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The Ascent of Life; 
 
 OR 
 
 THE PSYCHIC LAWS AND FORCES 
 
 IN NATURE. 
 
 . BY^. 
 
 STINSON JARVIS. 
 
 »i 
 
 Author of "Oriental Travels," " Doctor Perdue," "Geoffrey Hampstead.' 
 
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 BOSTON : 
 
 Arena Publishing Company, 
 
 Copley Square. 
 
 1894. 
 

 • • ••• •• 
 
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 • • • • * ■ 
 
 CoPYniOHTBD, 1893, 
 
 By the Akbma Pubuihinu Co. 
 
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PHEFACK. 
 
 Hofon- tluH work was first printed as a scrioH of artioioH in Tlie 
 AiTtiii Ma;^;i/,iiio, it wuh MtattMJ that, with the ex<-c|iti(iii of the 
 factH (rivt'ii ill icfcronco to the incsiiH'ric evpciiiiieiits, tho text 
 was iiitciKhMJ to l»f |)iit iiilt'iidf^alivt'ly. U'hilo sii|»|ilyiiij; such 
 ju'cMtfH as w»'it' at tlic time availalilf, or iiHlicalinix the sources 
 from \vhi<'h they iiiijilit Itc prociirod, liio author dcsircil to hriiij^ 
 forward im|tortaiit siihjcctH for discussion, and that for this search 
 in an iinina|i|)ed rc^^ion the reader slioiild join both as eoni|iaiii(jii 
 and critic. 
 
 [n res|MinHe to tliis, a laiije nundier of people liavp eoniniuni- 
 oated assistiujjj facts. Their letters show that in all parts of tho 
 Ignited States and Canada individu.ils have, to some extent, 
 gained a pei,soii!il knowledge of the extraordinary huin.in faciiltiem 
 here referred to. Only three of these narratives are reproduced 
 here (Appendix "('"), hec.iiise they merely reiterate experiences 
 or experiments alreaciy de.ilt with in the te!\t; hut the receipt of 
 all this corroboration has <lone much to suggest that in the pres- 
 ent condition of modern tliui^^ht this work is not ill-timed. The 
 second publication of it is therefore issued to the public under 
 the same tcrma as the first. 
 
 New York, May, 1894. 
 
 i .tmK.u m i.- ' M i^f' » ' .mm.v 
 
, 1, 
 
 ill 
 
 
 i V, 
 
 <i ii 
 
 
 I. 
 
CONTEXTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I, 
 
 The necessity for man's further evolution. Personal experiments in 
 hypnotism. Tlieir proof of tlie existence of the liuman " soul " (?). Clair- 
 voyance carefully tested. Tlie abilities of mankind which seem as if 
 miraculous. 
 
 CHAPTEK 11. 
 
 The clairvoyant faculty a resident one. Does not travel when viewing 
 distant scenes. The dicta of Huxley and Spencer. Max Miiller regard- 
 ing the " religious f.aculty." The alliances of the animal soul with the 
 knowledge-principle of nature. Nature's methods for animal guidance, 
 and the " homing instinct," etc., explained in the wordless informations 
 and comprehensions procurable in the mesmeric processes. The practi- 
 cal uses of mesmerism. 
 
 CHAPTEB III, 
 
 DifiSculties between religion and science and the assistance rendered 
 by study of soul powers in the mesmeric processes. The necessity for 
 religious views to conform to nature. Religion opened to science; and 
 the necessity that science shall study the more hidden faculties in man. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The mesmeric processes in the domestication and taming of animals. 
 The languages wldch have no words. " Why should life ascend ?" The 
 animals' correspondence with the all-knowledge principle. The point at 
 which Darwin was halted. The ability of parental ide.-ils and desires to 
 alter form in the embryo. The imaging faculty and its extraordinary 
 powers. Nature's set types of different passions as portrayed in animal 
 forms. Alterations effected by the different passions and phases upon the 
 human countenance and form and upon generation. Collection of medi- 
 cal cases cited (see Appendix "A"), showing how the human embryo is 
 altered in shape and in every way by the presence of ideals or desires in 
 the parental mind at tlie time of generation or after conception : •bow- 
 ing also that the physical formation of children is materially altered by 
 scenes or objects viewed by the mother during tlie bearing time. The 
 same principle carried iv to the study of evolution in showing how ani- 
 mals thus develop physically and otherwise according to the mental con- 
 cepts and sexual vanities which are prevalent in the parental mind at 
 time of generation or afterwards. Why life ascends. The question of 
 Darwin's life answered. The wonderful advance which study of the 
 mesmeric processes brings to evolution. The correspondence of the 
 creature's sensorium with the knowledge-principle of nature. The word- 
 loss comprehensions of the mesmeric processes, and the knowledge which 
 is gained by the creature when its sensorium experiences a necessity. 
 Proof that the soul never forgets. 
 
II 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The "Life's" capacity for vibration. Mesmerism a mental process 
 producing unity of vibration. Tlio mesmeric vibratory processes in 
 social intercourse. Their ett'eits in unliappiness, healt'i, sympathy, jias- 
 sion ami love. Music a lauguaj^e ot tlie world of vibration. Tlie ques- 
 tion as to wlii'tlicr we were to be considered as mere automata. Consid- 
 eration of scuue peculiarities of electricity and su^Kestions derived 
 therei'rom as to the " Life." The chief natural method for sensitizinR 
 the animal human to liiglier grades. Marriage a sacrament and altera- 
 tive process of nature. Tlie mesmeric i»roces8(!S in love and marriage 
 traced, and tlieir natural uses sliown. Nature's necessity for them, in 
 the production of love and for theailvance to tliO iiigher spiritual grades. 
 The dreadful elTects of ignorance of nature. Those high grades <)f human 
 life concerning which Christ, Buddha, and spiritual men of all religions 
 agree. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Man's development into the higher life. The Buddhistic soul-science 
 considered. Advance of happiness necessitates increased capacity for 
 increased vibration. Tlie phases of the soul, each of which has its 
 speecli and expression in vibration. Music tlie language of the phases. 
 How a musi<'ian can produce any phase in his listener, and alter such 
 phases at will. Advanceil rehnement is advanced capacity for vibration, 
 whicli is — sensitization. The unhappy consequences of regarding (iotl 
 as a sort of priest. Heligion a phase, a tendency, a merging of the soul; 
 has its expression in tones rather than words. " Life," being a vibration, 
 is controlled by vibratory methods. As to observance of nature's laws, 
 ac(|uiesieuce is a song; prohibition a dirge; while refusal means despair, 
 discord, madness. The etlects of determined selection of discord instead 
 of liarmony. Suicide from unliappiness when unity of viluation with 
 nature's instructing sense of gladness is shut out. Heligion a holiness 
 without merit. Prevalent errors regarding " merit" in religion. A study 
 of the religious phase. Its necessity and reality. The teaching of each 
 individual life is an evolution of the ideals. Life, emotions rather than 
 words, is a series of happy achievements, where the soul tires in repeti- 
 tion and is thus driven to seek continuous advance. The evolution of the 
 Ideals sketched. Wrong teaching in regard to the young. Spiritual 
 anachronisms. The development of the soul through grief and sufleriug, 
 and its power for supremacy and calm. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 How the vibratory laws control. The reason of the immense delays in 
 the evolution of the higher forms of animal life and of intelligence and 
 wisdom. Without evolution the creation of intelligence is impossible 
 without miracle, which is evidently unknown. Wisdom and individuality 
 the products of nature's evolution. The God of nature the only possible 
 God. Prevalent apologies for nature and avoidance of it. The desire- 
 force of man compelling the immaterial alliances of the internal faculties 
 to produce invention. No human creativeness without passion. Buddha's 
 understanding of human nature. The extraordinary alterations and de- 
 velopment of the individuality in marriage, through the mesmeric inter- 
 change. The literal gift of soul to soul. The alterations on both sides 
 traced. Explanation cf the true cause of female degradation through 
 promiscuous associations. Nature insists that all women shall at times 
 be mesmeric patients. Oriental teaching regarding the "fantasies" of 
 life. Soul-wisdom and holiness Identical. Powers for clairvoyance and 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 UI 
 
 revelation through dealing witli one's own interior fucultics. A wonder- 
 ful (!a8c of tliis. Tlie i)iophetic power a proved reality and may lie culli- 
 vated. It need liave notliins to do witli lioliness or piety, but may lie 
 employed for evil uses, (clairvoyance and prophecy (luring; nat'uril 
 sleep. The Biblical prophecies considered under the fu'rther 11^111. The 
 power for concentration on one idea j)ossessed by the Jewish prophets. 
 The laws of music, and the passive coercion of the controlling vibratoiv 
 laws. The necessity to assist the development of one'.s own individu- 
 ality. Life, to man, a (piestion of values. Unless it gave better hai)r.i- 
 uess than all else, religion would be absurd. Heligion an emotion a 
 merging of the soul in the Great Gladness, and the acquirement of the 
 comprehensions which are outside the processes of the intellect. The 
 absurdities of intellectual entanglements which destroy happiness. Ex- 
 perimenting with cathedral music to realize the religious phase. The 
 experiment of the agnostic. The old made young again. " And the 
 unquenchable spirit will have nothing but God." 
 
 API'KNDIX "a." 
 (Reference to i>asi!» 44, 50, and others.) 
 Synopses of numerous medical cases showing the almost unlimited al- 
 terations which are caused in the human end)rvo by the mental conditions 
 of parenls:~also that the effects here illusti'ateci and proved, inlluence 
 generation throughout the animal kingdom: — and that the ev(dutiojis 
 and general advances of all animal life are thus chielly dependent on 
 the faculties for imaging, idealizing, and desiring, when these are active 
 in the parental mind. 
 
 APPENIHX " »." 
 
 (Reference to page 93 anil others.) 
 
 Cases cited where dreams were subsequently enacted during the wak- 
 ing state. References to Chapter VII. concerning the soul's ability to 
 foresee coming events. 
 
 APPENDIX "c." 
 
 Accounts of personal experiments in mesmerism, and as to the clair- 
 voyance of mesmerized patients selected from those sent in to tlie 
 author by unknown correspondents, since the first publication of this 
 work in the Arena Magazine. 
 
■r 
 
 '. I 
 
 nu ll WliNli'iTi i w i HHm ii iii ' llllli iiliiiiwil 
 
Chapter I. 
 
 Onk truth is apparent, that life, from its lowest to its 
 highest, is a succession of ascents, a succession of grades or 
 plateaux, each one iuteniiingiing with its commencing edges 
 in the plane below and with its later or upper edges merged 
 in the plane that is next above it. 
 
 To students of natural history, this is already sufficiently 
 clear. The advances from the fish to the amphibian, and 
 from this to the animal, and later on to man, besides others 
 too numerous to mention, all indicate the continuity of the 
 principle of improvement. 
 
 The question therefore arises : Is nature to be expected to 
 cease its order and sequence as soon as it lias produced the 
 human grade? If man remained exclusively an animal in 
 all his instincts and passions, the necessity for the question 
 would not be so apparent. But wlien we find in human 
 beings evidences of still higher planes of existence — which 
 alter, control, and eradicate the animal disposition — then 
 we have to consider whether nature will proceed with 
 the same sequence and order which she has exhibited 
 throughout. 
 
 What, then, is the next higher plane of life that is found 
 in us side by side with the animal? Wliat is this in us 
 which is neither fish, flesh, nor fowl? Nature keeps every 
 one interested. She has developed her silvery fish, her 
 
 1 
 
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2 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 myriad iridescent birds and l)eetles, l.er monstrous winged 
 lizards, her huge aiiinuvls, lier iiuiuisitive monkeys, and then 
 the student of herself, with a searching brain — a thing that 
 looks for God. Tlie question arises: Is she giving him 
 that which he looks for, or at least the next advance towards 
 what he seeks? We find that no living thing ot nature 
 has ever instinctively craved for anything unless it was 
 proi)er for it to do so ; and the fact is suggestive while we 
 .seek an answer to the question. There are indications that 
 nature has, for our own world, produced enough of swim- 
 ming, crawling, flying, leaping things — has dealt suthciently 
 with materials, and is now allowing man to see, partly, how 
 her processes deal with essences. Wherever there has been 
 life, .she has, from the earliest times, dealt with these. But 
 now the indications are that she is parsing, with us, to the 
 grades wherein she has less use for cumbersome machinery. 
 Man's place in nature is therefore at an interesting stage. 
 As he progresses from the physical plane into the next 
 higher grade of existence, it is clear that nature intends to 
 increase continually in beauty and charm as she leads him 
 delightedly on. . . 
 
 Most people, whether educated or not, believe in their 
 possession of souls. This belief is brought home as a truth 
 in many ways. Some seem to hold it on mere hearsay. 
 Others refuse it for equally unsubstantial reasons. ^^ 
 
 Those who claim that the soul's existence is "not proven 
 
 have a right, for themselves, to say so. This means that it 
 
 has not been proved to them. The agnostic must be taken at 
 
 his word. When he says he is ignorant in regard to certain 
 
 questions it must be accepted that he is so. On this que^ 
 
 tion, some people seem to have possessed, from childhood 
 
 upwards, such a lucidity of intelligence (coupled with natural 
 
 purity) that they have never doubted their intuitions. But 
 
 no one can be expected to form his life on other people s 
 
 intuitions; and the agnostic is, in a way, a general assistance 
 
 when he refuses to believe in any postulate, the truth ot 
 
 which has neither been realized by his intuitions nor scien- 
 
 tifically proved by experiment. , 
 
 Science has not produced this proof. The reason is clear. 
 So far as it has yet advanced, science is confined by its own 
 methods to the material. It is true that its best thinking 
 has tried to explain thought and memory. But in all its 
 
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 approiu^lit's to tl»e immati'iial it lias si<riially failed, and 
 iimst of necessity fail us loii^r as it is limited "to its luesent 
 methods. 
 
 This inability of learned men to assist and •M]\vn\ nature's 
 best develoi)ments by their scientitic thou^dit and processes 
 has had results that were both benelieial and disastrous. |{y 
 pnMlucinjr the mental attrition of the a^n; it has led to enor- 
 mously valuable resnlt.s; but, on the other hand, it has been 
 exactly what criminals desired. AlthoUf,di scic^nce has imt 
 denied some fundamental truths of reli^nons, its a,i(nostici>;m 
 has jriven opportunity to low-grade men to jumf) to the con- 
 clusion that no higher world than the animal one existed. 
 The truth is that, with its present ajjparatus, scienc(! has 
 been almost iis unequal to proving the higher grades of 
 existence as the criminals themselves were. Further lament- 
 able results followed when the above-mentioned failure 
 divorced many best of men from tliat which had been 
 formeily a part of their highest happiness. 
 
 Science makes sure as it goes. Nothing in the histoiy of 
 the world has Imjcu more useful than its inexorable demand 
 for certainty. IJut there are other methods of gaining cer- 
 tainty besides those which science has hitherto utilized. 
 Ciicumstantial evidence, wlien complete, removes doubt 
 quite as thoroughly as direct proof. lie who knows of no 
 soul has a right to demand that its existence be juv.vcd. 
 But, in the ordinary couree of nature, soul (meaning its 
 sympathies and range) is only api)reciable by soul. Tlu; dilli- 
 culty has l)een to make soul appreciable to intellect. This 
 can, to some limited extent, be done. The existence of the 
 soul, and also some of its powers, can be proved with all the 
 certainty whi(;h .science requires. For the material intellect 
 to understand, when unassisted, the range, sympathies, and 
 peculiarities of a higher plane of natuie is not "to be expected. 
 It would be like expecting a fish to understand an anqjhibian. 
 The amphibian, Iwing partly fish, might explain as best he 
 could, but liis land experiences must remain a comphite 
 blank to the fish, except in the form of almost inciedible 
 heai-say. 
 
 If, then, soul can be known to soul, Avhy has .science not 
 discovered some of the powers of one soul upon imi>ther? 
 That some individualities influence otheis is believed l)v 
 many, and to be expected by all. But how to place the soul 
 
T 
 
 I I'l. 
 
 ' ^i 
 
 4 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 in position to subject it to scieiitilic examination has been a 
 tUnieulty. The strangely frrotescjue visions ot the ligliter 
 forms of sleep cannot l)e classilietl In^cause we do not umler- 
 stand the extent to which the soul, with its marvellous 
 lowers for knowing, is being liberated. The vagaries pro- 
 duced by automatic brain sensations during incomplete sleep 
 are evidently of no importance, and merely resemble or 
 reproduce with exaggeration the more prevalent thoughts 
 of waking moments. Hut there is a depth of sleep at which, 
 when reached, strange things happen. Perhaps all people 
 have had sufficient pei-sonal experience of this to provoke 
 inquiry. If, therefore, the deepest of all sleeps can be artih- 
 cially produced, we then have the human soul in such a con- 
 dition that at least some of its powei-s may l)e scientilically 
 inquired into. It must tell of itself through the mouth 
 of its possessor. , . . . i 
 
 There have already been many investigations into i)lie- 
 nomena of this kind. Hut, except in France, the results 
 have been unsatisfactory. There are at least three grades ot 
 mesmeric sleep; and while a patient may converse readily, he 
 may be in one of the less profound degrees of sleep, in which 
 the greatest intelligence is not shown. In the presence of a 
 party of curious and perhaps tiilkative scientists with whom 
 the patient had no habit of sympathy, he would naturally 
 retain certain degrees of that protective alertness which m 
 the lighter grades of sleep is ready to awake us when any- 
 thing unusual occui-s. This alertness during sleep is present 
 and on watch, with human beings, especially women, and 
 with all animals, especially the more timid, when the faculty 
 has not been obscured by overeating or the like. In experi- 
 ments such as above mentioned it might, in cases where 
 women are the patients, prove a barrier to the most success- 
 ful results when sympathies and confidences have not been 
 
 established. • i. i- „ 
 
 Any results from experiment which are more instructive 
 than those obtainable in crowded drawingrooms can only 
 be arrived at when the patient has unlimited confidence in 
 the actuator and is entirely willing to trust him with soul, 
 will, and even life itself. In such ease the interior pro- 
 tective alertness is dispensed with by the will of the patient. 
 But the slightest timidity, or what is called " nervousness, 
 at the presence of unknown strangei-s and antipathetic mdi- 
 
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 viclualitics, would, I iinatjiiic, have its ctTfct. Coiiscviucntlv 
 till) ii(!tU!itnr may i)nKliici' ii <rvMlv (tf sice;, anil cuiitnil 
 tli()iit,'lit ami remove the upiK'aniiico (»f IxMiijf awake, and yet 
 — end at tliis. Tims Ik; doi.'s not pnidnee in the patii-nt 
 that deeper j^nude of sleej) in which tin- soul wilh its wonder- 
 ful attributes may he incjuired into. And this condition 
 cannot he arrived at unless holh the hody and its immaterial 
 keeper are completely in the power of the actuator. 
 
 Space is heie devoted to explainino- why some sciiMitists 
 have failed to discover in mesmerism as much as has heeii 
 claimed for it; thouji-h it must he rememheri'd that most of 
 the phenomena meiitione<l in this work have for yeais heeii 
 known to the scientists of Paris. An iiivesti<,'atioii was held 
 at Edinhurtfh, and the men enjTaned in it were skilled in 
 .scieutillc and material methods. The class of experiments 
 were of the simplest, such as beginners try, and in their 
 report they in some way attributed what they saw to the 
 effect of "suggestion" on the mind of the patient. Any 
 one who has gone far in mesmeric experinumts nuist regrdt 
 that these investigations were not more satisfactory. 
 
 But what is this process in natiu-e called mesmerism or 
 hypnotism? To say it is the effect of soul upon soul or 
 mind upon mind tells but little. We lind it in avMy condi- 
 tion of human intercourse. In business, in i)reaciiing, in 
 the social life, and throughout the animal kingdom it is 
 everywhere present. We are all mesnierizers ; though the 
 majorities are better adapted, through comparative weakness 
 of individuality, to be patients rather than performers. 
 Those who are powerful of will and soul rule, in a word- 
 less but thoroughly compelling way. The majorities know 
 their superiors and are ruled. 
 
 One paragrai)h on drawingroom phenomena may l)e 
 inserted, even though the reader may have witnessed them 
 often. Two people of strong will-power secretly preariange 
 some simple act for the patient to jierform. They then place 
 their hands on the shoulders of a third person who is (piite 
 ready to submit to the silent influence. If the two perform- 
 ei-s concentrate their will-power in coercing the patient 
 towaicls doing what was prearranged, she will soon move 
 forward as if of her own volition and obey the silent direc- 
 tion. This simple experiment is mentioned because it illus- 
 trates the fii'st uses of a power which, if increased, will 
 
TIIK AMCKNT OK LIFK. 
 
 
 
 jiroduce what appears to Ix) alui'i*, ivnd all grades of sleep, 
 even to tlie traiut'. It is also ineiitioiuid Ix-iause it places 
 before those wlio know nothing of mesmerism a simple form 
 of it, regarding wliieh all parties ean satisfy themselves liy 
 trial. And it is of imporUmce that everybody sbonld be 
 convineed of the reality of at least a few eft'eets of will- 
 power, because witiiont some acciuaintanee with it^s subtle 
 and silent influences the largest part of human life is 
 inexplicable and chaotic. Julius Cjesar, Honaparte, His- 
 marck — no commander of men can 1h' uudei-stood without 
 it. The necessity of tiie knowledge, for pei'sonal safety, and 
 in unnumlwred other ways, cannot Im too strongly urged; 
 and this little drawingroom performance scientifically proves 
 a great truth — that human beings may Ihj coerced into per- 
 fornung an infinite nund)er of acts by the unspoken direction 
 and command of other people's wills. 
 
 And if the experiment be carried a sUige further, that is 
 to say, after the vibratory sympathies are thus first thor- 
 oughly established and the mind of the i)atient has become 
 entirely submissive and trustful, iben the performei-s, or 
 rather the actuatoi-s, may find thai ihey can exercise their 
 wills with the same effects on the patient from a distance. 
 
 It will be seen that no attempt is made to explain these 
 things at this stage of the work. Some facts, effects, and 
 results nuist first Ihj given, and then the reader can see the 
 deductions to Ihj made therefrom. 
 
 Such words as " mesmerism " and others are used merely 
 to explain intended meanings to readei's. Except for this 
 [)urpose, they are misapplied. It has l)een proved that the 
 power here referred to has nothing to do with magnets or 
 magnetizing, which words originated in one of Mesmer's im- 
 postures. Yet the word " mesmerism " is used, instead t)f 
 hypnotism, etc., because it gives more people an idea of what 
 is meant. Unusual words make difficult reading, and the 
 attempt here is to render the subject as clear as possible. So 
 much will l)e difficult to believe, that to imjjose an unneces- 
 sary tax would be a mistake. Readers are invited to come 
 as fellow searchers into a region which is so trackless and so 
 little reduced to the geography of thought that it is here 
 approached with diffidence and sense of solitude. It is 
 probal)le that those who have experienced a lifelong hunger 
 for knowledge will agree that the urgency of our necessities 
 
 11 
 
 -«».v-JSS«.*t»eS&lSJS««!a(B»>ss*r-J«.ii^\r«»tSSS5j«»Si^ 
 
TMK ASCKNT OK l-IFK. 
 
 prevents m frnin niiicli foiisidciiiijr (lie sonm" of our knowl- 
 »Mljr,, so loiijj iiH kiiowlcdjre cnmcs. Kxc«'|.t lis to tho fiictw of 
 till! writer's oxpcriimMits, this work must lie uiidei-stooil t<i Iw 
 |»ut interrogatively, ami solely as an ajipeal to the reader's 
 sense of the prolwible. That which leaps into the heart as a 
 truth will there create its own dogma; and this it the only 
 kind of dogma which is desired. 
 
 No one regards the toaeliings of science regarding man, 
 togetljer with his religions, the histories of his developing 
 moralities and the progress of civilization, without Iwing 
 oppressed, at the end of it all, hy the sense of how little 
 one knows. Kxcept hy the scientists of I'aris, hypnotism 
 hius been so denounced as a delusion that this chapter must 
 face a great deal of prejudice. All that can he said is that 
 if any one practises the same experimiiuts as here shown he, 
 too, will necessarily have sulliiuent faith to removo at least 
 his own mountains of prejudice. 
 
 It has taken the writer many yeai-s to muster sufficient 
 courage to face in public print this overwhelming prejudice. 
 He has not l)een exceedingly biave over it. Ever since the . 
 first discoveries the knowledge has been continually added ' 
 to — not by further experiments (except in one case), but 
 owing to the fact that an insight into some of the more or 
 less hidden processes of nature explains an extraordinarily 
 large number of human affairs, and has thus assisted in 
 revealing many peculiarities of life which are elsewhere 
 referred to in this work. 
 
 Another impediment to earlier publication will be readily 
 underatood. The experiments were chiefly impromptu — 
 resulting, usually, from conversation on the subject and the 
 curiosity of the patient leading towards a desire for trial. 
 F]xcei)ting the masculine patients, these were ladies of 
 refinement and social position ; so that the writer felt unable 
 to produce testimony in support of his own. The inability 
 to give the names of patients might, to outsiders, suggest 
 deception. This, however, has been in part remedied by late 
 correspondence. If satisfied that it is in any way necessary 
 for scientific reasons, one, and perhaps two, who assisted 
 towards the most advanced phenomena will corroborate the 
 statements as to the experiments, over their own signatures. 
 This is mentioned merely to show that, if necessary, further 
 proof can be given. 
 
8 
 
 Till*. AS«'KN"r OF MKK. 
 
 WliiUi uii«U'istiiiMliii<,' tl'i^ <liniciilty, tlio ivikUt will iilsi. 
 trl.Mii tliiil llioiv is niiiili I'oivf ill tlu' «l<'«iri* to ii'wr (lu- 
 ivsiilis nf tlifs." cxiK-riiiu'iils. Till! I'xt iiinnliiiiU v tiullis m- 
 V(.lvt<l ill tlif <lis.»)Vfrii-.s liiivt- uiKi^'l 'i" «'Vii.si<.ii t.l' obwliU'lfH 
 wiiiili woiiltl l)lnik pnigri'ss to tlio ik-Miml end. 
 
 Tlif following iwit'il «''' t''*' 'nHl'o''" oxiK-riiiiciils will l>«' 
 i.mdr ill the liist poison. It will Hound t..o t.f,'oislic ; l.iit to 
 deal Willi iiiiiny [lU^'eH of exiu'iiinunt in any otlii-r way would 
 
 sftiii strained. , 
 
 Aiiioii^' my Ihst cxiK-rinu-nts was thai one in wliicli a 
 ftJi'lain law i'.lriU was tlio [.aru'iit. Ho w as (.f a kind <lis- 
 uositioii, very li(»iu-st, and possfssinn a tasU- tor music. Il»- 
 was wiitin^r, ,„ic day, about i'iKl't fi't't from uw. 1 sat 
 Loliiiid him ami partly t.. oiio side. Tlie idea canui to nic to 
 sec what could he accomplished without contact. I eoiiceii- 
 fatcd my will oil making him stop writing. After a Ko"d 
 deal of elTort on my part he hiid his pen (h.wn helore hiui 
 an.l sat hu.kint? at the paper. He did it so naturally - as il 
 ho were tired' writing— that I thouKht it a mere coiuci- 
 .h'Mce. Then I silently ordered him to contiiiuo writing. 
 lie did so. And then I seesawed him, each way, hall a 
 do/cn times, niilil there could he no dimbt he was oheyiiiK 
 inc, thou.irli slowly. I afterwards explained what I had been 
 doiiiL', and he was interested. 
 
 Subsequently we had a number of different trnds. Ajipar- 
 entlv he never passed into the deepest sleei), though not 
 ivmiiiniii'T fully awake. His eyes usually remained i.artly 
 open, and he seemed to be in one of those half-way conditmiis 
 such as those to which I have previously referred. In tlii.s 
 phase lu! readily took the impressions of my own mind and 
 .oiild witiujss any scene I memori/.cd. In one of the ui)p(!r 
 rooms of the oliices we met, by appointment, on Sumhiy 
 afternoon. Here, when he was under the intluence, I W(.uld 
 show him various scenes in foreiKH countries. I took liim 
 through E-rvi.l, Syria, Athens, Rome, etc. 
 
 As to this patient, I have no means of knowing whether 
 or not he was actually clairvoyant as in the cases oj other 
 patients. My method was simi.ly to say, " What do you 
 sec'" repeatedly, until he commenced to describe the scene 
 I had lixcd my 'mind on. And yet ho often saw more than 
 J saw or was thinking of. For instance, when I was bring- 
 
 Vl 
 
THK AsrKNT n|." f.Ili; 
 
 
 
 iiif» In luH view lilt' oln-liNk in front ol' '^l. rctci's nt K'nnii'. 
 
 Ili^ cnmniflU'iMl Witll :l »K'srHli||Mi| nl' llu' ;,'rrilt (i\iil llltilili' III 
 
 |iilliif,s wlui }i siirnKiiids (|)»f pia/./.;t in I'roiit of llu- (■iillnilnil. 
 I was Htmrk in tliis, U'i'iuimc I was not tliiiikiiiL,' ol" tlicsi^ 
 [lillius hill only (ti tlio i)l)eli«k Itxolfj Ilowt'Vt'r, my niin<l 
 may, unconsiioiisly to mysi'lf, liavc taken in tlif pillars also; 
 jnst lis a spoctator in xifii would wliilc viewing,' tin' olicliNk 
 almost nocussiirily iiifliuU) somo tif tliese in iiis view. 
 
 It was inhiit'slin^' I'or hotli of ns. I liinj a t|nanlily of 
 |ilioto^raplis with me, ami wlnii I ronscd liim aflir cacli 
 nxporimcnt he wonid run over the pirtnns nnlil lie ( ainc lo 
 tlio sccno lut liad witnessed, when lie would immediately 
 reeo^ni/,(! it and hand it to me. It will lie reeolleeted that 
 there wero no words used on my part exeepL my ont- <inestion, 
 " What di) yon see ? "' 
 
 in early i)oyhood I was mneh taxed liy that hihlieal story 
 of Christ lu'lufr taken to iiii cxeeedinj^ hit;h mountain hy the 
 devil and heinir shown all the kine'doms of the earlh. lint 
 now I found that I eould do sonu'thin^f similar myself. My 
 patients were almost as pleased as if I had taken them hodily 
 to the foreii^n sceiuis. I (h'vised the experiments with the" 
 photojfrapliH in order lo provide a eertain amount of proof of 
 what the patient saw; Iteeause, until then, I eould not he 
 sure that he was not deserihini,' scenes in woids tliat my own 
 eon(;entralion in sonni way forced. His n coirnition, after- 
 wards, of the photoj^raphs ideared any douht on this point; 
 lhoii<fh, as to this particular patient, I am not prepared to 
 say that lie witnessed anything' more than was in my own 
 tniud. He may not have heeii in a sutlicic^iitly deep sleep to 
 l)o what is called clairvoyant, hut perhaps inercdy in that 
 condition in which minds can 1h! read. The ])liase was evi- 
 dently similar to that exliiltile(l l»y tlit; widely known and 
 proved ex[»erimeiits of Mr. Stuart Cumherlaiid, who pos- 
 scssimI the faculty of puttinjf himself, while awake, into a 
 condition in which he discerned the whereahouts of an ohji'ct 
 U|)OU which a spectator lixed his mind. 
 
 Hut whether the cl(Mk was or was not clairvoyant (in 
 ways subsequently described), matters litlh^ for this experi- 
 ment. That is to say, wliether he saw the actual scenes or 
 whether he saw them only in my memory, a marvellous facit 
 is disclosed — namely, that there is a power within us which 
 is capable of knowiug not only the wishes of others but 
 
 • jfeiaMiiK8iiam.^^rie^M4MA«ta^sgg;a!^ " 
 
10 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 also of viewing any scene wliich is in tlie actuator's mind ; 
 also, that tliis power is capable of establisiiing a mental 
 correspondence betwoen human beings in which words are 
 inineeessary. 
 
 Now the reader will see, after a moment's thought, that 
 the necessary outcomes of this extraordinary fact are iniinite. 
 It proves what materialists refuse to believe, namely, that we 
 have within us a facult;^ for acquiring intelligence from 
 without. I cannot give names to these existences, because 
 to me they seem unnamable ; but, for want of better lan- 
 guage, it may be said that the soul or mind of one pei'son 
 can l)e invaded by other souls or minds, and be taught and 
 uplifted in a way that really enforces a teaching and eleva- 
 tion beyond the patient's power of resistance. The assist- 
 ance and confirmation which religion may gain from similar 
 proofs is immeasurable ; and it explains, among many 
 other things, how we always feel uplifted and strengthened 
 when in the society of the best of human beings. 
 
 The fact must be emphasized that any man of some will 
 power and concentration can, with a suitable patient, arrive 
 at the same results. To give any one the idea that the 
 powers described were peculiar to myself would do much to 
 nullify the effect of my work. Readers will sympathize 
 with the desire to publish the phenomena without incurring 
 the imputation of being, or pretending to be, peculiar. 
 When an experimenter of the above kind shows a suitable 
 patient " all the kingdoms of the earth," it is not necessary 
 for him to be the devil — but merely acquainted with some 
 powei-8 which all men possess, though ignoi-antly. 
 
 This power in men which is capable of influencing others 
 without bodily contact and without their knowledge of it, 
 and which possesses the abilities here described, is a purely 
 natural existence. That is to say, with every human being 
 it is just as much part of himself as his foot is. 
 
 If one wishes to underetand life as it is, and also the 
 deductions which follow from the showings of mesmerism, 
 one nnist keep the last-mentioned fact in view. Without 
 the teachings of mesmerism, human existence is almost a 
 chaos. With this knowledge, and the extensions of it, all 
 life becomes one marvellous uniformity. Before the reader 
 has completed the perusal of this work he will see that the 
 principles of nature here dealt with are not confined to 
 
THE ASCKNT OF LIFK. 
 
 11 
 
 human life, — but that they exist in all grades which are 
 lower than the human one, and tliat tlieir proniLsc is that 
 they will contiiuie on in similar unliroken sequence of de- 
 velopment until after lifk has ceased to he regarded chietly 
 with reference to its 1 umanness. For, in the consideration 
 of LIFK as a whole, it will he gleaned tluit its human hour is 
 hut a stage in its development. 
 
 Par parenthene, a word must be inserted here to remove 
 any impression, which the second-above paragraph might give, 
 that this work is produced from a materialistic stiindpoint. 
 It will be quite clear before the last page is reached that 
 this is not the case. Yet fii-st impressions are lasting; and I 
 do not wish the reader, whether he Ije religious or material- 
 istic, to become prejudiced as we go along, but to leave his 
 opinions in abeyance. Opinions prove nothing — facta are 
 what we need. In our present develo^jment there is no 
 religion without some materialism, and it may be guessed 
 that there are few materialists Avithout some religion. Simi- 
 larly, in this work there is as much materialism as nature 
 insists upon, but also as much spiritism as nature may be 
 proved to contain. 
 
 On the other hand, materialisfc* must not say, " Oh, if 
 he's going to talk about spirit life, that ends my reading! " 
 Unprejudiced students of human nature (if there are any) 
 have no doubt been intensely materialistic at some times, and 
 at other times have believed in the siiiritualities. This is 
 natural, and not for the sake of knowledge to be deplored. With- 
 out the necessaiy materialism, wrong religion may grow wild. 
 Without religion, materialism may grow brutal. Both, un- 
 less intermingled, have sometimes run to the absurd. As to 
 the word "spirit," which I have been unwilling to use at 
 this stage of this woik, I will say, that if my materialist 
 friends can explain my experiments, or their own similar 
 ones, without a belief in the human spirit, then this word 
 may be removed from our mental vocabularies forever. 
 
