'■!0V 12 1884 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/newphilosophyOOpain THE W Dtttt OSOPHY, BY / Albert W. Paine, Counselor at Law, BANGOR, ME. * C iPY!IIIH; NOV- ?2 18£ BANGOR, ME. O. F. KNOWLEri & CO., PRINTERS. 1884. 1/ Copyright, 1884, By ALBERT W. PAINE. PREFACE. In submitting the following essay to the reading public, the writer is fully aware of the general in- credulity with which the views expressed will be met and entertained. Mankind are generally so unaccustomed to believe anything which is not sus- ceptible to their senses, that all else is readily rejected as incredible and unworthy of attention. Then too, it has ever been an especial characteristic of man to be slow to believe any new sentiment or invention, varying materially from any former developments. So that any new truth has ever been obliged to win its way to general acceptance only by severe strug- gles against a hostility proportionate in degree to its importance. Striking instances of this kind will be found cited in the following pages. So true has this ever been the case, as writes a modern author, "the man who admits the possibility of the truth" as developed by the recent experience of mankind, "runs the risk of being regarded as visionary." 4 The general sentiment too, of mankind, respecting the nature of spirit and spirit life and their possi- bilities is a constant barrier against all investigations into the subject. Regarded as a mere myth, or vivifying principle alone, without form or essence and entirely unsubstantial, the soul is necessarily treated as something of which no positive action can be predicated. Hence every effort to define its character and laws of action is necessarily met with suspicion and disbelief and made subject to ridicule and contempt. Such the writer anticipates will be the fate of the first presentation of the views offered in the following essay. But, to use the language of another, u it is not wise to allow a natural feeling of incredulity to become a barrier to a possible exten- sion of knowledge." Impressed with the importance of the subject, after years of careful and impartial investigation, the writer does not feel justified in withholding the result of his work for any of the reasons above expressed, but ventures to present the same to the candid consideration of the public, simply asking to be heard before he is condemned. I2STIDEX. PART I. Mental Phenomena 7 Animal Magnetism 72 Apparitions 73 Clairvoyance 43 Coincidences , 60 Conjuration 69 Conscience . , 97 Death 19—21 Dreams 31 Enchantment 69 Hypnotism 55 — 68 Ideas 88 Imagination , 92 Impressions 60 Incidents of Life , 78 Insanity 36—113 Inspiration 102 Instinct 155 Life, its Source 21 Man, his Nature. 9 Mesmerism 72 Mind, the 84 Mind-reading 56 Necromancy 69 New Theory, the 19 Our Plan 26 Physical Manifestations of Spirit Power 82 Premonitions 60 Present Theory not a New One , 25 Reason 100 Soul, the , ' 84 Spiritual World, Locality of 15 Space in Spirit Life 24 Spectral Sights 73 Spiritualism 43 Spirit Power 82 Summary 104 Telepathy 65 Thoughts , 88 Thought-transference 56 Visions 73 Warnings 60 Wraiths 73 O- PART II. Physical and Natural Phenomena ioS Crime 115 Disease 118 Education 132 Electricity . . 125 Health 118 Insanity, Treatment of , 113 Law of Life 138 Its Application 151 Its Operation 148 Its Principle of Order , . . . . 143 Its Principle of Use 145 PART I. MENTAL PHENOMENA. The increasing interest every where manifested in matters of a metaphysical character, induces the writer to present the following views upon the all important subject of man's mental and spiritual nature. In discussions and treatises upon the various themes pertaining to man's being, authors and writers have been accustomed to regard him as made up of differ- ent and entirely distinct natures, independent, in a great measure, of each other, and having little or no mutual connection. Thus his physical has been regarded as diverse from his mental, his spiritual as independent of his natural, and his future after death as having nothing to do with his mortal present, save only perhaps in a theological view. 8 The New PhilosofJiy. Natural philosophy has thus come to treat man as a human being of this world's concern alone, while mental philosophy, equally limited in its scope, has regarded him as an existence possessed of life on this earth merely, independent of all other relation- ship. To theology has been left all the remaining part of the discussion relative to his nature and existence, — and this, too, has been mainly confined to the question of his future well being for happiness or its opposite. Thus the other side of man's nature or life, his future, has been almost entirely ignored as a proper subject of metaphysical consideration, and treated as outside of the true limits of scientific research, and beyond the reach of the human intellect and reason. Science and theology have thus come to be independent schools of education, occupying different fields of thought and investigation, and not unfrequently those of a nature antagonistic to each other. According as a man's earthly or spiritual part is addressed, his present or future life discussed, he is viewed from entirely different stand- points of observation and reasoning. And not only is this the case, but according as he is seen from a philosophical or theological point of view, he is The JVeiv Philosophy. 9 regarded and treated as possessed of two altogether different and independent natures, the characteris- tics of which are entirely diverse from each other, subject to entirely different laws of action and rules of life, and having in view entirely different objects of existence, each bound to its separate end and goal. Man, however, is an unit of existence, having but one nature, one being, and one life. Whether viewed as an inhabitant of this world or by antici- pation that of another, as here a natural existence or a spiritual one, he is all the while and ever one and the same man. His physical and mental, his scientific and theological characteristics, are but so many different phases of the one same object, and no discussion of either is perfect, without a due rec- ognition and understanding of his whole composi- tion. These various phases are in no essential re- spect different in character from those others which regard the party as a man of this world in the vari- ous relations of business, religion, politics and so- cial life, — or as we see him in the different periods of infancy, youth, manhood and old age, — or as an inhabitant, in different periods of life, of the differ- ent quarters of the globe. In all these states and io The New Philosophy. conditions he is ever one and the same individual, possessed of the same mind, the same constitution, with the same prevailing loves and tendencies, and the same general characteristics, though, to a greater or less extent perhaps, modified in his prog- ress. As he passes from one state or place to the other, he carries with him his preceding, but per- haps, modified character, and enters the new field of activity and employment with his former acquire- ments and entanglements still clinging to his life. His change at death, so called, is simply one step further on in his progress, in the same line too, that he had inaugurated or practiced before, a change as natural and as inevitable as those which had attended him in the various periods from infancy to old age. The soul, or spirit, which tenanted his body in this world, is the same identically with that which sur- vives beyond, and how can there be any material change effected by the mere passage across the line of separation ? The future thus of any one across that line, may be as correctly judged from his qual- ities here, as his manhood in this world may be from his youthful promise. What that promise may ulti- mately effect or perfect in its progress is, in both The New Philosophy, n cases, equally a matter of doubt and future deter- mination. Man being thus an unit of existence through all stages of his one life to eternity, it follows, that in all discussions as to his nature, and in all investiga- tions, he should be so regarded, in order to arrive at a correct conclusion on any subject, whether it be one of a physical or metaphysical kind, of a scien- tific or theological nature, having in view a mere worldly conclusion or one of the future life. And just here has been the great mistake ever committed by mankind in all the infinite number of discussions and investigations, which, in all ages, have involved the explanation of the manifold phe- nomena, which characterize the life of man in this world, both of a physical and mental nature. And to the same mistake, is to be ascribed the diverse and antagonizing conclusions arrived at in all mat- ters of a scientific kind, involving metaphysical facts, causes and effects. The mistake alluded to is that the future of man's existence has been ignored in all such cases, and the new world of his inhabitancy entirely disregarded, as a factor, entering into the explanation of the natural or mental theme of dis- cussion. 4 2 The New Philosophy* As one result of this erroneous view of man's nature, have grown up the many strange doctrines both in theology and science, especially in the expla- nation, or rather in the want of all explanation, of all those mental phenomena which have so charac- terized the history of the world in all ages past and present. To such an extent has this been the case, that almost every fact of mental philosophy, every phenomenon of a metaphysical kind, is now entirely without explanation and involved in as thick dark- ness as in the darkest days of human experience. Those most common of all mental occurrences, our nightly dreams, are at this day as utterly unex- plained and inexplicable, by any code of mental philosophy extant, as are the deepest mysteries of human history. The philosophy of the day casts not a ray of light upon their cause or the reason of their existence, the utmost that scholars and teach- ers have been able thus far to accomplish, being to make themselves acquainted with the laws which generally govern their course or accompany their occurrence. And so it is with reference to almost every fact of mental science, the cause being appar- ently hidden and beyond the reach of the human intellect and research. The New) Philosophy. 13 Such being the case, one is naturally inclined to an investigation of the matter, to seek out the causes of the phenomena and the laws by which they are governed. The reason of the alleged ignorance, plainly lies in the fact that nothing is recognized as known respecting the mind, or the mental part of man's composition, which is underneath, or more properly, above what we may call its natural plane. In all matters of philosophy, the mental part of man is treated the same as his physical, both as having a common base or plane of life and activ- ity, and alike subject to natural laws, diverse it may be in some respects from each other, but governed and limited by their common and mutual status or character. The mental as well as the natural is regarded as a part of the same field, and to a great extent, subject to the same rules of cultivation. All influences or causes from any other than the natural plane of life are consequently, to a great extent, ignored and denied. As one result of this state of ignorance or unbelief, all power and influ- ence of man after his removal by death, is also ig- nored, save as his example and teachings may remain to instruct and guide his successors. The fact that a fellow citizen has passed away, is taken 14 The New Philosophy. as evidence conclusive that all further power over human thought and action on his part, has, with his body, been consigned to the grave, — and the soul or mental part of his nature, if at all existent, has, like his body, ceased to have any connection with the world, of which his body no longer forms a part. Both, as to all worldly matters, are thus treated as alike natural, subject alike to merely natural laws and to the same simultaneous termination at death. This ignorance and its consequences are the di- rect and necessary result, and indeed the only one which could follow from the general views enter- tained by the world and its philosophers, respecting the soul of man as it exists in the body, and its fu- ture existence after the two cease to be united with each other. Regarded as a mere entity, a myth rather than a reality, the soul, at least in this life, has been held to be merely a vivification of the body, rather than any thing of substance and form in itself, and hence, like the blaze of the candle, subject to be extinguished at death, — utilized it may be after death to vivify a new and different body, then to be assumed. To such as have had a different and more rational view of the substantial nature of the soul, an equally difficult enigma has presented itself, in The New Philosophy. 15 the way of its possible influence here, after its sepa- ration from the body. Locality of the Sftii'itual JVorld. The difficulty alluded to is that arising from the belief, so universal at the present time, as well as In the past, respecting the locality of the soul's future home, the place to which as spirits we pass at death and in which we spend our eternity. The idea so universally prevalent that the spirit world is in some far off distance "beyond the stars" makes the other proposition a necessary sequence, that he can not after death have any influence over human action or worldly affairs. The two worlds of man's existence, have ever been regarded as separate and distinct from each other, as are the different earths of the Solar System, and hence necessarily alto- gether beyond each others influence and mental con- trol. Connected, too, with the same sentiment or belief, has existed its kindred doctrine, that the fu- ture life of man is entirely independent of his earthly or present, except perhaps as theologically held with reference to the degree of happiness or misery which may result there, from man's life or conduct here. All else is ignored and denied. Rare and noble in- stances of an opposite belief have existed, teaching 1 6 The New Philosophy* us that as man progresses here in wisdom and good- ness, he will there reap the results of his acquire" merits by a corresponding elevation of soul and preparation for its future employments and uses as well as enjoyments. But whether the future existence of the soul has been believed in or denied, or whatever may have been the idea of its quality or locality, it has mat- tered not as to all reasoning in connection with facts of an intellectual or mental character. In the phil- osophy of the day no help has yet been obtained to solve any difficulty not otherwise solvable on the nat- ural plane, and so far as this has proved unsatis- factory, the want has, necessarily, been left to take its own course. The old ignorance however is passing away and a new and more enlightened system of thought and belief is taking its place in all matters of a philo- sophical as well as theological kind, in connection with the theme of our present discussion. Con- nected with this advance of thought and sentiment, man has come to know and realize that his soul is no mere spark or flame, but a substantial essence or body, before death as well as afterwards, permeat- ing his whole frame and constituting the very es- The New Philosophy. 17 sence of his being — and that the locality of his future home after death is in no far off space, but directly and intimately in connection with his abode here on earth. Reason would seem to teach that this must be the direct result of Divine or Natural law, consistent with what we know of its usual working. As man lives here a duplex existence, composed of soul and body occupying one and the same space, it would seem to follow as an axiom of science, that when the latter is dropped, the former would remain. Why go hence to some far off region, especially as when during the life of the body, the soul made its abode here, and nothing is inconsistent with the possibility or reasonableness of its so remaining. The universal belief in the nature of spirit exist- ence readily assents to the doctrine, that the soul is in its nature such as not to be clogged by natural or physical objects or characteristics, but is independ- ent of all the laws of a mere worldly character, and that hence space is not an impediment to spiritual activity and action. This idea seems implanted in every mind, as a principle of belief, a divine truth and self evident axiom of thought. By philoso- phers and writers in all ages, has this belief been 3 iS The New Philosophy. inculcated, and by the masses adopted, as the spon- taneous and undoubted theory of spirit existence. And the evidence of life in every thing of nature, bespeaks its nearness to the great source of life itself, which is only another mode of statement that the world of spirit and life is in closest intimacy with that of nature, being within it as the soul is within the body. All life is from the same source, all ema- nating from the inner world, wherever that world may be, and hence the evident necessity that the two worlds should be in closest intimacy and con- nection, as the respective giver and recipient of the same great principle of existence. But we are not left to such general reasoning for the support of the theory now advanced. On the contrary, the world and experience of mankind are full of evidence on the subject, going to confirm the truth of our statement, and at the same time, afford- ing an explanation of the multifarious experience and incidents of man's existence here in all matters of a mental, metaphysical and spiritual nature. We have thus afforded, at the same time, a proof of the theory and an explanation of the numerous phenom- ena which constantly present themselves to our mind for investigation or consideration. The New Philosophy. 19 The New Theory. The theory now advanced, is, that man, while an inhabitant of this world, is composed or made up of two distinct component parts or factors, known respectively as soul and body, each of which is com- plete in itself and separate from the other, as to con- stituent form, but corresponding with the other in all essential particulars : — The natural body is per- meated by the soul in every minutest part, and thence alone has life and activity : — The separation of the two from each other, is what is known as death, upon the happening of which, the soul as- sumes its separate and independent existence, in the same form and with the same general characteristics as it had in the body, and at once becomes a con- scious inhabitant of the spirit world, there to remain forever in active employment of a more or less use- ful character : — The two worlds, thus every man's respective present and future places of abode, are in immediate connection with each other, and while here, his spirit or soul is at the same time an uncon- scious inhabitant of the other state of existence. Man is thus a dweller in both worlds at the same time, and while here draws from the other world 2o The New Philosophy. his wholelife,and in a great measure, his thoughts and impulses to action. And not only is man here, thus, as it were, the outbirth of the inner or spiritual world, but all nature has its life thence derived, making this world a like outbirth of the other, the two cor- responding with each other, as do the soul and body of man. The two worlds are thus one and the same in substance, directly connected with each other, as two parts of one machine, like the propelling power of the engine connected with the machinery which it utilizes— or like the spring and wheels of the watch which move the hands on its dial and an- nounce to the observer the regular lapse of time. As one observes the delicately constructed work, which the machine effects while performing the most ingenious of human devices, sees nothing of the power underneath, or far away, which produces the marvelous results, — as he who reads the hour and minute of the day on the smooth face of the clock, without seeing ought of the delicate work beneath which causes such exact motion of the hands, — so it is in all things of this world's affairs. These are but the results of a spiritual power beneath produc- ing its legitimate effects on the earthly plane. So far as man is directly affected, this power is ever, The New Philosophy. 2 1 more or less, controlled in its action by his will or reason, just as the power of the machine is con- trolled by the engineer and the speed and direction of the railway train is governed by the conductor. The two worlds being thus intimately connected with each other, all that takes place at death is simply a separation of that which is spiritual from that which is natural, when the former or man's spiritual part, his soul, becomes a conscious inhabitant of the other world, but still maintaining an intimate connection with the world it has left. So that at death there simply occurs a reversal, as it were, of the state which he sustained before. From being a conscious inhabitant of this world, he becomes one of the spir- itual world, retaining however all the elements of character which he was possessor of here, with more or less of their distinctive characteristics. This theory, as now advanced, necessarily makes the spirritual world the great substratum of the nat- ural, and thus the underlying cause of life here in all its various forms. There is indeed but one source of life, whence all living objects have their exist- ence. That one life is that of the inner world, flow- ing thence into all forms of life here, including the human, and all grades below. Disconnection or sep- 22 The New Philosophy. aration from this one sole source of life is death, which instantly follows the disruption. Man is thus in this world in constant connection or in intimate relationship with the inhabitants of the other, and at the same time more or less subject to their influence. He is consequently "thus con- stantly within the aura or sphere of the spiritual world and its laws, which like the corresponding atmosphere of this world, surrounds and supports him, continually contributing to his mental wants and demands. Thence come his thoughts and im- pressions, his suggestions to duty and all his mental exercises. Thence is to him the source of all wis- dom and all imaginings. Such being the case, he is, as it were, the citizen of two worlds at the same time, subject to the laws of both and to their re- spective reciprocal influences. The world of Nature being thus only the outbirth or clothing of the inner or spiritual world, most important results must necessarily follow the rela- tion thus existing. The man at death does not become non-existent or extinct, but simply changes the place of his conscious life, with vastly increased powers of thought and knowledge, as his field of activity and information has widened. Though The New Philosophy . 