sacred and so-called demoniac influences seem to stand with one another.
The saints are represented as tempted by evil spirits which yet have no
existence except in their own heart, and the possessed, on the other
hand, occasionally have pious impulses and holy thoughts. In the former
case it is the innate sinfulness of the heart which creates images of
demons such as St. Anthony saw in the desert; in the latter case the
guardian angels of men are said to come to their rescue. There are even
instances on record of men who have wantonly given themselves up to the
temporary influence of evil spirits--under the impression that they
could thus please God!--as travelers purposely suffer the evil effects
of opium or hasheesh in order to test their powers. Thus mysticism
finally devised a complete system of angels, saints, and demons, whose
varied forms and peculiarities became familiar to votaries at an early
period of their lives, and filled their minds with images which
afterwards assumed an apparent reality during the state of trance. That
the physical condition enters as a powerful element in all these
phenomena appears clearly from the fact that whenever women are liable
to trances or visions of this kind the latter vary regularly with their
state of health, and in the majority of cases cease at a certain age.
This fact illustrates in a very characteristic manner the mutual
relations between body and soul; the condition of the former is
reflected in the soul by sentiment and image, and the soul in precisely
the same manner impresses itself upon the body. Generally this is
limited to the face, where the features in their expression reproduce
more or less faithfully what is going on within; but in exceptional
cases the psychical events cause certain mechanical or physical changes
in the body which now and then result in actual illness or become even
fatal. Experience proves that if the imagination is stimulated to
excessive activity, it can produce changes in the nature of the
epidermis or even of the mucous membrane, which resemble in everything
the symptoms of genuine diseases. There are men who can, by an energetic
effort of will, cause red spots, resembling inflammation, to appear in
almost every part of the body. In extreme cases this power extends to
the production of syncope, in which they become utterly insensible to
injuries of any kind, lose all power of motion, and even cease to
breathe. St. Augustine mentions a number of such cases. (_De civit.
Dei_, l. xiv. ch. 24.) The remarkable power of Colonel Townshend of
falling into a state of syncope is too well established to admit of any
doubt; he became icy cold and rigid, his heart ceased to beat and his
lungs to breathe; the face turned deadly pale, the features grew sharp
and pointed, and his eyes remained fixed. By an effort of his own will
he could recall himself to life, but one evening, when he tried to
repeat the experiment, after having made it in the morning successfully
in the presence of three physicians, he failed to awake again. It
appeared afterwards that his heart was diseased; he had, however, at the
same time, by careful attention and long practice, obtained almost
perfect control over that organ. (Cheyne, "Engl. Malady," London, 1733,
p. 307.) Indian fakirs have been known to possess a similar power, and
have allowed themselves to be buried in air-tight graves, where they
have been watched at times for forty days, by military guards, and yet
at the expiration of that time have returned to life without apparent
injury. A similar power over less vital organs of the body is by no
means rare; men are constantly found who can at will conceal their
tongue so that even surgeons discover it but with difficulty; others,
like Justinus Kerner, can empty their stomachs of their contents as if
they were pockets, or contract and enlarge the pupils of the eyes at
pleasure. Nor are cases of Indians and negroes rare, who in their
despair have died merely because they willed it so. There can be no
doubt, therefore, that if mere volition can produce such extraordinary
results, still more exceptional effects may be obtained by fervent faith
and an excessive stimulation of the whole nervous system, and much that
appears either incredible or at least in the highest degree marvelous
may find an easy and yet satisfactory explanation.
