Inmysticalliteraturesuchself-contradictoryphrasesas“dazzlingobscurity。”“whisperingsilence。”“teemingdesert。”arecontinuallymetwith。Theyprovethatnotconceptualspeech，butmusicrather，istheelementthroughwhichwearebestspokentobymysticaltruth。Manymysticalscripturesareindeedlittlemorethanmusicalcompositions。
“HewhowouldhearthevoiceofNada，’theSoundlessSound，’andcomprehendit，hehastolearnthenatureofDharana……Whentohimselfhisformappearsunreal，asdoonwakingalltheformsheseesindreams，whenhehasceasedtohearthemany，hemaydiscerntheONE——theinnersoundwhichkillstheouter。
Forthenthesoulwillhear，andwillremember。AndthentotheinnerearwillspeakTHEVOICEOFTHESILENCE……AndnowthySELFislostinSELF，THYSELFuntoTHYSELF，mergedinthatSELF
fromwhichthoufirstdidstradiate……Behold！thouhastbecometheLight，thouhastbecometheSound，thouartthyMasterandthyGod。ThouartTHYSELFtheobjectofthysearch：theVOICEunbroken，thatresoundsthroughouteternities，exemptfromchange，fromsinexempt，thesevensoundsinone，the
THESILENCE。OmtatSat。”
H。P。Blavatsky：ThevoiceoftheSilence。
Thesewords，iftheydonotawakenlaughterasyoureceivethem，probablystirchordswithinyouwhichmusicandlanguagetouchincommon。Musicgivesusontologicalmessageswhichnon-musicalcriticismisunabletocontradict，thoughitmaylaughatourfoolishnessinmindingthem。Thereisavergeofthemindwhichthesethingshaunt；andwhisperstherefromminglewiththeoperationsofourunderstanding，evenasthewatersoftheinfiniteoceansendtheirwavestobreakamongthepebblesthatlieuponourshores。
“Herebeginstheseathatendsnottilltheworld’send。Wherewestand，Couldweknowthenexthighsea-marksetbeyondthesewavesthatgleam，Weshouldknowwhatnevermanhathknown，noreyeofmanhathscanned……
Ah，buthereman’sheartleaps，yearningtowardsthegloomwithventurousglee，Fromtheshorethathathnoshorebeyondit，setinallthesea。”
Swinburne：OntheVerge，in“AMidsummervacation。”
Thatdoctrine，forexample，thateternityistimeless，thatour“immortality。”ifweliveintheeternal，isnotsomuchfutureasalreadynowandhere，whichwefindsooftenexpressedto-dayincertainphilosophiccircles，findsitssupportina“hear，hear！”oran“amen。”whichfloatsupfromthatmysteriouslydeeperlevel。[279]Werecognizethepasswordstothemysticalregionaswehearthem，butwecannotusethemourselves；italonehasthekeepingof“thepasswordprimeval。”
ComparetheextractsfromDr。Bucke，quotedonpp。
AsseriousanattemptasIknowtomediatebetweenthemysticalregionandthediscursivelifeiscontainedinanarticleonAristotle’sUnmovedMover，byF。C。S。Schiller，inMind，vol。ix。，1900。
Ihavenowsketchedwithextremebrevityandinsufficiency，butasfairlyasIamableinthetimeallowed，thegeneraltraitsofthemysticrangeofconsciousness。Itisonthewholepantheisticandoptimistic，oratleasttheoppositeofpessimistic。Itisanti-naturalistic，andharmonizesbestwithtwice-bornnessandso-calledother-worldlystatesmind。
Mynexttaskistoinquirewhetherwecaninvokeitasauthoritative。DoesitfurnishanyWARRANTFORTHETRUTHofthetwice-bornnessandsupernaturalityandpantheismwhichitfavors？
ImustgivemyanswertothisquestionasconciselyasIcan。Inbriefmyansweristhis——andIwilldivideitintothreeparts：——
Mysticalstates，whenwelldeveloped，usuallyare，andhavetherighttobe，absolutelyauthoritativeovertheindividualstowhomtheycome。
Noauthorityemanatesfromthemwhichshouldmakeitadutyforthosewhostandoutsideofthemtoaccepttheirrevelationsuncritically。
Theybreakdowntheauthorityofthenon-mysticalorrationalisticconsciousness，basedupontheunderstandingandthesensesalone。Theyshowittobeonlyonekindofconsciousness。
Theyopenoutthepossibilityofotherordersoftruth，inwhich，sofarasanythinginusvitallyrespondstothem，wemayfreelycontinuetohavefaith。
Iwilltakeupthesepointsonebyone。
