lectures16+17-第2章

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wildness　and　the　pang　of　life；　stole　into　our　hearts　and　thrilled



them。　　The　words　have　now　perhaps　become　mere　polished　surfaces



for　us；　but　lyric　poetry　and　music　are　alive　and　significant　only



in　proportion　as　they　fetch　these　vague　vistas　of　a　life



continuous　with　our　own；　beckoning　and　inviting；　yet　ever　eluding



our　pursuit。　　We　are　alive　or　dead　to　the　eternal　inner　message



of　the　arts　according　as　we　have　kept　or　lost　this　mystical



susceptibility。







＇226＇　Newman's　Securus　judicat　orbis　terrarum　is　another



instance。







＇227＇　〃Mesopotamia〃　is　the　stock　comic　instance。An　excellent



Old　German　lady；　who　had　done　some　traveling　in　her　day；　used　to



describe　to　me　her　Sehnsucht　that　she　might　yet　visit



〃Philadelphia；〃　whose　wondrous　name　had　always　haunted　her



imagination。　　Of　John　Foster　it　is　said　that　〃single　words　（as



chalcedony）；　or　the　names　of　ancient　heroes；　had　a　mighty



fascination　over　him。　　'At　any　time　the　word　hermit　was　enough　to



transport　him。'　The　words　woods　and　forests　would　produce　the



most　powerful　emotion。〃　　Foster's　Life；　by　Ryland；　New　York；



1846；　p。　3。















A　more　pronounced　step　forward　on　the　mystical　ladder　is　found　in



an　extremely　frequent　phenomenon；　that　sudden　feeling；　namely；



which　sometimes　sweeps　over　us；　of　having　〃been　here　before；〃　as



if　at　some　indefinite　past　time；　in　just　this　place；　with　just



these　people；　we　were　already　saying　just　these　things。　　As



Tennyson　writes：







　　　　　〃Moreover；　something　is　or　seems



　　　　　　That　touches　me　with　mystic　gleams；



　　　　　　Like　glimpses　of　forgotten　dreams







　　　　　〃Of　something　felt；　like　something　here；



　　　　　　Of　something　done；　I　know　not　where；



　　　　　　Such　as　no　language　may　declare。〃＇228＇







＇228＇　The　Two　Voices。　　In　a　letter　to　Mr。　B。　P。　Blood；　Tennyson



reports　of　himself　as　follows：







〃I　have　never　had　any　revelations　through　anaesthetics；　but　a



kind　of　waking　trancethis　for　lack　of　a　better　wordI　have



frequently　had；　quite　up　from　boyhood；　when　I　have　been　all



alone。　　This　has　come　upon　me　through　repeating　my　own　name　to



myself　silently；　till　all　at　once；　as　it　were　out　of　the



intensity　of　the　consciousness　of　individuality；　individuality



itself　seemed　to　dissolve　and　fade　away　into　boundless　being；　and



this　not　a　confused　state　but　the　clearest；　the　surest　of　the



surest；　utterly　beyond　wordswhere　death　was　an　almost　laughable



impossibilitythe　loss　of　personality　（if　so　it　were）　seeming　no



extinction；　but　the　only　true　life。　　I　am　ashamed　of　my　feeble



description。　　Have　I　not　said　the　state　is　utterly　beyond　words？〃







Professor　Tyndall；　in　a　letter；　recalls　Tennyson　saying　of　this



condition：　　〃By　God　Almighty！　there　is　no　delusion　in　the　matter！



It　is　no　nebulous　ecstasy；　but　a　state　of　transcendent　wonder；



associated　with　absolute　clearness　of　mind。〃　　Memoirs　of　Alfred



Tennyson；　ii。　473。















Sir　James　Crichton…Browne　has　given　the　technical　name　of　〃dreamy



states〃　to　these　sudden　invasions　of　vaguely　reminiscent



consciousness。＇229＇　They　bring　a　sense　of　mystery　and　of　the



metaphysical　duality　of　things；　and　the　feeling　of　an　enlargement



of　perception　which　seems　imminent　but　which　never　completes



itself。　　In　Dr。　Crichton…Browne's　opinion　they　connect　themselves



with　the　perplexed　and　scared　disturbances　of　self…consciousness



which　occasionally　precede　epileptic　attacks。　　I　think　that　this



learned　alienist　takes　a　rather　absurdly　alarmist　view　of　an



intrinsically　insignificant　phenomenon。　　He　follows　it　along　the



downward　ladder；　to　insanity；　our　path　pursues　the　upward　ladder



chiefly。　　The　divergence　shows　how　important　it　is　to　neglect　no



