Page:The astral world, higher occult powers; (IA astralworldhighe00tiff).pdf/13

 *ing that he had fore-run Galileo and Copernicus in their supposed discoveries.

It is not to be wondered at, then, that modern Spiritualism and its truths, if credited to the source from which they are supposed to be derived, should be found to present truths not understood as such by every mind; and, notwithstanding its million converts, it seems to have embraced but few minds capable of presenting in a didactic form these truths. The various writers on the subject have rather spoken of its curiosities than its use; and we know of no book capable of instructing and satisfying even a progressed mind on either the precise use or exact advantages arising from a full belief in Spiritualism.

This task has been most fearlessly performed by Joel Tiffany, Esq. He brought to the work a vigorous and original mind. A long course of legal practice had peculiarly adapted him to the task, particularly as an investigator of truth. His own progression was such as to enable him to advantage by his former practice, while his mediative power gave him intuitive advantage seldom combined in the same individual. His course of lectures seems to be suited to the precise wants of the day. It is true that they are not calculated for the use of the novice, but they are the only source we know of at this time by which those who have passed through the curiosity-phase of the subject of Spiritualism are enabled to review their observations and apply them usefully to their own progression. All those properties of the mind known as adjective in common parlance, requiring the assistance of the observation of others to render them substantive, are clearly defined by Mr. Tiffany.