The work appearing superhuman, people wish to exhibit the intervention of the extra-human: in antiquity. the tripod; in our days, the table. The table is nothing but the tripod come again. To accept in a literal sense, the demon that Socrates talks of, the bush of Moses, the nymph of Numa, the spirit of Plotinus, and Mahomet`s dove, is to be the victim of a metaphor.
On the other hand, the table, turning or talking, has been very much laughed at. To speak plainly, this raillery is out of place. To replace inquiry by mockery is convenient, but not very scientific. For our part, we think that the strict duty of Science is to test all phenomena.
William Shakespeare by Victor Hugo
