Some Further Problems
I.--Astronomy
Of the varied subjects upon which Wallace wrote, none, perhaps, came
with greater freshness to the general reader than his books written when
he was nearly eighty upon the ancient science of astronomy.
Perhaps he would have said that the "directive Mind and Purpose" kept
these subjects back until the closing years of his life in order that he
might bring to bear upon them his wider knowledge of nature, enlightened
by that spiritual perception which led him to link the heavens and the
earth in one common bond of evolution, culminating in the development of
moral and spiritual intelligences.
"Man's Place in the Universe" (1903) was in effect a prelude to "The
World of Life" (1910). Wallace saw afterwards that one grew out of the
other, as we find him frequently saying with regard to his other books
and essays.
As with Spiritualism, so with Astronomy, the seed-interest practically
lay dormant in his mind for many years; with this difference, however,
that temperament and training caused a speedy unfolding of his mind when
once a scientific subject gripped him, whereas with Spiritualism he felt
the need of moving slowly and cautiously before fully accepting the
phenomena as verifiable facts.
It was during the later period of his land-surveying, when he was
somewhere between the ages of 18 and 20, that he became distinctly
interested in the stars. Being left much alone at this period, he began
to vary his pursuits by studying a book on Nautical Astronomy, and
constructing a rude telescope.[55] This primitive appliance increased
his interest in other astronomical instruments, and especially in the
grand onward march of astronomical discovery, which he looked upon as
one of the wonders of the nineteenth century.
It was the inclusion of astronomy in lectures he delivered at Davos
which led him to extend his original brief notes into the four chapters
which form an important part of his "Wonderful Century." He freely
confessed that in order to write these chapters he was obliged to read
widely, and to make much use of friends to whom astronomy was a more
familiar study. And it was whilst he was engaged upon these chapters
that his attention became riveted upon the unique position of our planet
in relation to the solar system.
He had noticed that certain definite conditions appeared to be
absolutely essential to the origin and development of the higher types
of terrestrial life, and that most of these must have been certainly
dependent on a very delicate balance of the forces concerned in the
evolution of our planet. Our position in the solar system appeared to
him to be peculiar and unique because, he thought, we may be almost sure
that these conditions do not coexist on any other planet, and that we
have no good reason to believe that other planets could have maintained
over a period of millions of years the complex and equable conditions
absolutely necessary to the existence of the higher forms of terrestrial
life. Therefore it appeared to him to be proved that our earth does
really stand alone in the solar system by reason of its special
adaptation for the development of human life.
Granting this, however, the question might still be asked, Why should
not any one of the suns in other parts of space possess planets as well
adapted as our own to develop the higher forms of organic life? These
questions cannot be answered definitely; but there are reasons, he
considered, why the central position which we occupy may alone be
suitable. It is almost certain that electricity and other mysterious
radiant forces (of which we have so recently discovered the existence)
have played an important part in the origin and development of organised
life, and it does not appear to be extravagant to assume that the
extraordinary way in which these cosmic forces have remained hidden from
us may be due to that central position which we are found to occupy in
the whole universe of matter discoverable by us. Indeed, it may well be
that these wonderful forces of the ether are more irregular--and perhaps
more violent--in their effect upon matter in what may be termed the
outer chambers of that universe, and that they are only so nicely
balanced, so uniform in their action, and so concealed from us, as to be
fit to aid in the development of organic life in that central portion of
the stellar system which our globe occupies. Should these views as to
the unique central position of our earth be supported by the results of
further research, it will certainly rank as the most extraordinary and
perhaps the most important of the many discoveries of the past century.
While still working on this section of his "Wonderful Century," he was
asked to write a scientific article, upon any subject of his own choice,
for the _New York Independent_. And as the idea of the unique position
of the earth to be the abode of human life was fresh in his mind, he
thought it would prove interesting to the general public. However,
before his article appeared simultaneously in the American papers and in
the _Fortnightly Review_, a friend who read it was so impressed with
its originality and treatment that he persuaded Wallace to enlarge it
into book form; and it appeared in the autumn of 1903 as "Man's Place in
the Universe."
This fascinating treatise upon the position occupied by the earth, and
man, in the universe, had the same effect as some of his former
writings, of drawing forth unstinted commendation from many religious
and secular papers; whilst the severely scientific and materialistic
reviewers doubted how far his imagination had superseded unbiased
reason.
On one point, however, most outsiders were in agreement--that he had
invested an ancient subject with freshest interest through approaching
it by an entirely new way. The plan followed was that of bringing
together all the positive conclusions of the astronomer, the geologist,
the physicist, and the biologist, and by weighing these carefully in the
balance he arrived at what appeared to him to be the only reasonable
conclusion. He therefore set out to solve the problem whether or not the
logical inferences to be drawn from the various results of modern
science lent support to the view that our earth is the only inhabited
planet, not only in our own solar system, but in the whole stellar
universe. In the course of his close and careful exposition he takes the
reader through the whole trend of modern scientific research, concluding
with a summing-up of his deductions in the following six propositions,
in the first three of which he sets out the conclusions reached by
modern astronomers:
(1) That the stellar universe forms one connected whole; and, though of
enormous extent, is yet finite, and its extent determinable.
(2) That the solar system is situated in the plane of the Milky Way, and
not far removed from the centre of that plane. The earth is, therefore,
nearly in the centre of the stellar universe.
(3) That this universe consists throughout of the same kinds of matter,
and is subjected to the same physical and chemical laws.
The conclusions which I claim to have shown to have enormous
probabilities in their favour are:
(4) That no other planet in the solar system than our earth is inhabited
or habitable.
(5) That the probabilities are almost as great against any other sun
possessing inhabited planets.
(6) That the nearly central position of our sun is probably a permanent
one, and has been specially favourable, perhaps absolutely essential, to
life-development on the earth.
Wallace never maintained that this earth alone in the whole universe is
the abode of life. What he maintained was, first, that our solar system
appears to be in or near the centre of the visible universe, and,
secondly, that all the available evidence supports the idea of the
extreme unlikelihood of there being on any star or planet revealed by
the telescope any intelligent life either identical with or analogous to
man. To suppose that this one particular type of universe extends over
all space was, he considered, to have a low idea of the Creator and His
power. Such a scheme would mean monotony instead of infinite variety,
the keynote of things as they are known to us. There might be a million
universes, but all different.
To his mind there was no difficulty in believing in the existence of
consciousness apart from material organism; though he could not readily
conceive of pure mind, or pure spirit, apart from some kind of
substantial envelope or substratum. Many of the views suggested in
"Man's Place in the Universe" as to man's spiritual progress hereafter,
the reason or ultimate purpose for which he was brought into existence,
were enlarged upon, later, in "The World of Life." As early, however, as
1903, Wallace did not hesitate to express his own firm conviction that
Science and Spiritualism were in many ways closely akin.
He believed that the near future would show the strong tendency of
scientists to become more religious or spiritual. The process, he
thought, would be slow, as the general attitude has never been more
materialistic than now. A few have been bold enough to assert their
belief in some outside power, but the leading scientific men are, as a
rule, dead against them. "They seem," he once remarked, "to think, and
to like to think, that the whole phenomena of life will one day be
reduced to terms of matter and motion, and that every vegetable, animal,
and human product will be explained, and may some day be artificially
produced, by chemical action. But even if this were so, behind it all
there would still remain an unexplained mystery."
Closely associated with "Man's Place in the Universe" is a small volume,
"Is Mars Habitable?" This was first commenced as a review of Professor
Percival Lowell's book, "Mars and its Canals," with the object of
showing that the large amount of new and interesting facts contained in
this work did not invalidate the conclusion that he (Wallace) had
reached in 1903--that Mars is not habitable. The conclusions to which
his argument led him were these:
(1) All physicists are agreed that ... Mars would have a mean
temperature of about 35° F. owing to its distance from the sun.
(2) But the very low temperatures on the earth under the equator at a
height where the barometer stands at about three times as high as on
Mars, proves that from scantiness of atmosphere alone Mars cannot
possibly have a temperature as high as the freezing-point of water. The
combination of these two results must bring down the temperature of Mars
to a degree wholly incompatible with the existence of animal life.
(3) The quite independent proof that water-vapour cannot exist on Mars,
and that, therefore, the first essential of organic life--water--is
non-existent.
The conclusion from these three independent proofs ... is therefore
irresistible--that animal life, especially in its highest forms, cannot
exist. Mars, therefore, is not only uninhabited by intelligent beings
... but is absolutely uninhabitable.
