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The Spiritist review — Journal of psychological studies — 1858 > June
June
Theory of Physical Manifestations
Second article
II
II
We request the reader to refer to the first article that was published about the subject. Since this is a
continuation of the first article, this one is likely not to be well understood if the reader had not read
the first one.
As we said before, the explanations we gave about the physical manifestations are founded on the observation of the fact and its logical deduction: we concluded in accordance with what was seen. However, how do the changes in the ethereal matter occur in order to turn it tangible and perceptible?
For starters, let the spirits whom we have questioned about the subject respond, adding our own remarks later. The answers below were given by St. Louis and are in agreement with what we were told before by other spirit.
As we said before, the explanations we gave about the physical manifestations are founded on the observation of the fact and its logical deduction: we concluded in accordance with what was seen. However, how do the changes in the ethereal matter occur in order to turn it tangible and perceptible?
For starters, let the spirits whom we have questioned about the subject respond, adding our own remarks later. The answers below were given by St. Louis and are in agreement with what we were told before by other spirit.
1. How can a spirit appear with the solidity of a living body?
- The spirit combines part of the universal fluid with part of the fluid that detaches from a
medium with this capability. This fluid then takes the form desired by the spirit. 2. What is the nature of such fluid?
- - Fluid. That says all.
- Semi material.
4. Is that fluid what makes the perispirit?
- Yes, it is the bond between the spirit and matter.
5. Is this fluid the one that gives life, the vital principle?
- It is always that fluid. I said bond.
6. Is that fluid an emanation from the Divinity?
- No.
7. Is it a creation of Divinity?
- Yes. Everything is created except God himself.
8. Has the universal fluid a relationship with the electric fluid whose effects we know?
- Yes, it is its element.
9. Is the ethereal substance between the planets the universal fluid in question?
- It surrounds the globes. Nothing would live without the vital principle. If a man went up beyond the fluidic covering of the globes, he would perish as his fluidic covering would withdraw to join the mass. It is this fluid that animates you. It is what you breathe.
10. Is this fluid the same in all globes?
- It is the same principle, more or less ethereal, according to the nature of the globes. Yours is one of the most materialized.
11. Since it is this fluid that makes the perispirit, there must be a kind of condensation that, up to a certain point, approximates it to matter.
- Yes, up to a certain degree since it does not have their properties. It is more or less condensed, according to the worlds.
12. Is it the solidified spirit who raises the table?
- This question will not take you to the point you desire yet. When a table moves under
your hands, the spirit, evoked by your spirit, takes from the universal fluid what is
needed to animate the table with a factitious life. The spirits who produce such type of
effects are always inferior and are not entirely separated from their fluid or perispirit.
The table thus prepared by their will (of the rapping spirits) can be attracted and moved
by the spirit, under the influence of their own fluid, detached by their will. When the
mass that they are willing to lift is too heavy they call for help from other spirits, who are in their identical conditions. I believe I have explained myself with enough clarity to
be understood.
13. Are the spirits that are called to help you, your inferiors?
- They are almost always equals. They frequently come by themselves.
14. We understand that the superior spirits do not bother with things that are their inferior. But we ask if, considering that they are dematerialized, they would have the power to do it, in case they wished so.
- They have the moral strength, as the others have the physical strength. When such strength is needed, they are served by those who have it. Haven’t we told you that they are served by the inferior spirits as you are by workers and servants?
15. Where does Mr. Home’s special power come from? - From his own organization.
16. What is special about that?
- The question is not accurate.
17. We asked if it is related to his physical or moral organization. - I said organization.
18. Among those present, is there someone who could have the same faculty as Mr. Home? - They have it in a certain degree. Wasn’t it one of you who made the table move?
19. When someone makes an object move, is it always with the help of a strange spirit or such an action can be exclusively done by the medium?
- Sometimes the spirit of the medium can act alone; however, in the majority of the occasions, it is helped by the evoked spirits. This is easy to recognize.
