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Timestamp: 2019-04-23 06:03:58+00:00

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the soul -. Does the idea of death afflict you V. for example. he will never be so convinced by the mere abstractions which have been so long the fashion of the moralists of England.] No .the cause and its effect -. but which. too. The will may assent -. in full accordance with the mesmeric phenomena. until it has come so nearly to resemble the acquiescence of reason. Here upon earth. I read it with profound attention. and P. myself. The following conversation then ensued: -. Yes. But this half-sentiment at no time amounted to conviction. indeed. The 'Charles Elwood' of Mr. at least. I studied him in his own works as well as in those of his European and American echoes. [ After a few more passes. convinces. of France. All attempts at logical inquiry resulted. In my natural state. "I repeat. and perhaps only partially.V. P. in leaving me more sceptical than before. Are you asleep ? V.the extensive knowledge he displays upon all points relating to the mesmeric condition itself. plainly to trace this effect to the mesmeric influence. How do you think your present illness will result ? V.no I would rather sleep more soundly. does not extend. as if in that very soul which I have been denying.] I must die. Vankirk into the mesmeric sleep. like the government of Trinculo. "These considerations have led me to think that some good results might ensue from a series of welldirected questions propounded to me while mesmerized. was placed in my hands. In his summing up it seemed evident to me that the reasoner had not even succeeded in convincing himself. P. [ After a long hesitation and speaking as if with effort. into my normal condition. will always in vain call upon us to look upon qualities as things. I had been advised to study Cousin. the effect only.no ! P. and from this self-cognizance may be deduced hints for the proper conduct of a catechism. But latterly there has been a certain deepening of the feeling.are present together. in my abnormal existence. remains.the intellect. P. and never intellectually believed. but the portions which were not merely logical were unhappily the initial arguments of the disbelieving hero of the book. You have often observed the profound selfcognizance evinced by the sleep-waker -.there has always existed. Are you pleased with the prospect ? . that I only half felt. except through its effect. but take no hold on the mind. Abstractions may amuse and exercise. A few passes threw Mr. I was not long in perceiving that if man is to be intellectually convinced of his own immortality. I cannot better explain my meaning than by the hypothesis that the mesmeric exaltation enables me to perceive a train of ratiocination which. in the dialogue representing the patient." I consented of course to make this experiment. and he seemed to suffer no physical uneasiness. then. Throughout I found it logical. His end had plainly forgotten his beginning. His breathing became immediately more easy. Brownson. [ Very quickly . philosophy. I am enabled. Yes -. In sleep-waking. the reasoning and its conclusion -. a vague half-sentiment of its own existence. P. the cause vanishing. and of Germany. With it my reason had nothing to do. never. that I find it difficult to distinguish between the two.] Do you sleep now ? V. I am persuaded. In short.
[ After a long pause. or God.and thus is all things within itself.] P. But there are gradations of matter of which man knows nothing. Nor is he matter. P. The mesmeric condition is so near death as to content me. or unparticled matter. [ This reply startled me very much.a quality. and I now see the confusion of idea. Yes. What then is God ? V.V. as you understand it.one and here the law of impulsion and permeation is modified. P.] P. but it requires more effort than I feel able to make. but now it is no matter. [ Hesitating for many minutes. I am willing to do so. The atmosphere. and that the latter is the origin of the former. What then is he? V. [ Another long pause. I wish you would explain yourself. and with every sign of the most profound veneration . is (as nearly as we can conceive it) what men call mind. the result of its unity . and mutteringly. There is no immateriality -.without particles -. I mean. That which is not matter. [ This was said in a low. Mr. V. Motion is the action of mind -. P. Is not God spirit ? V. The beginning ! but where is the beginning ? V. P. the grosser impelling the finer. beauty -. What men attempt to embody in the word "thought. Vankirk.indivisible -. Is God. for example. P. impels the electric principle. The ultimate." is this matter in motion. P. fluctuating tone.but it is a thing difficult to tell. V. material ? V. The metaphysicians maintain that all action is reducible to motion and thinking.] I cannot tell. in the unparticled matter. is not at all -.unless qualities are things." but now it seems only a word -. Is not God immaterial ? V. not only permeates all things but impels all things -. P.] I see -. This matter is God. You know that the beginning is GOD. You must begin at the beginning.such for instance as truth. No. then. What then shall I ask ? V. You do not question me properly. These gradations of matter increase in rarity or fineness. the finer pervading the grosser.not of thinking . The unparticled matter. while the electric principle permeates the atmosphere. And the power of self-movement (equivalent in effect to human volition) is. in quiescence. If I were awake I should like to die. until we arrive at a matter unparticled -. for he exists.it is a mere word. While I was awake I knew what you meant by "spirit. ] He is not spirit.
