The Principles of Nature

One should reflect before deciding against the possibility of anything that is claimed to grow out of that condition The "condition" refers to the magnetic or clairvoyant state. in a proper state of development.

If, from the time the boy was first magnetized original: "magnetized"; in this context, it refers to being placed in a mesmeric or hypnotic trance. until the time he left Mr. Armstrong (which was some three months or more later), the boy had made any considerable effort to inform himself on anatomical, physiological, astronomical, geological, or psychological subjects by reading, Mr. Armstrong would certainly have discovered the fact and mentioned it in his letter inserted above. Besides, the proficiency in these subjects that could have been achieved under those circumstances by such a boy would have been very little, even with the most diligent efforts.

Up to this time, therefore, his education—according to Mr. Armstrong—"barely amounted to a knowledge of reading, writing, and the rudiments of arithmetic," and "his reading was exceedingly limited and confined to that of a light and juvenile description." At this period (which was in March 1844), we find him entering on a career of medical practice. In this, he sustained himself to the utmost satisfaction of all patients who gave him a fair trial until April 10, 1847, after which time he ceased to be magnetized for an indefinite period.

During Mr. Davis’s exclusive connection with Mr. Levingston (which lasted from March 1844 to August 1845), his opportunities for acquiring information by external processes i.e., normal study or schooling. were little, if any, more extensive than they had been before. Mr. Levingston, having been absorbed for the previous part of his life in the respectable occupation of a tailor, had not been able to store his mind with the scientific and philosophic knowledge that could have qualified him to impart any important instruction to the young man. Nor did he even understand many of the anatomical and medical technicalities technicalitiesSpecialized terminology or jargon used by professionals. which the clairvoyant would frequently use in his examinations and prescriptions. Nor did Mr. Levingston possess a library from which the young man could have derived any important aid in developing his mind to the immense extent necessary for the composition of this book. Thus, the Reverend Mr. Bartlett—whose intimate acquaintance with Mr. Davis, according to his own statement, extended from early 1842 to 1845—says of Davis in his letter above, when speaking of the first few months of his clairvoyant career: "In his natural appearance, deportment, or opportunities, no change was observable at this or any other period of my acquaintance with him."

Mr. Davis’s connection with Mr. Levingston continued for about eighteen months. During the early part of this period, their joint labors were confined mostly to Poughkeepsie; however, toward the latter part, they made frequent excursions to Danbury and Bridgeport, Connecticut. In all of these places, they had various patients. Wherever Davis went, he was an object of intense curiosity, and as a consequence, his movements were closely observed, not only while in his abnormal state The trance state. but also while in his ordinary state. In each of those places, therefore, he was well known by numerous people, and no one among them has ever observed any reliable indication of a studious habit on his part. If they have, let them provide not their vague guesses, but tangible facts capable of proof, and then our statement will be considered refuted original: "refuted"; proven wrong.. Indeed, the unsettled life he led during this period was very unfavorable to study, especially to the kind of study that could have assisted in the production of the book now before the reader. When not traveling, he was, on average, thrown into the abnormal state twice a day for—