Perhaps the reader may feel inclined to say with the Irishman that all
this is "as dry as ditch-water," but he will see before long that it has
a good deal to do with ourselves. For the present what I want him to
realize by a few examples is the mathematical accuracy of Law. The value
of these examples lies in their illustration of the fact that the Law
can always be trusted to lead us on to further knowledge. We see it
working under known conditions, and relying on its unchangeableness, we
can then logically infer what it will do under other hypothetical
conditions, and in this way many important discoveries have been made.
For instance it was in this way that Mendeléef, the Russian chemist,
assumed the existence of three then unknown chemical elements, now
called Scandium, Gallium and Germanium. There was a gap in the orderly
sequence of the chemical elements, and relying on the old maxim--"Natura
nihil facit per saltum"--Nature nowhere leaves a gap to jump over--he
argued that if such elements did not exist they ought to, and so he
calculated what these elements ought to be like, giving their atomic
weight, chemical affinities, and the like; and when they were discovered
many years later they were found to answer exactly to his description.
He prophesied, not by guesswork, but by knowledge of the Law; and in
much the same way radium was discovered by Professor and Madame Curie.
In like manner Hertz was led to the discovery of the electro-magnetic
waves. The celebrated mathematician Clerk-Maxwell had calculated all
particulars of these waves twenty-five years before Hertz, on the basis
of these calculations, worked out his discovery. Again, Neptune, the
outermost known planet of our system was discovered by the astronomer
Galle in consequence of calculations made by Leverrier. Certain
variations in the movements of the planets were mathematically
unaccountable except on the hypothesis that some more remote planet
existed. Astronomers had faith in mathematics and the hypothetical
planet was found to be a reality. Instances of this kind might be
multiplied, but as the French say "à quoi bon?" I think these will be
sufficient to convince the reader that the invariable sequence of Law is
a factor to be relied upon, and that by studying its working under known
conditions we may get at least some measure of light on conditions which
are as yet unknown to us.
Let us now pass on to the human subject and consider a few examples of
what is usually called the psychic side of our nature. Walt Whitman was
quite right when he said that we are not all included between our hat
and our boots; we shall find that our modes of consciousness and powers
of action are not entirely restricted to our physical body. The
importance of this line of enquiry lies in the fact that if we do
possess extra-physical powers, these also form part of our personality
and must be included in our estimate of our relation to our environment,
and it is therefore worth our while to consider them.
Some very interesting experiments have been made by De Rochas, an
eminent French scientist, which go to show that under certain magnetic
conditions the sensation of physical touch can be experienced at some
distance from the body. He found that under these conditions the person
experimented on is insensible to the prick of a needle run into his
skin, but if the prick is made about an inch-and-a-half away from the
surface of the skin he feels it. Again at about three inches from this
point he feels the prick of the needle, but is insensible to it in the
space between these two points. Then there comes another interval in
which no sensation is conveyed, but at about three inches still further
away he again feels the sensation, and so on; so that he appears to be
surrounded by successive zones of sensation, the first about an
inch-and-a-half from the body, and the others at intervals of about
three inches each. The number of these zones seems to vary in different
cases, but in some there are as many as six or seven, thus giving a
radius of sensation, extending to more than twenty inches beyond the
body.
Now to explain this we must have recourse to what I have already said
about waves. The heart and the lungs are the two centres of automatic
rhythmic movement in the body, and each projects its own series of
vibrations into the etheric envelope. Those projected by the lungs are
estimated to be three times the length of those projected by the heart,
while those projected by the heart are three times as rapid as those
projected by the lungs. Consequently if the two sets of waves start
together the crest of every third wave of the rapid series of short
waves will coincide with the crest of one of the long waves of the
slower series, while the intermediate short waves will coincide with the
depression of one of the long waves.