20. How come the spirits show up wearing the outfits that they wore on Earth?
- They frequently have only that appearance. In fact, for how many phenomena among
you there is still no solution? How come the wind, which is impalpable, pulls trees off
and breaks them, trees that are made of solid matter?
13. Are the spirits that are called to help you, your inferiors?
- They are almost always equals. They frequently come by themselves.
14. We understand that the superior spirits do not bother with things that are their inferior. But we ask if, considering that they are dematerialized, they would have the power to do it, in case they wished so.
- They have the moral strength, as the others have the physical strength. When such strength is needed, they are served by those who have it. Haven’t we told you that they are served by the inferior spirits as you are by workers and servants?
15. Where does Mr. Home’s special power come from? - From his own organization.
16. What is special about that?
- The question is not accurate.
17. We asked if it is related to his physical or moral organization. - I said organization.
18. Among those present, is there someone who could have the same faculty as Mr. Home? - They have it in a certain degree. Wasn’t it one of you who made the table move?
19. When someone makes an object move, is it always with the help of a strange spirit or such an action can be exclusively done by the medium?
- Sometimes the spirit of the medium can act alone; however, in the majority of the occasions, it is helped by the evoked spirits. This is easy to recognize.
20. How come the spirits show up wearing the outfits that they wore on Earth?
21. What do you mean by saying that their garment is “only an appearance”? - Once you touch it, there is nothing there.
22. If we understood well what you have said, the vital principle resides in the universal fluid
and from that the spirit extracts the semi-material covering that makes their perispirit. It is
through this fluid that the spirit acts upon the inert matter. Is that correct?
- Yes, that is correct, the fluid animates matter by a kind of factitious life; matter is animated by the animal life. The table that moves under your hands lives and suffers like the animal; once it is intelligent, it obeys by itself. It is not the spirit who drives it like man does with a load. When the table lifts up it is not the spirit who does that; it is the animated table that obeys the intelligent spirit.
23. Since the universal fluid is the source of life, will it be, at the same time, the source of intelligence?
- No. The fluid only animates matter.
This theory of the physical manifestations offers several points in common with the one we gave, although it differs in certain aspects. From one as from the other a capital point sticks out: the universal fluid, in which the principle of life resides, is the main agent of those manifestations and that agent receives the impulse from the spirit, incarnated or errant. That fluid, when condensed, forms the perispirit or the semi material covering of the spirit. When incarnated, the perispirit is united to matter; it is free when the spirit is errant (see note 6).
Thus, two issues are presented here: the apparition of the spirits and the motion imposed on the solid bodies.
As for the first we shall say that the etherealized matter of the perispirit escapes the perception of our organs; only the soul can see it, be it in dreams or in somnambulistic state or even being half asleep, in one word, whenever there is partial or total suspension of the senses’ activities. When incarnated, the perispirit’s substance is more or less intimately attached to the body’s matter; more or less adherent, if we can say so. In some people there is a kind of emanation of that fluid, as a consequence of their organization, and it is this fact that properly constitutes the mediums of physical effects. This fluid, emanated from the body, combines with that which forms the semi material covering of the spirit, according to laws that are still unknown to us. A certain reaction results form that, a kind of molecular reaction that momentarily alters its properties, to the point of making it visible and, in certain cases, tangible. This effect may be produced with or without the support of the medium’s own will and this is what differentiates the natural mediums from the facultative ones. The emission of the fluid may be more or less abundant: hence, the more or less potent mediums. The occurrence is not permanent, what explains the off and on behavior of that power. Finally, if we consider the degree of affinity between the medium’s fluid and this or that spirit, it is understandable that their influence may be exerted on some but not on others.
- Yes, that is correct, the fluid animates matter by a kind of factitious life; matter is animated by the animal life. The table that moves under your hands lives and suffers like the animal; once it is intelligent, it obeys by itself. It is not the spirit who drives it like man does with a load. When the table lifts up it is not the spirit who does that; it is the animated table that obeys the intelligent spirit.
