A defence of modern spiritualismWallace, Alfred Russel
Religion
A defence of modern spiritualism
Wallace, Alfred Russel
Spiritualism
3. _Trance-Speaking._—The medium goes into a more or less unconscious
state, and then speaks, often on matters and in a style far beyond his
own capacities. Thus, Serjeant Cox—no mean judge on a matter of literary
style—says, “I have heard an uneducated bar-man, when in a state of
trance, maintain a dialogue with a party of philosophers on ‘Reason and
Foreknowledge, Will and Fate,’ and hold his own against them. I have put
to him the most difficult questions in psychology, and received answers,
always thoughtful, often full of wisdom, and invariably conveyed in
choice and elegant language. Nevertheless a quarter of an hour
afterwards, when released from the trance, he was unable to answer the
simplest query on a philosophical subject, and was even at a loss for
sufficient language to express a commonplace idea,” (“What am I?” Vol.
II., p. 242.) That this is not overstated I can myself testify, from
repeated observation of the same medium. And from other
trance-speakers—such as Mrs. Hardinge, Mrs. Tappan, and Mr. Peebles—I
have heard discourses which, for high and sustained eloquence, noble
thoughts, and high moral purpose, surpassed the best efforts of any
preacher or lecturer within my experience.
4. _Impersonation._—This occurs during trance. The medium seems taken
possession of by another being; speaks, looks and acts the character in
a most marvelous manner; in some cases speaks foreign languages never
even heard in the normal state; as in the case of Miss Edmonds, already
given. When the influence is violent or painful, the effects are such as
have been in all ages imputed to possession by evil spirits.
5. _Healing._—There are various forms of this. Sometimes by mere laying
on of hands, an exalted form of simple mesmeric healing. Sometimes, in
the trance state, the medium at once discovers the hidden malady, and
prescribes for it, often describing very exactly the morbid appearance
of internal organs.
The purely mental phenomena are generally of no use as evidence to
non-Spiritualists, except in those few cases where rigid tests can be
applied; but they are so intimately connected with the physical series,
and often so interwoven with them, that no one who has sufficient
experience to satisfy him of the reality of the former, fails to see
that the latter form part of the general system, and are dependent on
the same agencies.
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