What is this theory of “Men illiterate and unwary in their Observations,” but Von Hartmann’s doctrine of “the…
- Date of account
- Written 1691; later edited edition
- Source
- The secret commonwealth of elves, fauns & fairies
- Reference
- The secret commonwealth of elves, fauns & fairies · selected passage 67
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English/Scots historical text
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
What is this theory of “Men illiterate and unwary in their Observations,” but Von Hartmann’s doctrine of “the nerve force which issues from the body of the medium, and then proceeds to set up fresh centres of force in all neighbouring objects
Published source text
Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.
Source passage
Source text · mention onlyWhat is this theory of “Men illiterate and unwary in their Observations,” but Von Hartmann’s doctrine of “the nerve force which issues from the body of the medium, and then proceeds to set up fresh centres of force in all neighbouring objects ... while it still remains under the control of the medium’s unconscious will”? See Mr. Walter Leaf on Hartmann’s _Der Geisterhypothese des Spiritismus_, _Proc. S. P. R._, xix. 293. It is amusing to find a learned German coinciding in scientific theory with “ignorant and unwary” Highland seers. Both regard the phantasms as manifestations of “nerve-force,” “exuvious fumes,” and as “neither souls nor counterfeiting spirits.”
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis material belongs to a folklore tradition. Story type, collector, community, transmission and literary editing matter when comparing it with other sources.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyLattice compares motifs and reported features without assuming that a traditional being is a biological species or that similar stories document one external cause.
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