 I do not here relate the experiments in the order in which 
 they came to me, but rather in the sequence which, proceed- 
 ing by degrees, will least tax the credulity of the reader. 
 Doubtless some of the minor ones have been forgotten, and 
 as to the more important, I will only mention one or two of 
 each class, because one perfect proof is as convincing (if 
 belief be at all accorded), as many wearisome repetitions. 
 
 v»£ia»-»a!iA'a*te^!imaai^'a»^^^?j^SS^i tfc ■ ' 
 
12 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 A larjre number of iniiior nmtters were tested, which went 
 no fuitiiLT towiiids iiiDof of tin; existence of sonl than tlie 
 al)ilities of the hiw ckiik as ;il)nve <U'seiibe{l. For instance, 
 one patient was peculiarly (luick at niiniinj,' and describing 
 objects which I had dosed in boxes, jars, <«■ other receptacles 
 which may be found in drawingnioms. When the patients 
 were in the deei) slee[) they sat u[t in the same attitude in 
 which they had ))een c(»n versing, tlamgh sometimes they 
 rested partly against the back of their chairs. During the 
 exi.eriments, when tliey were iutenlly searching with their 
 iiiteiior faculties, the head was always inclined somewhat 
 foiward, as people generally sit during mental effort. 
 
 The attitude was nearly always that of a person trying to 
 read a l)ook that is hehl at a distance. Generally the eyes 
 were lightly closed, or half closed; but sometimes, when all 
 will-foR-e was bi-ing api)lied to compel towards the seaicli for 
 something dillicult to lind, the eyes would open in a w'ide, 
 unseeing w ay. At these times they focused on nothing in 
 the room. There was no intelligence in them, and of course 
 no sight, for the body was so beieft of sensation during the 
 tranc'e-like eondition'that I have no doubt it could have been 
 cut to pieces without pain to the patient. 
 
 The appearance of the wide eyes was inclined to be 
 slightly alarnung at lirst. Yet there was no resemblance to 
 ins^uiity in their appearance. Tliey were simply a blank; 
 and perhaps only oiiened because the eye muscles ol)eyed the 
 eouuuand to ''look ami see." Then sometimes the face 
 would strain foiward slightly, the eyebrows pucker, and the 
 eyes open blindly — all, no doubt, as i)art of the bodily 
 hal)it of the effort to see. Any stranger coming into the 
 room could not have known, except by the eyes, that the 
 patient's condition was peculiar. If his entry did not dis- 
 turb the condition (and I do not know what the effect of 
 this wouhl be) he would have found them conversing in an 
 ordinary tone of voice, sometimes a litth wearily, as if they 
 were tired of their own effort; and at other times with 
 interest in what they saw, and with a rai)id precision of 
 speech and a wealth of detail which could leave no doubt 
 that they actually saw what they descril)ed. It was as if 
 one i)er.son standing in a room explained to a l)liiid man 
 that which was going on in the street outside — with this' 
 dift'erence, that the patient, besides seeing all the details of 
 
 !■: 
 
:t..V, 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 18 
 
 motions and costumes, etc., could know also the thoughts of 
 the people she was describing. But when I write this last 
 sentence I am getting on too fast. 
 
 Of course we soon tired of all the experiments with 
 secreted articles. Anything I picked up in the drawingroom 
 
 and secreted in books, boxes, or jai-s would be described 
 
 sometimes so instantaneously that I could almost believe 
 that the patient had watched what I was doing and was 
 playing a trick. The patient I now speak of sometimes 
 went into the deepest of sleeps in a moment — certainly in 
 less than four seconds, possibly in less than two — when she 
 was anxious for a successful experiment. Very often I 
 could not believe that she had passed into the trance. 
 
 Marvellous as they aire, we soon thought very little of 
 these minor experiments, because the patient might be 
 simply reading my own knowledge concerning the secreted 
 articles. She, however, denied that this was so, and claimed 
 that she saw into the box. No doubt tliis was correct, for 
 she described more than I knew — for instance, the position 
 of the object in the box, which, after I had shaken it, I did 
 not know. I wished to devise some way to test her sight as • 
 to the appearance of an object I was unacquainted with. 
 
 I will relate only one experiment of the following class. 
 To me it was a great triumph; for it proved that she did 
 not acquire her knowledge by reading my mind. In the 
 city I saw a friend handling some coins. I asked him to 
 lend me an old one with its date still clear, and to hand 
 it to me wrapped in paper so that I could not know the 
 date. He did so, and on that day I called on the patient 
 and told her what I proposed to do. She saw the import- 
 ance of the idea. I laid the coin, still wrapped in its paper, 
 on a table apart from both of us. She was so interested 
 that when I turned and said, " Now go off and tell me the 
 date," she replied almost instantaneously. Yet in that 
 moment she had passed into a deep sleep. I think her 
 reply was "Seventeen ninety-five." I thought she was 
 merely guessing, and was still awake: because she replied 
 as soon as I spoke my direction. But I had to command 
 her waking before she resumed the normal state again. 
 Then I unwrapped the paper, which I wished her to see me 
 do. As I did so, her interest in the experiment seemed very 
 slight. She knew — she took it for granted, that her reply 
 
 ■■^mmm^ m^^^^gtmi«^sxis-£imi^^s^mmK^mm^m:- 
 
14 
 
 THK ASCENT OK lAVE. 
 
 I: 
 
 I' 
 
 had been right. She knew she liad seen the coin. Before 
 an ex{)< vinicnt she often (h)ul)le(l her powers. After an 
 exjierinient, and while still partly sleepy, she evidently took 
 it for granted that the power witliin her could not go wrong. 
 The flate on the coin was th(^ one she .stated. After the 
 lai)se of so many years I cannot be certain of the date that 
 was on that particular coin. 1 think it was 1705, but this 
 is immaterial — whatever it was, she told it right. 
 
 This was a .simple experiment, but it was the first one 
 which could be connected in no way with my own knowl- 
 edge. It was my first absolute proof to myself of the 
 existence of a soul. I should mention that this pnutf, 
 which to me had such unlimited meaning, and which in its 
 method was so scientific and conclusive, was taken by the 
 patient as a matter of course. She .seemed to experience no 
 surprise. With hei', in her extreme purity and refinement, 
 the reliance on soul intuitions seemed to be an every-day 
 occurrence; though apparently she thought no more of it 
 than I would of taking an undnelhi with me wlien the 
 atmosphere piomised rain. For instance, several times when 
 I wiis ])roceeding towards her home to make an unexpei-ted 
 call I have met her on the way. When I spoke of the meet- 
 ing being lucky, she saw no element of chance about it. 
 She would say, " I knew you were coming, so I put on my 
 hat to come out and meet you." 
 
 " Hut how did you know ? " I would .ask. 
 
 "I cannot exjilain. It came to me that you were just 
 
 (•rossing S(iuare, and that you were coming to call. 
 
 So here I am. I knew just becaH.se I knew I" 
 
 Now these last words, which thousands of men have heard 
 from thousands of women, contain the truth of the soul 
 knowledge. She " knew just because she knew." This is 
 {]u' kind of statement that science abominates, and which 
 makes men look blaid<ly interrogative, and Avhich women 
 appreciate. Unless their animal nature has been built up 
 till their souls are, as it were, walled in, women use theii' 
 soul knowledge more frequently than they use their teeth 
 for eating. It is so simple, so correct, so entirely inde- 
 pendent of education ; it makes so many who are called 
 c(mnnon women so beautiful. 
 
 Hut this is a wide subject. Let us return before it lures 
 us too far from the straight line of our task. 
 
 IJ, 
 
THE ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 16 
 
 res » 
 
 There were many interesting mind voyages taken, and 
 described in minute detail, by my patients; but as I could 
 not afterward prove what people were doing — say, in 
 Europe, at a certain hour — I do not set out these liere 
 because I could not verify them. Yet although tliese are 
 useless for the purposes of this treatise (being without 
 proof), I may mention one or two, merely to show the 
 methods I adopted and the oddness of the results. 
 
 When I wished to ask regarding any friend who wa.s 
 travelling in Europe I would Hi-st send the patient to the 
 sleep. To do this I never used " passes," liaving regarded 
 them as a foolish survival of Mesiiier's charlatiiinies; 
 although they may perhaps assist in rendering the mind of 
 a patient submissive, by giving him the idea of force being 
 exerted. I simply sat quiet and "willed" the patient to 
 perform some little action, such as to open or shut the eyes, 
 or turn the head sideways. If I could not soon procure 
 obedience, I ceased trying, because the continued strain 
 tired me. Sometimes the patient, without obeying as to the 
 shutting of the eyes, would pass into the sleep first. But let 
 us take the one I am now thinking of and suppose, as in her 
 case, that she had gone into the sleep immediately. I describe 
 the search for one person, then in Europe — an old friend. 
 
 I would say, repeatedly, "Do you see her? Where is 
 she? Look for her!" 
 
 Then the patient would perhaps lean forward with a 
 searching look on her face and say slowly, " I can't see her. 
 I can't see her anywhere ! " 
 
 " But you must see her. You must. Look for her! " 
 (Pause.) 
 
 "No! I see faces — multitudes of faces, and strange 
 shapes — but not her! What stj-ange shapes! — all misty! " 
 
 " Well, for whom are you looking ? " 
 
 " Why, for Dorothea Brooke, of coui-se. She is the one 
 you wish me to see." 
 
 (The patient would always name tlie right person, though 
 his or her name had not been mentioned or referred to.) 
 
 Then, after a while, and after much effort, she would see 
 the person sought for, and say: "Oh, yes! now I see her. 
 She is sitting in the window of a large house. It is a hotel, 
 I think. There is an awning outside the window. She is 
 looking down into the street below. Such an odd town I — 
 
 
16 
 
 THE ASCKNT (»F LIFE. 
 
 houses 80 (lueerly built! There's a hing, narrow street be- 
 loT Aud 1 suppose those are caMrivers, aren t they? 
 What wretched horses they have ! " 
 
 '' And what is Dorothea thinking ot .-' 
 
 u She is thinking about whether she will go out for a 
 walk and about a new cloak she has. Oh, there is her 
 motti'r (The patient had not, if 1 recollect rightly, ever 
 Ten " Dorothea s" mother; but she described her as accu- 
 ratclv as if she saw her in the ordinary way.) 
 •^u^er mother is talking to her about going out for the 
 walk Now her mother is moving away from her. f>he has 
 
 %.e^:^r'^:Srw«u;d, m U. way this redtal indicates^ 
 be described calmly, and with interest, if anything interesting 
 was t^ be seen, and with amusement if the people said any- 
 TiL fiuiny. Sometimes I could make a guess at the city, 
 bv the way it was said to be built, or otherwise. 
 
 My patients had some European and oriental tnvvel at 
 exSingly small expense, though ^ to the whereabouts of 
 aruaintS/ces in those regions I was never able o verify. 
 T^rtelitness of the patient on the scene and her vivid 
 description did much to suggest that she saw all she de- 
 scribed. As to picturing my acquaintaiices who-jh^ad 
 not heiore seen she never made a mistake. In one case it 
 took a long time to find a certain man. But, when found 
 hei contideLe was absolute. " He is on a r^lway tran., she 
 said "The train is now going over a bridge. fehe tnen 
 described the progress of the train, and what it was passing, 
 wTth a^ muclfcalm and uninterested certainty as could be 
 Cnd in any brakeman on board the tmn. I oiily half 
 proved this Le. so I will not mention it further My friend 
 was travelling between Chicago and New York about that 
 time but could not rememl)er the exact day. 
 
 A I have said In^fore, 1 gave up these experiments years 
 agMor a number of reasons ; chiefly because 1 thought it w^ 
 the exercise of an undue power, partly because I never could 
 be entirely certain that in every case it was safe for the mud 
 of te patient, and partly because I had proved a 1 1 could 
 thi, k o So, to tak^e the teachings in their order of advance, 
 bu not in their order of time, 1 pass now to my latest expe^. 
 ment, which took place two years ago, and wiU then return 
 to the earlier ones. 
 
 i^jrfij 
 
Tin-: ASCKNT or iavk. 
 
 IT 
 
 In June, 1801, I wiis nitlior niixidus aljout a fiiciid who at 
 that time was living in one of tlio most lumott! of iliu Unittul 
 States. The distaneo was, I think, between two and three 
 thousand miles. But distanee makes no ditt'eienee for these 
 experiments. I was sitting talking to a clever woman cue 
 evening, and, as the conversation swung around to some 
 point tliat suggested the i<lea, I asked her if slie would tell 
 me how my friend was. I ex[)lained, and she consented 
 readily. I did not think she would prove a satisfactory 
 patient, because she possessed so much personal force and 
 individuality; but she contributed, by her own will, towards 
 submission. It was the first and only time I ever mesmer- 
 ized her, and the results were astonishing — even to me. 
 
 It took her a long time, after passing into the sleep, to 
 find the friend ; and tlien the same certainty, as before de- 
 scribed, reigned. She seemed to lirst approach the iiouse 
 over the town, because the locality struck her as being an 
 unpleasant place to live in, and she described it. Then her 
 account of what she saw was like this: — 
 
 "She is sitting at a table writing a letter. It's to you, !• 
 think. Wait!— yes! — it's to you! I can see over her 
 shoulder. It is addressed to you. She has her back to me. 
 I am at the window. Such a wind blowing through the 
 room! Oh, my, such a wind! It is blowing her dress, and 
 making the light almost go out. Now she hears her sister 
 coming in. Oh, what a bright, clever face that sister has ! 
 So bright and full of fun. She is telUng a joke — wait!" 
 Here the patient sto[)ped and laughed quite heartily. She 
 had never seen the sister, but described her most accurately. 
 At the time, no recollection of the sister was with me, 
 and in any case my mind was merely receptive. I simply 
 sat and listened — not having to ask any questions, for the 
 patient's usual eloquence and curiosity were with her as 
 much as ever, and she missed nothing, apparently. 
 
 " Oh, I do like that sister ! " she continued. " Very tall, 
 isn't she? Not pretty — at least not very so — but a nice, 
 good, humorous face — so clever! Now they are both 
 laughing together." 
 
 The patient described it all fully, and then grew weary 
 and said her head ached. Other patients have also spoken 
 of their "heads growing tired," when the trance is pro- 
 longed. I always woke them and ended the trial when they 
 
 i^i^^^mmmm 
 
 M 
 
18 
 
 Tlir. ASCKNT OK I-I1'I'„ 
 
 i ji- 
 11^ 
 
 
 said tliis T did not know what this lu'iidaclie might mean, 
 and I wished t.. he on thu safe side, i was working, at these 
 tinu-s, in a trackless region — feeling conlidentof myself and 
 of the patients as long as they did everything hai-inly; Imt 
 when their pleasure in witnessing the strange scenes began 
 to end, I always woke them up. I told tliis patient to 
 remend)er all s'he saw, heeanse unless this is done tliey 
 iorget when they awake what they have seen. She was m 
 the (h-e|.est of sleeps, and as I did not Imrry her waking, it 
 took her some time to do s... At first she had no remem- 
 brame of what she had seen ; hut gradually suggested 
 parts of her visi.m to her, and tlieii slie recalled the whole 
 
 of it distinctly. 
 
 This experiment is not put forward because it contains 
 proof, because it does not. It is mentioned in this place 
 because it leads up in some ways to the linal and conclusive 
 pro..fs. Tiie reader will understand that, beyond writing 
 „i>e letter in this case asking (piestions to veriiy. I really 
 cared very little for verilieation, because at that tune 1 knew 
 from the'proved experiments and from the demeanor ol tlie 
 i)atient that she could be making no mistake. \V hen a 
 patient is not to be relied on, lier own doulit, as shown in 
 l.er answej-s, will be apparent. P>ut when she is in tlie 
 deepest slcei., and linds the pei-son searched for, there is an 
 intense vividness and lucidity about all she deseriljes which 
 I think could leave no doubt in the mind of any observer. 
 
 1 liave thrown the explanations of methods used and 
 appearances produced, etc., into previous experiments, so as 
 to leave the conclusive proofs short and unsurroundecl by 
 the verbiage which may distract attention from the luain 
 point. 1 give only two of these. 'J'hey were very simple, 
 but they left me without any desire for further proof. 
 
 It may lie that both the experiments I now relate were on 
 the same day. I remember that they were both on the atter- 
 noon of Sunday, which day was usually chosen because 1 
 was at leisure. I preferred the daytime for these experi- 
 ments In the fii-st of them I asked a patient as to what a 
 certain friend of mine was doing who lived with another 
 friend These two usually took a walk on Sunday atter- 
 noon, and I expected to have them both described as passing 
 along some country road. But the patient said, when she- 
 found him : — 
 
 '% '■ 
 
 i i', 
 
 ^ii 
 
 
THE ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 t9 
 
 " He is reclining on a sofa, smoking a pipe, in a room, 
 and talking to ." 
 
 I knew by her accurate mention of all the fnrnitnrc that 
 she wiw describing their private sitting-room. Tlicsi! two 
 men were great friends, and the patient was evi(h'nlly 
 amused at the expression of their faces, or what they said. 
 
 As in other cases, the conversation was not repeated fully, 
 though evidently heard. On sucli occasions, the; annisement 
 of the patients indicated tiiis ; though in their desiic to tell 
 things in their own way, they did not usually repeat the 
 phrases which for the moment provoked a smile. Al such 
 times the patients api)aiently did not realize the impor- 
 tance of repeating the words heard. It was exactly the 
 same as if they looked tlnough the window and did not 
 think the talk worth re[)eating. A silence sotnetimes en- 
 sued while the patients listened. The reader may imagine 
 how strange it seemed to me to watch the |>atients, in all 
 such cases na this, listening to convei-sations that were being 
 held, sometimes two miles, sometimes several thousand miles 
 away. 
 
 On the evening of the same day I called on one of these 
 men, and found that they had not taken tlieir walk, but had 
 remained in the sitting-room as mentioned. They had also 
 worn the coats described. Their positions in the loom weie 
 also as depicted — one of my friends in an armcliair, and 
 the other reclining on the sofa, smoking a pipe. 'I'he inte- 
 rior of the apartment had never been seen by the patient. 
 
 The single experiment which I shall now give is as con- 
 clusive as if I gave many. They could be easily multi[)lied 
 so as to produce weariness. On that day I had dined with 
 my parents. At dinner, after church, I heard my father 
 say that a certain banker would call for him at three o'clock 
 to take a walk; so that, later in the afternoon, perhaps 
 about four o'clock, I felt sure that he would be described 
 in the experiment as walking with this banker along some 
 street or country road. However, this was not so. When 
 the patient found him there was no doubt in her tone : 
 
 "He is sitting in a large armchair, asleep. The chair is a 
 leddish one." 
 
 "Can you see anything more to describe?" 
 
 "No, nothing, except that there is a newspaper lying 
 across his knee." 
 
 
 Q^^m^mik 
 
if'W" 
 
 20 
 
 THE AHCKNT OK LIFK. 
 
 t Hi 
 
 i r 
 
 Tliis spomed to Im; nil there was to ask, so T inquirod 
 about my inotlicr. VVIuii she was fouiid tlit> patient said : — 
 
 "She is slaiidiii",' ut a loiij,' wimlow wliieli ivaelies almost 
 to tlie !lo(»r. Outside, there is a veranda and trees growinj,'. 
 Slie is liHikiujj tlimufjh tlie trees." 
 
 "And of wliat is she ihinking?"' 
 
 It took some time to foree an answer to this, for tlie 
 patient asserted that she eould not tell. Mut linally she 
 issued the answer with haste: — 
 
 "She is thinkinj^ of Harry." 
 
 Now, Harry was a youn<,''uiieh( of mine whcmi the i)atient 
 had never seen. V^-ry likely I had mentioned him hefcire, 
 hut beyond that she knew nothing' of him. He had died 
 within two months of that lime, and the mention of his 
 name almost startled me, for he had Ikumi a lifelong friend. 
 1 eeased the experiment, and in([uired as soon as possible (.t 
 my mother. 
 
 I di.seovered that Mr. Y , the banker, had not called, 
 
 and that my father had slept all the afternoon in a large 
 crimson arniehair which was his favorite. In answer to my 
 further (luestion, my mother said: — 
 
 "Yes, he was reading a newspaper as he fell asleep, and I 
 remember that it rested on his knee during the time he 
 slept." 
 
 She also rememl)ered standing, aboiit the Mt^e mentioned, 
 at one of the front French windows (in v. Inch case she 
 would Ui facing trees) and thinking over the lawsuit which 
 at that time was causing trouble in reference to her brother's 
 
 will. 
 
 It was no slight matter with me to find that I had proved 
 beyond the possibility of doubt the existence of a soul. 
 
 Since about that "time theie have been no more experi- 
 ments — except the one in New Y'ork in 1891. I have not 
 since thought of any methods which could l)e more conclu- 
 sive or more entirely scientific. There could be none. Per- 
 haps I cannot expect that all strangei-s will believe. If 
 any are incredulous it is to their loss. To all such I say, 
 "Go and do aj^ I have done, and then disbelief will be 
 impossible." Nature has, happily, given no man a monojv 
 f»ly. Every one who possesses earnestness of purpose and 
 self-control can prove these things for himself, with a suit- 
 able patient. Yet I am far from suggesting that every one 
 
 a. 
 
 ■^,.gi4g^^:g»/,^f,iai^'^^a^^m^ry^ 
 
. — ~ f-. .- 
 
 THE AHCKNT OK LFFK. 
 
 SI 
 
 should try. TIhmo arc limes wlicii frij,'lit or loss of sclf-cnti- 
 trol ill llu; uctualor iiii^lil (us I iiMii;;iii«- ) liavf disastioiis 
 resiiUs oil tlio piiticiit. wliosc soul, wliosi' wluili) fxistciirc, 
 is (li'livcri'd into liis ki-cpiiij,'. This is the o|)iiiioii of (he 
 Froiieh school, and it is piohahly conocl. I'liloss a man Ik' 
 conliduiit. in his own interior ealm, even in the presenci^ of 
 shock and surprise, I tiiiiik he should not try. Still further 
 am I fi'om su^'fjestiiij,' that any should consent to he patients, 
 unless the intuitions tell them that the actuator will prove 
 sutlieient and Ix; honorahle. It must ht; rememhered that 
 th(! patient, when under full control, has no will hut that of 
 the a(^tuator. 
 
 The next question which arises is this: Is the soul, when 
 accpiiriiif; kn(»wledgc at a distance, projecte«l tlirou^di space 
 hy the will of the actuator? Or is it a faculty unexplained, 
 for "knowing simply iKuiause it knows," similar to that 
 whitdi we were taught to legard as the oniiii.science possessed 
 by the Deity ? In other words: Does tlu! faculty travel, or 
 is it continuously resident in the patient? Some lesultH of 
 my experiments seem to answer anirniatively to the lirst. 
 question, and others to the latter. The abilities suggested 
 in the seirond question would, if present, dispense with those 
 referred to in the lirst. There were several peculiarities 
 which suggested that the seeing quality travelled. F'or 
 instance, when great distances were re<piire(l to be overcome 
 there was always a delay of one, two, tiiree, or perhaps 
 more, minutes, during which the patient would be apparently 
 making effort of her own. During these times slie would 
 converse in a contemplative sort of way: " No, I don't see 
 him [or her]. I can only see faces, strange faces, many of 
 them — strange shapes intermingling." At this period of 
 search the patient often expressed her doubt and inability. 
 Then, suthlenly, she would say, " Oh, yes, now I see her." 
 And from that moment all doubt ended, and the person 
 searched for was described with certainty, rapidity, and 
 precision. 
 
 This seemed to indicate a period of flight, whereas in 
 telling the date of the unknown coin which was close at 
 hand, the answer was i.istantaneous. Again, in the New 
 York exi»eriment mentioned on page 17, the seeing quality 
 of patient apparently pa.ssed over the town in the distant 
 state before entering the house where the person searched for 
 
 Mmmn^^mfim&^ssm-irmm. 
 
If,-^*«l 
 
 00 
 
 THK ASCKNT <)K I.IFK. 
 
 % li 1 
 
 t if. i 
 
 Mn 
 
 •1 !'<■: 
 
 i P^l 
 
 I'psidod. Slit' itimscd. »'vi«lnitl_v iiirious, ami icnnirkcd in lli»» 
 iiinst iiiattfr-(tl-l'iU't wiiy as to tin- stifftM anil llicii omi'ial 
 • Iti^olatiitM. I liT explanations aH to luT (twn [losilion in llif 
 nmni Wfic tli«' sanic timing licr vision as lla-v wt'ir aliii I 
 vvaki'il licr, wlu-n we talked it ovit. Tlif |.atifnls al\\a\- 
 s(M)ki' as it' tluiy Wfiv actnallv |ii('sfnl in tin- Imdy at tlic 
 distant sci'nc. 
 
 'I'lic Nt'W Vork patient made this tlcai. Slic explained, 
 during' tlu- vision, and also alterwards. to this etVeet: •• I was 
 at tlu! window, standing; lieliind her (the person searched 
 for]. I did not see her I'aee at least only a part of it — 
 tlionj^h of eonise I knew her liy her lij;nie and liy her voice 
 when she spoke to the sister. I eonld see the address on the 
 lntt(ir over her shouhler, or around her arm." 
 
 Tlu? patient considered that she was present in her own 
 person, and that she oc«'Upied a certain spot in tim room 
 while she watched. 'I'his opjjoses the idea that tin? seeing,' 
 (jiiality is a resident one, which mij;ht he expected to view 
 ftU ttiiU'S of the person searched for. The fact that Hhe 
 (dways said. " / stood there," and " / see the sister," etc., 
 HiijTjr't.st.s' that the individuality, that is to say the soid-ejjo, of 
 the patient did the work. Tliere was no exception as to this 
 in any experiments. 
 
 These peculiarities, which lead to much delusion, are dealt 
 with ill the next chapter. 
 
 As to the ahility of a customary patient to resist the 
 influence: this, I fancy, depends on many thing's — on the 
 varying will strenj^th of the actuator, on tlie e:^t*Mit of 
 the patient's susceptibility and lialiit of snhmission, etc. 
 In one ciuse a patient came as far as the door of the room 
 where I was, and then laughingly delied me to make her 
 come in. I stood against the opposite wall and did my 
 l)est. She derided my efforts and vowed antagonism. I'he 
 combat lasted a long time, certainly for half an hour, and 
 just when I was thoioughly exhausted, I saw her face lose 
 exiiression, and she turned and went away. I tiMUght she 
 had won the struggle, but 1 walked after her and found her, 
 three rooms off, lying on a sofa, in the heaviest mesmeric 
 sleep. It was like the trance of the East Indian fakirs, and, 
 while not hurrying, it took perhaps live minutes to effect the 
 awakening. It was to this patient that I succeeded in con- 
 veying my commands from a distance. When she did not 
 
 ■*imi-tmi»m^mNv^f^ 
 
 mf^m ^Mm g imyse m a i 
 
TIIK AHrr.NT (»!' I.IFK. 
 
 88 
 
 know I was in (In- house I luivi- liioiiylit her into my fircs- 
 «'n.f Uy will pow.-r. Tlifii I would asiv her why siif canit!. 
 f^hi) has ic|.linl, '• I was ut my sfwiiij; (or otluT occiipationj, 
 ill <l siidih liy I fell that yoii were here and wished nif to 
 loinu." This (iccuiivd two or ihict! tiini-H. (Jii otlicr occa- 
 sions, thctiiyh. lh(! atti.'inpt I'aih'd. L'nh-.ss tlie |.alifiit was at 
 soini- o((ii|.atioii lilu- sfwiii^r, which Ifuvcs the mind alnutnt 
 a hhmk and mulily suscfjilihlt' to iinpiession, the fll'ori did 
 not Hiiccitcd. 
 
 '^••''""•' • thidin^r this cliaptcr \ nmst ndato a i-asti with 
 
 whicii I liad notiiinjr to do exct'iit as spcclator. The pai- 
 ticidars of it wonhl no (hiid)t he corrohoratcd, if ni-ct'ssarv, 
 l»y luy inotiicf, my sistt-i', and my l)r(»th(;r-in-law. I i|o 
 not i»rinj; it forward in pidof of anything' set out in this 
 liook, lit'cansf I ohjfct lo nicntionin;^' tlio work of pro- 
 fessional chiirvoyants. In the meanlimi) the reaiU-r will 
 not i.lpie(l to iiearin^' an ae(;onnt which may he amply 
 auth('iilicale(h 
 
 My mother's sister, who then lived in Chiea^'o, was rather 
 fond at one time of eon.snlting <lairvoyantes. When my 
 aunt vi>ited us, somewhere ahont lH77, she said her elaii- 
 yoyante in Chicago could tell the fate of one of my hrother- 
 in-law's vessels, which was then three months overdue on ii 
 return v(»yagc from some South American luut. When she 
 returned houu; she consulted the woman, and I was present 
 when my mother rea<l the report as to the vessel, (loiitained 
 in aunt's letter. I can almost give it in the words I then 
 heard: " The vessel is not lost. The dehiy has k-en occa- 
 sioned hy an accident. When in shallow water, the ship 
 struck her keel against the bottom and received an injurv. 
 However, she is all safe, and has arrived in port, but will 
 have to go into diy dock for repairs," 
 
 My brother-in-law, tlu^ owner of the " Kdward Blake," was 
 present at the reading of the letter. I saw him growing 
 intensely interested. When it was finished he drew from 
 his pocket a letter which he had that morning received from 
 the cajjtain of his ship, giving precisely the same informa- 
 tion. His letter was from (ilasgow. When seeking shelter 
 in some obscure South American harbor, the »' Edward 
 [{lake " had struck the bar. The captain had for a long 
 time been afraid to proceed on the voyage because he could 
 not tell the extent of the damage. The letter went on to 
 
 1 
 
 'i ! 
 
 m^mmmm tm»amSmi mmtwmimmiMmm » ri« K^mmm^^mmimmii,i,--im^ 
 
 'vmmtmm^timaktmmf 
 
VW 
 
 24 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 
 I Jill 
 
 1- ! : 
 
 ; ii; 
 
 say that the vessel was just going into dry dock for 
 repairs. 
 
 I have tested the work of professional clairvoyantes. It 
 is always unreliable, but not always incorrect. Some have 
 a faculty for putting themselves, at will, into a condition of 
 light sleep. It is not the dee]), almost fathondess sleep 
 wldch sets free the soul in the way 1 liave described. But 
 it deadens the influences of the body to some extent, and 
 thus gives the interior faculties a better cliance to become 
 cognizant of truth than in the more waking state. There is 
 nothing ])eculiar about this. Thousands of women, in all 
 ages, have been reported to possess " second sight." It is 
 merely an ability to partly remove tlie effects produced by 
 the body and its sensations in "walling in" the soul. If 
 these people could remove the bodily wall sufficiently they 
 would arrive at absolute truth. 
 
 The truest saying ever known has not been generally 
 known in the wliole of its truth, namely, that " Truth lies 
 at the bottom of the well." It conies to us tlnough the old 
 Arabic, and doubtless had its origin in the ancient oriental 
 occultisms. Absolute knowledge lies at the bottom of the 
 well of the human being — that is to say, in this soul's 
 correspondence with the all-knowledge. Kemove its encloud- 
 ing envelope and it knows with certainty. Because clair- 
 voyantes, mind readers, second-sight people, etc., only com- 
 mence in a small degree to do this, their "revelations" are 
 not more reliable than those in the lighter kind of dreams. 
 Besides this they are, when in this condition, veiy suscep- 
 tible to impressions tliat are prominent in the mind of the 
 person who inquires. For instance, people who are crazed 
 with jealousy rush off to a clairvoyante, and seldom fail to 
 get some further conviction as to the correctness of their 
 absorbing idea. Clairvoyance is an unquestionable f.act. It 
 is entirely a question of the depth of the sleep. In the 
 deepest and most complete trance of mesmerism, when all 
 bodily sensation is dead, the soul, with its unexplained 
 completeness of knowledge, is set free. And in any of the 
 approaches to this deepest sleep the interior faculties are 
 more or less freed. Clairvoyantes, if honest, have a perfect 
 right to make their money as they do — only this, that no 
 one should ever rely on them. The one who told about the 
 " Edward Blake " was doubtless in a deep sleep. She 
 
 4 r „i gXt S»V 
 
 »L««*tow.<5a*i»«»IS>iB»SSS8W»M«»l«!Ktal«0««tl^^ 
 
 M M C ii m 
 
-. i.V. :.. = il. -.Jul, 
 
 THK ASCKNT OF LIFE. 
 
 26 
 
 for 
 
 honestly earned her five dollars. But with the next patron 
 she might 1x5 almost awake, and then her answers would he 
 most likely useless and full of ahsurdities. 
 
 People say these things are too marvellous to be believed. 
 Not at all ! In the study of the soul they cease to be marvels 
 — at least, the surprise of them ceases. Probably every one 
 has comi)oso(l music and uttered lines of poetiy in sleep. 
 When I have been anxious about important law cases it has 
 been said that my addresses to imaginary jitries and judges 
 were more rapidly delivered in my sleep than they were in 
 «'ourt. This accorded with what I recollected of my dreams. 
 Of coui-se everybody is in similar case. The interior facul- 
 ties are liberated by the sleep of the body. All these small 
 matters point in but one way. They tell some people more 
 than is dreamt of in their philosophy. The real wonder is 
 that any one should doubt. 
 
 lint it is in their applicatiiin to the understanding of LIFE 
 that the knowledges are useful. 
 
 
'^??l^ 
 
 ! ' > I 
 
 t i 
 % 1 
 
 ' i, 
 
 J 1 
 
 4 'f I 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 The foregoing experiments prove tliat we have within us 
 a faculty for acquiiing from without a knowledge tliat is 
 independent of either words or sound. Patients regard tliis 
 as an ahility of the e//o, the individuality. We also learn 
 that this individuality is so susceptihle to the influence of 
 other individualities that it can by our consent be taken 
 possession of by others, and absolutely mastered for either 
 good or evil. They also indicate that this faculty in acquir- 
 ing its knowledge in any part of this world is not affected 
 by distance. 
 
 It has been said that if all cables and wires were con- 
 nected, an electric message would circle the world instan- 
 taneously — that is to say, if an operator telegraphed from 
 his right hand to his left, with the whole world between, the 
 letters of the message would come in from tlie east as soon 
 as they are sent out to the west. We have here a natural 
 fact as to annihilation of distance. Yet it is not suggested 
 that the soul in acquiring knowledge at a distjince is a 
 current. Nor is it suggested that electricity is a current. 
 Evidently it is one of the life principles. A telegraph line, 
 when in use, is a wire vivified — that is to say, it is through- 
 out its length permeated by an immaterial essence possessing 
 a capacity for such inconceivably rapid vibration that a shock 
 or alteration in one spot is immediately felt along the whole 
 wire. In other words, it is as sensitive in its entirety as in 
 its part. One spot cannot suffer anything unfelt by the 
 whole at the same moment. This is sympathy sublimated — 
 sensitiveness carried to a superlative degree. It is a power 
 of nature. We can make it — or rather educe it — while, 
 still ignorant of what it is. 
 
 26 
 
 'fmgei»-mmiitatcmmriii^»a-ttas'>^Mm-t<C'imiai*'»sm?i- 
 
 ^ -.ijaan aa w w w ^ ' ~ ^ 
 
THE ASCENT OK LIFE. 
 
 27 
 
 Similarly the soul, which is a higher, or more extensive, 
 existence than electricity, may be expected to contain among 
 its qualities some peculiarities of that principle with which 
 we are best acquainted. It seems probable that the soul or 
 life of man also possesses, in a similar way, a capacity for 
 inconceivably rapid vibration. But there is no vivitied wire 
 or other material channel of communi(!ation between the soul 
 of a mesmerized patient and a person inquired about, say in 
 San P^rancisco. And if the patient's soul knows enough to 
 discover the presence of the San Fmnciscan, and how at the 
 same time to report of hira fully in New York, it surely 
 knows enough to stay at home and do its work as a resident. 
 In other words, the abilities required in order to make the 
 flight would be more extensive tlian a resident intelligence 
 would require, and the economy of nature does not favor any 
 unnecessary power, people, or entity. 
 
