presence of other psychics the table is tilted, and often-
times it levitates into the air without physical contact with
any one. Some psychics write automatically ; that is, they
seize a pencil and write, their hand seemingly being moved
by an extraneous force which acts independently of the
conscious volition of the psychic.
It would be tedious even to enumerate the different forms
which these manifestations assume, and it would be foreign
to my purpose to do so ; but there is one characteristic
common to all the phenomena. They all manifest intelli-
gence, and this intelligence is almost invariably exercised
independently of the conscious volition of the psychic. If
the psychic is what is known as a " writing medium," mes-
sages will be written purporting to emanate from spirits of
the dead ; and the information conveyed will often tran-
scend the conscious knowledge of the psychic, and some-
times the messages will convey information not in the
conscious possession either of the psychic or of any one
else in the room. So perfect is the automatism of some
psychics that they will write long messages, characterized by
more__thaiL .pidisaiyjntelligence and by perfect coherency,
58 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
and at the same time carry on an animated conversation
with others in the room, and on a subject entirely foreign
to that of the message which they are writing. Others have
been known to write normally on one subject with the right
hand, while at the same time the left was automatically
writing a message on another subject, the latter purporting
to emanate from the spirit of some one who is dead.
In fact, the intellectual feats performed by some psychics
almost transcend belief, and, were they not abundantly au-
thenticated by the most severe scientific tests, would be
unworthy of credence. As it is, they demand investigation
by the strictest rules of logical induction, with the view of
testing the validity of the hypothesis that they are of super-
mundane origin. In doing so we should always bear in
mind the fundamental axiom of science that we have nei-
ther occasion nor logical right to attribute any phenomenon
to supermundane agency if it is explicable by reference to
natural laws. On the other hand, if they cannot be thus
explained, those who hold to the supermundane explanation
have a right to demand that their hypothesis shall be pro-
visionally accepted. A fact is a fact, and a psychic fact is
just as much a fact as a waxing and waning moon. Science
has no more right to ignore the one than the other. No
fact in Nature can safely be ignored, for no fact is wholly
insignificant. Each is so inseparably bound up with the
others that if even the most apparently unimportant fact is
left out of consideration, inextricable confusion is likely to
follow. An apparently insignificant fact is like a cipher in
arithmetic. Separately considered, it has no value ; but in
its proper place it increases" the value of the other figures
i tenfold. Drop one out at any given point, and the whole
ii. calculation results in a wrong conclusion. This is why the
old psychology is incomplete, confused, and unsatisfactory.
It was built up on a basis of speculative philosophy, and,
necessarily, in utter ignorance of a vast array of psychic
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 59
facts and principles which have transpired and been discov-
ered within the last quarter of the nineteenth century.
It is the same with speculative theology. Never, before
the development of experimental psychology, has it been
possible to demonstrate, with anything like scientific accu-
racy, the fact that man has a soul. With the advent,
however, of hypnotism, mesmerism, and cognate psychic
phenomena, all has been changed ; and it is now possible to
demonstrate the truth of many propositions that have here-
tofore lain wholly in the realm of speculative philosophy, or
have been relegated by the scientific world to the domain
of superstition. New discoveries are constantly being made
in the psychic world, discoveries which promise soon to
place psychology fairly within the domain of the exact
sciences. Then will man, in the truest sense, be enabled to
" look through Nature up to Nature's God," not by means
of vain analogies drawn from the realm of gross material
existence, but by studying his own powers and attributes.
The divinepedigree of man and his title-deed to immortal
life_are written upon the tablets of his own soul, and not
upon the wings of the Lepidoptera.
Experimental hypnotism demonstrates several important
characteristics of man's mental organization which throw a '
flood of light upon many obscure problems of psychology.
The first and most important of these characteristics is the
fact that man possesses a dual mental organization. This is
an old doctrine which has been held by speculative philoso-
phers from Plato down to the present day; but it was
never scientifically demonstrated until hypnotism revealed
it as a law of the human intellect. When a person is per-
fectly hypnotized, his objective senses are put to sleep. He
can neither hear, see, smell, taste, nor feel, except at the
will of the hypnotist who induces the lethargy. At the
bidding of the latter, however, the subject can be roused to
a state of intense activity and power. His mind then
6O A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
seems to be completely transformed, and to possess powers
and attributes which were entirely foreign to the subject in
his normal condition. His memory is exalted, and in
many cases it seems to be practically perfect. In many
instances he develops the power of telepathy, that is,
the power to read the mind of the operator, or of any
one with whom he is en rapport. This is one of the
most important things to be remembered in this connec-
tion. The power of reading the minds of those with
whom the hypnotized .^rjerspnjcpmes in mental contact is
the master key which unlocks many of the grand mys-
teries of psychic phenomena. That power, in connec-
tion with the perfection of his memory, constitutes a
salient feature of the accomplishments of every well-
developed psychic.
There is, however, another characteristic of the psychic's
mind when in the hypnotic or partially hypnotic state,
which constitutes the greatest and most important discovery
of modern experimental psychology. It is this : jwhen hyp-
notized, the subject is constantly amenable to control by
suggestion ; that is to say, he accepts as absolutely true
every statement that is made to him. Thus, if he is told
that he is the President of the United States, he will
immediately accept the statement as true, and assume all
the airs of importance and dignity that he may conceive to
be the legitimate concomitant of that more or less exalted
position. If he is then told that he is a street mendicant,
he will immediately change his demeanor and assume an
attitude of humble suppliancy. In short, he may be made
to believe that he is anything, animate or inanimate, and
he will act the part suggested with wonderful fidelity to
nature, just so far as his knowledge of the characteristics of
the person or thing suggested extends. Thus, if it is sug-
gested that he is some one of his intimate acquaintances,
he will immediately proceed to imitate all the salient
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 6 1
peculiarities of his friend in voice, tone, gesture, and
favorite topics of conversation.
Again, jt may be suggested to him that he is the spirit of
some deceased friend or acquaintance. It matters not.
He will confidently believe the suggestion to be literally
true, and will assume the characteristics of the deceased,
and will, if interrogated, give a full account of his surround-
ings iii the spirit world, albeit his account of his spirit
abode will be in exact accordance with his own precon-
ceived ideas on that subject. In other words, the sugges-
tions embraced in his education will give character to his
account of his imaginary spirit environment. These facts
are well known to all hypnotists ; and any one familiar with
the works of the mesmerists of the first half of the present
century will recall a thousand instances illustrating what
has been said. Those works were written, and the experi-
ments made, in utter ignorance of the inexorable law of
suggestion ; and, hence, many believed that the mesmerized
subjects were actually in communication with the spirit
world. One man 1 devoted his life to hypnotizing people,
sending them to the spirit land, and recording their ac-
counts of what they saw. It is unnecessary to remark that
his book was for many years a standard authority among
spiritists, a book of reference, by consulting which all]
disputed questions relating to the topography, sociology,)
or climatology of the spirit world could be definitely^
settled. & ilj 4-^-i3 ^-u^.
Again, it is well known to hypnotists that a suggestion to
a subject that he is under the control of a spirit will result
in the production of all the phenomena of spirit medium-
ship, limited only by his lack of training as a psychic. It
is also well known that the quickest and surest way to train
a psychic for spirit mediumship is to hypnotize him often
enough to produce the requisite neurotic condition, accom-
* Cahagnet.
62 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
panying each hypnotization with suggestions of spirit pres-
ence and spirit control. Other things being equal, the
best psychics are those who have been developed by hyp-
notic processes. It is perfectly easy by suggestion to train
a psychic to habits of self-hypnotization ; and when that is
accomplished, he is ready to enter the field as a full-fledged
medium of communication between the two worlds.
It is impossible within the space at my command to give
even a re'sumk of the many characteristics of the hypno-
tized subject which go to establish the fact of duality of
mind. Nor does it matter, for the purposes of this dis-
cussion, whether we regard man as being possessed of two
minds, each possessing independent powers and attributes,
or regard his one mind as being possessed of certain
diverse powers which manifest themselves differently under
varying conditions. The fact remains, however, that every-
thing happens just^asjhough man were possessed of a dual
mind ; and we have a logical right, therefore, to assume it
to be true as a provisional hypothesis. Besides, having
fully discussed that question elsewhere, 1 I cannot, without
unseemly repetition, discuss it exhaustively here.
I have assumed, therefore, that man possesses a dual
mind. For the sake of clearness, as well as for the want
of a better term, I have designated one as the " objective
mind " and the other as the " subjective mind."
"The objective mind takes cognizance of the objective
world. Its media of observation are the five physical senses.
" The subjective mind takes cognizance of its environment
by means independent of the physical senses. It perceives by
intuition. It is thereat of the_ernotjons, and the storehouse of
memory. It performs its highest functions when the objective
senses are in abeyance. In a word, it is that intelligence which
makes itself manifest in a hypnotic subject when he is in a state
of somnambulism." 2
1 See " The Law of Psychic Phenomena."
2 Op. cit. p. 29.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 63
In adopting this terminology I have merely followed that
of Averroes, as given by Professor Draper in his " Conflict
between Religion and Science ; " although the meaning
which he attaches to his term "objective intellect"
differs materially from that of my definition of the objective
mind. His term " subjective intellect " is explained
as follows :
" The individual, or passive, or subjective intellect is an ema- \
nation from_the_universal, and constitutes what is termed the
soul of^man."
This perfectly expresses my belief regarding the subjective
mind. It not only possesses powers and functions which
act independently of those of the objective mind, but its I
very manifestation shows it to be a distinct entity, and
apparently: caa^le__gXjriajn^nin^^_ac^stence indepen-
dently of ^hejbody. It is a spark of the Divine Intelligence.
Itjs the soul.
I have now sufficiently enlarged upon the subject of the
dual hypothesis to enable the intelligent reader to grasp
my meaning. The law of suggestion has also been clearly
explained. It has also been shown that telepathy, or mind-
reading, is a power of the hypnotized subject. The three
propositions of my hypothesis, therefore, stand thus :
1. Man is possessed of a dual mind, objective and
subjective.
2. The subjective mind is constantly amenable to control ^
by suggestion. .
3. Telepathy is a power of the subjective mind.
With these three fundamental propositions clearly before
us, we are prepared intelligently to compare the phenomena
of spiritism with those of hypnotism, with the view of a
candid inquiry whether there is any phenomenon produced
by the one that cannot be reproduced by the other. Or, to
put it in another form, is there anything in the phenomena
64 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
of spiritism that cannot be explained by reference to the
known powers inherent in the living man as developed by
and through the science of hypnotism ?
A brief comparison of the two classes of phenomena will
make a prima facie case against the spiritistic hypothesis.
It would, however, be more in accordance with the princi-
ples of logical scientific investigation to say that the spirit-
istic hypothesis is, prima facie, untrue, and that the onus
probandi is upon those who claim a supermundane origin
for any phenomenon whatever. But we will waive our logical
rights for the moment, and proceed to assume the burden
of proof.
In the first place, the condition of the psychic when
producing spiritistic phenomena is identical with that of the
hypnotized subject. The only difference between the two
is not in the condition, but in the method of inducing the
condition. Both are hypnotized; but the psychic is self-
hypnotized by an auto-suggestion, whereas the hypnotic sub-
ject is hypnotized by the suggestion of another. It is well
known, however, that any hypnotic subject can easily be
trained to hypnotize himself. When that is done, all the
conditions requisite to successful " mediumship " are present
in the hypnotic subject ; and if he believes in spiritism, the
suggestion embraced in that belief will do the rest. It may
be objected that the spiritistic psychic often produces his
phenomena while apparently in his normal condition. To
this it is answered that there are also an infinite number of
degrees of hypnotism which shade into each other imper-
ceptibly, ranging from the apparently normal state to that
of profound hypnotic lethargy. Thus, Bernheim l was
enabled to produce " all suggestive phenomena up to
hallucination," while the patient was in the "waking condi-
tion ; " that is, in a condition that could not be distinguished
from the normal by any ordinary tests. That the subject
1 Suggestive Therapeutics, pp. 79, 81, 83.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 65
was actually hypnotized, however, was demonstrated by
the very fact that he was controllable by suggestion. In
one case he produced such a perfect state of analgesia, by
mere suggestion, the patient being in the " waking condi-
tion," that the application of Dubois Raymond's electrical
apparatus, with "the greatest current attainable" turned on,
produced no sensation whatever; although, as Bernheim
remarks, "the painful sensation thus produced is normally
unbearable."
It will thus be seen that the degree of hypnosis has no
necessary effect upon the manifestations, either in hypnotism
proper, or in the psychic phenomena of spiritism. Practice
in each case seems to develop the suggestibility of the
psychic and his consequent ability to produce the various
phenomena while in a condition apparently closely ap-
proaching the normal.
That the condition of the psychic and that of the hyp-
notic subject are identical, is further demonstrated by the
fact that they are governed by the same laws. The most
important of these laws is that of suggestion ; and all the
facts of spiritistic phenomena show that the psychic is
constantly dominated by that subtle power. His very
entrance into the psychic state is produced by the sugges-
tion embraced in his belief that he is about to pass under
the control of an extraneous force which he believes to be
a spirit. When he is thus self-hypnotized, he is necessarily
amenable to the same power. This is clearly shown by the
well-known fact that any spirit can then be invoked by those
present, and one spirit will respond just as readily as another.
Besides, the spirit^ a living man will respond with as much
alacrity as that_o a dead man, provided the question is
asked in such a way as to cause the psychic to believe that
the bearer of the name is dead. Moreover, the jpirit of a
purely imaginary person is just as responsive to an invoca-
tion as any other : The writer once attended a spiritistic
5
66
stance presided over by an ignorant psychic. Some one
asked for the spirit of Socrates ; and the old philosopher
promptly responded. His communication was couched in
terms that were evidently intended to be somewhat lofty,
and were so considered by the enthusiastic admirers of the
psychic ; nor was their admiration at all diminished by the
fact that Socrates seemed to labor under the impression
that he was a Roman when on earth. This was afterwards
explained by a prominent local authority in spirit philosophy
by saying that those old spirits had reached an altitude so
far removed from earthly life that they were no longer
interested in mundane affairs, and many of them had really
forgotten their earthly names and nationality. A wag who
was present asked for a communication from " the ancient
Greek philosopher, Cantharides." This request was also
promptly complied with in an equally lofty strain of bad
English. When asked for a description of the latter per-
sonage, the psychic described an old man with long white
hair, a flowing beard, and a "very high forehead." This
goes to show either that the psychic was dominated by an
absurdly false suggestion, or that evolution is more rapid in
the spirit land than it is here ; for the description of the
personality of " Cantharides " certainly did not suggest a
coleopterous ancestry.
To do the psychic entire justice, let me say that a cir-
cumstance like the foregoing does not, in the remotest
degree, impugn his honesty or sincerity. He is in a hyp-
notic condition. Being in that state, he is necessarily
dominated by the laws pertaining to it. His normal reason
is in abeyance. His subjective mind is active ; and the
one all-potent, never-failing law of subjective mental activity
is the law of suggestion. Like every other law of Nature,
there are no exceptions to its inexorable rules. He believes,
because he must believe, every suggestion made to him.
The suggestion enforced by the current theory of spiritism
OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 6/
convinces him that he is a chosen medium of spirit com-
munication with the inhabitants of this world. His reason
confirms the belief; for he finds himself dominated by what
he believes to be an extraneous force which seems to act
independently of his conscious volition. This force is found
to possess a remarkable intelligence. It will answer ques-
tions, and write essays, poems, and polemics with equal
facility, and it often imparts knowledge and divulges secrets
of which he is not the conscious custodian. It gives in-
formation, which he knows he never could have possessed,
concerning the affairs of his auditors, secrets, perhaps,
which the latter declare could never have been known to
any but themselves and some deceased friend. When the
intelligence is interrogated, it declares itself to be the dis-
embodied spirit of the friend who was the joint custodian of
the sitter's secret.
With all this array of evidence before him, not only of
spirit presence but of spirit identity, what is his natural
conclusion? He is not a scientist, and does not, therefore,
know that it is unscientific to believe that man has a soul. I ^fi^t
He was taught at his mother's knee that he not only has a
soul, but that it is destined to an immortal existence. He ,
has never heard of the dual nature of the mind of man, he
knows nothing of the law of suggestion, and " telepathy "
is not in his vocabulary. But he has common sense, and
he is not aware that it is unscientific to exercise it when
dealing with phenomena which he cannot explain otherwise
than as being tangible evidence of the truth of what he has \
always been taught to believe was the essence of the teach-
ings of Holy Writ. And he does believe it, honestly and ,
implicitly. It is henceforth his religion, his consolation in
this life, and the sheet anchor of his faith in immortality.
With all the evidence before him, and in the absence of
any other rational explanation, he would be an unreasoning^
sceptic if he did not believe it.
68 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
It will thus be seen what an all-potent suggestion domi-
nates his subjective mind. By virtue of the fundamental
law of its being it must accept every suggestion imparted
to it, however absurd or contrary to objective knowledge
and experience. But when it is confirmed by objective
reason and reinforced by the tenderest emotions and lofti-
est aspirations of the human soul, it becomes a dominant
power which cannot be resisted. In this state of mind,
objective and subjective, the suggestion that a spirit from
another world is in possession of the psychic's hand and
guiding its movements, is, and must be, seized upon by his
subjective mind and implicitly believed and acted upon, and
the suggested spirit personated with all the preternatural
acumen and dramatic circumstance characteristic of subjec-
tive mental activity. If it were not so, then there would
be a break in the operations of a law of Nature, an excep-
tion to the universal rule, which in itself would constitute
a miracle as great as would be the suspension for a day of
the law of gravitation.
Another fact which correlates the phenomena produced
by the spiritistic psychic with those of hypnotism is that the
psychic in each case develops the power of telepathy, or
mind-reading. I shall not waste time in this connection
by offering proofs of the reality of this power. That work
has been most thoroughly done by the Society for Psychi-
cal Research. It is sufficient to say at this time that no
law or power of Nature has been more completely and
scientifically demonstrated than has been the law of telepa-
thy. There is, however, one important principle pertain-
ing to the subject-matter which must be understood before
the full significance of the fact relating to it can be appre-
ciated or comprehended. Telepathy is the meansjyf com-
munion between subjective minds. The objective mind
does not necessarily participate in the communication.
The message, in other words, is not necessarily on a sub-
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 69
ject of which either party is consciously thinking. It ^
frequently has no connection whatever with the conscious '
thoughts of either of the participants in the production of '
the phenomena. A message of the utmost importance may,
therefore, never rise above the threshold of the " percipi-
ent's " l consciousness or even be consciously sent by the i
" agent." It requires some degree of psychic development /
to enable one to become conscious of the reception of a
telepathic message. Hence it is that comparatively few
are able to perceive the details of a communication ;
although there are few who have not felt an unaccountable
impression which is afterwards discovered to have a tele-
pathic origin, or is classed as a " coincidence " by the
sceptical. It requires an extraordinary, even an abnormal
development of psychic power to enable one consciously to
read the thoughts of another in detail. That power is
possessed by few outside the circle of so-called spirit
mediums, and of those who have developed it by hypnotic
processes for purposes of public exhibition.
It is thought that enough has been said to correlate the
phenomena of spiritism with those of hypnotism, at least
so far as the conditions necessary for the production of the
two classes of phenomena are concerned. In the next
chapter the principles herein set forth will be applied to
the elucidation of the phenomena alleged to be produced
by disembodied spirits. I will also take occasion to answer
some objections urged by scientific students of spiritism
who hold that there is still a " small residuum " of phe-
nomena which is not explicable by reference to known
laws of Nature.
1 The "percipient," in the vocabulary of psychic science, is the
one to whom a message is sent, or who witnesses a phenomenon.
The " agent " is the one who sends the message, or produces the
phenomenon.
CHAPTER IV.
SPIRITISTIC PHENOMENA.
The Typical Seance. "Test" Cases. The Way Proselytes are
made. The Telepathic Explanation. What Telepathy is.
Views of Rev. Minot J. Savage and of Mr. F. W. H. Myers.
Their Test Cases Explained. The Small Residuum of Phenomena
which they cannot account for. The Shipwreck. An Alleged
Spirit Communication from a Victim. A Telepathic Explanation.
Telepathy -vs. Clairvoyance. A Typical Case. " Stretching "
the Theory of Telepathy. Views of Mr. Podmore.
'"THE following propositions have now been provisionally
* established :
1. The condition of the spiritistic psychic or "medium "
and that of the hypnotic subject are identical at the time
when their respective phenomena are produced.
2. That condition in both is what is known to science as
hypnosis, or partial hypnosis, as the case may be.
These propositions are demonstrated by the following
facts :
1. The psychics in each case are in a more or less pro-
found state of objective insensibility.
2. That state or condition in each case is induced by
suggestion.
3. In each case the psychic is constantly amenable to
control by suggestion.
4. In each case the power to read the minds of others is
developed by persistence in the practice of entering the
hypnotic or subjective condition.
DEMONSTRATION' OF THE FUTURE LIFE. "J\
It has also been established, as a corollary of the fore-^
going propositions, that in the mind of each psychic a
subjective hallucination can be induced by a suggestion;'
and that it is a matter of indifference whether it be an auto-)
suggestion, a telepathic suggestion, or an oral suggestion. <^ (
It is unnecessary to consume much time in the applica-
tion of these facts to the ordinary manifestations of that
intelligence which is alleged to proceed from disembodied
spirits. It may not be amiss, however, to present an
imaginary case exactly corresponding to those of every-day
experience. The dramatis persona are a well-developed
psychic and a client who is seeking for tangible evidence of
a future life, and will be satisfied with nothing short of a
" test case " of spirit identity. He is full of hope that
he may be put in possession of indubitable evidence of the
reality of spirit intercourse with the living, for he longs to
establish communication with the loved and lost, longs
"Jbr the tojicji^of^a vanished hand, a < nd_the_sound of a
voice that is still." But he does not mean to allow his
emotions to warp his judgment, or to entertain a belief
whose parentage can be traced to his desires alone. Per-
haps he has heard of mind-reading, and feels prepared to
detect any evidence of the exercise of that power, or of
any species of mental legerdemain. He takes care in the
selection of a psychic, and seeks one who is utterly
ignorant of his name, local habitation and antecedents.
Having found one possessing all the necessary qualifica-
tions, he seats himself and awaits results.
The psychic enters the subjective state, and presently
begins his revelation. He begins by making an exhaustive
inventory of his client's mental qualifications, whom he
asserts to be a man of exalted character and gigantic intel-
lect. He tells him that all he needs is opportunity to make
his mark in the world ; that he is not as well off in this
world's goods as he would like to be, but that fame and
72 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
fortune are near at hand; that he is a fearless investiga-
tor, but is not easily fooled, etc., etc. All this, however,
in the estimation of the client, proves nothing but the good
judgment of the psychic and the clearness of his percep-
tion of human character. Anybody might know all this at
a glance, for that matter. It is not even good evidence of
mind-reading.
Presently the psychic tells the client's name. He is
somewhat startled, but reflects that it may have been ob-
tained from the hotel register, or that it may be mind-read-
ing. The psychic then describes a spirit of which he sees a
vision, relates all the circumstances of the death and burial
of the person, and, perhaps, states the name of the deceased,
the relationship borne to the client, and many little details
which may or may not be true. In its important features,
however, the statement is exact. It is the very person the
client most desires to communicate with; but he is not
satisfied. All this is plainly within the domain of mind-
reading, and he is not to be deceived. But he is interested
and hopeful, and asks for a communication, which is given.
It is couched in endearing, but general terms; plenty of
good advice is given, and it ends in a rhapsodical expres-
sion of assurance of a life beyond the grave and of a happy
reunion when life's fitful fever is over. The client is much
affected, but reflects that all this is plainly within the capa-
city of the psychic. What he is after is a " test," and he so
informs the psychic. Presently the " spirit " relates some
little episode which the client knows was within the exclu-
sive knowledge of himself and the deceased. His doubts
begin to vanish ; but he reflects that the knowledge of the
circumstance was in his mind, although he does not re-
member of having thought of it that day. The test is not
conclusive, and he awaits further developments.
Up to this point the spiritist of average intelligence will
agree that no valid evidence of spirit identity has been
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 73
forthcoming. It is obviously all within the domain and
possibilities of telepathy.
Presently another " spirit " appears upon the scene. The
psychic describes it with great minuteness, and finally gives
its name. The client is confounded. "This cannot be
mind-reading," he soliloquizes, " for I have not thought of
that man for twenty years." He has crossed the Rubicon.
The limit of his knowledge of telepathy has been reached,
and to him it is no longer a tenable hypothesis. As if to
make assurance doubly sure, the " spirit " recalls a business
transaction between himself and the client which took place
forty years agone. The client racks his memory in vain for
a trace of recollection of the transaction. He does not
even remember of ever having had any business with the
deceased. He knows, however, that he has the means of
verifying the statement if it is true, and he closes the stance
and hurries home to institute a search of his old records.
He finds, to his surprise and delight, that his spirit friend is
right in every particular.
A proselyte is gained for spiritism. Henceforth he haunts
spirit mediums, and spirit mediums haunt him. Perchance
his mind is not so warped that he ceases to recognize telep-
athy as a possible factor in alleged spirit intercourse. He
may even admit that the great bulk of spiritistic phenomena
can be accounted for by reference to telepathy; but he
holds that there is a "small residuum " of phenomena that
cannot be thus explained.
Until within a very few years it would have been impos-
sible, by invoking the aid of telepathy, to account for the
phenomena which converted our friend. But it has now
been ascertained that even if one does not happen to be
consciously thinking of a particular spirit when that spirit is
announced and correctly described, such a mental condition
does not militate against the telepathic theory. On the
contrary, it is clear that what one is consciously thinking of
74 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
has no necessary connection with the subject of a telepathic
message. Telepathy, as we have already seen, is the means
of communication between sub-conscious intelligences ; and
it is only those who are psychically developed who can be-
come conscious of the operations of the subjective intel-
ligence. There are several things to be considered in this
connection :
First, it must be remembered that it is the subjective
mind that reads, and is read, telepathically.
Secondly, the memory of the subjective mind is prodigious
and practically perfect ; and it often happens that circum-
stances entirely forgotten by the objective mind of one who
consults a psychic are recalled by his subjective mind. Hence
it is that when the client declares that the circumstance never
occurred, and afterwards ascertains that he was mistaken,
it is no evidence whatever of the agency of disembodied
spirits. Moreover, when we consider the perfection of
subjective memory and the imperfection of objective recol-
lection, it is extremely hazardous for any one to say positively
that he never knew a particular circumstance or thing.
Such a statement can only be accepted as evidence that he
does not recall the fact stated.
Thirdly, the law of suggestion is an important factor which
must be considered in the solution of the mystery. It is
obvious that when two subjective intelligences are in com-
munication, and each is dominated by the suggestions of
spiritism, and one is anxious to convince the objective in-
telligence of the other of the reality of spirit intercourse,
and the other is anxious to be convinced and is seeking for
a test case, the best tests within the combined resources of
the two intelligences are more than likely to be forthcoming.
This is certainly borne out by the experience of every intel-
ligent investigator of the phenomena of spiritism. I should
not consider myself justified in supposing a subjective con-
spiracy to be possible, even under the inexorable law of
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 75
suggestion, if a case of spirit identity had ever been made
that was free from the doubts thrust upon us by the known
laws of telepathy and suggestion.
Thus far I have said nothing the essential features of
which scientific investigators of the phenomena of spiritism
will not indorse. Indeed, I believe that intelligent spiritists
very generally concede that phenomena of the character
outlined in the foregoing remarks are not free from doubt ;
and they are ready to accept substantially the explanation
here given. I now approach a branch of the subject, how-
ever, about which the most scientific investigators of the
phenomena are at variance. It has been, and is now, my
desire and purpose to avoid controversial argument on these
topics; but I feel impelled by my very respect for two
gentlemen who have arrived at slightly different conclusions
from mine, to place my views alongside of theirs, so to speak,
in order to allow our readers to judge which presents the
better reason for the faith that is in him. I do so for the
further reason that my desire to do exact justice to the
cause of spiritism impels me to state the position of two of
its ablest champions with whose views I am acquainted.
They are gentlemen whose reputation for learning and scien-
tific attainments and for candor and transparent honesty of
purpose is as wide as civilization, and places them at the
head of the list of scientific champions of the cause of
spiritism. It is almost superfluous to now say that I refer
to Rev. Minot J. Savage, of Boston, and F. W. H. Myers,
of London. Neither of them needs any introduction to
the English-speaking world. To Mr. Myers the world owes
more than it can ever repay for his indefatigable and purely
scientific labors as Secretary of the London Society for
Psychical Research. To Mr. Savage the world owes much
for his championship of free thought, and of progress in
every field of human endeavor.
If I understand the views of Mr. Savage and Mr. Myers,
76 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
they agree in their interpretation of such phenomena as I
have outlined, and each would offer substantially the same
explanation that I have suggested. But at this point our
paths diverge. Each of those gentlemen is willing to admit
that when a psychic transmits a message to his client con-
taining information which is in his (the psychic's) posses-
sion, it cannot reasonably be attributed to the agency of
disembodied spirits. Each is also willing to admit that
when the message contains facts known to some one in
his immediate presence and with whom he is en rapport,
the agency of spirits of the dead cannot be presumed.
Each will doubtless admit that sub-conscious memory may
enter as a factor in the case, and that the sub-conscious
intelligence or, to use the favorite terminology employed
by Mr. Myers to designate the subjective mind, the
"subliminal consciousness" of the psychic or that of his
client may retain and use facts which the conscious, or
objective, mind may have entirely forgotten. All these
considerations, and many others, have doubtless entered
into the calculations of both those gentlemen when esti-
mating, in their careful and severely scientific way, the
weight of evidence for and against the hypothesis of spirit
intercourse. But here is where they pause. They are not
willing to admit that telepathy can possibly enter as a
factor in the case when the message contains facts not
known either to the psychic or his client or any of the
psychic's friends. I will now let Mr. Savage speak for
himself. In an able address a delivered before the American
Psychical Society, he used the following words :
" In the presence of psychics I have been told things which
I know the psychic did not know and never had known. There
is no longer the least shadow of a doubt of that in my mind.
But I have always said this does not go far enough, possibly
this may mean telepathy only. Although the psychic is not a
1 Psychical Review, vol. i. no. i.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 77
clairvoyant, is not conscious of possessing any means of getting
at the contents of my mind, yet the psychic's mind may be a
mirror in which my thoughts and knowledge are reflected, and I
may be getting back only what I have given. So when I have
gone only to that extent I have felt that I have not gone far
enough to convince me that I was dealing with a disembodied
intelligence. But under certain conditions I have gone farther
than that ; and it is these other cases that we are always look-
ing for as additional proof, these cases in which I have
received communication concerning something which neither
the psychic nor myself knew. There have been several cases
not only in my own experience, but, more still, in the experi-
ence of persons whose judgment and power of investigation I
trust as I trust my own, in which there has been the communi-
cation of intelligence that neither the psychic nor the sitter
possessed nor ever did possess. I have had it in such circum-
stances as this. I have had communication while sitting in my
study concerning things that were taking place two hundred
miles away. Over and over again occurrences like this have
taken place, and I submit that my knowledge of science and
philosophy does not give me any hint of an explanation for
these things. It seems to me to be stretching the theory of
telepathy and clairvoyance beyond probability to call them in
to explain them. I do not know what to make of them except
on the theory that some third and invisible intelligence was
concerned."
In a short but brilliant essay 1 entitled " Science and a
Future Life," Mr. Myers thus sums up his own views, and
locates the line which marks the boundary between the two
worlds :
" I am further strengthened in this belief by the study of the
automatic phenomena briefly noticed above. I observe that
in all the varieties of automatic action of which automatic
writing may be taken as a prominent type the contents of the
messages given seem to be derived from three sources. First
of all comes the automatist's own mind. From that the vast
bulk of the messages are undoubtedly drawn, even when they
refer to matters which the automatist once knew, but has en-
1 This article is printed in a volume with several other valuable
essays on cognate subjects by the same author.
78 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
tirely forgotten. Whatever has gone into the mind may come
out of the mind ; although this automatism may be the only
way of getting at it. Secondly, there is a small percentage of
messages apparently telepathic, containing, that is to say,
facts probably unknown to the automatist, but known to some
living person in his company, or connected with him. But,
thirdly, there is a still smaller residuum of messages which I
cannot thus explain, messages which contain facts apparently
not known to the automatist nor to any living friend of his, but
known to some deceased person, perhaps to a total stranger to
the living man whose hand is writing. I cannot avoid the con-
viction that in some way however dreamlike and indirect
it is the departed personality which originates such messages as
these."
Here we have the clear and concise statements of two
men, representatives, respectively, of the best thought, on
that side of the question, of two hemispheres, each defining
the same limit of scientific explanation, on mundane prin-
ciples, of spiritistic phenomena. These gentlemen, being,
par excellence, the representatives of scientific spiritism
on the two sides of the Atlantic, are entitled to a full hear-
ing and a candid and respectful consideration. Their views,
however, as quoted above, are stated in abstract form, and
their exact meaning may not be readily comprehended. In
order, therefore, that the reader may have a concrete illus-
tration of just what is meant, it will be necessary to quote
further from their works. Fortunately for our purpose, Mr.
Savage has issued a volume * recently which is filled with
well-authenticated facts which the author of the book
cannot explain by reference to telepathy. I select at
random the following case, which is fairly illustrative of
the "sticking point" in its most pronounced, not to say
virulent, form. In order to do Mr. Savage complete
justice, I copy the entire narrative, including his comments.
" My next story goes far beyond any of these, and well,
I will ask the reader to decide as to whether there is any help
1 Psychics : Facts and Theories. Arena Publishing Co.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 79
in hypnotism or clairvoyance or mind-reading, or any of the
selves of the psychic, conscious or sub-conscious.
" Early on Friday morning, Jan. 18, 1884, the steamer
' City of Columbus,' en route from Boston to Savannah, was
wrecked on the rocks off Gay Head, the southwestern point of
Martha's Vineyard. Among the passengers was an elderly
widow, the sister-in-law of one of my friends, and the mother of
another.
"This lady, Mrs. K., and her sister, Mrs. B., had both been
interested in psychic investigation, and had held sittings with a
psychic whom I will call Mrs. E. Mrs. B. was in poor health,
and was visited regularly for treatment on every Monday by the
psychic, Mrs. E. On occasion of these professional visits,
Mrs. B. and her sister, Mrs. K., would frequently have a sit-
ting. This Mrs. E., the psychic, had been known to all the
parties concerned for many years, and was held in the highest
respect. She lived in a town fifteen or twenty miles from
Boston. This, then, was the situation of affairs when the
wreck of the steamer took place.
"The papers of Friday evening, January 18, of course con-
tained accounts of the disaster. On Saturday, January 19, Dr.
K., my friend, the son of Mrs. K., hastened down to the beach
in search of the body of his mother. No trace whatever was
discovered. He became satisfied that she was among the lost,
but was not able to find the body. Saturday night he returned
to the city. Sunday passed by. On Monday morning, the
2ist, Mrs. E. came from her country home to give the custom-
ary treatment to her patient, Mrs. B. Dr. K. called on his
aunt while Mrs. E. was there, and they decided to have a
sitting, to see if there would come to them anything that even
purported to be news from the missing mother and sister.
Immediately Mrs. K. claimed to be present; and, along with
many other matters, she told them three separate and distinct
things which, if true, it was utterly impossible for either of them
to have known.
" i. She told them that, after the steamer had sailed, she
had been able to exchange her inside stateroom for an outside
one. All that any of them knew was that she had been
obliged to take an inside room, and that she did not want it.
" 2. She told them that she played whist with some friends
in the steamer saloon during the evening ; and she further told
them the names of the ones who had made up the table.
" 3. Then came the startling and utterly unexpected state-
80 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
ment, ' I do not want you to think of me as having been
drowned. I was not drowned. When the alarm came, I
was in my berth. Being frightened, I jumped up, and rushed
out of the stateroom. In the passage-way I was suddenly
struck a blow on my head, and instantly it was over. So do
not think of me as having gone through the process of drown-
ing.' Then she went on to speak of the friends she had
found, and who were with her. This latter, of course, could
not be verified. But the other things could be. It was learned,
through survivors, that the matter of the stateroom and the
whist, even to the partners, was precisely as had been stated.
But how to verify the other statement, particularly as the body
had not been discovered ?
"All this was on Monday, the 2ist. On Tuesday, the 22d,
the doctor and a friend went again to the beach. After a pro-
longed search among the bodies that had been recovered, they
were able to identify that of the mother. And they found the
right side of the head all crushed in by a blow.
" The impression made on the doctor, at the sitting on
Monday, was that he had been talking with his mother. The
psychic, Mrs. E., is not a clairvoyant, and there were many
things connected with the sitting that made the strong impres-
sion of the mother's present personality. In order to have ob-
tained all these facts related under numbers i, 2, and 3, the
psychic would have had to be not only clairvoyant, but to have
gotten into mental relations with several different people at the
same time. The reading of several different minds at once,
and also clairvoyant seeing, not only of the bruised head, but
of the facts that took place on the Friday previous (this being
Monday), all these multiplex and diverse operations, going on
simultaneously, make up a problem that the most ardent advo-
cate of telepathy, as a solvent of psychic facts, would hardly
regard as reasonably coming within its scope.
" Let us look at it clearly. Telepathy deals only with occur-
rences taking place at the time. I do not know of a case where
clairvoyance is even claimed to see what were once facts, but
which no longer exist. Then there must have been simulta-
neous communication with several minds. This, I think, is not
even claimed as possible by anybody. Then let it be remem-
bered that Mrs. E. is not conscious of possessing either tele-
pathic or clairvoyant power. Such is the problem.
" I express no opinion of my own. I only say that the
doctor, my friend, is an educated, level-headed, noble man. He
OF THE FUTURE LfFE. 8 1
felt sure that he detected undoubted tokens of his mother's
presence. If such a thing is ever possible, surely this is the
explanation most simple and natural."
Here, then, we have a case involving all the difficulties
which stand in the way of accepting telepathy as a universal
solvent for this class of mysteries. It is a representative
case of the class specifically mentioned both by Mr. Savage
and by Mr. Myers as being inexplicable by reference to
telepathy j for the message contained information not in the
possession of the psychic, or of the client, or of any of the
living friends of either. Consequently, if this case can be
explained by reference to telepathy, clearly science will have
a right to demand further proofs of spirit communion.
" Let us look at it clearly." In order to do so we must
first divest the case of several imaginary difficulties with
which Mr. Savage seems to have environed it. For
instance, he says that
" In order to have obtained all these facts related under
numbers i, 2, and 3, the psychic would have had to be not
only clairvoyant, but to have gotten into mental relations with
several different people at the same time."
It is not entirely clear why it was necessary for "all
these multiplex and diverse operations" to be "going on
simultaneously," or, indeed, why it should be necessary for
all of them to go on at all. Nor does Mr. Savage throw any
very clear light upon that question. On the contrary, he
seems to have propounded an irrelevant problem, which he
regards as insoluble, with the view of claiming a triumph if
his readers fail to solve it.
There are two groups of facts in this case which present
themselves for consideration. One group consists of the
facts which took place prior to the wreck ; namely, the
matter of the stateroom, the whist, and the partners. The
other group comprises the particular circumstances attend-
ing the death of the lady.
