True Spiritualism. BY NORMON LEANDER. ■ en) — lO/O PHILADELPHIA KING & BAIRD, PRINTERS, 607 SANSOM STREET. 1875. & \t> x v** Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1875, by NORMON LEANDER, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. PKEFACE. " What is spiritualism % " is a question that has been asked of late by those who never before gave any attention to the subject. The following pages will parti- ally answer that question. Recent occurrences involving the genu- iness of certain spirit manifestations, which obtained great publicity, it was supposed by many, would throw a doubt on the public mind upon the truthfulness of the whole subject of spiritualism, but such is not the case. A spirit of inquiry has been awakened to an extent never before known. Truth never suffers, its march is onward, its force irresistible. Error, (3) PREFACE. fraud, fanaticism and credulity, at times may appear to overwhelm it, but the apparent triumph will be of short dura- tion, the latter must perish. The statement headed " True Spiritual- ism," is supposed to embrace the general principles. The several chapters contain- ing brief explanations, are more particu- larly designed to call the attention of the honest inquirer to the beautiful truths contained therein, leaving him to form his own conclusions. In arranging the matter for publication, the author, of course, consulted the lead- ing works on Spiritualism, and made such extracts from them as he deemed neces- sary to fairly place the subject before the reader. Valuable aid was derived from that excellent book •' The Problem of Life PREFACE. 5 and Immorality," by Loring Moody, and from " Spiritualism/' by Edmunds and Dexter, with other standard works. The true spiritualists have no sympa- thy with modern manifestations, or with the principles and practice of certain parties who have assumed the name. A large number of persons who have made the subject of spirit manifesta- tions, in all their different phrases, a study for years, are not prepared to believe in the truthfulness of spirit materialization. To them no satisfactory evidence of its genuineness has yet ap- peared. Great difference of opinion exists on the subject among honest in- vestigators. The reader will remember that spiritualists are not responsible for the articles contained in the ' newspapers, supposed to be the organs of the be- 6 PREFACE. lie vers in the Harmonial Philosophy. The publishers chronicle the current events of the day, leaving it to their readers to judge of their merits, and are not supposed to endorse everything that appears in their papers. The genuine Spiritualist has more regard for truth than public opinion, and u In strong integrity of soul Uplifted calmly stands, and hears the words Of stormy folly breaking at his feet." No change of time or circumstances will ever alter his faith in what God in nature and his own judgment teaches him to be true. For these teachings and their author he has '? a high sense of con- scientiousness and a deep and solemn veneration." The Author. Philadelphia, February 20, 1875. TRUE SPIRITUALISM. First. That there is one vast sea of life, emanating from the Great First Cause, the Divine Mind, the Great Spirit. Second. That forms of matter are the re- sult of the operation of natural laws, unseen vital force, invisible powers, operating in this sea of life, under the guidance of Infinite Wisdom, for a purpose. • Third. That these forms of matter, from the lowest to the highest, came into exist- ence in accordance with the laws of necessity in the Divine plan. Fourth. The great centre of all things being spiritual, all power is necessarily spiritual. Fifth. That man being the highest order of organized intelligence, has a spiritual ' CD ^^ TRUE SPIRITUALISM. nature as well as a corporeal; the spiritual having an organized form, with parts and organs corresponding to those of the visible body. Sixth. That the body being but matter, is formed as a covering for the spirit by the operation of natural law, in accordance with the requirements and necessities of each individual for a use, serve its purpose, and then by the operation of the same law, dis- integrate and fade away. The living organ- ized spiritual being remains and is immortal, having continued identity, mental and moral growth. Seventh. That there is a spiritual world, a place of existence for man after he has be- come separated from the external form, with its substantial realities adapted to the wants and necessities of his continued existence. That the change called physical death, a separation of matter and spirit, is a necessity of his nature quite as much as birth, and does not essentially change the mental con- dition or other characteristics of any when experienced. TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 9 Eighth. That after the process of physical death, the condition of man in the spirit world depends not upon arbitrary decree or special provision made by a superior, but on character, aspirations and personal individ- ual conformity, to the universal divine law of his nature. Ninth. That growth and development is the law of the human being, and is the end- less progressive destiny of all. Tenth. That as individuals are continually passing from the earthly to the spirit world in all stages and conditions of mental and moral growth, the spirit w T orld necessarily includes all grades of character, from the lowest to the highest. Eleventh. That happiness and misery de- pend on the growth and development of moral purity, and there must be as many grades of each in the spirit-world as there are shades of character, each gravitating to its own place by the natural law of affinity. 10 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. Twelfth. That through the law of spiritual affinity, there may be, and, doubtless are, by mental impression or other modes of trans- mission, communications, to a limited extent, from spirits out of the form, to spirits in the form ; but these communieations are to be regarded as truths, just as communications from one person to another while on earth. Their character for truthfulness depends entirely upon the mental and moral develop- ment of both — the one that gives and the one that receives. Thirteenth, That these communications or influx of ideas and promptings from the spirit world are not to be regarded as special privileges, confined to one class of persons, but have existed and will exist through all time and among all classes of persons ; they are the operation of natural law. Fourteenth. That the chain of causation traced backward from what we see in nature leads inevitably to a Great First Cause, the fountain of life, love and wisdom, the source of all power, sustaining to all individ- TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 11 ualized intelligence, the relation of father, consequently all are brethren. Fifteenth. That man a3 the offspring of the Divine has within him a germ of divinity, which is ever prompting him toward perfection, and that all evil in man is a want of harmony with this Divine prin- ciple, caused by an undeveloped mental and moral condition. Sixteenth. That growth in goodness and truth is slow, depending, to some extent on physical organization and surrounding cir- cumstances, but mainly upon interior growth ; the ultimate destiny of all is perfection and happiness. Seventeenth. Man's highest duty in this world is to assist in the mental and spiritual development of his kind, for such is the fundamental unity of human interests. So completely are our essential lives merged into each other, that the highest good and happiness of each individual can only be ob- IS TRUE BBIRITUALISM. tained through the highest good and happi- ness of all. Eighteenth. The sufferings of this life are the necessary results of man's structure, are essential conditions of his mental, moral and spiritual culture and development ; they are part of the divine economy, and the only methods by which we can ever reach high attainments and beneficent results. No man can appreciate spiritual refinement and exal- tation, or comprehend the full measure of happiness and joy, until he has felt the sharp pangs of suffering and woe. Nineteenth. That in proportion to man's moral purity will be his happiness, here and hereafter. TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 13 CHAPTER I. First. That there is one vast sea of life, emanating from the Great First Cause, the Divine Mind, the Great Spirit. Second. That forms of matter are the result of the operation of natural laws, unseen vital force, invi- sible powers operating in this sea of life, under the guidance of Infinite Wisdom, for a purpose. Third. That these forms of matter, from the lowest to the highest, came into existence in accordance with the laws of necessity in the Divine plan. The human mind when perfectly formed, is so constructed, that it cannot depart from the idea of a First Cause possessing All Power. The source of all intelligence. A Deity. A GREAT SPIRIT. When there is real or apparent departure from this natural idea, it is only in proportion to the imperfection of the mental organization. Different nations have names for this Great Spirit, corresponding to their degree of mental and moral development. Capacity to under- stand spiritual truths. Allah, Jehovah, God, &c, each name having a signification, embracing the peculiar idea they entertain of Him. All nations use the masculine gender, growing 1 I TRUE SPIRITUALISM. out of the notion of strength and greatness. We will do the same, and use the commonly received name — GOD. Each person's conception of God, depends on the organization of the mind, the nature and character of the education, the