1. Replying to the request which you address to your readers, I will say that I have never observed telepathic cases, but that I have for a long time been experimenting with the phenomenacalledSpiritualistic, of which I was a simple analyst. I have come to no conclusions as to explanatory theories. However, I consider itprobablethat there exists powerful intelligences other than human that intervene under certain circumstances. My opinion is based upon a large number of very curious personal occurrences. In my opinion, we have not in these phenomena the appearance of simple coincidences, but of circumstances willed, foreseen, and produced by an intelligentx.2. Of the ensemble—of all that I have seen—there is simultaneously the reflex action of the experimenters and an independent personality. This hypothesis seems to me true, while I should make at the same time this reservation, that the personality or spirit is not a finished being, with limitations of form, such as an invisible man would have, going, coming and executing commissions for human beings. I have glimpses of a grander and vaster system.Take a handful of the ocean, and you havewater.Take a handful of the atmosphere, and you haveair.Take a handful of space, and you havemind.That is the way I interpret it. That is why mind is always present, ready to respond when it finds in any place a stimulus that incites it, and an organism which permits it to manifest itself.
1. Replying to the request which you address to your readers, I will say that I have never observed telepathic cases, but that I have for a long time been experimenting with the phenomenacalledSpiritualistic, of which I was a simple analyst. I have come to no conclusions as to explanatory theories. However, I consider itprobablethat there exists powerful intelligences other than human that intervene under certain circumstances. My opinion is based upon a large number of very curious personal occurrences. In my opinion, we have not in these phenomena the appearance of simple coincidences, but of circumstances willed, foreseen, and produced by an intelligentx.
2. Of the ensemble—of all that I have seen—there is simultaneously the reflex action of the experimenters and an independent personality. This hypothesis seems to me true, while I should make at the same time this reservation, that the personality or spirit is not a finished being, with limitations of form, such as an invisible man would have, going, coming and executing commissions for human beings. I have glimpses of a grander and vaster system.
Take a handful of the ocean, and you havewater.
Take a handful of the atmosphere, and you haveair.
Take a handful of space, and you havemind.
That is the way I interpret it. That is why mind is always present, ready to respond when it finds in any place a stimulus that incites it, and an organism which permits it to manifest itself.
Let us confess that the problem is complex and that it is good to compare all the hypotheses.[80]
From the numerous papers and documents laid out at this moment upon my writing-desk, I can only select a small number for insertion here, although they all have their special interest. One is overwhelmed by the richness and vastness of the material. However, out of the material acquired in the course of the Inquiry of which I spoke above, let me give here one piece which I should regret not to be able to include within the compass of the present work.
The former governess of the poet Alfred de Musset, Mme. Martelet, née Adèle Colin,—who still lives in Paris and who has just been present (in 1906) at the unveiling of the statue of the poet (although his death dates from the year 1857),—has given the following account, which may be added here to that of movements without contact.
An inexplicable occurrence which my sister, Mme. Charlot, and myself witnessed impressed us most deeply. It took place at the time of the last sickness of M. de Musset. I shall never forget the emotion we felt that evening, and I still have the minutest incidents of the strange occurrence stamped on my memory.My master, who had taken no rest during all the previous night, had toward the end of the day, fallen into a doze in a large easy-chair. My sister and I had entered the chamberon tip-toe, in order not to trouble this precious rest of his, and we sat quietly down in a corner where we were concealed by the curtains of the bed.The invalid could not perceive us, but we saw him very well, and I sorrowfully contemplated that suffering face which I knew I could not much longer look upon. And still, even now, when I recall the features of my master, I see them as they appeared to me on that evening,—the eyes closed, his finely shaped head resting upon the easy-chair, and his long, thin, pale hands (the paleness of the dead already upon them), crossed upon his knees in a contracted and shriveled way. We remained motionless and silent, and the chamber, lighted only by a feeble lamp, seemed wrapped in shadows and was filled with that peculiar mournful atmosphere that characterizes the chamber of the dying.Suddenly we heard a deep sigh. The invalid had waked up and I saw his looks go toward the bell-cord that hung near the fireplace some steps from the easy-chair. He evidently wanted to ring, and I do not know what feeling it was that held me nailed to my place. Still I did not move, and my master, having a horror of solitude and believing that he was alone in his chamber, rose up, stretched out his arm with the evident intention of calling someone; but, already fatigued by this effort, he fell back into the chair without having taken a step. It was at this moment that we had an experience that terrified us. The bell, which the sick man had not touched, rang, and instinctively, at the same moment, my sister and I seized each other's hands, each anxiously interrogating the face of the other."Did you hear?"—"Did you see?"—"He did not move from his chair!"At this moment the nurse entered and innocently asked, "Did you ring, sir?"This event put us into an extraordinary state of mind, and if I had not had my sister with me I should have believed that it was an hallucination. But both of us saw, and all three of us heard. It is a good many years now since all that took place, but I can still hear the ominous and mournful sound of that bell ringing in the silence of the chamber.
An inexplicable occurrence which my sister, Mme. Charlot, and myself witnessed impressed us most deeply. It took place at the time of the last sickness of M. de Musset. I shall never forget the emotion we felt that evening, and I still have the minutest incidents of the strange occurrence stamped on my memory.
My master, who had taken no rest during all the previous night, had toward the end of the day, fallen into a doze in a large easy-chair. My sister and I had entered the chamberon tip-toe, in order not to trouble this precious rest of his, and we sat quietly down in a corner where we were concealed by the curtains of the bed.
The invalid could not perceive us, but we saw him very well, and I sorrowfully contemplated that suffering face which I knew I could not much longer look upon. And still, even now, when I recall the features of my master, I see them as they appeared to me on that evening,—the eyes closed, his finely shaped head resting upon the easy-chair, and his long, thin, pale hands (the paleness of the dead already upon them), crossed upon his knees in a contracted and shriveled way. We remained motionless and silent, and the chamber, lighted only by a feeble lamp, seemed wrapped in shadows and was filled with that peculiar mournful atmosphere that characterizes the chamber of the dying.
Suddenly we heard a deep sigh. The invalid had waked up and I saw his looks go toward the bell-cord that hung near the fireplace some steps from the easy-chair. He evidently wanted to ring, and I do not know what feeling it was that held me nailed to my place. Still I did not move, and my master, having a horror of solitude and believing that he was alone in his chamber, rose up, stretched out his arm with the evident intention of calling someone; but, already fatigued by this effort, he fell back into the chair without having taken a step. It was at this moment that we had an experience that terrified us. The bell, which the sick man had not touched, rang, and instinctively, at the same moment, my sister and I seized each other's hands, each anxiously interrogating the face of the other.
"Did you hear?"—"Did you see?"—"He did not move from his chair!"
At this moment the nurse entered and innocently asked, "Did you ring, sir?"
This event put us into an extraordinary state of mind, and if I had not had my sister with me I should have believed that it was an hallucination. But both of us saw, and all three of us heard. It is a good many years now since all that took place, but I can still hear the ominous and mournful sound of that bell ringing in the silence of the chamber.
This account, also, seems not to be devoid of value. There are undoubtedly several ways of explaining it. The first is that which occurs to everybody.
The Frenchman, born malign, says Boileau, does not mince matters, and, apropos of this story of De Musset, simply exclaims in his language (always flashy and devoid of literary distinction), "What a fine piece of rot!" And that is all there is to it. A few may reflect for a moment more, and not admit that there is necessarily any invention on the part of the governess, and may think that she, as well as her sister, believed that De Musset had not touched the bell cord, while in reality he touched it with the ends of his fingers. But these ladies can answer that the distance between the hand of the poet and the cord was too great, that the cord was inaccessible in that position,and that it was that very thing which impressed them, and without which there would have been no story to tell. We may also suppose that the bell was rung by some external force impinging on it, although the cord was not pulled. We may still further suppose that, in the restlessness of these hours of distress, the waiting-woman came in without having heard anything, and that the coincidence of her arrival with the gesture of De Musset surprised the two watchers, who afterward thought that they had heard the bell. However, to sum up the whole thing, while we may regard the occurrence as inexplicable, we may yet admit its truth as narrated. This seems to me the most logical view, and the more so that the gentle poet had, several times in his life, given other proofs of possessing faculties of this kind.
I will add here one more instance of themovement of objects without contactwhich is not without value. It was published by Dr. Coues in theAnnales des sciences psychiques, for the year 1893. The views stated are also worthyof being summed up here. The observers, Dr. and Mrs. Elliott Coues, speak out of their own personal experience.
It is a principle of physics that a heavy body can only be put in motion by the direct application of a mechanical force sufficient to overcome its inertia, and orthodox science maintains that the idea of action at a distance is an erroneous idea.The authors of the present study assert, on the contrary, that heavy bodies may be, and frequently are, put in motion without any kind of direct application of mechanical force, and that action at a distance is a well-established fact in nature. We offer proofs of these propositions based on a series of experiments undertaken for this purpose.We often repeated these experiments,during more than two years, with results that were convincing not only to ourselves but to many other witnesses.We do not understand how the scientific world has been able to accept the idea that the expression "action at a distance" is a false one, unless those who see an error in the assertion attach to these words a special meaning of which we are ignorant.It is certain that the sun acts at a distance upon the earth and the other planets of the solar system. It is certain that a piece of anything thrown into the air falls back in consequence of the attraction of gravitation,—and that, too, at no matter what distance. The law of gravitation, so far as we know it, is universal, and it is not yet proved that there exists a ponderable, or otherwise palpable, medium which serves to transmit the force.[81]We go a little farther, even, and declare that, probably, all action of matter is an action at a distance, especially since (so far as our knowledge goes) there are not in the whole universe two particles of matter in absolute contact; and, consequently, if they act the one upon the other, it mustbe at some distance, this distance being infinitely small and entirely inappreciable to our senses.We therefore maintain that the law of movement at a distance is a universal mechanical law and that the idea that it does not exist is a kind of a paradox, simply a hair-splitting quibble.
