Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-04-28
IN THE LOCAL FIELD.
.THE PROFESSIONAL CLUB,
MIA physical Basis of Super
stitiOn.
1.vtou's Paper Read Before the
..,, ,,,ndny Evening, April ~.


,,, s,,,. rintendent Of the Brattleboro Re
ay'V ,,,. 9Th, anatomy Of superstition and SUI
Tpa', ,.,r,l ,,orances" In discussing his theme
',i., lnfned himself to two or three Of its
,,,pa~.nt and everyday aspects those
n oS' I,,.,..f touch the individual hfe-and
nD NV t. discussed in practical direct, and H.
.,,ir,v,y. The two points which DR.. Law
Ii,r...f to make clear were, list, that SUI
'0N 5,,,,,s il,efs are in the vast majority of
G i,,,,,...4J in early childhood, and flourish
4 Ear if,. owing 10 lack of analytical powers;
a'., ,t,,ral appearances are manifesto
l 'hf ~ i.r,,d cerebral action rather than vis-
Vans from ur spirit world. superstition presents
NT in A variety Of forms, but they all may be
lS' w.. 20 I'M. same cause. we nave, Tor example,
lIavvu ,,.,r.luts of coming events, warnings of
gui fortune beginning with the equality or
desln vl.,,. M numbers or the mode of flight of
tis and ending with the Winning sheet on our
Diu sis or fI.l peculiar bowling of the midnight
CaE,.,o ,,r ,,iIr window. Upon the same principle
aOs il Jsypol+d from darkness, and during the
I,.Sbition of any unusual or unexplained phe
rameua We are next presented WIN Ine long
,' f tales of supernatural appearances, of sud
5' E,its and peculiar forms, OF ghosts and sun
. w.. ,fLsr lntters. These have not only consti-
~, ~ ,raund for unnecessary alarm, but have
r formed "a basis for precaution, for suspicion,
gfni,,st ar INJURIOUS or absurd action. In this
r ,sSt,lar surrtra. the offspring OF diseased
E-ain. have become motives for conduct.
1ncther step and we meet the whole tribe of
,s,,s ,siat.s r,yprieS and their train of ground
''''"nro,b,,.irs one step more in the descending
ssla If rr4ulitv. and we meet with belief in
,fs performance Of vulgar miracles, which the
'. ;nmiltable laws Of nature render Impossible.
Ysyt comes tine whole system OF dupery involved
y 10 p,vsti. science. so called, Of astrOlogy and
s,rt,np. telling the influence of which at the pres
~, bonr is fan more perncious than is commonly
realized ,..,,... ...., .,,,, 49,. .,.,,,,u
,,ssa ar, al the bottom of superstitious belief
. They have been the agency by which tnnumerable
dnsGks and charlatans have built up fortunes
"a which paralyzes the brain and looks always
ior tbs worst rather than the BEST is another
os,se of silperStition. Proctor once SAID, with
nth that if he were to announce in all the papers
|,bat misfortune is sure to follow when any person
N advised enough to pare his finger nail be-
,vean 10 and 10 o'clock on any Friday morning,
The announcement would be supported within
week by evidence. of the most striking kind, and
in les than a month it would be an established
he influence Of the imagination must be taken
irto consideration. as one of the most prolific
s6lr,ps Of superstition. There are few who have
moi occasionally given rein TO this busy faculty,
and who will not acknowledge the ,ividness and
Intensity with which objects appear, making II
difficult often, to persuade ones self that they
an not real The form and extent Of these crea-
inns of fancy will he governed by the degree to
which the individuals intellect has been trained
and nv the clpSeuesS with which he has learned to
reason They will he governed, also, by the par
rcuar state Of the brain, and take on a cheerful
ar A melancholy tnge according as that organ has
hen reused To- undue activity. or has been de-
messed from any cause. Most of the causes OF
slr+rstition which are here enumerated tend
without question to produce a state of brain irri-
tation which in many cases may border closely
y on insanity, r
Another cause Of superstition, and one of the
most baneful is the pernicious habit of telling
ghost stories and other bugbear nursery tales "a
children which make a powerful impression on
the Young brain that no amount Of reasoning in
after wears can wholly eradicate. For this reason
II 5 wrong To ridicule those who are unable to es
cape from the shackles thus thoughtlessly OF
Vlckelly imposed. Another thing that must be
asen into account is the fact that superstition is
as strongly hereditary as any other natural trait
and the subject of it be deficient in the ability
70 reason closely he goes on through lie without
correcting the foolish notions justified at the most
susceptible age