23. Since the universal fluid is the source of life, will it be, at the same time, the source of intelligence?
- No. The fluid only animates matter.
This theory of the physical manifestations offers several points in common with the one we gave, although it differs in certain aspects. From one as from the other a capital point sticks out: the universal fluid, in which the principle of life resides, is the main agent of those manifestations and that agent receives the impulse from the spirit, incarnated or errant. That fluid, when condensed, forms the perispirit or the semi material covering of the spirit. When incarnated, the perispirit is united to matter; it is free when the spirit is errant (see note 6).
Thus, two issues are presented here: the apparition of the spirits and the motion imposed on the solid bodies.
As for the first we shall say that the etherealized matter of the perispirit escapes the perception of our organs; only the soul can see it, be it in dreams or in somnambulistic state or even being half asleep, in one word, whenever there is partial or total suspension of the senses’ activities. When incarnated, the perispirit’s substance is more or less intimately attached to the body’s matter; more or less adherent, if we can say so. In some people there is a kind of emanation of that fluid, as a consequence of their organization, and it is this fact that properly constitutes the mediums of physical effects. This fluid, emanated from the body, combines with that which forms the semi material covering of the spirit, according to laws that are still unknown to us. A certain reaction results form that, a kind of molecular reaction that momentarily alters its properties, to the point of making it visible and, in certain cases, tangible. This effect may be produced with or without the support of the medium’s own will and this is what differentiates the natural mediums from the facultative ones. The emission of the fluid may be more or less abundant: hence, the more or less potent mediums. The occurrence is not permanent, what explains the off and on behavior of that power. Finally, if we consider the degree of affinity between the medium’s fluid and this or that spirit, it is understandable that their influence may be exerted on some but not on others.
What we have just said evidently applies also to the medianimic power, with respect to the motion of solid bodies. We now need to know how such a motion may take place.
As from the questions above, the issue is presented under an entirely different aspect. When an
object is placed in motion, either taken from someone’ hands or thrown in the air, it is not the spirit
who grabs, pushes or lifts it, as we would do with one hand. The spirit, so to speak, saturates the
object with its fluid by the combination with the medium’s and, momentarily vivified, the object
acts as if it were a living being, with the difference that, not having its own will, it follows the will
of the spirit. This willpower can be as much the willpower of the medium as the willpower of a
strange spirit or both, acting in concert, as they can be or not be sympathetic. The sympathy or lack
of it that may exist between the medium and the spirits who occupy the medium with these material
effects explain why not everyone is equiped to provoke them.
Considering the vital fluid, somehow driven by the spirit, gives a factious and momentary life to the inert bodies, it stands to reason that the perispirit itself is nothing less than vital fluid. It also follows that, when incarnated, it is the spirit that gives life to the body by its perispirit. The perispirit remains attached to the body while the organism is alive. When the body is no longer alive, the perispirit leaves.
Now if instead of a table, one has a piece of wood carved and shaped as a statue, and, if we act upon it, we shall have a statue that moves from its original place and will respond by movements and by raps. In this situation, a statue is momentarily animated by an artificial life. How much light such a theory sheds on a large number of inexplicable phenomena! How many allegories and wonderful phenomena it explains! It is a whole philosophy.
Considering the vital fluid, somehow driven by the spirit, gives a factious and momentary life to the inert bodies, it stands to reason that the perispirit itself is nothing less than vital fluid. It also follows that, when incarnated, it is the spirit that gives life to the body by its perispirit. The perispirit remains attached to the body while the organism is alive. When the body is no longer alive, the perispirit leaves.
Now if instead of a table, one has a piece of wood carved and shaped as a statue, and, if we act upon it, we shall have a statue that moves from its original place and will respond by movements and by raps. In this situation, a statue is momentarily animated by an artificial life. How much light such a theory sheds on a large number of inexplicable phenomena! How many allegories and wonderful phenomena it explains! It is a whole philosophy.
