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AUTHOR: 
 
 BURNETT, CHARLES 
 MOUNTFORD 
 
 TITLE: 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF 
 SPIRITS IN RELATION 
 
 PLACE: 
 
 LONDON 
 
 DA TE : 
 
 1850 
 
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 Burnett, Charles Mountford, 1 807-1 866. 
 
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 The philosophy of spirits in relation to matter. London, S. ! 
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 PHILLIPS' LONDON PHARMACOPCEIA.— Fj/iA Edit. 
 
 A Translation of the Pharmacopoeia CoUegii Regalis Medicorum Lon- 
 
 dinensis, MDCCCXXXVI., with copious Notes and Illustrations; also a Table of 
 Chemical Equivalents. By Richard Phillips, F.R.S. L.&E. Mfth Edition, 
 8vo. price 10s. 6d. 
 
 PARIS'S PHARMACOLOGIA {Ninth Edition) ; 
 Being an extended Inquiry into the Operations of Medicinal Bodies, 
 
 upon which are founded the Theory aud Art of Prescribing. To which are for the first 
 time appended, very extensive Tables of those Medicinal Substances which are Chemically 
 and Physiologically incompatible with each other. By J. A. Paris, M.D. F.R.S. 
 President of the Royal College of Physicians. 8vo. price 20s. 
 
 CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE, CONSIDERED 
 
 In relation to Mental Organization. Bj M. B. Sampson. Second 
 
 Editiotiy enlarged, 8vo. price 5s. 
 
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 W. Stowe, M.R.C.S. Varnished and mounted on cloth, with roller, 6s. ; or 28. the 
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 A System of Practical Surgery. Corrected and Enlarged, including all 
 
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 And shown to be a Disease rarely connected with permanent Organic 
 
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 By the same Author^ 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 In the press. 
 
I 
 
 Jast published, Fourth Edition, 8vo. price One Guinea, 
 
 ©utU'nesf of lectures 
 
 ON TRB 
 
 NATURE, CAUSES, AND TREATMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 INSANITY. 
 
 BY 
 
 SIR ALEXANDER MORISON, M.D. 
 
 PHYSICIAN TO BBTHLEHKM HOSPITAL, THE SURREY COUNTY LUNATIC ASYLUM, ETC. ETC. 
 
 Edited by his Son, Mr. T. C. MOKISON. 
 
 WITH 
 
 PHYSIOGNOMICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF INSANITY. 
 
 Extracts from Reviews. 
 
 " The work before us, by one of the most eminent of those physicians devoting themselves 
 to the special treatment of Insanity— Sir A. Morison, Physician to Bethlehem Hospital— is 
 well calculated to impart much useful information to medical practitioners on the subject of 
 which it treats. It is written in an easy and perspicuous manner, and, as stated in the title, 
 consists of the printed outlines of a course of lectures delivered by the author during no less 
 a space of time than twenty-five years : it, therefore, presents us with the results of a 
 prolonged and extensive eiperieuce ;* and its verbal descriptions are further elucidated by a 
 number of engravings, representing the most remarkable features of various forms of mad- 
 
 neas "We recommend the work to all our readers who desire (and such desire ought to 
 
 be general in the ranks of the profession) to make themselves acquainted with that essential 
 department of their art which relates to the pathology and treatment of mental disease." 
 
 Lancet. 
 
 " The work of Sir Alexander Morison on * Insanity' is well known, and we can confidently 
 recommend this fourth and improved edition as a work in every way well calculated for those 
 who are commencing the study of the subject. It is written in a peculiarly easy and 
 interesting style ; and without being prolix, contains a full description of the different forms 
 of insanity." — Monthly Journal of Medical Science. 
 
 " We cannot permit the present number of the ' Journal' to go to press without directing 
 the notice of the profession to these Lectures. They will fiud the volume full of valuable 
 informatiftP. The Notes of the Son will be read with great interest. In our next number 
 we pro^se l^viewing this treatise in detail."— Dr. Witislow's Psychological Journal. 
 
 ^ Also, Second Edition, royal 8vo. price £3. lOs. 
 
 DELINEATIONS OF THE 
 
 PHYSIOGNOMY OF MENTAL DISEASES. 
 
 BT 
 
 SIR ALEXANDER MORISON, M.D. 
 
 Containing upwards of 100 plates. 
 
 V 
 
 
 • ^•x^ -^ \y\y 
 
 GRAY'S SUPPLEMENT to the PHARMACOPCEIA ; 
 
 Being a concise but comprehensive Dispensatory and Manual of Tacts 
 
 and Forraulse for the Chemist and Druggist and General Practitioner. 
 
 NEW EDITION, by THEOPHILUS REDWOOD, 
 Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacy to the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. 
 
 Svo. price £1 . 2s. 
 
 GUY'S HOSPITAIi REPORTS. 
 
 FIRST SERIES, complete in 7 vols. (1836 to 1842), price £4. lis. 
 
 (A few COMPLETE SETS havc lately been made up.) 
 
 SECOND SERIES, Vol. I. price IBs. 6d. ; Vols. II. III. and IV. 13s. each ; Vol. V. 7s. ; 
 VoL VI. 148. (1843 to 1850). 
 
 ANATOMY FOR ARTISTS. 
 
 Hand-Book of Anatomy for Students of the Pine Arts. Containing a 
 
 Description of the Skeleton, and the External Muscles of the Human Figure ; the Action 
 of each Muscle being explained in connection with its Name and Situation. With 
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 Or complete Pocket Anatomist. Containing a concise Description of 
 
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 ration in the Male and Female ; and the Organs of the Senses. Zrd Edit. 32mo. Ss. 6d. 
 
 SELECTA E PR^ESCRIPTIS {Tenth Edition, Improved) : 
 
 Selections from Physicians' Prescriptions ; containing — 
 
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 The Grammatical Construction of Prescriptions. 
 
 Rules for the Pronunciation of Pharmaceutical Terms. 
 
 A Prosodiacal Vocabulary of the Names of Drugs. 
 
 A Series of (350) Abbreviated Prescriptions, illustrating the nse of the preceding Terms. 
 
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 32mo. price 58. 
 
 15| 
 
STANDARD WORKS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 MEDICAL TOPOGRAPHY AND DISEASES 
 
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 BRYSON ON THE DISEASES, &c. of AFRICA. 
 
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 Report on the Climate and Diseases of the African Station. Compiled 
 
 from Documents in the Office of the Director-General of the Medical Department, 
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 DANIELL ON THE DISEASES, &c. of GUINEA. 
 
 Sketches of the Medical Topography and Native Diseases of the Gulf 
 
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 Dr. JAMES JOHNSON and Mr. J. RANALD MARTIN. 
 
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 late Presidency Surgeon, &c., Calcutta 8vo. price ISs. 
 
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 BOYLE'S DISEASES or AFRICA. 
 
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 ROGERS ON CHOLERA in the MADRAS ARMY. 
 
 Reports on Asiatic Cholera, in Regiments of the Madras Army, from 
 
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 and Summary of the General Method of Treatment in India. By Samuel Roge&Sj 
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 and other Branches of Science connected m\h. Medicine. Ei/hth Edition. Revised and 
 
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 and Comparative, 
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 A Dictionary of Practical Surgery. By Samuel Cooper, late Professor 
 
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 Practical Observations in Midwifery : with a Selection of Cases. 
 
 Dr. John Ramsbotham. Second Edition, enlarged, 8vo. price 12s. 
 
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 BECK'S MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE.— *Set;en<A Edit. 
 Elements of Medical Jurisprudence. By Dr. Theodoric Beck, and 
 
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 FEMORAL RUPTURE, and ITS ANATOMY :ife 
 
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f 
 
 THE 
 
 MICROSCOPIC ANATOMY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HUMAN BODY, IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. 
 
 By ARTHUR HILL H ASS ALL, M.B. 
 
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 Opinions of the Press. 
 
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 the practitioner who has long since closed his collegiate tomes, will find recorded m it all 
 that he was once taught with regard to these matters, and all that recent discovery and 
 research have since added to the pile of knowledge upon the subject. 
 
 "A more useful or a more noble work has never been offered to the medical profession. 
 We give this opiuion after thorou-h reflection ; the path has been trodden by others, pain- 
 fully, laboriously, but never so clearly, so lucidly, so pleasantly, as by Dr. Hassall. 
 
 " Those who have not been akeJidy so fortunate as to have seen Dr. Hassall s work must 
 be informed that it consists of sixty-uine plates, carefully coloured after Nature, each plate 
 containing on an average six subjects, so that the entire number of illustrations amounts to 
 more than 400 ; these are drawn with great care,— in many instances with the aid of the 
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 reference, becomes a handsome and invaluable addition to the library t&h\e."— Lancet. 
 
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 has hitherto treated. The opinions of the most eminent observers, English and Continental, 
 are given with impartiality, and occasional references are made to the writings of the older 
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 a complete system." — Medical Gazette. 
 
 By the same Author^ 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE BRITISH FRESHWATER ALG^, 
 
 Comprising Descriptions and Coloured Delineations of nearly 500 species, including the 
 
 Desmidese and Diatomacese. 
 Containing also a complete aowunt of the Modes of Reproduction, Growth, Vitality, 
 Distribution, Uses, Classiticction, and Species of this most extensive and interesting 
 Class of Plants; in which the Author has been favoured with the co-operation of several 
 Naturalists eminent for their cultivation of this department of Natural History. 
 
 2 vols. 8vo. price £2. 58. 
 
 Also, 8r(7. price 4*. ^d. 
 
 A MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION OF THE WATER 
 
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 Illustrated by coloured Plates, exhibiting the Living Animal and Vegetable Productions in 
 Thames and other Waters, as supplied by the several Companies. 
 
 SMELLIE'S OBSTETRIC PLATES {New Edition) : 
 Being a Selection from the more Important and Practical Illustrations 
 
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 8vo. price 5s. 
 
 On CANCEROUS and CANCROID GROWTHS. 
 
 By JOHN HUGHES BENNETT, M.D. F.R.S.E. 
 
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 the University of Edinburgh. 8vo. with numerous Illustrations on Wood, price 128. 
 
 REID'S PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 
 
 Physiological, Anatomical, and Pathological Researches. By John 
 
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 ANNALS OF ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY: 
 
 Edited by John Goodsir, P.R.S.S.L. and E., Professor of Anatomy in 
 
 the University of Edinburgh. No. I. price 3s. 6d. with plates. 
 
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 TOULMIN ON GOUT. 
 
 Gout; its Causes, Cure, and Prevention. By Abraham Toulmin, 
 
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 COOPER'S OSTEOLOGY. 
 
 Lectures on Osteology; including the Ligaments which connect the 
 
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 — — _— — . igefc 
 
 rtife 
 
4, 
 
 Published by S. Highley, S2, Fi-igT^Tm. 
 
 Fifth Edition, revised and improved, 8vo. price 10s. 6d. 
 
 FIRST PRINCIPLES OF MEDICINE. 
 
 By ARCHIBALD BILLING, M.D. A.M. F.R.S. 
 
 FELLOW OF THB ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS ; 
 g MEMBER OF THe'IeNATE OF THE UNXVKKSXTV OF LONDON ; ETC. ETC. 
 
 •:,.* A copions Index is added to the present Edition. 
 
 Reviews of the Fifth Edition. 
 
 , . J • •* ^f +1.0 hnrX- nrp so excellent — there is such a happy comhi- 
 that the phenomena of disease can only J^.f^^^^^^^PP'^^^^^^^^ profit, even by the best 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^'^'^'■'^^-^^'-' ^'-' 
 
 "^^c T>,P ' F^h Edition' is a rare superscription for any medical book ; but if we were in- 
 
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 It rd\:d^Ie.'^ra:?;*:JVegreeWconfiden^. ofL pnhUc ^^^^^^^l^,,^ 
 
 ..men the unanimons voice of the profession caUs for the Fifth EdHion of a medical 
 -^cJ^cSLrZ-t'ca^TnitX^^^^^^^^ 
 l^HSi" etn^mlh:^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^f T^ 
 
 hJlk Tas ^way of equal value to the practitioner, whose occupation precluded such a task, 
 ar^ thus heTas of?^^^^ from the advantages of its consultation. We therefore 
 
 con^tulat^ others on the publication of this fifth edition. . • • ^emus 
 
 congratulate ourseiveb ^ ^^ ^^ commendation it can gain nothing. The 
 
 Xfon hta^rde^^^^^^^ it must ever hold in its literature, No practitioner 
 
 Ln ir^d to be completely educated who has not studied Dr. Bilhng s wrrtinp.^ ^^^^^^^ 
 
 « We are indebted to a want experienced by the author himself for one of the most useful 
 medical Torks that it has ever fallen to our lot to peruse ; a work which has been spoken of 
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 his practke will undervalue the great service he has rendered to the profession m publishing 
 ♦w P«rAX which to the young practitioner, must prove-indeed, already have often 
 proved-SS^^^^ whfch'wiU enable the more advanced practitioner to under- 
 
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 phvsiciTn will often be able to comprehend and grasp ideas that flashed upon his mmd, but 
 which Uke the visions of the night, were indistinct and transitory. 
 
 "We now conclude our notice of this very instructive and practical work, and would 
 
 strongly advise our readers not to rest content with what we have said about it, but to get 
 
 he S for themselves, and study it carefuUy ; and when they have done this, we have little 
 
 doubUhaUheir opinion will agree with ours-that every page abounds with useful matter. 
 
 and that the author is a pleasing writer as weU as an accomplished P^y^^"^^^.^^^ ^.^^^ 
 
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 DIEFFENBACH on the RESTORATION of the NOSE, 
 
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 Translated from the German, by Dr. Bushnan. 8vo. 26 Plates, price 12s. 
 
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 THE STUDENT'S CLINICAL MEMORANDUM-BOOK; 
 
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 The Clinical Repertory : containing Tabular Porms for the Collection, 
 
 Arrangement, Comparison, and Analysis of Pathological and Physiological Phenomena. 
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 well as Dietetic and Medicinal Therapeutics and their Effects. Folio, price 25s. 
 
 REES ON DISEASES of CHILDREN.— &cowd Edition. 
 
 The Diseases of Children ; their Symptoms and Treatment. By George 
 
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 By the same Authory 
 
 ATALEKTASIS PULMONUM ; or. Closure of the Air-cells of the Lungs 
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 Gonorrhoea and its Consequences. With a short Historical Sketch of 
 
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 • JUi^lU 
 
NEW WORKS ON THE 
 
 PRINCIPLES AND 
 
 PRACTICE OF HOMCEOPATHY. 
 
 HOMCEOPATHIC MATERIA MEDICA. 
 
 fBuhlished under the Superintendence of the Hahnemann Society), 
 
 The Pathogenetic Cyclopaedia. A Systematic Arrangement and 
 
 Analysis of the Homoeopathic Materia Medica. Vol I., containing the Symptoms of 
 the Disposition, Mind, and Head. By R. E. Dudgeon, M.D. 8vo. price 18s. 
 
 SAMPSON'S HOMCEOPATHY.— &cowrf Edition. 
 
 HomcEopathj ; its Principle, Theory, and Practice. 
 
 By Marmaduke B. Sampson, Second Edition, enlarged, Svo. price 5s. 6d. 
 
 TRUTHS AND THEIR RECEPTION CONSIDERED 
 
 In relation to the Doctrine of Homoeopathy. By M. B. Sampson. 
 
 To which are added. Essays hy other writers on the Principles and Statistics of Homoeopathic 
 
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 { 
 
 THE 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN 
 
 RELATION TO MATTER 
 
 SHEWING 
 
 THE REAL EXISTENCE OF TWO VERY DISTINCT KINDS OF ENTITY 
 
 WHICH UNITE TO FORM THE DIFFERENT BODIES THAT COMPOSE 
 
 THE UNIVERSE, ORGANIC AND INORGANIC, 
 
 HY WHICH THE PHENOMENA OF LIGHT, HEAT, ELECTRICITY, 
 
 MOTION, LIFE, MIND, ETC. 
 
 ARE RECONCILED AND EXPLAINEI). 
 
 BY 
 
 C. M. BURNETT, M.D, 
 
 » » » 
 
 " Remember that thou magnify His work which men behold. Every 
 man may see it ; man may behold it afar off." 
 
 Job, xxxvi. 24, 25. 
 
 I 
 
 LONDON: 
 SAMUEL HIGHLEY, 32, FLEET STREET. 
 
 1850. 
 
 4 
 
If) 
 
 111 
 
 no 
 C 
 
 ! 
 
 " Newton was eminent above the philosophers of his time, in no one talent so 
 much as in the power of mathematical deduction. "When he had caught 
 sight of the law of universal gravitation, he traced it to its consequences 
 with a rapidity, a dexterity, a beauty of mathematical reasoning which no 
 other person could approach ; so that, on this account, if there had been no 
 other, the establishment of the general law was possible to him aloue. He 
 still stands at the head of mathematicians as well as of philosophical dis- 
 coverers. But it never appeared to him, as it may have appeared to some 
 mathematicians who have employed themselves on his discoveries, that the 
 general law was an ultimate and suflScient principle : that the point to which 
 he had hung his chain of deductions was the highest point in the universe. 
 Lagrange, a modern mathematician of transcendant genius, was in the habit 
 of saying, in his aspirations after future fame, that Newton was fortunate 
 in having had the system of the world for his problem, since its theory could 
 be discovered once only. But Newton himself appears to have had no 
 such persuasion that the problem he had solved was unique and final : he 
 laboured to reduce gravity to some higher law, and the forces of other 
 physical operations to an analogy with those of gravity, and declared that 
 ail these were but steps in our advance towards a first cause. Between us 
 and this first cause — the source of the universe and its laws — we cannot 
 doubt that there i7itervene many successive steps of possible discovery and 
 ffcneralization, not less wide and striking than the discovery of universal 
 gravitation : but it is still more certain that no extent or success of physical 
 investigation can carry us to any point which is not at an immeasurable 
 distance from an adequate knowledge of Him.** 
 
 Whewell's Bridgewatek Treatise. 
 
 WllMn asd OgilTy,fi7, Skinner Street, i$no«hiU, London. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 V 
 
 <;::^ 
 
 "o 
 
 1477U6 
 
 ii|Wil»i»Hlfc. 
 

 
 PREFACE. 
 
 o 
 
 
 I AM too well aware of the infirmities and short- 
 comings that are to be traced throughout the 
 following pages, not to feel the utmost diffi- 
 dence in submitting them to public opinion. 
 
 A very cursory glance at them, however, 
 will be sufficient to satisfy the reader that they 
 have been put together not for the purpose of 
 elucidating scientifically or systematically the 
 different subjects here touched upon, but for 
 the carrying out of the theory which is here 
 for the first time propounded. 
 
 The vast extent of scientific subjects em- 
 braced ; the general, historical, biblical, and 
 classical knowledge required to illustrate, as 
 ought to have been done, many of the points 
 that could not here be well passed over in 
 silence, will, I trust, be a sufficient apology for 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 any oversights I may have been guilty of, in a 
 work purposely comprised within the compass 
 of two or three hundred pages. 
 
 The one great point constantly bonie in 
 view throughout the work, has been to shew, 
 in the clearest and simplest manner, the real 
 amount of proof we possess, by the combined 
 assistance of philosophy and revelation, of the 
 real existence and operation of spirits of diffe- 
 rent degrees of power, and of their relation to 
 
 matter. 
 
 The existence of spirit I assume to be fully 
 ascertained through the medium of revelation. 
 I have, therefore, in the first chapter dwelt 
 shortly upon the claims this particular and 
 supernatural source of evidence makes upon 
 our belief. After this, I go on further to prove 
 the existence of spirit, by shewing in what way 
 it may be detected in the analysis of natural 
 
 bodies. 
 
 Having thus proved the existence of spirit 
 through that authority that cannot reasonably 
 be disputed, and subsequently by natural and 
 experimental philosophy, there remains a ques- 
 tion of paramount importance, as relates to the 
 subject before us. What is this spirit ? The 
 answer to this question will be found to occupy 
 
 I 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 VU 
 
 a large portion of the remainder of the book. 
 If, however, the reader expects that in answer- 
 ing this question I am about to give a disserta- 
 tion upon the abstract nature of spirit, he must 
 inevitably be disappointed, for I have certainly 
 no more capability than any other individual 
 of speaking of the nature of spirit in the final 
 or abstract sense of the word, though I may 
 prove its existence, and the quahties or pheno- 
 mena that result from it. The same observa- 
 tion applies with equal force to any attempt 
 we may make to penetrate into the abstract 
 
 nature of matter. 
 
 Nevertheless, as we recognise the qualities 
 and phenomena of certain bodies we term 
 created bodies,— that is, of bodies as we behold 
 them to have been created or put together by 
 the Infinite Jehovah,— I shall be able to shew 
 that those qualities and phenomena are not the 
 result or proof of the existence of bare abstract 
 matter, any more than they are of abstract 
 spirit, but that they follow as the natural result 
 of the union of these two distinct kinds of 
 entity in the organic world, in the same way 
 as we observe to be the case with those created 
 bodies we designate by the title of organic or 
 living bodies. And that form, consistence, 
 
^\ff* ^''*" 
 
 ■«■ 
 
 vm 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 I 
 
 colour, taste, &c., as qualities ; and light, elec- 
 tricity, motion, life, &c., as phenomena, are the 
 result of the union of these two kinds of entity. 
 And in the analysis of created matter I have 
 endeavoured to shew that both kinds of entity 
 may be detected and proved by instruments to 
 have been in a conjugate state as constituting 
 that created matter. 
 
 It is certain we can no longer be contented 
 to receive that negative definition of spirit 
 which, inasmuch as it had not been detected 
 as a separate entity from matter, it has received 
 at the hands of all those who distinguish it by 
 the title of " imponderable matter.'' Neither 
 can we be content to call it a " force,*' for this is 
 only to define it by its effects ; and we may as 
 well say that colour is the same as that which 
 produces colour. 
 
 These two expressions, " imponderable mat- 
 ter" and " force," are as different from the true 
 interpretation of the cause they partly proceed 
 from, as strength is from the arm that displays 
 it, or magnetism is from the iron through 
 which it is manifested. What philosophers 
 call either " imponderable matters" or "forces,** 
 are neither of them entities, like spirit or 
 matter, but mere effect, which follows the 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IX 
 
 union or application of these two entities in 
 different ways. 
 
 It may be asked, then, do these phenomena 
 which I presume to proceed from the action of 
 spirit upon matter possess the power of produc- 
 ing themselves ? Does motion, for instance, 
 which is a phenomenon resulting from the 
 action of the spirits of heat and electricity 
 upon matter, produce itself ? 
 
 This question may most satisfactorily be 
 answered by the theory of spiritual entity I 
 have propounded. For there it will be found 
 that all spirit is not one and the same ; but on 
 the contrary, there must be several kinds of 
 spirit, having degrees of power and qualities 
 peculiar to themselves, and graduated in such 
 a manner as that one kind is superior to the 
 other. This is to be with certainty gathered 
 from revelation. It is also to be inferred, and 
 I believe proved, by a proper method of philo- 
 sophical induction. 
 
 And in the investigation of all the circum- 
 stances which mark the characters of the 
 different spirits, we shall find these characters 
 to be distinctly defined and sufficiently clear 
 to confirm the general fact that spirits are 
 different in kind and degree, though they may 
 
i » 
 
 1 i: 
 
 
 Yk 
 
 
 »^/ 
 
 1 ' > 
 
 : t» > 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 not so decidedly prove how many they are, 
 or what exact relative position they hold. 
 
 No sort of doubt can reasonably exist that 
 they are all in the power, disposal, and sub- 
 servience of the Great Jehovah ; and that, as 
 efficient causes in his hands, they are possessed 
 of very different kinds of power over matter. 
 Those that are brought to bear upon inorganic 
 matter are limited in their operation to the 
 production of the natural bodies, and natural 
 laws unalterably decreed that they should pro- 
 duce. 
 
 We do not here observe the phenomenon of 
 voluntary motion, though we do that of motion, 
 and this shows that motion, as it is fixed in the 
 phenomena of inorganic bodies, is one inferior 
 in degree to that of voluntary motion. It 
 would not be correct to say the heavenly bodies, 
 for example, move themselves in the same 
 manner as I now move my pen, for their move- 
 ment is limited to, and regulated by, ceilain 
 fixed laws. Not so my pen, which 1 can move 
 or not as I please. But the spirit that furnishes 
 to me voluntary motion may be withdrawn 
 from me, and then I no longer can perform 
 that phenomenon. Thus, even voluntary mo- 
 tion is subservient to a higher spiritual power 
 
 I] 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 XI 
 
 that controls the spirit that produces it. We 
 cannot, therefore, beheve voluntary motion 
 even can produce itself beyond the finite power 
 of the spirit that is in the body producing it ; 
 and, as we have no power over that spirit, it 
 cannot be said that voluntary motion has power 
 to produce itself, still less can it be affirmed so 
 of ordinary motion. 
 
 The prevalent idea of spirit has been circum- 
 scribed within that of a conscious being. But 
 the consciousness of our own existence is the 
 result of a highly complex degree of knowledge, 
 which, as far as we have any experience, is 
 confined to the spirit of man, and which comes 
 to him by the aid and co-operation of other 
 spirits, which must first be brought to act upon 
 matter before consciousness can be produced. 
 
 To make consciousness a mark of distinction 
 by which to recognise spirit, is to borrow a 
 mere quahty of the mind from a cause not 
 hitherto regarded apart from the spirit so made 
 conscious. But what is consciousness ? The 
 answer to this question will be sufficient to 
 bring conviction to the mind that spirits in a 
 less compounded, or rather in a less exalted 
 sense, exist in the first place as in the case of 
 the simple inorganic modes of union, before 
 
xu 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 • I 
 i 
 
 .* 
 ^ 
 
 they can combine to form the more elaborate 
 modes of union in animal organization, by 
 which consciousness is manifested. 
 
 In proof of the existence of spirits that are 
 subordinate to each other in their powers of 
 operation upon matter, as all are to the Great 
 First Cause, I have been anxious to show what 
 are the modes of union, and what are the modes 
 of action, of these diftferent spirits : that the 
 modes of union are first simple, as in the in- 
 organic world, and, thi ough these, they become 
 more compounded, as in the organic world ; 
 that the same appearance of gradation will be 
 found to characterise the different modes of 
 action in all natural bodies. And hence we 
 have many structures requiring the co-operation 
 of several kinds of spirit before they can be 
 built up ; and we have many phenomena pro- 
 duced through those structures, which alike 
 are dependent upon several kinds of spirit be- 
 fore they can be produced. 
 
 This is well exemplified by a reference to the 
 operation of mind. Mind is a mode of action 
 by which the characters and qualities of every- 
 tliing around are depicted. It is the great 
 archetype of created things, and in its operation 
 aflfords the highest example of the most intri- 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 xm 
 
 ^. 
 
 cate phenomena that can result from the most 
 elaborate union of the same spirit and the same 
 matter, it is constructed to contemplate in all 
 created bodies around. 
 
 To accomplish this, we shall be able to trace 
 the distinct operation of several spirits, accord- 
 ing to subordinate order, each of which con- 
 tributes its indispensable power towards the 
 end in view. 
 
 The action of these spirits upon matter after 
 they have been first employed in the production 
 of different modes of union, is important to be 
 borne in mind. For the phenomena thus re- 
 sulting constitute all those correlative forces 
 hitherto treated as imponderable agents, or as 
 a very attenuate kind of matter. But without 
 wishing to hypostasize these forces, or to give 
 them place among the entities of creation, there 
 is the greatest reason for regarding them as 
 the result of the application of spirit to matter 
 precisely in the same relation as mind stands 
 to the spirit of fife, which, being brought to 
 bear upon the material part, the brain, pro- 
 duces it. 
 
 The characters which mark the presence of 
 the spirit of life in animal organization will be 
 found to have a common resemblance to those 
 
 V 
 
XIV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 ;i 
 
 II 
 
 which I contend mark the presence of other 
 and subordinate spirits in created matter. Thus, 
 the spirit of electricity closely resembles that 
 which goes to form the mind, in that particular 
 power they both possess of spanning objects 
 immeasurably distant from each other, as it 
 were synchronously. All possess ahke, as spi- 
 rits, the character of indivisibility, and all 
 possess the power of imparting the characters 
 of divisibility to a greater or less extent to every 
 created substance they help to form. All are 
 alike without weight, all are invisible. 
 
 Yet the existence of spirits being a doctrine 
 of revelation, where they are represented with 
 degrees of rank and power, the fact being there 
 furnished to us, there seems the most ample 
 reason to infer that inasmuch as some of the 
 same general characters which distinguish the 
 higher spirits of life, of man, and of angels, are 
 to be traced in bodies that are less complicated 
 or organized, such spirits do really exist. That 
 degrees of power and subordinate operation 
 should be reposed in spirits that bear a corre- 
 sponding relation to the material and inorganic 
 parts of the creation, is neither improbable nor 
 unreasonable ; and though it is furthest from 
 my wish to be dogmatical in what I here bring 
 
 I 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 XV 
 
 forward, 1 have nevertheless the strongest 
 impression that other minds, higher and nobler, 
 and better fitted for the task, will, by this 
 theory, eventually be enabled to reconcile the 
 many conflicting phenomena now awaiting a 
 true explanation, and which will trace them 
 up, through the aid of subordinate and con- 
 verging spirits, to the great God that made 
 them. 
 
 i 
 
 C. M. BURNETT. 
 
 October 1850. 
 
 r 
 
 ji,mti.j ' W '<if 9 
 
f 
 
 .'I 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 THE RESPECTIVE CLAIMS OF NATURAL AND REVEALED 
 
 PHILOSOPHY UPON OUR BELIEF. . . , 1 — £0 
 
 i . 
 
 ii 
 
 (/ 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ARGUMENT TO BE DRAWN FROM PHILOSOPHY 
 AND REVELATION OF THE REAL EXISTENCE OF TWO 
 SEPARATE AND CREATED KINDS OF ENTITY IN THE 
 UNIVERSE BY THE UNION OF WHICH WE BEHOLD 
 EVERY CREATED THING. . . . , , 
 
 Laws of the spirits of Heat and Electricity in 
 their union with matter .... 
 
 Proximate principles of matter 
 
 Universal materiality and universal imma- 
 teriality of all things shown to be alike in- 
 correct 
 
 Important part taken by the spirits 
 
 The doctrine of imponderable agents shown to 
 be erroneous 
 
 Consecutive operation of the immaterial spirits 
 in the works of creation .... 
 
 Difficulty of reconciling natural phenomena by 
 the old theories, and the reasonableness of 
 the doctrine of distinct spirits 
 
 I 
 
 21-61 
 
 22 
 32 
 
 35 
 46 
 
 47 
 
 54 
 
 
 57 
 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 

 
 i 
 
 i' i 
 
 I'. V 
 
 If f- 
 
 I 
 
 XVIU CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE RATIONAL AND PHYSICAL PROOF OF THE REAL 
 EXISTENCE OF MATERIAL AND IMMATERIAL SUB- 
 STANCES, RENDERED CERTAIN BY THE INVESTIGA- 
 TION OF THE QUALITIES THESE UNITED SUBSTANCES 
 PRODUCE, AND THE GENERAL PHENOMENA CONSE- 
 QUENT UPON THEM 
 
 The different qualities defined and distinguished 
 from modes of action by which a new theory 
 of light is given . . . . . 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE RATIONAL EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT ALL CRE- 
 ATED WORLDS HAVE BEEN MADE, ARE SUSTAINED, 
 AND WILL BE DESTROYED, THROUGH THE AGENCY 
 OP THE SAME MATERIAL AND IMMATERIAL ENTITIES 
 
 Created worlds have a relative connexion with 
 each other by means of these entities 
 
 Created worlds will be destroyed by the same 
 entities . 
 
 . CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF LIFE, AND THE PHENOMENA DEPEND- 
 ING UPON ITS UNION WITH THE SPIRITS OF HEAT 
 AND ELECTRICITT IN UVING BODIES . 
 
 Material modes of union of bodies formed by 
 the spirit of life 
 
 Spiritual modes of union in co-operation with 
 the spirit of life 
 
 Power of the spirit of life to build up organic 
 structures . . ■ . 
 
 62—84 
 
 Q^ 
 
 85—98 
 
 85 
 
 94 
 
 99—111 
 
 103 
 
 104 
 
 108 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 XIX 
 
 THE COMBINED ACTION OF THE TWO SPIRITS OP HEAT 
 AND ELECTRICITY IN THE PHENOMENA OF INOR- 
 GANIC BODIES; AND OF THE THREE SPIRITS OF 
 HEAT, ELECTRICITY, AND LIFE, IN THE PHENO- 
 MENA OF ORGANIC BODIES, REVIEWED, AND THEIR 
 SEPARATE IDENTITIES SHOWN . . . . ] 12 137 
 
 The union of the spirits in the production of 
 
 the higher phenomena of natural bodies . 113 
 
 The characters which mark the separate spirits 127 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF LIFE, AND THE PHENOMENA DEPEND- 
 ING UPON ITS UNION WITH THE SPIRITS OP HEAT 
 AND ELECTRICITY GENERALLY IN LIVING BODIES, 
 AND WITH THE HIGHER SPIRITS IN MAN MORE 
 PARTICULARLY 138— lt)7 
 
 Laws of the spirit of life in its union with matter J 40 
 
 Progressive development of the material struc- 
 tures as the vital and mental powers increase 149 
 
 The spirit of life, common to all creatures, 
 
 proved from revelation . . . . 158 
 
 General characters of the mental operations 
 performed by the spirit of hfe in animals, 
 compared with the mental operations in man 162 
 
 CHAPTER VHL 
 
 THE MIND ....... 168—183 
 
 The intellectual faculties and social feelings . 168 
 
 Distinction between the attributes of the mind 
 and the intellectual faculties and social 
 [ feelings ... . . , . . . 172 
 
 ' ■ I -.»— 
 
■msivvan I ■ IB. ^^—•tatmammtfii 
 
 H I . " 
 
 
 XX 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE MIND {continued) 
 
 Mode of operation of the attributes 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 184 
 . 184—201 
 
 THE SPIRIT OP MAN 
 
 Operation of the spirit of man in connexion 
 with the human body and mind; its sub- 
 jugation to the spirit of evil, and the conse- 
 quences 
 
 Of the immortality of the spirit of man in con- 
 nexion with the resurrection body 
 
 202 
 
 202 
 
 217 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OP ANGELS 
 
 The spirit of the holy angels 
 
 . 231—248 
 238 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OP ANGELS (continued) 
 
 The fallen angels, and the operation of their 
 spirit upon mortal bodies 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF ANGELS (continued.) 
 
 Operation of the spirit of fallen angels upon 
 mortal bodies viewed in relation to mesmerism 
 
 The spirit of evil in relation to demoniacal 
 possession , 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OP GOD 
 
 249 
 
 249 
 
 270 
 
 270 
 
 279 
 
 287 
 
 THE 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRITS 
 
 IN 
 
 RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 (fNTRODUCTOKY.) 
 
 THE RESPECTIVE CLAIMS OF NATURAL AND RKVEALED 
 PHILOSOPHY UPON OUR BELIEF. 
 
 In attempting to write a work, or to propound a 
 theory, in which philosophy and revelation are mutually 
 enlisted and appealed to for evidence to elucidate one 
 of the most mysterious, diflacult, and practically impor- 
 tant subjects that can engage the human mind, as it 
 stands related to the physical and moral government of 
 the world, it may be thought necessary, and indeed 
 indispensable, that in the first place something by way 
 of argument should be brought forward in support of 
 the just merits which these two great sources of all 
 knowledge demand at our hands. 
 
 B 
 
 , i 
 
2 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 And while I find myself totally unable to advance in 
 the discovery of this important inquiry without the co- 
 operation of both kinds of evidence supplied to me from 
 these two very diflferent and distinct sources, I do not 
 find that either philosophy or revelation demand an 
 unreasonable or an unconditional belief in the truths 
 they each of them propound ; but, on the contrary, I 
 am, in appealing to them, compelled to admire the 
 noble and indisputable proofs, — the clear and tested 
 evidence they mutually afibrd, in their own intrinsic 
 way, of the power, the attributes, and the works of the 
 one great, universal, and benevolent Creator. 
 
 If philosophy makes, therefore, any demand upon 
 our belief, it is only on account of the very high and 
 complete order of evidence we have received of its truth- 
 fulness and stabiUty, — an evidence that forces us to 
 rely on its statements, when we are enabled to be as- 
 sured these rest not upon mere inference, or analogy, 
 or unsupportable rules, but upon a true and scientific 
 method of induction, which, hke the centre of attrac- 
 tion, makes many facts to converge and bear upon one 
 point ; or upon true syllogistical reasoning, where the 
 premises bear a just and logical relation to the conclu- 
 sion. 
 
 Yet philosophy alone, however nearly it may ap- 
 proach to truth, dependent as it is on the progressive 
 attainments of the human mind in the advancement of 
 learning and inductive science, is at all times exposed 
 to the disadvantages, in contemplating subjects so ex- 
 alted, which must necessarily result from a capacity 
 
 1 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 8 
 
 limited to the consideration of those that alone can be 
 assigned to it more equitably. 
 
 And it must not be forgotten, that upon many most 
 important points relating to the physical as well as to 
 the moral condition and position of man upon this earth, 
 as he stands related, not only to the Creator, but to the 
 different matters and bodies that surround him, philo- 
 sophy is almost wholly silent, possessing httle or no 
 power or means to unfold them ; so that we are called 
 upon to be most scrupulously correct and vigilant, be- 
 fore we receive and acknowledge as axioms of science 
 such statements as we know to be beyond the boundary 
 of human learning or natural philosophy to determine. 
 Such are those statements that would attempt to explain 
 the abstract nature of causes ; for natural and mental 
 philosophy can only treat of or expound those causes, 
 termed efficient causes— or, to speak more comprehen- 
 sibly, created causes— sl^ they stand related to, or are 
 made manifest by, created matters. 
 
 On the other hand, the claims which revelation makes 
 upon our behef are of the very highest order, demand- 
 ing assent upon grounds, not only equally secure and 
 extended with those of true philosophy, but also more 
 diverse and incontestable in character. For here we 
 have statements, not put forth upon the assertions of 
 mere tradition, or of testimony,— not resting upon any 
 one or two proofs, but on such as are based upon its 
 own internal and inherent evidence, and drawn from 
 the most accurate fulfilment of the prophecies it con- 
 tains. 
 
.i . 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 Moreover, we have incontestable proof that our 
 Saviour hterally quoted it ; and, finally, we possess the 
 most incontrovertible of all proofs of its integrity — viz., 
 the fact of its containing so many thousand statements 
 of things, persons, and events, not one of which has 
 ever been disproved. 
 
 With gratitude and thankfulness to God, the Chris- 
 tian philosopher is therefore called upon to repose his 
 hope and belief in revelation upon every diversity of 
 proof which it is possible to bring before the human 
 mind. For it is truly incompatible with the love and 
 mercy of a Being infinite in wisdom towards that crea- 
 ture upon whom more especially he has bestowed the 
 noblest and highest privileges, to suppose that, having 
 revealed to him his great power and transcendent love, 
 which we could learn by no other means, he should 
 suffer that revelation to rest upon a single kind of evi- 
 dence, and that an imperfect one. This can never be 
 received in extenuation when the sceptic and the infidel 
 stand before the Ancient of Days to receive that pu- 
 nishment for their unbeUef in a revelation so unmistake- 
 ably attested. For the ground on which revelation 
 stands is of that broad and immovable character, that 
 the appeal she makes upon all for credit in her state- 
 ments is most powerful ; and he who attempts to erect 
 the elaborate superstructure of natural philosophy upon 
 a foundation that takes reason alone for its base, can 
 receive no harder rebuke than that which his own 
 favourite authority must convey, when it tells him it is 
 inconsistent with revelation. 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 I 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 5 
 
 And if this Word of God is so pure and unadulter- 
 ated that the holy psalmist compared it to " silver seven 
 times purified and refined," it must surely be a higher 
 test of truth than the mere unassisted wisdom of man. 
 
 And here I would add, there can be no more power- 
 ful argument brought down to the level of man's rea- 
 soning, in proof, not only of the truth, but also of the 
 necessity and use of revelation, than that which is im- 
 plied in the fact, that to contemplate such a revelation 
 as simply conveying the mere testimony of events which 
 occurred in the world at former periods of its history, or 
 its existence, and not also as the message of statements 
 which could never have been discovered by man simply 
 through the instrumentality of his own faculties, implies, 
 on the part of the Divine Author of our existence, an 
 act of supererogation we should hardly suppose an in- 
 telligent created being could be capable of committing. 
 
 To those, therefore, who are unprepared to answer 
 this question put to them by doubting philosophers — 
 viz. Why was revelation given to man ? — I here state 
 it is essential that the Scriptures should have been re- 
 vealed to us, because without them we could never, by 
 any faculties or powers of our own, have been put in 
 possession of facts there so confidently and so irre- 
 fragably made known to us. 
 
 It sets out with disclosing to us events which could 
 never have been known in any other way, and which, 
 at the same time, we can never disprove ; and in this 
 position it stands boldly out, in its own strength, an 
 unrefuted history of the unsearchable wisdom of God 
 
6 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 in the beginning, when, by his almighty spirit and ever- 
 blessed Son, "He made the worlds." 
 
 But though revelation is, in our day, more especially 
 admitted by many to be inspired, and to have been dic- 
 tated by supernatural means, yet the sacred historians 
 and writers thus employed to propound its statements 
 are nevertheless considered, I fear, to have delivered 
 themselves upon philosophical subjects, and those not 
 immediately relating to the moral condition and rela- 
 tions of man, with no little obscurity and want of pre- 
 cision, and certainly without any regard to the dictates 
 of what they consider to be true philosophy. 
 
 But lest the faith of the believer in revelation should 
 be shaken by this plausible assumption, let me remind 
 him that this is the grand shaft the great adversary of 
 truth is continually hurhng at the philosopher. It is most 
 important to the interest of this great opponent of truth 
 and hght, that revelation, in some of its more apparently 
 difficult parts, should be shaken, and, if possible, under- 
 mined ; for he is well aware that if he succeeds in inva- 
 lidating one part by casting it into the fathomless abyss 
 of doubt, or by attaching to it the infirmities and con- 
 tractions of human composition, there is a greater chance 
 of subverting the whole moral weight it conveys. 
 
 The reader will therefore be prepared to contemplate 
 revelation as a whole, and not as a part. He will regard 
 its statements as correct, not merely in relation to moral 
 truth, but as giving accurate and unanswerable physical 
 information on the subjects upon which it treats. 
 
 There is, then, a value to be attached to the evidence 
 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 7 
 
 of truths drawn from philosophy, which is of high im- 
 portance ; and there is also a value, though of another 
 and very distinct character, to be attached to the evi- 
 dence of truths, whether moral or physical, drawn from 
 revelation: and their separate, as well as their united 
 testimony, by adding strength to strength, conjunctively 
 bring to bear upon the subjects they unfold a weight of 
 evidence which is actually incontrovertible. 
 
 Thus guarded, philosophical truth has nothing to fear 
 from its enemies ; for revelation, resting its assertions 
 upon the invariable nature of the work of God, not only 
 challenges those truths for the proof of the reality of her 
 statements, but makes one of the strongest evidences of 
 her truthfulness to rest upon the unchangeable fidelity 
 of all natural laws which philosophy seeks to investigate. 
 On this stable foundation, true philosophy places her 
 corner-stone ; and no system can find a resting-place 
 on any other. 
 
 And, that we may ever possess this as one of the in- 
 valuable proofs of the reality of all that is revealed to us 
 by the God of Truth, we are permitted to assure ourselves, 
 that nothing conveyed to us in revelation is inconsis- 
 tent with our reason. 
 
 There may be, and there are, many statements therein 
 contained which are beyond our comprehension, that 
 are " high as heaven, what canst thou do ? deeper than 
 hell, what canst thou know ?" but there is nothing there 
 recorded which can convey to our minds a doubt as to 
 its rational probability. 
 
 But the very rare and extreme value of revelation is 
 
8 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHT OF SPIRITS 
 
 I 
 
 educed not simply where it accompanies and confirms 
 true philosophy, as they go together as handmaids of 
 eternal truth, but in that important of all points, viz. the 
 act of its taking up the subject where reason and phi- 
 losophy may strictly and safely be said to end, and con- 
 ducting it, single-handed as it were, up to its only 
 source. 
 
 How much need was there, therefore, that revelation 
 should have been so fortified and prepared to stand the 
 test of every crucible into which it might be thrown ; and 
 to this end, how necessary was it that it should be con- 
 firmed by evidence still more powerful and unshaken 
 than any we may bring forward in confirmation of 
 philosophical truth, seeing it stands alone upon the high 
 and lofty ground it has taken up. 
 
 We thus see a purpose answered in giving to man 
 that kind of assurance of the existence, the attributes, and 
 the decrees of God, which revelation affords, and by 
 which he becomes acquainted with such truths as it was 
 impossible for natural philosophy alone to furnish. And 
 therefore, when these truths are confirmed to our minds 
 by the surest of all tests, viz. the concurrent testimony 
 of the different kinds of proof that have been placed 
 within our reach, by the supernatural power of God, and 
 by which means he has so mercifully permitted us to be 
 assured of their unalterable reality, we can safely rest 
 and act upon them with the confidence they are intended 
 to inspire. 
 
 •To natural philosophy we are indebted for much of 
 the information we possess of what have been termed 
 
 lit 
 
 n 
 
 '(! 
 
 'h 
 
 \\ 
 
 ■ 
 
 ] 
 
 I 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 9 
 
 the laws of nature, and the influence these laws exert 
 upon the matter that surrounds us. We are thus also 
 made acquainted with the nature of the elementary 
 materials of which our earth is composed. In the inves- 
 tigation of these laws, many of which are made known 
 to us with a certainty founded upon their invariable 
 modes of action, that places them beyond all pos- 
 sibility of doubt, a very general belief prevails, that the 
 entire universe, as well the worlds composing our solar 
 system as those of systems far more remote in the 
 depths of space, has been created by one and the same 
 all-wise and all-powerful Being ; that these worlds have 
 been endued with certain properties, or forces, or laws, 
 by which they become relatively united and connected, 
 and by which they are sustained. 
 
 Yet it must be remembered, that though natural phi- 
 losophy recognises these laws, and observes with preci- 
 sion the many phenomena and modes of action they in- 
 duce, she has on no occasion proved them to be the 
 result of anything inherent in matter alone ; and if, there- 
 fore, they are not the effect of anything that is material, 
 it is the more probable they are the result of something 
 that is immaterial, or that does not partake of the character 
 of material substance ; and I think there is more than 
 common evidence to show that these forces or laws, as they 
 are called, are the result of some substantive and dis- 
 tinct, though immaterial and dependent spirits, while 
 acting upon material matter. 
 
 From the observations I have made upon the power 
 and use of revelation, it will appear reasonable that in 
 
10 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 subjects so exalted and difficult of comprehension, phi- 
 losophy will,in contemplating them, imbibe fresh strength 
 and light, by following her, rather than by taking the 
 lead. She would be more indelibly impressed with that 
 profound and majestic truth, that God not only made 
 the worlds,— that is, the apparent material created mat- 
 ters composing them,— but that in doing so He also 
 created the separate elements or j)rimary principles of 
 those created matters ; which principles were not only of 
 the character we call material, but were united to others 
 that were in their qualities not material. He therefore 
 created other substances that were of an immaterial na- 
 ture, and by these He brought materiality into light, 
 order, and beauty, and made them manifest to our senses. 
 And this course would have contributed, had it been 
 invariably pursued, to have established a point of great 
 magnitude and singular importance, which natural phi- 
 losophy alone has never yet discovered. This fact is, 
 that there are two very distinct and characteiistic 
 kinds of substances, both alike as entities, but totallij 
 different and opposite in their nature, which, by a 
 power inscrutable to us, the Creator has made to act 
 the one upon the other in the production of all those 
 qualities we observe to characterise the natural bodies 
 around us, and of all those phenomena hitherto termed 
 the laws of nature ; and that these two very different 
 substances are found to exist in the universe under two 
 distinct forms : 1st, in union, as we find them locked 
 up together in the construction of every natural and 
 created body, in which state of combination they pro. 
 
 A 
 
 ' 
 
 i 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 11 
 
 duce the qualities'^ of form, size, colour, consistence, 
 taste, (Sfc. ; and, 2dly, in a separate and uncombined 
 state, as we find them existing in the atmosphere, 
 whence they are taken as they are required to form 
 new synthetical unions in the construction of vegetable 
 and animal structures, as ivell as to produce the phe- 
 nomena of light, heat, and electricity, by which these 
 structures are partly sustained. In this uncombined 
 state they also act upon created matter to the production 
 of the great forces necessary for sustaining the different 
 celestial bodies in their relative positions and motions. 
 
 We accordingly find the philosopher searching in 
 vain for any proofs, apart from revelation, of the real 
 
 * It is necessary here to observe, that in the following pages I 
 have used the terms quality and phenoinenon, or mode of action, 
 in two very distinct but different senses. I regard the qualities 
 of bodies — 1st, to be the permanent result of the union of the two 
 entities as they are found combined in the natural creation : as 
 long as these entities are united, the qualities of created bodies are 
 palpable, — such are form, size, colour, &c. : 2d, as descriptive of 
 the characters of the entities before they are combined. Thus 
 indivisibility is a quality both of uncombined material and imma- 
 terial substance, while ponderosity is a quality of uncombined 
 material substance only ; and this it gives to created natural 
 bodies also, but it is not a quality of immaterial substance in its 
 uncombined state. By phenomena or modes of action I mean 
 such effects as are produced by the application of one • or both of 
 the uncombined entities to created matter. Thus the spirit of 
 electricity, applied to iron, which is a created body composed 
 already of the two entities, produces the phenomenon of mag- 
 netism, and the spirit of heat applied to the diamond produces 
 the phenomenon of the solar phosphori, &c. 
 
I 
 
 ^f 
 
 12 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 and separate existence of either of these substances, 
 material or immaterial, in the universe ; and hence the 
 confusion in the writings of so many philosophers wha 
 have hitherto sought to prove, from the science of philo- 
 sophy alone, that there is evidence to determine, accord- 
 ing to the different views they entertain, either the 
 entirely material or the entirely immaterial origin of all 
 things. 
 
 The very method by which material bodies are made 
 to act upon our senses, in the first instance to convince 
 us of their real existence, could never be accomplished 
 by material substances of a like natm-e to themselves, 
 and unassisted by other substances* of a different na- 
 ture, which are, in fact, created spirits ; and accordingly, 
 as we find the same wonderful contrivance resorted to 
 by the Creator in bringing into sensible existence the 
 whole living creation, so here, in the first instance, we 
 behold Him, by means of a power which He alone pos- 
 sesses, bringing immaterial substances to bear upon 
 those that are of a material nature, by which means 
 
 * I use the term substance here to imply uncombined immate- 
 riality as well as combined materiality y the nomeuclature of arti- 
 ficial language furnishing no word to express created spirits or 
 created materiality before these are united in the works of the 
 natural creation. As I shall frequently, in the course of these 
 pages, have occasion to use the word substance as applied to im- 
 materiality or spirit, I will here observe, once for all, that upon 
 those occasions I use the term conventionally, qualifying its mean- 
 ing by the antecedent adjective, and without any regard to the 
 characters that distinguish created substances as they are ob- 
 served on our globe. 
 
 ,k J 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER, 
 
 13 
 
 they are brought out of the simplicity of uncombined 
 chaos into beauty, order, and consistence. 
 
 The evidence I shall presently adduce to demon- 
 strate the real and separate existence of material matter 
 in the universe, will, if supported by sound philosophical 
 reasoning, as clearly show that this kind of substance 
 was in its primordial condition, and, before it was acted 
 upon by substances of an essentially different and im- 
 material nature, as much an act of Divine creation as 
 were the immaterial or spiritual substances which He 
 also created. Nor has the one any power to annihi- 
 late the other : and this appears to offer a most sufficient 
 physical argument to prove that those phenomena here- 
 tofore thought to be imponderable substances, — such as 
 Ught, heat, electricity, &c. — are really in their nature 
 neither material nor immaterial, but are, like their kin- 
 dred phenomena of life and mind, the result or mode of 
 action of the combined operation of one, two, or more of 
 both kinds of these two great entities upon each other. 
 
 I think there is also a very clear and satisfactory 
 proof of the real existence of these entities as distinct 
 from each other, not only as entities, but as different 
 kinds of the same entity. To make this appear plainer, 
 I would, for example, say there is not only proof that 
 the spirit of heat or of electricity is distinct from the 
 matter of oxygen or hydrogen ; but there is proof also 
 that the spirit of heat is different from the spirit of 
 electricity, and the matter of oxygen from the matter 
 of hydrogen. 
 
 In revelation, allusion is often made both to visible 
 
 
 V' 
 
/ 
 
 14 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 
 
 
 k 
 
 and invisible created things,* which can only point to 
 the fact that they are only so to us, as we have no 
 senses but those which recognise the unions of the 
 two entities in the natural creation, or as they are in 
 juxtaposition. But God sees them when to us they 
 are invisible ; and hence the truth of that Scripture — 
 " Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee, but the night 
 shineth as the day ; the darkness and the light are both 
 aUke to Thee." 
 
 It is, then, from revelation alone, and not by the 
 assistance of either physical or mental philosophy, that 
 the mind is put in possession of the real existence, in 
 a separate and independent state, of two distinct classes 
 of substances possessing characters and identities pecu- 
 liar to themselves; and it should be attentively ob- 
 served, that neither the one nor the other class could 
 be separately and disunitedly detected by our senses ; 
 for this can only take place by their mutual conjunc- 
 tion or their mutual juxtaposition. The ultimate ele- 
 ments of material bodies would be as invisible to the 
 eye of sense, without the concurrence and the presence 
 of immaterial substances, as these, on the other hand, 
 would be invisible without the co-operation of material 
 substances. Both are aUke invisible and incapable of 
 detection, before they are united or brought in contact 
 in the works of creation. 
 
 I repeat, then, that much authority ought to rest on 
 the philosophy of revelation upon this point, and there- 
 
 * Col. i. 16; Rom. i. 20. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 15 
 
 i 
 
 fore I have been the more anxious to give a short argu- 
 ment to support and to enhance the general impression 
 of its value. From thence we must undoubtedly collect 
 this fact, that two very distinct kinds of substances are 
 found to have been created by God from the time He 
 first made them manifest to us ; and hence the Apostle 
 Paul, in alluding to the means taken by the Creator to 
 assure us of the reality of immaterial as well as of ma- 
 terial things, says— "The invisible things from the 
 creation of the world are clearly seen, beinff understood 
 by the things that are made ;" hereby evidently marking 
 a distinction between the two, and showing their mu- 
 tual dependence. 
 
 But the great and indispensable advantage which 
 philosophy obtains in bringing to her aid the state- 
 ments of revelation, does not rest here ; for, however 
 we may suppose philosophy to be capable of unfolding 
 the more mysterious constitution, and still more in- 
 scrutable nature of uncombined material substance, we 
 must at once confess that, in the investigation of these 
 points in t,he case of spiritual entities, she is perfectly 
 incapable of offering any explanation ; for not only is 
 their nature wholly incomprehensible, even when exa- 
 mined by the light of revelation, but their very exist- 
 ence also would have been concealed from us without 
 such supernatural instrumentality. All, therefore, that 
 we can learn respecting the existence, the quahties, and 
 the offices of spiritual substances, however the truth 
 may be confirmed by the reasonings of philosophy, must 
 in the first instance have been made known to the 
 
'*! 
 
 ^t 
 
 16 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS , 
 
 V M 
 
 human mind through the agency of revelation. This 
 fact receives the strongest confirmation from the writ- 
 ings of heathen philosophers, where many of the 
 great doctrines first made known in revelation are 
 found compUcated and bound up with the most absurd 
 and chimerical errors. 
 
 In speaking, therefore, hereafter of the existence, or 
 the qualities, or the offices of spiritual entities, it is to 
 be assumed that such information is the result of the 
 application of sound reasoning to the facts already 
 furnished by revelation upon the subject : nay, more 
 than this, we have to deal there with statements which 
 are over and above reason to either prove or disprove, 
 and which rest there upon the sole intrinsic and charac- 
 teristic authority of God's word. 
 
 Under this head we cannot fail to notice that extra- 
 ordinary but at the same time unanswerable assertion, 
 that the created spiritual entities are in their indivi- 
 dualities distinct, while they are indivisible. This is a 
 most remarkable truth : for our ideas of spirit are com- 
 monly antagonistic to those of matter ; and it is in the 
 character of indivisibility that we contemplate, as we 
 suppose, a distinguishing qualification of spiritual bo- 
 dies, although I shall presently show this quality belongs 
 also to uncombined material substance. 
 
 Yet God's Word has said that the spirits of men,* as 
 well as of animals,f are distinct and separate ; and this 
 
 * Gen. i. 26, 27; ii. 7; v. 1, 2 ; xxxii. 30, &c. 
 t Gen. ix. 9, 10 ; Deut. xii. 23 ; Prov. xii. 10, &c. 
 
 I * 
 
 I': 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 17 
 
 \ 
 
 I / 
 
 must assure us that in the original creation, both of the 
 material and immaterial entities, a supernatural agency 
 was first employed by the Creator, which was inde- 
 pendent of, and antecedent to, the establishment of 
 those laws which were made unalterable from the com- 
 mencement of their ordinance. After their first crea- 
 tion any subsequent attempt to deal with these spiritual 
 entities in the sense of divisibility is useless, for it is 
 well known they are not susceptible of division. 
 
 This, then, is an important fact reasonably to be de- 
 duced from the divine record, and it will be only pro- 
 ductive of confusion if we attempt either to overlook 
 the importance it assumes, or to explain its cause. 
 It is as clearly to be discovered there as the doctrine 
 of the Trinity, and even clearer ; but, like that doctrine, 
 it is beyond all human or rational interpretation. It 
 is most certainly a mystery ; but so are many things 
 first made known to us in revelation, where they are 
 accounted mysteries by the very writers that reveal 
 them. The Apostle Paul speaks of that wonderful union 
 of the nature of God and man in the person of the man 
 Christ Jesus as being a great mystery ;* for, from his 
 conception to his death, one continued succession of 
 mysteries attended his career upon earth. So is the 
 resurrection of the human body, and its glorified changef 
 into that body that shall be, a great mystery. And 
 these, with many others, will continue to be so while 
 the world lasts; and as such we must receive them, 
 
 * 1 Tim. iii. 16. 
 
 f 1 Cor. XV. 51, 
 
18 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 19 
 
 nothing doubting that they will be reconciled to, and 
 identified with, the profoundest wisdom. 
 
 If, however, there is any one fact to be taken upon 
 the abstract assertion of revelation, which can neverthe- 
 less, from its nature, be quite beyond a physical or 
 rational interpretation, and which, more than any other, 
 goes to prove the impossibiUty of determining all axioms 
 by a process of philosophical induction, it is the fact of 
 the separate existence of the spirit of man in every 
 individual of the human family. And this at once 
 shows the necessity of an appeal to the oracles of God 
 in explaining some of the great points I have attempted 
 to demonstrate in the following pages. If the spirit of 
 man in every individual is a distinct entity, it must be 
 complete in itself, and, though incapable of divisibility 
 in that state, yet it must be limited, even in a disem- 
 bodied state, to some kind of sphere. Here, then, we 
 seem bound to recognize entities having qualities widely 
 different from material entities, but at the same time 
 having qualities that mark them distinctly from those 
 quahties we are taught by the same authority to beUeve 
 distinguish the Divine Being of God. And the neces- 
 sity of referring to revelation for authority to mark with 
 accuracy the truth of the existence of these entities as 
 Separate in their individuaUties, seems indispensable, 
 while the true nature of both kinds remains untouched, 
 either by philosophy or revelation. Bishop Butler's 
 argument in proof of the separate existence of every 
 individual living being, as shovm in the principium in- 
 dividuationi^ or principle of identity, is the clearest 
 
 / 
 
 N ' 
 
 \ 
 
 philosophical proof on record of the certainty of this 
 separate existence in every individual ; simply because 
 this proof is drawn, not from any attempt to explain its 
 nature, or even its abstract existence, but from the 
 analogy its real existence bears to other facts we know 
 to be true from experience, but which we cannot explain. 
 
