HE P S Y C H O L O GY

OF THE

S U PERCON S CIO US

T H E H I G H ER P H E N O M E N A
of the

SA I N T S A N D MYST I C S
v ie w ed in t he l igh t of

T H E C O U N T E R P H E N O M E NA -

of t he

P SYC H I C S A N D T RA N C E -
M E D I U MS
a nd

vin d ic a ting t h e O verwhelm ing B rill iancy of th e D ivine Light

a ga in s t its ob sc u re a nd occ u l t d i stort ion s

A T heory of S u p ralimi nal I ntu i ti on ov erp ow eri ng the t ra nc e

c ontro l a nd s how i ng the T ra nsc endenc e o f the S u p er
na t u ral ov er the ri v a l fo rms of S u p ernormal Cog n1 t1 on

A p reli mi nary c ontr i bu t i on i n a id o f a clear er u nders tand i ng

of t hi s mys ter i ou s su bj ec t

P H I LO L A O S M I LL S
Au t hor of

”
P r e hi s t ori c R e ligi on , Crea t i on ver s u s E v ol u t i on ,
e te O
’ et C .

CO N TRA R I A
CO N T RA R I I S
C U RA N TU R

P RI CE ONE DOL LAR

TH E NA TI O NAL CA P I TAL P R ES S
WA S H I NG T O N D C . . .

1 922
 T HE P SY C H O LO GY
OF THE

S U PERCONS CIO US

T H E H I G H E R P H E N O M E NA
of t he

SA I N T S A N D MYSTI C S
v ie w e d in t he l igh t of

T H E C O U N T E R P H E N O M E NA -

of the

P SYC H I C S A N D T R A N C E -
M E D IU M S
a nd

v i nd i c a t i n g t h eO v e rw h e l m i n g B rillia n cy of t h e D iv in e L ight
a ga i n s t i t s o b s c u r e a n d o c c u l t d i s t or t ion s , 'f
i j
-
,

A T heo ry o f S u p r a limina l I ntu i t i o n o v erp ow er i ng the t ra nc e

c on tro l a nd s how i ng t he T ra nsc ende nc e o f the S u p er
na tu ra l o v er the r v al
i fo rms o f S u p e rnorm al Cog ni t i on

A p reli m in a ry c o n tr i bu t io n 1n a f a c le a rer u nd ers t a nd i ng

id o

o f t his mys teri o u s su bj ec t

P H I LO L A O S M I LL S

A u t h or of

“ ” “
P r e h i s t oric R e l i gi on , C r ea t i on v er s u s E v ol u t i o n ,

CO N T RA R I A
CO NT R A R I I S
C U RA N TU R

P R I C E O NE DO LLAR

TH E NA TI O NAL CA P I TA L P R E SS
WA S H I N G TO N D C. . .

1 9 22
 Nihil O bs tat
JOS E P H B RU NE AU , S S
. .

C E N S O R D E P U TA T U S .

I mp rimatur z
k
b M I CH A E L J C U R L E Y
.
,

Nov 2 7th, 1 9 22
. . A R CH B I SH OP OF B A L TI M O R E .

Cop yr ight , 1 9 2 2
by
P hi lo Laos M ills L
 Ca r d i na l '
s Re s i d e nc e , Ba l t i mo r e , Md .

Ma r c h 2 5 t h , 1 920 .

My De a r Dr . Mi l l s :

In v i ew o f t he d e p l orab l e ha v o c t ha t i s b e i ng wr oug h t in

ou r mi d s t b y t h e g od l es s ev ol u t i oni s m a nd ma t e r i a l i s m o f t he

d ay , I c a nno t b u t we l co me mos t c ord i a l l y y ou r v a l uab l e c on

t r i bu t i ons on t he O p p os i t e s i de . P e r s ona l l y I a m c onv i nc e d

t ha t t he d a y s of Da r wi ni s m a re numb e red . Any s c i e nc e t ha t
wi l l s e rv e to s h ow t ha t ma n wa s c r ea t ed i n t he i ma g e a nd

l i k e ne s s of t he Al mi g h t y c a nno t bu t me r i t t he hi g h e s t co m
me nd a t i on of e v e ry s i nc e r e a nd ri gh t
-
mi nd e d t hi nke r .

God b l es s y ou i n y ou r nob l e u nd e r t a ki ng a nd s e cur e t he wi d

es t p ub l i ci ty f o r y ou r exc e l l en t wo r k .

Fa i t hf ul l y y ou r s i n Ch r i s t .

Ar c h i ep i s c op a l Pal ace , Ma l i ne s , B e l g i um .

J ul y s t h , 1 920 .

De a r Dr . Mi l l s :

I a m mu c h ob l i g e d t o y ou f o r ha v i ng s en t to me y ou r ex

cel l e nt p ap e r on An t h r op o l og y .

Th e V i ew y ou t a ke i s mo s t i nt e r e s t i ng , a nd t he d a t a a nd

a rgu me n t s y ou a r r ay in s up p o r t of i t a re i nd e e d i mp r e s s i v e .

It s h ows onc e mo r e t ha t Ch r i s t i a n t r a d i t i on h a s no t hi ng

to f ear f ro m s ou nd s c i en ti f i c r e s ea r ch , a nd g oe s a l ong wa y

t owa r d s f reei ng u s d e f i ni t e l y f ro m t h e u nne c e s s a r i l y humi l

i a t i ng p a r en t ag e wh i ch so me p r e s ump t uou s adv oc a t es a t t e mp t

to as s i g n t o us .

You r s v e ry t rul y i n Ch r i s t .

Ar c hb i s hop of Ma l i ne s .
 TH E UPPER AND TH E L O WER VI S I O N
The higher reason is that w hich is intent on the c ontemp la tion a nd c onsulta
tion of things e ternal —S t A ugu sti ne , D e Trini ta te, X I I
. . .

F rom certain ima gined form s there ca nnot c ome to the p erceiv er a ny intel
“

lectu al know ledge that is b eyond the na tural or a c quired fa cu lty of his intellect ;
w hich is als o ev i dent in dr eams , in w hich , thou gh there is some p refigu ra tion of the
future , yet no ordinary dreamer understands their meaning .
”

B u t throu gh these sights and sounds which a p p ear in the w orks of the ma gi
“
,

cians , there fre qu ently comes some intellectu al c ognition w hich exc ee ds the c a p a ci ty
of his int ell ect , su ch as the rev elation of hidd en treasure s or the mani f e sta tion of
fu ture ev ents ; and sometimes also from certain doc um ents tru e thing s ma y be
s een to corresp ond to this kind of science .
”

I t mu st be a dm itted , therefor e , that those p ersons p erceiv ing or c onv ersing

do not see acc ording to the ima gi nation only , or , at lea st , that this ha p p ens by
v irtu e of some su p erior intelligence .
”
—
S i Thoma s A q ui na s , Contra Gentiles , I I I
.

e 104
. .

I t is in eff orts of diffi cu lt self restraint a nd deliberate r efl ection tha t the con
-

s ciou sness of the ego reaches its highest 1ev e1

— M i chael M a her , S j , A rt Con
.
” “
. . .

s ci ous nes s , Ca th E ncycl 1 9 1 0

. . .

TH E D O UB LE S O UR C E O F SUPERNATURAL E VID E NC E
While natur e a ttests the B eing of G od more distin ctly than it does H is
moral gov ernment , a mira cu lous ev ent , on the contrary , bears more directly on the
fa ct of H is moral gov ernment , of w hich it is an immediate instance , w hile it onl y
imp lies its existence . H ence , besides bani shing idea s of fa te a nd necessity , mir
a cles hav e a tend ency to rou se c onscienc e , to a w aken a s ense of r esp onsibility , to
r emi nd of du ty , a nd to dir ec t a ttention to those ma rks of div ine g ov ernment a l
”
rea dy c ontain ed in the ord inary c ou rs e of ev ents .

With regard to the argu ment from p rop hecy , w hich some hav e been disp osed
to a bandon on acc ount of the number of conditions neces s a ry for the p roof of its
sup ernatural character, it shoul d be rememb ered , that ina bility to fix the exa ct
b oun dary of natural s aga city is no obj ec tion to su ch p rop hecies as are undenia bly
b eyond it ; and that the mere inconclusiv eness of some of thos e in S crip ture as
p r oo fs of t he D iv ine P re s cience ha s no p ositiv e force a gainst others c ont ained in it ,

w hich furnishes a ful l , la sting , a nd , in ma ny cases , gr ow ing ev idence of its in

S p ira tion
.
”
— Ca rdina l Newma n, E ss ays on M i racles , pp 1 2 , 6 8 . .
 THE P SYCHOLOGY OF THE
S UPERCONS CIOUS

T H E P H ILO S OP H Y O F T H E ‘
O VE R -
S O UL ’

Li ght ha th no fellows hi p wi th darkness F or, as the a postle saith, The li ght

‘
.

shi neth i n darknes s , a nd the darknes s comprehendeth i t not The effects of these
’
.

vi si ons i n the s ou l a re q ui etness , en li ghtenment, j oy like glory, s weetness , p urity, love,

humili ty, i nc li na ti on or eleva ti on of the mi nd towards God
“
This knowledge con
”
.

sis ts in a certai n con ta ct of the s ou l wi th the D i vi ni ty, a nd i t i s God H i mself who is

thu s felt a nd ta sted, though not ma nifes tly a nd dis tinc tly, a s i t wi ll be i n glory B ut .

this tou ch of knowledge a nd s weetness is s o s trong a nd s o profound tha t i t penetrates

i nto the i nmos t subs ta nce of the s ou l , a nd the demon ca nnot i nterfere wi th i t nor produce
a nythi ng li ke i t, beca use there i s nothi ng else comp a tible wi th i t, nor i nfus e a ny s weetness

or deli ght which s ha ll a t a ll resemble i t

”
l
.

“
Gra nti ng the exis tence of a spi ri tu a l world , i t i s necessa ry to be on our gu a rd
agains t the i nva si on of ou r wi ll by a lower order of i ntelli gence a nd mora li ty The .

danger to the medi um li es , i n my opi ni on , not only i n the loss of spiritu a l s ta mina , bu t
i n the possible depriva ti on of tha t bi rthright we each a re gi ven to cherish, our i ndividu a l
i ty , ou r true selfhood; j ust a s i n a nother way this may be impai red by sensu a lity ,
opi um, or a lcohol

C ontrast is sometimes the most effi cient means of bringing out the salient
p oin t s o f a s ys tem , p rov id e d those c ontra sts b e fa ir , for cible a nd w ell founded -
.

T hey mu s t not be d ictated by a ma liciou s tend ency to d istort the enemy s logic ,
’

if tha t logic be g ood a nd his p remises unshaka b le .

B u t here are tw o statements ema na ting from tw o v ery eminent sour ces which
ma y sa fely be trusted to embody conclu sions w hich are rep resentativ e and which
ca nnot w ell be sha ken by a ny sp irit of hyp er criticism
-
.

T he first c omes from one of the grea test ma sters of modern mysticism,
saint, as sp iritually exalted a s he w as p sychologi cally p henomena l .

T he s ec ond is from the p en of a v ery a ble a nd w ell ba lanced exp oun der of
—
-

mu ch that g oes by the name of modern occultism , a gentleman w hose rare and
refin ed j udgment d es erv e s t o p la ce him in better c omp an y than tha t of a gr oup of

ar a n o ia cs H e is a ccep te d by ma n y a s one of the sa fest and sanes t authorities

p .

on a su bj ect w hich re qu ires v ery d elica te hand ling T hough not of our own , he
.

is a remarkably fa ir a ntag onist .

M y p urp ose in bringing these statements into p rominence ma y p erhap s be

sur mis ed . I f their truth be a dmitted , it will follow that there are p ow ers in man
tha t c annot be reduced to a c ommon d enominator , but are as wide ap art as the
tw o p oles An old p sychology will hav e to be resurrected , giv ing due p lace to the
.

mora l dignity of man no less than the un ique chara cter of certain p sychical exp e
riences . A nd this , it will hardly be questioned , is a ma tter of fundamental moral
a nd intellectual imp ortance to the human race .

1
St John of the Cross T he Ascent of Mount Carmel I 4 1 ; II 24 6 ; II 26 , 5
William B arrett F R S On the Thres hold of the Unseen ( New Yo k
, , , , , , , .

pp
.

3
S ir , . . .
, r , . 2 5 1 2 52
-

.
6 TH E PS Y C H O LO GY O F THE S U P ER C ONS CI OU S
Let u s come a t once to the main p oint a t issu e .

I f there is anythin g tha t im p resses the most ca su al p urv eyor of modern litera
tu re , it is the renew ed interest that is ev erywhere b eing shown in the my s teriou s
an d sup ersensib le P eop le are a pp ea ling on all sid es to a w orld of etherea l
‘ ’
.

ma nifestations a s an antid ote to the heart rending tria ls and tragedies of this v ale
-

of tears . M oreov er , they d emand Visib le and tangible p roof of the existence of
su ch a w orld ; and within certa in limits they hav e a rea s ona b le right to make the

d emand . D id not the S avi or s eal H is w ord s by H is vi sib le w onders ? D id H e not

off er H is m ir a cles a s a confirma tion of H is teaching ? D id H e not conv ert the
d oubting Thoma s by the sense of touch and a ssure H is follow ers that they w oul d
op era te ev en greater marv els in H is name ? Where are these w onders in our own
d ay and hour ? And they a p p eal to tha t v ast b ody of occult exp eriences rec ently
brought to light a s sup p lying the a pp arent d efi ciency , a s p rov ing beyond a d ou b t
w hat no other order of fa cts can giv e them , the certainty of a future existence a nd
of a bright a nd ha p p y blessedness in the life to come .

‘
W e hav e p robed the su p erw orld , they will tell u s, a nd w e ha v e found it to
’ ‘

be a fact a n d n o fi c ti o n . C o u ld t h e R e d ee m e r rea d t he th ou g ht s f h
o ot e r s ? We
can d o the same . C ould H e disinter the p a st and look with u nerring v ision into
the fu ture ? W e hav e a similar p ow er . C ou ld H e control the for ces of na ture a nd
cau s e d istant obj ects to d o H is b idd ing ? T here a re ex cep tional states of the
org anism in w hich this a lso c a n be effec te d Could H e make the lame to w alk,
.

a nd the blind to see and the d ea f to hear ?

. T hese a re fa ith cures w hich many -

ha v e wrought by the p ow er of su gg estion . . C oul d H e ca ll ba ck the dea d a nd ra ise

i
H s wn o b o d y fr o m t h e to m b ? W e a r e n o t a t a ll su r e t ha t e v en t h is ha s not b een

a ccomp lished by some mysteriou s p ow er of rev ita lisa tion or reincarna tion of w hich
a s yet w e are ignorant . I n any ca se , a large p a rt of the ev angelical w ond er s can
b e du p li cated ; they ca n be rep rodu ced under the most exa cting conditions of sight
a nd tou ch ; and w e challeng e the w orld to show u s a nything of a simila r ki nd in

the ranks of their stifl ing orthodoxy . T hese are not p ip e dream s , but rock bottom
- -

realities ; and w e d e fy y ou to su p p ly the d emands of a w a iling huma nity with e qu al

force ? Can you off er u s anything more conv incing , more comforting, more sense
c omp elling
’

S u ch is about the a v erage p osition of the modern inv estiga tor of the unseen ,
the man w ho ha s ma de a n ap p arently honest a ttemp t to get w hat he ca n ou t of a l l
tha t is left to him in the w a y of ev idential p henomena
‘ ’
.

Now w e hav e no desire to Shirk the challenge nor to cast a ny asp ers ions on
his v eracity nor on the v alidity of many of his fin ding s S ome of these thing s d o
.

unqu estiona b ly ha p p en and ma y , for aught w e know , be a ttrib utable to a sup ra

mundane Agency B ut the p ity of it is that this w ell meaning d efender of the
.
-

immortal soul ha s mea sured the w hole of human p sychology by only one of its
a rt s a n d th a t th e l ea st in s p iri n g p a rt of th e v i tal c omp osite F or nea rly all his
p .
,

h e n o m en a re qu ire a grea ter or les s p a ss1 vi ty in the mind or w ill of the subj ec t
p
w hic h robs him of his limelight c onsciou sness a nd of his ma s culine s elf control -
.

W ith few excep tions , they are coerced , cumbrous and artificia l C an these be .

c a lled d i b l s m p to m s ? A ga in st this morbid tenden cy w e p la c e a p rinci le

e s r a e y p
w hich should a p p eal , w e trust , to ev ery clear hea ded thinker :
-

A ny power which sha rpens the i ntellect a nd wi ll and di rects them i nto noble a nd
heroic channels is of higher or hea venly origi n A ny power which enfeebles those nest
. fi
of huma n fac u lti es or obs cu res them i n the mes hes of the unconsci ous i s more or less

ba nefu l or demoni aca l i n i ts u ltimate character .

Of cou rse w e do not ther eb y insinu ate tha t p sy chic is for this ev ery modern
r ea s on hop elessly d elu d ed or d emonised H app ily , su ch is not the ca se
‘ ’
. Y et a .

cum ula tiv e p roof mu st be giv en tha t he w ill sa tisfy this v ery elementary test of
w ha t most p eop le regard a s a genuine a nd germ ane illumina tion .
 THE PS Y C H OLOGY O F THE SU P ER C ON S CI OU S
T his p rop osit ion should commend its elf to any p erson who does not desp air
of the norma tiv e p ow er of human reas on I f w e ca n no longer argue , there is the .

end of the p res ent argu ment Not that there is anything inherently sinis ter i n .

what w e call the unconsciou s Night by night w e sink into some su ch c ondition
‘ ’
.

of coma , and mu ch p a in and misery is av oided by not a dv erting to its exis tenc e .

I t is one of nature s most s oothing anodynes Ev en rev elations may be giv en in

’
.

dr eam s , and d ea th comes a s a w elcome relief to a w orn out mechanism, all too b us y -

with the fl eeting p hanta sms of the moment J a cob s la dder and Josep h s gu i ding
’ ’
.

star show moreov er that the su p ern a tural ma y inv a de this land of sha des and make
it su b ser v i ent to its own p olicies
—
.

B ut w hat w e mea n to imp ly is s im p ly this , that w e ca nnot c ommend such

a state o f a p p arent nirw ana a s more than a transitory means of medicination ,
‘ ’

not a s in itself d esirable a s a p ermanent a nd p erfect p oss ess ion of the human eg o .

H ow ev er m arv ellou s the p henomena that ma y a ccomp any it, we cannot s urrender
ou r p ers ona li ty to a convu lsi ve ca ta lepsy, bu t s hould ra ther p repa re i t f or a n illumi na
ti ve ecs ta sy , a condi ti on i n which those s ame phenomena are not only i mmeasurably
s u rpas sed , bu t the enti re menta l a nd mora l complexi ty i s i nde ni tely s trengthened a nd fi
r a is ed to a s u peri or plane of opera ti ons S u ch a science of mea suring the soul accord .

ing to its highest fun ctions w e shall call T he P sychology of the S u p ercons cious
‘
.

H ere then w e hav e our main p osition on this subj ect exp res sed in a few w ords :
I t is our obj ect t o bring out the ess ential sup eriority a nd inv iola ble sanctity of our
G od giv en p ow er s of knowledge a nd love a gainst the shameful trav esties of those
-

p ow ers that w e find in many of the sordid a nd soul eclip sing p ra ctices of the modern
-

tra nc e med iumship

-
M ost p eop le ha v e a n instinctiv e horror a t the thought of
.

a nnihila tion , s till more a t the p rosp ect of being sw a yed or controlled by a forei n
g
infl uence T hey cannot ev en g o un der ether withou t mu ch c oura ge , a nd sleep
‘ ’
.

its elf is not a lw a ys frau ght with the mos t quieting a nd c omforting a s surances .

T o ma ny of these our p resent argument shou ld come a s a G odsend a nd a fresh

mes sa ge from the skies F or it w ill d emonstrate that there is no uncons ciou s ’ ‘
.

in the s ense of tota l eclip se on the one han d ; on the other that the a pp arently
s ta rtling p henomena of the sub con sciou s will melt a w a y before the electric glare
of the sup erc on s ciou s , that the latter is in fa ct the medium , thou gh n ot the s our ce ,

of the most astou nding w on d ers that ha v e ev er b een op era ted in the his tory of the
huma n race 4
.

T o p rov e this p oint w e sha ll follow the method of comp aris on , by letting ea ch
ll i w l L ee w ha t is cla imed by the s ons of li ht and
p a r t y te ts o n ta e et u s s .
g p lace
it s ide by side w ith w hat is fou nd by the children of twilight ; then w e can draw our
own c on clusions I f it can be shown that the ma ster minds of the human ra ce
.
-

stan d a s a u nit on the qu estion of a sup ra limi na l ord er of in sp ira tion a nd tha t ma ny
-

of them hav e ha d the p ow er of sealing tha t certa inty by the op era tion of marv els
far exc eeding the unha llow ed orgies of its sub consciou s rav ings , it will be one more
rea s on for exc ha n ging F reu d for F ra nz elin , the p itia b le grop ings of the half anima l -

man for the sublime illumina tions that come to u s from a sup er terrestrial s ource -

3 Comp are dinal M er ier A M nual of M od rn S chol astic Philosophy ( London

H E —C . . ar c , a e

Vo l I pp 2 8 4 2 9 1 o n T he P y ch o log y of the F ully Co nsci ou s S t Th omas A q ui nas

‘ ,
’
s
S umma T h o logi a I q 1 2 on the High Con ious
-
.
, .
, . .

‘ ’ ,
e c er sc

S e in thi s connecti on D G ust G l y F om th U n on ci us to th Con cious ( London

, ,
.
, .

4 r av e e e r e c s o e
e s
on T he R eali sati on of S o
.
,

p n Cons i ou n s The will come time w hen “ ,

i
’
g v ere c s es . re a
thi s con i ou n ss gr own to it fu ll t tu e W lI be a bl e to t ns nd ll its limi t tio ns to a ttai n
.

sc s e s s a r , l ra ce a a
, ,

to w h at i now in cessi b l e to un d e t nd w h t i n ow i n omp eh ensi b l e the thing in i tself

— —
s ac , rs a a s c r ,
-

th I nfini te
e n d G o d ,
p 3 2 5 a a wild ex gg e ti o n of a t u e do t in imp erfe tly fo cussed
.
”
.
,
a ra r c r e c
,

No fini te b eing c n e ol into in finit on iou n s nor will it e er comp eh end the
.
‘ ’
a v ve e c sc s es v
I ncomp h ensi b le B ut the b l es dm y be s d to see all thing in the Di in E s nce in so far
r
‘
re se a ai s v e s e
S Thom S um Th ol I q 1 2 rt 7 8
.

as th ey are ongru ou s and p op ort on t

c r 1 a e . . . . e .
, .
, a .
,
NO TE T he t erm sup e on cious sh o uld be ta k n in the int nsi ti e not the x l usi v e sense
.

‘
: rc s e e v e c
I t b etokens th at whi ch is s uprem ly cons ci ous not th at w hi ch li es b eyond all consc ious nes s
, .

e
It
I know that I know that it is
,

is th at w hi ch know s i tself a s knowi ng b y a d ou b l e a ct of eflection

.

on S el f—
r :

I th at k now s Compare M ichael M ah er S J Psychology

.
’
Consciousness , . .
,
‘
.
’
8 THE PS Y C H O LOGY O F TH E S U P ER C O N S CI OU S
A few of the ev angelica l da ta on this su bj ec t might here be p remised .

H e tha t followeth me s ha ll not wa lk in darkness ,

“
I am the light of the world .

but s ha ll ha ve the light of life If therefore the light tha t is wi thi n thee be darkness ,
”
5

6
how grea t i s tha t da rknes s!
”

W hatev er else may be c ontained in these p ortentous p hra ses , it s eems p la in

enough from their w ording tha t the grea test G eniu s who ev er w a lked this p la net
b oldly sev ers the w orld of light from the w orld of darkness and makes the former
the b ring er of a fl ood of mental p ersp icu ity a nd moral forc e Na y more, it is a .

light tha t shall nev er fail :

A nd I will as k the F a ther a nd he wi ll s end you a nother P a rac lete, tha t he may
“

a bide wi th you f or ever

” 7
.

This C omf orter is nothing less than the H oly G hos t of I saia h, the s pi rit of
wisdom a nd unders ta ndi ng, the s pi ri t of cou ns el a nd ghostly s trength, the spi rit of
knowledge a nd piety , a nd of the holy fear of the L ord 8
”
.

H e is no mere a bs traction , but an intensely v i v id v ita l forc e ; s tim ul ating , not

eclip sing the fa culties of ma n , and p ermea ting , a s the mystics ha v e it , into
“
the
very s ubs tance of the s ou l H e is a lso the Author of p ea ce a nd lov e , not only in the
.

J“ohannine , but also in the highest P a uline s ense , a cha ri ty whi ch hever fa i leth
“

whi ch hea reth a ll thi ngs , beli eveth a ll things , hopeth a ll thi ngs , endu reth a ll things .

A s ub limer c oncep t could hardly be broached nor a more c onv incing test instituted :
B y thi s s ha ll men know tha t ye a re my disci ples , if ye love one a nother
“ 10 ”
.

Light and lov e are thus w elded tog ether as insep ara ble elements ; it is imp os
sible to hav e one without the other and not to comp romise the integr ity of the
sp irit A s oulless s cienc e is a s insuff erable a s a s q ualid s entimenta lism U nited
‘

—
. .

w e s tand , div ided w e fall , such seems to be their motto

’
.

A nd more than this T he G alilea n w onder w orker makes v ery little of drea ms
.
-

a nd trance con ditions , if H e d oes not rep udia te them a s the p ossib le a v enu es of the
-

The raising of the sleep ing d aughter of J a irus , the cure of the fa lling
‘ ’
ev il one
‘ ’
.

sicknes s , the p urge of the x f h m i

‘ ’
d h l i d h
‘ ’

p o ss e ss e t e e p u s on o t e e on s nto t e
—
,

mu ch of this
’
f h i i f l
‘
G a darene swine , the driv ing out o t e sp t o r u n c e ann ess ,

imp lies a c ondition of lethargy if not a lw a ys of d emonic c ontrol, w hich can only
.

be lifted by the u se of a strongly allop a thic medicine Contra ri a contra ri i s cu ra ntu r . .

Not only d oes H e heal the p atient by shaking him out of the stup or , but the means
H e emp loys a re s uch tha t the suff erer is immediately restored to the norma l , and
this without a ny mesmeric my st ca t o s m
“
ifi i H ld h d t f hm i
”
11
n o t y p eace a n . co e ou o .

S u ch a restora tion is not eff ected by throwing the p a tient into a still deep er tra nce ,
but ra ther the opp osite I t imp lies a p ow er of d e hyp notisation , of ca lling him
.
- —
b ack to a condition of mental and moral equilibriu m T he suggestion , if a ny , .

c omes from a bov e , not from below the threshold o f consciou snes s Nev er d oes .

H e sa nction the state of p assiv ity in a single instance

‘ ’
M oreov er , H is own .

p ow er o f s el f c ontr o
-
l is s o p h en o m en al t h a t e v e n th e a g o n y o f t he C ross c a nnot

sw erv e H im from uttering sev en insp ired oracles H e ev en d escend s into hell
‘ ’
.

to p reach to the sp irits in p rison, p reserv ing H is indiv idu ality and identity from
b eginning to end H e is alw a ys and ev erywhere the same strong and self p oss ess ed ,
.
-

the same consciou s and comm anding P ersonality .

This is b rou ght out by sev eral modern writers w ho, how ev er exc ellent mu c h
of their analysis , are not incli n ed to la y too mu ch s tre ss on the D iv ine c hara cter
of the O p era tor a nd H is unp ara lleled p rodigies W hile a maj ority still see only .

the human , imp erfec t, tenta tiv e side of thes e w onder s , as sign ing them for the
mos t p art to occul t influences or the natural p ow er of suggestion, there are one or
tw o who b oldly insinua te a sup erhuman , if not a sup erna tural P ow er for their
p rodu c tion .

‘J ohn 8 12 “ M att 6 , 23 7
J oh n 1 4 16 8
I sa 1 1, 2 9
I Cor 1 3 , 7 1°
Joh n 13 , 3 5
Luke 4 3 5
.
, . . .
, . . . . .

11
, .
 THE PS Y C H O LOGY O F THE S U P ER C ONS C I OU S 9

J esus H imself was the mos t s tupend ous psychic phenomenon the world has
“
H istory
”
ever seen , writes a recent author H e wa s a coloss al reli gious geni us . .

furnishes bu t one example in which this synchronism of development, physical, i ntel

lectu al, psychi ca l a nd mor a l, wa s a bsolutely perfect
”
.

R easons are then giv en w hy H e ca nnot be classed with morta l men .

The ordina ry psychi c , i n order to produce his phenomena , is compelled to enter

the ps ychi ca l or the s u bj ecti ve condi ti on I n this condi ti on his obj ective reas on is .

dethroned a nd he i s domina ted by the pow er of s ugges tion

”
.

And this lea d s up to the follow ing r emarkable statement :

J es us wa s the only one, of whom we have a ny authentica ted account, who never
found i t necessary to enter the s ubj ective s ta te to ena ble H im to produce any psychic
phenomena A s a res u lt of H i s a bi li ty to exerci se H is psychic forces without entering
.

the s u bj ecti ve s ta te, H e w as en abled to avoi d the opera ti on of the law of s ugges ti on, a nd ,
as a conseq u enc e, H e wa s never domi na ted by a fa ls e s u gges ti on Obj ective reas on was .

a lways i n the a scenda nt, a nd on e of the mos t i mportant of H is dis tinc ti ve character

is tics , as comp ared wi th other psychics , consis ted i n H is perfect mora l a nd religi ous
charac ter
” 1
2
.

T hen , a s to the ma rv els themselv es , w hic h form the external sea l of H is mission ,
it need hardly be p ointed ou t that few su ch w onders ha v e ev er been rep orted of
a ny child of ma n The R esurrection alone , not to sp eak of the A s cension defi es
.
,

imita tion from w hatev er sourc e Nev ertheless , the minor miracles can be op erated .

and e v en excee de d by those w ho ta ke refu ge in a p ow er w hich ev id ently tra nscend s

the ord er of nature .

H e tha t beli eveth on me, grea ter w orks s ha ll he do than I do, beca use I go to the
“

I n my name they s ha ll cast ou t devi ls , they s ha ll spea k with new tongues ,

“
F a ther
”
.

they s ha ll take u p s erpents , they s ha ll not be ha rmed by a ny deadly thi ng, they s ha ll lay
They are a lso w onders w hich H e
”
13
their ha nds on the si ck a nd they s ha ll recover .

ha s wrought H imself :
The blind receive thei r s ight, the lame wa lk, the lepers a re clea nsed, the deaf hear,
“

the dea d a re rai sed, the p oor ha ve the gos pel p h d t them 14 ”
reac e u n o .

T hen H e oflers a p romi se w hich comes a s a clima x to H is ba ffled hearers :

I f ye had fa i th bu t as a grai n of mus ta rd s eed , ye s hou ld s ay to this mountain ,
“ -

B e removed a nd cas t i nto the s ea ”

A nd i t s ha ll be removed A nd nothing sha ll be
‘
. .

imp oss ible unto you 15 ”

.

B ut , sp ea king of these a nd other extra ordinary p ow ers , H e makes it nev erthe

les s a bund antly clear that they a re the p riv ilege only of the sa inted few , those w ho
hav e mortifi ed the low er man a nd hav e rea ched a high state of p erfection :
S u ch cometh not ou t except by prayer a nd fas ting
“ 16 ”
.

Now looking at p resent a side from the a uthenticity a nd rea lity of these hap p en
ings , it mu st in the first p la c e be a llow ed that the S a v i or not only raises H is hearers
to a w ide a w a ke sta te of p er fect mental intu ition and mora l s elf control , but that
-
-

H e a p p eals to H is own v isible marv els a s w ell a s those of H is follow ers a s a cumula
tiv e p roof of H is sup ernatura l m i ssion B y thei r f r u i ts ye s ha l k
l now them 17
. .
”

The S ource ca n be esta blished indu ctiv ely , by the c ombined eff ect w hich it ca lls
forth,—mental and moral up lift And here is the final criterion w hich distinguishes .

the g enuine a rticle from the counterfeit in ev ery a ge of its ma nifesta tion .

L et us take a few examp les in illu stra tion .

Tha t which was from the begi nni ng, tha t which we have hea rd, a nd tha t whi ch
we ha ve seen wi th ou r eyes a nd whi ch w e have looked upon a nd our ha nds have ha ndled .

“
B eloved, beli eve not every s pi rit, bu t try the spi ri ts whether
”
tha t declare w e u nto you .

E very spi ri t tha t confess eth that J es us Chris t is come i n the flesh
“ ”
they be of God .

T J Hudson M D A Scienti fic Demonstration of the Future Life ( Chicago pp

—
12
, , ,

b n in the sen e of s ub con ci ous or s u b li minal i e

. . .

i h k
. .

m
’
i
‘
152 1 5 6 T he t er u j ec t s ere t s ve a e s -
s , , . .
,

l i i hy oid al ( i b id p
.

mor n n u u to ma t c o r p n
Matt 1 7 1 9
u o c o s a
Matt 1 7 20
r ess c s
Matt
e o
J oh n 1 4 1 2 ; M a k 1 6 1 7
.
, .

M att 1 1 4 S
,
14 15 16 17
13 r .
, , . .
, . .
,
, , . . .
 10 TH E PS Y C H OLO GY O F TH E S U P ER C O N S CI OU S
is f G
o o d A n d eve ry p.s i ri t tha t co nfes s eth n ot tha t J es u s C hr i s t i s come i n th e fl es h
not of God
18 ”
is .

T his strong but discrimina ting messa ge comes from the ap os tle of lov e ,
a fir st ha nd witnes s , a n d one w hose menta lity w a s remov ed by many leagu es from
-

the s op orifi c or the s ensa tional H e is not only an entirely sa ne a nd norma l

.

p ersonality but is genera lly ac cep ted a s one of the p urest a nd p rofoundes t Virgi na]
,

lights tha t ha s ev er brou ght strength and stamina to the human soul H e is alm os t .

like a s econd sun shining in the firrna ment of H is M aster s system M oreov er, his ’
.

incessa nt fi ght a gainst the sp irits of ev i l imp lies the exis tence of a w orld of s inister
influences which can be ov ercome only by the dou b le a lemb ic of light and lov e , as
p rev iou sly
God is light, a nd in him there is no darkness .

“
God is love; a nd he tha t dwelleth i n love dwelleth in God, a nd God i n him .

S t J ohn the D iv ine is nev er entrap p ed in the erra tic or the a b norma l T o be .

n the sp irit on the Lord s da y is a condi tion a s far remov ed from the hyp notic
i
‘ ’ ’

sw oon a s hea lth i s remov ed from sickness , the sub lime from the ridiculou s T his
’

fin d s its confir ma tion if not its p roof 1 n the a ma z ing menta l and sp iri tu al stimu lu s
w hich his life and writings hav e ev er exercised on the nob lest and sanest of ou r
P e0 p 1e d o not ga ther grap e s from thorns nor figs from thistles
‘ ‘
ra ce . I t i s an .

ec s ta s y w hi ch b ring s forth strength, not w eaknes s ; z eal , not heav ines s ; ferv or , not
flatulency ; b rillian cy , not ob scurity ; tru e ev angelical w onders , not the frenz ied
orgies of the fakirs .

To him tha t overcometh I will gi ve hi m power over the na ti ons

. .

W
ith the a p ostle of the gentiles this dualism of light a nd darkn e ss , sp irit a nd
ma tter , is equally p ronounced , though not of course in the G nostic sense of a bso
lu te clea v ag e H e also sp eaks of a n Opp osition to and v ictory ov er the Old A dam :
.

Now the fruits of the spi ri t are love, j oy , peace, longs ufi eri ng, gentleness , good
“

ness , fa i th, meekness , tempera nc e; a gai ns t s uch there i s no la w

”
22
.

B u t the works of the flesh are ma nifes t, which are these: adu ltery, fornica ti on,
“

u nclea nnes s , lasci vi ousness , i dolatry, wi tchcraft, ha tred , vari ance, emula ti ons , wra th,
s trife, s edi ti ons , heres i es , envyi ngs , murders , drunkennes s , revelli ngs , a nd s uch like
”
.

G ranting that these are moral g eneralisations w hich do not imp ly more than
a tw ofold tendency in human striv ing , it is at a ny rate clear that the a p ostle p uts
up a s uffi ciently s triking test for finding the u ltimate s ource of a n incita tion ,
heav enly or otherwis e And this is s ealed by signs simila r to those w hich w e fin d
.

in the g osp els :

F or to one is gi ven by the s ame S pi ri t the word of wis dom; to a nother the word
“

of know ledge by the s ame S pi ri t; to another fai th by the s ame S pi ri t; to another the

gifts of hea ling by the same S pi ri t; to a nother the working of mirac les ; to a nother
prophecy; to a nother the discernment of s pi ri ts ; to a nother di verse kinds of tongues ; to
a nother the i nterpretati on of tongues B u t a ll these worketh tha t one a nd the self same
.
-

S pi ri t, di viding to every ma n severa lly according to his will

”
24
.

H ow v iv idly many of these div ine g ifts or cha risma ta shone in his ow n p ers on
as in the whole of the early a p ostolic cycle, needs no reminder I t takes more .

than a p rodigy to c onv ert the hea then The w onder mu st be comp a nied by an
‘ ’
.

q
interior uickening and sp iritual regenera tion of the entire s ystem .

I t i s on this p rincip le that w e must interp ret not only the light that s tru ck
.
‘ ’

S t P aul on the w ay to D ama s cu s , but his extra ordinary rap ture into the third
.

heav en of which he sp ea ks on another occa sion Coul d a s inking into the uncon
‘
.

s ciou s iv e b irth to su ch an astounding conv ers ion, one that wa s to rev olutionis e
’

g
-

the entire p ersp ec tiv e of thought and conduct of his d ay ? C oul d an unh allow ed
sw oon be the fa ther of the gr ea test a p ologi st and one of the p rofoundes t theo
’

Iogi an t s h at th e w or ld ha s ev er k no w n ? The means are out of a ll p rop ortion to

the end s achiev ed , as w e shall see p res ently .

John 3 4 1—
1— 3 “I o nJ h 20
I John 4, 1 6 A poc
—
21
18
I 1, ; 1 , 1 0 ; 2 , 26 ”
G al
I Co
, . . . . .

5, 22 .
23
G a] 5 , 1 91i
. .
2‘
r. 1 2, 8 1 1 .
 TH E PSY C H O LOGY O F TH E S U P ER C ON S CI OU S
P a s sing on to the middle a ges and modern times w e ma y take the Angelic ,

D octor and the sainted hero of P amp elun a as fair samp les of the highes t intelligence
co i bined with her oic holiness and a s re resentativ e of the bes t thou ht on the
su gj ect .
p g

intellectualist like S t T homa s A quinas a b lind a utomatism has , need

F or an .

less to say , no fun ction to p erform in the w orld to c ome .

Tha t the di vi ne presence i n the life of glory i s known by the intellect immedi a tely
on the s i ght of a nd throu h cor ora l thi n s , ha
g p g pp ns r
e f om tw o c a u ses , vi z ,
— from the .

perspi cui ty of the i ntellect and from the refulgence of the di vi ne glory i nfused i nto the
,

body after i ts renova ti on 25 ”

.

“
A s God works miracles i n corpora l things , s o a ls o H e does s uperna tura l wonders
a bove the common order , raising the minds o s ome li vi n i n the flesh be ond the u se
f g y
of sense , even u p to the visi on of H i s own essence as S t A u usti ne s ays of M oses , the
g ,
.

Or b riefl y : B y the
“
tea cher of the J ews , and of P a ul , the teacher of the gentiles
” 26
.

na me bea ti tude is und ers tood the u ltima te perfecti on of ra ti ona l or i ntellectu a l
F rom that great ma ster of mental dia gn ostics and sp iri tual surgery , S t I gna .

tiu s Loyola , w e are giv en a dditional help for finding the true sp irit and a pp lying the
p rin cip le to the interior man .

We know true s pi ritua l cons ola ti on then to be present when through some interna l
moti on the s oul i s i nflamed wi th love f or i ts Crea tor, a nd can enj oy no crea tures except
f or H is s ake When a lso tears are s hed, ca lling forth tha t love, whether they flow from
.

s or row f or s i n or from the medi ta ti on on the p a ssi on of Chri s t, or from a ny other ca us e

,

wha ts oever rightly orda ined to the wors hi p a nd honor of God L as tly true cons ola tion .
,

may be s a id to flow from a ny i ncrea s e in fai th, hope a nd cha ri ty; a ls o a ny j oy which is
w ont to i nci te the s ou l to the medita ti on of hea venly thi ngs , to the s tudy of i ts own s a lva
ti on, a nd to the procuring of q u iet a nd pea ce wi th the L ord
”
28
.

C ou p led w ith the insp iri ng w ords of S t J ohn of the Cross , w hich I ha v e p la ced .

as a c ap tion to the p resent article , the se te stimonies w ill serv e to bring out the

more sa lient fea tures w hich b ind them by a common cord of intellectua l and mora l
suasiv eness T hey are a ll cou ched in v ery similar langu age w hen sp eaki ng of the
.

highes t fl ights of the soul and the mea ns w hereby they are distingu ished from the
p se u d o p h a n
-
t asm s Th e S p ir it o f G o.d s ti m u l a te s th e higher facul ties of ma n , it

d oes not sup p res s them ; and its p resence is kn own by a fl ood of moral p ow er no
les s than a refu lgence of p sy chop hy sica l w onders w hich is in the grasp of ev ery
child of A da m , p r ov ide d he wi ll hitch his chariot to the p rov erbial star and d rink
of the w aters of life freely I select these exa mp les because the sources from w hich
.

they are taken are by c ommon consent a dmitted to be p ersona lities of v ery excep
tiona l m ental p ow er and insight , ev en if their s till loftier sup erna tura l claim s be
for the moment p u t ou t of the re ckoning .

B u t w here , it ma y be a sked , is the p roof tha t these soaring s eers w ere as a

fa ct equi p p ed w ith the p ow ers attribu ted to them ? I s there any liv ing w itness
f
to testi y t o t e h rea l ity of e v e n o n e o f th e ir s u pp o s ed m ira c les ? Are not the s ources
too fa r o t ff o m er i t ac cep t a n ce in t h e s e c o ld a n d cr iti ca l d a y s o f o ur ow n ? A nd
ev en their occurrence be gra n ted how is it tha t they are so few and far betw een ,

a nd tha t su ch a larg e p ercenta g e a re app arently dup lica ted by the current p henom
c
ena of lu id ity , le v it ta io n , c la ir v o y a n c e ,
m i n d h e a lin g a n d w h a t n ot e ls e ? -

T his b ring s u s to the kernel of the qu estion and introduces a v iewp oint w hich
ma y be handled b y b oldly a ccep ting the challenge and looking the issue s traight in
the fa ce F or w e sha ll endeav our to esta b lish tw o imp ortant p oints in c onnection
.

wi th this su bj ect :
25
St .
Th omas A quin as , S u mma Theologica , I q
, . 1 2, art . 3, ad 2 .

Id em art 1 1 a d 2
2°
, .
, .

Id em q 6 2 t 1
27 ar

S t Ig na tiu Loy o la R ul es fo the di c rnment of sp ts No 3 Comp e M1 chael M aher

, .
, . .

23 s r s e 1 ri ar
Con ciou n s s C E 1 9 1 0 I t is in ff orts of diffi cul t s lf est int nd delibe ate
, . .

S J Art
. , ,
“ " “
s s e , . . : e e -
r ra a r

eflecti on th a t the co ns ci ou sness of the ego each es ts h gh est l e el

.
. .
,

r r I i v .
 12 THE PS Y C H O LO GY O F THE S U P ER C O N S CI OU S
( )
1 Th a t t he re h a s b e e n a c ontinu ity of su p erna tura l gi fts a nd grac e s which
makes the occurrence of the mira cul ou s not only a p ossib le but a p rov ab le fact ,
ev en d own to the latest w onder of s up er thera p eutic fame
-
.

( )
2 T ha t t he a llie d p h en o m en a in the low e r p s ychica l field go in p art to re
inforce the higher p henomena , w hile others are so ma ni fes tly mixed u p with a
subj u ga ting au toma tic c ontrol tha t w e can w ell a fford to disp ens e with their s erv ic es

a nd leav e them to their ultimately demonia ca l sour c e .

T o p rov e the first p oint, w e ma y take a few modern exa mp les , nota b ly tha t
of S t J ohn of the Cros s , as showing that his p ersona lity no les s tha n his p ow ers
.

stand unexcelled among the more recent ecstatic s , while ma ny of his w ond er s a nd

p sychical manifestations hav e been shared by yet more recent s a ints and v isionaries
and find their c onfirmation in many unsusp ected happ ening s in our own day a nd
hour .

T o p rov e the s econd p oint, w e shall a pp eal to the mos t trus ted a uthorities on
the occult in a ddition to our own b ody of writers , more esp ec ially to Sir W illia m
B arrett and other F ellow s of the R oyal S ociety , reinforced by the findings of s ev era l
F rench and G erman p rofes sors of light a nd lea ding .

S u ch a treatment of the su bj ect should be logica lly c onclu siv e on the qu estion
of the su p ernatural C oncomitantly , it is a method w hich is follow ed or c om
.

mended by one of the most p ainstaki ng c ollectors of mystical p henomena tha t ha s

a p p eare d in the last century , the celebra te d J ohn J osep h G orres , w hom , w ith a few
modern writers like S caramelli, P oula in , J oly a nd D ev ine , w e ma y take a s the
most a p p rov ed authorities on C a tholic mysticism , not forgetting the b rilliant
name of B enedict XIV
29
.

