PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR SPEAKING WITH THE DEAD
1.--As a general rule applying to all methods of communicating, every
person who desires to be brought into touch with discarnate spirits
should make a point of being tranquil, unoccupied, serious and
attentive. There are two reasons for this. First, it is obvious that a
mind free from outside cares and distractions is able to concentrate
itself in any desired direction, and can become aware of influences
that would pass unnoticed in the ordinary hurly-burly of life.
Secondly, a soul at rest can be impressed by other souls very much more
readily than when it is busy with activities of its own.
2.--The best method to adopt at the outset is that of Expectancy (see
Chapter VI). The enquirer should sit quite alone in some room free from
interruption--an indoors sitting, by reason of its fewer distractions,
being preferable to a sitting in any out-of-doors locality.
The thoughts need not take any religious turn, and prayer is quite
unnecessary. It is desirable, in fact, to think as little as possible
about anything, except in the event of the presence of some particular
spirit being hoped for. When that is the case the mind may with
advantage be occupied by reminiscences connected with the spirit
in question--a situation being thus created which much facilitates
telepathy and is analogous to the hoisting of a signal calling for
response.
The evening is the most suitable time for an Expectancy sitting,
which is to be held in the light or in semi-obscurity; the bustle and
turmoil of the day having then given place more or less to quietude
and tranquillity. But, if darkness does not inspire fear, a sitting
in a bedroom (or other apartment) during the hours from midnight to,
say, two o’clock in the morning is preferable. Silence is then more
supreme than at any other time, and the majority of the human beings in
the locality are asleep. This accounts for the traditional notion of
“the witching hour,” which is not based, as is supposed erroneously,
on some divine or diabolical limitation of certain hours as the free
time for errant spirits. It refers to the fact that sleep is a kind
of trance during which the hold of the body on the soul is slackened,
thus facilitating the task of any outside spirit who may wish to
communicate; the point in issue being well exemplified by the old
Romans (and others of the ancients), who taught that dreams are the
apparitions of supernormal beings.
Dealing first with the case of a midnight sitting, it should be noted
that absolute darkness is not imperative. The room may be illuminated
in any way that is convenient; but, for reasons already given, the less
light the better. If the nerves of the sitter will bear the strain
the sitting should take place quite in the dark. In that event some
apparatus for signalling by sound should be provided, such as, for
instance, a small key suspended by a thread inside a glass tumbler in
such a manner that a very slight movement is accompanied by a tinkling.
After remaining quiet and expectant for a few minutes the sitter should
speak aloud and ask, “Are there any spirits present?” This requires
a little courage, both physical and moral; the former because of the
darkness, the “witching hour” and the sound of one’s voice in the
stillness; and the latter because one is tempted to regard both the
situation and the question as absurd, and because one does not relish
the idea of possibly making a fool of one’s self. But it is merely a
question of breaking the ice. When once the sitter has spoken aloud the
difficulty of speaking does not recur.
To ask in one’s mind whether there are any spirits present is not as
effective as actual speech. There is a greater psychical concentration
when a thought is focussed, as it were, by spoken words; besides which
there is some reason to believe that spirits--the bodily substance and
organs of whom are analogous to those of living persons--find it easier
to receive impressions by physical sounds than by telepathy.
If no answer be given to the question, this should be repeated with
a request that the spirit or spirits will reply by causing the
suspended key to move in such a manner as to produce three distinct
tinklings--or words to the same general effect in the case of some
other signalling apparatus being employed. If there still be silence,
it may be concluded either that no spirit is present in the room on
that particular occasion, or that no spirit within hearing understands
the English language, or that the prevailing temporary conditions do
not allow of physical effects being produced on inanimate matter, or
that the sitter, by lack of psychic power, is unable to attract the
attention of discarnate spirits.
If a reply be given, it is not a matter of course for it to take the
form requested. Instead of being a tinkling or other specified signal,
it may be a rustling, a rap, a tapping, a scratching, a pattering, a
sigh, a movement of the air or of some object in the room, a sensation
of cold, a sound as of whispering, a faint luminosity, a touch, etc.
Hence the necessity for the sitter to be keenly on the alert and
completely attentive, while at the same time remaining perfectly
tranquil and collected; for some indication of a spirit being present
may be given by the latter spontaneously before any word is spoken.