It is a principle of physics that a heavy body can only be put in motion by the direct application of a mechanical force sufficient to overcome its inertia, and orthodox science maintains that the idea of action at a distance is an erroneous idea.
The authors of the present study assert, on the contrary, that heavy bodies may be, and frequently are, put in motion without any kind of direct application of mechanical force, and that action at a distance is a well-established fact in nature. We offer proofs of these propositions based on a series of experiments undertaken for this purpose.
We often repeated these experiments,during more than two years, with results that were convincing not only to ourselves but to many other witnesses.
We do not understand how the scientific world has been able to accept the idea that the expression "action at a distance" is a false one, unless those who see an error in the assertion attach to these words a special meaning of which we are ignorant.
It is certain that the sun acts at a distance upon the earth and the other planets of the solar system. It is certain that a piece of anything thrown into the air falls back in consequence of the attraction of gravitation,—and that, too, at no matter what distance. The law of gravitation, so far as we know it, is universal, and it is not yet proved that there exists a ponderable, or otherwise palpable, medium which serves to transmit the force.[81]
We go a little farther, even, and declare that, probably, all action of matter is an action at a distance, especially since (so far as our knowledge goes) there are not in the whole universe two particles of matter in absolute contact; and, consequently, if they act the one upon the other, it mustbe at some distance, this distance being infinitely small and entirely inappreciable to our senses.
We therefore maintain that the law of movement at a distance is a universal mechanical law and that the idea that it does not exist is a kind of a paradox, simply a hair-splitting quibble.
The two authors of this study sometimes experimented together, sometimes separately, more often with one or more additional experimenters, sometimes with four, five, six, seven or eight. They witnessed at different times, in full light, the vigorous and even violent movements of a large table which nobody touched directly or indirectly. The persons mentioned were all friends of theirs, living, like them, in the city of Washington, and all sincerely desirous of knowing the truth of the matter. There was no professional medium.
The scene opens in a little parlor in our house (they write). In the centre of the room is a large heavy oak table in marquetry, which weighs about one hundred pounds. The top is oval and measures four feet and a half by three and a half. It has only a single support, in the middle, branching off into three legs, or feet, with casters. Above it is the chandelier, several burners of which are lighted and give sufficient light for the ladies to read and work by the table. Dr. Coues is seated in his easy-chair, in a corner of this large room, at a distance from the table, reading or writing by the light of two other burners.The ladies express the wish to see if the table "will do something," as they say.The cloth is removed. Mrs. C., seated in a low rocking-chair, places her hands on the table. Mrs. A., also seated in a low easy-chair, does the same, facing her at the opposite side of the table. Their hands are opened and placed upon the upper surface of the table. In this position, they cannot lift the table by themselves with their hands: that is an entire impossibility. Neither can they push it by leaningon it in order to make it rise on the opposite side, except by muscular effort easily observed. Neither can they lift the table unaided with their knees, since these are at least a foot away from the top and since moreover their feet never leave the floor. Finally, they cannot lift the table by means of their toes slipped under a foot of the table, because the table is too heavy.Under these conditions, and beneath the full light of at least four gas jets, the table habitually began to crack or snap, and produced divers strange noises quite different from those which could be obtained by leaning upon it. These noises soon showed, if I may so say, some reason in their incoherence, and certain definite strokes or rappings came to represent "yes," and "no." According to an arranged code of signals, we were able to enter into a conversation with an unknown being. Then the table was generally polite enough to do what it was asked. One side or another of it tipped as we wished. It went from one side or the other according as we requested. Under these circumstances we made the following experiments:The two ladies removed their hands from the table and drew back their chairs, while still remaining seated in them at a distance ofone or two feet. Dr. Coues from his arm chair saw distinctly above and beneath the table. The feet of the ladies were from twelve to thirty-six inches distant from the feet of the table. Their heads and their hands were still farther off. There was no contact with it. Even their dresses were not within a foot or two of it. Under these conditions, the table lifted one of its feet and let it fall heavily back. It lifted two feet to a height of from two to six inches, and, when they fell back, the blow was heavy enough to make the floor shake, and make the glass globes of the chandelier tinkle. Besides these energetic, even violent movements, the table displayed its power by means of raps or balancings.Itsyes'sor itsno'swere commonly rational, sometimes in agreement with the ideas of the one who put the question, sometimes in persistent opposition to those ideas. Sometimes the invisible agent affirmed that he was a certain person, and maintained that individuality during an entireséance. Or possibly this character was dropped, so to speak, or at least ceased to appear, and another person, or another being, took its place, with different ideas and opinions. Thereupon, the raps or the movements also differed. Finally the inanimate table, which was supposed to be inert, took on for the moment all the appearance of a living being possessing an intelligence as keen as that of an ordinary person. It expressed itself with as much will and individuality as our friends caused it to do by their voices and their gestures. And yet, during this whole timeno one of the three persons present touched the table, the two ladies being at a distance of two or three feet, and Dr. Coues seven to ten feet, in a corner of the room, which was lighted by four gas jets. There was no other person present that one could see. If this was not a case of telekinesis, or movement of objects without contact, absolutely different from ordinary and normal mechanical movement, we can certainly no longer put trust in our senses.
The scene opens in a little parlor in our house (they write). In the centre of the room is a large heavy oak table in marquetry, which weighs about one hundred pounds. The top is oval and measures four feet and a half by three and a half. It has only a single support, in the middle, branching off into three legs, or feet, with casters. Above it is the chandelier, several burners of which are lighted and give sufficient light for the ladies to read and work by the table. Dr. Coues is seated in his easy-chair, in a corner of this large room, at a distance from the table, reading or writing by the light of two other burners.
The ladies express the wish to see if the table "will do something," as they say.
The cloth is removed. Mrs. C., seated in a low rocking-chair, places her hands on the table. Mrs. A., also seated in a low easy-chair, does the same, facing her at the opposite side of the table. Their hands are opened and placed upon the upper surface of the table. In this position, they cannot lift the table by themselves with their hands: that is an entire impossibility. Neither can they push it by leaningon it in order to make it rise on the opposite side, except by muscular effort easily observed. Neither can they lift the table unaided with their knees, since these are at least a foot away from the top and since moreover their feet never leave the floor. Finally, they cannot lift the table by means of their toes slipped under a foot of the table, because the table is too heavy.
Under these conditions, and beneath the full light of at least four gas jets, the table habitually began to crack or snap, and produced divers strange noises quite different from those which could be obtained by leaning upon it. These noises soon showed, if I may so say, some reason in their incoherence, and certain definite strokes or rappings came to represent "yes," and "no." According to an arranged code of signals, we were able to enter into a conversation with an unknown being. Then the table was generally polite enough to do what it was asked. One side or another of it tipped as we wished. It went from one side or the other according as we requested. Under these circumstances we made the following experiments:
The two ladies removed their hands from the table and drew back their chairs, while still remaining seated in them at a distance ofone or two feet. Dr. Coues from his arm chair saw distinctly above and beneath the table. The feet of the ladies were from twelve to thirty-six inches distant from the feet of the table. Their heads and their hands were still farther off. There was no contact with it. Even their dresses were not within a foot or two of it. Under these conditions, the table lifted one of its feet and let it fall heavily back. It lifted two feet to a height of from two to six inches, and, when they fell back, the blow was heavy enough to make the floor shake, and make the glass globes of the chandelier tinkle. Besides these energetic, even violent movements, the table displayed its power by means of raps or balancings.
Itsyes'sor itsno'swere commonly rational, sometimes in agreement with the ideas of the one who put the question, sometimes in persistent opposition to those ideas. Sometimes the invisible agent affirmed that he was a certain person, and maintained that individuality during an entireséance. Or possibly this character was dropped, so to speak, or at least ceased to appear, and another person, or another being, took its place, with different ideas and opinions. Thereupon, the raps or the movements also differed. Finally the inanimate table, which was supposed to be inert, took on for the moment all the appearance of a living being possessing an intelligence as keen as that of an ordinary person. It expressed itself with as much will and individuality as our friends caused it to do by their voices and their gestures. And yet, during this whole timeno one of the three persons present touched the table, the two ladies being at a distance of two or three feet, and Dr. Coues seven to ten feet, in a corner of the room, which was lighted by four gas jets. There was no other person present that one could see. If this was not a case of telekinesis, or movement of objects without contact, absolutely different from ordinary and normal mechanical movement, we can certainly no longer put trust in our senses.
These observations of Dr. and Mrs. Elliott Coues are all as positively accurate and authentic as the occurrence of an earthquake, the falling of a fire-ball from the sky, a chemical combination, an experiment with an electrical machine. The sceptics who smile at them and say that everything is fraud are persons in whom the sense of logic is wanting.
As to the explanation to be given of them, that is a different question from that of the pure and simple authentication of the facts.
Those to whom these descriptions of phenomena and experiments appeal (adds the narrator) must take particular notice that the authors of this study, although they have had occasion to speak of conversations held with the table and to mention special tones of voice, and intelligible messages imparted by pieces of inert wood,categorically refuse to approach the question of the source or origin of the intelligence thus manifested. That is an entirely different question, with which we do not meddle. The single, or at least theprincipal, object of the publication of this study is to establish the truth of movement without contact.But, having very plainly verified the fact and established it by proofs in our possession, it might perhaps be expected of us that we offer some explanation of the extraordinary things that we vouch for. We respectfully reply that we are both too old and perhaps too wise to claim to explain anything. When we were younger, and fancied that we knew everything, we could explain everything,—at least to our own satisfaction. Now that we have lived long enough, we have discovered that every explanation of a thing raises at least two new questions, and we do not feel any desire to stumble against new difficulties; for these multiply in geometrical ratio, in proportion to the extent and accuracy of our researches. We hold to this principle, that nothing is explained so long as there still remains an explanation to be sought. Under these conditions, we shall do better to recognize the inexplicability of these psychical mysteries, before, rather than after, futile theories about them.
