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pression of form or voice, in the case of particular friends, is said by Dr. Ferriar to be the most obvious and most forcible of these recollections; and he relates, as belonging to this class of delusions, the following account of the celebrated apparition of Ficinus to Michael Mercato, mentioned by Baronius.

"Those illustrious friends, after a long discourse on the nature of the soul, had agreed, that whoever of the two should die first should, if possible, appear to his surviving friend, and inform him of his condition in the other world. A short time afterwards, says Baronius, it happened, that while Michael Mercato the elder was studying philosophy, early in the morning, he suddenly heard the noise of a horse galloping in the street, which stopped at his door, and the voice of his friend Ficinus was heard, exclaiming, —‘O Michael! O Michael! those things are true! Astonished at this address, Mercato rose and looked out of the window, where he saw the back of his friend, dressed in white, galloping off on a white horse. He called after him, and followed him with his eyes till the appearance vanished. Upon inquiry, he learned that Ficinus had died at Florence, at the very time when this vision was presented to Mercato, at a considerable distance."

Dr. Ferriar adds,-" many attempts have been made to discredit this story, but I think the evidence has never been shaken. I entertain no doubt that Mercato had seen what he described; in following the reveries of Plato, the idea of his friend and of their compact had been revived, and had produced a spectral impression during the solitade and awful silence of the early hours of study."

In accounting for the foregoing spectral appearances on Dr. Ferriar's hypothesis, the following difficulties present themselves. In order to favour these spectral appearances, admitting them to be mere delusions, a certain aptitude of the imagination is necessary, or at least a certain vacuity of thought; for it will be

allowed, that if the mind be earnestly engaged in attending to a very dif ferent and opposite train of thinking, or be agreeably occupied by surrounding persons or objects, there is little chance that such delusion should enter into it. We must all have experienced the difficulty of renewing impressions of past occurrences or distant objects, when our attention is strongly solicited to things present, to permit us to believe, that, under such circumstances, these spectral appearances are nothing more than recollected images. It is only in silence, darkness, and solitude, when the attention is completely withdrawn from without, that recollected images can thus impress the imagination, and then there is generally required the aid of terror, or of a certain degree of expectation of such appearances; they are, in fact, then formed by the mind itself; this is evinced in the instance mentioned above of Dr. Ferriar recalling the images of a fine seat, or a grand review; his mind was occupied by the delight of having seen these objects, but it was not until he went into a dark room that he could recall to his imagination these images. But in this case they arise merely from impressions lately made on the optic nerves, and not yet subsided or gone off, and accordingly these recollected images here spoken of are always exact copies of the objects seen whereas in the case of apparitions, the subject of discussion, admitting them to be mere delusions, these images or objects are at least so altered, modified, and combined, so different in various circumstances from any thing that actually previously occurred to the party, as to render it impossible to call them recollected images. But to come to the instance before us; the time when this occurrence took place was early in the morning, a period of the day when the judgment is in its highest vigour, and least likely to be misled by the imagination. The person was studying philosophy, an occupation it may be supposed which required a considerable degree of voluntary attention, and

It is not mentioned in the narrative, what description of works Mercato was studying; the "Reveries of Plato," therefore, seem to be a mere assumption by Dr. F.

left little opportunity for the wander ings of thought, or the excursions of the imagination. We can readily suppose, on the contrary, that had any person entered Mercato's room while he was thus employed, he might, on so entering, have made a great noise, or possibly have presented himself within view of Mercato without impressing the senses of the latter sufficiently to have attracted his notice, so attentive may we expect him to have been to his studies. Nothing in my mind can be a stronger argument in favour of this apparition being supernatural, than its power of forcibly withdrawing the attention, strongly fixed as it was upon a different and opposite train of thought. Here was no consent of will, or leaning of expectation, but the apparition was a forcible intrusion upon a mind preoccupied and strongly engaged, not easily accessible to impressions from the surrounding material world, and least of all to the sudden suggestions of a wandering imagination. The circumstances of this apparition were so distinct and consistent, the galloping of the horse, the sound of the person's voice, the white horse and the white clothes, as to have required no inconsiderable exertion of the imagination thus to have framed and presented them, an exertion we cannot suppose it capable of while the will was occupied in so different a pursuit. But the most remarkable and important consideration is, that Ficinus died at Florence at the very time, when this vision was presented to Mercato at a considerable distance. This coincidence of the occurrence of some remarkable event at the time of the apparition or spectral delusion, or some prophetic declaration uttered by the spectre, has been observed to take place in most of the instances recorded by Dr. Ferriar, and believed by him to be well authenticated and the truth of them unquestionable, although he has not offered any explanation of this circumstance; a circumstance one would

suppose which militates the most strongly against his opinion of these appearances being, in all cases, merely them. self delusion of the party seeing of the form, voice, &c. of an absent That a renewed impression person involuntarily on the part of friend should present itself to any the latter, and without any effort being pre-occupied and his attention to recall such impression, his mind strongly engaged on different and opposite objects, is totally inconsistent hitherto known or recognised. That with any law of the animal economy a spectral appearance, visible to a person at the time some important friend, should be owing to a morbid event is happening to a distant witnessing it, is as improbable as state of the brain of the party so the former supposition; and, however readily some of the spectral apprinciples offered by Dr. Ferriar, I pearances may be explained on the think we must allow, that in some instances, especially in those recorded by him, these principles are by no means sufficient to explain the occurrences. If we admit that delusions of the party witnessing these spectral appearances are mere objects, or arbitrary excursions of them, renewed impressions of former imagination, without any impression from without, how are we to account for the knowledge of some party at the same time obtains? distant or future event, which the This is only to be done by supposing the person, thus witnessing the specand to exercise some degree of pretral appearance, to be possessed of science, which it will be no less difficult to explain than the reality of the vision. Let us take a history by him to be genuine and authentic. related by Dr. Ferriar, and believed

