An Essay on Demonology 3

An Essay on Demonology 3

With several persons I have been acquainted, and those by no means of inferior

understanding, who have been firmly persuaded of the existence of the

spectres indicated by such nervous affections, and have, on such

occasions, held conversations with them, real on their part, imaginary

on the part of the supposed spectre. Such, perhaps, in general, are

the disciples of the Baron Von Swedenborg. But illusions of this

nature are not confined to this class of men alone.

 

 

 

 

POWER OF IMAGINATION.

 

 

Dr Van Cleve, of Princeton, was lately applied to as a physician on

behalf of a man who had reduced himself by intemperance, to a state of

very distressing nervous irregularity. He was continually disturbed by

visions, sometimes of the most fantastic kind. He often heard strange

voices, and would ask and answer questions, as if engaged in

conversation with some of his visionary personages. His disorder, the

doctor said, was evidently not of that species which is usually

denominated mania, but appeared to be wholly the effect of a habit of

nervous irregularity, delirium tremens, induced by previous

intemperance. But the Baron Von Swedenborg, in his most visionary

moments, was never surrounded by more extraordinary assemblages of

strange sights. A very striking example of the power of nervous

impression, occurred a few years ago in the Rev. James Wilson,

formerly assistant minister with Dr Rodgers, in the first Presbyterian

Church in New York. He was a native of Scotland, and was a man highly

esteemed for his good sense, and the soundness of his judgment;

although not distinguished for a warm and popular eloquence. Being

obliged for a time to relinquish the exercise of his ministry from a

hemorrhage in his breast, he employed himself for several years in

different occupations in Scotland and America, but chiefly in

presiding over an Academy in Alexandria, in the State of Virginia. The

expectoration of blood having ceased for a considerable time, his

conscience began to reproach him for indolence and self-indulgence, in

not renewing his ministerial functions. In this uneasy state of mind,

a vision, as he thought, of a man of very dignified aspect, stood at

the foot of his bed in the morning, after he was perfectly awake, and

surveying him steadily for some moments, commanded him to resume his

duties in the pulpit: but added, that as considerable error had crept

into the church, he should undertake to reform it according to the

model of the primitive age. Mr Wilson, conscious of his want of

eloquent talents, and reforming zeal, reasoned with the supposed

apparition, alleging his utter incompetency to the task imposed upon

him. The dialogue ended in a repetition of the command, and assurance

of ability and success. The good man, wholly unable to explain this

clear and palpable vision, on any principles of nature or philosophy

with which he was acquainted, was deeply distressed, yet perfectly

sensible of his insufficiency for such an undertaking, he neglected

attempting to fulfil it. After an interval of two or three years, the

vision was repeated, with nearly the same circumstances, except that

the aspect of the person who appeared to present himself, was more

severe, and expressive of displeasure at his past delinquency. Mr

Wilson repeated his former reasonings on his want of health, and want

of talents, with other topics. But the answer was still the same; a

repetition of the injunction, and assurance of the necessary ability,

and ultimate success. His distress was raised to the highest degree in

the conflict of his mind between what he thought a sensible

demonstration of a supernatural requisition, and an invincible

consciousness of his own incompetency, and his fear of doing an injury

to true religion by his failure. After consulting several of his

friends upon the subject, he at length addressed a letter to the

author, stating all the circumstances which have just been detailed.

He was answered with the general reasonings contained in this lecture,

to convince him that his vision was merely a consequence of nervous

affection, resulting from bodily disorder. Three letters passed

between Mr Wilson and the author, reasoned on the part of Mr Wilson

with great calmness and good sense, admitting all the objections to

such an apostolic undertaking as that to which he was urged, both from

scripture and from his own peculiar deficiency of power and talents,

but pleading the impulse of a sensation as clear and strong, and, to

his mind, as real as he had ever felt. But it was replied that there

were other considerations combined with the whole system and harmony

of nature, which ought to have greater authority with a rational mind

than any single and individual impression of sense, which evidently

violates its general order. The correspondence came to this issue at

last, that, as he agreed with the church as she now exists, in most of

her doctrines, and especially in the moral precepts of religion, he

should begin his course by inculcating only those principles in which

all were agreed, and if he found the promise of his vision verified in

his returning strength and successful eloquence, he would then have

sufficient encouragement to proceed further. He actually came to New

York with the intention to put this experiment into execution, but

died in that city shortly after his landing. He published one

discourse introductory to the design.

 

 

 

 

ILLUSIONS.

 

 

The following observations are from Dr Rush, found in his Treatise on

Diseases of the Mind. 'By this term, (Illusions) I mean that disease,

in which false perceptions take place in the ears and eyes in the

waking state, from a morbid affection of the brain, or of the sense

which is the seat of the illusion. It may be considered as a waking

dream. Persons affected with it fancy they hear voices, or see objects

that do not exist. These false perceptions are said, by superstitious

people, to be premonitions of death. They sometimes indicate either

the forming state, or the actual existence of disease, which being

seated most commonly in a highly vital part of the body, that is, in

the brain, now and then ends in death, and thus administers support to

superstition. They depend, like false perception in madness, upon

motion being excited in a part of the ear or the eye, which does not

vibrate with the impression made upon it, but communicates it to a

part upon which the impression of the noise heard, or of the person

seen, was formerly made, and hence the one becomes audible, and the

other visible.

