William Abner Eddy

“ But there is a striking contrast between the so-called unaccountable results of clairvoyance and mesmerism, in their relation to transcendental knowledge, and the theories of science founded upon verified experiments. The obscurity or apparent mystery of the scientific theory steadily decreases with each addition of evidence, until the astonishing possibility "hardens into a fact." The clairvoyant theory not only evades all attempts to analyze it, but utterly fails in regard to any valuable results which could serve as starting-points for future discovery. ”

“ Science has taught us that we perceive only an infinitesimal part of the objective world and of its processes. The theoretical addition of another sense does not satisfy us. It would seem only a new working-wheel of the mechanism. In fact, greatly magnified powers of perception without the assistance of instruments seem possible only through slow methods of development. If a sixth sense should confer upon us with our present range of faculties the power to be everywhere at once, we would be reduced to a state of confusion equivalent to the nullification of consciousness. ”

“ But, as we can not set a definite limit, it is evident that at the present stage of development we are not justified in concluding that any system for displacing immorality can result in anything like perfection; all we can claim is that—taking a vast general average—higher tastes lessen the action of lower. The question of proportion is not so important, however, as the supremacy of a tendency, which in nature sometimes results in immense accumulations of power. ”

“ The presence of envy and malice in one person may cause us to lose sight of its absence in ninety-nine. We may therefore conclude that cynicism, which is the perception of the dark side of everything, can never become a great destructive force, because it can not accumulate power. It must ever remain a standing threat, a stimulus to right thinking. The higher forms of power in men are positive and not passive. Superstition and the darkness of cynicism must be swept away by the evolution of intelligence. ”

“ Accomplishments indicate energy of character, for their pleasurable effect is largely due to a sense of power from having triumphed over obstacles.
In a world in which we are environed by dangers and mischances, every form of perseverance is honorable because it is either directly or indirectly helpful. The advances in enlightenment have come, not from those who are mechanical and passive, but from those of original force, who had ingenuity and other allied qualities by which practical effects are produced. ”

“ Emerson, in his lecture in the Old South Church, Boston, on February 24, 1873, finely said, "The gracious lesson taught by science to this country is, that the history of nature from first to last is incessant advance from less to more, from rude to finer organization, the globe of matter thus conspiring with the principle of undying hope in man."
We must look to the onward march of progressive development for new power, and not to the mysterious and so far valueless results of clairvoyance, with its examples of trickery or nervous organisms thrown out of balance. ”

“ Reasonable mental actions are usually present, but if we select negative mental actions—hate, fear, envy, anger—we are at once conscious of their exceptional nature as compared with the total amount of time consumed by more rational forms of thought. It is observable that persons noted for manifestations of motiveless malice are often reputed to be incipiently insane.
All forms of envy are magnified by the instant prominence which they occupy in thought. In an orchestra of ten instruments the harmony of nine may be overpowered by one that persists in playing out of tune. ”

“ Men have been learning for the past five thousand years or more that physical or mental work and obedience to natural law increase the force and effectiveness of the individual and of his descendants. The geological discoveries of Huxley and Marsh, and the development of the simplest forms of vegetable life, denote an irresistible evolutionary sequence or working power in nature. ”

“ Men are at present in a state of imperfect self-control, and it is necessary that recreation should involve improvement, not only by keeping them out of mischief, but by establishing higher tastes. It is a gratifying fact that there is pleasure in any exercise of skill in art, in its subdivisions of sculpture, music, literature, or in the wonderful manifestations of natural phenomena inadequately grasped by the sciences. ”

“ Thought and imagination easily lead to extreme conclusions never carried to a practical result, because it is often so much easier to think, and requires so much less time than to act. In other words, the thought may be cynical, but the everyday action is generally in accordance with the assumption that men are trustworthy. ”

“ The obstacles tending to check independent action are innumerable, and sometimes absolutely insurmountable. A person may be deficient mentally owing to qualities inherited from a long line of stupid ancestors who manifested what Dickens calls "faint gleams of intelligence." In fact, objective events or objects that sweep into personal relation with us from out of vast extents of time and space are more modifiable by us than the almost unalterable conditions arising from hereditary qualities. ”

“ The lack of power in a given direction may be practically beyond remedy, because very often there is not time in the life of one person for a form of force to reach anything more than primary stages of development. ”

“ Gladstone's theory, that the highly civilized portions of the human race are capable of perceiving finer shades of color, owing to a more delicate material development of the sense of sight. Once admit the development of one of the senses to be a demonstrated process, and the door is opened to tremendous consequences and possibilities of power, and consequently to a wider scope for the soul in the coming generations of men. ”

“ The first thoughts, which arise in the mind automatically, are limited in number, because the connection with more remote ideas has not yet been made. It is probable that with increased knowledge of the peculiar laws of mental action, great skill will be shown in thus following the ideas of others, and it is clear that such a science of mind-reading would be built upon metaphysical data, just as mathematical data are now necessary factors in estimating the distance and motion of a planet. In some respects the limit of mental penetration may not be as absolute as we imagine. ”

“ Tyndall has admirably illustrated the fact that this law of mental supply and demand applies with precision to the processes of nature: "No particle of vapor was formed and lifted without being paid for in solar heat. There is nothing gratuitous in physical nature, no gain without equivalent expenditure." ”

