{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_66022/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_66022","id":"gutenberg_66022","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66022","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Spiritualism"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Notes\n\nObvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations\nin hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and\npunctuation remains unchanged.\n\nItalics are represented thus _italic_.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: Publisher\u2019s Device]\n\n\n                           The Astral World\n\n                         HIGHER OCCULT POWERS\n\u205f\n               _Clairvoyance, Spiritism, Mediumship, and\n                    Spirit-Healing Fully Explained_\n\n                                  BY\n\n                             JOEL TIFFANY\n\n                        INTRODUCTION BY PHENIX\n\n                            _Third Edition_\n\n                     de LAURENCE, SCOTT & COMPANY\n                        CHICAGO, ILL., U. S. A.\n                                 1910\n\n\n                             _Title Page_\n\n                            COPYRIGHT 1910\n\n                       de LAURENCE, SCOTT & CO.\n\n\n\n\n                           TABLE OF CONTENTS\n\n\n                                                                    Page\n  Introduction                                                         v\n\n  Chapter\n\n  I.\u2014On the Determination of Truth                                    17\n\n  II.\u2014The Sphere of Lust                                              38\n\n  III.\u2014The Second, or Relational Sphere                               61\n\n  IV.\u2014Communication                                                   76\n\n  V.\u2014Philosophy of Progression                                        99\n\n  VI.\u2014Mediumship                                                     115\n\n  VII.\u2014Mediumship\u2014Spiritual Healing                                  130\n\n  VIII.\u2014Condition of the Spirit in the Spirit-World                  146\n\n  IX.\u2014Organization\u2014Individualization                                 160\n\n  X.\u2014What Constitutes the Spirit                                     171\n\n  XI.\u2014Lust                                                           187\n\n  XII.\u2014Marriage\u2014Free Love                                            206\n\n\n\n\n                             INTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe relations of man to his God have occupied the first minds of every\nage, but without rendering those relations so understandable to the\nmass of mankind as to be admitted as true. It has been evident to many,\nalthough not to all, that some minds so engaged have been inspired to\nwrite beyond the current knowledge of their day, indeed to foretell\ntruths which could only be recognized as such after centuries of\nprogression.\n\nThe natural propensity of the human mind in the exercise of its\ningenuity has been constantly developing in the endeavor to theorize\nupon the writings of these inspired authors, so as to present an\nentire system for the consideration of man. Each of these systems so\nproposed has passed away, from the fact that it carried with it the\nelements of its own destruction, itself not arising purely from the\nabsolute, and therefore subject to the analysis of progressed mind,\nand by such analysis found wanting. Those theories which might have\nseemed compatible with the ability to adjudge truth in the middle\nages, were not truths to the more progressed minds of later times;\nso that truth, except to absolute consciousness, may be considered,\nwhen subject to the test of human comprehension, as not absolute even\nto such comprehension, except in degree, and that varying with the\ncontinued progression of the recipient. Thus the best minds at this\ntime willingly admit that the writer of Job was inspired\u2014that he wrote\ntruths beyond the comprehension of more than a thousand years beyond\nhis time. One instance of this may be thus stated:\n\nTo Galileo and Copernicus we have attributed the discovery of the fact\nthat the world is round; and yet the writer of the Book of Job, who\nwrote a thousand years before them, tells us that the earth is round,\nthat its north is frigid, that the waters are divided by the dry\nland, where the day becomes night, and the night becomes day\u2014clearly\nindicating that the continents are twelve hours apart, and that the\nearth must revolve to enable the relative position of its parts to the\nsun to give the phenomena now so well understood.\n\nPlato was an inspired man. He wrote on the soul, far in advance of\nhis day; and it is only a progressed mind at this time that can read\nand comprehend his views. With Plato, all admit that his normal\nprogression might have been equal to the observance of the results of\nhis inspiration. But the writer of the Book of Job could never have\nseen an ocean. He could not have known of the existence of another\ncontinent, and the sciences collateral to his text could not have\nrendered him the didactic aid which would have been necessary to have\nmade him cognizant, in his normal condition, of the truths he uttered;\nand, therefore, it is at least possible, if not probable, that these\ntruths were directly the result of inspiration, as much beyond his\nown comprehension as beyond the comprehension of others. Indeed, even\nat the present day, thousands of students of theology have read Job\nwithout perceiving that he had fore-run Galileo and Copernicus in\ntheir supposed discoveries.\n\nIt is not to be wondered at, then, that modern Spiritualism and its\ntruths, if credited to the source from which they are supposed to be\nderived, should be found to present truths not understood as such by\nevery mind; and, notwithstanding its million converts, it seems to have\nembraced but few minds capable of presenting in a didactic form these\ntruths. The various writers on the subject have rather spoken of its\ncuriosities than its use; and we know of no book capable of instructing\nand satisfying even a progressed mind on either the precise use or\nexact advantages arising from a full belief in Spiritualism.\n\nThis task has been most fearlessly performed by Joel Tiffany, Esq. He\nbrought to the work a vigorous and original mind. A long course of\nlegal practice had peculiarly adapted him to the task, particularly as\nan investigator of truth. His own progression was such as to enable him\nto advantage by his former practice, while his mediative power gave him\nintuitive advantage seldom combined in the same individual. His course\nof lectures seems to be suited to the precise wants of the day. It is\ntrue that they are not calculated for the use of the novice, but they\nare the only source we know of at this time by which those who have\npassed through the curiosity-phase of the subject of Spiritualism are\nenabled to review their observations and apply them usefully to their\nown progression. All those properties of the mind known as _adjective_\nin common parlance, requiring the assistance of the observation of\nothers to render them substantive, are clearly defined by Mr. Tiffany.\n\nHis analysis of mind, when properly understood, enables all the truths\nhe has set forth to be read understandingly; in other words he gives\nthe _modus_ by which we may determine truths at least equal to the\nprogressed condition of man at this time to comprehend.\n\nThe Sphere of Lust, that greatest bar to man\u2019s progression, both in\nits analysis and synthesis, is placed within his comprehension, and\nhence his power of avoidance is materially increased. The fabled\nterrors of Hades, Sheol, Tartarus, and Gehenna are defined so as to be\ncomprehended by an ordinary individual, while the relational sphere of\nman is so treated as to enable each reader to define his own position,\nand those below him, sufficiently well to assist in his aspirations for\nhigher exercise.\n\nCommunication and Progression are fearlessly treated, and the\nmaster-mind is observable in all the collateral incidents of thought\nconsequent upon their investigation.\n\nMediumship is rendered understandable to all, and those phases which\nhave been unproductive of good results to minds not elevated beyond\nthe consideration consequent upon the morbid appetites of the curious,\nare fairly depicted so as to enable the investigator to avoid their\nrecurrence, and to progress beyond their painful influences.\n\nMr. Tiffany has judiciously failed to cater to the tastes of those who\nbut magnify Kings to conceive of Gods. He has presented the Deity, or\nthe consideration of the Deity, to the minds of his audience, in such\na manner as to call forth the highest feelings of the soul for the\ncomprehension of the highest truth.\n\nThe condition of the Spirit in the Spirit-world, as portrayed by him,\nis freed from the melo-dramatic condition in which it has been painted\nby the fashionable and various theologians of the day. The character\nof those Spirits is shown to be in accordance with the great law of\nGod\u2014Progression.\n\nWhile we freely admit the usefulness and beauty of many works written\non abstract phases of Spiritualism, we can not but perceive a want\nof continuity in their didactic character; and from the point where\nthe mind admits a future state of existence to the supposed character\nof that existence and the proper preparation of the Spirit while in\nthe form for entering upon such a condition, we can not but observe\nthat no work preceding these Lectures by Mr. Tiffany has met the\ndemand. A careful reading of these Lectures, we are confident, will\nelevate and instruct every Spiritualist. It will enable him to review\nhis intuitions, and to find their true value. It will chasten his\nconfidence in communications which are not self-evident as truths, and\nimprove his power to comprehend these truths.\n\nWe ask the reader to peruse the following pages no more rapidly than\nhe can clearly comprehend them. Every proposition is worthy his best\nthought and highest power of study; and if he follows them with the\nsame pure aspiration that seems to imbue their author, he will rise\nfrom their consideration a wiser and a better man.\n\n PHENIX.\n\n\n\n\n                 THE ASTRAL WORLD HIGHER OCCULT POWERS\n\n\n                              CHAPTER I.\n\n                    ON THE DETERMINATION OF TRUTH.\n\n\nIn commencing the investigation of Spiritualism, it becomes necessary\nin the outset that we find some point from which to start, or to\ncommence our examination; for, in the inquiry after truth, we must\nfind some standard by which we can determine truth\u2014for unless we have\nthat to which we can appeal to determine infallibly what is truth,\nhowever much we may investigate, we shall always be uncertain as to the\naccuracy of our conclusions.\n\nMan, as a conscious being, endowed with the faculty of perceiving\nbeing and existence, and also being susceptible to the influence\nof that which he perceives, himself becomes the center of all his\ninvestigations in the universe; and if there is any standard by which\nto try truth, he must find that standard within his own consciousness.\nOutside of man\u2019s consciousness there is no standard to him of truth.\n\nI will illustrate briefly what I mean, that you may perceive how I wish\nto direct you in the investigation of the question, What is Truth? and\nhow shall it be determined? The science of mathematics is said to\nbe certain and demonstrative. And why is the science of mathematics\nany more demonstrable than is any other science? Why is it that the\ntruth which it affirms can be any more positively demonstrated than\nany other truth? Is it because number and quantity are more fixed and\ncertain than are qualities and attributes of being and existence?\nWhy is it that the affirmations of mathematics are more demonstrable\nthan the truths of any other science? I answer, that it is simply\nowing to the mode of proceeding in our investigations. If we will\nadopt the same process that we do in mathematics, we can have the\nsame certainty upon all other questions that come within the sphere\nof man\u2019s perceptions and affections. The mathematician comes down\ninto his own consciousness, and finds certain conscious affirmations\npertaining to number and quantity. He puts them down as truths not to\nbe disregarded, and calls them self-evident truths or axioms. They are\nsuch affirmations of the consciousness as everybody must, per force,\nadmit to be true; and when he has obtained the affirmations of his\nconsciousness pertaining to number and quantity, he puts them down\nas truths not to be disregarded. They are always true everywhere,\nand under all circumstances, where number and quantity are to be\ninvestigated. He assumes nothing to be true which conflicts with these\nconscious affirmations of the soul. \u201cThings equal to the same thing\nare equal to one another\u201d must be received as true throughout the wide\nuniverse, so far as the mathematician investigates; and he allows\nnothing to controvert that self-evident truth; and so of all other\naffirmations. He allows nothing, in his investigations, to conflict\nat all; and whatever does conflict, he affirms to be false. Then,\nbefore he takes another step, he is very careful to fix upon accurate\ndefinitions, so that we may know precisely what he means\u2014may understand\nexactly the scope of what he says. For instance, speaking of geometry,\nhe will say that it pertains to the measurement of extent, and extent\nhas three dimensions\u2014length, breadth, and thickness. He next goes on\nto give definitions of that which is necessary to bound space\u2014tells\nyou what is a straight line, what a curved line, what is a plain\nsurface, what is a curved surface, etc. After having ascertained the\naffirmations of the consciousness of the soul, in respect to number\nand quantity, and having fixed accurately upon the definition of all\nterms to be used, he then commences by demonstration, and will not go\none step faster than demonstration attends him\u2014does not launch at all\ninto conjecture. He makes the relation between premises and conclusion\ninevitable; and if there be not an inevitable relation, he does not\nestablish his proposition mathematically.\n\nNow, what is true in respect to mathematics, is true in respect to\nevery other subject that may come before the mind. There are conscious\naffirmations of the soul lying at the basis of all investigation; and\nin these conscious affirmations of the soul is to be found the standard\nby which to try the truth of whatever plane or sphere of thought. The\nfirst point to be taken is to ascertain what are the affirmations of\nthe soul upon these points to be investigated. Our next step is to fix\nupon certain definitions, so that we can always understand precisely\nwhat we mean in our use of terms. Then we must see next that the\nrelation between premises and conclusion be always inevitable. There\nmust never be left any opportunity for the premises to be true and the\nconclusion false. Then we shall always be certain of having the truth.\n\nIn investigating the science of mind and spirit, I propose to\npursue this mathematical course; and not attempt to argue any point\nthat is not capable of demonstration\u2014that is not based upon the\nabsolute affirmation of the soul, conducted with reference to strict\ndefinitions, and making the relation of premises and conclusion\ninevitable. The reason of being thus particular is, that the greatest\nconfusion prevails, not only in respect to the subject of the New\nPhilosophy, or Spiritualism, but in respect to all subjects pertaining\nto spiritual life. Man does not know precisely where to begin his\ninvestigation. He does not seem to know precisely where he is certain\nof any thing pertaining to spiritual existence, and thinks that it must\nbe all conjectural.\n\nNow here is an affirmation which I believe every man in the audience\nwill agree to be an affirmation of every one\u2019s consciousness, and\nthat it lies at the basis of all our investigation of this and every\nother subject. (I will say further, that, if any individual in the\naudience disagrees with me, he will confer a favor by manifesting that\ndisagreement at any time; because I wish to be exceedingly near to\nyou as a lecturer, and wish you to be exceedingly near to me, so that\nthere may be the most perfect freedom of intercourse of thought and\nexpression between us.)\n\nThen the first affirmation of the consciousness is this: That the mind\ncan perceive nothing but its own consciousness, and that which is\ninwrought into that consciousness.\n\nNow I wish you to try that in every possible way, to see if be true.\nWe talk about getting information and forming ideas from subjects\noutside of ourselves, as though it were independent of our minds.\nMy proposition is, that the mind can perceive nothing but its own\nconsciousness, and that which is inwrought into that consciousness;\nand, furthermore, that its perception of being and existence will\nbe according as it is inwrought into its consciousness; and by no\npossibility can it be anything else to the individual; and, as a\nmatter of course, if there be any standard anywhere by which to try\ntruth, and know that it is true, that standard must be inwrought into\nthe consciousness of the individual who has to apply it; and he will\napply it accordingly as it is inwrought into his consciousness. Now\nis there any one that does not perceive that this is absolutely true?\nThen receiving that as a truth which every mind affirms\u2014it can not\nsuppose the contrary of it to be true\u2014we must set down every thing\nas false which conflicts with this proposition, no matter whether it\noverthrows authority or not. Whatever conflicts with this self-evident\ntruth, or affirmation of universal consciousness, must be false.\nTruth does not conflict with truth. You may be assured that falsehood\nalways exists where you find conflict and antagonism. It follows then,\nthat all there is of being or of existence in the universe that will\never be known to you or me will be that which is inwrought into our\nconsciousness. It follows, as a matter of course, the universe can\nbe no larger and no more perfect, than it can be inwrought into our\nconsciousness; and it will be limited to us by our mental unfolding.\nHence it will necessarily follow, that different individuals who are\ndifferently unfolded in the different departments of their intellectual\nand perceptional natures, will perceive being and existence in very\ndifferent lights; and yet each will suppose that each sees it in the\nsame lights, until we begin to compare notes. There will be as many\ndifferent New Yorks as there are different minds to form images or\nconceptions of New York. So there will be as many different mental\nEarths or mental universes as there are minds to form conceptions\nof our Earth and the universe; and each mind will have the Earth or\nthe universe fashioned into his own consciousness, and when it will\ninvestigate, it will investigate that which is then fashioned therein,\nand study it as fashioned there. It follows then, as a matter of\ncourse, that when the image of the existence within our consciousness\ncorresponds to the actuality, that is, when the ideal in man\ncorresponds to the real in God, then man has the truth\u2014not till then.\nThat is, when my perception of being and existence corresponds with\nthe being and existence, then I have the truth of being and existence.\nBut just so far as my idea or perception of being or existence\ndeviates from its actuality, just so far my impression is false. These\nconclusions follow as a matter of necessity. Hence you and I will\nlearn at once, that the first lesson for us to learn in commencing the\nstudy of the universe, is to learn ourselves. The very first volume\nthat is opened before us, is that which God has given us in giving\nus a conscious being. Here we must commence our first lesson, because\nevery thing must be recorded in the pages of this volume. God can never\nmanifest any part of the universe or himself to us beyond the capacity\nof the pages of this volume to receive that manifestation. It follows\nthen, as a matter of course, that truth can never be communicated by\nauthority; and when a man tells me that a certain thing is true upon\nhis authority, I can not receive it simply upon his statement. You will\nunderstand that I distinguish between stating a truth and narrating a\nfact. I may receive a statement of fact upon authority.\n\nA man may tell me that there is such a place as London, and I believe\nit; and I may form an idea respecting it; but the ideal London I\nhave in my mind is very far from being the real London\u2014is very far\nfrom being a representation of the real London. That is, the ideal\nLondon which I have exists only in my mind, has no representative\ncorresponding in the outward matter-of-fact London. But when the\nreal London is brought into my consciousness, I have _the_ London.\nBefore, I had a sort of _a_ London. Now you will understand what is\nmeant by a difference between forming a conception of a fact and a\ntruth. Suppose I should say to you that the sum of the squares of the\ntwo sides of a right-angled triangle is equal to the square of its\nhypotenuse, you having faith in my capacity to determine truth will\nsay, \u201cI will believe it as a fact; but I have no perception of its\ntruth\u2014I have only your word for it.\u201d Now your faith is not in the\ntruth of the proposition, but in my word. There is a truth there, but\nyou can not receive it upon my authority. The reception of it as a\ntruth depends upon your mind being unfolded to the plane of that truth.\nThe question then for us to settle is, whether the conception in our\nminds corresponds to the actuality. If we have the means of determining\nthat it does correspond, then we have the means of determining that our\nperception is true. The truth is the perception by the mind of that\nwhich is. You may apply this rule to any sphere of investigation that\nyou please. Then let us begin with man as a microcosm of the universe,\nand who is destined in his spiritual unfolding to be a microcosm of\nall that is in the universe; in other words, whose mind here is to\nbegin to translate the universe into its consciousness. The universe\nis a great book, which it is man\u2019s business to read and translate into\nhis consciousness, so that the image within shall correspond to the\nactuality without\u2014so that he shall be a universe of himself\u2014so that\nthe individual in his affection by that which is transferred also\nbecomes a divine, a god. \u201cIs it not written in your law, I said ye are\ngods?\u201d Man is to become in his impulses and character like the divine\nof the universe, so that he has not only all the wisdom, fact, and\nprinciple, but all the affection of the universe, to wit, the divine\ntranslated into his affection, so that in his outward form and inward\nbeing he is a child of God, created in his image. Thus, so far as we\nproceed day by day in translating the actual and real universe into the\nperceptive and ideal in us, so fast are we unfolding and growing up\ninto knowledge; and when that knowledge is united with the truth and\naffectional impulses converted into wisdom, we are made temples for the\nin-dwelling of the divine spirit. It becomes us, then, to make use of\nall means within our power to perceive this great volume that God has\nopened before us, and given us the means of studying, translating into\nour minds, and making our own. Looking at man, then, as a conscious\nbeing, one that possesses the faculty of perceiving existence in all\nits various modes of manifestation, and also of perceiving being\nitself, thus having within himself that whereon God can write not only\nthe phenomena, but the law and science of being itself, let us become\nfree men, lovers of the truth, determined to be honest with ourselves\nand the world, determined to know what can be known, and not to be\ndeceived either by our own appetites, passions, or lusts, or by the\ninfluences that others may extend over us to turn away our minds from\nearnestly and truthfully investigating all subjects. The mind that is\nafraid to look upon the wide universe, to receive the image that God\nwould impress upon it every day and moment of his life, is denying the\nbirthright of his soul.\n\nMan, as a conscious being, is the subject of three degrees of\nconscious perception\u2014he can be subject to no less and no more; and\nbeing influenced by what he perceives\u2014three degrees of affection. In\nother words, there is laid the foundation for three spheres of thought\nand three spheres of affection. He can possess no more\u2014no less. Now\nI am to demonstrate this to be true in such a way that every one of\nyou shall know its truth. I begin first to prove that these spheres\nof knowledge and affection exist in you, because it is my business,\nafter having proved this\u2014if I should succeed in proving it\u2014to show\nthat in the wide universe there are but those same three spheres of\nknowledge and those same three spheres of affection and love\u2014no less\nand no more; that man possesses within himself the elements of all\nknowledge and affection that exist in the wide universe. Unless he did\npossess these elements, he could not investigate the universe; for\nhe can only investigate that, the elements of which exist within his\nconsciousness. In the first place, man has that faculty by which he\nperceives the mere phenomena of existence, or, in other words, he has\nthat department of conscious being which is addressed by what we call\nthe physical senses, the scope of which is to reveal to him facts and\nphenomena in the material plane of existence. The physical senses can\nonly reveal to him the facts and phenomena. In this respect man differs\nnot at all from the animal, which possesses the same number of physical\nsenses, and is impressed by the same light that impresses man\u2019s\nsenses\u2014is subject to the same conditions. The law by which perception\nis awakened in the consciousness is the same in the animal as in the\nman. But man possesses also another element that is not content with\nmere investigation, or mere observation of forms and phenomena. You see\nthis other nature is manifested in the little child, after he begins to\nwalk about and observe the forms of things. There are certain things he\ncan not ascertain by the use of the physical senses, and he asks his\nparents for further information. If you will examine the philosophy\nof asking questions, you will perceive that it is a means of gaining\ninformation by the exercise of some faculties higher than the physical\nsenses. It is seeking for information that shall be applied to the\nconsciousness, that shall be represented by ideas that exist in the\nmind. We may suppose that Sir Isaac Newton and his dog were sitting\nin the orchard, and that both saw an apple fall to the ground. The\ndog could observe the fact as well as Sir Isaac Newton, but Sir Isaac\nNewton perceived that there was something involved in the fall of that\napple, which the dog never thought of. The dog confined his observation\nto the mere fact; but Sir Isaac Newton perceived, by the aid of a\nhigher faculty, that there existed a law which he wished to ascertain,\nand therefore commenced investigation to discover it. This department\nof mind which led Sir Isaac Newton to make this investigation was\nnot content with observing the mere facts or phenomena of existence,\nbut wished to investigate that which was concerned in the production\nof the phenomenon. That faculty gives rise in man to this second\nsphere, which observes not the phenomena, but investigates the law\nor proximate causes of phenomena, and opens the field of science and\nphilosophy. Hence the second sphere of thought is that sphere which\ninvestigates the relation of things and determines the law of action\nand manifestation through that relation. It belongs to what we call\nthe relational, the middle, or mediatorial sphere; because it embraces\nthe means by which causes operate to produce effects. For instance,\nI speak and you hear. I am a cause of producing a sound; your ears\nare affected by the sound produced. The atmosphere is the medium by\nwhich the action is transmitted from my organs of speech to those of\nhearing. The physical senses notice the fact in the physical sphere;\nthe intellectual perceptions notice the means by which the fact is\nproduced. The next, the highest, the inmost, absolute nature is that\nwhich perceives the absolute cause of these effects.\n\nThere is a sphere of mind in you that observes the mere effect; there\nis a sphere that investigates the relation or law by which phenomena\nare produced; there is also a sphere of mind which searches after\nand perceives the absolute cause of the phenomena. Now, inasmuch as\nall being or existence must come under one of these forms, either\nits phenomena, the means by which they are produced, or the cause\nwhich, through the means, has produced the phenomena, there can be\nbut these three departments of conscious perception: the physical or\nintellectual, the moral or relational, and the divine or absolute,\nwhich perceives the absolute of all being. To illustrate the difference\nbetween the relational and the absolute: When Sir Isaac Newton\ndiscovered the existence of the law of gravitation, and found it the\nsame that caused the motion of the planetary bodies, it was supposed\nthat he discovered the cause of their motion. He named that law\nattraction, or attraction of gravitation. Now we turn upon Sir Isaac\nNewton and ask, What is attraction of gravitation? The only reply\nthat can be made is to speak of its effects. However intellectual the\nmind may be, it must be ignorant of the absolute, because it belongs\nto the sphere of relations. You can not analyze the infinite. You can\nnot compare the infinite. It is only in the sphere of the finite that\nthe intellectual faculties have power to pursue their investigations.\nThat which perceives the absolute must of itself be absolute; that is,\nthe finite can not receive the infinite\u2014the finite can not embrace the\ninfinite. Therefore, if the infinite is ever to be represented to man,\nthere must be a department that is receptive of the infinite; and that\ndepartment must be infinite, or it can not receive the infinite. When I\ndwell more particularly upon this subject, I will endeavor to make it\napparent to you so far as language is capable of making it.\n\nCorresponding to the three spheres of perception there are three\nspheres of affection. The first sphere is called the sphere of\nself-love, or, to use a word which would express it in every relation,\nI would call it lust; that is, the desire for self-gratification. This\nis the lowest sphere pertaining to the finite, and corresponding to\nthe sphere of fact or phenomena. The second sphere is the sphere of\nrelational love, and that divides naturally into two departments\u2014the\nlove of unconscious nature, the love of sciences, etc., and the love\nof conscious being, or moral love, by which man loves his neighbor,\nsome conscious being out of himself. That is the second sphere of love,\nknown as relational, and it belongs to the sphere of relational truth,\nor the sphere of intellectual and moral investigation. There is a\nthird sphere of impulse or love, known as the divine or absolute love,\ncalled the love of God, the love of the infinite. In one of these three\nspheres is every man\u2019s ruling affection to be found\u2014in the sphere of\nself-love, seeking self-gratification; or in the sphere of moral love,\nseeking the welfare of his neighbor; or in the sphere of divine love,\nloving as God loves, universally\u2014not objectively, but subjectively,\nall the wide universe. There can be but just these three spheres.\nNow if each of you will investigate, you will readily recognize two\nof the affections at least to which I have called your attention,\nself-love, and social love, but more particularly self-love, desire\nfor self-gratification, desiring that you may be first mad happy, and\nthen leaving the world to be happy afterward. The love that goes out\nof itself, and loves some being out of yourself, is exemplified in the\nlove of a true husband for his wife, of a parent for his child, of a\nbrother for a sister. All these loves give indication of the second\nsphere of love, known as charity, good-will to the neighbor. This\nlove is the means by which self-love is first overcome or destroyed.\nThe individual is brought from self-love, through charity, to divine\nlove, just as, in his knowledge, he is brought from the sphere of\nfact, through relation, to the absolute of being; and hence, in the\nspheres of unfolding, the three degrees are necessarily absolute. Look\nat society. What is it but the aggregate of individuals composing it?\nSociety, separate from individuals, is nothing. The love of society is\nonly the love of the aggregate of individuals. Now, inasmuch as the\nlove will belong either to the sphere of self-love, charity, or divine\nlove, you will find that society will always be expressive of one of\nthese three loves, never the third, though. We say of society, when\nwe look to the principles that govern it in its administration, it is\nbut the embodiment of the character and will of those constituting the\ngovernment \u2014it is but an expression of the individuals composing it.\nTherefore there are three spheres of government corresponding to the\nthree spheres of the individual. For individuals living in the selfish\nnature, the government will be a government of force. The individual\nwho has come out of this obeys the truth because he loves the truth. He\ndoes not feel the restraints of law that says, Thou shalt not steal,\nThou shalt not lie. He does not know that there are any such laws in\nthe State. He never felt any restraints. That individual is not in the\nsphere of self-love; and the government over him is not a government of\nforce. The government over him is a moral government, and has its place\nin his affection.\n\nComing out of the government of force, man comes into the second, the\nChristian, or government of moral love, the government of charity. He\nthen comes under the \u201cnew commandment I give unto you, that ye love\none another.\u201d This second, or mediatorial sphere, is a moral one;\nhence this dispensation has been called the mediatorial dispensation.\nHence I say there will be a second sphere of government, or second\ndispensation, as it was called; but that dispensation is only the\nmagnification of the individual. It is only the representation of\nsociety as one great individual. Then there is a prophecy of the\nthird and perfect dispensation, which is called the millennial,\nthe divine dispensation. When the second shall have performed its\nmediatorial work, when every individual will have been perfected in\nhis moral nature, and shall be prepared to receive influx from the\ndivine, then will arise the third dispensation of government, known\nas the millennial. If we refer to the forms of expression by which\nit is designated, we will find it spoken of as taking place at the\nconsummation of the age, at the end of the world, when that mediatorial\nage is through, when man is perfected in his moral nature, has put\ndown all rule and power; then Christ himself becomes subject to the\nFather, and God, the Divine, becomes all in all. That brings in the\nthird dispensation, the third sphere of government. These three spheres\nof love in man lay the foundation for the spheres exhibited in the\nSpirit-world. The governments upon the earth, as well as in heaven,\nhave their basis in man. Man is but the footings-up of all past ages;\nand the Spiritual worlds have their foundation in him. Therefore, when\nyou and I wish to study the Spirit-spheres, to know what constitutes\na sphere and degree, we are not obliged to go out of ourselves and\nlook into space ten, fifteen, or a thousand miles away. That is not\nthe way to study the Spirit-world. The way is to go within and study\nthe spheres of Spiritual being and affection. Individuals who are in\neither of these spheres are allied to one of the three spheres in the\nSpiritual world. The first is called the lowest, or dark sphere, the\nsphere of outer darkness, sometimes called the grave. The grave was\ncalled the place of darkness, where there was neither knowledge, or\ndevice, or wisdom, and was that to which allusion was made in saying,\nthat those in the graves shall hear the voice of God, and shall live.\nIt is sometimes called \u201cGehenna.\u201d It corresponds to man\u2019s lustful\nnature, and represents the darkness and impurity of man under the\ninfluence of his lusts. That is what characterizes the first or lowest\nsphere of Spiritual being. The second sphere corresponds to man\u2019s\nintellectual or moral nature. It is called \u201cParadise,\u201d the place of\nhappiness. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, \u201cTo-day shalt thou be\nwith me in Paradise.\u201d Two days after, when Mary met him at the tomb,\nand offered to embrace him, he said, \u201cTouch me not, for I have not yet\nascended to my Father.\u201d\n\nHe had been in Paradise\u2014in the second sphere\u2014and he told them that\nwhen he ascended to his Father they should see him no more. Both\nGehenna and Paradise are spheres of Spirit-manifestation. Those who are\ncharitable, and who do possess truly spiritual natures or affections,\nare in alliance with Paradise. Those in lust are in alliance with the\nsphere of lust or Gehenna. Those who have passed through, and fulfilled\nevery impulse and every love in the second sphere, are said then to\nbe brought into the divine presence. They no longer need a middle man\nbetween them and the Divine, because the Father can then speak directly\nto them. But so long as man is in the sphere of outer darkness or in\nParadise, there is between him and the Divine (and he must approach\nby a mediator) something that can take the things of the Father and\nmake them manifest to him in the visible sense. But when man has come\ninto the third sphere, there is no longer a middle man; Christ himself\nbecomes subject to the Father, and God becomes all in all. Then comes\nthe New Dispensation, or the Consummation of the Christian Age. The\npoint to which I wish to call your attention is, that the governments\nin earth, as well as in heaven, all have their basis in man \u2014man being\nbut the footings-up of all the ages of eternity. All is summed up in\nhim; and he is the footings-up of all that preceded him; hence all the\nSpiritual spheres have their basis in man. Therefore, when we wish to\nstudy the Spirit-spheres, we are not obliged to go out of ourselves and\nbegin to look off into space ten, fifteen, or one thousand miles away.\nThe way is to come within, and ascertain the sphere of Spiritual being,\nSpiritual perception and affection; for all there is of the Spiritual\nuniverse is what has its basis in the individual Spirits who constitute\nthe spheres.\n\nAs the societies of earth are composed of the individuals of earth,\nso are the spheres of the heavens composed of the individuals of the\nheavens, and the ruling nature of the different spheres is but the\naggregate of the ruling loves of those composing those spheres. The\nlaws of the spheres are but the laws of those composing the spheres. We\nare germinal universes. We are to be developed and unfolded consciously\ntill the whole universe is translated into our consciousness. There\nis but one way to study the universe, and that is to come down into\nourselves and study ourselves. This idea of looking out of ourselves,\nlooking to any external method outside of our consciousness to find\nout what constitutes a Spiritual sphere or degree, is all fallacious.\nSpirits may come and rap, talk, and preach till doomsday; if they can\nnot find the elements within your consciousness out of which they can\nconstruct that Spiritual sphere, you can not perceive or get any true\nidea of Spirit-spheres. It is as though I were born blind, and had\nnever seen the light, and of course knew nothing of light, color,\nand darkness, and some individual should endeavor to make me believe\nthat I was living in total darkness, when there would be no part of my\nbeing to which he could appeal to make me believe. There would be no\npossibility of conveying the thought to my mind, because I should have\nno conscious experience of light, color, etc. Outward language could\nnot give me the idea. Unless I have had the conscious experience to\ngive me the idea out of which to construct the idea, the Spirits from\nthe Spirit-world may come from every sphere and degree, and they can\nnot convey to my mind an accurate idea of those spheres and degrees.\nIf they would make me understand who God is, and what he is, they must\nfind in me the elements out of which to construct that God. I say it\nis useless to look for information out of yourselves until you know\nwhat is in yourselves. The first lesson is to learn who and what am\nI. I propose to commence my investigations in each individual\u2019s own\nconsciousness, starting with affirmations of that consciousness, and\nwith definitions about which we can not disagree, and then go forward\nstep by step, demonstrating every point, and ascertaining the law of\nmanifestation as that law is revealed in us. I do not ask Spirits,\nand do not wish them to come to tell me about the law that governs\nin their sphere. The truth is, we can not avoid the fact, that all\ncommunications that come understandingly, must come in the method that\nGod has ordained, and that method is that it must be written by his\nlaw upon our consciousness; and when it is written so, Spirits can\ncome and point out the writing to us; and that is the best they can\ndo. I desire you to understand distinctly what will be the basis of\nmy lectures, what will be the points I shall attempt to establish. I\nshall endeavor to prove Spiritualism. I shall not come to the raps\nfor a considerable time. They are so far off, I shall not attempt to\nprove Spiritualism by rapping for some time yet. People say we have got\nbeyond the rapping. The truth is, a large portion of the world have\nnot yet got to the raps. They are not yet able to appreciate the raps.\nWe must make considerable progress before we can get the philosophy\nof the raps. We have much to learn yet before we can get the full\nbenefit of a simple sound, even though it be not accompanied by much\nintelligence. The first lesson I shall attempt to teach\u2014pardon me for\nassuming to be a teacher, I will be a pupil at any time\u2014is how to study\nand know yourselves; how to ascertain the laws of your being, action,\nand manifestation; how to determine what is and what is not spiritual\nin you; how to determine whether you are under Spirit-influence or\nnot\u2014for there are laws by which all these things can be determined.