however.conceive a matter as much more rare than the ether. it would put a stop to all sidereal revolution in a very far briefer period than has been admitted by those astronomers who have endeavored to slur over a point which they found it impossible to comprehend. absolutely dense. and is. with all the powers attributed to spirit. When we flatter ourselves that we have formed its conception. The matters of which man is cognizant. about that which might be expected from the friction of the ether in the instantaneous passage through the orb. now. the very "mind" or "spirit" of the schools.and that is the very slight resistance experienced by the heavenly bodies in their revolutions through space -. and the mass absolutely coalesce. Where there are no interspaces. and now clearly see that I shall never know. caloric. there can be no two ideas more essentially distinct than that which we attach to a metal. there can be no yielding. is thinking. There seems to me an insurmountable objection to the idea of absolute coalescence. Can you say why matter should be less reverenced than mind? But you forget that the matter of which I speak is. Absolute coalescence is absolute density. We have. is but the perfection of matter. weight. we have merely deceived our understanding by the consideration of infinitely rarified matter. electricity. When we reach the latter. and we arrive at once (in spite of all the school dogmas) at a unique mass . For although we may admit infinite littleness in the atoms themselves.in this identification of mere matter with God -. the "matter" of these schools at the same time. Destroy the idea of the atomic constitution and we should no longer be able to regard the ether as an entity. There will be a point -. on the other hand. set in motion by a law. P. P. But the consideration of the atomic constitution being now taken away. to exist in some degree. We know that the resistance of bodies is.] V. solidity. The only consideration which restrains us is our conception of its atomic constitution. a step beyond the luminiferous ether -. in all respects. An ether. it is true.a resistance now ascertained. It is clear. however rare this ether be supposed. but which is. if the atoms are sufficiently numerous. as this ether is more rare than the metal. The retardation actually experienced is. There is no astronomical error more unaccountable than that which reconciles the known retardation of the comets with the idea of their passage through an ether: for. or at least as matter. would put an infinitely more effectual stop to the progress of a star than would an ether of adamant or of iron.an unparticled matter. at which. For want of a better word we might term it spirit. moreover. and embrace all matter in one general definition. the luminiferous ether. the retarding force is momentary and complete within itself -. the atmosphere. But the unparticled matter. nevertheless.and omniprevalence. Take. a piece of wood. and here. escape the senses in gradation. that it is as fully matter as before.is there nothing of irreverence ? [ I was forced to repeat this question before the sleep-waker fully comprehended my meaning . it is impossible to conceive spirit. palpability. and that which we attach to the luminiferous ether. the infinitude of littleness in the spaces between them is an absurdity. as something possessing in infinite minuteness.in the other it is endlessly accumulative. The truth is. in proportion to their density.there will be a degree of rarity. so far as regards its high capacities. or with nihility. -As regards the progress of the star. -. how I know not. it can make no difference whether the star passes through the ether or the ether through it. a gas. for example. In the one case. so slight as to have been quite overlooked by the sagacity even of Newton. even. existing within itself. we feel an almost irresistible inclination to class it with spirit. V. we have to seek aid from our notion of an atom. Now we call all these things matter. P. but in spite of this. or quality. since it is impossible to imagine what is not. Your objection is answered with an ease which is nearly in the ratio of its apparent unanswerability. Can you give me no more precise idea of what you term the unparticled matter ? V. . But in all this -. a drop of water. chiefly. God. the interspaces must vanish. a metal. the nature of the mass inevitably glides into what we conceive of spirit.