23 passed beyond the limits of human recognition, he has by no means lost his influence and power over those, or with those whom he has left behind. By silent, yet by most effective means his field of influ- ence and association has become widely increased, and his power over human thought and action cor- respondingly enlarged. The outward world thus becomes the constant scene of spiritual develop- ment and active work and use. To what extent this may be the case, is not the object of this disser- tation to define. But that the spirits of the departed, of the inner or spiritual world, do thus exercise a vastly important influence over the thoughts and actions of men here, is fully asserted. Indeed from thence, in a measure come all thought and impulses to action, all mental activity, all life, the body itself having no life and hence no power of thought or activity save as these are derived from the inner world. As before remarked, the separation of the body from this great underlying source of life, this is death. Like the disconnected or broken wheel of the machine, thus beyond the reach of the engine's power, it has no motion and no life. This theory thus advanced being admitted, another result naturally follows, that man while in the body 24 The New Philosophy. may be admitted te a view of the spiritual world and the scenes there transacting. This proposition must naturally follow the others already stated. The proof of this proposition, and whether such a sequence does follow or not, in fact, is a matter of further consideration in what follows. Space in Spirit Life. Preliminary to such enquiry, it may not be im- proper here to allude to or repeat a law already briefly stated, that from what we know of spirit existence and its nature, and in accordance with what has been generally taught and believed on that subject, spirits are free from the trammels and im- pediments of earthly life, such as impede action here, and that space with them, as an obstacle to free intercourse with each other, ceases to exist. And it may be added that the great law of affinity must necessarily prevail, bringing into association with each other those and such as are of like character and disposition and of similar loves and proclivities, irrespective of natural space and dis- tance. Thus thought and will give presence, hate and unlikeness cause separation and absence. Family ties and mutual friendships lead thus to The New Philosophy. 25 immediate recognition in the world beyond and long separated friends quickly meet in each others embrace. Present Theory not a New One. It is not claimed that the theory now advanced is altogether new. It was boldly published by one of the world's wisest philosophers more than a cen- tury ago, and has been, to a greater or less extent, though to a very limited degree, received as the correct theory of creation and life. It has not, how- ever, as yet been adopted or promulgated, by those who have been recognized as teachers of authority, either in public, through the press, or in our semi- naries of learning. Its original announcement and continued consideration have been so uniformly con- nected with the theological aspect of the doctrine alone, that it has failed to meet recognition as a philosophical factor or even as an important system in science of any kind. Indeed to such an extent has this been the case, that the theory has been ap- parently overlooked and disregarded except as a factor of theological creeds and discussions. In fact, the w r orld has hardly been aware that any such idea has ever been advanced as a principle of 26 The New Philosophy. philosophy or science. As a result of all this, no work has ever, to the writer's knowledge, been pub- lished in explanation of the phenomena in question on the grounds now alleged, except only as theolog- ically connected. The old ignorance has conse- quently prevailed and the new system been ignored, so that the darkness of ages past still rests over the whole system, leaving still unexplained the underly- ing causes of all mental phenomena, including those of the most common as well as those of the most abnormal kind. Our Present Plan. Having thus stated the general principles and nature of spirit life, its locality and some of the laws which control its action, and its connection with earthly existence, a more particular application of the theory naturally follows. In making this, it is to be distinctly understood that we purposely place aside all theological views, and avoid all theological discussions, leaving these to take-care of themselves. It is the sole object of this treatise to present the facts now adduced for the single purpose of explaining the great laws of Mental Philosophy, free from all mere doctrinal and sectarian teach- The New Philosophy. 27 ings and abstractions. But at the same time it must follow that so far as the facts and principles asserted are true, they must necessarily include all true theological doctrines and beliefs, and that the latter must conform to the actual status rather than govern it. These must serve rather than command. The whole forms an unit and so far only as the systems of philosophy and theology are consistent with each other, as separate or distinct parts of an integral whole, so far, and so far only can both be true. Any disagreement is proof of error some- where. It is also assumed, that so far as facts and principles of a spiritual nature adduced are applied to the satisfactory explanation of natural or physical phenomena known to exist, to the same extent they serve as proof of the theory advanced. Indeed no proof of any theory is so conclusive and convincing as that which serves to satisfactorily explain any great facts of nature, which are otherwise inexpli- cable. It is indeed this kind of evidence alone which serves to establish any of the great laws of Natural Science, the working of which is too distant and beyond the reach of man's intimate observation. It is none other than the great law of 28 The New Philosophy. cause and effect, which by its constant and uniform action and reaction goes to establish their mutual relation. It is in this way alone that we correctly judge of the origin and character of all things and all events. Allusion has already been made to the unsatis- factory nature of all explanations of the great facts of mental science and philosophy, as exhibited in human life, including those of the most common recurrence, as well as those of a recondite character, which have constantly puzzled both the master and the student in the search for the true cause and origin thereof. Success has ordinarily attended their efforts only to the same extent as the ignorant scholar can claim in explaining the theory of the time piece, by teaching the fact of the regularity of its hands around the dial and the meaning of the figures which encircle its face, without a word of explanation as to the power which propels the hands, much less the cause or law of their regular motion. Just so has it been and still is with almost every fact of mental science in every day life. It is to meet this great want in the philosophy of the day that the theory now advanced or supported has its claim to importance. The New Philosophy. 29 Impressed with the importance of the subject, under this state of things, the writer has been in- duced by his own reflections, to present the subject in this way as a strictly philosophical theme for the public consideration. With these preliminary remarks it is proposed to speak of some of the more common phenomena of Mental Science and to offer an explanation of them in the light of the new system. In doing so, it is premised that the influence or power of the Spiritual world over the Natural, from the relation existing between the two as now alleged, is of a two fold character in its nature and operation. The general aura or sphere of the inner world over the outer or external, according to the great law of life pervad- ing the universe of both, is necessarily productive of an influence corresponding with that which we so often witness in this world in matters of business, politics or religion, when certain sentiments or doc- trines come in to carry away the multitude as by a tidal wave of irresistible force. Then there is that particular or individual influence of a personal char- acter corresponding with that which is so constantly taking place here in society and the world at large. The influence arising from personal connection 30 The New Philosophy, between those on the two sides of life, here and there, correspond with that between the two when together in the natural world, or in other words, the intercommunication or intercourse between those who have passed away and those who remain on this earth still continues to a greater or less extent, after death, the same as before. To what extent and in what manner, this is the case, will be more particularly illustrated in what follows. And it is further to be noted, that a great and universal law pervades and governs the universe of both natural and spiritual life, in accordance with which the phenomena discussed are produced, the individual forces, of which we propose to speak, being the agencies by which the alleged results are perfected or brought to pass. DREAMS. Beginning with this most common of all mental phenomena, our nightly dreams, it is to be remarked that they are very readily explainable in accordance with the theory now advanced. Philosophy has thus far been satisfied with an exposition of the laws usually governing the dream or attendant upon its occurrence, such as that it ordinarily pursues the course of thought or business which had engaged the mind previous to the moment of sleep, or other similar characteristics. But here it is often balked by the fact that the dream finds no explanation, to even this limited extent, from any other fact or thought in the dreamer's whole experience. And what is still worse for the theory, the dream is often found intimately connected with a future event or one happening contemporaneously at a great dis- tance away, in mid ocean in may be, of which the dreamer could have possibly had no knowledge on going to sleep, but which subsequent information 32 The New Philosophy. verifies. This common experience not only over- rides the rule or explanation offered, but proves it altogether untrue and absurd. To refer the cause of the dream, as has been usually done, to the great underlying principle of the imagination, is not only unsatisfactory as failing to account for the whole class of cases now alluded to, but is altogether no explanation at all for any single dream. The great cause of it is still as far from being solved as before. What sets the imag- ination at work as the dream indicates? and espec- ially to foretell future events in specific form? or im- press on the mind in vivid features the details of facts then transpiring in places far remote, with more than telegraphic accuracy and with visual reality? The proffered explanation is only of the kind such as the old heathen philosophy had to offer for the support of the globe we inhabit. While the theory of the turtle was admitted as a rational one to afford a foundation on which the globe might rest, yet like the imagination in modern science, failure followed every further step and effort to util- ize the assumed fact or explain its existence. By the theory advanced, of the intimate relation or connection of the two worlds and their respective The New Philosophy. 33 inhabitants, a complete and natural explanation of the whole phenomena is afforded. Surrounded as we are in our wakeful hours by our earthly com- panions, we are as to our inner selves at the same time equally in association with the spirits of others on the other side. In our wakeful moments we are constantly receiving thence our thoughts and im- pressions and spiritual influences. These same influences continue in our sleep, and natural reason being laid aside, at sleep with the body, these thoughts and impressions assume the shapes of reality. The influences at work, as sleep begins, most nat- urally continue and lead to like impressions be- yond the line of wakefulness, and thus produce the dream as a continuation of the normal fact. Thus is afforded an explanation of this characteristic feat- ure of dreams, of which we have just before spoken. At the same time the mind is open to other and divers influences, subject to be operated upon, as here by the world at large, and made acquainted with matters of every form and nature, such as have been before unknown and unthought of as well as such as have been familiar and well recognized. Space being abolished and the laws of spirit life in vogue, distant events are equally subject to be im- 5 34 The New Philosophy* pressed on the mind as those near at hand, and the dreamer thus made acquainted with their specific character, though contemporaneously happening in distant places or on the broad seas. Weeks, and months it may be, demonstrate the truth of the dream, thus happening far away, no clue to which existed to any mortal having any earthly connection with the dreamer at the time. Well authenticated facts of this character leave no room for doubt as to the actual experience of mankind on this point. Time and space with the dreamer being abolished, his mind is governed by spiritual laws, free from its natural impediments, and is thus enabled to know through spirit means, what the spirit itself is capable of knowing. How often does it happen to man in all the differ- ent occupations of life, that some of the most puz- zling enigmas of day experience are satisfactorily solved in dreams, and by thoughts and suggestions suddenly occurring in the quiet silence of night ! How thus does the professional man often have ex- plained some of the hardest problems of his daily business ! How often have the poet and author been called up, in the dark hours of night, to pen on paper some beautiful sentiment or verse and thus The New Philosophy. 35 perpetuate its use, before further sleep shall have power to steal it from his mind ! And how often is the individual thus introduced into some new scene of thought or action by a kind suggestion coming to him unsought in sleep ! There is no limit to human experience of this kind, including matters of famil- iar occurrence, too familiar perhaps to attract obser- vation or fix the attention, and embracing others of vital importance and disconnected perhaps with the party's whole previous history or thought. In all these cases the same great law of spiritual associa- tion prevails, affording and furnishing a most com- plete explanation of the entire phenomenon. The thoughts of our spiritual associates are infused into our minds and become to us at the time as com- pletely real, as the most real experience of our wake- ful hours. INSANITT. Closely connected with the subject of Dreams is that of its kindred, Insanity. This has ever been, like the former, both as to physical and mental development, wholly inexplicable, save perhaps that the fact is recognized, that reason is dethroned in such cases and the party left without its aid and guidance. This, however, affords no explanation or light even, as to the cause of the peculiar character or nature of the insane man's acts and conduct. The striking reality of his impressions and convictions, leading to the most imperious acts of conduct and life, is known to all, but why and whence this char- acteristic of insanity and what may be the law gov- erning the subject, in the absence of reason, and in- deed the whole underlying subject of insanity may be truly said to be wholly unknown. The physical causes of the dethronement of reason may be known, but why as a result, the wild and irregular acts of conduct follow as they do, is wholly unexplained. The New Philosophy. 37 The infinite diversity and strangeness of the in- sane man's fancies and their consequent develop- ment, at total variance from all his normal charac- ter and condition of health, are seen and recognized, but why these so widely differ from those remains to be discovered. Why the quiet and ever reticent man takes on the character of a raving maniac — the man of sober and contemplative mood, that of a violent disturber of the peace of the community, — the kind and affectionate husband, that of a depraved hater and enemy of his dearest friends and family — all this is an enigma yet remaining to be solved in the philosophy of the day. To say in explanation, that reason in such case is gone and the man knows not what he is doing, is no explanation, but rather adds to the enigmatical cause of the fact. Reason gone, it would be more natural that the habits of life would be continued, and that his normal char- acter, for virtue, order, affection and other propen- sities, would remain as the governing principles of his conduct. The loving parent, the quiet citizen, the industrious worker, according to all the laws of habit and experience, would remain such with in- creased rather than diminished force, when his rea- son was gone, just as the unreasoning brook when 2,8 The New Philosophy. diverted by any intervening obstruction seeks again its former banks, when the obstruction is overcome, and continues to flow over its old pebbly surface. The ravings of the insane, have, it is true, often been explained as the infestation of evil spirits, but philosophy has given to them no such explanation and for the best of all reasons, that no system of philosophy has as yet ever been able to define, much less to explain, how such infestation could be effected or even made possible under any known or hypo- thetical scheme of the universe. A full and complete explanation of the subjeet is readily found in the science of philosophy now pro- mulgated. Reason being by some physical or bodily derangement, dethroned or neutralized, the man is mentally dead and thus deprived of all mental con- trol, as completely as he would be physically if death had full possession of his body. He is thus a human being with physical powers of activity, but without any governing power of mind or with no mind of his own at his command. His reason gone, he is left to the control and government of others, subject to the exercise of their will over his physical as well as mental powers. Surrounded, as he is at all times, by spirits of the departed, in close The New Philosophy. 39 connection with his own, he follows their dictation and is carried away as they may le'ad. Like the man in the dense crowd or in a mob of discontents, he is forced and driven about, without the guidance of his reason, to do what the mob wills or impels, without regard to his own convictions of right and wrong, reasonable or unreasonable, and improper alike. In such an unreasoning state, the spirits surrounding him rush in and make wild work of his whole person, his thoughts and feelings and corresponding physical powers, causing him to carry out and perform their will instead of his own, and become the medium of their intentions and designs. The spirits in his association may, on the contrary, be those and such as have been his usual attendants in states of health. In such cases his insane char- acteristics may vary but little, if at all, from his normal state of life. The character of the associate spirits may thus be of any and all varieties, from those attendant upon the man in healthful condition, and even of a higher class and down to the very lowest of the demoniac crew, embracing those of wild religious experience and of all business and every other characteristic. The infatuation of the revivalist, the demoniacism of the evil crowd, the 40 The New Philosophy. high sentimentalism of the socialist and the every day experience of the working man, of every grade of society, may thus find among the insane company on earth and in life, a fit subject for its infestation and exercise. Hence we might, as we do, expect to find all crimes even to murder and suicide represented by the acts of the unreasoning mad men. A visit to an Insane Asylum alone is neces- sary to give one a most vivid idea of the infinite diversity and character of such as are deprived of reason sufficient for their own self control. And indeed one can hardly find an excuse, at such an infirmary, for disbelieving in such an infestation as has now been suggested. Though ordinarily a man naiy, in many respects, in his insane state, exhibit many of the marked peculiarities of his healthful condition, yet most usually, the prevailing features of such are of altogether a different character, vari- ant from every ordinary and usual habitude of the person. All this is in direct affirmance of the theory ad- vanced, the character exhibited by the insane per- son being such as his surrounding spiritual sphere has for the time imposed. His reason gone, his power of control and selection is also gone with it, The New Philosophy. 41 and he left an involuntary victim of his sphere, of whatever character it may chance to be. The Scripture examples of those who were cured of this kind of mental disease or infestation, by the "casting out of devils" or evil spirits, are good illus- trations of the theory advanced. As in these cases, the sick were thus cured, so it has ever been and still is by the treatment properly administered to the diseased. In some of the ways resorted to by the medical practitioner, reason is restored from its bodily pressure, and with this the invading sphere is dissipated and once more a healthy mind is found in a healthy body. Mens sana in corpore sano. The dissipation of the infesting crew is one of the effects of the bodily treatment, which enthrones reason at the same time that it restores man to his normal state of health. Insanity is thus only a more complete and per- manent state of dreams, the former beino- a more absolute and prolonged obscuration of the reasoning faculty. The dreamer is for the time more or less an insane party, especially when somnambulism is induced, making practical in act the fancy of the dream. Both are alike the outward development or exhibition of another's thought or suggestion. 