\nIn my investigation I shall perhaps be able to determine where that\nterrible creature, Jack, the Giant-killer, the Odylic force, resides,\nand show what it can and what it can not do. And I promise, too, in\nthe face and eyes of all theorizers who believe that the Spiritual\nmanifestations are traceable to this force, and to the satisfaction\nof everybody else, to demonstrate that it is not competent to produce\nthem. I will demonstrate it according to President Mahan\u2019s hypothesis.\nI will show by every known law of nature that the power exerted at\nthe brain\u2019s center, in a single instance he has given, was equal to\na thousand steam-engines of a million horse-power at the distance of\nfive feet from the brain. But that will merely come in as collateral\nwhen I consider the objections offered to our theory. I will endeavor\nto consider every objection which any objector has proposed to bring\nforward. I do not stand here to boast, but what I speak is to me\nabsolute. I stand here fearlessly, and invite all classes of minds\nto raise any objection they can to the Spiritual theory; and I bind\nmyself to answer them instanter, or confess my inability to do so. The\ninvitation commences now, and extends to every moment I am in the city.\n\nIn my next lecture I shall begin with the question of Spirit-spheres,\nand endeavor to unfold to the consciousness of each of you the evidence\nof the existence of a first sphere, from which you will all do well to\nescape; and shall then proceed to prove the existence of other spheres,\nnamely, the second, or relational sphere, and a third, or divine\nsphere. I invite skeptics and atheists in particular to be particularly\ncaptious.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER II.\n\n                          THE SPHERE OF LUST.\n\n\nMan possesses three natures\u2014the animal or sensuous nature, the\nintellectual and moral nature, and the divine nature. Mind, in whatever\ndepartment it is manifested, possesses two qualities\u2014perception and\naffection, and understanding and love; or, when understanding is united\nwith true affection, wisdom and love. I have heretofore said, that\nsince man, in the lowest department of his being, is animal in his\ncharacter, possessing the faculty of perceiving facts and phenomena,\nthat faculty was the perceptive part of his animal being which embraces\nself-love, or a desire after self-gratification. That portion of the\nmind which pertains to the second part of man\u2019s nature was described\nas being that which investigates the laws and relation of things,\ninquires into what relates to that department of nature called the\nscientific, and studies that which relates to man and society. What\nis called the moral department of man\u2019s being is that which relates\nto the affectional part of his nature, and which is called moral love\nor charity. That which pertains to the divine or absolute of man\u2019s\nbeing was said to embrace the religious element in him; through which\ndepartment the Infinite, as the absolute of being and of affection,\nis to be revealed to the mind. The love characterizing this department\nwas described as divine love\u2014the love of the Divine Being. The first\nlove is objective in self, the second is objective in neighbor, and the\nthird is subjective in God. Thus, then, was given the division of that\ndepartment of mind pertaining to man\u2019s perception and affection.\n\nI am now to commence with the first\u2014man in the lowest department of his\nperception and affection, to show you its nature, and its presence in\nhim, in society, in government, and in the Spirit-world. If we would\nlearn the laws that govern in that sphere of the Spirit-world called\nouter darkness, we need only learn the laws that govern in the sphere\nof outer darkness which is in man, and which is caused by man to exist\nin society. A singular idea has obtained, that this lower animal nature\nderives its quality from the physical body we carry about with us; and\nthat when we come to be separated from it, we shall no longer possess\nany of that nature; as though this earthly body was the foundation of\nperception or affection\u2014as though the instrument were the cause\u2014as\nthough this body, which we temporarily inhabit, exercised more control\nover us than the mind!\n\nI propose first, then, to inquire how much influence the body exercises\nupon the mind, and how much influence the mind exercises upon the\nbody, so that we may arrive at something like an accurate conclusion\nas to what our condition will be beyond the grave; for if we know how\nmuch is to be subtracted, at death, from our animal natures, we can\nknow how much of that nature remains after we have passed beyond the\ninfluence of these material bodies. My first position is this: The\nmanifestation of impulse in finite beings rises out of the relation\nwhich one finite being sustains to another. There is no impulse that\ndoes not grow out of this relation; and the impulse is according to\nthe nature and character of that relation. In the divine order, if\nmy body, as a physical and a finite existence, did not sustain any\nrelation, it would be subject to no impulse; therefore, whenever I\nperceive an impulse arising within me, I am informed thereby that I\nsustain a certain relation to something, and that if I would become\ntruly wise in controlling that impulse, I must learn what that relation\nis. I might begin back of mind or conscious being to show how uniform\nthis law is in the material or unconscious world, as that the influence\nbetween the earth and the sun arises out of a certain relation existing\nbetween them, and that if you change or destroy that relation, you\nchange or destroy that influence. But I will illustrate this truth\nby reference to a conscious being. If man could be isolated from all\nlaws, he would be a very different being from what he now is, although\nhe might retain the same constitution which he now possesses; because\nhe could not then come into certain relations which are necessary, in\norder to have revealed within him certain affections. I will take, for\ninstance, the conjugal relation. It is the nearest the Divine. It is\nthe first-begotten relation below the Infinite. Until a man and woman\ncome into the true conjugal relation, they can not experience that love\nknown as conjugal love. Till then it can not be begotten in them. They\nmay conjecture they know what it is, but until that true relation is\nestablished between them, they can never have an adequate conception of\nit\u2014can never know what it is to become so oblivious in another as the\ntrue wife does in the husband, or the true husband does in the wife;\nnor can they, like the true husband and wife, experience that perfect\nharmony of soul, or listen to that sweet spiritual music within, till\nthey have entered this relation, which alone can fit them for a proper\nconjugal union. The law exists, and the conditions exist; but man must\nplace himself, and woman must place herself, within the sphere of the\nlaw and the conditions, or they can not experience the benefit to be\nderived from them. So with the parental relation. No woman can know\nwhat maternal love is till she becomes a mother. Is it not so, mothers?\nPeople may conjecture that they know what it is, and suppose it to be\na pure and friendly love-feeling existing between mother and child;\nbut they can have no adequate conception of the deep tenderness and\nholiness of maternal love\u2014their idea of it does not begin to reach\ndown into the almost infinite depths of that holy love. There is no\npossible way for an individual to know what maternal love is, but to\ncome into the maternal relation. That is the way God reveals it in\nthe soul. The reason is, that the true maternal impulse in the finite\nis the manifestation of the Divine in the finite sphere, and this\nmanifestation can only be made in an individual when that individual\ncomes into the sphere where the Infinite can confer that blessing. The\nsame is true with reference to paternal, fraternal, filial, and social\nlove: they all depend for their development upon those in whom they are\nmanifested coming into the true relation which gives birth to them.\n\nThe same law holds good when applied to the relations existing between\nthe body and the spirit. My body can not be nourished so as to become\nan instrument of individualizing in me an immortal spirit, unless it be\nsustained by those things necessary to become a part of its organism. I\nhave needs, as an immortal being, which must be supplied, or I perish;\nand since those needs exist, they must have some means of manifesting\nthemselves to me; and one of the means employed for that purpose is the\nfeeling of hunger. A desire for food proclaims a need of my wasting\nbody. The needed material can then be taken into it to build it up and\nfit it for its holy mission of being an instrument in elaborating an\nimmortal spirit. So, likewise, thirst is the voice of God proclaiming a\nneed of my body, and my spirit is induced to seek for that which shall\nsupply the demand of a divine impulse originating in that plane. So it\nis in regard to all other needs of the body calling upon the spirit for\ngratification. The impulses, then, pertaining to this body have not\ntheir origin in this body, but only in the relation which this body\nsustains to my spirit; and when the spirit has fulfilled its duty of\nsupplying the needs of the body, the demand ceases. When, being hungry,\nI have appropriated the proper quantity of food, the desire for food\nceases. It is so respecting every other need\u2014when it is supplied, the\ndemand ceases, and the individual continues to be satisfied till the\ndemand is again created. By studying the needs of the body, and making\nyourself acquainted with its condition as far as it relates to the\nspirit, you may learn exactly how much influence, truly and properly,\nit exerts upon your spirit; but when you look beyond the needs of the\nbody, and find impulses asking for more, you may be certain that you\nare finding impulses which do not pertain to your body. Though they\nmay lay hold of your body and stimulate it to action and administer\nto its gratification, yet they do not arise out of it, but out of\nsome neglected need. Such impulses are the voice of God calling our\nattention to some need which you have forgotten or neglected, and they\nwill not permit you to rest till you discover what that need is and\nsupply it. I will illustrate this point.\n\nAlthough man in the lower department of his nature is animal, he is\nnevertheless something more than an animal in the activities of his\nnature. The highest impulse of the animal is to provide for and protect\nits perishable mortal structure, and he has no immortal spirit to\nprovide for in the future. He is content when the needs of the body\nare supplied. Did you never notice how content and unconcerned are the\nhorse and dog when their demand for food is supplied? Young animals\nand young children, in their play, are supplying one of the needs of\ntheir body. But when the children have passed from childhood, desires\nof that kind cease, if they become properly developed men and women,\nand others take their place; while the animal, whenever the needs of\nhis animal nature are supplied, is satisfied. Consequently, you do not\nsee dissipated animals. Did you ever think of that? Animals do not\nget drunk, nor seek for gratification in any such unnatural channel.\nAnimals are true to nature and to God. They can not have thoughts\nand desires that pertain to the undying spirit, their highest nature\nbeing merely animal. Were man as true to all the needs of his being as\nis the animal to the needs of his animal nature, he would not be the\ndiscontented, unhappy, and lustful being he now is. But in consequence\nof having to supply the needs of a higher nature, he finds himself\nfar from being as contented as the brute, whose animal wants are all\nprovided for.\n\nThere are spiritual needs pertaining to his understanding and\naffections which are entirely overlooked or neglected by him, whose\ndemands are as imperative as are the demands of the animal nature. The\ndemands of his intellectual and moral nature cause him to feel the lack\nof something within which destroys his rest and quiet. He seeks to\nsatisfy this lack by gratifying his sensuous appetites and passions.\nThus man runs into vice, and becomes sinful. Were it not for his\nimmortal thirsting for the water of life, he never would be a wicked,\nlustful being; or if he would _supply_ the demands of that thirst, he\nnever would be discontented or lustful.\n\nNow let us make the distinction between the lustful and the divine\nimpulse, that you may better understand what I mean by the sphere to\nwhich I am calling your attention. We all can tell the difference by\nappealing to our own consciousness. The divine impulse informs us of a\nneed, and leads us to seek to supply it. The Infinite only speaks of\nneeds, and leads man to supply them, that he may grow up into a perfect\nbeing. Every impulse in man, from the lowest to the highest nature,\nmust be attended to, in order to render him perfect. The true impulse\nis one that promotes individual happiness and contentment.\n\nWhen the infant, in consequence of this impulse, feels the sense\nof hunger calling for food, and such food as its infantile nature\nrequires, it cries; but the supply of that demand is only necessary to\ncause it to cease its crying. This is because the child is free from\nthose lusts which attach to persons advanced in years. \u201cOf such is the\nkingdom of heaven.\u201d The child does not lust after things that shall\ngratify or tickle its palate; it only seeks for those things which it\nneeds; and when they are supplied, it ceases calling for more. But with\nthe advance of age it learns of lustful parents, or by being acted upon\nby lustful influences, to seek gratification through lust, while in its\noriginal unperverted state it knows no impulses but those which are\nnatural, and, consequently, it obeys the true and divine law.\n\nWithout stopping to inquire into the origin of lust, I may say that\nit originates in man\u2019s ignorance, necessarily. If you recollect the\nfigure in the parable of the Garden of Eden, you remember that the\nsin committed by Eve was eating of the tree of knowledge of good and\nevil. That is where we all eat. But I do not propose to dwell upon the\nnature and origin of this lust in man, but merely to speak of it as\nbeing that which characterizes him in his lowest sphere of being. It\nbrings him into antagonism with his neighbor and God. It is that which\nbegets in him so much crime, and which brings ruin upon the world. That\nis lust which leads him to seek after self-gratification irrespective\nof any need, while the true impulse only leads him to seek to supply\nthose things which are _really_ needed. The impulse belonging to the\nlower sphere may be characterized as lust. The idea which obtains so\ngenerally in society, that lust belongs only to animal, sensual, or\nsexual desires, is, therefore, erroneous.\n\nMan may seek gratification in every plane of his being; not only in\nwhat he eats and drinks, but also in the intellectual plane. He may\nseek to gratify a vain curiosity. When he feels restless, he goes off\nsearching after amusement. Time hangs heavy on his soul. There is a\nperishing need calling for action, and he knows not whence it comes,\nand he seeks to \u201ckill\u201d this time by amusement or otherwise. This is\nlusting, not in the animal sense, but in the intellectual sense. He\nmay also lust in the moral plane. What are called friendships in the\nworld, are distinguished by lusts. You know how the world selects\nits friends: it selects them according to the pleasure it expects to\nderive from them. Is it not so? Does not the selfish man and woman\nselect friends with reference to the enjoyment they expect to derive\nfrom their association with them? And are they not most constant in\ntheir attention to those who are most successful in administering to\ntheir enjoyment? Look at this, each of you. Look over the list of your\nfriends, and tell me _really_ what is the basis of your friendship.\nYou love your friends, you say. Why do you love them? You love to be\nwith them. Why? You seek their society. Why? Some of your friends you\nlove best. Tell me why it is that you love them best. You say they\nare the most agreeable to you, and hence you love to be with them.\nIs that the highest basis? If so, when they cease to administer to\nyour gratification, what relation will you hold to them then? It is\nsaid that \u201cprosperity makes friends, and adversity tries them.\u201d They\ncan make it pleasant for us when they are with us, and in prosperity;\nbut when adversity comes, their position is not quite high enough\nfor us; and we prefer those differently conditioned. This remark is\nin accordance with the statement, that the friendship of the world\nis based upon the principle of gratifying ourselves. In making your\nmorning calls, you sometimes visit your friends from a sense of duty;\nand are influenced by the fear that they will find fault with you if\nyou follow your feelings in the matter, and go where you will derive\nthe greatest amount of pleasure.\n\nWhen you think these friends are laboring to your disadvantage, then\nyour love for them soon cools off. They don\u2019t answer your purpose.\nThus, trifling circumstances make foes of friends. You may test the\nfriendship you think you have for individuals. If a person\u2019s friendship\nseems to be strong, and he can not enjoy his friendship for another,\nunless in that other\u2019s society, and he desires to be in the presence\nof that person, so that he can hear his voice and feel his personal\ninfluence, and if, when separated from that friend he is disquieted and\nunhappy, very much as is the person who uses strong drink or tobacco,\nand is deprived of his beer, or rum, or tobacco\u2014his friendship has\na low basis. But if one has a true friendship, which is high, and\nholy, and spiritual, one where his whole confidence is merged in that\nfriend, he trusts him with his heart and most secret thoughts, and\nknows without doubt that he can not be betrayed by that friend; and\nthey hold constant spiritual communion with each other, no matter how\nfar apart\u2014there is a concord of spiritual communion between them that\nenables them to enjoy each other\u2019s society when separated by hundreds\nof miles. True friendship is of the spiritual kind that does not regard\nso gross and physical a friendship as the friendship of the world. I\nwish to call your attention to the presence of this impulse in you,\nbecause perhaps you have not looked at the subject in this light.\n\nA word to husbands and wives. A young man, when he contemplates getting\nmarried, thinks he will get a wife that will make him very happy. One\nyoung man thinks he would like a wife who will be economical; another,\none who would make a good housekeeper; and another, an intellectual\ncompanion; so they select not so much with reference to the wife, as\nto the use of the wife. And ladies, on the other hand, select husbands\nwho they think will provide them a good home, afford them protection,\netc.; they want a husband for his use; so the union between the man\nand woman is often based upon the idea of use, and not upon their\nfitness for companions; and hence their love for each other continues\nso long as the use continues, and no longer. If a man who desires\na good housekeeper finds that his wife is not one, or if a husband\nfinds his wife faulty in any other important particular, just in\nproportion as she proves faulty his love for her is abated; and at the\nend of twenty-eight days\u2014the period denominated the \u201c_honey-moon_\u201d\u2014he\nfinds he does not love her near as well as he supposed; and that\nwhat he supposed was love, was, after all, but a desire after\ngratification\u2014that he was loving self instead of his wife.\n\nMan may be lustful in his religion as well as in his moral relations.\nHe may mistake what he supposes to be the love of God for the love of\nthe use of God. He expects God is going to make him eternally happy,\nand bestow upon him unending enjoyment, and for this reason he shouts\nand praises him, and calls it loving God. He does not see that God is\nso much better than anybody else; but he has become satisfied that God\nmeans well, and will bless him; and he honors him for these things.\nHence his seeking after religion that he may make himself happy and\nsave himself from suffering is as lustful and selfish as seeking after\nsomething good to eat or drink, making self-gratification the object of\nhis search. The great difficulty, my friends, with popular religion is,\nthat it is only a religious expression of lust. That it has not beaten\nswords into plowshares and spears into pruning-hooks, and taught people\nto learn war no more, is because it has failed to adopt the means by\nwhich the world can be made pure and happy. Hence the religious man may\nbe as selfish as the miserly man, and yet think he is so much like God\nthat he is going to be saved. But it is not religion that he loves;\nit is only the use of religion. Satisfy him that God is not going to\nbenefit him, but that he is going to damn him, and he will curse him\nbravely. I ask everybody to look at this.\n\nIt is claimed, as I have already remarked, that the impulse of lust\nbelongs to the body, and does not grow out of the relation which the\nmind sustains to the body. What need, I ask, did Alexander\u2019s body\nfeel, which demanded that he should have all the kings and potentates\nof earth on their knees before him? What did he want of the wealth of\nthe earth? and what made him weep because there was not another world\nto conquer? Was it his body? I tell you, Nay; there were perishing\nneeds within him that would not give him rest till they were supplied;\nand, ignorant of the nature of those needs, he sought to supply them\nby the gratification of his selfish nature. Not heeding the voice of\nGod, he took his sword and rushed upon mankind, and made that the balm\nfor the healing of his restless spirit; and when he had conquered the\nworld, and had it at his command, he was more miserable than before;\nsimply because he had entered farther into the broad road leading to\ndestruction and death. He felt the bitter agony of soul consequent\nupon a departure from the straight and narrow path. This lust was not\nthe lust of his body\u2014it was the lust of the spirit. It was a desire\nfor self-gratification that arose, because the needs existing in\nconsequence of neglecting the demands of the spirit were not supplied.\nHe sought gratification in a way in which he thought he could obtain\nit; but he was sadly disappointed in the result.\n\nThe miser, in every age, has been trying to obtain happiness by getting\ngold. A French miser, who, like a great mass of mankind, thought\nwealth would make him happy, sought for it, and was so successful as\nto obtain it. He possessed his untold millions, and yet desired more;\nand he found that the more he possessed the more he desired. He also\nperceived that his wealth did not gratify his wants. The moment he\npossessed it, he found he could not take care of it to his liking. He\ncould not trust it in banks, for the banks might break; and he did\nnot like to invest it in stocks, for stocks were liable to depreciate\nin value; so he made up his mind that he would convert it into money,\nand keep it continually in his sight; and accordingly he had it placed\nin heaps, and stood and watched it. But then he was unable to sleep\nbecause he feared burglars and assassins, whose plottings for his life\nand money constantly rung in his ear. As he stood and watched those\nshining heaps, he reflected that although he had obtained wealth he had\nderived no satisfaction from it, but that every dollar added to his\npossessions added a new pang to his sorrows; and he determined to kill\nhimself, and accordingly proceeded to the banks of the river Seine,\nfor the purpose of drowning himself. Upon arriving at the river\u2019s\nbank, happening to put his hand in his pocket, he found four guineas.\nThinking they would thereafter be of no use to him, he concluded that\nrather than have them lost, he would, before he sought his watery\ngrave, go and find some needy person to whom he might give the money.\nHe accordingly went to a miserable hovel close by. As he approached\nit, he heard cries of agony and distress within. He entered, when he\nbeheld a most heart-rending sight. There lay a poor, sick, distressed\nwidow on a pallet of straw, with a few rags for covering; and there\nwere four hungry, dirty, naked children crying for bread, while the\nsick mother had no bread for them, or the means of obtaining any.\nThe miser stepped up to the bed, and placed the four strayed guineas\nin her hand, and told her they were hers. She looked wildly at the\nmoney, and then at the giver, and then at the guineas again. She seized\nhis hand, pressed it, blessed him, and called upon God to bless him;\nand the children thanked him. The thanks, and blessings, and tears\nwhich were showered upon that miser\u2019s heart caused it to break, and\nfor the first time in his life a pulsation of pleasure, delight, and\nsatisfaction beat through his soul, and as he stood and witnessed the\njoy, and thankfulness, and hope of that family he exclaimed, \u201cWhat!\nis happiness so cheap? then I will be happy.\u201d Then he went away, not\nto drown himself in the Seine, but to seek out other similar cases of\nsuffering; and after that he had no occasion to kill himself, for he\nhad found what was the canker that had so long been gnawing upon his\nheart. He found that he possessed a moral nature that had needs, and\nthat that nature was calling upon him to perform certain moral duties;\nand that the moment he obeyed the demands of that nature, he silenced\nthat clamoring within, which had all his life long rendered him unhappy\nand discontented; and at a good old age he testified that the way to be\nhappy was to be good and useful.\n\nI think his experience will be yours and mine. We talk about wanting\npleasure, and we seek it in amusements and at theaters, routs, and\nballs; and I tell you that this feeling arises from the same cause as\nthe miser\u2019s misery. We have hungerings and thirstings of soul which we\nare required to satisfy, and except we comply with these requirements\nwe will be disquieted. If those of you who love the opera, the\ntheater, etc., will go forth and tread these streets, and find out the\nobjects of need\u2014those worthy of aid\u2014and visit them, and administer to\ntheir comfort, you will no longer feel the need of theaters, routs, and\nballs; and you will find greater satisfaction in such a course than\nthese amusements can afford. Try the experiment, and I will guarantee\nyou will be successful. That this city, like all great cities, is\npursuing after pleasure, as the paramount object to be attained,\nis because their souls are hungering and thirsting after that food\nnecessary to build them up into the stature of perfect men and women.\nThis makes time seem cruel, and hang heavy upon them; and, like the\nvictim who seeks to drown his sorrow in the cup, they seek to fill up\nthe long hours in dissipation. To return to my subject.\n\nThis sphere of lust, I say, then, does not arise from the body, nor\nfrom the influence of the body on the soul. It arises from our neglect\nof our spiritual needs. This lust, this desire proclaims a divine life\nwithin, which demands activity corresponding to our real natures; and\nwe can never get peace and happiness until those real demands of our\nnatures are supplied. I appeal to all pleasure-seekers whether this is\nnot true. You have heard it argued whether there be more pleasure in\nanticipation than in participation. The world\u2019s pleasures are always\nin the future, never in the present. The man or the woman of the world\nis never satisfied with present conditions or present attainments. Why\nnot? Because the man and the woman of the world are not attending to\nthe present needs of the spiritual nature. The finite man ought to\nunderstand that he lives only in the present. God the Infinite only\nbelongs to the future. Man\u2019s needs pertain to to-day. His physical,\nmoral, and intellectual needs are all bearing upon the present, and\nnot the future. The past is his schoolmaster, to teach him how to be\nready to enjoy the future. It is to-day that we should take thought\nfor; hence the divine saying of the man of Nazareth\u2014\u201cTake no thought\nfor the morrow. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.\u201d If we\nlook to the present, and supply the needs of the present, the future\nwill take care of itself. The man seeking for religion thinks he wants\nit for the future, in order that he may die right; but a man does not\nwant religion to die by. There will be no trouble about his dying if\nhe only lives right. I do not care for religion for the sake of having\nit to die by. Only give me its living benefits, and you are welcome to\nits dying benefits. This shows the false estimate the world sets upon\nreligion.\n\nI desire to impress upon your minds this principle, that when you\nlook down to the real basis of selfishness and lust, you will find\nthat they do not originate in the body, but that they pertain to the\nspiritual being. There are certain needs, however, which do grow out\nof the physical body; but when the spirit is separated from the body,\nit no longer feels these physical demands; for instance, it will no\nlonger feel the need of food, experience thirst, or be susceptible to\nthe effects of the elements\u2014heat and cold\u2014as is the physical nature;\nbut that which administers to the demands of the mind, independent of\nthe body, belongs to the mind. And when you enter the Spirit world, if\nyou take truth with you, you will also take falsehood\u2014if you carry\npurity with you, so you will impurity\u2014if justice goes with you to that\nsphere, so will injustice. Now think of society in its individual\naction, social, governmental, and religious action, and tell me whether\nthe world, or the individuals of the world, are governed by the true,\ndivine impulse? Are they searching after the true needs of the body and\nmind, or after pleasure and self-gratification? And in your activity,\nwhich controls?\u2014a sense of need, or a desire after gratification? You\nsettle this question for yourselves, and I will settle it for myself.\nIf you are under the rule, and in the sphere, of lust you belong to the\nsphere of outer darkness; and if you are under the rule of charity, you\nbelong to the second sphere or Spiritual Paradise. His servants you are\nto whom you yield yourselves servants to obey. It is for you to say\nwhom you will obey.\n\nNow this earthly sphere is the lowest and darkest sphere. Its\ninfluences are dark and defiling. In this sphere men are swallowed up\nin worldly matters, and striving to gratify self.\n\nBut when a separation takes place between the mind and the body, we\nshall come into new relations, although we shall not at once change\nour thoughts, feelings, and affections, and shall recognize ourselves.\nOur lusts and self-love will follow us to the Spirit-world. There is\nnot, as many seem to suppose, a miraculous process, by which man is\nchanged while passing through the dark valley of shadows. If a change\ntakes place in him in the Spirit-world, it must be in accordance with\nthe same divine law which governs him in this sphere of existence. If\nyou will but exercise your reasoning faculties on this point, you\nwill see that it should and must be so. When we come to understand\nthe Spirit-world, we shall find that in our Father\u2019s house there is\na mansion suited to those who seek after self-gratification, and\nthat that world, like this, is subdivided into many minor spheres,\ncorresponding to the various grades of development in the different\nspheres of mind. There are physical spheres, intellectual spheres,\nmoral spheres, and religious spheres, as there are in this world; and\nthey are very much of the some description as those here, because they\nproceed from the same basis. Individuals passing from this sphere to\nthat, will fashion out of the materials which their own conscious\nelements furnish the same kind of a Deity there that they worshiped\nhere. As in New York city there are many degrees of advancement in\nthese different departments\u2014one man seeking to gratify his lusts\nthrough appetite, and another man in some other way; and as you can\nfind here every sphere, except the divine sphere (I doubt whether you\ncan find that), so in the Spiritual world you will find all these\ndifferent degrees of advancement, each occupying its own appropriate\nsphere.\n\nHere is one man who seeks gratification, it may be, in strong drink,\nand he worships the bowl; another seeks it in food, and hence becomes\nan epicure, and worships the stomach; another, it may be, seeks\ngratification in practicing certain games or tricks, or following\nafter some amusement; while another seeks gratification in sexual\nindulgences. So you may go on and enumerate the endless variety of\nchannels in which men seek to gratify their selfish desires; and it\nwill be found that those in the same pursuit affinitize with one\nanother\u2014drunkards with drunkards, etc.\u2014every sphere delighting in that\nwhich corresponds to the desires of those who compose it. So in the\nSpirit-world; the Spirit who was a drunkard here seeks gratification in\nthe same direction that he did on earth; the seeker of pleasure there\nstill has a love for the theater, routs, and balls; the libertine still\ndelights in miserable songs he was accustomed to hear.\n\nGovernments, institutions, and associations and relations, whether\nsocial, spiritual, or otherwise, are expressions of what are the loves\nand delights of the soul of man. Therefore, in all institutions, you\nwill find displayed the characters of those who founded them. The\ngovernment of any country is but the child of the ruling mind or minds\nof that country. Then, if we wish to understand the dark spheres in the\nSpiritual world, we have only to drop the body and have our spiritual\neyes opened, when we will see that there exist there all the phases of\nsociety that we find here. The cause of this arises from the sphere\nof lust. You have there your gambling Spirits, your drinking Spirits,\nyour lustful Spirits, etc. And how do these poor creatures live there?\nThat is the next question. What do they do to gratify their desires?\nI will tell you. You understand it to be a psychological principle,\nthat when two men are brought into sympathy, or into _rapport_ with\neach other (one being positive and the other negative), feelings,\nsensations, and desires can be communicated from one to the other.\nTo give an illustration: You have seen, in mesmerism, an exhibition\nof mind separated from the influences of the body. When the mind is\nthus separated, and this mesmeric sympathy is established between the\nsubject and the operator, any surgical operation can be performed upon\nthe subject without giving him pain, because his being of sensation is\nremoved from his body; but you can not pull the hair of the operator,\nor hurt his finger, or otherwise give him pain, without giving pain\nto the subject. Whatever the operator enjoys or suffers, the subject\nalso enjoys and suffers. Now it is in accordance with this principle\nthat Spirits of the other world gratify their desires. Spirits who\nvisit this world are obliged to make use of and come into _rapport_\nwith, those who have appetites and desires similar to their own. If the\nmind is separated from its own body, it can experience the sensations\nof another body with which it may come into _rapport_. On the same\nprinciple a good mind, or, if you please, the Divine Mind, can flow\ninto the individual mind, and impart thought and sensation to that\nmind. Or a good Spirit can flow into a medium, and awaken sensations\nand thoughts in accordance with the law of action and re-action,\nbecoming negative or positive, according as he wishes to impart or\nreceive influence. Here, then, is the means by which the Spirit is\nenabled to gratify its desires by visiting earth. Those Spirits who\nallow themselves to be influenced by their lusts are called tempting\nSpirits, and they influence individuals on earth that they may make\nuse of them as a means of gratifying these lusts. The same law is\nmanifested by individuals in the body. It is not because Spirits wish\nto injure the bodies which they thus use, but because they desire\nself-gratification, and know of no other means of obtaining it,\nexcept in this sphere of outer darkness. The lowest in this scale of\nunfolding corresponds to this lustful nature in man. Every affection in\nsociety that can affect societies of men has its representative in the\nindividual man; so that every subdivision of the sphere of lust has its\nrepresentative in each individual; and the question is whether he lives\nin one of these departments or another. If I am developed in the moral\ndepartment, there I live, and love, and worship; and when I pass to the\nSpirit-world, I go to a sphere corresponding to that ruling affection\nby which I am controlled. So it is in regard to any other sphere of\nunfolding, whether it be relational or absolute, or otherwise. Hence\nman himself determines his sphere. Take any man or woman you please,\nand let them be developed to any sphere, from the darkest sphere of\nlust to the purest sphere of love, and if there is any place in God\u2019s\nuniverse where they can find that which corresponds to that lust or\nlove, they will find it. If there is any condition suited to make them\nhappy, they will find it. If this were not so, the Spirit-world would\nbe the worst hell imaginable. To compel a man to go where he has no\naffinity would be to inflict upon him one of the greatest punishments\nconceivable. Compel a lustful libertine to remain in a Methodist\nclass-meeting, and shout and sing with the enthusiastic Methodists,\nand he would be extremely miserable\u2014he could find many places where he\nwould be infinitely more happy; and in order to be happy, he would be\nobliged to go where he could find that which would correspond to his\ncast of mind. We can determine where a man\u2019s God is when we ascertain\nwhat it is to which he will sacrifice every thing else.\n\nAfter having thus given the law governing this lowest sphere of the\nSpirit-world, which represents man in his undeveloped nature as an\nintellectual and moral being\u2014we are qualified to comprehend that\nsphere, and understand that the same spheres of mind which belong to\nthis belong also to the Spiritual world, and that undeveloped Spirits\nfrom that lust-sphere visit earth, or societies of earth, not for the\npurpose of redeeming them, but for the purpose of seeking their own\ngratification. I have presented to you my views of that sphere as I\nunderstand it, and I shall be prepared, in my next lecture, to take\nup the second sphere, and tell you what constitutes it, and how it is\nthat it becomes a mediatorial sphere\u2014middle sphere. This second, or\nSpiritual sphere, is between the dark and light, or divine sphere. It\nis the means through which the lustful are brought out of their lusts\nto the divine.\n\n\n\n\n                             CHAPTER III.\n\n                   THE SECOND, OR RELATIONAL SPHERE.\n\n\nThe subject now to be considered is that of the second sphere of\nmind, both in its perceptions and affections. Our last discourse was\nupon what we denominated the first sphere, which was characterized\nas being a sphere of self-love or lusting after self-gratification.\nThe individual in this sphere was described as being in the lowest\ndepartment of his mind, and as allied in his affinities with the lowest\npleasures of existence. It was remarked that this plane of lust could\nbe manifested as well in the intellectual, moral, and religious plane,\nas in the animal or physical plane. The criterion by which we determine\nwhether it is selfishness is to inquire whether the motive prompting to\nactivity has for its object desire after gain. If this is the ruling\nimpulse, then the individual\u2019s love is the love of self. Though the\ngrossness of the lust may depend upon the direction given it, yet it\nis essentially the same whether exercised in the moral, intellectual,\nor physical plane. An individual who sought the happiness of another\nwithout reference to his own interests was described as belonging to\nthe second sphere. He would seek association by the affinity of his\nmoral or second-sphere nature.\n\nWe meet with individuals in society who affirm that man is essentially\nselfish\u2014that he can not conceive a wish which does not originate in a\ndesire for self-gain. I have no doubt that the individuals making that\naffirmation are very honest in it, and speak from their own conscious\nexperience. There are many such to be found in society, who know no\nhigher love than self-love, and their highest benevolence is based\nupon selfishness. I doubt not that there are those who entertain such\nsentiments, but I utterly protest when such men attempt to speak for\nthe Race. I will allow every person to speak for himself upon this\npoint, and to ascertain if there are not some actions which have not\nthis lustful basis; and when we find that there are such actions\narising within ourselves which are not contaminated with this selfish\nthought, and which go forth to seek expression out of ourselves, we may\nknow that they do not belong to the first, but to the second sphere of\naction, I mean the sphere of relation, as separate from the individual\nconsidered in his individual love or individual selfish impulse. I will\ngive a few illustrations of this kind.\n\nEvery individual coming under the divine impulses of the sphere\nof relation\u2014I mean relation in its divine order\u2014and living in\nforgetfulness of separate self, will experience some of the impulses\nwhich belong to that sphere. When the mother comes into the maternal\nrelation and experiences the love of a mother for her child, she is\nready to sacrifice the comforts and interests of self for the welfare\nof that object that sustains that near and dear relation to her.\nI speak of the maternal love as a representative of that love for\nanother which is divorced from its lustful or selfish character\u2014not\nbased upon considerations of self-gain. We may desire the salvation of\nindividuals on our own account, for our own enjoyment, and also from a\nlove divorced from all considerations of self, which stands out holy,\npure, and undefiled for a being outside of itself. The mother, in\nloving her child, experiences happiness; and as she presses it to her\nbosom, and imprints upon its delicate cheek the maternal kiss, there\nis joy deep and unutterable awakened in that mother\u2019s bosom; but she\ndoes not kiss the child that she may have the joy. It is not her joy\nand happiness that she seeks, but the comfort, happiness, and welfare\nof the child; and in thus supplying that demand of her maternal nature,\nshe feels the influx of the divine nature, saying, \u201cWell done, good\nand faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I\nwill make thee ruler over many things: enter into the joy of thy God.