When once any sign of communication is observed the sitter should
announce the fact and should ask for it to be repeated, and if this
be done a signalling code may thereupon be adopted by agreement and
a conversation may take place accordingly. If, on the other hand,
there be no sign at all during the period of, say, half an hour from
the commencement of the sitting, this latter should terminate and
the enquirer should renew the attempt on some future occasion. No
disappointment need be felt at a negative result, whether at the outset
of the experiments or at any particular sitting. Conditions are not
always favourable, even with the same sitter and in the same room; and
in spite of widely-prevalent ideas and the records of spiritualistic
_séances_, it is quite idle to suppose that disembodied souls do, in
fact, cater for the arbitrary wishes and personal convenience of human
beings. Nothing of the kind can be taken for granted, except, indeed,
that matter-void space has its inhabitants just as much as is the case
with any matter-occupied locality, and that any room in any house is
just as likely to be visited from time to time by discarnate spirits as
by living persons.
Coming now to what may be termed ordinary Expectancy sittings, that
is to say, evening sittings in a lighted or semi-lighted room, the
conditions of visibility admit of more elaborate manifestations than
are possible in darkness. Automatic writing in particular becomes
practicable. Provision should be made for this by placing a pencil
and one or more sheets of paper on a table or desk. And, of course,
signalling apparatus should be furnished of either an audible or a
visible kind. When these matters are attended to the proceedings at the
sitting should follow the course described as suitable for the midnight
_séance_; but, naturally, both eyes and ears should be active in the
detection of signs indicating the presence of spirits. And every now
and then the pencil should be taken in the hand and held close to the
paper in a writing position, the result frequently being that a strong
impulse to write is felt. This should not be resisted. The hand should
be given free play; but, of course, there should not be any conscious
guidance by the sitter. At first the script is, in the majority of
instances, found to be a confused scribble or a meaningless sequence of
words. Later on, if the sitter be patient and persevering, order begins
to take the place of chaos and intelligible messages are obtained;
always supposing that the enquirer is really gifted with an appreciable
degree of psychic power.
Self-deception and the imaginations bred of wishes and emotions are
to be guarded against. This is an additional reason for cultivating
a tranquil habit of mind and a level-headed habit of judgment. It
should be remembered that in solitary Expectancy fraud and trickery are
completely absent, and that all manifestations are matters of the most
simple personal observation, the accuracy of which can be confirmed--as
in an ordinary scientific laboratory--by the test of repetition. For
the friends and acquaintances of the sitter the only evidence available
is the latter’s personal and uncorroborated statements, which from a
scientific point of view are worthless; but for the sitter himself or
herself the very same evidence is in the highest degree conclusive, and
rightly so. The facts are _known_ to have occurred.
* * * * *
3.--The next step after solitary Expectancy has been tried is to
arrange with one’s friends for Expectancy Circles; that is to say, for
groups of persons to meet together at appointed times and in appointed
places for the purpose of joint sittings. There are marked advantages
in proceeding thus.
First, the probabilities of success are multiplied. It is frequently
the case that living individuals, and especially those who have
recently lost some relative or friend by death, are “haunted,” although
they themselves are seldom conscious of the fact. If, then, several
persons are present at a sitting the chances of there being some
spirits near at hand are much increased.
Secondly, there is a greater likelihood of some person being present
who is naturally endowed with mediumistic powers, in which case it
becomes easier for a spirit to enter into communication with the
sitters.
Thirdly, whatever may be the true explanation of the manner in which
manifestations are brought about, it is well known that the more
numerous the sitters the more full and complete are the phenomena.
The theory of the sitters contributing “electricity” and “personal
magnetism” may be very safely rejected as nonsensical; for the very
words employed are not used in their ordinary scientific meaning and no
other signification has ever been propounded. But each person present
does undoubtedly make some contribution to what may be called the
common stock of psychical influence available in the room where the
sitting takes place.
It should be a matter of common understanding and agreement that
the sitters in an Expectancy Circle are all animated by a serious
purpose and have not come together for mere amusement or for the
“fun” of tricking each other. There is no objection to their being
as “sceptical” as they please. A sitter may be of opinion that all
occultism is “tomfoolery” and “piffle.” Opinions do not alter facts.
