Edward Augustus Brackett

“ If, instead of attempting to remove them, they can accomplish their object by going round them, they feel themselves justified in doing so. They act very much, at times, as children would under similar circumstances; and, until they obtain complete control over the form that encases them, they cannot express themselves with much force. They are as children learning to walk, to think, and talk through a medium that is new to them.
A simple, childlike bearing, blended with the warmest affection, is the only element that enables them to progress and meet us upon the highest plane of thought. ”

“ No parent ever watched the unfolding of a young life with more interest than I have studied the apparent growth or development of this delightful spirit. It may be that what I have considered her progress arises from the increasing strength gained through her long association with me, enabling her to more freely express herself; for during my acquaintance with her she has seemingly passed from a commonplace person into a remarkable embodiment of intelligence and affection. ”

“ It is easy to understand why such persons are disappointed in what comes to them; but it is not easy to understand how any intelligent investigator, who has given the subject any considerable attention, should come to the conclusion that the forms are automatons, and that our friends from the other side never take possession, or control them, as they would a trance-medium; that they are merely effigies, [B] or lay figures, built up to mock us, and play with the most sacred feelings of our natures; and, what is more diabolical, that our spirit-friends are near by, enjoying the base deception! ”

“ With the warmth of friendship, comes the pain of parting, and, sadder still, that relentless fate that hurries us from those we love into the dim, uncertain future. The sands of life are golden only where thought diffuses itself without shadows, and the light that charms us flows from the object of our affections. ”

“ In India, for thousands of years, they have furnished the foundation of a religious belief, which, like all other religions, has been perverted and used as a means to blind and control the common people.
The danger of its being accepted as authority through a blind reverence for what is supposed to be supernatural, instead of affectionate and intelligent companionship, is sufficient reason why its true import should be thoroughly understood. Whether it be a power in man, the laws of which are unknown, or a direct emanation from another life, it requires the most serious consideration. ”

“ Lack of experience, want of perception, or ignorance of a subject, gives no authority to assume that it is a fraud. The eagerness with which the press circulates reports of imposture finds its excuse, [139] not in a manly defence of the truth, but in a morbid disposition to cater to the whims and caprices of the public. Those who accept such statements without investigation may possibly become victims of a worse delusion than that which they fancy they are condemning in others—a delusion born of ignorance and self-conceit. ”

“ All along the pathway of my investigations glow a thousand things never to be forgotten. Who shall say the gates are not ajar, and that our loved but not lost ones are not passing to and fro?
[182] Poor in spirit and weak in affection must they be who can meet these beings as I have met them, and not feel that there comes, from the association with them, a richer and fuller life. ”

“ I cannot refrain from expressing the hope that some of the members of the Seybert Commission will come to Boston and study Bertha—see her materialize three feet from the cabinet, as we did—hear her converse intelligently—see the divinely moulded form—and then witness, as we did, her sudden change to another sphere of being, doubtless to engage in pleasant [108] duties among that deathless throng who are ever learning, and who will unfold to us, if we will become receptive, the laws of entrancement and of materialization. ”

“ MATERIALIZATION AND DEMATERIALIZATION
OF FORMS AND OBJECTS. [14]
[15] Man is what he feels. He may dazzle the world for a while with the splendor of his acquirements, but, like an iceberg that glistens in the frosty air and disappears in a more genial clime, the pride of his intellect is lost in the warmth of his affections.
What Swedenborg aptly terms his "loves," alone indicate man's true character. They determine his relation to superior as well as to inferior beings. ”

“ The progress of public opinion is like the march of a great army; it camps at night upon ground occupied by its videttes in the morning. When Spiritualism began to attract attention, the opponents of Mesmerism, not understanding its true character, abandoned their hostility to it, and accepted it as an explanation of the new phenomena. Mind-reading, Telepathy, everything possible, was brought forward to explain away this supposed evidence of another life. And, in a somewhat different form, the same thing is taking place in regard to Materialization. ”

“ If we eliminate from it the idea of spirits, and attribute to man alone this [157] wonderful power, we disarm scientific as well as sectarian opposition, and the possibilities of man, the influence of mind over matter, become a legitimate subject for study. But no matter how exhaustive your investigations of Materialization may have been, the moment you suggest that spirits may have something to do with it, it becomes unscientific, and, in the judgment of certain persons who have assumed the right to control public opinion, you are instantly transformed from an honest student into a "crank"! ”

“ What we most desire does not always come; but in its place, often, something unexpected and surprising. The power which operates suffers no dictation or control; and, like the reflection of an object in water, the phenomena become distorted the moment the magnetic currents are disturbed.
Forced, by the accumulation of facts that cannot be set aside, to acknowledge the existence of these beings, they are, nevertheless, shrouded in mystery. That they are from the other life is more than [171] probable; no other theory will, in the long run, be found tenable. ”

“ If we accept the idea that passing to the other life does not essentially change the character of the man, that his peculiarities remain the same, we can account for many things in the séance-room that appear to be simply acting,—performances which have no other object than to attract the audience, to show what power the spirits can acquire under conditions which seem impossible to us. ”

“ I was not over-pleased with what I had seen, and, but for this last incident, my investigations might have ended here. Materialization was either a great truth or a stupendous humbug. Thousands of intelligent persons believed in it, on what appeared to me uncertain evidence. Was it not a disgrace to science that this had been allowed to go on so long without any honest attempt to investigate it? If I could only get the inside track, how easy it would be to expose it! The whole thing lay in a nutshell: either the forms appearing were confederates, or personations by the medium ”

