,^ «|: "of -'Air *•*«« :'«« The Great Unconscious Philosophy OF THE Great Unconscious Samuel Eugene Stevens, M. D. BOSTON Old Corner Book Store 1908 a>*fc - of 00N6RESS.I i I wo yooies »e»;us>'^ ■j OCT 18 ^U& Copyright 1908 by Samuel Eugene Stevens All Rights Reserved MUNSON PRESS NORTHAMPTON, MASS. To J. M. Days of comradeship and love, When life and thought were free — A dream of hope, a dream of love, A treasured memory. Preface This book is by no means a sustained or exhaustive effort, as the somewhat ponderous title would indicate ; but rambling impressions, taken down as they occurred, without much attempt at classification, and for the most part, without revision. However imperfect and fragmentary, it is a privilege to leave some written record of doubt, if not of knowledge ; a hope, a hypothesis, a dream, a perhaps, a prophecy of something that may possibly prove to be true. S. E. S. River Side Hanover, N. H. Introduction A LENTIL the middle of the nine- •I CI teenth century, it was supposed ^rw throughout Christendom, that the problem of existence was settled for all time by the book of Genesis. To be sure, a few had dared to think and doubt, and some had dared to die. But a sun full of light was at length thrown on the whole problem by a careful study and interpretation of the incorruptible revelations of Nature, establishing the fact of evolution in place of special creation ; and it is now no longer a crime, but a duty, to doubt and question, not only " Hebrew tradition," but all authority : to enter- tain views and reach independent conclusions upon all subjects. 12 Philosophy of the With no reserved rights, the whole realm of thought is open to scientific research, determined by which, all systems must stand or fall. Infinity encompasses and stretches away from us in every direction — infinite time, space, matter ; the in- finitely large, the infinitely small. What ? Whence ? Wherefore ? Whither? . . . What is matter? What is space ? What is energy ? What is electricity ? What are atoms ? What is life ? What is con- sciousness ? . . What was the origin of it all ? What will be the end ? Can that which is infinite have had a beginning, and can it have an end ? Great Unconscious 13 To all these interrogations Theol- ogy assumes the existence of " God," removes its spectacles, and calls the problem solved. And no doubt the unthinking mass of mankind will continue to accept and be satisfied with the solution con- tained in some so-called supernatural revelation. But it is beginning to dawn upon the mind and understanding of the average school-boy that the facts of Nature come only by observation and experiment, and that a Biological laboratory is a more promising place for obtaining facts than a Sunday- school Bible class. We do not know and cannot com- prehend ; but if it becomes essential for mankind to know — infinite Nature will evolve an organ of mind that can comprehend. 14 Philosophy of the A part of the infinite, man's possi- bilities of knowing must be infinite. What has taken ages to evolve a wish to understand, will require ages to develop ability to understand. The great Hseckel says: "There is no scientific problem which we may dare to say the mind of man will never solve ; no mystery so deep or profound ; no question ever has been or ever will be asked, but a mind or brain will be evolved and developed capable of solving and answering." In the meantime, " We are not bound to entertain a supernatural theory merely because we have not yet found a natural theory." Great Unconscious 15 Wonder and doubt are the begin- nings of knowledge. It is possible for any ordinary ob- server of the various phenomena of Nature, with which he is surrounded, and of which he is a part, to discover fragments of truth leading ultimately to a correct interpretation of these phenomena, and to the establishment of important scientific facts. Evolution of the Conscious AI^ herents, or because things have been always believed by everybody, is no sufficient reason for blind acceptance ; but the best reason in the world for doubt. Men often sacrifice everything for what they believe just and true, which afterwards proves to be unjust and false. Religious dogmas, for which thous- ands have been willing to die, and for denying which hundreds of thousands have been compelled to die, are new no longer entertained. What people believe, or have believed, however sincerely, has therefore but little weight in getting at facts. 66 Philosophy of the As a general rule, the less people know the more they believe. Belief is not knowledge. Knowl- edge consists in absolute, indisputable facts. Fact does not need faith to make it so. When a thing is proven to be a fact, it is no longer a subject of belief, but of knowledge. We do not say we believe two and two make four ; we know it to be a fact. While knowledge is know-so ; belief is hear-say, say-so, think-so, guess-so, suppose-so, and hope-so. The world needs more knowledge of fact, less faith in fable. Fed on fiction in early life, we lose taste for facts, and spend the last part of life trying to unlearn what has been learned the first part. Great U n conscious 67 Faith and credulity have been a curse to the world ; doubt and disbe- lief, a blessing. There is hope when man begins to doubt, when dogma begins to disintegrate, when day begins to dawn. AL,L ecclesiastical authority that has blighted hope and humanity by preventing free thought and scientific progress, was derived primarily from books believed to be of supernatural origin, — contain- ing many absurdities and obscurities, now and then a rhapsody, and here and there some saving clause of ethics, — but not enough to redeem from rivers of blood, oceans of agony, and wilderness of error, caused and promulgated. 68 Philosophy of the A product for trie most part of priest-craft — it has not been the study of bibles, or the observation of creeds that has improved the condition of mankind in modern times, but greater knowledge of Nature. Theology kept man mumbling prayers, counting beads, and droning litanies eighteen hundred years. Science taught him to harness steam and electricity to the car of progress, revolutionizing the world in a generation. A dynamo is of more practical use than a deity. m E ARE not called upon to be foolish or credulous, in order to be good and true. We are not called upon to adopt or reverence or waste time on any system of " Revealed religion," ancient or modern, Jewish or pagan. Great Unconscious 69 We are not called upon to believe in any book, or to have faith in any- thing, not in harmony with Nature, reason, and common sense. We would substitute reason for revelation ; the divinity of Nature for the divinity of scripture ; a God-like man for a man-like God ; Darwin and the scientists for Moses and the prophets. To know the history and understand the nature of a pebble or grain of sand on the sea-shore, would be far more interesting and important than to understand the contents and know when, where, and by whom all the bibles and so-called sacred books in the world were written. There is more inspiration in the leaves of the pale blue Forget-me-not, than in all the leaves of "Holy Writ." 70 Philosophy of the ^•fHKRE is in Nature a higher I | authority than found in any ^■^ book, or formulated in any creed. There never has been and never will be, a supernatural event in all the wide universe ! There never has been, and never will be, any such thing as a super- natural revelation ! Beliefs, books, systems, sects, creeds, and churches, are not sacred ! Justice, honour, love, liberty, friendship and truth, alone are sacred ! Great Unconscious 71 Truths of Science are sacred ! Nature alone divine ! Man's power over the forces of Nature are in proportion to his knowledge of Science, rather than faith in the supernatural. All practical knowledge has been gained by a critical study of the great unwritten revelation of Nature ; a revelation of unchangeable, invariable immutable order. The mission of education is to acquire and spread a correct under- standing and interpretation of this infallible record, — the basis of all Science, and of all true religion — a record which no church council can change, or ecclesiastical synod corrupt. 