Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 9240289541 59 Cornell University Library BF1251.D26 P9 Present age and inner life : ancient and oiin 3 1924 028 954 159 ^4^74yr9.0. i^/Z^2 7.^- THE PRESENT AGE AND IMER LIFE; AJ^OIENT AJ^D MODEE]^ SPIEIT MT8TEKIES CLASSIFIED AND EXPLAINED. A SEQUEL TO SPIEITTJAL IIsrTEEOOUESE. EBTISED ASJ) ENLARGED. BY A]SrDEEW JACKSOlSr DAYIS, Author of " ITftture's Divine Eeyelations," '* Great Harmouia," " Stellar Key," " Arabula," etc, etc. * "COME NOW, AND LET TJS REASOST TOSETHEE." ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS. BOSTON: WILLIAM WHITE AND COMPANY, BANNEKOF LIGHT OFFICE, 158 'WABHINGTOIf SteBBT. NEW YOEK : BRANCH OFFICE, 544 BROADWAY. 1869. ^ CORNE UNIVERSITY S ^ LIBRARY^ Entered according to Act of Oongrcaa, in tlie year 1868^ by ANDEEW JACKSON DATI8, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the District of New Jersey. MoCbea & MiLiSR, Stsbeottpeeb. PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. We take pleasure in offering this volume as a com- pend of the harmonial philosophy of Spiritualism, and as a repository of Facts demonstrating the grand truth of open communication between the two worlds. Of all the author's works, this is, without doubt, the most complete in treating of the laws and conditions of mediumship ; being most thoroughly devoted to a consideration and ehicidation of the facts and princi- ples of Spiritualism, both ancient and modem. We therefore present this book as embodying important and reliable information on the most interesting subject known to the mind of man — " Life . and Immortality." Regiou of In this Repository we find the elements of all forms — Mineral, Vegetable, Animal, Man. R-tfi ILLUSTRATIONS. PASS BCKNE IN A FAMILY CIRCLE 89 CIECLE FOE PHYSICAL EVIDENCES 101 VISIOH AT HIGH-EOCK COTTAGE 115 CHIEOGEAPHT .OF THE ITEUEOLOGIO MEDIUM 19T ALMONDrS PENMANSHIP 199 ENGKATING OF FARMS AND GARDENS 28T ILLUSTRATION OF CLAIRVOYANCE AND IMPRESSION 280 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. The author has obeyed his impressions in present- ing to the world this book, Its contents, revised and enlarged, are designed to meet the psychological demands of the time. The heart and the head, the sonl and the understanding, are particularly and familiarly ad- dressed. To the down-trodden and wearied, to the trammeled and enslaved, to the depressed and sorrowful, to the seeker after light and liberty, this book is most cordially dedicated by the author. He can think of no better offering — no legacy more adapted to the development and tranquilization of man's nature — than the one now laid upon the altar of the reader's Reason. " Let there he Light I" was the first and most omnip- otent mandate of Heaven ; it reverberated throughout the length and breadth of the arching skies ; it has rolled down from generation to generation with ever- increasing power ; and now it seeks an expression from every heart that beats in unison with the sovereign laws of universal justice and equal liberty. That there may " be Light " on the important ques- tions now agitating the people, and that " mental lib- erty " may come with it, is the deepest and foremost prayer of the author ; and he earnestly hopes, and even ventures to believe, that the following pages will serve to conduct the reader to the attainment and enjoyment of these inestimable blessings. ATT) Nb-W Toek, Nov. 18, 1868. ' ' OOKTEJirTS. FAGS A SURTET OF HUMAN STEEDS 9 DEFINITION OP PHILOSOPHY AND BPIEITUALISM 88 THE EXTERNAL AEGUMENT 62 THE SPIEITUAL C0NGKE8S .' 110 VISION AT HIGH BOOK COTTAGE 118 THE DELEGATIONS AND EXORDIA 188 THE TABLE OF EXPLANATION 172 THE CLASSIFICATION OF MEDIA 1T4 THE CLASSIFICATION OF CAUSES 286 SUMMAET EXPLANATIONS 311 KEVELATIONS FKOM PANDEMONIUM 831 ASSEETION FEB^ra FACTS..: 882 A TOICE TO THE INSANE 871 BENEFITS OF EXPERIENCE.., 892 PHENOMENA OF THE SPIEITUAL SPHEEES 408 A SURYEY OF HUMM NEEDS. In- the old wilderness of Superstition now blooms the immortal flower of Reason. The great and power- ful genii of the Eastern hemisphere have given them- selves up to oblivion ; and the great and powerful Ideas of the Western hemisph'ere now occupy their places. The whole world is rapidly approaching a Transition state — ^is passing from death unto life — is merging from a long night of ignorance and superstition. But, to realize the marvelous changes that are constantly going on everywhere, and to contemplate this glorious transition of the Old into the New, we must take a stand-point high upon the summit of the ages. From this position the mind's eye may not only take a com- prehensive survey of the inferior Past as the vast back- ground of the superior Present, but also, now and then, obtain a satisfying glimpse of the undeveloped Future. By scanning the fables of the past and comparing them with the realities of the present, we can see that what were considered miraculous and supernatural are now recognized as the " matter-of-course" triumphs of pro- gressive science — as things ordinary and natural to the constitution of matter and principles. Consequently, though every new development is exceeding wonderful, it is not supernatural. In the Empire of Matter there 3* 10 THE INNEE LIFE. can come no miracle ; the world of Mind is equally impregnable, because the former is its foundation. The thinking mind knows too much of the laws of matter to believe in miracles. The more we know the less we hdieve ! Faith has extemporized so often and improvised so much which Knowledge repudiates as godless and wrong, that the intelligent portion of the world has deserted the continent of belief for the far safer and firmer hemisphere of positive Knowledge, which in the mind is balanced by the hemisphere of passion or impulse. Skepticism is, I think, the handmaid of Truth. Doubt is the beginning of "Wisdom. Doubt is the precursor of inquiry ; inquiry leads to Evidence ; Evi- dence is the foundation of Knowledge ; and Knowledge is the parent of Liberty and Power. Concerning skep- tics a philosophical writer once remarked, " That they are men who pick holes in the fabric of Knowledge wherever it is weak and faulty ; and when these places are properly mended, the whole of the building becomes more firm and solid than it was before." In the ages of ignorance, it was a crime to doubt ; now it is the sign of intelligence. Skepticism is the Chief of all police- men who maintain order among the clergy. Science is an excellent and indomitable watchman ; but an intel- ligent, honest, philosophical Doubt, is the most formi- dable of all foes with which the Dogmatists have to contend. Then fear not, ye skeptics — Doubt on ! Do for the world what and unreasoning faith can never accomplish. Help on the work of Keform ! If there be any nigh to the kingdom of heaven, they are those who conscientiously Donht until adequate Evidence is A. SUEVET OF HUMAN NEEDS. 11 obtained ; then faith is not possible ; for Knowledge occupies its place in the mind ; and a force equal to the " moving of mountains" is therein forthwith generated. The object of this chapter is to show that the world, especially in this century, needs a " Philosophy " higher than the schools can furnish, and a " Spiritualism" more demoiistratwe than the churches possess — needs these, in order to destroy the hatreds of the churches ; to cast this creed and that religion into the world's treasury of experience; to enrich our minds with a unitary understanding of all natural and spiritual things ; and finally, to render all things, which pertain to our physical and mental being, universal and har- monious. There are three unmistakable indications that the ■world really " needs" the Harmonial Philosophy, or something analogous, as follows : — First. The materialistic influence which nearly all the Sciences exert upon the civilized races — limiting knowledge and faith to the scope of the physical per- ceptions ; showing the need of some philosophical in- terpretation or spiritual manifestation of things, which will harmonise at once with the known facts of science and the immutable laws of Nature. Second. The incapacity or inadequacy of any and every form of Theology, which is evolved from the Testaments, to answer the great variety of questions which involuntarily rise in intelligent minds. Third. The failv/re on the part of popular Theology to bring " Peace on Earth" — its failure to save the people from poverty, ignorance, crune, discord, dis- ease! 12 THE INNER LIFE. The argument in support of these three propositions will, on this occasion, be drawn — 1st, from the Doings of Geologixts ; 2d, from the Doings of Chemists ; 3d, from the present social state / and ith, from the antago- nisms of existing religions. In this little volume, the seqtjel to my«" Philosophy of Spiritual Intercourse," the reader will find a con- tinuation of certain thoughts therein broached, with much which is entirely new and very important. The initial considerations now submitted, are those which enter into the formation of this chapter. When contemplated from a certain position, it is very natural to exclaim that, *" all the world's a stage" — a pyramid of excellence — a gorgeous Temple — vested with supernal beauty ; built upon the granite foundations of indestructible material ; and upheld by the golden columns of Eternal Truth. How beautiful the scenery which falls, and rises, and glides away before the ever-changing drama of existence ! First, let us glance at tlie play of geologists among the rocks and hills. Now, as the curtain rolls up, let us look upon the geologic drama. Behold ! the earth, the seas, the flowing tides, the groves of solemn gran- deur ; and diverse vegetation, unfolding a wUd luxurir ance over the rolling lands. "What can all this mean ? Whence the origin of these things ? Who owns and manages this theater ? We are the audience. We know by all these prop- erties and decorations — ^by all this form, and order, and arrangement — that there must be a "green-room" some- where within, behind the exhibition ; and we desire to behold it. Yea, we must. For we possess investi- A SUKVEY OF HUMAN KEEDS. 13 gating, exploring faculties ; and these demand an exer- cise. See ! A silent splendor floats down from the noon- day sun, and illuminates the hills. Star-beams come down from on high, and play amid the lilies of the valley. There is a glow and a loveliness — a poem and a song — upon, and flowing from, every thing that lives. Again and again we ask: "Who made all these wonders ?" In vain the cast-iron conservative, " with eyes severe and beard of formal cut" — replete with heavenly ire — admonishes you to leave untouched the secrets of Nature : to search not into the mysteries of godliness. The clergyman, too, shrinks from the results of investi- gation. He fears that, in case you should behold the " green-room" of the World's theater, there may be found no traces of the "rock" he stands upon; only the heterogeneous materials from which it was origi- nated. He, therefore, cries out from his desk against you, and exclaims — " Beware ! Beware !" But the ways of mind are imperious; man must investigate ; and, first of all, the land of his birth. And so, with hammer in hand, he knocks at the mag- nificent door of geological science, and begins to enu- merate the various strata which constitute the Earth. When man first entered the subterranean depart ments of Nature, he could read but imperfectly the hieroglyphic characters traced thereon — upon the inner chambers — by the laws of progress and the methods of growth. But soon he learned to count the hundreds of thousands of centuries which were consumed in 14 THE INKEK LIFE. advancing the earth from its primeval condition to its present state. And forthwith his mind, like a freed bird, overleaped the existing boundaries set to biblical chronology ; and the geologic man dated the Mrth of the world far away in the remote, nnremembered past — long, very long prior to the origin of life or anima- tion. Here began a new act on tlie stage — a battle between inflexible science and popular dogmas ; which resulted, as you probably know, in numerous theological con- cessions and acknowledgments, viz. : that the Fathers of the Church, and Students of divinity, had uniformly accepted the " Mosaic account of Creation" in a too literal and restricted sense. They discovered and de- termined that, in order to avoid any public clashing between the teachings of Nature and the dogmas of Rev- elation, they could construe the expression " the even- ing and the morning," to mean the " ending and beginning of an indefinite era ;" and thus, also, they stretched out the " six days" of Genesis into " ages," long and spacious enough to accommodate the most ex- travagant discoveries of geological science. This, for modem times, was an interesting act. The sparks of geologic truth, which were from time to time elicited from the granite sides of Nature, indicated the final dawning forth of a basilar knowledge of the constitution of things, almost too vast for the human mind. "When the dark dungeons of the earth were fairly thrown open to the rays of wisdom, and when men discovered that they could walk therein unharmed, and find philosophic truths in clusters everywhere ; then it was, as it now is,, interesting to see men of intellectual A StIEVET OF H0MAN NEEDS. 15 power, summoned from other studies, go forth to grapple with the unfolding truths of Nature, and sound their melody on harps of praise. These minds, each acting for itself, have arranged, systematized, and propagated the greatest lights of terrestrial discovery ; and, moved forward by the love of research and positive knowledge, they have advanced all geological acquisitions, regard- less of time-honored prejudices and popular intolerance, into a form and character of one of the noblest of the sciences. " Of all the sciences in the material universe," says a writer, " none comes more immediately into sympathy with our physical wants and sensuous enjoyments than this science of geology." It acquaints us with the rudi- ments of life, with the laws of formation, with the in- cipient manifestations of the Sonl of Nature. Geology is a beautiful country, which all should visit. At every step we tread upon the interesting facts which it em- braces. The earth is paved with wonders. Could we but intelligently interrogate the rounded pebble at our feet, it would reveal to us events or acts in the elemental drama of this world, more wonderful and sublime than all the myths of ancient days! Yea, the little speech- less, time-worn, pale-faced crystal, could it speak its experience truly, might read us a history of its travels from primeval times to its present humble bed, enough replete with " hair-breadth escapes and thrilling inci- dents," to shake the strongest mind with grotesque and sublime emotion. ^ I have introduced this matter, 'simply to interest the reader in the science of geology ; to interest you in the beginning principles of life, which geology discovers to 16 THE INNEE LIFE. US. Ab a young science, with its colossal proportions and strength, it has already performed a mighty part on the world's stage. Aside from all the psychological blessings which it brings to us, it reveals to man its immense storehouses of mineral wealth : tells where we may find coal to keep us warm, to " make the pot boil," and drive the engine. It tells us where we may find zinc and iron, and tables of building stone, wherewith to construct churches and prisons, homes and palaces. It tells us where to find copper, silver, gold, that august " Trinity " which even a Unitarian can understand and reconcile to the laws of calculation. Besides all this, geology instructs us in the mysteries of the material creation, develops the motive principles of embryology, exhibits the vast pyramid of all animal existences; and so, perpetually enriches our stock of sensuous knowledge. But, more than all, Geology is the inexoeable judge OF Theologt. And it will be an exciting day when the accomplished champions of each system are com- pelled to appear, side by side, or face to face, on the stage of the world there and then, before an intelligent audience, to test and determine the merits and demerits of their respective revelations. When this trial comes on between the teachings of nature and the dogmas of antiquity, we may be called upon to take our positions in the juror's box. Let us, therefore, speedily learn the, divine art of seeing all sides of a question, and of " judging, not from appearances, but with a righteous judgment," all the evidences which may be presented. But the scene is changed. New characters appear, A SURVEY OF HUMAU NEEDS. 17 new " stars" come forth, and a new audience is sum- moned. Behold now, the chemical laboratory, the furnace, the blow-pipes, and retorts. See the bottles of ether, the specimens of mineral compounds, and the results, the triumphant results, of demonstrative analyses in every direction. See, too, the intrepid chemist, dig- ging and burning his way into the things which God has made. With what imperturbable zeal, with what studied gravity, he dissolves elements and gases ! " I can not help admiring," says the classic Wilkinson, " the thoroughness of the Liebigs, who, after having analyzed the rest of things, put men and women into the retorts, and with pen and ink ready, write down so much dirty water and fetid oil, and so many ounces of scientific dust ;" and who, therefore, convince their audience, by plain and unequivocal demonstration, that " people are no better than they should be," and have much affinity for the dust, from which they originally came. "Physiologists and soap-chandlers look on with amazement," and begin to calculate how much can be made out of the novel discovery. Bat clergymen and lukewarm believers in man's immortal destiny, on the contrary, having no principles of truth underlying their theory, are inexpressibly terror-stricken to see dissolv- ing, in the retorts, before the eyes of the world, the mystic evidences to which they have so long referred, in addition to Bible testimony, in behalf of man's im- mortality. And so chemistry, which is all right in its proper sphere of action, is really depriving the world of its faith in Spiritualism ; and is breeding troublesome 18 THE INNEE LIFE. questions and skepticism in every intelligent mind. Old faith is disturbed. "Well : what, then, is to be done ? What can the church do, in order to restore the people, and to materi- alistic chemists also, the virgin primitive faith in man's immortal destiny ? Shall the noble science of chemistry be hooted down and driven out of civilized society, and be treated hereafter as an Atheistic or demoniac decep- tion ; or, must Old Theology bestir himself, shake his whitened locks, make another respectful acJcnowledg- ment to Tomig Science, and very complacently fold the youth within his garments ? Shall this be done? Do you think that " Old Theology " can adopt, and pro- vide for, all the children of Science and Philosophy, w'hich come forth from the ever-pregnant womb of Truth ? We shall hereafter see. But, again, the scene is changed. Behold the Human Family, in the aggregate, which, like the " Tower of Babel," is the platform of innumerable dis- cords and misunderstandings. Want, ignorance, war, slavery, starvation, crime ; these form the basis of all the dramas ; and " all the men and women are merely actors." There is too much tragedy visible : the lights and shades are too sharply drawn. More equality is needed. The heavens are too dark ; the thunders roar in too high a key. This question can not be suppressed — does an All-good, an All-wise, an All-powerful Divine Being control and manage the vast Theater of this human world ? Or, has he cursed it, and aban- doned it to the capricious and terrible management of an Adversary ? Do the Manichees and the Christians tell tiB truly ? Oh, there are dramas and tragedies per- A SUKVBY OF HUMAN NEEDS. 19 formed on this stage of being, performed by men and women, bad enough to shipwreoh all human faith in the existenceof an All-good, an All-wise, an Almighty Mind ! Behold the strong oppress the weak ! Oh, where is the arm of God ; the God of prayer and of special prov- idence ? Behold yon poor, dejected Slave ; his spirit black with compelled ignorance ; his body deformed by over- work ; his back streaming with blood ! Behold his master, too, clothed in purple and fine linen ; sur- rounded with luxuries and comforts : the bosom com- panion of legislators and divines ; a popular candidate for Congress ! Oh, where, where is the Christian's God, the God of miracle and of special providence ; why doth He not appear? Throughout the whole domain of popular theology no answer is returned, except the soulless echo, • ' Where ?" Do you wonder, ye churchmen, that there are " Infi- dels" and "Atheists" who look, and look to the heavens in vain, for the manifestation of some special favor? The Christians tell them to "pray for it," " to have faith ;" but, alas 1 faith in a God of special providence " without works," is as a starving man in the desert. Turn thine eyes toward the lands of despotism. Behold there what a prevalence of wretchedness and crime! The sons and daughters of the Emerald Isle; where are they? There are plenty of Priests and Bishops on the soil, plenty of Roman and Episcopal churches there, innumerable prayers spoken, and heavy salaries paid ; ' but where are the children of " our Father who art in heaven ?" Exhausted and wearied 20 THE INNER LIFE. out with the hardships of oppression ; dyi^g, dying with starvation and disease, in order that the lordly drones of opulence may live. Surely the world has great need of something. Experience is good, I grant you ; but not sxwh experience. The granite bowlder, when wrenched from its parent rock, is adequate to the fierce trials of the earth ; but not so with the ever- sensitive soul of an immortal flower. I plead now the " cause " of the world, of humanity. Viewed in the light of theologic faith, merely, some- thing must be done to save the generous-hearted and humanitary mind from utter skepticism. For these dreadful crimes performed year after year and day after day, before High Heaven, bad enough to make the angels weep, wrongs and evils that go unremoved and unredressed, are suiScient to impair all human faith in God, sufficient to cast a mantle of douht and gloom over the mind of every intelligent being. Of course the narrow-minded and selfish sectarian can not feel these remarks, nor realize the needs of the world of which I now speak ; for such a mind is interested, mainly, in a future selfish sal/vation from an imaginary hell ; but the expanded, philanthropic soul, who desires practically to love his neighbor as himself, needs a "new philosophy" and a new theology to keep his faith aUve and his mind free. The sectarian dogmati- cally submits his explanation of all these evils, and offers you "the means of salvation." But the world has fownd out the fallacy of his explanaition : the im- potency of the old remedies. Eighteen hundred years is quite long enough to test the efficacy of a moral medicine. A SUETET OF HUMAN NEEDS. 21 Christianity has been assiduously administered, with professional skill, to the world for nearly twenty centu- ries. Tet these hon-id dramas and bloody tragedies are still being performed, almost beneath the "drop- pings of the sanctuary." But you say, " Christianity has civilized the world." I tell you the exact truth when I say, in reply, that excepting the civilizing or moralizing influence which Commerce and Art, and Science, and Poetry, and Music, and Philosophy have progressively exerted upon the world, the people, as far as the church is concerned in their civilization, wre no more righteous to-day than they were in the days of Charlemagne. But again the question, " "What shkU be done ?" What shall the people have in exchange for their old faiths ? Kind reader, you should not attempt to barter them away ; when you get through with them, let them die. Do not poison the rising generations. But be generous, and make the future a "gift," which all shall worship as the Truth. One fact is clear, theology must make still further concessions to science. For science has invented steam-carriages. And Christian- ity, before helpless as an infant, being conveyed in the arms of its sponsors from city to city, now takes a seat in the cars, and flies speedily from State to State, or a berth in the ocean steamer, and pays morning calls to the heathen and the oppressed ; and thus, by the agencies and potencies of science, theology spreads rapidly over a continent or a hemisphere. Now, be it remembered, the world is looking on ; it sees all this ; and sees, too, what agencies are really at work civilizing and moralizing mankind. The people 22 THE INNEE LIFE. see how old theology has labored to keep up with the times. Again, in view of all this, I ask, " What shall be done in regard to human faith?" Shall we renounce our old faith and old notions, and become materialists — believers only in the facts of science and in the world of physical phenomena — ^have faith only in what we see, and hear, &iiifeel ; or, shall we strive to obtain a " new philosophy," which subjects all the Past to itself, explains the Present, and throws open the golden portals of the all-radiant Future ? "All the world's a stage." And the scene which I shall now show you, concludes the present exhibition of thought. The world has inany needs ; the greatest of all is, a Philosophy, which unfolds, in a systematic and orderly form, the stupendous truths of Nature ; which points the soul of man, through Nature, to the Eternal Mind ; which converts the rudimental facts of immortality into household gods, divulges the great laws of human exist- ence, and leads to the harmonious organization of pres- ent social discords, on the ground that existing evils arise from the perverted action of naturally good per- formers. The history of the world has recorded the fact, that every new discovery has had to encounter old theology to begin with, and then do battle with its learned adherents. And yet, by dint of nearly starving its pioneers to death, or else, by subjecting them to the scoffs and derision of the world, the rhew discovery has invariably come oflf at last victorious, amid the forced concessions of the church. Now the most intelligent among civilized nations have seen all this, and have A SUEVET OF HUMAN NEEDS. 