lecture19-第6部分

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prophetic　books。　　The　process　is　always　extremely　different　from



what　it　would　be　if　the　prophet　arrived　at　his　insight　into



spiritual　things　by　the　tentative　efforts　of　his　own　genius。



There　is　something　sharp　and　sudden　about　it。　　He　can　lay　his



finger；　so　to　speak；　on　the　moment　when　it　came。　　And　it　always



comes　in　the　form　of　an　overpowering　force　from　without；　against



which　he　struggles；　but　in　vain。　　Listen；　for　instance；　＇to＇　the



opening　of　the　book　of　Jeremiah。　　Read　through　in　like　manner　the



first　two　chapters　of　the　prophecy　of　Ezekiel。







〃It　is　not；　however；　only　at　the　beginning　of　his　career　that　the



prophet　passes　through　a　crisis　which　is　clearly　not　self…



caused。　　Scattered　all　through　the　prophetic　writings　are



expressions　which　speak　of　some　strong　and　irresistible　impulse



coming　down　upon　the　prophet；　determining　his　attitude　to　the



events　of　his　time；　constraining　his　utterance；　making　his　words



the　vehicle　of　a　higher　meaning　than　their　own。　　For　instance；



this　of　Isaiah's：　　'The　Lord　spake　thus　to　me　with　a　strong



hand；'an　emphatic　phrase　which　denotes　the　overmastering　nature



of　the　impulse'and　instructed　me　that　I　should　not　walk　in　the



way　of　this　people。'　。　。　。　Or　passages　like　this　from　Ezekiel：　



'The　hand　of　the　Lord　God　fell　upon　me；'　'The　hand　of　the　Lord



was　strong　upon　me。'　The　one　standing　characteristic　of　the



prophet　is　that　he　speaks　with　the　authority　of　Jehovah　himself。　



Hence　it　is　that　the　prophets　one　and　all　preface　their　addresses



so　confidently；　'The　Word　of　the　Lord；'　or　'Thus　saith　the　Lord。'



