Thank you for correcting the text in this article. Your corrections improve Papers Past searches for everyone. See the latest corrections.

This article contains searchable text which was automatically generated and may contain errors. Join the community and correct any errors you spot to help us improve Papers Past.

Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

BOOKS OF THE DAY

"What is Spiritualism?/' •Mr.'J; Arthur Hill, author of "Spiritualism'. its History,. Phenomena, and Doctrine'' (Cassell and Co., per S..and W~ Mackay) informs his ".readers; that his laies't' book lias been written;in response to a suggestion' made by his publishers that lie should prepare a .volume giving a comprehensive answer to the .question, "What is Spiritualism?" lie explains that lie' was never a 'materialist. but in early life his attitudo towards Christianity was a "revei erit' agnostic--ism.", passion tor .inquiry and investigation 'led him to. a study of the case for spiritualism,, and -he was soon, he says, compelled to admit there was "some- ' thing in it." Joining the Psychical liesearch Society ho found, he tells us, what ho wanted, "real evidence set out in detail by men like" 'Sir William Crookesi Sir Oliver Lodge, Professor Sedgwick, and others whose work I knew and could roly upon in "other 'departments." The result of long and painstaking study of the literature of spiritualism, supplemented by personal experiences with mediums, professional and private, gradually drove him "to adiifit that -phenomena certainly happen which orthodox science does.not explain or even recognise, that some' of them may be due to not understood subliminal activities of living people, or to still more unknown causes, but that some others point to the.ngoncy of discarnate human 'bcinßS." Mr. "Hill gives us .an ,inter r .. esting resumo of the history of and accepted evidence for spiritualism, pointing out that in modern times ' Swedenborg's • influence was -.specially strong'' in. stimulating 'a .belief in spiritualistic communications botwesii the 6een and the unseen worlds,. Tlio beginnings "of modem spiritualism iii America are then- dealt with and the reader gradually reaches • what may be -termed tho "Homo period" in England. The author, rebuts Browning's wollknown .suggestions.of. fraud by Homo, but admits the harmful effects of cer-. tain extravagant claims put forward by certain of Homo's followers.. Next, comcs: a chapter on William"Stainton,' ; Moses and his writings, and an interesting account of tho formation of tho Society for Psychical Hcsearch. 'The.very debateable subject of physical phenomena--is then discussed. Mr. .Hill neither accepts nor rejects the much-debated "ap-' ports." Ho says: "I. have.nqver wit-, nessed them, and my attitude is 'o tie of suspense of judgment. I neither believe -nor disbelieve." _ He gives, howover, a -general, description. , of certain alleged marvels-ill what might be called —the term-is the' reviewer's,- not the au-\ thor's—"direct" phenomena. Summing up tho much-discussed investigations into Busapia. : "performances"— ou'ain the term is mine—Mr. Hill,declares that "the upshot was that tho three inve.s"tigntors previously sceptical, and by their experience ami -ability probably the. be'st combination tho world could produce for such an inquiry,,., were convinced.-'that some supernormal -agency was at work.", lLe gives.also some interesting accounts of.-direct voice" sittings • and ; "spirit photography." Chapters ■ entitled' "Ghosts" and "Evidence, Proof and Be-\ lief" coneludo tho -first' section of tlio work, in tho second section. Mr.'Hill discusses- "Spiritualism as a lieligion" (contending that spiritualism is not antagonistic to any except those holding crude beliefs mainly as to "esc ha to logy"); "Materialistic 'and Other Objections, "Roman Catholic and Mystical Objections," "Some" Protestant Objections," "Fechner's Theory of Life alter JJeaih," and •"•SiiWitualistio .-Conceptions of AfterDeath ~ "Conditions," '• and* maintains that "bcliet in survival," which, lie says, had "become moribund in the nineteenth, century" (a statement to which tho -present writer, for one, would take respectful, but emphatic ■objection').