Review: Dr. Franz Hartmann’s Magic.
by Dr. Hugo Göring[i] [ii]
Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl
Hartmann’s magic, Annie Besant’s book on death, and Max Müller’s lectures on the Vedanta system form a formidable triple alliance for consolidating Theosophy as a world power. This issue first briefly outlines these three recent works before discussing their content in detail in later sections.
Every word Hartmann speaks of reveals a decidedly masculine, powerful nature, one that has worked its way up to Theosophy through arduous struggle. According to the image I will present in “The Sphinx,” he is an individual of a strong intellectual race, ready for battle and demanding the victory of the good cause. His book “Magic” is a protest against materialism in life and in that science which is always concerned only with matter and never ascends from it to the spirit. Hartmann’s work is a vigorous sermon of repentance against the demoralizing thirst for knowledge that leads down many wrong paths and distracts from the divine.
That a man who knows life and European science, and who is nothing like a fanatic or dreamer, so vehemently advocates for the wisdom of the East against our cultural life, already gives us assurance that we are confronted with a spiritual power from which no one can escape once they have opened themselves to it. Hartmann’s work bears witness to this power. In twelve chapters, it addresses the following topics: Ideal and reality, truth and illusion, essence and deception, life in nature, the harmony of the spheres, the magic of illusion, self-consciousness, death, transformations, creation from nothing, more light, and perfection.
In conjunction with the biographical sketch of Hartmann, a detailed report on the content of his book will be given. This preliminary announcement aims to provide the first external indication of the publication of the work, which, as a revised edition of “Magic, White and Black,” already published in seven editions, has become almost a new book. For the purposes of this issue, it suffices if I cite a section that explains some works on the phenomena of spiritualism: The demonstration of the self-deception that sometimes occurs in spiritualism. Mr. Hartmann states on pages 71 and 72:
“Since the entire universe, with all its forms and appearances, represents the manifestations of a single eternal unity and essence, or, in other words, all forms of existence are states of the one eternal being, so too, wherever the law of spirit governs in nature, there reigns order and harmony, which is determined and unchanging precisely because it is not ordered from without, but originates from within, from the very essence of things. Astronomy proves the regularity of the movements of celestial bodies in space, and the same law prevails in the soul of the world. For indeed, all celestial bodies and all forms that we perceive in nature are nothing other than the outward appearances of images that exist in the soul of the world. There, one idea arises from another; just as day and night follow one another in the visible world, and as a pendulum swings from one side to the other, so too do periods of superstition follow, and these are followed by the reaction that brings about disbelief.
The thought process in the human brain is just like the orbit of the planets around the sun is governed by certain laws and follows them, unless human free will intervenes. Therefore, we see, especially in dreams and dream states, that once the key to an idea is given, the resulting train of thought unfolds regularly and logically, without the will of the person involved having any effect.
This explains the often logical and coherent “spirit communications” that spring from the imagination of the “medium” without his conscious awareness. It also explains the delusions of philosophers, scholars, and theologians who, from a hypothesis based on falsehood, draw a series of logical conclusions, the only faults of which are that their premise is false. For example, Katharina Emmerich starts from a delusion, and without her conscious effort, a veritable series of ideas develops in her brain for the edification of the pious, which she perceives objectively, even though the entire spectacle is not based on any true fact.
As an example, the author takes the liberty of citing the following:
When I was still heavily involved with spiritualism, I visited a medium friend in Denver, Col. [Colorado], one day and received a message in my father’s writings, telling me that I had to do something for my health, otherwise I would soon pass away to the spirit world. My “father” (who was a competent doctor in life) wrote me the following prescription:
Rp. Ferr. sulfuric, une. II
Extr. ligni campechian. une. 1
Aq. destillat, une. XVI
Gummi arabic. une. ß
Creosot. gutt. X
Mise, lege artis, sign: To take 1 tablespoon full 3 times a day.
Since this was a recipe for black writing ink, I left, annoyed at the trick a “mischievous spirit” had played on me. As I stepped out of the house, I saw a stationery shop on the next corner, displaying black ink in its window. Now it was clear to me that I had already seen this display on my way to the medium, without paying it any further attention. Nevertheless, the sight of the ink had brought the recipe for its preparation to mind in my “unconscious,” and this was the reason why I received it reflected back to me by the medium as if through a living mirror. Neither the medium nor an evil spirit had deceived me, but rather my own ignorance by my own nature.”
In the same vein, Hartmann fights against any kind of intellectual dependence (p. 244):
“Of all existences, the most pitiable are those without will, who, lacking their own energy, constantly allow themselves to be led by external influences, and who are commonly called “mediums.” And among these we do not include those who submit to hypnotic and spiritualistic experiments, but all those who allow themselves to be led by external influences, whether visible or invisible, to act against their own reason and conviction. They are what in ordinary life are called “fools,” of whom there are all possible degrees and shades. The fool sacrifices his true self on the altar of his controlling passion; the mystic sacrifices his personal will, thereby subjugating it through the will of his divine self.”
“A man is self-reliant! — but only he who has truly found himself, stands firmly on his own feet and needs no external support; he alone will grasp the true meaning of the word “freedom,” which is a profound mystery to all who are not free from selfishness.”
Dr. Göring.
Notes:
[i] Review. Dr. Franz Hartmann’s Magic. Reviewed by Dr. Hugo Göring. Sphinx 19, no. 104 (October 1894), 306-308 [Translation from the German blackletter by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025]
[ii] Die weiße und schwarze Magie oder das Gesetz des Geistes in der Natur. Von Dr. med. Franz Hartmann. Leipzig, Verlag von Wilhelm Friedrich, 1894, XIV und 255 Seiten gr. okt. 6 Mk. [White and Black Magic, or the Law of the Spirit in Nature. By Dr. Franz Hartmann. Leipzig, Wilhelm Friedrich Publishing House, 1894, XIV and 255 pages, large octavo. 6 marks.]