The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1847-10-14
From the Cincinnati Gazcttc.l
REVELATIONS THROUGH A. ]. DAVIS

From the Cincinnati Gazette.
REVELATIONS THROUGH A. ]. DAVIS
The Principles OF Nature, her Divine Revelations
and a voice To Mankind. By and through
Andrew jackson Davis, the "roughk ccpsle
Seer and ssClairvovant" In three Parts
New York. Published by 5. :. Lyon and
VIM. Fishbough.
This is book which deserves to he care
fully and candidIv examined. Il claims to
contain revelations made bs Andrew Davis.
a Young m.n d2l, while in ''magnciic"
condition; an1 its contents are of praciica!
Importance. as they require, if accepted as
true, the recommendations Of Christianity az
a dirineiy taught religion. and the discard
ing IF the Bible az a book IF authority in
mutfers If filth ard practice. Wien we
meet with u work which would thus anni-
hilatc nj n blow the cornerstone III Judaism
Muhnmmcdism and Christianity, that is to
say, Of every religious faith except hare
Pnganism aud Dcism, We feel bound To cx-
anime with care into it, claims. Why are
We to believe this man, who would thus
revolu,ionize,-by revelation, too, not in
dividual thought, all Europe aud Amcri-
In answer, VIC are told. that his word
contains vast deal Of learning upon all
subjects, while the Young man has recei, :
ed yer. little education, and knew nothing
out of the mcsincric state, of the subjects
on which he speaks. Mr.. Fishhough, who
acted MS the .sscribe" of Davis, tells us
ln,rod. viii.) that he Davis was always
L. 4 Al. AL
tie intervals between his hours of employ
mont he was never knpwn tn frequent
public libraries, aud was seldom known 10
take up bmk; and MS very limited read
ing was confined to few juvenile produc-
tions, fugitive essays, and light romanccs,
not, perhaps, comprising over 100 or 500
pages Ut most; aud even this little reading
in the most dcsu!tory way" Ilihis state
ment can he subsianiiatcd, surely the
", rk before us INN, claim Ia be Miraculous
To support this mud other statements, five
certificates arc introduced, (in,rod. viii. ix.
x); in two of these nothing Is said Of his
reading; a third writer knows nothing cx-
cept from the voung mnn himself; the
iourth, the man to whom he was apprcnti.
ced, snvs ''his reading was extremely limi-
ted, and Confined 10 that ofn juvenile des-
cription," while the fifth, clergyman Of
Ponehkepsic, who SAYS he was "intimate
almnst without reserve" with Davis, tells
us ''he possessed an enqniring mind, lcvcd
books, especially controversial religious
works, which he always preferred, when
ever he could borrow them and obtain lcis-
ure Cor their perusnl. Hence he was in
debied To his individual exeriions for some
crcditablc advances which he made in
knowledge. He became good thinker"
Where then nrc we left? This book is 10
he believed because the anthor knew moth
ing, and read nothing, or only light, juvc
milo works; and vet the best proof Of this
fact offered. IL, that he was fond Of reading,
made crediiable advances in knowledge,
and preferred the slight, !" .sjnvcnilc" works
Of controversial divinity! Surely this is
not evidence 10 confound Moses, the Proph.
ets, and Apostles.
But il NAV be said, in the second place,
that with all his reading he could never
have acquired the profound knowledge
shown in this work. u il So? For our
part, We find here the kind Of knowledge
which NAV he acquired from an Encyclope-
din, nothing more. Tho enrly part il full
Of common-placcs and vnguc gcneraliiies !:
the latter part, which was produced in the
shnpe ii lectures some two yenrs and 4
hnlf sficr he began 10 sec visione. is replcte
(ns il seems to us) merely with superb
cial knowledge III astronomy. geology.
physiology. and other scicnccs; towards
the close, Fouricrism prcdominaies entire
". In oil this, more careful examination
IN our pnrt, and profounder knowledge,
might sntisfy ~ that We nre mistaken, but
surely there Is no reach Of information
which stamps this work m super human
Iadccd, had VIC space, We think several