SPIRITUALISM AND MESMERISM.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1540, 3 August 1886, Page 2

SPIRITUALISM AND MESMERISM.

•$0 Tflg EDITOR. Sjr, —I have until now been detained from replying to the copious and courteous criticisms upon my lecture, partly by the multiplicity of other duties, and partly by the desire to await the conclusion of Mr Gibson's series of letters, so that I might appreciate the full strength of his position. I feel quite unable to (

cope with him as to the quantity of his voluminous remarks, so I must fall back upon pointing out to your readers, by your indulgent permission, some defects in their quality which appear such in my humble judgment. First, however, let me «hank your correspondent for so frankly admitting that I had some knowledge of the subjects I dealt with, an admission nil the more important as coming from such an experienced spirith-t and mesmerist—l beg his pardon, mngnetist—as Mr Gibson evidently is. Whatever may be the orderly arrangement of his ideas in his own mind, his remarks upon law in your columns seemed sonurthat “ mixed.” His impression that tht 1 patriarchs observed the Mosaic law is only a minor specimen of the mistakes in his first letter. His apparent inability to distioguish between the eternnl universal ' obligation of the moral law of God and the temporary national obligation of the Mosaic ceremonial law, is an example of graver and more important errors. I have been spared the necessity of referring to several passages of Holy Scripture by the clever letter of your correspondent J.P., but I will just note in addition to his arguments, that expressions of religious truth made use of by spirits by no means prove them to be other than evil ; during our Lord’s earthly life they frequently began to testify to His Divinity, but He indignantly repudiated such testimony, and “ would not suffer the demons to speak.” Again, a pythoness was led by her familiar spirit to call after Paul and Silas at JPbillippi the perfectly true words “ These men are the servants of the Most High God, who shew unto us the way of salvation.” But Paul was grieved, and in the name of Christ exorcised the demon. If is the amount of truth and the dissimulation of piety in spiritism that give it its most dangerous power and most pernicious influence. Although Mr Gibson made a slip when he attributed to me the remark about winning horses, I neverthelas agree with him that during my investigations into spiritism I was often in “ very bad company,” and I am very sorry that my esteemed critic is so addicted to the same kind of environment. I demur to the use he makes of the term frightened; 'in the sense he evidently attaches to the word, I am not by any means “so easily frightened but Ido fear sin, Ido shrink from wilful disobedience to the law of my Divine Master, and I do wish to retain a touch sensitive to evil of all kinds, “ for rebellion is as the sia of divination, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” I need not enlarge upon the subject of mesmerism, especially as Mr Gibson’s letter on “ Magnetic Healing” was quite beside the course of my lecture. On the name I remarked “There can be but little objection to Mesmer’s explanatory term “ Animal Magnetism,” as long as wo regard it as having no connection with ordinary magnetism. Magnetism is an important and recognised agent in strengthening and preserving muscular and nervous energy, but a magnetic belt does not mesmerise one.” Mr Gibson is of course at perfect liberty to call himself a magnetiet, but I still maintain that the second subject of my lecture was Mes merism, and not magnetism in the ordinary scientific sense. In writing a treatise on the subject—a very different thing from preparing the M.S. of a popular lecture —I should of course deal with the history and tradition of organic magnetism, and examine some of the theories which either combine it with, or distinguish it from, mesmerism ; but alas, Mr Editor, I am- so incorrigible that I still hold to my statement that “ Mesmeric phenomena always begin with the mesmeric sleep.” Thanking you for affording me, as I know you will, the time-honored “ right of reply,” I beg in conclusion to quote some lines which are, unfortunately, generally d propoa of most sermons and of all discussions : The sermon once ended, The good man descended ; But the pikes went on stealing, The eels went on eel mg; The crabs were back-sliders, The stockfish thick eiders; Much delighted were they, But went on their own way. Poor St Anthony found his fishy audience very like our human ones. —I am, etc., E. Durani Cecil. Temuka, July 30th.