e
organs, the spirit breaks in a short time through the bonds that
confine it; it sees and hears as a spirit, distance approaches it,
barriers obstruct not its view, futurity becomes the present, and in
this total overthrow, the original vigour of the soul resumes its own
appropriate right."

"And wherefore should not this, according to your own words," said
Edmond, "be able to be pure and heavenly?"

"I will neither combat, condemn, nor ratify it," answered the
clergyman, "were our nature entirely pure and refined, had we never
falsified our heavenly origin, then indeed might these phenomena
deserve our praise and thanksgiving to the Almighty, who again ever
raises us to the rank of apostles, and denies us not the gift of
prophecy. But frivolity, mortality, and evil have penetrated into us,
this death obscures our life, this annihilation struggles against our
spirit, as we are of heavenly origin; our outward existence is,
however, as well as our spiritual operations continually exposed to
this pitiful enemy, as the shadow, it follows every thought and every
deed, and to combat it in thought and action, as well as in pure faith
and devotion, is the task of our existence; the past must be
continually put aside to make room for the coming, of the Lord. But woe
to us when that wonderful excitement of the mind, when these gifts of
prophecy associate themselves with this nullity, this chaos, and all
the dark passions! Then eternal truth, which never slumbers within us,
summons falsehood, vanity, pride, wickedness, and bloodthirstiness, to
enter into the shadowed gloom of our dark deformed soul, hyenas and
tigers then tear themselves free from their fetters, and hapless man
imagines, while the spirit of murder is roaring within him, that the
Spirit of the Lord is prophesying directly from out of his mouth."

Edmond looked at him searchingly. "Often, however," pursued the old man
composedly, "it is only the Immortal Spirit, that collects all its
present and future energies, that it may step beyond the ordinary
limits of nature, and that it merely takes with it the images of folly,
and the almost innocent mask, in order to announce even in the
supernatural, that which is absurd and contrary to nature."

"If you are right." said Edmond, "what do you counsel those, who are
thus gifted? This state must be a most critical one; but how
disembarrass yourself of it?"

"By simplicity of conduct," replied the old man, "by estrange