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family, an officer in the army, and A gentleman connected with my certainly addicted to no superstition, was quartered, early in life, in the middle of the last century, near the of Scotland, who was supposed to castle of a gentleman in the north possess the second sight. Strange

Conception of colours is complex, aided by the association of ideas. Perhaps as the attention was so very forcibly struck by the supernatural appearance, the mind had not time to form conception of perfect colours, and, therefore, the spectre was white, or what is the same thing, of no colour at all.

rumours were afloat respecting the old chieftain. He had spoken to an apparition, which ran along the battlements of the house, and had never been cheerful afterwards. His prophetic visions excited surprise, even in that region of credulity; and his retired habits favoured the popular opinion. My friend assared me, that one day, while he was reading a play to the ladies of the family, the chief, who had been walking across the room, stopped suddenly, and assumed the look of a seer. He rang the bell, and ordered the groom to saddle a horse; to proceed immediately to a seat in the neighbourhood, and to inquire after the health of Lady; if the account was favourable, he then directed him to call at another castle, to ask after another lady whom he named. The reader immediately closed his book, and declared that he would not proceed till these abrupt orders were explained, as he was confident that they were produced by the second sight. The chief was very unwilling to explain himself; but at length owned that the door had appeared to open, and that a little woman, without a head, had entered the room; that the apparition indicated the sudden death of some person of his acquaintance; and the only two persons who resembled the figure were those ladies after whose health he had sent to inquire. A few hours afterwards the servant returned with an account that one of the ladies had died of an apoplectic fit, about the time when the vision had appeared. At another time, the chief was confined to his bed by indisposition, and my friend was reading to him, in a stormy winter night, while the fishing-boat, belonging to the castle, was at sea. The old gentleman repeatedly expressed much anxiety respecting his people; and at last exclaimed, my boat is lost!' the colonel replied,how do you know it, sir? He was answered, 'I see two of the boatmen bringing in the third drowned, all dripping wet, and laying him down close beside your chair.' The chair was shifted with great precipitation; in the course of the night, the fishermen returned, with the corpse of

one of the boatmen."

Admitting this narration to be authentic, and the concomitant events actually to have occurred, (and we have Dr. Ferriar's own admission of the authenticity of the narrative) either the spectral appearance presented to this gentleman was no delusion, but an actual vision-some impression made on his senses from without, independent of material agency-or his own mind at the time was endowed with, and exerted a degree of prescience, which, although we may conceive and allow it to be innate in the human soul, is not usually capable of being exercised during the connection of the latter with a material frame. The conclusion appears to me to be irresistible, and whichever alternative we adopt, it affords us a convincing proof of the fallacy of the doctrines of the materialists, who ascribe all the operations and faculties of the human mind to material organization alone, and who deny the existence or agency of spirit, separate from and unconnected with corporeal substance. During the connection of spirit with matter, the agency and operations of the former are limited and circumscribed by the properties and powers of the latter. We are well aware of the impossibility of communicating with, or acting upon any other being like ourselves, without the intervention of matter, and of the total impossibility of communicating with, or acting upon any pure spirit divested of matter. But we have no means of ascertaining, or indeed of conceiving the power or mode of communication and agency between one pure spirit and another, although we shall scarcely venture to deny that such communication and agency exist. Is it unreasonable or unphilosophical to suppose that spirit divested of matter may also be able to act upon spirit connected with matter, by means of the senses, the material conduits in human beings of impressions from without?

Our disbelief of the reality of visions and apparitions seems, in truth, to be grounded entirely upon our not knowing the mode by which such appearances can be effected; and therefore whenever such an appearance is related to us by a person whose veracity is unquestiona

ble, and whose authority we cannot deny, we attribute to him self-delusion and hallucination of mind; although no circumstance in his previous conduct, or aftercourse of life, can furnish us with the least pretence of charging him with such aberration. If the few observations I have submitted are correct, it will appear that such spectral appearances cannot always be explained on the principle of self-delusion and hallucination, whatever other explanation they are capable of. I am not contending for the authenticity of any narration of supernatural ap

pearances, nor even asserting that such ever at all existed. I am arguing entirely upon admitted facts; and if these are really substantiated, I do not see why spiritual agency is to be denied merely because we are not acquainted with the means by which it can be exerted upon us. To give credit to every tale of visions and spectres would betray the depth of ignorance and superstition; to deny the possibility of spiritual agency merely because we ourselves never experienced it, is no essential characteristic of true philosophy.