- has been restored bj spiritualism •/Vhicli hits revived it by finding and emphasising I ho •same sort of phenomena'--,asthose- upon-, which Christianity is founded.--'. He argues 'thai; spiritualism"includes the Fatherhood of- God-and- Motherhood of. Man"; . and that, finally, opposition to spiritualism, is founded mainly upon an ignorance which study, open to any educated man, will easily dispel. An introduction to the ' boofc in. furnished by Sir Arthur , Conan Doyle, who, inter alia, pays a high compliment to tne erudition, sincerity, and earnestness of tho author, who is a helpless invalid, and whose ex : - tonsivo literary work is, he says, "a most remarkablo example of human per- ~ severance awl adaptability." "What is National Honour?" The sub-title of Mr. Leo Perla's book, "What is' National Honour'f""(The Mac-' millau Co., New, York), is "The Challenge of the Reconstruction." Mr. Perla, whose work is prefaced by an introduc-. tion by Mr. Norman Angell, of "Great-I-Illusion".-fame,.is evidently a'v'ory'.earn,est student-of-what might be-called national-- psychology/-.: The .object- of his book-is to dispel many existing, hud, as, i'liq author contends, erroneous visas' as to the exact points upon which the honour of a natiotl may be hild- to depend. Only when public opinion hivi become iiif'arined ''of (lie perversions sad misappli- . cations of national honour Trill it," lie. | says, "feel ready to' rechristen this popular war. slogan, and to, invest it with genuine principles of light and justice."'. At the two Hngiio Conferences'questions of "national honour," werq omitted from, tho- proposed jurisdiction of the Interna-tional-Arbitration Court, and-, yst, .according to Mr. Perla., "national-hou'our" has.-, been, the.'cause of almost'every war of history. ' As showing -how numerous ■and diverse are the aspects - and views of leading statesmen, jurisconsults,: philosophers, ai)d publicists-' of the different nations upon "national' honour," .thp :autlior presents us wttu a symposium of Citations in which are set forth the opinions of many famous men upon speoial ' jnstances where national honour has been invoked and specified as'playing an im-i porrant part in tho origin or settlement \of international differences .'.and-' disputes. Historians, such .as Troitschko :. and " Sismor.div statesmen such <-is Bisino.rck. Lord John -Russell and Lloyd George, milita.ry, and naval authorities-like General: Ilomer ,Lca and Admiral Mahon; publicists and : litterateurs such- as Professor Gilbert Murray, Gabriels d'Annunzio and Bertrand Russell figure in the list, and liberal quotation is mode from newdpapor, articles written , in times of grave international crisis. Mr..Perla at length with tho "emotional" sitto.of national "honour; am! gives ii series of tests 'for the rationality of the-sentiment. He is very severe uptm what he styles "the tyranny of a phrase." The vchemenca of hatred caused' by repeated wars, tha sacrifice in life auit monoy, their, intensity of uain and suffering, tho glories, and the progress of civilisation -which is attributed to war, have been tranpferred . to the term honour and. have filled the phraso itself -with an intense fervour arid'sacred .clamour. In tho faco of those emotional ramifications reaaon is paralysed. Wo have transferred the cumulative emotion of-.'a. Beri&j of intense, experiences to the term na-. tional honour-, bo that it has become a 'tyrannous phraße invested with tlio magic power to' shape our moral thinking. . . . i , orr"n < ilional"- honour Mr. Perla would substitute "international" lionour. How ho proposes to educate tho nations and peoples of the .world.to think "internationally" instead of'being governed by a necessarily circumscribed "national" emotion and morality is ..set forth with much ingenuity and .eloquence. The book-is-.avowedly that of ap earnest pacifist. It would bo interesting to know what is the. nationality of its author.' In his fofoH'b'rd, Mr. Perla thanks, amongst ethers who havo assisted him,' three geii: llemen named respectively Liitpmann, Malisolf and "Yormalinsky, the tiui latter boing connected respectively -with the Columbia University and the College of the City of New York, though in what capacity: is not .stated. On .the cover of the book. .is. quoted President Wilson's famous; declaration (to the League to En^

