Art Firstfl]art first.
ANOIENT SPIRI TUALISM
THE FAITHS or ANCIENT PEOPLES.
Spiritualism as old as our planet.— Ligh ts and shadows of
Pagan times
CHAPTER II.
”—Th e proph ecy ofAlexander’s death .
—Spiritualism in th e sh adow ofth e Pyramids. -Seth on and Psammeticus.
—Proph ecies regarding Cyrus
CHAPTER III.
INDIA AND CHINA.
”
V UONTENTb
CHAPTER IV.
famous Spiritualists ofHellas. —Communion b etween
world and world th ree th ousand years ago. —Th e
Delphian Oracle . — Pausa.nius and th e B yzantine Cap
tive. Great Pan is dead.
”—Socrates and h is atten
dant spirit.— Vespasian at Alexandria—A h aunted
h ouse at Ath ens. —~Valens and th e Greek Th eurgists.
Th e days ofth e Caesars
flatt fi rtanb .
CHAPTER I .
cient phenomena— Th e siege ‘
of Jerusalem. Th e
Ligh t ofth e World.
”—Unseen arm ies wh o aided in th e triumph ofth e Cross.
CHAPTER II.
THE SPIRITUAL IN THE EARLY CHRI STIAN CHURCH.
Signs and wonders in th e days of th e Fath ers—Martyr dom of Polycarp.
—Th e return of Evagrius after death .
—Augustine ’ s faith —Th e ph ilosoph y of Alex .
andria
CONTENTS.
counterfeiting ofmiracles— St. B ernard. —Th e case
of Mademoiselle Perrier. —Th e tomb of th e Ab b é
Paris. Th e Lives of th e Saints.
”— '
CHAPTER IV.
THE SHADOW OF CATHOLIC SPIRITUALISM.
Crimes ofth e Papacy. —Th e record ofth e Dark Ages.
Mission andmartyrdom of Joan ofArc. —Th e career
ofSavonarola. — Death OfUrb an Grandier.
CHAPTER V .
Th e Israel ofth e Alps —Ten centuries ofpersecution.
Arnaud’s march — Th e deeds ofLaporte and Caval lier.
— Th e ordeal offi re. —End ofth e CevennoisWar.
CHAPTER VI.
Precursors of th e Reformation. — Luth er and Satan — Cal
vin. —Wish art’s martyrdom .
—Witch craft. —Famous accounts ofapparitions.— B unyan, Fox , and Wesley.
CHAPTER VII.
Th e Reveries ofJacob B ehmen.
”— Swedenb org ’ s ch arac
ter and teach ings— Narratives regarding h is Spiritual
gifts. — Jung-Stilling.
—His unconquerab le faith , and th e providences accorded h im .
—Zsch okke , Ob erlin
ix
158
DELU S IONS .
American false proph ets— Two ex -reverends claim to b e
th e witnesses foretold bySt. Joh n. Th eNew Jeru salem.
”—A strange episode in th e h istory ofGeneva.
Th e New MotorPower.
”— A society formed for th e attainment ofearth ly immortality.
I
revival ofPythagorean dreams—Allan Kardec’s com munication after death .
— Fancied evocation of th e
Spirit of a deepen — Fallacies of Kardecism.
—Th e
Theosoph ical Society. —Its vain qu est for sylphs and
gnomes —Chemical processes for th e manufacture of
spirits—A magician wanted
A pseudo-investigator. —Gropings in th e dark— Th e spirit
whose name was Yusefi—Strange logic and stranger th eories
CHAPTER i
—Th e wh itewash ing ofEth iopians
CHAPTER VII.
Wh enGreek meetsGreek.
” —Th e spirit-costume ofOli ver Cromwell.—Distinguish ed visitors to Italian séances.
— A servant andprophet ofGod. —Convivial
spirits. —A ghost
’ s teaparty.
—A dream of Mary Stuart—Th e ideas ofa. h omicide concerning his own
ex ecution — An ex ceedingly gifted medium—Th e CrystalPalaces ofJupiter.
— Re-incarnative literature.
—Th e mission ofJoh n King—A penniless arch an
gel —A spirit with a taste for diamonds—Th e most
wonderfulmedium in th e world.
CHAPTER , VIII.
—Th e conceal
x1i CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX
TRICKERY AND ITs EXPO SURE (contohwed).
Th e passing ofmatter th rough matter. Spirit-b rough t flowers—Th e ordinary dark séance .
—Variations of
”
Moulds of ghostly h ands and feet .— B aron Kirkup ’ s
experience —Th e reading ofsealed letters.
CHAPTER X.
THE HIGHER ASPECT S or SPIRITUALISM.
Th e th eological Heaven. —A story regarding a coffin—An
incidentwith L. M. —A London Drama—fl B lack
wood ’ sMagazine
0 0 0 0 0 0
LIGHTS AND SHADOWS
SP I R I T U A L I SM .
11]art first.
THERE descend to us among th e fragmentary records which
, with shattered temples and decaying ci ties
, form
,
many evidences of th e vividnesswith which light from
anotherworld broke in upon man during th e earlier ages of our own. Every spiritual phenomenon which h as in th e present day startled th e Christians Of th e West was tens ofcenturies ago fam iliar to th e Pagans of th e East. On th e common foundat ion of a b el ief that Spirit-visits were neither few nor far between
, every mythology of
those far—back times was based. Th e most superhuman virtues
, and ultra-h estial crimes of Chaldean, Phoenician
Egyptian , Hebrew
14 AN01EN? SPIRITUALISM
that man cannot die, to live again, ”b ut, l i ving once, livesi
eternally, was at times largely perverted to evil. Side by
side with noble natures , made yet higher and purer byl
communion with high and pure m inds that no longer ten
anted th e flesh , were demons doing th e behests ofdemons
—evil creatures ofboth sexes, andallagesandconditions, wh o
, instigated by spiri ts still fouler, worked ceaselessly
to fill th e earth with bloodshed and uncleanness. By in
tercourse with spirits th e cheerful assurance of immortal ity was perpetuated through all times and nations, and
th e dark vest ibule of th e grave brightened with a glory
from beyond. Through intercourse with Spirits , also
,
th e awful rite of human sacrifi ce—men seeking to ap pease imaginary deitiesby th e murder oftheir brethren
h ad birth. It was natural that when, at th e touch of
th e departed, th e clouds which veil ourHereafter shrank away
, man
,
should imagine h e saw gods walking there. Thus th e powerof th e spirits forgood and evil became immeas urab le. Th e val iant phalanx ofth e Greeks rushing down upon th e Persian multitude at Marathon
, every breast
thrilling with th e thought that around thronged th e spirits oftheirancestors and th e deities oftheir nation
, inspiring
and encouraging them to th e combat , affords an example
of th e best phase of spiritual influence. Th e same
Greeks solemnly hewing in pieces or burying alive happy captives whose torments would
, they supposed
, win them favor in th e sight of evil beings erringly exalted into deities, may stand as an instance of th e worst. B ut
th e dark and th e bright phases alike witness to th e inten sity offaith which primaeval man h ad in th e invisible.
,
when death snatched them , lamented as having forever
passed away. Their spirits hung still above th e land they h ad loved and served ; at times visibly appearing to th e posteri ty b ywhom they were adored counselling them in th e moment ofdanger
, or leading on theirhoststo victory.
Ifa Spirit were frequent in h is appearances and mighty in th e services h e rendered
, h e Speedily became worshipped
as a god. Again , when it was discovered that only in th e
presence of certain persons could spirits manifest them selves
, these mediums were set apart
, and priesthood h ad
its origin. Immortal man is immortally amb i tious— pecu liarly liable also to m islead and b e m isled . Th e priest speedily aspired to b e th e founder of a sect— th e b u ilder up of some system of theology or government. He ,
walked among men as one with them b ut not of th em ; clothed with distinctive garments ; hedged round by th e sanctity ofmysterious rites. From among th e invisibles wh o surrounded h im b e selected as h is pecul iarguardians andguides those whose counselswere agreeable to h issoul . It leaves a dub ious impression concerning th e majority of spirits andmediums in anc ient days
, that in every land of
which we have knowledge we fi nd al tars dripping with human blood prisoners ofwar b u tchered by th e thou sand as acceptab le offerings to th e gods templespolluted With licentiousness ; th e most unblushing vice ; th e most systematic cruelty. These th ings all sprang from th e
abuses of communion between world andworld ; ab uses for which spirits al ike with men were blamable . Were
th e beings anciently worshipped as gods in reality devils ? Ifby devilswe understand human beings depraved to th e lowest pitch, then many, probably, m ight b e accounted so.
It is not to b e doubted that then, as now. th e messengers ofGod
, high
, holy
over and communicated with th e better children of earth.
16 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM.
B ut to that endmediumswere necessary, andth e mediums were usually amb i tious and often depraved . Loth to b e
b ut th e servants ofth e Sp iri ts, they fool ishly and useles '
sly aspired to govern them . Th e entreaties and admonitions oftheir good angels were neglected and contemned, until these in griefheld aloofand seemed to have forsaken th e
earth . Th e dangerous beings wh o counselled pleasant things
, and
,
held their victims firmly to th e service of evil , reigned
almost unchecked . Dwellers in darkness, they desired, with th e malignity ofunrepentant wretch edness, that souls
yet on earth shou ld enter th e spirit-realm tainted with a
leprosy deep as their own. Through theirfanc iedmasters and real tools
, th e priests
, nation after nation was led
away from fai th in th e one God to worship His creatures. What these de ities were th e records that have descended to us irrefragably prove. Resembling men
, they are de
pictedas possessing th e passions and attributes of fiends. In every mythology it was a cardinal point that to avert theirwrath blood was necessary. Fearful penal ties were denounced against such as offended these pseudo-gods.