6
82 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
Now we are told that it was necessary for the psychic to
see clairvoyantly " not only the bruised body, but the facts
that took place on the Friday previous." Mr. Savage holds
the latter to be impossible for the reasojn that clairvoyance
cannot " see what were once facts^but which no longer
exist." In this proposition he is clearly right. But he
would doubtless admit that clairvoyance is equal to the
perception of the condition of the bruised body ; and from
that condition the manner of death, exactly as detailed
in the message, could be clearly inferred. After all, that is
the only fact which we are called upon to explain, since
the facts that took place on the Friday previous were all
known to surviving friends of the deceased ; and the pre-
sumption is that they were all detailed to the son, who was
frantically searching among the survivors for information
which would throw light upon the fate of his mother. In
the absence of any evidence or statement to the contrary,
even by implication, this must be presumed. Clearly, then,
it would not be necessary for the psychic to read " several
different minds at once " in order to ascertain all the facts
that took place on Friday, since those facts were in the
mind of the son, and he was in presence of the psychic.
But suppose that the facts had not yet been detailed to the
son, it still does not involve the necessity for the psychic
to be " in simultaneous communication with several minds,"
since telepathic communion with any one of the survivors
would have put her in possession of all the facts that oc-
curred on Friday. That supposition would certainly do
less violence to the principles of scientific inquiry than it
does to postulate a supermundane origin for the phe-
nomenon.
I submit, therefore, that all the facts were easily ascer-
tainable by the psychic by the exercise of clairvoyance and
telepathy, each in its simplest and most direct mode of
manifestation. The two powers, if both exist, are certainly
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 83
not incompatible with each other. Indeed, they are so
closely related that no one has yet been able to locate the
boundary-line between them. They are divided only by
their definitions.
I think that Mr. Savage will agree with me that, in the
foregoing view of the case, my interpretation is to be pre-
ferred to his on the broad ground of inherent probability,
since his explanation ascribes a supermundane origin to the
phenomena, whilst mine ascribes it to those natural powers
ot the human mind the existence of which he freely admits.
Nor does it fortify his view of the case to say that the
psychic does not possess either telepathic or clairvoyant
power, for that is simply begging the question. The very
point in controversy is whether the phenomena of so-called
spiritism proceed from spirits of the dead, or are the result
of the exercise of the known powers of the living. And to
say, as Mr. Savage does, that the psychic " is not conscious
of possessing either telepathic or clairvoyant power," is but
another way of saying that this particular psychic believes
that the messages transmitted through her come from dis-
embodied spirits. It is a common thing among spiritistic
psychics to disclaim telepathic or clairvoyant powers ; and
it is doubtless honestly done. Their theory is that their
phenomena are produced by spirits of the dead, and that
clairvoyance and telepathy have nothing whatever to do
with it ; in other words, that they " are not conscious " of
possessing those powers. But when that statement is
employed as an argument in support of the spiritistic
hypothesis, it becomes a gross and palpable case of petitio
principii.
Thus far I have argued this case from Mr. Savage's own
standpoint ; that is, I have invoked the aid of those
powers of the mind, and those only, which he knows men
to possess, namely, telepathy and clairvoyance. I have
shown how these alleged powers may have operated, each
84 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
in its legitimate sphere of activity, to produce the phe-
nomena he describes. He declares that he is in search of
a working hypothesis which will explain these phenomena
without the necessity of invoking supermundane agencies,
but has thus far failed to find one. I have herein advanced
one, the fundamental postulates of which are his. They
are not mine. He believes in telepathy, and I agree with
him. He believes in independent clairvoyance. I do not.
He says that lie knows l that clairvoyance exists as a power
of the human mind. J[ wish I possessed the same positive
information. It would be a great simplifier of explanations,
a short cut across a labyrinthine field. Like the hypoth-
esis of spiritism, it is " simpler " than the scientific explana-
tion of the phenomena ; but its chief merit consists in the
fact that it saves the trouble of thinking. I have looked in
vain for indubitable evidence of the reality of the power of
independent clairvoyance. I do not say that it does not
exist. I do not know. I simply say that I have not yet
been made acquainted with facts sufficient to remove the
question from the domain of doubt and uncertainty. I do
know that many phenomena which a few years ago
were attributed to clairvoyance are now easily explicable by
reference to telepathy ; and I know that the field of the
former is constantly narrowing, whilst that of the latter is
correspondingly widening. I know that telepathy is a fac-
ulty of the human mind ; and I feel safe when dealing with
that proposition. But until the boundary-line between
telepathy and clairvoyance is defined with sufficient exacti-
tude to demonstrate that there is any line at all, I shall not
attempt to offer clairvoyance as a final explanation of any
phenomena whatever.
Now let us examine the phenomena presented by Mr.
Savage from another point of view. I will begin by quot-
ing a proposition of his, which, if true, disposes of the case
1 Psychical Review, vol. i. no. i.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 85
at once, and leaves him master of the situation. It is
this,
" Telepathy deals only with occurrences taking place at
the time."
If this proposition is true, Mr. Savage and Mr. Myers are
both right in rejecting telepathy as a solvent for the mystery
surrounding a very large class of cases. Whether it is true
or not, it clearly defines their attitude and reveals the ground
upon which they stand. In saying this I do not wish to be
understood as holding Mr. Myers responsible for the opin-
ions of Mr. Savage ; but as their conclusions are identical,
I assume that they have reasoned from the same premises.
I am confirmed in that belief for the reason that I can see
no other possible ground for their conclusion.
Be that as it may, the fact remains that the assertion
that_" telepathy deals only with^occurrences Jaking place at
the time '_|_js__a_fimdamental error_of_the_inost pronounced
character. It is difficult to imagine an error that could be
more misleading to the searcher after truth in the psychical
realm, and hence more mischievous in its consequences,
than this one is.
Again, "let us look at it clearly." What is telepathy?
It has already been defined as " the means of communica-
tion between subjective minds." In other words, it is the
means of conveying information from one subjective mind
to another. That it is confined in its operations to the
subjective intelligence will not be disputed. It has already
been sufficiently explained, and requires no further remark
in this connection, but will be demonstrated later on. Now,
when a message is telepathically sent from one subjective
mind to another, it conveys some item of information to
the subjective mind that receives it. That information is
henceforth a part of the mental equipment of the per-
cipient's subjective mind, and, since the memory of the
subjective mind is practically perfect, it is not likely to
86 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
forget any important fact that may have been thus received.
But suppose the percipient does not happen, at the time
of the subjective reception of the message, to be in that
peculiar mental condition required to enable him to elevate
! his subjective impressions above the threshold of his normal,
or objective, consciousness. Is the message any the less a
! part of his subjective mental equipment? In other words,
does a failure to become objectively conscious of the recep-
I tion of the message delivered to the sub-conscious intelli-
, gence cause the latter instantly to forget the subject-matter
of the message? No one who is acquainted with the
I salient characteristics of the subjective intelligence, as de-
_ veloped in experimental psychology, will claim that it does.
Suppose, then, that the recipient of the message does not
belong to that class of sensitives who are able to elevate
their subjective impressions above the threshold of con-
sciousness. Then, suppose that a week later the recipient
happens to be in the presence of a mind-reader, and they
hold a stance for the purpose of making experiments in
telepathy. Is there any a priori reason why the telepathist
should not be able to read that message as it exists, latent,
in the mind of the recipient ? If not, why not ? If he can
do so, the assumption that " telepathy deals only with occur-
rences taking place at the time " must be revised ; and with
its revision the whole fabric which has been so industriously
f built upon that foundation must fall. The only possible
resource is to deny the proposition that a message received
telepathically from one source can also be delivered by the
same means to a third person.
It will be necessary for us to discuss this point briefly, for
it will eventually be seen that the whole fabric of spiritism,
scientifically and logically considered, rests upon a tacit
denial of this proposition. My proposition is this :
Jf 'jA can^communicate ^Jactjele^athicallyto B, it follows
that B can communicate the same fact telepathically to C>
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 87
This seems to be a self-evident proposition ; and no one,
to my knowledge, has ventured specifically to deny its
truth. Yet, as before intimated, if it is true, all of those dif-
ficulties vanish which Messrs. Savage and Myers experience
in finding a telepathic explanation for their phenomena.
" I have had," says Mr. Savage, " communication while
sitting in my study concerning things that were taking place
two hundred miles away." And he declares that it seems
to him to be " stretching the theory of telepathy and of
clairvoyance beyond probability to call them in to explain "
the fact. Why he thinks the explanation is outside the
domain of clairvoyance, he does not tell us. It seems to
me that if there is such a power as independent clairvoy-
ance, the clairvoyant explanation is easy and perfect. But
as I do not yet admit the genuineness of that power, I will
try to help Mr. Savage to a telepathic explanation. He
does not give us an account of the circumstances of his
case ; but as it is generic, I will furnish a specimen that
covers the ground. The following case was related to me
by a lady now living in Washington, for whose veracity and
exalted character I can vouch.
Some years ago she was residing in the interior of Penn-
sylvania. On one occasion she visited friends in Phila-
delphia, and during her stay she was induced to call on a
then celebrated " medium." Amongst other things the
medium told her that one of the children of the lady's
family had just fallen from a tree and was apparently badly
hurt. The statement did not make much impression on
her, for she was rather sceptical on the subject of spirit
communication ; but when she went home she learned that
it was literally true, and the hour corresponded very nearly
to the time when she was at the stance. It transpired that
the child was not badly hurt, although it was insensible
when picked up.
Mr. Savage would hold that it would be " stretching the
88 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
theory of telepathy " to the breaking point to call it in to
explain this case. Why? Is it not probable that the lady
was in telepathic rapport with her family at home ? And
would it be stretching the theory of telepathy too far to
suppose that she would be informed by that means of the
disaster happening to one of her family? I think not. But
the lady was not a psychic, and the message, consequently,
remained below the threshold of her normal consciousness.
The " medium," however, was able to read her mind, and
he found the fact recorded there as stated.
In a work comprising two large volumes, entitled " Phan-
tasms of the Living," of which Mr. Myers is one of the
authors, there are hundreds of cases recorded where tele-
pathic messages were received informing the percipient of
danger or disaster to loved ones at a distance. Mr. Myers
and Mr. Savage will both agree that it would be in perfect
accordance with the experience of mankind to suppose that
the lady was telepathically informed of the accident. They
will both agree that the message might have been received
subjectively, and yet not brought within the domain of her
normal consciousness ; for that is also in strict accordance
with the known facts of telepathy. Thus far we all travel
along together very comfortably and harmoniously. But
when the psychic imparts the information to the lady, the
crucial question at once arises, " How did he obtain it? "
Here are the two hypotheses :
Mine is that he read the mind of the lady; in other
words, he obtained telepathically the information that
Messrs. Savage and Myers will both admit was, or might
be, legitimately in her possession through telepathic agency.
Their theory is that the spirit of some dead man was
watching the child when it fell, and that he hastened to
Philadelphia to hunt up a " medium " of communication
between himself and the lady, so that he could tell her all
about it. By a happy coincidence he found the lady and a
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 89
suitable " medium " already in consultation, looking for a
test case upon which to postulate a theory of immortality.
And it was forthcoming. According to Messrs. Savage and
Myers, it was the crucial test, demonstrative of spirit
intercourse.
If my hypothesis " stretches the theory of telepathy " too
far, and if evidence of immortal life consists in the adoption
of their theory of explanation, well may we exclaim,
" On what a slender thread
Hang everlasting things ! "
I ask the intelligent, unprejudiced reader to judge for
himself which of the two explanations is more likely to be
correct. To this end he must ask himself whether it is
more rational to suppose that the lady obtained a telepathic
message from home and transmitted the same to the psychic,
than it is to suppose that it required the intervention of a
supermundane agency to convey the information.
In answering this question the logical and scientific axiom
must not be lost sight of, that we have neither occasion
nor logical right to seek a supermundane explanation of a
phenomenon, when it is explicable by reference to natural
laws with which the world is acquainted.
On this point the truly scientific reader will doubtless
prefer to stand with Mr. Podmore, one of the Secretaries of
the Society for Psychical Research, who says : " When the
choice of explanation seems to lie between telepathy and
some faculty even more dubious and more remote from
ordinary analogies, it is right that the hypothesis of telep-
athy should be strained if necessary, to the breaking
point before we invoke a stage-deity to cut the knot." 1
1 Apparitions and Thought-Transference, pp. 369, 370.
CHAPTER V.
SPIRITISTIC PHENOMENA (continued}.
Experimental Telepathy. Deferred Percipience. Cases in Point.
Planchette. Latency of Telepathic Impressions. Nebuchad-
nezzar's Dream. Daniel's Telepathic Power. Final Explana-
tion of Mr. Savage's Test Case. The Mother's Message to her
Son. The Son's Message to the Psychic. The Last Resource
of Spiritism. Mr. Savage's Crucial Question. The Unscien-
tific Attitude of Spiritists. Thunder considered as the Voice of
an Angry God. The Simplicity of Nature's Laws. The Alleged
" Simplicity " of the Spiritistic Hypothesis. It saves Thinking.
Reasoning in a Circle. Why cannot Spirits communicate
with the Living ? Not a Pertinent Question. The Real Ques-
tion is, Do they so Communicate ? The Evidence is against the
Spiritistic Hypothesis. " Spirits of Health and Goblins Damned."
T HAVE thus far examined Mr. Savage's test case from a
* theoretical standpoint. My theories, however, have all
been based upon the well-known facts of experimental psy-
chology, except where I have argued from a provisional
assumption of the reality of the power of independent clair-
voyance. I now approach the domain of ascertained facts.
My text is still his declaration that " telepathy deals only
with occurrences taking place at the .time." 1 If it had
been stated that " telepathy deals only with occurrences
taking place at the time of the delivery of a message con-
cerning them to the subjective mind of the party for whom
it is intended," it would have been much nearer the truth,
but would still have been far from accurate, as will be seen
hereafter. Thus limited, however, it could not have been
1 M. J. Savage in " Psychics : Facts and Theories."
DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 91
pressed into the service of spiritism ; and we must, there-
fore, presume that the words were intended and used in
their full significance. In other words, the fate of the argu-
ment must depend upon the correctness of the premises as
they are formulated.
In making this statement some very important facts set
forth in " Phantasms of the Living," must have been for-
gotten for the moment, or else the article from which quota-
tion was made was written before the publication of that
voluminous record of telepathic experiences.
Be that as it may, one very important feature of the
phenomena of telepathy has certainly been ignored. It is
a feature, too, of the first importance, for, without including
it as a factor in any given case, one is more than likely to
be led into the most grievous errors. I refer to the phe-
nomenon of " deferred percipience." The meaning of the
term is thus explained by Mr. Myers in his learned and
able introduction to " Phantasms of the Living " : " We find
in the case of phantasms corresponding to some accident or
crisis which befalls a living friend, that there seems often to
be a latent period before the phantasm becomes definite ^>r
externalized^ to the percipient's eye^ or ear. Sometimes a
vague malaise seems first to be generated, and then when
other stimuli are deadened, as at night or in some period
of repose, the indefinite grief or uneasiness takes shape
in the voice or figure of the friend who in fact passed
through his moment of peril some hours before/' He then
goes on to say that "it is quite possible that a deferment
of this kind may sometimes intervene between the moment
of death and the phantasmal announcement thereof to a
distant friend."
This is a very general, though a very accurate, statement
of a principle which will presently be seen to be a corollary
of the doctrine of duality of mind and of sub-conscious
intelligence.
92 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
A person in imminent and deadly peril telepathically
conveys a message to his nearest friend or relative, inform-
ing him of the occurrence. This may be done by means
of a vision or by clairaudience, or otherwise ; but it must
necessarily be done by some means that addresses itself to
the sensory experience of the percipient. It is a message
from the subjective mind of the " agent " to that of the
" percipient." If the percipient is a psychic, he will prob-
ably perceive the import of the message at once. If he is
not a psychic, or is not easily thrown into the psychical or
subjective condition, he may not be able for hours to ele-
vate the message above the threshold of his own conscious-
ness. If he isjncapable (as most people are) of becoming
objectively conscious of what is going on in his subjective
mind, he may never be able to become normally conscious
of the message that is lying "latent " in his "subliminal
consciousness." Nevertheless the information is there,
although he may not, as before remarked, be conscious of
it at the time of its reception. It may remain latent for a
week or a month ; or he may never be able to take objec-
tive cognizance of it unaided by some one more sensitive to
subjective impressions.
It must be remembered that telepathy is one of those
psychic powers th_at_Js__seldom, if ever, acquired by pjersons
who are in a normal state of physical health. Let me not
be misunderstood on this point. When we speak of one
possessing telepathic power, we usually mean, simply, that
he is one who is capable of taking objective cognizance, or
becoming objectively conscious, of the messages received by
his subjective mind. In other words, he is one who is
capable of elevating the impressions of his sub-conscious
intelligence above the threshold of his normal or objective
consciousness. The fact that he is unable to do this is no
evidence that he is incapable of receiving subjective im-
pressions, or that he does not receive telepathic messages.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 93
Indeed, the facts show that there is practically little differ-
ence, other things being equal, in the capacity of persons
of average intelligence for receiving telepathic communica-
tions. The difference consists, not in the ability to receive,
but in the ability to perceive, or to become objectively con- '
scious, of what has been received. And the latter power
usually finds its origin in an abnormal physical condition, I
ranging in intensity from that of an incipient neurosis to ,
the terrible affliction endured by the_Seeress of Prevorst,
the power and the phy_sical abnormality nearly always sus-'
taining perfectly harmonious proportional relations.
It follows that a perfectly normal, healthy man is seldom
able to assimilate the full content of a telepathic message.
It reaches his consciousness, if at all, only in the form of a
vague impression, creating a transient feeling of unrest or
foreboding, but which is soon submerged or thrown off by
his superabundant vitality. Few are entirely exempt from
such impressions, and they vary in intensity in proportion
to their importance to the individual. But the fact that
one is not able to take objective cognizance of their full
import does not prove that the information, in all its
details, is not indelibly stamped upon the tablets of the
soul. From this postulate it follows that the work of a
trained psychic, capable of reading the minds of his sit-
ters, is all that is necessary to reveal the full content of
a telepathic message latent in the subjective mind of his
client.
The foregoing propositions seem almost self-evident to
the merest tyro in psychic science ; but as Mr. Myers and
his colleagues, Messrs. Gurney and Podmore, have taken
pains not only clearly to define " deferred percipience "
and note it as an important factor in telepathy, but to
demonstrate it experimentally and print accounts of its
illustrative cases occurring spontaneously, it becomes our
duty to present a few of the most prominent of those facts
94 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
recorded by them, to the end that a most important factor
in telepathy may not be in danger of being overlooked.
The first case to which I invite attention was experi-
mental. The facts seem trivial; but, as they illustrate an
important principle, space cannot be refused for their
reproduction. The author introduces the experiment by
the following prefatory remarks :
" I will quote one more taste-series, for the sake of illustrating
a special point, namely, the deferment of the percipient's con-
sciousness of the sensation until a time when the agent had
himself ceased to feel it This fact is of great interest, on
account of the marked analogy to it which we shall encounter
in many of the spontaneous telepathic cases.
"June nth, 1885.
" Dr. Hyla Greves was in contact with Miss Relph, having
tasted salad oil.
" Miss Relph said : ' I feel a cool sensation in my mouth,
something like that produced by sal prunelle.'
" Mr. R. C. Johnson in contact, having tasted Worcestershire
sauce in another room.
" ' I taste something oily ; it is very like salad oil.' Then a
few minutes after contact with Mr. Johnson had ceased, 'My
mouth seems getting hot after the oil.' fN. B. Nothing at all
had been said about the substances tasted either by Dr. Greves
or Mr. Johnson.)
" Dr. Greves in contact, having tasted bitter aloes.
" ' I taste something frightfully hot . . . something like vine-
gar and pepper. ... Is it Worcestershire sauce ? '
" Mr. Guthrie in contact, also having tasted bitter aloes.
" ' I taste something extremely bitter, but don't know what
it is, and do not remember tasting it before. ... It is a very
horrid taste.' " l
The next experimental case is also seemingly trivial, but
is important as an illustration of deferred percipience.
This experiment was one of a series made by Rev. P. H.
Newnham, Vicar of Maker, Devonport, England, his wife
being the mind-reader. The questions were written down
1 Phantasms of the Living, vol. i. p. 56.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 95
by Mr. Newnham, the wife knowing nothing of their char-
acter ; and the answers were written out by her by means
of planchette :
" ' What name shall we give to our new dog ? '
" A. ' Yesterday was not a fair trial.'
" ' Why was not yesterday a fair trial ? '
" A. ' Dog.'
" And again :
" ' What do I mean by chaffing C. about a lilac tree ? '
"A. 'Temper and imagination.'
" ' You are thinking of somebody else. Please reply to my
question.'
"A. 'Lilacs.'
" Here a single image or word seems to have made its mark
on the percipient's mind, without calling any originative activity
into play ; and we thus get the naked reproduction. In these
last examples we again notice the feature of deferred impression.
The influence only gradually became effective, the immediate
answer being irrelevant to the question. We may suppose,
therefore, that the first effect took place below the threshold of
consciousness." 1
To these remarks is added a footnote, as follows :
" The following case, though not strictly experimental, is
sufficiently in point to be worth quoting. Though unfortu-
nately not recorded in writing at the time, it was described
within a few days of its occurrence to Mr. Podmore, who is
acquainted with all the persons concerned. The narrator is
Miss Robertson, of 229 Marylebone Road, W.
" About three years ago I was speaking of planchette-writing
to some of my friends, when a young lady, a daughter of the
house where I was spending the evening, mentioned that she
had played with planchette at school, and that it had always
written for her. Thereupon I asked her to spend the evening
with me, and try it again, which she agreed to do. On the
morning of the day on which she had arranged to come to me,
her brother, on leaving the house, said, laughing, ' Well, Edith,
it is all humbug ; but if planchette tells you the name and sum
of money which are on a check which I have in my pocket, and
which I am going to cash for mother, I will believe there is
1 Op. cit, pp. 70, 71.
96 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
something in it.' Edith, on her arrival at my house in the
evening, told me of this, and I said, ' We must not expect that ;
planchette never does what one wants,' or words to that effect.
A couple of hours after, we tried the planchette, Edith's hand
alone touching it. It almost immediately wrote, quite clearly,
'I. SPALDING, 6 13. 4.'
I had forgotten about the check, and I said, ' What can that
mean ? ' Upon which Edith replied, ' It is H.'s check.' I was
incredulous, having a long acquaintance with planchette. I
said, ' If it is right, send me word directly you get home. I am
sure it will not be.' But the next day I received a letter from
Edith, telling me that she had astonished her brother greatly by
telling him the name and amount on the check, which was per-
fectly correct. I have read this account to the young lady and
her brother, who sign it as well as myself.
'NORA ROBERTSON.
< E. C.
' D. C. H. C.'
"In answer to an inquiry, Miss Robertson adds, on Feb. 12,
1885 :
" ' Miss E. C. says, in answer to your question, that she is
quite certain she could not have known or surmised the name
and amount of the check.
" ' I can confirm her on the first point, for I remember ques-
tioning everybody all round at the time. She had just returned
from school, and knew nothing at all about her mother's busi-
ness or money matters.'
" Here, it will be observed, the impression seems not only to
have been unconscious, but to have remained latent for several
hours before taking effect; for it is, at any rate, the most natu-
ral supposition that the transference actually occurred at the
time when the conversation on the subject took place between
the brother and sister."
The intelligent reader will not fail to notice that the
foregoing is not only illustrative of deferred percipience,
but is representative of a very large class of cases where
the message never reaches the normal consciousness of the
percipient except through extraneous means. In this case
it was by planchette, in the hands of the percipient; but
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 97
does any one suppose that if some one else had operated
the instrument, who was also a good telepathist and en
rapport with Edith, the same result would not have been
produced? For instance, suppose Miss Robertson had
been thus endowed, would it have been necessary to at-
tribute the phenomenon to supermundane agency if she
had succeeded in reading in Edith's subjective mind what
was obviously there, namely, the details regarding the
check? Certainly not. And yet that would have been
a case exactly such as Messrs. Savage and Myers have
declared unaccountable except under the hypothesis of
spirit communion.
The next case of deferred percipience recorded in " Phan-
tasms of the Living" was related by the percipient, Mr.
Frederick Wingfield, of France. The essential part of the
narrative is the following :
"'On the night of Thursday, the 25th of March, 1880, I
retired to bed after reading till late, as is my habit. I dreamed
that I was lying on my sofa reading, when, on looking up, I
saw distinctly the figure of my brother, Richard Wingfield-
Baker, sitting on the chair before me. I dreamed that I spoke
to him, but that he simply bent his head in reply, rose, and left
the room. When I awoke, I found myself standing with one
foot on the ground by my bedside, and the other on the bed,
trying to speak and to pronounce my brother's name. So
strong was the impression as to the reality of his presence, and
so vivid the whole scene as dreamt, that I left my bedroom to
search for my brother in the sitting-room. I examined the
chair where I had seen him seated, I returned to bed, tried to
fall asleep in the hope of a repetition of the appearance ; but
my mind was too excited, too painfully disturbed, as I recalled
what I had dreamed. I must have, however, fallen asleep
towards the morning ; but when I awoke, the impression of my
dream was as vivid as ever, and I may add is to this very
hour equally strong and clear. My sense of impending evil
was so strong that I at once made a note in my memorandum
book of this " appearance," and added the words " God forbid."
" ' Three days afterwards I received the news that my brother,
Richard Wingfi eld-Baker, had died on Thursday evening, the
7
98 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
25th of March, 1880, at 8.30 P. M., from the effects of the ter-
rible injuries received in a fall while hunting with the Black-
more Vale hounds.' " 1
Following this case, and the corroborative evidence
verifying it, may be found the following very sensible and
judicious remarks :
" It will be seen here that the impression followed the death
by a few hours, a feature which will frequently recur. [The
italics are mine.] The fact, of course, slightly detracts from
the evidential force of a case, as compared with the completely
simultaneous coincidences; inasmuch as the odds against the
accidental occurrence of a unique impression of some one's
presence within a few hours of his death, enormous as they are,
are less enormous than the odds against a similar accidental
occurrence within five minutes of the death. But the deferment
of the impression, though to this slight extent affecting a case
as an item of telepathic evidence, is not in itself any obstacle to
the telepathic explanation. We may recall that in some of the
experimental cases the impression "was never a piece of conscious
experience at all; while in others the latency and gradual
emergence of the idea was a very noticeable feature. This
jiistifies us in presuming that an impression which ultimately
takes a sensory lorrrTmay fail in the first instance TcTreach the
thresholdjof attention. It may be unable to compete, at the
moment, with the vivid sensory impressions, and the crowd of
ideas and images, that belong to normal seasons of waking life ;
and it may thus remain latent till darkness and quiet give a
chance for its development. This view seems, at any rate, sup-
ported by the fact that it is usually at night that the delayed
impression if such it be emerges into the percipient's con-
sciousness. It is supported also by analogies which recognized
psychology supplies. I may refer to the extraordinary exalta-
tion of memory sometimes observed in hypnotic and hystero-
epileptic ' subjects ; ' or even to the vivid revival, in ordinary
dreaming, of impressions which have hardly affected the wak-
ing consciousness."
The next and last case for which room can be made is
from a narrative related by a Mrs. Montgomery to the
author of " Phantasms of the Living " :
1 Op. cit, p. 199.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 99
" February, 1884.
" ' Nearly thirty years ago I lost a sister. The place where
she died being at some distance, my husband went to the
funeral without me. I went to bed early, and had a frightful
dream of the funeral ceremony. I saw my brother faint away
at the service, and fall into the grave. I awoke with the horror
of the dream, just as my husband entered the room on his return
from the funeral, which had taken place at least eight hours
before. I asked him to tell me if anything unusual had hap-
pened, as I had had a terrible dream, and I related it. He
said, ' Who in the world told you that ? I never intended tell-
ing you.' I said, ' I only dreamt it. Just as you were coming
in, I awoke.'" 1
To this the author appends the following remarks :
" Here the picture transferred to the percipient's dream was
a precise and detailed one. It was of a sort which might at
first seem more fitly to belong to a later class, where something
of the nature of clairvoyance is suggested. Nor would the eight
hours' interval between the event and the dream be an objection
to this view j for I have already mentioned that the deferment
or latency of telepathic impressions is especially frequent in
dream and '' borderland" 1 cases, as though the idea or image had
been unable to compete with the vivid sensations which ex-
ternal realities force on the mind, and only got its chance of
emerging into consciousness when the senses were closed to
these contending influences. But seeing that at the moment of
Mrs. Montgomery's dream her husband was just about to enter
her room, with the shock of the burial scene probably fresh in
his mind, it is at any rate conceivable that he then, and not the
brother at the earlier time, transmitted the impression."
It may be here remarked that, if the author's interpreta-
tion of this occurrence is the true one, it demonstrates not
only that Mr. Savage's postulate, that " telepathy deals only
with occurrences taking place at the time," is conspicuously
inexact, but that the person whom the occurrence most
concerns is not necessarily the agent who transmits the
intelligence.
1 Op. cit, pp. 328, 329.
100 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
Even a clergyman may be prepared to relegate the
second chapter of Daniel to the domain of romance ; but
the story is highly probable, as well as illustrative of the
phenomenon of deferred percipience. Nebuchadnezzar's
dream was strongly impressed upon his mind as being very
important, yet he was not able to recall it to his objective
mind. He demanded its recall by the Magi of all classes,
and upon their failure to do so he decreed their death.
Daniel and his three friends were included in the despotic
decree. The four met and prayed over it, death staring
them in the face. Prayer and the imminence of death put
them in the best possible subjective condition, and when
this was supplemented by sleep Daniel was in telepathic
communication with the king, and, after the dream was at
least twenty-four hours old, read it from the king's mind,
which was its sole repository. The dream and the percipi-
ence were not concurrent, yet a clearer case of telepathy is
nowhere stated.
I have now presented an outline of the most important
factors in telepathy that seem to have been ignored by both
Mr. Myers and Mr. Savage, and it remains to apply them to
the case under consideration. The reader will readily
recall the salient features of Mr. Savage's test case as given
in full in Chapter III. The one fact necessary to account
for, or, rather, the one problem necessary to solve, is, how
could the details concerning the manner of the lady's death
have been transmitted telepathically to the psychic who
first informed the living that the victim was not drowned,
but had been killed by a blow on the head?
It seems to me that there are two solutions of the prob-
lem, either one of which is adequate.
The first and most obvious one, in view of the facts per-
taining to the phenomenon of " deferred percipience "
which have just been detailed, is this : It will be remem-
bered that the victim of the tragedy, " Mrs. K., and her
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. IOI
sister, Mrs. B., had both been interested in psychic investi-
gation, and had held sittings with the psychic," Mrs. E.,
the one who subsequently revealed the details of the
tragedy at a sitting in presence of the son and the sister of the
deceased. It will also be remembered that (again quoting
the language of Mr. Savage) " this Mrs. E., the psychic,
had been known to all the parties concerned for many
years, and was held in the highest respect." It is also
stated in the same paragraph that the psychic visited
Mrs. B. regularly every Monday, and that on the occasion
of these visits the three ladies " would frequently have a
sitting."
Here, then, was the situation. The psychic and the
deceased had not only been on the most intimate and
friendly terms for many years, but they " frequently had a
sitting" for "psychic investigation." Could a state of
affairs be imagined that would make it more probable that
the deceased would telepathically inform the psychic of the
great crisis through which she was passing? Could con-
ditions be imagined more favorable to the successful trans-
mission of a telepathic message to a psychic ? Surely not.
But it appears that the psychic did not become cognizant
of the facts until the sitting on Monday. It is superfluous
to say that it was simply a case of "deferred percipience."
The psychic did not happen to be in the subjective con-
dition until the Monday's sitting, and consequently was not
able to elevate the message above the threshold of her
consciousness.
Could anything be more obviously within the recognized
domain of telepathy? Yet here is a case where telepathy
was dealing "with occurrences" not "taking place at the
time." Here is a "communication of intelligence that
neither the psychic nor the sitter possessed, nor ever did
possess."
I am not yet through with the telepathic explanations of
IO2 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
this case, but have reserved the better one for the last. It
may not be better for this particular case, but it will cover
a larger number of other cases coming under the test
conditions prescribed than the one just given. For the
first explanation will not cover cases where the "agent" is
not presumably in telepathic rapport with the psychic, a
condition obviously existent in this case. The solution I
am now about to advance will not only cover this case, but
will explain all that I have ever seen, heard, or read of,
coming under the test formulas I have so often quoted.
The reader will have already anticipated me when I say
that the most obviously natural thing imaginable was for the
dying mother to send a telepathic message to her son,
informing him of all the sad details of her death, possibly
including the incidents of the Friday previous ; although
we are not bound to include the latter, for the reason that
they could have been obtained from the survivors. The
son was not a psychic, and consequently could not readily
become conscious of the content of the subjective message.
It was therefore necessarily a case of " deferred percipi-
ence," and he might never have become objectively con-
scious of the information which he subjectively possessed
had he not consulted a psychic who could read his mind.
He had that information latent in his subjective mind, and
it was necessarily an open book to the psychic. If not,
why not? As I have before remarked, the only possible
alternative is to deny the proposition that information
obtained telepathic ally can be transmitted telepatjiically.
Again I ask, If not, why not ?
Here, then, is the issue clearly defined, reduced to its
lowest terms, and divested of all extraneous, irrelevant side
issues. It is " the last ditch " of spiritism considered as a
scientific question.
The proposition is that
If A can communicate a fact by means of telepathy to B,
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 103
it follows that B can communicate the same^Jact_b^ the
same means to C.
To admit this proposition to be true is to yield the last
stronghold of spiritism.
To deny it is equivalent to affirming that telepathy can
be employed only to convey information received by some
other means.
Is there any reason to suppose that telepathy is so re-
stricted in its field of operations? Why should it be
restricted to any two individuals in a group of three or
more ? As well might one say that the power of gravity is
restricted to two of the heavenly bodies, and that because
it operates between the sun and the earth it cannot operate
between the sun and any other planet. As well might one
assume that the moon does not shine upon the earth, since
it is known that the moon derives its light from the sun.
The logical consequences of these two suppositions
would be no more disastrous to the planetary universe than
it is to the mental world to suppose that B cannot telepath
to C because A can telepath to B. In the one case it leads
to planetary chaos ; in the other it leads directly and inev-
itably into the dark and dismal realm of superstition.
Knowledge of a fact obtained by means of telepathy is
just as much a part of the recipient's stock of subjective
information as knowledge of the same fact obtained in any
other way. This being true, it is a corollary that the knowl-
edge of that fact can be telepathically communicated to
another person without reference to the method by which,
or to the source from which, it was received.
The last resource of spiritism is to deny the truth of this
proposition. Well may spiritists hesitate to admit its truth ;
for it is evident to them, as it is to every logical mind, that
when once it is admitted that information telepathically
received from one person can be telepathically communi-
cated to another, it involves the admission that the same
IO4 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
information may be transmitted by the same means to still
another, and so on, ad infinitum. It is as obvious to them
as it is to others, therefore, that, when once the admission
is made, there exists a ready means of accounting for every
conceivable case of alleged spirit communication.
Let us put the issue in another form : Let us suppose
that A has recently died. His mother, B, is not a psychic,
and knows nothing, objectively, of the death of her son,
but happens soon after to consult a " medium," C, who
knows, objectively, nothing of either A or B. Then sup-
pose that C informs B that A is dead, adding particulars,
which, if true, demonstrate positive knowledge ; and it is
subsequently found that the information is accurate.
Now, one of the two following conclusions must neces-
sarily be the true one :
i.. The first is that A, while he was yet living, telepath-
ically communicated the facts to his mother, B, and she,
unconsciously receiving the message, telepathically commu-
nicated it to C.
2. The second is that the spirit of the dead A commu-
nicated the facts directly to C.
Admitting telepathy to be a power of the human mind,
and admitting the phenomenon of " deferred percipience,"
the great question is, which of the foregoing explanations
must science accept as the true one?
This is the " crucial " l question of Mr. Savage. Here is
his " Rubicon " 2 which marks the boundary between the
two worlds. Unlike the historical Rubicon, upon the banks
of which Imperial Caesar paused, it is both wide and deep ;
but they find a parallel only in the tremendous responsibili-
ties assumed in venturing to cross.
The supposed case is identical with the " residuary phe-
nomena " which Mr. Myers and Mr. Savage agree in attrib-
uting to spirits of the dead. I protest that I am unable to
1 Psychics : Facts and Theories, p. 148, 2 Ibid., p. 149.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 105
follow them. I do not know of any rule of logic or science
which will warrant me in attributing to supermundane
agency any phenomenon which can be explained by refer-
ence to known principles of natural law. Nor do I know
of any rule which would warrant me in presuming a super-
mundane cause for a phenomenon when even cognate phe-
nomena are explicable under principles of natural law.
Let us for a moment contemplate the " scientific " atti-
tude which these gentlemen have assumed.
It is elementary to say that no hypothesis can be true
unless it is capable of explaining all the phenomena per-
taining to the subject-matter. In other words, if one single
pertinent fact is inexplicable under an hypothesis, that
hypothesis is necessarily wrong. Yet these gentlemen are
attempting to base an hypothesis upon a " small residuum "
of phenomena, whilst admitting that the " vast bulk " of
cognate phenomena are explicable under well-known prin-
ciples of natural law.
Now, one of the primary rules of scientific investigation
is that when a series of phenomena has been attributed to
supermundane agency, if one of that series can be shown to
have been produced by mundane causes, all the rest of the
series must be presumed to have the same origin until the
contrary is demonstrated.
Under this rule, no true scientist or logician has a right,
for one moment, to consider the spiritistic hypothesis as
tenable after it has been demonstrated that one alleged
spirit communication is the result of telepathic communion
between the minds of living persons. Perhaps it would be
asking too much to insist that the average advocate of
spiritism should be governed by the letter of this harsh
rule. But I do protest, in the name of outraged science,
against all attempts to base an hypothesis upon a " small
residuum " of phenomena.
Primitive man held that thunder was the voice of an
IO6 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
angry god. Science demonstrates that it is caused by elec-
tricity passing between two clouds, or between a cloud and
the earth. Every school-boy now knows, when he sees a
flash of lightning, that electricity is seeking an equilibrium,
and that he may expect to hear thunder. He knows, too,
when he hears a peal of thunder, that a flash of lightning
has preceded it, although he may not have observed the
lightning. It would cause some surprise to hear a modern
scientist, trained to habits of close observation, strict analy-
sis, and logical classification of phenomena, who, having
once heard a peal of thunder and failed to observe the
flash of lightning that preceded it, I say it would cause
some surprise to hear such a man calmly observe that
" thunder is divided into three classes. The first is the
result of electricity passing between clouds ; the second is
the result of electricity passing between the clouds and the
earth. These comprise the ' vast bulk ' of the phenomena ;
but there is a ' still smaller residuum ' of thunder which
cannot be thus accounted for, and must be held to be the
voice of an angry god."
Yet this is precisely parallel to the attitude assumed by
Mr. Myers in regard to alleged spirit communications.
He divides them into three classes, and admits that the
"vast bulk" of them can easily be explained either by
reference to previous knowledge possessed by the psychic,
or to that obtained by him through the medium of telepathy.
But when he finds a case where the source of the telepathic
message is not entirely obvious to his mind, he forgets his
scientific training, and boldly crosses the Rubicon which
marks the boundary between the realms of science and
superstition.
Again, Mr. Savage, in effect, says that " it stretches the
theory of telepathy beyond probability," to suppose it pos-
sible for a message received telepathically to be transmitted
to another by the same means.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 07
I have read somewhere of a " scientist " of a certain
school, who said that he could very well understand that
the apple which Newton is popularly supposed to have ob-
served as it fell to the ground, may have been influenced
by gravity when it performed that historic feat. He was
also ready to admit that the earth directly as to the
mass and inversely as to the square of the distance
moved to meet the apple, as that would not require the
earth to move very far, and consequently it was not very
much of a concession, anyway ; but he thought it was
stretching the theory of gravitation a little too far to sup-
pose it to be capable of reaching out into the space and
influencing the sun, moon, and stars. He was one of that
numerous class who are constantly descanting upon the
"simplicity" of Nature's laws; and yet he preferred to
believe that each planet was held in its' course by a miracle.