72 Philosophy of the While the chief business of tran- scendentalism is to revel in the remote and mysterious, forever exploiting the unknown and unknowable, the mission of Science is to account for natural phenomena ; and in so doing, to clear up mystery, dispel illusion, and eliminate the supernatural from Nature and human life — thus imparting to Nature itself an infinitely greater significance. * * # # So many errors are entertained be- cause they have been entertained, and for so long a time ! So many things are believed because they have been believed, and from pure assertion ! So much faith in fable, the more fabulous, the more faith ! The greater the errors, the more false and fallacious, the larger the following ! Great Unconscious 73 The only hope of the future is in Science. As it becomes exact and all-embracing, it must become the foundation of all social and moral life and action. Scientific truth is the only thing about which there can be no division. We must look to it alone to unite the views of all men. Its object is not to induce people to believe, but to enable them to know facts, which must inevitably supplant creed and credulity. ^•^HERB can be no controversy I between Science and true 0^?} $ religion. A person may be religious without being at all theo- logical, — much more sincerely so. 74 Philosophy ofthe We can love all that is good and true, without accepting anything that is false or unreasonable. Hence the elimination of the super- natural from the universe, need not disturb the sincere moralist. He should help <{ Ring out the false, ring in the true ; Ring out the old, ring in the new." He should help disencumber re- ligion of the effete and artificial dogmas of a dead past ; the cause of division and strife, and a hindrance to healthy moral and scientific progress. Have faith in facts. Trust the truth. All that is worth while will survive. All that is worthless must perish. Great Unconscious 75 CIENCE is alone satisfied with knowing ; theology with assuming. Science demands facts ; theology, faith. The one appeals to reason ; the other to revelation. ' ' The study of Science never breeds crime or criminals." A lover of Science is a lover of Truth. Men of Science are men of simplicity and purity. " Great teachers of Science are high priests of Nature ; associating with whom one can but imbibe some of her sacred truths." 76 Philosophy of the /•^NTRENCHED ecclesiasticism, #1^' in wrongful control of most ^^f higher educational institu- tions, has always opposed any scientific truth which might in any way disturb its claims. As a result, or in consequence of this opposition, Science has never been allowed a hearing until recent years. Even now there are but few if &ny universities where its teaching is unrestricted, and free thought encouraged. Why has mankind been more ready to accept the theories of transcendent- alism than the plain facts of Science ? Is there anything more sacred than truth ? 11 So far from Science being irrelig- ious, it is the neglect of Science that is irreligious." Great Unconscious 77 It often requires greater moral courage to openly accept the truths of Science than to acquiesce in the popular dogmas of theology. The martyrdom of Bruno is an illumined page in the annals of religious bigotry illustrative of this fact. What lover of truth and free thought, in visiting Rome, however much he may admire its wonderful art and architecture, will not pause in supreme reverence before the statue which Free-thinkers of the whole world have erected to his memory, — " The first martyr to Science " — there, in the shadow of the Vatican, on the very spot where over three centuries ago he had been burned at the stake ! For what ? For proclaiming one of the greatest scientific truths of all the ages. 78 Philosophy of the The wonder is that an institution, having the record of such a crime, can still survive and command any respect among thinking men. If it had been possible for mediaeval Europe to produce such a man as Darwin, he, too, with all his works, would have likewise perished. As it is, nothing ever created so much commotion among the dry- bones of theology as the theory of evolution. It not only involved the dogma of special creation, but of the creator himself, and hence met with bitter denunciation by the churches. But in spite of all opposition, this great vital truth of Nature has grad- ually won its way to universal acceptance, and come to be the foundation of all true philosophy. Great Unconscious 79 A^I^HEN the clergy saw the tide 411 going against them they be- ^ ▼" gan trying to hedge and harmonize. As Huxley says, " The church first said evolution was absurd. Then, it was contrary to the Bible. Finally, ' We always knew it was so.'" <4 At first, she said she wouldn't ! Then she said she couldn't ! And then she said * I'll see !' " However, theology is no longer synonymous with morality and religion. It no longer has the whole moral and religious field to itself — since there can be no contradiction between Science and true religion. The controversy is between Science 80 Philosophy of the and superstition. As Science con- tinues to reveal and prove the facts of Nature, its triumph must be complete. Controlled by no hierarchy, free from fanaticism and crime, fearless of facts — the object of Science is not to conceal or evade, but to enlighten and improve the condition of mankind in every way — moral, mental, and physical ; in developing and utilizing the material forces of Nature, in lessening disease and alleviating pain, in lifting the burden of toil, in giving a clear and exact inter- pretation of all phenomena, and demonstrating the why and wherefore of all things. The world, old in religion, is young in Science! The future is full of hope! Life may yet be worth living! Great Unconscious 8 1 ^*d¥ THE assumptions of theology ffl and metaphysics were as v2/ susceptible of verification as those of physiology and physics, there might be hope of harmony in place of a bedlamic jargon of absurdity and obscurity. Theology rests on supposition and presumption, is propagated by asser- tion and assumption, and accepted by the ignorant, credulous and unthinking many, for the sake of the church. Metaphysics rests on the intangible shadow of nothing — unreasonable, unthinkable, unintelligible — the per- quisite of priest, pedagogue and pedant. Science rests on facts, obtained by observation and experience, and appeals to the reasoning few, for the sake of truth and humanity. 