6 42 The New Philosophy. In both cases the healthy return of reason, to its normal condition of wakefulness and consciousness, restores the party to his own mental and physical control and dissipates all abnormal delusions. SPIRITUALISM and CLAIRVOYANCE. Among the great number and variety of mental phenomena, which have puzzled the world for ex- planation, are the facts of, so called, Spiritualism. Indeed, from want of any explanation or from lack of all possibility of their existence according to any recognized theory of the universe, the whole thing is very generally denied not only as untrue and ab- surd, but also as impossible. This denial however is largely confined to such as find the alleged facts inconsistent with their ideas respecting the actual existence of spirits or of their nature and locality. Mankind, as a general thing, are prone to judge of the truth of any new proposition, theory or inven- tion according as it agrees with their preconceived notions or knowledge of kindred subjects, on which it is based or with which it is connected. When the new proposition is inconsistent with or opposed to what they already believe or think they know, it is at once rejected and denied perhaps as impossible, or at least as incredible and consequently unworthy 44 The New Philosophy, of notice, much less of investigation. The best authenticated facts in such case are ignored and treated as absurd, unworthy of even a passing notice, much less of honest enquiry. Hence the idea has come to be adopted, as almost an axiom of life, that whatever is inconsistent with the prevailing belief or sentiment on the subject, or opposed to past experience, is necessarily untrue and unworthy of adoption. Instead of testing their former and and established ideas on the subject, by all the evi- dence at hand, new and old, and thus ascertaining the truth of the new proposition, or the falsity of the old, the new is at once condemned and cast aside as unworthy of consideration, simply because it is inconsistent with the old. With such, a belief in the existence of a new fact, or the truth of a new theory, is adopted only upon such a development of circumstances as renders denial impossible and im- pels belief. Striking instances of this kind do not require us to go back to the days of Galileo or Copernicus to find examples of such incredulity, but the last half century is full of them. The pos- sibility of transmarine steam navigation was not only disbelieved and denied, but even by the most reliable and astute scientists demonstrated as out of The New Philosophy. 45 the question, the fact being impossible and in its nature perfectly absurd. A stronger and more re- markable illustration we have in the more recent invention of the telegraph or in the discovery of tel- egraphic possibilities. So utterly impossible and opposed to reason was the whole theory and propo- sition regarded, that every effort to secure private enterprise in the work of establishing a line between two neighboring cities proved wholly abortive. And Congress, after a long series of private efforts alone, was encouraged to make an appropriation sufficient to establish a line to Baltimore from the Capitol upon full assurance, amounting almost to a guarantee, that a dispatch could be sent over the line and answer returned in an hour from the start. A still stronger instance in illustration of this pro- clivity of human nature is found in the difficulty with which the cable telegraph had to contend in overcoming the prevailing sentiment of the masses respecting any important new development in nature or in science. Notwithstanding the surprising and incredible success which at once attended the Con- gressional appropriation spoken of, and the efforts of private enterprise in the same direction, yet the possibility of connecting together the two countries 46 The New Philosophy* of Europe and America, by telegraphic means, was denounced and opposed as impracticable. And so strongly was this sentiment implanted in the minds of the people, that the first successes were stigma- tized as fraud and deception, for the reason that the thing was absolutely impossible. And thus has it been with every new theory and development almost that have through the ages come in to help on the advance of thought on every subject of philosophy and science, as well as of mechanics and invention. And so has it been with the facts and truths of Spiritualism. With evidence as conclusive and in its nature as convincing as that which has established an universal belief in the great inventions cited, still the masses of the people disbelieve, deny and ridi- cule the best established facts and most conclusive demonstrations, which are constantly being presented in connection with this new development of nature and creation. Evidence such as in a Court of Jus- tice or before the great Jury of the people would not only ensure but demand conviction of the high- est crime, is rejected as of no force, but as the out- birth of falsehood and deceit, having no claim to credence, however truthful may be the witnesses or positive their testimony. This is the more surpris- The New Philosophy . 47 ing in view of what the present generation has seen and been compelled to believe in the cases already cited. When from a state of utter disbelief the world has come to know that in accordance with the great spiritual law of life, instantaneous commu- nication can be carried on by man here between places most remote from each other on this earth, when a dispatch can be sent and reply returned from New York to California, in the smallest part of a second of time — when we can reatl in our daily papers the particulars of a strife then going on at the same hour in Calcutta or the Soudan, how can one be so credulous as not to accept some of the proofs so constantly exhibited in connection with those other spiritual devolopments now under con- sideration. The facts of telegraphy we believe be- cause we are impelled to do so, by the evidence ad- dressed to our senses, while yet no explanation could be given of them by any recognized law or theory. The demonstrative fact came, and then science worked out its explanation and law so far as it was able, still leaving, however, the great cause and underlying principle of the phenomena unex- plained and undeveloped. How instantaneous com- munication is effected between places thus remote 48 The New Philosophy. from each other, can as yet be answered only by the fact that such is the nature of electricity. Had not the demonstration been effected, no philospher of however wise a reputation, would even now venture to proclaim or advocate such an idea as that New York and Boston could be placed in instantaneous communication with each other. The great electric law, like all the laws of natural science, has never been in advance of its development, the wisest of all philosophers and scientists being able. to foresee or predict only such occurrences and results as have been before known to exist. And so has it been with every advance in science and philosophy since man first began to investigate and learn the laws whereby this world is governed in its various de- partments of mind and matter, body and spirit. When a new phenomenon has exhibited itself, the philosopher has made it his business, as best he could, to explain its source, its origin and its nature and the laws by which it is governed. But until the actual approach of the phenomenon, the law and the fact were all hidden and unknown and con- sequently unanticipated. And what is more remark- able, every advance thus far made, has been obliged to purchase its adoption and recognition with the The New Philosophy . 49 public at the expense of opposition and disbelief all along its course. The great inventions and discov- eries in connection with the uses of steam in its ap- plication to the industries of life, all railway facili- ties to promote the intercommunication of man with man, as well as those of the telegraph already spoken of, and the multifarious other improvements which have characterized the history of man, have all been subject to resistance and unbelief, and adopted only as demonstration successfully dissipated disbelief and opposition. The experience of Galileo and Luther has been repeated at every great advance in every one of the important improvements in the world's history. And as it has been with the great facts of natural philosophy and with those improvements which pertain to man's external wants and conveniences, such as have been noted, so has it been with the facts and laws of mental and intellectual science. All advances in this have met the like, though usu- ally greater, opposition and denial. Among them are to be ranked the phenomena of Spiritualism. That these should be disbelieved and rejected is no matter of wonder or surprise, for although instances of the kind have all through the past ages been 7 50 The New Philosophy. more or less frequently exhibited, yet under such difficult circumstances and with such doubtful sur- roundings, they have failed to impress the commu- nity with their reality by the evidence adduced. That there is more or less truth in the existence and reality of the phenomena of so called Spiritual- ism can not be any longer denied by any one who has honestly given the subject a candid investiga- tion. Facts of too frequent occurrence and too well attested forbid such denial. That man in life here on earth does more or less often receive communi- cations from the spirits of the departed we have had too many undisputed and convincing proofs to deny or even doubt. As illustration, take the following actual experience. Two friends on earth, in anticipation of the earlv death of one of them, agree upon certain terms and conditions of proof with reference to the subject of spirit intercourse and as connected with certain dis- closures previously existing. Death intervenes, and after a sufficient time elapses to learn the truth or falsity of the disclosures, and opportunity given for the information to be communicated, in an unaccus- tomed and strange place, where the party had not been known, his appearance and presence are sud- The New Philosophy. 51 denly announced by name to his living friend. The circumstances of the agreement and its exact nature are detailed and a long train of forgotten facts con- nected with their earthly acquaintance with each other repeated, and errors corrected respecting the previously existing disclosures spoken of, which the living party on fuller investigation, much to his aston- ishment, finds to be as newly revealed, against his previous belief or understanding. What possible explanation can be given of such a detail of cir- cumstances save only that the alleged presence of the communicating spirit is an absolutefact. "Mind- reading" even is obliged to be abandoned as an ex- planation, inasmuch as the fact revealed was in di- rect conflict with the error which the mind of the party addressed then entertained, subsequent inves- tigation proving the error to exist and the truth to be as newly communicated. As one of thous- ands of such experiences how can the whole be denounced as false, with any regard to the rules of evidence and belief in human affairs? Not that the disclosures are to any absolute extent reliable, is any assertion now made, but only that the phenomena alleged have an actual existence, that man while alive in this world, may and does 52 The New Philosophy. have communication with the spirits of the departed. As to the reliability of such communications, in a large proportion of the cases, it is believed that they are utterly untrue and deceptive, like the kindred development of dreams and insanity. Like the stories spread abroad among the living here, those coming from like spirits who have passed away, are equally chargeable with error and untruthfulness. The change of place has not changed the character of the communicator. At the same time, and largely to the same degree, that the truth may be reliably transmitted from one to another here, the same may be predicated of the communications in question, though greater care and caution should be exercised in the decision and to the same degree less certainty secured. And it is further to be confessed and asserted that a very large proportion of all the alleged demon- strations of a spiritual character and especially of those having physical features, are absolutely false and fraudulent, the gross fabrications of mounte- banks and cheats, who take advantage of the credu- lity of the people to palm them off in a theatrical manner for the purpose of gain, to their infinite dis- grace and merited infamy. There can be no Ian- The New Philosophy. 53 guage invented too forcible to express the utter con- tempt which all honest men should entertain for every such exhibition and their performers. But a rank fraud by no means disproves the existence of a genuine article. So overwhelming indeed are the proofs of the actual existence of such communications as have been already alleged, it is safe to say that mankind is far more and better satisfied of the truth of their alleged existence than the world at large is generally aware. How many precious and comforting'mes- sages from lost and deceased friends are everywhere silently cherished in secret ! and how many valued thoughts are confessedly entertained coming across the border, without a word of public recognition of their source ! Doubt may and still does hang over the subject, exciting it may be, even fears of decep- tion and simply for the reason that no explanation can be given of the phenomenon. Mental philoso- phy has thus far ignored them and consequently given no aid in solving the great enigma. The call can not much longer fail to bring attention and de- mand solution. All that is wanted is the adoption of such a theory of the universe as will explain the facts and render their existence possible. This being 54 The New PhilosopJiy. ■ supplied, the facts and their solution will together form a new and important chapter in the Intellectual Philosophy of the world. The theory advanced respecting the intimate rela- tion of the two worlds, the one, as it were, within the other, fully explains the whole mystery. Such being the connection of the worlds with each other, no miracle is necessary to enable the inhabitants of the one to become, under favoring circumstances, cognizant of what is transpiring in the other, or to hold mutual intercourse with each other. The thin veil of separation is so readily lifted, the partition wall between the two being so almost transparent, all difficulties, in such case, existing in the way of a rational explanation, are readily removed and the phenomena made self evident, as to their cause and complete exhibition. The developments of spiritualism are an exhibi- tion to our bodily senses, through the medium of •other minds in our wakeful hours, of the same kind as in our sleep we derive through dreams, though of a more definite and positive nature. The spirits of the departed in close connection with those still alive on earth, unconsciously it may be, are not- withstanding possessed of the power, through me- The New PhilosofiJiy. 55 diumistic minds, to communicate their thoughts and influences to those on earth, in an intelligent man- ner for the greatest use and benefit of mankind. Both these classes of phenomena are equally to be regarded as included in the title of Hypnotism —the percipient in both cases being in that abnormal state known by that designation. MIND-READING AND THOUGHT- TRANSFERENCE. Closely connected with the subject now discussed is that of Mind-reading or Thought-transference, whereby persons, in association with each other, may be made conscious or informed of the thoughts and sensations in each other's mind, without any external sign or indication. The experience of mankind on this subject has come to be so common and demonstrative that no doubt seems to exist to any very great extent of the actuality of such phe- nomena. Indeed they are taken advantage of by many to explain the facts of Spiritualism. But to such as have adopted this method of explanation it seems never to have occurred that it was no expla- nation at all of the facts existing, but merely a trans- fer of the proposition to a different plane of exam- ination. To say of the facts of Spiritualism that they are merely instances of mind-reading, is simply a reversal of the proposition that mind-reading is explained by the law of Spiritualism. The refer- The New Philosophy. 57 ence in each case helps us not at all in the explana- tion of either. Both require a further diagnosis. If a medium is able to detail or bring to mind an exist- ing or long forgotten fact in the memory of his sub- ject, by what means is it effected? How can the one mind be cognizant of the secret contents of an- other and independent mind, especially when by the latter they had been long forgotten and extinct ? Yet however impossible it may be to answer the question and however utterly inexplicable, yet noth- ing is more common in practice in such matters than to resort to mind-reading for a solution of the difficulties of Spiritualism. The new is only add- ing one more difficult problem to solve. The united existence of the two demands a new development of law for their explanation. Although both depend for their exhibition on the same great law of spiritual existence underlying that of the physical, yet the especial laws govern- ing the one do not necessarily govern the other. The phenomena now under consideration are such as are exhibited between parties in immediate asso- ciation or company with each other. No intermediate agency is thus required to convey the news, as it were, from the one to the other, though there may be 8 58 The New Philosophy. times when such intermediate agency may exist. In order to produce upon the mind of the percipient the thought or sensation existing in that of the sub- ject or proposer, there must ever be a strong feeling or conception of the mental quality sought to be transferred, in connection with the person to whom it is desired to convey the same. This strong desire, as a great motor in spirit life, brings the two minds, already in close contact by personal nearness, into closest harmony and connection, and impresses the thoughts and sensations in the one mind upon that of the other and thus makes the latter informed of the idea sought to be transferred. In this way may not only thoughts be transferred, but all sensual sen- sations, including those of touch, taste, smell, hear- ing and sight. In order to success, however, the impression must be strong on the mind of the sender or agent to the exclusion of all other thoughts or ideas, so as to monopolize the mind's whole atten- tion. To transfer the sensual sensations indeed it is ordinarily found necessary to introduce to the senses strong natural stimulants or objects produc- tive of the sensation desired to be conveyed, as by taste or smell of odorous objects or the like. This strong desire or impression on the part of the sender The New Philosophy. 59 or active party, in immediate association with the other party or percipient, brings the two minds or spirits of the respective persons into such close inti- macy as to impress the accompanying thought or sensation on the mind of the party addressed. Just as the like corresponding effect is produced on the party in his normal state through the medium of the natural senses. COINCIDENCES, PREMONITIONS, WARNINGS AND IMPRESSIONS. Another large class of mental phenomena which constantly arise to attract attention and wonder, as well as the curiosity of the world, is that which is variously classed under the appellation of Coinci- dences, Premonitions, Warnings and Inpressions. Every one has had more or less experience in this line, though many do not stop to think of or even to heed the fact. Indeed, so common is the occur- rence of such phenomena that like other every day experiences, they are permitted to pass without the least thought or reflection. Like the sunlight or the shower, they are regarded as matters of course and hence make no impression on the mind of the observer. And not only is this the case with the masses of the community, but writers on the sub- ject of mental philosophy have been equally at fault in this particular, and hence no explanation is to be found in all their writings and published volumes. The New Philosophy. 61 But yet the minutest of all these incidents involves a world of mystery. Whence come those frequent premonitions of danger — those warnings which we instinctively heed, but which perhaps make little or no impression on the mind — those constantly recurring suggestions and impressions which form so large a part of the groundwork of our daily lives and conduct? How oft repeated is the coincidence of two persons widely separated in space from each other, simul- taneously engaging in the performance of a mutual work, after long neglect perhaps, but yet without any previous plan or appointment ! — How often is the impression or foreknowledge almost, of disaster or death made known to a distant relative, at the moment of its occurrence, however unexpected or accidental it may be, happening it may be in mid- ocean, yet impressed simultaneously on the mind far away ! — How often is a party in a sudden emer- gency of danger prompted to act by a new and forcible thought never before entertained, which being followed leads to safety ! How often is the traveler thus saved from impending accident, which would have proved fatal on board the steamboat or railroad train or other means of transportation ! 62 The New Philosophy. Indeed the world is full of these constantly re- curring experiences in all business engagements, employments and positions in which man is placed. The facts have ever attracted a great share of public attention and have often been made the subject of compilation and presentation, as facts of history, but whence their origin and their cause, and what their explanation have ever been and still are a blank. Philosophy has shed no light on the subject save that "Providence has so ordained." But Prov- idence always works through means, and every event has its adequate cause. The great law of life and order by which the whole universe of mind and matter is controlled and governed, it is true, is such as naturally leads to and works out, in a great measure, the general phenomena of which we now speak. As an agency in the enforcement or execution of this law, the ex- isting relation of the two worlds and their respective inhabitants, affords a full illustration of the various facts to which we have now called attention. The association of the spirits of the departed with those still living in this world, more or less, informs the latter of the threatened danger in advance of its occurrence and too of the distant event happening The New Philosophy. 