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Mabch 14, 1857 : ] ___ __TjSE _ JL E ipB...
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"""""" " ~" THE SPIRITUALIST. The Spirit...
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A BATCH OF BOOKS. Ceylon; Past and Prese...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Mabch 14, 1857 : ] ___ __Tjse _ Jl E Ipb...
Mabch 14 , 1857 ] ___ __ TjSE _ JL E ipB ___ __^____ 257
"""""" " ~" The Spiritualist. The Spirit...
"""""" " ~ " THE SPIRITUALIST . The Spiritualist : Being a short Exposition- of Psychology based upon Material Truths and of the Faith to which it Leads . ByD . F . G . L . Booth . Thkbe is a congestion of type in this curious and elegantly printed volume , -which not inaptly corresponds ¦ with the congestion of . folly it expounds . Old English in loud emphasis of capitals , small caps , and notes of admiration , proclaim that " the -watchwords of Progress are Spiritualism in Religion , Mesmerism in Science , and Republicanism in Politics , " a very pretty trio , from which nothing less can be expected than redeutit Saturnea regna . " Brother / 3 exclaims D . F . G ., in his opening old English of large type , "I believe in God the Great Trinity ! My reason tells me He must bemy soul whispers—He is ! " This unprovoked confession at the commencement of such a work reminds us of Alexandre Dumas , who winds up the dedication ton five act play by the equally relevant exclamation : Je crois aVimmortaliU de fame . The world is happy to hear it .
D . F . < x . continues his confession of faith in the same loud type , assuring a listening "world that he believes in tc the illusion of matter and the equivocation of the senses . " But we spare the reader more of this dithyrambie outbreak , and pass on to the dialectic " Elucidation" which opens thus : — 33 rot ?) cr , We are conscious of both a spiritual and a material existence . I believe that existence is but the manifested Will of the Creator . In myself I call Life that which reveals to me my existence . Spiritual life ; Consciousness , the life of the Mind , Perception and Reflection . Material life ; Sensation . Thus I believe life to be motion or action . All motion originates in the Spirit—Spiritual Action is spiritual life , and organized Physical motion ia Physical life . And perfect passiveness and quietude is simple existence . After rubbing his eyes , the reader , also prone to believe in cc the illusion of matter" when this kind of matter is before him , rejoices to think that an explanation is coining : — Above all things it is necessary to understand the relation of Spirit to matter .
This relation ia established by the laws of INature . Thus the relation of God to matter is that of the Creator to the created , in the fullest sense of the idea . But to the Body and the reason of man , matter truly and actually exists , and the influence o his will upon it is controlled and modified by the laws of Nature , that is , by the Will of God . I have said that matter is influenced by the spirit , but between them there is an Intermediate agency . I believe , and experimental science tends to prove , that this agency is the same in every case in Nature . In other words , that there is but one subtle and imponderable agency between matter and the spirit either directly or indirectly . It is tije aicat © rutfj o £ S > pirilttaU ' snt a \ iis a € $ S £ ecological science , — £ Tfjat all matter is eubjett to tfje toil ! of jKlan , tnasniucO as ttss influence is not roun = teractcQ 6 y tfie Iatos of Matave er ifje git & UI at © o & .
Though the influence of the " Will upon matter may in certain cases be counteracted , yet facts and analogies do not permit us to doubt that this influence in such cases is actually exerted , and takes place ; and that the soul of man , made in the image and likeness of his Creator , affects matter in itself . - But we are so accustomed to consider the matter of our own bodies as being alone , and , to a very limited extent , subject to our -will , that some may have a difficulty in realizing this great principle in its full extent . " Some may have a difficulty : " to obviate that the author kindly elucidates ; e . g .: — © aganic structure consiuevrtr toitl ) reference to jj ^ jjstml molton is merely a settcfi at graHatcau of agencies . Ifje object of to & irlj is to oumome ifje inertia ana grabitation of matter . By this we perceive the difference in the relation of the Will to organic and to inorganic matter .
