02 Related Physiological & Psychological Phenomena
Chapter 2 Some Forms of Related Physiological and Psychological Phenomena IN patristic literature there is no considerable record of the manifestation of the gift of tongues. Ireneus believed that he was familiar with cases of genuinely miraculous appearances of some forms of the charismata, included in which he mentions the gift of prophecy and the gift of healing. He goes so far in the latter case as to write:
"Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead, even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years." 1
Whether we are justified in interpreting in this case the statement just quoted as meaning that Ireneus believed himself to have been an eye-witness to a resurrection or resurrections, or whether he writes on the authority of another, or whether he is simply here referring to the miracles of the apostolic age, we are not justified in concluding absolutely from the text. In the following familiar passage, Ireneus refers to the gift of tongues:
"In like manner we do also hear many brethren in the Church, who possess prophetic gifts, and who through the Spirit of God do speak in all languages, as He used Himself also to speak.
1 Ireneus: "Against Heresies," II: 32:4.
2 Same: V: 6:1.
Tertullian also refers to the charismata of his day and demands of Marcion as a supernatural attestation of his mission that he "produce a psalm, a vision, a prayer only let it be by the Spirit, in an ecstasy, that is, in a rapture, whenever an interpretation of tongues has occurred to him. . . ."
"Now all these signs of spiritual gifts," Tertullian adds, "are forthcoming from my side without any difficulty." 1 From patristic times until the power of the reformation had made itself distinctly felt the gift of tongues is an almost forgotten phenomenon. The attention which the Reformation drew to the Scriptures is the reason for the reappearance of the gift. Men do not usually have the gift of tongues unless they know there is a gift of tongues. The revival of the Bible made also necessary in some minds a revival of states of mind and actions such as were those of the men who lived in Bible times and who were esteemed holy. During the long silence of those weary centuries there was evidence, however, of those psychological and physiological tendencies and actions which we find go hand in hand with the appearance of the gift in the history of the Corinthian church, or in the history of all of the more modern sects which we shall discuss. Simply because the ages preceding the Reformation were deficient in a Scriptural vocabulary we fail to find these phenomena described and classified as related to the gift of tongues.
Let us note the psychological evidences of states of mind analogous to the mental attitude of modern tongues people. There is ever present that superstitious reverence which is to be observed among the ignorant and primitive for those who speak in other tongues. Those who spoke in other tongues are eminent in the common 1 Tertullian: "Against Marcion." V: 8. mind of the Middle Ages either for their saintly lives, or for the fact of their servitude to the devil. To be learned seems to connote a gift, either of God or of the devil. St. Francis Xavier and other of the great missionary saints are said to have been able to speak "the languages of many different nations without having studied those languages." The knowledge even of letters was sometimes bestowed by a miracle upon the saintly. Matthew Paris, writing of the rise to fame of St. Hildegarde, in the year 1240, notes that she was first a recluse, and afterwards an abbess a lady of remarkable sanctity into whom, in her lifetime, "during a sleep of four days’ continuance, the Lord instilled the spirit of prophecy, and a complete knowledge of letters, during the pontificate of Pope Alexander." 1 On the other hand, the scholars, the alchemists, and their children, the scientists of the Renaissance, were looked upon as being under a special compact with the devil, from whom came their mysterious knowledge of other tongues. Men like Robert of Lincoln and Michael Scott, 2 both eminent through the thirteenth century for a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew in the one case, and Arabic in the other, were popularly regarded as sorcerers. So also were Raymond Lulli and Arnold de Villeneuve, both eminent linguistic scholars of the fourteenth century, popularly feared as men skilled in sorcery. Robert of Lincoln, another of the alchemists, is said to "have made a head of brass expressly constructed in such a manner as to be able to answer such questions as were propounded to it, and to foretell future events."
Roger Bacon was also reputed to be in league with the powers of darkness, and to have made with Friar
1 Paris, Matthew: "English History from the Year 1235 to 1273." Translated from the Latin by J. A. Giles (in the Bohn Library). London, 1852-4. Vol. I.
2 Godwin, William: "Lives of the Necromancers." London, 1834; pp. 2523-4, 263, 282.
Bungay a brazen head which also spoke when its makers were asleep, tired out with their long labours. The story; of the speaking brazen head is one of the familiar stories of the Middle Ages, and the making of such a head is attributed to many great men of learning. But not only could these men who, in faith and never-stinted labour, lighted the torch, the blazing flame of which at last illumined the morning sky of the Renaissance and the Reformation, speak the ancient languages, but such was their power that they could cause even the inanimate to speak. 1
Fluency of speech and the speaking of mysterious words are often looked upon as a sign of possession by an evil spirit. One of the charges brought against Elizabeth Barton, the Maid of Kent, famous in the annals of sixteenth century witchcraft, was based upon her speaking in what was described as a manner above her usual discourse. Similar charges were common against witches and the bewitched. The ability to speak other languages was viewed sometimes not only as an evidence of a Satanic possession, but as a possession analogous to a distemper, which could sometimes be remedied by the use of drugs.
"Pomponatius writes that the wife of Francis Maigret, savetier of Mantua, spoke divers languages, and was cured by Calderon, a physician, famous in his time, who gave her a portion of Hellebore. Erasmus says also that he had seen an Italian, a native of Spoletta, who spoke German very well, although he had never been in Germany; they gave him a medicine which caused him to eject a quantity of worms, and he was cured, not to speak German any more." 2
1 See Purchas, Samuel: "Hakluytas Posthutnus or Purchas His Pilgrimes, etc." Glasgow, 1905. Vol. XVII, p. 360. Godwin: op. cit., p. 232.
2 Calmet, Augustine: "The Phantom World." London, 1880. Vol. I, p. 185.
Sometimes words from foreign languages were used as a means of warning men against impending calamity, and by the mysterious way in which they were conveyed, indicated their relation to magic.
