Читать книгу Duality of Voice - Sutro Emil - Страница 5

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This entire subject is of so subtle a nature that I must warn the reader to be patient in its study and careful of his judgment. Should the present work, however, also fail to elicit the attention of my fellowmen, some thinker, perhaps, of a future generation, upon discovering a copy of this book on the dusty shelves of an antiquarian, while looking over its time-stained leaves and after struggling with its vernacular, may be struck with some remark coinciding with ideas arrived at by himself and other scientists of that day, and while commenting upon his "find," may possibly deliver himself thus:

"As the nineteenth century of the Christian era was drawing to a close, a citizen of the (then) youthful country of the United States of North America published a book which contained disclosures far in advance of his time and generation—truths, in fact, concerning life and the exercise of our faculties and functions, which, if properly understood, might have eventually led to even the solution of the very mystery of the soul. Though science at that remote period had made marvellous strides forward, its endeavors were mostly of a utilitarian character, or consisted of efforts to explain phenomena from a strictly materialistic standpoint. The author of this book, however, by dint of a combination of extraordinary circumstances, which induced him to search for causes of phenomena within, in place of outside of himself, had succeeded in breaking through the barriers which had, theretofore, separated phenomena which were called 'natural' from those which, by the majority of mankind, were still supposed to be 'supernatural,' or, at least, unexplainable, unknowable, beyond the ken of man.

"He was thus enabled to penetrate more deeply than any one ever had before into the knowledge of the mysterious forces which engender and sustain organic life. Had he been properly understood, the compass of human knowledge would have been greatly enhanced, and the race itself liberated from the narrow limits to which it had been confined by the scientists almost as much as by the theologians (by the doctors of the body almost as much as by those of the soul) of his day. Some writers of that period delighted in depicting a state of affairs several centuries ahead of their time. The changes which were supposed to have taken place, however, had reference to material developments only, and did not contemplate any advancement of a purely spiritual nature.

"Though the founder of the Christian religion, and other men of a high order of intellectual and moral insight, had laid down rules for 'deportment' which to a great extent still govern the world; in regard to a spiritual insight, the dearth, the waste, the discord, the distraction, the unrest, the 'Weltschmerz' (as the Germans called it), the despair of science, which knew but and dealt but with the baser part of our existence, unable to penetrate into the higher, was then at its height. The 'miracle' had ceased to exercise its influence over the intellectual classes, and knowledge had not taken its place.

"This writer, however, through his discoveries, had opened up the way—made a beginning—to a penetration of science into the realms of the spirit; and a substitution of faith based on facts for one based on tradition and fancy only. Religion and science, having been factors of a different, almost antagonistic, order, thus at that early period already might have become reconciled and united through knowledge; as to some extent, though by different means, they have become since.

"In thus gaining more knowledge, more light regarding the motive powers which govern our existence, the shackles which had overwhelmed the soul would have long since fallen to the ground, and a truly brotherly spirit would have prevailed among all classes and peoples in place of much of the prejudice, the insincerity, the overbearance, the animosity, the cruelty, and the insanity even of the believers in (or inheritors of) one spiritual theory (often misnamed religion) as against those of another.

"The world's thought, just previous to that time, had made great strides forward through the recognition of the laws of evolution, which culminated in one master mind, through great elaboration and by citing numerous examples, assigning cogent and necessary reasons therefor. The world should have been ripe, therefore, for this greater movement which it was now called upon to face; a movement which went beyond the mere recognition of phenomena and penetrated into a priori causes. Strange to say, it either could not or would not understand; being still bound by fetters which held it in a vise-like embrace of previously conceived ideas as to the impossibility of penetrating into matters of this nature, and which prevented it from even testing the numerous proofs offered by this writer as to the correctness of his assertions. His investigations, if properly understood, would have brought spirituality home to us; they would have made it accessible to us. It would have ceased to be a phantom, and would have become a reality, a friend on whom we could count, in place of a mysterious and incomprehensible stranger.

