＇282＇　Example：　　Mr。　John　Nelson　writes　of　his　imprisonment　for
  preaching　Methodism：　　〃My　soul　was　as　a　watered　garden；　and　I
  could　sing　praises　to　God　all　day　long；　for　he　turned　my
  captivity　into　joy；　and　gave　me　to　rest　as　well　on　the　boards；　as
  if　I　had　been　on　a　bed　of　down。　　Now　could　I　say；　'God's　service
  is　perfect　freedom；'　and　I　was　carried　out　much　in　prayer　that　my
  enemies　might　drink　of　the　same　river　of　peace　which　my　God　gave
  so　largely　to　me。〃　　Journal；　London；　no　date；　p。　172。
  The　mystic　is；　in　short；　INVULNERABLE；　and　must　be　left；　whether
  we　relish　it　or　not；　in　undisturbed　enjoyment　of　his　creed。
  Faith；　says　Tolstoy；　is　that　by　which　men　live。　And　faith…state
  and　mystic　state　are　practically　convertible　terms。
  2。
  But　I　now　proceed　to　add　that　mystics　have　no　right　to　claim　that
  we　ought　to　accept　the　deliverance　of　their　peculiar　experiences；
  if　we　are　ourselves　outsiders　and　feel　no　private　call　thereto。
  The　utmost　they　can　ever　ask　of　us　in　this　life　is　to　admit　that
  they　establish　a　presumption。　　They　form　a　consensus　and　have　an
  unequivocal　outcome；　and　it　would　be　odd；　mystics　might　say；　if
  such　a　unanimous　type　of　experience　should　prove　to　be　altogether
  wrong。　　At　bottom；　however；　this　would　only　be　an　appeal　to
  numbers；　like　the　appeal　of　rationalism　the　other　way；　and　the
  appeal　to　numbers　has　no　logical　force。　　If　we　acknowledge　it；　it
  is　for　〃suggestive；〃　not　for　logical　reasons：　　we　follow　the
  majority　because　to　do　so　suits　our　life。
  But　even　this　presumption　from　the　unanimity　of　mystics　is　far
  from　being　strong。　　In　characterizing　mystic　states　an
  pantheistic；　optimistic；　etc。；　I　am　afraid　I　over…simplified　the
  truth。　　I　did　so　for　expository　reasons；　and　to　keep　the　closer
  to　the　classic　mystical　tradition。　　The　classic　religious
  mysticism；　it　now　must　be　confessed；　is　only　a　〃privileged　case。〃
  It　is　an　EXTRACT；　kept　true　to　type　by　the　selection　of　the
  fittest　specimens　and　their　preservation　in　〃schools。〃　It　is
  carved　out　from　a　much　larger　mass；　and　if　we　take　the　larger
  mass　as　seriously　as　religious　mysticism　has　historically　taken
  itself；　we　find　that　the　supposed　unanimity　largely　disappears。
  To　begin　with；　even　religious　mysticism　itself；　the　kind　that
  accumulates　traditions　and　makes　schools；　is　much　less　unanimous
  than　I　have　allowed。　　It　has　been　both　ascetic　and　antinomianly
  self…indulgent　within　the　Christian　church。＇283＇　It　is　dualistic
  in　Sankhya；　and　monistic　in　Vedanta　philosophy。　　I　called　it
  pantheistic；　but　the　great　Spanish　mystics　are　anything　but
  pantheists。　　They　are　with　few　exceptions　non…metaphysical　minds；
  for　whom　〃the　category　of　personality〃　is　absolute。　　The　〃union〃
  of　man　with　God　is　for　them　much　more　like　an　occasional　miracle
  than　like　an　original　identity。＇284＇　　How　different　again；　apart
  from　the　happiness　common　to　all；　is　the　mysticism　of　Walt
  Whitman；　Edward　Carpenter；　Richard　Jefferies；　and　other
  naturalistic　pantheists；　from　the　more　distinctively　Christian
  sort。＇285＇　　The　fact　is　that　the　mystical　feeling　of　enlargement；
  union；　and　emancipation　has　no　specific　intellectual　content
  whatever　of　its　own。　　It　is　capable　of　forming　matrimonial
  alliances　with　material　furnished　by　the　most　diverse
  philosophies　and　theologies；　provided　only　they　can　find　a　place
  in　their　framework　for　its　peculiar　emotional　mood。　　We　have　no
  right；　therefore；　to　invoke　its　prestige　as　distinctively　in
  favor　of　any　special　belief；　such　as　that　in　absolute　idealism；
  or　in　the　absolute　monistic　identity；　or　in　the　absolute
  goodness；　of　the　world。　　It　is　only　relatively　in　favor　of　all
  these　thingsit　passes　out　of　common　human　consciousness　in　the
  direction　in　which　they　lie。
  ＇283＇　Ruysbroeck；　in　the　work　which　Maeterlinck　has　translated；
  has　a　chapter　against　the　antinomianism　of　disciples。　　H。
  Delacroix's　book　（Essai　sur　le　mysticisme　speculatif　en　Allemagne
  au　XIVme　Siecle；　Paris；　1900）　is　full　of　antinomian　material。
  compare　also　A。　Jundt：　　Les　Amis　de　Dieu　au　XIV　Siecle；　These　de
  Strasbourg；　1879。
  ＇284＇　Compare　Paul　Rousselot：　　Les　Mystiques　Espagnols；　Paris；
