44. System of the Collective Soul. This is a variation of the preceding. According to this system, the
soul alone of the medium is manifested ; . but it is
identified with that of several others living, either
present or absent, and forms a collective whole, unit
ing the aptitude, intelligence, and knowledge of each.
Though the tract in which this theory is put forth be
entitled the light *, it seems to us to be of a very
obscure style. We confess to have hardly compre
hended it, and speak of it only from memory. It is,
besides, like many others, an individual opinion, which
has made few proselytes. The name Emah Tirpse is
that taken by the author to designate the collective
being he represents. He takes for motto, There is
nothing hidden that shall Hot be known. This propo
sition is evidently false, for there are many things that
man cannot and ought not to know : it would be very
presumptuous in him to pretend to penetrate into the
secrets of God.
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* This theory, since known as that of "unconscious cerebration", was first broached in a pamphlet entitled, Communion. Light of the Spirits . By EMA TIRPSE,Å a collective soul writing through the medium of a planchette. Devroye. Brussels. 1858.