Genuine stigmatization, that is, the appearance of the five wounds of
our Saviour, presents itself ordinarily only after many years of
constant meditation of his passion, combined with excessive fasting and
other ascetic self-torment. The first stage is apt to be a vision of
Christ's suffering, accompanied by the offer of a wreath of flowers or a
crown of thorns. If the mystic chooses the former, the result remains
within the limits of the general effects of asceticism; should he,
however, choose the crown of thorns, the stigmas themselves are apt to
appear. This occurs, naturally, only in the very rare cases, where the
mystic possesses that exceptional energy and intense plastic power of
the imagination which are requisite in order to suspend the natural
relations of soul and body. Then the latter, already thoroughly weakened
and exhausted, becomes so susceptible to the influence of the soul, that
it reproduces, spontaneously and unconsciously, the impressions deeply
engraven on the mind, and during the next ecstatic visions the wounds
show themselves suddenly. Their appearance is invariably accompanied by
violent pain, which seems to radiate, in fiery burning darts from the
wounds of the image of Christ. As the minds of mystics differ infinitely
in energy of will and clearness of perception, the stigmas also are seen
more or less distinctly; and their nature varies from mere reddish
points, which become visible on the head, as the effect of a crown of
thorns, to real bleeding wounds. The former are apt to disappear as the
excitement subsides or the will is weakened; the latter, however, are
peculiar in this, that they do not continue to bleed, and yet, also, do
not heal up. In women, only, they are apt to break out again at regular
intervals, for instance, on Fridays, when the mystic excitement again
reaches its highest degree, or at other periods when pressure of blood
seeks an outlet through these new openings. As such a state can continue
only by means of lengthened inflammation, stigmatization is always
accompanied by violent pains and great suffering, especially during the
bleeding.
The earliest of all cases of stigmatization--of which nearly seventy are
fully authenticated--was that of Francis of Assisi, who, after having
spent years in fervent prayer for permission to share the sufferings of
the Saviour, at last saw a seraph with six wings descend toward him, and
between the wings the form of a crucified person. At the same moment he
felt piercing pains, and when he recovered from his trance he found his
hands and feet, as well as his side, bleeding as from severe wounds, and
strange, dark excrescences, resembling nails, protruding from the wounds
in his extremities. As this was the first case of stigmatization known,
Francis of Assisi was filled with grave doubts concerning the strange
phenomenon, and carefully concealed it from all but his most intimate
friends. Still the wounds were seen and felt by Pope Alexander and a
number of cardinals during his lifetime, and became an object of careful
investigation after his death. (Philalethes' _Divina Comm., Paradiso_,
p. 144.) There is but one other case, as fully authenticated, in which a
man was thus stigmatized; all other trustworthy instances are related of
females. How close the connection is between the will and the appearance
of these phenomena may be seen from one of the best-established cases,
that of Joanna of Burgos, in Spain, who had shed much blood every week
for twenty years in following the recital of the passion of our Saviour.
When she was seventy years old, her superiors prevailed upon her, by
special arguments, to pray fervently for a suspension of her sufferings.
She threw herself down before a crucifix, and remained there a day and a
night in incessant prayer; on the next morning the wounds had closed,
and never again commenced bleeding. Another evidence of this feature
lies in the fact that stigmatization occurs mainly in Italy, the land of
imagination, and in Spain, the land of devotion; in Germany only a few
cases are known, and not one in the North of Europe and in America.
Among the famous mystics who do not belong as saints or martyrs
exclusively to the Church, stand first and foremost Henry Suso, of the
"Living Heart," and John Ruysbroek, the so-called Doctor Ecstaticus. The
former, who often had trances, and once lay for a long time in syncope,
has left behind him some of the most attractive works ever written by
religious enthusiasts. He lived in the fourteenth century, and when, two
hundred years later, his grave was opened the body was found unchanged,
and fervent admirers believed they perceived pleasing odors emanating
from the remains. The Dutch divine Ruysbroek was even more renowned by
his holy life and admirable writings than by the many marvelous visions
which he enjoyed. The same century produced the most famous preacher
Germany has probably ever seen, John Capistran, who attracted the masses
by the magic power of his individuality and held them spell-bound by his
burning eloquence. A native of Capistrano, in the Abruzzi, where he was
born in 1385, he became first a lawyer, and gained great distinction as
such in Sicily. Unfortunately he was engaged in one of the many petty
wars which at that time distracted Italy; was made a prisoner and cast
with barbaric cruelty into a foul dungeon. Here he devoted himself to
ascetic devotion, and had a vision ordering him to leave the world. When
he regained his liberty, at the age of thirty, he entered the order of
Franciscan monks, and soon became a preacher of world-wide renown.
