ust as Mysticism of the subjective type is
often entangled in theories which sublimate matter till only a vain
shadow remains, so objective Mysticism has been often pervaded by
another kind of false spiritualism--that which finds edification in
palpable supernatural manifestations. These so-called "mystical
phenomena" are so much identified with "Mysticism" in the Roman
Catholic Church of to-day, that the standard treatises on the subject,
now studied in continental universities, largely consist of grotesque
legends of "levitation," "bilocation," "incandescence," "radiation,"
and other miraculous tokens of Divine favour[334]. The great work of
Goerres, in five volumes, is divided into Divine, Natural, and
Diabolical Mysticism. The first contains stories of the miraculous
enhancement of sight, hearing, smell, and so forth, which results from
extreme holiness; and tells us how one saint had the power of becoming
invisible, another of walking through closed doors, and a third of
flying through the air. "Natural Mysticism" deals with divination,
lycanthropy, vampires, second sight, and other barbarous
superstitions. "Diabolical Mysticism" includes witchcraft, diabolical
possession, and the hideous stories of incubi and succubae. It is not
my intention to say any more about these savage survivals, as I do not
wish to bring my subject into undeserved contempt[335]. "These
terrors, and this darkness of the mind," as Lucretius says, "must be
dispelled, not by the bright shafts of the sun's light, but by the
study of Nature's laws[336]."

Some of these fables are quite obviously due to a materialisation of
conventional symbols. These symbols are the picture language into
which the imagination translates what the soul has felt. A typical
case is that of the miniature image of Christ, which is said to have
been found embedded in the heart of a deceased saint. The supposed
miracle was, of course, the work of imagination; but this does not
mean that those who reported it were deliberate liars. We know now
that we must distinguish between observation and imagination, between
the language of science and that of poetical metaphor; but in an age
which abhorred rationalism this was not so clear[337]. Rationalism has
its function in proving that such mystical symbols are not physical
facts. But when it goes on to say that they are related to physical
facts as morbid hallucinations to realities, it has stepped outside
its province.

Pro