 The facts and reports of patients which tend to support 
 the theory of " flight " are given at some length, because it 
 is interesting to see what grounds oiientals and othera 
 have had for believing that some part of the human makeup 
 was projected through space. The usual explanations of 
 patients almost necessarily lead to some theory of this kind. 
 Yet it is to be underatood that the person whose interior 
 faculties are witnessing a distant scene could speak in no 
 other way than in the first person. The theory of the resi- 
 dent intelligence accounts for all the facts, so that there 
 seems to be no sufficient reason for suggesting any such 
 further peciiMarity as is asserted in oriental systems. The 
 reader may, iiierefore, so far as this work is concerned, divest 
 his mind of Buddhistic suggestions as to "astral bodies," etc. 
 People who have not grasped the most deei>-set truth of 
 nature have imagined different existences to explain such 
 phenomena as are here exhibited. 
 
 What, then, is this intelligence which is resident in man, 
 and which is possessed of these fearful and wonderful, and 
 yet most peaceful and natural, powei-s ? On the way to an 
 answer, a few dicta of celebrated men may be considered. 
 Let us go first to the region of material science. Here, Mr. 
 Herbert Spencer indicates that all human study.and research 
 finally bring us to the one absolute cei-tainty — " that we are 
 in the presence of an Infinite and Eternal Energy, from 
 which all things proceed." The above is not the voice of 
 
 ■•"^""^^ntKimmttmmiKaa 
 
!7i*r> 
 
 28 
 
 THE A8CKNT OK LIFE. 
 
 I ;i;| 
 
 i il 
 
 
 I i; 
 
 uneducated religion, or of any kind of dogma, but is the 
 ultimatum of the most material and scientific methods of 
 research. Lot Mr. Spencer continue : — 
 
 Historical evidence shows that the religious consciousness began 
 amon<r primitive men with a belief in a double i)elougni,i,' to each 
 individuiil, wliidi, cupuble of imuderiug away from him dunuy hje, 
 becon)e8 hi« -'liost or spirit after death; and that from this idea being 
 eventuallv distinguished as supernatural, there developod, in course 
 of time, the ideas of supernatural beings of all orders up to the 
 highest. 
 
 Let us now take a definition of Professor Max Muller, and 
 then combine the different sayings and ask a few questions. 
 He says, " Religion is the faculty for realizing the Infinite." 
 What we undei-stand from his remark is that " There is in 
 man a faculty for realizing the Lifinite, of which the out- 
 come is religion." No one seems to mention that this faculty 
 for partly realizing the Infinite will also comprehend the 
 finite, as the greater includes the lesd. Yet it is of impor- 
 tance to understand that the same faculty which, with its 
 marvellous and wordless knowledge, may be conscious of 
 great truths and aspirations, is also capable of comprehending 
 the smallest and most trivial things. To suppose that the 
 faculty only apprehends great matters, and not small ones, 
 would be placing an unnecessary limitation on it. 
 
 Now what gave rise to this " consciousness which began 
 among primitive men with a belief in a double belonging to 
 each individual, that is capable of wandering away from him 
 during life"? What gave rise to the Buddhist behef that 
 some part of the human makeup could be projected through 
 space to acquire knowledge at a distance? The answer is a 
 simple one, though it requires further explanation. It is 
 merely this, that " Truth lies at the bottom of the well," — 
 that the internal depths are in unity with an all-pervading 
 knowledge which simply knows because it knows. When- 
 ever a savage or a civilized man (and in questions of soul 
 science there is no separation), has been in a deep sleep, and 
 his soul has apprehended some facts that were occurring at a 
 distance, he has, very naturally, thought he possessed a 
 double, which "wandered away from him during life.' 
 Similarly, in the East Indian methods for producing trance, 
 the soul is divested of the bodily sensations and passions, 
 and thus may without difficulty be made to witness distant 
 
 ■ 
 
 ,,ism»e!ff^ffiismi^. 
 
 -■-i^S*S«SI!Ki«W"»"'- 
 
 ^""^••^^ii im u i iim stimmxim 
 
THK ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 29 
 
 affairs. Consequently thej all think that a spiritual double 
 of the human body is projected to remote localities. The 
 mass of information collected by Mr. Herbert Spencer and 
 his assistants incidentally includes this point; Professor 
 Huxley has also assisted ; all tlie religious literature of the 
 world has more or less contributed. In fact, tlie stories of 
 vision at death and vision during sleep, no matter where 
 they come from, turn on this same point. 
 
 Now consider Max Miiller's statement, whicli (with not 
 improper alteration) reads thus: "There is in man a faculty 
 for correspondence with the Infinite, of which the outcome is 
 religion." Clearly, religion is only one outcome of this 
 faculty, for it is the medium through which every living 
 thing is assisted towards living as it should, and towards 
 acquiring its own necessities. The Controller of evolution 
 has not produced an infinity of living creatures while cutting 
 off all media for communication. To suppose so would be 
 to suggest that everything had been left to chance. 
 
 But, in nature itself, Avhat do we find? Every child's 
 book on natural history teems with anecdotes regarding 
 the instinct and peculiar tiaits of animals. Not oidy do 
 these stories refer to the instincts which are assisted by 
 heredity, but they point to the exercise of faculties which 
 are outside of heredity. How are those creatures in Texas 
 made aware that if they seek and eat a certain plant 
 they will be cured after being bitten by rattlesnakes? In 
 this case there can be no heredity, and not even, as a rule, 
 any previous experience. And supposing previous practice 
 had existed, through their having been previously bitten, 
 how was the practice first learned? Now the fact is, that, in 
 unnumbered cases of the al)ove kind, the reason of man has 
 been entiiely halted; no explanation has been given. The 
 high priests of science are silent. Those who are not brave 
 enough to say they do not know, take refuge in the idea of 
 heredity. They might as well explain it by astrology. 
 
 Again, why does the hunter who is lost on the prairie 
 drop the reins on his horse's neck, so that the beast may take 
 him back to the encampment ? The horse knows no more 
 than the hunter about the proper direction to take; but a 
 cei-tain faculty in him does. Who ever heard of a full- 
 blooded American Indian, of the older times, being lost in 
 the woods? Enclose your dog in a box, and after sending 
 
 ■ fOiw t rt Bw m a ii B ft w *^ 
 
80 
 
 THK ASCENT OF LIFK. 
 
 lai 
 
 hi,u a hundred miles l.y rail, loose him, and see how soon he 
 
 will return to his home. «?.-.„ 
 
 An Irish lishiMinan had a tame seal -an affectionate 
 thinLr-- which bfiame rather a nuisance about the cottage. 
 He sent it away for long distances .,n board ship, but i 
 always came back. Then he, or some other men, tried a 
 fiendish experiment. They put out the creature s eyes and 
 shipi.ed it on a sailing vessel. When half way across he 
 Atlantic the seal was thrown overboard. It was now unable 
 to procure food, being blind. Hut it reached home; and one 
 morning was found dead of starvation at the door of the 
 
 'Tow," what explains all this ? You may call it the " hom- 
 ing instinct," or give it any other absurd name. Of what 
 usf is " homing instinct " to a blind seal in track ess watei^ 
 or even to a seal that sees? The answer is simply this, that 
 fish, bird, and animal, can in the pressure of their necessities 
 make draughts upon the all-knowledge that assists evolution. 
 Inst;inces oi the same truth can l)e multiplied 1 he migra- 
 tion of fish, birds, and animals; their methods of defence, 
 escape, and attack; the ability of the condor and other 
 carrion birds to reach the distant carcass; the knowledge of 
 the desert camel that a pool is within a days journey — 
 nearly all the strange recoi-ds of natural history are explained 
 bv the fact of the correspondence between the sunmal soul 
 and the all-knowledge. These things are precisely tlie same 
 on the lower planes of life as the correspondences artihcially 
 utilized by the mesmerist, when he makes the soul of his 
 patient describe with certainty events which are happening 
 elsewhere Throughout animal nature, these processes seem 
 to be brought into action solely as a result of necessity. 
 Glutted animals lose that alertness which the correspondences 
 demand. Everywhere is found necessity, in countless forms, 
 begetting that which nature and all achievement demand, 
 
 """iTthe Fi^ench school, whose experimente corroborate those 
 here given, succeeds in convincing the public of the utility of 
 mesmerism, it may be applied in a number of ways. Foi 
 rt^ce anv one who can fully mesmerize a blind person 
 can make him see more than one sees with ordinary sight; 
 fo • the actuator can show him all he remembei^, and, indeed, 
 any part of the world wliich he ha^ never seen, or, apparently, 
 
 i '• '\i 
 
 
THJS ASCENT OK LIFK. 
 
 81 
 
 anything else. To the blind, the joy of this would he inv'on- 
 ceivable. We wait for science to do this — for men do not 
 know how they may help each other. 
 
 Again, it may be used in reducing public expenditure in 
 criminal trials. After the usual trouble and delay over them, 
 we are not always free from a doubt as to their correct term- 
 ination. There should be no uncertainty. Of course the 
 liberty of the individual will not be readily tampered with, 
 but there seems to be no reason, when a large amount of con- 
 demnatory evidence is taken at the preliminary examination, 
 why the accused should not be made to tell .as to his guilt or 
 innocence. It remains to be proved as to whetlier anaesthetics 
 can produce the sleep of body which liberates the interior 
 faculties. If, in this way, as by the inesmeric processes, the 
 accused can harmlessly be placed in the condition here 
 described, he can be forced by will power to tell everything. 
 He then would give every detail, and say where he buried or 
 secreted the corpora delicti^ etc. The truth of all those 
 details could be ascertained at once by reliable persons. 
 Then the culprit could be immediately tried and this evidence . 
 of these peraons taken. After this, the condemned one could 
 be sent at once to the chair, and there could he no uncer- 
 tainty as to the justice of the result. It wsis stated in the 
 newspapers that this process was lately utilized by the 
 Parisian scientists in the case of the murderer Eyraud. They 
 mesmerized his accomplice, Gabrielle Bompard, and she told 
 the story of the murder with every detail. When Eyraud 
 went to the guillotine there was no doubt of his guilt. 
 
 The other channels in which the faculty may be used are 
 inRnite — for instance, among shipwrecked people, in a boat 
 at sea, or on a desert island. If the man of strongest will 
 can mesmerize the most submissive woman, she will tell 
 what ships or lands are near, the proper direction to steer, or 
 any other knowledge of the like kind. It must always be 
 recollected that where you have a human being you have a 
 machine which caii transmit to you all the knowledge you 
 require in any such case. And if there be a woman present, 
 especially a maiden, you v/ill discover in your scientific 
 process that you have with you a very wonderful being. If 
 she brings men to a knowledge of the wonderful alliances 
 that are within her, she will be only fulfilling part of her 
 mission in life. 
 
 ^'i^'^e^'»*fneeseae^na^i?aieS9^^.':i£^f»Ods 
 

 .:;j-ii;»-j..*i— -I :■-,*.,-. 
 
 82 
 
 THE ASCKNT OP LIFE. 
 
 siri 
 
 ' i.!i 
 
 hia 
 
 •■ m 
 
 The following anecdote is believed to bo true. James 
 Doyle, fornieily a foremast sailor on the Canadian Lakes, had 
 a wile and family living in Hamilton, Canada, where probably 
 they still remain. Doyle was coming down Lake Erie one 
 night on a sailing vessel. He went below at eight bells, and 
 while in his bunk thought that he was at his home in Hamil- 
 ton. In his wile's room his child was dying. A doctor, who 
 was a stranger to Doyle, was attending the child. The wife 
 and several of Doyle's acquaintances were there; also several 
 people he did not know. He woke in a fright and rushed 
 on deck in an excited way. The captain told him not to be 
 a fool, and sent him below. 1 think Doyle said that on 
 returning to his bunk the vision appeared again. When he 
 reached the Welland Canal he got paid off and took the train 
 home. He found that his child had died on the night of 
 the vision, and that every pei-son had been in the room as he 
 saw them, including the strange doctor, whom he visited and 
 recognized as the one he had witnessed in the vision. Doyle 
 had felt the loss of his child. He spoke of the occurrence 
 with difficulty. It was not a matter about which a father 
 would conjure up a lie. He was a sailor on the yacht of the' 
 writer's uncle, and was for many years known as an honest 
 fellow. 
 
 When the wife and the assembled people, and perhaps 
 the dying child, were all lamenting the father's absence at 
 such a time, what a strange effect it had upon his soul while 
 he slept ! Here was a case which almost necessitated a 
 l)elief in a double. Mr. Herbert Spencer's collection of data 
 on this subject show that these visions have occurred in 
 all figes and among all peoples, both savage and civilized. 
 There may have l)een some imposture, but large baskets of 
 fish are inidoubtedly caught, in spite of the frequency of 
 exaggerated stcM-ies. If any one doubts that visions have 
 occurred, let him experiment on these lines; and he will find 
 that he can arlilicially produce fis strange visions as ever 
 were related. Not only will he produce them himself, but 
 he will see how simple and apparent is the explanation of all 
 the others. 
 
 !a56S^^^S^«^EWWKW»a8W»a^gi^feiefr*. 
 
 '•■''^^s^i^mftm^Smt 
 
 msmsmttmsieii 
 
Chapter III. 
 
 Probably most people are tired of attempted reconcilia- 
 tions Ihitwecn religion and science. There is here no desire 
 to contribute another of such atteni[>ts. We need fewer 
 opinions and apologies; we want facts, and the only fact« 
 are in nature. One might think, from the appearances of 
 late yeara, that science and religion would continue to run as 
 parallel lines and never meet. And if science does not 
 extend its own methods into the region of the immaterial 
 life, they will, evidently, remain as strangers. But, as Gcoige 
 Eliot's old innkeeper continually told his quarreling guests, 
 — " The truth lies atween ye, gentlemen, the truth lies 
 atween ye!" La Rochefoucauld said, " Les (juerelles ne, 
 duraient pas longtemps si le tort n'etait que d'un cote," and 
 the trouble between science and religion is that ihey are 
 both wrong; or, rather, as the old innkeeper oracularly said, 
 " Ye're both right and ye 're both wrong — the truth lies 
 atween ye, gentlemen ! " 
 
 Huxley says: — 
 
 By the term " science," I understand all that knowledge which 
 rests upon evidence and reasoning of a like chviracter to that which 
 claims our assent to ordinary scientific propositions; and if any one 
 is able to make good the assertion that his theology rests upon valid 
 evidence and sound reasoning, then it appears to mc that such 
 theology must take its place as a part of science. 
 
 It will remain for the reader himself to experiment, and 
 then say whether his knowledge there b}' gained " rests upon 
 evidence of like character to that which claims our assent to 
 ordinary scientific propositions." If the methods are of this 
 character, they are sufficiently scientific to gain a hearing; 
 and although it is not suggested that one man's evidence 
 (even when corroborated by French scientists), is of the kind 
 which may be accepted as "valid" (in the sense of all- 
 sufficient), one may still hope that the truth here produced 
 may at least lead others to the same channels of inquiry and 
 proof. 
 
• : i^^A- 
 
 ;V4 
 
 TIIK ASCENT OK MKR. 
 
 ! 
 ''1 
 
 ;!.li 
 
 m' 
 
 ■will 
 
 If any ii((|ni('sc(;n(;i' of roftdoin has bfen accorded, they 
 will, of llu'ir own motion, go fnitliiT, and think out for 
 theniselvi's a niunlKT of coiTolMHiitive fact** which could not 
 Ik) included in a short treatise of this kind. They will see 
 that this work is I'hiefly addiesstid to those who have made 
 at least some study of the laws and hisUuy of evolution, 
 because without this study people aie at sea regarding com- 
 prehension of life; and it must l>e assumed that readeis 
 possess some kn«)wledge of material evolution before an 
 attempt can 1h! made to describe nature's advance into its 
 spiritual grades. 
 
 What we reqiiire most is unity of conception. Ii^jfp 
 there is such inthiite variety of phenomena and such inlinitc 
 complexity of relation, that what wc rctpiirc! most is great 
 simplicity of law. In this work we are not concerned to 
 prove that cither' science or religion is right. No personal 
 opinion, nor any centuries of opinions, arc worth a rush 
 unless these seem to leap into the heart as truths. Yet no 
 one will attemi)t to undervalue the enormous accretions of 
 data which have l)ecome rangc<l at the sides of Ixith religion 
 and science. These are the powers which, by pressing on 
 both sides, iinally siiueeze the truth out from between them. 
 
 The aspirations, incentives, and confidences of all the 
 hosts of religious men, together with their clinging to "the 
 evidences of things not seen " which were to them realities, 
 will never be lost, and their value will never he denied — 
 because they were right, in the main. Yet their "right" 
 was so pervaded with unnecessary et ceteras, and they nil so 
 insisted on the necessity of these et ceteras, that many thou- 
 sands of the best and most educated men have turned away 
 feeling sore. 
 
 On the other hand, the aspimtions, incentives, arduous 
 researches, and successes of all the scientific and carefully 
 thinking men who clung to the evidence of things that are 
 
 seen men who starved spirit rather than accept untruth 
 
 — the work and the downright honesty of these pereons will 
 never be lost, and their value will never be denied — because 
 they were right, so far as they went. Yet their "right" was 
 80 hedged with unnecessary limits, and they so insisted on 
 these limits, that many thousands of the best and most 
 religious of meu turned away feeling sore. 
 
 
TIIK ASCKNT or I.tl'K. .'!,' 
 
 It will ho seoii, th()Uf,Hi. lliat in the imst'iit Htiitc of things 
 there can Ije no recont'iiiiition hc^twecn scMrncu and ii'ligion. 
 One clings tf) the true and iiitiiiigiltU'. and tlic othi-r cliiigH 
 to the true and tangihle. The only Noliilion of the dilliculty, 
 therefore, seems to lie for hoth to cinignite to a new region 
 in which both parties may retain .some of their most cher- 
 ished principles. It is tlie endeavor of tiiis woik to show 
 where that region is. To reach it, the ailvocate of science 
 must extend his limitations and the religionist must drop 
 some of his ef eetcrai*. This will Im* no reconciliation. It 
 will be a new land to which emigrants pass Inicanse trutli 
 has ita alxxle there. The inhabitants will care ludhing for 
 the previous opinions of the new immigrants, and the whole 
 region is governed by law and truth. Tlie simple name of 
 the region is " the future"; its legal code is the same eternal 
 law of evolution, with further v(»lumes added concerning the 
 spirit life; and its (lod is the ffod of natuie, who insist.s 
 upon things being done in His way and not in the ways .set 
 up by priests of either science or sect. 
 
 No matter what our beliefs or unbeliefs may be, we all 
 have to face one great truth, and the sooner we face it the 
 better. It is this — that tiie only po.ssible God is the God 
 of nature. Many religious people will say that they have 
 alvva,y8 admitted this. In a way —yes. But they have been 
 continually apologizing for nature, criticising nature, and 
 iiating some parts of it. For instance, when Paul advises 
 against marriage, he is flatly opposed to tlie God of nature; 
 that is to say, he opposes and is evidently ignorant of those 
 jtrocesses which God uses to teach the majorities of men. 
 No fact of nature is opposed to religion, and any religious 
 idea which cannot be made to fit in with nature is ipso facto 
 wrong. Paul, therefore, while right as to himself, did more 
 than most men to make Christianity in some respects the 
 most stupendous critic of God that the world has known. 
 All teachings which arc out of harmony with the bulk of 
 humanity require adjustment. Teachings which are quite 
 proper, and a necessity, for those on the highest human 
 I)lanes, are of little use to those who know next to nothing 
 of the spiritual life. Indeed, for the vast majorities who are 
 in the lower grades, the teachings do harm, in creating 
 despair. Pioper study of nature cures all these things. In 
 the region of the future they are understood. 
 

 80 
 
 TIIK AHrKNT OK l,IFK. 
 
 '''.•':!!! 
 
 «ii ii 
 
 It Hounds alniuHt (^liililisli to spcuk of ilic fuliiru \mng 
 (lirt'ct siuu'i'ssor to (ho present, iiiid of the present lieinjj the 
 liiieivl (hiseendiint of the p;ist. Yet, apparent in their truth 
 as these statenientM are, it nuiy Ihi doul)ted whether pvuplu 
 will, lus a rule, pay inueh heed to wliiit they sugjfest. People 
 are apparently unwillinj^ tt) Iwlieve that that which has con- 
 tinually ruled in tiie past and present will cuntinue to rule 
 in the future. We have with us the modern ajjes of the 
 present, and liehind us v, e have a past which resembles an 
 eternity. We are able to see that throughout the whole of 
 tills time the same prineii)les of law for progress have l)een 
 at work. And yet most people think that man u ho impor- 
 tant that in his case nature will make a jump, and land him 
 after death in some blissful abode of purity and rejinement 
 for whieh, clearly, he is not fitted. The conceit and improl)- 
 ability involved in tliis idea Ijecome apparent by ascertaining 
 how free from "jumps" nature hivs l»een. 
 
 Nothing so impresses a student as the solidity of nature. 
 When a law of nature teaches of itself, its jtower for product- 
 ing conviction is like the silent and resistless force of a tide. 
 We gain such a complete sense of its reality that any in- 
 fringement of it seems aksurd. Infringement is generally 
 called sin ; but it is also alwurdity, even when coupled with 
 unspeakable tragedy. Indeed, it is a wide thought that 
 there is nothing in nature but nature. In different terms, 
 some religions express the same idea, when saying, "There 
 is nothing in nature but (loil " And the material scientist 
 comes very near the same thing if ho says, "We know of 
 nothing in nature but law." All these expressions are 
 merely the various attempts to give verbal expression to the 
 existence of that whii^h all opi)osing parties are agreed upon. 
 Therefore in the region of the future one speaks of nature or 
 law or (Jod when one refers to that existence regarding 
 which there is no dispute. F»u' the purposes of this work 
 these terms are usually emi)loyed as if they were synony- 
 mous. 
 
 Taking, then, tbe subject matter of this consensus of 
 opinion, we ask. What is this nature, or God, or law? Aj)- 
 palled by the magnitude of the question, the first answer is 
 that we know nothing. But this is wrong. We do know 
 something. Where, then, is the knowledge ? We turn 
 incjuiringly to science. Science answers that it knows of 
 laws and effects, and nothing more. We then turn to 
 
 
 *'t£rtiSB-' ^-r: i~ )^, '^r-.-^'S^i'^- 
 
 i^^ibr^ i^m-,^ikm'^jr ^^:^ssmssSi^Ti:^^^msmim^m>^^-^' 
 
 'm^<m^mmm^mist»mmmttmsimmi' 
 
THK A.sn;NT OK |,li.|; 
 
 87 
 
 iv iKK'M. Iloro wo tiiMl (•(.iirith-ss works c.f lioimml.lc nion of 
 uU mum ,.(! u^r,,s win. ajr,,.,, ui, oiu, i,.»ii,t. 'rin-y iimy n.n- 
 U'iKl with «..icli otli.T alM.iit trill.'s iiimI ,1 ,r^■/w^ hut tlii-v 
 uri', on« and all, aKivcl on oiut point — that wo havo within 
 iiH an inwanl monitor whinh guides onr liC, (•(.im-tlv. In 
 I'lht-r words, they hkivo that tho human sonl is capahh' of 
 
 iKMUf,' in correspoiKh e with soino all-knowh-d^ro whicli Ih 
 
 iKMitiiiually pmsent; also that tiio intuitive impmssions re- 
 rt'ived in these eoiiesiH.ndenees, whether for prohihition, 
 incentive, aspiration, or otherwise, are always riKlit. Tho 
 iHiliet IH tiiat thiH outwide all-kiiowlefIj,'e is never wronif 
 
 Now tho univenml agreement of all tho hosts of roliffious 
 men w, to say the least of it, very sinpiilar. One would 
 think tliat they mijfht have fought over this point as 
 they have over every other, litit s., far as the facts appear, 
 they never have. Material seienee looks on, ami says : 
 " Ihis iHjlief, t(. these religious men, seems to lie a great 
 reality; hut it is not contained in our system for research." 
 1 hen the religious very properly reply: " The spiritual man 
 has as good a right to tell of the spiritual world as material * 
 science has to speak of the material world." To this, l»ro- 
 fessor Huxley, speaking for science, gives a limited consent. 
 Jn etlect, he says that science has always l)een willing to 
 discuss and profit hy any proofs that the leligious could 
 bring forward. He says that " If any one is able to make 
 good the assertion that this belief about the soul rests upon 
 valid evidence and sound reasoning, then it appears to me 
 that the soul and the study and knowledge of soul must take 
 a place as a part of science." (In the last sentence, which is 
 quoted correctly near the commencement of this chapter, the 
 word » theology " is removed, and words concerning " soul " 
 substituted, so as to extend the professor's meaning to our 
 point — and in a way he would not, presumably, object to.) 
 Ihe trouble is, however, that the religious have not been 
 able to produce such proofs of the existence of soul as are 
 recognized by material science. For many yeara there has 
 seemed to be no hope that the religious would be able to 
 prove a reality which to them was only present in the intui- 
 tions. And in the meantime the whole educated world has 
 been divided into two classes— those who acknowledge the 
 spiritual world and those who do not. 
 
88 
 
 THE ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 !.:",i 
 
 
 
 At this juncture an experimenter says: "If you deal with 
 a suitable human putlenl in the ways described, you can 
 prove for yourself, beyond all doubt, that the belief of 
 religious people is correct when they say that the human 
 soul is capable of being in correspondence with some outside 
 knowledge which apparently knows everytliing, and whicli 
 is continually present." This experimenter gives the details 
 of his experiments. He is not ignorant of the values or 
 woithlessness attaching to human testimony. He, however, 
 asks for no further credence beyond that which will place 
 other students in such coui-ses of inquiry as will exhibit to 
 them the same truths. If others thus accomplish similar 
 results, and publish them truthfully, then the whole field of 
 natural religion must "take its place as a part of science." 
 As religion is gradually shown to be a scientific lu'ccssity 
 and a proved reality, the resulting gain to tlie world will be 
 seen to be so immea.surable that others will also feel it their 
 duty to publish assisting facts. 
 
 
 tr^k, .._ 
 
 
 "3r:rsS'J5rj*KKiSS^^83K;33S5wn^^-a»*^^ 
 
Chapter IV 
 
 There is one word which may soon be erased from onr 
 mental dictionaries — the vvord "supornatnral." We have 
 so little further use for it. When we prove to oui-selves, by 
 scientific method, the existeiice of spirit and some of its 
 l)owers in human beings — when we utilize it by artificial 
 means and find that mesmerized i)atients can acquire knowl- 
 edge through it as freely as water from a public tap — tlien 
 we appreciate that spirit is as much a part of our makeup as 
 our limbs are, — in fact, a more essential portion, for the" 
 limbs can be parted with, but that which is the life in us is 
 the power of resisting death. 
 
 With even this much insight, the word supernatural 
 begins to lose its meaning ; but if we continue our studies 
 into the lower animal world, and in other directions, it seems 
 to lose its meaning altogether. And this, because almost 
 everything we lia /e called supernatural is merely natural. 
 
 Every-day mattera become explained. If we take a dog, 
 or cat, or any other animal, and tame it, train it, live with 
 it, teach it confidence, fearlessness, and love, we know what 
 processes are being utilized. Our will is continually im- 
 printing itself on the animal soul which is submissive, till 
 at last the correspondences become so complete that both 
 master and beast understiind eacli otlier in a really mar- 
 vellous but perfectly natural way. In every grade of life we 
 find these spirit processes. Wherever there is brain, even in 
 the poorest creature whose sen .orium is represented by the 
 most primitive ganglion, there are Uie jnedia to leceivc such 
 impressions from the all-knowledge as will be necessary for 
 its proper existence. Although in a different grade, the 
 lizard, in his daily existence, is as near to God as the arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury. 
 

 i :.*:su^ii iiis sim ,^ ' . 
 
 JiSiai 
 
 ■-•a;- 
 
 I!! ; 
 
 40 
 
 THE ASCENT OF MFE, 
 
 ' i !lfl 
 ill , 
 
 m 
 
 l'^I:l 
 
 Let us keep before us the opening words of this work, 
 that " Life, from its lowest forms to its highest spiritual 
 existences, is a succession of grades or plateaux, each one 
 intermingling with its commencing edges in the plane below, 
 and with its later edges merged in the plane that is next 
 above it." Life, in the animal gradi's, may be compared in 
 an unsatisfactory way to a wide stair-carpet, woven of innu- 
 merable threads, passing up to and along its different pla- 
 teaux, joining all together, and of one piece from beginning 
 
 to end. . , , „ 
 
 Now, why should life ascend ? Let us unagnie that all 
 ordera of living things were placed here by sudden creation, 
 and then let us ask, " Why should they ascend? ''^ Darwin's 
 great answer a** to the "survival of the fittest" covei-s an 
 enormous field. But how did "the fittest" acquire their 
 superlative fitness ? The answer from soul-science is — sim- 
 ply by wanting it. How did the chimpanzee described by 
 Darwin learn to crack a nut with a stone ? No one taught 
 him. He could not crack it with his teeth, and being hungry 
 he brooded over his necessity. He so desired and yearned 
 for success that at last he drew wordless enlightenment 
 from the all-knowledge with which his animal soul was in 
 correspondence. 
 
 This may sound absurd. But regard every kmd of in- 
 vention in man. What is invention? Will any quantity 
 of " stored sensation " in the brain produce a new thing or 
 a new idea? Will any apparatus give out more than it 
 receives? To imagine a man bereft of his soul-powers 
 recalls the case of the chicken running about without its 
 head. Ask any inventor how he invents, and he will say, 
 " I just brooded over it, night and day, until at last it all 
 came to me." This is the tiuth. It was the same with the 
 chimpanzee. No doubt he Ixviiged the nut against the stone 
 in the usual method till he was tired, and then in a happy 
 moment of inspiration banged the stone against the nut. 
 The gaining of knowledge through the correspondences of 
 the soul need not be accompanied by any sensation of holi- 
 ness. Instances are subsequently given where the motive 
 was entirely unworthy and even wicked. 
 
 To return. How did Darwin's "fittest" acquir* their 
 superlative fitness? The answer of material science is, 
 " By the continual breeding among those fittest who surviv* 
 
 
 akiii^i£ivi,.r.A.. iliJ^'fSt.W^^.i, 
 
TIIK ASCKNT OF LfFE. 
 
 41 
 
 111 the combiit for existence." lint liow, with tlie same size 
 bullet-mouhl, can you ])io(luoe one bullet thut will be lamer 
 than tlie rest? How with a pair of full-sized animals can 
 you ae.iune offspn"ff wlueh will be larjrer than either its 
 parents or ancestors? Uuw in the continued breeding of 
 bulldogs for a special object can you produce one with a 
 more prognathous jaw than any of its family ? These de- 
 velopments have often been aceomi.lished witli animals 
 But without the power as explained by soul science, this 
 result would U> as impossible as to turn out a large bullet 
 from a small matrix. 
 
 This opens the subject of the i)ower of spirit and ideals to 
 alter torm. Ihis is too apparent in every-day life to require 
 much comment. During earliest infancy, man turns towards 
 his future with a face almost as blank as a new sheet of note 
 paper. He writes his life on his face. As certjiin animali- 
 ties become prominent in his nature, these are necessarily 
 written in his countenance. Different creatures of nature 
 are the material types of the passions and powei>i and weak- 
 nesses. Consequently any following of the same instincts 
 as these creatures possess must necessarily produce counte- 
 nances which will conform to nature's set types. If the 
 babe in his subsequent life gives iniority in himself to those 
 passions which are typified in animal form, then he must 
 necessarily take some of their lik-uess. If he becomes a 
 lowest-grade lawyer, he will resemole the ravening wolf or 
 the wily fox. If he be continually poised for some swoop, 
 financial or otherwise, he will resemble a hawk. If he be- 
 comes a newspaper rei)orter who lives on the social garbage 
 ot unhappy homes, he will resemble the slinking scavenger 
 dogs of oriental cities. If he l)ecomes one of those creatures 
 who haunt the lowest slums of all great cities, he will issue 
 at night like his counteri)art, the hyena, and like his terrible 
 animal type he will be gaunt, fierce, cowardly, slinking, 
 suspicious, restless, murderous, and inaccessible to the im- 
 provement of kind spiritual influences. The grown hyena 
 IS untamable.* He is the type of terrible and irredeemable 
 qualities ; he lives in ways from which other animals recoil. 
 AjidJ,he^ough-fa('e(U)aj)yjni^^ hyena. 
 

 
 
 ' !! .' 
 
 ! ; ,1 
 
 ii. 
 
 42 
 
 IIIK ASCKNT OK LIB'K. 
 
 Tlifvo is virtually no limit to the ext«nt to which spirit 
 alters countenance." Some dog's faces are to human ones as 
 Hyperion to a satyr. Some of them are so stamped witli 
 high qualities that no artistic picture of Chnst could afford 
 to entirely ignore them. F<.r true love is there - that 
 which has no haekground of passion; love so perfect that 
 it idealizes sulnnission; the love which heautihes and sanc- 
 tifies the LnaiHlest and most womanly of women. 1 etty 
 people dislike the snggesticm that hest love has m it some 
 of the unlin.iled trust of a quadruped ; and few undei^ and 
 how nmch Letter it would he if some sublimities of a dogs 
 soul could be more often found in the masses of mankind. 
 Thev do not know of the courage, reverence, readiness tor 
 hardship, readiness for anything, whieh a dogs love for a 
 human c<mlains. "Ouida"says: " ^ es ! a great love is 
 a great holiness. It d..es not of necessity imply a great 
 intelligence, but it must spring from a great nature. 
 
 While walking in crowded streets this soul s moulding ot 
 the countenance is continually before us The effects pro- 
 duced in this way are familiar to all. Why is it that no one 
 ever fails to rec-o"guize a thoroughly K«>od a"d kind woman 
 by her c.mntenance? Hut men who have desired t.o be con- 
 sidered truly scientific have not, as a rule, attributed these 
 effects to "soul" — the existence of which science is not 
 yet quite prepared to admit. Every one knows liow the 
 same man's face may, even on the same day, resemble dif- 
 ferent animal types. But not every one is aware of what is 
 m,injr on while allowing himself to Ih5 swept away and 
 altei^Ml by different passions. Nor do people pay much re- 
 card to the effects of spirit upon generation. Every one 
 notices how a man's face grows swinish from overeating ; 
 but few understand that children will be born with this or 
 other appearances when cither of the generatoi-s is in the 
 spiritual pha.e which can only reproduce in nature s set 
 firms. Some children who are born with these unfortunate 
 appearances afterwards outgn.w the first effects of parental 
 i^^norance and perhaps temporary ammahty. Twins are alike 
 l^cause both receive the same spiritual formation. But the 
 other children of the same parents, conceived at different 
 limes may differ greatly. 
 
 Similarly, as an example of spirit formativeness, a genius 
 is the offspring of parents who loved each other. Natures 
 
 ■'-^^^^^^j^^^'-'iA jj ^ ^ i^^^iK^^li^i^ ^ S lil^ifJ g ^ ^Bi ^^s im l ^;ig^^^fe^^ft5^^^'^ *t^^^BwSfefe^^g^ 
 
5 alike 
 ut tl 
 
 le 
 
 fferent 
 
 genius 
 Liture's 
 
 THE ASCKNT OF LIFR. 
 
 43 
 
 ..'>?^.^ii-^>*-i.^Alto.. 
 
 l>ioofs are its results. Sliiikesi)care creatcfl because liis mind 
 possessed the faculty of verifying itself in the truth abysses. 
 He could run the whole gauuit, from a hyena to a Hamlet, 
 and lie delighted a world because he was the spokesman of 
 tliat which gives delight, namely, nature. Tluit he was a 
 child of love is proved even without the written records, 
 because the gieatest are produced when the conditions for 
 reproduction are most complete. The most complete condi- 
 tions necessarily include love, because love is nature's elevat- 
 ing princii)le, wliich she teaches through tlie sexual passions 
 in order to lift human beings to the higher spiritual jjlanes. 
 