He has many followers to-day who hold that it is " much
easier, and therefore more in accordance with the simplicity
of the operations of Nature,^' to attribute jspiritistic phe-
nomena directly to spirits of the dead than to attempt to
account for them by the " complicatedj^_theory of telepathy.
True, it is " easier " and " simpler." It saves thinking.
It was also easier and simpler to suppose that the earth
was flat. It complicated matters very decidedly when it
was discovered that it is round ; and still more when it was
found that it is not the centre of the universe, but only an
infinitesimal part of the stupendous whole.
There is a constant tendency in the popular mind to
confound simplicity of formula with^ simplicity of operation.
The former is generally simple to the last degree. The
latter is infinitely complicated. Thus, nothing could be
simpler than the formulas expressing the three laws of
Kepler. But what a vast and complicated system they
represent ! A single instance will illustrate my meaning.
Nothing could exceed in simplicity his statement that
108 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
"the planets move in ellipses, having the sun in one focus."
The old astronomers, ever in search of simplicity, con-
ceived the notion that the planets must move in perfect
circles around the sun. But Tycho Brahe's accurate obser-
vations, seconded by Kepler's genius for generalization,
developed the fact that the planets move in curves of the
extremest possible complexity. This contrast between the
simplicity of a formula and the complexity of its application
is observable in all of Nature's operations. It is true in
mechanics, as shown, for instance, in the formula defining
the power of the lever. That formula is so simple that a
child can grasp its fundamental significance ; yet in every
complicated machine its powers are developed and utilized,
with its various modifications, in a thousand different places
and directions ; and in all animated Nature it is utilized in
such an infinity of complexities as to defy analysis. This
contrast is as true in the realm of psychology as it is else-
where. The_ formulas expressive of the greatest truths are
always simple. They can be comprehended in their funda-
mental significance by the most ordinary intelligence ; but
a lifetime of study will fail to discover the infinite compli-
cations involved in their practical operations. ^
Simplicity of operation, therefore, is not a test of scien-
tific truth. That notion belongs to the primitive ages of
scientific investigation. On the contrary, every new dis-
covery of a natural law reveals an infinity of unexpected
complications in the operations of the forces of Nature.
Nor is simplicity of statement a sure criterion of truth,
although its opposite always renders a proposition open to
suspicion. It is obvious that an error can be formulated in
as simple terms as_ a_truth.
Thus, when we are told that a psychic phenomenon is
produced by disembodied spirits, and are gravely informed
that this explanation is the simplest, and therefore more
in accordance with the simplicity of Nature's laws than is a
OF THE FUTURE. LIFE. 1 09
" complicated " telepathic explanation involving the exercise
of that power by at least three individuals, the statement
does not carry conviction to the scientific mind, " simple "
as the explanation may be. The spiritistic explanation does
not explain. It merely gets rid of the question by thrusting
it outside the domain of science, outside the region of ascer-
tained facts and the known laws of the human mind.
This attitude is all the more remarkable in a scientist
when we consider the fact that in abandoning the realm of
demonstrated laws he plunges into a region of which nothing
is definitely known, into an hypothetical world, peopled
by hypothetical spirits. And it is still more remarkable when
we reflect that the only fact upon which he could possibly
base a claim to a logical right to enter the unknown world
for an explanation, is the very fact in dispute. He does
not even claim to have any fact, or class of facts, upon
which to base his hypothesis of spirit communion other
than the very ones in controversy. His attitude, therefore,
is this :
A phenomenon is to be accounted for. On the one hand,
it is claimed that it is explicable by the well-known facts of
telepathy. On the other hand, Messrs. Savage and Myers
say, " No, we do not know how to explain it by telepathy.
It must, therefore, be spirits of the dead." If asked what
facts they have in support of the spiritistic theory, their reply
is, "The fact that it cannot be explained by telepathy."
How do you know that it cannot be explained by telepathy ?
" Because the phenomenon was produced by spirits."
In other words, such scientists reason in a circle ; and
their hypothesis is unsupported by anything save their bare,
bald assertion that a " small residuum of phenomena "
proceeds from disembodied spirits.
It may be replied that my theory rests upon the mere
assertion that the phenomena are explicable by reference to
telepathy. This, however, cannot reasonably be said; for
IIO A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
my theory is in direct line with the well-known and
admitted facts of telepathy, whilst theirs implies an utter
abandonment of the domain of demonstrable facts. My
theory is wholly within the logical limits of scientific in-
duction, whilst theirs implies a bold leap into the realm of
superstition.
The question is often asked, " If two embodied spirits
can communicate with each other by means of telepathy,
why cannot a disembodied spirit communicate with one
still in the flesh by the same means?" My answer is, I do
not know. x Nor do I know of any one who does know.
I submit, however, that it is not a pertinent question ; for,
be the facts as they may, it is obvious that no one can tell
why disembodied spirits can or cannot communicate with
the living. The real and only pertinent question is, "Do
disembodied spirits communicate with the living?" The
answer to this question must be made by each individual
for himself, and the character of the answer will depend
upon the evidence before him and his capacity for estimating
its value. My own answer has already been given in the
preceding pages, and more fully elsewhere. 1 That answer is,
that there is no valid scientific evidence whatever that
spirits of the dead have ever communicated in any manner
with living persons. In investigating this question I have
been influenced solely by a desire to learn the truth ; and in
coming to this conclusion I have been guided by the rules and
axioms of logical, scientific investigation, as I understand
them. Amongst the latter I have found none more worthy
of confidence than those set forth by Mr. Myers in his
admirable Introduction to " Phantasms of the Living." One
sentence of that essay should be stamped upon the memory
of every investigator of psychic science. It is this : " We
must not rashly multiply the problems involved in this difficult
inquiry" This declaration refers to the very question now
1 See " The Law of Psychic Phenomena."
JZ&j*
/ ty^L* <2~*"
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. Ill
under consideration; namely, whether any part of the
phenomena of supersensory transference of thoughts or
messages are produced by spirits of the dead. Continuing,
Mr. Myers says : " It is certainly safer to inquire how far they
can be explained by the influences or impressions, which,
as we know by actual experiment, living persons can under
certain circumstances exert or effect on one another, in those
obscure supersensory modes which we have provisionally
massed together under the title of Telepathy." This is
Mr. Myers the scientist. Mr. Myers the spiritist has,
nevertheless, "rashly multiplied the problems involved in
this difficult inquiry " by ascribing a part of the phenomena
to disembodied spirits. I have therefore appealed from
Mr. Myers the spiritist to Mr. Myers the scientist, with
what success I leave our readers to judge. \*~ ^~- ** = * c f* >J
I have stated all I deem it necessary to say in regard to
spiritism, considered as an alleged means of communicating
with disembodied spirits. I have confined my remarks
to the " residuary phenomena " which embrace all that
remains to be accounted for, according to the deliberate
admissions of two of the ablest scientific advocates of
spiritism now living. I do not expect other spiritists to be
bound by their admissions ; for other spiritists are satisfied
with a far inferior grade and weight of evidence than they
are. Indeed, I know of no one in the ranks of spiritism
who is so careful as they are in weighing the value of
evidence for or against the spiritistic hypothesis. Nor do
I know of any whose qualitative and quantitative analysis
of spiritistic phenomena has left a smaller residuum of
facts upon which to base the hypothesis of spirit communi-
cation. The scientific world will never cease to be grateful
to them for the painstaking care which they have exer-
cised in eliminating the "vast bulk" of the phenomena
which have been attributed to supermundane agency ; and
if I have succeeded in reducing them to a " still smaller
112 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
residuum," I shall beg the privilege of quietly basking in
the reflected glory of their achievements. -~ ^^^ T~
As I remarked at the opening of this discussion, I have
felt compelled to treat the subject of spiritism at some length,
for the reason that it is always of the first importance that
the basic facts under consideration, in any scientific investi-
gation, should be properly classified. The gentlemen whose
views I have criticised will be the first to indorse this propo-
sition. Moreover, each of us is in pursuit of the same ulti-
mate object ; namely, a scientific demonstration of a future
life. The broad line of difference in our methods of reason-
ing up to that conclusion may be summed up briefly as
follows :
My proposition is that psychic phenomena, properly
interpreted, including that which they attribute to disem-
bodied spirits, furnish indubitable evidence of a future life ;
and that the only interpretation which science can give to
such phenomena is that it emanates from the living psychic,
and never from disembodied spirits.
They hold that psychic phenomena, of the so-called
spiritistic variety, are valuable as evidence of a future life
only on the supposition that they, or some of them at least,
emanate directly from disembodied spirits; and that a
demonstration that disembodied spirits can communicate
with the living constitutes a demonstration that there is
a future life for mankind.
I hold that so-called spiritistic phenomena are valuable
as evidence of a future life only on the supposition that
none of them emanate from disembodied spirits. My rea-
sons are briefly these :
In the first place, two antagonistic hypotheses cannot
both be correct ; nor can each be partly true and partly
false : for any hypothesis that does not explain all the
facts is necessarily wrong, and therefore utterly valueless.
Thus, if any one of a series of so-called spiritistic phe-
OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 113
nomena can be demonstrated to emanate from disembodied
spirits, the telepathic hypothesis is necessarily invalid as a
solvent for that series of phenomena. On the other hand,
if one of said series can be demonstrated to be referable to
telepathy between living persons, the spiritistic hypothesis
is necessarily wrong. In other words, it is a logical neces-
sity that, as between two antagonistic hypotheses, one or the
other must be wholly right and the other wholly wrong, or
both must be wholly wrong. The nature of the case does
not admit of compromise ; for principles of natural law are
not established by majorities of facts, nor are there excep-
tions in the operation of natural laws. It follows that if
one psychic phenomenon could be scientifically demon-
strated to have been produced by disembodied spirits, the
whole subject would be relegated to logical chaos, and some
solution of the mystery would have to be sought for other
than that embraced in either of the hypotheses under
consideration. \^Tt,- _ c^7T^^"i^c^^i^C^^,
Moreover, if all the phenomena which have been ascribed
to supermundane agency could be demonstrated to proceed
from disembodied spirits, the problem of a future life would
be not a whit nearer to a solution than it was when Job .
propounded his momentous question ; for the question of
spirit identity would still arise to plague the faithful. It
will not be denied that the question of spirit identity is,
and ever has been, the one great problem which defies
solution. Nor will it be denied that, if it is true that spirits
do communicate with the living, there is indubitable evi-
dence that there are evil spirits as well as good ; that there
are ignorant spirits as well as enlightened ; that there are
" spirits of health " as well as " goblins damned ; " and that
their intents are sometimes " wicked " and sometimes
"charitable." If, therefore, we are forced to accept al-
leged spirit communications as genuine emanations from
disembodied spirits, it by no manner of means follows that
8
114 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
one of them comes from a spirit who has once been incar-
nated ; and the problem of a future life for man is just as
far from a solution as it was before kitchen furniture began
to testify and hysterical women to teach the science of the
soul.
/~~ -+ L
CHAPTER VI.
ANCIENT PSYCHIC PHENOMENA.
The Importance of Correct Classification of Phenomena. The
Science of the Soul. The Phenomena of the Soul. Old Tes-
tament Records. The Pentateuch. The Higher Criticism.
The Psychic History of the Children of Israel. Unreasoning
Scepticism. Aaron's Rod. Moses as a Psychic. His Methods
and his Instrumentalities. The God of Moses. His Human
Characteristics. His Advice to " spoil the Egyptians." Moses'
Interview with God on Mount Sinai. The Molten Calf. The
Anger of God. His Determination to destroy the Children of
Israel. Moses argues the Question. He causes God to Re-
pent. Renewal of the Covenant. Objective Moses vs. Sub-
jective Moses.
TF my remarks thus far made have led the reader to infer
* that I regard the phenomena of spiritism as an unmixed
evil, I hasten to remove the impression. Of no phenom-
enon of Nature can this properly be said. The phenomena
of Nature are the facts of Nature ; and it is from those facts
that we must study the sciences. It is only when we
wrongly interpret or erroneously classify a fact, that it
bears upon its face the appearance of evil, or is divested of
its importance to mankind. Every fact in Nature is im-
portant if properly classified and interpreted. Conversely,
if the most apparently insignificant fact is improperly classi-
fied, it often becomes a stumbling-block of great magnitude
in the pathway of the searcher after truth. No true scien-
tist can, or will attempt to, deny the truth of these ele-
mentary propositions. My remarks relating to psychic
Il6 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
phenomena have thus far been made for the sole purpose
of properly classifying a very important series of psychic
facts, the facts of so-called spiritism. No one will deny
the importance of this first step, if we are to study the sub-
ject scientifically. That we must study it scientifically if
we would arrive at the truth, all will admit.
Psychology is, or should be, an exact science. There is
no more reason why it should not be an exact science than
there is why astronomy or electricity should be left out of
that category; provided always that we apply the same
rules of investigation to psychology that we apply to any of
the other sciences. To that end, the one fundamental pre-
requisite is that we carefully and conscientiously study the
facts. In doing this, however, the first thing needful is to
divest ourselves of all prejudice arising from preconceived
opinions of our own. The second, which is equally impor-
tant, is to divest our minds of all prejudice in Jayor of the
opinions of others whose conclusions are not based upon
well-authenticated phenomena. The third, and perhaps
the most important of all, is that we should divest ourselves
of all emotional opinions. It is to the misdirected emo-
tions of mankind that the world has been indebted for all
the opposition that has ever been directed against the
progress of science. It was the misdirected and perverted
emotion of religious worship that directed the tortures and
lighted the fires of the Inquisition, and has again and again
drenched the earth with human blood ; and no one will
deny that the ranks of spiritism are to-day largely recruited
from the class of people who allow their emotions to blind
their judgment. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance
that we should guard ourselves against the tendency to
emotionalism when studying the science of psychology ; for
those very emotions constitute a most important part of the
facts which we shall be called upon calmly to investigate.
The term " psychology " is derived from the two Greek
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 1/
words psyche, the soul, and logos, a treatise. Psychology
is, therefore, the science of the soul.
Like every other science, it must be studied by and
through the observation of the facts pertaining to the sub-
ject treated. As the science of astronomy must be studied
by observing the movements of the heavenly bodies, the
science of chemistry by the study of chemical combinations
and reactions, the science of geology by a study of the
physical structure of the earth; so must the science of
psychology be studied by and through the observation of
the phenomena of the soul.
To reduce my propositions to a more orderly form, they
stand thus :
1. The Psyche, or what I have elsewhere termed the
"subjective mind," is the soul.
2. The phenomena of the soul are, therefore, what are
generally termed " psychic phenomena."
3. The soul is the source of all psychic phenomena.
4. The emotions of religious worship, and the longings
for immortal life, are psychic phenomena.
5 . It follows that the facts which we must study, and from
which we must deduce all legitimate, logical conclusions
relating to the science of the soul, consist of observable
psychic phenomena. v
It is only by an appeal to these facts that we can scien-
tifically demonstrate that man has a soul. It is by reference
to psychic phenomena alone that the existence of a Deity
can be demonstrated. Physical science can do neither
the one nor the other ; nor can it throw more than the
faintest glimmer of light upon either question.
To the materialistic scientist physical nature conceals all
that man would know of God or of his own soul. Psychic
phenomena alone reveals that knowledge.
The science of the soul is, therefore, necessarily the
science of religion. To attempt to divorce religion from
Il8 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
psychic phenomena is to attempt the impossible. It is only
when psychic phenomena are misinterpreted that the cause
of religion falls into disrepute, or that a knowledge of the
living God is withheld from mankind.
Ignorance of psychic laws has placed gods upon the
throne of heaven possessing all the frailties, weaknesses, and
passions common to mankind. It has peopled the earth
with "spirits of health" and with "goblins damned." It
has been the source of every superstition that has ever ter-
rified the soul and warped the judgment of man. It has
created a material hell and filled it with demons, a material
heaven and peopled it with demigods.
On the other hand, grossly as psychic phenomena have
been misunderstood, the fact still remains that they have
constituted the foundation of every religion worthy of the
name. Such phenomena have been the only means whereby
man has been led to the conception of a higher power.
They have constituted the basis of his hope for a life
beyond the grave ; and they have furnished the evidence of
the divine mission of all the epoch-making characters who
have been instrumental in lifting the souls of men to a
higher moral and spiritual plane. In a word, they have
constituted the great bulwark which has protected mankind
against the assaults of materialism and its consequent moral
irresponsibility.
The spiritual history of man is, therefore, but a record of
psychic phenomena.
In the world's intellectual infancy all the phenomena of
Nature were of necessity grossly misinterpreted. Science,
however, has revealed much of truth concerning the laws of
the material universe. It has removed physical Nature from
the domain of the supernatural, and safely conducted it
within the province of induction. The future of physical
science is, therefore, assured. None of its phenomena will
ever again be relegated to the realms of the supernatural.
OF THE FUTURE L7FE. 1 19
Its future is eternal progress. Spiritual science has yet to
be formulated and brought within the realm of induction.
The Old Testament records furnish the most striking
illustrations of what I have said of misinterpreted psychic
phenomena. Much valuable time has heretofore been em-
ployed in the discussion of questions pertaining to the
authenticity and the historical accuracy of the Pentateuch.
Countless treatises- have been written, displaying profound
learning and patient research, in which are discussed questions
such as whether Moses is the author of the whole, or of only
a part, or, indeed, of any of the Pentateuch ; whether it is
an historical work, or merely legendary and poetical (De
Wette) ; whether Ezra was its sole author, as also of all the
other historical books of the Old Testament (Spinoza) j or
whether it is an agglomeration of fragments written by many
men at different epochs (Geddes) . Much ingenuity has also
been displayed in attempts to prove that the whole has a
mystical meaning ; in which efforts its historical possibilities
are entirely ignored.
The rabbins held that all but a small portion of the latter
part of Deuteronomy was written by Moses. From the
Jewish synagogues this belief was inherited by the Christian
Church, and it is still widely prevalent among Christians of
the present day. It was not until the seventeenth century
that the belief was seriously challenged or the doctrine of
plenary inspiration questioned by any part of the Church.
The higher criticism of more recent times, however, has
done much to dispel the palpable errors of former beliefs,
and to bring comparative order out of legendary chaos.
It is not my purpose to enter the prolific field of discus-
sion which these questions present. I wish, however, briefly
to touch upon what seems to me to be the salient feature
of the Old Testament records ; namely, their character as
depositories of psychic facts.
It is fashionable to deride the history of the children of
120 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
Israel and of their exodus from the land of their bondage
and their sorrows. The unreasoning sceptic regards it as
a fiction, written in the infancy of the human intellect, by
men whose minds were dominated by superstitions, or by
the priesthood for their own aggrandizement and the subju-
gation of their followers. Even those who believe in the
plenary inspiration of the Bible and the literal truth of the
Mosaic account of creation, find it hard to identify the God
of love, mercy, and benevolence which Christ taught man-
kind to adore, with the God of Moses, who was character-
ized by all the weakness, passion, jealousy, cruelty, and
vindictiveness common to primitive humanity. It seems
evident that between the extremes of unreasoning scepticism
on the one hand and of equally unreasoning credulity on the
other, the truth must be found. When it is sought in that
direction, it will be discovered that the questions of author-
ship and dates possess very little importance compared with
the insight which will be gained of the first great step in the
evolution of spiritual man.
As before intimated, it is from the psychical standpoint
that we must study the early history of the religion of
the Jews ; and as it is from that religion that the religion
of Christendom has been evolved, the subject possesses
the most transcendent interest and importance.
If any one who understands the elementary principles
involved in the production of the psychic phenomena
known to this generation as " spiritistic," will, in the light
of that knowledge, read the Old Testament, particularly
that part of the Pentateuch relating to the exodus of the
children of Israel from Egypt, he will find a record of
psychic phenomena unsurpassed by any of the alleged
performances of the adepts of the Orient. Viewed in that
light, it will be found that many of the statements there
recorded, which have provoked the scepticism and excited
the ridicule of a great portion of the human family, will
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 12 1
assume such an air of probability that they maybe regarded
as within the range of possible history. In saying this, I do
not take into account the so-called miracle of the rod of
Aaron, which, thrown upon the ground, changed into a
serpent ; although it is no more wonderful than many of
the alleged facts of the Yogis of India which seem to be
well authenticated. Indeed, those feats of Moses and Aaron
were paralleled at the time by those of Pharaoh's magicians
and sorcerers, whose rods also exhibited the same phe-
nomena when thrown upon the ground ; albeit the rod of
Aaron demonstrated his greater power as a magician. The
point is that it was the same power in the one case as in the
other. If the magicians did their work within the domain
of natural law, we have no right to suppose that Aaron tran-
scended that limit. Assuming the statements to be true, the
only legitimate conclusion is that Aaron was the greater
magician. In other words, the same principle that I have
so often tried to enforce applies here ; namely, that we have
no logical or scientific right to attribute any phenomenon to
supernatural agency when cognate phenomena are explicable
by reference to natural causes.
But it is not of the phenomena recorded in the Pentateuch
where the modern parallels are involved in scientific doubt
that I wish to speak. The salient feature of the psychic
career of Moses consists in his supposed communion with
God. Of those phenomena we have innumerable parallels
in modern times which are scientifically authenticated, and
we know something of the laws which pertain to their
production.
That Moses was a psychic, is evident. He was familiar
with all the occult arts known to the magicians and con-
jurers of Egypt. He had been educated partly in the
household of the Egyptian royal family; but his early
training was in his mother's home and family, and he was
consequently imbued with a belief in the God of Israel and
122 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
reverence for his name. His conception of the attributes
of the Deity was necessarily limited by the prevalent beliefs
of his people and the traditions of his ancestry. He was
wise, energetic, and ambitious. Educated and reared in
the household of Pharaoh's daughter, he was advanced
far beyond his people in knowledge and practical educa-
tion. He had not shared the miseries of their bondage,
nor had his spirit been broken by the tyranny of their
taskmasters; but his sympathies were with them, and
his proud, imperious soul revolted against the oppression
and degradation of his people. His mind was the store-
house of the traditions of his race, and he had faith in
the promise of the God of his fathers. That promise
had been a tradition handed down to the Israelites
from a remote ancestry. It sustained them during all
the long years of their bondage, it encouraged them
during all the long and weary journey in the wilderness,
and it is still a living element of the religion of that race.
That Moses was thoroughly imbued with faith in that prom-
ise, is shown by the facts of his subsequently reminding God
of it at critical periods in the history of the exodus,
" Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to
whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I
will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land
that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall
inherit it forever."
Moreover, Moses had committed a crime which com-
pelled him to flee from his native land to escape the
vengeance of the king. During the long years of his
exile he had cherished a personal hatred of the reign-
ing family of Egypt, for that " Pharaoh sought to slay
him." Undoubtedly that feeling extended to the whole
Egyptian race, and added a potent element to the com-
bination of circumstances all of which conspired to point
to him as the future deliverer of his people from their
OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
123
slavery. That such a chain of circumstances would
naturally be so construed by such a man as the biogra-
phers of Moses have portrayed, there can be no doubt.
That this was the actual effect upon his mind, cannot be
questioned in view of subsequent events. His mind was
filled to saturation with the auto-suggestion which crys-
tallized in the vision which he saw on Mount Horeb, and
which found voice in the command there given to go
into Egypt, deliver his people from their bondage, and
conduct them to the promised land. In view of the
developments of modern science, there can be no other
rational interpretation of the phenomenon alleged to have
occurred on Mount Horeb. He was a psychic. He
subjectively saw the vision of the burning bush, and he
subjectively (clair-audiently) heard the voice. His educa-^
tion and habit of thought produced an auto-suggestion '
that it was the voice of God; and, true to the universal
law of suggestion, it assumed to be the voice of God. (
The effect of this vision and of this command upon the
mind of such a man as Moses could have been no other
than what it is represented to have been. It gave direc-
tion, tone, and color to his whole subsequent career ; and ,
the events which followed constitute a history of psychic '
phenomena which find many parallels in the subsequent
developments of psychic research. Doubtless many of
them have been exaggerated by his historians, and many
have been evolved from their inner consciousness. JBut
enough remains, after all due allowances are made, to
constitute a history^ the_credible evejats^of which are of |
the utmost yaluejto mankind^ for^without them the his-
tory of the evolution of __the spiritual man would not Jbe
complete.
It is not my purpose to trace in all its details the history
of the psychic manifestations recorded in the Old Testa-
ment. My primary object is to suggest a line of study
124 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
which cannot fail to interest the student of psychology, and
which may lead to important conclusions. It is important,
however, that the salient features of the communications
which it is alleged that God made to Moses and the
prophets should be noted ; for it is by the character of the
communications themselves that they must be judged. If
they actually emanated from the Deity, surely there will not
be lacking internal evidence to sustain that hypothesis. On
the other hand, if they emanated from a finite intelligence,
their character and content cannot fail to demonstrate the
fact. In other words, we must apply the same standards
of comparison to the psychic manifestations of Moses that
we employ when estimating the value and determining the
source of the messages delivered through the psychics of
to-day. The most ardent spiritist, possessed of sufficient
intelligence to seek shelter during the progress of a storm,
would not ask us to credit the statement of a psychic that a
message emanates from the spirit of a Webster, when it is
couched in the language of a stevedore. Nor can we be
expected to believe that a message emanates from the
Deity when we find that it exhibits_all the passions and
frailties of our common humanity!'' It will not be denied
by the most ardent advocate of the dogma of plenary
inspiration that the God of Moses, as represented in the
Pentateuch, exhibited many of the frailties and some of the
vices of human nature. Nor will it be denied that this fact
has been a potent weapon in the hands of scepticism in all
ages of the civilized world. The contrast between the God
of Moses and the God whom Jesus proclaimed to mankind
is too violent to permit even the most ardent Christian to
recognize their identity. Hence the resort to the theory of
the symbolism of the Pentateuch on the one hand and of
its mysticism on thigjother. It was a wise remark of Dante
that, before we attempt to explain the mystical meaning of
a passage of Scripture, it is well to be certain that the pas-
77 t~~-a '.-#*-.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 12$
sage is mystic. This rule embraces a world of practical
wisdom ; but it is not generally followed. Hence there
has been a great deal of mystical meaning extracted from
the Bible where no possible mysticism was intended ; and
much symbolism has been drawn out of passages that are
not symbolical. It may be difficult at times to determine
whether or not a mystical meaning is to be drawn from a
particular passage ; but there is one characteristic the pres-
ence of which renders it reasonably certain that a passage
is neither mystical nor symbolical. When the author
assumes Jo be relating historical.Ja.cts, and the circum-
stances which he details accord with the experience^ of
mankind, it may be safely assumed that the passage is not
mystical. It may be fiction, but it is neither mysticism
nor symbolism. The application of this test will re-
move a very important part of the Old Testament out-
side the range of the symbolical theory. This remark
applies particularly to the psychic phenomena of which
we have been speaking. As these phenomena consist
largely of the alleged communion of God with Moses
and the prophets, I propose briefly to examine one or
two examples which seem to combine the essential features
of them all.
One of the most striking examples of the intensely finite,
human character of the God of Moses is found in the
advice given to the latter during their first interview on
Mount Horeb. After commanding Moses to go to Pharaoh
and demand the release of the children of Israel, and prom-
ising to conduct the latter to a " land flowing with milk and
honey," he said,
" And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyp-
tians : and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not
go empty :
" But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her
that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold,
126 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION'
and raiment : and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon
your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians." :
Comment upon the intensely human character of this
advice would seem superfluous.
Perhaps the best illustration of the human characteristics
of the God of Moses is found in the thirty-second chapter
of Exodus. It will be remembered that when the children
of Israel arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai and pitched
their encampment, Moses went up into the mount to com-
mune with God, and remained there forty days. It was then
that the " tables of stone " were prepared, and " written with
the finger of God."
The account of the events which happened during the
long absence of Moses continues as follows :
" And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down
out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto
Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods which shall go
before us : for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up
out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
" And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden ear-rings,
which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your
daughters, and bring them unto me.
"And all the people brake off the golden ear-rings which
were in their ears and brought them unto Aaron.
" And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a
graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf : and they said,
These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the
land of Egypt.
" And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it ; and
Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to
the Lord.
" And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-
offerings, and brought peace-offerings : and the people sat
down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
" And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down : for thy
people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have
corrupted themselves :
1 Exodus iii. 21, 22.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 127
"They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I
commanded them : they have made them a molten calf, and
have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said,
These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out
of the land of Egypt.
" And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people,
and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people :
" Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot
against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make
of thee a great nation.
"And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord,
why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou
hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt, with great power,
and with a mighty hand ?
" Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say, For mis-
chief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and
to consume them from the face of the earth ? Turn from thy
fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
" Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to
whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I
will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land
that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall
inherit it forever.
" And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do
unto his people." l
Of course, there will always be room for a variety of
opinions concerning the true interpretation of these pas-
sages of Scripture. By the unreasoning sceptic they will
always be regarded as purely fictitious ; although we have
no logical right to dismiss them thus so long as there
remains any other rational interpretation. A book which,
in all ages of the civilized world, has been regarded by a
large and intelligent part of the human family as sacred
history, cannot be dismissed without a respectful hearing.
By many these passages will always be regarded as sym-
bolical; although it is difficult to imagine what they can
possibly prefigure, what practical lesson they can teach,
what principle they can symbolize.
1 Exodus xxxii. 1-14.
128 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
By a few they will always be regarded as literal truth,
written by divinely inspired men ; although it is difficult to
imagine how they can reconcile the crude and primitive
conceptions of God which these passages develop with that
grand and noble conception of the Deity which Christ
taught to mankind.
By most people, however, the Pentateuch will be regarded
as a collection of traditions handed down through many
generations, corrupted in their transmission, recorded by
different individuals, and collected and arranged by some
one or more writers not definitely identified. That this is
the true hypothesis, there can be little doubt, in view of the
developments of the higher criticism of modern times.
There is, however, always truth in tradition. No matter
how grossly the original story may have been corrupted in
its transmission from mouth to mouth through the ages of
its life,Jthe salient_Jeature of a national tradition always
retains its identity and essential character. The imagina-
tion of those through whom it passes may add details
embodying their own notions of what ought to have been
true, and the story may thus grow in magnitude, lose co-
herency, and possibly become a grotesque caricature of the
original. But the central idea retains its identity, and, to a
certain extent, its consistency ; for its foundation is gen-
erally some important truth. And the vitality of truth is
such that it can never be wholly extinguished, however
thickly it may be overlaid with error. " The eternal years
of God are hers."
Now the central truth of the Mosaic traditions consists
of the fact that Moses believed himself to be in direct
communion with God. The fact that he was in error
regarding the source of his communications does not
militate against the verity of the tradition. He believed
it to be God, and his followers so believed ; and to them it
was a most vital truth, for it gave tone and color and sub-
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 29
stance to the Jewish nation. It was during those commu-
nications that the covenant was from time to time renewed,
the covenant which God had made with Abraham and
with Isaac and with Jacob, that their seed should " multiply
as the stars of heaven," that they should be his " chosen
people," and that the "land of Canaan should be their
inheritance forever." It was their faith in this covenant
that sustained them in every adversity and filled them with
a pride and a hope which has not yet ceased to be a vital-
izing element in their national and religious character. It
was inevitable, therefore, that the central idea of their
national tradition should be preserved. It was also more
than likely that the main feature of the methods and of the
paraphernalia employed by Moses in carrying on his inter-
course with God should be preserved practically intact in
the national tradition. All the other facts and alleged facts
of Jewish history up to that time were utterly insignificant
beside the one central idea that God had appeared unto
Moses, talked habitually and familiarly with him, and had
covenanted with them to give them the land of Canaan for
an inheritance forever, and to make of them a great nation.
It is a corollary of this postulate that the phenomena which
Moses and his followers attributed to divine agency actually
occurred, substantially as they are related in the Old
Testament.
This view of the case will be still further confirmed when
we consider the specific character of the phenomena and
compare it with cognate phenomena which are occurring
every day and which can be experimentally reproduced.
In making this comparison it must be remembered that
Moses was subject to the same laws, and was hedged about
by the same limitations, that control and limit the psychic
manifestations of to-day. The same law of suggestion
operated to cause his subjective mind to believe itself to
be God, that causes that of the modern psychic to believe
9
130 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
itself to be the spirit of any deceased person whose name
is suggested. If there could be any possible doubt of the
truth of this proposition, it will be set at rest when we con-
sider the nature of the conversation detailed in the foregoing
passages. God is there represented as being so deeply
moved by anger and jealousy, when he learned that the
children of Israel were worshipping other gods, that he
wanted to wipe them all out of existence. " Let me
alone," said he to Moses, "that my wrath may wax hot
against them, and that I may consume them." I submit
that this is not the language of a God. But when we
remember that the subjective mind is the seat of the
emotions, and that it is egotistical, vain, selfish, and jealous
to the last degree when uncontrolled by objective reason, '
we have no difficulty in tracing the expression to the sub-
jective mind of Moses himself. This view is still further
confirmed by the attitude of objective Moses. His reason
told him that it would be highly injudicious, to say the
least, to utterly consume the children of Israel ; and ac-
cordingly he proceeded to argue the question with God
and advise him against such heroic measures. So cogent
were his arguments, or, to speak in modern scientific
phrase, so potent were his suggestions, that God is repre-
sented to have " repented of the evil which he thought to
do unto his people." J~*^ ^-^-*^ **}** ^
It needs no argument to convince the intelligent reader
of the absurdity involved in the supposition that finite
Moses was able by argument to convict of wrong-doing a
God of infinite intelligence, mercy, wisdom, goodness, and
power, and cause him to repent of his evil intentions. It
is self-evident that the only rational explanation is that
given by Maimqnides, who flourished in the twelfth cen-
tury, and was doubtless the_grgatest Jewish philosopher the
world has ever seen ; namely, " It was objective Moses
talking with subjective Moses."
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 131
This is certainly the only explanation that will harmonize
all the alleged facts and give coherency and consistency to
the Old Testament accounts of the intercourse of God with
man during the Mosaic dispensation. The same hypothesis
applies with equal force to the intercourse of God with the
prophets and seers, from the days of Abraham to the advent
of Jesus of Nazareth.
Studied from this point of view, the facts related will be
found to be illustrative of the principles and laws which
modern scientific research has brought to light. As I have
before remarked, the Old Testament is a record of most
remarkable psychic experiences, a vast storehouse of
misinterpreted and wrongly classified psychic facts. But,
as I shall attempt to show in the ensuing chapters, they are
facts which, properly classified and intelligently appreciated,
are of the most transcendent interest and importance to
mankind.
CHAPTER VII.
ANCIENT PSYCHIC PHENOMENA (continued}.
The Prophets of Israel. Elisha's Methods. He saves the Three
Kings. Human Characteristics of Elisha's God. The Evo-
lution of the Monotheistic Idea through Psychic Phenomena.
The First Conception of the Idea of a Living God. The Evo-
lution of the Spiritual Man. The First Great Step through
Psychic Phenomena. The Jewish Origin of Monotheism The
God of Abraham. The Dispensation of Moses. The Second
Great Step in the Evolution of the Spiritual Man. The Deca-
logue. The Influence of Egyptian Civilization. The Wisdom
of Moses. Egyptian Ethics and the Jewish Religion. The
Progress of the Prophets reflected in their Conception of the
Character of God. Isaiah's God no longer the God of Israel
alone.
TTAVING now briefly adverted to a series of psychic
* * phenomena recorded in the Pentateuch, it remains to
note the continuation of the same through the prophets who
succeeded Moses. It is undeniable that the phenomena
exhibited by the prophets were the same as those of Moses
in all essential particulars. They were dominated by. the
same beliefs, or suggestions, and the resultant manifes-
tations^ necessarily corresponded, modified only by their
different environment and the natural development and
progress of the human mind^ That the prophets were
psychics, is undeniable. Even the methods sometimes em-
ployed by them in entering the psychical condition were
identical with those often required by the modern psychic
when preparing for some signal demonstration.
DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 133
A striking illustration of this fact is found in the stance
which the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom had with the
prophet Elisha. The King of Moab, who had formerly
been tributary to the King of Israel, had rebelled. The
latter had formed an alliance, offensive and defensive, with
the Kings of Judah and Edom for the purpose of bringing
the King of Moab to terms. On their march through the
wilderness of Edom towards the land of the Moabites, they
found themselves in a region that was devoid of water
wherewith to water their stock. In this condition it became
evident to them that they would soon fall an easy prey to
the King of Moab. In this strait " the King of Israel said,
Alas ! that the Lord hath called these three kings together,
to deliver them into the hand of Moab."
" But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the
Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one
of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is
Elisha, the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the
hands of Elijah." 1
Accordingly the three kings sought out Elisha, who, after
making some disparaging remarks concerning the King
of Israel, consented to do as requested for the sake of
Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah.
"But now," continued the prophet, "bring me a min-
strel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that
the hand of the Lord came upon him.
" And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full
of ditches." 2
The point to be noted in the foregoing is that, on this
great occasion, when the fate of three kingdoms trembled
in the balance, Elisha deemed it essential that he should
have the aid of music to enable him to enter the subjective
state and successfully invoke the name of the Lord. It is
needless to remark that it was precisely the condition often
1 2 Kings iii. 10, 11. 2 Op. cit, v. 15, 16.
134 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
required by the modern psychic to enable him to enter into
communication with spirits of the dead for the purpose of
obtaining their advice in cases of emergency.
It is also worthy of note that the " control " of Elisha
recommended a very common-sense plan for obtaining
water, namely, digging for it, since the "probabilities"
did not promise rain in time to relieve the distress of the
three armies.
What follows is illustrative of the essentially human and
emotional character of Elisha's God,
"And this [finding water] is but a little thing in the
sight of the Lord ; he will deliver the Moabites also into
your hand.
" And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice
city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of
water, and mar every good piece of land with stones." 1
And it was so.
Now, the prophets of Israel were undoubtedly the best
men of that race. They it was who constantly enforced the
monotheistic idea, and thus saved Israel from lapsing into
idolatry. The hereditary priesthood represented the reli-
gion of the time in its external forms and ordinances. They
were the guardians of its organization and its ritual. The
predilection which the people evinced for ritual and cere-
monial worship often betrayed them into acts of idolatry ;
that is to say, into the worship of other gods besides
Jehovah. It was the prophets alone who constantly resisted
this tendency towards polytheism on the part of the priest-
hood and the people. This conflict was carried on in a
more or less pronounced form from the time of Moses to
the time of Jesus ; and to the successful resistance of the
prophets to the insidious inroads of polytheism into the
religion of the Jewish nation, is due the final triumph of
Christianity.
1 Op. cit, v. 18, 19.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 135
It will thus be seen that it is to psychic phenomena that
the world owes its first conception of a living God. The
fact that the phenomena were grossly misinterpreted does
not militate against the truth of this proposition. Its very
nature was necessarily conducive to monotheism. Originating
in the subjective mind of the psychic, it was inevitable that
it should develop the emotional characteristics peculiaj^to
the subjective mind. 1 One of the most pronounced pf
these characteristics, when it is not under the intelligent
control of the^ objective mind, is that of monumental
egotism. This emotion is developed in a more or less
pronounced form in every phenomenal manifestation of
subjective activity. The inevitable result was that, when
once the idea was suggested that the source of the com-
munications which were received by the psychics of the
Mosaic Age was none other than the Deity himself, the
character of the communications corresponded exactly to
the psychic's conception of the character of God. That the
first assumption should be that it was the greatest and most
powerful of all the gods, was inevitable, especially when the
psychic was imbued with the idea of a plurality of gods.