Among th e light, li vely peoples of th e south ofEurope th e idea ofpunishment after death took th e shape ofcon finement in silence andeternal night ; with sternernations it was a vision ofunhappy faces looking up from a burn ing tomb . Th e infamous doctrines that h ave disgraced our own age , doctrines which seek to sap th e very founda tions ofsociety, and, taking from love all that is b eautiful and endearing, leave only its filthy and debasing mockery — were inculcated by these deities
, enforced in theirtem
ples by precept and example , and disseminated through
nations with th e efi ects ofa pestilence . What society was two thousand years ago history witnesses b ut too well. Good
, andgood spiri tsseemed almost tohave fledfrom th e
THE FAITHS OF ANCIENT PEOPLES. 17
earth. Th e servantsof evil were everywhere. All te '
m
ples ofall deities h ad become offences to th e eye of
Heaven ; plague-spots of bloodshed and licentiousness.
Th e many accepted, as they have in all ages done , th e
deities offered to them , and, obedient to their behests, cul
tivated th e evil ofman’s nature, and carefully repressed th e good. Th e intelligent and gifted perceived that, liv ing or fabled
, th e be ings to whom th e nations erected
templeswere assuredly not gods, and th e creators of th e
universe , b ut either monsters of th e imagination or creaa
tures ofa scale somewhat beneath that on which they themselves moved. They sought refuge accordingly in epicurean negation andattention to th e things ofthis life.
At length th e evil grew to an unendurable heigh t. That period when th e Roman power h adattained its zenith was th e nadirof th e morality and happiness ofman. Then th e forces ofgood in th e invisible world began once more
to stir. Upon an earth enervated with wickedness-and
convulsed with strife ; upon nationswhere th e most hide ous vices stalked th e land openly and unashamed ; upon nations where th e stake, th e cross, andth e scourge were in hourly use
, andwhere man plotted h ow to b e most inh u
man to h is fellow-man ; upon th e century of Tiberius, Caligula
, andNero, ofMessalina
, Agrippina, andLocusta,
th e great awakening of th e Christian gospel dawned.
Founded in miracle, attested by prodigy, spread by apos tleswhose touch healed th e sick, Whose words caused th e maimed to become whole, and th e cripple to arise and
walk , and to whose eyeswas revealed th e whole radiance
ofth e Unseen, it conquered rapidly region after region setting at defiance th e possible and th e common
, and dis
covering by burning proofs th at th e ladderwhich Jacob beheld was b ut faintly typical of that immortal one
stretching from earth to heaven, by which multitudes of
18 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM.
th e departed h ave in all ages continually ascended and
descended .
I have said that since th e founding of our world com
munion wi th another h as existed, and that in every frag mentary history of an ancient nation its tokens peep through . Among th e very few legends which time has floated down to us respecting th e mysteriousEtruscans, is one which ascribes to them devotion to magic and the
power of raising th e dead . Theircognate race, th e almost equally mysterious Phoenicians, h ad in th e highest degree th e belief both in evil and b enefi cent spirits
, and in their
have been handed down , th e Scythians
, for example— th e
, appear also to
have cherished this universal fai th . In France and our
own isles th e Druids were acquainted with th e phenomena ofclairvovance andanimal magnetism ; they cultivated th e trance
, and through visions sought for an insight into
futuri ty. Th e histories ofEgypt , Assyria, Chaldea, and
Persia— ofGreece and Rome— of India and China , are
steeped in Spiritualism . In a later portion ofthis work I shall dwell upon th e Hebrew annals. It will b e suflicient
,
devote my attention to th e countries already named that I bring from th e storehouse of history th e best-attested incidents illustrating th e communion ofmen and spirits, andmake clear the ir relation to th e phenomenawitnessed in our own age . I confess that it is impossible to con
,
ASSYRIA, CHALDEA , E'GYPT
, AND PERSIA. 19
shall Seek to Show that th e occurrences rece i ved with stubborn increduli ty in th e nineteenth century werefam il iar to th e first
, and perhaps equally familiar to centuries
long anterior to th e Christian era. 1 shall point to th e
beliefin th e super-mundane entertained by th e m ightiest minds ofthese ancient ages, andrank asspiritual believers such giants asHomer, Hesiod
, and Pindar asE schylus,
Sophocles, andEuripides asSocrates , Plato
, andPyth ag
oras as Alexander and Cmsar ; as Virgil and Tacitus ; as Cicero
, Seneca
, Pliny
, Plutarch
Finally , having pointed out th e vivid resemb lance which
th e Spiritual phenomena of th e past b ear to th e spiri tual phenomena ofto-day, I Shall call attention to th e fact that th e outbreaks of evil which of old convulsed th e earth were heralded by just such clouds as
, at first no bigger
, have rapidly come to overcast th e
present Spiritual horizon.
, AND PERSIA.
THE uncountable years that have elapsed since Ninus Shared h is sceptre with Semiram is
, and th e first sage
watched on th e summit of th e TowerofBelus, have all
b ut whirled away with them into oblivion th e history of th e Assyrian realm
, th e m ightiest of th e anc ient world.
From th e scanty fragments of Berosus , and th e more
copious remains ofHerodotus , togetherwith th e Heb rew
Scriptures , do we chiefly glean what is known to us of
this remarkable people ; unlesswe dare trust th e Greek
20 ANCIENT sPIRITUALISM.
unts that Semiram is invaded Indiawith
an army oftwom illions ofmen. Th e researches ofLay ardandSmith, indeed, have of late greatly added toour knowledge of this antique race . From disinterredNine veh cometo us th e pic tures, th e pic ture
-writings, andth e sculptures of th e m ighty Assyrian warriors, th e scourges ofallneighboring nations. We have by theirown hands portraits of th e men wh o de vastated Egypt, and carried th e Ten Tribes ofth e Hebrews into captivity. And
, for
midab le aswas th e Assyrian soldiery, th e priests wielded ayet more terrible power over theirfellow
-men. Ofthe
most ancient among them we know little, save that they were devoted soothsayers, and respected by all men for
their gift of looking into th e future. With th e periodof th e division of th e Assyrian empire
, our information be
gins to increase. Pre-em inent is that awful instance of spiritual powerrecorded in th e Hebrewannals
, andappa
rently confirmed by late researches, th e passing above the Assyrian camp ofan angel wh o destroyed silently
, andin
a single nigh t , Sennacherib’s army of a hundred and
e ighty thousand men.
, that when the
Babylonian empire was in th e glory ofits power , th e infin
ence of th e Chaldean sages h ad also attained its zenith . Every secret ofnature which man h ad unveiled
, th e whole knowledge then acqu ired respecting th e visible and the invisible, was locked in th e bosoms of these famous phil osoph ers. They held in th e Babylonian commonwealth a station equally dignified with that held in a neighboring country by th e powerful magiciansofEgypt. They guided th e footsteps ofth e young
, just entering upon this present
l ife ; they smoothed th e passage ofth e old, j ust departing toanother. Futurity was the ir espec ial study
, and, by diligent comparing and interpreting of dreams and prodi
AssYRIA, CHALDEA, EGYPT, AND PERSIA 21
gies , they h ad established what th ey believed to b e a com
plete system of divination. Especially were they famous for theirwatchings of th e stars. Th e astronomers of th e eighteenth andnineteenth, and th e astrologers of th e six
teenth and seventeenth centuries A .D.
, alike recognize
predecessors in those inquiring Spirits wh o, from th e sum
mit of th e TowerofBelus , nightly searched th e ,Assyrian
heavens. Evenwhen th e Bab ylonian empire fell b efore th e shafts of th e Mede
, th e Magi survived . They flour
ish ed at Babylon in unchecked power from th e era of
Cyrus to that ofth e Dariuswhom Alexandersubdued , and
they made one oftheirmost remarkable prophec ies to th e Macedonian h ero himself.
At th e distance of three hundred furlongs from th e
Great City , Alexanderwas encountered b y a deputation
of th e most famous Magi . These warned h im that h e should on no account presume to enter Babylon
, as th e
gods h ad decreed that once within th e walls h e must assuredly die. So deeply was th e conqueror of Asia moved b y this prediction, that while sending h is chief friends into Babylon
, h e himself encamped at a distance
of two hundred furlongs from th e walls. B ut th e Gre
cian philosophers wh o accompanied h im, th e doubting
disciples ofAnaxagoras , and others
, temporarily effaced
from h is m ind all respect for th e wisdom of th e Ch alde
ans. Alexander entered Babylon, and in a few months waswith h is fathers. Variousotheromens h adforeboded th e disappearance of this royal meteor from th e earth which h e astonished .
Shortly after th e magnificent obsequies of h is favorite ,
Heph aestion, a Babylonianwh o h ad been placed in con
finementwasfound by th e king , dressed in th e royal rob es
w and seated on th e throne. Alexander
, amazed
, demanded
22 ANOIE’NT SPIRITUALISM.
ofth e manwh o h ad advised h im to thisact. Th e intruder
answered Simply that “ h e knew not h ow h e found himself
there .
” By advice ofth e soothsayers h e was put to death , b ut th e omen sank deeply into th e conqueror’s mind.
.Not long afterwards h e sailed forth, accompanied by a small flotilla, to v iew th e harbor of Babylon. A storm arose
, and Alexander’s vessel was parted from th e rest.
After tossing on th e waters for several days , refuge was
found in anarrow creek , choked with overhanging shrubs.
Th e king’s diadem was plucked from h is head by a
projecting bough, and flung into th e waves. A sailor swimm ing from th e vessel recovered th e crown
, andplaced
it on h is own brow, th e more speedily to reach th e ship.
Both by Alexander and th e Chaldeans this second preg nostic was considered ominous
, and h e was counselled to
offer sacrifices to th e gods. At th e feast which accompa nied th e proposed rites, th e great conqueror quaffed at a
draught a huge goblet ofwine, sighed, appeared smitten with an overwhelming sickness
, andwas assisted forth to
, an Indian phil
os0ph er, h ad, on ascending h is funeral pyre , announced to
Alexander that th e lattermust prepare to speedily follow
h im to th e Shades.