 It is, however, to the word of God that we first trace 
 any real authority for beUeving in the undoubted and 
 separate existence of spirits. And from the same source 
 is to be derived another fact upon which I have taken 
 occasion to dwell in the following pages. I mean, the 
 degrees of spiritual entities ; for there is evident and fre- 
 quent allusion in revelation, not only to the separate ex- 
 istence of the difierent spirits of the same kind of entity, 
 but also to difierent kinds of the same spiritual entity. 
 
 It requires no argument to show from the Scriptures 
 that the spirits which animate the brutes are, as well in 
 degree as in kind, difierent from those which dwell in 
 human bodies. Moreover, those spirits which there are 
 termed angelic, are described, in condescension to our 
 faculties of comprehension, when united to glorified 
 bodies, as having powers far more exalted in the aggre- 
 gate than belong to the spirit of man. And hence the 
 prophet Ezekiel represents the angels by those figures 
 which imply that their powers and attributes are of a 
 more elevated character than those of man, having 
 concentrated in any one of them the courage, strength, 
 vision, penetration, fleetness, &c. that, as distinguish- 
 ing qualities only, are displayed individually, in diffe- 
 rent species of animals. And further, these superior 
 
20 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 angelic spirits, we are there taught to believe, are 
 composed of numerous orders, some of which have 
 fallen from their first estate. It will be for us to con- 
 sider whether these kinds of spirit have not degrees of 
 power. Indeed, most of the statements connected with 
 the subject of spiritual entities in the sacred records, 
 however they may receive confirmation from the exer- 
 cise of our reasoning faculties upon them, favour the 
 idea that not only those bodies in the universe which 
 have some sort of living phenomena about them are 
 those which are united and kept together by a spiritual 
 entity of some kind; but also those bodies which are, as 
 we term them, inorganic, owe their existence, form, and 
 properties to spiritual entities with which they are united. 
 And we are led to this at the very outset of revelation, 
 when we read that " the spirit of God moved or brooded 
 upon the face of the waters." And in another part we 
 are told, God made the whole host of creation by the 
 breath of his mouth. He is equally spoken of as by His 
 spirit creating all things, both organic and inorganic 
 bodies ; and the spirits of living bodies are called alike 
 " His spirit ;" as are the great works of inorganic matter 
 represented to be the work of " His spirit." 
 
 Guided, therefore, by this light, I shall, with the 
 joint assistance of philosophy and revelation, proceed to 
 unfold a theory of spiritual life or existence in which are 
 comprehended those spirits which, I contend, compose 
 and move the inorganic matters of this and other worlds ; 
 as well as those spirits which animate the bodies of 
 animals, of man, and of angels. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ARGUMENT TO BE DRAWN FROM PHILOSOPHY AND 
 REVELATION OF THE REAL EXISTENCE OF TWO SEPA- 
 RATE AND CREATED KINDS OF ENTITY IN THE UNI- 
 VERSE, BY THE UNION OF WHICH WE BEHOLD EVERY 
 CREATED THING. 
 
 We have now to consider the nature of the proofs 
 to be drawn from philosophy and revelation, of the 
 real existence of the very distinct kinds of substance 
 which were originally created, and subsequently, in 
 conjunction, were employed by the Creator in framing 
 the universe, — viz. material substance or matter, and 
 immaterial substance or spirit ; for, having by the 
 same Divine power been brought into a real and inde- 
 pendent existence in the first instance, these distinct 
 kinds of entity were in the subsequent acts of creation 
 brought to bear upon, and to combine with, each other 
 in the production of all the shape, order, beauty, and 
 other qualities of created bodies, and when in this 
 state to form higher and more intricate unions in the 
 carrying out of the many phenomena and forces of 
 those created bodies as we view them linked together in 
 the great chain of the created universe. 
 
It 
 
 I 
 
 ' i 
 
 22 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 Laws of the Spirits of Heat and Electricity in their 
 
 union with Matter. 
 
 Before, however, I proceed to investigate these 
 proofs, it is important I should here state my inten- 
 tion strictly to avoid any attempt to explain the true 
 or abstract nature of the two kinds of entity of 
 which I am about to speak. Their real existence I 
 infer from the combined sources of philosophy and 
 revelation ; and the phenomena resulting from them 
 furnish us with a series and an aggregate of facts and 
 laws, upon the immutability and stability of which 
 rests the true method of induction. And the truth of 
 the real existence of these substances may doubtless 
 be inferred with as much certainty as that of the 
 Deity, while the abstract nature of either continues to be 
 inscrutable. There may be many causes the nature of 
 which is unknown to us, whose real existences are 
 known by their effects. If it is contended that the signs 
 of the existence of material matter are equally a proof 
 of the existence of immaterial matter alone, I shall be 
 able to show that those signs could not be made manifest 
 without the concurrence of both kinds of substance. 
 
 The mode of action, or result of the union of ma- 
 terial substances with others of an immaterial sort, has 
 been up to this time confounded with the substances 
 themselves ; and it is an important point to determine 
 whether these very different sorts of substances do not 
 each possess a real existence. Nor need this inquiry 
 
 I 
 
 
 \ 
 
 ,1 
 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 23 
 
 carry us so far as to determine the nature of these 
 different substances ; it is only their real existence we 
 wish to point out. There is enough contained in reve* 
 lation to assure us that both bodily and spiritual sub- 
 stances exist. We do not dispute the existence of 
 many very different kinds of material substances and 
 material bodies. There is no more reason to dispute 
 the existence of many very different kinds of immaterial 
 or spiritual substances and spiritual bodies : for if the 
 natural bodies are thought to be all one kind of sub- 
 stance, it should be inferred alike of those we call 
 spiritual. But both, as created' bodies, are made up 
 of the union of the two substances. We believe that 
 God is a spirit, and we beUeve that the angels have 
 spirits ; we beUeve also that man has a spiritual part 
 united to him which partakes not of the same charac- 
 ters as that of angels. The fact, then, of the separate 
 existence of very different kinds of spirit is propounded 
 in the Scriptures ; and T contend that their existence 
 in the operations and appearance of the created universe 
 is deducible from qualities as clearly to be referred to 
 them as to material substance. 
 
 I say, then, we can have no idea of the nature of 
 either material or immaterial entities, — ^that is, of the 
 primordial elements of all created substances of either 
 kind employed in the creation, before those substances 
 were used in creation. These may not be numerous of 
 either kind, and what we call the primary elements 
 of matter, in the language of chemical science, in every 
 probabihty are not primary in the sense of being un- 
 
% -^ 1 <y ■ > * K ^ •— L i tf I II i H 
 
 ^ 
 
 !l 
 
 24 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 divided or unconstituent in their characters. We may 
 nevertheless investigate the qualities even of these 
 primordial, and supposed-to-be uncombined constituent 
 elements of creation, as they stand separately related 
 to created natural bodies. And when we do so, and 
 regard them as distinct from that created matter which 
 is the result of the union of the two kinds of substance, 
 material and immaterial, we are struck with the fact 
 that they both possess one quality in common ; they 
 are both indivisible in the sense of being able to isolate 
 or retain all their properties, in any one particular 
 portion, these being retained by the most minute 
 portions of either, however infinitesimally thay may be 
 apparently divided. Nor can all or any one of the true 
 properties be removed from the smallest divisible 
 portion. For example, we find this quality of indi- 
 visibility is attached alike in this sense to the spirits of 
 heat and electricity as it is to the matter of oxygen 
 and carbon. 
 
 It is necessary and important to observe in this 
 place that there is both reason and proof for stating 
 my belief that the primordial and uncombined con- 
 stituent elements of creation are to be discovered in 
 two different relations and conditions, — viz. uncom- 
 bined or single, and combined or fixed. In the first 
 state they surround our globe, and, as I shall hereafter 
 show by analogy, all other created worlds in the uni- 
 verse of the one only and true God. In the second 
 state they are to be detected in the analysis of natural 
 and visible created matters, when both kinds may 
 
 IN RETiATION TO MATTER. 
 
 25 
 
 i^ 
 
 readily be obtained as in their original and uncom- 
 bined state, by means of proper instruments. This 
 process is one of the most undoubted physical proofs 
 we possess of the existence of different spiritual enti- 
 ties, as they are united to other kinds of substance 
 in the production of all visible bodies. For when 
 these natural bodies are separated by chemical dis- 
 union or analysis, the material part from the immaterial 
 atoms, to which they had by the Creator originally 
 been united, that separation is indicated by the actual 
 disengagement of these spirits, causing the sensible 
 appearance of light, heat, concussion, or report, according 
 to circumstances. Hence we have the true explanation 
 of the phenomenon of the voltaic battery, when, by the 
 chemical decomposition of one metal, by placing it in 
 contact with another metal and an acid, we observe the 
 spirit of electricity, by which and to which it was 
 united in the original synthesis, is separated and 
 makes its escape along the conductor in the form of 
 what is called chemical electricity, in order to blend itself 
 with the uncombined spirit of electricity everywhere 
 in the atmosphere. 
 
 The relation the spirit of electricity bears to matter 
 in its combined or its uncombined state may here- 
 after be shown to observe this difference between the 
 two, — viz. that in the natural creation of visible sub- 
 stances the spirit was mixed up with, and formed 
 an integral part of, created things ; and in the pro- 
 duction of the qualities of such created things, this 
 intimate and internal commixture of spirit with material 
 
 i } 
 
 J 
 
:, /. 
 
 26 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 I 
 
 }. 
 
 '(• 
 
 f 
 
 M 
 
 entities was necessary and fixed. But in the production 
 of the ever-varying phenomena of natural bodies, the 
 spirits engaged have no longer power to enter the sub- 
 stances, but are confined in their operations to the sur- 
 faces of all bodies, with which, however, they do not 
 blend. In the first case, or that of the naturally created 
 substances, the proof of the intimate mixture of these 
 spirits with every known kind of natural substance is 
 given in their perceptible disengagement from those 
 substances when they are submitted to chemical analysis. 
 In the second case, we are led to beUeve the phenomena 
 of created bodies are caused by the action of these 
 spirits upon the surface of created bodies, from the 
 well-known and estabUshed rules laid down by 
 Coulomb, who proved by many experiments that when 
 electricity is accumulated in any body, the whole 
 of it is deposited on the surface, and none penetrates 
 to the interior. The deviation from this rule in the 
 supposed case of the magnetic fluids, which are said to 
 pervade each molecule of the mass, is expUcable on the 
 hypothesis that the material substances of the universe 
 do not all bear the same uniform relation to the spirit 
 of electricity, and that some of them are specifically 
 acted upon by this spirit. Such are some compounded 
 bodies of the natural creation, as iron, nickel, cobalt, 
 &c., which have so great an affinity for magnetic elec- 
 tricity that they can never be said to be like non-electric 
 bodies, mere conductors ; yet the action of magnetism 
 upon these and other bodies has been shown by Poisson 
 to be equal to a thin stratum covering their surface. 
 
 i 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 27 
 
 These two very difierent states in which the spiritual 
 entities are to be discovered in their relation to matter, 
 do not appear to offer a satisfactory explanation of 
 other phenomena besides those I have mentioned. I 
 would instance, not the natural synthesis of water, but 
 the changes that body undergoes in its transition from ice 
 into steam, which are evidently effected by the operation 
 of the spirits of heat and electricity upon it ; and here 
 these spirits being applied to the surface of created 
 matter, the action, so far, seems to resemble those 
 phenomena I have just been defining. But here the 
 resemblance stops, and we have the created body 
 changing its form by altering the position of its con- 
 stituent particles, in consequence of the application of 
 the spirits of heat and electricity to it. The relation 
 these spirits would appear to bear to the atmosphere is 
 also probably unique ; for while the relative proportions 
 of that body have a constant tendency to maintain a 
 fixed standard, it seems impossible to suppose that 
 a standard can be maintained without the co-operation 
 of these spirits in some way. If the atmospheric con- 
 stituents are not, therefore, chemically combined, it is 
 probable these spirits act upon it in the same manner 
 as if it were a compound created body. And yet a 
 feasible reason seems to be offered why that substance 
 should not be chemically united in its constituents like 
 minerals and other bodies forming part of the matter 
 of this earth ; which is, that the elementary materials 
 of the atmosphere being so constantly required to enter 
 into the structures of plants and animals, and to per- 
 
 ^:A 
 
28 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRITS 
 
 M 
 
 ' -♦ 
 
 1 
 
 fonn the daily changes that are going on in diflFerent 
 bodies on the surface of the earth, any decomposition 
 of its constituent parts, had they been in a fixed che- 
 mical union, would be attended with constant explosion 
 and danger to respiration, caused by the separation in 
 such cases of the material from the immaterial parts, 
 as in the ordinary chemical decomposition of bodies : 
 whereas, the two kinds of entity can now enter the 
 living tissues, whether separately or in the more floating 
 and varying unions, without previous combustion. And 
 moreover they are kept separate in the atmosphere, in 
 order that both the material and the immaterial elements 
 may be ready for use as circumstances arise. 
 
 I beheve these two very difierent states, in which we 
 find the spiritual and material entities to exist in their 
 relation to the physical universe, are moreover required 
 to be thus both in a fixed or locked-up state, and in a 
 floating or disunited state, in order to the carrying out 
 of the daily laws necessary to the sustaining of the 
 earth in her relation to all other created bodies, as well 
 as to the carrying on of the celestial forces, and the 
 support and conservation of all other systems of 
 creation. 
 
 It will be thus obvious that before the phenomena 
 of light can take place, the material substances and 
 bodies on which the spirits of heat or electricity are to 
 act must have, in the first place, been either created 
 separately, or brought together and united in a fixed 
 manner, as in the original creation. The visible pheno- 
 mena of Ught I consider to be caused by the operation 
 
 1 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 29 
 
 of the uncombined spirits of heat and electricity upon 
 created matter, which is already composed, whether 
 united chemically or not, of the two opposite entities, 
 matter and spirit, as we see them united in the atmo- 
 sphere. This I have proved in the next chapter, 
 where I give the analysis of a sun-beam, showing in 
 what way the two spirits of heat and electricity enter 
 the ray. The difierence between light, conflagration, 
 and combustion, is, that light is produced without the 
 added spirit being so great as to effect a chemical 
 decomposition which is equivalent to combustion; 
 while conflagration results from the relative difierence 
 between the degree of spirits applied and the character 
 of the material to which they are applied, the degree 
 being higher, and the character of the material such as 
 is found only when it has been united at some former 
 period in the ternary and quaternary unions caused by 
 the spirit of life. 
 
 The natural phenomena thus produced by the ac- 
 tion of uncombined spiritual substances upon created 
 matter arc therefore to be referred to two different 
 modes of action. The phenomena of one kind are 
 those of light. These, when produced, would ap- 
 pear to be the result of the action of one or two 
 spirits, but mostly of two, either upon fixed or created 
 matter, or else upon matter in its less fixed and more 
 floating and fluctuating condition, as we find it in the 
 air, or as it has been bound up in vegetable and animal 
 structures: while the phenomena of the other kind 
 
 \ 
 
i<t 
 
 
 \h 
 
 30 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 are necessarily more mixed, and they proceed from the 
 action of these spirits upon the more fixed and created 
 matter of the earth and the universe. Thus motion, 
 gravity, chemical affinity, electro-magnetism, &c., are 
 forces that cannot be accomplished short of the union 
 of the two spirits of heat and electricity to the solid 
 and fixed matters of the globe, which have already been 
 brought together in such a manner by union with those 
 spirits as to be able to bear the new or second action 
 upon them without altering their component parts. 
 
 The intricate action, and possibly the modified action 
 of these co-operating spirits upon the matter of the 
 universe, has excited the interest of all our great natural 
 philosophers, although I am not aware they have de- 
 tected these regular and systematic unions more (Josely 
 than as they have been supposed to hold some correla- 
 tion in the sense of forces one towards the other. 
 They are all susceptible of explanation upon the prin- 
 ciple I have now propounded. The wonderful experi- 
 ments and discoveries of many eminent philosophers 
 bring the strongest conviction to my mind that there 
 are distinct spirits in operation, and that these spirits 
 are conjunctively engaged as second causes in the pro- 
 duction of all the great mundane and celestial forces 
 used by the Creator for the conservation of the universe. 
 . The experiments of Herschel* on the absorption of 
 
 * On the Absorption of Light hy Coloured Media, and on the 
 Colours exhibited by certain Flames, &c. &c. : published in the 
 Edinburgh Transactions, toI. ix. p. 433. 
 
 1 i 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 31 
 
 light, and those of Brewster* on the prismatic rays, 
 prove that colours are caused by the variation in the 
 degree of heat apphed to combustible material. " The 
 yellow cone inclosed in the blue envelope*' shows that 
 in the production of the ordinary flame of a candle the 
 two spirits of heat and electricity are taking a part. 
 Pouillet has shown that positive electricity is present 
 around the visible part of the flame formed by the 
 combination of oxygen and hydrogen. This is shown 
 by experiments on the sun-beam, presently to be 
 noticed. The discovery of electro-magnetism by 
 Oersted; the researches of Hansteenf on the earth's 
 magnetism and the magnetic poles as regards their 
 position and revolution ; and more recently those of 
 Faraday} on the nature of the forces here employed, 
 and the identity of these with the phenomena of mag- 
 netic electricity, — are so much collective evidence to 
 prove that the spirit of electricity is acting upon par- 
 ticular matter, which spirit this last great philosopher 
 has brought to bear upon that same matter in the pro- 
 duction of the rectangular force, and in causing mag- 
 netic iron after the discovery of Ampere, and iron- 
 fiUng, and even a ray of Ught, to rotate upon it. These 
 are remarkable illustrations to show what these spirits 
 can do. " The calorific effects of magnetic electricity," 
 
 * Description of the Monochromatic Lamp ; with Remarks on 
 the Absorptions of the Prismatic Rays by Coloured Media : pub- 
 lished in the same journal. 
 
 f XJntersuchungen iiber den Magnetismus der Erde, 
 
 X Experimental Researches. 
 
 A 
 
f \ 
 
 32 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRITS 
 
 
 as shown by Joule ; the discovery of thermo-electricity by 
 Seebeck ; and those of Daguerre, which have led to the 
 pecuhar science of photography, — all prove that the ope- 
 ration of the spirit of heat is in a prominent manner 
 concurrent with that of electricity in the production of 
 the mixed phenomena they point out. 
 
 Proximate Principles of Matter. 
 
 One of the greatest debts we owe to natural philosophy 
 is for the discovery of the characters, uses, and chemical 
 combinations of those elements supposed to stand alone 
 in the composition of our globe. The study of their 
 modes of action and methods of union, the result of 
 patient observation and experiment, has led to the most 
 profound and extended induction. The advances made 
 in chemical philosophy towards a perfect knowledge of 
 the materials around us, both in their properties and 
 modes of union, have been hitherto most satisfactory. 
 Still, if we take the aggregate of all that has yet been 
 discovered, it must be admitted that our knowledge of 
 what really constitute the simple mediate or ele- 
 mentary principles of matter composing our globe is 
 incomplete ; and there is the greatest reason to suppose 
 that, provided we possessed the power, we might yet 
 be able to separate substances which, according to our 
 present knowledge and experimental attainment, are 
 incapable of further division. 
 
 In our investigation of some of these mediate princi- 
 ples of matter which chemistry has not further decom- 
 posed, and which, on this account, have received the 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 »S 
 
 \ 
 
 appellation of elements, we are struck with some thr'^e 
 or four of them, such as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, 
 and carbon, on account of the very etherial appearance 
 they assume, and more especially from the very universal 
 part we find they have been made to take in the com- 
 position, not only of the inorganic matter which enters 
 into the structure of our globe, but of the water and 
 atmospheric air that surrounds it, and of the living 
 vegetable and animal bodies that subsist upon its sur- 
 face. These substances are of that attenuate character, 
 and are capable of such minute and almost infinite 
 subdivision, that we find them placed, as it were, in an 
 intermediate position between the more characteristic 
 examples of materiahty, and another class of substances 
 with which they have to deal, and which, as these pos- 
 sess none of the qualities or properties of what are 
 commonly called material substances in their elemen- 
 tary forms, I think there is every reason to believe are 
 immaterial in their nature. 
 
 Proximate Principles of Matter confounded with the 
 Spirits and their Modes of Action upon Matter. 
 
 These immaterial substances are the spirits causing 
 light, heat, electricity, magnetism, life, and mind, which 
 have hitherto been confounded with the proximate 
 principles of matter ; and, in order to distinguish these 
 expressions from the true immaterial and efficient causes 
 engaged to produce them, I shall use the term spirit 
 before these several popular terms, to prevent confusion 
 when alluding to their true immaterial and efficient 
 
 ,1 
 
34 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 causes, and not to their effects ; for these terms (light, 
 heat, &c.), as I shall presently show, are the expression of 
 phenomena the result of the combined action of the two 
 great entities of creation, materiality and immateriality. 
 They are, therefore, not even expressive of entities of 
 either kind, but are modes of action, and, as such, they 
 only express properties orqualities, and these are unable 
 to begin their existence as real efficient or created causes. 
 It is most remarkable that, after having created some 
 three or four material substances which natural philo- 
 sophy informs us are of an uncombined nature, one, two, 
 or more of which, such as oxygen, hydrogen, &c., consti- 
 tute part of the basis of every created compound of 
 matter, whether organic or inorganic, we find one or 
 two of these immaterial substances were now brought 
 forward by the Great Hirst Cause, and made in Uke 
 manner to act as universally upon those simple material 
 substances. This co-operation of material and imma- 
 terial substances is the only true and philosophical 
 explanation of all the beauty and order, of all the 
 quahties and quantities, of all the extension, consistence, 
 colour, taste, size, feel, &c., in the various objects we 
 behold around us. So that, in our investigations of 
 the component parts of all created bodies, whether 
 organic or inorganic, we have the most palpable mate- 
 rial proof that the same Being who made any one of 
 the material substances around us, — such as oxygen, 
 hydrogen, nitrogen, or carbon, — ^must have made all of 
 them ; for their ultimate analysis will furnish us with 
 some one or other of the same elementary substances, 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 »5 
 
 difiering only in relative quantity ; while the same fact 
 applies also to the immaterial substances I have alluded 
 to, for the three spirits causing the phenomena of light, 
 heat, electricity, magnetism, life, and mind, which we 
 found to be indispensable spirits employed by the 
 Creator in the synthetical arrangement and construc- 
 tion, or the analysis and reconstruction of material 
 bodies. And the proof we derive from the philosophical 
 investigation or analysis of the substantive world around 
 us is most convincing that these spirits do exist ; . for 
 we may now assure ourselves both of the universal 
 nature of the common material elements of our globe, 
 as well as the living creatures that inhabit it, and of the 
 invariable phenomena resulting from the conjunction of 
 those material elements with others of an immaterial 
 nature, by which they exhibit unalterable properties 
 according to some fixed decree bestowed on them by 
 their Creator. 
 
 There is, therefore, nothing in the discoveries of na- 
 tural science conflicting to the doctrine that there are 
 existing and created immaterial substances, as well as 
 material substances, in the works of creation ; and there 
 is great reason to suppose philosophy has been too iso- 
 late in her views of immateriality ; she not having enter- 
 tained fairly and impartially the possibility that there 
 are several kinds and degrees of immaterial substances 
 or spirits which, like the proximate principles of mate- 
 rial matter, are incapable of decomposition or further 
 division into different parts, because they are not com- 
 
3fi 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 pounded, although they may possess very different 
 degrees and kinds of power nevertheless. 
 
 I am quite aware the problem has not as yet been 
 solved, whether these imponderable substances, as they 
 are called, are material matters in their most minute 
 subdivision, or whether they are " manifestations of 
 activity/' or modes of action of material matter alone. 
 But from the argument I have already adduced, and 
 the proofs I am about to give, I do think that such 
 substances have an independent immaterial existence, 
 which may be logically proved, and that it is their 
 application and adaptation to the material substances 
 of the globe in the two ways I have stated, that con- 
 stitute all the qualities and all the phenomena we 
 behold in the matter that surrounds us. 
 
 TTie Universal Materiality and the Universal Imma- 
 teriality of all Things shonm to be alike incorrect. 
 
 When philosophers have attempted, by the unassisted 
 aid of rational or natural philosophy alone, to penetrate 
 the nature or dive into the caustj of the two remarkably 
 distinct substances I have endeavoured to show have a 
 real existence in the universe as distinct entities alike 
 under the control of an infinite Being, they have fallen 
 into one or other of these two errors, — first, either they 
 have confused the true efficient causes of the manifest 
 and outward existence of material substances, by making 
 those causes inherent in the matters themselves, thereby 
 denying entirely the existence of immateriaUty and the 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 87 
 
 operation of spiritual causes in the universe as entities, 
 whether united to or disunited from material substances ; 
 or, secondly, they have endeavoured to prove that what 
 is commonly termed and received as material substance 
 is nothing more than an aggregation of qualities, which, 
 inasmuch as they are formed within the mind, have no 
 other than an immaterial, though at the same time a 
 real, existence. 
 
 We have thus the advocates of two very distinct and 
 conflicting theories — viz. those who contend for the 
 materiality and those who contend for the immateriality 
 of the universe ; and, if the views I now put forth have 
 any claim to be regarded as truth, it can no longer be 
 disputed that though the doctrine of universal mate- 
 riality or that of universal immateriality may have been 
 urged with undoubted ability and with apparent con- 
 formity to syllogistical or to mathematical rules, yet 
 each of them is amenable to refutation, and therefore 
 equally unworthy of beUef. 
 
 When I speak of the existence of uncombined mate- 
 rial substance, or of material substance, as it is seen 
 combined in the visible created world, as a real entity, 
 and treat it as an indisputable fact, I do not make the 
 truth of that fact to rest upon certain and undoubted 
 effects, but I take up my stand on the verity of revela- 
 tion, which assures me of this fact at once ; for there I 
 ascertain that it formed part of the original creation* 
 
 * Gen. i. 1 ; Psa. xc. 2; Prov. viii. 23, 26; Jer. x. 12, xxviii. 
 5 ; Heb, i. 2, xi. 3, &c. 
 
38 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 \f 
 
 by the word of God. I think, however, with this fact 
 to guide us, its distinct identity from immaterial sub- 
 stance may be most unequivocally proved by philosophy. 
 It has been said that there is no proof to be drawn 
 from philosophy of the real existence of material sub- 
 stance, so that those who disbeheve in revelation are 
 strengthened in the idea by the plausible evidence ad- 
 duced to show that all we behold in the outward world 
 is comprehended within the mind, and in a material 
 sense cannot be without it. Thus the colour, size, 
 shape, and consistence of material substances are re- 
 garded by some as the mere quaUties of those sub- 
 stances, but, when taken away from them, are thought 
 to leave nothing behind. Quahties they are, but they 
 have nothing to show they have any entity of existence 
 at all, either material or immaterial. 
 
 Having received the first announcement from reve- 
 lation of the real existence of material substance as a 
 distinct act of creation, I will now go on to prove the 
 rational probability— nay, the certainty, of this by the 
 following incontrovertible fact. 
 
 We find the different qualities and characters of 
 the visible and created bodies around us are regulated 
 by certain fiixed and accurately adjusted laws, as they 
 are commonly termed ; which laws are really the action 
 of immaterial substances upon those that are material. 
 If the material substance did not exist apart, that is, 
 distinct in its nature from these immaterial substances, 
 how could we behold them by means of our senses ? 
 for there is no evidence that immaterial substances are 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 39 
 
 patent to our senses, except as they have been used by 
 the Creator to give form, colour, consistence, &c., to 
 the proximate principles of material substance; nor 
 could this form, colour, &c. be made manifest to our 
 organs of sense unless it was through some spirit, com- 
 bined with, and superadded to, a material substance on 
 which it could act. The immateriaUty producing light 
 and heat is necessarily latent, and totally incapable of 
 being recognized by sensations conveyed through the 
 nervous system of animals, unless they meet there with 
 material substance through which, and upon which, they 
 can manifest themselves ; and not till then do they pro- 
 duce effects according to the degree in which they are 
 applied, or rather to the nature of the material sub- 
 stance they come in contact with. The great proof 
 that they do come in contact with substances which are 
 different in nature to their own is, that they have 
 power, not only as efficient causes, to regidate and pre- 
 serve all the material substances, whether in a com- 
 bined or an uncombined state, of which the universe is 
 composed, but also to break down and decompose those 
 combined substances into their primary elements. But 
 here I contend they stop ; and their power to act upon 
 and dissolve those primary elements of uncombined 
 materiaUty any further is ineffectual ; indeed, it is im- 
 possible. They may dissipate them by repulsion, or 
 by conflagration, or by the most minute dissemination ; 
 but there is no evidence that they are destroyed, in the 
 ultimate sense of the word, as by annihilation. And 
 
 J||||||HIW 
 
1 ^' t^ ^jt^trntm* 
 
 40 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 41 
 
 t 
 
 this is to be inferred by the most powerful analogical 
 deductions. If, for example, the destructive confla- 
 gration of hydrogen or carbon implies their total anni- 
 hilation, or even so much as their dissipation beyond 
 the atmosphere that surrounds our earth implied their 
 total annihilation, our globe must rapidly and sensibly 
 diminish in size, and could, on that account, no longer 
 maintain the accurate and uniform relation we know 
 it does to the sun and moon, and other bodies com- 
 prising the same system. The consequence of a total 
 annihilation of the materiality of our globe, and, by a 
 parity of reasoning, of others also, or even their dissipa- 
 tion beyond the radius of the atmospheres that sur- 
 round them, would be attended with no less than a 
 constantly varying action of those laws in nature which 
 we have the fullest assurance, by long experience, and 
 the most extended observation, are invariable. Now, 
 if light were a material substance, as the Newtonian 
 theory must make it to be, the incessant torrents of 
 light which the sun is perpetually supposed to be send- 
 ing forth must either diminish its size, which would at 
 once destroy the uniformity in the movements and laws 
 of the planetary and other bodies within the solar sys- 
 tem, or else the material parts are continually under- 
 going re-creation, — an idea inconsistent with the science 
 and revelation of facts. 
 
 The real existence, therefore, of materiality as a dis- 
 tinct entity is pledged, not in the sense of a variation 
 in its relative quantity, but in that of its having, in the 
 
 case of our earth and other created orbs, a distinctly 
 fixed totality, on which depends the regularity of their 
 motions, and the accurate computation of time. 
 
 It might be urged, though most unphilosophically, 
 and without any authority either from nature or reve- 
 lation, that the Creator is continually re-creating fresh 
 supplies of the primary elements of material substance : 
 but this argument, while it cannot fail to admit the 
 separate nature of the material entity, is as much as 
 to say the uniformity in the laws and collocations of 
 created matter, which proceed from the conjunction of 
 previously uncombined substance with the spirits of 
 immateriality, is not according to an invariable and 
 divine appointment, but to some supervenient laws, or 
 to the accidental phenomena of vicarious action ; an 
 idea which is continually contradicted by the whole 
 course of Nature's undeviating laws. 
 
 The method pursued by natural philosophy to ascer- 
 tain with certainty the real existence, as well as the 
 constituent elements, of some of the simpler inorganic 
 bodies, is most satisfactory. She determines their com- 
 position, first by analysis, and then by synthesis. By 
 the first method their primary elements are separated. 
 And if we inquire by what instrumentality this sepa- 
 ration is accomplished, the answer is, by the imma- 
 terial efficient causes of heat, or of electricity. Thus, 
 by that of heat, we may separate many of the consti- 
 tuent elements of which inorganic bodies are composed ; 
 but we cannot, by this efficient cause alone, resolve 
 every inorganic body into its primary elements. Neither 
 
42 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 has it been found that, with the additional concurrence 
 of the efficient cause of electricity, we can, in every in- 
 stance, succeed in disjoining all the primary elements 
 of which some bodies are composed. But we may take 
 for example a drop of water ; and by the application 
 of galvanic electricity we may analyse it into its pri- 
 mary elements of oxygen and hydrogen. And that we 
 may be re-assured of the correctness of the result of 
 our analysis, we are permitted, in this instance, to re- 
 verse our methods of proof of the reality of its compo- 
 sition : and this we may do by the synthetic process. 
 To effect this, we take the constituent elementary ma- 
 terials of water, oxygen, and hydrogen, and by bring- 
 ing these in contact with the spirit of electricity, attracted 
 for the purpose by the ordinary electric battery, the 
 result is the production of the natural substance we call 
 water. If this substance were strictly and simply a 
 binary compound of oxygen and hydrogen, the mere 
 bringing these materials together in the proportions 
 they go to form water would only be required. But 
 these material substances cannot enter into chemical 
 union without the co-operation of a third substance, 
 and that an immaterial one. The difference between 
 the first process of forming water, and that of causing 
 that water to become vapour, is just the difference in 
 the mode of apphcation of the spirit of electricity. 
 Water is a naturally-created body ; and as such must 
 have had the electric spirit mixed up with the mate- 
 rials oxygen and hydrogen : but when thus formed into 
 water, and in this position fixed as a created body, its 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 43 
 
 V'J 
 
 further change into vapour is effected simply by sur- 
 rounding its surfaces with the spirits of electricity and 
 heat. 
 
 The complete immaterialist will argue that if we take 
 colour, shape, size, weight, extension, and a few other 
 qualities, from all material bodies, there is nothing of 
 them left ; and therefore they agree with Berkeley and 
 his followers, that, though these quahties have a real 
 existence, yet the whole materials of the outward world 
 are nevertheless immaterial in their nature. The advo- 
 cates for universal immateriality do not dispute the 
 possibility ' of the existence of materiality in the uni- 
 verse, but they contend it is not self-evident. This is 
 a truth applicable to both materiality and immateriality. 
 They are like the great God that formed them, and 
 rules over them,— in themselves they are invisible and 
 incapable of investigation. They are neither of them 
 as separate entities and in an independent state, — that 
 is to say, without the help and concurrence of each 
 other, self-evident; and therefore, in this assertion, 
 these advocates at once show they have wrongly appre- 
 hended the quahties and characters of the substance 
 they so universally contend for ; for we certainly have 
 no experience to guide, or authority to support, the 
 idea that shape, or colour, or consistence, are real enti- 
 ties, any more than modes of action are modes of 
 being : and I question if any one of the apprehended 
 self-evident proofs of the existence of immateriahty, as 
 a separate and distinct entity, would serve the purpose, 
 as incontrovertible evidence of immateriality, so well as 
 
 \ 
 
 N 
 
 X 
 
44 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 they would that of materiality, especially in the com- 
 mon acceptation : for we are certain that all the bodies 
 we behold with our senses, and which we term mate- 
 rial in common parlance, have ever been identified with 
 certain characters which philosophers have called pri- 
 mary and secondary qualities of matter ; yet no one 
 could ever contend that these qualities were real entities, 
 but those who were ignorant of the true efficient causes 
 of them. 
 
 Now, however ignorant we may be of the precise 
 nature or cause of entity beyond the fact of knowing by 
 whom they were first made, in which fact revelation has 
 instructed us, we are certain from ample experience that 
 it exists, and moreover must be capable of producing 
 effects. But we have no experience to assure us that 
 effects, even, could be manifested or produced by 
 uncombined entity; that is, by an entity which 
 wholly and solely partakes of the nature either of ma- 
 teriality or of immateriality, and that has no con- 
 junctive operation the one with the other. 
 
 Again : Modes of action cannot begin their existence, 
 and in this state they cannot produce effects, for they are 
 themselves but phenomena; and phenomena are not 
 efficient causes. It is said, that the quahties of bodies 
 being removed, there is nothing left in such bodies. This 
 IS a safe observation, and no doubt ventured upon the 
 invariable nature of created things, for to remove a cause, 
 in the sense of its complete annihilation, shall always be 
 interpreted to mean the removal of the effects resulting 
 from that cause. And here the light of revelation breaks 
 
 l^ RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 45 
 
 Tl 
 
 in : for to believe that qualities only exist around us, 
 is not only to believe that eff'ects can exist independently 
 of causes, which is a philosophical absurdity, but it is 
 to beheve that we are misguided by revelation on this 
 point. For we are most plainly and unmistakeably told 
 there, that there was a time when matter was " without 
 form and void,"— void of what ? Of the other quali- 
 ties that afterwards adorned it. StiU it was matter, be- 
 fore it manifested or received those quahties by which 
 it was afterwards identified, or in other words before it 
 was acted upon by the spirits of immateriality. 
 
 Thus the goodness of God, that " so clothes the grass 
 of the field " that on every side it bears the impress of 
 divine workmanship, is by some reduced to an optical 
 illusion ; and the whole fabric of the globe is so loaded 
 as it were, and covered on every side, with surpassing 
 wonder and beauty, that the very materials on which 
 these beauties have so long been displayed are con- 
 founded, not only with their efficient causes, but by many 
 with the great first cause ; a powerful argument to shew 
 that, without the aid of revelation— the chart and a 
 compass of the only true philosophy— we should not only 
 lose our track and so fail to reach the haven, but we 
 should sink, and that deeper and deeper, into a fathomless 
 abyss of darkness and doubt. 
 
 Had the immaterialist admitted that the substances 
 employed to produce the colour, shape, consistence, ex- 
 tension, &c. of material bodies were immaterial in their 
 nature, they would have cleared away the difficulty that 
 surrounds the doctrine of immaterialism ; and while they 
 took credit for the extent to which the immaterial prin- 
 
1 
 
 ] 
 
 \l 
 
 46 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRITS 
 
 ciples of light, heat, and electricity, were fairly entitled to 
 go, as immaterial substances acting upon matter, they 
 would acknowledge that something in its nature and 
 characters, diametricaUy opposite to immateriality, was 
 also necessary in order to the manifestation or proof of 
 the existence of both. We could not, for example, re- 
 cognise light without an atmosphere, nor heat without 
 some material body in which it may be developed, nor 
 electricity without a vehicle, nor life without an orga- 
 nised body. Light is not an entity, nor is it a mode of 
 action even of material matter alone, but it is a mode of 
 action of immaterial upon material matter. 
 
 Neither, then, can the existence of immaterial nor of 
 material substances be proved in the first instance by 
 the unassisted aid of philosophy, whether natural or 
 mental ; and the same argument we draw from reve- 
 lation to prove the real existence of immaterial spirits 
 and an immaterial world, is equally available and ne- 
 cessary to prove the real existence of material bodies 
 and a material world. 
 
 The power of the immaterial substances causing light, 
 heat, electricity, &c. over material bodies, great as it is', 
 still has its limits, and while we know nothing, but as a 
 matter of faith, of the true cause of these substances, 
 neither do we know any more of the cause of the ulti- 
 mate element of matter. 
 
 By that spirit that produces heat we may decompose 
 
 almost if not all compounded bodies, and reduce them 
 
 to theu- ultimate elements, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen. 
 
 and carbon, which are all the gaseous elements we are 
 
 -acquamted with, or we may reduce them to their earthy 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 47 
 
 alkaline or metallic bases ; but farther than this decom- 
 position and analysis we cannot go ; and here, therefore, 
 material substance takes up its stand, and as it were 
 defies the immaterial spirits to annihilate them. 
 
 I can believe, therefore, rationally, in the existence 
 both of an immaterial and of a material world around me; 
 and bringing revelation to my aid, I can see nothing but 
 the most complete evidence to be deduced from thence 
 of the separate and opposite existence of these two 
 grand classes of substances. 
 
 It will be seen, then, that those phenomena of created 
 bodies which have hitherto been so unphilosophically 
 called imponderable agents, have really no existence as 
 entities of either kind of substance material or immate- 
 rial ; still less are they litely to exist as created bodies 
 or created matter. Neither have they any analogical 
 resemblance to them, but they are really results of the 
 action of spirit upon matter ; and doubtless the theory 
 of atoms, as applied to such phenomena, will soon give 
 place to a more extended theory of immaterial agents. 
 The time is not far distant when we shall no longer think 
 it possible that any bodies as we behold them with our 
 outward and inward senses, whether those bodies are 
 organic or inorganic, can be brought together, regulated, 
 altered or controlled, without the agency of powers as 
 truly spiritual as those we have so long regarded as ex- 
 clusively to govern organised bodies. 
 
 Important part taken by the Spirits, 
 
 If the immaterial efficient causes of those phenomena 
 which natural philosophers have termed imponderable 
 
 
; 
 
 48 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHT OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 49 
 
 1 ' 
 
 bodies, have any real existence as entities of material 
 matter, it is indeed singular and paradoxical that they 
 should possess such remarkable power over bodies of 
 like nature with themselves ; for it must be remembered 
 they are the active efficient cause of all the varieties in 
 the shapes, colours, and other qualities of every visible 
 substance, and when applied as uncombined spirit to 
 created matter they constitute the laws which govern 
 our earth. Indeed, the whole range of physical and 
 inductive science is but the demonstration of their mode 
 of action when united to materiality. I do not expect 
 there is any difficulty in proving that the spiritual sub- 
 stances I have alluded to are made to take an indispen- 
 sable position, and to act an important part in the for- 
 mation of every visible substance. Thus, the spirit of 
 heat being engaged to regulate the consistence of ele- 
 mentary materials, it may doubtless be proved that in 
 many instances their chemical union with materials of 
 like nature is accomplished by the spirit of electricity. 
 It is also highly probable that the natural separation 
 of the old materials into their primary elements is 
 the act of electric power. The strongest artificial 
 means we possess for accumulating or attracting these 
 spiritual substances in those bodies most favourable to 
 their reception, have not as yet enabled us even to 
 analyze correctly many of the natural inorganic bodies 
 around us. And with such potential tenacity do some 
 of the most minute portions of the gaseous elements — 
 oxygen, hydrogen, &c., appear to be united to some 
 inorganic substances, that we cannot detach or expel 
 them by the help of our strongest batteries. For this 
 
 cause we are unable to follow nature in the synthesis 
 even of inorganic bodies. 
 
 Tlie doctrine of Imponderable Agents shewn to he 
 
 erroneous. 
 
 There is a class of philosophers, — and when I men- 
 tion such names as Aristotle, Newton, Bacon, Laplace, 
 and Locke, it is impossible I can do so without ex- 
 pressing the very high veneration in which I hold their 
 transcendant talents, — whose views in philosophy appear 
 to taV- a middle course between the two more unequi- 
 vocal advocates for universal materiality or immateri- 
 ahty. The lofty talents of these individuals have enabled 
 . them to establish their tenets, and to put forth their 
 claims upon public behef on so wide a basis of physical 
 and mathematical induction, their views have become 
 so popular, and they are so bound up in the exposition 
 of natural science, that it seems almost an arrogance on 
 my part to venture to disturb such gigantic and cumu- 
 lative labour, wrought out as it has been with so much 
 care and experiment. 
 
 Much of this laborious work, however, is to be 
 explained upon a plan of mental operation that partakes 
 of the character of a mechanism which, though in all 
 its relations it may be mechanically correct, disturbs 
 not the fact gf the manner in which that mechanism 
 is applied. The universal and immutable method by 
 which the phenomena of creation are governed, 
 gives to the astronomer and mathematician a power 
 of accurate computation, which strikes the mind 
 
 s 
 
 '\A 
 
 av 
 
50 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 instantly with the idea that if any knowledge is 
 certain it is that which conforms itself to the most 
 rigorous application of geometrical and scientific rules, 
 which, by resting on a sure induction, can never be 
 refuted. All this is, after all, but the elaborate mental 
 machinery by which the fabric of science is put in 
 motion ; and it is in one sense independent of the 
 substances employed, or the manner in which those 
 substances are brought to bear upon each other. It is 
 not disputed there can be error in this machinery ; 
 the probability is, it is complete, and not subject to 
 variance, for it is established upon the unfailing uni- 
 formity and the invariable laws of nature, stamped 
 with the signet of the King of kings — the unchangeable 
 Creator ; and in surveying this machinery the mind of 
 a master is surely needed to unfold so great and so 
 divine a work. But it is the supposed material sub- 
 mitted to the mind for investigation, which does not 
 bear to be so regarded ; and there is reason to think it 
 has been mistaken for what it is not. Sufficient 
 argument may be adduced from nature to show that 
 this supposed material will not bear, however etherial 
 a substance it might be thought to be, that test it 
 ought to stand as a proof that it is created matter. 
 
 Some of these writers, in speaking of light, heat, or 
 electricity, as agents or efficient causes in the hands of 
 the Supreme Cause, appear to ofier a doubtful argu- 
 ment, not as to the modus operandi, but as to the 
 character of these supposed causes ; for they have not 
 failed, in the course of that argument, to show that they 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 51 
 
 / 
 
 believe such agents to partake of the nature of material 
 bodies entirely, although they call them at the same 
 time imponderable. 
 
 To say that light, heat, and electricity, are impon- 
 derable bodies, is not only negative and indefinite, but, 
 strictly speaking, it is not sense, if material bodies are 
 intended to be expressed by this term ; and we know 
 of no other to which the term can be applied. There 
 is no material body that is actually imponderable ; and 
 when any such matter can be shown to be deficient in 
 this quality, it is no longer material to common sense, 
 neither is it so in a true philosophical sense : for the 
 weight of a body is the amount of attraction the im- 
 material spirit of electricity exercises on that particular 
 body as a created body ; and this must be more or less 
 existing, or the body could not be retained on the sur- 
 face or in the atmosphere of our earth. For tliis cause 
 it is that spirit cannot be retained or confined to the 
 earth, or to any particular part of space ; and therefore 
 all material substance, whether uncombined or united 
 with spirit, as in tlie visible creation, has this quality 
 of ponderosity given to it. Those that are uncombined 
 — such as oxygen, hydrogen, &c. — have less weight, as 
 they possess fewer qualities than combined created ma- 
 terial substances, which are, as a consequence, more 
 ponderous. We can, however, detect no such quality 
 as this in identifying spiritual substances. It is by no 
 means satisfactory or conclusive to say the weight of a 
 body is too small to be detected by the finest balance ; 
 for this might be urged in the case of material matter 
 
 f 
 
52 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 that is too small to be collected in sufficient quantity, 
 but of light and heat, any reasonable amount of which, 
 whether natural or artificially condensed, may be sub- 
 mitted to this test ; yet it yields no weight. The same 
 weight of iron, made red or white-hot, is no heavier 
 than the same weight of cold iron. The same weight 
 of ice is no heavier when converted to water. The 
 focus of light, when brought to bear upon the finest 
 balance, will have no more effect upon it, in a ponder- 
 able sense, than the light that surrounds it. 
 
 That circumstance that appears to have contributed 
 most towards the maintenance of errors the most iiTe- 
 concilable in philosophy, is the confounding of those 
 quahties and phenomena which are truly the result of 
 the union of material with immaterial substances, wdth 
 ideas and argiunents to prove their exclusive material 
 entity. Thifs the materiaUst contends for the mate- 
 riality of the phenomena of light, heat, and electricity, 
 &c. : and it is thought very generally by philosophers 
 that light, for example, is in its nature material, because, 
 when given out by luminous bodies, a certain measure 
 of time, however short, is required for its transit. It 
 is, however, to be determined whether this apparent 
 fact is not capable of receiving an interpretation that 
 does not distiu-b the immateriality of the efficient cause 
 of light. It has been abeady stated that light is the 
 result or mode of action of immaterial spirit upon 
 material created matter ; and its manifestation is only 
 to be detected when these two opposite kinds of sub- 
 stances are intact, and even then it may — and, judging 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 53 
 
 from experiment, we may say it does— require the com- 
 bined aid of the immaterial cause of electricity, as well 
 as heat, as it does the combination of two or more 
 material elements, in order to its development. Of 
 these unions of the spiritual entities in the production 
 of the visible phenomenon of light, heat, &c., I shall 
 speak more fully in the next chapter. To say that 
 light, therefore, is material, because it requires time for 
 its transit, only proves that the palpable effect of its 
 immaterial cause is governed by the material substance 
 to which it is related. And nothing is so delusive to 
 our senses as the action of the immaterial substances, 
 causing light, as they operate upon different bodies we 
 call luminous. 
 
 We have this most remarkably exemplified in our 
 firmament upon a clear night. The unscientific ob- 
 server, in viewing the heavens with his naked eye, is 
 inclined to think that, if it were possible for him to 
 count the multitude of visible stars before him, they 
 would number millions; yet, it is well known, two 
 thousand, at the outside, is the number he could count, 
 under such circumstances, over the entire circle of the 
 heavens. Not that I have, by stating this well-known 
 fact, any desire to limit the number of created orbs ; 
 for, m one hour, by means of a telescope, almost count- 
 less thousands may be seen to pass through the field of 
 vision. 1 am only anxious to prove that, however 
 desirous w^e may be to bring the created universe within 
 the brackets of time and space, we must fail, from our 
 total inability to measure the more distant objects of 
 
64 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 creation by the same rule we measure those which 
 stand in a more proximate relation to our own globe. 
 
 Allied to this optical illusion of the visible stars to 
 the naked eye, is that of beholding two, three, four, and 
 even seven suns, which, it is well known, is occasioned 
 by the refraction and reflection of light during a very 
 condensed state of the atmosphere. And this latter 
 circumstance is one, amongst others, which explains the 
 varieties in the size of objects under diSerent states of 
 the atmosphere. It is well known that this refractive 
 power of the atmosphere, as it is thought, prevents any 
 distant object being seen in its true position. And 
 whether that refraction depends upon the true atmo- 
 spheric materials being altered by pressure, according 
 to their proximity or distance from the earth, or upon 
 those materials composing water, which are there ele- 
 vated and expanded by the operation of the spirits of 
 heat and electricity, remains to be proved. But it has 
 been shown that refraction varies at the same distances 
 from the zenith, in proportion to the height of the 
 barometer : which is as much as to say, according to 
 the quantity and quality of the materials involved, by 
 the spirits of heat and electricity, in the atmosphere. 
 
 It is said that the humidity of the air produces no 
 sensible effect upon its refractive power. This is doubt- 
 less proved by accurate experiment, and may be ex- 
 plained to mean that the refractive power of the atmo- 
 spheric constituents nearest to the earth's surface are 
 exactly equal to the refraction caused by humidity in 
 the atmosphere, when the water and the atmosphere 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 55 
 
 are placed side by side, in virtue of their equal specific 
 gravity. But we must take our experiments from the 
 higher regions of the atmosphere, before we can tell the 
 truth whether water, in a still more gaseous form, does 
 not there alter the action of hght in its refracting power. 
 And when we add to this the difference of latitude, the 
 difficulty does not seem to be lessened in making cal- 
 culations of distances through this medium. 
 
 Ttie consecutive Operation of the Immaterial Spirits 
 
 in the Works of Creation, 
 
 It iy most strikingly remarkable that, at the very 
 opening of revelation, it should be stated that in the 
 beginning, when God created the earth, it was " with- 
 out form and void, and darkness was upon the face of 
 the deep," till the spirit of God moved upon the 
 waters. After this event, God said, "Let there be 
 light." He divided the waters from above, and from 
 under the firmament, gathering the latter together to 
 form the solid ground. All this he did by his Spirit 
 causing the great immaterial causes of heat and light, 
 electricity and magnetism, to act upon material sub- 
 stance which previously was void and shapeless, un- 
 combined, and probably in a gaseous state, but which 
 he had created distinct from the immaterial substances. 
 
 We must not lose sight of the fact I have already 
 stated, of these great immaterial substances having been 
 in the first instance, like the material elements, brought 
 into existence at some previous time before they were 
 employed by the Creator in the original formation of 
 
56 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 57 
 
 III 
 
 the earth, when it received its first shape, order, and 
 beauty at His hands. And, I would add, is it possible 
 that mere bodies, alike in nature to the chaos that was 
 acted upon, were the only instruments of this wonderful 
 creation ? And when the living bodies were created, 
 it was not before God had, by the agency of the imma- 
 terial substances, prepared the way, when, by their 
 instrumentality, to which he added others possessed of 
 a still superior and controlling power, he made, first 
 the vegetable, and, through this, lastly the animal 
 world. 
 
 The phenomena of life could no more be carried on 
 independently of the spiritual substances causing light, 
 heat, electricity, and magnetism, than they could with- 
 out food or air. M. Pouilla satisfactorily showed that 
 electricity was developed during the vegetation of 
 plants ; and this was confirmed by the experiments of 
 Mr. Pine, of Maidstone. In M. Pouilla's experiments 
 the electricity manifested itself the moment the germ 
 was above the ground. And Bellingeri's experiments 
 show, that while positive electricity is clearly present in 
 many fluids of the living body, it was yet in more 
 abundance in the blood. It is by no means improbable, 
 as I shall presently show, that the round appearance of 
 the blood-globules owes itself to the fact of their being 
 surrounded by this spirit. The manner in which the 
 spirit of heat acts upon living bodies is too well known 
 to need any detailed proofs in this place that its opera- 
 tion is indispensable to the building up and sustaining 
 of the organic structures. 
 
 ¥ 
 
 And if we argue from analogy drawn from the more 
 highly organized living bodies, we can no more regard 
 these spiritual substances of the immaterial world as 
 identical either in character or in power, than we can the 
 proximate principles of ulterior matter. They are 
 doubtless possessed of varied and graduated degrees of 
 power, and all bear a remarkably distinct relation, ac- 
 cording to the highest known mathematical laws, to the 
 difierent substances of materiahty ; but it is a relation 
 sui generis. There is also the greatest reason to be- 
 lieve that these immaterial substances themselves are 
 subservient to each other under particular circum- 
 stances; and hence we observe their eSects, when 
 united to materiality, are apparently graduated, so that 
 we find, under particular circumstances, gravity yield- 
 ing to chemical attraction, chemical attraction yielding 
 to heat, heat yielding to light, fight to electricity, elec- 
 tricity to magnetism, magnetism to life, and so on, till 
 we may trace all power up to its Divine source. Some 
 of these phenomena are doubtless the result of what I 
 have termed simple causes, while others partake of a 
 more compounded and complicated character. All of 
 them, nevertheless, may thus be in subjection to each 
 other, either in the order I have given, or in some 
 other ; and under particular circumstances they doubt- 
 less are possessed of graduated degrees of power, bear- 
 ing a relation to each other in a restricted and definite 
 sense. And it is certain one or two of them may be 
 produced by one and the same spirit, though modified 
 in their action by the kind of materiality with which 
 they come in contact. 
 
 r 
 
58 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 i\ 
 
 Difficulty of reconciling Natural Phenomena hy the 
 Old Theories, and the Reasonableness of the Drc- 
 trine of Distinct Spirits. 
 
 The more science advances, the more embarrassed 
 does it become in the attempt to reconcile it to the 
 doctrine of imponderable materiahty. How much 
 difficulty meets us in our endeavours to expound either 
 of the prevailing theories of light, whether corpuscular 
 or undulatory ! We cannot rationally believe that a 
 material body, however infinitesimally attenuate it may 
 be, can travel through a space of many millions of 
 miles within a compass of time too small to be detected 
 by our finest chronometers. Herschel computes that 
 light is upwards of two millions of years travelling from 
 the nebulous stars to the eye of the observer on our 
 planet. Such ideas as these are inconsistent with, and 
 quite unworthy of, natural philosophy ; for they cannot 
 be subjected to reason, and there is certainly no autho- 
 rity for them in the philosophy of revelation ; so that, 
 even if mathematically deduced, they are altogether 
 adventitious and conjectural. 
 
 But why should they be entertained ? The idea that 
 every created orb in the celestial universe is governed 
 by time and space, and is, in obedience to these, sub- 
 ject not only to general laws, but also to laws that par- 
 ticularly relate to them as individual or even as sys- 
 temic spheres, is not warranted, unless we can prove 
 the collocations of materiality throughout the universe 
 are identical ; and this we cannot do. Whereas, sup- 
 posing these spirits to be present everywhere, if not in 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 59 
 
 ^ 
 
 some sort of combined or visible form, certainly in an 
 uncombined state, we have no further occasion for such 
 calculations. Doubtless the whole expanse of the uni- 
 verse is unbounded by any time or limits ; and this 
 seems thrust upon our minds by every telescopic disco- 
 very the ingenuity of man has produced up to the 
 latest period. The further we can carry our artificial 
 vision into the depth of space, the more wonderful and 
 incalculable does the universe appear to present itself to 
 us ; and, therefore, no instruments and no machinery 
 which calculate the relative distances that separate, or 
 the time that is necessary to revolve the bodies con- 
 tained in it, can be considered to bear any correct re- 
 lation to the truth. " We sink,'' says an able writer, 
 " under the labour of endeavouring to conceive an im- 
 mensity so astonishing. We shrink from the result of 
 our calculations as if they were inaccurate. But, ad- 
 mitting the existence of inaccuracy in its greatest pos- 
 sible scope, how little does it rescind from the infinity 
 that remains ! We are lost in oiu* own nothingness 
 amidst the splendour that envelopes us." Nor can the 
 intellectual mind supply us with any physical or mathe- 
 matical conception or calculation of that universe which 
 contains all God's created worlds, together with their 
 furniture and living denizens. It is only by the help 
 of oiu* moral faculties, aided by an express revelation 
 from the infinite Being by whom these worlds were 
 made, that we can in thought form some general but 
 faint idea of what infinity must be in relation to time 
 and space. We are condescendingly permitted to mark 
 
60 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 I ! 
 I ^ 
 
 the glorious galaxy of created things that are within 
 reach of our finite senses. But in the higher and 
 moi-e eternal manifestations of God's glory these must 
 be removed before we are able " to see even as we are 
 seen." It would not enlarge my ideas of the infinite 
 Being who created this earth, were I to be assured, 
 hypothetically speaking, that every moment of time up 
 to the present from that event had been employed in 
 creating one of similar or of larger dimensions ; for all 
 this would be still the exercise of miraculous power 
 within the brackets of time, and my ideas of infinity 
 obtained from revelation must still reach beyond this. 
 How gratuitous, therefore, must it be to draw an argu- 
 ment of grandeur in the Divine architecture of the 
 heavens, by multiplying worlds in the depths of un- 
 fathomable space we cannot prove to exist, and which 
 even if we could, bring us short of the estimate we re- 
 ceive from revelation ! 
 
 I can conceive nothing grander than that the whole 
 creation, morganic as well as organic, subject to the 
 oven-uhng power of the Creator, owes its existence 
 support, characters, and phenomena, to the operation of 
 these immaterial spirits, the intimate connection, mutual 
 dependence, and universal application of which identify 
 them as the subordinate agents of the One Great 
 ^irst Cause, and as emanations of the same triune 
 Jehovah, by whom " all things were created that are 
 m heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible 
 whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities 
 or powers," who, when He said " Let there be h^ht " 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 61 
 
 Y 
 
 said also " Let the earth bring forth the herb yielding 
 seed, and the living creature after his kind," and " let 
 us make man." The agency employed by this Al- 
 mighty Being that sustains inorganic bodies, therefore,— 
 that gives them characters, and qualities, and powers of 
 their own, -is the same which we trace up into the deli- 
 cate and sensitive organization of vegetable life, the 
 more exquisite perfection of animal bodies, and the 
 most elaborate concentration of Divine skill in the forma- 
 tion of man. 
 
