There are here twelve miracles! Home and Iamblichus add to Mr.
Moses's repertoire the alteration of the medium's height or bulk.
This feat still leaves Mr. Moses 'one up,' as regards Home, in whose
presence objects did not disappear, nor did they pass through stone
walls. The questions are, to account for the continuity of
collective hallucinations, if we accept that hypothesis, and to
explain the procedure of Mr. Moses, if he were an impostor. He did
not exhibit before more than seven or eight private friends, and he
gained neither money nor dazzling social success by his
performances.
This page in the chapter of 'demoniac affections' is thus still in
the state of ebauche. Mr. Moses believed his experiences to be
'demoniac affections,' in the Neoplatonic sense. Could his
phenomena have been investigated by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Dr. Parker, Messrs. Maskelyne and Cook, and Professor Huxley, the
public mind might have arrived at some conclusion on the subject.
But Mr. Moses's chief spirit, known in society as 'Imperator,'
declined to let strangers look on. He testified his indignation in
a manner so bruyant, he so banged on tables, that Mr. Moses and his
friends thought it wiser to avoid an altercation.
This exclusiveness of 'Imperator' certainly donne furieusement a
penser. If spirits are spirits they may just as well take it for
understood that performances 'done in a corner' are of no scientific
value. But we are still at a loss for a 'round' and satisfactory
hypothesis which will colligate all the alleged facts, and explain
their historical continuity. We merely state that continuity as a
historical fact. Marvels of savages, Neoplatonists, saints of
Church or Covenant, 'spontaneous' phenomena, Mediumistic phenomena,
all hang together in some ways. Of this the Church has her own
explanation.
COMPARATIVE PSYCHICAL RESEARCH
A Party at Ragley Castle. The Miraculous Conformist. The
Restoration and Scepticism. Experimental Proof of Spiritual
Existence. Glanvill. Boyle. More. The Gentleman's Butler.
'Levitation.' Witchcraft. Movements of Objects. The Drummer of
Tedworth. Haunted Houses. Rerrick. Glenluce. Ghosts. 'Spectral
Evidence.' Continuity and Uniformity of Stories. St. Joseph of
Cupertino, his Flights. Modern Instances. Theory of Induced
Hallucination. Ibn Batuta. Animated Furniture. From China to
Peru. Rapping Spirit at Lyons. The Imposture at Orleans. The
Stockwell Mystery. The Demon of Spraiton. Modern Instances. The
Wesleys. Theory of Imposture. Conclusion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account