Th e philosophy ofEgypt divides with that of Chaldea
th e honorofbeing th e most anc ient ofwhich we modems have knowledge. Somany centuries have been numbered with th e past since even th e decay ofeitherofthese civil izations
, that it almost rankswith th e impossible to decide on which nation th e light of learning first dawned. The
preponderance of evidence, such as th at evidence is, in c lines to th e side ofEgypt. Zonaras
, indeed
, asserts that
th e Egyptians derived their mythology from th e Chalds ans
, b
24 AN(JIENT SPIRITUALISM.
incense was used . Its influence was assisted b y th e soft
music of lyres. Elevated thus ab ove its material prison, th e soul for a space held free communion wi th th e spirit ual world . King Rh ampsinitus, th e Magi of Egypt asserted to Herodotus, descended b y such means to th e
mansions of th e dead, held converse with th e gods , and
returned, after a while, to th e upper day.
Into Egypt went Pythagoras, to increase from th e
greater stores of that country th e wisdom which h e had acqu ired in Greece. B ut so rigidly did th e Magi restrict all learning to their own caste that not until h e had passed from temple to temple
, and h ad undergone disci
plinary initiations more andmore severe , was th e ph iloso
pher , after twenty-two years of patience
, admitted to the
inner mysteries. Returning to Greece h e became th e
martvr of th e spiritual truthswith which h e astonished h is countrymen. Delos
, Sparta
, Elis
, and Crete in turn
cast h im out. Everywhere derided as a madman h e passed over into Italy, andwandered through th e magnifi
cent colony of Magna Grascia , teaching and working
m iracles in Crotona, Rhegium , and Metapontus. The
fate ofth e prophetsofallages pursued h im . At Crotona
th e mob burned down h is school , and forty neophytes
perished in th e flames. Hunted by enem ies thirsty for h is life
, h e iinmured himself in th e temple of th e Muses
at Metapontus, and was there suffered to die ofwant. B ut h is doctrines
, th e frui ts ofth e painful years passed in
Egypt, endured after h im , th e error with th e truth .
1 From th e Egyptians h e h ad acqu ired th e th eory of trans-e m igration as inculcated in th e sacred books ofHermes;
Trismegistus. At death, according to these bizarre meta physics, th e sou l ofman passed intoanother body. Some
times th e Spirit reappeared as a human being , sometimes
as an animal. Th e nature of th e new receptacle was,
AssYEIA, CHALDEA, EGYPT,
AND PERSIA. 25
,
andifth en suffic iently purified th e spirit ascended to th e immortal gods. During th e latter centuries of this curi ous species of purgatory th e soul was supposed to reside in those animals which th e Egyptians held peculiarly sacred. Thus a cat represented a being particularly close to eternal felic ity—a beetle was perhapsstill nearer.
A modification of this marvellous religion was taught by Pythagoras exaggerated after h is departure by h is disc i ples
, and finally extinguished in th e grossness of its own
ab surdities. Our own century , strange to say, h as wit
nessed th e resurrection of this ancient folly. I shall take occasion in a later portion of this work to treat of th e belief of those apers of antiquity wh o, discarding th e
animals , have unearthed from the ir dusty receptacle th e
remaining rel ics ofth e Pythagorean system, and
, clothing
these with th e fantasies of th e ir own imaginations , have
submitted to th e notice ofa bewildered world th e identity confounding chimera ofReincarnation.
Our information respecting th e Egyptian oracles falls far short of th e ample knowledge accorded to us ofth e
Grecian. Th e most famous , ifin strictness it can b e held
an oracle ofEgypt , was that renowned temple buried in
th e solitudes of th e Lib yan Desert, and consecrated to
Jupiter Ammon. Alexander ofMacedon , in th e pleni
tude ofh is power , visited it to interrogate th e deity on
some subject near to h is heart. Question and answer
were al ike kept secret , b ut th e magnificence of th e con~
queror ’ s offerings int imated that h e was satisfied with th e
response accorded h im . A very few predictions of less celebrated oracles have been preserved b y th e Greek historians. Among such two singularly fulfilled proph e scies deserve notice.
2
Whilst Sothon, formerly a priest ofVulcan, held the
Egyptian sceptre, h e was dismayed b y th e approach of
th at Sennaclierib whose invasion of Judaaa Heaven so
terrib ly frustrated . Deserted b y th e warrior tribe , he
betook himself to th e temple ofVulcan, and implored against th e Assyrians th e aid of th e deity whom h e had
served . As h e stood before th e image avision came upon
h im . Vulcan , h e dreamed, spoke , and bade h im b e of
good cheer , for that h e himselfwould fight in h is wor
shipper’s behalf. Hereupon Seth on , gathering courage,
marched to encounter Sennacherib. He was followed only by a rabble of tradespeople andmech anics at sight ofwhom th e Assyrian laughed
, accounting himselfcertain
ofvictory . On th e morning of th e battle , h owever
, Seu
nach erib found that h e was overthrown before th e strife commenced . During th e night myriads offi eld-mice had entered th e Assyrian camp
, and
, devouring th e bow
strings and quivers of th e warriors, h ad left them almost defenceless. Th e victorv of th e Egyptianswas easy and complete .
Herodotus tells us that after th e death of this Sethon twelve kings reigned in th e different provinces ofEgypt. An oracle announced that h e wh o
, in th e temple ofVul
can , poured a lib ation from a brazen vessel should expel
h is fellows and reign as sole monarch . On th e occasion of a certain sacrifice, Psammeticus
, one of th e twelve,
having found himselfWi thout th e accustomed golden cup,
filled a b razen helmet with wine and made h is l ibation. On this th e remaining kings banished h im to th e marshes
ofth e coast . Burning with indignation, b e consulted the oracle as to h ow h e m ight best avenge th e inj ury.
Itwas replied th at vengeance would b e accorded h im when
brazen men arose from th e deep . Th e answerwas natu rally held byPsanrmeticusamockery. Shortly afterwards,
ASSYRIA, CHALDE'A
Egypt from Ionia andCaria. These strangersPsammcti
0115 took into h is pay, and having, b y their aid , become
sole ruler of th e Egyptians , th e oracle’s prediction was
most curiously accomplished.
From th e dim magnifi cences ofth e race wh o reared th e Pyramids we pass to Persia and Zoroaster. Even before th e time of that mighty iconoclast th e history of h is
country bears interesting traces of intercourse wi th an
other sphere. Cyrus , th e subduer ofAsia
, was heralded
andattended by prophecy b oth in Persia and among th e Jews. Astyages, h is grandfather, saw in vision a vine proceed from h is daughter Mandaue
, b ywhich th e whole
of Asia was oversh adowed . Th e soothsayers explained this tomean that Mandaue would b e delivered of a son
wh o should conquer all th e kingdoms ofth e East. Fear ing lest h e himselfm ight b e among th e rulers deposed, th e jealous monarch wedded h is daughter
, not
usage , to a prince ofth e Medes
, b ut to Camb yses, a native
ofth e sub j ect kingdom ofPersia. He again dreamed of th e vine that overshadowed Asia and again received th e explanation ofits pointing to th e com ing of a conqueror wh o should tread all nations under foot. On this th e
king determined to destroy th e fruit of th e marriage th e instant that it saw th e light. Th e fruit was Cyrus
, whom
Astyagescommanded Harpagus, h is chiefcaptain, to take with h im andput to death . Harpagus, reluctant to exe
cute th e foul mandate , sent th e bab e to b e reared farfrom
th e court , in th e rude highlands of Persia. Arrived at
manhood Cyrus speedily approved th e truth of th e pro
ph ecy, and, deposing Astyages, reigned over Persia and
Media in h is stead . He conquered Croesus ofLydia, and, overthrowing th e Bab ylonian empire
, perm itted th e cap
t ive Jews to return to Palestine . According to Josephus
28 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM
this favorwaswon b y th e Jews at Bab ylon displaying to Cyrus th e proph ecy where in Isaiah alludes to h im by
name. Th e forty-fi fth ch apterofth e prophet thusopens Thus saith th e Lord to His anointed , to Cyrus, whose
right hand I have holden, to sub due nations before h im ; and I will loose th e loins ofkings, to open before h im the
two-leaved gates, and th e gates shall not b e shut. I will
go b efore thee , and make th e crooked paths straight ; I will b reak in pieces th e gates ofbrass
, and cut in sander
th e bars of iron. And I will give thee th e treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places
, that thou
, which call thee by thy
name , am th e God of Israel . ‘For Jacob My servant’s
sake , and Israel Mine elect
, I have even cal led thee bythy
name , though thou hast not known Me .
”
Cyrus , continues Josephus, on being shown th is pre
diction, aud th e equal ]y remarkable one contained in the
twenty-eighth verse of th e preceding chapter , acknowl
edged that th e Jehovah of th e Hebrews was indeed the God of Nations, and that from Him h e received the
sceptre of th e world .
Norwas th e c lose of th e m ighty conqueror’s careernu
accompanied b yprodigy. Invading Scythia , h e dreamed
that Darius , th e son ofHystaspes, stood before h im with
wings springing from h is shoulders , ofwhich th e one
overshadowed Europe , th e other Asia. Bel ieving that
th e gods h ad thus warned h im ofa plot against h is throne, h e sent Hystaspes back to Persia, to watch overDarius until h e should himselfreturn. B ut
, although th e sonof
Hystaspes was in real ity destined as h is successor , no cou
spiracy h ad been implied. Th e vision given to Cyruswas an admonition of h is own approach ing death . He was vanqu ished and slain in a battle with Tomyris
, queenof
th e Massagetae ; and th e sceptre of Persia descended to
AssYRIA, CHALDEA, EGFFT, AND PERSIA. 29
Cambyses , h isson. On th e death ofthatmonarch anarchy
distracted th e empiie, and Darius Hystaspes, inspired by various omens, stood forth as a competitorfor th e throne Overpowe1ing h is rival Smeidis
, h e assumed that impe
rialpurple towhich h e h ad not been b ow , and began a
reign of prosperity almost unequalled in h is country ’ s
annals.