degree of mental and moral development, and from this fact there must necessarily be great diversity of opinion as to His character and attributes. To the mind, however, unbiassed by early education or sectarian influence, capable of comprehending truth, however and wherever it may be found, God is regarded as a Great SELF-EXISTING FACT, a REALITY, a GRAND CEN- TRE, a Living Eternal Principal, possessing all power and intelligence, manifesting His will and pleasure by the operation of fixed laws, producing the different forms of matter in nature, organizing, individualizing life and mind, and imparting to each, necessary intelli- gence, according to a pre-determined plan, for a purpose. Absolute and perfect in conse- quence and results. These laws which we for convenience sake divide into Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical — laws of attraction and repulsion, centripetal and centrifugal forces, with the generative and organic processes and operations, by which spirit, mind and matter become associated, and TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 15 are brought to conscious individualized exist- ence, are but the emanations of His power and will, vital forces, natural laws, under the guid- ance of Infinite wisdom. Everything that exists is necessary. Nature, the off-spring and product of the Great First Cause, contains within itself the essential substances and properties necessary for the formation of matter. Every part of nature is in harmony with every other part. All nature is in harmony with God its author. Now if we can comprehend a great Ocean of Light emanating from the Grand Centre con- taining within it Life, Law, Order, Cause, Effect and Purpose we need go no further. Outside of this all is myth. 16 THUS SPIRITUALISM. CnATTER II. Fovfth. Tho great centre of all things being spiritual, all power is necessarily spiritual. Tower is pressure acting through space. We can think of no definition more appropriate, whether applied in a physical, mental or moral sense. We cannot manufacture power out of nothing, any more than space or matter. Coal and other combustible matter used for the purpose contain the power imparted to them by the Sun ages before ; we merely lib- erate that power pent up in the material con- sumed to procure it. The law of the conservation of force teaches that power once in being can never cease to exist. Science has given no definite answer to the question " What is the origin of power ?*' Sci- ence is an investigator into the nature of effects ; it requires philosophy to understand the nature of cause. Science will tell you, " the origin of power," as a general thing, u is heat." In its operation . upon matter the student will see the force it TRUE SPIRITUALISM. IT possesses in the expansion of bodies, and in separating the particles from each other. This, however, is merely superficial. Heat, and its apparent opposite, cold, are the results produced by certain vibrations of matter, differing in degree. The cause of these vibra- tions is a combination of different forces. The positive and the negative united form the condition of existence. God is the Great Positive. Nature pro- ceeding from Him by virtue of His creative energy is negative. The thing created can have no power, except what is imparted to it by the Creator. All one can see of nature is matter in the multitudinous shapes it assumes. It is .brought into form by the operation of invisible spiritual force. Natural law. We use the word spirit in contradistinction to matter. Spirit is associated with the idea of life, en- ergy, force, motion. Matter has none of these. The. different forms of matter are produced by the combination of different forces operating at different rates of motion. There is no power in matter per se, for the chemist will take the hardest substance, and by the application of heat, so disturb the co- hesive forces of the atoms of which different bodies are constituted, that in a short time it 2 IS TRUE SPIRITUALISM. will become dilated, reduced to a fluid, and then to an invisible gas. This* is the result of a law of nature, that is, a law proceeding from the source of all power operating upon matter. The heat itself becoming less particled, rarified, sub- limated and refined passes into its ultimate, Elec- tricity. The latter being that subtle, elastic, invisible substance which pervades all things, and enters into every avenue between the finest particles of matter. Thus the lower evidences of power containing and developing the higher, and the higher again acting on all below its elevated state of perfec- tion. Motion, the result of power, is co-existent with matter. There can be no expression of motion without matter or the reverse. They ne- cessarily exist together and are the off-spring of power. God being the Great Centre of all things. Nature being passive all power and energy proceeds from Him — the Great Spirit — and is Spiritual.- TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 19 CHAPTER III. Fifth. That man, being the highest order of organized intelligence, has a spiritual nature as well as a cor- poreal ; the spiritual having an organized form, with parts and organs corresponding to those of the visible body. S xlh. That the body being but matter, is formed as a covering for the spirit by the operation of natural law in accordance with the requirements and neces- sities of each individual for a use, serves its pur- pose, and then by operation of the same law, disintegrates and fades away. The living organized spiritual being remains and is immortal, having continued mental and moral growth. God the Great Spirit fills with Life and Light the whole universe. Life being everywhere, requires only the presence of necessary conditions and circum- stances, for its organization into individualized existence possessing the elements of both a spirit body and a material body — a spiritual nature as well as a corporeal, assuming a form that can never change its essential constitution, or the laws of its nature, preserving its identity through all time, growing in spirit, and becom- ing developed in form, as the requirements of "20 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. its nature draw to it the particles of matter necessary for its maturity. The arrangement and process for man's spiritual, mental and material organization and development, are like all nature's laws, perfect in the powers, resources and capabilities, neces- sary for his growth and structure. During this process of growth the spirit never loses its affinity for the spirit world ; and the material form or outward body its affinity for the material world. As the spirit part grows in stature and mental development, by the operation of a beautiful natural law, it is gradually covered with the materialized form, corresponding to all its requirements, wants and necessities, until it arrives at manhood, filling its desig;- nated place in God's great family. During this process of growth and develop- ment, it experiences the operation and effect of those chemical laws which necessarily be- long to the earth life. The sufferings of mind and body momentarily experienced, are part of the law of its nature, accompanying it while associated with materiality. So intimately blended are the two, body and spirit, that one is created to grow and expand with the other, and, should prema- ture dissolution take place, the spirit con- TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 21 tinues to grow and expand, assuming the characters in the spirit world that the full grown man would have occupied on earth. When it arrives at mature manhood (in the absence of premature dissolution) the work of disintegration commences, and continues un- til the spirit no longer requires the material covering; when, in obedience to the same law of its nature, the companions before so inti- mately connected, separate forever, the ma- terial part going back to the great store-house of particles, from which it was taken ; the spirit assuming its place in the new field of existence, continues in the grand march of mental, moral and spiritual development, to an extent the mind, while associated with earth, cannot comprehend. TRUE SPIRITUALISM. CHATTER IV. Seventh That there is a spiritual world, a place of existence for man after he has become separated from the form, with its substantial realities, adapted to the wants and necessities of his con- tinued existence. That the change called physical death, a separation of matter and spirit, is a ne- cessity of his nature quite as much as his birth, and does not essentially change the mental condi- tion or other characteristics of any when expe- rienced. Eighth. That after the process of physical death the condition of the man in the spirit world de- pends not upon arbitrary decree or special provi- sion made by a superior, but on character, aspi- rations and personal individual conformity to the universal divine law of his nature. The two parts of man's nature, the spiritual and material, notwithstanding their close re- lationship, keep up and maintain their distinc- tive affinities for the worlds to which their respective natures belong. Of a two-fold nature all men are entirely conscious. They know that the body will die and return to its natural element, the earth. And there are but few, if any, who have not an innate conception of a future state of ex- TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 23 istence. However much they may differ in opinion as to its nature, all agree that life is continuous. That the spirtual is everlasting. The mind, unless laboring under an imperfect condition, cannot depart from the idea of spirit perpetuity, no more than it can recede