In the one case the influence of the -will is generally overcome by the inherent properties of matter , in the other case these properties are surmounted by means of an organic mechanism . Is the reader in a proper state of lucidity after this elucidation ? » If so he will rejoice to heir that these " considerations lead us to the beautiful facts of Mesmeric Science and Cerebral Physiology : " "In order to form a clear idea of the human soul , both in the phenomena it exhibits in relation to matter , and alao in abstract thought , it is necessary to consider it in the living htiman being in three distinct points of view , or as an intimate combination of three principles , of which two are incidental to the other in the state in which it exists .
These are—1 . The " Spiritus , " or Soul , properly so called ; 2 . The Mind , or Reasoning faculty ; and , 3 . Life or Animation . Tlius we have the gradation of purely Spiritual existence , Mental existence , and Animal lire ; which , with Vegetable life and Physical existence , constitute the chain of creation . ( To minds so superficial and incompetent as our own those " clear ' expositions do not present all the lucidity desirable . If any reader feels himself more competent to grusp the mighty conceptions of this Spiritualist he can seek them in the volume itself , which certainly deserves a place among the curiosities of Literature .
A Batch Of Books. Ceylon; Past And Prese...
A BATCH OF BOOKS . Ceylon ; Past and Present . 3 * y Sir George Barrow , Bart . With a Map , by John Arrowsmith . ( Murray . ;—Sir George Barrow has produced a brief , p leasant , and satisfactory summary of all that ia known of the loveliest island of Asia . To a narrative of Robert Knox ' s captivity in Ceylon , from the year 1 GS 9 to his escape in . 1079 , lie has added an epitome skilfully condensed from successive authors , so that the book m . iy be described as almost a manual . Mr . Arrowsmith ' map is , as he remarks , the most complete and aythentic yet published . With respect to Robert Knox , it is singular that his work , though more interesting than most romances , should have continued to this day an unread quarto , we have frequently wished for its reappearance in a more popular form . Sir George Barrow skims the cream of its adventure and observation , and compiles a really attractive story . . No one acquainted with the literature of travel in Ceylon hns ever
questioned the merits or the interest of Ktiox's account , which resulted from a residence of twenty years . A Long Vacation Ramble in Norway and Sweden . By X . and Y . ( Tyro Unknown Quantities . ) ( Cambridge : Macmillan . )—We instinctively despise a biographer who believes , and acts upon the belief , that all a great man ' s chatterings deserve to be recorded . And we are soon weary of a traveller who , though not a great man , congeals in print all the light spray of steamboat conversation or dinner-table humour . Robinson was , mo doubt , amusing at Paris , but why put his puns in post octavo ? Jones may have enlivened the ladies at Geneva , but do not ask the public to be amused ? If Englishmen will carry abroad the deadly habit of joking , we beg them
to allow that element to evaporate overbroad-mouthed goblets of Burgundy or Rhine , and to write as travellers pure arid simple , if at all . In some cases the offence is easily repelled by throwing the book aside ; but when a volume of genuine pictures is only here and there defaced by patches of nonsense , our regret is excited for the folly of the author . The " Two Unknown Quantities" have much to say of an interesting kind about -Norway and Sweden—landscapes , interiors , costumes , ways and means of life , personal manners , arts , and institutions ; but ever and anon they become what Byron called nimminy pimminy wags , or else they rally the reader in the style that usually betokens a supper of cold fowl and crackers . "A Lonff Vacation Ramble , " with these drawbacks , is an entertaining book .
