T. H. Pasley

“ Man was born to leave this world, and live where God has pleased. Some anticipate the night, when we shall see "our God in terror, and our world on fire!"—"undoing all, as all had never been," or made in vain. But He who blessed and never cursed his works, whose mercy and goodness endureth for ever, and who will "save both man and beast," is not a God of terror! ”

“ Long as clairvoyance has remained the riddle, jest and wonder of the world, it is questioned by none why the established philosophy of this superiorly enlightened age is incompetent to account for this or any other mesmerically produced phenomenon, or afford the least glimmer of light by which it were possible to arrive at the physiology. ”

“ This, and numerous other physical phenomena, which to the present day remain unexplained, and as if inexplicable, afford much reason for at least the conjecture, that modern philosophy is not the philosophy of physical nature; which, if not, it must be false and misleading, inasmuch as there can be but one philosophy, by reason of there being but one species of matter throughout all nature, and but one cause of action,—the general pressure. From which it follows, that as the philosophy of nature is that of matter universally, there can be no physical phenomenon which it does not explain. ”

“ The body impelled receives neither force nor motion from the impelling cause: neither force nor motion is anything transferrable or anything communicable; forcible velocity and change of place are but accidents of matter, and but local, casual circumstances of bodies. Being inert, the body cannot move itself. Motion, therefore, is but a physical effect, and must have a cause equal to the duration of the effect: motion after impulse has ceased, would be effect without cause—which is an absurdity and impossibility; therefore impulse is constant as motion, however insensible the impelling cause. ”

“ Only in minus-pressure means, which serve as a partial vacuum in some cases, to [Pg 34] disturb the equilibrium of pressure, is motion, or change of place of the elements of bodies, or of bodies themselves promoted: without such means there is nothing to promote the blowing of a wind, or to put the medium of space into action. Cause being given, the General Pressure in the production of every physical effect, the sole province of philosophy consists in tracing out the minus-pressure means which promote the occasional and partial action of the medium of pressure. ”

“ Luminousness, light, colour, sound, heat, cold, flavour, odour, are sensations,—each of the entire is traceable from the function of the senses to the sensorium: deduct these, there is nothing perceived or to perceive; by means of the senses, respectively, we have knowledge of each,—and by the senses exciting the brain are the whole produced, as sensible effects. Outward bodies can have nothing the same or similar to sensible effects; and therefore nothing of the whole belongs to matter or bodies, or to physical philosophy. To mechanical nature the whole would be useless ”

“ That long vision and opaque vision should be consequences of cleansing, as it were, the nerves of intercepting minus-pressure matter, is nothing surprising, it is as removing dust from the window to better our vision: the physiology is traceable, and the psychology not more incomprehensible than its hourly occurrence in a minor degree, to which, as sensible effects, we are indebted for all we know, and by which we abide, without inquiry into their nature or origin ”

“ The established philosophy cannot account for the boy's marble going farther through the air than the fullest extent of the impelling thumb. The proposition may appear trifling and insignificant, yet is it worthy the consideration of the Chair of Knowledge, from which it has never been explained nor there understood, as involving the cause of planetary motion; for, in all nature there are not two causes of motion. ”

“ Yet, where are any of these vitalities and living principles when respiration is suddenly stopped? Verily, these professionals endow, most gratuitously, the animal frame with as many vitalities and living principles as the lives bestowed on the tailor's—so much the more unfortunate—cat. As every organ of the body is inert; no organ, of itself, performs the function; every function is mechanically performed, and every effect analogous to impulsive pressure, whether consisting in formation, intermixture, or dissolution, all depend on elementary local change. ”

“ Matter does nothing, cannot act; it is the passive patient of the general pressure, which alone can act; and pressure is universal, because of matter being inert. Matter is not only inert, but unalterable; on which principles the constancy of the order and laws of nature depend. Inert, unalterable matter can suffer no change but of a local nature—change of place, which implies motion, for which there is no analogous cause but impulsive pressure. ”