23 accepted the moral. And so this Age especially de- mands instruction or "revelations" particularly ad- dressed to the Season Principle. Spiritual authority, based on mere testimony and tradition, is now ques- tioned, and criticised everywhere, by almost everybody. Never before, since the days of the Reformation, did the world so abound with a deep-seated and inflexible skepticism in regard to the asserted supernatural or miraculous. And especially is this true where intel- lectual science and popular theology are most culti- vated, as in Europe and America. The high Truths of God, of Nature, of Immortality, of Social reorganization and progress, are sought and inquired after by the people. These vast problems, which come closest to our business and bosoms, still appear to remain unsolved. Though, it is true, that the Mormons, the Socialists, the Shakers, Free-Masons, and Odd-Fellows have struck out into new paths ; and each system, by its own especial ordinations and wisdom, has tried to solve the problem of human pro- tection and social happiness. But the free-born mind will still ask, and seek, and find^ — in spite of all the barriers set up by creeds and dogmas ! Now the Church — ^I mean the entire religious system of Christendom — ^points us to the Primitive History of " inspirations," the Bible, and bids us to find there all the knowledge and spiritual nutriment which we seek. But when we drink at the old fountain, there is too much of that which healeth not ; too much of the old myths and notions floating near the surface ; which we of necessity imhihe with the pure waters of Truth. Hence, many persons look to the Testament in vain ; 24 THE mifKB LIFE. though, this depends much on mental organization and early associations. Every discriminating mind, how- ever, can easily see that many passages in that old book — the leaves upon the tree of a former age — ^bear the clearest impress of Honesty and Intuition, of Spiritual Illumination and manifestation, also, in cer- tain places ; but the cause and the effect, the why and the wherefore of things, with their natural relation- ships, do not appear on the sacred pages. This is the trouble to-day. It is related by the Apostles of Jesus, that he " brought life and immortality to light." But this, says the critic, is all a matter of assertion, and of local testimony ; furnished by persons of whom we know absolutely nothing, except through the me- dium of fallible history. Surely there is nothing in the world's past multifarious experiences to corroborate, or even analogically to justify, such a circumstance as the physical resurrection ; the going up into the air of a body of flesh and blood, contrary to all the laws of attraction, gravitation, and order ! No man, or woman, or child, says the materialist, has ever been seen to rise thus physically and spiritually, as related of Jesus. Hence the world, having neither the sensuous nor the philosophical evidence that such an event is possible in the nature of things, can not be expected to believe. For faith is uncontrollable. Man is not the master, but the subject, of evidence. Hence, the proof of this physical resurrection being so frail and unsatisfactory, the thinking mind finds itself disbelieving the whole account, frequently against all educational desires and will. A SITEVEY OF HUMAN HEEDS. 25 Utter skepticism upou this subject is inevitable. To wage a clerical warfare against the carnality or inad- equacy of Eeason, to denounce and forbid all attempts at reasoning on sacred themes, is to forbid the effulgent sun to shine, or the imperious tides to flow. Because, just as the heart beats, spontaneously and unsolicited, so the mind thinks. For all organs have consigned to them, from birth, their proper functions. Ifow, here is a difficulty which old theology can not remove ; the masters' in the churches have expended their skill upon it in vain ; the mind will investigate, and young science carries the day ! Again : the human family, when considered in the aggregate, is literally destitute of a belief in an intelli- gent Supreme Being, " without God and hope in the world." There is no disguising this fact ; although it still lurks and shirks from public gaze underneath a vast multitude of creeds and formulas. If you will but examine " the map of the world," and point out to your own mind the exact proportion of it which is now occu- pied by Christianity, you will be surprised at the small- Tiess of the " spot ;" and yet, without the Christian system, without the revelations which it bears to us, the world, so say the clergy, would hiow nothing of the absolutely spiritual and supreme ; all would be conjec- tural.* But is not the Christian world full of conjecture * Mr. Gr. Frederick Kolb, member of the Bavarian Chamber of Deputies, is engaged on a new and valuable ' ' History of Civilization, " the first num- ber of -which, published at leipsio, contains the following statistics : "Of the 1,200,000,000 to 1,300,000,000 of people who appear to inhabit the earth, China and India include about 150,000,000 of heathen— much more than half the whole number. In the whole Vforld there are at 2 26 THE mXEK LIFE. and antagonism? Christendom, as the reader probably knows, is divided and subdivided into abont fifty differ- ent distinct " systems of salvation." Each sect living out the life of its founder, and developing a different idea of the nature, attributes, and moral government of God. In other vs^ords, each sect makes for itself a neio idea of God; repudiating the old one as partial and incomplete. And yet all the sects profess to be Bible- believers, Well, so they are ! But they believe from different stand-points of observation. If you read the Testament throitgh Eomish, or Presbyterian, or Meth- odist, or any other sectarian spectacles, you will re- ceive corresponding notions of Man and God. Thoughts and symbols are inseparable. Let us view the world in this respect. The Jewish God is the creatioii of the nether portions of the brain. He is an embodiment of the idea of " power," a person- ification of " energy," an omniarch. He is neither pre- eminent in affection or intellect ; is the deification of Mars ; encourages war, and the art of making saints by swords. The Jewish God is an All-mighty, holding, as the totality of his character demonstrates, the gen- tler attributes of Love, Mercy, Reason, Justice, and Truth, in strict subordination to the sovereignty of Force ! He does every thing by special legislation ; is most 393,000,000 of Christians: 190,000,000 of Catholic?, 180,000,000 of Protestaats, all dissenters moluiad, 18,000,000 of the Greek Church, and 15,000,000 of Oriental Christians, Armenians, Jacobites, &c. Of Mo- hammedans there may be 85,000,000, of Jews about 7,000,000. The so- called heathen number in all '!8o,000,000 or 800,000,000. Thus ijo< a tMrd, of the race have yet been converted to Christianity, and only about one-seventh of thom are Catholics." A SUKTET OF HUMAN NKEUS. 37 full of expediencies ; and his devotees must, therefore, seek his will in the " decalogue." The Eomish God is, also, a creation of the cere- bellum ! He is a sublime Potentate, an ecclesiastical and a political tyrant; ruling among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of earth ; the patron of kings and emperors ; a cross between a despot and a Father, devoting the attributes of the latter to the purposes of special miracle, local providence, and impe- rial rule. His devotees itjust, therefore, seek his pres- ence through the "Pope," the '■ Priest," and "Con- fessional." The Episcopalian God is a supernal sovereign, with a dignified touch of philoprogenitiveness. As the moral • King of the world, he sits on his eternal throne, envi- roned by a rich profusion of regal splendor, admired by a mighty phalanx of genteel and accomplished saints, whose genealogy can be traced down through a long line of Bishops and Ecclesiastics, to the primitive aris- tocracy itself; forming the so-called "Apostolic suc- cession." He looks with special favor upon a well- o^rdained ecclesiasticism ; and his devotees must, there- fore, seek him in " The Church." The Peesbyteeian God is supremely aristocratic ; is a magnificent Lawyer; is logical also, to the last degree. Like a true eclectic mind, he selected the eter- nal inhabitants of heaven from the foundations of the world ; the rejected multitudes he consigned, ex-officio, to the depths of "Gehenna. He has written his unalter- able decrees in a book, and those gentlemen who hear the " higli calling," become its expounders. Hence, the Calvinist always refers to " Our Minister." / 28 THE INNER LIFE. The Methodistic God is a production of the higher portions of the brain. He conies forth from the iron rigidity and fixedness of character; is inspired with Benevolence, and is gloriously democratic. He mag- nanimously lifts the shackles of "predestination" from every soul, and gives every descendant of Adam an equal chance to win the prize of eternal value. In the plenitude of his hospitality, he throws open the celes- tial gates to all. His terms are fixed, but moderate. You must be " willing to be damned," whilst you must also " strive to be saved, and come into the knowledge of the Truth." Methodism is Calvinism inverted; a pyramid standing on its apex ; the broadest part toward the skies. The Methodist God gives his devotees this world as a kind of moral gymnasium, in order to dis- cipline their moral muscles ; and so, therefore, his fol- lowers always refer to their " Probation." The Quaker God is a God of temperance, patience, perseverance, brotherly kindness, and charity. He is a creation not of a whole harmonious brain, but, exclu- sively, of the upper and frontal portions. An embodi- ment of Paternity and Humility, dressed in drab, and violently opposed to music ! He turns our eyes in- wardly, into the innermost silence of the soul's sanctu- ary, and gently bids us always to "move with the Spirit." The true Quaker, therefore, leaves all forms of inspiration, and seeks his God in " Faith." The Universalist God — like the generous concep- tions of Origen, and Plato, of Jesus, John, and Paul — is a verification of Love ; a crystallization of mercy, goodness, and benevolence. His attributes are more democratic than those which characterize the other A SURVEY OF HUMAN NEEDS. 29 gods. Intellectually considered, he has fur more breadth than height — a mild, loving, indulgent " Father of Spirits." In many respects, his character, and the relations subsisting between himself and his creatures, bear a marked resemblance to the gods of the Judean Poets — ^the winters of the Vedas. Universalism is Cal- vinism gone to seed — the unphilosophical counterpart to a magnificent absurdity. It cracks the Presbyterian nut, and spreads the contents before the whole family of Man. Predestination is a Sound Doctri7ie ■with, tho Universalist God, but his preordinations secure the "salvation of all men." There are " no high, no low, no great, no small," in the scales with which the Uni- versalist God metes out the problems of eternity; but, with the cold, dignified, aristocratic Justice of the Pres- byterian God, all this is totally reversed. The Unitarian God, on the contrary — in opposition to the Eomish, Episcopalian, Calvinistic, and Method- istic gods — is not divided up into three incomprehensi- bilities, but stands out intellectually, boldly, and alone in owning and governing the universe. He is more a creation of a well-balanced brain, whose central thought was "universal unity." This monotheistic conception harmonizes more easily with the mind's unitary in- stincts of Truth, and so, therefore, although Unitarian- ism has as yet only attained a transition footing among the sects, still it has accomplished a good thiju , i. e., a new reading of an old book. The truth is this : some theological hero or Kapoleon in religious reform — a Luther, a Calvin, a "Wesley, a Swedenborg — strikes the plow deep into the luxurious soil of spirituality, turns up a new stratum of thought, 30 THE IXNEE LIFE. capable of yielding a still richer harvest, with a new conception of God, and, as a matter of logical necessity, a new and different reading of the Testaments. Sev- eral beautiful songs may be elicited from the same in- strument. But these differences among Bible-believers are the fertile sources of much modern Infidelity. I ask, therefore, is the world not in " need" of something — even of a philosophical conception of a Supreme Being ? For without a true idea of a Deity to begin with, we can not proceed a single stejj toward a better state of society, nor see the way to its ultimate per- fection. " The doctors of divinity" disagreie in their concep- tions of God ; hence, in all their reasonings on nature, on morals, on religion. The sects are supported by eminent men. Talent, and genius, and all the moral qualities which go to form good men, are to be found within the circle of every creed. Kow, it is not " the creed," but the tcdent, and integrity, and fidelity of minds that sustain the creed, which preserve the incio- sure from instantaneous decay. But this antagonism among Bible-believers generates the Atheistic God in the reasoning classes. The Atheistic God — in opposition to the Jewisli Power, with no spiritual attributes or personality — is a kind of hyper-galvanic Princifle^ manifesting itself iu metals, plants, worlds, &e. — compelling us to. live ex- clusively in the realms of sensation, of passion, and intellect; making mankind philosophical magnetic batteries of the hour, and the creatures of an inexora- ble " Fate." This god is a legitimate offspring of the antagonisms of Christians; there is no denying its A SUEVEr OF HUMAN NEEDS. 31 paternity, and so, tlie question is : " "What shall be done ?" The Carpenter's Son oi the earliest time, according to Testameatal relation, although richly endowed with powers of interior discernment, and with a holy love for man, did not attempt to philoscypMze on the nature of God, on the law of Immortality, on the structure of the universe, or upon social Organization ; and, conse- quently, not having received this kind of information, " the world needs," calls for light upon the eternal science of Cause and Effect; more light upon the ever-pressing problems of our present and prospective existence. The Harmonial Philosophy is the Harbinger of these additional revelations. I know I shall be told, as I frequently have been, that Jesus manifested his exalted dignity, that he gave evidence of his supernal nature and inspiration, in the fact, that he never descended to reason and debate upon these great questions. It is affirmed that he knew the truth in the innermost, foresaw its ultimate triumph, and, differing from all other teachers before or since, he simply and majestically announced it, trusting in its own inherent power to work its own way into ana through the world. And in addition to this, it is also said, that the Testaments contain all the wisdom, all the light^ necessary for man. But Time, time, bringing with it the combined and conspiring testimony of de- parted and retiring generations, has demonstrated this assertion to be a fallacy. For while mankind have *«.- tuitive and moral perceptions to which Jesus directed his teachings, they possess reflective faculties,, also, and 32 THE INNEE LIFE. Teasonmg powers, which " need," yea, require for their development, to be judiciously addressed. This, be it remembered, the Man of Love did not do ,• it is this Avhieh the Harmonial Philosophy is designed to do. Jesus introduced the era of Love ; but an era of Wis-^ dom is also required. An age of impulse demands an age of Eeason. The soft, silvery sunbeams of heaven do not more naturally ilow over the fields than did the loving, intui- tive soul of Jesus spread its elixir over his solemn utterances. Every Bible student feels its mysterious beauty ; realizes its spiritual presence, as he reads those sacred evangels of the Testaments. Every civilized mind feels tlie goodness of his teachings, and admires the expurgated history of the man, bequeathed to us by the early fathers of " the Church ;" nevertheless, the world needs to-day a " Philosophy" which Jesus did not furnish, needs a " revelation" to the faculty of EEAsoN, which the Bible does not explain. Concerning scientific professors. The world, as I feel impressed to affirm, needs a system, of some descrip- tion, differing essentially from all prevailing theologies, which can lead the people forth intellectually into the fields of universal nature, shed a resplendent light over all the chapters of human experience, separate the wheat from the chaff, theology from mythology. Deity from dogmas, " prove all things," developing only the things that are good. The reader may doubt the state- ment, yet it is very true, as I see the world, that Royal Societies and Institutions of learning require educating ! They possess much of certain branches and fragments of wisdom. Each professor engages himself, from per- A SOKVEY OF HUMAN NEEDS. 33 sonal motives, in perfecting his particular chair, or de- partment of education. Wilkinson says, that " while the Professors, pursuing their own way, warmed in their exclusive sensates, gather useful facts, enlarge their formulas, appeal to nobler faculties in their stu- dents, and, finally, if not too imprisoned hy custom, sail away into supersensuous abstractions ; yet do they remain invisible and insensible to the eyes and needs of the world at large." For these reasons, the Professors themselves require to be educated ; and therehj elevated out of the circumscribed sphere of individuality into an expansive universality of sentiment and purpose — living in the life of the whole. That system of ethics is good for nothing, which comes not home to our business and bosoms ; the con- genial companion at once of our Instincts and our Reason ; the guardian angel of our being. That book-divinity which is now being taught in our Colleges and Universities, bears the same relation to Jieal Truth, it seems to me, that a dreain sustains to the substantial events of wakeful experience. The formulas of prayer may be consigned to the memory, as gold to the purse ; a capital to do business with ; but when the haur of real prayer comes over the throbbing soul, then formal prayers, like riches, " take unto themselves wings and fly away." Then inexora- ble EXPEEiENOE steps iu, prescribes its own remedies, its own penalties ; and becomes, at last, the only " divinity school " from which the mind can draw its imperishable education. The Professors will be truly learned and humanitary ; when they leave sectarian forms of instruction, go up 2* 3i THE INKEE LIFE. into the temple of the world's theater; take their posi- tion before the andience ; throw open the "green-room " to the public ; and perform in the grand Drama of a progressive Spiritual experience ! There is in Natuee no such a thing as "my truth,'' " my church," " my creed," " my religion." For Nature and Humanity are the everlasting proprietors ; they own all the property of individuals. Men msi,j leg, 'borrow, or steal from the Treasury of the world. But Time and Truth, the ever-vigilant policemen and magis- trates, finally capture the drone or thief ; then all his personal wealth, principal and interest, is restored to the common exchequer of Universal Principles. I respectfully submit, whether the world does not need a Comprehensive Philosophy and Spiritualism, to teach the teachers this fact ; that the people can never be 'benefited by sectarian antagonism and fragments of scholastic wisdom. The question is sometimes asked, " What shall we do with the different religions?" The different religions, as I see them, while they are no passports to future bliss, nor important enough to quarrel about, yet are no 'useless growth y they belong to the world, should be placed in the world's library, being, as they are, so many saored volumes of human experience, so many different human reports of the Divine Being. Do you think, you who have taken the best of the world to your churches and chambers, that Music and Poetry, horses and coaches, were made with special reference to your accommodation and pleasure? Do you think that riches apadi poverty are the dispensations of God ; or, are they the accidents of a disordered A SUEVEY OF HTXMAN NEEDS. 35 social arrangement? Must your sons and your daugh- ters be educated to use clowns as slaves, and clodhoppers as the feet of the world ? Far from it. The world is the indisputable Home and the property of all! He who tills the soil, or fi'oduces something which the world can beneficially use, has an imperial, yea, the 1)681 right to the enjoy- ment of the interests thus and thereby accruing. And woe, woe be to the sect or party, to the Aristocrat or Euler, who deprives the workingman of his reward, or the clown of his proper freedom ! For Humanity would surely sit in judgment against a wrong thus committed. And the condemnation of earth is mora terrible than the fabled curses of Jehovah ! Because, after death, when the Interior Man emigrates to another country, and takes up his residence among the Eternal and the Free, he can not altogether forget the " home of his childhood," nor be insensible to the throb of bleeding hearts, or to the discords arising from wrongs unremoved, visible on the bosom of his own, his native Land ! The Spirit must return to Earth. All Truth is old ; being co-eternal and coextensive with Deity. And yet, year after year, New Truths are being discovered. Eather, let us say, the discovery is "new;" not "the thing" discovered. These dis- coveries occur as man's nature is unfolded. And I tliink it is time that " ISTew Truth " should be estimated as the most valuable, and practically important. That truth which has just developed itself to the world is, of all others, the truth most needed by the world. The revealments of former ages, the old truths of early days, have done their work, and are no longer applicable to 36 THE INNKK LIFE. the need* of man. As the world goes on, new ideas, new thoughts, new inventions, new truths, new revela- tions, and fresher inspirations are required, and there- fore they are developed. But there are persons who cling to the past, who believe all the avenues of in- spiration were forever closed up eighteen hundred years ago, that the world needs nothing " new ;" and yet those persons avail themselves of the nevj ideas of science, the grand principles of civilization, which have gained a footing in the world in defiance of popular prejudices, and the unyielding resistance of a proud and powerful priesthood. The Mosaic dispensation is an improvement upon the previous systems ; so the Chris- tian dispensation is an improvement on Moses. And so, the lawof progress being eternally operative, are we not fully authorized in holding our minds open to the belief that a still higher, grander Diirpensation is dawning upon the world ? If the Christian Dispensation is .an indorsement and fulfilling of the Mosaic Law, why may not a third Dispensation come as a coronation of the Christian Law ; to insure the practice of the eleventh command- ment ? Man's course is ouAvard ! And the new dispensation is coming ! It comes like a rolling flood, bearing on its muscular waves the ruins of the temple of error. Old creeds, old systems, old despotisnas, old doctrines of man and conceptions of God, are criimbling one after the other into chaos. Men and nations may remain dumb and blind to their own interests, and temporarily false to the rights of Humanity ; but the sun of wis- dom is rising, and even blinded eyes shall soon see A SURVEY OF HUMAN NEEDS. S7 that all ideas, all institutions, and all theories are valuable only just so far as they subserve the common welfare and progressive destiny of the whole family of man. PHILOSOPHY AND SPIRITUALISM. On the very threshold of the Dispensation of Lotk (which began with Jesus), there were, according to tes- tameutal history, many communications made by de- parted spirits to the earth's inhabitants. The one I propose to quote, is to be found in the second chapter of Luke, between the eighth and tenth verses, and was made to several shepherds. " The glory of the Lord " — or, as a German philosopher recently termed it, the Odie Light — " shone about them," and the honest rus- tics heard the voice. This spiritual communication, be it remembered, is read and preached from, and pro- fessedly believed in, by all the clergy of Christendom : " Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." The world has had so many revelations made to the faculty of Faith — so many marvelous developments addressed to the organ of Wonder — that even the shep- herds of the land, priests, and theologians, who have so long denounced the world for its materiality and skepti- cism, are, notwithstanding, the most prominent and inveterate opposers of any new Revelation professing to be addressed to the reason-principle. They object to it, because, forsooth, it comes in a shape so question- able — because, in other words, it does not flow through PHILOSOPHY AND SPIEITUALISM. 39 tlie orthodox channels. But is it not strange that they do not see that the whole Jewish nation is not Chris- tianized, precise!}' for the same reason ? — because Jcsus loas not horn as they had determined he should have ieen — because he did not teach the doctrines which the;/ had resolved coidd only ie orthodox ? The clergy of Christendom occupy the same position to-day that the Jewish priests occupied two thousand years ago; and it would seem, with such an example before them, en- graved on the very history of the progress of Christi- anity, that the priests of the nineteenth century might bestow more respectful attention on the Spiritual De- velopments of the day. The priests array themselves in opposition to, and defame, those things of which they have no absolute knowledge. But the tides will flow — the sun will shine — Ti-uth will prevail ; these truisms begin to be believed ; and the keepers of tlie Old Dog- mas begin therefore to tremble for the safety of their prisoners. All the religions of the world. Pagan and Christian, assert the existence of a fature state for man — after the death of his physical body. Seers, prophets, poets, leaders, and apostles, have declared the fact of a World of Spirits. But we have believed these asser- tions on external testimony — on the mere authority of individuals, long enough. Now, therefore, comes the age of criticism ; the day of Judgment ; the analy- zation and disposition of old psychological revealmeuts ; the EEA 01'' DEMONSTEATiON. Evory man must make the pilgrimage to the regions of Philosopliy for himself. Man may point out the paths, aud accompany the peor pie on the joiu-ney thither ; but he can not any longer 40 THE INNER LIFE. lead them ; for every man begins to find out the exist- ence of a head upon his own shoulders — and a brain capable of the loftiest exercises. Like Columbus, before his voyage, the people have read of a l^ew Continent, and feel a desire to discover it : and yet, unlike him, the people fear to hazard the enterprise of demonstration. AH the learning, ambition, and wisdom of Europe shrank at the thought of finding, through the medium of actual experiment, that "New World in which we at present live. A similar crisis has now arrived in the world of Theology. A " new world " of knowledge exists — a Spirit Land, beyond the ken of physical eyes — ^but theologians shrink from the results of the discovery, deplore the attempt, and denounce the pioneers. Intelligent minds, when summoned to the exami- nation of any new subject, often find themselves in a strait betwixt two — between a Microscopic world, peo- pled with an infinitude of littlenesses, and a Telescopic world of stupendous greatness and wondrous grandeur — ^lost between simplicity and complexity — between materialism and spirituality ; and so man, though being, as he is, the instrument of diversified uses — the sover- eign of the physical universe — a connecting link be- tween earth and heaven — is also a kind of mediator between the ideal and the actual, and, hence, neces- sarily subjected to the alternate states of faith and skep^ ticism ; as the sky to sunshine and storms, or the body to health and disease. But man, by virtue of the spiritual exaltations conse- quent upon his ever-unfolding attributes, is not destined to exist in the regions of perplexities forever. He is PHILOSOPHY AND BPIEITUALISM. 