THE NATURAL AND SUPERNATURAL: OR, MAN PHYSICAL, APPARITIONAL, AND SPIRITUAL. BY JOHN JONES, OF PECKHAM. NATURE is an embodiment from the infinite, through the attributes of God. London: H. BAILLIERE, PUBLISHER, 219, REGENT STREET. 1861. PREFACE. THE so-called Natural and Supernatural are subjects whick have been the rallying points for all thinkers in past time; and as the knowledge acquired by our ancestors, cannot be conveyed in the blood, and appear in form and features, each generation has had to gather and observe for itself. The result has been, that circumstances have driven men of the clearest analytical minds into certain courses of study; and so have given an impress and direction to the thoughts of the age in which they lived, whether scientific, warlike, commercial, or religious. The deification of Matter by the French philosophers during the latter part of the eighteenth century, though followed by the uproar of the Revolution; biassed the minds of scientific men, so as to cause the avoidance of the religious element in their examination of earth particles; and hence, the strong materialistic tendency of the first half of the nineteenth century. Within the last few years, the direction has set in for a careful examination of Ethereals in Nature, as observed in gases and electricity; and out of it is springing evidence of the existence of unseen intelligence in action around Man; proving that the supernatural of the early ages was not a fantasy. On referring to the Index, the subjects which are to come under examination will be perceived. The earlier sections, are the condensed remembrances of readings in past life, and the upflight thoughts which will be found here and there, are the carol songs of the mind at the moment of writing those sec |