* * * * *
In contrast to his purely scientific interest in astronomy, Wallace was
moved by the romance of the "stars," akin to his enthusiastic love of
beautiful butterflies. Had it not been for this touch of romance and
idealism in his writings on astronomy, they would have lost much of
their charm for the general reader. His breadth of vision transforms him
from a mere student of astronomy into a seer who became ever more deeply
conscious of the mystery both "before and behind."
"Rain, sun, and rain! and the free blossom blows;
Sun, rain, and sun! and where is he who knows?
From the great deep to the great deep he goes."
And whilst facing with brave and steady mind the great mysteries of
earth and sky, of life and what lies beyond it, he himself loved to
quote:
"Fear not thou the hidden purpose
Of that Power which alone is great,
Nor the myriad world His shadow,
Nor the silent Opener of the Gate."
Among the scientific friends to whom he appealed for help when writing
his astronomical books was Prof. (now Sir) W.F. Barrett.
* * * * *
TO PROF. BARRETT
_Parkstone, Dorset. February 12, 1901._
My dear Barrett,--I shall be much obliged if you will give me your
opinion on a problem in physics that I cannot find answered in any book.
It relates to the old Nebular Hypothesis, and is this:
It is assumed that the matter of the solar system was once wholly
gaseous, and extended as a roughly globular or lenticular mass beyond
the orbit of Neptune. Sir Robert Ball stated in a lecture here that even
when the solar nebula had shrunk to the size of the earth's orbit it
must have been (I think he said) hundreds of times rarer than the
residual gas in one of Crookes's high vacuum tubes. Yet, by hypothesis,
it was hot enough, even in its outer portions, to retain all the solid
elements in the gaseous state.
Now, admitting this to be _possible_ at any given epoch, my difficulty
is this: how long could the outer parts of this nebula exist, exposed to
the zero temperature of surrounding space, without losing the gaseous
state and aggregating into minute solid particles--into meteoric dust,
in fact?
Could it exist an hour? a day? a year? a century? Yet the process of
condensation from the Neptunian era to that of Saturn or Jupiter must
surely have occupied millions of centuries. What kept the almost
infinitely rare metallic gases in the gaseous state all this time? Is
such a condition of things physically possible?
I cannot myself imagine any such condition of things as the supposed
primitive solar nebula as possibly coming into existence under any
conceivably antecedent conditions, but, granted that it did come into
existence, it seems to me that the gaseous state must almost instantly
begin changing into the solid state. Hence I adopt the meteoric theory
instead of the nebular; since all the evidence is in favour of solid
matter being abundant all through known space, while there is no
evidence of metallic gases existing in space, except as the result of
collisions of huge masses of matter. Is my difficulty a mare's
nest?--Yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO Mrs. Fisher
_Broadstone, Wimborne. February 28, 1905._
Dear Mrs. Fisher,--Thanks for your letter. Am sorry I have not converted
you, but perhaps it will come yet! I will only make one remark as to
your conclusion.
I have not attempted to prove a negative! That is not necessary. What I
claim to have done is, to have shown that all the evidence we have, be
it much or little, is decidedly against not only other solar planets
having inhabitants, but also, as far as probabilities are concerned,
equally against it in any supposed stellar planets--for not one has been
proved to exist. There is absolutely no evidence which shows even a
probability of there being other inhabited worlds. It is all pure
speculation, depending upon our ideas as to what the universe is for, as
to what _we_ think (some of us!) _ought_ to be! That is not evidence,
even of the flimsiest. All I maintain is that mine _is_ evidence,
founded on physical probabilities, and that, as against no evidence at
all--no proved physical probability--mine holds the field!--Yours very
truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MR. E. SMEDLEY
_Broadstone, Dorset. July 24, 1907._
Dear Mr. Smedley,-- ... I write chiefly to tell you that I have read Mr.
Lowell's last book, "Mars and its Canals," and am now writing an
article, or perhaps a small book, about it. I am sure his theories are
all wrong, and I am showing why, so that anyone can see his fallacies.
His observations, drawings, photographs, etc., are all quite right, and
I believe true to nature, but his interpretation of what he sees is
wrong--often even to absurdity. He began by thinking the straight lines
are works of art, and as he finds more and more of these straight lines,
he thinks that proves more completely that they are works of art, and
then he twists all other evidence to suit that. The book is not very
well written, but no doubt the newspaper men think that as he is such a
great astronomer he must know what it all means!
I am more than ever convinced that Mars is totally
uninhabitable....--Yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO PROF. BARRETT
_Broadstone, Wimborne. August 10, 1907._
My dear Barrett,--Thanks for your letter, and your friend Prof.
Stroud's. I have come to the sad conclusion that it is hopeless to get
any mathematician to trouble himself to track out Lowell's obscurities
and fallacies.... So, being driven on to my own resources, I have worked
out a mode of estimating (within limits) the temperature of Mars,
without any mathematical formulæ--and only a little arithmetic. I want
to know if there is any fallacy in it, and therefore take the liberty of
sending it to you, as you are taking your holiday, just to read it over
and tell me if you see any flaw in it. I also send my short summary of
Lowell's _Philosophical Magazine_ paper, so that you can see if my
criticism at the end is fair, and whether his words really mean what to
me they seem to....--Yours very sincerely,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MR. F. BIRCH
_Sept. 12, 1907._
Dear Fred,-- ... For the last two or three months I have had a hard
struggle with Mars--not the god of war, but the planet--writing a small
book, chiefly criticising Lowell's last book, called "Mars and its
Canals," published less than a year back by Macmillan, who will also
publish my reply. _I_ think it is crushing, but it has cost me a deal of
trouble, as Lowell has also printed a long and complex mathematical
article trying to prove that though Mars receives less than half the
sun-heat we do, yet it is very nearly as warm and quite habitable! But
his figures and arguments are alike so shaky and involved that I cannot
get any of my mathematical friends to tackle it or point out his errors.
However, I think I have done it myself by the rules of common
sense....--Your sincere friend,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MR. H. JAMYN BROOKE
_Old Orchard, Broadstone, Wimborne. December 2, 1910._
Dear Sir,--Your "monistic" system is to me a system of mere
contradictory words. You begin with three things--then you say they are
correlated with one substance--coextensive with the universe. This you
cannot possibly know, and it is about as intelligible and as likely to
be true as the Athanasian Creed!--Yours truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO PROP. KNIGHT
_Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. October 1, 1913._
Dear Mr. Knight,--I have written hardly anything on the direct proofs of
"immortality" except in my book on "Miracles and Modern Spiritualism,"
and also in "My Life," Vol. II. But my two works, "Man's Place in the
Universe" (now published at 1s.), and my later volume, "The World of
Life," form together a very elaborate, and I think conclusive,
scientific argument in favour of the view that the whole material
universe exists and is designed for the production of immortal spirits,
in the greatest possible diversity of nature, and character,
corresponding with ... the almost infinite diversity of that universe,
in all its parts and in every detail....--Yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
P.S.--I am fairly well, but almost past work.--A.R.W.
* * * * *
TO SIR OLIVER LODGE
_Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. October 9, 1913._
Dear Sir Oliver Lodge,--Owing to ill-health and other causes I have only
now been able to finish the perusal of your intensely interesting and
instructive Address to the British Association. I cannot, however,
refrain from writing to you to express my admiration of it, and
especially of the first half of it, in which you discuss the almost
infinite variety and complexity of the physical problems involved in the
great principle of "continuity" in so clear a manner that outsiders like
myself are able to some extent to apprehend them. I am especially
pleased to find that you uphold the actual existence and _continuity_ of
the ether as scientifically established, and reject the doubts of some
mathematicians as to the reality and perfect continuity of space and
time as unthinkable.
The latter part of the Address is even more important, and is especially
notable for your clear and positive statements as to the evidence in all
life-process of a "guiding" Mind. I can hardly suppose that you can have
found time to read my rather discursive and laboured volume on "The
World of Life," written mainly for the purpose of enforcing not only the
proofs of a "guiding" but also of a "foreseeing" and "designing" Mind by
evidence which will be thought by most men of science to be unduly
strained. It is, therefore, the more interesting to me to find that you
have yourself (on pp. 33-34 of your Address) used the very same form of
analogical illustration as I have done (at p. 296 of "The World of
Life") under the heading of "A Physiological Allegory," as being a very
close representation of what really occurs in nature.
To conclude: your last paragraph rises to a height of grandeur and
eloquence to which I cannot attain, but which excites my highest
admiration.
Should you have a separate copy to spare of your Romanes Lecture at
Oxford, I should be glad to have it to refer to.--Believe me yours very
truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
The last of Wallace's letters on astronomical subjects was written to
Sir Oliver Lodge about a week before his death:
TO SIR OLIVER LODGES
_Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. October 27, 1913._
Dear Sir Oliver Lodge,--Many thanks for your Romanes Lecture, which,
owing to my ignorance of modern electrical theory and experiments, is
more difficult for me than was your British Association Address.
