847. ALDOUS HUXLEY (1894-1963) English novelist and critic most remembered for his prophetic tale of the future Brave New World. Rare, fine content T.L.S. "Aldous Huxley" 1p., 4to., on letterhead imprinted with his California address, Feb. 22, 1954, to the noted Swedish astronomer and scientific philosopher Dr. Gustaf Stromberg, author of Soul of the Universe [1940]. Huxley evidences his on-going fascination with scientific breeding and conditioning as well as the microscopic examination and genetic altering of living organisms, in part: "...It was indeed a great pleasure to meet you and to have an opportunity of talking with you about some of the important things, which the academically orthodox prefer to ignore. Have you yet seen Dr. Raynor Johnson's 'The Imprisoned Splendor', which has just been published by Harpers? Dr. Johnson is an Australian physicist, president of Queen's College, Sydney and his book (which I have not yet had time to finish) is an attempt to produce a comprehensive picture of the world, mental and material, in the light of our knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, parapsychology and mystical experience. It is, I think, a most useful and timely essay. In relation to your own thought, as expressed in the Soul of the Universe, do you know the work of Dr. Pfeiffer on crystallization patterns? I no longer have the book and can't give exact references. But it was interesting inasmuch as it demonstrated the existence of non-material fields of form. He took substances such as blood, plant juices etc and mixed them with some crystallizing solution. Each species produced a characteristic crystallization pattern. But his pattern was progressively clearer and more regular as he 'potentized' the substances (in the homeopathic sense of the word), so that a dilution of 10/12 gave a clearer specific pattern than the undiluted substance. This accounts for the effectiveness of homoeopathy. The molecules of a substance impart a 'set' to the water in which they are diluted, and the 'set' or formal field persists even when the 'potenitizing' has gone so far that not a single molecule of the original substance is left in the final dilution. It struck me that this work...might be of interest to you...supporting your line of thought...". Judging from the overstrikes, the typed corrections, and the general sloppiness, the letter was undoubtedly personally typewritten by the author himself. Dr. Stromberg wrote numerous scientific papers on astronomy, stellar motions, and the philosophy of science. It was in 1954 that Huxley published The Doors of Perception, a work that describes a controversial short-cut to mysticism, and the use of the drug mescaline to reduce the "sublime" mystical state to a mere function of the adrenal glands. A substantive letter between two major scientific philosophers of the twentieth century. Staple holes at top left, otherwise very good condition. $800 - 1,000