The Jews, in common with all surrounding nations and
peoples, were imbued with that idea. Idolatry and poly-
theism were everywhere dominant. The gods of other
nations, however, were purely objective conceptions, and
were represented by material objects of worship.
The_God of the Jews, on the other_hand, was evolved
from the subjective intelligence ojf the_seer by means of
psychic manifestations. Just how the suggestion originated v
that the intelligence manifested in the phenomena was from '
God, must forever remain in obscurity ; nor is the question ;
of any great importance. That it originated with the Jews \
at a very early period of their national existence, is sufficiently
1 For a full discussion of the distinctive characteristics of the sub-
jective mind, see " The Law of Psychic Phenomena."
136 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
evident. That the great characters of early Jewish history
actually existed, and that the story of their lives as related
in the Old Testament is substantially correct, may, provision-
ally at least, be taken for granted. The important matter to
be considered is not the physical history of the Jewish
tribes, but the history of the evolution of the monotheistic
idea. In the latter, however, we may find internal evidence
of the substantial verity of the former. Certain it is that in
the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob we find the
first crude conception of the idea of a living God, an idea
which gradually grew in definiteness and magnitude until it
was perfected by Jesus of Nazareth.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the God of
the Israelitish nation. The right of other gods to rule the
other nations was not at first seriously disputed. It is true
that the proprietorship of the whole earth was early
asserted ; but the whole attention of the Jewish God was
occupied in providing for the wants and promoting the
welfare of his chosen people.
This, then, was the first great step in the evolution of the
spiritual man.
The point to be observed in this connection, and which
must be constantly borne in mind, is that this step in the
evolution of the spiritual man was brought about by means
of psychic phenomena, the phenomena of the soul. In
the very nature of things it could be brought about in no
other way. It is an axiom of the Christian Church that
spiritual truth can only be apprehended through spiritual
faculties. This is true in the sense that it is only by an
observation of spiritual phenomena that a knowledge of
spiritual truth can J3e_(?btamed. It is obviously not true in
the sense in which it is generally understood, namely, that
spiritual truth must always be perceived by the intuitional
faculties of the soul ; for the spiritual intuitions or percep-
tions of no two human beings were ever exactly alike, and
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 137
they often differ as widely as the poles. It is obvious,
therefore, that where the spiritual perceptions of two or
more persons do not arrive at the same result, one or more
of them has failed to perceive the truth. It follows that no
intuition of the ordinary human mind can be relied upon as
a guide to spiritual truth unless the intuitions of the great
bulk of intelligent beings point to the same conclusion.
History furnishes but a single instance of a man so ex-
ceptionally endowed with the faculty of spiritual or intui-
tional perception of spiritual truth that his teachings serve
as a safe guide, not only to his own era and people, but to
all mankind for all time.
Nevertheless, the intuitions of others cannot safely be
ignored, for they often constitute important factors in par-
ticular cases, and frequently lead to a partial knowledge of
great truths. Thus it is highly probable that intuition may
have played an important part in the minds of the early
prophets. It may have been an intuitional thought that
led them to identify the intelligence manifested through
psychic conditions with the living God. If so, it was a
spiritual perception of a partial truth ; for the soul of man
isjfemonstrably a spark of the divine Jntelligence. More-
over, it is the divine instrumentality through which God
manifests his will, and by which alone can his existence
be demonstrated.
The next great step in the evolution of spiritual man was
taken under the dispensation of Moses. He inherited the
controlling ideas of his forefathers, and was consequently
dominated by the suggestions embraced in the traditions
of his race. Hence the God of Moses was the same an-
thropopathical deity that was worshipped by Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. Nevertheless, a distinct and clearly de-
fined step in advance was taken under the Mosaic dispensa-
tion. The code of ethics laid down in the Decalogue,
rudimentary as it was, compared with the high standard of
138 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
a later civilization, was a vast improvement on that of pre-
Mosaic times. That this was largely due to the Egyptian
education of Moses, there can be no doubt.
" If it be a fact, as there is no reason to doubt, that Moses
was skilled in all the wisdom, esoteric and exoteric, of the
Egyptians, there can be no difficulty in conjecturing the source
from which he derived the code of rudimentary ethics which
is laid down in the Decalogue. The scrolls and inscriptions
which, in recent times, have been brought to light and de-
ciphered, have demonstrated that long before the time of Moses
the moral standard, theoretically at least, was very high in
Egypt, as high indeed as _ that of the Decalogue. The great
distinction of the Israelites a very great one was that their
morality, even if it dated from their residence in Egypt, had
the effect of soon refining and exalting their religious ideas,
as was never the case in Egypt itself, where, curiously and in-
explicably enough, a debased form of popular religion retained
its place side by side with a high development, in some quarters
or classes, of the moral sentiment." J
This " inexplicable " difference in the reciprocal effect
of religion and morality in the two nations is easily ac-
counted for when we take into consideration the difference
in the two religions. A refined code of ethics and morality
has no necessary effect upon an idolatrous form of worship ;
that is to say, they have no, or comparatively limited, re-
ciprocal relations. On the other hand, there was a neces-
sary and vital relation between the morality and the religion
of the Jews. The God of the Israelites, as I have pointed
out, resided in their seers and prophets. Their God could
be communicated with, consulted and questioned ; and the
responses were the reflections of the mind of the one who
consulted him. In other words, the God of the Israelites
was just what they made him. If the prophet was domi-
nated by a vicious code of morals, the responses from his
God would be correspondingly vicious. If he was actuated
1 The Natural History of the Christian Religion, by William Mack-
intosh, M. A., D. D.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 139
by lofty sentiments and a pure morality, the responses from
his God would be correspondingly elevated.
Hence it was that the religion of the Jews under the
Mosaic dispensation was comparatively refined and elevated.
Moses was their prophet and their seer, as well as their
temporal leader; and, as Mackintosh remarks, -
" The great fame and reputation of the Hebrew legislator is
sufficiently justified by the fact that he so clearly discerned the
importance of ethical and religious principles as a means of
giving stability to social organization ; that he took the highest
results of the most ancient civilization which the world has
seen, and laid them at the foundation of his nascent state ; that
he snatched the torch of human progress from hands that could
bear it no further, and passed it on to those of a fresh and
youthful race, of a race which he may have freshened and
rejuvenated by this very stroke of high policy." 1
It seems probable, however, that the results were due,
perhaps, less to high policy on the part of the great law-
giver than to the fortuitous commingling of the high code
of ethics, which was a part of his Egyptian education, with
the peculiar religion of his fathers. Be this as it may, the
fact remains that the religion of the Jews, as it was in the
beginning, as it was when the first psychic seer conceived
himself to be in communication with the Deity, contained
the germs of an infinite development ; for every advance-
ment in civilization, every step toward a higher grade of
ethics, every new conception of a nobler code of morals,
had a positive, direct, and necessarily corresponding effect
upon those psychic manifestations which they believed to
be communications proceeding directly from the living
God. In scientific phrase, the suggestions embraced in
their moral code were reflected and reproduced in their
psychic manifestations, precisely as the so-called spirit
communications of to-day are reproductions of the medium's
1 Op. cit, p. 92.
I4O A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
conception of the character of the spirit who is supposed
to be present.
The religion of the Jews was, therefore, necessarily ele-
vated and refined just in accordance with the moral status
of their prophets. But their prophets were human. They
were subject to all the weaknesses and frailties of common
humanity. They were restricted in their progress by the
limitations of their environment ; and civilization was yet
in its infancy. Progress with them was, therefore, neces-
sarily slow and fitful, and was often retarded by those reac-
tionary forces which are always present in every inchoate
nation.
It was many generations after the death of Moses before
any substantial progress was made in the religious evolution
of the Jewish people. Their prophets, however, continued
to exist, and their influence gradually extended. The
source of their inspiration was always the same ; for the
same suggestions were transmitted from generation to gen-
eration. Each prophet believed himself to be in communi-
cation with the only living and true God. The separation
of the tribes after the death of Moses did not change the
dominant idea. Each prophet of all the tribes believed
himself to be in communication with the only true God.
Each tribe regarded with contempt the gods of the other
tribes, as was natural. Nevertheless the monotheistic idea
was dominant with all the prophets. It could not be other-
wise; for the inherited suggestion was constantly before
each of them that when he entered the psychic state it was
because " the hand of the Lord was upon him ; " and his
utterances when in that state were necessarily in keeping
with the dominant suggestion that he was giving voice to
the very words of the living God. Hence the authoritative
prefix to all their announcements " Thus saith the Lord "
was uttered in the solemn tones of sincerest conviction.
That they were earnest and sincere in their convictions,
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 141
cannot be doubted. Their enthusiasm, which oftentimes
developed into fanaticism, could be the result of nothing
less than absolute conviction, not only of the truth of their
utterances, but of their divine origin and authority. They
could not believe otherwise ; for they were constantly ex-
periencing phenomena which forced that conviction upon
them. They found themselves habitually entering a state
that was to them mysterious and abnormal, and yet agree-
able. In that state they entered into communion with what
appeared to them to be an extraneous intelligence. That
intelligence sometimes put words into their mouths that
were foreign to their objective thoughts. In short, they
experienced the same phenomena that modern psychics
attribute to disembodied spirits, differing only in the sug-
gestions which gave character to the manifestations. To
them the evidences of divine communion and of their own
divine mission were demonstrative. That conviction was
communicated to the people, partly by their intense ear-
nestness, and partly by their occasional exhibitions of psychic
power in the performance of what was then regarded as
miracles, as in the cases of Elijah and Elisha and later by
Jesus of Nazareth.
It will thus be seen that the monotheistic idea was inhe-
rent in the very nature of the psychic phenomena expe-
rienced by the seers and prophets of the Jewish race. The
first psychic who, no matter how the idea originated, con-
ceived himself to be in communion with God, fixed the
monotheistic idea in his own mind and in the minds of his
successors for all time. No power on earth could uproot
that idea thus formed, so long as there was a succession of
psychics to whom the dominating suggestion could be
transmitted. Nevertheless it was an idea that possessed
the seeds of future development, in that every step in the
progress of a higher civilization correspondingly elevated
and refined the popular conception of the Deity. We
142 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
have already seen the advancement of the idea under the
dispensation of Moses. Its development after his death
was comparatively slow up to the advent of Jesus. Never-
theless, there was substantial progress before that event.
The God of Abraham was the God of a tribe. As the tribe
enlarged to a nation, he became a national God. But it
was not until the days of Isaiah that the idea of God's
power and dominion was so enlarged as to give him
credit for benevolent intentions towards the whole race of
mankind.
" And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my
servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the pre-
served of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles,
that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." 1
In chapter Ix. of Isaiah, there is further vague mention
of the benevolent intentions of the God of Israel towards
the Gentiles ; but it is also evident that the latter were of
secondary consideration :
" Yet it must be confessed," says Mackintosh, " that even the
prophetic hold of this higher conception was wavering and
unsteady, as is conspicuously apparent in the psalter, where the
old popular, or we may say heathenish, and prophetic senti-
ments follow each other in baffling confusion, in irreconcilable
juxtaposition. Not a reader but is surprised, if not pained, to
see the breath of vengeance and the breath of mercy blow by
turns through those wonderful compositions, which were proba-
bly among the last, and were, in some respects, the greatest
products of the prophetic spirit."
The most substantial progress of the monotheistic idea
during the interval between the death of Moses and the
advent of Christ, consisted not so much in the enlarge-
ment of the idea itself as in its general acceptance by the
Jewish people. This was brought about by their misfor-
tunes, together with the earnest efforts made by their
1 Isaiah xlix. 6.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 143
prophets to convince them that it was to their wickedness,
evinced in following after false gods, that their troubles
were due. With the details of their history, however, we
have little to do. It suffices to know that the monotheistic
principle was developed by and through the Jewish people
by means of psychic phenomena. As I have before re-
marked, the fact that it was misunderstood at the time
does not militate against the broad truth of the proposition.
All the phenomena of Nature were misinterpreted in the
infancy of the human race ; but the laws of Nature were
the same then as they are now. The advantage that we
possess consists in the fact that we know a little more than
did the ancients of the laws which pertain to the phe-
nomena of Nature. They thought that the earth was flat,
and that it was the centre of the universe. We know that
it is round, and that it constitutes but an infinitesimal part
of the universe. We also know that it was round when
they lived, and that it will continue to be round as long as
it holds together. In other words, with our knowledge of
astronomical laws we can reconstruct the past and foretell
the future movements of the heavenly bodies. We also
know something of the laws of the soul. It is little, it is
true, compared with what is known of the physical sciences ;
for the fact is just fairly beginning to dawn upon the human
mind that the soul can be studied scientifically. But
enough is known of the phenomena of the soul to enable
us to classify a few of the leading facts and understand
something of their significance. The phenomena which
we have been discussing have a well-settled place in psychic
science, and there is no longer any excuse for misinter-
preting them.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE ADVENT OF JESUS.
The Third Great Step in the Evolution of the Spiritual Man. The
God which Jesus Proclaimed. Intellectual Prodigies. The
Intuitional Powers of Jesus. His Psychical Powers. His Per-
fect Knowledge of the Laws of the Soul. Modern Confirma-
tions of the Truth of his Philosophy. The Psychic Methods of
Jesus. His Reason always in the Ascendant. His Perfect
Moral and Religious Character. Psychic Phenomena the Evi-
dence of his Divine Mission. Paley's Views. The Divine
Heritage. The Vitality of the Christian Religion.
'"THE third great epoch in the evolution of the spiritual
* man was inaugurated by Jesus of Nazareth. In dis-
cussing this branch of the subject, I shall not enter the field
of controversial argument respecting his alleged miraculous
birth or his resurrection from the dead. I leave that to the
theologian who regards those questions as possessing vital
importance from his point of view. From my standpoint
they cannot be considered. Miracles can have no place in
science ; for they can jieither be _scientifically verified nor
experimentally reproduced. I have thus far confined my
observations to the records of such psychic phenomena as
can be verified by experimental reproduction ; and I shall
continue to do so wherever the nature of the phenomena
will admit of such demonstration. In the history of Jesus,
however, there is much that cannot be specifically verified
by experiment. His character _and inherent attributes
cannot be reproduced. We are not, however, without means
DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 145
of scientifically verifying his history in that regard, as will
be seen later in this work.
The phenomena which we are now called upon to consider
differ in many essential particulars from those recorded in
the Old Testament. The older prophets, as we have
seen, were psychics who believed that they had the power
to enter at will into tangible communion with God, and to
receive from Him direct verbal communications. These
phenomena, as I have pointed out, were identical with the
phenomena of modern spiritism, differing only in the sugges-
tion which gave character to the supposed communications.
The God of the old prophets was, therefore, necessarily a
reflection of their own personal characteristics. On the
other hand, the God whom Jesus revealed to mankind was
a conception so grand and lofty, as compared with that of
the old prophets, that credulity has, in all the ages, been
taxed in vain to identify the God of Abraham with the God
of Jesus. This fact has been a stumbling-block to the sceptic
or heretic for eighteen hundred years; whereas, when the
facts are understood, they will be found to present the strong-
est possible internal evidence of the substantial truth of the
essential portions of the historical part of both the Old and
the New Testaments. Viewed as a series of psychic mani-
festations, the gradual improvement in the God of Israel
corresponds exactly with the natural progress of that race
towards civilization, and the consequent evolution of the
human mind and soul. That there was a sudden step in
advance, of infinite magnitude and importance, does not
militate against the theory of the evolution of the spiritual
man through psychic phenomena. On the contrary, it will
be found to confirm and emphasize that hypothesis. The
great step in advance which Jesus made was the result,
not of a cessation of psychic manifestations, but of a radical
change in their character. The conception of God which
he evolved was not the result of verbal communications from
10
146 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
God, after the manner of the prophets, but was the result
of the fact that he was endowed with the faculty of intuitive
perception of the laws of the human soul.
In order to understand fully the position which Jesus occu-
pied in the psycho-religious world, it will be necessary briefly
to discuss the above proposition. In " The Law of Pyschic
Phenomena " I have discussed it at some length, and space
can be given here for but a brief outline.
History shows that from time to time there have been
born into this world persons so exceptionally endowed by
nature with intellectual powers in certain directions that
they can be appropriately designated by no other term
than that of " prodigies." The phenomenal manifestations
of these prodigies, however, are usually confined to some
one sphere of mental activity. Thus, there are musical
prodigies, prodigies in art, in poetry, in mathematics, etc.,
but seldom has one of them been known to be exception-
ally endowed in more than one direction. The salient
characteristic which is common to all is that each one ap-
pears to be endowed with an intuitive perception of the laws
of nature which pertain to his specialty. Thus, the musical
prodigy intuitively perceives the laws pertaining to the har-
mony of sounds ; the artistic prodigy intuitively perceives
the laws of harmony of colors ; the mathematical prodigy
perceives by intuition the laws of numbers. This faculty
when once developed absolutely transcends, reason or
objective education. Neither the one nor the other has
any part or lot in the production of the phenomenal results.
Fortunately we have the means of verifying this proposition.
Thus, one of the most phenomenal musical prodigies the
world has ever known was both blind and idiotic from birth. 1
Obviously, therefore, neither objective reason nor objective
education could have played any part in his musical devel-
opment. Yet he was able when a mere child to improvise
1 Blind Tom.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 147
excellent harmonies, and to reproduce a piece of music,
once heard, with remarkable accuracy. Thus the proposi-
tion is scientifically verified that he had the power of per-
ception of the laws of nature which governed his specialty ;
for there is no other way of accounting for the phenomena.
Again, the mathematical prodigy, Zerah Colburn, men-
tioned at length in "The Law of Psychic Phenomena," 1 be-
fore he was objectively able to understand the powers of the
nine digits could instantaneously solve intricate arithmetical
problems. He was investigated and scientifically tested by
the ablest scientists of Europe, who bear testimony to his
prodigious powers. His answers were given so promptly
that calculation was out of the question, even if he had been
educated in the rules of arithmetic, which was not the case.
Again we have a scientific verification of the facts related of
him, and of the proposition that his powers were the result of
intuition, in this, that (i) he developed his powers before
he had studied arithmetic; (2) his answers were instanta-
neously given ; (3) his answers were always correct. The
last was, of course, the supreme test, for the reason that
if they had not been correct they would not have been
remarkable.
Many other mathematical prodigies might be mentioned
in this connection did space permit. Their phenomena are
no more remarkable than those of prodigies in other sciences ;
but they are more valuable for purposes of generalization
than any others, for the reason that they carry with them
their own verification. Their answers, being accurate,
demonstrate their powers of intuition ; and they also demon-
strate the general proposition that the soul of man possesses
the^jnherent^ power, under certain^_psychic conditions not
yet clearly understood, to perceive by intuition Jhe laws of
Nature. <^S$ Q*-*~^-~ ^ <^u.Ci^ f^-^-c^.^) zt* i*~-*>*> y-3*.
This proposition conceded, it is easy to account for the
1 See also " Memoir of Zerah Colburn."
148 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
knowledge which Jesus possessed of those laws of Nature
which pertain to the functions, powers, and destiny of
the human soul. He had an intuitive perception of
those laws, and his knowledgeoTTKeln~"was undoubtedly
as accurate as if it had been susceptible of mathematical
verification.
At this point it will be asked : " What evidence have we
that Jesus was endowed with that power of intuition ?"
This is a most pertinent question, and, could it not be
clearly and logically answered, we should be compelled at
this point to abandon all scientific methods of inquiry into
this subject. Fortunately the proofs are at hand which will
settle that question beyond all possibility of reasonable
doubt.
In the first place, it must be remembered that Jesus was
born and reared among a people who believed in and wor-
shipped the God of Abraham and of Moses. Their ideas of
God were based upon the purely anthropomorphic concep-
tions of the Deity which had dominated the race from
Abraham down. His education, therefore, other things
being equal, was calculated to inspire him with the beliefs
of his ancestors. But other things were not equal. He
was exceptionally endowed, morally, as he was intellectually
and psychically. He was infinitely above his race in every
attribute which contributes towards human perfection. He
may or he may not have entered the psychic state in order
to hold communion with God, as did the prophets before
him. It does not seem probable that he so acted, for there
is nothing in his history that points to that conclusion. At
the age of twelve he was able to dispute with the doctors in
the Temple in his normal condition. But, even if he had
entered the psychic condition for such a purpose, his con-
ception of God would have been infinitely above that of
the older prophets, and would still have constituted a
mighty step in the evolution of spiritual humanity.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 149
It is to the last degree improbable, however, that he ever
entered the psychic state with the idea of receiving verbal
communications from God. His conception of God was
far too lofty for him to be led into the errors of his prede-
cessors. His intuitive knowledge of the laws of the soul
would of necessity prevent him from placing himself in a
position where he could possibly be dominated by a false
suggestion. The whole history of his life shows that he
never allowed his subjective mind to usurp the throne of
his reason. His Sermon on the Mount demonstrates his
entire emancipation from the thraldom of precedent, and
proclaims, inferentially, his realization of the finite character
of the God of Moses. By his frequent repetition of the
words, " Ye have heard it said by them of old time," etc.,
followed by his " But I say unto you," etc., he placed in
violent contrast the God of Moses and his own conception
of the Deity, and of the duty of man towards his Creator
and his fellow-men. He could have used no language that
would have more utterly repudiated the Mosaic conception
of the God who gave to Israel the imperfect code of ethics
delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai. That he did not pro-
claim, in so many words, his knowledge of the human origin
of the God " of old time," was doubtless due to that cau-
tion which he so often evinced in speaking to the people
in parables, and which was expressly stated to his disciples
in the following memorable and significant words : " I have
yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them
now." 1
He gave to the people what they could readily assimilate,
and he always refrained from unnecessarily antagonizing
their ancient beliefs and prejudices.
One of the strongest evidences of the intuitive character
of his knowledge is found in his conception of the charac-
ter and attributes of God. This, in connection with the
1 John xvi. 12.
150 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
fact that he was the first to proclaim a conception of the
Deity so lofty, so grand, and so ennobling, and at the same
time in such perfect harmony with the highest instincts of
all civilized humanity, constitutes a strong link in the chain
of evidence to sustain that hypothesis. Born of a race
whose highest conception of a Deity was of a being whose
passions and weaknesses would degrade a savage, and whose
highest purpose it was to protect a single tribe or race in no
wise better than their neighbors, Jesus proclaimed a God
of love, mercy, and benevolence, and promulgated a code
of ethics for the guidance of the human race, the funda-
mental principles of which were the universal brotherhood
of man and the Fatherhood of God. That his code of
ethics and morals, and his conceptions of the attributes of
God, have never been and never can be improved upon, no
one will undertake to deny. That they constitute strong
evidence, not only that he was endowed with an intuitive
perception of the laws pertaining to the subject-matter, but
that his intuitions were correct, is evidenced by his undis-
puted headship and by ample time-tests.
The strongest evidence, however, of the fact that he pos-
sessed the power of intuitive perception of the laws of the
soul, consists in his physical manifestations. It is true that
his miracles belong to a comparatively low order of psychic
phenomena ; but it was absolutely necessary for him to dis-
play his powers in some tangible form in order to impress
his followers with a sense of his power and authority.
" Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe,"
was a statement, made to the nobleman of Capernaum, of a
pregnant fact. 1 It was a recognition of an existing condi-
tion of the public mind with reference to him and his claim
to divine authority. It was a proclamation of his purpose
1 The learned Nicodemus (John iii. i) says: " We know that thou
art a teacher come from God : for no man can do these miracles that
thou doest except God be with him."
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 151
to satisfy the public demand ; and his wisdom was never
more manifest than in his compliance with the popular
desire to witness exhibitions of his power. For he not only
gave to them the only proofs of his divine mission that they
could appreciate, but by the same means he left a record of
his works which now constitutes the only means we have of
verifying his history.
It is a singular fact in the history of the Christian religion
that the circumstances and events in the life of Christ which
have been the greatest stumbling-blocks of scientific scep-
ticism for eighteen centuries, are, in this last quarter of the
nineteenth century, found to be the only facts in his history
which can be scientifically verified. The most potent
assaults of scepticism have been made upon the record of
his physical manifestations. Thousands who could have
accepted without serious question the fact of his spiritual
supremacy, who admired his code of morals and reverenced
his exalted character, have derisively rejected the story of
his miracles and ended in total scepticism. In a scientific
age this was inevitable. The moment one begins to com-
prehend the principles of induction, the moment one
realizes the constancy of the forces of Nature and the im-
mutability of her laws, that moment the seeds of scepticism
are implanted in his mind, and miracles are relegated, in
his philosophy, to the domain of fable or of superstition.
The Church, in turn, has provoked this spirit of scepticism
by constant iteration of the dogma that Christ wrought his
wondrous works outside, and in defiance, of natural law.
Fortunately for the Christian Church and for humanity, the
scientific investigations of the last quarter of the nineteenth
century have revealed the fact that the so-called miracles of ^
Christ can be experimentally reproduced. Moreover, the
laws which governed the production of his phenomena are
beginning to be understood ; and some of the more impor-
tant of them have been definitely formulated, and have been
152 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
incorporated into the great body of modern science. Since
that has been accomplished, it is suddenly recollected that
Jesus himself never claimed to perform his works outside
of natural law. On the contrary, he not only taught his
Apostles how to reproduce his phenomena, but proclaimed
to the world the essential conditions to their reproduction,
and declared in so many words that those who observed
those conditions should be able to do " even greater works "
than he had done. Modern science has rediscovered the
art of doing those works ; and it has formulated the con-
ditions necessary to be observed. And it is just here, there-
fore, that the most positive evidence of the essential truth
of the history of Jesus of Nazareth is to be found. Consid-
ering his physical manifestations as miracles, science must
forever discredit his history. But when it is discovered
that in the nineteenth century the lame can be made to
walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear, just as he did
those things in the first century, science has no more right
to discredit his history than it would have to dispute any
other historical instance where the forces of Nature had
been utilized ; a fortiori, where there was indubitable evi-
dence of their intelligent utilization. This evidence we
have in the history of Jesus, in that he minutely observed all
the conditions that modern science has discovered to be neces-
sary for the successful reprodiiction of his phenomena?
It will thus be seen that the Christian religion forms no
exception to the rule that all religions worthy of the name
have their origin in psychic phenomena.
Jesus himself was the most stupendous psychic phenome-
non the world has ever seen. He was a colossal religious
genius. Endowed with a perfect power of perception of all
the laws of the human soul, he was enabled to formulate,
and to promulgate to the world, a series of vital truths and
1 For a full discussion of these points, the reader is referred to
" The Law of Psychic Phenomena."
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 153
principles which the most profound researches of inductive
science can only verify.
I have elsewhere defined ^genius " as the result of the
synchronous action of the objective and subjective faculties. 1
History records the names and works of many men who
have merited this designation to a certain extent. A few
have given evidence that, in a purely intellectual sense,
the synchronism was well-nigh perfect. Many have given
occasional exhibitions of intellectual power which can be
accounted for on no other hypothesis. History, however,
furnishes us but one example of a man in whom the syn-
chronism of development, physical, intellectual, psychical,
and moral, was absolutely perfect. That man, it is needless
to say, was Jesus of Nazareth. That Jesus was a psychic of
most wonderful power, no one will gainsay, whatever may
be his theories regarding his miraculous conception and
birth ; but he was, in many essential particulars, unlike any
other psychic of whom we have any^record.. v
The ordinary psychic, in order to produce his phenomena,
is compelled to enter the psychical or subjective condition.
His objective faculties must be and remain in at least par-
tial abeyance. In this condition his objective reason is
dethroned and he is dominated by the power of suggestion.
His phenomena will, therefore, necessarily take the form of
whatever suggestion is uppermost in his mind ; whether it
be an auto-suggestion arising from his preconceived opin-
ions, as in spiritistic phenomena, or a suggestion from
another, as in hypnotism. In any event, his objective reason
is in abeyance, and consequently, if the suggestion is a false
one, he is nevertheless dominated by it, and the resultant
phenomena are necessarily incongruous and misleading. It
is true that in the phonomena which are the products of
what is known as " genius," there often appears to exist a
perfect synchronism of objective and subjective activity and
1 See " The Law of Psychic Phenomena," ch. v.
154 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
development. This, however, pertains only to purely intel-
lectual manifestations ; and it is rarely, if ever, constant.
But where this synchronism exists it has never been known,
in modern times, to be accompanied by the power to pro-
duce other psychic phenomena, especially physical manifes-
tations. The latter, as before stated, are only produced, by
the ordinary psychic, as a result of his entering the subjec-
tive state, in which the objective faculties are held in partial
or complete abeyance.
In many of the foregoing particulars Jesus constituted an
exception to the general rule. Not that he was exempt
from the operation of the universal law governing psychic
manifestations, but that he was, to a greater extent than any
other psychic, harmoniously developed. In him the objec-
tive and subjective faculties preserved, at all times and under
all circumstances, an exquisitely harmonious balance. Hav-
ing an intuitive perception of psychic laws, he was fully aware
of the ill effects of their misdirected application. Knowing
the limitations of the powers of the subjective mind, its
amenability to control by suggestion, and its consequent
inability to take the initiatory step in the process of induc-
tion, he never allowed it to obtain control of the dual mental
organization. Consequently, his reason was always in the
ascendant ; and history does not record an instance where
he entered the psychic state for any purpose whatever.
Moreover, he never allowed himself to produce any phe-
nomena for the mere purpose of displaying his powers.
When he consented to exercise the powers of the soul,
it was always for the purpose of accomplishing some
good object ; albeit his primary object may have been to
convince the people of his divine mission. Be this as
it may, the fact remains that he never exercised his psychic
powers except for the promotion of the highest good of
those around him ; and he never allowed himself to be
placed in such a mental condition as to render it possible
for him to be dominated by a false suggestion.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 155
It will thus be seen that his wisdom was as strikingly
displayed by what he refrained from doing as it was by
what he did. Indeed, it will eventually be found, as
knowledge of psychic laws increases, that one of the most
valuable lessons which Jesus taught to mankind consisted in
his abstention from any unnecessary display of his psychic
powers. Knowing, as he did, the laws pertaining to the
production of psychic phenomena, he carefully and con-
sistently kept within the normal lines. The story of his
three temptations in the wilderness was nothing more nor
less than a symbolical presentation of this most important
principle by which he was guided. Rightly interpreted,
the story of the three temptations draws the line of de-
marcation clearly and distinctly between the legitimate
and the illegitimate the normal and the abnormal
exercise of psychic power. 1
Formally stated, the distinctive characteristics of the
psychic powers and attributes of Jesus are as follows :
1. The first and most important mental characteristic
which distinguished him from all other men of whom
history has given any account, consisted in his intuitive
perception of the laws which pertain to the human soul.
I say that this was his most important mental endow-
ment, for the reason that it was the essential prerequisite
to all the others. It not only enabled him to "speak as
never man spake," that is, with the authority of perfect
knowledge ; but it enabled him to exercise the powers
of the soul under the most favorable conditions.
2. The next in importance of his distinctive endow-
ments was his ability to exercise his psychic powers under
normal physical conditions. No other psychic has ever
been able to do this except to a very limited extent.
This ability arose, not because he acted outside the
1 For a fuller discussion of this proposition, see " The Law of
Psychic Phenomena," ch. xxiv.
I$6 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
domain of natural law, but from his perfect knowledge
of the law. Other psychics have sometimes performed
purely intellectual feats while in an apparently normal
physical condition. Some have, under exceptionally favor-
able circumstances, produced physical manifestations under
apparently normal conditions. But such cases are sporadic,
and only serve to emphasize _the_general rule that psychic
manifestations are the result of abnormal physical con-
ditions. Jesus was the only one, of whom we have any
authenticated account, who never found it necessary to
enter the subjective state to enable him to produce any
psychic phenomena.
3. As a result of his ability to exercise his psychic
powers without entering the subjective state, he was
enabled to avoid the operation of the law of suggestion,
and, as a consequence, he was never dominated by a
false suggestion. Objective reason, therefore, was always
in the ascendant. Again it must be remarked that this
does not imply that he was not subject to the law of
suggestion; but that his knowledge of the law enabled
him to avoid placing himself in that condition in which
he would be dominated by it. It is in psychic science
as in any other. If we know its laws we can avoid its
evils. . In other words, when we are dealing with a force,
of the laws of which we have perfect knowledge, we are
enabled to place ourselves in proper relations to it, and
thus avoid the penalties attending the infraction of its
laws.
4. One of the most important of the distinctive charac-
teristics of Jesus, as compared with other psychics, con-
sisted in his perfect moral and religious character. This,
in a certain sense, may be attributed to a perfect knowl-
edge of the laws of the soul ; although due credit must
be given to that innate altruism which was regnant in his
character. Without attempting, however, to distinguish
OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 157
between what was the result of a perfect comprehension
of spiritual laws and what was innate in his character, if
indeed there is any line of distinction, it will be sufficient
for our present purpose to discuss the former. As I have
before remarked, the_ subjective mind or soul is_the seat
of the emotions^ Every emotion, therefore, is a psychic
phenomenon. Religious worship is an emotion that is
inherent in every human soul. It is one of the higher
instincts which differentiate the man from the brute.
Morality is also an emotion when considered as a duty
which man owes to his Creator, although, when practised
solely with reference to one's relations to society and the
commonwealth, it is the result of education. In its highest
sense, therefore, morality is an emotion, cognate to religion,
and, with the latter, must be considered as one of the
phenomena of the soul. Religion and morality being phe-
nomena or attributes of the soul, they necessarily have nor-
mal relations to every other attribute of the soul. This being
granted, it follows that one who possesses a perfect knowl-
edge of the laws of the soul will be able to discern those
normal relations, and, other things being equal, will seek to
maintain them. This, then, was the distinctive charac-
teristic of Jesus. He was a master of the science of the
soul, and as such had a perfect knowledge of its attributes
and powers, and of the normal relations which those attri-
butes and powers sustain to each other, to humanity, and to
the Creator. A perfect moral and religious character was
necessarily the result.
It will thus be seen that, as before remarked, the Chris-
tian religion forms no exception to the general rule that
every religion worthy of the name has its origin in psychic
phenomena. Previous to the time of Jesus, the phenomena
were grossly misinterpreted. Nevertheless, they contained
the germs of the monotheistic idea, which was perfected by
one who never misinterpreted the phenomena of the soul,
158 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
Jesus of Nazareth. The Christian religion not only had its
origin in psychic phenomena, but that was the only means
by which it was, or could be, brought to the knowledge of
mankind. The words of Jesus would have been lost, and
his mission a failure, had he not been endowed with the
power to produce phenomena tangible to the senses of the
people. It was by this means alone that he was able to
impress upon the world a realization of this divine mission.
Paley himself declares this fact in these words :
" That this particular person, Jesus of Nazareth, ought to be
received as the Messiah, or as a messenger from God, they [the
Apostles] neither had, nor could have, anything but miracles
to stand upon." 1
It was by the miracles that Jesus was enabled to impress
upon his followers a sense of his power, and of his author-
ity as a messenger of truth. And what was true of his
immediate followers is largely true of the Church from that
day to the present. It matters not that the so-called
miracles were misinterpreted psychic phenomena. They
were not misinterpreted by Jesus himself; for he never
claimed that he performed his works outside the domain of
natural law. On the contrary, he distinctly proclaimed the
fact that others could do even greater things than he had
done by complying with the conditions which he prescribed.
It would have been idle for him to attempt to explain to his
followers the underlying scientific principles which enabled
him to produce his phenomena ; for no one of his day was
capable of comprehending them. Moreover, if he could
have succeeded in convincing them that he did not tran-
scend the laws of Nature in the performance of his miracles,
it would have weakened their confidence in his divine mis-
sion ; for the people of that day were incapable of grasping
1 Evidences of Christianity, ch. x.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 159
the idea that_God could possibly display his power in any
other way than by some signal violation of his own laws.
It will thus be seen that the Christian religion not only
had its inception in psychic phenomena, but that faith in it
has been perpetuated largely by a misapprehension of the
real significance of the psychic manifestations of Jesus. If,
however, the miracles alone had constituted the evidence of
the truth of Christianity, it would have long since perished
as a system of religion. For no system of religion which is
founded upon a fundamental error can long withstand the
assaults of scientific scepticism, in an enlightened age and
nation, where truth is left free to combat error. In a prim-
itive age a claim to supernatural power may serve to impose
almost any system of religion upon a people. In an
enlightened age such a claim is an element of weakness ;
and a theology founded upon that alone must eventually
perish and be forgotten. The assaults of scepticism upon
the Christian religion have been almost exclusively upon the
dogma of supernaturalism ; and had its claims to a divine
origin rested alone upon that, it must have yielded to the
first onslaught of scientific scepticism. That it has sus-
tained the shock of scientific criticism, and is still a great
and growing power in the most enlightened age the world
has ever seen, and is now the most potential force in the
social systems of the most enlightened nations of the earth,
is indubitable evidence that it possesses an inherent vitality
that must be looked for outside the domain of the super-
natural. In the ensuing chapter I propose briefly to
inquire into the secret of the wonderful vitality of the
Christian religion.
CHAPTER IX.
THE INTUITIVE PERCEPTION OF TRUTH.
Books that thrill the Reader with Pleasurable Emotions. Theories
to account for it. Literary Style. Personal Magnetism. The
Soul's Love of Truth. Books Popular in proportion to their
Truth. The Scriptures. The Philosophy of Jesus. Intuitional
Perception of its Truth. Evolution of Religion. Christianity
the Final Goal. The Impossibility of improving upon True
Christianity. The Absolute Religion.
TT has often been remarked by intelligent readers of
* books that some authors have a faculty of impressing
their personality upon their literary productions ; so that
one experiences, when reading them, a thrill of pleasure
and satisfaction akin to that felt when listening to an orator
who possesses what is known as great " personal magnet-
ism." Some have attributed this feeling wholly to the
literary style of the author; whilst others, more prone to
suspect that an occult force is concealed behind every
phenomenon, have held that the " personal magnetism " of
every author is, in some inexplicable way, impressed upon
the pages of his book. It seems obvious that neither of
these explanations can possibly be the true one.
The first cannot be true, for the reason that it often
happens that works which create the deepest impression
upon mankind are written in a very unattractive style ;
whilst other works leave no lasting impression upon the
minds of their readers, although couched in terms of
faultless elegance. The second explanation is defective,
DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. l6l
even to absurdity ; for whatever occult force, personal
magnetism, or psychometric or telepathic impression might
be supposed to accompany an author's personal manuscript,
it is obvious that it could not be transmitted to the printed
page which the author never saw or handled. Besides, it
often happens that editions of an author's works are printed
hundreds of years after he is dead ; but it has never been
noted that the element of so-called "personal magnetism"
diminishes in force or intensity as the editions of his works
are multiplied. The thrill of satisfaction which every man
of intelligence feels when reading the lines of Shakespeare
is not diminished in intensity as the years go by ; nor does
it suffer any appreciable change since it has been claimed
that they were written by the " greatest, wisest, meanest of
mankind." It is evident, therefore, that we must seek else-
where than in elegance of diction or personal magnetism
for an explanation of the secret of the permanent popularity
of a book.
Broadly speaking, a book is permanently popular__in
pjx>portion to the amount of truth it contains. Works of
fiction constitute no exception to this rule ; for our appre-
ciation of a novel is in exact proportion to the fidelity to
nature with which its characters are portrayed. What is
true of a work of fiction is necessarily true of a work pro-
fessing to deal with facts, as in history, or with principles,
as in science, in philosophy, or in religion.