82 Philosophy of the If nothing but absolute truth had been uttered or taught by the clergy during the past two thousand years, what great peace the world would have enjoyed, and how much misery would have been avoided. If religious teachers of to-day were to confine themselves to theological facts, they would be mute forevermore. If metaphysical philosophers were to express themselves intelligibly, they would cease to be metaphysical. " Whatever is true can be made clear." The real, essential and useful, are clear and comprehensible. The un- real, non-essential and useless, are obscure and incomprehensible. The transcendental is unreal, impractical, obscure, incomprehensible and worse than useless. Great Unconscious 83 ^ff DEAUSTIC philosophy is a ^1; theologico-metaphysical morass v2/ in which souls are becoming waterlogged, petrified, fossilized and lost. An interminable mass of subtilties and sophisms, designed to darken understanding rather than enlighten by a clear statement of facts. A mental gymnastics in word jug- glery, no doubt necessary for those preparing for the ministry, but meaningless and mind-destroying to those in search of truth. Treating of the non-existent, in winding mazes lost, it easily finds any meaning or no meaning in everything or nothing. While the real law and order of Nature is susceptible of demonstra- tion and proof, the theories of idealism can only be assumed. 84 Philosophy of the Have faith — not in the fallible assumptions of man, but in the in- fallible record of Nature ! Doubt the dreams of dreamers, of transcendentalism, of metaphysics ; but do not doubt the natural senses, evolved by the great unconscious forces and phenomena of Nature, through which alone we communicate or take cognizance of the same. But, after all, there are so many "dumb driven cattle* ' who never think, or think only of profit and loss, or of something worse, — stumbling on, they know not where, they care not how, surrounded by so much that is mysterious and unaccountable — the few who try to think — the wildest dreams of mysticism even, are worthy of respect. Great Unconscious 85 Presumptions are preferable to no ideas whatever. All the vagaries of all the idealistic mind-worshippers before and since Descarte, including that of "Christian Science," have been and are of great advantage to mankind — helping to disintegrate old systems. To think is to evolve; and at length from a higher, broader point of view, all apparent contradictions in the philosophy of existence will be made to harmonize. There must be primitive facts from which to infer all others. These facts will be found ! Truth must appear ! Negative knowledge finds the super- natural everywhere in Nature. Positive knowledge finds the natural everywhere in Nature. The more knowledge of Nature, the more faith in her infinite possibilities . The more knowledge of the real, the less faith in the transcendental. Chemistry, Physics, Biology — sacred trinity — knowledge of which will explain all things. ^%ffAN cannot divest himself of 1 ■ ■ t ^ ie ^ ea that ne is the image M*?^ of a personal creator, and thus has created a Creator in his own image. The orthodox formula, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth," meant some- thing fifty years ago. In thus assuming the existence of a personal creator, theology attempts to account for one unaccountable phenomenon, by another, equally unaccountable. A product of primitive ignorance, the God idea, however modified by modern metaphysics, must be wholly eliminated before a correct under- standing of Nature can be reached. 88 Philosophy of the Surrounded by mystery, we need not call it God ! We do not know ! Not knowing we aspire. We should not assume another mystery, and think we know, and cease to think. But mankind find a deity in what they cannot comprehend : begin to grovel, cease to think, accept theology and are satisfied. Science, however, in demonstrating that motion and creative energy are inherent in atoms, acting independ- ently of any higher power, has established the fact of a purely natural cosmology, about which transcendentalism has been assuming and guessing for ages. The universe is infinite, therefore could not have been created. Great Unconscious 89 — — — — — ^— i The germ of all life is in Nature, to be developed under favorable conditions. And although we may not now be able to trace the entire process of its inception, we are sure it is not supernatural. With inherent power to evolve a world, Nature hath also power to fill it with life and beauty. All organic life, conscious and un- conscious, is an inevitable result, not of plan or design, but of conditions and environment. When conditions were right, life appeared. In the final analysis all the processes of organic and inorganic Nature are alike inherent in its elements. There is no myth or miracle, deity or demon connected with the process, but natural cause and effect. 90 Philosophy of the Such common kinds of everyday- stuff as air and water, are essential to all organic life. Air, earth and water teem with life, animal and vegetable, visible and in- visible. Wherever there is light, heat and moisture, there is life. Kissed by the virile rays of the source of all energy, the earth in spring-time responsive wakes to life and beauty. But if yon sun should cease to shine a year, — oh where would all this life and beauty be ! And oh ! How many budding springs have come and gone, — will come and go, — that we have never known — will never know ! Touched by the finger of The Great Unconscious — to what a dream of beauty the October hills will become transformed — just the same, when we are gone ! Great Unconscious 91 «P*|IVESTED of the idea of a III personal creator, how much ^^^ more divine doth Nature her- self become — plastic in whose hands, organs of sense and ganglia of consciousness are formed and fashioned, whereby we may perceive, love and adore. Alone with The Great Uncon- scious — alone with Nature anywhere — we feel her infinite vastness, and find unfailing rest in all her wild harmonious sounds ; companionship and peace in all her varied moods and phases. Iyive close to Nature ! Yield to her subtile influences ! Get in accord with her grand yet simple harmonies ! Thus inspired with finer impulses, be able to think and act more unerringly. 92 Philosophy of the However kind and restful Nature may be — no one can afford to ignore or take chances with her invariable order. The ruthless ruin wrought by the elements is evidence that no personal intelligence is in control, but uncon- scious force alone. It is well enough to recognize the fact that this impersonal, creating and destroying power, is unmoved by supplication or entreaty ; heeds not profanity or praise ; destroys not the wicked, protects not the good. Prayer, potent through reflex action only — dies on the lips, in presence of this great unchanging and unchange- able order ! Great Unconscious 93 Man's only salvation is in understanding — and learning to live and act in harmony therewith. Non- observance is unpardonable ! A plea of ignorance will not avail ! "The Moving Finger writes; and having writ, Moves on : nor all your Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all your Tears wash out a word of it." Ethical and Social He who says or does something which causes men to think and aspire, has not lived in vain. ^^■T'HK physical law and order of I J the universe is immutable. ^■^ The so-called moral law, in process of evolution, is more or less mutable. One is primary, the other secondary ; one pertains to the con- scious, the other to The Great Unconscious. As there is nothing supernatural about the physical, so there is nothing supernatural about the moral order ; it, too, has a purely natural source, developed with the social condition of man. A creature of circumstances, a product of evolution and environment, morally, mentally and physically — man is not to be blamed or praised for natural qualities, good or bad. 98 Philosophy of the Powerful psychological influences often produce a radical change in the feelings and sentiments of the natu- rally vicious, which may be lasting. Faith