41 not organized for standing still— pliysically, intellectu- ally, or spiritually. To resist the law of eternal growth, is to resist the plainest law of the universe. Nay, man was not made for a stationary residence anywhere nor in any thing ; for the God of the universe has written "Progression" all over his constitution. If you con- sign man to the realms of torment, he would, by the virtue of his intrinsic nature, sooner or later, institute a series of psychological experiments upon the imps of darkness for their improvement, and some Sir John FranJdin would soon commence the discovery of a Northwest Passage leading away to the world of light. Or, on the other hand, if you give man, simply for doing his duty on earth, ^ fixed home in an orthodox heaven, then, too, sooner or later, his overflowing humanity ■would lead him, far beyond his narrow confines, into reformatory schemes — into the formation of anti-slavery and colonization societies — for the ultimate salvation of hell itself. The Law of Progress is imperious. Place iron in the earth, and disintegration forthwith- commences ; place it above ground, and oxydation is the certain phenome- non. Motion is the parent of progress ; and progress is the parent of development. The germs of vegetation first MOVE with life ; then they geow upward ; then they outwardly unfold. So is the whole nature of man. Like the angular crystal, which may be classed among the lowest forms of matter, man, at first, is replete with sharp and severe points ; then he advances toward the degrees of refinement, becoming rounded and smoothed off by experience ; and finally, the Law of Development being active at this crisis, he unfolds like an immortal 42 THE mS-ETS, LIFE. flower destined to bloom amid innumerable gardens on bigh. If -we would learn of the dignity and power of human- ity, we must study " The Individual." Altbougli no one person can possibly approximate to the perfect Type of Humanity, yet individual man is the organic imper- sonation of the race — a prophecy, so to speak, of what the race is destined to be. The world-lmowing, and world-conquering faculties of man are authorized to put all enemies to his happiness and progress beneath his feet. " The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." That mind which loves truth more than any other thing, is clothed in the armor of Heaven ; and that mind which comprehends truth, is intimately allied to God, being well nigh omnipotent. The love of truth is a phenomenon of the affections ; a feeling of truth is the spontaneous miracle of intuition; an understand- ing of truth is a normal manifestation of the reason- principle. We love the earth, we feel it ; but Keason bids us go forth — explore, measure, comprehend, and liarmonizeit. The most tyrannical slave-holder is Igno- EANCE ; the most glorious freeman is Wisdom. Knowl- edge leads us progressively to the summits of immensity — to the mounts of truth ; ignorance leads into the vales of superstition — into the deepest pandemonium of doubt and gloom. Choose you this day whom you will fterve. Will you shut your eyes, and be willfully blind when the firmament is radiant with light — ^turn your thoughts backward toward the systems of former ages, and be changed, like Lot's wife, into a conservative pillar of stone ? Or, will yon let the scales drop off, open your PHILOSOPHY AND SPIEITTJALISM. 43 eyes, and loot, like the good Paul, with appreciative reflectioB, into the causes of filings ? The question is plain. Your reply Avill he manifested in your actions ; a lip response is not required. It is now time to roll up the curtain which lias so long hung between the Origin and the Destiny of Man. When we gaze upon the scenes which lie behind, and comprehend the principles which uphold the entire superstructure of man's immortal spirit, we shall surely conceive a 7iew Love for life, and a Theio lieligion whereby to honor Deity — a fearless lore, a creedless religion. Let us fear not, I repeat, to enter upon a voyage so new; upon a sea so boundless. iNay, I propose not to show you that which no eye hath seen ; nor to say any thing absolutely "new," because all the truth I may write is very old — venerable as the Universe. But I am impressed to unfold simply the Principles of the Harmonial Philosophy — making the rough places smooth, the crooked straight — bringing the Ends of the Earth into the fraternal relationship of Harinonj, Peace, and Brotherhood. You will remember the assertion made in the previous chapter, that the great- est and most imperative need of the world to-day, is — a Xew Philosophy — a harmonizing Principle of Human Improvement — which shall destroy the hatreds of the churches, systematize the sciences, and render the Truths of Bevelation as reasonable and beneficial as the growth of vegetation. You have heard of " The New Philosophy ;" also, of •' The Spiritual Manifestations." In most minds, these six words represent one and the same movement. This 44: THE INNEE LIFE. is not correct; and we cannot proceed intelligently without a definition of ijje diii'erence. First : the Harmonial Philosophy has a plain signifi- cation and humanitary tendency. It purports to be a " Eevelation" of the Structures, and Laws, and orders, and uses, of the material and spiritual Universe. It is a progressive exposition of the boundless system of Nature, addressed to the human instincts and under- standing. So far as the great general Truths of Nature "are concerned, it may be said: They have declared themselves through the English language. The Har- monial Philosophy repudiates all human infallibility, and claims Natuee, Reason, and Iktuition as the only reliable authorities on all subjects. Nature is the Uni- versal exponent of God. God can be known, studied, and approached only through the laws and develop- ments of Nature. Nature has a boundless signification. It does not mean the fields and flowers, the animals and birds, the stones and trees of earth, merely ; neither the ten thousand constellated systems which unfold themselves in the encircling heavens ; nor any extents or magnitudes, however vast ; neither the innumerable worlds of inconceivable beauty and perfection ; but Natoee, as the term is employed by the Philosophy, signifies the Entiee System of All Existences — the center and the circumference — the Eternal Cause and the Eternal Effect of the stupendous universe. This " Nature" is the great Fountain of Truth. Its Laws are the rivers which ripple unto everlasting life. He who sea,rches Nature, searches the gospel of God ; wbile he who wanders from the laws and harmonies of Nature, wanders from the paths and joys of the PHILOSOPHY AND SPIEITUALISM. 45 Infinite. In a brief definition, it must not be expected that I shall present the arguments whereby these posi- tions are arrived at and successfully maintained. In this place let it be distinctly understood, that Nature is the Natural Revelation of God, and is the foundation of all authority in science, morals, and religion. As Natuee is the exponent of God ; so Reason is an exponent of Nature. The ofiice of the mind is to inves- tigate, to search, and explore the principles of Nature, and trace the world of effects back to the sphere of causes : the oak to the acorn — the child to its parent — the pulses of the Universe inwardly to the Central Heart — the Love and Wisdom displayed in this world to the Fount of every good and perfect gift, in the world of Light. The mind can not be chained. It will leave its resting-place, and explore the fields of science; and, not satisfied with the investigation of terrestrial things, it soars to the heavens and counts the stars. It familiai-jzes itself with the motions of the planets, names the laws which control these phenomena, and reduces every thing to a mathematical order and self-evident demonstration. Reason is the mirror which, when untarnished by ignorance or undeformed by error, reflects the form and likeness of truth, naturally as the placid lake images forth the firmament. The reason-principle is progress- ive, and learns by experience ; it is the prime-minister of Tbuth, and the only power in man to which a reve- lation could be vouchsafed ; and therefore, every human being is organized and endowed expressly for the ainrestrained exercise of this sovereign faculty. With the Harmonial Philosophy, Reason, next to Natuee, is 46 THE INNEE LIFE. the recognized AtrTnoEiTT. Clmrches and Creeds are powerless before Eeason'a administrations. Ifo religion on earth can possibly benefit man, unless it will bear the rigid analysis of reason, and the test of scientific principles. Intuition is high authority, also, and claims a promi- nent position, as the power of the soul to ar7'ive at the oonckcsion of pure Reason, without the process of reasoning. Intuition is the Soul's telegraph — transmit- ting truths from the depths of Genius to the suvimits of Wisdom — informing, as by a single flash, the inter- nal man of that which he might otherwise be long years in learning, by the external methods of investigation. "Woman is more endowed with "Intuition" than man. She often sees at a glance, as it were, the legitimate conclusion of an argument — sees the soul of Poetry, and the character of an idea — while man depends more on the process of deliberate i-easoning. A pure-minded woman, whose faculties are in the beauty of integrity, is the best medium for the instinctive perception of Truth. Jesus, in all the organic essentials of his spiritual nature, was a woman; a good, simple-minded, truth-feeling, truth-loving soul ! He spoke upon the authority of his intuition. Like a prophet, he felt the Truth ; he offered no argument ; and, like a woman, he breathed out the emotions of his inward nature. " I and my father are one," said he ; because he felt hiln- self to be in harmony with the principles of Nature, and hence also with the Soul of Nature, which is Deity. In the Harmonial Philosophy, Intuition is regarded as the soul's authority in all religious development. Nature, Reason, and Intuition, therefore, are ac- PHILOSOPHY AND SPIKITtTALISM. 47 cepted as tie only infallible mediums of revelation — the only CHUEon, Ceeed, and Religion natwral to the mind of man. Consequently, the New Philosophy un- qualifiedly rejects all the dogmas and sectarianisms of Christendom, as so many barriers set up by ignorance and cupidity against the spontaneous development of Nature's own Religion. Let us try this method. I have already asserted that the world needs a Deity. This is true, because the antagonistic notions of the existence and attributes of such a Being, are to-day numerous enough and suffi- ciently heterogeneous to neutralize all consistent faith on this important source of all reasonable theology. It can not be disguised, that the REASON-principle opevly rehels against all sectarian conceptions of God. The Universalists and Unitarians stand in open rebellion and protestation against the venerable dogmas of Trini- tarianism. The pioneers have had to encouiiter old theology face to face, and do battle with its learned adherents, who had the advantage of being strongly intrenched in the ignorance and prejudices of the ma- jority. And now, the liberalisms and rationalisms of the successful parties begin to appear, like the sun shining through banks of fog, in the gradual modi- fication of popular orthodoxy. 1. Orthodoxy once believed in the " damnation of infantsY' now this faith is rejpitdiated as unworthy the Heavenly Father. 2. Orthodoxy once helieved in the lalie of literal "fire and brimstone;" now, it is vulgar to believe in . any thing more gross than an eternal compunction of conscience. 48 THE DfNEE LIFE. 3. Orthodoxy once believed in the " six literal days of creation ;" now, it is absurd to believe in any thing more bigoted than six indefinite eras of creative devel- opment. All this compels us to the inevitable concession of the authority of Keason — the triumph of Nature over superstition. Still do we hear much preaching about the carnality of reason ; and, among the inland towns, where only the " New York Observer^'' or some similar production, is taken and read, you may yet see many sturdy representatives of old theories in Theolog3% The cold charge of " Pantheism," " Materialism," and " In- fidelity," is made against those who strive, independent, or with the assistance of the testaments, to study out and comprehend the nature of God. The Bible teaches us to conceive of a Divine Being, existing somewhere separate from, and strictly independent of, physical nature. But all such speculations violate the reason- principle, and so they come to naught. Now, therefore, in order to escape atheism or confusion in thinking of God, men must let their Eeason do its perfect work in the fields of inductive philosophy. The testaments teach that God created matter out of Nothing ; and imply the miraculous creation of worlds, vegetation, animals, and man. But here, again, Eeason rebels. The unphilosophical aspect of the affirmation renders it. repulsive ; and the absurdity drives intelli- gent, inquiring minds into the darkest Skepticism. And what, let me ask, can the unphilosophical, the unscientific chwrch do to prevent such a mental disaster? Nothing ! Nature and Eeason unitedly stand in fatal opposition PHILOSOPHY AND SPIKITCALISM. 49 to orthodoxy in regard to the miraculous creation of things ! Reason, on its throne, in its own kingly char- acter, proclaims, that the theological definition of mira- cles must forever be abandoned. The expanded mind can not endure it. Nature and Reason, as the soul's authority, affirm that an unohangeahle God can not work a miracle in the theological definition ; that is to say, He can not produce an efiect without an adequate cause, or an event above the eternal order and method of Law. Here orthodoxy interposes its objections, and says : " all things are possible with God." JSTay, far from it ; God is omnipotent only in the right direction / not in the wrong ! The Bible affirms that " it is impos- sible for God to lie." * So, therefore, is it impossible for God to contradict himself in any one particular. Take, for example, the Law of Eternal Truth. "What would be a miracle in regard to this law ? Nothing less than a falsehood on the part of the law-maker, who is sup- posed to be unchangeable. Or, take the Law of Gravi- tation — ^pervading, alike, all bodies and space — what would, be a miracle in regard to this Law ? Manifestly a suspension of its action — or, in more appropriate words, a positive violation of its normal tendencies — resulting in universal derangement and confusion. Hence the accounts of Jonah and the Whale; the standing still of the Sun to accommodate Joshua in his sanguinary battles; the miraculous conception; tlie physical resurrection ; all these become insurmountable difficulties in the well-balanced and reasoning mind. AU faith is disturbed ; because these transactions, un- * Titus i, 2 ; Heferews vi. 18. 50;. THE INNER LIFE. derstqad literally, can not be reconciled, -vyilth the known, tinwayering laws of Nature, nor with the concurrent laws of human experience. These examples I adduce to demonstrate the constrained concession even of old theology : that Reason is the Master. Consequently, without some Harmonial explanation of I^ature and. Deity, the world's unreasoning faith, in the reliability of ancient inspiration, " will die amid her wor- shipers." Secondly : The Philosophy unfolds the grand scheme of the material creation. The beginning principles of life are traced, progressively, from their Fountain Source, throughout all the diversiiied, avenues and in- terminable labyrinths of simple and organic existence. The entire scale of Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Organization is exhibited, and classified in their natu- ral orders and spheres of adaptation. Thip pyramid of organic formation is essential, according to the Philoso- phy, to the existence, spiritualization, and, eternaliza- tion of man? He who interrogates Nature aright, receives the information, that M;AN is, organically and naturally, the Ksy-STONE to. the bending architectui-e of the materia] creation, In all the foliaceous expan- sions visible on the surface of primeval, rocks; in all the zoophitic developments and in"cipient, points of or- ganic life ; in all the structural and physiological plans of formation — so many and various — discovered in the animal kingdom — in all, do we behold the unmistak- able prophecies of the material and spiritual organiza- tion of Man. Every stone in the arch is wrought out with the most consummate skill — designed expressly, in its every minutest particular, for th^ human climax. PHILOSOPHY AND SPHOT'CALISM. 51 Man is the dome of the material creation — the window, through which heaven illuminates the earth ! The term " Creation" is not here used with the sig- nification which is popularly attached to it. The church theory of creation has worked its way deep into the vitals of modern science. Hence, even science itself is very rm/thologiGol in \t% fundamental assump- tions. It is reasonable in its details — useful in its secondary and tertiary discoveries — ^but, at \he primary point, modem science is as offensive to the Truth-see- ing genius of the Soul as the cardinal principles of popular theology. Wherefore? Because Science be- gins with the theologic-myth that the facts and things of external Nature had a supernatural origin ! ■ The monumental I^ewton, who saw but a few pebbles on the margin of that Ocean of Truth yet unexplored, described the gravitational phenomena of the sidereal world as the methods of omm,ipotence ; or, in other words, affirmed that the harmonious motions of the celestial bodies were maintained by the perpetual voli- tion of the Divine Mind—teaching, consequently, the incomprehensible doctrine that every thing subsists and moves only as instigated and potentialized by the mi- raculous impulsion and exercise of the Divine Will. And all the principles of modern science, which relate to the physical world about us, commence with the theologic assumption that God " created" the germs in the first place ; and that He then prescribed the legal code whereby those germs should progressively ascend the scale of organic development— thus rationalizing, in a very crude and unnatural way, the supernatural cosmologic theories of Zolena and Zoroaster, which; are. 52 THE htnek life. however, generally attributed to the Scripture of Moses. The geologists of Europe, with two or three exceptions, are mortgaged to the early doctrines of Egypt and Per- sia, regarding the oEiGm of the physical universe. Brewster, Burke, Mnrchison, Hugh Miller — the talent- ed master-builders of the terrestrial science — begin with the popular dogma of original special '' creation" ; and BO, although they are compelled to differ from super- naturalism in their secondary conclusions, yet, pri- marily, modern science and popular theology are wholly at peace — being equally mythological. The Harmonial Philosophy, on the contrary, in oppo- sition to the primary teachings of modern theology and science, affirms the eternity of matter ; that there is no creation, but formation ; that the " Laws of Nature " are not the voluntary institutions of Deity, but the un- changeable attributes of his constitution, acting perpet- ually, without the miraculous exercise of the Divine Will, as exhibited in the analogue of the blood flowing through the human body, unaided by voluntary mental volition. Creation, you will observe, implies the cer- tainty of termination. If man is the issue of a mir- acle, then is he in danger of utter extinction ;• because the age of miracles is said to have passed away ! If man was created originally by the Divine Will, then that Will can never for one moment be relaxed witliout resulting in man's annihilation ; for even old unphilo- sophical theology concedes the point, that an effect can not continue to exist without an adequate perpetu- ating cause. The laws of nature are the eternal methods of Deity. The organizations and phenomena of the external world are the ever-changing processes PHILOSOPHY AND SPIEHTALISM. 53 of formation — the particles of matter cbangirig places — i-efining, expanding, and flowing into higher channels and forms of being — each and all tending to the devel- opment of mvn; tlie grand consummation of the Mate- rial Structure. God is the cause — IS'ature is the effect — Man is tho ultimate. As a seed, planted in the earth, reproduces its kind, so does Deity, as the spiritual germ, unfold, through the ten thousand processes of Nature, its own image and likeness in the moral characteristics of the human type. There is nothing any more supernatural in the for- mation and perpetuation of man than there is in the growth of trees. Man is a phenomenon of existence — a THOUGHT OF GoD, clothed in a material vesture — as the bird is a song ^vith wings, or as the rose is a throne of fragrance. All the positions assumed, or conclusions arrived at, by the "Harmonial Philosophy," are mathematically demonstrable to every enlightened Keason. Bat I can not stop to do this in the present volume. I am im- pressed to roll up the curtain which has lt)ng hung between the human mind and the real theater of exist- ence, and let the reader see that there is much "in heaven and earth," which can not be found in the world's philosophy or religion. Among the highest truths developed by the Harmo- nial System to the reason-principle, is that of the soul's iMMOPaAi.iTT. The Christian world can furnish no invulnerable argument — can present no unmythologie and altogether reasonable evidence — that the human spirit will triumphantly survive the ordeal of physical THE INNEK LIFE. dissolution. All cliurcli proofs of man's immortality are as the merest fables to the man of science ; the physiologist regards the faith as logically untenable ; the German chemist pronounces it a superstition of the alchemic age, unsupported by the results of analysis ; while the Christian, having nothing certain to rest his reason upon, resolves to resign the use of that faculty on this subject, and compose himself, as best he can, in a comfortable hope that this mortal shall, by virtue of some incomprehensible law, put on immortality. The Harmonial Philosophy, on the other hand, brings evidences of man's eternal individuality out of the very rocks and mountains of Nature — digs them out of the laws, forces, and characterizations of vegeta- bles and animals — and renders the problems of the future as certain as the results of mathematical calcu- lation. All miracle, therefore, is henceforth abrogated.; and man is immortal upon principles as plain and nat- ural as the common laws of organism and growth. The human spirit is the focal 07'ganism of !ffature — it can not be dissolved — because all atoms, and laws, and essences, -expend themselves in man's formation; and so it is that the interior form is rendered eternal, as it were, by a spiritual law of chemical affinity. But the church theory of spirit is equivalent to nonentity. Nature affirms that the spiritual body of man is still material — coming, measurably, under the action of the ■ physical laws of rarity, density, elasticity, &c. — ^but always upon a vastly higher plane of activity and influence. The spiritual body, I repeat, is a sulistancfi ; and yet it is not what we term " matter." " Spirit," eaj'B G.4LEN, "bears the same relation to earthly mat- PHILOSOPHY ANO SPIKirrALISM. 