63 contemporaneously with the information commu- nicated. Just how far the spirits of the departed may know the events and scenes of this world, our pres- ent information does not enable us to describe, but so far as the natural event has a spiritual origin or beginning, as a large part of all human actions has, of these man may be forewarned in the manner described. Thus far we may and do receive warn- ings and premonitions to a greater or less extent, according to the character of our sphere, which is, of course to a large extent governed by the character of our own selves. With respect to that large class of facts known as coincidences such as have been cited, the expla- nation is simple and plain. Thus the information of a distant event happening with a friend in close communication with another, is, through the inti- mate relation of the parties and their respective spheres, simultaneously impressed on the other's mind. The sudden disaster or death of the parent or child, husband or wife, is instantaneously made known to the other, without regard to space, through the intervention of their respective associate spirits, with greater or less distinctness and force. If asleep, 64 The New Philosophy. the impression produces the dream as before ex- plained, but if awake a like impression gives exer- cise to thought and excites the apprehensions and more or less disturbs the mind with restlessness and fears often of the most distinct character. Like as with the kindred element of electricity in the world, man may, by telegraph, while at his home in America, receive instantaneous information of an event happening in the Soudan or India, so may he in like manner, through spiritual agency, be alike informed of that which concerns him, wherever on the earth the event may be occurring at the time. A further illustration of this subject will be found in the next chapter. TELEPATHY. The class of facts spoken of in our last chapter have of late attracted a great and universal degree of attention and frequent compilations of such have been made by authors and contributors to the peri- odical press under the title of "Telepathy." The existence of such facts no longer admits of any seri- ous doubt, especially with all students who have made a study of the subject. An English magazine writer (in the "Nineteenth Century,") upon the subject, claims to have a list of some six hundred well authenticated cases of this kind, where parties widely separated from each other were contempor- aneously impressed or informed of events then tak- ing place at great distance away. An explanation is earnestly sought by the parties involved. It is readily found as a direct result of the theory ad- vanced, of the intimate relation of the two worlds and of their respective inhabitants. Remembering that there is no actual space in the other world, but only the appearance of such, and 9 66 The New Philosophy, that desire or affection brings presence, as before explained, and that hence the spiritual spheres of associates here are in intimate association with each other there, without regard to their respective earthly location, the impression or information of any striking event happening to the one on earth is very readily communicated to the other, through the agency of their respective spheres or associ- ates in the spiritual world. In this way may not only the thoughts of the one here be communicated to another instantaneously, but even bodily and mental sensations be thus readily transferred. The agonies or joys of the dying husband or father, in mid-ocean or otherwise far away, may in an instant be conveyed to the mind of the absent wife or child with a distinctness almost equal to the reality. And so of any sensation or idea of a striking character such as forcibly presses itself on the mind of the subject, in connection with the percipient or absent friend. All bodily or physical sensations of pain and suffering, grief or joy, and all sensual impres- sions directly entertained by the one party with refer- ence to the other, are thus readily with more or less distinctness, conveyed as by postal means or tele- graphy to the mind of the other party in interest. The New Philosophy. 67 Not that these experiences are universal or at the command or favor of all. A peculiarly sensitive mind must the percipient have, and the subject too, must be of an impressible character, in order that the spiritual mail (so to speak) may carry the news. A peculiar mental organization must exist on both sides and the laws of spiritual action obeyed, other- wise failure must follow. As electricity demands for its success a strict compliance with the minutest laws of its nature, so with the phenomena in ques- tion, the great law of life regulating their existence must be respected. Experimenters must not won- der at failures which follow conditions of their own imposition in any of their efforts to test spiritual facts. Nor is it to be understood that the results spoken of, as they impress themselves on the percipient's mind, are of a natural kind as they sometimes seem to be. On the contrary, no natural sight, or sound, or other sensation is thus conveyed or produced, but only the appearance of such. The whole oper- ation and result is spiritual or mental, however real it may be, and is addressed to the mental sense alone, although many of the related instances leave in doubt the question whether the imparted news or 68 The New Philosophy. other result is not real to the natural senses. Numer- ous instances of this kind are reported, in which the impression has been so strong and vivid on the mind of the percipient as to appear substantial to his sight or touch, or to his taste or hearing. The truth in such case is that the vividness of the im- pression takes such complete possession of the mind as to seem altogether as real, when it has only such a reality as has a dream. A hypnotic state is in- duced and a momentary haze envelopes the individ- ual and for the time he is unconscious of the sudden change which has come over him from absolute wakefulness. What he sees and hears is simply an impression on his inner sense, full it may be of most important information respecting his own or his friend's natural condition and danger or the reverse. In such case the party may properly be said (to use a common expression appropriate to the subject) to be in a "sleep- waking condition," an expression well known to all. NECROMANCY, CONJURATION AND ENCHANTMENT. Closely connected with the themes already dis- cussed is another class of mental experiences which have in all ages attracted the attention of the world, under the various names of Necromancy, Conjura- tion, Enchantment and other appellatives expres- sive of the idea of one's unnatural power or influ- ence over another. Such phenomena have ever existed to puzzle the ingenuity of the world for an explanation. The want of such explanation, to a satisfactory degree has, in modern times, led to a very general denial of the existence of such facts, and hence they have received but little considera- tion and much less investigation. Of the same class with these last mentioned ex- periences are those oft recurring instances of indi- viduals obtaining perfect control over the actions of others, overpowering their freedom of thought and action and reducing them temporarily to a state of servitude to such other's will and pleasure. Such 70 The New Philosophy. instances of inextricable control and influence are becoming more frequent and noticeable, though as yet they have seldom attracted the attention of men of science to an extent sufficient to call for an expla- nation of their cause. The old mystic art and thart: of prophecy are of the same character, and history records many well attested cases of this kind of mental experience too important to be ignored or passed by in silence. It is to be admitted that closely connected with all the veritable instances of these various classes of mental experience, there has ever existed a large amount of fraud and deception. Imposture has ever been practiced under the guise of them all. However sacred the truth and the laws which gov- ern it, yet falsehood and deceit have ever taken advantage of their sacredness and perverted them to evil uses. Witchcraft and other dire delusions have found a place for their wild and unholy practice under the garb of truth and holiness. But it can hardly be claimed that all the instances which human history has accumulated and garnered up in all ages, of the class now discussed have been the progeny of illusion and error. There must be some foundation for so widely extended and almost The New P7iilosoj)hy. 71 universal idea, through all the eras of history, sacred and profane. The casting out of devils and the dissipation of evil spirits is not wholly an event of inspired story. Well attested facts of modern occurrence go to establish the real existence of such mystical or inexplicable influence, bordering at times almost on insanity, but yet exercised with complete success over healthy minds. The explanation for all these strange facts of hu- man history or conduct is found in this same great underlying strata, so to speak, of life. Through the mutual connection of spirits attendant upon the conjurer and the conjured, a control is secured over the mind of the weaker party and thus over his body, reducing both to the most abject condition of servitude both of thought and action. Modern writers have compiled a great variety of facts of this class, many of them of the most simple kind yet bespeaking a most important principle at the foundation. Allusion is made to that class of experiments made by philosophers and investigators as well as in sport, where such complete control is had of persons in their companionship as that their will is entirely neutralized and with it all power of self control and action overcone and for the time 72 The New Philosophy. destroyed, and the stronger will of the outside party substituted in its place. Animal Magnetism or Mesmerism. The practices known under these designations may be very properly ranked in the same class with the foregoing and explained in the same manner. The mesmerizer, like the medium in spiritualism, having peculiar spiritual affinities, is enabled, by his strong will and other qualities, to force the will of the other party into a perfect subservency to his own, and thus accomplish the object of controlling not only the will but the physical actions of the mesmerized. All the instances detailed in this chapter are of the same general character with those treated of in previous chapters under the designation of Thought- transference, telepathy and other phenomena involv- ing the subject of one's connection with or control over the thoughts, sensations, volition and conse- quent physical acts of another. VISIONS, WRAITHS, APPARITIONS AND OTHER SPEC TRAP SIGHTS. The belief in ghosts and other spectral appear- ances or manifestations has ever prevailed to a greater or less extent among all nations and people. How much truth there may be in these alleged phenomena no one is authorized to say. Many of them are corroborated by evidence of so conclusive a nature as scarcely to leave room for contradiction or doubt. That a vast deal of error is mixed up with the relations and that falsehood has prevailed to an unbounded extent on the subject there is no room for denial. The delusion and falsity are un- doubtedly very much more common and general than the truth of the matter. But notwithstanding all this, it is hardly wise or philosophical to deny the actual existence of such facts or to consign them all to the field of an overwrought imagination. This general disbelief on the subject has its found- ation in the like disbelief, of which we have had 10 74 The New Philosophy. occasion already to speak, respecting the two states of man's life. Regarding these as located at infinite distance apart, the impossibility of the alleged occurrences necessarily follows and hence the con- sequent doubt, disbelief and utter denial. The evi- dence substantiating the actual fact is overcome by the doubt of its possibility. Man, too, is prone to disbelieve everything not capable of demonstration to his natural senses, and therefore these classes of mental or spiritual experiences are obliged to give way to his propensity to disbelieve and deny what he can not see, or hear or touch. The relation of the two worlds to each other being as already explained, in immediate connec- tion, the one within the other, like body and soul, the impossibility of such phenomena no longer exists and with this, the principal basis of improbability and disbelief is dissipated. The real- ity thus becomes like all other alleged natural occur- rences a matter of proof upon the evidence adduced. This gives opportunity for a fair trial of any such alleged occurrence before the great jury of the pub- lic. The proof of a single fact of the kind in the w T hole history of the world is sufficient to establish the truth of the theory that such manifestations are The New Philosophy. 75 possible and places any new instances of the kind on the same ground as any other doubtful fact in the business world. Just how the wraith or apparition in every case of actual occurrence takes place it may be difficult to determine, the difficulty coming largely from a lack of knowledge of all its particulars or attendant circumstances. By an acquaintance with these an explanation is readily arrived at. Most frequently the reported cases of spiritual appearances have been observed by single minds alone, while it is also true that many have been observant of them in other instances. The former has been most com- monly the case with the sick just before death has occurred. In such cases the attendants have been entirely unobservant of the scene or vision. With such, a diseased mind may be the explanation in some cases, but such an explanation is far from sat- isfactory with reference to very many well attested facts of the kind which history and our own expe- rience have detailed and recorded. The opening of the spiritual sight in such cases is a perfect ex- planation of the whole phenomenon, whereby the party is favored with a view of the future world before he leaves the natural body by death. 76 The New Philosophy. Then, too, there are many well attested facts of this kind, where all present were privileged a sight of the vision. The believer in the Scriptures has a large number of such relations presented to his mind as proofs of the statement. These and such are explainable in the same way by an opening of the inner sight to see the surrounding objects of the other life, though the more usual explanation in such case may be of a different character. Under peculiar circumstances there can be no doubt that the spirit is endowed with the faculty or power of assuming a personality sufficiently substantial to make itself apparent to the sight of others. The modus of operation and just how it is effected is not, it may be confessed, so well known as to be fully explained, but facts of the kind are too well and fully proved to admit of a doubt that spirits have actually found themselves able to make them- selves apparent to the sight of mortals. Nor does it weaken the truth of the proposition that mounte- banks have taken advantage of the fact to play off their vile frauds upon the credulity of the public. Spectral appearances may thus very readily be regarded as phenomena of no unusual, much less of a miraculous character. The impossibility of such The New Philosophy. 77 occurrences being removed and their reasonableness established, in accordance with the true order of existence and of nature, all mystery is taken away and man placed in condition to see and judge of things in their true light in the same manner and to the same degree that he is endowed with the means of explaining any other of the secrets of science or philosophy. COMMON INCIDENTS OF LIFE. The theory advanced affords an illustration of all the phenomena of man's life where mental factors, so to speak, come in to effect or give character to natural events and circumstances- The thousand strange and otherwise unexplainable freaks of man in his conduct in the world, his grave inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies, his suicidal or murderous pro- pensities, at variance with all his former life, his oddities of behavior, his evil or perhaps over pious acts of an opposite character, his fits of anger and revenge and sudden malice, his increased nervous and mental activity or its reverse, producing the most marked results, all these and a thousand other heretofore unexplainable mental facts come in for explanation under the law now cited. The great underlying platform or principle of spirit life and association is their full cause and illustration. The world of nature being an outbirth or prog- eny of the world of spirit, having no life save as it receives it from the latter, is subject to the laws The New Philosophy. 79 and conditions which the spirit life imposes. With- out a knowledge of these, man here works and walks on unexplored ground and is constantly sub- ject to sudden and unforewarned events of which he had no previous conception and for which after their happening he has no explanation. The world is full of this experience, which has ever been be- yond the power of philosophy to illustrate or of human wisdom to fathom. Man is as it were a machine the propelling power of which is out of sight, underlying the machinery itself. As is w T ell known to every workman, the machine can be worked to advantage or with safety only when both the parts and their relation to each other are all understood. The railway engineer or conductor must know how the power is originated by the boiler and engine, as well as how it is con- trolled in its application to the w T ork of moving the train along the track. The same is true of the man who operates the manufactory of any article of merchandise by machinery. The propelling power must be known and its laws understood in order to an effective and safe operation of the machine which it propels. He who would manipulate the motion of the time piece and correct its mis- 80 The JVeiv Philosophy. takes, must know all the secrets of the machinery which underlie the dial, and give motion to the hands. The same is true of man and the machinery of his life. The world and the man himself being but the visible or physical outbirth of spirit life, which, as already suggested, like the engine, pro- pels its motions and gives to it all its activity, are constantly liable to the wildest freaks and saddest accidents, such as are subject to occur from unknown or secret defects or interposing obstacles. Igno- rance of the existing obstructions or antagonizing powers in the one case, as well as in the other, are liable to subject the man to the strongest vicissitudes and the most overwhelming catastrophies. A knowl- edge of the whole instrument, of its parts and its workings, is equally necessary in both cases in order to success or even to safety. The machinery and the power, the soul and the body, must be in true harmo- ny in order to produce a favorable outcome. When the body by any means becomes fettered, so to speak, so as to deprive the soul of its free exercise, in the same degree comes disease and death however pre- mature and unexpected. And when on the other hand, the soul becomes diverted by interposing physical or spiritual antagonisms, the body suffers The New Philosophy. 81 with it, producing it may be the most serious results to body or mind or both as is most frequently the case. The soul can only do its full duty through a healthy and perfect body of corresponding character and vice versa. The two must be in full accord in order to the perfect work of either. A sound mind in a sound body is the one great sine qua non of human existence, however apparent may be an occa- sional exception to the rule, where a strong mind may produce the most remarkable results while working through a body of weakness and disease. Under circumstances such as have now been alluded to, where the soul and body are not in strict accord with each other and enjoying a healthy action, the two become estranged as it were from each other, and a lack of mental control produces the deranged organization, which leads to the strange freaks which we have recited. A derangement of the mental powers is produced, and insanity more or less permanent and complete succeeds, and the physical and mental phenomena follow according to the laws of the insane state as before explained. 11 PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF SPIRIT PO WBR. Another class of phenomena, which have attracted particular attention in connection with our general subject, is that of Spirit power or influence as ex- erted or practiced on the material plane or over physical objects. This manifestation has often been exhibited and in various ways, plainly indicating or proving the power of spirits in that direction. In- stances of the kind are found in the use of the me- dium's hand in writing or the drawing of pictures illustrative of spiritual subjects or other objects — also in the use of the various organs of the body as by that of the medium's eyes, to see through them the scenes of this world and to become ac- quainted with the objects of sense. A more com- mon exhibition of this power is found in the moving of articles such as tables and the like through the medium of the human hand. The very frequent well attested recurrence of these experiences leaves no room to doubt the reality of such power. The New Philosophy. 8 o This result very readily follows from the relation alleged to exist between the two states of man's existence as before illustrated. In order however to effect this result, there must be on the part of the agent or medium a peculiarly sensitive or im- pressible organization, or in other words, a refined spiritual system, as through such alone can spirit ordinarily work with success. And hereby is afforded one very effectual test of the genuineness of the phenomena as distinguished from the manifold gross cheats and frauds so often practiced upon the public. As a general rule no genuine experience of this kind can ever be pre- arranged by the medium. Hence all appointments of a definite kind at any future designated occasion, may with greatest certainty be treated as false and fraudulent. The spiritual law is not that of the earthly theatre. When a true or real exhibition of this kind shall be made or what its character, can not be prearranged. THE MIND OR SOUL. The remarks already indulged in naturally leads to the enquiry respecting the mind, or that quality or constituent of the human being which makes him essentially what he is diverse from and superior to all other objects of creation. What is the mind or soul as separate from the body, which makes the living man more than the same individual when prepared for his burial ? The discussion is one of no very ancient date, which raised the question of locality of the soul in the body. While one located it in the heart, another found its resting place in the brain or other vital organ of the body. All was a matter of doubt and uncertainty. It is however taken for granted that now no doubt exists on the subject, the general proposition being admitted that the soul of man or his spirit, in its various features, fills the correspond- ing parts or organs of the body, giving life in this way to each part or organ by its presence. The The New Philosophy. 