If psychical phenomena do really occur all the scepticism in the world
is of no moment; and no good evidence has ever been brought forward
to show that spirits are in any way embarrassed by the presence of
doubters and resisters; though it is true enough that passivity on the
part of the sitters favours communication. A sceptic may happen to be
a good medium without being aware of the fact; in which case his or
her mental prejudice will not hinder a spirit from making use of the
psychic power thus brought into the Circle. At the same time practical
joking and the surreptitious imitation of phenomena are quite out of
place. They cannot do any good: they are productive of confusion; and,
seeing that discarnate spirits have not changed their minds at death,
there does not exist any reason for supposing such beings to have
become incapable of taking offence and going away in high dudgeon when
sitters attempt to make fools of them--in which case, of course, the
sitting is a failure.
With regard to the arrangement of the sitters, this is entirely a
matter of convenience. Seats may be provided round a table or scattered
about a room. And not the least attention need be paid to the sitters
joining hands or being otherwise in contact with each other: the
supposed necessity of this being a popular delusion based upon some
vague and erroneous notion of “electricity.”
The use of a table is, however, to be recommended. It is desirable for
each sitter to have a pencil and paper in readiness; for it cannot be
known in advance which particular individuals are capable of automatic
writing; and a table facilitates the manifestation as well as providing
a convenient standing-place for signalling apparatus, etc.
The sitting may, if desired, take place at high noontide and in the
very fullest daylight; though, for reasons already stated, it is better
to sit in the evening and in semi-obscurity. The singing of hymns,
praying and other “religious” features are to be deprecated. They do
not affect the actual phenomena; but their tendency is to produce
a morbid and emotional frame of mind which in its turn facilitates
self-deception and the imaginary perception of happenings that do not
really occur. Conversation also should not be indulged in to any extent
that engrosses the attention of the sitters. By far the best plan is
for the Circle to sit silently, each individual being on the alert to
perceive and announce the slightest indication of anything external.
At the expiration of a few minutes--assuming no manifestation to have
happened--some sitter should ask aloud the question, “Is any spirit
present?” and if no answer be received the question should be repeated,
turn by turn, by all the other sitters. In this way it is often
possible to discover those of the Circle who are natural mediums; a
fact that is also made evident by the ability to write automatically or
by the susceptibility to “impressions,” such as touches, whispers, the
sensation of a cool breeze, tremblings, twitches and, in rare cases,
various forms of clairvoyance, trance and insensibility.
If the first round of questioning produce no result, the silent
sitting should be resumed for another period of a few minutes and
then the question should again be asked. These alternate silences and
questionings should be continued for as long as may be convenient; and
then the Circle may adjourn to some future date. It is not, however,
very usual for a complete blank to be drawn, where several--say half
a dozen or so--persons sit together. Some “sign” or another is pretty
sure to be perceived.
When once a manifestation of any kind takes place it should be
confirmed by asking for it to be repeated; and then a code of
communication can be agreed upon and conversation can proceed. It will
facilitate matters and prevent confusion if each communicating spirit
be requested to declare its identity, and then for the particular
sitter who may recognise the name and personality to conduct the
interview.
The so-called “test” questions and other “evidential” conversations
are, for the most part, a waste of time and the loss of an opportunity
of obtaining useful information. Spirits are, after all, mere ordinary
souls in an environment somewhat different from the human body and its
mundane surroundings. They are as little likely as is any reasonable
man or woman to trouble themselves with personating their fellow-souls
at random. What are they to Hecuba, or Hecuba to them? When a spirit
claims to be some specified disembodied soul the probabilities are
greatly in favour of the claim being true; just as in common life
people are found to be as a rule the persons they assert themselves
to be. That some of the spirits in circumterrestrial space are,
in a sense, vagabonds, without kith, kin or any specific identity
connected with humanity, may well be the case, and is now and then
a matter of observation; but this is not any reason why they should
find any satisfaction in masquerading as Tom, Dick and Harry. There
is probably some amusement to be extracted from personating a great
figure of history, such as Julius Cæsar, Luther, Napoleon, Disraeli
or Gladstone, and inducing both mediums and sitters to accept with
reverence the pompous utterance of ridiculous banalities; and the
history of Spiritualism shows that something of the kind does really
happen now and then. But no evidence exists to show that the average
sitter who seeks to speak with the average deceased relative or friend
is ever duped by any impersonation of the latter. It may not always
be possible to prove the genuineness of the communication to the
satisfaction of an outside scoffer or critic. This, however, is not a
need of the case. The sitter hears and knows for himself or herself
at first-hand. What does it matter if outsiders who have not been
present at the manifestations and merely hear of them at second-hand
choose to evolve from their own inner consciousness the theory that the
spirit interviewed was not the real “sainted Maria,” but was merely
a mischievous “spook” or, more probably, the “fake” of some medium?