65 ter that Light sustains to the element of Water ; the same as the flower to the ground which enlivens it. The spiritual body is ' matter ' spiritualized ; as the flower is the earth refined." According to the natural laws of Progress and Devel- opment, the Spirit Land is revealed to otir intellectual perception, and harmonized with the oracles and au- thorities of Intuition. Poetry and prophecy begin to possess a new significance. Paul, he who " died daily," and was often " in the spirit," glided past the sub- ordinate spheres, and was '' Caught up into the third heaven," and saw things not possible for man to utter. The Harmonial Philosophy unfolds the magnificent order of the Spiritiial Worlds with the same precision that it treats of the physical kingdoms of nature. And so natural is this revealment, that the skeptical mind finds itself believing it as ea,si]y as it concedes the existence of Jupiter arid Saturn, or the cities of London and Stockholm, which it may never have physically seen, but readily believes, oh the ground of incontro- vertible probability and instinctive prophecy. Let me remind the reader that the present chapter is devoted to the discussion of no thought or theory ; but is simply designed to define, in general terms, the d/J^-^ ference between the " Harmonial Philosophy" and tlie "Spiritual Manifestations." Many explanations, there- fore, are deferred to subsequent pages. The question, however, may be asked : " What is the ulterior object of the Philosophy — what does it propose to accomplish for Man '<" The object is this : to unfold the " kingdom of Heaven on earth," to apply the laws of planets to individuals; to establish, in. a word, in human society 56 THE INjSEE life. the same harmonious relations that are found to obtain in the planetary world. Consequently, as already af- firmed, the object is wholly humanitary and religious — not only telling man to " love the neighbor," but prac- tically showing him how to do so — thus crowning Di- vine love with Divine wisdom. THE FOOLISH THINGS OF THIS WOELD. I come now to define the so-called Spiritual Mani- festations. There is nothing in the whole realm of psychology, as I see it, so demonstrative of the hidden laws and slumbering forces of the human mind, as these so-called modern mysteries. Man's nature is just beginning to declare its manifold resources and psychological powers. The clown is now enabled to confound the wise. " The foolish things of this world " are, so to speak, becoming transeendentalized — in spite of abounding anathemas and skepticisms; and there is no closing nor bolting of these open doors which lead to the interior nature of man, and thence to a new theology. The manifestations should be considered as a " living demonstration " of many truths unfolded by the Phi- losophy ; for even so the miracles recorded in the New Testament were illustrative of the doctrines and prin- ciples developed by that important Dispensation. But these modern manifestations are no miracles. Analogically considered, like all other events called miracles, they are incipient workings of new laws be- longing to man in his present and future state of being. Man stands on the apex of the magnificent pyramid of the visible oreanic creation — " a little lower than PUILOSOPHY AND 8P1EITUAI-ISM. 57 the angels " — and when properly viewed, as a physical and spiritual being, he will be found to be a medium or mediator between the Ideal and the Actual, between Heaven and Earth. He is the pneumatic bridge over which every thing spiritual travels into this world. But how often are the psychological travelers almost assas- sinated on the road, and maimed for life, by the dis- cordant characters journeying the other way ! That is to say, man's undeveloped thoughts and edncational prepossessions are prone to come into fierce collision with thoughts proceeding from higher sources, and hence, as will hereafter be shown, while man continues to remain ignorant of his own nature, so long will there be contradictions in his deeds and revealments. The spiritual manifestations, however, will teach the theologic world a valuable lesson, viz. : that the divine can not flow into human structures, without the former participating in tiie imperfections of the latter. This universal psychologic law, when logically understood, will give the death-blow to church and Bible infalli- bility; and you, kind reader, may expect this grand result from the manifestations. The experience and testimony of the world are conclusive to this point : that all revelations, though professing to descend, ex- pressly directed, from on high, freighted with the im- maculate thoughts of the Supernal Spirit, yet bear the plainest evidence of having flowed from heaven to earth — from the world of the Ideal to the region of the Actual — through imperfect and fallible channels ! It is a historical fact, of the most momentous import, that from the earliest periods of the world, certain per- sons of unimpeachable character have assumed to have 58 THE INNEK LIFE. actual intepcourse with the spiritual sphere of 'being. •This fact alone is presumptive evidence, to saj the least, that the human mind is, naturally, progressing toward an identical state of existence. But now approaches the skeptic, with his explana- tion — "Imposture !" And then the scientific man, with his explanation — " Imagination !" And then the Christian, with his explanation — " The Devil !" Still the work goes steadily onward. And the other world flows silently into this — " turning the tables " on the opposers — and "knocking" off numerous shackles of bigotry. Indeed, I think you will acknowledge that there seems to be much " shaking of hands " between the two worlds just now ; that the eyes of hundreds are being daily opened to the laws and beauties of that Land which lies beyond the tomb. From the first investigation of these modern develop- ments, the skeptic returns with the persuasion that the manifestations are closely allied to the doings of Jug- glery. The second visit convinces him of the truths of Mesmerism. The third, satisfies him that Psychology explains it all. The fourth, assures him that it is all referable to Clairvoyance. But the fifth investigation opens his blinded heart, dissipates liis materialism, and persuades him of the possibility of Spiritual Inter- course. But he is unfortunate who meets with only the mountebank side of this question ; sees only the Moon which borrows its light, while the Eeal Source of illu- mination is visible in the opposite direction. We do PHILOSOPHY AND SPIEITUALISM. 59 not undertake to disguise the self-evident proposition that there are two sides to this question, as well as to eveiy other now before the world. It requires, like bank bills, a " Counterfeit Detector." God, therefore, has put into every man's hand a " pair of scales " — a reason-principle, which should be well-balanced — the sovereign standard whereby to measure and experi- mentally determine every thing. Some persons can only weigh six ounces of evidence ; others ten pounds ; others, still more developed, a hundred. But this is a free country, at least in one respect : — no man is, either politically nor ecclesiastically, obliged to exercise common sense if he has not got it. This liberty is ex- tended to all parties, without regard to birth or station. Church and State enjoy this freedom exceedingly. Either the so-called Spiritual Manifestations are Human, or else they are Divine. They are just what they claim for themselves to be, or they are the most extraordinary Fraud. "When the eye scans the whole ground already occupied by these phenomena, it is fo.uijd, and by the best minds conceded, that none dut a spiritual solution can cover and explain them, eveil in the crude shape of sounds, vibrations, and moviugs. To affirm that the huTnan hrain can project an " odio force," or electric power, sufficient to move heavy tables and other articles, in such a manner as intelligently to respond to questions put by the medium or others, is to state a proposition which far rtiore taxes human credu- lity than the spiritual solution of the whole matter. Tlie simplest explanation of any thing is most likely to be true. I^Gw, the spiritual phenomena have already becdilie 60 THK INNEK LIFE. historic facts. And the human side of the question has been thoroughly tested. The human explanation has the best and the worst minds in the country in its favor — advocates in high places — weapons taken from the magnificent armory of the Pulpit and the Press. Still the people are not satisfied with any but the spiritual explanation, and even this they dread to accept — fear- ing, as they habitually do, the disapprobation of the Rt. Eev. Dr. All Eight ; or else, the muriatic acid of the indignant Pastor of the village church, who takes it upon himself to denounce, ex officio, all modern Spiritualism as the providential manifestation of devil- try — a " strong delusion " to try men's belief in the mii-acles of antiquity ! The spiritual explanation involves, as a matter of course, the accredited intelligence of certain dogmatic theologians and supercilious scientific men. It is say- ing substantially : " Gentlemen, you can not explain every thing : you are not infallible."' Surely, it is hard for the scholastic pride of such, when the foolish things of this world — the unlearned heads — begin to amaze and confound the wise. " But the manifestations are too low, too trivial, too absurd, too undignified !" Indeed ! Whence comes this exclamation ? It pro- ceeds fi-om persons, both in Church and State, who pro- fess to believe in Moses, who was found in a basket among the weeds — believe in Jesus, too, who was cradled in a manger, born in the presence of cows and horses ! Is a matter trivial or undignified because it may have an inferior or humble beginning ? Nay, I tell you truly when I affirm, that the other world will PHILOSOPHY AND SPIRITUALISM. 61 he wedded to this earth — the nuptial ceremonies will bo performed; and there will be " rappings" heard — ranch '' moving of tables and chairs " — and " singing and rejoicing" at this wedding, whether you will consent to he^esent at the ceremony or not. The New Dispensation is upon us, even at the door. It has been long and very gradually coming — coming ! " A divinity hath often-times descended TJpou our slumbers ; and the blessed troupes Have, in the calm and quiet of the soul, Conversed with us !" Or with some spiritual-minded man belonging to generations past ; as the next chapter, devoted to the sketch of an external argument, will demonstrate. If men loved Truth more than the honey-comb of Popularity — ^worshiped Principle, more than the gold which devotion to fashionable " vital Piety" brings tbem — then, indeed, would come the good time — the Platonic Era — when Truth and Peace, Law and Liberty, SHALL EEIGN SUPEEME 1 THE EXTERNAL ARGUMENT. In the present chapter I am impressed to represent, with as much plainness of speech as the subject will permit, the Possibility, the Probability, and the Cer- tainty of Spiritual Intercourse. First: By Possibility, is meant, the power of any thing to appear, to exist, to happen, in the affairs of men, or in the constitution of things. Second : By Probability, is meant, the intrinsic reasonableness of any thing ; the appearance of truth ; a matter which is esteemed not only as possible in the nature of things, but, also, a Inatter which is more likely to be true than false. Third : By Certainty, is meant, that which has transcended all the doubtfulness which inevitably lin- gers about things merely possible or probable — a mat- ter proved to a demonstration ; being wholly above the i-egion of mistake or argumentation. In this brief definition, you see the three depart- ments of the question which I propose to state- in this chapter, addi'essed to the faculties of Reason with which the reader is endowed. You are now, therefore, respectfully solicited to let those faculties perform their appropriate functions in perceiving, in weighing, and THE EXTEENAL AEGUMENT. 63 in attaining to, the legitimate conclusion of Evidence which may be presemted in the ensuing pages. It may appear somewhat strange, that I should com- mence the discussion of this question, with the apparent presumption of skepticism on the part of the reader — • begin the subject as if you were a disbeliever in the future existence of the human soul, and required evi- dence of this fact, before you can take a single firm step on the ground opened by the New Dispensation. Ton say, you " have never doiobted the existence of the soul after death." True, as a believer in Christianity, you may never have called this mysterious doctrine in question — you always believed that this " mortal would put on immortality" in some future age, by virtue of some incomprehensible miracles wrought by the Lord of lords ; yet, your mental state, after all, is the state of neutrality, based upon a universally-conceded igno- rance of the whole question, encouraged by a faith as nniversal, amounting, in the end, to a lukewarmness of conviction, which is alike fatal to interior happiness and mental development. The Christian should be able to give " a Reason for this hope," else, he is living on a foundation of sand, and his house of Zion can not withstand the deep, migbty torrents of rationaliBtio criticism which are now rushing, witb the strength of the cataract, Upon the entire theologic superstructure. The geologist, the astronomer, the artist, the philosopher, can not pursue his investigations a single step without encountering one or more of the sacred theories of modern theology. The fact is well known to the scholars of divinity, but the people, as a mass, know very little about this con- 64 THE INNER LIFE. flict ; and so the Doctors of science have a private under- standing with the Doctors of divinity, to the end that the people may be taught scientific truths, if they do not tread on the toes of Dogmatic Theology. For instance : the astronomer may teach the laws and harmonies of the planets —may explain their order, and use, and immutability — may even lecture in the pulpit, during the secular portions of the week ; and he may be certain of getting a respectable audience ; but, remember, he must mate a very long apology for pre- suming to speak on a matter so unscriptural, especially for saying the least word, or implying in the remotest degree, that Joshua's miracle of the standing still of the sun was contrary to the immutable principles of planetary harmony ! And so the man of science, in order to obtain an audience and live, must meekly lay his Knowledge upon the altar of superstition — a sacri- fice to popular Theology — " take a pew " in the njost fashionable sanctuary, and make an effort to become a talented and respectable citizen ! By these means the false and superficial soon attain the ascendency in the world ; and all faith in the higher truths of our being, gradually dies away into empty forms and godless ceremonies. These constitute a few of the reasons why I commence the question of Spiritual Intercourse, on the ground of its intrinsic possibility. Let us now proceed. Nature is a stupendous mystery, until she declares herself to the human mind. To the undeveloped mind, every thing is mysterious ; and the Sun, being the most resplendent wonder, is worshiped as the God of Power and the Source of every blessing. The idolatry THE EXTERNAL AEQUMENT. 65 of the Hindoo is a spontaneous development in the crndest form of that Religious Sentiment which noth- ing can extinguish in the.Soul of Man. We may grow forever in wisdom, and obtain the profoundest knowl- edge of existence : still, as a well of never-failing water, the internal sentiment of religion flows up and over all the faculties of thought, encouraging us to transcend the trials of Earth, and to emulate the Alps of life, even as the eagle soars above the highest clouds. Inasmuch as this aspiring progressive tendency is found to be a universal attribute of man, may we not reasonably conclude that the soul, thus emulous, will ultimately reach the summit of immortal being 1 Man will sacrifice his comfort, his character, and his wealth, to attain to some eminence of worldly power, or mental distinction — a position which, even when attained, can only gratify the internal attribute which thus aspires. Even in his lowest condition, Man has desires which point and center far above his body, in some higher and letter individuality. The animals progress also ! The brute seeks to gratify the needs and relationships of the body. The paternal and maternal desires the animal seeks to gratify, often in a manner so touching and beautiful, that Man would do well to learn the lessons of protection and kindness which the lower creation teaches ; yet, unlike the animal, the human Soul elevates its eyes toward the skies, implying that its Eeal Home is in the heavens. The desire of the private soldier to become a General ; the child to emulate its Father ; the ruler to tecome King ; the patriarch to become Emperor — yea, and. the desire of Man even to exceed himself— does, not all this prove 66 THE INXEE LIFE. the workings of that Interior Principle of Progress which may confer immortality on the human soul? Nature is prophetic. Her Scriptures can not be voted canonical, or otherwise, to suit the caprices of undevel- oped minds. Truth is stamped upon every sentence, and love glows from the temple of every Thought. In the human organism, be it remembered, are con- centrated all the elements and essences of surrounding Nature. Man feels a friendship, more or less remote, for every thing ; because every thing has, in one shape or another, entered into his being. Solids and fluids, elements and gases, powers and essences, have climbed up the granite hills of creation, flowed through vegeta- bles and animals, and taken up their residence in the human constitution, It seems that the first part of the Volume of Nature is divided into four grand chapters, viz. : 1st, The formation of Minerals ; 2d, the forma- tion of Yegetables; 3d, the formation of Animals; and, lastly (which concludes the fourth chapter), the foi'mation of Man. All the principles of the preceding ages bloom out in the human type ! Creation is a beautiful sermon ; ter- minatuig with a grand, glowing, glorious conclusion — the human Soul. No novel ever terminated so harmo- niously with our best desires ; no drama, so worthy the Divine Author. Now, let me ask, do you think crea- tion will prove a failure ? Do you think another chap- ter, more beautiful than the fourth, will never be added to the Volume of Nature ? Do you think that man is a temporary being, the mortal insect of a season merely, the highest animal in creation, with a soul, like a breath, destined to be dif- THE EXTERNAL AEGUMENT. 67 fused in the vast ocean of life, or, as a dew-drop, lost in the sea. To suppose that man stands on the summit of the lower kingdom of creation, Tvith mental powers, ex- alted and progressive in their nature, with no objects beyond to which those powers might eternally rise, is to suppose a defect in the scheme of existence unwor- thy the character of a wise and perfect Deity. Indeed, to believe that man blooms on the mountains, like the vigorous oak, ultimately to die an eternal death, is to believe contrary to all the prophecies of God, as writ- ten upon the living faculties of the human type, and upon every thing that lives. ITature is not man's in- vention ; is not capable of uttering a falsehood. ISTow be it duly impressed, that creation is brought to ^ focus in man. The voice of Truth is heard, whisper- ing \i% first melodies in the soul's intuitions ! At first, her -words are soft and low; so low and soft, indued, that superstition is often allowed to make man doubt the voice of TVuth within, causing him to lose siglit of his immortal inheritance. But in the properly unfolded and virgin soul, the forces of nature are summoned to one point, and the prophecy comes forth — " that tue fiPiEiT OE MAN IS ETEENAL." He is an unfortunatc being who hears not the proclamations of his inward being, " that its nature is divine and its form unalterable." Blessed are the pure in heart ; for they shall see God. Blessed are the truly wise, for they can everywhere read the gospel of Deity. The possibility of spiritual intercourse is necessarily predicated upon the continued existence of the soul, with all its senses and faculties, after the material body is placed in that tomb. If you believe that the soul 68 THE INNER LIFE. continues to exist after death, then you must, to be con- sistent, also believe that that soul may return, laden with affection, back to its own native land; return to the home of its childhood, and bring good tidings of great joy to those who have ears to hear. If you believe in the soul's immortality, tlien, i)iie possibility of that soul's revisiting the earth is established. Before birth, how many powers are reposing dormant, which, after birth, come out in full and perfect action ; even so, on the ground of this analogy, how many powers lie hidden un- suspected in the soul before death, which, after death, may appear in the full force of their harmony and beauty ! The question of possibility, therefore, is naturally disposed of at this point. The spirit of man may cer- tainly converse when out of the natural body, as it does while in it ; that is to say, if the spirit is believed tp be clothed with another body, and still in the full posses- sion of its present voluntary attributes. As I see the constitution of things, the intercourse between minds in this world and minds in the other, is just as possible as the oceanic commerce between Europe and America, or as the more common interchange of social sympathies, between man and man, in every-day life. Let us now proceed to examine the Pi-obability of Spiritual Intercourse. If I appeared before you, in this volume, as the avowed advocate of a sect or party, then it would be reasonable to expect that I should consider, only, the most favorable points of evidence, at the expense of a candid weighing and impartial statement of the objections which might be logically urged against my positions. But the true philosopherj THE EXTEENAL AHGUMENT. 69 tlie honest lover of wisdom, can not be one-sided and partial in the investigation of a question which involves pro and con that may be supposed to embrace both Truth and Error. If all the objections are not con- sidered in this chapter, and all the evidence is not sum- moned to appear, the omission should be referred to a deficiency of space allotted to this external argument. Man's internal afiinities, his attractions, which are born with him, inwrought in the nerves and tissues of his inward nature, yearn for corresponding ties of com- mimion. The soul seems to asli for nourishment from an anterior source. Hence, man is naturally a religious or spiritually inclined being, demanding, by virtue of a strict moral necessity, the assistance of mind superior to his own. Every man, in his best moments, has an Ideal self to which he aspires — a spiritual magiiet, so to speak, drawing him onward and upward above the crudities of his animal nature. Now, therefore, is it not reasonable to suppose, that this interior desire of the soul has its appropriate gratification ? The term "inspiration " is, surely, not void of mean- ing. It signifies the inflowing of thought — the breath- ing in of sentiments. It is certain that just in propor- tion as the sensibilities of our minds become unfolded, BO will the love and wisdom of the Higher Spheres flow in to elevate the affections and intellect. Every mind possesses the same attributes. Nature's Author is no respecter of persons. His Spirit is general and universal; embracing the low and the high, the animal and the human, the falling sparrow and the ascending seraph ! And so, also, is his inspiration universal ; illuminating every thing according to its condition and 70 THE INNKE LIFK. capacity. His Laws are uncliangeable — operating the same everywhere and at all times — consequently, as a law of mind, is it not reasonable to conclude that the harmonious and virgin brain may be tlta medium of spiritual iUumination f The Prophets of the east, the early bards, the great masters of music: did they not speak and write as by inspiration ? The principles and paintings of invisible artists were impressed upon the interiors of those eminent men. Their productions glow witli a divine radiance. True, they had imperfections; but such serve to prove to us the impossibility of obtaining m- fallible truth through human mediums; they serve, moreover, the next high purpose, viz. : that of teaching us invariably to use the reason-principle in perceiving and obtaining Truth. Pythagoras, Plato, Socrates, Jesus, Swedenborg — those minds, together with hun- dreds of others known to history, gave evidence of inspiration in matters of Philosophy and Keligion, far transcending the wisdom of the generations in which they lived. Here let me inquire : What is the probability in the case of these minds ? Is there: any thing intrinsically unreasonable in the hypothesis, that they received thoughts from some interior source — from spirits who once resided on the earth? Else how could these human beings have accomplished so much superior to their brethren ? Bible History is replete with testimony bearing directly on the subject of intercourse between men and angels. The term "angels," in the original, signifies " messengers," or '' delegates,"- " bearers of dispatches," THE EXTERNAL ABGUMENT. 71 &c., and does not necessarily always mean celestial per- sonages, as most readers suppose. Nevertheless, the Bible is indomitable in its ailrmation and advocacy of spiritual communications. Daniel, the author of one of the Jewish books, says : " I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, till three whole weeks were fulfilled." You perceive and learn by this language, that Daniel was religiously observing, for three weeks, Grahamite and temperance principles. This method I harVe found by experience to be the only way to promote physical har- mony and mental susceptibility to spiritual impressions. At the end of three weeks' fasting, Daniel says : " Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man, * * * whose face was ag the appearance of lightning, * * * and the voice of his words was like the voice of a multitude!" And forthwith Daniel passed, he affirms, into ' " deep sleep," with his "face toward the ground." While in this interior magnetic condition, according to the account, the angel spoke into the spiritual ear of Daniel, when the follow- ing interesting communication was accordingly made :— " Fear not, Daniel ; for frorn the day thou didst get thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself be-r fore thy God, thy words were heard, and I came for thy words," &c. That is to say, in plain English, that when Daniel had hecome temperate in his eating and drinking, and begsgi, in a proper state of simple-mind- edness, to pray to a spiritual source for aid and wis- dom, then bis guardian spirit ■ came nigh and imparted instructions. This same principle of internal purifica- 72 THE INNEE LIFE. tion and prayer is acted upon elsewhere, and, in our own day, hundreds of epiritual instructions are accord- ingly received by minds thus prepared. Among other spiritual communications recorded in the first books of the New Testament, is one relating to the physical preservation of the infant Jesus, from the destroying hand of the executioner. " And the angel of the Lord appeared unto Joseph in a dream, and said: 'Arise, take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt.' " Now, the sequel of the history proves that the spiritual instruction resulted in good to all the parties interested. I could adduce still further, from the experience of living persons among us, in- stances of salvation from frightful accidents, illness, and misfortunes, by means of instructions received in a manner precisely identical with the foregoing. The second chapter of Luke contains a very consol- ing and prophetic communication dispatched from the other world to the earth's inhabitants. And, as here- tofore remarked, clergymen and congregations who reject every thing like the probability of modern mani- festations, nevertheless read., and preach from, and openly profess to accept this communication as the word of God to Man — thus exposing themselves to the severe criticism of consistent and intelligent minds. It appears from the above account, that the shep- herds who were keeping watch over their flocks in the fields, were, to some extent, mediums for the odic manifestations — also, for clairvoyance or seeing with the spiritual perceptions. The language, however, in which the relation is clothed, is quite imscientific and eminently oriental. It is very beautiful, and should be THE EXTEENAL AKGUMENT. 