A QUEST FOR REALITY

Horizons of Immortality. By Baron Palmstierna. (Constable.

I FIND this book difficult to review : it touches so wide a range of subjects and speculation, hovering in a chapter called " The Quest " over Physics, Biology, Psychology, Philosophy, Psychical Research, and the whole condensed into a little over 3o pages. Not being either a physicist, a biologist or a philosopher 'I cannot say anything worth the trouble of writing, or conse- quently of reading, on these divisions of Science. I think I may claim, however, to know something about psychical Tesearch. .

Most of the books, and there are hundreds of them which publish messages purporting to come from discarnate spirits, are disconcerting ; they are vague and imitative statements and these are on the whole less objectionable than the material details or the pious moralising and platitudinous exhortations we are subjected to. They bear the evident impress of the mind which has originated them or through which they have gained expression. We cannot get away, whatever we may think about the origin of such " communications," from the intervention of the conscious mind, and the difficulty is to disentangle such messages and denote what portion, if any, can be safely pronounced supernormal. Hence all the insistence

on evidential matter, and the high standard of veridical evidence alone acceptable to scientific research. The last 20 years thave seen some remarkable efforts to supply this evidence, so ingenious and purposeful that it is difficult not to believe some extraneous mind is at work with the intention of pro- viding it.

Far from this intention being shown in Baron Palmstierna's book the exact opposite is persistently stated. The " messages " deliberately do not attempt to give evidence. One of them states quite definitely (p. 345)

" The lines of showing proofs we do not approve of. You must not excuse your work. It has to be believed on its own merit and value or they must leave it. Any sign of eagerness to show proofs of its authenticity reveals weakness. . . . The revelations must stand on their own and vibrate through their strength. We want you to present this message as we give it to you.. . . What we object to and definitely repulse is curiosity and the wish to explain everything through and with your perishable brain."

One might comment here that as it is through " our perish- able brain " that we can apprehend most things, it does not seem unreasonable of that brain to ask for some kind of con- firmation that the " messages " are not mere lucubrations from another " perishable brain." I have always felt that far too much stress is laid on the mechanism by which " messages " reach consciousness. Because a remark has been tapped out

by a table, or pointed out letter by letter with a tumbler, or -even scribbled automatically, that in itself is no proof what- ever that a discarnate mind—a spirit—has dictated it. The communication must be judged on its own merit—its content is ,the important thing, and not the method by which it has been obtained. When facts are given unknown to anyone present or sometimes to anyone living, and they occasionally are, we -certainly have to call a halt and examine carefully what agency has been at work. Even so this possible confirmation or proof cannot vouch for every word which is transmitted, so that in 'the end we come round to the content, with perhaps an added interest, but an interest which must not be allowed to cloud our legitimate criticism.

Judged by this smndard a great deal of Baron Palmstierna's book is extremely interesting, and all the more if we are not asked to take every word as pure unadulterated truth. I do not think any of the root ideas arc absolutely new ; but leaving

that saside, as also their origin, we find any stimulating analsuggestive thoughts and statements. - -- -

At the very end of the book comes the description of two episodes which look as if the communicators realised the value to the rest of their " messages " of some with an evidential element. However that may be, the cases are very curious and impressive, in spite of the publicity one of diem has attained. Miss Jelly d'Aranyi, the famous violinist,was practising* Sonata in E minor by Bach, and using David's edition of the work.

The first movement was an allegro and she was greatly sur- prised to get a " message " telling her to play it very slowly :

" Imagine or rather hear it with a lower octave ; in fact hear it in octaves, then you will get that majestic sound Bach wishes for it, like a cathedral with immense width and the columns ham- mered out one by one. Space would become telescoped if speed is used. The whole of the feeling must sound heavy and super- natural."

There were many technical instructions and finally it was discovered that no tempo was stated on the original manuscript, so that David's mark of allegro was not authentic ; further, the notation had been altered by him in the published version and the original was more in conformity with the "message" received.

It may be said that Miss d'Aranyi, who had never seen. the manuscript before, might have learned of the differences sub- consciously from one who had, and then the information was reproduced in an automatic communication. But the intention, the impulse to make this correction, had never been expressed before, and was only brought into the light by means- of- a mechanical device for expressing knowledge which may be in the possession of a discarnate intelligence, or at least in the unconscious mind of a living musician. A curious busineis however you look at it.

On page 35o is a second case of the kind. It took two or three years of search and then of struggle to get access to an unpublished concerto by Robert Schumann. I have not space to go into this in detail, but the case deserves careful study. The Concerto is to be performed by Miss d'Aranyi early next year. . These two episodes send one back to the statements about the next stage of life with an awakened interest. It is not perhaps as easy to accept supernormal messages about God and the Universe as about Preludes and Concertos, but cer- tainly these make one feel that the other utterances deserv4 careful study and critical appraisement. EDITH LYTTELTON.