Lights and shadows of spiritualism

INTRODUCTORY. 185loss say that you only ])romul^Mti'. tlic imih. Is the imth even to bespoken at all times ? What is truth to-day may not be so to-morrow. Aman or a woman may be immoral this year, and as pure as an anj^'el thenext. The thief upon tlie eross Avas I'orj^'iven at the last moment.•Xone of these eondemn thee, neither do I," was the beautiful exj)reKsiou(if Him who loved so much, and saiil, ' Let hiniwho is witlioiit sin throwthe first stone.' Conversions at our many 'revivals' mean that the]>erson was a sinner, and lias now become good ; and while you mighthave said of some of these converted ones, ' You are a vile wretch, udrunkard, a slanderer ' (meaning ' you were '), yoii would have done agreat A\Tong and spoken falsely, whereas a little while before it mightliave l)een the truth.'•But really what have ire to dn with tlic faults (if others? WhenChrist turned to the back-biters what did he say I Pluck tlie beam,"'Inisiness, (.^c. ; and this im})lied more :'Mind your own and let yourhad done this, Mr. Home, you would have1 irother alone ; ' and if youwithlield a stinging shaft that will return to you, a bitter draught youwill sooner or later be obliged (or your memory will) to acceptNow, ^Ir. Home, .... I cannot but ask God to forgive you, for you'know not what you do.' The interior 'light' of which Christ spoke, Iam morally certain you do not possess, and I beg of you, wnth all theearnestness I can command, with nuudi admiration of the good you havedone as a wonderful medium, to seek that light. Moses, Plato, Jesus,Apollonius, Plotinus, Pythagoras, Porphyrins ; and in more moderntimes. Bacon, Flood, Cagliostro, the Fakirs of India, had this light, andtlie Fakirs have it now. It is God's divine truth ; the absolute wisdomand perfect intelligence of the Buddhists." .... I pray for your health and happiness." G. D."Such is, with the exception of a few omitted sentences, a J'acsi)nileof this incomparable production. Since the writer's largecharity leads him so benevolently to pray for me, I am benevolentenough in return to abstain from giving his name. To commenton his letter is, of course, almost impossible. I cannot refrain,however, from lingering a moment over that astonishing list of" possessors of the mterior light."' Omitting the name of Christfrom such a comparison, may we not expect to hear soon that"Socrates, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Nebuchadnezzar inancient times ; and Sir Isaac Newton, Dr. Mesmer, Joe Smith,and Messrs. Maskelyne and Cooke in more modern days, were prophetsof God, and Maskelyne and Cooke are his prophets now"?