73 quoted entire. Here it is; "And there were in the same country, where Jesus was born, shepherds abiding, keeping watch over their flocks by night !" [It is a curious fact, often remarked, and which I will try to explain hereafter, that almost all spiritual manifesta- tions occur at " night," frequently without artificial light. The Bible accounts are uniform in their testi- mony to this peculiarity.] " And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ' Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.' * * And suddenly there was with the angel, a ruultittide of the heavenly hosts, praising God, and saying : ' Grlory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will toward men.' " ISTow, what can be more reasonable than that this spiritual communication was really made to those sim- ple-hearted shepherds ? Is it not more likely to be true than false ? In a word, to meet our argument, is it not probable that this testamental account is grounded at least in a substratum of truth ? If you grant this point, then you are ready in mind to believe that spirits can hold -open intercowr/ie with mortals — even with tlie keepers of cows and horses — whenever there is some good thing to be accomplished by it. Let us have the truth ; it will render us free as birds ; as democratic as the universal spirit of Deity itself. I desire to impress upon you the peobability of a correspondence between spirits both m and out of thfe material body. 4 T4 THE INNEE LIFE. Testamental history, I well know, is considered to be exceedingly apocryphal by many investigating minds ; and the intelligent external critic begins to associate Eible texts with the fabrications of Monks and Priests ; still, there remains, in the straightforward simplicity of the narratives, a certain sphere of truthfulness which strengthens the "Probability" designed to be pre- sented. I am fully impressed with the historic fact, well known to the ecclesiastical antiquary, that the present books of the Bible were brought together under very suspicious circumstances. I know that the " original," to which doctors of divinity so often refer, was destroy- ed soon after copies were taken ; and that all we now have is referable to the work and compilation of the early scholars. The various gospels and epistles were bound together at the close of the third century, and these then formed the New Testament ; but this collec- tion did not contain either the Acts of the Apostles or the Pevelations. The Acts were added to the collection as soon as they were found, in the year 408. The Reve- lations were added in the year 565. And subsequently several other changes and discoveries were made. Now, all this, as I am free to confess, throws a mantle of doubt over the alleged verity of the supernatural accounts of the BiUe ; but still, as I now appeal only to iheprohability of the case, I again ask : do not certain instances of spiritual intercourse, detailed by Daniel, Matthew, and Luke, seem to be intrinsically reasonable — especially, when viewed in the light of numerous modern analogies ? If they do seem reasonable, then the point of " probability" is established ; and we are pre- THK EXTERNAL AEGCTMENT. T5 pared to take anotlier step forward in the present inquiry. We come now to the third external consideration, viz. : to weigh the facts with strict reference to tlie certainty of spiritual agency in the production of mod- ern manifestations. The principal object is to deter- mine the external facts in the premises ; not to consider the doctrines inculcated, nor to tarry with the logical conclusions to which we are conducted by their significance. The doctrines and significations, there- fore, are deferred to subsequent pages. And the reader's attention is particularly solicited to the facts, as developed in America within the past two years. It has already become a matter of undisputed history, that the "mysterious noises," so called, broke out originally in Western New York. They came forth frequently, wholly unsolicited, and under a great variety of circumstances ; which precluded the suppo- sition of the possibility of physical or mechanical caxises. Ever'y description of hypotheses has been resorted to, and charges of imposture have been pre- ferred against the parties connected with the noises; but the true " explanation " still lies concealed within the veil — and so, to the reputed wise and the bigoted, alike, the development remains folded in impenetra- ble mystery. Now, if the whole mystery were strictly confined to Western New York, there would he more ground for the presumption of huma/n, contrivance and fraud. The world has a right to be suspicious— to call in question every extraordinary statement or profession: first, because many "pious frauds " have been passed in 76 THE INNER LtFE. the world for verities ; second, because doubt and skep- ticism best try and develop the intrinsic strength and truth of any question. But what are the historic facts? They are briefly these : The " noises" soon began to answer questions, sometimes like the tickings of the telegraph when thoughts are transmitted from one end of the wire to the other. Intelligence was openly demonstrated as producing and conducting the sounds. Answers were as readily received to questions put in the silence of the mind as when pronounced audibly. All this is so well attested by competent witnesses that, to doubt the facts, is to violate the plainest principles of human testimony. But again, even if the honesty of the parties be not questioned, there still remains a troublesome doubt respecting the causes of the manifested intelligence. There may be principles of physical or mental econo- my, or of both combined, of which we have been hitherto ignorant, capable of producing many of these developments. " There may be," says the thinker, "for aught we know to the contrary, certain unconscious involuntary emanations of our being— certain liidden dynamics and projectile forces — which may act with all the semblance of the conscious volition of an intelligent spirit." This is reasonable enough, and may hereafter come into an explanation of many things which have so mysteriously occurred ; nevertheless, are we not absolutely driven back into the mystic region of uncertainty, when we call to mind a matter (which is too much overlooked), that the "mysterious noises" in Western New York spelled out that these same "sounds" THE EXTEENAL ARGUMENT. 77 "w-Qiild be made in other States of the Union ; and that it was not long li'fore this stiange prophecy was ful- filled to the letter ! With this/cze^ before ns, what can we say ? Shall we still appeal to fraud and collusion to help us out with an explanation % Shall we say that the '• trick" was divulged to certain persons for purposes of obtaining money? This presumption falls to earth by the weight of its own iaconsistency. The superiicial motive of pecuniary gain could not have caused the extensive diffusion of these mysterious signals ; because, even the commonest mind knows that such wide- spread competition is fatal to monopoly or emolument in any pursuit. Since the appearance of the " noises " in New York State, the manifestations have unexpectedly come out in nearly all the Northern States — on hills and in dale:-, in villages and cities. "What does it all mean ? As the forms of these manifestations exhibit a vast varietj^ it is very possible that some of them, at least, are ex- plainable on purely natural scientific principles. Media for tipping, for speaking, for writing, for impersonation, for manipulating the sick, &c., have increased in num- bers, and come out like the flowers of June. But as an incontrovertible evidence, to the sensuous mind, of phenomena which can only ie explained on spiritual principles, I refer exclusively to the recorded manifes- tations of physical force. Instances are on record where the table, situated within a circle of twelve or fifteen persons, has been seized by an invisible power, and raised nearly to the lofty ceiling of the apartment. Externally I have seen the table shaken by this power like a leaf in the wind. T8 THE INNER LIFE. A thrill of pleasure, as it were, sometimes darts througli the solid board — compelling the atoms, composing it, to dance and vibrate with the emotions of conscious ■ joy, springing from the cause. Instances are also established, as historic facts, where the heavy dining-table has been gently drawn up from the floor, with a load of human beings upon it, \veigh- ing, in the aggregate, not less than one thousand pounds. The time, place, and witnesses will be furnished in tlie sequel. The rolling away of the huge stone from tlie mouth of the sepulcher, by alleged angelic instrumental- ity, begins to appear, in the light of these developments, a far more reasonable or probable occurrence. The deep sleep into which the soldiers were thrown when the body of Jesus was taken from the tomb, corresponds almost entirely with the magnetio slumier which spirits are supposed to induce on certain persons when some- thing is to be accomplished in their presence. Instances have come under my own outward obser- vation, where the "sounds" occurred on the table, under it, on the floor, and on the walls of the apartment, iu broad daylight, with the room nearly full of skeptics : and so loud were these vibrations, that they could have been heard at a distance of ten rods, or more, answer- ing questions, both mental and verbal, in a manner strictly convincing and perfectly demonstrative of spiritual agency. These are facts. Similar instances are of daily oc- currence in various portions of America. They are becoming familiar as household words; and no reason- able mind presumes to douU them now, any more tlian the actual existence of Washington City. Upon these THE EXTERNAL ARGUMENT. 79 facts, tlierefore, is grounded the certainty of Spiritual Intercourse. This certainty is made doubly certain by the fact that no solution, except a spiritioal one, can possibly cover all the phenomena which come under the denomination of sounds and movincfs — exclusive of a world of other manifestations of a vastly different order and higher import, hereinafter to be deline- ated. To afErm that the human brain can project an elec- tric or odic force sufficient to move heavy tables, and to move them, too, in such a way as to respond to ques- tions put mentally by the medium or by others, is to say a thing which far more taxes human credulity than the spiritual solution of the matter. " The hypothesis that these phenomena have their origin in some hitherto latent action of Electricity, Magnetism, or any other natural and physical force, creates many more difficulties than it overcomes, and is also inconsistent with some of the best-attested facts. " In like manner, the idea that these phenomena are caused by some unconscious, involuntary mental action of some person or persons still in tlie body, is equally unphilosophical, equally at odds with the attested facts, and equally open to the objection that it magnifies the marvel it professes to explain. To say that a table which sustains itself on two legs, or one, or none, at the request of some persons near it, and resjponds intelli- gently to a dozen various questions as they are asked, is impelled so to act by Electricity, or Magnetism, or some mental impulse of an individual wholly uncon- scious of such influence, is to assume as true what is 80 THE INNEE LIFK. incredible, because contraiy to the world's uniform experience and to all the known laws of causation."* The spiritual explanation teaches, that the external effects are always produced through the intermediatii)n of certain latent powers within the folds of the brain and constitution of man. The facta prove this solution to be certain to a demonstration. This I affirm, solely on the ground of intrinsic evidence; not trom any additional knowledge which I may be supposed to have obtained in the superior condition. I have learned very many things of late about this subject — such as the causes of contradiction, the ultimate design of the spirits, &c. — which I shall hereafter detail and present. But now I appeal only to your reason-principle. Are not the facts clothed in the profoundest mystery, unless we adopt the spiritual hypothesis? The certainty of spiritual intercourse is as perfectly demonstrated by the rappings and movings (which have occurred in various American towns and cities within the last two years);, as any thing which facta cfan possibly substantiate or verifj'. If nothing more convincing should ever occur ; still we can refer to those plain histonc facts as un- mistakable evidences of the visitation of immortal spirits to the homes of the children of Men. In the entire history of mankind no moral or social advancement has so powerfully marched ahead of, or soared so entirely above all derision and futile attempts at refutation, as the mysterious phenomena * Extract from the Report of Eev. Charles Beecher on the causes which have produced the efTeots " in the sphere of facts " for which Spirit- ualism is now so widely and favorably known. THE EXTEKNA.I. AEOrMICNT. 81 of OUT era. The pomp, glory, and circumstance of the great men of the world, their combined influence and reputation for skill and wisdom adequate to any prob- lem, have had scarcely any prejudicial effect upon the progressive development of the JSTew Dispensation. Like the onward flow of the mountain torrent has been the march of the super-mundane manifestations. The Dead Sea of superstition will soon roll its gloomy waves away from the vital currents of living men. The popular Gomorrah of creeds and dogmas — the existing forms of theology and religion, with their lofty towers of superstition and ascending spires of dogma- tism — will surely sink beneath the sullen surge of oblivious death. And we rejoice ! Why do we rejoice ? Are we elated with the prospect" of victory? Do we rejoice because success will crown our struggles and efforts to be free ? !N"ot to this end ; we have vastly more noble reasons for rejoicing with joy exceeding all speecli. In the first place, the manifestations open to our contemplation the immensity of human capability. The opinion that man is " fearfully and wonderfully made," is gaining influence each succeeding day. That man has "some new law of mind," not made manifest in former times — that he is more diversifled and subtle in his attributes than the school-men or metaphysicians have been led to imagine — is the conviction noAV of thousands who a few years ago entertained the most degraded opinions of their fellow-men. A writer in the Investigator says : " Not long since you (the editor) published for me an article on ' Spiritual Rappings.' I then regarded it as being all villainy and folly, or 82 THE INNER LIFE. deception and delusion. But since I wrote that article, my mind has undergone a great revolution on that subject, at which I am myself very much astonished. Six weeks ago I should have thought it impossible for me ever to believe what I now believe in regard to this subject." This confession emanates from an investigat- ing intelligence. He has persisted in searching, and concludes in the following words : — " I do not make up my mind hastily ; yet what I have seen removes many of my objections to the Bible ; for I now have evidence that sorcery and magic and witchcraft and soothsaying and incantations and en- chantments may not he, as I have long thought they were, mere phantoms of the brain, but sober realities. The Bible and all ancient writings are full of these things. What I have seen, also, ^iw.9 me a better opin- ion of the human race ; for it shows me that there has not been so much villainy and deception and delusion in the world as I have long supposed. I have been frequently astonished at the revolution in my opin- ion." The beneficial tendency of the manifestations, there- fore, to enlarge our knowledge of the attributes of human nature, can not be questioned. Hundreds who disbelieve the existence of the spiritual world, and re- pudiate the entire spiritual explanation of the phe- nomena, still admit the existence of the manifestations, but trace their causes, as they assert, to laws and principles within and about the human mind. The intelligence manifested compels the materialist to this conclusion. Hence he is forced to place a higher esti- mate upon the organic qualifications of the brain, and THE EXTERNAL AKGUMENT. 83 to accept the doctrine of progressive development in reference to the growth and unfolding of the human mind. The old towers of metaphysical speculation, therefore, crumble and fall in hopeless ruins at the slightest touch. The mind of man is teally a new dis- covery. It seems to live a new life — being as it is a wondrous vital battery — with every particle a magnet. "Wise men look at the spirit of man with ever-increas- ing surprise. A short-sighted priesthood may brand the soxil as degraded and hideous before the Supreme In- telligence, unless converted to the authority of some creed, and a worshiper at the shrine of Orthodox^' ; yet dimmer and dimmer, as the days pass by, is the force of Terror presented to the mind, and a " Love which casteth out all Fear" is being rapidly developed for in- dividual man. All nations and distinctions are em- braced in the thought of "Brotherhood." And this Thought is laid upon the altar of every heart by the manifestations. Here, then, is one reason why ^e re- joice, and pray evermore for the advancement of natu- ral spiritualism, or for the eternal triumph of a rational , religion — without witchcraft, witliout superstition, without miracle. For the first effect manifestly is to open new fields to the human mind, and exalt man's knowledge of his kind. In the second place, the manifestations furnish us with insurmountable arguments against the assumptions of the priesthood. The orthodox doctrine, that the portals of heaven were forever closed at the moment when the last sentence of the Apocalypse was written, is put into an endless sleep by the unfolding Light of the nineteenth century. The doctrine proclaimed every 84 THE INNEll LIFE. succeeding Sabbath, that all necessary Eevelation is behind us; that we must repose, like unreasonable but confiding habes, upon the bosom of patriarc]ial and bib- lical authority, is overthrown for evermore by the thou- sands of equally good revelations daily made to us. The Eeligion of the priesthood is founded on memory — a remenibrance of the sayings of Moses and the prophets — a sacred recollection, well-trained to the purpose, of what the Evangelists have written and what accept- able Commentators have said of them. As well might a tree grow on the iceberg. Memory is not the basis of true religion. If man can not be religious as easily as he breathes or walks or sleeps, by the daily exercise of the powers and attributes of his nature, then there is some defect in the divine order of the Universe. Re- ligion is Happiness, arising from individual harmony and the consciousness of having done some good, and no harm, to mankind. The yoke of the theological despotism is hard to bear. Millions of professing Christians have bowed down, terror-stricken, to the Superstitions which priests have preached as divine truths. The realm of Ehadaman-, thus is not more full of imaginary sufferings of the Eternally Lost than is existing theology of tremendous absurdities. Men, no better than other members of humanity, are educated to be dogmatic. Certain forms of ideas are put into tlie student's mind as gospel essentials. He leai-ns them by heart, and soon ties the white cravat about his neck as the credential of office and qualification. He then exercises before the mirror to learn the art of graceful gesture, prays aloud his memory-prayers to cultivate the into- THE EXTERNAL AEGTJ.MEXT. So nation of his voice, preaches a few sophomoric sermons in country churches to acquire tlie requisite amount of self- ass manee and pompous egotism : and now the young clergyman has graduated fairly into the kingdom of dogmatism. He advocates the dignity of the priesthood and its essentiality to the existence of morals and civili- zation. His congregation soon begin to believe every thing he says, " because he 's been to college !" He has studied Greek and Latin ; has read " Home's Introduc- tion to the Sacred Scriptures ; " has translated pages from Horace ; has written an " elegant essay " on the sermon on the mount; has sown all his " wild oats " before other young men knew they had any to sow ; has pro- duced a "beautiful poem" on Belsliazzar's Feast; has explained the exact mode of Elisha's or Enoch's physi- cal translation ; has acknowledged himself to be eter- nally pledged to think precisely as the school-men have taught ; has sworn everlasting fidelity to the creed of his sect ; and so the authority of the Priest is manufac- tured. And so are made our task-masters : men who, generation after generation, are permitted to denounce all pleasure as Satanic — all cheerful singing and dan- cing as sins — converting the beautiful world, so adorned and fitted for the entertainment and happiness of all, into a gloomy probationary state, a miserable prison- house, full of sufferings and useless terror ! In view of this, we rejoice at the manifestations. With one all-crushing blow they strike all priestly dog- matism into silence ! Past revelations are borne on the bosom of the rolling flood to the table of every spirit- circle. The Present reveals the Past. The key, of all miracle and soothsaying and strange occurrences, is 80 THE INNER LITE. jjlaced in our hands. We may go forward, without a priest, and unlock the mysteries of former ages. Here is another reason why we welcome the manifestations. In the third place, the manifestations constitute a most powerful innovation. They form a positive oppo- sition to the successful spread of ignorance and bigotry. Because they go to the altar of the family group. " Come, let's have some fun," says one. "How?" inquires the other. " Let's form a spiritual circle," suggests the third. " Agreed," responds the fourth. Flushed with mirth and excitement, the family members seat them- selves around the well-known dining-table, which, its character for honesty being, long established, is at once beyond the possibility of mechanical deception and the suspicion of being party to any modern fraud. The family remain seated a few minutes ; then says one, " Let's call up the spirit of our old dog." " Table ! will you tip if we ask questions ?" To the consternation of the party, the table tips a short angle and returns to the floor, as significant of con- sent. " What can it be ?" asks one. " Nothing, but electricity ?" says the other. " How do j-ou know it's electricity ?" " Why, don't the papers say so ? And don't you know, I had a long talk with ' our good min- ister' the other day, who told me that it is electricity, and nothing else !" " AVell," responds the first, " let's have some fun. Let's call up the spirit of our old dead dog.'' " Boss ! are you here ?" All is silence ! The effect of the previous surprise has not departed. The evening lamps are lighted, but there is something strange in the thought of seeing a table move without assistance from tangible hands. THE EXTKENAL AEQUMENT. Slowly and noiselessly at one end it rises from the floor, and, by returning, produces tliree sounds, meaning " y-e-s." " Boss ! give ns a communication. I'll call the alpha- bet, and write it down." Slowly, the table begins its mysterious work. The spelling goes on, and the following is received : — " DEAR FEIENDS, I AM HAPPY TO MEET YOTJ ALL : TELL MOTHEE TO WEEP NO MOKE WHETS SHE THINKS OF MB." The work is accomplished ! The family is silent ! A mysterious quiet pervades the apartment, which noth- ing disturbs, except the low sobs of joy awakened in the mother's breast. The good minister's electrical ex- planation has " departed this life," and the truth — plain, simple, natural, philosophical, without miracle — stands before them incarnated, so to speak, in the old well- known dining-table. And all the newspaper articles in the world can have no disturbing influence upon the neio faith of that family. The mother now can say, in the impressive language of Longfellow : — " Then the forms of the departed Enter at the open door ; The beloved ones, the true-hearted, Come to visit me once more. With a slow and noiseless footstep Comes the messenger divine, Takes the vacant chair beside me, Lays her gentle hand in mine. And she sits and gazes at me With those deep and tender eyes, Like the stars, so still and saint-like, Looking downward from the, skies."' 88 THE INNEE LIFE. On the page twenty-seven of my former volume,* may be found the philosophy of the causes of such a communication as above detailed. We are negative to our guardian spirits J \h.Qj &ve positive to m& ; and the whole mystery is illustrated by the workings of the common magnetic telegraph. The principles involved are identical. The spirits (improperly so called) sus- taining a positive relation to us, are enabled through mediums, as electric conductors, to attract and move articles of furniture, vibrate the wires of a musical in- strument, and, by discharging, through the potencies of their wills, currents of magnetism, they can and do produce rappings, on principles strictly analogous to the magnetic telegraph, and may move tables or tij} them, to signify certain letters of the alphabet. The exact process by which these spiritual currents of magnetism enter solid substances, will be hereafter ex- plained. There is always a supermundane circle correspond- ing to the structure and conditions of the circle on earth. And each guardian mind in the spiritual- group contributes its proportion of magnetic emanation, to form a line of communication, just as each person in the terrestrial group lends his or her mental and physical influence to mediumize the table. Thus there is an earthly terminus and there is a spiritual terminus to the fine thread of magnetism, which perforating and * " The Philosophy of Spiritual Intercourse." — A pamplilet containing a description of manifestations at Dr. Plielps', in Stratford, Connecticut ; also a full account of liow the communications were first attempted Ijy Dr. Franklin and others. THE ICXTKEXAL ABaUJEENT. 89 passing through all intervening substances, accomplishes the wonders herein described.