from the knowledge that the body must die. Man, therefore, is not ignorant of his two dis- tinct natures, experiencing daily the natural decay of the body, and the continuous devel- opment of the great fact that his spirit is eternal. It requires no Revelation to teach these things, for it is a law of nature with which man becomes quite as familiar as with any other feature of his existence. Indeed it would appear unnatural had man been brought into existence without this knowl- edge. Man needs no evidence but a knowledge of his own nature to prove Immortality. Now if the spirit lives forever, which all, or nearly all, are ready to admit, there must be a spirit-world in which it can reside, with sub- stantial realities adapted to its nature and wants. This requires no argument. If the spirit lives it must have a place wherein it can exist, and it is reasonable to suppose that after leaving the body, by the natural law of affinity, 24 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. it. will be conducted to a locality adapted to its condition and capacity. After the death of the body the spirit has a loftier aspiration for the good, the true, and the beautiful. A stronger desire to acquire greater knowledge of itself and surroundings. It is in compliance with this law that we sup- pose localities to exist in which the attributes, desires and characteristics of the spirit may be rapidly and distinctly developed. The beautiful laws of nature, like their Divine Author, are just and equal in their effects, and it would be incompatible with the idea of justice, to suppose that a pure spirit would be kept daily and hourly in contact with other spirits whose minds and acts were entirely opposed to its own. This would be a violation of the natural law of Progression. The following extract from a communication said to have been received by a very intelligent spiritualist (Judge Edmunds), is about as natu- ral a description of the spirit-world as we have seen. The reader will remember the proposition " that the change called physical death, a sepa- ration of matter and spirit, is a necessity of man's nature quite as much as his birth." Both are natural. " When awakening from this sleep of death TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 25 and opening his eyes to the world into which his spirit was ushered, how strange his thoughts, how marvellous the sensations which rush through his brain with lightning rapidity ! To you, who have some conception of spirit life, the ideas I have suggested will not appear so passing strange. The spirit-bond which con- nected it to matter is severed, the link of life is broken, the spirit freed is disengaging itself from its earthly trammels. There lies the body stretched in death. How unlike the spirit which is floating over it, unconscious, still unable to think, but just borne into the life of the spheres. As it floats over the body which was so lately its abiding place, there comes to it, drawn by their affection or by their duties, spirits posses- sing form and shape, beautiful beyond thought. They support this spirit-child until it recovers its consciousness, and then with the impress of the last life-thought still vibrating on its brain, with the emotions of its heart still un- subdued by death, with its whole nature pal- pitating, and even suffering at the thought of the separation from loved, aye ! fondly loved friends, wife or children, this new spirit meets the new impressions and scenes which surround it. Its agonized mind writhing with death, and with all its nature struggling within its internal, it opens its eyes to the unspeakable glories of TRUI SPIRITUALISM. a now world. Then all the spirits whoso lives are pure, whose mission being accomplished toward it, now take it by the hand, and bid it look around, and behold the things which are old become now. Think yon, with all these objects, both of spirit-life and spirit-matter, coursing their way through the several senses of its brain, there is not awakened an impulse and desire far beyond the dull and confined sensations of life? Think, too, that it is dives- ted of all the contrivances which in life so cir- cumscribed its mental action, and that its freed spirit can now quaff deep of the intoxicating draughts of joy unspeakable that are presented to it on all sides. Spirits when they awake to a sense of what they are, are not permitted to talk much, neither are their minds tasked with a succes- sion of new impressions other than those w r hich first meet the eye. After the friends have taken charge of them for awhile, they remain under their teaching for a time, not sermons or doctrines, but a sort of history of what is before them, and then they are left to the true manifestations of their na- ture. Now, if good and pure, if their minds desire the high and holy, if, in simple lan- guage, they wish to ascend, their affinities are their guide. They cannot mistake. They are TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 2T irresistibly impelled to go forward to the place where they meet with all the circum- stances and conditions which conform to their desires or the wants of their nature. Now, be it understood, spirits cannot con- ceal their true feelings like man. The fact of being a spirit opens the avenues of thought and motive to all. Thus, though their desires are as different and as varied as their forms and countenances, yet they are fully cognizant of what spirit means and of what spirit re- quires. It is this principle which impels them to locate where they will be most happy." 28 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. CHAPTER V. Ninth. That growth and development is the law of the human being, and is the endless progressive destiny of all. Tenth. That as individuals are continually passing from the earthly to the spirit world, in all stages and conditions of mental and moral growth, the spirit world necessarily includes all grades of character, from the lowest to the highest. Eleventh. That happiness and misery depend on the growth and development of moral purity, and there must be as many grades of each in the spirit world as there are shades of character, each gravitating to its own place by the natural law of affinity. That growth and development is the law of the human being, can scarcely admit of a doubt, to the mind of even moderate comprehension. We see the principle demonstrated in a ma- terial way even in the vegetable kingdom. The tendency of the mind of man, is to investigate and explore nature's laws. We can scarcely conceive of a mind entirely des- titute of an inclination to acquire knowledge. Experience being the great educator, every person must from necessity become more and TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 29 more acquainted with the physical manifesta- tions of nature, and, as knowledge is acquired, the mind becomes enlarged and rises into lofty aspirations, wishes and desires. There is no mind so enlightened, but there is one above it, more developed, more pro- gressed. Thus all advanced minds have above them others still more advanced. At the present day there are more persons moving and controlling the affairs of life ; and they are further advanced in a knowledge of physical sciences, mental and moral develop- ment, grand spiritual truths, and manifest more of the true characteristics of the proper nature of humanity, than all nations or peo- ples who have preceded them. " There is a necessity for an advance toward perfection in everything created by God. Of what purpose was it that he created worlds, and filled them with intelligent beings, capa- ble of understanding and learning from every manifestation of his power around them the effects, which certain laws he has established have produced ? Of what purpose was it that he should have created them, if he had intended that they — man or men — should have remained in a state of abeyance ? Of what use the mind ? Of what use thought ? Of what use that the sprig should have been lopped from the oak itself? 30 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. God could just as well have created man without a soul as with an intelligent one; and certainly it appears reasonable that in planting within his body a spirit susceptible, compre- hensive and intelligent, he intended that spirit should not be satisfied with learning or under- standing one fact only, and that it should not be satisfied till it had grasped everything within the scope of its faculties. If it were not intended that both spirit and matter should progress, God would probably have created man with all the powers and faculties of his nature, ready developed at his creation. For, were it denied that the intention of his creation was his steady advancement, the mind, when it had mastered one position, would have still remained the same as before it recognized a new idea. There could not have been any appreciation of anything before it, and instead of knowledge enlarging its range of desire and thought, it would have left it in the same condition as it found it." All grades of mind and character, from the imbecile to the highest order of intellect ; from the most depraved and undeveloped in a men- tal and moral sense, to the most pure and elevated, are momentarily passing from this plane of existence to the spirit-world. That world necessarily includes all grades of char- acter. TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 31 " Life in the spirit world is but a continua- tion of life upon earth, and that the legitimate object of the one is but to prepare for the other; that time on earth is but a stepping- stone to an eternity in the spheres ; that the bias and direction of the mind, and the affec- tions which it