  1869；　ch。　xii。
  ＇285＇　see　Carpenter's　Towards　Democracy；　especially　the　latter
  parts；　and　Jefferies's　wonderful　and　splendid　mystic　rhapsody；
  The　Story　of　my　Heart。
  So　much　for　religious　mysticism　proper。　　But　more　remains　to　be
  told；　for　religious　mysticism　is　only　one　half　of　mysticism。　　The
  other　half　has　no　accumulated　traditions　except　those　which　the
  text…books　on　insanity　supply。　　Open　any　one　of　these；　and　you
  will　find　abundant　cases　in　which　〃mystical　ideas〃　are　cited　as
  characteristic　symptoms　of　enfeebled　or　deluded　states　of　mind。
  In　delusional　insanity；　paranoia；　as　they　sometimes　call　it；　we
  may　have　a　DIABOLICAL　mysticism；　a　sort　of　religious　mysticism
  turned　upside　down。　The　same　sense　of　ineffable　importance　in　the
  smallest　events；　the　same　texts　and　words　coming　with　new
  meanings；　the　same　voices　and　visions　and　leadings　and　missions；
  the　same　controlling　by　extraneous　powers；　only　this　time　the
  emotion　is　pessimistic：　　instead　of　consolations　we　have
  desolations；　the　meanings　are　dreadful；　and　the　powers　are
  enemies　to　life。　　It　is　evident　that　from　the　point　of　view　of
  their　psychological　mechanism；　the　classic　mysticism　and　these
  lower　mysticisms　spring　from　the　same　mental　level；　from　that
  great　subliminal　or　transmarginal　region　of　which　science　is
  beginning　to　admit　the　existence；　but　of　which　so　little　is
  really　known。　　That　region　contains　every　kind　of　matter：
  〃seraph　and　snake〃　abide　there　side　by　side。　　To　come　from　thence
  is　no　infallible　credential。　　What　comes　must　be　sifted　and
  tested；　and　run　the　gauntlet　of　confrontation　with　the　total
  context　of　experience；　just　like　what　comes　from　the　outer　world
  of　sense。　　Its　value　must　be　ascertained　by　empirical　methods；　so
  long　as　we　are　not　mystics　ourselves。
  Once　more；　then；　I　repeat　that　non…mystics　are　under　no
  obligation　to　acknowledge　in　mystical　states　a　superior　authority
  conferred　on　them　by　their　intrinsic　nature。＇286＇
  ＇286＇　In　chapter　i。　of　book　ii。　of　his　work　Degeneration；　〃Max
  Nordau〃　seeks　to　undermine　all　mysticism　by　exposing　the　weakness
  of　the　lower　kinds。　　Mysticism　for　him　means　any　sudden
  perception　of　hidden　significance　in　things。　　He　explains　such
  perception　by　the　abundant　uncompleted　associations　which
  experiences　may　arouse　in　a　degenerate　brain。　　These　give　to　him
  who　has　the　experience　a　vague　and　vast　sense　of　its　leading
  further；　yet　they　awaken　no　definite　or　useful　consequent　in　his
  thought。　　The　explanation　is　a　plausible　one　for　certain　sorts　of
  feeling　of　significance；　and　other　alienists　（Wernicke；　for
  example；　in　his　Grundriss　der　Psychiatrie；　Theil　ii。；　Leipzig；
  1896）　have　explained　〃paranoiac〃　conditions　by　a　laming　of　the
  association…organ。　　But　the　higher　mystical　flights；　with　their
  positiveness　and　abruptness；　are　surely　products　of　no　such
  merely　negative　condition。　　It　seems　far　more　reasonable　to
  ascribe　them　to　inroads　from　the　subconscious　life；　of　the
  cerebral　activity　correlative　to　which　we　as　yet　know　nothing。
  3。
  Yet；　I　repeat　once　more；　the　existence　of　mystical　states
  absolutely　overthrows　the　pretension　of　non…mystical　states　to　be
  the　sole　and　ultimate　dictators　of　what　we　may　believe。　As　a
  rule；　mystical　states　merely　add　a　supersensuous　meaning　to　the
  ordinary　outward　data　of　consciousness。　　They　are　excitements
  like　the　emotions　of　love　or　ambition；　gifts　to　our　spirit　by
  means　of　which　facts　already　objectively　before　us　fall　into　a
  new　expressiveness　and　make　a　new　connection　with　our　active
  life。　　They　do　not　contradict　these　facts　as　such；　or　deny
  anything　that　our　senses　have　immediately　seized。＇287＇　It　is　the
  rationalistic　critic　rather　who　plays　the　part　of　denier　in　the
  controversy；　and　his　denials　have　no　strength；　for　there　never
  can　be　a　state　of　facts　to　which　new　meaning　may　not　truthfully
  be　added；　provided　the　mind　ascend　to　a　more　enveloping　point　of
  view。　　It　must　always　remain　an　open　question　whether　mystical
  states　may　not　possibly　be　such　superior　points　of　view；　windows
  through　which　the　mind　looks　out　upon　a　more　extensive　and
  inclusive　world。　　T