Thaumaturgia; Or, Elucidations of the MarvellousOxonian
Religion
Thaumaturgia; Or, Elucidations of the Marvellous
Oxonian
Occultism
which gave rise to another interpretation of the dream, namely, that,
when the spirit or soul of Eudemus left his body, it went thence
straight to his own house.--A cup of massy gold having been stolen from
the temple of Hercules, this god appeared in a dream to Sophocles three
consecutive times, and pointed out the thief to him; who was put to the
torture, confessed the delinquency, and gave up the cup. The temple
afterwards received the name of Hercules Indicator.
An endless variety of similar instances, both from ancient and modern
history, might be adduced of the singularity of dreams, as well as their
instrumentality in revealing secrets which, without such agency, had
lain for ever in oblivion; these, however, are sufficient for our
purpose here; and the occurrence of one of a very recent date, connected
with the discovery of the body of the murdered Maria Martin, in the red
barn, is still fresh in the recollection of our readers. That there is a
ridiculous infatuation attached by some people to dreams, which have no
meaning, and which are the offsprings of the day's thoughts, even among
persons whose education should inform them better, particularly among
the fair sex, cannot be denied; indeed, a conversation seldom passes
among them, but some inconsistent dream or other, form a leading feature
of their gossip; and doubtless is with them an hysterical symptom.
Sometimes in our sleeping dreams, we imagine ourselves involved in
inextricable woe, and enjoy at waking, the ecstasy of a deliverance from
it. "And such a deliverance," says Dr. Beattie, "will every good man
meet with at last, when he is taken away from the evils of life, and
awakes in the regions of everlasting light and peace; looking back upon
the world and its troubles, with a surprise and satisfaction similar in
kind (though far higher in degree) to that which we now feel, when we
escape from a terrifying dream, and open our eyes to the sweet serenity
of a summer morning." Sometimes, in our dreams, we imagine scenes of
pure and unutterable joy; and how much do we regret at waking, that the
heavenly vision is no more! But what must the raptures of the good man
be, when he enters the regions of immortality, and beholds the radiant
fields of permanent delight! The idea of such a happy death, such a
sweet transition, from the dreams of earth to the realities of heaven,
is thus beautifully described by Dryden, in his poem entitled Eleonora:
"She passed serenely, with a single breath;
This moment perfect health, the next was death;
One sigh did her eternal bliss assure;
So little penance needs when souls are pure.
As gentle dreams our waking thoughts pursue;
Or, one dream past, we slide into a new;
So close they follow and such wild order keep,
We think ourselves awake and are asleep;
So softly death succeeded life in her:
She did but dream of heaven and she was there."
DEFINITION OF DREAMS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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