In th e time of this Darius , Zeréth osch tro, th e golden
star”ofPersia , dawned upon th e world . Hisname
, soft
ened into Zoroaster , is familiar to us as that of th e
mightiest religious i eformerofth e anc ient East. By b oth linesofancestiy, aswell through h is moth e i ,Degdo, as h is fath e1
, Porosch asp, could h e
t
boast of descent f1om th e
1emote kings ofPersia. Porosch asp, says t1adition, was descended from that Djemsch id, th e fab ulous em b ellisher ofIstakb ar
, whom Ormuzd gifted wi th creative powers ;
andwh owas , according to Persian legends
, fifth in l ine
andafter th e birth ofZoroaster , th e Easterns have many
most marvellous tales. His mother , being pregnant
, saw
in a vision a b eing glorious as Dj emsch id, wh o assailed th e Dj ins orDevs— th e Persian evil spirits— with asacred writing
, before which they fled in terror. Th e interpreta
tion of th e Magian to whom sh e applied was that sh e
should b e favored among women by bearing a son, to
whom Ormuzd would make known h is laws , and wh o
should spread them through all th e East. Against this son every power of evil would b e in arms. Tried by affl ictions and perils innumerab le, th e prophet would ulti mately drive h is foes b efore h im l ike chaff
, and receive
,
even in h isown country , th e utmost honor. A king should
b e raised up wh o would accept h is sacred writings as th e word oftruth
, andmake them th e law ofPersia ; every
where th e new religion would prevail ; Zoroaster would
30 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM.
ascend to th e side of Ormuzd in th e highest heaven, and
h is foes sink to Ahriman and hell .
Alarmed lest th e prophet whose advent was thus h er.
alded should p1ove th e destroyer of the ir order , certain
among th e Magi conspired to slay h im innnediately upon h is b i1 th Da1ius
, wh ose ea1 they h ad gained
, becoming
possessed wi th an evil spi1it, lode off in sealch of th e
bab e . Lessfortunate thanHerod , h e discovered th e ob ject
of h is hatred , and, on l ifting h is sword to h ew in pieces th e infant Zoroaster, th e arm f th at grasped th e weapon was withered to th e shoulder, and th e king fled, convulsed with terror and agony . Disappointed in th eir opening plot
, th e Magi speedily took heart a second time to
attempt murder. On th is occasion they were themselves th e agents of th eir evil wishes. A fi re having been kin dled
, th e embryo reformer was stolen from h is ,mother’s
dwelling, and cast into th e flames. Dogdo, seeking on
allsides fo1 h ei son, found h im at length lying peacefully on h is fi ery couch
, as ifin a cradle
, and carried h im home
uninj ured . As h e grew to manhood numerous other efforts were made to compass h is death . He was placed in th e way of savage bulls
, was cast to wolves
, andfed
with victuals inwhich poison h ad beenmingled . Through all th is th e spirits to whose service Zoroaster h ad been consecrated supported h im unhurt. At thirty years of age h is m ission began. Qu itting h isnative place h e jour neyed towards th e court ofIran b ut being warned ina vision ofan attack which th e Magi and Devs combined waited to make upon h im
, h e turned aside into th e menu
tains of th e Alb ordi. There th e thingswhich “ eye had
never seen ”were revealed to h is gaze . He was lifted up
to th e highest heaven, and b eheld Ormuzd in h is glory, enc ircled b y th e hostsofth e angels. Foodsweet as honey was given to h im
, 011 eating which h is eyes were Opened
32 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM.
wh ole body of th e Magi , were stirred to rage by the th ought th at a single daring and successful reformer
should succeed in sub verting beliefs which had endured from an antiquity almost immemorial . For years the
pmph et ’ s history is that of attempts on th e part of ene
mies to destroy h is life and credit , and of th e miracles by
which h e put their rage at defiance . At length th e good cause triumph ed . Opposition was beaten down
, and
Zoroaster b ecame to th e Persians what , at a yet more
anc ient date , Moses h ad been to Israel . I—Iis law
, l ike that of th e Hebrew prophet
, was at once
th eological and c ivil . 1Th e portion remaining to i1s ofthe
Zend-Avesta , or Li ving Word
, h as three grand divisions
,
th e Izesch né, th e Visfercd, and th e Vendidad. These again are parted into sections too numerous to b e here m entioned. A Litany
, aLiturgy
laws are among th e matters included. Prayers are
drawn up for even th e most trifling occasions. On cut
ting hair ornails ; before making pastry ; after sneezing; on seeing a leprous person, mountains, a cemetery
, a city
,
th e sea ; on killing cattle ; on killing vermin ; and at a
thousand other t imes verbose petitions are to b e reiterated by th e devout . Th e theology ofZoroaster isfarmore tolerant than that
of th e Calvinistic section of Christendom. Th e eternal hell to which all b ut th e elect are to b e consigned makes no appearance in h is religion. Even Ahriman and his
devils are in th e end to b e pardoned and restored . The
,Creator, h e teaches, formed together with th e world Ormuzd and Ahriman, th e good and th e evil principle. These, with their respec tive h osts
, shall contend on the
battle-ground of th e universe for a space of twelve thou sand years. At th e end of th is period comes a conflict like th e Christian Armageddon
, in which Ahriman and
, AND PERSIA. 33
h is subordinates are utterly overthrown. Th e Evil Onc h ereon repents
, and
, enters
into a solemn league of amity with Ormuzd . oHell itself
is purged, and through all creation sin and sorrow are
annihilated. I maymention that Zoroaster condemns all men
, even th e best, fora space to h is Inferno ; b ut none
are to b e chastised beyond their deserts, andnot even th e vilest eternally.
Such arevelation was ofa truth spiritual and sublime .
Zoroaster’s place is high above that ofMahomet in th e ranks of th e founders of fai ths. Th e disciples of th e
Koran did indeed vanqu ish and subvert to a newer creed th e disciples of th e Zend-Avesta
, b ut th e event was 110
miracle, When in th e seventh century after Christ this conquest took place
, th e Zoroastrian system h ad endured
fornear twelve hundred years. As shaped by th e found er its moral teachings were pure and b eautiful
, and its
ideaofth e Divine One high and j ust . B ut with th e pass ing ofcenturies abuses began, like foul parasites, to cling toandmar th e noble structure. Aswith allothersystems ofth e ancient world
, th e evil portionofth e unseen beings
around us , having underm ined with malignant patience
,
at length succeeded in overthrowing th e work of th e
good . Aided by th e unworthy servants to b e found before all al tars
, they defaced with v ice after vice th e
templeswhere constantly burned th e sacred fi re . Sensual indulgence
, against wh ich Zoroaster h ad launched h is
sternest anathemas , made foul th e lives of h is descend
ants. Th e adoration given at first to th e Unseen Creator was lavished
, in process oftime, on th e visible objectsHe
h ad created. Th e sun , th e stars
, and th e sacred fi re were
th e gods of this new idolatry . Thus th e great decay went on. Th e evil influences withou t worked mightily andwith success. Licentiousness desecrated th e temples ;
34 ANOIENT SPIRITUALISM
human sacrifices b egan to make fou l th e altars. At last,
when hypocrisy h ad replaced piety, and sensuality and
s loth stood in th e place of spiri tual zeal, there poured
down on Persia that ardent mul titude offanaticswhom
Mahomet’s intolerant enthusiasm h ad inflamed. The
choicewas th e Koran or th e sword . Sapped already at all points b y internal corruption, th e edifice Zoroaster h ad
reared h asted -
to its fall. Th e fewwh o refused to abjure their religion fled from Persia forever
, or
, remaining,
were relentlessly put to death. At th e present day the numerous Parsees scattered through Hindostan andother countries of th e far East are th e dispersed relicswhich
remain ofthat once m ighty and united brotherhood which
revered th e teachings ofth e “Golden Star.
”
I HAVE seen ,
says Apollonius ofTyana ,
“ th e Brah
m ins ofIndia dwelling on th e earth andnot on th e earth ; living fortified without. fortifications possessing nothing, andyeteverything .
” Th e dwelling on th e earth andnot on th e earth ”alludes to their being frequently levitated.
Apollonius h ad journeyed into Hindostan to seek admit tance to th e treasury ofIndianwisdom . Th e supermundane attainments of th e Brah m ins were displayed to h im 1m
mediately that th e ob j ect ofh is m ission became known.
He was b rought into th e presence ofth e chief sage ofthe caste,wh o addressed h im in th e following words: It is
INDIA AND OHINA . 35
th e custom of others to inqu ire of those wh o visit them
who they are, andforwhat purpose they come b utwith
us th e first evidence ofwisdom is that we are not ignorant
ofthosewh o come to us.
” Thereupon this clairvoyant re
counted toApollonius th e most notable eventsof h is life ; named th e familiesboth ofh isfatherandofh is mother,re
lated what th e philosopher h ad done at AEgzn, described by what meansDam is h ad become th e companion of h is
journey ; and repeated all that they h ad heard and talked ofby th e way. Awed and humbled by knowledge so un
earthly , th e astonished Greek earnestly besought to b e ad
,
tyrant l Then
, h e
continued : “Dom itian is nomore— th e world is delivered of its bitterest oppressor!” In th e very day and hour when Apollonius b eheld this vision at Ephesus was th e despot assassinated at Rome .
Ifa strangeracquired such gifts chiefly from a sojourn in th e temples of th e Brahmins
, what must have been th e
spiritual wealth ofthose Brahm ins themselves ? Th e aim
oftheir religion was to lift th e soul above th e thraldom ofth e senses
, and place it in unity with God. Like th e
Platonists they j udged that th e spirit is enveloped by a form ofluminousether— asth e Vedashave it
, suksh onas
'
, was created to
command. Sent into earthly life th e soul m igrates from body to body in a most marvellous and truly Pyth ago rean manner. These incarnations ended
, th e Spirit ap
36 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISMZ
pears b efore Yamas, th e M inos of th e Brahminical theol
ogy. As its ac tions h ave b een righteous or unjust, so is it translated to th e paradise of Indra, or condemned to
various of th e purifying hells. Final beatitude, accord
ing to th e ideas of b oth Brahmin and Buddhist, consists in ab sorption into th e Divine nature. and eternal union
with God.