* THE nlESOMKNOX OF TABLE-MOVING. This is no fancy sketch; it is paralleled by many instances on record. But it is not always that a circle * The above engraving is designed expressly to illustrate the prooosa of tdhk-mocwg, as aoootaplished on principles already explained. Ele- 90, THE INNER LIFE. formed " for fun," or composed of persons disposed to trifle with and ridicule a blessing, can get good and convincing exhibitions of spiritual power. The evi- dence once received is stronger than any clerical opposition. Now the door is open to further inquiry. The convinced mother will begin to read the spiritual literature, which, although composed of as many and various books as the apocryphal chapters of the first* Bible, is nevertheless liberalizing in its tendency, and helps on the work of moral reform. Here, therefore, is another reason why we rejoice at the spread of the manifestations. In the fourth place, the manifestations serve the im- portant purpose of diverting man's attention from the money-getting avocations of every-day life. From the world of effects he turns to the world of causes. This world is a kind of magic-lantern. Its phantasms and spectral projections, its laws, objects, and scenery, are simply representations of corresponding phenomena in the spiritual world. This life is but the A B C of an endless being. The great Temple of mystery is com- vated above the cloud-region, is seen the spirit-cirole in telegraphic correspondence with the mundane party in the lower story of the dwell- ing. The influence from the upper circle is seen passing down through tlio roof and floors to the surface of the table, where it imperceptit>ly radiates and emits invisible rays in every direction, and fills the sub- stance of tlie table as water saturates a sponge. This is a true copy from nature. The dsiscendiug line, it may be remarked, proceeds in an oblique direction, in order to exert a leverage influence on the substance to be moved. But when the " sounds " are desired to be produced, this line descends almost perpendicularly, as will be hereafter shown. The diameter of this magnetic current, which is fine and very strong, as I have frequently seen, varies in size from that of a knitling-aoedle to a child's little finger. THE EXTERNAL AEGUMENT. 91 posed of innumerable planets, or globes, like the one we now inhabit. Our earth is but a small stone in the everlasting structure of the Universe ; it is but a liase- ment window in "the house not made with hands." The manifestations have the effect to change man's esti- mate of existence. From the miserable theory of a Godless universe, from the idea that life and time are mere money-making conveniences, from the belief that the doctrine of Immortality is but the wild delusion of the Poet or the extravagant dream of the enthusiast, the miud is suddenly — sometimes too suddenly — awakened into a conception of the universe as a living whole, and this evory-day life as a commencement of an endless existence ! It is deplorable that a sudden inbursting of light should so dazzle the perceptions, and intensify the emotions of any soul, as to cwuse a temporary aberration of the intellect. But so it is. " This beautitude comes in terror, and with shocks to the mind of the receiver. ' It o'erinforms the tenement of clay,' and drives the man mad ; or gives a violent bias, which taints his judgment." I can not even Avish it were otherwise ; for I behold this law of martyrdom throughout nature. Earthquakes improve the physical aspect of the globe, and, by eliminating new princi- ples, purify the air we breathe ; yet countless hosts of human beings have sunk to one common grave by the operation. But of this I will again speak. The sud- den awakening of the grief-stricken and lonely mind to the consoling belief that the broad meadows visible ai-e but symbols of spiritual and invisible realities — that hills, valleys, rivers, seas, music, birds, love, friendship, organic life, are but hieroglyphic representations of 92 THE INNER LIFE. eternal actualities in the world of Causes — can liave but one substantial general effect — viz. : to make man a lighter, b'jtter, and happier being. Here, therefore, is still another reason why we rejoice at the spread of the manifestations. In the fifth place, the manifestations have a powerful influence, as yet quite unsuspected, toward the equali- zation or equilibrium of mankind. There is a super- cilious, weak-minded Aristocracy gaining ground in America, both in church and state, wliose chief ambition manifestly is, to create and fix an everlasting distinction between the rich and the poor — between a graduate of college and the student at -the common school — between the high-born and low-born in society. This error of misdirected minds has fastened itself upon the priest and the sanctuary. It has contaminated those who worship at the foot of the cross. They realize an unpleasant repugnance at the thought of being associa- ted in heaven with the converted libertine or the re- pentant murderer. They rather pray to be numbered among the jewels — to fellowship with the "just made perfect"^ — to be considered as the aristocracy of para- dise. Now this desire to be beautiful, exalted, and refined, is a prayer which all should cherish as the words of inward prophecy. But when this holy desire is degraded, by the undeveloped possessors of money, fine dwelKngs, and worldly advantages, into an odious distinction between the rich man and the poor man, between the ragged workman and the tailorized con- sumer, then surely it is quite time that a JSTew Dispensa- tion should dawn over the land — rolling up the curtain hanging between truth and error. THE EXTERNAL ARGUMENT. 93 The manifestations occur in humble places. Tiie carpenter's son, the eordwainer's son, the tailor's son, the son of doubtful parentage, and the working-maids, are the torch-bearers to the Newness ! The glorious sun pours down his golden light not more cheerfully upon the rich man's palace than upon the poor man's cabin. Heaven spans the brotherhood of kingdoms. The poor man's child has a mind which, as well as the mind of the rich man's child, is a poi'tion of the Iniinite Essence. Ar.d so far as this Divine Essence is concerned in the production of the human type, " it is no respecter of persons" — impartiality and equalization stand conspic- uously forth. And even so, among the new develop- ments of the age, stand side by side the plebeian and patiician — the reputed saint and the reputed sinner — involved in the same great work of social and moral reform. The illiterate and humble working-man, se- questered from public knowledge, no sooner becomes a medium, and passes through the indefinite phases of primary experience, than we hear of some " Kev. Dr. ," favorably known as a scholar and truthful man, going through the same identical experience — 'declaring the cause to be the " Adversary of souls," and iinsafe for human investigation. It would, seem to be a universal law, that the sweet- est flowers grow in the vales of humility. The " man- ger" is ever the cradle of a Saviour. The friends of humanity are rarely born under the palatial roof. " The poor tallow-chandler's son," says Bishop Doane, " that sits up all night to read the book which an apprentice lends him, lest his master's eye should miss it in the morning, sliall stand and treat with kings : shall bind 94 . THE INNEE LIFE. the lightning with a hempen cord, and bring it harm- less from the skies." The imperious and supercilious merchant is startled with intelligence that his "clerk" is a medium. The college-bred priest — full of shad- owy notions of the other world, and yet as dogmatic about it as a Calvin— is awe-stricken to learn that me- diums have come out from his own congregation. The proud wife of the respectable banker is humbled by the news, that her absent daughter is a " very interesting medium for the sounds," and the family are of neces- sity forced to concede something favorable to the New Dispensation. Thus again do we rejoice at the spread of the mani- festations. Call them what you will — "unpleasant," " ridiculous," " absurd," " nonsensical," " magnetism," " a new law of mind," a " demonological delusion," or any other name ; nevertheless we welcome them as the pre- monitory signs of a mental and social Kevolution, which shall exalt man, open his understanding, blend tlie na- tions, annihilate superstition, and render this world a lighter, hetter, happier habitation for the children of men. We do not look for infinite and perfect wisdom through the manifestations. The communications are occasionally replete with extravagant promises. Many of them are not superior to the mental capacity, nor much different from the structure of the mind, of the medium. The ideas are few ; the words innumerable. The orthography is sometimes defective ; the grammar is frequently unfinished ; the thoughts without breadth or point. But these are exceptions. The rule is the reverse of this. The question, however, turns upon another center — *. e., the influence exerted by these new THE EXTERlfAt, ARGUMENT. 95 developments upon the institutions of society. I think I have sketched the good already appearing and likely to be done. We welcome them as the glimmerings of another sphere. We welcome them as a beantifal mystery, without miracle, as a bursting of light through the thin crust of ordinary existence, without superstition, open- ing new passages in the universe. We welcome them, with all their sudden transitioiis from the grave to the gay, from the horrible to the grotesque and absurd, as a demonstration in favor of Freedom. We welcome them as a banner of promise unrolled across the hori- zon, bearing this glorious device : Emancipation from all Fear and Superstition. The doctrine of the progressive development of man's organic and mental nature — the legitimate doc- trine that the next state of existence is a perpetuation of, and improvement upon, this, the rudimental — fur- nishes the mind with all adequate explanations of con- tradictory and boisterous manifestations. It may be laid down as an immutable law, that the less developed a spirit is, the more adequate is its power to move and act upon inorganic and terrestrial substances. A physi- cal spirit, so to express it, is one who can readily cast its will-power, and personal influence, upon certain media — causing them to gesture, impersonate, speak, &c. — while a more fully-developed and perfected spirit can not do any thing of this character, except through intermediate powers, or by proxy. And furthermore, the law may be accepted, that every person has a particular guardian spirit, which — whenever that person is in a situation to receive any 96 THE ESTNEE LIFE. special influence or instruction — is ever ready to com- municate ; and this guardian, let it be recollected, is constitutionally and phrenologically congenial to the earthly charge— that is, the two are simiiar in organiza- tion, inclination, and desires, with this exception, that the guardian is always better, wiser, and more ad- vanced, enough so in truth to be positive to the terres- trial mind. This fact is illustrated in the likeness visible between many thoitghts and words employed and communicated by Galen, and those common to myself — our mental conformations being considerably analogous. Hence there is discoverable, in all media, a general sameness of ideas — or, as it were, a similitude between thoughts spiritually derived and those drawn from the medium's own brain — giving the external in- vestigator the impression of self-deception in the sub- ject's mind. It is, therefore, an unwarrantable thing to look for perfect wisdom, or for instruction much superior to the mental development of the medium ; because, when the whole field is carefully examined, it will be found that persons in this world do not, as they suppose, commu- nicate promiscuously with Swedenborg, Washington, and other illustrious minds, but always immediately with their own particular and congenial guardian spirit. If the higher spirits desire to impart thoughts, they do so by attorney. A long chain of '• mediums " is at times formed between some exalted mind in the next sphere and a person on the footstool — ^but the spirit in closest sympathy with the earthly mind, is its own congenial protector. For an illustration, and I may add, ^fvlfiUment, of this law, the reader^ referred to THE EXTERNAL AEGmviBNT. 97 the preceding volume, page fifty-seven, ■where may be found this sentence : " A high society of angels desire, through the agency of another amd a more inferior society, to communicate in various ways to the earth's inhabitants." Here, you perceive, spiritual media are acknowledged to exist, as well as terrestrial channels — the immediate spirit being, in almost every instance, the guardian of the person communicating. If these laws of interpretation be accepted, together with much to be hereafter said, the reader will find no difficulty in extricating his mind from doubts, arising from contra- dictions. HOW TO OBTAIN PHYSICAL EVIDENCES. Physical evidences are useful as incentives to inves- tigation. These evidences may be either compound or simple. The demonstrations may occur in all parts of the room, or be confined to the immediate vicinity of the table, the circle, and mediums. Ail this is deter- mined by the success of the circle in the act of me diumizing the table, the room, or the subjects of the demonstrations. The substratum of vital electricity necessary for successful physical evidences of spirit power, is the chief reason why many persons .^iccept only the electrical explanation of the consequent phe- nomena. There are veiy few who understand how wonderful a galvanic battery is the physical constitution of man. In my various works may be found references to this remarkable fact. The modi'j< nprrancli of the 98 THE INNKK LIFE. generation of this organic electricity is tlius correctly set forth by the distinguished Dr. Gregory in his work on chemistry : — " The remarkable fact of the existence, in all parts of the^body, of an alkaline liquid, the blood, and an acid liquid, the juice of the flesh, separated by a very thin membrane, and in contact with muscle and nerve, seems to have some relation to the fact now established of the existence of electric currents in the body, and particularly to those which occur when the muscles contract. The animal body may be regarded as a gal- vanic engine for the production of mechanical force. This force is derived from the food, and, with the food, is derived from the solar rays. A working- man, it has been calculated, produces, in twenty-four hours, an amoiint of heating or thermal effect equal to raising 14,000,000 lbs. to the height of one foot — ^heat being one form of mechanical effect. But, from causes connected with the range of temperature, he can only produce, in the form of actual work done, about as much mechanical effect as would raise 3,500,000 lbs. to the height of one foot, and that in twenty-four houi-s. Even this is a prodigious amount of force; and whether we regard it as derived from heat, electricity, or chem- ical action, it is ultimately derived from the luminous solar rays, on which vegetation depends." The spiritual theory is forcing materialistic minds into intimate fellowship with the electrical attributes of the body. We hail the dawning of this better knowl- edge of man's nature, because on this alone can securely rest a philosophical understanding of the prerequisite conditions of spiritual intercourse. The phenomenon THE EXTERNAL AKGUMENT. . 99 of lighting gas with the tip of the finger is a beautiful experiment, illustrating, in a most convincing manner, the electrical atmosphere (aura) surrounding the body, whereby spirits approach and act upon the media. The Tribune says : — " This is a feat anybody may perform. Let a pei'son in his shoes or slippers walk briskly over a woolen carpet, scuffling his feet thereon, or stand upon a chair with its legs in four tumblers, to insulate it, and be there rubbed up and down on the body a few times with a muff, by another person, and he will light his gas by simply touching his finger to the tube. It is only necessary to take the precaution not to touch any thing, or be touched by anybody during the trial of the experiment. The stock of electricity acquired by the process we have described is discharged by contact with another object. A second person must turn on the gas while the other fires it. The writer has lighted it in this way, and seen it done by children not half a dozen years old. We are all peripatetic lucifer matches, if we did but know it." The full and unequivocal discovery of the electrical attributes of man is equivalent to a scientific acknowl- edgment of the primary conditions on which we base our philosophy of spiritual intercourse — especially, the physical demonstrations. There is a remarkable dif- ference in persons with regard to electrical suscepti- bility. "Persons," says Kerner, "highly susceptible of electrical influences, are often cured of their maladies by a change of residence ; whilst others of the sanie description, frequently from a like cause, fall into sick- ness which the physician can not account for. Papponi, 100 THE INNEK LIFE. a man spoken of by Amoretti, who was very susceptible to electrical influences, and who suffered fi'om convul- sions, was cured merely by a change of residence. Pen- net, a man of the same susceptibility, could not go to rest, in a certain inn in Calabria, till he had wrapt himself in an isolating cloak of waxed cloth." The condition of man's constitution remains wrapt in mystery. Incomprehensible and undeiinable, man emerged from the unfathomable vortex of divine vitality — a projected embodiment of an all-animating Spirit — the greatest living wonder. How fearfully — how won- derfully made ! He is inwardly a spirit : externally a spiritual manifestation. If the demonstrations of in- visible intelligence are marvelous, man is the origin of those marvels. Is man a chimera ? Is man's existence a fiction ? Lo ! he is a spirit ; a manifestation of an in- finite reality. The mystery of innumerable worlds lies imbedded in man ; there are, therefoi-e, worlds innumer- able, of endless progression, in which this mystery shall be imrolled and comprehended. Yet he is wonderfully simple, organically and spiritually ; it is our ignorance, not his nature, that makes the attributes of liis consti- tution marvelous. Circles for spiritual evidences, when formed in a be- coming spirit of inquiry, will quicken the intellect and unchain the heart. The general system, as explained in the former volume, is still applicable. All the laws therein given should be observed when circles for ineii- tal development are instituted, and, therefore, it is deemed unnecessary to recapitulate those directions in this connection. But I now propose, by impression, the following THE EXTiiEN.VL AEO-UME-VT. 101 plan, as the best method to aceurmilate, refine, and concentrate the vital electricity of a cii'cle: — THE MAGNETIO ROPE. Here is seen a new arrangement. The males and females (the positive and negative principles) are placed alternately ; as so many zinc and copper plates in the construction of magnetic batteries. The medinm or «iedia have places assigned them on either, side of the junction whereat the rope is crossed, the ends ter- minating each in a pail or jar of cold water. This rope may be formed as already described.* Bnt these new things should be added. The copper wire should terminate in, or be clasped to, a zinc plate ; the steel wire should, in the same manner, be attached to a cop- per plate. These plates should be dodecahedral, or cut with tvielve angles or sides, because, by means of the points, the volume of terrestrial electricity is greatly augmented, and its accumulation is also, by the same means, accelerated, which the circle requires for a ru- * See " Philosophy of Spiritual Intercourse," page 98, for particular di- reetiona concerning the magnetic rope. 102 THE IHNEE LIFE. dimental aura (or atmosphere) throiigli which spiritis can approach and act upon material bodies. The plates should be from six to ten inclies in diameter; though this may be conformable to the size of the pails or jars. Underneath, and brazed to the copper plates in four or five places, leaving one plate slightly raised above the other, so that the water can flow between them,, should be corresponding plates of opposite denomina- tions ; that is to say, the copper plate should be brazed to a zinc plate, and vice versa. Then a copper wAre (which the engraving does not indicate) should pass from one vessel to the other, simply to be immersed in the water at each end. Tlie vessel containing the plates and water, may not be more than four feet asun- der. The plates should be kept clean and bright. The magnetic cord, arising from these surfaces, should pass (as seen in the illustration) around the circle of individuals, rest on the knees of each, and be gently grasped by all hands. The result will soon be — on the supposition that the external atmosphere is favorable, and the members physically healthy — a repletion of organic or vital electricity. This element will soon saturate the table, penetrate its fibers and atoms, form- ing thus the menstruum for the physical manifestations ■ — as exhibited in the action of Mind upon the muscles through the agency of the magnetism which continu- ally pervades and penetrates them. By the foregoing method, a circle can accomplish and establish the prerequisites in one-fifth of the time now consumed by heterogeneous plans so generally adopted. And iu order that the reader may intelligently know how the THE EXTERNAL AEGrMENT. 103 " raps" are produced, and " tables moved," I will intro- duce an impressive instance, in which I was myself the medium. But first let me remark, that the " tipping of tables " by resting of the hands on the outer edges of them, is doubtless the best way to be self-deceived, for in such cases, with few exceptions, the mere muscular and involuntary nervous pressure determines the ex- ternal and visible motions. AS ILLUSTRATIVE VISION. The circumstances under which the following vision was received were these : I had been MTiting upon the benefits and penalties of human experience. My mind was much but pleasantly exercised upon the subject. In the progress of my writing, I had come to this con- clusion : that those who prematurely pass away to the spirit laud — that is, before the period of utter organic ripeness or maturity — are deprived of that wholesome foundation of experience which is essential to normal mental development. And when engaged in inditing these words, being meanwhile in the superior state, I felt a warm breathing over the side of my face and head, penetrating to the fibers of my brain, and causing me to look to the right, whence the warm current emanated. Immediately I saw that the breathing proceeded from the will of a finely-molded Man,* leading by the hand * Tlie reader will pardon any apparently unwarrantable use of this term, as applicable to a spiritual personage ; but I am quite sure, that, to an appreciative and rational mind, the word is here employed with no impropriety. 104 THK INNKR LIFE. a charming little boy, apparently about five years of age. They were clothed with the immortal body, and I knew they came from the spirit-home. They were strangers to me, in the sense that I had never seen them before ; and yet they were friends to the doctrines of this philosophy. The man, who was of the Italian style of beauty — for every race, like every star, hath " a glory of its own" — signified his desire to enter the room where I was wiitiug. Accordingly I opened the doors; and he glided gracefully into the apartment, with the smiling little boy by his side. He had no sooner entered, than he, in plain, audible English, said : " I come to speak of Life with thee ; the b^inning of things — the origin of Man — is my present study." "Why do you come to earth?" I inquired. " First, because I was horn on the earth ; second, because the real student must go to the source of ex- ternal things." " Will you tell me your name ?" "My name," he replied, "is known only to uiy fami- ly in Italy. I belong to the family whence tlie Keform- er issued, whose principal name I bear. My family's name is ' Gioberti ;' and I was christened, 'Arohilli- Batista'. Thou sayest," he oontinued, "that Man is designed to live out the full number of his days — that all early deaths are contrary to the ordinations of Dei- ty. To the verity of this saying, I now come to testify. And this little embassador (pointing to the child) will also add his testimony, if thou wilt question him, even while his mind taketh no knowledge of the purport of my communication with thee." I now thanked the Italian for his unexpected assist- THK EXTEE>^AL AEGUMKNT. 103 ance in solving this problem of exjoerienoe, and 1 express- ed my pleasure, in my thoughts, which he instantly per- ceived. Since the privilege of catechising the little boy was granted me, I asked : " Will you reply to my questions by the vibrations or ' raps,' as they are called ? for I wish to see how the spirits produce them on hard surfaces." The Italian repHed : " If he can not fully cause them on your table, I will lend him strength." " What questions shall I ask ?" I inquired. "Ask him the usual questions put to children who are known to have passed from the earth in infancy." I followed the direction, and asked the little boy if he could and would " rap" for me. Immediately he drew near the table, and raised him- self about two feet above its level. Still the gentleman held his left hand. His right hand being at liberty, he moved it rapidly in several directions for a few minutes ; then brought it in a calm, firm manner, at a right-angle with the surface of the table. The beautiful sponta- neous grace accompanying these gestures made the ex- hibition exceedingly entertaining. His hand had not been in this posture more than three minutes, remain- ing fixed as by the strongest effort of Will, when I saw a current of amber softness pass down from the middle finger to the table, on which slight concussions were in- stantly produced. This phenomenon was very beautiful. But I saw how difficult it was to make them loud, or rap- idly, as he and I desired. The concussions were caused by the fine current, proceeding from the hand of the spir- it, directed by the will-power, coming in sudden contact with the electricity which reposed, like latent heat, in f)* 106 THE INNEE LIFE. the interstiees of the hoard — ^in the spaces between the particles composing the top and standard of the table. Now, as it was clearly manifested that he conld make the sounds, I asked him if he would "spell out his name?" He hesitated. He looked at his companion, who did not return his gaze ; then, he looked at me. I saw he was confused; and this surprised me. I thought he was old enough to tell me his earthly name, given to him by his parents, before" he left them. Now it occur- red to me that he resembled very rriuoh a little boy I once saw, who died in Poughkeepsie, by the name of "Edward." And I can assure you that my surprise was not lessened, when / saio him " rap" out the name I had in my mind. But I resolved to put another question : " Can you tell me how old you were when you left the earth ?" Again he hesitated — again he looked at the Italian, who told him to answer if he could ; then he looked at me. Immediately the quick current passed into the table, the sounds were made, and he spelled out — " five years old." " This can not be," thought I, " unless he died yesterday, for this seems to be his present age." This idea had no sooner taken a form in my mind, than he spelled out — " No." This " No " was precisely the conclusion of m,y own private thinking. I turned to the Italian for an explanation ; he replied : " It is well. Proceed with thy questionings." Again I asked: '' Can you tell me where you were born ; in what country, village, or city ?" Before I put tliis question, I had resolved to think of lany other' locality; for I began to suspect that my THE EXTEENAL AEGUMENT. 