obtains on earth, make their im- press upon your existence after you have left it ; that the perversions and misdirections which you imbibe during your primary exis- tence affect and direct your life after it ; that the truths which are planted in the soul while it inhabits its tenement of clay, accompany and cheer it on its way through the long ages of eternity.' ' ^j> *f* *|* 3j€ 5|% 5}C 5JC 5^J 3|C " To ascertain what was the true mission of Christ, we should attentively consider the character of the man as given in sacred his- tory, and also in profane, and view his daily life and action in reference to the great work he was called to perform. The earliest indica- tion of any positive ministration was his teach- ings in the temple when yet a child, and when he confounded the Priest and the Pharisee. At this time he reasoned of life, death, and eternity, and the ground-work of all his teach- ings was, that the moral purity of man's life on earth was the guarantee of his happiness after death. From this period until the time 39 TRUE SPIRITUALISM, oi % his death he sought out every opportunity to utter those sentiments; and were we to take the sermon on the Mount as the solitary evidence in support of our argum'ent, we should triumphantly claim that Christ's mis- sion was the reformation of the moral condi- tion of the world ; that he taught that love, purity, truth on earth, are the incipient steps of progression ; that eternity develops no sen- timents more consonant with the nature of God than progression from these principles. The simple parable of the Pharisee and the sinner is pertinent proof of the truth. The Pharisee, satisfied with himself, desired no ad- vance, but thanked God he was not like other men ; but the sinner, conscious of his short- comings, convicted of sin, and of righteous- ness, and of a judgment to come, besought God to be merciful, to open to his mind the truths it behooved him to know, and to assist him in his earnest endeavors to progress in all goodness from life through death, onward through the spheres. What other interpreta- tion can be given of this simple story related by Christ ? The sinner lifting up his eyes afar off, cried, God be merciful ! Merciful for what ? That he might understand how to live, that his death might usher him into the liberty of life everlasting." — (Spiritualism.) TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 33 CHAPTER VI. Twelfth. That through the law of spirtual affinity- there may be, and, doubtless are, by mental im- pression or other modes of transmission, communi- cations to a limited extent from spirits out of the form to spirits in the form ; but these communi- cations are to be regarded as truths, just as com- munications from one person to another while on earth. Their character lor truthfulness depends entirely upon the mental and moral development of both — the one that gives and the one that receives. Thirteenth. That these communications or influx of ideas and promptings from the spirit world are not to be regarded as special privileges, confined to one class of persons, but have existed and will exist through all time and among all classes ; they are the op ration of natural law. In the whole range of science, philosophy and theology, there is no one thing so interest- ing, in fact, all absorbing, as man's future destiny. Let there appear but one ray of light penetrating the future, and from the least de- veloped to the towering intellect, silent, solemn attention is given. All else for the moment sinks into utter insignificance. The great problems " Where are we from ? " 3 34 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. "Who are we ? n and "where are we going"? have not yet been fully solved. If we should remain in comparative ignorance of the first and second, the third will ever be to those on earth, the same intensely interesting question. Is it a fact that those who have passed through the process of physical death and are in a spiritual state of existence, able by mental impression, physical manifestations or otherwise, to transmit their thoughts, wishes and desires to those who are yet connected with the material body, and if so under what conditions, and to what extent ? are questions now claiming more attention and consideration than any other thing. The immortality of the soul, or continued existence of the spirit of man, may be con- sidered as settled in the minds of all. Few, if any, really doubt it. While each person has a distinct individual- ized organization, no two among the countless numbers existing at any one time are pre- cisely alike. There is such a similarity in mental or- ganization, thought, feeling, aspiration, will, wish and desire, that were it not for the difference in the physical organization, it would be often almost impossible to tell one from the other. TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 35 These thoughts, likes and desires appear to run in the same groove. This is what philosophers call " affinity." Is it unreasonable to suppose that these persons when separated by the very thin partition which is said to divide the spiritual from the natural world still have an inclina- tion to commune with each other, so far as their different conditions of existence would permit ? Particularly when they had been closely allied while both were in the physical form, by love, marriage or other relationship ? Matter, Mind and Spirit are the three princi- ples constituting organized individuality. Matter we can see and feel, because it has form. We associate Spirit with form also, but Mind we cannot comprehend. It is the agent or vehicle by which communications and thought are transmitted from spirit to spirit. There is no other conceivable way. The different proportions of Matter, Mind and Spirit, constitute the different dispositions, powers, capacities, &c, of individuals. It is a well established fact, generally re- ceived as such, that there are persons (clair- voyants) at times possessing a power to dis- cern objects not generally perceptible to the senses of themselves or others, and while in that condition, their minds are greatly de- 36 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. veloped and made cognizant of principles and t rut lis, pertaining not only to the physical condition of things, but their relationship to the higher and more exalted state of exist- ence. Persons of extraordinary capacities and abilities, are endowed, more or less, with this power. Grand and beautiful truths are dis- covered while in this condition. In fact, the ability for which persons are often distin- guished is altogether owing to the fact of their possessing it. While in this developed state of mind, spirit out of the body, undoubtedly acts upon spirit in the body, producing results inexplicable in any other way. That is, an impression is made by the spirit in a more exalted condi- tion, on the inner principle of the spirit re- ceiving it. The impression creates thought, which thought becomes associated with words, and are thus communicated to others. These impressions find vent in different ways, depending upon the peculiar organiza- tion of the medium. Their character for useful- ness and truthfulness depend entirely upon the mental and moral development of the one that gives and the one that receives. All persons possess mediumistic powers to a greater or less extent. They are not confined TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 37 to a select few. Many are unconscious of their existence in themselves. They develop themselves in various ways, scarcely two being alike. Various theories have been given of the modus operandi of Spirit communication, but no one really understands or can explain the means used. The law of spirit affinity is exceedingly mysterious. We see its operations and effects daily among and between the sexes, but cannot tell the cause of its exist- ence. Upon it, however, depends the little harmony that exists among men. Whether a spirit out of the body can re- turn to the earth, draw from the elements matter to cover itself with a body similar to the one it used while in the form, with all its organs, parts and acquirements, use it as long as it wishes, and then withdraw, allowing it to almost instantly disappear and return to the source from which it came, is more than doubtful. In fact, it appears to be wholly inconsistent with the laws of nature. 