The old proverb remains good, “The proof of the pudding is in the
eating thereof.” Any person of ordinary good sense is quite capable of
distinguishing between sham and reality even when speaking with the
dead is in question.
* * * * *
4.--When an Expectancy Circle has had several successful sittings
and has established communications with spirits, those latter
should be asked to collect together a group of beings “on the
other side” who are willing to co-operate actively with the Circle
by regular attendance and the production of manifestations on a
continually-developing scale. In past times there has been by far too
little of such co-operation. Each professional medium has had his or
her alleged “controls,” who in an incidental way have occasionally
introduced spirits, while the sitters have also--without any design
of so doing--brought disembodied souls to the _séances_. And
sittings--especially of the “table” kind--have taken place in private
homes where the enquirers have usually been restricted to a few members
of a single family, and where the spirits communicated with have been
recently-deceased relatives and other inexperienced beings. Under such
circumstances it is surprising that so much progress has been made.
It is found, however, that spirits are just as “keen” and interested
in psychical phenomena and the extension of communication across the
border-line as are the Crookeses, Lodges, Barretts, Crawfords and other
investigators in the ranks of the living. It is not difficult for an
Expectancy Circle of sitters to develop into a Progressive Circle of
co-operating sitters and spirits. A request for co-operation is usually
complied with, and it almost always happens that the spirits who are
asked to act succeed very quickly in finding others to assist, some
of whom have had much experience in manifesting and communicating
and can instruct their human colleagues how best to operate. What is
chiefly necessary on the part of the sitters in order to ensure results
of the highest type is to work in a systematic and co-ordinated way;
and the manner in which this may be most effectually done is by each
human member of a Progressive Circle entering into relations with
some specific spirit-members and undertaking some distinct line of
conversation and enquiry by whatever method may be most convenient and
practicable--_e.g._ by automatic or direct writing, by signalling, by
clairvoyance, etc. These duologues, or--where more than one sitter and
one spirit are concerned--these Committee Meetings may be held at any
time and place found fitting, and should be carefully recorded for
report to the regular sittings of the Progressive Circle, when the
various reports are considered and compared together and are made the
starting-point for additional conversations and enquiries.
* * * * *
5.--The great majority of attempts at speaking with the dead are of
a character much less ambitious and far-reaching than is that of
the Expectancy and Progressive Circles method; and the results are
correspondingly imperfect. The system most generally adopted is what in
early and mid-Victorian days was known as “table-turning” or “raps,”
and consisted in a number of persons sitting round a table on which
their hands were placed, the right hand of each sitter resting on,
or sometimes only touching his neighbour’s left hand. After a little
while a tapping or rapping noise would be heard on the table, or the
table would tilt up a little at intervals, or it would turn round
and round, or it would move about the room. Any of these occurrences
admitted of utilisation for signalling purposes, and in that way it was
found possible to enter into intelligent communication with the spirit
or spirits acting on the table--it being generally the case that the
communicator was a deceased relative of one of the sitters.
In a Table-sitting--the term now commonly employed--it is desirable for
the hands of the sitters to be placed on the table (though the reason
for this is not yet clear), but it is not necessary for any sitter’s
hands to be in actual contact with those of his neighbours--there
not being any electric or other current in circulation. And it is
not necessary for the sitters to engage in any form of incantation,
whether sung, spoken or thought. They should, however, be serious
and attentive, and should be careful not to spoil the sitting by any
foolery or conscious attempts to tilt or move the table.
It is best for some one of the sitters to act as spokesman and for
some outsider--_i.e._ a person not sitting at the table--to officiate
as the recorder of all that is said and done. The simplest system of
communication to adopt is that of the alphabet; the letters being
called out by the spokesman in regular order and the table giving a
rap or making a movement whenever the right letter is reached. It must
not, however, be taken for granted that words will be spelt correctly
or that the letters will be grouped in regular sequences of words. Many
a message has been put aside as a mere haphazard unmeaning jumble of
letters, and has subsequently been found perfectly intelligible and
intelligent when the key to the arrangement of the letters has been hit
upon. Why such puzzles should be set with seeming deliberation by the
spirits is not understood; all we know is that the phenomenon sometimes
occurs and its possibility must therefore be taken into account.
