the unknown guest-第30章

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l　enemy。　He　has　always　had　an　interest　no　less　great　in　immediately　transmitting　those　thoughts　through　space；　in　seeing　beyond　the　continents　and　seas；　in　going　back　into　the　past；　in　advancing　into　the　future；　in　being　able　to　find　in　his　memory　at　will　not　only　all　the　acquirements　of　his　personal　experience　but　also　those　of　his　ancestors；　in　communicating　with　the　dead　and　perhaps　with　the　sovereign　intelligence　diffused　over　the　universe；　in　discovering　hidden　springs　and　treasures；　in　escaping　the　harsh　and　depressing　laws　of　matter　and　gravity；　in　relieving　pain；　in　curing　the　greater　number　of　his　disorders　and　even　in　restoring　his　limbs；　not　to　mention　many　other　miracles　which　he　could　work　if　he　knew　all　the　mighty　forces　that　doubtless　slumber　in　the　dark　recesses　of　his　life。

Is　this　once　more　an　unexpected　character　of　the　eccentric　physiology　of　our　unknown　guest？　Here　are　faculties　more　precious　than　the　most　precious　faculties　that　have　made　us　what　we　are；　faculties　whose　magic　buds　sprout　on　every　side　underneath　our　intelligence　but　have　never　burst　into　flower；　as　though　a　wind　from　another　sphere　had　killed　them　with　its　icy　breath。　Is　it　because　it　occupies　itself　first　and　foremost　with　the　species　that　it　thus　neglects　the　individual？　But；　after　all；　the　species　is　only　an　aggregate　of　successive　individuals；　and　its　evolution　consequently　depends　upon　their　evolution。　There　would　therefore　have　been　an　evident　advantage　to　the　species　in　developing　faculties　that　would　perhaps　have　carried　it　much　farther　and　much　higher　than　has　been　done　by　its　brain…power；　which　alone　has　progressed。　If　there　is　no　evolution　for　them　here；　do　they　develop　elsewhere？　What　are　those　powers　which　exist　outside　and　independent　of　the　laws　of　this　earth？　Do　they　then　belong　to　other　worlds？　But；　if　so；　what　are　they　doing　in　ours？　One　would　sometimes　think；　at　the　sight　of　so　much　neglectfulness；　uncertainty　and　inconsistency；　that　man's　evolution　had　been　intentionally　retarded　by　a　superior　will；　as　though　that　will　feared　that　he　was　going　too　fast；　that　he　was　anticipating　some　pre　established　order　and　moving　prematurely　out　of　his　appointed　plane。

13


And　the　riddles　accumulate　which　we　cannot　hope　to　solve。　It　has　been　said　that　these　abnormal　faculties　are　communications　or　infiltrations；　themselves　abnormal；　which　have　found　their　way　through　the　partitions　that　separate　our　consciousness　from　our　subconsciousness。　This　is　very　likely；　but　it　is　only　a　minor　side　of　the　question。　It　would　be　important　before　all　to　know　what　that　subconsciousness　represents；　whither　it　tends　and　with　what　it　itself　is　communicating。　Is　the　impersonal　form　of　knowledge　a　necessary　or　an　accidental　stage？　Is　the　impersonal　form　which　it　takes　in　the　subconsciousness　the　only　true　one？　Is　there　really；　as　everything　seems　to　prove；　a　hopeless　incompatibility　between　our　intellectual　faculties　and　those　families　of　uncertain　origin；　to　such　an　extent　that　the　latter　are　unable　to　manifest　themselves　except　when　the　former　are　weakened　or　temporarily　suspended？　It　has；　at　any　rate；　been　observed　that　they　are　hardly　ever　exercised　simultaneously。　Are　we　to　believe　that；　at　a　given　moment；　mankind　or　the　genius　that　presides　over　its　destinies　had　to　make　an　exclusive　and　awful　choice　between　cerebral　energy　and　the　mysterious　forces　of　the　subconsciousness　and　that　we　still　find　traces　of　its　hesitations　in　our　organism？　What　would　have　become　of　a　race　of　man　in　which　the　subconsciousness　had　triumphed　over　the　brain？　Is　not　this　the　case　with　animals；　and　would　not　the　race　have　remained　purely　animal？　Or　else　would　not　this　preponderance　of　a　subconscious　more　powerful　than　that　of　the　animals　and　almost　independent　of　our　body　have　resulted　in　the　disappearance　of　life　as　we　know　it；　and　should　we　not　even　now　be　trading　the　life　which　we　shall　probably　lead　when　we　are　dead？　Here　are　a　number　of　questions　to　which　there　are　no　answers　and　which　are　nevertheless　perhaps　not　so　idle　as　one　might　at　first　believe。

