3. The mind or spirit. This is immeasurably the highest and most important constituent of man. His body material may fall back to dust. His body electrical may be reabsorbed in the great ocean of natural electricity that fills the earth and the heavens. But his mind is immortal. His spirit, made in the divine image, lives and acts, thinks and feels, independently of every other existence save Him from whom its being came. While in connection with its visible body, its good or ill, its bliss or woe, has, indeed, much to do with its bodily state. But, when separated from this body, its high and more independent existence is at once asserted; and then its good or ill are determined by its Author only in accordance with the workings and affections within itself. A spiritual and indestructible being like its Creator, it can never cease to be while he exists.
But our present concern is with the mind in its relation to that electro-vital medium between it and the body, and to the body itself. The mind's influence upon both of these lower parts of the entire man is truly wonderful, although perceptible mostly on the material body. Few persons are aware how much the state of the mind affects the bodily health, although the degree is often very great. Yet this is done by the mind's action, first on the electro-vital functions, and through these, by way of the nerves, upon the bodily tissue. Changes in the mental states will, in this way, frequently produce changed polarization in the physical organs, and thus determine infallibly the matter of health or disease. So, too, the condition of the bodily health will often determine irresistibly the mental state. Whatever bodily changes affect the polarization of the electro-vital medium in any part of the organism, do thereby produce corresponding changes in the mind.
These views of the reciprocal action between mind and body, through the medium of the electro-vital element, may serve to explain those psychological wonders exhibited in the cure of diseases by the imagination, as well as in diseases and even death induced by the imagination. I would much like to unfold and illustrate this bearing of the subject; and, also, in the light of it, to show the philosophy of one mind acting intelligibly on another mind, with, and even without, the aid of the physical organs, as is sometimes seen in the facts of mesmerism. This I have done in my written lectures, for the instruction of classes; but my limits will not admit of it here.
There is another thought which I will offer in this connection. I maintain that all functional action of our bodily organism, ab initio, is conducted by thinking mind, through the medium of organic electricity or the electro-vital fluid. Every organ as a whole, and every life-cell in detail, is charged with this active principle. I believe that every one of then is controlled and guided incessantly in its propagating, organizing and entire functional force by intelligent mind, acting through this wonder-working agent—the electro-vital fluid. In respect to our voluntary exercises, this organic electrical force is made subject to our own mental activities, and executes its office upon the bodily organism mainly through the medium of the nerves. But, as regards all the involuntary functions, I believe that control is exercised directly by the omniscient and all-pervading God, although in accordance with his own established laws.
Once more of the mind let me remark, that consciousness, sensation, and will belong to it alone. The body never thinks nor feels; nor does the organic electricity within it. The popular idea, especially with the less educated masses, is that, if a man burn his finger, it is the finger that smarts. But this can not be true. Pain can exist only where consciousness is. And there is no consciousness in the finger, nor in any material part. Only the mind is conscious of existence, even; and hence only the mind can be conscious of pleasure or pain. If a limb be paralyzed, by interrupting in any way the flow of the electro-vital fluid through its nerves, and thus depriving the mind of its medium of communication with it, you may burn that limb to a crisp and the subject will feel no pain. When you burn your finger or break your arm, you disturb the action of the electro-vitality in the injured part, deranging its poles. This electric agent instantly communicates its disturbance along the nerves to the brain, where it reports to the mind and tells where the disturbance is. The conscious mind takes cognizance of the fact and feels distress.
THE LOWER ANIMALS.
It may, by some, be objected that, if we regard sensation as existing only in the mind, as affirmed above, then we must concede mind to the lower animal tribes, since they are subjects of consciousness, sensation and will, as truly as ourselves. I admit this necessity, and unhesitatingly take the position, as has been already done in the classification of minds, that the lower animals are in fact endowed with a something higher and more spiritual than their material bodies or their animal vitality—something which bears distinguishing characteristics of mind. I would not, however, be understood to say, or to imply, that they possess all the characteristics of our minds, even in a rudimental degree. I do not believe they do. My theory does not accord to them either reason or immortality. Yet, in respect to the latter, my views are less decisive, and my utterances usually more reserved. But I think their minds may, and probably do, perish with their bodies. Nevertheless, the existence of consciousness, sensation and will, in any orders, does evidently presuppose some sort of mental constitution. And such mental structure, in them as well as in us, must be distinct from and superior to the animal vitality—compelling service from the latter, and using it as a medium for communicating with the body, and with the outer world in general.
THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
As to the vegetable kingdom, there is here, so far as we can discover, only a duality of principle, viz: the material body and a modified phase of electro-vitality. These component parts appear to sustain to each other, in the vegetable, relations quite analogous to those of the corresponding parts in the animal. But here the mental part is wanting; and consequently there is no consciousness, sensation, nor will; and the electro-vital action is guided in its elaborate and beautiful operations for the forming and developing of the plant, and in all its vital functions, by the all-pervading mind of God.