\u201d\nThat is what God says to every mother who loves her babe from the true\nmaternal feeling. So is it in the true relation between husband and\nwife. I mean now the union in heaven, and not the union fixed up by\nsociety and its institutions\u2014I speak of such hearts as God has joined\ntogether. When the true husband meets the true wife and surrenders all\nhis manhood to the care and keeping of that wife, in full confidence\nand trust that she will receive it and not abuse it; and when the wife\nin return gives all her womanhood to the care and fidelity of the\ntrusting husband\u2014when two such souls surrender each to each the other\u2019s\nself, loving from an interior and divine harmony, then the joys of\nconjugal love are awakened, the true demands of each soul are supplied\nin the experience of those joys which can be found alone in that\nrelation, and God speaks saying, \u201cWell done,\u201d and breathes his divine\nblessing upon them. So it is in the fraternal relation. Where from the\nnatural, constitutional harmony of soul existing between brothers, each\nbeing individualized upon a common moral plane, and loving the other\nwith a pure and undefiled love, their love belongs to the second sphere.\n\nWhere the individual loves his neighbor as himself, he would as soon\nsacrifice his own interest as that of his neighbor, and would as soon\nbe unjust to himself, nay, sooner be unjust to himself, than to his\nneighbor. He loves that neighbor with a pure heart, loves him as a\nmanifestation of his divine Father\u2019s Love, Will, and Wisdom, and seeks\nto harmonize his own being with him in all his relations. He can not\nsee a brother, however weak, crushed, without seeing himself crushed\nin that brother. When he loves a brother with that pure, unselfish\nlove\u2014when the common heart of humanity abides in his breast, he comes\ninto the true plane of charity; for charity is that which seeketh not\nher own. The motive that prompts him is not self-gain. It is the desire\nto do good unto others that actuates him. The quality of charity is\nto suffer long, not to be envious, not to be easily provoked, not to\nbe puffed up, or behave itself unseemly; but in all things to be true\nand faithful, and kind to everybody. The man or woman possessed of\nthis love, whose whole being and activity is directed in the sphere of\nrelation to man, to society, to the world, belongs to what I call the\nsecond sphere, and gives evidence that he or she has risen above the\nlustful plane which seeketh its own, and which loves to gratify its\npassion, desires, and appetites, in one form or another, and that he\nor she is loving in harmony with God, and wills and acts in accordance\nwith the divine impulses.\n\nLook abroad into society, look at the love of the world, and see how\nmany there are who love their neighbor with an unselfish love\u2014how many\nare so careful to be exactly just with their neighbor as they are\ncareful to have their neighbor be exactly just to them. There are many\nwho watch the scale to see if it preponderates in their favor; and if\nthe merchant gives good weight, they speak well of him; but if he does\nnot give good weight, they are very ready to speak ill of him. When\nyou come to see how much better they love to have justice done to them\nthan they love to do justice to others, you have an indication that\nthe lustful nature is somewhat alive and active in their breast. The\nindividual who is conscious that his desire is earnestly to be just,\nwill be as careful not to do an injustice to his neighbor as he would\nbe cautious to avoid an injury to himself\u2014will no sooner circulate\ndefamatory remarks against his neighbor than he would defame himself.\nWhen you find an individual thus acting, you may be certain that he has\nrisen from the first plane and is entering the second. But I am sorry\nto say that in the vast majority of cases you will find lust lamentably\npresent. I called your attention to this in my last lecture, showing\nyou how it was manifested in almost every sphere of life, even in\nperforming the duties of a father, brother, husband, or wife. In the\nmajority of cases man and society are loved for their uses.\n\nWhen it is desired to ascertain whether we belong to the first or the\nsecond sphere\u2014to the sphere of Gehenna or Paradise\u2014we need only to\ndetermine the quality of the affection that rules in us, to see whether\nit be looking mainly to our own gain, or whether we rise above self and\ngo out to seek the well-being of man. We sometimes mistake, thinking\nthat we love a man himself, when we love his influence or society,\nbecause by it we think we can be elevated in our social condition. We\nought, therefore, to be careful in trying ourselves to know to which\nplane of affection we belong, lest some of these considerations outside\nof the individual influence us, lest that we mistake for love that\nwhich, proved by the true standard, will appear to be selfishness and\nlust.\n\nWhen one possesses a love for the well-being of all, he is willing to\ncontribute liberally and freely of his strength and talent for the\nredemption of all, and has an unwillingness to be found at any time as\nthe representative of that idea which would tend to degrade or crush\nany human being. There is no being so low in the scale of humanity as\nto be beneath his efforts to raise him up; and if the tyrant should\nstand upon the neck of the weak, his impulse is to push that tyrant\noff and break away the captive\u2019s chains, because he can not see his\nbrother fettered without feeling fettered himself\u2014can not see the\nhumblest human being outlawed without seeing all humanity insulted.\nThe individual who has not seen enough of the dignity of the nature of\nhumanity to fulfill the duty he owes to universal humanity, has not\nyet come to the true plane of charity, is not qualified to occupy a\nhigh position in this second sphere.\n\nI might illustrate in a variety of ways how it is that man apologizes\nto himself for being selfish. Here is a constitution, and there a law,\nand there a public sentiment demanding that a human being should be\ncrushed; and he turns his back to humanity and God and bows to the\nConstitution. Such a man has not the love of humanity in his bosom; he\nloves that which is respectable and strong, and which may be of service\nto him under particular circumstances. But the individual who can be a\nJudas and can sell the Lord in the shape of his brother\u2014can betray him\nwith a kiss and sell him for thirty pieces of silver, whatever may be\nhis profession\u2014belongs to the lowest grade of humanity. Here is a truth\nthat every soul must affirm. It honors the man that honors humanity,\nand despises the man that despises humanity.\n\nWhen a man in his lustful nature will bring his whole soul to honor\nthat sentiment, he is prepared to leave the first and enter the second\nsphere, which is expressive of the finite character of man as he\ncomes into this charitable affection. This character in man is that\nwhich determines the second sphere in the world of Spirits. Man is a\nuniverse; and if there is a hell in the universe, it is because it is\nin man; and if there is a heaven, it is because there is a heaven in\nman. Those who are developed only in the sphere of outer darkness, and\nwho from affinity love to associate together, will be found composing\nwhat is called the Outward Sphere. Do not now, by any means, associate\nthe idea of sphere with that of place. The persons in this room are\nall together, so far as space is concerned, but so far as sentiment\nor sphere is concerned you may be at heaven-wide distances. While one\nis in _rapport_ with celestial affections, holding communion with the\nDivine Father, the other may be in _rapport_ with Spiritual beings,\nholding a communion with the angels; and a third may be in _rapport_\nwith the infernal, holding communion with the spheres of lust. It is\nnot a question of place, but simply a question of condition. If you and\nI are in the condition of lust in our affections and perceptions, if we\nassociate with others in the same condition, heart thrills to heart,\njust as in the moral or divine sphere heart answers to heart. Each in\nhis own plane seeks that which is adapted to his own nature. I say,\ntherefore, do not connect the idea of place with that of sphere.\n\nMan is a little universe\u2014a microcosm. This sphere of lust is within\nhim, from which the dark sphere of the Spiritual world is developed.\nThose who are in the sphere of lust on the earth respond to the\ninhabitants of this dark sphere of the Spiritual world. So also in the\nSpiritual spheres is the development of man\u2019s relational love. Man in\nfulfilling his relational duties lays the foundation of the Spiritual\nParadise. Thus man rises and dwells in different spheres according to\nthe development of his affections. If we love our neighbor as such,\nand seek after the redemption of man on his own account, we become\nallied to that band of guardian angels whose mission it is to watch\nover him and to stimulate in him impulses to resist that which is evil\nand impure. We become guardian angels, and every effort we put forth\nfor the redemption of our fellow-man elevates our own souls. Hence the\nremark of the poet:\n\n    \u201cHeart thrills to heart\n    Throughout the wide domain of heavenly life;\n    Each angel forms a chain which in God\u2019s throne begins,\n    And winds down to the lowest plane of earthly minds;\n    And only as each lifts his lower friend\n    Can each into superior joys ascend.\u201d\n\nWe are told that we must seek our salvation. That is bad advice. He\nthat seeketh to save his life shall lose it. It is this very seeking\nto save ourselves that damns us and the race. It is the very selfish\ndesire for salvation which allies us to the sphere of lust. The true\nspirit is to seek to save our fellow-man; and as we can not save him\nexcept by adapting our ideas to his needs, we must, as instruments\nto his salvation, put away our lust. That effort will result in our\nown salvation. There is but one way to save ourselves, and that is by\nfitting ourselves as the instruments for the redemption of the world.\nLaboring to redeem our outcast and down-trodden brother and sister is\nthe very best kind of labor to elevate ourselves, since it exercises in\nus the true love for our fellow-men. Thus it appears that it is more\nblessed to give than to receive.\n\nI may go out into the streets some cold morning, and seeing a beggar,\nstop and debate with myself whether he is worthy or not; or for\nfear that I may refuse the right one, I may drop a sixpence in his\nhand. From such an act I will not receive a blessing. But if I (in\nforgetfulness of considerations of that kind, from the overflowings\nof a loving heart, from a sincere desire to do good to a fellow-man\nwho is in need) give him alms, it is laying up treasure in heaven. I\nhave placed it at my Father\u2019s disposal\u2014have intrusted it to one of his\nmessengers.\n\nWe have a fashionable way of doing charities in this world. We do\nnot like to be troubled with charities. We are willing to be taxed\nsome\u2014we are very generous to give sometimes; but then we do not want\nthe trouble of finding the object, and bestowing it with that love,\nkindness, and sympathy of soul which carries more joy to the stricken\nheart than the poor pittance. He needs it as much as he does your other\ncharities. But instead of taking this trouble, we raise contributions,\nappoint a committee, and go and drop our gifts by machinery here and\nthere. If you will look up a poor sufferer some of these cold mornings,\nand give but a dime, with a blessing, you will not only carry joy into\nthe heart of the suffering poor, but rejoicing into the Angel-spheres.\nIn that way you must cast your bread upon the water, and you will find\nit after many days\u2014will hear, eternally you will hear, the music of\nthat poor sufferer\u2019s thankful heart. If you once in purity of soul,\nin the pure affection of your heart, go and bestow a kindness from a\npure and fervent spirit, you will awaken a chord which will vibrate\nharmoniously in your soul to all eternity.\n\nAs man develops in himself a love of his fellow-man irrespective of\nexterior relation, but as a child of God, as possessing in his bosom\nthe germ of immortality, and as endowed with a facility of eternal\nunfolding in the eternal future, he comes into the sphere of true\ncharity; and when his work is faithfully done here, he will enter upon\nthat reward which he has been laying up in heaven, where neither moth\nnor rust corrupts, and where thieves do not break through and steal.\n\nThere is between the first and second spheres, speaking of them in the\naffectional sense, another sphere, called the intellectual sphere.\nMan as an intellectual being has loves or delights. The quality of\nthe intellect, you are aware, is to investigate, to think. Intellect\nof itself has no affection, no sympathy. It can be allied with vice\nor virtue. It can attend the missionary in his labor or the pirate in\nhis murderous work. It has of itself no conscience, no moral quality.\nHence you will find that men may be highly intellectual and vicious or\nvirtuous. Intellect can join upon vice or crime, and upon charity and\nvirtue, and that, too, without experiencing antagonism from such union.\nMan may be developed intellectually without affecting particularly\nhis moral character. Intellect\u2019s particular mission is to investigate\nthat which addresses the perception. It can join upon the sphere of\nlust or the sphere of charity. Were it not for this, the selfish and\ncharitable natures could not unite in man, and there would be such\nan antagonism in the individual, he could not be possibly developed\nfrom the plane of his lustful nature to the plane of his moral nature.\nIntellect is a sort of John Baptist that goes between the Moses and the\nChrist of man\u2019s nature. It does not partake of the lust of Moses nor of\nthe love of Christ. Its delights are sometimes mistaken for love, or\nthe joys of love. People often say of things which are beautiful that\nthey love them. They say that they _love_ the study of mathematics.\nThat expression seems to me to be improper. The heat of love is never\nknown to the cold intellect. The intellect can discourse eloquently\nrespecting justice and right; but, so far as the heart is concerned, it\nmay trample upon all justice. You will see men who, so far as theory\nis concerned, will discourse eloquently concerning human justice and\nmorality, yet they utterly disregard and ignore all moral restraints\nin their private character and practices. These men are babes in their\nmoral natures\u2014they are less than babes. Intellect has to do with the\nrelations of things\u2014pertains to dead matter. The difference between\nintellect and morals is the difference between the essence and spirit\nof matter and the essences or spirit of the soul. While science, which\nbelongs to the province of intellect, may harmoniously journey with the\nmoral affections, it may also journey with the sensuous affections. I\nmake these remarks so that you may not suppose that a man belongs to\nthe second sphere because of his having an intellectual character.\n\nThe second sphere is a finite one, and depends entirely upon relation\nfor its development, so that you can see at once that man could not\nlove in the second sphere of his being without some object to call\nthat love forth. The relational love, in this respect, is not like\nthe divine love which goes forth independent of any object. The\nfirst sphere is objective in self; the second sphere is objective in\nneighbor; and the third sphere is subjective in God.\n\nThe difference between this second sphere or love of the neighbor and\nthe third sphere or the love of the absolute in this: The second\nsphere of love is objective, is not self-existent and self-sufficient;\nit depends upon having an object to call it forth. The constitution\nof mind is such that, in its consciousness, it can not love an object\nwithout having perceived it, the perception being either an ideal\none or a real one. The love in point of quality depends, for its\nperfectness, upon the perfectness of the object. Not so with the\ninfinite and divine love which is self-existent and self-sufficient.\nWherever it acts, it acts subjectively, not objectively, though it\nis objective in its manifestation. Said Jesus of Nazareth, who was\ndeeply learned in this love, in speaking to the Jew who was to become\nhis disciple: \u201cYe have heard it said by those of old time, Thou shalt\nlove thy neighbor and hate thine enemy; but I say unto you, Love your\nenemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and\npray for them that despitefully use you; that you may be the children\nof your Father which is in heaven; for he causeth his sun to shine\nupon the evil and the good, and he sendeth his rain upon the just and\nunjust.\u201d Notice the figure. The sun shines not objectively. It shines\nof its own nature. If the earth were to be blotted out of existence,\nthe sun would shine on still; and if every other planet in the solar\nsystem should refuse to receive its light, the sun would continue to\nshine. Its light and heat go forth in their own plenitude. Therefore if\nyou and I wish the sunlight, we have but to stand forth; but the sun\ndoes not shine or send forth his heat because we are here. It does not\nshine objectively but subjectively upon us. The sun, as a type of the\ndivine wisdom, continuously gives forth its light; and as a type of\ndivine love it constantly gives forth heat to build up finite forms.\n\nThe Divine Father does not stop to inquire, whether men love him or\nnot. His love is self-existent, self-sufficient, and goes forth of\nits own divine plenitude, of its own infinite fulness, blessing every\nbeing in every plane, according as he comes into the condition to\nreceive that blessing. God\u2019s sun shines upon the field of the wicked\nman as quick as upon the field of the righteous. This is bestowing\nblessing upon a common plane. Man loves friend and curses foe, but\nChrist says you must not make any difference. You must become like your\nFather. You claim to be his children; therefore love your enemies,\nseek good for all, whatever may be their affection for you. Christ\u2019s\ndoctrine differed very much from what the world had heard before. It\nhad generally been supposed that God loved objectively. Christ taught\nthat God blessed every man according to the plane he occupied. God of\nhis infinite fulness will pour out all the blessings you are capable\nof receiving. If you want all the joys of the third heaven, which are\ninexpressible, bring your mind to love subjectively. Love God, not for\nhis use, not because he is going to bless you, but because there is\ninterior harmony and oneness between your soul and his\u2014because your\nheart thrills and throbs to his divine heart. Then you will reap the\nblessings belonging to the divine plane. Man can only love an object by\nhaving an object to love; but God is love; it is his nature to love and\nbless; and whatever comes within the divine influence will be blessed\naccording to its capacity to receive the blessing; and every action,\nevery impulse, and every going forth of the divine in every plane is\nbut a manifestation of that divine love; so that when you and I have\nperfected ourselves in loving our neighbor, have fulfilled the entire\nlaw of charity to all mankind, we are yet to go into a higher and\nholier love than that. We are to arise above this discrimination\u2014we are\nto come into a plane where, having received the divine life and love,\nthey shall go forth by their own plentitude to bless all around us, as\nour Father blesses all. In other words, he is to sit as a refiner and\npurifier of silver, and he is to purify us from all this dross, until\nhe sees his own image perfectly reflected in us. When we shall reflect\nthe divine image, there will be an indication that all dross is burned\naway, and we shall be swallowed up in the divine will, though still\nretaining our divine personality, our hearts beating with the great\nheart that beats throughout the universe.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER IV.\n\n                            COMMUNICATION.\n\n\nCommunication proper belongs to the sphere of manifestation, and\nsignifies, as I use the term, the imparting by one, and the receiving\nby another, of that which is imparted, or that which represents that\nwhich is imparted. When we look at man as a finite being, born as\nhe is without conscious knowledge, and without conscious affection,\nand developed from that negative point by that which flows or enters\ninto his consciousness and daguerreotypes itself there, we readily\nsee that he can only develop by being subject to the principles of\ncommunication: that is, he must receive that which is without into\nhis consciousness; therefore it must be communicated to him. Hence\nit becomes necessary for us to understand somewhat the laws of\ncommunication. As communication belongs to the sphere of manifestation,\nor the sphere of the finite, we must examine and see what are the means\nby which man as a conscious being is addressed, and the law by which\nthe influence exerted upon him is governed.\n\nThe mind when looked at in its simplest nature consists of its\nperceptions and its affections: that is, its knowledge, if you please,\nand its love; but in the order of unfolding, perception, as a conscious\nprinciple, precedes affection. That is, an individual as a finite\nbeing can not love till he perceives an object to call forth that\nlove or affection. Whether it pertain to unconscious or to conscious\nnature, he must perceive the object before the affection is known to\nexist in his consciousness. For instance, a husband can know nothing\nof conjugal love, neither can the wife, until the object calling it\nforth exists in his or her perceptions. Neither can the mother love\nher babe until the object exists in her perceptions. Neither can the\nbrother love brother or sister, or the child love its parents, until\nthey perceive the objects of their affection. So you understand what\nI mean when I say in all finite natures perception precedes affection\nas a conscious principle; hence the law of communication pertains to\nperception and affection. As perception precedes affection, it is more\nexternal, view it in what sphere you will. I am now using perception in\nthe sense of thought. The individual, by the means of communication,\nmay be addressed externally by first addressing his perceptions, and\nthence through his perceptions addressing his affections; or he may\nbe addressed by first addressing his affections, and through them his\nthoughts. I shall use for the purpose of convenience the expression\nthought and affection.\n\nThen the two methods by which individuals may be addressed are first\nthe external, and second the internal. The external communication flows\nfirst into the thought, and the internal first into the affection. The\nexternal proceeds from thought to affection, and the internal from\naffection to thought. The one is by an outward language, by signs, and\nsymbols, and representatives of ideas; the other is without external\nlanguage, and is what is known as inspiration.\n\nNow, as there are three planes of conscious being, conscious\nperception, and conscious affection, and as the thought or perception\nprecedes the affection in the first or lowest plane, so it is in the\nsecond; and it is the perception and affection in the third that\nbegets the affection in the divine sphere. But as I am speaking of\ncommunication I am confining my remarks to the first two spheres\u2014the\nexternal physical sphere, and the spiritual or relational sphere;\nfor they are spheres of manifestation and communication, and have\nreference to these finite spheres. When I complete the consideration\nof these, I will make some remarks on the divine sphere, to show the\ndifference between it and those spheres below the divine. Take man,\nthen, as a mere animal being, looking at his nature as being nervous,\nwhere his perceptions and affections have respect to his physical\nbeing. Here the same law of order prevails\u2014perception precedes\naffection, and perception is external, while affection or love is\ninternal; but taken both together as constituting the animal nature, it\nbecomes external to his spiritual nature; but in his spiritual nature\nperception precedes affection; hence, if we would communicate with him\nspiritually, external language communicates first with thought, and\nthence with the affection; while internal language communicates first\nwith the affection and thence with thought. Then external and internal\ncommunication differ in this, that the external is by means of outward\nlanguage, and the internal is by means of a sort of inspiration.\nThere are inspirations pertaining to each of the three spheres\u2014the\nnerve-sphere, the spirit-sphere, and the divine-sphere. On coming into\n_rapport_ with this audience, I through the nerve-medium by external\nmeans perceive individuals about me\u2014perceive their forms, their faces,\nand their relative positions to each other; that is, by an external\nmedium which represents the individual through the nerve-medium to my\nconsciousness. But I may come internally into _rapport_ with these\nindividuals by bringing my nerve-system into harmony with their\nnerve-system, and becoming negative to them. To explain: when I bring\nmy nerve-system into sympathy with you, I take your sensations upon\nmyself. If you have a pain in your head, I have a pain in my head also,\ncorresponding in location and character to yours; or if you experience\na pain in any other part of your body, I feel that pain. Not a word has\npassed between us concerning it, but nevertheless it comes upon me,\nand affects me in precisely the same manner that it does you. Now this\nI consider analogous to the inspiration which belongs to the higher\nplane. This is the inspiration of the nerve-sympathy. Permit me to\nexplain briefly what I understand by harmony; because the great law of\nharmony is fundamental to a comprehension of the law of inspiration.\n\nYou are aware that if we take two strings of equal length and tension,\nand vibrate one of them, its vibration communicates its motion to\nthe atmosphere, and through the atmosphere to the adjoining string,\nso that they at length vibrate together. This experiment may be\nmade by any one; and it will be found that in this manner they can\nbe caused to give forth the same sound, because the length of the\nvibrations of each will be the same; and when there is a difference in\nthe tone, it will be found that there is a difference in the length\nof the vibrations. This fact can be demonstrated by varying the\nvibrations\u2014by tightening or loosening the strings, and thus shortening\nor lengthening the vibrations, when it will be perceived that the\nshorter the vibration the higher will be the pitch or tone. The length\nof vibration, then, determines the question of harmony. Here appears\nthe great law of harmony in musical sound throughout the universe,\nwhich is commensurability. In mathematics, things which will mutually\nmeasure each other are said to be commensurable. Now these spheres of\natmospheric vibration will always produce concord or harmony of sound.\nThe difference between a third and a fifth is in the difference in the\ntone, and the difference in tone depends, as already said, upon the\nlength of vibration. The sweetest harmony is the apparent discord,\nwhere the vibrations do not chord, but where every fifth coincides;\nand in this way produces the harmony of the third and fifth. The\noctave produces it by being repeated twice, so that after all the real\noctave is as the square of the octave; that is, the octave multiplied\ninto itself; and you arrive mathematically at the law of harmony by\nfollowing out that principle. The point to which I wish to call your\nattention is, that what constitutes harmony is simply commensurability\nin the atmospheric undulations.\n\nNow my nerve-fluid moves by pulsatory movements, as move all other\nmedia, and these movements sustain to those of your nerve-fluid\ncommensurable or incommensurable relations; and you will find that\nthe law of musical harmony, by which one of two strings having\nthe same tension communicates its motion to the other, is the law\nwhich determines the harmony between my nerve-system and yours. I\nam constituted to speak upon a certain key, like an instrument. My\nnerve-vibrations undulate to that key, and when I am in perfect\nhealth, there is perfect harmony in my system. Your nerve-undulations\nare perhaps tuned on a different key, and if you are positive to\nme, my nerve-undulation will not move yours, nor yours mine, but\nthey will resist each other like two strings unequally tuned. So my\nnerve-vibration will not communicate its undulations to you, nor will\nyours communicate its undulations to me, unless we happen to be upon\nthe same key, or in harmonic or commensurable relations with one\nanother. But in order to get our nerve-systems to undulate one upon the\nother, I must either become negative to you or you must become negative\nto me. If I relax the key of my nerve-vibration, I shall change them\nuntil my nerve-system undulates in harmony with your nerve-system;\nand I being negative and you positive, you undulate to my key, and\nwe get nerve-sensations between us without any sign. The individual\nin mesmerizing his subject becomes positive, and he will succeed in\nmesmerizing that subject just as soon as he brings about a harmony of\nnerve-vibration, so that the nerve-vibrations of both are alike. The\ncondition is that the operator places himself in a positive position,\nwhile the subject must become negative, by allowing his nerves to\nbecome relaxed; then the operator commences by a strong effort to\nundulate, so to speak, his nerve-influence or forces upon the medium,\nuntil the medium sinking down comes to his key; and then he by his\nforces insulates the system, and the individual passes rapidly into\nthe condition of mesmerism; but do any thing to disturb that medium,\nso as to make the points of nerve-tension unyielding, and the operator\nmay work till doomsday in vain. It is not till the points have yielded\nand the vibrations harmonize with his that he can produce the effect\nupon the medium. This is on the same principle with the phenomena\nexhibited in experiments with the string, which is a type of the law of\ncommunication in every sphere\u2014the vibration of the string represents\nthe entire law.\n\nTake one string whose points of tension are unyielding, and another\nwhose points of tension are yielding; then cause one of them to\nundulate, and it will impart its motion to the atmosphere, when the\natmosphere will strike upon the other; and if it have the same points\nof tension that the other has, it will undulate; but if it have not\nthe same tension, it will receive the influence of the atmosphere,\nthe tendency of which will be to depress it and bring it to its own\nvibration; thus eventually the two strings will be made to harmonize.\nSo when we sit down to mesmerize a person, he may be so positive that\nwe do not at first succeed, perhaps, in producing the least impression\nupon him. We try again and again, and at last succeed in controlling\nthe nerve-system, and through that the mental system of the subject. We\nare each time we try reducing the nerve-system to our key or standard,\nand the moment it is reduced to that point, the subject is under the\noperator\u2019s control, and not till then. When I speak of the harmonic\naction of one system upon another, it will be perceived that I speak\nof the relative measure or length of the nerve-undulation which passes\nbetween one mind and another. In the nerve-plane there is this method\nof addressing the nervous perceptions by external means\u2014by language, by\nsigns, by pantomimic representations. And there is the internal method\ncorresponding to inspiration, which consists in coming into nervous\nsympathy and receiving nervous sensations one from another. A sensitive\nperson looking upon a wound shrinks from beholding the sight, and there\nare real sensations experienced in his nervous system which have been\nproduced, not because a nerve-influence has acted upon him, but because\nhe has seen the wound. The impression first fell upon his conscious\nperceptions, and then went to his feelings, which is analogous to\nthe principle that the idea first comes into the thought, and thence\nreaches the feelings.\n\nIn the second plane\u2014the mental or Spiritual plane\u2014the same law\nprevails. There is the external method of addressing the mind, and\nthere is also an internal method. The external is the method by which\nthe mind is addressed first through the thought, and the internal\nis that by which the mind is addressed through the feelings. These\ntwo methods obtain in the whole plane of manifestation. If I wish to\ncommunicate with you, I must adopt one of these two methods; and if I\nam not in spiritual or nervous _rapport_ with you, I must adopt one\nof the methods of external communication, and address you by signs or\noutward representations\u2014addressing first the thought or understanding,\nand coming thence to the affection indirectly. In all external\nmethods, as well as in internal methods, media of communication become\nnecessary. In speaking to you it becomes necessary that there should\nbe some external media between you and me, and my communication must\nbe through that media. In the present case, my speaking to you is\nperformed through the physical atmosphere. I undulate my organs of\nspeech to produce sound, and the atmosphere connects them with your\norgans of hearing, so that my mind, through my organs of speech, is\nconnected with your mind. The method of communication is to transmit\nthe actions of my organs of speech to your organs of hearing. Without\nthis external medium I could not communicate with you by an external\nlanguage.\n\nWere I to address, not the ear, but the eye, there must be between us\nan external medium which addresses the eye; and that medium is the\nlight which takes up the image of that which I would represent, and\ntransmits it to your consciousness through the eye. So also in respect\nto the nerve-medium. If I would communicate an impression through\nthe nerve-medium, there must be that medium external to me which\ncorresponds to the action of the nerve-fluid in you and me\u2014there must\nbe a medium between us which takes up my action and transmits it to\nyou, and makes it your action. So with the mental medium. If I am to\nstand here, and you are to come into _rapport_ with me, and I am to\nimpress my thoughts upon you without external language, there must be\na medium corresponding to these thoughts, and that medium must come\ndown from me to you; and while I have power to awaken its vibration,\nits vibration must have power to awaken the same impression in you.\nHence, then, in respect to all communication, there must necessarily be\nmedia connecting one with the other, who are all concerned in making\nand receiving the communication; and the medium must be such that it\nwill extend from the one to the other. It must be continuous also; for\nif there be any interruption in the media, the communication can not be\ntransmitted. For illustration, if I would address your consciousness\nthrough sound, the atmosphere, as the medium, must be continuous\nbetween you and me; for if you interpose a vacuum, you can not transmit\nthe action through it, the connection being destroyed. So in regard\nto light. Interpose any medium which will not allow the light to pass\nthrough it, and I can not transmit the image by means of light. So also\nthe nerve-medium must be continuous, in order to admit of transmitting\ncommunication through it. The mental medium must likewise be\ncontinuous, or I can not represent my thought through it. You perceive,\nthen, this universal law in respect to communication between one mind\nand another, that there must necessarily intervene a medium, which must\nbe continuous between them, and it must be such as to awaken action\nin the one, and transmit and awaken the same action in the other. It\nmatters not what the plane is. They all come under the same law.\n\nBefore I, by my simple will-power, can transmit a thought or idea or\nimpression of my mind to you, there must be something between us which\ncan take up and repeat that idea, or record it in your consciousness.\nIf there be anything to interrupt this medium, I can not transmit\nthat thought; so that any power whatever which can interrupt that\nmedium can interrupt the communication. Hence, again, it appears\nthat in all communication between one being and another, there must\nnecessarily interpose a medium, which must be continuous from the\ncommunicator to the one receiving the communication. This brings us\nto the consideration of other conditions necessary for communication\nbetween two minds\u2014the difference between the thing, the being, or the\nexistence itself, and that by which it is made known to the mind. I\nstand here before you. You can see me. I am then present in each one\nof your minds. I am present by my form, as well as by the sound of my\nvoice. How many of me are there here? One, of course. How many do you\nsee? How many of my mental images are here? Just as many as there are\neyes to look. My image is that by which you see me. My image is not\nin your mind in reality; it is represented in your mind by something\nproceeding from me to you. My form is multiplied and repeated wherever\nthere is an eye to see the image which proceeds from this form. If\nthere are two or three hundred persons present, I have two or three\nhundred spiritual forms; and if there were ten thousand present, I\nshould have ten thousand spiritual forms. There is a difference, then,\nbetween the form itself and that which represents the form, and you\nshould make this distinction. You may take as many positions as there\nare mathematical points in this room, and place an eye in each, and\nmy form will be represented in all of these points. The means, then,\nby which you, through the eye, become conscious of my presence here,\nis omnipresent in this room. I am not omnipresent, but that which\nrepresents me is omnipresent, and that by which mind becomes conscious\nof me is omnipresent.\n\nThere is never any existence to the mind in the sphere of\nmanifestation, except by representation. We talk as though we saw the\nsun, moon, and stars, and not as though we saw their representations;\nbut in regard to all things external or manifestational, man in all\nforms only perceives the representation; and when the representation\ncorresponds to the reality, he has the truth. Now in looking at these\nlights, the light is not in your mind, but its representation is\nthere. It is there by that which represents it. Then you must make\na distinction between the omnipresence of being and of that which\nrepresents being. In respect to all means by which the mind perceives\nexistence external to its consciousness, it is true that it only\nperceives it by representation, and not by its presence. Existence\nin every department is represented to your mind, and mind by its\nrepresentation, and not by its absolute presence, perceives it.\nUnderstand this distinction, and it will explain a great many mysteries\nyou have had to contend with in times past. As you perceive my form\nby that which represents it to you, and as that which represents\nit is omnipresent in this room, while my form, from which these\nrepresentations flow, has but one position, so also, if you should\nremove these walls many feet, or even miles, making this room many\nmiles in extent, my form would be omnipresent in all this space, and\nthe mind that perceived me would perceive me by that representation of\nform, and not by my presence.\n\nNow then, understanding this law, we will be very careful in all our\ninvestigations of communication to distinguish between the presence\nof the thing itself and the presence of that which represents it.\nDid I wish to communicate with a Spirit, who has unfolded in him a\nSpirit-consciousness, which can be addressed in another way than\nthrough the physical eye or ear or touch, and being so divested of\nthis physical form that my mind comes in absolute contact with this\nSpirit-medium which permeates all space, and which internally and\nspiritually corresponds to light external and physical, and passes\nfreely through bodies opaque to light\u2014then my Spirit-form acts upon\nthat Spirit-medium which is not impeded by this wall, but which passes\nthrough it as light through transparent glass, carrying my image with\nit. We say that glass is transparent, because light passes freely\nthrough it, and brings the image of that which it would represent.\nWe see an individual or tree coming freely through the glass into\nthe room. Now if we have a medium which will pass as freely through\na board, then that board is as transparent to that medium as glass\nis to light. The magnetic medium, by which the magnetic needle is\ninfluenced, passes freely through a board even; therefore to that\nmedium the board is as transparent as glass is to light. It is also\nwell to understand that this nerve-medium, as well as the spiritual\nmedium corresponding to the mind\u2014which is to the mind what the medium\nof light is to the eye\u2014passes freely through these opaque bodies.\nTherefore the individual brought in contact with this medium will\nsee Spirit-existences, not by their presence in the consciousness,\nbut by that which represents the presence there. Hence it is that the\nclairvoyant (when you have proceeded with your manipulation until\nyou have insulated the mind, or brought it into clear _rapport_ with\nthis spiritual medium or atmosphere so that he sees by the spiritual\nsight and hears with the spiritual ear, and no longer sees with the\nphysical eye, or hears with the physical ear) comes in contact with\nthis spiritual medium, and can look out into another room, and tell\nwhat is transpiring, who is there, etc., just as we can look through\nglass and tell what we see. The principle is precisely the same. The\nmedium by which he perceives things in another room freely permeates\nor passes through the intervening walls; so that although my spiritual\nform is still in this body, yet it is actually exerting its influence\non this spiritual medium throughout the world\u2014throughout not only\nthis world, but throughout the solar system. Wherever this spiritual\nmedium extends, this spiritual image of mine is taken and carried\nout through that medium, just as my physical image is carried out\nthrough the medium of light; and whoever comes into _rapport_ with\nthat Spirit-medium and influence, and undulates to the same motion,\nwill perceive that form. Hence coming into the clairvoyant condition\nI may see a person in London, if it so happen that the undulation\nof my mind on this medium be such as to harmonize with that of the\nindividual in London\u2014not that his spirit is personally here present,\nor my spirit personally present there (but I am here in my own\nspirit-consciousness, and he there in his spirit-consciousness), but\nbecause his image as well as mine is here and there and everywhere\nelse. The idea that my mind goes to London, or his comes here, is\naltogether a misconception. I perceive that individual in London, not\nby his absolute presence, but by that which represents that presence\nhere; just as I see you, not by your presence in my mind, but by that\nwhich represents your presence there. It is in this way that persons in\nthe body are at times seen as though in distant places; that is, they\nare seen by that spiritual image which is present, where the mind is\nunfolded so as to perceive by the spiritual medium, and happens to be\nin _rapport_ so as to undulate to the same motion with that of the mind\nof the individual it perceives.