933. These cases illustrate the development of the incipient stages of trance into ecstasy or possession, the control in different cases being by the incarnate or by the discarnate spirit, or by a combination of the two. 934. In one form of trance the automatist is completely controlled by his own subliminal self or incarnate spirit; e.g. 934 A. case of Mr. Sanders. 935. In the famous case of Swedenborg, on the other hand, direct intercourse during ecstasy with discarnate spirits was claimed. 936. Swedenborg's personal experiences are in accord with those described -apparently independently-by other sensitives since his time; on the other hand, his dogmatic writings have been discredited by later knowledge. 936 A. Kant on Swedenborg. 936 B. The Seeress of Prevorst. 936 C. Case of Mr. Skilton. 937. Cahagnet's subject, Adèle Maginot, was also apparently, when in trance, controlled by her own subliminal self. 937 A. Mr. Podmore's account of this case. 938. In the case of D. D. Home telekinetic phenomena are alleged, as well as trance manifestations. 938 A. References to information about Home. 938 B. Review of Mme. Home's Life of Home. 939. Home's trances varied a good deal on different occasions. 940. Comparison of the trance-manifestations of Home with those of Moses and of Mrs. Piper. 941. In the case of Moses, as in that of Home, the telekinetic phenomena formed an integral part of the general manifestations, but were regarded by him as merely subsidiary to the religious teachings of his "controls." 942. This ethical preoccupation was natural to his character and time. 943. His relation to the S.P.R. 943 A. References to printed records of his phenomena, and biography. 944. The two series of phenomena-physical and trance-were intimately connected in his case, and purported to be produced by the same alleged discarnate spirits. 945. These belonged to three classes: (a) persons recently dead; (b) distinguished persons of past generations; (c) more distinguished and more remote persons, who called themselves by pseudonyms, e.g. "Imperator." 946. General account of Moses' automatic writings. 946 A. His description of the process of writing. 947. The evidence for the identity of the remote spirits is very dubious. 947 A. Case of Rector's copying from a closed book. 948. Possible explanation of some of the cases by subliminal observation and memory. 948 A. Cases from "Spirit Identity." 948 B. Other cases of veridical communications. 949. Case of "Blanche Abercromby," in which a recent death--unknown normally to Moses-was announced by his automatic writing, some of which was alleged to have a close resemblance to hers. 950. Discussion of the possible or alleged functions of the remote controls. 951. Classification of messages according to their evidential quality. 952. In some of Moses' cases, the messages were accompanied by apparitions or by telekinetic phenomena. 953. In the case of Mrs. Piper, the verbal messages from persons recently dead are of much greater evidential value; she is also alleged to be controlled by the "Imperator" group. VOL. II. b 954. Her case differs from those of Home and Moses in presenting no telekinetic phenomena, and in the fact that she shows no supernormal powers except when in trance. 955. Brief history of the case. 956. The hypothesis of fraud. 956 B. Report by the present writer. 956 A. Report by Professor James. 957. Discussion of the personality of "Phinuit." 957 A. Description by Professor Lodge. 958. During the dominance of the "Phinuit" control, the evidence for the personal identity of the alleged communicators was generally slight. 959. In the next stage—that of the "G. P." control-the evidence greatly improved. 959 A. Mr. Hart's sitting. 959 B. Mr. and Mrs. Howard's sitting. 959 C. Communications from Mr. Hart. 960. Instance of correct information, unknown to the sitter, being given. 960 A. Communications from Elisa Mannors. 961. Case of attempt to write Hawaiian : Mr. Briggs' sitting. 962. Communications from young children: Mrs. Sutton's sitting. 962 A. Dr. and Mrs. Thaw's sittings. 963. The discarnate spirits seem occasionally to manifest powers of retrocognitive telæsthesia and of precognition. 963 A. Predictions given through Mrs. Piper. 964. In the last stages of Mrs. Piper's trance manifestations, the chief controls purport to be those of Mr. Moses-the Imperator group-but there is no proof so far of their identity. 965. Trance communications from discarnate spirits must be influenced both by the subliminal self and by the organism of the medium, and perhaps may be impaired by limitations in the powers of the spirits. 966. Possession appears to have no injurious effect on the medium, but rather the reverse. 