The love of truth is inherent in the normal human soul,!,
and its recognition of truth is instinctive. ? This in itself j
constitutes a psychic phenomenon of the utmost impor-
tance ; and it is one which must enter as a factor into every
correct diagnosis of the attributes of the psychic entity. It (
is this instinctive perception or recognition of truth when it (
is presented that gives rise to that emotional thrill of pleas- |
ure and satisfaction which one experiences when reading
the statement of a vital truth. It is the soul's response to
ii
1 62 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
i a suggestion which is in accord with its own deductions
(from the facts of its own experience.* In this connection it
must be remembered that the memory of the subjective
\ mind is perfect, and that its power of deductive reasoning
is also perfect. It is, however, devoid of the power of
'i induction proper, being constantly amenable to control by
suggestion. When, therefore, a suggestion is imparted to it
I that corresponds to its own deductions, it instantly recog-
nizes its truth and responds with a thrill of pleasurable
^ emotion. This emotion alone is indubitable evidence that
it is a purely subjective experience, since the subjective
mind orjsoul isjhe seat_of_jhe __emotions as well as the
_storehouse_of_memory.
This phenomenon is experienced in a greater or less
degree upon the perusal of any book which contains what
the reader recognizes as truth ; and the intensity of the
emotion experienced is in proportion to his estimate of the
degree of importance to be attached to it as affecting him-
self. For the purpose of this inquiry, however, books must
be divided into two general classes. Those which treat of
temporal affairs belong to one class, and those which deal
with questions pertaining to the attributes, powers, and
destiny of the soul belong to the other. Those belonging
to the first class never produce the phenomenon proper of
which we speak. Such books may be never so interesting
or important to the temporal well-being of man, yet they
rarely, if ever, produce other than a purely intellectual
enjoyment.
On the other hand, that which pertains to the soul is
taken cognizance of by the soul, which is moved to emo-
tion, pleasurable or otherwise, just in proportion to its
recognition of the vital truths which a book contains. By
this it is notjnfiant to convey the implication that the emo-
t]ons_experienced on reading a book are infallible jtand ards
of truth. On the contrary, our subjective perception of
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 163
truth is oftentimes neutralized by our objective perceptions
or prejudices, or from those primordial anterior suggestions
arising from fixed habits of thought or moral principles.
But truth possesses an inherent vitality which no amount
of error can wholly extinguish. In the long run truth must
prevail, in spite of passion and prejudice. Hence it is that"
books which contain vital truths, however modest their pre-
tensions or homely their style, will be enshrined and live \
forever in the hearts of their readers, whilst the more pre-
tentious volume, devoid of the vitalizing element of truth,
though adorned with all the perfections which learning and
eloquence may impart, makes no permanent impression
upon the souls of men, and is soon forgotten by the intel-,
lectual world.
The faculty of perceiving those truths which affect the
human soul is inherent in the soul, although it is in rare
cases only that it is largely developed in any one individual.
Jesus was probably the only man who was endowed with
this faculty in perfection ; that is, he was the only one, of
whose life we have any record, who possessed the power of
independent perception of the laws of the soul. Others
possess that power only in the limited sense that they are
able to grasp and comprehend the truth when it is pre-
sented to them. But in that sense it is so generally diffused
among mankind that in the aggregate it must be counted as
a most important factor in the social, moral, and religious
world ; and in an enlightened community it prevents any
radical misconception of the fundamental principles of
morality and religion.
The intelligent reader will have anticipated me in what
I am to say regarding the practical application of these
observations to the fundamental principles of the Christian
religion. It seems to me, that is to say, that the fact that
Christianity still exists as a system of religion, is evidence,
little short of demonstrative, that it is founded upon the
164 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
true science of the human soul. It is certainly the strongest
possible corroborative evidence of the truth of the claim
that Jesus correctly expounded the laws of the soul in its
relations to the divine intelligence. There can be no other
rational explanation of the pregnant fact that the Christian
religion has survived the assaults of its enemies for nearly
nineteen hundred years, and is still the religion of the most
enlightened nations of the earth. It has not only survived
the assaults of its enemies, but it^flourishes in spite of the
mistakes of its friends. If it had not been founded upon
the rock of Eternal Truth, it might have temporarily im-
bibed a vitalizing inspiration from the opposition of con-
flicting religions, but it never could have survived the
proselyting methods of Charlemagne, the zeal of the Inqui-
sition, or the dogma of plenary inspiration.
It is safe to say that no system of religion has ever flour-
ished amidst so many adverse conditions as has the Chris-
tian religion. It had its roots in a region remote from the
centres of civilization, and among a nomadic race, who
were poor, and despised and reprobated and persecuted
by their more powerful neighbors. From the first it en-
countered the refined philosophy of the most enlightened
nations of the earth, and it has been engaged in stubborn
conflict with all the material science jgf modern civilization.
I It has its literary setting in a volume which teaches an
absurd astronomy, an impossible geography, and a cos-
.mogony the crudeness of which is detected and exposed
1 by the learning of every school-boy.
And yet it exists, not in decrepitude and decay, but as a
\ vital element in every civilization worthy of the name. Its
votaries Jiave^ thrust it into conflict with every science, and
I it has been defeated in^very encounter. Yet it_is jnpt
relegated to the domain of ignorance^ but flourishes in the
i greatest luxuriance of growth and vitality in those nations
v whose people are the most enlightened and progressive.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 165
That there is to be found, within the realm of natural
causes, some good and sufficient reason for this apparent
paradox, is not to be doubted. The explanation afforded
by the doctrine of a continuous miracle must be regarded
as scientifically untenable. It seems to me that the follow-
ing propositions afford at least a partial solution of the
problem :
1. Jesus Christ was endowed with the faculty of intuitional
perception of the natural laws of the human soul ; and he
proclaimed to mankind, in a few simple propositions, the
essential principles which govern the relationship of man to
his fellow-man and to God.
2. All men are endowed with the same intuitional powers,
differing only in degree ; and by this means they are
enabled to recognize, when once presented, any truth which
is essential to the welfare of the human soul.
3. It follows that, when one reads the simple but all-
comprehensive philosophy of Jesus, his soul intuitively and
instantaneously recognizes its essential truth.
This is what has been, by the Church, vaguely denomi-
nated a " spiritual perception of religious truth," a phrase
which describes the emotion correctly enough, but which
has never itself been scientifically or philosophically ex-
plained. When the emotion of religious worship, which is
an inherent attribute of every normally developed human
soul, is taken into consideration, it will be readily under-
stood why it is that the Bible affords consolation to such a
vast multitude of the human race. It is not alone the
words of Jesus which proclaim religious truth, but scattered
all_through both the New Testament and thejOld may be
found _passages innumerable upon which is stamped the
sign-manual of eternal truth. Variable and diverse as are
the emotions and aspirations, the spiritual wants and
necessities of aggregate humanity, there may be found in
the Scriptures something to fit every case, something to
1 66 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
pour the balm of consolation into every stricken breast,
something to inspire every human heart with hope ; in
short, in its power of adaptation to all the experiences of
human consciousness, the Bible is unequalled by any other
production, human or divine.
The philosophy of Jesus, however, constitutes the chief
corner-stone of the whole superstructure. It is that which
imparts vitality to the whole body of religious doctrine con-
tained in the Bible, which but for that philosophy would
have long since yielded to the assaults of scientific scepticism.
*f But vital truth can never be wholly obliterated, however
, thickly it may be overlaid with error. It may be tempo-
\ rarily obscured, but the intuitive powers of the soul are safe
^guides to its recognition wherever found. Hence it is that
the Christian religion has never lost its inherent vitality
amidst the adverse influences with which it has been
surrounded, but constitutes the essential vitalizing force in
the civilization of every enlightened nation.
I do not undertake to say that these facts constitute con-
clusive proofs of the truth of the doctrines of Jesus ; but,
from a logical and scientific standpoint, it cannot be
doubted that they constitute presumptive evidence that, in
its essential features, his philosophy bears the impress of
truth. I certainly know of no other way of accounting for
the hold which the Christian religion has upon the mind
and heart of civilized humanity, than to suppose that it is
the aggregate result of the inherent power of man to
recognize truth by intuition. It is certainly an adequate
explanation, and, in the absence of a better one, we are
logically driven to its provisional acceptance.
Here, then, we find another psychic phenomenon of the
most stupendous proportions and of the most far-reaching
significance ; for it is participated in by all Christendom,
and the subject-matter involves the most momentous prob-
lems of human life ; indeed, it may be added that the
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 167
ethical doctrines of Jesus are universally accepted wherever
they are known, whether in Christian or in pagan lands.
This part of his teachings may be summed up in these
words : The universal brotherhood of man, charity for the
poor and unfortunate, peace on .ea_rth, and love and good-
will to all mankind. No one disputes the soundness of
these principles, or doubts their universal practicability as a
code of ethics for all humanity. Jesus was the first to teach
them in their entirety. The Golden Rule, it is true, was
formulated many years before the birth of Christ ; but the
idea of mankind as constituting one universal brotherhood,
the children of one God, was his ; and so was the doctrine
of charity, peace, love, and good-will. It was these doctrines
that first broke down the barrier between the Jews and the
Gentiles and between the black and the white, and that
has since struck off the shackles from untold millions of
slaves, mitigated the cruelties of war, promoted the arts and
sciences, justice and benevolence, freedom and good govern-
ment, and established as the chief corner-stone of our
civilization the idea of the sanctity of human life and the
inalienability of human liberty. ?"
What I have said of the ethical doctrines of Jesus applies
with almost equal force to his whole system of religion.
His fundamental idea of the Fatherhood of God, and his
doctrine of the immortality of the soul, when added to the
ethical principles before mentioned, may be said to consti-
tute the essential features of his whole system of ethics,
morals and religion. And it will not be denied that, as a
whole, they appeal strongly to the unperverted intuitions of
all mankind. Indeed, there is practically but one of his
doctrines that has ever been seriously disputed ; namely,
that of the immortality of the soul. No one disputes the
existence of a higher power to which all things are subject.
The differences of opinion concerning that power are
merely different conceptions of its attributes. Pantheism is
1 68 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
but a variety of theism, and atheism really exists only in name.
Science has disputed the doctrine of immortal life largely
because it has been asked to accept it on faith alone ; that
is to say, because the proofs offered have been inadequate
from the standpoint of material science. It is, nevertheless,
true that the human soul instinctively recognizes the truth
of every essential doctrine that Jesus promulgated.
I have spoken in previous chapters of the " evolution of
the spiritual man." It would have been equally appropriate
to designate the various epochs I have mentioned, as steps
in the evolution of religion ; for they are but different
aspects of the same subject-matter. Considered as steps
in the evolution of spiritual humanity, the process still goes
on, and must go on until perfection is reached, until all
humanity reaches the altitude of spiritual development at-
tained by Jesus himself. Indeed, the evolution of the
spiritual man is, in one sense, but a step in the great
process of organic evolution. It is the final step in that
process of development which began in protoplasm and
: culminated in man. I say " culminated in man ; " for the
, same process of reasoning, the same series of phenomena,
which demonstrates the scientific truth of the doctrine of
\ organic evolution, proclaims man as the highest creature
that can ever have an existence on this earth, as the goal
I towards which Nature tended from the beginning. Having
attained that altitude, the process of zoological change came
I to an end, and henceforth the dominant aspect of evolution
is, and must henceforth be, in the direction of intellectual
.^and spiritual progress and development.
Considered as steps in the evolution of religion, the
same series of phenomena which we have been considering
culminated in the religion which Jesus taught. And that
was the end of what may be termed the organic evolution
of religion. It reached its highest possible altitude in the
simple but grand and all-comprehensive code embraced in
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 169
Christianity. By the term " Christianity " I do not mean
that vast mass of theological doctrine evolved by Augustine,
Athanasius, Clement, Justin Martyr, and Tertullian ; nor do
I refer in the remotest degree to that mass of dogma so
ingeniously aggregated by the lesser lights of later years,
which has usurped the title of Christianity. I mean the
pure and simple code of morals, ethics, and religion the
real and essential Christianity which fell from the lips of
the man of Nazareth. I repeat, that was the end of the
evolution of religion on this earth ; for in that code perfec-
tion was attained. No one has ever succeeded in improv-
ing upon it. No one has ever been able to conceive a
higher standard. We hear much of " the religion of hu-
manity " from those who would free themselves from the
restraints of the creeds and dogmas of the Church ; but
the "religion of humanity" owes its principles to Jesus,
and to him alone ; and the highest ideals of altruism find
their realization in the same perfect character. Says Renan :
" Jesus founded the absolute religion, excluding nothing, de-
termining nothing, save its essence. . . . The foundation of the
true religion is indeed his work. After him there is nothing
more but to develop and fructify." l
The only attempt that has ever been made to find a
vulnerable point in the doctrines of Jesus has been in the
form of a declaration that the ethics of the Sermon on the
Mount " are too good for this world." It may be true that
some of his precepts are impracticable in the present state
of civilization. It may be that the meek shall not inherit
the earth for many long years to come. v But the process of
the evolution of humanity towards a higher civilization has
not yet ceased ; and we may rest assured that the time is
approaching when there will be universal " peace on earth
and good-will to all mankind." The religion of Jesus is
for all time to come. It is the religion of the poor and the
1 Life of Jesus.
I/O DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
lowly, and it is adapted to the highest civilization conceiv-
able by man. jtjsjhejinal religion of humanity ; and though
the earth in the fulness of time may pass away, his words
shall not pass away. This is why I have remarked that the
evolution of religion ceased when Jesus promulgated his
doctrines. It had attained perfection ; and that is all that
evolution can do. It is true that his teachings have been
misunderstood and perverted, and for many long years the
evolution of religion has progressed backward. A vast
system of theology has been erected, ostensibly upon the
foundation which he laid, a theology much of which bears
no resemblance to true Christianity. But this was because
man was, as he still is, imperfect. As civilization progresses,
however, man will be released from the thraldom of creed
and dogma, and revert to the pure and simple code of the
man of Nazareth. " For other foundation can no man lay
than that is laid." 1 " After him there is nothing more but
to develop and fructify."
As in the organic world the highest possible type is man,
so in the religious world the highest possible type is Chris-
tianity; and all future evolution of man or of religion
must be in the direction of a higher civilization, a more
perfect manhood, with all that the name implies.
1 I Corinthians iii. n.
CHAPTER X.
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS.
Spiritistic Phenomena among the Early Christians. Testimony of
the Christian Fathers. The Departure from Jesus' Example.
Paul's Explanation of Spiritistic Phenomena. John's Tests.
Paul's Ecstatic. The Oriental Ecstatics. Modern Occidental
Ecstatics. Alleged Perception of Divine Truth in the Ecstatic
Condition. Neither Jesus, Paul, nor John believed in Spiritism.
Primitive Christianity promoted by Psychic Phenomena. Con-
stantine. The Priesthood. Prohibition of Psychic Manifesta-
tions among the Laity. The Beneficence of the Inhibition.
TT would be interesting and perhaps profitable to trace the
* history of psychic phenomena from the time of Jesus
down through the dark ages, and to note its influence upon
the Christian Church both before and after the days of
Constantine. But, fortunately for the common people, the
production of the phenomena, after the first three hundred
years of primitive Christianity, was confined largely to the
priesthood, that body having set up a claim to the exclusive
right to work miracles, by virtue of their claim to the apos-
tolic succession. The result of this was that its production
was diverted to vastly different uses from those contem-
plated by the Master, and its history is, consequently, so
contorted and obscured that it would be difficult to separate
the genuine from the spurious.
It will be comparatively easy, however, to discover the
influence which psychic manifestations exerted upon the
early Christians, and to speculate with some degree of
1/2 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
accuracy upon the effect which phenomena cognate to if
not identical with those of modern spiritism had upon the
destinies of the Church and the character of its teachings ;
but, in a work like the present, even this can be but briefly
alluded to.
It is well known that such phenomena began to be pro-
duced among the early Christians almost immediately after
the Crucifixion, and continued to be a salient feature of
Church customs, certainly until the days of Constantine.
This fact is abundantly attested by the writings of the early
Christian Fathers, healing of the sick by the laying on of
hands being one of the most common of the manifestations
of psychic power. This power was not then confined to any
one class or rank, but was possessed by all who observed
the conditions prescribed by the Master. TJie^ ^physical
cqndJtion_jiecessary for the most successful work of this
kind being identical with that required for the production
of other phenomena, it soon became a common practice to
go through with the whole repertoire of what are now known
as spiritistic phenomena. Saint Paul himself mentions a
v long list of such phenomena which were produced in his
day ; x and Ignatius has this to say,
" Some in the Church most certainly have a knowledge of
things to come. Some have visions, others utter prophecies,
^ and heal the sick by laying on of hands ; and others still
speak in many tongues, bringing to light the secret things of
men [telepathy] and expounding the mysteries of God."
Saint Anthony declared that, after fasting, he had often
been surrounded by bands of angels, " and joyfully joined in
( singing with them." Tatian declares that " our virgins at
the distaff utter divine oracles, see visions, and sing the
holy words that are given them," being " full of the faith
I in Christ." Tertullian relates the case of a sister in the
1 See I Corinthians xii.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 173
Church, who, when entranced, was able to see spirits ; and
Montannas affirms with great emphasis that prophecies, ,
the power to heal the sick, " tongues and visions, are the (
divine inheritance of the true Christian." These statements ,
are amply confirmed by Apollinaris, Barnabas, Clement, I
Cyprian, Lactantius, Papias, and others. It was a common \
event in these manifestations for their psychics to hold
alleged communication with the angels; and Tertullian \
declares that, during religious services, they became en-
tranced, and sometimes " beheld Jesus himself, heard the \
divine mysteries explained," and "read the hearts" of those^
present.
It is almost superfluous to observe that these manifesta-
tions were identical with the so-called spirit manifestations of
the present day. But it is worth while to note the fact that
not one of them was authorized or countenanced by Jesus,
with the single exception of that of healing the sick. This is
a most significant fact, and it is demonstrative evidence that
he discountenanced the practice, knowing, as only he could
know, that communication with spirits was impossible. He <
knew the laws governing all such manifestations, and it is
to the last degree improbable that he would have neglected
to instruct his followers in the art of spirit intercourse, if by
that means they could have been put into communication
with intelligences capable of " explaining the divine mys-
teries." It is also to the last degree improbable that one
whose mission it was to "bring life and immortality to light "
would have neglected so glorious an opportunity to demon-
strate the truth of his teachings, and to point out a means
by which his disciples could hold communion not only
with angels and ministers of grace, but with himself after he
had ascended to the Father. His whole life and career was
a living protest against that species of psychism wherein
the prophets assumed to have direct verbal communication
with God, and others claimed to hold communion with
1/4 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
spirits of the dead ; the latter, however, being denounced
as witchcraft by the Mosaic law and punished with death.
Is it not probable and in keeping with the whole character
and the career the mission of Christ, which was to
teach spiritual truth to mankind, that, if communication
with spirits of the dead had been possible, and if it had been
that beneficent practice which modern spiritists would have
us believe it to be, he would have in some way indicated
to us his approval of such practices? If it is true that
spirits of the dead can communicate with the living inhabi-
tants of this world, he knew it. If it is true, it is important
for us to know it ; for that would be demonstrative of a
future life. If it is demonstrative of a future life, he would
surely have informed us of the fact, and would have enjoined
upon mankind a diligent cultivation of the art of spirit inter-
course. It was his mission to teach the doctrine of immor-
tality. It was his desire and purpose to demonstrate the
fact of immortality ; and he accomplished his object so far
as it was possible for him to do so in the age in which he
lived. He has left a record which gives us indubitable
evidence of his perfect knowledge of the laws of the human
soul. He has left a record demonstrative of his perfect
character and of his zeal for the promulgation of spiritual
truth. He offered up his life as a sacrifice upon the altar of
spiritual truth. The spirit of altruism was regnant in his
whole character ; but if there was one thing more than an-
other wherein that spirit was manifest, it was in his desire
to teach to mankind the fact of immortality. It is simply
a monstrous absurdity to suppose that, if it was possible to
communicate with departed souls, he deliberately neglected
so grand an opportunity to demonstrate the truth of the
essential doctrine which it was his mission to bring to light ;
and that it was left for hysterical women of the nineteenth
century, aided and abetted by convulsive furniture, to teach
us "the way, the truth, and the life."
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 175
It is impossible to suppose that he was not aware of the
psychic manifestations of his day, and of the current theory
of their origin.
" The group," says Renan, " that pressed around him upon
the banks of the Lake of Tiberias believed in spectres and
spirits. Great spiritual manifestations were frequent. All
believed themselves to be inspired in different ways."
But there is no record to show that he did more than to
tolerate the current beliefs. He did not sanction them
either by precept or by example ; much less did he encour-
age them by advancing the idea that the phenomena pro-
ceeded from disembodied spirits. On the contrary, his
whole life was a protest against such beliefs and such prac-
tices. By precept and example he taught the world that
healing the sick was the only legitimate use of psychic power ;
and the lesson of his three temptations in the wilderness is
that neither for bread, nor for glory, nor for power, nor for
emolument, can psychic power be legitimately exercised
outside of the limitations which he prescribed.
After the crucifixion and death of Jesus, Saint Paul
appears to have been tolerant of the psychic manifestations
which soon became common in the Church, doubtless for
the reason that it was, ir that primitive and superstitious
age, an element of strength. It enabled Christianity to
become an aggressive power, carrying with it what was sup-
posed to be demonstrative proofs of its divine source in the
form of phenomena the supermundane origin of which in
that day could not be successfully denied. To the credit of
Saint Paul, however, it must be remarked that he not only
had a very clear perception of the true origin of the phenom-
ena, but he took pains to place on record a statement of his
convictions. Paul was a learned man, filled to saturation
with the philosophies of the civilized world ; and although
he sometimes injected some of his Greek philosophy into
that of Jesus, yet he was a man who could not be deceived
1 76 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
as to the true origin of the spiritistic manifestations; and he
took particular pains, in his first epistle to the Corinthians,
to disabuse their minds of the idea that the phenomena
which at the time appear to have constituted a salient feature
of Christian worship, had their origin in spirits of the dead.
In the first eleven verses of the twelfth chapter of first
Corinthians he discourses as follows :
" Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have
you ignorant.
"Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these
dumb idols, even as ye were led.
" Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking
by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed : and that no man
can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
" Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
" And there are differences of administrations, but the same
Lord.
"And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same
God which worketh all in all.
" But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to
profit withal.
" For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom ; to
another, the word of knowledge by the same Spirit ;
" To another, faith by the same Spirit ; to another, the gifts
of healing by the same Spirit ;
" To another, the working of miracles ; to another, prophecy ;
to another, discerning of spirits; to another, divers kinds of
tongues ; to another, the interpretation of tongues ;
"But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit,
dividing to every man severally as he will."
It would thus appear that Paul had formulated a working
hypothesis regarding all spiritistic phenomena, the essential
features of which were, first, the repudiation of the prevalent
idea that the different manifestations of spirit control arose
from communion with a corresponding number of disem-
bodied spirits ; second, the broad assertion that all such
phenomena proceeded from the same source, namely, the
spirit of God manifest in and through that part of Him
OF 7WE FUTURE LIFE. 177
which constitutes the soul of the psychic who produced the
phenomena. There is, however, one phrase in the fore-
going quotation which requires a word to make it clear;
namely, " to another, the discerning of spirits." This has
been held to imply an acknowledgment by Paul of the ex-
istence of the power to see spirits. This confusion arises
from a mistranslation of the text. Instead of " discerning,"
which implies the exercise of the physical function of see-
ing, the word should be' discrimination, 1 which implies
merely the mental faculty of sound judgment. With this
view of the case, it would seem that the power of dis-
crimination, when applied to the divers gifts and manifesta-
tions mentioned in the context, was the most desirable of
the whole repertoire ; especially when we take into consid-
eration "the diversities of gifts," "the differences of admin-
istrations," and the " diversities of operations," together
with the law of suggestion, which was just as potent a factor
in their psychic phenomena as it is in ours. John, however,
greatly simplified the process of " discrimination " in such
matters. The following comprises his formula :
" Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God ; because many false prophets are gone out into
the world.
"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that con-
fesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God :
" And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh, is not of God. And this is that spirit of anti-
christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even
now already is it in the world."
Thus it will be seen that John was in perfect accord with
Paul in his method of " discrimination of spirits." In this
connection it may be well to remark that the phrase " try
the spirits " has often been held to imply that John was a
believer in spiritism. But it is obvious that he employed
1 See Rotherham's Literal Translation.
12
178 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
the word in a sense that does not warrant such an inference.
He mentions but two spirits ; namely, the spirit that is of
God, and the " spirit of antichrist." This clearly indicates
that he employed the term to designate a mental condition
or disposition, an intellectual or moral state, and not a
disembodied soul. Indeed, the one definition necessarily
excludes the other. Moreover, on general principles it may
be definitely affirmed that John was not a believer in spirit
communications from the other world ; for he was a disciple
of Jesus, and had imbibed instruction from the fountain-
head. Spiritists, both ancient and modern, are fully per-
suaded that they are in complete possession of accurate
knowledge of the world to come and of the general internal
economy of Heaven. On the other hand, Jesus did not
pretend to know; or if he did, he consistently refrained
from imparting that information to his followers, except in
the most general terms, which will be noted hereinafter.
Hence it was that John, notwithstanding his intimacy with
the Master, was forced to confess that he knew nothing of
what is in store for us on the other side. " Itdothnpt yet
appear," said he, "what we shall_be^but we know that,
when_he^ shall appear, we shall be likehim ; for we shall see
him as he js." l
Saint Paul has also been accused of spiritism, the accusa-
tion being based upon the passage wherein he says,
" I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether
in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot
tell [i. e. whether his soul left the body or not]: God know-
eth ; ) such an one was caught up to the third heaven.
" And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the
body, I cannot tell : God knoweth ; )
" How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard un-
speakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." 2
Those who are acquainted with the literature of ecstasis
will readily understand that Paul was describing a person
1 i John iii. z. 2 2 Corinthians xii. 2-4.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 179
who was in that psychic condition known as " ecstasy." It
is a state of profound hypnosis, the deepest that can be
produced with safety to the subject, and the consequent
phenomena depends, as in all other grades of hypnotism,
upon the dominant suggestion in the mind of the subject
when he enters the state. It is frequently self-induced,
especially among the East Indian adepts and Yogis, many
of whom spend the greater part of their lives in that condi-
tion, or for preparing themselves for entering it. They
induce it by sitting in one attitude for an indefinite length
of time and thinking about themselves ; the latter part of
the process being by them denominated " introspection."
By this means a state of profound hypnotism is induced,
accompanied by an equally profound and all-comprehensive
egotism, the result aimed at being what is known in their
vocabulary as " illumination." This state of "illumination "
appears to be the culmination of the ecstatic condition ; that
is, they have reached a point where egotism can go no
farther. It is then that they identify themselves with the
forces of Nature, and imagine that they can thunder and
produce earthquakes and other cataclysms, and that they
are in possession of all knowledge and power and all
dominion.
It may be remarked, in passing, that upon this phenomenon
is based the Oriental claim to superior knowledge of science
and of the laws of Nature which is so confidently set up by
those self-immolated victims of subjective hallucination. It
is this mental condition, entered into in utter and profound
ignorance of the fundamental law which governs all psychic
phenomena, that gives rise to their lofty contempt for West-
ern science and civilization. They never tell us what they |
have seen or what spiritual secrets they have penetrated in '
this state of " illumination," but declare that " the world is
not ready to receive it," etc., etc., and bid us wait until ,
they decide that the time is auspicious for them to yield up /
I SO A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
the sum total of the secrets of Nature. About the cosmog-
ony of the physical universe, however, they are not always
so reticent, but will cheerfully inform us that out of their
" cosmic consciousness " they have evolved many truths of
the utmost importance, such as that the earth is the centre
of the physical universe, and that the sun revolves around
it ; that there is to the north of us a great mountain behind
which the sun, moon, and the other planets retire in their
turn to rest ; that eclipses of the moon are caused by " dark
planets " coming between the earth and the moon, 1 and
many other such " truths," of which Western science has
been for many years profoundly ignorant.
But this is a digression. The phenomenon has often been
reproduced even in the unilluminated Occident. It is often
caused by nervous prostration, and it can be produced by
hypnotism, or by hasheesh, or by any of the processes
usually employed in the induction of the subjective condi-
tion ; and, as in all other psychic states, the visions beheld,
or the impressions experienced, are in exact accordance
with the suggestions which dominate the mind of the subject
when he enters the state. If there is no specific suggestion
made, the topic upon which the subject will be " illumi-
nated " will be determined by the dominant characteristics
of his mind. Thus, an inventor will feel that he has attained
the power of perception of all mechanical laws and forces,
and that all problems of invention are as a b c to him ;
the mathematician will feel that he is in possession of all
the laws of numbers, and that any and all problems are
easy of solution by his " illuminated " intelligence ; the
musician will experience the feeling that he is in an atmos-
phere of musical sounds, and that the most delightful har-
monies await his volition ; and so on through the whole
repertoire of human accomplishments and objects of earthly
ambition. Again, if the suggestion is made that the ecstatic
1 See Carpenter's " From Adam's Peak to Elephanta," p. 186.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. l8l
shall visit the spirit land, the abode of the blest or the
dungeon of the damned, he will, with equal facility, visit
either place, and his account of his visions will be the exact
reproduction of his preconceived opinions (auto-sugges-
tions) on those subjects.
But here is the peculiarity which attends the visions and
impressions of a certain class of ecstatics the world over.
When they enter that state with the dominant idea that
they are going to come into contact with Omniscience and
merge their intelligence, as it were, with that of the Deity,
they have no specific idea of what they are about to see, to
experience, or to learn. Their only suggestion is a general
one to the effect that they are about to come into intimate and
loving contact with the All- Knowing One ; and that, guided
by the very Spirit of Truth, they will be able to obtain in-
stant possession of all knowledge. The result is always the
same, from the Oriental ecstatic down to the humblest
hypnotic subject. They experience a sensation which is
described to be to the last degree pleasurable and exhilarat-
ing, a feeling that they have been suddenly released from
the trammels of the flesh, that they are " emancipated "
and " illuminated," and that they are in possession of all
truth and all power and dominion. But that is the sum
total of their revelations. No one has ever been able to
wring from them the smallest modicum of that vast store of
cosmic intelligence of which they have so suddenly become
the custodians. One amiable old gentleman, known to the
writer, has become so full of enthusiasm over his own ex-
perience in the ecstatic condition that, realizing the hope-
lessness of any attempt to convey by words the remotest
idea of the "great truths " of which he has become the
depositary, he has started in to reform the world by induc-
ing others to enter the ecstatic condition, so that each for
himself may acquire possession of that vast fund of unspeak-
able information which belongs alone to the " illuminated."
1 82 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
" It cannot be conveyed in words," is the reply of the
average Occidental ecstatic when pressed for an account of
his experience. The Oriental wraps himself in his mantle
of mysticism, and refuses to reveal the awful mysteries which
have been confided to his care ; but boasts of his vast store-
house of " scientific " knowledge, and looks with contempt
upon the frivolities of material science in the Occident.
Saint Paul's ecstatic evidently had the experience and was
hedged about by the same limitations. During his visit to
paradise he " heard unspeakable words which it is not law-
ful for a man to utter," says Paul ; and it must be admitted
by the most sceptical that this was a double restriction not
easy to evade or overcome.
Well may Paul have been in doubt as to whether the man
" was in the body or out of the body " when he was in that
profound trance condition which often simulates death, and
which is the condition necessary for the production of the
phenomena of ecstasis. His doubt must have referred to
the man's physical condition, and not to any question of the
corporeal existence of the man himself; for Paul explicitly
states that he knew the man.
I have discussed this matter at greater length, perhaps,
than was necessary; but this passage has been so often
tortured into the service of spiritism that I have deemed it
expedient to classify the fact in accordance with the views
of modern experimental psychology, and at the same time
to relieve Paul from the charge of inconsistency, in view of
his explicit declaration that the alleged spiritistic phe-
nomena than prevalent in the Church were neither more
nor less then manifestations of one and the same Spirit ;
namely, the spirit of God.
Besides, I deemed it important to show that Paul, the
most learned and philosophic of the Apostles, was not
tinctured with the then prevalent beliefs ; and that John,
the most intimate personal friend and companion of Jesus,
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 183
was also free from the prevailing delusion. The importance
of these facts is seen from the inference, which is irresisti-
ble, that, if Jesus had deemed it possible for disembodied
spirits to communicate with the living, his views would
have been reflected in the teachings of those Apostles.
The fact that neither Jesus himself nor John, his friend, nor
Paul, the most learned exponent of his philosophy, nor
indeed any of his Apostles, ever intimated a belief in spirit-
ism, is conclusive against the hypothesis that the Founder
of Christianity regarded spirit intercourse with the living as
a possible factor in the science of the soul.
Nevertheless the fact remains that the phenomena of so-
called spiritism constituted one of the salient features of
primitive Christianity. And it is no discredit to the Chris-
tian religion to say that these phenomena constituted one
of the most potent agencies employed for its promulgation.
Indeed, it may be doubted whether the Christian Church
could have long survived as an organic institution in that
day and age of the world, had it not been for the signs and
wonders which were afforded by the various forms of
psychic phenomena which were then prevalent. Jesus him-
self recognized the necessity for thus satisfying the popular
demand for evidences of his authority and his divine mis-
sion. It is true that he produced none outside of a clearly
defined limit ; and that limit was defined by the spirit of
altruism regnant in his soul. His miracles were all wrought
for the benefit of humanity, for human enlightenment or
for the relief of human suffering. Their effect as evidences
of his divine mission was of secondary importance to him.
He did nothing for display, nothing for glory, nothing for
emolument, nothing even to convince the sceptical of the
truth of his doctrine, unless he could at the same time con-
fer a benefit upon suffering humanity. He enjoined upon
his followers the duty to heal the sick, and left his example
as a sacred heritage to all who should come after him.
1 84 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
During the first few hundred years of the Christian dispen-
sation his injunctions were faithfully observed. But the
power to heal the sick implied the power to produce other
phenomena ; that is to say, the psychical condition neces-
sary for the production of other phenomena were necessarily
induced by the training required for the acquisition of the
power to heal the sick. The result was that other phe-
nomena were produced. It is superfluous to say that the
same laws that prevail to-day governed the production of
psychic phenomena in that day. The law of suggestion
exerted its subtle influence then as now. Consequently the
same facilities for self-deception on the part of the psychic
existed in the Church of that day as exist in the spiritistic
circles of the nineteenth century. The conditions were the
same. The phenomena were identical. The same tests
were applied with the same wonderful results. The phe-
nomena, under the subtle influence of the law of suggestion,
lent itself to the confirmation of every belief, just as it does
in the spiritistic seances to-day. The necessary result was
that the psychics of the Church, being dominated by the
suggestions embraced in the Christian faith, confirmed the
beliefs of the Church.
It is easy to see what a powerful proselyting engine was
at the command of the primitive Church, and to account
for the zeal and success of that simple-minded people. Says
Mosheim,
" It is easier to conceive than to express how much the
miraculous powers and the extraordinary divine gifts which
the early Christians exercised on various occasions, contributed
to extend the limits of the Church."
Possessed of such " divine gifts " emanating from a source
which they could but regard as supernatural, in constant
communication with beings whom they could but regard as
disembodied spirits, frequently beholding visions of a sub-
lime figure which they could but believe to be that of the
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 185
Divine Master himself, every phenomenon confirming and
emphasizing the central idea of their faith, it would have
been a miracle indeed if the Church had not flourished and
become a moral force in the world, potent, aggressive, irre-
sistible. And such we find it to have been ; for their mis-
sionaries, in spite of pagan persecution, were soon thunder-
ing at the gates of Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople.
The result was that in the short space of three hundred
years they had become so powerful and influential that
Constantine thought it worth while to become converted to
Christianity, to the end that he might establish himself
as Emperor and convert Christianity into a state religion.
With that event ended the golden days of primitive Chris-
tianity. Evolution had turned her face to the rear. The
pure and simple doctrines of Jesus were forgotten. His
text of discipleship ''that ye love one another" was
discarded. Thenceforth Christianity was largely a thing of
creed and dogma. The Church was given over to the con-
trol of an organized priesthood who acknowledged alle-
giance only to the State. Private opinion became a public
crime. The reign of love which Jesus inaugurated was
transformed into a reign of terror; and for more than a
thousand years the pathway of the Church was illuminated
by the fagot and defined by human blood.
Obviously it would be difficult, if not impossible, to trace
the true history of psychic phenomena through that period.
The heritage which Jesus had bequeathed to all his disci-
ples had been seized by the priesthood and made to sub-
serve its interests and to promote its power. That history,
therefore, was in the keeping of those whose interest it was
to deepen its mysteries, to the end that the people might
be kept in ignorance of its source. That the priesthood
have been, from time immemorial, in possession of the
power to produce most wonderful psychic phenomena, is
well known in the inner circles of the Church. That they
1 86 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
are not entirely ignorant of its true source, is apparent. It
is a part of esoteric Romanism.
These remarks are not made in any spirit of censure ;
for if the Church has ever done one thing more praise-
worthy than another, it was when it inhibited the produc-
tion of spiritistic phenomena by the common people. No
matter what secret motives may have actuated the priest-
hood in confining the production of psychic phenomena to
that order, the fact remains that if the common people had
not been prohibited from the indiscriminate production of
psychic phenomena, it would have utterly demoralized the
Christian Church, and rendered it a very cesspool of vice
and immorality. No one who has investigated the subject
needs to be told how demoralizing to soul and body is the
production of spiritistic phenomena, even in this enlight-
ened age, especially where the medium is ignorant of its
true source, and ascribes it to supermundane agency. How
much more terrible would have been the results in an
age of universal ignorance and superstition, can only be
conjectured. In the early days of the Christian Church
learning was confined largely to the priesthood ; and it
is doubtless true that they early discovered the vicious
tendency of such practices, and felt compelled to interfere,
in the interest of morality, and to prohibit the indiscriminate
production of psychic phenomena by the ignorant laity.
It is also doubtless true, as before remarked, that the
priesthood understood something of the true nature of
psychic phenomena ; and that they should employ it occa-
sionally for the promotion of the interests of their order,
was inevitable. The people of their day were seeking for
" signs and wonders " as they were in the days of Jesus,
and the priesthood had before them the example of the
Master in withholding from the laity the esoteric knowl-
edge which they were prepared neither to receive nor to
appreciate.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 187
Thus it appears manifest, not only that it was through
psychic phenomena that the Christian religion was evolved,
but that it was largely through psychic phenomena that
the Christian Church was enabled to establish itself on a
firm basis within the three hundred years succeeding the
crucifixion of its founder. It matters not that these psychic
phenomena were misunderstood ; nor is it any discredit to
Christianity that in an age of intellectual darkness, before
science threw its first glimmering rays of light upon the
intellectual horizon, the Christian religion was thus pro-
moted. Jesus did not misunderstand the phenomena of
the soul, nor is he to blame because his followers mistook
the import of phenomena which he did not produce and
to which he did not give his sanction. As well might we
discredit astronomy because it had its origin in astrology,
or chemistry because it was preceded by alchemy, or im-
pugn the wisdom of the Almighty because the Psalmist was
ignorant of the Copernican system when he exclaimed,
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firma-
ment showeth his handiwork." The grand procession of
the planets around the sun constitutes the phenomena of
the solar system. These phenomena are the facts of astron-
omy ; and they are none the less so because they have been
misunderstood. They were observed and studied alike by
the ignorant and the wise until the truth was evolved.
The Psalmist doubtless regarded the earth as the centre
of the universe ; but the discoveries of Kepler and of
Newton have neither diminished the force nor discredited
the truth of the sublime words of the sweet singer of
Israel.
In like manner psychic phenomena the facts of the
science of the soul have been observed from time im-
memorial, and must still continue to be observed and
studied until the true science of the soul is evolved. When
this is accomplished, it will be found that the truths of
1 88 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
Christianity will be none the less clearly recognizable
because psychic phenomena have been, in times past,
most grossly misinterpreted. On the contrary, as every
truth illuminates every other truth to which it is related,
the truths which Jesus taught must find a new illustration
in every fresh discovery in the science of the soul.