\n\nStanding here this evening, I may be seen in Philadelphia, because\nmy image is there, as well as in every other place on earth; and the\nindividual, let him be where he may, who happens to be in _rapport_\nwith me, will perceive me as though I were present where he is,\nand all the imagery by which I am surrounded. I am looking on this\ncongregation, and therefore the person seeing me, sees me surrounded by\nthis congregation. He does not see you, but since you are in my mind,\nyour image goes with mine. The person coming into _rapport_ with me,\nsees you as your image exists in my mind. The idea that persons whose\nexternal forms are in different places, communicate with each other\nby being present one with the other, is altogether a mistaken one. So\nfar as the external or relational is concerned\u2014so far as the finite or\nmanifestational is concerned\u2014we communicate externally only by that\nmedium which represents that which we investigate or perceive; and that\nis the peculiarity of arriving at knowledge through what is called the\nsphere of manifestation. The difference between being and manifestation\nis seen in that law.\n\nIf any one doubts this law, I am ready to be questioned. Bring up\nany case you please, either from the natural or the Spiritual world,\nand I will show that that is the law. I say it is altogether a\nfallacious idea that Spirits can not communicate without being actually\npresent\u2014the idea that Spirits can not communicate in New York, London,\nLiverpool, or any other place in the world at the same moment, is\naltogether a fallacious idea. They can be present wherever there is a\nmind in _rapport_ with them to see that presence. People talk about\ntheir being so rapid in their passage from here to Boston or London,\nand wonder how they can go over the ground so quick. This is all\nexplained when you understand the law of manifestation. There is no\napparent difference of time between London and any other place\u2014it is\nonly a relative difference\u2014merely a question of relation. This, then,\nbeing the law of communication and manifestation, we will just notice\none thing further, which will explain why it is that individuals are\nobliged to come into certain states to receive communications, and\nwill answer many other questions, among which are, \u201cWhy are not all\nmediums?\u201d \u201cWhy can not all get communications?\u201d \u201cWhy is it that one who\ncan get a communication at one time can not at another?\u201d Ten thousand\nsuch questions are pressed every day, when the law is just as simple as\nthat two and two make four.\n\nIf we wish to get a communication we must conform to the conditions\nrequired by the law; and if we do not conform to those conditions,\nGod himself could not give it to us. The laws of manifestation and\ncommunication are as fixed and immutable as God\u2019s own being. Our\nbusiness is to comply with the conditions, and then take what follows.\nWe need not stop to quarrel because it requires a wire rather than a\ntow-string to make a good telegraph. It is enough for us to know that\nit is so, and conform to the conditions.\n\nThe great law by which all action producing result, producing\ndevelopment and communication, is governed, is the one to which\nI first referred\u2014the law of commensurability in form and motion.\nAll development comes under that law. The law of triunes, the law\nof sevens, and the law of twelves, are all wrought out by that\nsimple law. You can not develop in any key except you comply with\nthat law. Commensurability tends to produce harmonious results,\nwhile incommensurability tends to produce discord and death\u2014the\ndifference between concord and discord marks the difference between\ncommensurability and incommensurability in form and motion.\n\nWe have several different departments of our systems, I have a vital,\na nervous, and a mental system, each of which has actions peculiar to\nitself\u2014actions which sustain to each other certain relations, either\ncommensurable or incommensurable. Now, when my spiritual and vital\nsystems act upon the same key, there is harmony between my internal\nand external forms; but if they do not undulate to the same key\u2014if\nthere is not harmonious action between my mind and spirit, I can not\nbe a medium for physical communication, for the same reason that if\nyou graft a peach upon an apple, you can not make it grow (according\nto my information). It is because the vital action between them is an\nincommensurable action. Now, whenever my mental action is too intense\nfor my nerve or vital action, if you will by any means reduce my mental\naction so that it may harmonize with my nervous action, perhaps I will\nget physical manifestations peculiar to myself. I was once one of those\nthings called mediums, and am now, perhaps, to some extent. When I was\npartially asleep there would be very loud raps, and if you could come\nin without waking me up you might get a communication, and it has ever\nbeen so when I am peculiarly quiet mentally; but the moment I rouse\nup and ask questions I can get no reply. There are others who require\nexactly opposite conditions, whose bodies are too active for their\nminds, in whose presence you can get rappings by reducing the action\nof the body. But you change them from that point, the manifestation\nceases. There are other individuals who in the normal state seem to\ncomply with all the conditions necessary; that is, whose vital and\nnervous actions are the same; but you make them angry or stir up within\nthem feelings of dread or fear, and your manifestations cease, simply\nbecause there is no harmonic action between the mental and physical\nsystems.\n\nPersons boast, at times, of being able to destroy the power of\nmediums; but nothing could be simpler, for a powerful battery may\nhave its action stopped by lifting out the connecting wire, simply\nby disarranging the conditions of its action. It is often the case\nthat the entrance of a person into a circle where manifestations are\noccurring, causes their discontinuance, and the person is perhaps\nastonished to think the Spirits should be so contrary. It was simply\nbecause he had come in and violated the conditions by which they\ncould manifest. He had, so to speak, disturbed one of the plates of\nthe battery. The law to which your attention is called, is this great\nlaw of commensurability in form and motion; or, in other words, the\nlaw of harmonic action, which is manifested not only in the material\nplane, but unfolded in every degree upon the conscious plane. In\nconsequence of this law the communication between spheres differing in\ntheir characteristics must necessarily be external; that is, I can not\ncommunicate with an individual by the internal method, or the method\nof inspiration, except he is on the same plane with myself. Perhaps\nthere is not one individual here so exactly on the same nerve-plane\nwith myself, that I could communicate with him without signs; yet I\ncan reveal my form so that you can all see me, by an external method,\nthough we belong, perhaps, to very different planes. We can all\ncommunicate by external language, provided in our communications, we\ntake that plane of communication which will be familiar to all present.\nThis is the law existing between minds out of the physical body. One\nmind out of the physical body may communicate with another out of the\nphysical body, by an external means, when he can not by the internal.\nThe external means does not come directly to the affection. The vulgar\nand the profane man may speak to the refined mind by means of speech\nso as to shock the feelings; but he can not speak by his sympathy.\n\nOne class of individuals in the sphere of lust\u2014in what we call the low\nand polluted plane\u2014can not come into _rapport_ with those occupying a\nhigher plane. There is an \u201cimpassable gulf\u201d between them. Nevertheless,\nby the external language which addresses the external being, the\nthought or perception, they may be able to communicate. The same law of\ncommunication applies in the Spiritual world. If angels are employed\nas messengers, they communicate by an external language; because their\nthoughts can not flow into the lower affection\u2014the lower can not\nrespond to them. If a Spirit in Paradise wishes to communicate with\none in the sphere of lust, he must take upon himself the conditions\nof lust, or he can not communicate by the internal method. He can\nnot communicate by the internal method, because the conditions are\ndissimilar. Communications made to us from a higher plane must be\nexternal, and must be addressed to our thought; and if they operate\nupon our affection, must flow from the thought into the affection. It\nis for this reason that God, the Divine, can not communicate with man,\nthe imperfect and finite, except by means of those who can receive\ntruth from the Divine, and who can externally communicate it to those\nbelow.\n\nSpirits under a higher and more perfect law can not come and inspire us\nin our polluted condition, but they can, by means of external language,\ndraw us from our low condition of lust, and bring us to a plane where\na Spirit nearer to our plane may by influx come into us and develop\nwithin us the true affection; but the high spirit can not do it. Hence\nit is that there is a gradation between the highest and lowest\u2014that\n\n\u201cAngels form a chain which in God\u2019s burning throne begins, And winds\ndown to the lowest plane of earthly things.\u201d\n\nI may possibly receive a communication from a higher plane by\nabstracting myself from the lusts and evils of the world, by sending\nforth my highest, and holiest, and purest aspirations after all that is\npure and good\u2014for a moment elevating my condition to a higher plane.\nThat is the condition of true prayer. While in that condition a Spirit\nof that higher plane may, by influx, raise me up and hold me in that\ncondition. That is, the true effect of the condition known as prayer,\nis to separate you from the lusts and passions of the world\u2014every\nthing which is tending to degrade you. Then by fixing your mind on\nyour highest perception, and that which is pure, and true, and holy,\nyou elevate yourself above the plane on which you naturally move\u2014bring\nyourself where a higher angel can reach down and raise you up.\nTherefore, though prayer does not change the state of the soul, yet it\nis one of the conditions by which we climb to the higher spheres. You\nknow the direction in regard to prayer was, \u201cwhen you pray do not go\ninto the public places and talk a great deal, thinking God is going to\nhear you for your much speaking.\u201d\n\nThe object of prayer is not to inform God\u2014to change his mind\u2014therefore\nwhen you pray, retire from the world and all outward influences, and\nif necessary go into a room, and shut the world out with all its\ninfluences; and then, in the secret aspirations of your soul, raise\nyour thoughts and desires to the infinite, perfect, and undying, that\nyou may bring yourself within the plane of blessing\u2014within the plane\nof that influence which can elevate you. If God could come down to\nour plane, and by the influx of his Spirit into our consciousness\ncould enlighten our understandings and purify our hearts, there is no\nexcuse for its not being done. He is infinite, and there is an infinite\nfullness in him; but the reason he does not, is that he can not. It is\nimpossible that God should lie, and it would be lying if he should do\nthis.\n\nConditions can not be at the same time unlike and like\u2014at the same time\ndiscordant and harmonious; the plane of lust can not harmonize with the\nplane of love. The plane of man in his low condition can not harmonize\nwith the plane of the Divine in his infinitely elevated, pure, and holy\ncondition. Therefore if a man would receive God into his consciousness,\nhe must put himself into the condition to receive influx; and if he\nwould have an influx from a pure Spirit, he must become pure and holy\nhimself. If God did not teach Moses so that he could understand all\ntruth, as did the Man of Nazareth, and understand the great principle,\n\u201cThou shalt not resist evil by evil,\u201d it was because he did not occupy\nthe plane of inspiration. He occupied a plane where there could be\nexternal manifestations, which he had, but he could not receive a great\nuniversal law, because he was not on the plane of the internal and\ndivine. The inspiration of Paul, Peter, Luke, and John, was not equal\nto that of their Teacher, because they had not arisen to his elevated\ncondition; had they occupied his plane, God could have communicated as\nwell to them as to their Teacher; and it would not have been necessary\nfor them to have a middle-man to come between them and God.\n\nWhen you have risen to the plane of communication, the communication\nis internal. You have no outward form of expression, because you have\nthe thought itself by inspiration. In the language of the Apostle, God\nwrites his language in your understanding and in your affections. All\ncommunication with the spiritual world proceeding according to this\nlaw, each man\u2019s communication will be according to his plane; if in\nthe low plane of lust, his communications will be of that character;\nif in the plane of love, his communications will be of that character.\nBut even the lowest, by putting himself in the condition of prayer, by\naspiring for the good and the holy, by putting up earnest petitions for\naid, will always find a Spirit near to sustain and elevate him.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER V.\n\n                      PHILOSOPHY OF PROGRESSION.\n\n\nIf we wish to arrive at an accurate knowledge of any subject, we must\nendeavor to ascertain what is fundamental to that subject. If we need\nto investigate accurately any science, we need to inform ourselves as\nearly as possible of the fundamental principles pertaining to that\nscience. There is no better way to study the history of creation than\nby studying it as revealed in the phenomena of Nature. When I can\ninvestigate Nature in her operations, and ascertain the laws by which\nshe performs her work, I then can arrive\u2014at least approximately\u2014at\nthe philosophy of Nature, in attaining which I attain the philosophy\nof divine manifestation. There can be no interpolation there. The\nDivine Artificer works alone in the fields of Nature, and where I\ncan discover the manifestation of wisdom and power, there I come\ndirectly into communication with the Divine Being in that plane of\naction and manifestation; and when I learn what the law of action and\nmanifestation is in that department, I learn so much of the method\nof the divine work, or of the divine order. I propose, then, briefly\nto call your attention to the teachings of God upon this subject of\nprogression, as manifested in the fields of Nature; and will then ask\nyou to accompany me in endeavoring to ascertain what are some of its\nfundamental laws.\n\nWere I to inquire what is the apparent design of everything we behold,\nwe must see that it is pointing to the ultimating of an individualized,\nimmortal, intelligent being, who should be capable of understanding\nall truth, and being perfected in every true affection. Everything\ntends to bring about that great result\u2014the unfolding of an immortal\nbeing. God and the material universe seem to be laboring to beget an\nindividualized being in the image of both God and the universe\u2014God as\nthe absolute and infinite, and matter as the finite, uniting, produce a\nbeing which partakes of both the absolute or infinite and the finite.\nWhen viewed from one plane he is infinite; when viewed from another\nplane he is finite; so that between God and matter man is mediate. I\nwould say, then, in simple language, God is the father of the spirit,\nand matter the mother of his form. The first step in the path of\nunfolding, as taught by Nature, is that of individualizing form. The\nnext step is that of individualizing life, of producing individuality.\nThe last step is that of producing personality, making the individual a\npersonal being. The form is necessarily finite. The mind can conceive\nof it only as finite, and as composed of that which is the absolute,\nfinite matter, which, separate from the divine being, has no life or\npower. It is not self-sufficient nor conscious.\n\nIf we can suppose that matter shall be divested from all connection\nwith media which can impress upon it a condition, we speak of it as\nbeing amorphous matter, or matter without form. If we unite it then\nwith one medium, as electricity, we find it tending to produce the\ngaseous condition, the nebular condition. Form is not yet attained.\nIf we unite with it still another medium which is a little different\nfrom electricity, forms of the mineral kingdom are produced. We\nhave here the first degree of form, but as yet there is not life\nor individuality. Now the next advance is to induce in that form a\ncondition which shall make it receptive of life, for that which is to\nbe individualized is life. So, then, in passing through the elaborating\ninfluences of the mineral kingdom, it arrives at a certain point, a\nsort of culminating point, where it joins upon the vegetable kingdom;\nand the line between these kingdoms is passed by such imperceptible\ngradations\u2014so slow in the unfolding of forms\u2014that it is impossible for\nthe naturalist to tell accurately where the one begins and where the\nother ends; but the vegetable kingdom is manifestly begun when there is\nfound the incorporation of a new principle into a new form\u2014a principle\nlooking to organization\u2014giving matter an organic structure. When the\nprinciple known as the life-force is introduced, then it is understood\nthat mineral has passed and the vegetable is commenced. As soon as this\nis unfolded, we have a second advance of form\u2014life in its first degree;\nor, in other words, individualization commences. Form has passed to its\nsecond degree, and goes on elaborating degree after degree, producing\ndiverse organic forms, until it is prepared to receive another and a\nmore interior principle\u2014consciousness\u2014until by imperceptible degrees\nwe arrive at the animal kingdom. We have then the animal form, the\nthird or finishing degree of form, and the second degree of life,\nand the first degree of consciousness. Man in his animal nature is\nthe completion; of the highest form. Life has yet one more degree to\npass through; consciousness has yet two more degrees to pass through\nbefore it is complete. The next advance is to a higher principle of\nconsciousness\u2014to a more enduring principle of life, without changing\nthe material form, and that is to the spiritual degree of unfolding.\n\nLooking to the highest types of the animal and the lowest types of men,\nwe will observe that they approach very near to each other. Naturalists\nhave been divided in opinion as to whether or not man was an animal\nprojected on a little higher plane, and whether or not the difference\nis not merely one of degree. I say that when man is developed, we find\nhim developing or individualizing a higher principle. Individuality\nwas first started in the vegetable; the principle of vitality in the\nanimal. The second degree of individuality was where the animal became\nindividualized on a higher plane of life, on a plane of consciousness\nbelonging to what we call the nerve-medium. Man individualizes upon the\nsecond degree of consciousness and the third degree of life, completing\nan individuality. He becomes to us the highest type of form and life in\nthe finite; and a large class of philosophers and theologians conceive\nman as formed in the divine image, and suppose the expression that God\nmade man in his own image, to refer to an external as well as internal\nlikeness.\n\nMan as an individual occupies the highest plane; he has attained to the\nthird degree of life as a Spiritual being, consequently he becomes\nimmortal. If the third degree of life brings man into communion with\nthe self-living and divine, he becomes immortal; if not, then he is\nnot immortal; for that only is immortal which receives into itself\nthat which is self-living, self-sufficient, and self-existent, that\nwhich can not be dissolved or disorganized. If man has not attained\nto that plane which joins upon that which is self-existent, he is not\nimmortal. The simple fact that man can think, will, and act, proves\nnothing for his immortality. The dog can act, and think, and will, but\nthat does not make the animal immortal. Those who base immortality\nupon that, do not perceive its real basis. Man becomes immortal by his\n_relation_ to that which is self-existent and self-sufficient, and\nhas that self-sufficient condition brought into him by induction. He\nreceives it by a sort of divine induction. I have brought in a chart\nto illustrate the principle of induction or the law of progression.\nYou observe that man stands at the head of form and life, though not\nat the head of consciousness. He is as a finite being produced only to\nthe second degree of consciousness. That is the last step man took.\nMan has advanced to the second degree of consciousness, which looks\nto the relational and finite, hence man as a moral being, as a finite\nbeing; and that which he investigates in virtue of his faculties as a\nmoral being must be finite. He can therefore only investigate in the\nsphere of the finite. The moment he attempts to embrace the infinite,\nand translate that into the finite, that moment he is pushing his\ninvestigations beyond his development.\n\nBut there is not only this second degree of consciousness, which\nnotices the relation, but there is a third degree, which notices or\nperceives the absolute. It perceives not only outward form and mediate\nrelation, but the absolute essence of all being. Man attains to that,\nnot because that third nature is individualized in him, but because\nby reason of its conjunction upon that condition which is known as\nthe absolute, he has that condition in him by a sort of induction\u2014a\nnon-individualized condition, a sort of resident divinity in him, gives\nhim this third degree.\n\nNow permit me to illustrate the principle of induction. You understand,\nwhen electric conditions are produced, that there is such a thing\nas causing them by induction. You understand that negative attracts\npositive, and that positive attracts negative\u2014that where these opposite\nconditions prevail there is a tendency to bring them together. Similar\nconditions repel, and opposite conditions attract, each other. We\nunderstand that all electrical currents are double\u2014that there is\na primary and a secondary current. In vitality, in nerve-aura, in\nwhatever acts as a medium, there is a double current. The second\ncurrent is within the primary, and runs in the opposite direction.\nIt is more interior than the primary. Now, if I have a body charged\npositively, and I bring it into a certain relation to another body, it\nimparts its electricity to it. This is called producing the condition\nby induction. I speak now of progression under this law of induction.\n\nSuppose, now, that we take the two great principles of\nlife\u2014consciousness and action on the one hand, and death,\nunconsciousness, or inertia on the other hand\u2014one being impartive and\nthe other negative and receptive. God on the one hand and matter on\nthe other. (Pardon me for speaking of God as a principle, the subject\nrequires it. Whatever is attempted to be explained in language must\nnecessarily be considered as finite.) Now, whatever pertains to the\ndivine and absolute on the one hand, the very opposite pertains to\nmatter on the other hand; hence we speak of the sufficiency of Deity\nand the inertia of matter. This principle of inertia, however, is as\nessential to the development of form and individuality in the finite\nas the principle of consciousness is to the conscious being. Without\nthe two conditions, that which is mediate could not be elaborated or\nproduced. God\u2019s creative agency, the positive current, passes out upon\nmatter, from which there is a current returning to mind, in which\nnegative current individualization takes place. The returning current\nfirst begins to elaborate form; next, with the progress of matter,\ncomes individuality; next, personality. The formative principle is in\nthe secondary current, which produces induction; but that which is\ninterior to form and elaborates it is the induced or positive current,\nwhich partakes of the positive or energetic action of the divine\ncurrent, so to speak. In this way, by induction, form after form is\nelaborated and made to become the receptive of certain conditions.\nMatter has no power of itself, but at the same time is receptive of\ninfluences or conditions.\n\nTwo theories have prevailed respecting the origin of man. One is what\nwe call the theory of supernaturalism, which supposes that the divine\nbeing, at a certain period of time, when every other condition was\nfulfilled, came down, and by special power formed man in his present\nshape, and imparted to him his present spiritual life; and that from\nthat man thus formed, and a woman formed for his companion, sprang\nall the rest of the human family. Others, who adhere to this idea in\ngeneral, suppose that there was a plurality of parents, from whom the\nhuman race have proceeded. The opposite theory is, that man has been\ndeveloped from the animal kingdom\u2014that he is a development of the\nanimal in a higher plane. This theory was advocated by La Marc. Now,\nI believe in neither theory. The truth lies between the two. In the\noutset I made this remark, which I intended to be understood as meaning\nall that it implied: that God is the Father of the spirit, while matter\nis the mother of the form. Matter is finite in all its attributes and\nqualities. God is infinite in all his attributes and qualities. Man is\ntaken from the finite in his lower plane. His form is nourished and fed\nby its connection with the finite, and when the spirit is separated\ntherefrom, this portion of man goes to decay; and so far as he is\nconcerned as an individual, he is no more. On the other hand, man comes\nfrom the infinite, in the higher department of his being, so that man\npartakes of both the finite and the infinite. He is in the image of his\nmother, as well as of his father. He is created in the image of God and\nthe image of matter. He has both an individuality and a personality.\nIn his finity he is an individual; in his divinity he is personal.\nTherefore man contains in himself all the germinal elements of the\nuniverse, and also the representative elements of the Divine Being.\n\nAs a being of form man became receptive of conditions. The mineral\neventually became receptive of the principle of life, which developed\nthe vegetable kingdom. The moment this life-principle began to work in\nproducing organic structure and multiplying relations and conditions,\na variety of forms succeeded, until forms were brought to such a point\nthat they became receptive of a higher principle\u2014the nerve principle\nor consciousness, and the animal kingdom was the result. The vegetable\nkingdom only produced the form. The spirit came into it by induction\nfrom the other direction. The vegetable did not produce the animal;\nit merely produced the conditions by which this conscious principle\ncould be induced into the individuality developed by the vegetable.\nThat individuality was raised out of the vegetable and placed upon the\nanimal plane, and a new kingdom was born by the application of the\nlaw of commensurability. Eventually form was elaborated through the\nentire animal kingdom until the highest form the nerve-principle could\nproduce, was produced.\n\nThe human form was elaborated through the animal kingdom, but the\nspirit was not elaborated there. When the nerve-principle had done its\nbest, had fulfilled its highest possible condition, and had brought\nform to join upon spirit, the condition of spirit was induced into\nthis form; and the induction of that spirit raised the form of the\nanimal kingdom into the human kingdom; and the first man thus stood\nforth, produced by the divine breath breathing into him, consequently\nthe difference between the lowest man and the highest animal was very\nslight. The man, to be sure, takes his animal body, appetites, senses,\nand the laws which govern in the development of his body, from the\nanimal, but not that which pertained to his spiritual, nature. It\nreceived this from above by the induction of the divine principle which\ntook hold of the form and raised him out of the animal kingdom; so\nthat man does not trace his parentage to the animal but to God. He has\nbeen begotten by the spirit and power of God, operating through every\nplane of being and action from the crystal to the divine. I detract\nnothing from the divine wisdom and power when I say that God works in\nan orderly and methodic manner. Forms are of the earth, but the spirit\nis from heaven. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man\nis the lord from heaven.\n\nEvery operation on the material side of the universe looks to the\nultimating of a form which shall be so perfect as to become receptive\nof a spirit which shall be capable of living forever, of being\nconscious of all that is, of being truly affected by that which it\nperceives. There is not an operation in nature, not even the progress\nof the comet in its path, which does not look to the production of\na human being, the production of an immortal soul. There is not a\nmanifestation of power or wisdom in the world which is not laboring and\nconspiring to accomplish this great end of producing a son, a child of\nGod, which shall be capacitated to be receptive of its divine origin.\nWe shall eventually see that every law which we now think is working\nfor destruction, is but the going forth of the divine power to produce\nthe being, man.\n\nI said that man was not immortal in consequence of his\nspirit-individuality alone. The reason that man is immortal is very\nmanifest. The highest principle in the animal individuality is the\nnerve-principle, the principle of consciousness which can perceive\nmaterial forms and material phenomena. That interior principle is not\nunfolded in the animal. The inmost principle of the animal, I grant,\nis spiritual, but that principle is not individualized. The animal has\nonly the nerve-principle, but in the spirit-principle; and joining\nperceive facts and phenomena; but he can not perceive relations\u2014has\nno desire after relations\u2014and knows nothing of moral duties. He can\nnot be active in that way, because his highest individuality is his\nmere nervous individuality. God does not breathe into the animal that\nbreath of life which makes him a living soul. But man is individualized\nnot only in this nerve-principle, but in the spirit-principle; and\njoining upon the infinite he does take the divine breath into him as\nthe inmost principle of his being. Man is immortal by his relation to\nthe self-sufficient and self-existent. It is his _relation_ to God that\nmakes him immortal. The animal is not immortal, because he has not\nthis relation. Man having this higher principle individualized in him\nbecomes a religious being.\n\nIn the example heretofore cited of Sir Isaac Newton and his dog\nperceiving the falling of an apple, the dog was seen as observing only\nthe fact, while Sir Isaac Newton observed the law, which he called\ngravitation; yet not being developed in his divine consciousness, which\nperceives the absolute and divine, he could not tell the absolute cause\nof the phenomenon. The dog is in the manifestational sphere, while Sir\nIsaac Newton was developed in the manifestational and relational,\nbut not yet in the absolute, but was capable of being developed in\nthat sphere by induction. Man is therefore a microcosm. He has all\nthose conditions which pertain to the universe. He is its fruit. There\nare three stages in the development of man: first, form; second,\nindividuality; third, personality\u2014to which Jesus made allusion in\nspeaking of the development of fruit, saying that there was first the\nblade, next the ear, and after that the full corn. Man, standing at the\nhead of the development, is the fruit of the universe. He is the grand\nultimate of all preceding action. He is the footings-up of all that is\nand all that has been. There is no condition of being not a condition\nof relation in the wide universe which man does not contain in some\ndepartment of his being; and just as he unfolds in his conscious\nnature, does he represent different spheres in the Spiritual world. If\nin self-lust, he registers his name in that department of the Spiritual\nuniverse called Gehenna, if in charity, he records his name in the\nsphere Paradise; and if in divine love\u2014if the divine is so developed in\nhim that it is a ruling love\u2014he is registered in heaven; and then it\nis he perceives God. If he is developed like the Man of Nazareth, so\nthat his Father\u2019s will is his will, so that he can bow submissively to\nit, whether it be to inflict pain and death or life and prosperity, he\nis born into the absolute or divine. This, then, is the simple law of\nunfolding. Man becomes in the Spirit-world what he is in himself. When\nyou determine where his ruling love is, you have determined his sphere;\nand if he is to manifest to this world, he will manifest according to\nthe sphere he is in. He advances by the same principle of induction as\nis concerned in the development of his personality. It is as the poet\nremarks:\n\n    \u201cAll angels form a chain which in God\u2019s burning throne\n    begins,\n    And winds down to the lowest plane of earthly things.\u201d\n\nUnderstand, then, each individual is a link in that chain, all put\ntogether in the various degrees of unfolding. So that \u201cas each lifts\nhis lower friends, can each into superior joys ascend.\u201d As you would\nraise yourselves, raise the man next below you. As you would labor to\nsave yourself, labor to save your neighbor. Your salvation consists in\nsaving others. There is no way in which a man so entirely defeats his\nown happiness as when he attempts to make that happiness his highest\nend. The pleasure-seekers will bear me witness that the real happiness\nis in performing some duty or fulfilling some end, not with a view\nto getting happiness. If a man seeks after right, he can not avoid\nhappiness.\n\nNow you can understand that it depends upon you and me to determine our\nplane\u2014to determine our condition in the Spirit-world.\n\nJesus said to his disciples that when he should go to his Father, they\nwould see him no more, meaning that he should no longer appear in his\nform\u2014no longer appear in the spheres of manifestation\u2014Gehenna and\nParadise. He can only be communed with by those in the same condition.\nBut previous to going to his Father he told them, \u201cA little while and\nye shall see me.\u201d He was living then in his physical body, talking with\nhis disciples through their natural understanding. He told them he\nwas going to be gone a little while, and would return; but after that\nhe would go to their Father, and they would see him no more. He first\nwent to Paradise, from whence he could manifest himself. During forty\ndays after his crucifixion he remained in Paradise, which joins the\nnatural sphere, and manifested himself from time to time, endeavoring\nto open communication between the Spiritual and natural sphere. Having\nspent forty days developing his apostles as mediums, he went to his\nFather, into a sphere which is not one of manifestation, and they saw\nhim no more. I do not mean that he went to a particular place, but that\nhe went into a more interior condition; that is, he retired from the\nexternal to the absolute and divine, and of course could no longer be\nmade manifest; and according to the description, he was separated from\nhis disciples, and a cloud received him out of sight\u2014not a literal\ncloud, but that interior condition of divine personality which made\nhim invisible to them as a spiritual being, where he has continued\nfrom that time to the present. The second sphere, Paradise, is that\nin which angels are said to be God\u2019s messengers. God can not directly\ncommunicate his consciousness to us in this sphere. He simply give his\nconsciousness to his angels, who translate it into the external sphere.\n\nIn speaking of the Divine Being as nearly as possible in external\nlanguage, I would say that He is a personality, but not an\nindividuality. Individuality is finite necessarily; therefore all the\nideas originating from such an individuality are finite; hence if you\nattempt to portray the Infinite in your imagination, you make him\nfinite, and just so sure as you attempt to make that finite image\nor idea represent the Infinite, that moment you involve yourself in\ninextricable confusion. You make an individual of God and make him\nfinite. By personality, which is quite another thing, I refer to this\nprinciple of consciousness. That being only has attained personality\nwhere the subject arises and the object terminates within himself.\nThat being is a personality alone who possesses self-existence and\nself-sufficiency. Now I standing before you am liable to influences\noutside of myself. An act arising from such influences is not strictly\nmine, not depending entirely upon me for its existence. If you\ninfluence me, and my act be a good one, you are entitled to part of the\ncredit; if it be bad, you are chargeable with part of the censure. You\ncan see that under this law of motive, which belongs to the first and\nsecond spheres of mind, no action depending upon outward condition is\nperfect, not being self-sufficient or self-existent. It belongs to the\nindividuality; but when the act is of such a character that it can not\nreceive outward influence arising from a sort of divine spontaneity,\nit is self-existent and self-sufficient, and the person capable of\nsuch an act may be said to be a personality; that is, he is becoming\nindependent\u2014attaining to a self-sufficiency and self-existence.\nAn individual is neither. It is only that which receives. Hence\nman, who is said to be begotten the child of God, has another\u2019s\nself-sufficiency. All that he has he has received. Said Jesus, speaking\nfrom the natural plane, \u201cI can of my own self do nothing. As I hear I\njudge. It is not I that doeth the work, but the Father that dwelleth\nin me that doeth the work.\u201d So you will understand what I mean when I\nsay that man as a separate individual has a finite being, but in his\nconnection with the Divine Being he becomes a personality, not of his\nown, but as a personality in God. The universal and eternal personality\nof God is in him. This is the relation we sustain as finite beings to\nthe Infinite.\n\nI expect not to convey my idea in a very clear manner. I can only\npoint in the direction, and say investigate in that direction and you\nwill find the infinite. I can only give a negative description of the\ninfinite by saying what it is not, and ask you to pursue the positive\nin your inmost consciousness; and after a little while you will see\nsome glimmering of the instinct infinite. Then all your doubts about\nthe infinite will cease. You will then be able to perceive, although\nnot able to describe, how it is that there is an infinite Father whose\nlove and wisdom is over all his works.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER VI.\n\n                              MEDIUMSHIP.\n\n\nMy subject of discourse this evening is that of mediumship. There are\ntwo classes of mediumship, and only two: that which is external, that\nwhich reaches the consciousness through the region of thought; and the\ninternal, that which reaches it directly in the affections. The most\nimperfect as a means of communication is what is known as the external,\nits imperfection being due to the fact of its having to employ in its\ncommunication certain signs or symbols, which signs or symbols each\nindividual must translate by his own standard\u2014by his own understanding.\nIts perfection as a means of communication depends, first, upon the\nperfection of the communicator; secondly, upon the perfection of the\nunderstanding of the individual to whom the communication is made. If\nthe communication pertain to those things belonging to the common plane\nof the understanding, and the individual communicating and the one\nto whom the communication is made understand alike the symbols used,\nthe method of communication is comparatively perfect. I am obliged to\nmake use of certain natural words which are signs of ideas. If you\nunderstand these words precisely as I do, I will succeed in conveying\nmy ideas. But if the slightest difference exist between us in the use\nof words, a perfect communication can not take place. You understand\nhow this is. Nothing is more common in an audience like this than for\ndifferent individuals to understand the speaker differently, though\neach individual heard the same words. But different conclusions are\nattained because each interprets by his own standard.\n\nWe can not be perfect in our external methods of communication any\nfurther than we each occupy the same plane in our communication, and\nunderstand alike the symbols used. If I were describing simple natural\nthings, and describing them by natural qualities, there would be no\ndifficulty, perhaps, in conveying a definite idea. I may not fail in\ndescribing objects by using such terms as \u201cred, white, round, square,\nangular,\u201d because these terms are commonly well understood. So in\nregard to all the natural qualities of objects with which we are\nfamiliar. We have the correct elements out of which to construct a\ncorrect idea. Therefore, while I am communicating on the natural plane\nwhere we all possess the same consciousness, external language answers\nvery well as a means of communication.