Those to whom these descriptions of phenomena and experiments appeal (adds the narrator) must take particular notice that the authors of this study, although they have had occasion to speak of conversations held with the table and to mention special tones of voice, and intelligible messages imparted by pieces of inert wood,categorically refuse to approach the question of the source or origin of the intelligence thus manifested. That is an entirely different question, with which we do not meddle. The single, or at least theprincipal, object of the publication of this study is to establish the truth of movement without contact.
But, having very plainly verified the fact and established it by proofs in our possession, it might perhaps be expected of us that we offer some explanation of the extraordinary things that we vouch for. We respectfully reply that we are both too old and perhaps too wise to claim to explain anything. When we were younger, and fancied that we knew everything, we could explain everything,—at least to our own satisfaction. Now that we have lived long enough, we have discovered that every explanation of a thing raises at least two new questions, and we do not feel any desire to stumble against new difficulties; for these multiply in geometrical ratio, in proportion to the extent and accuracy of our researches. We hold to this principle, that nothing is explained so long as there still remains an explanation to be sought. Under these conditions, we shall do better to recognize the inexplicability of these psychical mysteries, before, rather than after, futile theories about them.
There you have what is absolutely reasonable, whatever may be said of it.
And now, after these innumerable verifications of facts, and after all these professions of faith, shall I myself, have the courage, the pretension, the pride or the simplicity of mind, to start in search of the much desired information?
Whether we find it or not, the facts nevertheless exist. It was the object of this book to convince my readers of this,—readers who should give to the subject their close attention, be possessed of unbiased judgment and good faith, and have the eyes of the spirit wide open and free from all weakness.
EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES—THEORIES AND DOCTRINES—CONCLUSIONS OF THE AUTHOR
It is quite in the fashion, as a general thing, to profess absolute scepticism regarding the phenomena which form the subject of the present work. In the opinion of three-quarters of the citizens of our planet all unexplained noises in haunted houses; all displacements without contact of bodies more or less heavy; all movements of tables, pianos, or other objects produced in the experiments styled Spiritualistic; all communications dictated by raps or by unconscious writing; all apparitions, partial or total, of phantom forms—are illusions, hallucinations, or hoaxes. No explanation is needed. The only rational opinion is that all "mediums," professional or not, are imposters, and the participators in a séance are imbeciles.
Sometimes one of these eminent judges consents, not to cease tipping the wink and smiling in his royal competency, but to condescend to be present at a séance. If, as only too frequently happens, no response to the command of the will is obtained, the illustrious observer retires, firmly convinced that, by his extraordinary penetration, he has discovered the cheat and blocked everything by his clairvoyant intuition. He at once writes to the journals, shows up the fraud, and sheds humanitarian crocodile tears over the sad spectacle of men, apparently intelligent, allowing themselves to be taken in by impostures, detected by him at the first blush.
This first and easy explanation, that everything in themanifestations is fraud, has been so often exposed, discussed, and refuted during the course of this work that my readers probably consider it (at least I hope they do) as entirely, absolutely, and definitely decided and thrown out of the ring.
However, I advise you not to speak too freely of these things at table, or in a drawing room if you do not like to have people making fun of you, more or less discreetly. If you air your views in public, you will produce the same effect as those eccentric fellows of the time of Ptolemy, who dared to speak of the movement of the earth and excited such inextinguishable laughter in respectable society that the echoes ring with it still in Athens, Alexandria, and Rome. It is only a repetition of what took place when Galileo spoke of the spots on the sun, Galvani of electricity, Jenner of vaccine, Jouffroy and Fulton of the steamship, Chappe of the telegraph, Lebon of gas-lighting, Stephenson of railways, Daguerre of photography, Boucher de Perthes of the fossil man, Mayer of thermodynamics, Wheatstone of the transatlantic cable, etc. If we could gather up all the sarcasms launched at the heads of these "poor crazy-wits," we should get a fine basket of venerable blunders, moldy as a remainder biscuit after a voyage.
So let us not speak too much of our mysteries—unless it amuses us, in our turn, to ask some questions of the prettiest dolls in the company. One of them inquired in my presence, yesterday evening, what the man named Lavoisier did, and whether he was dead. Another thought that Auguste Comte was a writer of songs and asked if any one knew one of them which would suit a mezzo-soprano voice. Another was astonished that Louis XIV had not built one of the two railway stations of Versailles nearer the palace.
Moreover, on my balcony, a member of the Institute, who saw Jupiter shining in the southern sky at the meridian point, over one of the cupolas of the Observatory, obstinatelymaintained in my presence that this luminary was the polar star. I did not dispute the point with himtoolong!
There are not a few people who believe at once in the value of universal suffrage and in that of titles of nobility. Of course, we will not force these Janus-faced wise men to vote upon the admissibility of psychic phenomena into the sphere of science.
But we will henceforth consider this admissibility as something granted, and, tossing back to the laughing sceptics, to the habitués of clubs and cliques, the general opinion of the world, of which I have just spoken, begin here our logical analysis.
We have had under consideration during the course of this work several theories by scientific investigators which are worthy of attention. Let us first of all sum these up.
In the opinion of Gasparin, these unexplained movements are produced by afluid, emanating from us under the action of our will.Professor Thury thinks that this fluid, which he callspsychode, is a substance which forms a link between the soul and the body; but there may also exist certain wills external to ourselves, and of unknown nature, working side by side with us.The chemist Crookes attributes the phenomena to psychic force, this being the agent by which the phenomena are produced; but he adds that this force may well be, in certain cases, seized upon and directed by some other intelligence. "The difference between the partisans of psychic force and those of Spiritualism," he writes, "consists in this: we maintain that it is not yetprovedthat there exists a directing agent other than the intelligence of the medium and that presence and actions of the spirits of the dead are felt in the phenomena, while, on the contrary, the Spiritualists accept as an article of faith, without demanding more proofs thereof, that these spirits are the sole agents in the production of the observed facts."Albert de Rochas defines these phenomena as "an externalization of motivity," and considers them to be produced by the fluidic double, "the astral body" of the medium, a nerve-fluid able to act and perceive at a distance.Lombroso declares that the explanation must be sought simply in the nervous system of the medium, and that we have in the phenomenatransformation of forces.Dr. Ochorowicz affirms that he has not found proofs in favor of the Spiritualistic hypothesis, any more than he has in favor of the intervention of external intelligences, and that the cause of the phenomena is afluidic doubledetaching itself from the organism of the medium.The astronomer Porro is inclined to admit the possible action of unknown spirits, of living forms different from our own, not necessarily the souls of the dead, but psychical entities to be studied. In a recent letter he wrote me that the theosophic doctrine appeared to him to approach the nearest to a solution.[82]Prof. Charles Richet thinks that the Spiritualistic hypothesis is far from being demonstrated, that the observed facts relate to an entirely different order of causes, as yet very difficult to disentangle and that in the present state of our knowledge no final conclusion can be agreed on.The naturalist Wallace, Professor Morgan, and the electrician Varley declare, on the other hand, that sufficient proof has been given them to warrant them in accepting without reserve the Spiritualistic doctrine of disembodied souls.Prof. James H. Hyslop, of the University of Columbia, who has made a special study of these phenomena, in the Proceedings of the London Society for Psychical Research, and in his worksScience and a Future LifeandEnigmas of Psychical Research, thinks that there are not yet enough severely critical verifications to warrant any theory.Dr. Grasset, a disciple of Pierre Janet, does not admit displacement of objects, or levitation, or the greater part of the facts described in this book as proved, and thinks what is called Spiritualism is a question of medical biology, of "the physiopathology of the nervous centres," in which a celebrated cerebral polygon with a musical conductor named O, plays an automatic rôle of a very curious description.Dr. Maxwell concludes from his observations that the greater part of the phenomena, the reality of which cannot be doubted, are produced by a force existing in us, that this force is intelligent, and that the intelligence manifested comes from the experimenters. This would be a kind of collective consciousness.M. Marcel Mangin does not adopt this "collective consciousness," and declares that it is certain that the being, in the séances, who asserts that he is a manifestation is "the sub-consciousness of the medium."
In the opinion of Gasparin, these unexplained movements are produced by afluid, emanating from us under the action of our will.
Professor Thury thinks that this fluid, which he callspsychode, is a substance which forms a link between the soul and the body; but there may also exist certain wills external to ourselves, and of unknown nature, working side by side with us.
The chemist Crookes attributes the phenomena to psychic force, this being the agent by which the phenomena are produced; but he adds that this force may well be, in certain cases, seized upon and directed by some other intelligence. "The difference between the partisans of psychic force and those of Spiritualism," he writes, "consists in this: we maintain that it is not yetprovedthat there exists a directing agent other than the intelligence of the medium and that presence and actions of the spirits of the dead are felt in the phenomena, while, on the contrary, the Spiritualists accept as an article of faith, without demanding more proofs thereof, that these spirits are the sole agents in the production of the observed facts."
Albert de Rochas defines these phenomena as "an externalization of motivity," and considers them to be produced by the fluidic double, "the astral body" of the medium, a nerve-fluid able to act and perceive at a distance.
Lombroso declares that the explanation must be sought simply in the nervous system of the medium, and that we have in the phenomenatransformation of forces.
Dr. Ochorowicz affirms that he has not found proofs in favor of the Spiritualistic hypothesis, any more than he has in favor of the intervention of external intelligences, and that the cause of the phenomena is afluidic doubledetaching itself from the organism of the medium.