 The same immaterial substances are identified as 
 alike engaged in the production of the qualities as well 
 as the phenomena displayed in every visible thing; and 
 that circumstance which would appear to mark the dis- 
 tinction of one class of bodies from another, such as the 
 animate from the inanimate, gives the superiority to those 
 bodies which manifest a capacity to receive or treat with 
 the greater number of these spirits : hence we have 
 inorganic bodies treating with those spirits which cause 
 light, heat, electricity, &c., and that in different degrees ; 
 and we have organic bodies treating not only with 
 these, but with still higher spirits— viz. those of life, of 
 man, and of angels, which produce the phenomena and 
 powers of those beings they animate. 
 
62 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE RATIONAL AND PHYSICAL PROOF OF THE HEAL 
 EXISTENCE OF MATERIAL ANU IMMATERIAL SUB- 
 STANCES RENDERED CERTAIN BY THE INVESTIGATION 
 OF THE QUALITIES THESE UNITED SUBSTANCES PRO- 
 DUCE, AND THE GENERAL PHENOMENA CONSEQUENT 
 UPON THEM. 
 
 It has already been stated and proved that there is no 
 positive means of ascertaining the real nature of the 
 primaiy material elements of matter; and the same 
 observation is applicable to the primary immaterial ele- 
 ments of matter. We know nothing of the abstract 
 nature of either ; so that we are totallf ignorant of the 
 primary cause, either of the one or of the other, beyond 
 what we learn from revelation, that they both proceed 
 out from God, who is their Great First Cause. We 
 are nevertheless most certainly assured of their exist- 
 ence, both from this source and also from certain known 
 effects that may be clearly traced to them. AVe are 
 assured, also, that a wide difference characterizes these 
 two kinds of entity,-a difference we deduce from the 
 very wonderful qualities and phenomena their com- 
 bined influence produces. It is not difficult to detect 
 these qualities, for they are distinguishable from the 
 uncombmed spirits and material substances, as well as 
 
 
 \i 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 63 
 
 from the union these two kinds of entity form in the 
 natural creation. 
 
 The different Qualities defined and distinguished from 
 Modes of Action, by which a new Theory of Light 
 is given. 
 
 The qualities of uncombined materiality are specific 
 ponderosity and indivisibihty. This ponderosity is in- 
 dependent of the magnetic influence. 
 
 The qualities of uncombined immateriality are in- 
 divisibility and omnipresence, as far as regards the 
 created universe. 
 
 These two entities blend their powers in created 
 union, m order to produce those qualities we observe 
 in the natural bodies around us ; and, thus formed 
 they present a smface for the operation of the same 
 spu-its again upon them in their new form. These 
 operations I term phenomena or modes of action • and 
 such are light, heat, and electricity. When these' phe- 
 nomena take place, it is then implied that, first of all 
 the two entities are united, as in creation ; and, when so 
 united, the uncombined spirits are brought to bear 
 upon theu- different surfaces. 
 
 The shape, colour, consistence, divisibility, &c of 
 created bodies are permanent, and may be called the 
 passive results, or qualities resulting from the simple 
 union of the two entities ; while light, heat, elec- 
 tricity, &c. may be called the active results, or phe- 
 nomena proceeding out of the operation of the uncom- 
 bined spirits upon created matter. 
 
62 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 63 
 
 II 
 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 4 
 
 THE RATIONAL AND PHYSICAL PROOF OF THE kEAL 
 EXISTENCE OF MATERIAL AND IMMATERIAL SUB- 
 STANCES RENDERED CERTAIN BY THE INVESTIGATION 
 OF THE QUALITIES THESE UNITED SUBSTANCES PRO- 
 DUCE, AND THE GENERAL PHENOMENA CONSEQUENT 
 UPON THEM. 
 
 It has already been stated and proved that there is no 
 positive means of ascertaining the real nature of the 
 primary material elements of matter; and the same 
 observation is applicable to the primary immaterial ele- 
 ments of matter. We know nothing of the abstract 
 nature of either ; so that we are totallf ignorant of the 
 primary cause, either of the one or of the other, beyond 
 what we learn from revelation, that they both proceed 
 out from God, who is their Great First Cause. We 
 are nevertheless most certainly assured of their exist- 
 ence, both from this source and also from certain known 
 effects that may be clearly traced to them. We are 
 assured, also, that a wide difference characterizes these 
 two kinds of entity,-a difference we deduce from the 
 very wonderful qualities and phenomena their com- 
 bined mfluence produces. It is not difficult to detect 
 these qualities, for they are distinguishable from the 
 uncombined spirits and material substances, as well as 
 
 from the union these two kinds of entity form in the 
 natural creation. 
 
 The different Qualities defined and distinguished frrni 
 Modes of Action, by which a new Theory of Light 
 is given. 
 
 The qualities of uncombined materiality are specific 
 ponderosity and indivisibility. This ponderosity is in- 
 dependent of the magnetic influence. 
 
 The qualities of uncombined immateriality are in- 
 divisibility and omnipresence, as far as regards the 
 created universe. 
 
 These two entities blend their powers in created 
 union, in order to produce those qualities we observe 
 m the natural bodies around us ; and, thus formed 
 they present a surface for the operation of the same 
 spu-its again upon them in their new form. These 
 operations I term phenomena or modes of action • and 
 such are light, heat, and electricity. When these' phe- 
 nomena take place, it is then implied that, first of all 
 the two entities are united, as in creation ; and, when so 
 united, the uncombined spirits are brought to bear 
 upon their different surfaces. 
 
 The shape, colour, consistence, divisibility, &c of 
 created bodies are permanent, and may be called the 
 passive results, or qualities resulting from the simple 
 union of the two entities ; while light, heat, elec- 
 tricity, &c. may be called the active results, or phe- 
 nomena proceeding out of the operation of the uncom- 
 bined spirits upon created matter. 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 V 
 
 i^ 
 
 64 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 To illustrate this more fully by an example : What 
 I would define to be the active results of the applica- 
 tion of the uncombined spirits to created matter, is that 
 state of things which is present to the senses so long as 
 the causes producing them are operating or are intact. 
 Thus, combustion is the result of the spirit of heat 
 when apphed to created matter in which are embodied 
 the primary elements of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and 
 nitrogen, as we see them united in the vegetable and 
 animal structures ; so that these created bodies are re- 
 solved into their primary elements. Light is a pheno- 
 menon similarly explained, but differing in the degree 
 of uncombined spirits on the one hand, and the nature 
 of the created matter on the other. These active re- 
 sults, which pass away with the removal of the cause 
 producing them, should not be confounded with those 
 durable qualities of all bodies, colour, shape, &c., I have 
 termed passive, and which continue to manifest these 
 qualities under all circumstances, where the particles of 
 the body are not relatively altered either by mechanical 
 or chemical agency. Thus, if I put the leaves and 
 flower of the nymphcea alba (white water-lily) and the 
 tradescantia virginica (common spider-wort), both 
 together under the air-pump in vacuo, by which I re- 
 move them from the temporary contact of the uncom- 
 bined entities, no alteration will take place in the 
 colour or shape of the several leaves and flowers ; but 
 the blue will continue blue, the white white, and the 
 green green, because these colours are here formed per- 
 manently by the bringing together of the two entities in 
 
 / 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 65 
 
 constituting them created bodies: and until those 
 created bodies, whether organic or inorganic, are broken 
 up by decomposition, their colours will remain inde- 
 pendently of the uncombined entity, whether material 
 or immaterial, with which they may or may not be in 
 contact : but the active phenomena have need that 
 these uncombined entities be present, to develope 
 them ; and, therefore, when they are withdrawn, they 
 cease. Of such a character is light. The efficient 
 causes of light do not produce a luminous appearance 
 till they come in contact with material created matter. 
 Those efficient causes, we clearly know, have a distinct 
 entity of existence, by the identical effects produced by 
 them upon created matter. They should therefore be 
 distinguished from light, or their combined effect, by a 
 suitable name, as caloric has been partly separated by 
 chemists from heat, which is the result of the union of 
 the spirit of heat with material substance. Chemists 
 acknowledge this caloric to be latent or imperceptible 
 under certain conditions of matter, but they do not 
 appear to have regarded it even in this position as a 
 spiritual substance. Dr. Henry speaks of non-lumi- 
 nous caloric, as it has been called, or, as I call it, the 
 immaterial spirit of heat. There can be no meaning in 
 the term invisible light or latent heat ; for light is not 
 light unless it is visible, nor is heat heat unless it can 
 be felt by the senses, and that impHes the appUcation of 
 the two different entities in the first instance. Neither 
 the qualities nor the phenomena, then, which belong to 
 material or to spiritual entities, or to the two in con- 
 
66 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRITS 
 
 junction, are capable of detection without the assist- 
 ance of each other : and this serves in a remarkable 
 manner to show, without disturbing the nature of the 
 entities, that such qualities as colour, shape, size, 
 consistence, &c., and such phenomena as light, heat, 
 electricity, and life, are compound in their character, 
 and indebted to both entities for their manifestation. 
 And I would particularly point out the mixed and 
 composite character of those qualities we observe in 
 created bodies. Let us take for example that of 
 divisibility. This is a quahty that is thought to owe 
 itself entirely to material matter. But it is not so ; 
 for, as I have before remarked, true divisibility is not 
 a quahty of either entity in their separate state, but is 
 a compound eflFect of the two entities, material and im- 
 material. This is clear from the fact that the power 
 to be divided could not exist if the original coming 
 together of the material part, which is quite indepen- 
 dent of its special weight, had not been effected by 
 the agency of the spirit of electricity causing an attrac- 
 tion of the particles. We know that oxygen, for instance, 
 like any other uncombined material substance, can 
 be divided into any number of parts or molecules ; 
 and this may appear to argue its true divisibility. Yet 
 in every molecule thus divided we observe the same 
 qualities which characterise the whole mass are re- 
 tained. This property of retaining all the quahties of 
 the entire mass in every individual separated molecule 
 owes itself to the indivisibility of both kinds of entity 
 in their separate state, while unitedly they form created 
 matter which is divisible. Material as well as imma- 
 
 \^ 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 67 
 
 terial substances, therefore, in their primordial state, 
 strictly speaking admit of no divisibility ; and however 
 natural bodies may appear to be separated by disjunc- 
 tion of their parts, yet this quahty is truly a quahty of 
 the created matter, as it were, first united by God. 
 
 When the spirits are brought to act alone upon 
 created matter, as in the production of natural phe- 
 nomena, the quahty of indivisibility is very clearly to 
 be detected as marking the presence of uncombined 
 spirit in the accomplishment of the phenomenon. 
 This is famiharly shewn in the phenomena of what 
 is called magnetic electricity. Iron has, as a natural 
 created body, a great affinity for the spirit of elec- 
 tricity ; so that, being charged with this immaterial 
 substance, by means of the natural leading stone, 
 or by being placed in a particular position in relation 
 to the magnetic axis, it possesses a north and a south 
 pole, which exhibit qualities known as polar attraction. 
 If now this loadstone is broken into halves or thirds, 
 or any number of portions, each part will be found to 
 possess the same qualities entire which the iron had 
 collectively before it was divided. 
 
 We may thus trace in the qualities as well as the 
 phenomena of natural bodies, a mixture of effects ap- 
 parently resulting from very different causes opposed 
 to each other ; yet, when united, they form the mixed 
 quahties and modes of action of sensible bodies, of 
 which, divisibility as one quality, and magnetism as one 
 mode of action, may be instanced. 
 
 But in contemplating the higher immaterial sub- 
 
 \ 
 
68 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 stances as we behold them in living bodies, we shall 
 find this power of divisibility becomes gradually more 
 circumscribed, so that in the case of the higher ani- 
 mals it becomes impossible. And here it should be 
 particularly noticed, that it is not the immaterial or 
 the material entity of these highly wrought organic 
 structures which interferes with this free division, but 
 the character of the created bodies themseves, and the 
 particular circumstances attached to them as indi- 
 viduals, having each their distinct identities ; a fact first 
 made known to us in revelation, as I have already 
 shewn in the introductory chapter. And these indi- 
 viduals have no power to communicate these qualtities 
 in divided portions. 
 
 Now, the spiiit of light has really no property of 
 divisibility. In its latent state, or, to speak more 
 plainly, in the state in which it is disconnected with 
 material substance, there is no proof that it is confined 
 to space, or capable of division. WTien placed in con- 
 nexion with created materiality, it is perceptible in 
 the appearance of light, which at once shews this to be 
 a mode of action produced by the operation of spirit 
 upon created matter. The same rule applies to elec- 
 tricity and heat. What I term the spirit of electricity 
 has hitherto been confounded with those phenomena 
 resulting from the application of this spirit to the sur- 
 faces of created bodies. Thus electricity has been held 
 to be a very attenuate kind of material matter, travelling 
 about the universe almost independent, as it were, of 
 time and space. If it is really material matter, where 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 69 
 
 are its common qualities which identify it with other 
 kinds of material matter ? It has no weight or shape, 
 colour or size ; it has no taste or smell. If it is ap- 
 plied to those material substances which have the 
 greatest affinity for it, it simultaneously possesses the 
 whole surface of the body, whether that be a stick of 
 sealing-wax or a hundred miles of iron wire. If we 
 attempt to divide it, this quality it will be found to 
 possess only in virtue of the material created and com- 
 bined matter with which it is contact. 
 
 This point is important to bear in mind, that if 
 divisibility is found to characterize any body supposed 
 to contain the immaterial spirits of light, heat, or 
 electricity, it is not the immaterial or the material 
 entity singly that yields this quality, but it is in the 
 union of the two entities that divisibihty becomes mani- 
 fest. The electricity, therefore, which we observe by 
 its effects to pass through our electrical machines, is the 
 uncombined spirit, while the phenomena of electric 
 light, phosphorescence, and other visible modes of 
 action, are in those modes of action divisible ; which at 
 once proves them to be the product of the two entities 
 in that particular manner I have shewn takes place in 
 the production of all other phenomena. 
 
 So, likewise, heat, as we perceive it to be a recog- 
 nizable mode of action of spirit on created matter, by 
 this very fact proves itself to be neither a material nor 
 an immaterial entity. Now, these modes of action are 
 by no means determined to be caused by one par- 
 ticular kind of spirit, or one pai'ticular kind of matter. 
 
 / . 
 
70 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 And this, again, is conflicting to the notion that such 
 phenomena are real entities either of matter or spirit. 
 For as we know Ught to be the result of the appKcation 
 of not one only of the spiritual entities I have shewn 
 to exist to material matter, but is produced alike by 
 the spirit of heat and of electricity, and by their com- 
 bined action, it is the less probable that such a mode 
 of action should have any real existence as an entity. 
 It clearly owes its phenomena as much to the action of 
 the spirit of heat upon particular compounds of ma- 
 terial or created matter, as it does to the action of the 
 spirit of electricity upon particular compounds of ma- 
 terial created matter. In this manner it is formed in 
 the body of the sun, which is another inductive proof 
 that that body is partly compounded of material mat- 
 ters, having some of the same qualities that distinguish 
 the materials of our globe. But whether the Ught of 
 the sun is the result of the simple application of the 
 spirit of heat alone to the highly inflammatory ma- 
 terials of which it is composed, is very problematical, 
 seeing there is great reason and evidence to suppose 
 the spirit of electricity plays an important part in the 
 production of light as we apprehend it from that 
 body. While, therefore, I regard light to be a mode of 
 action compounded of the two spirits of heat and elec- 
 tricity as they are brought to bear upon material sub- 
 stance, I am assured that the distinct operation of both 
 spirits has been undoubtedly manifest in its production, 
 though these spirits have not been recognized hitherto 
 by philosophers as spirits. Nothing can more satisfac- 
 
 / 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 71 
 
 I 
 
 torily show that light is entirely dependent upon these 
 two spirits for its manifestation, than the fact first 
 announced by Morichini, that an unmagnetized needle 
 could be rendered magnetic by the action of the purple 
 rayolet of the sunbeam. This has been subsequently 
 confirmed by many philosophers, who have shown 
 clearly the power this rayolet possesses of producing 
 chemical decomposition. Sir Humphry Davy was 
 quite satisfied with this, and he also conducted some 
 experiments to show, not only that the spirit of elec- 
 tricity entered the ray by the purple rayolet, or, as he 
 thought, that electricity, whatever it was, was deve- 
 loped by this rayolet ; but he also ascertained, by the 
 most satisfactory experiments, that the spirit of heat 
 entered the ray by the red rayolet, as proved by the 
 difierent eflects that rayolet had upon the thermometer. 
 Add to this, the fact made known by Morichini that 
 the refrangibiUty of light owes itself to the presence of 
 the magnetic or electric power, the purple rayolet being 
 the most refrangible, the violet next, and so on till it is 
 imperceptible in the green rayolet. 
 
 Here, then, we trace the two spirits separately 
 entering the prism on a true mathematical principle, 
 exercising their specific influence upon material sub- 
 stance in a greater degree on those rayolets by which 
 they enter,- that influence being weaker as the square 
 of the distance in the passage of the spirits to the 
 centre of the prism, where the two spirits blend their 
 action in the production of white light, the green 
 rayolet being there separately formed by the blending 
 
72 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 !l 
 
 H 
 
 ht 
 
 of the yellow with the blue rayolets which there meet. 
 As all the rayolets conjoin to form white light, and as 
 the spirits are simultaneous in their action upon the 
 material substance they come in contact with, we may 
 infer that every rayolet is more or less acted upon by 
 both spirits reciprocally, but in graduated and diflFerent 
 degrees, according to the composition of the material 
 substance engaged in the development of each rayolet. 
 
 We see here, then, the necessity there is for the pre- 
 sence of these two spirits in the structiu'es of plants, 
 whereby the different colours of the leaves and flowers 
 are secured according to the most accurate relation 
 these spirits bear to the particular material they are 
 brought to act upon. 
 
 That light is the offspring of these spirits with matter 
 is the more undoubtedly proved by the phenomena of 
 many inorganic bodies which owe their capacity to 
 receive or retain the spirits both of heat and electricity, 
 not simply in virtue of the particular kinds or even 
 proportions of the materials composing them, but also 
 of the particular collocations of those materials. Thus, 
 the difference between fluid and crystaUization in the 
 elements of the same material is found entirely to 
 regulate the capacity of those materials to receive, 
 retain, or transmit the spirits of heat or electricity. 
 
 It appears, then, that these phenomena, and perhaps 
 the qualities also that distinguish the natural bodies 
 around us, are made and have been made in each par- 
 ticular instance to be the governing law to determine 
 the amount of these spirits each substance is capable of 
 
 
 f 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 78 
 
 receiving or engaging, whether this be short of its 
 chemical dissolution or its dissipation, or whether it be 
 up to that point. Some natural substances, as phos- 
 phorus, so rapidly break up under the action of these 
 spirits, that they are never found in nature in their 
 unmixed state, and when so separated by art from 
 other created materials to which they are united, burn 
 away at the common temperature of the atmosphere. 
 But when united to other matters, the process of de- 
 struction being retarded, that is to say, the action of 
 the spirits upon natural bodies being weaker, we have 
 as a substitute for actual combustion the luminous 
 phenomena to be observed in mineral bodies whose 
 elements contain oxygen, carbon, phosphorus, &c. : such 
 are the diamond, topaz, mica, asbestos, rock crystal, ba- 
 rytea, and many others, amongst which may be named 
 that singular species of fluor spar found in the granite 
 rocks of Siberia, which, in all probability, is identical 
 with the two stones Sir John Mandeville saw sur- 
 mounting two columns at the entrance of a town in 
 Great Tartary, and which shone so brightly in the dark. 
 It has been found that these and other luminous bodies 
 give out different degrees of Hght, both according to 
 the amount of the spirits of heat and electricity applied, 
 and the nature of the substances they come in contact 
 with, some evolving a greater Hght than others. The 
 light which the diamond gives out in the dark after it 
 has been exposed to the sun's heat, or to the electric 
 spark, is the same phenomenon, only differing iu degree 
 from that which resolved the diamond into its primary 
 
 t 
 
74 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 r t 
 
 elements under the fiercer application of the sun's heat 
 through the great lens in the cabinet of Natural History 
 at Florence by Sir Humphry Davy. The materials, 
 phosphorus and carbon, are made to take a very con- 
 spicuous part in the organic tissues of the animal body, 
 doubtless that the spu-its of electricity and heat may 
 the more readily effect those wonderful changes so 
 abundantly developed in animal chemistry. And in a 
 high degree we see those substances are made to com- 
 pose the nervous tissues of animals, which are the 
 organic parts specifically appropriated, not only to re- 
 cognize the phenomena produced in all other bodies 
 around us, but the junction of these spirits with matter, 
 and to test, and in some cases to regulate, their union 
 as subject to the dictates and operations of the mind. 
 The phenomena of vision, as well as of mind, as I shall 
 presently show, owe themselves to the presence of phos- 
 phorus among other material substances in the brain, 
 and it is certain the phenomena of those organs which 
 cause sight and sound in the organic world could no 
 more take place in the absence of the materials carbon 
 and phosphorus, than the luminous appearance in phos- 
 phorescent stones could take place in the inorganic 
 world without the presence of the material substances. 
 It may be the consequence of the union of the two 
 spirits of heat and electricity in the body of the sun 
 that the phenomena of dayhght take place. And this 
 idea is strengthened by the investigation of what com- 
 poses a sun-beam. It is divisible into three or four 
 great rays. It has been found that the central ray, as 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 75 
 
 shown in the prism, is composed of seven rayolets of 
 different colours. At the margin of the ray where the 
 vermilion rayolet appears, the spirit of heat, as has 
 been stated, is clearly acting a part, while on the oppo- 
 site side, where the purple rayolet is seen; the spirit of 
 electricity has been shown to be present from the ob- 
 vious fact of its producing chemical decomposition — 
 the oxidation of silver. 
 
 If the spirits of heat and electricity are, therefore, 
 present in the sun to produce white light, they are 
 present also in the prism, which favours the idea that 
 these spirits are everywhere in the created universe pro- 
 ducing, when applied to created matter, different effects 
 according to the material composition of that matter. 
 Neither of these spirits can, then, be strictly said to pro- 
 ceed from that body, for, as spirits alone, they must 
 pervade every space ; and though, when disunited from 
 created compound materiality, as in the atmosphere 
 which is free from moisture they are invisible, yet that 
 they are present everywhere is evidenced by the facility 
 with which they can be obtained, and, when united to 
 material matter, produce the phenomena of light and 
 heat, and that independently of the sun; but they 
 appear to require to be at a certain degree of tension 
 before h'ght can take place. 
 
 The sun would seem, therefore, to cause light as long 
 as the atmosphere is presented to it, by which means 
 the spirits appear to act in that order which produces 
 light. 
 
 Light, then, is a product of the union of the entities. 
 
76 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 fM 
 
 as I 'have already shown, pud so likewise is heat. 
 The intimate concurrence of the two spirits producing 
 these phenomena is strongly portrayed in some experi- 
 ments : thus, the heat produced by the voltaic battery 
 seems to be quite equal, if not to exceed in intensity, 
 that produced by the sun's rays. The hardest mineral 
 substances under such heat melt down and disappear 
 as if by evaporation. Such experiments all help to 
 strengthen the idea that sensible heat, like light, is a 
 mode of action that cannot be effected short of the co- 
 operation of the two spirits. 
 
 But if hght and heat are really modes of action 
 caused by the operation of these spirits upon created 
 uiatter, they must needs be neither matter nor spirit, 
 and therefore, to speak of light as an imponderable 
 substance, is unphilosophical, and must help only to keep 
 up the conflicting doubts which have ever surrounded 
 the only two theories of Hght that have hitherto been 
 propounded. 
 
 There has always been an apparent inconsistency in 
 regarding light as a material body, simply because its 
 rays, as they are called, have the appearance as though 
 they passed out from the luminous body in a similar 
 manner that material matter would be projected, viz., 
 in straight hues. But these rays are partly the ma- 
 terial matter of the atmosphere, as they have been 
 illumined or made manifest by the immaterial spirits 
 which, as spirits, are omnipresent, and have no need to 
 be assisted by space or time, that they may reach our 
 earth as if proceeding out of the sun, in the same 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER, 
 
 77 
 
 \ 
 
 ^1 
 
 manner as created matter would be required to move. 
 I imagine it is hardly necessary I should attempt to 
 prove that those kind of substances I call immaterial 
 have not a material origin ; for if we argue that light, 
 heat, and electricity, are really material substances, we 
 must adjudge the same property to mind ; but if we 
 regard them only as modes of action resulting from the 
 unions of the entities and the subsequent application 
 of the spirits to those created unions in the manner I 
 have pointed out, we shall find no difficulty in showing 
 that mind is a similar mode of action, and the same 
 immaterial substances which are used to effect the 
 order, beauty, colour, and shape in the supposed binary 
 compounds of the inorganic world, will be shown to be 
 engaged by organic bodies to which are added a 
 higher spirit for the accomplishment of higher ternary 
 and quaternary unions, upon which being completed, 
 the phenomena of life and mind are developed. By 
 this means the qualities of inorganic bodies become 
 identified by the mind. 
 
 As a compounded result of the application of the 
 material and immaterial substances so united and 
 brought to bear upon each other, as we see they are 
 in the structure and phenomena of our own world, we 
 can speak of the reflection and refraction of light, and 
 draw up geometrical tables and arithmetical calcula- 
 tions with great precision, without involving the ques- 
 tion of its true nature ; and we may shape our tele- 
 scopes and draw undoubted inferences according to 
 true scientific and inductive methods; but all this 
 
/ 
 
 J/. 
 
 It! 
 
 78 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 supposes the undeviating accuracy and the unalterable 
 operation of those laws first given to this earth by its 
 Creator. No one can dispute their accuracy after 
 having had the slightest insight into the discoveries of 
 natural philosophy, neither do I suppose any one can 
 seriously dispute their true cause, after a faithful and 
 disinterested appeal has been made to the oracles of 
 God. But before these instruments and calculations 
 can with so much mathematical certainty be brought 
 to bear upon the architectui-e of the heavens, we must 
 be satisfied, in the first instance, that all the heavenly 
 bodies are composed and compounded of the same 
 essential material and immaterial elements. Other- 
 wise, the phenomena resulting from the combination of 
 such elements in our own world can bear no relation 
 to a different one in the sense of those phenomena that 
 follow. 
 
 And after we have ascertained what will be pre- 
 sently seen very strongly inchnes to the idea that the 
 elements of all created worlds are essentially and 
 materially the same, we have in the next plax^e to be 
 assured that those elements in the construction of 
 other worids are put together in the same manner 
 with our own, with a Uke disposition and proportion of 
 the material as of the immaterial parts ; otherwise our 
 astronomical conclusions may be premature and illusive. 
 
 Of the phenomena resulting from the investigation 
 of our solar system we can speak more clearly; yet if it 
 should be proved that light is not composed of in^ 
 finitely small particles of some material substance, but 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 79 
 
 only the omnipresent effect of one or two spirits upon 
 the atmospheric material constituents, communicating 
 with its great soiirce in the centre of the system, we 
 do away at once with much that is numerically ab- 
 surd in the science of astronomy. Unless it can be 
 shown that these spirits operate upon the boreal and 
 austral poles of other planets in the same most re- 
 markable way that they do upon our own globe, we 
 have just reason to infer that both the reflected and 
 refracted light they give out is greatly modified in its 
 appearance. 
 
 But there is also much reason to infer that the poles 
 of other planets, or the solar system, are acted upon 
 by the spirits of electricity and heat ; and this may be 
 sufficient to account for their conformity to the same 
 general laws that govern their movements in relation 
 to the earth. 
 
 The concurrence of the immaterial spirits we have 
 been considering seems to be indispensable in the pro- 
 duction of many of the phenomena of the universe. 
 And arguing from analogy drawn from the action of 
 these spirits upon the materialty of our globe, it is 
 reasonable to suppose that as heat and fire are no- 
 where sensibly to be felt without the concurrence of 
 some material substance, so we could not be conscious 
 of the sun's heat unless that body was a compound of 
 both material and immaterial substance ; for it could 
 not be a reservoir for the display of the calorific and 
 luminous phenomena, unless the elements of materi- 
 ality entered into its composition. For we have no 
 
80 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 
 II 
 
 I ■ 
 
 r'l 
 
 evidence to show, and no reason to believe, that any of 
 the immaterial substances can accumulate in any place 
 without the presence of material matter. 
 
 It is therefore most probable that the sun is the 
 great emporium of these spirits, and may supply the 
 planets and orbs within its sphere, in a similar manner 
 as the suns of other systems may be the source and 
 centre of these powerful immaterial substances in the 
 production of the phenomena which govern the planets 
 that surround them. 
 
 Undoubtedly these spirits have a greater tendency 
 to accumulate in one body than another, and the 
 materiality of the sun may be largely composed of 
 those metallic substances, iron, nickel, or titanium, or 
 some others unknown to us. For we find these 
 spiritual substances have the power of contraction, and 
 even of causing some modification in particular mate- 
 rial bodies. Thus the combination of protoxide and 
 peroxide of iron, silex, and alumina, is that most fa- 
 vourable to the development in a natural state of that 
 magnetic power, so far as has been discovered. And 
 so small a quantity of this compound as may be ob- 
 tained by briskly rubbing iron against it, will charge 
 other portions of iron with the same power. And the 
 wonderful aflinity this kind of material substance has 
 for the magnetic spirit, led some philosophers to ima- 
 gine that iron, in its most minute proportions, must 
 enter into the composition of all bodies that are acted 
 upon magnetically. 
 
 By electric immateriality it is that the earth receives 
 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 81 
 
 the power we term centre of gravity, and that of re- 
 volving on its own axis, so that, as if it really turned a 
 material axle, it holds the globe in obedience to certain 
 and unalterable movements. These movements are 
 as much the sensible effect and evidence of its real ex- 
 istence in the boreal and austral poles of the magnetic 
 axis, as colour in material bodies is a sensible evidence 
 that the spirits of heat and electricity have been 
 brought to bear upon them. 
 
 The efiect of the spirit of electricity upon all bodies 
 containing iron is to produce what is called the mag- 
 netic power in those bodies when placed in a particular 
 position. This power is not conveyed to them in the 
 same manner as the spirit of heat would be, but when 
 those bodies are placed at right angles to the line of 
 direction of the electric spirit. And this fact, first dis- 
 covered by Oersted, puts us in possession of the funda- 
 mental rectangular force, a force unhke any hitherto 
 discovered, by which the earth is made to revolve upon 
 its own axle, while an extension of the same power 
 would give the heavenly bodies a rotatory movement 
 in their own orbits. Thus a stream of the electric 
 spirit passing through the centre of a circle whose 
 plane is perpendicular to the current, the direction of 
 the electric spirit will always be in the tangent of the 
 circle, or at right angles to its radius. 
 
 And while these spirits help to draw the heavenly 
 bodies in their orbits round the centre of attraction, 
 they also serve to maintain all material substances in 
 tact upon the earth ; the relative weight of those mate- 
 
 I tf 
 
 I 
 
82 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 rial substances being determined by the special mate- 
 riality and varied attractive powers of different bodies. 
 But the different relative degrees and the particular 
 relative proportions in which these spirits are brought 
 to bear upon different kinds and combinations of 
 material matter, the degree of pressure to which that 
 matter has been subjected, as well as the methods of 
 combining, although regulated by the operation of the 
 spirits of heat and electricity in some way upon them, 
 and obedient to fixed laws, are in the present state of 
 knowledge inscrutable points not only in the first 
 divine synthesis of matter, but also in the subsequent 
 operation of those spirits in the formation of the moving 
 phenomena around us. 
 
 Common sense points to the fallacy of supposing 
 our globe, for example, or any other world, to rest 
 upon nothing. And although both poets and philoso- 
 phers have contributed to keep up this impression, it is 
 not necessarily on that account the more true. Reve- 
 lation most certainly does not favour such an idea ; and 
 when the Almighty discoursed with the patriarch of 
 Uz on these matters, he distinctly asked him, " Where 
 wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth ? 
 Who hath laid the measures thereof, or who hath 
 stretched the hne upon it ? Whereupon are the foun- 
 dations (or sockets) thereof fastened (or made to sink), 
 or who laid the comer-stone thereof?" 
 
 If the earth is simply poised in the atmosphere, as 
 it is so generally thought to be, why were these ques- 
 tions put to Job ? for in this case there would be no 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 88 
 
 foundation. Whereas the object of this discourse was 
 certainly to convince Job that the foundation of the 
 earth was very different ia nature to the material 
 foundations he was in the habit of beholding around 
 him. But did the Almighty intend by this to infer 
 that the foundation of the earth had no real existence, — - 
 that, in other words, it rested upon nothing ? This 
 would be advancing beyond the limits of the highest 
 consistent poetical imagination. For it would be ad- 
 vancing beyond the bounds of reason or rational possi- 
 bility to suppose the world rests upon nothing, as we 
 have no conception how in this case it could be sup- 
 ported upon its axle. This foundation I hesitate not 
 to say is the spirit of magnetic electricity acting upon 
 the terrestrial poles of the earth. If the earth were 
 really and only poised in the atmosphere, it would be 
 impossible to carry out this idea upon the supposition 
 that it is specifically lighter than the medium in which 
 it is placed. But it would be unreasonable to suppose 
 the earth can be supported in this way. Moreover, 
 that its support and motion axe dependent upon the 
 spirit of electricity, the recent experiments of Faraday, 
 who was the first philosopher that succeeded in making 
 the pole of a magnet to rotate about a vertical con- 
 ducting wire, would seem to prove. And the effect of 
 electro-magnetic power upon a bar of iron in causing 
 it to be suspended in the air in opposition to the force 
 of gravity, seems at once to show us that the invisible 
 foundation used by the Creator for sustaining the earth, 
 was really the spirit of electricity modified by the ma- 
 terials it is brought to bear upon, in order to the pro- 
 
 / 
 
84 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 duction of the magnetic action. This spirit is certainly 
 confined in its magnetic characters to the terrestrial 
 poles, and does not pass through the centre of the earth. 
 Mr. Hen wood, it is true, did not find any apparent difie- 
 rence in the intensity of terrestrial magnetism in his 
 experiments in the Cornish mines, where it was found 
 to be the same at a depth of 1200 feet, or 900 feet 
 beneath the level of the sea, as it was on the surface ; 
 but nevertheless, it has been sufficiently clearly shown 
 that all the magnetic strength is in the poles of the earth's 
 axis, and not in the centre of that axis or in the mag- 
 
 « 
 
 netic poles. 
 
 Professor Hansteen's " Observations on the Position 
 and Revolution of the Magnetic Poles of the Earth," 
 show that there is some cause in operation upon the 
 terrestrial poles which is subject to variation. To meet 
 this, the two magnetic poles on the north hemisphere 
 and the two on the south have been made to possess 
 difierent degrees of strength : and without constituting 
 the true axis, these two magnetic poles, which are really 
 not poles but centres for attracting the electric spirit, 
 may both be required to insure the true rotation on the 
 terrestrial poles. If the spirits of electricity and heat 
 conveyed in the sun-beams is the true moving cause, 
 the variation in the passage of these spirits from the 
 sun, or, to speak more correctly, in the operation of these 
 spirits upon matter, and the difierent positions of that 
 body in relation to our earth, will account for the varia- 
 tion in the positions of the magnetic poles, and also 
 for the dip of the needle. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 85 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE RATIONAL EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT ALL CREATED 
 WORLDS HAVE BEEN MADE, ARE SUSTAINED, AND WILL 
 BE DESTROYED, THROUGH THE AGENCY OF THE SAME 
 MATERIAL AND IMMATERIAL ENTITIES. 
 
 Created Worlds have a relative connection with each 
 other hy means of these Entities. 
 
 The important and intimate connection between the 
 spirits we have been considering, and other planetary 
 bodies that perform their various orbits, together with 
 our own earth, around the sun, naturally leads to 
 inquiries of the deepest and the most interesting 
 nature, closely bearing upon the subject before us. 
 
 The assurances we receive from the pages of revela- 
 tion, of the universal dependence of every created 
 thing, whether it be in heaven or on earth, upon the 
 same all-wise and all-powerful Creator, urges on the 
 reflective mind to contemplate the work of this awfully 
 stupendous Being, vrith every power it possesses, and 
 to long for that time when it can realise these dimly 
 seen grandeurs, through those glorious bodies whose 
 eyes will behold no limits in the sight of His infinite 
 greatness, piercing even into eternity. 
 
II 
 
 
 86 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRITS 
 
 I have said I think it may be very strongly inferred 
 that the two entities which enter into the construction 
 of the materials of our globe, and which are made to 
 perform the various phenomena that are attached to it, 
 have been made to enter into the construction, and to 
 cause the phenomena, of other worlds besides our own. 
 And this may be deduced from the uniformity that 
 pervades and characterises the whole of the phenomena 
 of the solar system. In this case it will be necessary 
 to bear in mind the argument that has been used to 
 show that the sun in the centre of our system is a 
 composite body made up of the two kinds of entities 
 I have abeady stated there is so much reason to believe 
 exist. 
 
 The fact is placed almost beyond a doubt, that, 
 besides our own firmament, or that part of the created 
 universe constituting the entire mass of stars, of which 
 those we see on a clear night are only the nearest 
 portion, there are numerous other firmaments, great 
 and glorious as our own, separated from each other by 
 space that is beyond measure, yet doubtless all con- 
 nected by a bond of union that refers them alike to be 
 dependent upon the Great Cause of all. The bodies 
 moving in these difierent firmaments, remote and almost 
 imperceptible as the entire systems appear to us, have, 
 nevertheless, many characters in common, to identify 
 them as parts of a great chain linked together with the 
 same Almighty Hand. It is by these common charac- 
 ters that the mind recognises so much unity of purpose, 
 as to be assured that the efficient causes employed 
 
 f 
 
 O 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 87 
 
 both to compose and regulate the whole of the celestial 
 universe are to be identified as forming an integral 
 part of each division, though their separation is marked 
 by incalculable and boundless space. 
 
 There is some evidence confirmative of the idea that 
 both the spirits and the material substances which may 
 be supposed to enter into the mass of other planetary 
 bodies partake in their elementary characters of the 
 same entities as those composing our own. And it is 
 not unreasonable to infer that the elements of uncom- 
 bined materiality were synchronous with the first crea- 
 tion of immateriality; and that these two kinds of 
 elements were first united to form our world at the 
 period in the Genesis of Moses; though the same 
 elements, if they constitute the bases of other worlds, 
 might, in the sense of their natural union as we view 
 them in this visible world, have pre(5eded in actual 
 existence the time when the Creator brought them to 
 act upon each other in the beginning when He made 
 the body of our globe. 
 
 But while I can rationally believe that all created 
 worlds are composed of the two distinct and opposite 
 kinds of substance we are considering, I am anxious to 
 adduce such physical evidence of the fact as we may 
 possess ; and certainly this idea, that the primary ele- 
 ments of matter composing our earth are not limited to 
 this globe, but are the same which, by variations in 
 their relative quantities, as in their collocations, enter 
 into the composition of other orbs, is greatly strength- 
 ened by the history and chemical composition of those 
 
88 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 
 bodies we call aerolites or meteorolites. Coming, as 
 there is the greater reason to suppose they do, from 
 other planetary bodies floating in the same system, 
 they must be regarded as, and placed amongst, the 
 rational proofs to be brought forward of the identity 
 that exists in the primary and uncombined elements of 
 our own with other created worlds : for, without deter- 
 ming these bodies to be absolutely luno-volcanic, we 
 have in their vast numbers, relative sizes, and magni- 
 tudes, both real and conjectural, an amount of evidence 
 that denies them an origin from the moon ; and as to 
 their being projecteil from the earth, there ore gmit 
 diiBcuIties oppo^ to such an idea. For it is unrea- 
 sonable to suppose that so many thousand tons of 
 matter could be projected from the moon without im- 
 plicnt'mg the size, and consecjuoutly the regularity in 
 the movements of that body ; and as to tlidr coming 
 from tlic earth, both the laws which govern the move- 
 ments of such masses, as well us the particular chemical 
 composition they observe, are op|K)8cd to such a belief. 
 There seems, therefore, more reason in tl>e idea that 
 these hocWe^ fonn |>arts of those nebiduus masses which 
 we know encirek the sun, both singly and in groups, 
 and which may have been original accumulationjs or 
 formations of matter ; or they may be, as has been 
 suggested by Dr. Lardner, the wreck of matter of a 
 ruined world. However this may be, m tlwir material 
 components we can trace no new substance which is 
 not to be found in our own e^rth, while their mode of 
 collocation is certainly different. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 80 
 
 1 am thus led to believe, witli considerable rational 
 and physical certainty, tluit the immaterial as well as 
 the material elements of other worlds, though alike in 
 entity, are nevertheless in their construction differently 
 balanced and differently united to what they are in our 
 own globe. 
 
 By this role we can suppose that tlie immaterial 
 agent employed to support our earth and rcgidatc its 
 motion is the $ame as that which acts upon the planets 
 Mercury or Saturn. Yet the oollocfttions and chemical 
 unions of the material substance of the planet Mercur}' 
 must certainly he veory different from those of the 
 planet Saturn ; for if the unions of the materials in 
 these two planets or any others arc held together upon 
 simihir tenns as those on which they are imitcd in our 
 own globe, the relative proximity of thetse different orbs 
 to the sun woidd lead to the chemical destniction of 
 the one by ignition, while tliatof Satum, on account of 
 the distance, would be impenetrably bound together so 
 as to admit of no sepamtion of its particles. 
 
 It is from the great difference in the \TsibIe ap« 
 I)earance of the heavenly bodies that I am led to sup- 
 pose the immaterial substances have not only different 
 qualities, and also relative degrees of power, but that 
 they possess also a power of occupying all space, while 
 tlicy at the same time are capable of l>eing concentrated 
 in a more condensed maimer in the entire materiality 
 of some orfcs, or in particular s^ub^tanccs upon those 
 orbs ; and, if this is true, our calculations of the phe- 
 nomena of hght cannot be reckoned with that degree of 
 
 \ 
 
90 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 accuracy by which we measure terrestrial magnitudes : 
 for hght, which I have shown to be the product of the 
 spirits of heat and electricity, as they are applied to the 
 materials put together in our earth and atmosphere, 
 must be of a different character, perhaps neither re- 
 flected nor refracted exactly in the same way as that 
 produced by the operation of the spirits of light upon 
 the materials composing the planet Mercury or that of 
 Saturn ; and the difference in the colours of these and 
 many other stars in the heavens favours this idea. 
 Hence the Apostle says, " One star differeth from ano- 
 ther star in glory." The word ^o^a here means 
 splendour or brightness, simply a radiation of light, and 
 that, not according to its degree of distance from us, 
 but to its intrinsic composition. The difference in the 
 colour and brightness in different stars can only be 
 accounted for on the supposition that they are not all 
 composed of the same collocated matters. Thus> 
 among the stars of the first magnitude, Sirius, Vega, 
 Altair, and Spica, are white; Aldebaran, Betelguex, 
 and Arcturus, are red ; and Capella and Procyon are 
 yellow, Mrs. Somerville observes that the double stars 
 most frequently exhibit the contrasted colours. The 
 large star is generally red, orange, or yellow, and the 
 small stars blue, purple, or green. Sometimes a white 
 star is combined with a blue or purple, or more rarely 
 a red and white are united. 
 
 In viewing these stars from our earth at different 
 parts of its surface, as, for example, in oriental coun- 
 tries, where the atmosphere is less humid, one star 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 91 
 
 4 
 
 shines like an emerald, another like a ruby, and the 
 whole heavens seem, in the language of Dr. Nichol, 
 " to sparkle with various gems." 
 
 In occidental countries, on the other hand, Dr. 
 Scoresby has noticed not only the distinct colours and 
 the briUiancy of different stars, but also the remarkable 
 difference in their shapes, some of them resembhng 
 the most beautiful pendant lamps, hanging, as it were, 
 by silver cords of brightness. 
 
 Moreover, these stars change their separate colours 
 in the course of long periods of time. Thus Syrius, a 
 white star, was celebrated by the ancients as red, 
 which fact forcibly reminds us of the progressive 
 changes the heavenly bodies* are probably destined 
 to undergo from time to time; while the sudden 
 appearance of some stars for a short season, followed 
 by their final disappearance, and the total disappear- 
 ance of other well-known stars, such as the star 42 
 Virginis, from the position they formerly took up, is an 
 assurance to my mind that the dissolution of systems 
 as well as worlds may form part of the gigantic scheme 
 designed to bring about the final perfection of all things. 
 
 (^ 
 
 I 
 
 * "In 1572 a star was discovered in Cassiopeia, which rapidly 
 increased in brightness till it even surpassed that of Jupiter ; it 
 then gradually diminished in splendour, and having exhibited all 
 the variety of tints that indicate the changes of combustion, 
 vanished sixteen months after its discovery, without altering its 
 position. It is impossible to imagine anything more tremendous 
 than a conflagration that could be visible at such a distance." — 
 Somerville s Connexion of the Physical Sciences, p. 395. 
 
I 
 
 92 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 if 
 
 i * 
 
 These various and opposite colours in the celestial 
 orbs must surely result from the different eflFects pro- 
 duced by the immaterial spirits causing light upon 
 bodies of very differently combined elementary mate- 
 rial : that the varieties in the arrangements and pro- 
 portions of the material part are sufficient to cause this 
 difference in the colour of light. This is more surely 
 proved by experiments made with photometers upon 
 the Ught given out by many kinds of bodies around 
 us. Neither Leslie's nor Count Rumford's were found 
 capable of yielding acciu-ate results when the lights 
 tested yielded different colours. Sir Humphry Davy 
 passed an electric spark through a vacuum over mer- 
 cury, and by admitting graduated quantities of air it 
 became successively sea-green, blue, and purple. He 
 therefore concluded that the electric hght depended 
 upon the properties of ponderable matter with which it 
 was in contact. The colour of the light truly is influ- 
 enced by the material parts, as this experiment plainly 
 showed ; but the hght itself depended upon the union 
 of the spirit of electricity with those material parts. 
 There is little doubt the sea-green, blue, and purple 
 colours given to the atmospheric air in Davy's experi- 
 ment, owe their particular coloiu-s to the exclusive 
 operation of the spirit of electricity in that experiment. 
 Had the spirit of heat been introduced to a sufficient 
 degree, these colours would have been joined by the 
 yellow, orange, and red, the effect of that spirit upon 
 the atmospheric materials; and this would seem to 
 imply that the colours of celestial bodies owe thera- 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 93 
 
 II 
 
 selves to the varied degrees of the two kinds of entity 
 operating in their formation and phenomena. So that 
 not only is it probable that the mode of arrangement 
 in the elementary materials of the planets Mercury and 
 Saturn differ from our own, but also that arrangement 
 differs in other worlds according to the relation they 
 all bear to the central sources of immateriality, by 
 which they are governed and held together. And in 
 bringing them into subjection to the great First Cause 
 and centre of all, it is powerfully consistent with 
 reason, and strongly to be inferred, that, regardless of 
 their modes of combination and relative quantity, the 
 immaterial agents He made use of in the general con- 
 formation of the universe should possess a common 
 character, by which the whole series of created worlds 
 should be knit together and held unitedly by one and 
 the self-same Almighty God. 
 
 So, hkewise, the primary elements of material 
 matter, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and if 
 there be any others, may not be confined to this earth 
 or its atmosphere, but may form the bases of the 
 material constructions of all other worlds throughout 
 the universe. 
 
 Taking this view, both materiality and immateriaUty 
 would be fundamentally, universally, and, in the sense 
 of their nature, unchangeably the same ; yet varying 
 not only according to degrees of difference in their 
 own modes of combination, but also in the different 
 effects they mutually produce upon each other. 
 
t 
 
 94 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 li 
 
 Created worlds will be destroyed by the same 
 
 Entities. 
 
 In making these remarks I am not unmindful of 
 the many controversial discussions the history of our 
 globe, in particular, has received at the hands of 
 geologists upon the great question of its antiquity. 
 It does not enter into the plan of this work either 
 to revive or to attempt to refute these doctrines. 
 It will be sufficient for the purpose, here only to 
 observe in passing the subject, that I have fully satis- 
 fied my mind that the two spirits of electricity and 
 heat have been the appointed agents under God, not 
 only for the carrying out of the first catastrophic change 
 foretold and recorded in revelation, which this globe was 
 once subjected to, but for the final dissolution of the 
 same globe at that great event we are there told is yet 
 future. The geological phenomena everywhere dis- 
 covered to have taken place upon the surface and in 
 the interior of the earth, all speak a language identical 
 in meaning to that employed by the sacred historian.* 
 These phenomena are extended over so wide a surface, 
 and many of them were brought about, if we judge 
 from the efiects they produced on the bodies upon 
 which they acted, in so instantaneous a manner, that 
 we cannot disguise the fact that some agent whose 
 operation was quicker than thought must have been 
 
 * Gen. vii. 19, 20, 21, 22. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 95 
 
 ■( 
 
 employed. I cannot resist the mention of two ex- 
 amples to confirm the truth of these two points. 
 
 To give an instance of the extensive character of one 
 of these phenomena, and which shews that the spirit 
 employed was influenced much by the material body 
 with which it came in contact, I would mention the 
 remarkable state in which the shell of the Fnoceramus 
 cuvieri is formed in the chalk formations, everywhere 
 where those formations are seen. While the most 
 delicate shells of the echinus, cidaris, ananchytes, spa- 
 tangus, &c., are found entire, the shell of the inocera- 
 mus is seen broken up and disseminated in the minute 
 fragments throughout the chalk in those parts where 
 the animal was when the electric spirit caught it. This 
 eflect marks the appearance of the shell over moun- 
 tainous masses of chalk in the chalk districts. 
 
 And to give an instance of the instantaneous character 
 of that shock which no language implying the lapse of 
 the shortest time can faithfully describe, I now mention 
 the very remarkable position in which the ink-bags of 
 the cuttlefish. Sepia officinalis, are found in the lias 
 formations. These bags are found in the matrix with 
 the ink unscathed, so that it would be impossible for 
 the stroke of death to have been preceded even by the 
 warning of one instant, or the animal in that time, as 
 it is so accustomed to do, would have scattered its ink 
 in its own defence. 
 
 With such ample power as is furnished by the spirit 
 of electricity when in the hands of an avenging God, 
 I can believe not only in the pogsibihty or the proba- 
 
96 
 
 THK PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 97 
 
 i 
 
 bility that all the known geological indications of former 
 ruin in the strata of our earth are to be referred to the 
 diluvial catastrophe, and that alone ; but I can fully 
 satisfy my mind that the same spirit will, when in 
 union with that of heat, finally effect that great de- 
 struction by fire spoken of by the Apostle Peter. The 
 displacement consequent on the alteration in the rela- 
 tive position and consistence of the constituent atoms 
 of one drop of water through the agency of the spirits 
 of heat and of electricity, and the powerful nature of the 
 force that resists any attempt to confine the particles of 
 the smallest quantity of any material matter, when about 
 to undergo a change from a denser to a rarer state, 
 will help to convey to the mind but a faint idea of what 
 is the power of such a force when it comes to be ap- 
 pUed, whether for their preservation or destruction, to 
 the immeasurable masses that compose the material part 
 of the universe, and part of the bases of unknown worlds. 
 The knowledge we have attained to in exploring the 
 wonders of the celestial universe, amidst the most un- 
 doubted proofs of design and omnipotence, all points 
 to the fact equally sure and indubitable, made known 
 to us likewise through the page of inspiration, and 
 uttered by Him who made and who will destroy. There 
 we read that the heavens or atmosphere, and the earth 
 on which we live, shall pass away. " The idea of the 
 ultimate dissolution of the solar system has usually 
 been felt as painful, and forcibly resisted by philo- 
 sophers. When Newton saw no end to the deranging 
 effect of the common planetary perturbations, he called 
 
 for the special interference of the Almighty to avert the 
 catastrophe ; and great was the rejoicing when the 
 recent analyst descried a memorable power of conserva- 
 tion in our system's constituent phenomena ; but, after 
 all, why should it be painful ? Absolute permanence 
 is visible nowhere around us ; and the fact of change 
 merely intimates that, in the exhaustless womb of the 
 future, unenveloped wonders are in store. The pheno- 
 menon referred to would simply point to the close of 
 one mighty cycle in the history of the solar orb ; the 
 passing away of arrangements which have fulfilled their 
 objects that they might be transformed into new. Thus 
 is the periodic death of a plant perhaps the essential to 
 its prolonged life ; and when the individual dies and 
 disappears, fresh and vigorous forms spring from the 
 elements which composed it. Mark the chrysalis ! 
 It is the grave of the worm, but the cradle of the sun- 
 born insect. The broken bowl shall yet be healed and 
 beautified by the potter, and a voice of joyful note shall 
 awaken one day even the silence of the urn."* 
 
 We. are thus permitted to reach another test in con- 
 firmation of that faith by which we believe that " the 
 worlds were made by the word of God ;" and by the 
 same power also we are assured, "the heavens shall 
 pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall 
 melt with fervent heat," when " the earth also and the 
 things that are therein shall be burned up." And in 
 
 * Views of the Architecture of the Heavens, by J. P. Nichol, 
 LL.D., p. 197. 
 
i 
 
 f 
 t 
 
 96 
 
 THK PHILOSOPHT OF SPIEITS 
 
 'i 
 
 1*1 
 
 j'.i 
 
 u 
 
 bility that all the known geological indications of former 
 ruin in the strata of our earth are to be referred to the 
 diluvial catastrophe, and that alone ; but I can fully 
 satisfy my mind that the same spirit will, when in 
 union with that of heat, finally effect that great de- 
 struction by fire spoken of by the Apostle Peter. The 
 displacement consequent on the alteration in the rela- 
 tive position and consistence of the constituent atoms 
 of one drop of water through the agency of the spirits 
 of heat and of electricity, and the powerful nature of the 
 force that resists any attempt to confine the particles of 
 the smallest quantity of any material matter, when about 
 to undergo a change from a denser to a rarer state, 
 will help to convey to the mind but a faint idea of what 
 is the power of such a force when it comes to be ap- 
 plied, whether for their preservation or destruction, to 
 the immeasurable masses that compose the material part 
 of the universe, and part of the bases of unknown worlds. 
 The knowledge we have attained to in exploring the 
 wonders of the celestial universe, amidst the most un- 
 doubted proofs of design and omnipotence, all points 
 to the fact equally sure and indubitable, made known 
 to us likewise through the page of inspiration, and 
 uttered by Him who made and who will destroy. There 
 we read that the heavens or atmosphere, and the earth 
 on which we live, shall pass away. " The idea of the 
 ultimate dissolution of the solar system has usually 
 been felt as painful, and forcibly resisted by philo- 
 sophers. When Newton saw no end to the deranging 
 effect of the common planetary perturbations, he called 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 97 
 
 for the special interference of the Almighty to avert the 
 catastrophe; and great was the rejoicing when the 
 recent analyst descried a memorable power of conserva- 
 tion in our system's constituent phenomena ; but, after 
 all, why should it be painful ? Absolute permanence 
 is visible nowhere around us ; and the fact of change 
 merely intimates that, in the exhaustless womb of the 
 future, unenveloped wonders are in store. The pheno- 
 menon referred to would simply point to the close of 
 one mighty cycle in the history of the solar orb ; the 
 passing away of arrangements which have fulfilled their 
 objects that they might be transformed into new. Thus 
 is the periodic death of a plant perhaps the essential to 
 its prolonged life ; and when the individual dies and 
 disappears, fresh and vigorous forms spring from the 
 elements which composed it. Mark the chrysaHs ! 
 It is the grave of the worm, but the cradle of the sun- 
 bom insect. The broken bowl shall yet be healed and 
 beautified by the potter, and a voice of joyful note shall 
 awaken one day even the silence of the urn."* 
 
 We. are thus permitted to reach another test in con- 
 firmation of that faith by which we believe that " the 
 worlds were made by the word of God;" and by the 
 same power also we are assured, "the heavens shall 
 pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall 
 melt with fervent heat," when " the earth also and the 
 things that are therein shall be burned up." And in 
 
 ' t 
 
 * Views of the Architecture of the Heavens, by J. P. Nichol, 
 LL.D., p. 197. 
 
98 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIHITS 
 
 the accomplishment of this prophecy how readily is the 
 mind led to believe, that the spirits now employed and 
 wielded by the great Artificer of the created universe 
 shall one day, when He may be pleased to withdraw His 
 control from them, be made the engines of this fierce 
 destruction, and in extension of the same power by 
 which we have seen both the synthesis and tlie analysis 
 of created matter has been effected, the great connect- 
 ing forces will be severed, and the primary elements of 
 both entities shall return to God, who made them. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 99 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF LIFE, AND THE PHENOMENA DEPENDING 
 UPON ITS UNION WITH THE SPIRITS OF HEAT AND 
 ELECTRICITY, IN LIVING BODIES. 
 
 In elucidation of the truths I have been considering in 
 relation to the supposed existence of the two spirits of 
 heat and electricity,- the subordinate twin-agency of 
 the inorganic world, — I have been guided more by a 
 desire to point out those circumstances and phenomena 
 which I thought best calculated to prove their exist- 
 ence, than to give any lengthened or connected view of 
 the laws which govern inorganic matter generally. 
 For this would have obliged me to go far more exten- 
 sively into the theory of inductive science than would 
 either have been possible in a work like this, or even 
 than would have been useful. 
 
 I have said enough to bring conviction to the mind, 
 that the spirits of heat and electricity are playing an 
 important part in the natural phenomena of the in- 
 organic matter that surrounds us, and I shall in a 
 future chapter endeavour to show the distinguishing 
 characteristics of these and still higher spirits, so as to 
 lead to the conviction that they are in their creation 
 distinct kinds of the same class of entity. 
 
 Before, however, this can be done, some notice must 
 
100 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 be taken of these higher spirits, and the influence they 
 exert over the spirits that are subservient to thera. 
 That they do exercise a superior and controlUng power 
 over those that are below them, and that they are 
 endued with more superior and remarkable qualities to 
 accomplish this, cannot be doubted or overlooked. 
 
 The created substances we are now about to con- 
 sider are usually called organic, in contradistinction to 
 those that are inorganic. Their organization, their 
 construction, and their phenomena, are so strikingly 
 remarkable, so delicate, so elaborately contrived and 
 so rapidly destroyed, that the mind is naturally struck 
 with the contrast they afford when placed side by side 
 or in comparison with the structure and phenomena of 
 inorganic bodies. 
 
 It will be seen that the spirit of life in its simplest 
 manifestation in the structm*es and functions of plants, 
 is a spirit that has the power of putting together the 
 primary elements, and particularly the gaseous elements 
 of materiality, in such a manner and in such unions as 
 are no where to be traced in bodies that are without 
 this spirit. And the manner in which it treats with 
 the subordinate spirits of heat and electricity, causing 
 them to bring down their powerful but necessary 
 agency in such a manner as to be made instrumental 
 in carrying out some of the most deUcate and elaborate 
 changes which animal chemistry can effect, is truly won- 
 derful. The subordinate spirits in organic bodies have 
 the power to produce chemical changes in those bodies 
 which, without the controUing operation of the spirit 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 101 
 
 of life, would rapidly destroy these living structures. 
 Indeed, their power to produce flame and combustion 
 in the organic world seems entirely to depend upon the 
 presence there of some of the residual constituents of 
 those bodies that have previously been endued with the 
 spirit of life, and whose ultimate material elements are 
 chiefly carbon, hydrogen, or oxygen. Thus wood and 
 coke, bitumen, flax, wool, cotton, oil, and numerous 
 other products of vegetable and animal bodies, yield 
 their structures rapidly to the action of these spiritual 
 entities when deprived of the conserving power of the 
 spirit of life. 
 
