Mesmeric Revelation by Edgar Allan Poe
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of_the body man will_be god ?

V .[_After much hesitation .] I_could_not have said this ; it_is an absurdity .

P .[_Referring to my notes .] you_did say that "divested of corporate investiture man were god ."

V . and this_is true . man thus divested would_be god - would_be unindividualized . but he_can never be thus divested - at_least never will_be - else we_must imagine an action of god returning upon itself - a purposeless and futile action . man is a creature .Creatures are thoughts of god . it_is_the nature of thought to_be irrevocable .

P . I_do_not comprehend . you say that man will never put off the body ?

V . I_say that he_will never be bodiless .

P . explain .

V . there_are two bodies - the rudimental and_the complete ; corresponding with_the two conditions of_the worm and_the butterfly . what we call " death," is but the painful metamorphosis . our present incarnation is progressive, preparatory, temporary . our future is perfected, ultimate, immortal . the ultimate life is_the full design .

P . but of_the worm's metamorphosis we_are palpably cognizant .

V .We_, certainly - but not the worm . the matter of_which our rudimental body is composed, is within_the ken of_the organs of_that body ; or, more distinctly, our rudimental organs are adapted to_the matter of which_is formed the rudimental body ; but not to_that of_which the ultimate is composed . the ultimate body thus escapes our rudimental senses, and we perceive only the shell which falls, in decaying, from_the inner form ; not that inner form itself ; but this inner form, as_well as_the shell, is appreciable by_those who_have already acquired the ultimate life .

P . you_have often said that_the mesmeric state very nearly resembles death . how is_this ?

V . when I_say that_it resembles death, I mean that_it resembles the ultimate life ; for when I_am entranced the senses of_my rudimental life are in abeyance, and I perceive external things directly, without organs, through a medium which I_shall employ in_the ultimate, unorganized life .

P . unorganized ?

V . yes ; organs are contrivances by_which the individual is brought into sensible relation with particular classes and forms of matter, to_the exclusion of other classes and forms . the organs of man are adapted to_his rudimental condition, and to_that only ; his ultimate condition, being unorganized, is of unlimited comprehension in all points but one - the nature of_the volition of god - that_is_to_say, the motion of_the unparticled matter . you_will_have a distinct idea of_the ultimate body by conceiving it to_be entire brain . this it_is_not ; but a conception of_this nature will bring you near acomprehension of what it_is .a luminous body imparts vibration to_the luminiferous ether . the vibrations generate similar ones within_the retina ; these again communicate similar ones to_the optic nerve . the nerve conveys similar ones to_the brain ; the brain, also, similar ones to_the unparticled matter which permeates it . the motion of_this latter is thought, of_which perception is_the first undulation . this_is_the mode by_which the mind of_the rudimental life communicates with_the external world ; and this external world is, to_the rudimental life, limited, through_the idiosyncrasy of_its organs . but in_the ultimate, unorganized life, the external world reaches the whole body, ( which_is of a substance having affinity to brain, as I_have said,) with no other intervention than that of an infinitely rarer ether than even the luminiferous ; and to_this ether - in unison with it - the whole body vibrates, setting in motion the unparticled matter which permeates it . it_is to_the absence of idiosyncratic organs, therefore, that we_must attribute the nearly unlimited perception of_the ultimate life . to rudimental beings, organs are the cages necessary to confine them until fledged .

P . you speak of rudimental "beings ." are there other rudimental thinking beings than man ?

V . the multitudinous conglomeration of rare matter into nebul, planets, suns, and other bodies which are neither nebul, suns, nor planets, is for_the sole purpose of supplying pabulum for_the idiosyncrasy of_the organs of an infinity of rudimental beings . but for_the necessity of_the rudimental, prior to_the ultimate life, there would_have_been no bodies such as_these . each of_these is tenanted by a distinct variety of organic, rudimental, thinking creatures . in all, the organs vary with_the features of_the place tenanted . at death, or metamorphosis, these creatures, enjoying the ultimate life - immortality - and cognizant of all secrets but the one_, act all things and pass everywhere by mere volition: - indwelling, not the stars, which to_us seem the sole palpabilities, and for_the accommodation of_which we blindly deem space created - but that space itself - that infinity of_which the truly substantive vastness swallows up the star-shadows -- blotting them out as non-entities from_the perception of_the angels .

P . you say that " but for_the necessity of_the rudimental life" there would_have_been no stars . but why this necessity ?

V . in_the inorganic life, as_well as in_the inorganic matter generally, there_is nothing to impede the action of one simple _unique law - the divine volition . with_the view of producing impediment, the organic life and matter, ( complex, substantial, and law- encumbered,) were contrived .

P . but again - why need this impediment have_been produced ?

V . the result of law inviolate is perfection - right - negative happiness . the result of law violate is imperfection, wrong, positive pain . through_the impediments afforded by_the number, complexity, and substantiality of_the laws of organic life and matter, the violation of law is rendered, to a certain extent, practicable . thus pain, which in_the inorganic life is impossible, is possible in_the organic .

P . but to what good end is pain thus rendered possible ?

V . all things are either good or bad by comparison .a sufficient analysis will show that pleasure, in all cases, is but the contrast of pain . positive pleasure is amere idea . to_be happy at any_one point we_must_have suffered at_the same . never to suffer would_have_been never to_have_been blessed . but it_has_been shown that, in_the inorganic life, pain cannot_be thus the necessity for_the organic . the pain of_the primitive life of earth, is_the sole basis of_the bliss of_the ultimate life in heaven .

P . still, there_is one of your expressions which I_find it impossible to comprehend - " the truly substantive vastness of infinity ."

V . this, probably, is because you_have no sufficiently generic conception of_the term "_substance_" itself . we_must not regard it as a quality, but as a sentiment: - it_is_the perception, in thinking beings, of_the adaptation of matter to_their organization . there_are many things on_the earth, which would_be nihility to_the inhabitants of Venus - many things visible and tangible in Venus, which we could_not_be brought to appreciate as existing at all . but to_the inorganic beings - to_the angels - the whole of_the unparticled matter is substance - that_is_to_say, the whole of what we term " space" is to_them the truest substantiality ; - the stars, meantime, through what we consider their materiality, escaping the angelic sense, just in proportion as_the unparticled matter, through what we consider its immateriality, eludes the organic .

as_the sleep-waker pronounced these latter words, in a feeble tone, I observed on_his countenance a singular expression, which somewhat alarmed me, and induced me to awake him at once . no sooner had I done this, than, with a bright smile irradiating all his features, he fell back upon his pillow and expired .I noticed that in less_than a minute afterward his corpse had all the stern rigidity of stone . his brow was of_the coldness of ice . thus, ordinarily, should it have appeared, only after long pressure from Azrael's hand . had the sleep-waker, indeed, during the latter portion of_his discourse, been addressing me from out the region of_the shadows ?

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