967. Coming to the part played by the spirit, it seems as far removed from modern philosophical as from ancient savage conceptions. 968. The personal identity of a spirit must connote memory and character. 969. The communications indicate some cognisance of space and time, and some knowledge both of the thoughts and emotions of survivors and of material facts. 970. Consideration of the possible difficulties of communicating on the part of the communicators. 971. They are such as might be inferred from the analogies between possession and alternating personalities, dreams, and somnambulism. 972. The relations between mind and brain may be elucidated by the difficulties shown by the spirit in using the medium's brain. 973. The spirits sometimes appear more eager to communicate than the sitters are to receive communications. 974. Conclusions which may be drawn from the phenomena recorded. 975. One obstacle to our inquiry has been the apparent want of dignity in this mode of acquiring knowledge; but the apparently trivial experiments and observations have led to generalisations of immense importance. 977. It is a phenomenon common to all religions, and hence of special importance from a psychological point of view. 978. We must now deal briefly with the subject of retrocognition and precognition; these suggest powers even more remote than telepathy or telæsthesia from ordinary methods of acquiring knowledge. 979. Retrocognition begins with hypermnesia, leading on to cases where the knowledge seems to come from the memories of other minds, embodied or disembodied, or from a direct perception of the cosmic record. 980. Precognition, starting from promnesia, leads on through self-suggestion and organic prevision, gradually involving more and more of the percipient's environment, as well as of his own history; but may even then be regarded as the result of the wider outlook of the subliminal self. 980 A. Case of Signorina Manzini. 981. Some precognitions, however, may be due to the reasoned foresight of disembodied spirits; and some may possibly be derived from spirits higher than human, or from a sphere where our conception of time no longer holds. 982. Discussion of the evolution of retrocognition from memory. central. The various stages of precognition: hyperæsthesia, peripheral or 984. The wider knowledge of the subliminal self; sometimes transmitted telepathically to others, or itself derived from disembodied spirits. 985. Direct foreknowledge of the future; the relation of this possibility to the problem of Free Will. 986. The conception of Time, as has often been suggested, may be purely subjective. 987. Our evidence seems to indicate that the spiritual world is now just beginning to act systematically upon the material world. 988. The faintness and incoherence of the messages seem an evidence of effort on the part of the communicators; but to solve the mystery fully will require the labours of many generations. CHAPTER X EPILOGUE 1000. Some attempt to place these new discoveries in clearer relation to existing schemes of civilised thought and belief is needful for the practical purpose of enlisting help in our inquiry, which has hitherto suffered from indifference rather than from opposition. 1001. The influence of the evidence set forth in this book should prompt towards the ultimate achievement of scientific dominance in every department of human study, including-as never before-the realm of "divine things." 1002. The present age is marked by a deep and widespread dissatisfaction, by a decline of any real belief in the worth of life. A similar crisis which passed over Europe once before was dissipated by the rise of Christianity. 1003. In our age the scientific instinct must be satisfied equally with the religious; any scheme of knowledge to commend itself to our descendants must be one which, while it transcends our present knowledge, steadily continues it. It is only now that this principle is beginning to be applied to the spiritual world. 1004. The conception of Telepathy is seen gradually to enlarge and deepen, proving to us at last that the kinship between souls is more fundamental than their separation. 1005. Let us suppose that whilst incarnate men have risen from savagery into intelligence, discarnate men have become more eager and more able to communicate with earth. Sporadic instances of such communication have always occurred; but the newer scientific temper-demanding not miracles, but a higher law-is not perhaps confined to this earth alone. 