3S TRUE SPIRITUALISM. CHAPTER VII. Those who have given spirit-materialization some attention, claim that spirits become pos- sessed of such an extensive knowledge and control of the laws of chemical affinity, that they are enabled to decompose and recompose solid bodies of matter, to suspend the force of cohesion, so that the particles will be for a time set free, and when they withdraw that suspension the same particles will immediately assume their former positions and relationship to each other, the body of matter returning to its exact form and shape before decomposition took place. By this means, also, they are enabled to re- move heavy bodies from one place to another. They suspend the force of cohesion, the parti- cles of matter become disconnected, the spirits then move the spirit of the body to the de- sired place, the scattered particles follow, and with unerring certainty and precision again as- sume their respective places. That spirits possess such power is highly improbable. If such were the case, the forms of matter would be, to say the least, in a very unsettled, if not unsafe condition. TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 39 That nature's laws can be suspended, and held in abeyance by spirits to such a formida- ble extent, needs confirmation from very high authority. Clairvoyants undoubtedly can see spirits, but they are not materialized ; and wherever in sacred or profane history mention is made of angels and spirits having been seen, if not wholly imaginary, it was by persons in a clair- voyant condition. The following is part of a communication purporting to come from a spirit describing the process of materialization. " In order that a spirit may present itself in what is understood as a materialized form, so as to be seen by your external visual organs, they must have their spiritual bodies covered, more or less densely, with a tangible material substance. The material substance is not drawn from your physical bodies, nor from the atmosphere, but the forces which produce it are drawn from the medium, the circle, and the atmosphere. We do not take your skin, nor your flesh and blood, to create these material forms, but we take the forces which produce these tissues in part from you. It is usual, in the first place, presenting a materialized form of a spirit, simply to cover the exterior of the bodj^ with the materials thus formed, so that you 40 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. have little more than what the artist terms ••still life," in these. We have the power, however, of materializing the internal organs; especially the organs of speech, so that spirits are able to give utterance to vocal sounds. We can also materialize the spiritual heart, blood vessels, and all the other organs, so that yon may feel the pulse and become cognizant of their existence. ******* This is in artistic work, requiring a knowl- edge of the laws by which it is performed, as well as a skill which can only be obtained by repeated practice. Materialization produced by different spirits will vary. There are numer- ous schools here in which this art is taught ; pupils are trained and sent out to practice." There are said to be many phases of me- diumship ; this opens such a wide field for credulity, delusion and deception, that it is often almost impossible to tell the genuine from the spurious. There are a few general rules, however, if closely observed by investi- gators, deception can be detected : First. Yery few mediums who follow the ex- hibition of spirit manifestations as a business, are reliable. They generally consult the will and wishes of those who patronize them. Every TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 41 honest investigator will acknowledge this to be true. Second. When mediums are scrupulously ex- acting about certain arbitrary u conditions " to be observed by the circle, it is not a favorable sign of honesty. Third. When darkness and music are re- quired for the display of spirit-manifestations, the investigator may feel assured that imposi- tion is about to be practised. Fourth. When spirits refuse in 'any way to identify themselves, give evasive answers to plain questions, or, the communications they give are shrouded in mystery, it is very seldom that the medium is not an impostor. That denizens of the spirit-world do commu- nicate by mental impression or other modes of transmission, with the spirits of persons who are yet in the material form, is a fact, so well established, no one whose opinion would be regarded as of any value, can successfully deny. Bijt it is equally true that where there is one genuine communication four are spurious. Those that are genuine contain nearly all grades of character. Nevertheless after twenty years' experience, the writer can truthfully say, that he never saw a genuine communication contain a word or sentence that was immoral. Education in the spirit- world, as it is here, is 42 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. slow of growth. The illiterate, undeveloped spirit, on its first entrance into that world, ex- periences but little change in its condition. The following communications believed to be genuine, received by a friend, is a specimen of the intellectual condition of one who had been in the spirit-world but a few months. It is given as written. He said his name was " John Jones, " had "'died in New York, in January," 18G2. The communication was received in May of the same year. " You have got to hear my story fust. I am happy now since I have larnt how fer to wrap. You must pitty my ignorence instead of laugh- ing. I can tell you, I am sorry I lived as I did ; but no decent man would speak to me when I wanted to reform, and now I am not able to converse as well as a little infant, be- cause I have no body to larn me how. Now do remember the poor; and remember that poverty makes 'em bad. You must not pass them by. I lived anywhere where they would keep me. Good-night, Sur." Through the mediumship of Mrs. Nellie J. T. Brigham, well known to the public, we have listened to many most beautiful and sublime productions of literature. Among other things, she will improvise poetry upon any subject TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 43 selected for her by entire strangers, without a moment's preparation. On one occasion when the writer was pre- sent, she asked for a suitable subject for a Poem ; there was handed her a slip of paper, upon which was written u The Water Lily." Without hesitation, delay, or apparent effort on her part, she delivered in a clear, distinct voice, the following beautiful Poem : " Dark beneath the skies of winter, Lies the sluggish water low, While the sombre clouds above it, Drifting masses come and go ; And beneath the silent water Lies a germ that is at rest, Waiting neatli the slime and darkness While hope whispers in its breast. Soon the ice of weary winter Melts and passes all away, And unfolding buds and blossoms Pave the fragrant path of May ; And the golden sunbeams quiver On the river shining through, Telling all the happy story, " Earth is fair and skies are blue." Calling, "Oh ! thou child of Heaven Light is given for thy way — Rise ! the winter has departed, Night has passed, lo it is day." 4 1 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. Then the Hstning lily rises, Climbing upward to the light, Till amid the leaves encircling Comes the blossom into sight. Whence comes all the wealth of whiteness, And the beauty of the snow, With its heart of golden glory, Where the treasured sunbeams glow ; From the dark and silent waters, From the ooze and mud below, It arose with patient toiling, Till God clothed it white as snow. So in all your grief and doubting, In this winter world of sin, Take the lesson of the lilies, All your weary hearts within. Hope through all your nights of sorrow, For a morrow bright and fair, Where the soul is lifted upward From the waters of despair. Eise though sorrow's waves are bitter ; Rise, from darkness and from wrong, Thou shalt find the smile of Heaven And thy soul shall bloom ere long, And within the land of beauty, Thou shalt find rejoicing there, Blooming like the water lily From all earthly grief and care." Mrs. B. in her normal condition makes no TRUE SPIRITUALISM, 45 pretentions to literary attainments or poetical ability. This is a common occurrence among public lecturers on the Spiritualistic Rostrum, but this circumstance is related, because it occurred in the writer's presence. Whoever has listened to the unsurpassed eloquence of Miss Jennie Leys while she was under an influence, must have felt satisfied that there was an intelligence present, far surpassing hers while in a normal condition. Those who have been in the spirit-world a long time have probably lost all interest in earthly affairs. Their high mental and moral attainments being so far above the comprehen- sion of mortals yet in the flesh, that it would be useless for them to communicate. They could not be understood. 46 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. CHAPTER VIII. Fourteenth. That the chain of causation traced back- ward from what we see in nature, leads inevitably to a Great First Cause, the fountain of life, love and wisdom, the source of all power, sustaining to all individualized intelligence the relation of father, consequently all are brethren. Does nature famish evidence sufficient to prove the existence of a Great First Cause ? Every well balanced, properly organized human mind must answer this question in the affirmative. We can only recognize Power, Intelligence, Wisdom, Mind, by signs, results, consequences. We can see the little seed placed in the ground, and from it will grow a huge tree, bearing fruit which contains within it hundreds of seeds of the same kind, any one* of which em- braces the proper elements to produce another tree. The same principle runs through the ani- mal kingdom. We see the result in the multi- tudinous forms of matter, but we cannot see the power or individual law, the operation of which produces these numerous forms. We know from observation that every blade of grass, TRUE SniUTUALISM. 