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совершить примиренiе враждующихъ сторонъ именно потому, что основываетъ свои доводы не на слҍпой вҍрҍ, а лишь на фактахъ; а факты эти, доведенные до всеобщей очевидности, должны озарить истиннымъ свҍтомъ источники ученiя, которое человҍчество до нынҍ принимало на вҍру, какъ нҍчто божественное. Изъ сказаннаго очевидно, что тҍ, кто не видятъ болҍе широкаго приложенiя спиритизма къ жизни, возможность заранҍе указать на счастливца, который возьметъ первый призъ на скачкҍ Дерби или назвать еще не открытаго закономъ преступника, глубоко ошибаются. Они только доказываютъ, что умственныя силы ихъ не изъяты той односторонней парализацiи, которая является естественнымъ слҍдствiемъ нашего вҍковаго матерiализма.
{{Style P-HPB SB. Title continued|From Across the Ocean|4-37}}
{{Style P-Quote|{{Style P-No indent|to do this because it appeals to evidence instead of blind faith, and substitutes facts for opinions; and is thus able to demonstrate the source of much of the teaching that men have so often held to be divine.}}
“It will thus be seen that those who can form no higher conception of the uses of Spiritualism, . . . than to detect crime or to name in advance the winner of the Derby, not only prove their own ignorance of the whole subject, but exhibit in a marked degree that partial mental paralysis, the result of a century of materialistic thought . . . It will be seen also that Spiritualism is . . . a science of vast extent, having the widest, the most important, and the most practical issues, and as such should enlist the sympathies alike of moralists, philosophers and politicians, and of all who have at heart the improvement of society and the permanent elevation of human nature...”<ref>{{Style S-HPB SB. Editors note|''Op. cit.''}}</ref> }}
Further, to repel the public incredulity, Mr. Wallace asks the public to look at the results produced by the Spiritists’ practical experiments in the minds of “the long roll of men of ability who, commencing the inquiry as skeptics, left it as believers.”
{{Style P-Quote|“I would ask them,” this ardent Spiritist naturalist writes, – “to dwell upon the long series of facts in human history that Spiritualism explains, and on the noble and satisfying theory of a future life that it unfolds. If they will do this, I feel confident that the result I have alone aimed at will be attained; which is, to remove the prejudices and misconceptions with which the whole subject has been surrounded, and to incite to unbiased and persevering examination of the facts. For the cardinal maxim of Spiritualism is, that every one must find out the truth for himself. It makes no claim to be received on hearsay evidence; but, on the other hand, it demands that it be not rejected without patient, honest and fearless inquiry.”<ref>{{Style S-HPB SB. Editors note|''Op. cit.'', p. 63.}}</ref>}}
These are the closing lines of the work written by Darwin's companion who has made his name with his former works on Natural History and Geography (such as ''Explorations on the Amazon'', ''The Natural History of the Malay Archipelago'', ''The Theory of Natural Selection'', etc.). The New York public accepts enthusiastically his works that are in great demand here – which, however, does not prevent it from spending, ''at the same time'', 5,000 dollars on three lectures of a traveling learned materialist.
An equal success of so opposite views, isn't it the best proof that such a society is intellectually independent, that it fears not facing any collision of beliefs, it doesn't care of other people's opinions and, indeed, seeks to take any path to learn the truth fearlessly.
Happy is a society which has developed strong enough to deliberately allow freedom of expression precisely to obtain an opportunity to learn of any subject everything that is possible, to know it through and through, all ''pros'' and ''cons'', and then make a judgment and choice independently. Both social affairs and private (or shall we say, ''honest'') persons, under such conditions, can easily flourish as the former and the latter have every opportunity to find out the truth. . .
Returning to America and Huxley, I see in surprise, just side by side with the name of this scientist in the columns of a transatlantic newspaper, a name, also rather popular here (in our Transcaucasian parts, it is, perhaps, even better known than the name of this London celebrity) – the name of the Corresponding Secretary of the Theosophical Society, ''H. P. Blavatsky''.
The best and shortest way to explain this curious fact would be, I believe, to cite a passage from her own letter. To begin with, I have to explain that as follows from the New York magazines that she's sent to me, not only does the said person serve as Secretary in that Masonic society but also occupies a rather prominent place in the American press. Her travel stories, accounts of her Caucasian life and polemical articles are highly valued by the Americans and see numerous reprints in a number of papers.
Her latest articles, her extremely witty satires on the Pope for his sympathy with Turks against Christians (articles which she signs with her full name adding to it the words: ''a Russian woman'') have produced such a storm of applause, on the one hand, and concerns, on the other, that the local Cardinal, an Irish, McCloskey found it reasonable to send his secretary to negotiate and calm the situation, whose mission, though, ended in total failure as he proved unable to convince her.
