as one could wish--at least, so far as I have followed them. Mine
have only led me to the outside ramparts of vast realms which await the
investigations of others.

What I mean is that everyone should in some way be made certain, either
through personal experiment or reliable hearsay, that in the human
make-up there are faculties which may be forced by will-power into an
activity which they do not manifest in the ordinary daily life. There is
no reason to doubt that these are the same faculties which become so
apparent in the keen-sightedness of those who are great in statecraft,
diplomacy, business, or in any other way. With ordinary people,
especially the laboring classes, these faculties seem more inactive,
through disuse. In most men they seem to show activity only when forced
by concentration and will-power; but there are bright people of both
sexes in whom they seem very alert without urging.

My reasons for stating that everyone should be acquainted with these
peculiarities are well founded. Without this the admission that there is
a "soul" in man is largely due to the compulsion of hearsay. Without
this, and certain other studies, some of the reasons for the evolution
of man and beast are obscured, and the most telling argument in favor of
further evolution remains practically a blank. Without this we need not
look for a better understanding of man's place in history. But, on the
other hand, this kind of research supplies proof of many seemingly
miraculous powers in man which have valuable explanations to make in
regard to the history of history.

Here the truth-seeker may prove to himself the reality of "soul." And
why should anyone admit its reality if he has never had cause to regard
himself as anything better than a good-natured animal? Unless he has had
made clear to him some soul-truths (which, owing to the fact that every
human being is a hypnotic patient, are generally made manifest without
any dabbling in experiments)--unless, I say, he has been in some way
convinced of the reality of "soul," his moral ramparts are chiefly
constructed of the hearsay that provides but slim defence. The
suggestion here is that the best way to be able to believe in miracles
is to learn how to perform them!

This paper, however, will deal solely with man's place in history, which
is only a section of the ranges of view which the study of the mesmeric
phenomena forces into consideration. We want to know more about those