41 every shrub, every tree, and every animal has a distinctive law of its nature, and these vari- ous laws work in harmony with all other laws in the economy of nature, all coming from the same power, and the various producing, generating, organizing forces having one com- mon origin. In all their operations, there is method, order, purpose, result. Philosophy can come to but one conclusion, Reason give but one solution, summed up in a few words — All nature's forms in the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms are but the demon- STRATIONS of one Grand Power, a vital force, of infinite extent and duration, possessing Intelligence, Mind, Purpose, Re- sult. This Power is the Life, the Soul, the Spirit of matter. This Spirit is our God. Each form in the Mineral and Vegetable kingdoms, and each organized Intelligence hav- ing an existence in the animal, being the result of the operation of a separate law, has its ap- propriate place in Nature's Great Structure, the smallest as proportionately important as the largest. Nature makes no distinction in the operation of her laws ; in the distribution of her favors she has no preference. The sun shines upon all 49 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. alike. The gentle showers of rain refresh the little rose in the desert as well and as cheerfully as the one in the garden. For the human family nature provides no law entailing upon one class rights, privileges and immunities more than upon others. All men are created equal, and have natural, moral, political and social rights ; the social relations being regulated by the laws of congeniality or affinity. Whenever mention is made in sacred or pro- fane history of a portion of any nation, tribe or kingdom, having been set apart for any particu- lar purpose, or where they have assumed a posi- tion in society by which they obtained legal or ecclesiastical rights, privileges or exemptions, greater than others, it is the history of a direct and positive violation of the laws of God, as manifested through nature. Whenever any government in its sovereign capacity grants special favors or exclusive privi- leges to any portion of its subjects, it is an arbi- trary assumption and abuse of power which no government has a right to exercise. It is usur- pation and tyranny, always producing a retard- ing and demoralizing influence on the people. Wherever any sect or denomination throws around itself barriers to exclude others who might wish to partake of any advantages it may have for mental, moral or social improvement, TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 49 without being obliged to submit to a particular form, or to believe in a certain creed or dogma, assumes a position in society, selfish, unwise, unnatural and unjust to all others of the same community, state or nation. The Great First Cause which we call God, being the source of all power, from which power proceeds laws that in their operation produce the different forms in nature, constituting the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, these laws working in harmony, producing proper and intended results with unerring certainty ; man being the ultimatum of all organized intelligence, and being as subject to the law of his nature as any other material form, and these laws all being controlled by Divine wisdom, constitute all men brethren, standing upon equal terms of relationship with the Great Father. 01) TRUE SPIRITUALISM. CHAPTER IX. Fifteenth, That man as the offspring of the Divine, has within him a germ of divinity, which is ever prompting him toward perfection, and that all evil in man is a want of harmony with this Divine principle, caused by an undeveloped men- tal and moral condition. Man has a natural body consisting of gross matter, and a spiritual body consisting of or- ganized matter, in a state of refined advance- ment. He has two natures, a material and a spiritual. The material limited in its dura- tion. The spiritual contains within it the essence, the Mind, the Intelligence, the Life, the Immortal Man, with perpetual, eternal 9 everlasting existence. There is in man a principle which is stronger than Reason. An activity, a Sov- ereign Energy, conscious of its own power, independence and duration. It thinks, it feels, it has judgment, it reasons. It has an innate perception that it will live forever, that it will ultimately arrive at a condition of perfection. It is above the undeveloped part of man's nature, all the other faculties consent to the pro- priety and necessity of obedience to this power. Dr. Adam Clark calls this feature of man's TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 51 organization "the will," and comments on it thus: — "There is not a man in ten millions, who will carefully watch the operations of this faculty, that will find it opposed to good, and obstinately attached to evil, as is generally supposed. Nay, it is found almost uniformly on God's side, while the whole sensual system is against Him. It is not the will that leads men astray ; but the corrupt passions which oppose and oppress the will. It is truly astonishing into what endless mistakes men have fallen on this point, and what systems of divinity have been builded on these mistakes. The will, this almost only friend to God in the human soul, has been slandered as God's worst enemy." This is but illustrating under the name of the will, the germ of divinity that is in man. It cannot do evil, but, on the con- trary, is ever prompting man to a higher, holier and happier condition. Just in proportion to the development of man's mental and moral faculties, will be the condition of his passions. Good and evil are but names for opposite conditions. As he develops the latter recedes, and the former increases ; still advancing toward perfection. Thus, man is ever progressing, and this is the law of his nature. 59 TRUE SPIRITUALISM, CHAPTER X. Sixteenth. That growth in goodness and truth is slow, depending to some extent on physical organiza- tion and surrounding circumstances, but the ulti- mate destiny of all is perfection and happiness. Seventeenth. Man's highest duty in this world is to assist in the mental and spiritual development of his kind, for such is the fundamental unity of human interests. So completely are our essential lives merged in each other's, that the highest good and happiness of each individual can only be at- tained through the highest good and happiness of all. All men grow in goodness and truth. Man's spiritual nature can never degenerate. Mat- ter decomposes and changes in form, but never grows less in quantity or value. The spirit having within it life eternal, from the neces- sities of its nature, continually increases in knowledge and wisdom, advances in goodness and truth. The physical organization of men often retard their progress. The position they occupy in life may be such as to prevent an accumulation of the elements necessary for their rapid mental and moral development, but the growth is sure, the ultimate destiny TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 53 certain. Perfection and happiness is the final condition of every child of God. In very earty life man is taught the pri mary lessons of God's great administration, as manifested through the laws of nature. The little child at first has no knowledge but its own wants. It feels its own necessities, and is eager to have them supplied; and not until it comes in contact with others of its own age, does it learn that they have wants as well as itself. Its little selfish nature prompts it to gratify its own wishes first, and even then it gives with reluctance to others. Not until it has advanced from childhood to youth, does it realize that it derives pleasure in bestowing upon its comrades that assist- ance which gratifies its own wishes. Advancing to manhood, the love of wealth, the commanding influence it gives in the world, the fascinations of power, and the gratification of distinction in life, to a great extent obscures the finer sensibilities of man's nature. It is not until the cares and troubles, the vexations and sorrows, trials and disap- pointments of life are experienced, and keenly felt ; until the cold winds and nipping frosts of life's autumn have softened and subdued the uncouth, selfish and baser passions of his nature, does man realize the great fact, that 54 TRUE SPIRITUALISM, human lives and human interests, through in- finite wisdom, are so united and merged in each other, that eacli individual can only at- tain to a high condition of goodness and hap- piness by others occupying the same position. Some will probably never be able to realize it in this world, regardless of age or experience. When man has advanced to this stand- point, and not until then, will be seen tower- ing above and completely transcending all other conceptions, the beautiful Tree of Life in all its sj^mmetrical glory, the roots firmly fixed in nature, its growth having been promoted by the fertilizing influence of charity, love, justice and the performance of good actions; its blossoms transmitting through all humanity an exhilarating fragrance of affection and kindly greeting, binding the interests, feelings and associations of men into one common brotherhood; its branches speading over all peoples, powers and principalities, " its leaves for the healing of all nations." TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 55 CHAPTER XT. Eighteenth. The sufferings of this life are the neces- sary results of man's structure, are essential con- ditions of his mental, moral and spiritual culture and development ; they are part of the divine economy, and the only methods by which we can ever reach high attainments and beneficent results. No man can appreciate spiritual refinement and exaltation, or comprehend the full measure of hap- piness and joy, until he has felt the sharp pangs of suffering and woe. Nineteenth. That in proportion to man's moral purity will be his happiness here and hereafter. The elements of which the human body are composed are found to exist in nearly all animal bodies. In fact, it is only the propor- tionate difference of the same elements, the characteristics of the mind, passion and pur- pose they are required to develop, represent, and for which they are intended, that govern the formation of the physical structure of all animals. The mind becomes lost when attempting to compute the time it required nature to prepare the material elements which enter into the structure of the animal kingdom before the 56 TRUE SPIRITUALISM; different formations were prepared to receive that