But what with the superstitious2 credulity of the one age and the equally superstitious unbelief of another, it is necessary to begin from the beginning and to convince a sceptical world that apparitions3 really appear. In order to do this it is necessary to insist that your ghost should no longer be ignored as a phenomenon of Nature. He has a right, equal to that of any other natural phenomenon, to be examined and observed, studied and defined. It is true that he is a rather difficult phenomenon; his comings and goings are rather intermittent4 and fitful, his substance is too shadowy to be handled, and he has avoided hitherto equally the obtrusive5 inquisitiveness6 of the microscope and telescope.
A phenomenon which you can neither handle nor weigh, analyse nor dissect7, is naturally regarded as intractable and troublesome; nevertheless, however intractable and troublesome he may be to reduce to any of the existing scientific categories, we have no right to allow his idiosyncrasies to deprive him of his innate8 right to be regarded as a phenomenon. As such he will be treated in the following pages, with all the respect due to phenomena9 whose reality is attested10 by a sufficient number of witnesses. There will be no attempt in this book to build up a theory of apparitions, or to define the true inwardness of a ghost. There will be as many explanations as there are minds of the significance of the extraordinary narratives11 which I have collated12 from correspondence and from accessible records. Leaving it to my readers to discuss the rival hypotheses, I will stick to the humbler mission of recording13 facts, from which they can form their own judgment14.
The ordinary temper of the ordinary man in dealing15 with ghosts is supremely16 unscientific, but it is less objectionable than that of the pseudo-scientist. The Inquisitor who forbade free inquiry17 into matters of religion because of human depravity, was the natural precursor18 of the Scientist who forbids the exercise of the reason on the subject of ghosts, on account of inherited tendencies to attribute such phenomena to causes outside the established order of nature. What difference there is, is altogether in favour of the Inquisitor, who at least had what he regarded as a divinely constituted authority, competent and willing to pronounce final decision upon any subject that might trouble the human mind. Science has no such tribunal, and when she forbids others to observe and to reflect she is no better than a blind fetish.
Eclipses in old days used to drive whole nations half mad with fright. To this day the black disc of the moon no sooner begins to eat into the shining surface of the sun than millions of savage19 men feel "creepy," and begin to tremble at the thought of the approaching end of the world. But in civilised lands even the most ignorant regard an eclipse with imperturbable20 composure. Eclipses are scientific phenomena observed and understood. It is our object to reduce ghosts to the same level, or rather to establish the claim of ghosts to be regarded as belonging as much to the order of Nature as the eclipse. At present they are disfranchised of their natural birthright, and those who treat them with this injustice21 need not wonder if they take their revenge in "creeps."
The third class of objection takes the ground that there is something irreligious and contrary to Christianity in the chronicling of such phenomena. It is fortunate that Mary Magdalene and the early disciples22 did not hold that theory. So far from its being irreligious to ascertain23 facts, there is a subtle impiety24 in the refusal to face phenomena, whether natural or supernatural. Either these things exist or they do not. If they do not exist, then obviously there can be no harm in a searching examination of the delusion25 which possessed26 the mind of almost every worthy27 in the Old Testament28, and which was constantly affirmed by the authors of the New. If, on the other hand, they do exist, and are perceptible under certain conditions to our senses, it will be difficult to affirm the impiety of endeavouring to ascertain what is their nature, and what light they are able to throw upon the kingdom of the Unseen. We have no right to shut our eyes to facts and close our ears to evidence merely because Moses forbade the Hebrews to allow witches to live, or because some of the phenomena carry with them suggestions that do not altogether harmonise with the conventional orthodox theories of future life. The whole question that lies at bottom is whether this world is divine or diabolic. Those who believe it divine are bound by that belief to regard every phenomenon as a window through which man may gain fresh glimpses of the wonder and the glory of the Infinite. In this region, as in all others, faith and fear go ill together.
It is impossible for any impartial man to read the narratives of which the present book is composed without feeling that we have at least one hint or suggestion of quite incalculable possibilities in telepathy or thought transference. If there be, as many of these stories seem to suggest, a latent capacity in the human mind to communicate with other minds, entirely29 regardless of the conditions of time and space, it is undeniable that this would be a fact of the very first magnitude. It is quite possible that the telegraph may be to telepathy what the stage coach is to the steam engine. Neither can we afford to overlook the fact that these phenomena have in these latter days signally vindicated30 their power over the minds of men. Some of the acutest minds of our time have learned to recognise in them scientific demonstration31 of the existence of the fact that personal individuality survives death.
If it can be proved that it is occasionally possible for persons at the uttermost ends of the world to communicate instantaneously with each other, and even in some cases to make a vivid picture of themselves stand before the eyes of those to whom they speak, no prejudice as to the unhealthy nature of the inquiry should be allowed to stand in the way of the examination of such a fact with a view to ascertaining32 whether or not this latent capacity of the human mind can be utilised for the benefit of mankind. Wild as this suggestion may seem to-day, it is less fantastic than our grandfathers a hundred years ago would have deemed a statement that at the end of the nineteenth century portraits would be taken by the sun, that audible conversation would be carried on instantaneously across a distance of a thousand miles, that a ray of light could be made the agent for transmitting the human voice across an abyss which no wire had ever spanned, and that by a simple mechanical arrangement, which a man can carry in his hand, it would be possible to reproduce the words, voice, and accent of the dead. The photograph, the telegraph, the telephone, and the phonograph were all more or less latent in what seemed to our ancestors the kite-flying folly33 of Benjamin Franklin. Who knows but that in Telepathy we may have the faint foreshadowing of another latent force, which may yet be destined34 to cast into the shade even the marvels35 of electrical science!
There is a growing interest in all the occult phenomena to which this work is devoted36. It is in evidence on every hand. The topic is in the air, and will be discussed and is being discussed, whether we take notice of it or not. That it has its dangers those who have studied it most closely are most aware, but these dangers will exist in any case, and if those who ought to guide are silent, these perils37 will be encountered without the safeguards which experience would dictate38 and prudence39 suggest. It seems to me that it would be difficult to do better service in this direction than to strengthen the hands of those who have for many years past been trying to rationalise the consideration of the Science of Ghosts.
It is idle to say that this should be left for experts. We live in a democratic age and we democratise everything. It is too late in the day to propose to place the whole of this department under the care of any Brahmin caste; the subject is one which every common man and woman can understand. It is one which comes home to every human being, for it adds a new interest to life, and vivifies the sombre but all-pervading problem of death.
W. T. Stead.
London, 1891.
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1
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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apparitions
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| n.特异景象( apparition的名词复数 )；幽灵；鬼；（特异景象等的）出现 | |
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intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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obtrusive
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| adj.显眼的；冒失的 | |
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inquisitiveness
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| 好奇，求知欲 | |
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dissect
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| v.分割；解剖 | |
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innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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narratives
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| 记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分 | |
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collated
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| v.校对( collate的过去式和过去分词 )；整理；核对；整理（文件或书等） | |
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recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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supremely
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| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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precursor
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| n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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imperturbable
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| adj.镇静的 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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impiety
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| n.不敬；不孝 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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vindicated
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| v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护 | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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