"Beginning with discovering the dual nature of the voice, the writer of this book opened up the way to the comprehension of the mystery of man's dual nature in all its relations. He made the discovery that the œsophagus is of equal importance with the trachea in carrying on the process of respiration and in exercising the faculty of vocal expression; that for these purposes œsophagus and trachea are to an equal degree directly amenable to the influence of the atmospheric air; that the dual nature of organic beings in general, and of man in particular, is represented by the hemispheres of the thorax and the abdomen; that the former in its entirety represents spiritual and the latter in its entirety material issues; that the trachea and its branches on the one hand, and the alimentary canal on the other, respectively represent these issues more directly; that the fusing and blending of these issues has for its result the phenomenon called life; that the severance of these issues has for its result the phenomenon called death; that there are thus positive limits, place, and surroundings assigned to material and immaterial issues within the sphere of our bodily existence, and that combined they pervade our entire system; that all phenomena of life, especially all phenomena of a spiritual nature, and among these more ostensibly those of vocal utterance, owe their origin to these issues momentarily joining hands; that in so doing there is a transitory fusion, which for an endless number of purposes is brought about in an endless number of ways.

"He discovered further that the larynx, previously supposed to be the only instrument for the production of sounds, has its counterpart in the 'replica' (the 'larynx' of the œsophagus), located beneath the tongue and represented by the frænum linguæ and surrounding cartilaginous tissues; that no vocal sound can be produced except by the coöperation of the larynx with the replica. He discovered the circulation of, and the origin of vocal sounds, and many other important issues.

"Through his discoveries, if properly recognized, all the sciences dealing with life would have been placed upon a new and far more reasonable and comprehensible basis than they had rested upon before.

"These discoveries would have tended to undermine the basis of every materialistic school of philosophy, and to place those with spiritual and ideal propensities upon higher and firmer ground. Had they been properly appreciated and further expanded by others it would have eventually become possible to develop all our faculties to the full extent of their ability, and to correct faults, errors, and defects caused by wrong education or heredity, through the application of laws at the very root of our existence; laws which were then, and in fact to a great extent are to this day unknown.

"It may, in fact, be said without exaggeration that his discoveries, which were all made within a period not exceeding five years, outweighed in importance all other discoveries combined relating to physiologico-psychical issues made previous to his time."

I can see many a reader smile after perusing the foregoing, and perhaps saying:

"Here is a Jules Verne of a new type come to deal with a novel subject."

Yet the time will come when the reader will cease to smile, and look upon these matters seriously. I do not mean, however, to throw down a gauntlet to science on these momentous questions in a vaunting and reckless spirit; but come as a petitioner rather, asking it to investigate.

My time and generation are but like a flash from the orb of eternity, but the laws I have discovered are as eternal as that orb itself. With all the scientific investigations now going on, there has not even an approach been made which might have led up to them; nay, not a hint or a hypothesis, even, leading toward the same. Science, in fact, had nothing to do with them; the first man might have made them almost as well as the latest. They are all grappling with matter, while I have grasped the spirit that is in, yet above, all living matter.

In making these discoveries I have bent a sail upon the crafts of physiology and psychology, which have been aimlessly, almost hopelessly, drifting on the shallow waters of the examination of isolated material phenomena. This sail will enable them to reach the broad expanse of the ocean, where they will be able to make soundings in its deepest waters.

Professor Huxley declared that during his fifty years of experience as a student and teacher not one thing really new had ever come under his observation. Had he lived to become acquainted with these facts I feel confident he would have declared them to be new.

The venerable Professor Virchow, the other day, in an address before the International Congress of Physicians at Moscow, made use, in substance, of these words: "The cell is immortal—there must have been a previous cell for its generation. On this fact as a basis (ascertained by the aid of the microscope) the science of the coming century may securely rest."

And he set this down as the greatest achievement of science in respect to the recognition of the phenomena of life. Yet there is nothing more fallible than the microscope in ascertaining facts regarding the knowledge of life. It may to some extent reveal the essence of matter, but it is not given to it to assist in recognizing the principles which govern life and the spirit of life.