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Rh involve more than a slight enlargement of the physical scheme of the universe—just the addition of a new mode of force operating by means already sufficiently familiar. But foreknowledge of the future, of the detailed kind indicated in some of the narratives forwarded to us, would involve the shattering of the whole scientific fabric. If the things reported in some of these narratives really happened we must set to work to construct a new heavens and a new earth. But the hypothesis of telepathy, as already shown rests primarily upon rigid experiment; the spontaneous instances furnish subsidiary support, but are in themselves hardly sufficient to justify the theory. Now the hypothesis of prevision derives no support from experiment; it rests entirely on the testimony of witnesses who rarely have any claim to be regarded as expert observers. And the impressions by which foreknowledge of the future seems to be conveyed are mostly dreams—that is, they belong to a class of impressions which we have already recognised as being evidentially so weak as to give but dubious support to telepathy.

It is scarcely necessary to repeat what has been said in a previous chapter as to the inherent defects of dream evidence. But as the "prophetic" dream often does not meet with its fulfilment until weeks or months later, it is clear that there is greater risk even than in the cases already considered of the dream being reshaped in memory to fit the event.