,
dividuality of each is unchangeably preserved . To th e
heavenly felicity of Nirvana”b ut one path conducts unceasing mortifi cation of th e Spiri t and th e body. Th e
laws ofMenu m inutely prescribe th e inflictions which the devotee must endure. To. scorch in summer b efore the
hottest fires ; to shiver naked in running streams in th e depth of winter ; to pass hours buried in ant-nests
, or
writhing on couches studded with numerous Spikes to be
clad in th e bark oftrees andh aveforfood leaves androots, andfordrink impure water to deny th e tongue its use ; to swing suspended by hooks passed th rough th e flesh of th e back— these are some of th e torments in which from immemorial antiqu i ty Hindoo ex istences have b een spent. In th e day ofAlexander ofMacedon such penances flour ish edin full vigor
, and they have continued unremittingly
popular down to th e present time .
Brahm ins and Buddhists alike teach that th e Deity has repeatedly descended in h uman shape to purify th e world.
Th e Brahmins, h owever, decl ine to recognize Buddha as one amongst these Avatars. They describe th e deity whom th e Buddhists worship as a species ofdemon permitted, at a time when th e earth was fi lled wi th evil
, to arise and“
INDIA AND CHINA. 37
existsbetween th e followers ofth e twogreat creeds. By theirfruits ye shall know them .
” Despite th e holy horror
ofth e Brahmins, th e faith ofth e Buddhists is vastly more
spu - ltualandelevated than theirown. Ifademon inspired
it h e h ad undeniab ly forgotten h is condition, andwas for
th e nonce masquerading as an angel oflight. His teach ings Christians cannot b ut recognize as wise and pure.
Th e wasting oflife in sacrifice is strictlyforbidden, and even th e b lood of animals may not
, on any pretext, b e
spilt . Th efai thful are earnestly entreated to live at peace with theirfellow-men ; andtokeep themselves,in th e words ofSt. James, pure andunspotted from th e world .
” Th e
eating offlesh is prohibited, and th e doing inj ury to e ven
th e smallest creature which God’s hand h as formed held a sin. Th e Vedas and Puranas ofth e Brahmins Buddha altogether rej ects
, and reprob ates these writings for their
unholy advocacy of living sacrifices. B y so stern a de
nunciation of th e darker among its doctrines th e more ancient sect of th e Brahm inswas moved to fury. They drove th e converts of th e new heresy from Hindostan proper
, and relentlessly persecuted allwh o dared to re
enter that peninsula. B ut beyond th e Gauges, and east
andnorth of th e Himalayas, Buddhism Wax ed m ightily .
Overspreading and b ecoming th e state religion ofNepaul, Thibet
, andAfghanistan
, and
Japan, it stands at th e present day foremost, as regards th e number of devotees
, among th e great religions ofth e
earth. That this splendid fabric is more imposingly vast than solidly real ; that in various of these lands, China and B irmah in especial
, systems ofunb lushing foulness
cruelty usurp th e pure name ofBuddhism ,
are incontrovertible facts. B ut a fai th that h as h ad so
unequalled an infl iience on th e destinies of th e East well deserves notice
, and th e space can hardly b e wasted that
38 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISN.
is accorded to a brief résumé of th e beliefs prevalent among this mighty fam ily ofSpiritualists.
An article offaith constantly iterated in th e Buddhist
writings is that departed souls have in all ages returned to ourworld . Like Milton, in h is thousand-times quoted avowal, these scriptures say that
“ Millions ofspiritual b eings walk th e earth Unseen
, b oth whenwe wake andwhen we sleep.
Countless numbers are continually ascending andde
scending on th e m issions of th e gods. Some are th e
‘
nigh t caverns , forests
, and all solitary spots.
In describ ing these unseen b eings every resource of th e
glowmg imagination of th e East is expended . They pass to and fro among men
, wrapped with an ethereal veil,
and thus conceal from earthly eyes their forms , a thou
sand times more beautiful than those ofmortals. They
are crowned with unfading flowers , and brilliant with all
th e glories of Paradise. Th e b rightest of th e stars are less clear and radiant than their eyes, and th e white gar ments in which they are robed emit th e most delic ious perfumes. Some are kindly , others fierce
, b ut allwield
th e m ightiest influence over th e destinies ofmankind .
Aswas natural in th e case of be ings so attract i vely de
picted, andwhose presence i t is prob able that spiritual tokens were continually making manifest
, th e mass ofth e
people have in process of time come to adore them as
divinities. At this day there are probab ly some hundreds ofmillions ofde ities set up in th e niches of th e Buddh ist Pantheon. By th e kindred sect ofBrahma three hundred and thirty millions ofthese false gods are computed to b e adored .
40 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM.
which in former (lays their sceptres h ad swayed. With th e increase of idolatry abuses of every kind grew and
mult iplied , until . in th e seventh century before Christ,
China was eaten up with all imaginable errorand cor
ruption. In th e latteryears of that century th e reformer
Lao-tse appeared . Spiri tual fai th h ad b een almost extin
guish ed, and this present world was th e only one ofwhich th e Ch inese took heed . Lao-tse drew around h im th e few
inquirers into th e problemsoffuturity wh o still remained ,
and strove with the ir aid to awaken a longing after Spiritual things in th e bosoms ofh is countrymen. Perse cutedvehemently
, as allprophets ofall erasandkingdoms
have been , h e fell into a dnnst with h is m ission
, and
,
shaking th e dust ofc ities from h is feet , retired to pass th e remainder of h is life in religious calm. Yet
, although
th e laborer h ad turned back from th e sowing ofth e seed ,
,
and th e sceptical and vicious public mind was stirred to its inmost depths. Then appeared Confucius, th e great purifi er of th e morals of th e empire
, as Lao-tse h ad been
ofits metaphysics. He inculcated th e necessity ofhonor ing parents ; of being truthful in every business of life ; ofactively fulfilling allsoc ial andnatural duties ; ofkeep ingfaith with others, andofrendering obedience toth e laws ofman and God. In h iswri tings th e most striking ofthe anc ient Chinese legends are transm itted to modern times. These traditions Speak like th e Hebrew Scriptures ofthe
fall ofman, and th e hurling down into m isery and dark«
ness of an angelic host wh o h ad rebelled against the Sup1e1ne .
Lao tse and Confucius are al ike in their deep beliefin th e nearnessof th e Spiri tual w011 .d All truth respecting th e future state, says th e f01mer, h as been b 1ought down
INDIA AND CHINA. 41
toman by th emessengersofGod. Prayerand self-denial are th e charms which open th e eyes of th e mind to th e
Spiritual beings around us. Apparitions have occurred since th e creation ofth e globe . Invisible to th e dim eyes ofth e flesh , Spirits, evil and good, constantly hover above th e earth
, checking or aiding th e advancement ofman.
Th e limitless universe constitutes b ut one family ; earth , heaven
,
"
,
and become strong within us , b y reason oftheir affinity to
th e darkness ofour souls. If , despising temptation
, we
attend ils , and cherish within our bosoms a light that
gleams brighterand b righter unto th e perfect day.
Such were th e high andwise teachings ofth e two chief prophets ofth e Celestial Empire . They so far succeeded in theirmission as to implant in Chinese bosoms afaith in th e supermundane which
, if anything
, h as grown
stronger with th e lapse of ages. Intercourse with th e
world ofSpiritsisdaily sought after in every temple ofth e greatest empire of th e East. B ut
, whatever th e state of
spiritual health may have b een when th e teachings of
Lao-tse and Confuc ius h ad yet th e eloquence ofnovelty ,
th e present degradation of this unfortunate race appears almost irremediable. Guardian angels seem for a space
to have abandoned th e Chinese , and th e whispers of
demons tempting to evil are th e only messages from th e
Invisi b le listened to '
to-day. In China itselfopportunities of observation are almost ‘denied to Europeans
, and th e
corruptions of th e empire, though known to b e ex treme, are in great measure hidden. B ut in th e c ities of th e
Pacific seaboard ofAmerica, inundated of late years by
42 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM.
uncountable thousands of th e race I at present treat of, th e whole measure of their gigantic wickednesses and
dwarfi sh virtues may b e ob served . Th e most rapidly enlarging portion ofSan Franc isco consists of a rookery ofwretched dwellings styled th e Chinese Quarter. There th e vices which chroniclers shudder to name
, andwhich
among even th e most fallen ofEuropean races lurk b ut b y stealth in th e darkest and foulest dens, walk abroad openly and unashamed. Murder is too common to excite more than th e attention of a moment . Truth in inan
and chastity in woman are virtuesequally unknown. Th e
filth of th e dwellings is such that hogs or polecats could scarcely b e at ease within them . Children die in fright ful numbers, or are placidly put out of th e way should th e parents fi nd them inconvenient to keep . And with all this th e Chinaman is frugal
, gentle
, industrious
, and
prepossessing in appearance andmanners. B ut beneath th e varnished outside crust a sink of iniquity is concealed.
Th e refuse ofEurope and America h as been drawn to Cal ifornia andUtah by th e thirst ofgold
, yet th e veriest wretches among th e white men stand amazed at th e
depths of iniquity to which their yellow rivals can , with
out compunction , descend .
G R EE C E AND R O M E .