"A man who did not know a word of Greek came to M. de Saumaise, senior, a counsellor of the parliament of Dijon, and showed him these words, which he had heard during the night as he slept, and which he wrote down in French characters on awakening: ’Apithi ouc osphraine ten sen apsychian.’ He asked him what that meant M. de Saumaise told him it meant, ’Save yourself; do you not perceive the death with which you are threatened?’ Upon this hint, the man removed, and left his house, which fell down the following night.
"The same story is related, with a little difference, by another author, who says that the circumstances happened at Paris; that the genius spoke in Syriac, and that M. de Saumaise being consulted, replied, ’go out of your house, for it will fall in ruins to-day, at nine o’clock in: the evening/ " 1
Evil spirits are frequently endowed in popular legend with the ability to speak and understand a great many languages. Dupouy, citing J. Boudin of Angers, an ancient authority on demonology, says that Boudin "pretends that the devil may speak through the mouth of the possessed, and use all the idioms, known and unknown." 2
Those who were bewitched frequently talked in other languages, certainly at least in Latin. Thus Dr. Hutchinson, in his account of Richard Dugdale, the Surrey Impostor, as he calls him, writes:
"Here is a young Man, about twenty years old, is said to have given his soul to the Devil, that he might be the
1 Calmet: op cit. Vol. I, pp. 205-6.
2 Dupouy, Edmond: "Medicine in the Middle Ages." Cincinnati, 1889; p. 43. best Dancer in Lancashire; but instead of dancing in the way he hoped to have done, he seems to be possessed. He stands upon his Head, dances upon his Knees, and runs on all Four like a Dog, and barks. He seems sometimes extreme heavy, and at other Times light; hath a swelling run from the calf of his leg up to his Neck; he talks shreads of Latin, ran into the Water, and told things at a Distance, and was thought to be possessed with a merry ludicrous Spirit.’” 1
Dr. Hutchinson does not seem to have had an overwhelming respect for the Presbyterian clergy as exorcists. Perhaps he has a predilection against them. At any rate he tells how the Presbyterians failed to cure the aforesaid Richard Dugdale, and Richard taking some money given him by "some honest gentlemen of the Church of England,"
’*Went to one Dr. Chew, and never had a fit after his Physick, tho’ he had a severe one the Day before." 2 The notion of one’s speaking as a result of demoniac possession we will find recurring frequently in, for example, the case of Mr. Baxter and the Irvingites, who ascribed their mistakes to a lying spirit. The popular idea of the cunning and wisdom of Satan is revealed in the belief in his ability to speak and understand all kinds of language. Nothing could ever be gained by trying to deceive him by any effort to speak in a foreign language; he understood everything. Gassner, a celebrated Swiss therapeutic of the eighteenth century, spoke chiefly Latin in his profession, and the devil is said often to have understood him perfectly. 3 May we presume to suggest that even in the modern medical profession we face the survival of a primitive
1 Hutchinson, Francis: "An Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft." London, 1718; p. 125.
2 Same: p. 126.
3 Howitt, William: "History of the Supernatural." Philadelphia, 1863. Vol. I, P- 123 superstitious practice in the scribbling off in illegible handwriting in the Latin tongue, that mysterious something called a prescription? Why all these mysteries? Why all this atrocious Latinity? Only because even our physicians are still primitive in some of their intellectual traits. They still cling desperately to the mysterious power of a mysterious word. It is a comfort, however, to some of us, to know that not only ministers of the gospel, not only lawyers with their monstrous Latin, and not only the Roman Church with its archaic universal language, but also and as well our physicians who have always without fail scouted all superstition still cling to the habits of mind of the dark ages. The magic value of a name, to bless or to curse, is a phenomenon met with throughout the whole history of witchcraft and superstition. It is evident in the Old Testament in the unwillingness of the Jewish writers to use the word Jehovah. That word was holy; it was taboo. An old tradition of the lovers of the occult tells us that among some Jewish teachers there was no attempt to deny the fact of the miracles of Jesus. They "attribute them to his having stolen the Holy Name out of the Temple, cut a gash in his thigh and there enclosed this omnipotent name, by which he possessed the power to do any miracle." 1 The writing of a name upon an object gave it a special spiritual value, and the writing of a person’s name upon an object gave that object a sort of spiritual ascendency over the person concerned an idea which we encounter frequently in dealing with magic. Resort was often had to this principle by persons desirous of causing harm to others. Thus, when Germanicus, nephew of Tiberius, died, 1 Howitt: op. cit. Vol. I, p. 235. See also p. 24.
"there were found in Corners of his Lodgings Charms, Curses, his Name upon Leaden Tables, Pieces of Man’s Flesh, and Ashes and other things used in witchcraft.’ * * Under date of the year 1578, it is stated:
"A man taken at Islington with Three Waxen Images, designed for the killing of Queen Elisabeth, and two of her counsellors: they were buried in a Dunghill, with their names upon them, in hopes the parties would pine away as the Pictures wasted." 2 The widespread and primitive nature of the concept of the inherent power or value of names is dwelt upon at considerable length by Dr. Frazer in "The Golden Bough":
"Thus, to begin with the savages who rank at the bottom of the social scale, we are told that the secrecy with which among the Australian aborigines personal names are often kept from general knowledge, ’arises out of the belief that an enemy who has your name, has something which he can use magically to your detriment/ . . . On Herbert River the wizards, in order to practise their arts against some one, ’need only to know the name of the person in question, and for this reason they rarely use their proper names in addressing or speaking of each other, but simply their class names.’ . . . Every Egyptian received two names, which were known respectively as the true name and the good name, or the great name and the little name, and while the good or little name was made public, the true or great name appears to have been carefully concealed. Similarly in Abyssinia at the present day it is customary to conceal the real name which a person receives at baptism and to call him only by a short nickname which his mother gives him on leaving the church. The reason for this concealment is that a 1 Hutchinson: op. cit., p. 16.