I have been very much interested the last month by reading a book sent
me from America by Mr. W.L. Webb, being "An Account of the Unparalleled
Discoveries of Mr. T.J.J. See."
Several of Mr. See's own lectures are given, with references to his
"Researches on the Evolution of the Stellar Systems," in two large
volumes.
His theory of "capture" of suns, planets, and satellites seems to me
very beautifully worked out under the influence of gravitation and a
resisting medium of cosmical dust--which explains the origin and motions
of the moon as well as that of all the planets and satellites far better
than Sir G. Darwin's expulsion theory.
I note however that he is quite ignorant that Proctor, forty years ago,
gave full reasons for this "capture" theory in his "Expanse of Heaven,"
and also that the same writer showed that the Milky Way could not have
the enormous lateral extension he gives to it, but that it cannot really
be much flattened. He does not even mention the proofs given of this
both by Proctor and, I think, by Herbert Spencer, while in Mr. Webb's
volume (opposite p. 212) is a diagram showing the "Coal Sack" as a
"vacant lane" running quite through and across the successive spiral
extensions laterally of the galaxy, without any reference or a word of
explanation that such features, of which there are many, really
demonstrate the untenability of such extension.
An even more original and extremely interesting part of Mr. See's work
is his very satisfactory solution of the hitherto unsolved geological
problem of the origin of all the great mountain ranges of the world, in
Chapters X., XI., and XII. of Mr. Webb's volume. It seems quite complete
except for the beginnings, but I suppose it is a result of the formation
of the _earth_ by accretion and not by expulsion, by heating and not by
cooling....--Yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
II.--Spiritualism
"The completely materialistic mind of my youth and early manhood
has been slowly moulded into the socialistic, spiritualistic, and
theistic mind I now exhibit--a mind which is, as my scientific
friends think, so weak and credulous in its declining years, as to
believe that fruit and flowers, domestic animals, glorious birds
and insects, wool, cotton, sugar and rubber, metals and gems, were
all foreseen and foreordained for the education and enjoyment of
man. The whole cumulative argument of my 'World of Life' is that
_in its every detail_ it calls for the agency of a mind ...
enormously above and beyond any human mind ... Whether this
Unknown Reality is a single Being and acts everywhere in the
universe as direct creator, organiser, and director of every
minutest motion ... or through 'infinite grades of beings,' as I
suggest, comes to much the same thing. Mine seems a more clear and
intelligible supposition ... and it is the teaching of the Bible,
of Swedenborg, and of Milton."--Letter from A.R. Wallace to JAMES
MARCHANT, written in 1913.
The letters on Spiritualism which Wallace wrote cast further light on
the personal attitude of mind which he maintained towards that subject.
He was an unbiased scientific investigator, commencing on the "lower
level" of spirit phenomena, such as raps and similar physical
manifestations of "force by unseen intelligences," and passing on to a
clearer understanding of the phenomena of mesmerism and telepathy; to
the materialisation of, and conversation with, the spirits of those who
had been known in the body, until the conviction of life after death, as
the inevitable crowning conclusion to the long process of evolution, was
reached in the remarkable chapter with which he concludes "The World of
Life"--an impressive prose poem.
Like that of many other children, Wallace's early childhood was spent in
an orthodox religious atmosphere, which, whilst awakening within him
vague emotions of religious fervour, derived chiefly from the more
picturesque and impassioned of the hymns which he occasionally heard
sung at a Nonconformist chapel, left no enduring impression. Moreover,
at the age of 14 he was brought suddenly into close contact with
Socialism as expounded by Robert Owen, which dispelled whatever
glimmerings of the Christian faith there may have been latent in his
mind, leaving him for many years a confirmed materialist.
This fact, together with his early-aroused sense of the social injustice
and privations imposed upon the poorer classes both in town and country,
which he carefully observed during his experience as a land-surveyor,
might easily have had an undesirable effect upon his general character
had not his intense love and reverence for nature provided a stimulus to
his moral and spiritual development. But the "directive Mind and
Purpose" was preparing him silently and unconsciously until his "fabric
of thought" was ready to receive spiritual impressions. For, according
to his own theory, as "the laws of nature bring about continuous
development, on the whole progressive, one of the subsidiary results of
this mode of development is that no organ, no sensation, no faculty
arises _before_ it is needed, or in greater degree than it is
needed."[56] From this point of view we may make a brief outline of the
manner in which this particular "faculty" arose and was developed in
him.
When at Leicester, in 1844, his curiosity was greatly excited by some
lectures on mesmerism given by Mr. Spencer Hall, and he soon discovered
that he himself had considerable power in this direction, which he
exercised on some of his pupils.
Later, when his brother Herbert joined him in South America, he found
that he also possessed this gift, and on several occasions they
mesmerised some of the natives for mere amusement. But the subject was
put aside, and Wallace paid no further attention to such phenomena until
after his return to England in 1862.
It was not until the summer of 1865 that he witnessed any phenomena of a
spiritualistic nature; of these a full account is given in "Miracles and
Modern Spiritualism" (p. 132). "I came," he says, "to the inquiry
utterly unbiased by hopes or fears, because I knew that my belief could
not affect the reality, and with an ingrained prejudice even against
such a word as 'spirit,' which I have hardly yet overcome."
From that time until 1895, when the second edition of that book
appeared, he did much, together with other scientists, to establish
these facts, as he believed them to be, on a rational and scientific
foundation. It will also be noticed, both before and after this period,
that in addition to the notable book which he published dealing
exclusively with these matters, the gradual trend of his convictions,
advancing steadily towards the end which he ultimately reached, had
become so thoroughly woven into his "fabric of thought" that it appears
under many phases in his writings, and occupies a considerable part of
his correspondence, of which we have only room for some specimens.
The first definite statement of his belief in "this something" other
than material in the evolution of Man appeared in his essay on "The
Development of Human Faces under the Law of Natural Selection" (1864).
In this he suggested that, Man having reached a state of physical
perfection through the progressive law of Natural Selection, thenceforth
Mind became the dominating factor, endowing Man with an ever-increasing
power of intelligence which, whilst the physical had remained
stationary, had continued to develop according to his needs. This
"in-breathing" of a divine Spirit, or the controlling force of a supreme
directive Mind and Purpose, which was one of the points of divergence
between his theory and that held by Darwin, is too well known to need
repetition.
This disagreement has a twofold interest from the fact that Darwin, in
his youth, studied theology with the full intention of taking holy
orders, and for some years retained his faith in the more or less
orthodox beliefs arising out of the Bible. But as time went by, an
ever-extending knowledge of the mystery of the natural laws governing
the development of man and nature led him to make the characteristically
frank avowal that he "found it more and more difficult ... to invent
evidence which would suffice to convince"; adding, "This disbelief crept
over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. The rate was so
slow that I felt no distress."[57] With Wallace, however, his early
disbelief ended in a deep conviction that "as nothing in nature actually
'dies,' but renews its life in another and higher form, so Man, the
highest product of natural laws here, must by the power of mind and
intellect continue to develop hereafter."
The varied reasons leading up to this final conviction, as related by
himself in "Miracles and Modern Spiritualism" and "My Life," are,
however, too numerous and detailed to be retold in a brief summary in
this place.
The correspondence that follows deals entirely with investigations on
this side of the Atlantic, but a good deal of evidence which to him was
conclusive was obtained during his stay in America, where Spiritualism
has been more widely recognised, and for a much longer period than in
England.
Some of the letters addressed to Miss Buckley (afterwards Mrs. Fisher)
reveal the extreme caution which he both practised himself and advocated
in others when following up any experimental phase of spiritual
phenomena. The same correspondence also gives a fairly clear outline of
his faith in the ascending scale from the physical evidence of
spirit-existence to the communication of some actual knowledge of life
as it exists beyond the veil.
In spiritual matters, as in natural science, though at times his head
may have appeared to be "in the clouds," his feet were planted firmly on
the earth. This is seen, to note another curious instance, in his
correspondence with Sir Wm. Barrett, where he maintains a delicate
balance between natural science and "spirit impression" when discussing
the much controverted reality of "dowsing" for water.
It was this breadth of vision, unhampered by mere intellectualism, but
always kept within reasonable bounds by scientific deduction and
analysis, which constituted Alfred Russel Wallace a seer of the first
rank.
Wallace lived to see the theory of evolution applied to the life-history
of the earth and the starry firmament, to the development of nations and
races, to the progress of mind, morals and religion, even to the origin
of consciousness and life--a conception which has completely
revolutionised man's attitude towards himself and the world and God.
