beyond the grave. It is unnecessary to say that I allude to the phenomena of so-called spiritism.

It has been customary for the Christian Church to ignore the claims of spiritists to recognition as fellow-workers in the realm of spiritual philosophy. It has derided their pretensions to an experimental knowledge of the truth of one of the essential doctrines of the Christian Church; namely, the doctrine of immortal life. It has persistently denied the genuineness of their phenomena; or, where compelled to admit the verity of the manifestations (which differ in no essential particular from those recorded in Holy Writ), it has attributed them to diabolical agency. Scientists, until within a very few years, have been content with a general denial of the existence of the phenomena, and a disdainful refusal to investigate. Their attitude is identical with that of one of their number, who, when called upon to explain the phenomenon of the fall of meteoric stones, exclaimed: "There are no stones in the air; therefore no stones fall from the air." The materialistic scientist says, "There are no spirits; therefore there are no spiritistic phenomena." Happily for mankind, and much to the credit of a vast number of consistent members of the Christian Church, as well as of thousands of the ablest scientists in the civilized world, this attitude is no longer popular, but is fast giving way to one of intelligent and honest investigation. This change is largely due to the London Society for Psychical Research, which comprises among its members a large number of scientists whose reputation as careful investigators in the realm of natural science is international. The result is that there is no longer a rational doubt of the genuineness of so-called spiritistic phenomena among those who have taken the trouble to apply the strict rules of scientific inquiry to the subject-matter. They declare that no phenomenon in the realm of physical science is better authenticated than those of so-called spiritism. This being

true, it follows that the causes must be investigated with the same care and in the same spirit of candor that has characterized the investigation of the fact; and to that end the millions of human beings who have claimed a supermundane origin for the phenomena are entitled to a respectful hearing. For, if their hypothesis is demonstrably true, the question of spirit life is no longer a speculative problem; and if it is not true, it is important that the world should know to what power or law of Nature the phenomena are to be attributed.

In dealing with the phenomena under consideration I do not propose to waste the time of the reader by the discussion of each particular phase of manifestation. A volume of the size of this would be all too small to discuss exhaustively the many-sided problem, or to explain the various characteristics of the phenomena. Besides, it would be but a repetition of what I have already done in another work.1 It will only be necessary here to discuss the one salient feature which is common to all the phenomena; and that is the intelligence which is manifested. This intelligence claims to be from the denizens of another world; and spiritists hold that there is indubitable evidence in the manifestations themselves that they proceed from spirits of the dead.

It will, however, be necessary to discuss the subject of spiritism at some length, for the reason that in the consideration of scientific problems it is of the very first importance that the phenomena under consideration should be properly classified. There are two hypotheses employed to account for so-called spiritistic phenomena. One is that they proceed from disembodied spirits; and the other is that they are produced by the conscious or unconscious

1 For a full discussion of the various phases and characteristics of spiritism and other psychic phenomena, see the author's work entitled "The Law of Psychic Phenomena."

exercise of powers inherent in the living man; and that the known powers of the embodied human soul are sufficient to account for all that is mysterious in the phenomena. Both these hypotheses cannot be true. One must be true and the other false. There can be no compromise, as some spiritists would have us believe. They are not concurrent hypotheses. They are absolutely antagonistic. Hence the importance of properly classifying the phenomena at the threshold of our argument. For if it is found that they are produced by the living, then we have a solid basis of fact from which we can deduce the most momentous conclusions regarding the destiny of man. But if it can be demonstrated that the whole, or any part, of spiritistic phenomena are produced by disembodied spirits, the whole subject is thrown into logical chaos; for a future life for man is not demonstrated by showing that spirits communicate with the living, for the very obvious reason that we still have no means of determining whether any communicating spirit is that of one who has once lived upon the earth, or is an "evil spirit," or an "elemental," or an elementary," or a devil," or any other of the denizens of the other world with which it has been peopled by superstition.

66

It is well known to all observers of spiritistic phenomena that the one essential prerequisite to their production is the presence of a so-called "medium." The term "medium" has been bestowed upon those who are instrumental in the production of the phenomena, because of the assumption that the intelligence conveyed is from spirits of the dead to the living. The instrument through which these messages are conveyed is, therefore, designated as a "medium." This term, consequently, implies a theory of causation; and as it is better to avoid giving an implied assent to any theory by the employment of a careless terminology, I shall hereinafter employ the more non-committal term of psychic to designate the person in whose presence these manifestations occur.

The psychic is usually seated at a table around which several others are gathered, and the collective company is designated as a "circle." After all are seated and quiet is secured, the psychic enters into a state which may be described by the generic term of trance. This state, it may be premised, is identical with that of hypnosis, and it varies in depth from that of an apparently normal condition to that of profound objective insensibility. This condition is selfinduced, and during its continuance various phenomena are produced; though each psychic is usually confined to one class of manifestations. In the presence of some psychics percussive sounds are heard, called "spirit raps." These are sometimes heard on the table, at other times on the floor, or on the walls, ceiling, or furniture of the room. In presence of other psychics the table is tilted, and oftentimes it levitates into the air without physical contact with any one. Some psychics write automatically; that is, they seize a pencil and write, their hand seemingly being moved by an extraneous force which acts independently of the conscious volition of the psychic.

It would be tedious even to enumerate the different forms which these manifestations assume, and it would be foreign to my purpose to do so; but there is one characteristic common to all the phenomena. They all manifest intelligence, and this intelligence is almost invariably exercised independently of the conscious volition of the psychic. If the psychic is what is known as a "writing medium," messages will be written purporting to emanate from spirits of the dead; and the information conveyed will often transcend the conscious knowledge of the psychic, and sometimes the messages will convey information not in the conscious possession either of the psychic or of any one else in the room. So perfect is the automatism of some psychics that they will write long messages, characterized by more than ordinary intelligence and by perfect coherency,

and at the same time carry on an animated conversation with others in the room, and on a subject entirely foreign to that of the message which they are writing. Others have been known to write normally on one subject with the right hand, while at the same time the left was automatically writing a message on another subject, the latter purporting to emanate from the spirit of some one who is dead.

In fact, the intellectual feats performed by some psychics almost transcend belief, and, were they not abundantly authenticated by the most severe scientific tests, would be unworthy of credence. As it is, they demand investigation by the strictest rules of logical induction, with the view of testing the validity of the hypothesis that they are of supermundane origin. In doing so we should always bear in mind the fundamental axiom of science that we have neither occasion nor logical right to attribute any phenomenon to supermundane agency if it is explicable by reference to natural laws. On the other hand, if they cannot be thus explained, those who hold to the supermundane explanation have a right to demand that their hypothesis shall be provisionally accepted. A fact is a fact, and a psychic fact is just as much a fact as a waxing and waning moon. Science has no more right to ignore the one than the other. No fact in Nature can safely be ignored, for no fact is wholly insignificant. Each is so inseparably bound up with the others that if even the most apparently unimportant fact is left out of consideration, inextricable confusion is likely to follow. An apparently insignificant fact is like a cipher in arithmetic. Separately considered, it has no value; but in its proper place it increases the value of the other figures tenfold. Drop one out at any given point, and the whole calculation results in a wrong conclusion. This is why the old psychology is incomplete, confused, and unsatisfactory. It was built up on a basis of speculative philosophy, and, necessarily, in utter ignorance of a vast array of psychic