The Apocatastasis; or Progress Backwards (1854) [Attack on Spiritualism]

[Marsh, Leonard]. The Apocatastasis; or Progress Backwards: A New "Tract for the Times". Burlington: Chauncey Goodrich, 1854. First Edition. [8353]

Signed "Prof. Leonard Marsh, M.D." in brown ink below the line By the Author on the title page.

Black cloth, 6 x 9 inches, small worming to front board and thin loss of cloth at front outer hinge. Ends & tips worn. Binder's ticket, "E. A. Fuller, Book-Binder, Burlington, Vt." top of front paste-down. Two paste stains on the second free fly page which are shadowed on the title page (see pics). Small emboss stamp, "Joseph A. Sadony | Private" on tp. 202 (1) clean pp. Good.

The former owner, Joseph Alexander Sadony (1877-1960), b. Mountbauer, Germany; d. Muskegon, Michigan. He was considered to be a leading authority on the subject of mental phenomena and sought for a theory that would encompass all of science that would include psychic and spiritual phenomena.

A rather turgid examination of Spiritualism, pronouncing it a backwards return (the author's sense of the word apocatastasis) to a primitive philosophy of the spirit world, and incompatible with the Christian faith. He compares the beliefs and practices of spiritualism with the superstitions of antiquity. For example, "The common method of mesmerising among the ancients seems to have been by means of music, and especially singing, hence called incantation and enchantment. I will adduce some specimens of it from the defence of Apuleius before a Roman judge on being accused of magic..." and "Besides the developed Mediums through whom the spirits could communicate with a third person, there were also in ancient times what are now called impressible Mediums, who received the divine influx into their own conciousnesses, or semi-consciousness, but it was not fully transmitted for the benefit of others. These, as might be expected, are to be found mostly among the later, or the new, mystical, Platonists."

Chapters: The Stars, The Republics, The Gods, The Cosmogonies, Fascination, Vaticinating Waters, Manifestations, Necromancy, Theoretic, Differences of Opinion, Elysium, Heathenism redivivus, Daemonopathy, Dogmata, More last words.

Leonard Marsh, M.D. (1800-1870), for some years Professor of Natural History at the University of Vermont. - uvm website.