and hypnotic suggestion are dominant factors in all marvelous cures and conversions. But as a general rule the moral and social improvement of mankind has been a process of growth and development. If in the regular order of Nature a higher type of manhood is being evolved, it becomes a duty, as well as a privilege, to co-operate in thus improving the race. Great Unconscious 99 If survival of the fittest is the order of Nature, be a circumstance, and make as many fit as possible. But when it is claimed that the God of the Hebrews begat a son, superior to natural law, subverting the same, with the remote possibility of ' 'saving" a small fraction of the human family on condition of faith in a creed, we are simply unable to co- operate in the "scheme," because involving so much that is contrary, not only to the great unchangeable order of Nature, but to reason and common sense. Some such supernatural assump- tion has been the curse of all religious systems. ioo Philosophy of the flV^O DOUBT the person in whose iLil name the great Christian ^*^1 hierocracy has been built up, lived and died a martyr to the unselfish. Burdened with a message, leaving his home in Galilee and going to the great metropolis to suffer and die — misinterpreted, misunderstood, mis- represented — then as now. A personality more ideal than real, — there is something extremely pathetic about the story, which tradition has handed down, of his brief ministry and tragic end. A life of simplicity and service — A ministry of forgiveness and love — . . . . with no abiding place. In great contrast with what now prevails among those claiming to be his followers. Their sumptuous Great Unconscious 101 homes, magnificent churches and complex systems of dogmatic the- ology — a combination of Judaism and Paganism, much more objectionable than the priest-craft which he denounced, and from which he tried to deliver his people. His mission was not to establish a sect or system, but to do away with all sects, systems and creeds, and substitute in their place, kindness and cleanness — that is all. That high mission must not fail ! It will not fail ! Free from all forms and ceremonials, the religion of the future, with prin- ciple in place of priest-craft, right in place of ritual, will be churchless, creedless, prayerless and priestless. 102 Philosophy of the No mouldy mummeries from tombs and temples of a buried past, but vital messages fresh from the living ; from earth, and air, and sky, and all the wide immeasurable universe — will consist, not in assuming and believing, but in knowing and doing. ^/F THE priesthood of Christ's ^1 time was a generation of vipers, vV that of to-day is a generation of vampires. Priestcraft ! Now as ever a living lie ! Now as ever an enemy to free thought and free men — has no longer inquisitorial power to forbid doubt, or to compel faith, although hell and a heresy trial are still in store for any among them who dares to be honest. Great Unconscious 103 Dogmatic religion — too narrow at the base and too circumscribed at the top — leaves no room for growth and development. Great reformers are milestones marking human progress, beyond which mankind cease to progress. The best passage in the life of Christ, and among the best in human history, if we may rely on the record, was the way he treated the unfortu- nate woman accused of adultery. A revelation to the bigotry and injustice of his time, and a rebuke to that of to-day. Those " winged words," " L,et him that is without sin among you cast the first stone," should be inscribed on the walls of every so-called hall of justice in the whole world ! 104 Philosophy of the ^^f HERE is a striking similarity I I between the lives of Socrates ^■^ and Jesus Christ. Both were ethical teachers and reformers, insist- ing on moral character rather than theological belief. Both denounced prevailing religious systems, and in so-doing excited the bitter enmity of the priesthood, in consequence of which they were condemned to die. Both might have escaped, but refused, from exalted motives : Socrates replying, when urged by his friends, "Is there any place outside of Attica where men do not die?" And Christ to one of his followers, " Put up thy sword," and again in Gethsemane, "Not my will, but thine, be done." Great Unconscious 105 There can be no reason for doubting the record of Socrates' life and teach- ings, or of his trial, condemnation and death. In the case of Jesus Christ, there was a motive for assuming many things. But divested of all myth and miracle, which religious zeal has woven into the story, the fact remains that he was a sincere and lovable person. Why has the world crucified its redeemers — always ? io6 Philosophy of the ^■KHE three greatest moral and I I I ethical teachers of which we ^■^ have knowledge, are Zoroaster, 660-583 B. C, Confucius, 551-488 B. C, and Buddha, 551-483 B. C. The essence of Zoroaster's teach- ings are good thoughts, good words and good deeds. Of Confucius, humanity, upright- ness, decorum, wisdom and truth. Of Buddha, right judgment, right purpose, right language, right practice and right thoughts. The Bast might be benefitted by our Science and invention, but are in no need of our religion. Great Unconscious 107 ^f*4+HXLE philosophy has inclined ■ ■ 1 man kind to live in peace ^ ▼" and good- will, religion has filled the earth with strife, and del- uged it with blood. The philosophy of Greece, of India, of Persia, and of China is a storehouse of wisdom, from which the world is borrowing constantly. The ancients guessed all that modern Science has proven, and their lost arts no man will ever know. Modern times have produced no men to be compared with Zoroaster, Buddha, or Confucius; Socrates, Plato, 01 Jesus Christ ; or with any of the great poets, prophets and philoso- phers, "towering o'er the wrecks of time." 108 Philosophy of the It is a satisfaction to know that such men have lived ; and that some record of their thoughts, and of their efforts to solve the problem of life, has come down to us. Their pure unselfish lives, and high ethical ideals, redeem human nature and the race. No wonder that some were deified ! We, too, if living, must have done them homage. As it is, we love and reverence them as among Nature's truest, grandest noblemen. Yet all that poet, philosopher and seer have sought to unfold through all the ages, Science is clearly unfolding to-day. Great Unconscious 109 ^)4|4'HEN we consider the cost of Til "Christian civilization" in "^ ™ blood and tears and toil and treasure, we are compelled to admit that it does not pay. Primarily organized and established for mutual welfare, and more especially for the purpose of protect- ing the weak against the strong ; civil government has always been manipulated by the strong and unscrupulous solely in their own interests. A government of, for, and by themselves — enabling the few to get position and power — to plunder and devour under forms of law. < no Philosophy of the Religious organizations of to-day are on a purely commercial basis, like everything else. All the leaders, and most of the laity, are in them for a living, — for what can be gotten out of them in the way of honors and emoluments. Dominated more and more by this selfish commercial spirit of greed, graft, and get-there — ecclesiasticism wants the earth here and now, and claims and expects everything in sight hereafter. That grandest of all ethical senti- ments, "The world is my country; to do good my religion " — uttered by Thomas Paine, great apostle of liberty — finds no place or response in creed or ritual. Great Unconscious in It is we, us, and company : our church, our society, our system ; not for the sake of humanity, but for per- sonal gain and aggrandizement. " Oh, Lord, bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more." Organizations of every kind are supremely selfish, a menace to the state, and to equal and exact justice between men. There is a satisfaction in being un- attached and free, — in being able to call every man a brother, or any man a knave. People and things with possibilities are always interesting . If a person has desire to do things, and complies with conditions, he will succeed. The trouble with this time-serving ', money -making , newspaper and novel- reading day and generation is, people have no personal convictions, and if they do have, they have not the courage to live up to them. jf^tfAN is the architect of his own 1 1 "I Matures, as well as fortune. &^rw << Men's faces are the mirrors of their souls, the very image of their inmost thoughts. If life be warped by vice and crime, the face will show it more and more." Form and feature are moulded by character, habit and aspiration. The most beautiful face may become brutal, the most brutal become beauti- ful, by thought and conduct. " Oh, that the face might always retain the indescribable charm of youth ! But alas ! the most beautiful are often changed and disfigured on the approach of manhood." ii4 Philosophy of the " That hideous aspect, once so fair, When decked in youth's enchanting air, Forever blighted are thy charms. That scowling eye, that furrowed brow, Declare what demons rule thee now, A wretched prey to guilt's alarms." " But if the age of the passions quickly succeeds the age of innocence, Reason may come afterwards — come to bring back to the path of virtue ; and after the space of a few years, beauty may return, provided both mind and body have not been entirely corrupted." The world is full of moral, mental and physical wreckage. . . Better buried out of sight — much better never born ! Great Unconscious 115 Observing people on the streets of any large metropolis, one can but be discouraged and disgusted with the almost universal misery, sensuality and selfishness manifested in the physiognomy of old and young alike. Now and then we are cheered by a mother's kind and gentle tenderness, or face of youth untainted. Ninety per cent of adult faces are negatively good or positively bad. Rough, repulsive, with every look and line of youth and beauty obliterated, — we wonder if they could possibly have ever known the innocence of childhood. The distinctively American type of face is cold, calculating and commer- cial. But true men have lived, and n6 Philosophy of the do, every line of whose features indicates character of the highest order. Beauty begets beauty ! The most beautiful in physiognomy have created the best in art, in music, poetry, painting, sculpture, and all things. Quality of mind depends on quality of body. An ideal mind is generally associated with an ideal body. Beauty of the one may appeal to the psychic, that of the other to the physical nature. Physical beauty and perfection, always electro-positive, attract and fascinate through the reflex sexual, which has a predominating influence in all social relations, inspiring love. Great Unconscious 117 While nobility and truth leave an indelible impress on form and face — the ignoble and base are written in lines no art or artifice can conceal or efface. We like some people, and are drawn to them through physical charms, while we admire others on account of moral and mental qualities. Perfection of mind and body in- spires perfect love. An ideal mind with an ideal body, makes an ideal man. Next to form and feature, — tone of voice is indicative of character. " If the soul is filled with truth, the voice will vibrate with love." n8 Philosophy of the ^^pHE so-called learned professions I J I are more or less of a humbug — ^■^ pretentious, self-seeking — anything but ideal. To a lawyer, licensed to rob, fame and fortune depend largely on every- thing and everybody's being in a tangle, and at cross purposes. A doctor of medicine, licensed to kill, is bound to make the most and worst of all human ailments. And a doctor of divinity, as Emerson says, is a special pleader, and must be a very poor one, if he can't make out a case in his own favor ; no matter which one of the many contradictory systems of theology he may happen to be advocating. Great Unconscious 119 All of the professions flourish and fatten on the faults and follies of their fellows. They may be necessary evils, but are more frequently positively bad and unnecessary. No doubt the world as a whole would be much better off without them. What with lawyers, doctors, and the clergy, rum, drugs and tobacco, the majority have a hard struggle to survive. In an ideal social state, all the professions will be eliminated. People will mind their own busi- ness, take care of themselves, and do their own thinking. 120 Philosophy of the Avoid the clergy, that you may believe less, and know more. Avoid doctors, that you may die according to Nature. Avoid lawyers, that your estate may afford a decent burial. Most of the ills from which "Learned Ignorance" pretend to deliver us, are imaginary or avoidable. Plain food, pure water, fresh air and sunshine, with kind thoughts, moderation and a love of Nature — will heal all infirmities of mind and body. Great Unconscious 121 " Temperance and labor are man's best physicians." "To live free, attaching ourselves but slightly to human affairs, is the best method of learning to die." "Live in harmony with Nature; be patient ; drive away physicians — you may not avoid death but will feel it once only." You say that sin is abhorrent in God's sight. Who is God f What is sin? And how do you know about it all? y^OODNKSS and badness are ■ Ipk relative. People are good VJx when it is good for them to be good : bad when it is good for them to be bad — impelled thereto by inherent selfishness. Every impulse in Nature, every motive in man, is selfish; rooted in the instinct of self preservation, domi- nating all things — due primarily to atomic polarity. Observed in all inorganic nature, still more manifest in all lower forms of organic life, and most obnoxiously of all, in the con- scious life of man — whose selfishness and greed hath made merchandise of all things. 124 Philosophy of the As man has receded from his primitive animal ancestry, and risen socially, he is supposed to have become more unselfish — which is the basis of the so-called moral law, itself a product of evolution and de- velopment, eliminating inordinate selfishness. But it is extremely doubtful if man ever has, or ever will act from purely unselfish motives. While selfishness is the immediate source of sin and evil, ignorance and non-observance of natural order is an additional cause, — therefore — Selfishness and ignorance are the cause of all evil! Love and learning, the source of all good I Great Unconscious 125 Selfishness is of two kinds, moral and immoral, impelling to all virtue and to all vice. In trying to be good to others, we are good to ourselves, which is the morally selfish. Trying to be good to self, without regard for others, is immorally selfish. It may be said that sin, or the immorally selfish, is a product of evolution. It cannot be a sin for carnivora to kill and devour for the purpose of self-preservation ; but must be an evil to the victims. Hence all evil cannot be sin. Yet all sin must be evil. 126 Philosophy of the ^^THE survival of the most power- ■ I f ul seems to be the order of ^■^ Nature everj^where. In the formation of systems, and in all things, smaller masses of matter are swallowed up, or become satellites of larger bodies. The centum-living oak dwarfs and survives less hardy trees and shrubs in the unconscious struggle of existence. And in the lower animal kingdom the weak perish that the strong may survive. But man, conscious of consciousness, conscious of power, dreaming of immortality — hath refined selfishness into an art. Great Unconscious 127 A product of inherent selfishness, the psychic was evolved in the interest of the physical only. Intelligence of every grade is de- voted to purely personal ends ; to the gratification of selfish desires ; in obtaining some advantage over others. A prime factor in human selfishness — deceit, is peculiar to the conscious alone ! The great unconscious elements of Nature are not deceitful — mysterious and wonderful, but not treacherous. The conscious alone is false ! The unconscious always true ! 