2 Same: pp. 29-30. sorcerer cannot act upon a person whose real name he does not know." 1
Traces of this fear of the power of a name are to be found in various forms among practically all primitive peoples. The prohibition laid upon the use of names sometimes applies to a man’s own name, to the names of relatives, of kings or chiefs, of the dead, and of gods. 2 This taboo is sometimes extended to common words in such pursuits as fishing and fowling. 3 The bestowing of a name in baptism, circumcision, confirmation, or upon the entrance into a religious life, as well as the promise in the Apocalypse of a new name, may all be regarded as related to the notion of the spiritual value of a name. The use of special names and words in ceremonies of initiation into secret societies might also in this connection be considered.
Some names are looked upon as very dangerous to pronounce. The name of Satan, for example, in some cases was believed, when pronounced by a woman, to admit into her an evil spirit. In the trial of Rose Cullender and Amy Duny, both widows, on the charge of witchcraft, Samuel Pacy, a merchant who had been called as a witness, stated of the two children who were alleged to have been bewitched by the women:
"that they would read (in the New Testament) till they came to the Name of Lord or Jesus; and then before they could pronounce either of the said Words they would suddenly fall into fits. But when they came to the Name of Satan or Demi, they would clap their Fingers upon
1 Frazer, J. G.: "The Golden Bough." London, 1900. Second edition, Vol. I, pp. 404, 406.
2 Frazer: op. cit., pp. 407-450. See also Crawley, Ernest: "The Mystic Rose." London, 1902; pp. 48, 131, 270-3.
3 Frazer: op. cit., pp. 451-64. the Book, crying out, This bites, but makes me Speak right well." 1
Turner, in his "Mormonism in All Ages" gives an account of the superstitious idea that there is a healing power in a name, in his story of Austin, the Vermont Healer, a story, not of the twelfth century, but of the nineteenth:
"In the year 1808, a Mr. Austin, in the town of Colchester, Vermont, gave out that he was gifted with the art of healing, and that whoever would describe to him, by word of mouth, or by letter, the symptoms of his malady, should receive "a healing word," if, indeed, his disease were curable. His obscure retreat was soon thronged by invalids from all sections of the country. Ballston and Saratoga seemed, for the time, forgotten. Barrooms and postoffices were deluged with floods of letters to the ’prophet at Colchester.’ Mail carriers groaned under burdens of the kind of diseases described. Hawkers and vagrants traversed the country to procure and carry letters of symptoms to the prophet, for only fifty cents a letter. The deaf soon heard, the blind saw, dropsies and consumptions stood aghast, and multitudes were found to amend at the precise time their letters were supposed to have reached the prophet. Such fame was, however, too glorious for long continuance." 2 A story of a similar nature is told by Anthony Knivet, a voyager and explorer. The event occurred about 1591. Knivet’s feet had been frozen. Some of the toes had dropped off and the feet were infested with lice. At Penguin Island, he informs us, "the Generall tooke a Chirurgeon who cured with words; This man comming aboord our ship, said some
1 From Pamphlet: "A Tryal of Witches at the Assizes held at Bury St. Edmonds, etc., March 10, 1664." Reprinted, London, 1838.
2 Turner, J. B.: "Mormonism in All Ages." New York, 1842; p. 294. words over my feet and I had feeling in my legges and feet which I had lost before, for the space of a fortnight. Many times before this man came I had hot Irons laid to my feet, but I had no feeling were they never so hot." *
Various phrases were used for the exorcising of demons. He who knew the right word to use was specially blest. The Lord’s Prayer was looked upon as having a special value as a test for discovering the existence of a witch. The Rev. Mr. Barrel, a Puritan divine of the seventeenth century, found that
"Stinted Prayers, read out of a book (the Common Prayer Book) had little effect upon the Spirits; but at conceived Prayers, the Parties were much troubled." 2
It is interesting, by the way, to note that this was the same Mr. Barrel who felt called to the ministry by a certain "sluggishness" on his part in the study of English common law.
Evil spirits had a persistent objection, in fact a fear, of the Pater and Ave. The spirits objected to their being repeated. Calmet tells us of a returned spirit named Humbert, who
"was made to say the Pater and Ave; he recited them with difficulty, saying that he was prevented by an evil spirit, who would not let him tell the cure many other things." 3
Sometimes it was a verse of scripture which checked the demon. One of the demons who is said to have possessed one of the Ursuline nuns is represented as stating that, 1 Purchas: op. cit., Vol. XVI, p 188.
2 Hutchinson: op. cit., p. 244.
3 Calmet: op. cit., Vol. I, p. 287.
"When Lucifer tempted Jesus Christ in the Wilderness, his design was to penetrate into that Secret (i. e. How the Motherhood of Mary could be joined with her Virginity) but those words, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord, thy God, left him in blindness as to that mystery." * Belief was also current in a magic language known only to the initiated:
"One ground of the charge (against John Trithemius, Abbot of Spenheim, born 1462, died 1516) of necromancy, was a work of his, entitled ’Steganographia, or the art, by means of a secret writing, of communicating our thoughts to a person absent.’ He says, however, that in this book he had merely used the language of magic, without in any degree having had recourse to their modes of proceeding." 2 The reputed use by witches of unmeaning formulae or of formulae of unmeaning sounds is related to the theory of a magic language. Elizabeth Style, who confessed to the charge of witchcraft in 1664, deposed inter alia:
"Before they (the witches) are carried to their meetings, they annoint their Fore-heads and Hand-Wrists with an Oyl the Spirit brings them, which smells raw, and then they are carried in a very short time, using these words as they pass, Thout, Tout, a tout, tout, throughput and about. And when they go off from their Meetings, they say Rentum Tormentum" 3 In the following account of the execution of a witch, we note the same psychological tendency:
1 Aubin: "The Cheats and Illusions of Romish Priests and Exorcists Discovered in the History of the Devils of Loudun." (Translated into English.) London, 1703; p. 263.
