preters, translating the
elements of food into blood, nerve, fibre, tissue, etc., agreeably to
the laws of their being.

For those who would aspire to the gift of pure vision, and in whom
the faculty is striving for expression, the following pages are
written. To others we would say, Be content. All birds are not
eagles. The nightingale has a song, the humming-bird a plumage
which the eagle will never possess. The nightingale may sing to
the stars, humming-bird to the flowers, but the eagle, whose
tireless eyes gaze into the heart of day, is uncompanioned in its
lofty loneliness in the barren mountain-tops.

CHAPTER II.

QUALIFICATIONS

There are in existence certain magical works, such as those of
Trithemius and Barrett, wherein the use of the Crystal is
accompanied by certain rites and invocations. This ceremonial
magic we are disposed to repudiate as highly dangerous. It brings
into play a number of forces which may well prove disastrous in
inexperienced hands. All action and reaction are equal and
opposite. A child might easily fire a cannon, but could not
possibly withstand its recoil. So in the education of the spiritual
faculties, it is better to encourage their natural development by
legitimate exercise than to invoke the action of stimulants which
we may not afterwards be able to control. The continual fretting of
the water will wear away a rock, though none doubts the water is
softer than the rock. If the barrier between this and the soul-world
be like granite, yet the patient and persistent action of a
determined mind will sooner or later wear it away, the last layer
will break down, and the light will stream through, dazzling the
unaccustomed eyes with its effulgence.

It is our desire to indicate by what means and by what persons the
natural development of the clairvoyant faculty may be achieved.

First, in regard to the subject, medium or seer. There are two
distinct temperament in which the faculty is likely to be dominant,
and capable of high and rapid culture. There is the nervous
temperament associated, with a high muscular development,
classified as the "mental-motive" temperament. It is characterized
by extreme activity of body and mind, a certain nervous
excitability, prominent features, full osseous development,
prominent brows, intent gaze, and generally a swarthy complexion.
This type represents the _positive_ seers, in whom the mind
goes out towards the images of the soul. The othe