“ That truly great philosopher, Priestly, remained ignorant that his own experiments on blood and air brought to light the principle on which the blood is arterialized, without coming in contact with the air in the lungs; of which experiments the faculty are reprehensibly ignorant at present; also the principle of congelation without cold. It is a general error that men must be philosophers because they are mathematicians and first-rate experimenters, yet do not know what keeps the blood in motion, nor how water becomes ice. ”

“ How is solidity either maintainable or attainable, while attracting atoms are repelling atoms? The free, uncombined condition of the atoms of the atmosphere, as well as their inertia, proclaim their inability to attract each other; and the mere crack in a pane of glass, that between bodies there is no attraction. While it is left to be conceived by the so-taught rising generation, that the atoms of a bar of iron are busily employed in attracting one another, and as busily in repelling each other at the same time ”

“ Terrestrial attraction, attenuated on arriving at the moon, and there sufficiently strong to prevent the satellite having tangential flight, should be at the surface of the globe at least two-hundred-and-forty-thousand times stronger; yet here a puff of the breath drives the dust into the air, and the smallest winged insect is not restrained by the attraction of the enormous magnet the earth is considered, from escaping off the surface of the globe. There is philosophy in mists, as well as "sermons in stones." ”

“ Of this Aristotle was aware when announcing, that he who is unacquainted with motion, is ignorant of all things in true philosophy. Motion being the only effect producible on inert, unalterable matter, the knowledge of the phenomenon includes that of all effect. The substance of all things being of the same species, and the power of Nature consisting in universal pressure, the formations in general nature and in the laboratory of art can have but the same principles, laws, theory, and philosophy. Paul may plant and Apollos water; nature germinates, the weather or climate grows and fructifies. ”

“ As every performance of nature has some ulterior object in view, it is probable that the effect of the motion of a planet on the medium of space is tributary to the motion of another planet, and that the motion of the whole is a means of preventing the cessation of motion of any of the parts. ”

“ From all matter being in motion, and all effect consisting in motion, and because like effects everywhere are attributable to the like or same cause, so must there be a cause of motion as universal as matter; rather than that there should be a distinct impelling cause for every individual motion following after the body, to put and keep it in motion. In all philosophic research the golden rule of nature should be held in mind, which prescribes "the shortest mode and fewest materials:" to mistake on the side of simplicity is more wise than censurable in the search after natural physical truths. ”

“ The many-coloured tissue wrought, of starlight shine and of expanded base, is tastefully tapered as if to please in appearance, as well as lighten our darkness. Thus by natural means, operating on almost uncostly materials, mankind are supplied with that by which darkness is turned to day—the candle flame. ”

“ Where there are no minus-pressure means for lessening the optic pressure, as in mines, caves, and window-closed rooms, there can be no perceptions of light and colour. From the sensation ceasing the same instant the last window-shutter is closed, it would seem, that, the daily minus-pressure matter is in constant flow eastward through the globe. The rheumatic sufferer fears sun-down, as if the daily matter enters and protects the nerves from the nightly. The meteorologist has to resolve the problem for the philosopher in tracing the magnetic meridian. ”

“ Why the philosophy of Aristotle, Bacon, Newton, Des Cartes, Davy, Liebig—honoured names, and most justly, as the ancient and modern fathers in science—can afford no scintillation whereby to lessen the obscurity in which this most interesting subject is involved, should appear strange and unaccountable to all lovers of philosophy. ”

“ A bar of iron placed within the medium of fire suffers de-electrisation; then acquires medium of space, by which the bar is expanded. When taken from the fire, it acquires electric matter similar to that of which it had suffered loss, which displaces the expanding medium, and now becomes contracted by external pressure. The olden philosophy has no contracting cause, the imputed attraction having been destroyed by the imputed heat of the fire, as the same philosophy states of the imputed attraction of magnets being destroyed by the heat of fire, which leaves the bar to contract itself. ”