The astronomer Porro is inclined to admit the possible action of unknown spirits, of living forms different from our own, not necessarily the souls of the dead, but psychical entities to be studied. In a recent letter he wrote me that the theosophic doctrine appeared to him to approach the nearest to a solution.[82]
Prof. Charles Richet thinks that the Spiritualistic hypothesis is far from being demonstrated, that the observed facts relate to an entirely different order of causes, as yet very difficult to disentangle and that in the present state of our knowledge no final conclusion can be agreed on.
The naturalist Wallace, Professor Morgan, and the electrician Varley declare, on the other hand, that sufficient proof has been given them to warrant them in accepting without reserve the Spiritualistic doctrine of disembodied souls.
Prof. James H. Hyslop, of the University of Columbia, who has made a special study of these phenomena, in the Proceedings of the London Society for Psychical Research, and in his worksScience and a Future LifeandEnigmas of Psychical Research, thinks that there are not yet enough severely critical verifications to warrant any theory.
Dr. Grasset, a disciple of Pierre Janet, does not admit displacement of objects, or levitation, or the greater part of the facts described in this book as proved, and thinks what is called Spiritualism is a question of medical biology, of "the physiopathology of the nervous centres," in which a celebrated cerebral polygon with a musical conductor named O, plays an automatic rôle of a very curious description.
Dr. Maxwell concludes from his observations that the greater part of the phenomena, the reality of which cannot be doubted, are produced by a force existing in us, that this force is intelligent, and that the intelligence manifested comes from the experimenters. This would be a kind of collective consciousness.
M. Marcel Mangin does not adopt this "collective consciousness," and declares that it is certain that the being, in the séances, who asserts that he is a manifestation is "the sub-consciousness of the medium."
The foregoing are some of the principal opinions. It would take a whole book to discuss in writing the proposed explanations, but that is not my object. My aim was to focus the question on what concernsTHE ADMISSIBILITY OF THE PHENOMENA INTO THE SPHERE OF POSITIVE SCIENCE.
However, now that this is done, we cannot but ask ourselves, what conclusions may be drawn from all these observations.
If we wish to obtain, after this mass of verifications, a satisfactory rational explanation, it seems to me we must proceed gradually, classify the facts, analyze them, and only admit them in proportion to their absolute and demonstrated certainty. We live in a very complex universe, and the most singular confusion has arisen among phenomena which are very distinct one from another.
As I said in 1869, at the tomb of Allan Kardec, "The causes in action are of several kinds, and are more numerous than one would suppose."
Can we explain the observed phenomena, or at least any portion of it? It is our duty to try. For this purpose I shall classify them in the order of increasing difficulties. It is always advisable to begin with the beginning.
May I hope that the reader will have got a clear idea in his mind of the experiments and observations set forth in the previous pages of this work? It would be a little insipid to refer every time to the pages where the phenomena have been described.
1.Rotation of the table,with contact of the hands of a certain number of operators.This rotation can be explained by an unconscious impulse given to the table. All that is necessary is that each one push a little in the same way, and the movement will take place.2.Movement of the table,the hands of the experimenters resting upon it.The operators push and the table is led along without their knowing it, each one acting in a greater or less degree. They think they are following it, but they are really leading it along. We have in this only the result of muscular efforts, generally of a rather slight nature.3.Lifting of the tableon the side opposite to that upon which the hands of the principal actor are placed.Nothing is more simple. The pressure of the hands upon a centre-table with three legs suffices to produce the lifting of the leg the farthest removed, and thus to strike all the letters of the alphabet. The movement is less easy in the case of a table with four legs; but it can also be obtained.These three movements are the only ones, it seems to me, which can be explained without the least mystery. Still, the third is only explicable in case the table is not too heavy.4.Imparting life to the table.Several experimenters being seated around the table, and forming the chain with the desire of seeing it rise, the wavesof a kind of vibrations (light at first) are perceived to be passing through the wood. Then balancings are noticed, some of which may be due to muscular impulses. But already something more is now mingled in the process. The table seems to be set in motion of itself. Sometimes it rises, no longer as if moved by a lever, or by pressure on one side, butunder the hands, as if it were sticking to them. This levitation is contrary to the law of gravitation. Hence we have here a discharge of force. This force emanates from our organism. There is no sufficient reason to seek for anything else. Nevertheless, what we have detected is a thing of prime importance.5.Rotation without contact.The table being in rapid rotation, we can remove our hands from it, and see it continue the movement. The velocity or momentum acquired may explain the momentary continuation of this movement and the explanation given in the case of No. 1 may suffice. But there is more in it than this. Rotation is obtained by holding the hands at a distance of some inches above the table, without any contact. A light layer of flour dusted over the table is found to be untouched by a single finger. Hence the force emitted by the operators must penetrate the table.The experiments prove that we have in us a force capable of acting at a distance upon matter, a natural force, generally latent, but developed in different degrees in different mediums. The action of the force is manifested under conditions as yet imperfectly determined. (See pp.81,248et seq.) We can act upon brute matter, upon living matter, upon the brain and upon the mind. This action of the will is shown in telepathy. It is shown more simply still by means of a well-known experiment: at the theatre, in church, when hearing music, a man accustomed to the exercise of will-power, and sitting several rows of seats behind a woman, say, compels her to turn around in less than a minute. A force emanates from us, from our spirit, acting undoubtedly by means of etherwaves, the point of departure of which is a cerebral movement.And there is nothing very mysterious in this. I bringmy hand near a thermometer, and ascertain that something invisible is escaping from my hand, and, at a certain remove, making the column of mercury rise. This something else is heat; that is to say, aërial waves in movement. Then why might not other radiations emanate from our hands and from our whole being?But, nevertheless, there is a very important scientific fact to be established.This physical force is greater than that of the muscles, as I am going to prove.6.Lifting of weights.A table is loaded with sacks of sand and with stones weighing altogether from 165 to 176 pounds. The table lifts each of its three legs several times in succession. But it succumbs under the load and is broken. The operators ascertain that their muscular force would not have sufficed to produce the observed movements. The will acts by a dynamic prolongation.7.Liftings without contact.The hands forming the chain some inches above the side of the table which is to be lifted, and all wills being concentrated on the one idea, the lifting of each of the legs in succession takes place. The liftings are more readily obtained than rotations without contact. An energetic will seems to be indispensable. The unknown force passes from the experimenters to the table without any contact. If the table is dusted over with flour, as I said, not the slightest finger-touch is seen to be imprinted on it.The will of the sitters is in play. The table is ordered to make such and such a movement and it obeys. This will seems to be prolonged beyond the bodies of the operating experimenters in the shape of a force that is quite intense.This power is developed by action. The balancings prepare for the rising and the latter for complete levitation.8.Reducing the weight of the table or other objects.A quadrangular table is suspended by one of its sides to a dynamometer attached to a cord which is held above by somekind of a hook. The needle of the dynamometer, which, in a state of rest, indicates 35 kilograms, gradually descends to 3, 2, 1, 0 kilograms.A mahogany board is placed horizontally, and hung by one end to a spring balance. This balance (or scales), has a point which touches a pane of glass blackened by smoke. When this pane of glass is put in movement, the needle traces a horizontal line. During the experiments, this line is no longer straight, but marks reductions and increments of weight, produced without any contact of hands. In the experiments of Crookes we saw that the weight of a board increased almost 1¼ pounds.The medium places his handsuponthe back of a chair and lifts the chair.9.Augmentation of the weight of a table or other objects.—pressures exerted.The dynamometric experiments that we have just recalled themselves go to show this augmentation.I have more than once seen, in other circumstances, a table become so heavy that it was absolutely impossible for two men to lift it from the floor. When they succeeded in doing so, in a measure, by means of quick jerks, it still seemed to stick to the floor as if held by glue or india rubber, which immediately pulled it back to the floor after it had been slightly displaced.In all these experiments, there is proof of the action of an unknown natural force emanating from the chief experimenter or from the collective powers of the group, an organic force under the influence of the will. It is not necessary to suppose the presence of superhuman spirits.10.The complete lifting up, or levitation of the table.As there may be confusion in applying the word "lifting" to a table which only rises on one side at a certain angle, while still touching the floor, it is expedient to apply the word "levitation" to the case in which it is completely separated from the floor.Generally, in levitation, it rises from six to eight inchesfrom the floor, for some seconds only, and then falls back. It moves up in a balancing, undulating, hesitating way, with effort, and then falls straight down. While resting our hands upon it, we have the sensation of a fluid resistance, as of it were in water,—the kind of fluid sensation we experience when we bring a piece of iron into the field of force of a magnet.A table, a chair or other movable article sometimes rises, not merely a foot or so, but almost to the height of one's head, and even as high as the ceiling.The force brought into play is considerable.11.Levitation of human bodies.This case is of the same order as the preceding. The medium may be raised with his chair and placed upon the table, sometimes in unstable equilibrium. He may also be lifted alone (without the chair).[83]In this case the Unknown Force does not seem to be simply mechanical: intention is mingled with the act, and ideas of precaution, which, however may proceed from the mentality of the medium himself, aided perhaps by that of the sitters. This fact seems to us to contravene known scientific laws.It is the same case as that of the cat which knows how to turn of itself, without any outside support or leverage, when it falls from a roof, and always falls on its feet, a fact contrary to the principles of mechanics taught in every university in the world.12.Lifting of very heavy pieces of furniture.A piano weighing more than 750 pounds rises up off of its two front legs, and it is ascertained that its weight varies. The force with which it is animated arises from the proximity of a child eleven years old, but it is not the conscious will of this child which acts.