* * * * *
6.--The sittings referred to in the foregoing five Instructions are
such as may take place without the aid of professional mediums, and for
that reason are commonly regarded as being particularly satisfactory
and “evidential.” This, however, is a view born of prejudice. It
assumes that professional mediums are all more or less untrustworthy.
Persons who are broad-minded enough to rise superior to prejudice and
who choose to weigh seriously the _pros_ and _cons_ of the whole matter
are bound to recognise the advantage, in all kinds of enquiry, of
seeking the assistance of individuals possessing natural qualifications
who have become expert in their own province. Accordingly, in speaking
with the dead a rational person will not deem it needful to keep aloof
from professional mediums. Rather will he seek their aid whenever
opportunity serves--provided always that no good reason exists for
doubting the good faith of any individual medium so met with.
The proceedings at a sitting conducted by a medium are of much the
same general character as in the case of the Expectancy Circles
and Table-sittings already described, except that the sitters are
altogether passive instead of taking any active part.
Precautions for ensuring “anonymity” and the like are needless.
Mediums as a rule are quite careless respecting the identity of their
sitters, save, perhaps, in the cases of highly-placed persons. Besides,
the sitters go to the mediums for their own private requirements
and not for the purpose of building up a structure of evidence that
shall satisfy some other mind. The best plan, therefore, is not to
trouble about what the medium does or does not know normally, and to
depend on one’s own common sense in judging of, and dealing with, any
communication received.
So, too, with regard to the alleged “controls.” It is idle to attempt
anything in the nature of cross-examination or “tests.” Such attempts,
if there be confusion, will only make it worse confounded. The proper
course to pursue is to listen attentively to all that is said, and
to ask only such questions as may be desirable for the purpose of
elucidation or in order to elicit further information.
It is, however, obvious that where a medium writes automatically or
speaks under control there must always exist a doubt as to how much
is genuine and how much is “sophistication,” either intentional or of
an unconscious character. The sitter, therefore, who thinks proper to
consult a professional medium will do well to ask for a Table-sitting
in preference to a Trance-sitting; as when a Table-sitting takes place
the medium remains normal, and the communication is conveyed through
the instrumentality of the inanimate table instead of making its way
amid the disturbing influences of the medium’s brain and personality.
If the medium cannot, or will not, give a Table-sitting it is not worth
while for the sitter to express any dissatisfaction: the situation must
be accepted with as good a grace as possible--tranquillity and harmony
being the proper atmosphere where mental phenomena are in issue.
In the case of Trance-sittings, where the medium is likely to be
strongly controlled and made to speak or act in the guise of some other
individuality (it being sometimes the case that a decided modification
of facial expression, features and voice becomes noticeable), a
frequent practice is to arrange for a subdued light--as, for example,
by pulling down the window-blinds and using a lamp with red glass. This
is quite unnecessary; it is a mere conventional usage based upon a
tradition to the effect that spirits are more powerful in darkness than
in light; but the proceeding need not be objected to. It is as harmless
as is the colour or the pattern of the wall-paper.
Some professional mediums adopt the method of Clairvoyance and
Clairaudience; that is to say, the communications take the form of an
oral description by the medium of what he or she sees and hears in the
vicinity of the sitters--the underlying supposition being that the
latter bring with them certain haunting spirits or that certain spirits
make their way into the room from the outside in order to be near the
sitters. This kind of a sitting is, perhaps, the least satisfactory of
any from an intellectual point of view. The medium may be labouring
under some delusion or may even be deliberately inventing the alleged
appearances and utterances. No method has yet been discovered of
clearly distinguishing between genuine and unreal clairvoyance (a word
which also includes crystal-gazing and the like). Sitters must judge
for themselves what to believe and what to reject.
* * * * *
7.--Materialisation-sittings with the assistance of professional
mediums form a distinct category of phenomena. They cannot be classed
under the head of “communications,” and they are just as much physical
as psychical. Their chief defect is that they are not “open and
above-board,” as is the case with the analogous proceedings of ordinary
“table-turning” in private circles, where very astounding movements,
etc., take place in full light. For some reason or another--good,
bad or indifferent--but never on account of any real necessity,
materialising mediums in the majority of cases insist upon the sittings
taking place in darkness, and upon the use of “cabinets” and screens
in the shelter of which the spirits are understood to make their
preparations for the show they are about to give. The sitters, of
course, cannot interfere: a patient does not instruct the physician
with respect to what prescription is needful. Each medium must be
allowed to go about his business in his own way; and each sitter is
equally free to make his own observations and form his own conclusions.