CHAPTER XI.
MODERN PSYCHIC PHENOMENA.
Mesmerism. Telepathy demonstrated by the Followers of Mesmer.
Braid's Discovery. Hypnotism. Discovery of the Law of
Suggestion. Clairvoyance. The Rochester Knockings. Mes-
meric Subjects and Mediums. Spiritism as a Step in the Process
of Evolution. Its Effect.
Y\/E now approach an epoch in the history of psychic
phenomena of the most transcendent interest and
imminent importance. Hitherto we have dealt with phe-
nomena so obscured by the twilight of tradition and imperfect
history that only the faint outlines or the most salient
features have been discernible. We shall, however, be
compensated for this lack of clearness in the ancient
phenomena by turning upon it the calcium light of modern
experience ; for we now enter the domain of demonstrable
facts which have been incorporated into the great body of
modern science ; namely, the scientifically verified facts of
experimental psychology.
When Anton Mesmer first demonstrated to the world that
by certain mysterious manipulations persons can be thrown
into a condition of trance, during which the objective senses
are held in more or less complete abeyance, and that at
the same time the functions of the body can be modified,
pain suppressed, fever calmed, and disease removed, he
laid the foundation of the true science of the human soul.
Not that he obtained more than a glimpse into the promised
land, or that he had the remotest idea of the grand results
I9O A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
which were to follow ; but he was the first, in modern times,
to point out one mean through which the soul can be
experimentally studied. For him the only field of useful-
ness for the newly discovered power was that of therapeutics ;
and it was not till he had been driven by professional
jealousy into dishonored exile that his followers so far
extended his discoveries as to open the way for the study of
the whole field of experimental psychology. The Marquis
de Puyse"gur, a philanthropist, a scientist, and a man of
fearless integrity, in utter disregard of the sentence of pro-
fessional and social ostracism pronounced by the medical
profession of his day upon all who presumed to investigate
the subject of mesmerism, extended the experiments of
Mesmer, and was the first to develop experimentally the
phenomenon of telepathy. He was followed by many
others, of more or less scientific prominence, who confirmed
his experiments, among whom were Esdaile, Elliotson,
Deleuze, Baron Dupotet, and many others of lesser note.
The result was that a series of most wonderful psychic
phenomena were produced and verified with scientific
exactitude. The ultra-scientists, however, continued to
cast ridicule upon the phenomena, and to persecute and to
drive to ruin every scientist who dared to make an honest
experiment. This continued until 1840, when Dr. Braid, a
Manchester physician, announced that he had discovered
that a condition cognate to that produced by Mesmer could
be induced by causing the subject to gaze steadily upon a
bright object held in front of and slightly above the eyes.
This he denominated " hypnotism ; " and the name has since
been retained and applied to all the varied phases of
induced subjective phenomena, although it strictly applies
to but a very small proportion of them. His work, however,
attracted very little immediate attention in his own country,
and it was not until Libault confirmed and extended the
experiments of Braid that hypnotism was admitted within
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. igi
the domain of the exact sciences. Lie"bault was followed
by a host of others, so that within the last twenty years, or
less, hypnotism has come to be acknowledged as a science
of the most transcendant interest and importance, not alone
in its aspects as a therapeutic agent, but as the handmaiden,
par excellence, of experimental psychology.
It is to Lie"bault, however, that the world is indebted for
the greatest discovery ever made in the science of hypnotism ;
namely, the law of " suggestion." This law, reduced to
its simplest terms, is that " persons in an hypnotic condition
are constantly amenable to control by suggestion." I am
aware that the credit of this discovery has been claimed for
Braid ; but, nevertheless, Lie"bault first formulated the law,
and it is to the one who has the capacity to grasp the
universality of a law, and definitely to formulate it, that
credit is due for the discovery. Many others had noted the
effect of suggestion in particular cases, and had thus counted
it as a possible factor in hypnotism. Paracelsus, in the six-
teenth century, noted it as an important factor in psycho-
therapeutics ; but he was no more entitled to the credit of its
discovery than were the predecessors of Newton, who talked
learnedly of gravitation but died before its fundamental law
was formulated, entitled to the credit due to the author of
the " Principia." It is true that Liebault confined his formula
to the phenomena of experimental hypnotism, and it was
left for later investigators to discover that the law was the
universal and dominating factor in all the multiform phases
of psychic phenomena. But until Lie"bault's discovery
was definitely formulated, hypnotism was not, nor could
it be, entitled to admission into the circle of the exact
sciences. That discovery, therefore, constituted the first
great step in the evolution of the science of the soul;
for it is by hypnotism and cognate phenomena alone
that the fact that man has a soul can be scientifically
demonstrated.
Ip2 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
In the mean time, before the discoveries of Braid and of
Lie"bault, mesmerism had fallen largely into the hands of
ignorant charlatans, who travelled throughout every civilized
country, lecturing and giving exhibitions of the phenomena to
gaping crowds, who were neither more nor less capable than
were the exhibitors themselves of appreciating the real signifi-
cance of the exhibitions. By this means mesmeric subjects
were indefinitely multiplied until every little hamlet in
Christendom could boast of its " seers " and its " prophets."
" Clairvoyance " became a word of portentous import, and
was soon employed as a generic term for every manifestation
of perception not directly traceable to sensorial experience.
Many notable phenomena were produced, and books de-
scribing them multiplied. All were, of course, derided by
the " scientists ; " the lecturers themselves were branded as
"mountebanks," and the " subjects," who were taken largely
from the ranks of the school children, were denounced as
" frauds," " humbugs," and "swindlers." Among the books
which appeared, many were written in a purely scientific
tone and spirit, and described the experiments with great
minuteness and exactness, and detailed the tests applied
and the safeguards employed with true scientific caution
and transparent honesty of purpose. It is a curious and an
intensely interesting study to go over those old " volumes of
forgotten lore," rescued from the top shelves of second-
hand bookstores, and to compare the experiments therein
detailed with those of the scientists .of to-day. Such a
study reveals many thoroughly authenticated facts of great
scientific value in the study of experimental psychology, the
only defect being that the law of suggestion had not yet
been formulated. Nevertheless, in very many cases, that
factor was as intelligently eliminated as it has ever been by
later scientists who are in full possession of a thorough
knowledge of its potency and universality. In point of fact,
there are few phenomena of importance produced by the
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 193
later scientists which have not their counterpart in the old
records of pre-spiritistic mesmerism.
In this connection it may be well to pause for the pur-
pose of remarking that up to a certain date no one ever
dreamed of ascribing to supermundane agency any of the
phenomena of mesmerism. Many phenomena were pro-
duced which have since found a ready solution in the
hypothesis of spirit intercourse ; but at the time of their
production it was not found necessary to presuppose any
other agency than that of some inherent, though newly
discovered, power of the living subject. In other words,
it was not regarded as necessary for a man to be dead
before he could develop the powers evoked by mesmer-
ism. Such an hypothesis had not yet been " suggested."
This state of affairs, however, was destined to a somewhat
sudden termination. The Rochester knockings had com-
menced. At first ascribed to trickery, investigation proved
that they could not be traced to any known physical agency.
The sounds were startling, mysterious, uncanny, and to none
more so than to those to whose unconscious agency they
were afterwards traced. To the minds of the local savants
the most obvious solution was the supernatural. This idea
once suggested, a test was easy. A code of signals was
improvised, and the raps were questioned. An intelligence
was found to be behind the mysterious sounds. On cross-
examination, that intelligence freely admitted itself to be
none other than that of a disembodied spirit ; and the raps
first made upon the walls of the humble residence of the
Fox sisters were heard around the world.
A new era in psychic phenomena had been inaugurated.
In an incredibly short space of time " mediums " of com-
munication with the inhabitants of another sphere were
found all over the civilized world. Mesmerism was for-
gotten. But it is a significant fact that it had unwittingly
provided an abundant supply of the raw material for
13
194 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
"mediums;" for every successful mesmeric subject was
found to be already developed for successful mediumship.
The phenomena of " clairvoyance " no longer possessed
their former significance. What was, under mesmerism,
the development of an inherent power of the mind of the
subject, under spiritism was a message from some denizen
of another world. If any doubt existed upon that point,
it was speedily set at rest by the simple process of question-
ing the intelligence itself. When asked if it was a spirit, the
answer was, " Yes." When asked if it was the spirit of John
Smith, the answer was "Yes; " and the same answer would
be returned if the identity of the spirit of Socrates was
sought. In other words, it was just as easy successfully to
invoke the shade of Socrates as it was to call up John
Smith, notwithstanding the disparity in numbers.
The law of suggestion had not been discovered ; and the
fact of duality of consciousness existed in the popular mind
only as a Platonic reminiscence.
But this is not the proper place to discuss the errors of
spiritism. It is sufficient for present purposes to note that
the appearance of spiritism, coming as it did upon the world
of human thought and experience simultaneously with mes-
merism, seems not only opportune, but almost providential.
Together they constitute the great body of the psychic phe-
nomena of the nineteenth century, and neither would have
been complete without the other. In spiritism we have a
vast series of phenomena, and in mesmerism and hypnotism
we have a means of scientifically studying it and thus profit-
ing by the lessons which it teaches. If this is done in a
calm and dispassionate spirit, we may rest assured that
what we shall learn will be for the highest good of the
human race. We shall at least find that when we look
upon it as a necessary part of the grand system of evolu-
tion of the human mind, it is a factor of inestimable value
and significance. Viewed as a factor in the evolution of the
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 1 95
spiritual man, it has been of transcendent value to mankind.
It matters not that its phenomena have been grossly misin-
terpreted. It was impossible to avoid a misunderstanding
of it in the absence of the knowledge which modern scien-
tific investigation has revealed within the last decade. It
would have been a miracle if it had not been accepted for
all that it purported to be, in the absence of any other
rational explanation than that afforded by a wholesale
denial of its phenomena. Its adherents had daily ocular
demonstration of the genuineness of its phenomena, which
could not be offset by a priori denials from those who
refused to investigate. Moreover, the intelligence behind
the manifestations claimed to be that of loved ones who had
gone before ; and in the then state of human knowledge
there was no means of successfully disproving the statement.
Besides, it was a statement that millions of stricken hearts
dreaded to have disproved. To many it constituted the
last ray of hope of a life beyond the grave, and of a
reunion with the loved and lost.
It does not always follow that the mistakes of humanity
are productive of unmitigated evil. We have already seen
how, in times past, the most grossly misinterpreted psychic
phenomena led, by the slow but sure steps of evolution, to a
knowledge of the true God ; and how the propagation of
the true religion was promoted by the same means. Spirit-
ism has also served a noble purpose in that it has stayed
the wave of materialism which swept like a cyclone over
the civilized world upon the announcement of the doctrine
of organic evolution. Millions of the human family who
could not appreciate the fact that the doctrine of evolution
does not touch the question of true religion and leaves the
problem of immortality just where it found it, have derived
consolation from what they regard as demonstrative evidence
of a life beyond the grave.
In making the foregoing remarks, I have not taken into
196 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
account any of the vagaries of spiritism. I have not con-
sidered the evils to which it has given rise, the gross immo-
ralities which some of its votaries teach both by precept
and example, nor the absurdities into which many of its
followers have been led. When a law of Nature is mis-
understood, there is inevitable danger to those who rashly
place themselves within its reach. This is just as true
of the laws of mind as it is of the laws of matter. The law
which, rightly understood, is the most beneficent, may
become an engine of destruction to those who ignorantly
place themselves in wrong relations to it.
What I have here said of spiritism, therefore, must be
considered as having reference to its aggregate effect upon
the human family. In this respect I have no hesitation in
saying that, as a whole, it has been beneficent. But, tak-
ing a still broader view of the subject, it must be said that
its manifestations are a necessary and an indispensable part
of the grand aggregate of psychic phenomena, through
which alone man is at last enabled to study the science of
the soul. Not that it teaches us just what is in store for
man in a future state of existence, for, in the language of
the Beloved Disciple, " it doth not yet appear what we
shall be ; " but it teaches us what man is. Not that we
shall ever be able to enter into communication with the
inhabitants of the spirit world, and thus learn more than
Jesus revealed to us ; but we may learn by induction some-
thing of what he knew by intuition ; and we may, per-
chance, learn enough of the laws of the soul to be able to
postulate immortality with some degree of scientific cer-
tainty. If this should prove to be the outcome of spiritistic
phenomena, all will agree that it has not been produced in
vain; even though, by the same process of reasoning, it
should be demonstrated that spirits of the dead do not
communicate with the living, and although the whole super-
structure of spiritistic philosophy, based upon the assump-
tion of spirit communion, should be demolished.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 197
It seems to me that I am warranted in saying that
enough of thoroughly verified facts have already accumu-
lated to enable us to successfully apply the processes of
induction to the solution of the problem of a future life.
The facts of mesmerism ; the facts of hypnotism, as devel-
oped by the scientific investigators of Europe and America ;
the vast array of scientifically verified facts presented in
the reports of the London Society for Psychical Research,
together with the rich store of facts presented in the phe-
nomena of spiritism, constitute the material from which it
is hoped to learn something, not only of what man is, but
of the fate to which he is destined.
CHAPTER XII.
HAS MAN A SOUL?
Intuitive Perceptions of the Existence of a Soul in Man. Plato's
Philosophy. The Doctrine of Body, Soul, and Spirit. The
Doctrine of Jesus. Modern Scientific Scepticism. Require-
ments of Modern Science. The Dual Hypothesis. The Phe-
nomena of Dreams. The Objective and Subjective Mental States
differentiated. Limitations of Powers of Reasoning in the Sub-
jective Mind. Its Perfect Power of Deduction. Telepathy and
Prevision.
TT has thus far been provisionally assumed that man has
I a soul. But, before proceeding to formulate a scien-
tific argument demonstrative of the soul's immortality, it is
logically necessary to demonstrate the verity of the pro-
visional assumption. Materialistic science will certainly be
satisfied with nothing less; for it is at this point that it
invariably calls a halt, and reminds us that the primary rule
of logic Demands that our premises be not assumed.
In discussing this branch of the subject in a work like
this, the reader must be presumed to. be somewhat familiar
with the current literature relating to the psychic phenom-
ena of the nineteenth century, especially with that which
deals with the scientific aspects of the various questions
involved. It is obviously impossible, within the limits of a
single volume, to present documentary evidence of the
verity of every statement that must be made. Therefore
results only can be stated : but the reader may rest
assured that I shall not attempt to lead him outside the
DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 199
realm of scientifically verified facts, which can be experi-
mentally reproduced. Should I attempt to do so, the
fraud would be easily detected, for the facts are public
property, and are known to him who reads. My conclu-
sions from those facts, however, rest upon a different foot-
ing. They are necessarily my own, and it is the province
of the reader to test their soundness in the crucible of his
own logic, if mine is found to be unsound or unsatis-
factory.
That man has a soul, is and has. been, since the dawn of
civilization, a matter of intuitive perception ; that is to
say, all civilized people have felt that they realized, in a
more or less definite way, that there is in man what appears
to be a distinct entity which is apparently capable of sus-
taining an existence independently of the body. This fact
of universality of perception constitutes a strong argument,
though not a conclusive one, in support of that doctrine,
and its corollary, a future life. It is noteworthy that in
the early history of the world, the higher the state of civili-
zation the more pronounced and definite were the current
notions regarding the soul's existence ; although they
lacked that clearness and simplicity which characterized
the purely intuitional perceptions of those who were less
skilled in philosophical ratiocination. Thus, in Greece,
the doctrine was formulated in clear and definite terms by
Plato who held that man is composed of " body, soul, and
spirit." His doctrine, however, was the result of something
more than intuition. He does not tell us the distinction
between soul and spirit, and leaves us entirely in the dark
as to whether his conclusions were arrived at from the
observation of phenomena, or from purely speculative
philosophy, without facts to sustain it. But it must be
remembered that Plato, in common with the other philoso-
phers of his day, regarded the conclusions derived from
purely speculative philosophy as good as so many facts for
200 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
the purpose of constructing the major premise of a syllo-
gism. Not that they disdained facts, or failed to employ
them when they were easily obtainable, but that they failed
to estimate the relative value of a demonstrated fact and
the conclusions resulting from their own speculations.
Again, Plato may have been influenced by the Hindu phi-
losophy, which constructs man in sections, puts him
together like a telescope, and assigns him the task of shed-
ding one section at a time until there is nothing left but
"pure spirit." It seems probable, however, that Plato's
idea of man may have arisen from a mal-observation of
psychic phenomena. Thus, his idea of the spirit may have
been derived from his observation of the operation of the
subjective faculties ; and his idea of the soul, from his
observation of the objective mental activity, or vice versa.
In other words, he failed to observe that the objective
mind, instead of being an entity, is merely the function of
the human brain, and necessarily ceases with the death of
the body ; whereas the subjective mind belongs to a dis-
tinct entity, which is apparently capable of sustaining an
existence independently of the body. It is this entity
which modern philosophers denominate the " soul " or the
"spirit," the two terms, in the vocabulary of modern
spiritual philosophy, being generally synonymous. It is true
that there are still to be found occasional representatives of
the " telescopic " school of spiritual philosophy, who hold to
the old doctrine of three entities, body, soul, and spirit ;
but no one of them has ever been able to point to a single
facts which discloses the existence of more than two. There
are others who cling to the old vocabulary, but admit that
there are but two entities, namely, the body and the soul ;
the spirit, in their philosophy, being the life principle which
animates both body and soul, as well as all organic Nature.
In this sense there is no objection to the phrase, save that
it has a tendency to confuse the unscientific mind and to
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 2OI
lead it into a maze of speculation which is as unprofitable
as it is unscientific.
This apparent digression is made for the purpose of pla-
cing the conclusions derived from the speculative philosophy
of the ancients in sharp contrast with the intuitional per-
ceptions of the unperverted human soul, especially that of
Jesus of Nazareth. I shall now follow it up by showing
that the facts developed by modern scientific investigation
confirm and emphasize the philosophy of Jesus in all its
purity and simplicity. For it is a fact of most profound
significance that Jesus, although he must be presumed to
have been acquainted with all the philosophy of his day,
never gave utterance to a word which indicated his belief
in that complicated spiritual structure of man which has
been so industriously proclaimed by both ancient and
modern philosophers. He taught the simple truth that
man has a soul ; he demonstrated that truth by the pro-
duction of phenomena of the soul ; he promulgated the
doctrine that the soul is capable of sustaining an existence
independently of the body, and he taught mankind how to
deserve and how to attain immortal life. This comprises
all that man needs to know of spiritual philosophy, and it
will not be denied that in its simplicity of statement it bears
the impress of scientific truth. It is the province of science
to ascertain whether observable facts confirm his doctrines.
Should a scientist who is unfamiliar with the recent
developments of psychic science, be asked what would
constitute conclusive evidence to his mind of the existence
of a soul in man, he would doubtless reply that he must
first be convinced that the mind does not follow the condi-
tions of the body and brain. Then he would launch out
into a more or less learned dissertation, reminding us that
all human experience goes to show that as the body grows
weaker the mind grows weaker ; that a disease of the brain
produces insanity or imbecility ; that certain organs of the
202 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
mind can be modified, inhibited, or totally destroyed by a
surgical operation ; that mechanical pressure upon the brain
produces total unconsciousness and insensibility ; that when
the body dies, all manifestations of mind cease at once and
forever, etc. In short, he would lead us through all the
stock arguments of materialistic science which go to prove
that the mind is not an entity, but a function of the physi-
cal brain, and that it necessarily ceases to manifest itself
when the brain loses its vitality. All this we have heard
before, ad nauseam, and all this we admit to be true, so
far as the objective mind is concerned ; but we hasten to
remind him that the researches of modern science have
developed the fact that man has a dual mind, two planes
of consciousness, a normal and a super-normal plane,
and that the latter manifests itself when the former is in-
hibited. In other words, when the brain is asleep and all
the objective senses or faculties are in complete abeyance,
the super-normal or subjective faculties are capable of in-
tense activity. If he has heard of hypnotism as developed
by orthodox scientists, he is ready to admit that man has a
dual mind in the sense that it acts in one way under certain
conditions of the body, and in another way under certain
other conditions of the body. " It is the same mind," he
adds, " its powers and functions being susceptible to modi-
fication either by peripheral stimuli or by the inhibition of
activity in certain nerve centres and the stimulation of
others to abnormal activity." All this has a very learned
sound, in that it is characterized by the oracular indefinite-
ness of true materialistic science when dealing with prob-
lems beyond its legitimate domain. Should we then remind
him that the facts of experimental psychology show that
duality of mind means vastly more than is implied in his
definition, that, in fact, it is demonstrable that man pos-
sesses a dual mind, he would doubtless inform us at once
that such a thing is "impossible," that it is "contrary to
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 203
the nature of things," that it is " subversive of all psycho-
logical science " with which he is acquainted, and, worst of
all, " it would destroy the value and significance of all the
learning that has been bestowed in times past upon the
science of psychology ; " in short, " that all the vast bibli-
ography of the old psychology would have to be revised
and rewritten " l if the dual-mind theory is demonstrable.
Of course, all this is very shocking and subversive and revo-
lutionary, and all that ; but we will suppose our scientist to
be a fair-minded man, and we will venture one more ques-
tion, namely, what demonstration, short of pulling the two
minds out of a man with a pair of forceps, weighing them
in a balance, and carving them with a scalpel, would be con-
sidered adequate proof of the actual existence of two minds
in man? I submit that the conditions to be prescribed
by the most exacting scientist could be no more severe
than the following :
1. It must be shown that man possesses attributes and
powers independent of each other and irreconcilable with
each other except by the hypothesis that he is endowed
with two minds.
2. That each is capable of independent action while the
other is in complete abeyance.
3. That each must possess powers and limitations not
possessed by the other.
4. That each must, in the normal man, perform functions
which the other is incapable of exercising.
5. That one mind must normally be subordinate to the
other.
6. That there must be some evidence of the survival of
one after the extinction of the other.
7. That each of the foregoing propositions must be
1 I am quoting from memory the words actually employed by
an eminent scientist when confronted with the theory of duality
of mind.
204 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
demonstrated by an appeal to observable facts that are
susceptible of no other rational interpretation.
I think it "Will be conceded by the most sceptical that if
the foregoing propositions can be fairly established, it will
constitute at least prima facie evidence of the existence of
a soul in mankind. When this is done, it will be followed
by other considerations which will be demonstrative of that
proposition. In the mean time, as the above propositions
are nearly related, they will be considered together.
The broad line of distinction and demarcation between
the two classes of attributes consists in the fact, which is of
every-day observation and universal experience, that nor-
mally each class of attributes manifests itself while the
other is quiescent. This fact is brought to universal con-
sciousness in the phenomena of dreams. If dreams had
but recently been brought to the attention of the civilized
world, they would now be considered the most wonderful
phenomena of the human mind. Being the common
experience of all mankind, their real significance has been
to a great extent overlooked. The reason for this is found
in the fact that their most common form of manifestation
can be traced either to peripheral stimuli, or to the upper-
most waking thoughts of the sleeper. But it occasionally
happens, and has happened throughout all the ages of which
history or tradition gives us any account, that men have
dreamed dreams which cannot be traced to anything within
the known physical or mental environment of the dreamer.
Dreams which give warning of impending danger ; dreams
which demonstrate the fact of communion with friends at a
distance ; dreams which solve problems far beyond the objec-
tive or normal capacity of the dreamer, are among the
phenomena which point clearly to a consciousness distinct
from and independent of his normal consciousness, and
possessing a power of perception of truth which reaches
out far beyond the range of the objective senses. These
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 205
are phenomena which have been observed in a haphazard,
unintelligent way throughout all the ages, and would doubt-
less have continued to be so observed had not the phenom-
ena of mesmerism or hypnotism been brought to the
attention of science. Hypnotism enables us to study the
phenomena of dreams by experimental reproduction ; and
in this sense it may be defined to be the power to repro-
duce the phenomena of dreams. It is that, but it is more.
It is the power, not only to reproduce, but to control the
phenomena, and carry them to an intelligible conclusion.
Hypnotic phenomena possess all the salient characteristics
of dream phenomena, and are governed by the same laws,
modified only by methods of induction. The total or
partial abeyance of the objective senses (sleep) is the first
requisite in each ease. In hypnotism the subject is en
rapport with the hypnotist, and his dreams are controlled
by the suggestions of the latter. In natural sleep the sub-
ject is en rapport 'with himself, and his dreams are controlled
sometimes by the suggestions conveyed in the current of
his waking thoughts, and sometimes by those of peripheral
stimuli. This is practically all that differentiates hypnotic
sleep from natural sleep (Bernheim). When the sleep is
induced by hypnotic processes, the subject may always be
made to dream by making oral suggestions, and frequently
by mere mental suggestion. He can also be made to
dream by peripheral stimuli, such as applying heat or cold
to his body, or by placing him in attitudes suggestive of
certain mental emotions, or by causing music to be played
in his presence. 1 There is another point where the phe-
nomena of hypnotism and dreams exactly coincide which
deserves particular attention. It is well known that, when
1 See " Some Physiologic Effects of Music in Hypnotized Sub-
jects," by Aldred S. Warthin, Ph.D., M.D., Demonstrator of Clinical
Medicine in the Michigan University, Medical News, July 28, 1894
(Philadelphia).
206 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
sleep is profound, dreams are not remembered. Neverthe-
less, it was demonstrated many years ago, by the earlier
psychologists, that, no matter how profound the sleep,
dreams do not cease. It is precisely so in hypnotism. If
the hypnosis is profound, the subject does not remember
the experiences through which he has passed. It is, how-
ever, in that state of profound hypnosis that the most
wonderful phenomena are produced. It is then that the
evidences are most conclusive of a second intelligence
existent in man ; for it is then that the distinctive attributes
and powers of the subjective entity come to the surface.
This, then, is the broad dividing line which separates the
two hypothetical entities. It is so plain and palpable that
it cannot fail to be observed by every one who has witnessed
the phenomena of hypnotism ; and it consists, as before
remarked, in the fact that the essential condition precedent
to the successful exercise of the distinctive attributes and
powers of each of the two minds is that the other must be
in a state of quiescence. This fact alone constitutes
prima facie evidence of duality, at least in the limited sense
of the term.
It will now be in order to ascertain the distinctive char-
acteristics which differentiate the objective and subjective
mental states, with the view of determining whether they
point logically to the conclusion that the phenomena are
the product of two distinct mental organizations.
The first distinctive characteristic of the. subjective mind,
which differentiates it from the objective in a most marked
and unmistakable manner, consists in the fact that it is
constantly amenable to control by the power of suggestion.
This fact has been noted in a previous chapter, and is
restated here for the sake of a symmetrical grouping of the
whole of the leading characteristics of the subjective entity.
It need not be dwelt upon at this time further than to
remark upon its universality. The scientists to whom the
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 207
world is forever indebted for the discovery of the law of
suggestion, did not realize that it applied to other than the
phenomena evoked by experimental hypnotism. Indeed,
Bernheim himself expressly founds his definition of hypno-
tism upon the assumed fact that it only " increases the
susceptibility to suggestion." In other words, he assumes
that all men are more or less susceptible to suggestion " in
their waking state." That this is true only in the limited
sense that all men in their normal condition are more or
less susceptible to persuasion or argument, is demonstrated
by every experiment legitimately conducted. It is true that
a very slight degree of hypnosis is required in very sensitive
subjects, or in those who have often been hypnotized by the
operator, as was the case in Bernheim' s experiments ; but
that some degree of subjectivity or abeyance of the objec-
tive faculties is required to render a person susceptible to
the power of suggestion proper, is all but self-evident. Thus
it is a fact of common experience that when one goes to a
dentist's office to have an aching tooth extracted, he inva-
riably finds upon his arrival that the tooth has ceased to
ache. In other words, Nature has hypnotized him so far as
to produce anaesthesia in the refractory nerve, although he
appears to be in a perfectly nonmal condition. 1 If, now,
some one who understands the power of suggestion, and
knows how to apply it, should make the suggestion to the
patient that the anaesthesia would be continued until the
tooth is extracted, no pain would be experienced from the
operation.
The points to be here observed are, first, that it requires
but a slight degree of hypnosis to render one susceptible
to the power of suggestion ; secondly, that some degree of
abeyance of the objective faculties is necessary to render
suggestion effective ; thirdly, that the law of suggestion is
1 See " Hypnotism a Universal Anaesthetic in Surgery," N. Y. Med.
Jour., Dec. 22, 1894.
2O8 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
universal, and applies to all degrees of subjectivity and to
all psychic phenomena of whatever name or nature ; and
fourthly, that the subjective mind is controllable by sugges-
tion against reason, experience, and the evidences of the
senses. It is unnecessary to remark that the objective
mind, in its normal state, is not susceptible to such control.
It will not be denied that this difference between the two
mental states of man possesses a veritable significance of some
kind, nor can it be doubted that the solution of the problem
will prove of the utmost importance to the human family.
The second proposition bearing upon the subject is that
the subjective mind is incapable of reasoning inductively.
This will readily be seen to be a corollary of the law of sug-
gestion ; that is to say, under the law of suggestion the
subjective mind, when it reasons at all, necessarily takes its
premises from the objective mind. In experimental hyp-
notism its premises are the suggestions of the hypnotist.
From those suggestions it will reason deductively with most
marvellous acumen. Indeed, its power of correct deduction
from any premises suggested seems to be practically perfect.
And this is equally true whether the premises are true or
false. Like the ancient Greek philosophers, it does not
disdain facts when they will serve its purpose; that is,
when they serve to sustain the proposition embraced in the
suggestion. Indeed, it will marshal all such facts that are
within the storehouse of its perfect memory; but it will
persistently ignore all facts which militate against the sug-
gestion. It is impossible that it should do otherwise. The
inexorable law of suggestion interposes an insuperable bar-
rier against independent thought, which is the very essence
of induction. The subjective mind cannot marshal facts
except on one side of a question, and that side is in favor
of the suggestion which happens for the time being to be
uppermost. That is as true of the subjective mental oper-
ations of every-day life as it is of experimental hypnotism.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
The third proposition is that the power of the subjective
mind to reason deductively from given premises is practi-
cally perfect. This has been mentioned in the foregoing
paragraphs, but it requires further elucidation. I do not
set this down as a distinctive characteristic of the subjec-
tive mind which is antithetical to the objective ; for it is
obvious that the latter possesses that power. But it is
worthy of note, for the reason that the difference in degree
is so marked that it practically amounts to a distinctive
attribute of the subjective mind. Nor do I assert that its
power of correct deduction is perfect. It is manifestly
impossible to know just when the conditions are perfect for
the manifestation of the highest powers. But that under
favorable conditions it is practically perfect, does not admit
of doubt in the minds of those who have intelligently
observed the phenomena of experimental hypnotism, or,
indeed, any of the higher phases of psychic phenomena.
When this prodigious power of correct deduction is prop-
erly understood and appreciated, it will be found to furnish
the key to many obscure problems in psychic science. As a
single instance I will mention the fact that many of the
phenomena of so-called prevision, or prophecy, may be
traced directly to the power of correct deduction from prem-
ises derived from any of the myriad sources from which a
suggestion may be imparted or knowledge obtained. Telep-
athy, for instance, is one of the sources of information
through which the subjective mind obtains knowledge of
facts not consciously possessed by the objective intelligence
of either of the parties concerned. It is safe to say that
most if not all of the mysterious cases of prevision may be
traced to this cause. I do not say that the subjective mind
of man may not possess the inherent power of correct pre-
vision independently of knowledge of the subject-matter or
the processes of reasoning. I do not know. Many stories
are current which would seem to indicate the existence of
14
2IO A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
that power. But such stories are usually ve r y far from
being sufficiently well authenticated to warrant any scientist
in giving them anything more than a provisional place in
psychic science. Certain it is that all the scientifically
verified accounts of correct prevision may be traced directly
to the soul's wonderful power of correct deduction ; and
all that is mysterious regarding its sources of information
may be traced to telepathy and perfect memory. When
these two powers are taken into consideration, it will readily
be seen that the subjective mind is in possession of sources
of data of which the objective intelligence of mankind has
as yet but a faint conception ; and when to these sources
of information is added the power of perfect deduction, it
will be seen that much, if not all, of that which has seemed
mysterious and inexplicable except by reference to super-
mundane sources of information, is easily explained by
reference to natural laws with which the world is fast be-
coming acquainted.
May not this be the fountain of " this pleasing hope,
this fond desire, this longing after immortality "? May it
not be the origin of that emotion of the human mind
which has been designated as an " intuitive knowledge of a
life to come"? May not the soul have experiences of
spiritual life so far removed from the physical realm that
no cognizance of them can be taken by the objective con-
sciousness? May not the soul be able to reach a state of
consciousness so exalted as to enable it to come into con-
tact and conscious communion with a deific intelligence,
and to imbibe truth from its Eternal Source? May not the
soul reach such a state of illumination during the uncon-
scious moments of the physical senses that all spiritual
truth will be open to its intuitive perceptions ? May not
the soul, either in its state of induced exaltation or by the
exercise of its normal powers, be able to take cognizance
of spiritual facts from which it may, by the exercise of its
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 211
marvellous powers of correct deduction, be able to demon-
strate to its own consciousness the fact of immortality?
All these questions, and more, will be asked by the earnest
seeker after tangible evidences of a future life. They are
interesting, if not pertinent, questions ; and were we indul-
ging in the pleasing phantasies of speculative philosophy, and
could thus afford to dispense with facts, we might construct
an argument for immortality that to many would seem im-
pregnable. But there is one insuperable obstacle in the
way which must forever prevent the construction of a con-
clusive argument based upon these hypothetical powers.
The inexorable law of suggestion interposes itself at the
very threshold of the argument, and casts a doubt upon the
verity of the premises. It might even be demonstrated that
the soul's power of correct deduction from given premises
was perfect and infallible ; yet, when the correctness of the
premises is in doubt, the argument based upon them is
necessarily invalid. In other words, the soul, so long as it
inhabits the body, is never exempt from the operation of
the law of suggestion. Hence it is often impossible to
know whether its supposed perceptions are veridical or are
merely subjective hallucinations resulting from auto-sugges-
tion or from a suggestion imparted to it from some extra-
neous source. It is evident, therefore, that we must look
elsewhere than in hypothetical perceptions or intuitions,
unsupported by demonstrative evidence of their verity, for
logical proof of a future life. I have dwelt thus far upon
the subject of the deductive power of the subjective mind,
not because it differentiates the one mind from the other,
except in degree, but because of its general interest in that
it furnishes an explanation of much of the phenomena of
so-called prevision. In the ensuing chapter I will return
to the consideration of those faculties of the soul which
present distinctive points of difference from the faculties
and functions of the objective mind.
CHAPTER XIII.
HAS MAN A SOUL? (continued).
The Perfect Memory of the Subjective Mind. Memory and Recol-
lection Differentiated. Sir William Hamilton's Views. In-
tuitional Powers of Perception of Nature's Laws. The Seat of
the Emotions. The Three Normal Functions of the Subjective
Mind. The Infant's Development from Savagery to Civiliza-
tion. Total Depravity. Dangers of Subjective Control.
Telepathy a purely Subjective Faculty. Abnormality of Psychic
Manifestations. 111 Health a Condition precedent to their Pro-
duction. They grow Stronger as the Body grows Weaker.
Strongest in the Hour of Death. The Objective Mind perishes
with the Brain.
T^HE fourth characteristic of the subjective mind, which
* distinguishes it from the objective, consists in the fact
that the former is endowed with a perfect memory. In
saying this, I am not unmindful of the fact that the objec-
tive mind is also endowed with a memory ; but its mani-
festations are feeble in comparison with the prodigious
power of the subjective mind. Properly speaking, the
difference between the two would be defined by the em-
ployment of the word " memory " to designate the faculty
in the subjective intelligence, and the word "recollection "
to designate the corresponding faculty in the objective
mind. Memory, in this sense, is the actual and distinct
retention of recognition of past ideas in the mind (Web-
ster). Recollection is the power of recalling ideas to the
mind ; in other words, it is the power of re-collecting the
ideas which have once been in the mind, but are, for the
DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 21 3
time being, forgotten. The latter faculty varies in strength
in different individuals. Subjective memory is the absolute
retention of all ideas, however superficially they may have
been impressed upon the objective mind ; and it admits of
no variation in power in different individuals. It must not
be understood that all manifestations of subjective memory
are equally perfect. That is obviously impossible, for the
reason that subjective conditions are not always perfect;
but experimental hypnotism develops the fact that subjec-
tive memory is exalted, other things being equal, just in
proportion to the depth of the hypnosis.
The German psychologists noted this phenomenon
many years before the English philosophers took it into
account ; and it was not until Sir William Hamilton brought
it to the attention of the English-speaking public that it
was seriously considered as a factor in psychological science.
Sir William designated it as "mental latency;" and he
went so far as to hold that all recollection consisted in
rescuing from the storehouse of latent memory some part
of its treasure. His hypothesis necessarily presupposed
latent memory to be perfect, and he cites many cases in
support of that supposition. The curious part of his hy-
pothesis, however, consists in the fact that whilst he con-
siders it a normal mental process to elevate a part of the
latent treasures of the mind above the threshold of con-
sciousness, he recognizes the fact that it is only under the
most intensely abnormal conditions that the whole content
of the magazine of latent intelligence can be brought to
light. He says :
" The second degree of latency exists when the mind con-
tains certain systems of knowledge or certain habits of action
which it is wholly unconscious of possessing in its ordinary state,
but which are revealed to consciousness in certain extraordi-
nary exaltations of its powers. The evidence on this point shows
that the mind frequently contains whole systems of knowledge
which, though in our normal state they may have faded into
214 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
absolute oblivion, may in certain abnormal states, as mad-
ness, febrile delirium, somnambulism, catalepsy, etc., flash into
luminous consciousness, and even throw into the shade of un-
consciousness those other systems by which they had for a long
period been eclipsed and even extinguished. For example,
there are cases in which the extinct memory of whole languages
was suddenly restored, and, what is even still more remarkable,
in which the faculty was exhibited of accurately repeating, in
known or unknown tongues, passages which were never within the
grasp of conscious memory in the normal state. This degree,
this phenomenon of latency, is one of the most marvellous in
the whole compass of philosophy." 1
He then cites some most remarkable instances demon-
strative of the perfection of subjective memory. 2
It is obvious that Sir William had not studied the phe-
nomena of experimental hypnotism, or he would have
discovered many facts which his hypothesis of mental
latency could not account for. Amongst others he would
have discovered that physical disease of a very pronounced
character is not essential to the production of phenomena
exhibiting the marvellous perfection of subjective memory ;
and that an hypnotic subject can be so trained that, even
in an apparently normal condition, he can be caused to
memorize a whole page of printed matter by gazing upon
it but two seconds of time. 8 He would have found in the
dual hypothesis a complete explanation of the facts which
he labored in vain to explain, and a more direct road to a
demonstration of what he labored so assiduously to prove.
The fifth faculty of the subjective mind, which distin-
guishes it from the objective intelligence, consists in its
power under certain conditions, not yet clearly defined, of
apprehending by perception or intuition, and without the
1 Lectures on Metaphysics, p. 236.
2 For a fuller discussion of this subject, see " The Law of Psychic
Phenomena," ch. iv., v. See also Beasley on the Mind ; Abercrombie
on the Intellectual Powers: and Coleridge's Biographia Literaria.
8 See Bertolacci's Christian Spiritualism, p. 30.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 21$
aid of the process of induction, the laws of Nature. As
this branch of the subject has been treated in a former
chapter, it is mentioned here merely for the sake of sym-
metrical grouping.
The sixth distinctive characteristic of the subjective mind
consists in the fact that it is the seat of the emotions. In
that alone exists the emotional element in man. The ob-
jective mind is pure intellect, cold, deliberate, reasoning.