107 thoughts had injkienced him in his replies. I waited patiently for the response, and he rapped out — " I be- long to the third circle." " Were you born in the third circle?" I inquired. "ITo," he responded. " Where, then, were you born f " / never was horn" said he. " Have you, then, always lived in the spirit world ?" " Yes," he replied, " and this (pointing to the Italian) — this is my father !" The little boy — that charming being who never (he said) was born on earth — had just completed the last sentence ; when the gentleman indicated to me the pro- priety of asking no more questions. He gently drew the child nearer him, and then addressed me in the following terms : — "Life is a chain of discipline. It hath been well said, that there is not a chord in man's nature which some event does not strike at some time. The riches of experience are strewn all over the highway of human progress. And he who has not gathered a full disci- pline on earth, has lost for a considerable time the foundation on which his higher education stands. " Great trials and heroisms," he continued, " make mankind's history interesting and instructive. The al- ternations of joy and sorrow have their positive benefits ; all penalties are negative, and serve to 'make rough places smooth,' although the process is frequently im- perious and exceedingly severe ! When the sky pours out its tears, when the tempest strikes the seai, when nature portends her elemental strifes, and the thunders leap down the wild mountains, rushing with all tlie 108 THE INNER LIFE. wildness and power of the cataract ; then — then be calm and believing ; for when the shower is past, when the clouds pass away, when the sun shines out again over the green fields, over the green lawns and variegated meadows, then the good of the whole is revealed, and a million birds will join numberless flowers in a hymn of gratitude for all that is passed. " I come to earth to learn this lesson. This young guest (referring to the little boy) left the earth three hours after his birth. He has therefore no knowledge of the uses of the physical senses ; no memories of his parentage ; he believes his origin to be unnatural ; and all this is a serious disadvantage ; for unless the mind receives a knowledge of things through the physical senses, and unless those senses are used properly, and as long, too, as they will serve the soul, the condition and culture of the spirit is impaired, and it must re- turn to earth, to see, to learn, to feel, and to reason. Thou hast had, during this interview, an illustration of the cause of many spiritual contradictions, viz. : spirits coming near the earth to learn of things, reading the mind of the medium or questioner, and responding in accordance therewith; not knowing oftentimes, any thing to the contrary — believing it to be the truth — thus leading men to confusion and to doubt. This is all traceable to the absence of the right kind and right quantity of true experience in the communicating mind." From the foregoing, we may infer that an education through the bodily senses — through the eyes and ears and physical nervous system — is essential to an accu- THE EXTERNAL AKGUMENT. 109 rate comprehension of many things in the spiritual world. We may also infer, that the intelligent inhab- itants of the other world desire that we should become educated, in spirit and in truth, while on the earth, even though, as with children at school, we shed bitter tears in learning our various lessons. 110 THE INNER LIFE. THE SPIRITUAL CONGRESS. FIRST SESSION. It is now presumed that the reader is in a sufficiently advanced stage of mental preparedness to be interested in the relation of the following celestial wonder. Se- rene and high, distributed into harmonious groups, sur- rounded with a glory altogether inexpressible, I saw an innumerable host of happy beings, engaged in examin- ing mighty secrets and propounding deep thoughts, and canvassing earth's remotest bounds for beacon-lights to guide our erring race toward higher destinations. When I tliink of this celestial scene, my pulse beats higher, and my brain rapidly grows unfit for calm perception. Yet will I press down the gladsome emotions, and, with the surging tides of enthusiasm flowing in harmony with the causes of mental deliberation, will I proceed to give the reader a relation of what I beheld. For purposes of health and recreation, we spent the most of last summer near the ocean. "We were pleased to find a quiet retreat at the cottage owned by Jesse Hutchinson — one of the " Band of Brothers from the Old Granite State," who is now in California. This cottage is situated almost in the middle of Lynn, THE SPIEITCAL CONGRESS. Ill Massachusetts, but is very retired, from tlie fact, that it is built upon a high rocky eminence, and is somewhat difficult of access, either on foot or with horses. Froin its lofty situation, this romantic residence has received the name of " High Rock Cottage," a locality well cal- culated to awaken the powers of song, and enlarge one's conceptions of the world we live in. This is true for several reasons, a portion of which I will detail to the reader, to the end that we may together realize all the more perfectly the external realities connected with my vision. Wlien standing on the piazza of this cottage, the eye may compass a vast tract of country in every direction. The city of Lynn, spreading its numerous white-painted habitations over several large farms, is situated imme- diately beneath the brow of the mount, and is visible in all directions. Eastwardly, whence the sun comes daneing up the crimsoned sky, rolls the mighty ocean, with its unceasing motion ; yet whose bosom is as quiet and musical at times as the song-bird's gladsome har- monies when accompanied with the modulated breath- ings of lonely pipes. The cottage windows, during an August night, when the inhabitants of cities are miser- able with excessive heat, unmitigated by a single re- freshing breeze, are entered by the ocean air, fragrant with saline odors, and ample in its properties to bless the constitution of man. In the distance another favorite retreat, known as Nahant, breaks pleasingly upon the eye. To the left, about eight miles away, is seen the city of Boston. (It was apparently thirty miles in the atmosphere, a little east of this city, where the Spiritual Congress was 112 THE INNEE LIFE. located which I had the unutterable happiness to be- hold.) But the piazza of " High Eock Cottage," is not by far the most attractive portion of tliis property. For just behind the house, but much more elevated, is a kind of tower or observatory. Next to the ocean side, this elevated "look-out" is the favorite resort for travel- ers and the inhabitants of Lynn. From the street below the brow of the mount, if I remember right, there are no less than seven long flights of steps to the tower. The prospect from the upper windows of this plainly-constructed observatory is very beautiful. But I will not stop to describe. Having introduced the reader to the observatory, situated on the lofty eminence, I have but to say that there it was, in the topmost apartment of that quiet retreat, I was impressed to retire for purposes soon to be made manifest. It was just half-past nine o'clock on the morning of the 7th of August, 1852, when J re- ceived the first intimation that a vision was about to be shown me. 1 know how difficult it is for the external- minded to realize the psychologic state necessary for such an experience. Christians are surely prepared to believe in "visions" and communion between mortals and immortals. In the " thus saith the Lord" of the Oriental seers and prophets — in the visions of Ezekiel and Daniel — the instance of the angel appearing unto Joseph and Mary — the rolling away of the stone from the mouth of the Holy sepulcher — Peter's miraculous liberation from prison — Paul's testimony of seeing great glory and unutterable things — the solemn declarations of Swedenborg — the attestations of Eev. William Ten- nent, who declared, long after having a vision, that THK SPIKITUAI, CONGKKSS. 113 " for three years the sense of divine things continued so great, and every thing else appeared so completely vain when compared to heaven, tliat could I have had the world for stooping down for it, I believe I should not have thought of doing it" — ^by these, with the in- telligent Bible receiver, the probability of the following is sufficiently well established. VISION AT HIGH EOCK TOWEE. An impression comes to my mind, tells me to get paper and pencil, ascend to the quiet room, and write down every thing I may see and hear. I forthwith obey. I sit tranquilly — waiting patiently for any thing which may occur. * * * An influence, sweet and heavenly, overspreads my soul, and bids me " Look Up." I do so. But my bodily eyes see nothing, except the bending firmament — obscured here and there by fleecy, floating clouds. Now my spiritual eyes are opened, and the vision is gloriously beautiful — a company or assem- blage of men from the Spirit Land. They seem to be standing thirty miles above the earth's surface, where the sun sheds its rays abroad calmly, where the air is wholly serene. But I do not understand this exhibi- tion. What does it mean ? Ah ! now I behold them conversing together — can see them gesture and move their lips — but I hear no word pronounced. A thin mellow atmosphere, full of glory and beauty, emanates from and surrounds them — extending ap- parently in every direction about twenty feet. The upper edge is tinted prismatically, as if the sun were about to paint a rainbow on the spiritual sky. Hi THE INNER LIFE. These men, as I feel inwardly prompted to term them, seem very natural; although I well know that they are spiritual. Tliey move, and talk, and smile, and gestic- ulate, just as men ordinarily do; yet with far more ease, more grace, more spontaneonsness, as if unfettered and free alike in body and mind. Their features emit a sudden radiance — a somewhat intense but variegated illumination — as it were, from minds highly endowed with wisdom; yet skilled in the divine art of self- government and individual culture. Ah ! I see now : those are illustrious men — men of superior natural endowments; great men, because good ; strong, because righteous ; loving, because wise and deeply versed in knowledge. Still, I do not comprehend this vision ; yet I can not but " look up " and see it all. Far beyond this company, in the extreme distance — apparently several thousand miles awaj' — I distinctly behold something approaching!* I wonder what it * Unassisted by any outward references, tut strictly from memory, I liave sketched out and have had engraved expressly for this volume, the external nituation and appearance, from a short distance, of the locality of my extraordinary vision. A circumstance so wonderful and impress- ive could not fail, as the reader may well imagine, to fill my mind wiih pleasurable recollections of the "local habitation," where those colestiiil scenes were first presented. From tho descriptions already given of the situation of Lynn, of High Eock Cottage, and its environments, the reader will recognize the prospective points of the engraving. The Spiritual Congress, as beheld by me in session, is necessarily, from the nature of the subject, imperfectly indicated in the aerial distance, » little left of Boston City. The four spirits whom I beheld leave the assembly, who drew nigh unto me, and immersed their thoughts in mine, are also represented in closer proximity to the tower where I was then writing the communications, as I will hereafter relate. THE SPIRITUAL CONGRESS. 115 can be? It looks like a large wbite cloud, shining and sparkling with many colors; and yet it is not trans- parent. jSTow it appears like an immense mount of snow — wholly overspread with the leaves of mammoth flowers. But as I continue to look, all these appear- ances gradually fade away. As the mass approaclies, I see a great multitude of spirits and angels, both male and female, coming rapidly toward the assemblage I first saw. But they do neither fly nor walk ; but they ride upon a magnificent Shining River of what appears to be electricity ; and yet it is different from this element. It looks far more like the principle of Light in a state of condensation or liquefaction ! This celestial river, like terrestrial waters, has tides which ebb and flow through space from one pole of the Universe to the other, for I can see no beginning nor ending to it! But I do see that this Hi ver of Light has innumerable branches, flowing, one toward the earth, another toward the planet Mars, another toward Jupiter, another toward Saturn ; and so, also, onward to the planets and orbs be- yond. And now, as I look at them minutely, I see that the tides of all these rivers seem to set strongly, and with inconceivable rapidity, this way — from the hidden fountain in infinitude toward all the planets and con- stellations in our department of the material universe ! And I remember now to have seen this river before, on The engraving may not be, in every particular, an accurate portraiture of tlie cottage and surroundings; but wliatever of imperfection is dis- coverable in it, should be attributed to the defects of my external memory of the localities, and not to any mal-exeoution on the part of the artist. :- "a .7; h, ^«''il:t IS 4S* ' 31* "'" 1/ : t j / ;T 118 THE INNER LIFK the flowing bosom of which spirits and a/ngels often glide from place to place ; but I never saw it before so intelligently — with so much internal satisfaction and insight into its use and quality. And it comes to me now that I shall examine this celestial wonder with far more minuteness at some future time, and learn then and thereby the exact philosophy of the means of traveling adopted by the beings of the other world. I await this disclosure with gratitude and patience. The multitude has now joined the first party; and they number many, many thousands. ^ !N"ow they arrange themselves into harmonious groups and circles, as if to systematize their numbers; some with their faces toward the North ; others toward the South; and others still face the East; and others the West. What can all this mean ? Ah ! now I see them, as they quietly and benignantly gaze upon the difierent Towns, Yillages, and Cities on tliis side of the earth's surface. They semn to he loohhng into the mind and reading the heart of every human ieing ! Oh ! that the human world could realize this inspection ; and comprehend the righteous judgment now being ex- ercised upon it ! Every thing is visible ! Ignorance and Crime — Poverty and Wretchedness, together with their innumerable hideous Causes — are seen to day by the noble beings whom, one day, we shall meet face to face. E"ow I behold four spirits leave the Western group, and approach me. They come very moderately ; con- versing together. Now they halt in the air — apparently, about two miles from the place I now occupy in writing. THE SPIRITUAL CONGKESS. 119 Ifot OTily ray internal eyes, but my spiritual ears are also opened ; and I am both Clairvoyant and Clairati,- diant — can see and hear the things -which are spiritual as easily as if they were on the earth. And now, with speechless joy, I recognize \hefour individual spirits as my most dear friends in the Spirit Land ! Be still, be calm, Oh, my soul 1 and listen to the illustrious Galen, who is now about to address thee. He speaks : — " "We, your guardians in the spirit, will now give you the ground-plan and frame-work of a Discourse wliicli you may hold your spirit in ample readiness to deliver when requested, during your sojourn, trusting in that Faith which moveth mountains, that we will strengthen and inspire your mind, by direct intercourse and illus- tration, to enforce your thoughts and complete the superstructure." After the spirit of Galen had pronounced these words of encouragement with an indescribable richness of intonation, I waited quietly for something more ; but he uttered not a word. And yet upon his countenance something fraternal seemed to say : " You may ask me questions." " This I accordingly did, and inquired : — "Will you tell me what means the vast assemblage which you just left behind ?" " That Consociation," he replied, " is a detachment of the Royal Circle of the Foli : being a convocation of many spirits that were born on the earth ; who, in their present estate, belong to that Wisdom Circle which is conjoined, in the bonds of divine congeniality, to the circle of Fraternal Love." Being deeply gratified by this reply, I asked : " Will you tell me who some of them are ?" 120 THK INNEK LIFE, " Their earthly names," said he, " are known by the characters they themselves inscribed on the history of their race ; by the gardens of affection they established in the memories of thousands through the force of their genius and culture." At this he stopped speaking, and supposing he designed not to tell me the names of some of the spir- its assembled; and so, recurring to the "Discourse" which he had promised me, I asked : " Will you now give me the ' ground-plan,' &c., of the lecture which I must deliver?" And immediately he replied : " We will impress yon to-night. Soon you shall know more of this vision." And forthwith he departed with his companions as he came, and I saw nothing further. But this impression flowed distinctly into my mind: that the commission which I had just received to go forth and lecture was "per order of supermundane Wisdom — the Natural, Spiritual, and Celestial degrees or phases of which (so far as the other world is related to this life), the four spirits whom I had seen individually and collectively represented." Their names on earth were : — Claudius Galen, Eepresentative of Natural "Wisdom. James Victor Wilson, " " Transitional " The Athenian Solon, " " Spiritual " The Beloved John, " " Celestial " " Natural Wisdom," as I have been led to apprehend, means the mental ability to comprehend the teachings oi science — to understand the nature, relationship, and application of facts from which science is derived. And I may here add that, for years, Oalen has ever been the mind to suggest certain scientific facts — ^medical, geo- THE SFIEITTJAL CONGEESS. 121 logic, historical — with which I have, from time to time, illustrated the Philosophy. "Transitional Wisdom" signifies the mental state in which the individual realizes much fondness for tlie facts of Love, Friendship, examples of Devotion, per- taining to the affections and emotions; for poetry, music, painting, sculpture, &c. ; and the reader, by referring to Friend Wilson's previous communications in the former volume on this suhject, will doubtless observe this peculiarity in his mind. " Spiritual Wisdom" is devoted to the comprehension of principles of exalted association in the other life^ — a knowledge of progressions, back and forth, through mul- titudinous experiences and developments. " Celestial Wisdom" I can not define, for I have never entered into its significations. The former phases have been experienced to some degree by many minds on earth. From what I have seen, however, I infer celes- tial wisdom to be the mental power to realize the Divine Being in many departments of his sublime rela- tion to the Spirit UTniverse. SECOOT) SESSION. On this occasion I was situated alone in a bed-cham- ber at High Eock Cottage. It was in the evening of the same day ; the time was twenty minutes past seven o'clock. The muttering voices of the angry waters, and the gloomy-clouds, burdened with wind and rain, gave me, as I remember, a singular feeling, before entering 6 123 THE INNEE LIFE. the Superior Condition, as if the night was too severe for spirits to be near the earth. VISION. The sky is overshadowed by heavy clouds, and the rain steadily falls to earth. The physical indications are that the night vrill be dark and gloomy. The winds sob and sigh with a shrill voice over the adjoining promontories ; and the distant ocean moans heavily, as if anticipating a stormy visitation. Nevertheless, punc- tual to my engagement, here I am at my table — with paper and pencil ready — waiting, with as much passiv- ity of soul as my will can command, for the communi- cation which was promised me this morning by the good Gfalen. I have been waiting fifteen minutes already. But now it comes ! After the manner of gentle mu- sic, the sweet influence flows upon and overspreads my whole being. The effect is indescribable. Vital action is partially suspended. In the appropriately descrip- tive phraseology of Daniel, ch. x., v. 8 : " And there remained no strength in me; for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength." A profound sleep gradually takes my mem- bers into custody. Yet I am not slumbering ; but more completely awake than before. My brain is pecu- liarly calm. Still, I feel a beautiful waltz going on in its chambers, amid the nerves and tissues there, as if music, like an element of self-consciousness and volun- tary fluidity, had overflowed my faculties of thought — attuning them to the ways of harmony. Yea, I now comprehend it. — This is the sovereign Law of Nature THE SPIEITUAL CONGE35SS. 123 asserting, temporarily, its supremacy over my mind. This is the grand cause of all mental exaltation ! Oh, that all children could be born thus — all men live thus- — how glorious then would be the sons of God ! I have enjoyed this mental harmony many hundreds of times; but never stopped before to realize progressively the delightful processes in the economy which bring it about. How I wish for words to describe them. But now my spiritual senses are unlocked. My eyes are uplifted, and again I behold the vision. Again I see the vast Congress of spirits and angels — apparently, still thirty miles, above the earth's surface- -a little south of the city of Boston in the State of Massachusetts. The atmosphere which I saw this morning, as enveloping the assemblage, has become more brilliant, and is inex- pressibly beautiful; it is broader and higher; and the prismatic distribution of colors is more exquisite, and produces an effect upon me which I can not describe. Other alterations are also visible. The groups are far more numerous. So abundant are they, I can not count them. Ah ! now I see that many thousands of the good and true immortals have arrived since my morning's observation. The reading and judging of the world — that sublime looking into the conditions, the hearts, and the motives of men — is now almost completed, and the various groups now constitute a grand Consilium — bping, to all appearance absorbed in conversation and in calm debate ! All this still remains incomprehensible — wholly wrapt in impenetrable mystery. For the vision is new to me ; and not having an interpretation given me, I 124 THE IHNEE LIFE. strive in vain to understand it. Still I mnst continue my observations. I now behold some changes taking place in the west- em wing of the body. A group on the right is now disbanded. Its members seem to be seeking new places among other circles. Yet I see nothing of the four spirits who so kindly visited me this morning. Where are they? Ah! now I behold them. I see them just emerging from the extreme left of the multitude. Now they approach deliberately ; they halt precisely as be^ fore ; and turning their beaming countenances toward me, they seem more than ever disposed to communicate the noble thoughts with which they overflow. What a scene is this ! The night is dark, the rain descends, the winds shriek among the rocks and cliflFs, yet they — that beautiful company — stand unharmed above the lower sphere of storm-clouds and tempestuous rain, which hovers over the earth. From where they stand, all below is dark and misty, while all ahove is bright, starlitj and beautifully serene. The earth is beneath their feet. They have triumphed over the wreck of matter visible at the hour of death / they have, in- deed, escaped from bondage ; they are no longer involv- ed in the material trials of our rudimental state ; and yet how touohmg is the cheerfulness with which they come back to earth ! How willingly do they gaze into the mangers and humble places wherein Truth is born ! How compassionately do they examine tlie mental cem- eteries wherein Error, consecrated by scholastic Igno- rance, lies entombed in sacred garb I * * * Time passes rapidly. I am surprised that friend Wilson does not come to speak with me, nor John nor Solon THE SPIKIT0AL CONGEESS. 125 . — friends from whom I have derived the highest thoughts, ■with whom I have exchanged the finest sympathies — why do they not come nearer ? Ah ! now the good Galen is approaching. He draws very nigh ! The distance between us is not more, it seems to me, than one-quarter of an English mile. He is now about to speak. (Here he gave me many private instructions a.nd di- rections about what lectures I should deliver ; how I should obtain impressions of my discourses ; how ex- amine the mental condition of my audience, &c., &c., all of which I feel not at liberty to disclose in detail.) During the speaking of these directions, I was again forcibly reminded of the language of Daniel : that " / alone saw the vision " of the apgel, and while " there remained no strength in me," yet " heard I the voice of his words ; and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep," yet was I more awa,ke than ever ! When he had finished his private remarks, he spoke more openly, and said : — " You may now ask questions, on condition that you report them entire to all persons who have ears to hear." I answered, that I would do so. And these words I spoke audibly with my physical tongue ; for thus he adr dressed me : and I heard, with great joy, the marvel- ous music of his voice.* I now asked : " Will you tell me why friend Wilson, and John, and Solon do not come nearer." * This phenomenon is almost entirely new with me ; because in all my converse with spirits hitherto, with a very few exceptions, the pro- cess has been carried on by and confined to a silent mental communion. 