85 body is thus but the clothing of the soul, just as his dress is the clothing of his body. All life is hence from the spirit world as has already been remarked, no life originating in the natural but only as it comes into it from the spiritual. Such being the case the soul in form must be the same with the body, not indeed fettered by any acci- dental impediments of the latter, but in perfect form free from natural or accidental deformities or dep- rivations. When at death the two parts are disu- nited or separated, the spiritual or the soul in human form passes to its future home with all its charac- teristics naturally adhering. In that form it must from analogy naturally remain substantially as it was in the body, with like loves and passions and other qualities as it had in this life, for death can not have the effect to change the essential character of that which a whole life here has been constantly active in forming. Then arises the question raised at the beginning of this dissertation, and which lies at the foundation of our whole theory thus far, as to the locality of the soul's future home and the quality of its life there or its mental condition. Passing by the first question as having been al- 86 The New Philosophy. ready answered, and approaching the latter, view- ing this from a philosophical standpoint alone, free from all theological dogmas and speculations, we can not but be rationally convinced, from the nature of things, that the soul must remain the same entity after death as before, in the same form and with like or corresponding character and propensities. This world is thus seen to be merely a school or place of instruction or preparation for the future. And as mature life here is largely controlled by the education and training of younger days, so life in this world must in like manner and degree be the scene of preparation for that which is to come. And may it not be equally concluded that as life here is rendered pleasant and happy in proportion to its activity and use or success, that the like traits will prevail there and form the great characteristics of life to eternity ! If such be the case, as is asserted, then life there must correspond with life here and be a life of activity and employment. What that employment may be and what its na- ture we may not here be able to know, but as here all true use has reference to others as well as our- selves we may readily conclude of the same there. It will certainly help us largely in the decision of The New Philosophy. Z^j all these questions to reflect that life is one from birth to eternity, an unit of existence, and that the soul is all the time one and the same entity, the earlier years on earth and the later beyond. Admitting then that man has a future life beyond and after this and thus necessarily a locality where that life is to be lived, what more rational supposi- tion can there be than that such life is to be in close connection with this — and that the employments of that life concern the welfare and condition of others, involving those that remain behind here, as well as those more especially of their connection there. We thus have an answer to our question that the mind is the soul, that never dying, but immortal part of our being, here acting through the body and its senses, but living on, after the death of the body, to eternity, man's substantial being, in closest intimacy and connection with the world of nature and its inhabitants. THOUGHTS AND IDEAS. And here is naturally suggested the question whence and what are our thoughts and ideas and all our mental exercises. There is something out- side and above all mere matter which distinguishes different individuals of the human species from each other and all from the lower orders of animate life. The great distinguishing quality of human over brute creation consists in the faculty of acquiring knowledge and hence of receiving and expressing thoughts and ideas. Thence come action and all those traits that distinguish man from the lower or- ders of life. Whence are these thoughts, their source and their promptings ? We are so accustomed to think of these things as matters of course, and consequently to regard them as not subjects of investigation, that we pass them by as not proper themes of discussion. Thus the thoughts and ideas which constantly arise in our minds find no demand for solution or explanation, but are treated as phenomena having no cause but The New Philosophy. 89 as existing per se and not subjects of enquiry. Like axioms in mathematics they are regarded as not susceptible of proof, but prove themselves. Such however is not the true nature of the sub- ject, but on the contrary it is closely connected with the deepest mystery of human existence. Its expla- nation involves the whole nature of man, is coex- tensive with his very life and like this demanding all the skill and wisdom of the deepest philosophy to fathom and illustrate. As certain as the plant is dependent for its exist- ence and growth on some great life-giving princi- ple beneath or above the plant itself, as necessary as is some such fundamental principle to the life of man in the world, so absolutely essential is it that there must be some great underlying source of all our mental exercises, our thoughts and ideas, our incentives to action and our very life as intelligent beings. The origin, the growth and the laws of thought must in their nature be as certain and as necessary as those of natural objects. The apple or the rose is no more the result of a long train of causes to produce it than is the corresponding thought or affection of the mind. The one is no more spontaneous than the other and both equally 13 90 The New Philosophy. demand a basis or cause of existence. This once determined must necessarily explain the whole and afford the only satisfactory solution of the great enigma. The theory advanced of a spiritual world in imme- diate connection with the natural, both intimately connected as has been already explained, solves the mystery and does away with all the puzzling propo- sitions connected with the subject. Thence origi- nate all our thoughts and ideas, thence come our impressions, thence our promptings to duty, thence our impulses to action. The soul acted upon by outward as well as inward objects, corresponding thoughts and ideas are excited. Acts and words falling upon the sensitive principle of the mind, like seed falling upon the earth, produce such thoughts and ideas as are of like nature with themselves. Besides thoughts thus suggested, innumerable others of a different nature constantly fill the mind without any natural or other known cause. Like as with dreams in sleep, our waking hours are full of such experiences, exciting the fancy and producing the most agreeable as well as the saddest thoughts and feelings of every day life. These come from the world of spirit in direct communication with our The New Philosophy. 91 own inner selves. Hence are the poet's inspiration and the author's frights of imagination and the con- stant suggestions which come, perhaps unbidden, but laden with the richest fruits of mental stores. Thence are all thought and all mental activity and exercise, in every form, in times of wakefulness as well as of sleep, of sound as well as of unsound mind and memory. IMA GINA TION. The mention of the "Imagination" as a part or element of the mind naturally suggests the question, as to its nature or quality. What is the "Imagina- tion?" As a quality or faculty of the mind or as a factor of man's nature, it has ever played a most important part in all systems of Mental Philosophy, as a solvent or absorbent of all its difficult and inex- plicable phenomena. So completely is this the case that it has come to be the great law of all phi- losophy to ascribe to it every thing that can not be explained, and man has found himself cut off from all further enquiry when once any phenomenon has fallen within its clutches. It hardly has occurred to any one to follow the trail of any proposition or ex- planation further than to the great portal of this tyrant, who has grasped all the secrets of the mind and all the machinery of its working. Whatever lies within its authority and dictation has thus far been kept a secret securely locked up from all inves- tigation and enquiry. The New Philosophy. 93 The definition of the term as given by lexicogra- phers shows the utter indefiniteness of its meaning and nature of its real character. "Imagination — The faculty of the mind by which it bodies forth the form of things unknown — or pro- duces original thoughts or new combinations of ideas from materials stored up in the memory." — Worcester. As a quality or faculty of the mind it is thus made to be, according to the convenience of the dealer, the cause or effect of any given phenomenon not otherwise explained. Its nature, however, is unde- finable, except as occasion offers to use it, and then the definition is necessarily so made as to include the end and use in view. In one sense it is the great waste-basket of philosophy, into which she throws all material of which she can make no use and which only tends to puzzle and provoke enquiry. Thus dreams and the freaks of insanity, the sudden bursts of rage, the strange fancies of fanatics, the prognostications of prophecy, all premonitions and coincidences, all mental warnings and spectral illu- sions, apparitions and scenes of clairvoyance, and in fact almost every doubtful mental phonomenon is absorbed as its progeny or parent. Every theory of the kind is referred to its care and keeping. 94 The New Philosophy. But yet what is this great power, the imagination, what its real character and laws of action and being, no philosophy tells us, but its whole nature is a mystery as insolvable now as in the ages of the past, save only as lexicographers have briefly explained, or attempted to explain, its meaningless definition as already quoted. How much real information this definition gives it is hardly necessary to ask. The whole is still a mystery as complete and unde- finable as was that of the lightning before Franklin first began to learn its nature and its laws. Before his day it could only be defined as that faculty or quality of the universe, by which the most intense light and heat are produced from darkness with deepest intonations of sound and often producing the most disastrous effects to objects intercepting its path. Suffice it to say, that the faculty of the imag- ination has no basis or explanation in the philosophy of the day and no rational definition. That it is an independent existence or faculty even, no one can claim, nor that it is anything else than a quality of the mind, like as color is an inde- pendent quality of natural objects. Nor is it a sep- arate factor of being, but simply a qualfication of other factors of existence, like the color of a man's The New PhilosofiJiy. 95 face or outer garment. But still the philosophy and practice of the day ascribe to it as a cause, some and indeed almost all the difficult problems of mental experience. What then is the Imagination? The great theory now proposed, respecting the connection and intimacy of the two worlds or states of existence, gives a ready answer. The imagina- tion is simply the mind as acted upon, affected or controlled by its spiritual association or relation- ship. The irregular ideas, the fancies and strange revelations, which the mind thus receives from its surrounding spiritual sphere are the "freaks of imagination" as they are accustomed to be called. The imagination is thus only the normal mind pecu- liarly acted upon by its ever attendant companion- ship. In this way it is that it becomes a "faculty by which it bodies forth the form of tilings unknown or produces original thoughts or new combinations of ideas from materials (apparently) stored up in the memory." The word "apparently" is inter- polated for the reason that nothing is more com- mon than for the "imagination" to produce new ideas never before known to the individual, and from materials never "stored up in his memory." 96 The New Philosophy. Indeed this latter fact is the most peculiar of all the freaks of the "imagination," the fact that it most frequently produces new thoughts and new ideas, not only new to the mind of the party himself, but new to the whole world as well. Here then we have the. whole theory of the imag- ination completely explained and accounted for, all its puzzling enigmas answered and its laws defined. By spiritual influences, thoughts and ideas of all kinds are imaged on the mind and become to the man more or less definite and real, important and substantial. CONSCIENCE. What is conscience and whence its power over human thought and action have also been questions of deep thoughtfulness and discussion. Like the imagination, it is no separate factor of the mind, but like that only a quality of man's mental nature. To refer the whole phenomenon to the fact that God has implanted in the minds of all the faculty or conviction thus named, whereby they are able to judge of the right and be inclined to its pursuit, is no explanation of its nature or cause more than is a like reference to the same origin of any natural fact such as the growth of trees and plants or the happening of any other event in the natural world. That the Creator has implanted in their nature such a faculty or principle is not denied, but on the con- trary affirmed. In the same way was created the soil with a like propensity to produce all the objects of plant life. But to the growth of such the seed must be sowed and cultivation follow. The Crea- tor in all things works through means to ends, and 13 98 The New Philosophy. the phenomena of conscience are in no essential re- spect different from all the other great mental and natural facts of creation. The great substratum of soul and life is supplied and the means furnished, but to man is left a great part of the work of culti- vation. Man in this world being surrounded by spirits of the other, good and bad, is in constant reception from them of good and evil suggestions and in accord- ance with his own prevailing state of life and loves, he pursues the one or the other as his freedom dic- tates. But let his decision be which way it may, the good spirit is not silent, but to the extent of its ability, the man is impressed with good, however weak the impression may be and however little it may be heeded and obeyed. Constant repulsion of the good and inclining to the opposite, may, as it often does, weaken the better suggestion and repel it almost entirely. In proportion as the good sug- gestion is followed, "conscience" has power and in the same degree that it is repelled is it weakened and loses its force. The great law of life, of which we shall have occasion to speak, is such too, that when a man acts in accordance with it, he is conscious of the cor- The New Philosophy. 99 rectness of his action, and the reverse. This law of order being violated, in a measure vindicates itself by a corresponding feeling which follows in the mind of the actor, known as "compunction of conscience," while the opposite course of conduct is recognized by its approval. This law is the law of spiritual as well as of natural existence, having indeed in the former its most perfect operation and thus enforcing its decrees upon the minds of men in this world, not only by its own inherent power, but aided by the sphere of each one's own attendant spirits. This principle thus controlled by the great law of life, in accordance with which all spirits are governed more or less for good, is the principle or quality known as "conscience," the great governing principle of man's life and conduct. The law al- luded to affords the principle, while the spiritual sphere of each one is the agency through or by means of which the principle is utilized or made practical in life. REASON. Of a like general character with Conscience is that other great quality of man's nature known as Reason. This is another of those "faculties" so called, which are said to distinguish the human species from all lower orders of creation, although we constantly observe in the lower classes of exist- ence the strongest evidence of a like, though of a lower degree, of the same principle. Like con- science and the imagination, however, the term is recognized by scholars as altogether undefinable. By one celebrated author it is confessed to be "far from being precise in its meaning, * * sometimes used to express the whole of those powers which elevate man above the brutes" but "in popular dis- course that power by which we distinguish right from wrong and by which we are enabled to com- bine means for the attainment of particular ends." Says another, "It is passive, not an active power," "not acquirable" but "inherent in all persons not entirely idiotic." The New PhilosofJiy. 101 Defined in its simplest and most comprehensive manner, it is that quality or principle of the mind by which the life is governed, — the conductor of life's machinery, — the engineer of its motive power. Like conscience and the imagination,, it is no sepa- rate factor of the man, but a simple principle of his spiritual nature, exercised in the control of his phys- ical, as well as his mental powers and conduct. As such a principle, under the supreme govern- ment of the great law of life and in the exercise of man's freedom, it is largely under the influence and control of the spiritual sphere which constantly sur- rounds him, with its aid and support, its dictations and suggestions. These are the so called sugges- tions of Reason, and as he opposes and rejects or accepts and adopts them, his "reason" is exercised. INS P IRA TION. All the facts and the whole theory of Inspiration are only another illustration and proof of the great law and order of universal life, which we have been considering. The "inspired" thought is but that of a higher order of Being, on the other side of life, breathed into the minds of mortals on this. Thence has the phenomenon its existence as well as its cognomen. Of the quality of the inspired thought it is not here proposed to speak, but only as to its existence and origin as a mental fact or idea. The inspiration may be that of a low or evil kind breathed into the mind of the earthly recipient, from the evil of the other life — or it may be from spirits of the higher order, and even higher than these, and from all classes between these extremes. Allusion has already been made and explanations given of the phenomena of this class, under differ- ent names, as in what was said of the origin of thoughts and ideas and of the frequent suggestions The New Philosophy. 103 in sleep and in wakefulness of beautiful sentiments, poetical effusions and conceptions of all kinds which have their origin in the world beyond. All these and such are but instances of and same phenomenon known as "Inspiration." SUMMARY. We close this part of our essay by the following brief summary or corollary of our whole subject. The two states or worlds of man's existence, the present and the future, the natural and the spiritual, are in direct and close connection with each other like soul and body. All life in the natural is from the spiritual, and death follows their separation. As with the soul and body of each individual man, the former is within the latter, so with universal nature its earths and atmospheres and space, the spiritual is within it, imparting to it all vitality and all the effective force, which the natural has or exercises. Man in this world is composed of two separate and distinct factors, each perfect in itself and sepa- rately considered independent of the other, soul and body, the natural and spiritual, the two correspond- ing with each other in every particular, and so fitted to each other, when united, as to make one perfect whole. Being thus distinct from each other, the two are readily capable of separation, which The New Philosophy. 105 event, when ittakes place, we designate as "Death." The union or connection of the two is known as "Life." All that we recognize here with man as life, all vitality, all mental and physical activity, all thought, everything which characterizes man in life superior to the same man in death, is through the soul or spirit. The body of itself alone, as one of the factors of man, is powerless and without vitality the same through life as at its burial. During man's residence in this world his soul is an unconscious resident of the spirit world and in direct and immediate communication with its inhab- itants, deriving thence his thoughts and impulses to action and capable of receiving and imparting under favoring circumstances, information and knowledge between the two states, the same as be- tween those on the same side of life. The body is, as it were, a machine, the soul its propelling power, the spiritual world the source from which that power proceeds. In order to true success in any worldly act or undertaking, the ma- chine and its propelling power must therefore be in accord and in an orderly condition for work. The more perfect the machine and the application of the propelling power, the more successful the work it 14 io6 The New PhilosopJiy, accomplishes. And as the workman can effect comparatively little with the machine without a knowledge of its parts and of the power which pro- pels it, so with man generally, his labor is largely in vain, until all the underlying machinery of his nature is fully understood and realized. Or to adopt another and perhaps a more exact illustration, the man may be very properly likened to an electrical apparatus. His body is represented by the disconnected battery perfectly dead and use- less until placed in connection with the great elec- tric current. That connection gives life and activ- ity — disconnection causes inactivity and death. The electricity very properly represents, what in truth it really is, a spiritual power, working in and through nature, producing the grandest results when applied to the well ordered machine, but no visible results at all when disconnection exists. And so with man. A sound and well regulated mind in a sound body, properly connected with the great underlying source of all power alone secures success. In the manner and through the means thus de- scribed, man is and accomplishes what he is and does in this world. Underneath and effective of all he does is this great spiritual force, ever constantly The New Philosophy. 107 active through his inner self. When this force ceases, thus showing a separation of the two, the spiritual from the natural, all action ceases for then death has supervened. PART II. PHYSICAL or NA TUBAL PHENOMENA The intimate connection of the two worlds of man's existence being such as has been explained or assumed, it must necessarily follow that other and vastly important results must follow from this rela- tion. The whole province of Nature must, to a greater or less extent, be subject to the conditions which this order imposes. The spiritual thus be- comes, as it were, the origin or basis of the natural in all its departments, and as the seed determines and controls the nature of the plant, so every natural event must refer itself back to the spirit, in a great measure, for its origin and quality. Remotely, or more or less immediately, all natural events and existence must be referrible to spiritual beginnings, flowing thus from the inner world of all cause. Nature in itself is dead and of itself alone unpro- ductive of life in any form. Disconnected from the great source of all life, life itself ceases with every The New Philosophy. 