Evolution became intelligible in the light of that idea which came to
him in his hut at Ternate and changed the face of the universe. Surely
it was enough for any one man to be one of the two chief originators of
such a far-reaching thought and to witness its impact upon the ancient
story of special creations which it finally laid in the dust. But
Wallace was privileged beyond all the men of his generation. He lived to
see many of the results of the theory of evolution tested by time and to
foresee that there were definite limits to its range, that, indeed,
there were two lines of development--one affecting the visible world of
form and colour and the other the invisible world of life and
spirit--two worlds springing from two opposite poles of being and
developing _pari passu_, or, rather, the spiritual dominating the
material, life originating and controlling organisation. It was, in
short, his peculiar task to reveal something of the Why as well as the
How of the evolutionary process, and in doing so verily to bring
immortality to light.
The immediate exciting cause of this discovery of the inadequacy of
evolution from the material side alone to account for the world of life
may seem to many to have been trivial and unworthy of the serious
attention of a great scientist. How, it might be asked, could the crude
and doubtful phenomena of Spiritualism afford reasonably adequate
grounds for challenging its supremacy and for setting a limit to its
range? But spiritualistic phenomena were only the accidental modes in
which the other side of evolution struck in upon his vision. They set
him upon the other track and opened up to him the vaster kingdom of life
which is without beginning, limit or end; in which perchance the
sequence of life from the simple to the complex, from living germ to
living God, may also be the law of growth. It is in the light of this
ultimate end that we must judge the stumbling steps guided by raps and
visions which led him to the ladder set up to the stars by which
connection was established with the inner reality of being. That was the
distinctive contribution which he made to human beliefs over and above
his advocacy of pure Darwinism.
* * * * *
Reading almost everything he could obtain upon occult phenomena, Wallace
found that there was such a mass of testimony by men of the highest
character and ability in every department of human learning that he
thought it would be useful to bring this together in a connected sketch
of the whole subject. This he did, and sent it to a secularist magazine,
in which it appeared in 1866, under the title of "The Scientific Aspect
of the Supernatural." He sent a copy to Huxley.
* * * * *
TO T.H. HUXLEY
_9 St. Mark's Crescent, Regent's Park, N.W. November 22, 1866._
Dear Huxley,--I have been writing a little on a _new branch_ of
Anthropology, and as I have taken your name in vain on the title-page I
send you a copy. I fear you will be much shocked, but I can't help it;
and before finally deciding that we are all mad I hope you will come and
see some very curious phenomena which we can show you, _among friends
only_. We meet every Friday evening, and hope you will come sometimes,
as we wish for the fullest investigation, and shall be only too grateful
to you or anyone else who will show us how and where we are deceived.
* * * * *
T.H. HUXLEY TO A.R. WALLACE
[? _November, 1886._]
Dear Wallace,--I am neither shocked nor disposed to issue a Commission
of Lunacy against you. It may be all true, for anything I know to the
contrary, but really I cannot get up any interest in the subject. I
never cared for gossip in my life, and disembodied gossip, such as these
worthy ghosts supply their friends with, is not more interesting to me
than any other. As for investigating the matter, I have half-a-dozen
investigations of infinitely greater interest to me to which any spare
time I may have will be devoted. I give it up for the same reason I
abstain from chess--it's too amusing to be fair work, and too hard work
to be amusing.--Yours faithfully,
T.H. HUXLEY.
* * * * *
TO T.H. HUXLEY
_9 St. Mark's Crescent, Regent's Park, N.W. December 1, 1866._
Dear Huxley,--Thanks for your note. Of course, I have no wish to press
on you an inquiry for which you have neither time nor inclination. As
for the "gossip" you speak of, I care for it as little as you can do,
but what I do feel an intense interest in is the exhibition of _force_
where force has been declared _impossible_, and of _intelligence_ from a
source the very mention of which has been deemed an _absurdity_.
Faraday has declared (apropos of this subject) that he who can prove the
existence or exertion of force, if but the lifting of a single ounce, by
a power not yet recognised by science, will deserve and assuredly
receive applause and gratitude. (I quote from memory the sense of his
expressions in his Lecture on Education.)
I believe I can now show such a force, and I trust some of the
physicists may be found to admit its importance and examine into
it.--Believe me yours very sincerely,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MISS BUCKLEY
_Holly House, Barking, E. December 25, 1870._
Dear Miss Buckley,-- ... You did not hear Mrs. Hardinge[58] on very
favourable topics, and I hope you will hear her often again, and
especially hear one of her regular discourses. I think, however, from
what you heard, that, setting aside all idea of her being more than a
mere spiritualist lecturer setting forth the ideas and opinions of the
sect, you will admit that spiritualists, as represented by her, are
neither prejudiced nor unreasonable, and that they are truly imbued with
the scientific spirit of subordinating all theory to fact. You will also
admit, I think, that the moral teachings of Spiritualism, as far as she
touched upon them, are elevated and beautiful and calculated to do good;
and if so, that is the use of Spiritualism--the getting such doctrines
of future progress founded on actual phenomena which we can observe and
examine now, not on phenomena which are said to have occurred thousands
of years ago and of which we have confessedly but imperfect records.
I think, too, that the becoming acquainted with two such phases of
Spiritualism as are exhibited by Mrs. Hardinge and Miss Houghton must
show you that the whole thing is not to be judged by the common
phenomena of public stances alone, and I can assure you that there are
dozens of other phases of the subject as remarkable as these
two....--Yours very faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MISS BUCKLEY
_Holly House. Barking, E. June 1, 1871._
Dear Miss Buckley,-- ... I have lately had a stance with the celebrated
Mr. Home, and saw that most wonderful phenomenon an accordion playing
beautiful music by itself, the bottom only being held in Mr. Home's
hand. I was invited to watch it as closely as I pleased under the table
in a well-lighted room. I am sure nothing touched it but Mr. Home's one
hand, yet at one time I saw a shadowy yet defined hand on the keys. This
is too vast a phenomenon for any sceptic to assimilate, and I can well
understand the impossibility of their accepting the evidence of their
own senses. Mr. Crookes, F.R.S., the chemist, was present and suspended
the table with a spring balance, when it was at request made heavy or
light, the indicator moving accordingly, and to prevent any mistake it
was made light when the hands of all present were resting on the table
and heavy when our hands were all underneath it. The difference, if I
remember, was about 40 lb. I was also asked to place a candle on the
floor and look under the table while it was lifted completely off the
floor, Mr. Home's feet being 2 ft. distant from any part of it. This was
in a lady's house in the West End. Mr. Home courts examination if people
come to him in a fair and candid spirit of inquiry....--Yours very
faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MISS BUCKLEY
_The Dell, Grays, Essex. January 11, 1874._
My dear Miss Buckley,--I am delighted to hear of your success so far,
and hope you are progressing satisfactorily. Pray keep accurate notes of
all that takes place.... Allow me ... to warn you not to take it for
granted till you get proof upon proof that it is really your sister that
is communicating with you. I hope and think it is, but still, the
conditions that render communication possible are so subtle and complex
that she may not be able; and some other being, reading your mind, may
be acting through you and making you think it is your sister, to induce
you to go on. Be therefore on the look out for characteristic traits of
your sister's mind and manner which are different from your own. These
will be tests, especially if they come when and how you are not
expecting them. Even if it is your sister, she may be obliged to use the
intermediation of some other being, and in that case her peculiar
idiosyncrasy may be at first disguised, but it will soon make itself
distinctly visible. Of course you will preserve every scrap you write,
and date them, and they will, I have no doubt, explain each other as you
go on.
If you can get to see the last number of the _Quarterly Journal of
Science_, you will find a most important article by Mr. Crookes, giving
an outline of the results of his investigations, which he is going to
give in full in a volume. His facts are most marvellous and convincing,
and appear to me to answer every one of the objections that have usually
been made to the evidence adduced....--Yours very faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MISS BUCKLEY
_The Dell, Grays, Essex. February 28, 1874._
Dear Miss Buckley,--I was much pleased with your long and interesting
letter of the 19th and am glad you are getting on at last. It will be
splendid if you really become a good medium for some first-rate
unmistakable manifestations that even Huxley will acknowledge are worth
seeing, and Carpenter confess are not to be explained by unconscious
cerebration....--Yours very faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MISS BUCKLEY
_The Dell, Grays, Essex. March 9, 1874._
Dear Miss Buckley,--I compassionate your mediumistic troubles, but I
have no doubt it will all come right in the end. The fact that your
sister will not talk as you want her to talk--will not say what you
expect her to say, is a grand proof that it is not your unconscious
cerebration that does her talking for her. Is not that clear? Whether it
is she herself or someone else who is talking to you, is not so clear,
but that it is not you, I think, is clear enough.