I PASS now from Asia to Europe , and from th e faint
grandeur of th e traditions preserved respecting th e em
pires which were th e m istresses of th e anc ientEast to the
CREECE AND HOME. 43
fuller andmore reliable information possessed respecting those civilizations ofth eWest enthroned b y th e Egean and
upon th e Ti b er. Th e glory that was Greece is indeed irrecoverab ly extinct
, and th e grandeur that was Rome
fallen into an almost hopeless decay . Empireshave been founded
, have flourished
, and have perished, since th e last
ofth e Delphian Pythonesses drew a last response from th e spiritswhom sh e was appointed to serve . It was cen turies anterior to th e birth ofMahomet that th e last pub lic reading of th e b ooks of th e Cumaean Sibyl took place in th e temples ofRome . B ut th e array ofmighty Spiri ts who shone with so immortal a l ustre 011 th e City of th e Violet Crown
, th e City ofth e Seven Hills
, and th e
lesser commonwealths and municipal ities of th e Grec ian and Roman dom inions have b equeath ed to 11s works in whose undying pages th e actions and th e thoughts
, th e
worships andbeliefs of th e Italians of two thousand , and
th e G1eeks of almost three thousand yea1s ago, me as nu
dyingly preserved. These great writers were, with few exceptions, b elievers in th e return ofth e departed . Scarce
ly apoet orphilosopher amongst them b ut , whilst busied
with th e things ofthis present world , h ad as active afai th
in , andwas as anxiously inquisitive respecting th e things
ofth e life to come . And th e great historians of Greek times
, Herodotus andXenophon in espec ial
, when giving
account ofapparitions ormarvellously-fulfi lledprophec ies ,
do not present them as paradox eswhich are to b e recei ved with wonder and distrust
, b ut rather relate them as tru
isms known and accepted from time immemorial b y th e race for whom they wrote . Let me
, in support of th e
views I have advanced , select some proofs of th e extent
towhich belief in th e presence ofan eternal and invisi b le order of things, side by side with this temporal and visib le creation
, prevailed amongst th e Greeks. I shall
44 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM .
open with th e poets, in all nations th e voices of th e
popularfaith .
Th e gods,”saysHom er, like strangersfrom some foreign land, as suming different forms
, wander through cities, watching th e injustice
‘
gods wh o are th e protectors ofth e poor."
Odyssey x vii. 475.
Says Hesiod
Invisib le th e godsare evernigh, Pass through th e m ist , and b end th e all-seeing eye.
Th e m enwh o grind th e poor , wh owrest th e right
Aweless of heaven’ s revenge
, stand naked to the ir eigh t ;
For thrice ten thousand holy demons rove This b reathingworld, th e delegates of Jove Guardians ofman, theirglance alike surveys Th e upright judgm ents and th e unrighteousways.
Works andDays. Elton’ s Translation
,
It is Sophocles wh o supplies me with th e following beautiful passage I fondly thought ofh appierdays, whilst it denotednothing else thanmy death. To th e dead
there are no toils. They drink purer draugh ts , and con
tinually ascend h igher.
”
Canwe term th is aught b ut th e Spiri tual teaching of
th e nineteenth c entury anticipated ? And hearken to
Pindar
B ut th e good, enjoying eternal sunshine night and day, passa life free from lab or never stirring th e earth b y strength of hand, noryet th e crystalwaters ofth e sea in that b lessed ab ode , b utwith th e honored ofth e gods allsuch as lived true lives, and took pleasure in keeping their faith
, spend in th e heavens a tearless ex istence .
Spirits, said Pythagoras, announce to man secret things, and foretell th e future . Th e doctrine ofSocrateswas th e same . Socra
tes thought that th e gods knew all th ings , b oth what is said, what is
done, and what is m editated in Silence , are everywhere present, and
give warni ngs to men ofeverything.
”—Memorab . i. 1.
GREECE AND ROME. 45
T h e fragments that remain to us of [Esch ylus are
throughout instinct with th e mysteries of another world.
Strange andappalling b eings the Titans and th e Furies move in shadowy procession across h is pages. He loves
to contemplate th e supermundane , b ut i t is th e super
mundane in its gloom iest guise, a land of darkness , as
darkness itself, andwhere th e light isasdarkness.
” From th e grim sublimi ty ofsuch tragedies as th e Prometheus i t is pleasant to turn to th e more tru ly Greek bel iefs pre served in th e plays and poetry of Sophocles
, Euripides
andHomer , and in th e philosoph y ofPlato. Homer and
Sophocles have been already called as witnesses to th e
intensity of th e Greek convic tion of th e nearness of
spiritual things , and I shall content myselfwith describ
ing, by th e aid of these and other great b rethren of th e
guild ofpoets, th e faiths which they represent as having prevailed in their age and land .
Th e Greeks , th en
, saw gods everywhere. Th e eternal
snows ofParnassus ; th e marb le temples ofAthens glis tening in th e rays of a southern sun ; th e thousand isles nestling in th e blue waters of th e Egean ; th e fragrant groves where philosophers disputed ; th e fountains shad owed b y plane-trees ; th e solemn fields of Plataea and
Marathon— each and all of these h ad their attendant sprites. A thousand deities rece ived homage in a thon sand temples. t am idst this error th e form ofthat One God
, th e Uncreated and th e Supreme, whom Christianity
adores ,was b y th e higher m inds of th e nation perceived
“ as in a glass, darkly.
” Socrates taught that a single Deity governed th e universe .
“ To th e Unknown God”
said th e inscription which Paul found at Athens. Th e
people , it is true
, were not disposed to rece ive such a
doctrine. To th e light, lively Greek a pantheon ofdivini tieswas amental necessity. From th e picture ofa single
46 ANCIENT SPIRITUALIBM.
mighty Spirit controlling th e destinies of creation, every where present
, yet everywhere unseen ; knowing all , yet
known ofnone eternal , invisible, and incomprehensible,
th e mul titude shrank in disgust. Gods wh o m ingled visibly in th e act ions of man wh o clothed themselves with material forms to lead on to victory th e hosts ofth e ”
countries they cherished wh o shared th e passions of
humanity andsympathized with its infirmities wh o , while
controlling th e present , gave omens of th e future of
nations and individuals— these were th e beings to wh om ,
in love orfear , th e Greek b owed down. His poets repre
sented one god as appearing angrily in th e clouds , and
hurl ing down thunderbolts into th e midst of armies con tending on th e earth another as wandering in th e shape of a beardless youth from c ity to city, and challenging men to contend with h im on th e lyre which h e loved ; this goddess as snatching from out th e m idst of th e battle an endangered warrior ofwhose stately form sh e h ad b ecome
enamored that , as urging h er celestial steeds from capi
tal to capital to stir up th e surrounding nations against a commonwealth that was th e obj ect of h er hate. Andth e
legends ofthese gods , which with th e vulgarwere objects
ofdevout credit , were by th e philosopher made th e veh i
cles of a higher purpose— allegoriesfor th e delicate shad owing forth ofspiritual things. Th e sage h adbeenstruck by th e thought that th e soul perhaps came from an exist ence in some distant and difl erent world to b e incarnated here
, and h e hid h is idea in th e lovely myth of th e love
and union ofCupid and Psyche . He saw that th e great benefactors of mankind
, th e increasers of th e world’s
stock ofmental or physical power , were uniformly tor
mented by that world in life , andworshipped by it after
death . Th us th e legend of Prometheus and h is theft of fi re from heaven for th e benefit ofman
, ofh is torture on
48 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM.
fermented in h is brain. Inspired b y th e whispers of
attendant spirits ? Are not poets, philosophers, and indeed
allgeniuses , knowingly or unknowingly, th e sub j ec ts ofin
spiration from anotherworld ? To what b ut th e prompt ingsofnumerousspiri ts influenc ing a single m ighty imag ination can b e ascribed th e marvellous creations which glow in th e dramas ofShakespeare ? From whence b ut th e sphere of all light could proceed th -e divine gleams that crossed th e brain of a Raphael ? And th e c itizen of Attica was in respect of supremely-gifted countrymen peculiarly fortunate . For h im th e inspirations ofa h un dred minds h ad taken imperishable shape.
“He saw ,
saysLord Macaulay, th e plays of Soph ocles andAristo phanes
, h e walked amidst th e friezes ofPhidias andth e
paintings of Zeuxis ; h e knew by heart th e choruses of fEschylus ; h e heard th e rhapsodist at th e cornerofth e
street rec iting th e shield of Achilles , or th e death of
Argus.
” And Homer, E schylus, and Zeuxis, Phidias and Sophocles alike inculcated with all th e strength of theirmagnificent genius th e constant interference ofspirits in th e affairs ofmen ! Had th e Greeks missed beinga nation ofSpiritualists it h ad indeed been amiracle. B ut,
save with such philosophers as those ofth e Atom ic school ,
th e beliefin th e immortality ofth e soul andth e returnof departed spirits to watch over those yet on earth was
, as
I have endeavored to show , deep and universal . Every
nature fitted to b e th e instrument of th e spiritswas se
_
shrine ofmore or lessrenown. Th e majority ofsuch media were of th e fairest portion of th e fairer sex . A succession of virgins presided over th e most renowned oracle ofGreece, that of th e Delphic god ; and received from another world th e messages of prophetic import
GREECE AND ROME. 49
destined , now for commonwealths, now for individuals.
And b esides that ofDelphos a hundred oracles oflesser fame were scattered through Hellas. Even th e smallest ofthese shrines blazed with jewels and gold
, th e gifts of
crowds ofanx ious devotees. This ceaseless hunger for communion with th e Unseen
, and constant exposure to
spiritual influence , h ad
, its dark
timesmade horrible Grecian altars departed spirits were frequently elevated into imaginary gods. B ut th e cor
ruption of th e Greeks was not as th e corruption ofNine veh
, Bab ylon
, and Memphis. Brilliant virtues redeemed
,
” said Leonidas to
th e three hundred ofTh ermopylae , we shall supwith th e
A
v
” On sons ofth e Greeks ,
”was th e b at
tle-cry of Marathon above you th e spirits of your fathers watch th e blows which, to preserve their tom b s from desecration
, you strike to-day.