—A heavy oak dining-table may rise so high that its under side can be inspected during the levitation.13.Displacement of objects without contact.A heavy easy-chair moves about of its own accord in the room. Heavy curtains reaching from the ceiling to the floor are forcibly swelled out as if by a gust of wind, and envelop as with a hood the heads of persons seated at a table, at a distance of three feet and more. A centre table persists inthe endeavorto climb upon the experiment-table—and gets there. While a sceptical spectator is bantering the "spirits," the table about which the experiments are taking place makes a move towards the incredulous person, drawing the sitters along with it, and pins him to the wall until he begs for mercy.As in the preceding cases, these movements may represent the expression of the will of the medium, and may not necessarily indicate the presence of a mind external to his own. Nevertheless—?14.Raps and typtology.In tables, in pianos, and other pieces of furniture, in the walls, in the air, raps are heard, and their vibrations perceived by the touch. They somewhat resemble the sounds obtainable by tapping against a piece of wood with the joint of the bent finger. The question arises, Whence come these noises? The question is asked aloud. They are repeated. The request is made that a certain number of strokes berapped. The raps are heard. Well-known airs are accompanied by raps beaten in perfect time with them and identifiable as the counterpart of the airs. When bits of music are played, the accompaniment is rapped out. Things take place as if an invisible being were listening and acting. But how could a being without acoustic nerve and without a tympanum hear? The sonorous waves must strike something in order to be interpreted. Is this a mental transmission?These raps are made. Who makes them? And how? The mysterious force emits radiations of wave-lengths inaccessible to our retina, but powerful and rapid, without doubt more rapid than those of light, and situated beyond the ultraviolet. Besides, light impedes their action.In proportion as we advance in the examination of the phenomena, the psychic, intellectual, mental element is more and more mingled with the physical and mechanical element. In the case we are considering we are forced to admit the presence, the action, of a thought. Is this thought simply that of the medium, of the chief experimenter, or the resultant of the thoughts of all the sitters united?Since these raps or those made by the legs of the table, on being interrogated, dictate words and phrases and express ideas, there is something more in the matter than a simple mechanical action. The unknown force, the existence of which we have been obliged to admit in the preceding observations, is in this case at the service of an intelligence. The mystery grows complicated.It is owing to this intellectual element that I proposed (before 1865; seep. xix) to give the name "psychic" to this force, a name proposed anew by Crookes in 1871. We saw also that, as early as the year 1855, Thury had proposed the name "psychode" and "ecteneic" force. From this on, it would be impossible for us in our examination not to take into consideration this psychic force.Up to this point, Gasparin's fluid might suffice, just as unconscious muscular action sufficed for the first three classes of facts. But starting from this fourteenth class, the psychic order plainly manifests itself (and even in the preceding class we begin already to divine its presence).15.Mallet-blows.I have heard—as have all other experimenters—not only sharp light raps upon a table, like those of which I have just been speaking, but mallet-blows, or blows of the fist upon a door, capable of knocking down a man if he had received them. Generally, these tremendous blows are a protestation against a denial on the part of one of the sitters. There is in them an intention, a will, an intelligence. They may also be due to the medium, who is indignant, or who is amusing himself or herself. The action is not muscular; for the hands and feet of the medium are held, and the rapping may occur some distance away from him or her.16.Touchings.Fraud can explain those which take place within the reach of the medium's hands, for they only occur in the darkness. But they have been felt at a certain distance beyond this reach as if the hands of the medium were prolonged.17.Action of invisible hands.An accordion in an open-work case, or cage, which keeps any other hand from touching it, is held in one hand by the end opposite the keys. Presently the instrument begins to lengthen and shorten of itself and plays various melodies. An invisible hand with fingers (or something like them), must therefore be acting. (Experiment of Crookes with Home.) As the reader has seen I repeated this experiment with Eusapia.Another time, a music-box, the handle of which was turned by an invisible hand, played in perfect time with the music movements that Eusapia was making upon my cheek.An invisible hand forcibly snatched from my hand a block of paper which I was holding out with extended arm at the height of my head.Invisible hands removed from M. Schiaparelli's head his spectacles (furnished with a spring), which were firmly fastened behind his ears, and that so nimbly and with such light touch that he did not perceive it until afterwards.18.Apparitions of hands.The hands are not always invisible. Sometimes semi-luminous ones are seen to appear in the dim light,—hands of men, hands of women, hands of children. Sometimes they have clear-cut outlines. They are generally firm and moist to the touch, sometimes icy cold. At times they melt away in the hand. For my part I was never able to grasp one. It was always the mysterious hand that took mine,—often feeling through a curtain, or sometimes by nude contact, or pinching my ear, or running its fingers through my hair with great rapidity.19.Apparitions of heads.For my part, I have only seen two: the bearded silhouette at Monfort-l'Amaury, and the head of a young girl with high-arched forehead, in my drawing-room. In the case of the first I had believed that there was a mask held at the end of a rod. But at my own home, there was no possibility of an accomplice, and at present I am not less sure of the first instance than of the other. Moreover, the testimony of other observers is so precise and so often given that it is imperative that it be classed with my own.20.Phantoms.I have never seen any of these nor photographed them, but it seems to me impossible to be sceptical about that of Katie King, observed for three consecutive years by Crookes and others who experimented with the medium Florence Cook. One can scarcely doubt, also, the reality of the phantoms seen by the committee of the Dialectical Society of London. We have seen that trickery plays a frequent rôle in this sort of apparitions; but, in the experiments just mentioned, the observations were really conducted with such perspicacity that they are safe from all objection, and have on them the stamp of a purely scientific character.These phantoms, like the heads and the hands mentioned, seem to be condensations of fluids produced by the powers of the medium, and do not prove the existence of independent spirits.When the hand is stretched out, the rubbing of a beard can be felt upon it. This happened to me, as well as to others. Did the beard really exist, or was it only a case of tactual and visual sensations? The case here immediately following pleads in favor of its reality.21.Impressions of heads and of hands.The heads and the hands formed are sufficiently dense to leave a mould of their features and shape imprinted in the putty or the clay. Perhaps the most curious thing is that it is not necessary that these weird formations, these forces, be visible in order to produce impressions. We have seen a vigorous gesture imprint itself at a distance in clay.22.Passing of matter through matter.—Transfers, or the bringing in of objects.A book has been seen passing through a curtain. A bell has passed from a library-room, locked with a key, into a drawing-room. A flower has been seen passing perpendicularly downward through a dining-room table. Some have thought they had ocular proof of the mysterious appearance of plants, of flowers, of fruits, and other objects, which (as the claim went) had passed through walls, ceilings, doors.The latter phenomenon took place several times in my presence. But I was never able to get certain proof of it under unimpeachable conditions; and I have ferreted out many a trick.The experiments of Zöllner (a wooden ring entering into another wooden ring, a string tied at the two ends making a knot, etc.) would, of course, be a thing of exceptional interest if the medium Slade had not the bad reputation of being just a skilful prestidigitator,—a reputation probably only too well merited. I should think that there is good reason to suppose that the experiments of Crookes are authentic.Has space only three dimensions? We will set this question aside.23.Manifestations directed by an intelligence.These have been already glimpsed in a certain number of the preceding cases. The forces in action here are of the psychical as well as the physical class. The question is to know whether the intellect of the medium and of the sitters is sufficient to explain everything.In all the cases I have previously mentioned, this intellect seem to suffice, but only by attributing to it occult faculties of prodigious potency.In the present state of our knowledge, it is impossible for us to understand the way in which mind, conscious or unconscious, can lift a table, make raps in wood, form a hand or a head, stamp an imprint. Themodus operandiis absolutely unintelligible to us. Future science will perhaps discover it. But all these actions never overpass the limits of man's capacities, and let us admit, the capacity required is not an extraordinary one.The hypothesis of spirits of another order than that of living human beings does not seem to be necessary.The hypothesis of the doubling of the psychic personality of the medium is the most simple. Is it sufficient to entirely satisfy us?Hard blows on the table like those of a fist, contrasting with gentle taps, may have this origin, in spite of appearance.It is the same with apparitions of the hands, of heads, of spectral forms. We cannot declare this origin of the phenomena to be impossible; and it is more simple than to assume that they are due to wandering spirits.The conveying of objects over the heads of the experimenters in complete darkness, without touching either chandelier or heads, is scarcely comprehensible. But do we understand any better how a spirit can have hands? And if it did, might it not amuse itself thus? Spectacles are taken from a face without the act being perceived; a handkerchief is removed from the neck, then snatched from between the teeth that are holding it; a fan is transferred from one pocket to another. Do latent faculties of the human organismsuffice to explain these intentional actions? It is right for us neither to affirm nor to deny.
1.Rotation of the table,with contact of the hands of a certain number of operators.
This rotation can be explained by an unconscious impulse given to the table. All that is necessary is that each one push a little in the same way, and the movement will take place.
2.Movement of the table,the hands of the experimenters resting upon it.
The operators push and the table is led along without their knowing it, each one acting in a greater or less degree. They think they are following it, but they are really leading it along. We have in this only the result of muscular efforts, generally of a rather slight nature.
3.Lifting of the tableon the side opposite to that upon which the hands of the principal actor are placed.
Nothing is more simple. The pressure of the hands upon a centre-table with three legs suffices to produce the lifting of the leg the farthest removed, and thus to strike all the letters of the alphabet. The movement is less easy in the case of a table with four legs; but it can also be obtained.
These three movements are the only ones, it seems to me, which can be explained without the least mystery. Still, the third is only explicable in case the table is not too heavy.
4.Imparting life to the table.
Several experimenters being seated around the table, and forming the chain with the desire of seeing it rise, the wavesof a kind of vibrations (light at first) are perceived to be passing through the wood. Then balancings are noticed, some of which may be due to muscular impulses. But already something more is now mingled in the process. The table seems to be set in motion of itself. Sometimes it rises, no longer as if moved by a lever, or by pressure on one side, butunder the hands, as if it were sticking to them. This levitation is contrary to the law of gravitation. Hence we have here a discharge of force. This force emanates from our organism. There is no sufficient reason to seek for anything else. Nevertheless, what we have detected is a thing of prime importance.