126 THE INNEK LIFE. " Because," replied he, " I am delegated with the power especially to speali to you of things which they can not so easily impart. Be patient, and they will each converse with you, and will give you thmights and strength while you are teaching orally !" * I tried to feel truly grateful for this blessing, and again ventured to ask concerning the consociation of spirits. "What," I inquired, " is the object of yon vast midtitude of spirits who have been in session so many hours?" " They are spirits, as you incorrectly term them, originally from the earth," he replied. "Tlrey have convened for the purpose of weighing kings, emperors, tyrants, teachers, and theologians in the balance of Justice and Ti'uth. And mene, inene, tehel, upharsin^ is written all over their institutions. Men," he contin- ued, "have commented on the contents of the Bible with a gaudy show of skillful erudition. But the true commentary is now being written. When completed, it will be found to be ' A New Dispensation' — an era of psychological revealments and spiritual progressions ■ — the ripening up and culmination of all the Experi- ences of Humanity — revealing a ■unitaTy combination of Truths, unspeakably brighter than the noonday sun !" At this I was deeply moved. " Can you tell me," I asked, " when this investigation will terminate ?" He answered : " When they shall have discovered from out of all the races of men. Twelve Teachers (>f Philosojphy, and enough media to awaken the advo- * The truth of .this promise I have frequently reaUzed. THE SPIRITUAL CONGEESS. 127 cates of sacred superstitions from the delusive sleep which has befallen them." " Can I assist you in this work ?" I asked. " Yes." " How ?" " By teaching," he replied, " when and as yon ai'e most interiorily impressed." * (He now seemed disposed to terminate his communi- cation. He gently withdrew a little, and turned away his face lovingly toward his companions. Yet he evidently lingered to say something more; and so I interrogated again ;) " What do you mean by ' Teachers of Philosophy ?' " " We mean," he replied, " those who can discern truthfully, so far as capacity extends, the Love and Wisdom which are bodied forth in things seen and unseen — those, living on the earth, who can utter both love and wisdom by mouth and by life before the world. " " Is it easy to find such characters V I asked. "No!" he exclaimed; "although many are called, few are chosen." Here I thought of the many talented men engaged in teaching theology and science, and others managing the affairs of nations, and so I ventured to ask : — " Can you not find the proper minds in some of the departments of Church and State ?" He answered : " Nay — nay ; it is not easy to find them there. The most of them are externally too superficial, and internally too unsound." Here he manifested some emotion, and then impressively said : " The Church and State are tioo thieves, between whom Truth is daily crucified ,'" 128 THE INNER LIFE. A few moments of utter quietness now passed away, and then I asked : " Can you explain to me wKy the spirits impart to mankind contradictory communica- tions ?" " The explanation has already been given you," he replied, " in what you were impressed to write on the 23d of July.* Experience will graciously add the rest. Let all be patient and calm !" "Can I tell any men or women how to prepai-o themselves for Teachers and mediums ?" " Nay ; for we must prepare them ourselves by our own especial influence and instigation." " Can you inform me by what names some of those spirits in yon innumerable host are known on the earth ?" " Their names," he replied, " are engraved on the monuments of Humanity — ^but, remember, they were their own engravers. I will transfer- to you for the present a few names of the spirit-brothers who are now, this very moment, urging forward the essential princi- ples of Justice, and Wisdom, and Trutli — interior philanthropists, the lovers of their terrestrial brethren : Zoroaster, Moses, Solomon, Paul, Lycui^ns, Plato, Christ, Hippocrates, Socrates, Galileo, Fenelon, Mozart, Kaphael, Fourier, Spinoza, Byron, Goethe, Spurzheim, "Washington, Franklin, Channing — these, together with many thousands of no less advanced minds, though less known to the world's superficial history, have places assigned to them in yon Legislature." * This explanation may be found in the Summary of Explanations at the conclusion of the chapter on the different media. THE SPIRITUAL CONOKESS. 129 " You mention only the names of celebrated men," I replied, " are there 710 women there ?" He answered: "Yea, verily, You would see no beauty in the margin of yon atmosphere if there were no women there. The sexes are balanced in the Spirit Land. Positives and negatives are conjugally con- joined. Because the Law of Justice is the cause of equilibrium ; as I have frequently told you. Conse- quently, all nuptials among the sexes are consecrated by divine Truth ; the wedlock of divine Love with divine Wisdom ; which no man can put asunder." Immediately, upon completing the last sentence, Galen turned away, and rapidly passed onward with the others, till I saw them enter the Spiritual Congress at the precise point from which they first emerged, and forthwith my vision ended. THIRD SESSION. The following day, the Sabbath, was passed without bringing me any new vision. Indeed, I do not know that I had any reason to expect further light. The reaction of feeling was so intense, in consequence of the extraordinary mental excitement of the previous day.i that I was unfit for any thing but slumber and repose. I found that I could not even reflect upon what I had witnessed ; and so I yielded myself wholly up to the acquisition of physical vigor. VISION. But now — half-past gix o'clock, Monday morning, 6* 130 THE INNER LIFE. August 9tli, 1862, having just returned from a walk^— I find myself reflecting in a peculiar doubtful mood, as it were for the ordinary materialist, who must always stand on terra firma, and have a cause for every effect, else he is disturbed and unsatisfied. I am reflecting, as such a mind naturally would under the circum- stances, upon what appears to be the physical impossi- hility of my vision of Saturday morning and evening. What will astronomers and meteorologists — those who have investigated the extreme rarity of the atmosphere — think of my assertion : that I saw innumerable men and women standing upon and walking to and fro in the thin air, as men walk on the ground, and yet thirty miles above the earth's surface? These beings were real , not imaginary. They were firm and substantial bodies, adapted to the other world ; not gossamer and vaporish, as many might suppose. " How, then," philosophers will ask, " can such a multitude of sub- stantial bodies be sustained by the unsubstantial air?" How many hundred pounds must such a multitude weigh in the aggregate? Is not this phenomenon contrary to all the known laws of gravitation ?" While reflecting thus, my spiritual eyes were suddenly opened ; and I beheld the beautiful person and beaming countenance of Galen! He stood about the usual distance from me ; but in a somewhat more easterly direction. While looking toward him, my internal ears were also opened ; and, as before, I heard the " voice of his words." " Our detachment of the Eoyal Circle of the Foli departs this morning," said he ; " the members depart to the Mountains of the Beautiful — to their habitations THE SPIEITUAL CONGEESS. 131 in the Spirit Land, beyond the ken of mortal vision." " Indeed," I exclaimed, " have they, then, found the twelve Teachers of Philosophy, and all the mediums required, for the glorious work ?" " Yes," he replied ; " the future for the present is generally determined." "What do you mean by being ' generally' deter- mined ? Can you not foretell the future in detail ?" " No — the minutisB are not presented." "Why, how is this?" "Because, there are things which occur incidentally to the great general principles of human progression — things which we can not provide for or anticipate with the absolute certainty of Truth." " May I know who the twelve teachers are ?" " ISo — ^it remains for us to reveal them to the world as rapidly as possible."* " Can I tell any persons how to prepare themselves for this exalted mission ?" "Yes, this you can do : admonish all public teachers to resist not the will of our Heavenly Father ; urge them to open their affections to the breathing of Universal Love, their judgment to the light of Divine Wisdom !" " Can I do any thing else ?" " Yes." "What?" " Go teach your Impressions to all who have ears to hear, saying, ' Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.' " * See " Questions and Answers," page 261, for further explanations. 132 THE INNKB LIFE. The peculiarity of this charge very powerfuUy re- minded me of the Dispensation which began with the Teaching of the Doctrines of Jesus ; and so, desiring to know more concerning his counsel and its import, I asked : " Shall any signs follow them that believe ?" " Yes," he impressively responded. " How shall I know them ?" " The believers," said he, " will show signs or deeds of Goodness, Truth, Temperance, Integrity ; they will teach and heal the sick ; they will Love and liberate their fellow-men ; they will condemn or despise no man in anger ; neither will they retard any more the union of love with wisdom ; nor procrastinate the develop- ment of Nature's Own Religion in the Earth !" When he had said this, with much emotion and thrilling power, which I can not attempt to describe, he- made a graceful gesture with his hand outwardly, which I understood to mean that he would say nothing further on this subject. And immediately, fearing he might depart, I asked him about the thousands and tens of thousands of im- mortal beings whom I had seen walking and standing upon the thin air ! I inquired : " How can the suspen- sion of a weight so immense be reconciled with the laws of gravitation ?" " You fear," he answered, " the opposition of what are termed ' Ifatural ' Philosophers ? This class of men know as yet very little of the physical constitution of the atmosphere ; still less, of the so-called ' Law of gravitation.' " " Can you tell me," I asked, " how such an immense weight could be supported by the air?" THE SPIKlrUAL CONGRESS. 13;' " Look yonder," said he, pointing obliquely through the heavens toward the south ; " do you see that V I looked, and beheld, greatly to my surprise, an immense body of hailstones suspended, motionless, in the air, and weighing, as I should suppose, many thou- sands of tons. He now pointed in an easterly direction, and again Baid : " Behold !" I looked. And lo ! I saw a great Lake of ponderous masses of what appeared to be Iron and Coal, elastic, like partially molten pewter. I inquired, " What is all this designed to signity ?" And he answered, " Look again !" I did so. And with a graceful sweep of his shining hand, he pointed to the various planets, and, beyond these still, to the different satellites, and likewise to the Sun. " What," exclaimed he, in a style which an orator of the skies could only possess, the precise words I can not attempt to record, " what supports these weighty and substantial bodies in the thin air ? Do they stand or rest upon the bosom of any visible thing ? Do they need the materia,l Earth for their foundation? Ton mass of congealed water can not fall to earth ; those Aerolites, known as meteoric stones, can not fall, though they weigh more than twenty of the largest stone hab- itations of the earth ; those stupendous 0?'is can not fall, though they stand upon nothing visible, and weigh more than any man can comprehend. All this, remem- ber, is consistent with the laws of gravitation ! And when natural philosophers shall have fully explained how thes^ weighty bodies remain in the air, withoiit 134 THE INNER LIFE. disturbance or accident, then will they also explain the ' physical possibility' of the vision of the multitude ■which thou hast beheld." Here I inquired : " Why do we not see with our bodily eyes, those material masses in the air ?" " Because," said he, " the accumulation of hailstones and Aerolites are too small and too far off, ranging variously, from twelve to thirty-five miles from the earth's surface ; while the Orbs are larger, and these, therefore, do you behold." " Am I to understand, by these remarks, that the spiritual body is still material ; coming under the action of physical laws ; subject to the laws of rarity, density, and electricity, as we generally speak of the properties of matter?" " Yes, measurably so," said he. " The spiritual body is a substance ; and yet it is not what you term ' Mat- ter.' Spirit bears the same relation to earthy matter that light sustains to the element of water ; the same as the flower to the ground which enlivens it. The spiritual body is ' matter' spiritualized ; as the flower is the earth refined." I here inquired, " Will not the spiritual body die also in future ages, and its elements pass away into higher forms, as analogy would teach us?" " The elements," he replied, " change perpetually ; but the form, the body, which contains those elements, is eternal." " By what law is the spiritual body eternal ?" " By the Law of Harmony." "Why may we not obtain an immortal body on earth," J inquired, " the law being Harmony ?" THE SPIRITtTAL CONGRESS. 135 " Because, owing to the lowness and inferiority of the state, it will forever remain impossible to attain that degree of organic Harmony and refinement which is essential." " You say ' the elements change perpetually ;' that the 'body is eternal.' What am I to understand by this?" " I will speak still more plainly," he replied, " and will inform thee of the distinctive difference between the changing elements and the unchanging Form. The spiritual body is unalterable ; because the elements of which it is composed never become deranged by disease or accident, nor from atmospheric causes, but flow through the body aud circulate freely in all ramifica- tions forever, making age and decay alike impossible in the Spirit World." " Will you tell me," I asked, " why all men are bora with the earthy body, which dies ?" " Because," he replied, " the earthy body is essential to the organization of the inward spirit ; which, when organized, has no more need of the same body than the apple, after being unfolded into ripeness, needs the tree ' which produced it." Here I made a statement and request in these words : " The people find great difficulty in conceiving of ' spirit !' They think it is a mass of Sentiments ; a conglomeration of Ideas ; something like an unsubstan- tial Vapor, palpitating with drowsy life, tinted with different hues, yet ' nothing,' after all, except a senti- mental consciousness of being or continuing to exist. This, as nearly as I can ascertain and define it, is the Christian's conception of 'spirit' after death. "So-w almost all Americans have been indoctrinated in this 136 THE INifEE LIFE. unphilosophical idea of a future life ; aud hence %ve find it exceedingly hard to get a clear conception of ' spirit' into this world. Can you help me to a better definition than that presented in the books I have written ?" He answered : " There are, in yon Legislature, many minds so well educated and versed in this question, that an explanation from tkem would be as plain as words can make it. But the ' words ' they employ are fixed in meaning, like axioms, preventing all confusion. The language of earth is too imperfect for this question. Words are used inconsiderately with meanings arbi- trary and variable ; wherefore it is diiBeult to make new ideas understood. The truth is," he continued, " that Man, on this Planet, is yet but partially developed. His language is imperfect for the same cause that his mind is so ; and many words are used, originating in the confusion and imperfection of the understanding, to convey a confused idea of something which his mind could not in reality explain; yet these words have passed into general employment, and certain vague meanings are associated with them." Here I asked : " Will you give me an instance of the misuse of language ; an instance of words which have originated in man's ignorance." He hesitated a few moments, as if communing with the Legislature, and then said : — " The word ' spirit,' as used by man, has no actual meaning ; for spirit does not exist in the infinite order and plenitude of things. Every thing in the universe is a substance, a materiality ; and the difference between the Rudimental and the Superior worlds consists sim- ply in this : here, in the rudimental, matter is progress- THE SPimrUAL COXQEESS. 137 ing ; there, in the superior world, matter is progressed. Here, matter is ultimatiiig ; there, it is ultimated — aud is, consequently, much more real than where the exter- nal conditions are constantly changing. Thus, man is employing words that have no real meaning, but lead the mind into error, and that continually." I inquired: "Would you like to suhstitute some other word for ' Spirit,' now frequently used by my- self and others ?" He replied : " I did not come to do this now ; I feel more at liberty to speak of Principles. Man knows too little of principles. Man sees the motions of the plan- etary bodies ; sees life on earth ; sees wonders every- where ; and asks : ' "Where does the Power come from which pervades all and moves in all V If man would examine the laws of realities, he would soon find that 'Matter' contains all Power as well as all Forms. He would soon find, that Matter, when centralized or organized, contains form ; and when attenuated, con- tains force. All matter has two conditions : one, when it is reduced iofonii ; the other, when attenuated to the evolution of force.'*' It is these two conditions which perfect and advance matter to its ultimate point of atomic refinement; at which consummation the atoms perfectly coalesce, become indivisible, and can no longer expand. On this law of Harmony between * The last word of science is that the constant element, the vitality of matter, is force. What science calls force, philosophy calls cause, and religion calls God ; and that God is potentially and actively present in every atom of matter, every bead of dew, in the pencils of light that paint the spring landscape with inimitable beauty, and the fragrance that exhales from flower aud shrub. — Liberal Christian, May 2, 1868. 133 THE INNBK LIFE. Form and Force, tlie spiritual body will forever retain its form and shape ! Having perfected, in itself, all of its original properties, qualities, and attributes, tlie spirit will continue young, barmonious, and happy, throughout the countless cycles of eternity, without the sensations of age, decrepitude, or knowledge of decay." Here he gave me to understand, by a motion of his hand, that he would say no more on this subject just now. And so, fearing he might depart at once, I asked : " Could we not see the spirits thus assembled, with our physical natural eyes, if they were not too far off?" " No," he replied ; " but you would behold a grayish mass of nebulcB in the sky, in appearance like a fleecy cloud, though the whole canopy besides might be as cloudless as a Thought of Truth." On saying this, he waved his hand, as if to bid me adieu, a departing salutation glowed forth from his countenance, and so was terminated one of the most impressive visions ever made manifest to my percep- tions ! DELEGATIOlSrS AND EXOEDIA. It is now eight months since the foregoing was writ- ten. But to day, being the seventh of March, 1853, 1 am particularly impressed to hold myself in readiness, in body and mind, to record things further concerning the Spiritual Congress. Accordingly, I take plenty of out-door exercise, very small quantities of food, and am particular to be passive in mind. * -» * * THE SPIlilTUAL COKGEESS. 139 To-day, being the eighth, I go into my I'oom, prepare my writing materials, and await further impressions. Now I feel the overshadowing presence of a sweet in- fluence. It pervades my entire system. It penetrates to my interior sensibilities. It first surroimds me like a warm fluid-vapor ; then it settles down through the pores of the cuticle : now it flows through my blood — cooling and soothing it most pleasingly ; and now I fee] a general slumber stealing over my being. I yield to it. And now, several minutes have passed, I am quite ready for the additional information promised. Galen is again approaching ! He tells me to " write whatsoever word is given." I obey. THE JEWISH DELEGATION.* "Publius Abraham, ffis commissioner; Flaecus Mordaoi, j temporary derangement; but the latter result is wholly attributable to individual disobedience of the principles, ever divine and pregnant with bless- ings, which control this pliase of experience. The psychologic state, by itself considered, is fraught with a peculiar mystic interest. The troi>pes of revela- tors who once trod the Oriental lands, their minds in sweet communication with sam^tujn persancB, were in the free enjoyment of this blessing. This condition, however, is no security against misapprehension or error. The " Upward" states are far more reliable, and should be aimed for by the mediatorial mind. !N"umerous opportunities, have presented themselves, giving me well-attested and incontrovertible evidences of all I feel impressed to afBrm respecting this mystic state. As embracing and illustrating the most modern and familiar instances, with a peculiar and pleasing fidelity, it is deemed proper to introduce the experience of a conscientious and investigating mind. I wrote to the author of the subjoined letter, requesting from him an account of his recent trials and conclusions. As to the uprightness and candor of this gentleman, so well known to the inhabitants of the Quaker City, nothing need be said : — ■ Philabelphia, March 25, 185S. A. J. Davis, Esq. — Dear Sir : To fiiMU my prom- ise, made to you a few days since, I will now endeavor to give a general outline of my experience in the spirit- ual manifestations of the day. One remarkable feature THE TABLE OF EXPLANATION. 225 of it, however, is, that my memory does not retain the particulars as it does of other things ; and, as I keep no regiilar diary, I shall not perhaps be able to give you all the facts in the order in which they transpired ; as many interesting circumstances have, almost entirely escaped my recollection.* In the month of August, 1851, I first became sen- sibly influenced by some invisible power moving my hand to write, without the aid of my will, and, in a short time, very rapidly, f During two or three months, ■* The incapacity to remember certain interior occurrences grows from this fact : that the mind has two hemispheres in every particular ; more especially is this true of Memory. There is an external and corporeal memory ; and a memory, also, which is wholly internal and spiritual. The former is a tablet whereon the world of matter and sensuous objects write the evanescent impressions of their panoramic existeuce ; the latter is the soul's sanctwn sanctoruTn, wherein are deposited, as imperishable jewels in a casket which none but the possessor can open, the spirit of tilings, of all impressions, of all useful experiences. The most delicate perfume of Thought is thus treasured up, while the body of that thought is impressed upon the external memory, a lifeless mass of material, to be laid aside with its tablet in the tomb. But ou the internal memory, the faintest lines of a spiritual reality produce the most permanent im- pressions. And yet, in this life, the corporeal faculty is so constantly called into requisition and exercise, that, with but rare exceptions, the mind's most interior experiences are seldom remembered. It would give rae pleasure to dwell on the mysteries of the internal man ; but this would bo to abstract attention from my friend's letter. ■j- This stage of my friend's development may be properly classed under the DttodyTunmc type ; because he could have been readily de- veloped in either direction, as all individuals so situated always can, by means of the Circle ; he might have added the " Motive " on the Out- ward, or passing the other way, attained the '■Telegraphic" on the Upward, and either would have produced an equilibrium. With the first combination, his mediatorial usefulness would have been serviceable to others, on the material plane of skepticism ; the latter compound would have elevated hia own mind above uncertainty, and his true mis- sion in the field would have undoubtedly appeared. It is quite neces- in* 226 I'ttE IltNEE LIFE. I was constantly influenced whenevei* alone, and, in a most unmistakable manner. If I walked the streets, 1 was continually reminded of some unseen intelligence impressing my mind, in so powerful a manner, that it was impossible ierfeot declamatory mani- festation, are still too rare to admit of a specific classi- fication. Several individuals have been developed to this plane of usefulness, but the most of them have passed through the pulsatory, sympathetie, and dv,o- dynamic phases. This angular journey is to be studi- ously avoided, because, when the medium ascends to the speaking plane of spiritnalization, he is too likely to convey with him the puerilities and impure character- izations of the preceding conditions. If so, he is more than usually disposed, without designing to do so, to modify, and commingle his own individual impressions or cogitations with his spiritually-instigated utterances. TUE TABLE OF EXPLAlfATION. 273 The true object of spiritual iutercourse is the progress- ive spiritualization and religious harmonization of the different nations composing the terrestrial family of Man. The Manifestations are not the end of reform ; they simply jpomij to the great and glorious destinies in store for mankind — socially, intellectually, spiritually. If an audience is thrilled and charmed with the elo- quence of " speaking media," the manifestations should not be regarded as a Jmality, but as the promise of a perpetual fact. Modern inspiration is adapted to mod- em necessities and to existing religious circumstances ; it is not designed to anmse the idle, neither to gratify the lovers of the marvelous and supernatural. Speak ing media should be welcomed as the evangelists of a good and glorious dispensation. In the development of speaking media, the circle, in which the process is going on, should not divert the promising person from the straight line of spirit-oitlture. The best speaking medium is one who has glided, with his entire character and aspirations, without any devia- tion from tlie rudimental state of the rectilinear plane of growth, to the complete individualization of his facul- ties ; thus becoming an orator and advocate of re- formatory Principles. It is not, however, an unfavora- ble passage for a person to pass from the normal con- dition to a medium for the motive developments, then to the gesturing phenomena, then rapid!}' to the imper- sonating manifestations, tlience to the missiona/ry, through the telegraphic phase, to the full development of the orator. This transition is a correct development. But should the individual manifest an organic disposi- tion toward other ultimates or points of development, )2* 274 THE INNICE LIFE. then let him make straight to that result^ whatever it may be, and perfect his individuality in it. Let do one suppose himself capable of being correctly and profita- bly more than one type of medium. Some persons can make only a good om