109 earthly object. As with man when, by natural causes, separated as to his body from the influx of life from within, death follows, — as with the tree or plant when separated from the soil in which its roots are implanted, a like result is induced, — as with the great electric current, the simplest discon- nection puts an end to all further communication, — so with all this world's phenomenal experiences. These have all their origin in the world of spirit and are here only the outgrowth, directly or indi- rectly, of seed sown, as it were, in fields beyond the human sight. Just as all our richest fruits and grains are the growth from seeds planted in the earth beneath and left in darkness to vegetate unob- served and thence to fructify to perfection, each in its own peculiar way, without any power in man to change its quality, so it is with all human concerns and all matters of man's thoughts and acts. He may modify, arrange, and perfect, but the great underlying substratum of all mind and matter is no more subject to his control as to its nature, than is the seed as to its production. He may improve by culture, but in no way add to the substantial quality or ingredients of his being. All forms of life here, vegetable, animalcule, the higher animal and hu- no The New Philosophy, man are all alike the result and outgrowth of spirit life beneath, and thence have their birth and conse- quent formation. Life with each here lasts so long as the connection remains, but when, from any cause, that connection is broken, death ensues. With man this takes place whenever by disease, old age, accident or other cause the body becomes an unfit organ for its manifestation and exercise. Like the outgrown garment, when unfit for further use, it is thrown aside, so when life leaves man's earthly body he lives on in the home beyond. Such being the case, it must be readily seen, as already remarked, that vastly important results of a natural or physical character, as well as mental or spiritual, must necessarily follow. We have thus far confined our remarks to the latter class, but the former equally demand consid- eration. Indeed no discussion of the one is com- plete without a like treatment of the other. It is most obvious that if the two worlds of man's exist- ence are in such close relation to each other, his natural must be, at least, greatly affected by it. In previous pages, allusion has already been made to this phase of the subject. It is here proposed to give a more particular and practical description of The New Philosophy. in this assumed relationship and of its physical ox nat- ural consequences. All life in this world being from the inner world or state and flowing thence outward into all its re- cipients here, it must follow as an axiom of exist- ence, that man must, in his natural actions and char- acter, be greatly affected and controlled by influences from the unseen and heretofore unrecognized source of life thus established. Instances of this kind have already been given, where mental or spiritual influences have been exhibited in most striking and remarkable manner in physical and natural modes, as in cases of sudden rage, in suicidal and murder- ous propensities, and other idiosyncrasies altogether different from the party's whole previous course of life. Other instances of a like description are pre- sented in cases where whole communities become, as it were, crazed over some new sentiment or doc- trine of social or business life and leading to the direst results or perhaps the very reverse. Instances of this kind are of the most constant recurrence connected with all departments of labor, politics, religion and social life, the underlying cause of all which may be found in the strong spiritual spheres which from one cause or another are made to infest ii2 The New Philosophy. whole communities and classes of individual minds. Ignorance of the cause of such phenomena, in all detective practice, has ever helped on the success of all such irregular and unnatural proceedings and hence perhaps made all police and other corrective efforts unavailing and fruitless. A full knowledge of the underlying cause of such irregularities must necessarily lead to a new and more effectual diag- nosis of the evil and the consequent remedy to be applied. An allusion to some of the more common instances of the class of facts now spoken of, follow, as illustrative of the whole subject of this world's phenomenal history and conduct. TREATMENT OF THE INSANE. Reference has already been made to the prevail- ing disease of Insanity and to its cause. That it is a disease will be readily acknowledged, but a gen- erally prevailing ignorance of the cause of the pecu- liar symptoms or characteristics has greatly retarded success in the methods of cure. The physical cause of the derangement may be known and to the skilled practitioner the appropriate remedy be read- ily suggested, while the peculiar nature of the in- sane idea and its distinctive origin is all in darkness and hence a great factor of treatment is unknown and therefore omitted. As already explained, the insane idea is the prog- eny of a spiritual sphere surrounding the individual, which carries away its victim beyond all power on his part to control or prevent. The dispersion of such sphere is of course the first object to be accom- plished, and this can generally be done only by bringing around the party an opposite or opposing sphere, before which, as it were, the evil shall be 15 H4 The New Philosophy, put to flight. The first efforts in such a work may very naturally produce an aggravation just as the effort of a policeman to seize the quiet offender against the law, only enrages the party and leads to violence. Constant and unremitting efforts of a kind and benevolent character at heart afford in such cases the only sure and reliable means of suc- cess. Such alone will finally overcome the insane infestation and its consequent outward develop- ment. At the same time it may be added as a corol- lary of the same proposition, that all efforts, by violence or of an unkind nature, to still the crazy actions of the insane, only foster his rage by adding fuel to the flame of his insane sphere and thus in- crease instead of weaken its force. The temporary insanity of the drunkard is a good illustration of the more permanent and general status of the insane class. As the cause of the rea- son's dethronement is, with such, but temporary, the early return of the man to his normal state ena- bles him to drive away from himself by his own reason, the besetting sphere of evil and thus restore his state of sanity without any medical or other aid. He is thus able to help himself, whenever his reason returns, though before the return he is given up to The New Philosophy. 115 the infestation around him. With the more perma- nently insane however, the medical practitioner and other outside agencies of a healthful spiritual and physical nature, must be brought into exercise ai'ound him, to dispel the evil sphere, which leads to unnatural ideas and consequent corresponding acts, as well as to cure the bodily disease which has led to the dethronement of reason and self control. " Ci'ime." Closely connected with the subject of insanity, as has been now discussed, is another form of mental disease which leads to insane acts, but which has not with the public, the credit of insanity, more especially with those connected with the adminis- tration of justice. Reference is made to that large and increasing class of "crimes" committed without previous design or forethought, and too, without malice, but which result in the saddest of all evils. Instances of this kind are becoming very frequent, where in perhaps a friendly social conference, a sudden start is made by one, who seizes his club or pistol and without provocation, with violence dooms his companion to instant death. No premeditation, much less any malice, precedes the act, and no n6 The New Philosophy. sooner is it committed, to the realization of the offender, than the most sincere grief and repentance follow, accompanied by an utter inability to explain or account for the act, its cause, or the motive which prompted its commission. Another class of cases of the same character is that where the sudden rage or violence is executed against one's own self, resulting in death by suicide, or in some other great personal injury. Such cases are most usually found to occur, if not always, when partial derangement of the reason and intellect has been induced by intemperance or anger or sudden fits of dejection and discourage- ment. All such instances are readily explained by the overpowering influence of the infesting sphere by which the party is surrounded, while he is in no condition of strength to resist. How far in the course of justice such a person is to be held accountable or excused for acts thus com- mitted is and must be a question of great doubt, in matters of judicial consideration. His fault may be in allowing himself to be brought into such a con- dition, where such a result is possible. But this may not be justly regarded as sufficient to charge the culprit with the full measure of punishment The New Philosophy. 117 which is due to such an act, when committed with malice and premeditation. The lesson taught by all these cases is one which the world should heed as most important in the pre- vention and treatment of the whole class. The law of kindness and sympathy, in all such instances? should be the governing principle of action in their treatment and associations, such as shall in its na- ture tend to drive away and dispel the opposing and possessing sphere of evil, which surrounds the individual and leads to the insane freaks. Force and unkind efforts to still the ravings of such, only strengthen the infestation and lead on to greater and perhaps more fatal results. Nor should such acts of kindness be withheld or discouraged by the strong will or determination of the party to resist all exercise of kindly feelings toward them. These only evidence the strong hold which the evil attend- ants have secured upon their victim. All the more vigorous should be the efforts made to relieve the party of the deadly incubus which in such cases are weighing upon him. HEALTH AND DISEASE. But probably the most important direct physical effect resultiug from the intimate relation of the two worlds of man's existence, is that which bears upon and controls the health of the human family and the consequent law of cure. Man being as now suggested, the combined creature of two worlds, occupying his corresponding place in each and in both at the same time, composed of soul and body so intimately connected as to form but one being, most important results must necessarily follow from this relation, connected with his bodily structure and condition of health. As the body has no life in itself save as it flows in through the soul, this must necessarily be liable to be more or less affected according as the channel through which it flows is free and clear or in any way obstructed. In order to a perfectly healthy state of body this flow must be equally so, and hence any disease at the initial point, or point of unition of soul and body, or at any other subsequent The New Philosophy. 119 stage, must be correspondingly destructive of the health of the system. When indeed we conceive of the infinitely delicate machinery of man's bodily and spiritual nature, it is most surely a matter of wonder and astonishment that he can enjoy that degree of health, which does actually characterize the human species. The nature of the relation between the soul and body, how the two are connected so as to form one such perfect structure as man is, is certainly a mys- tery of the deepest kind. Allusion has already been made to the doubt which formerly prevailed and the consequent dis- cussion of the question as to the locality of the soul in the body. It being now well known and recog- nized, that the body is but the clothing of the soul and that hence the latter fills the former, as the body fills the clothing of his person, most important consequences must follow connected with the body, its health and condition, and the consequent treat- ment which it should receive whenever subject to disorder and disease. The body is but the outward manifestation of the soul or inner man, of which it is thus the clothing and the two make one as before 120 The New Philosophy. suggested, both intimately connected, a perfect unit of two independent parts or factors. How to treat this compound system in all its earthly relations necessarily becomes a vastly im- portant matter of study and knowledge. Thence must come largely all the laws of health and cure as well as those of mental and physical manage- ment, so as to produce that great desideratum of existence a sound body for a sound mind. The laws of health being thus the outgrowth of man's physical and spiritual natures combined, it must follow that any disturbance between the two must produce corresponding disease. And as all disease must be met by its appropriate cure, the two must meet on the same plane. And it is very evident from the nature of man's composition or conformation, that his physical system or factor must be necessarily composed of numerous planes or degrees extending so to speak, in succession from the most interior where the unition of the soul and body takes place, thence outwardly through the nerves, muscle, flesh, bones and skin until the order is complete. At any and all of these stages or planes disease may come in, caused by some of the many obstructions or disease-imparting agencies The New PJiilosofiJiy. 121 which beset man at all points. To an effective cure of such, a treatment appropriate to the disease at its origin must be applied. Hence becomes neces- sary a corresponding delicate preparation of any curative remedy, so as to meet the disease at its in- nermost point of beginning or at its inition. The lack or want of such a preparation must be the ex- planation for all "incurable" diseases, no medicine of sufficient refinement being yet discovered to reach the initial point of disturbance. In the his- tory of the healing art, progress is being made to meet this want, though largely in ignorance of the manner in which the object is effected. As the true relation of body and soul comes to be more fully understood and recognized by the faculty, we may naturally expect a great advance to be made, until it may come at last to be found out that no such thing as an incurable disease exists. Just where or at what point in the refinement of matter the body and soul unite, it may not be possi- ble for man to ascertain. Whether or not there may be a more refined or inner organ or system than the nervous remains to be seen or determined. As bearing on the great law of health and cure, it is a vastly important question for decision, for wher- 10 122 The New Philosophy, ever may be the most refined point of matter in the human system, there must necessarily be the point necessary to be met by a correspondingly refined remedy and a relatively infinitesimal dose. To as- certain the truth of these matters is now an essential fact, to determine the origin or beginning of any disease in the system, and thence its outward prog- ress, and the consequent adaptation of remedies to meet it. To a certain and perfect cure the medicine must be of a character to meet the disease at its initiatory point, a degree of refinement in the dose to correspond with that of the organ or part of the body where the disease originates. In the remarks now made a ready explanation is found for that large class of diseases originating or produced by strictly or exclusively mental causes. The fact is very generally recognized like all other mental phenomena. But why and how a bodily disease results from merely mental causes is as yet an unsolved enigma. Like all those great mental facts that find an explanation solely by reference to that still more insolvable enigma of the "imagina- tion," this too, has an equally unexplainable and inexplicable theory for its existence. Why should or in what manner does a merely mental fact of The New Philosophy, 123 grief or joy or other emotion affect the health of the body, and produce as it does, a sudden death per- haps, or a long protracted disease, or it may be a cure from a long continued sickness ? The theory advanced affords the explanation. The emotion is wholly spiritual and of course enters the body at its initiatory point of unition with the soul, and thus impregnates the whole system with its dis- tinctive infecting quality, which, in its outward progress, produces the most distinct effects of a kind corresponding to its origin, whether of health or disease. Among those cures thus effected are also em- braced a large class so frequently produced instan- taneously or more or less suddenly by mediumistic or mesmeric agency, the existence of which as yet is but partially and to a slight degree acknowledged by the public. But that such cures are very fre- quently effected is too well known to be denied. How, or in what particular manner each cure is effected may not be generally explained, save that by means of the strong sphere of the medium healing influences of a spiritual nature are brought around the patient, producing a corresponding allevi- ation or cure of the disease in the manner and on J 24 The New Philosophy* the principles already described. The more inter- nal the disease, the more nearly in its origin that it approaches the mental or spiritual part of one's sys- tem, of course the more effective will be the spirit- ualistic or mediumistic remedy, while all that class of diseases having an external origin alone, like exter- nal wounds to the flesh and accidental bodily inju- ries, may not be subject to the like beneficial treat- ment. But even in such cases so thorougly im- pregnated with the great spiritual element is every man's entire system, the spiritual or mental remedy may even reach the most external injury or disease as is often the case. Another important agency in the work of cure, but yet, however, little understood, is the applica- tion of electricity in one form and another to the treatment of disease. What is this new agent, as it were, which has come to play so important a part in human affairs, whence its origin and mode of operation, seem to require a full and separate con- sideration. Not only has it come to be one of the effective agents in the promotion of health and cure as well as prevention of disease, but in a thousand other ways has it already come to be one of man's greatest helpers in the work of life and in the pro- motion of its industries. ELECTRICITT. The older members of the present generation can well remember with what utter incredulity and dis- belief were the first demonstrations, connected with the uses of electricity met and opposed. Being altogether unlike any and all previous experiences, and different from all the facts of science as then known, they were readily denounced as false, im- possible and absurd. And when, after outliving all disbelief and opposition, and overcoming all doubt by actual demonstration, the telegraph had won its way to universal acknowledgement on land, its transmarine possibilities had an equally strong and universal disbelief to overcome, even in the minds of the most learned and scientific men of the day. Nothing less than absolute demonstration evidenced by constant practice has brought the world to be- lieve in the truth of electric possibilities, even to the extent already accomplished, while the same incredulity still exists, as at first, in all future ad- vances from the present standpoint of success. 126 The New Philosophy, And yet the whole thing is still a mystery as deep and unexplainable as when first exhibited and before success followed. How instantaneous communica- tion and transmission of news are effected over land and across seas, between the most widely separated portions of the world's surface, is utterly unexplain- able save that it is the quality of electricity to pro- duce such results. Like dreams and other spiritual phenomena, electrical exhibitions are accounted for as simply the product of nature, caused by some law in accordance with which it has existence. But when it is considered that every effect has its adequate cause, such a general explanation is most unsatisfactory and absurd. In looking for the great underlying cause and na- ture of the electrical element and its phenomena, it has undoubtedly occurred to every reflective mind, which has a belief in spiritual existence, how strik- ingly they illustrate or resemble one great phase of spirit life. With all such there naturally exists a spontaneous belief in the fact, that space, such as exists in nature, has no real existence there, but that thought with affection gives presence, while the op- posite disjoins and separates. It is this spontaneous principle alone that gives all or any expectation or The New Philoso^Jiy. 127 hope of friends meeting again after death. On no other can any thought of reunion in the future be based. And yet no sentiment is more universal than that friends and companions on earth, will, at death, at once meet those of their number who have gone before. The only explanation of ail this, is found in the fact that space is only an appearance and has no actual extstence in the other life. Like as thought can travel in words from Japan to New York over the wire with the rapidity that it can pass through the mind, so in spirit land a corre- sponding result is produced, by actual presence accompanying the desire and affection. Following this idea, the suggestive thought is born into the mind that there is a close relation or correspondence between the incorporeal agent of which we are speaking and that great law of spir- itual existence, that there is no real space in the other life but only the appearance of such. The evanescent character of the electric agent, unlike all else in the world, would seem to take it out from the category or list of natural objects as a subject of investigation. Indeed it can hardly be ranked as such in any respect. Per se it has no natural qual- ity susceptible to any of man's senses and is only 128 The New Philosophy, perceptible in its results or effects. In all its char- acteristics it is spiritual and most intimately con- nected with spiritual substance or existence. In itself, not subiect to any of a man's senses, it is gov- erned by no natural laws, save those which it pre- scribes for itself and these only in its application to what we may call the machinery of life. It is not an earthly production or of earthly origin, for it is equally diffused throughout all space, the inhabitant of the clouds and the atmosphere, reaching to the sun, and accompanying every comet as it makes its way through the illimitable fields of space and hav- ing no limit short of the extreme boundaries of the universe. It has no natural feature or characteristic, but is simply a power without form or substance, ever present every where, ever inactive and quiet save only as it may be called into action by those agents which seem especially created to call for its manifestation. Like life itself, its subtle existence can be ascribed to no natural origin, is independent of nature and above it and all its laws and condi- tions, though of a quality to be affected by them. While it is a power universally working in nature and through it, its source is above nature, using the earth and the sun and all the planetary domain The New Philosophy. 