 As we have seen the spirits of heat and electricity 
 have been so universally engaged in effecting the unions 
 and chemical changes so constantly required to carry 
 on the phenomena of the inorganic world as of the 
 universe at large, it was wisely ordered that two or 
 three of the primary elements of materiality, which 
 were to occupy so wide and so important a sphere, and 
 to enter so largely and so minutely into all bodies, 
 should have greater affinities for these spirits than other 
 primary elements of matter. We therefore find oxy- 
 gen, hydrogen, and carbon, but more especially the 
 first, have a particular power of attracting the spirits of 
 heat ; and as vegetable and animal structures are almost 
 wholly composed of these material elements, we must 
 not be surprised these structures in particular are so 
 easily broken up, when left to the unrestrained action 
 of these spirits upon them after the spirit of life has 
 been withdrawn. 
 
 1 
 
102 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 It is with these immaterial substances, which have 
 their boundaries, as regards the present world, confined 
 within certain hmits to bodies more highly and pecu- 
 liarly organized to receive them, that I have now to 
 draw particular attention, as these spiritual substances 
 here operating do not difler from those we have been 
 considering, in the sense of their being the same class 
 of entity which partakes of the nature of spirit, what- 
 ever that may be, but only in the sense of their difierent 
 kinds. I shall have to show that what is termed life 
 and mind are modes of action resulting from the appli- 
 cation of immaterial substances of a higher order to 
 inorganic matter, by which means new combinations 
 are formed, which constitute the material bases of living 
 bodies. 
 
 It is therefore incorrect to speak of life as exclusively 
 of an immaterial nature or even character, because that 
 term is made use of to express phenomena the result of 
 the mixed application of spiritual to material substances, 
 in like manner as we have shown light and heat to be 
 results from the application of the spirits of heat and 
 electricity to particular material matters. Life, therefore, 
 is not a material nor an immaterial entity, but, Uke 
 light and heat, it is only a mode of action produced in 
 the manner I have stated, and mind is a similar kind 
 of term applied to a particular mode of action. Life 
 and mind, then, like light and heat, are modes of 
 action resulting from the concurrence of the two grand 
 classes of entity we have been considering. But as in 
 the phenomenon of light both the spirits of heat and 
 
 
 \ 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 103 
 
 ^h 
 
 electricity are required to give their aid, so in the phe- 
 nomena of life the spirit of life is required to be super- 
 added to those of heat and electricity before that mode 
 of combined action we term life can be produced ; and 
 the addition of this spirit is the cause of the more com- 
 plex material unions we see formed in bodies so en- 
 dued. « 
 
 Material modes of Union of Bodies formed by the 
 
 Spirit of Life, 
 
 It is necessary to investigate the means employed in 
 a material point of view for effecting those phenomena 
 which characterise living bodies ; and this will leave no 
 doubt in the mind that what are termed sensations, 
 perceptions, and ideas, in common language, have really 
 no entity of existence in themselves, but are only signs 
 of particular modes of action, the effect of the combina- 
 tion of more elaborate unions of the two grand entities 
 I have pointed out. 
 
 It is, then, very palpable that the spirit of life has a 
 power of controlling those spirits we have shown to 
 possess so wide a power over inorganic matter. And 
 the result of this is the bringing together of material 
 elements in an entirely new method which is more 
 complicate in character. So that substances which 
 form the material elements of Uving bodies are made 
 to unite by three, four, and even five together, and so 
 to make ternary, quaternary, and quinary compounds. 
 Now, these material bases we may trace up from the 
 simplest forms of elementary matter. We see them 
 
~>i trill 
 
 'V 
 
 104 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 united in their material parts in binary forms in the 
 inorganic world. Then, under the power of that added 
 spirit we have now under consideration, they take, as 
 in the vegetable compounds, a teraary mode of union. 
 The union is still more complicated in animal organi- 
 zation ; so that to unite them in combinations such as 
 here take place, of three, four, and five of the elements 
 of the material matter together, it is an indispensable 
 law of these higher living bodies that the material 
 elements should first have been united in the ternary 
 compounds of vegetable structures. 
 
 So that in the building up of the material elements 
 alone, in the structure of Uving animals, we observe 
 the highest order of synthetical gradation, beginning 
 with the primary elements, and ending with the most 
 highly w]»ought animal tissues. 
 
 Spiritual modes of Union in co-operation with the 
 
 Spirit of Life. 
 
 And as we observe this gradation of power and com- 
 plexity to distinguish the material combinations of 
 living bodies, so may we detect a similar gradation of 
 power in the immaterial combinations which are there 
 formed and employed. We first observe the inorganic 
 binary compounds are united by the aid of one or two 
 spiritual substances. As we advance into vegetable 
 hfe we find there isa spirit of immateriality then for 
 the first time introduced, which controls the others 
 that are also present. This spirit is indispensable in 
 effecting the phenomena of vegetable life. And in 
 
 \ 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 105 
 
 the operations of life, as we observe them carried out 
 in the bodies of animals, there is a still higher degree 
 of the spirit of life, or else a distinct and yet higher 
 spirit, which shows itself in the capacity to engage, 
 combine, and control the other spirits below it. It is 
 hardly necessary to remark here that the spirit of elec- 
 tricity in the living animal structures is proved by 
 many experiments. Pfaff shewed that in a healthy 
 man positive electricity is evidenced. Sanguine tem- 
 peraments have more free electricity than phlegmatic, 
 and alcohol is found to increase the quantity. Women 
 are found to be more frequently negatively electric 
 than men. Bodies that are very cold give no evi- 
 dence of electricity; but, as warmth is restored, it 
 becomes more manifest. Certain diseases, such as 
 rheumatism, shew a reduced amount of electricity to 
 be present with them. Blood is found to retain the 
 spirit of electricity long after its removal from the 
 body. 
 
 It is not necessary to quote any experiments in 
 proof that the spirit of heat is engaged in the carrying 
 out of many chemical changes and phenomena of 
 living bodies. 
 
 Now, in the phenomena of perception, so much dis- 
 puted about by mental philsophers, we cannot help 
 recognising some confirmation of this graduation in the 
 power of the spirits, when we behold the shapes, sizes, 
 colours, and all other properties of the outward and 
 material world around us. For in being able to re- 
 cognise and to realize them as the true condition of 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
106 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 1 ■ 
 
 
 
 things, the composition of the instrument of perception 
 must not only be resolvable into the same primary 
 elements of material matter ; but those elements must 
 also treat with similar immaterial elements which 
 unitedly help to manifest the outward world to the 
 mind. And hence the composition of all living 
 bodies is made up of the same primary elements of 
 material matter, — oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and 
 carbon, and the same primary elements of immaterial 
 substance, — the efficient cause or spirit of heat, elec- 
 tricity and life, and their results, are, according to the 
 number, the complexity, and the modes of union in 
 which these elements are engaged. 
 
 Inorganic bodies generally unite their material 
 parts in what are termed binary or double binary 
 unions, as the case may be ; to effect which, the spirits 
 of heat and electricity have most certainly been em- 
 ployed. Organic bodies in the vegetable creation 
 require that the material elements should be united by 
 threes ; to effect which the co-operation of a higher 
 spiritual entity is necessary to bring their union toge- 
 ther, and to regulate the degree of power exercised by 
 the lower immaterial substances employed. And as 
 we advance to the still higher organization of animals, 
 a mode of combination, both in the material and im- 
 material elements, takes place that is truly incompre- 
 hensible. Here both kinds of entity are brought 
 together in greater numbers and more elaborate unions, 
 so as to baffle all our efforts to imitate them, or even 
 to investigate many of them. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 107 
 
 ^1 
 
 Thus the analysis of inorganic substances around 
 us are capable of the most satisfactory confirmation, in 
 consequenc(i of our being able in some instances to 
 command synthetical arrangements. So that we have 
 here the surest proof afforded us of the methods 
 pursued in their original construction. The composi- 
 tion and relative proportions of water, sulphuric, nitric, 
 phosphoric, and carbonic acids, are sufficiently known 
 to lead to the right application of the spiritual agents 
 required to put these bodies together, after the manner 
 supposed to have been adopted in the original creation 
 of those bodies. 
 
 Here, however, our synthetic powers leave us ; and 
 the putting together of the simplest vegetable elements 
 united by the spirit of life, so as to produce the ternary 
 compounds of sugar and starch, have consequently never 
 been achieved. Many have been the attempts to form 
 these triple unions by the aid of the spirit of electricity, 
 but they have signally failed in spite of the perscr 
 vering efforts of Cross, Weeks, and other experi- 
 menters. 
 
 How much less likely are we to be able to combine 
 the still more highly complex quaternary and quinary 
 compounds, does not surprise me, when I am satisfied 
 they are effected solely by the operation of the spirit of 
 life, — a spirit which, inasmuch as it is of a higher and 
 more delicate character, is found to possess a fewer 
 number of bodies in the creation, and in possessing 
 these, to be less closelv adherent to them, and coiise- 
 quently more readily expelled from them. In animal 
 
 I 
 
108 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 I 
 
 .1 • 
 
 
 5 
 t 
 
 ■- 
 
 bodies, three, four, and even five mutual elements are 
 held together by the conjunctive and graduated powers 
 of the spirits of electricity, heat and life. And the 
 efiect of this elaborate co-operation is the production 
 of that microcosm of surpassing wonder — the living 
 animal body, — the noblest and greatest evidence of 
 omnipotent power over all created substances, spiritual 
 and material, that can be advanced. 
 
 T/ie Power of the Spirit of Life to build up Organic 
 
 Structures, 
 
 We come now to another and very important charac- 
 teristic which marks in organic bodies the operation of 
 a higher spirit than those of heat and electricity. We 
 may observe that, in the simple binary compounds of 
 inorganic matter, the unions generally are those of a 
 gaseous with an earthy, alkaline, or metallic element ; 
 thus, oxygen will unite with potassium, silicon, or iron, 
 &c.; and these unions always display an order of 
 selection, called, in the language of chemistry, elective 
 affinity, which, if it did not observe the very fixed and 
 unalterable rules in these unions, which never vary, we 
 might be disposed to think they resulted from the 
 operation of choice inherent in the substances so 
 united. These affinities may, however, be equally 
 well explained, by supposing the attractive power of 
 these difierent bodies to be governed by then* relative 
 capacity to receive a greater or less amount of the spirit 
 of electricity. But from the very commencement 
 of that scale of bodies in which the spirit of life is 
 
 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 109 
 
 \1 
 
 reposed, we not only have the primary bringing toge- 
 ther of the material structure most remarkably altered, 
 but in addition to this, we must be struck with the fact, 
 that now, for the first time, an apparent sensation is 
 manifested which leads to the selection of particular 
 inorganic matters, which, when secured, are conveyed 
 through certain organic textures to that part of the or- 
 ganism they are destined to fill up. How wonderful is 
 the power that gives to the corn of wheat this sensitive 
 selection, by which means it builds up, first the blade, 
 then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. In carrying 
 out this process, the spirit of life would, like the lower 
 spirits it here engages, seem to give a particular degree 
 of power according to the nature of the pai^ticular 
 material part of the organization. The gaseous ele- 
 ments are carried up from the roots in combination 
 with the earthy and other bases ; and they are conveyed 
 also through the leaves ; so that it has been shewn 
 that many plants— such as the feus elastica—hs^ve 
 been for many years supported in the ah* without com- 
 munication with the ground by roots ; and experiments 
 have shewn that in this state many saUne and earthy 
 matters have been introduced into the structure of 
 plants, which proves that our atmosphere is capable of 
 conveying inorganic matter through the leaves into the 
 vessels and internal organization of plants, when aided 
 by the spirit of life. The power to select the binary 
 compounds of inorganic matter, — potash, soda, phos- 
 phoric acid, silica, magnesia, and the like, and to carry 
 one to the stem, another to the leaf, and a third to the 
 
 li 
 
 \i 
 
) 
 
 110 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 i 
 
 fruit, is, however, more forcibly shewn in plants natu- 
 rally deriving nourishment directly from the earth. 
 No power could be given by the spirits of electricity or 
 of heat, so that the vessels of a plant could be able to 
 select amongst a variety of mineral matters, silex, potash, 
 phosphorus, and the like, and convey them, with the 
 ternary compounds of starch and gluten, into one par- 
 ticular structure or part of the plant, and not to another. 
 This seems to be an office and power over and above, 
 and independent of those phenomena in vegetable and 
 animal structures we observe to be accomplished in the 
 operation of Ught and other products of the spirits of 
 heat and electricity. This combined power in the pro- 
 duction of the phenomena of sensation and volition, 
 and the extraordinary connexion and adaptation of 
 these exalted properties to the power to recognise and 
 contemplate all created things, strongly and unfaihngly 
 points to the identity of elements that have been em- 
 barked, and the intimate relation the whole of those 
 elements bear to each other, and to the Supreme Being 
 that made them. 
 
 The superior and delicate nature of the spirit of life 
 is strongly contrasted with that of electricity, which it 
 has so often been thought, not only to resemble, but 
 really to be. And there is the one distinctive evidence 
 I have pointed out in this chapter which clearly claims 
 for it a separate kind, and this is that we never find 
 ternary and quaternary compounds occupying a position 
 in the material world which would lead us to suppose 
 that they have not been brought into existence and 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 Ill 
 
 ■ 
 
 acted upon by the immateriality of life. To this must 
 be added the power of sensation by which certain 
 material substances may be selected. 
 
 The distinguishing difference between vegetable and 
 animal bodies, both which are alike constructed ac- 
 cording to some organic arrangement, supported by air 
 and food, are endowed with the spirit of life, and con- 
 sequently subject to be decomposed in their material 
 parts when that spirit is withdrawn, is most chiefly to 
 be recognised in these two particulars ; first, the ele- 
 mentary material unions are higher, and secondly, to 
 accomplish this it is indispensable that the unions of 
 three material parts should first take place in vegetable 
 bodies to furnish the bases of animal structures, these 
 latter not being able to subsist upon binary compounds. 
 Whether these latter phenomena are the result of the 
 operation of a different kind of spirit to that which 
 animates the brutes, or whether they are not considered 
 to be of a sufficiently diagnostic character, I am not 
 able to determine. 
 
 In animal life, ideas and thoughts, the result of mixed 
 sensations, or more varied displays of the abstract 
 power of sensation, are superadded by means of a cere- 
 bral apparatus to simple sensation which alone takes 
 place in vegetable life. In connexion with this ad- 
 ditional organic part, I shall proceed to consider some 
 of the operations of the spirit of life. Before, how- 
 ever, I do this, it will be right to take a view of the 
 three spirits I have been pointing out in their more 
 conjunctive operations. 
 
 ^^i 
 
 4 
 
112 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE COMBINED ACTION OF THE TWO SPIRITS OF HEAT 
 AND OF ELECTRICITY IN THE PHENOMENA OF IN- 
 ORGANIC BODIES; AND OF THE THREE SPIRITS OF 
 HEAT, ELECTRICITY, AND LIFE, IN THE PHENOMENA 
 OF ORGANIC BODIES; REVIEWED, AND THEIR SEPA- 
 RATE IDENTITIES SHOWN. 
 
 i) 
 
 The arguments authorizing a belief that material and 
 immaterial substances have a separate and a real exist- 
 ence having been adduced, and some of the qualities 
 and phenomena resulting from the two different ways 
 in which these two great entities are found to unite in 
 the formation and the carrying on of the created 
 universe having been pointed out, I shall now go on 
 to notice some of the more complex operations of the 
 two spirits of heat and of electricity as they blend 
 their powers in the production of the higher forces and 
 more intricate movements of the inorganic world. 
 These movements and o]:»erart:ions, when joined by the 
 spirit of life, partake of the highest and most obscure 
 complications, as they are displayed in the structure of 
 living bodies. Afterwards I shall consider the several 
 more decided proofs of the separate existence or indi- 
 viduality of these three spirits. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 113 
 
 > 
 
 "*'■. 
 
 The Union of the Spirits in the production of the higher 
 phenomena of Natural Bodies, 
 
 The distinction between the qualities stamped upon 
 created bodies at their original creation by the aid of 
 these spirits, of heat and electricity, and the phenomena 
 they are observed to cause in the movement and dis- 
 placement that is constantly going on in the natural 
 operations of the universe, may, however, be made 
 clearer by tracing, the connexion those qualities and 
 phenomena bear to each other as the effect of the 
 combined action of the two spirits with matter under 
 particular circumstances. We will take for example 
 the quality of globularity, and view it in connexion 
 with the phenomena of motion. 
 
 Even the permanent qualities of natural bodies I 
 have endeavoured to show could not have been given 
 to created substances, as they are found united in 
 nature, without the concurrence of these spirits with 
 uncombined material substance. The form, therefore, 
 of natural bodies must have been regulated by these 
 spirits. And we shall presently see all the moving or 
 active phenomena of the universe are remarkable for 
 being associated with one particular form, which they 
 invariably assume. 
 
 The division of all natural bodies into liquid and 
 solid is that which we now observe to mark the two 
 very different states in which these bodies are found. 
 But there is the greatest evidence, by the investigation 
 of the various structures of solid bodies, to lead us to 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 conclude that in the original proces^^ of formation all 
 the primary material substances were in a liquid or 
 gaseous state. In such a state, if we judge from the 
 characteristic form of all liquid bodies, as well as the 
 solid structures of all those bodies endued with the 
 spirit of life, we shall have little doubt that the original 
 form of every created substance was globular. But as 
 many of those substances would not be required to 
 enter into the moving phenomena of creation, and 
 would, moreover, be made use of to form the sohd 
 basis of our planet, it was necessary to bring the par- 
 ticles or molecules so closely together, as that, by inti- 
 mate contact, they might form solid matter. This was 
 accomphshed by removing the atmospheres, as the 
 spirits of heat and electricity that surround the gaseous 
 particles of all bodies are called, and so depriving those 
 particles at once both of the power of being globular 
 and of retaining the fluid character. 
 
 Being thus fixed in their difierent mineral relations, 
 we notice the most remarkable external characteristic 
 of these sohd masses of inorganic matter is their 
 external form. Where any regularity of form is to 
 be observed in them, as in crystallization, the form is 
 confined to flat surfaces and right angles, varying their 
 inclination according to fixed laws that govern them. 
 
 All those substances which are not so fixed and 
 solidified, but that are required to sustain certain ope- 
 rations connected with the motion, whether of the celes- 
 tial orbs that revolve in the universe, or of bodies upon 
 the siurface of our globe to which has been attached 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 115 
 
 ( 
 
 ' 
 
 the spirit of life, have also a form which remarkably 
 distinguishes them. This is more or less round or oval. 
 Such a shape has many advantages attached to it to 
 render it indispensable. The two spirits of heat and 
 electricity could thus surround it ; and as in the case 
 of the grander and more stupendous celestial bodies, 
 so in that of the most minute and invisible molecules 
 that float in the atmosphere, these spirits are brought 
 to bear upon such bodies in the production of the 
 natural movements and forces peculiar to each. The 
 globular form, then, of natural bodies, thought, from 
 its universal prevalence in organic structures and sub- 
 stances, to be characteristic of these alone, is a quality 
 imparted to all matter, the atoms of which, for the 
 most obvious purposes, are required to be in a hquid 
 or a gaseous state, — in other words, whose molecules 
 are so far separated from each other by the spirit of 
 heat, as to admit of the action of the spirit of electricity 
 upon the surface of every individual molecule, whether 
 at our temperature or at one higher. The minerals 
 mercury, pitch, and naphtha, are in their atoms globular, 
 because, hke water, they are liquid; and we observe 
 the same form in those mineral bodies found in the 
 igneous rocks, which were doubtless at some former 
 period in a liquid state, called, from their resem- 
 blance to small almonds, amygdaloidal; and in oolitic 
 limestone, w^hich was doubtless originally in a fluid 
 state, the particles observe the same shape. The same 
 form is assumed by the heavenly bodies around us, as 
 well as by our earth, which was at the creation, in all 
 
116 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 probability, raised to that degree of heat so as to 
 admit of all its particles being separated and kept in a 
 liquid state previous to the several operations it under- 
 went at that event. And that the spirit of electricity 
 is chiefly instrumental in causing matter to assume 
 this globular form, is shown by the experiments of 
 Treviranus, and of Prevost and Dumas. Treviranus 
 observed, that as liquids passed into a solid state to 
 form the animal tissues, globules were distinctly per- 
 ceptible. Thus, in the artificial coagulation of the 
 white of an egg, he observed this form was taken. And 
 Prevost and Dumas submitted the albumen of egg to 
 the action of the positive pole of the galvanic pile, when 
 globules were distinctly formed.* 
 
 It has been shewn how, in the original formation of 
 water, the spirits of electricity and of heat may be de- 
 tected (p. 40). And the further conversion of this 
 fluid into vapour is undoubtedly the effect of the 
 subsequent application of the spirits of heat and elec- 
 tricity to every separate molecule. Without the con- 
 currence of these spirits in their operation upon the 
 water on the surface of our globe, the phenomena of 
 clouds and rain, lightning and thunder, could not take 
 place. When the moisture of the atmosphere is con- 
 densed, by being converted from vapour into rain, this 
 is brought about by lessening the number of globular 
 molecules. To effect this, the spirits of heat and of 
 electrictiy are withdrawn from the surface of these 
 
 * Tiedemann's Comparative Physiology, translated by Gully and 
 Lune, p. 21. 
 
 M-iM im ftitam 
 
 ■ !J[ l»i -J II 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 117 
 
 minute vesicles of vapourous water ; and on this 
 account the atmosphere always shows strong positive 
 electricity when condensation is taking place. To 
 insure the opposite condition to this, by converting water 
 into steam, the absorption or the engagement of these 
 spirits is proved from the fact that the atmosphere, 
 when this process is going on, is always in a negative 
 state. If an insulated conductor of the spirit of elec- 
 tricity is brought in contact with a jet of steam, it 
 first exhibits what is called negative electricity ; in 
 other words, all the spirit of electricity conveyed 
 through the conductor is taken up to augment the 
 vapour. When this vapour is again condensed, the 
 electricity being disengaged, it becomes positive 
 in the atmosphere around. If the conductor is re- 
 moved further off from the orifice where the steam 
 escapes, the electricity becomes more and more positive, 
 which shews, the spirit of heat being absent or too 
 feeble here, that the phenomenon of vapourizing the 
 water has stopped, from the spirit of electricity refusing 
 to join without the concurrence of a certain degree of 
 heat. Water, in its passage into vapour, has, there- 
 fore, need of not only the electric, but also the calorific 
 spirit. In the artificial process of boiling water, the 
 application of the spirit of heat through the fire causes 
 the bulk of the water to expand, and in this state, 
 being joined by the electric spirit of the atmosphere, 
 it becomes converted into minute globules, each being 
 supported in this position because it is surrounded by 
 a surface for the action of these spirits. The same 
 
118 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 phenomenon is produced naturally, when the sun's 
 heat is brought to bear upon the siu-face of water. 
 The water is thus taken up, by the aid of the two 
 spirits conveyed in the sun-beam, into the higher 
 regions of the atmosphere, and there, parting with the 
 two spirits it received from the sun-beams, becomes 
 again condensed and converted into rain or hail. And 
 thus, when suddenly disengaged to a sufficient amount, 
 the spirit of electricity produces the phenomena of 
 lightning, which is identical in character with the 
 electric spark from the prime conductor of an electric 
 
 machine. 
 
 Every distinct globular molecule we behold, there- 
 fore, in nature, implies that the spirit of electricity 
 acting upon its surface produces the globularity ; and 
 it is possible all these rounded particles constituted 
 the first and preparatory operation of the spiiits of 
 God upon material matter, before they were cemented 
 together in the formation of the different material sub- 
 stances. And so cemented together, these globulai- 
 forms no longer presented their individual surfaces for 
 the operation of the spirits upon them ; but this action 
 was transferred to the general surface of the body they, 
 in the aggregate, went to form. 
 
 The globular form, it will be obvious, is a quality 
 quite different, though not altogether independent, of 
 that of consistence ; so that in effecting these two 
 qualities there is the operation of two efficient causes — 
 namely, the spirit of heat joined to that of the spirit 
 of electricity — evidently to be traced. The shape 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 119 
 
 ) 
 
 Jt 
 
 could not be effected simply by the action of the spirit 
 of electricity alone upon it ; but some other spirit is 
 required to raise the temperature, and so expand the 
 substance by altering its consistence, so as to admit 
 the action of the spirit of electricity upon the smallest 
 part ; and this spu'it is that of heat. The two spbits, 
 instead of being identical, as heat and electricity have 
 been thought to be, woidd seem here to have not only 
 distinct, but rather opposite actions to produce ; for 
 while the spu'it of heat is necessary to expand, and so 
 to separate and keep separate the individual molecules, 
 the spirit of electricity is required to surround them, 
 that their spheres may be kept together. 
 
 The use of these two spirits having been thus far 
 separately and unitedly pointed out, we will go on to 
 consider the connexion the globular form bears to the 
 phenomena of motion, before we blend the operation 
 of the spirit of hfe with those spirits we have been 
 speaking of. 
 
 Every body, whether it be organic or inorganic, that 
 possesses the power of motion, assumes either the 
 spherical or oval form, and the faster it is required to 
 move the more circular it is. The mind naturally 
 assures itself of the truth of this, by the comparative 
 facility with which all bodies that have been deprived 
 more or less of their sharp angles and edges are made 
 to move by the artificial application of force. And 
 in order to carry this law out in the movements re- 
 quired for the sustaining of life in the vegetable and 
 animal structures, we find the different substances, the 
 
120 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 121 
 
 I 
 
 ti 
 
 most simple as well as the most complex, are there 
 uniformly made to assume the globular or the oval 
 form. It was, therefore, indispensably necessary that 
 this quality should first be given to bodies, previous to 
 the production of the phenomena of motion. 
 
 But motion, in whatever form we contemplate it, 
 while it is quite explicable upon the principle of the 
 application of the spirit of electricity to the surface of 
 bodies, cannot possibly be shown to proceed from any 
 inherent quality or power in the bodies themselves. 
 Neither shall we be able to prove this by examining 
 the higher organization and phenomena of living struc- 
 tures. When Newton discovered the phenomena of 
 gravitation, immediately he set about to prove they 
 were as much and entirely material as the substantive 
 bodies so acted upon. And this contributed to main- 
 tain an idea, already very prevalent, that material 
 matter was a mere mass of inactive substance, only 
 susceptible of the power of motion by the external 
 appUcation of force, which before had no connexion 
 with it. For if it had been argued that the true cause 
 of motion was something of the nature of spirit super- 
 added to mere material matter, it would have struck at 
 the doctrine of imponderable agents. But it must be 
 perfectly obvious, upon deliberate consideration of all 
 material matter that has been endued with the quality 
 of globularity, that it is by no means in a state of rest, 
 or free from some form or kind of motion, and that 
 from causes independent of the external application of 
 force ; and whether that motion is attraction or repul- 
 
 sion, gravitation, dissolution, conflagration, or any other 
 action produced by the combined operation of the 
 spirits of heat and of electricity, it is undoubtedly 
 motion, and that resulting from the appUcation or the 
 abstraction of these spirits, which are independent of 
 the bare material .matter. These agents, by being 
 added to or taken from material matter, are the cause 
 of certain alterations, dissolution, or re-arrangement of 
 particles in created matter, that cannot be effected 
 without their instrumentality ; and thus they are the 
 exciting cause of motion. This is as clear as that the 
 efficient cause of life is quite distinct from the organic 
 structures to which it is attached. The activity and 
 motion of inorganic matter is not an activity inherent 
 in the substantive matter itself, neither is it caused by 
 outward force applied to that matter, but it is the 
 result of the union of the spirits of heat and electricity 
 in one form or other with different material matters, to 
 which they bear specific relations, which produces the 
 force. 
 
 Regarding the phenomena of these two spirits in 
 the light of a connected chain of forces, without know- 
 ing to what cause they are rightly to be referred, we 
 have many most interesting natural phenomena shown 
 to be mutually dependent upon, or in communication 
 with, each other, by Mr. Grove,* who has ably ex- 
 plained the correlation and inseparable connexion which 
 exists in all these forces or phenomena. Thus, he 
 
 * On the Correlation of Physical Forces. 
 
122 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 attempts to show the production of all the other modes 
 of action in the following experiment are caused by the 
 application of light as a force. "A prepared Da- 
 guerreotype plate is enclosed in a box filled with water, 
 having a glass front with a shutter over it ; between 
 this glass and the plate is a gridiron of silver wire ; 
 the plate is connected with one extremity of a galva- 
 nometer coil, and the gridiron of wire with one ex- 
 tremity of a Breguet's helix ; the other extremities of 
 the galvanometer and helix are connected by a wire, 
 and the needles brought to zero. As soon as a beam 
 of either daylight or the oxyhydrogen light is, by raising 
 the shutter, permitted to impinge upon the plate, the 
 needles are deflected : thus, light being the initiating 
 force, we get chemical attraction on the plate, elec- 
 tricity circulating through the wires, magnetism in the 
 coil, heat in the heUx, and motion in the needles." 
 These different and successive modes of action receive, 
 according to my theory of immaterial spirits, a most 
 satisfactory explanation by supposing here the tw^o 
 distinct spirits of heat and of electricity, by raising the 
 shutter, are brought, through the medium of the beam 
 of light, to bear upon material matter of different 
 kinds, characters, and affinities, which cause the several 
 phenomena spoken of. These phenomena are simul- 
 taneous, not successive. 
 
 And when we behold the operation of these spirits 
 as they are seen to govern the movements of the 
 heavenly bodies, we can no longer deny that motion, in 
 its truest sense, is eminently a phenomenon attached 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 123 
 
 to matter in its inorganic as well as in its organic 
 forms; and that, not according to Leibnitz, as con- 
 sisting of living monads, or, according to others, and 
 more generally believed, as resulting from some subtile 
 ctherial fluid, which is thought to pervade all matter in 
 common, but the natural effect of the operation of the 
 spirits of heat and of electricity upon the surfaces of 
 those molecules which form the elementary bases of all 
 moveable matter. 
 
 When the philosopher recognizes the same principle 
 or phenomenon of motion he sees vested in the higher- 
 wrought living structures is to be traced to many 
 bodies moving in the inorganic world, he will be more 
 disposed to refer the phenomena here to the same uni- 
 versal efficient immaterial cause he sees acting alike 
 upon both. Nor can he satisfy himself that in bodies 
 without the spirit of life the motive power has less 
 claim upon the electric spirit than it has upon those 
 bodies that have the spirit of life and mind. Wlien 
 we say in chemistry one body has an affinity for ano- 
 ther, we in other words say those bodies have the 
 power of motion, however limited or mechanical it may 
 be, in which the power of choice is apparently dis- 
 played. This motion differs from that of voluntary 
 motion in animals, in that the affinity cannot be said to 
 be the result of choice, as it is always determined by 
 fixed laws. But the phenomena which call for motion 
 in the organization of animals require that much of 
 that organization should be in a fluid state. The con- 
 trivance for insuring the safety and integrity of that 
 
124 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 125 
 
 ^' 
 
 u 
 
 organization, so that the fluids may perform theii* 
 numerous evokitions without hindrance, is one that 
 calls for the additional assistance of the spirit of life. 
 
 Every part of the structure of animals is charac- 
 terised by the globular form of its molecules, and as, 
 in the inorganic world, this form has been shown to 
 owe itself to the spirits of heat and of electricity which 
 surround them, so here, doubtless, the same spirits are 
 called to produce the same effect in the organic world. 
 Yet it will be remembered that animal tissues are made 
 up of the most numerous and heterogeneous substances, 
 which are here united in new forms, and in such a 
 manner as is not found in any other structures. While, 
 therefore, the fluid condition of some animal substances 
 is maintained in the midst of more solid parts, and the 
 rounded character of the molecules is that which dis- 
 tinguishes them, it is easy to suppose the two spirits of 
 heat and electricity would suffice. But when we come 
 to account for the ternary and quaternary unions that 
 take place in the bodies of animals, no spirit short of 
 the spirit of life will be found to accomplish all these 
 ends. 
 
 It is possible to account, therefore, for the fluidity 
 and motion of living bodies through the spirits of heat 
 and of electricity ; but their composition cannot be at- 
 tained without the spirit of life. While the solid mate- 
 rials of the blood are kept fluid by the spirit of heat, 
 their various globular shapes are all surrounded by the 
 spirit of electricity, which spirit is thus brought in con- 
 tact with the walls of the heart, and so gives rise to 
 
 muscular contraction. Muscles are not the only parts 
 of animals that move ; for some animals are entirely 
 composed of cellular or mucous tissue ; and this shows 
 that the moving power is not vested in any particular 
 part, but is added to it. But it is the particular unions 
 of animal compounds brought together by the spirit of 
 life, being carried, by the subordinate means we have 
 been considering, into the several viscera of the body, 
 that lead to the higher operations that characterize 
 living bodies. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the combined operation of 
 the three spirits of heat, electricity, and life, while sepa- 
 rately to be detected in the particular phenomena they 
 produce in living bodies, are nevertheless unitedly re- 
 quired to blend their powers in the production of the 
 highly elaborate animal formations. 
 
 It is by no means improbable that further scientific 
 research may reduce many of the phenomena we at 
 present refer to distinct imponderable agents, as they 
 are called, to one and the same spirit ; or the operation 
 of two spirits, as those of heat and of electricity, may 
 be concurrent in the production of many phenomena. 
 Thus gravity, chemical attraction, polar attraction, 
 magnetism, electro-magnetism, and many others, may 
 hereafter be shown to be diflerent modes of action, or 
 modified operations of these two spirits, the difference 
 in all these modes of action being only the result of the 
 varied proportions, qualities, and collocations of material 
 matter with which these spirits are found to act. The 
 
 i. 
 
126 
 
 THK PHILOSOrHY OP SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 127 
 
 V 
 
 experiments made by Dr. Faraday* upon electricity of 
 late years, strongly go to prove the identity of the five 
 several varieties of electricity that have been discovered, 
 viz. the common electricity of tension, the voltaic, the 
 magnetic, the thermal, and the animal electricities. It 
 is the wonderful discovery of Oersted, that two of these 
 kinds unite their peculiar powers to produce new and 
 more complex forces never before known, which yield 
 the tangential and rotatory forces, and by which the 
 earth and the other celestial bodies in all probability 
 are moved. 
 
 We have in these, and many other phenomena where 
 the spirits blend their power, much that will receive no 
 other explanation than that which gives a mutual, con- 
 current, and simultaneous action of two or more spirits 
 upon matter. But this co-operation must not be con- 
 founded with the distinct identity of the spirits, to the 
 consideration of which I am about to pass on. We 
 must contemplate many of the phenomena of nature 
 even in a still more blended sense ; for it will be ob- 
 served that not only do different spirits unite their 
 powers to produce these phenomena, but those pheno- 
 mena are governed by the nature of the material sub- 
 stance on which they act ; and in this manner it is 
 possible that different modes of action again miite their 
 powers in the production of the more highly induced 
 forces. 
 
 * Experimental Researches. 
 
 77/e Characters which mark the separate Spirits. 
 
 The great and universal identity which points to God 
 as the source and centre of all spiritual power, —the 
 mutual dependence and connection its manifested 
 varieties appear to exercise upon each other, and parti- 
 cularly the modifications they seem to undergo in their 
 higher displays of power when united to organized 
 bodies, — are so many arguments that at first sight 
 may appear to favour the idea that the spiritual power 
 I have recognised, both in inorganic as well as in 
 organic bodies around us, but especially in the former, 
 is one and undivided ; that the various characters it 
 displays in the phenomena of the visible world, and 
 the various effects it produces upon material matters, 
 are all to be traced to the degrees of power it possesses, 
 or the difference in the component elements of material 
 matter with which it comes in contact, and not to 
 different kinds of immaterial entities. There arc so 
 many natural phenomena, some of which have been 
 adduced, that are apparently so closely allied to each 
 other, and, indeed, seeming to have one common effi- 
 cient cause for their origin, as to strengthen greatly 
 this impression that the cause, whatever it may be, is 
 undivided. We cannot on this account be surprised at 
 the opinion that has recently been expressed by an 
 American writer in favour of " the identity of light and 
 heat, electricity and caloric."* But it must be ad- 
 
 * By C. Campbell Cooper, Philadelphia. 
 
I ' 
 
 I 
 
 128 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHT OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 129 
 
 if 
 
 (f 
 
 l4>< 
 
 f* 
 
 W'l 
 
 \l^ 
 
 mitted there stand opposed to this idea some most 
 conflicting obstacles. It is true that in revelation we 
 are led to believe the entire control of the whole phe- 
 nomena of that wonderful event, the creation of the 
 world, are clearly preceded by an operation that im- 
 plies that the spirit of God was the sole moving, creat- 
 ing, and dh-ecting power. '' The spirit of God moved 
 upon the face of the waters" before the separation of 
 the elements and the distinct creation of the several 
 forms of mineral, vegetable, and animal matter that 
 took place. 
 
 Yet the fact of there being separate gradations and 
 separate existences of immaterial entity or spirits, need 
 not disturb the undisputed and controlling power the 
 Creator is able to exercise over His own work. And 
 this controlling i)ower speaks for itself in the gradation 
 as well as in the co-operation of the inferior spirits. 
 That these gradations do exist is made evident from a 
 variety of facts and phenomena that cannot be mis- 
 taken. 
 
 The view, also, of the consecutive acts of creation re- 
 corded in revelation leads to the undoubted inference 
 that the immaterial entities employed to produce light 
 were, in their operation upon matter, independent of 
 those entities subsequently brought to bear upon the 
 further acts of creation as they are viewed in connec- 
 tion with organized bodies. 
 
 If, therefore, we do not divide immaterial entity into 
 kinds, we must into degrees, and this leads to the most 
 confused deductions : indeed, in the case of organic 
 
 spirits, it is quite out of the question to attempt to 
 reconcile the diflerence according to degrees. They 
 must either be regarded as not to exist at all, or 
 they must be looked upon in kind as something 
 distinct. 
 
 Certainly, when we see the action of these imma- 
 terial causes to be so dependent upon each other for 
 the evolution of their power, and that the natural 
 phenomena we behold to be resulting have been shewn 
 to owe their manifestation to the combined operation 
 of these causes, there is at least a difficulty in being able 
 upon all occasions to distinguish them apart. Like the 
 material matters of the universe, the action of one, two, 
 or more, upon each other, is productive of the most 
 unaccountable diflerence in the outward appearance 
 of bodies, which the laws of synthesis have not in 
 our present state of knowledge attempted to explain. 
 
 Thus, the manifestation of the phenomena of electri- 
 city upon all matter, is greatly dependent upon the 
 presence not only of the spirit of electricity, but also 
 of that of heat, and there is much to lead to the belief 
 that in the higher phenomena one spirit does not act 
 without the other. But this mixed mode of action is 
 certainly not here incompatible with the separate exist- 
 ence of the immaterial entities. 
 
 It will be noticed that one of the great characteristic 
 marks of distinction that points to the separate condi- 
 tion of diflerent kinds of spiritual entity, is the very 
 diflerent efiect they produce upon material matter. On 
 the proof of this diflerence the doctrine of distinct 
 
130 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 spiritual entities can alone philosophically rest. It is, 
 however, a doctrine undoubtedly to be drawn from 
 
 revelation. 
 
 Nor can this difference produced upon material 
 matter be explained alone by the difference existing 
 in the chemical unions or proportions of the material 
 part, for the office of the spirits, though blended toge- 
 ther in the common quahties and phenomena of matter, 
 are clearly marked by great discrepance. Nothing 
 illustrates this so remarkably as the power the spirit of 
 heat possesses of separating the molecules of created 
 matter ; while the spirit of electricity as clearly holds 
 the power of attracting and keeping together those 
 
 molecules. 
 
 The effect of the spirit of heat, too, upon the ma- 
 terials that go to form light is most distinctly separate 
 from that of the spirit of electricity ; and this I have 
 shewn in the analysis of the sun-beam. It is not 
 reasonable to suppose the same spirit would enter 
 opposite ends of the ray, and there meeting with the 
 homogeneous material that it unites with to form the 
 light, has the power to produce the red colour at one 
 end, and the purple at the other. Especially when ex- 
 periment has so decidedly shewn by the aid of those 
 instruments used to detect the presence of heat and 
 electricity, that the one is to be found at the red 
 margin, and the other at the purple. These are 
 phenomena so distinctly marked by their effects, that 
 they seem clearly separated in the power of a 
 graduated scale they observe in relation to each other, 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 131 
 
 . 
 
 while they do not disturb the power to act in combi- 
 nation. 
 
 The effect of the spirit of life upon material sub- 
 stances is again too remarkable to be readily con- 
 founded with any other efficient spiritual cause ; and 
 in comparing its phenomena with those that are 
 associated with it in the complex machinery of life, 
 we may trace the offices and powers of the spirits it 
 regulates as- of those that control it. We have here 
 the expansive power of the spirit of heat maintaining 
 fluidity, and so helping to bring the different substances 
 of nature fairly under chemical action ; we have the 
 attracting power of the spu-it of electricity causing the 
 molecules both to assume a globular form, and in that 
 form to excite motion. We have the uniting or com- 
 bining power of the spirit of life causing two, three, 
 and four substances to join in the production of one or 
 other particular substance that cannot be imitated by 
 the spirits of either heat or of electricity. 
 
 The difficulty there is in entertaining and supporting 
 the opinion that immateriality has one universal identity, 
 and is not, therefore, divisible into distinct kinds, will 
 be found to be increased in speaking of the spirit of 
 life upon organized matter. 
 
 Moreover, we must claim for the immortal spirit of 
 man a distinct and separate entity, which we gather 
 exclusively from revelation. And in contemplating 
 this spirit alone in the case of man as it has been placed 
 in relation to a future state of things, the Apostle Paul 
 compares the effects of the several degrees in this 
 
182 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 entity alone upon glorified bodies, to the difi'erence of 
 character in the production of various seeds and ani- 
 mals, when the Creator will give to this kind of entity 
 a body " as seemeth best to Him." The immortal 
 spirit of man, therefore, we learn will be capable of 
 animating, in a glorified state, bodies not only of difl'e- 
 rent degrees of power or spheres of comprehension, 
 but, if we adhere closely to the analogy, of different 
 kinds. Thus the presumed division of the spirit of man, 
 when in a glorified state, into different orders, carries 
 our minds further away from the idea of the universal 
 oneness of all immaterial substances manifesting itself 
 only by variations in degree. 
 
 Neither does physiology, so far as it relates to the 
 manifestation of hfe and mind in the higher animals, 
 through the instrumentality of the organic tissues, fur- 
 nish us with any argument or proof that the spirit of 
 electricity, for example, has any actual existence in the 
 great channels of the brain and nerves,— those organs 
 appropriated for the transmission of the immaterial 
 entity of life,— though it is clearly to be detected in the 
 chemical changes incident to the muscular electric cur- 
 rent. Yet if electricity was the same mode of action as 
 that of life,— that is, if they emanated from the same 
 entity, — ^their immaterial causes being identical, the 
 distinctive differences between these two spirits could 
 not be maintained solely by the difference in the ele- 
 mentary materials which characterize the organization 
 of the brain and that of the blood ; for the spirit of 
 electricity is as much required to keep together the 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 133 
 
 \ 
 
 cerebral globules as that of life is to put the materials 
 together by quaternary unions ; but having been put 
 together, we have the operation of the spirit of hfe to be 
 brought again upon the surface, internal or external, to 
 the cerebral tissues, before the higher phenomena of 
 life can take place. This operation would seem to re- 
 semble those phenomena in the inorganic world pro- 
 duced by application of the uncombined spirits upon 
 created bodies that have first been formed by the union 
 of the two entities (p. 28). 
 
 But the spirit of electricity is also to be distinguished 
 from that of life by this cii'cumstance, viz., that while 
 the galvanic current may be conducted away from the 
 nerves, through the medium of the contiguous tissues, 
 as readily as it is conducted by the nerves themselves, 
 the spirit of life, on the contrary, is most strictly made 
 to act through the tissues of the brain and nerves. 
 And to insure its proper action, even through these 
 appointed conduits, they must, for this purpose, be 
 entire and uninterrupted in every part : whereas, a 
 ligatm^e tied round a nerve, or an intersected portion 
 of that nerve having been removed, does not prevent 
 the transmission of the galvanic electricity through this 
 channel. The statement of Vavasseur and Beraudi, 
 that needles passed through the nerves of hving ani- 
 mals became magnetic, and that division of the spinal 
 cord deprives the nerves of the power of communicating 
 the magnetic property to the needles when so placed, is 
 no proof that magnetism here comes through the 
 nerves ; for in this last state the inhalation of oxygen 
 
134 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 will restore it, clearly showing that the spirit of elec- 
 tricity enters the vital fluid with the atmospheric air 
 taken into the lungs ; also that by this means it is that 
 the spirit of life is conveyed into the blood in the first 
 instance. If the wires of the galvanometer are applied 
 to the nerve only, not the smallest deviation of the 
 needle would be detected. When I say this, I by no 
 means think it impossible that the spirit of electricity 
 may not be one of the subordinate spirits employed to 
 produce the preliminary steps that lead to nervous 
 action ; and the effects of electric tension alone upon 
 secretion and other organic functions favours this idea. 
 Dr. Golding Bird thinks that the existence of currents 
 of high tension in the living body not being proved, 
 the objection that nervous force is stopped by placing 
 a hgature on the nerve, while electricity is not stopped, 
 falls to the ground, as he had shown that electric cur- 
 rents of low tension, when applied to nerves, are 
 stopped also by a ligature.* This may be quite pos- 
 sible, and the two spirits may still be very different. 
 But in dividing a nerve, we invariably produce paralysis 
 of the part to which that nerve was distributed ; nor 
 does the connexion of the divided ends of the nerve by 
 means of any kind of electric conductor succeed in 
 restoring the power of the part to which the nerve has 
 been distributed, for neither sensation nor motion can 
 
 be restored. 
 
 Nor can we compare the difference between the 
 
 ♦ Lectures on Electricity and GalvaniBm. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 135 
 
 electric and the vital phenomena to the act of charging 
 a piece of iron with magnetic powers, by an electric 
 current conveyed to it by a conductor, while those 
 powers cannot be conveyed along such a conductor. 
 The relation electricity bears to magnetism is certainly 
 a very near one. If the phenomena of the loadstone 
 are produced solely by electricity, as M. Ampere and 
 others contend, then the difference in these phenomena 
 and those of the electricity of tension is one that must 
 receive an explanation entirely through the difference 
 in the character and composition of the material matter 
 so favoiu-able to the development of the magnetic 
 power. But before we can compare the close relation 
 the spirit of electricity bears to that of magnetism with 
 that relation which electricity bears to the spirit of life, 
 it is right that we should attentively observe the very 
 remarkable differences I have mentioned, that charac- 
 terize the spirit of hfe. It must be acknowledged, if 
 the spirit of life is only a modification of the spirit of 
 electricity caused solely by the difference in the charac- 
 ters of the material substance with which it is in 
 contact, then the difficulty remains to shew by what 
 power the compounds of living bodies are put together ? 
 How are those collocations formed? for neither the 
 spu-it of heat nor that of electricity, whether acting 
 singly or conjunctively, are able to form starch or 
 sugar — the simple ternary compounds of vegetable 
 bodies, still less are they able to form fibrin or albumen, 
 the more elaborate products of animal life. And it 
 must be remembered the power of sensation cannot 
 
136 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 be given to any other matter but that which is built up 
 in compounds of three and four substances united 
 in one. These facts, I think, ought to mark distinctly 
 the separation between the spirit of electricity and that 
 
 of life. 
 
 There is another circumstance in connection with the 
 spirit of life which is very remarkable, as shewing that 
 this spirit is one sui generis. I would allude now to 
 the apparently latent state in which the spirit of life is 
 retained in the seeds of vegetables, whose delicate 
 structures rapidly perish when this spirit is removed. 
 A bulbous root taken from the hand of an Egyptian 
 mummy, where it had been retained above two thousand 
 years, on being planted in the earth grew rapidly.* 
 And the celebrated mummy wheat, some of which I 
 have now before me, having been reared from seed taken 
 from an Egyptian mummy, must have been even older 
 than this. There are seeds that have been dug up 
 from depths of three hundred and sixty feet, that give 
 the greatest reason to believe they have remained there 
 since the Deluge, and which, when placed in favourable 
 circumstances, began to vegetate.f BakewellJ states 
 that in examining the remains of one of the large 
 extinct herbivorous animals, from the peat bogs of 
 America, some of the seeds, still retaining their shape 
 and character, were found in part of the stomach of 
 
 I 
 
 * Journal of Roy. Inst. No. I. 
 t Jesse's Gleanings in Nat. Hist. 
 X Elements of Geology. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 137 
 
 the animal, so as to give the assurance that they were 
 alive ; and that, moreover, they were the same kind of 
 seeds as those of the plants growing upon the surface 
 of the ground. This animal was destroyed by the 
 Deluge, so that these seeds must have retained their 
 vitality above four thousand years. It is the union of 
 this spirit for so long a period of time with the cor- 
 ruptible and dehcate material, the union of carbon, 
 oxygen, and hydrogen, as we see them joined to fonn 
 vegetable structure of the seed, without that structure 
 yielding to decomposition, which it would more readily 
 do than any others when the vital spirit is removed 
 from it, that excites our astonishment that a spirit so 
 delicate should be so long retained. Yet its specific 
 and real presence cannot be denied, as, at the expira- 
 tion of these long periods of time, if placed in a 
 position favourable to germination, it proceeds to build 
 up the ternary structures of vegetable bodies, which 
 the spirit of electricity cannot accomplish. 
 
 From these and other facts it is imposible to argue 
 that all immateriality is identical in kind, although its 
 several sorts have such a mutual dependence upon, 
 and connexion with, one another, as to make their 
 separate existences, their exact number, and their 
 relative power, questions of great intricacy. 
 
 k 
 
138 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF LIFE AND THE PHENOMENA DEPENDING 
 UPON ITS UNION WITH THE SPIRITS OF HEAT AND ELEC- 
 TRICITY IN LIVING BODIES GENERALLY, AND WITH 
 THE HIGHER SPIRITS IN MAN MORE PARTICULARLY. 
 
 I HAVE been speaking, in the last two chapters, amongst 
 Other points, of the difference that is to be observed in 
 the unions and combinations of material bodies which 
 have been exclusively constructed and adapted for the 
 display of the higher spiritual substances, causing the 
 phenomena of life and mind. It is necessary, however 
 that a more extended notice should be taken of the 
 phenomena resulting from these elaborate unions. For 
 as we have seen the three spirits in operation subordi- 
 nately to each other, in the building up of the vegetable 
 and animal structures, and this subordinate and con- 
 current action has been marked with an apparent 
 blending of power that made all necessary to produce 
 the effect ; so, in the introduction of yet higher spirits, 
 is the operation of those spirits greatly subject to the 
 organization through which they are manifested. 
 
 In animal life, ideas and thoughts, the result of 
 mixed sensations, or of a more varied display of the 
 abstract power of sensation, are superadded by means 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 139 
 
 of a cerebral apparatus to simple sensation which alone 
 takes place in vegetable life. So that the distinction 
 between the sensation of vegetable life and that which 
 forms the basis of the mental operations of animals is 
 apparently one of degree. And the slow and gradual 
 increase of mental power we see always accompanying 
 a corresponding advancement and development of the 
 material organic instrument, will hereafter be referred 
 to as evidence to prove that mind, as we hold it to 
 be the display of phenomena in connexion with the 
 organic structure of the brain, is not caused by a spirit 
 distinct from that which is the cause of life, but is only 
 a graduated mode of action, resulting from the appli- 
 cation of the spirit of life to created cerebral matter 
 after that matter has been first brought together by the 
 same spirit in the quaternary union of the cerebral 
 globules. This process, though of a higher order, on 
 account of the higher spirit embarked, is allied to 
 those phenomena I have endeavoured to show are 
 caused by the action of the spirits of heat and electricity 
 upon created inorganic matter that has first been united 
 by the aid of these spirits in the original creation. 
 
 I shall not hesitate, in conformity with the plan I 
 have pursued in this work, to draw my deductions, in 
 endeavouring to unfold so difficult a subject, not merely 
 from the writings of metaphysical philosophy nor from 
 physiology only, but also from revelation. For it 
 cannot be any longer concealed that great errors, toge- 
 ther with the most irreconcileable inferences, have been 
 drawn from the presumed idea that the phenomena of 
 
 
140 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 >} 
 
 life and mind are attributable to the presence of the 
 soul ; or, as I designate that immaterial substance or 
 existence in man, the immortal spirit of man. 
 
 In taking this course, I have the opportunity afforded 
 me of dealing with the subject on a more extended 
 scale, of placing it in union with that knowledge which 
 is above reason, and so of examining the subject by the 
 comparison of facts drawn from three very different 
 sources. 
 
 Laws of the Spirit of Life in its Union with Matter. 
 
 Mental philosophy has had its theory of animal 
 spirits, the doctrine first propounded by Descartes, 
 and subsequently adopted by the school of Locke. It 
 has had its " animists," or those who considered the 
 soul to be the fundamental cause of life, a doctrine put 
 forth by Stahl*, and sustained with much argument 
 and fierce discussion by his followers. It has had its 
 iatro-mathematicians, BorelUf and Perrault, who sought 
 to show that the laws of life were analogous to, or 
 rather the same as, those manifested in inorganic bodies. 
 It has had its theory of vibrations suggested by Sir 
 Isaac Newton, and carried out in the writings of many 
 able philosophers. It has had its phrenologists, its 
 material and immaterial advocates. But it is not my 
 intention to discuss these and many other theories, or 
 to attempt to controvert them by any direct arguments 
 
 * Theoria Medica Fera, printed in 1708. 
 
 t De Motu Animaliam, 4to., reprinted in 1686 at Leydcn. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 141 
 
 separately addressed to them, as many have taken this 
 course already with more or less success ; for I should 
 by so doing unavoidably be led into much abstruse 
 polemical discussion which is avoided by confining 
 myself to the doctrines I have to propound, and sup- 
 porting them by arguments and facts that stand or fall 
 by their own merit. For, as all polemical discussions 
 are rendered tedious and almost useless by the unphilo- 
 sophical reflections they cast, in many instances, upon 
 the capacity of those who happen to differ from the 
 writer in question, I am most anxious to avoid mixing 
 up, more than is absolutely necessary, the few observa- 
 tions I have to make, with the names and opinions of 
 those who may hold a different impression. 
 
 If I mistake not, all the discrepancy of opinion in 
 different writers on the philosophy and physiology of 
 life and mind, and the phenomena peculiar to bodies 
 thus endowed, is to be referred to two great points or 
 errors, viz., 1st, the supposition that all these pheno- 
 mena result from the action of the same efficient cause 
 in all, subject to degrees of difference in the organiza- 
 tion ; and 2dly, that our perceptions and ideas have 
 real existences. Whereas the object I have had in 
 view has been to show that there are different efficient 
 spiritual causes both in union with and in action upon 
 the living tissues constituting the organization of vege- 
 tables of animals and of man : and that all those 
 phenomena given out by these different organic bodies, 
 are but modes of action caused by the union or amalga- 
 mation and the operation of different spiritual sub- 
 
142 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRITS 
 
 stances upon chiefly the gaseous, but also the alkaline 
 and mineral elements of materiality. 
 
 With the mind so constituted, there is one very 
 highly important distinction which marks its action in 
 animals and in man. And this distinction, though 
 physiologically to be discerned, is yet made im- 
 measurably great by the assistance and assertion of 
 revelation. In one sense, all the thoughts of each 
 perish after they have been formed. The Psalmist, 
 speaking of the breath of man going forth when he 
 returns to his dust, says, " in that very day his thoughts 
 perish*." These thoughts do not perish, in the sense 
 of the power not to recal them, while the animal body 
 producing them remains alive, but in the sense of their 
 finally passing away after the body through which they 
 are formed and transmitted, again returns to its earth. 
 
 But in the case of man, the difference is, that though 
 the thoughts themselves perish and vanish away like 
 the ray of light, they having no real entity of existence, 
 yet this does not take place till the tendency and effect 
 of those thoughts has been recorded. For revelation 
 tells us, that the result of their combined application 
 to good or evil is registered according to the dictates of 
 an instrument or monitor placed for that purpose witliin 
 him, the result of which will decide the future happi- 
 ness or misery of his immortal soul. 
 
 The mind, as the collective operative of the intel- 
 lectual and social faculties and feelings has been gene- 
 
 * Psalm cxlvi. 4 : Bible translation. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 143 
 
 rally called, has always been so much associated with 
 certain complex operations of the cerebral and nervous 
 system, the phenomena of which are dependent upon 
 the same spirit which is productive of simple sensation 
 and volition as it is of muscular irritabihty or motion, 
 that it has been long a question whether that which 
 has been termed the mind or mental principle is the 
 same with that which is productive of the signs and 
 phenomena of mere organic and animal life. The 
 difficulty has been heightened on account of the general 
 distribution of the spirit of life over the entire living 
 creation, in many of the lower departments of whicli 
 it seems, at first sight, difficult to realize ideas of what 
 is commonly regarded as mind. Mind has accordingly 
 been appropriated, or assigned rather, more exclusively 
 to man, the ambiguous and conventional term, instinct, 
 being applied to many similar phenomena we behold 
 in the higher animals. This confusion has arisen from 
 the misapprehension that what is termed the mind is 
 an immaterial existing spirit, or, in other words, the 
 immortal spirit of man. But this erroneous dogma has 
 certainly no authority from revelation. If the mind is 
 the immortal spmt, not only is the immortality of ani- 
 mals a question no longer problematical, but we must 
 admit it is an uncombined spiritual existence, and this 
 it cannot be, to be manifest to us. Neither am I aware 
 that in the Scriptures any allusion is made to the possi- 
 bility of the spiritual and immortal soul of man being 
 capable of manifestation without a material body. It 
 cannot show its real existence as a spirit without a 
 
144 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 body, and when united to the present body, the effect 
 only of this union is what we call mind. If this mind 
 were immortal, we must take it to heaven or to hell. 
 But how unreasonable is it to suppose that the reunion 
 of man's immortal soul with the resurrection body will 
 only be to join again the same body it quitted in sepa- 
 rating itself from its earthy tenement ! for this must be 
 the case if our present mind is immortal. And this 
 inconsistency is greatly increased, if we examine, as we 
 shall presently, what the present hmnan mind is chiefly 
 constructed to contemplate. 
 
 Whereas the mind is only, as I shall clearly show, a 
 mode of action dependent for its manifestation upon 
 the immaterial spirit of life acting upon a particular 
 organization ; in the case of man, this structure is so 
 enlarged with powers, and adapted in its organization, 
 as to be made the instrument and temporary residence 
 of that immortal spirit which revelation informs us God 
 placed exclusively in him. 
 