5.Rotation without contact.
The table being in rapid rotation, we can remove our hands from it, and see it continue the movement. The velocity or momentum acquired may explain the momentary continuation of this movement and the explanation given in the case of No. 1 may suffice. But there is more in it than this. Rotation is obtained by holding the hands at a distance of some inches above the table, without any contact. A light layer of flour dusted over the table is found to be untouched by a single finger. Hence the force emitted by the operators must penetrate the table.
The experiments prove that we have in us a force capable of acting at a distance upon matter, a natural force, generally latent, but developed in different degrees in different mediums. The action of the force is manifested under conditions as yet imperfectly determined. (See pp.81,248et seq.) We can act upon brute matter, upon living matter, upon the brain and upon the mind. This action of the will is shown in telepathy. It is shown more simply still by means of a well-known experiment: at the theatre, in church, when hearing music, a man accustomed to the exercise of will-power, and sitting several rows of seats behind a woman, say, compels her to turn around in less than a minute. A force emanates from us, from our spirit, acting undoubtedly by means of etherwaves, the point of departure of which is a cerebral movement.
And there is nothing very mysterious in this. I bringmy hand near a thermometer, and ascertain that something invisible is escaping from my hand, and, at a certain remove, making the column of mercury rise. This something else is heat; that is to say, aërial waves in movement. Then why might not other radiations emanate from our hands and from our whole being?
But, nevertheless, there is a very important scientific fact to be established.
This physical force is greater than that of the muscles, as I am going to prove.
6.Lifting of weights.
A table is loaded with sacks of sand and with stones weighing altogether from 165 to 176 pounds. The table lifts each of its three legs several times in succession. But it succumbs under the load and is broken. The operators ascertain that their muscular force would not have sufficed to produce the observed movements. The will acts by a dynamic prolongation.
7.Liftings without contact.
The hands forming the chain some inches above the side of the table which is to be lifted, and all wills being concentrated on the one idea, the lifting of each of the legs in succession takes place. The liftings are more readily obtained than rotations without contact. An energetic will seems to be indispensable. The unknown force passes from the experimenters to the table without any contact. If the table is dusted over with flour, as I said, not the slightest finger-touch is seen to be imprinted on it.
The will of the sitters is in play. The table is ordered to make such and such a movement and it obeys. This will seems to be prolonged beyond the bodies of the operating experimenters in the shape of a force that is quite intense.
This power is developed by action. The balancings prepare for the rising and the latter for complete levitation.
8.Reducing the weight of the table or other objects.
A quadrangular table is suspended by one of its sides to a dynamometer attached to a cord which is held above by somekind of a hook. The needle of the dynamometer, which, in a state of rest, indicates 35 kilograms, gradually descends to 3, 2, 1, 0 kilograms.
A mahogany board is placed horizontally, and hung by one end to a spring balance. This balance (or scales), has a point which touches a pane of glass blackened by smoke. When this pane of glass is put in movement, the needle traces a horizontal line. During the experiments, this line is no longer straight, but marks reductions and increments of weight, produced without any contact of hands. In the experiments of Crookes we saw that the weight of a board increased almost 1¼ pounds.
The medium places his handsuponthe back of a chair and lifts the chair.
9.Augmentation of the weight of a table or other objects.—pressures exerted.
The dynamometric experiments that we have just recalled themselves go to show this augmentation.
I have more than once seen, in other circumstances, a table become so heavy that it was absolutely impossible for two men to lift it from the floor. When they succeeded in doing so, in a measure, by means of quick jerks, it still seemed to stick to the floor as if held by glue or india rubber, which immediately pulled it back to the floor after it had been slightly displaced.
In all these experiments, there is proof of the action of an unknown natural force emanating from the chief experimenter or from the collective powers of the group, an organic force under the influence of the will. It is not necessary to suppose the presence of superhuman spirits.
10.The complete lifting up, or levitation of the table.
As there may be confusion in applying the word "lifting" to a table which only rises on one side at a certain angle, while still touching the floor, it is expedient to apply the word "levitation" to the case in which it is completely separated from the floor.
Generally, in levitation, it rises from six to eight inchesfrom the floor, for some seconds only, and then falls back. It moves up in a balancing, undulating, hesitating way, with effort, and then falls straight down. While resting our hands upon it, we have the sensation of a fluid resistance, as of it were in water,—the kind of fluid sensation we experience when we bring a piece of iron into the field of force of a magnet.
A table, a chair or other movable article sometimes rises, not merely a foot or so, but almost to the height of one's head, and even as high as the ceiling.
The force brought into play is considerable.
11.Levitation of human bodies.
This case is of the same order as the preceding. The medium may be raised with his chair and placed upon the table, sometimes in unstable equilibrium. He may also be lifted alone (without the chair).[83]
In this case the Unknown Force does not seem to be simply mechanical: intention is mingled with the act, and ideas of precaution, which, however may proceed from the mentality of the medium himself, aided perhaps by that of the sitters. This fact seems to us to contravene known scientific laws.It is the same case as that of the cat which knows how to turn of itself, without any outside support or leverage, when it falls from a roof, and always falls on its feet, a fact contrary to the principles of mechanics taught in every university in the world.
12.Lifting of very heavy pieces of furniture.
A piano weighing more than 750 pounds rises up off of its two front legs, and it is ascertained that its weight varies. The force with which it is animated arises from the proximity of a child eleven years old, but it is not the conscious will of this child which acts.—A heavy oak dining-table may rise so high that its under side can be inspected during the levitation.
13.Displacement of objects without contact.
A heavy easy-chair moves about of its own accord in the room. Heavy curtains reaching from the ceiling to the floor are forcibly swelled out as if by a gust of wind, and envelop as with a hood the heads of persons seated at a table, at a distance of three feet and more. A centre table persists inthe endeavorto climb upon the experiment-table—and gets there. While a sceptical spectator is bantering the "spirits," the table about which the experiments are taking place makes a move towards the incredulous person, drawing the sitters along with it, and pins him to the wall until he begs for mercy.
As in the preceding cases, these movements may represent the expression of the will of the medium, and may not necessarily indicate the presence of a mind external to his own. Nevertheless—?
14.Raps and typtology.
In tables, in pianos, and other pieces of furniture, in the walls, in the air, raps are heard, and their vibrations perceived by the touch. They somewhat resemble the sounds obtainable by tapping against a piece of wood with the joint of the bent finger. The question arises, Whence come these noises? The question is asked aloud. They are repeated. The request is made that a certain number of strokes berapped. The raps are heard. Well-known airs are accompanied by raps beaten in perfect time with them and identifiable as the counterpart of the airs. When bits of music are played, the accompaniment is rapped out. Things take place as if an invisible being were listening and acting. But how could a being without acoustic nerve and without a tympanum hear? The sonorous waves must strike something in order to be interpreted. Is this a mental transmission?
These raps are made. Who makes them? And how? The mysterious force emits radiations of wave-lengths inaccessible to our retina, but powerful and rapid, without doubt more rapid than those of light, and situated beyond the ultraviolet. Besides, light impedes their action.
In proportion as we advance in the examination of the phenomena, the psychic, intellectual, mental element is more and more mingled with the physical and mechanical element. In the case we are considering we are forced to admit the presence, the action, of a thought. Is this thought simply that of the medium, of the chief experimenter, or the resultant of the thoughts of all the sitters united?
Since these raps or those made by the legs of the table, on being interrogated, dictate words and phrases and express ideas, there is something more in the matter than a simple mechanical action. The unknown force, the existence of which we have been obliged to admit in the preceding observations, is in this case at the service of an intelligence. The mystery grows complicated.
It is owing to this intellectual element that I proposed (before 1865; seep. xix) to give the name "psychic" to this force, a name proposed anew by Crookes in 1871. We saw also that, as early as the year 1855, Thury had proposed the name "psychode" and "ecteneic" force. From this on, it would be impossible for us in our examination not to take into consideration this psychic force.
Up to this point, Gasparin's fluid might suffice, just as unconscious muscular action sufficed for the first three classes of facts. But starting from this fourteenth class, the psychic order plainly manifests itself (and even in the preceding class we begin already to divine its presence).
15.Mallet-blows.
I have heard—as have all other experimenters—not only sharp light raps upon a table, like those of which I have just been speaking, but mallet-blows, or blows of the fist upon a door, capable of knocking down a man if he had received them. Generally, these tremendous blows are a protestation against a denial on the part of one of the sitters. There is in them an intention, a will, an intelligence. They may also be due to the medium, who is indignant, or who is amusing himself or herself. The action is not muscular; for the hands and feet of the medium are held, and the rapping may occur some distance away from him or her.
16.Touchings.
Fraud can explain those which take place within the reach of the medium's hands, for they only occur in the darkness. But they have been felt at a certain distance beyond this reach as if the hands of the medium were prolonged.
17.Action of invisible hands.
An accordion in an open-work case, or cage, which keeps any other hand from touching it, is held in one hand by the end opposite the keys. Presently the instrument begins to lengthen and shorten of itself and plays various melodies. An invisible hand with fingers (or something like them), must therefore be acting. (Experiment of Crookes with Home.) As the reader has seen I repeated this experiment with Eusapia.
Another time, a music-box, the handle of which was turned by an invisible hand, played in perfect time with the music movements that Eusapia was making upon my cheek.
An invisible hand forcibly snatched from my hand a block of paper which I was holding out with extended arm at the height of my head.
Invisible hands removed from M. Schiaparelli's head his spectacles (furnished with a spring), which were firmly fastened behind his ears, and that so nimbly and with such light touch that he did not perceive it until afterwards.
18.Apparitions of hands.
