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BOOK OF THE DAMNED
By Charles Fort
CHAPTER: 01,
02, 03,
04, 05,
06, 07,
08, 09,
10, 11,
12, 13,
14, 15,
16, 17,
18, 19,
20, 21,
22, 23,
24, 25,
26, 27,
28
EARLY explorers have Florida mixed up with Newfoundland. But
the confusion is worse than that still earlier. It arises from simplicity. Very
early explorers think that all land westward is one land, India: awareness of
other lands as well as India comes as a slow process. I do not now think of
things arriving upon this earth from some especial other world. That was my
notion when I started to collect our data. Or, as is a commonplace of
observation, all intellection begins with the illusion of homogeneity. It's one
of Spencer's data: we see homogeneousness in all things distant, or with which
we have small acquaintance. Advance from the relatively homogeneous to the
relatively heterogeneous is Spencerian Philosophy -- like everything else,
so-called: not that it was really Spencer's discovery, but was taken from von
Baer, who, in turn, was continuous with preceding evolutionary speculation. Our
own expression is that all things are acting to advance to the homogeneous, or
are trying to localize Homogeneousness. Homogeneousness is an aspect of the
Universal, wherein it is a state that does not merge away into something else.
We regard homogeneousness as an aspect of positiveness, but it is our acceptance
that infinite frustrations of attempts to positivize manifest themselves in
infinite heterogeneity: so that though things try to localize homogeneousness
they end up in heterogeneity so great that it amounts to infinite dispersion or
indistinguishability.
So all concepts are little attempted positivenesses, but soon
have to give in to compromise, modification, nullification, merging away into
indistinguishability -- unless, here and there, in the world's history, there may
have been a super-dogmatist, who, for only an infinitesimal of time, has been
able to hold out against heterogeneity or modification or doubt or
"listening to reason," or loss of identity -- in which case -- instant
translation to heaven or the Positive Absolute.
Odd thing about Spencer is that he never recognized that
"homogeneity," "integration," and "definiteness"
are all words for the same state, or the state we call "positiveness."
What we call his mistake is in that he regarded "homogeneousness" as
negative.
I began with a notion of some one other world, from which
objects and substances have fallen to this earth; which had, or which, to less
degree, has a tutelary interest in this earth; which is now attempting to
communicate with this earth -- modifying, because of data which will pile up
later, into acceptance that some other world is not attempting but has been, for
centuries, in communication with a sect, perhaps, or a secret society, or
certain esoteric ones of this earth's inhabitants.
I lose a great deal of hypnotic power in not being able to
concentrate attention upon some one other world.
As I have admitted before I'm intelligent, as contrasted with
the orthodox. I haven't the aristocratic disregard of a New York curator or an
Eskimo medicine-man.
I have to dissipate myself in acceptance of a host of other
worlds: |