Hundreds ofwell-attested instances have b een handed down to us ofth e manner in which th e oracles ofHellas were fulfilled. From these I shall select such as are not only most striking in th emselves
, b ut b est supported by
outward evidence. As h as b een already mentioned, th e Delphic Oracle far outstripped all competitors in th e im portance andtruthfulnessofitsprophec ies. SavsPlutarch Itwould b e impossible to enumerate all th e instances in which th e Pythia proved h er powerofforetelling events ; and th e facts of themselves are so well and sogenerally known that itwould b e useless to b ringforth newevidences.
Heranswers , though subm itted to th e severest scrutiny,
have never proved false or incorrect.” And h e relates, amongst other proofs of h is assertions, that sh e pre
dicted th e . eruption of lava and ashes with which Ve 3
50 ANCIENT SPIRI TUALISM.
neum.
To Delphi sent Croesus ofLvdia, when uneasy at ti
rapid growth of th e Persian power. He h ad previous] despatched amb assadors to th e most renowned shrines
th e age ; b idding them demand of oracles on a certain
day in what work th e king was at th e moment employei Th e replies from other temples are unknown
, b ut th
from th e Delphic god ran as follows
See I numb er th e sands I fathom th e depths ofth e ocean ,
Hear even th e dumb comprehend , too, th e thoug hts ofth e silenl
Now perceive I an odor, an odor it seemeth oflamb ’s flesh As b oiling it seeth eth ; commix ed with th e flesh ofa tortoise ; B rass is b eneath
, andwith b rass is it covered over.
'
pieces a lamb and a tortoise ; afterwards cooking, th
flesh in a vessel ofbrass. Awed by th e proofofsuperb i man knowledge which th e Delphic Oracle vouchsafed, 11
sought by magnificent gifts to obtain th e favor of th
god. Th e em bassy which bore h is second question ha
also in charge three thousand oxen , numerous gold an
silvervessels , a golden lion
- 01
, also in gold, an
adorned with girdle and necklace of incredible valw
Depositing these before th e shrine of th e god th e amba '
sadors ofCroesus demanded whether i t were well that ll should march against th e Persians. Th e oracle’s responi ran thus : “ If Croesus pass th e Halys h e shall destroy great empire.
” Unconsc ious that th e empire indicate was h is own
, Croesus already exulted in th e thought subj ugat ing Persia
, and at once prepared for war.
GREECE AND ROME. 51
,
“Wh en amule becomes th e ruler of th e Persian people ,
then , 0 tender-footed Lydian, flee to th e rocky banks of
”
Croesus smiled at a pleasantry which appeared to h im
to confirm th e impossib ility ofauv interruption to that successwh ich h ad attended th e earlieractions ofh is life .
At th e head of a vast host h e crossed th e Halys, and, encountering th e Persians underCyrus
, was made captive
,
h is army annihilated , and h is kingdom reduced to th e
condition ofaprovince ofth e PersianEmpire . Indespair ,
h e reproached th e Delph ic g (rodfor luring h im to ruin by
predictions utterly false . B ut th e oracle replied that through h is own carelessnessm not seeking th e name of
th e empire over which destruction impended was h e
brought low, and that wi th regard to th e last of its
responses Cyrus , th e son ofaMedian princess and aPer
sian ofhumb le condition , was th e rulerprefigured under
th e type ofth e mule .
Xerxes , th e monarch whom th e combined fleets of
Greece vanquished at Salamis , crossed th e Hellespont at
th e head of th e m ightiest host Europe h ad ever seen.
Dismayed by th e'
myriadswh o marched under th e orders of th e Persian king
, th e Athenians
"
sent to b eg counsel from th e ch ieforacle ofHellas. Th e Delphic godreplied Unfortunates
, wherefore seat yourselves ? Fly to th e
verge of th e earth : forsake your houses and th e lofty crags of your wheel—shaped ci ty. For ne ither does th e head abide fi rm
, nor does th e body, nor th e lowest feet,
nor therefore th e hands, nor aught of th e m iddle remain —all is ru ined . Forfi re and griding Mars
, driving th e
52 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM.
Syriac car , overturn h er, and destroy many other tower
ing c i ties , not yours alone ; and to th e devouring flami
deliver many temples of th e immortals, which even now
from th e topmost roof trickles b lack blood, token ofWot unavoidable . Begone then, from th e shrine
, and pourth e
”
This prediction, and th e counsels which accompanied it , reduced th e Athenians to despair. No city
, ancieni
ormodern, was evermore beloved by its inhabitants thar i
that ofth e Violet Crown. To die , sword in hand , in its
defence , seemed a doom far preferable to a flight
, th e
humb ly beseeching that th e immortal gods would not
command them to leave to destruc tion and desecration their hearths, and th e tomb s of the ir fathers. B ut th é
Pythoness replied that Heaven knew not h ow to change ,
its purpose, and that th e decrees of th e de ities were as
adamant . Yet for th e comfort of th e suppliants sh e was inspired to add “When all is taken that Cecrops’ hill in i tself contains, and th e fastnesses of sacred Cithaeron wide—knowing Jove gives unto th e goddess Triton-born
a wooden wall alone to abide inexpugnable ; this shall save you andyour children. Await not quietly th e throng of horse andfoot that invades your land
, b ut turn your
backs and withdraw : th e time shall b e when you toowill stand against th e foe. Godly Salam is ! thou shalt see th e sons ofwomen fall
, whether Ceres b e scattered or
collected .
m ighty host of th e Persians , having disembarked from
their sh ips at th e nearest point available foran attack, marched against Athens. As th e heads of th e enemy
’ s
columns came in sight th e Greek galleys put to sea. The
GREECE AND ROME. 53
city was deserted, save by a few desperate patriotswh o, knowing that th e Acropolis h ad once b een enc ircled by a
h edge,andvainly imagining that thismight . b e th e wooden
wallofwhich th e god h ad spoken , determ ined to defend
that portion ofAthens to th e last. They fell to a man ,
fighting with th e valorcommon to th e Hellenesofth e age.
Athens was entered by th e Persians , and
, after having
been plundered, destroyed by fi re . Then th e invading host returned through Attica, b urning and pillaging what ever lay in th e way. Expeditions were despatched for th e sacking of distant towns ; and finally th e Asiatics returned to the irships. OffSalam is
, in accordance with
th e prophecy ofth e oracle , th e combined naviesofGreece
encountered them and , by reason ch iefly of th e burning
valorwhich animated th e Athenian p01tion of th e fleet ,
and th e skill with which Themistocles, th e Athenian admiral
, manmuvred h is ships
, a complete victory was
ob tained , and th e freedom ofGreece achieved . Au oracle
ofBoeotia h ad , we learn
, predicted this event in equally
clear termswith that ofDelphi . I have mentioned that expeditionswere despatched b y
Xerxesforth e destroying oftowns distant from th e line of march adopted b y th e main body ofh is army . Amongst other expeditions one offour thousand men marched to pillage th e shrine ofDelphi
, and bring into th e treasury
of th e Persian king th e vast riches collected there .
Unprepared forany effectual defence , th e alarmed priest
hood demanded of th e oracle whether they should flee
with th e treasuresofth e temple to some more secure spot ,
or bury those treasures in th e prec incts of th e shrine it self. Th e deity replied that h e would himself preserve h is property andforbade even th e least of th e offerings consecrated to h im to b e moved.
” On this all , save th e
Pythoness , and afewof th e boldest dwellers in Delphi,
54 ANCIENT e RITUALISM
departed to seek refuge in th e mountains. Speedily th e Persian legion came in sigh t
, and passed forward exult
ingly to th e pillage of th e wealthiest fans of th e ancient
world . Th e temple at first remained silent as th e grave.
When, however, th e b arbarians sought to ascend th e crag
onwhich it stood, clouds suddenly gathered overhead,from which unceasing flashes of lightning broke forth
, aecom
panied by deafening thunders. Then a superhuman voice was heard to proceed from th e shrine
, and huge rocks
,
loosened from th e summ its ofParnassus, crashed through th e ranks of th e invaders, and levelled them like grass.
Appalled , th e remnant turned and fled. On this th e Delph ians gathered and
, hastilysnatching weapons, de
scended from their hiding-places and pursued th e fugi tives form iles. Such was th e slaugh teroccasioned in th e Persian ranks by lightnings, falling crags
, and theSpears
of th e Greeks, that ofth e whole four thousand scarcely a man escaped .
Th e foregoing instances are gathered from Herodotus. I have chosen them because
, occurring (save in th e case
of Croesus, th e narrative of whose intercourse with the Delphian Oracle other historians confirm) at no great dis tance from h is own time
, th e Father ofHistory waswell
qual ified to judge of th e truth orfalsehood of these por tions ofh is work . And
, when not deceived by evidence
merely hearsay, no ancient author adhered more rigidly to facts. Says ProfessorGaisford
, h is translator:
It can hardly b e doub ted that one wh o took such pains to ascertain th e truth would b e equally scrupu lous in offering nothing b ut th e truth to h is reader ; and indeed , strange as it may sound to those wh o have b een in th e hab it ofhearing Herodotus stigmatized as a liar b y persons wh o ought to know b etter, there is prob ab ly no author, ancient or modern, th e inspiredwriters ex cepted ,wh o deservesto b e placed b efore h im in th e scale oftruth and accuracy.
— I ntroduction , p. x xx i.
, th e unhappy Pausanias
perished ofwant . Space forb ids that I should quote more than a very few
ofth e instances to b e gathered from Plutarch and Dio
dorus. Th e remarkable narrative which succeeds isgiven
by t he formerwriter.
PAN 1s DEAD.
’
,
and, after th e third time , to bid h im that. as th e ship
passed Palodes, h e should declare loudly that th e great Pau was deac Thamus
, having consulted with h isfel
lows , resolved that, should a steady gale b e blowing when
th e vessel reached Palodes, h e would journey 011 silentlv
b ut that, if becalmed there, h e would speak that which
th e voice h ad commanded . As th e mariners gained th e
charmed spot, th e wind again died away, and th e bark lay idly on asmooth sea. Th enThamus
, lookingforth towards
c
Th e great Pan is dead .