2 Godwin: op. rit., p. 263.
3 Glanville, Joseph: "Sadducismus Triumphatus, etc." London, 1726.
"One of the persons executed at the first burning, a prostitute, was heard repeating the exorcism, which was supposed to have the power of raising the arch enemy in the form of a goat. This precious specimen of human folly has been preserved by Horst, in his ’Zauberbibliothek.’ It ran as follows and was to be repeated slowly, with many ceremonies and waivings of the hand:
"’Lalle, Bachera, Magotte, Baphia, Dajam,
Vagoth Heneche Ammi Nagaz, Adomator,
Raphael Immanuel Christus, Tetragrammaton
Agra Jod Loi. Konig! Konig!’
"The two last words were uttered quickly, and with a sort of scream, and were supposed to be highly agreeable to Satan, who loved to be called a king. If he did not appear immediately, it was necessary to repeat a further exorcism. The one in greatest repute was as follows, and was to be read backwards, with the exception of the last two words:
"’Anion, Lalle, Sabolos, Sado, Pater, Aziel
Adonai, Sado Vagoth Agra, Jod,
Baphra ! Komm ! Komm !’
"When the witch wanted to get rid of the devil, who was sometimes in the habit of prolonging his visits to an unconscionable length, she had only to repeat the following, also backwards, when he generally disappeared, leaving behind him a suffocating smell:
"’Zellianelle Heotti Bonus Vagotha
Plisos sother osech unicus Beelzebub
Dax! Komm! Komm!’"i The primitive nature of this meaningless use of words, or this use of meaningless words, is apparent when we note that it belongs to the same stage psychologically 1 Mackey, Charles: "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions." Philadelphia, 1850. Vol. I, pp. 329-330. as many of the songs in common use among savages. ’The following," says Tylor, "is a translation of a New Zealand song:
Thy body is at Waitemata,
But thy spirit came hither,
And aroused me from my sleep.
Chorus Ha ah, ha ah, ha ah, ha!’
"This last shows a feature extremely common in barbaric songs, the refrain of generally meaningless syllables. We moderns are often struck with the absurdity of the nonsense-chorus in many of our own songs, but the habit is one which seems to have been kept up from the stages of culture in which the Australian savage sings, ‘Abang! Abang!’ over and over at the end of his verse, or a Red Indian hunting party enjoys singing in chorus, ’Nyah eh ua! nyah eh ua!’ to an accompaniment of rattles like those which children use with us." 1 The love of words because of their sounds is a trait which we encounter on every hand. The fondness of the American negro for words which he does not understand, but which he seems to enjoy repeating, is familiar. In poets of the neuropathic type like Blake or Poe, we meet with the same phenomenon. In the fondness of small boys for what they call "hog-Latin," we encounter a similar tendency. That Joseph Smith, Jr., the Mormon prophet, was in no sense free from primitive traits is not only in evidence in his "peep-stone," but equally so in his fondness for high-sounding words, to which we shall have occasion later to refer.
Hepworth Dixon tells a story illustrative of the same tendency in giving an account of his visit to the "Agape 1 Tylor, Edward B.: "Anthropology." New York. 1881; p. 288. mone," the home of the Princites. Those who lived within the protecting walls of the "Agapemone" had each received a new name. Dixon was very curious to know the names which these people had borne "in the world":
"Once when Sister Zoe was lifting up her voice to address me, as all the Sisters had done in turn, I asked by what name I should speak to her. ’Zoe/ she replied. . . . ’ ’But think/ I urged, ’I am a layman, and a stranger; how can I use these sweet, familiar names?* ’Tray do so,’ answered Zoe; ’it is very nice.’
’ ’No doubt, if I were here a month; meantime it would be easier for me to call you Miss ’ .
’ ’Call me Zoe,’ she answered with a patient smile: ’Zoe; nothing but Zoe.’
"Looking towards Prince, I said, ’Do your people take new names on coming into residence, like the monks and nuns of an Italian convent?’
" ’Not like monks and nuns/ said Prince; ’we do not put ourselves under the protection of saints. We have no saints. We simply give ourselves to God, of whom this mansion is the seat. At yonder gates we leave the world behind; its words, its laws, its passions; all of which we hold to be things of the devil’s kingdom. Living in the Lord, we follow his leading light, even in the simple matter of our names; you will hear them all in time. They call me Beloved. I call this lady Zoe, because the sound pleases me. I call Thomas Mossoo, because he speaks French so well.’ " 1
Grassett remarks upon the same phenomenon as characteristic of the semi-insane and the semi-responsible. Thus he writes of Gorky:
"Although Gorky has chiefly depicted vagabonds, one 1 Dixon, William Hepworth: "Spiritual Wives." London and Philadelphia, 1868; pp. 172-3. nevertheless meets the semi-insane in his works, especially in Les-Bas-fonds, which the Theatre de 1’OEuvre has lately presented. Was it not Satine who loves, without knowing why, the ’incomprehensible’ and ’peculiar’ words ’macrobiotic’ and ’transcendental’?" 1
Grassett also calls attention to the fact that "in certain verses of Victor Hugo one finds a curious collection of words sounding alike, such as is found in the poems of the insane." 2 In the argot of criminals we are dealing with the same conditions. While the practical reason given by criminals for the use of this peculiar slang is the desire to elude the police, the psychological reason is the love of unusual and peculiar sounding words. 3 The Middle Ages were characterised by a number of religious movements, all of which had motor characteristics which are akin to the tongues movement, and all of which would in modern days doubtless have been characterised by speaking in tongues. "The Master of Hungary," a leader in the Pastoureaux movement, which began about 1251 in Flanders, was said to have spoken as the result of a miracle in all languages. 4 He claimed to be under the special protection of the Virgin. The dancing manise which spread all over Europe were motor expressions of the same neurotic conditions which in later times have been associated with the tongues movement. The Flagellants may also be classified under the same general head.
