Spirit Manifestations Examined and Explained; Judge Edmonds Refuted Or, an Exposition of the Involuntary Powers and Instincts of the Human Mind (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1854. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... lecture viii. The seven Lectures contained in the preceding pages were publicly delivered in various sections; what follows was not. I merely divide the subject-matter into Lectures to preserve a uniformity in the book. I append them as an act of justice to Judge Edmonds, of this city, and his associates, who have published a work of 505 pages in defense of the truthfulness of spirit-manifestations. I must confess that the work is written with a great deal of candor and sincerity, and is decidedly the best that I have as yet perused upon this subject. The Introduction, the conjoint work of John W. Edmonds and George T. Dexter, contains 100 pages, and the Appendix, by Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, late U. S. Senator, and Governor of Wisconsin, contains 111 pages. The communications in the body of the work, occupying 294 pages, purporting to be made by the spirits of Bacon and Swedenborg, through the Doctor, who is a writing medium, are, with few exceptions, excellent, and can not be read but with pleasure, satisfaction, and profit by any candid and seriously-disposed mind. Yet those of Swedenborg certainly fall short, as to beauty and force of expression, of the earthly productions of that wonderful and immortal mind productions that have stamped the impress of his existence upon ages, and forbid his name to die. He has forgotten, it would seem, how to spell his own name--the name of " one Sweedenborg, who wrote so many foolish things on earth, which he is willing to rectify in spirit." But is not the contrary of this nearer the truth 1 and do not the productions of clairvoyants and mediums show that they live only by feeding upon the crumbs that fall from Swedenborg's generous and liberal table, mixed up, it is true, with crudities of their own 1 Yet I say, that thos...