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{{Style P-HPB SB. Title continued |Psychonomy in its Relation to Religion and Ethics|10-401}} | {{Style P-HPB SB. Title continued |Psychonomy in its Relation to Religion and Ethics|10-401}} | ||
.. | {{Style P-No indent|has been powerfully and fully exposed.* In that of so called ''Modern'' Spiritualism, it was the necessary consequence of the recognition of a forgotten fact by obscure persons in an age that had no room for it, and has been scarcely even suspected.}} | ||
{{Style S-HPB SB. Continues on |10-403}} | 3. Let us trace the history of the term “Spiritualism,” and understand the reasons that led to its adoption, before we proceed to discuss its accuracy; but in order to do this we must examine first a little into the subtler workings of the human mind. | ||
There is a story told somewhere of a German professor to whom his friend was arguing in favour of the existence of God. “Why talk you to me of God?” he replied, “in my system there is no room for Him.” Now when in a system—a range of conception—any idea ceases to be possible, the word used to express it does not linger long behind. Try to recall some thought that has ceased to be true to you, but that was once true, try to bring your mind into the attitude in which it then was in relation to that truth; and you will find that the words, the great helps for enabling you to do so, have become ''winged'' in another sense than those of Homer,—that they have taken to themselves wings and flown away. | |||
With nations as with individuals this is so: no nation of the eighteenth century, at any rate no Protestant nation, believed much in the existence of creatures other than themselves in the heavens or in the earth; therefore words which in classic, or Pauline, or medieval times had served to express the conditions of invisible existence, and to distinguish between what in it was eternal, and what temporary, had in these latter days either dropped out altogether, or had reached the dying stage in becoming synonyms, and were ready to drop out. | |||
Do not be bamboozled though into believing according to the latter-day gospel that this vanishing is necessarily a condition of progress, and that it implies a correspondent development of conception and expression in some other direction; you may be saved from being so misled by remembering that while many grave and sweet words familiar to our fathers have gone from us, the additions of our own age are to be found chiefly in the pages of Mr. Hotten’s “Slang Dictionary.” | |||
4. The “''system''” of America at the time of the Rochester disturbances was not so perfectly developed as that of the professor, but it is continually being matured. The “progress” of a great nation can never be very rapid; meanwhile Columbia heads the march of “civilization,” and, followed at a little distance by her more cautious European sisters, advances daily nearer the same glorious consummation. We will briefly note the characteristic features of this half-way stage in a pilgrim’s progress reversed. | |||
First a negative characteristic, (since the reformation creeds always commence with a negation.) | |||
''Disbelief'' in the reality of anything unseen. Then two positive ones: | |||
''a''. ''Belief'' in the omnipotence of the seen and tangible. | |||
''b''. (Forming the boundary line dividing the system from the more advanced neology of the professor.) | |||
''Belief'' in an awful “Divine” magistrate existing somewhere whose “justice” might under certain circumstances be escaped from, and even his favour secured to his elect. The last consisting in a permission accorded them to wear long robes, and harp in his presence for ever. | |||
Can you understand now what I meant by saying a little while back, that when these manifestations began at Hydesville, and began in Derbyshire, the age had no room for them? The age found herself in the presence of powers, novel indeed and gigantic, but measureable and controllable—if not exactly visible, at all events intensely real—steam, for example, and electricity. A power that was inconstant in its action, a power that could neither be gauged nor guided, that mocked their best efforts to understand its nature; that needed no engine to display its strength; that asserted its personality but yet could not be seen, was inconceivable, unnameable; impossible, as the Quaker’s report of red-hot-ball firing to the mind of Dr. Johnson. | |||
What option then had the simple people among whom the despised power had sprung up, but to name it for themselves, and name it they did from out of the one book that seemed to recognise events of a similar kind—their father’s old Bible. “There, at least,” we hear them say, “there is no abuse for us, no contempt. Communication with those who once lived on earth, and are now living elsewhere, is spoken of as a not impossible thing; nay, in one case too sacred to be placed in comparison with such facts as ours, as having undoubtedly taken place. Visions are there recorded, not unlike those seen by some among our number. Traces into which men have {{Style S-HPB SB. Continues on |10-403}} | |||
{{Footnotes start}} | |||
<nowiki>*</nowiki> ''See'' “''Unto this Last'',” four Essays on Political Economy, by John Ruskin. | |||
{{Footnotes end}} | |||