I n this w a y w e shall a v oid the regretta b le mistake of making too sharp a

dichotomy betw een the natur al and the su b or sup ernorma l in the one extreme ;
in the other w e shall find tha t betw een the tra di tional hea v en a nd hell there is a
“

f fi hi h i b l rs of the hum a n or anism ha v e ev er b een

”

g u l x e d w c n o c o n c e v a e p o w e g
known to bridge And this should come a s a timely w arning to those w ho are
.

c ontinu a lly strumming on the subconsciou s a s the exclu siv e s ource of o ur higher ,
how ev er mysteriou s illum inations .

Let u s then examine the edifi ce b rick by b rick and s ee w ha t each p arty can
show u s in the w ay of
‘
conv in cing p henomena We sha ll begin with the p lane ’
.

of the normal life and slow ly descend into hell in the one direction a nd a s cend
’ ‘ ‘

into hea v en in the other , lea v ing the rea der to make his own choic e betw een tw o
’

ra ther op p osite conditions of hum a n felicity F or , as a fac t, there is a b orderla nd .

of sup er activ ities in the u pp er region a nd of sub a ctiv i ties in the low er ; but by no
- -

inherent momentum can the former a scend to a sup ernatur a l p lane of op era tions ,
w hile the latter sink only too easily into a w orld of submerged p assiv ities which
ma kes them indeed the a ntechamb ers to the classic H a des .

”9
h eir chronologi cal o de these wo ks app ear a s fo llows B enedi ct XIV T eatise on
In t r r r : r
B e ti fica tion and Canonisation T ea tise on H oic Virtue ( Rome 1 752 B S ea a
,
” “
J
”
a r er

melli S J Comp endium

, , r
e dite d b y F V Voss as a
. .

D i ectorium M y sticum ( Veni e

“ ”
"
r c

( Lou ai n J oh nn J oseph on Go es D ie Chri s tli h e M ystik 5 v ols ( Ra ti bon

, . .
, , . .

”
v a v rr c
A ug Pou la in S J G a ces o— ( London Pari s H
, , , . s
f I nterio P ay e enri J o ly
,
“ ” “
T he
—
r r r r

Psychology of t S i (L d P i N w Yo k 1 9 0 0 A r th ur D ev i ne C
-
.
, . .
, , ,
h nt n n P A “

—
e a s o o ar s e r
M nua l of M ystical Th eo l gy ( L d New Yo k
, , . .
,
a o o n o n r
L a M ystique D i v i ne
,

Oth er u efu l p o d uctions a e th ose of M J Ribet

s r r a nd B M M aré
c h a ux O S B Le M erv eill eux D iv i n et le M e eill eux D é moni q u e ( Pari 1 8 79
. .
, , .

Father
.

“
rv s,
B aker s Holy Wi sdom and D om H ilton s S ca le of Perfection ( London 1 9 00fl) sh oul d a lso
, . . .
,
’ “ ” ’ “ "
, ,

be insp ected F or the testimoni es of the sa ints th emsel es consu lt th eir o wn w o ks as referre d
. v , r
to b y the a bov e a nd a s ci ted in the p esent text and footnotes i n di cu s u r r .
14 THE P LA NE O F THE N OR M A L L I F E

M ystics and moralists

agr eed that sleep for insta nce ha s little or no
are , ,

meritoriou s v alue in its elf b eing p refera b ly shortened by those w ho are striki ng
_

out for higher p a ths of p erfection I t is simp ly regarded as a nec ess ary mea ns of .

res toring a sha ttered sys tem M onks and hermi ts are strong on the su bj ec t of
.

v igils and no c ountenance is giv en to s elf indu ced dop es or drea m v i sions under
‘
- -

any p retext Ev en the genuine trance or ec s ta sy is not to be sought for its own
.

sake but humb ly a ccep ted only after a s trenu ous fight against its elusiv e ri v als
,
.

The su bj ect is tra ined to regula te his life a ccording to normal sta nda rd s a nd nev er
t o look for divi ne v isita tions a s the p ossib le occ a sions of v a nity or self conc eit -
.

T his is not commonly r ecognised by our modern s eers

‘ ’
.

“
When the soul gives admission readi ly to thes e visions God witholds them beca us e ,

i t cleaves to them a nd does not fu lly pro t by them; the de vi l a ls o i ns inu a tes hims elf fi
a nd multipli es his own visi ons , becaus e the s ou l ma kes room f or them B u t when the .

s ou l is resi gned and not a ttached to s uch visi ons , the devi l retires , s eei ng tha t he ca nnot

i nj ure us then ; and on the other hand God multi pli es his grac es i n the humble a nd de
ta ched s ou l , plac i ng i t over many things ” ?1

I n fa ct , these b almy z ep hyr s are o ften sa crificed to the v igorou s North w ind -

A ll vi si ons , revelati ons a nd heavenly feelings , a nd wha tever else is grea ter than
“

these, are not worth the leas t act of humi li ty bearing the frui ts of that chari ty whi ch
L et men therefore ceas e to regard these su perna tu ra l
“
never va lues nor s eeks i tself
”
. .

a pprehensi ons , a nd ra ther forget them, tha t they may be free

”
32
.

C oming from one w ho w a s in a lmost c ontinua l tou ch w ith the v isib ly a nd

s ensib ly a stounding , these w ords are sufli ciently eloquent of the sanctity of the
common life , the meritori ous p ow er of ordinary ev ery day actions E v en p ro -
.

nounced b eliev ers in the sub conscious p henomena ca ution their client s ag a inst a
morbid hankering a fter other w orld s ensa tions with the obj ect of shirking the
‘ ’

resp on sib ilities of their s ta te :

The di sci pli ne of life on earth is necess ary f or u s a ll, and none can hope to
a tta in a hi gher life withou t the educ a ti ve experi ence of tri a l a nd confli ct There i s .

certai nly s ome evidenc e i ndi ca ting that conti nu a l s itti ngs f or physi ca l phenomena
caus e a n i llegi timate and excess i ve dra i n on the vi ta li ty of the medi um, crea ti ng a

nervous exhausti on whi ch i s ap t to lead i n extreme ca s es to menta l dera ngement or to

an ha bi tua l res ort to s t mui l l
”
33
a nts wi th a n o ess d l
ep orable end .

T ha t these a bnorma l and a rtifi cia l states of obliv ion are s ev erely shu t out to
the faithful —
e xc ep t p erhap s the s olitary case of medica l hyp notism,
, is now —
suffi ciently w ell known to the genera l p ub lic to make the b est of them silently
symp athis e w ith the e c clesia stica l leg isla tion on the subj ect I t is dangerou s to .

p la y with unkn own fir ew orks !

F rom this it w ould s eem to follow that our ordinary thinking and willing ,
coup led of cour se w ith sup ernatur al aid , contains a ll the instrum ents of our —
futur e b less edness and is , genera lly sp ea king , in no need of excep tional fl ights into
r egions b eyon d their norma l p ow er and p urp ose of op eration W e cannot liv e in .

tw o w orlds a t onc e I t is our bu siness to make a ll w e can of our ea rthly p ilgrima g e

.

and gently b end it into higher chann els , not to eff ac e it by a false idea of its un
I ha ve come tha t they may ha ve life, and tha t they may have i t more
“
imp orta nce .

”
34
a bunda ntly .

The I nca rnation is the b est a nsw er to those w ho desp ise the ha llow ed w orking s
of our human nature ,
—
the triv ial roun d , the c omm on ta sk .

B u t if our p res ent equip ment is w ell a dap ted to the r equirements of our
ea rthly stat e , it is no less ev ident that it a dmits of c onsidera b le s ha rp ening in the

one direction and of indefinite s tunting in the other T he geniu s is sep arated .

31
StJ ohn of the Cross The Ascent of Mount Carmel I I 1 1 7
.
, , , , .

32I bid III 8 4

Sir Willi am B arrett F R S On the Th res h ol d of the U nsee n p p
.
, , , .

33
, . . .
, , . 2 48 , 2 6 1 3 .

“ J o hn 1 0 1 0
, , .
 THE P LA NE O F THE N O R MA L L I F E 15

from the imb ecile the saint from the hardened sinner I nequality is the law O f
, .

li fe whether in the mental or moral order

, M oreov er with a ll the b lessings that .
,

may accrue to our ordinary ev er y day accomp lishments it will hardl y be denied ,
-

that the unc ommon and the extra ordinar mu s t hav e a cla im on our a ttention ;
y
th t he marv ellou s is at any rate a fact w hile the mira cul ous s till cha llenges us
a t ,

Wi th i ts ev er recurring signs and sup ernatural sanctions What relation hav e

-
.

thes e to the more ordinary w orking s Of our normal li fe ? An d to w ha t extent ha s

man b een giv en the p ower of lifting the v eil Of p iercing into the uns een ? ,

This introdu ces our subj ect a t closer range and Op ens out a p roblem which
shoul d be handl ed with great caution and reserv e a s b eing rep lete with obs curities
and di alec tic al s ub tleties I t is manifestly b eyond my p urp ose to Off er a c omp lete
.

solu tion Of thi s qu es tion wi thin the com a ss Of a short mono r a h Theologians
p g p .

a nd p hilosop hers are still wr an lin

g g ov er the d eb a ta ble areas B ut for the p resent .

I v enture to make a few suggestions w hich focu s the more imp ortant finding s of
either side and ma y help to p ut law and order into wha t a
p p ears to be a hop eles s
tangle of confl ic ting c lai ms and regretta ble misunderstanding s .

I t w oul d seem to be incumb ent in the fir st p lace to allow a somew hat w ider , ,

sw eep to the natural fa culties of man than w as formerly deemed either p ossible or
a dv i sa b le T he a p p arent rep roduction of many miracles by artificia l means ;
‘ ’
.

the supp osed dup lica tion Of p rop hecy by cla ir v oya nce insp ira tion by second sight
— , ,

g en u ine f a ith cu r es by th e s im p le p
-
ow er o f su gges tion and this under the most ,

ordinary and triv ial circum sta nces a nd by the most commonp lace Op era tors ,

ha s inclined many Of our best theologi ans to extend the term na tural to mu ch
‘ ’

that w as formerly reg arded a s either p ositiv ely divi ne or p ositiv ely demonia ca l 35
.

This is a n imp ortant a dmission though the boundary lines are still a dmi ttedly ,
-

v agu e and cannot a lw a ys be fixed with unerring c ertainty H ow far these p ow ers .

may be sup p osed to extend their sw ay w ould be p remature to determine w ith ,

anything like finality S ome limit mu st of cours e be set to crea ted nature
. B ut .

there are tw o terms that might be sa id to exp res s their range with a sufli ciently
ela s tic margi n —the sup ernormal a nd the subnorma l
,
.

B y the sup em orma l is c ommonly unders tood that reg ion of p sychica l mani
‘ ’

festa tions w hich is above the ordinary functions of the human fa culties but is
‘

sharp ly sep a ra ted from the sup ernatural a s b eing largely w ithin the domain of
regul ar how ev er rare oc curren c es
,
T o this region a re now generally assigned
,
.

most of the ca s es Of telep a thy or telekinesis a simp le sensation or motion Of things ,

I n its higher a sp ects this bec omes w hat w e may call the su p ercon
‘
a t a dis tan ce .

sciou s and c ov ers the fi eld Of clairv oyance a nd clairau dience a supp os edl y clea r
’
,

v ision into the p ast p resent or futur e wi th a c orresp onding p ercep tion Of mysteri
, ,

H ere , how ev er , w e hav e come to the borderland in the p rop er sense

‘ ’
ous soun ds .

Of the w ord , tha t neutral territory in w hich nature meets with w hat w e claim to
b e in exces s of her p ow ers to b ring forth w hich transcends her b oundaries In , .

the p reterna tura l w e meet with w ha t is beyond , in the s up ernatura l with w hat
‘ ’ ‘ ’

is a bove her crea ted cap a city ; and these mu st ev idently be reg ard ed a s genera lly
sea led dep artments , bu t a s frequently ov erfl owing u p on the low er regions F or .

if the thaumatic s up ernatural is exc eedingly rare and c onfined to excep tiona l
‘ ’

ca s es , a miracle may ta ke p la c e u p on any p lane of human mentality , w hile the

‘
salv ifi c s up ernatural is not so res tric ted ,
’
grace and the virtu es are a cces sib le to
—
all .

F urthermore , these mental flights or sp iritua l elev a tions are with few excep
tions s oothing and s timul ating to our higher na ture ; they take p la ce without the
loss or su p p res sion of our higher c onsciou snes s ; a nd , I f carefully tested by their
35 MA M nual of Modern Schol ti c Philo ophy Vol I p 29 0 Co mp A
erc er, i a as s , .
, . . are . Tan
S nop Th eo l D ogm V o l IIsD A n g li no 1 1 2 Th eol M o al V l II no e e s, r o s 9 0 5,
ett Comp Th eol M Leh mku hl Theol Mo al no
q u erey y ,
.
,
. . .
. .
, .
, .

S b tti B
.
,

910 a e al no 2 0 6
arr or r 99 4 ,
nts Spiri ti sm nd R eli gi on pp 2 4 7 2 68fl
, , , ,
- . .
. . .
. , '

Lilj en cr a ,
a , .
, .
 16 TH E P LA NE O F THE N OR M A L L I F E

eff ect s on pr actical thought and condu ct , they ma y be the oc casions Of further
lights and sup erna tura l up lifts .

B y the subnorma l , on the other hand , w e mea n to descri b e a condit1 on Of

’ ‘

mental p a ssiv ity w hich calls indeed many la tent or occult forces into p la y, bu t
w hich is below the s tandard of ou r wide aw ake intui tions Of tru th and error, right -

and wrong , p erfection or p erv ers ity , giv ing p la ce to symp toms w hich a re more
or less erra tic an d erotic , ne urotic a nd p a tholog ica l I t tends to sup p res s or su sp end .

the clear hea ded c ap tainc y of the sou l , b eginning with a modera te hyp notism a nd
-

ending with the demonic sw oon H ere a lso w e ma y distingu ish b etw een the
— —
.

‘
subnormal a s such, w hich nev er exceeds the p ow ers of na ture , and the sub
’ ‘

c onsciou s , w hos e ma in art eries are gr oun ded indeed in na ture , bu t w hos e low er
’

v eins a re feeling ou t for a w orld Of c ontrolled trance p henomena w hich w e ca nnot -

but r egard a s grav ely deleteriou s to the v ital sys tem, if not actua lly demonia ca l .

A ca ta lep sy , a ccomp anied by un heard of orgies and dragging the p a tient down to -

the low est lev els Of mental and moral eclip se , is not only below c onsciou sness ;
it is below na ture, a ntag onistic to the esta b lished law and order of the univ erse .

S u ch a rea lm of ma liciou s influ enc es w e sha ll ca ll the subnatural , in its extreme

‘ ’

dev elop ments the sub p retern atura l , a s insinua ting most forcibly its v iolent
’ ‘
-

antip odism to the w orld of light Though this terminology is somew hat harsh, .

I hav e taken the liberty of u sing these exp ressions a s forming the logical Op p osites
to the su p erna tura l on the one hand a nd the su b conta ined p reterna tural on the
‘ ’

other .

W ith these genera l p rincip les , v agu ely imp lied or a dmitted by our b est authors ,
w e ma y therefore w illingly a llow tha t na ture a dmits of a sup ernorma l dep a rtment
in the one direction and Of a subnorma l ar ea in the other , but tha t on no a cc ount is
the su p erna tural to be c onfused w ith the former nor the su bna tu ra l w ith the
latter , how ev er v iv idly these area s may occa sionally seem to ov erla p F urther .

more , betw een these extreme conditions there 1ies a normal p lane Of op era tions
w hich comes as a ba la nc e to the moral stru ctur e and bid s u s not grea tly sw erv e from
the a p p ointed means of a chiev ing our la st end The volu ntari u m Of the schola stic s , .

embracing the i ntellectus a gens and the i ntellectus poss i bili s , b ring s ou t w ith sufli cient
force that the memory , the intellect and the will , sup p orted by s up erna tura l —
—
gr a ce , conta in a ll that is nec ess ary for our p res ent p ilgrimag e And if thes e .

p ow er s can s ink int o th e su b c onsciou s or be lif ted into the sup ercon sc iou s , it will

imp ly tha t the upp er and low er r eg ions are a like a mena ble to our p sychic influence ,
but tha t the s oul trans c ending su p ernatura l stands uncha lleng ed in its uni u e
-
q
cla ims up on our higher a llegiance
36
.

T here is , then , nothing essentially sa tanic in a ny dep artment Of human p sy

cholog y ,
—
the entir e sw eep of the fa culties belong s to the Crea tor I t is only w hen .

w e wilfully throw our selv es into c erta in state s of mental and moral Ob liv ion a s a
mere curiosity or with a silent p act w ith the p ow ers Of darknes s tha t w e exp ose
ours elv es to the in cursions of the ev il one Let us now s ee how w e ca n ma ke good .

this a s sertion and how it ap p lies in p art icular instances .

deli ate di tinction betw een th e e a ious o de s consul t S t Tho m S um

more
Th eol I q q 1 0 3 —
36 F or a c s s v r r r
1 1 5 p ass im ( On the D iv i ne Go ernment) ; T a nq uerey S ynop s Th eo l D ogm V ol
. . .

I D e M iraculi s no 68 ; —
,

II
.

D A li — D H mi —
1 4 6 ; Pohl e—
P
v , .
, . . .

Th eo l D ogm III p 1 80 —
,
90 V o l e ng e s no 53
,
1 1 6.; o ne no 1 4 0 .
, eu ss , . e , .
r
1 9 6 3 l 1 1f (on natur e and the sup ernatural ) ; a nd co mp a e a mon
,
r
oth e s Dr J oh an Lilj encr ants S piri ti sm and R eli gi on ( New Yo k
. .
, .
,
g ,

r ,
. pp 1 8 1 24 7 2 68 2 8 1
, r , .
-

,
-

I t is a meri t of t hi s autho th at he has k nocke d the d ev il out O f mu ch th at i s n tur al a nd p ath o

.
‘
r a

logi cal th ough it is a qu estion w h eth er the comb ine d w eigh t f the ph eno men is gauge d a t its O a

( S ee T he D ubli n R e i ew for S ept 1 9 2 0 ; al so the Journal Of the A S P R for

,

full v al ue
“ ” “ "
. v .
, . . .

J an 1 922 p B ut a p o werf ul and p enetrati e c i tiq ue lik e thi s is sa dl y nee d ed a nd goes f ar

.

, . v r
,

to dimi ni s h the c la i ms of the p eternatura list for e ery form O f p sy chi ca l exp eri ence th at is ou t
’

r v

of the o dinary T he rath e wide sw eep of the natu a l ord e has a l w a y s b een ecog nise d b y the
r r r r r

most cri tica l wri te s S ee S ch eeb en D ogmatik I l p l 3 ff Th eo logi sch e E kenntni slehre ;
.

“ ”
r : r
II 3 p 2 3 9 1f : N atur und U ebernatu ; II 4 p S I Sff : U nterna tur ; p 6 79ff D amonencult
.
, , , , .

“ " “ ” “
r , , .
:
, , . .

W a h sagerei Zaub e ei B esessenh eit making i mportant di stinctions or reserv ations ”

,

r ,
r , , .
 I ] T H E DE S C E NT T O T H E S U BC O NS CIO U S
.

(1) TH E NATU RAL S UB NO R MAL

The first condition immedia tely below our w aking sta te may be conv eniently
describ ed as the su bnormal , as it c omes v ery nea r the lev el of our da ylight con
sciou sne ss I t em b races not only ev ery v a riety Of na tural sleep , bu t inclu des
.

the more uncomm on ca ses Of a rtifi cial sleep that a re p ro cured by a v oluntary
hyp notism and are a c comp anied by the s o ca lled mesmeric p henomena
“ ”
-
.

O f our ordinary dr eam sta te there is little to record that is not generally -

known to the a v erag e drea mer T his ma y rang e from a simp le d op e or day dr eam .
-

to a mor e or less p rofoun d hyp nosis , w hich in extreme ca ses p a sses on to the sen
sa tiona l fea ts of somn ambulism E xcep t for the p ossible dangers incident to the .

drea m w a lk , it seems a p p arent enough that sleep a s su ch constitu tes a p erfectly

-

hea lthy , na tura l a nd nec essa ry mea ns Of recup era tion , being distinguished only
by certa in su b norma l symp toms with w hich w e are a ll familia r, a certain i ns ensi
bi li ty a nd a p p a rent su sp ension Of our fu ll fa cu lties P hysiologica lly , this is ex .

p lain e d a s a ru shing d own Of the b lood from the higher nerv e centers of the b ra in , -

wi th a c onsequ ent inhibition of ou r full p ow ers Of self control B u t p sychologically , -

.

w e cannot ma ke an efficient ca u se out of a mere c oncomita nce ; a nd w hile it is un

d enia b le tha t mind and body are norma lly interlocked in ou r p resent state , there
a re facts Of an other order w hich show c on clu siv ely tha t the former is fun ctionally
indep endent of the la tter , that the mind ma y be secretly and silently Op era tiv e
ev en w hen the bra in is b eginning to g O to p ieces T he existence Of in fant p rodigi e s .

w ith i mpaired bra in and of mu sica l or ma thema tica l

“
idi ots without a bra in is
”

one Of the mos t sta rtling r ev ela tion s of modern p sychology ! uotin“g D r Ha m . .

mond , a recent writer makes a grea t deal of this discov ery a s imp lying a clear and
distinct recognition , by one Of the a b lest liv ing scientists , of a mind w hich Op erates
w hen the Obj e ctiv e senses are inhib ited a s in sleep or somna mbu lism ; a mind w hich
is Often a c tiv e and p otent , w hen there is a total a b sence Of p ow er in the Obj ectiv e
mind , as in idiocy ; a mind w hich p erform s its functions w ith undiminished p ow er
a fter the organ of the O bj ectiv e mind ha s been tota lly elimi na ted from the cra ni a l
1
I t w ou ld be a lmost unb eliev a ble w ere it not su p p orted by authorities
”
ca vi ty .

“
of the highest rank On the contrary , the less a ctiv e the cerebra l organ , the
.

grea ter the a c tiv ity of the su p erior su bconsciou snes s I t a pp ears in full strength .

not by a v olu nta ry p sychic eff ort , bu t in the inaction or rep ose Of the b ra in ; in
the sta te of distraction , rev erie , or ev en Of na tural or indu c ed sleep I n this sub .

consciou s outp ut ev erything happ ens a s it w ere entirely i ndependent of cerebra l

h
p y si o logy
” 2
I c a ll a ttention t.o th is rema rkable statement because it c omes

from D r G u stav e G eley , D irector Of the I nterna tional M etap sychica l Institu te
.

Of P aris , a p sychologist Of rea l geniu s , w hose system , how ev er d efic ient p hilo
sop hica lly , bring s ou t a numb er Of far rea chin g truism s w hich threa ten to p ulv erise -

mu ch Of our modern ma teria lism and to turn the D a rw inian biogenetics up side
dow n E v en if w e share these activ ities in p art with the low er animals a nd the
.

mind ma y conceiv a bly Op era te throu gh the sp ina l column , their c ombined im
s c a n hardly b e ra ted a t too high a figu re
3
p l ica tio n .

T J Hud son M D A S ienti fic D mon t tion f th Futu e Li f ( Chi go 1 9 1 4 ) pp

1 c e s ra O e r e ca

2 4 5— Co mp e A C H mmond A T e tise on I nsani ty ( New

. .
, . .
, ,

246 ; al o c h p t XV p as i m
.

s a s ar a r a
Yo k The S at of I n ti nct
, ,
. . . .

c h p t II
“

Gusta e Geley F om the U nconsciou to th Conscious ( London—New Yo k

r a .
, e s .
,

pp
—
2 r s e
v , r , .

13 1 13 2
P y ho Dyn mi
.

3 This sy stem is known as T he New s c a s m, ding to w hich it is mi nd

a cco r

Co mp G l ey O p cit p 2 281f
-

w hi ch ‘
cr eates
'
matter , not ma tter c w hi h t mi nd
‘
crea es
'
.
”
. e , . .
, .

id longer a produ ct Of matter y it is the idea th t moulds matter

.

“
The ea is no . On the co ntrar , a

and gi v es form a nd attr to it i butes Thi s i s mplete reversal o

f h m i l i
I bid p —
. a co t e a ter a st h
p ilosophy
”

pi y th at th s ho iy Ab l
.

T he more s the
.
’
66 6 7 . t i au t r c annot see the nec ess t of an so ute
, . .

M ind to p d ro u ce the ent r e co m e i pl x .

18 THE N A T U RA L S U B N OR M A L
B u t w hat is the nature of this sub merged menta lity a nd w a h t a re its p ow ers ?

I t s eems ev ident tha t it is not identica l with the luminosity of our w a king s ta te,
as we are not in full control Of our thoughts and actions On the other han d, it 1 s .

a cc omp anied by a c erta in Ob scur e lucidi ty which s eems to v a ry with the p ro ‘ ’

fundi ty Of the s leep , but to diff er toto coelo from our w a king condi tion in tha t rts
forms and contents a re not rememb ered , bu t to a ll intents a nd p urp oses oblitera ted
when w e return to the norma l H ere is the fi rst susp iciou s c ircums ta nc e .
.

D REAM S TATE ‘
LU C ID ITY ’
IN TH E -

T hat w e occasionally exp eri ence c ertain lights or insp ira tions in our drea m
‘ ’

ing moments will hardly be denied by any thou ghtful or refl ec tiv e p erson I .
‘

hav e slep t ov er it and now I hav e solv ed the p roblem T he sa lutary in flu ence
’
.
,

of the p illow ca se ha s become p rov erbia l a nd many can tes tify to a c learer hea d
‘
-

a fter a g ood night s r est I n these c onditions external Ob serv a tions hav e rev ea led
’
.

the fact that the sleep er p os sesses a c erta in a c celera ted thought or nerv e a c tion -

w hich how ev er nebul ou s a nd a t times nefariou s p u ts on the a p p ea ranc e Of a n

d
,

imme i a te i ntu i ti on — something su d den a nd quite Often illuminating T he

,
,

a ttes ted cases of clear an d c lev er soliloquiz ing for

‘
of a c cura tely re ca lling the ,

Of b b m f l i
’

g ot ten p a st a blin g in,s tra ng e a n d s e e in l

g y un kn ow n t ongu e s o s o v ng ,

diffi cult p u z z les Of app arently seeing things a t a dista nc e or qui z z ing into the
— ,

future all giv e ev idence Of a certa in a mount Of p ersp icuity a nd p rop ulsiv e p ow er
,

on the p art Of the s ubliminal mind which w hether for g ood or for ev il a n d how ev er ,

en forced or inv olunta ry ev i dently s ep ara tes it from its n ormal fun ctions in the
,

w a king sta te ,
M oreov er it ma y
be regarded a s demonstra ted tha t ev en the
, now
d eep est sleep ha s its drea ms , ev en though w e ma y not a lw ay s rememb er them ; it
seems imp ossible to c omp letely throttle the mind Of ma n b y S Op orifi c se da tiv es Of

wha tev er kind W e a re alwa ys mentaliz ing to a greater or less d egree

.
4
.

Now this sublimina l a rea ha s been exp loited by many Of our modern writers
in a manner w hich seems out of a ll p rop ortion to its dignity or its imp orta nce .

They forg et tha t there is a nother side to these a lluring will Of the wisp s w hich is - - -

far from illumina ting P sycho analysts , like F reu d and F erencz i , hav e dedi ca ted
.
-

entir e v olumes to n othing but dr ea ms ; and how ev er instru ctiv e a nd p ainsta king
mu ch Of their lab oriou s research, it ca n hardly be called elev a ting , tha t is , menta lly
and mora lly insp iring T o rev eal a symp tom is not to remov e it ; a nd to be forev er
.

harp ing on the disorderly and a t times degenera te side Of our S Op orifi c p hanta sms
ca n only be excu sed on the p lea of p os sessing an effi cient p anacea for c ontrollin g

those p hantasms S u ch a p a na c ea w e fail to fin d in the w riting s of thes e a uthors

. .

Their s ordid analysis lea v es a sour ta ste in the mouth ; and , how ev er mu ch they
ta lk Of su b lima tion or the conv ersion Of the sex ins tinct into a ltrui stic v a lue s , a
‘ ’
-

p erma nent cure se ms a s ar Off a s ev er

f 5
e .

A s an Offs et to the inev ita b le defi ciency Of this method , Ca tholic m ora lis ts
off er us the s up erna tural p ow er of p ra yer and p ena nce , wi th fa stin g , fla gella tion
a nd other a u sterities , a s the most effi cient mea ns Of p ur ging the su b consciou s , of

driv ing out the sp irit Of the unclea n I t is Christ s own medi cine S elf c ontrol
“ ” ’
-
. .

is largely rees ta blished by these p ra ctic es and mu ch Of the nightmare is a llev ia ted ,
if not sup p ressed ; though it is ev idently p art of the D iv in e P urp ose to tes t the mora l
endurance Of the s oul by a llowing thes e su bsuggestions to harrow it w ith grea ter or

les s frequ ency 6

.

4
H d — u 1 p son, c 2 06 P aul J oire Psy chi c al and S p u ernor ma l Phenomena ( New Y k or
pp 3 0 6 7 ( b
. . .
, .
,

ld
,
a norma rea ms )
G l y p it p
. .

“
e e , o . c .
,
. 3 05 : I ndi vi dual Consci ous ness i s i ndestructi ble a nd perma nent, even when
i t becomes latent i n s ub consci ousness
”

Si dF d AG I Y k
-
.

5
Dr gmun
. reu , eneral ntro uct on to d i P y h o Anal y is
s c -
s ( New or ,
p 90 1i
l p i
.

a nd more or es s ass m
R
.

° C di
J ar nal F ra nz elin, D e S a cramentis ( ome , (general dogmatic b as i s ) St John
C C i l ba i
.

A M
.

l
.

of the ros s , T he scent of ount arme ( as cet c a s s ) .

 T H E NA T U RA L S U B N OR MA L 19

D RE AM VI S I O N D REAM VO IC E
B ut with regard to the dr eam state as su ch, there is no need to s trike out its
-

lur id lu cidities with one fell blow nor to p ut them down genera lly a s more tha n
’ ‘

n atural di sp l ay s of our subliminal p ow ers I say generally , b ecause the supp osed .

v isions Of the d ea d or d in
y g encroa ch up on the confines of a nother w orld for w hich
I am not p rep ared to sp eak .

The boa t is s inking

” 7
O s ave us !

T O w hat extent su ch a p remonition Of di saster in a d istant region might be a

simp le sub normal feeling of a c alamit v a u el a ntici a ted b the min d itse lf,
y g y p y
or how mu ch Of it is suggested b
y the external ev ent or ev en dicta ted by a H igher
P rov idence, w e hav e no mea ns of v erifying in ea ch indiv idu al instance B oth .

T estam ents Sp ea k Of a J osep h who w a s enlightened in dr eams ; but their con

“ ”

tents w ere rather diff erent :

The s un, the moon a nd the eleven s tars did obeysance to me

A ri se, a nd ta ke the young child a nd his mother, a nd flee into E gypt
” 9
.

H uman cur iosity is rarely satisfied in these v isions and their source and p ur
p ose hav e a sp ecia lly d irectiv e and ill uminativ e tendency :

R ise, P eter, s lay a nd ea t! Cas t thy garment a bout thee a nd follow me !

” 10

J ohn, I am here B e not afra id I wi ll s et thee free !

“ ” 11
. .

the A p ostles
The P rince Of and the P rince Of M ystics stand in a somew ha t
diff erent category to that of the or dinary dream talker -
or nerv ous v isiona ry .

D EATH VI S I O N
D I S C ARNATE PHANTA S M
T hat the Lord of D estiny ma y suff er a s oul to rev eal itself to another a t the
hour Of d eath can hardl y be c ontra di cted by the s ternest theology .
12

“
There i s mother . Why mother
have you come here to see me? No, no, I a m ,

coming to see you J ust wai t, mother, I a m a lmost over Wa i t, mother!

”
13
. .

I t w oul d be cruel to p ut down s uch sw eet and consoling exp eriences as in

v aria b ly du e to ha llu cination , nor is there any c all for such a c ours e There is .

Often nothing in them to off end our moral and religious sense .

B ut C a tholic dea thb eds are ap t to be more conv ersa nt with sup ernatura l
thing s and not so eager to rush into a p urely hum an embrace :

Contra
I s ee the heavens opened, a nd the s on o f ma n s ta nding at the ri ght hand o f
T his dying f s
S t S tep hen g oes v a stly beyond a reunion frenz y Of
con e sion of .
-

the more na tur al kind , and simil ar exclama tions hav e ev er accomp anied the las t
moments Of the most bles sed and blameles s liv es :
0 L amb of God , I come Thou dids t shed thy blood f or me .

I nto thy hands , 0 Lord, I commend my s pi rit

“ ” 15
.

The p ainless an d p la cid , the almost j oyou s d eaths of the saints , with their
soul dov es and their emergi ng globul es , shoul d be a n in centiv e to the more
’ ’
‘
-

timid to imi tate their v irtu es , w hile their ma rv ellou s lucidities are one more p roof
t h a t m in d an d b o d y a re tw o diff erent a nd di s tin c t entities .

Y et with a ll the p recedents w e hav e for the divin e dr eam and the p riv ileg ed
’ ‘

sleep of the j u s t , it is generall y held that the s tri c tly sup ernat ural dream is a
‘ ’

J
oire ,
7 P y hi
c al a nd u S p
ernor Ph
mal G en 3 7
eno9 mena ,
9
a ttp 2 , 13 63 8
M
H iz
s c ,
. . . . .

C
.

1° Ac ts , 1 0 , 1 3 ; 1 2 , 8
1 1
er , S t .
o n of the J h ross ,
. 94 12 “
A ll bei ngs who exi st i n p . .

heaven, hell , or p urga tory, or up on thi s ea rth, ma y become the obj ects of corporgl visi on
"
S cara melli ,
D D
.

irect My o mp d V
en 3 C
55 d p om evi ne M ystrcal C p
eolog , 513 Th y p
A p
s t a u o s s , , .
,. . .

p
. ,
.
.

‘3 Ba rre tt 1 , c 1 5
,
8 . p
14
c
.
t s , 5.
5 15
H en z , 2 00. . .
 20 T H E A R TI F I CI A L S U B NO R M A L
gr eat r rity a a nd gr anted circumstances F or this
only u n der v ery excep tiona l .

re a son most of u s make v ery little Of the s leep ing st ate a s fu ll of d angers and

Though I s leep i n my na tura l s ta te a nd ceas e from a ll

“
d elu s ions for the unw a ry .

exerti on my hea rt w a tcheth s uperna tura lly lifted u p i n s uperna tura l knowledge 16 ”

, , .

I t takes an extra ordinary saint to c ombine sleep with su blima tion ; a nd this shows
that the ma j ority w ould d o w ell to p a y little a ttention to its p hantom lights In -
.

the meantime the Visions Of d isc am ate forms a t the hour Of d ea th are taken by
‘ ’

many to furnish a p roof p os itiv e Of human surv iv a l the element Of cha nce b eing
'
,

eli minated by 440 to 1 .

“
B etween dea ths a nd a ppa ri tions of the dying pers on a connecti on exis ts which is
not due to chance a lone This we hold to be a proved fac t
. The dis cuss i on of i ts full .

i mpli ca ti ons ca nnot be a ttempted i n this paper, nor perha ps , exha us ted i n this a ge
” 1 7
.

“
Not only is D ea th no longer the Ki ng of Terrors , bu t i t is no longer the cu rs e
‘ ’ ‘ ’

which ma n , limi ted by his physi ca l body a nd blinded by the illus ion of ma tter, ha s made
i t,
”
—
rather too rosy an est mate , but none the les s reassu ring
i 18
.

HYPNO TI C AND ME S MERI C PHE NO MENA

B ut if the sleep Of na ture , how ev er inhib itiv e of our mora l freed om, is ev i
d ently a div i ne ordina nce for the building u p of a wa sted frame , the sleep Of a rt ,
or the indu ced hyp nosis , ha s n o su ch lofty p urp ose to serv e , but is , generally
Sp eaking , dangerous and deleterious to the human system .

O f hyp notism in general a great deal ha s been written and recorded in recent
times While there is no reason to qu estion the main contention Of its a dv ocates
.

that , w hen rationally and rightfully a dmi nistered , it ma y s erv e as the means of
eff ecting more or les s s triki ng cu re s , e sp e ciall y in the neur otic fi eld , it is ap p a rently
help less in the fa ce of luna c y , hysteria a nd a dv anced ca s es of ca ta lep s y T his .

show s , to our w a y Of thinking , tha t y ou ca nnot cure a d isease Of the s oul

‘
by in
’

j ec ti n g sm a ll qu a n tit ie s Of th e sa m e d isea se ; th at , how ev er tru e Of p hysical v ac cin e ,

this does not w ork in the p sychical ord er A s trong hypnosis cannot be expelled
—
.

by a weaker one I t is like ca sting ou t B eelz ebu b by the p ow er of B eelz ebub , a

.

homoeop a thic p rincip le w hich cannot be ma de to s qu are wi th the allop a thic

treatment of the G rea t H ealer, w ho, a s w e ha v e ha d occasion to note , cu res the
d emonia c s by sha king them out of their stup or, imp lying a p ow er of de hyp notisa —
tion A s soon a s our modern p athologist s will be able to cure a hop el ess idiot by
.

a simp le p a s s Of the ha nd s , so soon w ill w e b egin to believ e tha t they are armed
”

w ith a p ow er w hich may be fa intly comp a red to that of the S av ior of ma nkin d .

And more than this H is follow ers ha v e ev er b een on the w arp a th a ga inst
.

ev ery form Of c oerciv e su ggestion tha t w oul d rob the subj ect of his mental b alan c e

or his moral s tamina Only for nerv ous and p hysical disorders of a sp ecial kind
.

will they c onsent a t times to p ut the p atient to sleep ; and this is far more safely
an d rap idly eff ec te d by the u se of chloroform Against these du b ious and da m
19
.

a ging methods O f sanita tion w e p la ce the g enuine ca ses Of mind healing or mento -

mental a ction w hich a re Op era ted in the w a king state a nd lea v e the subj ect in ful l
p o ss e ss io n Of hi s p ow e rs T 0 t hese w ould then be a dd ed the more exce tion al
.
p
ca s e s of instanta neous healing w hich are ap p arently p retem a tur al a nd b ey ond the
r ange Of the subj ectiv e facul ty E xamp les of this will be giv en a t the concluding
.

p ar t o f o ur s tu d y , a s th ey b elo n g t o th e re g io n of the sup erc ons ciou s .

—
INTERNAL SUGGE STI O N AUT O MATIC WRITING
As to the diff erent d egrees and ualities Of indu ced sleep , the most c ommon q
exa mp le Of the w akin dream rs furni shed by the so called automatic p encil or
.
‘

—
’

g
-

the more ela b ora te oul j a b oard , through which cur iou s and occa sionally s tartling
‘ ’

1“ A
sc ent, II , 14 , 1
1 1?
a rrett , B
o m a re ene ct p C p B di XIV ‘
H er oi c Virt ue
’
III,
D Gly
. .
,

p
,
pp 3 26 3 4 1 on t he r ea m V 1 s 1 o n "3 e e , op cit , 3 19
C p G Hyp C h li E y l p dia
- -
.
.
, . . . .

19 o m are S ur bled , A rt
.
“
not sm,
”
at o c . nc c o a e i
 22 T H E A R TI F I CI A L S U B N OR M A L
E XTERNAL SUGGE STI O N—HYP NO TI C C O NTR O L
When
the p ra ctitioner is no long er his own medium , but is p ut to s leep by
a n other who then controls a nd d irec ts him a t his p lea sur e, w e enter the region of
d yn amic hyp notism, which lends itself so easily to thea trical eff ects .

You will now turn to the eas t a nd s a lute the ris ing s u n .

S wung around the s ta ge ; p ul led hither a nd thither ; forced to kneel, to p ra y or to

dance ; to sw a llow charc oal for sugar or v inegar for cha mp agne, the p itia b le -

v ictim obey s the summons unflinchingly ; he ca n ev en be ma de to p erp etra te the

most horrible crimes H e is then a p atient in the fullest sense of the w ord , as he
.

suff ers the loss of his manhood Lu ckily, su ch thin gs are now lega lly p rohib ited .

to all but medical exp erts , and then only to enforc e a sufficiently p ow erful obj ec t
lesson H ow far they devi a te from a nything ha v ing a remotely div ine sanction,
.

need hardl y be p ointed out N o s elf resp ecting p ers on will allow such lib erties .
-

to b e taken nor w ill any human b eing w ho in any s ense v alu es his d ignity or his
,
“
H e tha t leadeth into capti vi ty s ha ll go i nto ca pti vi ty
” 2
7
honor . .

MAG NETI C LI GHT S—LO C O M O T O R ENERGY

T hen , a s to those mys teriou s ema na tions c oup led with the name of mesmer
‘

ism , they simp ly rev eal the more s ensa tional asp ects of the hyp notic s tate in s o
’

far as it p roduces luminou s eff ects , either in the b ody or on surroundi ng obj ects
—
.

T hese are the so c alled N ray s , human ra diations of a more or less la tent or in -

v isible n ature , but which und er certain c onditions can be seen by p sy chic s or re
corded on sensitiv e p lates .

The extremi ties of the ngers

“
fi as well as the poles of a powerful magnet,
p laced before the s p ectros cope, revea l so m e very dis tinct colora tions .
” 23

T he hea d , the feet and the tw o hands are said to corresp ond to the four p oints of
the comp as s , W est , E ast, North and S ou th, or P urp le , O range , Blue a nd S carlet .

photographi ca lly demons trated between human polari ty

“
The rela tions are

a nd terres tri a l a nd cos mi c polari ty

”
29
.

H ow ev er this ma y be, it is here p rob a bly that w e find the so ca lle d v ital fl ui d in
‘ ’
-

its most b asic form, a p erisp sychic env elop e of a ttenua ted matter w hich, ordi narily
inv i sible to the human eye, w ould seem to be a medium for p olari sed light a nd to
hav e the p ow er of p roj ecting itself externa lly a s the metetheric dou b le
’ ‘
T hrou g h .

this a s an a stral lev er w ould then b e effected those redoub table liftings , w hirlings
‘ ’

or p sychodynami c irnp rints , w hich simp ly giv e ev idence of certain hi d den forces
’ ‘

in na tur e which still a wait comp lete cla ssifica tion F ormerly ridicu led or gr a v ely .

ca lled into qu estion , the peris oma is now v ery generally regard ed a s the ma terial
b a sis up on w hich a large p art of the p hysica l feats of occul tism take their sta nd 3 0 .

T here is no need of a ssumin g a hostile a ttitu de to the entire bulk of thes e

ch, in so far as they are merely natur al efflu v ia of our
p h e n o m en a , w h i p sycho
h
p y s i c a l or g a n ism , sho uld w o rry u s a s little a s the p ro c es s of dra win
g sp arks out
of highly elec trica l subs ta nc e s B ut in View of the fa ct that most of them take .

la ce i n r a t h e r c oerce d and ab normal s tates of the organis m, they are tarnished

p
wi th the s ame b ru sh of the uncons ciou s w hich makes the c orresp onding menta l
‘ ’

lu ciditie s so su sp icious and so uestiona b le q

E v en if it be granted , in the w ord s of .

a recent exp ert , that

luminous points
“
I have seen o f light da rting a bou t a nd settlin on
g the head s
” 31
o f difi erent pers ons .

27
A oc 13 , 10
iiil Hidd F (N w Y k
.
.
,
28
E r e B oirac , Our en orces e or p 213 J oire op cit p 3 74
C mp W C wf d Th R lity f P—y Y k
, . .
,
c hi c P h enomena
.
,
p as sim
. . .

3°
o are J— ra or e ea o s ( New or
G l y p it p 5 1 73
. .
, ,
B arre it p p
.

tt p o c 93 9 4 e e o c R aupe rt , op cit 1 7ff

C k R h es in Sp iritual i sm
, . .
, . .
, . .
, . . . .
, .

p
.

31 roo es , es earc . 91 .
 T H E LOW ER S U B C ON S CI OU S 23

thes ecoronal manifestations su ggest at most that man is somethi ng of a magnet ‘ ’

not that he is endow ed with p reterna tural p ow ers The halo of hagi ology rs a
.
‘ ’
.

bhn ding c orusca tion whi ch tell s a v ery diff erent s tory :

Contra
A grea t radi ant orb was s een by those present encircling the dyi ng sai nt,

the li ght of whi ch wa s s o bri lli ant as to dim the other lights i n the room
”
32
.

We a re ther efore e mp hatic in alogy b etw een mag

rep u diating the s mallest an
n etic w a ter a nd the ri te of bap tism b etw een magnetic p a ss es and the la ying
‘ ’ ‘ ’

on of ha nd s b etw een the ma gnetic aura masking a s the crown of light and the
‘ ’
, , ,

maj estic aur eole of the s aints s cintillating a s the crown of glory B etw een the
,
.

tw o there lie s an ocean of sup erconsciou s and sup ernatur al a ctivi ties w hich w e
w ould beg the oc cult exp lorer to nav iga te .

I t will be im p erativ e how ev er to a dmit gra dations in the sinking p rocess and
, ,
-

not to wip e out the w hole of the sublimina l with the double douche of d ecep tion
and diab olic orgy S ome of the hyp notic and mesmeric condi tions are harmless
.

enough and may ev en w ear their sanitary asp ects Nev ertheless it seems a bund .
,

antly clear tha t most of them are frau ght with nerv ou s strains morb id symp toms ,

a n d a moral looseness s o fla grant a s to c onstitute a p ow erful danger sign al to a ll -

self a p p ointed p ractitioner s

-
33
.

