Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-02-25
EVENING STAR.
PRESIDENT MAHAN ON MODERN MYs.
TERIES

| euo Eesult VI iuBR anu arQOOus laDOrs, extend.
ing through number of years, in collecting,
sitting and classifying facts, to see what was
true and what was false on the subject of
modern mysteries. 1t is an attempt to inves-
| tlgate the facts connected with Spiritu alism
and kindred subjects, in a scientific and relia-
bic manner. The work was printed at Cam.
bridge, Mass and published in this country
and in England in 1855 We have collected
and condensed some of the most important
statements in this book, for the consideration,
and, perhaps, amusement of those readers
who have not seen it. If there are any reia
BILE facts connected with spiritualism, mes
| merlsm and kindred subjects, it is not only
| proper but important for the sober minded
public to know what they arc, in what light
they are to be viewed, and what degree Of
| Importance should be attached to th I'm.
President Mahan takes the two following
positions as starting points First, that many
| OF the reported facts of spirituslism, mesmer-
ism, Dc, arc true but that they are inter-
| mingled with grost lumber of statements,
| suggestions and inferences, which arc nos
true Secondly, that there is no evidence
Whatever, OF the existence or agency of any
| spirits; good or bad, in these phenomena
These positions being argued at length, and
the agency OF spirits being denied, main
point comes up under the following question
how then are the admitted facts to be ac-
counted for! Here the author afirms that
tnere is power in nature, pervading all be-
| dies, previously known to philosophers, and
called the OdNte force that like electricity
and magnetism it has polarity, and the conse-
quent properties Of attracting and Iepellirg
| other bodies; that it is freely transmissibIe
through electric conductors; and that the
| physical organism of some persons in certain
localities, is permanently and very strongly
charged with this odylic force" long array
OF well authenticated facts, collected from
France, England and this country, are given,
| to prove the existence, in certain cases, Of A
strong attracting and repellng power, between
| he human system and other bodies | think
this fact is proved, beyond the doubt Of any
reasonable, candid man. The case of Ange.
lique Cotton of France, and others, are so
| well attested by scientific men that they can.
| not be denied. To the power thus existing
between the human system and other bodies,
whatever it is, President Mahan gives the
name of Ojylic force.
The following phenomena are maintained
by the writer to be facts:
L. The Odylic force developed in the humsn
system acts upon other objects, and is acted
upon by them as very strong attracting and
| repelllng power, SO that objects without any
physical touch, such as chairs, tables and va
rious articles of furniture, are drawn towards
or driven from such persons, just as the polar.
tiles may happen to be.
2. That rarpipg and ja-ring sounds are
EOuseS
occupied by persons thus affected
3. That the physical systems Of such persons
are powerfully affected, often so as to derange
their mental powers
A. Thatthis odylic force, when deyeIoped in
the human system, is seated in some ono of the
nerve centres. When this centre is not the
brain, 1t Is merely an attracting and repelling
power, without any marks of intelligence. But
when that centre is the brain, the action of the
force is guided by mental states, and has the
marks OF intelligence.
D That in the mental DEVELOPMENTS in.
duced by this odylic force, seated in the
brain, we have, without single exception.
all the phenomena Of spiritualism, mesmerism,
clalrvoyance and witchcraft, which are yeri-
table facts.
Now since nearly all the operations of na-
ture are carried on by the two powers Of at.
traction and repuLSiOn, it certainly is not
very strange that there should be occasionally
discovered an uncommon and somewhat odd
development of the action of those powers
When 1t occurs, 1t IS obviously a GisorIerly.
spasmodic, diseased action. The whole seems
to be this The physical system of certain
persons may take on a diseased state, from
unknown causes, which deyelopes itself in the
odd way Of strongly attracting and repelling
certain other bodies. Like all other nervous
diseases, indulging and cherishing it adds to |
Its strength and peTmanency in the system
From all the reliable facts considered, Pres |
ident Mahan regards the following conclusions |
as proved |
L. There Is in nature a communication be- |
tween mind and mind, other than through the |
ordinary channel of the senses
z. That by the existence and actions of the |
odylic force, when two persons are put into |
mesmerlc communication, one mind NAV con-
troll the mental powers Of another mind
3. That this control on the mind of a mesi- |
um, or a mesmerized person, is as the feel |
lngs, thoughts and will of the magnetizer
Here, he afirms, is tho whole secret Of spirit
uallsm and mesmerism. He shows, by a great |
variety of well authenticated facts, that the |
mind OF an honest medium is, for the time
being, entirely under the control OF tho |
thoughts, mental purposes and will of the |
questioner, and can IN no case whatever give |
IN answer which Is not, at the time, in the /
mind OF the ques,ioner, and cannot Withhold |
one that is, however false or ridiculous it NAV
be. This he affirms TO be the whole secret of /
the answers of mediums and mesmerized per- |
sons, and will account for every answer given /
by them, true or false. No small part Of the /
book is devoted to the proof of this position,
a1d this proof seems quite irresistible. We |
give one or two examples adduced as proof i
A select circle was formed at the house of Rev. /
I. Starr King, of Boston, cele brated medium /
OF this city being present The questioner
unknown to the medium, had proposed four
II
recently died, giving in his own mind true an
swers to the two first, and false ones to the |
two last. The true answers were given by the |
medium right, and the false ones exactly as
he fixed them in his own mind. He told the |
medium the two last answers were false, told /
her what the true answers were, requested her |
to repeat them great number of times, but |
constantly fixed his own mind strongly on the |
same false answer. 1t was found impossible, |
after great number Of trials, for the medium |
to give any answer except the false one in the |
mind of the enquirer. At another time, Dr. |
Bigelow compelled the same medium, by his |
own mental purpose, to give Miserable |
Humbus" as the name of the spirit, and to |
say that he lived on pork and beans. In Ham |
ilton, Ohio, questioner fixed on the devil as |
the name of the spirit, two years as the time |
since he died, and the relation of uncle to |
himself The medium gave it all exactly &C.
eording to bis fixed mental purpose.
From the above principles and examples, it |