Experimental investigation of the spirit manifestations, [electronic ...

12 PREFACE.Could you sec the great glory which is to be the issue of your labours in the newunfoldings of spiritual science, you would not despair of your mission, nor weary inyour devotion to it. Let us ask you. If there is any earthly fame or considerationthat could induce you to turn back again to the familiar paths in which a life of patientlabour has been spent? If there is any earthly joy or brilliant attainmentwhich you have ever enjoyed, worthy to be compared with the little you have realizedsince you commenced your investigations in this the most important pursuit of yourlife ? Ask yourself how much happiness you have found in the contemplation of thatfact which has been demonstrated, not only to your wishes, but to your senses,that the thinking mind never dies ;cast-off garment of the spirit, has no power over the soul ;that the grave, which is but the wardrobe of thethat it lives on, lives ever,and must throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity continue to unfold its powers.Ask yourself, what is earth, what is fame, what is the endearment to your presentlife, when contrasted or compared with the assurance which you now have, that thereis no death, no loss of your individuality, no severing oi the ties of friendship and lovewhich shall not be renewed again in that fairer land, the home of the angels, whitheryou and all you love on earth are tending ? Ponder then, our venerable friend, andask your thirsting soul, if this knowledge is not worth more than the cost of diamondsto you? We, who have laid aside the crumbling casket which contained thepriceless jewel that is never tarnished, know full well the value of this gem of knowledgew^hich now sparkles on your vision just opened.There are many things which we would like to say to you, but the conditions andcircumstances which control our operations render it impossible for us to presentto your mind the light which it so much seeks. To answer the demands of yourspirit is now impossible to us. Time and the unfoldings of your mind can only solvethe questions you wovdd propound. You are well aware that the growth of yourpresent knowledge is but the effect of earnest inquiry, of patient toil, and deep study,and experiment after experiment in your searchings for truth. Such was the onlyway you reached the position which you now occupy in the science so dear to you.It came in no other way, it could come in no other. The child is subjected to thenecessity of first learning the alphabet before it is prepared to spell, and must understandthe meaning of words Ixjfore it can comprehend the sentence it reads.this investigation.So inThat which is apparently of little meaning must first be learned,the alphabet must be mastered, hard words pronounced, and all must be understoodbefore thei'c is a fittedness for progression. The wisest on earth, aye, the wisest inspirit life, are learners, students : none but God is perfectly wise ; and it is no humiliationto any mind that it contains not all of wisdom. Let us say to you that ifpatient inyour investigations, you shall in due time obtain that which you so earnestlyseek. Could we work miracles, (a thing impossible,) they would astoundrather than enlighten your mind. Could we withdraw the vail which separates thevision from the things you desire to see in our spheres of life, you have no data bywhich you could make plain to yourself or to the eyes of your fellow-man the sightsyou would behold.Go on in your searchings, our good friend : the end is not yet with you. Brilliantminds with brilliant thoughts are burning to give utterance to earth through you.You are a selected instrument of our own choosing, and we are watching and giiidingin the path and to the goal you seek. You may not only "speak trumpet-tonguedto the scientific world," but in thunder-tones to those savans who think they are themasters of the keys of knowledge.