128 Philosophy of the However this may be, all that is called good, and all that is supposed to be evil, when traced down through the organic to the inorganic, are found to be natural products, having a common origin. The moral and immoral, the selfish and unselfish, are inherent in the nature of things. The incentive to all action, to all that is best, and to all that is worst, in man and nature, depends primarily on atomic polarity. The instinct of love and of hate, of like and dislike, has its source and is exemplified in atomic attraction and repulsion. Great Unconscious 129 ^>Y ATURAI ^ instinct and the *LX1 unconscious are unerring. In ** ^ order to avoid error we should act from perfect knowledge or from instinct. Mankind are in a transitional state. Having lost most of their primitive instincts, and with yet insufficient knowledge to avoid error, — they are the most miserable and unsatisfied of all creatures ; while lower animals, guided by instinct, supplemented by more or less experience, are compara- tively contented and happy. In proportion to size and weight, an Ant has a thousand times more \ strength and wisdom than man. 130 Philosophy of the The Coral insect, invisible toiler, building with its body the deep foundations of a continent beneath the waves ; and the poor eyeless Earthworm, moiling in the dark be- neath the turf, are among Nature's greatest untaught architects. If personal immortality were possible, or the highest good, is there a creature in all the wide universe more fit than the song bird ? Alone on old Ascutney, while the world below is growing dark and still, — lifted to heaven's gate by its tireless melody, — oh, we have wished when the Hermit Thrush breathes out its last sweet note, that it might be borne on the wing of an angel to a paradise of endless twilight and song ! Great Unconscious 131 ^/T HAS been said that the love ^1 of money is the root of all evil. v£/ It may be said with equal truth that the love of pleasure is the source of all misery. While desire for pleasure and hope of happiness are incentives to action, their attainment cannot be the chief end of existence. Moral, mental and physical har- mony are essential to well-being and happiness ; thus making it largely a question of generation. To have an ideal man, state or nation, we must begin with parentage. Natural traits, good or bad, are transmitted. 132 Philosophy of the Society and the state are a failure when they allow the diseased and criminal to propagate. Hospitals and penitentiaries are well enough, but it would be much better not to be obliged to use them. Pain and pleasure are merely incidental. Avoid the one and ex- perience the other by always acting in harmony with the order of Nature. If mankind lived in perfect accord therewith, existence would be com- paratively painless. While pain itself is not an evil, its cause is such, and may be removed. Things injurious cause pain, — of which we are sensitive as long as there is possibility of relief : after- wards comes insensibility. Great Unconscious 133 fAIN ! Great conservator of life and health ! An ill, yet not an evil. A danger signal ! A warning voice ! It sounds that it may save. A cry, not to be hushed save by removing the cause. Mental suffering, with no conserving element, is often harder to endure than physical pain. The higher the social and ethical development, the more sensitive to right and wrong, — to the selfish and unselfish, and to all the calamities and misfortunes of existence. Philosophize as we will, explain it how we may — life is full of bitterness and pain, from which The Great Unconscious alone can bring relief. We shall sleep well when this delirium is over. 134 Philosophy of the ^^fHERE is diversion in creating I J I things of beauty and utility ; ^■^ in art and architecture, in forestry and farming. There is positive satisfaction in looking upon finished work, — in gathering the ripened fruit of honest effort. It is seeking to gather where we have not sown, grasping greed for more than meed or need, that makes toil tedious and life a burden. More simple, unselfish tastes and desires will render life more whole- some and harmonious. That man may find content, whose wants accord with health, and are within reach of honest toil. Great Unconscious 135 The reason why life is so hopeless to so many, so many are hoping for hopeless things. Not content with the simple and attainable, they are forever striving for the unattainable, reaching for what is beyond reach. A constant struggle, selfish, bitter, intense, — the great object is to get and to gain, to have and to hold. Not satisfied with enough or with anything, men spend their lives trying to get, and die grasping for more. The loss of one is another's gain : the success of one, another's failure : the triumph of one, the defeat of some- one else. He who is just, remains so no longer than he receives pleasure and profit in being so. 136 Philosophy of the To enjoy life is to enjoy misery ! Mankind have tried in various ways to forget — to hypnotize themselves into a negative kind of happiness, by dissipations and illusions of all kinds. . . . And when the burden has become too great, have faced the Spectre — " To be or not to be." Whatever else may be the object of existence, it certainly cannot be a "Saint's Rest." The orthodox hell in which we now find ourselves is probably normal. And it is uncertain whether things are in a state of evolution or devolution. Conditions are now intolerable ; if much worse they would be unendurable. Great Unconscious 137 Oh, the humbug of the human ! The cupidity of the conscious ! The whole scheme of modern social, civil and religious life is artificial and selfish. . . Theology, idiotic guess- work ! . . Piety, a pretense ! . . Metaphysics, a sick man's dream ! . . Woman, deceitful above all things! . . Man, hard-faced and commercial! As a means of promoting universal peace, good will and happiness, both church and state are, and always have been, a gigantic failure. In place of paradise — they have made of the world a great a-bat-toir. The history of the race is a history of contention, cruelty and crime ; of revolution and ruin — social, political and religious. 138 Philosophy of the It is estimated that upwards of twenty thousand million of the human family have been slaughtered in war ! One eighth part of mankind — twenty- five times the present population of the globe. And at least one third were a result of religious fanaticism. Oh heavens ! ! There are people who never smile, because of unspeakable trouble that has come into their lives. If the record of all the inhumanity of mankind to man could be fully realized, the smile of gladness would forever fade from the human face. And in its place would come, — if calm at all, if any calm — a settled calm despair. * # * # Inconsistent with the existing social order, lasting happiness is yet more incompatible with the understood order of Nature. Great Unconscious 139 The relentless processes of evolu- tion and dissolution, infinite as time and matter — crushing, grinding, devouring — cannot be reconciled with human happiness ! As an object of pursuit it is a mirage, a mockery, a delusion and a snare. 