The stock phenomena in dark _séances_ are the sounding of musical
instruments laid upon the table for the purpose and their being moved
about through the air, the sitters occasionally feeling themselves
touched by the articles in question. Then, too, fitful lights are seen
here and there in the room, and voices are heard speaking or singing.
Small objects, such as flowers, are tossed about, and larger ones, such
as chairs, couches, etc., are moved--often with great violence. It is,
moreover, not an uncommon occurrence for detached hands and faces,
faintly luminised, to become visible; while, sometimes, what appear to
be full-sized simulacra of human beings mix with the sitters.
The medium in charge of such sitting is usually tied to a chair or held
by some of the sitters in such as way as to prevent any trickery. This
course of action should not, however, be pursued. Sitters do not attend
_séances_ for the sake of amusement or for the purpose of witnessing
a clever conjuring exhibition. There ought not to be any question of
a contest of wits between the sitters and the medium. The real object
to be striven for is the completeness of the manifestations; and this
can best be attained by giving the medium and the spirits the freest of
free play.
Let it be granted, for argument’s sake, that trickery is possible.
Let it be admitted, as a matter of fact, that many mediums have been
detected and exposed in various instances of imposture. This shows
merely that some alleged materialisations are not genuine; it does not
prove that no materialisation ever takes place. Here, also, the sitter
must judge for himself. Where it is possible to adopt both a normal
and a supernormal explanation of any observed manifestation the rules
of scientific enquiry impose upon us the obligation of postulating a
“natural” cause in preference to assuming that some “supernatural”
power is in operation; we are bound, for example, in cases admitting
of trickery, to hold that the medium is a cheat rather than to infer
the intervention of any spirit. But when a normal explanation is not
possible, or so highly improbable as to be outside the confines of
good sense, we act foolishly if we insist upon declining to recognise
a patent fact merely because it does not fit in with our preconceived
opinions. The same remark applies, _mutatis mutandis_, to many of
the “normal explanations” in themselves. It is, for example, said
sometimes that the voices heard in the course of dark sittings are
produced ventriloquially by the medium. This leaves out of view the
consideration that ventriloquy is in itself an illusion depending upon
the sense of sight as well as upon that of hearing. No ventriloquist,
however clever, can produce the impression of there being a sound
emanating from some specific locality when the hearer is in the dark; a
fact that is evident to any person who tries the experiment of shutting
his eyes when at a ventriloquial entertainment. And if we reflect that
in a materialisation _séance_ several distinct voices are often heard
simultaneously, the explanation of the medium being a ventriloquist is
seen to be ludicrously inadequate. The “normal” theory does not fare
any better in suggesting that the medium manages to vacate his chair
in the darkness and to pick up the trumpet or the tambourine, etc.,
from which he forthwith proceeds to extract some sounds. This might be
feasible in the case of a single instrument in a single locality; but
it often happens that several instruments of various kinds are being
played simultaneously and are heard in different parts of the room at
the same time. And when it is remembered that the sitting where such
facts occur may, and does frequently, take place in a sitter’s own
house, where the medium has not been able to make any preparations and
where no confederate is available, the futility of the “natural” way
of accounting for the manifestations becomes still further evident.
So, after all, we come round once more to the recommendation that the
sitter should not interfere, should merely observe, should keep an open
mind and should be guided by facts quite irrespectively of whether the
facts be normal or supernormal.
CHAPTER VIII
“SPIRITUALISM” AND “RATIONALISM”
This book ought not to be concluded without something being said as to
its design and character, and as to the mental attitude it presumes on
the part of its readers.
It is intended, first, as a practical guide for the assistance of those
persons who may be desirous of speaking with the dead; and, secondly,
as an elementary text-book of occult phenomena. It presupposes for its
readers a willingness to be guided by facts and a disregard of opinions
based upon imagination instead of upon fact.