“ The highest form of conceivable existence, the most real, must be in accordance with principles of reason and harmony. This implies the elimination of discord or destruction, which in its effects upon our consciousness is always negative—that is, tends toward indefiniteness and a vanishing-point. Consciousness is reduced almost to zero during intense pain, because there is simply one sensation, and no sustained or connected line of thought including many ideas. ”

“ It is our tendency to look for theatrical or imposing manifestations of human power not paid for by work, and when a result appears mysterious owing to our ignorance of its source, we too often settle the difficulty in accordance with a convenient and visionary theory. ”

“ In the light of past discoveries it seems highly improbable that so important a physiological gift as a sixth sense could come to us suddenly and mysteriously. This is not the manner in which Nature works. ”

“ It is with much satisfaction that we observe a general conspiracy in the drift of affairs whereby a negative way of viewing things fails to become general. Affirmative and cheerful people have positive force that dispels the shadows of needless anxiety with excess of light. ”

“ It is true the force is not always effective, but this does not invalidate the reality of this peculiar tendency, which too often shows in how singularly narrow a manner the mental powers act. The minds of men are like circles which allow elongation in a given direction, but at the expense of another part of the circle which contracts in a corresponding degree. ”

“ It is a law of the mind as well as of the physical structure that repetition of original or skillful action results in increased strength and efficiency, or in a stronger tendency to follow higher forms of thought and amusement. It is true that the proportion of moral action—that which is sane and proper to the mind—can not be represented arithmetically. ”

“ Accomplishments are usually considered sources of amusement, although they must be paid for with a varying proportion of exertion not particularly pleasurable. In those forms of recreation in which we are mere passive spectators—often necessary as a relief from toil—there is an inevitable payment of either money, time, or labor. ”

“ In this way we hear a coincidence called a prophetic dream, no one has adequately estimated the enormous number of dreams that drift through the mind during a lifetime, and when a dream coincides in a measure with an event which takes place long afterward, the assumption then is that some dreams are of a prophetic nature. ”

“ In fact, we all try to interpret the thoughts of others during silence, but we are generally wide of the mark, because we do not know the peculiar law of association of ideas applicable to each person. There is a general process by which one idea suggests another in all minds, but there are also particular variations. Nevertheless, unless the person is on his guard, fully seventy-five per cent, of his ideas will be known to any one who is accustomed to following the thoughts of others. ”

“ The seeming obduracy of inanimate objects, when we try to disentangle their complications by means of anger, shows that emotional action may be quite absurd when applied to affairs of the intellect. A like suggestion of mania is observable in the cynicism which sees in human nature only different grades of rascality. ”

“ Tait and Stewart have ingeniously argued that, according to the law of attraction, the slightest vibration or change of particles in the human brain during thought infinitesimally influences the remotest fixed star. This does not appear wildly theoretical, because it is mathematically demonstrable to the imagination. The visionary theory is in supposing that owing to corresponding vibrations of nerve-fiber we would be definitely conscious of distant material changes. ”

“ The success of his lying depended upon intellectual weakness or deficient knowledge in others, and not upon superior power exerted in spite of their relative intelligence. Strategy, like stimulants in sickness, may bridge over a chasm, but, when subjected to the test of time or innumerable repetitions, it is inevitably exposed by unexpected and incalculable events. ”

“ The coming fact at once seems "reasonable and real," and does not rest upon the mere belief of one person. It can be verified from more than one point of view, and carries with it the convincing force of an axiom. ”

“ As the advances are made directly through the influence of practical and talented men, and indirectly through the deepest thinkers, it follows that a low opinion of the general intelligence and morality tends to discourage all but men of genius, to decrease the number and extent of higher influences, and to retard material advancement. ”

“ In other words, one may receive more impressions than another, so that we measure the extent of a person's life by the number of objects or ideas that produce a lasting effect and modify the disposition or mental tendency. ”

“ It seems clear that the only element of prophecy is due to a coincidence or similarity between the dream and the event. The minute particulars missing from the dream will be filled in by the imagination almost unconsciously, because the events of the dream and the real events become confused in the recollection. ”

“ On the other hand, the imaginative reader is forced to admit the importance of practical people, yet he can not see why they take pleasure in trade, which to the reader of intense literary taste involves necessary monotony—like that of a mill at which tramps in England were forced to grind before they could obtain lodging. The ideal and the practical are apparently at opposite poles, yet the general result conforms to the law of liquids in hydraulics: a proper balance is maintained in spite of particular variations. ”

“ Everything is paid for, and our advantages come only from work and its accompanying natural growth, or by the hereditary transmission of a fortunate balance of powers in a line of ancestors. The first impulse arises from the necessity of work, and from the actions of events which stimulate the ingenuity. ”

“ It may be noticed, as a further extension of this truth, that the active or positive amusements are superior to the passive, for the reason that the passive do not stimulate the mind to conscious activity. There may be a high form of amusement as well as valuable mental discipline in the production of ingenious designs—such as articles for decoration, various products of carpentry-work, mechanical devices, chemical experiments, and so on. ”