Many persons, including the author of these pages, more than twenty years ago found among “phenomena called spiritual,” many which seemed imperatively to demand a broadening of the base of any mental philosophy which the world at large had presented to their notice, and apprehended that light was dawning amid the dark work of spirits, which might reveal to man more knowledge than he had ever obtained both of his own mysterious structure, and of his relations to and possible intercourse with his predecessors on earth. Many, perceiving this, have held on prosecuting such observations, and drawing such conclusions as their opportunities and powers permitted, undeterred by sneers and cold shoulders; and such now spontaneously hail with joy the arrival of the world’s most advanced scientists at “a new philosophy of mental powers;” such a philosophy, too, as manifestations well scrutinized have long been indicating would some day be based on the firm foundation of proved facts, and become a blessing to our race. Both spiritualism and science, by distinct routes, have reached a common point, and each testifies to the other’s discovery of a new world in man.
“The subtle mechanism of the human frame, about which we know so little in its connection with mental processes, is sometimes acted upon by a power outside of us as familiar with that organism as we are ignorant of it, ... acting through us without conscious action of our own, though susceptible of training or elevation.” Such is the conclusion of Dr. Brown-Séquard, which is indorsed by Agassiz. Backed by such authority, one may very courageously move forward in efforts to show that the very structure of man through all ages may have permitted certain human forms to have been controlled and used by intelligent powers outside of themselves, and without conscious action of their own, that is, without consciousness on the part of the individual minds to which those bodies naturally pertained. Such facts are guide-boards designating pathways along which producers of prophetic, witchcraft, and spiritualistic phenomena can reach standing-points for speech and action perceptible by men’s external senses; these facts are keys, too, that will unlock many chambers of mystery, and we have used them in searches among the records of witchcraft.
Those eminent savants do not state, and therefore we shall not maintain, that the outside power they refer to is spirits of former occupants of human bodies; but since that power “is as familiar with the human organism as we are ignorant of it,” the language surely implies reference to some intelligent power, for its familiarity with the organism is that of knowledge, the acquisition of which is contrasted with our ignorance. To whom can they refer, if not to spirits of some grade?
The nature of things contains provision for temporary reincarnations of some departed spirits in the physical forms of some peculiarly organized and endowed human beings. This fact is important, and should be borne in mind during a perusal of the present work.
Marvel and Spiritualism.
We are reluctant to use the word “miracle” because of its liability to be construed as designating not only an act performed directly by an Almighty One, but also that, in performing it, He acts “contrary to the established constitution and course of things;” which course we believe was never adopted. Therefore we shall use “marvel,” to designate all works which have seemed to require more than human power, and have been understood to be “more than natural.”
Such A MARVEL is a result from application of powerful occult forces which man neither comprehends nor can manage.
Spiritualism is phenomena resulting from use of occult forces and processes by invisible, departed human spirits.
Most genuine spiritual phenomena are marvels; but there may be, and may have been in witchcraft-scenes, marvels which spirits did not produce. We left out from the definition of marvel, necessity for an intelligent operator. Impersonal influxes to many mediums may at times produce many things which are often ascribed to personal spirits.
Our broad definition lets the word marvel cover all supernal revelations and inspirations from any god, spirit, or the impersonal spirit realms,—all angel or spirit presence ever perceived by man,—all mighty works, signs, and wonders ever wrought through prophets, apostles, magicians, sorcerers, and the like,—all promptings, helps, and works by spirits called “familiar,”—all necromancies, witchcrafts, &c., &c. As a natural philosophy, our subject embraces all these. Its moral or religious aspects do not come under special consideration in the course of inquiry which is pursued by us. Spiritualism—as evolvements by finite unseen intelligences, using none other than natural forces, however occult, acting in subserviency to natural laws and nice conditions—has its rightful place with whatever has come forth from action of intra-mundane or supra-mundane forces and agents.