11 There is nothing in the past but a dream of happiness, nothing in the future but a hope." Existence ! At best a ceaseless struggle! At last an inevitable tragedy — tracking every living crea- ture to the tomb ! A large per cent of the human family, and practically all lower animal life, perish prematurely. Calamity overtakes, destruction awaits all ! Disease, disaster, war, pestilence and famine — a ghastly train ! 140 Philosophy of the How can the idea of a " Kind Heavenly Father — an All- Wise Creator," be reconciled with a world full of sin, sickness, desolation and death ! No wonder at the device of a serpent and Satan, demons and devils, to account for the miseries and misfortunes of existence ! Yet here again, " Proud Science " comes to the rescue ! In demonstrating the fact that the formative and controlling force of the Universe cannot be a conscious intelligence, it has lifted this odious burden from the shoulders of a ' ' Deity, ' ' annihilated a future ' ' Hell, ' ' exterminated "Satan" and relieved religious faith of an intolerable strain. Great Unconscious 141 4^HE saddest thing about life is ft I decay and death ! To grow ^■^ old ! We do not have the pre-natal pleasure of anticipating existence, but do have the misery of anticipating old age and death. The inevitable order of Nature — it must be best or it would not be so. L,ife or death are probably of no account whatever outside of personal consciousness. The psychic is bound to be dissatis- fied in any event ! Filled with discontent in life — we are still unwilling to be done with it. Oh life ! Its pain and passion, truth and error ! In the ebb and flow of which we are tossed forever ! 142 Philosophy of the The only redeeming thing about it all is Love ! To love and be loved is the one thing that makes life worth living ! Not to have loved . . It were better not to have lived ! People as a general rule are not unhappy on account of political, economic or religious conditions ; but for want of human sympathy and good fellowship. A person may have the whole world, yet without friendship, will be miserable. A wilderness shared with love, is paradise ! Great Unconscious 143 "We have not lost everything on earth when we have found a faithful friend!" Friendship-love is the only satisfy- ing thing life can give, or mortals know. Hallowed be the name of Love and Friendship ! The highest love — the love divine — is human love. The only love is earthly love. Memory of love outweighs the stars — outlasts the fleeting years, — un- dimmed, unchanging, unchangeable. 144 Philosophy of the 4^HE pessimism of fact is prefer- i | able to the optimism of fable — ^■^ the pessimism of knowledge to the optimism of ignorance. The thoughtless are optimistic, the thoughtful pessimistic. A true philosopher is an optimistic pessimist, making the best of the worst possible conditions : finding good in evil, happiness in misery, rest in unrest, success in defeat, hope in despair. Sincerity is the cardinal virtue ; dissimulation the unpardonable sin. Truth should always be spoken : to temporize is to evade. Great Unconscious 145 Emotion and sentiment are well enough in religion and romance ; but out of place where truth and justice are involved. Blessed is the man whose circum- stances are such that he can afford to speak the truth ; and thrice blessed he who waketh not the demon in his fellow man. There are people who can enjoy pleasure, while others are in torment. There are people who are willing to go to heaven, while others are going elsewhere. There are people who can endure being saved, while some are being lost. 146 Philosophy of the The mistakes and misfortunes of each, are shared by all. The highest and the most humble are akin. Akin to all — a part of each — how can any be content while others suffer ? Contending with an inheritance of disease, degeneracy and crime — man- kind are more deserving of sympathy than of censure. What good will it do to recall the faults, follies and failings of the irrevocable past ? To have struggled and endured is enough ! Forgotten let them be, with circumstance and environment of selfishness and passion! 11 A person is sufficiently unfortu- nate in having erred, without being punished." Great Unconscious 147 Be yourself — but be unselfish. Spare not what you can spare : spare what you cannot spare — the best. The highest ethical ideal is in self- sacrifice : to sacrifice all — personal hope, happiness, life, heaven itself, for right and truth, and for others. It is ignoble to act rightly through hope of reward, or fear of punishment. To know the right is a duty : to act in accord therewith, a privilege. There are times and occasions for doubting and debating, and there are times for action. There are times and occasions when he who hesitates is lost : when he who doubts, is damned. Existence is an eternal atomic trans- migration. m HEN vitality ceases in one organism it becomes food for some other. The decay of one is the birth of another — higher or lower, animate or inanimate : a re-combination of its ever changing, indestructible, atomic elements, into new forms and organisms. Thus the infinite process goes on, forever new, forever old. The egg we ate for breakfast had been exposed to a high temperature about three minutes. If it had been exposed to a moderate temperature three weeks, a very interesting ball of consciousness would have tumbled out of the shell — a " miracle ' ' which the science of Biology alone can explain. 150 Philosophy of the As an article of diet, embryo-con- sciousness, raw, hard or soft-boiled, is no doubt of the highest value. To trace the entire process of its assimilation by the human organism would be extremely interesting, from a scientific as well as metaphysical standpoint. All food products result from generative functions, animal and vegetable. If lower forms cease to reproduce, higher forms perish. The end and aim of all life is reproduction. The end and aim of reproduction, in all lower forms, seems to be that of furnishing food for higher forms. Yet the prime object of procreation cannot be the production of food, but of life germs. Great Unconscious 151 ^^THE all-pervading effort of I I I organic Nature to live and ^■^ reproduce, inspires all the song and melody and joy and hope and love of youth — awakens all the bud and bloom, gives all the gayety, color and perfume, tints every leaf and flower of Spring. . . Promise of all fruitage and fruition, of seed- time and harvest, — impulse to love and to live. Transmuted, the procreative instinct in man finds expression in all thought and effort ; in art, music, poetry, romance and religion ; and in all that is noble and heroic in action. The basis of all domestic, social and civic life — this divine creative 152 Philosophy of the instinct has been perverted by man- kind alone, to become an almost unmitigated curse — trie cause of a large part of human disease, degradation and crime. Satisfied only with satiety — man is the only creature on earth whose sexual and digestive organs are more or less diseased or deranged ; a result of outrageously illegitimate and in- temperate use and abuse. Yet