W hen how ev er the hyp nosis begins to dev elop into the deep trance artifi cia lly
, , ,

p rocured for the p urp os e of qu iz z in g into the mysteries of a sp irit univ erse w e are
-

m ov ing in a more debata ble regi on of

w hich will take a ll the subnormal , a nd one

our w a king p ow ers to elu cid ate S u ch a region w e shall c all the sub consciou s
‘ ’
.

in the narrow er sense a s being sp ecially conv ersant with extra ordinary forms of
kn ow ledge combined with v ery extra ordinary manifesta tions .

(2 ) TH E LO W ER S U B CO NS CI O U S
T her e is a s ense in w hich this term exp resses no more than w hat w e ca ll the
m m h h f h h ts , w ords a nd exp eriences w hic h
’
i
‘

p a ss v e e or y , t a t v a st s to r e o u se o t ou g
lies b elow the threshold of our actu al thinking and willing a nd is therefore more or
less p otential or la tent A s the i ntellectus possibilis it forms a necessary p art of
.

q
our ra tiona l e uip ment ; for w e cann ot think or will fruitfull y without recalling our
s t t ho u h t s an d d e s ire s a n d c o m p ari n g them wi th our p resent im ressions If
p a g p .

w e hav e no know ledg e of antecedents , w e ca n ha v e no kn ow ledge of c ons e qu ents .

I t is a fa cu lty w hich p uts unity and c ontinuity in to the mental p rocess , a nd as

su ch it clea rly b elongs to the normal p lane of its op eration s .

B u t the meaning w e a tta ch to the term in the p resent p lace is a techn ical one,
s anctioned by the current p hra seology of the d a y B y the subconscious is now .

more comm only understood those a dv anced states of mental p assiv ity in which
the su bliminal min d is armed w ith p ow er s w hich ap p arently exc eed the rang e of
its n o rm a l w o rk i ng s a n d p e n e tr a te in t o re gi on s o th e rw i s e p rohib itiv e of its sw ay 34
.

TRANC E VI SI O N TRANC E VO IC E
INDUCED MATERIALI SATI O N
T hat remarkab le things take p la ce in the deep er hyp notic s ta te will hardly
be qu es tioned by thos e who ar e not wilfully b lind They are p art and p arcel of .

the me dium istic p henomena and a re now suffi ciently authenticated to merit our
seriou s consideration T hey a re more than mere lucidities ; they claim to be p s ych
.

ical rev ela tions of a v ery elaborate chara cter ; s ights and s ounds which can be tested
by a l arge numb er of p eop le, an d frequently under the most exac ting c onditions of
32 H iz er , S t J h
o n of the ross , 1 9 9 C 33 R
p
a up ert , Op cit p S l ff
Gly ca ll e d S up ernormal S ub consc ious
.
. . . .
, . .

3‘ C p om are e e , op cit , p 9 5, w ho s eaks of

“
The so p
—imply
-

. . .

i ng a di i i
st nct on from or i nar d
s u normal mentatron y b .
,
24 T H E LOW ER S U B C O N S CI OU S
.
—
control Na y more what seems incred ible to our s b e j grn
,
o r u d en t —the p han ,

ta sms can ev en be felt a nd under fav orab le conditions p hotogr ap hed by a s ensitiv e
c a mera ! T hi s is taken to indica te that the p sychica l has a tendency to clothe
itself in the p hys ica l ; that if a mental imp ression is s trong enough it can p ass ov er ,

in to a material imp es sion

r
35
.

T hos e w ho snifii e a t this as tounding claim will hav e to fa ce the fire of the
’

R oyal S ociety and s ome Of the greatest medical lights of F rance a nd G ermany ,

not to sp ea k of our own C a tholic exp erts who ha v e gone to c ons iderab le trou b le ,

and risk in g etting

first hand ev idence -
.

Tha t most b ri lliant of all modern chemists , S ir illiam Crookes , P res ident W
of the R oyal S ociety and b earer of the O rder of M erit, sp ea ks with a v oic e of
a uthority w hich few can command , w hen he says :
I ha ve s een a luminous clou d a ppea r which condensed into the s hape of a per
“

fectly formed hand tha t presently faded a way M os t as tounding of a ll, pha ntom .

forms and faces have appeared; a nd, under ela bora te tes t condi tions a ma teri a l a nd -

beautifu l fema le fi
gure severa l times appea red, clothed i n a whi te robe, s o rea l ,
tha t not only wa s i ts pu lse taken, bu t i t was repea tedly photogra phed, s ometimes wi th
the a i d of the electri c a rc light, a nd on one occas i on, si mu ltaneous ly wi th a nd beside
-

the entra nced medi um, who was p lainer, darker a nd cons iderably s ma ller than the pre
ternatu ra l vis i ta nt, the latter coming into a previ ous ly s earched, clos ed a nd locked room
i n my own hous e
” 1
.

T his w a s the notorious Katie King , an a pp arition a ttested by D r Va rley

‘ ’
.

I held the ha nd of thi s s tra nge being, s ay s Va rley ,

“
a nd other s in indep enden ce
”
.

a nd the ha lf ma teri a lised form of Ka ti e a ppeared down to the w ai s t, the rema i nder
“
-

of the body being mi ss i ng or i nvi si ble

” 2
.

S u ch a tenta tiv e p roj ection goes to s how that the sp ectre w as an ec top la sm,
not a frau dulent imp ersonation ; and the a ff air ha s b een sw orn to by D r Crooke s .

and his c ollea g ues d own to our own d ay

3
S ir William B arrett, his intimate friend .

and c ollab ora tor , ha s wi tnessed sim ilar things a nd regar ds the p henomena a s
whil e S ir O liv er Lo dge is inclin ed to see in psychophysi ca l
“
abs olutely i nexp li ca ble

i nteracti on a p ossible c ue to the mystery

l 5
D r P au l J oire, the emin ent p a tholo
”
. .

g is t , e nd orse s the C ro ok es p hen o m en a , w h ile P r ofes sor R ichet gi v es his own exp er
iences a t the Villa C armen and G enoa :
“
Certa inly, he sa ys , I ca nnot s ay i n wha t ma teri a lisa tion cons is ts
“
I am .

only ready to mainta i n tha t there i s s omething pr ofound ly mys teri ous abou t i t, whi ch

w ill cha nge from top to bottom our i deas of na ture a nd life
” 6
.

S imilarly , D r G eley comes out with v ery un amb iguou s langu a ge :

.

I have been a ble to see, to touch a nd to photograph the ma teri a lisa ti ons of which
I am a bou t to wri te I ha ve freq uently followed the event from i ts beginning to i ts end ;
.

f o r i t w as fo rm ed , d evelo ped a nd d i sa p p ea red under my own e es

y H owever u n .

explained , s trange a nd i mprobable s uch a ma nifes ta ti on may appea r, I ha ve no ri ht

g
to pu t forw ard the s lightes t dou bt a s to i ts reality
7
.

E v en that a cu te criminologist of the U niv ersity of Tu rin P rofessor Lom ,

broso, w ho w a s for a long time skep tical of the genuineness of the P ala dino trances ,
w a s forc ed to a dm it in the end that the much mali gned E usap ia , so often d etec te d -

35
T he me ideopl as ti c miracl e makes the h ands , the face the v i scera the ti ss ues , and the
sa , ,

entir e org an i sm of the foetu s a t the exp ens e of the ma ternal bo dy or the h a nd s the fa ce , or the
Geley , op cit p 6 7ff , pointing to the umbil ical cord ,
, ,

entire org a ns of a materi al i s a ti on ,

”
‘ ’
. .
, . .

pl acental membra ne moa ns and mov ements trav ail p angs etc of the medium and the mother
‘
,
’
,
-

, .

hi th fin l solution
.

?
B ut is t s e a
1
S ir Will i am C ookes P R S O M R ea ches in th Ph enomena of Sp irituali
r es r e m( L on do n
C omw ell Va l ey F R S apud Joire 1 c—p 44 7
, . . .
, . .
, s
p 9 1 ff
,
2
r r
I ntern tional Psy chi c G azette for Dec 1 9 1 7 pp 6 1 6 4
, . .
, , ,
. . . .
. . .

3 a

S ir Willi am B arrett F R S On the Thres hol d of the U nseen

, .
, , . .

4
p p 55 8 7 , and
p assi m
S ir Oliv er Lo dge F R S Raymond
, . . .
, .
,
p 3 17
.
‘ ’
5

Paul Joire Psy chical and Sup ernormal Phenomena

, . . .
, . .

pp 4 77 500 52 55
Gustav e Geley From the U ncons cious to the Conscious p 53 —
, .
, , .

7
, 54 . .
 THE C ONT ROLLE D S U B C ONS CI OU S 25

in frau d w a s in p ossession of a sp irit control tra nscending t hat of John King , ‘ ’

-
,

who v isib ly materialised b efore his eyes :

There i s evi dence of the i ntrus i on of a nother wi ll, whi ch cou ld not be a ttri bu ted
to the medi um or to a ny pers on pres ent, bu t whi ch w a s i n oppos i ti on to a ll, a nd even to
the control,
B ut the last sliv er of su sp icion is remov ed by the exhau stiv e exp eriments
of D r Ad alb ert B aron v on S chr enck Notz in , the celebrated M unich p hy sician,
g
-
.

w hose ul tra ri gorou s tes ts an d p hotogra p hs ha v e not only c onfirmed the p revi ous
-

find ings , but ma y be looked up on a s sup p lying the last w ord on the subj ect They .

form a résumé of the united body of fa cts .

The i mportanc e of Geley s work he sa ys , consis ts not only i n the continu a ti on

’

of the methodi ca l obs erva ti ons o these ex eri ments as

f p rs t elabora ted by mys elf a nd fi
M me B i ss on f or the regi on of ma teri a lis a ti on; not only i n the sys tema ti c trea tment
.

and collecti on of facts ; bu t es peci a ll

y i n the a ttempt to find i ts place i n the ci rcle of
na tura l phenomena a nd i n the proof tha t the rea li ty of s uch phenomena is one of the
s tronges t a rguments a ga i ns t a ma teri a li s ti c a nd mechani ca l vi ew of the uni vers e
9 ”
.

M r G odfrey R aup ert, who has ha d p ersonal exp erience of some of these
.

marv ellous hap p ening s , lea v es little room for further d oubt in the matter .

B y means of this as tra l ma tter i t becomes possible f or the s piri t a gencies to

“ ‘ ’

obj ecti vis e thems elves a nd to produce mos t, if not a ll , the famili a r phenomena They .

mani pu la te i t i n a va riety of w ays a nd f or a n i n ni te va ri ety of ends They use i t to fi .

pr odu ce a bnorma l lights a nd s ounds ; a bnorma l wri tings , dra wi ngs a nd p a i nti ngs ; or
to fa s hi on huma n faces or enti re bodily forms , often very clos ely resembli ng the faces
a nd forms of the dead The exis tenc e of this as tra l force or ma tter a nd i ts manipu
” ‘ ’
.

la ti on by the a genci es f or the pu rp os e i ndi ca ted , is now admi tted by a ll experts 10 ”

.

I sirnp ly giv e these testim onies for w hat they are ev idently w orth refraining ,

from a ny comments on the na tur e of the p henomena or the p ossible causes by

w hich they ar e p roduc ed .

When these a bnorma l sights are sup p lemented by s ounds , or rep laced by them,
w e g et w ha t is called the tra nce v oice a series of j umbled u t tera nc es w hich may -

p r o c ee d fr om the m e d ium o r fro m t he p r oj ecte d p hanta sm , a s the ca se ma y be .

I na smu ch as human language tends to p u t a ra tional content into a mere imp res
sion it giv es the a ffa ir a s till more p lau sible a p p eara nce ; the v oic e or p hantom
,

s p ea ks an d gi v es u s some c lu e to its w henc e or w hither

‘ ’

— —W —L —C —Cl
.

S ybi l Olympu s a ter ethe a ve ouds —F lowery B auks Tu li ps

— E lysi a n S hores , etc
”
.
11

S u ch are the m mblings of one of the most celebra ted talking medium s of the day ;
u -

and some v ery r emarka ble though highly qu estiona ble messa ges hav e b een receiv ed ,

p urp orting to c onnect the p hy sica l here with the sup erp hy sica l herea fter , to giv e
u s a n a p p ro ximate p icture of the G rea t B ey ond :

Y es , he sees the S tars S u n—the Grea t B ear a nd the Chari ot —th —

—
e .

has even been on the s eventh S phere H e has s een the Chris t
”
12
He .

A nn l of P y hi l S i n ( L ndon
8 a s s C mp B tt Op it p 3 1 3 ff f th
c ca c e ce o o are arre c or e
M lli of G n n d B tt zzi f th U ni ity f N pl
, , . .
, .
,

ddi tion l t tim ni f P of a es o es o r ess ors orse e oa a o a o e v ers o a es

M H w d C i ng t n th n t d xp t i p p
a .

r ere ar arr d to w th t du ing th xp im nt t

o , e o e e er , s re are s ear a r e e er e s a
C m b idg M in 1 9 1 0 b p o iti ly f lt nd g p d h u m n h nd whi h low ly m lt d
.

a r e, a ss e s ve e a ras e a a a c s e e
l t ic light Pub li L tu ( Washin gt n
, ,

a w y in fu ll b l z
a f th a e o F ud nd lity
e e ec r . c ec re o , ra a rea

m t b on omi t nt ph of n ly ll th ph nom n
c a a ses ear a es e e e a

B on n S h n k Notzing Ph n m n of M t l t n ( N w nd ompl t di tion

see o e c .

9 vo c re c e o e a a erra rs a ro e a c e e e
Lo nd n—N w Yo k
ar
-

, ,
p 3 4 0 (wi th 22 5 p i nt nd ph otog ph ) P i $ 1 5
R up rt
1°
o
S pi i i
t t i P h
e
n o m
e n n d t h i
r
I nt rp
,

rt t i n s pp 1c5—17
.

F o th l t t e e a a
r
e r
s a
e re a o
ra s . r ce .

r e a es
xp e i m nt f G l y S h n k N tzing nd th in London P i o ls wh
a . .

—
,

s o e e c re e th J ur
c o a o ers ar s r e e ere, s e e
“
o
Al th R u M t p y hiq u f M h
e r e
S R
-

, ,

nal of th A P f o Aeug 1 9 22 pp 4 1 8 4 20 r so e ev e e a s c e or arc

T h Lo n don 8 P R E topl m Exp im nt wi th E
.
. . . .
, , .

in w hi ch
.

Ap il ( Pari s
r on
“
e
’
s c as er e s va

1 1 ittings w e e u es ful in the p o du t on of h umn h nd

. . .
,
es b y ub co n ci ous ideo
.

s r s cc nd f
s r c i a a s a ac s s
pl ti c pow b inging p of ional nd p hotog p h e d n e up t the mi nut Th ittings
er, r r es s a ra rc vr e c o e e s
Con n D oyl s ph ntom h n
as .

in P ri s till in p ogress b n ri ti lly t t d ‘

—
'
r a e a s av e ev er ee c ca es e
Lodg R ymond pp 200 23 03
are s
S P R P o e ding
a . .

l XXIV pp
‘
V 86 1 42 12 ’
11 r c e s, o e, a
. , ,
.
, . .
, .
, .
26 THE C ONT R O L LE D SU B C O N S C I O US

T hese or si milar ej a culations ma y be c ulled from many a sittin g , and they re mind
u s at first sight of m essages of D a nte
the c elebra ted sp here -
.
”

M aterialised forms ha v e b een kn own to come out with the choicest diction :
“
God bless you my dear — M y w o rk i s d one— I m s n
u,
t o w lea e y u
v o —p latitu des ,
”

Kat C ookes p e formances “

attributed to the supp os ed i h
‘ ’
e at t e r r I ndeed .
,

P rofessor Lombroso must hav e p ass ed throug h some r a ther p athetic moments
when during the P alla dino trances hi s own mother ap p eared a t lea s t tw enty
‘ ’

, ,

times and ki ssing his hea d and his lip s uttered those v ery human but thrilling
, , ,

w ord s My s on ! My treas ure!

” 15

S p ace w ould fail u s to chronicle the numerou s modern exp eriences of a similar
S uffi ce it to s a y , tha t, w hile many a scoun drel has d oub tless p layed the
‘
nature .

ghost to a gullib le au dience and dra ined their p ocket b ooks , the more s eriou s
’
-

p henomena are now scar cely called into question as s uch, but only a s the a ctua l,
v eridica l embodiments of w hat they p retend to stand for I ndeed , Mr R aup ert . .

is p robably ri ght in ass erting that those w ho deny their oc currence are in need of
a sur g ic al op eration on the b rain A s b are manifestation s they are no longer
“
.

questionable .

B ut w hat hav e w e to opp os e to the fa cts , a nd are w e p rep ared to d eny out
right that they hav e any obj ectiv e or ev i dential v alu e ?

Our answ er is, that w e ha v e nothing to Op p ose to them in the line of m orb id
exp eriences excep t by w a y of w arning , w hile w e un c ondi tionally d isa llow tha t the

su p p osed rev elations a re to be taken a t their fa ce v alu e , wi thout the most careful

a nd critical s ifting This is only to assume the attitu d e of scientific susp ense
. .

F rom the days of S imon M a gu s , the Chur ch has nev er denied the p ossib le reality
of s u ch happ ening s , and the only qu estion that s till cries for a s olu tion c oncern s
their origin What do they mean ? W hile many are inclined to see the bla ck
.
‘

hand in ev ery form or figu re of the oc cul t, the most c au tious C a tholic op inion
’

w ould b ran d the p henomena a s mentally a nd morally deleteriou s , but as p hysicall y

g enuine p rodigies op erate d p artly by natur a l, p artly by p reterna tural or demoniacal
a gency I n this wa y a loop hole is left for their p ossibly natur a l exp la nation on
.

the ba sis of subc onsciou s mul tip le p ersonalities ; w hile if they defy analysis from
ev ery qu arter , s ome p re tem atural in flu en ce wi ll hav e to be a ssumed , a nd that a n

ev il one T hey sp eak too mu ch of moral flipp ancy and friv oli ty, not to giv e ev i d
.

en ce of the clov en foot

16
.

A t the same time it must be a dmitted tha t while such p ra ctices hav e ev er been
sev erely under the ban, the reca ll of the d ea d by tra nce method s cannot be ca lle d -

intrinsica lly or metap hysically imp ossible, ha v ing b een div inely p ermitted on a t
lea st one occa sion I refer of cour se to the w oman of E ndor, conj uring up the
.

sp iri t of the p rop het S a mu el a t the b iddi ng of King S a ul :

Contra
I s aw gods ascendi ng out o
“
f the earth a n old man co meth up he a nd
mantle
A nd S au l percei ved tha t i t was S amuel, a nd S amuel
”
is covered wi th a .

s aid to S aul : Why has t thou disquieted me to bring me up ? ”

A nd S au l a ns wered :
I am s ore dis tresse , f
d h L d i d d fr m me
—
‘
t t
’ ” 1
7
or e or s e p a r e o .

G ranting that w e are here in p resence of s omething excep tional, a sp ecial

sup ernatural interference, thi s classic examp le show s at least that the Lord our —
G od may w ork thr ough medi umi stic channels , tha t, a s the D iv ine ill m y b e W
rev ealed in dr ea ms , so it m a y be r e v ea le d in th e tra nc s
e ta te
18 -
.

H ere is what the Angelic D octor has to say on the subj ect :
13 Pdi so p ass im
ar a C ookes op cit supra p 1 026 1‘
r
Lombroso apud R aup ert op crt p 59
,
.
, . .
, , . .

—
15

C S ynop s Th eol D ogm I

, , . .
, . .

R aup ert l c p 4 3 d o mp are T anq u erey

Theol Moral II p p 53 3 —
1°
3 1 9 3 26
I Kings ( I Samuel) 2 8 1 3 1 5 P P
.
, . .
, .
, . .
,
17
54 1
Comp are B enedi ct XIV He oic Virtue III p 2 88—
-

,
.

2 89 who a dmits th at the soul of S a muel

.
, , .
, .

18 r

hi mself app ear e d th ough rt rs a q ues t on how far i t was conj u ed up b y the woman s enc ha nt
, , , .
,
’
,
r r
‘

most th eologi ans fav ori ng the Vi ew th at the soul a pp eared before the ench antments .
 THE C ON T R OLLE D SU B C O NS C I O US 27

T ha t the dea d a p p ear to the liv ing in any w a y whatev er is either by the
s p ecial disp en sation of G od , in order that the soul s of the dea d may interfere in the
a ff a ir s of the li v in g —
a nd this is to be accou nted mira cul ou s ; or else su ch a p p ar i
tion s occu r thr ou gh the instrumentality of g ood or ba d angels , withou t the know l
edge of the dep arted , a s may likew ise ha p en when the liv ing a p p ear , withou t
p
their own know ledge, to other s liv in g , a s Au gu stine s a y s in his book, D e Cura
M ortuorum, c XIII And so it may be sa id of S a mu el, that he ap p eared throu gh a
. .

D iv ine rev ela tion , according to the w or ds of E cclesiasticu s , 46 , 23 : H e s lept a nd

“

told the ki ng the end of his life or else , the app arition w a s p rocu red by the demon s ,
unl ess indeed the au thority of E cclesia sticu s be set a side throu gh not being receiv ed
by the J ew s a s ca nonic a l s crip ture 1 9 ”
.

The fac ts are therefore a dm itted , w hile the large v ariety of interp reta tions
show s w hat a w id e mar i n of op inion is left to those w ho su sp end their j u dgm ent
g
on the ultimate na tur e and origin of s ome of t hese p henomena .

T his , how ev er , lend s no sa nction w ha tev er to the indiscriminate ca lling up

of the dea d , real or p retended , a s some of o ur modern ne croma ncer s w ou ld argu e .

T he v ery fa ct that S a ul w a s rep rov ed by the wiz ard w oman for hav ing deceiv ed
“ ”

her by a llowing the familiar Sp irits to a pp ear , is a p roof p ositiv e that the p ractice
“ ”

w a s forma lly interdicted , being analogo us to the ca se of H osea s w ife

“
gotten by
’

fornication 20
I t w a s sev erely censured by the law of M oses U nder the New
”
. .

La w it w as s till more ri gidly exclu ded T here is not a single c a se in the gosp els ,
.

nor in the liv es of the sa ints , of any p riest or p rop het , lea st of all the S av ior H im self ,
hav ing ev er res orted to su c h a p ra c tice .

I f then w e are challenged to dup lica te the w onders of the S eance room, w e are -

ha pp y to sa y that w e can dup lica te them , but ha v e no d esir e to c omp ete w ith
gy m n as t ic p e r f o rm a n ce s w h ic h a re s o d a n g er ou s a n d inj uriou s to mind a nd b ody
a like . Insanity and ep ilep sy hav e too often follow ed in their w ake F rom these .

l lin n d ru es o m e ex h ib it io n s o f t h e c old and clamm y w e p oint with p rid e

g r o v e g a g
to thos e cons oling v i sions a nd v oices of the w orld of light , which, b eginning with
the theop hanies of P ara dise , find their clima x in the T ra nsfigu ration of the S av ior
a nd the T ranslu cida tion of the S aints The su p ereminent C hri st of S t P aul a nd the
. .

i i i h edles s to say , nothing to d o with medium s , nor the Vir gi n

J o h a nn n e v s o n s a s , n e

of Lourd es or C z entochov a with the gha stly nightmares of the e ctop la sm .

“
I a m J es us whom thou persecutes t I am the I mmacu la te Concepti on
.

M oreov er , the div ine tra nce is Sp ontaneous and is gi v en only for the most
.

lofty mora l and r eligiou s p urp ose , nev er a s a mere curiosity :

After the cons ecra ti on a brilli ant li ght emana ted from the S acred H os t, a nd the
“

m of the li ght seemed to s hi ne as a mos t clear s un

”
21
p ri es t i n th e id s t Th ou art to .

s erve me i n an order , whos e a nci ent perfecti on thou s ha lt help to bring back
”
22
.

T o comp are these heav en imp arted sights and a dmonitions with the friv olou s ,
-

w ordly and occa sionally immora l p erform ances of the p roj ected double is to
‘ ’

confound a sublim e sym p hony wi th a bur lesqu e v audev ille .

I n the meantim e it w ould be sa fe to assert that if the medi umi stic p henomena
must claim our a ttention a s p rodigi es and a s dealing a crushing b low to the a tomic
materia lism of the eighteenth centur y , rev ersing in deed its entire concep tion s —
of nature and life and p rov ing beyond a d oubt the sup er a tomic p ow ers inherent
—
-

in the s oul of mam their interp reta tion mu st a lw ays be op en to grav e susp ic ion
a n d to a n endl ess ba ttle of op inions I f su b consciou s imp ersonation is a fact which
.

wi ll c o v e r a ll ca se s , th e m a tt er is d i s m i s se d ; t h e y a re s u rr e p tit iou s p rodu c tions of

t h e lo w er se l f I f
. ac t u a l o b se ss io n s b y a lien p e rs o n a lit ie s , w e are in a s till more

desp era te p light ; for the s elf is p ractically extingu ished and w e hav e no rev ela tion
to tes tify , a s in the ca se of S amuel S aul, that th
— e p hanta sms 1 n qu estion are wha t

h
t y e c l a im t o b e I n
. e it h e r c a s e t h e p ract1 ce of ev ok1 ng the dea d is gra v ely illi cit
‘ ’

to t h e fa i th f u l ; a n d h er e w e m u s t leav e t h e m a tt e r u n t il fu r th er light on thi s intri

ca te su bj ect can be ob tained 23
.

19
St Thomas S T I q 89 , art 8 a d 2 2°
osea , 1 , 2 H 21
H izer St John of the
I dem p
.
, , , . . .
, .

C
. . .

B Th l p
,

S a betti arrett , M or
.

ross , p 1 47
.
“
.
2
, . 28 .
23 -
eo . .
, no 2 0 9 , res
. . 3 .
 T H E D I S R U P TI V E S U B NA I U R A L
’ ‘

28

( )
3 T H E D I S RU P TI VE S U B NAT U RAL
I t is p ossible , how ev er , to s ink into a still low er w orld of p s ychica l manifesta
tions . W hen the p henomena defy exp lanation by a ny na tural hyp othesrs and are
ev i d enced by symp toms w hich are su bv ersiv e of a ll la w an d ord er in the moral

line , w e are no longer mov ing in deb atable territory ; they are less suscep t1 ble of
.

ambigu ou s interp retation s .

F or these c onditions w e make no hesitation in s a ying that many of the clas s

'

of p ortents a b ov e des cribed are of a disorderly and directly demonia ca l origin,

b eing frequ ently the cause of mental a b erra tions and moral obliquities of the most
fun damental and far rea ching chara cter -
.

When the subj ect exhibits nerv ous contortions a nd b odily conv olutions Of a
highly qu estionable na ture ; w hen she utters d emons trab le fals ehoods and c omes
out with foul and blasp hemous langu a ge , w e ma y be qu ite sur e tha t w e are in
d ir ect leagu e wi th the p ow ers of ev il S u ch exhib itions are not only deleteriou s ; .

they a re d amna b le They ma y be w ell described a s b elonging to the regi on of the

.

sub natural , b eing u nder the estab lished c onstitu tion of thing s , the right order of
‘ ’
-

na ture .

HYSTERI CAL AND CATALE P TIC S TATE S

T his los s of the last ramp arts of mental b alance is generally known a s hys
‘

teria ; a nd if it runs a s far a s to dep riv e the subj e ct of the u s e of his sens e s , it is
’

described a s catalep s y , a cond ition of rigidity , in w hich the body is to a ll intents

‘ ’

—
-

a nd p urp oses d ea d , the s tate of lethargy .

H ere a ga in there is a p hy siologi ca l sense in w hich these a b norma l conditions

a re w holly natura l , being no more than d isea s es of our p sy chop hysical orga nism .

A nerv ou s p rostration, indu ced by p hysica l a gencies , must be credited with hav ing
h
p y s ica l a nteced en ts Ne v erthele s s , they are
. su ch fre q u ent ac cessor ies of t he

p rofoun d trance, with its baffi ing exhibitions of the contra p hysica l , tha t, w hen
-

v iew ed in the light of the tota l c omp lexity of the p henomena , they b egin to w ear
a p reternatura l a sp ect ; they b ecome the s ym p toms , to s a y the lea st , of s ome kind

of d emoniaca l influ enc e , ev en if they d o not n eces sitate a n a ctu al d emonic c ontrol .

Examp les of this are a bun dant in the records of the occul t A lthough it w oul d .

be p u erile to insinua te that ev ery nerv ou s c olla p se, ev ery a pp arent c onv ul sion ,
ev ery sym p tom of anaesthesia , is to be un conditionally assign e d to the d ev i l, it
’ ‘

is ra ther rem arka b le that the most s ensational fea ts of the mediums are a p t to
be c oup led with a more or less c omp lete sup p ression of ev ery sane a nd healthy
instin ct , the few excep tions b eing doub tless due to ela b orate medical p reca utions
taken b efore or during the trance A s a fa ct, that most famou s p hysica l medium .

of mod ern times , E u sap ia P a lla dino, w as p recis ely the one most a fflicted with

a dv ance d sta ge s of d elirium a nd a ddi cted to decid edl y sha dy moral

p ractices .

S he fa lls into true convu lsi ons

“
s he cries ou t li ke a w oma n who i s lyin i n
g
s he is overcome by ha lluci na ti ons a nd by deli ri um I have a feeling of numb
24 “ ”
.

ness my arms and my body seem to s tiffen a nd s ha ke a ll the next da

y I mus t
ta ke a res t, a nd s o on
” 2s
.

B es ides b eing ca ught in the most fl agra nt frauds w hen the p romis ed p henom
ena failed to ma terialise , this p oor creature w as exp osed to su ch c allou s and crim
inal surrounding s tha t, in v iew of su ch enormou s mental a nd b odily ha ndi ca p s ,
she coul d hard ly b e e xp ected to r ema in untarnished Vul gari ties of the bas er .

s ort are said to hav e b een rarely a b sent from her s ittin s Nor is this c onfined to
g .

a single un fortunate instanc e .

AS a r
u le,
”
s a ys Sir William B arrett, I have observed the s teady downward
f medi ums who s i t regu la rly
” 26
cours e o .

24
L mb
o roso, Aft D th Wh t ? pu d R up e t l c p
er ea a a a r 19
E pi Pall dino M y own Sto y p u d R aup ert l —
, , . .
, . .

25
u sa a a ,
“
r
"
, a , c pp 2 1 23
B arre it p 26 1
. .
, . .

2°
tt op, . c .
, . .
30 T H E D E M ON I C P RE T ERNA T U RA L

(4 ) TH E D E M O NI C PRETERNATU RAL
When finally , , the human organis m S inks
su ch a s ta te of p a ssiv ity tha t the to
s elf is ap p arently obliterated a nd a ghas tly v isitor takes its p lace making it s p eak ,

and a ct a s a d angerou sly maliciou s and grossly degenera te p ers ona lity w e ha v e ,

cut the la st s trings that b ind u s to the rea lm of na tur al insanity We are mov ing .

in the underworld of sw ooning fa ces and bla sp heming v oic es ; it is S a tan s own
’

emp ire We hav e called it the region of the sub p reternatural b eing under and
.
-

a ga ins t the entire di sp ensa tion of n a tur e .

SATANI C INV A SI O N—D EM O NIC PO SS E SSI O N

Wha t have we to do wi th thee, J es us , thou S on f
o God ? A rt thou me
co

to torment us before the time?

1 ”
hi ther
This ha s ev er s erv ed a s the clearest gosp el examp le of a di a b olic inv asion
‘

suffi ciently dr astic to merit the name of a p ossession , a c omp lete ma stery of the
‘ ’

ego an d a su bv ersion of its fa culties , normal or otherwi se I t is the sa ddest p light .

to w hich a ny child of man can w ell be reduced , as he b ecomes the b ea rer of a n

a lien p ersonality w hich, in View of its shocking ma nifes tation s , is n othing les s tha n
the ar ch enemy of mankind or one of his emmissari es
-
“
M y na me i s L egi on! .

T o sub stantia te this claim by formidable argu ments w oul d re quire m ore
p ara grap hs tha n w e are p rep ared to sa crifi ce Let it be a llow ed that m a ny a .

fainting Sp ell has p assed for a falling sickness of the gra v er kind and that much
-

nons ense ha s b een talked in the name of d emonia cal a gency w hen no su ch a genc y
w a s a pp arently called for, there still rema in those more glaring ca s es of a lienistic
sup erp osition of consciou sness in w hich the p atient c omes out wi th su ch s currilou s ,
v amp id and s oul destroying d iction that, in v iew of his a ddi tional e xhib ition s of
-

the marv ellou s in the form of lu c idity , locomotor energy a nd the like , it s eems
imp ossible to exclude the intrusion of a sep ara te , a p ow erful a nd a p reterna tura l
p ersonality There mu st be s ome p rop ortion b etw een cau se and effect
. .

We know thee who thou a rt, the holy one o f God .

” 2

C oul d anything less than S atan himself in sp ire su ch a da sta rdly outb urs t of ra ge
a nd ha tred in face of the S av iour of manki nd ? And will any ordinary , ev en
multip oliginal p sychology exp lain its no less forc ible exhib itions of a pp arently
‘ ’

p reternatura l informa tion in sp ite of a comp lete wreck a nd ruin of the cereb ra l
organism ? Y et Similar manifesta tions are by no means w anting in the rec ord s
of the unholy art .

D IAB O LI C VI SI O N PO LTERG EI S T -

H e retrea ted to the s ofa a nd a ppea red to be fighti ng vi olently wi th s ome unpleas ant
influence H e made the S i gn of the Cross , then extended his ngers towards the door ,
. fi
as though to exorcise i t; fi
na lly he bu rs t i nto a scornfu l, mocking pea l o la u hter tha t
f g
las ted for severa l minu tes A s i t concluded, a di abolica l expressi on ca me over his fac e
.
.

H e clenched his hands , gnashed his teeth, and commenced to grope i n a crouching p os i
ti on towards the door
” 3
.

I f this is not a close c ounterp art to the gosp el narra tiv e , with its sw ooning
“
fits a nd its forced confession of the cros s , it furnishes a t least an interestin
”

g
examp le of an alienistic and su sp iciou sly d emonic c ontrol At other time s the .

p rince of darkness wi ll make no s ecret of his intrusions and his willing instrument
s eems to s ee and feel him at clos e uarters q
The following rep ort s w oul d certa inl
y
.

suggest it :
I know you are a devil The pencil was gripped i n my ha nd wi th s u erhuman
‘ ’
.

p
force and I could not u nloos e my hand I t wrote the mos t vi le langu age a nd the mos t
.

terri ble cu rs es I t was j u s t a thund ers torm of ha tred and obscenity 4

.
.
”

1 M att 8 , 2 9 ; ar M k5 ke 8 2 8
7; L u M a k 1 24 2
r
E li Cont ol ap ud R aup ert Op cit p 44 I bid p
.
, , .
, .

‘ ’
3
The g ngton r , , . .
, . .
4
.
, . 46 .
 T H E D E M ON I C P R E T E R NA T U RA L 31

Oh, D r P rince, s a ve me from myself, a nd from wha tever i t is tha t is a bs olu tely
.

merci less ! I can bea r anything but this mocking devi l 5 .

”

Add to this the p henomena of strep itation and lev itation, of rap s , s omer
saul ts and the mov ements of furniture, of p ullin gs , uiz z ings a nd ridi cul ous tickl q
—
ings , all of which hav e b een known to a ccomp any thes e orgies on v ariou s occa
sions , —
and it s eems sa fe to c onclude with S ir Willi am B arrett, D r M c D ougall .

occasi on a lly a huma n body may be the s ea t of a rea l i nvasi on from

“
a n d others that

the s pi ri t world a ca s e of obs essi on

” 6
-

, .

T o talk of alternations of p ers onality carries u s no nearer to the ultimate

‘ ’

cau ses of things A descrip tion is not a s olution

. While there must alw ays be .

some d oubt an d hesitancy in a ccep ting many of thes e ca s es a s decisiv e , their com
bined imp ort mu st surely car ry consid erable w eight 7
—
.

A nd wi th this rev indication of the ancient idea of O bsession, the transfer

of a maliciou s p ersonality from one subj ect to another , the driv ing of the demons —
into the s wine of G a dara becomes once more intelligible, though it mus t a lw a ys
remain mysteriou s
“
S u ch im
“
Come out of him!
“
Go! H old thy peace
” ”
!.

p eriou s langu age, how ev er accommodating , can hardly ap p ly to an ordina ry

nerv ous disorder , how ev er vi olent ; and the disorder itself d efies a s a rul e a ll p hys ica l
or natura l r emedies These a re not cas t ou t except by prayer a nd fas ti ng
“ ” 8
. In .

this w e s ee the one c anonical remedy by which the more or less tenta tiv e cu res of
the neurop a thic exp erts are eff ectu a lly sup p lemented , if not sup p lanted .

I t is not for u s to sa y how far su ch a p ow er might be granted to any modern

rev iv a list , w ho wi th clean hands and un sul lied heart, and p erhap s un consciou sly ,
driv es ou t the demons in the Na me of the G reat E xorcis t T he w a ys of D iv inity .

mus t a lw ay s rema in elusiv e, and many a mysterious cure w hich ha s passed for a
‘
mind healin g may , no dou b t, be traced to a p ersonal interv ention of the Div ine
-
’

H ea ler H yp notism alone has nev er b een kn own to eff ect it, and hydrop athic
.

treatment ha s run its c ours e 9

.

B u t if w e must a llow the finger of G od to op era te in many secret and un

sus p ected q
uarters , the i ns ta nt cu re o f demonia cs wi thout trea tment has ev er b een
the s trongest card in the hands of s aints a nd seers since the d a ys of P entecost It .

ca nnot ea sily be du p licated by any form of E mmanu elism or C hristian S cienc e , if,
indeed , these can Show the remotest p arall els .

I s end you F a ther J ohn of the Cros s , to whom God has given the grace to drive
evi l s p iri ts away H e has now , here i n A vi la , pu t to fli ght three legions of devi ls ,
.

whom i n the name of God he command ed to tell their number, and he was obeyed on the
” 10
ins tant .

T his testimony of S t T eresa to the su dden cu re of a p oss essed mm is a ll the

.

more v alu able beca use it does not sta nd alone H er great c ollea gu e bears a dditional .

witnes s to his own exorcisms on sev eral other occa sions , as w hen he restored a
v iolent p aranoia c to his s ober s enses with the w ords :

N ow the L ord ha th gi ven us vi ctory over this enemy

“
There is nothi ng to .

fear .
” 11

That these w ere genu ine ca s es of obs ession, not mere insanity , can hardly be
d ou b ted T hey w ere accomp anied by sw oons , blasp hemies and b odily c ontor
—
.

tions decisiv e symp toms S imilar exp ulsions ha v e been eff ected by holy p ersons
.

in ev ery a g e or clime, and a lmost inv arrably at the mere w ord or b eckoning of
the s a in tly O p erator C an the p rofane p ra ctrtroner show u s anything exa c tly
.

like it ? W ill a p a ss of t e s l
h h n d d i e ou t e e s ?
a r v p p y
i

Listen to the w or ds of D r P rince, a v ery imp artial wr iter : .

B h m p C l p d B i p 1 3 7
’
I b id p —
Comp are Joire Psychical and Supernormal Phenomena pp 9 2—
6
5
T he S u
‘
y ea
a uc a -
o nt o a u rr ett op c t r , 1 3 7 13 8a , . .
, . .
, . .

7
,
1 0 1 on the Polte geist , .
,
“
r ,
l i i i h t l n ce a nd i ts c lu msrnes a nd w ho s u g es ts a t
pp 78—
who l tt n t n t o ts nc o en ce s o e er 1 Vi
g s,
S up a p 2 0
s a e o
H
c a ,

l east a d emoni ac l i nt ention a Matt 1 7 20

erv
8
eriz op cit.
, 79
.
9
r , . .
1°
,

I bid pp 1 3 6—1 3 7
,
. . . . .

11 .
,
. .
32 T H E D E M ON I C P RE T ERNA T U RA L
S pi ri t poss essi on is fami liar to us from the N ew Tes ta ment, and those who
accept i t as a fact there ca nnot be certai n tha t i t i s never exis tent now H as not the .

Ca tholi c Chu rch, i n days p as t, carri ed ou t exorcisms ? S ome modern cas es tend to
s upport the New Tes tament affirmati ons abou t obs essi ng s pi ri ts A nd if there are .

s uch cas es , the pries tly exorcis ms might reas onably s ucceed , whether by erecti ng ba rri ers

i n the minds of the victi ms or by ac tu a lly a wi ng the obtruding pers onali ti es

12 ”
.

O f cours e, w e cannot p rov e an actual p oss es sion by p urely p hysical criteri a

“ ”
.

I t is a metap sychical a ilment B ut w e ca n p oint to a su ffi ciently s trong conv erg .

ence of facts and p henomena to w arrant the c onc lu s ion that a d isloca tion of the

ego is taking p lace of such an exc ep tiona l kind tha t it ca nnot be r ighted b y any
natural remedies so fa r known to u s Blackwell s I sland is s till s w arming with its
’
.

ra ving demons ; and the only cures that ha v e ev er b een rep orted from tha t sa d
‘ ’

a s ylum s eem to hav e been O p era ted by religious p ers ons T his should c ount for .

s omething in the ultimate diagnosis of this unfathomable mala dy ”

.

A GE NERAL E STIMATE
We s ee , then , tha t the w orld below our norma l c on su bli mina l order —the
sciou sness , is by no mea ns — un iform , bu t a dmits o f in d efinite homogeneou s or
,

g ra d a t ion s , ran i
g g n fro m a m od era te p a ss iv ity t o a c om p le te los s of the p ow er of
self p oss ession We hav e follow ed the downw ard step s in ap p roximately four
— — —
-
.

s ta g es , dream v ision , trance v i sion , hysteric v i sion , demonic v ision , a nd these , -

with their corresp onding au ditory and motor p henomena , constitu te four distin ct
lea p s i nto the un derworld, exp ressed by the subnorma l , the sub consciou s , the su b
na tural and the sub p reterna tural O f these the first is largely within the c omp ass
-
.

of r egu lar la w ; the second is more p la stic an d p liable to extra terrene influ en c e s ; -

the third is defin itely below the c onstituted ord er of things ; w hile the fourth b oldly
trans cends and O p p os es the scheme of the univ erse I n so fa r a s these are c onv er s .

a nt wi th d iff er ent s tates of mentality , they ma y be labell ed S u b cons ciou s p henom

‘
-

ena bu t in so far a s they tend to destroy that mentality or to su bstitu te a p seu do

mentality , the term is not s trong enough, and w e require to ma rk off the low er
regions wi th still more incisiv e ep ithets , the low est of a ll b eing the exclu siv e d omin
ion of the ev il one F rom natura l dea th to demonic p oss ession there is su rely a
.

v as t a v e u e o
n f in term e d iat e ex p e ence w ich cannot a fford to p a s s ov er
ri h 14
.

A t the same time w e find it imp ossible to bra nd the entir e region a s rep lete
with s a tanism or sa tanic decep tion The inv a sion of the sub cons ciou s by su p er .

c onsciou s , na y by ev en sup erna tural form s of lu c idity show s that the tw o ord ers
“

i nterp enetra te, and C hr ist s descent into hell is a n ev erla sting r eminder tha t no
’

p ortion of the la nd of d arkness is bey ond redemp tion , unles s it be the G ehenna of
the damn ed The united rea lm of being belongs to the Crea tor
.
An d this is a ll .

the more rea son w hy w e shou ld w alk wi th the grea tes t cau tion and c ritica l c ir
cum sp ection w hen w e a re exp loring a w orld w hich is furrow ed with su ch fri htful
g
chasms an d d angerou sly ya wning p recip ices F acilis descensus a verni ! .

W lte F P inc An In estig ation of Polte g ei t nd oth e Ph nomena n a Antigoni sh

12
a r r e, v r s a r e e
J ou nal A S P R Vol XVI ( August
.
r
p 4 3 5 Th autho p ea k of wo kin g among
,
r e r s s
S ot h Rom n C th l a k ndly o d ly nd gene lly upright p eople ; lso of h av i ng met
, . . . .
, .
, . .
r
”
c c a a o rcs , i , r er a ra a
se e al of the s ch ol a ti c a nd e
v r l esias ti cal le d s w ho how ed an enl igh tened and f iendly i nt es t
s cc a er s r
H unted Houses and Exo ci sm in the O ccul t
er
in the u nd rt king ( I b id p S ee al so
” “ ”
e a a
Revi ew fo A ugu st ( London
.
, .
r ,
r ,

W e cannot al w ay s eri fy thes e all eged exp ul sions b y p i es tly p o w e as th ey a e fo the

13 v r r, r r
most p art of p ri te and confi denti l nature ; bu t ev idence has co me i nto o u h ands th at some
a va a r
e g enui ne exo ci sms O p e a te d b y th
,

of th em ar x ufil tio Th ey h av e been ttest d b y li ing

r r e e s a a e
S ee C th oli c E ncy lop aedi D emoni s nd comp e D r Will i m
.
v
medi cal wi tness es rt a c a, a
“
ac a ar
M enzi es Al exand D emoni c Possession in the New T tament I ts el ations histori ca l medi cal
. .
. a
er, es : r
nd th o logi cal ( E dinb u g h A lso B enedi ct XIV H e oi c Vi rtu e II pp 2 9—
, ,

3 1 ; D ev in
a e
M ysti cal Th eology pp 3 1 6 —
3 22 ; for the y mp tom
r ,

s s
, r , , . e

H ll and its P o b lems furni sh

, . .

