Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-11

| had suggested that she be used as
medium. with evident knowledge OF the
mystery of it. And her revelations are
| in n general way IN accord with the
theories that Cornillier held at the time
The Sophisticated will suspect that the
whole revelation is the result OF tele'
pathic suggestion conveyed while tne
medium was in hypnotic trance. Inc
ma materialistic psychologist would use Sc
verer terms in describing the book
Fiammdrion opplies the scientific
method TO the examination OF he
data rhich he has assem- b'ed.
Tn HIS first volume. Before Death,
L he cited scores Of instances OF the
appearance of the living to persons at a
distance. II we may accept the evil
dence Of human witnesses. these appari i
tons have manifested themselves on In :
Vulnerable occasions. Flammarion eA-
plains them on the theory OF thought
transference--that is. man has I'M
agncd himself in the presence OF a
friend at n distance and imagined u
with such intensity that the distant
friend had the image Of the other Gre
atcd in his own brain and actually
thought he saw the person in the room
with him.
This second volume IL devoted to n
collation. Of many instances of such
apparitions at the moment OF death
That they wear the clothing with which
the person seeing them was familiar is
explained on the theory that the person
appearing had imagined that clothing
himself. He cites instances Of appari-
tions opening doors and sitting In chairs
and of apparitions manifesting them
selves in fulfillmen, Of promises.
The purpose Of 1t oil Is TO prove that
there is something beyond and above the
material body. that the brain is merely
the tool with which the spirit works.
He accepts as demonstrated the theory
that there is an astral body that can
separate itself from the physical body.
and he does not deny the authenticity
Of what are called spiritualistic com .
munica tions. In his third volume be
will doubtless discuss them more fully.
Flammurion s proof. holCever. nitl
not conrince any one ~ho ros not
already convinced.
NTAETERLINCk resume OF the
AV1 metaphysical and theological spec :
ulations Of eight or ton centuries Will
he much more interesting 70 those whose
belief in Immortality is n matter of faith
rather than of doubtful proof. His cen-
clusion is that the Great Secret Is that
we do not know. He continues: "It
is we'll that il is nothing else. for n God
and a universe small enough for the lit
tie brain of man to circumnavigate
them. to understand their nature and
their economy, to discover their ori
gin. their aims and their limits. would
be so ptiful and SO restricted that nc
one would resign himself eternally as
their prisoner. Humanity has need OF
tho infinite. with its corollary Of in.
! vincible ignorance, II it is not 10 fee
| itself dupe and victim of an nn-
| forgivnble experiment or blunder i'm
possible of evasion He says fur.
them: Let us search for only wha,
is there; that is. the certainty that all
things are God. tina, all things exist in
Him and should end in happiness and
that the only divinity which we car
hope to understand is to be found in the
depths of our own souls This will
offend the believers in q divine revela .
ton Of God to man by the processes or
which the Church insists, but if Mae.
terlnck does not suggest form Of rev
"lation then his language docs not near
what seems TO be implied by II.
GEORGE w. DOUGLAS,