During the normal physical life of man it is the domi-
nating power in the dual mental organization. This is
necessarily true for the reasons, first, that it would be im-
possible for the two entities to maintain harmonious rela-
tions if one were not normally subordinated to the other ;
and second, that the dominant power must be that which
is endowed with the faculty of reasoning by all processes
and in all directions. That power is the objective mind,
and it is enabled to maintain its ascendency solely by virtue
of the fact that the subjective mind is normally amenable
to control by the power of suggestion. A complete rever-
sal of the order that is, the subjective mind in control
is what constitutes insanity. A partial reversal constitutes
partial insanity, and is also the source of all vice and im-
morality. Indeed, vice, in this sense, is a form of insanity ;
that is to say, the same cause operates to produce both,
the difference being in degree only.
Before proceeding, however, to discuss this branch of the
subject, it is logically necessary to verify the fundamental
proposition ; namely, that the subjective mind or soul is the
seat of the emotions. A few words will be sufficient for
this purpose.
It will not be denied that what we call " instinct " in
animals is a purely subjective endowment. Its acts are per-
formed independently of objective reason or intelligence.
" Instinctive acts, so far as the individual exhibiting them is
concerned, are not the result of instruction or experience. This
2l6 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
is one of the most prominent points wherein the actions in
question differ from those which proceed from intelligence and
reason, performed for a definite purpose. These latter are
necessarily due to impressions conveyed to the mind through
the senses and nerves, and are, therefore, of eccentric origin.
The former are prompted by a force acting altogether without
the agency of intelligential external sensations of any kind, and
are of internal origin." 1
It may be defined as follows :
Instinct is that innate faculty of the subjective mind,
which all organic beings possess, by which they are impelled
to perform certain volitional acts without being prompted
thereto by the objective intellect, which acts are preserva-
tive of the well being or life of the individual, or of the
species to which it belongs. 2
There are three clearly defined instinctive emotions, two
of which are common to all organic beings. They are :
i. The instinct of self-preservation; 2. The instinct of
reproduction ; 3. The instinct which impels the parent to
acts preservative of the well being or life of the offspring.
To the last must be added that which is common to man
and a few of the animal creation ; namely, that instinct
which impels the individual to acts preservative of the lives
of the members of the species to which it belongs, without
regard to age or consanguinity. This may be regarded as
a higher instinct ; but it is obviously the result of social or
political organization, and is merely a modification of the
instinct of self-preservation. To these three instinctive
emotions of the human mind should be added a fourth,
which is no less clearly defined, and which is well-nigh
universal ; namely, the instinct of religious worship. This,
however, does not pertain directly to the subject under
consideration. It is, however, necessarily a subjective emo-
1 Dr. William A. Hammond's Treatise on Insanity, p. 137.
2 This is a slight modification of Dr. Hammond's clear and com-
prehensive definition.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 21 J
tion, as it pertains exclusively to the human soul. We
have, then, three distinct primary emotions of the mind
which are obviously and necessarily attributes of the sub-
jective mind, as distinguished from the objective intelli-
gence. In man they all pertain to the perpetuation of the
human race, and their resultant acts constitute the normal
functions of the human soul. Moreover, they are the only
normal functions of the soul in its relations to the physical
organization.
Leaving out of present consideration the emotion of reli-
gious worship, all human emotions are traceable to one or
the other of the primary instinctive emotions just men-
tioned ; that is to say, all emotions are modifications or
combinations of the primary emotions. This being true, it
follows that my original proposition is true; namely, that
the subjective mind or soul is the seat of the emotions.
Now, inasmuch as all immorality, vice, and crime are per-
versions of the human emotions or passions, it follows that
immorality, vice, and crime are the results of giving to the
subjective mind undue control of the dual mental organi-
zation. In other words, Reason abdicates her rightful au-
thority and power, and the subjective mind usurps its place,
but without having the ability to perform its functions.
That this is true, is evidenced by every phenomenon of
physical and mental life and growth. Thus, the history of
the life of every human being from infancy to adult age, is
an epitome of the history of the development of the race
from savagery to civilization. The newly born infant is
purely subjective ; its objective mind is a blank. It is then
governed alone by instinct. It is an animal, with nothing
in its mental development to distinguish it from the cub of
the bear or the lion's whelp, except its physical conforma-
tion and its more absolute helplessness. It quickly develops
from the purely animal existence, but the first step in its
evolution is to a state of savagery. Its instincts are wholly
2l8 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
selfish, it is destitute of conscience, and totally oblivious of
the rights of others. Its next step is to a state of bar-
barism. That "the small boy is a barbarian" is a vulgar
statement of a scientific truth ; and the saying belongs to the
vocabulary of Evolution. From barbarism he soon emerges
into semi-barbarism, then to civilization, and finally to en-
lightenment. The point to be noted is that the various
steps in advance are due wholly to objective education.
Modified to a certain extent by heredity, the degree of a
child's progress from infancy to manhood, or rather from
savagery toward enlightenment, is determined by its envi-
ronment ; that is, by the character of its objective educa-
tion. In other words, just in proportion to the excellence
of the mental and moral training of the objective mind,
and just in proportion to its dominating power over the
subjective faculties, will be the excellence of the moral
character of the individual. If this training has been good,
and if objective reason has exercised its legitimate control
over the subjective passions or propensities, in short, if
normal conditions are allowed to prevail, a perfect men-
tality and a lofty moral altitude will be reached. But if,
for want of proper training, the subjective mind is allowed
to maintain in adult life that ascendency which is its nor-
mal condition in infancy, moral degradation, if not crime
or insanity, is sure to result. The doctrine which affirmed
the " total depravity " of the " natural man " derived its
origin from a constant observation of these phenomena of
the human mind ; and, in the absence of all knowledge of
the true relationship existing between the two minds, of
their respective and relative powers, functions, and limita-
tions, who shall say that the conclusions of the ancient
philosophers were not justified? The control of the sub-
jective mind by the objective, through the power of sugges-
tion, is normally absolute and perfect when that power is
asserted and maintained. Nevertheless, there appears to
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 2 19
come a time in every man's life when there is a conflict of
jurisdiction, a struggle for ascendency between the nat-
ural passions and instinctive propensities on the one hand,
and the restraints of reason, morality, and religion on the
other. Saint Paul, in graphic phrases, gives expression to
that inward conflict when he says :
" I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is pres-
ent with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward
man : but I see another law in my members, warring against
the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law
of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that 1 am !
who shall deliver me from the body of this death? "
Saint Paul's experience is by no means unique ; but the
remedy is in the hands of every normal man ; and that is
to assert and maintain the ascendency of objective reason
over the instinctive emotions. Not that there is anything
inherently sinful or abnormal in their legitimate indulgence,
for there is not. Like every other faculty of the human
mind and soul, they have their legitimate sphere of opera-
tion ; and their normal exercise is beneficent. Without it
the world would be depopulated in a generation. With it
was organic evolution made possible. The danger lies, not
so much in sporadic cases of predominant passion in the
otherwise normal man ; but there is an appalling and con-
stantly growing danger in the modern tendency towards
the cultivation of subjective powers in utter ignorance of
the fundamental laws which pertain to their operation. It
is a danger which in its tendencies threatens the founda-
tions of civil society ; for it presents itself in such insidious
guise that the innocent alike with the guilty are in danger
of being drawn within its vortex. This, however, is a
branch of the subject which must be treated in a future
chapter, and I will therefore no longer digress.
The seventh faculty possessed exclusively by the subjec-
tive entity consists of the power to move ponderable
22O A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
objects without physical contact. In this it is meant to
include all the physical phenomena of so-called spirit mani-
festations. I need not dwell upon this branch of the sub-
ject, for the phenomena are so thoroughly attested that it
would be a waste of time to attempt to convince those who
mistake ignorance for scepticism. Besides, to those who
agree with me in ascribing these manifestations to the
agency of the psychic who produces the phenomena, it is
self-evident that it is by the subjective entity that they are
produced. All others will agree that they are not due to
any known physical power. Moreover, the subject has
been so fully treated in "The Law of Psychic Phenomena "
that it could not be enlarged upon here without unseemly
repetition.
The eighth faculty or power of the subjective mind
which clearly and sharply differentiates it from the objective
mind, is that of telepathy, or the power of one mind to
communicate intelligence to another, otherwise than through
the recognized channels of the senses. That this power
exists, is no longer a matter of doubt in well-informed scien-
tific circles. It was demonstrated many years ago by the
old mesmerists who succeeded Mesmer ; and if any reason-
able doubt existed after their demonstrations, it has within
the last decade been dispelled by the carefully conducted
scientific experiments of the Society for Psychical Research.
That Society, in addition to its regular " Proceedings," a
large volume of which appears every year, has caused to
be published two large volumes, aggregating over thirteen
hundred pages, entitled "Phantasms of the Living," which
are filled with demonstrative evidence of the existence of
the power of telepathy. This work, however, is now out of
print ; but it has recently been ably supplemented by a
small volume by Frank Podmore, one of the secretaries of
the Society for Psychical Research, which gives, in concise
form, a resume of the evidence which has been collected
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 221
by the Society since its organization in 1882. In fact, the
evidence is accumulating in every intelligent household in
the civilized world. Circumstances innumerable, which
were in former times passed by as curious coincidences,
or were ascribed to supermundane agency, are now intel-
ligently observed and referred to their proper source, since
science has rescued the phenomena from the domain of
superstition.
At first it was supposed that the phenomenon pertained
solely to the objective mind, and that what the agent was
consciously thinking of was necessarily that which was con-
veyed to the mind of the percipient. But that theory was
soon abandoned in view of constantly occurring phenomena
which could not be thus explained. Thus it was found
that thoughts were transmitted which were not consciously
in the agent's mind ; and that, as Podmore observes,
" The idea can be transferred from the sub-conscious to the
sub-conscious ; and indeed there is some ground for thinking
that, outside of direct experiment, the intervention of the con-
scious [objective] mind in the telepathic transmission of thought
is exceptional. Even in some of the most striking experimental
cases it has been shown that either agent or percipient, or both,
were asleep or entranced at the time." 1
These conclusions, although expressed with the caution of
the true scientist, are obviously correct. In telepathic
experiments by means of hypnotism, the subjective mind of
the percipient is alone concerned. Indeed, all the evi-
dence on the subject goes to prove that telepathy is a power
belonging exclusively to the subjective mind ; and that in
the spontaneous exercise of that power it is by mere acci-
dent that the objective mind participates in, or is cognizant
of, either the transmission or the reception of the communi-
cation. That is to say, it is quite evident that telepathic
communion is very common, if not constant, between mem-
1 Apparitions and Thought-Transference, p. 391.
222 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
bers of the same family, or those who have a vital interest
in each other's welfare ; although it is comparatively rare
that the content of the communication is elevated above
the threshold of normal or objective consciousness of either
the agent or the percipient. As I have pointed out in the
chapters on spiritism, it is to the fact that telepathy is
purely a subjective power that all the seeming mystery at-
tached to so-called spirit communications is to be attributed.
It is clear, therefore, that the power of telepathy has
nothing in common with objective methods of communica-
tions between mind and mind ; and that it is not the prod-
uct of muscle or nerve or any physiological combination
whatever, but rather sets these at naught, with their impli-
cations of space and time.
"It is a quality that defies distance, is instantaneous, is not
dependent on terrestrial states, is most apparent in our least
conscious moods and in our least wakeful hours, is strongest in
the undeveloped intellectually, is conspicuous in the moments
when organization is dissolving, in the hour of death, is cer-
tainly as near to our conception of soul as a thing can be." 1
The ninth characteristic of the subjective entity which
clearly differentiates it from the objective mind, in power,
function, and attribute, consists of the fact that its activity
and power are in inverse proportion to the vigor of the
body. This is the most important of all of the distinctive
differences between the two minds or intelligences, for it
is not only a strong argument for the existence in man of a
distinct entity, but it goes far towards proving that this
entity is capable of sustaining an existence independently
of the body. If a man has a power that transcends the
senses, it is at least presumptive evidence that it does not
perish when the senses are extinguished. \ty "K 7f *
That the activity and power of the subjective mind is
in inverse proportion to that of the body, is evidenced by
1 O. B Frothingham, in Harper's Magazine, August, 1860, p. 205.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 22$
every phenomenon of subjective mental action. Beginning
with the simplest hypnotic experiment upon a healthy
subject, in the first stage of subjective activity the physical
condition of the patient can hardly be distinguished from
the normal. Deepen the hypnosis, and the subjective mani-
festations will increase in power and intensity. Continue
the process until a hypnotic lethargy is induced, and the
manifestations will continue to grow stronger in proportion.
This must be understood as a general statement of a con-
dition which, within certain limits, varies with each individ-
ual. There are, however, many psychics whose strongest
manifestations are produced while the body is in an appar-
ently normal condition. In fact, no general rule can be
laid down which will apply to all cases, except this, that,
the longer and more persistently the production of psychic
phenemena is followed up, the weaker will become the
physical organism of the psychic. But as this branch of
the subject will be treated in a future chapter, I will come
direct to the salient point to which I wish to invite atten-
tion. It is this : When disease seizes the physical frame
and the body grows feeble, the objective mind invariably
grows correspondingly weak. Not so the subjective mind ;
for, as the body grows weak, the subjective mind grows
strong, and it is strongest in the hour of death. Indeed,
when death approaches, no matter what form it assumes, the
moment its inevitability is realized, it is no longer feared,
and pain ceases. At that supreme moment the subjective
mind takes complete possession, the objective senses are
benumbed, the body is anaesthetized, and the patient dies,
"without pain and without regret " (Hammond). In the
mean time, as the objective mind ceases to perform its
functions, the subjective mind is most active and powerful.
The individual may never before have exhibited any psychic
power, and may never have consciously produced any
psychic phenomena ; yet at the supreme moment his soul
224 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
is in active communion with loved ones at a distance, and
the death message is often, when psychic conditions are
favorable, consciously received. The records of telepathy
demonstrate this proposition. Nay, more ; they may be
cited to show that in the hour of death the soul is capable
of projecting a phantasm of such strength and objectivity
that it may be an object of sensorial experience to those
for whom it is intended. Moreover, it has happened that
telepathic messages have been sent by the dying, at the
moment of dissolution, giving all the particulars of the
tragedy, when the death was caused by an unexpected
blow which crushed the skull of the victim. It is obvious
that in such a case it is impossible that the objective mind
could have participated in the transaction. The evidence
is, indeed, overwhelming, that, no matter what form death
may assume, whether caused by lingering disease, old
age, or violence, the subjective mind is never weakened
by its approach or its presence. On the other hand, that
the objective mind weakens with the body and perishes
with the brain, is a fact confirmed by every-day observation
and universal experience.
CHAPTER XIV.
HAS MAN A SOUL? (continued).
Recapitulation. A Prima Facie Case. Concurrent and Antago-
nistic Hypotheses. The Law of Suggestion. A Case of " Me-
diumistic" Development. The Alleged Spirit Control assumes a
Dictatorship. It develops a Passion for Music. Music the
Language of the Emotions. A purely Subjective Faculty.
Subjective Music and Objective Music Differentiated. The
Dual-Mind Theory. Absurdities Involved in the Single-Mind
Theory.
TT must now be provisionally assumed that it has been
proven that the subjective mind is endowed with
powers, and circumscribed by limitations, which clearly
differentiate it from the objective mind. For convenience
of reference and facility of recollection, the following
recapitulation is presented :
1. The subjective mind is constantly amenable to control
by the power of suggestion.
2. It is incapable of independent reasoning by the pro-
cesses of induction.
3. Its power to reason deductively from given premises
to correct conclusions is practically perfect.
4. It is endowed with a perfect memory.
5. It is the seat of the emotions.
6. It possesses the power to move ponderable objects
without physical contact.
7. It has the power to communicate and receive intelli-
gence otherwise than through the recognized channels of
the senses.
15
226 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
8. Its activity and power are inversely proportionate to
the vigor and healthfulness of the physical organism.
9. It is endowed with the faculties of instinct and intui-
tion, and, under certain conditions, with the power of
intuitive cognition or perception of the laws of Nature.
It needs no argument or illustration to show that the
objective mind has little in common with the subjective in
any of the foregoing attributes, powers, and limitations.
The objective mind (i) is manifestly not controllable by
the power of suggestion in the sense in which the sub-
jective mind is so controlled, that is, against reason,
experience, and the evidence of the senses ; 2. It is ca-
pable of inductive reasoning; 3. Its power of deductive
reasoning is by no means perfect, nor does it approach
perfection ; 4. Its memory, in its best estate, is very
defective, and, comparatively speaking, amounts to nothing
more than an uncertain, evanescent ability to recall a
few of the more prominent ideas and impressions which
it has once experienced; 5. It is absolutely destitute of
emotion ; 6. It cannot exercise the slightest kinetic force
beyond the range of physical contact ; 7. It is destitute of
any power remotely akin to telepathy; 8. The essential
prerequisite to the successful exercise of its highest powers
and functions is a perfectly sound, healthy, normal physical
organism ; 9. It is endowed with no power which is re-
motely akin to instinct or intuition.
I submit that the mental characteristics of no two indi-
viduals ever presented a more violent contrast than exists
between the objective and subjective minds of the human
entity, in all their essential powers, functions, and limitations.
I might claim the logical right to rest my case at this point ;
for it must be remembered that I have thus far sought not
to prove the immortality of the soul, but to demonstrate the
fact that man has a soul. In other words, I have merely
sought to prove that which I have for convenience desig-
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 22/
nated the "subjective mind" is in reality the mind of a
distinct entity, and not merely one set or series of faculties
which perform their functions under one condition of the
body, whilst another set of faculties perform their functions
under other bodily conditions. I say I might claim the
logical right to rest my case here ; for I submit that the
bare statement of the facts which differentiate the two minds
constitutes prima facie evidence that they belong to two
distinct entities. The onus probandi, therefore, rests with
those who hold the materialistic hypothesis, that man is a
soulless being, possessing no attributes or powers that
cannot be accounted for by reference to cerebral anatomy
and physiology. I do not, however, intend to stop here,
but will now proceed to show that there is no way of
rationally accounting for the facts other than to predicate
the actual existence in mankind of an entity which, in the
vocabulary of spiritual philosophy, is denominated the soul.
The nature of the question, broadly speaking, admits of
but two hypotheses. One is that the facts presuppose the
existence of two separate and distinct minds, belonging to
two separate, or separable, entities ; and the other is that
there is but one mind having two distinct planes of
consciousness, or two sets of faculties. One or the other of
these hypotheses is the true one. They cannot both be
true, and yet, for the purpose of demonstrating the immor-
tality of the soul, it is a matter of indifference which of the
two is adopted : whether we consider man as having two
distinct minds, or as having one mind which manifests
certain attributes and powers under certain conditions, and
other attributes and powers under certain other conditions,
provided only that the crucial fact remains that certain of
those powers and functions do not pertain to this life. In
other words, it is a matter of indifference whether we employ
the words " dual mind," or " two minds," or " two sets of
faculties;" for the same logical result follows, whatever
228 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
terminology may be employed in the discussion of the
broad and pregnant fact that two sets of faculties exist in
man, each possessing independent powers, functions, and
limitations. Facts are independent of hypotheses. Facts
are primordial. Hypothesis is an instrument of logic for
the scientific investigation of facts. Hypotheses, considered
in their relations to each other, are divisible into two classes ;
namely, concurrent and antagonistic. Concurrent hypoth-
eses are those of which the ultimate conclusions coincide.
Antagonistic hypotheses are those of which the ultimate
conclusions are variant. It is often a matter of indifference
which of two concurrent hypotheses is the correct one ; and
it is often impossible to ascertain with certainty which is
scientifically correct. It is, however, generally ascertained,
sooner or later, by the failure of one to explain facts collat-
eral to the main question, but resident within its purview.
When that occurs, the true scientist will immediately resort
to the other, providing that one explains all the facts.
3 The hypotheses of duality of mind on the one hand,
and of unitary mind with two sets of faculties on the other,
\ are illustrations of concurrent hypotheses, inasmuch as their
i ultimate conclusions regarding a future life are identical;
that is to say, they are each founded upon the one fact that
I man possesses subjective faculties that perform no normal
function in physical life, and objective faculties which can
I perform no function in spiritual life. The conclusions are
necessarily identical ; namely, that faculties which perform
! no normal functions in this life must necessarily belong to a
A future life. Hence I have remarked, here and elsewhere, 1
that the dual theory is not a necessary premise to enable us
to arrive at correct ultimate conclusions. That theory, how-
ever, will be constantly advanced, partly for the sake of
clearness of statement, but principally because it is firmly
believed to be scientifically correct. It must be borne in
1 See " The Law of Psychic Phenomena," ch. i.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 229
mind, however, that one mind with two sets of faculties is
virtual duality ; especially if it can be shown by reference to
anatomy, as well as by experimental surgery, that there are
actually existent two organs of mind. This I shall proceed
to show in the succeeding chapter. In the mean time the
dual hypothesis certainly explains all the facts, that is to
say, everything happens just as though man possessed a dual
mind ; and that is all that can be required of a working
hypothesis.
The spiritistic hypothesis as opposed to the telepathic is JN
a fair example of antagonistic hypotheses ; for the conclusions .
are variant, and so are the hypotheses. I speak of spiritism /
as an " hypothesis," although it is hardly deserving of that
designation ; for it is, in fact, merely a short and easy
method of avoiding, rather than promoting, a truly scientific
investigation of the subject-matter. But, such as it is, it is
an exceedingly convenient hypothesis ; and, for the use of '
those who imagine that simplicity is a test of truth, it is
admirably adapted. It is a summary way of disposing of an
intricate problem, of avoiding a difficulty instead of
investigating its cause. It should be constantly borne in ,
mind that an hypothesis is not a final dogma. It is, as
before remarked, merely an instrument of investigation. To
establish it as a scientific truth, there are two prerequisites :
i. It must explain all the facts; 2. There must be no
other hypothesis capable of explaining all the facts. When
these conditions are present, then, and not till then, is an
hypothesis elevated to the dignity of a scientific truth, an
established principle, a theorem.
I have made the foregoing remarks, at some risk of repe-
tition, for the reason that I desire the reader to keep con-
stantly in mind the fundamental principles of scientific
investigation, and for the further reason that I desire him
to measure the value of my arguments, past and future, by
the highest known standards of scientific inquiry.
230 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
We will now briefly consider the nine propositions which
set forth the salient characteristics of the subjective mind,
and which seem to warrant us in postulating the dual-mind
hypothesis.
The first in the order of statement as well as of importance
relates to the law of suggestion. When that law was first
discovered, its full import was not realized. As I have
heretofore pointed out, it was discovered in the course of
scientific experiments on hypnotic subjects, and it was, con-
sequently, regarded as a law pertaining exclusively to experi-
mental hypnotism. As long as the law was supposed to be
confined to that narrow field of operation, the dual hy-
pothesis was unnecessary; for most of the phenomena of
experimental hypnotism could be accounted for on the
theory that in the artificially induced hypnotic state the
mind of the subject could be dominated by the sugges-
tions of the hypnotist. But when it was discovered that
the law of suggestion is the dominating principle which
gives character and direction to all psychic phenomena, it
was found that the single-mind theory was inadequate. And
this inadequacy became more marked when it was discov-
ered that a psychic can control his own subjective manifes-
tations by exercising the power now known and recognized
in the scientific world as " auto-suggestion." When this
power is fully realized, it will be found to be demonstrative
of the dual hypothesis, in that it fully and easily explains all
the facts; whereas the single-mind theory is adequate to
explain but very few, and the few that it can account for
are of the least possible significance. As a single illustra-
tive instance where the single-mind theory fails, it may be
remarked that it has again and again been demonstrated
that, by persistent auto-suggestion, the objective mind can
control the subjective in direct contravention, not only to
the beliefs, but to the positive knowledge of the former.
Again, it is well known that, under the influence of sugges-
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 231
tion, the subjective mind will not only assume control, but
will act in direct opposition to the volition of the objective
mind. An illustrative case has been brought to my atten-
tion as I write. A gentleman of this city had been in-
duced to join a " developing circle " of spiritists who
desired to establish a direct and independent line of com-
munication with the other world. He very soon developed
the power of automatic writing, and some very remarkable
results ensued. As might have been expected, the power
which moved his hand to write told him many things which
he did not objectively know, and gave many remarkable
exhibitions of power which constituted conclusive evidence
to his mind of spirit identity and of the truth of the spirit-
istic hypothesis. But the remarkable feature of the case
was that it soon began to assume a sort of dictatorship over
his daily conduct, and on lines which he had least reason to
anticipate. For instance, although he was not particularly
devoted to music, yet his " control " insisted on being
taken to concerts, oftentimes to his great inconvenience.
When the "control" desired any indulgence, the gentle-
man was apprised of the fact by feeling a decided sensa-
tion in his right arm and hand, which sensation the gentleman
soon learned to recognize as evincing a desire on the part
of his "control" to communicate in writing. He often
felt the impulse while walking the streets, and, upon being
furnished a tablet and pencil, the " control " would direct
him to go, perhaps to an adjoining street, to listen to a
hand-organ. Sometimes it would ask for indulgences which
were decidedly out of harmony with the settled moral prin-
ciples of the gentleman's life ; and so persistent were the
requests that he was finally obliged to refuse to allow any
communication in writing except on condition that those
subjects should be tabooed. Fortunately the gentleman
had not gone so far as to cease to desire to resist the
subjective impulses; and he saw his danger in time to
232 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
avoid its consequences. He had a superficial acquaintance
with the law of suggestion and the theory of a subjective
personality, but could not harmonize his experiences with
that hypothesis. " The ' control ' acted with perfect inde-
pendence," he reasoned, "and frequently in decided op-
position to my wishes, that is, to the suggestions of my
objective mind. How could that occur if the law of sug-
gestion controls the subjective mind? " The answer is easy
and perfect. The first and ever dominant suggestion in his
mind was that the " control " was a spirit from the other
world. His whole environment, during the time of the de-
velopment of the power of automatic writing, was such as
to force that suggestion upon his mind. He was in a
" circle " organized for the purpose of obtaining communi-
cations from spirits of the dead ; and all the communica-
tions were received under that suggestion. The " control,"
therefore, was assumed from the start to be an extraneous,
independent, dominant, irresponsible power, which the
medium could in no wise control or direct. That was
the primary " suggestion " under which the " control "
acted ; and it necessarily carried out that suggestion by
acting the part assigned to it. Of course, the idea never
occurred to the gentleman that the very fact that the so-
called spirit insisted on being taken to a concert was
demonstrative that the intelligence was his own, and was
inseparable from his physical organism for the time being.
If it had been a foreign spirit possessing the powers as-
cribed to such spirits, it would seem that it could have
heard the concert without the necessity of making a draft
upon the gentleman's purse or his time. Be this as it
may, the very vocabulary of spiritistic circles conveys the
suggestion that the communicating intelligence is in " con-
trol " of the medium. If it did not act accordingly, and
assume the right to control the medium, often in oppo-
sition to subsequent suggestions, the law of suggestion
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 233
would have no place in the science of experimental
psychology.
I have, of course, assumed that the " control " in this
case was the gentleman's own subjective mind, and that the
phenomena were produced in strict accordance with the
laws which govern all subjective mental activity. Indeed,
the phenomena are illustrative of those laws and principles
in more than one sense of the word. As we have already
seen, they illustrate one of the most subtle and intricate
phases of the operation of the universal law of suggestion.
They also incidentally illustrate a phase of subjective mental
characteristics to which as yet little attention has been given
by students of experimental psychology ; namely, the power
of music over the subjective mind. Some attention was
given to it in my former work ; 1 and Dr. Aldred S. Warthin,
Ph. D., M. D., of the Michigan University, has made some
very interesting experiments as yet incomplete, however
illustrative of " Some Physiologic Effects of Music in
Hypnotized Subjects," to which I have alluded in a former
chapter. Chomet, a French author, has also written a work
entitled " Effets et Influence de la Musique sur la Same" et
sur la Maladie ; " and Vigna, an Italian, has given us " Sull'
importanza fisiologica e terapeutica della Musica." Little
advance, however, has been made in the study of the phys-
iological effects of music, although there is no doubt that
the field offers rich results to the student who will give
patient and intelligent attention to that line of experimental
investigation. It will probably be found, however, that the
physiologic effects are due to reflex action of the emotions
upon the physical system, and not to any direct vibratory
action upon the nerves. It should therefore first be
studied as a psychological problem.
Music has been loosely described, by those who recognize
its subjective origin, as " a passion of the human soul."
1 See " The Law of Psychic Phenomena," ch. vi.
234 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
This is not scientifically correct. It may properly be de-
scribed, however, as being at once the minister and inter-
preter of every emotion and every passion of the human
soul. It is purely subjective ; that is to say, all good music
is a product of the subjective mind. It is true that the
objective mind is capable of directing the muscles so as to
play, and play correctly, an intricate piece of music. It is
also true that a machine can be constructed upon which any
one who can turn a crank can correctly play the same piece
of music. The sounds in the two cases are identical in
character, hard, mechanical, soulless. It is only when
the muscles have been trained to the point of automatism,
to use the common phraseology, or, speaking with scientific
precision, it is only when the subjective mind directs the
movements of the fingers so perfectly that the objective
mind can employ itself with other thoughts, that true music
can be produced, the emotions of the musician's soul ex-
pressed, or the passions of the listener made to respond.
Mechanical music, whether played by a man or a machine,
can never inspire the human soul with emotions of love or
of patriotism, or lead the warrior to face the cannon's
mouth, unless, indeed, the hearer's subjective mind by its
interpretive power supplies the missing stimulus. Even
the diabolical sounds of a bagpipe, when that instrument
is tortured by an inspired native, will move the soul of a
Scotchman to a frenzy of patriotism.
To say that the difference consists, not in the instrument
that is played, but in the manner in which it is played, would be
a trite and commonplace observation. The true explanation
possesses a far deeper significance. The difference between
good and poor music, or rather between real music and its
counterfeit, is determined by the source from which each
emanates. Music has its origin in the subjective mind. It
is the language of the soul, and is expressive of its every
passion and emotion. Like the song of the bird, it is the
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 235
cry of love, longing, passion, hope. It may also be the wail
of despondency and despair, if what the Latin poet tells us
be true,
" Dulcia defecta modulatur carmina lingua,
Cantatur cygnus, funeris ipse sui."
In short, it is the most subtle medium provided by Nature
whereby soul can speak to soul that language of the emotions
which cannot, by a kindred soul, be misinterpreted.
Its primary function is to give expression to those emo-^
tions which constitute the motive force in the perpetuation'
of the species. It is the language of love. Like every v -7 ,
other faculty of the soul, it has its normal functions and ,
its abnormal manifestations. It is, necessarily, as foreign ,
to the objective mind as are the emotions to which it gives,,
expression.
But this is a digression. It has been indulged in partly
for the reason that I desire, incidentally, to give to music
its proper place in the classification of subjective phenom-
ena (for I shall have more to say on the subject hereafter) ;
and partly because it affords a striking illustration of the
two-mind theory. Primarily, however, my object in citing
the case was to give a fair illustration of the subtle and intri-
cate workings of the law of suggestion, and to point out
some of the sources of error against which it is necessary
constantly to guard. In concluding this branch of the sub-
ject it is only necessary to remark that it seems obvious,
even at this stage of the argument, that whilst the two-mind
theory certainly affords an ample explanation of all the facts
of suggestion, the theory of a single mind is totally inade-
quate for the purpose, unless we assume two sets of faculties,
which amounts, practically, to duality. It is difficult, how-
ever, to argue a self-evident proposition ; and one is some-
times compelled to draw attention to the absurdities involved
in its opposite. In the question under consideration, for
236 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
instance, the bare presentation of the facts of auto-sugges-
tion compels assent to the two-mind theory as a self-evident
solution of the problem. And yet, for the present assuming
that a physical demonstration is impossible, it may not be
unprofitable to draw the attention of the reader to the ab-
surdities involved in the one-mind theory. To that end let
us state the essential proposition relating to the phenomena
of auto-suggestion which the one-mind theory necessarily
presupposes to be true. It is this : " One mind is able, by
auto-suggestion, to convince itself of the truth of a propo-
sition which it knows to be false." It will at once be seen,
not only that the proposition involves a palpable absurdity,
but it also involves a positive contradiction in terms. Now,
there is no rule of logic more manifestly and self-evidently
valid than that a proposition involving a positive contra-
diction in terms is necessarily false. And yet, if we are to
accept the one-mind theory as the true one, we must be
prepared to accept as true a proposition which, by its very
terms, is absolutely untrue. Nevertheless, in one sense of
the word, it is true that an individual (mark the distinction)
may, by auto-suggestion, convince himself of the truth of a
proposition which he knows to be false ; but that is an ab-
surdly loose and unscientific way of stating the proposition.
Stated as follows, it is manifestly true : "The objective mind
of an individual may, by auto-suggestion7"convince his sub-
jective mind that a proposition is true, which proposition
his objective mind knows to be false/^ The proposition,
thus stated, will receive the instant assent of every alienist
who has intelligently studied the facts of experimental psy-
chology. He will at least agree that, considered as a working
hypothesis for the systematic study of the problems of in-*
sanity, the dual-mind theory is perfect. I submit that a
perfect working hypothesis is necessarily a true one.
The next proposition in the order of statement is that
" the subjective mind is incapable of independent reason-
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 237
ing by the processes of induction." This, as before stated,
is a corollary of the law of suggestion ; and much of what
has been said will apply with equal force to this proposition.
It is obvious that the dual hypothesis affords the only solu-
tion of the problem ; for it is manifestly unthinkable that
one mind can at once be capable and incapable of induc-
tive reasoning.
The third proposition, which relates to the power of the
subjective mind to reason deductively from given premises
to correct conclusions, may be dismissed with the statement
that it is not set down as one of the powers which differen-
tiate the two minds by antithesis. The difference is only in
degree ; but it is so enormous that it must be held to be
cumulative evidence of duality.
The same remarks apply with even greater force to the
fourth proposition, which relates to the perfect memory of
the subjective mind. Its prodigious positive power in that
direction, when compared with the feeble efforts at recol-
lection of the objective mind, has all the effect of contrast,
and must be considered as an important factor in the prob-
lem of duality. It is certainly difficult to imagine one
mind as being possessed of two sets, as it were, of faculties,
with identical functions differing only in degree, whilst the
more perfect of the two is observable only under abnormal
conditions of the body.
The fifth and sixth propositions, relating, respectively,
to the emotional nature of the subjective mind, and to its
power of moving ponderable objects without physical con-
tact, have been sufficiently discussed already. The seventh
and eighth propositions, relating, respectively, to telepathy
and the abnormality of subjective activity, can be more
appropriately discussed in forthcoming chapters. In the
mean time it can be truthfully said that the distinctive
characteristics embraced in the four propositions last
named, present in themselves indubitable evidence of the
238 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
truth of the dual hypothesis, in that there is no other
rational way of accounting for all the varied phenomena
which they represent.
The ninth proposition will be discussed in a separate
chapter.
CHAPTER XV.
DUALITY DEMONSTRATED BY ANATOMY.
The Brain not the Sole Organ of the Mind. Surgeon-General
Hammond's Researches and Experiments. The Instinctive
Faculties. The Subjective Mind acts independently of the
Brain. Instinctive Acts Performed after the Brain was totally
eliminated. Children Born without a Brain perform all the In-
stinctive Functions. The Medulla Oblongata and the Spinal
Cord the Organs of the Subjective Mind. Idiots without a Brain
evince Talent for Music, Mathematics, etc.
"~FHUS far the proofs adduced in support of the dual
hypothesis have been confined to the facts of ex-
perimental hypnotism and the various other forms of
psychic phenomena. This has been done for the reason
that in themselves those facts are amply demonstrative
of the truth of the hypothesis. But it has often been
asked if the facts of cerebral anatomy, physiology, or
experimental surgery throw any light whatever upon the
subject. This is a pertinent question, because, if those
facts are irreconcilable with the hypothesis, the latter must
fail under the inexorable rule that one clearly demon-
strated adverse fact is sufficient to disprove the most
plausible hypothesis. If, therefore, the dual hypothesis
is the true one, all the facts of Nature, whether of psychic
phenomena or of physical structure, must conspire to
demonstrate it. At least, there must be no fact that will
disprove it. Thus, if it could be clearly demonstrated
that the brain is the sole organ of the mind, the hypothesis
of duality must fail for want of a plurality of organs through
240 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
which a second mind could manifest itself. It is true that
the brain itself is dual in a purely physical sense, that
is, there are two hemispheres ; but it is demonstrable
that they are duplicate organs of the same mind. There
is no evidence (except in novels J ) that the two hemi-
spheres are not identical in function and normally syn-
chronous in action.
If, therefore, duality of mind is to be demonstrated by
reference to the physical structure of the animal man, we
must expect to find an organ for one of the minds outside
of the brain and measurably independent of its conditions
or even of its existence. It must, moreover, be the organ
of the subjective mind ; for it is demonstrable that the brain
is the organ of the objective faculties. The organ of the
subjective mind must, therefore, be the organ of the instinc-
tive faculties. If it is the organ of the instinctive faculties,
it is necessarily the organ of the faculties of intuition and
all the others which have been designated as subjective.
Fortunately we have not far to look for demonstrative
evidence that the required organ exists, not only in man,
but in the lower animals as well. In support of this
declaration I shall now cite some passages from the writ-
ings of one of the ablest living scientists ; namely, Surgeon-
General Hammond. What he has said on the subject
was written without reference to the dual hypothesis, and
certainly without reference to its bearings upon the ques-
tion of a future life. It has, therefore, all the greater
evidential value, for that it was written solely in the inter-
ests of pure science, and by one whose professional reputa-
tion as an alienist is international, whose works have been
translated into every modern language, and are used as text-
books by the medical profession in every civilized country.
More than twenty years ago Dr. Hammond delivered an
address before the New York Neurological Society, entitled
1 See " The Hoosier Schoolmaster."
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 24!
"The Brain not the Sole Organ of the Mind," in which he
demonstrated his thesis by a collection of authorities, by
original experiments, and by arguments which have never
been successfully controverted. In one of his later works l
he has incorporated the gist of that address in a chapter
entitled " The Seat of Instinct." It is from the latter work
that I make the following extracts :
" The brain of man is more highly developed than that of
any other animal ; he has reasoning powers in excess of those
possessed by any living being ; his mind governs the world,
and, not content with that, seeks for knowledge of those spheres
beyond that in which he dwells. But, with all this, he is sur-
passed by .almost every other animal in the ability to perform
acts instinctively, by beings, in fact, whose brains are infinitely
less perfect than his, and by others which have no organs cor-
sponding to a brain.
" If the instinct of man were seated in his brain, he would
doubtless exhibit a development of this faculty so great as to
place him on that score as high as he now stands as regards
his mind.
" Going back, for the present, to some of the lower animals,
we find that we are able, by certain experimental procedures,
to settle some points relative to the seat of instinct with abso-
lute certainty.
"i. It does not reside exclusively in the brain. The brain of
many animals, especially of those belonging to the class of
reptiles, can be removed without the animal suffering any very
considerable immediate inconvenience. In such cases the
instinct remains unimpaired. Thus Maine de Biran states
that, according to Perrault, a viper, the head of which had
been cut off, moved without deviation to its hole in the wall.
It is impossible that the viper could have seen, heard, smelt,
tasted, or felt the wall. It could only have gone toward it
instinctively, through the action of a force not residing in its
brain, and altogether independent of perception.
" It is an instinct in certain animals to swim when placed in
water. I removed the entire brain of a frog, and, after waiting
a few minutes for the animal to recover from the shock of the
operation, I placed it in a tub of water. It immediately began
1 A Treatise on Insanity : D. Appleton & Co., 1883. Ch. ii.
16
242 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
to swim. I held my hand so that the animal's head would
come in contact with it, and thus further progress be prevented.