\n\nBut suppose I attempt to go into a more interior truth\u2014that which does\nnot address each one\u2019s consciousness through the sense. I am obliged,\nhowever, to make use of external language; but as the interior truth\nis more interior than the natural plane, I must employ that language\nfiguratively\u2014must speak by parables, similes, and allegories. But the\nmoment we begin to use language in that manner we are very liable to\nbe misunderstood. The individual inclined to understand all things on\nthe natural plane will very likely fail to get the spiritual idea which\nis figuratively conveyed. A truth expressed in figurative language, the\nfigure being a natural one, will be understood by the one who takes it\nliterally in one way, while he who takes it in a spiritual sense will\nget a different idea. So whenever we attempt to teach by parables,\nthere is a very great liability of diversity of understandings. I\nrefer to this to show that in communicating by external language, we\nare very liable to be misunderstood, unless we confine our subjects\nto the natural plane, and describe natural things by such properties\nas are common to all, and are accurate in putting them together, when\nwe may succeed tolerably well. But if we omit any of these essential\nparticulars, there will be almost as great a diversity of opinions as\nthere are diversity of minds to hear the communications.\n\nMany persons have thought that if they become mediums, and could\nsee disembodied Spirits in the Spiritual world, and see how they\nare associated together there, they would become wise. As a mere\nobservation of the vegetable kingdom serves simply to acquaint one with\nits various forms, but not with its uses, so a view of the Spiritual\nworld might acquaint one with the fact that Spirits existed, of their\nemployments, etc.; but the real interior truth, which is necessary to\nenter into you and make you wise, can not be acquired in this way.\n\nThe idea that we can get perfect communication externally, when we\nare imperfect ourselves, is altogether a fallacious idea. We depend\nupon our understandings for the meanings of communications addressed\nto us; and just so far as you are developed to understand perfectly,\nyou may get a perfect impression. But just so far as it is above\nyour comprehension, you are liable to misunderstand, and charge the\nfault upon your communicator. The proposition is simply this: You\nand I can not understand infallibly what is truth, unless we are\ninfallible ourselves in the determination of truth. That which, of\nitself, is fallible and liable to err, can not determine the quality\nof infallibility; and whenever an individual affirms, upon some\nauthority, the truth of any thing which, by his acknowledgment, lies\nbeyond the plane of his intellectual development, he asserts something\nunphilosophical and false. That is only truth which, in our minds,\ncorresponds to the actuality. It matters not who speaks, even though\nit be God; just so long as you must depend upon your understanding\nto interpret the meaning of what is said, you are liable to get a\nfalsehood instead of truth. The question of truth depends as much upon\nyou as the communicator. There has been a great deal of discussion\nabout the infallibility of the Koran, of the Shasters, of the Vedas,\nof the Bible, and of the Book of Mormon. It has all proceeded upon\nan erroneous idea. Although the book may contain infallible truth,\nyet since you have to depend upon your understanding to interpret\nthe language employed, you may fail to get the truth. You need to be\ninfallible before you can affirm that you have the truth. You hand me\nthe Bible, perhaps, saying that it is the Word of God, that it was\ngiven by inspiration of God, and that every word it contains is true,\ninfallibly true. Very well. Do you wish me to receive the entire\nbook of paper, ink, and calf-skin, to take the book and read it, and\nbelieve what it says? I must receive it as I understand it, and faith,\ntherefore, corresponds to my understanding of the book. Is my faith\nin the book, or my understanding of the book? When a man affirms\nthe infallibility of the Bible, he affirms the infallibility of his\nunderstanding. It appears that your faith can not be in the Bible,\nwhatever it may teach. Your faith is only in your understanding of the\nBible; and if your understanding happens to correspond exactly with the\ntruth, you then have the truth. But if your understanding happens to\nbe erroneous, your faith is in a falsehood. You affirm, then, that God\nteaches that which He does not teach; and you make your falsehood God\u2019s\ntruth.\n\nI want to make this plain, for here the law of outward communication\nis abundantly manifest. Look the world over and see how many\ndifferent sects there are in Christendom: Baptists, Universalists,\nPresbyterians\u2014I could not begin to name them all over to-night. They\nall take the same book and learn from the same source; and yet they\ncome to very different conclusions. You may take any one doctrine\nwhich you may think the Bible teaches\u2014and I will immediately find you\na denomination who will deny it. One says that it teaches universal\nsalvation, and another affirms that it teaches almost as universal\ndamnation. Each man translates it by his own understanding; and each\naffirms that he has infallible truth. If they would just take this\nsimple proposition, that that which is fallible can not determine the\nquality of infallibility\u2014that upon these subjects the human mind\nis fallible, and therefore can not determine what is the absolute\nmeaning of the communications\u2014they would learn the source of all their\nerrors. Men may be ever so honest, they will differ as a consequence of\ntheir constitutional differences. A man whose intellectual faculties\nare strongly developed, who will reason and demonstrate every thing\nrationally, will be a Presbyterian. Hence the expression \u201clong-faced\nPresbyterian.\u201d It is very common for them to be long-faced. They are\nvery actual, never have much feeling, and sit perfectly quiet. The\nminister must do all the talking, and the singers must do all the\nsinging. The round, full-faced, emotional kind of man will not be a\nPresbyterian. You could not force him to be, because he judges by a\ndifferent standard. He would be a Methodist. He would judge by the\nstandard of feeling, and must have a great deal of noise; and a meeting\nis not worth a fig to him unless he can have a dozen round him shouting\n\u201cGlory!\u201d The Presbyterian, all reason, says God is omnipotent and\nomniscient; therefore He foreknew what should come to pass, and that,\ntherefore, God foreordains whatever comes to pass. This is one of his\ncardinal doctrines. The Methodists says: \u201cIf that be true, man is not\na free agent; but I feel that he is.\u201d He decides from feeling; the\nPresbyterian from thought. They can not read the same book and come\nto the same conclusion. There is a constitutional difference between\nthe two. If they are to determine upon truth by outward communication\nthey can not arrive at it. The man who feels pretty savage is ready to\naccept the doctrine of damnation. He feels that certain persons ought\nto be punished, and he thinks God will punish them. Here is another\nman who is all sympathy and love. He can not see how one man should,\nunder any circumstances, want to injure another man, and he comes to\nthe conclusion that all men are going to be saved. He thinks that\nif God is as good as he is, and he is sure He is, He will contrive\nsome way to save all. That man will preach the doctrine of universal\nsalvation.\n\nSo true is it, that phrenological differences point out different\nreligious beliefs, that in almost any congregation you can sort out\nthe Presbyterians from the Methodists, etc. This is a truth that God,\nnature, experience\u2014every thing teaches. What is the use of quarreling\nabout it, as long as we know that individuals hearing a discourse come\nto different conclusions. They do, they must, they will, and they can\nnot help it. Until they come to a more interior plane they can never\nhave one faith, one Lord, one baptism.\n\nNow you understand what I mean by what is called the external\ncommunication. Suppose the Spirits make a communication, they make it\nin words. These words only address your consciousness through your\nunderstanding, and you make them mean according to your understanding\nof them. If the Spirit makes a communication by pantomime, it still\nappeals to your understanding, and depends upon your translation to\ngive it significance. There may be error in the communication and in\nyourself, so that the error will be double. It is in this way that very\nmany errors which have been charged upon the Spiritual world, after\nall, have their origin in the mistranslation and the misunderstanding\nof those who hear the communication. The teachings of Jesus, I\nthink, are straightforward enough, if you will come to the plane of\nunderstanding to which they were addressed. Being spiritual, they\ncan not be truly represented by natural ideas and language. For that\nreason he was obliged to teach by the use of parables, figures, and\nsimiles; and when he had done the best he could, the disciples, being\neducated in the natural plane, interpreted his language naturally, and,\nconsequently, misapplied what he said. This is the fault to the present\nday. The truths he sought to communicate were peculiarly spiritual,\nand natural language could only represent them when used figuratively;\nhence he made choice of such similes or parables as would convey his\nmeaning approximately, yet not without liability of material error.\nHence he declared to his disciples, with whom he had been so long\nfamiliar, that they did not understand him, and could not, until the\nSpirit of truth should come to lead them into the truth of what he had\ntaught. Language could not convey the truth, else it would undoubtedly\nhave been so given. He knew how to describe the things of the Spiritual\nworld so far as they could be described, for the Spirit had been poured\nout upon him without measure; but natural language could not portray\nthe truths, scenery, and events of the Spirit-world.\n\nThe only perfect mode of communication is the interior method, or\ncommunication by inspiration. As a means of becoming wise, it becomes\nnecessary for us to seek by some means to come into interior communion\nwith the Spirit-world and Divine Being, since we can not by outward\nmeans arrive absolutely at the truth. If we will know that truth which\nis required to build us up into eternal life, we must ascertain what\nconditions are necessary to be observed to bring us into interior\ncommunion with the Spirit, so that without outward sign they can flow\ndirectly into our consciousness, and be written upon the thought or\nheart, as was said, \u201cI will put my law into their understandings, and\nI will write it upon their affections.\u201d Thus truth must come to us\nwithout any recourse to Bibles or any other standard whatever. It so\nhappens that the means by which we are to attain to interior communion\nare open to all. It is possible for every person to come into _rapport_\nwith the interior spheres. According to one\u2019s ruling love or desire\nwill be his affinity or communion with the spheres of the Spirit-world.\nIf that be high, his communion will be high. If low, his communion will\nbe low.\n\nI will illustrate what I mean by interior communication. Suppose\nthat some of you have a pain in the head. After your best attempts\nto describe it to me by natural language, I might not get of it a\ncorrect idea. But by putting myself in a negative condition to you, I\ncould receive the pain myself, and be able to understand its character\nprecisely. You thus communicate through the nervous medium interiorly.\nMany persons in public assemblies are liable to receive headaches of\nothers by coming into _rapport_ with them.\n\nIn each there is that which corresponds to all the media in the outward\nuniverse. There is a material earth, and I possess a material body.\nThere is electricity, and I have electricity in my system. There is\nmagnetism, and I have magnetism. There is a life-principle expanding\nall over the world, and I am in communication with that vital medium,\nand through it exert a vital influence upon others, and they upon me.\nThis process of healing by mesmerizing is only coming into _rapport_,\nso that the vital forces of the healthy person enter in and strengthen\nthe vital forces of the weak. Then there is a nerve-media existing\naround and in the individual, through which the pains of others\nare communicated to him. Pain in another causes an action in this\nnerve-medium which communicates the pain to me; just as my voice causes\na vibration of the physical atmosphere, which action is communicated\nto your organs of hearing. The sounds I produce have certain meanings\nattached to them. If you understand them precisely as I do, you get a\nperfect communication. But any description in natural language of a\npain would be inadequate. But when I receive it myself, I have in every\nrespect an adequate idea of it. Very often, standing near individuals,\nI have told them what difficulties they were laboring under by\nexperiencing them in myself. It is in this manner that clairvoyants\nfrequently tell what ails their patient.\n\nIf I go on and describe your pains, there is nothing astonishing in\nit. I am simply in _rapport_ with your nerve-medium. I am sometimes\nwondered at for this, but I might be a fool and yet do it. There is no\nwisdom involved in such a power; and it is erroneous to suppose, as\nsome do, that because clairvoyants can tell them what ails them, they\ncan tell them how to cure it. These powers belong to very different\nclasses, but they may be united in the same individual, and he may\nbe competent to discover disease and to prescribe its remedy. I refer\nto this simply to correct the false impression that clairvoyance is a\nwondrous power. It is one of the simplest powers in nature. It is one\nof the powers that may be made use of to bless; but if not properly\nunderstood, it may be made use of to curse. What is true in regard to\nthis nervous medium is true also of thought. You often witness cases\nof this kind in mesmeric and magnetic experiments, when the subject\nand operator being brought into _rapport_, whatever one thinks the\nother thinks\u2014what one wills the other wills. The idea is transmitted\nperfectly.\n\nThere is what is called thought-reading. This is governed by the\nsame law precisely as that of which I have been speaking. One mind\ncommunicates its motion to the other by means of a medium, just as I\ncommunicate to your organs of hearing the vibrations of my organs of\nspeech, through the medium of the atmosphere. When I have a thought\nwhich is an active condition of the mind, which may be denominated\nmental action, it is transmitted to the Spirit-medium or Spiritual\natmosphere, and undulates through that until it strikes upon that\nreceptive mind where the same motion is communicated, and the same\nthought produced, and the thought is impressed upon the consciousness.\nThe one receiving it perceives it precisely as its communicator. Such\na communication does not depend upon the Understanding simply for its\nperfection. This is what we call interior communication. According to\nthe elevation of our Spiritual sphere in the sphere of truth or love,\nas we approach the infinite and absolute, will be the perfection of\nthis method of communication. If we are very low, it corresponds very\nmuch to the external mode. But as we raise, it becomes more interior\nand refined, until finally, being unfolded to the plane of the absolute\nin our consciousness, perceptions, and affections, we shall come into\ndirect _rapport_ with the infinite, and receive communications directly\nfrom the Divine\u2014not by any outward sign or symbol, but by the inflowing\nof the Divine thought and affection. This is the way and the only way\nthat Spiritual truths can be communicated. The reason that Jesus of\nNazareth did not communicate sufficient truth to the world to enlighten\nit, was simply because the world was not prepared to receive it. He\nsaid that he had many things to communicate, but they could not bear\nthem. He also said that the man coming after him, living the life he\nhad lived, should do greater things, because there would be a higher\nand wider plane. The world was too low, too animal, to receive his\ndoctrine. For that reason he was obliged to go away, saying to his\ndisciples that they did not understand him, and it was necessary that\nthe Spirit of truth should come and illumine their understandings\nbefore they could understand him.\n\nIf I wish to understand Spiritual truth, no man or medium can be a\nmedium for me, and I can not be a medium for you. Jesus of Nazareth can\nnot be a medium for one of you, nor can God himself. Every individual\nwho would understand the truths of the Spiritual world must be his or\nher own medium. God must write his law upon your understanding, and\nput it in your affections. If you want to become mediums for interior\ncommunications, you must become absolutely true in every thought,\nfeeling, and affection\u2014become absolutely pure in every desire and\naspiration of your souls\u2014become absolutely just in all your relations\nof life, so that morning, noon, and night you shall be inquiring and\nthirsting after righteousness. Such an individual will not need any\noutward signs to convey truth to him. But the person disposed to live\nin the outward world, to live in the enjoyment of his appetites and\nlustful affections, will require representations, if he ever believes\nin Spirits. He has to be addressed as a physical or sensuous being. If\nhe ever believes in a future life, the Spirits have got to come and rap\nhim over his head. These outward manifestations are designed to say to\nthe sordid atheist, to the materialist, to the religious worldling,\n\u201cYou have a soul.\u201d It is for this reason that there is speaking\nwith tongues, and that all the wonderful works are wrought in your\nmidst. That is what makes Mr. Davenport\u2019s circles necessary for the\nvast majority of the citizens of New York. They are not sufficiently\ndeveloped to understand Spiritual truth. These manifestations are\nnecessary. They are not calculated to make you wise, but they can\nstartle you, and prompt you to investigate; and they can give you\nsuch direction as will prepare you to enter into a higher and holier\ninvestigation of your relation to the world and to the Divine Father.\nIt makes little difference whether they lie or tell the truth, provided\nthey satisfy you that you have souls. If they were always to tell you\nthe truth, you would be too dependent upon them. You have intellectual\nfaculties\u2014exercise them, and you will never find yourself in a\nposition where you can not find all the light you need. A great many\npeople who believe that Spirits do communicate, can hardly go to dinner\nwithout the consent of the Spirits. They make babes of themselves, and\nafterward become fools. If the Spirits tell me to do a thing which my\njudgment says I should not do, I tell them, \u201cI won\u2019t. I will do the\nbest I know how; and I would rather trust myself than you.\u201d I always\nget along a great deal better in this way than I would by getting\nSpirits to rap according to my expectations. They are not designed\nto become our governors. Sensible Spirits do not ask any such thing.\nThere are ninnies in the Spiritual world as in this, who will be glad\nto become governors, if they can get dupes enough. The object of this\nexternal communication is to give outward evidence. The Corinthians had\nterrible times. Some people coming in said they were drunkards. Some\nsaid they were mad. Some spoke in tongues. Paul reproved them for this\nkind of talk. He told them that it was well to speak with tongues, but\nhe would endeavor to make some use of it, and would rather speak five\nwords with the understanding than ten thousand in tongues. The tongues\nare for a sign to those who are not believers. The man or woman that is\nnot established in the faith that Spirits can communicate, needs these\noutward manifestations; but when established, it is all time thrown\naway to be chasing after these communications. Persons had better be\nin their closets, throwing their aspirations for a higher and holier\nlife, and pray until, by their earnest aspirations, they call angels\nof the brightest spheres to come and be with them. They would find\nthemselves getting along much better, and would give to Spiritualism\na very different character from what it now bears in the wide world.\nI talk plain. I am in earnest. We have had nonsense and folly enough.\nIt is time we become rational, learn the use of our faculties, and use\nthem aright.\n\nEverything has its true mission. Let, then, every thing be done\ndecently and in order. If Spiritualism is that which is to redeem the\nworld, we shall find it out by finding whether it makes us better; and\nif it will not make the world better, we want nothing more of it. We\nneed no more raps than will save humanity. We need all we can get for\nthat purpose. If Spiritualism takes that direction, it is a God-send to\nthe world; and in whatever sphere the Spirit can work, let it work. I\nbid it God-speed. But I say to all, that if Spiritualism, in its faith\nand effects, does not tend to make you wiser, better, purer, and holier\nmen and women, it is good for nothing. That Spiritualism which will not\nredeem you and me will not be sufficient to redeem the world. Therefore\nlet our faith be shown by our works\u2014be exhibited by the influence it\nshall exert upon our lives and characters in making us purer, better\nmen and women\u2014just men and women.\n\n\n\n\n                             CHAPTER VII.\n\n                     MEDIUMSHIP\u2014SPIRITUAL HEALING.\n\n\nWhen we make use of external language as a means of communication,\nour reception of truth does not depend so much upon who speaks, as\nupon ourselves; for it matters not who uses language, before it\ncan awaken the idea in our minds, it must first be communicated to\nour understanding. Therefore though the communication may convey\nestablished truth, our understanding is quite liable to err as to the\nmeaning of the communication. Though the communication were made by\nGod himself, it might not convey the truth, because each man or woman\nwould understand it according to his or her plane of development. The\ncharacter of a communication is determined by the plane from which it\nis translated. The caution is, \u201cTake heed how ye hear.\u201d\n\nHowever credible and truthful an individual may be, he may be mistaken,\nand falsify in respect to facts and principles communicated; so that\nunless we have an absolute perception of the truth of that which is\ncommunicated, we can not affirm that we have the truth upon the subject\nin question. In holding communication with our neighbor, we find that\nA or B or C has always told the truth, and therefore when he tells us\na particular event has taken place, we rely upon his word. Yet we know\nthat he is liable to be mistaken, and to be under influences which\nmay lead him to falsify, so that after all we can not know, upon the\nreport of an individual, that a thing is true. It does not address\nthat department of our being by which we are made as certain of it as\nwe are that we exist. Hence we always make a difference between what\nwe know and what we hear\u2014between a report and our consciousness. One\nwe say we _know_ to be true, and the other we say we _believe_ to be\ntrue. The difference is that between knowledge and belief. So if a\nSpirit should communicate to me ten thousand facts concerning my absent\nfriends, every one of which I should find in every respect true on\ninvestigation; and if, again, that Spirit should come and communicate\nstill other facts, I can not know that such other facts are true. The\nfact that that Spirit has before told the truth is not a positive proof\nthat it will continue to do so. I can believe the statement to be true,\nbut, nevertheless, my belief can not amount to positive knowledge. So\nthat the questions often arise when Spirits communicate with external\nlanguage, How are we to know that they tell the truth, How are we to\nknow that they are the ones they purport to be? When a Spirit raps out\non the table, or speaks or writes through a medium, that he is such a\nSpirit, and that such and such things are transpiring at some distant\nplace, how are we to know that he tells the truth? We are not to know\nit, and can not know it. If we are to be accurately informed on that\nsubject, that which is addressed to our understanding must come more\ninteriorly into our consciousness than it can come through the ear,\nthe eye, or the sense of feeling. It may be true; and give me time\nenough to investigate, and I can determine whether it be true or not.\nBut if I am to act upon it without investigation, I can not know. I do\nnot care if all the Spirits in Christendom testify to it, still I can\nnot know; for that means of communication can not, in the nature of\nthings, bring certainty\u2014can not produce interior conviction in the mind.\n\nI may be persuaded that a thing is so, and shape my course as though it\nwere so; still I am liable to be mistaken. Therefore I affirm again,\nthat this outward method of communication can not be relied upon for\nthe communication of absolute or positive truth. You can not make\nit the basis of action as you can when you have clear and positive\ninformation; and even if it should become as reliable as the ordinary\ncommunications passing between man and man, still it will not bring\nsufficient certainty to make it the basis of action. I might give\nmany other reasons why this external means of communication can not\nbe relied upon as sufficient to give us the necessary information\nrespecting our connection with the Spirit-world. It may give facts or\ntests which may prove to be sufficient to satisfy the mind of every\ninquirer that Spirits do exist and communicate. This is no unusual\nthing; but the point is to make them the instruments of communicating\nto us such information as from day to day we need, and upon which we\nmust rely. Those who do thus rely upon their communications, and yield\nimplicit confidence to them, nine times in ten show themselves to\nbe complete dupes, and make themselves the laughing-stock of every\nsensible man and woman.\n\nYou will find in all parts of the country those who, if they can get\na rap, say \u201cSpirits, is it so?\u201d and act according to the responses\nthey receive. Nothing can be further from the true use and design of\nthese manifestations. My position is simply this: so far as these\noutward means of communication are concerned, they are designed for\nthose who can not get a more interior view of their relations with the\nSpirit-world. If an individual is living in his exterior or sensuous\nnature, so that what comes to his understanding must come through his\nsenses, then these outward manifestations are useful and necessary to\nsatisfy him of the fact that Spiritual beings do exist, and have the\nmeans of communicating with us. But when he is fully satisfied on that\npoint, he has received about all the benefit he can from these exterior\ncommunications.\n\nThere is another important point to which I wish to call your\nattention, and one which, if properly understood by those who\ninvestigate the Spiritual phenomena, will save them a great deal of\nembarrassment. It is this: that that class of Spirits who usually\nmanifest themselves through public mediums, either by sounds, by moving\nphysical objects, or by any other means before promiscuous objects,\nor by any other means before promiscuous public assemblies, can not\ngenerally be relied upon; and the reason is very obvious. It is well\nunderstood that an individual who is excessively sensitive to all moral\ninfluences\u2014whose sensibilities are such that they can not endure the\npresence of that which is vulgar\u2014are repelled by, or driven from,\npromiscuous circles or society; and, consequently, those who can\nendure the common influences of a public circle can not be of a very\nsensitive class. Take a medium who is exceedingly sensitive to external\ninfluences; who must be in just such a condition in order that the\nSpirits may communicate, and who requires that every mind in the circle\nshall be in a peculiar condition; and place that medium in a public\ncircle, and you can get no manifestations at all, for the required\nconditions are foreclosed at once. This kind of mediums will not answer\nfor the purposes of public circles; but if you get one that will\nanswer for such purposes, that medium will be one who is excessively\npositive\u2014one who can resist influences of ever so positive a character.\nAs that medium is required to sit for all classes, as a matter of\ncourse he must be in a condition to respond to the kind of influences\nwhich are brought to bear upon him, or manifestations can not occur\nwhile such influences are present.\n\nWhen communications are received through public mediums, the\nprobabilities are that the communicator belongs to a very low plane\nof development, and that the communications can not be relied upon,\nwhatever may be the professions of that communicator.\n\nThere is almost always an influence which belongs peculiarly to each\npublic medium\u2014an influence which seems to be a presiding Spirit, which\nthat medium will usually recognize, answering to the name of \u201cJim\u201d or\n\u201cJohn.\u201d It is generally the case that this Spirit will be found on hand\nfirst, and is the one to do whatever is to be done; and he becomes the\nfather, mother, brother, sister, or friend of everybody. I speak from\nexperience on this subject. If this Spirit wants to be very accurate\nin telling you a name, he gets you to write down a list of names, and\nas your finger runs down the list, he raps when you come to the right\none. If he knows the name, why does he not spell it out? This is a\nvery reasonable question. Permit me to explain how these questions are\noften answered. In mesmerism there is at times a certain relation of\nthe operator to the subject called _rapport_, in which condition the\noperator can transmit his mental motions to the subject. In case a\nSpirit comes into _rapport_ with yourself, he answers all the questions\nyou ask, even mental questions, and you come to the conclusion that\nyou are really conversing with the one who purports to answer. If\nyou ask whether you have a father, mother, brother, or sister in the\nSpirit-land, he will answer according to your perceptions; and the\ntests seem to be very good, though the Spirit is constantly answering\ndirectly from your own mind. This often occurs in public circles.\nAnother individual, sitting next to you, who is very anxious to get\nequally good tests from his Spirit-friends, gets no correct answers\nunless he hands his written questions to one who has been found to be\nin _rapport_ with the Spirit. I once knew an instance of this kind. A\ndoctor came into a circle with about thirty mental questions, to which\nhe desired to get responses; but he could get no answers, it seeming\nimpossible for the Spirits to get the questions from his mind; but\nupon his writing them out, and handing them to a lady, who shortly\nbefore had succeeded in getting answers, they were all replied to\nwithout difficulty. The simple explanation of this fact is, that the\nlady was in _rapport_ with the Spirit, and consequently her thoughts\ncould be seen by the Spirit, while he could not perceive the thoughts\nof the physician, who was not in _rapport_ with him. If you ask\nquestions orally, it may be that the Spirit does not hear them, except\nthrough the medium\u2019s ears, so to speak. I might go on thus to great\nextent, showing the liability there is to be deceived in these public\ncommunications.\n\nThe circumstances of a public circle are exceedingly unfavorable to\ngetting communications from Spirits of a high degree of refinement.\nThe most that can be obtained under such conditions is some external\nevidence of Spiritual existence. The point to which I wish to call\nyour attention is the almost universal fact that mediums devoted to\nexternal manifestations, while under the influence of this presiding\nSpirit, are under an influences to deceive, to cheat, which is almost\nirresistible. It does not matter particularly how good manifestations\nthey get. I have seen this deceptive disposition manifested in mediums\nwho could get very remarkable manifestations, such as the movement in\nthe open light of a table with several men standing upon it. Not that\nthey themselves wished to deceive, but they were almost irresistibly\ncontrolled by the influence surrounding them, and which must generally\nbe present in a large circle. I have seen this many times when I knew\nthe manifestations to be genuine. A skeptic, however, notwithstanding\ntheir genuineness, would, upon detecting the slightest thing like\ncheating, pronounce them all a humbug. There are but few mediums who\ncould resist this influence which comes over them at times, inciting\nthem to help the manifestations along a little, or to give them a\nlittle start, with the hope that they will thereafter get along without\nassistance. I refer to this to call attention to the influence to which\nmediums are at times subjected, not to condemn the mediums, nor to\nconvey the impression that all these public manifestations are cheats.\nI have seen many which were not of this character. This cheating\ninfluence is attributable to the incongruous mental condition of a\nlarge circle, where no care is taken to secure harmony.\n\nI offer these remarks as a caution not to get discouraged. You will\nmeet with these things; and if the enemy can once catch you cheating,\nno matter how many good demonstrations you have given for months\nbefore, he has no hesitation in publishing to the world that it is all\na cheat. He requires the medium to be very truthful, but he has no\nhesitation in lying himself. Being judged out of his own mouth, the\nenemy who takes advantage of the least deception on the part of the\nmedium is as bad as the medium, and if he gets communications he must\nexpect them to be marked by his character.\n\nPermit me now to call your attention to the subject of healing\nmediumship. Man, as we have seen, possesses within himself the\nelements of all prior existence\u2014in fact, of all existence, from\ndead matter to the self-living Jehovah. These elements exist in\nhim in an individualized condition. He has composing his form\nindividualized matter of various kinds, as electricity, magnetism,\nnerve-aura, which are connected with matter of a like character\nwhich is unindividualized. I need but say that all matter this side\nthe Divine is of itself dead\u2014that all life and consciousness flows\ndirectly and indirectly from the Divine Being, and that there can be\nno manifestation except as connected with the Divine Being. The idea\nthat magnetism, electricity, or nerve-force has power of itself, is\naltogether false. They are only connecting parts in the universe,\nuniting the Divine on one hand with matter on the other. They are mere\nmedia of communication between the Fountain of all power on the one\nhand, and the recipient of power on the other. Let us for illustration\nobserve a manufacturing establishment. One part of the machinery is\nperhaps concerned in scouring and cleansing wool; another part cards\nit into rolls; another part spins them into yarn; another part weaves\nthe yarn into cloth; and another part dresses the cloth. Each of these\nparts seems to be disconnected from the other parts, and each seems to\nbe accomplishing a specific end; but you will find that all parts are\nconnected one with the other, and all connected with the primary power\nin the basement. In the water-wheel or steam-engine there is a power\nwhich puts them all in motion. The parts next to it are negative to it,\nand receptive of its power; and these parts, though negative to the\nprincipal power, are positive to those parts more remote. All parts are\nin motion, all moving as the primary wheel moves. Break the connection\nanywhere between the parts, and those parts beyond the connection cease\nto move. But establish the connection, and they will again commence\ntheir motion. Every part is negative to the primary power, but positive\nto all more remote from it than itself. No one of the parts has a\npower to move itself, and unless there is a connection maintained\nbetween the primary power and the several parts, they will cease to\nmove. So with all media through which potential manifestations are\nmade. Electricity has no power of itself. It is only by its connection\nwith that which is nearer to the great self-existent Being that it\nderives all its power to act. Next comes magnetism, which derives all\nthe power it possesses from the power which precedes it. Next is the\nlife-force, which is negative to all nearer to God than itself, and\nreceives its power from them, but is positive to all others. Next comes\nthe nerve-force; and next the spirit, which derives all its power\nfrom the Divine Fountain. It is the medium through which all power is\nimparted to all that is more exterior than itself. I have the power to\nmove my arm\u2014by my will to make potential manifestations through this\narm. If, however, by any means, you break any of the links out of the\nchain which unites the divine in me, through my spirit, with the matter\nof my arm\u2014abstract the electricity, the magnetism, or nerve-force\u2014I\nlose all power over my arm. Bisect the motor-nerve, which connects my\narm with my brain, and my arm will hang lifeless by my side. There are\nall of the media there, but they are not continuously connected with\nmy brain, and through that with the Divine Fountain. But if you will\nthrow a current of electricity down the nerves of my arm, you will\nproduce an extension of it. So you may withdraw the nerve-force, or the\nvital force from my arm, and it will cease to exist. My arm will be no\nlonger subject to sensation, because you have broken the link between\nsensation and matter.\n\nWe then, as individuals, possessing in ourselves all these different\nmedia, which become receptive of influences, must come into connection\nwith the Divine Fountain itself, if we would receive power from it; for\nwe can impart nothing which we do not receive.\n\nAs spiritual beings we become receptive of this influence through our\nspiritual nature, but impart it through our lower nature. To become\na medium of potential action or manifestation, I must have the power\nto impart to that medium through which the power is to be manifested.\nTo affect you nervously to relieve you from pain, I must be able to\nimpart through my nervous system that power which I received through my\nspiritual nature. To be able to operate psychologically, I must receive\nthrough my interior being and impart through my outward being\u2014must\nfirst have the powers of receptivity, and, secondly, must possess the\npowers of impartability. It becomes just as necessary to have a good,\nhealthful physical development to be able to impart, as to have a good\nspiritual development to receive the power. The individual becomes\nstronger as a medium in proportion to his development in receptivity\nand impartability.\n\nThat Jesus was so much more powerful than others was owing to the\nperfectly harmonic development of his different natures. Our power to\nexert healing influences depends upon our development. The higher we\nare developed\u2014the nearer we come to the great absolute Fountain of all\npower\u2014the more largely will we be receptive of that power.\n\nJesus being fully developed in his religious and spiritual being, was\nin conscious communion with the Father and with Spirits of the most\nexalted character, and received largely of the Divine power. He was\nalways aware whether he had the necessary power to perform any work.\nBeing so fully unfolded as to perceive the causes of the disease to\nbe cured, he knew beforehand whether it was worth while to make the\nexperiment. He knew what was to be done to bring the individual into a\ncondition to receive that which he needed to restore him. Therefore,\nwhen called upon to perform a cure, if the individual was not in the\nright condition, he commenced to bring him into it, requiring them to\ncome into a certain condition called faith or belief. That he might\nperform the desired work, he required the assistance of those around\nhim. When he went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and where\nhe was looked upon as an ordinary man, his right to teach was called\nin question, and his learning doubted. What was his success there?\nMark says he did not succeed, because of their unbelief. He could not\ncommand the conditions which were necessary to impart his power, and he\ncould do no mighty work there, except to lay his hands on a few sick\nfolks. Another writer referring to it, says, \u201cHe did not many mighty\nworks there, because of unbelief.\u201d We all know that Jesus said, \u201cA\nprophet is not without honor save in his own country.\u201d He had to keep\naway from Nazareth simply because the state of mind was such that he\ncould not control the conditions necessary to produce his mighty works.\n\nWithin three weeks before his crucifixion, when going to Jerusalem to\nattend one of the feasts, his brethren called upon him and said, \u201cIf\nyou do these things, show yourself openly, for no man doeth these\nthings in secret, and yet seeketh to be known openly; for,\u201d says John,\n\u201chis brethren did not believe on him.\u201d Christ, even with his high\ndegree of receptivity, found it necessary at times to call to his aid\nsurrounding minds; and he could not always perform his work without\nfaith being reposed in him. The question was very often asked by him,\n\u201cBelieve ye that I am able to do this?\u201d When he had performed the cure,\nhe immediately said \u201cIt is faith that did it.\u201d They had no faith in him\nas the Son of God, as supposed by some, but simply in his power to work\na cure.\n\nI desire to enforce the idea, that if we wish to be mediums of high and\nexalted powers for the removal of diseases, it becomes necessary that\nwe should be highly developed, not only physically, but spiritually\nand religiously. A high order of the absolute religious development is\nvery essential to great power as a healing medium, because this highest\nnature, this absolute nature, in man, much more than any other, serves\nto unite him with the absolute Fountain of all power. The highest\ndevelopment of this religious nature in man is necessary to give him\na clear perception of the nature of disease and the means for its\nremoval. The man who has this religious faculty highly developed, needs\nnot that any man should say anything to him of man, for he knows what\nis within him. Clairvoyant mediums know very well that that condition\nwhich enables them to see most clearly the state of the individual is\nthat which is high and exalted; for when their thoughts and aspirations\nseem to be ascending\u2014like the odor from the flower\u2014there is a sort of\nconscious exhalation going forth permeating every thing around the\nindividual, and he sees and feels clearly the condition of everything\nby which he is surrounded.