I can quite understand, too, that your sister in her new life may be,
above all things, interested in getting the telegraph in good order, to
communicate, and will not think of much else till that is done. While
the first Atlantic cable was being laid the messages would be chiefly
reports of progress, directions and instructions, with now and then
trivialities about the weather, the time, or small items of news. Only
when it was in real working order was a President's Message, a Queen's
Speech, sent through it.
Automatic writing and trance speaking never yet convinced anybody. They
are only useful for those who are already convinced. But you _would_
begin this way. You would not go to mediums and séances and see what you
could get that way. So now you must persevere; but do not give up your
own judgment in anything. Insist upon having things explained to you, or
say you won't go on. You will then find they will be explained, only it
may take a little more time.... --Yours very faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MISS BUCKLEY
_The Dell, Grays, Essex. April 24, 1874._
Dear Miss Buckley,-- ... On coming home this evening I received the news
of poor little Bertie's death--this morning at eight o'clock. I left him
only yesterday forenoon, and had then considerable hopes, for we had
just commenced a new treatment which a fortnight earlier I am pretty
sure might have saved him. The thought suddenly struck me to go to Dr.
Williams, of Hayward's Heath ... but it was too late. As he had been in
this same state of exhaustion for nearly a month, it is evident that
very slight influences might have been injurious or beneficial. Our
orthodox medical men are profoundly ignorant of the subtle influences of
the human body in health and disease, and can thus do nothing in many
cases which Nature would cure if assisted by proper conditions. We who
know what strange and subtle influences are around us can believe
this....--Yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
Mr. Wallace felt the death of this child so deeply that during the
remainder of his life he never mentioned him except when obliged, and
then with tears in his eyes.--A.B. FISHER.
* * * * *
TO MISS BUCKLEY
_The Dell, Grays, Essex. Thursday evening, [? December, 1875]._
Dear Miss Buckley,--Our stance came off last evening, and was a
tolerable success. The medium is a very pretty little lively girl, the
place where she sits a bare empty cupboard formed by a frame and doors
to close up a recess by the side of a fireplace in a small basement
breakfast-room. We examined it, and it is absolutely impossible to
conceal a scrap of paper in it. Miss Cooke is locked in this cupboard,
above the door of which is a square opening about 15 inches each way,
the only thing she takes with her being a long piece of tape and a chair
to sit on. After a few minutes Katie's whispering voice was heard, and a
little while after we were asked to open the door and seal up the
medium. We found her hands tied together with the tape passed three
times round each wrist and tightly knotted, the hands tied close
together, the tape then passing behind and well knotted to the
chair-back. We sealed all the knots with a private seal of my friend's,
and again locked the door. A portable gas lamp was on a table the whole
evening, shaded by a screen so as to cast a shadow on the square opening
above the door of the cupboard till permission was given to illuminate
it. Every object and person in the room were always distinctly visible.
A face[59] then appeared at the opening, but dark and indistinct.
After a time another face quite distinct with a white turban-like
headdress--this was a handsome face with a considerable general likeness
to that of the medium, but paler, larger, fuller, and older--decidedly a
different face, although like. The light was thrown full on this face,
and on request it advanced so that the chin projected a little beyond
the aperture. We were then ordered to release the medium. I opened the
door, and found her bent forward with her head in her lap, and
apparently in a deep sleep or trance--from which a touch and a few words
awoke her. We then examined the tape and knots--all was as we left it
and every seal perfect.
The same face appeared later in the evening, and also one decidedly
different with coarser features.
After this, for the sake I believe of two sceptics present, the medium
was twice tied up in a way that no human being could possibly tie
herself. Her wrists were tied together so tightly and painfully that it
was impossible to untie them in any moderate time, and she was also
secured to the chair; on the other occasion the two arms were tied close
above the elbows so tightly that the arms were swelling considerably
from impeded circulation, the elbows being drawn together as close as
possible behind the back, there repeatedly knotted, and again tightly
knotted to the back of the chair. Miss C. was evidently in considerable
pain, and she had to be lifted out bodily in her chair before we could
safely cut her loose, so tightly was she bound. This evidently had a
great effect on the sceptics, as I have no doubt it was intended to
have, and it demonstrated pretty clearly that some strange being was
inside the cupboard playing these tricks, although quite invisible and
intangible to us except when she made certain portions of herself
visible.
When Miss C. was complaining of being hurt by the tying we could hear
the whispering voice soothing her in the kindest manner, and also heard
kisses, and Miss C. afterwards declared that she could feel hands and
face about her like those of a real person.
During all the face exhibitions singing had to go on to a rather painful
extent.[60]
A Dr. Purdon was present, an Army surgeon, who has been much in India,
and seems a very intelligent man. He seemed very intimate with the
family, and told us he had studied them all, and had had Miss Cooke a
month at a time in his own house, studying these phenomena. He was
absolutely satisfied of their genuineness, and indeed no opportunity for
imposture seems to exist.
The children of the house tell wonderful tales of how they are lifted up
and carried about by the spirits. They seem to enjoy it very much, and
to look upon it all as just as real and natural as any other matters of
their daily life.
Can such things be in this nineteenth century, and the wise ones pass
away in utter ignorance of their existence?--Yours very sincerely,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
At the Glasgow Meeting of the British Association in 1876, Prof. (now
Sir) W.F. Barrett read a paper "On some Phenomena associated with
Abnormal Conditions of Mind." Wallace was Chairman of the Section in
which the paper was read, and a vigorous controversy arose at the close
between Dr. Carpenter, who came in towards the end of the paper, and the
Chairman. The paper set forth certain remarkable evidence which Prof.
Barrett had obtained from a subject in the mesmeric trance, giving what
appeared to be indubitable proof of some supernormal mode of
transmission of ideas from his mind to that of the subject. The facts
were so novel and startling that Prof. Barrett asked for a committee of
experts to examine the whole question and see whether such a thing as
"thought transference," independently of the recognised channels of
sense, did really exist. This was the first time evidence of this kind
had been brought before a scientific society, and a protracted
discussion followed. The paper also dealt with certain so-called
spiritualistic phenomena, which at the time Prof. Barrett was disposed
to attribute to hallucination and "thought-transference." The
introduction of this topic led the discussion away from the substance of
the paper, and Prof. Barrett's plea for a committee of investigation on
thought-transference fell through. So strong was the feeling against the
paper in official scientific circles at the time, that even an abstract
was refused publication in the _Report_ of the British Association, and
it was not until the Society for Psychical Research was founded that the
paper was published, in the first volume of its _Proceedings_. It was
the need of a scientific society to collect, sift and discuss and
publish the evidence on behalf of such supernormal phenomena as Prof.
Barrett described at the British Association that induced him to call a
conference in London at the close of 1881, which led to the foundation
of the Society for Psychical Research early in 1882.
Wallace, in his letter to Prof. Barrett which follows, refers to
Reichenbach's experiments with certain sensitives who declared they saw
luminosity from the poles of a magnet after they had been for some time
in a perfectly darkened room. Acting on Wallace's suggestion, Prof.
Barrett constructed a perfectly darkened room and employed a large
electro-magnet, the current for which could be made or broken by an
assistant outside without the knowledge of those present in the darkened
room. Under these circumstances, and taking every precaution to prevent
any knowledge of when the magnet was made active by the current, Prof.
Barrett found that two or three persons, out of a large number with whom
he experimented, saw a luminosity streaming from the poles of the magnet
directly the current was put on. An article of Prof. Barrett's on the
subject, with the details of the experiment, was published in the
_Philosophical Magazine_, and also in the _Proceedings_ of the Society
for Psychical Research (Vol. I.).
* * * * *
TO PROF. BARRETT
_Rosehill, Dorking, December 18, 1876._
My dear Prof. Barrett,-- ... I see you are to lecture at South
Kensington the end of this month (I think), and if you can spare time to
run down here and stay a night or two we shall be much pleased to see
you, and I shall be greatly interested to have a talk on the subject of
your paper, and hear what further evidence you have obtained. I want
particularly to ask you to take advantage of any opportunity that you
may have to test the power of sensitives to see the "flames" from
magnets and crystals, as also to _feel_ the influence from them. This is
surely a matter easily tested and settled. I consider it has been tested
and settled by Reichenbach, but he is ignored, and a fresh proof of this
one fact, by indisputable tests, is much needed; and a paper describing
such tests and proofs would I imagine be admitted into the _Proceedings_
of any suitable society.