129 merely as its sphere or field of dominion and oper- ation, rising itself and existing superior to all ma- terial things and creations. The most that can be said of it, in explanation of its character, is that it is a power working in nature and through nature, but having its source above all nature and co-existent and co-extensive with life itself. But like life it can be naturalized and made subservient to this world's use. All its laws however are spiritual laws, sub- servient to natural laws only so far as in its nature it becomes an agent in their productive work. Such being the character of this great element or power of life, what else can it be than an exhibi- tion in nature of a great spiritual organ or quality, a link in the chain, or the chain itself, which binds together the two great factors of the life of the uni- verse. As such an instrument of spirit, working through nature, what may we not expect to derive from its agency. Already the world is teeming with inventions of the greatest importance and value derived from this great motive and universal power. Not only has it become the great postal servant of the public in the diffusion of information through telegraphic and telephonic agencies, but it is fast coming to take the place of all other motive oower 17 130 The New Philosophy, for the purposes of travel and propulsion of machin- ery, to the displacement in a great measure, of waterfalls and steam engines. As an instrument in the work of lighting, it is fast displacing other means, to a certain extent, of dispelling darkness and diffusing artificial light in our cities, towns and public edifices, as well as private residences. It has already demonstrated its agency in the regulation of the weather, its storms and its calms, and the ele- ments are found to be largely under its control and command. Health and disease are promoted or dissipated according as its laws and demands are are kept or violated, and in a word all Nature is to a great degree kept alive and in vigor by its con- stant flow of inner life through outward forms of existence. Whether or not it be true as suggested by a recent writer, that "the vital principle is ident- ical with electricity," all things plainly teach that it is in its inherent quality a spiritual agent, diffused through nature as one of the great connecting bands which bind together the two great factors of the universe. As such it is endowed with vast capa- bilities for the support and perfecting of nature's works in all its realms, including mankind and all other grades of life. Its possibilities and ultimate The New Philosophy, 131 results can only be known by its future develop- ments. Enough however is already demonstrated to compel the conclusion, that through its agency, the natural world is impregnated with the life and power of the inner or spiritual world. As such an agent we may reasonably expect the grandest results from its operations, as man shall come to know how fully to utilize its force and how to apply it to the machinery of the world and life in its fullest extent. EDUCATION. As bearing on the great work of Education, using that word in its most extensive sense, the relation of the two worlds to each other, as now suggested, is of the greatest importance. We are thus taught, by a knowledge of this relation, of not only the great use and object of all knowledge, but also the best and surest means and methods of obtaining it. The very idea of two lives, lived by every one here, in two different worlds at the same time, plainly teaches that of the two, that which is ever- lasting and never ending is in importance relatively the all of life, when compared with the short term lived here. To the future all life in this world is merely subsidiary or educational, the school-day of boyhood, which has its practical use in the prepa- ration which it makes for the active years of man- hood and age. As such school-day should be util- ized in the work of preparation for after years, so should this life's years be spent with a due regard to the life of the future, with the conscious convic- The New Philosophy. 133 tion that whatever of true knowledge we store up here, we shall enjoy there. As one's academic education to a greater or less extent governs and controls his maturer years, so we must conclude that his life in this world must in like manner cor- respondingly influence and effect his life in the fu- ture, its uses, employments and enjoyments. We speak here not of any theological or even moral idea as such, but merely in a practical, phil- osophical manner, eschewing all theological notions and teachings. If the man be the same being in the future as he is in the present, how can he fail to be enriched and benefited in that future by his acquirements here, in all matters of a mental, intellectual and spiritual nature. No reversal in the order of his existence can be expected to be wrought by the mere separa- tion of his soul from his body, however much he may justly hope for and realize in the way of ad- vancement in the same general line. We have thus taught, as one at least of the great objects and uses of education here, the practical preparation for the uses as well as employments of the life to come, for it can not be supposed from what we know of man here and his real nature. 134 The New Philosophy. that the future is to be a life of inactivity and list- lessness. The true order here is a life of practical use and activity. Such is seen to be the case in the very earliest days of infancy, contiuned through all the weeks of youth, the months of boyhood and years of mature age. Nor can it be supposed that when old age is supplemented by a life beyond and the body is laid aside, that the spirit of activity and usefulness is laid aside with it, to be succeeded by an eternity of idleness. There is nothing in "death" that can for a moment lend encouragement to any such idea, but rather that man continues there as here, to live a life of use. As thus we would here in early years provide for our manhood life, so dur- ing our earth life it behoves us to prepare for the future by such educational means as we may have the privilege to command in our favorite and chosen employment. Not that our employments there are to be of the same kind as here, but only such as spiritually correspond and agree with these, and our genuine character. This may we naturally conclude to be the case from what we know of our- selves and especially of the relation which exists between our internal and external natures. The New Philosophy. J35 Being thus made aquainted with one of the great uses and objects of knowledge and education, we are naturally interested to know how the great end of acquiring them is best secured or promoted. If the relation of the two worlds be as suggested i it would seem to follow as a natural result that the acquisition of them must necessarily be largely de- pendent upon the relation thus existing. The earnest desire and pursuit of any particular object of search naturally brings around the student the correspondingly earnest sphere desired and the consequent result sought for. This influx is con- stantly realized by every scholar who enters upon his study with zeal and application, though his suc- cess is universally credited to his genius and schol- arship. His previous acquirements and mental characteristics of course help largely in the success, just as the perfectness of the machine aids in that of the work performed. But as in the case of the ma- chine nothing can be accomplished without a pro- pelling power, so even the well stored mind is equally unable to exhibit the master work of authors and writers without the great underlying power of attendant spheres operating on the mind. It is to this that credit is to be given and not merely to one's 136 The New Philosophy, unaided intellect or reason. The spiritual associa- tion or aura of each is the mighty power working upon the intellect, with its acquirements and thus producing the rich results. That the inspired thoughts of our poets, the grand developments of science and demonstrations of art, the wonderful exhibitions of the scholars, the think- ers, the scientists and artists of the world are all the result of unaided human intellect is a problem too mighty to be credited, too impossible to be advo- cated. Thoughts inflowing from those of a higher order of life come to the seeking mind and find a ready expression through the language and acts of the seeker who unknowingly courts their aid and presence. At other times they come unsought in hours of sleep and in moments of listlessness and simply ask of the inspired author the use of his hand to pen on paper or otherwise execute the rich thought thus imparted for the good of humanity or the world's enjoyment. As bearing on the great question of education it is readily seen how important a factor is this great spiritual agency in the work of dissemination. What a power is thus constantly ready and ever at command of all who seek its aid, the great propel- TJie New P7iiloso£7iy. 137 ling power of the underlying machinery of human life ! How one can take advantage of this great factor of education is readily seen to consist in util- izing the means thus afforded by courting its aid with zeal and listening to its suggestions as they come into the mind. 18 LA W OF LIFE. But this subject has a far mightier and more im- portant phase than any yet expressed. The world was evidently not produced by chance. In what- ever manner it came into existence, the great law of order and design prevailed in every step of its prog- ress. Not" only do the individual parts but the grand aggregate of the whole and their mutual rela- tions to each other, all bespeak the operation of a great and universal law, dominant in their origin, and in their continuance and in their government. The great law of cause and effect is found every where and constantly at work, with strictest har- mony and uniformity. Apparent exceptions occa- sionally present themselves, but how T ever unexplain- able at the time, they are all found to be the true and unquestioned results of the one same great un- varying law. So strictly true is all this, that philos- ophers may from present data foretell for centuries to come, and relate for centuries past, the exact and precise occurrence of natural events with as entire The New Philosophy. 139 certainty as they can detect their present existence. This is confessedly true of all phenomena occurring at stated intervals of recurrence, and is no less true of all others, though the law governing them may not yet have been discovered by man. In the great law's operation, there is no accident or "chance" as it is called, no unnatural result, however often inter- posing obstacles may seem to produce such in the affairs of life. The law is uniform in its working and when in- terrupted by interposing obstacles, may produce, as it often does, what we call accidental consequences, these being the true indicators of the law's infrac- tion and its appropriate remedy. As in railroad- ing, the derailment of the engine indicates the fault of the road's construction or the train's government, and the appropriate remedy to be applied, so in all of nature's operations every accident or misventure bespeaks some unlawful interference, suggestive of its own removal. The accident is the indicator at the same time both of the disease and its cure. But no more certain is this the case in matters of a nat- ural, than in those of a mental or spiritual charac- ter. The law which governs the revolutions of suns and systems of worlds is no more exact in its opera- 140 The New Philosophy. tions and unexceptional in its results, than is that which cares for and governs the shortest lived ani- malcule and the minutest object of creation. And the same great law controls, with equal carefulness, all the operations of the mind and functions of spirit life. The law of the whole is indeed one and the same, different chapters and sections of the one universal code, varying only as the different subjects, to which the law is applicable, require, but ever maintaining the character of a single enactment. The fundamental underlying basis of this great system of law is that of the spiritual world. From thence the natural is derived, like as the province is governed by the law of its parent state. The nat- ural is but the outbirth of the spiritual, the outer development of the inner self, both working in har- mony and constituting a single unit of being. As with the individual man his soul and body consti- tute but one existence, the latter corresponding with the former in all its particulars, so with the universe of nature and its great soul of inner life, one uni- versal law pervades and governs all, varying only as the character, needs and appliances of the respec- tive subdivisions make necessary. All true philos- ophy must so treat the subject in order to reach any The New Philosophy. J 41 accurate and reliable results, in any matter involv- ing mental, spiritual or natural causes or effects. So far as any system fails to do so, or falls short of this, so far are its conclusions imperfect, deceptive and misleading. The great system of natural and spiritual life combined may be justly regarded, according to hu- man conception as a machine, working in all its parts with the utmost harmony and success, wher- ever and whenever its true course is not intercepted. As such machine it may justly be called or have ap- plied to it the term of "locomotive," working-in- place, wherever that place may be, throughout the grand system of worlds and the planetary system, in the multifarious business of man's life in this world or in the minor affairs of insectivorous life, as also in all the various occurrences of the outer world of nature, its fields and woods, its waters and atmospheres and all other departments. As such machine, its great propelling or motive power, al- ways working in place, is that of the inner or spir- itual world, ever acting constantly upon the machin- ery of the outer world, upon all the objects of nature and through the minds of mankind upon their phys- ical systems. So far as it is allowed to act freely 142 The New Philosophy. and according to its own laws unobstructed and unopposed, the legitimate results prevail, and so far, and so far only, as that work is intercepted or turned aside, misfortune and ill-success result, indicating the cause and perhaps the remedy, if only are the symp- toms carefully investigated and their indications re- garded. The theory now advanced being admitted as true, it must necessarily follow, as an axiom of the sys- tem, that the laws and facts of natural and spiritual life respectively must correspond with each other, like as must all causes correspond with their effects and vice versa. Such being the case, as in all mat- ters of scientific research, we have a ready means afforded not only for the study of these laws and facts, but for the ascertainment of their nature and their qualities and mode of operation. To this end we have a two-fold rule of investigation, according as we proceed in our enquiries from the external internally or the reverse. Judging of causes from their effects and of effects from their causes, the uniformity of the two gives us the most ample means of detecting the laws of the system, provided only the labor is pursued with sincerity and patience. The New Philosophy, 143 A new and vast field of investigation is thus thrown open to human effort and acquirement. The uniformity and oneness of all natural and spiritual facts thus becomes a law of creation, gov- erning all things, and its study is the beginning of all wisdom and all science, a sine-qua-non of real success in any search for the origin and true nature of every phenomenon of either a physical or mental character. When fully understood, no facts remain unexplained or make necessary their reference to any imaginary cause for an explanation. As readily explainable as are the rising and setting of the sun, the happening of storms, or the growth of plants, are all mental and physical phenomena, when once the great law of which we now speak, is known and recognized. Order. An investigation into this law of universal life and its various provisions, readily brings us to the con- clusion that foremost among its characteristics is the factor of order so plainly impressed on all things and events. "Order is Heaven's first law," and this too, in no figurative or metaphorical sense alone, but in absolute truth. As a result or consequence 144 The New Philosophy. of this principle in its application to the affairs of human life, success is a sure concomitant of obe- dience to it, and on the contrary all accidents, mis- ventures, misfortunes and ill luck are equally the result of its violation. Like as the machine, to which the existence of this world has been likened, when out of repair or prevented in its work, leads to disaster and perhaps death, so with the great law of life its violation is productive of evil and danger. But the tendency of all natural and spiritual law is to correct disorder and remedy the evils of its infraction. Unlike the machine of human inven- tion, capable of overcoming its wrong working only to the limited extent for which its inventor had pre- pared it, the machinery of the universe knows no limit to its power of rectifying its defective opera- tion caused by antagonizing forces. So that noth- ing is more common in the experience of the world than that the operation of the law, when vio- lated or contemned, seems to produce, instead of corresponding evil, the opposite good to the public or the violator So strikingly is this the case, that it has become a well known maxim that "God over- rules evil for good." And such is the apparent truth. But however true it may be, the maxim The New Philosophy. 145 should, in its consideration, be so modified as to take away all idea of a special Providence in such cases, it being only the uniform work of the law which governs the universe. Instead of any special interposition producing the favorable results, this is caused by the law's legitimate action in overruling the interposing obstruction for good, and the result is the direct consequence of the law's appropriate work, the law being such, perhaps, as has had the effect to utilize the wrong interposed so as to mag- nify the good resultant. How evil w T orks its own cure, how good comes from bad beginnings, how misfortunes eventuate in success, and direst calamities ultimate in signal blessings, all so frequent in the world's history, has always been an enigma of the most puzzling kind. The great law of life already alluded to is their full and complete explanation, the great law of uni- versal and permanent order. The evil is the result of disorder, which it is the direct object and ten- dency of the law to rectify and turn to good. Use. Another characteristic and important vital func- tion of the law now discussed, is use, a quality or 19 146 The New Philoso£7iy, principle ever working in closest intimacy and con- nection with that of order. The great machine has no other end or object but this, and in all its workings, whether in matters of a mental or phys- ical kind, or of a spiritual or natural, no other result is its end or design. Only so far as the proper working of the law is interrupted by interposing or antagonizing influences, does aught else than use, real use, prevail. In the business of the world, man often, by his careless, wicked or accidental efforts, causes the law to be interrupted in its true operation and the result is the opposite of use or success. This is constantly seen in the every day transactions of the business world. To this cause are to be attributed all the great failures in trade and enterprise, all acci- dents and misfortunes and every other calamity con- nected with man's social andactivelife. Instead of use being the object in such unfortunate undertakings, other and improper motives and objects will be found to be the propelling or controlling power or in some way connected therewith, producing the evil result. In all the affairs of life the great law of use pre- vails, not turned aside by interposing obstacles and disorder, but as it were, overriding them, and perhaps The New Philosophy. \\>J using them to promote the ultimate end of good. Such, however, may not be seen to be the direct or immediate effect of the law's operation. A long time, it may be, will elapse and generations of men pass away before the evil eventuates in the use which the operation of the law may produce. But still it is no less certain that the operation of the law will be and has been of the nature suggested. The con- quests of an Alexander, a Caesar and a Napoleon, the burning of martyrs, the scenes of witchcraft, the acknowledged crimes of the early Papal See, and other enormities committed all along through the centuries of history, as well as the smaller and more insignificant crimes of an individual nature, being all violations of the great law in question, have all had a use in helping at least to provide a remedy for the evils which led to the disorderly acts committed. The evil has thus been utilized in effecting its own cure or removal, and perhaps of the whole class connected with it. Throughout the whole, the great machine keeps on its even way in its unvarying course, working good and use out of evil and promoting the former by an uniform and never failing process. 14S The New Philosophy. The Law's Operation. Use and order being thus the great factors or fundamental qualities of the universal law of crea- tion and life, it must necessarily follow that the greatest good of all is its end and design, and con- sequently the elevation of man in the scale of being must follow its enactment. However much evil may seem to prevail at any particular occasion or place, however disasters and reverses may appear to happen or increase in the affairs of life, yet the great result is ever found to be a corresponding ele- vation of the species and consequent good and hap- piness. A review of the history of the past and of the successive generations of mankind as a whole, a comparison of the present with the ages that have gone, have but a single story to tell of the constant and unvarying elevation of the human species and of all natural existence in the scale of being. Such is the constant and unchanging work of the law, the law of life, having its beginning and foundation in the land of spirit and emanating thence and work- ing through all the departments of natural and phys- ical existence. How important it is that mankind shall become acquainted with this great law and learn its require- The New PhilosofJiy. 