\n\nThere is nothing in the world which summons the human being to such a\ndegree of activity as that which we call the religious nature\u2014there is\nnothing which takes hold of him so deeply. What other influence in the\nworld could cause a mother to destroy her babe, but the stimulating\ninfluence of this religious nature, coming up as it does from the\ndeepest fountain of the soul? Make a man believe that his religious\nnature requires sacrifice, and he will make that sacrifice, cost what\nit may, simply because his religious nature wells up so strong when it\nis moved, that there is nothing outward which can resist it. When the\nindividual\u2019s religious nature is highly developed, it is more powerful\nthan all his other natures.\n\nWe will become healing mediums just in proportion as we are developed\nin this religious nature, so that we shall become more receptive\nand perceptive, and be enabled to exercise stronger mental power to\naccomplish our results. But a healthy physical development is quite\nas essential to good mediumship as is a high and healthy spiritual\ndevelopment. Good organs of impartability are required. Secure a good\nharmonic physical with a good harmonic spiritual development, knowing\nthat you are receptive on the Spiritual side, and impartive on the\nphysical side.\n\nThere is much folly connected with mediumship. That such should be the\ncase with people so profoundly ignorant as the majority of mankind are\nwith reference even to their having souls, is by no means surprising.\nMany people suppose that if their hands are touched, a Spirit has got\nhold of them, and is about to make something great of them, and they\nset themselves up as something wonderful. If they can perceive any\ninfluence coming upon them, it is attributed to a Spiritual agency.\nIt may be so and it may not, because there are other than Spiritual\nagencies. I once witnessed the curing in five minutes of an individual\nwho had been blind for three years. This, told to the world as an\ninstance of Spiritual healing, would appear marvelous; and if I had\nhappened to do it on the platform, before the people of New York, they\nwould have thought I had almost performed a miracle. It is probable\nthat not a particle of Spiritual influence was exerted in the case.\nThe individual performing the cure did not suppose that he was a\nmedium, though some would not hesitate to publish it to the world as\na remarkable instance of healing by Spiritual aid. The blindness was\ndoubtless caused by a paralysis of the optic nerve, and required only a\nlittle action to restore the sight. The individual proceeded according\nto the usual modes of mesmerism. The cure was not half as difficult as\nit would be to get a sliver from under the nail, nor was it half as\nmysterious.\n\nA case of the restoration of hearing, by placing the fingers in the\nears and taking them out suddenly, is also within my knowledge. Such\ncases are frequently circulated as evidence that Spirits do cure. The\ncure in this case was doubtless effected by a strong mesmeric current\npassing from the fingers of the operator over the nerve of the ear.\nAs honest men and women, we should be careful about publishing these\nthings as instances of Spirit-healing. We have abundant _genuine_\nevidence of what Spirits do. Attributing to Spirits that which is\nnot produced by them, tends to make us dishonest with ourselves and\nour neighbors. Were due caution exercised in this matter, we should\nnot need _half_ the evidence which is now required to convince the\nworld that Spirits do exist and communicate. When it is observed that\neverything is attributed to Spirits, the world will not believe us even\nwhen we tell them facts.\n\nI know that Spirits _do_ communicate\u2014_do exist_. It is not with me\na matter of conjecture at all\u2014I KNOW it; but there is no occasion\nto make persons believe that every thing comes from Spirits. I\nask Spiritualists to be more careful, more dignified in their\ninvestigations in these matters, and they will find that there\nare facts enough before the world to convince it of the truths of\nSpiritualism, when you can convince the world that you are duly\ncautious and not easily misled. I do not wish to lie for Spirits, nor\ndo I wish them to lie for me.\n\n\n\n\n                             CHAPTER VIII.\n\n             CONDITION OF THE SPIRIT IN THE SPIRIT-WORLD.\n\n\nIn order that I may present the general condition of the Spirit in the\nSpirit-world in the most intelligible form, it will be necessary for us\nto enter into a very close and accurate analysis of what constitutes\nthe Spirit, because if we do not well understand what constitutes\nthe Spirit, we shall only be able to conjecture of its condition of\nhappiness in the Spirit-world; and if we are to have a close and rigid\nanalysis of the Spirit, we, can only have it by having a close and\nrigid analysis of our own conscious being, because we can know nothing\nbut our own consciousness; and if we are to learn of the condition of\nSpirits in the other world, that condition must be translated into our\nconsciousness, and we must find it therein recorded, or we can only\nconjecture of their condition.\n\nThen the first point to which I wish to call your attention, is that\nwhich distinguishes the condition of absolute consciousness from\nthat condition which goes to make up individuality\u2014that which is\nuniversal and applicable to all, and that which is only individual\nand applicable to each and every individual. Every individual has the\nmeans of determining how much of this being\u2014\u201cI, myself\u201d\u2014belongs to\nthe external and finite, and how much to the internal and infinite;\nbecause that which makes me to differ from you is finite; but that\nwhich makes myself or yourself one and the same with every other\nindividual being in the universe, is infinite. Therefore the first\npoint of investigation is to ascertain what it is that makes you and me\ndiffer from every other individual being in the universe\u2014in what that\ndifference consists\u2014because when I speak of you as a Spiritual being,\nI speak of you in view of that difference, and not in view of that\nsameness.\n\nYou understand that individuality makes the difference between us.\nMy individuality makes me to differ as an individual being from you.\nThe question now arises, what constitutes my individuality, this \u201cI,\nmyself\u201d\u2014what enables me, when speaking of the events Of childhood,\nto say, \u201cWhen I was a child,\u201d though every thing has changed that\npertained to my individuality as a child\u2014thoughts, feelings, tastes,\npleasures, form? What is it that connects the events of twenty or\nthirty years ago with my present being?\n\nI wish each one to go down into his own mind and solve that problem,\nbecause if we are to talk about Spirits we must learn about ourselves.\nWhen each man understands thoroughly the Spirit that is at present\nspeaking to him, he will be able to form some correct ideas respecting\nits condition in the Spiritual world.\n\nUpon examination, each will find that there is within himself\na principle of absolute consciousness\u2014a principle which is\nself-conscious, which represents itself to itself, and is not\nrepresented by any thing but itself. It can not be analyzed. It is\nabsolute in itself. To prove to you that your consciousness of\nidentity has undergone no change, I need but attempt to prove to\nyou that you are the same individual that you were when a child, by\nreferring to scars made upon your fingers in childhood, which still\nremain, by calling to mind traits of your childish character. All\nthese proofs you would consider very much inferior to that proof\nafforded by an affirmation within you, which rises above all outward\nevidence. It is that to which the Book alludes when it says, \u201cAs he\ncould swear by no greater, therefore he swore by himself.\u201d Although in\nyour physical, intellectual, and moral being you have changed in every\nthing pertaining to your finite consciousness, yet there is that within\nyou which tells you you are the same. Let one change follow another to\neternity, you will not lose your consciousness of identity.\n\nThat which makes you differ from others does not enter into this\nabsolute consciousness of identity. In other words, the thought,\nfeeling, and affection which characterized you at any particular time\nof life has nothing to do with this absolute identification of self.\nNothing by which the world knows me, or by which it knows you, enters\nin to form our inmost identity. We have an identity which lies deeper\nthan everything external; and it is this identity, which admits of\nno change, which says that we are the same, and will forever remain\nthe same identical beings to all eternity. No change of position, no\nchange of character, no destruction of reputation, no conversion of\nhappiness into suffering, presents the least difficulty in the way of\nidentification. The man who has fallen, been ruined in reputation,\nand is steeped in suffering, finds no difficulty in identifying\nhimself as the same being who was once good, respected, and happy.\nHe does not say that there was once a being who was happy and good,\nbut who has changed and become another being, but he says that the\ncharacter and position of this individual identity has changed, while\nhis identity has undergone no change. I wish to call your attention to\nthat principle of absolute consciousness in you, by means of which you\nknow yourself, but by which nobody else knows you. You know that that\nprinciple in you does not constitute your individuality. It constitutes\nyour personality; but that in you which is undergoing change, and\ndevelops from a lower to a higher degree of knowledge, constitutes your\nindividuality. This unchanging, ever-present, conscious identity is\nthe very divine life within you, from which you derive all life. This\noutside identity, which thinks and wills, is no part of my immortal\nnature, separate from this divine principle within me. This outside\nconsciousness can never be in any other state than the finite. For\nwherever you have succession and duration, you have time. Where you\nhave succession in extent, you have space. In regard to this outward\nfinite nature, one change follows another; and if change follows\nchange, there must, in respect to such change, always be succession;\nand where you get succession, you must necessarily have time. Hence\nthe spirit, in its finite nature, must always be in time till it shall\ncease to change; when progress ends, time will cease with the finite.\nThis is a proposition so plain that no mind can for a moment be lost in\nconsidering it.\n\nWe can form some definite idea of the Spirit-world by first learning\nsomething of ourselves. You know that this conscious principle within\nme and you knows nothing about time or space. Suppose I instantly\nbecome unconscious, and remain so twenty-four hours, and am then\nsuddenly restored to my consciousness. During this twenty-four hours\nthere has been no additional record of events made within me; therefore\nthat twenty-four hours is obliterated so far as my consciousness is\nconcerned. I take up the time where I left it. To the unconscious there\nis no time. To the unchangeable there can be no time. Time is but\nthe marking of succession. The inmost principle by means of which we\nbecome acquainted with ourselves, knows nothing about time. When one\nis restored from unconsciousness to consciousness, he knows instantly\nwho he is, but he can not say how much time elapsed to the outward\nworld. Clairvoyants who pass into a condition of unconsciousness to all\nexterior things, have no recollection of what occurs while they are in\nthat condition, though they may have been in it for several hours.\n\nI knew an individual once to be put into the mesmeric condition,\nwho was unconscious in his normal condition of what occurred in the\nmesmeric state, though he was in it for five hours, and during that\ntime performed many interesting experiments. At the time of sitting\ndown to be mesmerized he was in so great hurry that he thought he could\nspend but a very few minutes\u2019 time. On being brought to consciousness,\nhe started off again in great haste, supposing that he had sufficient\ntime to attend to his business, showing clearly that he had not been\nin a condition to mark succession of events.\n\nThe inmost principle of consciousness which identifies me of to-day\nwith what I was thirty years ago, does not, of itself, notice time,\nexcept as it is connected with this outward part of me. It counts\ntime by changes; but when you come into itself and separate it from\nthose changes, it does not know time at all. Between my infancy and\nthe present time it has been a constant now. It is the presence of the\ninfinite and eternal in man, and the means by which he is connected\nwith the infinite and eternal. It is by the presence of this infinite\nand eternal consciousness that man knows that he possesses a finite and\nchangeable nature. It is a lamp within, which shines out and reveals to\nhim his finite consciousness, and the changes transpiring there. So man\nhas two selfhoods, an inward, and an outward which is changing from day\nto day.\n\nWhen I speak of you as an individual being who differs from me, I speak\nof your outward, changing selfhood. But when I speak of you in your\ninmost consciousness, I speak of you in your inmost selfhood, in which\nyou do not differ from me.\n\nIt is by this inmost consciousness that I know that I am. It reveals\nmyself to myself by just the same law by which you are revealed to\nyourself. There are two methods of addressing the outward selfhood\u2014from\nwithout, and from the infinite within. Where the individual\nconsciousness is addressed from within, the communication is made\nto the affections, whence it flows into the understanding. When it\nis addressed from without, it is by representations of that which\naddresses it. But when I go to the Spiritual world, I go with this\ndivine consciousness, this constant, unchanging consciousness within,\nbut not as a principle which belongs to me, which is individualized\nwithin me. It is just as universal as God. It is the divine\nconsciousness which is unindividualized within me, and wherever that\nis, I must be, because of the ubiquity of this divine principle. If\nthere were any point from which this could be excluded, and into which\nthe individual could be thrust, he would be annihilated.\n\nWhat we need is to bring the external consciousness into unceasing\nrelation with this internal consciousness. That which does not come\ninto such relation with this absolute consciousness does not become a\npart of our finite selfhood\u2014a part of our immortal selfhood. Standing\nbefore you I perceive your countenances, because your images are\nbrought into a certain relation to this absolute consciousness within\nme. Now when they come into unceasing relation to this unchanging\nconsciousness, they become a part of my external, finite selfhood.\nMemory is the result of bringing events into such relation with this\nconsciousness.\n\nLooking at man, then, as possessing an absolute consciousness which\nnever changes, and an external consciousness which is constantly\nchanging, and which alone causes one man to differ from his fellow,\nit is apparent that if individuality is preserved upon entering the\nSpiritual world, each must take with him so much as causes him to\ndiffer from others. Whenever this external nature would represent\nitself to another, not having a consciousness of its own separate\nfrom the divine consciousness, it comes under the law of exterior\ncommunication and representation. Therefore it is never present in\nthe mind by itself, but by that which represents it there. If we\nwould learn how it is that a Spirit represents itself in different\nplaces at the same time, we must learn the law of representation. I\nsee my audience, by which I mean I see that which represents you to\nmy consciousness. You are presented to my consciousness by means of a\nmedium which comes between you and me; and according to the accuracy of\nmy faculties to perceive, and according to the accuracy of this medium\nto represent you to my consciousness, will be the accuracy of your\nrepresentation in my mind.\n\nI see you now by the medium of light; and you all see me at the same\ntime. I am here and only here, but you all see me in your various\npositions. You see me by means of the light which takes my image into\nevery part of the room. Though actually present in but one place in\nthis room, yet by that which represents me I am omnipresent in this\nroom. The great law of representation is that we perceive a thing, not\nby itself, but by that which represents it in our consciousness. Hence\naccording to the ubiquity of the medium will be the ubiquity of the\nrepresentation. In this room the medium light is ubiquitous, and my\nimage is just as omnipresent as the medium. The same is true of every\nother medium by which presence is represented.\n\nI, as a finite spirit, am conscious only by means of the divine\nconsciousness within me, which imparts and reflects consciousness to\nmy outward nature. My outward consciousness is like the light of the\nmoon, which is the reflected light of the sun. The real consciousness\nwithin me is that from which I derive my external consciousness.\nWhenever I, as a spirit in my external consciousness, would represent\nmyself to you, I must come into some medium of representation\u2014some\nmedium which will be to my spirit what the light is to my body. The\nmedium of light will not represent me, but there is a medium which\nwill. This, the Spirit-medium, is vastly more refined and ubiquitous\nthan light. Standing here as a spiritual form, and giving off spiritual\nundulations, just as my body reflects the undulations of light,\nwherever the Spirit-medium extends, there my image will extend. And\nwhenever an individual comes into _rapport_ with this spiritual medium\nand sustains a certain relation to me, he will be able to perceive my\npresence, because I am brought to his view by that which represents me.\n\nMany suppose that a person whose mind is separated from the sensuous\ninfluences of the body, or brought into the clairvoyant condition,\ncan go to a distant place, as to London, and see an individual to\nwhom his attention is directed. He tells me what the individual in\nLondon is thinking and saying, yet hears what is said to him here.\nIf the individual in London were to be thrown into the clairvoyant\ncondition, and have his attention directed to the clairvoyant here,\nthe two could readily converse together. Space is not noticed by them,\nthough it might be by carefully going over the space and observing a\nsuccession of objects. Being brought into _rapport_ with each other,\neach can observe the thoughts and feelings of the other. This is\ndone by virtue of a simple law; and there is no mystery in it. The\nmedium which unites my organs of speech with your organs of hearing,\nextends through the entire room, and my voice is as ubiquitous as the\nmedium which communicates it. So in regard to this Spirit-medium,\nwhich is the medium of communication between the clairvoyants. By that\nmedium, London, Canton, or any other part of the earth, is present\nhere. Persons who mistakenly suppose that persons in the clairvoyant\ncondition leave their bodies and make journeys to distant places, get\nup many curious theories to account for the body and spirit being held\ntogether. Their error arises from a mistaken conception of the actual\ncondition of a Spirit. You see readily that a Spirit can be addressed\nexternally only by that which represents that which addresses it. Apply\nto the case in hand the same law by which you see and hear me, and\nsubstitute for the media of light and atmosphere the Spirit-medium, and\nyou will have no difficulty in understanding how it is that Spirits can\nbe represented in different places.\n\nPersons sometimes meet with difficulty in explaining the apparent\nfact, that person in the form are sometimes seen as though they were\nout of it. I recollect several cases where persons were said to have\nbeen seen and conversed with at places very remote from each other;\nand it was supposed that the spirits left their bodies and went to\nthese distant places and represented themselves. It is very easy to\nunderstand how my spirit can appear in real Spirit-form and speak to\none a hundred miles away from here. It is done by what is called\npsychologic representation. If I come into _rapport_ with any mind\nyet in the body, which mind is in _rapport_ with me, I can create any\nspiritual image in your mind that I may see fit to make; that is, I can\ncause the image in me to reproduce itself in you\u2014so that that image\nin my mind shall be reproduced in your consciousness, as the object\nbefore the camera daguerreotypes its image on the prepared plates.\nNow suppose that between us one or more guardian Spirits are passing.\nThe Spirit coming into _rapport_ with me, and having a full and\nperfect perception of you, can, by the intensity of his mental action,\ndaguerreotype my image upon your consciousness. You then perceive me\nby the psychological action which that Spirit exerts upon your mind.\nIt is in this way that we can apparently meet and see each the other\u2019s\nform, just as though it were present. But if we were more susceptible,\nthere would be no necessity of having the intervention of a guardian\nSpirit. If we are both so developed as to clairvoyantly perceive one\nanother, the conversation can go on, though both are in the body, and\nyou in London and I in New York. We see each other as though we were\npresent one with the other. It does not follow, however, that my spirit\nis present in two places at the same time; but that which represents\nit is universally present. The question may arise, why we can not,\nupon passing into the clairvoyant condition, see all the Spirits in\nthe universe\u2014because they are all in _rapport_ with this spiritual\natmosphere. I will explain. Suppose we have ten thousand strings\nstrung from the ceiling to the floor, and they are made to give forth\ncertain sounds. Now all that have the same degree of tension will give\nforth the same sound. The vibration of one will cause all the others\nto vibrate which have the same degree of tension. Take any stringed\nmusical instrument, and vibrate one of the strings. If any other of the\nstrings has the same point of tension, it will vibrate. Now when my\nspirit comes in contact with the Spiritual sphere and sustains the same\nrelation to any Spirit that the strings sustain to each other, I can\nsee that Spirit. Upon the same principle I may see all who are in the\ncondition to respond to my spirit. When my consciousness will undulate\nto their conscious vibrations, I perceive them, and not till then.\n\nIf a Spirit is not present, except by that which represents it, it will\nappear useless to open doors to permit Spirits to enter, for a door is\nas transparent to the medium by which they are represented, as a pane\nof glass is to the medium of light. Jesus appeared in the midst of his\ndisciples, though they were shut up; and when the time came for his\ndisappearance, he ceased to be seen, not by going out of the door or\nwindow, but by disturbing the conditions by which he was represented to\ntheir consciousness.\n\nIn respect of Spirit-mansions, etc., in the Spiritual world, we are\nvery liable to mistake representation for actuality. We are very liable\nto mistake images of things\u2014creations, so to speak, proceeding from\nthe minds of the Spirits\u2014for actualities. We are very apt to perceive\nanimals. Some think that animals have a living form and exist in the\nSpiritual world; but I pretend to say that it is not true. I know very\nwell how they appear there. I know very well how it is that persons\nsuppose they do exist, and why Spirits in the Spiritual world appear to\nhave their dogs, cats\u2014their pet animals. To them they are actualities.\nNevertheless, I understand that the idea that a cat or dog has an\nimmortal soul is not only inconsistent with any principle of philosophy\nin the universe, but is contradicted by every principle of philosophy.\nTo say that a cat or dog is immortal is to affirm that to be immortal\nwhich God himself can not make so. The condition of immortality can\nnot pertain to the mere animal being. The representations of animals,\nforests, fields, and things of this kind, have no basis upon that which\nhas a material or actual existence in the universe. They are only\ndeveloped under the law of representation. Man has a sort of creative\nfaculty, by which he forms the images which are mistaken in the\nSpiritual world for actualities. When Spirits are thinking of animals\nthey have seen in this world, they throw out their images, and the\nindividual who chances to be in _rapport_ with these Spirits sees these\nimages, and thinks they are actualities.\n\nIf you will only investigate the law of representation, you will have\nno difficulty in accounting for these things in the Spiritual world.\nMan makes these\u2014they are not real. God makes all that is real in the\nuniverse. Man works in the sphere of representation, but God works in\nthe sphere of actuality.\n\nHad I time, to-night, I should be happy to go into a careful\ninvestigation to justify the conclusion that dogs and cats, etc.,\nare not immortal. There is no end to be subserved in their being\nimmortal. If the animal were to go to the Spiritual world, there\nbeing nothing to address his consciousness, he would virtually\nhave no being. Whenever a mind goes where its consciousness is not\naddressed, it ceases to be mind. If there is any place in the universe\nwhere consciousness ceases to be addressed, there consciousness must\ncease to be. What would there be in the Spiritual world to address\nthe consciousness of the animal who has been developed only to the\nperception of physical objects?\n\nAgain, between the nerve principle (the highest principle developed in\nthe animal) and the absolute or divine principle, there intervenes the\nSpiritual principle, which, being developed in man, makes him receptive\nof the highest or divine consciousness, and makes him immortal. The\nanimal lacking this principle can not be immortal. According to\naspirations the animal puts forth, according to its mental phenomena,\naccording to every principle, the animal is not immortal. Nevertheless\nhe has a representation in the Spiritual world, according to the law of\nrepresentation.\n\nEvery individual who is conscious of an existence as an individual, has\nthat within him which constitutes him an individual; and as he goes\ninto the Spiritual world, he takes with him that individuality. This\nindividuality in its inmost joins upon the absolute, through which it\nperceives its own consciousness, and by this connection is unfolded in\nthe facts, truths, and principles of the universe.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER IX.\n\n                    ORGANIZATION\u2014INDIVIDUALIZATION.\n\n\nThe experience of man has been such, in respect to organization, that\nall prudent and careful men and women are beginning to have fears for\nthe welfare of a cause when it assumes the shape of an organization;\nand they have just ground for fear; for the experience of the past\nhas been such as to justify them in supposing that evils arise out\nof organizations. Their tendency usually has been to beget a party\nfeeling, or that which corresponds in the organization to selfishness\nin the individual. It is natural that every individual should love\nhimself better than others, and when individuals associate together,\nthey acquire a spirit of individuality\u2014a selfishness which pertains\nto their particular society or organization. Individuals who unite in\nreligious organizations entertain a sort of selfishness in reference to\ntheir particular denomination. The Presbyterian, for instance, likes\nPresbyterians a great deal better than Methodists, and the Methodists\nlikes Methodists a great deal better than Presbyterians, and prefers\nto bestow his favors upon Methodists. In fine, the general tendency of\nthis kind of organization is to lay in men and women the foundation of\na selfishness in addition to their natural or individual selfishness.\n\nThere are many reasons for the evil results of organization; and if we\ncontinue to organize upon the principles observed in organizations of\ntimes past, we may expect that the same evils will continue. I propose\nto inquire whether there is not a natural basis, and endeavor to\ndiscover the causes of evils for the past, so that we may know how to\nrectify them and guard against them in future.\n\nEvery operation in nature tends to individualism. From the moment\nyou begin to watch matter, every process is found tending to\nindividualization. The elements which now compose our bodies\noriginally existed in a general unindividualized state or condition.\nThe material elements of our bodies, and the media through which the\nmaterial elements were controlled, in bringing them to their present\nposition, existed originally in an unindividualized condition; and\nwhen each particle was brought under a certain process that it might\nreceive vital affinities, it was with reference to the formation of an\nindividualism. Nature labors constantly to organize and individualize,\nand you and I owe our individual existence to this tendency in nature;\nand the same law operates in society. The fact that there have been\nso many organizations, shows that there is a natural tendency to\norganize. The great difficulty attending all organizations has been the\ndeparture from the law of nature\u2014the law of affinity or attraction\u2014for\nNature works by the law of affinity, never by the law of repulsion or\nexcretion. The law of excretion is only applicable to those elements\nwhich are to be rejected. External force has never been applied by\nNature to aid her. She does not bring external force to hold the\nelements of the tree or rock together, nor to hold together the organs\nof the animal.\n\nIndividualization is the result of an inward power which attracts one\npart to cohere with its fellow. Nature is very careful to observe the\nlaw of affinity; and the moment you bring any element which should\nnot enter an organism, repulsion immediately operates to prevent its\nentrance.\n\nHate is at times defined to be a less degree of love, and love\nsometimes is very negative. Repulsion is also defined to be a less\ndegree of attraction. A stone thrown into the air is drawn to the\nearth by the power of gravitation. But the balloon which is subject\nto the same law, instead of coming toward the earth\u2019s center, rises.\nIt does not rise because the earth does not attract it, but because\nthe atmosphere, for which the earth has a greater affinity than for\nthe balloon, causes the balloon to recede and make room for it. The\ncase of the balloon illustrates the law of excretion. The position\nwhich each particle is to assume in the system is determined by the\nvital affinities imparted to it in the stomach. If any particle\nloses its vital affinities, it occupies the position needed by some\nother particle; and the new particle accordingly displaces the old.\nBut I wish to impress upon the mind the fact, that Nature\u2019s law of\nindividualizing is that of affinity, and that Nature does not apply\nexternal force to build up her individuals. However, before any\nparticle can be taken into an organization by the law of affinity, it\nmust receive a peculiar impress or affinity, and an affinity suited to\nthe particular organization into which it is to enter. It receives that\naffinity by passing through a natural process. If it enter without\na vital affinity, it will enter in as a stranger, as a disturber of\nharmony; and the tendency of the organism will be to reject and throw\nit off. What we here learn from Nature, we may apply to organizations,\nreligious or otherwise. Each of us is a particle in society. But before\nwe can be organized harmoniously, so that each shall be found in his\nspecific place, each must be prepared for that organism by receiving\nthe vital or spiritual affinity which is necessary for that organism.\nYou can not make A, B, and C into a community unless they have the\ntrue impulse, any more than you could go into the field and gather\nclay, sand, etc., and mold them together, and make a man or animal\nbody. You can not hold men together in an organization by outward\nrestraint, and have them fulfill the office of a genuine organization,\nsuited to the development of the spirit. The method by which society\nseeks to organize itself is like the method by which God created our\nfirst parents. Each individual should be fitted to become a member of\nan organization by being placed where he will receive the appropriate\nvital affinity, and leave the affection of his nature to point out\nhis true position, whether that of head, hand, or feet. The great\ndifficulty in all past organizations is that the natural law has not\nbeen observed. Organizations have usually been formed with reference to\nexerting force, either moral or physical. They have organized by that\nwhich is external rather than internal.\n\nThe first requisite for an organization is a nucleus of the character\nof the organization you wish, which nucleus may consist of one, two,\nor half dozen individuals. The individual who is seeking to establish\nan organization must look for the nucleus in himself, not in his\nneighbor. The idea of looking out of yourself for an organization is\nall false. The idea that you must look to a distance for some being\nout of yourselves as a representation or reflection of the perfect\nattributes of Deity, is erroneous. The individual who feels the need of\nan organization must first understand that that organization must be\nbuilt up by the law of affinity; and that as each individual becomes\na particle to be incorporated into the organism in his love and\naffection, he must grow to retain his position. The vital principle\nmust be felt by himself. If he wishes to redeem the world, he must\ncommence by redeeming himself. If he wishes help in redeeming the world\nfrom its various evils, he must first find in himself that spirit which\nhe wishes infused into the helping association.\n\nIf a principle has not succeeded in saving me, I need not hope that\nit will save the world. Therefore, when we are about to organize a\nsociety upon any principle, the first thing to be ascertained is\nwhether this principle has saved us. If not, we may just as well drop\nit. If a person wishes to form an organization to make the world\nChristian in faith and practice, you should ask him if he has been made\na Christian in faith and practice. If he wants fidelity to truth and\nrighteousness, ask him if he is faithful to truth and righteousness.\nLet the individual be tried by that which he wishes to accomplish. If\nhe can not stand the test, he is not the proper person for a nucleus\nfor such an organization. Before one mourns over the lusts of the\nworld, let him look after his own lusts. So in respect to every thing\nnecessary to make a truly upright man, a man who shall live in all good\nconscience before God and the world, and before the inmost of his own\nsoul. Let him see to it that after he has made a perfect examination of\nhis own breast, there is nothing found lacking. Let him be so satisfied\nwith his examination of his own character, that he will be content to\nhave mankind redeemed up to the plane he occupies. Then let his life be\nthe incarnation of the principle. Let the world, when they look upon\nhim, be constrained to say, \u201cHe has been with Jesus,\u201d if Jesus is to be\nthe model of the church. Let his life correspond exactly to the high\nand beautiful ideal of the church he is wishing to have established;\nand then an influence will go out from him which will become attractive\nto all who, like him, are thirsting for that life. He will find it\nunnecessary to throw out catechisms, because there will be the true\naffinity which will come forth from the character, and attract all\nwho, like him, are hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Form a\nchurch by the application of external tests, and there will be conflict\nall the time; while concord will characterize one formed in accordance\nwith the natural principle of organization.\n\nSpiritualists have become very numerous. I doubt whether there is\nany other class of believers so numerous as those now known as\nSpiritualists. They now number millions, and they are men and women\nwho have come from under the restraints of authority\u2014of external law\u2014a\n\u201cthus saith the Lord\u201d\u2014and have assumed the prerogative of acting for\nthemselves. One article of their creed has attached to them the name\nof \u201cSpiritualists\u201d. They profess to believe that our disembodied\nSpirit-friends are near to us, and hold converse with us; and when any\none says that he believes in that, he is called a Spiritualist. That\nappears to be the only test. But that external belief or assent is not\nbetter as the basis of an organization than is the creed, \u201cI believe\nthat God fore-ordained whatever comes to pass.\u201d The idea that such an\nassent could be made the basis of an external organization is entirely\nunnatural and supremely ridiculous. If you should attempt to organize\nupon such a basis, you would be guilty of the error into which all\nprevious organizations have fallen.\n\nMany entertain the idea, that because we have overcome our\nblind deference to authority, refused to be ruled by the\n\u201cthus-saith-the-Lord\u201d\u2014because we have come to the conclusion to examine\nall questions for ourselves\u2014we have taken all the steps necessary\nfor our own reformation and that of the world. But what has been the\ninfluence exerted by this new faith\u2014New Philosophy as it is sometimes\ncalled\u2014upon the lives and character of those who have accepted it. You\nsay, perhaps, that when you drive all the church dogmas out of the\nway, there will be nothing in the way of redeeming man. So far as you\nare concerned, they are driven out of the way, and what has been done\nfor you? How much better are you morally, religiously, than the man\nyou call a bigot? You wish all the world to be converted to a belief\nin the possibility and actuality of Spiritual intercourse; but suppose\nthat all the world are converted to this faith, what are they to gain\nif it produces no better fruits in them than in you? While we are\ntrying to get the motes from our religious brother\u2019s eye, is it not\npossible that we have very extensive beams in our own? We are calling\nfor organization to unite the moral power and energy of the millions\nof Spiritualists; but if the influence of Spiritualism has not served\nto redeem us, how are we to expect that it is to redeem the world?\nIf _Spiritualism_ does not save _you_, how are you to reproach the\nchurch for its inconsistency in sending its missionaries to convert the\nheathen to what they themselves do not practice\u2014when even slave-holders\nare received to the bosom of the church, while the slave toils in the\nrice and cotton swamps of the South, while the babe is torn from its\nmother\u2019s breast. If the church were to turn round and point out similar\ninconsistencies among Spiritualists, what would the Spiritualists of\nNew York reply?\n\nSpiritualists should see to it that the work which is wrought in\nthem by Spiritualism testifies what will be its work in others. If\nit does not touch their own character; if it does not make the false\nman true, the corrupt man better, what reason shall we give in favor\nof its being received by the world? We have Spiritualists enough to\nconvert the world if they were only _spiritualized_. There is the\ndifficulty. It is one thing to be a _Spiritualist_, and another thing\nto be _spiritualized_. What we want is something that shall take our\nSpiritualists and spiritualize them. We want to find some key which\nshall open up a fountain deeper in any man\u2019s soul than has yet been\nopened by these manifestations\u2014which shall call out higher, holier,\nand purer aspirations after eternal life than have yet been called\nout. We all know this. We find every thing on the right hand and the\nleft to admonish us that when the whole world shall have been converted\nto our faith, it will be a bad world still. What then is needed is,\nthat you and I set about a work which is peculiarly intrusted to us. We\nshall then redeem the world.\n\nI must look for the coming of my Lord in my own affection. He must\ncome in the clouds of my spiritual heavens, or he can not come for\nany benefit to me. I must place myself in that condition that shall\ninvite him to come and reveal to me the way by which I am to be\nredeemed; and then I shall learn the way by which you and all mankind\nmust be redeemed. When all my falsehood, injustice, selfishness, lust,\nappetite, and passion are dead, and when the God of heaven shall live\nand work in me, then there will be laid in my soul the foundation of\nthat true spiritual affinity which shall go forth, not seeking others\nto unite with me, but, of its own plentitude, uniting with me those who\nhave the same affinity\u2014uniting us stronger than any creed. We shall\nnot then be obliged to ask permission to join or withdraw from such\na church as we should establish, but each man would join or withdraw\naccording to affinity or repulsion. Each man will stand upon his own\nresponsibility. I shall not be responsible for you, nor you for me.\nI stand not here to give you Christian character, nor you to give me\nChristian character. Each man must have a communication for himself\nwith the Fountain of all love and truth. We must all draw our water\nfrom the same well, and it will become in us a fountain springing up\ninto eternal life.\n\nEach must prepare himself for the kind of church he needs. Let each\nseek to redeem himself. The Spiritualists of New York and throughout\nthe United States will be ready to form a church just as soon as they\nhave prepared themselves to give forth the true affinity; and you will\nfind that it will not be necessary to have any creed or catechism, any\nthing external by which to try the faith of this or any other movement.\nIf you make up your mind to lead a true life, to speak the truth, to be\npure and just\u2014if you make up your mind that whoever comes within your\ninfluence shall breathe in of your truth and righteousness\u2014you will\nfind none will seek to come unto you unless they desire to breathe that\natmosphere.\n\nThe difficulty of the old organizations has been, that no man or woman\nsupposed it was necessary to make themselves the representatives\nof that which they believe to be necessary for the redemption of\nthe world. Their faith was not in their own righteousness, but in\nthe righteousness to be wrought in somebody else. They worked to\nbe righteous by proxy. They hoped to be saved by the righteousness\nof another. Consequently they organized upon an external basis, as\ntheir organizations were not based upon a true affinity of character.