< An Important Question (continued from page 3-141) >
It is not necessary that we should declare our belief in the existence of such a science. Those who study and understand, can form an opinion for themselves. We have presented the above thoughts for the consideration of our readers. By an exercise of reason one can soon understand by intuition. The subject is awakening considerable attention, not only in this country but in Europe. The American Spiritual Magazine has a department where questions are answered by a medium under control, and among other questions asked and answered, we quote the following as appropriate:
Question—From all past time there has come to us through tradition, and through half-suppressed foot-notes, a story, that men who knew the way and the formula, could summon to their aid and counsel, spirits who have certain superhuman mundane powers, but who are supposed not to belong to the best, or even a good order of spirits. There is a belief that men hold communion of the kind at the present day, calling it the “black art”—how far is there truth in the above?
Answer—There is an art known as the black art still in existence. This was what in olden times the Persian Magi exercised. It is the power of spirit over spirit. To this day the knowledge is retained among the Medes, Persians and Arabs. They have introduced it into many countries. It is known to many of France and Germany, and exercised to a considerable extent. This power has sometimes through man- resulted in evil. The same can be said of all knowledge where man has the power. That it attracts bad spirits can only be said when the spirit in man is impure and prone to evil. The art is great, one of the wonderful results of scientific researches, and can only be understood after long and earnest labor. The Magi of Persia were held in high repute; were often called to act as counselors to kings. There is no witchcraft, nothing of voudoo incantation in this ancient art. The Magi invoked the good demons, and with religious ceremonies opened their exercises. With judicious discipline it can be brought to bear upon principles with such force that the will of one man could remodel and change the entire laws of a country, through his will over the masses. It shows itself in an incipient stage to-day. All through the human family you see the workings of the will power; the action of the strong will over the weak. It is a science of wonderful merit, which, in time, will, through some clear, unselfish soul, be revealed to all mankind, giving a new impetus to governments.
Message Department of the Banner
The stream of communications, from supposed deceased persons, given in the Banner every week for the last ten or twelve years, ostensibly through the medium- ship of Mrs. Conant, must have generally been passed by as rubbish by every intelligent reader. Two or three per cent of them may have been genuine; the test were such as could be readily invented by any penny-a-liner. What possible value could there be in all that unauthenticated stuff? The only value and interest of all such communications, must be in having them authenticated in the very fullest manner by surviving relatives and friends. Once in a while, perhaps twice in a hundred times, the Banner would supply some sort of evidence that the communication was genuine; but the remaining ninety-eight must be taken on trust.
Nothing could be more on-characteristic than those communications, of which we could sometimes judge a little when some known personage, like Charles Sumner, Judge Edmonds, or Abraham Lincoln, was supposed to be the communicating spirit. Rarely, very rarely, was a message given from any known personage, characteristic or reliable, in the slightest degree. We do not say that Mrs. Conant was at any time, willfully, a deceiver; but she was evidently made the instrument of shamming spirits. She did not have the literary discrimination or knowledge to detect the deceptions that were practiced on her by the mob of silly, undeveloped spirits that made the Banner for so many years unaccountably the repository of so much mischievous trash.
We say mischievous trash, because though generally nothing immoral has been allowed to pass unrebuked, persons of taste have bees repelled and disaffected, by this department of the paper. It was so obvious that the communications might have been pure inventions, whether by the medium herself, or by the spirit influencing her.
We can hardly hope that now Mrs. Conant has passed away and on, this roost barren and fruitless feature of the Banner will be given up. Other mediums, undoubtedly, will be found, who can pour forth the same sort of stuff, with the same facility and profusion. But it must be plain to everyone that the Cause of Spiritualism is belittled, in the eyes of the ignorant many, by all such publications. A message from the departed should either be characteristic and supply satisfactory tests of identity, or it should command attention by dignity or force of style, beauty of thought, and novelty of suggestion. The mere labeling a communication “a spirit message,” gives it no title to attention, unless it have some of these intrinsic claims. All the conditions that give a Spirit-message a title to publication, seem to have been ignored and disregarded by the conductors of the Banner; and by this utter lack of discrimination, this con tempt for the common sense of their readers, they have, as we have before said, repelled many from the study of Spiritualism.
Now that there is an interregnum in the Message Department, we hope all sensible Spiritualists who subscribe for the Banner, will take the opportunity to express their utter disapproval of the publication of any message from the spirit world, that is not authenticated, either by satisfactory external tests of identity, or by intrinsic merit of thought and style. Let not the Cause he damaged any longer by the indiscriminate publication of frivolous messages which, though they may make the unthinking laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve. Now that Spiritualism is passing through a transition state, all such drags and impediments must be thrown off. For the babblings of infancy let there at least be substituted the intelligent speech of adolescence.
The Ring of Science
The twenty-fourth annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, will be held at Detroit, Mich., commencing on Wednesday, August nth. The Permanent Secretary calls special attention to the meeting of the Entomological Club. It is proposed to form a subsection of Anthropology at the coming meeting of the Association.
We give the above the benefit of our circulation without charge, a liberality which, being necessarily unexpected by the Association, in view of the disgraceful behavior of itself and individual members towards spiritual science, will doubtless be appreciated. We Spiritualists can afford to be lenient to these poor, blind materialists, for they do not know any better than to do as they have. The helpless creatures are only human moles. As they burrow in their “dim galleries,” what can they know of the inner world, which their predecessors only discovered at the moment when communication was interrupted between them and their fellow grubbers.
See what will happen at this Detroit meeting: Their Entomological Club will have heated debate upon trapdoor spiders, and acrimoniously discuss whether the male Mygale avicularia has a darker shade of brown than the female on the upper segment of the body, and more cilia1 to the square inch; after which, as an appetizer for dinner (champagne and fixings on the lake) mention will be made of that Dismal Swamp louse, which (see Trans 1874) the surveyors found always pointing its nose to the North, whichsoever way they might lay it down. Prof. Hilyard will enquire across the room, of Professor Dawson whether the Myriapoda with two antennae, so highly esteemed by the Scolopendra tribes of India, are more nutritious than the date-palm. Professor Youmans will propose to the Club the election to honorary membership of the “correspondent of the Department of Agriculture” whose discovery of mortality among bots upon the application of a decoction of tansy he had appropri- <... continues on page 3-143 >
Editor's notes
Sources
Spiritual Scientist, v. 2, No. 23, August 12, 1875, p. 270
Spiritual Scientist, v. 2, No. 23, August 12, 1875, pp. 270-1