R aup e t s p u b li cati ons entitl ed T he New Bl a k M ag i c

’ ”
‘4
r c , e r
st ong bu t qu estiona b l e ammun t on H as enoug h a llow an e b een m de fo the neutr l a nd no n
,
r 1 1 c a r
mo l h a cte o f the mo e natur l ph enomena ? Cont a : Lil j encrants Spiritism and Reli
,
.
a
“
ra c ra r r a r ,

i ate the former pro s the exi stence of the d emoni c wo ld a nd p in ts i

lurid a nd lech e ous colo s —for wh ch all p ra e !
85 A
”

g on p
,
26 t a n y r .
, t in ve r a
r r , 1 rs
 I I I T H E A S CE NT T O T H E S U P E R C O NS C IO U S
.

Let us now turn our attention to a diff erent line of facts and wa tch the gr a dual
unfoldin g of a w orld of light and b less ednes s w hich is a b ov e the threshold of our
normal sta te and lifts u s s erenely into G od s ow n fatherland H ere a lso there are
’
.

d egr ees of elev a tion from a natural s ensing to a beatific S eeing

,
-
’ ‘
and it will
‘ ’

be inter esting to make the a s cent of that H oly M ountain whi ch, so broa d and
ea sy at its b a s e , b ecomes increa sin gly steep a nd Slip p ery the n ea rer w e a pp roach
the summit S end ou t thy light a nd thy truth, let them lead me; and let them bring
“
.

me to thy H oly H i ll .
”

(1) TH E I NTE RVE NI NG S UP E RNO R M AL

‘ ’

LUC ID ITY I N TH E W AKING S TATE

T he distinctiv e fea tur e of this up p er side of the univ ers e is found in the
‘ ’

refreshing fa ct that its mental flights an d its p hysical w onders are not the ou tc ome

of a n ob scuration but of an illumina tion of the higher fa cul ties w hile the low er ,

motions of the soul are held in check with greater or less su ccess by a p ow er whi ch
is ev i dently w orking a g ain st their ob noxious influ ences —trying to stem them by ,

an a ttraction of a n opp osite natur e . S uch an a ttra ction is not always a ccom

p li shed su ddenly ; it is in the first instance a imp le grop ing or feeling ou t for a S
higher order of menta tion than can be conv eyed by the indu ced tranc e .

T his begins a s a rul e with the w ell known p henomena of mental telep athy or
-

telekinesis by w hich thin gs are a p p arently seen or mov ed a t a dis ta nce, a nd this
withou t a ny loss of su p ra limina l consciou snes s -
T hey leav e the su bj ect in the .

s ame condition a s he w a s before , but giv e him a p sychical exp erience w hich is
ra ther out of the or dinary , hence su p er normal -
.

The general p rincip le of p erceiv ing things not normally a ccessible to the fiv e
sen ses shoul d hardly cau se a gre ater sur p rise than the use Of the teles cop e for d is
c ov ering the infinitely large or the micr os cop e for unv eiling the infinitely small
‘ ’ ‘ ’
.

I t imp lies n o more tha n a sharp enin g u p of the senses by w hich the obj ect is brought
indefinitely nearer to the p erceiv ing subj ect, either with or without external
in struments .

T he simp lest form of this kind of telesthesia is w hat is known a s b ody sensing ,
‘ ’
-

a v ague feeling tha t something is p res ent w hich turns ou t to be an a ctua lly c orrect
imp ression of an external obj ect S u ch a n exp erience is not alw ays infallible nor
.

I t is in the fir st instance a conj ectured ima ge gi v ing

‘
r ounded off to a nicety
’
.

bu t a remote clue to the nature of the thing p resented .

D I S TANT VI S I O N D I S TANT A CTI O N

AS a p ur ely p hysiological sy mp tom p ow ers of
the p ossession
, of excep tional

s ight or hearing d oes not carry u s beyond the domain

of molecul ar p hysic s ; it

s imp ly imp lies the p ossession of m ore d elicate organs of p ercep tion The eye see s , .

or the ear hear s , w hat other p eop le are un able to take in ; their organs are not suffi
ciently sensitiv e S u ch a bnormal seeing or hearing , tou ching or smelling , would
S
.

seem to be the ec ia l ornament of p ri mi ti ve ma n, though it ma y rev eal its elf at

p
any a ge or s tage of the hum an race The sense of color and s ound is rather more
.

v iv i d am ong the n ature p eop le s , the p ow er of p erceiv ing di stant obj ec ts b eing
-

s ometimes tw o or thr ee tim es the normal M oreov er , the sense of orientation is

.

often q uite p henomena l , the sud den finding of a lost trail or the di sc ov ery of
s e emingly hidd en obj ects b eing by no means unknown in the rec ord s of the p re

historic hunters G iv en tha t s ome of these fea tur es, at leas t, ar e genuine , there
.

are others of too v a gu e and c onfus ed a chara c ter to merit the name of v i sions .

T hey are b etter descri b ed as imp ressions , or indefin able s ensations I n many of .

these c onditions nothing is actually s een, bu t only p sychica ll y felt; and thi s dis
33
 I N T ERV EN I NG SUP E RN O RMAL ‘ ’
34 TH E

tinguishes the con e j ctur ed image from the sharp ly defined p hantasm w hi ch goes
with the more a dv an ced stag es of p sychica l elev a tion .
1

A
more definite imp ression is said to be p roduced by the dow s ing rod, or the -

i l d i h m re p rorms e
‘
d l l hi d w
’

pe n u e e x p o r a teu r , b y w hi c h th e d en treas u r e s o ca t e t o

of a ccu racy H ere a forked rod or a susp ended ring is ma de to twis t or s wing to a
.

p a rti cu l a r p o in t in sp a ce , g iv i ng s o m e c lu e t o w h e re ab ou ts o f m et a llic o r e s , s p ring s

or other d es ira b le q ues ts I t can ev en be ma de to incline to the diff erent letters

.

of the alp ha b et ; and then w e hav e the u sua l mes sag es which are largely the out
’ ‘

come of the dow ser s own mentation and muscul ar eff ort H e thinks in a definite
’
.

direction, and the needle follow s his thou ghts ; it is p ure coerc ion
’ ‘
Nev ertheles s , .

it will p rob ably hav e to be a dmitted that su ch p ointing s gi v e oc ca sional ev idence

‘ ’

of a genuine p ow er of dia gn osis w hich w oul d imp ly s ome fa cul ty in the mi nd to

rea ch out into more hidd en recesses of the real , if not to slightly influ enc e the
motion of surrounding obj ects When not done with malici ou s p urp ose , it ma y .

be a harmless amus ement, though care must be taken to keep on an ev en keel and
to w ard off the c ondition of mental stup or 2
.

S imilar remarks ap p ly to the p lanchette and the ou ij a b oa rd , though here the -

danger of occul t a gency of a baneful chara cter is far more p ronoun ced Ind eed , .

they are mos t eff ectiv e w hen the O p erators are most p assiv e a nd mentally inert ;
for w hich reason w e consign them to the region of the subconsciou s , with a ll the
warnings and p rohibitions that are a ttached to that region W e wish to stimul a te .

our w aking fa cul ties , not to sup p ress them C hines e p u z z les like S ummer L odge !
“ ”
.

cannot be said to interest u s Tha t such is really the case is op enly affirmed by .

one of the most p romin ent a dv oca tes of the talking table
“
I ought to s ay tha t
’ ‘
.

mos t certainly I a m s ure tha t no consci ous efi ort w as employed by a nyone pres ent
” 3
.

And w ithout eff ort there is no actus humanus ; it is a sublimi nal p rocess
‘ ’
.

B ut an actu a l p icture of s omething beyond the range of the senses is more

c omm only claimed for the crystal v ision , where d istant or hidden obj ects a re
’ ‘
-

occa siona lly di scr ie d in more or less c omp lete outline .

B ut he i s clothed i n a ga rment s o bright tha t the

“
I ca nnot explai n wha t I s ee .

s un whi ch is s hi ni ng on him daz z les me comp letely

”
4
.

S u ch a p risma tic image may be formed in the crystal or in a ny shining s ub

‘ ’

s tance , and is sa id to giv e oc ca sional ev i dence of g enuine knowledg e b ey ond the

subj ect s norm al p ow er of a c quisition I n this case the v ision tells of a certain
’
.

s oldier w ho though in the mind of a b ystander, w a s s eemingly unkn own to the

,

s eer and described with the most p erfect a ccu racy of detail, whether in the ma tter
of form, ra iment or ha b itu al surroundings Wha tev er the s ource of the informa .

tion, it w a s app arently c onv eyed through the bri lliant p olyhedron S imilar fea ts .

a re p erformed by p rimitiv e p eop les in the wild s tate , w ho ma ke u se of the qu artz

crystal or the s tone of light, s ometim es of a smooth sheet of wa ter , to ferret out
‘ ’

the location o a f di s s
e a e o r t o fix th e im p c pt b e
e r e i l 5
Lookin g into the fir e or into .

the fume s of burning incense will als o indu ce a s econd ary image , which, thou gh
w holly p hantastic , may be the channel of s ome rather unw onted or inacces sible
informatio n M oreov er, in all thes e ca ses there is app arently no breach in the
.

full w aking consciousness of the ga z er H e is p erfectly compos mentis and d escrib es .

the v ision with the same c almness and c omp osur e as if he w a s looking at the canals
of M ars or the b elts of Jup iter T hough mu ch of the v ision ma y be p a dded with
.

memory imp rints or app arently forgotten rec ollect ions , P rofess or J oire assures u s
-

“
that in these pa rticular i nstances the pictu res s een in the crys ta l did not arise ei ther
from a s ubconsci ous recollecti on nor from a thought, more or less consci ous , whi ch gave
1
C ho s P ehi tori c R li gi on I nt oduction and p p 3 23 3 Also C ea ti
mp are the aut r
’
r s e
—
o r on
u E oluti on
, , . . r
( W hi pp ”
1 3 20
B arr tt On th Th h ld f the U n n pp 3 2 1 —
v ers s v ng t n as o

L R
, . .

3 23 o dge a ymond p 2 24
2 3 ‘ ’
e e res o o see
J oi e Psychi cal nd Sup rno mal Ph enomen p 1 6 1 —1 6 2
, , . .
, , . .

C tion ersus E olution p 1 1 —

4

1 2 ; 1 8—
r ,
a e r a, . .

5 rea v 20 v , . .
 THE I N T ERV E NI N G SUP E RN O RMAL ‘ ’
35

ri s e ha llucinati on B ut if thes e elements are ruled out, there rema ins but
” 6
to an .

one alterna tiv e They mu st be tra ced to some kind of sup erconscious , or at leas t
.

u p e n rmal , fa cul ty of mentation Di v ine or dia bolic agenc y need hardl y be

s
rg
.

i nv olte

When sound s or v oices are heard , the p ictur es naturally a c uire a more v ital q
i teres t T h ey s eem to talk and to describe distant s cen es in a p ersonal and life
n .

—
hke manner I n the ca se of the shell telep hone,
“ ’
another instrument known to
—
-
.

the p rimitiv e , this natural trump et is held u p to the ear, and is sa id to rep rodu ce
these p re cari ou s v oices with sur p rising realism H ow ev er this ma y be, there is .

here a v a st fi eld of v isu al and au ditory p henomena which still aw aits the exp lora tion
of the man o f s cience 7 .

B ut it is p ossible to hav e the same exp eriences without shell, p rism or p lum b
line When no a rtificial means are emp loyed , w e get what is called the op en
.
‘

v ision , a mental im p res sion w hich ma

y hav e its sour ce in material thing s or in
’

s ome other mind T his is s econd sight in the conv entional sense of the w ord ,
.
‘ ’

a s the s eer focu sses the obj ect directly , w hich obj ect is assimilated b
y the mind
a s it w ere without a camera , j u st a s it p resents itself to the v isu al or anism I t is
g .

a direct p sychic image

‘
.
’

H ere als o there are grada tions of intensity in the v ision , ranging from a v agu e
feeling of s omethin g ominou s to a sharp ly defined mental p icture .

D u ring B enedi cti on I felt a blow a t the hea rt ( si c) ; I thought of your chi ldren,
a nd looked f or thei r mother to tell her to pray f or them
” 8
.

“
H ere is a case , s ay s P rofessor J oire , in w hich w e find i n the w a king s ta te a
p remonition of the d anger incurred by s ome young men in an a ccident T his .

p remonition occurred , a s w e shall see , without v i sion , and withou t hallu cination
”
.

I t is not easy t o say how far su ch an imp ression might be conv eyed by some cerebral
p hantasm sym p athetically p roduced in the mind of the receiv er , or how fa r it is
more of the natur e of an anticip ated danger B ut it is cla ssed with many similar
‘ ’
.

exp erien c es of a sup p osedly natural kind ; a nd there is no rea son , a s fa r a s w e can
see , to question their v era city .

T his is rendered increasingly p lau sible by the numerous instances in w hich

a definite p icture is a pp arently seen in ev ery v ariety of time or c ircumstance .

The P hantasms of the Liv ing , hav e now been fairly w ell sifted
“
Out of 1 684
”
.

ca ses of ha llu cination i n the normal wa ki ng s ta te, 3 50 w ere recognised ap p aritions

‘

of liv ing p ersons , many of which w ere s im ul taneou sly exp erienced by a gr oup of
o q
p eop le, showing that there c ou d be l s i b h i l 9
n u e t on a ou t t e r rea occurrence .

S w edenb org s v i sion of S tockholm in flames ma y be dup licated by many modern

’

examp les of d istant p erc ep tion ; and s ometimes d im p ersonali ties will show them
s elv es a t unexp ected moments and w hen the mind of the subj e ct is in full w orking

ord er .

B less ! me Why, s urely, tha t is your brother 10 ”

.

T he hum an figu re immediately v anishes ; but the mental imp ress ion is found to ,

syn chronis e wi th s ome extra ordi nary ev ent , and frequently with a n imp endi ng
I f all the ap p ariti ons connected Wi th death be counted
.

d ea th, dan ger or disaster .

up and c omp ared , they furn ish, a s w e hav e seen, a p rop orti on of 440 to 1 in fav or
.

of a logica l nexus b etw een the reality and the rep ort W hen defin itely after dea th, .

they m a y trul y be said to lend a p ow erful supp ort to the doctri ne of human im
morta lity .

0 J oir e o cit p 1 72ff Comp are h ow e er S t Joh n of the Cross in The Ascent of Mount
,
.
, . .
,
v , .
,

Carmel II 1 9 w ho ays p oeti ally of course th at the wi sdom of God i s H i s ry tal

,
s ,
c ,
“
c s
"
,

i ev i d ntly a simil i tud e

, ,
"
s cry tal s l k mor ls
“
att en t on to P s 1 4 7 1 7 H e sende th hi ,
s i e se , e ,

J oire op c1 t p 1 2 3
.

7 J oire op cit p 1 75fi 8

S P R Proceedi ngs Vol X pp 3 9 246 B arrett On the Threshold of the U nseen p

. .
, . .
, . .
, . .

,
9

1 43 —
,
.
, .
, .
, , .

J oire 1 c p 1 3 3
. . .

l o
144 . , . .
, . .
 36 THE I N T E R V E NI NG SUP E R NO RMAL ‘

There i s no doubt wha tever a bou t the s igni ca nce of this evidence I t poi nts fi .

mos t unmis ta kably to i ndi vidua l s urvi va l The s elf continues

” 11
. .

These p sychi c v i sions hav e nothing to d o wi th mediums or ta b le turning ,

’ ‘
-

though w hy they a re so fl imsy and so few a nd far b etw een is not easily d etermined .

B ut that they are p erfectly sa ne , healthy a nd normal , or ra ther su p ernorma l ex

p eriences of honest , wide a w ake s ensitiv es , can no longer be qu estioned
’ ‘
-
.

Contra
When
how ev er , these exp eriences are rela ted of holy p ersons or of mora l
,

and religiou s g eniuses , w e begi n to su sp ec t their infi ltra tion from a directly su p er
human source A p art from the S av ior s rev elations of the hid den , which a re of
’
—
—
.

cour se uniqu e , H is follow ers hav e often been a rmed w ith su ch excep tiona l p ow ers
of d istant v ision as to ne cessitate a sup erna tur a l a gen cy .

“
Go thy way s on liveth!
” 12
Thy .

T hes e instant and infa llible intuitions of the G od M an are on rather a higher lev el -

than the p artial and p roblema tic grop ing s of the c omm on v isionary , thou gh in
their p urely human asp ect they rev eal a na logi es wi th the telep a thic p roc es s To .

this extent they show that C hrist w a s an extra ordinary seer , and similar e xa mp l es
in the Liv es of the S aints are too numerous to chronicle A t the v ery outset w e are .

told that
S a u l of Ta rs us ha th seen i n a vi s i on a ma n na med A na ni as .

and this w as p rob ably a p sychica l imp ress , not a n a ctual p hysica l biloca tion .

The same of the teles thetic marv els , rea l or a lleged , of S t Thoma s the A p ostle , .

S t J ohn Cu p t o, Si Al h Liguo , a d c oun tless others

i 15
. er n t p on su s r n . I n so far a s .

these are p sychic p roc esses , they might c ome un der the sw a y of telep a thic forces ;
‘ ’

but in s o far a s they are corp oral manifesta tions , c ombined with lucidity , they mu st
be cla ssed , a s w e shall see , w ith p reternatural p henomena .

C a ses of thought transferenc e, or mento mental action, are n ow so fi rmly

- -

attested that little need be sa id to c omp lete the p icture I t is imp orta nt to note , .

how ev er , that these symp athetic v ibrations b etw een brain a nd b rain are v ery
elu siv e as to their cau ses a nd that they a pp arently nev er ta ke p lace without c on
sciou s eff ort on the p art of s ome a gent The p riv acy of the soul is inv iola b le u ntil .

it is willfully s a cri fi ced by the subj ect 16

This w oul d p oint to s ome kind of sup er .

conscious p rocess more or less sealed to su bliminal fi shing ‘ ’

.

A t their bes t, how ev er , these artificial u iz z ing s ca n nev er c omp are w ith tha t
“
q
infa llible p ow er of disclosing the secrets of heart s w hich, w hether with or withou t
”

the consent of its obj ect , p enetra tes into the most hidden recesses of the s ou l :
“
Thou has t had fi ve hus ba nds , a nd he whom thou now ha s t i s not
” 1
7
thy hus ba nd .

Will any ord ina ry mind -

rea ding ferret ou t the p ast and p riv ate a ntecedent s
acter
.

of a p erson wi th su ch unerri ng c ertai nty ? I ts a ltogether excep tional char is

brought to light by the instant rep ly of the S amaritan w oma n :
“
S i r, I percei ve tha t thou a rt a prophet 1 8
”
.

S u ch a direct and immedia te in sight into the interior ca stle is baffl ing ind eed ,
‘ ’

bu t has b een known to be exhi b i ted by sa ints and holy sup ernorma ls in so man
y
instances that w e can w ell credi t its p ersistence in modern times .

B arrett 1
11 c p
T he urv v al of M a n,
1 44 3 99 1 0 9 L o dg e
l ll ' S
z rcl11 0 1
i — A Hi P
Inv estigations g iii 2
, . .
, . .
,

p a nd p Thi
. .

29 1 2 4 23
s is not o p p o ed to a n f e i ed doc c r c
'
y ce v a’
. . . .

8
most th eol ogi ans are a gree t at all bei ngs i n hea ven, hell or d h
, p urga tory , i nclud i n those an thi s
g
earth, ma y become the obj ects of corpora l vi si on, t oug
”
h by h i
not p
t e r own ow er See Sc aramelli. h
p dV
a u oss , l c , 3 55 ; p
ev n e ,
i D
st ca M y i l Th l y p
eo og , 5 1 3 J h
_

12
o n , 4 , SO 13
ct s 9 ' 1 2
.

A
C p D W H E y
. . . . .

i p p k d
.

14
o m are arri s , ssa s in Occ ul t s m, w ho s ea s of ual p erSO rial it
H
. . -

y
.

thoug h n ot al w a s a ccurate y
of
“
ly b il i
”
i p p
— Gly F
ocat on 1 5
arr s , op cit , 4 7, 69 , 773
L d
.

pp
. .

o ge , The S um v al of M an,
.
.

1° 1 28 1 3 7
—
e e , rom the U ncons c ous to the Co n i
Hy l p L D h
. .

i
s c ous, 9 53 p. s o , . i fe after ea t pp 1 3 0 1 42 J h17
o n, 4 , 1 8 15
ohn, 4 , 1 9 . .
. J .
 38 TH E I N T E R V E NI NG SUP E RN O RMAL ‘ ’

Contra
B ut how thin, v a mp id and ep hemeral all this ap p ears w hen w e turn to the
rec ords of the hol
y s eers T he fl oa ting a xe and the retrea ting su n dial p av e the -
.

w a y for the still more dra stic p rodi gies of the S on of G od :

If a ny man hear my voice, I wi ll co me in unto him .

The v oice of J esu s finds an echo only in the hum ble heart, a nd to many , a s to P eter,
P aul and J ohn, it has clothed itself in human d iction B ut more tha n thi s ; the .

S av ior s ends ou t mysterious forces into a w orld of desp a iri ng darkn ess :
“
S omebody ha th touched me; f or I percei ve tha t virtue is gone ou t o f me .

The in stant p a ssage of the healing force into the b loody issu e dema nds a more
than natur al thou ght p rop ulsion , while other marv els transc end the records of
-

the dis tant a ction ; they sp eak of a univ ersal force transmis sion : -

P eace!
“
B e s till!
“
Thou sha ltfind a pi ece of money i n the sh s mou th fi ’
.

A nd the vei l of the temple was rent i n twa in , from the top to the bottom ” 31
.

C an the c ommand ov er winds and w a ters and temp le curtains , nay , ev en the re -

m ov ing of mounta ins , be equa ted by a mere p ul ling of ta bles or s imp le a p p ort ?
Why sneer at the w onders of G regory Thaumaturgu s , w hen far less holy op era tors
ca n sen d cha irs a nd trump ets bu z z ing throu gh the a ir ? Ca n they ?
H ow ev er dou btful some of these saintly ma rv els may s eem to the hard shell -

H uxleyi st, they are su pp orted in p art by the occu lt p henomena and c onfirmed by a
continu ou s c ha in of simi lar p rodigies d own to our own times .

H e made the s ign of the cross fou r times towa rds the four q u arters of the
“

heavens A t once the cloud s dep arted a nd no s ign of the s torm rema i ned 3 2
.
.
”

The ma ntle of E lia s still div ides the w a ters , no less than his sa cred s taff .

Wi th res pect to a ll these s piri tu a l men a re occasi ona lly

, li a ble to rep res en
ta ti ons a nd obj ects s et before them i n a s uperna tura l w ay 3 3
”
, .

On the other hand , their p a rti a l rep rodu ction by natural mea ns need no long er
be qu es t oi n e d , a nd mod er n th eo log ia ns are in li
c ned to see in the
‘
sup ernorma l
’

a s tep p ing stone to b etter thing s a nd the refu tation of a cra ss ma terialism One .

of our clearest writers makes the follow ing u s eful summar of the ma tter :
y
There are some extra ordina ry p henomena w hich now a da y s are qu ite c om
“

monly held to be natural or at lea st ca n be held a s such, a nd a re therefore licit

,

from w hat w e hav e alrea dy sa id on the subj ect :

(a) T hus , it is imp ossible to c ond emn the u se of the divi ni ng rod for the -

discov ery of wa ters or certain meta ls ; for the motion of this rod is lau sib l ex
p y
p lained by s ome kind of influx , either of the w ater or of the metal .

( b) S ometimes in the s leepi ng and sometimes in the wa ki ng s ta te, certain

hidden things a re ma de manifest, either by G od , or , in a na tur al manner b w ha t
, y
P ra c tic al dir ections ar e then giv en :
” 34
they c a ll telep a thy .

( a ) When it is a qu estion of merely physica l p henomena , such a s the rota tion

“

of ta bles , p ercu ssions , or the v arious motions of levi ta ti on , the

y are not to be a ttrib
uted to a p reterna tur al a g ent un les s it is mora lly certa in , from the v a riou s c ir
cum
s tances , that they ev idently contra dict the la w s of nature F or many now a da s
y
.

hold with s ome p rob a b ility tha t there is in the huma n b ody , es ecia ll in that of
p y
hig hly nerv ou s p ersons , a c ertain flui d analogou s to the ma gnetic or elec tric flu id
,

which can be p roj ected externally and flow into surrounding obj ects either b
immediate contact or by mediate c ontact transmitted thr ough the ether; and thu s
, y
hyp othetically a t leas t, can be exp la ined the rap s and mov ements of turnin
g
ta bles .

29
Ap oc , 3 , 20 30
u Lk e, 8 , 46 31
M att 8, 26 ; M k 4 3 9 ; M tt 1 7
ar 26 ; 2 7 5 1
H C a
, .

M unt C m l I I
.
,
iz J h p 1 78
, ,
o n of the A
.

er , S t T he scent of
32 ross , 33
1 1, 1
Th eol M oral II
. . .
o ar e . , .

34
T anq uerey , S ynop s . . .
, , no . 905.
 TH E I N T ERV E NI NG SUP E RN O RMAL ‘ ’
39

( )
b Th e sa m e m a y b e sa id of i nt el lec tu a l p henom en a , w hich d o n ot tra ns cend
the i ntellectu a l powers of the bysta nders nor of the medium ; for if answers are giv en
'

un der the infl ux of the medi um, they surely do n ot come from the table itself , nor
n eces sarily from a su p erna tural a gent , but s olely from the mind itself of the p erson
w ho , by the flu id p ow er emitted by him , directs the motion of the ta b le .

“
I n a c ontrary sense , how ev er , if the p henomena denote a know ledge of thi ngs
w hich exceed the ca p a c ities either of the medium or of the bys tanders , they are to
b e a ttribu ted to a su p ernatural agent S u ch ar e, acc ording to the R oman R i tu a l, .

to sp ea k in an u nknown tongu e w ith num erou s w ords , or to un derstand the sp eaker ;

‘

to unc ov er dis ta nt and hidden things ; to manifest powers a bove the age or cond i ti on
of na tu re , a nd other thing s of the sa me kind w hich, the more they concur , the

grea ter the sign s they furnish .

A s to sp eaking in u nknow n tongu es , it is not enou gh to recite a few w ords in a

s ta te of fev erish e x c itement w hich w ere formerly hea rd , but it is requ ired tha t
indubita b le ev idence be gi v en that a man su dd enly learnt and understood a lan
gu a ge w hich he ha d p ositiv ely nev er heard of .

A s to the dis tant a nd occu lt, it is not sufficient to simp ly c onj ecture them , or
ev en to see somethin g in a certain state of hyperes thesi a F or some of the facts of .

telep a thy or clai rvoya nc e, which oc cur p a ssingly in a sta te of hyp eresthesia , ( tha t
is of a bnormal sensibility) , are not altog ether certain sign s of sup erna tura l in
terv ention .

B u t if things are distin ctly manifested w hich can only be known by rev ela tion
or insp ira tion , su ch a s the se cr ets of hearts a nd fu ture ev ents , a nd this not wi th
c onj ecture but with certainty , they must be a tt buted to a sup ernatura l agency
ri 35
.
”

This ca r efu ll y w orded op inion w ill p roba bly be follow ed by those w ho a re

best a c qu a inted with the fa cts I t lea v es a bun dant room for the w orkings of the
.

na tura l su p ernorma l , w hile it does no t p retend to fix the b ou ndaries of the tw o

king d oms with unerring c erta inty I t is a lw ay s p oss ib le tha t a n a p p arently
.

na tura l eff ect ma y a s a fa ct b e sup ernatur a l , and vi ce versa ; nor is the former a lw ay s
d em onia ca l , n or the la tter un conditionally d iv in e The natur al seer ma y here and .

there be in lea gu e w ith the p ow ers of hea v en , w hile the sup erna tur a l v isionary ma y
receiv e s ome of the imp ressions from an ea rthly s ource H e is liv ing in a double .

w orld .

Nev ertheless the ma in p rincip le s eems clear enou gh W e must a llow an inter .

v ening or der of su p ern orma l p henomena w hich is theologica lly n eu tral , but w hich
ca n b e ma d e to swing in a n u p p er or low er direction a c cordi ng to the mora l inten
tion that is p u t into the act U p on this is bu ilt a higher order of manifesta tions
.

w hich interp enetra tes , bu t is marked off from the low er p henomena with suffi cient
sha rp n es s to be g en era lly recognise d I t inclu des the rea ding of hea rts , the instant.

c omm and ov er the forces of nature and the certain p rediction of fu ture ev ents .

T hese rev ea l a na logies with the telep athic p rocess , but not identities T hey are .

mu ch too subtle a n d far sw eep in g to be p u t down a s distant feelers

‘ ’
-
.

I n p ra ctic e , therefore , the u se of low er instrum ents for p iercing in to the uns een
is like emp loying a c lumsy microscop e in p la ce of the X ra y fl a sh T he telegra p h -
.

a nd the telep hone ha v e sup ers ed ed the old messag e stick, a nd thes e a ga in a re
-

g r a v e ly thr ea tened by the w ireles s

’
W e ca n di sp ens e , in fa ct , with a ll instru
‘
.

ments of w hatev er kind , though fortun a tely w e no long er sp ea k, as the Indian does ,
p oss es sed wi th the dev il A sup erior fa cu lty does not p ut an
“
of t elep hon es a s .

in ferior one in hell

“
At the same time , a careless p la ying with thes e p ow ers is
”
.

35 m IdII n o s 9 1 2— 9 1 3 ( transl ation f om the Lati n text ; i tal i cs a e in the ori ginal ) r Co m r
p e al o T he New Th ough t E ntou age b y H bert Th urston S J in the London Month
e .
, , . .

“ ” “ ”
r er

R
ar s , , , .
,

b e same wri ter ( i b id

,

(J an p 5 8 3 Th en
.
at onal sm
. T el ep ath
y” i y th i v F
. eb , .
, .
,

who concl u d es th a t
.
,
exc llent guments g nst mat
e ar l m m y be deduc d f om the re ogniti n
a ai eri a i s a e r c o

(p Al so an arti l e on T l ek nesis by th same (J une p 40 1 3 F i

—
" “ ”
of tel ep thy a c e i e

S R
.
, .

h
.

nall y Dr J o h an Lil j en c a nt s pi ri ti srm and eli,g i on ( W as in gto n p 1 9 7 2 1 1 on natural , .

,

tel ep a t hy tel a es th esi a a nd cl a irv oy a nce bo th su b lim nal and sup al i mi nal
.
,

,
i r .
,
 40 T H E H I G H E R SUP E R C O N S C I O US

nev er withou t danger , a s a mora lly indiff erent a ct ca n ea s ily be turned into s our
channels T he use of autos cop es , though va lid , is not a lw a ys licit; an d for us this
.

tamp ering with crys ta ls and crooked s ticks is b es t left s ev erely a lone We are in .

no need of shell trump ets or s e c ond s ight w hen w e ca n get the d irec t mes s age by
‘ ’
-

less doub tful means And this is w hat w e must now c onsider in its w orkings on a
.

sup erior p lane .

(2 ) TH E H I G H E R S UP E RCO NS CI O US
Wh n imp
e res sions tha t a re more tha n p assing lu c idities or tra nsi
c
are re eiv ed

tory lights , but rev ea l a clea r and continuous lifting of the fa culties by which
‘ ’

hidden things are unv eiled with more or less certainty , w e enter the regi on of the
‘

p p
r o h e tica l
’
i n th e w id er sense , a n un b—roken cha in of higher exp eri ence s w hich

i e e v i d en c e o f a m ore p ermanent a nd p rofoun d illumina tion from the sup erw orld
g v .

I n the occul t p arlance of the da y , these are often des crib ed a s c la irv oya nce
‘

an d cla iraudience , a sup p osedly clea r seeing or heari ng of what is otherwi s e con
‘ ’ ‘ ’

cealed from the m ortal senses or the mind of man And in so far as this is a g eneric
.

term to exp res s s ome kind of sup er lu c idi ty , it ma y be conv eniently , though ca u
-

tiou sly , a pp lied to ev eryt hing in the line of a sup erior p sychica l exp erience .

B ut , a s w e shall p res ently s ee, this nomen cla ture is too loose and ela stic to b e
flung helter skelter up on ev ery form of higher illumin ation ; a nd , a s in the cas e of
the more common telep athy , w e must di s cern gra dations a nd di stingui sh b etw e en
wha t might be p artially achiev ed by natural means and w ha t must be u ncondi
tionally assign ed to a sup ernatur al motion B etw een the v eridi cal v amp ing s of
.

the D elp hic O ra cle an d the insp ired u ttera nces of the P rop hetica l S chools there

exists a diff erence , not only of d egree , b ut of kind ; and w e w ou ld be b lin d indee d if
we c ould not r ec ognise s uch a difference .

H ow ev er, it will p rob a b ly be allow ed tha t w e are within our ri ghts in emp loy
ing the term sup ercons ciou s in a g ener al w a y to a ll thos e sta tes of our higher ,
‘ ’

w aking mentality in which illuminations are receiv ed through the u p p er p a rt of

the s ou l w hich are b eyond the rea ch of its ev ery day p ow ers and b eyond the fl eeting -

imp ress ions of the moment, be they of a na tural or of a sup erna tura l chara cter .

I n the fir st cas e w e are simp ly d ea ling with the intellectus agens in s o far a s it
a ss imilates a mysteriou s order of know ledge by w a y of a p erman ent ha bit, not a

transitory imp ul se T his forms p art of our na tural , how ev er excep tiona l , menta l
.

e uip ment , as there are undoub ted s ta tes of higher mental lu cidi ty w hich fa ll s hort
q
of c omp lete or integral p ers p icuity .

I n the second ca se w e are dealin g with tha t s ame intellect in s o far as it manip u
la tes a p ow er w hich can in no wi se be cov ered by a ha z y p roblemiz ing , but sp eaks
to us with inerrant , na y with infallible acc ents I t comes di rectly from the F a ther
.

of Lights , without a ny earthly s creening in the s hap e of doub t , di ss idence or other

d eficiency
VI S IO N V OI CE
.

D IRE CT D IR E CT
S IM P LE F O RM P R O JE CTI O N
-

I f w e di v ide the s ubj ect on the b asis of s ight and hearing in the wides t s ens e
of the w ord s , thi s will s uggest w hat i s c ommonly unders tood by rev ela tion and
insp iration B y the former the p rop het sees the hidden truth ; by the latter he
.

hears it and commits it to ri ting w .

Now if there is one thi ng that theologi ans of a ll s chools are a greed up on , it is
that div ine illuminations of whatev er kind are rarely , if ev er , on the identica l lev el
but exhibit marked , in s ome cas es ra di ca l , degrees of div ers it y in their lucidit y
and their insp ira tional v alue R ev elations ma y be ap ocryp hal , d euteroca nonica l
.

p roto ca no ni ca l , or s up er ca noni ca l , acc ordin g to the degr ee in w hi ch the

-
c
y ome
from the D ivine S ource of Light a n‘ d are then committed to writing by the sp ecial
fa culty of insp iration M oreov er , p rop hecy does not alwa ys connote a relation to
’
.

the future nor are its b earers nec essarily the chos en p eop le or the redeemed in
 T H E H I G H E R SUP E R C O NS C I O US 41

Christ I t is in the firs t instance a di v ine enlightenment which assimila tes a ll

.

forms of know ledge and may be giv en to Jew or G entile , saint or sinner a like .

“
B enedict X IV exp licitly declares tha t the gift ma y be in the hands of angels ,
devi ls men , women , chi ldren , hea thens or gentiles , and the contents of the mes sage
,
”

ma y be p artly of na tural p artly of sup ernatural chara cter T hi s imp lies an a s cent
, .

from the v a gu e and p artial to the di stinct and p lenary 1

.

O B S CURE O RA CLE UND EF INED

T he w ord clairv oyance , a ccording the to B arrett has b een used
‘ ’

,
to denote
transc enden tal v ision of b eings on another p lane of existence 2 S u ch grandilo
”
.

q uent langu ag e can hardl y ap p ly to those p athetic grop ings for a higher light that
distin gui sh s o mu ch that g oes by the na me of hidden rev ela tion H ow ev er , it is
‘ ’
.

c ommonly b eliev ed tha t the S ib ylline O ra cles , w hen not interp olated by C hri stian
hand s , do emb ody mu ch tha t might ha v e been dimly focu ssed by J ew ish or ev en ,

P ag an v is iona ri es concerning some triun e manifes tation of D eity or the life a nd

’ ‘

c hara cter of the E xp ec ted One .

The ki ng yet li ves tha t Ceas a r sha ll dethrone .

J esus Christ, the S on of God, the S a vi or

”
.

Am b iguity and double di ction are alw ays a p rominent featur e a mong the sibyls ,
w hile the my stical acr ostic s on the na me of Christ , the D iv ine
“
F ish, are none
the les s insp iri ng b e ca u se hidd enly s een a nd felt by H is own follow ers I n ea ch
case something is intu ed w hich is more tha n a fl eeting S hibb oleth
.

I t is a n Ob
‘
.

s cure O racle w hich giv es ev idence of the p ow er of pa rti al p rop hecy

’ 3
.

And in modern times w e are off ered many examp les of su p p osed clear v ision
’
-

o f a similar kind , though how to v erify them in p articular c a ses is j u st the crucial

p roblem S p irit T ea chings are too much mixed up with frau d and fa lsity to be
‘ ’
.

for a moment c onsidered in this p la c e M oreov er , they are largely self suggested .
-

a n d re du cible to a s ingle formula :

B eli eve i n wha t thou cans t not s ee, u ntil the visi on comes to thee
“ 4 ”
.

B u t v isions a nd v oic es ma y giv e occa siona l ev idence of being neither su bj ectiv e nor
Sp iritistic , b ut genuine imp res sions receiv ed from a liv ing source .

“
There i s a s tra nger H e is looki ng me fu ll in the fac e H e is writing
S teer to the North Wes t!
‘ ” 5
on a p i ece of s la te
-

This w ell kn own ep is ode in the life of S ir R obert B ru ce , in w hich he saw the ap p a r
-

dou ble of a distant man in his w ide aw ake s ens es , w ho sa t in his armcha ir
‘ ’
ent
-

wr ote on a s la te and then immedia tely v anished , lea v ing the w ords a s a w arning of
a grav ely imp endi ng d ang er , w ou ld seem to furnish a p os sible ca s e of sup ercons cious
lu c id ity , if it is nothing more W ha tev er w e ma y think of its a uthenticity , su ch a
— —
.

p ys c hi c a l e p ip h en
‘
om e n o n h o w ev er its w a s p r du c ed
o w ould off er a b old
cha lleng e to the scoffi ng a theist n o less than the sp i ri t c onj ur er ; for it w as ta ken
a s a p rov identia l int erv ention of a H igher P ow er an d a s in d irect antag onism to

a nything mag ica l , melodra ma tic or mediu mistic

6
.

W e w ou ld not , therefore , rule ou t su ch exp eriences a s satanic , w hen there is

no s ign of sa tan nor of a nything sinister T he P rov idence of G od is boundless , .

a nd w e ca nnot tell how far H e ma y grant a n imm ediate s eeing or hea ring of things
t o those w ho trustfu lly r ely on H is unfailing mercy T hen a ls o, the bounda ry line .
-

b etw een the p sychica l a nd the p hysical is a dmittedly slender , and the numerou s !

m o d e r n in s ta n c e s of a s im i la r kin d t en d to c on fir m t h e p ossib ility of inv isib le sla te

wr it in g, w it h ou t m e diu m , p e nc il , or p r ofe ss io na l c on j uror I n a ny ca se , w e d o .

1 B enedi t XIV T ti se on H e oic Virtue Vol III pp 1 4 1 3 Co mp a S t Thomas

c rea
‘
r
’
re
Summa Th o l II 2 q 1 74 rt 1 3 (on p oph ecy ) D v i ne A M anual of Mysti al Th eology
, ,
.
, . .
.
,
a r e c
ne O a cl es B oo k VIII v
e
L S
. . .
,

B tt 1 c p 2 3 6
.
, ,

b
.

( d P art IV c 8 ylli 2 3

—
arre i r
—
o n o n , . .
, . .
,
C
, . .

h i i B p
, , ,

1 2 1 6 (J w i h ); 2 1 7 50 0 ( v r t n ) t t 1 c 1 9 9 s a arre

R D Ow ens Footfalls on th B ound ry of A noth —Wo ld Ch p t VI M emoirs of S ir

e s .
.
, . .
, . .

5 e a er r a

H rris E says in O cul tism pp 1 1 5 1 3 2

,

R obert B ruce
. .
. . ,
” 6
. a ,
s c , . .
42 TH E I NFUS E D SUP E R C O NS C I O US

not hav e trum p et mediums direc t v oice , nor to the s éa nce room
’
for the
‘
to go to -
-

for simp le ma teria lisa tion These are p rov identia l , thoug h v ery p reca riou s
‘ ’
.

exp erienc es of the human race ; and how , or w hen , or w here they ma y ta ke p lac e ,

w ou ld be b ey ond our ca p a cities to determine B u t tha t they ha v e o ccurred a nd .

ev er wi ll occu r in the list of rea l , thou gh v ery ra re , p henomena , the rec ords of the

P s y chica l R esearch S ociety leav e no seriou s room for dou b t 7

.

B u t these extra ordina ry sig hts a nd exp eri ences ha v e little or no theologica l
san ction ; they ev a d e the ken of the mora l critic ; a n d their elu siv e a nd a t times .

su sp icious anteced ents make them a n unsa fe ind ex of a div ine interv ention The .

dev i l ca n a lw ay s imi ta te w ha t s eems b eyond the p ow er of na ture to ca ll forth,

mu ch more that w hich ma ny believ e to be still within her inscru ta ble frontiers .

A more a pp rov ed , if eq u a lly p artia l , messag e g oes by the name of A p ocryp ha , p iou s
M idrash, or H agga da h .

OB S CUR E O RACLE D EF I NE D
The B ook of A da m , the , a
nd the T estimony of the T w elv e
S ecrets of E noch
P a triarchs might b e none the les s elev ating beca u s e immensely p osthumou s c om
p ila tions ; they rev eal hidden truths a nd tendencies w hich, ev en w hen mix ed wi th
mu ch error , w ou ld s eem to embody ma ny a p la u sible and s ometimes p rov a ble
ex p e rienc e in their resp ectiv e heroes The A p oca lyp se of E lias
“
is one of the
”
.

la test of these finds and sp eaks of many a grand and g enu ine inS p ira tion :
The word of the Lord ca me u nto me, s aying: S on of ma n !
‘
S ay u nto this
peop : Wherefore heap ye si ns upon your s ins ONE O NLY I S T H E NA M E
‘

OF éOD l
’ ”
8

Visions or v oices of this kind a re ev idently more than p a ssing danger sig -

na ls And w hen w e come to tha t immense bod y of c onc ealed rev ela tion tha t
‘ ’
.

ha s sup p lied u s w ith the Ap ocryp ha l Litera ture of the New T estament , w e a re a t a
loss to d etermine w here the natural or the sp uri ou s ends a nd w here the g enu ine or the
su p ernatu ra l may be s a id to op erate Nev ertheless , p iou s nov els of this kind a re a t
.

lea st instru ctiv e a nd many theologians u se them a s a c olla teral sou rce
, They .

a re of v ery v arying v alu e .

A s ibyl tells thee of a new born chi ld , i n form mos t bea u tifu l !
“
A ugus tus ! ” 9 -
'

Ris e, P eter , R ock of my A pos tles ! Gu ard thy holy wis dom, con rm thy brethren ! fi
L ord ! Whither goes t thou ? ( D omi ne, q uo vadis
”

T hat illumina tions or a p p a ritions of this kind might hav e b een gi v en to the
r esp ec tiv e p a rties , ca n hardly be qu es tioned Whether as a fac t they were giv en, .

a nd how they w ere giv en , mu st alwa ys rema in a moo ted u es tion B ut some q .

a dmit of sufficient his toric control to ma ke them p lau sib le .

A s to the Liv es of the S a ints , it is time that they w ere b rought to b ook a nd
i en t h eir d u e p la ce in the anna ls of au thentic p s chica l ex eri ences of the hu ma n
g v y p
ra ce . O f course no s erious critic sw allow s the entire record in a lump , nor is he
called up on to do so M uch of this ma tter is not mea nt to be li terally true , but
.

only mystically instructiv e ; an d here the borderland b etw een the s h ica l a nd
p y c
h
p y s ica l b ec om es m ore elu siv e than ev er Vis ions , v oices , lo cu tions form material
,
. -

isations , the ringing of b ells and so on , ma y still be c lass ed w ith p sychical p henomena
of the su bj ectiv e kind w hen ev er there is no clear ev id ence of an a ctu al s eein
g
hea ring or tou ching to w hich more than one witness ca n testify T hey a re no .
t
for this rea son les s insp iring or les s fraught with p eda gogica l p urp ose ra ther the :

opp osite . They app ea l more directly to the s oul of man .

m e not afrai d I will set thee free

“
j o h n , I a her e B .

H ave courage, my chi ldren The s torm is over Y ou will a ll be s aved ” 1 2 .