” This h e h adno soonerdone
than there broke forth th e sound ofmany voices, uttering m ighty lamentations
, interm ingled
with shouts of triumph . Then a breeze sprang up, and
th e sails of th e vessel filling , Thamus and h is companions
were borne rapidly away . Th e date assigned to this cc
currence is that of ourSaviour’s death .
l Tib erius , says Plutarch
, was extremely concerned to
discover th e truth or falseh ood of this narrative, and having made searching inquiries
, fully satisfied h imseli
that these events h ad taken place exactly as described.
According toDiodorus, Althmmenes, “
th e son ofaking
GREECE AND ROME. 57
of. Crete, was warned by th e oracle that h e would unknow
ingly slay Catreus, h is father. Dreading th e fulfilment
ofth e prophecy, h e quitted h is country, and, settling at
Rhodes, hoped to escape so horrible afate . In course of
time, h isfath erbecame extremely old, and, longing tosee
hisson once again before h e died, set sail for th e place of
h is exile. Having landed during th e night, afray com e
weneed between h is attendants and some persons of th e
town. Th e unhappy Althaemenes, com ing angrily forth
to end th e riot, slew one of th e strangers in th e heat of
passion, and looking on th e face ofth e dead manper
ceived h isfather.
From th e same writerwe learn that Philip ofMacedon
when h e consulted an oracle respecting h is ambitious de
sign ofattacking Persia, was b idden to rememb er that th e ox being crowned and garlanded implied h is end to
b e at hand , and- that men stood prepared to sacrifice h im .
This enigma Philip’s wish made father to th e thought that h e should seize and slay th e monarch ofth e Persians.
He began therefore mighty preparationsforwar. B ut th e
death foreshadowed was in real ity h is own. As , clothed
with more than royal magnificence , and having h is image
borne before h im in company wi th th e statues ofth e gods ,
h e entered th e theatre at AEgea, Pausanias, an esquire of. h is body-
guard, suddenly drew a dagger , and struck h im
to th e heart. I cannot better close this portion ofmy subject than
with a reference to th e spiritual guidance vouchsafed to th e noblest mind of all Pagan antiqu ity. Socrates
, as
every one in th e slightest degree acquainted with Grecian history must b e aware
, was from h is earliest youth th e
ob ject of unearthly monitions. A divine voice (as h e himself terms it), attended h im not to urge to good, b ut torestrain from evil . It was equally b usy in th e most
396
A
Athens , at Corinth ; when h e l ifted a spear against th
enem ies of h is country when h e b ore with meekness th revilings of th e shrewish Xant ippe ; when, in th e heigh of h is success
, h e stood surrounded by Plato
, Alcib iades
and others of th e noblest youth of Greece ; when, old
feeble , and persecuted, h e calmly prepared himself to die
th e voice was everwith h im . It did notadvise respectiné th e conduct of any action in which h e was engaged
, b u '
i t uniformly warned h im against taking any stepWh icl might have proved prej udic ial or evil . This h as beer made th e ground for interpreting th e history of th e un
earthly monitoras nothing more than an allegorical repre sentation of conscience. B ut th e conscience ofSocrates wasunlikely to warn h im of unknown dangersawaiting himselfor h is friends ; nor, when any of those friends meditated a crime
, was i t probable that it would perceive
and endeavor to prevent it . Yet Xenophon testifies that Socrates obtained from th e voice and imparted to h is
intimates many foreshadowings of perils which awaited them
, and was never convicted of error. Yet Plato
relates that Timarch us , a noble Athenian, being at afeast
in company with Socrates , and rising to depart
, wasper
emptorily bidden by th e latter to reseat himself. For, ”
said h e ,
“ th e Spirit h as j ust given me th e accustomed sign that some danger menaces you .
” Some little time after. Timarch us offered again to b e gone
, andwas again
stayed by Socrates, wh o h ad heard th e warning repeated.
Taking advantage , at length
losoph er was absorbed in earnest discourse , Timarch us
stole offunobserved , and a few m inutes afterwards com
m ittedamurder , for which
, be ing carried to execution,
”
As th e Q uarterlyReviewonce remarked, it is impossi
ble to avoid being struck by th e extreme sim ilarity b e tween certain points of th e careers ofSocrates and Joan
ofAre. Th e Greek sage and th e French heroine were
alike accustomed from early childhood to b e controlled by heavenly voices, which none b ut themselves could hear. Both rendered to these counsellors th e most im
plicit obedience. In either case th e voices approved theirunearthly origin by undeniable tokens. Th e subject of such monitions saw at times in vision th e radiant
b eings by whom h e or sh e was guided. Each demon
stratedby anoble and blameless life th e heavenly nature of those b eings
, and th e purity of their teachings. Both
were warned b y th e invisib les wh o guarded them that their careers would close in th e reception of th e crown of
,
passed b yroads terrible to travel from a world that was not worthy of them . Here th e parallel ends. How im
measurab lv beneath th e Greece of two th ousand three hundred years agowas th e Europe of th e fifteenth cen
tury after Christ ! Socrates , though execrated as th e
attempted overturner of h is country’s religion , was suf
feredto pass away in th e gentlest manner consistent with a sudden end. Indeed
, th e death h e died can hardly b e
describ ed as a violent one , or bitter to b e endured . Sur
rounded by attach ed friends, h e took from a weeping executioner th e cup of poison
, and
, departed
calmly and almost painlessly , to b e with th e immortals.
Joan, reviled, tormented, and immodestly used , endured
formonths a bitterness deeper than th e bitterness of any death , and in death th e utmost agony ofwhich th e human frame is capab le. Lied to and abused
, mocked by ene
mies with false hopes of life, and by pretended friends with false hopes ofsuccor, h er torment of suspense was
60 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM.
only ended ' by that other agony of th e stake, ofwhich even to think is to sicken with horror. From th e fate of Socrates no less than that of th e French heroine maywe reap th e lesson of th e blindness of man in all ages to spiritual ligh t ; b ut no other narrative in th e world’s repertory reveals so mournfully and awfully as that of th e saintly maiden ofDomremy th e unrelieved darkness of those depths to which, when it m isconce ives th e origin ofthat light
, humanity can descend .
In Romewe fi nd reproduced th e spiritual beliefs prova lent among th e Greeks
, b ut darkened and made more
severe , to accord wi th th e darker and severer natures of
th e masters of th e ancient world . Th e poets , like th e
‘
as Homer— Ovid, Horace, and Lucan deal throughout in m iracle. As in I-Iellas th e gods descend among men, and are described as displaying passions akin to th e pas
sions ofman. B ut love , which was in Greece th e chief
motive for th e visits of these deities— wh o, like their brethren described in Genesis,
“ saw th e daughters ofmen
that they were fair — was in Rome altogether absent.
To wreak their wrath on nations which h ad offended them ; to lead on to conquest people that stood high in their favor ; to enjoy th e tumul t and carnage of th e
b attle fi eld— these are th e motives by which th e Italian poets represent th e truly national among their gods as in
variably actuated ih their descents to earth . Th e lust of
pleasure is supplanted b y th e lust of blood . It is such a difference as exists between th e good
-natured amorous
Zeusworshipped by th e Greeks , and th e stern majesty of
th e Jupiter ofth e Roman people.
Yet from Greece came th e whole of th e philosophy and arts ofRome. Th e oracles ofGreece were revered
GREECE AND ROME. 61
in Italy, and up to th e very time oftheir becoming finally
silent did emperors and senates send to consult them .
As Horace tells us : Capta ferum victorem cepit. ”
Greece, enslaved by th e swords of th e Romans, ruled yet
by supremacy ofmind .
Norshould we forget th e peculiar connection between
th e civilization of Italy and th at far more anc ient one
whose almost immutab le relics sl'owly moulder by th e
Nile. Th e metaphysics ofRome were those ofEgypt, brightened by a sojourn in Greece . Th e mesmeric treat
ment ofth e sick practised in Roman templeswas b ut an
apish reflex ofthat deep knowledge ofmagnetic and spirit
ualphenomena possessed b yEgyptian priests. Nay, th e
most celebrated ofall Roman m iracles, th e supernatural
cure by th e Emperor Vespasian of a blind man and a
paralytic , waswrought on Egyptian ground . This event,
which two great contemporary historians, Pliny, and th e
sceptical Tacitusrh ave described from th e narrativesofeye
witnesses,andwhichDavid Hume , in h isEssayonMiracles,
declares th e best-attested instance ofth e supermundane in all history
, took place in that magnificent Egyptian c ity
named afterAlexander th e Great . I quote th e story
Vespasian spent some months at Alex andria. During h is resi dence in that city anum b erof inc idents out of th e ordinary course of nature seemed tomark h im as th e particu larfavorite of th e gods. A
man ofmean condition , b orn at Alex andria, h ad lost h is sight b y a de
fluxion on h is eye . He presented himself b efore Vespasian, and
, fall
ing prostrate on th e ground, implored th e emperor to adm inistera cure
forh is b lindness. He cam e , h e said , b y th e admonition ofSerapis , th e
godwhom th e superstition of th e Egyptians holds in th e highest vene ration. Th e request was that th e emperorwith h is spittle wou ld con
descend to moisten th e poor man’ s face and th e b alls of h is eyes.
Another,wh o h ad lost th e use of h is hand, inspired b y th e same god, b egged that h e wou ld tread on th e part afi ected. Vespasian smiled at a request so ab surd and wild . Th e wretched ob jects persisted to implore h isaid. He dreaded th e ridicu le of a vain attempt ; b ut th e
62 ANCIENT SPIRITUALISM.
importunity ofth e men, andth e crowd offi atterers, prevailed uponth e prince not entirely to disregard their petition.
He ordered th e physicians to considerwhether th e b lindnessofth e one
, and th e paralytic affection of th e other, were within th e reach of
,
th e patient might recover. As to th e disab led limb , b y properapplica tionsand invigorating medic ines
, it was not impossib le to restore it toits
former tone. Th e gods perhaps intended