force Peace, May, .1916), in favour of a new and more 'irhplesouie diplomacy

, "it is clear that nations in the future must be. governed by the samo high code of honour that wo deninnd of individuals." Unfortunately hiirtl facts have to be dealt- with as weil us amiably expressed theories. -Mr. -Perls,' strong a ciise as he may make out against "the fetish" of national honour, curiously enough omits to explain iiuw, lor in.--stance, such a nation as Germany can be converted to a sense ol international honour, still less what reliance could be placed by the nations of the world in the sincerity and probable- pc-nmuieuco of her regeneration. "-The Master); of Nervousness." .-"From' Messrs. Macmillair and Co. (New York-and Melbourne) comes a copy of a third (and- revised) .-edition of a book, "The Mastery of- Nervousness," based upon 'the ".Re-education of Self," by Robert S. Carroll, M.D. (Medical Director,. Highland Hospital, Asheville, N.Cj, which wiis reviewed at length ill these : columns upon its. first appearance in 1917. Tho fact that Dr. Carroll's book, the object of which is to show that nervousness can, iu most eases,t he cured bv following simple rules of diet and fot the conduct of life, both mental and physical, has gone into "a third edition within eighteen months of its nrst publication is sufficient indication of its inherent ..worth - and wide popularity. "Nerves":'is, iis someone-has said, "the malady of the'age," a-product in no small degree the ontcomaof an artificial, ■unnatural-'life;'" "The author's contention is that, just as "man-was a splendid creation .lie . is. to.-<lay capable .of being a splendid creature." Dr. Carrolfs. pica for a simpler,-more leisured, moro wholesome life is not only dictated by a.desiro to benefit his fellow-beings- morally, but • \s expounded, in dohiil; as,a guide to tlio regaining and maintenance of sound health. To those' who suffer from "nerves" it carries a message of hope and relief 'which must be welcome indeed. .-.. . . LIBER'S NOTE BOOK i Concerning Christopher Morley. /• A ' New York '■ review ■of Christopher .. •M.orlejt's-latest story, l"Tlte Daunted Bookshop," implies tlut it combines the atmosphere of iiugeiie Field's ' Love .Letters of a Bibliomaniac" with a 'flavour of .-Frank' Stockton's. "Rudder Grange. This to me, with whom both .the I'ield and tho Stockton:books .have long-been great favourites, sounds distinctly alluringi I havo read, I think, everything flint. Christopher Morley has published up ■to now,' ami, like Oliver Twist, I ask for "more." Morley i.s an American, ot iilnglish. descent. He was one of the first American llhodes scholars at Ux"ford; and no one has written more, an ectionatcly "of Oxford' and of t tho. delight-, fill C'otswold country, whither go so many undergraduates during the summei vnca'lion. Morley's books so far are "Parnassus on Wheels,.' a story m which a travelling bookseller is the chief, figure; "Shandygail," -a. collection of essays, some of - which suggest, the methods of E. -V. Lucas la writer with whom 'Morley has much m fommoy. and many of which have a. deliglitlully "booty" flavour, albeit fresh'aim freo from all traco of pedantry; and two books of verso, "'Songs_ of u little House" and "The Hooking Horse. 1 can. warmly recommend these books; to all who enjoy wholesome literature. Ine louch is always light and graceful,-the humour good-natured, tlio satire never sardonic. 'These are books to make ono feel that after all life is not that drab and. dreary .thing that so many of the younoer English novelist and essayists would-fain have -iis believe it. to he. "Slian'dvgalV" I "can specially commend ns an 'ideal "bedside book," for recently I found pleasant nepenthe in its spam-, in" pages in lime of sickness and pain. 1 "wish our New Zealand, booksellers, -would stock the . Morley. books rc■gularly;. As.- .it m. . they #18 .