You will have heard no doubt of the Treasury having taken up the
prosecution of Slade. Massey the barrister, one of the most intelligent
and able of the Spiritualists (whose accession to the cause is due, I am
glad to say, to my article in the _Fortnightly_), proposes a memorial
and deputation to the Government protesting against this prosecution by
the Treasury on the ground that it implies that Slade is an habitual
impostor and nothing else, and that in face of the body of evidence to
the contrary, it is an uncalled-for interference with the private right
of investigation into these subjects. On such general grounds as these I
sincerely hope you will give your name to the memorial....--Yours very
faithfully,
A.R. WALLACE. TO PROF. BARRETT
_Rosehill, Dorking. December 9, 1877._
My dear Barrett,--I am always glad when a man I like and respect treats
me as a friend. I am advised by other friends also not to waste more
time on Dr. C. [Carpenter], and I do not think I shall answer him again,
except perhaps to keep him to certain points, as in my letter in the
last _Nature_. In a proof of his new edition of "Lectures" I see he
challenges me to produce a person who can detect by light or sensation
when an electro-magnet is made and unmade. The Association of
Spiritualists are going to experiment, as Dr. C. offers to pay £30 if it
succeeds. Should you have an opportunity of trying with any persons, and
can find one who sees or feels the influence strongly, it might be worth
while to send him to London, as nothing would tend to lower Dr. C. in
public estimation on this subject more than his being forced to
acknowledge that what he has for more than thirty years declared to be
purely subjective is after all an objective phenomenon.
I never had anything to do with showing or sending a medium to Huxley.
He must refer to his séance a few months ago with Mrs. Kane and Mrs.
Jencken (along with Carpenter and Tyndall), when ... nothing but raps
occurred....--Yours very faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
The British Association met in Dublin in 1878, and Prof. Barrett asked
Wallace to stay with him at Kingstown, or, if he preferred being nearer
the meetings, with a friend in Dublin. Earlier in the year Mr. Huggins,
afterwards Sir W. Huggins, O.M. and President of the Royal Society, had
sent Prof. Barrett a very beautifully executed drawing of the knots tied
in an endless cord during the remarkable sittings Prof. Zöllner had with
the medium Slade. Sir W. Huggins invited Prof. Barrett to come and see
him at his observatory at Tulse Hill, near London, and there he met
Wallace and discussed the whole matter. It may not be generally known
that so careful and accurate an observer as Sir W. Huggins was convinced
of the genuineness of the phenomena he had witnessed with Lord Dunraven
and others through the medium D.D. Home. He informed Prof. Barrett of
this himself.
TO PROF. BARRETT
_Waldron Edge, Duppas Hill, Croydon. June 27, 1873._
My dear Barrett,--The receipt of a British Association circular reminds
me of your kind invitation to stay with you or your friend at Dublin,
and as you may be wishing soon to make your arrangements I write at once
to let you know that, much to my regret, I shall not be able to come to
Dublin this year. Since I met you at Mr. Huggins's I have done nothing
myself in Spiritual investigations, but have been exceedingly interested
in the knot-tying experiment of Prof. Zöllner and the weight-varying
experiments of the Spiritualists' Association. I do not see what flaw
can be found in either of them....--Yours very faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
In the discussion on Prof. Barrett's paper at the Glasgow Meeting of the
British Association, which took place in the London _Times_ and other
newspapers, instances of apparent thought-transference were given by
many correspondents. Each of these cases Prof. Barrett investigated
personally, and one of them led to a remarkable series of experiments
which he conducted at Buxton, with the result that no doubt was left on
his mind of the fact of the transference of ideas from one mind to
another independent of the ordinary channels of sense. He asked Prof.
and Mrs. H. Sidgwick to come to Buxton and repeat his experiments with
the subjects there--daughters of a local clergyman. They did so, and
though they had less success at first than Prof. Barrett had had, they
were ultimately convinced of the genuineness of the phenomena. In
addition, Mr. Edmund Gurney, Mr. Frederic Myers, Prof. A. Hopkinson and
Prof. Balfour Stewart, all responded to Prof. Barrett's invitation to
visit Buxton and test the matter for themselves, and all came to the
same conclusion as he had. Subsequently Gurney and Myers associated
their name with Barrett's in a paper on the subject, published in the
_Nineteenth Century_.
Prof. Barrett asked Wallace to read over the first report made by Prof.
and Mrs. Sidgwick, which at first seemed somewhat disheartening, and the
following is his reply:
REMARKS ON EXPERIMENTS IN THOUGHT READING BY MR. AND MRS. SIDGWICK AT
BUXTON
The failure of so many of these experiments seems to me to depend on
their having been conducted without any knowledge of the main
peculiarity of thought reading or clairvoyance--that it is a perception
of the object thought of or hidden, not by its name, or even by its sum
total of distinctive qualities, but by the simple qualities separately.
A clairvoyant will perceive a thing as round, then as yellow, and
finally as an orange. Now Mr. Galton's experiments have shown how
various are the powers of visualising objects possessed by different
persons, and how distinct their modes of doing so; and if these distinct
visualisations of the same thing are in any way presented to a
clairvoyant, there is little wonder that some confusion should result.
This would suggest that one person who possesses the faculty of clearly
visualising objects would meet with more success than a number of
persons some of whom visualise one portion or quality of the object,
some another, while to others the name alone is present to the mind. It
follows from these considerations that cards are bad for such
experiments. The qualities of number, colour, form and arrangement may
be severally most prominent in one mind or other, and the result is
confusion to the thought reader. This is shown in the experiments by the
number of pips or the suit alone being often right.
It must also be remembered that children have not the same thorough
knowledge of the names of the cards that we have, nor can they so
rapidly and certainly count their numbers. This introduces another
source of uncertainty which should be avoided in such experiments as
these.
The same thing is still more clearly shown by the way in which objects
are guessed by some prominent quality or resemblance, not by any
likeness of name--as poker guessed for walking-stick, fork for pipe,
something iron for knife, etc. And the total failure in the case of
names of towns is clearly explained by the fact that these would convey
no distinct idea or concrete image that could be easily described. These
last failures really give an important clue to the nature of the faculty
that is being investigated, since they show that it is not _words_ or
_names_ that are read but thoughts or images that are perceived, and the
certainty of the perception will depend upon the simple character of
these images and the clearness and identity of the perception of them by
the different persons present.
If these considerations are always kept in view, I feel sure that the
experiments will be far more successful.
ALFRED E. WALLACE.
Sept. 6, 1881.
* * * * *
Wallace's remarkable gifts as a lecturer are less widely known than his
lucid and admirable style as a writer. Though Sir Wm. Barrett has heard
a great number of eminent scientific men lecture, he considers that few
could approach him for the simplicity, clearness and vigour of his
exposition, which commanded the unflagging attention of every one of his
hearers. Mr. Frederic Myers, no mean judge of literary merit, once said
he thought Wallace one of the most lucid English writers and lecturers
of his time. Prof. Barrett was anxious to induce Wallace to lecture in
Dublin, and brought the matter before the Science Committee of the Royal
Dublin Society, which arranges a course of afternoon lectures by
distinguished men every spring. The Committee cordially supported the
suggestion that Wallace should be invited to lecture, and the invitation
was accepted. During his visit to Dublin, Wallace stayed with Prof.
Barrett at Kingstown, and was busily engaged in revising the
proof-sheets of his book on "Land Nationalisation" (1882).
In "My Life" (Vol. II., p. 334) Wallace says that among the eminent men
whose "first acquaintance and valued friendship" he owed to a common
interest in Spiritualism was Frederic Myers, whom he met first at some
séances in London about the year 1878.
* * * * *
F.W.H. MYERS TO A.R. WALLACE
_Leckhampton House, Cambridge. April 12, 1890._
My dear Wallace,--I will read your pamphlet[61] most carefully; will
write and tell you how it affects me; and will in any case send it on
with your letter and a letter of my own to Sir John Gorst, whom I know
well, and whom I agree with you in regarding as the most acceptable
member of the Government.
If I am converted, it will be wholly _your_ doing. I have read much on
the subject--Creighton, etc., and am at present strongly
pro-vaccination; at the same time, there is no one by whom I would more
willingly be converted than yourself.
I am glad to take this opportunity of telling you something about my
relation to one of your books. I write now from bed, having had some
influenzic pneumonia, now going off. For some days my temperature was
105 and I was very restless at night, anxious to read, but in too
sensitive and fastidious a state to tolerate almost any book. I found
that almost the only book which I could read was your "Malay
Archipelago" (of course I had read it before). In spite of my complete
ignorance of natural history there was a certain charm about the book,
both moral and literary, which made it deeply congenial in those trying
hours. You have had few less instructed readers, but very few can have
dwelt on that simple manly record with a more profound sympathy.