Traveling through Italy, Hungary, and Germany, he affected his audiences
by his mere appearance, and produced truly amazing changes in the hearts
of thousands. In Vienna he once preached, in the open air, before an
assembly of more than a hundred thousand men; the people listened to him
for hours amid loud weeping and sobbing, and great numbers were
converted, including several hundred Jews. In Bohemia he induced in like
manner eleven thousand Hussites to return to the Catholic Church, among
whom were numerous noblemen and ministers. Similar successes were
obtained in almost every large town of Germany, till he was recalled to
the South, when Germany became indebted to him and to John Corvin for
its deliverance from the Turks and the famous victory of Belgrade in
1456. During his whole career he continued to have ecstatic visions, to
fall into trances of considerable duration, and to behold stigmas on his
body--yet, withal, he remained an eminently practical man, not only
converting many thousands from their religious errors, but turning them
also from vicious habits and criminal pursuits to a life of virtue. At
the same time he rendered signal services to his brethren in mere
worldly matters, now pleading and now fighting for them with an energy
and a success which alone would secure him a name in history. The
ecstatic nature of another mystic, Vincentio Ferrer, produced a singular
effect, which has never been noticed except in biblical history. He was
a native of Valencia, and, knowing no language but the local dialect of
his country, he continued throughout life to preach in his mother
tongue--and yet he was understood by all who heard him! This result was
at least partially explained by the astounding flexibility of his voice,
which at all times adapted itself so completely to his feelings, that
its tones found a responsive echo in every heart. In vain did the pope,
Benedict XIII., offer him first a bishopric and afterwards a cardinal's
hat; the pious monk refused all honors save one, the title of Papal
Missionary, and in this capacity he passed through nearly every land in
Christendom, preaching and exhorting day and night, exciting everywhere
the utmost enthusiasm and converting thousands from their evil ways. His
eloquence and fervor were so great that even learned men and fierce
warriors declared he spoke with the voice of an angel, and criminals of
deepest dye would fall down in the midst of great crowds, confessing
their misdeeds and solemnly vowing repentance and amendment.
The greatest of all mystics, however, was the before-mentioned Filippo
Neri, a saint of the Catholic Church, whose simple candor and truly
Christian humility have procured for him the esteem and the admiration
of men of all creeds and all ages. Even as a mere child he was already
renowned for his extraordinary gifts as well as for his fervent piety;
while still a layman he had numerous visions and trances, and when in
his thirtieth year he had prayed for days and nights in the Catacombs of
St. Sebastian, his heart became suddenly so enlarged that some of the
intercostal muscles gave way, and a great swelling appeared on the
outside, which remained there throughout life, although without causing
him any pain. His inner fervor was so great as to keep his blood and his
whole system continually at fever heat, and although he lived
exclusively upon bread, herbs, and olives, he never wore warm clothes,
even in the severest winters, always slept with open doors and windows,
and preferred walking about with his breast uncovered. During the last
ten years of his life his body was no longer able to sustain his
ecstatic soul; whenever he attempted to read mass or to preach, his
feelings became so excited that his voice failed him, and he fell into a
trance of several hours' duration. It was in this condition that he was
frequently lifted up, together with the chair on which he sat, to a
height of several feet from the ground. What renders these magic
phenomena peculiarly interesting, is the fact that Filippo Neri not only
attached no special value to them, but actually did his best to conceal
them from the eyes of the world. As soon as they began to show
themselves, he ceased reading mass in the presence of others, and only
allowed his attendant to re-enter his cell when the latter had convinced
himself, by peeping through a narrow opening in the door, that the
trance was over. When others praised his piety and marveled at these
wonders, he invariably smiled and said: "Don't you know that I am
nothing but a fool and a dreamer?"
He added that he would infinitely rather do works which should prove his
faith than be the recipient of miraculous favors. But his prestige was
so great that whenever he was prevailed upon or thought it his duty to
exert his influence, it was paramount, and secured to him a powerful
control in historical events. Thus it was when Pope Gregory XIV. had
excommunicated King Henry IV., and his successor, Clement VIII.,
continued the fearful punishment in spite of all the entreaties of king
and courtiers. Filippo Neri, foreseeing the dangers which were likely to
arise from such measures for the Church, and deeply concerned for the
welfare of the French people, retired to prayer, inviting the pope's
confessor to join him in his devotions. These had been continued for
three days without intermission, when at last the saint fell into a
trance, and upon re-awaking from it, told his companion: "To-day the
pope will send for you to confess him. You will tell him, when his
confession is made: 'Father Filippo has directed me to refuse Your
Holiness absolution, and ever to confess you again till you have
relieved the King of France from excommunication.'" Clement, deeply
moved by this message, summoned immediately the council of cardinals,
and Henry IV. was once more received into the bosom of the Church. In
spite of this great influence, Neri sternly refused all honors and
dignities, even the purple, which was offered to him three times, and
died in 1595, eighty years old, on the day and at the hour which he had
long since foretold. That his visions were accompanied by actual
stigmatization has already been mentioned.