14

Amidst　this　antagonism；　whose　triumph　are　we　to　hope　for？　Is　any　alliance　between　the　two　opposing　forces　for　ever　impossible　so　long　as　we　are　in　the　flesh？　What　are　we　to　do　meanwhile？　If　a　choice　be　inevitable；　which　way　will　our　choice　incline；　and　which　victim　shall　we　sacrifice？　Shall　we　listen　to　those　who　tell　us　that　there　is　nothing　more　to　be　gained　or　learnt　in　those　inhospitable　regions　where　all　our　bewildering　phenomena　have　been　known　since　man　first　was　man？　Is　it　true　that　occultismas　it　is　very　improperly　called；　for　the　knowledge　which　it　seeks　is　no　more　occult　than　any　otheris　it　true　that　occultism　is　marking　time；　that　it　is　becoming　hopelessly　entangled　in　the　same　doubtful　facts　and　that　it　has　not　taken　a　single　step　forward　since　its　renaissance　more　than　fifty　years　ago？　One　must　be　entirely　ignorant　of　the　wonderful　efforts　of　those　fruitful　years　to　venture　upon　such　an　assertion。　This　is　not　the　place　to　discuss　the　question；　which　would　require　full　and　careful　treatment；　but　we　may　safely　say　that　until　now　there　is　no　science　which　in　so　short　a　time　has　brought　order　out　of　such　a　chaos；　ascertained；　checked　and　classified　such　a　quantity　of　facts；　or　more　rapidly　awakened；　cultivated　and　trained　in　man　certain　faculties　which　he　had　never　seriously　been　believed　to　possess；　and　furthermore　none　which　has　caused　to　be　recognized　as　incontestable　and　thus　introduced　into　the　circle　of　the　realities　whereon　we　base　our　lives　a　number　of　unlikely　phenomena　which　had　hitherto　been　contemptuously　passed　over。　We　are　still；　it　is　true；　waiting　for　the　domestication　of　the　new　force；　its　practical　application　to　daily　use。　We　are　waiting　for　the　all…revealing；　decisive　manifestation　which　will　remove　our　last　doubts　and　throw　light　upon　the　problem　down　to　its　very　source。　But　let　us　admit　that　we　are　likewise　waiting　for　this　manifestation　in　the　great　majority　of　sciences。　In　my　case；　we　are　already　in　the　presence　of　an　astonishing　mass　of　well…weighed　and　verified　materials　which；　until　now；　had　been　taken　for　the　refuse　of　dreams；　fragments　of　wild　legends；　meaningless　and　unimportant。　For　more　than　three　centuries；　the　science　of　electricity　remained　at　very　much　the　same　point　at　which　our　psychical　sciences　stand　to…day。　Men　were　recording；　accumulating；　trying　to　interpret　a　host　of　odd　and　futile　phenomena；　toying　with　Ramsden's　machine；　with　Leyden　jars；　with　Volta's　rough　battery。　They　thought　that　they　had　discovered　an　agreeable　pastime；　an　ingenious　plaything　for　the　laboratory　or　study；　and　they　had　not　the　slightest　suspicion　that　they　were　touching　the　sources　of　an　universal；　irresistible；　inexhaustible　power；　invisibly　present　and　active　in　all　things；　that　would　soon　invade　the　surface　of　our　globe。　Nothing　tells　us　that　the　psychic　forces　of　which　we　are　beginning　to　catch　a　glimpse　have　not　similar　surprises　in　store　for　us；　with　this　difference；　that　we　are　here　concerned　with　energies　and　mysteries　which　are　loftier；　grander　and　doubtless　fraught　with　graver　consequences；　since　they　affect　our　eternal　destinies；　traverse　alike　our　life　and　our　death　and　extend　beyond　our　planet。