 The more we study animal form, the more we see how it is 
 moulded by the spirit formative powers. We see how the 
 hind runs until caught, and how elegance of form and the 
 reciuisites for speed are imparted to the offspring. Nay, one 
 may tJike much of Darwin's work and understand further 
 paragraphs to each chapter. Where he with infinite patience 
 formulates great laws, they will seem insutlicicnt. To take 
 an imaginary ease, he might ascribe development of the 
 ant-eater's proboscis to the fact that those with the longest) 
 proboscis could procure food when others could not. This is 
 so far reasonable. But to su[)pose that any elongation of the 
 ])roboscis could arrive without further assistance seems absurd. 
 He is right in showing that the snout grows longer in con- 
 tinuous breeding, but he utterly fails to show the reason for 
 its elongation. He does not say that the animal's life-long 
 desire and necessity to reach in through the ant>holes imprints 
 itself on the shape of its offspring ; or that this necessity is 
 being continually experienced by the mother during the 
 period of gestation. 
 
 Darwin failed to answer the (juestion of this chapter (which 
 was also the scientific question of his life), namely, "Why 
 does life ascend, instead of always ren;aiiiiiig at the same 
 level?" He did not see, or failed to mention, two of the 
 greatest laws of nature : Firat, That whenever a creature's 
 sensorium experiences an urgent want, then its mind or 
 mental essence receives from the all-knowledge such enlight- 
 enment as it is capable of requiring. And second, Where 
 such a desire is the outcome of the creature's daily necessity 
 (in procuring food, or otherwise) then such continuoi'.s desire 
 is imprinted during the embryotic stages on the form of its 
 offspring, thus accommodating its shape to the uecessitie'' of 
 
44 
 
 THK ASCKNT OK LIKK. 
 
 its coming existence ; also that enibryotic alterations result 
 from the presence of ideals which are vivid in the parental 
 
 mind.t 
 
 The influence of the mind and ideals upon tlie embryo is 
 exhibited in many ways. The children by a second husband 
 ofU'U rcscnil)le the lii-st husband. The fright of the mother, 
 or the witnessing of some terrible deformity, or her being 
 bitten by a dog, have (among vast numbers of other cases) 
 produced lamentable residts on offspring.* The prevalence 
 of the desiie for beauty produces all the human beauty we 
 see, and nothing is better capable of proof than that the 
 highest ideals produce the highest beauty. No people pos- 
 sess beauty which suggests any higher ideals than their own. 
 In England, where exalted virtues, propriety of life and 
 love for all that is beautiful in art and literature combine to 
 form the ideals of the retined classes, we witness a tyi)e of 
 high-minded beauty that is rarely found elsewhere. Indi- 
 vidual cases of it may bo seen in Boston and Canada. But 
 one may walk for weeks in Paris without discovering a single 
 instance of it. Some few distinguished faces there a,re, but 
 none that altogether transcend Parisian ideals. Paris is in 
 them all. In New York it is the same ; though the faces, on 
 the average, are somewhat more moral than in Paris. Ele- 
 gance and prettiness abound in New York : but as art and 
 literature are almost entirely absent, and as the local ideals 
 are almost entirely confined to love of money, elegance, and 
 pleasure, the faces of course show no more than that which 
 is sought after. The New York countenances become fine 
 in those who are fairiy well on in years, and who have loved 
 and suffered and won the high beauty by virtue of their 
 spirits' development and supremacy. 
 
 It would be easy to show that in every country the same 
 rule holds good — that people are simply that which they 
 wish, that which they idealize and seek. The whole of it is 
 a self-evident proof of the spirit formativeness. 
 
 The following line of thought will assist toward indicating 
 reasons for these enibryotic alterations. Let us first consider 
 the creation of increased human beauty resulting from the 
 presence of ideals and images of beauty in the parental 
 minds. Science sufficiently shows that the brain is the 
 product of sensation — an animal production which increases 
 as sensation multiplies, and by continued use develops in 
 
 • t vide Appendix (A). 
 
 X 
 
"afer "^J" 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 4n 
 
 size, flomewhat like the bodily ftiuscles. It represents all 
 the animal desiivs, ni't'd.s, aiul sensations, which continually 
 multiply as man evolves. 
 
 Apparently the hrain is vivified by the life principle, which 
 brings to it vibratory conditions possessing peculiarities anal- 
 ogous to those we notice in electricity. Hut we lind all 
 animal life surrounded by simie principle of nature which 
 has attributes of omniscience ; and it is evidently the life's 
 alliances with this knowledge-principle that produce in this 
 combination the consciousness of personal identity. The 
 brain registers its sensations on the ego, and the ego makes 
 known to the brain the knowledge which is obtained through 
 its correspondences. T'lese correspondences are, as already 
 proved, capable of being co'.iplete with other egos. We have 
 shown that the mind of one person may be totally in the 
 possession of the mind of another. And this result is quite 
 certain, namely, that the ego may acquire knowledge in 
 three ways : — Fii-st, through its bodily brain sensations; or 
 second, from other egos, through the silent vibratory mesmeric 
 processes ; or third, by the same vibratory processes drawing 
 knowledge from the knowledge-principle of nature. 
 
 An animal's knowledge, therefore, primarily came, and still 
 comes, through the force of the animal desires compelling 
 the spiritual part of the mind to acquire information through 
 its correspondences and alliances with the knowledge prin- 
 ciple. ( While saying this, the author has no wish to seem in 
 antagonism with the Buddhistic theory, that that which is 
 here called the knowledge-principle of nature is a remote 
 ability for omniscience which is latent in every human soul. 
 Both researches are agreed as to the soul's alliance with an 
 all-knowledge principle ; and, at this early stage, it matters 
 little in results whether this reality be a latent quality of the 
 soul or an all-pervading principle of nature. The author 
 tinds it necessary to hold to the results ot his own studies, 
 because the Buddhist theory does not uxteud itself to the 
 lowest forms of animal life and consequently fails to explain 
 the earlier evolutions.) The above is only another Avay 
 (though a very different way) of repeating what religion 
 has always said — that the animal receives that which is 
 necessary for it. 
 
 Therefore the ego may fairly be called the total of a 
 man's sensations and impressions; and this, whether the 
 
 -,^-^mim»mmM^h 
 
 sm i m< is^i»!sss^s £i i3n s> im0s ^^smi!tsnist i i!^ ,^^sfs#«,fw«. - 
 
46 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 impressions come from the lower animal side, or from other 
 egos, or Ixj gained by mental effort or otherwise from the 
 knowledge-principle of nature. Thus, when one lives among 
 beautiful people and the highest art, these supply, In- 
 the mechanism of the eye and otherwise, a large proportion 
 of this total which is the real man; and as all the life in 
 nature reproduces itself, it follows that this total, this entirety 
 of the man, nnist reproduce, to an iniccrtain extent, those 
 impressions which form so large a part of itself. 
 
 Witness the fact that in criminal and low-lived district* 
 the increase of lieauty is hardly traceable. Both the women 
 and the men who image each other in the soul are of low 
 types, and must forever reproduce themselves as they are, 
 and also animalities of all kinds, until they in some ways 
 intermingle with or become assisted by the refinement of 
 a human aristocracy. Nature points to an aristocracy that 
 rules, and inferiors who are ruled. One will fruitlessly 
 search l)oth the Five Points and Seven Dials for any one 
 showing the slim spiritual refinement and helpful loveliness 
 of, say, a Canova statue. Yet where low-lived people with 
 countenances no better than a Kalmuck's have become rich, 
 we see, even in two generations, an almost miraculous differ- 
 ence, after the children have been led towards higher ideals 
 (even if only social ones) and have travelled and employed 
 tlieir faculty for imaging among those things which refine, 
 both in art and literature. 
 
 Under the law of Lycurgus, certain Greeks surrounded 
 their child-bearing wives witli beautiful pictures, images and 
 statues which reproduced the highest ideals of human sym- 
 metry, activity and grace. The custom was enforced, and 
 the result of this, and many other artistic influences, was that 
 a people were produced whose beauty and elegance have 
 never been surpassed. These early influences are still 
 markedly noticeable among the modei-n Greeks, wherever the 
 brutalizing influences of Turks a. I other invaders and for- 
 eigners have not since been at won. 
 
 Wc need not say that God produ ^s lovely children. It 
 is the god in man. The process conta "s neither miracle nor 
 chance; it is evidently as certain as arithmetic. Thus it was 
 said that the children of the painter Millais were, in early 
 life at least, singularly beautiful. How could they be other- 
 wise, after Millais had idealized and imaged beauty during 
 
THK ASCKN'T OK LIKE. 47 
 
 all his lift'? — ihoiitfh in tliis ciisu we must not foijjet tliat 
 tluiir mother was the person copied into that picture railed 
 " The Huguenots," — a face that has created a lovely ideal 
 for millious. 
 
 This faculty for iinajjing which has so much to do with a 
 huiuan ego, when this is considered as the record and total 
 of a man's impressions, must Ije noticed when the question 
 of embryotic alterations is l)efore us. It is, of course, 
 present in the animals; and in man indicates, often in the 
 most trivi.al ways, it8 stupendous issues and possibilities. 
 There would be no art or religion without it. The painter 
 and actor live upon the visualizing faculty. It may be the 
 most dangerous or the most ui)lifting faculty in the human 
 makeup. When intense and true to nature it is genius; 
 when too intense and untrue it is insanity. It has brouglit 
 man his best creations, as well as his !iallucinations. As he 
 idealized virtue or vice, this imaging f iculty has swept him 
 on, realizing for him the pictures which delighted him, 
 whether of good or evil. When urgei ou the one hand by 
 drink, drugs, perfumes, and hasheesh, or, on the other hanil, 
 by prayer, fasting, and concentration, it shows the extent of 
 man's range. Sometimes it is the best of all servants; but 
 with the opium, etc., it is a master which pretends to be a 
 slave. With actors, who often assume the characters of other 
 people more easily than exhibit any of their own, it is espe- 
 cially dangerous, for facts have shown that when one of these 
 idealizes a vice, his faculty for imaging sweeps him away. 
 
 As in the little drawing-room experiments in mesmerism, 
 these processes, which also have such unending issues, show 
 themselves in every-day trivialities. An advertisement 
 appeared for a long time on the back of the London Graphic. 
 In a red disc, the letters of the name " Pears " appeared in 
 white. You looked at it for some time, then closed your 
 eyes tightly, and afterwards the lettei-s vividly appeared to 
 mind's sight in other colors. Somebody explained about 
 the red color exciting the optic nerves, and the letters repro- 
 ducing themselves through reflex action in supplemental 
 colore. The explanation, whatever it was, sounded more 
 learned than satisfactory. For what is "sight"? Are 
 there two kinds of sight, or only one? My mesmerized 
 patients, while asleep and with eyes closed, saw everything I 
 saw or told them to see. Then, also, there is the sight of 
 
 *Sii»!»»a«IBKii«(g>a»H(B!!l«W"J««S:«ftSS*t^^^ 
 
48 
 
 THE ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 the eyes. But ivro there two kinds of sifjht? I think not. 
 The syHtem of nerves and lenses (tailed the eyes seem like 
 some delicate ])liotogra|)hie apparatus to convey sensation or 
 suf^gestiou to the interior faeulty, which, in hoth ahove 
 cases, does tlie seeinj^. 
 
 In tiiis adveitisement for the selling of a soap, we see a 
 trivial manifestation of a great scheme of nature, that is, 
 moreover, as truly a vision in a small way as the appearing 
 of the Virgin at I-,ourdes. While rcgaiding sight solely as 
 an internal faculty jjrodnced hy tlie vihratory effects of 
 mesmerism or those of the optic aj)i»aratus, we underatand 
 how real some unrealities may appear. In this small experi- 
 ment the effect is of course rather transient ; yet it indicates 
 the processes and iiow sights which produce excitement and 
 shock may he almost indelihle and may he endlessly repro- 
 duced until they form a large part, and perhaps an insanely 
 large part, of a human heing's toUil of impressions. With 
 the lover of nature and of the heautiful, it will lead to the 
 highest good, and with the vicious, just the opposite. This 
 is why sensitive people instinctively avoid the sight of hide- 
 ous things and deformities, unless they nerve themselves for 
 the occasion, like a hosi)itid nui-se. Without knowing why, 
 the effects thus produced are dreaded, especially as a surprise, 
 though the spirit when strung can endure anything of the 
 kind. Yet the aversion is intense — this heing nature's safe- 
 guard from effects which may he so disastrous, especially to 
 young girls and those ahout to become mothere. 
 
 This faculty for imaging can only Ixi suggested here in a 
 few words. Readere will follow the points and easily satisfy 
 themselves with facts as they go along. This, and the 
 presence of predominant ideals and desires, with all their 
 registrations, both pictorial and otherwise, and whether 
 helpful or hurtful, go to make that total of a human being's 
 impressions, which must, to an uncertain extent, reproduce 
 itself in the creation of offspring. For what is there of a 
 man apart from his total of impressions ? Absolutely nothing. 
 The human soul holds its registrations. It is either sensi- 
 tized to the higher spiritual grades, or it is not. As the seat 
 of memory, it never forgets. This is shown under certain 
 conditions, as in cases of almost complete drowning, when 
 men see the whole of their lives spread out before them, 
 including all those things which hud Imjcu forgotten. 
 
TIIK AHCKNT OF MFK. 
 
 49 
 
 Exhaust or impair or live out the vital Htroiigth, and 
 memory wanes or disappears for a time. Htit no man by 
 Knowing old loses his memoiy. He only lns<>s tlie animal 
 passions and the foree whicth they »ise to make the soul <lo 
 Its work. Thus old men approach death "babbling o' green 
 fields," or of the most vivid impressions of early youth, such 
 as hunting, which are so often the last to disappear l)ecause 
 the remnant of animal virility keeps them in evidence to the 
 last. Yet it often iiappens that old men in an access of 
 anger, or under stinndant, will remend.or things which, as 
 their families suppose, have been for long years forgotten. 
 Or, on their deathbeds, when their bodies have already grown 
 cold, and are virtually dead, their sotds acquire moments of 
 such astonishing liuiidity that (!very one is frightened. He 
 who has been ind)ecile for years siuidcnly know's all his past, 
 and shows his knowledge at once, though often too weak for 
 speeeii. But there is heie no reason for fright. In the 
 study of soul, all these things cea.se to bo phenomena, and 
 take their place as that which nuist be expected and pre- 
 pared^ for. It is simply the same truth which this work 
 many 'times reiterates — that when the body is numbed to 
 the point where its sensation ceivses, there may be an internal 
 illumination which transcends all the comprehensions exhib- 
 ited at any other time. It is only by studying mesmerism 
 that we gain a knowledge of what those last wonderful looks 
 of the dying mean. 
 
 Darwin's great theory of " natural selection " is part of the 
 answer supplied by him and science to the question of this 
 chapter: " Why do the ordei-s of life ascend ? " Readers are 
 aware of tlie arguments of this theory. It is said that in 
 the animal kingdom males will be selected who are most 
 competent to defend or provide for their mates— that the 
 brightest-colored birds and best-conditioned animals will be 
 preferred, etc. The facts shown in support of this theory 
 are no doubt correct; and yet they explain no reason for 
 improvement or ascent. No two parents will produce off- 
 spring more developed than themselves, unless spirit forma- 
 tiveness, through desire or mental ideals, is at work. 
 
 The answers intended to be made to the question put as 
 above have in the foregoing paragrajjlis bt^come sufficiently 
 clear. The experiments of mesmerism show how the whole 
 animal kingdom may receive such enlightenment as will 
 
 : ! 
 
 i ! 
 ' i 
 
 i ! 
 
 i 'I 
 
 ■I ! 
 
 lit 
 
 ^<'k^i;^ -1..^*,. 
 
60 
 
 THK ABCBNT OF LIFB. 
 
 serve to protect, giiitlo, and provide. So far, and by virtue 
 of this law only, tlii'io may not Ikj nmch rouHon for OHcent, 
 lH!(!aiiso animals will not seok moro t3nlij,'litonmt!nt than tlu'ir 
 own nf(!i%Hsiti(!H call for. Hnt the proof of the formativcncss 
 of mind or spirit upon embryo, and even upon adult, can be 
 midtiplied nil infinitum. And when once this power "is 
 admitted, tlie development and ascent of animal life not 
 only Iteconuvs possible, but also that which must of necessity 
 occur. Onco perceive that the longinjjs, ideals, and mental 
 jiictures regarding daily neco,'4sities and of sexual passiou 
 have an effect upon the embryo, and then it will bo seen that 
 progression must necessarily o(!cur, even without being con- 
 Hciously sought. It will lie dist^erncd that in the contests of 
 nature the victors would be pervaded with convictions as to 
 their own strength and si/o exaggerated by the sexual vanity 
 which is everywiieie luesent. Tliese ideals, and all the 
 qualities which delight an animal according to bis instincts, 
 such as cunning, speed, power, agility, etc., would be often 
 transmitted in increased degree to the offspring.* At the 
 time of breeding, the sexual vanities are always at their 
 highest. The result of all this is that everything in nature 
 seems to l)e perfect of its kind. There is no cause for 
 wonder that the elephant, the type of power, should be as 
 large as he is. The real wonder is that he is not much 
 lai'ger — as, indeed, the mammoth formerly was. 
 
 This being the case, it will bo noted that as soon as the 
 earliest animal luunans began to recognize their ingenuity, it 
 would not take a gieat many generations to create a vast 
 difference between them and the rest of creation. It is clear 
 that no animal advantage would multiply itself and create 
 supremacy so rapidly as brain power; and when this fact is 
 realized, the large difference between man and ape sink? to 
 nothingness as an objection to the reality of evolution. If 
 the present chimpanzees and other ajjes, with their ma vel- 
 lous comprehensions and almost human bodies, did not exist, 
 our own origin might for a while have been missed; but, as 
 it is, no one can scientilically study these modern apes with- 
 out feeling stue that an accidental discovery could also pro- 
 duce with them an advantage which, with their well-known 
 imitativeness, could in the wild state lift them far from their 
 neighlwrs. 
 
 • Sm Appendix (A). 
 
THE as(;i:nt ok mik. 
 
 61 
 
 Tlio n'ftM'cnoo iiiiV(l«> t'lsi-wlicic tn tin- ( Iiim|iiiiiz<'t' hrciikiii^ 
 the nut with a Mmiv. wiis nitlicr insiilliii^ to liis inti'lli^^M'iicc, 
 be('!iiis(* cliiin|)iiir/.(u>H iiml soiiitf (itliiT uuitikfyH sci'iii to iiiidt'i- 
 Hliiml this witlinnt tuition. 'I'licir |iiiH.siij,'i' from tlii'ir iiirstMit 
 liso of this tool to tilt) use of ii |>it'f(! of woftd as a <'lul) sccuis 
 no j,'i('at advance; y('t what a supicniacy tliis would jifivc to 
 the discoverer's tiil>e, which would imitate him! Au<l if the 
 cluh were a broken hianch, with a .sharp cud, how soon it.s 
 I)ow<'r to wound would lead to tlu; use of the spear! It was 
 a lilK'ial education to watcli " Mr. Crowley,"' late of the Cen- 
 tral Park Museum, unroll a earanu'l, eat it. and afterwards 
 take a tooth-pick from the keeper and solemnly pick all his 
 teeth. lie was exceedingly like some Irishmen in counte- 
 nance, and was as concentrated a studcMt of man as man was 
 of him. When he held his hands, one at a time, through 
 the bars aiul insisted upon having his tinger-nails chtaned by 
 the keeper's penknife, he almost (icasc-d to 1h> anything but 
 human.* Some Hindoos who live among the sacred baboons 
 say, with perhaps unconscious sarcasm, that these creatures 
 could talk if they liked, and only refrain from speech " be- 
 cause they are wise." 
 
 Now in this showing how the different orders of life in 
 nature progress and ascend by virtue of the two laws which 
 are disclosed in mesmerism and in othtM- ways, it would be a 
 simple method to adopt the earlier i<lea, and say, ''God made 
 all tliese creatures." But it is quite evident that it has taken 
 time almost like eternities to move from tish to amphil)iaii 
 and from reptile to beast, and this argues that there was 
 some impediment to rapid progression. Science has not ex- 
 plained the ascent, nor has religion explained the great de- 
 lay; but the two laws, as here given, exi>lain both. The 
 fii-at one shows that although all living things liave been in 
 correspondence with the all-knowledge, they apparently only 
 acquiied information as their brain-structures were able to be 
 cognizant of a necessity. 
 
 Because the soul of the mesmerized patient can make 
 draughts upon the all-knowledge, it need not necessarily fol- 
 low that there is any stream of instruction proceeding with' 
 out demand from the all-knowledge to the individual. This 
 
 • I (11(1 not see the iierformance niyself, but since tlie aliDve wat written, liis former 
 keeper and other men about the menagerie have aHsureil nie tliat Crowlev woulil uit in 
 a chair and eat bis nieaU at a table with big keeper — hauilliiig liiit spoon an well us 
 any child, 
 
62 
 
 THK ASCENT OF LIFIT.. 
 
 is what explaiiKS the enonnous time occupiod in prochioinq 
 the animal forms; because if a (iotl had, without demand, 
 been continually communicating the proper coni-se to take, 
 the whole of the forms would be i)ioduc(al in a short time. 
 This, in fact, w.nild be but little different from a slow method 
 of direct creation. And yet it is beyond question that the 
 creature receives assistance by knowledge imparted when (in 
 a manner) demanded as a necessity. No amount of heredi- 
 tary instinct will guide a blind seal, or even a seeing one, 
 across the ocean to his home on land. So far as our own 
 proof goes, wo have nothing before us to show that the all- 
 knowledge is not always passive, except when some informa- 
 tion is being drawn "from it. This view of its passivity 
 accords with much of what we know of nature. It also ac- 
 cords with tlie religious view that (Jod in all cases requires 
 individual effort for progression. 
 
 The principle, or power, or law, or (iod, from which tins 
 knowledge is derived, is here called tlie all-knowledge. This 
 may sound a little absurd till the ear becomes accustomed to 
 it ; but when nothing more is discerned of it except that it 
 apparently knows everything, it is well to confine oui-selves 
 to our proof. For so far as we can as yet prove, this all- 
 knowledge may be merely a principle of nature which has 
 been utilized by every living thing towards slow progression. 
 At the same time it would be unwise to assume that no in- 
 spiration comes unasked. This work confines itself to tracing 
 the medium of communication, and, in a dim way, describing 
 how knowledge is obtained. Yet it must not be supposed 
 that the quantity of records concerning unasked-for inspira- 
 tion and vision is here ignored. As to these, we are silent 
 because proof is unavailable for this work. Every one will 
 take his own view. The Bible teems with these records. 
 When subsequent experimenting mesmerists find that they 
 themselves can produce vision so easily, they will regard 
 recorded cases with further light. 
 
". -J^Ai—ZL 
 
 Chapteh V. 
 
 11 
 
 The French experiments show tluit after marriage patiei-N 
 who havejjreviously l)(.'en instructive h)se their suseeptihili.* 
 to the niesnuaist's power. As suhsecpieiitly e.\j)hiiiie(l, mar- 
 riage deveh)ps. The ego tlien lefiises to sul)mit to outside 
 influence. Until the liunian indivifhiality rises to a position 
 in society wiiich is similarly assured it lacks strength. It 
 then becomes more of a power tliaii .. patient. Before this 
 happens, it is hut little njore than an undesignated capa- 
 city for sensation. And, in every grade of life, when tlie 
 female instinct for suhmission is j)resent, susceptible material 
 for the world's mesmerism is provided. 
 
 We use the term " world's mesmerism " to hint at the uni- 
 versality of the vibratory effects. Social intercouise is made 
 up of them. Communion of any kind, fiom the lowest ani- 
 mal to a spiritual (and doubtless to the highest spiritual) 
 condition is part of the processes of the same principles. 
 The unity of marriage, friendship, home life, and all the 
 happiness which in any way arises through intercourse with 
 other souls, and whether tiie happiness be of birds, animals, 
 or that of the human spiiitual planes, is all a part of the 
 operation of the same system. Let us understand this a 
 little better. If the reader will glance over the following 
 synopses, ideas will J)e gleaned tliat will save words : — 
 
 Whatever else life may be, one of its most prominent and 
 noticeable characteristics is capacity for vibration. 
 
 Mesmerism is one process for producing unity of vibration. 
 
 Pleasant social intercoui-se and friendship are approaches 
 to unity of vibration. 
 
 Sexual passion is unity of vibration in the animal grades. 
 
 Love is unity of vibration on the spiritual planes. 
 
 Music is the language of the world of vibratioii, aiid pro- 
 duces and alters the soul-phases by establishing unities of 
 vibration. 
 
 08 
 
 \ 
 
 n 
 
 S-v's<d»'»«MK«*;aitT)»^'»*»£»*j«*a»«B.^j**;^ ^ 
 
 ^ tr.*.'9ii»ir •; »*S-ffc*TS**ttw*i'=*i', . 
 
 ,i':-^=v«'.-.-,-i^r ---;-^h* ■ 
 
54 
 
 THK ASCKNT OK LIFK. 
 
 Unhappiness, of which the proper nanu! is diHcord. is hick 
 
 of unity of vihratioii. . . , • ^ .» 
 
 Health, holh physical and spiritual, means " in tune. 
 Sympathy (active) is the attempt to produce unity ot 
 
 ""' No system which proposes to deal with life, whether it be 
 religious or seientitic, can he satisfactory or correct unless it 
 be eoually api.licable to the whole of lite, from the lowest 
 animll grades to the highest spiritual ones. Many systems 
 have been distinetly advantageous t.. a lew ''"t. outs^jlers 
 who seemed to lose heaven by not being included in these 
 schemes have found them somewhat lacking in scope. 
 
 While the above headings are being read we must not be 
 undei-stood to say that life is nothing Imt vibration, be- 
 cause, except i.erl.ips in plant life, it is also consciousness, 
 it must not be c.Meluded that nnu.-s future existence is sug- 
 gested to be that of a vibrating essence and nothing more 
 People attend a s.aentilie lecture and tlieii forget the tacts 
 of it. After dinner, it is s..nietimes diiVKult to be interested 
 in the statement that the universe which lies outside the 
 processes of digestion is alive with viL.ation. It is men loned 
 that light travels at over 192.000 miles a second and at a 
 rate which could encircle the earth in one eighth of a second ; 
 and listeners raise the eyebrows in polite and slightly in er- 
 rogative indifference. The scientihc inf<.rinant adds that 
 this is r//>m^/.«, " proceeding through the ether which tills 
 all space and pervades all material bodies, occupying the m- 
 tervils betwein their molecules," * and then listeners yawn. 
 By the time it is explained how heat and electricity are also 
 vibration, the tired listener goes away with a dim idea tiiat 
 
 all life is vibration. ^, i ^ i.u„ 
 
 Well, is not this right? Remove either the heat or the 
 electricity from a man and he is dead. Therefore life no 
 matter what else it is, includes these two, which are both 
 vibration. We know, too, that we could not have a sensa- 
 tion, either pleasurable or the reverse, and that the brain 
 could never have been built, except for vibration along the 
 nerve-Duln. We kncnv that every thread of the vast nervous 
 svsten is vivified by the life, so that it is in exactly similar 
 CO Son to a vivitied telegraph wire. If, then, the scien^ 
 tincjhe<ny regurdingj^l^^ 
 
 • BranUe, p. «6'. 
 
 A!.YU»«t^aD»nin«MM 
 
of 
 
 THE .VariCNT OV 1,1 KR. 
 
 55 
 
 I not stH!in iKMUiliar to speak 
 
 of wliufli the presence is as 
 
 We are confronted by the 
 
 faculty wliich, when educed, 
 
 tioned") we may say tliat we are visited I>y lij,ditand pervaded 
 by at least three other essences (?) all of which annihilate 
 distance. 
 
 In view of these facts it dm 
 of the pervading,' all-knowledi,^' 
 capable of proof tis the olhei.;. 
 fact that we have within us a 
 also annihilates distance and possesses itself of knowledpje 
 regarding fact« ocinrring at a distance (and possibly any 
 other knowledge — though this is not here jtroved). 
 
 Now we have always had to face the question as to whether 
 we were mere automata, or something more. Necessarily we 
 had to be one of the two. Science, in trying to show an 
 exclusively material production, woidd, if it had succeeded, 
 have proved us to be automata, and in that case the almost 
 deified intellect would have been our nearest idea of a God. 
 Rut, as things are, we find in us a faculty wliiidi in its mar- 
 vellous correspondences might almost be considered to be 
 extra-human ; and we have to arrange our views so as to 
 l)roperly value the fact. 
 
 The two greatest teachers of the world, although living, so 
 far as we know, in different countries, have come to conclu- 
 sions which, if not the same as to outlooks and rewards, pro- 
 duced almost precisely similar effect^^ upon man's efforts to 
 imjjrove himself. The results in both cases weie to make him 
 seek to reduce the body's power for obscuring the internal 
 faculties, and to increase every refinement of the individuality 
 so as to prepare it for its condition sid)sequent to human 
 death. Since those years, man has improved to a wonderful 
 extent, in spite of the centiuies in which his credulity was 
 utilized to stagnate everything except priestly power. In 
 both systems the same soul virtues were advocated. These 
 are the truths which every right-living man of the present 
 day, whether agnostic or religious, forms his life upon, because 
 they leap into the heart as truth, liuddha, who disclaimed 
 being otherwise thau ordinarily human, [)reached that these 
 are the truths which any man can ascertain for himself. Men 
 found it impossible to resist the force of teachings which the 
 sold pronounced to be correct and proper; and, in their 
 i-eadiness to accept them, accepted also the mass of myth anc^ 
 legend which had accumulated about each system. Thirty- 
 four marked coincidences occur in the legends regarding the 
 
 J 
 
56 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 two teachers ; and, as they were divided in point of time by 
 live and a half centuries, it is quite clear that the myths re- 
 garding the first were attached also to the second. 
 
 Tlie virtues of the Buddhist and Christian systems need 
 not h(; catahtgued, because they are known sufficiently well ; 
 and it will be seen that preparation for any further world has 
 always consisted in making the best of this one. 
 
 The aim of all men is happiness. Without the possibility 
 of hajjpiness life would be a cruelty as well as an absurdity. 
 All have been in search for it ; but not all have accepted that 
 which could be found. Every one who lias fairly tested life 
 and its alleged channels of happiness, has necessarily come to 
 the conclusion that the requisite of happiness is that we " live 
 outside ourselves," — to use a phrase that will be best under- 
 stood. This discovery is not peculiar to any dogmatic reli- 
 gion. Agnostics know it to be a truth as well, and often 
 better, than the followers of religious systems. This natural 
 law has made itself felt at those modern times when man 
 commenced to transmit to posterity the verbal, and subse- 
 quently written, records of his beliefs — and, doubtless, for 
 ages before. Old Greek words combine to give us our word 
 " ecstasy " with a meaning which is best rendered in the com- 
 mon expression " jumping out of one's skin." The word is 
 
 suggestive. . 
 
 Nothing is more to be expected than that happiness will be 
 sought for widely by those who are bold. The result of all 
 seltish efforts in this search is invariably a foregone conclu- 
 sion. From Solomon, down to the egoistic melancholia of 
 the present, there has been one long wail issuing from those 
 who have tried to find happiness in different forms of egoism. 
 The lees of the cup of self are bitter and cause death. One 
 of tlie most appropriate names ever applied to God or nature 
 was produced by the North American Indians. They called 
 Him the '' Great Medicine." And the only cure for the tor- 
 tures and diseases of the self-inverted ego which gnaws itself 
 to death, is in the healing waters of nature. The Abana and 
 Pharpar of self are useless ; every fetid drain of Damascus 
 pours into them. 
 
 Inveterate materialists prove this truth for themselves. 
 The law which regulates souls ordains that every one is a 
 necessary part of the great chord, and that our one small 
 note shall not vibrate by itself. The spiritual disease of the 
 
 'J3K^i*3gr-aiia^^aa ajM»s«g Baa»aa»^^ 
 
THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 57 
 
 ego which consists in continuoiinly snundiiijT its own note 
 producess mtulnesss; and iiidocd the monotony of it almost 
 lunatizes others also. 
 
 This assistance whit-li (li.; non-rt'ligions side of life supplies 
 to religio)is truth is valnahle. It helps to eonvince tiiat love 
 for the sympathies, coni[)assions, and unities of the spiritual 
 planes is no delusion of relij^ious leaning's. We see, in fact, 
 that to live outside of self is an uhsolnte nei-essity for haj)pi- 
 ness ; and also that the dc^rfes of jrladness which arise in 
 working for others seem {graduated in proportion to the dis- 
 tance at which one leaves self heliind. Although this is the 
 rule in any human life, tlie truth of it is not discerned until 
 one has sought for knowledge in one's interior faculties. 
 Neither the rule itself nor tiie extension of it into the far- 
 reaching altruism of spiritual peo[)le is a part of the animal 
 world. It helongs to some plane of existence different from 
 the animal one, in which self-interest is always a first 
 consideration, except where mating and hreeding produce 
 unities. 
 
 We repeat the words of the last line — "except where 
 ui.. ng and breeding produce unities." They contain a 
 world of tuition. They hold one secret .as to nature's meth- 
 ods of altering the animal world to the sjurituai one. 
 
 Let us get at this point slowly hut surely. 
 
 The best thing Madame de Staiil said was that "Love is an 
 egoism for two." She wiis deep in lier woman's heart when 
 she said this. She of course referred to marriage love ; and 
 the words contain the commencing idea of a great truth, 
 namely, that marriage, the great sacrament of nature, is also 
 a great alterative process. 
 
 Man enters life as an animal, and desiiing that which is 
 animal. He leaves life yearning for God. Now how did 
 this spiritual longing come into him ? What is this which 
 has happened between the cradle and the deathbed? 
 
 Except in the case of some few fine beings, who are owing 
 much to heredity, youth is almost utt4'rly selfish. We love 
 youth so much that we do not notice this, for we know how 
 natural it is. But the selfishness of youth and its longings 
 for natural pleasures indicate the plane on which man ap- 
 peal's. The ordinary lusty boy cares but little for catechism, 
 looks askance at the catalogue of Cliristian viitues, secretly 
 discredits the story of Jonah, but likes those who give him 
 
58 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 what he desires, 
 coming a saint 
 
 Ilis instincts are to be a man before be- 
 Natuie insists u])on this. Saintship is 
 wearisome to him. Then conies the period in which perhaps 
 evi'iy one acts in a different way ; some run wihi, and some 
 do not. Hut the great necessity of a young man's existence 
 is tt> retain liis faith in the purity and sanctity of some girls 
 and women. If lie loses this during the period in which 
 more or less riot is frciiuent he has sustained a terrible loss, 
 for it is in the heart of the good girl he believes in and 
 marries that he learns more than all the holy books will 
 1«ach him. Nature led men to spiritual giwles in the sacra- 
 ment of marriage long before holy bo<tks were commenced, 
 and any heaven which depended on printer's work would 
 surely be a precarious affair. Nothing has more obscured 
 nature's methods for making men spiritual than this supposed 
 necessity for books and priests; in fact, there is something 
 humorous in the idea. As to absence of limit, the only rival 
 1o the infinity of God is the vanity of man. 
 
 Perhajis the tiaiest and most beautiful lines that Tennyson 
 ever wrote are in " Locksley Hall " : — 
 
 Love took up the harp of Life and smote on all the 
 
 chords with might; 
 Smote the chord of Self which, tremhling, passed in 
 
 music out of sight. 
 
