Résumé
Résumé de La magie moderne
Go deeper: the whole of La magie moderne
About 8 h to read.À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
You will enjoy this if you love ghost stories, strange true cases, the history of spiritualism and mesmerism, or the way a Victorian scholar tried to weigh the supernatural.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
At her dwelling in Endor, a woman calls up the dead prophet Samuel for a frightened king. Was that magic, delusion, or something between the two? M. Schele de Vere, writing in 1873, gathers witch trials, dreams, ghosts, trances and miracle cures into one book called Modern Magic. He sorts true from false and hunts for the grain of truth in every story. You begin with his boldest claim, that the human soul holds powers science has not yet measured.
Dans ce résumé
- 1The soul holds powers beyond the bodyFree
- 2Witch trials grew from fear and fantasy
- 3Magic is old and its tools are props
- 4Spirit rapping echoes the minds in the room
- 5Dreams may carry knowledge across distance
- 6Visions follow the body and the mind
- 7Ghost stories mix trickery, illness and puzzles
- 8Trance explains foresight, possession and mesmerism
- 9Faith heals and mystics test the body's limits
Point clé 1 sur 9
The soul holds powers beyond the body
The author opens with a claim. Human beings, he says, are more than the sum of their senses, and the soul can sometimes act on its own, free of the usual limits of space and time. He chooses the word magic for these powers, though he admits the word is not a perfect fit.
He argues against the materialists, who reduce the soul to the work of bodily organs. He adds that alchemy gave birth to chemistry and astrology to astronomy, so he expects modern magic to hide a similar seed of truth. His method is plain: gather the facts, strip away what is delusion, and compare what remains.
For you, this sets the tone for every chapter. The book is neither a cheerful collection of wonders nor a sneer. It asks you to sift each story, look for the small part that cannot be explained, and keep a mind that is open but careful.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Go deeper: the whole of La magie moderne
About 8 h to read.Questions about La magie moderne
What is Modern Magic about?
It asks whether unusual experiences point to hidden human powers. Stories of ghosts and dreams sit alongside accounts of witchcraft and other magical or religious practices, drawn from earlier ages and the author's own time.
When was Modern Magic written and who wrote it?
M. Schele de Vere, a professor at the University of Virginia, published it in New York in 1873. It draws on classical, medieval and nineteenth-century sources from many countries.
Does the author believe in ghosts and spirits?
He rejects spirit rapping and most haunting as trickery or illness, but thinks some cases point to real powers of the soul, especially at death. He asks readers to sift evidence carefully.
What does magic mean in this book?
The author uses the word for powers of the human soul that act beyond the usual limits of space, time and the senses, and shows up in trances, dreams, visions and strong faith.
Is Modern Magic easy to follow?
It is organized in ten chapters, each built from vivid cases such as the witch of Endor, the actress Clairon and the medium Home. You can read any chapter on its own.