“ Existing as individual beings, complete in their organization, many of them are able, under certain conditions, to draw from their surroundings sufficient matter to clothe themselves in garments, for the time being, as substantial as any forms in life.
I have witnessed the processes of materialization and of dematerialization in the middle of the room, several feet from the cabinet,—have taken hold of the hands of these beings, and gone down with them to the floor, until the last things that disappeared were the hands that were in mine. ”

“ To learn what these beings are, and their relations to us, requires the most patient investigation and the most delicate and far-reaching exercise of the mind. Facts, in themselves, unless they suggest something higher, are of little consequence. They derive their importance solely from their connection with some general law around which they are grouped.
While I have stated positively that at Mrs. Fay's no confederates are used, and that the forms that have come to me are not personations by the medium, yet, in the legal definition of the word, I do not know who or what they are. ”

“ There are spheres and circles we cannot penetrate, if the controlling influence is against us. We are still human, still yearning for affection,—that love which is the silken cord that binds us all. What would you not do to reach those dear to your heart? ”

“ I do not assert positively that these beings are spirits; for it may be said, in a scientific point of view, I have no right to do so; but I do assert that the facts warrant beyond a question the conclusion that they do not belong to what we call the earth-side of life,—that they are not automatons, lay figures, or effigies, but are living, breathing, intelligent beings, with thoughts, feelings, and passions [152] strictly human; that they come out of invisible space, and depart in the same way. ”

“ They are the elements necessary to the existence of physical life, and by cultivating their acquaintance we have made friends with them. They walk beside us, lending a helping hand in everything; still they are our masters—we know them not. For the moment we comprehend a thing we are greater than the thing we comprehend: it is behind us, not in front. ”

“ Science may wrangle over the supposed movements of molecules and atoms, and the correlation of forces; may dissect the bird to find its song; but love alone shall set the boundaries of knowledge. The key [115] that unlocks the glories of another life is pure affection, simple and confiding as that which prompts the child to throw its arms around its mother's neck. ”

“ It is astonishing what cowards it makes of decent men; the fear of being laughed at is the terror of society; the assertion of manhood, the expression of an honest opinion, the love of truth,—everything goes down before it. ”

“ Years ago I had a friend who was generous to a fault. He freely gave wherever he thought there was need. With all his liberality, he was singularly successful in business, and when he passed to the other life left a large fortune, which was mainly distributed to charitable institutions.
Walking with him one day, we passed some beggars sitting on the sidewalk,—pitiful specimens of humanity, with large placards in front of them, detailing the misfortunes that had befallen them. One, not over thirty years old, had lost a leg in the battle of Waterloo ”

“ In such cases, however strong the resemblance may be to the medium in the outward form, the mental characteristics are as different as it is possible to be between any two individuals.
I have refrained from saying much about the quality of these manifestations. It is a matter upon which there must always be a wide difference of opinion. Every one will find himself more or less reflected in them. It is the inevitable law of association. "You are a cheat and a scoundrel!" ”

“ These things may be nothing but a mere phantasy of the mind; what is claimed as exact science, a humbug; and life itself only a delusion; but those whose lives are rounded into a full consciousness of an individual existence may prefer to consider them in a different light. The same perception which enables us to recognize one must be conceded to the other. ”

“ It is the question of time, more than anything else, that challenges our skepticism. That which we call progress, or evolution, is only so many steps by which mind exerts itself, with increasing force, over matter. ”

“ The public séance, as now constituted, must, from the nature of its surroundings, remain more or less stationary.
There are séances that are pitched on so low a key that when the investigator passes from a state of doubt into a full knowledge of the truth of materialization, he will instinctively leave them for a more genial atmosphere; for it is in vain to expect that coarse, mercenary, untruthful mediums can avoid impressing more or less of their natures upon the spirits who come through their organisms, or that mainly spirits like themselves will be attracted to them. ”

“ While the theory is correct that the medium is nothing but the instrument through which the spirits are evoked, there can be no question that his or her mental and moral atmosphere affects the quality of the manifestations.
Your personal relations with the medium are known to the controlling spirit, and if the medium is prejudiced against you, you are, in most cases, debarred from any satisfactory results. On the other hand, your relations to these beings are known to "the control," but not necessarily to the medium,—never unless the controlling spirit thinks best to communicate them. ”

“ The testimony of scientists in such matters cannot be considered of any more value than that of any other careful investigator; and if we take into consideration [150] their materialistic views, it is dealing liberally with them to concede that much.
Science accepts the theory of molecules and atoms, and declares matter to be indestructible. These little molecules set in motion produce the phenomena of life. When they get tired and refuse to climb one above another, like acrobats in a circus, then there is death. ”

“ If materialization means anything besides dollars and cents—if it has a mission to perform—it is to enlighten and educate the people upon one of the most important subjects that has ever engrossed the mind. ”

“ The lack of openness and confidence on the part of many of the mediums, or their managers, creates a feeling of distrust which sometimes finds an expression in rudeness on the part of skeptics, and leads those who are confident of the genuineness of a part of the séance to be impressed with the idea that there are things connected with it that are dishonest.
There is no difficulty in tracing the source of this feeling. Everywhere like begets like, and as long as this state of [138] feeling exists there will be a lack of harmony in the circle, with more or less disturbance. ”

“ The editor of one of the ablest scientific journals has well said, "Science having no methods by which it can experimentally determine that man has a spiritual nature distinct from the material, it follows that it must be incompetent to throw light upon the nature of that which is unrecognized or unknown." ”

“ For some reason which we do not understand, but which may be a necessity, the controlling spirit of the séance exercises a more or less despotic power over the manifestations; sometimes denying the privilege of manifestation, and forcing back spirits who have been accustomed to appear at other séances. In other words, there seems to be a good deal of human nature in their make-up, and the likes and dislikes of the medium or manager, are often shared by "the control." ”