The esSayist next took up the subject of super
natural Appearances. and proceeded to show that
these phenomena had no actual existence except
in the mind Of the subject The fact is well es
tab.Shed that supernatural appearances depend
for the most part upon peculiar condition OF the
brain, in consequence Of which that organ has es
capped the control of correct reasoning and con
ulues TO act without correction or guidance. We
ar surrounded by an external world which finds
an avenue 10y every sense TO fill our brain WIZ
countless sensations and images which an emo
ton Of the mind, a sudden passion, or a state oil
abstraction or disease may reproduce with start
linz viyidneSS Physical causes, which increase
the amount Of the blood in the brain or alter III
quality are probably the most frequent factors IL
producing these unnatural appearances. Con
drmatlOnS Of this view were given from severa
authentic sources notably that of Nicolai, cele
bated book seller of Berlin, no saw phantomi
and apparitiuns, knowing them to be such, though
h- was powereSS to drive the impression from hi
brain He had been subject to violent attacks %
vertigo, which We're the predetermining cause. 4
nan Of high attachments was constantly haunted
by spectre when he lay down at night, and i
Srl a "A tem
set IN bed thereby overcoming the determine
ton Of blood To the head, the phantom vanished
but reappearrd soon as he resumed the recilm
bent posture All are familiar with the feeling o
gilineSs and bewilderment produced when risinl
suddenly after the head has been held down 70
some time.
The difference between an illusion and an hal
MCMAHON was emphasized, the former being Tn
PERCEPTION Of an object actually present but II
some distorted shape. while the latter is purely
mental production. Both arise from cerebra
Disorder, however produced. As an Illustration
1r story was told Of a man spending the nigh
10 small, lonely hut in Scotland. In his room
man had recently hung himself behind tn
Golr fact to which the landlady referred will
MYSTERIOUS reluctance. During the night he say
Elh startling clearness, close by the window Il
'lr moonlight corpse shrOuded for burial II
summoned resolution to approach the object, AM
passed his hand over 1t, feeling nothing, thel
Staggered back to bed overcome with terror
Alter long interval, and as his brain gradual.
Cleared, he discovered II to be nothing more thai
al Illusion produced by the moonbeame shining
through the broken window.
Numerous Illustrations different in kind, bu
all Of them vivid or startling were given, show
lS now great excitement, or preoccupied stat
o mind or association of ideas that cannot a
says be explained, may reproduce an event tina
las Oeen forgotten. The essayist himself, Will
yng in bed III with fever not long ago, full
aSske, but with his eyes closed, experienced a.
lahuclnauon due TO a congested brain. Il sud
lrnly Imagined myself at the foot of Lake IL
TIGe enjoying the beautiful view before me- II
ulllng Mount Rhigi, Pilatus, and the snOw-c ella
APPS IN the distance. attempted to reason upo
u! situation but was utterly unable 10 determin
saether was in Lucerne or In Brattleboro, unit
.IIpShed my eyes, when the Authorization var
SArd' Immediately on closing my eyes, however
lv vision returned, and for period of sever
BEAUTIFUL Swiss town -
curious fact Is that il is by no means uncou
Igh toT people who have long been blind to /
s-sytel with visual spectra. A patient under III
f WY charg-, suffering from mental dlseas'
I4l oteh many years blind, but there was scare
p gu hQur OF the day during which she did nc
Tyupy herself with picking berries going throug
G ~ une motions of puckng them and placin
S Sgm IN basket, which her fancy pictured
In sue, occasionally eating enc with evident re
,.t h III ueT younger days she had supported he
10y, picking berries for the market. 1t
T I.J vksl spectral Illusions Of this kind that PEE
r n %uo pave long been blind are falsely su
F-.Jfu 40 nave suddenly acquired their sight for
~" M Nlne only 10 lose it again.
a 'gele can hr no question but that many OF ii
5,, ,fS Vi supernatural appearances have the
-.n IN dreams, The Authorizations which a
molipahy nightmare are so complete that il is a
III impossible 70 disabuse their victim of b
t5s b % tuelr actual existence. Their influence {
fss Lay. lalh may even last long after consciousne
Ia S returned. In insanity these hallucinatiol
Character '' anu S'09' "A0A'iS''
oHa 'oiinence o., expectancy must be mentions