{{Style P-Quote|“I told him,” H. P. Blavatsky writes, “that whatever faith I may profess personally as a Theosophist is none of his business, while the Orthodox faith of my brothers is sacred to me. I'll always intercede both for it and Orthodox Christians and ''shall'' be writing against any attacks upon them as long as my hand can hold a pen without fearing their Pope's threats or wrath of their Romish Church – ''la Grande bête de l’Apocalypse'' . . .”<ref>{{Style S-HPB SB. Editors note|The Great Beast of the Apocalypse (''Fr''.).}}</ref> }}
“I am sending to you, my friends,” she continues, “one more article of mine which received by no means small honors here and was reprinted by several New York papers.<ref>{{Style S-HPB SB. Editors note|''Vide'': The article ''Huxley and Slade: Who is More Guilty of “False Pretences”?'' Banner of Light, Boston, Vol. XL, No. 5, October 28, 1876.}}</ref> This is the way it happened: the London scientist Huxley has been visiting here, the ‘father of protoplasm and a great priest of ''psychophobia'',’ as I have christened him. He delivered three lectures. At the first, he made short work of Moses and abolished the whole of the Old Testament, by declaring to the audience that man is nothing but a ''great''-''grandson of a Silurian frog''. At the second he ‘beat everyone’, like a new Kit Kitich.<ref>{{Style S-HPB SB. Editors note|Tit Titych Bruskov, a character of a comedy titled ''Pay with a Hangover for the Feasting of Others'' by Russia's famous writer A.N. Ostrovsky. A rich, conceited and stupid despot.}}</ref> ‘You are fools, that's you are! Here's a four-toed foot of an antediluvian hipparionic horse for you, from which it appears that we, five-toed human beings, are the closest lineal descendants of it. . . ’ But at the third lecture our Psychophobist, overstepping the mark and outdoing himself, started telling fibs. ‘I have looked into the telescopes, I have whistled under the clouds in balloons, I have looked out for God everywhere with great zeal; and nowhere, in spite of all my efforts, did I see or meet him! Ergo – there is no God and there never was any such!’ (Was the lecturer worth the 5,000 dollars paid to him for the lecture?)! The same, he continues, can be said of the human soul, Anima Mundi, Æther, or Plato's Archos. I have searched for the soul with the aid of spy-glasses and microscopes; I have observed the dying and anatomized the dead, but there is no trace of it anywhere! It is all a lie of the Spiritists and the Spiritualists!’ ”
“I was very much grieved then,” continues our Russian American, “so grieved as even to lose my temper! I may as well go and write a revealing article about this London Kit Kitich, I thought to myself!
“And what do you think? I have written it. And it came out not at all so bad, as you can see by the enclosed copy. Needless to say, I sent it through our corresponding members to London, to be delivered to Huxley with my most earnest compliments. . .”
<center>(the ending follows)</center>
<center>{{Style S-HPB SB. Continues on|4-39}}</center>
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==== Original text in Old Russian ====
{{Style P-No indent|совершить примиренiе враждующихъ сторонъ именно потому, что основываетъ свои доводы не на слҍпой вҍрҍ, а лишь на фактахъ; а факты эти, доведенные до всеобщей очевидности, должны озарить истиннымъ свҍтомъ источники ученiя, которое человҍчество до нынҍ принимало на вҍру, какъ нҍчто божественное. Изъ сказаннаго очевидно, что тҍ, кто не видятъ болҍе широкаго приложенiя спиритизма къ жизни, возможность заранҍе указать на счастливца, который возьметъ первый призъ на скачкҍ Дерби или назвать еще не открытаго закономъ преступника, глубоко ошибаются. Они только доказываютъ, что умственныя силы ихъ не изъяты той односторонней парализацiи, которая является естественнымъ слҍдствiемъ нашего вҍковаго матерiализма.}}
„Спиритизмъ есть наука, которой предстоитъ широчайшее развитiе,“ говоритъ далҍе авторъ: „ей завҍрное опредҍлены самые важные и практическiе результаты, а потому она должна была-бы равно привлечь симпатiи моралистовъ, философовъ, политиковъ и всҍхъ дҍятелей, желающихъ усовершенствованiя нашихъ обществъ и вообще высшаго развитiя человҍческой природы“...
„Спиритизмъ есть наука, которой предстоитъ широчайшее развитiе,“ говоритъ далҍе авторъ: „ей завҍрное опредҍлены самые важные и практическiе результаты, а потому она должна была-бы равно привлечь симпатiи моралистовъ, философовъ, политиковъ и всҍхъ дҍятелей, желающихъ усовершенствованiя нашихъ обществъ и вообще высшаго развитiя человҍческой природы“...
{{Style S-HPB SB. Continues on |4-39}}
{{Style S-HPB SB. Continues on |4-39}}
{{Footnotes}}