1 Grassett, Joseph: "The Semi-Insane and the Semi-Responsible." New Yoric, 1907; p. 17.
2 Op . cit., p. 231 (foot-note).
3 See Ellis, Havelock: "The Criminal." London and New York, 1903; PP.
4 Blunt, John Henry: "Dictionary of Sects, Heresies, etc." Philadelphia. 1874. Art.: "Pastoreaux," p. 410. In 1566 an epidemic broke out among the children of the Orphan House at Amsterdam:
"These children climbed up the walls and over roofs like cats, made the most horrible grimaces, and spoke foreign languages, relating things done at the same moment in other places, even in the courts of justice. Similar to these were the disorders amongst the children, boys and girls, in the Orphan House at Horn in Holland, as related by Franz Kneiper. Sometimes they became cataleptic, were as stiff as trunks of trees, and might be carried about in the same manner." * A few years before (1550) a very similar neurosis occurred, Dupouy tells us,
"among the nuns at St. Brigette’s Convent. In their attacks the nuns imitated the cries of animals and the bleating of sheep. At chapel one after the other were taken with convulsive syncope, followed by suffocation and oesophageal spasms which sometimes persisted for the space of several days and condemned the victims to an enforced fast. This epidemic commenced after an hysterical convulsion occurred in one of the younger nuns, who had entered the convent on account of disappointment in love." 2
Accounts of women worshipping in church, or of nuns who barked like dogs, meowed like cats or imitated the cries of other animals, are very frequent, and are reported as occurring in such widely distributed localities as in a German convent, in Oxford, England, and in Paris. At the convent of Auxonne, where a similar epidemic broke out, "The Bishop of Chalons reports that all the before 1 Howitt: op. clt., Vol. I, pp. 504-5.
2 Dupouy: op. tit., p. 57 mentioned girls, secular as well as regular, to the number of eighteen, had the gifts of language, and responded to the Exorcists in Latin, making at times their entire conversation in the classical tongue." 1 An incident reminiscent of the disorders, apparently distressingly frequent in convents, is related in connection with the Salem witchcraft, when it is stated that the children of John Goodwin, of Boston, "barked like dogs, purred like cats, at times complained that they were in a red-hot oven, and again that cold water was thrown on them." 2
Evelyn, in his Diary, refers to the preaching of one Rev. John Mason, and under date of April 24th, 1694, records the following:
"A great rising of people in Buckinghamshire, on the declaration of a famous preacher, till now reputed a sober and religious man, that our Lord Christ appearing to him on the 1 6th of this month, told him he was now come down, and would appear publicly at Pentecost. . . . Great multitudes followed this preacher, divers of the most zealous brought their goods and considerable sums of money, and began to live in imitation of the primitive saints, minding no private concerns, continually dancing and singing Hallelulia night and day." 3 The phenomena which we have been expected to look upon as special signs of divine presence, and which were associated in later years with what have been called "The Great American Revivals," were in evidence under the preaching of such men as George Fox and John Wesley.
1 Dupouy: op. cit., pp. 759-60. See also Hecker, J. F. K.: "The Epidemics of the Middle Ages." Philadelphia, 1837; London, 1844; p. 127, foot-note.
2 Dupouy: op. cit., p. 62.
3 Evelyn, John: "The Diary of." Edited by William Bray (in Everyman’s Library). London and New York. Vol. II, pp. 331-2.
Fox frequently had his meetings interrupted by those who cried out and groaned. At times his own preaching took on that rhapsodic form which would have been called prophecy in Irving’s church, and which, had his attention been turned very forcibly toward the Pentecostal phenomena, might easily have led him to speak with tongues. John Wesley seemed inclined at first to countenance the bodily manifestations which occurred under the spell of his preaching. How frequent they were is illustrated" from the following extracts from his Journal for the year 1739:
"April 17. At Baldwin Street, we called upon God, to confirm his word. Immediately, one that stood by cried out aloud, with the utmost vehemence, even as in the agonies of death. But we continued in prayer, till a new song was put into her mouth, a thanksgiving unto our God. Soon after, two other persons were seized with; strong pain, and constrained to roar for the disquietude of their heart. But it was not long before they likewise burst forth into praise to God their Saviour. The last who* I called upon God, as out of the belly of hell, was a stranger * in Bristol; and, in a short space, he also was overwhelmed with joy and love, knowing that God had healed his backslidings.
"April 21. At Weavers* Hall, a young man was suddenly seized with violent trembling all over, and, in a few minutes, sunk to the ground. But we ceased not calling upon God, till He raised him up full of peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. . . .
"April 26. At Newgate, I was led to pray that God would bear witness to His word. Immediately one, and another, and another sunk to the earth; they dropped on every side as thunderstruck. One of them cried aloud. We besought God in her behalf, and He turned her heaviness into joy. A second being in the same agony, we called upon God for her also; and He spoke peace unto her soul. In the evening, one was so wounded by the sword of the Spirit, that you would have imagined she could not live a moment. But immediately His abundant kindness was shown, and she loudly sang of His righteousness. 1 Charles Wesley had the same difficulties to contend with, but dealt with them after another fashion:
"June 4th. I went on at five expounding the Acts. Some stumbling-blocks, with the help of God, I have removed, particularly the fits. Many no doubt were, at our first preaching struck down, both soul and body, into the depth of distress. Their outward affections were easy to be imitated. Many counterfeits I have already detected. To-day one who came from the ale-house drunk was pleased to fall into a fit for my entertainment, and beat himself heartily. I thought it a pity to hinder him; so instead of singing over him, as had often been done, we left him to recover at his leisure. Another girl, as she began her cry, I ordered to be carried out. Her convulsion was so violent as to take away the use of her limbs, till they laid and left her without the door. Then immediately she found her legs, and walked off. Some very unstill sisters, who always took care to stand near me, and try which should cry loudest, since I had them removed out of my sight, have been as quiet as lambs. The first night I preached here, half my words were lost through their outcries. Last night, before I began, I gave public notice, that whosoever cried, so as to drown my voice, should, without any man’s hurt, or judging them, be gently carried to the farthest corner of the room. But my porters had no employment the whole night; yet the Lord was with us, mightily convincing of sin and righteousness." 2
1 Tyerman, L.: "The Life and Times of Rev. John Wesley, M.A.," etc. New York, 1872. Vol. I, pp. 255-6.
2 Jackson, Thomas: "The Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, M.A.," etc. London, 1841. Vol. I, pp. 333-4.