\nThey did not understand that they must possess the true character,\nconsequently they did not labor to attain it. The individual seeking\nto form a church only labored to form a creed. He did not suppose it\nnecessary to form a character which he wished to have infused into the\nchurch. The world, however, can never be saved until the false opinion\nthat it can be saved by the righteousness of another is done away. The\nworld would put away its lusts, appetites, and passions, were it not\nthat it loves them. Although they do not confer the happiness the soul\nfeels it needs, they confer more happiness than they know how to obtain\nfrom any other source. Therefore the world is not willing to put away\nits lusts, appetites, and passions, and to become absolutely pure and\njust; and if you will offer them a religion which offers to save them\nfrom the consequences of sin, and yet permits them to continue in their\nsins, they will willingly pay for it, especially if its ceremonies\nand the decorations of the church gratify the taste. If they can have\nnice things in their churches, it is considered nearly as good as\nto put them in their parlors. But tell them these things will avail\nthem nothing, that they must love their neighbors as themselves, that\nthey must put away lust, appetite, and passion, and you offer them a\nsalvation they are unwilling to accept.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER X.\n\n                     WHAT CONSTITUTES THE SPIRIT.\n\n\nThe idea which has sometimes prevailed, that when the spirit enters\nthe Spirit-world it becomes divested of certain states of affection,\ncertain loves or delights, and that it becomes so changed in its\ncharacter or station as to seek its delight in some other direction,\nis very general among Spiritualists. They believe that all our evil\npassions and affections pertain to this body, and that when the spirit\nleaves it, his disposition to do evil or to enjoy the fruits of his\nevil desires ceases. Now, I wish to investigate this subject thoroughly\nupon principles which commend themselves to every individual\u2019s\nconsciousness.\n\nThat which constitutes me a conscious being does not differ from that\nwhich constitutes you conscious beings. So far as the element of\nconsciousness itself is concerned\u2014so far as it enters into the mind\u2014it\nis the same in every individual. Your individuality or mine does not\nconsist in the fact that we are conscious, and possess in ourselves a\nconsciousness, but it consists in that of which we are conscious. That\nwhich causes me to differ from you is that which comes into a certain\nrelation to that consciousness.\n\nThis conscious principle within the spirit, whether in the body or\nout of it, is the Divine principle. It is to this spirit what the sun\nis to the natural universe. It is the light and the heat of the Divine\nsun shining within the individual, revealing him to himself; so that if\nwe become familiar with this first proposition, so that we understand\none another, our deductions will flow naturally, and we can understand\nperfectly whether we are on the side of truth or not. Understand,\nthen, that it is not the fact that you possess a consciousness within\nyou, which causes you to differ from me and every other being. We\nare all alike in that respect. But when that consciousness begins to\nshine out into your individuality, and look after your thoughts and\naffections which have arisen out of your individual development, and\nwhich have grown out of individual relations peculiar to yourself, then\nthis conscious light and conscious heat, this conscious understanding\nand affection within you, begins to reveal to you your individual\nselfhood\u2014that which constitutes you an individual being separate from\nall other individual beings. That which pertains to my character\npertains to my character as an individual being.\n\nThis individual affection which distinguishes me from you belongs to my\nexterior or outer consciousness. So then, when I speak of character,\nI speak not of this inmost principle which has never changed, and\nnever can change, but will live on unchanged, because self-existent\nand self-sufficient\u2014not of the God within\u2014the Divine breath living\nin the soul\u2014but of that which is exterior of that which derives its\nlife, understanding, and perception from the light which this absolute\nconsciousness throws out. That which pertains to my character enters\ninto my individual and finite selfhood; and it is by what is found\nthere that I am to judge myself, and the world is to judge me. If\nyou were to come to my inmost character, you would then come at the\nabsolute and infinite which exists in me and in every other individual,\nwithout which man could not be a conscious being at all. Separate\nman from this conscious consciousness, and he would cease to exist.\nIt is by the harmonizing of his finite perception with the infinite\nperception that he lives in God and God in him. All there is of life,\nof conscious being, is but a reflection of this absolute consciousness;\njust as the light of the moon is but the reflection of the light of\nthe sun. Extinguish your sun, and your moon could give you no light.\nSeparate man from this absolute consciousness, and he would have no\nfinite consciousness. Then that which constitutes you and me conscious\nbeings here and hereafter is not this absolute conscious principle\nwithin, but that which comes into unceasing relation to it, by which we\nare made conscious of that which is.\n\nI have thought, feeling, and affection, which pertain to me as a\nfinite physical being; and I am made aware of that thought, that\nfeeling, and that affection by the presence of this absolute principle\nwithin me; but at the same time they do not take their character\nfrom this absolute consciousness. Hence we hear persons talk about\nforming characters. But character is to be considered in a double\nsense. All possess this inmost character, and hence it is said that\nevery individual in his inmost is divine. But that Divinity, that God\nwithin him by which he lives, and without which he could not live,\nconstitutes no part of his individual selfhood. It is the Jehovah in\nthe soul, by which he is revealed to himself. That character in man, I\ngrant, never changes.\n\nIt is the external individual character to which I wish to call\nattention in a special manner. Now that character which makes me an\nindividual being, and by which I become wise or foolish, good or bad,\ntrue or false, is constantly undergoing changes, and is developed under\nlaws growing out of relations which I sustain to material and spiritual\nthings and influences which operate upon me from both the natural and\nspiritual plane. This finite character is the one by which I am to be\njudged.\n\nI wish to examine man in his relations to the present and the future,\nand ascertain, if possible, how much of this finite character will\ncontinue with him after he enters the Spirit-world, because upon this\npoint there is a great diversity of opinion. It is really one of the\nvital points of Spiritualism. How, then, is this external individual\ncharacter unfolded? It depends upon the ruling love in the individual,\nas well as upon his intelligence or perception. We know that the\nindividual dwelling in selfish lust unfolds his selfish character\nby doing that which he thinks will furnish him self-gratification,\nand we determine his character by the character of the impulse which\ngoverns him. The individual who has known no higher impulse than this\ndesire for self-gratification, finds it impossible to conceive that\na person can act from a higher impulse; but one who has experienced\nin himself a higher and purer impulse than that which looks after\nself-gratification, can easily understand how it is that men and\nwomen can act from higher impulses; but still he may not be able to\nunderstand how they can act from an incorruptible Divine love\u2014love\nin its infinity, in its spontaneity, going forth of its own Divine\nfullness, and bestowing blessings upon all who come within its sphere.\n\nIf we look out into society, we see individuals living down in the\nlower departments of their nature. We wish to reform them and mankind,\nand talk about Spiritualism doing wonderful things for the world, by\nway of breaking off the chains of superstition which have bound people\ndown in ignorance; we talk about its removing that superstitious\nbigotry which causes one man to persecute another for not thinking as\nhe does. We expect it is going to diffuse a liberalizing influence,\nand thus _re_form the world. What do you mean when you speak of\nSpiritualism reforming the world? You mean that it is going to change\nthe characters of those living in it. You thus virtually affirm that\nthis external character that pertains to you, and me, and all others,\nis the subject of change. We understand, then, that your hope for\nthe reformation of the world is based upon the expectation that the\nindividual character shall be changed. And how are you to change that\ncharacter? You hope to change the character of the unfortunate female,\nand place her upon a higher and purer platform, by changing her ruling\nlove, correcting her false opinions and false understandings\u2014by having\na purer affection to govern her, and a higher understanding to direct\nher. You hope to cause her to walk more in harmony with her highest\ndestiny. To persuade the inebriate to give up his cups, you desire to\ncreate in him a love and respect for the welfare of mankind\u2014to implant\nin him a ruling influence which shall elevate his character.\n\nWhen you look at yourselves even, you see that your character is\nundergoing a change. When a boy, there were certain kinds of amusements\nin which I took delight. Moral and religious exercises were nothing\ncompared with my hoop, top, etc.; but when I became a man, and began\nto be manly in my aspirations, my character had changed. So it has\nbeen with us all. That within us which we call character, we suppose\nmust be forever subject to change. Each of us as we progress, hopes\nto change, to become wiser, better, purer. He who boasts that he has\nnever changed his opinion, virtually says that he has not progressed.\nHe who claims that he feels as he did twenty years ago, boasts of his\nown shame. Our hope to progress implies our expectation of change from\nthat which is false to that which is more true\u2014implies a change of this\nexternal changing principle within us, which constitutes our individual\ncharacter\u2014our finite selfhood.\n\nThe question arises whether we shall take this distinguishing character\nwith us into the Spiritual world. We need not be left to conjecture\nhere, if we will only enter into a philosophical examination of what\nwill constitute our character. You see clearly, that what constitutes\nyou an individual being here, is that which is external to the\nabsolute consciousness within, and that when you lose this, you lose\nyour individuality\u2014that if it should be absorbed, your individuality\nwould be gone, and you would be taken up by the principle of general\nabsorption, and would cease to be as an individual being. But when\nyou understand that that which constitutes you a spiritual selfhood\npertains to your thoughts, your understandings, and affections, and\nthat nothing outside of your understanding enters into that selfhood,\nin which you live, and by which you know yourself, you will perceive\nthat if you do not take that with you to the Spiritual world, you will\ntake nothing with you that is yours. If you leave that behind you, or\nso change it as to make it represent another and not yourself, as a\nmatter of course, when you go to the Spiritual world, _you do not_ go\nthere.\n\nThe idea has obtained to a considerable extent, that this material\nbody is the cause of our lusts, passions, and appetites, and that\nthese will die with it. It is my opinion, however, that the body, so\nfar as the matter itself is concerned, does no more to degrade us or\ninjure us in any wise, morally, than does the matter composing any\nother material substance. It has only become an instrument receptive\nof certain conditions, as the horse-shoe magnet has become receptive\nof certain magnetic conditions. We talk about the attraction of the\nmagnet as though the attraction were in the iron. But the attraction\nis between the positive and negative conditions, which are present\nin the iron; and when your bring the different parts of the iron\ntogether, you bring the conditions which they contain into proximity,\nbetween which the attraction exists. So it is with this material body;\nit is made receptive of conditions. The matter entering into this\nbody needs to go through a certain process, after it is taken from\nthe rock, before it is fit to enter into the human system, because\nthe matter which enters into the mineral kingdom undergoes a certain\nchange by which it is fitted for the vegetable structure; and is\nthen brought into a certain relation by another principle by which\nit becomes receptive of another condition, which other condition is\nessential to it if it would enter into or become receptive of the\nessential condition. So that the particle of matter passing through\nthe vegetable kingdom passes through it for the purpose of being made\nreceptive of a higher condition; and when it passes into the animal\nit has come into relation to another power, called the nerve-power,\nwith which it was not in relation when in the vegetable kingdom. It is\nbrought under the influence of this nerve-power, and made receptive of\nanother principle. And thus one particle of matter, in passing from\nthe mineral up to the animal kingdom, goes through that elaborating\nprocess, simply because by being brought into relation with certain\nmedia it becomes receptive of certain higher conditions of which it\nwas not before receptive. The conditions do not change the character\nof the matter at all. They pertain rather to the spiritual than the\nmaterial department of this being; so that when my body is brought to\na certain condition of development, it becomes receptive by a sort\nof induction of new conditions. Certain relations are established\nbetween my body and spirit. My body depends upon certain things for\nnourishment, and my spirit depends upon my body for certain assistance.\nThese relations make my body subject to a law of consciousness; but\nthat law of consciousness does not pertain to my body. My body is\nbut the instrument by which that consciousness is acted upon from the\nexternal world. When I experience pain in my finger from placing it in\nthe fire, it is not my finger that smarts, but there is a consciousness\nin my mind which experiences the pain, from the report of nerves which\ncome to the surface in my finger. Separate these nerves, and I may hold\nmy hand in the fire without feeling the least pain; yet if the finger\nwere pained, it should feel as much after the nerves were separated as\nbefore. Though the sensation appears to be at that point, it is after\nall in the mind. The body is but an instrument by which sensations of a\npeculiar character reach the mind. Those who have had arms amputated,\nhave experienced pain seemingly in the fingers at times in consequence\nof the exposure and irritation of the nerves which go to the hand. It\nis sometimes conjectured that they have spiritual fingers, but it is\nnot so. There are instances of persons experiencing pain seemingly in\nthe toes, after the leg has been amputated. This is in consequence\nof the exposure and irritation of the nerves which go to the foot.\nFurthermore, the individual who has been mesmerized\u2014who has had his\nmind separated from the sensuous influences of his body\u2014may have his\nbody dissected to pieces without experiencing any pain, notwithstanding\nthe least injury done to the person who is in _rapport_ with him will\nbe instantaneously felt, as though the sensation were in himself. He\ncan not be reached through his nerve-system, but you can reach him\nthrough the nerve-system of the operator, whose mental condition is\nimpressed upon him. The sensation, however, is in his mind, not in\nhis body, notwithstanding he locates it as though it were in his body.\nNumerous other proofs might be adduced to prove that though the body is\nthe means through which the mind is reached, yet the sensation is all\nin the mind. Man makes use of his body for the gratification of all his\nsensuous desires; all of which originate in the mind. I do not deny,\nhowever, that a sense of lack, not pain and disease, may be induced in\nthe body by certain courses of action\u2014by disturbing the nervous system.\nBut that is a thing entirely of itself. But there are other influences\noriginating in the mind, leading the individual to seek gratification\nin horse-racing, gaming, sexual indulgences, etc. In ten thousand\ninstances the stimulating influences to various acts arise in the mind,\nand form a part of the mind. In the majority of instances the body is\nsimply made the instrument for the gratification of lustful desires.\nDid the usual habits of thought permit, it might be demonstrated, in\nvarious ways, that lustful desires originate in the impure condition of\nthe spirit.\n\nThere are certain impulses pertaining to the body _in its relation_\nto the body. An instance of such is the sensation of hunger. I do not\nmean to say that the body has the sensation of hunger, but that it is\nawakened in the spirit by a demand which the body makes upon the spirit\nfor material to supply its need. There are the sensations of thirst,\nheat and cold\u2014diverse sensations of this kind which come to the spirit\nthrough the body. But that impulse which leads the individual to seek\ngratification at the horse-race, the brothel, etc., has its spiritual\noriginal, and flows out of the depraved condition of the spirit; and\nthe body is not responsible for it, though the body may be destroyed by\nsuch impulse.\n\nWhen we enter the Spiritual world, if we recognize ourselves at all,\nwe must recognize ourselves by that which the absolute consciousness\nreveals to us. I do not recognize myself by the principle of absolute\nconsciousness within me, but by that which it reveals to me. When I\ngo to the Spirit-world, I must take that with me of which I must be\nconscious, else I shall not take my individuality with me\u2014else I become\nannihilated. Just to the extent I leave my affections behind me, shall\nI be annihilated as a spiritual being. When I go to the Spiritual\nworld, I must take my character with me\u2014that which is made an integral\npart of my spiritual character by its development in me. Of course,\nthen, wherever I go that must go. The love which rules within me must\ngo with me until that ruling love is changed, or until some holier love\nshall call me to a higher plane of action. I am prepared to maintain\nthat when we go to the Spiritual world, we shall take with us all the\nlove, affections, thoughts, feelings, and sentiments which characterize\nus as individual beings. Every thing which causes me to differ from\nyou here will cause me to differ from you when we enter the Spiritual\nworld. I will retain my spiritual selfhood by the same laws by which\nwe maintain our selfhood here. I believe the testimony of all Spirits\nwho have spoken to us concerning it, is that the difference between\nthe sensations here and there is so slight that it is difficult to\ntell when one has entered the Spiritual world. Many times have Spirits\ntestified that they had to make many examinations after entering the\nSpiritual world, to satisfy themselves that they had left the body.\nThat is, their sensations, thoughts, feelings, loves, and affections\nunderwent so slight a change, they did not recognize any change in\npassing to the Spiritual sphere.\n\nIf that individual Spirit changes his character there, it must\nevidently be by some law operating upon character. We know perfectly\nwell that if you were to bring an individual into New York who has\nbeen given to a certain kind of pleasure, unless he can find the same\nchannel of pleasure here, he would feel miserable. Let any one of you\nget in the habit of going night after night to the theater, and you\nwill by-and-by acquire such a habit that you will be perfectly wretched\nunless you can go there. You make resolutions to break up the habit;\nbut often break your resolutions, and will feel miserable until some\nother love takes the place of your love for theatrical amusements. The\npoor drunkard often, in the midst of his dissipation, resolves to put\naway his cup; but when again he comes in the presence of the bottles\nand decanters, his mouth begins to feel thus and so, and he can not\nhelp drinking. The habit is so fixed upon him that he can not break it\nup, unless something can implant a stronger love within him.\n\nAs is our condition in this world, so is our state in the Spiritual\nworld. How often does an individual feel that there would be no source\nof enjoyment for him in the Spiritual world if he could not find\ncertain pleasures there. The beef-eater will continue to have a desire\nfor beef, unless some other gratification can come in to supply its\nplace. So it is in reference to every means of gratification. Upon the\nsame law that the good desire the good and true, would the individual\nwho has been a pleasure-seeker in this life seek in the Spiritual world\nfor his accustomed gratification.\n\nIn the Spiritual world the Spirits have the means of gratifying their\ndesires. Beef-eaters have the means of gratifying their desires. Not\nthat they have any Spiritual beef. They have a mode of getting beef\nthere different from ours\u2014namely, by representing it and growing it on\ntheir own plantations. Spirits also enter into their former pleasures\nby coming into _rapport_ with those here who have tastes like their\nown. If all their passions and lusts are to be dropped, how are those\nto know themselves in the Spiritual world who, during a whole life\nhere, have been dead to every feeling and sentiment? Will they know\nthemselves by their truth and justice? They never had any. How are they\nto know themselves, except by that for which they were known here?\nIt is evident that they must carry their animal impulses with them.\nGratification for these impulses are procured by the law of mental\nsympathy\u2014the Spirits getting into _rapport_ with those on the earth who\nhave desires similar to their own, and taking thus the gratifications\nin which they delighted while in the body. It is for this reason that\nso many dark, benighted Spirits are found revealing themselves to\nthe world. I am aware that, in these latter days, the idea has been\nadvanced that Spirits, when they leave this body, get rid of all this\nfilth. The truth is, the body was the cleanest part of them here.\nThe idea that when a Spirit leaves the body he gets rid of all his\nimpurity, has caused many to greatly venerate Spiritual communications,\nand attach to them much authority. I remember that it was with much\ndeference that I listened to the first communications which came\nfrom the Spirit-world; but I very soon learned that a Spirit was not\nnecessarily wiser because of his separation from the body, and that\nhe required quite as much watching as one in the body. Not that they\nare below the world; for when you have taken an average of the justice\nand wisdom of the world, you will find that the standard it could set\nup would not be very high. When you look over the earth and witness\nthe very low state of character of the human race here, why should you\nwonder that Spirits of a very low character should hover around us and\nmanifest themselves to the world.\n\nThere was some philosophy in Dr. Beecher\u2019s conclusion, that the\nmanifestations were Spiritual, but devilish; for the majority of these\nmanifestations come from the very lowest Spirits. There is no use in\ndenying it. But the fault is all our own if a Spirit of an undeveloped\ncharacter comes in communication with us and controls us; for I have\npower, which is superior to all their finite power, to prevent their\ncontrolling me. If I will live the life I should, I can be protected\nfrom all such influences. If a Spirit of a low character comes into\n_rapport_ with you to control you, it is your fault. It is because\nyou are not in that true condition of soul by which you come into\n_rapport_ with Spirits of a pure and wise character. It is nevertheless\nunphilosophical for any individual to say that, because there are low\nSpirits, he will have nothing to do with Spiritual communications.\nIt would be equally unphilosophical to say, because there are good\nSpirits, that all Spiritual communications should be received.\n\nIn respect of developing mediums, I wish to say, that if they are to\nbe developed for curiosity\u2019s sake, they had better remain undeveloped.\nBut if it is desired to bring them into conditions to redeem them, it\nis all very well. But no person should permit himself to become passive\nin his feelings and affections while waiting for Spirits to come and\ndevelop him as a medium; for in that condition he will be liable to be\ninfluenced by bad Spirits. He may become the instrument of one of the\nlowest and most debasing influences, and may be influenced to commit\nthe most filthy and disgusting deeds. While the body should be passive,\nthe affections should be ardent, the soul must send forth its most\nearnest aspirations.\n\nYou need not read from the Bible or the Koran. What is needed is to\nkeep your hearts right. Let the aid for which you seek have strict\nreference to keeping the affections right. We need to guard against\nbeing influenced by those low Spirits who are waiting round us to seek\nself-gratification. If you wish to commune with Spirits, you yourself\nmust determine what shall be the class of Spirits with whom you will\ncommune. If you would commune with Jesus, you must come upon his plane.\nIf you would commune with the Divine Father, you must become like him.\nYou must assume the character of the class of Spirits with which you\nwish to commune. By observing this law we need not have so much of\nthis low manifestation. We need a higher class of communications to\nconvince the world. The objections to Spiritualism is not that there\nare not enough facts, but that their character is such that the world\nis not willing to accept them.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER XI.\n\n                                 LUST.\n\n\n \u201cEvery man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts.\u201d\u2014James\n _Letter_, chap. i. 14.\n\nLust may be defined to be the desire for self-gratification. The\nforbidden fruit is that which seems to be desired to make one happy,\nand is sought after, not for the purpose of supplying a need, but to\ngratify a desire.\n\nMan\u2019s constitution is such that there are needs pertaining to every\npart thereof; and those needs are indicated by awakening desires; and\nwhen the need is supplied, a pleasure or gratification is experienced,\nwhich is a sort of plaudit of \u201cWell done;\u201d and all legitimate pleasure\nor happiness which man is constitutionally fitted to enjoy arises from\ncomplying with the proper demands of his being. All constitutional\ndemands of the being man have strict reference to constitutional needs;\nand the life and energy making that demand will not be disregarded. It\nwill not suffer the being to find rest until the demand is complied\nwith. It will create restlessness and disquiet; and the individual will\ngive expression to that life and energy in some direction, if he does\nnot in the true one.\n\nMan possesses within him immortal energies, or he could not be\nimmortal. He has that which is essentially being and life, and\nwhich can not be destroyed. Hence his divine energies will act with\nomnipotent power to him, and he will be constrained to submit.\n\nHere, then, is to be found the fundamental distinction between true\nand false impulse\u2014true and false action. That impulse which arises\nwithin, indicating a need of some department of our being, is true and\nlegitimate; and all proper action which tends to supply that demand,\nwithout conflicting with any other need, is true action. All other\naction and impulse are illegitimate. The distinction between the two\nclasses of impulse and action is easily made, by an appeal to our own\nconsciousness. By a careful examination, we can tell at once whether\nthe impulse to perform any act for ourselves arises from a sense of\nneed or from a desire of self-gratification; and whether the impulse\nto perform any act for others arises from a near or remote prospect of\nself-gain, or from a sense of fitness, justice, or goodness of the act,\nin forgetfulness of separate self.\n\nIn the very outset I postulate the following as undeniable truth: All\n_true_ desire in man has respect to a need of some department of his\nbeing, which, when truly supplied, will harmoniously develop him in\nrespect to every other department of _his_ being, and also in respect\nto all other beings necessarily connected with him. That all _true_\nhappiness or enjoyment which he is capable of possessing must flow as a\nconsequence of truly supplying these needs; and that while every need\nof his being is fully supplied, he will be in the enjoyment of all the\nhappiness he is capable of desiring, and consequently will not desire\nhappiness on its own account.\n\nI postulate further; that until every need is supplied, man will feel\na sense of lack, a desire for something which he does not possess,\nthe tendency of which will be to stimulate him to activity in some\ndirection; and unless his activity is directed to the proper supplying\nof the need, it will be misdirected, and will tend to _deprave_ rather\nthan to _improve_ his being.\n\nHence I postulate further, that when man feels within himself a desire\nfor happiness, he has demonstrable evidence that these are needs of\nhis being which have not been supplied; and any attempt to fulfill\nhis desire, short of finding out and supplying the true need, will be\nderogatory to his highest good and destiny, and will consequently fail\nof conferring that which he seeks, happiness.\n\nI therefore postulate further, that happiness or enjoyment is not to\nbe sought; that if it come at all, it must come unsought; that it is a\nnecessary and inseparable incident of the true life, by which is meant\nthat life which in its activity fulfills its every need. That happiness\nwhich is sought after is never found, simply because it is not an\n_end_, but only an _incident_ of being; and that while man is absorbed\nin the pursuit of pleasure, he must necessarily be unmindful of his\nneeds, and thereby he will neglect their demands.\n\nHere we have the foundation laid for examining the distinction between\nthe true impulse, known as love in the various planes of unfolding, and\nthat which is to be characterized as lust. The true impulse is that\nwhich indicates a need of some department of our being, and which\nprompts to activity, looking to the supply of that need, independent\nof any gratification which it may promise. The false impulse is that\nwhich prompts to activity, not in respect to any specific need, but in\nrespect to the gratification which it may afford. This latter impulse\nis known as lust.\n\nFor the purpose of distinction I shall denominate the true impulse,\n_love_, as being a manifestation of the Divine Father\u2019s wisdom and\ngoodness, in whatever plane it may be found; and I shall denominate the\nfalse impulse, _lust_, as being a manifestation of that which tends to\nlead to selfishness and antagonism, and makes the interests of finite\nself overrule those of infinite self, or the selfhood of the divine.\n\nIn the scale of being there is every plane of unfolding, from the\nunconscious to the divine consciousness; that is, there is every sphere\nof divine action and manifestation, from the monad to the highest\nangel, and consequently there are many degrees of love as the true\nimpulse to action. It has its sphere in the plane of physical need, in\nthe plane of intellectual and moral need, and in the plane of religious\nneed; and it is exalted just in proportion as it approaches the\nabsolute or divine.\n\nAs there is a true impulse belonging to every plane of unfolding,\nbegetting the proper enjoyment in the conscious plane when its demand\nis properly complied with, so also is there every degree of lustful\ndesire seeking gratification in every plane, differing in grossness\naccording to the _means_ by which it seeks its gratification.\n\nReflection will satisfy every truth-seeking mind that desire for\nself-gratification, as an impulse to action, has its basis in self;\nand, from its nature, makes itself the center of attraction, and\nbecomes a sort of an absorbent, seeking self-appropriation; and\nwhenever it makes an expenditure, it is with respect to that which is\nto return. And it never gives without the hope of receiving in return a\nfull equivalent.\n\nThis principle of action is from its nature finite and antagonistic,\nupon the principle that that which it seeks to appropriate to its own\nbenefit and make its own, can not at the same time be appropriated by\nanother; and hence the desire of self-appropriation naturally leads the\nindividual into antagonism with others.\n\nThis finite and selfish impulse is the very opposite of the infinity\nand unselfishness of the divine. Its imperfect and antagonistic rule\nof action can not harmonize with the perfection and harmonic action of\nthe divine. As the finite in every respect is the negative and opposite\nof the infinite, so this finite impulse in the individual is in every\nrespect the negative and opposite of the divine impulse. It is for this\ncause that there is such an antagonism between the principle of love\nand the principle of lust; an antagonism which must continue until the\ndivine shall bring all into subjection\u2014until the finite shall, in its\nprinciple of action, harmonize in the infinite, or until God shall\nbecome _all_ in _all_.\n\nHaving already postulated that all true and legitimate desire in\nthe individual has strict reference to the needs of the individual,\nindependent of any promised gratification, and that the gratification\nincident to the supply of such needs was the measure of all true\nfinite happiness, I now proceed to illustrate this truth by an appeal\nto the experience of all who hear me.\n\nHappiness, in its general sense, is the fulfillment of desire. And the\nmore complete is the fulfillment of every desire, the more complete is\nthe happiness; and happiness can not be perfect until every desire is\nfulfilled. If in fulfilling the desire of one department of our being\nwe neglect the needs and consequent demands of another, we may obtain\ntemporary gratification, but it does not answer the full demand of our\nbeing so as to confer happiness. On the contrary, while we gratify a\nlust, we resist a true demand, and purchase gratification by disease\nand suffering.\n\nThe individual, ignorant or unmindful of the true demands of his being,\nand intent upon self-gratification, must forever fail of obtaining\nhappiness, because in his lustful pursuit he does not heed the real\ndemands of his entire being, and therefore he does not minister to\ntheir needs; and hence can not obtain ease and satisfaction. All\npleasure-seekers can testify as they have testified, that their\npleasures are more in anticipation than participation. Their happiness\nis in the future, and seldom if ever in the present. The time never\ncomes when they find every desire gratified, and consequently they are\nnever quite contented, therefore never quite happy. The very desire\nafter happiness is that which defeats it. The finite belongs to the\npresent; the _past_ is his schoolmaster, teaching him in the _present_\nhow to receive the future. His duties and needs are of _to-day_, and\nthose which pertain to the morrow will come on the morrow, not before.\n\u201cSufficient unto the day are the evils thereof,\u201d and sufficient\nunto the day are the _duties_ and _pleasures_ thereof. Man can not\ntake being and existence by anticipation, neither can he take their\ntrue incidents in that way. All anticipations of pleasure by which\nthe individual is made to live in the future, to the neglect of the\npresent, are lustful and illegitimate, and antagonize with man\u2019s true\nnature and destiny, and consequently tend to defeat true happiness.\nThat this is so, all human experience affirms. That this must be so,\nthe philosophy of true happiness demonstrates.\n\nThere is no room for controversy upon this point. It is most evident\nthat true happiness can only flow to the finite by fulfilling the true\ndesires of the finite, and that complete satisfaction can only take\nplace when every true desire or demand is complied with.\n\nNow it must follow that every true desire is indicative of a real need\nof the being in which it exists; and consequently when every need is\nsupplied, every true desire must be gratified, and true happiness must\nbe the result. And as every need has respect to that which pertains\nto the _present_, every true desire belongs to the present, and asks\npresent fulfillment.\n\nFrom considerations of this kind it becomes evident that anticipated\npleasures are illegitimate, and belong to the school of lusts, and\ndo not tend to beget true happiness; and that just in proportion as\nthe individual is absorbed in the anticipated pleasures or duties of\nthe morrow, he is disregarding the true law of his being, neglecting\npresent needs, and laying the foundation for defeating the very end\nhe seeks. Man, as a physical, intellectual, moral, and religious\nbeing, has needs pertaining to each and every department thereof,\nand consequently in supplying these needs he becomes receptive of\npleasure from every department of his being. When he is truly and\nharmoniously unfolded, all his needs are orderly and harmoniously set\nforth; and when he truly complies with their demand, his delights or\ngratifications blend or flow together in one harmonious stream, and\nhis whole soul is filled with the divinest melody, instinct with the\n_present_ God. But note, the moment he neglects a single need, or\nmisdirects the energies of his being, there is not only a strain which\nis not represented in the choral anthem of God, but it is caused to\nvibrate discordantly with those strains which are represented, and\ninstead of a soul pulsating with the divinest melody and joy, you have\nit harshly jarring to the discordant notes of antagonism and death.\n\nThe principles of this philosophy affirm that man must attend to\nthe needs of every department of his being, if he would develop\nharmoniously. The Divine, in the plenitude of his wisdom, has given\nto man nothing superfluous. His physical body, with its needs, is\njust as essential to the perfect man as is his spiritual being; and\nits demands are as imperative in their sphere. And man is as really\nobeying the Divine in truly administering to his physical as to his\nspiritual needs; and the pleasures attending the true administration\nare as true and just in their sphere as are those pertaining to more\nexalted spheres of being and action. He who despises and afflicts\nhis body to benefit his soul mistakes the divine order and method,\nand in afflicting his body wars with the true interests and destiny\nof his immortal being. The disposition to afflict the body for the\nbenefit of the soul is that higher manifestation of the selfish and\nlustful principle turning its weapons purposely upon itself. Its aim is\nself-gain, and, through that, self-gratification. Hence the cloistered\nnun, the solitary monk, and the stern ascetic, of whatever school, are\nviolating the divine method and law as much as is the pleasure-seeking\nworldling. They are as really under the dominion of their lusts for\nself-gratification as any other class. Their expenditure of worldly\npleasure has respect to the spiritual, which they hope thereby to\nobtain; and, like any other selfish being, they only act with respect\nto some expected gain, bringing with it enjoyment or gratification.\n\nThe great error of the world is that it does not distinguish between\nthe true and false impulse, giving rise to true and false action, out\nof which grows true and false development, bringing existence into\nantagonism and false relation.\n\nSaid the Divine Teacher, speaking of little children, \u201cOf such is the\nkingdom of heaven.\u201d The infant at birth instinctively obeys the law of\nits being, and it continues to do so in every department of its being\nwhich does not come under the rule of its conscious, voluntary action.\nWhen it feels the demand for food to nourish and develop its infantile\nbody, it indicates that demand by its restlessness and complainings;\nand when the demand is supplied, its complainings cease. It does not\nask for gratification beyond the supply of its needs; _that_ it does\nask for, and must have to give it quiet. During this early period\nit eats to live, and continues to do so until, by its development,\nanother nature with its needs is brought into conscious existence, and\nneglected. Then the unsatisfied demands of that other nature impart\ndisquiet to the being, and he begins to search after gratification. It\nis in this way that lust is begotten. It is never felt until the demand\nof some need is neglected, and it is an immutable law that such neglect\nmust beget lust; and hence whoever feels the demand for gratification\nof any sort hears the voice of God within proclaiming a neglected\ndemand, a perishing need. He sees the cherubim of God standing at\nthe gate of Paradise, with a drawn sword of flame turning in every\ndirection, guarding the tree of life. Thus man\u2019s lusts proclaim his\nimperishable needs, and, when truly understood, they are but the echo\nof God\u2019s voice calling upon him to return and live.\n\nThe child naturally comes under the dominion of its lusts through\nignorance. It feels the disquieting influence of its neglected needs;\nit feels discontented and unhappy, and therefore it seeks gratification\nin such direction as experience has taught it it might sometimes be\nfound. He early learns the pleasures of sense. He could not comply with\nthe demands of his physical nature without knowing them; hence, when he\nfeels a demand for something\u2014he does not know what\u2014what more natural\nthan that he should seek sensual gratification. Thus it is according\nto the figure, that man partakes of the forbidden fruit before his\neyes are opened to know good and evil. His first disobedience is in\nconsequence of his ignorance of the nature and requirements of his\nneeds; and, seeking to obtain gratification, he violates the true\nlaw of his being. But as man has needs pertaining to his physical,\nintellectual, moral, and religious natures, and as there are pleasures\npertaining to the proper supplying of them, man\u2019s lusts may lead him\nto act in either the physical, intellectual, or moral and religious\ndepartments; and, as already remarked, the _grossness_ of the lust will\ndepend upon the plan and the means by which it seeks gratification.\nReflection will demonstrate that the different lusts, as they are\ncalled, differ not in the primary impulse, but differ in the manner of\nseeking gratification. Man, in the external and finite of his being,\nmay be differently affected by the different modes of gratification\nwhich his lust prompts him to seek. Thus the physical effect produced\nupon him by seeking gratification through his appetite for strong\ndrink, will be different from that produced upon him by seeking\ngratification through his relish for food or social amusement. Seeking\ngratification through the improper exercise of any of the faculties of\nthe body or mind tends to produce injury in two ways.