The first is a n ob scure a pp ari tion of the S av iour to S t John of the C ross tellin
g
.

of his timely deli v eran c e from the chains of w orldly opp ress ion T he s ec nd is a o
coun terp art to the temp est s tory of Sir R ob ert B ru c e and d escri b es the v iv i
.

d
-

7 Pro eedings S P R Vol X and p ass im

c G eo g S tei nd orff Die A kal p
8
r

A p oca lyp s offet i fid f f f

d
p g
L I
, . . .
, . . .

ipzi p l B k
,
73 S b ill i o w
9
( e g 6 y ne es oo 3 3 1 rac

ph l Acts of P te nd P ul Heri z S t John of the C oss p 94

,
. .
, , ,
e e
a e r a a
‘1
H J Coleridge S J r 12

L ife o f S t F ancis X er p 1 0 2
.
, .
, . . , ,
t °
r
. r av i ,
. .
 TH E I NFUS E D SUP E RC O NS C I O US 43

a a
a p p e r nce of S a in t F ran cis X a v ier to some ship wr ecked ma riners , giving them
v i gorou s w ords of en c oura gement , w hen a ll the time he w a s c onsc iously and p hys
ically on another v es s el S tori es like thi s , how ev er imp rob a ble , s eem to be w ell
.

su p p orted ; bu t they do not n ecessitate a more than p sychic feeling of a mysteriou s

p re sen ce w hic h , in c onj unc tion w i th a hi hl

g y s trun g nerv ou s ten s ion on the p a rt
of the r eceiv ers , ea s ily p a s se s into the v eridi ca l imp res sion of a sp eaking form .

Y et ev en so , the ensemble of the ex p eriences and the p ers onalities wi th w hom they
dea l a re so lofty , if not uniqu e , tha t a sup ern a tural p ow er mu st p roba bly be in
v oked to a cc ount for their int egrity a nd p henomena l intensity .

S I G NE D O RA CLE ACCEP TED

I n p a ssin g from thes e ex traca nonica l rec ords to the deu teroca nonica l S cri p tures
w e c ome c onsid era bly nearer to w ha t a dm its of decisiv e historica l a nd eccles ia s tica l
a p p rob a tion T he P rop hets of the S econ d C anon a re more tha n sea ca p ta ins or
.
-

s a intly v i s ionaries T hey are p rofessional seers w ho hav e come to d eliv er a w orld
.

imp ortant mess age , a s igned ora cle w hich is sup erna tural a n d insp ired in a ll its
‘ ’

p arts F or this there a re no p rofa ne p ara llels ; for they sp ea k w ith unerring v oice
. .

T obia s , Ju di th a nd the M acha bees bring us nea r er to a defin ite p edestal of v a ticina tion .

m R a pha el f before the L ord

”
the S even who s tand
13
I a , one o .

Wha tev er the na tu re of this my sterious a p p ari tion to the y oun g T obia s , it w a s
p r egnant wi th far r ea ching c onse u ences for the theology of srael
-
q
P a ssing v is I .

ion s a p p ea l to the moment ; p rolong ed c onv ersa tions lea v e a p erma nent mark on
the menta l a tmosp here of the times S o a lso of those w hisp erings of v ictory a nd .

fina l triump h :
H e s ha ll fa ll by the ha nd of woma n The L ord H ims elf s ha ll them
“ ”
a . overthrow .

I f these w ere isolated j ottings from an unseen source ha v ing no rela tion to the ,

excep tional m ov em ents of the d a y or the s p e cia l e conomy of a s up erna tur al P rov
idence , w e w ould be inclin ed to see in them no more tha n the elu siv e mutterings of
B u t a s they a re told of w orld historic deliv erers a nd a re conv ersa nt
‘ ’
the sibyls .
-

w ith ep och ma king ev ents in the higher illu mination of the chosen p eop le , w e do
-

not ca ll their mes sa ge a p ocryp ha l , but d eutero ca nonica l ; a nd this on the ultima te -

t estimony of the Liv ing Church, the fina l gu ardian of a ll p rop hecy A nd if they .

fa ll short of s till higher standards of canonicity , it is because their insp ira tion
w a s a dmitted only a fter s ome controv ersy , not b eca u s e there w a s any inherent
d efi ciency in the ora cle a s su ch They ca nnot be r ej ected without gra v ely im
.

a irin g th e in te gri ty of the div ine record

p .

U nder the New La w w e ma y take a s an examp le the E p istle to the H ebrew s ,

w here many a div ine locution seems to be imp lied in the num er ous cita tions from
the Old T es ta ment w hich ma y hav e b een v i v i dly brou ght before the A p os tle in
the f orm of p ers ona l v isita tion s from the P ri nce of P ea ce .

Then s a id I , L o, I come! I n the volume of the book i t is wri tten of me,

“ ‘

”
’ 15
To do thy wi ll , 0 God .

Indeed it is quite p roba ble that one w ho had seen or heard so mu ch by w a y

of imm ed ia te intuition into the mysteri es should ha v e been granted a similar
‘ ’

exp erien ce on the p res ent occa sion , if ind ee d he wr ote this great J ewi sh Chris tian
-

A p ology .M en of extra ordinary sp iritu al insight are a p t to see and hear what
they a re wri ting a b ou t , though here of c ours e w e must g o c onsiderab ly b eyond a
menta l p hanta sm if w e w ould cla ssify thes e imp ressions a s di rectly and div inely
imp ri nted T hey w ou ld be immediately stamp ed on the v i s ual and a uditory
.

fa culties There is no n eed to p ress the p oint ; but similar rema rks would a p p ly
.

to many imp licit v is ions and loc utions in the S econd Canon , w hile for others w e
ha v e the direct s tatement of their a uthors tha t they w ere in immediate c onta ct with
na y , tha t they felt H is tou ch and ha d s een H im face to fa c e
“ ”

the v oice of the Lord , .

1‘ T ob .
,
1 2, 1 5 .
1‘ J udi th 9 , 15 ; IM h ac . 3 , 22 .
15
Hb e r. 1 0, 7
.
44 THE I NFUS E D SUP E R C O NS C I O US

That which was from the beginning , which we ha ve hea rd, w hich we have s een
with ou r eyes ; tha t which we ha ve looked upon and ou r hand s ha ve ha ndled , of the Word
of life
16 ”
tha t declare we unto you .

T his initial statement in the J oha nnin e ep istles sup p lies the key to writing s
of less immedi ate a cc ep tanc e in the ea rly C hurch and ra ises their p rop hetica l
matter to a p osition of p ri m e imp ortance .

“
B ehold the L ord cometh, with ten thous a nds of his s a ints .

T he B ook of E noch ma y w ell hav e p rep ared a n obs cur e a p ostle for s omething like
a d ir ect locution from the glorifi ed S av i or .

S EAL ED O RACLE S UBLI M ATED

An d if this a p p lies to wri tings of les s uncha ll enged au thori ty , it hold s with
gr ea ter force of the P rop hets of the First Canon , div ine seers w ho are frequ ently
-

the identica l p ersons , bu t w hose record s ha v e come dow n to u s wi th a m ore un ani

mou s a p p roba tion , illumina ting the hidd en lore and raising it in some ca s es to a
s tandard equa l to tha t of the most exa ctin g p rotocol .

Take of thy s hoes from ofi thy feet, f or the p lace whereon thou s ta ndes t is holy
‘

grou nd
” 1
8
.
“
Wha t dost thou here, E lij ah? Go forth a nd s ta nd u pon the mountai n
before the ord L
”
19
.

T he s ealed ora cles of M oses and E lia s cu lmina te in the s ea led p rop hesies
“

of S t J ohn and imp art to them a dditional s anction and sublimation

. T heop hanies .

of this kind are s cattered w id ely ov er the p ag es of H oly W rit ; a n d p r escinding a t

p res ent from their theologica l c ontents they furnish the a ntec ed ents to mu ch tha t
is p rop hetical a s distinct from the p redictiv e , the doctrina l ra ther tha n the
‘ ’ ’

distantly div ined And what ha pp ens in one ag e can be r ep ea ted in a nother ;
.

there is a c ontinu ou s record :

B ind u p the tes timony , sea l the law a mong my discip les B efore I
“

formed thee in the womb I knew thee “

S on of ma n , s ta nd up on thy feet and I
0 D aniel, greatly beloved , fear not; peac e be u nto thee; be
”
wi ll spea k to thee .

s trong; yea , be s trong S hu t u p the words a nd s eal the book

”
20
.

Visions and v oices of encouragement form , a s it w ere , the p reamble , sometimes

the sequ el , to a long chain of p rop hetica l uttera nces , w hose illumina tiv e force ca n
be a p p reciated only by a p rolong ed study of their combined s ubj ect matter Then -
.

they ar e s een to giv e ev idenc e of a G ui ding H and w hich is v a s tly mor e p ow erful
and inerrant than the p rofa ne s cribble .

S a ul, S au l, why p ersecutes t than me ? I a m J es us whom thou pers ecutes t

“

Wha t thou seest, write i n a book; a nd s end i t to the seven churches which are in A si a .

F ear not; I a m the F i rs t a nd the L as t

“ ” “
S ea l u p those things whi ch the .

” 21
s even thunders have u ttered .

On the p urely p henomenal side thes e higher exp eriences might p ossibly b e
p a ra lle le d by m a ny a p s eu d o p h anta sm of the coarser kind -

T he b urning b ush , .

the firebrands , the seething p ot , the w hirring w heels , na y , ev en the c on solin

g
S a v ior , can rarely be hedg ed 0 3 from p rofane imita tions T hey a dmi t of a p a rtial
conj ur ing up by the low er sub conscio us , n ot to S p ea k of the b old d ec e tion s of the
.

p
father of li es B u t w hen the p hen omena are coup led with p ersonalities who see
.

and hea r thes e things in full p ossess ion of their higher fa culties and w hose mes sa e
g
has tra ns formed a sp iri tual desert into a p ara di s e of div ine exub eran c e for the w hole
of man kind , a simp le c a lcula tion of ca u s e and eff e ct re qu ires us to a ssi n them to a
g
sup er consciou s s our ce , na y , they mu st b e r eferred to a d ir ect illumina tion from
-

the F a ther of lights A s a rec ent writer has wittily remarked , w e do n ot ex ec t

p
.

the v oice of G od to issu e from the coal cella r We mu st ta ke the elev ator and
’ ‘
-
.

as cen d to the roof gardens , w e w oul d b rea the in the p ure a ir of su b lima ted h c
-

p p
r o e y
free from the microb es of the v ulgar and the p hanta stic S late w riting and sp iri t: .
-

ca tching fa de a w a y b e fore the ma j es tic ma rch of the D iv ine W ord .

I J hn 1 1— J de Ex d Kings
—Ap
17 18
it
o 3 u 14 o 3,5 1°
3 19, 9
5 ; E z ek
,
, . . .
.

2°
I sa 8 , 1 6 ;
.
J er . 1, . 2 , 1 ; D an 1 0 , 1 9 ; 1 2 , 4
. .
21
A cts , 9, 4 5; oc . 1 , 1 1 ; 10, 4 .
46 THE I NFUS E D SUP E R C O N S C I O US
F urthermore , the langu a ge in w hich they are des crib ed demands in ma ny ca ses
a v iv id a nd realistic 1 mp res s i on up on the fiv e sens es , a s wi tness :

I s ee a face s o beau tifu l I feel a ha nd s o hea venly tha t I a m ra vi shed

“
. . . .

beyond huma n words a t the very th f

“
o ght of them I t i I ! B n t id ! ”

u
s e o a ra

A lthou gh I ca ll i t a picture, you mus t not ima gi ne tha t i t looks like a p a i nti ng,
. .

Christ a ppea rs as a li vi ng pers on , who s ometimes spea ks a nd reveals deep mysteri es ”

.

H e s howed me H is H ea rt, a nd I was ever after obliged to unfa s ten my habi t, or to

burst forth i nto torrents of words like s ongs , i n order to lessen the hea t of the i nteri or
fi re whi ch cons umed me
27 ”
.

S t F rancis and the imp ressed s tigmata ; S t J ohn of the Cross a nd the mira cu
. .

lous lights , S t P eter A lca ntara and the boiling cistern, S t T eresa , S t M a g da len of
. . .

P a z z i a nd the more recent M argaret M a ry of bles s ed memory , wi th their mysteri

ou s tra nsv erbera tions a nd trans fixa tions , —
thes e , with many others , g iv e ev idenc e
of a P ow er externa l to the p er cip ient w hich clothes its elf a t times in r ealis tic , lif e
like and hum a nly p alp a ble form They s p ea k of obj ectiv e v i sion , ev en if s ome
.

of these v is ions ma y hav e been p sy chical ra ther than p hysic a l in their a c tu a l

ma ke up ; seen , a s it w ere , with the T eres ian eyes of the s ou l :
“ ”
-

Those who prac tice this devoti on s ha ll have thei r na mes written i n my he a rt!
I f to these be a dded the marv els of Lourdes and G ua dalup e , of A uriesv ill e and
Cz entochow a , w e a re a lmost wi thin range of our own exp eri enc es .

I am the I mmac u la te Conc epti on Thou s ha lt bu i ld f or me a s a nctua ry

“
.

Now while w e must a dmit tha t su ch v isitations ma y not ha v e been our p ersona l
p riv ilege , they carry us p ractica lly to our own times , a nd to rej e ct their unite d
testimony w ould be e qui v a lent to d enying the exi stenc e of C hina b eca u se mos t
of u s ha v e nev er b een there M illions of human beings can sp ea k of ma rv ellou s
.

illumina tions of a simila r n a tur e a nd it is imp ossible to a c c ount for the entire
r ecord wi thou t some o bj ectiv e manifestations of a sup erna tural c hara cter , and this

for the following rea s ons :

( 1 ) T he Church has inv ariably doubted or denied the p henomena w ith relent
less fur y un til forced to a dmit their genuineness No med iumistic j ury can for a .

moment comp are to the s cientific siftings and ruthless ransackin gs of the R oma n
C ongrega tions There is a lw a ys a dev il s a dv oca te to p lea d the op p osite ; a nd
‘ ’ ’
.

e v en S t J oan of A rc , w hose sp iri tistic exp eriences hav e n ev er been d ou b ted b

’ ‘
.
y
the occul t fratern ity , did not come into her rights until 1 9 20 ! I t is a long a n d
la borious in quisiti on 28
.

( 2) E v en if the ora cle is of a Silent and secret nature , as is mostly the case , its
e xtra ment al a nd su p er hum a n origin is p rov e d by its efi ects a nd by elimina tin one
g
- -

by one the p ossibly natural fa c tors Instantaneou s healings of b odily ti s su e ,

.

certifi ed by the medica l fa culty , are p roof a ga inst hyp notism or a u tosu gg estion ,

w hile the more p rogressiv e p henomena sp eak to u s of a min d cure w hich is a ll

‘ ’
-

the more desira b le b ecau se the modern mind rs sa dl y rn need of a cure w hich no
—
’ ‘

a mount of naturalism can eff e ct the sp iri tual regenera tion of a b a dl y sha ttere d s oul .

When the p sychical a fterm ath is su ch tha t it trans forms and reforms the moral life
in a ddition to p rodu cing v isib le eff ects of a p hotogra p hica lly measura b le n a ture
i n the body , w e may be quite sure that the p sy chica l antecedent must b e a t lea st
e qu ally marv ellou s ; it mu s t t ell of a P ow er , w hich , in v iew of this trans cen d ent

tes tim ony , is c ap a b le of p roj ecting its elf externally i n flesh a nd blood , of gi v ing in
fact a physica l demons trati on of its existence Y ou cannot get s omething out of .

n othing ; and uniqu e e3 ects re u ire uniqu e ca u s es q I t i s a p sychometric test w hic h .

i s op en t o ev ery hones t cri tic t o v erify ; for ev en relic s tell of the p ast a nd rev ea l

their origin by their imp rints

‘ 29 ’
,

27xp eri ences of S t Teres a of J esus as related in her L ife XXVI II 23 and in T he
E
I nterio Castle Sixt h Mans ion 9 2 Al so th ose of Blessed M argaret M ry Alaco q ue on the
.
, ,
”
r a
S ac ed H eart o“f J esus as expounded b y Joly i n his Psy chology of the Saints
, , .

r
S ee the A cts of the Canoni sati on of S a ints do wn to the las t 1 ss ue nd co mp are B ene di ct
.

’
23
a
XIV Trea tise on B eati fica tion and Canonisation p assim
“

G B ertrin Histoi e critique des é énements de Lourdes apparitions et guéri sons ( Paris
. , .

29 r v
.
, , ,
 THE I NFUS E D SUP E RC O NS C I O US 47

(3 ) And most imp ortant of a ll , these lights a nd manifesta tions are giv en in
the fully w aking state and hav e nothing in common with hyp notic rev erie , mu ch
l es s with the mediumistic trance S t T homa s A quina s , S t J ohn of the Cross , S t
. . . .

J oan of A rc , B erna dette of Lour des , w ere p erfectly norm al human beings ; a t least ,
they w ere n ev er abnormal or subnormal And by this I mean that they w ere .

a mong the sanes t an d most w ell b alanced menta lities tha t coul d w ell a p p ear on -

this p lanet E v en B ernadette w a s a child of some p romise w hile the immortal

.
,

J oan has long been w orship p ed as a master mind A S for S t T eresa , she rep resents -
. .

the quin tessence of lev el hea dedn ess and w orldl y wi sdom a s w ell a s the greatest
-

religiou s p sychic and female theologian that the w orld ha s ev er seen ; she is a
‘ ’

D octor of D iv inity hon ori s c au sa ! T hes e mas ters of the hidden wi sdom are for
ev er ha rp in g on the a bysmal g ul f w hich sep ara tes the rea l from the imaginary , the
s p ontan eou s from the self indu ced , the c onscious from the uncons cious the di v ine
-

f rom the d emoniaca l They a re the rev erse of ev erything sop orifi c or qu ietistic
.
3 0
.

To send them to s leep ? N o, no, no! The vi s i ons of God penetra te

”

i nto the i nmos t p arts of the s ou l a nd produce their efi ects , a q uickened z ea l a nd over
‘

pow eri ng j y , h ch n le a nd isp ose i t to as s ent freely and lovingly to good

i b d 31 ”
o w e a .

T he ma tter is w orth looking into and shou ld be a p p roa ched w ith the same sp irit
o f skep ticism and scientifi c scrutiny that di stin gui shes the most s ea rching ex amina
tion of s p iri toidal p henomena .

And w ha t hav e our a dv ersaries to o3 er us by w ay of p arallel ex p eriences ?

Nothing , a s a rul e but the dis ordered mu tterin gs of a ha lf hysterical female w hose
,
-

messag es are p a dded wi th fi shings and fa keries , a nd w hose p henomena a re due ,

p a rt ly t o ill um in a ted c h e e se clo th, p a rtly t o t
-
he o oz in g ou t of a s limy , serp entine ,

j elly sub stance that can be twi sted into ev ery imaginable shap e and w hose marion
-

ettes are a ble to turn s omersaults in the la p of the p erformer ! Ev en if it w ere

ra n t e d t h a t s om e v i sitor from a nother w orld might here a nd there hav e been
g
a llow ed to stamp his features u p on su ch g ha stly stuff , it s eems hardl y reas ona b le
to a sk u s to accep t a p hantastic foeta l im age , taken from the medium s bod y and
’

ev en chan ging its sex for the amu sement of the sp ecta tors ( D ,
in p la ce of those
s oul trans forming v i sita tions from a H igher S p here w hich , thou gh e qua lly ra re
-

a nd exc ep tional a s they ev er mu s t be , c ome to u s w ith a more than ea rthly ov er

‘

c oa t a n d op en out a n unendin g v ista of heav enly S ights a n d c onsola tions of lastin g

’

mental a nd mora l b enefit .

A s a fa c t, the H oly F a ce a nd the M iracu lou s T ili na a re w orth all the ecto
la sm s th a t w ere ev er conj ur ed u p ; a nd ev en w hen artistic rep rodu ctions of g enuine
p
ori gina ls , they sp ea k of a p a st materia lisation w hich mu st be assumed for their
‘ ’

extra ordinary p sycho p hysical eff ec ts a n d their indelible imp ri nts on cloth or
-

s T he talking Cru cifi x ma y still be wi tness ed in S p a in , the liqu efa ction

‘ ’
32
c anv a s .

of blood in the ca thedral of Na p les

33
E v en the bodies of saints are p reserv ed from
.

corrup tion , and S t J ohn of the C ross is still lying in state in S egov ia These , w e
. .

rep ea t are not the highest cri teria of the su p erna tural ; but they are undoubtedl y
,

s ome of its cri teria , and w e off er them to thos e timid and trea cherou s souls w ho are
a lw ay s ins isting up on imm ediate p hys ica l sight and tou ch as the only sup p ort to

thei r v ery ri cketty faith Let them feel and fin d out f or themselv es , if this is the
.

only w a y of rec ov erin g their los t inheritance .

T o us the M edi ci Chri st a nd the S istine M a donn a are suffi cient to suggest an
insp ired ma s terp iec e , p a inted , through human fingers , b y a sup erhuman H and ;
w hile the Virgin of C armel is an ev er fresh remi nder of the p i tyi ng M other , mira cu
o

lously sav ing her childr en from the fires of sm B ut all thi s su p p os es a long tra inin g
.

J y Pyh l y
3° ol , S i pp
s c o og of the 64 1 1 7, 1 1 8 14 7
a nts ,
— —
I i C l S
. .

‘1 nter or hM i as t e, ev ent ans on, 4 , 1 4 ; scent , , 11, 5 A II .

P 32 d h V
al me , Di e i l eu ts c en eron c a eg en en d es a r un d XII J h h derts ( Prague A cta
S A i li Hi i Ap ari cion de Nues tra S enora
-

, ,

nt B d
m ( Pll a n ), F e b 1 ( a ri s n t co , s tor a d e la

G d p M i
a o r u o .
,

de l u e ( fiex co T h e g ur e
s e c om e
‘
am m ’
a ted , s te b p out of the pictur e and th en
S d M d
ua a ,

r t n T h t I a a o n na o f S t g n ati u s rs a famous i nsta nce

El C i S J
e u r e r a . .

C av éne , Le célébre mi rac e de l ( Pari s ,

.

33 r sto d e Lirnp ia s . a nv i er
48 THE PR O PH E T I C PRE TE RNA T U RA L

in hiera tic mysticism a s w ell as a n exhau s tiv e s tu dy of the low er p henomena for
its cum ula tiv e force E v en sp irit p hotogra p hy might be help ful as demonstrat
.
‘
-
’

ing the existence of ethereal images ; and to this extent w e w elcome p sychica l
’ ‘

inv estiga tions of w hatev er kind w hich w hen not d elibera tely d ecep tiv e , ma y serv e ,

to throw a dditional light on a region hitherto scorned by the p rofessiona l s cientist .

I f a lleg ed sp irits ca n rea pp ea r , w hy not the S av i or, w hy not the Virgi n ? H a v e

‘ ’

w e not mira cu lou s p ictures of Notre D ame d e la S a lette ? The p rodu ction of
occa sional frau d s does n ot exclu de the p ossible existen c e of the g enui ne a rtic le .

W e may be on the brink of a gr ea t discov ery .

F or the p resent it ma y be interesting to note tha t , ap art from the numer ou s

c onv ersions w rou ght by the ec cles ias tica l mira cles from the ranks of S p iritis m ,
more than one p sychical inv estiga tor can sp eak of a p artial restora tion of hi s own
s hatter ed fa ith :

I should li ke to add tha t a prolonged s tudy of the phenomena has mad e the B i ble,
“

to my mind , a more w onderfu l book tha n ever , the L ord j es us Chris t a more preci ou s
S a vi or, a nd the tru ths of eva ngelica l Chris ti ani ty more profoundly tru e tha n I ever
i ma gi ned
” 34
.

(3 ) TH E P RO P H E T I C P RE TE RNAT U RAL
far as these mental elev ations a nd p hysica l w onders exceed the p ow er s of
In so
na tur e a t least in the ma nner in w hich most of them a re O p era ted , they ca rry u s w ell
ov er the b ord erland of another w orld a nd into its s e cr et cha mb ers S u dden lights .

a nd imp ressions , w hether in s ou l or bod y , w hich lift the su bj ect b eyond his morta l
state and gi v e him a c onnected v ision of things a bov e a nd bey ond his fl eeting
horiz on , mu st ev idently be a ssigned to the sup ernatur a l ; they tell of higher intui
‘

tion S till , they do a dmit of s ome analogies a nd a p p arent imitation s in the low er
’
.

fi eld of p sychical p henomena ; and until these are more definitely exclu ded , the
modern sp iri t s eer is alw a ys rea dy to retort : I ca n d o the s ame ’ ‘
-
.

B ut it is p ossible to elimina te more dra stica lly the element of p rofane p ara llel
ism When the messages sp ea k of the p ast or p resent , sub consciou s memories or
.

su b liminal su ggestions are n ev er entir ely ruled out ; natural t elep a thy is a lw a s
y
activ e a nd ev en the p hysical w onders , like A aron s s erp ents , a dmit of some extern al
’

rep rod uction or fa csimi liz ation B ut w hen they relinquish the p a st and look into .

the distant fu tur e , and this in terms tha t imp ly a distinct v is ion of dra matic ev ents
w hich d ep end u p on the elusiv e ma chinations of the free wi ll of man , w e a re by
c ommon consent in a more sealed d ep artment of the sup erworld ; w e ha v e entere d

the region of the dynamic p reterna tura l in the stricter sens e, v isions a nd locu tions —
of su ffi cient force to annihilate sp a c e in the sp iritu al a nd time in the tem ora l or der
p ,

to clea v e asunder the gul f which sep arates now from then, the here from the here
a fter On the p henomenal side they enta il su ch p rodigies as long di stance a p p ort ,
.

lev itation of the human b ody , rev italisation of organic tissue , b ilocation and com
p enetra tion of materia l substances ; and these , it is sa fe to say , b elong to a region
of trans c end ental p hy s ic s which can be inv a ded only by one P ow er other than
‘ ’

“ —
the Lord of Light , the p rince of the p ow er of the a ir .

P R O P H E TI C
VI S IO N P R O P H ETI C V OI CE
AD VANCED F O R M P R O JECTIO N -

I t is clearly o ut of the qu estion to handle the s u bj ect of the

‘

p redictiv e
’
in
the p resen t p la c e I n a ma nner th at s hall d o j u s tic e to its extreme im ortanc e
p , I
34 W Wynn in C d
arter s
’ ‘
Spi i tu l i
p 224 F or a critical estimate of
r a s m ( ’
L o n on,
the eccl esi as tical mira cles comp a e a eri es of arti cl es on So me P hy si cal P h enomena of M ysti c
.
, . .

‘ ’
r s

ism b y H erb ert Th urston S J in the Lo ndon M onth beginning wi th Levitation (April
" “ ”

Sti gmatisation (J ull cto ber

, , . .
, ,

M ay and continu ing wi th Tel eki nes is (J une ‘ ’ ‘ ’

Tokens of Espousal — O dor of Sanctity (J am F eb

, , , ,
( M iraculous
’ ,
(D c
‘ ‘ ’
e

I ncorruption (April June

, .
, -

The auth o is c areful in di stingui sh in the dou b tful

‘ ’ , .

from the w ell d emonstrated as no eccl es ias ti cal p o digy is of fai th p ositiv ely b inding u pon al l
, ,
g ‘ ’
, r
, .
 T H E PR O PH E T I C PRE TE RNA T URAL 49

Shall c ontent myself with briefly noting the p rincip al stages in this u p w ard mov e
ment into the unseen ; for w e meet with the same gra dations in di vination a s i n ‘ ’

the direct v i sion , a nd s imilar distinction s mu st be ma de in the clearness and

‘ ’

intensity of their manifestations .

O B S CUR E P RE D I CTIO N CO NJ ECTURE D

A t the b ottom of the sca le w e p la ce those more ha z y p rev i sions in w hich the
determined futur e is c onj ectur ed with more or less p lausibility Ap art from
—
.

‘
fortune tellings of the s up erstitious brand , those conv ersant with a strology ,
-
’

p almistry , p hrenology a nd the like, there is p rob ab ly many a v a gue foreboding

-

w hich the p rop het shar es with the p rofane v i sionary I n so fa r a s the p re cedi ng .

ora cles are in p art p remonitory , their low er forms b elong to this cla ss of ind efinite

p rognostica tion .

“
I f a bri ght s tar s hi nes like fire a t s unri se a nd sets with eq u a l s plendor i n the
Wes t, the enemy s hos t will be va nq uished in ba ttle
’ ” 1
.

T his may serv e a s a sa mp le of gentile p rop hecy w hich, thou gh a strological

a nd hermen eu tic a lly v a g ue , p oints obscurely to s ome
“
of d eliv eran ce T he
”
star .

B a bylonian seer , like the modern clairv oyant , ma y be in p osses sion of a half light -

by w hich he intues something more than a future sky rocket We may wi llingly -
.

a llow that , with the help of human calculation , he ma y c onj ure u p a c onj ectured
c omp osite w hich c orresp onds to some extent with a c oming reality P remonitions .

of this kind can har dly be exclu d ed

2
.

S I G NED P R ED I CTIO N CERT IF I ED

A higher stage is reached in the signed omens of the canonica l s crip tures :
“
A s tar sha ll ris e ou t of j acob and a s cep tre s ha ll rise out of I srael, a nd s ha ll
smi te the corners of M oa b a nd des troy a ll the children of S eth
” 3
.

And the na tur e of this p or tent is rev ealed in the M essi a h H aggada h:
A nd the s ta r sha ll s hine from the E as t, and this i s the s tar of the M essi a h .

fi
A nd i t will shi ne from the E as t f or fteen days , a nd if i t be prolonged, i t will be
f or the good of I srael
”
4
.

Admitting that these are scarcely more than teratic emblems a nd that they
i e no e x a c t c lu e to the w hen ce or w herea bouts of the R ed eemer, they ac qu ire a
g v

d i3 erent v a lue w hen v iew ed in the light of the c ombined current of messianic
exp ec tation s ; they p oint to the on e univ ersa l S a v iour Y et ev en as b are p ortents , .

they can be ma de good by their litera l fulfilment :

We ha ve seen his s ta r in the E ast a nd have come to worship him .

H ere is defin ite sta tement w hich c an be brou ght to book by historical and a
a

p os teri ori m ethod s W as it e v er known in the anna ls of human biograp hy that a

.

w orld imp ort ant deliv erer w as hera lded by a sp ecial sign in the heav ens p redic ted
-

fu lly a thous a nd years before his birth, and one w hich can be prov ed to hav e occurred
by the c onv ergent tes timony of the gentile M agi , not to sp ea k of remote a s tronom
ical rec ords ? Whatev er the nature of the mov ing s tar, it s tands alone in its
“ ”

uniqu e ap p ea l to fa ct in p referenc e to fancy , the rea l ra ther than the ima gined .

T he s tars of M ithra s , B uddha and Zoroa ster are largely legendary, w hile the
‘ ’

S ta r of B ethlehem s till defi es the lea rned world with its unea rthly glare T he .

subj e c t c annot be dev elop ed with that p ungency w hich it deserv es B ut I mention .

it a s an illu stra tion of a signed p rediction w hich can be certified ; and , though not
exc ludi ng a p artly astrologi c al b a s is , it is clear that w e mu st go b eyond p lanetary
c onj un c tions for its a dequa te s ourc e Where is the horoscop e that will loca te
.
‘ ’

1 “ Pr h i to i R eligi n p
e s r c o 2 74
J oir Psy hi al nd Sup L
.
, .

c c a ernor Ph enom n p
mal e a, 3 4 13 ( uc idity in the F uture)
H
e, .

doth M hi h 6 1 M att
.

a Num 24 , 1 7 4
a gg a as ac 5
2, 2
'

. . , . . .
50 T H E PR O PH E T I C PRE TE RNA T URA L

the coming S av ior in an ob scure vi llage of Juda that sp ea ks of a star which will ,
“
go b e fore them a nd s ta nd ov er w h e
”
re the youn g child is b orn
“
? I f it exi s ts
”
,

it is one w hich fell from heav en ; and it is to heav en only that w e must look for i ts
ma nufacture 6 .

S EALED P RED I CTIO N S UB LI M ATED

B ut external p ortents , how ev er striking , ha v e often a na turalis tic antec edent ;

they a dmit of s ome ca lcula tion or mechanis tic p rev ision hen liv ing b eing s ta ke . W
the p la ce of inanim ate obj ec ts and are dir ec tly focu ss ed with all the d etails of a
moving p icture , we p ass from the more determinable to the free future, human “

scenes and actions which cannot be scented out by the clev erest comp utations .

T his is the p rop hetical argu ment p ar excellence a nd ha s b een v oluminou sly trea ted
‘ ’

in many a mas ter w ork 7 -

.

F oun ded on the more mystical a dumb ra tions of the P rotev angelium, it dev elop s
the role of the coming D eliv erer in su ccessiv e sta ges , showing that H e wa s to b e a
S emi tic S av ior , a H ebrew S av ior, a J ewi sh S av i or , a Lev i tical S a v ior, a D a v idi c
S avi or and a sup ernatural S avi or F urthermore , H e w a s to be P rop het , P ries t and
.

King, and a v ery extraordinar y S on ; to be born of a v irgi n, to su3 er and die,

”

and yet to tri ump h Then comes the climax :

.

A nd thou B ethlehem E phra ta a rt but a little one among the thous ands of j uda ,
yet out of thee s ha ll come forth H e that s ha ll ru le my peop le I s rael : and his going forth
is from the begi nning, from the days of eternity
”
8
.

H ere w e ha v e a distinct p rediction by which the external sign is s ealed by the

internal locution, a p rov able p rop hetic al utterance whose ful filment can only be
denied by a reckless exp losion of the gosp el da ta 9 .

Then of c ours e there are those more detailed items in the life of C hris t w hi c h
ha rk b ack to ancient p rop hecy a nd w hich cannot be deleted w ithou t exp unging the
historicity of such a life i n globo:
“
Out of E gypt ha ve I ca lled my s on “
B ehold a vi rgi n sha ll concei ve 1° ”
H e sha ll
” 11
, ; ;
be called a N az arene The voi ce of one cryi ng i n the wild erness “
A nd he fa sted
” 12 ” 13
; ;
forty days and forty nights ; The blind recei ve thei r sight, the lame wa lk, the lepers
” 14 “

a re cleansed , the deaf hea r , the dead are ra ised , a nd the p oor have the os pel preached
g
B ehold, I s end my mess enger before thy f ace who shall prepa re thy
“
u nto them ;
”

This is E li as who was f or to come

“ “ 15 “
w ay bef ore thee ; I wi ll op en my mouth i n
”

;
p ar a ble s , I w ill u tter t h in gs c o n ce a l e d fro m th e fou nd a ti on of t he w orld
” 1
6
.

The p assion , delinea ted by I sa iah, s tands out in s trong relief :

no form or comeli ness despi sed a nd rej ected a man o
f s orrows
w ou nd ed f or our transgressi ons brui sed f or ou r i niq ui ti es he wa s ofi ered
because i t was his w ill he opened not his mou th he s ha ll be led a s a s heep
to the s la ughter a nd as a lamb before his After s ixty two weeks M ess i ah
“
-

sha ll be s lain a nd after that, the appoi nted des ola ti on

” 1
8
.

E v en small er items a re p ortra yed” with a masterful tou ch : B ehold thy king
cometh, meek a nd si tting u p on an a ss
,
19
;
“
M y hous e sha ll be ca lled the house of
l sm
“
h h h d
” 2°
prayer ; I w il i te t e s ep e r a nd the s heep s ha ll be sca ttered a broad ” 21
; They
pa rted my garments a m o n g th em , a n d u pon my ves ture did they cas t lots ’ H e was
" 2z “ .

c
Co m P hi stori Religi on pp 2 85—
are re 29 0 A J M aas S J C hri t ” Ty p e and
c 7

Proph y New Yo k
, . , .
, s 1
“M ic 5 2 M att 2 6
. 0
,

P hi to i c R ligion pp : 2 79—
es r , ; ,

C Alf d E de heirn The Lif and Times of

. .
, .

9 "
re s r 28 2 e o mp a re : re rs
J esus the M essiah ( New Yo k W Rams y Was Christ born in B ethl eh em?
, .
, e
V ol I p 2 1 2 r a

( London Also The I nternational Critical Commentary Gosp el of St Matth ew ( 1 9 1 0 )

, .
, . . .
,

, ,
pp 1 4 ( on the M agi )
.

I sa 7 14 ; M att 1 23 Ho s 1 1 1 ; M att 2 1 5 I sa 1 1 1 ; M att 2 2 3

. .

1° 11 12

3 Kings 1 9 8 ; M att 4 2
.
, .
, . .
, .
, .
,
I sa 4 0 3 ; M att 3 3
.
. ,
13 14

M
,

M
.
, . .
, .
, .

1‘
I sa 3 5, 5 ; M al 3 , 1 ; 4 , 5 ; att 1 1 , 5, 1 0 , 1 4 1°
P s 77, 2 ; a tt 1 3 , 3 5
M
. .

M
. . .

i
.

I sa 53 , as s m
.

17 18
D an 9 , 2 6 ; att 2 4 , 1 5 1°
I sa 62 , 1 1 ; Z ac 9 , 9 ; att 2 1 5 h
M
. . .

M
. . .

M h
. .

att 2 1 , 1 3
21 Z
I sa 56 , . ac
. 1 3 , 7; att 2 6 , 3 1
.
22
Ps 21, 19 ; att 2 7
. . . .
.
,
 T H E PR O PH E T I C PRE T E RNA T URAL 51

numbered M God , my God , why has t thou fors aken me? ;

“ 24
wi th the tra ns gress ors
” ”
23
“
; y
“ “
I thi rs t ; I t i s finished ; Not a bone of his s ha ll be broken “
”
25
They sha ll look
” 26 ” 27
;
on him whom they have i erced ” 8
p .

E v en the resurrection and a sc ension , the des truction of J erusalem and the
c oming of the A r an rac es , find their
y p reamb les in remote typ e or p rop hecy a nd
w ere distin ctly foretold by the M es siah on sev eral occasions :
I know tha t my R edeemer liveth ; The dead men s ha ll li ve, wi th my dead body
” 29 “

sha ll they a ri se B less ed is he tha t wa i teth a nd cometh to the thou s a nd three hundred
” 3
°
;
I am the resu rrecti on a nd the life
“
D es troy this temple a nd
“
a nd thi rty fi ve da s 1 ”
3 3 2 ”

y ; ;
-

“
i n three days I wi ll bui ld i t u p 3 3
; A s j onah was three days a nd three nights i n the
”

wha le s belly , s o sha ll the s on of man be three days a nd three nights i n the bowels of the
’

ea rth
” 34

;
“
M y fa ther, my fa ther , the chari ot of I s rael a nd the horsema n thereof! ; 35 ”

“
Tou ch me not; f or I have not yet a scended to my fa ther! 3 6
;
“
A nd a p eople wi th thei r
”

leader s ha ll come a nd des troy the ci ty “

The ram which thou s awes t wi th two horns
”
3 7
;
is the king of the M edes a nd P ersi ans ” 3 8
;
“
0 j erusa lem, thou tha t s tones t the prophe ts !
B ehold thy hous e i s left u nto thee des ola te “
there s ha ll not be left one s tone u pon
a nother tha t s ha ll not be thrown down The kingdom of God s ha ll be taken from you
”
39
;
a nd s ha ll be gi ven to a nother n a ti on yieldi ng the fru i ts thereof 40
;
“
M a ny s ha ll come ”

from the E as t and the Wes t and from the North and from the S outh and shall sit down
wi th A bra ham, I s a ac a nd j acab i n the ki ngdom of heaven S urrnise and sugg estion
” 41
.

ca nnot b e inv oked for thes e v ery forcible delinea tion s .

I p ass ov er the more v eiled p rop hesies of D aniel and S t J ohn the A p ostle , a s .

they a re too subtle and sup ernal to be ea sily di agnos ed ; a lso those that dea l w ith
the di stant fu ture a nd the sec ond a dv ent , as they are beyond our reckoning B ut .

the a b ov e rev ea l a c ontinuous cha in of foreca sts a nd fu lfilments w hich s tand en

tirely u np ara lleled in any other collection of sacred lore that ha s come down to u s .

S ILENT P RE D I CTIO N S ECRETED

By mp arison wi th v i sions of the p ast or p resent introsp ections into the
co ,

future a re more rare an d ex cep tion al in the liv es of the sa ints a nd s till more in ,

thos e of p rofane seers A distinct and d etailed p rediction of the far distant future ,
.
-

w ith a ll the nic eties of time , p lace and circumsta nce , w ou ld be a sta ggering sp ecta cle
ind eed ; it simp ly does not exist H ow ev er , it is a dmi tted tha t a p artia l lifting of
.

the v eil w hich sep ara tes the toda y from the tomorrow ma y here a nd there be
nt d t o ordin a r m ort a ls irres p ectiv e of th eir ca lling and for s ome nob le or
g ra e y
lofty p urp ose :
God s ti ll i n ou r day ma kes revela ti ons of the s econd ki nd H e revea ls to s ome .

i ndi vidu a ls how long they sha ll li ve, wha t tri a ls they have to endure, or wha t will befa ll
s u ch a nd s u ch a p ers on , s u ch or s uch a ki ngdom A nd even wi th rega rd to the mysteri es .

of ou r fa i th, H e i s w on t to revea l the tru ths thereof by a s peci a l li ght a nd

U nd er this hea ding m ight then be cla ssed those somew hat p recariou s p re
monitions of w hich p sy chical literature oflers us so ma ny examp les C oming .

ev ents cast their sha dow s b efore ; and ev ery n ow and then w e are giv en a story of
some ama z ing fu lfi lment w hich looks on the face of it like a di rect p resentiment
‘ ’
.

On the a bov e p rincip les w e are not p rep a red to deny the p ossibility of such s cent
ings ; but w e w ould requ est the p sy chic researcher to di stinguish more emp ha tically
w ha t is more or les s in the a ir or , if you like , the ether ,
‘ ’ ’
something immediately
‘
—
im p ending —
from w ha t is distant, dark and obscu re , and can send out no traces ‘ ’

or f eelers to announ c e its a dv ent S u ch are the long cha in of p rop hesies w e hav e
.

j u st considered .

23 I s a 53 , 1 2 ; ar M k
1 5, 28 24
P s 2 1 2 ; a tt 2 7 46 M 25
P s 68, 22 ; o n 1 9, 28 J h
Ex d
.
, .
, . . . .

Ap J h
.

2° D an 9 24
,
J h
; o n 1 9, 3 0 ; oc 2 1 , 6 .
27
P S 3 3 ,21 ; . o 1 2 , 4 6 ; Num 9 , 1 2 ; o n 1 9 , 3 6
. . .
.

h J h
.

2"
2 8 Za c 1 2 , 1 0 ; o n 1 9, 3 7 J.o b 1 9 , 2 5 3 °
I sa 2 6 , .1 9 31
D an 1 2 , 1 2
. . . .

J h M J h Ki
.

32
J h
o n
33 o n 2, 1 9
3‘
. att 1 2 , 40 ; o n a 2.
, 1
35
4 ngs 2 , 1 2 . ,

J h
3 “ o n 20 1 7 3 7 D an 9 2 6 35
D an 8 , 2 0
—
M k Lk
, . . . .

M
, .

3° M a tt 2 3 , 3 7 ; 2 4 , 2 ; a r 1 3 2 ; u e 1 3 3 4 3 5 4°
a tt 2 1 , 43

Lk C
, , . . .

A M l II
.

41 M att 8 , 1 1 ;
. u e 1 3 , 29
43
The scent of
. ount arme , , 2 7, 3 .
52 THE PR O PH E T I C PRE TE RNA T URA L

F or this r eason w e do not ma ke mu ch of the p rop hec ies of hagiology exc ep t

w hen they giv e ev idence of a similar v i sion into the c omp lex futur e S t B ern ard . .

of C lairv au x an d S t Vincent of F errer a re said to ha v e b een armed wi th extra ordi

.

nary p ow ers of p rognostica tion , v erging in some ca ses up on the b ib lica l s tandard s
of dir ect insight , —
focussing the future with some ac cu ra cy of detail There is no .

rea s on to qu estion the rea lity of some of these fea ts , a s they find their c onfirma tion

from so many quarters :

“
Y ou a re goi ng s hoeless to R ome; bu t you will retu rn to S p a i n wi th you r s hoes

E v en
w hen these things a re r ationa lly p rob a b le , the c onfi den c e w ith w hich
they are p red icted , tog ether with their rep eated v erifi ca tions , must inclin e u s to
s ee in them something more than common c la irv oyance Where is the p a lrnist .

w hose v eri di cal u ttera nces are not c op iously interlarded with fa llaciou s a nd fi ctiti
ous messag es ? The d ev il , n o doubt can p rop hesy ; y et nev er withou t the a lloy of
the false a nd the p hanta stic 44
.

L O NG D I S TANCE AP P O RT
Tha t a b ody ca n lose its qu a ntity , mov e throu gh p ace , a nd then resume its S
former dimensions , has alw ays been a llow ed as a p ossible condition of ma teria l
su b sta nces
45
Na y more , it is imp lied in many p henomena recor ded in H oly Writ
.

in w hich bodies are a p p arently w hisked 0 3 to distant p oints by inv isible forces .

I f the rav ens that fed E lia s w ere p rov idential, the p ow ers that supp lied the p rop het
D aniel with a miracu lou s nourishment w ere p rodig iou s ; they enta ile d the insta ntan
eous transp orta tion of the p rop het H a ba ku k to the banks of the E up hra tes I“
I n the g osp els a lso there a re s ev era l instanc es of a ra ther mysteriou s a pp ort , w hether
w e think of the feed ing of the fi v e thousan d , or of the c oa ls of fire a nd the fish, or
the strengthening cha lice of the S a v ior They in clu de the p rodigies of a u gmenta .

tion a nd mu ltip lica tion :

A nd they ga thered u p the fra gments twelve bas kets fu ll
“
A nd they s a w a fi re of
“
coa ls there a nd fis h la id thereon a nd bread ; A nd a ngels came a nd mi ni stered to
”

hi m
” 47
.