“ The philosophy of the chymist is of every-day make. It assumes different species of matter; chymical matter and matter not chymical; attractions innumerable, such as chymical, electric, galvanic, capillary, and attraction of cohesion; likewise magnetic forces, chymical affinities, and affections of matter—"while as yet there is none of them"—matter being inert naturally. To mechanical nature the entire is useless and foreign, and their value lies solely in being terms of professional application in the highly important chymical art ”

“ Newton imagined that a medium, and however rare, occupying the regions of space, must retard, in time destroy, and eventually require the hand of Deity to restore the primeval order of planetary motion: no very bright idea of the great mathematician, considering the Omniscience of the Projector of a self-going, self-regulating Universe. Whereas a medium as dense as molten gold, could produce no such disorder as long as impulse is greater than resistance; which the long-continuance and order of planetary motion strongly seem to indicate is the case. ”

“ A peculiar medium is formed within a fire, towards the composition of which the fuel contributes more or less of its elements; which is made manifest in a piece of wood or paper when held within the fire, being brought to the state of combustion, and without touching the fuel, (heat, be it remembered, is no more physical than shadow.) The like medium is formed from the elements contributed by flame, and [Pg 38] whatever of elementary matter the atmosphere may contribute beside. High above the flame of a lamp combustion and fusion are effected the same as within, or in contact with the flame. ”

“ The true philosophy of chymistry is dynamic, the basis inertia, the laws those of quantity and relative position.
The philosophy of the anatomist and physiologist is semi-natural, semi-spiritual, mechanical and vital. Life, throughout all belonging to the frame, does not suffice; the heart and blood have each an imputed, distinct, living principle; the nerves are sensitive, the muscles irritable; the flesh has its susceptibility, according to the modern physiology. The sainted health-preserver shudders at the irreligious notion of the economy being philosophised on at all ”

“ Within the body, insulation is still more complete: here, electric matter and air abound to the exclusion of all excess of medium of space; by which the different organs remain, in a manner disconnected, or so far, as that the functional action of each organ has its distinct period, instead of the action of the whole being simultaneously performed. ”

“ An element is any volume of atoms of the same size. There is no difference between elements but in the size of their atoms.
Every element is a rarer medium to every other element of larger atoms; the minor is as a partial vacuum to the major, which involves the principle of inequality, on which motion depends. ”

“ An extraordinary rushing into the body of the earth of medium of space, preceded by an equal efflux of elementary matter atmospherically induced, are the cause and promoting means of the extraordinary, terrific phenomenon. ”

“ Harvey proved that the blood circulates, but left undiscovered what keeps in motion the inert fluid, except the systole, which the inert heart cannot effect on itself. No organ can do anything of itself, the whole being composed of inert substance, and nothing else; even the life of the body, whatever it may be, leaves the function of every organ, not excepting that of the brain, dependent on the general pressure. ”

“ In summer, when the atmosphere is greatly deficient of what may be termed winter electric matter, all woodwork is in a desiccated condition; and the slight friction of limb against limb is sufficient to make space for medium of space to enter in excess, and convert to fire, tree after tree, the whole of a forest.
The combustion of a candle is well worthy the philosopher's attention. The candle while burning, comprises a series of the simplest operations, and far beyond the powers of art to effect or otherwise imitate ”

“ Such may be considered some of the principal reasons why clairvoyance is unintelligible to all the most learned; and so must it ever remain, or until a truer philosophy arises and rescues the great subject from the darkness and errors of a perverting philosophy, the whole of which has to be abandoned before the mind is fitted for the reception of natural truths. ”

“ Taking the maximum of pressure as a fixed quantity, or, as not being subject to increase, and assuming the degree to be not less than equal to the tenacity of steel, there must of necessity be means of mitigating the maximum, so that in the scale of descent every degree of force should be attainable; and more, to keep the equilibrium in a state of disturbance, without which all things must be, and remain in the rest of death. Were there no minus-pressure means, the solid, or perhaps aëriform state of matter would exist everywhere, and of motion there could be none. ”