Leaving out of view all questions of religion, religious authority and
Church controversy, it may be stated generally that most people are
given to understand that occult matters must be looked upon in the
light of either “spiritualism” or “rationalism.” When, therefore, they
find in the public press various statements by eminent spiritualists
that demolish the case of the rationalists, and when they at the same
time discover statements by eminent rationalists that are equally
destructive of the positions occupied by the spiritualists, it becomes
very difficult for persons who are not close students of the matters
in dispute to arrive at a settled judgment. Accordingly, the following
observations may prove of some service.
The true nature of articles in the newspapers, magazines and reviews
should be borne in mind. These articles are written professionally,
that is, for pay, and they have to provide commercial value for the
remuneration received by their writers. They have to be readable and
popular, which means that they must be smart and sensational and penned
with much literary ability. The authors have also their own futures to
think of; they must please their respective editors and they must show
off to the best advantage such stores of knowledge, such dialectical
powers, and such capabilities in the arts of sarcasm and abuse as they
may possess. They are like the barristers in the courts of law. They
are not concerned for either justice or truth. Their business is to
snatch a verdict if they can; and to do this they find their best plan
is to fasten upon the weak points of their adversaries and ignore
the strong ones; while, as regards their own cases, they make the
most of every favourable feature and keep all doubtful points in the
background. So the reader should be on his or her guard, and should not
accept meekly, as a matter of course, anything that appears in print.
A good example of what is here referred to may be found in the _Strand
Magazine_ of July, 1917, under the title of “Is Sir Oliver Lodge Right?
‘Yes,’ by Sir A. Conan Doyle. ‘No,’ by Edward Clodd.”
Persons who wish to pursue the study of dialectics and partisan
literature in connection with psychical phenomena may be recommended
to read _Light_ and _The International Psychic Gazette_, which are the
two leading organs of the Spiritualists in England, and the _Literary
Guide_ (the sub-title being _The Rationalist Review_), which is
published by the Rationalist Press Association, and is the recognised
mouthpiece of the most distinguished exponents of Rationalism in
the United Kingdom. All three of the publications referred to are
characterised by much learning and very great ability. The facts
they record are selected carefully from partisan points of view and
the comments and arguments that appear in their pages are admirably
one-sided and correspondingly conclusive. But the reader is thus
enabled to see both sides of the shield, and has himself only to blame
if he become the champion of either gold or silver.
Current literature, however, is not the only danger in the path of
persons who desire to walk in the company of Reason. Current teaching
is perhaps even more formidable, and especially so where Science is
concerned. The popular idea of scientific men is that they are votaries
of Truth and are deaf to the voice of every other deity. Hence the
authority wielded by the leaders of Science, and the willing obedience
rendered to their behests. It is rarely remembered that scientific men
are simple human beings, subject to the same weaknesses and possessed
of the same foibles as the rest of the race. History has shown that
if power be placed in the hands of any professional set of men it
will inevitably be abused; and Science does not provide an exception
to the rule. There is every whit as much bigotry, blind dogma and
savage intolerance in scientific circles as ever there was in any
ecclesiastical or puritanical organisations. Sir William Crookes,
O.M., P.R.S., found this out very many years ago, and Sir Oliver
Lodge, F.R.S., is now rediscovering it; the latter case of persecution
by the Rationalistic Inquisition being rendered particularly piquant
because of the great indebtedness of current materialism to the famous
champion of the Ether--a doctrine that forms the only line of defence
as yet available against the attacks of the Becquerel rays, the
Ballistic Theory of Explosives and other subverters of modern dogma.
In the midst of all such strife this little book is neutral, and it
counsels its readers to be neutral also. Rationalism is a good thing in
a way and within proper limits; and so is Spiritualism. But neither the
one nor the other is the whole truth; and, when rightly understood, the
two schools of thought are not at variance. When Science speaks of the
universe being fashioned and ruled by Nature, Evolution and the like,
it is only another way of naming the very same existing something that
the Christian calls God. The glorious Service of Humanity when followed
into the recesses of its meaning is found to be a mere plain listening
to one’s conscience; and the survival of good deeds is, in the last
analysis, indistinguishable from the survival of the souls by whom
they are accomplished.
_Sursum corda._ Let us speak to the dead and let us add their knowledge
and counsel to the common store.
THE END
Transcriber’s Note:
Spelling and hyphenation in common use at the time of publication have
been kept as is. Instances of the same word differing in hyphenation
have been changed to the majority variant.