B ut if w e a pp ly the term to the transp orta tion of non human obj ec ts by -

sup er material agencies , there is many a thaumaturge w ho ha s claimed the p osses

-

sion of simi lar p ow ers E v en the remov i ng of mountains a nd the p a ssag e of

.

obj ects through imp enetra b le w a lls , ha s be en recou nted in the liv es of the s aints
w ith a gr ea ter or les s degree of p iou s p la usibility W e are not surp rised , therefore , .

if one of the latest dis cov eries in higher d ynamics shou ld d emonstra te the a c tua l
p os sib ility of su ch a p a s sag e, w ithout wires , trickery or electrical currents
’ ‘

I ha ve s een a lumi nous cloud hover over a heli otrope on a s i de ta ble, brea k a
“

s pri g of , a nd ca rry the s pri g to a lady; a nd on s ome occas i ons I have s een a s i mi la r

lumi nou s cloud vis ibly c ondens e to the form of a ha nd a nd c a rry s ma ll obj ects a bou t ” 4 3
W
.

hen w e are told that fl ow ers , new sp ap ers , a nd ev en c oncertinas c an d e

materialise , p a ss through s olid ob sta cles , a nd then p roj ect thems elv es in ful l b loom
a nd v ig or into the midst of a baffl e d a u dience , it is sur el m t t l b el the
y p re a u r e o a
mira cles of the saints w ith the w ord imp ossible I f p ianos ca n tra v el from D an
”
.

to B eersheb a , w y ot t
h n he H ol y H ou e o
s f L oretto ?49

A dmitting how ev er that many of thes e sensational fea ts are still s u b ud i ce

, ,
j ,
w hile others are p alp ab ly frau d ulent , the more s ob er and w ell t es te d henomena
p
-

‘3
H er zJ oh n of the Cross p
i St Co mp a e B a ett 1 c p 1 83 1 05 ‘4
r rr
M e ci er A M anual of Mo dern Scholasti c Philo ophy 1 p 8 63
, .
, . .
, . .
, . .

‘5
r , s , , . .

3 King s 1 7 6 ; D n
40
M att 1 4 2 0 ; John 2 1 9 ; M att 4 1 1
a
‘7

S ir Willi am Crookes F R
, . .
, , .
,
R es ea rches in S p iri tualis m p 9 1
.

E vi dence in Fl a mmari on 5 4yst rious I sy ohic Fo ces p p 9 0—

49
, . .
, , . .

‘9
1 54 a nd e
)
r im Z 0 llnet ,
Transcendental Phy sics pp 1 7 50 90fi
'

, , .
P ass .

, .
, .
54 T H E P R OP H E TI C PRE TE RNA T URA L

w ord must me external j u stifi ca tion unles s w e a re to p u t them dow nas a

c arry so ,

b and of delibera te imp ostors a nd ma liciou s lia rs 54

Then a ls o thei r tes ti mony .
, ,

does not stand a lone A s S ir William B a rrett ha s sa id :

.

Teresa was not the on ly s a int of whom levi tati on i s recorded I n the A cta
“
.

S a nc toru m s imilar phenomena a re a ttribu ted to more tha n 40 s a i nts or other pers ons
a nd s a id to be a ttes ted by crowds of thei r contemp orari es The B is hop of Va lenci a wa s .

beli eved to ha ve been mi racu lous ly s us pended for s ome hou rs a nd wa s thus s een by his
clergy a nd a mu ltitude of others I n fact u nless we deny the w hole of the pas t a nd
.
,

p r esen t records of thes e ph en om ena a ttemp ted ex pl a n a ti ons a re as d ifi ic,

u lt to accept

as the mi rac les thems elves

”
55
.

I f how ev er these floa tings in the a ir might be op en to imitations rea l or

, , ,

fanciful in the w ond ers of orienta l or occidental mag ic this is only to be exp ec ted
, ,

from the similar fea ts of S imon M agu s of old and a re in p artia l corrobora tion of the
s a cre d rec ord B u t there is some di3 erence betw een D a niel D oug la s H ome a nd
.

B lessed T eresa of the I nca rna tion ! M oreov er H ome beca me a C a tholic ; a n d w ho ,

can tell how far his ow n ma rv els dra gg ed him in to the C ity of G od ?56

R EVI TALI S AT IO N
The cu re of d isea ses or the hea ling u p of orga nic tissu e need not a lw a y s enta il

a rec ou rs e to p reterna tura l agencies . E v en w hen su dd enly eff e cte d a n d w ithout

v isible ante ced ents , there is a lw ays roo m for p ossible mento ma teria l -

a ction a nd

for the sp eed ing u p of orga nic p roces ses B u t the i ns ta nta neous produ cti on of new .

tissu e or the revi ta lis a ti on of certa inly dead tiss u e s ta nds a lone in the list of p rop hetica l
and sa in tly ma rv els M odern limb or liv er engra ftings ca nnot offer the sma llest
.
-

a p p roach ; a s these members are ta ken from li vi ng being s they are freshly a nima ted .

Wh en m o r tifi ca tio n h a s ru n its c ou rse ,

life ca n n e v er b e r es tored
57
.

H ea lings of this kind are a lmost on a lev el w ith new crea tions a nd a re a b u n
da ntly a ttested in the w orks of the G rea t H ealer The instant cu re of organic
—
.

diseases , mala dies in which liv ing tissue ha s b een definitely destroyed or ea ten
up , — ca lls for more tha n a mind cu r e or ev en the most p ow er ful h -

yp notic su gg es
tion 58
S u ch for instance , w ou ld be the hea ling of the ten lep ers , of the ea r of
—
.
,

M a lchu s , of the man wi th the withered ha nd , restora tions or rev iv ifica tions w hich
are p roof a ga ins t menta l thera p eu tics of the most a dv a n c ed d es cri tion E v en
p .

the cu re of p ara lysis or the stop p ing u p of the issu e of blood are uniq u e in the s eed
p
a nd c erta inty wi th w hich they are acc omp lished , w hile the
g iv ing of Sp eec h to the
dumb , of hea ring to the d ea f , a nd of sight to the blind , mu st a lw a ys rema in un
a pp roa cha ble in the extra ordinary d esp a tch and fac ility with w hich the
y are op er
a ted . One w ord or g esture, and the thing is done I”
Now w hile w e are not p rep ared to d eny tha t su ch a p ow er ma y be in p art ia l
p o ss e ss io n of so m e p iou s modern rev iv a list or
‘
H ealer H ickson , w a s it not
’
—
p r om ise d to J ew a n d G en tile a like ? an d ca nnot ev en th
e hea thens rop hes in H is
Name — p
the more critica l ca ses of crea tiv e cu ring hav e ev er b een the distinc tiv e
’ ‘ y

b a dge of H is closest follow ers in ev ery age of the ra ce :

S upra
B u t s uddenly, i ns pi red by God , he bega n to read the gos pel of S t M a rk, a nd when .

he came to the words , Upon the si ck they sha ll lay thei r hands , he laid his hand s on the
’

5‘ H
iz pp 7 1 3 (for a dditional cases )
er On the Th esh old of the U nseen p 79 55
r
F o a cri tique of th ese p h enomena s w ell as the Home ase s ee tw o arti cles on Levi tat ion
.
,
.

, . .

56

in the M onth for A p ril—

r ,a c
M ay 1 9 1 9 ; al o one on T he Conv e si on of the M edi um Home
,
“ ” “
, s r
I t a pp ea rs th at this gall ant man w as the o nly medi u m th a t was nev d etected in f aud th ough er

B ut C rook es
r
his con e sion wa s not a s smooth nd w h ol e h ea rt e d as mi gh t h av e b een d esire d
’
v r a

to th ose w ho knew him Home w as one of the most lo a b l e of men and his p
-

as sur es us th a t
.
“
v
erfect
g enu ineness and up ightness w ere b eyond suspici on (ap u d B arrett op cit p 59 )
” ,
r
,

S ee a ny medi cal wo k on fractures l esi ons sa nita ti ons a nd a mp uta ti ons

,
. . .

‘7 r
“ S ee a bov e p 83 Luke 1 7 1 1 ; 2 2 50 ; 6 6 ; 5 1 8 ; 8 43 ; 1 1 1 4 ; 1 8 3 5 et ali bi
, , .

3 5°
, . .
, , , , , , , , .
 T H E PR O PH E T I C PRE T E RNA T URAL 55

s is ter who was i n her departed from her

a gony a nd The next day she
the s i ckness .

left her bed The physi ci ans decla red her hea li ng was mirac u lou s
”
6°
. .

T hou gh the imp osition of hands might set in motion the ma chinery of sug
‘

g estio n ,
’
it w oul d ta ke a g ood d ea l o f st ro n g th in kin g to inh ib it a s ic kn ess un t o
‘

dea th, the imp endin g dissolu tion of the v ita l organism On the other hand ,
’
.

the p henomena tha t are still off ered to u s a t L ourdes and La S a lette come to u s
w ith a more modern and cri tical siftin g and fur nish u s with an absolutely incontest
a ble p roof , sw orn to b
y th e m ed ica l f a cu lt y , t ha t o
g ps e l m i ra c le s o f th e creati v e -

kind do a s a fact ta ke p la ce in the fu ll lim elight of the tw entieth century Where .

a re the Christian S cientists , or the E mmanu elists or M ystic S hriners , that can
op enly d efy the most hard hea de d sur eon s w ith the microscop e a nd the X ra y
g
-
-

fl ash Lep ers no less than lunatics are cu red in the sa v ing w a ters
? 61
.

C O M P ENETRAT IO N B IL O CATIO N
S UB S TANTIAL TRANS F O RM ATIO N
When a material body p asses through another it ma y be arrested in its onw a rd ,

p assa g e a nd ha lt w ithin the c onfin es of tha t other body I n this ca se it is sa id to .

c omp enetra te tha t b ody or to occu p y the same sp a ce w ith it I t w ould seem , .

therefore , tha t , w hen g enuine , su ch a condition is often imp lied in many of the
a p p ort p hen omena a b ov e r eferred to
-
.

B ut this is trifl ing c omp ared with the fur ther cla im , now demand ed by the
m ore a dv anced cosmologis ts and p sycho p hysicists , that a body ca n be in tw o
—
-

p la c e s a t on ce , s o ca lled b ilo ca tion a s d i

-
stinct from bicor p o
‘
re ity,
’
—an old
’ ‘

t hes is hand ed d own from the middle ag es A nd a p art from any theories o f sub
‘
.

s tance and ubica tion an d their su p p os ed sep ara tion in the real of ex p erien ce , it
’ ‘ ’

s e ems qu ite ne cessary to p ostula te some su ch distin ction in v i ew of the r ea listic

v i sions of the s a ints and others , in w hich they hav e seen , hear d and ev en tou ched ,
n ot only S av ior and the V irgin , sup p osedly in heav en , but a lso human beings of
the more c ommon or der w ho most certa inly w ere also and at the same time in a
di3 erent p ortion of terrestrial Sp ace .

S upra
I insta nce the form p roj ections of div i ne or bea tifi c beings , a s they
need not -

a re imp lie d un der w ha t w e ha v e alrea dy tr ea ted a s d irect v isions :

‘ ’

I a m j es us whom thou persecu tes t,

“
F ea r not, I a m the F irs t a nd the L as t
“ ”

j o hn , I a m h er e , be no t af r a i d
“
I a m the I mmacu la te Concepti on
”
62
, .
”

I n s o far a s these are external p roj ections of the liv ing form ostensibly identica l
with the glorifi ed b ody , w e cannot p u t them d own a s intermedi ate or angelic forms
w ithou t c omp romising their p ersonal a nd p rop hetica l cha ra cter The R edeemer .

a nd the B les s ed M other are there i n pr opri a pers on a , thou gh they a re a lso in

heav en W e ca nnot multip ly their bodies a ny mor e than w e ca n div ide their
.

s ou ls . I t is p r ob ab ly a c a s e of real , p hysica l biloca tion , thou gh un der alien a nd

a s sum e d a p p earance s c h
S u , at l eas t is t he m
. o re a p p ov ed Op inion
r
63
, .

B ut I w oul d reca ll the exa mp les giv en under telep a thy and clairv oya nce a s
g i v in g fu rther ev i d en ce of p ossib le p hys ical biloca tion T h is is more esp ecially .

the ca se w ith the tra nsla tion of the ap ostle T homa s to M exico , of S t J ohn C up er .

tin o t o his na tiv e city , and of S t F rancis X av ier to a distant ship wreck, when a ll .

the time they w ere seen in their fa miliar entour ag e T he a erial fl ights of E z ekiel , .

D a niel a nd H a b a kuk mig ht belong to this cla s s a nd furnis h the p recedent for those
o f M aria d A greda , B lessed R ita of C a s c ia B lessed Lidwine , S t P eter R og ala , S t
’
, .
.

0° H J ohn of the C o s p 1 29
er iz St r s

B ert rin H isto i e cri tiqu e d es é é nements d e Lo u des pp ari tions et gué ri sons ( Pari s
, .
, . .

‘1 r v r a
, ,
,

T w o h op eless cases of ancer a nd tub e culosi s cured d efini tely b eyond the operation
“ “ ” “
c nd r , a

of t he l a w s of na ture a pp ea l o in a current issue of the S ma ine R eligieuse ( Pa i s

"
r a s e r
“ A cts 9 5 A p oc l 1 7 ; H riz S t J oh n of the Cross p 9 4 Lo ur d s a p p ari tions
, ,
2 e
; ; e
“ D ev i ne M ysti cal Th eolo y p p 52 2 52 73 : B ene di ct XIV H e oi c Vi rtue I I I 2 9 7 29
-

,
.
, , .
, .
.

3
, g , .
8 , , r , ,
-
.
56 T H E PR O PH E T I C PRE TE RNA T URA L

J ohn of the C ross a nd many others . The most s triking ins ta nce is that of S t .

rec ent times (M

.

Alp honsus Ligu ori , in c omp ara tiv ely

, , of which E lep has L ev i .

C onstant) , w rites a s follow s :

There is no fac t i n his tory more i nc ontes ta ble or more effectu a lly proved tha n the
“

fact of the rea l and visible presenc e of F a ther A lphons us de Li gu ori a t the beds i de of the
_

p p ,(
o e Cl em ent X I V), when i n his las t a on
g y, w hi le t he s a me A lphons us was i n ecs tac y

a nd i n prayer i n a remote dis tric t i n I ta ly

64 ”
.

F ur thermore , the app eara nce of A nania s to the a p os tle P aul , laying hi s ha nd s
up on him, may ha v e ha d s ome ma terial and tangible a sp ect ; a nd to thi s extent
”

it goes to c onfirm the r ep orted cases of s oma tic form p roj ection in our own da y -

which are r elated of more ordinary p ers ons S tories like thos e of S ir R ob ert B ru c e .

may a t times r equire su ch a p rocess , though for most of thes e p hantas ms of the
“

a simp le mental imp res s seems suffi cient

65
liv ing ,
.

F inally w e hav e the cha nge of one thing into another w hich fi gures s o p rom
inently in H oly W ri t no les s than div ine tradition Wa ter is cha nged into b lood , .

rods into s erp ents , q ua ils into manna , du st into p earls , fring es into fl ow ers T hese .

are n one the less p ow er ful obj ect les sons b ecaus e s ome of them might b e more of -

the natur e of a pp orts or p rov identia l w onders tha n of literal a nd su bstantial

transf orma tions on the sp ur of the moment .

S upra
On the other hand the p hysical miracles of the S av ior stand up on a higher
footing and a dmit of no imita tions or p oetical mystifi ca tions O f these the c on .

v ers ion of wa ter into wine furnishes of c ourse the w ell kn ow n ex a mp le ; a nd this , -

it is sa fe to sa y , ca n hardly be tou ched by any form mu tations of w hatev er kind , -

66
whether in sa cred or s ecular lore .

The cons ci ous w a ter s aw i ts L ord a nd blu shed !

In w oul d the poet describ e its uni u e and extra ordinary c hara c ter ; for
v a in q
no amount of w ord p ainting can d o j u stice to its inimita b le effi ca c y a nd trans
c end ent rea lism .

I t is ins tru ctiv e to note , how ev er , that the modern disc ov ery of the ins ta b ility
of the elements , of the c onv ersion of one substa nc e into a n other by a b norma l
hea t p roduction , of a s imilar c onv ersion without a c orresp onding c hange in chem
—
-

ical c onstitu tion , so ca lled isomerism , has b rou ght the mediaev al a lchemy ,
‘
- -

formerly ridicu led , into b etter rep ute , w hile it has ma de the miracle of C a na , a nd
e v en that of the Eucharist , les s inc onceiv a b le to a cer tain c la ss of minds than w as
form erly the ca se R ecent theories of the constitution of matter rev erse a good
.

d eal of the old time a tomism -

When hydrogen can be turned into oxyg en a nd
.

c arb on can app ear under the a llotrop ic forms of c oal or dia monds , w here are w e

t o call a halt to further transmu tations of su b stance or transformations of p rop er

ties d efying the analys is of the b oldes t chemical exp ert ? A nd if w ater can p a s s
into wine , w hy not wi ne into B lood , and brea d into the B od y , a s is dire ctly imp lied
in the w or ds of I nstitution ? W
ha t nature p erforms in s uc ces siv e s tag es is er
p
formed by the Lord of nature in a single instant ; an d to this extent her ma rv els ma y
b e a help to thos e w ho must ha v e natural p arallels to ev erything in heav en an d
a
e rth Let t e
. h m s tu dy the li lie s , if this is their only hop e 1
67

B ut for us it seems almost sa criligeous to a p p eal to chemis try for a sup er

chemi ca l W onder, a nd w e p refer to treat the E u charis t u nd er a s ep ar ate hea di n
g .

I n the meantime s ens ib le marv els of the low er order are sca ttered b roa d ca st in
the a nnals of the holy s eers :
H e sends to them certain s u perna tura l communica ti ons , s uch as vi s i ons of s ai nts
“

Ritu Spiritu li m V l 1 p 20 6
al of a s o
Comp H arri Ess y in O ul ti m pp 4 7 1 1 53
, .
, . .

are s, a s cc s J oh n 2 1
Comp Si E Ruth fo d F R S Th n titution
, .
, .
, .

‘7
are r er r e co s of ma tter and the i
ev olut on of the
m nts Smi th oni n R po t ( 1 9 1 5
.
, . . .
,

ele e , s pp 1 6 7 20 2
a
“
e r
"
.
-
.
 T H E S E ALE D SUP E RNA T URAL 57

o
rf o holy things i n bodi ly form, deli ci ou s odors , locuti ons , accompanied by a W ” a nd
s i ngu lar s weetness , whereb the ver s n tl t n th n d i n vi rtue a nd wi th
y y e s es are gre a y s re g e e
drawn from the desire of evi l things 6 8 .
”

IV . TH ES EALE D S UP E RNATU RAL

B ut these all p rediction s and p rodi gies how ev er c omp elling
,
e er be
, ca n n v

ma de a b s olutely a irtight to the incursions of the ev il one P remonitions dov etail .

i nto p rop hesies , f orm

p roj ections into mi ra culou s transp ortations E v en the
-
.

be ma de p roof against the p rince of the

.

surgi ng of the b od y into the a ir can rarel

‘

y
p ow er of the a ir ; it ha s b een , and might s till be trav estied , w hether in ndia or the
’
I
E gyp tian H all T he Lev itation of the P rincess Garmak how s how slender is
‘
.
’
S
the w a ll w hich s ep ara tes a bold d ecep tion from a genuine p r odigy in its mere
externa ls .

A the low er p henomena is eff ected only in those v ery rare

clea n sw eep of a ll
a n d exalt ed s tates of the human subj ect in w hich a foretaste is i v en of wha t be

S
g
longs to a di3 erent p here of human existence an a nticip ation , a s it w ere, of the —
p ara dise of the b lessed F or if the p rec eding p rodigies are fa irly elo u ent of a
. q
s up er t errestria l s ource and a more than natura l op era tion , there are others tha t
-

tra nsp ort u s , soul a nd body , into the next w orld a nd are s ealed to a ll but the
fav ored few .

B EATIF I C VI S IO N B EATIF I C VOI CE

UNI ! UE F O RM -
P R O J E CTIO N
S o far w e hav e trea ted mental illum inations or ma terial imp ress ions more or
less on huma ni stic or p henomenal lines When those illuminations ex ceed their .

ea rthly c ondi tions of recep tiv ity and a re more d irec tly c onv ersant with interior

ess enc es , they b ecome i ntui ti ons , that is , su p erhuman a ssimilations of sup erna tura l
o bj ect s T hey are rev ela tions in w hich v isions a nd v oic es a ct as the m ere dr a p ery
.

for something w hich transcends the s enses , a nd ev en the rea son , lifting the subj ect
far a b ov e the c onditions of sp ace and time or of discurs iv e argument T hey are .

s ealed by su ch marv els as assump tion , a scension , resurrection and transfiguration ;

and thes e form a dia mon d w all w hich is a da mant to the p rofane soothsa y er .

T hough it is a receiv ed saying tha t no man can see G od a nd liv e , there are
“ ”

a dmitted exc ep tions in the history of the heav enly s eers , s ome hav ing b een fav or ed

with a p artia l , others w ith a total lifting of that v eil that s ep arates incarnate from
d iscarnate exis tence Let u s bri efl y note the v ariou s s ta ges of this unv eiling and
.

the d egre es to w hich it ma y be obtained on this S ide of the gra v e .

S O UL TRANCE -
LOWE R I NTUI TIO N
V
S IG N RE ELATIO N ( AP O CR YP S I S )
-

When seer mething p ertaining to the su p er and s ee s

’
is carried aw a y
‘
the so

world but under sensib le and symbolic ima ges w e are mov ing in tha t low er ord er
, ,

of intuition connoted by the term sign rev elation the unfolding of some hidden
‘ ’
-

an d heav enly tru th by externa l symb ols S uch a transp ort is something ra ther
‘ ’
.

di3 erent from a mediumistic stup or and ma y be generally ap p lied to those more
exa lted c onditions of menta lity in w hich though the s ens es are in p art q uies cent , ,

they are neither delud ed nor disa b led , but are indefinitely s trengthened and sub
lirn ated by their harmoniou s union with the higher fa culties which a re grop ing
ou t into a w orld of p ure forms s a turated with a transcendent mental and mora l
light
W
.

W e hav e many examp les of this in the record s of H oly rit and they form ,

as it w ere, a n as cending la dder of heav enl y manifestations H ere are s ome of .

the more s triking ins tances :

T he A scent of Mount C mel , I I , 1 7, 3

ar .
58 T H E S E ALE D SUP E RNA T URAL

A ND T H E B U S H B U R NE D W I T H F I R E A ND WA S NOT C ONS U M E D
B E H O LD , T H E R E A R I S E T H A LITT L E C LO U D I N F O R M L I KE
“

U NT O A M A N S H A N D B U R S T OUT , Y E H EA VE NS , A ND LE T
’“

T H E C L O U DS RA I N F O R T H T H E J U S T ONE B E HO L D , H E C OM
” “

E T H W I T H T H E C L O U D S , A ND E E RY E YE S HALL SE E H I M , A ND V
T H E Y A LS O T H AT P I E R C E D H I M , A ND ALL T H E TR I B E S OF T H E
EAR T H S HALL M O U R N B E CAUS E OF H I M ” 1
.

A dmitting tha t thes e obj ects ar e c oup led with theop hanies or div ine mani
festations , it is no les s ev ident tha t they are of a material and s ensib le na ture a nd
act a s the channels or exp onents of s ome higher a nd hidden truth T he S ign , .

w hether a s light , fire , clouds , ra ins and so on , rev eals s omething of the thing
—
-

signified , thou gh v ery ina dequately a nd under material ima ges the grea t I A M , ,

T H E C O M I NG M E S S I A H , T H E F U T U R E VI R G I N , T H E E T E R NA L J U D G E .

I n ea ch ca se w e can p rescind from the ful l content of the rev ela tion a nd focu s our
a ttention up on its p roximate starting p oint , s omething external or tangible M ore -
.

ov er , in no single instanc e d oes the v isionary a b andon his s elf p os s es s ion or s w oon -

aw a y I n all p rob a b ility , M os es and E lia s w ere gently lifted a b ov e their natural
.

a nd normal p lane of c onsciou sness , w hile I sa ia h a nd S t J ohn the Div in e w ere not , a t .

tha t moment at lea st , in a fa inting or fa lling condition of help lessnes s I t is a s ta te .

o f s ilence or a b sorp tion in w hich, thou gh the b rea th is freq u ently halted or the cir

cula tion slightly imp aired , no v iolence w ha tev er is d on e to the hea lth or s anity of

the human subj ect 2

.

ECS TAS Y M ID D LE I NTUI TIO N

S P IRI T -

F O RM RE VELATIO N ( ANAP H E R O S I S ) -

I n p a ssing from ma terial s ign s to p ure forms w e elimina te more eff ectually
‘ ’

the p la y of the low er senses and requ ire in fact a temp orary su sp ension of some , ,

of the v ital fu nc tions B u t v ery often the same p a rties ma y be the subj e c ts of
.

more than one s tage of sup erna tural illumina tion .

“
I A M T HAT I A M “
T H E S T I LL S M ALL VO I C E
”
W HAT ,

D O S T T H O U H E R E E L I JA H ? HO LY HO LY H O LY I S T H E LO R D “
, , , ,

S ON OF M A N S T A N D U P O N T H Y F EE T A ND I W I LL
“
OF H O S T S
”

S P E A K T O T H EE M Y S O U L D O T H MA G NI FY T H E L O R D
“

T H I S I S M Y B E L OVE D S ON I N W HO M I A M W E LL P L E A S E D ”

A ND I S AW A G R E AT W O ND E R I N H E AV E N A W O M A N C L O T H E D ,

W I T H T H E S U N A ND S H E H A D T H E M OO N U ND E R H E R F EE T A ND
,
,

U P O N H E R H EA D A C R O W N OF T W E LV E S TA R S 3 .
”

W ith the p ossib le excep tion of the S av ior s v isions most of these elev a tions ’

enta il some narcosis of the low er s ys tem ex res sed b th b lind d c ountenanc e
p y e e ,

muffling up the face in the mantle b eing undone not b eing ab le to sp eak fallin
g , , ,

up on the fa ce gri ev ed in sp irit or trou b led in b od th ou h hi h l la ted and

, y g g y e ,

exalte d in the u p p er p art of the s oul T hey are the n ecessary accomp a niment of .

middl e intuition
’
the
‘
.

“
I t is a ls o beli eved tha t God s howed H is own ess ence to AI os es , f or H e s ai d u nto
him tha t H e would s et hi m i n a hole of the rock a nd pr otect him w ith H i s ri ht ha nd
g ,
tha t he mi ght not di e when H is glory passed by This pass ing by was a tra ns ient .

vi si on, Cod u pholdi ng wi th H is right hand the natura l life o M os es “

f
”
B u t thes e .

essenti al vi si ons , s uch a s thos e of S t P a u l, M os es , a nd our fa ther E li as whe

, n, a t the
.

whis tli ng of a gentle ai r , he covered hi s fa ce wi th his ma ntle, are tra ns i ent a nd mos t
‘
’

rare occ urrences , a nd s carcely ever gra nted , a nd to ver

y f ew; f or God s hows them only to
thos e who, li ke thes e, are the mi ghty ones of H i s Chu rch a nd L aw ” 4 .

Ex d Ap l
Kin
1
o 3 gs I sa 4 5, 8 ; oc , 7

D S i
. . . .

2
ev ine , ystic Th eo ogy , 4443 p
ol , P syc holo J y
gy of the a nts ) 893
Ex d l Lk
. .

Ki ngs 1 9 , 1 2 ; I sa 6 , 3 ; J er 1 , 6 ; E z ek 2 1 : D an 8 l
.
3
o 3 14 ; 3
1 46 9 3 5
M AP O C A M C II
,
; u
.

e
. . ° °
, ,
. .

att 3, 1 2. 1 T he sce nt of ount a rmel , , 24 , 2

. .
.
 T HE S E ALE D SUP E RNA T URAL 59

I t 1 s no less remarka ble thou gh with his accu stomed modesty he does not —
—
sp eak of i t hi mself , that this J ohn w as one of the few modern ecstatics w ho ha s
0

c omb i n e d su ch a liftin
.

g up of the sou l wi th a li fting up of the b ody , elev ation with

lev i ta tron R a ised in the a ir with his Sp iritu al c ons ort ,
.

“
The two s ai nts had begu n s p eaki ng of the M os t B less ed Trini ty a nd had fa llen
i nto a tr a nc e together S t Teres a often said tha t i t was i mpossible f or a nyone to s pea k
. .

of God to S t j ohn o the Cross beca us e ei ther he or the other fell i nto a trance 5
f
”
.
, .

E qually suggestiv e , though of less immediate im p ort, w as that unea rthly dov e
tha t w a s sa id t o hav e hov ered ov er his hea d on v ariou s occasions :
“
When the s a i nt was livi ng i n Granada , a dove of wonderful bea uty a nd brillia nt
p luma ge, wi th a golden ci rcle a rou nd i ts throa t, was often s een hovering over his cell .

The dove was vis ible not only to the friars , bu t a ls o to the secu lars , I t w as a s u bj ect .

of convers a ti on tha t the m s teri ous dove follow ed the s a i nt a nd remai ned wi th him wher
y
e r he mi ght be
”
s
ve .

E v en the Voice that sp oke to the R edeemer is echoed on a low er p lane and
re c eiv es an insp iri n g answ er from H is strenu ou s s erv ant :
“
j ohn , wha t s ha ll I gi ve thee f or a ll tha t thou ha s t done a nd s ufi ered f or me ?
To s uffer a nd to be held i n contempt f or thy s a ke 7 .
”

S u ch su3 ering or dying for the Lord is a comm on exp eri ence with the mystic s
‘

an d ca rries a silent hint a t s ome form of life sus ension w hich is ev i d entl
p y not
-

inj urious B ut of this more p resently

. .

S UB LI M E RAP TURE H I G H ER I NTUITIO N

S UP ER RE VELAT IO N
-

(AP O CALYP S I S )
When the hum an a nd the sy mbolical is re du ced to a v anishing -

p oint , the
rev ela t ion b ecomes a co mp lete un cov ering , an
in the p rop er sense o f
‘
a p oca lyp se
’

the w ord H ere a g ain the p receding v isions do the duty of this loftier seeing
‘ ’
.

w henev er they are c onv ersant with imm edia te insight B ut in rap ture externa l .

form s are at a minimum and the saint or p rop het finds himself face to face wi th
a n u nsp eaka ble w hich ca n har dly b e descr ibed :
‘ ’

“
I A M T HA T I A M “
T H E L O R D OUR G OD
”
TH E A N
C I E NT O F D A Y S T H E S O N OF M A N T H E E VE R LAS T I NG
”

SA VIO R T H E A LP H A A ND O M E G A , T H E B E G I NNI NG A ND T H E
” “

E ND , T H E F I R S T A ND T H E LA ST T H E T I M E , T I M E S A ND A
” “

H AL F A T I M E
”
-
8 -
.

M u ch of this unv eiling , w hether to M os es or E lia s , P eter or P a ul, D aniel or

S t John the D iv ine , carries u s far bey ond the most ethereal p hantasm , though it
.

ap p ears under human drap ery I t is a llied to the cryp togr am , c oncealing tran
’ ‘
.

scendental tru ths that elu de a ll p ic turiz ing .

The transcendent P ers on who a p p eared to D ani el a t S u sa , to S t P eter a t .

S P l h d t D m s , to S t J ohn on the island of P a tmos ,

J pp ,
o a t o t a u on t e r oa o. a a sc u
“
.

w a s of su ch unearthly a p p ear a nce , so like the s un tha t s hi neth i n his pow er , tha t
”

H e could not b e intued w ith mortal eyes ; H e w a s a bov e all fleshly v isi on .

I knew a man i n Chris t whether i n the body , I know not; whether out of
“

th e bo dy, I k n ow n o t; G od kn ow eth s u c h a o ne w a s ca u g ht u p i nto the third

h ea ven a nd h e ar d u ns p ea ka bl e w or ds w h i c h i t i s n ot la w fu l f or m a n to u tter

I w as i n s piri t on the L ord s day a nd heard a voi ce behi nd me of a trumpet

’
“

s aying : Wha t thou s ees t write i n a book a nd s end i t to the S even Churches which are
‘

”
i n A si a .

s b s a
0

Th i d i i l w th n d it n f d 1 ne a tu e w h le the
es cr e n a g en er a y e c o i o o v 1 r p r ,
i

cha nge o f c o un t en an c e , th e s w oo nin g a w a y ,

a nd p erha p s th e
“
s ti n g m the fl e sh ,
”

bri ngs out the p a infu l s ide of su ch a n exp eri ence :

5 H izer S t o n of the ross , J h

70 C p 5
I b id p 1 70 7
I b id p 1 71
Ex d
, . . . .
, . .

A p oc 1 8 ; 1 2
. .

A
,
.

5 o 3 , 14 ; 3 ngs 1 8 , 3 9 ; D an 7, 9 ; Ki . cts 9 1 0 ; D an 1 2 , 7 ;
-
. .
, ,
14 .

Ap
.

9 2 Cor 1 2 , 1 9 ; oc 1 , 1 0
.
-
. .
60 T H E S E AL E D SUP E RNA T URA L

An d I ,
D a n i e l ,
f a i n te d ,
a nd w as s i ck m a n y da y s A n d w hen I had seen
” 1 0

hi m, I f ell a t his f eet a s one dead .

f rc tra nce hav e c erta rn

0

We d h d b l
0

d n t t h o re d e n y th a t t he d i v i n e a n t e ra o
—
o o , e r e ,

externa l f ea t ure s i n c o mm o n ,
a lo ss o f se n sib ilit y ,
a n o c c as ion a l s ti3 ening of the

body , an a p p arent lethargy A p hys ical p rice must a lw a ys b e p a id for ev ery

.

sp iritual p riv ilege B u t in the former c a se the p a thologi ca l s ymp toms are tem
.

o r ar a n d m o re of the na tur e of functronal su sp ens1 ons , w hi le the i ntellect and

p y
w ill are enormou sly illumina ted and fortifi ed by a fl ood Of li ght and sp iri tual
o

b I h e la tter ca e the s ymp toms a re more often

’
i i d
‘
w th n t n t
p o er ; e y ar e e r a e .

s
j c m a n d b od y a li ke ; they are a p t t o gi v e brrth to
.

p ro l on g e d a n d p re u d i i a l t o in d
organic dise as es , and sometim es dev elop into chronrc hys teri a , mental deb i li ty,
c omp lete a p hasia , a nd ev en incip ient insanity , a s w e ha v e forcrbly I llustrated

a b ov e .
11

Then also the rap tures of the modern sa ints rev eal their own s ource :
The s plendor 0] H i m who i s revea led in the vi si on resembles an i nfus ed light, as
of the s u n, covered wi th a veil a s tra ns parent a s a di a mond , if s uch a texture could be
woven, while H is raiment looks like fi ne li nen The s ou l to whom God gra nts this
”
.

visi on a lmos t a lways fa lls i nto a n ecs tas y, nature bei ng too wea k to bea r s o dread a

I s ay dread ; though this a ppari ti on is more lovely a nd deli ghtfu l than any
‘ ’
si ght .

thi ng tha t could be ima gi ned, even though a ny one should li ve a thous a nd yea rs and
s pend a ll his ti me i n tryi ng to pi cture i t; f or i t f a r s urpa s s es our limi ted i maginati on
”
a nd u nders tandi ng .

God places the s ou l in H i s ow n mansi on, which is i n the very center of the soul
“

i tself They s ay the empyrea l heavens , wherei n our L ord dwells , do not revolve with
.

the res t: S o the accustomed movements of the f acu lti es a nd i magi na ti on do not a ppear
to take place i n a ny wa y tha t ca n i nj ure the s ou l or dis tur b i ts peace
”
.

Nor do they a dmit of imitation , w hether from d emon or cla irv oyant :
This touch of knowledge and s weetnes s is s o s tr ong and s o profound tha t it
“

penetra tes i nto the i nmos t s u bs tance of the sou l, a nd the demon cannot i nterfere with i t
nor produce anythi ng li ke i t, becaus e there i s nothi ng els e compa ti ble wi th i t, nor i nfuse
a ny s weetness or deli ght which a t a ll resembles i t
”
12
.

B EATIF I C VI S IO N D I R E CT I NTUI TI O N
V
D I I NI S ATIO N (AP O TH E O S I S )
B ut a ll these elev ations of s oul, though they carry u s w ell out Of the b ody and
into the discarnate w orld of p ure es sences , still S p ea k to us Of huma n methods of
seeing , in tha t they p ostulate s ome crea ted Sp ecies in the mind of the s eer,
”

through w hich the I nfinite is intu ed E v en the sub limest giv e ev idence Of a re .

flected light rather tha n a s elf luminous B rilliancy , one w hic h mus t annihilate all
-

crea ted forms for its a dequa te a ssimila tion W e cannot turn a p olygon into a
—
.

circle wi thout the redoub tab le dx, a v iolent tra nsition ! ( I nfinitesimal Calculus) .

S uch a transition is eff ected only by the dea th of the b ody , if w e excep t the
B ea tific Vision of the S av iou r by w hich, ev en in morta l life , H e a lw a s b eheld
“
y
the fac e of H is F ather who is in hea v en ”
.

T H IS IS MY B E LO VE D S ON I N WH O M I AM W E LL E E
P L AS D “

T he V oi e
s p oke at the B ap tism with its hea v enly D ov e w a s but a
c that , ,

p a ssi ng rermnder of what was a p erma nent a nd ha bitual c ondition of H is s oul

.

T O w hat extent the v rsrons of Moses E lia s and others iv e ev idenc e Of a similar
g , ,
though temp orary elev a tion is a disp uted qu es tion man holdin tha t the w ere
y g y ,

a ctu ally bea t1fi c thou h onl

g y for short p eriod s
, .

1°
D an 8 , 2 7 ; Ap
oc 1 , 1 7 11
S up ra j p 283 12
St T I nte i Castl Sixth M n
S
eres a , r or a
.

e,
. .

S i‘m ' 9 » 3 ; h M C A nt of Mount Carm l II 24

.

i
. .

ev ent ans on. 2 . 1 2 ; S t

John 0 f the ross , T he sce e
M
.

, , ,
6 ; 26 , 5 .
13
a tt 3 , 1 7 . .
62 E E
T H E S AL D SUP E RNA T URA L

I t is the I nca rnation w h ic h g iv es th e lie t o a s ou l le ss D eisrn ; and to t his ext ent -

a s im t a t t th h w ev er i na dequat ely
modern S p iritu li m has h it u on o n e p or n ru o
p , ,

b s a s
tha t the ody h ll h re w i
a th th e s ou l th e g lo ry O f a n ev er e nd i ng b less edness -
.

AS S U MP TI O N (ANALE M P S I S )
I need not dela y on t h e T ran s lat io n o f E n oc h or t h e A
ss um p ti on o f E lias ,
as .

h b l
.

s
the e are too far 0 3 to a pp e al to a t w en t i et c en t u ry p u rc .

“
A nd E noch wa lk ed w i th G o d; a n d h e w as n ot; f or G o d to o k hi m
m f ” 1
8
i f I l d h h th
M y father, my f t
a her! T h e ch ar o t o s r ae a n t e o rse a n e r eo .

B ut I eri os u s ly p p r o o u n d t h e s o le m n q u e s ti o n b y w h a t l o g i c t h e s e le v,
i ta t io n s
f
or li ting s into the sup er w o r ld ar e c o n s ig n e d t o t h e r eg io n o f r o m a cn e s i m p ly
b ecau s e they are remote and not a cces sible to our more i mmediate hi stori cal or
.

scientific control Would not a similar argument hit the ev angeli cal dat a where
.
, ,
“
h di d
”

b y the w ay m e n t io n is m a d e Of th e se tw o w it n e ss e s as b o t p re c e n g a n
following the M essiah with unheard Of w onders ? And w here are w e to call a -

ha lt to t h m c h f t h e su er n a t u r a l ? I f C h r is t asc e n d e d ab o v e t h e h i g h h e a v e n s
e a r o p ,

w hy no t H is a u g u s t p re d e c e ss o r s ? T h o se w h o d e n y th e f o rm e r w ill b e ap t to

d ism is s th e l a tt er B u t .th o s e w h o acc e p t t h e f o rm e r ca n n o t d e n y t h e lat ter

w it h t l i n u n in g t h e v er ac ity o f t h e S a v i or a n d th e c o n t in u it y o f th e
o u g r a v e y r p g
chain of sup erna tural manifestations I t is a ca se of liv e or die with the entire .

rec ord
m
.

I n the s a m e w y a th e A ss u m p ti o n o f th e V ir g in t h o u g h o f le ss v it a l i p,
ort ,

cannot be div orced from the general scheme and p rov idential disp osals of the
D iv ine Ec o n o m y S h e . w h o b o re a n in c o rr u p t ib l e B ei n g in h er o w n b o d y w o u l d
not b e like y l to s u 3 er c o rr u p t io n i n th a t b o d y t h o u g h s h e m i g h t p, ass t h r o u g h d e a t h .

I n a ll t h e s e m a tt er s w e m u s t b e g u id e d b y a n t e c e d e n t s n o le ss t h a n c o n s e qu en t s .

S t Jo
. h n s ’
v i sio n o f th e
“
w o m a n c lo t h e d w i th t h e s u n w o u l d h a v e l it tl e m ea
”
n in g if
h
t e H e a v e n l y M o t h e r la y p u t r e fy gin in t h e gr a v e ; a n d s u c h h a s b e e n t h e t r a di t io n
Of the highes t Chris tian antiquity 19
.

AS CENS IO N (ANAB AS I S )
M ore directly a ttested that is by the united c ollege of a p ostles I S the lifting
, ,

u p of the S av iour at the clos e of H is earthly miss ion and H is translati on in a cloud
o f glory to the mansions of the eternal F a ther This a ls o is p art and p arcel of a .

record w hich cannot be b roken up in to real and ideal fra gments I f the risen Lord .

w as truly s een in the fl esh for forty d ay s H e mu s t hav e left the w orld in a rather ,

remarka ble manner A ll power is gi ven u nto me i n hea ven a nd on earth

“ ”
.
.
,

W ith thes e words he b ids farew ell to H is little fl ock a nd like E lias H e throws , ,

H is s p iri tual ma ntle up on their should ers

‘ ’
Where did H e disapp ear to ? I t is
.

incredible tha t H e w ho ha d b een s een heard tou ched and felt on so many occa , , ,

s ions and by so many p arties should ha v e simp ly hid himself or v anished to die an
unknown d ea th The v ery thou ght Of it is p rep osterou s
. .

T here is only one a nsw er that is a v ailab le He w ho ha d p ass ed t hrough s olid .

w alls and had w alked on the t rou bled sea w as now v isib ly lev itated in the sight ,

of H is a s tonished follow ers and ethereally tha t is ins tantly a p p orted to what
‘ ’
, ,

D ante and S t Thomas descri b ed as the emp yrean

“
or the ninth hea v en In
”
. .
,

this the Angelic D oc tor takes d ue c ognis ance Of the p ass a ge Of the B ody through
a v acuum o v as t f a n d irnme ure b e dimensions
a s a l — the regions of inters tellar s p ac e ,
.

Thl S w a s a ccomp lished by its demat erialisation or los s of external quantit y

‘ ’
,

a nd followed by its remat erialisat ion or resump t ion Of d imens ional quant ity
‘ ’

b efore the gr eat Whi te Throne S ince t hat t ime the B ody of Christ has existed
.

m only i n H eav en thou gh it ma s “

s c a m ta af
”
scrrp trv ely
”
crr
cu ,y e x i t a r e n ll y o r t e r ,

a sp iri tual manner in a million diff erent p oints of creat ed sp ace I t has all been
, .

18
G en 5, 24 ; 4
. Kings 2 , 12 .
1’
Ap o c . 1 2, 13 .
 T H E S E A L E D SUP E RNA T U RA L 63

thought out and answered hundreds Of years b efore Zollner wrote his Trans
c endental P hys ics
”
20
.

Can s u ch a w ay s hared by mortal man , and to what extent

p ow er be in any
rs It s up orted or c onfirmed b
! 0

p y coll ateral ev i dence ? I t ca n be s hared and it has

b een shared , t hough only by v ery excep tional sp iri ts ; and from this p oint of v iew
the disap p earan ce Of the M essiah from the terres trial a ir furnishes a v alid re
‘ ’

p
s ump t ion for a s imi la r disa
“
p p earance of H is tw o witness es from the scenes of
”

their earthly lab ors , not to sp eak of the v ery congruou s assump tion of H is own
M other M ary , E noch and E lias form in thi s resp ect a tri ad , p ow erfully illum
.

inated by the a scended S av iour .

On the other hand , there is no authentic instance of a similar translation in

t he liv es of a ny other saints or p rop hets , least of all in the shady exhib itions of the
S eance room NO liv ing medium has ev er d ematerialised on the sp ot and ca rried
-
.

h er liv ing b ody into another w orld ! Nev ertheles s , the modern p henomena Of
a p p ort , lev itation, b ilocation or di stant form p roj ection, furnish, as I hav e s aid , -

a v alua b le p rec edent for marv els Of a far hi gher ord er

.
When genui ne, they tend .

t o s ilenc e the lip s Of the p rofane sc0 3 er 21

.

RE S URRE CTIO N (ANAS TAS I S )

And this brings u s to the allied s ubj ect Of the reanirnation of the dea d b ody
i n the tomb a nd its rise to a new life of glory , the cla ssic R esurrection T his is — .

o f a ll w ond ers the most wi dely a pp recia ted by humanity at larg e , a s it p romis es
that mu ch desired c ontinuity of form and fea ture w hich many regard a s so essen
-

t ial to any hap p iness in the life to c ome .