 It is necessary, in order to prove the identity of cha- 
 racter that subsists between the phenomena of hfc and 
 those of mind, to take such a view of the subject as 
 will admit of our recognising the same fundamental 
 phenomena which distinguish aU living bodies in every 
 individual species. We have two such in the power of 
 motion and that of sensation. Thus we shaU find, in 
 some form or modification, the power of motion is 
 vested in the entire scale of the hving creation. In the 
 vegetable world we recognize the rudiments of this 
 power. In the higher animal organizations it forms a 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 145 
 
 more conspicuous feature in theu* physiology. Long 
 before we see it furnishing the higher animal bodies 
 with attributes which, according to the particular struc- 
 ture, give either the power of locomotion or of other 
 more special movements connected with the circulation 
 of the blood, or the passage or the conversion of other 
 fluids in the animal body, we notice a modification of 
 this mode of action in all living bodies, which we recog- 
 nize simply by its motive efiects. It is not a power 
 confined to muscular structures, even in living bodies, 
 for there it is vested more or less in every kind of 
 tissue, though in some it may scarcely be perceptible. 
 But it is found to be a power also residing in bodies 
 that are not organized; and this power is manifested in 
 them doubtless through the spirit of electricity. As 
 though it were a power distinguishing all living bodies 
 from those that were without life, some writers have 
 made the primary idea of hfe to consist of motion, and 
 they thought that the inherent independent power of 
 motion, accompanied by frequent actual appreciable 
 motion, constitutes the whole of our notion of hfe. But 
 it will be found that even automatic life could not be 
 carried on by this quality alone ; and we must there- 
 fore add to this the sentient power, however it may by 
 so doing oblige us to connect the mental with the vital 
 phenomena. Indeed, if either of these powers are to 
 claim the title of primary in the sense of standing first 
 or alone as a distinguishing mark of life, I should say 
 sensation would demand precedence upon this ground, 
 viz., that arguing from analogy and from facts drawn 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 from the inorganic world, we might at first sight be 
 inclined to infer that the motive power, so far from 
 being inherent in or peculiar to living bodies, and so 
 characterising them as disthiguished by this quality, 
 was caused by the same efficient and subordinate 
 power, the spirit of magnetic electricity, which in the 
 hands of the Creator moves the bodies of the inorganic 
 world and the celestial orbs throughout the universe. 
 But we have no other bodies in the creation which 
 make known to us that they are sensible of the presence 
 of other bodies but those possessed by the spirit of life. 
 That, therefore, which marks the motive power of living 
 bodies as one of their characteristic distinctions to show 
 the immaterial spirit in them is superior to the spirits 
 employed to govern the inorganic world, is not so 
 clearly made out as the power of sensation, although, 
 when the will is found connected with the motive 
 power in animals, it places that power in them above 
 the more uniform and mechanical power we recognize 
 as moving the atoms of the inorganic world. But ex- 
 periments with the electric bath show that even in 
 livinff bodies of the vegetable world the movements of 
 their organic parts are to be referred in some degree to 
 the spirit of electricity. Noad thinks it is not im- 
 probable electricity may have something to do with the 
 rise of the sap, from the fact that it always increases 
 the velocity of a fluid moving in a capillary tube.* Add 
 to this, that living vegetables are the most powerful 
 
 * Lectures on Electricity, p. 73. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 147 
 
 conductors of this spirit with which we are acquainted. 
 Moreover, we must contend that the movements in 
 animals are to be referred to this spirit, for the functions 
 supplied by the sympathetic gangUa have been closely 
 imitated by galvanic power, as in the experiments of 
 Wilson Philip ;* and the same nerves we trace into 
 the structure of the elective apparatus of the rata 
 torpedo are the same in character with those employed 
 for the purposes of digestion and secretion ; and these 
 functions were found by Dr. Davyf to have been 
 arrested by the frequent discharges artificially excited 
 in that animal. Now these phenomena are certainly 
 more allied to the motive power than to the sentient. 
 And there are physiological and anatomical reasons to 
 suppose that the ganglionic system is designed, both in 
 man and animals, for those primary operations, if we 
 may so call the organic offices of secretion, nutrition, 
 digestion, circulation, and the like. After they have 
 contributed their share in the constructon of proper 
 organic parts, such as a brain and nervous system, we 
 observe for the first time the phenomena of voluntary 
 motion and sensation to result from the action of those 
 additional portions of the living body on which the 
 spirit of life is brought to bear. 
 
 The power of sensation is a mode of action found 
 exclusively in bodies endued with the spirit of fife. 
 It is, therefore, very rightly presumed that it is a 
 power pre-eminently marking the presence of a spirit 
 
 * Experimental Enquiry into the Laws of the Vital Functions, 
 t Phil. Transactions, Pt. II. 1832. 
 
148 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 not to be detected in inorganic bodies. The different 
 degrees of this mode of action, if we trace it up from 
 the lowest forms of vegetable life to the highest organi- 
 zation in man, will be found to be so great, that we 
 almost lose sight of the fundamental and abstract 
 character of this mode of action, which every living 
 body enjoys in common, of being able to detect the 
 contact of other matter when applied to it, and of 
 which all the higher properties we notice in man, com- 
 prehended in the desires, the feelings, the thoughts, and 
 all the high attributes of the mind, are only the more 
 elaborate examples of its modifications, 
 
 Being immaterial in its nature, this spirit, like those 
 below it, must come in contact not only with some 
 kind of body, but with some particular kind of matter, 
 before that organic structure — the living animal body — 
 can be built up so as to perform either vital or mental 
 phenomena. 
 
 It was the opinion of Aristotle that anything that 
 feels and moves voluntarily is endowed with mind. 
 " As soon as they feel, they must have thoughts and 
 desires, for where there is sensation there must be pain 
 and pleasure, and where these exist, desires must exist 
 likewise." And the proof of the correctness of this 
 opinion ought to rest not upon that particular degree of 
 complexity which may be arbitrarily fixed as the Umit 
 or standard of mental endowment, but upon the true 
 fundamental nature of the power of which the mind 
 in the higher animals, but more particularly in man, 
 is the most complex form. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 149 
 
 ^ 
 
 Progressive Development of the Material Stnietures 
 as the Vital and Mental Powers increase. 
 
 There is much reason to beHeve, although it is not 
 actually demonstrable to the eye of sense, that eveiy 
 living animal substance is possessed of a material 
 organic structure which we recognise in the higlier 
 animals, as the nervous system, through which they 
 manifest sensation and motion, appetites, desires, and 
 will. Tiedemann says : " The infusoria, polypi, medusse, 
 various zoophytes, and the majority of entozoa, are the 
 only animals in which we have not yet succeeded in 
 shewing the existence of nerves by the anatomical scalpel. 
 But as we perceive in these animals phenomena which 
 take place by the medium of nerves, in animals of a 
 more elevated order, — that is to say, sensibility and 
 voluntary motion, — it is not improbable that in them the 
 nervous substance is mixed with their gelatinous and 
 nervous mass without being demonstrable as a particu- 
 lar tissue."* However this may be, it is certain that in 
 man and the higher animals, a particular system or 
 structure, varied and complex in its character, is formed 
 expressly for the display and operation of the phe- 
 nomena of sensation, voluntary motion, and the higher 
 qualities of mind in them. 
 
 When no such system of brain and nerves is to be 
 discovered there, it is contended there is no manifesta- 
 tion of those phenomena that constitute mind. And 
 
 * Comparative Physiology : translated by Gully and Lane. 
 
150 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 the presence of the organizing action alone in plants is 
 thought to be owing to the deficiency in them of a 
 nervous system capable of manifesting mind. But even 
 the unconscious spirit of life, it must be admitted, gives 
 the theme of the instincts, and though we define mind 
 to consist chiefly in the distinguishing qualities of con- 
 sciousness and thought, yet this leaves the question of 
 the true origin of mind to be determined by the spirit 
 of life. 
 
 The organizing or vital spirit in plants may explain 
 the reason why the more succulent kinds grow in 
 marshy places, or why, in desert countries, the power 
 of transudation is so much slower than that of absorp- 
 tion. The consciousness of the necessity of these laws 
 seems to have been antecedently acted upon by the 
 Creator ; and as there is no organization indicative of 
 mind in the vegetable kingdom, such phenomena are 
 accounted purely organic. But what must we say in 
 the case of some of the lower tribes of the animal 
 creation ; of those animals without brains, the acepha- 
 lous moUusca for example, which have mere nervous 
 gangUa around the stomach? Yet the intellectual 
 acts, instinctive as they are called, of these animals 
 show that there is an acting in relation to a particular 
 position of things w^hich makes it impossible to suppose 
 they were not in some way sentiently informed of that 
 position. If it is mere conscious sensation, this is 
 enough to constitute the basis on wliich the more 
 elaborate reasoning mind is formed. It is not likely 
 that the immaterial substance causing the phenomena 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 151 
 
 .^ 
 
 > 
 
 i 
 
 of life, among which we observe sensation and motion, 
 sliould reside exclusively in the brain or the spinal 
 chord. There is much to prove it existed in the sym- 
 pathetic ganglia and the delicate network of nervous 
 matter connected with them, before the brain and cord 
 was built up. In this way it probably presides over 
 the spirits of heat and electricity as they act upon the 
 different and numerous substances in the blood ; for it 
 has been shown that the manifestation of thought 
 through the brain is strictly dependent upon the quan- 
 tity and quality of the blood supplied to that organ. 
 So that, although the phenomena of the spirit of life 
 which form the basis of mind, viz., the different modifi- 
 cations of sensation and motion, are inseparable from 
 tlie brain and the nerves, and the ganglionic system, it 
 does not therefore follow that the immaterial substance 
 causing the phenomena are separate and distinct from 
 that which causes the mental phenomena, or that sen- 
 sation and voluntary motion, which form the basis of 
 mind, are any other than the spiiit of life acting upon 
 particular combinations of organized matter. Still less 
 does the physiological fact, that sensation and motion, 
 the two fundamental elements of mind, are seated in 
 the cord, and not in the brain, help us to infer that the 
 mind has an independent entity of existence, being 
 manifested through the brain alone. For the pheno- 
 mena of mind are quite incompatible with any separ^ 
 tion of the spinal cord from the brain. If, therefore, 
 the mind were the immortal soul, this latter spirit 
 must reside in the cord as well as in the brain. Thus, 
 
152 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 ) 
 
 the phenomena of Ufe and mind are, in a material 
 sense, limited to the organization through which they 
 are manifested in living bodies : so that the circumstance 
 that appears to mark the difference between this spirit 
 of life in man and animals is the limitation in the 
 organization of every distinct species to a certain fixed 
 boundary, beyond which it cannot pass. That it has, 
 as a spirit, power to do more were the organization pre- 
 pared for it, is forcibly elucidated by the common in- 
 strument invented to increase the sphere of vision. 
 That organic part of the body that enables us to behold 
 objects at a distance is confined to certain bounds, 
 which vary in every animal according to the magnitude 
 and perfection of the instrument, beyond which it 
 cannot extend. Yet if by art we so contrive to imitate 
 that instrument, as we do in our telescopes, upon a 
 scale of increased proportions, we are enabled to be- 
 hold objects at a distance almost immeasurable. And 
 it is with no more mind, no more additional supply of the 
 immateriality of life, that the optic nerve is able to trans- 
 mit as much poweras we can find instruments to conveyit. 
 The office of this spirit in every species, which seems 
 to have been fixed by a Divine and unalterable law at 
 the beghming of the creation, is to charge the materials 
 brought together, assimilated and united as they are in 
 the operations of the chylopoietic viscera, with such 
 power as that they may continually repair and build up 
 those parts which otherwise would be destroyed by the 
 different processes going on of chemical change and 
 decomposition. It thus fiu*nishes and controls, in every 
 
 
 * 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 153 
 
 / 
 
 organ of the body, the several powers of secretion, 
 formation, and growth, in the accomplishment of which 
 it engages the spirits of heat and electricity. In the 
 carrying out of the phenomena of muscular motion, we 
 also have the most satisfactory evidence that the spirit 
 of electricity is subordinately engaged, and that inde- 
 pendently of the nervous system, to produce the mus- 
 cular electric current. 
 
 In this way the particular organization of every 
 species of animal is built up by the aid of this imma- 
 terial substance, and in this operation, amongst other 
 parts, a brain and nervous system is constructed in 
 each, more or less complicated and enlarged according 
 to the mental development required. And the building 
 up of this apparatus for the manifestation of the mental 
 operations is likewise accomplished in a great measure 
 through the agency of the spirits of heat and electricity 
 which are here held bound by the higher spirit of life 
 to contribute their specific powers. 
 
 Physiologists have not failed to notice that the ope- 
 rations of life were dependent upon the action of ex- 
 ternal agents, and the theory of John Brown was set 
 up to try to prove that hfe was the result of the opera- 
 tion of external agents upon organization that possessed 
 peculiar inherent qualities he called irritability. How 
 confused the mind must have been, as to the distinct 
 nature of the efficient cause of life being a distinct spi- 
 ritual entity, is at at once shown by observing how 
 these physiologists, one and all, have mixed up in the 
 most unsatisfactory manner the different material and 
 
154 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 155 
 
 U 
 
 I 
 
 immaterial substances, comprehending them all under 
 the same category as external agents ; such as heat, 
 electricity, water, hght, oxygen, and the like. It is 
 impossible to jumble together all these substances, some 
 of which are simple, others combined material sub- 
 stances, while others, again, are altogether immaterial 
 in their nature, without producing the most contra- 
 dictory and obscure notions of the true efficient cause 
 of hfe. For, as I have before remarked, the spirit of 
 life has the power of holding and connecting all these 
 inferior agents in such a manner as to convince us it 
 has power to command them into obedience and order, 
 making use of them as the circumstances may be up to 
 a certain point, and under certain conditions, and bind- 
 ing them down to certain modifications of action to 
 which they do not submit in inorganic nature. 
 
 The organization of the brain being fixed in the 
 number and size of its various parts, transmits the 
 mental phenomena accordingly in a more or less elabo- 
 rate manner. This certainly favours the idea that if 
 there is any dijfference in the immaterial cause of the 
 vital and mental phenomena of animals, it is only a 
 difference of degree in the organic parts ; for the one 
 is so intimately mixed up with, and dependent upon 
 the other, they are so essentially the same in some of 
 their effects, while they axe in operation so inseparable, 
 that they cannot be said to have two distinct spirits for 
 their origin. Indeed, if we separate mind from hfe in 
 its true efficient cause, we may with as much reason 
 separate the efficient cause of motion and sensation. 
 
 For there is quite as much difference between the 
 function of digestion and that of motion, as there is 
 between the function of digestion and that of sensation, 
 — as sensation, after all, is the basis of mind, and it ' is 
 as inseparable from digestion as motion is ; while they 
 both only cooperate with that power which separates the 
 materials in digestion, furnished by the spirit of life to 
 the sympathetic ganglion. 
 
 The spirit causing the phenomena we call mind 
 must be indivisible, because it is not matter. Before 
 mind can be the result of its operation upon particular 
 organization, it must unite the elements first in the 
 binary and quaternary unions, and so build up organic 
 bodies. In that state it is capable of acting upon, in 
 particular, structure so built up, and the phenomena of 
 mind are the consequence of its higher action upon 
 this particular structure. And as it finds this instru- 
 ment constructed and adapted so does it act. If there 
 are capacious cerebral arrangements it can do more 
 than if those arrangements are upon a smaller and more 
 contracted scale. 
 
 The supporters of the theory of a vital principle, as 
 it was called, spoke of it merely as an occult quality, 
 and thus they were unable to account for the great 
 diversity in the mode of action of living bodies. They 
 therefore called to their assistance a spiritual power in 
 addition, which they called the soul, and, by adding 
 this to the vital principle, they endeavoured to account 
 for the intellectual phenomena. How, in this way, can 
 we get over the difficulty in the case of most of the 
 
156 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 animal creation, where some degree of intellectual ope- 
 ration must be allowed ? In animals we notice mental 
 phenomena which decide without a doubt that they 
 possess a power of perception, of memory, of judgment, 
 of will, of attention ; that they have thoughts and 
 desires and mental operations, allied in character, so far 
 as they go, to those in man. Moreover, the chemical 
 analysis of the cerebral matter in animals shows that 
 the phenomena of mind in all must proceed from the 
 operation of a similar spirit ; for there is no material 
 difference in the component material elements. 
 
 If, therefore, it is considered that two separate spirits, 
 in addition to those of heat and electricity, are supplied 
 to perform the vital and mental operations in man, 
 physiology and, as I shall presently show, revelation, 
 require the same spirits in animals. How otherwise 
 can we account for the many wonderful acts and mental 
 phenomena in animals, as much indicative of thought 
 as the most rational acts of man ? We may even say 
 more than this, for the intellectual acts of some of the 
 higher animals imply, in many instances, that the 
 mental process in them is one in some respects much 
 nearer to what we should call perfection, than the 
 corresponding operation employed in the case of man. 
 This is to say nothing of the controlling or directing 
 effect of a still higher spirit in man which may be con- 
 nected with his moral condition, and be added to the 
 mental causes operating in him more exclusively. I 
 speak merely of the mental phenomena to be observed 
 in animals. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 157 
 
 With all the aid of his increased intellectual power 
 in the enlarged complexity of his several parts, and the 
 addition of a corresponding extension of power in the 
 great attributes of reason, perception, comparison, 
 memory, and the like, man is unable to reach the same 
 amount of intelligence upon some mechanical points 
 that we see animals have arrived at. Who would sup- 
 pose that many sea-birds, and even fishes, had dis- 
 covered a mental method of finding the longitude ? yet, 
 however incapable we are of doing the same, by a similar 
 mental process, it must be admitted this power is as 
 much a mental operation performed by animals with the 
 same immaterial spirit which furnishes to them the 
 formative, the nutritive, or the reproductive powers 
 they possess. 
 
 But we will take another argument to shew that the 
 spirit of life is that which causes the groundwork, as it 
 were, of the mental operations throughout the entire 
 living creation; and this we shall draw from the 
 notice it receives from the Scriptures, and the general 
 character of the mental faculties, as they apply to the 
 whole animal creation. 
 
 It is a point of great importance to determine whe- 
 ther the mind, which includes the whole aggregate of 
 the intellectual faculties, sentiments, feelings, and pro- 
 pensities, has any real existence as an entity, or not. 
 And this importance is increased as we go on, for it 
 wiU be for our consideration to determine whether the 
 mind has not been appointed in man to be the common 
 machinery on which not only his immortal spirit is 
 
\ 
 
 158 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 159 
 
 it 
 
 brought to bear, but also the Holy Spirit as well as the 
 spirits of fallen angels. 
 
 TTie Spirit of Life common to all Creatures proved 
 
 from Revelation. 
 
 Let us now turn to revelation for further evidence to 
 show that the spirit of life is one quite independent of 
 the spirit of man, which ^ill be for our consideration 
 in a subsequent chapter. There are doubtless many 
 passages here to prove that one common spirit governs 
 the entire living creation, in that sense that will not 
 admit of separating the mental and vital phenomena in 
 animals. 
 
 First, God is represented in some passages as send- 
 ing forth his Spirit, by which means the whole organic 
 creation was made to live. " Thou sendest forth thy 
 Spirit, they are created."* And that this spirit is 
 created we may infer from Isaiah,f where God says, 
 that if he were to contend for ever, *' the spirits should 
 fail before Him, and the souls which He had made ;" 
 thereby implying, not only that the bodily parts, here 
 rendered souls, were in His power, but also the spirits 
 which animated them. Again, He says in Job, " if 
 He gather unto himself His Spirit and His breath, all 
 flesh shall perish together." § Here the breath and the 
 spirit are mentioned separately in the same passage, 
 although in connection, as if to show that the breath, 
 
 w^hile it was different from that spirit, was nevertheless 
 made the vehicle for its conveyance into the body. 
 And this corresponds with the natural phenomena of 
 other immaterial substances which everywhere exist in 
 the atmosphere, and are taken into the lungs for the pur- 
 poses of the animal economy, together with the proxi- 
 mate principles of material matter, — oxygen, hydrogen, 
 &c. 
 
 In this way the spirit of electricity is taken into 
 the body together with the spirit of heat ; for it is not 
 physiologically correct to say that heat can be generated 
 by the simple conjunction of the oxygen of the air 
 with the carbon of the blood, without the co-operation 
 of any other agent. And this agent is doubtless of a 
 spiritual nature ; in confirmation of which fact, the 
 experiments of Matteucci * are very satisfactory. For 
 in a great number of instances he proved the intensity 
 of the muscular current, which is purely electric, to be 
 proportionate to the activity of respiration, as well as 
 to the rank of the animal in the scale of creation. 
 
 That the spirit of life in like manner comes into the 
 living body, or has free and constant communication 
 with the organic parts, through the breath, as it is 
 stated in revelation, is in accordance with the most 
 reasonable supposition. 
 
 In other parts of revelation, God is stated to be the 
 great Cause of this spirit. Job says, " in whose hand 
 is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all 
 
 * Psalm civ. 30. f Lvii. 16. % Job xxxiy. 14, 15. 
 
 * On the Electro-physiological Phenomena of Animals. 
 
It 
 
 160 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 Pi I 
 
 I ! 
 
 mankind/'* And, when Moses and Aaron interceded 
 for the people in the matter of Korah, they begin their 
 prayer in these words : " O God, the God of the spirits 
 of all flesh,"t &c. And, when Joshua was appointed to 
 succeed Moses, we find the latter calling the Lord 
 "the God of the spirits of all flesh."{ The Apostle 
 Paul calls God '' the Father of spirits ;"^ and in other 
 places he is represented as the Lord that formed the 
 spirits of all. 
 
 Here, then, the whole living creation is represented 
 as having bodies alike animated by the same spirit, 
 which bodies perish by its withdrawal ; and, when this 
 takes place, man's body, in common with that of the 
 brutes, " returns to the earth, and that very day all his 
 thoughts perish." Now his spiritual and immortal soul 
 does not perish, though there is no doubt, by this text, 
 that his thoughts do ; and this ought to be sufficient con- 
 viction that the thoughts have no real existence as entities 
 at all, but are only modes of action ; and, as these are 
 similar to the corresponding phenomena in animals, they 
 are doubtless the result of the spirit of hfe. Solomon 
 says, when the silver cord is loosed or the golden bowl 
 is broken, " the spirit shall return to God who gave it." 
 The silver cord and the golden bowl, which are high 
 poetical expressions, pointing to the nerves or the spinal 
 cord, and the brain, are so united in this text, 
 that, if the spirit which returns to God is here meant 
 
 * Chap. xii. 10. 
 t Numb. xvi. 22. 
 
 X Numb, xxvii. 16. 
 § Heb. xii. 9. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 161 
 
 to be the spirit of man exclusively, it must be asso- 
 ciated with the spirit of life ; for the silver cord is no 
 other than the nerves, and these do not imply in all 
 cases the presence of the spirit of man. 
 
 In another place he says, " that which befalleth the 
 sons of men befalleth beasts, even one thing befalleth 
 them ; as the one dieth, so dieth the other ; yea they 
 have all one breath, so that a man hath no pre-emi- 
 nence above a beast ;" viz. in this respect, — " all go unto 
 one place ; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust 
 again." The identity of the spirit of life in man and 
 animals is here made very obvious ; and, if it is asso- 
 ciated with the phenomena of mind in them, as we see 
 it is, there seems no alternative but to admit either 
 that there are two spirits in animals besides those of 
 heat and electricity, as we shall presently see there are in 
 man, or else the mental and the vital spirits are synony- 
 mous : moreover, that this breath or spirit of life is not 
 in man different from that of beasts, seems clear ; for, 
 as a vivifying cause, it is spoken of in the Scriptures as 
 common to all living creatures. " All flesh in which 
 is the breath of life, died,"* was the fulfilment of the 
 sentence passed upon everything that had life at the 
 period of the Deluge. And the Apostle Paul, in his 
 address to the Athenian philosophers, says, God " giveth 
 to all life and breath, and all things."! 
 
 * 
 
 Gen. vi. 1 7. 
 
 f Acts, xvii. 25. 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 General Characters of the Mental Operations per- 
 formed by the Spirit of Life in Animals, compared 
 with the Mental Operations in Man, 
 
 If we analyse the different parts or properties of 
 what is called mind, whether in man or in animals, 
 we shall find it to be composed of certain powers and 
 qualities, which, in the aggregate, are comprehended in 
 the term mind. But that this is neither the spirit of 
 life, nor the immortal spirit of man, will appear the 
 more obvious if we take the several mental attributes, 
 alike in animals as in man, and endeavour to ascertain 
 their qualities, or the objects to which they relate. 
 
 In contemplating what we call the mind, in animals 
 and in man, we discover it to be composed, first, of a 
 series or collection of faculties intended to give certain 
 and distinct information as to the nature and the uses 
 of objects around us. These faculties relate entirely 
 to the objects of the physical world around the living 
 being that beholds them. With the assistance of cer- 
 tain attributes, presently to be mentioned, these facul- 
 ties inform the Uving creature what are the qualities, 
 characters, shapes, uses, &c., of every material substance 
 that comes within their ken; so that they may be 
 adopted or avoided as they present to the mind quali- 
 ties or characters that may be either beneficial or 
 injurious to them. When placed under the influence 
 of a higher and more discerning spirit, these same 
 faculties are enabled to embrace the mathematics, and 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 163 
 
 " 
 
 to discriminate and affix certain signs and particular 
 sounds, as they are comprehended in artificial lan- 
 guage. 
 
 There are provided in this mental machinery, also, 
 another set of faculties, or, as they are termed, feelings, 
 which in animals are made subservient to the conserva- 
 tion and continuance of the species, so that one species 
 may bear a proper relation to the others, and fulfil 
 their destinies as they relate to the order and compati- 
 bihty of the present existence. In man these feehngs 
 are not only made to point to the welfare and continu- 
 ance of the present state of things, but also they are, 
 by the agency of a higher and different spirit, made 
 applicable to what is called the moral world, and the 
 existence of things yet future, that relate to a higher 
 state of social and divine perfection, where the acts of 
 justice, mercy, and truth, will form the essential ele- 
 ments of a state of perfection. 
 
 Over these two very difierent kinds of faculties of 
 the mind are set certain qualities, or, as I have termed 
 them, attributes ; such are, perception, attention, com- 
 parison, memory, prescience, will, conscience; and 
 these attributes are more or less present in difierent 
 animals, and are individually strong or weak accord- 
 ing to the condition or amount of cerebral matter em- 
 ployed in the carrying out of the difierent faculties 
 spoken of above. And they probably all, when present 
 in the particular mind, are engaged, or capable of being 
 appUed individually and collectively, in the ordinary 
 exercise of the mind. 
 
164 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 This complex machinery is, then, composed of powers 
 representing the true condition of the material world 
 which our outward senses behold, and also of powers 
 representing in animals the true relation they bear to 
 each other as denizens of this earth ; while in man it is 
 composed of powers which relate to an invisible world 
 and a higher order of things, where justice, benevo- 
 lence, and all that is comprehended in love to the 
 Creator, are centred. 
 
 All this is the result of a highly complicated mode 
 of action, which in man we see is made subservient to 
 the high aspirations of his immortal soul. But the very 
 fact that these different applications of the same mode 
 of action, in the operations of the mind, — some dealing 
 with material and visible substances, while others treat 
 with a state of existence in no respect resembling the 
 things that are seen, — are combinations of two very 
 different effects, arising from the union of causes totally 
 different in their nature as material and immaterial 
 causes must be, shows that the mind is no other than 
 a compound mode of action, the effect of the spirit of 
 life upon cerebral matter, whereby the sensible cha- 
 racters and difference of all material objects can be 
 estimated ; and in man, of the added spirits, of man, 
 of that of evil, and of the Holy spirit, upon the same 
 cerebral matter, whereby the existence of an immaterial 
 world is implied, and the contingent rules to be 
 observed by him for avoiding certain actions, the ten- 
 dency of which in him are regarded by the Creator as 
 sinful, or for following certain actions which on the 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 165 
 
 
 ' 
 
 other hand, are regarded by the same Being as not 
 sinful. 
 
 The comparison of the faculties as well as the attri- 
 butes of the mind in animals with that of man will 
 further instruct us that the difference is not exactly 
 one of degree, but one arising out of the application of 
 new and superadded spirits to that of man, to receive 
 the dictates of which he has clearly attributes we call 
 conscience, and one that may be termed prescience, 
 that are not to be traced in the mind of animals. 
 These attributes take a range over the entire mental 
 constitution of man, and have, as it were, a voice not 
 only in the exercise of every desire or feeling, but also 
 of every faculty which we more exclusively regard as 
 intellectual. 
 
 The bare proof of the existence of faculties and feel- ; 
 ings in animals which resemble so closely as they do ^ 
 the same powers in man ; that they are further guided 
 and overruled by certain qualities, which I distinguish 
 by the term attributes, which attributes have, as far as 
 they go, a similar mode of operation as in man ; and 
 that, moreover, the instrument in both for carrying out « 
 this machinery is chemically composed of the same 
 kind of corporeal and elementary molecules, varying 
 only in size or shape, ought to place the question of 
 the mind of man being his immortal soul, for ever at 
 rest, as untenable and contradicted by the most obvious 
 facts. 
 
 The mental operations in animals are necessarily 
 restricted to the contemplation of circumstances and 
 
166 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 things relating only to the physical world ; nevertheless, 
 for the carrying out of these ends, the faculties and 
 feehngs, ahke in them as in man, so far as they go, 
 are superintended by the same kind of attributes we 
 behold in man ; and the free interchange of these their 
 mental operations, are, so far as they go, quite as 
 unequivocal and easy to be recognized in the one as in 
 the other. 
 
 The confounding of these faculties with their attri- 
 butes or qualities of action in the writings of mental 
 philosophers, as they relate more exclusively to man, is 
 not to be mistaken, although it is to be deplored, seeing 
 it has led to such confusion in the nomenclature of 
 psychological science, and such very obscure and un- 
 satisfactory disputes about words that have no repre- 
 sentative in the mind as distinct faculties. But when 
 this observation is extended to the science of deontology, 
 the confusion to be traced to its result here is most 
 striking. 
 
 It must be also borne in mind that in writing upon 
 moral science more especially, the definitions of deon- 
 tology must be in obedience to the use and not the 
 abuse of that part of the mind which sin has in a more 
 especial manner stamped with the curse of an offended 
 God. 
 
 It has been shown that mind, whether in man or in 
 animals, cannot be an entity, and as it is the medium 
 through which all our ideas, both of visible and invisi- 
 ble things are formed, — the stage, as it were, on which 
 all the operations resulting from the action and influ- 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 167 
 
 1 
 
 ence of the spirits that take up their abode there, are 
 carried on, — it is necessary that a more detailed descrip- 
 tion of its phenomena and mode of action should be 
 given before we go on to speak of those spirits that 
 exercise control over its functions, — the spirit of man, 
 the spirit of the devil, and the Holy Spirit of God. 
 
 > 
 
 / 
 
 i 
 
 i '^ 
 
168 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 , 
 
 il 
 
 THE MIND. 
 
 The Intellectual Faculties and Social Feelings, 
 
 If there is one part of God's creation more wonder- 
 striking than another, it is that elaborate operation of 
 spirit upon matter in the production of the phenomena 
 of mind. 
 
 As hght has been shown to result from the applica- 
 tion of spiritual substance to inorganic created matter, 
 and is of itself, therefore, only a mode of action, so, also, 
 is the mind. Nor can it exist as mind in an imma- 
 terial state alone. 
 
 But the difference in the union of spirit with matter 
 for the production of hght is more simple than that 
 which takes place for the production of mind. Here 
 both the material and the immaterial substances en- 
 gaged are each more compounded and mysteriously 
 wrought, and the effect that might be naturally sup- 
 posed to follow such an union is consequently more 
 complex, and in some respects inscrutable. 
 
 It will be necessary to take a more detailed notice of 
 the mental constitution, that we may be able to trace 
 to their true source in tliat astonishing piece of divine 
 
 I 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 169 
 
 mechanism, the different motives or emotions, feehngs, 
 intellectual principles, &c., as well as the powers and 
 functions or method of action which it displays. 
 
 The purpose to be accomplished in the formation of 
 the mind is fulfilled when the various objects of crea- 
 tion in the outward and visible world have been so de- 
 picted to the individual, whether animal or man, as to 
 assure him of all their qualities, uses, shapes, colours, 
 and proportions, according to the necessity of the case. 
 These objects may be divided into two very distinct 
 and different classes : the inanimate, or those not pos- 
 sessed of the spirit of life, called also inorganic ; and 
 the animate or organic, or those in which this spirit 
 resides. It is, consequently, the office of the mind, not 
 only to treat with those inanimate objects around iu 
 relation to their use and benefit, or their abuse and 
 detriment to us, but also to treat with animate objects 
 which are placed upon the earth to fill up their several 
 social positions there, and to estimate the several rela- 
 tions all these bear to each other, and to act in con- 
 formity to the intelligence this furnishes to the indivi- 
 dual. It was accordingly necessary that the mind 
 should be appointed to treat both with the inorganic 
 materials of the globe, to ascertain their nature and 
 uses, and to apply them to the purposes for which they 
 are required ; and that it should also be so arranged 
 as to be able to comprehend the relative position, value, 
 use, and end, the different creatures fulfil towards each 
 other, as well as the support, defence, and regard, they 
 .^we to themselves. This calls for a very wide display 
 
170 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 of instrumental arrangement in the general conforma- 
 tion of the mental constitution, which may, in treating 
 with subjects and objects so different, be able to bring 
 the whole or any part within the compass of one con- 
 nected view. 
 
 It is certain that, to deal with objects so very diffe- 
 rent as are those we distinguish by animate and inani- 
 mate, a very opposite and independent kind of mental 
 faculty is necessary; and that the value and relation, 
 quahties and uses, of inorganic matter, would be ascer- 
 tained by a mental process very different from that re- 
 quired to treat with living beings. By these they are 
 enabled to exercise those social and reciprocal feelings 
 which permit them to dwell compatibly together in 
 their respective spheres, so that they are drawn toge- 
 ther in a community of interests, and enabled to judge 
 of the advantage or the disadvantage to be derived from 
 the exercise of those feehngs which delight the senses, 
 or lead to actions either beneficial or injurious to them- 
 selves or others. 
 
 If any thing can prove that the mind, though an 
 immaterial phenomenon, is not really the spirit of 
 animals or of man, it must be the fact that both its in- 
 tellectual as well as its social or its moral phenomena 
 are all made to treat with and contemplate bodies, 
 whether inanimate or animate, whose material or or- 
 ganic parts, as the case may be, are put together for 
 the purpose of fulfilUng those ends which relate to the 
 conservation of this physical world, and the creatures 
 that dwell here. And, whatever the event may be in 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 171 
 
 the case of man, as he stands related to an eternal 
 world, it is certain that the scene and exercise, or trial, 
 of his bodily and mental powers is laid in this present 
 state of things, to which his mind bears in every part 
 the closest temporary relation. 
 
 To be capable, feelingly and undoubtedly, of recog- 
 nising many outward forms of existing things, it was 
 necessary that some general power of sensation should 
 form part of the elementary fabric of the mind. To 
 this was required to be added, the aid of some other 
 fundamental property which should be able to excite 
 to action, and so give motion, as it were, to the ma- 
 chinery ; and, upon these bases, as I endeavoured to 
 show in the last chapter, are constructed all the various 
 and modified kinds of sensation and motive intelligence 
 we observe in the formation of the diflferent faculties 
 and feelings. 
 
 That which may be regarded as the most distinguish- 
 ing characteristic of the intellectual faculties, is the 
 power they possess to treat with objects we can either 
 see, hear, smell, taste, or feel. They are the true 
 internal sensible pictures by which the realities of the 
 outward world are recognised by the mind, the out- 
 ward senses being the instruments of conveyance. 
 
 And the feelings, desires, and sentiments, have a 
 like fundamental origin in the common sensation, 
 modified in such a manner as to adapt them to pur- 
 poses which, in animals, relate to their social position 
 and comfort; and in man to a future condition of 
 things, in connexion with which he is placed by the 
 
172 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 173 
 
 Creator under peculiar conditions. Thus constituted, 
 we have an intellectual mind, so adapted as to be able 
 to comprehend all natural knowledge relating to the 
 characters, forms, colours, sizes, uses, adaptations, and 
 properties, of all matter. And we have a social mind 
 so adapted as to be able to comprehend all natural 
 knowledge relating to the interests of ourselves as living 
 beings, or of others, so far as concerns their enjoyment 
 and preservation, or their misery and destruction. 
 
 In speaking, in a former chapter, of the power 
 the spirit of electricity possessed of regulating the 
 form, size, colour, shape, &c., of bodies in the inorganic 
 world, I was anxious to show that these were quaUties 
 resulting from the union of this spirit with simple 
 material substances. In the operation of the mind, 
 these several qualities are required to be identified and 
 made known to the individual ; to do which it was 
 indispensably necessary that the same immaterial and 
 material substances should be incorporated into the 
 material organ before the higher spirit of life can be 
 brought to bear upon that organization in producing 
 those recognizing phenomena that constitute our ordi- 
 nary ideas of things. Hence the importance of engaging 
 the spirits that are subordinate to that of life, before 
 the functions of the brain can be brought into ope- 
 ration. 
 
 The social mind, or rather the social portion of the 
 mind, will presently be shewn to be made up of a 
 more mixed and elaborate mental operation than that 
 of the bare intellect. And this is very important to 
 
 point out, for when ethical writers talk of this portion 
 of the mind, which, in animals, supplies the social feel- 
 ings, and in man the moral sense, they seem to regard 
 it as a mere modification of intellect ; whereas, while 
 it is impossible to contemplate it in operation apart from 
 the intellectual faculties, it is a portion of the mind 
 in it itself quite distinct. Neither is it necessary, in 
 calling in the intellectual faculties to explain the true 
 theory of morals, that we should make that theory, as 
 some have done, to rest upon merely intellectual 
 principles. 
 
 It is necessary to dwell on this functional division of 
 the mind more at large, for it has never before been 
 advocated by writers on mental and moral philosophy ; 
 and there is much argument to prove its correctness. 
 We have a state of things in the physical world that 
 points by analogy to this gradation in the phenomena 
 and operations of the mind. We have, for example, 
 found that the phenomena of life are mediately carried 
 out by an organic combination of materials, first 
 brought together by threes, as we find them by analyses 
 in the vegetable world. And the bringing together of 
 similar substances by unions of fours, as we beheld 
 them in the higher animal structures, is only to be 
 accomplished through the instrumentality of the ternary 
 compounds of vegetable life when added to the more 
 intricate compounds of animal productions. Sugar 
 and starch have their use as ternary compounds of 
 oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon; but they must be 
 united or associated with gluten, albumen, fibrin, and 
 
 \ 
 
174 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 the like quaternary substances, which are compounds 
 of the three elements above named, to which is added 
 that of nitrogen, before the animal tissues can be formed 
 even in living bodies. And in like inanner the intel- 
 lectual phenomena of mind, as they are brought to 
 bear simply upon the uses, forms, colours, and other 
 quahties of simple unvitalized matter we behold in 
 the inorganic world, have need of no other power than 
 that by which such things may be depicted to the 
 mind aided by the ordinary acting process. 
 
 But when we have occasion to regard man and the 
 living beings that were created with him, whose organi- 
 zations betray evidences of still higher and more 
 exalted creative powers, in the several social relations 
 they bear towards each other as parts or links of one 
 great and connected chain of reciprocal and dependent 
 interests ; or when we regard man in the relation he 
 bears to his fellow-man and to his God, as a moral 
 and responsible being, having a clear knowledge of 
 what is good in the more extended sense of the divine 
 perfection, it must be obvious that to attain to such a 
 knowledge a far more complex and elevated mental 
 process must take place, which has not only a know- 
 ledge of the characters, uses, and relations of the inor- 
 ganic world, but also of those characters, uses, and 
 relations which are affixed to the still higher organic 
 structures possessed with life. The social and the 
 moral mind, as these higher feeUngs are displayed in 
 animals or in man, is, therefore, a more elaborate 
 process than the mere intellectual ; and to effect its 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 175 
 
 operation the simple or compounded ideas of inorganic 
 matter must be brought to the assistance, and added 
 to the social or the moral part, before the still more 
 elaborate mental result can furnish us with the true 
 characters, properties, uses, and relations of the living 
 world. This is the only true foundation on which a 
 mental theory of morals can be erected. 
 
 Distinction between the Attributes of the Mind and 
 the Intellectual Faculties and Social Feelings, 
 
 We will now suppose the mind to be put together 
 with that regard to things and persons which will 
 admit of its most accurate adaptation to the varied 
 circumstances that surround it. The machinery of 
 which it may be said to be made up, such as the 
 faculties and feelings, must be regarded in a distinct 
 and separate light from the different moving powers or 
 methods of working which it adopts for the carrying 
 out its ends, and for the obtaining of right and 
 permanent impressions of the true state of things and 
 beings. While, therefore, the faculties and feelings 
 would appear to proceed from the sentient, the moving 
 power seems reasonably to be given to it through the 
 instrumentahty I am about to speak of. 
 
 The mode in which the intellectual faculties and 
 social feelings work is obviously different from, and in 
 some measure independent of, their innate constituent 
 powers to receive or to picture the form, action, use, or 
 other qualities of bodies, either organic or inorganic. 
 I would, therefore, distinguish the different modes of 
 
ri 
 
 ( ' 
 
 176 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 177 
 
 H 
 
 working or of action, the moving powers of the mind, 
 by the title of attributes. And such are attention, 
 perception, memory, comparison, will, S^c. To these 
 attributes, common to all creatures, should be added 
 in man those of prescience and conscience. By that 
 of prescience the human mind is able to anticipate and 
 to comprehend those events yet future which the ordi- 
 nary physical laws lead him to infer do proceed from 
 natural causes, as well as those events which revelation 
 has communicated to him relative to things yet future. 
 This is an attribute which we shall presently see when 
 acted on by the spirit of evil, which is a fallen angelic 
 spirit permitted, for inscrutable reasons, to take pos- 
 session of this very mind and all its machinery under 
 certain circumstances, is able to give the person so 
 acted on a knowledge of the future which does not 
 bear any connexion with the ordinary physical laws, 
 and also a power of being present in the thoughts of 
 others, a power which certainly does not belong to the 
 spirit of life or the spirit of man to impart. 
 
 By the attribute of conscience, the spirit of man 
 which is in him is enabled to know the right and the 
 wrong tendency, the good and the bad consequence of 
 a<;tions, and the ought and the ought not of those 
 actions as they stand approved or condemned by the 
 law which is written in his heart. 
 
 We cannot fail to notice these attributes in man, 
 while in animals they are not present. They are 
 placed in man that he may be able to exercise that 
 wonderful power of reason which he possesses, and 
 
 which enables him to draw inferences from events yet 
 future. The power of the conscience to discern good 
 and evil was not given at the creation to man. It was 
 after the fall that this attribute underwent its present 
 change, through the power of the spirit of evil. 
 
 Prescience stands in the same useful relation to 
 things and events that are to take place, as memory 
 does to those that have taken place. They both bring 
 the subject, the one from the future, the other from 
 the past, in order to bear upon the present. The 
 meaning of this attribute in man is not to be received 
 in the unlimited sense it bears in relation to the Divine 
 Being. It is greatly restricted in this sense, and is 
 provided to instruct him through natural agents, so far 
 as they are calculated, by their unalterable laws, to do 
 so, what is to take place in future in connexion with 
 those natural bodies, and giving him moreover that 
 power he possesses in the operation of his social or 
 moral mind that teaches him to comprehend all that 
 he knows from astronomical and other physical sciences 
 of the certainty, the greatness, and the wisdom of 
 Divine power ; and, when aided by revelation, of the 
 real existence of God, and the unalterable truth of 
 those events which relate to his immortal state. It is 
 by the instrumentality and superaddition of this attri- 
 bute to all the others, when acting upon the faculties 
 and feelings, that the Holy Spirit produces faith, hope, 
 and love to God in the believer. 
 
 The diflPerence between what is called instinct in ani- 
 
 N 
 
 ! 
 
 k>> 
 
178 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 mals and reasoning in man depends entirely upon the 
 fact of the number of these attributes of the mind in 
 the latter being added to by these attributes of pre- 
 science and conscience, and so being numerically greater 
 than they are in the former. The intellectual, as well 
 as the social faculties in animals, are indeed in some 
 points even stronger than they are in man, and have 
 the power in them to perform particular acts which 
 imply a deeper and larger condition of the fundamental 
 faculty producing them, although in them the same 
 number of attributes cannot be brought to bear upon 
 the subject. The mental faculty employed in particular 
 cases may in the one be as great as the other, or it may 
 be even greater in animals. But the mental gestation 
 or operation in animals is carried on by means more 
 circumscribed: in other words, their attributes are 
 fewer. This may be elucidated by showing that in them 
 there is no attribute we really term prescience or fore- 
 thought. The mental process which enables them to 
 do what would imply in us a knowledge of the future 
 is in them carried on by the attributes of attention, 
 perception, memory, comparison, and will. These 
 attributes may lead to acts that anticipate the future, 
 but they cannot do so rationally without the aid of the 
 prescient attribute which they do not possess. Hence 
 animals act by motives that lead or compel them to do 
 things that aremade subservient to the ends of their social 
 condition, but which ends are unknown to them, they hav- 
 ing no attribute by which they can know them as events 
 yet future to them. Neither can they know them in the 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 179 
 
 
 sense of right and wrong, or even in the sense of good 
 and bad, as those signs are applied to actions essen- 
 tially connected with their social state, both individually 
 and collectively. But the mental operation that take s 
 place so that they may act according to circumstance s 
 which lead to their benefit or their injury is an opera- 
 tion effected simply by the aid of the attributes of atten " 
 tion, memory, and comparison, acting upon stronger 
 feeHngs. Thus, an animal will avoid that food that is 
 noxious, not because it knows the future consequences 
 of again partaking of it, but simply because its atten- 
 tion, memory, and judgment, apprize it of the former 
 effects the noxious food had upon it. Thus, also, a bird 
 will build a nest by the aid of a strong innate faculty, 
 which act is made to bear a relation to events yet 
 future, which the animal has no attribute to inform it 
 of, although those events bear a correct relation to the 
 act it is performing. The power to find the longitude 
 which many sea-birds possess, if it were moved by the 
 high attributes of man, would be a more wonderful 
 power than any he possessed. But it acts irrespective 
 of prescience, and is effected through the agency of 
 those attributes I have named. 
 
 It may, therefore, be affirmed that the presence of 
 these attributes of prescience and conscience in man 
 marks distinctly the strong rational probability which 
 revelation so unmistakeably affirms, — viz. that in the 
 operation and working of his mind, a yet higher 
 spiritual entity, called there the spirit of man, is placed 
 in him, with aspirations, hopes, responsibilities, and 
 
180 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 fears, which bear a relation to a still more exalted and 
 more perfect state. 
 
 But having stated my belief that the mind is worked 
 by the agency of powers or attributes that are inde- 
 pendent of the faculties and feeUngs, it will be more 
 satisfactory to shew on what proofs the existence of 
 these attributes rest. 
 
 Their true distinguishing characteristics are — 
 
 1st. That they have qualities of action that cannot 
 be compared to or recognised by any outward bodies 
 around. 
 
 2dly. That they have a range, or distribution, over 
 the entire faculties and feelings. 
 
 3dly. That while the intellectual mind seems by 
 the aid of these attributes to be able to act alone, the 
 social mind or feelings appear to require the intel- 
 lectual faculties to be added to them before the opera- 
 tions of the attributes can be brought to bear upon 
 them. 
 
 4thly . While the individual faculties may be engaged 
 separately, they cannot act without the combined opera- 
 tion of the attributes. 
 
 1st. The qualities of the attributes are incapable of 
 being compared with any objects of sense in the out- 
 ward world. All the faculties are named and identi- 
 fied by the characters they represent in the outward 
 world. Form, size, number, colour, as they are repre- 
 sented in the mind, have their synonymes in nature, and 
 are in strict relation to the natural characters and 
 adaptations which obtain in the outward world, and are 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 181 
 
 ? 
 
 
 
 
 ■f 
 
 attached to all visible bodies. It is not so with the 
 attributes, which produce phenomena that admit of 
 no comparison or similitude. They would, therefore, 
 seem to resemble more the act of a pure spirit upon 
 created organized matter, as we see the spirit of elec- 
 tricity acts upon the surfaces of created bodies in the 
 inorganic world. 
 
 In the case of memory, how remarkable is that 
 power by which we jump back instantaneously to the 
 events of our childhood, while we call up scenes of 
 material objects, or thoughts that relate to the acts of 
 our fellow-creatures in times long past. In this 
 respect it resembles the phenomena caused by the 
 spirit of electricity as it acts upon the wire of the elec- 
 tric telegraph (apparently) regardless of time or space ; 
 so does the thought, when aided by the attribute of 
 memory, jump back to the period of youth, or, when 
 the attribute of prescience is added, forward to the 
 imagined future, when thousands of years, if time 
 should be then, shall have passed away, with the same 
 synchronous efibrt with wliich we contemplate the 
 events of the last hour. 
 
 All the attributes are perfectly unique in their action ; 
 and though we can compare them to nothing we see 
 around us in the matter of the world, yet are they 
 plainly to be distinguished from each other. And the 
 manner in which these attributes appear to act, as 
 it were, independently of time and space, shows plainly 
 that they are the immediate effect of spirit and not of 
 matter. 
 
182 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 2dly. They have a general range or distribution over 
 the entire faculties and feelings. To prove this, we 
 have only to assure ourselves that we cannot form a 
 true idea of a colour, or a figure, or a note in music, 
 without exercising all these attributes upon it. Neither 
 can we have a true idea of what is due to ourselves or 
 to others around us, without making use of these attri- 
 butes. Before we can make up our minds that a colour 
 is red, we must first be able to concentrate the atten- 
 tion upon it ; we must remember and judge what it is, 
 and what it is not ; we must retain it in order to be 
 able to recal it to the mind after the picture is removed ; 
 and we must determine and will whether it is good or 
 bad, beneficial or injurious, under circumstances, to 
 others. All this shews the attributes to have a general 
 suj)ervising power over the entire faculties and feelings. 
 
 Tliirdly. That while the intellectual mind seems by 
 the aid of the attributes to be able to act alone, the 
 social mind or feelings appear to require the intellectual 
 faculties to be added to them before the operations 
 of the attributes can be brought to bear upon them. 
 Thus we can form an estimate of the red colour by the 
 faculty that supplies the idea of colour, aided by attri- 
 butes which enable us to see, attend to, judge, and 
 remember, what it is. But in order to judge whether 
 that colour is good or bad, injurious or beneficial, to 
 ourselves or others, we must take the intellectual idea 
 of the colour which has been drawn out by the attri- 
 butes, and bringing it to bear upon Uving bodies, and 
 so comparing their relative difierence and circum- 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 183 
 
 ., 
 
 stances, we must, with all this knowledge, decide and 
 will as to its being good or bad, injurious or beneficial. 
 We find ourselves, in contemplating the actions of our 
 fellow men, as they stand related to justice, mercy, and 
 truth, totally unable to pronounce judgment upon those 
 actions unless we bring the intellectual mind forward 
 in the first instance for the purpose of judging the 
 natural or physical circumstances by which the indi- 
 viduals are surrounded or to which they are related, or 
 by which they are controlled. 
 
 Fourthly. While the individual intellectual faculties 
 may be engaged separately from each other and from 
 the social faculties, yet neither of these are able to act 
 without the combined operation of the attributes. Thus, 
 to simplify the subject, if we form the separate idea of 
 the colour red, we have need of the combined operation 
 of the attributes ; for in order to perceive it we must 
 be able to compare it, to retain the idea of it, to judge 
 how far it is correct, &c. These attributes may be all 
 co-operating to bear upon the single faculty of colour, 
 but the faculties of form or number, or any other we 
 may name, are not necessarily engaged or brought into 
 a sentient operation, while that of colour is. 
 
 It seems, therefore, reasonable to suppose that the 
 mind separates its action into these two independent 
 divisions, the sentient and the moving : but as it will 
 be necessary to go a Uttle into detail in considering the 
 practical uses likely to proceed from this division, and 
 the different spiritual causes called into action, I shall 
 carry the subject into another chapter. 
 
184 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 185 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE MIND. 
 
 Mode of Operation of the Attributes, 
 
 Having endeavoured to point out the circumstances 
 wliich require us to separate the faculties and feelings 
 which, on the one hand, have their root in the sentient 
 power of the nervous system, from the attributes of the 
 mind, as I term them, which, on the other hand, have 
 their root in the motive power of that system, it vvill 
 be necessary to make a few observations more in detail 
 upon the power and connexion of these attributes ; for 
 the contemplation of them as the great moving cause 
 under the influence of the several spirits that will be 
 presently shown to have their seat in the mind as cir- 
 cumstances may be, makes the question of the real 
 characters and ofiice of these attributes one of high 
 importance in all the great medico-legal questions that 
 bear upon the moral and particularly the criminal 
 responsibility of certain actions. It would, however, 
 be impossible, in a work like the present, to go into all 
 the details of a subject of such magnitude. I shall 
 therefore confine myself as much as possible to the 
 consideration of the diflFerent modes of working of the 
 
 *■">.« 
 
 mind as an instrument, only availing myself of such 
 details and examples as seem necessary to elucidate the 
 point before me. 
 
 To determine the exact number of these attributes 
 of the mind, and show their separate and combined 
 powers, is very difficult while the present terms in 
 mental nomenclature are in use. Such terms as thought, 
 reason, judgment, and the like, evidently imply either 
 the compounded efiect of several kinds of attributes, 
 which is the most probable ; or, that the great moving 
 power of the mind manifests its operation by a complex 
 action, united in one, but capable of manifesting very 
 different properties. However this may be, thought is 
 a term implying the combined operation of all the 
 attributes, and the same may be said of deUberation, 
 imagination, and many others, which cannot take place 
 without attention, perception, memory, will, and com- 
 parison. BeUeving that there are nevertheless certain 
 primary and independent attributes in the mind of 
 animals as of man, I think one of those is memory, 
 another attention, a third comparison, and a fourth will. 
 And in the case of man these attributes have added to 
 them conscience and prescience. One reason for sup- 
 posing these attributes to be separate is, that it is 
 nowhere proved, though they have power to act in 
 unison, that they possess any real power over each 
 other. On the contrary, they individually are found to 
 fail in the minds of those whose intellect or feelings 
 have been injured. And the failirg of one does not 
 imply even the impairment of the others beyond that 
 
 L' I 
 
186 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 187 
 
 i\ 
 
 injury arising from the want of connexion. The attempt 
 to explain the authority of conscience over the will in 
 man has proved abortive, because it is the balance of 
 these attributes in the mind which constituted the per- 
 fection of the mind in its operation before the fall, and 
 before it was injured by the spirit of evil. The loss of 
 the power of the will is independent of the power of 
 the conscience, which may yet dictate benefit or injury, 
 or right or wrong, though the will may have no power 
 to act. This is shown in cases of old established and 
 habitual sins. The rvill, as an attribute of the mind, 
 must of course be separated from desire, as Locke, 
 Edwards, and others, have very properly done, and the 
 necessity, in a medico-legal sense, not only of so doing, 
 but of marking with true distinction the nature of the 
 difference between the desire and the attribute, is of 
 far greater importance in determining many urgent 
 points relating to the welfare, the happiness, and the 
 liberty to be enjoyed by every individual, or by a com- 
 munity of men. 
 
 . If it can be shown, as most unquestionably it can, 
 that the power of the will, as an attribute of the mind, 
 may be lost over one particular desire, while its power 
 over some other desire in the same individual is re- 
 tained, there can be Uttle doubt that such a person, as 
 relates to the particular desire thus affected, is certain, 
 in the matter of his own interests, to suffer loss of pro- 
 perty, character, and health, according to the nature of 
 the desire so imphcated, which constitutes, in a true 
 psychological sense, an unsoundness of mind. And if 
 
 this condition is considered in relation to the interests, 
 character, property, or health of others, it is doubtless, 
 in this latter sense, a grave neglect or oversight in 
 jurisprudence not to have recognized such a weakness, 
 by legislating for the more consistent protection of 
 those subjects who suffer from its continuance. The 
 circumstance of the individual knowing the evil conse- 
 quences in such cases, does not give to the will greater 
 power or choice, while the object of desire is within 
 reach. If, therefore, those objects, from their nature or 
 position, cannot be removed from the individual, rather 
 than that others should so seriouslv suffer, the indi- 
 vidual should be removed from them. By this means 
 the Uberty of the subject is really extended; for it 
 must be obvious that as in the case of the drunkard 
 whose family are brought to ruin, or whose parish may 
 at last have to support him, all those who are thus 
 implicated by his conduct are tied down by the most 
 arbitrary and unjust fetters, because they are brought 
 upon them by the selfish and ungovernable acts of 
 others. The practical question then comes, should all 
 persons who manifest a similar infirmity of the will, to 
 the injury, loss, or suffering of others, be permitted to 
 have complete control over their affairs and actions? The 
 right answer to this question would, if acted upon, 
 lead to the most favourable results. And as in all 
 cases where the laws are dictated with justice and 
 judgment, good must follow, so here, the apphcation of 
 some salutary but legal restraint would doubtless exert 
 a marked influence upon all so affected. When a man 
 
188 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 189 
 
 1. 
 
 
 voluntarily, or rather, having forfeited the healthy 
 balance of his will in this point, involuntarily deprives 
 himself of reason by habitual intoxication, he ought 
 either to be legally regarded of unsound mind, or else 
 be made criminally responsible by the act of drunken- 
 ness. But to wait, as the law now does, till the poor 
 reason-stricken being commits some ofiFence, more or 
 less heinous, of which he was unconscious, and then to 
 charge him with crime committed when he was with- 
 out reason, — this is not wisdom. I do not think the 
 question of moral responsibility can be doubted in 
 1 these cases ; for that responsibihty goes much fur- 
 ther into cases of genuine insanity than is generally 
 supposed, is now no longer to be denied. 
 
 The privation of hberty should not be made to turn 
 so exclusively upon the conscience as it generally is, as 
 in such cases we get the worst consequences, in no re- 
 spect more hopeful or consolatory, because the indi- 
 vidual is perfectly conscious of the tendency of his acts. 
 The will, when weighed down by the spirit of evil, is 
 like an impetuous torrent that cannot be stayed. And 
 if the attention or judgment is brought to bear upon 
 the desire thus affected, these are in Uke manner 
 unable to see the evil consequences that must follow, 
 so that the conscience also suffers, though not in the 
 same ratio. The terms hardened conscience, acute or 
 sensitive conscience, bUnded conscience, are commonly 
 used to convey the idea that this attribute is an innate 
 feeling of the mind, but by regarding it as an attribute 
 or moving power we are able to see how the conscience 
 
 may be acute upon some points and dull on others, 
 while upon others again it may be almost extinct. 
 This could not be if it were a faculty of the mind ; so, 
 likewise, we may have sound attention upon one point, 
 and little or none upon another. We may be able to 
 compare some sorts of things together, but not others. 
 We may remember the different notes of music or the 
 mathematical signs in geometry, but we may be unable 
 to retain the difference of one colour from another, or 
 the features of one country from another, in the 
 mind. 
 
 The attributes, undoubtedly, have more or less 
 strength, both in different individuals, as well as in 
 different faculties of the same individual. But whether 
 this difference con^esponds with the degree of power or 
 strength in the faculties is very doubtful. There is 
 reason to think both the faculties and attributes may 
 be strong in some and weak in others ; or one set may 
 be strong and the other weak ; or one faculty may be 
 strong, and the attribute moving it be weak. What a 
 gigantic memory Magliabechi had for general knowledge 
 conveyed in books, and for the localities they filled; 
 yet upon other matters his mind was inactive. A 
 shepherd boy, who was totally unable to read or write, 
 and otherwise quite ignorant, could count two hundred 
 sheep in rapid succession, calling them and identifying 
 them by name. It was said of the Emperor Adrian 
 that his memory was so generally good, that he remem- 
 bered every incident of his life, and knew every soldier 
 in his army by name. 
 