The hands are not always invisible. Sometimes semi-luminous ones are seen to appear in the dim light,—hands of men, hands of women, hands of children. Sometimes they have clear-cut outlines. They are generally firm and moist to the touch, sometimes icy cold. At times they melt away in the hand. For my part I was never able to grasp one. It was always the mysterious hand that took mine,—often feeling through a curtain, or sometimes by nude contact, or pinching my ear, or running its fingers through my hair with great rapidity.
19.Apparitions of heads.
For my part, I have only seen two: the bearded silhouette at Monfort-l'Amaury, and the head of a young girl with high-arched forehead, in my drawing-room. In the case of the first I had believed that there was a mask held at the end of a rod. But at my own home, there was no possibility of an accomplice, and at present I am not less sure of the first instance than of the other. Moreover, the testimony of other observers is so precise and so often given that it is imperative that it be classed with my own.
20.Phantoms.
I have never seen any of these nor photographed them, but it seems to me impossible to be sceptical about that of Katie King, observed for three consecutive years by Crookes and others who experimented with the medium Florence Cook. One can scarcely doubt, also, the reality of the phantoms seen by the committee of the Dialectical Society of London. We have seen that trickery plays a frequent rôle in this sort of apparitions; but, in the experiments just mentioned, the observations were really conducted with such perspicacity that they are safe from all objection, and have on them the stamp of a purely scientific character.
These phantoms, like the heads and the hands mentioned, seem to be condensations of fluids produced by the powers of the medium, and do not prove the existence of independent spirits.
When the hand is stretched out, the rubbing of a beard can be felt upon it. This happened to me, as well as to others. Did the beard really exist, or was it only a case of tactual and visual sensations? The case here immediately following pleads in favor of its reality.
21.Impressions of heads and of hands.
The heads and the hands formed are sufficiently dense to leave a mould of their features and shape imprinted in the putty or the clay. Perhaps the most curious thing is that it is not necessary that these weird formations, these forces, be visible in order to produce impressions. We have seen a vigorous gesture imprint itself at a distance in clay.
22.Passing of matter through matter.—Transfers, or the bringing in of objects.
A book has been seen passing through a curtain. A bell has passed from a library-room, locked with a key, into a drawing-room. A flower has been seen passing perpendicularly downward through a dining-room table. Some have thought they had ocular proof of the mysterious appearance of plants, of flowers, of fruits, and other objects, which (as the claim went) had passed through walls, ceilings, doors.
The latter phenomenon took place several times in my presence. But I was never able to get certain proof of it under unimpeachable conditions; and I have ferreted out many a trick.
The experiments of Zöllner (a wooden ring entering into another wooden ring, a string tied at the two ends making a knot, etc.) would, of course, be a thing of exceptional interest if the medium Slade had not the bad reputation of being just a skilful prestidigitator,—a reputation probably only too well merited. I should think that there is good reason to suppose that the experiments of Crookes are authentic.
Has space only three dimensions? We will set this question aside.
23.Manifestations directed by an intelligence.
These have been already glimpsed in a certain number of the preceding cases. The forces in action here are of the psychical as well as the physical class. The question is to know whether the intellect of the medium and of the sitters is sufficient to explain everything.
In all the cases I have previously mentioned, this intellect seem to suffice, but only by attributing to it occult faculties of prodigious potency.
In the present state of our knowledge, it is impossible for us to understand the way in which mind, conscious or unconscious, can lift a table, make raps in wood, form a hand or a head, stamp an imprint. Themodus operandiis absolutely unintelligible to us. Future science will perhaps discover it. But all these actions never overpass the limits of man's capacities, and let us admit, the capacity required is not an extraordinary one.
The hypothesis of spirits of another order than that of living human beings does not seem to be necessary.
The hypothesis of the doubling of the psychic personality of the medium is the most simple. Is it sufficient to entirely satisfy us?
Hard blows on the table like those of a fist, contrasting with gentle taps, may have this origin, in spite of appearance.
It is the same with apparitions of the hands, of heads, of spectral forms. We cannot declare this origin of the phenomena to be impossible; and it is more simple than to assume that they are due to wandering spirits.
The conveying of objects over the heads of the experimenters in complete darkness, without touching either chandelier or heads, is scarcely comprehensible. But do we understand any better how a spirit can have hands? And if it did, might it not amuse itself thus? Spectacles are taken from a face without the act being perceived; a handkerchief is removed from the neck, then snatched from between the teeth that are holding it; a fan is transferred from one pocket to another. Do latent faculties of the human organismsuffice to explain these intentional actions? It is right for us neither to affirm nor to deny.
I have thus passed in review the whole series of phenomena to be explained, at least all those within the limits of the plan of this work.
A first, and obviously safe, conclusion is that man has in himself a fluidic and psychic force whose nature is still unknown, but which is capable of acting at a distance upon matter and of moving the same.
This force is the expression of our will, of our desires; I mean as it appears in the first ten cases of the preceding classifications. For the other cases we must add the unconscious, the unforeseen, wills different from our conscious wills.
The force is at once physical and psychical. If the medium puts forth a force of twelve or fourteen pounds to lift a table, his weight undergoes a corresponding increase. The hand which we see forming near him is able to grasp an object. The hand really exists, and is then reabsorbed. Might we not compare the force which brings it into existence with that building-force of nature, which reproduces a claw for the lobster and a tail for the lizard? The intervention of spirits is not all indispensable.[84]
In mediumistic experiments things happen as if an invisible being were present, able to transport the different objects through the air, usually without striking against the heads of the persons who are sitting in various parts of the room in almost complete darkness; capable also of acting upon a curtain like a strong wind, pushing it far out, able to fling this curtain over your head, giving you a Capuchin hood or coiffure, and pressing strongly against your body, as if with two nervous arms, and touching you with a warm and living hand. I have perceived these hands in the most unmistakble way. The invisible being can condense itself sufficiently to become visible, and I have seen it passing in the air. To suppose that I, as well as other experimenters, was the dupe of an hallucination is an hypothesis which cannot be maintained for a single moment and would simply show that those who entertained the idea were far more likely to have an hallucination than we were, or else that they entertained the most inexcusable prepossession and prejudice. We were in the best possible condition for observing and analysizing any phenomena whatever and no sceptic will make us believe anything different on this point.
There is certainly an invisible prolongation of the organism of the medium. This prolongation may be compared to the radiation which leaps from the loadstone to reach a bit of iron and put it into movement.
We can also compare it with the effluvium which emanates from electrified bodies.[85]
I also compared it some pages back to calorific waves.
When a medium makes a gesture of striking the table with his closed fist, but stops short at a distance of from eight to twelve inches, and when, at every gesture, a sonorous stroke of the fist echoes in the table, we see in that the proof of a dynamic prolongation of the arm of the medium.
When she pretends to imitate on my cheek the rotation of the crank of a music-box, and when this box keeps time with the imitated movement, stops when the fingers stop, plays the tune faster when the finger accelerates its circular tracings, goes slower when it goes slower, etc., we have here again proof of dynamic action at a distance.
When an accordion plays of its own will, when a bell begins to ring of itself, when a lever indicates such and such a pressure, there is a real force in action.
We must therefore admit, first of all, this prolongation of the muscular and nervous force of the subject. I am keenly sensible of the fact that this is a bold proposition, almost incredible, most strange and extraordinary; but after all the facts are there, and whether the matter irks us or not is a small matter.
This prolongation is real, and only extends to a certain distance from the medium, a distance which can be measured, and which varies according to circumstances. But is it sufficient to explain all the observed phenomena?
We are forced to admit that this prolongation, usually invisible, and impalpable, may become visible and palpable; take, especially, the form of an articulated hand, with flesh and muscles; and reveal the exact form of a head or a body. The fact is incomprehensible; but after so many different observations, it seems to me impossible to see in this curious phenomenon only trickery or hallucination. Logic lays its laws upon us and commands our respect.
A fluidic and condensable double has therefore the powerof gliding momentarily out from the body of the medium (for his presence is indispensable).
How can this double, this fluidic body have the consistency of flesh and of muscles? We do not understand it. But it would neither be wise nor intelligent to admit only that which we can comprehend. It must be remembered that, for the greater part of the time, we imagine we comprehend things because we can give an explanation of them; that is all. Now this explanation rarely has any intrinsic value. It is only a framework of words tacked together. Thus you fancy you understand why an apple falls from the top of the tree, because you say that the earth attracts it. This is pure simple-mindedness. For in what does the attraction of the earth consist? You know nothing about it; but you are satisfied, because the fact is a common one.
When the curtain is inflated as if pushed out by a hand, and when you feel you are pinched in the shoulder by a hand at the moment the curtain touches you, you have the impression that you are the dupe of an accomplice hidden behind the curtain. There is some one there who is playing a practical joke on you. You draw aside the curtain. Nothing!
Since it is impossible for you to admit a trick of any kind, because you, and you alone, hung that curtain between the two walls; and since you know that there is no person behind it because you are close by it and have not lost it out of your sight; and since the medium is seated near you with his, or her, hands and legs held, you are forced to admit that a temporarily materialized being has touched you.
It is certain that these facts may be denied and that they are denied. Those who have not personally verified them are excusable. It is not a question of ordinary events which take place every day and which everybody can observe. It is evident, as a general proposition, that, if we admit onlywhat we have ourselves seen, we shall not get very far. We admit the existence of the Philippine Islands without having been there, of Charlemagne and of Julius Cæsar without having seen them, of total eclipses of the sun, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc., as facts of which we have not ourselves been eye-witnesses. The distance of a star, the weight of a planet, the composition of one of the heavenly bodies, the most marvelous discoveries of astronomy, do not excite scepticism, except in the minds of wholly uncultivated persons, because people in general appreciate the value of astronomic methods. But undoubtedly, in these psychical matters, the phenomena are so extraordinary that one is excusable for not believing them.