It is rather to the by-products of the preaching of the Wesley s than to the immediate circle of their followers that we must look for evidences of conditions very similar to those of the tongues movement. The Band-room Methodists, an organisation which had its origin in Manchester in 1806, was probably of this tendency. Its leaders were John and E. Broadhurst, Holland Hoole, Nathaniel Williamson and Thomas E. Painter. They were noted, it is said, for their noisy prayer meetings. It is to be remembered that it is only a step from noisy prayer meetings to speaking in the tongues. In Wales a sect arose popularly called the "Jumpers -" They were a sort of Methodist sect, and seemed to have belonged to Lady Huntingdon’s connection. The leaders in the movement were Harris Rowland and William Williams. They began their work about 1760, in the county of Cornwall. John Evans, who took occasion to attend one of their meetings, has given us the following account:
"About the year 1795 I myself happened very accidentally to be present at a meeting, which terminated in jumping. It was held in the open air, on a Sunday evening, near Newport, in Monmouthshire. The preacher was one of Lady Huntingdon’s students, who concluded his sermon with the recommendation of jumping; and to allow him the praise of consistency, he got down from the chair on which he stood, and jumped along with them. The arguments he adduced for this purpose were, that David danced before the ark, that the babe leaped in the womb of Elizabeth, and that the man whose lameness was removed, leaped and praised God for the mercy which he had received. He expatiated on these topics with uncommon fervency, and then drew the inference that they ought to show similar expressions of joy, for the blessings which Jesus Christ had put in their possession.
He then gave an impassioned sketch of the sufferings of the Saviour, and thereby roused the passions of a few around him into a state of violent agitation. About nine men and seven women, for some little time, rocked to and fro, groaned aloud, and then jumped with a kind of frantic fury. Some of the audience flew in all directions, others gazed on in silent amazement! They all gradually dispersed, except the jumpers, who continued their exertions from eight in the evening to near eleven at night. I saw the conclusion of it; they at last kneeled down in a circle, holding each other by the hand, while one of them prayed with great fervour, and then all rising up from off their knees, departed. But previous to their dispersion, they wildly pointed up towards the sky, and reminded one another that they should soon meet there, and be never again separated! I quitted the spot with astonishment. . . . The reader is referred to Bingley’s and Evans’ Tour Through Wales . . . where, as many particulars are retailed respecting the Jumpers, his curiosity will receive a still further gratification." 1 A movement of a similar character began in a Methodist chapel at Redruth, where
"A man, during divine service, cried out with a loud voice, ’What shall I do to be saved?’ at the same time manifesting the greatest uneasiness and solicitude respecting the condition of his soul. Some other members of the congregation, following his example, cried out in the same form of words, and seemed shortly after to suffer the most excruciating bodily pain. This strange occurrence was soon publicly known, and hundreds of people, who had come thither, either attracted by curiosity or a desire, from other motives, to see the sufferers, fell into the same state. The chapel remained open for some days and nights, and from that point the new disorder spread
1 Evans, John: "A Sketch of the Denominations of the Christian World," etc. Burlington, 1812; p. 219 et seq. See also Tyerman, op. cit. t Vol. II, pp. 480*1. itself, with the rapidity of lightning, over the neighbouring towns of Camborne, Halston, Truro, Penryn, and Falmouth, as well as in the villages in the vicinity. Whilst thus advancing it decreased in some measure at the place where it had first appeared, and it confined itself throughout to Methodist chapels. It was only by the words which had been mentioned that it was excited, and it seized none but people of the lowest education. Those who were attacked betrayed the greatest anguish and fell into convulsions; others cried out, like persons possessed, that the Almighty would straightway pour out his wrath upon them, that the wailings of tormented spirits rang in their ears and they saw hell open to receive them. The clergy, when in the course of their sermons they perceived that persons were thus seized, earnestly exhorted them to confess their sins, and zealously endeavoured to convince them that they were by nature enemies to Christ, that the anger of God had therefore fallen upon them, and that if death should surprise them in the midst of their sins, the eternal torments of hell would be their portion. The over-excited congregation upon this repeated their words, which materially must have increased the fury of their convulsive attacks. When the discourse had produced its full effects, the preacher changed his subject; reminded those who were suffering of the power of the Saviour, as well as of the grace of God, and represented to them in glowing colours the joys of heaven. Upon this a remarkable reaction sooner or later took place. Those who were in convulsions felt themselves raised from the worst depths of misery and despair to the most exalted bliss, and triumphantly shouted out that their bonds were loosed, their sins were forgiven, and that they were translated to the wonderful freedom of the children of God. In the meantime their convulsions continued, and they remained, during this condition, so abstracted from every earthly thought, that they stayed two and sometimes three days and nights together in the chapels, agitated all the time by spasmodic movements, and taking neither repose nor nourishment. According to a moderate computation, 4,000 people were, within a short time, affected with this convulsive malady."
Then follows an account of the bodily conditions, symptoms, etc.:
"Others shouted aloud, leaped about, and threw their bodies into every possible posture until they exhausted their strength. Yawning took place at the commencement in all cases, but as the violence of the disorder increased, the circulation and respiration became accelerated, so that the countenance assumed a swollen and puffed appearance. When exhaustion came on, patients usually fainted, and remained in a stiff and motionless state until their recovery." l In the "Great Awakening" in this country, such scenes were frequent. Under the preaching of Gilbert Tennent, crying out, shouting and falling occurred so often that they attracted the attention of Tennent’s critics and became a basis for attacks against him. 2
It is in the Kentucky Revival T however, that we have probably the most remarkable scenes of physiological phenomena ever known in this country to have been associated with Christianity. The people who were its subjects were of all classes, but, for the most part, they were ignorant, superstitious backwoodsmen. The revival was a series of camp meetings, the first of which was held for four days and three nights, beginning May 22, 1801.
