 |
vol. title: Vol Four of The Theosophical Society of The Arya Samaj of Arya-wart vol. period: Sept 1878 – Sept 1879 pages in vol.: 350 |
Modern Spiritualism
Below we translate from the Revue Spirite,—the organ of the psychological society of Paris—an account of a few of those astounding phenomena of the so called modern spiritualism, which in Europe and America have, it is said, convinced more than twenty millions of persons of the truth of spirit-return. The experimenter in this instance is one of the most eminent of German astronomers and mathematicians, who has had the rare moral courage to state what he saw without falsification. Dr. Slade is the most noted of American mediums. He was selected in 1877 by Colonel Olcott and Madame Blavatsky to go to St. Petersbourg and submit his mediumship to the tests of a scientific commission of which the great Professor Mendeleyeff was chairman; they having been appointed by the imperial university to make the selection for the committee of the most reliable of American mediums. Slade’s European experiences have been, as our readers will judge from what follows, very successful.
An attempt to have footmarks made upon the inside surfaces of a folding slate, the lids of which were shut and securely sealed, is thus described:—Mr. Zöllner placed inside the slate two sheets of paper prepared with lampblack. He observed to Slade that if his (Zöllner’s) theory of the existence of beings of the fourth dimension of space was correct, *such beings should be capable of producing foot-prints inside the closed slate as readily as upon an open one; Slade replied, that he thought the thing impossible, consenting, however, to the test. Mr. Zöllner placed the sealed slate upon his knees, so as to keep it constantly under watch. Five minutes later, in a well-lighted room, all their hands resting upon the table, Mr. Zöllner noticed that he had twice felt a sort of pressure of the slate lying in his lap; he affirmed that he had seen nothing, suspicious or otherwise. Three knocks in the table having announced that everything was finished, the slate was opened, and two prints, one of a right foot, the other of a left foot, were found on the papers disposed at each side of the slate.
Mr. Zöllner adds “My readers may judge for themselves, that it is impossible for me, after having witnessed such facts, to consider Slade as an impostor or juggler. The astonishment of Slade after this latest result was even greater than mine. Whatever opinion may be entertained as to my theory of the existence of beings of the fourth dimension of space, it cannot be said, that it is useless and unprofitable to occupy oneself with investigations into spiritual phenomena”.
Passing over the Professor’s criticisms of the denial of these phenomenal facts by his brother-professors and the hostile attitude of certain men of science, such as Helmholtz and Virchou, we arrive at the experiments described in the Abhandlungen, May 1878.
The experiments previously described in the Review where hard knots were mysteriously tied in endless cords, suggest two explanations, according as one supposes a space of three or of four dimensions: in the first case, there would have to be, one calls, a passage of matter through matter, or, in other words, the molecules of which the cord is composed, would have had to seperate, and the second portion of the cord which has passed through the first is again united without a break of continuity, despite the knots. In the second case the manipulation of the flexible cords being, according to my theory, subject to the laws of a region of space, laws of its fourth dimension, such a disaggregation and reagregation of molecules would not be necessary. The cord, nevertheless, will undergo during the operation an amount of torsion visible when the knots are completed.
The experiment which took place on the 8th of May 1878, at a sitting which lasted a quarter of an hour, in a well-lighted room, furnished a reply to the above question, in favour of the fourth dimension theory, without the seperation of the material mollecules.
The experiment may be thus described. I took two straps of leather, forty-fourcentemeter long by five or ten millemeterswide; I then fastened together the ends of each strip and sealed them with my own seal. The two rings of leather were then laid seperately upon the table, and I laid my hands upon them. Slade, who was at my left side, placed his right hand lightly upon mine, affirming that he saw lights streaming from my hands, and that he could feel a fresh wind over them. I felt the wind myself, but I could see no lights. While I felt distinctly this fresh breeze, and at a moment when the hands of Slade were not touching mine but were raised above them two or three inches, I noticed a movement in the leather rings under my palm, three knocks were struck in the table, and on raising my hands, the two rings of leather were found knotted together. The twisting of the leather is distinctly seen in the photograph which is appended to vol. III., the rings were under my hands not more than three minutes.”
Mr. Zöllner relates several instances of objects being brought in an abnormal manner to those who were present at the sitting with the <... continues on page 8-172 >
* Professor Zöllner is testing a mathematic theory of his, that besides length, breadth and thickness, space or, perhaps, we should say, matter has a fourth dimension, or property, viz:—interpermeability, or interpenetrability.
Editor's notes
- ↑ Modern Spiritualism by unknown author, Indian Spectator, The, March 30, 1879