149 merits and conditions, follows as a conclusion of no doubtful character. That he can know the whole however is a proposition readily seen to be impossi- ble. The power that framed it can alone compre- hend it and we may readily conclude that with man eternity alone can accomslish the end of finding it out. But according as a man's state and condition here demands its exercise we may readily recognize his power of acquainting himself with its provis- ions and requirements. To this extent the means are provided for every honest seeker. To this end man's reason is one great promoter of the knowledge thus sought to be attained. By a true and faithful exercise of this faculty in conjunc- tion with his other qualities, man is able to make great progress in the acquirement, if only honestly exercised. Man has also implanted in his nature an ever act- ive principle, teaching and instructing him constantly in the knowledge of the law in question and its re- quirement on all subjects submitted to him for his action or adoption. It is born with his birth and ends only with his life, ever present and faithful, if only its teachings are followed and its injunctions obeyed. Its existence has ever been recognized 150 The New Philosophy. though not classed in the connection now treated of. Known as "conscience" its teachings have ever, by moralists and masters, been invoked as important to be heeded. The nature and quality of these two factors of man's nature have already been treated of in the previous pages, to which reference is now made. The great surrounding spiritual sphere or aura which encompasses all the inhabitants of earth, is a constant teacher to them of the great law of life in its application to every act or motive presented to them for adoption. According as they follow or ig- nore the suggestion, with a wise understanding and an honest intention, success awaits them or the reverse. But however important and useful it may be for man to know and become familiar with the law which thus governs his life and conduct, yet it has to be confessed that as a general fact he is utterly ignorant of its existence. His reason and "con- science" however, have to a greater or less extent, taught him of its requirements and exactions. Like as the ignorant and unenlightened citizen, knowing The New PJiilosophy. 151 nothing of the statutes of his State or Nation, is yet found living in obedience to them through the knowledge which his reason and common sense im- part to him. But as with the citizen thus living on in ignorance, a minute acquaintance with the Leg- islative requirements is most useful and desirable, so with mankind generally, vast good, not other- wise accessible, must be the result of an intimate knowledge of the law which governs his life. Practical Application of Law. Having thus far spoken generally of the law now treated of and its authoritative character, a more par- ticular application of the subject, to the practical uses of life, seems to be called for or at least made appropriate. The proposition submitted is that there is an all pervading universal law, having its enactment and beginning in the spiritual world, and thence emanat- ing into the natural, governing all things natural and spiritual, animate and inanimate, man and all inferior beings and all events of nature and of life, — that this law is uniform in its operation, working constantly for the greatest good of all, promotive of and founded in order and having use for its end and 152 The New Philosophy. aim ; — that so far as this law is obeyed, success is its uniform result, and all accidents, misfortunes, mis- ventures and ill luck are the direct and inevitable consequences of its violation ;— that these latter are the indicators of such violations and have a direct tendency and object to vindicate the law and thereby lead to correction ; — that man while alive in this world is constantly, through impressions upon his mind, made acquainted with the provisions and re- quirements of the law, and as he acts in accord- ance with them, success attends his actions so far as these are not impeded in their legal course and not interfered with by antagonizing influences. Many instances have already been cited as work- ings of this law in the ordinary course of business and other departments of human life. Manifold others from every day experience might be added, for our lives are full of them, however unmindful we may be of them. The heed so often coming into the mind just in season to prevent misfortune, if obeyed, or as a forerunner of disaster when dis- obeyed, is a circumstance often in the experience of every one. The timely suggestion so often, when heeded, preceding good luck or success is no unus- ual event in every man's business, while the oft heard The New PhilosofiJiy. 153 regret expressed by man in times of misfortune, that he would that he had followed his better thought or judgment, before adopting an adventurous experi- ment, is a matter of every day's experience. Such and the numerous other instances so common to the knowledge of all, to which allusion has already been made, are all the results, direct and unmistak- able of the law's operation in human history. The modus operandi of the law may be and frequently is diverse, sometimes acting direct upon the object, and at others indirectly through natural or spiritual agencies, which, as parts of the one great machine, help on the grand result. "All are but parts of one united whole." And it is not solely in human affairs that the oper- ation of the law in question is seen. All nature is a constant exhibition of its work. The growth of plants and trees and all other objects of vegetable life have through and according to the operation of this law, their full explanation and continued sup- port. Every variety of plant life is thus taught as it were, its distinct lesson, ever reproducing itself and maintaining its distinctive species, form and quality, though improved it may be by cultivation or other treatment. The same is true of all ani- 20 154 The New Philosophy. mal life, the most obscure and uneducated individ- uals of which have implanted .in their nature in accordance with the law in question, all the knowl- edge necessary for their subsistence and support, as well as the perpetuation of their species respectively. The bee, the ant, the butterfly and every other class of insectiverous life have a wisdom past finding out, whereby all their wants are supplied and their race continued. The fish brought into existence in some inland lake or stream and thence transported to the broad ocean, readily finds its way back to its birth place through all the intricacies of the intervening waters, over its falls, through its dams and fishways and along its circuitous passage for miles and it may be hundred of miles away. The bird is equally skilled in being able fortunately and seasonably to time its departure for warmer climes as the cold of winter approaches and with the warmth of spring to find its way back to the familiar tree where its birdling birth took place. The carrier pigeon taken in his cage over a long course of travel, by car or ship and let loose in a strange land, at once rises in the air and with the accuracy of a surveyor's needle, pursues his course direct to the point of departure hundreds of miles distant. The cat and dog, those The New PhilosofiJiy. 155 useful attendants of domestic life, constantly exhibit most marked instances of a wisdom almost human in its character. Being secretly removed for long distances from home in a strange land how quick- ly and directly will they find their old haunts against all the difficulties and discouragements of unknown roads and intervening streams. The horse and the ox often exhibit like remarkable character- istics involving an apparent knowledge and wisdom which would do credit to the human species. All the animals of the forest are clothed with a degree of foresight and skill which defies human art to fathom or detect. The same great law is found teaching all animals in the selection of their food appropriate to their nature, and in all their habits and modes of life, whereby their race is sustained and perpetuated and all necessary comforts of home and food provided, and this too, without any pa- rental education or example, the artificially hatched chicken having all the arts and knowledge necessary for its subsistence, the same as if brought into exist- ence in the ordinary course of nature. Philosophy, when applied to for an explanation of all these re- markable phenomena, has naught to say save only that such is the "instinct" of the animal, this, like I $6 The New Philosophy. the ''imagination" with man, being the one, only, universal solvent of all enigmas which the subject presents. The whole is but the working of the one great law of life which gives to the plant its origin and growth from seed to maturity, — that gives to all lower orders of animal life, their several idiosyn- crasies of conduct and being and also to the human species all those qualities of mind and body which make him "the Lord of Creation," and endow him with the faculty to do all that he accomplishes here. In the lower order of creation, such as has now been sketched, where each in freedom exercises its own, so called, will, life is what may be called a constant and unvarying success. Each member comes into existence, lives its ordained life, finding its own means of living, and when not interfered with or intercepted by extraneous influences, evolv- ing the life to which it was born and passing away, all in accordance with its real nature. Disease is seldom its lot, but what may be called success is the uniform concomitant of its being. All this may be confidently asserted to be the direct result and con- sequence of such animals' strict obedience to the suggestions and impressions of their nature, all The New Philosophy. 157 which are but the teachings of the great law of life. The law thus successful in its working with the lowtr order of animal life, being the same as that which governs man in all his affairs, his business em- ployments, his pleasures and his social relations, we may with confidence assert would be equally efficient with the latter, provided it were equally well obeyed and honestly practised. The "instinct" which the law impregnates with the seed of duty in the case of the lower order of animal life, is also a part of the human composition, and as in the case of the animals spoken of, obedience is followed by success, so in the case of man. All that is requisite to suc- cess is that the law be obeyed, as taught through the medium of man's intellect, and the constant prompt- ings, suggestions and impressions from his inner self, under the guidance of his reason and "con- science." Thus armed and protected, enlightened and controlled, prosperity and success may be re- garded as a certain result, except so far as the man is involved with others and the law is interfered with to his injury or prejudice, by those in his association. Considering how completely every one is involved with the acts and character of others, how little of independence any one has in and of himself alone, 158 The New Philosophy. one might conclude, with a great deal of truth, that at his best, man can accomplish but little here under the law in question. But although this be true in reasoning, yet the conclusion is not so absolute. An individual may in a great degree, while engaged in business, so far free himself from the control of others, as to live according to the law', with the as- surance of success. This however may not be the success for which he strives, but one of a very differ- ent character perhaps, but notwithstanding real and enjoyable. Mankind, however, are so complicated with each other in their worldlv relations and as a mass so j make up a joint whole of individual existence, that it is often impossible for one to act independently of the rest and is hence compelled to suffer with others the result of a common disaster. He who commits himself to the custody of the railway conductor must share with others the danger which that con- ductor's carelessness may bring upon the train. And so it is with all the business of life. But yet it very frequently occurs that in such disasters the "inno- cent" party's presence is realized to be in violation of a most distinct impression, that that especial train should be avoided, a violation which makes the The New Philoso^Jiy* J59 party in truth no longer innocent in the view now taken of the subject. Few are fully if at all aware how large a part of all their good fortune in the world is the result of the direct operation of the law now discussed. It is seen in that prosperity which is so often found to attend upon the man of honest aims and intentions, having it may be no particular skill or knowledge in the eye of the world, but who rigidly pursues the right as impressed on his inner consciousness, without reasoning or outward advice, according to his own convictions of duty. Unconsciously and of course from an inherent sense of justice he performs all the duties of his station and lives a happy and prosperous life, though he may not accumulate wealth or any other useless luxury. Such an one is successful because he is as it were in the line of the law, or as it is expressed by a distinguished author, "in the stream of Divine Providence." Nor are many conscious of the constant influence and pressure even, under which they live in reference to all the incidents of life, and how constantly they are plied with thoughts bearing on their contemplated course of business or pleasure. But such all have, to a greater or less degree, arising from the appli- 160 The New Philosophy. cation, and we may say enforcement, of the law now defined. The impressions alluded to come unsought and indeed unnoticed and are consequently most frequently disregarded and repulsed, often to their great detriment and perhaps loss of life itself. The same consciousness of duty comes to the man as comes to the bird or fish or other animal, which these obey and are successful, but which he perhaps ignores and suffers. Striking instances of this class of experiences are often exhibited in the daily busi- ness of life, as all will realize, if only their mental states are watched and noted. How often are the most important events of a man's whole existence introduced and based upon a fact of the simplest and most minute character, which at the time did not attract the attention or thought even, of the party. How has the whole course of life, one's long journey, or his permanent settlement or his amassed wealth, his high official station or other important result, been the outgrowth of a single word carelessly dropped, or a minute act unthink- ingly noticed, but which afterwards, like the mustard seed, has grown up to be a great tree bearing the richest fruit. In matters of minor importance this kind of experience is constantly taking place, the The New Philosophy. 161 very frequency of which causes the whole to be unnoticed, or, if noticed at all, ascribed to accident or chance and having no importance. With the masses this is most frequently the case, that the whole is thoughtlessly overlooked and not for a moment entertained. With certain individuals these transient, evanescent thoughts are retained and made matters of reflection or meditation and in some cases pursued to advantage in the acquisition of wealth or notoriety or other signal blessing. These are all the workings of the great law now considered, showing the great importance which exists with man to watch and guard his thoughts and impres- sions if only he would act in accordance with his duty and derive the greatest benefit from the means afforded for the government of his conduct and act- ions here. Under the guidance of reason and good "conscience" one can hardly imagine the great ben- efit to be derived from a due regard and attention to the suggestions, thus coming from his inner self through his spiritual association, on almost every subject connected with his business and worldly relations. Every thing in the life of man, whenever or how- ever occurring, has more or less to do with his good 31 162 The New Philosophy. or ill fortune, as bearing on the result of his life's work and end. Every act and thought has its ten- dency to elevate or depress, to improve or debase his condition in the scale of being. In that scale these all serve to lighten or weigh down the life which they help to counterbalance. The great ma- chine is constantly active, grinding out or producing its appropriate result, and every act of the mind and body, as it is subjected to its operation, has its effect, however minute and unobserved, to help on or re- tard the machine's appropriate work. Left to itself to act in freedom, unopposed and unimpeded, this work is for good, this being the direct result of the law's operation ; and even when opposed, the ten- dency of the law is to overrule the interposing ob- stacle for good, though such tendency is, through man's freedom, easily overcome to the injury of the party or those connected with him. As an agent or helper in behalf of this law, in its operation and enforcement, the great spiritual sphere, which constantly surrounds all human individuals, is one and the chief executive power by the various meth- ods described in the previous pages of this essay. |^ The practical working of the law and its attend- ant agencies is found in its application to the affairs The New Philosophy. 163 of every day life. It teaches man to pay more par- ticular heed to the suggestions which so continually come into his mind in moments of listlessness or of care, or in connection with particular items or courses of business or other worldly matters. These all have more or less importance, either as warn- ings or as instructors in the line of one's duty. If properly treated or heeded the greatest good may come almost unawares at times and apparently in the most accidental manner to the party, while if ignored or opposed a certain evil is found to follow. How frequent is the experience which all receive in the apparently accidental aid which comes as it were unsought in the various engagements or occu- pations of life, indicative of an unseen and unrec- ognized helper in the cause at heart ! A strong de- sire for certain information brings it to mind or leads to facts so connected with it, as to accomplish the desired object. A difficult problem is helped to be solved by a marvelous thought or a sudden sugges- tion coming from an altogether unconscious source. Deep thought or close study suggests the want's satisfaction. The wish for a particular item of in- formation leads perhaps to the accidental taking down of the book from one's library, which con- 164 The JStew Philosophy. tains the information sought, or to the suggestion of the idea which secures it. The inventor, by his deep study and reflection, so charges his mind with the idea, that a train of thought is suddenly struck which leads to success. The scholar intent on a given subject, which he would elucidate, finds his mind suddenly illumined with original ideas pro- motive of an unexpected and astonishing result. Prosperity is thus frequently the outcome of the very despondency which follows a sudden reverse in business or in social life, the deep thoughtfulness of the party »thus unwittingly bringing a cure for the very disease which caused it. In like manner, cau- tions are dictated when unseen dangers lie in the proposed path, and thus safety secured or disaster foreseen according as the warning has or not been heeded. Man's experience is full of such instances, constantly recurring, governing the most insignifi- cant as well as the most important events and act- ions of his life and work. In proportion as these good thoughts and suggestions thus coming into the mind are heeded and obeyed, in an honest and unselfish spirit, success may be relied upon as assured, though the success may be other than that looked for or desired. At the same time, it is to be The New Philosophy. J65 noted, that it very often happens that such success is actually enjoyed without the party's cognizance or knowledge, the heeded suggestion having led to safety from a danger altogether unknown either after or before the threatened event. The strong desire or intent of the robber to do his unholy work, against his neighbor or approaching traveler, may in the ways already explained, forewarn the latter of the danger and lead to safety. And so of the thousand other events of life, good or bad, fa- vorable or unfavorable. In accordance with the law in question, aided by the universal sphere of the other world, acting on the minds of mankind in this, the grandest results are constantly produced for the good and happiness of such as lend a willing acquiescence and obedience to the unselfish sugges- tions of their inner selves. FINAL. The subject treated of in the foregoing pages is one of vast importance and eternity alone will suffice for a full understanding of its entire meaning and extent. This humble and unpretending essay is offered merely as an introduction of the theme to the attention and study of the public and the world at large. APPENDIX. Since the preparation, mainly, of the previous essay for the press, the writer's attention has been called to the Reports of the " Society for Psychical Re- search" a body professedly organized "to investi- gate that large group of debatable phenomena des- ignated by such terms as mesmeric, psychical and Spiritualistic," The Society is largely composed of men of science, among the leading scholars of Great Britain, embracing Professor Sidgwick, of Trinity College, President, — Prof. Stewart, F.R. S., of Owens College, and some thirty other Vice Presi- dents and Council. The number of members is about three hundred in all, consisting largely of men of science, distinguished for their scholarship, as well as for their integrity of character and research. The objects of investigation are classified into six different divisions which are referred to sep- arate committees, whose duty it is to enquire into the phenomena coming within their respective The New Philosophy. 167 range, and to report their results as to the actual nature and truth of facts alleged. "The aim of the Society is to approach these various problems without prejudice or prepossession of any kind." Such is their programme. The result of a little more than a single year's work has been a compilation of facts, to the num- ber of several hundred, which are reported as well attested and unquestionable, of the various kinds, such as come within the classes above alluded to and such as are treated of in Part I of this essay. We can not better report the result which the Society has arrived at, than by quoting their own language as contained in the address of the Presi- dent at one of their regular meetings. Alluding to the present state of public sentiment on the subject, he proceeds : "We are all agreed that the present state of things is a scandal to the enlightened age in which we live. That the dispute as to the reality of the marvelous phenomena — of which it is quite impossible to ex- aggerate the scientific importance, if only a tenth part of what has been alleged by generally credible witnesses could be shown to be true — I say it is a scandal that the dispute as to the reality of these 1 68 The New Philosophy. phenomena should still be going on,— that so many competent witnesses should have declared their belief in them, that so many others should be pro- foundly interested in having the question determined, and yet that the educated world, as a body, should still be simply in the attitude of incredulity." ■ <*? ■ /-MM I ■I t , . "»**.^7 ■ ■ *4 A J I HI Hi ■I H ■■1 I ■ • Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 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