I want to bespeak you as a _friend at court_. When we get into the next
world, I beg you to remember me and say a good word for me when you can,
as you will have much influence there.
To me it seems that Hodgson's report[62] is the _best_ thing which we
have yet published. I trust that it impresses you equally. It has
converted _Podmore_ amongst other people!
I will, then, write again soon, and I am yours most truly,
F.W.H. MYERS.
* * * * *
TO MRS. FISHER (_née_ BUCKLEY)
_Parkstone, Dorset. January 4, 1896._
My dear Mrs. Fisher,--I am glad to hear that you are going on with your
book. I am sure it will be a comfort to you. I have read one book of
Hudson's--"A Scientific Demonstration of a Future Life," and that is so
pretentious, so unscientific, and so one-sided that I do not feel
inclined to read more of the same author's work. I do not think I
mentioned to you (as I thought you did not read much now) a really fine
and original work, called "Psychic Philosophy, a Religion of Natural
Law," by Desertis (Redway). I should like to know if, after reading
that, you still think Hudson's books worth reading. I have been much
pleased and interested lately in reading Mark Twain's, Mrs. Oliphant's
and Andrew Lang's books about Joan of Arc. The last two are far the
best, Mrs. Oliphant's as a genuine sympathetic _history_, Lang's as a
fine realistic story ("A Monk of Fife"). Jeanne was really perhaps the
most beautiful character in authentic history, and the one that most
conclusively demonstrates spirit-guidance, and both Mrs. Oliphant and A.
Lang bring this out admirably.... --Yours very faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MRS. FISHER
_Parkstone, Dorset. September 14, 1896._
My dear Mrs. Fisher,--I have much pleasure in signing your application
for the Psychical Research Society, though the majority of the active
members are so absurdly and illogically sceptical that you will not find
much instruction in their sayings. Mr. Podmore's report in the
last-issued _Proceedings_ is a good illustration....
We have all been in Switzerland this year. Violet, her mother, and five
lady friends all went together to a rather newly-discovered place,
Adelboden, a branch valley from that going up to the Gemmi Pass by
Kandersteg. I went first for a week to Davos, to give a lecture to Dr.
Lunn's party, and enjoyed myself much, chiefly owing to the company of
Rev. Hugh Price Hughes, one of the most witty, earnest, advanced, and
estimable men I have ever met. Dr. Lunn himself is very jolly, and we
had also Mr. Le Gallienne, the poet and critic, and between them we had
a very brilliant table-talk. Mr. Haweis was also there, and one
afternoon he and I talked for two hours about Spiritualism. He is a
thorough spiritualist, and preaches it....--Yours very sincerely,
ALFRED R. WALLACE. TO MRS. FISHER
_Parkstone, Dorset. April 9, 1897._
My dear Mrs. Fisher,--I have tried several Reincarnation and
Theosophical books, but _cannot_ read them or take any interest in them.
They are so purely imaginative, and do not seem to me rational. Many
people are captivated by it--I think most people who like a grand,
strange, complex theory of man and nature, given with authority--people
who if religious would be Roman Catholics. Crookes gave a suggestive and
interesting, but in some ways rather misleading address as President of
the Psychical Research Society. I liked Oliver Lodge's address to the
Spiritualists' Association better....--Yours very sincerely,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
In 1891, at the urgent request of Prof. H. Sidgwick, President of the
Society for Psychical Research, Prof. Barrett undertook, with
considerable reluctance, to make a thorough examination of the subject
of "dowsing" for water and minerals by means of the so-called "divining
rod." At the time he fully believed that a critical inquiry of this kind
would speedily show all the alleged successes of the dowser to be due
either to fraud or a sharp eye for the ground. As the inquiry went on,
to his surprise he found that neither chicanery, nor clever guessing,
nor local knowledge, nor chance coincidence could explain away the
accumulated evidence, but that something new to science was really at
the root of the matter. This result was so startling that Prof. Barrett
had to pursue the investigation for six years before venturing to
publish his first report, which appeared in the _Proceedings_ of the
Society for Psychical Research, Part xxxii., 1897. This was followed by
a second report published some years later, in which he gave a fresh
body of evidence on the criticisms of some eminent geologists to whom he
had submitted the evidence. The reports were reviewed in _Nature_ with
considerable severity, and some erroneous statements were made, to
which Prof. Barrett replied. The editor, Sir Norman Lockyer, at first
declined to publish Prof. Barrett's reply, and to this Wallace refers in
the following letter.
* * * * *
TO PROF. BARRETT
_Parkstone, Dorset. October 30, 1899._
My dear Barrett,-- ... Apropos of _Nature_, they never gave a word of
notice to my book[63]--probably they would say out of kindness to myself
as one of their oldest contributors, since they would have had to
scarify me, especially as regards the huge Vaccination chapter, which is
nevertheless about the most demonstrative bit of work I have done. I
begged Myers--as a personal favour--to read it. He told me he firmly
believed in vaccination, but would do so, and afterwards wrote me that
he could see no answer to it, and if there was none he was converted.
There certainly has been not a tittle of answer except abuse.
I am glad you brought Lockyer up sharp in his attempt to refuse you the
right to reply. I am glad you now have some personal observations to
adduce. I hope persons or corporations who are going to employ a dowser
will now advise you so that you may be present....--Yours very
faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO PROF. BARRETT
_Parkstone, Dorset. December 24, 1900._
My dear Barrett,-- ... I have read your very interesting paper on the
divining rod, and the additional evidence you now send. Of course, I
think it absolutely conclusive, but there are many points on which I
differ from your conclusions and remarks, which I think are often unfair
to the dowsers. I will just refer to one or two. At p. 176 (note) you
call the idea of there being a "spring-head" at a particular point
"absurd." But instead of being absurd it is a _fact_, proved not only by
numerous cases you have given of strong springs being found quite near
to weak springs a few yards off, but by all the phenomena of mineral and
hot springs. Near together, as at Bath, hot springs and cold springs
rise to the surface, and springs of different quality at Harrogate, yet
each keeps its distinct character, showing that each rises from a great
depth without any lateral diffusion or intermixture. This is a common
phenomenon all over the world, the dowsers' facts support it, geologists
know all about it, yet I presume they have told you that when a dowser
states this fact it ceases to be a fact and becomes an absurdity!
The only other point I have time to notice is your Sect. II. (p. 285).
You head this, "Evidence that the Motion of the Rod is due to
Unconscious Muscular Action." Naturally I read this with the greatest
interest, but found to my astonishment that you adduce no evidence at
all, but only opinions of various people, and positive assertions that
such is the case! Now as I _know_ that motions of various objects occur
without any muscular action, or even any contact whatever, while Crookes
has proved this by careful experiments which have never been refuted,
what _improbability_ is there that this should be such a case, and what
is the value of these positive assertions which you quote as "evidence"?
And at p. 286 you quote the person who says the more he tried to prevent
the stick's turning the more it turned, as _evidence_ in favour of
muscular action, without a word of explanation. Another man (p. 287)
says he "could not restrain it." None of the "trained anatomists" you
quote give a particle of _proof_, only positive opinion, that it must be
muscular action--simply because they do not believe any other action
possible. Their evidence is just as valueless as that of the people who
say that all thought-transference is collusion or imposture!
I do not say that it is not "muscular action," though I believe it is
not always so, but I do say that you have as yet given not a particle of
proof that it is so, while scattered through your paper is plenty of
evidence which points to its being something quite different. Such are
the cases when people hold the rod for the first time and have never
seen a dowser work, yet the rod turns, over water, to their great
astonishment, etc. etc.
Your conclusion that it is "clairvoyance" is a good provisional
conclusion, but till we know what clairvoyance really is it explains
nothing, and is merely another way of stating the _fact_.
I believe all true clairvoyance to be spirit impression, and that all
true dowsing is the same--that is, when in either case it cannot be
thought-transference, but even this I believe to be also, for the most
part, if not wholly, spirit impression.--Believe me yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO PROF. BARRETT
_Parkstone, Dorset. February 17, 1901._
My dear Barrett,--I am rather sorry you wrote to any one of the Society
for Psychical Research people about my being asked to be President,
because I should certainly feel compelled to decline it. I never go,
willingly, to London now, and should never attend meetings, so pray say
no more about it. Besides, I am so widely known as a "crank" and a
"faddist" that my being President would injure the Society, as much as
Lord Rayleigh would benefit it, so pray do not put any obstacle in _his_
way, though of course there is no necessity to beg him as a favour to
be the successor of Sidgwick, Crookes and Myers....
