Note 32 — INTUITIVE EVIDENCE OF THE EXISTENCE OF SPIRITS. (continued 8)
Reading edition
[Having reached this stage of our author’s remarks, his translator begs leave to submit them to a transient review. It is evident that his investigations in the physical demonstrations, relating to spiritual philosophy, fall very short of the intelligence of the present time. He seems to be a total stranger to that flood of truth and love that has for years been pouring its blessings on the hearts and minds of tens of thousands of delighted and grateful recipients in the Western hemisphere, and by the very means that appear to have been fully in his power of reaching that heavenly boon, but which were all exhausted to convince the world that the devil has nothing to do with it.
This is certainly a point gained on Catholic ground, and had our friend supplied some argument equally conclusive for theologians of the opposing school, he would probably save them the sin of making out of the devil, by imputation, a veritable saint.
The question will naturally arise with his readers, If the power and intelligence do not emanate from the devil, from whom or what do they emanate? But on this subject, from some reason that can only be guessed at, our author, the abbot, is so far silent. The confirmed theory of spirit intercourse, when the vehicle is mechanical or automatic, makes the character and intelligence of the communication depend on the communicating spirit, subject to apparent irregularities. But our author, in his hurry perhaps to prove his favourite postulate of excluding the devil, makes them depend on the one, as he says, who “consults the table.” If he speaks Greek, then the table talks Greek, and ditto for all other languages, &c. But certainly the marquis would corner him here. He says, also, that the motive power is intercepted by a non-conductor, as silk round the hands. Although this may be true to some extent with feeble mediums, still the fact that tables often move without contact with any one, must nullify the abbot’s theory, whatever it may be.]