The rapping spirit of Bergzabern
Part II
We have extracted the following text from a new German brochure, published in 1853, by Mr.
Blanck, editor of the Bergzabern newspaper, about the rapping spirit that we talked about in our
May issue. This extraordinary phenomena reported in the brochure, whose authenticity could not be
questioned, prove that we have nothing to envy America in that regard. The meticulous care used to
report the facts in the report is noticeable. One would wish that the same attention and prudence
would be used in all similar cases.
It is known these days that this kind of phenomena does not result from pathological states. On the contrary, they indicate an excessive sensibility of the persons in which they manifest, always easy to stimulate. A pathological state is not an efficient cause; it can, however, be its consequence. The experimentation mania has caused grave accidents more than once in similar cases, which would have been avoided had nature been allowed to operate its course. The necessary advices to such cases are found in our “Practical guide about the spiritist manifestations”.
Let us follow Mr. Blanck’s report.
“The readers of our first brochure entitled “The Rapping Spirits” saw that the manifestations of Filipina Sänger have an enigmatic and extraordinary character. We reported these wonderful facts since their initiation, up to the moment when the girl was taken to the general physician of the Canton. We will now examine what happened since then.
When the girl left Mr. Bentner’s house and returned to her home, the rapping and scratching restarted at Mr. Sänger’s house. Up until that moment and even after her complete cure, the manifestations were sharper and changed in nature *. In November 1852 the spirit started to whistle; then it was followed by the sound of a wheel barrel running on a dry and rusted axle but the most extraordinary from all that, no doubt, was the knocking down of the furniture in Filipina’s bedroom, a chaos that lasted fifteen days.
A brief description of the place is necessary.
The bedroom is about eighteen feet long by eight feet wide, positioned across from the living room. The door connecting both rooms is located on the right-hand side. The girl’s bed was placed on the right-hand side of her room. In the middle there was a shelved closet and in the corner, on the left- hand side, is Mr. Sänger’s working table where there are two circular cavities covered by two lids.
In the afternoon, when the uproar started, Mrs. Sänger and her oldest daughter were sitting in the first room, by the table where they were peeling green beans. A spindle suddenly fell on their feet, thrown from the bedroom. They were really scared, knowing that there was nobody in the room besides Filipina, who was then deeply asleep. Also, the spindle was thrown from the left hand side, although it was placed on a shelf, on the right hand side of the small armoire.
Had it been thrown from the bed then it would have been intercepted by the door. It was thus evident that the girl had nothing to do with the incident. While the Sänger’s family was still surprised with the occurrence, something fell from the table onto the floor: it was a rag of cloth which was already in a bowl of water before the occurrence. The head of a pipe was sitting by the spindle, the other half resting on the table.
What makes things even more incomprehensible is the fact that the armoire’s door, where the spindle was placed, was closed before it was thrown away. Also that the water in the bowl was not stirred and not even a droplet was found on the table. Suddenly the girl, still asleep, screams from the bed: “Dad! Leave! He shoots! Everyone out! He would shoot you too.” They obeyed the order but as soon as they crossed the room the head of the pipe darted across the room like a bullet, but did not break. A ruler used by Filipina in School had the same fate. The father, mother and sister looked at each other in amazement. Then, while still considering the best decision to make, Mr. Sänger had his planer and a large wooden board thrown from the carpenter’s stool to the next room. The two lids on his working table were in place but the objects they were covering were also thrown away. In the same evening, the pillows were thrown onto the top of the armoire and the bed coverlet at the door.
On another occasion they had a 6 lb pressing iron left under the girl’s bed sheets. It was soon thrown to the first room; the cord had been removed, found on a sofa in the bedroom.
We witnessed chairs located 3ft away from the bed being knocked down; tightly closed windows to be opened and all this just after we turned our back to enter into the living room. On another occasion two chairs were placed on the bed, without disarranging the bed sheets.
