318 Spiritualism Viewed by the [July, 



" Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the 

 laws of nature ; and in such things as these, experiment is the best 

 test of such consistency." 



The modes of reasoning of scientific men appear to be generally 

 misunderstood by spiritualists with whom I have conversed, and 

 the reluctance of the trained scientific mind to investigate this 

 subject is frequently ascribed to unworthy motives. I think, there- 

 fore, it will be of service if I here illustrate the modes of thought 

 current amongst those who investigate science, and say what kind of 

 experimental proof science has a right to demand before admitting 

 a new department of knowledge into her ranks. We must not mix 

 up the exact and the inexact. The supremacy of accuracy must be 

 absolute. 



The first requisite is to be sure of facts ; then to ascertain con- 

 ditions ; next, laws. Accuracy and knowledge of detail stand fore- 

 most amongst the great aims of modern scientific men. No observa- 

 tions are of much use to the student of science unless they are 

 truthful, and made under test conditions ; and here I find the great 

 mass of spiritualistic evidence to fail. In a subject which, perhaps, 

 more than any other, lends itself to trickery and deception, the 

 precautions against fraud appear to have been, in most cases, totally 

 insufficient, owing, it would seem, to an erroneous idea that to ask 

 for such safeguards was to imply a suspicion of the honesty of some 

 one present. We may use our own unaided senses, but when we 

 ask for instrumental means to increase their sharpness, certainty, and 

 trustworthiness under circumstances of excitement and difficulty, 

 and when one's natural senses are liable to be thrown off their 

 balance, offence is taken. 



In the countless number of recorded observations I have read, 

 there appear to be few instances of meetings held for the express 

 purpose of getting the phenomena under test conditions, in the pre- 

 sence of persons properly qualified by scientific training to weigh 

 and adjust the value of the evidence which might present itself. 

 The only good series of test experiments I have met with were tried 

 by the Count de Gasparin, and he, whilst admitting the genuineness 

 of the phenomena, came to the conclusion that they were not due 

 to supernatural agency. 



The pseudo-scientific spiritualist professes to know everything : 

 no calculations trouble his serenity, no hard experiments, no long 

 laborious readings ; no weary attempts to make clear in words that 

 which has rejoiced the heart and elevated the mind. He talks 

 glibly of all sciences and arts, overwhelming the inquirer with terms 

 like " electro-biologize," " psychologize," " animal magnetism," &c. 

 — a mere play upon words, showing ignorance rather than under- 

 standing. Popular science such as this is little able to guide dis- 

 covery rushing onwards to an unknown future ; and the real workers 