Continued efforts to swim were made for a few seconds, and
then ceased. Removing my hand, the animal again swam.
" I have repeatedly performed similar experiments with
turtles of various kinds, and lately with water-snakes. In all
these cases the whole brain was removed from the cranium,
yet the animals did not wobble about aimlessly in the water,
but swam straight out into the stream or pond, apparently with
as complete a purpose to escape as though they still possessed
the full degree of consciousness of the unmutilated animals.
" Such experiments show, beyond a doubt, that perception
and volition are not seated exclusively in the brain, and thus
that instinct is not indissolubly connected with that organ.
" It is impossible to make similar investigations in the higher
animals with such definite results as those obtained with rep-
tiles, but we may call to mind the fact familiar to all physiolo-
gists, and to which reference has been made in an earlier part
of this work, of the behavior of a pigeon the brain of which had
been removed. Though in such a case most of the actions are
the result of perception, yet some, as for instance the act of
flying when it is thrown into the air, are purely instinctive.
But Nature has performed many experiments for us, and these
not only on the lower animals, but also on man, which teach us
conclusively that even in him instinct does not reside in brain.
They show, too, that certain faculties of the mind are not con-
fined to that organ; but with that fact we need not at present
concern ourselves. [The italics are mine.]
"In certain monsters born without a brain, or with impor-
tant parts of this organ absent, we have interesting examples of
the persistence of instinct. Syme describes one of these beings
which lived for six months. Though very feeble, it had the
faculty of sucking, and the several functions of the body
appeared to be well performed. Its eyes clearly perceived the
light, and during the night it cried if the candle was allowed to
go out. After death the cranium was opened, and there was
found to be an entire absence of the cerebrum, the place of
which was occupied by a quantity of serous fluid contained in
the arachnoid. The cerebellum and pons Varolii were present.
" Ollivier d'Angers describes a monster of the female sex
which lived twenty hours. It cried, and could suck and
OF THE FUTURE LIFE, 243
swallow. There was no brain, but the spinal cord and medulla
oblongata were well developed.
' Saviard relates the particulars of a case in which there were
no cerebrum, cerebellum, or any other intra-cranial ganglion.
The spinal cord began as a little red tumor on a level with the
foramen magnum. Yet this being opened and shut its eyes,
cried, sucked, and even ate broth. It lived four days. Some
of these movements were reflex, but others were clearly instinc-
tive, and adapted to the preservation of life.
" Dubois, on the authority of Professor Lallemand, of Mont-
pellier, cites the case of a fetus, born at full term, in which the
cerebrum and cerebellum were entirely absent. There were no
ganglionic bodies within the cranium, but the medulla oblongata
and the pons Varolii. This fetus lived three days; during all
this time it uttered cries, exercised suction movements when
anything was put into its mouth, and moved the limbs. It was
nourished with milk and sweetened water, for no nurse would
give it her breast. Dubois cites another case, on the authority
of Spessa of Treviso, of a child born without cerebrum, cere-
bellum, or medulla oblongata, and which lived eleven hours.
It cried, breathed, and moved its limbs, but it did not suck. It
is difficult to say of this case to what extent its movements were
instinctive, and to what extent reflex.
" But all these instances, as well as the experiments referred
to as having been performed on lower animals, show that
instinct does not reside in the brain.
" 2. // is seated exclusively in the medulla oblongata, or in
the spinal cord, or in both these organs. The observations
made and experiments cited under the immediately preceding
head, apparently lead to the conclusion that the medulla
oblongata, or spinal cord, or both the organs, may be the seat
of instinct ; and further inquiry shows that this view is as correct
as that which associates the brain with the mind."
Dr. Hammond then goes on at length to cite many
intensely interesting experiments of his own, demonstrating
the marvellous strength and persistency of instinctive acts
and emotions after all the intra-cranial ganglia were com-
pletely removed. He closes the chapter as follows :
" In microcephali and other human idiots the instincts are
sometimes exceedingly strong, and remain so through life. I
244 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
have already referred to the instance of one of these creatures,
an adult woman, holding a rag-baby in her arms as though it
were a child, and in whom the maternal instinct must have
been strong, and entirely uncontrolled by the intellect. Some
idiots also evince a great instinctive talent for music, and for
arithmetical calculations, which, although capable of develop-
ment, as are other instincts, are nevertheless innate.
" From these facts, and many others which might be adduced
in a work specially directed to the consideration of the many
interesting points involved, I think it may be concluded that
instinct has at least its chief, if not its only, seat in the medulla
oblongata and spinal cord. It is possible that the cerebrum,
the cerebellum, and the pons Varolii have some influence in
strengthening the faculty; but this is not essential, and its
exercise is not a mental operation."
It will now be seen that the hypothesis of a dual mind
is sustained not alone by the phenomena evoked by ex-
perimental hypnotism, but by the physical structure of man
himself, as well as of the whole animal creation. It will
also be observed that whether we assume two distinct
minds, or one mind with two distinct sets of faculties, the
logical results are the same. Moreover, if there is but one
mind, it is dual nevertheless. It is dual in its organism ; it
is dual in its functions ; it is dual in its faculties ; and all
the logical conclusions derivable from the hypothesis of
two minds are also derivable from the hypotheses of one
mind with a dual organism. There is, indeed, one argu-
ment for continued existence in the single-mind theory
which applies with somewhat diminished force to the theory
of duality ; for it may be plausibly argued that, if the mind
can survive the destruction of one of its organs, there is no
good reason why it may not survive the demolition of the
other, together with the whole physical structure of which
those organs are a necessary constituent element. But this
leads directly into the forbidden field of speculation with-
out facts. If a future life is to be demonstrated at all, it
will not be by reference to physical structure, but by refer-
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 245
ence to psychic facts, the observable phenomena of the
soul. When we have learned the fact that there is a physi-
cal structure adapted to a dual mental organization, we
have learned about the only physical fact, that can possibly
be verified, that throws any light upon the subject of a
future life or of the relations which the two sets of faculties
sustain towards each other. It would be pleasant pastime
to speculate upon the possible functions of the medulla
oblongata or the cerebellum ; but we can have no means
of verifying such speculations. The very name and struc-
ture, however, of the pons Varolii suggests its possible
function as a bridge connecting the domains of the two
intelligences, enabling them to hold communion and to act
in synchronism ; but, in the absence of a possibility of veri-
fying such speculations, we should waste valuable time that
could be much better employed in solving the problems
presented by the psychic facts which are within easy range
of our observation.
I now wish to invite particular attention to two incidental
remarks made by Dr. Hammond in the foregoing extracts :
" They show, too, that certain faculties of the mind are not
confined to that organ [the brain.] Again he remarks that
" some idiots evince a great instinctive talent for music and
for arithmetical calculations, which, although capable of
development, as are other instincts, are nevertheless innate."
The importance and far-reaching significance of the
remark, and the fact embraced in it, cannot be overesti-
mated. It is a clear and distinct recognition, by one of the
ablest living scientists, of the fact that the higher functions
of intellect may be, and are by man, performed instinc-
tively, that is to say, by that mind which operates when the
objective senses are inhibited, as in sleep or somnambulism ;
that mind which is often active and potent when there is a
total absence of power in the objective mind, as in idiocy ;
that mind which performs its functions with undiminished
246 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
power after the organ of the objective mind has been
totally eliminated from the cranial cavity.
The intelligent reader will at once recognize the fact that
the musical and mathematical talents possessed by some
idiots are illustrations of that class of phenomena which I
have elsewhere designated as " the power of intuitive per-
ception of the laws of Nature ; " for it is obvious that the
musical power of an idiot must be the result of an intuitive
or instinctive perception of the laws of harmony of sounds.
The idiot's objective mind being extinct, he obviously has
no facilities for learning those laws by means of objective
education. The same remark applies to the power of an
idiot to solve mathematical problems.
Of course, these examples afford only brief and fleeting
glimpses into the domain of subjective mental activity and
power ; but they are all-sufficient to enable us definitely to
locate the source and classify the phenomena.
Moreover, it gives us the logical right to infer that facul-
ties which exhibit such prodigious power under abnormal
conditions, faculties which are demonstrably not of the
brain, have a normal function to perform somewhere ; and
as they have no normal function in this life, it must be in a
life to come. The fact that their greatest observable
power is manifested when the functions of the brain are
inhibited, gives us the logical right to infer that the physi-
cal frame limits its power ; and that when it is freed from
material limitations, emancipated from the trammels of the
flesh, its power of intuitional perception of all Truth will
be perfected. Not that its possessor will instantaneously
become omniscient. That is a supposition which none
but a Hindu philosopher, filled to saturation with that
monstrous egotism which results from self-hypnotization, is
capable of seriously advancing. The most that can be
rationally postulated is that the finite, human entity, en-
dowed with such powers, is invested with the potentiality
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 247
of rapid intellectual and moral development and indefinite
progress.
It will now be conceded that whilst the existence of a
dual mind in man is presumptively proven by the very
nature of the phenomena exhibited, it is conclusively
demonstrated by the facts of physiology and cerebral anat-
omy. Especially is this true since the facts of cerebral
anatomy demonstrate the proposition that there can be no
objective mind in the absence of a brain. In other words,
as I have before remarked, the objective mind is the func-
tion of the brain, and ceases when the brain dies or is
destroyed. The subjective mind, on the other hand, be-
longs to an entity which is neither dependent for its exis-
tence, nor for the power to perform its functions, upon the
vitality or even the existence of the brain.
It may be asked at this point, " If the objective mind
is the function of the brain and they perish together, why
may it not be true that the subjective mind is the function
of the spinal cord and that it perishes with that organ ? "
To this I reply that I allude to that question at this point
merely for the purpose of showing that I am not unmindful
of its pertinency ; and I promise to make a full and com-
plete answer to it in the ensuing chapters. The answer to
that question pertains wholly to the problem of a future
life ; and the reader will bear in mind that in this chapter
I am merely trying to demonstrate that the human entity
has a dual mind ; and having done that, I shall reserve the
right to hold that, inasmuch as one of those minds clearly
belongs to the body, the other as clearly belongs to the
soul. It will then be in order to appeal to the facts the
observable phenomena of the soul to demonstrate its
continued existence after the death of the body ; and that
of itself will be found to be a clear and conclusive answer
to the possible supposition that the subjective mind is
merely the function of the spinal cord, or of the medulla
248 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
oblongata, or of the pons Varolii, or of the cerebellum, or of
any other organ of the body. That they, or some of them,
together with the nervous system, are the organs of the
subjective entity, by and through which it exercises its
control over the functions, sensations, and conditions of
the body during its sojourn in it, is quite another proposi-
tion, and it may be admitted to be true without argument.
It has, however, nothing to do with the question under
immediate consideration.
Now let us summarize the foregoing demonstrable and
demonstrated facts, so that we may have a clearer view of
the effect of the whole. To put them in orderly form, we
have the following clearly established propositions :
1. The objective mind is the function of the physical
brain ; it is wholly dependent upon the condition of that
organ, and it ceases to exist when the brain loses its
vitality.
2. Instinctive acts are performed by animals after the
brain has been wholly excised from the cranial cavity, and
by human beings born without a brain or any other intra-
cranial ganglion.
3. Intellectual feats of a high order, such as playing
musical instruments, making mathematical calculations, and
many others, belong to the realm of instinct, and are often
performed by idiots, that is, by those destitute of objec-
tive intellect.
It must be remembered that these propositions are based
upon the facts which have been observed, tested, and re-
corded by some of the most eminent scientists, living or
dead. They are demonstrative of the dual-mind hypoth-
esis ; for they show that when one mind is wholly extin-
guished, either by natural causes as in idiocy, or by a
surgical operation such as those described by Dr. Ham-
mond, there is still a mind existent and capable of mani-
festing itself.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 249
It is thought, therefore, that it may now be fairly claimed
that the two-mind theory has been demonstrated to be true :
i. logically, because (a) all the facts can be accounted
for upon that hypothesis, (b) because there is no other
hypothesis that can account for all the facts; 2. because
the facts of cerebral anatomy, physiology, and experimental
surgery all conspire to demonstrate its truth.
CHAPTER XVI.
DUALITY DEMONSTRATED BY EVOLUTION.
Duality in the Lower Animals. A Primordial Fact. A Physical
Basis for Immortality. The Ultimate Goal of Psychic Evolu-
tion. Evidence of Design in Psychic Development. Defini-
tion of " Design." Nature conceals God. Man reveals God.
The Functions of the Soul. Design evinced in the Facts of
Organic Evolution. The Benevolence of God. Painless Death.
The Universal Anaesthetic. God is ever kind to the Victim
of the Inevitable. Man Re-enthroned.
TJAVING now definitely ascertained that the facts of
cerebral anatomy not only sustain the dual hypothesis,
but locate the organ by and through which the subjective
mind can manifest itself, it remains to consider briefly the
bearing of the facts of Evolution upon the subject-matter.
For, if it is true that man has a soul, and that his soul is
immortal, all the pertinent phenomena of Nature will con-
spire to verify those facts. It will also be in order briefly
to consider the facts of evolution, as manifested in the
creation of the dual mental organism, in their bearings on
the question of the character and attributes of the Deity.
Evolutionists tell us that the tendency of organic Nature
from the beginning has been toward the creation of Man.
All the facts of physical Nature conspire to demonstrate the
truth of that proposition ; for, on every line of the evolution
of the lower animals upward, the trend of each successive
change in physical structure has been toward that final goal.
But evolutionists have failed to observe another cognate fact
of even more profound significance ; namely, that, in the
DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 2$l
very beginningofpsycjuc evolution the foundation was laid
for the development of an immortal soul. This foundation
was laid when the first organic being, having a dual mental
organism, was evolved from protoplasm. And on every
line of evolution from the lower animals upward, this dual
mental organism is a salient, nay, the dominant, mental and
physical characteristic. As I have remarked in a previous
chapter, without the dual mind there would be no mental
organism remaining after the dissolution of the body and
brain, and the consequent extinction of the objective mind.
In other words, without the dual mind there would be no
basis upon which to build a human soul. With it, existent
from the beginning in the lower animals, the process of
evolution of the subjective mind from the status of mere
animal instinct up to that of an intelligent, self-existent
entity, was as natural, as inevitable, as was the evolution
of the physical organism through the gradations of animal
life up to the perfect physical man. As the soul is con-
nascent with the body, and as the objective and subjective
minds are synchronous in action, so has psychic evolution
progressed in perfect unison with organic evolution. As
the ultimate goal of organic evolution is the creation of
man, so is the ultimate goal of psychic evolution the
creation of the immortal soul.
On no other rational hypothesis can the wisdom of the
Creator be made manifest to finite comprehension. But
on this hypothesis, not only is the existence of the God of
Jesus made apparent, but his wisdom is demonstrated. It
has often been said that there is no evidence of design in
the phenomena of physical Nature ; and it must be admitted
that in the ordinary phenomena of the physical universe
nothing is manifest but the operation of a blind force,
which appears to be inherent in matter, operating under the
impulse of an iron necessity and apparently in utter dis-
regard of human life or of mercy or of justice. On the
252 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
other hand, it may be said that this vast universe itself,
with its inherent laws, by and through which such grand
and beautiful results are brought about, is an evidence
of design. v
" Who," says Beecher, 1 " designed this mighty machine,
created matter, gave to it its laws, impressed upon it that ten-
dency which has brought forth the almost infinite results on the
globe, and wrought them into a perfect system? Design by
wholesale is greater than design by retail."
All of which sounds plausible ; but it is simply begging the
question. If there were no further evidence than that,
science would be justified in rejecting the design argument
altogether, which it has done ever since the doctrines of
Darwin displaced those of Paley.
It seems to me that certain of the specific facts of evolu-
tion itself furnish the most indubitable evidence of design
that can be imagined. Paley's watch did not furnish a
more striking evidence of design than is afforded by the
dealings of God with man.
The first question, however, is, what is the proper defini-
tion of the word "design," as it is employed as an argu-
ment for the existence of God and his intelligent authorship
of the universe ? This becomes a very important question
when we remember how much of man's valuable time is
annually wasted in disputatious argument between persons
whose only real differences arise from a wrong interpreta-
tion of terms.
Design, in the sense which reaches the merits of the
question at issue, is a definite purpose conceived by an intel-
ligent being with a view to the production of a specific useful
result.
This definition applies with equal force to the works of
Nature and the works of man. In Paley's watch there was
1 Evolution and Religion.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 253
evidence of intelligent design ; for a specific useful result
was produced, namely, the creation of an instrument for
the measurement of time. But a lunatic might produce
the most complicated machine imaginable, and if it had no
specific purpose to subserve, if it was incapable of being
set in motion or of performing any function, there would be
no evidence of intelligent design. On the other hand, if,
in the works of Nature, there can be found evidence of an
intelligent purpose tending at all times toward the produc-
tion of a specific useful result, design becomes as self-evident
in Nature as in art. It is, therefore, to a certain extent, a
question of evidence as to whether any particular structure
can be said to exhibit design ; and, within certain limits,
what is conclusive to one mind might not convince another.
Thus, the theologian finds evidence, conclusive to him, in
every tree, leaf, bud, or flower, as well as in the grand
structure of the physical universe, of the existence of a God
of intelligence and power, and he also sees conclusive evi-
dence of a commensurate design. To this, however, the
materialist is ever ready with his reply that all this is the
result, not of design, but of the operation of physical laws
which are inherent in matter itself; that these blind forces
of Nature may go on throughout all coming time, building
new worlds and disintegrating the old, in one eternal round,
without evincing either intelligence or design, or aught but
an iron necessity resultant from immutable laws inherent in
the Cosmos. From a purely scientific standpoint, consider-
ing alone the cosmogony of the universe as exhibited in the
operation of the great physical forces, the materialist is
right. It is here that the words of Jacobi strike one with
the force of a revelation : " Nature conceals Godj__man
alone reveals him." And it may be set down as an axiom
in spiritual philosophy that in the phenomena of mind alone
is to be found any evidence whatever of the existence of an
intelligence antecedent to the formation of the planetary
254 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
system, any evidence of design in the structure of the
material universe, or any evidence of the immortality of
the soul. But in the phenomena of mind we find all the
evidence necessary to demonstrate all three propositions.
It is only necessary, however, to find evidence of design in
order to establish the first two, for it is axiomatic that
design presupposes a designer. What stronger evidence of
design can be imagined than the fact that all the operations
of Nature tend toward the accomplishment of one single
specific object? As I have before remarked, all the facts
of organic evolution show that the creation of man was the
goal toward which all Nature has tended from the begin-
ning. No evolutionist, materialist though he may be, will
deny that proposition. This, in itself, is evidence of a
secondary value, however of design, because in it we find
a specific goal. But the materialist will reply that it is in-
adequate and inconclusive because there is still no evidence
of intelligent design, since man, in common with all organic
Nature, is destined to die, and in his seventy years of
allotted time there is not an adequate motive for bringing
him into existence. Cut bono ? is his ever-ready question ;
and it is pertinent and unanswerable from his standpoint.
If, therefore, there were no further evidence of design than
that afforded by man's physical existence, it must be con-
ceded that the argument fails from inherent weakness. But,
as I have already pointed out, there was a foundation laid
at the earliest possible period in the history of organic evo-
lution for the development of an immortal soul. The dual
mind found in each and every animate creature evolved
from each individual monad, furnishes this foundation. It
is found in all animate Nature, from the lowest to the high-
est, and on every line both of divergence from man and of
convergence toward him ; so that, upon whatever line of
development the goal might be reached, the embryo of an
immortal soul would be present. It is true that there are
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 255
creatures destitute of anything like a brain, and therefore
without an objective mind ; but there is nothing in all ani-
mate Nature that is destitute of a subjective mind, rudimen-
tary though it be. In fact, the subjective mind antedates
the objective, the latter being the result of organic evolu-
tion.
It may be asked why it is necessary to assume that the
subjective mind in animals is the embryo of an immortal
soul in man, since both minds have functions to perform in
physical life. To this the self-evident reply is that Nature
never produces an unnecessarily complex or complicated
organism ; and unless we assume that God was incapable of
endowing the subjective mind with the capacity to develop
the power of reason sufficiently for the purposes of this life,
we must assume that it has functions to perform in some
other life. We know that it is susceptible to a far higher
intellectual development than is the objective mind.* The
facts, therefore, that the latter was created with functions
pertaining exclusively to this life, and that the former was
created with faculties that perform no function in this life, -
constitute demonstrative evidence that the subjective mind
was created, ab initio, with special reference to a future life.
Design, therefore, is as self-evident in the order and pro-
cess of the evolution of the lower animals up to man as it
is in the structure of a watch.
It may be asked why God does not exhibit some tan-
gible, observable, moral attribute toward his creatures,
some benevolent aspect that can bear an interpretation other
than that involved in a blind adherence to primordial law.
Why is pain and agony, and death and destruction, through *
the law of the survival of the fittest, necessary for the '
development of man? The obvious answer is, that it is '
only through the death of the unfit that room can be made ,
for the survival of the fit. In a word, it is only through
death and destruction that evolution is possible. Without V
256 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
I death as a universal factor in the physical world, progress
would be impossible. And this applies to man as forcibly
as it does to the lower animals. If at any moment death
should be abolished as to mankind, progress would come
to a practical standstill, and the earth would soon be over-
populated. This is one of the facts demonstrative that
physical life is not the final goal of man or of his evolution ;
and since it is demonstrable that there can be no higher
species developed than man, if he has any future, it must be
in another form of existence. To recur to the first ques-
tion, Why does not God exhibit some tangible moral
attribute toward his creatures ? it is answered that he
does exhibit a positive, tangible quality of pure benevolence
towards all animate Nature in a phenomenon that is of such
common experience that the world appears to have over-
looked it entirely. That__phenomenon consists in the
absolute immunity from physical or mental suffering in the
hour of inevitable death. 1 >, This immunity is universal in all
animate Nature. Moreover, there is every evidence to show
that death is a pleasurable process to all who experience it,
from the lowest to the highest organism in Nature. More-
over, there is indubitable evidence demonstrative that God
is ever kind to the victim of the inevitable. This is true
whether the inevitable event assumes the form of death or
of a surgical operation ; z for in the subjective state which
spontaneously ensues upon the approach of either event,
there is provided a universal anaesthetic, which deprives
death of its sting and its terrors ; and if the surgeon knows
the laws pertaining to the subject, it eases the patient of all
pain and suffering.
Could further or more tangible evidence be required to
1 For a full discussion of this subject, see " The Law of Psychic
Phenomena."
2 See " Hypnotism, a Universal Anaesthetic in Surgery," N. Y.
Medical Journal for Dec. 22, 1894.
^-^Ar (j> +~ - c?-i- -v->-< /Kf .
OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
demonstrate the quality of mercy and benevolence in God
towards his creatures?
It must be remembered that this immunity from suffering
during the process of dissolution cannot be tortured into
the domain of attributes resulting from the laws of heredity,
or of natural selection, or of the survival of the fittest. It
is obvious that when this phenomenon is exhibited, the
subject is far beyond the reach of those laws. Nor is there
any law or fact in the domain of evolution that can be
invoked to explain it. It is a broad, ultimate fact, standing
apart, tangible, monumental, demonstrative of the intelli-
gence, the love, the mercy, the benevolence of the Great
First Cause.
Is there no evidence of intelligent design in the phenom-
ena of Nature ? Let the facts the observable, tangible,
demonstrable facts answer the question.
Thus is man rehabilitated and re-enthroned as the grand
central figure of creation, the ultimate object of creative
energy. The Copernican system of astronomy shocked the
Christian world, and moved it to deeds of violence by
removing the habitation of man from the centre of the
universe, and sending it whirling through space, a unit in the
Titanic procession around the central sun, the source of
light and warmth and energy. Another shock was sent
through Christendom when it was first shown that the facts
of evolution proved that God created man, not by miracle,
but through the operations of natural law. But Christen-
dom has survived both shocks, and has lived to recognize
the fact that science robs not God of his glory nor man of
his dignity. On the contrary, Copernican astronomy
removed man from the centre of the physical universe only
to show him that the central sun, with all its stores of
physical energy, is but his domestic servant, charged with
the duty of rendering his home habitable and beautiful.
Evolutionary science removed his origin from the domain
rr
258 DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
of superstition, and revealed him to himself as the central
figure in the physical universe. Psychic science proclaims
his divine pedigree, confirms his kinship to Christ, and
verifies his title-deeds to a " home not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens."
CHAPTER XVII.
THE DISTINCTIVE FACULTIES OF THE SOUL.
Every Faculty of the Mind has its Use or Function. Faculties of
the Soul which perform no Normal Function in this Life. The
Man and the Brute psychically Differentiated Ego- Altruism.
The Instinct of Self-Sacrifice. Conditions precedent to the At-
tainment of Immortality.
TTAVING now logically and scientifically demonstrated
^ * the existence in man of a dual mind, it remains to
inquire what are the legitimate logical and scientific con-
clusions to be derived from that fact. In doing so, the first
matter to be considered is the question as to what can be
taken for granted. As I have pointed out in the earlier
chapters of this book, there is, in every process of reason-
ing, one factor in the series of steps or propositions leading
to a logical conclusion, that is always taken for granted.
Thus, in reasoning by induction, we collate our facts and
from them we reason up to general principles. That is to
say, after the observance of a series of phenomena, when
we find a constant recurrence of the series in orderly and
unvarying sequence, we are enabled to say with certainty
that the same phenomena will continue to recur in the
same orderly sequence. In other words we have discovered
the law which governs the subject-matter, the principle
which underlies it. But in formulating the law we invaria-
bly assume, without formally stating it, the most important
proposition in the series which gives it validity. That prop-
osition is that Nature is ever constant. It is obvious that
260 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
if a law of Nature operated in one way at one time, and in
the opposite way at another, man would be put to perma-
nent intellectual confusion. He could never be certain
that he knew anything. In logical reasoning, therefore, our
very silence regarding the constancy of Nature evinces, in
terms more eloquent than words, our calm, unfaltering trust
in the wisdom and benevolence of the Eternal Lawgiver.
So universal is this confidence among civilized peoples, that
the proposition that Nature's laws are immutable is not
only never questioned, but is, by common consent, regarded
as one of those self-evident propositions which to argue is
a work of supererogation.
In the domain of psychological research there is also a
proposition equally important, and unqualifiedly self-evi-
dent, which is assumed without question by all who apply
the principles of logical reasoning to the solution of psycho-
logical problems. That proposition is that There is no
faculty, emotion, or organism of the human mind that has
not its function, use, or object.
In the physical world it has long since passed into a
proverb that "Nothing was ever made in vain." This
may be true, and it probably is true ; but it is far from
being self-evident. For instance, it is difficult to discover
the use of mosquitoes, or of venomous reptiles, or of those
insects which sometimes destroy the vegetation of whole
provinces and bring desolation and famine to the doors of
the helpless people. Such things not only cause the unre-
flecting to doubt the wisdom of God, but they forcibly
remind us all of the essential truth of the saying of the
pious Jacobi, that " Nature conceals God ; man reveals
him." No truth is more frequently brought home to trie
scientific student of Nature and of man than this ; for
the more we study physical Nature the farther God is re-
moved from us, the more we study man the nearer God
approaches to us. Thus, the savage finds God in the most
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 26 1
common phenomena of Nature ; he sees him in the
lightning's flash, and in the thunder he hears his voice.
Explain the phenomena to him, and his God is no longer
enthroned in the storm cloud ; and so it is with all who
study only the phenomena of physical Nature. The more
one learns of the proximate causes of things, the farther
away is removed the ultimate cause ; and if one confines
his attention to the material universe alone, he is prone to
the conclusion that if it is ignorance of Nature's laws that
'gives birth to gods, a knowledge of those laws will surely
destroy them.
Not so in the study of man, of whom it has been truly
said that there is nothing else on earth that is truly great,
and in whom there is nothing truly great but mind. It is,
therefore, only by the study of the mind of man that we
shall be able to apprehend the existence of God, to realize
his presence, to demonstrate his immanence, or to learn
anything regarding the origin and destiny of the soul.
We may assume, then, as the starting-point of our argu-
ment, the axiom before mentioned ; namely, that " There is
no faculty, emotion, or organism of the human mind that
has not its use or object." This is a self-evident proposi-
tion. It is axiomatic, for it is impossible to conceive its
opposite. It is "so evident at first sight that no process of
reasoning or demonstration can make it plainer " (Webster).
When this can be said of a proposition, all legitimate con-
clusions to be deduced therefrom partake of the character
of the axiom ; that is, they are as necessarily true as the
axiom itself. They are then scientifically demonstrated.
The first fact in the order of consideration to which this
axiom may be applied is that man has a dual mind. This
is the primary fact which lies at the foundation of the
science of the soul, for it is in a sense demonstrative of the
fact that man has a soul ; that is to say, if man has a soul,
its mental organization must necessarily be supposed to be
262 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
identified with one or the other of his two minds. Now, it
has already been shown that the facts of hypnotism and of
experimental surgery demonstrate that the objective mind
is a function of the brain, and necessarily perishes with that
organ. That fact, therefore, excludes the objective mind
from consideration as a possible heir to a future life, and
clears the way for the consideration of the facts relating to
the subjective mind, which facts must of necessity either
prove or disprove its claims to immortality.
The first question to be considered, then, is one of use
and function ; and the first inquiry is, what purpose is sub-
served by the two minds ? In other words, if man has not
an immortal soul, what possible object pertaining to this life
can be subserved by the two minds that could not as well
have been attained by one mind, since it is axiomatic that
Nature never produces an unnecessarily complex or com-
plicated organism?
Now, it must be remembered that so far as this life is
concerned, the subjective mind has, primarily, but three
functions, namely : i. Self-preservation; 2. Reproduction;
3. The preservation of the offspring. These may be re-
duced in terms to one ; namely, the perpetuation of the
race or species. It has other powers, as we have already
seen, and as we shall see more particularly later on. Some
of those powers belong exclusively to the subjective mind,
whilst others differ only in degree from corresponding
powers belonging to the objective mind. But the point to
be considered for the moment is that the only normal
functions performed by the subjective mind during its so-
journ in the body, and its connection with it, all pertain to
the perpetuation of the species. These are, primarily,
purely animal functions, it is true, and are possessed in
common with all animate Nature. They are, nevertheless,
its only normal functions. This is demonstrated by the
fact that it can never perform any other function or exer-
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 263
cise any other of its manifold powers, except under the most
intensely abnormal conditions of the body. This proposition
will be amply demonstrated in a later chapter. For the
present it must be taken for granted for the sake of the
argument which follows.
Is it conceivable that a power which is capable of creating
man and endowing him with powers that we know him to
possess, could not have endowed his objective mind with the
instinctive powers and functions which have been named?
In other words, what is the use of such a complex and com-
plicated organism as is involved in the mechanism of a dual
mind when a unitary mind could just as well have performed
all the normal functions now performed by both?
It will thus be seen that the bare fact that man possesses
a dual mind necessarily leads to the conclusion that one of
them does not pertain exclusively to his physical well-being.
Let me not be misunderstood at this point. I do not
undertake to say that immortality is directly foreshadowed
by the fact that man has a dual mind, and that his subjective
mind is endowed with the faculty of animal instinct. But
what I do say is that the fact that he has a dual mind,
indirectly but inevitably, leads to that conclusion. It is,
indeed, the fundamental basis of fact from which we may
proceed to a demonstration of a future life. It is a logical
as well as a physical necessity, since the objective mind is
merely a function of the brain. There must, therefore, be
another mind, another intellect, another entity in man, or
there would be nothing upon which to predicate the hypoth 1
esis of immortality. It is, therefore, an argument for a future
life in that the existence of two minds cannot be accounted
for on any other rational hypothesis.
I cannot be unaware that the argument is far from de-
monstrative so long as none of the attributes and powers of
the subjective mind have thus far been taken into considera-
tion except the purely animal instincts which we have been
264 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
considering, since those functions pertain wholly to the phys-
ical plane. If all else were left out of consideration, man
would be on an exact level with the brute creation, so far as
the question of a future life is concerned. It would be im-
possible to postulate a rational hypothesis of immortality for
man that would not apply with equal force to the brute, if
the soul of neither was endowed with higher attributes than
the instincts which belong alone to the physical plane.
It is just here, however, that the difference between man
and brute becomes manifest ; and it is upon these lines that
must be settled the vexed question whether the brute, equally
with man, may not be able to read his title clear to mansions
in the skies, since the former, in common with the latter, is
endowed with both objective and subjective faculties.
The subjective faculties of the brute are limited to those
primary instincts which pertain wholly to thi perpetuation of
the species, and belong therefore exclusively to the physical
plane. On the other hand, the subjective mind of man is
endowed with intellecttial faculties which far transcend those
of the objective intellect, and some of which perform no nor-
mal function on the physical plane.
Nor must it be forgotten in this connection that the in-
stinct of self-preservation itself, common as it is to all animate
Nature, and purely selfish as it is among the brute creation,
contains within itself the elements of the purest altruism.
And when it is normally developed in man, it becomes the
most purely unselfish of all the human instincts, and exhibits
itself in the noblest acts of self-sacrifice recorded in history,
the sublimest heroism conceivable by the human imagina-
tion. It was regnant in the devoted band who held the
pass at Thermopylae ; in " Horatius, who held the bridge in
the brave days of yore ; " in Winkelried, who swept the
enemy's spears into his own body, that he might break the
Austrian phalanx; in the pilot who, with arms shrivelling
in the flames, guided his burning ship toward the shore, to
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 26$
the end that others might survive ; in the captain of the
sinking ship who stood at his post until the last passenger
was safe, and was alone drawn into the vortex ; in him who
yielded up his life on the cross in testimony of his divine
mission to " bring life and immortality to light," in all
those noble, self-sacrificing souls who suffer and die that
others may live. These are the higher aspects of the instinct
of self-preservation ; for that instinct in man pertains not
alone to the preservation of the individual life, but to that
of the species to which it belongs. It is just as much a
matter of instinct to sacrifice one's own life for the preserva-
tion of the lives of others as it is to shrink from imminent
peril when one's own safety is alone involved. In a word,
when the lives of others are at stake, cowardice is a purely
abnormal manifestation of that instinct. Heroic self-sacrifice,
when others are in peril, is alone normal. It will thus be
seen that the principle of " the greatest good to the greatest
number" is the ultimate form of the evolutionary develop-
ment of what has been regarded as the most purely selfish
instinct. In the lower animals it is a purely selfish, individu-
alized instinct. In man it rises to the dignity of what, for
the want of a better term, may be designated as ego-altruism,
the (Kgis of all humanity.
It may be asked, "Why, if every faculty has its use or
object, is the brute endowed with two minds, if neither of
its minds is destined to a future life ? In other words, why
does not the dual-mind hypothesis argue immortality for the
brute as cogently as it does for the man? " It may as well
be asked, "Why does not the possession of two eyes prove
that the brute is destined to become a man? " Or, "Why
does not the presence, in various species of animals, of the
rudimentary physical structure of man, argue that each
individual animal is destined to become a man?" The
answer to all these questions is the same ; namely, The
creation of the physical and the psychical man is the goal
266 A SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION
toward which Nature has tended from the beginning ; but
it was through the processes of evolution that both body and
soul were created.
Man's physical structure, in rudimentary form, is found
in the animals from which he was evolved ; but it does not
follow that the individual animal is to become a man.
Man's psychical organism is found, in rudimentary form, in
the brute creation, the same dual mental organism being
present in all animate Nature ; but it does not follow that
the individual brute is to inherit immortality. The rudi-
mentary form of man in the animal rendered it possible for
the processes of evolution to culminate in the creation of
the perfected physical man. The rudimentary psychical
organism in the animal rendered it possible for evolution to
elevate the embryotic soul to the full stature of a living,
conscious, individualized entity, capable, under certain con-
ditions, existent in man alone, of sustaining an existence
independently of the physical organism.
The primary condition precedent to the attainment of such
an existence is necessarily that of consciousness. It is
axiomatic that no individualized existence worthy of the
name can be sustained by a living organism, physical or
psychical, in the absence of consciousness. It is also
obvious that an animal can have no consciousness of the
possession of a soul. Nor can the soul be conscious of
itself in the absence of any suggestion or information con-
veyed to it by objective education. Jesus, who was mas-
ter of the science of the soul, drew the line, on strictly
scientific principles, between the man and the brute, when
he proclaimed the law that belief faith was the essential
prerequisite to the attainment of immortal life. 1 " Faith,"
in the sense in which Jesus employed the term, means much
more than " belief," although the latter is included in the
1 For a fuller discussion of this important problem, see " The Law
of Psychic Phenomena," ch. xxv.
OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 267
term. Faith, in the psychic sense, and that is the sense in
which Jesus employed it, is conscious potentiality. It is a
power ; it is the power of the soul. All psychic phenomena
demonstrate that proposition. Without it there can be no
psychic phenomena beyond the exercise of the purely
animal instincts. It is the creature of suggestion. Sug-
gestion alone awakens it into existence ; suggestion can
utterly destroy it. Inasmuch as no suggestion of the possi-
bility of immortal life can be conveyed to the embryotic
soul of the brute, the conscious potentiality requisite to the
sustentation of independent existence does not exist ; and it
obviously cannot exist in other than an intelligent being.
And this remark, according to the philosophy of Jesus,
applies to all the brute creation, whether it is embodied in
the form of animals or of men.
It is thought that enough has now been said to make a
prima facie case, because I have shown : i. That there is a
basis in the mental organism of man upon which the hypoth-
esis of a future life can be postulated, in that (a) there are
two minds, (b) the subjective mind does not necessarily
perish with the brain; 2. That no other rational hy-
pothesis, which will account for all the facts, psychical and
physical, has yet been formulated.
CHAPTER XVIII.
FACULTIES BELONGING TO A FUTURE LIFE.
The Necessity for limiting the Powers of the Subjective Mind in this
Life. Man a Free Moral Agent. The Law of Suggestion a
Necessity. Limitations of Power pertain only to this Life.
Induction unnecessary in the Future Life. Intuition takes its
Place. Induction Impossible when the Power of Perception ex-
ists. The Higher Intuitional Powers Useless in this Life. The
Power of Correct Deduction in Man and Animals.
\\ 7"E will now proceed to the consideration of those
peculiar powers, functions, and limitations of the
subjective mind which seem to be especially adapted to a
future life. In doing so, the mental faculties will, for con-
venience, be divided into three classes, namely: i. Those
which belong exclusively to the subjective mind; 2. Those
which belong exclusively to the objective mind ; and, 3.
Those powers possessed in common by the two minds,
differing only in degree. They will be considered as nearly
as possible in the order named, although it will be
necessary in some cases to group two or more and consider
them together.
Before proceeding, however, I desire to impress upon the
mind of the reader the fundamental axiom mentioned in the
chapter preceding ; namely, that There is no faculty, emotion,
or organism of the human mind that has not its function,
use, or object. A moment's reflection will be sufficient to
extort the assent of every logical mind to this proposition.
If any one will try to imagine the contrary or opposite
DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUTURE LIFE. 269
proposition to be true, he will find that it is absolutely and
unqualifiedly unthinkable. I lay particular stress upon this
proposition for reasons that will more fully appear as we
proceed. In the mean time it will be obvious to every
logician that any legitimate conclusion derivable from a
proposition so far-reaching and so perfectly self-evident,
must necessarily be invested with a profound significance.
We have now three fundamental propositions to start with,
each of which is either self-evident or is demonstrable by
reference to the facts of experimental psychology, cerebral
anatomy, or experimental surgery. They are :
1. Man has a dual mind.
2. Each of the two minds has powers, functions, and
limitations which clearly differentiate it from the other.
3. Each power, function, and limitation necessa