"The scene was awful beyond description; th crying out, praying, exhorting, singing, shouting, etc., exhibited such new and’ striking evidences of a supernatural power, that few, if any, could escape without being 1 Hecker: op. cit., p. 144.
2 See Tennent, Gilbert: "The Examiner Examined," etc. Philadelphia, 1743. affected. Such as tried to run from it, were frequently struck on the way, or impelled, by some alarming signal, to return; . . . No circumstance at this meeting appeared more striking than the great numbers that fell on the third night: and to prevent their being trodden under foot by the multitude, they were collected together, and laid out in order, on two squares of the meeting-house; which, like so many dead corpses, covered a considerable part of the floor." *
Similar scenes occurred at Concord, Eagle Creek, Pleasant Point, Indian Creek, Caneridge (where three thousand are said to have fallen). In addition to this "falling" exercise there were other manifestations of an unusual sort, of which there were, according to McNemar, three principal types:
"The rolling exercises, the jerks and the barks, 1. The rolling exercise, which consisted in being cast down in a violent manner, doubled with the head and feet together, and rolled over and over like a wheel, or stretched in a prostrate manner, turned swiftly over and over like a log. This was considered very debasing and mortifying, especially if the person was taken in this manner through the mud, and sullied therewith from head to foot.
"2. Still more demeaning and mortifying were the jerks. Nothing in nature could better represent this strange and unaccountable operation, than for one to goad another, alternately on every side, with a piece of red hot iron. The exercise commonly began in the head which would fly backward and forward, and from side to side, with a quick jolt, which the person would naturally labour to suppress, but in vain; and the more any one laboured to stay himself, and be sober, the more he 1 McNemar, Richard: "The Kentucky Revival," etc. New York, 1846; pp. staggered, and the more rapidly his twitches increased. He must necessarily go as he was stimulated, whether with a violent dash on the ground and bounce from place to place like a football, or hop round, with head, limbs and trunk, twitching and jolting in every direction, as if they must inevitably fly asunder. And how such could escape without injury, was no small wonder to spectators. By this strange operation the human frame was commonly so transformed and disfigured as to lose every trace of its natural appearance. Sometimes the head would be twitched right and left, to a half round, with such velocity, that not a feature could be discovered, but the face appear as much behind as before; and in the quick progressive jerk, it would seem as if the person was transmuted into some other species of creature. Head dresses were of little account among the female jerkers. Even handkerchiefs bound tight round the head, would be flirted off almost with the first twitch, and the hair put into the utmost confusion. . . . Such as were seized with the jerks, were wrested at once, not only from under their own government, but that of every one else, so that it was dangerous to attempt confining them, or touching them in any manner, to whatever danger they were exposed; yet few were hurt, except it were such as rebelled against the operation, through wilful and deliberate enmity, and refused to comply with the injunctions which it came to enforce.
"3. The last possible grade of mortification seemed to be couched in the barks, which frequently accompanied the jerks; nor were they the most mean and contemptible characters, who were the common victims of this disgracing operation; but persons who considered themselves in the foremost rank, possessed of the highest improvements of human nature, and yet in spite of all the effort of nature, both men and women would be forced to personate that animal, whose name, appropriated to a human creature, is counted the most vulgar stigma forced, I say, for no argument but force could induce any one of polite breeding in a public company to take the position of a canine beast, move about on all fours, and growl, snap the teeth, and bark in so personating a manner as, to set the eyes and ears of the spectator at variance. It was commonly acknowledged by the subjects of these exercises, that they were laid upon them, as a chastisement for disobedience, or a stimulus to incite them to some duty or exercise, to which they felt opposed. Hence it was very perceivable that the quickest method to find releasement from the jerks and barks was to engage in the voluntary dance; and such as refused, being inwardly moved thereto as their duty and privilege, had to bear these afflicting operations, from month to month and from year to year, until they wholly lost their original design and were converted into a badge of honour, in the same manner as the first outward mark of human guilt."1
Peter Cartwright tells us that there was considerable discussion as to the nature of the "exercises" in the Kentucky Revival and thus describes the manifestation of the "jerks":
"Just in the midst of our controversies on the subject of the powerful exercises among the people under preaching, a new exercise broke out among us, called the jerks, which was overwhelming in its effects upon the bodies and minds of the people. No matter whether they were saints or sinners, they would be taken under a warm song or sermon, and seized with a convulsive jerking all over, which they could not by any possibility avoid, and the more they resisted the more they jerked. If they would not strive against it and pray in good earnest, the jerking would usually abate. I have seen more than five hundred persons jerking at one time in my large congregation. Most usually persons taken with the jerks, to obtain relief, 1 McNemar: op. cit., pp. 63-8. as they said, would rise up and dance. Some would run, but could not get away. Some would resist; on such the jerks were generally very severe.
"To see those proud young gentlemen and young ladies, dressed in their silks, jewelry, and prunella, from top to toe, take the jerks, would often excite my risibilities. The first jerk or so, you would see their fine bonnets, caps and combs fly; and so sudden would be the jerking of the head that their long, loose hair would crack almost as loud as a wagoner’s whip." 1 In spiritualism we find also the phenomena which are found in connection with the tongues. Not only are the same physiological conditions present, and not only are mediums to be classed under the same general head as all the tongues people as persons of neurotic tendencies, but trance-speaking, involuntary utterances, together with speaking in foreign languages, all encountered in spiritualism, are stigmata which entitle spiritualists to be classed under the same general head as those who speak in tongues.