living, thinking, reasoning, organized ex- istence, germ of the Divinity, which gives per- putuity to man's duration, if not to inferior animals. These great constructive processes are correspondingly destructive ; the results of the operation of a law marching on in effect with methodical precision, the commencement and duration incomprehensible to the human mind. The laws of cohesion and disintegration never cease in their operation ; the first only preparatory for the last. Nature is never at rest. All these apparent differences, tumults and commotions, are but necessary parts of the grand whole, in perfect harmony with each other, and with the plans and purposes of the Great First Cause, the Divine Origin. Nature's forms being but temporary struc- tures, serving for incidental purposes, when- ever the ends for which they were made are accomplished, disintegrate and pass off into other uses, proceeding with mathematical ex- actness. A place for everything, and every- thing in its place. Nothing comes too soon, nothing delays. It has been said that the agitations and commotions of the material world are " caused by nature seeking an equilibrium." A great TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 5? fallacy. Nature is in exact equilibrium. There is nothing out of order. No mistakes are or ever will be made. The infinite is God. The nearest the in- finite is man. We accept the idea that Man is the Ulti- mate of Nature, the Lord of Creation, and that his destiny is a perfectly formed spiritual body, a symmetrically developed mind, occu- pying an exalted spiritual position ,capable of enjoying perfect happiness, and that this con- dition is to be obtained by means of outward agents, the operation of natural laws for spiritual advancement. Man, before he is capable of enjoying an exclusively spiritual existence, must be edu- cated, unfolded, cultured, developed, until he is made conscious of his spiritual destiny and relationship with divine things. He can only be educated through experience, and for that purpose, the law of his nature requires a primary existence in a material body, through which he can receive that culture and dis- cipline that will prepare him for higher attain- ments. It is only by association with gross matter that he can learn the conditions of a lower existence, and then by these powerful agencies brought into use under the direction of Divine Intelligence, he gradually acquires a knowledge of the high purpose of his creation. 58 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. His education is compulsory. Rarely does lie consent to that thorough discipline so necessary for his advancement. The follow- ing article, published in the Philadelphia Ledger, in the issue of the 23d of August, 1873, will be read in this connection with in- terest. The author's name is not known, or his permission to use it would have been asked. " There are few of us, if any, who are suf- ficiently judicious and well balanced thor- oughly to appreciate and value the steady and unvarying discipline of nature. Because we cannot always trace the immediate connec- tion between actual wrong-doing and suffering, we are frequently inclined to consider nature's penalties stern and hard, if not arbitrary and unjust. The pain she inflicts appears to us to be often greatly out of proportion to the faults that preceded it. We see not why the accidental misstep should be visited by a broken limb ; why inherited disease should produce lingering physical agony and prema- ture death ; why simple and perhaps unavoid- able ignorance of the laws of nature should entail such untold suffering and sorrow. Per- haps one reason why it is thus hard for us to admit the constant friendliness of nature is because we mistake the office of penalty.- We mix up with it some purpose of vengeance, or TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 59 at least an intention of inflicting a justly merited and apportioned punishment for a direct of- fence, whereas the more closely we study nature's laws the more we shall find their one grand purpose to be the steady improvement and elevation of the human race. Whatever hinders or obstructs this, whether ignorance or error, or moral defection, is continually be- ing swept away, and the rude handling re- ceived is not so much in proportion to the ac- tual moral guilt incurred, as to the degree of obstruction offered to the progress of man- kind. Viewed in this light, what seems to us cruel in natural penalties, is really the largest, wisest, kindest benevolence. In many cases we can actually trace the workings of this law. We know that the failure and poverty of the idle, improvident or unskilful, however painful to them to bear, are the means by which patient industry and cultured labor are developed ; that the physical sufferings that follow ignorance of nature's laws, are the strongest incentives to the study of those laws; that even the severity which sends to an early grave the feeble and diseased off- spring of unhealthy parents, or by an epi- demic, weeds out so large a portion of the in- temperate, vicious, and uncleanly, really puri- fies the community and leads them into improved conditions of life. GO TRUE SPIRITUALISM. The farther we progress in knowledge the more we see and understand that the apparent cruelty of nature in her penalties is but the necessary means of working out a happiness real and permanent, because founded upon the eternal laws of being. If this be so, we may well trust nature where we cannot trace her, and believe that it is only because of our limited vision that we can ever deem her hard or unkind in any of her dealings. Could we thoroughly acquire this state of mind, it , would counteract the tendency that is so com- mon to interfere between cause and effect, and to dissociate ignorance and error from their natural penalties. Many of the reforms of the clay, and much of the private benefi- cence of the world, loses its value from thus striving to prevent this natural sequence, and to save individuals from the results of their own conduct. The indulgence which surrounds the petted child of wealth with luxury, and shields him from every pain, is not real kind- ness, but cruelty. His powers, never tested, can never be developed; his faculties, unused, cannot wake into living action, and the only true happiness of man is that which comes from the full exercise of all his faculties. The indiscriminate charity which feeds idle- ness and nourishes vice, thus warding off for a time the penalties of both, is an actual injury TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 61 both to the receiver and the community. All efforts to coerce men into good actions with- out establishing good principles, to restrict their freedom so that they cannot reap what they have sown ; all flattery, insincerity and deceit ; all excess of government ; all measures which tend to reward ignorance, and put it on a par with wisdom and ability, are of this character. Instead of nature being cruel in visiting ignorance, error and misdoing with penalties, it is we who are cruel in striving to subvert her fidelity. It is, however, impossi- ble to suspend nature's discipline long, if we could. There will ever be a reaction, and she will reassert her authority in spite of all our efforts to dispute it. Her laws are as inexora- ble as they are beneficent, and when we try to subvert them we are but beating against the waves. It may be said, what room is there left for human benevolence? If nature's penalties are the best and surest means of human progress, and to avert them is but to hinder it, it might seem that no outlet was left through which we could help or benefit our fellow crea- tures. But this is not so. Every impulse of benevolence has a channel through which it may flow unimpeded to bless mankind. Not by divorcing folly from its fruits, not by in- terfering with natural results, or averting na- ()2 TRUE SriRITUALISM. I urn I penalties, can we do good, but rather by making these results clear to the minds of others, by endeavoring to dispel ignorance, en- lighten error, and convince men of the inevita- ble results of wrong doing. It is true this work is difficult, while the other is easy; but it is permanent, while the other is transient ; it strengthens the roots of character, while the other spoils the bud by forcing it open. It is comparatively easy to relieve the immediate wants of a beggar, but to raise him from beg- gary to self-support, to set before him the degrading results of idleness, and the blessings of honest industry, to excite within him better aims, these are tasks at once difficult and worthy of endeavor. To shield a criminal from the consequences of his crime is at least a questionable benevolence, but to convince him of his wrong doing, and incite him to re- form, is a noble enterprise. To guard a child from evil is a small and negative work, but to give him the power and the will to resist it is a great and permanent blessing. It is in at- tacking the roots of evil, not in warding off its penalties ; in dispelling error, not in avert- ing the consequences; in instructing ignorance, not in saving men from its effects, that true benevolence, thus working with and not against nature's kind and loving laws will accomplish her mission of good to the world. " TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 63 CHAPTER XII. How thorough is man's discipline! How complete the means used for the purpose ! How permanent and lasting his education ! All scientific knowledge ; all facts necessary for the advancement and elevation of humanity ; all great spiritual truths man has obtained through the means of danger, trials, difficul- ties, disappointments, blood, racks, gibbets, revolutions, convulsions, earthquakes, and