They　have　even　the　audacity　to　speak　in　the　first　person；　as　if



Jehovah　himself　were　speaking。　　As　in　Isaiah：　　'Hearken　unto　me；



O　Jacob；　and　Israel　my　called；　I　am　He；　I　am　the　First；　I　also　am



the　last；'and　so　on。　　The　personality　of　the　prophet　sinks



entirely　into　the　background；　he　feels　himself　for　the　time　being



the　mouthpiece　of　the　Almighty。〃＇325＇







＇325＇　W。　Sanday：　　The　Oracles　of　God；　London；　1892；　pp。　49…56；



abridged。















〃We　need　to　remember　that　prophecy　was　a　profession；　and　that　the



prophets　formed　a　professional　class。　　There　were　schools　of　the



prophets；　in　which　the　gift　was　regularly　cultivated。　　A　group　of



young　men　would　gather　round　some　commanding　figurea　Samuel　or



an　Elishaand　would　not　only　record　or　spread　the　knowledge　of



his　sayings　and　doings；　but　seek　to　catch　themselves　something　of



his　inspiration。　　It　seems　that　music　played　its　part　in　their



exercises。　。　。　。　　It　is　perfectly　clear　that　by　no　means　all　of



these　Sons　of　the　prophets　ever　succeeded　in　acquiring　more　than



a　very　small　share　in　the　gift　which　they　sought。　　It　was　clearly



possible　to　'counterfeit'　prophecy。　　Sometimes　this　was　done



deliberately。　。　。　。　　But　it　by　no　means　follows　that　in　all　cases



where　a　false　message　was　given；　the　giver　of　it　was　altogether



conscious　of　what　he　was　doing。＇326＇







＇326＇　Op。　cit。；　p。　91。　　This　author　also　cites　Moses's　and



Isaiah's　commissions；　as　given　in　Exodus；　chaps。　iii。　and　iv。；



and　Isaiah；　chap。　vi。















Here；　to　take　another　Jewish　case；　is　the　way　in　which　Philo　of



Alexandria　describes　his　inspiration：







〃Sometimes；　when　I　have　come　to　my　work　empty；　I　have　suddenly



become　full；　ideas　being　in　an　invisible　manner　showered　upon　me；



and　implanted　in　me　from　on　high；　so　that　through　the　influence



of　divine　inspiration；　I　have　become　greatly　excited；　and　have



known　neither　the　place　in　which　I　was；　nor　those　who　were



present；　nor　myself；　nor　what　I　was　saying；　nor　what　I　was



writing；　for　then　I　have　been　conscious　of　a　richness　of



interpretation；　an　enjoyment　of　light；　a　most　penetrating



insight；　a　most　manifest　energy　in　all　that　was　to　be　done；



having　such　effect　on　my　mind　as　the　clearest　ocular



demonstration　would　have　on　the　eyes。〃＇327＇







＇327＇　Quoted　by　Augustus　Clissold：　　The　Prophetic　Spirit　in



Genius　and　Madness；　1870；　p。　67。　　Mr。　Clissold　is　a



Swedenborgian。　　Swedenborg's　case　is　of　course　the　palmary　one　of



audita　et　visa；　serving　as　a　basis　of　religious　revelation。















If　we　turn　to　Islam；　we　find　that　Mohammed's　revelations　all　came



from　the　subconscious　sphere。　　To　the　question　in　what　way　he　got



them







〃Mohammed　is　said　to　have　answered　that　sometimes　he　heard　a



knell　as　from　a　bell；　and　that　this　had　the　strongest　effect　on



him；　and　when　the　angel　went　away；　he　had　received　the



revelation。　　Sometimes　again　he　held　converse　with　the　angel　as



with　a　man；　so　as　easily　to　understand　his　words。　　The　later



authorities；　however；　。　。　。　distinguish　still　other　kinds。　　In



the　Itgan　（103）　the　following　are　enumerated：　　1；　revelations



with　sound　of　bell；　2；　by　inspiration　of　the　holy　spirit　in　M。's



heart；　3；　by　Gabriel　in　human　form；　4；　by　God　immediately；　either



when　awake　（as　in　his　journey　to　heaven）　or　in　dream。　。　。　。　In



Almawahib　alladuniya　the　kinds　are　thus　given：　　1；　Dream；　2；



Inspiration　of　Gabriel　in　the　Prophet's　heart；　3；　Gabriel　taking



Dahya's　form；　4；　with　the　bell…sound；　etc。；　5；　Gabriel　in　propria



persona　（only　twice）；　6；　revelation　in　heaven；　7；　God　appearing



in　person；　but　veiled；　8；　God　revealing　himself　immediately



without　veil。　　Others　add　two　other　stages；　namely：　　1；　Gabriel



in　the　form　of　still　another　man；　2；　God　showing　himself



personally　in　dream。〃＇328＇







＇328＇　Noldeke；　Geschichte　des　Qorans；　1860；　p。　16。　　Compare　the



fuller　account　in　Sir　William　Muir's：　　Life　of　Mahomet；　3d　ed。；



1894；　ch。　iii。















In　none　of　these　cases　is　the　revelation　distinctly　motor。　In　the



case　of　Joseph　Smith　（who　had　prophetic　revelations　innumerable



in　addition　to　the　revealed　translation　of　the　　gold　plates



which　resulted　in　the　Book　of　Mormon）；　although　there　may　have



been　a　motor　element；　the　inspiration　seems　to　have　been



predominantly　sensorial。　　He　began　his　translation　by　the　aid　of



the　〃peep…stones〃　which　he　found；　or　thought　or　said　that　he



found；　with　the　gold　plates　apparently　a　case　of　〃crystal



gazing。〃　　For　some　of　the　other　revelations　he　used　the



peep…stones；　but　seems　generally　to　have　asked　the　Lord　for　more



direct　instruction。＇329＇







＇329＇　The　Mormon　theocracy　has　always　been　governed　by　direct



revelations　accorded　to　the　President　of　the　Church　and　its



Apostles。　　From　an　obliging　letter　written　to　me　in　1899　by　an



eminent　Mormon；　I　quote　the　following　extract：







〃It　may　be　very　interesting　for　you　to　know　that　the　President



＇Mr。　Snow＇　of　the　Mormon　Church　claims　to　have　had　a　number　of



revelations　very　recently　from　heaven。　　To　explain　fully　what



these　revelations　are；　it　is　necessary　to　know　that　we；　as　a



people；　believe　that　the　Church　of　Jesus　Christ　has　again　been



established　through　messengers　sent　from　heaven。　　This　Church　has



at　its　head　a　prophet　seer；　and　revelator；　who　gives　to　man　God's



holy　will。　　Revelation　is　the　means　through　which　the　will　of　God



is　declared　directly　and　in　fullness　to　man。　　These　revelations



are　got　through　dreams　of　sleep　or　in　waking　visions　of　the　mind；



by　voices　without　visional　appearance　or　by　actual　manifestations



of　the　Holy　Presence　before　the　eye。　　We　believe　that　God　has



come　in　person　and　spoken　to　our　prophet　and　revelator。〃















Other　revelations　are　described　as　〃openings〃Fox's；　for



example；　were　evidently　of　the　kind　known　in　spiritistic　circles



of　to…day　as　〃impressions。〃　　As　all　effective　initiators　of



change　must　needs　live　to　some　degree　upon　this　psychopathic



level　of　sudden　perception　or　conviction　of　new　truth；　or　of



impulse　to　action　so　obsessive　that　it　must　be　worked　off；　I　will



say　nothing　more　about　so　very　common　a　phenomenon。







When；　in　addition　to　these　phenomena　of　inspiration；　we　take



religious　mysticism　into　the　account；　when　we　recall　the　striking



and　sudden　unifications　of　a　discordant　self　which　we　saw　in



conversion；　and　when　we　review　the　extravagant　obsessions　of



tenderness；　purity；　and　self…severity　met　with　in　saintliness；　we



cannot；　I　think；　avoid　the　conclusion　that　in　religion　we　have　a



department　of　human　nature　with　unusually　close　relations　to　the



transmarginal　or　subliminal　region。　　If　the　word　〃subliminal〃　is



offensive　to　any　of　you；　as　smelling　too　much　of　psychical



research　or　other　aberrations；　call　it　by　any　other　name　you



please；　to　distinguish　it　from　the　level　of　full　sunlit



consciousness。　　Call　this　latter　the　A…region　of　personality；　if



you　care　to；　and　call　the　other　the　B…region。　　The　B…region；



then；　is　obviously　the　larger　part　of　each　of　us；　for　it　is　the



abode　of　everything　that　is　latent　and　the　reservoir　of



everything　that　passes　unrecorded　or　unobserved。　　It　contains；



for　example；　such　things　as　all　our　momentarily　inactive



memories；　and　it　harbors　the　springs　of　all　our　obscurely　motived



passions；　impulses；　likes；　dislikes；　and　prejudices。　　Our



intuitions；　hypotheses；　fancies；　superstitions；　persuasions；



convictions；　and　in　general　all　our　non…rational　operations；　come



from　it。　　It　is　the　source　of　our　dreams；　and　apparently　they　may



return　to　it。　　In　it　arise　whatever　mystical　experiences　we　may



have；　and　our　automatisms；　sensory　or　motor；　our　life　in　hypnotic



and　〃hypnoid〃　conditions；　if　we　are　subjects　to　such　conditions；



our　delusions；　fixed　id