I know tha t my R edeemer li veth, a nd i n the las t day I s hall rise ou t of the earth
“

a nd I s ha ll be clothed a gai n wi th my s ki n and ou t of my flesh s ha ll I s ee

” 22
God
'

I t is w ell kn own that this text a dmits of a v ariety Of unc ertain rea dings , and
f or this rea son it is not sa fe to dra w too much p rop hetica l ma terial out of its doub t
ful w ording B ut tha t it foresha dow s a n a ctua l ga thering together of the s ca ttered
.

atoms Of a former temp le of the H oly G host is ma de fairly evident by the

“ ”

testimony of the R edeemer to H is own B ody :

D es troy this temple, and in three days I wi ll bui ld i t up .

I t will surely be allow ed that the C hrist w ho w a s taken from the Cross and care
full y laid in the s ealed tomb w as s omatica lly the identical Christ that app eared
t o tha t long s tring of witnesses b eginning with tha t first E a ster morni ng T O sa y .

that the B ody ha d b een carri ed a w a y , or stolen , or: ev en burnt , a s some hav e
intima ted , is to p la y hav oc with the intense c onsciousness one a nd the s ame S av i our
w hich c ould easily be knocked to p ieces by Si mp ly sho i ng him up or p ornti ng to w
o
‘ ’

a c onfused heap of a shes , H ere is your famou s M es si ah

‘
We ha v e cre
H s m s i ble Chri st w oul d hav e
.

m a te d ir n !
’
S t P e t er se
. r o n o n t h e
’
r i e n , i n co rr u p t
e nded in a sa d fias c o if s ome one ha d rushed u p , a s he then mig t
h hav e done, a nd
b oldly refuted the story T hey a bs olutely could not do so ; or w e ma y be qui te
.

s ur e t h a t s om e th in g lik e t hi s w o u l d c e r t a in l
y h a v e O c cu rre d T h en a l o H rs ea trng
s .

d i k i i h t d B d n d H s i nti ng out of the F rv e P reci ous

a nd r n n g n t e r e s o re o y a r p o

Wo u n d s w a s d o n e w i th t he S p e cia l p u r p o s e o f p u b lic ly iden tifyin g the mort al

w ith the immortal Chris t :

A i i h h fl h d bones , as ye see me have
”
“
P eace b u n t o o u s p r t a t n ot e s a n
e y
.

fi
.

R eac h h i th er th y n g er a n d b eh o ld m y h a n d s ; a nd reach hi ther thy hand a nd

thrus t t i i n to m y s id e; a n d b e n o t fa i thl es s b u t b e li evi ng

” “
M y L ord a nd my .

’
25
God!

St 2° Th omas
Th e o l III q 5 7S um
( on as c n s ions and a ssump ti ons) ; q 76 ( on difi erent e
C
.
, .
,

bodil ) p ey S nOp s Th eol D og m Vol II D e M y sterio

. .
. ,
m
)
— T
f n e an q u e
y r

Eggs enfiae R eZ
o a r
S
es e c e

l S
r ,
. . .
,
.

es
z d p ran elin d e E uchar th es 1 1
.

i N o s 5 0 54 ; u ar e D e E uch ar i s 48 ; F ,
. . z , . . .

M J h
.
,

S ee a bo e p s
n ob 1 9 25 tt 26 6 1 n 2 1 9 23
21 s v J a i
; o , . .
, , .

Luk e 24 3 9
.

J ohn 2 0 2 7 2 8
,
.

24 26 -
.
,
. ,
64 TH E S E ALE D SUP E R NA T URA L

I f anything w as ev er attested by an army Of unimp eacha ble w itness es it was ,

the ident y it Of th e c erta i nl y d ea d w rt h t h e c er ta i nly rrsen and glori fi ed S av iour .

R iv al t he o r ies Of s w oo n o r ir n p os tu r e m u tu a lly ca n c el ea c h o ther A nd this p ower .

i
of r ais ng h i m se f
l h a s p a s se d t o n o o th er b ei n g t h o u g h th e faculty of ra ising others
, ,

su ch a s th e en to m b e d L a z a ru s h a s O nl y b ee
,
n gi v e n to th e few who like E lia s of , ,

Old or some of the early s a ints a nd a p os tles occup ied a n extra ordinary p os ition ,

in the redemp tiv e p lan .

H ence w e do not p la ce the rep orted resurrect1 ons Of our modern sai nts and
‘ ’

soul doctors up on s u ch an una ss a ila b le lev el , a s they ca nnot a lw a ys be b rought to

-

b ook and there is Often the p ossib ility tha t the maiden is not dea d , but sleep eth
“ ”
.

H owev er, the exis tence of one single ca se of a u thentic life res tora tion makes all
-

others p os sible ; a nd from this p oint of v iew they and thos e w eird c a llings out of
‘

the trance to which more than one p riest or medic a l p ra c titioner can tes tify must
’

a lw a ys rema in a p ow erful a s set in fav or Of a rea l though v ery rare recall of a s oul

tha t ha s cros sed the b oun dary Y oung ma n, I s ay unto thee, A rise
”
. .

A fter this it is hardly nec essary to p oint out that w ha t the saints can rarely
e3 ect is n ot likely to be easily p er forme d by the more c omm on fry of humanity .

H yp notism stands agha st a t it , w hile mediumism is out of the reckoning We .

re qu ire , a s I hav e said , a p ow er tha t is w orking a ga i ns t the tra nce , n ot one that will
throw the p a tient into a s till deep er stu p or B esides , this is not the cas e of a
—
.

tra nce but Of a d efinite transition , the reunion of a liv ing s oul with a certa inly
dea d corp se And this is the one p oint tha t ha s b een missed by our necromantic
.

w iz a rd s , wi th their ev er returning Ka ties R esurrection imp lies more than a

‘ ’
-
.

reapp ea rance on the astral , thou gh thi s ma y be a ha lting p la c e for thos e who are
’ ‘
-

infatuated by the dis carnate d ou ble M rs E ddy and M a dame Blav atsky are
. .

ra p idly rotting aw a y in the grav e in sp ite of all their p ow er ful thinking , while

S t J ohn of the Cross still shines w ith his heav enly c ountenance in the cathedral
.

of S eg ov ia T o rise from the dea d mea ns a bur sting of a ll s ea ls , slabs and monu
.

ments and a reassump tion of the sca ttered du st by the id eal form I t fin ds its
—
.

antecedents in a mystery w hich defi es all dete ctiv es a nd C onan D oyles , the
Emp ty T omb ! 26

TH E D I I NE V ‘
GL O RY ’

TRANS F I G URATIO N ( M ETAM O RP H O S I S )

B ut if the R esurrection ha s a seemingly ca rnal a sp e ct a s dea ling with the
fl esh, it is none the less eloquent of a bodily sublima tion to w hich nothing in
this life can be a dequ ately comp ared S u btility , clarity , agility , imp a ssib ility ,
.

su ch p rop erties c onv ert the Old time b od y into w ha t is almost a di a p hanou s sp irit,
-

a thing of light, lightnes s and lev ita tional force This reaches its climax in the
—
.

T ransfigura tion, where all the w ond ers of the sup erw orld s eem to meet, lucidity,
lev itation , glorifica tion, beatifi c v ision .

A nd H e was tra nsfigured before them a nd H is face did shine a s the s un a nd

“

H is raiment became whi te a s the li ght ( exceeding whi te as s now , s uch as no fu ller
on earth can whi te them) and there a ppeared unto them M oses a nd E li as ta lkin
g
with H im and a bright c loud overshad owed them and , behold a voi ce ca me
ou t of the c loud , s ayi ng:

‘
T HI S I s H EAR H I M ! 2 7
MY B E LO V E D S ON, ”

Whatev er may hav e b een the na ture of this mysterious v is ion it was a realistic ,

and wi de a w ake exp erience in which three mortal men w ere b rou ht face to fa ce
g
-

with three immortals One of w hom w a s s till to di e as a v oluntary holocau st

, T he .

insinuation that the three ap os tles w ere mediums w ho fell int o trance and p roduced
the Sp iritistic arc h exp ressed by the
’ “
cloud of glory is too trifl ing to be taken
‘ ”

Comp e J H Hy lop Psychi a— l Res h nd the Resu ection ( New Yo k

M tt 1 7 1 9 ; M k 9 2 1 0 ; Luk 9 2 8—
5°
ar . . s , c fo an
ea rc a rr r r
tim te
,
mad q u t
e a e es a .
27
a 36
.
, ar ,
-

e , .
 T H E S E AL E D SUP E RNA T URAL 65

s eri ously 28
I t is exp res sly stated that they sa w the v ision
.
w hen they w ere
awake that they w ere ful ly conscious when P eter sp oke ; and to comp are the cloud
,

of glory wi th the ecto lastic S trin q c M oreov er the sp ecta cle

‘

g is ui te ridi ulou s
’
29
p .

w a s not of a s oft a nd sub dued shimmer but of a b lin din brilli anc “
bri ghter than
g y , ,

the sun an d this s ep ara tes it from all occul t transfi ur ations of the most darin
‘ ’

g g
character N O ma terralrsed form can for a moment app roach it 3 o
.
’
.

TH E D I I NE V ‘
F I RE ’

T RANS VERB ERATIO N ( ME TAP LAS TE S I S )

B ut if this exp erience of the S av iour and H is grea test S a in ts is ev idently unique,
not so c el es tial a s to be altog ether incommun ica ble , but only to those higher
i srona res w ho hav e ma d e H i m the central focu s of their liv es an d on e w ith H im
.

v r g
Into H rs H oly M ountain T he early anchorites and F athers of the D esert tell of.

many an ecs ta sy w hich seems to hav e flown ov er up on the senses and satur ated
them with H eav enly Light A lso , the later med ia ev al and modern mys tics sp eak
.

of a T ransv erb eration , or a p hysica l trembling of the body , w hi ch, in c ombina

‘ ’ ’ ‘

tion with a trembling of the soul , w oul d seem to indu ce the sta te of D iv ine F ire ,
’ ‘

a my ster iou s burning or a mystical c onsu mp tion in w hich the body no less than
’ ‘ ‘ ’

the soul ha s its p rop ortiona te share O f this S t P eter Alcantara and S t M argaret . . .

M a ry of the S a cred H eart are p ow erful examp les , a s they w ere forced to loosen
their garments to r elea se the D iv ine F ire that consum ed them ! T he stigma ta Of
S t F rancis a re a heroic ins ta nce
. .

A s an illu stra tion of the na ture and interior chara cter Of this F ire w e ma y take
the T ransv erberation of the H eart of S t T eresa , w hich will show a t a glance how .

rea lis ti c is the exp erienc e a nd how inexp lica ble by natur al ca u s es :

I s a w a n a ngel c lose beside me, on my left ha nd s ide, i n bodi ly form

“
He -
.

was not large, bu t s ma ll of s ta ture, a nd mos t bea u tifu l his fac e burni ng, a s if he
were one of the hi ghes t angels , who s eemed to be a ll on fire: they mus t be thos e whom
-

we ca ll cheru bi m
”
.

I sa w i n his ha nd a long s pea r of gold , a nd a t the i ron s p oi nt there s eemed to be

’

a li ttle fire H e a ppeared to me to be thrus ti ng i t a t times i nto my hea rt and to pi erce

.

my very entra i ls A nd when he drew i t ou t, he seemed to dra w them out a ls o a nd to

.

lea ve me a ll on fire wi th a grea t love of God

”
.

The pa i n was s o grea t tha t i t made me moan; a nd yet s o s urpas s ing wa s the
“

s weetness of this excess ive p ain , tha t I could not wi sh to get rid of i t The pai n i s
not bodi ly , bu t s pi ri tu a l , though the body has i ts s hare i n i t I pr ay God in H is
d t m k hi m i n i t wh m th i nk t ha t I a m lyi ng
p y
—
o o n es s o a e e x er e ce o a
g
.

And , w hat is most w onderful of a ll , this H eart Of S t T eresa , known as the

-
.

Window Of H eav en , is still to be “seen in the M onastery of Alba , p reserv ed in

‘ ’

c orrup t ! I t ha s b een p ronounce d a marv ellous mirror of a ll p ow erful D iv inity , -

in w hich a re refl ected mira cu lou s imag es such a s are only to be c onsidered a s
s up erna tura l
” 2
.

TH E D IVI NE LI G H T
‘ ’

TRA NS LU CI D ATI ON ( M E TAP H AI NE S I S )

And it is here p recisely that the Kingdom Of Light is marked 0 3
so forcib ly

from the rea lm of sha des F or w hat the p sychics can strain a fter but nev er a ttain
.

a nd is incommunica ble to
“
is re se rv ed f o r th e S he c hi n a h or t h e S p le n d o r Of G o d
m m osis
“
di i i l S h h
mo rt a l m a n e x c e p t b y w a y o f ex t ra o r n a r y p r v eg e u c
a e
t a orp .

h lik Of G d i t h ti n l f H rs sp eci al intima tes

or change in t o t e e n es s o s e p re r o g a v e o y o .

I t ma y b e im p a rt e d t o th es e H is s erv a n t s o r it m a y a cc o m p an y H i s O w n s acr a
ment l a P r ese n c e I g iv e b u t o n e i
.
llu st r a tio n o u t o f m a n y oth er s th a t m ig h t b e

furnished .

“3 C ontra : C onan D o yl e , et al Luke 9 3 23

2°

C N zi
.
.
,

Ph n m n f M t n l t p as m
0 0 0

3 ° S chrenck ot ng , e o e a o a e a rsa ron si

ontra :
- .

3‘ L if e, 0 . XXIX , 16
18 -
.
5’ Abb é M i J ph S t T
ar e os e ,
. eres a O f J esus p . 1 52 , 1 553 .
66 THE S E ALE D SUP E RNA T URAL

erfu l li ght, out of which came a

Wh ‘ il e h e w as p yr a i n gf o r h e lp , h e s a w a w o n d
m H b d Th li h m oved from hi m to he hi ghes t
t
t
’

voi c e s a i
y g,n F o llo w e e o e y e
.
e g .
p art

ll d th h k n w n t h w h e f ou n d h i mself on the s ummi t of i t, wi th u t

of t h e w a ,
a n e n ,
e e o o , o

eflort or f a ti g u e I t h a
. d b ee n s o b r ill i a n t th a t f o r tw o or three days afterwards his e es
y
m h s ea rance
”

h d b l k i h id d n
33
T i h t h
were w ea k ,
a s i f yth e a ee n oo n g a t t e a y s u a s e a p p .

Of a P aul ine trance v ision ; but there a re others tha t more directly a3 c ct the sub
-

j ect a“ n d th ro w a s u p er n a t u r a l h a lo a r o u n d hi s p er s o n :

While a t Cara vaca , the nuns s aw rays of light arou nd him a t the a lta r, and the
p r i or ess ,
M o t h er A nn o f S t A lb er t , a s k ed h
. i m i n th e c o n f ess i on a l w h a t h ad h a pp ened

to h mi w h il e a t th e a lt a r H e r ep li e d a t o n ce th a t G o d r e ve a led hi m se l f to his s ou l wi th

fi
.

such f orc e t h a t h e c o u l d h ar dl y c o m p le te t he s acr i c e , a n d t h a t h e w a s occasi ona lly

afra id to s ay M a ss
” 34
.

At other times the ra diance s eemed to c ome from the saint a nd the transfigured
S a crament , if w e may use su ch a w ord to d escrib e the following :
A s s oon a s he as cended the s teps of the a ltar the prioress s a w a light a round the
“

servant of God which beca me more a nd more bri lli ant as he went on wi th the M as s
fi
A t rs t i t s eemed to come ou t of the ta bernacle After the cons ecra ti on i t emana ted
from the S acred H os t, and the pries t in the mids t of the light s eemed to shine as the most
clear s u n The M as s las ted very long, bu t i t was a wonderfu l j oy to a ll the nuns ,
whose eyes were founta ins of s weet tea rs
”
35
.

F a ther , the p rioress asked , why ha s the M a ss las ted s o long ? When we
“ ” “

tas te of di vi ne things a long time s eems s hort P erhaps you had a vi si on . .

“
I s a w , rep lied the saint, wha t you too have been a llowed to see
” ”
.

“
I should li ke to know wha t you sa w , the p rioress s aid , f or i t hindered you i n
”

the s aying of the M as s ; you were a long time a t the a ltar

”
.

S o i t was , chi ld , sa id the s aint , and then there w as a s ilence, for he fell into
“ ”

a trance B ut when he returned to himself, he said , God showed grea t things to me,
.
“

a s i nner , a nd tha t i n s uch maj es ty tha t I am u na ble to proceed

”
36
.

I Off er these anecdotes at greater lengt h b ecause they c onstitute a p sychological

ens emble w hich is rarely met w ith in the record s of hagiology C oup led with the .

mysteriou s dov e tha t w as Often seen hov ering ov er the s a int , thes e items bring
u s v ery near the gosp el tran sfigura tion , thou gh w e mu s t make due a llow ance for
the huma n e quation a nd for defec tiv e transmission Vi“sions , v oices , lights , celes
—
.

tial dov es , all s eem to be r ep resented B ut a s to the trance , I hav e j u st inti

”
.

ma ted tha t such a s oul trance inv olv es a v astly diff erent set of p s ychica l fore
“ ”
-

and a fterrna ths than is re qu isitioned by the occult c ontrol E v en if some of the .

externa l symp toms might b e similar , su ch a s fa inting or falling on the fa c e, this

w a s ev idently not the a cc omp animent Of the S av ior s ecstas y nor of the saint s
’ ’

rap ture a s he Off ered the H oly S acri fi ce H uman na tur e of c our s e is w eak ; but its
.

su stenta tion in the teeth of su ch a tremendou s s train on the v ital forc es must be

p ut d own as ca ndidly a nd unc onditionally miracul ou s .

And w ith this w e hav e arriv ed a t the grea test s ens ib le marv el tha t can well
be granted to our fallen ra ce —
the T ransfiguration of the S aints and the Trans
lucidation Of the S acred H ost I ndeed , it is a ques tion w hether thes e are w ell
.

d es crib ed as S ensib le p henomena , a s they lift the eye of the fl esh b eyond its
‘ ’

na tur al p lane Of v is ion and b ring it into the sup er ether T his is hinted at by the -

gosp el sta tement that when they had lifted u p their eyes , tha t is , w hen they had
“

c ome out of the ra p ture , they s a w no ma n s a ve j esus only 3 7 I t takes a n elev a

”
s
.

tion ab ov e the norma l or ev en the natural to see thes e things ; and this wi ll a c count
for the fact tha t v isions Of this kind are c onfi ned as a rule to a ra ther limited area
and giv en only to v ery excep tional p ers ona lities If they w ere comm on s ights and .

e ery da y oc u rrenc es , they w oul d c ea s e to be s u erna tura l intuitions of the

v c p
-

miraculou s kind “
N 0 man hath s een G od a t any time, and ev en theos op hy
.
”

He iz J oh n of the C oss p 1 00 — I bid p

“I b id p 14 7—
, St
33
r 101 r 34
1 18
M
.
, . .
,
Ib d p 1 1 8
. . .

35 3
i .
, . 1 48
. .
, . .
37
att . 1 7, 8 .
 THE S E ALE D SUP E R NA T URAL 67 .

teaches tha t the p ur e white light cannot be in tued by natural man on this ide S
of the great divi de ; it b elongs to a di3 er ent sp here of existen ce
38
.

Nev ertheless , it w ould s av or of a sa d w ant of logi c and critical p ow er could w e

not d istingui sh w hat is grossly material and carnal from w hat is more su b tle a nd
ether eal but n one the les s i ntensely rea l in its extra mental manifestations I n this .

s ense the B lessed S acrament might be called a p otential miracle in that it contain s
‘ ’

the silent p romise of lifting the v eil and rev ealing itself to the fi v e senses of man .

T he v oluminou s ev idence to this e3 ect in the liv es Of S t T eresa of J esus and S t . .

C a therine Of S ienna , of S t R ose of Lim a and S t Angela of F oligno , of S t I gnatius

—
. . .

L oyola a nd S t L i
ou s o f F n not to s p eak Of the M argaret M arys and the
—
r a ce .

M ira cul ou s H osts of our own times , leav es no room for d oubt that , w hen the
p henom ena a re v iew ed in their totality , something external a nd realistic mu st be
p o stu la t ed t o acc oun t fo r s u ch a n ov erw helm ing b o d y o f wi tne s s es t o a fac t that

ha s Often b een certifi ed by s ecul ar p ersons and und er the least excitable conditions 3 9
.

I t is therefore not surp rising tha t , ev en as the demons ca n bea r witness to the G od
hea d of C hrist , a dditional testimony on this hea d shoul d come to us from a ra ther
u nexp ected qu a rter H ere is a sp ecimen : I n a rec ently p ublished book entitled
.

M i adoxi a , the au thor, a P riest , sp eaking of the R eserv ed S acrament, says that
‘ ’

sensi ti ve psychics are a t once a w a re o f i ts presence , a nd s o me even assert tha t a brilli a nt

radi a nce e ma na tes from
P a thetic tribute a t the elev enth hour to w ha tit .
’ ” 40

other s ha v e seen in the n oon of da y ! I n a ny case , the rev ela tions of the Y ra y -

e ar e u s for t ha t T r an s c en d enta l Light of w hich the materialised form is but the

p p
r

outer garment :
A nd s o, w hen I s pea k of the uni on of the s ou l wi th God, I do not mea n this
“

s u bs ta nti a l pr esence whi ch i s i n every crea tu re, bu t tha t u ni on a nd tra nsforma ti on of

the s ou l i n God by love which is only then ac comp lis hed when there s ubs is ts the likeness
”
41
w hich love begets .

I f then the sens es of man a re more than satisfied by these v iv id imp ressions
from the w orld bey ond , it shou ld nev er be forgotten that the Light of G lory has a
fin ally su p er sensible termi nu s ; it refuses to ha lt in the p henomenal and the p ha n
-

ta stic I t is a p ow er w hich s atura tes the entire s ystem wi th the direct kn ow ledge
.

a n d lov e of its S u p reme O bj ect .

T his is w ell ex p res sed by the S era p hic M other w hen sp ea king of the D iv ine
O mnip resence
L et u s s uppos e the Godhea d to be a mos t bri lli a nt di a mond, much larger tha n the
“

whole world a nd tha t a ll ou r a cti ons a re seen i n tha t di a mond I t w as a

f ea rf u l th i ngf or m e to see ,
i n s o s ho r t a ti m e , s o m a ny t hi n g s together i n tha t bri lli a nt

di amond a nd to s ee s uch foul things as my s ins i n the pu re bri lli a ncy of tha t
” 42
Li ght .

A s a m odern wr iter w ou ld insinu ate , it is like being su ddenly lifted into a

fourth dimension or , a s the blessed D ionysius ha s described it, the famou s
Are op a gite :
‘ ’

The D i vi ne Gloom i s the unapp roacha ble Li ght i n whi ch God i s s aid to dwell
0

“
.

A nd i nto thi s gloom, invi si ble i ndeed on account of i ts s u rpas sing brightness , a nd un
a pproac h a ble ou ac c ou n t of th e e x ce ss of th e s u pe r ess en ti a l s trea m of L i ght, enters -

” 43

every o ne d eem ed w or th y to k n ow a n d to see G od .

Curti s T h K y to th U ni
33
s e p 84 Th Voi f I i p 3 60
e e v ers e , . . e ce O s s, . .
r

Comp in t hi onn ti n th m t ial c ll t d b y G O

,
Ch tl h M y tik V l
I V F b
39

Th Bl d S
a re
am nt pp 5 1 6 — 548
s c
es se B n di t XIV
ec
a cr
D
H
o
oi V i
e tu III 3
e
0 0—3 0
a er
2
o ec e
e e c
rr es , re
er c
rrs

r
rc

e,
e s , o .

S m nt l T l kin i in th M nth (J un p 4 0 1 3 by H b t
;
-
a er , e , . .
, , .

Al n
so t i l on
a ar c e
“
a cra e a e e es s
”
e o
”
e, .
, er er

Th “ t n S
"E C lod O ul ti m in th H bb t Jou nal f J n 1 9 2 2 p 2 63 I b d m on
8
d Articl
, .

4 e cc s , e i er r or a .
, , . . r e ,

h l l d i
,
p I b id A i l M t i li m
.

th nirnbu s a c u l k tm n
o, t t n fi guo ti n t 2 6 2
e v es t e ra s ra o e c r c e a er a s

O E
, , . .
,
.

e
.

,
,

and l i m b y W C o k
”
p 2 6 93
L L
u t cc s o ,
.

X
. .
.

A M C
,

T he 41 nt f un t m l II 5 3 f o 1 4 ar e
42
i e,

P tt P y hol gy of R ligiou B li f
sc e O , , , .
, .

43 o p 1 6 1 3 ; q u t ng th A
e p g t o n th
s e e o 1 e reo a i e e

Di in N mes nd the Lette to Do oth us (P k E d t n) pp 8 1 44

ra ,
s c ,
.

.
'
r r e ar er s 1 ro
a a , ,
. .

v e
68 T H E PARA M O UN T I SSU E

Ev en those of fra ctured fa iths hav e felt the p ulse of E mers on s O v er S oul ,
’ ‘ ’
-

soiled though it is by a n irra tiona l p antheism :

F or ever a nd for ever, the influx of this better a nd u ni vers a l S elf is new a nd nu
s earcha ble S o come I to live i n thoughts a nd to act wi th energies which a re i m
morta l!
” 44

B ut mu ch of this is more of a my stical feeling than a n immediate intuition .

It can nev er be ma d e to ap p roach the s trictly s up erna tura l p lane of exp erienc es
w e hav e j ust f
re erred to .

TH E P A R A M O U N T I S S U E
We then that the c omb ined p henomena of the s a ints and sp iritua l w onder
see
— s J a f A S F is i re ca nonis ed b
y the X
m , lik S
—
en hero e w ho ,
e t o n o r
. c or t r a n c a v er , a .

vot e of hu m a nity n o le s s th an b y e c cl es ia s tic al c ou r t , e x ce e d b y a larg e m argin

what is Off ered us in the name of mediumism on the one ha nd or hi gher p s ychism
on the other T his is sp ecially the cas e with S t T eresa and S t J ohn of the Cross ,
.
. .

w hose lev itations and translu cida tions rema in un touched by any p rofane marv els
of the most b affling descrip tion B elow the p lane of the norma l life, the dis ordered
.

dream is c orrected by the J os ep h v ision , the distemp ered tran c e by the S aul
-

S amu el v i sion, while the hysteric al sw oons a nd demoniac al Obs es sions are cancelled
by the saints and the S av ior s exorcisms , by H is des c ent into H ell a nd H is releas e
’ ’

of the sp irits in p ris on A b ov e tha t p lane w e hav e s een telep athy di ss olv e in the
.

P au line v ision and clairv oyance in the Joha nnine v ision , w hile div ina tion melts
aw a y before the P rop hetic v ision and divinisation b efore the B eatific v ision In .

each ca se the low er terms ha v e a dou ble meaning a nd mu st be p urged Of their p er

v erted , p antheistic imp lic ations before they c an b e ma de to d o the duty of d es crip
tiv e ep ithets On the p ra gm atic side the mov ing p encil is e clip sed by the p ro
.

p he tic w a n d , the p hosp hore s c ent s crip t by the fire w riting , p artia l lev i ta tion by
-

c omp lete a ssump tion, form mutation by transsubs tantiation , s omatic radiation
-

by hea v enly transfiguration T here remains to p oint out more clearly how the
.

lower is s ep arated from the higher, and by w hat sign s the p iri t Of p rop hes y, tha t S
is , the S p irit of G od , ma y be infallibly rec ognis ed .

I n this c onnection I v enture to suggest the following p oints w hich mark 0 3

the div i ne from the demonic wi th suffi cient for ce to be a p p lied by a ny ca reful
Observ er I use the w ord d emonic in the S ocra tic sense , ap p rov ed by GOrres,
.
’ ‘

a s c onnoting all that is not d efinitely sup erna tur a l , w hether it be na tural, p reter
natura l , Or dire ctly dia b olica l or d emoniac al .

TH E TH REEF O LD ANAP H E RO S I S

( 1 ) TH E S UBLI M AT IO N OF TH E S ENS E S
Tha t the sa ints do not rej ect the sensib le or the material is ma de abundantly
ev ident by their fre qu ent ap p eals to external , v is ib le p henomena no less than the
S a cred H umanity of Christ H e w ho had come in H is doub le nature c ame to lift
.

that human natur e , not to destroy it Nev ertheless , all regard it as dangerous to
.

halt in the merely material ; and here is the fir s t cleav a ge p oint b etw een the grand -

and the grote s que , the sensible and the s ensa tiona l , the p henomenal and the

p h a nta s tic A.n a p p ari tion w hich s im p ly tickles the fancy a nd ev en allows itself
q
to be ki ss ed by the most u estiona b le p arties mu st a lw ay s remain grav ely sus
icio u s in the w he n c e o r w hither of its ultima te domicile T O receiv e the s tigma ta
p .

is a ra ther di3 erent ord eal from that Of p a ying trib ut e to Ka tie King , t hough we
’

must not be too hard on the inno cent friv olities of human nature .

Bu t the mystics are loud in d enouncing an exc essiv e s oftnes s which s ometimes
eats its w a y into the most p iou s lov e ra p t ure I t is the s weet est wine t hat is the
-
.

44
T he Works Of Wal ter E merson , Vol . II p, . 29 7 .
 70 TH E PARA M O U N T I SSU E

dea th does not a lw a ys b ring on a p hysica l c olla p se On the c ontrary , it is more

‘ ’
.

Often follow ed by a sharp ening up Of the senses a nd a s ti mula ti on of the v ital

factors for w hich w e look in v ain in the records of the ne croma ntic art .

“
fi
Though the body is often i n rm a nd full of s ufleri ng before ecs tasy, i t comes out
of ecs tasy full of hea lth and admi rably prep ared f or cti on
”

a .

I mea n tha t, when this profou nd s uspens i on di mi ni s hes , the body seems to come
.

to i ts elf a nd gai n s trength, to return a gai n to thi s dea th which gives more vi gorous
‘ ’

life to the s ou l
‘ ’
.

H e perfects in them the bodily s ens es enli ghtens them, s pi ri tu a li s es them

0

H olines s , health and hilarity are a p t to be found tog ether ; and when this is
not the c ase , the sickness is a cc ep ted a s a tra nsitory p urg e or a p enitential v isita
tion by w hich the s oul is tried in the cru c ib le of suffering I ndeed , the dis cip line .

Of p a in is a necessary step to ev ery sp iritua l p rivilege ’

.

And this is the p la ce to ca ll a ttention to a much neglected a p horism : M ens -

s a na i n corp ore s ano Natur ally and normally sp eaking , there c a n be no question
.

that a clea n and ca reful life is conduciv e to a high d egree of health a nd s anity on
the p art Of the liv er A sou nd mentality , coup led wi th a v igorou s p hysiqu e, is
.

o ften the rew ard of a ruthless su pp ression of the low er a p p etites E v en a sev erely .

a sc etical d is cip line is a p t to p rodu ce a longev ity w hich is ra ther out Of the ord inary ,

a s witne ss the examp le of S t S imon S tock, the famou s E nglish C armelite , who
.

liv ed to the a ge of 1 04 on the sp arsest v egeta ble fare A ll modern p hysicians .

cou nsel fa sting and abstinence a s the most effi cient cure for many p hysical a ilments ;
and w ho can deny that the bloom and v igor of y ou th is a p ow er f ul engine for the

p utti n g thro u g h of m a n y a s trong a nd s tr enu ou s u n d er ta kin g

?

Y et wi th all this , it still rema ins ev erlastingly tru e tha t S ickness and su3 ering
are the n ec essary lot Of a ll mortals here b elow , n ay , tha t the most heroic s ouls hav e
j oyfully courted a short and p ainful life a s a v oluntary holocau st The Crucifi x .

s ta nds a s an eternal p rotes t to those w ho make a fetich ou t Of mu s cle a nd membrane ,

w hile the story of C alv ary will hav e to be r ewritten for thos e s elf suffi cient ep i
—
-

cureans w ho w orship a t tha t delu siv e shrine , S cience and H ea lth There is a lw ays
’ ‘
.

a p ossible relic of a sound , thou gh sa d p hilos op hy in the O p p os ite p rinc ip le : hom W

—
‘

an e qu ally d ep lora b le ov ersta tement

’
the g ods lov e , die young , .

(2 ) TH E S UB LI M ATIO N O F TH E I NTE LLE CT

B ut if the senses b ecome an ea s y p rey to d elu sions , and hence to dia b olic
c ontrols , this is less the ca se with the mental p ow ers , thou gh here a ls o we must
d istinguish b etw een tru e a nd fa lse intellection , the g enuine a c qu isition of rea l
illumina tiv e know ledge and the feigned a ssimila tion Of mu ch tha t seems true
enou gh bu t is mi xed u p with the fa ls e , the fr a mentar a nd the p hanta s tic An
g y .

intellectual v ision b elongs to a higher order, but nev er to su ch an extent that it

‘ ’

ca nnot be made the v ehic le of a p a rtia l knowle d e w hich is s ometime s more fatal
g
than none at all .

“
If i t be gra nted tha t thes e a pprehensi ons are of a higher kind , more pro table fi
a nd much more s afe than thos e whi ch a re cor orea l a nd i ma i nar
p g y because they a re
interi or , purely s piri tu a l and less li a ble to the i ntrusi ons of s a ta n a nd beca use they are
c ommunica ti ons of God to the s ou l i n the
grea tes t p ureness a nd s u btili ty , i ndependently
of , a t lea s t, a ny ac tive operati ons of the s ou l or o the i ma inati on
f g ; s ti ll the u nd er
—
s ta ndi ng may not be only embarrass ed b them, bu t, beca us e of i ts i nca uti ousness ,
”
y
grea tly del ded
8
u .

Tha t a high p rice is p la ced up on genuine s cience is p rov ed by su ch intellectual

giants as S t A ugustine and S t Thomas A uinas , A v i cenna and Alb ert the Grea t,
. . q
Teresa Life p 2 0 8 ; J oly O p cit p
“S t —
88 1 0 0 ; I nt i
er or C astle , Sixth M i 4 1 7;
ans on,
A cent I I 1 7 3
, ,
. .
, . .
, .
,

—my p oor sister !

s

Comp are T he P rivile ge of Pa in by M

, , , .

Leo E v erett ( B oston,

T he A scent Of M ou nt g
7
rs
armel I I 2 3 4
, .

5
, , , .
 THE PARA M O UN T I SSU E

R oger B acon and C op ernicu s ,—the fa thers of much that goes by the name of
modern indu ctiv e or cla ssifi ed knowledge
‘ ’
9
.

“
A lways I ha ve loved the s oci ety of scholars H ow grea t a treasure is s cience ! .

say s S t T eresa B u t the p ilin g up of mere natural learning is after a ll trifling

. .

c omp ared w ith that higher science of the s oul w hich c omes to u s by a direct c onta ct

with the D ivi ne S ource of light ; and it is here esp ecially that the p rop hetic and the
p r ofan e mu st be kep t ap art with extra ordinary caution .

( a ) I n the d e monic trance the intellect is not sharp ened but s tupefied hile . W
w e willingly allow tha t sup ernorma l know ledge has b een or may be a c quired
‘ ’
,

b y many a p sy chic or sensitiv e Of telep athic or clairv oyant fame, this kn ow ledge,
‘ ’

thou gh immediate is s een , a s it w ere , in a fog and rarely without the intru sion of
,

some kind of frau d , fa lsity or self contra diction I t is nev er sealed , c erta in or
-
.
,

infa llible though it may be p lau sible enough as far a s it goes

, M oreov er when .
,

the mind is in the su b liminal order,as hap p ens in the mediumistic trance su ch ,

kn ow ledge is p urcha s ed a t the exp ense of heav iness of mind intellectu al density
‘

a n d loss Of memory a s w e hav e j u st noted I t enters in fact into the s u b con

’
10 -

, .

s ciou s state where it is comp letely at the mercy of ev ery incitation , ev en the most
,

friv olou s T hat such is really the case , has been amp ly illu strated The medium
. .

not only f org ets a ll that w as uttere d in the hyp notic sleep , bu t her mental equip
ment su3 ers a grav e , som etimes a p ermanent imp a irment S uch p ersons ha v e .

c ertainly n ev er enlightene d the w orld , nor ha v e they left u s a n yt hing but a few
qu estionable p eep s into the herea fter w hich the s aints can surp a ss in a thousand
w a ys Na y more , there is often a sp litting up or a disaggrega tion of p ersona lity
Of s o v iolent a kind that to talk of a mental or Sp iri tual elev ation is gr iml y sarca stic :
.

S he fa lls i nto tru e convu ls i ons s he cri es ou t li ke a w oma n tha t i s lying i n

“

s he i s overcome by ha llucina ti ons a nd by deliri um

11 ”
.

I n the dia bolic tra nce , to w hich this is a c lose a pp roa ch, these mutterings
b ecome gr av ely dis ordered and the menta l equ ilibrium is in imminent danger Of
being p ermanently lost I t is a p andemonium of the p erv erse :
.

O D r P rince, s a ve me from myself, a nd from wha tever i t is tha t is s o a bs olutely

.

merci les s I ca n bear a nythi ng bu t this mocking devil 12 ”

. .

T his d oes not imp ly , of c ourse , tha t n o know ledge is a v a ila b le in this
trau matic s tate I t is av a ilable , and is only too def tly u sed by the c ontrolling
Sp irits to intimidate and finally to ruin their unconsciou s v ictim
.

”
.

Contra
h d i i ran c e , on the other hand the intellect is not only sharp ened ,
( )
b I n t e v n e t ,

but eleva ted B y this is meant that the mind is clearer a nd crisp er, more cu nning
.

a nd comp rehensiv e a fter the v ision than it w a s befor e , w hile during the tranc e its

d is cur siv e Op erations a re halted , bu t its intuitional p ow ers a re so far from being
su pp r e s se d t h a t t h e y a r e s u b li m a t e d , th a t 1 s , t ra n s m u te d t o g ra n d er a nd more

effi cient v a l ues I t ha s a wider s w eep of reality ; it sees a nd kn ow s more of the

.

cau ses a n d c ondi tions of things ; it ha s a more d elica te p e c ep tion Of eternal rela
r
“
tions . T h r o u g h th i s
“
n ig h t o f th e lo w
”
e r se lf it r e a c h e s ou t to t hat li gh t of
”

f
in u se d in t e lle c t io n w h ic h , ac t iv e in t h e lo w e r c h a m b ers , is p rodu ctiv ely p a ssiv e

in t h e u pp e r p a r t o f th e s o u l ; i t b r in g s f o r t h t h a t q u ie s cence of b ea tifi c rep ose in

h i h th f lt i o f k n o w le d g e a n d l o v e are enormou sly strengthened a nd stimu

w c e a c u e s

la t e d ,
n o t sc a tt e r e d o r s q u a n d e re d o v e r a v a g u e a n d u n d e fi n a b le a r ea T h ere is a .

d e fi n it e c o n c en t ra t io n u p o n a n e q u a ll y d e fi n i t e a n d s u b lim e
g o a l A n d , w h at is .

y et mor e im p or t a n t , t h e r e is c o n ti n u i ty Of p er so n a h t y ; th e sa i nt p reserv es hi s s el
f
strll ess a forced or alrenrstrc
hood t hr o u g h o u t ; t h e r e is n o s p li tt i n g u p o f t h e e g o ,
l
Obs es s io n T h i s .i s p r o v e d b y t h e c o h e r en c e a n d c on ti nui ty of 11 1 8 rev ela ti on s a nd

f c h t h m m b th i c n te n t s I n the n ormal sta te a nd can gi v e a

by th e a t t a e r e e ers e r o

9
Iol Ps chology of the S int
a s, p 1 29—141 1°
P 69 11
S up ra , p 28

g g
. . . . . .

12
’

su ra , . 30 .
15 R aup ert , op . a t , p . 53 3 .
 72 T H E PARA M O U N T I SSU E

genui nely r a tional a ccount of w ha t ha s tra nsp ired I n this sense he is not uncon .

s c iou s a t a ll ex cep t to the distur b ing i mp ressi ons Of the moment He i s as I

o

.
,

v entur e to descr ibe it in a s uper c onsciou s s ta te a c ondition of mental elev a tion in

-

, ,

w hich the low er a v enues of the s oul are for the time c los ed while its up p er channels ,

a re inunda ted by an oc ean of p ure c ontemp la tion w hich does not mi x w ell with the
brackish waters Of the commonp lace or the p olluted w aters Of the dis ea s ed This .

is ma de p articu larly p la in by J oly in his masterful analys is Of the subj ect :

“
Unlike nervous dis eases , s a ncti ty i s not a di si ntegra ti on of the p owers of the
‘ ’

mind; i t is a n a ggrega ti on of the closes t pos si ble kind , which deri ves i ts s trength from
‘ ’

a higher pri nci p le, under the control of whi ch i t forms a nd s us ta i ns i tself I t i s not a .

‘
fi
narrowi ng of the eld of cons ci ousness , bu t r a ther the opening ou t o f a wi der eld,
’
fi
a lthou gh i t i s true tha t this openi ng ou t is a t the cos t, if we may us e the expressi on, of

a narrowi ng of the
“
fi
eld of p ass i ng s ens a ti ons a nd emp ty i llusi ons
”
.

Nei ther i s i t a di visi on of pers ona li ty , a lthough i t certainly crea tes a new per
‘ ’

sona li ty, a nd tha t a t the cos t of great sacri ce a nd much s ufi ering This new p ers onality fi .

is not a medley of divided a nd disordered pa rts I t exhibi ts a cohes ion, a s trength a nd .

a uni ty a bove a nything els e whi ch ps ychology ca n show us This new pers ona li ty a lso .

retains whatever was bes t i n the old pers ona li ty , a nd these s urvi vi ng elements combi ne

peacefu lly wi th the new

14 ”
.

Or , as D ev ine p u ts it, the a p p arent v acuum in the mind is filled up by v isions ,

s ometimes p urely intellec tu al , w hich a re ra ther an inten se realis a tion of the p res ence
of they demand b oth intention a nd a ttention 15
T his is b rought out by .

the testimony Of the sa ints to their own illuminations :

I ha ve noticed tha t the s ou l has never more li ght to unders ta nd the things of God
“

tha n i n this s ort of rapture B u t if a nyone a sks me how i t is tha t, whi le ou r faculties
.

and sens es are a s much su spended as if they were dead , we are a ble to hea r or u nderstand
anything, I ca n only a ns wer tha t this i s a s ecret whi ch God has , wi th many a nother,
res erved to H i ms elf .

“
I ca nnot tell the reas on bu t the i n rmi ty formerly s o trou blesome to the mind and
, fi
i mpossi ble to get over , disa ppears a t once 16 ”
.

“
When thes e visi ons occu r, i t is as if a door were opened into a mos t marvellous
light, w ereby the s oul s ees , as men do when the lightning s uddenly flashes in a dark
ni ght
”
.
1 h
Nor is such knowledge fished out of the low er s u bc onscious , or p assiv e mem !

ory , but ra ther in sp ite of it T he mind is illuminated in p rop ortion a s it b ecomes

.

a c omp lete b lank or a ta bula rasa .

The memory mus t be s tripped a nd empti ed of a ll this knowledge a nd all these

“

forms ; i t mus t labour to des troy a ll s ens e of them 8 ” 1

.

Nor is it deriv ed from a cosmic res erv oir of c ons cious ness ; for s uch a reserv oir
‘ ’

does not exist and w ould moreov er be ina d equate to the ta sk of sup p l ing the
y
s oul with that which transcends all natural forms and imp ressions :
“
I n the s ta te of uni on, whi ch is a s uperna tura l s ta te, the memory and the other
faculties fail as to their natura l functi ons , and ris e beyond their natura l obj ects upwards
towards God, who i s superna tu ra l 1 9
”
.

q
Only a fter the ac uisition Of this new light, underi v able by any amount of
natural refl ection , does the memory come b ack to its na tural obj ec ts .

“
B u t he who has obtained the ha bi t of u ni on does notforget, i n this wa , that which
y
rela tes to mora l or n a tura l r eas on; he per forms wi th much rea ter f
g p ection a ll necessary
er
fi
and be tting a cti ons , thou h b
g y the minis try of forms and knowledge in the memory
s uppli ed i n a s p eci a lly di vine manner
”
.

14
J oly Psychology of the S ints p 1 1 7 ; also p 1 3 93 a
D e ine M ystical Th ology p 4 52
, , . .

15
v e
S t T eres a I nte ior Castl e S ev enth M nsion 3 1 1
, , . .

15
r a
Ascent II 2 4 5 Compare B ened i ct X I V H e oic Virtue I II
,
.
, , , .

17
r 2 3 73
The A cent of M ount C a mel I II 1 2
, ,

I b id I II 1 s
.
, , , .

18 19
s r , , , .
, , , .
 T H E PARAM O UN T I SSU E 73

I t als o reca lls its s up ernatural Obj ect :

“
These vi s ions are so deeply engra ved i n her memory that I believe she ca n never
forget them unti l s he enj oys them for evermore; for to do s o would be the grea test mis
fortune .
” 20

R ec ollection is su sp ended only to be d oub ly restored in the a fterma th .

G ranted that human nature remain s in saint a nd sinner alike, and with it the
na tur al sub cons ciou s , it s eems therefore p lain enou h tha t a ll
g genui nely div ine
lights c ome through the u p p er , not the low er p art of the soul, and are therefore
ap tly describ ed a s sup er cons cious imp ress ions -
.