other troubles and vexations incident to human na- ture, which are apt to be termed accidents, miracles, unnatural causes, &c, yet when un- derstood and viewed from a proper stand-point displa} r the wisdom and benevolence of the Deity as much as those called blessings. " I come not to send peace, but a sword," said Christ. " For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter at vari- ance against her mother, and the daughter-in- law against her mother-in-law." This state of affairs always existed. There never has been a time when the human family lived in peace ; there never was a time when 64 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. a single family dwelt together in perfect harmony ; kinsmen, friends and neighbors, never lived on terms of friendship for any consider- able length of time. The pretended fondness of the two sexes for each other, is, to a very great extent hypocrisy. The great difference in likes and dislikes that exist between man and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, the want of con- geniality between brothers, and between sisters, is a fact transparent to all. The duplicity, deceit, envy, hatred, malice, back-biting and hypocrisy in every possible phase, common among mankind, is part of his nature. No human laws can ever reform the drunk- ard, debauchee, thief or the liar. They can be punished by the force of statutory enactments, but their dispositions can never thereby be changed. No moral reforms were ever brought about by legislation, church discipline, or the en- forcement of plenary decrees. Why does this condition of things exist ? We are living in the cellar kitchen. We are in an undeveloped condition. The Planet is not capable of producing a higher order of men. These apparent deficiencies in the great human famity cannot be prevented ; it is man's natural TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 65 condition. The tree can at present produce nothing but unripe fruit. The material world must reach maturity before it can produce the full grown man. The supposed evils incident to this state of existence are not really enemies of humanity. If they were not necessary to our present condi- tion they would not exist. " Life is but a battle and a march." These trials and difficul- ties are but gymnastic exercises, training us for a higher and more spiritual existence. They are the means by which we progress. Our failures in life are our successes. Our losses, our richest gains. Our greatest advances are over the ruins of cherished schemes. The more we suffer in this world the faster we will progress in the next. One of the attributes of the Divine Mind is Justice. Whatever may be the difference in the or- ganization of men, their condition in life, or their natural propensities, each one has to undergo the necessary discipline to qualify him for a higher life. Whatever may be the length of time required ; whatever may be the condition we are in, or the surrounding circumstances ; however rugged may be the paths we have to tread, or the apparent difficulties in our way, the great law of Jus- 5 66 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. tiec demands no more from each one, and will take no less than is exactly necessary to qualify us for the purpose for which we are intended. For a wilful and malignant wrong against a fellow-being, or for a direct and positive violation of a law of one's nature, there is no forgiveness. Nature's demands are inexorable ; they admit of no compromise ; they will listen to no reason ; they will have the uttermost farthing. For a departure from the laws of eternal right, the penalty follows the trans- gression to an extent commensurate with the offence, and no more. We must be perfected through suffering- Justice accepts of nothing but compensation. A quid pro quo. TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 6T CHAPTER XIII. When in the course of events, mental, moral or social reform becomes necessary, or great changes in the condition of things are to take place, Divine wisdom, through nature, furnishes the proper persons and the neces- sary means for their accomplishment. These persons are raised up generally from obscure places in society, but their organi- zation and mental development, place them far in advance of the age in which they live. In this consists their superiority. The world, not seeing as they see, know- ing as they know, feeling as they feel, re- gard them as enthusiasts, mystical and vis- ionary in their ideas, doctrines and theories. They are subjected to humiliation, repulsion, dislike and insult, sometimes to imprisonment, and even torture. The multitude is slow to learn, jealous of superiority, and with a super- abundance of selfishness, enyy and conceit, are loath to see others in advance of themselves. The teachings and motives of these ad- vanced persons are misunderstood, misinter- preted, and however much merit or intrinsic 68 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. value there may be in them, the ignorance of the great mass may for a while retard their progress. But truth is powerful and will prevail. Just as fast as the people are prepared for it, they receive it, and although these persons possessing great comprehensive minds, excel- ling in wisdom and goodness may temporarily suffer persecution at the hands of the ig- norant and bigoted fanatics, their brilliant thoughts will live, and throw light into the dark corners of superstition, credulity and ignorance, and their influence and excellence will be transmitted down the current of time, sending a thrill of delight, admiration and life to thousands of kindred spirits ages thereafter. The world must and will progress. It mat- ters but little what name is given to progres- sive movements, they are the natural outflow of a great, irresistible, spiritual power. The life, the soul, the divine energy, operating through natural laws, for uses, purposes, ends, results, consequences ; manipulating and con- trolling all organizations of mind and matter, governments, kingdoms, systems and combina- tions. The whole in minutiae and detail, feels the vitalizing, life-giving, developing effects, invigorating and enlightening the intellectual faculties, entering into the field of perception TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 69 and consciousness, promoting and advancing to a superior state of existence, enabling all eventually to comprehend from a philosophic and scientific stand-point, principles, causes, effects and their results; creating within the mind holier and more sublime aspirations, wishes and desires, for elevated and exalted spiritual attainments and conditions. 70 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. CHAPTER XIV. Knowledge in former times was confined to a few. Now, on this Continent at least, by the aid of public schools and other modern facilities for acquiring information, the minds of the people have become stimulated to a high degree, and in all conditions of life may be found persons with thoughtful, well-informed, philosophical and even scientific attainments. From the most unpretending to the giant intellect, the great subject which has most oc- cupied the human mind, is " Immortality." Does man exist after life's fitful fever shall have been ended ? If a man die, shall he live again ? These are the great questions which have in the past, and will in the future ages of the world, overshadow all others. The learning, the talent, the genius of the world have assembled to solve the great prob- lem of man's genesis, object of life, and his destiny. The combat with superstition will doubtless be fearful, but the issue is by no means doubtful. Ignorance, credulity, bigotry, intolerance, religious fanaticism, and all enemies of truth, must give way and forever perish. TRUE SPIRITUALISM. 71 The fabulous stories which have been repre- sented as "Revelations of the Divine will to man/ 7 have ceased to be regarded with the veneration our forefathers surrounded them. This is the age of facts, and facts are stub- born things. That system of religion or morals which will not stand the test of reason, should not be allowed to exist. The battle in which Reason and Credulity are the contending parties, is being fought with great fury, but the contest will be of short duration. Never was there a combat between truth and error but the former was triumphant. The spiritual part of man's nature demands a religion recognizing, a Common Fatherhood and a Common Brotherhood. All opposition to this reasonable, but power- ful demand, must eventually yield. Caste has had its day, and will soon be num- bered among the things of the past. The spirit of the present age is analytical, thorough, satis- fied with nothing but what has truth for its foundation. It disregards the stronghold au- thority, and laughs at tradition. Its only standard is reason ; it encourages the inde- pendence of the many, instead of recognizing the power of a few. It worships God through nature, by being obedient to nature's laws. 72 TRUE SPIRITUALISM. This is honoring the Diety, and is in har- mony with his will. The result of this mighty growth of mind is first, to sweep away old errors ; next, the accumulation and arrangement of facts with which to form a practical religion that will develop and familiarize the human mind with all the beautiful truths adapted to the wants and necessities of man's nature while associa- ted with materiality, and to cultivate within him grander, higher and more noble aspira- tions for a future spiritual existence. Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Nov. 2004 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111