There was a curious vein of spiritualism which ran through the thinking of many of the communistic societies which flourished in the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century. Converse with departed spirits was also a striking element in the Shaker worship. Charles Nordhoff calls attention to the spiritualistic element in the "Amana Community":
"They (the Amana Community) regard the utterances, while in the trance state, of their spiritual head, as given from God; and believe . . . that evils and wrongs in the congregation will be thus revealed by the influence or, as they say, the inspiration or breath of God. . . .
1 Cartwright, Peter: "Autobiography." Edited by W. P. Strickland. New York, 1857; pp. 48-9.
"When the ’instrument’ falls into inspiration, he is often severely shaken Metz, they say, sometimes shook for an hour and thereupon follows the utterances which are believed to proceed from God. The ’instrument’ sits or kneels, or walks about among the congregation. ’Brother Metz used to walk about in the meeting with his eyes closed; but he always knew to whom he was speaking, or where to turn with words of reproof, admonition, or encouragement’ so I was told." 1
Andrew Jackson Davis is certainly not the most profound of thinkers, and, for the most part, what he has to say is tiresome and verbose, but what he has to say on the subject of the nature of trance-speaking and its relation to revival phenomena is none the less true:
" The outpouring of the Holy Spirit’ in a Methodist medium, while lying insensible upon the ground or floor, or while in ecstasies, shouting, ’I have found peace,’ ’I have found Jesus,’ etc., is analogous to, and is exactly the same thing as, that which is experienced by the Spiritualist medium when moved to speak in many tongues, or while (externally unconscious) expressing the exalted sentiments and poetic delights imparted by enthusiastic ’spirits and angels’ who were once our earthly acquaintances, friends, neighbours, brothers, and sisters." 2
Automatic writing or inspirational writing on the part of mediums belongs to the same class. With it may be classified trance preaching. Of the latter, the following is a typical example:
"Almost fifty years ago, a very remarkable case of preaching ecstasy, or, as it would now be called by some, trance-mediumship, occurred in this city in the person of
1 Nordhoff, Charles: "The Communistic Societies of the United States." New York, 1875; pp. 47-8-9, 58.
2 Davis, A. J.: "Diseases of the Brain and Nerves." New York, 1871; p. 211. a maiden lady, of delicate health, named Rachel Baker. Dr. S. L. Mitchell took great interest in her case, and had her sermons reported by a stenographer and published. Miss Baker was the daughter of a respectable farmer in Onondaga County, New York, and had received a plain but substantial education. About the age of twenty she became much exercised on the subject of religion, and at length her mind became seriously affected, and she fell into the habit of trance-preaching. Her parents were at first impressed at what they regarded as a most extraordinary gift, though they afterward became convinced that it was the result of disease, and accordingly brought her to the city of New York, in order that she might have the benefit of the best medical skill. Crowds flocked to hear her preach at the houses of different medical practitioners. Her discourses were highly respectable in point of style and arrangement, and were interspersed with Scripture quotations. After her health was restored, she lost the faculty of trance-preaching, and never regained it. She died in 1843."
Mediumistic utterances or writings are on record in which the medium, ignorant of any language except English, has used language even as unusual as Sanscrit. Judge Edmonds says:
"I have heard the mediums use Greek, Latin, Spanish, and French words, when I knew they had no knowledge of any language but their own; and it is a fact that can be attested by many, that often there has been speaking and writing in foreign languages and unknown tongues by those who were unacquainted with either." 1 He further states:
"I have heard an illiterate mechanic repeat Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Chaldaic, and describe the customs and 1 Edmonds, John W., and Dexter, George T.: "Spiritualism." New York, 1853. Vol. I, p. 75. See also p. 35. habits of men living on the earth thousands of years ago. ... I have been present when a medium answered many questions in the Italian language, of which she was ignorant, and then gave me the name of an Italian gentleman of whom she had never heard." * Of Charles H. Foster, "the Salem Seer," it was said:
"Mr. Foster could give a communication in any language. He would make mistakes, speak slowly, and sometimes not very accurately, but could in nearly all cases be understood by the questioner. In this connection I remember one remarkable experience which occurred in New York City. Two gentlemen called on Mr. Foster and inquired if he could answer some questions in a foreign language. He replied that he had usually been able to do so, and if the gentlemen would kindly be seated and write their questions on slips of paper, he would see what the result would be. I am quite sure that the mental strain was very severe on Mr. Foster during this seance, for beads of perspiration could be seen on his forehead frequently. It was quite a lengthy seance, and he answered numerous questions, but in a language which he said he had never before spoken. Consequently he pronounced many of the words with some difficulty. The gentlemen were surprised and delighted. In justice to Mr. Foster, and to show what a wonderful test he had given them, one of the gentlemen made this explanation: Some years ago he was shipwrecked, and drifted to an unknown island, where he was treated kindly by the natives, and where he was compelled to remain for three years before being rescued. It was there he learned this strange language. A young native, who was his most intimate companion, died a few weeks before he was rescued, and it was the spirit of this young man from whom he was supposed to have had the communication, and as there was not another man in New York City, 1 Edmonds, John W., and Dexter, George T.: "Spiritualism." New York, 1853. Vol. I, p. 87. or in any part of Europe, who knew a word of the language, it certainly was a capital test, and shows, it seems to me conclusively, that no fraud could have been practised, and shows also, beyond a doubt, that there is such a thing as genuine mediumistic phenomena, which has not in the past, and cannot at present, be satisfactorily explained." 1
It is a long journey from the dark lands of fear in which the savage of to-day lives, that land in which the peoples of Europe spent their dark ages, to the spiritualism of to-day with its easy access to the supernatural, and with the comfort that it brings to those whose notion of heart’s ease is not in activity, but in passivity. But it is a path which leads always to the same country. Whether we listen to the anguished cries of the bewitched, to the great cry of the multitude whose groans and shouts of salvation are filling the revival air, or to the still, small, silly voice of the medium, we are ever in the same country the land of the savage, of the puerile, of the semi-insane, the semi-responsible; the land where fear is, but the land where God is not.
1 Bartlett, George C: "The Salem Seer" (Charles Foster). New York, 1891; pp. 64-5.