Mystery Stories

These researches have continued vigorously, especially in Amer ica and France. Pratt's Religious Consciousness (1921) repre sents the matured result of the movement started by James. Considerable advance has been made towards the correlation and better understanding of such types as the prophet, visionary and religious revivalist, in all of whom a strong mystical impulse is commonly at work. The hostile study of mysticism from the psychological standpoint has its chief exponent in J. H. Leuba, and to some extent in the work of experimental psychologists such as P. Janet, whilst an approach midway between the philosophical and psychological is provided by Bucke's Cosmic Consciousness, a curious work which has exercised considerable influence. Dela croix's sympathetic but penetrating analyses of the evolution of the great mystics have shed much light on the psychological char acteristics of religious genius. Valuable studies of the nature of mystical contemplation, and restatement in modern terms of its processes, have been produced by Roman Catholic scholars, the best being those of Pere Poulain, S.J.

Influence of Psychology.

The psychological study of mysti cal phenomena has illuminated many historical problems , espe cially those connected with prophecy and the origins of religious movements. The treatment of the subject in such works as Heiler's Das Gebet and Der Katholizismus or Bremond's monumental His toire du Sentiment religieux en France, is symptomatic of the changed outlook. Material available for students of historical mysticism has been much enriched. Good texts and translations of many masterpieces of European mysticism have appeared, with valuable studies such as those of Abbot Butler and Rufus Jones, based on the historical method.

The changed outlook of physical science, the new understand ing of its limitations and the marked revolt from 19th-century materialism, have brought about a rapprochement between mysti cism and philosophy. Inge's Philosophy of Plotinus (1918) and Otto's widely discussed essay Das Heilige (The Idea of the Holy, 1924) show different aspects of the reaction of philosophy to mys ticism. But this is also felt in the pure metaphysics of Wittgen stein, and in the inimical attitude of Croce and his school. The greatest and ultimately most influential expositions of the place of mysticism in theistic philosophy, and its limitations and right ful relation with other aspects of knowledge, are Von 1E:Tel's Mystical Element of Religion and Eternal Life. These books have

affected all modern religious thinkers, and may provide the start ing-point of a critical realism harmonising the mystical, moral and intellectual approaches to reality. In America, Hocking's Meaning of God in Human Experience is probably the most important philosophic contribution to this subject.

Modern Practical Mysticism.

The first quarter of the loth century saw, especially in France, a revival of genuine Christian mysticism; possibly the beginning of what later historians may recognise as a "mystical epoch." Its most impressive document is the Spiritual Journal of the lady known as Lucie-Christine (1844-1908), a record which bears comparison with the historical classics of mysticism. Its most striking product is the career of the hermit saint of the Sahara, Charles de Foucauld (1858– 1916). These stand out among a number of more obscure person alities, such as Elizabeth de la Trinite (188o-1906) and Madeleine Seiner (1874-1921), all of whom claim and describe with a con viction and sobriety compelling respect the characteristic mystical experience and certitude. From India, the autobiography of the saintly Hindu theist Maharshi Devendranath Tagore (1817-1905 ) , and the experiences of the Christian convert Sadhu Sundar Singh (born 1889), whose career and personality have made a wide spread impression, provide unspoilt examples of first-hand mys ticism, and deepen the sense of unity in the spiritual intuitions.

The revived interest in mysticism has had popular results in several directions. It has seemed to endorse the shallow eclec ticism in which many escape the difficulties of belief. Its super ficial peculiarities have been exploited by theosophists and other apostles of eccentric religiosity. It has produced numerous bas tard cults, mostly hailing from America though often wearing Oriental disguise; cults mainly compounded of pantheism, quiet ism and crude autosuggestion, and offering a "mystical religion" to those seeking a spiritual home full of modern conveniences and devoid of discipline. On the other hand, its spirit has affected for good the literature and activity of the organised Churches; shifting the emphasis from tradition to experience, and bringing back into focus those mysterious realities which religious symbols and institutions seek to express.