15

It　is　not　true　therefore　that　the　psychical　sciences　have　said　their　last　word　and　that　we　have　nothing　more　to　expect　from　them。　They　have　but　just　awakened　or　reawakened；　and；　to　postdate　Guyau's　prediction　by　a　hundred　years；　we　might　say；　with　them　in　our　minds；　that　the　twentieth　century　〃will　end　with　discoveries　as　ill…formulated　but　perhaps　as　important　in　the　moral　world　as　those　of　Newton　and　Laplace　in　the　astronomical　world。〃　But；　though　we　have　much　to　hope　from　them；　that　is　no　reason　why　we　should　look　to　them　for　everything　and　abandon　in　their　favour　that　which　has　brought　us　where　we　are。　The　choice　of　which　we　spoke；　between　the　brain　and　the　subconsciousness；　has　been　made　long　ago；　and　it　is　not　our　part　to　make　it　over　again。　We　are　carried　along　by　a　force　acquired　in　the　course　of　two　or　three　thousand　years；　and　our　methods；　like　our　intellectual　habits；　have　of　themselves　become　transformed　into　sort　of　minor　subconsciousness　superposed　upon　the　major　subconsciousness　and　sometimes　mingling　with　it。　Henri　Bergson；　in　his　very　fine　presidential　address　to　the　Society　for　Psychical　Research　on　the　28th　of　May；　1913；　said　that　he　had　sometimes　wondered　what　would　have　happened　if　modern　science；　instead　of　setting　out　from　mathematics；　instead　of　bringing　all　its　forces　to　converge　on　the　study　of　matter；　had　begun　by　the　consideration　of　mind；　if　Kepler；　Galileo　and　Newton；　for　instance；　had　been　psychologists：

〃We　should　certainly；〃　said　he；　〃have　had　a　psychology　of　which　to…day　we　can　form　no　idea；　any　more　than　before　Galileo　we　could　have　imagined　what　our　physics　would　be；　a　psychology　that　probably　would　have　been　to　our　present　psychology　what　our　physics　is　to　Aristotle's。　Foreign　to　every　mechanistic　idea；　not　even　conceiving　the　possibility　of　an　explanation；　science　would　have　enquired　into；　instead　of　dismissing　a　priori　facts；　such　as　those　which　you　study；　perhaps　'psychical　research'　would　have　stood　out　as　its　principal　preoccupation。　The　most　general　laws　of　mental　activity　once　discovered　（as；　in　fact；　the　fundamental　laws　of　mechanics　were　discovered）；　we　should　have　passed　from　mind；　properly　so…called；　to　life；　biology　would　have　been　constituted；　but　a　vitalist　biology；　quite　different　from　ours；　which　would　have　sought　behind　the　sensible　forms　of　living　beings　the　inward；　invisible　force　of　which　the　sensible　forms　are　the　manifestations。〃

It　would　therefore　in　the　very　first　days　of　its　activity　have　encountered　all　these　strange　problems：　telepathy；　materializations；　clairvoyance；　miraculous　cures；　knowledge　of　the　future；　the　possibility　of　survival；　interplanetary　intelligence　and　many　others；　which　it　has　neglected　hitherto　and　which；　thanks　to　its　neglect；　are　still　in　their　infancy。　But；　as　the　human　mind　is　not　able　to　follow　two　diametrically　opposite　directions　at　the　same　time；　it　would　necessarily　have　rejected　the　mathematical　sciences。　A　steamship　coming　from　another　hemisphere；　one　in　which　men's　minds　had　taken；　unknown　to　ourselves；　the　road　which　our　own　has　actually　taken；　would　have　seemed　to　us　as　wonderful；　as　incredible　as　the　phenomena　of　our　subconsciousness　seem　to　us　to…day。　We　should　have　gone　very　far　in　what　at　present　we　call　the　unknown　or　the　occult；　but　we　should　have　known　hardly　anything　of　physics；　chemistry　or　mechanics；　unless；　which　is　very　probable；　we　had　come　upon　them　by　another　road　as　we　travelled　round　the　occult。　It　is　true　that　certain　nations；　the　Hindus　particularly；　the　Egyptians　and　perhaps　the　Incas；　as　well　as　others；　in　all　probability；　who　have　not　left　sufficient　traces；　thus　went　to　work　the　other　way　and　obtained　nothing　decisive。　Is　this　again　a　consequence　of　the　hopeless　incompatibility　between　the　faculties　of　the　brain　and　those　of　the　subconsciousness？　Possibly；　but　we　must　not　forget　that　we　are　speaking　of　nations　which　never　possessed　our　intellectual　habits；　our　passion　for　precision；　for　verification；　for　experimental　certainty；　indeed；　this　passion　has　only　b