 

'The deception, when made upon the ears, consists most commonly in

hearing our own names, and for this obvious reason; we are accustomed

to hear them pronounced more frequently than any other words, and

hence the part of the ear, which vibrates with the sound of our names,

moves more promptly, from habit, than any other part of it. For the

same reason the deception, when made upon the eyes, consists in seeing

our own persons, or the persons of our intimate friends, whether

living or dead, oftener than any other people. The part upon the

retina, from which those images are reflected, move more promptly,

from habit, than any other of that part of the organ of vision.

 

'The voice which is supposed to be heard, and the objects which are

supposed to be seen, are never heard nor seen by two persons, even

when they are close to each other. This proves them both to be the

effect of disease in the single person who hears, or sees, the

supposed voice or object.'

 

Dr Rush has recorded numerous instances of partial mental derangement

from hypochondriasis, chiefly from his own knowledge, such as the

following. A sea captain believed that he had a wolf in his liver;

others that they are converted into an animal of another species, such

as a goose, a dog, a cat, a hare, a cow, and the like. One imagined

that he was once a calf, and mentions the name of the butcher that

killed him, and the stall in the Philadelphia market, on which his

flesh was sold, previously to his animating his present body. One

believed that he had no soul. Another that he is transformed into a

plant, and insisted on being watered in common with all the plants

around him in the garden. Another that his body was transformed into

glass. The celebrated Cowper suffered much anguish from complaints of

a similar nature, arising from hypochondriac affection.

 

Among the causes of nervous affection and diseased imagination, are

those of sedentary habits and a free use of strong tea. The following

instances were communicated by my friend the Rev. Mr K.

 

The late Rev. Mr F. of Ipswich, who was very sedentary; spent most of

his time in his study without exercise, and his health became

impaired. He imagined for some time before his death, that he was

actually dead. I saw him in this state of mind, walking his chamber in

extreme agitation. To the question, how he could suffer so much, if

actually dead, he answered, that his own spirit was departed, and that

another spirit had taken possession of his body.

 

A gentleman in Boston once told the first President Adams, that he had

become strangely timid, that he dared not keep the side walks, but

walked in the middle of the street, being constantly apprehensive that

the tile on the houses would fall on his head. The president asked him

if he made a free use of tea, and being answered in the affirmative,

he recommended to him to use it more sparingly and he would probably

be benefited by the change. By pursuing this advice, he was relieved,

and was soon able to return to the side walks without fear.

 

A gentleman of Salem, sailing from the south to Massachusetts, while

under the influence of nervous affection, imagined that he saw a man

in the water near the ship, who was drowning. Conceiving that he

might save his life, he was in the very act of leaping into the sea

for that purpose, but was happily prevented by those on deck. He

afterward recovered his health, and had a perfect recollection of his

feelings on that occasion. He had no idea of destroying himself, but

would have perished had he not been prevented. Instances of a similar

nature have probably occurred, in which lives have been lost in

consequence of such delusion.

 

It is said that Mr Murdock, the member of the Vermont Legislature, who

recently committed suicide, imagined himself to be Dr Cleaveland, who

was under sentence of death. Mr Murdock attempted to speak when

Cleaveland's case was before the legislature, but was so much agitated

that he could not speak, and was taken from the house by his friends.

Under this strong impression of his being Cleaveland, he killed

himself to avoid the doom of the law. This event would make a

thrilling chapter in Sir Walter Scott's history of Demonology and

Witchcraft.

 

It will aid our purpose to relate the following instance of Mr

Nicolai, an intelligent bookseller and member of the Academy of

Sciences of Berlin, who happily possessed philosophy enough to account

for the phantasms which, for some time agitated his own mind, upon

rational principles. 'In the year 1791, I was much affected in my mind

by several incidents of a very disagreeable nature; and on a certain

day a circumstance occurred, which irritated me extremely. At ten

o'clock in the forenoon, my wife and another person came to console

me. I was in a violent perturbation of mind, owing to a series of

incidents which had altogether wounded my moral feelings, and from

which I saw no possibility of relief; when suddenly I observed at the

distance of ten paces from me, a figure; the figure of a deceased

person. I pointed at it, and asked my wife if she did not see it. She

saw nothing; but being much alarmed, endeavored to compose me, and

sent for the physician. The figure remained seven or eight minutes,

and at length I became a little more calm; and as I was extremely

exhausted, I soon afterwards fell into a troubled kind of slumber,

which lasted for half an hour. The vision was ascribed to the great

agitation of mind in which I had been, and it was supposed I should

have nothing more to apprehend from that cause; but the violent affection had put my nerves into some unnatural state;