the unknown guest-第48章

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mathematical　sciences。　A　steamship　coming　from　another　hemisphere；　one　in　which　men's　minds　had　taken；　unknown　to　ourselves；　the　road　which　our　own　has　actually　taken；　would　have　seemed　to　us　as　wonderful；　as　incredible　as　the　phenomena　of　our　subconsciousness　seem　to　us　to…day。　We　should　have　gone　very　far　in　what　at　present　we　call　the　unknown　or　the　occult；　but　we　should　have　known　hardly　anything　of　physics；　chemistry　or　mechanics；　unless；　which　is　very　probable；　we　had　come　upon　them　by　another　road　as　we　travelled　round　the　occult。　It　is　true　that　certain　nations；　the　Hindus　particularly；　the　Egyptians　and　perhaps　the　Incas；　as　well　as　others；　in　all　probability；　who　have　not　left　sufficient　traces；　thus　went　to　work　the　other　way　and　obtained　nothing　decisive。　Is　this　again　a　consequence　of　the　hopeless　incompatibility　between　the　faculties　of　the　brain　and　those　of　the　subconsciousness？　Possibly；　but　we　must　not　forget　that　we　are　speaking　of　nations　which　never　possessed　our　intellectual　habits；　our　passion　for　precision；　for　verification；　for　experimental　certainty；　indeed；　this　passion　has　only　been　fully　developed　in　ourselves　within　the　last　two　or　three　centuries。　It　is　to　be　presumed　therefore　that　the　European　would　have　gone　much　farther　in　the　other　direction　than　the　Oriental。　Where　would　he　have　arrived？　Endowed　with　a　different　brain；　naturally　clearer；　more　exacting；　more　logical；　less　credulous；　more　practical；　closer　to　realities；　more　attentive　to　details；　but　with　the　scientific　side　of　his　intelligence　uncultivated；　would　he　have　gone　astray　or　would　he　have　met　the　truths　which　we　are　still　seeking　and　which　may　well　be　more　important　than　all　our　material　conquests。　Ill…prepared；　ill…equipped；　ill…balanced；　lacking　the　necessary　ballast　of　experiments　and　proofs；　would　he　have　been　exposed　to　the　dangers　familiar　to　all　the　too…mystical　nations？　It　is　very　difficult　to　imagine　so。　But　the　hour　has　now　perhaps　come　to　try　without　risk　what　he　could　not　have　done　without　grave　peril。　While　abandoning　no　whit　of　his　understanding；　which　is　small　compared　with　the　boundless　scope　of　the　subconsciousness；　but　which　is　sure；　tried　and　docile；　he　can　now　embark　upon　the　great　adventure　and　try　to　do　that　which　has　not　been　done　before。　It　is　a　matter　of　discovering　the　connecting　link　between　the　two　forces。　We　are　still　ignorant　of　the　means　of　aiding；　encouraging；　developing　and　taming　the　greater　of　the　two　and　of　bringing　it　closer　to　us；　the　quest　will　be　the　most　difficult；　the　most　mysterious　and；　in　certain　respects；　the　most　dangerous　that　mankind　has　ever　undertaken。　But　we　can　say　to　ourselves；　without　fear　of　being　very　far　wrong；　that　it　is　the　best　task　at　the　moment。　In　any　case；　this　is　the　first　time　since　man　has　existed　that　he　will　be　fronting　the　unknown　with　such　good　weapons；　even　as　it　is　also　the　first　time　since　its　awakening　that　his　intelligence；　which　has　reached　a　summit　from　which　it　can　understand　almost　everything；　will　at　last　receive　help　from　outside　and　hear　a　voice　that　is　something　more　than　the　echo　of　its　own。







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