190 
 
 THE FHILOSOFBT OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 191 
 
 • J 
 
 What is termed a want of memory is not an entire 
 absence of this attribute from the mind, for in another 
 form it may, in the same individual, be really strong ; 
 but it is the partial application of this attribute to a 
 few faculties, to the disparagement of others. 
 
 The different attributes vary in the same individual 
 greatly. We find those with a good memory upon 
 almost all points, where the judgment is very weak. 
 Or the attention is weak and the memory weak, but 
 the comparison is strong. 
 
 There is another circumstance connected with these 
 attributes which may be viewed as characteristic. It 
 has been shown by morbid anatomy that the various 
 losses on particular points have been accompanied by 
 more or less extensive lesions of the brain. But morbid 
 anatomy has hitherto failed to show the relation be- 
 tween the part injured and the particular species of 
 memory lost. This shows that as an attribute the 
 memory cannot be localized, or universally destroyed 
 by the destruction or injury of a part. Pathology has 
 also shown that the memory may be obliterated com- 
 pletely for a time, from the excitement of passion, and 
 return again in full power. The memory also is lost 
 over particular faculties and feeUngs in many cases of 
 paralysis, and to a certain extent this has been reco- 
 vered in some. 
 
 The same observation that has been made respecting 
 the connexion we have hitherto failed to discover be- 
 tween the loss of memory and the disease of the brain 
 is also applicable to each other attribute of the mind ; 
 
 for neither attention, perception, memory, comparison^ 
 will, conscience, or prescience, can be localized. 
 
 I have said that while the intellectual faculties, by 
 the aid of the attributes, can act alone, the feelings 
 and sentiments cannot act without the intellectual 
 faculties be added to them. But in the case of the 
 intellect being the only part worked, it will be found 
 that this cannot be done by the aid of the attributes of 
 attention, memory, perception, and judgment alone, 
 but to these must be added will, conscience, and pre- 
 science. Thus, in contemplating matters purely intel- 
 lectual, we cannot embrace their entire qualities or 
 uses, abstractedly as regards the feeUngs and senti- 
 ments, without bringing those attributes of conscience 
 and prescience to bear upon them ; which act consti- 
 tutes the more expanded intellectual operation we dig- 
 nify with the title of reason. 
 
 But it is when we come to add the intellectual to 
 the social or the moral part of the mind that, by the 
 aid of the additional attributes given to man, we are 
 able to compass all those difficult points relating to 
 human nature or the animal kingdom ; points which 
 bear upon jurisprudence or justice reg;irding man in 
 his social and moral relations. To hold correct notions 
 of justice, it is right that the mind, in the first instance, 
 should be able to be assured intellectually of the cer- 
 tainty and the truth of certain quahties and uses of 
 things in the physical world, which are supphed to him 
 by the simple operation of the attributes upon the intel- 
 lectual faculties. And errors in these attributes, as 
 
192 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 ttey are so brought to bear upon the intellectual faculties, 
 lay the foundation of vices and crimes which afterwards 
 involve the sentiments and feelings. A man who is 
 not able to understand the true characters and uses of 
 things after they have been explained to him intellec- 
 tually, would, in acting criminally, be irresponsible for 
 his acts ; nor would his conscience do more than tell 
 him he had done wrong, without informing him in what 
 way. It is easy to suppose a person not having a 
 memory for certain objects, would at the time of con- 
 templating them be able to determine their relations to 
 good or evil by means of the other attributes of the 
 mind; but forgetting those objects as soon as they 
 passed from his mind, he would not be responsible 
 for the acts he subsequently performed in relation to 
 these objects. The simple relation the intellect bears 
 to truth is necessary to be held intact before the con- 
 sequences of separating the intellect from the feelings 
 in the moral operations of the human mind can be 
 regarded in the Ught of responsibility. This is the 
 great point for the consideration of all who legislate in 
 criminal cases. It is possible for the mind to be in a 
 pathological sense diseased, and yet that mind may be 
 in justice regarded as responsible that commits crime 
 under such circumstances, provided the intellectual 
 faculties can be used. Just as the liver may continue 
 to perform its office though greatly diseased, provided 
 there is some kind of circulation through it. 
 
 Those, therefore, who know intellectually and morally 
 what crime is, but who cannot avoid committing it on 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 193 
 
 account of the loss of the power of the will over that 
 particular crime, are not only responsible to God for 
 their acts, but should be treated judicially in every 
 respect as responsible subjects of the earthly head who 
 presides over the community of which they form a part. 
 This may not be the opinion of some mental patho- 
 logists; but it is, nevertheless, undoubtedly the only 
 practical view to take of crime ; and the sooner the 
 judges of our land adopt it, the sooner the public weal 
 will be disentangled of much partial and necessarily 
 unjust legislation. 
 
 The mind contemplates truth, when the faculties 
 and feelings are so perfectly adapted, and the attributes 
 so correctly balanced, as to be able to behold the 
 qualities and phenomena of all created bodies, inor- 
 ganic and organic, which were originally made perfect 
 by the great First Cause of Truth. The more complete 
 and equalized these faculties are, and the more uni- 
 formly their attributes act, the more clearly must we 
 apprehend and delight in truth ; and it is impossible 
 for virtue to exist where the right apprehension of 
 truth cannot take place. For, though virtue may dwell 
 in the uneducated mind, yet that mind must be able to 
 apprehend truth, however simple, as far as the under- 
 standing of the individual can go. Virtue is to the moral 
 part of the mind what truth is to the intellectual, and 
 it is the bringing up of truth to the moral feehngs, 
 and the application to these of the high attributes of 
 man, which enable her to follow virtue in the path of 
 truth. Justice is the transfer of the principles of virtue 
 
 o 
 
194 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 from man to his fellow-creatures, and the right appre- 
 ciation of truth and the application of it to others. 
 
 Nevertheless it must be admitted, that jurisprudence 
 in relation to the moral feelings in man has never 
 attempted to prove, nor to my knowledge do the 
 writers on ethics hint at the necessity of so doing, the 
 very close relation, the intimate and inseparable de- 
 pendence, that subsists between the intellectual faculties 
 and the moral feelings. As a responsible being, man 
 is regarded by the casuist simply as the discerner of 
 right from wrong ; but this conclusion he cannot arrive 
 at short of the intellectual as well as the moral soundness 
 of his mind, and by the aid of all his attributes. Is not 
 the casuist, however, attaching too universal an import- 
 ance, and placing too much reliance upon a single attri- 
 bute, conscience, when we know from experience that 
 with all the necessary power of the attribute entire, there 
 are persons who daily commit the highest criminal acts, 
 knowing their tendency and the consequences to which 
 they inevitably lead, and who, regardless of this monition, 
 act so impetuously and so determinately wrong as to as- 
 sure us that the power by which this action is committed 
 is one altogether independent of the power that tells the 
 individual the course he is following is criminal or 
 wrong ? The casuist is correct when he contends that 
 the power to detect right from wrong is one which fails 
 in the mind, perhaps later, or at any rate as late, as 
 any other attribute, and, if so, the criminal is a more 
 responsible being in the sight of his Maker than he 
 has generally been considered by his fellow-mortals. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 195 
 
 t 
 
 But do we not strangely overlook in these cases the 
 really morbid condition of the feelings which, beyond 
 a certain point, carry away the power of the will, de^ 
 stroying its balance, and so, in strict meaning, obliging 
 the individual so placed to take a certain course which 
 he cannot resist, even though he sees it is wrong ? The 
 constitution of our criminal code teaches us to wait for 
 this unhappy consummation of utter helplessness and 
 hopelessness under a false idea of extending the Uberty 
 of the subject ; while in so doing we are positively 
 diminishing that liberty a hundred-fold. Not only is 
 it not true towards the real delinquent to society, but 
 unhappily towards everybody else to whom, as a mem- 
 ber of society, he is in the remotest degree related. 
 This ought not so to be. It shows most unmistakeably, 
 it points with an indehble mark to, the great disparity 
 which still is permitted to continue between English 
 justice and true justice, between the justice of the most 
 enlightened and compassionate nation of men and the 
 justice of God. That benevolent Being has provided 
 us with an attribute we can use largely when it is to 
 compass ends of a worldly policy, the attribute of 
 prescience, or that of power, that permits us, unlike the 
 brutes around us, to look so far into the future as to 
 be enabled to avoid or to provide against the effects of 
 certain events, or of certain conduct, the consequences 
 of which would be injurious to us whether as indi- 
 viduals or as a society. Yet our law-makers are almost 
 the only members of society who despise this high pri- 
 vilege by failing to avail themselves of its advantages. 
 
 laBsxznrr^T 
 
 - I L'^ i . k ^.'.., r^-^ 
 
 g . 'i ig -' .-a^ 3r 
 
196 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 The power of the legislature would be greatly 
 strengthened by a more extended application of this 
 attribute to the conduct of corrupt and criminal men ; 
 and we shall have less of those vexed questions to which 
 the whole of the judicial bench is now and then called 
 in conclave to resolve,— but alas, in vain,— if we deter- 
 mine to mark more emphatically the first signs of 
 weakness or depravity as they relate to the interests or 
 welfare of others. Men should not only be taught by 
 writers on ethics, but plainly told by the laws of our 
 land, that they cannot commit acts injurious to society 
 in the remotest degree, or even to themselves as form- 
 ing a part of society, which imply that their feelings 
 have carried away the balance not only of their 
 will, but also of other attributes, without forgetting 
 their privileges whether as citizens or as men. Some 
 of our best authors have argued criminal acts to 
 be the offspring of a partially unsound mind. But 
 if moral and physical remedies are found to restore the 
 very insane, they must surely, if applied with judgment, 
 be more applicable as well as valuable to the criminal 
 who is brought under their influence. When the 
 criminal pleads before the bar of justice that his mur- 
 derous acts have resulted from an uncontrollable state 
 of the mind, and, on that account, with tears in his eyes, 
 puts in a plea of insanity, he really is, in a patho- 
 logical sense, unsound in mind, though he knows as 
 well as the judge does the nature of the crime he has 
 committed, and the relation such crimes bear to the 
 society of which he is a member. How, then, is he to 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 197 
 
 be treated ? Surely not altogether as an irresponsible 
 being, with leniency. The effect of such a course of 
 proceeding is now well ascertained, and we must hence- 
 forth take a view of crime as a responsible act in some 
 other sense. Whatever we do, we must not, and 
 cannot with impunity, regard such acts as otherwise than 
 criminal. And the more they are treated in this light 
 the less frequently will they be presented before the 
 judge for his decision. 
 
 In all those cases where the attributes are brought 
 to bear unequally or involuntarily upon the feelings so 
 as to lead to crime, the question of irresponsibility 
 ought to turn, not upon the loss of balance in the 
 feelings, to whi(;h those attributes alone are applied, 
 but upon the sound or unsound operation of those 
 attributes over the intellectual part of the mind ; 
 and where this is confused there can be no ground 
 on which responsibility can rest. Then, and not 
 till then, the person is legally insane ; and short of 
 this irresponsibility cannot be made to rest. Crime, 
 unfortunately, in a human and in a divine sense, are 
 two different words, or at least are the same terms so 
 widely construed that it is puzzling to devise a remedy 
 for that species only that is conflicting merely to the 
 interests of ambition or avarice. But if our laws were 
 just, the habitual drunkard, gambler, or debauchee, 
 would find the fruits of his vicious practices in a po- 
 sition of society below that which is at present taken 
 by its lowest members. But the state of our criminal 
 code at this time marks with a very broad line the 
 
198 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 199 
 
 downward tendency and gradual decay of our noble 
 constitution. The fiercest and most diabolical acts of 
 personal violence are barely marked by the most trifling 
 punishments. And when, by a shght extension, the same 
 description of offence has advanced up to the plainest 
 and the most undeniable murder, the wretched crimi- 
 nal often escapes upon a plea of insanity. " Shall I 
 not visit for these things, saith the Lord : shall not my 
 soul be avenged on such a nation as this ?" 
 
 As the faculties and feelings are ever varying, and 
 become in different individuals more or less ascendant, 
 so do the attributes become more concentrated upon 
 those faculties and feelings, producing actions that are 
 good or bad, useful or injurious, in proportion to the 
 balance of power which they hold.* 
 
 In the moral government of the world, the all- 
 perfect and benevolent Creator has so ordered, that 
 man doing right and acting in strict regard to justice, 
 is really doing good, not to others only, but to himself 
 also : that is, he is increasing his comfort and happi- 
 
 * It should be remembered that all the attributes are required to 
 be in operation before the machinery of the mind can act soundly. 
 The injurious or morbid action of one attribute must consequently 
 constitute, in a pathological sense, either temporary or permanent 
 unsoundness of mind. But the practical question is, should those 
 who are thus affected be treated as responsible or irresponsible 
 beings ? Certainly as responsible beings they should be treated ; 
 and if their acts lead to crime they should be treated as cnminals, 
 and as justice cannot overlook crime, neither should these cases be 
 overlooked by justice. The acts of all criminals are, precisely in 
 the same pathological sense, the result of unsoundness. 
 
 « 
 J 
 
 ness more than he could do by acting with injustice 
 towards others. The feeling of avarice is contrary to 
 truth and justice. After we have provided for the 
 demands that are naturally made upon us in the station 
 in which we are placed, the desire to accumulate 
 wealth is the act of a mind in which the feelings are 
 not balanced on that point according to the right inter- 
 pretation of truth and justice. And hence it may be 
 inferred that such minds are not likely to hold sound 
 views on those points that bear upon the value and 
 distribution of property, or the relation that property 
 bears to society or to the individual, although it may 
 be wise in the matter of conserving property ; and this 
 leads to the establishment of laws that are partial and 
 oppressive, that deprive the one to give to the other. 
 
 All the faculties, sentiments, and feelings, implanted 
 in man, w4iether for his continuance, preservation, or 
 happiness here, were doubtless originally made to pos- 
 sess that strength or virtue in action which led to the 
 mutual welfare and happiness of all ; and to that reci- 
 procity and just balance of thought and feehng which 
 made each to act, not for the benefit of liimself alone, 
 but for the comfort and advantage of all. The agent 
 that maintains this power to know truth, to do justice, 
 and to love mercy, is that spirit of man which revela- 
 tion affu-ms God placed in him at the time he was first 
 created. The same authority informs us that this very 
 mind in which the spirit of man was placed soon be- 
 came assaulted by a more powerful spii'it, — a fallen 
 angelic spirit, — the spirit of evil, which soon carried it 
 away, bearing down the tender instrument in which 
 
I 
 
 200 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 man's spirit had been placed, till it had nearly become 
 vanquished. He, however, who had power even above 
 the spirit of demons, graciously came to the rehef of 
 fallen man, and, by the promise of his Holy Spirit to 
 all who asked for it, he revived the hopes of the spirit of 
 man that it should be again restored to the glory of God. 
 We have thus authority for believing that the instru- 
 ment in which the mind is displayed is one acted upon 
 by three very different spirits, — viz. the Holy Spirit of 
 God, the Spirit of the Devil,* and man's spirit, the latter 
 being ever under the influence of the one or the other 
 of the two former. After the Fall, the mind of man 
 became so incapable of knowing what was good, holy, 
 or just, that it became necessary for this purpose to 
 reveal the law or covenant as a standard of holy obe- 
 dience : moreover, his mind was now and for ever so 
 much injured by the spirit of evil that it could never 
 recover that state of sinless obedience which would 
 make it fit for the presence of a Holy God. A mediator 
 was accordingly given in the person of God's only Son, 
 whose intercession was promised to all who, by the 
 help of the Holy Spirit, believed in him. It is through 
 the Satanic spirit, and not the spirit of man, that this 
 mind, about which I have been speaking, has been so 
 distorted and diverted into the paths of injustice, un- 
 faithfulness, cruelty, and vice, that it is ever incUned in 
 this direction without help from the Spirit of God. 
 It has thus been shown what is the character of that 
 
 * Plato believed (De Legibus, lib. i.) that every person has 
 two daemons (AaZ/iwyci), "knowing ones," not necessarily evil 
 spirits, — one prompting him to evil, the other to good. 
 
 \l 
 
 '.I 
 
 . 
 
 'f 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 201 
 
 great mental stage, the mind, on which the three spirits 
 we are about to speak of are permitted, for wise 
 and glorious ends, to enter and to act their parts. 
 Before, however, I do so, I shall take a general review 
 of the three spirits the operations of which I have been 
 pointing out, and in this recapitulation I shall dwell 
 upon the marks of their distinct identities. The power, 
 the influence, and the destiny of the higher spirits, are 
 subjects of grave importance to man as he stands re- 
 lated to the past, the present, and the future, calling 
 for his most thoughtful and deliberate judgment. 
 Thousands and tens of thousands of the human race 
 may profit by giving heed to the position these spirits 
 take, and pondering well the awful power they possess 
 for weal or for woe, for time and for eternity. Surely, 
 then, their existence should not only be recognised, but 
 all that has been revealed concerning them should be 
 treasured up and dwelt upon with the carefulness, the 
 discernment, and the diligence they demand. " Believe 
 not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of 
 God,"* was the advice given by the evangehst John to 
 the first Christians, whose faith had been assailed by the 
 platonic and pythogorean philosophers, by the infidel 
 doctrines of the Gnostics, and the subtle and sensual 
 arguments of Cerinthus. 
 
 * 1 John, iv. 1. 
 
 
 i. 
 
I 
 
 202 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF MAN. 
 
 Operation of the Spirit of Man in connexion with the 
 Human Body and Mind — Its Subjugation to the 
 Spirit of Evily and the Consequences. 
 
 Those phenomena which I have shown in the three 
 last chapters were to be referred to the spirit of life 
 and mind, we have seen are in some degree common 
 to the whole living creation ; and on this account I 
 have not failed to show it would bo inconsislcnt and 
 unreasonable to argue that they were indicative of the 
 presence or the action of the immortal spirit of man. 
 
 I have now to speak of the existence of those phe- 
 nomena which, inasmuch as thev are absent in the 
 mental operations of all other animals, and are there- 
 fore peculiar to those operations as we behold them in 
 man, may very properly be referred to the spirit of 
 man, which is placed, as we are informed in revelation, 
 temporarily, exclusively, and conditionally in him. 
 
 As almost all the proofs of the separate and inde- 
 pendent existence of the spirit are to be gathered from 
 revelation, our discussion of this point umst be entirely 
 governed by a right apprehension and interpretation of 
 
 IN relation to MATTER. 
 
 203 
 
 that revelation j while psychology and mental physio- 
 logy are useful, after the facts have been furnished to 
 them, in correcting those erroneous views which might 
 arise were we to exercise no thought or reflection as to 
 the reasonableness or the consistence which these re- 
 vealed facts bear to the phenomena naturally deduced 
 and compared. 
 
 The real existence and presence of this spirit in man 
 we cannot deny ; for it is stated in many passages of 
 Scripture to have been placed there by the Creator. 
 But that we could never have arrived at the truth of 
 this fact, unassisted by revelation, is most clearly evi- 
 denced by the past history of man as we trace his pro- 
 gress through the dark and heathen stages of his exist- 
 ence up to the most highly cultivated state the natural 
 mind can reach, the light of Grod's AVord being withheld 
 from him. With all the superadded strength and com- 
 plexity in the organic instrument which distinguishes 
 him from the brutes in this uncivihzed and degenerate 
 state of barbarism, as well as in this high state of mental 
 cultivation, he is equally and clearly incapable of discern- 
 ing spiritually what is the object and end of his crea- 
 tion, or what relation he bears to his Divine Creator, 
 without the assistance of revelation. Though in these 
 states of the natural mind man is ignorant of the 
 destiny of his immortal spirit within him, yet the know- 
 ledge of right and wrong to a sufficient extent to avert 
 his total destruction by the spirit of evil was mercifidly 
 permitted to lighten the complete darkness into which 
 he would otherwise fall. " These," says the Apostle, 
 
204 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 in speaking of the heathens, " not having a law, are a 
 law unto themselves." 
 
 In revelation we read that " the Lord God formed 
 man, the dust of the ground, and breathed into his 
 nostrils the breath of lives ;"* viz. that spirit of life 
 which animates the body and gives it power to perform 
 those functions necessary to the formation and continu- 
 ance of life, or the carrying on of the ordinary phe- 
 nomena of muid necessary to their existence ; and that 
 spirit which, in obedience to revelation, I term the 
 spirit of man, which is to pass out of its present tene- 
 ment into another state, hereafter to be united to a 
 glorified body. And Solomon, to distinguish these 
 two points, immediately after he has stated that all, 
 both man and beast, go to one place and turn to dust, 
 of which their bodies were made, asks this question : 
 " Who knoweth the spirit of man that gocth upwards, 
 and the spirit of the beast that goeth downwards to 
 the earth ?"t Job also says, " there is a spirit in man, 
 and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him under- 
 standing;"}: and this spirit it is that makes him inde- 
 pendent of and superior to every other creature, that 
 " teaches him more than the beasts of the earth, and 
 makes him wiser than the fowls of heaven."^ The 
 Apostle Paul distinguishes these two spirits very 
 clearly : first, when he tells the Thessalonians, " I pray 
 God your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be pre- 
 
 * Gen. ii. 7 ; Hebrew— Mh or lives. f Eccl. iii. 21. 
 
 X Job. xxxii. 8. § Ibid. xxxv. 11. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 205 
 
 served,"* &c. ; and secondly, in describing the power of 
 the word of God, in addressing the Jews, he says, it is 
 " quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged 
 sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul 
 and spirit {,^fjvyr)q tc Koi Trrcujuaroc) and of the joints and 
 marrow."! 
 
 This spirit is called in the word of God, also, " our 
 spirit," { and it is generally understood to be the con- 
 science of every believer, as propounded by the learned 
 Witsius,^ whereby he may be conscious of what passes 
 in his own heart. But this spirit is not the conscience, 
 which I have explained to be only a particular attribute 
 of the mind by which, after the fall, the right and the 
 wrong, as those terms relate to the moral world, have been 
 presented to it. The conscience is one of those means 
 by which the spirit of man is informed of the true eflect 
 of actions as they relate to the moral world, not in the 
 beUever only, but in eveiy living human being. Indeed, 
 to know good and evil comes to the human mind 
 through the operation of a spirit, higher in power than 
 that of the spirit of man, upon that attribute of his 
 mind we call conscience. In other parts of Scrip- 
 ture this spirit is called "the heart of man" con- 
 demning or acquitting him.|| But that this con- 
 science cannot be the spirit of man, or the spirit of 
 God acting upon the mind of man, is rendered more 
 certain by that passage — " their consciences joining to 
 
 bear witness^ {(JVfXfiaprv^ovGm avTU)V rr}^ (TVV£iSfi(T{(i)g) 
 
 * 1 Thess. V. 23. f Heb. iv. 12. % ^o™- ^"i- ^^' 
 
 § (Economy of the Covenants, lib. iii. cap. 1 1 . 
 II 1 John iii. 20, 21. ^ Rom. ii. 15. 
 
M 
 
 206 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 207 
 
 I 
 
 N 
 
 and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else 
 excusing one another." Our spirit, or the spirit of 
 man, therefore, has the use of the conscience in addition 
 to other attributes of the mind, by which the law of 
 God may be written upon the heart, and the nature 
 and effects of sin brought home to the spirit of 
 man. 
 
 There is, therefore, abundant evidence to shew that 
 man has an additional spirit placed in him which has 
 the power of imparting to him, and to him alone of all 
 created beings, a knowledge of the existence and attri- 
 butes of his Creator, and of his own existence and 
 destination. With these superior advantages, and the 
 exalted privilege of being lord of the creation, and so 
 constituted as to hold every other creature in subjec- 
 tion, he has also corresponding responsibiUties and con- 
 ditions revealed to him which are unintelligible to the 
 brutes, and which will make him answerable to his 
 Creator for the manner in which he has discharged 
 those responsibihties and fulfilled those conditions. 
 
 These are very remarkable features imprinted upon 
 man, and serving to place him in such new and diffe- 
 rent relation to other parts of the Hving creation, that 
 having the fact revealed to us, we can most reasonably 
 believe it to be possible that there is a spirit placed in 
 him having more exalted and extended powers of 
 action. And this places him in a position so much 
 elevated above them, that not only Scripture, but our 
 reasoning faculties as well as our moral sense, combine 
 to assure us it bears many relations to a state of future 
 existence for which it is ultimately intended. 
 
 We receive the intelligence, then, through revelation, 
 that God has placed in man an immortal spirit. That 
 spirit was not concerned to convey to him a knowledge 
 of the qualities and uses of the physical world around 
 him, for this he had in virtue of his common Ufe with 
 the rest of the creation ; at the withdrawal of w^hich, 
 like theirs, his body will turn again to dust, of which 
 material they both alike are made. 
 
 But the office of the spirit of man was to reflect the 
 image and glory of the Divine Creator as He is capable 
 of being contemplated by man, not only the maker 
 and disposer of all we behold, but as the great model 
 and example of perfection in the majestic attributes of 
 truth, holiness, justice, benevolence, and mercy. These 
 were most noble and divine impressions first implanted 
 in man, the infiuence of which doubtless, had they not 
 been destroyed by a more powerful spirit than his, would 
 have extended their influence over the entire range of 
 the living creation. They would have so uniformly 
 preserved the true integrity and balance of the origi- 
 nally perfect mind as to maintain a perpetual harmony 
 and fidelity of action. In this exalted position the 
 spirit that God placed in man was truly able to dis- 
 tinguish him from all other creatures which were sub- 
 servient to his will. It was a higher spirit than theirs 
 on many accounts, and indicated this superiority by 
 the exercise of mental attributes which implied a ra- 
 tional foreknowledge of circumstances and events relat- 
 ing to the present world even, to which no other 
 creatures could attain. But in a more especial manner. 
 
1(1 
 
 «' 
 
 II 
 
 208 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 its superiority was marked by the manifestation of 
 those important powers of the mind that brought it 
 into immediate communion with its Maker. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to bring forward any argu- 
 ment here, to shew that this spirit is, in relation to 
 those we have hitherto been considering, of a higher 
 nature. Revelation has marked its rank among the 
 spirits that animate the material world, in recording its 
 high-bom destiny. When the present condition of 
 things has passed away, and the body it now dwells 
 in has returned to its original elements, this spirit 
 will yet put on an immortal body, through which it 
 will be enabled to contemplate God as He is. For 
 the present, its temporary abode is in the bodies of 
 men. 
 
 In this abode, doubtless for reasons all- wise, and just, 
 and good, the spirit of man was assaulted by a still 
 higher and more powerful spiiit,— the spirit of a fallen 
 angel. This brings us to contemplate what is com- 
 monly called the fall of man. 
 
 One of the first acts of man after he had been so 
 highly gifted by the Creator, was to abuse the power 
 of free-will by turning the high attributes of his mind 
 away from obedience and tnith. That mental balance 
 of the faculties and feeUngs which alone was placed at 
 his dLsposal, was rapidly lost, and he became a slave to 
 the abuse of those feelings and attributes of his mind 
 which God had intended him only to use. 
 
 Of the fall of man from his first estate of purity, 
 innocence, and happiness, we read in the Pentateuch ; 
 
 -1 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 209 
 
 and it is to this source alone we are indebted for any 
 information we possess as to the cause of our present 
 degenerate state. There we learn, that Satan, whether 
 through pride, envy, or any other cause, is not re- 
 corded, got partial possession of the spirit of man by 
 assaulting his mind with temptation, and that at an 
 evil moment, when ofi* his guard. 
 
 The way in which the spirit of man, before its sub- 
 jugation tx) the spirit of evil, manifested itself, was by 
 so leading the desires, the will, and the affections, and 
 all other attributes and feelings, as that they had a 
 perpetual tendency to acts and thoughts which led to 
 the happiness and the good of all. To the mental 
 conformation necessary to all the higher animals, are 
 added such powers in man as would enable the spirit 
 of man in him readily to contemplate the divine perfec- 
 tions in all their glorious harmony and beauty. The 
 thoughts, the v^U, the memory, the judgment, the con- 
 science, the perception, the intellectual faculties, moral 
 sentiments and feelings, were all placed at the disposal 
 of the spirit of man, and by it engaged in fulfilUng 
 those great and divine purposes, and in the contem- 
 plation of the joy and peace that was the natural con- 
 sequence of this exalted perfection of things. 
 
 Now, that these attributes and powers of the mind 
 were not the spirit of man, neither were they exclu- 
 sively, and, in the ultimate sense of the world, solely 
 capable of being set to work by that spirit, has been 
 partly proved by the fact, that many of the same powers 
 are to be recognised in animals, which powers in them 
 
 I 
 
210 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 have likewise been perverted to purposes of evil, though 
 not in the same responsible manner they have in man. 
 And fm-ther, that they could not be synonymous v;ith 
 the spirit of man, but were only the mental operation 
 or machinery by which that spirit displayed itself, 
 is still further confirmed by that which took place 
 after the Fall. For at that event these very attributes, 
 faculties, and feelings, were taken possession of by a 
 more powerful and a more knowing ( 8a»?/iwv), though 
 an evil spirit, which would have controlled the spirit of 
 tiian there as completely as the spirit of God can 
 control it. Lest the spirit of man should, on this 
 account, be everlastingly overpowered by this demonia- 
 cal spirit, — the spirit of evil, which had now entered 
 the field of operation, the mind, God graciously and 
 timely offers to send a yet more powerful spirit than 
 that of evil, which clearly has the power of restoring 
 the balance of the mind to its original course of holi- 
 ness, of faith in and obedience to the divine laws. 
 
 I cannot pass over the effect of the fall upon the 
 whole Uving creation, for with man " the whole crea- 
 tion groaneth and travaileth together ;" and as a con- 
 sequence of this assault upon the spirit of man, all 
 are made subject to the curse and dominion of death. 
 As though the spirit of evil aimed at the destruction, 
 not of man's spirit only, but of the whole harmony 
 and happiness of the brute creation, we see them drawn 
 into the vortex, and afflicted, as it were, with the con- 
 sequences of man's sin. There is much to draw forth 
 our admiration of the many wonderful faculties, the 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 211 
 
 I • 
 
 ■ 
 
 \ 
 
 many affecting feelings which they display, and which 
 the Creator has bestowed upon them. And that they 
 are, though subjected to death for man's transgression, 
 nevertheless the objects of the Creator's care, and ever 
 of his commiseration, we have many Scriptures to 
 attest. " The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou 
 givest them their meat in due season." " That which 
 he giveth them they gather." " He openeth his hand, 
 and they are filled with good." "When he hideth 
 his face they are troubled." " He feedeth the fowls of 
 the air, and not a sparrow falleth to the ground without 
 him." In the hundred and fourth Psalm he is repre- 
 sented as caring for all his creatures, and upholding 
 them by his continual providence. And when he 
 appeals to the prophet Jonah — "Should not I spare 
 Nineveh ? that great city," he not only pleads for it on 
 account of the six-score thousand persons, but also 
 because it contained " much cattle ;" and this would 
 lead us to infer that all the creatures he has made are 
 alike upheld by the same spirit of life, as they are alike 
 the objects of the same bountiful and divine care. 
 
 It ought, therefore, to be not a Uttle humiliating to 
 man, in contemplating the degradation and suffering of 
 the brute creation, to think that they are so situattid on 
 account of his infirmities. But can it be possible that 
 the wonderful faculties they display in their present 
 state of existence were intended only to subserve the 
 purposes of a world disorganized and marred l)y the 
 ravages of sin ? Surely they were originally designed 
 for higher and more durable ends, and there must be a 
 
I 
 
 212 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 peace and harmony for them yet to be disclosed,— a 
 state of tranquil enjoyment, where sin cannot enter 
 to disturb the iminterrupted exercise of those faculties 
 and feehngs which a benevolent and bountiful Creator 
 first bestowed alike upon every living thing, with a 
 view to their happiness. Surely there will yet be a 
 time, and revelation has foretold it,* when man, or 
 rather the spirit of evil that is in man, will no more be 
 permitted to exercise an abusive and arbitrary domi- 
 nion over them, — a power that has been changed from 
 protection to cruelty,— when they will no longer be 
 exposed to the fierce and ungovernable passions of their 
 more [»owerful enemies, — no longer be a prey to the 
 devouring appetites of whole races degraded and de- 
 formed by the effects of man's fall. Surely there will 
 be yet a time, if it is only to carry out the first majestic 
 and beneficent design of theu* Creator, when " the wolf 
 and the lamb shall feed together," and "the wolf shall 
 dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down 
 with the kid ; and the wolf and the young lion and the 
 fatling together, and a little child shall lead them ;" when 
 they shall enjoy the free use of those natural and kindly 
 feelings planted in them by then- Maker ; when they 
 shall be free from pain and death, and that during a 
 lengthened period of time. 
 
 The probability is, that the mental subjection of the 
 spirit of man to the spirit of evil, and the degradation 
 to which he fell by this assault, consisted greatly in the 
 
 * Rev. xi. 
 
 ■♦ 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 213 
 
 apphcation of the will, the controlling attribute that 
 had been set over the desires to extreme and abusive 
 purposes. No longer having faith to beUeve what God 
 had told him, but determining to act and judge as if 
 he were without that guide to truth, he experimented 
 upon the extent to which his mind would go, and he 
 thus soon became the involuntary slave to those desires, 
 without the power to control them or make them sub- 
 servient to any thing but evil. Like an instrument 
 that had been strained or violently handled, it failed to 
 answer with certain sound, — all harmony was at an 
 end, — all balance was lost, — and the thoughts of the 
 mind were only evil continually. 
 
 This serious injury to the mind may be put in ano- 
 ther way. Originally it was adapted for the purposes 
 and use of the spirit of man ; and (judging from the 
 long time this instnunent lasted in the first ages of the 
 world, even after it had been marred by Satan) it is 
 not unreasonable to suppose it would have served the 
 purposes of man's spirit truly and faithfully during the 
 six thousand years the world has lasted, without decay, 
 had it not been violently forced and overcome by 
 Satanic power. 
 
 But it was not to be supposed that, in the first in- 
 stance, the entire bulk of the mind, — that is, all its 
 various attributes, faculties, and feelings, — became in- 
 volved in one universal surrender to the spirit of evil. 
 Doubtless that spirit was resisted, and its power to 
 subjugate whole generations of the human family was 
 gained by artful but untiring perseverance. More pro 
 
214 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 bably a single feeling or propensity was first assaulted 
 and weakened, and the balance of those controlling 
 attributes of the mind,— judgment, will, memory, con- 
 science, and the like, over that particular feeling, — was 
 first endangered and then lost : and thus by inherit- 
 ance, according to a prophetic announcement, the 
 abuses and sins resulting from the loss of balance in a 
 particular feeling or desire descended to the third and 
 fourth generation of the unguarded or offending parents. 
 And so, from the very beginning of the fall of man, we 
 may trace a departure from that sound and equipoised 
 condition of the mental constitution in the perfection of 
 health and elasticity which he first received at the 
 hands of his Creator. In this sense the mind has been 
 injm-ed and weakened more or less in every child of 
 Adam ; and the history of his immediate descendant, 
 who first shed the blood of his own brother, shows us 
 the awful consequences that so rapidly follow^ed the 
 abuse of that mind which God gave man to use.* 
 
 * Against the practice of this horrible crime, which threatened 
 in its consequences the almost total annihilation of the human 
 species by their own hand, God has most unmistakeably recorded 
 His special commands. As that command was given among the 
 very first to Noah after he quitted the Ark, it is not improbable 
 that this crime had helped to fill up the iniquity of the antedilu- 
 vians, and, therefore, required to be thus early singled out as one 
 to be met by the forfeit of the life of the person committing it. 
 Accordingly, God repeated the same command when He delivered 
 the law to that nation that was to honour Him upon earth in the 
 sight of the heathen nations around, and it has ever been regarded, 
 till of late years, as a command still to be enforced. But expe- 
 
 IN HKLATION TO MATTER. 
 
 215 
 
 
 That there are degrees in the abuse which the 
 mind has undergone by the action of the spirit of 
 evil upon it, in the difierent families of man, the 
 curse pronounced upon Canaan fully proves. The sins 
 
 pediency thinks differently ; and it is not improbable that, when 
 man ceases to disregard the command of his Maker upon this 
 point, that God will take it in His own hands, when His judgment 
 will fall alike upon the innocent as the guilty : the one suffering 
 for the sins of the nation that disregards this great command ; 
 the other, by his evil example not being treated as God has or- 
 dained, contaminating others with the same crime, and so involv- 
 ing a fearful destruction of life, similar to what we see now going 
 on in the sister kingdom. It has been urged that Cain's life was 
 not taken for the crime he committed ; but, setting aside the fact 
 that the commandment was not given when Cain killed his bro- 
 ther, though doubtless his conscience told him what he was doing, 
 there is much reason to believe, from the total absence of any 
 account of Cain's death in the Canonical pages of inspiration, 
 that he did not " die the common death of all men ;" and this is 
 greatly strengthened by high apocryphal authority. In that 
 ancient manuscript published under the title of the Book of Jaser 
 (which has this remarkable circumstance, among others, to sub- 
 stantiate and recommend it — viz. that there are not more than 
 seven or eight words in the whole book that, by construction, 
 can be derived from the Chaldean language), mention is made of 
 the manner in which Cain came to his end, which explains that 
 passage in Genesis, " I have slain a man to my wounding, and a 
 young man to my hurt."— Gen. iv. 23. The narrative in the 
 Book of Jaser is as follows :— " And Lamech was old and advanced 
 in years, and his eyes were dim that he could not see, and Tubal 
 Cain his son was leading him ; and it was one day that Lamech 
 went into the field, and Tubal Cain his son was with him ; and 
 whilst they were walking in the field, Cain the son of Adam 
 advanced towards them ; for Lamech was very old, and could not 
 
m 
 
 
 216 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 217 
 
 of one race may thus have been more heinous, and so 
 have brought down upon them a more judicial punish- 
 ment from God than another: in other words, the 
 spirit of evil may have had a more deadly influence and 
 exercised a fiercer power upon some than it did upon 
 others. In this sense the weakness has fallen nation- 
 ally upon whole races of the human family ; so that at 
 this time, awful as is the thought, there are hundreds 
 of millions : and what must be the number, whose 
 spirits have passed out of the body, who were ignorant 
 of God and his revealed will, — who know not, and 
 never knew, the remedy God has provided in the gift 
 of his Holy Spirit, by which man may be again brought 
 back to the obedience of faith, in the consecration 
 afresh of those powers which have been degraded and 
 distorted by sin ! 
 
 But this weakness has also fallen individually more 
 heavily in some directions than in others, as I shall 
 
 see much, and Tubal Cain his son was very young. And Tubal 
 Cain told his father to draw his bow, and with the arrows he 
 smote Cain, who was yet far off, and he slew him, for he appeared 
 to them to be an animal. And the arrows entered Cain*s body, 
 although he was distant from them, and he fell to the ground 
 and died. And the Lord requited Cain's evil according to his 
 wickedness which he had done to his brother Abel, according to 
 the word of the Lord which he had spoken. And it came to 
 pass, when Cain had died, that Lamech and Tubal went to see 
 the animal which they had slain, and they saw and beheld Cain 
 their grandfather was fallen dead upon the earth ; and Lamech 
 was very much grieved at having done this, and in clapping his 
 hands together he struck his sou, and caused his death." 
 
 } 
 
 \ 
 
 have occasion to show in contemplating the power of 
 the spirit of evil under the head of the spirit of angels ; 
 and our compassion is daily implored for the wants and 
 afflictions of our brothers who are drawn out upon beds 
 of sickness, pain, and mental anguish, where not only do 
 we behold their bodily limbs and animal powers diseased 
 and ready to perish, but also that organic part, the brain, 
 which was made to give joy and peace, intelligence 
 and benevolence, through that happy spirit for which 
 God had formed it, is blasted and disorganized, — ^being 
 converted into a foul receptacle of the spirits of devils, 
 where they fail not to torment the poor sufferer to 
 desperation. Of the power of the Holy Spirit over the 
 mind of man in this humiliating state I shall have to 
 speak ; but, first, it will be necessary to consider the 
 other state, in which revelation informs us the spirit of 
 man will finally take up its position. 
 
 Of the Immortality of the Spirit of Man in connection 
 with the Resurrection Body. 
 
 After the spirit of man has passed away from its 
 earthly tenement, we are instructed from the Word of 
 God of the final habitation it will take up in a glorified 
 body. 
 
 It has been very generally taught and believed that 
 the spirit of man, or, as it is more commonly called, 
 the immortal soul of man, after it quits its earthly 
 house, will be freed as if from some chain that had 
 confined it, and so permitted to exert its almost in- 
 finite powers in a disembodied state. But, certainly 
 
218 
 
 TflK PHlLOSOniT OP SPIRITS 
 
 this philosophic Joclriue is most conflicting to thut of 
 the resurrection of the iwil in a body that will be 
 fitted for it, which wc n?ceive first through the pages of 
 revelation . The immorliU i^i\ as a separate, individual, 
 and ujicoiubincd entity, having jxjwcrs in virtue of its 
 spiritual exi8tenc5e alone, is an idea not to be found in 
 Scripture, aiiU it is remarkably at variance with tluit 
 great subject* thereto much dwelt upon— the resurrec- 
 tion of the body. 
 
 **The hopes of a future state/* «ays Carmichad,* 
 •• rest on a double fuundation ; for there are two dis- 
 tinct and disciuiilar means by wliicb it may 1)0 realized : 
 the resurrection uf tlic bo<ly, a tenet whose princi|»^l 
 j^nij])0rt is to be found in Scriptiuv ; and the im{)crish. 
 able mtntc of the c&scuoe of the soul, a more universal 
 doctrine, transmittal from tlic reinutest antiquity, and 
 for which we are not indebted to the sacred records of 
 the Jews, but to Pagan philoc^opliy. Whether oriental 
 stagacity was itutlly the source of this opinion, or meix;ly 
 tlie milium through which it dflsoetuled from an e^irlier 
 era or a higher authority, we are more deeply interested 
 in pursuing siteh investig^itiona as may satisfy us of its 
 truth, than tho^e which consider the validity of our ex- 
 pectations of tlie resiuTcetion of the IxKly. These 
 expectations repose on evidence to which uo ai^giuueut 
 can add weight, and whose strength cannot be fiurtber 
 increassed by any exertions now to be made by human 
 
 * Phyncal CoiD$idcnitioni in cooDtction with Man*! UltiTnifti 
 i>c«liiitiUoa, &c. 
 
 IN RKI.ATIOX TO MATTER. 
 
 219 
 
 ijUelligenee ; but witli this doctrine tlie other has been 
 unnecessarily intermixed, and the resurrection of the 
 body and the immortality of the soul have been strangely 
 confounded and identiiicd in modern belief, although 
 they are totally imdei)cndcnt of each other, and even, 
 in the opinion of son>e able and pious philosopher^ 
 altogether ineompiatible. Yet where is the man who 
 would not be anxious to establish, as an incontrovertible 
 truth, that in * sliuflliiig off this mortal coil,' wc do not 
 eease to exist, to thuik, and to feel, — that the slumbcre 
 of the grave arc no eneroiichment on our energies, — 
 that the ]\\it\^ s|Hrit looks down witliout concern on the 
 mouldering dust it has abandoned, and, cnjojing ita 
 new lilicrty, neither regrets tlieir separation nor needs 
 their re-union?** 
 
 Against this doctrine of tl>c immortahly of tJie ^onl 
 as on existing separate entity in a conscious stale, wo 
 have the powerful argiunent^ of many great divines, 
 among which may be uamwl Bi.slio|» Jei'cmy Taylor, 
 I^w, and iJhurlock, Archbishop lillofcwn, and Dr. 
 Samuel Clark. 
 
 IV. Pythugui-cans held the doctrine that some sort 
 of boily was attached to the immortal spirit, as did also 
 the Plntonists, and afterward TrenaDUs. Origcn, St. 
 Austin, and many others. This l>ody the Platonista 
 thousrht was a sort of lueiform lM>dv, Avyt»4?!tc Swfja. 
 Si>eaking of these philocsophers* tenets, and the rcsem- 
 lilanoe they lx>re i« ^i^iat- nsfK*c($ to the doctrine of the 
 resUTTcctiou in tlie ^cred Scri|>ture;f, Cudworth says, 
 " But Wsides this there i* yet a further <^rreftpondcncc 
 
220 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 221 
 
 f \ 
 
 \\- 
 
 fi 
 
 of Christianity with the forementioned philosophic 
 cabbala, in that the former also supposes the highest 
 perfection of our human souls not to consist in being 
 etenially joined with such gross bodies as these we now 
 have, unchanged and unaltered; for as the Pytha- 
 goreans and Platonists have always complained of these 
 terrestrial bodies as prisons or living sepulchres of the 
 soul, so does Christianity seem to run much upon the 
 same strain in these Scripture expressions: 'In this 
 we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with 
 our house, which is from heaven.'* And again, 'We 
 that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, 
 not for that we would be unclothed (that is, stripped 
 quite naked of all body), but so clothed upon that 
 mortaUty might be swallowed up of life /f and lastly, 
 ' Ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, 
 groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption (son- 
 ship or inheritance), namely the redemption of our 
 bodies;'! that is, the freedom of them from all those 
 evils and maladies of theirs which we here lie op- 
 pressed under. Wherefore we cannot think that the 
 same heavy load and luggage which the souls of good 
 men being here burthened with, do so much groan to 
 be dehvered from, shall, at the general resurrection, be 
 laid upon them again, and bound fast to them to all 
 eternity. But the same will further appear from that 
 account whish the Scripture itself giveth us of the 
 resurrection : and first, in general, when St. Paul, an- 
 
 ♦ 2 Cor. V. 2. 
 
 t 2 Cor. V. 4. 
 
 X Rom. viii. 23. 
 
 swering that query of the philosophic infidel, 'How 
 are the dead raised, or with what body do they come ?' 
 repheth in this manner, * Thou fool' (that is, thou who 
 thinkest to puzzle or baffle the Christian article of the 
 resurrection, which thou understandest not), 'that 
 which thou sowest is not quickened to the production 
 of anything, except it first die to what it was, and thou 
 sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain,' as 
 of wheat, or of barley, or the like ; but God, in the 
 ordinary course of nature, giveth it a body as it hath 
 pleased him, that is, a stalk or ear having many grains 
 with husks in it, and therefore neither in quantity nor 
 quahty the same with that which was sown under 
 ground; nor does he give to all seeds one and the 
 same kind of body neither, but to every seed its own 
 correspondent body, as to wheat one kind of ear, and 
 to barley another."* It is not until the immortal spirit 
 of men has been " clothed upon with our house which 
 is from heaven," that we can be said to have a building 
 of God, " an house not made with hands, eternal in 
 the heavens." And this union of man's spirit to an 
 immortal body receives fresh confirmation by the ana- 
 logy we draw from the union of all other inferior but 
 created spirits vrith some kind of matter. 
 
 It is obvious it cannot come within the scope of my 
 argument to prove what will really compose the resur- 
 rection body : the utmost that can be done in treating 
 
 * Intellectual System of the Universe, Vol. iv. p. 4, Birch s 
 Edition. 
 
f 
 
 222 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 this subject, as well as that of the angelic spirits, is to 
 keep close to revelation while we make use of our 
 reasoning faculties to compare what has there been 
 made known on the subject. Our Saviour told the 
 Sadducees (who were one of the Jewish sects that had 
 imbibed some of the Pagan doctrines of Epicurus 
 denying the doctrine of the resurrection), that they 
 quite misunderstood even the Jewish records upon this 
 subject, for in heaven there was not only no marrying 
 and giving hi marriage, as among mortals upon earth, 
 but those who were partakers of this resurrection " were 
 as the angels of God ;" and in those records God ex- 
 pressly says he is the God of Abraham, — not he was. 
 " God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."* 
 We have, therefore, two facts before us, however ob- 
 scurely or negatively expressed in this Scripture, to 
 assure us 1st, that the immortal will be very different 
 from the mortal bodies, and 2dly, that out of one or 
 other of these bodies the spirit of man cannot exist, in 
 the sense of being separated from them. First, then, 
 the immortal bodies of the spirit of man will be as the 
 angels ; and that the bodies of angels cannot partake of 
 the same associated materials as those of mortal man, 
 may be inferred from the very altered position they are 
 represented as taking as angels. The very light in 
 which these bodies will dwell would consume bodies 
 made like unto those of corruptible men, and therefore 
 we have nothing to lead us to suppose, since *' flesh 
 
 * Matt. xxii. 30, 31, 32. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 223 
 
 and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God," but that 
 they have a body suited to their highly exalted sphere 
 of action. The object is, not to show what those 
 bodies are, but only that they exist in a state different 
 to that we discriminate as mortal ; and this is to be 
 implied from the manifest appearance of angelic forms 
 from time to time, and from the description given of 
 heaven in the vision of the evangelist John : for it 
 seems improbable that the beauties of God's celestial 
 empire should be manifested without the material on 
 which to display those beauties ; and this material must 
 be so built up as to be incapable of being destroyed 
 by those agents we now regard as destructive to our 
 present bodies. 
 
 We have seen how differently, and with what gradu- 
 ated degrees of power, the several spirits we have had 
 under consideration are made to act upon material 
 substances, first uniting them in inorganic bodies by 
 the more complicated modes of union. In contem- 
 plating the celestial body which the spirit of man is 
 finally to take up, the mind seems to carry us forwards 
 and upwards to the regions of those spiritual powers 
 still higher and nearer their great source and centre. 
 How safely and rationally may we argue, if the Great 
 Cause of all natural and divine synthesis can, by the 
 aid of the spirit of life, put together in the vegetable 
 creation the exquisite textures, the inimitable shapes, 
 the surpassing colours, as we there behold them, each 
 quality being varied almost to infinity ! If to-these he 
 can add the more elaborate wonders of animal struc- 
 
224 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 tures, which instruraentally seem to be brought about 
 by adding to the number of material elements ; and, 
 uniting them by a different process, how surpassingly 
 magnificent must be that body, how immaculately con- 
 structed, so as, in a glorified state, to be capable of 
 beholding the face of God in glory ! 
 
 The very enlarged powers that are given to the 
 angels of God place the resurrection body in parallel, 
 if not with the highest, certainly with some of the 
 angelic hosts. The glorious properties and powers of 
 these stupendous beings, as they have been shadowed 
 forth to us in revelation, will be considered under the 
 head of the Spirit of Angels. 
 
 Secondly, that out of one or other of these bodies 
 the spirit of man cannot exist, in the sense of being 
 separated from them. Our Saviour said to his disciples 
 " Except a com of wheat fall into the ground and die, 
 it abideth alone ; but if it die, it bringeth forth much 
 fruit." This expression, together with that of the 
 Apostle Paul, where he tells the Corinthians that which 
 they sow is bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of 
 some other plant, are the nearest comparisons we have 
 left to us of the glorified body. Though differing so 
 much in appearance and character as the seed does 
 from the future plant, yet we see even here, with the 
 same material elements, but differently proportioned 
 and collocated, what a wonderful change the spirit of 
 life is able to effect in those materials. How it can 
 put together the stem, the leaf, the flower, and the seed, 
 the latter having no kind of resemblance to the three 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 225 
 
 former. So is it with the resurrection body, which, like 
 the corn of wheat, may lie in the ground, as the chry- 
 salis does, in some quiet place of safety, till the ap- 
 pointed time comes, when it takes up its new position. 
 During all this time, which, in every seed, and in every 
 chrysalis, varies according to God's own appointment, 
 doubtless the spirit of life is retained in contact with 
 the torpid matter, and, as we have shown to be the 
 case in the mummy wheat, this torpid condition may 
 be prolonged to a lengthened period of time. The 
 bodies of the antediluvian have long since crumbled 
 into dust, and, like the dead flowers of the past year, 
 have yielded up their material elements to the dust 
 again. Not, however, before a portion of those very 
 elements has been reserved, into which, for a time, the 
 spirit of life has withdrawn itself. So is it with the 
 spirit of man, which still lies concealed in its immortal 
 seedling, waiting for that glorious resurrection which is 
 yet to take place, when it will again animate bodies of a 
 material contrivance ; which, nevertheless, we are led to 
 believe will bear no more resemblance to the former 
 body of man than the seed does to the new-made flower, 
 or the chrysaUs does to the gaudy and deUcate butterfly. 
 This idea is borne out in several parts of Scripture. When 
 the great Prophet Elisha was buried, his body mani- 
 fested the presence of his spirit in a most unexampled 
 way, for it will be remembered how, when the Moabites 
 attempted to put one of their dead into the sepulchre 
 of the Prophet, in consequence of touching the bones 
 of Ehsha the dead body revived and stood upon his 
 
 :,EL;.il*i-.,_"- 
 
226 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 feet.* When the Witch of Endor called up the body 
 of Samuel it had been dead two or three years. The 
 expression of Samuel to Saul is very remarkable : 
 " Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up ?" Bring 
 what up ? The dead body, or the spirit. Further on 
 he says : " To-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with 
 me."t Where? surely not in heaven. When our 
 blessed Saviour was crucified, St. Matthew tells us : 
 *'Many bodies of the saints which slept arose and 
 came out of the graves after His resurrection."! By 
 these, and other passages, it seems more probable that 
 the immortal spirit of man remains in a dormant state 
 of sleep in some mysterious manner connected with 
 the seeds of his resurrection body. This state is called 
 the sleep of death. ^ When Lazarus was dead. Our 
 Saviour said to His disciples: "Our friend Lazarus 
 sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep." 
 The disciples " thought that He had spoken of taking of 
 rest in sleep. Then said Jesus plainly unto them, 
 Lazarus is dead." 
 
 These new and glorified bodies will be adapted to 
 treat with the " perpetual whitenesses," and to behold 
 the dazzling splendour of light, which must attend 
 the presence of Jehovah in heaven ; and how trium- 
 phant is the thought such reasonings as these natu- 
 ally lead to, in the mind of the Christian philo- 
 sopher! when he feels that this immortal body we 
 
 * 2 Kings, xiii. 21. f 1 Sam. xxviii. 15 and 19. 
 
 X Matt, xxvii. 52, 53. 
 
 § 1 Cor. X7. 6, 20, 51 ; 1 Thess. iv. 14. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 227 
 
 
 ere now speaking of, and which we shall one day 
 put on, will be so fashioned as to be incapable of being 
 acted upon or affected by the scorching and un- 
 governable destruction which then shall rage to try 
 every created thing; that when *'all worldly shapes 
 shall vanish" away, this bright and glorious body, the 
 masterpiece of the eternal God, shall remain 
 
 " Unhurt amidst the war of elements, 
 The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds." 
 
 « 
 
 It is most true, this immortal body, in which man's 
 spirit will finally take up its abode, to travel through 
 the long vista of endless eternity, will never more 
 be changed or go to decay; but this by no means 
 implies that the resurrection body in all, whether 
 behevers or unbelievers, will be similarly placed. The 
 common property of immortahty may belong to all, 
 and the power to endure torment, in the mortal sense 
 of the word, without destruction, like asbestos in the 
 fire, may be compatible with the holding together of 
 the immortal structure, as the power to stand in the 
 presence of that vast and inconceivable God may also 
 then be compatible, not only with perpetual existence, 
 but also with endless and indescribable joy. 
 
 It is a very popular, but a very mistaken idea, that the 
 old mortal body of the spirit of man will rise again to 
 judgment ; but this, it should be stated, is not actually 
 affirmed in revelation. "The hour is coming when 
 all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the 
 
228 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 Son of God, and shall come forth''* to receive judg- 
 ment for things done in the body. These are the 
 words of our Saviour. St. Paul, in another place, 
 describes this change to be instantaneous when the 
 last trump shall sound and the dead shall be raised 
 incorruptible, and we. shall be changed. These two 
 passages are to be reconciled upon the supposition 
 above stated, that the spirit of man reposes asleep (or 
 dormant, as we see the spirit of life rests in the seeds 
 of vegetables — an analogy actually applied by the 
 Saviour and St. Paulf) in the grave to which is 
 attached the immortal seed which is at the sound of 
 the trump of God to spring up out of the grave. It 
 will be remembered, St. Paul, in his description of the 
 resurrection, tells us that God will give to every spirit 
 of man that body that seemeth best to Him : " It is 
 sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. J 
 That Avhich we sow in the ground, we sow not that 
 body that shall be. According, also, as we sow so 
 shall we reap ; and this would seem to imply that the 
 resurrection body is fixed in the immortal seed in 
 which the spirit of man reposes in the grave. When 
 this seed bursts forth into the resurrection body, 
 they that have done good will rise with an im- 
 mortal and also a glorious body ; they that have 
 
 * John vii. 28 ; 1 Cor. xv. 52. 
 t John xii. 24 ; 1 Cor. xv. 37. 
 
 X 1 Cor. XV. 44. In this particular quality the spirits of life 
 and of man may be alike, diflfering in this repect only in degree. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 229 
 
 done evil will rise also with an immortal body, but 
 it will be to be consigned to the power of Satan. 
 In the parable of the talents, the coming of the 
 Son of Man in his glory, as at the resurrection 
 day, is represented as separating the good from the 
 evil, placing the one on his right hand and the other 
 on his left ;* and inviting the one to enjoy the kingdom 
 prepared for them, while the others are cast into the 
 regions of Satan. According as the prophet Daniel 
 expresses it, " and many of them that sleep in the dust 
 of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and 
 some to shame and everlasting contempt."! The 
 resurrection body will therefore take its position ac- 
 cording to the nature of the seed with which the spirit 
 of man has been associated. And as it has been sown 
 so will it rise ; but when once it rises it must be either 
 to an immortality of happiness or of misery. The im- 
 mortal bodies of unpardoned sinners are represented as 
 not standing before the judgment in the same congre- 
 gation as the righteous. J There is another passage in 
 Job which, as our English version renders it, inclines 
 to the belief that the present body will rise to behold 
 the face of God. " And though, after my skin, worms 
 destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."§ 
 This verse our margin has better rendered thus : " After 
 I shall awake, though this body be destroyed, yet out 
 
 * Matt. XXV. 31, 32, 33. Compare this with Ps. i. 5, 1 Kings, 
 xxii. 19. 
 
 f Dan. xii. 2. J Psalm 1. 5. § Job xix. 26. 
 
\W 
 
 230 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 of my flesh shall I see God." And thus we get rid of 
 a difficulty that is otherwise most conflicting to such 
 passages as those that go to prove that the resurrection 
 body will not be flesh and blood. The Hebrew par- 
 ticle O, mem, which is translated in our English Bible 
 " in my flesh," should be more properly rendered out 
 of ox beyond. And this would enable the patriarch to 
 utter a prophecy more consistent with other portions 
 of divine revelation upon so important and interesting 
 a point. 
 
 ( 
 
 / 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 231 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OE ANGELS. 
 
 We are now about to treat of a class of spirits whose 
 powers are yet more exalted than those of the spirit of 
 man. The question of the existence and the agency of 
 the spirits of angels is one to be resolved solely by 
 revelation. Reason furnishes no material on which to 
 ground either a belief or disbelief in this doctrine, 
 seeing it is one so entirely irrespective of all those pro- 
 perties of external nature presented to the mind in the 
 visible world, and of all those intellectual and moral 
 operations of the mind with which reason has to deal. 
 
 Existing, as the angels are supposed to do, beyond 
 the sphere of human sense, it will at once be obvious 
 that any facts immediately relating to the nature, 
 qualities, or offices of such beings, must be derived 
 from that source which has been given to us that we 
 may become informed upon such subjects as are above 
 the reach of our natural faculties to determine. It is 
 true, the existence of angels having been made known 
 to us first through the Scriptures, it is not inconsistent, 
 by a parity of reasoning, to suppose they exist, from 
 the graduated scale of creation we witness in the 
 creatures inhabiting our own earth, which leads us to 
 
 rj^SB^^ 
 
232 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 infer the created powers above us advance by regular 
 progression up to the great source of all knowledge 
 and power. " We know% indeed, that beings appear 
 to exist in an interminable series, descending from our- 
 selves downward until they reach the verge of nothing. 
 But the probability arising hence is, that there exists a 
 corresponding series of beings on the ascending side of 
 the scale ; and none wdll deny that between us and the 
 Deity there is ample room for all the possible orders 
 and varieties of rational existence. So far, then, the 
 appearances of nature are in favour of the doctrine of 
 angels and spirits."* Thus, Plato taught, as there 
 were gradations in the ranks of men, so were there like 
 gradations among the angels. Ut enim homo homini 
 sic dcemon daemoni dominatur : and arguing in a de- 
 scending scale, as some men were inferior to others 
 both mentally and physically, so among brutes we 
 observed a similar relation of degree : tanto meliores 
 hominibus, quanta hi bruits animantibus.\ 
 
 The knowledge we possess of the angelic hosts, and 
 the powers they are capable of displaying, are wholly 
 derived from the pages of inspiration, where we may 
 gather much to instruct us on those points that relate 
 to their numbers, their powers of strength, swiftness, 
 and inteUigence, their duration, &c., that must at once 
 convince us that, as created beings,! originally the 
 
 * Notes on Sermons delivered by the Rev. Robert Hall, M.A., 
 taken by the Rev. T. Grenfield, M.A. 
 f Plato in Critias. 
 X Col. i. 16j Heb. i. 4. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 238 
 
 inhabitants of the highest heavens, they were endued 
 with qualities and attributes which must have tran- 
 scended far above those bestowed upon man in his 
 human capacity. 
 
 Scripture informs us these elevated beings were 
 created by Jesus Christ for the fulfilment of His own 
 purposes, and as those purposes have not been revealed 
 to us beyond what is implied in those passages of 
 Scripture, where the offices and attributes of angels* 
 accidently transpire, in the particular position in which 
 we are brought to observe them, it will be obvious 
 that much that belongs to them as they stand related 
 to the countless worlds we include under the general 
 name of heaven, must continue to remain unknown to 
 us. And this is the more probable, seeing that all we at 
 present know of such beings is derived from a source 
 that is above the power of the spirit of man to pene- 
 trate. Nevertheless, revelation has led us rightly to 
 infer many facts relating to the angels, which un- 
 doubtedly prove to us that there are great degrees and 
 diversities of power in these beings, and that they 
 are composed of distinct orders. In many parts 
 of Scripture they are variously called holy angels, 
 angels of light, angels that excel in strength. And 
 they are symbohzed to us under titles most variable 
 and difficult of exact interpretation, being described in 
 
 * The word AyycXoe, according to Austin, is "a name not of 
 nature but of office." It simply means a messenger, and in this 
 capacity it is we have the opportunity afforded us of learning what 
 are some of the high attributes of these exalted beings. 
 
I 
 
 234 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 some instances by their mere abstract qualities, and in 
 others by terms that shew that both the quality, and 
 the cause producing that quality, reside in them. Of 
 such a character are the words thrones, Qpovoi ;* domi- 
 nions, KvpioTr}T£c ; t principalities, Apyai\ ; powers, 
 AvvafiHt; ;^ authorities, E$8<Tiat;!| living ones, Zom.% 
 
 * This word may, according to the Greek etymologists, come 
 from the word -^paw, to sit, and may imply that some orders of 
 angels display their powers, not as others do by rapidity of move- 
 ment, but by being stationary. 
 
 f An abstract term, being used for a concrete, and implying a 
 magisterial or civil authority. 
 
 X This is also a word often used in the concrete sense for the 
 persons or beings in whom this particular power is lodged, as well 
 as the power itself. It is difficult to fix the precise meaning of 
 this word. Christ himself is called Ap^n (Rev. i. 8, xxi. 6, xxii. 
 13). It may have to do with their relative position. 
 
 § An Attic word, put for ^vva/ittc, expressive of some great 
 power that might be termed miraculous, regardless of its applica- 
 tion to good or evil. In 1 Cor. i. 24, the word Evyafjug is put for 
 a title of Christ, Xpiarov Qeov lurapiy Kai Qeov (rocpiav. Christ, 
 the power of God and the wisdom of God. 
 
 II Possibly an inferior authoritative power, and, as it may be 
 for good or evil, the latter power may be intended. 
 
 ^ Occurs in Rev. iv. 6, 7, 8, 9, where it is rendered beasts. 
 But beasts cannot be in heaven ; the word relates to some exalted 
 power resembhng the phenomena of life, but far higher. The 
 expression yifiovra d^0aX/iu;v c/XTrpoadev icai ofriaBey, full of eyes 
 before and behind, is intended to show that these angels have the 
 most extensive and untiring power of vision. The title of these 
 kind of angels may be, from the description of their attributes, 
 like the cherubim and seraphim, while those we have been con- 
 sidering may be descriptive of their duties or office. 
 
 ^< 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 235 
 
 <mJ 
 
 The words seraphim (Hebrew sheraphim)^ and che- 
 rubim, X£/oov|31^,t are, together with that of eloim,\ 
 more difficult to understand. 
 
 These are the mighty beings that composed that 
 vast assembly that the prophet Micaiah beheld 
 when he " saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and 
 all the host of heaven standing by him on his right 
 
 * Occurs in Isaiah, vi. 2, where it denotes a kind of angels 
 around the throne of God, each of which had six wings. The 
 meaning of the word is " burning ones," full of fire, and may 
 denote their power to resist that destructive agent. 
 
 t This word, which occurs once in the New Testament (Heb. 
 ix. 5), is found often in the Old, and is there not intended to 
 convey the idea exactly of a created angel, but, some think, of the 
 Trinity. It represents a power in some senses higher than the 
 angels. It is, however, a word greatly obscured, and of the most 
 doubtful meaning. 
 
 X The word rendered in Job, i. 6, sons of God, has been by 
 some thought to mean those men who worshipped or obeyed 
 the true God, and it is the same Hebrew word, benai haeloim, 
 which occurs at Genesis, vi. 2. It occurs, however, also in 
 Job xxxviii. 7, and here it is impossible to believe the word applies 
 to man, the subject spoken of being the laying of the foundations 
 of the earth. The time, therefore, must have been before the 
 creation of man, and the beings spoken of must have been angels. 
 The word is put for judge, or magistrate, and is very variously 
 rendered in the English translation. When our Saviour told the 
 Jews to refer to their own law in proof that they were gods, he 
 alluded to that passage in Psalm Ixxxii. 6, Exodus, xxii. 9. 
 When David says, God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, 
 he judgeth among the gods, he doubtless intends to show the 
 exalted power the Creator possesses over the highest angels. 
 
 § 1 Kings, xxii. 19. 
 
236 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 237 
 
 hand and on his left."^ These formed the numerous 
 company of heaven that composed the ten thousand 
 times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of 
 angels whose voices the Apostle John heard in praise 
 of God. Speaking of their numbers, David says, 
 "The chariots of God are twenty thousand thou- 
 sands of angels ;"* and in other parts of Scripture they 
 are represented in great numbers as ministering unto 
 God.f When the Lord came from Sinai, he was ac- 
 companied with ten thousands of his J saints. In other 
 Scriptures their numbers are spoken of as countless. § 
 
 The personality of the angels cannot be denied ; for 
 they are spoken of as having some kind of body at- 
 tached to them ; and there can be no doubt that in 
 heaven, when in the presence of the Great Jehovah, 
 they all have some kind of body to which their spirit is 
 appended. This fact is sustained by the analogy of 
 every created thing. As the spirit of man is united to 
 a material body in the production of the phenomena of 
 life and mind, and, in the final separation from this 
 mortal body, will again be reunited to one destined to 
 carry that spirit through the interminable ages of 
 eternity, — so doubtless are the spirits of angels united 
 to some kind of body which is so prepared and endued 
 as to be able to display the higher attributes, and to 
 endure the more powerful agents they are appointed to 
 deal with. That these angelic bodies must be very 
 
 * Ps. Ixviii. 17. t Dan. vii. 10. 
 
 X Deut. xxxiii. 2 j see also Jude xiv. 
 § Heb. xii. 22. 
 
 
 different in character and composition from those we 
 are in the habit of considering as the corporeal tene- 
 ments of the spirit of man, needs no argument to prove. 
 But that there must be some kind of body in which 
 these higher attributes are to be manifested is obvious ; 
 for we cannot suppose those glorious appearances de- 
 scriptive of the angels and of heaven can have any 
 meaning in a bare abstract spiritual sense apart from 
 some kind of material utility. Then- faces are said to 
 shine as the hght ; but as mere spirit they could not 
 shine at all ; they could not be even visible or light, 
 unless they blended their high spiritual nature with 
 some bodily nature that is best fitted to entertain it, or 
 to transmit it. The very glories of heaven must par- 
 take of this mysterious union, or we must suppose part 
 of God's creation diff'ers from all the rest ; and the 
 most powerful argument we can use— viz. the uniform, 
 intimate, and dependent connection of the entire crea- 
 tion in proof of the existence of God, both material and 
 spiritual, — is thus shaken to the foundation. 
 
 And why should the matter of our globe, whether or- 
 ganized or not, be thought to be the only matter in the 
 universe ? and, if so, what forms the material elements 
 that constitute the bulk of countless worlds that move 
 in the celestial cycles of the universe ? Whereas, to 
 say that man or the angels in an immortal state have 
 bodies, is to say nothing concerning their nature or re- 
 lative proportions. They cannot be put together as 
 flesh and blood, for we are distinctly told such gross 
 material cannot enter the presence of God; and if 
 
238 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 239 
 
 these angelic bodies are put together in a manner 
 different from any mode of union or collocation we can 
 recognise in our own world, this fact is implied in the 
 strongest manner from the very different attributes and 
 powers with which they are to be distinguished in the 
 account we receive of them in revelation. 
 
 Hie Spirit of the Holy Angels. 
 
 The immediate presence of God is represented in 
 the Scriptures as being impossible of approach by man 
 in his mortal state ; and his contemplation of the 
 stupendous majesty of God is only to be realised 
 when his mortal body shall have put on immortality, 
 or, in other words, when he has received a glorious 
 body according as it seemeth best to God. In this 
 state he will resemble the holy angels in all those great 
 qualities necessary to their pre-eminent dignity, llie 
 angel that appeared to Zechariah in the temple said to 
 him, " I am Gabriel, who stand ni the presence of 
 God."* St. John, in a vision, saw the four living 
 angels round about God's throne " that were full of 
 eyes before and behind."! And Isaiah, in the year 
 that King Huzziah died, in the same manner " saw 
 Jehovah sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and 
 his train filled the temple. Above it stood the 
 seraphim, each one had six wings." J 
 
 How vastly and almost infinitely do these seraphic 
 beings transcend the same qualities in man, will be 
 
 * Luke, i. 19. t Rev. iv. 6. % Isaiah, vi. 1, 2. 
 
 1?^ 
 
 gathered fromthe few accounts we have given us of their 
 powers. How closely do these immediate attendants 
 upon the most High God resemble, in some of their attri- 
 butes, the wonderful Being whose commands they exe- 
 cute, whose honour, glory, and might they constantly 
 shew forth. But though their rapid movements, their 
 power, and their intelligence, are so immeasurably above 
 the same qualities in man, yet when compared with the 
 ffreat Jehovah these attributes even are limited.* The 
 attributes of these exalted beings surpass our compre- 
 hension, even by the use of comparisons we borrow 
 from the same qualities exhibited by man in so inferior 
 a degree. We can hardly believe that the slow motion 
 that marks the progress of man in all that he does, can 
 be carried out by the holy angels to such an extent as 
 to make their movements to seem quite independent of 
 time or space : hence they are metonymically described 
 as being covered with wings. The appearance of the 
 angel Gabriel before Daniel, while he was in the act of 
 prayerf before God, shows that in an incalculably short 
 space of time this messenger of God, who stands in his 
 presence, must have left the heaven of heavens, where 
 God dwelleth, in order to visit the prophet and to give 
 to him "skill and understanding;" to accomplish 
 which he must have travelled infinitely faster than light 
 is supposed to do in its passage from the fixed stars. 
 The slightest reflection is sufficient to convince us that 
 the most gigantic computation of the movements of 
 
 * 1 Pfetcr, i. 12; Matt. xxiv. 36. 
 
 f Dan. ix. 21. 
 
240 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 bodies so constituted as those we see around us would 
 be inadequate, " though favoured by the duration of 
 eternity," to accomphsh so vast a labour as that of 
 travelling through the immensity of the created uni- 
 verse. " Our imagination cannot seize on a celerity 
 adequate to the task of travelling the space between 
 the opposite extremities of that portion of the creation 
 which has come within the cognizance of man. The 
 velocity of the earth, though rated at sixty-eight thou- 
 sand miles an hour, would be sluggish and unsuited to 
 the requisite progress of such a journey. Even the 
 swiftness of the comet which was calculated by Newton, 
 though thirteen times as great, would be still insuffi- 
 cient. Eight hundred and eighty thousand miles an 
 hour would not enable an inhabitant of the sun to visit 
 his neighbours, Sirius and Arcturus, in a shorter period 
 than four or five thousand years, nor the extremity of 
 the milky way in less than the httle eternity comprised 
 in two millions; and still there are numerous and 
 distant nebulae rising on his view, and each of them 
 estimated as a universe equal to that which surrounds 
 us. How many of oiu: years must we travel with the 
 speed of a comet to light upon their confines ? Forty 
 millions of years."* 
 
 All this inconceivable immensity does but convince 
 us we shall with glorified bodies have nothing to fetter 
 our true apprehension of the glory and unity of creation, 
 when we shall behold it and compass it as it were with 
 
 * Carmicliael on the Destiny of Man. 
 
 il 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 24] 
 
 a glance. Time and space will then give way, when 
 we see the majesty, the splendour, the greatness of our 
 God, as he will then be all in all. 
 
 We have some anticipation of what this power will 
 be, however faintly portrayed, in the instantaneous 
 operation of thought as it spans synchronously in- 
 numerable objects even to the utmost limits of 
 created matter. How strongly does the Psalmist 
 contrast man's finite powers with the infinite power 
 of God, even when he would attempt to escape his 
 presence by rapidly moving from one part of the earth 
 to the other, or from one boundary of the creation 
 to the other. In the highest poetical strain, he breaks 
 out, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it 
 is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go 
 from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy 
 presence ? If I go up into heaven, thou art there ; if 
 I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there also. If 
 I shall take the wings of the morning and remain in 
 the utmost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand 
 lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."* 
 
 The power of the angels is almost as incompre- 
 hensible to us as their rapid movements. They are 
 represented in Scripture as excelling in strength. f 
 Here we read of one angel destroying seventy thousand 
 men in three days ; J and of another angel who in one 
 night slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand men out 
 of Sennacherib's army. § And in the execution of God's 
 
 * Psa. cxxxix. 6 — 10. 
 X 2 Sam. xxiv. 15. 
 
 t Psa. ciii. 20. 
 § 2 Kings, xix. 35. 
 
 R 
 
 i 
 
242 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 future vengeance upon our earth, they are represented 
 as having power over the elements of matter, and even 
 the fierce spirits of devils. In The "Revelation* an angel 
 is exhibited as binding that powerful of all fallen spirits, 
 " the prince of the power of the air ;" as " casting him 
 into the bottomless pit, and setting a seal upon him." 
 
 How astonishing also must be their intelligence! 
 They are described in Scripture by those comparative 
 expressions which imply the immensity of their under- 
 standing and intellectual ardour. Though permitted 
 to enter into, to behold, and to enjoy the glories of the 
 va?-t eternal empire of Jehovah, yet they are never 
 wearied or exhausted, their youth and vigour is still 
 and ever the same throughout eternity. Figuratively 
 speaking, they are " full of eyes within," that is, having 
 all their knowledge, attention, consciousness, and every 
 other attribute, so much enlarged as to grasp simulta- 
 neously and unceasingly the entire range of God's 
 creation, not only as regards its grandeur, its immen- 
 sity, or its outward beauty, but also as regards his 
 manifold wisdom in its creation and government, and 
 the true comprehension of tmth and love. 
 
 If it is thought that these and many other high 
 qualifications descriptive of the angels, imply that 
 such beings are purely spiritual, and have no kind of 
 body attached to them, we have not only the argu- 
 ment already used, in speaking of man's resurrection, 
 but the evidence of Scripture is also against such a 
 supposition, for there we find that those angels which 
 have appeared to man have all bad some kind of body 
 
 * Rev. XX. 2. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 243 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 attached to them. The angels that appeared to 
 Abraham* not only talked with him, but ate food. 
 The angel that preserved the three children in the fiery 
 furnace, whose form was like unto the Son of God,f 
 must clearly have had a body, or the king could not 
 have recognised it. The angel that appeared to 
 Manoah's wife, and afterwards to him in the field with 
 her, undoubtedly had a body, and that body must have 
 had some of the characters of the human body, or they 
 would not have offered him meat. J When Elijah was 
 under the juniper tree an angel touched him twice, and 
 talked to him.§ In the matter of David's numbering 
 the people, when the plague fell upon Jerusalem, David 
 was by the threshingfloor of Araunah, and " he lifted 
 up his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord stand 
 between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn 
 sword in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. And 
 the Lord commanded the angel, and he put up his sword 
 again into the sheath thereof." || So likewise the Angel 
 of the Lord that appeared to the two women at the 
 sepulchre is described as " rolling back the stone from 
 the door, and sitting upon it."^ And not to mention 
 other occasions, as when the angel appeared to Zecha- 
 rias,** to the shepherds,!! to our Saviour in the Mount 
 of Olives, J} to Peter when in prison, &c., we are fully 
 assured they must have been provided w^th some kind 
 of body. 
 
 * Gen. xviii. 8. 
 § 1 Kings, xix. 5. 
 ^ Mat. xxviii. 2. 
 ft Luke, ii. 9, 10. 
 
 f Dan. iii. 25. J Judges, xiii, 
 
 II 1 Chron. xxi. 16, 27. 
 ** Luke, i. 11, 12. 
 II Matt. iy. 11; xii. 7, 8. 
 
 o. 
 
244 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 On the other hand, there are angels spoken of in 
 Scripture that appeared not to the outward senses of 
 those to whom they were sent.* And that this was 
 an incomprehensible attribute in them, but not the less 
 true on that account, is remarkably shown in the case 
 of Balaam, where the angel of the Lord was seen by 
 the ass in the first instance, and not by the prophet.f 
 The circumstance, therefore, of the bodies of those 
 angels we read of in Scripture, who were sent from 
 God, and who were placed in some sort of communica- 
 tion with man, though not visible to him, may receive 
 an explanation that does not disturb the fact of their 
 having all bodies of some kind. But for moral reasons, 
 or for reasons connected with the trial of faith, it might 
 have been necessary that in some instances these angels 
 should not be visible ; thus the witch of Endor first 
 saw Samuel when Saul did not.t 
 
 This attribute of the angels, of being bodily present 
 though invisible to the human eye, is a power they 
 receive from God. Our Saviour made use of it on 
 several occasions, both before and after his crucifixion, 
 even to conceal his humanity. § And in his warning 
 to his disciples, our Saviour, speaking of the importance 
 and duty of regarding little children with kindness 
 and humiUty, says, " For I say unto you that their 
 angels do behold the face of their father which is in 
 
 * Gen. zxii. 11. Here the augel called to Abraham out of 
 heaven, xxiv. 7 ; 2 Kings, xix. 35 ; Dan. vi. 22. 
 t Numb. xxii. 22—31. J 1 Sam. xxviii. 12—14. 
 § Luke, iv. 30 ; John, viii. 59 ; x. 39 j Luke, xxiv. 31. 
 
 I 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 245 
 
 heaven."* The holy Psalmist also tells us, " The angel 
 of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, 
 and delivereth them."f 
 
 And this is an attribute that should not be lightly 
 touched upon, seeing it is so extensively made use of 
 by the fallen spirits to the destruction of man's happi- 
 ness and his hopes. On the power of this attribute, as 
 it is used by the great adversary of the spirit of man to 
 entrap him, I shall speak more fully in the next chapter. 
 Here it is important to dwell more upon the general 
 qualities of angelic power, with reference to the good 
 of man ; for their lofty powers and transcendently 
 happy spirits are revealed to us for encouragement, and 
 their disinterested love and joy over all the concerns of 
 men which relate to the prospect of their final happi- 
 ness J in the presence of God, are truly animating 
 incentives to resist the power of Satan with those 
 means which revelation has placed within our reach. 
 By showing us what must be the superiority, both in 
 strength and depth, of their intellectual capacities, they 
 remind us of the awful nature of those capacities, — how 
 readily they could, if permitted by God, employ them 
 for the enlargement of his understanding and the more 
 deep and glorious comprehension of the divine perfec- 
 tion. But upon no occasion can we gather in the 
 sacred records any authority to suppose the astonish- 
 ing power of the spirit of angels has been permitted to 
 
 * Matt, xviiii. 10. 
 
 f Psa. xxxiv. 7 ; see also Psa. xci. 11, 12; Matt. iv. 6 ; Heb. 
 i. 14 ; Dan. vi. 22. J Luke, xv. 7. 
 
246 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 exert itself in regulating the affairs of man, or influenc- 
 ing the destiny of his spirit. 
 
 This point is very important to be borne in mind, 
 for it is remarkably in keeping with the commands 
 so implicitly laid down by God in that law which 
 was to be a guide to his chosen people, in the 
 midst of a world that had been usurped by a fallen 
 angel. It had been from the fall of man attempted 
 to graft the power of this fallen angel upon the spirit 
 of man ; but God saw the injury it would effect, 
 in allowing so powerful a spirit to act upon the deli- 
 cate framework appropriated for that spirit of man 
 that was designed, at first, only to know God in the 
 countless wonders of that part of his creation which is 
 confined within the limits of those faculties it was made 
 to treat with. Accordingly, God denounced in that 
 Law all those acts which implied that a higher spiritual 
 power was acting upon the mind of man, which spiri- 
 tual power had not been imparted by God. Among 
 these, the practice of witchcraft, sorcery, charming,* 
 and all other attempts to exert a supernatural influence 
 over the mind of man, in that it was an attempt to 
 usurp those attributes which alone could be wielded 
 by God in connexion with man, were denounced as in 
 the highest degree sinful. God knew what would be 
 the end of such spiritual operations if employed by one 
 whose deep enmity to the human race had already been 
 so fearfully displayed. He knew how it would excite 
 
 * Exod. xxii. 18 ; Lev. xix. 26. 31 ; and xx. 27; Deut. xviii. 
 10 — 12; Isaiah, viii. 19; 1 Sam. xxviii. 3, 9. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 247 
 
 
 the spirit of man to envy and discontent, and therefore 
 he wisely put the heaviest judgment upon those who 
 acknowledged his own power, while they practised the 
 arts and trusted in the power of a fallen angel. 
 
 While, then, the power of angels cannot be denied, 
 it is important to bear in mind that whenever such 
 is produced, as by ordinary means, it is not by any 
 natural process of the human mind ; and the individual 
 manifesting this supernatural power is either doing so 
 by Divine inspiration, or by a power that is acting in 
 opposition to the spirit of God. 
 
 It is not unreasonable to suppose that the exhi- 
 bition of a power so great as that of angels, when 
 manifested, as if ordinarily, through that organization 
 intended for the operation of so different a spirit as 
 that of man, would be contrary to Divine appointment, 
 since it must lead to a feigned resemblance of Divine 
 power, and would thus be calculated to mislead the 
 human mind into the belief that it was from God. It 
 was for this cause that the Creator has ever been dis- 
 tinguished by all His works, as well as by those laws 
 that he made to govern them, as the unchangeable God. 
 
 Nevertheless, that God might be known in the 
 government of the world, as that Being whose power 
 transcends, that of angels, He has from time to time 
 made it known, through his prophets, by supernatural 
 means, yet always in such a manner as to insure con- 
 viction to the human mind as to the source whence it 
 it is derived. It was not a power lightly handled, or 
 displayed upon ordinary or unimportant occasions ; on 
 the contrary, it may be almost supposed the power 
 
248 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 would never have been made known to man had he 
 passed though the present dispensation in his original 
 state of purity and innocence. And therefore it was 
 in order to counteract the evil effects of the spirit of fallen 
 angels, that He manifested any supernatural power at 
 all. By comparing what is said of the great prophets 
 of God in the Scriptures, and examining the many 
 wonderful acts they performed, we are able to detect 
 many superior quahties in the operation of their minds. 
 These quahties are very distinct, and by their instru- 
 mentality the prophets were able to speak of past 
 events beyond the power of tradition or the memory 
 of man to impart. They would see also into the 
 future, and that, apparently without the instrumentality 
 of natural objects to direct them.* They could de- 
 prive natural bodies of their ordinary qualities,! and 
 they could command the spirits of life and of men to 
 return to the dead body they had left. J Such 
 qualities as these are identical with those that at an 
 earlier period of the world were manifested by those 
 angels that were sent from God. In all these opera- 
 tions we see a power displayed alike in kind, though 
 not in degree, to that of the fallen angels, and the 
 same power is recognised in the close resemblance the 
 magical operations of the sorcerers bore to that which 
 was placed in Moses. The only difference was in 
 degree, and hence the magicians failed to do all by 
 their incantations which Moses did by the spirit that 
 was in him. 
 
 * 2 Kings, viii. 1 ; 1 Kings, xvii. 1. 
 t 2 Kings, vi. 6, J 2 Kings, iv. 35. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 249 
 
 CHAPTER XH. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF ANGELS. 
 
 The fallen Angels, and the operation of their Spirit 
 
 upon Mortal Bodies, 
 
 In speaking of the brain as the organic instrument 
 through which the spirit of man was designed to com- 
 municate with God's creation, as far as this globe is 
 concerned, and so to draw undoubted evidence of the 
 truthfulness of such further knowledge as it has 
 pleased Him to reveal to man, I was anxious to prove 
 that neither the brain, nor its phenomena comprised in 
 the mind, were really the spirit of man, but only a 
 mode of action which was designed for the use of the 
 spirit of man. This exquisite piece of divine me- 
 chanism was, however, most injuriously assaulted by a 
 spirit that was far more powerful than the spirit of 
 man, even before the fall, and this demoniacal spirit so 
 far succeeded in injuring the human mind, that in order 
 to save the spirit of man from being carried away 
 captive, the wisdom of God sent His Holy Spirit to 
 the rescue. As an instrument of perfection to act fault- 
 lessly, and without any deviation from what God had 
 made in the first instance to act with strict relation 
 to truth, its injury was irreparable ; and this fact puts 
 
 \ 
 
250 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 251 
 
 the office of a mediator between God and man in its 
 true position. 
 
 We have now, then, to contemplate man as a mortal 
 being, in whom the cause of this injury has been 
 brought to bear upon his mind, and through this, upon 
 his body, with a view to its destruction, and so to the 
 final carrying away of his spirit from the presence and 
 joy of its Creator. 
 
 I shall not stop here to inquire whether this power 
 to produce death is a mere principle of evil^ or whether 
 it is a real being. There is the most abundant proof 
 from revelation that the cause of evil and of death is 
 personated in Satan, or the devil. This is a doctrine 
 not obscurely hinted at, but one that pervades the 
 Scriptures in every part. While, therefore, his ex- 
 istence is disputed by a very small section of the human 
 race, his ubiquity may be w4th more reason doubted. 
 The frequent occurrence of the word devils in Scrip- 
 ture has misled many into the erroneous supposition 
 that there are many beings comprehended under this 
 title. But the word translated devils, is strictly ren- 
 dered demons (Aai/iovec), * and as such ought not 
 to be regarded otherwise than as angels, and that not 
 abstractedly as fallen angels, but only so in reference 
 to the context. Of these demons or angels of Satan 
 there must be countless numbers ; but they are always 
 
 * This word we probably first obtain from Hesiod. It was by 
 him used to express an office to which, after death, mortals were 
 promoted by Jupiter as keepers of mortal men. Plato afterwards 
 used this word, and applied it to those who attained great honour 
 
 I 
 
 distinguished from their prince or leader, who controls 
 and uses them for the carrying out of his purposes. He is 
 called "the devil," and they are called "his angels." The 
 power possessed by Satan over the entire race of man- 
 kind is undoubted. " We know," says St. John, " that 
 the whole world lieth under the wicked one." In 
 other Scripture the devil is recognised as " the prince 
 of the power of the air ;" and this latter expression is 
 doubtless intended to shew man what is the extent of 
 Satanic agency when uncontrolled by the still more 
 powerful Spirit of God. His existence, therefore, ig 
 not a question of uncertainty, nor to be denied by 
 Christians, as it was by the Sadducees,* the peripatetic 
 philosophers, or by the followers of Epicurus. Among 
 the Pagan philosophers who believed in the existence 
 of spirits, may be mentioned Socrates, Pythagoras, 
 Plato, Plotinus, Porphyrins, Proclus, Zeno, Epictetus, 
 Seneca, and many others. 
 
 One of the immediate effects of this spirit upon 
 man's mind was to give him the knowledge of good 
 and evil.f He was, by partaking of the forbidden 
 fruit, to be admitted to the rank of gods ; and truly did 
 he attain to this supernatural knowledge, which was 
 contrary to the wish of his Creator. It was, indeed, 
 to make him a god, but this god was a fallen angel. 
 
 The spirit of evil, as I have termed it, which is a 
 
 and dignity. Nor vas it a term applied in an evil sense till the 
 commencement of the Christian era. See Duport on Theo- 
 phrastus' work on the Moral Character of Men. 
 * Acts, xxiii. 8. t ^en. iii. 5. ^ 
 
ti 
 
 252 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 253 
 
 fallen angelic spirit, has, then, been permitted, doubt- 
 less for most wise and glorious reasons, though to man 
 they are in his present state inscrutable, to enter the 
 field of the human mind. And his chief mode of 
 attack has been marked by two very diflferent but 
 characteristic forms or methods, that will be presently 
 pointed out. 
 
 It is not necessary to suppose the operation of this 
 power is confined to the personal presence of the devil. 
 Though there is not a scene of wickedness or vice in the 
 whole world, or a thought of envy, anger, or malice, in 
 the mind, in which Satan is not the cause ; yet this is 
 not to say he is present to the individuals so acting 
 otherwise than by his agents or emissaries. It is not 
 necessary for the carrying out of his power, awfully 
 great as it is, that the devil should be invested with 
 the " essential incommunicable omniprescence of deity." 
 Nothing is more common in the use of language than to 
 attribute to the principal or leader that which is done 
 by his authority or influence, and thus the operations 
 of thousands are referred in the Scriptures to a power 
 not necessarily always present as the true cause.* We 
 witness this in the government of earthly monarchs, 
 and it is doubtless caused by the more powerful nature 
 of the being operating upon the properties of those 
 bodies that are inferior. 
 
 The first form of Satanic attack was necessarily 
 adopted at the period of the Fall, when the whole race 
 
 * See, on this point, Notes on Sermons of Rev. Robert Hall, by 
 Rev. T. Grenfield. 
 
 of man w^as involved ; and in this attack doubtless the 
 mind was in the first instance preliminarily disposed by 
 the supernatural agency of this power operating in 
 some more than in others, to that state which is dis- 
 tinguished by the loss of power over the attributes of 
 the intellectual faculties and feelings, and which con- 
 stitutes the mental cause of sin. This was the mode 
 in which we find the spirit of evil first involved the 
 human mind; and this state, when deprived of the 
 power to act correctly or voluntarily, is recognised by 
 the title of insanity.* 
 
 The second method, which is probably, in the order 
 of time, the last attack that this spirit has hitherto 
 made upon the human mind, may be recognised in 
 those poor creatures, the demoniacs mentioned in the 
 Scriptures. I shall consider each of these in the order 
 in which I have named them. 
 
 First, then, we notice in revelation the efiect the 
 spirit of evil had generally upon the human race. By 
 leading the mind away from God and the contemplation 
 of His perfections, it gradually became doubtful and 
 unbelieving, envious, selfish, arrogant, self-willed, sen- 
 sual, and corrupt : so that it quickly gave biilh to tenets 
 and opinions that struck at the power and authority 
 of God, and carried the mind away into the practice of 
 idolatry, or a degraded system of polytheism. This 
 
 * Although, both in a scriptural as in a pathological sense, 
 that mind is especially unsound which is habitually under the 
 power of evil, yet insanity is a term more strictly applied to acts 
 that are not capable of being distinguished by the individuals 
 producing them. 
 
254 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 was the effect of the first throw of the spirit of evil at 
 the human mind ; also to lead the mind to seek of 
 some pretended deity that knowledge of future events 
 which the evil spirit had excited. And now, by so in- 
 juring the mind in the employment of its natural fa- 
 culties and powers to so abusive and unnatural an 
 extent, it was prepared to be deceived by the power 
 under which it had been enlisted and enticed ; and, to 
 insure the continuance of man's subjection to the au- 
 thority of this spirit of evil, it commenced exercising 
 its demoniacal, and therefore supernatural, power in 
 the performance of all those wonder-striking and mira- 
 culous acts we read recorded of those who were said to 
 be possessed of a spirit of divination or a spirit of 
 charming or of necromancy.* This was highly flatter- 
 
 * The different kinds of divination which have passed for 
 sciences admit of ten divisions. But we may now enlarge the 
 number with safety, and, as I hope presently to show, the science 
 of mesmerism should undoubtedly be ranked among them. These 
 are — 1. Aeromancy (divining by the air). 2. Astrology (by the 
 heavens). 3. Augury (by the flight and singing of birds). 
 4. Chiromancy (by inspecting the hand). 5. Geomancy (by ob- 
 serving the cracks or clefts in the earth). 6. Haruspicy (by in- 
 specting the bowels of animals). 7. Horoscopy (marking the 
 position of the heavens when a man is born). 8. Hydromancy 
 (by water). 9. Pyromancy (by fire). 10. Physiognomy (by the 
 countenance). This last term is not to be understood in the 
 sense Lavater has attached to it, but simply as a method of 
 divining by the countenance, which the sorcerers could do. 
 There are nine different kinds of divination mentioned in 
 Scripture. These are— 1. Those whom Moses calls Meonen, 
 from Anan, a cloud, Deut. xviii, 10. 2. Those whom the 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 255 
 
 ing to the human mind, to think it could, by such a 
 power, possess an insight into the nature and operation 
 of things otherwise intended not to be known by man. 
 "When the woman saw that the tree was good for 
 food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, a7id a tree 
 to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit," 
 &c. This was evidently known to the Prince of Dark- 
 ness as the most likely and the most attractive motive 
 for inducing man to join his banners. Accordingly 
 the after-history of his destructive conquest over the 
 spirit of man fully satisfies us how much he knew, and 
 with what skill he applied his infernal knowledge. The 
 same desire to become wise above that which our na- 
 tural faculties can make us, or above that which the 
 Spirit of God has revealed to us, is the secret spring 
 that is ever at work to draw man from the service of 
 God to the service of Satan. It gives the true explana- 
 tion of all those wonder-seeking methods resorted to 
 by man in every age of his career, through which he 
 attempts to emulate his Maker, and to exalt himself in 
 the eyes of his fellow-creatures. That this was a great 
 
 prophet calls in the same place Menacheseh, which the Vulgate 
 and the generality of interpreters render Augur, 3. Those who 
 in the same place are called Mecasceph, which the Septuagint and 
 Vulgate translate "a man given to its practices." 4. Those 
 whom in the same chapter, verse 11, he calls Hhoher, 5. Those 
 who consult the spirits called Python, 6. Witches or magicians, 
 called Judeoni, 7. Necromancers, who consult the dead. 8. Such 
 as consult staves (Hos. iv. 12) called by some Rhabdomancy, 
 9. Hypatoscophy, or the consideration of the liver. See Buck's 
 Theological Diet., art. Divination, 
 
 NMH 
 
256 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 
 I 
 
 power in the hands of Satan, and emanating from him, 
 no one can doubt when they read in Scripture what it 
 could accompHsh : how it imitated in the most asto- 
 nishing manner even the power of God's spirit while 
 resting upon Moses in the case of the Egyptian plagues. 
 Opposed to the argument employed by some, that these 
 diviners and enchanters were little more than mere for- 
 tune-tellers or dealers in natural magic, we have the 
 fact of their being the agents of some extraordinary 
 power that was put in array against the majesty of 
 heaven acknowledged in the prohibitions and judg- 
 ments of the law which related to such practices, as 
 well as in the marks appointed by Moses for discerning 
 a false from a true prophet.* The titles there given 
 to such as pursued these hidden practices are too unmis- 
 takeable to lead us to suppose the practices followed 
 by such persons were either marked by immoral acts, 
 or that they were mere jugglings or sleights of hand ; 
 for in the Scriptures they are plainly identified and de- 
 nounced as the work of some great evil power. The term 
 "familiar spirit" is a very remarkable one, as brand- 
 ing the power at once with a title that neither marked 
 the character of God's supernatural deahngs with man, 
 nor of that spirit he had placed in him. To suppose, 
 also, that this power was one hmited to the mere 
 " trafficking with idols,"t or only displayed in the ad- 
 ministration of poisonous drugs or noxious vapours, is 
 
 * Deut. xiii. 12. 
 
 t Scott's Demonology, Letter II. p. 54. This was the belief 
 of Hippocrates and Avicenna, Wierus, Holbrenna, Cselius, and 
 many others. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 257 
 
 I 
 
 to overlook countless acts spread over very many years in 
 the eventful history of man, which too plainly declared 
 they were the operation of some spirit more powerful 
 than that which ordinarily acts upon the mind of man. 
 
 From the time when Joseph stood before Pharaoh, 
 and probably much earHer, down to that when the 
 damsel at Philippi cried out to Paul and Silas, " These 
 men are the servants of the most high God," we have 
 the highest authority for believing this particular 
 demoniacal power constituting the first form in which it 
 manifested itself in the bodies of men, was permitted 
 to exert its deadening influence. 
 
 That it was a power able to see into the operation 
 of events which bore no connexion with those only to 
 be deduced by a rational sequence is most certain, while 
 by this very power the mind of the bystanders, or those 
 present, was attracted and misled. The girl at Philippi, 
 that " brought her masters much gain by soothsaying," 
 was probably the only person amongst those who fol- 
 lowed the apostles who knew they were really sent 
 from God. But how could she come by this know- 
 ledge, in the midst of her daily drudgery in the service 
 of Satan ? It could not be by human power. It was 
 not likely to be by the power of the holy Spirit of God. 
 There was, then, no other power than that of the 
 master whom she served by which she could obtain 
 this knowledge. 
 
 It should be also noticed that the apostle used the 
 same means for expelling the spirit of Pithon in this 
 damsel as was resorted to by them for expelling the 
 evil spirits in those said to be possessed by the devil : — 
 
 8 
 
 ,^l MPiWI ■■ 'I p ^ 
 
258 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 " I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come 
 
 out of her/' 
 
 The effect this power had upon the heathen nations 
 of the world, in sweeping myriads of the human family 
 down the gulph of pagan idolatry, and the effect it has 
 upon the moral and physical constitution of man, is 
 shewn in the many millions of our race who to this day 
 are under its dominion, and in the vast numbers who 
 are afflicted with mental and bodily diseases that have 
 shortened the span of life within the narrowest Umits. 
 
 The astonishing power of the spirit of evil has, at 
 different periods of the earth's history, been so awfully 
 manifest, that it is well to consider such a power in all 
 its bearings ; comparing its past history with that which 
 revelation, for our guidance and warning, has made 
 known to us as its future characteristics. 
 
 There are few in the present day who can reaUze 
 that wonderful power that enabled the enchanters be- 
 fore Pharaoh to turn their rods into serpents, and their 
 river into blood ; but unless the word of God fails, — 
 and our Saviour tells us that heaven and earth shall 
 pass away sooner than that one iota of that word shall 
 fail, — we shall yet see a more awful display of this 
 demoniacal power than it has ever before exhibited. 
 Such a power as will be able to give life and speech to 
 a mere image or idol, and to call down fire from heaven,* 
 and perform many miracles in the sight of men, is one 
 
 * See Rev. xiii. 13, and compare it with chap. xvi. 2 ; 2 Thes. 
 ii. 9; also Rev. xix. 20, and xx. 4. These passages are yet 
 unfulfilled. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 259 
 
 ^V 
 
 even more dreadful to contemplate than that which 
 drove so many poor sufferers to demoniacal distraction. 
 
 It excites alarm in the mind of the experienced 
 christian, knowing as he does that the power of Satan 
 is yet to be more awfully developed, when he sees the 
 revival of so many deceptive arts practised daily upon 
 the minds of credulous and unthinking persons. 
 
 A more and more correct knowledge of the properties 
 of matter must, as science advances, help to narrow the 
 real power of witchcraft ; and to some this particular 
 form of demoniacal power would seem to be thought 
 exclusively to be confined to palmistry and the art of 
 natural magic. But this is not in keeping with the 
 most indisputable evidence, and that independent of 
 the authority of revelation, that there is a spiritual 
 power at work which is above the capabihty of natural 
 science to explain. Doubtless there are and have been 
 many pretended operations of supernatural interposition 
 which could receive a more rational and consistent in- 
 terpretation by the laws of nature. These laws may, 
 many of them, particularly as they relate to individual 
 substances, be quite unknown, or if known at all, 
 known only to a few. Ars vera est, sed pauci artifices 
 reperiuntur. We know the virtue of many plants, and 
 mineral and animal substances have been made known 
 to us only very recently, and every year we add to 
 the number of natural agents whose virtues we have 
 discovered. It was said of Solomon, that he cured 
 all diseases of the mind that were brought before 
 
260 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 him ;* and if this was true, he doubtless did so in virtue 
 of his great natural Ivuowledge, which enabled him to 
 speak " of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Leba- 
 non even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the 
 
 wall."t 
 
 In seeking to discriminate between the power of the 
 
 spirit of man and that of the spirit of angels, we may 
 be sure that all knowledge that does not come by the 
 investigation of the laws of nature or through the super- 
 natural power of revelation, is to be referred to angelic, 
 or as we more commonly term it, demoniacal power. 
 Of such a nature is the power to foretel events, under 
 the present dispensation, that cannot possibly have any 
 connexion with the past or the present state of things. 
 But however difficult may be the task of drawing the 
 Une between the dexterous display of the natural pro- 
 perties of matter and the distinct effect of the spirit of 
 evil upon the mind, there is unquestionably a point 
 beyond which the operation of natural laws will not 
 carry us. Does this point turn upon the mental object 
 of the individual, so that the deceptive handling even 
 of natural properties is the sign for the operation of the 
 spirit of divination to commence ? That it cannot be 
 an easy matter to detect in all cases where this 
 spirit first begins to display its supernatural power, 
 must be evident, or it would have been pointed out 
 long since. But that it exists in operation as a super- 
 
 * Marcellus Donatus de Hist. Mir. lib. i. cap. ii. 
 f 1 Rings, iv. 33. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 261 
 
 natural power is as certain as that there are signs by 
 which we may detect the nature and uses of natural 
 bodies. It was not part of the scheme of the spirit of 
 evil to mark with clear delineation the true boundaries 
 of that power. " In vain the net is spread in the sight 
 of any bird." It was, therefore, an object to be borne 
 out, that those natural properties of matter which, from 
 peculiar circumstances, carried with them the aspect 
 of being supernatural, should be those on which the 
 demoniacal spirit might be displayed with less 
 chance of being detected. This point is remarkably 
 well elucidated by investigating the practice of charm- 
 ing. 
 
 One of the natural powers given to serpents in orien- 
 tal countries, where birds and other small animals 
 increase their numbers so rapidly, is that of being able, 
 by instilling fear, or by some other means, to cause the 
 bird to fall into the power of the serpent. This was a 
 power, though perfectly natural, that was calculated to 
 excite the wonder and the ingenuity of man. And lest 
 these venomous reptiles should exercise too destructive 
 an influence over the family of man, the Creator wisely 
 placed the means for. disarming them in certain natural 
 productions of the vegetable world.* These alexiphar- 
 mics w^ere, doubtless, known to many oriental nations. 
 
 * It was from the arts practised upon that particular serpent 
 called in the Scriptures Pethen (occurs at Psa. Iviii. 4; xci. 13 j 
 Deut. xxxii. 33 ; Job, xx. 14, 16 ; Isaiah, xi. 8), that those who 
 were supposed to be possessed with a spirit of divination were 
 styled irvQtartq. 
 
262 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 and though kept comparatively secret, many plants* 
 were employed in diverse ways, either by chewing their 
 roots or smearing their juices over the body, in such a 
 manner as to convey to the bystanders, who were igno- 
 rant of the virtue of such plants, the idea that the indi- 
 viduals so acting were possessed of a supernatural 
 power over those very creatures that were supposed to 
 hold in themselves some power which entitled them to 
 be worshipped. 
 
 Besides the knowledge of alexipharmics, man was 
 able, by the close study of the habits of these animals, 
 to ascertain the natural signs which indicated they 
 were to be approached or not with impunity. Among 
 these signs is that mentioned by Davy,t when the 
 cobra de capello dilates the crest upon its neck, which 
 is a large flexible membrane, having on the upper sur- 
 face two black circular spots like a pair of spectacles, 
 and waves its head to and fro, making a loud hissing 
 noise, the eyes sparkling, it is dangerous of approach ; 
 and when this hood is closed, the snake never bites ; 
 neither is it known to bite even when the hood is 
 
 ♦ Such as the Ophiorhyza mungos and the Cornus or dog-tree, 
 mentioned by Owen, and the wild pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium, 
 the bastard dittany, Dictamnus albus, the rattle-snake milkwort, 
 Polygala senega, &c. Niebuhr states that the perfume of plants 
 had a specific effect upon serpents : and in certain idolatrous pro- 
 cessions, the virgin who carried the serpent wore on her head a 
 garland of flowers, supposed to have some effect upon the animal. 
 — Notes in ForskaVs Nat. Hist, 
 
 f Account of the Interior of Ceylon. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 263 
 
 spread, if the creature continues silent. This is a re- 
 markable fact when placed by that practice of the 
 charmers which enables them, by the aid of those loud 
 and discordant sounds they produce from their pipes 
 and tomtoms, to appease the rage of this animal, 
 though in the most excited state of exasperation. The 
 animal, by this artificial noise, would seem to be de- 
 prived of the power to produce its own natural sound, 
 and in the inability to do this it cannot bite. It is 
 also a fact well known that most of the larger serpents 
 are very averse to use the deadly poison given to them 
 by the Creator. This discovery of the effect of artificial 
 sounds upon the poisonous serpents must have been 
 very early known, for David makes mention of it in the 
 fifty-eighth psalm, where he says the wicked are like 
 the deaf adder which will not hearken to the voice or 
 sound of charmers, be the charmer never so cunning. 
 Austin* states that the Marsians, a people that in- 
 habited Italy before the Rx)mans, possessed the secret 
 of enchanting serpents. Ovid confirms the expression 
 in Job, where it is asked if "the enchanter can cause 
 the leviathan to burst,"t evidently in allusion to his 
 power to make them burst — 
 
 "Viperas rumpo verbis et carmine fauces."! 
 
 And Virgil alludes to the power the charmers pos- 
 sessed over serpents— 
 
 " Spargere qui somnos cantuque mauuque solebat."§ 
 
 * De Genesi ad litter, lib. ix. 28. 
 X Metamorph. Fab. 2, de Medea. 
 
 f Job, xli. 25, 
 § ^neid, vii. 
 
264 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 265 
 
 The same practice is alluded to by Pindar, Homer, 
 Cato, and a multitude of ancients. 
 
 This practice of incantation must have been in use from 
 the earliest period, and was alluded to also by Solomon* 
 and Jeremiah ;t and the frightful and extensive prac- 
 tice of serpent- worship J that spread so widely over the 
 great continent of India was mainly attributable to the 
 natural properties of the animals in the first instance 
 having been artfully concealed by the enemy of man- 
 kind, in order that the power they possessed might 
 bear the appearance of something above nature. It is 
 not possible to suppose this power was so extensively 
 propagated from one nation to another by mere natural 
 magic, or human art, nor does revelation require us to 
 believe so. In giving power to his disciples to work 
 miracles, Christ represents the power of the enemy as 
 
 * "Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment." — 
 Eccles. X. 2, 11. See also Job, xl. 25, and Eccles. xii. 13, 
 
 -j- '* I will send eerpents, cockatrices, among you, that will 
 not be charmed ; and they shall bite you, saith the Lord." — 
 Jer. viii. 17. 
 
 X The Egyptians worshipped the serpent in many ways, ac- 
 cording to Herodotus, iElian, Macrobius. So also did the Baby- 
 lonians, the Phenicians, and the Arabians, the inhabitants of Asia 
 Minor, and the Romans. The nations of the North of Europe — 
 Poland, Norway, Prussia, — besides those of the vast continent of 
 Asia, were all involved at one period in the worship of this crea- 
 ture. Tn the primitive church there was a sect called Ophites, 
 and at one period no higher honour could be given to men tlia^i 
 that title given to Alexander the Great and Scipio Africanus — viz. 
 that they were born of serpents ; or, in other words, of a power 
 superior to mortals. 
 
 i 
 
 f 
 
 being mixed up with that of serpents and scorpions. — 
 Luke X. 19. 
 
 That the art of witchcraft was mixed up with the 
 use, or rather the abuse, of many herbs* and natural 
 productions of the earth, is as certain as in the practice 
 of charming. One who dealt in sorcery or witchcraft 
 
 * The properties of many herbs and animal productions are 
 capable of acting upon different parts of the animal body, and so 
 upon the mind and feelings. Thus there are medicines that are 
 capable of exciting the physical passions, — such as Helleboms 
 officinalisy Cantharis vesicatoria, and the Juniperus sahina. Joy 
 and delight are the result of taking the Papaver somniferum and 
 the Cannabis indica. Fear, anger, and rage, follow the exhibition 
 of the Laurus camphora and the Atropa belladonna ; and loss of 
 memory can be produced by means of the Digitalis purpurea. 
 The inhalation of certain odours or vapours produced similar 
 effects. The celebrated Pythia at Delphi was said to owe her 
 oracular powers to the position of the temple upon a rock, through 
 a crevice of which a vapour rose that was supposed to be impreg- 
 nated with prophetic virtue. The Pythia, before she performed 
 her office, chewed the leaf of the Laurus camphora. She was 
 then seated on a tripod and fumigated with some powerful vapour, 
 which produced convulsions and insensibility, and in many cases 
 death. The inhalation of the fumes of the protoxide of nitrogen 
 were found by Sir H. Davy to produce great laughter, and a rapid 
 flow of vivid ideas. The effect of the inhalation of sulphuric 
 ether and of chloroform is to produce temporary insensibility to 
 pain, and unconsciousness of what is passing, and a loss of the 
 power of motion. Other affections of the nervous system, as 
 palsy, are caused by carbonic acid gas, carburetted hydrogen gas, 
 sulphuretted hydrogen, chloroform, monkshood, Aconilum 
 napellusy darnel, Lolium tremulenlum, poisonous mushroor.js, 
 ergot of rye, &c. Copland saw hemiplegia produced by the root 
 of monkshood {On Paiay am! Apoplexijy p. 101). 
 
 I 
 
266 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 267 
 
 was synonymous with one who used poisonous drugs. 
 Horace, in his ode to Canidia, describes the various 
 means resorted to by the sorceress for accomphshing 
 her purposes. She has a magic ointment, which she 
 uses as a charm. She prepares a poison, in which she 
 steeps the dress of her victim. No herb or root of any 
 virtue escaped her vigilance. 
 
 " Atqui nee herba Dec latens in asperis 
 Radix fefellit me locis." 
 
 She uses the most potent plants brought from lolcos 
 and Iberia, and from Media. 
 
 Daniel* speaks of four kinds of witchcraft — chat- 
 tumim, or magicians ; asphim, or astrologers ; mecas- 
 p/tim, or sorcerers ; and casdim, or chaldeans ; — as 
 practising the art at Babylon at the time of the cap- 
 tivity. Before this, in Egypt, three different classes 
 are spoken of as appearing before Moses. f These 
 several classes pursued their different methods, and it 
 is easy to suppose the mecasphim would deal more 
 commonly with herbs and other natural products than 
 the casdim, who were of higher esteem among the 
 great men, probably on account of their practising an 
 apparently higher and more deeply calculating system. 
 The only detailed account in Scripture of the power of 
 divination to effect that which no human power could 
 do, is contained in 1 Sam. xxviii., where Saul requests 
 
 \ 
 
 * Dan. ii. 2. 
 
 t Exod.vii. 11. 
 
 a woman that had a familiar spirit at Endor to bring 
 up the body of Samuel from the dead. Saul having 
 lately destroyed many wizards in Israel, the witch of 
 Endor would not at first put forth her powers till he 
 sware to her by the Lord that no punishment should 
 happen to her. She then, by Saul's wish, calls up the 
 body of Samuel, and appears much frightened at the 
 power she has put forth. When asked what she saw, 
 she replied to Saul, " I saw a prophet or great* person 
 (improperly rendered gods) ascending out of the 
 earth." He said to her, what form is he of? And 
 she said, " An old man cometh up, and he is covered 
 with a mantle." Then Saul perceived that it was 
 Samuel, and entered into converse with him about his 
 kingdom, and received the final intelligence of his 
 death. 
 
 This account of the miraculous power of the witch of 
 Endor has been variously received and interpreted. 
 But it is impossible to beheve in the integrity of the 
 Scriptures, whether in the Hebrew text or not, and to 
 disbelieve the fact that Samuel was brought up from 
 the grave. The object of recording this event was 
 doubtless to show that there was a power above mere 
 human skill, though not of God, by which, upon great 
 emergencies, even the dead could be raised to life. 
 This power was not greater, or more striking, than that 
 which made the magicians convert a piece of stick into 
 
 * Shophetim is in other places, as Deut. xvi. 18, and xvii. 9, 
 rendered judges, or a judge. 
 
268 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 269 
 
 a serpent ; neither is it greater than that which will yet 
 cause a graven image to have life, and to speak. When, 
 therefore, we seek intelligence upon matters that are 
 beyond the ken of human power, or the spirit of life 
 to foretel, it should not be contended that the informa- 
 tion we receive is the product of natural agents, neither 
 should it be affirmed that the information is incorrect, 
 because it comes to us by the power of a forbidden 
 angelic spirit. On both these points we have erred, 
 and the record of Saul's unhappy dealings with sorcery 
 will not have been made otherwise than the instrument 
 of conveying the most important truth to our mind if 
 it only serves to bring no longer a doubtful impression 
 that the power to tell future events is a real power, 
 though it proceeds neither from God nor man. Saul's 
 end was truly brought about, although the intelligence 
 he sought by unlawful means had previously informed 
 him of it. 
 
 But the eflFect of this demoniacal spirit upon the 
 mind of man was, by such attractive and enticing means 
 as those we have been considering, made more particu- 
 larly and universally to consist in the abuse of every- 
 thing around him that was originally made for his use. 
 By the abuse of food, the foundation of many diseases 
 was laid. By the abuse of many natural productions 
 wisely intended to serve some useful purpose, the num- 
 ber of human maladies was increased. By these and 
 all other available means has this evil power assaulted 
 the citadel of the spirit of man, if haply he may be 
 captured. As disease advances, or the machinery is 
 
 rendered more and more incapable of acting with cer- 
 tainty or fidelity, so does man's poor spirit become more 
 and more closely besieged till it is finally taken captive. 
 As part of this machinery through which the operations 
 of the mind are manifested, the brain becomes in- 
 volved ; and in some this injury is so great as to con- 
 stitute the arbitrary distinction of insanity. Not that 
 this term, which is purely conventional, and used in 
 difierent senses to suit the convenience of different 
 nations, is intended to distinguish those that are morally 
 responsible from those that are not so ; for doubtless 
 the Satanic power has succeeded in fast binding the 
 minds of countless multitudes who, like Balaam and 
 Judas, unhappily know too well what they are about, 
 though they cannot help themselves. They may cut 
 themselves with knives till the blood gushes out, and 
 cry to their gods from morning until evening, but he 
 whom they serve is essentially a cruel god, he will not 
 hear them. Like Balaam, too, they know that they 
 shall see their Creator, but not nigh ; they shall behold 
 him, but not near. " What is that to us, see thou to 
 that !" is all the consolation they can get from fallen 
 angels, when they have been enticed into the service of 
 sin by their attractive powers. 
 
 / 
 

 [' ^I 
 
 270 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 1 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF ANGELS {continued.) 
 
 The Operation of the Spirit of Fallen Angels upon 
 Mortal Bodies, viewed in relation to Mesmerism. 
 
 In investigating those pathological changes in the 
 human body we designate by the title of disease, we 
 find them to be distinguished or detected by certain 
 symptoms. And we notice in those which more par- 
 ticularly involve the nervous system a class of diseases 
 such as catalepsy, ecstacy, somnambulism, and the 
 various forms of nervous affection comprehended under 
 the term hysteria, that, inasmuch as they manifest 
 themselves without any direct or apparent interposition 
 of man, are accounted to be the result of the seeds of 
 disease planted there by the spirit of Satan. The cha- 
 racters of some of these affections are very clearly 
 marked, and hence their nosological distinction. 
 
 But the very unaccountable nature of the symptoms, 
 and their deviation from general principles, usually de- 
 duced from the investigation of the psychological laws of 
 nature, have given rise to much discussion, some doubt- 
 ing the possibihty of their existence, while in others 
 the greatest wonder and even credulity is created. To 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 271 
 
 dispute the existence of such cases, and the remarkable 
 symptoms they have displayed, whether those symp- 
 toms are produced by any supposed natural causes, or 
 by those of a more supervenient nature, is to throw a 
 doubt over the statements of many of the most eminent 
 men in Europe spread over some half dozen centuries, 
 whose veracity ought no more to be doubted than we 
 should doubt our own senses. To the nature of these 
 symptoms the mind of the least observant or intelligent 
 cannot fail to be drawn. To suppose it possible, with- 
 out the assistance of such an organ as the eye, so 
 exquisitely and peculiarly adapted as that organ is to 
 the particular class of sensations it communicates to us, 
 to receive the impression of external objects as clearly, 
 and even more clearly, than through the medium of 
 that organ, is, to speak for the great masses who witness 
 such wonders, a very incomprehensible phenomenon. 
 It is one that is calculated to effect quite as much mis- 
 chief in the mind of the beholders as probably it was 
 intended to do. It should be remembered that this 
 extraordinary action of the nervous system, when in 
 that state we call somnambulism, is one essentially of 
 disease. Moreover, it is remarkable that the same kind 
 of disease, viz. the transfer of the power of one organ 
 to another, is one that has been recognised as being 
 able to be induced by the application of natural sub- 
 stances we commonly regard as poisonous to the living 
 body. It is stated to have been induced in a young 
 girl in consequence of the bite of a tarantula.* The 
 
 * See the account of this case in the Lond. Med. and Phys. 
 Journ. for 1808, by Dr. Comstock, of South Carolina. 
 