Episodes in the-War-Life of a Soldier : with the Dream-Testimony of Ora Mag , and Other Sketches in Prose and Verse . By Galder Campbell . ( Skeffington . )—Calder Campbell . has a mild , steady , enjoyable reputation as a poet . His earliest verses came from India , bright with banana yellow and quava pink , and pomegranate blushes , and some of the melodies played like Indian fountains , warm and fragrant . This is a volume of mingled rhyme and prose , light , elegant , and original . The prose , is amusing , and sometimes graphic ; but we meet Major Campbell with most sympathy in his poetical moods . Iff we must be critical , however , we will point to one inconsistency which surprises us in the writings of one usually so graceful and so scholarly- The word " palms " . is made to rhyme in the same piece with " warms" and " arms . "
Contributio ? is to an . Amateur Magazine , tn Prose and Verse . By Richard Perry . ( Booth . )—Eighteen of Mr , Perry ' s ^ contributions relate to Australia , and these are the most readable of his prose varieties . The others on Pitt and Wilberforce are generally commonplace . Of the poetry , we have been most struck by one or tyro free renderings from the Greek . Australian Essays on Subjects Political , Moral , and Religious : By James Norton , senior . ( Longman and Co . )—This doubtfully-decorated little quarto contains thirty-two essays on almost as many subjects . Mr . Norton is an old colonist , and a member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales ; but he writes most frequently neither on colonial nor political topics , but on abstract problems—mysteries , eternity , the resurrection , beauty , memory , & c , and does some honour to the community of which he is a member by producing a series well worth perusal . Stone upon stone , we see an academy rising in the Australian settlements , and it may not be long before the literature of America is rivalled at the antipodes .
Patrick Hamilton , the First Preacher and Martyr of the Scottish Reformation . An Historical Biography from Original Sources . By the Rev . Peter Lorimer . ( Edinburgh : Constable . )—A Life of Hamilton was wanted . It has been written with zeal and discrimination by Mr . Lorimer , who has had access to some very curious and valuable books . We are glad to see that it is to be followed by biographies of Alesius , and Sir David Lindsay of the Mount . The authors will < lo well to emulate the steadiness and moderation of Mr . Lorimer ' s style . Bon-Princes ; or , Scions of Royalty cut off in Youth . By John C . Edorar .
With Eight Illustrations . ( Bogue . )—We are afraid that Mr . Edgar has compiled this volume in a . hurry . It is loosely and feebly put together . The apocryphal is largel y mixed up with the history ; a repulsive iafusion of loyal cant interferes with , the truthfulness of the narrative . We do not recommend such a book as healthy reading for boys . Harry and His Homes . By the Author of " Amy Carlton . " ( RoutLedge . ) —A story for boys , told in a quiet , moralising way , with little incident and a vast preponderance of sententious dialogue . It may become a favourite with parents , but they will have some difficulty in teaching the young idea to sympathize with Harry .
Duty to Parents : Honour thy Futher and Mother . ( Hope . )— Perhaps this excellent little volume may assist the parents above alluded to . It ia a well-planned , well-executed book . Deborah ; or , Fireside Heading for Household Servants . ' With a Postscript for Masters and Mistresses . By the Rev . Norman M'Leod . ( Edinburgh ; Constable » nd Co . )—We do not appreciate the value of devotional books addressed to special classes , nor ean we understand how the Christianity of a domestic servant should be distinguished from that of her mistress ; but Mr . M'Leod finds an opportunity for much genial and kindly indoctrination . JIoio to make Home Happy ; or , Hints and Cautions for All . With Fioe Hundred Odds and Ends worth Remembering . By William Jones . F . S . A .
( Bogue , )—Mr . Jones is a man of versatile capacity . He travels with tine photographers in Yorkshire ; he writes monastic Ilorcc ; and he mixes this wonderful olla podrida of cookery , gardening , carpet dusting and platitude —a useful , but an eccentric volume . Every page is set in a frame of wise saws ; some of which wa pre-eminently foolish , others practical : "An oatli is a recognizance to Heaven . " "A Christian is the highest stylo of man . " " The rind of young bacon ia always thin . " " A talkative , nurse ia a great annoyance to an invalid . " " Diligence is the great harbinger of truth " ( whatever that may mean ) . " A fire for frying should be free from smoky coals . " Mr . Jones is more lively in kitchens and cellars than in oratories aitd urni-clmir . s . Part of his didactiam is to be laughed at , partis to be obeyed .
The Seven , Churches of Asia ,. By the Rev . Robert Maguire , M . A . ( Knight and Son . )—It is a long way from Mr . Jones to Mr . Maguire , but Mr . Maguire might be neglected if not noticed at this opportunity . Mis book contains historical illustrations of Christianity , and is altogether devotional in its tone and in its object .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 14, 1857, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_14031857/page/17/
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