- little known' 'to Now: Zealand readers ' a rid ' vet"' tlioso-: w'ho ■ enjoy E V. Lucas will find in ; the American poet-essayist, and storyteller's work a sure and certain delight, Ihe Lucas books, as they deserve to do, sell well in Neti Zealand. When Morley s.work gets better'knowrout hero lie, too, should find a faithful and ever-widening circle ot admirei'-s. Soiue day,' when the ' pile of "review copies" on my study table 'gets a little lower,. I hope to give™ leaders an extended "appreciation of Christopher Moray's work, to J U>, mid - often so wise, and so • dist nctlv ' faseiiiating in its bonhomie 1 'can .think of no more suitablo .word to : express it; 'doniiuant note. Arthur Machen and "Drake's Drum." Some of Mr. Arthur Machen's weird stories of the siiperiiatural are, l t.ee, to be republished. Maclicn is a wntei tlio merit of whose work has > JCGU » I fear, «o well recognised t\a. it deserujs to be 1 remember reaitiug ot earlier work .quite twenty years ago, but somehow, he seemed to . drop .out, as t were, and to have a long period ot unproductiveness or ill-success as an original writer, depending mainly on raublVtinn work for a ;Uving. Be trajwlated, if J remember rightly, the nill}, it somewhat scandalous, •■ileptanieron, ot that sprightly dume, Qteeii Margaut ol Navarre, Beroalde de \ ervilles Mojen do farvenir," and ether medieval Trench literature, it was Machen, it may here lie noted, who gave to t he-woild m 19141 through..the medium ot a Loudon newspaper, ..an account of I lie "miraculous ..intervention."-of the English archers of'Agincourt 'at l the- lime'of the. British retreat from': Mons. in a recent numbei of "The Outlook;" a London weekly, now, bv tho way, uhdei' nbiv editorship, and greatly improved, Machen continues the legend ■ of ■ Drake's drum, always heffl'd, so the naval legend goes, oil great occasions. The -drum was heard, so says Machen's arliclo (founded, ho says oil the'statement of officers on the vessel), on the .Hoval Oak for some."hours on lNovemlier "21*."last .year, tlio day when the Uernmn fleet Surrendered,to the British. "It was'soon after H. o'clock in .he niorniiig, when the German ileet appeared looming - through the mist. Admiral ■ Grant saw them and waited; lie could scarcely-believe, he; says, that they would not instantly open'fire, then,the drum began to beat on the JJoynl/Oak. Ihe sound was unmistakable; it was that ot a, .fiinall drum being beaten 'in rolls. Tho.' commander: himself inade a. special tour of investigation through, t.he Itoyal Oak. Tie found- that every man was at -his "station-. At -about 2 o'clock m the afternoon the German licet was enclosed and helpless, and the British ships dropped anchor' some 15 miles oil the l'irth of Forth. The irrevocable ruin of the (jcrimiii navy was consummated. And at that moment tho dnun'popped' beating and was no more heard." Stray Leaves. Joseph Conrad's, latest story, .'"Iho Arrow ol Gold," copies of which have not yet readied- New Zealand, is said tn-bu founded on the last sketchy in his book ol"'short"'storicp, "The Miwar of tho Sea.". II: is there''told'iis something which happened to liiui in his youth. Tho "Anglo-American entente is having as one result «n inlerchiinge of literary lecturers; Lord Dunsany, whose weird stories havii become so popular, is duo at New York very shurtly .under engagement to a Lccture. Bureau, and America is sending Vachcl- Lindsay to tho O'Jd Country to enlighten the Britishers on Amorican.: poetry. -Stephen Leaecek, tho Canadian • iirofessor,-- .whose humorous bnoksure :o well known, is another trnnsAlikintic lecturer booked for an English tour. 11 :iurite Maeterlinck is to lecturo both in England and Amorica next winA new magazino, "The Story Magazine," was to make its appearance hint month. Tho publishers, Messrc.' llutcl). inson and Co., secured'for tho first nuniber a poem, entitled 'The Support,' by Mr. ? Rudyiird Kipling.

The two final volumes of "The Life of Benjamin Disraeli" are promised _liy Mr. John Murray for the early (English) autunm. The coni'lmfing vultmie is to contain, as an appendix, tho i'ra,anient of the novel upon which "Dizzy" was engiig|x] at the time of his death.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19190816.2.97.1

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 275, 16 August 1919, Page 11

Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,521

BOOKS OF THE DAY Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 275, 16 August 1919, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 275, 16 August 1919, Page 11

Help

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert