MASTER NEGATIVE NO. 93-81607-15 MICROFILMED 1993 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or other reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.'* If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. .1 A UTHOR: BRERETON, ROBERT MAITLAND TITLE: SOME THOUGHTS ON PERSONALITY PLACE* [WOODSTOCK, (ORE.)] DATE: [1 906] COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOHRAP TARGET * Master Negative # Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record Restrictions on Use: »• Brereton, Rjobertj Mtaitlandj ' ' Some thouehts on personality tWoodstock (Ore) 1906, o ,3 I i." . cr • y:i5(VA f^l P No title-page Bound with another work TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA REDUCTION RATlO:__/Ac FILM SIZE:___^.^ja,i^^ IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA, ^I^ IB IIB S^wS^ ^^^^^^--^P^i^-3- INITIALS A^^ HLMEDBY: RESEARCriPUBLICATIOMg. INC WOnnBRIDGirCT c Association for Information and Image Managament 1100 Wayne Avenue. Suite 1100 Silver Spring. Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter im ■ ic o ^ ;i 8 iiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiLiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiliiiii 10 11 12 13 14 15 mm Inches ii|ii|ii[ii|ii|ii|ii;i|ii|i|ii|i^N|ii|ii|ii^^^^ 1 2 3 4 2.8 li 25 1.0 !f"- I.I 1.25 163 2.2 S US IBUU 1.4 2.0 1.8 1.6 MflNUFfiCTURED TO RUM STflNDflRDS BY RPPLIED IMRGE. INC. t^^:.> <2> 1^^ IBTS This book is due two weeks from the last date at or itamped below, and if not returned* before that time a fine of five cents a day will be incurred. :JUL23«to Pfe * ■ ' ■», ■ -f ■ ^: - % 4 .4 • d 1 W^/JQt ^^^^^^ / Individualism in life on Earth BY ROBERT MATTLAND BRERETON. /V^# ^' ^'^ \ \ Woodstock. Oregon. 1906. S^omt SlfnuglflB m f ^rjBcnalttg By R. M. BRERETON. ^ Human individualism is observable in two forms in material life—the psychic individual mentality and the physical or objective personality. Through this duality or composite feature of the materialized human being we are apt to form very erroneous judgment from following the line of physical evidence only. Physically we see and recognize the personality of an indivisible unity. Psychologically we may— and often can— observe two and more individualized minds with will-force, and consequent actions, in the indivisible materialized unity. This indicates the periodical indwelling of two or more human souls, who operate the same brain-machine and the nervous sys- tem, as their control thereof is obtained. The primary individualized soul, through its habitual and well- known mentality, may, in most cases, be able to control its own brain and nervous system, barring accidental injury, throughout material life, and so establish its uniform personality. If a soul, strohger in mind and will-force than the primary soul, should enter the material body and gain control of the brain and nervous system, a dual mentality, in periodic form, may be apparent. Formerly mesmerism, today hypnotism, represents the animal magnetism and will-force of one living person upon the mentality of others. Why should not the same be exercised by spirits pos- sessed of the same controlling power ? / I Alexandre Dumas had this in mind in writing his "Memoirs of a Physician" ; in which his Lorenza Feliciani presents a primary and a secondary individiiaHty during the hypnotic trance-periods. The Christian Church has mainly nurtured the belief in, so- called, "demoniacal possession" ; as described in the New Testa- ment. The Old Testament is remarkably free from incidents of such possession. The case of Saul, in which David's hypnotistic power was exercised, is a singular instance, (i Sam. xvl-i6, 23.) In Greek mytholog)' the term demon was applied to both good and evil spirits : good and evil genius and guardian. In Plato's philosophy a demon was not an evil spirit. The Greek poet, Hesiod, who lived about 735 years B. C, wrote as follows : "Soon was a world of holy demons made Aerial spirits, by great Jove designed To be on earth the guardians of mankind." The Eumenides of the Greeks and the Furiae (Furies) of the Romans were the avenging spirits for human breaches of piety, hospitality and other humane virtues. The idea of the ancients seems to have been that the occult controlling power and assault of the spirits was from without the human body, that is, in the form of obsession, and not from within as in that of possession. Belief in secondary and multiple personality was, for the first time in human history, forcibly displayed in the time of Christ. Through His hypnotic influence seven, so-called, evil spirits quitted the body of the Magdalene. The late F. W. H. Myers, who had gone very deeply into occult and psychological investigations, thought that human personality is not an indivisible unity, but was capable of being split into seg- ments of unity — the same idea as that of trinity in unity — each of which forms a distinct personality. This view seems based more upon the physical conception of the human unity than upon the truer spiritual one. If we view the corporeal body as simply a material dwelling place or tabernacle for the human soul in earth life, and consider IT Ik the soul as a quasi aerial form, there is less difficulty in conceiving the idea of the indwelling of multiple spirits therein, which could operate, from time to time, the same brain-machine and nervous system to suit their respective mentality, and to display their per- sonality. Bacteriolog>^ teaches the multiformity of life in animal and vegetable nature ; not one is free from some form of parasitic possession, which exhibits its physical influence and action in re- gard to health and disease. In like manner may the mental and nervous systems be aflFected by spirit-intrusions. If there be any force in this reasoning, we should hasten to adopt a more scientific and more humane treatment of the insane and of the victims of temporary dual personality. Woodstock, Oregon, May, 1906. f