1006. Actual increase of our knowledge of the spiritual world, both by discovery and by revelation, is rendering possible a religious synthesis less incomplete than any which has been attained until now. 1007. By a religious synthesis I mean a co-ordination and development of all such response of the human spirit to Cosmic Law as has risen above mere egoism or revolt into co-operation and worship. 1008. I hold that this enthusiasm of response is morally incumbent on us ; since, even though the Cosmos appears imperfect, it may be destined to attain perfection partly through our own work and faith. 1009. The response actually made in the past by human spirits of high type has been, on the whole, concordant in recognising that a spiritual world underlies the material. The two leading World-Religions have developed different sides of this obscure philosophic consensus. Eastern contemplation has dwelt on the vastness of the spirit's ascent up infinite degrees of Being, to be merged at last in an impersonal All. Western worship has based on Jesus Christ's Resurrection the belief that the soul survives bodily death, and on His Revelation the belief that the world is spiritual and is ruled by Love. 1010. This dim and imperfect agreement is now supplemented by nascent discovery and revelation. From the discovery of telepathy we learn that a direct communication passes between incarnate spirits, and from discarnate spirits to incarnate. From the revelation contained in these messages from discarnate spirits, we learn in direct fashion what philosophy had suspected,the existence and influence of a spiritual world. 1011. Our new knowledge, confirming ancient streams of thought, corroborates analogically for Christianity the record of Christ's appearances after death, and hints at the possibility of the beneficent incarnation of souls previously on a level higher than man's. 1012. Passing on to the further future, it confirms for Buddhism the conception of an endless spiritual evolution, which the whole Cosmos subserves. 1013. And meantime, by its actual and ever-growing reality, the nascent communion with enfranchised spirits offers both immediate sustenance and endless development. 1014. That development must be an increase in holiness; an intensified interpenetration both of worlds and of souls; an evolution of Energy into Life, and of Life into the threefold conception of Wisdom, Love, and Joy. 1015. This process, effected for each several soul in different fashion, is in itself continuous and cosmic; all Life is developing itself from the primal Energy, and divinising itself into the ultimate Joy. Appendix A. The Function of a Society for Psychical Research. 700] CHAPTER VII PHANTASMS OF THE DEAD οὐκέτι πρόσω ἀβάταν ἅλα κιόνων ὑπὲρ Ἡρακλέος περῶν εὐμαρές. . . . θυμέ, τίνα πρὸς ἀλλοδαπὰν ἄκραν ἐμὸν πλέον παραμείβεαι; -PINDAR. 700. The course of our argument has gradually conducted us to a point of capital importance. A profound and central question, approached in irregular fashion from time to time in previous chapters, must now be directly faced. From the actions and perceptions of spirits still in the flesh, and concerned with one another, we must pass on to inquire into the actions of spirits no longer in the flesh, and into the forms of perception with which men still in the flesh respond to that unfamiliar and mysterious agency. There need, I hope, be no real break here in my previous line of argument. The subliminal self, which we have already traced through various phases of growing sensitivity, growing independence of organic bonds, will now be studied as sensitive to yet remoter influences ;—as maintaining an independent existence even when the organism is destroyed. Our subject will divide itself conveniently under three main heads. First, it will be well to discuss briefly the nature of the evidence to man's survival of death which may theoretically be obtainable, and its possible connections with evidence set forth in previous chapters. Secondly,-and this must form the bulk of the present chapter, we need a classified exposition of the main evidence to survival thus far obtained ;-so far, that is to say, as sensory automatism-audition or apparition-is concerned; for motor automatism-automatic writing and trance-utterance— must be left for later discussion. Thirdly, there will be need of some consideration of the meaning of this evidence as a whole, and of its implications alike for the scientific and for the ethical future of mankind. Much more, indeed, of discussion (as well as of evidence) than I can furnish will be needed before this great conception can be realised or argued from with the scientific thoroughness due to its position among fundamental cosmical laws. Considering how familiar the notion-the vague shadowy notion-of "immortality" has always been, it is strange VOL. II. A |