 And it is, as we have already exi)lained, liecause self is 
 altered and merged in other self that marriage is happy. It 
 is the first forcible education in that community of inter- 
 change which belongs to the spiritual condition. With some 
 jieople who at firat marry for some other reason than love, 
 marriage may not commence or it may not end happily; but 
 sooner or later, and perhaps after it has concluded, there will 
 be realization of the fact that during the love life was holy. 
 For those who begin and continue marriage in love, it will 
 not cease, though it may sometimes appear to do so; that is 
 to say, the effects of love will remain although the pereon 
 who elicited it may prove unworthy. But there are those 
 who are so irredeemably selfish in their perverted, or mther 
 inverted, wills that they never in any whole-hearted way 
 alwindon their intense egoism, and consequently remain on 
 the animal plane, unmoved by the tendernesses extended in 
 the love of the other party. In these cases there is of 
 course no unity, and m fact no marriage; for on one side it 
 
 J. i 
 
 >...rTa»«ais^a5a!«i»fi««A;*WMfi^:<«Kt«s»s^»'«^'^ 
 
THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 59 
 
 is attempted holiness, and, on the other, something quite 
 different. 
 
 But, putting aside the consideration of all the unhiipi>v 
 ones who for many reasons fail to find marriage a complete 
 success, it still must he seen, when the suhject is studied, 
 that it is the most alterative process of i vture's lahoiatory. 
 And it hy no means follows that the spiritual gain of mar- 
 riage is lost becau.se the faults of the other party terminate the 
 unities wliicli have for years continued. Because the human 
 soul is governed by a nature's law which forbids descents, 
 and when it has become accustomed to tlie spiritual plane 
 to which love carried it, there will be no [mssibility of en- 
 tirely returning to the animal grade. 
 
 For this reason : Love's great song, which consists of all 
 the harmonies of life — lovt^'s rarefactions, the innumerable 
 little self-sacritices, delicacies, and reHiiements, the thousaml 
 tendernesses, thoughtfulnesses, and caresses are all registeied 
 in the soul, which is the storehouse of memory, so tliat the 
 human being is really like a wonderfully-<leveloped phono- 
 graph in which the great song which told of God and holiness 
 is continually being repeated. These living registrations of 
 the spiritual gladnesses, such as sympathy, compiussion, con- 
 sciousness of the holiness of giving one's best, the sacred 
 moments of devotion, never cease from sounding when once 
 they have been received into the soul after " Love took up 
 the harp of life." 
 
 The faculty of the soul for registering its own sensations 
 must, like all the registrations of bodily sensation be attril>- 
 uted to vibration. 
 
 Life, as a whole, cannot be understood without a compre- 
 hension of the differences between masculine and feminine 
 passion. And as nature always tries to teach first through 
 delight, the search for her leading powers must always be the 
 search for her delights (though her retributive processes, 
 which are different, are as a rule equally instructive). Now, 
 throughout luiture, the delight of the male is to possess and 
 overcome ; that of the female is a passion for submission. 
 Consequently every assistance is given to the general plan of 
 nature which insists on producing the unities of vibration 
 which create hapi»iuess, whether these be on the lowest or 
 highest grades. Without this knowledge, the comprehension 
 of life is chaotic. 
 
(50 
 
 THE ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 I 1 
 
 \ , 
 
 If 
 
 . I 
 
 All grades of sympathy, in oider to be pleasurable, must, 
 like an agreeai)le chord of music, l)c unity of vibration. And 
 in perfect mairiage, which is the gift of soul to soul, the 
 spiritual interchange is complete ; so that when the above- 
 mentioned powers for producing unities are present, then 
 miirried love, in its consciousness of holine.ss, sensitizes the 
 animal human ego into unity with the more excessive vibra- 
 tion of the spiritual planes. The human ego which has 
 always b(>en partly spiritual must be brought into unity with 
 a higher spiritual region. This is a religious truth which 
 has always been prominent; and nature's chief process is a 
 sensitization of the human soul which (hose who love invari- 
 ably recognize from the iii-st to be holy. The instincts in 
 this matter are universally the same, and too vivid to allow 
 any do\il)t as to their spiritual origin and intention. 
 
 Now one itecidiaiity and a proof of the efficacy of this plan 
 is that people who have fairly attained and have known the 
 relined gladness (»f a life passed more or less on a spiritual 
 plane, cannot, without suffering, try to leave the high grade 
 to which they have been elevated. When nature has sensi- 
 tized animal man to a plane which has symi)athies like those 
 of a Huddha, his newly-attuned indiviiluality demands con- 
 tinuation or advance of the conditiims here found. Aftei' 
 being thrilled up, vilnated up, into unison and tune with the 
 more excessive vibrations of a higher existence, then the 
 happiness (Mcated l>y lu'coniing part of the varied music of 
 this region demands c()iitinuati<»n or increase of similar melo- 
 dies and cannot do without them. When either of two par- 
 ties to a love marriage has tried to descend again to the ani- 
 mal phine, it has been found tliat ideas of gladness still 
 belonged to the higher life, and that attractions which had 
 l)een or might have been sullicicMit at a previous time seemed 
 empty. When the living legistrations of the higher joj's 
 continually urge such persons back by souriding their great 
 song, then nature is exerting that force by which descents 
 are forbidden. 
 
 The natural purity and ideal refinements of love have not 
 been attribute<l to nature; thus rules have l)een made and 
 objections tiiken to coercive natural laws whii h have created 
 much unhaj)piness. Yet it can be seen that highest love 
 and the whole spiritual life is as much a part of nature as 
 the lowest passion. It is all a question of grade; one is 
 holy and the other is intended to be holy. There is nothing 
 
 ,i!il 
 
 »3S33fi3SgS^sa--*'*k!aiaB!B3«f«as!a2'«»«l>»s»'" 
 
THK ASCICN'T OK LIKK. 
 
 61 
 
 obsoeiu) in niitiin- ; the only oUscenities are the inoduction of 
 advanced uniniiil mind, in men and monkeys. If mans 
 mind had never devel(»i»ed he wonld «tiil he iej,'uiiited like 
 other creatures; but tlie mind, the stoiehitusu of .sensation, 
 l)eing so much a natinal production, is capable of resisting 
 any promptings towards spirituality; and it is not U)«til this 
 mind (this combination (»f hraiil and its spirit essence) 
 becomes sensitized into unison with the higher planes of life 
 that man can realize their joys and gladnesses. 
 
 And here arises the dilliculty of explaining the wide 
 concussions and symi)athies of tiie spiritual life to the 
 unspiritual. Writers may strain and words may jticturt, 
 but no one understands the conditions of a plane of exisl- 
 ence higher than his own. No one really thiills in hearttelt 
 comprehen.sion with another who transcends his limits — be- 
 cause they exist in different degrees of vibration. It is like 
 the nurse-girl, limited to her lidlabies, not being able to unify 
 with the music of Heethoveii. As we said before, it is a 
 jtarallel case to the amphibian returning to the water an<l 
 telling the fish of his land experiences. It is (juite natural 
 for the lisii to think the amphibian to be either a fool or a 
 liar. At the present stage of deveh)pment no man is moie 
 than an ampliibian; oscillating, a.s of old, between land and 
 water, l)ctwecn the firm and the unfirm, between the spiritual 
 and the evanescent. Hut, (ptery! was that earlier amphibian 
 justified in thinking that he represented the highest possible 
 form of development ? 
 
 It is at this point that men insist on such a barrier and 
 gap between the animal and spiritual planes as will need 
 some assistance or belief to bridge over. There is no gap, 
 and the teaching regarding it has done harm in creating 
 despair. Nature is continuously waiting and urging human 
 beings to learn of love and the spiritual life through mar- 
 riage, and through the wisdom supplied to mental demands. 
 
 It must be undei-stood that the process above referred to 
 for elevating man is oidy one way — nature's chief but not 
 sole way. Another is man's way, in which his brain's pas- 
 sionate desire-force can compel the ego to seek in the all- 
 knowledge an enlightenment by which he becomes able to 
 realize and accept the joys and gladnesses of the spiritual 
 life. Nature invariably knows best; and nature will tell. 
 Its cliief teacher is gladness — in all grades — from the 
 
62 
 
 THB ASCENT OP LIKE. 
 
 "Ml; 
 
 breeclinjr of the lizftrd to tho iiursiiifr of the sUk. Acqui- 
 fsceiKU' is a song; pn.hihition i.iodiues a dirge; refusal 
 means discord, dt-spair, niachiess. , , . . 
 
 Any system or l)elief which fails to comprehend natures 
 chief 'Mn for deveh)i)ment into si)irituality is incomplete. 
 Any systcan endeavoring to create a barrier or gai) l)etween 
 animal man and spiritual man is not sulliciently mlormed. 
 'Ihe t\vt> exist side by side. It is true that when man 
 n fuses nature's laws for development an.l conlines Inmse f to 
 the animal plane he divorces himself from happiness, and, as 
 the Bible says, "does nt)t and cannot know (Jod. But it 
 he follows kind nature, he does. 
 
 This is where priests hav(f made their great mistake, and 
 have lilh-d tiie lunatic asylums of the world with unfortunate 
 victims who snifer from dementia arising from perverted or 
 suppressed nature. This is one of the most terrible lacts of 
 human life. Examination of the causes of madness will 
 show what many centuries of priestly teachings and terroi-s 
 have done. Indeed it is much to be doubted whether Christ, 
 with his extraordinary soul discernments, ever gave su[.port 
 to the ideas which have pio<luced these drea<lfnl eftects. 
 
 However, there is hope for increased .safety in the tact 
 that the world is properly becoming more (jbstmate in refus- 
 iu.r anv teachings which may be let alone. Ihe two great 
 systems became widespread Iwcause they both contained 
 teachings whieii could not be ignored. Thus many agnostics 
 lea.l a partly spiritual life. They accept what they must, and 
 they repudiate what they must. In refusing creed.s, though, 
 they are often uidiapiuly separated from t'.ose they love. 
 Thevhave suffered much— just as the maitvrs of old died 
 f.)r the same truths, which at that time included unnecessary 
 eUrt,-r<tx. It is full of b-.th tragedy and absurdity that the 
 best of men should be separated when their instincts are the 
 same. Agnostics will never say that they believe Christ was 
 born of a virgin; yet one must remember that there have 
 been dilh(!ulties on both sides, and that a man is not without 
 honor when his love for truth is so great that m fear of 
 having no truth he coerces himself in regard to .some falsities. 
 No one has been always right. Even Christ did things 
 which his own system denoumed. HapiJily there is one 
 point on which all educated men are agreed, namely, that it 
 is becoming and uecessary to give our best thought and 
 
 -"' -%JNIilVINiM"Mnsmi<»tM> 
 
 ■ g t ., ^ yyy. M. . yi, iwi i . i jJ4i^jtju ^ tva.ij4jgr^ -'; j. 'p n'i ^ ;jv:yv ???a''^r 
 
THE ASCENT nl' |,||."i: 
 
 68 
 
 intuitions to tlu; question of nur pn-Hi'iit ami futuif (tondi- 
 tion, and that tliis world, wliatevt-r it.s |iiii|)(.st', did not 
 apjKiar for aiwurdlty'w .saku Init is a portion of tliu jfrund 
 8e(iuenut' of otornal truth and law. 
 
 Christ and liuddha havo tau^'ht, in different ways, one 
 truth. Wc pive it in the more familiar wnnLs rei,'arding the 
 later t<3a(;her: "He that hath the Son hatii etmial life." 
 Now what does this mean? An answer is found in stndy- 
 infjf the effeets jnoduced upon those who have souj,dit spiritual 
 paths and to enjoy spiritual j,niidance. And we lind these 
 people in possession of virtues whieh helonj,' universally to 
 the higher planes of human life. We find the Ixjst Bud- 
 dhists, Jews, Hindoos, and others all in jHisscssion of the 
 satne high qualities, all sharing the same conHdenee in sjjirit 
 alliance, and all conscious of being a part of the sjurit life. 
 The answer, arising out of the general comparison, is dear, 
 and it makes the line read thus: "lie who is on the sj)iritual 
 planes with Christ hath (the l)eginnings of) ettirnal life." 
 
 They are all enjoying the same synqiathies, gladnesses, 
 and purities sus the (Christians, and Kuclid told us that thiiigs 
 which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other. 
 It is one fraternity, individualized hy many eccentricities, 
 hut producing only one set of results, the number of 
 agnostics in it, considering their snpjtosed disadvantages, is 
 peculiar — agnostics who tried to understand (Jod with their 
 Inains, till they found that the mind of the double-first 
 cnlh.gian can know little more of (Jod than that of a savage. 
 Many have droi)i»ed argument, and liave bec(»mc conscious 
 that their loves fen- their wives and children, and their coni- 
 l)assions for those who suffer are in some way better than all 
 talk, eitlier for oi' against creeds. In a ratlicr bored sort of 
 way tiiey sometimes attend the church where they hear that 
 they are lost souls. Hut somehow the organist .seems to 
 contradict this when the revercMitial refrain tells in the spirit 
 speech of music of something Ix-yond — something that is 
 perfect, holy, unspeakable. Sometimes the good wife wee{)s 
 because one of these agiuistics is not certain that he is 
 " saved." Dry your tears, madame! your husband has dimly 
 realized that his way to know God ia to love you I 
 
* I 
 
 i\) 
 
 CUAPTKIt VI. 
 
 
 There are evidently higher conditions with which the 
 human soul becomes unified. In unihcation with the vibra- 
 tory conditions of a higher i.lane, participation in the begin- 
 nhigs of the spiritual life is enjoyed. Thus '^".f ''^"««X 
 a higher and more sensitive existence necessitates further 
 Lnaitization in the human being. Other f^^es o sundar 
 processes are in operation when animals are domesticated, and 
 throuXmany generations are t^uight, handled, mesmerized, 
 seSed, and tendered much more capable of both gladness 
 
 """The^divifion of completed man as understood by the 
 Buddhist soul science may here be given; "Ot because i^ 
 correctness or incorrectness is suggested, but because it is 
 interesting to consider the conclusions arrived at by othei-s. 
 tS sLtlnent is that a perfected man would possess or m 
 the course of his individuality's completion would have 
 
 previously possessed, in all, the ^oll-^VI'^/ ;d^ tb/aVimal 
 body; (2) the vitality; (3) the astral body; (4) the animal 
 soul; (5) the human soul; (6) the spiritual soul; (7) spirit. 
 Their explanations of the fourth, fifth, and sixth princi- 
 Dles are partly in accordance with the conclusions suggested 
 Cthe mesnLic experiments, namely, that they are not 
 divisible into separate entities but develop upwards. Ihe 
 terms merely suggest the grades of improvement of the same 
 ego The advance is partly illustrated in the development 
 fiom the animal or the lowest savage to the highest existing 
 man. It is said that the fourth principle, the animal soul, 
 is the seat of the passions, and of that will-lorce which is 
 utilized in the mesmeric experiments. The fifth principle. 
 
 M 
 
 nr iii'U».s.> : >^j ?» a ^-a !s ^ -j a^ i'--^ 3^a^^asg^ 
 
TUB A8CKNT OK LIFK. 
 
 65 
 
 the manag, is Hpokuii of ii.s tliu scat of tlin reason and 
 nietnoiy. Tliu claim in that this llfth piinciithi is not yttt 
 fully il«vuloi)(;(l in oidinaiy man, an<l (;onsi'(|m'nlly that tho 
 sixth jtiin(!i[il(! is emhryotic. Yet it is als(t said that from 
 this sixth pi'inciplu the human sold <^iiuiH those (tuli^hten- 
 ments \vhi(di arrive to the searcher of wisdom, he(;au8e it is 
 asserted that this sixth principle contains attributes of om- 
 niscience more or less latent within it. 
 
 In vliis small treatise the author has preferred to eoidine 
 lumself solely to those deductions which his own »;xpcii- 
 ment« seem to insist ujton. To those interested in their own 
 advance it can matter little whether it is their sixth princi- 
 ple which assists them or the all-lvnowlcdj,'e with which we 
 find the human soul to be in coircspondcnce. It is evident 
 that the sixth principle, which is said to contain the attri- 
 butes of omniscience, could only pain its [jowci's from the 
 all-knowledge of the seventh principle, and conse(iuenlly its 
 introduction may unnecessarily complicate ideas. 
 
 An objection to this ilivision arises beciause it seenis to 
 place the power for receiving spiritual guidaiu'e too far ofl^' 
 in the scale to accommodate itself to the fact that the Icnvest 
 of the animal creation receives the guidance its sensorium 
 requires as it becomes capable of experiencing needs. If this 
 truth has been considered by the Buddhists, it has not, appar- 
 ently, been set forth; and, as we said before, any acceptiible 
 system must tit in with all life from the lowest to the high- 
 est. The great desideratum is simplicity of law; and the 
 Buddhists are so wedded to their favorite numlHjr seven that 
 they seem even to create worlds, human principles, etc., 
 in order to accord with the seven notes of music, the seven 
 colors of the spectrum, etc. They may, perhaps, Ije right. 
 But in the meantime we shall feel better satisfied to confine 
 oui-selves to our proofs, so far as they go. 
 
 As to the thiid principle, the " astral body," the writer has 
 found no knowledge of it in his patients, and therefore de- 
 clines, until further proof, to believe m its existence. Mes- 
 merism proves suihciient to cover all the facts in a short way, 
 namely, that when the soul is disencund)ered of all bodily 
 sensation, it is found to be in correspondence with scmie 
 existence which is apparently omniscient. This is the royal 
 fact so far as our knowledge now extends. 
 
tJO 
 
 THK ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 The theory which is here advanced, tliat all sensation of 
 happiness is caused by vibration and its unities, and that all 
 advance of happiness implies increased capacity for increased 
 vibration, meets with 8upi)ort in many directions. It is sug- 
 gested by the ettect of the emotions on the body itself. Ihe 
 more retined and sensitive a being is, the more it seems to 
 vibrate when influenced by the intenser feelings; whereas lu 
 those who are living a dull and heavy existence these effects 
 can be but little noticed. After excesses, the human being 
 feels removed from possibility of unity with high and rehned 
 companionship and aspirations. The intenser and higher 
 vibrations do not belong to the low plane with which he 
 unwisely becomes unified. 
 
 While considering the theory, it is impossible to ignore the 
 interpretation by music of all aspects of life. Music is the 
 counterpart of life in spirit-speech. Animal hfe, bird life, 
 etc., evidently represent the passions and vanities m form. 
 Music reproduces all these and the moods in sound. People 
 are, for the most part, in one or other of the many phases 
 wliioh affect human life. These phases are the general 
 sweeps or tendencies of the soul. If a soul could have an 
 attitude, we would call them the attitudes of the soul. Ihey 
 influence mentality. Oi.inions fall into line with the pre- 
 vailing one, and nearly every action is colored by it. It 
 adapt? an individual's life to itself. It is like the general 
 water-shed of a territory. Tlie rivers in it may meander, but 
 their general direction is certain. When a prolonged pha^e 
 changes, the whole landscape seems to tilt up, and then the 
 currents of opinion alter their courses. Phases are more 
 noticeable in women than in men. They have their religious 
 phase, their icy phase, that in which they mourn, their moral, 
 or passionate, or dutiful, or love phase, the intellectual, the 
 revengeful, the light-hearted, — the phase which m continu- 
 ally craving sympathy exhausts everybody ; or the self^acn- 
 ficing phase which assists everybody, — together with the 
 opposites of these, and others. i +i ■ v,„f 
 
 Now every i)hase has its own music. Not only this, but 
 the separate phases can be produced and created in the 
 human being by music — by leading the individual into 
 an accord and unity with those vibrations which are the 
 spirit speech of the particular phase. Gaiety, n.elancholy, 
 love for war and victory, love for dancing (which of itselt 
 
THE ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 fil 
 
 interprets different grades of passion) tendernesses, love- 
 making, despair, reverence, worship, can all, by torn, be 
 given in music; and the sensitive human is mentally altered 
 by each one, in succession. A musician can lead up to a 
 linely conceived but terrible discord that will make the un- 
 hai)py fear for their own sanity. Or he can take the same 
 people and bring peace to their souls like the caress of a 
 mother. There is no limit to it. It is the reproduction of 
 tiie delights, griefs, mediocrities, fanta^'es, passions, or sub- 
 limities of the composer's soul. It is his message. The 
 right music must produce its own phase — that is, with those 
 who are in a condition to unify with it. 
 
 Now what do we learn by seeing that every phase of the 
 human soul hf's its counterpart and speech in vibration? 
 What can these facts possibly mean except that music is the 
 speech of the soul life? The mood or phase is produced in 
 the listener when he is sufficiently sensitive to have the vi- 
 brations of his soul drawn into accord with those vibrations 
 and tones and times which are the set language of the phase. 
 Thus music unifies 'abration. Consequently we understand 
 how the musical voice of great-souled sympathy brings peace 
 to the miserable by retuuing discordances and by making 
 them unify with the vibrations of a soul that is in health 
 and consequently in happiness. 
 
 These facts suggest that if any spirit life succeeds human 
 life, some, at least, of the passions will still be present. But 
 a man who is in an impaired condition, with his soul w> lied 
 up or his system unstrung, is insusceptible to these soul per- 
 ceptions. He is a harp in a rain-storm — sadly tuneless. 
 No one realized this better than David, the singer of Israel. 
 Indeed, with the new knowledge of nature as it is, the Bible 
 becomes a living thing, especially for those who have been 
 agnostic — fairly (luivering as it •'. with the loves, hates, 
 aspirations, mistakes, and truths of the older time. In its 
 portrayal of the passage from the Yawvch of Israel to the 
 God of Jesus it is our fullest record of the earlier evolution 
 
 of the soul. , , t ■ £ -L 
 
 Human beings arc chiefly moved by the music of the 
 phases in which they usually alternate. Above these grades 
 they do not readily understand, or, rather, do not unify. 
 Regard the Italian nation filling their opera houses. They 
 vibrate to the music of their own phases. The Italian opera 
 has no high range ; it rings the changes on passion, revenge, 
 
 ji««g^WesM»«*»*^aw»«iB*v*<K»j«tiaiK«»-'j»iai««.i»,«^ 
 
68 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 ilespair, soiisuousness, etc. Few of the truest lovera of Ital- 
 ian (>i)i ra laie for the intelleotualitiea of Beethoven. Music 
 has its own evolution in the human comprehensions. That 
 whicli bi-ars no message is thus regarded as trumpery, except 
 for li-ht pastime. To be sent into transport by music does 
 not imply that one is great unless the music itself be great : 
 for there" is music for every phase known to mankind, from 
 the lowest to the highest. A man can be judged by the 
 music he loves best even more surely than by his library. 
 
 Every view of life assists the idea tliat advanced retiue- 
 ment is the advanced capacity for vibration, which is — 
 sensitization. 
 
 Again, what is sympathy ? — compassion ? What is this 
 tendency and ability to assist those in distress or who igno- 
 rantly sin agauist themselves? Let us repeat the previous 
 words about the vivified telegraph wire: — " It is, throughout 
 its length, permeated by an immaterial essence, possessing a 
 capacity for such inconceivably rapid vibration that a shock 
 or alteration in one spot is immediately felt along the whole 
 wire. It is as sensitive in its entirety as in its part. This 
 is sympathy sublimated — unconscious sensitiveness carried 
 to a superlative degree." Now this work was not intended 
 to speak as to our future condition; but it is difficult to 
 avoid considering the powers which electricity suggests that 
 other essences may contain. ' It shows us a case of sympathy 
 sublimated— sensitiveness carried to a superlative degree, 
 and we go back and ask what we know about the compassion 
 and sympathy of a highly spiritual man. The answer is 
 that he is sensitiveness carried to a superlative degree. Some 
 faculty in him can proceed to every condition of life tliat 
 needs" him, and alleviate tlie wretched by drawing them into 
 unity with his stronger and happier and well-tuned soul. It 
 recognizes as brothers and friends those who belong to the 
 planes where all promise to be as sensitive in entirety as in 
 part. Evidently, this interior existence and electricity are 
 both ethereal essences, and electricity is vibration. 
 
 Naturally we make comparisons. This is not an argu- 
 ment, but an indicating of a line of thought. We may not 
 at present be able to place our ideas beyond the power of 
 reply, and perhaps demolition; but is it possible to resist the, 
 conviction tliat human advance nicaiis advanced capacity for 
 vibration ? Those who try to make life go pleaaantly will 
 
THE ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 69 
 
 are 
 
 incline t(i\>ard8 the lines of proof wliicli tend to (ii'iiioiistiiite 
 the existence of a condition in whirh synip;ilh_) and sensitive- 
 ness are carried to a supeilative dej^jree. One feels almost 
 grateful to the electric wire for proving on a lower grade 
 that such things are, in part, a reality. 
 
 In following this theory as to man advancing in the si)ir- 
 itual world as he becomes fitted to vibrate in accord with 
 its higher grades we are merely understanding in its further 
 range that same process which has from the beginning 
 brought to brain of man and animal every sensation of hap- 
 piness that has ever been felt. There is nothing new about 
 the law itself. And if this eternal continuity of the i)ast 
 makes us feel justified in extending it into any future condi- 
 tion of man, either mundane or otherwise, Ave may expect to 
 find two soul qualities — first, this vibration which contains 
 all capacity for happiness; and, sccon.d, its alliance with the 
 all-knowledge. These pleasant ideas are speculative; but, 
 because of their present reality, they are more than 
 
 " Hints and echoes of a world 
 To spirits folded in the womb." 
 
 A fact which has needed explanation is itself explanatory. 
 It is that agnostics and others who are sensitive and who 
 think they have no religion cannot yield themselves to the 
 highest class of reverential music without experiencing pecu- 
 liar longings — a sense of incompleteness tliat lias an aj)- 
 proach to completeness within reach. They find that this 
 sense of incompleteness is owing to their refusal to enjoy 
 these suggestive yearnings, or to think they mean anything. 
 They have refused religion in the almost universal mistake 
 of regarding God as a sort of priest. Wlii^n priestly teach- 
 ings have been dropped they have considered that religion 
 could possess nothing for them. 
 
 T.ie effects of the error have been most uiihai)py. It will 
 be i-^en that religion cannot possibly be a creed. Religion is 
 the receiving of God in the heart. It could not be even 
 necessary to say " I believe in God," because the seeking or 
 acceptance of the holiness and gladness in th I'go makes any 
 words unnecessaiy. It is true that a man doe- believe while 
 accepting this, l)ut it is also clear that there is no necessity 
 for liis saying so, except, perhaps, to help others. Religion is 
 a phase, a tendency, a merging of the soul. On man's part 
 
 ■ iiiJAUBiL-'i"jLl'H' " I I r I iii'ii'iii r ' i •irffr"r<iiriiiipr"" " ' '"'"•'• " ■-— -- 
 
70 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 it is the acquiescence in and acceptance and seeking of those 
 phases which t.ll of continual inii)rovenient and wisdom and 
 nearness to the (Jreat (ihidness. So that there can be no 
 necessity tV)r words in that which is entirely of phase. What 
 use cou'ld he made of them? For worship? Yes, if one 
 likes to use them. Hut words cannot speak the soul s phases; 
 and what could (iod want of words? Men worship became, 
 theij w<M«^ because of gratitude, which is love's endless neces- 
 sity. And in this necessity and gladness the natural worship 
 is the natural soul-burst of melody and music. Man never 
 yet found words for gratitude. Music is the spirit speech, 
 and the language of the phases. Neither ecstasy nor despair 
 can find speech except in tone. 
 
 Consequently, when these explanations sink into the heart 
 as truths, it is seen that no one by doubting or denying God s 
 existence escapes from the laws regarding the language ot 
 music. When such an one listens, for instance, to grand 
 cathedral music of a reverential kind, his sensations will tend 
 to make him agree with the statement here made — that the 
 influences which proceed from the Great Gladness to man 
 cannot be systematically shut out without incurring almost 
 intolerable gloom. This fact contains potent suggestion as 
 to the methods for punishment in the life after human death. 
 We repeat a line which cannot be too well remembered: 
 "Refusal means discord, gloom, despair, madness; prohibition 
 produces a dirge; acquiescence is a song." Throughout all 
 nature these laws rule. 
 
 The supposed necessity for words has always been a 
 stronghold for hierarchies and the medicine-men of savage 
 tribes. By means of this alleged requisite, nearly all the 
 people of the world have been more or less blinded to the 
 simplicities of true religion. Thus we see among our own 
 lower classes all manner of absuidities, arising from the same 
 ideas which are prevalent i.i fetish worship. In fact, all 
 rites and ceremonies of an expiatory kind are nothing else 
 than fetish worship. We find men flattering God with 
 words while continuously cruel towards t'eir wives. We 
 see people whom no one would trust with sixpence grace- 
 fully sacrificing their comfort by standing up at the repeti- 
 tion of a creed. Much of the study of religious cults is the 
 study of absurdity; but, because of the deep underlying 
 truths, sympathy extends to man's attempts at improvement. 
 
THE ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 Tl 
 
 If iiny one doubts the power of music to produce a phase, 
 let liim examine what occurs at revival meetings. He will 
 find that the preacher makes proposals, but that it is the 
 organist who makes the hearts leap to accept them. The 
 preacher's proposals contain, in effect, the simple necessity 
 of man's turning towards the spiritual life and the holiness 
 of nature. To this there aie drawbacks because of priestly 
 etceteras. But when the swell of the music vibrates into 
 those whom the preacher almost brought into unity by his 
 voice and encouragement, then emotiuii obliterates objec- 
 tions and the patient shuts his eyes to what he cannot be- 
 lieve and accepts the holiness and is thankful. Conversion, 
 the opening of the ego to spiritual influences, is a reality: 
 but a very simple one; and many people are converted long 
 before they think they are ; for it has nothing to do with 
 words, but is the emotion wliich turns with the ego's com- 
 plete consent and will towards the higher life. 
 
 Intellect has sneered at emotion ; but we need not try to 
 answer as to which has had the best of it, for each is neces- 
 sary to the otlier. In trying to deify itself, intellect has so 
 advertised itself and so placed its own praise in everybody's 
 mouth that it takes some courage to suggest how little it is 
 capable of. Intellect is emotion's pruning-knife. It should 
 not be allowed to be the woi-st of stumbling-blocks on the 
 road to happiness. There is a consciousness which insists 
 upon the prophecy that emotion will mean happiness when 
 tlie present processes of intellect are forgotten. 
 
 A verbal picture which represents any human life cor- 
 rectly must contain its sermon. The eloquence of facts is 
 generally sufficient. Yet deductions are sometimes missed 
 unless mentioned. And there are silent suggestions in the 
 fact that unless the animal mind (or its essence) unifies with 
 the conditions of the spiritual planes it is not and never can 
 be a part of them. This is a reality of nature. No sacri- 
 ficial blood can make a tadpole live on land till it develops 
 into a frog. The unhappiness to which a continuous and 
 wrongly-timed clinging to the animal planes gives rise is 
 also a fact which in eve; y life enforces consideration. Age, 
 with its experiences, is expected to acquiie its dignity. Tiie 
 universal idea, apart from all religion, taat age and ex[)eri- 
 ence should bring improvement, exhibits the innate knowl- 
 edge of what a life's evolution should be. 
 
 
 « :».j?^*n>r^ff* i.if-i--^ es 
 
T2 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 But, on the other hand, poor, ignorant, animal human 
 nature is not so bad as priests have painted it. Much harm 
 lias been done by going to extremes. The old teaching 
 tliat "The heart of man is despeiately wicked," has been a 
 source of inealc'ulal)le riches to hieiiircliies, and of inconceiv- 
 able misery to liumaiis. So far as counsel for criminals may 
 judge of the worst of men, it may be said that this teaching, 
 except as to rare cases, is highly' improper. Criminals, as a 
 rule, are very commoiiplnce people. Not one in a thousand 
 of them could be in any way made romantic ; the newspapei'S 
 try this, but counsel know better. 'J'he extinction of the 
 devil, which was one of the many moral uses of the sense of 
 absurdity, has removed nearly all the luridity of the general 
 view. There were times, jiot so very long ago, when attempts 
 to appear pyrotechnically bad did not seem so asinine as they 
 do now. Tliat terror of olden times, the daring atheist hurl- 
 ing liis defiance at God, is now interesting to no one but the 
 l)oliceman who arrests him for making a noise — but not for 
 atheism. Outside the ranks of insanity, the existence of a 
 real atlieist is diihcult to imagine, in spite of Ids own asser- 
 tions ; and, if existing, he would be entitled to much com- 
 passion. Agnostics say they " cannot think God " (and they 
 never will) ; but they do not say the high power of nature 
 cannot be felt. Opinions have much changed of late yeais. 
 All the old ideas about slighting God, or helping, blaming, 
 cursing him, or taking his name in vain, now exist only as 
 vulgarities — to be considered, if at all, in the police court ; 
 — for the Power of nature has no name, and Yawveh, the 
 tribal deity of Israel, was so confessedly jealous of the other 
 local myths that he made his own name vain. 
 
 Over man's " abysses of sin " has been erected a sign : — 
 "Rubbish may be shot here." Superstition dug out the 
 abysses. Abandoned superstition fills them up ; and much 
 that was picturesque and theatrical has been well exchanged 
 for level roads. The Inferno in which the spiteful Dante 
 placed his personal enemies lies unread on our shelves along 
 with Milton's lurid Belial. Man has no deeper depths than 
 those to which his imagination will carry him in seeking vhe 
 satisfaction of his passions. Surely this is bad enougli. It 
 must be confessed tliat our human animal, mni* the devil, 
 not only drops to the commonplace but also appears, as a rule, 
 to be excessively vulgar until he is sensitized into those re- 
 finements of which one outcome is gentility. 
 
 1 I 
 
THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 78 
 
 To supjiose tliis purblind creature, who is usually con- 
 scious of but little more than l\is animal necessities, to be in 
 anything like a perfect condition, is like taking sand into 
 the eyes to assist vision. We were told that " Man was 
 made in the image of God." A wrong understanding of this 
 produced conceit. Man hfis always been in the processes 
 necessary for develojung attributes of (iod. The prt-scnce, 
 from the commencement, of the guiding all-knowledge and of 
 tha guiding capacity for gladness shows what the truth is. 
 The continuous presence of these removes all sense of degra- 
 dation in the considering of the fact ihat we arise through 
 lowly forms. Rather than believe that man is near perfec- 
 tion, it would be more reasonable to expect that our present 
 condition will be as unwelcome a thought in the distant 
 future as the consideration of our simian ancestoi-s is to some 
 people of this century. 
 
 It will be seen that while life is a continuous endeavor, 
 it is also, if taken rightly, an exceedingly happy one. The 
 claim that our actions in our little span of seventy years 
 could not much affect the past and future eternities of the 
 individual seems highly dangerous. Histoiy teems with 
 instances of men who after continued success commit some 
 great sin and never succeed again, but continue in gloom 
 and die ignominiously. In the most romantic life of English 
 history, William the Conqueror was an avalanche of con- 
 tinued success until the judicial muider of Waltheof . After 
 that, his degradation commenced. In all his scores of battles 
 the only wound he ever leceived was one delivered by his 
 own son. He who had been almost worshipped, died hated, 
 ignominiously, and without friends. 
 
 Personal watchfulness of life produces the conviction that 
 when a man becomes lost in immorality he is removed — he 
 dies disgracefully. Almost every one will remember instances 
 where men and women have sought to give license to imagina- 
 tion. Here, liquors and drugs become a necessity to drown 
 the unhappine(.s winch arises from determined rejection of 
 those promptings which indicate the true gladness. By means 
 of such temporary neutralizers of unhappiness the man kills 
 himself. It is always suicide, either sudden or slow. No 
 process of reasoning, nor any individual experiment, has 
 evaded the old truth that the wages of sin is death. We 
 know by watching the approaches of this deatli that it is, so 
 
 -?r«iEi-'«ft**^^' 
 
74 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 li! 
 
 far as we hoc it, an unlmppiness so int(»leiul)l(! lluU iiu'ii try 
 to luiHteii tlie Olid by further reckless excesses. TUny iiavo 
 confessed that they "do so. What this kind of death "means, 
 in any possible subsequent condition, we do not know. l\J 
 the despair of it, during the visible approaches to it, is sulli- 
 cieiit to indicate that our actions during our sjtan of life are 
 of the utmost importftiice. 
 