* * * * *
TO REV. J.B. HENDERSON
_Parkstone, Dorset. August 10, 1893._
Dear Sir,--Although I look upon Christianity as originating in an
unusual spiritual influx, I am not disposed to consider [it] as
_essentially_ different from those which originated other great
religious and philanthropic movements. It is probable that in _your_
sense of the word I am not a Christian.--Believe me yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MR. J.W. MARSHALL
_Parkstone, Dorset. March 6, 1894._
My dear Marshall,--We were very much grieved to hear of your sad loss in
a letter from Violet. Pray accept our sincere sympathy for Mrs. Marshall
and yourself.
Death makes us feel, in a way nothing else can do, the mystery of the
universe. Last autumn I lost my sister, and she was the only relative I
have been with at the last. For the moment it seems unnatural and
incredible that the living self with its special idiosyncrasies you have
known so long can have left the body, still more unnatural that it
should (as so many now believe) have utterly ceased to exist and become
nothingness!
With all my belief in, and knowledge of, Spiritualism, I have, however,
occasional qualms of doubt, the remnants of my original deeply ingrained
scepticism; but my reason goes to support the psychical and
spiritualistic phenomena in telling me that there _must_ be a hereafter
for us all....--Believe me yours very sincerely,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO DR. EDWIN SMITH
_Parkstone, Dorset. October 19, 1899._
Dear Sir,--I know nothing of London mediums now. Nine-tenths of the
alleged frauds in mediums arise from the ignorance of the sitters. The
only way to gain any real knowledge of spiritualistic phenomena is to
follow the course pursued in all science--study the elements before
going to the higher branches. To expect proof of materialisation before
being satisfied of the reality of such simpler phenomena as raps,
movements of various objects, etc. etc., is as if a person began
chemistry by trying to analyse the more complex vegetable products
before he knew the composition of water and the simplest salts.
If you want to _know_ anything about Spiritualism you should experiment
yourself with a select party of earnest inquirers--personal friends.
When you have thus satisfied yourself of the existence of a considerable
range of the physical phenomena and of many of the obscurities and
difficulties of the inquiry, you may use the services of public mediums,
without the certainty of imputing every little apparent suspicious
circumstance to trickery, since you will have seen similar suspicious
facts in your private circle where you _knew_ there was no trickery. You
will find rules for forming private circles in some issues of _Light_.
You can get them from the office of _Light_.--Yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
PROF. BARRETT TO A.R. WALLACE
_6 De Vesci Terrace, Kingstown, Co. Dublin. November 3, 1905._
My dear Wallace,-- ... Just now I am engaged in a correspondence with
the Secretaries of the Society for Psychical Research on the question of
the Presidency for next year. I maintain that as a matter of duty to
the Society you should be asked to accept the Presidency, though of
course it would be impossible for you to be much more than an Honorary
President, as we could not expect you often to come to London. I am
anxious that in our records for future reference your Presidency should
appear.... Podmore, who is proposed as President, represents the
attitude of resolute incredulity, and I consider this line of action has
been to some extent injurious to the S.P.R. Crookes supported my
proposal, and so did Lodge, and so would Myers if he had lived. All this
is of course between ourselves....
I have a vast amount of material unpublished on "dowsing" and am
convinced the explanation is subconscious clairvoyance....--Yours very
sincerely,
W.F. BARRETT.
* * * * *
TO MRS. FISHER
_Broadstone, Wimborne. April 20, 1906._
My dear Mrs. Fisher,--If you mean "honest" by "thoroughly reliable,"
there are plenty of such mediums, but if you mean those who give equally
good results always, and to all persons, I should say there are none....
I am reading Herbert Spencer's "Autobiography" (just finished Vol. I.).
I find it very interesting, though tedious in parts. I am glad I did not
read it before I wrote mine. He certainly brings out his own character
most strikingly, and a wonderful character it was. How extraordinarily
little he owed either to teaching or to reading! I think he is best
described as a "reasoning genius."--Yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
LORD AVEBURY TO A.R. WALLACE
_48 Grosvenor Street, W. May 1, 1910._
My dear Wallace,--I have been reading your biography with great
interest. It must be a source of very pleasant memories to you to look
back and feel how much you have accomplished.
It surprises me, however, how much we differ, and it is another
illustration of the problems [?] of our (or rather I should say of my)
intellect.
In some cases, indeed, the difference is as to facts.
You would, I am sure, for instance, find that you have been misinformed
as to "thousands of dogs" being vivisected annually (p. 392).... As to
Spiritualism, my difficulty is that nothing comes of it. What has been
gained by your séances, compared to your studies?
I see you have a kindly reference to our parties at High Elms in old
days, on which I often look back with much pleasure, but much regret
also.
If you would give us the pleasure of another visit, _do_ propose
yourself, and you will have a very hearty welcome from yours very
sincerely,
AVEBURY.
* * * * *
A lecture delivered by Prof. Barrett before the Quest Society in London,
entitled "Creative Thought," was published by request, and as it
discussed the subject of evolution and the impossibility of explaining
the phenomena of life without a supreme Directing and Formative Force
behind all the manifestations of life, he was anxious to have Wallace's
criticisms. At that time he had not read Wallace's recently published
work on a similar subject, and he was greatly surprised to find how
closely his views agreed with those of the great naturalist.
TO PROF. BARRETT
_Old Orchard, Broadstone, Wimborne. February 15, 1911._
My dear Barrett,--Thanks for your proofs, which I return. It is really
curious how closely your views coincide with mine, and how admirably and
clearly you have expressed them. If it were not for your adopting
throughout, as an actual fact, the (to me) erroneous theory of the
"subconscious self," I should agree with every word of it. I have put
"?" where this is prominently put forward, merely to let you know how I
totally dissent from it. To me it is pure assumption, and, besides,
proves nothing. Thanks for the flattering "Postscript," which I return
with a slight suggested alteration.
Reviews have been generally very fair, complimentary and flattering. But
to me it is very curious that even the religious reviewers seem
horrified and pained at the idea that the Infinite Being does not
actually do every detail himself, apparently leaving his angels, and
archangels, his seraphs and his messengers, which seem to exist in
myriads according to the Bible, to have no function whatever!--Yours
very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
PROF. BARRETT TO A.R. WALLACE
_6 De Vesci Terrace, Kingstown, Co. Dublin. February 18, 1911._
My dear Wallace,-- ... Thank you very much for your kind letter and
comments. I have modified somewhat the phraseology as regards the
"subliminal self." I think we really agree but use different terms.
There _is_ a hidden directive power, which works in conjunction with,
and is temporarily part of, our own conscious self; but it is below the
threshold of consciousness, or is a subliminal part of our self.
I should like to have come over to Broadstone expressly to ask your
views on the parts you queried. For I have an immense faith in the
soundness of your judgment, and in the accuracy of your views _in the
long run_.
I should like also immensely to see you again and in your lovely
home....--Yours ever sincerely,
W.F. BARRETT.
* * * * *
TO PROF. BARRETT
_Old Orchard, Broadstone, Wimborne. February 20, 1911._
My dear Barrett,--I wrote you yesterday on quite another matter, but
having yours this morning in reply to my criticisms of your Address, I
send a few lines of explanation. Most of my queries to your statements
apply solely to your expressing them so positively, as if they were
absolute certainties which no psychical researcher doubted. My main
objection to the term "subliminal self" and its various synonyms is,
that it is so dreadfully vague, and is an excuse for the assumption that
a whole series of the most mysterious of psychical phenomena are held to
be actually explained by it. Thus it is applied to explain all cases of
apparent "possession," when the alleged "secondary self" has a totally
different character, and uses the dialect of another social grade, from
the normal self, sometimes even possesses knowledge that the real self
could not have acquired, speaks a language that the normal self never
learnt. All this is, to me, the most gross travesty of science, and I
therefore object totally to the use of the term which is so vaguely and
absurdly used, and of which no clear and rational explanation has ever
been given.
You are now one of my oldest friends, and one with whom I most
sympathise; and I only regret that we have seen so little of each
other.--Yours very faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
TO MR. E. SMEDLEY
_Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. October 2, 1911._
Dear Mr. Smedley,--I am quite astonished at your wasting your money on
an advertising astrologer. In the horoscope sent you there is not a
single definite fact that would apply to you any more than to thousands
of other men. All is vague, what "might be," etc. etc. It is just
calculated to lead you on to send more money, and get in reply more
words and nothing else....--Yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
[Illustration: A.R. WALLACE ADMIRING _EREMUS ROBUSTUS_ about 1905.]