psychologists tell us the thing which most distinguishes man from a brute is will power. Great Unconscious 153 ^J^IRTH, growth, reproduction, Mia death ; — the eternal round of >^ all life, vegetable and animal! Is there anything different or better for man ? Are there any indications of a higher destiny ? Are the uncon- scious elements and forces of Nature moving towards anything beyond this " Bank and shoal of time ?" Reproduction ! Great crowning end and aim of life ! Inherent, instinctive, inevitable ! It is all ! The only and sufficient personal immortality of which man is susceptible. In harmony with all nature — it is 154 Philosophy of the enough if at last his closing eyes be- hold offspring, which on through the ages may extend — although to dark forgetfulness his mind and body must descend. A man may have all else — yet without offspring, life is a failure ! From a human point of view there is no higher mission in all the wide universe than to be the Mother of men ! And yet — the most thoughtless optimist that ever dreamed of heaven must admit that it would have been better, if the vast majority of the human family had never been born ! Great Unconscious 155 ^■■T'HERE is great apparent waste I I and imperfection everywhere ^■^ in Nature. Many germs perish, where one reaches maturity. . . . And all the summers of all the ages have not produced a perfect leaf. In human nature and effort, how very much is waste and worthless — how very little worth while. We sometimes wish or feel or think, that if more, or less, or all, or none of Nature's life germs perished: if more, or less, or all, or none came to maturity, it possibly might be just as well or better. Things occur because they may and must, not because of will or wish. ^|4|^IIvL is want, desire, inclin- 4JJ ation, appetite, passion, ^ ▼• necessity: one, or more or less of all of these. All life and effort is in response to sensation. All the appetites and passions are aroused by external and internal nervous stimuli, and the gratification of these desires are in response thereto, not primarily to will or wish. 11 Every change in the material world can only take place because another has immediately preceded it. "All that we do or think, is the result of previous doing or thinking." "We think ourselves free to act, because conscious of our actions, and not of the causes which determined them." 158 Philosophy of the " We can act as we choose, but cannot choose anything." Every instinct, impulse, thought or action, in the last analysis, is inevita- ble — the result of the stronger motive or suggestion. A creature of circumstance, in every way, at all times, and in every particular ! All things, animate and inanimate, conscious and unconscious, — a man, a moat, a meteor, — move and act invariably, impelled thereto by environment, and alike controlled by necessity. A particle of dust drifting in the sunbeams is governed in its move- ments as unerringly as are the rolling spheres. Great Unconscious 159 Things exist as the result of an efficient cause — and yet there can have been no first cause. A first cause is as inconceivable as a limit to time or space — the beginning, end, or non-existence of which, is utterly unthinkable. The injection of a supernatural cause into the problem only adds another cause to be accounted for. Time, space, matter, motion, cause and effect — infinite and inseparable — without beginning and without end. It is useless to continue ringing the changes or rattling the endless chain of cause and effect, — a series as measureless and inconceivable as infinity itself. A link in beings endless chain — to-day — to-day is yesterday — to-mor- row is to-day. 160 Philosophy of the w 'HAT has a beginning in time must have an end in time." There is no place in the wide universe where thought or knowledge can be kept from the destroying power of The Great Un- conscious ! A seismic shock, and all vestiges of man and mind are back to nothingness. Yesterday the whole solar system was nebulous. To-day a procession of worlds. To-morrow it may be where it was yesterday. All things, animate and inanimate, worlds, suns, systems, their cycles have ! Nothing abides. The law of change is written every- where. Motion being the inherent attribute of matter, there can be no such thing as ultimate rest and perfection ; but ceaseless evolution and dissolution, Great Unconscious 161 through endless tides of time, everywhere and always, in all things, physical and psychic, inorganic, organic, mental, moral, social, polit- ical. An eternity of cycles, from primordial to primordial ; no first, no last, no beginning, no end. In and of it all, endowed with a brief personality, we grope, guess, gasp, and are gone. Oh the lost forgotten traditions of a household ! Of a people ! Of a world ! Why is this thus ? Why is anything thus? Things must occur in some way — " Any old way" — no matter how. . . . They might have been differ- ent — perhaps better, perhaps worse. The same question might be asked in any event. Why not this, that or the other way, instead of as they do occur ? 162 Philosophy of the ^T/S IT an evil to be born ? Is it ^1 an evil to die? If it was not v£/ an evil to be born, then it cannot be an evil to die. Why this insistence on personal immortality? Why dream of contin- ued consciousness? When pulses fail, — forever unresponsive, — con- sciousness will cease. Immortality lieth not in the direction of consciousness : consisteth not in a mere selfish function or phenomenon. The real, actual, indivisible, indestructible, elemental atomic, alone is immortal. All else is molecular, fleeting, phenomenal. Great Unconscious 163 The idea that personal conscious- ness will survive physical dissolution is one of the many delusions with which mankind are being deluded. The desire for continued existence results from the inherent instinct of self-preservation ; and from the fact that atomic matter, being indestructi- ble, conscious matter feels and knows itself immortal. Conscious life will pass, and hope of immortality, an iridescent dream, must fade. But the indestructible elements of which we are a part, forever changing, will abide forever. 164 Philosophy of the <8 NK glorious event comes to all, — a resolution into the elemental atomic ! A restor- ation to the Great Unchained, Unfettered, Unconscious — what matter if unnoted and unknown — to become once more an impersonal part of all that ever was or ever will be. A part may be, of yon hazy snow-capped mountain, or golden sunset, or breath of flower, or ever-flowing stream, or never resting sea. A part of each, akin to all. Forever changing, but not destroyed. A snow flake, wafted from its birth- place in the sky; a rain drop, individ- ualized in falling, to be forever lost in earth or ocean from whence exhaled. . . . Thus man's brief life and individuality will vanish and be lost. Great Unconscious 165 Consciously or unconsciously, willingly or unwillingly, driven or drawn, — not as we may but as we must, — the tide of time, the tide of life moves ever on. We may not linger, for those behind are pressing, those before us beckon. A little while we drift together down the stream of time, — and then — and then a shifting tide bears us apart forever. A little while we loiter on together, hand in hand, — and then — and then our paths diverge and separate forever. A little while we drift, and dream, and wait, and wander, — and then — and then — forgetfulness forever. H 149 82*, r/^\*OT^^ .'ttta x*^ .*&(&- ^bf ^ +~ * * .4? <*> *' & o. *©• ;• ++"% F . r • 1 • • «p. ' • # * '** ^V INDIANA 46962 6 3* ;♦ «> c- •; N. MANCHESTER, 1 1 "^^ „*Ji Sl*.> tf> ^