 Sin is discord. Unhappiness is discord. That whicdi 
 removes the possibility of vibrating with the incoming glad- 
 ness is sin. A system which is deadened out of capacity for 
 the health vibrations is lik(! a plant kej)t in darkness, with- 
 out water. It will die. Health, both physical and spiritual, 
 ni(!ans being in tune. We are tuned by the great Musician. 
 
 There is no sudden comj)uLsion about the laws of music. 
 If discord be preferred, or if it seem like harmony, then hit 
 it be tested, by all means ! Nature does not prevent this. 
 It is the sc.liem • The world is controlled by laws or princi- 
 ples which immediately inform as to either harmony or dis- 
 cord. Where all is vibration, vibratory laws are necessities. 
 These exhibit the perfection of gcnitleness and kindness ; 
 with no aUolute compulsion in tliem at any time, and yet 
 containing a terrible alternative for those who become 
 crazed by their own chosen discords. The scheme has the 
 stamp of the zenith of wisdom on it. Nature is no police- 
 man. No one is seized and rushed off in any direction, 
 either up or down. It leaves one either to accept harmony, 
 or to depart in any direction to construct one's own Bedlam 
 in the region of discord. Niiture does not prematurely re- 
 move the discordant one. He kills himself. 
 
 At the time of writing, one of the ablest minds in Eng- 
 land — a mind so replete with logic that to some people it 
 has almost seemed to argue away the necessity for religion 
 — is at the threshold of the madJiouse. He has written (in 
 the course of the most celebrated controversy of modern 
 times): "I do not see what materials there are for any 
 religion, or, indeed, what would be the use of one, or why it 
 is wanted. I think that religion would die when theology 
 (lied, but that we can get on very well without one." This 
 is not a ciise for reply. Nature is making the whole reply, 
 it is tt>o terrible f(U- words. 
 
 Keligion is not a series of intellectual nuts to crack. In 
 its first stages it is almost too simple to commend itself 
 
THB ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 ir> 
 
 t<) iiiiiicls which lire tniincd to lie imlcMickfrs, The case; 
 reiniiuls of one huiiliiijj for tlic sitectiU'lcs which luo already 
 oil his nose -too chwe to Ik' seen. Neither can it be (|uite 
 properly said to Iw a matter of " jfivo and take," heeause it 
 is nearly all "take." Hut the better men are so constituted 
 that they cannot accept continuous gifts witiiout tryinj^ to 
 make some return. And in this case all they can (lo is t(» 
 utter gratitude in song, worship, and proper guidance of life 
 towards the unlimit(!d wisdom. It is tlu; same, on a nuich 
 larger scale, as the love for wives. For, as already explained, 
 a woman's seeming nearness to the soul life assists man to 
 idealize her, and tiuis to fi:el the mochssty of the gratitude 
 which regrets its inability to repay for gifts. The marriage 
 worship leads immediately to the high(!r worship. It is part 
 of it. For this emotion belongs to the spiritual [)litnes ; and 
 this the great Kducator teaches through the channels of the 
 passions and introduces the (perhaps) first reality of holi- 
 ness through entirely natural media. It will lie seen that 
 some such process is a nec^essity. For unless nature ^could 
 teach religion without l)Ooks and priests, then religion could 
 be safely discarded. It is more ancient than books, or it is 
 nothing. 
 
 This imj)ulse to woi-shij), which gratitude for benefits 
 creates, is not yielded to because any power needs worship 
 but because man cannot do without it. This coercive ten- 
 dency bolds a power for further spiritual development, 
 lieeause an inner soul of worship is the hunger to prove 
 worthy, and here lies a medium for guidance and im|)rove- 
 ment in the further siscents. Necessity for woi-ship is 
 developed in advanced nature, — almost unknown to a 
 lowest-grade man, though not to a high-grade dog — dogs 
 having the advantage of acquiring it without the faculty for 
 criticising weaknesses. This hunger to prove worthy, which 
 is so very marked when dogs worship men, has not as yet 
 been discovered in the cannibal natives of interior Queens- 
 land, who are confidently report(!d as exhibiting in them- 
 selves no sign of gratitude even after many gifts and pro- 
 longed kindness. This, however, does not deny that a latent 
 capacity for gratitude may be present. 
 
 The ordinary ideas regarding " merit " seem to require con- 
 sideration. Religion is a holiness vithout merit. There is 
 nu merit in holiiicsij. In a mother's overwhelming lovo for 
 
 i WMifei H** » i H«i » B > it < WHLi" » ' i»— Iftft y 
 
70 
 
 TMK .\S( T.SI' <>K l.lli;. 
 
 Mil 
 
 
 ! 
 
 her babe ther« is no merit ; it is simpls a pbase she would not 
 alter for any purchase. . . . ^ „• 
 
 One part of the con.lition of holiness is the mtmtive per- 
 ception of the illmuination that lies hc-yoiul and which leads 
 with pladness toNvanls wordless perhntion and wisdom. The 
 happiness of the assurances of this phase and its protecting 
 sense of nersoual consecration create a sense of necessity fo 
 Tcontinuance and increase. The clouding t«.;dericu,s •> 
 passions are avoide<l, not because they are good or bad, but 
 because they are a nuisance. They were proi.er when proper, 
 but^eydo^lot behuig to the higher --^--' -f^^^'-^ 
 become rudimentiuy chrough voluntary disuse. When he 
 80ul is alone with the natural Mnsieian and IH'^" J^^or the 
 idea of merit which springs from comparisons and often from 
 ealousies is merged in tl.e impulse, to seek f-^l;"-dv-ice^ 
 The sense of holiness arrives when it is allowed to ente. , so 
 that the first requisite of man is to remain ""' ^une J^J^ 
 receDtive. Much of the prevalent ideas regarding " ment 
 8 b'Slt on anticipation of a Judgment Day, which the paying 
 and punishing processes of nature seem to re n a, v unnecessary. 
 Prt^te have made "merit" the basis of many different pm^ 
 chase systems of which nature evidently knows nothing. We 
 Sma^n inextricably placed in the midst of natural prmci- 
 Is (?) which inevitably repay right or wrong with gladness 
 OT suffering. And when he rnust either be wise or suffei, 
 Ln we see that there is no particular merit m his accepting 
 an unquestionable necessity. One might as well speak of 
 the merit of eating good food in preference to bad. 
 
 The question as to whether this or that is good or bad 
 is swallowed up or forgotten in tlje.f sire to cont^^^^^^ 
 the greatest necessity an.l happiness of life, tor this result, 
 much that is permissible in social life and which is called 
 " good " will be dropped as readily as a great deal that is 
 ealled bad. When the ego finds any quality or pursuit to be 
 inconvenient an.l unprolilable for its advancement, it ^ in- 
 different to any name that may have been given to it by 
 human moralists. It simply abandons it in order that ite 
 whole system may be in that healthiest oi all conditions 
 which it is strung and tune.l t.i vibrate in unison. The soul 
 hi its great journey cannot afford to Ik3 hampered with 
 impedimenta. 
 
THR ASCENT OF LIFE. 77 
 
 It will Imi seon that this sonso of increasing' liolinoss, iiiirity, 
 iiiitl wisdom wliirh luiuls tiio t'jro with a ghuliioss tliiil iniiivus 
 (li'tiiictiiiiT iiifliiciices st'cm almiird, in not a matter whieh can 
 III! (Icpntud to an ajjent. There can bo no sucli thinjj as 
 \ ic.irioiis ini|>roveni«'iit. That a!iy soni shonld ^o to find 
 through the suflVring of iinothur is a wihl idea. In religion 
 matt is alono with nature. Intcrcoui'se with others will be 
 " fmitful of good life's gentle charities " ; but in the main, 
 and in his instruction, he is alone. Priests are uf^'^less, for 
 how could tluiy assist? — except perhaps in friendly encour- 
 agement. And whii. available power could ordain men to lie 
 priests? Every man who will oe so is a priest of the temple 
 of the spirit. 
 
 Men criticise human life win n tlicy find that nearly every- 
 thing desired is made desiralile by ideals. They liiid fault 
 with life because of its unreality when they tiro of their 
 deals, aiul tliey angrily say that life has no facts but onl) 
 mirages. In a half-seeing- way, (Ik v are right. Hut they are 
 ignorant of the gn'ul Irutli, niinudy, that ideals are t/w J'actx 
 --temporary ones, of course, that disaiiiiear only to ma"ke way 
 for better oiu^s. This is not {\\cj'((iilt of life: it is a main- 
 spring of its development. It is a scheme of natui(!. Ideals 
 must be improved upon. The God of the Old Test anient 
 diffei-s from the God of to-day even more than savage music 
 diffei's from that of Mozart. If man could anchor himself to 
 any thoroughly satisfactory fact of the material world, then 
 soul progress would cease — Justus the hermit crab cliooses 
 a home in an empty shell, loses his limbs through disuse, and 
 retrogrades almost to the level of an oyster. For instance, 
 no one has defined " beauty," because Iwauty is each man's 
 ideal, and consequently must alt v as his taste refines. The 
 wearing out of any ideal is a certain sign that it ha« become 
 unprofitable. A high ideal ahead set;ms to be a fact, and is 
 in reality a factor; but an ideal whose uses are completed 
 joins the other mirages of the past. Thus human life — its 
 education — is really a succession of improving mirages. 
 While we are straining toward these, we call them ideals and 
 think of them as facta. But after being acquired and fully 
 utilized they are more clearly seen tf> have been part of the 
 educational processes of nature, and only realities while their 
 appearance as such should be profitable. This is nature, 
 whose teacher is delight. The winning of the highest is 
 always happiness. 
 
78 
 
 TIIK ASOKNT OK I,IFK. 
 
 Hut thf iVA\nh\^ arc not siir.Tssfiilly ivpcntcd on tl.r natu.- 
 .rm.l.'. First, til.- winning' may U- of a mother s cake lor a 
 irno.l cl.il.l; U.en a ori/c in tieM sports, or ;i figl.t ; then a 
 achool i)ri/.e, a nniviTsity nuMlal, a profe^. .ional snceess, a 
 woman, an election, the connnan.lin^r or the .- clnnR ot men; 
 and all aloui' the whole of it there is the j.u.sc^ usness of 
 .omethinK l>etter to he won : -but not on the same grades, 
 it is only by utt^mptei repetition r.a the soul is tired. It 
 ,ie. Kind' advance. It is entitled to enjoy its advance, or life 
 would he :. farce. A lui-k rnsl' fo, experience . — the view 
 Inn'ondthe animal frmdesl-the life for love ot wife and 
 cluldren! — to know the In^vrt wisdom, and to yearn to be 
 removed for further advance ! —and then the human part of 
 life, or (.ne section of it, is over! 
 
 Sneaking vaguely, LiKK is not words, but emotions. It 
 is intended to Ixj a series of happy achi.- -menUs, and tlie 
 soul is intcn.led to become tired with repetiti(.n an<l to recog- 
 nize it to l.^- unprolitab; uiul wearisome. Ennui is a lash. 
 The />/<'«^ luan must alwav^ l)e unhapi)y. Kven mariiaj^e liap- 
 piness cannot continue unless it be woven with ever-re in- 
 inir ideals of the spiritual life. The !;.,ison», and the so-called 
 uiarriaKOS which are based on passi.m only, have no more 
 chance to endure than a (child's paily-clored soap-bubble 
 
 Thus ideals are the nearest approach to tacts in lite ; but 
 only realities (apparently) while they are being used, after 
 which thoy join the mirages of the past. Consequently the 
 ..nlyreal fact of life is Cxod — considered as the ultimate 
 
 "^Whether the people who have been idealized were worthy 
 or unworthy of idealization, is of very secondary nnporUuice. 
 Their value lies in the good effects produced ni Umse who 
 idealize.1. Any one who has assisted another to >« ^^ 1'; ^^ 
 of a deep frien.lship or love has accomplished an »"^^jl' '^ ' ^^^ 
 benefit, irrespective of his personal reliability. We m ist 
 not inquire what our ideals consisted of -for nothing in the 
 world is substantial. The proper source of S^^f^^^^J^ 
 consideration as to bow they have helped ns in \n^i e lucmg 
 ou higher nature. For instance, the western wald owe 
 a enonuous debt to the Christian ^- '^-;"V";\ "'^•';;;^;;, ! 
 was free from myth, but because it illustra ed the human 
 pU-itual existence and tilled myriads of minds with improv- 
 
 l;! 
 
mi l'*iiMiC>^ "t W— :'rrCT[^ 
 

 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
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t 
 
THE ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 79 
 
 ing ideals. The revered idols and images of pagans and 
 Christians, no matter how tawdry and bizarre^ have done 
 good work when they gave rise to ideals which were better 
 than previous ones. Many idols have, at times, been more 
 improving than Yawveh. 
 
 In conclusion, then, it will be seen that the teini "spiritual 
 properly means one who passes to the higher grades 
 
 man 
 
 of nature — having entered life" as an animal and as such 
 performed its functions, but progressing on a continual ascent 
 of ideals (which are nature's silent instructions of the soul) 
 until these usual gradations of improving aims and incentives 
 to alert endeavor are one by one sought, acquired, enjoyed, 
 utilized, found wanting, and discarded. For him, life be- 
 comes divided into two parts — wisdom and absurdity. The 
 winning of a boy's prizes, or his vows of devotion to a golden- 
 haired schoolgirl divinity, are not now necessary. Yet all 
 such events, which have been passed, very kindly, to the 
 region of absurdity, were at one time a wisdom for him, and 
 he is aware that in any grade of life the energetic seeking of 
 an improving ideal is always a wisdom — also that the dis- 
 carding of it, when utilized, is a further and more advanced 
 wisdom. All the vanities are seen to have their proper place 
 and due succession. Yet life must advance; and he objects 
 when Solomon bewails the bitter lees of his exhausted ideals 
 instead of avoiding the ignoble melancholia of suited lust by 
 ascending nature's higher grades. 
 
 In this way, and while understanding and sympathizing 
 with all the earlier vanities which provide nature's instruc- 
 tion to the young, the student finds that the terms " good " 
 and "bad," while never lost as to practice, are virtually 
 swallowed up in more extensive meanings : that to be morally 
 "good" is only an etcetera and adjunct and assistance 
 towards wisdom ; also that " sin " ranks in with everything 
 which obstructs the way towards true happiness. The hun- 
 ger for the continuance and increase of the internal illumina- 
 tion and gladness will not submit to obstruction. Inevitably, 
 all else is for him an absurdity. Yet he sees how every grade 
 of life, and the advancing years of every individual life, all 
 have their differing duties, functions, vanities, and ascending 
 ideals. Thus for him to witness the pretty natural vanity 
 of a young girl is pleasing — knowing that at her age one 
 of her chiefest duties to God is to appear at her prettiest and 
 
immm 
 
 80 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 sweetest, and attmct her lover towards marriage. In its un- 
 confessed heart, all the world delights in the vanities of a 
 voune girl ; but hypocrites and forgetful old men have said 
 it was vvrong. Spiritual men have also said it was wrong, 
 because they only studied themselves and not nature, and 
 have, like Paul, endeavored to force the necessities ana 
 ideals of their own high spiritual grade upon young people 
 who were almost totally unfitted to receive them. Happily, 
 these attempted spiritual anachronisms have in most cases 
 failed, to some extent, and the unconfessed convictions of 
 rightly-thinking people have much protected the young in 
 the gladnesses proper to their years against the crushing 
 effects of wrongly-timed spiritualities. 
 
 Man has never attempted to improve upon the work of God 
 without creating suffering; and every human being hnds out 
 soon enough, in due course of years and experience, that many 
 of the gay pleasantries of early days inevitably pass into the 
 region of absurdities. Yet the number of women who cUng 
 to these as the only good of life is peculiarly large. A suf- 
 fer ng, a despairing sense of loss as physical beauty vanishes 
 s exp;iienced by the majority of women. Often it is only 
 shoiUived. But, with many, the fii^t sense of /« j^^ ^'^^ 
 comes from the wisdom-religion is accepted with difficulty 
 aH glimmer of consolation. When they find that the road 
 to certain desired pleasures will be forever a cul desae, the 
 most critical period of life arrives for the ego will gnaw 
 itself cruelly if allowed to remain self-inverted. 
 
 Indeed, the most prevalent disease is a «Pi"tual one - the 
 melancholia which at this time refiises to be comforted 
 vet makes the world resound with one long, uncontrolled 
 wailCsympathy. In some form or other, this crisis comes 
 to all pe P e who^avoid the spiritual life as long as they can 
 Wh uTnt^nded schemes for the happiness which a natura^ 
 life demands are found to be permanently frustrated, veiy 
 many p"op have to face one of two futures, na-ely .^"^^^^^^^^^ 
 r common sense; especially so when );«y «««! ^^^^^^^^ 
 have been in some way cheated of their life s nghte. Many 
 suicide in the attempt to find harmonies in the region of <h^ 
 cS ; while otheLfin the apathy that succeed. ™ore or le^ 
 frenzv accept half-heartedly the gbmmer which leads to the 
 iUnmination Then, afterv^ards, they know the happiness of 
 iSs M^ier ^d^s and smile pityingly at Uieii- former dis- 
 
THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 81 
 
 tress. Every one will remember instances where human lives 
 underwent extraordinary changes in short periods of time — 
 where people, especially women, who had for years idealized 
 a reiinement of most everything that was unspiritual, became 
 in a short time almost unrecognizable as their own selves. A 
 shock, a grief, a separation, an illness, or perhaps a great joy, 
 and the woman gains a glimpse of the spiritual life whicli 
 forever afterwards mak .s her shudder at her own past. 
 
 Now these things have nothing to do with book religions, 
 even though the good books may in part mention them. All 
 these matters are a part of the inevitable processes of nature 
 exhibiting themselves in different {ler^ons in different ways, 
 and which in every human being [)rov de new duties, func- 
 tions, alterations, and aspirations as the yi^^ advance. And 
 it is generally througli almost complete' misundei-standing 
 of nature that trouble of the above-mentioned kind arises. 
 Nature's first attempt invariably is to teach through delight ; 
 but, when this fails, she can teach equally well through the 
 griefs and despaira created by ^vl•ong-doing and by the new 
 comprehensions which thus come to the surface. All. pure 
 joy and all pure grief arrive at the same result, namely, the 
 increased sensitization of the human animal soul, witliout 
 which (as elsewhere explained) it cannot be a part of the 
 higher grades. If this were not so, if grief had any other 
 effect than this, then life would be an unjustifiable burden 
 placed on those who are made to suffer while innocent. The 
 fact is, though (as can be vouched for by unnumbered peo- 
 ple) that the real rewards, the real values of life, the internal 
 peace, the light that brings its revelation and conviction of 
 gladdest advance, all come to those who suffer purely and 
 advantageously, — and in such measure, too, that they think 
 themselves overpaid for their sorrow. It is a fact which I 
 suppose every one is prepared from his own different experi- 
 ences to believe, that the prisoner wrongly imprisoned can 
 be happy when he takes command of himself and makes 
 his spirit supreme. These are no fanfcisies. They are the 
 realities which provide the only possible justification to those 
 who suffer, for the creation of a world in whi( '- they have 
 been made to agonize, but in which and by whicn they gam 
 the peace which passeth all the understanding of the human 
 intellect. The human spirit may ho ateolutely supreme. 
 The grand men of the Bible gave praise for their suffering. 
 
 ! 
 
82 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 The martyrs of many different faiths have died at the stake 
 Rloriously happy; and this, not hecause the statement they 
 died for was always coiTect, but because in the time ot 
 supreme travail the soul knew its God through the flames. 
 
 9 
 • ♦ 
 
i stake 
 It they 
 ime of 
 mies. 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 If the myrlada of other worlds around us were not visiblis 
 nature's continual insistence on improvement would mon; 
 frequently Ixs questioned. But the telescope suggests much 
 opportunity for employment elsewhere. There is a great 
 deal of happiness in the world. The savage on the animal 
 gi-ades finds life pleasant as long as he keeps as well in tune 
 as other animals. Evidently the Zulu will not be seriously 
 damaged by his inability to become a member of the 
 Reformed Methodist Episcopal Church, or even of the Unre- 
 formed portion (if any) of the same sect. Yet he is subject 
 to the same universal laws as we are, though slightly more 
 in subjection to the fetish-man. 
 
 There is no potency in a law. The ruling vibratory laws 
 which control in ways similar to those of music do not supply, 
 iw we have explained, a power which exerts force like a 
 policeman. We have seen that the product of sensation 
 called the brain has only utilized its correspondence with 
 the all-knowledge as it became cognizant of its own sensa- 
 tions and wants. All evolution shows a want of power 
 (or an unwillingness to use power) in regard to the creation 
 of intelligence and wisdom. Apparently no knowledge has 
 been supplied except that which was required, or, rather, in 
 a manner, demanded, during the long ascent of brain devel- 
 opment. But the intended results of the long process are 
 evidently wisdom and individuality, both of which may com- 
 bine in the human soul. Nature forcibly suggests that su- 
 preme intelligence cannot (or will not) reproduce itself. 
 The reproduction is, therefore, by an evolutionary process in 
 which the all-knowledge continually assists in supplying 
 demanded information. 
 
 It has often been suggested by religious people, that man 
 was produced to eventually rule, or assist in ruling, other 
 
 83 
 
 
 ■«.eiMWt^.<!4M>t«M«^*i«*lM 
 
 iwiiiiJw'iiiiliiiiiiii^ 
 
84 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIEE. 
 
 worlds. If this could be true (and it is only mentioned as 
 speculation) a good reason for evolution's slow proct sses can 
 b^ discerned, because the soul, which is the storehouse of 
 memory, never forgets; and consequently the wisdom whicli 
 thus reached the highest grade would possess in its memory 
 ite own experiences in every previous plane of existence. 
 Without this process, the necessary wisdom which a ruler of 
 a world would require could only be conferred by meansof 
 a miracle, which is evidently unknown m nature. We 
 notice, too, that the only sympathy that is of real value to 
 those in lower grades is that which carries with it an under- 
 standing of the conditions which there obtain, bo that il 
 any pereonal sympathy be required in a ruler of a world 
 (which, considering the kind and searching efficacy and 
 scope of nature's laws, may be questioned) it is clear that it 
 could only be acquired by the advance of the ruler s individ- 
 uality through every condition of existence. 
 
 There is, however, no doubt that wisdom and individuality 
 are the required product; and if we must sooner or later 
 acquire these ourselves, or else suffer, it seems reasonable to 
 assist. No one who respects himself wishes to be eventually 
 unfit, or to go through any period of probation which might 
 be avoided by pei-sonal effort at the present time. The 
 hunger for knowledge as to all that pertains to life will of 
 itself be sufficient to make some seek any condition which 
 
 '" TheTnimal nature of man makes his assistance difficult. 
 Examination of results of Christian conversions shows that the 
 maiorities subsequently oscillate more or less between the 
 two planes. Except when in its religious phases, the human 
 mind pursues its ordinary courses. This fact has led nearly 
 all religious men to say that "The mind of man is at enmity 
 with God." But there is no enmity m the matter. It is 
 simply that the animal and spiritual planes are different in 
 erade, and that as soon as the ego's correspondence with the 
 higher plane becomes obscured the animal mind pui-sues its 
 own coui-se, which may or may not be hurtful. 
 
 The avoidance of fanaticism on this point is desirable. 
 
 We read that "To be carnally-minded is death. Ihis is 
 
 ', true, as we have already shown, when understood: but Juo- 
 
 tations like this come down from a time when Adam s love 
 
 for Eve was supposed to be the first outcome of the sm of 
 
THB ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 85 
 
 med as 
 
 868 can 
 juse of 
 I vvhicli 
 nemory 
 istonce. 
 ruler of 
 leans of 
 e. We 
 alue to 
 I under- 
 that if 
 a, world 
 icy and 
 r that it 
 individ- 
 
 iduality 
 or later 
 nable to 
 entually 
 ;h might 
 le. The 
 8 will of 
 )n which 
 
 difficult. 
 i that the 
 ween the 
 le human 
 ed nearly 
 vt enmity 
 er. It is 
 aperent in 
 with the 
 ii-sues its 
 
 desirable. 
 
 This is 
 
 but (j[uo- 
 
 am's love 
 
 the sin of 
 
 Eden. They also proceed from men who knew nothing of 
 the fact that man is raised to spirituality through natural 
 marriage love. They come from a time of the densest pos- 
 sible ignoi-ance,when men, in order to kill out passion, lashed 
 and tortured and even mutilated themselves — a proceeding 
 Paul approved. These men experienced the difficulties ot 
 continuing on the higher levels; and no torture or stripes or 
 condemnation could deal sufficiently with the marriage law 
 of God, which to them was the arch sin of hell. 
 
 Buddha, on the contrary, dealt with human nature in a 
 totally different way. The gentleness of his treatment of 
 man is well shown by Sir Edwin Arnold in Buddha s sermon 
 in " The Light of Asia " : — 
 
 Spread no wings 
 For sunward flight, thou soul with unplumed vans I 
 
 Sweet is the lower air and safe, and known 
 The homely levels; only strong ones leave 
 The nest each makes his own. 
 
 Dear is the love, I know, of wife and child; 
 
 Pleasant the friends and pastimes of your years; ^ 
 Fruitful of good life's gentle charities; 
 
 False, though firm-set, its fears. 
 
 Live — ye who must — such lives as live on these ; 
 
 Make golden stairways of your weakness; rise 
 By daily sojourn with those phantasies 
 
 To lovelier verities. 
 
 So shall ye pass to clearer heights and find 
 
 Easier ascents and lighter loads of sins, 
 And larger will to burst the bonds of sense, 
 
 Entering the path. 
 
 Buddha recognized nature. His suggestion of the evolu- 
 tion of all life from the lowest grades to the h^s^host spiritual 
 existence was profound, though vague and : complete. In 
 some ways his system runs parallel with the la ,o discovenes 
 of western science in regard to evolution. The scheme 
 follows on into the advancing grades of spirit life until the 
 reader's mind grows dazed with the magnitude of the ideas. 
 As to this latter part, one can neither praise nor bjame — 
 not having proof of its truth. One can only say that the 
 probable parts of the system bear the stamp of knowledge, 
 and that its dealings with the grades beyond man are at 
 least interesting, however speculative. 
 
86 
 
 THK ASCENT OF LIFK. 
 
 Compared with this exhihition of nature s plan, which 
 included all other reliKiouH and all individual effort, the 
 Christian system is like some village aldermen undertaking 
 to reRulate and arrange the affairs of Euroi)e. llie prom.i - 
 uatoiy of the Christian religion were spiritually enlightened. 
 They saw the Iwauty of love, compassion, forgiveness, and of 
 all the C^iristian virtues, just as every other man who is 
 lifted from the animal life mmt see them; hut, beyond this, 
 the apostles were peculiarly ignorant and incapable of deal- 
 ing with nature in an educated way. 
 
 Since that time, the Christian world has been in a con- 
 stant state of apology for and avoidance of nature, which has 
 heen referred to as base— though admittedly Iwautiful in 
 manv ways. Poets have been allowed to sing the beauties 
 of nature, but, until lately, a man would incur social disaster 
 if he set it forth that carnality was a part of God s law. 
 Yet we see that with a view to producing the holiness ot 
 love in marriage the human being is, to this extent, urged 
 by every alluring device and disguise of nature, towards 
 exerting a force which lifts man from the animal to the 
 spiritual planes. There is no evading the fact that for 
 the production of best species and general development, the 
 whole system of nature is dependent on this; because any 
 force exercised must come from the creature itself — nature 
 in this respect being law, not force. These truths are un- 
 pleasant to some people; but the unpleasantness is chietly 
 the result of continuing the ideas of those medueval saints 
 whose minds were so diseased on this subject that their 
 lives supplied the most abhorrent and disgusting portion ot 
 the world's history. 
 
 No idea could depart further from the laws which necessi- 
 tate the acquirement of wisdom than the priestly one which 
 connects knowledge with sin— seeking to retain an ignorance 
 in othei-s, useful to hierarchies, under the name of innocence. 
 Lovely as it is, innocence, while necessary to provide for 
 nature's education in marriage and for pure ideals and happi- 
 ness of life, is usually an early and transitional condition. 
 In mature human life, innocence is superseded by rightr 
 mindedness, which grasps the real purity of full knowledge. 
 There has been no human creativeness without passion. 
 Genius never existed except when passion has been side- 
 tracked into pursuit of some kind of creation. It has been 
 
1, which 
 fort, the 
 lertaking 
 ! proniul- 
 ightened. 
 iH, and of 
 I who is 
 ond thiH, 
 3 of deal- 
 in a con- 
 wh\(i\\ has 
 iutiful in 
 
 beauties 
 i\ disaHter 
 rod's law. 
 oliness of 
 ent, urged 
 >, towards 
 lal to the 
 ; that for 
 ament, the 
 cause any 
 [ — nature 
 lis are un- 
 
 is chiefly 
 
 Bval sainte 
 
 that their 
 
 portion of 
 
 ch necessi- 
 one which 
 
 1 ignorance 
 innocence. 
 
 jrovide for 
 and happi- 
 condition. 
 I by right- 
 knowledge, 
 ut passion. 
 I been side- 
 It has been 
 
 THE ASCENT OK LIFE. 
 
 87 
 
 this power for desiring, and for fonnng it« own ideas into 
 the consciousness of other souls, that has produced the mas- 
 culine successes. It was with the power of this diverted 
 passion that Shakespeare forced from the all-knowledge the 
 verification of liis truths — incidentally showing, when he 
 fertilized the world with thought and left his brain-children 
 as his only ones, that human beings may select the channels 
 of their own creativeness. 
 
 When nature's system seems opposed to human ideas of 
 morality, it may safely be said that God's ways are right — 
 seeing that nothing is true but nature. It is at this point 
 that education, and the thought of the human brain, must 
 assist comparatively ignorant spirituality. Because all the 
 knowledge a sjjiritual man usually seeks in his soul is that 
 which may assist his spiritual development, and the answer 
 made known to his intuitions is and must be invariably the 
 same, namely, that the conditions of a lower plane are un- 
 profitable. If the spiritual man, either by ordinary education 
 or otherwise, examined the past he would realize how his 
 general comprehensions needed a retrospect. Parallel. cases 
 would be parables. He would see that some conditions 
 necessary for the fishes were highly unprofitable for the am- 
 phibians, who, being the fathers of animal cieation, were in- 
 tended to remain on land, which they eventually did. It is 
 the same at the present day. 
 
 Buddha was no fanatic. He knew that to defy the effect 
 of a thousand ages of brain building was what few men could 
 accomplish. But he knew that to the spiritually-minded 
 man anything which clouds the capacity to receive holiness 
 and wisdom will be avoided because unprofitable and hurt- 
 ful. In this way, also, he deals with overeating and over- 
 drinking. 
 
 The development of the individuality, which is man s chief 
 care, must be of that kind which continually gives out and 
 assists. Throughout all lower nature, sex is different both 
 in disposition and abilities. But in marriage, as the result 
 of the one-ness produced by unified vibration, the most 
 marked mental qualities of each sex begin to disappear. In 
 the truest marriage, which means the best first step to the 
 spiritual life, the man assumes part of the nature of the 
 woman. The most perfect man is he who has a large por- 
 tion of feminine qualities incorporated with his own. Christ, 
 
 I ifi ii ii hi M tfrlt i cinifii'^'^"^ 
 
88 
 
 TIIK ABCKNT C»K lAVK. 
 
 Buddha, St. John, and nuUUn. of oUje. j- ^;J|J^ 
 
 this. It i« the Htaun. of ^»l' J , " / S are eli.ni.uited in 
 
 gavagory and annual «"'," f T a u rel a more fennnine 
 
 complete marriage ; and the ma. "«« ^ ^, j j^ juce 
 
 susceptibility in '^p"^^." ^'^e dure sul-H^ and other 
 compasHion, sympat jy, '^^/\\\y f'. " '^" ^ 'J^," word, he is sen- 
 virtLpeculuuto e^^ explained, his 
 
 ^hui' soul hlX:; uld.i:i with tVe ^creased vibraUon of 
 and both know the first ^r^^^^*;" "^ ^^"^ jj^^ '^Treed, they 
 
 strength of character, of which ^^>« f ^^* "^^^^^ ^f it, de- 
 
 „ece»itie, ««J^ ™ ^^sT^ * ^1";.'" tl i'n either »ex, 
 woman's. With him, lies »^« j ^ marriage, the 
 
 n^f/ihu^c^^^^^^^^ *^« -p-'y t 
 
 '"*^' 1 t^nnrhness To this are added firmness, capacity 
 general staunchness. ^« "' . . ^^^ ^re the outcome of 
 
 'T i'^'roTlul ^Thf f a'dlt impr^S^^^^^^ of girlhood 
 strength of soul. ^^ '1^/*^^^= j^^s _ and the woman has be- 
 disappears - at least ^^^^nd friends, society and religion, 
 come a strength for husband, t^™' /i because she 
 
 She holds to her <f Vt:::„sf the rSon of the heart, 
 l,UevesinthecreeJ,b^^^^^^ Not one per 
 
 I:r;^ S::^^ ^o"Z.: the vei. papyn Pf the 
 
THE ASCENT OP LIFB. 
 
 80 
 
 boen like 
 'iruDifuerie, 
 niiuited in 
 ) funiiiiine 
 h produce 
 and other 
 , he is Hen- 
 lained, \m 
 ibmtion of 
 
 iken place; 
 le new life, 
 creed, they 
 irt«. They 
 jkgvound of 
 nk that na- 
 n that God 
 )ricst. 
 
 wife by true 
 the husband, 
 vife acquires 
 ro to make 
 juirement is 
 je of it, de- 
 
 Throughout 
 I. With the 
 an's seeming 
 ly less than 
 in either sex, 
 marriage, the 
 
 capacity for 
 neiss, capacity 
 he outcome of 
 y of girlhood 
 voman has be- 
 
 and religion, 
 y because she 
 1 of the heart, 
 
 Not one per 
 stic argument, 
 irability of the 
 r papyri pf the 
 
 Egyptian Negative Confession from which the Command- 
 ments were constructed — but you cannot stop her from going 
 to church. Men havo Hneorcd at this and said she was 
 stupid. Not HO. She is light, and her hai)pine88 is saved to 
 her because she is not blinded by brains. The devotee of 
 intellect may be shocked at tlie tliought of people being 
 "blinded by brains." Yet it is a truth that they are so- 
 one of the most extraordiimry truths in existence and the 
 most difficult one for brains to admit. 
 
 All that has been said of the holiness of marriage love, 
 and of the extraordinary change and interchange of nature 
 which it produces, will go far to exi.lain the damage which 
 results from the opposite case. A great many people have 
 sneered at religion when it has seemed to try to make a 
 church ceremony sanctify one part of life to the exclusion of 
 the other. Pagan men have said, "If nature be wicked, 
 then paying a fee to a i)riest won't make it any better. 
 But the examination of the soul life in human beings and 
 of the physical and spiritual effects produced in mesmeric 
 processes shows that the instincts of religion were beyond 
 doubt correct. Marriage is the greatest sacrament of the 
 world part of nature, for the reasons already given; so that 
 the ceremony will probably Ixj always continued, although 
 
 nature knows only the fact. „ , . . , i^ i 
 
 It is of the nature of love to exchange all that is best, and 
 we have seen that in woman it is a passion for submission ; 
 consequently her whole nature is altered. In the marriage 
 holiness and love the wife's character assumes the sterling 
 qualities of the husband, as already .lescribed. But the 
 woman of the streets knows none of this. She assumes only 
 the brutal qualities which, in time, will always make her a 
 virago. It is a pity that the subject cannot be here dealt 
 with more explicitly, because it is only in understanding the 
 possible fatefulness of the mesmeric effects and processes that 
 one gains the more secret explanation of female improvement 
 or degradation. But in the latter case and on such an 
 enormously importtvnt subject, one must at least point out 
 that that which nature has produced, and which alone can 
 proceed to any further world or condition, is entirely altei-ed 
 in its nature. In such a case the human soul is not its 
 original self. It is a collection of the brutalities and bestial 
 ideals of low-grade men. The Bible called this " taking to 
 
 mit m i, fia t ^ *i ^' ti iAf i0 ^'i ' 
 
11 
 
 90 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 oneself deviW and, f -f Jj:i ekcf ' Ihe^"^^ 
 correct in idea and ^^^Jj^^^^/^^^aming and fighting and 
 ^|t^rXrS»-iena.e she bears. 
 