Asamatterofpsychologicalfact，mysticalstatesofawell-pronouncedandemphaticsortAREusuallyauthoritativeoverthosewhohavethem。[281]Theyhavebeen“there。”andknow。Itisvainforrationalismtogrumbleaboutthis。Ifthemysticaltruththatcomestoamanprovestobeaforcethathecanliveby，whatmandatehaveweofthemajoritytoorderhimtoliveinanotherway？Wecanthrowhimintoaprisonoramadhouse，butwecannotchangehismind——wecommonlyattachitonlythemorestubbornlytoitsbeliefs。[282]Itmocksourutmostefforts，asamatteroffact，andinpointoflogicitabsolutelyescapesourjurisdiction。Ourownmore“rational“beliefsarebasedonevidenceexactlysimilarinnaturetothatwhichmysticsquotefortheirs。Oursenses，namely，haveassuredusofcertainstatesoffact；butmysticalexperiencesareasdirectperceptionsoffactforthosewhohavethemasanysensationseverwereforus。Therecordsshowthateventhoughthefivesensesbeinabeyanceinthem，theyareabsolutelysensationalintheirepistemologicalquality，ifImaybepardonedthebarbarousexpression——thatis，theyarefacetofacepresentationsofwhatseemsimmediatelytoexist。[281]Iabstractfromweakerstates，andfromthosecasesofwhichthebooksarefull，wherethedirectorbutusuallynotthesubjectremainsindoubtwhethertheexperiencemaynothaveproceededfromthedemon。
Example：Mr。JohnNelsonwritesofhisimprisonmentforpreachingMethodism：“Mysoulwasasawateredgarden，andI
couldsingpraisestoGodalldaylong；forheturnedmycaptivityintojoy，andgavemetorestaswellontheboards，asifIhadbeenonabedofdown。NowcouldIsay，’God’sserviceisperfectfreedom，’andIwascarriedoutmuchinprayerthatmyenemiesmightdrinkofthesameriverofpeacewhichmyGodgavesolargelytome。”Journal，London，nodate，p。172。
Themysticis，inshort，INVULNERABLE，andmustbeleft，whetherwerelishitornot，inundisturbedenjoymentofhiscreed。
Faith，saysTolstoy，isthatbywhichmenlive。Andfaith-stateandmysticstatearepracticallyconvertibleterms。
ButInowproceedtoaddthatmysticshavenorighttoclaimthatweoughttoacceptthedeliveranceoftheirpeculiarexperiences，ifweareourselvesoutsidersandfeelnoprivatecallthereto。
Theutmosttheycaneveraskofusinthislifeistoadmitthattheyestablishapresumption。Theyformaconsensusandhaveanunequivocaloutcome；anditwouldbeodd，mysticsmightsay，ifsuchaunanimoustypeofexperienceshouldprovetobealtogetherwrong。Atbottom，however，thiswouldonlybeanappealtonumbers，liketheappealofrationalismtheotherway；andtheappealtonumbershasnologicalforce。Ifweacknowledgeit，itisfor“suggestive。”notforlogicalreasons：wefollowthemajoritybecausetodososuitsourlife。
Buteventhispresumptionfromtheunanimityofmysticsisfarfrombeingstrong。Incharacterizingmysticstatesanpantheistic，optimistic，etc。，IamafraidIover-simplifiedthetruth。Ididsoforexpositoryreasons，andtokeeptheclosertotheclassicmysticaltradition。Theclassicreligiousmysticism，itnowmustbeconfessed，isonlya“privilegedcase。”
ItisanEXTRACT，kepttruetotypebytheselectionofthefittestspecimensandtheirpreservationin“schools。”Itiscarvedoutfromamuchlargermass；andifwetakethelargermassasseriouslyasreligiousmysticismhashistoricallytakenitself，wefindthatthesupposedunanimitylargelydisappears。
Tobeginwith，evenreligiousmysticismitself，thekindthataccumulatestraditionsandmakesschools，ismuchlessunanimousthanIhaveallowed。Ithasbeenbothasceticandantinomianlyself-indulgentwithintheChristianchurch。ItisdualisticinSankhya，andmonisticinVedantaphilosophy。Icalleditpantheistic；butthegreatSpanishmysticsareanythingbutpantheists。Theyarewithfewexceptionsnon-metaphysicalminds，forwhom“thecategoryofpersonality“isabsolute。The“union“