P. as the motion of the whole is that of God. You say that divested of the body man will be God ? V. and we perceive only the shell which falls. Yes. But he can never be thus divested -.a purposeless and futile action. in decaying. It is the nature of thought to be irrevocable.at least never will be -. Yes -. ] I could not have said this . You say that man will never put off the body ? V. or. this motion is the universal thought of the universal mind. it is an absurdity. P. Creatures are thoughts of God. not that inner form itself. Divested of corporate investiture. Our future is perfected. Now. This thought creates." V. Man thus divested would be God -. thinking beings. You say. is thought ? V. The ultimate life is the full design. V. Man is a creature. We . corresponding with the two conditions of the worm and the butterfly. P.else we must imagine an action of God returning upon itself -. You assert. Yes. but not to that of which the ultimate is composed.but not the worm. I do not comprehend." V. is merely God.would be unindividualized. is within the ken of the organs of that body. Explain.P. V. There are two bodies -. as well as the shell. from the inner form. matter is necessary. preparatory. then. it was necessary to incarnate portions of the divine mind. The universal mind is God. in motion.to avoid confusion." V. temporary. All created things are but the thoughts of God. But of the worm's metamorphosis we are palpably cognizant. immortal. The matter of which our rudimental body is composed. The ultimate body thus escapes our rudimental senses." I intend all else. But you now speak of "mind" and "matter" as do the metaphysicians. And this is true. [ Referring to my notes. P. certainly -. You were saying that "for new individualities matter is necessary. Thus man is individualized." I mean the unparticled or ultimate matter. In general. is appreciable by those who have already acquired the ultimate life. P. more distinctly. For new individualities." is but the painful metamorphosis. Our present incarnation is progressive. [ After much hesitation.the rudimental and the complete. that the unparticled matter. P. V. by "matter. for mind. What we call "death. existing unincorporate. . P. "in general. our rudimental organs are adapted to the matter of which is formed the rudimental body. the particular motion of the incarnated portions of the unparticled matter is the thought of man . When I say "mind. ultimate. P. but this inner form. he were God.] You did say that "divested of corporate investiture man were God. To create individual. I say that he will never be bodiless.
why need this impediment have been produced ? V. the motion of the unparticled matter. also. as well as in the inorganic matter generally.negative happiness. thinking creatures. I mean that it resembles the ultimate life. enjoying the ultimate life -. as I have said. without organs. It is to the absence of idiosyncratic organs. In the inorganic life. these creatures.) were contrived. and other bodies which are neither nebulæ. for when I am entranced the senses of my rudimental life are in abeyance.right -. the external world reaches the whole body. The nerve conveys similar ones to the brain.indwelling. P. his ultimate condition.the Divine Volition. is for the sole purpose of supplying pabulum for the idiosyncrasy of the organs of an infinity of rudimental beings. The result of law inviolate is perfection -. act all things and pass everywhere by mere volition: -.that infinity of which the truly substantive vastness swallows up the star-shadows -blotting them out as non-entities from the perception of the angels. complexity. This is the mode by which the mind of the rudimental life communicates with the external world. and this external world is. and to this ether -. suns. through a medium which I shall employ in the ultimate. substantial. of which perception is the first undulation. organs are contrivances by which the individual is brought into sensible relation with particular classes and forms of matter.the nature of the volition of God -. To rudimental beings. The multitudinous conglomeration of rare matter into nebulæ. You will have a distinct idea of the ultimate body by conceiving it to be entire brain. limited. . In all. and substantiality of the laws of organic life and matter. Unorganized? V. This it is not . and I perceive external things directly.in unison with it -. through the idiosyncrasy of its organs. and for the accommodation of which we blindly deem space