 She is a nameless museum of he U^ ^^^ ^^.^ 
 
 The above P^^'^g^fX^^P^^^^ mastery allotted 
 
 blamed than men. It ^« ^«\J^!;^^^ J .^hen love is present ; 
 to them by nature, do not ^Ite^-^^ceP^;^ ^ .^^^J^^ ^.^.t . 
 
 whereas women, ^-f;^^^,:Zt^-S^^^-^ by reason of 
 
 tXl^^;^^:^-^ t S^ to the 
 The feminine perhotions which »« 3^"J°3v, also 
 addition of .nascnU,. vrtue, -^ ^Sf^TS'tories 
 partly found in girlliood, "^ "'"' ° („„ i,a,e been pro- _ 
 Siwiieh the trif/-'''«Vj„SrfrTurice,tioii», ?hU 
 dueing noble W- ^AJ^^'^wn in nobility of feature, 
 grandeur of ™'""7' „" !„ ^here the ideals are on the 
 is impoesiUe in any county P„„ti„„, and a di«et proof 
 
 SZ'eS'of idrai: rthe emV Jet^"Xf„1 
 
 oi yo-"* XtdSSHy''u''re':' ol-« t p Je^rved 
 woman. The in^^^v^^^^^ . , • ^ type are seen among 
 
 or lost; and rare f -"^P^.^^,^"^^^^^^^^^ Yt is also far from 
 
 the poor women of the L«"f°Y\ow social level may not 
 true that youth F«^^'l«««i^onj 1^ The influences of the 
 
 alterations which become t«amfest m ^^^^^^J^^^^^^^^^^^ ^nd 
 Some slim, fmgi^e gul marn s ^^^^^^^^^^^l^, ,^ ,Vm 
 stimulants. This mode ^i u '^ ^^er maternity is 
 
 80 huge and "^wieldy that her appea ^dowhood 
 
 almost pitiable, ^^ejieragam three ye 
 and hard times and she may ^^ as ^Um *s J ^^^^^ 
 
 in the hands of - -°delli.g sen pto ^s hai^ y ^ P^. 
 
 than a woman --^-'^^l^^Znl.ci.3., 'she immediately 
 when young and "fiicaieiy i. they are, m 
 
 niirroi^ her ideals and P^^; cLngefeffrcted in the uni- 
 her appearance -especially the chang^^^ ^^^ ^^^ 
 
 ties of marriage when love is present, xm 
 
it is rath«!r 
 The woman 
 fighting and 
 tne she boars. 
 
 in are more 
 .stery allotted 
 e is present ; 
 iriolence must 
 I by reason of 
 ion. 
 
 obility to the 
 heredity, also 
 ose territories 
 ive been pro- 
 ceptions, this 
 ity of feature, 
 Is are on the 
 
 a direct proof 
 8 highest type 
 dghest type of 
 ) be preserved 
 re seen among 
 
 also far from 
 evel may not 
 fluences of the 
 ble women are 
 y, with happy 
 
 B extraordinary 
 line appearance, 
 overeating and 
 B her in a form 
 :ter maternity is 
 ifter widowhood 
 girlhood. Clay 
 ily more plastic 
 irit. Especially 
 ihe immediately 
 irhat they are, in 
 scted in the uni- 
 his is the most 
 
 Mli 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 91 
 
 alterative of human material, and the writings of the animal 
 soul or spiritual soul upon it are so unmistakable and prompt 
 that one may here become aware that the human body is 
 scarcely more than a mere apparition, and that the soul life 
 within is its only reality. , . , • 
 
 Thus, Buddha describes the body and its desires to 
 be " fantasies " — as well as every wish to continue in the 
 animal life, or indeed in any human life. The more care- 
 fully life is studied, the more correct his teaching appears. 
 The chief urging of his system is the acquiring of wisdom 
 in regard to life, soul, religion and all things. And one 
 does not proceed very far without discovering that religion 
 consists in something more than writing the names of saints 
 with capital letters; in something more than searching the 
 Hebrew scriptures; and in something more than an idea that 
 one goes to God by claiming a certain statement to be true. 
 One also sees that religion is not to be viewed as if from a 
 great distance and prone on one's face, but to be approached 
 with confidence rather than timidity, with consciousness that 
 soul wisdom and holiness are the same thing, and 'with 
 assurance that the all-knowledge has always been waiting 
 for human minds to seek it through the correspondences of 
 the soul, — especially when urged by the determination of 
 the will. It will be seen that the soul life as ordinarily led 
 by Christian people may be advanced much farther than it 
 
 usually is. „ , ^ li. 
 
 In this work, remarks have been confined to results pro- 
 duced and knowledge acquired in the mesmeric processes 
 which need a patient. Nothing has been said as to those 
 powers (attributed to Buddha and others) which proceed 
 from dealing with one's own interior faculties. These have 
 not been here mentioned because proof has not been fori^- 
 coming that these orientals can accomplish what is alleged. 
 But touching the question of the soul faculties an account 
 . must be given here of a matter which occurred on the day 
 before these words are written. 
 
 A lady arrived from a distance to procure some legal 
 advice. She has been known to the author for a number of 
 years both professionally and socially. She is here spoken 
 of as a "lady" because always recognized as such; but when 
 it is said that she called to inquire the extent of her own 
 criminal liabilitiy, and when her actions appear more fuUy, 
 
 -r 
 
n 
 
 _;„ -i.ifa . ' f ii i. i ti i ir'f'WTi""'"'' 
 
 Ll i r |"Vf*' ii --'""'"-*^ Y rMt-Hrrri^ 8 «»^ 
 
 im! 
 I. 
 
 li 
 
 I- 
 
 ii 
 
 'ii; 
 
 
 m 
 
 92 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 t. r*i« f/^ this rank will seem open to question. Yet ladies 
 tlety petuar thrngs sometimes, and lawyer, receive 
 
 strange confideuces. ^ ^ ^^^^^.^ ^^^„ ^^^o her 
 
 It seems that she deare ^g^^^^^ ^^^ ^ 
 
 power. Perhaps ne wcu» woman of most alert 
 
 ^„ticuto -«.7'-«''e.eSL of wS" .K« ccceak from 
 
 she sat iost^^ * , ^^ ^^t, take a conveyance and go 
 she seemed to see herseii go u , seemed) and 
 
 down to this man's oftice. ^e was out ,^ j^ig private room, 
 she made an excuse tojach ^« '^^^^^ i^. ^ ^P ^^^^^^ ^^^ 
 
 took from It a pecuuai y .^ ^^^^ ^^, ^ ^^^^^ 
 
 *»rvSZLt.lt.tS;ftHa„ an, oM^a^^^".- 
 
 « r-^r ' n'ura ruSrtaplio?» t * xhu 
 
 wide awake. It maae a ^"'^ ,^ ^e says, she 
 
 was over four ^-^'^ ^^""^J^Zng^^^^^ 
 
 dressed and went mt^^^^^^^^^^ k-wing what would 
 
 impulse, ^^lle entereu c j exactly as she 
 
 happen. Eve^^^^g -c^^-^ ^ufd thfpeculiarly'.olo^^ 
 had f««^^^*^«yi^t drawer, recognized the handwriting, 
 rnt?uVS>r?^o"p?n\nd"read it ft the spot indicated m 
 
 %trrequiring advice on ot^^^V^^^^^^^'Z'^^ 
 letter, and the author saw i . ^he ^";7P!i3ae which will 
 mark of the day she stole it. /^^^^f^^ Jff ^he client uses 
 certainly ruin the happiness «* ^^ j^^X so. But at this 
 it. Of course she was f ^vised no^o ^o s^^^ ^.^^ 
 
 ^^"^^ ^' t do' U^othen me.:Xht the capacity for 
 urge her to do. J^J^^ /'J^^ , , one because she appre- 
 
 being dangerous, but is liked ^>y ^J^'^^^ ^j ^^^^er . The 
 eiates fairness and P^ The publication of 
 
 r:^^,^tlSuent time, will show t^at l^e affair 
 
Tn1»|! i -l.fc i« ">"» ' "''' t i mtW 
 
 Yet ladies 
 8 receive 
 
 n into her 
 ps not; no 
 [iiost alert 
 iceals from 
 er, because 
 i. 
 
 ir brain to 
 ibject. As 
 t and hate 
 ice and go 
 semed) and 
 ivate room, 
 drawer and 
 ch was ad- 
 at a certain 
 overed that 
 
 try thought, 
 aid she was 
 her. This 
 ihe says, she 
 imed sudden 
 what would 
 actly as she 
 iarly-colored 
 handwriting, 
 indicated in 
 
 ad aloud this 
 ore the post- 
 le which will 
 lie client uses 
 But at this 
 her hate will 
 e capacity for 
 use she appre- 
 manner. The 
 publication of 
 that the affair 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 98 
 
 has blown over and that this story is told with the clients 
 consent. She says smilingly that she is not quite s.inj 
 whether she is in alliance with the fiend or not Visions ot 
 a similar kind have occurred to her three or four times betoie. 
 She is supei-stitious, and they frighten her. 
 
 The above story can be accepted as true. The authoi has 
 been for a long time aware of this faculty which she possesses. 
 The occurrence is peculiar enough to be inserted here; and 
 one reason for doing so is that it differs from all he mes- 
 meric results previously related in showing the soul s power 
 for prophecy. This is a point that the author has not so far 
 dared to mention, because he feels that the truths he has 
 drawn from his own experiments in mesmerism may have 
 already taxed the reader's credulity to the utmost B^t ()ne 
 marvel contained in the account is its showing that the soul s 
 powei-s for acquiring knowledge maybe P"* ^"^o action by 
 one's own concentrated will; and this is exactly what the 
 orientals claim can be done. Without this power, it is im- 
 possible to suppose that Buddha could in an ignorant 
 countiT and twenty-five centuries before Darwin and Wal- 
 lace have produced the stupendous system of evolution 
 which now claims the attention of western science. 
 
 The above-mentioned vision of the client * was certamly 
 the result of no holiness, but of a hate so concentrated and 
 forceful that it produced an effect not readily undei-stood. 
 When the soul revelations only refer to existing facts, one s 
 own experiments compel belief; but when ^^ ««nies to seein^^^ 
 all the details of a morning's trip four months before th^ r 
 occurrence then we may well stand d»™bfo"nded The 
 account also shows that this power for seeing into the future, 
 which in this case was quite unexpected and unlooked-for, is 
 Tne which no doubt could be educated by trainmg; and also 
 that it need have nothing to do with holiness. 
 
 Many of us have had dreams of which all the occurrences 
 were subsequently enacted just as we «^;\ ^^^^^ "'on vTo 
 Two of these are put in the appendix. They refer only to 
 trinities, but they exhibit quite clearly the soul's power 
 for foreseeing coming events, together with a good deal ot 
 trivial detail The falling of an apple to the earth is a 
 
 . in this not.. ma.le several -on']|f,,,^^f„%Y,e v^r|e'o? Saclfon ttreUTnalfv 
 S;?rp Wr .'^lWSr.ri;r^^^^^^^^ -,. «.. «>«.« very .uot 
 
 plcMed wttb the tesult. 
 
;^^j*warj-, Y f rr -l i mit iji-m '•'- i ^tn-rmsMT! i i. ■ Aw"-- 
 
 -f f'^ rt^-ti 5^"*'iT''"'^-*'^^'^'-^^-™**''- 
 
 94 
 
 THE ASCENT OF 1>IFK 
 
 trivial occurrence, yet it led to the discovery of the law of 
 gravitation : and these unlooked-for little visions which view 
 the most unimportant matters of tlie future cannot reasonably 
 be ignored when their necessary outcomes in showing the 
 abilities of the soul are so stupendous. If the author thought 
 he was alone in such chance occurrences he would be silent 
 about them: but he has found that a great many people have 
 known experiences that are analogous. Perhaps all readere 
 of this work will remember facts that would compel them 
 towards inquiry if they thought any one could make answer. 
 No tests of the prophetic powers of the soul were made, 
 or indeed thought of, during the author's mesmeric experi- 
 ments, and he does not wish to go beyond his proofs and the 
 deductions which arise from them. But while acknowledging 
 ourselves to be totally at sea regarding the subject of the 
 next few paragraphs, let us discuss in a non-committal and 
 friendly way some of the possibilities. 
 
 Our dreams which are afterwards reenacted in fact dur- 
 ing the awake condition, and such visions as that of the 
 client who took the letter, suggest that under some condi- 
 tions, or when in some way forced, the soul can become aware 
 of and see events which have not yet happened. The author 
 is fully aware of the disfavor with which this statement may 
 meet, and it taxes one's courage to print it. But after reduc- 
 ing to scientific proof the soul's power for knowledge of 
 any event occurring at a distance, we may in a non-committal 
 way regard the further powers of which we have not at pres- 
 ent sufficient proof. In any case, we are urged to seek ex- 
 planation of these phenomena, which in minor ways are of 
 every-day occurrence. ,,,..,., . 
 
 During all our lives we have considered the biblical proph- 
 ecies. Are all these merely the records of impostures, or are 
 they something more ? I once spent some time in a fruitless 
 search along the shores of Galilee to discover some remains 
 of Bethsaida and Choi-azin. The prophecy that they would 
 be lost so that their sites should not be known was correct ; 
 and it seems the more peculiar from the fact that the neigh- 
 boring Magdala, the village of Mary, still exists and is 
 called Mejdel by the Arabs. Some time afterwards, while 
 bathing in the Mediterranean, near the modern town called 
 Tyre, I found myself wading over a large number of round 
 stone or marble columns. These were covered with sea- 
 
 WEiLz 
 
THB ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 96 
 
 jm ■'MmMm.Miii.u < ja . nx < . ' m ' *mM • 
 
 weed, but they could be felt by my feet and traversed from 
 end to end. They were doubtless the remains of ancient 
 palaces or temples. And then came the memory of the 
 prophecy, " And thou. Tyre, shalt be laid in the midst of 
 
 %Tcour8e it may be suggested that Bethsaida and Chorazin 
 were known to be on the wane for lack of business, and that 
 the action of the water on what was then the promontory of 
 Tyre had been carefully watched; and that the character of 
 Buddha as related by East Indian caravan traveller at Jeru- 
 salem facilitated the prophecy regarding the coming of Christ, 
 we may say that Daniel had secret priestly information con- 
 Terning the approaching enemy when he foretold the annihi- 
 lation of Belshazzar;-but this continual need of explanation 
 is a little tiring, and to impute intentiona impo8tui;e to all 
 the grandest men of ancient days is offensive to the instincts 
 
 of our better selves. , , . ^ „„ „«■ 
 
 The only question that we need ask is, "Can any one at 
 the present day accomplish anything similar to that with 
 which Daniel and othei-s are credited ? " If 80, are. we justi- 
 fied in asserting that the biblical prophecies were all impos- 
 tures? Certainly no one is authorized, from a scientihc 
 standpoint, in crediting mattei^ which are totaHy^^^^J^^ 
 from all the experience and intuitions of his life. The case 
 iust related of the client and the letter may be accepted or 
 not This point demands more proof than is in my own ex- 
 Derience though I have no doubt that mesmeric experiments 
 ^Zoon 8how^hat the patient is capabk «fJoretelling w^^^^^ 
 will happen on the following day. If this be proved (and I 
 greatly i^t not testing the point when I had the opportu- 
 nity) then doubt will cease to be reasonable concerning a 
 Ssome of the biblical prophecies. After all, this result 
 would not be a very great advance upon those I have already 
 obtained. One must keep one's opinions receptive I ride 
 in unshakable opinion is generally the pride of a.fool. I to- 
 tally disbelieved the story of one individual showing anothei 
 Se kingdoms of the earth : but I found I could do it myself. 
 Already it is evident that the results obtained by the force of 
 Sie mesmerizer's will on the soul of the patient are only an- 
 otheT way at arriving at the results which a human being 
 ± hS accompbsh when hu o«,« will is sufficient to 
 force into action the latent abilities of his own soul. 
 
j-qBg 9 M!i ;j,/iai,'-ij gsiifeag?;3iBi' *- * !Vn?>'S' ~T i 
 
 ; 'I " ^^tVl -f% , >^f'^,-^iiX^!^ 
 
 : .iafna . -i— a i Wffffr 
 
 96 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIFE. 
 
 A good many of tha biblical prophecies were issued at a 
 time of the intensest anger or hatred; and it was in just 
 Huch an intensity of anger and hatred that my acquaintance 
 unintentionally forced her sonl to reveal in vision the pro- 
 3iC f«"^- ™«"^^'« afterwards, placed two families 
 
 at her^mercy. No one who has not lived in the East can 
 conceive of the intensities and fanaticisms of some orientals. 
 Tknew a Jewish rabbi of Jerusalem whose name wa« Miz- 
 rachi He was an exceedingly good man except in his 
 fanaticism, and he abhorred the modern innovations in the 
 HetewTaith. I used to sit and study him as in a mixture 
 of French, Italian and English, he denounced Christ (whom 
 he called Chreese) as " all lies." His deep-set eyes glowed 
 and burned, with ages of barbaric fanaticism in them, and 
 h^ huge mouth grlw terrible as the power of the man 
 
 '^rmenttofthe case because he made me realize the awful, 
 the perfectly frightful, intensities that belonged to the men 
 Yawveh^* in the ancient biblical times. In him I saw 
 again the Jewish bloody wars and religious massacres. To 
 me he was gentle because I had done him a small service 
 and he did know how to show his gratitude. But in him I 
 understood how men were crucified and slashed, how the r 
 Sowers weretm out and the rivers ran red wdien Yawveh^s 
 supremacy was questioned. I saw the teinhc power for 
 concentration oil one idea that characterized the Jewish 
 prophet., and I seemed to understand why no confessed 
 mophete have since existed, because now, in the diffusion 
 Td Station of careful thought, no one concen rat^s as in 
 former times when the entire passions of splendidly endowed 
 r^en were focalized with an awful energy upon one idea. H 
 ™w oTie can acquire or be endowed with this titanic concen- 
 Son I feel sure (in my own private opinion, which I do 
 not ask others to share) that he too can prophesy For 
 there is clearly no miracle about it. As we see, people de it 
 un'ntentio^^^^^^^^ ; and the soul does it automatically (or 
 ZaSrso/during human sleep. We have already seen 
 Seveiy invention,^eveiy discovery of underlyng truth is 
 nuta's forcing of knowledge from some princi ple of nature 
 
 ■oggett the proper sound. 
 
 s sgM i fi i iiafsaiaixag-n'rT- i ^ 
 
 mmmfv^ i. .11.1 -i^-u. i -JW^ ' i'J- ' " . ■M ' jj i i.wa-'. ' 
 
:imiifi!i»nit>Hi""'r''T""'"*' 
 
 THE ASCENT OP LIFE. 
 
 97 
 
 id at a 
 in just 
 ntance 
 le prc- 
 amilies 
 iist can 
 ientals. 
 IS Miz- 
 
 in his 
 
 in the 
 nixture 
 (whom 
 glowed 
 m, and 
 le man 
 
 3 awful, 
 he men ' 
 1 I saw 
 es. To 
 
 service 
 n him I 
 ow their 
 'awveh's 
 iwer for 
 
 Jewish 
 lonfessed 
 diffusion 
 tes as in 
 endowed 
 idea. H 
 3 concen- 
 lich I do 
 sy. For 
 )ple d« it 
 3ally (or 
 jady seen 
 r truth, is 
 of nature 
 
 ) name \rhlch 
 111 gave It aa 
 » not clearly 
 
 which awaits his demand ; and there seems to be no reason 
 why he may not do so to a very unlimited extent. 
 
 Religion and the power to prophesy may evidently be 
 quite separate. It is clear that there is no necessity for 
 piety or holiness in prophecy, but only conservation of vital 
 energy and concentration of will power. The prophets who 
 were called upon to curse unpleasant people were certainly 
 in no pious frame of mind, nor was the woman whose case 1 
 mention. Much has been said by great teachers about the 
 abilities of those who have faith. But this does not mean 
 faith in any creed. It means utter confidence in the suprem- 
 acy of one's spirit when conjoined with its higher alliances. 
 Napoleon knew no piety; but his enormous will power 
 acting on his soul faculties revealed to him the nature of 
 every man he dealt with, so that every man's weakness was 
 harnessed to the emperor's triumphal car. George Eliot was 
 not orthodox ; but in the soul-verification of life s truths she 
 was mighty — deeply religious at heart, but with the greatest 
 ioy of life crushed by science — the best example of what is 
 meant by people being "blinded by bi-ains." Again, the 
 mighty men of finance and politics may have nothing of 
 holiness or piety. We see, then, that all these people may 
 use the soul's powers exactly as they like and for any pur- 
 pose; and that the processes which bring about the great 
 worldly successes, of which the prophetic power is an un- 
 developed branch, may include a vast amount of sheer 
 brutality and may have nothing whatever to do with religion, 
 which is the sensitization of the higher planes, and leads 
 through gentleness and sympathy to the higher joy and 
 wisdom which will always make the aspect of the latter days 
 of a Napoleon, a Voltaire, or a Jay Gould seem in the 
 highest degree pitiable. The partial wisdoms which do not 
 seek the highest wisdom must invariably prove Dead Sea 
 apples in the end. , . , » 
 
 We must also ask about those forebodings which from 
 time immemorial have warned people of coming danger. It 
 is no egoism to relate a case in my own life, because if all 
 people ignore their own proofs we cannot obtain a collective 
 view. In October of (I think) 1875, I was sailing a small 
 yacht to Hamilton, Canada, and at sundown fell asleep on 
 the deck. About nine o'clock I suddenly awoke, trembling 
 in an unexplained fright. The yacht lay in a dead calm, the 
 
 !ii!!,'l-U;jliHll-i-UJJM'l 
 
 BTflJK-JMW'-i-" WBSWff* "- ■ 
 
98 
 
 THE ASCENT OP UIVK, 
 
 night was pitch-dark and the lamps were not lit. I found 
 that my friends, who at that time were novices at yachting, 
 had not reduced canvas, and I hurriedly lowered the large 
 riiciiig topsail to the deck. As soon as this was done, the 
 ivorst s(niall 1 ever experienced struck ua from ahead. 
 Luckily we were able to lower our other canvas before 
 complete capsize, and the boat lived through the night. If 
 the squall liad caught us with the topsail up — if 1 had slept 
 one minute longer — nothing could have saved us. The 
 " Sphinx," another yacht of same size as mine, which in 
 another part of the lake was proceeding to the same race, 
 met a different fate, and three of my acquainUmces died of 
 exhaustion after clinging to her upturned side for several 
 days. The hired man was i)icked up insensible and after- 
 wards told the story. Those lost were well known, and 
 Canada remembers the disaster. 
 
 Now what is this which sends a sleeping man to his feet, 
 trembling with apparently causeless terror? It saved my 
 life and the lives of my two friends, and 1 feel my right to 
 ask the question, which indeed has always been a solemn 
 one to me. Can it be referred to anything else than to the 
 usually latent prophetic power which lies in every human 
 soul ? The internal sentinel which never sleeps, never tires, 
 never gives wrong information, and which possibly never 
 dies, must be considered in all such matters. 
 
 These things are not more mysterious than the growth and 
 reproduction of our bodies. Different channels of research 
 lead to wide differences in the power for giving credence. 
 To me, knowing nothing of mechanics, a trolley electric car 
 is the nearest thing I know of to a miracle. When that 
 little wheel at the end of a rod draws down some unseen 
 power from overhead and hurries three carloads of people up 
 a hill, it seems to me to throw the prophecy of Daniel com- 
 pletely into the shade. But perhaps some electricians will 
 find my experiments equally difficult to believe in. The 
 fact is that we cannot always wait until Hodge is prepared 
 to agree with us. Pleasing as is the approval of the majori- 
 ties, that of the few is more valuable, and it must be admitted 
 that truth is better than either. 
 
 In this region there is an infinitude of knowledge yet to 
 be discovered, with which man, if he will, may become ac- 
 quainted while yet in this life. It all lies within the legiti- 
 
THE A8CENT OF LIFE. 
 
 99 
 
 mate field of soieiice, and the world has a right to demand 
 that science shall extend iUi methods and not stagnate m ita 
 present materialism. 
 
 To retiirn. The extraordinary unification of natures 
 which takes place in true marriage is the first suggestion 
 that after hunum death the individuality is without sex, or 
 at least without the sex passions. The uses for these are 
 then over and done with. Material creations demanded 
 assistance of material methods, and of the animal forces 
 which could assist those laws of nature which are passive, 
 instructive, guiding, and which influence towards the general 
 Intention without the exercise of any force in themselves. 
 In this arrangement, which required individual effort through- 
 out, we have seen that guiding laws of a spiritual world con- 
 tinually assisted, in the same way that one's ear for music 
 directs us in reproducing a certain harmony — immediately 
 informing of discord, and thus compelling obedience m a 
 way that is without force. , , , i 
 
 Thus we see that music, which is the speech of the phases, 
 is another example of the wordless comprehensions of thb 
 soul. Some of the best musical critics do not know one note 
 from another, on paper. The appreciation of music, one s 
 judgment concerning it, is entirely a question of soul 
 properties and training; and the man who has the most 
 musical soul is the greatest musician, although ignorant of 
 every note, on paper. Most musical critics are listening to 
 the technique. The true musician takes the technique tor 
 granted, if he can, and listens to the composer's message — 
 to the speech, to the aspiration, the intention, the glory, the 
 soul meanings. It is the same with painting, tew have 
 time to study the technicalities. This leaves the rest ot 
 mankind, including the most idealistic, outside the recog- 
 nized ranks of art; so that it may (although without proof) 
 be confidently guessed that the greatest artists are among 
 those who do not paint. The greatest pictures find no can- 
 vas. Indeed, the lack of ideality and interpretation of higher 
 life which the many miles of picture galleries exhibit is very 
 
 ^^Until the passive coercion of the vibratory laws becomes 
 appreciated, it is impossible to comprehend the guiding 
 powers of nature. Various writera who, perhaps momen- 
 
 LofC. 
 
 :l ; 
 
 \ Y 
 
100 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIKE. 
 
 tarily, iKJcame poets when reiichiHg down into their souls for 
 truth, have recognized the existence of the vibratory guidance 
 wliich controls without force. It is shown in a part of au 
 anonymous sonnet: — 
 
 That tliiiH! own realm of pence I too miglit share, 
 Whcro mil lire's Hniallesl t!iiii),'s show much (K-Hign 
 
 To teach kind tlioughtn for all that breathe; and where, 
 An music'' H laws compel l>y rule dicine, 
 
 Naught hut obeyiuy yood gketijoij and rest, 
 
 George Eliot hovered on the same truth when singing of 
 the lyre of Jubal : — 
 
 lie made it, and from out its niensured frame 
 Drew the harmonic soul, whose answers came 
 With guidance sweet and lessons of delight, 
 Teaching to ear and hand the blissful right, 
 Where strictest law is gladness to the sense 
 And all desire bends towards obedience. 
 
 Many have circled around the same idea without bringing it 
 down to definite shape, while Plato suggested a system which 
 more or less dealt with it, but in a vague and incoherent 
 way. 
 
 The effects of these passive coercions have been recognized 
 from the earliest times; and now that the material machinery 
 for the production of intelligence is about to be superseded 
 we are haidly justified in supposing that the individualities 
 which have been in company with these gentle systems of 
 guidance for many ages will now part company with them. 
 On the contrary, the vacillatory and unassured condition of 
 the human ego suggests that long training must ensue be- 
 fore it even approaches perfection. To suppose that a sensi- 
 tized man now passes into annihilation at death would be to 
 stultify the whole scheme of evolution. The proofs of the 
 spirit life would mean nothing. The idea of annihilation at 
 this time would in improbability rival that other notion, that 
 the ego will be transplanted into heaven as something miracu- 
 lously made perfect. 
 
 La Rochefoucauld wrote : " La faiblesse est le seul defaut 
 que Ton ne saurait corriger." After a season of listening 
 to silly praise or blame of human nature, a dose of La Roche- 
 foucauld is sometimes a salutary corrective. There is truth 
 in what he sap — but, also, untruth. The brain, being the' 
 product of sensation, finds it ditticult to eliminate customs 
 
THE A8CKNT OF LIFB. 
 
 101 
 
 which have become built in by supplying predominant 
 amounts of Hensation. Hut in the spiritual life frailties are 
 not cured by the determination tf) root out the noxious men- 
 tal weeds, but because their existence becomes obscured and 
 gradually forgotten in the general strain for that which is 
 more desirable. 
 
 La Uochefoucauld's proverb indicates his limits. Yet it 
 must be admitted that the most pitiable history is that which 
 shows the vacillation and vagaries of the human mind. 
 When monkey-trainers are choosing the animals they intend 
 to educate as trick-performers, they only select those whose 
 attention can be caught, concentrated, and held through their 
 curiosity. Those whose eyes continually wander are dis- 
 carded. The curiosity in the monkey is our earliest form of 
 scientific inquiry. In ourselves, this is called a God-given 
 desire for knowledge. The phrase sounds well, but the curi- 
 osity of the monkey was and is the same. This is what 
 Nature hsis striven to produce, namely, concentrated intelli- 
 gence. And the same faculty that lifted the monkey into a 
 man is now intended to lift man into a still higlier grade. « 
 
 Further processes of nature may in some way effect reali- 
 zation of truths which now seem dim. But spiritual men of 
 the Christian religion have seemed agreed that we only 
 receive one human life. This is a point on which a good 
 deal may depend. And when all knowledge of soul and of 
 natural law indicates that the individuality must be advanced, 
 it seems rather absurd to run risks through neglect. 
 
 Life, to man, is a question of values. It is useless to put 
 business or religion on any other basis. No one will, as a 
 rule, give up a pleasure in hand except for a better one. 
 Perhaps, in reality, no one gives up " a fond offence " 
 because of the idea that God wishes him to. No one who 
 possesses animal courage and is fond of the animal life will 
 gfive it up by reason of threats regarding hell. The fact is 
 that such a man snaps his fingers at hell. Neither will any 
 one who values his virility and his ultia-masculine indepen- 
 dence accept religion, as Sir James Stephen says, " in a 
 yearning after some object of affection, like a woman's love 
 for a lap-dog." If the religion of nature did not offer men 
 pleasures for this life that would be greater than those which 
 they already enjoy, there would be no use talking about it. 
 Any heaven which could not exhibit itself to some extent 
 
 
 
loa 
 
 TIIK ASCKNT or 1,11'K. 
 
 here would Hurely »»e nitluT th.uUtful of it« own value. Any 
 iM.rtionH of iflijjions wliicli funiiol vauUmv. the U-st of the 
 WMise of iilwuidity need not he nirntioiied to scientilic uuikIm. 
 Hut tlie inteiniil pronij.tingM towanls imtiiml ivligu)n are an 
 far removed from eriticinm aH the necessity to eat. 
 
 Now, it is these courajjeous nii'U wlio perhaps have fol- 
 lowed their animal instinctw deliantly hut honestly — men 
 who can eonunand, who are foremost in a li^lit, who ean 
 concentrate with a mighty purpose in their wdl, who will 
 smash everything, themselves included, to have their own 
 way— in short, it is evidently men of individuality and 
 brute force that the kingdom of the si)irit seeks. It is the 
 men whom women would die for that Ciod would live for. 
 Every device of nature has lK*en devoted for a thousand ages 
 to producing these splendid creatures. They are the cream 
 of creation. And is nature to he unahle to hold its best? 
 Are its places of command to l)e lilled by weaklings ? 
 
 But this is a treatise relating to exi)eriments, and is not 
 
 produced except to indicate the way to exijeriments. Yet 
 
 the approaches to the spiritual life may \ye tested, if test l)e 
 
 desired, as carefully as any other alleged panacea. Sooner 
 
 or later, these big men will feel a great need for this great 
 
 medicine. S(mie will say: "You put it fairly! show us 
 
 these extra advantages and we will go where our self interest 
 
 lies." To this may he reified: " You, too, are fair. But 
 
 you must, if you are interested, find things out for yourself. 
 
 If a whole volume were written concerning the happiness 
 
 of the spiritual life you would not believe a word of it. 
 
 Nobody is yearning over you; no one is approaching you in 
 
 the usual uncomfortable way to ask 'Is your soul saved? 
 
 Your neglect will affect nolwdy but youi-self." 
 
 This is a Iwok of experiments. And you wish to experi- 
 ment? Well, then! when you wish for rest and peace and 
 freedom from all the troubles which the following of fan- 
 tasies has produced, go into some cathedral or church where 
 you can hear grand and reverential music. Sit alone — or, 
 better still, if you really love any one then take that peraon 
 with you. Let your mind be a blank, and let the music do 
 the preaching. If hymns are sung, join in ! If they contain 
 words you object to, never mind ! It is not the words: it is 
 the rhythm, the aspiration, the swell, the illumination, the 
 comprehension of the great Intention. Let your mind be a 
 
 
THK ASCIiNT OK l.ll'K. 
 
 blftnk, but recfptivo. (.ivo way 1" ilie impicsHiniH win -li 
 thi) luiisio will hiin^r t„ yu(j, If you ntv u yoiiiiK niiiii, ymi 
 will vt'iy likt'ly lnvts ivrno one in rt >eveitMitiiil ami puiu wiiy. 
 If HO, tho uiusio will luAf you feel i.iiiil?-<l anil U^livv lUl.xl 
 to bo in her pivstjiict!. H y"» •"ivo brouoht tills person with 
 you, iiuil if you ntiilly ciiiiJ for hor in tho highest WiJy, you 
 will vnry likily foul iliat it would Ihj a liapi)iiu'ss and no luck 
 of rovcronci) to bold b«r liand wbilo tlu; uitl?.i'; plays tlirouf?h 
 you and niakos you think that lifo <;ould bo nol)lo and per- 
 fect in her presence. Very well! lake her band, by all 
 moans! Tho reliK'ion of (iod desires no unhappinosH; and 
 your reveri'iitial delight in her presence indicates exactly 
 what she won ntade for. 
 
 Now this sounds like very foolish reading. Of courae it 
 doo8. It needs some courage to print it. Words are an en- 
 tire absurdity in all those matters. This remark has l»oou 
 made rei)oatodly. The truest hapi)ines8 of life cannot be re- 
 duced to words without some ai)poamnce of absurdity. The 
 religion of (»od has no words; neither at this first experi- 
 ment nor at any other time. But you will not leave the 
 edilice without feeling strengthened, purified and uplifted. 
 You have not done so badly in the fii-st exi)eriment. 
 
 But suppose you, the next experimenter, are an agnostic. 
 You have felt for many years that life has l)een a gloom, and 
 that some gladness of youth has gone out of you, and that 
 your existence points nowhere. You have ascrilwd your 
 gloom and painful want of outlook, to increasing years. 
 You have felt, somehow, that your fine intellectual argu- 
 ments are Dead-Sea ai)ple8. You are so utterly wearied of 
 having no outlet for your emotions that you are about to 
 sneak into the temple of superstition to see what chance 
 there is to feel the old swing. 
 