(3 ) TH E S UBLI M ATIO N OF TH E WILL

F inally , w e ha v e the most fundamental fea ture Of all : the c ontinuity of ra tional
freedom in the illuminativ e ecstasy and its more or less total destruction in the
s op orifi c trance N0 created b eing ca n force the will ; not ev en the Crea tor himself
.

will coerce it, a s H e has once and for all d ecreed that the facul ty of free choice sha ll
be the ba sis of na tural a nd sup ernatural merit, in exclu siv e p oss ession of H is rationa l
subj ects !
. What then are w e to think Of a state of v olitional slav ery in w hich this
noble fa culty is not only lulled to sleep , but is exp osed to the imminent p eril of
b eing habitually w eakened and finally rep la ced by a foreign influence ? I f there
is a p rin cip le a bov e a ll others w hich mys tica l wri ters a re c onstantly fighting for, it
is the sa cro sanctity Of self p osses sion, Of the fact that no p ow er on earth c an rob
- -

the su bj ect of tha t w hich makes him a resp onsible p erson unles s he himself freely
forfeits it a nd allow s the intrusion Of an a lien domination .

fi
We ha ve done nothing by the puri ca ti on of the understa nding towa rds grounding
i t in fa i th a nd tha t of the memory i n hope, if we ha ve not a ls o p uri ed the will i n the fi
order of chari ty , which is the thi rd vi rtue, a nd by whi ch works done in fa i th a re li vi ng
a nd meri tori ou s a nd wi thou t which they a re worth nothing
21 ”
.

T hough the will is a b lind facu lty a nd incap able of integral action without the
intellect , w e may p res cind from its rational obj ect i n s peci e a nd c onfine ou r a tten
tion to its a p p etition Of the mora l g ood in g enera l, and this w ith a n intensity w hich
know s no p ara llel in the mechanica l incita tions o3 ered to us in the name of a
‘ ’
F reu dian ur ge .

( )
a I n t h e d e m o n ic t ra n ce the Wi ll rs i mpeded a nd finally obli tera ted W rth a ll
.

the material tha t has come into our p ossession in the line of p sychical or sp iritoid al
enchantments , the na ture Of this imp etu s must be di agnosed by its mental a nd
‘ ’

moral symp toms no less than by the dynamic energy of the will itself A blind .

u sh m ea n s nothing unless it b ring s forth frui ts w orthy of rep entance I t

p
.

must show its faith by its w orks .

Now although a na tural ecs ta sy does not alw ays entai l a ny a bsolute i nhibition
of the p ow er to dir ect , it is rare indee d tha t the p a ti ent comes out of i t wi thout s ome
loss of v irility a nd moral self c ontrol , w hile an imp rov ement or an i n crease Of mora l
-

s tamina is still more excep tiona l Where is the modern p sychic that can be said
.

to be a model of v irtu e , an insp irer of grand and noble idea s , a v isible embodiment
s
of a ltru i m and b rotherly ov , l e o f c h a r it y, c h a s tity a n d s el f s a crifi ce ?-
D O su ch
p er s o n s g i v e u s t h e im p re ss io n o f b e in g s a in t s ? T h e b est w e ca n sa y o f m en like

m d S d b i t h t t h w e harmless dr eamers of a nother s ta te of

Ho e a n w e e n o r g ,
s a ey er

h t d f w m t i li ts n d b r ught s ome rays of s ola ce to the

ex tis e n c e , w o c o n v er e a e a er a s a
o
b ereav ed And not so harmless either, w hen w e thrnk of thei r aberra tions and ab
.

m im i l t l m t s d th i r moral 1 rregularities , their

normalitie , s th e i r a tr o n a en a n g e e n a n e

broad a nd easy code of ethics and their v ery sha dy a nd slip p ery system of salvifi c
li m T ll m n t h t d t h i s l ea sa nt a nd tha t a c ertai n b li ss a w a its
un iv ersa s . e a a a ea p
c k d h i d ts , an d you op en the d oor to ev ery form of
him , h o w e v e r r o o e s a n t e ce e n
b s m d d s s lf in du l n c A n d w it h rofes sional medi ums Of
li ertin i a n a n g e r ou e g e e p
-
.

20 I b id III 1, 5; Int i C
er or astle , Sixth M an i s on, 5, 1 3
.

I b id III l Tho n Veri tate q

, ,

5, St De : 22 , a rt 9
, 1
21 . . r . ,
. .

,
74 T H E PARA M O U N T I SSU E

c h is d i in s d t a n a l a rming extent Th ough ma n

re ent date t t n e n c s cr ea e o y are
e y
.

a mou s for p i lanthrop

h
.

de c ent e n ou g h in t h e ir p r iv a te li v e s n o n e a re f , y n or for

r eligiou s fe rv or w h ile n ot ,
a fe w a r e g r a v e ly o u t o f th e p erp endrcu lar i n the aff airs

of the heart a n d g iv e ev er y i m p re ss ion o f b e1 n g m ora l w recks a nd emas culated

softhea ds .

I
“
ha ve m
been
a n y ti m es f or m
as kedy o w n ex p la n a ti o n bu t I h a ve none I only , .

know tha t I c a n feel the force ; th a t i t s eems to flow ou t of m e; a nd th a t I obtain i t in

part
from others When the chain of hands is broken I ca n do nothi ng S trong men give
. ,
.

me a dded power The movement of obj ects corres ponds to the movements of my
.

body a nd to the director of my wi ll before I ha ve s unk i nto the deep s leep After that .
,

as I ha ve s aid I know nothing ,

P erhaps s ome day I wi ll know a ll a bout this force
. .

H is people know now , a nd perha ps , the devi l ”

?2
Only God a nd

Now she seems a prey to a kind of anger , expressed by i mperi ous commands and
“
”

s arcas ti c and critica l phra ses , a nd now to a s ta te of l p Under

23
vo u tu ous eroti c ecs tas y .

d iabolic c ontrol this b ec omes s till w orse :

“
I know you are a devi l! The pencil wa s gri pped i n my ha nd wi th s uperhuman
force and I could not unloose my hand I wrote the mos t vi le language and the most .

I t was j us t a thund ers torm of ha tred a nd o bs ceni ty

”
?
terri ble curs es .

The rea l tru th is tha t s ome pers ons are born wi th pecu lia rly s ensi ti ve na tures and
cons ti tuti ons , a nd are p os ses s ed of very weak wi lls , condi ti ons whi ch render them

suscep ti ble to s piri t

Contra

d i i h i ll i ot imp eded , but s ti mu la ted I i d i met

( )
b I n the v ne tran ce t e w s n t s a .

rically the Op p osite p roces s While it is not denied that the low er sub conscious
.

is dormant , and w ith it many of the inv oluntary motions Of the nerv ou s system,
it is p recisely the elimination of these fea tures w hich ma kes the ca se for a sup er
c onsc iou s , in fa ct , a s up erna tura l c ontrol s o strong for the div ine seers I t is God .

w ho pushes the w ill and suggests the p rop er Obj e ct Of ap p etition , yet nev er without
the consent and c oop era tion of the su bj ect M an remains in undisp uted ma ster .

ship of his own d estiny ; his action s are his in the w illing , though the p ower to will

the right is sup p lied from a div i ne s ource And here w e ha v e the most efficient .

test for the discernment of sp irits , for diagnosing the origin of the di3 erent kinds
of a lleg ed ra p tur es .

This p ri ncip le should be p a tent enough w hen ap p lied to the saints , whose
liv es a re by common c on sent a dmi tted to shine with a moral and sp iritu al lustre
w hich few ind eed can app roach or a ttain to The c on qu est of the w orld , the fl esh .

and the dev il inv olv es a gigantic mas tery ov er s elf , and one tha t s hould be eloquent

enough of a s up erna tura l u rge M oreov er , B enedic t X I V sp eaks of three dis

—
.

p ositions w hich a c comp any the tranc e intensity of a dm ira tion , grea tness of lov e,
and strengt h of exa lta tion or j oy , and thes e , a s J oly sa s ,
y
“ —
do not s oun d v ery
mu ch like tha t s ta te Of collap se w hich many p eop le c onsider to be the chief char
a cteristic Of ecs tasy The s ame writer j u stly emp ha s is es the higher activ ity
”
26
.

of the s oul as a g ains t the stup or indu ced b

“
y a fa ls e u ietis m : q
This temporary wea kness of the body i s only a very short i ntermedi ate stage
between two peri ods of i ntense s piri tu a l activi ty I t is p receded by grea t energy of .

des i re a nd followed by grea t energy of acti on 2 7 ”

.

B ut is the w ill sharp ened during the tranc e , and can it be said that the ecstatic
remains a free a nd res p ons ib le s u bj e c t ? I t w ould s eem s o ; and the p oint is argu ed
by S uarez with great forc e, recognis ing it as the basis of merit and of ers onal
p

22
Eu pi P l l di n My wn St y pu d R up t
sa a a a o, o or
’
a a er op cit p 18
L mb Af t D th
, ,
i b id p 5 2
,
. . . .

23 ‘
o roso, er ea
Sup p 3 0
, .
, . .

24
ra , R up t p cit p 2 0 25
a er o
J ly P y h l gy of th S int p 89 Id m p
. .
, . .
, . .

2° 27
o , s c o o e a s, . . e , . 96 .
 A PR O VI S I O NAL VE RD I C T 75

re sp on sib ility , —
a p osition which is follow ed by D ev ine and indeed by the most
w e1 ghty au thorities :
F rom wha t has been
“
s aid o f the meri t of performed during the prayer of
acts
simple uni on we may , conc lude wi th S u arez tha t the ac ts whi ch occur duri ng ecs tasy
are meri tori ous
”
28
.

E lsewhere this author makes mu ch of the m Of moral p hi lOS Op hy :

‘
v oluntariu
’

The wi ll i n con templa ti on mus t a lw ays be s upposed free s o tha t the acts of love ,

elici ted du ring tha t time ma y be meri tori ous No ma tter how much the s ou l may be .

ravi s hed by the obj ect of contempla ti on even to the extent o bei n s o abs orbed as not to
f g ,

percei ve i ts own opera ti ons i t meri ts a t the time 2 9

”
.

B ut w e mu st let the s aints tell their own s tory, though w e hav e noted their
main utterances on this subj ect in another p la ce “ The exp eriences of S t T eresa . .

may be b riefl y summarised as follow s :

I t is true tha t if a nyone as ks me how i t is tha t, whi le our fac u lties and senses a re
“

a s much s us pended as if they were dead , we a re able to hear or u nders ta nd a nythi ng,

I ca n only a nswer tha t this i s a s ecret whi ch God has res erved, wi th many a nother , to
H i mself
“
The u nders ta nding s tays i ts discurs ive opera ti ons , bu t the will re
fi
ma i ns xed i n God by love; i t rules as a s overeign
”

“
Why , do you think, does the s ou l s end out these i nspi ra tions to the dwellers in
the preci nc ts of the Ca s tle or the s urrounding ma nsions ? To send them to s leep ?
No, no, no! The s ou l wa ges a fiercer war to keep the powers , the s enses , and the w hole
body from being i dle tha n ever i t did when i t s ufi ered i n thei r compa ny
“
Works
a re the u nmis ta ka ble s ign tha t thes e fa vors come from God
”
.

S u ch an exp erien ce is the rev erse Of a quietistic rev erie ; a s wi tness :

‘ ’

I t i s not a s pi ri tu a l s leep , bu t the wi ll ac ts a lone the fac u lties retu rn to God

li ke doves which, mis liking the food they s eek, has ten to return to the dovecot
F or if , i ns tead of s ta ying i n the hi ve, a ll the bees went out one after the other , how could
“

the honey be made ?

”
31

A greater c ontrast c ould hardly be conceiv ed than betw een this T eresian
’
honey , gathered by the b ees , a nd the P a lla d ino p epp er , w hich sav ors and sw eet
‘ ’ ‘

ens nothing , but w hich chokes the soul with its stifl ing subj uga tions .

T hen a lso the p a ssiv ity demanded by S t J ohn Of the C ross is not a susp ension
‘ ’
.

bu t ra ther a subs titution Of a low er for a higher form of activ i ty , as is ev ident from
the activ e night Of the will , beca u se the soul labors to i to it I t is dea d
’
‘ ”
t
’
‘
e n er n .

to ea rth only to liv e to the things of hea v en :

“
M an is bidden to employ f or God a ll his faculties a nd des ires , a ll the functions
a nd afi ecti ons of the s ou l, s o tha t a ll the s ki ll a nd a ll the s trength of the s ou l ma y mi nis ter

to no other end tha n this , as the P s a lmis t s ays : I wi ll keep my s trength to Thee
‘ ’
.

The s tr en gth of th e s o u l c on s is ts i n i ts p ow ers , p as s i ons a n

d d es i res , a ll of w h i ch a re

evea l thy pres ence , a nd let the vi si on of thy bea uty ki ll me

“ 34 ”
R
”
33
g over n ed by the w ill .
.

T he J oha nnine ra p ture ha s a somewha t sublimer Obj ect than the eroti c trance !

A P RO VI S I O NAL VE RD I CT
O f course w e ca nnot settle this qu estion in a few p aragrap hs Nor will it be .

s Of q l an alw a ys find fault

w
.

disp d b th e m o s t i n sp iri n g u o t a tio n s P e op e c i th

o e y
.

the s ourc e s n o le s s th a n th e p er s on s fr o m w h o m t h e
ye m ana te T he
y ca n O bj e ct .

tha t the p a rt ie s i n q u e st io n a re t oo d is ta n t to b e su b m i ss i ble to a screnti fic scruti ny ;

ra ti ons Of the
.

m
‘

that all o w a n c e m u st b e a d e fo r th e i llu s ron s a n d e x a gg e S p anis h

t k th l e of the p resent ; tha t w ha t they

temp erament ; h h t n
’
t a t t e p a s ca n ev er a e e p ac

q
re u ire is u p to d a te ro ck b otto m c er ta rn t y th a t su ch th1 ngs hap p en and tha t the
-

—
- -

M t l T h l p '

4 5 6 Id em p 1 0 9 ; cf pp 1 0 23 S up a 29
p p 1 0 1 1 3 °
r

Sf l y —1 4
28 e o o g r

S and S ev enth M n on p
o a

é f f f
fx r , ,
. . . .
fl : . . ,

31
’
e ‘
sa l i e pp 1 3 8 i 49 ; I nt e
,
i or C .
t l e xt h,
r mas nd , i a si , assi , a

C oss T he A scent Of M ount C mel II 6 5 Id em III 1 5 2

.

33
r ar ,

S S
, , .
, , , .

34 I dem pi i,
t u al C rnf i l e tanz a XI a c ,
.
76 A PR O VI S I O NAL VE RD I C T

exp erience s can be tested a nd v eri fi ed

by a liv ing b ody Of sc ientis ts and sa intly
subj e cts T hey w ant to be instantly imp res sed by i mm edi ate S i ght a nd t ou ch
—
. .

S u ch a d emand takes it for gr anted tha t we ca n order a mira cle Off hand that ,

the ma tter b elongs to the O p era ting ta b le I t a ls o imp lies tha t the w orld a t large
-
.

is w orthy of su ch p roof , w hen a s a fact it w as nev er les s w orthy than it is toda y,

‘ ’

w hen large masses of humanity a re w a llowing in the low est moral slu sh that c an
w ell be p ictured T hink of the p op u la rity of the crimina l mov i e a nd the chea p
.

lov e s candal -

B esides all this , it ignores the log ical p ri ncip le of cu mulativ e his torical v eri
—
fi ca tion , a tes timony which is ba sed , not s imp ly on one is ola ted hap p ening in
our own d ay , how ev er marv ellous , but on a c ontinuou s c ha in o f mento ma teria l -

moral wonders whose reality is p rov ed a s mu ch by their a ftermath in the higher

soul of huma nity a s by their actu al one time occurrenc e in the d is tant p as t I t is
—
-
.

p re c is el y th is t im e e lem en t w hi c h is s o nec es s ary a nd w hic h is so lacking in the

py th o n ic o rg i es Th e m ed ium s h a
. v e s till to e arn th eir rep u ta ti on a s genuine up
lifts ; they are yet on tria l and giv e little p romis e Of furnishing the d esired light a nd
lea ding With the s aints all is so v a stly di3 erent T hey ha v e been p ut to the
. .

test and ha v e not b een found w anting ; they ha v e ma de good ; they hav e lifted the
race T hey hav e a p p eal ed not only to their own a g e , but to a ll time
. they are —
i mmorta l M oreov er, their p henomena are not so distant that they do not find
.

their analogs in ma ny a modern c onv ent or enclosed c enacle T he miracul ou s is .

still in the maki ng , a nd w ho c an tell w hen or w here it ma y burs t out a fresh ? Only
the other da y w e w ere told of a marv ellou s a pp ort on the E a st I ndian mis sions ,
’ ‘
-

while v isions and v oices are s o common tha t w e w ou ld w elc ome any p sy chograp h
’ ‘

that c ou ld giv e u s the certainty tha t they are not s elf sugg es tions There is -
.

ma terial enou gh to keep any p sychologist bu sy for the rest of his da ys , and it is
here that w e look for timely c oop era tion .

T o those, how ev er, W ho are hankering a fter the ma rv elou s a nd w ho insist

up on imme dia te u p to date ev i den c e , w e ca n o3 er a few samp les of extra ordinar
y
- -

p henomena w hich are ta ki ng p lace un der ou r v ery sha d ow s

P rofessor P a schal R ob inson is now inv estiga ting a ca se of s tigma tisation in
.

‘ ’

R ome which ha s b een a ttes ted by himself a nd countles s other s , and which ma y be
v erifi ed by any p ers on w ho wi ll ta ke the trouble to
go to F oggia a nd to see a nd feel
for himself P a dre P io , the C a p u chin fria r , c a n Show you , not only the marks ,
.
‘ ’

bu t an a ctu al perfora ti on of his ha nd s , accomp anied by a mysteriou s b leeding w hich

no a mount of suggestion , still les s a d elib era te sel f infliction , w ou ld s eem to account -

for . I f this should p rov e to b e genuine , it w ould be an a stounding p hysical p henom

en on a nd one w hich w e inv ite a ll our p sychic s to inv esti ate P rofessor R ob inson
g .

will s oon r etur n to Wa shington to ma ke the rep ort a nd sub mit the matter to a
s cientifi c C ommis sion .

Ca s es of p sy chic materia lisa tion a re rare , but wonderfully realistic

‘ ’

The
—
.

su dd en app earance of a midnight v isitor , a little b oy , w ho ran P i s t and

'

u
g p a r e
b a de him c ome to a sickroom and then immediately v anished into the unknown,
is one Of the mysteries of S t Aloysiu s The cleric w ent to the giv en a ddress and
. .

found that nob ody ha d called him Who s ent f or you ? asked the surp ris ed land
‘ ’

—
.

lord Why, a li ttle boy a bout ten yea rs old

‘
wi th s uch a nd such hair, a nd so
’

—making the b est a ttemp t to d es crib e him

.

on M y God ! Why, tha t is my own .

s on who di ed fi ve yea rs a go! H e p ointed to a loa ded rev olv er lying on the dressing
”

,
“
ta b le and said : F a ther, I was j us t going to blow ou t my bra ins ; bu t you ha ve s a ved
me! T he mysterious v isitor ha s nev er b een tra ced a nd a ll a ttemp ts to
”

identify him hav e s ince b een fruitless ?5

35
Rp
e orte d in the Wa shi ngton
Oct 24 , 1 9 2 2 ee St
ess to say , t ese re orts go w t
ar , . . N dl h p ih
y dp Th y ld
the ca n or a nd a ccura c Of th? r e orter e w ou be w ort v er tt e un ess t e r sta tements
. h y li l l h i
could d d by
be ma e goo q y p
a r1 g1 d I n u i r I nto the ersons , a ces or t ng s w t w c t e ea pl hi i h hi h h y d l
l h p i l M S dH S i
.

F or the atest t era eut c ma rv e s , see the “

essenger of the a cre eart
"
a nd t he
“
e ma ne
R li i p i
e g euse ,
”
Al
ass m p h
so t e O fl i c ia l re ort s of the
“
ureau d es onstatat ons a reg u ar B C i l
Ch h
.

di p b li i fi ld ii ih
me cal u cat on T he na ec s on rests w t the .
urc .
78 A PR O VI S I O NAL VE RD I C T

T hen , w hen the i ntellectus a gens draw s the fis hes out of the res erv oir, it finds
them w ell on the surfa c e of shimm ering w a ter , not in the cessp ool Of the c orroding
.

un dertow T his is ma de fairly ev ident by the following :

.

l m i i ons are not deri ved from the orga ni c memory , but i n s pite of i t
( )
1 I l u n a t .

We mu st strip and emp ty ourselv es of a ll thi s know ledge and a ll these forms .

(“ ) 2 I ll u m i n a ti o n s ar e s ud d en a nd unprep ared f or; they are una rtifici a l .

N either the s oul nor its director know their s ources nor why G od e3 cots
them H e s ends them to w hom, and w hy , a nd whenev er H e will s
”
.
.

m d origi na l; they p rodu ce a n i ntellectua l i ncrement

( )
3 I l lu i n a ti o n s a re n ew a n .

T his knowledge tra nsc ends a ll a cts Of refl ection or imagina tion A ll things
” ‘
.

hidden a nd not fores een, hav e I learned F or wisdom , which is the w orker of all .

thing s , hath taught me ?

”

(“4 ) I n ci ta tio n s o r m o ti on s of the wi ll counteract the phys i ologi ca l u rge .

S triv e alw a ys , not a fter tha t which is mos t ea s y , b ut a fter tha t w hich is most
diffi cul t, not tha t w hich giv eth p lea sure , but tha t which giv eth none
”
.

(“5) I ncita tions overcome the natura l appeti tes , or tra nsform them .

The tw o wills a ct tog ether The s oul is transformed in G od by lov e

. .

(“6) I nci tati ons sublima te the organism and make i t s upremely effici ent .

H e p erforms w ith great p erfection a ll necessary a nd b efi tting ac tions .

(“7) B ody a nd s ou l a re raised beyond their na tura l plane of opera ti ons .

Nothing on earth can c omp are to it , nor c an a nything a t a ll resemble it .

I t sav ors in s ome mea sure of the D iv ine Ess ence an d Of E v erlasting Life
”
.

And with this w e are b rought w ell into the mansions of the s up ernatur al
economy P artial guess es and p itiab le s triv es are chang ed into certainties and
.

sup ernatur a l strength by F ai th, H op e a nd Chari ty , and thes e in turn shall dissolv e
into p erfect v ision a nd p er fect lov e w hen the s oul ha s a t la st rea ched its inev itable
—
term, the direct intuition a nd eternal fruition Of its C rea tor .

T O be sure, the g eneral p osition of the C hurch in ma tter s Of the occult a dmits
Of few reserv a tions or fine distinctions S he frowns up on all forms Of p reterna tur al .

know ledge not in direct control of a H igher P ow er , while for the d efin itely diab olic
there is nothing left but sev ere a na thema s R ev ela tions of sup p os ed angels or
‘ ’
.

disca rna te sp irits are a ccep ted only w hen in harm ony with C a tholic d ogma and
they c an be ma de g ood by the most s earching inq t into the su bj ect s chara cter
’

a nd the g en eral t end en cy of their tea ching I n the v ast ma j ority of ca s es these
‘

c ondi tions are not fulfilled ; an d hence the wis e p rohib ition of tamp ering with the

U nseen . One a ct of cha rity i s worth a ll the mi racles tha t were ever operated, and the
g en u i n e ra p t u r e w i ll rev eal its p ortentou s elements uickly enough, in the moral q
no less than the menta l and p hysical orders I t is in no need of s p irit c amera s or .
-

p ys ch i c w e i ghi n g m a ch in e-
s .

And this lea ds to the final s uggestion , p ut forward by s ome of our b est author
ities , to make one of the tests Of the higher p henomen a to lie in their s p ontaneous
occu rrence, unwilled and un looked for , by c ontras t with the i nduced h m n Of
p e n o e a
the c a b inet mediums and others , by which a s ta te Of p a ss iv ity is d elib erately
-

brought on, artificially encouraged This cov ers mu ch o f the d eb a ta b le ground,

'

but d oes not c ov er it all ; w e requ ire more d elica te a nd discrimina ting criteria ,
p iercin g into the v ery b one a nd marrow of things The subj ect must make good .

on ev ery p lank Of the human p la tform .

I n the meantime it might be w ell to lay more emp hasis on the di3 erent de
p artments or chamb ers Of the s oul, and not to b ra nd ev erythin g not of the highest
‘ ’

or holiest as nec es sarily dia b olic or d amna b le The faculty Of ma king distinctions .

div ides the fool from the p hilos op her , a nd a ll our mos t ca utious authorities do so
distingu ish T here is su ch a thing as p artia l knowledge or ha lf tru th; and from this
. -

p oint Of v iew the b lameless but b enighted p rob er of p s y chic immortality , b las ted
1
A sc ent, I II , 1 , 2 2
I b id I I 3 2 , 2
3
1 b id I I , 2 6 , 7, 1 0 4 I b id I,
I b id I I I 1 5 I bid
, ,
. . .
,
I b id
.
. .
,
, I I , 5, 3
5 6 7
, I
. . .
, , , . . I , 26, 5 .
 A PR O VI S I O NAL VE R D I C T 79

by a c ontemp tib le p res s a s a sp ook hunter , des erv es our p ity ra ther than our
‘ ’
-

choleri c c ensures H e is w alking in a land of twilight, not in the typ honic dark
.

ness of the yellow j ournals H e is often in p oss es sion of a trui sm and is on the w ay
.

to further u p lif t A Crookes or a Conan D oyle hav e b een known to p av e the w ay

.

for b etter thing s F or w hile large sections of humanity hav e un til recently b een
sunk in the v ile st materialism a nd a theistic animalism —
.

d ea th b eing regarded
as the extin ction o f all —they alone hav e ha d the c oura e to answ er the w orld
,

g
!

a c cord ing to its follies , to kill the materialist w ith his own b ull ets T o p rea ch .

eternal life in lieu of eterna l dea th is s urel

y a step in the right direction , how ev er
grotes qu e in p resentation or defectiv e in logica l cog en cy F or many this is indeed .

a new gosp el , though for us it is but the Old one distortedl y realised
‘ ’

Na y more —ev ery modern rationalist has thrown unlimited s corn and sa tire
.

up on the ev ang elical a nd ha giologica l mira cles , w hil e no modern s piri tu a li s t has
‘ ’

the s had ow of a dou bt tha t mi racles ha ve occu rred , not only in the life of Chris t bu t a lso
i n thos e of the s aints H e is only grav ely off the tra ck in matters of dogma and has
.

a grossly inadequate idea Of what a theological mira cle as a fa ct imp lies .

F or , a s S ir W illiam B arrett has said :

To know tha t the dead are s ti ll li vi ng is not to know Christ To find comfort i n .

ghos ts i s not to find the H oly Ghos t, the Comforter I n a word , spi ri tu a lis m i s not.

S pi ri tu a li ty .

I f he p rob ed the subj ect more thoroughly and occa sionally sank on his knees
in p ra y er , he w oul d doubtless wi nd up w ith D aniel D ou gla s H ome , in the bosom of
,

the M other of S a ints ! And this is a consumma tion dev ou tly to be desired When .

onc e the s oul has b een sw itche d on to su p ernatural ba tteries , there wi ll be less
da ng er of short cir cui ts ; w hen it has onc e inhaled the hea v enly a ir of the roof
-

g ar d ens , it wi ll n o l on g er s ta y its a pp e tite on the d a n g er ou s mias ma s ema na ting

from the coal cellar of its submerged consciousness
-
.

C O NCLU S IO N

G ra nting , then , that all men a re subj ect to similar incita tions a nd that those
urg es a re boun d to a s sert themselv es in one w a y or another , it is imp ortant to
sa crifi ce the low er to the hig her urge a nd n ot to a ttemp t to c ontrol one p assion

by a nother , w hich is little better than a F reu dian transference

’
S uch a neuro
‘
.

p a th ic p hil os o p yh i s m o r e a d a p t e d t o h o rs e s t h a n h u m an bein gs All t. h e grea test

lights of hum anity are agreed that w e mu st get ou t of our selv es and look to the
hea v ens if w e w oul d O bta in tha t ma s tery ov er the p a ssions whi ch no amount of
introsp ec tion or p sychoanalysis can ev er eff ect . T he P ow er mu st come from a bov e ,
n ot from w i thin the org a nism NO dou bt it takes some c oura ge to ma ke the
.

s
a c e n t , t o d e s t r o y t h e ea r t h c o
-
m p l e x , t o t u r n o u r b a c k s o n w h a t see m s a t t im es

so ha rmless a n d so O bv iou sly d eman ded by hum a n curiosity T w o w orlds a re for

.

ev er c onfronting ea ch other , and ea ch is 0 3 ering u s a f e

r e p a ssa g e , or a t lea st a

cla sp o f t h e h a n d s ,
a cro ss it s m y s t er io u s b o r d er s . O h ,
f o r o n e v oic e or o n e w hi sp er

from that imp enetra ble darkness !

B ut t h e w o n d e r Of it i s , t h a t t h o s e w h o i n v e st I n th e B a nk o f E terni ty wrll
i h i h d iv i d e n d s on t h e i r o u tl a y a n d t h a t t h e ir l o a n s w il l c o m e b a ck to them
rec e v e g
f m f l id ca h n t f d l t d u rr e n c N a y more , they wi ll flee
in the o r o s o s ,
o o a e p e e c y .

from the subterranean , w hen they are thrilled with the s ursum corda; nor will
t h i t im w i t h h o h o n e s w h e n t h e y ca n see h ea r , an d ev en
they w a t e r e p ys c p
s e
— ,
,

m D rv n e P ermi ssi on ,
.

mysteriously t
‘
h
’
h B l d S t w h w th th e
o u c t o s e e s s e p iri s o , r
r
i l i i l t b h ld f from the noxi ou s and nau seat
it ma y be th i t on a p r v e g e o e o r ee
-

e r e x c e p ,

ing v en ee r o f a h u m a n tra n s m i s s 1 on .

E
S ND OU T T H Y L I G H T A N D T H Y TR U T H ,
LE T T H E M L E A D M E :

E M I N M H H O L H I L
”

A ND L E T T H BR G E T O T Y Y L !
80

P O S TS CRIP T

THE P R O P HE T I CAL A ND ME DI U MI S T I C I N S I GH T
‘ ’

I NS TR U CTIVE E S TI M ATE S
I f all v isions ,
mmunication with the sup er
intuition s , an d other modes of co

natural a ccredited now Or a t a ny time hav e b een no mor e than p henomena of

— , ,

h l in t n s th t is of subnorma l su p ernorma l or a bnorma l mental

'

o s a ce a
function —and if a ll existing sup erna tural beliefs are surv iv als of a sta te of thought
s
p y c o gy , , , , ,

b efi tting low er sta ges Of human d ev elop ment the continuance Of su ch b eliefs ,

cannot be help ful ; it mu st be hurtful to human p rogress

”
.

M auds ley N a tura l Causes

,
a nd S uperna tura l S eemi ngs , p 3 6 1 . .

Our p sychologi c medi cine ma y be a b le to obs erv e the p henom ena of fore
s ight and s econd sight , but ha s it exp la ined them ? Not ev ery nerv ou s excitement
rod u ces them A n d w h o ha s p rov ed that in n o c a se a sup ernatu ral a gent is
p .

activ e ? Our ancestors believ ed this A re w e wiser than they , w hen w ithout any
.

fi
scienti c p roo f w e a ttr ibu t t
e heir b elie f on this p oin t t o u niv ersa l ignor a nc e ?

Ign oran ce will alw a ys p roduce fools T here are alw ays Charlatans , and alw ays
.

enthusiasts , v ic tims of their own illu sions B ut w hen they un dertake to p rop he sy ,
.

the fu ture will Show the folly Of their ora cles , and thu s disp el the charm w ith which
they ha d fa scina ted the simp le .

M L e H ir, L es P rophetes d I srael, E tudes B ibliq ues , I , p 6

’ ’
. . .

A TI M ELY P UB LI CAT IO N !

I t is p la in that p rop hecy is a sup ern atura l fa ct , tha t is , a fa ct tending , at

lea st indirectly , to a sup erna tural end And here the qu es tion a rise s w hether the
.

p rop hets , w hen actu ally s eeing the p rop hetic v isions or hea ring the p rop hetic
w ords , w ere a lw ays in a sta te Of uncons ci ous ness M any , with the Alexandrian .

s chool , a nsw er in the a ffir ma tiv e A nd a c cording to this v iew and that of the
.

p agan p hilosop hers and the M ontanists , the so ca lled ecstas y la s ted not only w hile
-

the div ine c omm unica tion w a s ma de , but a lso while the p rop het c ommunica ted
the s ame to man .

T he F a thers of the C hur ch are u nanimous in c omba tting this v iew of the
“

p rop hetic s ta te M iltiades c omp osed a w hole b ook a gainst it O rigen and S t
. . .

B a sil insist on the diff erence b etw een the p rop het and the unconsciou s s oothsayer ;
S t J erome says : The p rop het does not s p ea k in ecs tas y , as M onta nu s , P ris ca , and
‘
.

M axil lirna insanely mainta in , but what he p rop hes ies he fully unders tands ’
St . .

Chrys os tom is s till more exp licit : This is the p eculiarity of the mantis , to be
‘ “ ”

b eside hims elf , to su3 er constra int, to be s truck, to be stretched , to be dragged like
a ma dm an The p rop het, how ev er , is not so, but he sp eaks ev erything with ca lm
.

unders ta nd in g and with s ound s elf p oss es s ion , and know ing what he proclai ms , so
-

ut w e can distingu ish b etw een the mantis and the p rop het ev en b efore the ful
g lment
’
.
 A T I M E LY PU B L I CA T I O N 81

At the same time w e do not wish to exclude the ecsta ti c state from the p ossible
cond 1 tron s i n w hich the
p rop het ma y fin d himself at the time he rec eiv es the div ine
communrcatron S u ch a condition seems to be describ ed in J ob and more p la inly
.
,

In the B ook Of D aniel We ma y comp are with this the sta te of the ap ostles a t the
.

T ransfi gura tion Of S t P eter b efore the div ine commi ssion to receiv e the entiles
, .

g
1 nto the C hu rch of S t P aul w hen he w a s comm and ed to dev ote himself to the con
, .

v ers i on o f the g entiles a nd a a in w hen he w a s ca u ht u

g g p into the third hea v en ;
finally of S t John w hen he receiv ed his message for the sev en churches B ut
.
.

w hile w e fu lly gr ant the p ossibility tha t a p rop het ma y b e in su ch a su p erna tura l
sta te w hen he message w e at the same time ma intain that the messa ge
rec eiv es his ,

its elf is c ommunicated to him a s a v ision or a s an audible v oice or a s a dream , , ,

unless it be p urely intellectu a l .

“
Add to this the s uperna tu ra l certa i nty w hich the div ine light of p rop hec y
infu ses into the mind of the p rop het , a nd a t the same time the powerful i mp uls e
giv en to his will to announc e his div ine messa ge , a nd the ea rnest conv iction with
w hich the p rop hets sp ea k is suffi ciently exp la ined
”
.

A j M a a s , S j , Chris t i n Type and P rophecy , Vol I , pp 9 1 96

. . . . . .
-

( B utp erha p s the p rop hetical a nd p ythonic s ta tes a re not a lw a ys sufficiently

s ep ara te d , nor is the anti trauma tic chara c ter of the div ine ecsta sy brought ou t
-

wi th full force ) .

TH E W O RLD WI D E
-

D I FF US IO N OF M ES S IANI C P R O P HE CY

On p erus ing the records Of antiquity w e are met by tw o most striking fea
tu res p erv a ding a ll the p rodu ctions Of litera tur e On the one ha nd a univ ersa l
.
,

w a il a s cends to hea v en d ep loring the w ickedness and the misery of the huma n
rac e ; on the other , a u niv ersa l s tra in of exp ec tation v ibra tes in the human heart ,
looking forw ard to a better fu ture a nd to a c oming R edeemer The c eremonies of .

ba p tism , circum cision , and other rites of p u rifica tion following a mong so many
na tions the birth Of the c hild , are a s ma ny s igns of the gener a l belief in man s
’

inna te dep ra v ity .

T his genera l H op e of R edemp tion ma y be tra ced a mong the P ersians , the
“

I ndia ns , the Chinese , the A rabians , the G reeks , the G ermanic races , the C eltic
races , the E s thenians , the T ribes of the P a cifi c I sla nds , the M exicans , the P eru v ia ns ,

the A lg onquins , the R omans , the E trus ca ns , a nd the Sibylline seers

”
.

I f it be a sked w hence these messianic p redictions coul d have originated

a mong the p agan na tions Of the a ncient w orld , the a nsw er ma y be reduced to three
or four hea d s :
h l sition tha t a ll men are descend ed from A dam, the
( )
1 O n t e o n y t ru e s u p p o

a a n M es sia nic idea s ma y be remn ants of a p rima ev a l rev ela tion

p g
.

O m i h d m i h G od grante d from time to tune a more tha n ordinary

( )
2 n e g t a t t a t
fores ight to the p agan p red ictors Of the fu tur e Or, .

O m i h l th e int ercourse be tw een the J ew s a nd the v ari ou s

( )
3 n e g t a pp ea to

na tions , or a t least to the sp rea d of the J ewish p rop hetic litera ture among the
litera ry men of the a ncient w orld .

T 0 sa y tha t the a greement of the v ari ou s na ti ona l messra n1 c hop es i s due to

0

l m i tifi w f x l inin n t blished his torica l fac t

—
chanc e is s u re y a o s t u n sc e n c a y o e p a g a es a

—
.

I bid em, pp 56 76 . .
82

A P O WE R FU L DE FE N S I VE W O R K!
T his su bj ect is so immense Op ens out so ma ny
and s enormou is su es ,—tou ching

as it does up o n t h e q u es tio n of a P R I M IT I V E R E V E L A T I O N and its b ea ring s on

the s up e rn a tu r a l P e rs on a lity o f C h ris t H im s elf — th a t y o u w ill d o

,
w ell t o arm

f i h S O U R C E B OOK n t in in T H E LA T E S T A N D M O S T P H E
your sel w t a c o-
a g

NO M E N A L D I S C OV E R I E S O F M O D E R N S C I E N C E O N T H E S U B J E C T O F

T H E NA T U R E O R I G I N A N D D E S T I N Y O F T H E H U M A N S P E C I E S F OR ,

—
, ,

TH E F I R S T T I M E C O L L A T E D A N D C O U N TE R C R I T I C IS E D F R O M T H E

R E V E AL E D CAT H O L I C S TA ND P O I NT .

S u ch a v olu me is off ered you under the title

P REH I S T O R I C RE L I GI O N
A S TU DY IN P R E C H R I S TIA N A NT I ! U I T Y
-

A c ritica l i n quiry into the formativ e fa ctors determining the earlie st p he

nomena in the r eligiou s history of man .

Contains the e arlies t P ersian , C u neiform a nd H ieroglyp hic texts a nd ta b lets ,

colla ted with the r ecords of the p rimitiv e p eop les , and throwing v a lu a b le light on

the rev ealed tra dition an d on the p rimitiv e religi on of the hum an ra c e S ome . of

thes e are v ery rare a nd ha v e nev er yet b een p u b lished in the U nited S ta tes .

P H IL O LAO S M I LL S

T his v olu me s erv es as the a ppara tus cr iticus for the fighting man , or the
a dv an ed c s cholar , who w ishes to de fend the fortres s of eternal truth with up to -

date w eap ons .

I T R E VE R S E S T H E E NT I R E C LO C KWO R K OF M O D E R N P A N T H E
I S M A ND P R OVE S B E Y O ND A ! U E S T IO N T H E TRA N S C E ND E N C E OF
T H E C H R I S T I A N I D E A OF GOD A ND OF C R E AT I O N .

I n less than three months this b ook has trav eled a ll around the w orld orders ,

hav ing b een rec eiv ed from far off I nd ia Au stra lia and S outh Americ a ,I t is an .

enormous dic tionary of p rehistoric fac ts a n d p henom ena w hich can not be refuted .

They are imp r egna b le I f you v alu e the cau se of sound conserv a tiv e scholarship
.
,

you w ill immedia tely sup p ly your lib rary w ith this w ork .

P rinted b ook p ap er 700 royal octav o p ages w ith ov er 1 00 illus trations

on fine -

, , ,

including 7 chromogra p hs a gra duated I nd ex a nd comp arativ e hieroglyp hic tab les
, .

H ands ome half lea ther b inding s tamp ed in gold

-

P rice , .

Washingt on, D C
. .

1 91 8
 83

V
AN I N ALUABLE S UP P LE MENT I

B y the sa me author , —t lling t

a e ra cta te , entitled

CRE AT IO N V ER S U S E VO L U T IO N

T he G reat ! u es tion of the D a y , for the brou ght p rominently b efore first time
the w orld of scien ce and theology alike and ov erw helmingly de fended in fav or of a

CRE ATI VE I NT E RF E RE N C E
A S tu dy in r ec ent Anthrop ology , or a series of three a rticles on the p hysica l ,
mental a nd moral arguments for a direct creation of man by sup erna tura l Agency ,
emb odying the la tes t s cientifi c discov eries and c omp iled from p rev iou s writing s

an d rev iew s P ric e 50 c ents

. .

Washingt on, 1 920

mm enda tions hav e been receiv ed from the la te C ardinal G ibbons a nd

H igh co
C hief Ju stice W hite from C ard ina l M erc ier a nd the A u strian c lergy from B ishop
, ,

S ha ha n B is hop R u s sell B ishop O C onnell F ather B arrett D r D yer a nd many

’

, , , , .
,

o ther p riests a nd light a nd lea ding

p rela tes of .

Also from the S mithson ia n I nstitu tion the Ca tholic U niv ersity , the American
U niv ersity , Johns H op kins U niv ersity , the M onth, the E c clesia stica l R ev iew ,
”

the
“
C a tholic W orld and Americ a , — for w hich see the a bov e tra c tate a nd the
”

title p a g e of the p res ent folio

-
.

I n a ddition to this , many p riv a te a nd p ub lic c ommun ica tions hav e app ea red

from time to time , of which the followin g are a few sp ecimens :

T he R ev T imothy B a rrett, S
. .
J .
, co author of
-
the famous M oral Theology ,

writes from W oodstock, M d : .

F a ther L a nham, P rofess or of A pologetics , ha s no words i n which to prais e your

va lu a ble work, P rehis tori c R eli gi on , a nd I cordi a lly endors e hi s senti ments
.
‘ ’ ”
.

M acte Vi rtu te ! Congra tu la ti ons on you r new tract on Creation

‘
sa y s the
R ev . T homa s I G asson , S J , w ho rev iew ed the w ork for the J esu i t p ress
. . . .

E v en the T heosop hica l M a ga z ine is shaken ou t of its slumbers :

The a u thor afiirms hi s beli ef in a pri maeva l revela ti on M any students of .

o o h
the s p y be li eve th e s a m e thi n g a n d a r e d i s p os ed to s e e i n th e o eni ng chapters of
p
Genes is , as i n ma ny other s acred s criptures , clear echoes of tha t pri maeva l revela ti on .

D r M i lls has , wi th endless pa tienc e a nd i ntu iti ve i ns ight, put together a number of the
.

f
’
degenera ti on whi ch he
‘

C h i l H i th t
pi eces f h t c u ve o
o t e g rea n es e p uz z e er e s e g rea r
—
.

has clea y
r l s ee n a n d d ep i ct ed i n hi s d i a gr a m s J a n , 1 9 2 1 , p p 1 99 2 9 1 . . . .

All orders a nd co mmunica tions to be a ddress ed to the distributing c enter :

T he M ausoleum of the M a gi
2 3 1 5 Lincoln R oa d , NE .

Wa shington , D C . .
84

EX O R I E N T E LUX !

WE H A VE S EE N H I S S T A R I N T H E E A S T A ND H A VE C O ME TO W O R SH I P H IM

( M a tt . 2,

In
r

re
p p a ra tio n —by the s
,
a me writer

ST E LI A S
. , MO UN T CA R ME L ,

DA N I E L A ND T HE MA G I A N KI N G S

An a ttemp t to tra c e the line of p rop hesy from the P a lestinia n H ermits , through
the A cha emenids , to the S a ssa nia n dynasty in P ers ia , Wi th a V l eW to show1 ng the
onnexions of the P ersian M ag i l n the ti me of C hri st
.

J ew ish P a-
l estinia n c .

A critical contribu tion to this su bj ec t, b ring ing out the c hief p oints of dis
cussion , with their su gges ted solutions , in the light of rec ent di s cov eri es .

“
Wi th the poor a nd meek and lowly
'

”
lived on earth our S a vi or holy

Next in imp orta nce to the gr ea t M essianic forerunners , cu lmina ting in the
life a nd p rea chin g of J ohn the B a p tist , a re those g a lla nt king s from the East
“ ”

who found the M ess iah , p artly throu gh a su p ern atu ral light , p artly throu gh draw
ing u p on the w ells of J ewi sh M essianic p rop hesy , a nd w ho p a v ed the w ay for one
—
-

of the most fl ourishing commu nities in the E a st , the so ca lled T homa s Chris - -

tians .

Ages b efore Nestoriu s ha d lau nched his heresies on the dou b le p ersonality of
Chris t this s imp le group of p rimitiv e b eliev ers s p rea d the orthodox C a tholic fa ith
throu gh large s ections of the middle O rient , and their des cendants are to this day
the p ures t rep resenta tiv es of the ancient S yro Cha ldaean C hurch -
.

Will be interes ting to focu s this long line of d ev elop ment into a single
it not

p icture to trac e the insp ira tions of the gosp el magi to their J ew ish antec edents
“ ”
,

and u ltima tely to the illustriou s seer of M ount C armel , the fa ther of a ll the p rop hets ?

I ncidenta lly it is hop ed this w ork ma y throw s ome light on the social p rob lem
and suggest a few timely c ons id era tion s on p ov erty a nd w ealth, collec tiv ism and

cap ita listic enterp rise , v iew ed from the p la tform of p rimitiv e p rop hetic al and

a p os tolic fa ith and p rac tice .

T O AP P E AR IN P RACT I CA L HAN D Y -
V OLU M E F OR M :
WAS H I N G T ON 1 924 , .