created -. Through the impediments afforded by the number. When I say that it resembles death. Yes. The organs of man are adapted to his rudimental condition. the organic life and matter. Each of these is tenanted by a distinct variety of organic. How is this ? V.immortality -. unorganized life. being unorganized. these again communicate similar ones to the optic nerve. there would have been no bodies such as these. to a certain extent. to the rudimental life. A luminous body imparts vibration to the luminiferous ether. but a conception of this nature will bring you near a comprehension of what it is. planets. not the stars. therefore." Are there other rudimental thinking beings than man ? V. (complex.) with no other intervention than that of an infinitely rarer ether than even the luminiferous. At death. P.that is to say. The motion of this latter is thought. setting in motion the unparticled matter which permeates it. But in the ultimate. is of unlimited comprehension in all points but one . prior to the ultimate life. But for the necessity of the rudimental.the whole body vibrates. similar ones to the unparticled matter which permeates it. positive pain. the violation of law is rendered.P. You have often said that the mesmeric state very nearly resembles death. nor planets. The vibrations generate similar ones within the retina. With the view of producing impediment.and cognizant of all secrets but the one . But why this necessity ? V. or metamorphosis. P. But again -. and to that only. organs are the cages necessary to confine them until fledged. You say that "but for the necessity of the rudimental life" there would have been no stars. wrong. which to us seem the sole palpabilities.but that SPACE itself -. that we must attribute the nearly unlimited perception of the ultimate life. The result of law violate is imperfection. and law-encumbered. rudimental. the brain. suns. unorganized life. there is nothing to impede the action of one simple unique law -. You speak of rudimental "beings. P. to the exclusion of other classes and forms. (which is of a substance having affinity to brain. the organs vary with the features of the place tenanted.
in all cases. -the stars."the truly substantive vastness of infinity. All things are either good or bad by comparison. The pain of the primitive life of Earth. We must not regard it as a quality.it is the perception. in the inorganic life. than. I noticed that in less than a minute afterward his corpse had all the stern rigidity of stone.to the angels -. should it have appeared. eludes the organic. meantime. which we could not be brought to appreciate as existing at all. there is one of your expressions which I find it impossible to comprehend -. the whole of what we term "space" is to them the truest substantiality. pain cannot be thus the necessity for the organic. been addressing me from out the region of the shadows? . indeed.practicable. and induced me to awake him at once. This.the whole of the unparticled matter is substance. just in proportion as the unparticled matter. Thus pain. in a feeble tone. P. But to what good end is pain thus rendered possible ? V. There are many things on the Earth. which in the inorganic life is impossible. is possible in the organic. which somewhat alarmed me. Still. is the sole basis of the bliss of the ultimate life in Heaven. he fell back upon his pillow and expired. Thus. that is to say. during the latter portion of his discourse. which would be nihility to the inhabitants of Venus -. is but the contrast of pain. Positive pleasure is a mere idea. through what we consider its immateriality. but as a sentiment: -. A sufficient analysis will show that pleasure.many things visible and tangible in Venus. of the adaptation of matter to their organization. probably. As the sleep-waker pronounced these latter words. But it has been shown that. Never to suffer would have been never to have been blessed. through what we consider their materiality. only after long pressure from Azrael's hand. No sooner had I done this. Had the sleepwaker. To be happy at any one point we must have suffered at the same. is because you have no sufficiently generic conception of the term "substance " itself." V. But to the inorganic beings -. ordinarily. in thinking beings. P. I observed on his countenance a singular expression. His brow was of the coldness of ice. with a bright smile irradiating all his features. escaping the angelic sense.

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