 Weill first leave your admirable intellect at bome. Go 
 down to the cathedral feeling that you would like to be a 
 fool again — a glad, happy fool —a child who could believe 
 in the presence of God and delight once more in that rush 
 of emotion and hoi^e and promise and certainty vtrhicb no 
 pleasure of intellect ever equalled. When you get there, 
 don't try to believe in anything. Listen only to the tones 
 and the fervency. Don't let the preacher annoy you. If he 
 does, don't listen to him. B ut let the organist take possession 
 of you. Let him do as he likes. We leave you at the door 
 
 . 4 
 
 In 
 
 ■■ n 
 
 i£W*ir*ifiS*«;*n 
 
 BiaiK3**!E-iV~'v5 ««*-« 
 
 j JMJilWHIWr.t" lilTMiimnflfflffltir "TT™^"^— ~" 
 
 
 i- 
 
tn 
 
 104 
 
 THE ASCENT OF LIKE. 
 
 f 
 
 is 
 
 of the edifice. Nor will we speak of that which may come 
 
 tn« tired soul. Onlv— dc.rt criticise! Be a child; be a 
 
 ootiw "you likl- he anything except an intellectual 
 
 agnosti^. You go in feeling old. You will con.e 3 at feel. 
 
 '" No^ this will perhaps be said tc- be undiluted superstition. 
 Very well! call it what you like! Superstition is only unsci- 
 entii science. Nature's proofs are its results. The way 
 to God is happiness. Achievement is happiness, .h^ ad- 
 vances nto Z spiritual life contain the gladness ot this 
 wid and, partly, of the next. True science and true re- 
 SongWe us th^t which has no equal. But no one can 
 learn J Ihese things by words. The great teacher has shown 
 that each one must be his own experimenter in that region 
 wh re the weak are made strong -whei. the passion for 
 wisdom and holiness is overpaid with gladness till «^e ^an 
 tesies of animal life cease because useless and forgotten ; till 
 all desire for even human life has passed away, and the 
 unquenchable spirit will have nothing but God. 
 
 USES 
 
may come 
 lild; be a 
 itellectual 
 B yit feel- 
 
 iperstition. 
 jnly unsci- 
 The way 
 Th=* ad- 
 Bsa ot this 
 id true re- 
 10 one can 
 : has shown 
 that region 
 passion for 
 ill the fan- 
 Totten ; till 
 ,y, and the 
 
 Appendix 
 
 (References from pages 44, 50, et 
 
 Much has been written in medical works concerning the 
 influences of the parental mind upon the embryo during the 
 period of gestation. Subsequent to The Arena « publica- 
 tion of the chaptei-8 to which this part of the appendix retei-s, 
 Dr Sydney Barrington Elliot published a valuable paper on 
 " Prenatal Influence." In this, he produces a collection of 
 opinions and published medical cases. His kind permission 
 to make quotations saves me much labor in collecting similar 
 statistics, and I reprint with pleasure some of his remarks on 
 
 the subject. . 
 
 With some slight alterations, made by myself, to empha- 
 size by italics, and for brevity, he says as follows : — • 
 
 "The term 'prenatal influence ' applies to all influences, 
 physical, mental, or moral, which, acting through the parents, 
 affect an unborn child. These forces are not active during 
 actual pregnancy only, for the condition of both father and 
 mother during some little time before and at conception, helps 
 to determine the form and character of the offspring. 
 
 "Heredity may be here spoken of as that law by which 
 permanent and settled qualities of the parents, or of the more 
 remote ancestora, reappear in the child; while prenatal influ- 
 ence may here be held to signify the effect produced upon the 
 future being by temporary conditions of the parents m the 
 above periods, as by temi^orary mental states (anger, fear, 
 happiness) or by temporary physical conditions (activity, 
 health, exhaustion) of a part or of the entire body. 
 
 " It is a matter of every-day note, that children of the same 
 parents, born within a few years of each other, are often 
 totally unlike in disposition and in physical attributes. 1 hey 
 may be not only unlike each other, but unlike the parents 
 themselves. The law of heredity would require the consti- 
 tution of the child to be made up of the personal characteris- 
 tics of each parent; but we find virtuous and well-meamng 
 
 11 
 
 106 
 
'I ; 
 ill ■ 
 
 106 
 
 APPENDIX "A. 
 
 L^ 
 
 parents, with long lines of reputable iincestry, bringing forth 
 vicious and obstinate children, and, on the other hand, the 
 ignorant and vulgar sometimes producing children that are 
 remarkable for special ability or relinemeiit. It must be 
 aoknoivlcdged that some forces are at work other than hereddi/,, 
 aa the term is generally understood. 
 
 " That these forces which modify or distort hereditary ten- 
 dencies are prenatal, as we have detined that term above, it is 
 our object to prove. Opinions expressed by the ablest and 
 most acute observers among the medical profession, some of 
 which we quote, lift this question out of the realm of old 
 women's notions, and place it where it demands investigation 
 by all who presume to l)ecome parents. Cases will be given 
 in which the state of the mother, her emotions, her experi- 
 ences, and her actions have had an undoubted effect upon the 
 child she has borne; this effect being favorable or unfavorable, 
 according to the kind of influence. 
 
 " As to the manner in which this process is carried on, there 
 is some obscurity. There seems to be a subtle sympathy be- 
 tween mother and child, organ for organ, part for part. The 
 child's body is growing rapidly in all directions, building 
 material is plentiful, and the energies that can utilize it seem 
 tireless. If any portion of the mother's body, whether it be 
 an intellectual faculty or the stomach, is either continuously 
 or intensely active, the same portion in the child seems to be 
 stimulated to increased growth and power. It does not seem 
 necessary that the mother should possess either the physical 
 or mental power that she can produce in the child ; for there 
 are many cases of prodigies in physical and mental power, 
 the mother and father of whom possessed no such attributes. 
 Intense or continuous effort on the mother's part stimulates the 
 special growth in the child. 
 
 " The manner in which the influence is produced on the 
 father's side is still more obscure. The child acquires not 
 only of his permanent characteristics (hereditary), but also of 
 his temporary conditions of mind and body (prenatal influ- 
 ence), and these have their place in determining the char- 
 acter of the offspring. 
 
 " Rokitanksy says (Path. Anat., "Vol. I., p. 2) : — 
 " The question whether mental emotions do influence the devel- 
 opment of the embryo (unborn child) or not, must be answered in 
 the afSrmative. 
 
 &i t _ i.n I 
 
 ^=Bi;w-*- i.^ 
 
ing forth 
 
 hiuul, the 
 
 thiit are 
 
 viust he 
 
 heredity^ 
 
 itary ten- 
 bo ve, it is 
 blest and 
 , some of 
 m of old 
 istigation 
 
 be given 
 ir experi- 
 
 upon the 
 favorable, 
 
 [ on, there 
 ipathy he- 
 art. The 
 , building 
 se it seem 
 ther it be 
 tiniiously 
 sms to be 
 
 not seem 
 I physical 
 
 for there 
 al power, 
 attributes. 
 ulates the 
 
 id on the 
 [uires not 
 )ut also of 
 ital influ- 
 the char- 
 
 the devel- 
 iswered in 
 
 AI'l'ESDlX "A. 
 
 *♦ The late Fordyce Barker, M. D., LL. D., one of the most 
 eminent physicians in America, read a paper, entitled ' The 
 Influence of Maternal Impressions on the Foetus,' before the 
 American Gynaecological Society (in the year 1886), in 
 
 which he says : — 
 
 " Maternal impressions may affect the development, form, and char- 
 acter of the fa tus. * * * Mothers who have suffered a severe fright 
 when advanced in pregnancy have given birth to choreic children. 
 
 " Dr. Brittan, who has given much study to the problems 
 of human life, in writing of the ' Relations of Mind to Off- 
 spring,' gives the following as his idea regarding the law or 
 process of embryonic moulding : — 
 
 " The singular effects produced on the unborn child by the sudden 
 mental emotions of the mother are remarkable examples of a kind of 
 electrotyping on the sensitive surfaces of living forms. It is doubt- 
 less true that the mind's action in such cases may iticrease or dimm- 
 ish the molecular deposits in the several portions of the system. If, 
 for example, there exists in the mother any unusual tendency of the 
 vital forces to the brain at the critical period, there will be a similar 
 cerebral development and activity in the offspring. 
 
 "We add a few cases of prenatal influence compiled from 
 medical literature. The truth of these cases is undou'bted ; 
 and while proving the existence of prenatal inllnence, they 
 establish the fact that impressions of a more favorable nature 
 have only to he made to have favorable results. 
 
 " The prenatal effects of war and like disasters have long 
 been noted, as in the siege of Landau, recorded by Baron 
 Percv, and quoted by Carpenter, Pinel, and others. At the 
 siege" of Landau, hi Fiance, in 1793, there was .such violent 
 cannonading that the women were kept in a constant state of 
 alarm. In addition, the arsenal blew up with a terrific explo- 
 sion which few could hear with unshaken nerves. The result 
 was that out of ninety-two children born in that district 
 within a few months, sixteen died at birth, thirty-three lan- 
 guished for eight or ten months and died, nine became idiots 
 and died before they were five years old, and two came into 
 the worid with numerous fractures of the limbs. The history 
 of the othera was not followed up, but it is doubtful if they 
 escaped without injury, though it may have been of a less 
 
 serious nature. . 
 
 "The results of the French Revolution were similar. It has 
 long been noted that of the children born at the siege of 
 Antwerp, a large portion were deformed, and many were 
 still-born. 
 
'!l! 
 
 
 ! 
 
 108 
 
 APPENDIX "A. 
 
 '' The case of James I. of England is a curious one, and is 
 well known. The murder of David Kizzio was perpetrated 
 by armed nobles, with violence and terror, in the presence of 
 Mary, queen of Scotland, shortly before the birth of her son, 
 James I. of England. The liability of this monarch to emo- 
 tions of fear is recorded as a prominent characteristic of his 
 mind, and so great was his terror of a sword — the weapon 
 with which Rizziowas killed — that he would shudder at the 
 sight of it. Sir Digby relates that when King James con- 
 ferred the knighthood upon him, which is done by laying a 
 naked sword upon the shoulder of the new knight, he could 
 not look at the sword, but turned his head away, so that he 
 came very near putting the point into the knight's eye. Sir 
 Kinelm was saved from a similar catastrophe by the duke of 
 Buckingham, who in the nick of time guided the sword 
 aright.* Queen Mary was not deficient in courage, and the 
 Stuarts, both before and after James I., were distinguished 
 for this quality, so that his disposition was an exception to 
 the family character and due to prenatal influence. 
 
 » Dr. T. A. Martyn * gives a case of a woman who was 
 severely burned about the legs. She miscarried in six hours. 
 The corresponding parts of the foetus were blistered, and had 
 the same appearance as those of the mother. Among other 
 similar cases to this last one may be mentioned those reported 
 by Dr. Hart (Am. Jour, of Med. ScL, January, 1881), Dr. 
 Niker (^Obst. Jour. Gr. Brit., June 15, 1880), Dr. S. O. 
 Stockslager (Chieaifo Med. Jour, and Exam., May 23, 1881, 
 vol. XLIII., p. 313). 
 
 " Dr. Fearn cites the following case: % A mother witnessed 
 the removal of one of the bones (metacarpal) from her hus- 
 band's hand, which greatly shocked and alarmed her. A 
 short time after, she had a child who was born without the 
 coiTesponding bone which was removed fiom the father. 
 
 " Dr. Dorsey reports the follomng case : § Dr. G. sus- 
 tained a fracture of his leg midway between the ankle and 
 the knee. His wife was about five months advanced in preg- 
 nancy. When the child of which she was pregnant was born, 
 it had on the leg corresponding with the injured limb of the 
 
 * A (liscoiirse made In an asgembly of nobles and learned men at MontpeUler, France, 
 and rendered out of French Into English by R. White, London, 1658. 
 
 » American Journal of Medical Science. , , ' ,. 
 
 t Report of Med. Assoc, of Ala., 1860. 
 § Trans. Med. Assoc, Ala., 1850. 
 
e, and is 
 rpetrated 
 jsence of 
 
 her son, 
 li to enio- 
 Ac of his 
 i weapon 
 Icr at the 
 imes con- 
 laying a 
 he could 
 ) that he 
 eye. Sir 
 
 duke of 
 he sword 
 !, and the 
 inguished 
 eption to 
 
 who was 
 six hours. 
 I, and had 
 ang other 
 i reported 
 881), Dr. 
 Dr. S. O. 
 23, 1881, 
 
 witnessed 
 I her hus- 
 l her. A 
 ithout the 
 vther. 
 )r. G. sus- 
 iinkle and 
 d in preg- 
 ; was born, 
 inb of the 
 
 )eUier, France, 
 
 Mi itavm^^f^^"^'' 
 
 AP1'EN1>IX "A. 
 
 father, and at precisely the same spot, the appearance of a 
 tracture of the limb, and there Wivs also a decided shatteung 
 
 '^ ' Dr.'Ldyce Barker cites a case || where a child was bom 
 with hdes in the lobes of her eai-s, as a result ot the moth^i 
 liinrholes bored in the ears of her favorite daughter. Ihe 
 „ Sr Is avei to the daughter's having her eai. pierced 
 and it made a decided impression on her ; though she had no 
 
 Wlpa her babv would be so born. 
 
 '^Puref^y * reports the case of a woman who, when about 
 four montS pregnant, tried to rear by hand a calf, of wh ch 
 Z ritrht ear rieht eye, and fore legs were absent. When 
 the child was bo?n it wa^ similarly deformed - i. e., nght ear, 
 riffht eve, and right arm were wanting. . 
 
 ^"Rotht gives ten cases of hare lip, one case of spjnabif da^ 
 one cte ol Lft palate, and one case of "^^ -"^^^^^^^ 
 a mother in each instance being impressed with the sight ot 
 BimUar deformity. The time varied from the second or third 
 month till well on in pregnancy. 
 
 "'"m. A. de Frari4re^§ |ives many interesting ca-sjher« 
 neculiar characteristics in animals have been due to inHu 
 Tee exerted on the mothei^ during gestation, and he holds 
 Self personally responsible for every case he gives. 
 
 Since t^e above part of this appendix was prepared, Dr. 
 ElUot^bTok called i^ JildoBology" has been f-warded to me; 
 and with his permission I give a synopsis of a few moie cases, 
 phosen from hundreds quoted in the work. 
 
 Dr Fordvce Barker * tells of a bride who while stoying at 
 the Gramercy Park Hotel, New York, sat down at a table 
 opuos^jn gentleman who had three daughters, all with hare- 
 Ts The^ung wife was overcome with the shock wh ch 
 tWssiffht occasioned. The case is reported »" full, but I 
 condense. When the child of the young married woman 
 was born it had a harelip of the same kind. 
 
 ^he same pmctitioner quotes Dr. McGuire, Richmond Va 
 as to a slave cutting off one of his great toes to avoid being 
 ^d^^Zth^^ 
 
 II Trans. Am. Gynsecol. 8oc., 1886. 
 
 • Meil. and Surg. Rep., May 31, 1881. 
 
 disposition Morales et Intellectuelles ties Enrants. 
 
 • Trans. Am. Oynsecol. Soc., 188C. 
 
' 1 ii-rii- ri-^ — -^ ■^- 
 
 gj. i. l iyi r ii f ii tr i niT-nrrr'- "-'"' "■■'' ^-^■*t-^-">'t»^^. -- 
 
 110 
 
 APPENDIX "A. 
 
 his mistress, who was then expecting. When her child was 
 born it lacked the same toe. , , . ., . , • 
 
 Malebranche quotes Gaharliep * as declaring that his own 
 son was born with one hand distorted and dislocated m con- 
 sequence of his mother having seen, eight days before her 
 delivery, a man with his hand in these conditions. 
 
 Dr. Kerr reports the following case.f The little daughter 
 of an expecting woman fell against a stove and was bad y 
 burned on iace, hands and arms. The mother was greatly 
 shocked and frightened. Three months afterwards the child 
 was born with blisters in the same places on its body, and 
 resembling those caused by the burns. 
 
 Prof. L. NeugebauerJ gives several cases, including one 
 concerning his own son. He had hurt his leg while bathing 
 _ having it torn by a thorn. His wife, then expecting, 
 dressed the wound and was frightened by it. The boy that 
 was born afterwards was found to bear a scar in the same 
 place and of same shape and color. , xu i 
 
 Malebranche § tells of an expecting mother, who through 
 curiosity was led to witness the breaking of a criminal upon 
 tlie wheel. She shuddered at every blow, and almost swooned 
 at the victim's cries. It affected her for a long time; but 
 later she recovered from the fright. When her child was 
 born, it was found that its limbs were broken like those ot 
 the malefactor and just in the same Peaces. "This poor 
 infant, which had suff-red pains of life before birth, did not 
 die, but lived for twenty years in a Pans hospital — a 
 wretched instance of the power of the mother in altering and 
 distorting the infant in the womb." 
 
 Dr. Minot,1T of Boston, tells of a lady who saw a man in a 
 street car, sitting opposite to her, who had lost all the fingers 
 of one hand. Her child when born had one hand in the same 
 
 condition. , , j ^:„ 
 Dr. Bryden 11 cites a case where a mother had seen a pic- 
 ture of a child without a neck which greatly shocked her. 
 She had then been expecting for two months. When born, 
 her child had no neck. 
 
 286. 
 
 • Recherche de la verite. 
 
 t Am. Jour. ifed. Scl., vol. XXIV., p. 
 
 t See " MAtBologj," p. 33. ^ „ . „ „ 
 
 S Goldsmith's " History of the Earth and Animated Nature. 
 
 % Botton Med. and Surg. Jour., vol. 1870, LXXXIIl.. p. 344. 
 
 U Med. and Surf. Report , May 31, 1881. 
 
 tks^ 
 
 =! „ii iii ' /iii wi 
 
3»ie»a >i ft n * *a <» w " 
 
 APPENDIX "A. 
 
 lU 
 
 lild was 
 
 his own 
 
 in con- 
 
 [ore her 
 
 laughter 
 as badly 
 greatly 
 the child 
 ody, and 
 
 iing one 
 ! bathing 
 cpecting, 
 boy that 
 :he same 
 
 » through 
 nal upon 
 
 swooned 
 ime; but 
 jhild was 
 
 those of 
 riiis poor 
 I, did not 
 ipital — a 
 Bring and 
 
 man in a 
 he fingers 
 I the same 
 
 jen a pic- 
 (cked her. 
 hen born, 
 
 I have now quoted enough cases for my V^-^n \ht 
 not think that any one who desires to be mtome 
 enormously important subjec can affoidt^^ ignore t l^^^^ 
 
 of Dr. Elliot's book e^l^^V timber? of embryotic altera- 
 hundreds of these cases; also ^^"^^«^„°y Spent kinds, 
 tions resulting from -ntal imp^ess.on^^ ^/^ ^affecting 
 
 including those '^e^^^^^*^. ."..^^^^Cehiidre^^ References in 
 the dispositions and -^;^^ ^^ ^^^^^.i^*^^^^^^^^^ contributed by 
 Lt r sir ELtgMoVr c^ebrated doctor, are 
 not to be questioned as to their good fa^t^ ^.^^ 
 
 I „.ust also V-rt^;^^^X^l^:^^jL, especially 
 
 '"''' Z f othet^ive btl^^^^^ mental effort and con- 
 
 enceinte motliers, na^e uy "" nnminrr children while they 
 
 tinned concentration, altered their coming ^J^^^^, • ^ J^ 
 
 Reference alao to those oases wi» l e ,^ .^^ 
 
 greatly admired ««f''".P'°*7X^teiTprSacmg in life 
 theU- bedrooms —the cWdjen, «en norn, ^ , » the 
 the figures and faces which '>»» »tomped themseiv 
 
 before the pictures of the V^>^^"- . the parental 
 
 mi^ir:nSj^'^r£^f-j-K 
 
 dispositions of children ^hiie tney are 
 vade the whole animal ^mgdom, and ti^at it is^ 
 narental mental impressions that the evoiuuon au g 
 Advance of all animal life chiefly depend. 
 
r 
 
 rti i7|-.-| Ti mrr^ --1l"T -"■<- 'rf.T-mmrM-,,,^ m.nri(llwl t n m mn,tlt »■ - ■■ 
 
 -- .tutaiaiMiTiiK 
 
 crMCJOfli f r ^'""^ ^'■'>^'"- ""* ^^" 
 
 1 
 
 kh 
 
 i'S 
 
 i'l? 
 
 ll 
 
 112 
 
 Al'l'KN'DIX "A. 
 
 As to the impressions that would be prevalent in the animal 
 .niml about the time of generation, I refer the reader to re- 
 maiks on page (oO) whieh show how such evolution mmt 
 takc^ place without being consciously sought. ,^ - , , 
 
 Whether the effects here exhibited are the result of what 
 Dr. Brittun calls " a kind of electrotyping on sensitive sui- 
 ^ce of livi..g forms," or whether these ateful mental pic- 
 tures and concepts Income a part of a spiritual ego 
 tran missible to offspring, matters little at this s age of our 
 knowledge (or, rather, ignorance). The gain made in know- 
 ing that these processes exist and control generation is not 
 reduced in it« usefulness by the fact that we cannot exp ain 
 the exact way in which they work. Nay the truth is that 
 the p^cesses involved in the growth of all living things still 
 remain as riddles. 
 
 ill. 
 
jtitttwtiurM* 
 
 i animal 
 
 ir to re- 
 jn muiit 
 
 of what 
 ive siu- 
 ital pic- 
 iial ego 
 e of our 
 n know- 
 i is not 
 explain 
 I is that 
 iugs still 
 
 Appendix "B." 
 
 (Reference from page 03 el al.) 
 
 nnuiNO boyhood I one night dreamed that I was in certain 
 woodTn:a^r:;:.uto, C^^;^^^ ^«-"g on J. 
 ground heard a noise which I thougl as made j 
 
 did not know what «oldi^-8 they were, l ^^^^^^ 
 
 thing ^^^\:^J''''l,:^^Jtr.VJT"e^^'^^' tW' 
 
 out to Canada in ■^""''^l™'"''. °' .*'aream wheT they came 
 standing at the ^^ '^J'^^,'^, * houTtherr ho,^- Their 
 
 aiimSBuwaw*"^" 
 
ilttriaiftr'itriTai-rjiiiliij'^nrSfin-i-Y,'^ 
 
 .1^ 
 
 ■f 
 
 i. I 
 
 
 114 
 
 APrnsDix "». 
 
 Tliey went into the field and drew up in companies, facing 
 east. The inspection proceeded and every HUiall detail of 
 tliat dreuni waw lived through once more in reality. I felt 
 sure of what would happen us soon as I saw them. 
 
 !■ 
 
 
 m\ 
 
 Ml! 
 
ies, facing 
 [ detail of 
 ;y. I felt 
 
 AVPKNDIX 
 
 C." 
 
 r 
 
 States, pculing the fi« f^^ ^*' ,,,, inleresliug enough 
 Arena magazine, I fouiul '"'"^ ^/'f,,,^ an extvaorainarily 
 
 to publiHl. It wa« thus "»»L^ ad K «'"-- «-'^' "^^ ''''' "' 
 large number o peop o »^;« ^'\';,«J , take this opportu- 
 vadous ways referred to m t»''«J«'' ^ y ^^,„ ^,„able, for 
 
 ..ity to apologize to '"'^"y^^^^^^^ ^ ,n^er, the experiences 
 lack of time, to answe. ^ J-^'j;\,.,, m. D. D;- •»'-- 
 in mesmerism of MUlon *>""" . j wr ling almost 88 
 was bom in 1807 and is at '^'^^^ Z,,^^x,,:,\.n^. that 
 years old. His handvvnt mg m the c . ^^^^^ 
 
 L defies time very ^^^^^ff^: ^^t^ ^ work pnblisi.ed m 
 1 have with me the record o^^lf " ,^ jjew York Univer- 
 1879. He g^?»^-t«^, "7^^f\:CU n, and I fancy still is, 
 Bity, Barclay St., in 1834. f^^ ";». \^ i^i^ experimetita 
 
 of his yeai-8. 
 
 NARRATIVE OF DR. JARVI8. NO. 1. ^ 
 
 .About 1845, Fowler t^eph^olog^^^^ 
 to deliver a lecture. To lU^tiate tW^, lo .^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ 
 
 a boy who was very ««f ^.^^^ J ',^,,7o«dition and ..btain an- 
 would put the boy into ^^« J^^"^^^^^ the interest 
 
 swers from him that were c*^^"^'*^^^^^ ^f the audience to 
 in the lecture. He l;«" J^^^cd «emDe ^^^^ ^^.^^^ j 
 
 see whether they could «»«;««^^ "^,?S^^^ I did not 
 
 tried another lad, following Fowle^ 8 m^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^.^^^^ but 
 
 succeed in producing J^ Thad the power to do so with 
 enough to satisfy me that 1 had tne p 
 p- a guitable patient. ^ 
 
M' l lIT I 
 
 mmtm 
 
 ■Oh 
 
 ii'itwiTntin 
 
 116 
 
 An'KNIHX »C. 
 
 fi ' 
 
 m ! 
 
 F f 
 
 f: I 
 
 i| 1 
 
 ■ 
 
 |i ' 
 
 " Ronrding with us wah a young Unitarian clergyman by 
 tho name of (4ohh, who hud alHO uttuiuiud titu luctuteH. After 
 coming liome, lie Huid tliat the mesmeriHin of tiiu \My wim Mill 
 u Hham.' Rut I thdught Gohh himnulf might prove tu be a 
 good Hubject, and he consented to let me try him. 
 
 '*! took both his hands in mine, looked him square in the 
 eye, concentrated my mind upon him, and kept my thoughts 
 firmly fixed upon his going to sleep, as we called it. In less 
 than five minutes he was oblivious to all surroundings. • 
 
 " His responses were much more prompt and energetic than 
 in any patient I have ever seen. At that time I believed in 
 phrenology, and when I excited in him, as I thought, the 
 bump of * dcstructivencss,' he would have torn his clothes to 
 pieces if I had not removed the influence. He seized on 
 them with the mge of a maniac. 
 
 " I kei)t him under the influence for more than an hour ; 
 then told him to wake up in Ave minutes. When this time 
 elapsed, he yawned and stretched, opened his eyes, and said, 
 * I have been asleep.' ' How long? ' I asked. He looked at 
 his watch and said, * An hour.* He could not be convinced 
 that he had been in the magnetized condition until he ap- 
 pealed to my mother to know whether my statements were true. 
 
 " I found I could control him in any place, in any audience, 
 and could make him do as I liked ; although he was pecul- 
 iarly sensitive about his deportment, and recoiled from any- 
 thing that might make him appear ridiculous. When I 
 wished hira to remember anything that happened when he 
 was mesmerized I had only to say to him, ' Remember that 
 when you wake up.' He would then retain a clear recollec- 
 tion of it all. 
 
 "Many tiifling but convincing little things took place 
 between us which have passed from my memory and which 
 at the time startled me. The least pain inflicted on me was 
 felt by him — though his own body was insensible to pain. 
 H he was pricked with a pin, he did not notice it ; but if a 
 third party pricked me, he instantly flinched from my pain. 
 Similarly, he did not know when burning sulphur was placed 
 under his nose ; but if I took a sniff of it he immediately 
 suffered my discomfort. 
 
 «^ I thought that Goss might be clairvoyant ; but I had not 
 yet tested that faculty. In fact I was as much amazed at our 
 perfonuances as he was. We both began to grow timid. I 
 
Ari'KNUIX "0. 
 
 117 
 
 rgymftti by 
 res. After 
 My wiw ♦ all 
 ovo lu be a 
 
 uiue ill the 
 ly thoughts 
 it. Ill leHii 
 [iiigs. 
 
 irgetio than 
 believed in 
 lought, the 
 clothes to 
 ) seized on 
 
 1 an hour; 
 tn this time 
 H, and said, 
 [e looked at 
 I convinced 
 intil he ap- 
 M were true, 
 ly audience, 
 was pecul- 
 d from any- 
 . When I 
 ed when he 
 aember that 
 tar recoUec- 
 
 took place 
 f and which 
 
 on me was 
 ible to pain, 
 it ; but if a 
 im my pain, 
 r was placed 
 immediately 
 
 lut I had not 
 nazed at our 
 >w timid.. I 
 
 tliouffht, ' If I Kflt him into this Hloop, and cannot restore him 
 U, consciousiu^sH, what sliall I .1..?' At thm, tiniort l.o 
 H«e», 'd to 1m' a porfi-ct blank. Kvciythiiig but life hc'iikmI 
 K. h.ve pasMt'.l out of l.im, and 1 Hhrauk from the resp(«wi- 
 Inlity of placing iiiin in this condition. 
 
 » Fowhr'H loctuio liad created an excitement m our iifigli- 
 lK)rhooa, and it soon became known that (Joss was a good 
 inesmoiio subjoct. People wcio anxious to have us give an 
 exhibition. (loss occasionally preached alK>ut three miles 
 out of Canastota, in the little village of Clockvule. llie 
 citizens gave notice that on a certain evening they would have 
 a donation for Mr. Goss' benetit, and that i won d be there 
 and mesmerize him. The news spread like wild-hie. llie 
 
 house was filled. 
 
 " 1 had some hesiUvtion alM)ut going. A near neighbor 
 and intimate friend, wlio was expecting to be confined, no- 
 tified mo that evening of her approaching labor. However, 
 I wont, and at about eight o'clock, or a little after, I put 
 Mr. Ooss into a profound sleep. After exercisiiig him tor 
 some time, I suddenly thought it would be a good, time to 
 try his clairvoyance. o- ir 
 
 " I said to him, ' Goss, will you go home with me f lie 
 
 instantly replied, 'Yes.' , „, „ .„ , i 
 
 "I took hold of his hand and said, ' Well, we will go ; and 
 I fixed my mind on home. He pattered his feet on the floor 
 for a few seconds, and then said, <• Here we arel ' 
 
 " I said, ' Do you see mother ? ' 
 
 "'No.' . , ^ ,, 
 
 "I knew that if my neighbor was m labor, my mother 
 would be present with her, and I was startled ; believing that 
 Goss really had a perception of what was taking place at my 
 home, I said, 'Who is there? ' 
 
 " » Mary,' he said. 
 
 u* Well, let us look in the bedroom.' He stepped once or 
 twice, and said, ' Well, here we are I ' 
 
 "I asked, 'Who is here?' . , , , a,i. ^ ^ . 
 
 " ' Your father; and the two children m bed. That start- 
 led me more, for I feared that my neighbor would be need- 
 ing me, and that mother had gone to her. , „ , , 
 
 '' I then said, ' Let us go into the front room. He stepped 
 once or twice, then said, ' Here she is 1' meaning my mother. 
 That relieved me of my anxiety. 
 
118 
 
 APPENDIX "0. 
 
 \ I 
 
 (( ( 
 
 .. :E 'ri;'°gThr.,ea,.t.„ a„a moving the .ndiroo,.' 
 
 should tell?' 
 
 "I said 'Yes.' , 
 
 : T^ r.ta»rr5ng w. .ou„d U> U %hly in. 
 
 rrSa^St ri^n^ *rd merfing L corseU, and the 
 
 "Ti was frightened at my power over M- Oo«- All these 
 faculty of his mind that was being utilized? 
 
 NARRATIVE OF DR. JARVIS. NO. 2. 
 
 u In 1873 I was in London England My wife a^^^^^^^ 
 induced by a friend to go and see a gul who was saw u, 
 
 ^TZT":i:":arr XtST^a^ber o, nnpr. 
 
 Mrs. ociivis » p-papntlv a vounff woman came in, to 
 
 tentious appearance. P^^^J^^^^y * J, 4e took a seat near 
 
 Z,L as if trvin" to catch something in the air. •^"''''"i 
 
 qy.^ 
 
APPENDIX "C. 
 
 119 
 
 3 andirons.' 
 iwishthati 
 
 le highly in- 
 
 b of the ex- 
 it it into her 
 3 parlor, and 
 hearth and 
 he was naov- 
 er's came in- 
 hearth clean 
 aarried. She 
 ihe did move 
 
 these things 
 ;he sweeping, 
 sets, and the 
 seen by him, 
 a said at the 
 
 js. All these 
 
 miles. Was 
 
 IS it simply a 
 
 ife and I were 
 was said to 
 
 mber of unpre- 
 an came in, to 
 )k a seat near 
 E)parent change 
 h her armB and 
 ftir. Presently 
 ant home. She 
 
 described it as accurately as she could have done if the house 
 stood before her. Then she began to describe the members 
 of my family, individually, their habits and dispositions. 
 Amonff them she described two individuals whom I could 
 not recognize -a man I did not know, and a girl who was 
 unlike any member of my family. She spoke positively 
 about the way the parents and children conducted them- 
 selves in the family circle, as correctly as she could have 
 done if she had always lived in the house. She seemed to see 
 all the surroundings. My house was situated on a knoll, two 
 and a half stories on the south side, and three and a half on 
 the north. She described this, and the veranda extending 
 across the length of the north side, at the second story, and 
 a Virginia creeper covering the entire length of it. bhe saw 
 
 it all exactly as it was. ^ , , , , • • t 
 
 " I immediately wrote home, saying I had had a vision ot 
 home, and asked to know who the stmngers were if any were 
 there My daughter wrote back that my vision was correct; 
 that the visitors were people from Ohio, whom I had never 
 seen. Also that the description of both persons was pecu- 
 liarly correct. ^ j ,.4.^ 
 " The whole thing has always been a profound myste^ to 
 me. What was it that made nothing of the Atlantic s three 
 thousand miles and beheld my family and its surroundings <• 
 
 NARKATIVB OF DR JARVIS. 
 
 NO. 3. 
 
 " I had another subject, a young lady, with whom I exper- 
 imented. One day she had "a violent toothache, but could 
 not make up her mind to have the tooth extracted, bhe was 
 visiting at my house at the time, and some of the family pro- 
 posed that I should magnetize her. 
 
 " ' No,' she said, ' the doctor will pull my tooth if 1 let him 
 
 magnetize me.' , 1 ^ l 1.1. „»„ 
 
 "I left the house and went across the road to my brother s. 
 After I left, it was proposed that my younger brother should 
 try bis mesmeric powers with her. She replied: ' You may. 
 But if the doctor comes back, you must wake me up. 
 
 " This was agreed to. He soon put her to sleep. 1 hen 
 they sent for me. I returned, and tried to converse with her, 
 but she would pay no attention to me. I then told my 
 brother to ask her if I should extract her tooth. Her reply 
 was, ' I don't mind.' 
 
 I'ifr'^'lrrr"-'^- 
 
^20 APPENDIX "C." 
 
 u Knnwinir that the tooth ought to he extracted, I tried to 
 
 back tooth, firmly set. i ou^ » ♦ titrhtlvset and 
 
 cep, slowly and ^ '"'^JSt hdd a E,, S'told her 
 n^iroitre H^a. 1«";.tt.ver he asked o. told 
 
 "'lit tl,e bleeding stopped he toU her to wake «P^^^^ 
 
 ^'^tt'nw ^idtt'S: h 'ffi^cserotrpres- 
 
 °'7\^„:i^tesyo"^Sl^he^ThegirHellinthec^ 
 
 said, 'Louise, a»»» J"" ^ j moment looked angry, 
 
 jty where *^ ^oth 1««l been, ana » __^ ^,^^^^ 
 
 *' tn'^'st ^ri'^tl^ti fto'tJ:" ™v4« *e tn,nor 
 surgeon, bhe PJT, "",,. „utti„g ^as followed, and proved 
 
 ?^LSreryts^t:aJS.oSgh the operation waa rather 
 a delicate one." 
 
 1 
 
 aianninB 
 
tried to 
 to hear 
 s a large 
 kith for- 
 f set and 
 told her 
 I or told 
 
 ke up in 
 :ecea3 out 
 h. Pres- 
 , and ex- 
 md woke 
 
 discover 
 liet. She 
 in the cav- 
 :ed angry, 
 3 pleased, 
 oth. 
 
 1 from her 
 the opera- 
 l, she told 
 liad been a 
 the tumor, 
 nd proved 
 was rather 
 
 ■ 
 
 ' 
 
X 
 
*'' 
 
 # 
 
 'tt tj ' j ^^ . 'T: - ' " * w ^ ^' r . ' " ^'r g f]' - '^''! .- ' f?-'^tii r ff.J ' " '