It is known these days that this kind of phenomena does not result from pathological states. On the contrary, they indicate an excessive sensibility of the persons in which they manifest, always easy to stimulate. A pathological state is not an efficient cause; it can, however, be its consequence. The experimentation mania has caused grave accidents more than once in similar cases, which would have been avoided had nature been allowed to operate its course. The necessary advices to such cases are found in our “Practical guide about the spiritist manifestations”.
Let us follow Mr. Blanck’s report.
“The readers of our first brochure entitled “The Rapping Spirits” saw that the manifestations of Filipina Sänger have an enigmatic and extraordinary character. We reported these wonderful facts since their initiation, up to the moment when the girl was taken to the general physician of the Canton. We will now examine what happened since then.
When the girl left Mr. Bentner’s house and returned to her home, the rapping and scratching restarted at Mr. Sänger’s house. Up until that moment and even after her complete cure, the manifestations were sharper and changed in nature *. In November 1852 the spirit started to whistle; then it was followed by the sound of a wheel barrel running on a dry and rusted axle but the most extraordinary from all that, no doubt, was the knocking down of the furniture in Filipina’s bedroom, a chaos that lasted fifteen days.
A brief description of the place is necessary.
The bedroom is about eighteen feet long by eight feet wide, positioned across from the living room. The door connecting both rooms is located on the right-hand side. The girl’s bed was placed on the right-hand side of her room. In the middle there was a shelved closet and in the corner, on the left- hand side, is Mr. Sänger’s working table where there are two circular cavities covered by two lids.
In the afternoon, when the uproar started, Mrs. Sänger and her oldest daughter were sitting in the first room, by the table where they were peeling green beans. A spindle suddenly fell on their feet, thrown from the bedroom. They were really scared, knowing that there was nobody in the room besides Filipina, who was then deeply asleep. Also, the spindle was thrown from the left hand side, although it was placed on a shelf, on the right hand side of the small armoire.
Had it been thrown from the bed then it would have been intercepted by the door. It was thus evident that the girl had nothing to do with the incident. While the Sänger’s family was still surprised with the occurrence, something fell from the table onto the floor: it was a rag of cloth which was already in a bowl of water before the occurrence. The head of a pipe was sitting by the spindle, the other half resting on the table.
What makes things even more incomprehensible is the fact that the armoire’s door, where the spindle was placed, was closed before it was thrown away. Also that the water in the bowl was not stirred and not even a droplet was found on the table. Suddenly the girl, still asleep, screams from the bed: “Dad! Leave! He shoots! Everyone out! He would shoot you too.” They obeyed the order but as soon as they crossed the room the head of the pipe darted across the room like a bullet, but did not break. A ruler used by Filipina in School had the same fate. The father, mother and sister looked at each other in amazement. Then, while still considering the best decision to make, Mr. Sänger had his planer and a large wooden board thrown from the carpenter’s stool to the next room. The two lids on his working table were in place but the objects they were covering were also thrown away. In the same evening, the pillows were thrown onto the top of the armoire and the bed coverlet at the door.
On another occasion they had a 6 lb pressing iron left under the girl’s bed sheets. It was soon thrown to the first room; the cord had been removed, found on a sofa in the bedroom.
We witnessed chairs located 3ft away from the bed being knocked down; tightly closed windows to be opened and all this just after we turned our back to enter into the living room. On another occasion two chairs were placed on the bed, without disarranging the bed sheets.
On October 7th the window had been hermetically closed with a white cloth hanging in front of it.
As soon as we left the room it was violently and repeatedly stroked to the point of scaring away
street’s passersby. We ran to the bedroom. The window was open, the cloth thrown on the small
armoire nearby, the bed sheets and pillow on the floor, the chairs upside down and the girl still in
bed, just covered by her nightgown. For fourteen days Mrs. Sänger did nothing else but to make the
bed.
A harmonica had once been left on a chair. Sounds were heard. The family impetuously entered the room to find the girl in bed, as always. The instrument was on the chair but no longer playing.