 I 
 
272 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 i 
 
 \l 
 
 eyes in this case being constantly closed when she was 
 under the influence of the fit, she distinguished all 
 objects and their colours by means of her fingers. 
 When she recovered from the fit, all these magical 
 symptoms disappeared, she returned to her natural 
 feelings, and remembered nothing that had passed 
 during the paroxysm. We have here a case to show 
 that the train of symptoms capable of being elicited in 
 the course of ordinary disease can be induced by the ab- 
 sorption of some particular poisons into the animal sys- 
 tem. And the resemblance in the symptoms of this 
 case with those that have commonly marked the natural 
 or idio-somnambulism, assures us that the same morbid 
 efiects may follow the application of very different causes. 
 The mind is thus led to infer that as different causes 
 may induce the same morbid chain of symptoms, so 
 the appUcation of strong poisonous vapours to the blood 
 through the lungs, as in the use of ether and chloro- 
 form, is really productive of the same kind of morbid 
 phenomena, though not in every form. It is singular, 
 too, what a close resemblance all these different morbid 
 phenomena bear to the operations of the old wizards, 
 for both divination and mesmerism undertook to dis- 
 cover the thoughts of persons placed en rapport with 
 the operator. Both undertook to read or expound 
 through the epigastrium, and both could transfer the 
 outward senses of taste and smell to this part. Both 
 either did or pretended to enter into the real suffer- 
 ings of others. Both possessed a strong memory, and 
 both foretold to a certain degree future events. 
 
 So that we have the analogy or connexion between 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 273 
 
 \ 
 
 the effects of natural poisons and the operations of 
 witchcraft, and we have the same analogy or connexion 
 between the effects of natural vaporous poisons and the 
 operations of mesmerism. In both cases, the operation 
 of poison upon the nervous system, and the operation 
 of sin upon the nervous system, are identical in their 
 effects, and diseased action is the consequence. Who 
 ever saw a clairvoyant that was in perfect health? 
 Generally they are the subjects of scrofula in some of 
 its forms. Indeed, I may say without any reserve, 
 that it is impossible to cause clairvoyance in a body 
 that is not diseased. The very circumstance of behold- 
 ing a person, whose ordinary outward senses are closed 
 both mechanically as well as morbidly, able to con- 
 centrate those outward senses into one *' common 
 sense," as it is called, transferring them en masse to 
 the region of the pit of the stomach, is so very asto- 
 nishing, that many people refuse to believe what they 
 see, and deny the possibility that such phenomena 
 really take place. They say they are not natural phe- 
 nomena, and in one sense they are not, for they are 
 morbid phenomena. But they can be produced both 
 in the course of disease, as well as by some other 
 power. If this power is animal magnetism, then 
 animal magnetism is not animal magnetism. All 
 sound philosophers and physiologists know what ani- 
 mal magnetism is, and happily its phenomena are 
 pretty w^ell to be defined. These phenomena do not rise 
 above the power of the spirit of electricity. But the 
 power that produces clairvoyance is above the power 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
274 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 of the spirit of life, or even that of the spirit of man. 
 But because it is a power of such awful capacities, is it 
 well to deny it ? I am convinced the cause of truth is not 
 served by taking this course, and from ample experience 
 am assured by so doing we give the enemies of truth 
 an occasion of triumph. Their argument is, that 
 which our senses see and believe must be true ; there- 
 fore, if you refuse to believe the evidence of sense, you 
 must be either most doggedly perverse and sceptical, 
 or else there must be some mental incapacity to account 
 for it. The phenomena of clairvoyance most indis- 
 putably, as phenomena, are real, and it would be wrong 
 to repose any confidence in the statement of the most 
 learned or intelligent person who denied them. 
 
 And if the phenomena are real, it is high time that 
 we not only believed them, but that we also identified 
 them. The last of these courses may be the most 
 difficult one of the two to take. At present the wooden 
 horse is not suspected, and the armed men are being 
 courteously conveyed into the citadel unobserved. After 
 so long a war with the human race, Satan, finding the 
 ordinary manoeuvres to be unavailing, seeks to conquer 
 them by a stratagem. The way to prevent this is for 
 the person exposed to these phenomena to make a few 
 searching inquiries, and by so doing he will be amply 
 remunerated for the trouble he may take. The first 
 conclusion he will arrive at, after he has recognised 
 the reality of the power that produces these pheno- 
 mena, will be, that that power is stronger than 
 man j and as it cannot be the power of God, for God 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 276 
 
 cannot be the cause of disease, there is, then, little left 
 for the imagination to determine. 
 
 In all the great cardinal points the human mind is 
 precisely the same that it was when Satan tried to palm 
 his spirit of divination upon it in years gone by. The 
 method pursued, deception, is mixed up now with the 
 same appeals to the natural properties of matter, as it 
 was then ; and many in our days are as much charmed 
 and fascinated by the attractive, wonder-working 
 powers of mesmerism, ^s those in ancient days were by 
 the " voice of the charmer." Now, however, we are 
 to be certain all these wonders are only the result of 
 the skilful adaptation of solne natural agents, never 
 hitherto dreamed of. Science advances, and we think 
 we recognise in some new force, or some very etherial 
 matter, a cause that will account for these marvellous 
 phenomena. But if electricity cannot produce animal 
 life, —no, not even the material structure with which the 
 spirit of life is foiind to be accompanied,— how can it pro- 
 duce mental phenomena that are of a more surprising 
 and inexpUcable nature than those of the ordinary psy- 
 chological description ? This mode of reasoning will con- 
 vince us, that mesmerism, and its dependent chain of 
 diseased and demoniacal phenomena, have no more to 
 flo with magnetism than they have with any other 
 natural mode of action. The very circumstance of 
 trying to prove that the phenomena of clairvoyance are 
 referable to a sort of metastasis of the outward senses 
 from the brain to the great ganglionic centre beneath 
 the stomach, is sufficient to bring conviction that such 
 
276 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 a transfer of the natural action is no other than a dis- 
 eased action, only produced by the great primary cause 
 of disease under new circumstances. And wherever 
 we behold a similar modification, it is impossible to 
 dignify it with the title of physiological or psychological 
 action without making those terms embrace a patho- 
 logical meaning. 
 
 I have not the smallest doubt that many most 
 able and highly honourable men have been mis- 
 guided by these morbid phenomena in consequence of 
 neglecting to regard them as such ; and without wish- 
 ing to imply in the remotest degree that they have any 
 objects that are not entitled to be regarded as strictly 
 scientific, I am certain they will sooner or later discover 
 they have been taking up that which is as unworthy 
 of their high attainments as it is of their confidence or 
 patronage. 
 
 It would be useless, in a work like the present, to 
 dwell at any length upon the remarkable transposition 
 of function which the brain undergoes in such cases, 
 or the development of such phenomena as we may wit- 
 ness abundantly displayed in those afiected with sleep- 
 walking and catalepsy. My object in mentioning such 
 symptoms is to draw attention to the intimate resem- 
 blance these symptoms, as those of a diseased action, 
 bear to that class of phenomena we recognise under 
 the title of mesmerism. As the efiiects under both 
 circumstances are precisely similar, it is not unphilo- 
 sophical to infer their causes may be identical, and as 
 no one will dispute the primary cause of all disease, 
 
 
 1 
 tl 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 277 
 
 • SO we may imply the true cause of those particular 
 symptoms we term mesmerism is equally a matter of 
 certainty. And it is well to remember, that only 
 within the last century (if we except a similar class of 
 diseases caused by the administration or application of 
 poisonous substances to the body) has the same spirit 
 that in the first instance produced these symptoms 
 directly upon the human frame, been employed through 
 the agency of man to bring about these forms of 
 nervous afiection, so that they do not appear spon- 
 taneously and without his instrumentaUty. The all- 
 important question is — Can Satan produce at the will 
 of any human being the same set of morbid phenomena 
 we know he has power to do under ordinary disease ? 
 This is a new mode of attack to us, and, like the old 
 Satanic practices we have been considering, can recom- 
 mend itself upon the plea of extending the power and 
 the usefulness of man. If, by placing the body in a 
 state of insensibility, say the mesmerisers, we can 
 perform operations without pain, and cure diseases that 
 would not yield to remedies under the old presence-of- 
 mind system, the practice is both justifiable and bene- 
 ficent. It may be admitted that an apparent, or even 
 a real but temporary good, has been done by such a 
 practice. But is that really a good, that is obtained at 
 such a cost ? If it can be shown that disease is one of 
 the heaviest evils ever brought upon the human family 
 by Satanic agency, does it seem wise or reasonable to 
 appeal to the same power for its removal ? and is it 
 likely, in the removal of such disease by such a power. 
 
278 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 that no other of a worse kind will be planted ?* This 
 would be as inconsistent as to suppose with the Scribes 
 that came from Jerusalem, that Christ cast out devils 
 through Beelzebub, the prince of devils. If we could 
 picture the crowds who flocked to consult those who 
 practised the arts of sorcery and divination, in every 
 city and coimtry where idolatry abounded, we should 
 doubtless see them reUeved of many of the diseases 
 they sought to get rid of. I cannot see how else the 
 enchanter could retain his reputation. Those who 
 attended to such persons as sorcerers in olden times, 
 were moreover not willing to submit to any uncertainty. 
 They went to be cured, and so in all probability they 
 many of them were. How difierent was this to the 
 conduct of St. Paul, who, when he had received a 
 " thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet 
 him," instead of consulting Satan through the wizards 
 and pithonesses of his day — in which case he might, for 
 aught we know, have removed the thorn by the same 
 power that brought it — meekly besought the Lord 
 thrice that it might depart from him. He was not 
 
 * It is mentioned by Dr. Teste, in his Manuel Pratique de 
 Magnetisme Animal, that a young man, Calliste, who was mag- 
 netized, as they call it, /re years previously, had continued clair- 
 voyant during the whole of that time without a single day's inter- 
 ruption. If this is not a spirit of divination, I don't know what 
 is. He may bring his master much gain, but who knows the 
 end? There is no Saviour or apostle on earth that can expel 
 demons now, and who can tell whether the last state of this poor 
 man will not be worse than the first ? 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 279 
 
 rebeUious at the answer he received, and which, as it 
 so happened, was not in keeping with his desire. 
 
 The use of all natural means failing, in appeahng to 
 mesmerism we are making apphcation to a power that 
 will fix us more securely than the malady he removes. 
 The poor woman whom the Saviour, on the Sabbath- 
 day, released from the spirit of infirmity, is stated to 
 have been bound by Satan for eighteen years ; so that 
 we have the highest authority for beheving that disease 
 is as much the result of Satanic power as the cases of 
 more unequivocal demoniacal possession. But we pass 
 on I:o the consideration of the other grand form in 
 which Satanic agency has manifested itself in the world, 
 which is recognised by the title of demoniacal pos^ 
 session. 
 
 The Spirit of Evil in relation to Demoniaeal 
 
 Possession, 
 
 It was not until " He who came to seek and to save 
 them that were lost" was born into our world, that we 
 hear of this form of Satanic power being developed. 
 
 The long reign of this diabolical spirit in the hearts 
 of man was attended with the widest expanse of evil 
 consistent with the conservation of the world. That 
 people who, from among all the families of the earth, 
 had been selected by God as the honoured instruments 
 to receive his oracles and to declare his ways, had now 
 SQ corrupted and contaminated themselves with the 
 
 I 
 
280 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 idols of the nations, that the Mosaic law, by means of 
 interpolations and human interpretations, had become 
 little better than the open idolatry it was opposed to. 
 
 It was the anxious wish, the ceaseless object, the 
 highest art of Satan, to bring the whole world under 
 his dominion ; and this he had well nigh accomplished 
 when " the Sun of Righteousness arose with heaUng in 
 his wings." 
 
 It is instructive to observe the very diverse, gigantic, 
 and extensive power Satan appears at this time to have 
 put forth for the carrying out of his grand purpose. 
 Spread over four thousand years of the world's history, 
 this evil spirit had ample time to mature his scheme, 
 and to fasten its roots into every form of religious 
 worship, every system of philosophy, and every variety 
 of the human race. While its seeds were quickly 
 spreading over the oriental world, in the eastern doc- 
 trine of two independent beings, or Good and Evil Prin- 
 ciples, that exercised entire influence over the world and 
 its inhabitants, these doctrines were most craftily 
 grafted into others of an equally pernicious character, 
 and in the form of Gnosticism were propounded to all 
 who were not abeady buried in a deeper and more cor- 
 rupt form of idolatry. But the art was to get God's 
 ancient people under the spell of this deadly sway, and 
 this was accomplished through the enticing powers of 
 phUosophy. The power of the written word was 
 gradually weakened and silently undermined, till the 
 commonest unwritten tradition was advanced to the 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 281 
 
 level of the written law.* The Jews had now imbibed 
 so many doctrines from the heathens, and incorporated 
 them into their cabbala, that there was, as far as the 
 object of Satan was concerned, little or no diSerence in 
 the end, though he had managed to diversify so much 
 the means. What surprise could there be, under such 
 circumstances, that when the Saviour was bom into the 
 world he was not recognised by his own people, for " he 
 came to his own and his own received him not." 
 
 The primary object with Satan was to mystify that 
 revelation God had expressly given to the Jews, and this 
 was most fully accomplished in the cabbalists, who, 
 "after the rudiments of the world," had been ship- 
 wrecked through the vain deception of philosophy. 
 
 And now did Satan make that great efibrt to 
 secure his victims. He let loose his demons that 
 fastened upon the poor Jews in every direction; 
 so that, when the Saviour came into the world, he 
 had not only the whole army of heathen supersti- 
 tion and heathen philosophy to withstand in every 
 form, but he had, as well by his own power as by 
 imparting it to his apostles, to expel the evil demons 
 from the bodies of his own people, on whom they had 
 fastened in vast numbers ;t though not exclusively on 
 them, as one was expelled from the daughter of the 
 Syro-Phenician woman ; J as if Satan sought to convince 
 
 * See Burton's Lectures on the Heresies of the Apostolic Age. 
 t Acta, viii. 5, 6, 7. % Mark, vii. 26. 
 
282 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 k. 
 
 the world the Jews were in a more especial manner in 
 the hands of the master whom they had been serving. 
 
 In this deplorable condition, the pity and commise- 
 ration of the Saviour for those who were thus placed is 
 strikingly set forth in his making the very first acts of 
 his ministry to consist in expelling these demons.* 
 
 We must not suppose that this attack of the evil one 
 upon God's ancient people was intended to imply that 
 these poor souls were therefore irreclaimable sinners 
 more than all the rest. Rather may we gather from 
 the Scriptures that many who were so affected were 
 afterwards specially brought into covenant with God. 
 
 But while it cannot be denied that demoniacal pos- 
 session was a Satanic mode of assault of a peculiar 
 kind, that could only be expelled by the power of the 
 Spirit of God, and that was remarkably to be distin- 
 guished from that natural disease we term insanity, 
 still, as an eminent proof of the unmistakeable power of 
 Satan over the mind, it would seem to be of the highest 
 practical use. And that the devil has ever had, and 
 still continues to hold this very mind in subjection to 
 him in a multitude of instances, is amply proved, not 
 only from the Word of God, where numerous instances 
 are recorded of his demoniacal power over the bodies 
 as well as the minds of men, but also by the history 
 
 * Mark, i. 34, iii. 11 ; Luke, iv. 41 ; in all which passages the 
 power of the spirit that was in Christ over the spirit of demons is, 
 strongly shown and contrasted. 
 
 ^^: 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 283 
 
 of man as it is brought down to us through human 
 instrumentality, as well as by our own actual ex- 
 perience. Saul's mind was clearly in his hands, though 
 ofttimes it was in this state soothed by the harmonious 
 strains of David's lyre.* The patriarch Job, as we are 
 expressly told, was for a time put under his power. 
 " And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold he is in thy 
 hand, save only his Ufe." Yet, though subject to the 
 more direful bodily pain and mental anguish, this emi- 
 nent servant of God " feared God and eschewed evil." 
 Job's case clearly shews us that this evil spirit is per- 
 mitted to exercise his most diaboUcal power over the 
 property, the children, and even the bodies of God's 
 people, though not over that spirit in them which God 
 has undertaken to defend and preserve. Satan thought, 
 if he could only get the body as well as the property 
 and children of Job into his hands, he should gain his 
 purpose. But what was the answer of God ? " Behold 
 he is in thy hand, only his life," or, as our translation 
 has it, " but save his life."t In other words, you shall 
 have his body, and with it all its functions, but not the 
 spirit which is in him. How much comfort this Scrip- 
 ture is calculated to be to those of God's people who 
 are aflBicted with any mental malady, it is, perhaps, 
 impossible for those to conceive who have not had this 
 great and signal trial of their faith put upon them. 
 Mary Magdalene, whose soul most undoubtedly was 
 
 1 Sam. xvi. 14 — 18. 
 
 f Job, ii. 6. 
 
284 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 285 
 
 saved, had a multitude of demoniacal spirits in her. So, 
 likewise, had Joanna the wife of Chusa, and Susanna,* 
 and many others, who were all healed of these evil 
 spirits. At Gadara was one poor creature so filled 
 with them, that when the Saviour asked him his name, 
 his reply was "Legion;" and so tied and bound 
 was he to the dictates of these accursed spirits, 
 that his mind, totally unconscious of God's power, 
 was made to behold the blessed Saviour as he will 
 be to all those who love darkness rather than light 
 —a terror and torment to him.f And that the mind 
 of man being given over to Satan, whether for a short 
 period or for the term of his natural hfe, does not in 
 all cases imply that this affliction was sent as a punish- 
 ment to the individual, while it proves that that mind 
 cx)uld be again turned to the service of God by the aid 
 of his Holy Spirit, is made evident by several circum- 
 stances recorded on this point in Scripture.l It would 
 seem sometimes to bear a relation to others, and was 
 sent, like other afflictions, "that the works of God 
 should be made manifest in them."§ The recollection 
 of this circumstance ought to convey great consolation 
 to the parents and friends of many a poor stricken one, 
 for wise but inscrutable purj)oses bereft of his reason 
 or the free use of his mind. " Ofttimes," it may be 
 said, " the evil spirit casts him into the fire and into 
 
 * Lake, viii. 2, 3. 
 
 X Mar. V. 19, 20 ; Luke, viii. 2,3. 
 
 t Mar. T. 7. 
 § John, ix. 2. 
 
 I 
 
 
 the water to destroy him;" and, in enduring this 
 affliction, he may have been manifesting the power of 
 the spirit of God over that of Satan. 
 
 On the other hand, through the sins and provoca- 
 tions of men towards whom God has had purposes of 
 mercy, their minds have been given over, as respects 
 this life, in some cases temporarily, and in others per- 
 manently, to Satan. Thus the Apostle Paul, finding 
 that the heathens at Corinth, who had been converted 
 to Christianity by his preaching, fell back into the sins 
 which marked them so signally as heathens, while they 
 outwardly professed the faith of Christ, judged " that 
 in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ such an one 
 should be delivered unto Satan for the destruction of 
 the flesh, tftat tlte spirit may be saved in the day of 
 the Lord Jesus."* The same Apostle delivered over 
 Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan, " that they might 
 learn not to blaspheme."! Nothing can, then, be more 
 certain, than that, for wise and merciful reasons, the 
 spirits of demons were permitted to take possession of 
 the bodies of men, subject to such commands and 
 limitations as the power and wisdom of God had 
 ordered. 
 
 We cannot, however, be too much upon the watch- 
 tower, or habituate ourselves too much to contemplate 
 these fearful spirits while they are yet distant from us. 
 Satan's favourite mode of warfare is not to seek to ob- 
 tain dcmuuiacul possession ; but, bhort of this, to 
 
 ♦ I Cor. T. 5. 
 
 t 1 Tim. i. 20. 
 
286 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OP SPIRITS 
 
 secure the same practical ends. He more commonly 
 confines his attack to that more circumscribed and less 
 conspicuous form, which consists in so injuring the 
 desires of the mind as to destroy their powers of volun- 
 tary action. This answers his purpose, and it is per- 
 haps his most popular mode of assault. While he 
 persuades some to partake of the forbidden fruit, be- 
 cause it is calculated to make them wise, a far greater 
 number take it because it is good for food and pleasant 
 to the eyes. It is unlikely that such food as this could 
 be taken harmlessly or moderately, and he saw how 
 many he should slay by this hait—plures crapula quam 
 gladius. It was better for him than setting whole 
 nations to fight with each other. This is the incipient 
 step in all his methods of attack, to undermine and 
 injure the functions of the body previously to making 
 his final onslaught. 
 
 In combating the absurdity of some who would sup- 
 pose the demoniacs of the Scriptures to be persons 
 whom we should call insane, epileptic, maniac, or me- 
 lanchoUc, Trench observes — " This has been often said, 
 and the oftener perhaps because there is a partial truth 
 in the view that these possessions were bodily maladies. 
 There was no doubt a substratum of disease, which in 
 many cases helped to lay open the deeper evil, and 
 upon which it was superinduced ; and, in agreement 
 with this view, we may observe that cases of possession 
 are at once classed with those of various sicknesses, and 
 at the same time distinguished from them by the Evan- 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 287 
 
 gelists, who thus at once mark the relation and the 
 diflerence."* We need not confound the difierent 
 ways with each other in which Satan has attempted to 
 carry the citadel of man : we should act more wisely 
 by bearing in mind how artfully he apphes his know- 
 ledge in every case to the particular individual, so as 
 to secure his end by a variety of means. 
 
 * Matt. iv. 24, viii. 16 ; Mark, i. 33. See his " Notes on the 
 Miracles of our Lord," p. 150. 
 
288 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF GOD. 
 
 The powerful operation of the spirit of angels, and the 
 relation they bear to each other and to the spirit of 
 man, having been considered, I go on now to speak, 
 so far as revelation permits me to do, of the existence 
 of the power and the offices of a still higher spirit, — 
 one which is called, in different parts of Scripture, the 
 Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of God, and the Spirit of 
 adoption. 
 
 It seems hardly necessary that I should use any 
 argument, or adduce any facts, to prove the existence of 
 the spirit of God, or the influence that spirit exerts 
 upon the mind of man. To disbelieve the existence of 
 such a spirit, is at once to be opposed to a very large 
 portion of the Word of God ; indeed, it is equivalent 
 to an entire rejection of revelation. For there we find 
 this fact in many places is put beyond the possibility 
 of doubt.* " Know ye not,'* says St. Paul, to the 
 believers at Corinth, " that ye are the temple of God, 
 
 * Luke xii. 12 ; i Cor. vi. 19 ; 2 Cor. vi. 16 ; 1 Cor. ii. 11 ; 
 Eph. iL 21, 22. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 289 
 
 M 
 
 • 
 
 that the spirit of God dwelleth in you ? If any man 
 destroy the temple of God, him shall God destroy ; for 
 the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."* And 
 again, to the Romans : '' But if the spirit of him that 
 raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that 
 raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your 
 mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you."t It 
 cannot, therefore, be a matter of doubt whether this 
 spirit exists in connexion with the human mind. A 
 far more interesting question is. On what terms does 
 it exist there ? In speaking of the spirit of man after 
 it became subject to the spirit of evil, it was shewn 
 that, as the consequence of man's fall, he became liable 
 to death. And in this state his spirit was excluded 
 from the presence of God, and banished into the king- 
 dom of darkness. In this state the imperishable spirit 
 of man was by his own act of disobedience deprived 
 of happiness and hope. It was, therefore, devised by 
 the Creator that, by the aid of a more powerful spirit, 
 man might be able to turn again unto God. For this 
 purpose his holy spirit has from that time to this been 
 freely offered to all who seek it in the appointed way. 
 While this offer is held out to all, it is certain all do 
 not accept it. And so far is the spirit of man alienated 
 from God by the operation of the spirit of evil upon 
 his mind, that he cannot now behold anything heavenly, 
 or recognise even the existence of God in the sensible 
 
 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17; Rev. xxi. 3. 
 
 U 
 
 f Rom. viii. 11, 
 
290 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 and material creation around, by its natural powers 
 alone, so much perverted and injured are all the attri- 
 butes of his mind, particularly that attribute we call 
 conscience. 
 
 The Apostle Paul, accordmgly, tells the Corinthians 
 that God has revealed his purposes of mercy to man by 
 the Holy Spirit alone, and that as " there is no man 
 that knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of 
 man that is in him," so " the things of God knoweth 
 no man but the spirit of God" that is put anew into 
 him. All our knowledge and views of divine things, 
 and the power to apply them spiritually to our mind, 
 comes from the spirit of God, and not through the 
 spirit of man. So that, although the organic apparatus 
 of the brain in the human constitution was in the first 
 instance for the reception of the spirit of man only, 
 with a cerebral and mental arrangement fitted for it, 
 yet that cerebral and mental conformation was clearly 
 capable of being acted upon by a very different spirit, — 
 viz. the spirit of evil, as revelation states. But this 
 would be physically impossible, if what is commonly 
 termed the mind were to be regarded as the spirit of 
 man, for, in this case, it must be both the spirit of man 
 and the spirit of God, for both these spirits take up 
 their abode in the human mind, not to say anything of 
 the spirit of evil. 
 
 Each of these spirits has dealings with the human 
 mind, making it the great stage on which the rewards 
 and punishments, the motives, examples, reasons, and 
 inducements, are introduced and acted upon. It is the 
 
 f.» 
 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 291 
 
 , 
 
 Holy Spirit, acting on the mind of man, which alone 
 enables him to " search all things, even the deep things 
 of God," and the natural man, that is, the spirit of 
 man, receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for 
 they are fooUshness to him ; neither is it possible for 
 him to know them, because they are only to be dis- 
 cerned by the help of the Spirit of God. The spirit of 
 man is called by St. Paul the spirit of bondage, because 
 it is in bondage to Satan ; while the spirit of God in 
 man is called the spirit of adoption, which spirit 
 beareth witness with our spirit. 
 
 There is great confusion in the minds of many as to 
 what proof there really is, that the Spirit of God does not 
 dwell in every child that is born into the world. This has 
 been a famous question for Satan's advantage. It has 
 caused more to rest themselves in the efficacy of outward 
 forms and ceremonies, as a sufficient substitute for in- 
 ward grace, holiness, and good works, than can be told. 
 It must, however, be remembered that the bareknowledge 
 of right and wrong, though it comes through the con- 
 science in man, is essentially a knowledge that comes 
 by the spirit of evil. The demons, ra Sat/iovid, believe 
 there is one God, and this makes them tremble. But 
 why should they tremble, unless they were aware of the 
 difference between right and wrong, and the conse- 
 quences this knowledge has informed them will result 
 from their acts ? This circumstance has been greatly 
 overlooked, and the consequence has been, men have 
 thought they had God's spirit in them because their 
 consciences were alive, which made them afraid. By 
 
292 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 regarding the conscience as an attribute or mode of 
 action of the mind, we can see how that attribute, 
 before the Tall, acted, by producing obedience without 
 seeking to inquire to the right hand or to the left whe- 
 ther it was right or wrong, as it did after that event, 
 by the help of the Holy Spirit, when it heard " a voice 
 behind, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it."* 
 
 The only genuine evidence we possess that the 
 Spirit of God is in us, is by the particular fruit it pro- 
 duces : " Ye shall know them by their fruits." This 
 fruit is not the product of the natural tree, but of 
 being grafted into the true vine: as in the natural 
 world the difference is clearly distinguished, so in the 
 spiritual ; and then, not only the conscience, but every 
 other attribute, is brought into the field, and they all 
 are in operation when by this spirit " the eyes of the 
 understanding are enlightened;" so that our "reason- 
 ings, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the 
 knowledge of God," are cast down, and every thought 
 is thus " brought into captivity to the obedience of 
 Christ." 
 
 Though it is a very generally received idea, there is 
 nevertheless no authority from Scripture to lead us to 
 suppose the Spirit of God dwells naturally in the 
 minds of aU who are bom into the world. Neither is 
 there any authority from Scripture, or any more reason 
 in the prevalent supposition, that the outward dedica- 
 tion to God in baptism, or any other outward means, 
 
 * Isaiah, xxx. 21. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 293 
 
 necessarily brings this spirit with them. "Circum- 
 cision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but 
 the keeping of the commandments of God."* No one 
 need be misled on this matter. The Jews had an out- 
 ward ceremony of ablution, which, under the law, they 
 were obliged to observe on pain of death.f But who 
 will be bold enough to say the soul of every Jew who 
 was thus unavoidably sprinkled was saved ? And al- 
 though this Jewish rite may not be regarded in the 
 light of a covenant, yet the outward mark of all who 
 were admitted under the covenant of Abraham was 
 circumcision : and we cannot possibly suppose that all 
 who were circumcised either had the Spirit of God in 
 them, or were saved. This is a very grave, but rather 
 a popular error, which in some form or other has crept 
 into all the Christian churches, as it did before them 
 into the Jewish church. The Jews thought that, being 
 outwardly called to be God's people, they were " deli- 
 vered" to do all kinds of abomination with impunity, 
 and had need only to trust in outward ceremonies or 
 in the stability of theii* temple, saying " The temple of 
 the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the 
 Lord, are these !"} But what says one of their pro- 
 phets to them, when they thought to substitute such 
 useless and extravagant follies for the obedience of 
 faith : " Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of 
 rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I 
 
 * I Cor. vii. 19. f Numb. xix. 17—21. 
 
 X Jen yii. 4, 9. 
 
294 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my 
 body for the sin of my sonl ? He hath shewed thee, 
 O man, what is good ; and what doth the Lord require 
 of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to 
 walk humbly with thy God ?"* The judicious Hooker 
 has touched this point very finely, where, in speaking 
 of the sacrament of baptism, he observes, " for all re- 
 ceive not the grace of God which receive the sacra- 
 ments of his grace ;" and again, " unless, as the spirit is 
 a necessary inward cause, so water were a necessary 
 outward mean to our regeneration, what construction 
 should we give unto those words wherein we are said to 
 be neW'borv, and that cj CSaroc even of water ?"t 
 
 But we have opposed to this general distribution of 
 God's Holy Spirit, as a necessary consequence of the 
 outward form, some very plain Scripture authority. 
 Christ told Nicodemus that the wind bloweth where 
 it listeth, and thou heareth the sound thereof, but 
 canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. 
 So is every one that is born of the spirit." We read 
 that Simon the sorcerer was baptized, but after this 
 Peter told him he had " neither part nor lot in the 
 matter." I 
 
 That God's spirit was ofiered to the antediluvian 
 
 * Mic. vi. 7, 8. 
 
 f Eccles. Pol. book v. p. 595 and 601, Dobson's edition. Nor 
 can we with safety neglect the outward means appointed of God. 
 By neglecting to perform the outward ceremony of circumcision 
 upon his children, Moses nearly lost his life. (See £xod. iv. 24). 
 
 X Acts, viii. 13, 21. 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 295 
 
 t 
 
 world is certain from that Scripture where the Lord 
 said, " My spirit shall not always strive with man,"* 
 which it had been doing through the preaching and 
 prophesying of Enoch,! and of Noah. J And that it 
 was possessed by many from the time of the flood up 
 to the birth of our Saviour, is shown in many parts of 
 revelation. By the aid of this spirit, Abraham walked 
 faithfully before God; Job was enabled to bear up 
 patiently when the enemy came in upon him like a 
 flood ; and David, and Samuel, and Daniel, and many 
 others, experienced its powerful aid in subjecting the 
 strongest efforts of Satan to its power. Moreover, that 
 it has been offered in every age to the rebellious and 
 the wicked, is clear from what David said in the G8th 
 Psalm, V. 18; and Stephen told the Libertines and 
 Cyrenians, and those who disputed with him, that they 
 always resisted the Holy Ghost. ^ 
 
 As man was in the first instance created with the 
 power to choose and to act voluntarily, it could not be 
 said that his fall was brought about by his own in- 
 ability to resist temptation. It was purely a voluntary 
 act that he disobeyed the command of God ; and the 
 act of the rebellion was the more unnecessarily heed- 
 less, from the fact of his not knowing the consequences 
 or the difference between good and evil. All he did 
 know was, that, if he ate of the tree of the knowledge 
 of good and evil, he should surely die, because God 
 had commanded him not to eat of it. 
 
 * Gen. vi. 3. f Jude, 14. % 2Pet. ii.5. § Actsvii. 51. 
 
296 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 Now, again, when God offers man the help of His 
 Holy Spirit to enable him to resist the power of Satan, 
 it is only offered upon conditions, and given to those 
 only who ask for it. It could not be otherwise, or the 
 dispensation under which man is now placed would be 
 removed : for it must be obvious, if all received the 
 Holy Spirit, Satan would be comparatively bound, and 
 could not hold the world in the slavery of sin and the 
 fetters of unbehef, in the unequivocal manner in which 
 we see he does. 
 
 But doubtless the Holy Spirit is given in very diffe- 
 rent measure to all who receive it, and even to the same 
 individual at different times. It evidently strives \^dth 
 many who are not influenced by it to the production of 
 its fruits, and we are warned not to quench the Spirit 
 of God that is in us, as it is by its instrumentality that 
 we are sealed or preserved unto the day of redemption. 
 It is given in different degrees, and in a different 
 manner, to all who receive it. And the Apostle Paul 
 tells us there are diversities of spiritual gifts under its 
 ordinary influence. When received into the mind, it 
 does not operate uninterruptedly in any one, but ap- 
 pears to act there as if confroated by an opposite 
 spirit. The conflict of these two spirits in the mind of 
 the believer is beautifully and clearly described by the 
 same Apostle : " With the mind I myself serve the law 
 of God after the inward man ; but I see another law" 
 {the spirit of evil) "in my members, warring against 
 the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to 
 the law of sin" (the spirit of evit) " which is in my 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 297 
 
 members. For what I would that do I not, but what 
 I hate that do I : for the good that I would, I do not ; 
 but the evil that I would not, that I do." Thus the 
 ** flesh or spirit of evil lusteth against the Spirit of God, 
 and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary 
 the one to the other." This state of contention be- 
 tween what St. Paul calls the law of the merabei's and 
 the law of the mind is caused by the presence of the 
 Spirit of God and the spirit of evil, through which 
 the inward working and striving of the spirit of man 
 are clearly to be traced. 
 
 The Holy Spirit was also, before the ascension of 
 our blessed Saviour, given in greater measure to the 
 Prophets, and after that event it was poured out in a 
 miraculous manner upon the Apostles and the first 
 Christians ; so powerfully as to enable them to prophesy, 
 to heal diseases, and to cast out devils. Here the 
 Holy Spirit exhibits a power that far excels that of 
 angels, whether holy or fallen angels. Not only could 
 this Divine Spirit foretel future events, and raise the 
 dead to life, which the fallen angelic spirit of evil 
 could do, but it could heal the sick and cast out 
 devils, which those demoniacal powers could not do. 
 That these last properties of the divine Spirit of God 
 were of no ordinary importance is evidenced by their 
 forming the chief occupation of the blessed Saviour 
 while upon earth. Everywhere he went, he healed 
 the sick and cast out devils. In attempting to do 
 this, even after the disciples had received the spirit to 
 do so, they on several occasions failed to effect a cure ; 
 
 ai!iHL " ";» - 
 
 ■■ff«f,*T^^■',■^A-^^'I i ,";Vli^^wa.^ 
 
 ^■ii'm'»«' iiw»*rr' ■MTiii" " 
 
298 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 299 
 
 which the Saviour attributed in one or two instances 
 to want of faith, and in another to the neglect of prayer 
 and fasting. 
 
 These were miraculous powers of the Spirit of 
 God, but necessarily displayed, to convince us that 
 here reside the elements of all spiritual strength, a 
 power that is able to bear witness it is from God, " by 
 signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and gifts 
 of the Holy Ghost." " For to one was given by the 
 Spirit the word of wisdom and knowledge ; to another 
 the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit ; to another 
 the working of miracles ; to another prophecy ; to 
 another discerning of spirits ; to another divers kinds 
 of tongues ; to another the interpretation of tongues ; 
 but all these wrought that one and the self-same spirit, 
 dividing to every man severally as He would."* This 
 was a wonderful power bestowed upon the first 
 Christians, which they had so great need of, on account 
 of the almost overwhelming spread of the spirit of 
 evil. By this power it was that the great mystery of 
 Christ, which in other ages was not made known to 
 men, was revealed to his holy apostles and prophets 
 after his ascension. 
 
 The chief office of the Holy Spirit is to enUghten 
 the eyes of the understanding, that we may know what 
 is the hope of the calUng of God, and the things that 
 are freely given to us of God. 
 
 It is the power to use the high attributes of the 
 
 * 1 Cor. xii. «, 1 1 . 
 
 mind, perception, judgment, memory, conscience, will, 
 &c., in so extended a manner, as that the feelings, 
 sentiments, and desires, are made to come fully within 
 the influence of the Holy Spirit, which constitutes that 
 wise and understanding heart spoken of in revelation. 
 This spii'it, then, produces the fruit of goodness, righte- 
 ousness, and truth; love, joy, peace, long-suffering, 
 gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance. It produces, 
 also, hope and faith, and above all, love to God. When 
 we place this long catalogue of heavenly qualities by the 
 side of that manifest and numerous list of the works of 
 the flesh, or compare it with that expression in Genesis 
 where God says the whole imagination, purposes, and 
 desires of man's heart were only evil continually, we 
 must at once collect this truth, and conclude that, 
 without the assistance of God's Spirit helping our 
 infirmities, we cannot resist the downward tendency of 
 every part, faculty, feeling, and attribute of the natural 
 mhid. What is called faith in God, and the power of 
 His Spirit, does not consist in the bare intellectual 
 reception of these facts relating to man's final salvation. 
 St. Paul clearly describes to Titus the difference be- 
 tween the belief of the mere intellect and that in which 
 the whole moral portion of the mind is also combined. 
 He says, " they profess that they know God," — that is, 
 with the intellectual part of the mind, " but in works they 
 deny Him," — that is, in the moral part of the mind, 
 "being abominable and disobedient and unto every 
 good work void of judgment,^* The word aSoKi^oi, 
 rendered in our translation " reprobate," in its active 
 
 -' ■ I i! u g :<J !! i.<.it i u ' i i fii&!_ 'y j " . '; wj.;g «* i ' . '?! ! :ji 
 
300 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS 
 
 sense, according to Macknight, means undiscerning, 
 undistinguishing, void of judgment ; hereby implying 
 that the perceiving, and judging, and comparing powers 
 in man, are, as 1 explained in the eighth chapter, capable 
 of being applied over the entire range of the moral part 
 of the mind of man. The same Greek word occurs in 
 Rom. viii. 28 : " God gave them over to a reprobate 
 mind," uq aSoKijuov vovv, a mind that would not have 
 power to reflect upon, understand, or judge of the con- 
 sequences of their conduct. Like Jannes and Jambres 
 who withstood Moses, so, Paul tells Timothy, in the last 
 days there will come those who " resist the truth, men 
 of corrupt minds, having no judgment concerning the 
 faith, aSo/ct/ioi TTipi Tr\v tt'kttiv. And, as the conse- 
 quence of the Fall, the mind is ever liable, even though 
 under the power of the Holy Spirit, to be assaulted 
 and blinded, and even led away, though it be only for 
 a time, by the spirit of evil. David says : '* Neverthe- 
 less, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh 
 slipped." When he saw the prosperity of the wicked, 
 he was transiently invidious of their position, and in this 
 state of mind found it impossible to understand why 
 this should be ; nor did his understanding become en- 
 Ughtened upon the matter till he asked of God. Then 
 he beheld it clearly enough. With his judgment en- 
 lightened by the Holy Spirit, he saw clearly how 
 suddenly these would come to a fearful end : and this 
 leads him to break out into a strain of renewed 
 faith : " Nevertheless, I am always by Thee, for Thou 
 hast holden me by my right hand ; Thou shalt guide 
 
 IN RELATION TO MATTER. 
 
 301 
 
 me with thy counsel, and after that receive me unto 
 glory." 
 
 The naturally irrecoverable state into which the 
 mind of man has been thrown by the fearful and 
 tremendous effects the spirit of evil has had upon it, 
 should excite no surprise in that mind when it is told 
 that it can no longer do anything that is pleasing to its 
 despised Creator, by the sole unassisted eflbrts of the 
 spirit of man. "It is not in man that walketh to 
 du'ect his steps." All his righteousness in the eyes 
 of an insulted and unreconciled God, are as filthy 
 rags, and his poor and utterly unavailing attempts to 
 do anything that is right in the strength of his own 
 spirit, are, we are plainly told, regarded in the same 
 category with the sins of his fallen nature. We 
 cannot, then, marvel that we must be born again, and 
 that we must have the aid of the Spirit of God to help 
 our infirmities, and to enable us to seek for strength 
 where only it is to be had. " For we know not what 
 we should pray for as we ought, but the spirit itself 
 (the Holy Spirit) maketh intercession for us according 
 to the will of God." 
 
 The necessity of having this spirit in us, if ever we 
 hope to see the face of God in glory, cannot be stronger 
 or more convincingly put than on this wise. God has 
 most mercifully revealed to us that we cannot enter 
 that rest which is prepared for all his people, but by 
 one appointed way. Jesus said, *' I am the way, the 
 truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the Father 
 but by me." The same revelation that conveys this 
 
302 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITS. 
 
 inestimable truth to our mind, informs us also that 
 without the aid of this very spirit, now under con- 
 sideration, no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, and 
 therefore without its help we cannot go to Him that 
 we might have life. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Action of tlie spirit of man before the Fall, 207, 209. 
 Aerolites, arguments drawn from, 89. 
 
 phenomena of, 88. 
 Air plants, how nourished, 109. 
 Alexipharmics, use of, 262. 
 Ampere on the loadstone, 185. 
 Analyses of inorganic matter, 107. 
 
 simple inorganic bodies, 40. 
 Angel a name of office, 233. 
 Angels are sometimes invisible, 24 i. 
 
 gradations in the, 232. 
 
 have bodies, 236, 243. 
 
 holy, spirit of, 238. 
 
 intelligence of, 242. 
 
 powers of, 239, 241. 
 
 spirit of, 231, 249. 
 
 supernatural power of, not lawfully given to man, 247. 
 
 swiftness of the, 239, 240. 
 Animal creation altered by the Fall, 210. 
 
 magnetism is not mesmerism, 273. 
 Appearance of different stars, 91. 
 Argument to prove that all created worlds are alike composed of matter 
 
 and spirit, 86. 
 Atmosphere, peculiar circumstance in its composition, 27. 
 Attack, Satanic, two forms of, 253. 
 Attributes of the mind, 175. 
 
 distinguishing characteristics of the, ISO. 
 irregular power of the, 189, 190. 
 Authorities (angels), 234. 
 
 Balaam's knowledge worse than useless, 269. 
 Baptism cannot take the place of regeneration, 292. 
 
 true value of, 293. 
 Belief is no proof that the spirit of God dwells in the mind, 290. 
 
304 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bird, Dr. G. on electric tension, 134. 
 Bodies of angels, 236, 242. 
 
 sometimes invisible, 244. 
 formed by the spirit of life, 103, 108. 
 
 spuits of heat and electricity, 112. 
 operation of fallen angels upon mortal, 249. 
 Body, resurrection, 217. 
 Brown, John, his theory of life, 152. 
 Brute creation, suJETering of, for man's sins, 211. 
 
 Cabbalists, errors of the, 281. 
 
 Cain, death of, 215. 
 
 Centre of gravity, 81 . 
 
 Chalk fossils, remarkable appearance in, caused by the spirit of elec- 
 tricity, 95. 
 
 Characters that mark the separate spirits, 127. 
 
 Charming, antiquity of the practice of, 263. 
 
 spoken of in Scripture, 264. 
 
 Chemical aflBnity and sensation, difference between, 108. 
 
 Cherubim, 235. 
 
 Clairvoyance a disease of the nervous system, 273. 
 
 denial of the power of, dangerous to truth, 274. 
 
 may be induced, and cannot afterwards be removed, 278. 
 
 phenomena of, are real, 274. 
 
 Clairvoyant, a, is always the subject of some sort of bodily disease, 273. 
 
 Collocations of matter in the planets, 89. 
 
 Colours of difTerent stars, 90. 
 
 the sunbeam rayolets, on what are they dependent? 71. 
 
 Combined and uncombined matter, different effects of the spiiit of elec- 
 tricity upon, 25. 
 
 Conscience an attribute of the mind, 176. 
 
 how injured by the spirit of evil, 177, 290. 
 
 Conscious sensation the basis of mind, 150. 
 
 Consecutive operation of the immaterial spirits in the works of crea- 
 tion, 54. 
 
 Cooper, Mr. Campbell, on the identity of light and heat, electricity and 
 caloric, 127. 
 
 Cornish mines, experiments on electricity in the, 84. 
 
 Coulomb's experiments on electricity, 26. 
 
 Creative worlds have a relative connection with each other by means of 
 
 the two kinds of entity, 85. 
 
 will be destroyed by the same spirits by which they were 
 made, 94. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 305 
 
 Crime, how regarded by human laws, 197. 
 
 of murder, natural consequences of, 214. 
 
 cannot, safely be met by any other punishment than 
 death, 215. 
 
 Damsel, the, at Philippi, 257. 
 
 Davy, Dr., experiments on the raia torpedo, 147. 
 
 Sir Humphry, experiments on the red and purple rayolets, 71. 
 
 Davy's, Dr., remarks on the habits of the cobra de capello, 262. 
 
 Deceptive appearance of luminous bodies, 53. 
 
 Degrees of power in different spirits, 19. 
 
 Demoniacal power, how defined, 260. 
 
 possession, 279. 
 
 a particular form of Satanic attack, 286. 
 
 can be removed only by the Spirit of God, 281. 
 
 fell heavily upon the Jews, 281. 
 
 Demoniacs, 253. 
 
 the, of the Scriptures, differed from the insane, 282. 
 
 Demonomania, those afflicted with, 282. 
 
 Demons, origin of the word, 250. 
 
 does not necessarily imply an evil power, 199. 
 
 Devil, personation of the, 250. 
 
 ubiquity of the, doubtful, 250. 
 
 Diamond, luminous properties of the, 73. 
 
 Difference in the mind of man and of animals, 178. 
 
 Difficulty of reconciling natural phenomena by the old theories, 57. 
 
 Diluvial catastrophe brought about by the spirits of heat and electri- 
 city, 94. 
 
 Disappearance of stars, 91. 
 
 Distinction between the attributes of the mind and the faculties and 
 feelings, 175. 
 
 Divination, different kinds of, 254. 
 
 spoken of in Scripture, 254. 
 Diviners not mere fortune-tellers, 256. 
 Divisibility a quality of created matter only, 69. 
 Doctrine of imponderable agents, shown to be erroneous, 47. 
 
 the correlation of physical forces, 121. 
 Doctrines, false, at the time of the Saviour's first advent, 280. 
 Dominions (angels), 234. 
 
 Effect of different natural productions on the nervous system, 265. 
 the spirit of electricity upon different quantities of air, 92. 
 
 X 
 
306 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Electric spirit, effect of the, upon iron, 81. 
 
 engaged in the formation of animal structures, 124. 
 
 extensive operation of the, upon the globe, 94. 
 
 how distinguished from that of life, 134, 135. 
 
 necessary to produce globularity in all bodies, 115. 
 
 apparatus of the raia torpedo, how supplied with nerves, 147. 
 
 Electro-magnetism, action of, 81. 
 
 Elements of creation in their uncombined state, 24. 
 
 Enchanters denounced in Scripture, 256. 
 
 not mere dealers in natural magic, 256. 
 
 Endor, witch of, 266. 
 
 Errors in the world at the birth of Christ, 281. 
 
 Example of the sudden operation of the spirit of electricity upon the 
 earth at the time of the Deluge, 95. 
 
 Faith, mental definition of, 298. 
 
 Familiar spirits a remarkable expression, 256. 
 
 denounced in the Scriptures, 256. 
 
 Faraday, Dr. experiments on electricity, 83, 126. 
 
 Feelings, the, cannot act without the intellect and the attributes of the 
 mind, 182. 
 
 Foreknowledge of demons, 257. 
 
 Gadusa, the demoniac of, 283. 
 
 Globe, foundations of the, 82. 
 
 Globularity of bodies, cause of the, 113. 
 
 Grod's care and commiseration for the living creatures, 210. 
 
 people sometimes are tormented by demoniacal power, 283. 
 Gradual subjection of the mind to the spirit of evil, 213. 
 Grove, Mr, on the correlation of forces, 121. 
 
 Hansteen on the magnetic poles, 84. 
 
 Heat, spirit of, one of the necessary causes of motion, 115, 119. 
 
 acting on the red rayolet, 71. 
 
 combined with the spirit of electricity in the production of 
 the phenomena of inorganic bodies, 112. 
 
 laws of the, 22. 
 
 Henwood's experiments on electricity, 84. 
 
 Holy Spirit, the, was given in different measure, 295. 
 
 conflict in man of the spirit of evil with the, 295. 
 
 office of the, 297. 
 
 supernatural powers of the, 296. 
 
 Immaterial substances, degrees of power in, 56. 
 
 i 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 307 
 
 /. 
 
 Immateriality of all things an incorrect doctrine, 36, 41. 
 
 Immortality of the soul in a disembodied state not a doctrine of the 
 Scriptures, 218. 
 
 Imponderable agents, doctrine of, 47. 
 
 Indivisibility a quality of uncombined matter as well as spirit, 24. 
 
 phenomena of, 67. 
 
 Inoceramus, curious state of the shell of the, 95. 
 
 Insanity, what constitutes, 179. 
 
 differed from demonomania, 282. 
 
 Intellectual faculties may be engaged without the feelings, 182. 
 
 Intoxication, how treated by the Legislature, 188. 
 
 Invisibility of angels, 244. 
 
 circumstances connected with the, 246. 
 
 Jaser, book of, mentions the manner of Cain's death, 215. 
 
 Jews afflicted with demonomania, 281. 
 
 involved by the Cabbalists, 280. 
 
 reliance placed on their temple as a substitute for vital religion by 
 the, 292. 
 
 Job, foundation of the earth alluded to in, 82. 
 
 mental affliction of, 282. 
 
 Job's affliction a comfort to those suffering from mental infirmities, 283. 
 
 Jurisprudence in relation to the mind very defective, 194. 
 
 Justice, operation of, upon the community, 198. 
 
 Latent state of the spirit of life in seeds, 136. 
 
 Laws of the spirit of life in its union with matter, 140. 
 
 heat and electricity, 22. 
 
 relating to criminal acts very incomplete, 179. 
 
 Legislation, criminal, deficiency of, 187, 196. 
 
 Life a term expressive of mixed phenomena, 102. 
 
 power of Satan to give, 258. 
 
 spirit of, and the phenomena dependent on its union with those of 
 heat and electricity, 99. 
 
 Light is a mode of action, 44. 
 
 caused by the operation of the spirits of heat 
 and electricity on matter, 70, 71. 
 
 new theory of, 63. 
 
 phenomena of, how formed, 28. 
 
 the causes of, have no property of divisibility, 68. 
 Living ones (angels), 234. 
 Luminous phenomena of mineral bodies, 73. 
 
 Magnetic poles, on the, 84. 
 
808 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Magnetism, peculiar power of, 81. 
 
 Marsians, the, practised serpent-charming, 263. 
 
 Material modes of union of bodies formed by the spirit of Ufe, 103. 
 
 substance cannot be annihilated, 38. 
 
 Materiality, universal, an incorrect doctrine, 35. 
 
 Matteucci's experiments on respiration, 159. 
 
 Memory an attribute of the mind, 176. 
 
 remarkable power of, 181, 189. 
 
 Mental operations in animals, 178. 
 
 philosophy, theories of, 140. 
 
 Mesmerisers, argument used by, 277. 
 
 have mistaken the power they make use of, 275. 
 
 Mesmerism, argument of St. Paul's affliction against the use of, 278. 
 
 is not animal magnetism, 273. 
 
 the effect of a demoniacal spirit, 274. 
 
 great argument opposed to, 277. 
 
 what is, 270. 
 
 Metals that have a great aflBnity for magnetic electricity, 26. 
 
 Meteorolites, argument to be drawn from, 89. 
 
 whence do they come, 88. 
 
 Mind cannot be separated from life, and both result from tlie same 
 spirit, 154. 
 
 condition of the, after the Fall, 199, 213. 
 
 effect of the spirit of evil upon the, 268. 
 
 in animals, what attributes move the, 179. 
 
 is not the immortal soul, 143, 165. 
 
 mode of operation of the attributes of the, 184. 
 
 Miracles of demons, 258. 
 
 Mode of operation of the attributes of the mind, 184. 
 
 Morichini, experiments on the purple rayolet, 71. 
 
 Motion implies globularity in all bodies where it is manifested, 119. 
 
 not confined to any one substance or structure, 145. 
 
 phenomena of, 145. 
 
 the cause of, in all bodies, 119, 123. 
 
 Murder, the crime of, how treated in revelation, 214. 
 
 Mysteries contained in revelation, 17. 
 
 Natural philosophy, valuable discoveries of, 8, 32. 
 
 advantages of revelation to, 15. 
 Nerves do not contain or transmit the electric spirit, 132. 
 Newton, Sir I., theory of imponderables, 48. 
 Non-luminous caloric, what is it ? 65. 
 
 i 
 
 
 \\ 
 
 \ 
 
 INDEX. 309 
 
 Oersted's discovery of electro-magnetism, 81. 
 
 Office of the spirit of man, 207. 
 
 Optical illusions, 53. 
 
 Orders of angels, 233, 234. 
 
 Outward ordinance of baptism, value of the, 293. 
 
 Ovid's allusion to the practice of charming, 263. 
 
 Peat-bogs, wonderful preservation of seeds in, 136. 
 
 Perception, phenomena of, explained, 105. 
 
 Phenomena of bodies, how distinguished from their qualities, 26. 
 
 life and mind identical, 144. 
 
 sensation and voluntary motion result from the application 
 of the spirit of life to particular structures, 147. 
 
 or modes of action, 11. 
 
 Philosophy, natural and revealed, the respective claims of, 1. 
 
 Pithen, spirit of, origin of the words, 261. 
 
 the same as the spirit of demons, 257. 
 
 Planetary systems, intimate connection in, 86. 
 
 Plea of insanity in criminal cases, 196. 
 
 Poisonous drugs, effect of, on the nervous system, 265. 
 
 used in the art of witchcraft, 262. 
 
 Ponderosity a quality of uncombined material substance, 11. 
 
 Power, demoniacal, 260. 
 
 of the Holy Spirit, 288. 
 
 spirit of life to build up organic structures, 108. 
 
 Powers (angels), 234. 
 
 Prescience an attribute of the mind, 176. 
 
 not found in the mind of animals, 178. 
 
 Primordial elements of the creation, in what way to be detected, 24. 
 
 Principalities (angels), 234. 
 
 Progressive development of the material structures as the vital and 
 mental powers increase, 149. 
 
 Prophetic powers, 248. 
 
 Proximate principles of matter, 32. 
 
 Pythia, the, was exposed to the influence of poisonous drugs, 265. 
 
 Qualities of bodies distinguished from modes of action, 63. 
 matter, 11, 24. 
 
 caused by the union of material and immaterial enti- 
 ties, 22. 
 Quality of indivisibility, 11, 24. 
 Quaternaiy unions of matter caused only by the spirit of life, 103. 
 
 I 
 
310 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Reason, what is it ? 191. 
 
 E^generatiou does not necessarily take place at baptism, 293. 
 
 Remarkable instances of the long retention of the spirit of life in vege- 
 tables, 136. 
 
 Responsibility, mental, on what does it rest ? 192, 197. 
 
 Resurrection body, 222, 227. 
 
 difference shown to the good and evil in the, 228. 
 
 of the body, 217. 
 
 a different doctrine to that of the immortality 
 of the soul, 217. 
 
 a mystery, 17. 
 
 the doctrine of Pythagorus, 219. 
 
 Revelation alone informs us of the real existence of either spirit or 
 matter, 14, 15. 
 
 first makes known the existence of spiritual substances, 15. 
 
 great value of, 7. 
 
 must be taken as a whole, 6. 
 
 not inconsistent with reason, 7. 
 
 why given to man, 5. 
 
 Samuel's appearance before the witch of Endor, 226. 
 
 Satan, real existence of, 250. 
 
 Satan's favourite method of warfare, 285. 
 
 Satanic attacks, two different kinds of, 253. 
 
 Saturn, the planet, in relation to the earth, 89. 
 
 Saul's mind was diseased, 282. 
 
 Sensation and chemical affinity, difference in, 108. 
 
 Sepia officinalis, why found fossil with the ink unscathed, 95. 
 
 Seraphim, 235. 
 
 Serpent charmers, 262, 263. 
 
 nations worshipping the, 262. 
 worship, 264. 
 Serpents, effect of sound upon, 263. 
 
 why supplied with a poison, 261. 
 Solomon's power to cure disease, 259. 
 Sons of God, 235. 
 Spirit of angels, 231. 
 
 God, office of the, in relation to man, 289. 
 
 proof that the mind is under the influence of the, 291. 
 the, 287. 
 
 does not dwell in all, 290. 
 dwells in behevers, 287. 
 
 , i 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 311 
 
 Spirit of life common to all creatures, proved from revelation, 158. 
 
 in conjunction with those of heat and electricity, producing 
 the phenomena of living bodies, 138. 
 
 the seeds of vegetables, 136. 
 
 produces mental operations in animals, 162. 
 
 man different to the spirit of life, 208. 
 
 distinct and separate, 16. 
 
 effect of the spirit of evil on the, 246. 
 
 its subjugation to the spirit of evil, 208. 
 
 operation of, in the mind, 202. 
 
 Spirits, angelic, 19. 
 
 separate existence of, proved from revelation, 19, 23. 
 
 Spiritual modes of union in co-operation with the spirit of life, 104. 
 
 Stars change their colours in the course of time, 91. 
 
 different colours of, 90. 
 
 the cause of, 92. 
 
 varied appearance of, in the heavens, 91. 
 
 States in which the spirits are found to be united to matter explained, 28. 
 
 Sugar and starch cannot be formed by the spirits of heat or of electri- 
 city, 106, 135. 
 
 Sun's heat partly dependent upon matter, 79. 
 
 Synthesis of water, 40. 
 
 Terrestrial poles, relation these bear to the magnetic poles, ^4. 
 Theories of life, different, 140. 
 Thoughts of the mind, what are the, 142. 
 
 Three spirits of heat, electricity, and life, the cause of aU natural pheno- 
 mena, 99. 
 Thrones (angels), 234. 
 
 Tiedemann's belief that all animals have some kind of nervous system, 149. 
 Triple unions of matter cannot be formed by aid of electricity, 107. 
 Truth, the mental apprehension of, 192. 
 
 Ubiquity of the devil not a doctrine of Scripture, 250, 252. 
 
 Uncombined materiality, 36. 
 
 Union of spirits in the production of the higher phenomena of bodies, 113. 
 
 Universal materiality and universal immateriality alike incorrect, 35. 
 
 Virgil alludes to the power of charming, 263. 
 
 Vital principle, difficulties in the theory of a, 155. 
 
 Water, how changed into steam or ice, 27, 116. • 
 formed, 40. 
 
812 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Water must have the spirits of heat and electricity further added to its 
 surfaces to produce vapour, 116. 
 
 the formation of, caused by the spirits of heat and electricity, 40. 
 
 Will, infirmities of the, 186. 
 
 power of the, 187. 
 
 the, one of the attributes of the mind, 186. 
 
 Witchcraft, how defined by some, 259. 
 
 mixed up with the properties of natural productions, 265. 
 
 several kinds of, 354. 
 
 Witch of Endor, instruction conveyed in the account of the, 268. 
 
 Saul's dealings with, 268. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 87, line 14, for " at the period in the Genesis of Moses," read " at the 
 
 period stated in the Genesis of Moses.'* 
 Page 237, line 9, for " material utility," read " material entity." • 
 
 THE END. 
 
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