ofmanwithGodisforthemmuchmorelikeanoccasionalmiraclethanlikeanoriginalidentity。Howdifferentagain，apartfromthehappinesscommontoall，isthemysticismofWaltWhitman，EdwardCarpenter，RichardJefferies，andothernaturalisticpantheists，fromthemoredistinctivelyChristiansort。Thefactisthatthemysticalfeelingofenlargement，union，andemancipationhasnospecificintellectualcontentwhateverofitsown。Itiscapableofformingmatrimonialallianceswithmaterialfurnishedbythemostdiversephilosophiesandtheologies，providedonlytheycanfindaplaceintheirframeworkforitspeculiaremotionalmood。Wehavenoright，therefore，toinvokeitsprestigeasdistinctivelyinfavorofanyspecialbelief，suchasthatinabsoluteidealism，orintheabsolutemonisticidentity，orintheabsolutegoodness，oftheworld。Itisonlyrelativelyinfavorofallthesethings——itpassesoutofcommonhumanconsciousnessinthedirectioninwhichtheylie。
Ruysbroeck，intheworkwhichMaeterlinckhastranslated，hasachapteragainsttheantinomianismofdisciples。H。
Delacroix’sbookEssaisurlemysticismespeculatifenAllemagneauXIVmeSiecle，Paris，1900isfullofantinomianmaterial。
comparealsoA。Jundt：LesAmisdeDieuauXIVSiecle，ThesedeStrasbourg，
ComparePaulRousselot：LesMystiquesEspagnols，Paris，1869，ch。xii。
seeCarpenter’sTowardsDemocracy，especiallythelatterparts，andJefferies’swonderfulandsplendidmysticrhapsody，TheStoryofmyHeart。
Somuchforreligiousmysticismproper。Butmoreremainstobetold，forreligiousmysticismisonlyonehalfofmysticism。Theotherhalfhasnoaccumulatedtraditionsexceptthosewhichthetext-booksoninsanitysupply。Openanyoneofthese，andyouwillfindabundantcasesinwhich“mysticalideas“arecitedascharacteristicsymptomsofenfeebledordeludedstatesofmind。
Indelusionalinsanity，paranoia，astheysometimescallit，wemayhaveaDIABOLICALmysticism，asortofreligiousmysticismturnedupsidedown。Thesamesenseofineffableimportanceinthesmallestevents，thesametextsandwordscomingwithnewmeanings，thesamevoicesandvisionsandleadingsandmissions，thesamecontrollingbyextraneouspowers；onlythistimetheemotionispessimistic：insteadofconsolationswehavedesolations；themeaningsaredreadful；andthepowersareenemiestolife。Itisevidentthatfromthepointofviewoftheirpsychologicalmechanism，theclassicmysticismandtheselowermysticismsspringfromthesamementallevel，fromthatgreatsubliminalortransmarginalregionofwhichscienceisbeginningtoadmittheexistence，butofwhichsolittleisreallyknown。Thatregioncontainseverykindofmatter：
“seraphandsnake“abidetheresidebyside。Tocomefromthenceisnoinfalliblecredential。Whatcomesmustbesiftedandtested，andrunthegauntletofconfrontationwiththetotalcontextofexperience，justlikewhatcomesfromtheouterworldofsense。Itsvaluemustbeascertainedbyempiricalmethods，solongaswearenotmysticsourselves。
Oncemore，then，Irepeatthatnon-mysticsareundernoobligationtoacknowledgeinmysticalstatesasuperiorauthorityconferredonthembytheirintrinsicnature。
Inchapteri。ofbookii。ofhisworkDegeneration，“MaxNordau“seekstoundermineallmysticismbyexposingtheweaknessofthelowerkinds。Mysticismforhimmeansanysuddenperceptionofhiddensignificanceinthings。Heexplainssuchperceptionbytheabundantuncompletedassociationswhichexperiencesmayarouseinadegeneratebrain。Thesegivetohimwhohastheexperienceavagueandvastsenseofitsleadingfurther，yettheyawakennodefiniteorusefulconsequentinhisthought。Theexplanationisaplausibleoneforcertainsortsoffeelingofsignificance，andotheralienistsWernicke，forexample，inhisGrundrissderPsychiatrie，Theilii。，Leipzig，1896haveexplained“paranoiac“conditionsbyalamingoftheassociation-organ。Butthehighermysticalflights，withtheirpositivenessandabruptness，aresurelyproductsofnosuchmerelynegativecondition。Itseemsfarmorereasonabletoascribethemtoinroadsfromthesubconsciouslife，ofthecerebralactivitycorrelativetowhichweasyetknownothing。