ON POSTHUMOUS VANITY.

MEDICUS.

"La pompe des enterremens intéresse plus la vanité des vivans que la mémoire des morts."*

THIS is an acute and sensible observation of the Duc de la Rochefoucault. It affords an admirable example of the strong discernment and deep penetration which so highly distinguished that celebrated writer, and is peculiarly characteristic of one who possessed so clear an insight into those hidden motives, which govern many of the thoughts and actions of men. We may observe, however, that he has represented the vanity of the living only as being gratified by the pomp of funerals and the display of external grandeur; but the charge may, with equal propriety, be extended to the dead, whose love of splendour and magnificence during life thus manifests itself in this last act of useless ostentation.

There is nothing which has been made a greater subject of ethical disquisition, or more closely engaged the reflection and attention of writers in general, than the prevailing foible of vanity. It has been, and still is, the theme of universal censure; and though held up, in all ages, as a fair mark for the shafts of ridicule and satire, its powerful sway seems not by any means to be confined to narrower limits. It is by nature so deeply implanted in the human mind, and possesses so considerable a share in the direction of its various move

ments, that it is not surprising the “ruling passion" should extend its views to objects beyond "this visible diurnal sphere." Indeed, it sometimes appears to revive in its full force, at a time when all would imagine it to be extinct; and to operate most strongly when it might naturally be supposed to have least influence. Too frequently we find that those honours, and distinctions, which were disregarded in the plenitude of health and power and enjoyment, are eagerly courted at the close of existence, and at the termination of all earthly grandeur.Such strange and wayward desires plainly indicate the predominant passion, and can only be attributed to that inconsistency of conduct and unsteadiness of principle which so peculiarly mark the human cha

racter.

The passion of vanity, so far as it relates to objects which may gain a posthumous celebrity, displays itself in various ways; but the one, to which I at present more particularly allude, is in the performance of the solemn rite of sepulture. In innumerable instances, the gorgeous pomp and costly splendour, displayed on these occasions, are the consequences of some dying injunction or express testamentary direction. When men allow their minds to be

* Maximes du Duc de la Rochefoucault. 470.

thus frivolously influenced, there can be no hesitation in asserting, that they are actuated by vain conceit and a false pride; by a foolish and even contemptible desire of attract ing, by the magnificence of their interment, that temporary notice and distinction which they could never obtain by their living actions. But although this species of ostentation be reprehensible when it springs from the vanity of private and undistinguished individuals, the case is far different when extraordinary pomp and grandeur attend to the grave the remains of a revered monarch, a lamented hero, an upright statesman, a renowned patriot, or illustrious senator; or when an unusual degree of state is the tribute of gratitude-the offering of affection or the act of surviving friendship. Such marks of regard for the memory of the dead are not only beyond the reach of censure, but deserve the highest praise. The same exception must also be understood when funeral honours are

bestowed by friends or by strangers, as a testimony of respect to departed worth, and to those who have rendered themselves conspicuous by their talents, their piety, or their virtues: or when they are decreed by the voice of public approbation to such as have been eminent for their great national services;—who have saved their country by their valour, adorned its councils by their wisdom, or captivated senates by their eloquence and learning. Men like these deserve, when they quit this earthly scene, a more than or dinary testimonial of veneration and esteem from those who have beheld their living conduct, and been witnesses of their glorious actions.But

when the proud their stately pomp display, And the long fun'rals blacken all the way,"

we must mock the futile endeavour to gain transcient admiration; and whilst we contemplate the sable emblems of mortality slowly passing before the view, decorated in all the pride of heraldry and adorned with the outward trappings of woe, we must be still more strongly convinced of the instability of all huEur. Mag. Feb, 1823.

man greatness, and the folly of indulging in such vain and useless ostentation.

Among many other examples of posthumous vanity in the present day we may also mention that, which displays itself with regard to monuments and epitaphs. The latter subject has so frequently been made the theme of observation that it were needless here to enlarge upon it; but with respect to monuments, how often are the superb and costly piles. with which our churches and cathedrals abound, erected by desire of unknown and undistinguished individuals, who seek to obtain from the chissel of the sculptor that brief reputation after death which, during life, they never attempted to gain by the exercise of talent or the practice of any public or social virtue. To such may we say in the language of Broome, the companion and friend of Pope,

"Let vulgar souls triumphal arches raise,

Or speaking marbles to record their and picture (to the voice of Fame unpraise The mimic feature on the breathing known)

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But when a public monument or statue is raised by the universal voice of an admiring nation to a hero, who has sacrificed his life in the service of his country-to honour the memory of a philanthropist, who has devoted his noble exertions to the cause of benevolence and humanity-to reward those, who have contributed to the public welfare and science or as a tribute of reand to the promotion of literature spect from their surviving countrymen to such as have landably distinguished themselves beyond the rest of mankind, we must not censure, but admire the deed. Such a design is, indeed, highly praiseworthy; its end and purpose being to express and record to distant posterity the glory and grati tude of a nation for the genius, achievements, or worth of pre-eminent individuals, and to preserve

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