\n\nFirst, the tendency is to call off the attention from the actual\nneeds of the being, so that the proper demands are neglected, and\nthereby lustful desires become intensified by the influx of an\nunnatural degree of energy in that false direction. And second, by\novertaxing the capacity of those organs which are used for lustful\ngratification. Thus the inebriate and glutton who make use of their\nappetites as a means of gratification, often weaken and disease the\norgans of digestion and assimilation, and thereby disqualify them\nfor performing their proper functions. Man can not engage in lustful\nexercises without subjecting himself to these twofold evils. And\ntheir manifestation will be according to the plane of the lust and the\nmeans adopted for its gratification. But while lusts differ thus in\ntheir modes of expression, as well as in their primary and secondary\neffects upon the individual, they are all alike in their inception,\nand in the end sought to be attained. They all have their beginning in\nthe neglect of some need, which creates a sense of lack, and they all\nseek self-gratification irrespective of such need; so that all lust, in\nwhatever plane found, is alike in its origin and end. All are fatal to\ntrue happiness.\n\nThe general sameness of character of all lusts accounts for the\nsingular compounds and apparent incongruities of character found in\ncertain individuals. That is, it is not unfrequent to find individuals\nremarkable for their zeal in politics, morals, and religion, carried\naway at times by the grossest lusts. Men, eminent for their piety,\nsometimes have been notorious for their intemperance and lewdness; and\nthe world have been astonished at it. But a careful attention to the\ndistinction to be made between the true impulse and lust soon solves\nthe mystery. Such men are pre-eminently under the influence of lust in\nevery department of their being\u2014in the moral and religious as well as\nin the physical. The piety of such men may be ever so deep and earnest,\nyet its basis is in use. They see nothing in the Divine character or\nperfections which excites in them love or admiration any further than\nit is to bear upon their own well-being and happiness. Their love of\nGod is a love of the instrument or means by which they are to become\nsupremely blessed. And their love, after all, is a love of their own\nhappiness, and of God as essential to their happiness. If they should\ndiscover that God stood in the way of their future enjoyment, they\nwould like him no better than any other enemy.\n\nSuch minds mistake lust for love, and in seeking their own happiness\ncall it seeking God; and in rejoicing in their anticipations, call it\nrejoicing in God. The man that seeks religion for the sake of securing\nto himself salvation and endless delight, is just as lustful and\nselfish as he who seeks gratification in any other way. Man may go a\nwhoring after strange gods as well as after strange women.\n\nThose who appeal to men to get religion in order that they may escape\nmisery and secure happiness, appeal to their lusts, and so far as\nthey influence them by their appeals to their hopes and fears, they\nstimulate them to lust. The individual who seeks religion for the\npurpose of saving his soul, is exercising the very impulse which most\nof all tends to defeat his salvation. Hence said Jesus upon this very\npoint, \u201cWhosoever seeketh to save his life shall lose it,\u201d etc. The\nvery impulse is as selfish and undivine as possible. It is for this\nvery reason that the influence of the popular religions of the day is\nnot redemptive in its character. To say to the world that when all\nshould be converted to the religion of these fashionable churches, the\nmillennium would come, would provoke in the highest degree their sense\nof the ludicrous. Their lustful seeking after self-gratification is so\napparent and gross, that they can not even deceive themselves.\n\nIt will not be considered a false declaration when I say, that there\nis no possible resemblance of character or practice between these\nmodern fashionable Christians and Jesus of Nazareth. The redemptive\nprinciple of the religion of Jesus can not be found in their religion.\nThe difference is, Jesus was seeking the kingdom of heaven and its\nrighteousness, while they are seeking self-gratification. The impulse\nin Jesus was that of religious love; theirs is a religious lust. The\nimpulse in Jesus led him to hunger and thirst after righteousness;\ntheirs leads them to hunger and thirst after the things of sense.\nJesus, in the things pertaining to the world, was the Lazarus; they are\nthe Dives.\n\nFurthermore, I must be permitted to say that the popular religions of\nthe day are manifestations of man\u2019s lustful character, in the moral and\nreligious plane; and that it is more difficult to reform a man in his\nmoral and religious lusts than it is in his animal lusts. It was for\nthis reason that Jesus pronounced his severest woes upon the Scribes\nand Pharisees, who thought they were righteous and who despised others.\nHence he said to them, \u201cYe shut up the kingdom of heaven against\nyourselves.\u201d Also, \u201cThe publicans and harlots do pass into the kingdom\nof heaven before you.\u201d\n\nThe proposition reduced to its simplest form is this: True religion\ncan not dwell with lust. \u201cYe can not serve God and mammon.\u201d But the\nreligion of the Pharisee of every age is lust in its highest and most\nimpregnable plane. Hence the more of such proposed religion they have,\nthe farther are they from true religion. Jesus was condemning lust in\nthe moral or charitable plane when he directed that alms should be done\nin secret. The impulse to charitable deeds which looks to self-gain or\nself-gratification, brings no reward to the soul of the giver. If he is\nprompted by a desire after fame, or from a hope of inward satisfaction,\nhe does not act from the true impulse. He who sounds the trumpet in\nthe world or in his soul, to call attention to his charities, can have\nno reward of his Father in heaven. He who acts from the true divine\nimpulse acts spontaneously, acts as it were involuntarily; that is, he\nis not aware that he wills. His left hand knows not what his right hand\ndoeth. He meets with a case of need. He stops not to argue the question\nand determine probabilities and uses. The steel and the flint are in\ncontact, and the spark, comes forth.\n\nIn the domestic relation of husband and wife, parent and child, brother\nand sister, there is much of this moral lust which is mistaken for\nlove. Many professing to be husbands, and really thinking themselves to\nbe so, love the _use_ of their wives better than the wife, just as the\nlustful in religion love the _use_ of God better than God.\n\nIt is this mistaking _lust_ for _love_ which begets so many unhappy\nmarriages. The considerations leading to the union are not unfrequently\nof a lustful character altogether. Thus the young man seeking a wife\nis constantly trying the question of use. She will administer to his\ncomfort in this way and that, and upon the whole she will be the\nmeans of making him very happy. It will not be denied that in a vast\nmajority of cases the man, in seeking a wife, is seeking after his own\nhappiness, and he will cherish her while she conduces to that end.\nBut if he finds himself disappointed\u2014finds that she fails to fulfill\nhis expectation\u2014the ardor of his love begins to abate; and just in\nproportion as he is disappointed in his expectations will he grow cold\nand neglectful. So common is this that it has arrested the attention\nof universal man. The difference between the fondness manifested\nwhile yet the newly-wedded pair have met with no disappointments,\nand that which is manifested a few weeks or months later, has given\nrise to the expression \u201c_the honey-moon_,\u201d meaning that the age of a\nsingle moon is usually sufficient to reveal the imperfections of the\nloving pair, and consequently to cause the ardor of their love to\nabate. The husband does not find in the wife all that he anticipated.\nShe is not so perfectly adapted to making him happy as he had hoped.\nConsequently he is disappointed. And as his happiness was the object of\nhis pursuit when he was seeking a wife, and he mistook that lust for\nself-gratification for love for the wife, being disappointed in his\nlust, he finds little or nothing of love left.\n\nIt is thus, by mistaking lust for love, that so many disappointments\ntake place, and so many unhappy unions are formed; and while the\nindividuals are under this lust for self-gratification, there is little\nhope of their doing better a second time. It was in reference to this\nlustful and selfish love that Jesus said unless a man loved him or his\ndoctrines with a better and purer love than that with which he loved\nwife, children, parents, etc., he could not become his disciple. The\nsimple truth of the expression was, that man\u2019s love, or the love of the\nworld, was lustful; and unless man loved God and truth with a purer\nlove than that lustful love, he could not be a true disciple.\n\nThe same lustful impulse is found in the parental and fraternal\nrelation. Man is so naturally selfish and lustful, that it is found in\nevery relation, leading him into the broad road to disobedience and\nsin. And herein is manifested the deep excellence of the morality of\nJesus, that it aimed a fatal blow at the lust itself, and thus \u201claid\nthe axe at the root of the tree.\u201d \u201cHis fan was in his hand, and he\nthoroughly purged his floor,\u201d \u201cgathering the wheat into the garner, and\nburning the chaff with unquenchable fire.\u201d\n\nIn man\u2019s social relations the same lust after self-gratification is\nfound. The friendships of the world have this lustful basis, and herein\nare they distinguished from true friendship. The selfish man or woman\nseeks social and friendly intercourse for the pleasure or gratification\nit affords. They cultivate social and friendly relations solely with\nrespect to the pleasures thereof. Consequently their love of _friends_\nis only in their _use_ to them. They love their own gratification\nsupremely, and they love the use of that which will administer\nthereto\u2014consequently their attachments turn upon the question of\ngratification. They do nothing, they love nothing in forgetfulness of\nseparate self.\n\nThis distinction between true love and lust is to be made in every\nplane. The true impulse in every plane is the manifestation of the\npresent God in that plane. The obeying that impulse is obeying God.\nThe harmonizing with it is harmonizing with God; and the individual\nwho in all things walks in accordance with its principles is walking\nwith God, and is in the straight and narrow path which leadeth unto\nlife; while he who, on the contrary, is led by his desire after\nself-gratification, in whatever plane, is in the broad road which\nleads to antagonism and death. \u201cHis lusts, when they conceive, bring\nforth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.\u201d\n\nThere is no middle ground between _love_ and _lust_; and unless the\ndistinction be taken where I have taken it, it can not be taken at all.\nExcuse the principle of seeking after gratification as a true incentive\nto action, and you have destroyed the distinction between purity and\nimpurity\u2014between truth and falsehood\u2014between holiness and sin. If\naction in respect to use and the gratification of self be the highest,\nthen, indeed, there is no God\u2014no virtue\u2014no right. Such is the ultimate\nconclusion of those who know of no higher rule of action than pertains\nto the sphere of use and gratification. They know of no intrinsic\nvirtue, goodness, purity, etc. They affirm of existence the qualities\nof good or bad from results. They say that a thing is right or wrong\nbecause the result is wrong, and not that the result was wrong because\nthe thing itself was intrinsically bad.\n\nThis is a very common error with the world. They are apt to trace\nthe evil in the result and overlook it in the cause. The reason that\nlustful action is pernicious is not because its results are bad, but\nbecause the condition itself is intrinsically false, and can not\nproduce other than false fruit.\n\nWe sum up in this. Man will never feel the need of that which he does\nnot lack. He will never feel the need of happiness or gratification so\nlong as every demand of his nature is gratified; because the compliance\nwith every demand of his being will of itself confer all that he can\ndesire, and he will be satisfied. Hence the desire for that which he\ndoes not possess demonstrates that there are true and just demands of\nhis being which are not complied with.\n\nTherefore any attempt to satisfy that desire, short of complying with\nthe true demand, will result in begetting false action, which will tend\nto overtax and disease some part of his organism, creating an unnatural\ndemand in that department, which, instead of bringing satisfaction\nand content, will bring restlessness and disquiet, calling for still\nfurther gratification. Thus lust, when it is conceived, bringeth forth\na violation of the normal or healthy condition, which is sin; and that\nsin in its work, when finished, bringeth forth death.\n\n\n\n\n                             CHAPTER XII.\n\n                          MARRIAGE\u2014FREE LOVE.\n\n\n \u201cThink not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not\n come to destroy, but to fulfill.\u201d\u2014JESUS\u2019 _Sermon_.\n\nMAN, as a finite and relational being, is the subject of government.\nBeing produced and developed by laws acting to certain ends, he is the\nsubject of such laws. Being receptive of influences out of himself, he\nis subject to such external influences, through their action upon his\nconscious perceptions and affections.\n\nMan, as a conscious being, is the subject of two classes of impulses.\nOne is a sense of affinity, the other of restraint. The first is the\nnatural impulse proceeding from certain relations, and is a spontaneous\nproceeding from such relation without considering consequences. The\nother is a reflex impulse proceeding from supposed consequences which\nwill follow certain conditions and actions, and has respect to ends or\nuses.\n\nThis latter class of impulses makes him the subject of outward motions,\nand bring him under the dominion of laws external to his being. As such\nhe becomes the subject of an external government. As a conscious being,\nman is the subject of two classes of external government, the one which\nappeals to his selfish and lustful nature, and the other which appeals\nto his moral and relational nature\u2014and he is the proper subject of the\none or the other government, according to the character of his ruling\naffection or love.\n\nMan, as a conscious being, can be governed only through some department\nof his consciousness. That which induces in him volition must address\nhis perceptions, and proceed thence to his affections. For man\u2019s\naffections can not be approached externally except through his\nperception. This is most manifest to the reflecting mind. Before an\nindividual can love or hate an object, he must be able to perceive it.\nAnd his love or hatred thereof will be according to his perceptions.\nHence it will be perceived that the individual who is in the ruling\nlove of self, if governed at all as a conscious being, must be governed\nby an appeal to his selfish nature; that is, by an appeal to his hopes\nand fears. For so long as he is not under the rule of his moral nature,\nhe can not be governed by its influence. If man is to be controlled, he\nmust be controlled by controlling that which controls him.\n\nThe selfish and lustful man is under the dominion of his selfish\nnature, and whatever controls that nature governs him. And he can\nbe governed, as a lustful being, only by controlling his selfish\nnature. The same is true in principle of the moral man, or he who is\nunder the dominion of his moral nature. Whatever controls the moral\nnature governs him; and so long as he is under the dominion of his\nmoral nature he must be so governed. Thus it will be perceived that\nour proposition is true, that man, as a conscious being, must be\ngoverned through that department thereof which rules in him. If it be\nthe selfish, he must be governed by an appeal to selfishness; if it be\ncharity or moral love, then that nature must be appealed to.\n\nSince, then, man must be governed by an appeal to that impulse which\nrules in him, and since mankind are naturally under the selfish\nimpulse, the first government to which man becomes subject naturally is\nthat of force; and it appeals to his hopes and fears\u2014that is, to his\nselfish desire for gain or happiness, and his dread of suffering and\nloss. Hence _selfishness_ is the basis of the first dispensation of\ngovernment. This dispensation of government is not calculated, nor is\nit designed, to make the comer thereunto perfect. Its end and use is\nto protect the individual from external or outward evils, and not from\nthat which comes from within. It can not extend beyond the cleansing of\nthe outside of the cup and platter.\n\nThe most this kind of government can do is to restrain man from\ndepredating upon the rights of his neighbor, by an appeal to his\nselfishness. Hence the language of the law pertaining to this kind of\ngovernment is, \u201ceye for an eye,\u201d \u201ctooth for a tooth,\u201d \u201clife for life,\u201d\netc. It does not propose to govern man by appealing to his sense of\njustice and his love for right. On the contrary its language is, man\nhas no sense of justice or love of right. He is selfish and sensual,\nand therefore the law appeals to his selfishness and sensualism. It\nsays, Your love of your neighbor is not sufficiently strong to prevent\nyou from injuring him, but your love of self is sufficiently strong\nto prevent your injuring yourself. Therefore says the law, if you\ninjure your neighbor, we will injure you; if you kill your neighbor,\nwe will kill you; and the same blow which you aim at your neighbor, we\nwill cause to fall upon your own head. In this way this first kind of\ngovernment takes advantage of man\u2019s selfishness to restrain him. It\ndoes not cause him to love his neighbor. It does not cause him, from\nhis heart, to respect his neighbor\u2019s rights. It does not tend to lesson\nhis selfishness or lust. It does not in any manner tend to make him\nmore true, just, and pure at heart. It only restrains him from giving\nexpression to his selfish and lustful desires.\n\nSo far as his motions to action are concerned, he is under the same\nimpulse, whether he keep or break the law. He is as righteous at\nheart in violating its commandments as in observing its requirements.\nIn either case he is governed by his judgment respecting that which\npertains to his self-interest, and in keeping the law he is consulting\nhis own gratification, and in violating it he is doing the same.\n\nSo far is this kind of government from tending to make the individual\nbetter at heart, that it not unfrequently makes him more selfish by\nintensifying his selfish feelings. The individual who is restrained\nfrom stealing through fear of punishment, and not from a love of\njustice, is a thief at heart, and will continue so notwithstanding the\nlaw says, \u201cThou shalt not steal,\u201d and by its penalties deters him from\nstealing. His neighbors may thank the law for its protection. But that\nis the end of its use. It will not improve the _moral_ condition of its\nsubject.\n\nSuch, then, is the nature and use of this just dispensation, sometimes\ncalled the first covenant. It is absolutely indispensable for the\nprotection and preservation of individuals and society. Man left to the\nunrestrained exercise of his lustful and selfish nature, would not only\ndestroy his neighbor, but he would ultimately destroy himself. And thus\nthe very principle of self-protection compels individuals to associate\ntogether under these governmental forms, by means of which the weak are\nto be protected against the encroachments of the strong, the simple\nagainst the machinations of the cunning.\n\nThis necessity gives rise to institutions among men which are designed\nto direct the _manner_ of applying this power to the protection of\nthose who institute them. The laws of these institutions are but the\nexpressions of the intellectual and moral character of those who make\nthem. Their wisdom is displayed in adapting the means by which their\nunited force shall be directed to the execution of the governmental\nwill, whether that be just or unjust.\n\nThe uses of these external governments are most apparent; by which I\nmean their uses as a means of protection. The highest possible use of\ngovernmental institutions is that of uniting and directing its force\nto prevent the weak from becoming the prey of the strong, and the\nsimple the dupes of the cunning. If every man or human being had the\nmeans of self-protection always at hand, or if none were disposed to\nencroach upon the rights of others, but were disposed to do good to\nall rather than evil, then there would be no occasion for governmental\ninstitutions. So we see that the uses of institutions, as means of\ngovernment, have respect to the concentration and direction of force.\n\nBut as the selfish man can be governed only by an appeal to his selfish\nnature, and that must be addressed through the motives of hope and\nfear, these institutions of government, addressing man\u2019s hopes and\nfears, are indispensable for the well-being of society, and can never\nbe dispensed with until man is elevated to a higher plane, and made the\nsubject of a higher government. In other words, this kind of government\nmust never be taken from man, but man must be elevated above, and thus\nbe taken from the government. There have been two opposite errors\nrespecting this kind of government: one declaring it to be ordained\nby God, and therefore to be observed and obeyed as an exponent of the\nDivine will and character; the other holding that all governments\nof force and blood are contrary to Divine appointment\u2014both of which\ndoctrines are true when viewed in a proper direction, and false when\nviewed in the opposite one.\n\nIn the first place, it is according to Divine appointment that man,\nas well as every other finite being, shall be governed according to\nthe law of the plane in which he exists and acts; because every thing\nexisting in a finite and relational sphere must become the subject\nof some law, or it could perform no mission in respect to itself or\nany other existence. Without law it could not be saved from utter\ndestruction. And being the subject of law, it must be the law of the\nplane in which it exists and acts; hence whatever may be the law of\nthat plane, it is one of Divine appointment.\n\nMan living in the plane of selfishness and lust must be governed by the\nlaws of that plane; he can be governed by no other. Hence the law of\nthat plane of sensualism requiring \u201ceye for eye,\u201d \u201ctooth for tooth,\u201d\n\u201clife for life,\u201d etc., is a law of Divine appointment for that plane;\nand whoever descends into that plane of impulse, and lives there,\nbecomes subject to its law. Having yielded himself servant to obey his\nselfishness and lust, he has become the subject of its laws. Having\ntaken the sword, he is subject to its use. Having appealed to force, he\nmust be sure to be on the strongest side, or he will be likely to be\ncrushed.\n\nBut while the law of selfishness and force is one of Divine\nappointment, in the sensual plane, it must not be understood as giving\nlaw to any other plane. If the law of \u201ceye for eye,\u201d \u201ctooth for tooth,\u201d\netc., was applicable to the dispensation of sensualism, which the\nMosaic represents, it does not follow that it is the true law of the\nChristian or Spiritual dispensation; and he who appeals to such laws\nof the Mosaic can have the benefit of them by containing under that\nkind of government. But he must remember, if he wishes to obtain the\nbenefits of the Christian dispensation, he must \u201cput away the old man\nwith his deeds.\u201d\n\nHence, according to the teachings of Jesus, he who would become\nhis disciple must rise above the plane of sensualism. The new law\nunder which he was to come demanded that the law of force should be\ndiscontinued. If he would have the benefits of the kingdom of heaven,\nthat is, of the government pertaining to the moral and spiritual\nplane, he must not resist evil by force; he must not smite back when\nsmitten; he must not indulge in feelings of hatred or unkindness\ntoward any one; he must love his enemies; bless them in the midst of\ntheir cursings. He must be pure in heart; he must hunger and thirst\nafter righteousness; he must, in all things, be under the dominion of\na love, pure, holy, and unselfish. Such a one would be freed from the\nlaw of sin and death; such a one would cease to be a debtor to the law\nof the first dispensation, and would be born into liberty, not into a\nliberty to do wrong, but a liberty which had respects to his purified\naffections.\n\nThis will be understood by contrasting the principles of the two\ndispensations. The first governed by a force external to the subject,\nconstraining him as a selfish being to do things not agreeable to\nhim, thus bringing his will into subjection. The second governed by\nimplanting the true affection within the subject, so that his delight\nwas in the law, according to the inward man. Hence the new kingdom was\nto be \u201cwithin.\u201d The first was over man with force and fear; the second\nwas to be within man with charity and love.\n\nFrom this it will be seen, that the first government, or covenant, as\nit is called, necessarily required external institutions to beget and\ndirect its force to compel obedience to its enactments and edicts.\nAnd these institutions were necessarily authoritative; and persons\nbelonging to their plane of administration were compelled to submit to\nthem, as to the authority of God.\n\nThe second government or covenant which ignored force, and governed by\nlove, had no use for such institutions, and hence returned the sword\nto its sheath. Under its administration, swords were to be beaten into\nplowshares and spears into pruning-hooks. Men were to \u201ccall no man\nmaster.\u201d But it must be noticed that this second government pertained\nonly to those who had come under the rule of charity and love, and\nthus had put off the old man and his deeds. So long as the individual,\nin his affections and lusts, continued in bondage to the impulses of\nhis animal nature, he belonged to the first dispensation, and must\nbe continued under tutors and governors until the coming into him of\nChrist.\n\nHere, then, we see the two classes of errors into which mankind have\nfallen, the first by supposing that the laws of selfishness and force\nwere applicable to all planes, and that the Christian could find\nauthority under Moses. The second, by supposing that the laws of\nselfishness and force were to be abolished in every plane, not thinking\nthat such law is just as necessary at one time as another, so long as\nman continues under that plane of impulse. Herein we can see the wisdom\nof Jesus in his teachings. He came not to destroy the law, or take it\naway from man, but his mission was to take man away from the law, and\nthus to fulfill or consummate the uses of the law. He condemned not\nthe law of force as applicable to those who, in their selfishness and\nlusts, were under its dominion. And he did not propose to emancipate\nthem by destroying the law. But he did propose to redeem them from\nunder it, by calling them to a higher plane of impulse and action. He\nproposed to lead them out of Egypt, not take Egypt away from them.\n\nHerein is to be found one of the fundamental errors of Christendom, in\nnot perceiving the true meaning of the _first_ and _second_ covenants;\nthat is, in not perceiving the true sphere of the Mosaic and Christian\ngovernments. Each are of divine appointment in their respective\nspheres; and neither have respect to time or place of administration,\nbut to condition. The Mosaic, which is a figure representing the\ngovernments of force addressed to man as a selfish being, will never be\nat an end so long as society is in a condition to require that kind of\nadministration. It will not be at an end in the individual until his\nmoral nature is in the ascendant, until he keeps that new commandment\nof \u201cLove one another.\u201d And the Mosaic dispensation will not be at an\nend in society until the kingdom of heaven is established in the hearts\nof the members thereof.\n\nThe theologian has committed a great error in making the kingdom of\nheaven a historic affair, supposing that the death of Jesus terminated\nthe first, and introduced the second dispensation, not seeming to\nunderstand that the _character_ of the government determined to which\ndispensation it belonged irrespective of time or place. That government\nwhich is instituted with respect to, and is administered upon the\nprinciples of selfishness and force, is Mosaic, no matter in what age\nor by whom administered. All civil and ecclesiastical governments which\nare external and forceful belong to the Mosaic, no matter by what\nnames they may be called. A moment\u2019s reflection will demonstrate to a\nmind of ordinary intelligence and information, that all external human\ngovernments are of this character. We have no Christian governments\nexercising power and compelling external obedience to law. The very\nsupposition is an absurdity. The very moment a government is organized,\nand clothes itself with external force, its _Christian_ character is\ndestroyed.\n\nChristianity, in its true spiritual and saving character, acts only\nfrom _within_ the _individual_. It is not a government over men or\namong men. It is a government in man. It cleanses the _inside_ of the\ncup and the platter, and _thence_ makes clean the outside. Christians\nhave no need of governments to keep them in the right way. Understand\nme\u2014_real_ Christians, not _professing_ ones. They have no uses for\ninstitutions, for each obeys the right, and takes upon himself the\nlabor of all needful charities.\n\nThus it will be found to be a truth of universal applicability, that\nwherever institutions, and especially legal institutions, are found\nnecessary, the people are not Christians, no matter what creed they\nprofess. Christianity pertains to _character_, not _creed_. External\ninstitutions are incompatible with true Christianity. Both can not\nlive and act together in the same individual. Men have been conscious\nof this, and hence have been involved in doubt and difficulty as to\ntheir duties. But there need be no difficulty on this point. Let it\nbe understood, that the man who feels the needs of outward restraint\nbelongs to the Mosaic government, and by it he must be governed; that\nall men who are under the dominion of their selfish natures have not\nput on Christ, and hence are under Moses. Such are under the law, and\nmust be continued under \u201ctutors and governors.\u201d\n\nExternal institutions, then, belong to the first dispensation, and will\ncontinue to be necessary so long as man continues to live under the\ndominion of his selfishness and lusts. When he shall be redeemed from\nsuch nature in himself, he will be redeemed from bondage to external\ninstitutions, and he can not properly be before. The evil, then, is\nnot in the institution, but in that condition of the individual and\nsociety which makes the institution necessary; and the remedy is not\nin destroying the institution, but in elevating man, and thereby\ndispensing with its need; and until that is done, the law and the\nprophets must continue.\n\nThis brings me directly to the _institution_ of Marriage, respecting\nwhich so much has been said of late. Like all other _institutions_, it\nbelongs to the external and Mosaic, and looks to the external relations\nof the parties. Its necessity is based upon the same selfish and\nlustful principle in man, as is the necessity of all other external\ninstitutions.\n\nIts office is _protection_, not _purification_. Hence all its laws\nlook to legal security, but do not attempt to elevate and purify the\naffections. Those who have written and spoken against the external\nmarriage institution have acted very unphilosophically in supposing\nthat the fault of which they complain was in the institution and not in\nthemselves. I will endeavor to make this apparent.\n\nIn the first place, I will do them the justice to say, that the\nexternal institution is in character but little, if any, better than\nthey affirm of it; that it is made the means of rendering respectable\nthe grossest lusts; that there is no Christian difference between lust\n_within_ and lust _without_ the forms of wedlock; that the individual\nwho looks upon another with a lustful desire, when tried by the\nstandard of Jesus, is an adulterer, whether sustaining the external\nmarital relation or not.\n\nIn speaking of the _abuses_ of this institution, I would not have them\nabate their zeal by ceasing to proclaim its infidelity to that inward\npurity of soul so essential to the true Christian union; but I would\nhave them make a very different use of the fact.\n\nThe use which many, and perhaps most of those who oppose the external\ninstitution of marriage make of its lustful abuses, is rather to\npalliate the conduct of those who are lustful outside of its license,\nby showing that, at heart, they do not differ from those who indulge\nin the same lustful desires and exercises _under_ its licentious\npermission; thus very naturally taking license, and, when censured by\nothers, pleading the respectable guilt of others as their excuse.\n\nIn speaking of the abuses of the marriage institution, I would not\nplead them in mitigation of lust; nor would I make them the occasion\nof license. I would refer to them for the purpose of condemning more\nstrongly the foul practice of seeking gratification in that direction.\n\nIt is not to be objected to the external institution of marriage that\nunder its sanction the grossest of lusts are practiced in the name of\nvirtue, and that the weightiest evils are the result. Such is not the\nfault of the institution, but of those who use it for that purpose; and\nwere it not for the institution, under the present lustful condition\nof society, the same practice would become universal, and would be\nas respectable as it now is under the sanctions of wedlock. If the\nexternal institution does not restrain the exercise of lust between\nthe parties thereof, it does render disreputable its exercise beyond,\nand thus exerts an influence for good to that extent. It does not make\nthe comer thereunto perfect in his character; but it tends to restrain\nhim in the exercise of his lust toward others, and thus confines its\nevils to a narrower sphere. One of the greatest moral benefits of the\nlegal institution of marriage is that it tends to restrict the lustful\npractices of the parties to themselves; and, in reality, this is the\nbondage of which the objector complains.\n\nThe advocate of that which is called \u201cfree love\u201d complains that under\nthe legal institution of marriage the parties are prohibited from\nfollowing their attractions or passional affinities; that although they\nmight have been suited to each other at the time of the union, that\ncircumstances and tastes have changed; that love requires variety,\nand that in matters of love each ought to be at liberty to follow its\nleadings. The first great error into which the advocate of free love\nfalls is in mistaking _lust_ for _love_. The doctrine that love changes\nis a fundamental error, and of itself demonstrates that the objector\nhas mistaken _lust_ for love. The true impulse known as love has an\nimmutable basis, and will be as constant as the relation and need\nthrough which and for which it became manifest.\n\nThe nature of _hunger_ and _thirst_, as expressive of the needs of the\nbody for food and drink, never changes; and the gratification incident\nto the proper supply of those needs never changes until abuse and\ndisease have wrought their work. Man\u2019s desire for particular kinds of\nfood may change; but that has respect to lustful gratification rather\nthan the supply of a real need.\n\nRemembering our definition of lust to be _a desire for\nself-gratification_, we shall find that this _change_ and _variety_ in\nfood and drink looks more to the gratification of desires than to the\nfulfilling of needs, and therefore belongs to the class of lusts.\n\nTrue love never changes. From its nature it can not. It being that\nimpulse which indicates an affectional need, it must be as unchanging\nas the soul and God. Take that known as maternal love, and who that\nhas known a mother\u2019s love will say that it demands for its life and\ncontinuance variety and change? Tell the mother, as she presses her\nfirst-born to her bosom, that she will soon demand change and variety\nto keep alive her maternal affection, and she would reply in the\nlanguage of Macduff, \u201cHe has no children.\u201d No, of all things else, true\nlove will admit of no change, no variety.\n\nIn no affectional relation, save that of husband and wife, would the\nfree lover admit that love required change or variety. In the parental,\nfraternal, filial, and social relations that doctrine does not apply.\nThe parent loves his child, and feels no demand for variety.\n\nWhat would be thought of that mother who should tire of loving her\nchild, and give as an excuse that her tastes had changed; that once\nher child was suited to her maternal affection; but that now her\nmaternal love had changed its character and quality, and demanded a\ncorresponding change on the part of the object of its affection? It\nrequires no argument to show that such can never be the requirements\nof maternal love. The same is true of every other manifestation of\nthe affectional principle. Fraternal, filial, and social love will\nadmit of no change; demand no variety. The brother and sister can\nlove on and love forever; the parent and child can do the same; and\ntrue friendship abides in constancy of affection. But _lust_ demands\nvariety, and consequently change. When the true impulse is overlooked,\nand self-gratification becomes the end in pursuit, then comes with it\nthe demand for variety. This is seen in eating and drinking. Hunger\nand thirst only call for simple food and drink. They will supply the\ndemand. But the moment gratification is consulted, then great must be\nthe change and large the variety. And by far the largest amount of\nlabor and expense is bestowed upon gratification.\n\nThe same is seen in the social department. Those who, in their social\nintercourse, are seeking selfish gratification instead of the happiness\nand well-being of their associates, are those who demand variety; who\nthemselves are _cloying_ of one kind of amusement, and then demanding\nanother. This principle of demanding change in food, in society, in\namusement, etc., depends upon that condition known as _cloyed_; and it\ndoes not take place in respect to any need. The thirsty soul is never\ncloyed with drink until it ceases to be thirsty; the hungry soul with\nfood until hunger ceases. But it is not thus with lust; it ceases to\nenjoy one means of gratification after another, while yet the demand\nmand for gratification continues. The same principles apply to the\nmarriage relation. True conjugal love never changes. It can never\nchange, because it must rest upon an unchangeable basis. The mode\nof begetting offspring must be as enduring as the race. The demand,\ntherefore, will be as imperative as the necessity, and hence the desire\nfor offspring must be as deep and fundamental as the soul itself.\n\nThe law of procreation demands that in view of the great end to be\naccomplished, those who unite in the procreative art should unite\nupon the highest and purest plane. Hence the conjugal affection or\nlove has its basis in this deepest and most immutable necessity of\nthe soul. Understand me\u2014man, in his present condition, is the grand\nultimate of all past being and action. And that which took all past\nages to accomplish is committed to man in the command to be fruitful\nand multiply. The future is committed to him. That which comes into\nconscious being must do so through him, and the true foundation for the\nfulfillment of the great command is laid in the conjugal union of the\nmale and female souls. To say of the impulse calling for such union,\nthat it demands change and consequent variety, is blasphemously false\nand absurd. The basis of conjugal love is as deep and immutable as are\nthe foundations of immortality and eternal life.\n\nBut let this union be a mere external and lustful one, that is, one\nlooking for self-gratification, and it becomes subject to the law\nof lust, and consequently, like every other lustful affection, will\ndemand variety. The very nature of lust is to disease and destroy and\nto defeat the end sought. It therefore brings with itself ultimate\ncloying and disgust; and to remedy that, it must have change.\n\nThat this is the nature of that impulse which _free lovers_ mistake\nfor love, is further evident from its associations. The plea they set\nup is, that every one is free to seek happiness; and consequently when\none relation or pursuit fails to conduce to that end, they should be\npermitted to change the relation or the pursuit, and seek happiness in\nanother. They make the seeking after happiness the great end of life;\nhence they have adopted very appropriate language, such as \u201cpassional\nattraction,\u201d \u201cpassional affinity,\u201d etc.\n\nFor this reason, in their assemblies they aim at self-gratification.\nEach is striving to beget pleasure. Their assembly-rooms are full\nof amusements and \u201cinnocent recreations,\u201d singing, dancing, playing\nat different games, chatting, etc., all pursued in respect to the\npleasures they promise, and not in respect to the good irrespective\nof the pleasure. The plea is, the people demand cheap amusements, or\nrather need them. Cheap amusements are the very things they ought not\nto have. It is but another name for cheap dissipation. But the advocate\nfor free love complains that the law and public sentiment hold him to\nhis choice, when he has made a bad one. The uses and benefits of the\nlaw are seen in this, that they do hold all such to their choice, and\nby so doing avoid a multiplicity of bad matches.\n\nThe individual who is out seeking passional affinities is under the\ninfluence of lust, and the sooner he or she is caught and caged the\nbetter; such can gain nothing by being permitted to experiment. Until\nthey can rise above their selfish and lustful natures in other things,\nthey will not be very likely to do it in matrimonial affairs.\n\n\n                                 END.","title":"The Astral World\u2014Higher Occult Powers: Clairvoyance, Spiritism, Mediumship, and Spirit-Healing Fully Explained","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":59374}