part　of　a　phenomenon's　connections；　for　we　make　it　appear



admirable　or　dreadful　according　to　the　context　by　which　we　set　it



off。







＇229＇　The　Lancet；　July　6　and　13；　1895；　reprinted　as　the　Cavendish



Lecture；　on　Dreamy　Mental　States；　London；　Bailliere；　1895。　　They



have　been　a　good　deal　discussed　of　late　by　psychologists。　　See；



for　example；　Bernard…Leroy：　　L'Illusion　de　Fausse　Reconnaissance；



Paris；　1898。















Somewhat　deeper　plunges　into　mystical　consciousness　are　met　with



in　yet　other　dreamy　states。　　Such　feelings　as　these　which　Charles



Kingsley　describes　are　surely　far　from　being　uncommon；　especially



in　youth：







〃When　I　walk　the　fields；　I　am　oppressed　now　and　then　with　an



innate　feeling　that　everything　I　see　has　a　meaning；　if　I　could



but　understand　it。　　And　this　feeling　of　being　surrounded　with



truths　which　I　cannot　grasp　amounts　to　indescribable　awe



sometimes。　。　。　。　　Have　you　not　felt　that　your　real　soul　was



imperceptible　to　your　mental　vision；　except　in　a　few　hallowed



moments？〃＇230＇







＇230＇　Charles　Kingsley's　Life；　i。　55；　quoted　by　Inge：　　Christian



Mysticism；　London；　1899；　p。　341。















A　much　more　extreme　state　of　mystical　consciousness　is　described



by　J。　A。　Symonds；　and　probably　more　persons　than　we　suspect　could



give　parallels　to　it　from　their　own　experience。







〃Suddenly；〃　writes　Symonds；　〃at　church；　or　in　company；　or　when　I



was　reading；　and　always；　I　think；　when　my　muscles　were　at　rest；　I



felt　the　approach　of　the　mood。　　Irresistibly　it　took　possession



of　my　mind　and　will；　lasted　what　seemed　an　eternity；　and



disappeared　in　a　series　of　rapid　sensations　which　resembled　the



awakening　from　anaesthetic　influence。　　One　reason　why　I　disliked



this　kind　of　trance　was　that　I　could　not　describe　it　to　myself。　I



cannot　even　now　find　words　to　render　it　intelligible。　　It



consisted　in　a　gradual　but　swiftly　progressive　obliteration　of



space；　time；　sensation；　and　the　multitudinous　factors　of



experience　which　seem　to　qualify　what　we　are　pleased　to　call　our



Self。　In　proportion　as　these　conditions　of　ordinary　consciousness



were　subtracted；　the　sense　of　an　underlying　or　essential



consciousness　acquired　intensity。　　At　last　nothing　remained　but　a



pure；　absolute；　abstract　Self。　　The　universe　became　without　form



and　void　of　content。　　But　Self　persisted；　formidable　in　its　vivid



keenness；　feeling　the　most　poignant　doubt　about　reality；　ready；



as　it　seemed；　to　find　existence　break　as　breaks　a　bubble　round



about　it。　　And　what　then？　　The　apprehension　of　a　coming



dissolution；　the　grim　conviction　that　this　state　was　the　last



state　of　the　conscious　Self；　the　sense　that　I　had　followed　the



last　thread　of　being　to　the　verge　of　the　abyss；　and　had　arrived



at　demonstration　of　eternal　Maya　or　illusion；　stirred　or　seemed



to　stir　me　up　again。　　The　return　to　ordinary　conditions　of



sentient　existence　began　by　my　first　recovering　the　power　of



touch；　and　then　by　the　gradual　though　rapid　influx　of　familiar



impressions　and　diurnal　interests。　　At　last　I　felt　myself　once



more　a　human　being；　and　though　the　riddle　of　what　is　meant　by



life　remained　unsolved　I　was　thankful　for　this　return　from　the



abyssthis　deliverance　from　so　awful　an　initiation　into　the



mysteries　of　skepticism。







〃This　trance　recurred　with　diminishing　frequency　until　I　reached



the　age　of　twenty…eight。　　It　served　to　impress　upon　my　growing



nature　the　phantasmal　unreality　of　all　the　circumstances　which



contribute　to　a　merely　phenomenal　consciousness。　Often　have　I



asked　myself　with　anguish；　on　waking　from　that　formless　state　of



denuded；　keenly　sentient　being；　Which　is　the　unrealitythe



trance　of　fiery；　vacant；　apprehensive；　skeptical　Self　from　which



I　issue；　or　these　surrounding　phenomena　and　habits　wh