ake a most perilous position. The
spirits insist on their victims becoming passive, ceasing to resist, and
yielding their whole wills to them. Some of their persuasive words are
these: "Come in confidence to us;" "Let our teachings deeply impress you;"
"You must not doubt what we say;" "Learn of us;" "Obey our directions and
you will be benefited;" "Seek to obtain knowledge of us;" "Have faith in
us;" "Fear not to obey;" "Obey us and you will be greatly blessed;" etc.,
etc. Mesmerists operate in the same way. They gain control of their
subjects in the same way that the spirits mesmerize their mediums, and
when under their control, the spirits cause them to see whatever they
bring before them, and hear according to their wills, and do as they bid.
And the things they suppose they see and hear, and what they are to do,
are only such things as exist in the mind of the mesmerizing power. The
subject is completely at the mercy of the invisible agency; and to put
one's self there is a most heaven-daring and hazardous act. Mr. Hudson
("Law of Psychic Phenomena," p. 336) says:--

"To the young whose characters are not formed, and to those whose
notions of morality are loose, the dangers of mediumship are
_appalling_."

To further gain the confidence of mortals, the spirits claim to be the
ones who answer their prayers. In "Automatic Writing," p. 142, we have
this:--

"_Ques._--Will our friends tell us whether from their point of
view, there is any real efficacy in prayer?

"_Ans._ [by spirits].--Shall not 'a soul's sincere desire' arouse
in discarnate and free spirits effort to make that sincere desire
a reality? What good can come from aspirations on mortal planes,
save through the efforts to make those aspirations realized on
spiritual planes, by the will of freed spirits?"

Mediums are unable to resist the powers of the unseen world when once
under their control. Professor Brittan ("Telegraphic Answer to Mahan," p.
10), concerning mediumship, says:--

"We may further add in this connection that the trance mediums for
spirit intercourse are equally irresponsible. Many of them are
totally unable to resist the powers which come to them from the
invisible and unknown realms."

Dr. Randolph ("Dealings with the Dead," p. 150) shows the dangers of
mediumship, as follows:--

"I saw that one great cause of the moral looseness of thousands of
sen