Our own continent has had but one great mystic, Rosa of Lima, who is
hence known as _primus Americae meridionalis flos_. She had inherited her
peculiar organization from her mother, who had frequently seen visions,
and when the child was three years old, changed her name from Isabel to
Rosa, because she had seen a rose suspended over the face of her
daughter. Much admired on account of her great beauty and rare
sweetness, the young girl refused all offers, and preferred, in spite
of the remonstrances of friends and of brutal ill-treatment on the part
of her brothers, to enter a convent. On her way there, however, she felt
her steps suddenly arrested by superior force, and saw in this
supernatural interruption a hint that she should leave the world even
more completely than she could have done as a nun of the Order of St.
Dominick. She built herself, therefore, a little cell in her father's
garden, and here led a life of ecstatic asceticism, during which she
often remained for days and weeks without food, and became strangely
intimate with birds and insects. Whenever she took the eucharist, she
felt marvelous happiness and fell into trances; in the intervals,
however, she suffered intensely from that depression and utter despair
which in such cases are apt to result from powerful reaction. She died
quite young, exhausted by her ascetic life and continued excitement, and
has ever since been revered as the patron saint of Peru.
THE END.
PROF. SCHELE DE VERE'S WORKS.
WONDERS OF THE DEEP.
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MODERN MAGIC.
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CONTENTS.
Witchcraft. Black and White Magic. Dreams. Visions. Ghosts.
Divination. Possession. Magnetism. Miraculous Cases. Mysticism.
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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
Obvious typographical errors in punctuation and spelling have been
corrected without comment. One example of an obvious typographical error
is on page 109 where the word "utterred" was changed to "uttered" in the
phrase: "... he uttered a piercing cry...."
In addition to obvious errors the following changes have been made:
1. Page 376: The phrase "as early in 1773" was changed to "as early
as 1773".
2. Page 119: "cocoa" was changed to "coca" in the phrase, "...
opium, betel, hasheesh, and coca...."
3. Page 209: "Aureditated" was changed to "Accredited" to reflect
the correct title of Jarvis' book: "Accredited Ghost Stories".
4. Page 211: "Aured." was changed to "Accred." in the phrase,
"Accred. Ghost Stories".
5. Page 234: "aids" was changed to "aides" in the phrase, "General
d'Espagne roused his aides...."
6. On the ad page, the illustration of a hand symbol has been
replaced with "-->".
The spelling of most proper names has been left unchanged with the
following exceptions:
1. "Goeethe", "Goethe" and "Goethe" has been standardized to
"Goethe".
2. Page 109: "Shilling" was changed to "Stilling" (Jung Stilling,
author of "Jenseits" cf. pp. 156, 204, 320).
3. Page 235: "Marca Erivigiana" was changed to "Marca Trivigiana".
4. Page 260: "Waltyries" was changed to "Walkyries" in the phrase,
"Walkyries and the heroes...."
5. Page 376: "Eassner" was changed to "Gassner" (cf. p. 441) in the
phrase, "... famous Father Gassner ... of Ratisbon...."
6. Page 402: "Mondez" was changed to "Mondes" in the Journal title,
"Revue des Deux Mondes", (cf. p. 408).
In other cases, the author's original spelling and use of punctuation
has been left intact. Internal inconsistencies which have been retained
in this transcription as in the original include (but are not limited
to):
apostacy/ apostasy
pickolitch/ prickolitch
AEthiopian/ Ethiopian
aurora boreales/ aurora borealis
On page 319: "... Thus in 1578 a famous astrologer, the father of
all weather prophecies in our almanacs, predicted that in the month
of February, 1524...."
On page 287: the phrase, "... mutters the word One...." has been
retained as printed, but may be intended as "... mutters the word
Om...."
Item number 18 is missing from the Ad page.
End of Project Gutenberg's Modern Magic, by Maximilian Schele de Vere