Nevertheless, if anyone will give himself the trouble to reason he will positively be compelled to recognize that, in following on this trail, he is inevitably brought to a stand in face of the following dilemma: either the experimenters have been the dupes of the mediums, who have uniformly cheated, or else these stupefying facts actually exist. Now since the first hypothesis is eliminated, we are forced to admit the reality of the occurrences.
A fluidic body is formed at the expense of the medium, emerges from his organism, moves, acts. What is the intelligent force that directs this fluidic body and makes it act in such or such a way? Either it is the mind of the medium, or it is another mind that makes use of this same fluid. There is no escape from this conclusion. I may remark that the meteorological conditions, fine weather, agreeable temperature, cheerfulness, high spirits, favor the phenomena; that the medium is never wholly out of touch with the manifestations, and frequently knows what is going to take place; that the cause escapes the mental grasp and is fugitive and capricious; and that the apparitions fade away like a dream as silently as they are formed.
Note also that, in important manifestations, the medium suffers, complains, groans, loses an enormous amount of force, exhibits an astonishing nervous energy, experiences hyperæsthesia, and at the apogee of the manifestation, seems for an instant to be absolutely prostrated. And, in truth, why should not his mind as well as his fluidic force be haled out of his body and be exhausted in external work? The psychical force of a living human being is able, then, to create "material" phenomena—organs, spectral figures.
But what is matter?
My readers know that matter does not exist as it is perceived by our senses. These only give us incomplete impressions of anUnknown Reality. Analysis shows us that matter is only a form of energy.
In the work calledA Propos d'Eusapia Paladino, which sums up his experiments with this medium, M. Guillaume de Fontenay ingeniously tries to explain the phenomena by the dynamic theory of matter. It is probable that this explanation is one of those that make the nearest approach to the truth.
According to this theory, the quality which seems to us characteristic of matter—solidity, stability—is no more substantial than the light which strikes our eyes, or the sound which enters our ears. We see; that is to say, we receive upon the retina rays which affect it. But around and on every side of the retina undulate countless other rays that leave no impression upon it. It is the same with the other senses.
Matter, like light, like heat, like electricity, seems to be the result of a species of movement. Movement of what? Of the primitive monistic substance, quickened by manifold vibrations.
Most assuredly, matter is not that inert thing that we commonly suppose.
A comparison will aid in comprehending this. Take a carriage-wheel. Place it horizontally on a pivot. While the wheel is motionless, let a rubber ball fall between its spokes. This ball will almost always pass through between the spokes. Now give a slight movement to the wheel. The ball will be pretty often hit by the revolving spokes, and will rebound. If we increase the rotation, the ball will now no longer pass through the wheel, which will have become for it a wholly impenetrable disc.
We can try a similar experiment by arranging the wheel vertically and shooting arrows through it. A bicycle-wheel will serve the purpose very well, owing to the slenderness of its spokes. When not in movement, the arrows will pass through it nine times out of ten. In movement, it will produce in the arrows deviations more or less marked. With increase in the speed, it would be made impenetrable, and all the arrows would be broken as if against the steel plating of an armored ship.
These comparisons allow us to understand how matter is really only a mode of motion, only an expression of force, a manifestation of energy. It will disappear (it must be borne in mind) on analysis, which ends by taking refuge in the intangible, invisible, imponderable, and almost immaterial atom. The atom itself which was regarded as the basis of matter fifty years ago, has now disappeared, or rather has been metamorphosed and reappears as a hypothetical, impalpable vortex.
I will allow myself to repeat here what I have said a hundred times elsewhere:The universe is a dynamism.
The difficulty we have in explaining to ourselves apparitions, materializations, when we try to apply to them the ordinary conception of matter, is considerably lessened the moment we conceive that matter is only a mode of motion.
Life itself, from the most rudimentary cell up to the mostcomplicated organism, is a special kind of movement, a movement determined and organized by a directing force. According to this theory, momentary apparitions would be less difficult to accept and to comprehend. The vital force of the medium might externalize itself and produce in a point of space a vibratory system which should be the counterpart of itself, in a more or less advanced degree of visibility and solidity. These phenomena can with difficulty be reconciled with the old hypothesis of the independent and intrinsic existence of matter: They better fit that of matter as a mode of motion—in a word, simple movement, giving the sensation of matter.
There is, of course, only one substance, the primitive substance, which antedates the original nebula—the womb from which all bodies in the universe have issued. The substances which the chemists take to be simple bodies—oxygen, hydrogen, azote, iron, gold, silver, etc.—are mineral elements which have been gradually formed and differentiated, just as, later, the vegetable and animal species were differentiated. And not only is the substance of the world one, but it also has the same origin as energy, and these two forms are mutually interchangeable. Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed.[86]
The unique substance is immaterial and unknowable in its essence. We see and touch only its condensations, its aggregations, its arrangements; that is to say, forms produced by movement. Matter, force, life, thought, are all one.
In reality, there is only one principle in the universe, and it is at once intelligence, force, and matter, embracing all that is and all that possibly can be. That which we call matter is only a form of motion. At the basis of all is force, dynamism, and universal mind, or spirit.
Visible matter, which stands to us at the present moment for the universe, and which certain classic doctrines consider as the origin of all things—movement, life, thought—is only a word void of meaning. The universe is a great organism controlled by a dynamism of the psychical order. Mind gleams through its every atom.
The environment or atmosphere is psychic. There is mind in every thing, not only in human and animal life, but in plants, in minerals, in space.
It is not the body which produces life: it is rather life which organizes the body. Does not the will to live increase the viability of enfeebled persons, just as the giving up of the wish to live may abridge life and even extinguish it?
Your heart beats, night and day, whatever be the position of your body. It is a well-mounted spring. Who or what adjusted this elastic spring?
The embryo is formed in the womb of the mother, in the egg of the bird. There is neither heart nor brain. At a certain moment the heart beats for the first time. Sublime moment! It will beat in the child, in the adolescent, in the man, in the woman, at the rate of about 100,000 pulsations a day, of 36,500,000 a year, of 1,825,000,000 in fifty years. This heart that has just been formed is going to beat a thousand millions of pulsations, two thousand millions, three thousand millions, a number determined by its inherent force; then it will stop and the body will fall into ruins. Who or what wound up this watch once for all?
Dynamism, the vital energy.
What sustains the earth in space?
Dynamism, the velocity of its movement.
What is it in the bullet that kills?
Its velocity.
Everywhere energy, everywhere the invisible element. It is this same dynamism that produces the phenomena we havebeen studying. The question at present resolves itself into this: Does this dynamism belong wholly to the experimenters? We have so little real knowledge of our mental nature that it is impossible for us to know what this nature is capable of producing, even in certain states of unconsciousness—in fact especially in these. The directing intelligence is not always the personal,normal, intelligence of the experimenters or of any one whatever among them. We ask the entity what its name is, and it gives us a name which is not ours; it replies to our questions, and usually claims to be a discarnate soul, the spirit of a deceased person. But if we drive the question home, this entity finally steals away without having given us sufficient proofs of its identity. There results from this the impression that the "medium," or principal subject of the experiment, has responded for himself, has reflected himself, without knowing it.
Moreover, this entity, this personality, this spirit, has his individual will, his caprices, his cantankerousness, and sometimes acts in opposition to our own thoughts. He tells us absurd, foolish, brutal, insane things, and amuses himself with fantastic combinations of letters, real head-splitting puzzles. It astonishes and stupefies us.
What is this being?
Two inescapable hypotheses present themselves. Either it is we who produce these phenomena or it is spirits. But mark this well: these spirits are not necessarily the souls of the dead; for other kinds of spiritual beings may exist, and space may be full of them without our ever knowing anything about it, except under unusual circumstances. Do we not find in the different ancient literatures, demons, angels, gnomes, goblins, sprites, spectres, elementals, etc? Perhaps these legends are not without some foundation in fact. Then we cannot but remark that, in our mediumistic studies and experiments, in order to succeed we always address aninvisible being who is supposed to hear us. If this is an illusion, it dates from the very origin of Spiritualism, from the raps produced unconsciously by the Fox sisters in their chambers at Hydesville and at Rochester in 1848. But once more, this personification may pertain to our own being or it may represent a mind external to ourselves.
In order to admit the first hypothesis we must admit at the same time that our mental nature is not simple, that there are in us several psychic elements, and that one at least of these elements may act unknown to ourselves, make raps in a table, move any piece of furniture, lift a weight, touch us with a hand that seems real, play an instrument, create a spectral figure, read hidden words, answer questions, act with a personal will—and all this, I repeat, without our own knowledge.
This is tolerably complicated; but it is not impossible.
That there are in us psychic elements, obscure, unconscious, capable of acting outside of the sphere of our normal consciousness, this is something we can notice every night in our dreams; that is to say, during a quarter, or a third part of our life. Scarcely has sleep closed our eyes, our ears, all our senses, than our thoughts begin to work just the same as during the day, though without rational direction, without logic, under the most incoherent forms, freed from our customary conceptions of space and time, in a world entirely different from the normal world. The physiologists and psychologists have for centuries been trying to determine the mechanism of the dream without having yet obtained any satisfactory solution of the problem. But the proved fact that we see sometimes, in our dreams, occurrences which take place at a distance, proves that we have in us unknown powers.
Again, it is not rare for each of us to experience, sometimes (all our faculties being on the alert), the play of an interiorpower, distinct from our dominant reason. We are on the point of pronouncing words that are not a part of our habitual vocabulary, and ideas suddenly traverse and arrest the course of our thoughts. During the reading of a book which seemed interesting to us, our soul spreads her wings and flies to other realms, while our eyes continue in vain the mechanical act of reading. We are discussing certain projects in our mind, as if we were so many judges; and then, one would like to know in all simplicity, whence comes this distraction?
In his tireless researches, the great investigator of psychic phenomena, Myers, to whom we owe synthetic studies upon the subliminal consciousness, reached the conviction, with Ribot, that "themeis a co-ordination."