One evening Mr. Sänger, after leaving the girl’s room, had the cushion of a chair thrown on his back. On other occasions it was a pair of old slippers, shoes which were under the bed or clogs which would move towards him.
Many times the candles on the table would be blown off.
The raps and scratches alternated with these demonstrations of the furniture. The bed seemed to dislocate by an invisible hand. After the command of: “Swing the bed” or “Lullaby the child”, the bed would noisily swing in one direction then in the other; after the word “Stop!” the bed stopped. We witnessed four men sitting on the bed, unable to stop its motion, being lifted up along with the piece of furniture.
At the end of the fourteenth day, the furniture stopped moving; the manifestations were replaced by others.
On October 26th, among other people, Mr. Luís Soëhnée, who has a bachelor’s degree in law, and Captain Simon, both from Wissembourg, were in the room, as well as Mr. Sievert, from Bergzabern.
At that moment Filipina Sänger was heavily asleep in a magnetic sleep. ** Mr. Sievert showed her a paper wrap containing a bunch of hair just to see what she would do with it. She unwrapped it without uncovering the hair; she then applied the hair onto her closed eyelids; moved the hair away as to examine it at a distance and said: “Indeed I wanted to know what was inside this wrapping. It is the hair of a lady who I don’t know... If she wants to come, be it... I cannot invite her since I don’t know her”.
She did not answer the questions framed by Mr. Sievert but, having placed the wrapping on her open hand, she moved and turned her hand and the wrapping would remain suspended. Then she held it by the tip of her index finger and for a long time she made hand drawn semi circles, saying: “Don’t fall!” and the package remained on the tip of her finger. Later on giving the command “Fall now!” it detached from her, without any movement of the hand which could determine the fall of the package. Turning to the wall she suddenly said: “Now I want to stick you to the wall”. There she placed it where it stayed stuck for about 5 or 6 minutes, having she removed it after that time. A meticulous examination of the paper and the wall could not show any cause for the adherence. It is our duty to clarify that the room was perfectly illuminated which allowed the accurate verification of the above particularities.
The following evening other objects were given to her: keys, coins, cigarette cases, watches, golden and silver rings. All, without exception, remained suspended in her hand. It was noticed that the silver adhered more easily than the other substances as it was difficult to remove the coins from her hand, and such operation caused her some pain.
One of the most curious facts of that kind was the following: Saturday, November 11th, an officer who was present gives her his spade and belt, weighing about 4lb; everything remained suspended by the finger of the medium, swinging there for a long time. What is even not less singular is the fact that all those objects, irrespective of the material, remained suspended. Such a magnetic property was communicated to the persons susceptible to the transmission of the fluid by a simple contact of the hands. We had several examples of this activity.
A harmonica had once been left on a chair. Sounds were heard. The family impetuously entered the room to find the girl in bed, as always. The instrument was on the chair but no longer playing.
One evening Mr. Sänger, after leaving the girl’s room, had the cushion of a chair thrown on his back. On other occasions it was a pair of old slippers, shoes which were under the bed or clogs which would move towards him.
Many times the candles on the table would be blown off.
The raps and scratches alternated with these demonstrations of the furniture. The bed seemed to dislocate by an invisible hand. After the command of: “Swing the bed” or “Lullaby the child”, the bed would noisily swing in one direction then in the other; after the word “Stop!” the bed stopped. We witnessed four men sitting on the bed, unable to stop its motion, being lifted up along with the piece of furniture.
At the end of the fourteenth day, the furniture stopped moving; the manifestations were replaced by others.
On October 26th, among other people, Mr. Luís Soëhnée, who has a bachelor’s degree in law, and Captain Simon, both from Wissembourg, were in the room, as well as Mr. Sievert, from Bergzabern.
At that moment Filipina Sänger was heavily asleep in a magnetic sleep. ** Mr. Sievert showed her a paper wrap containing a bunch of hair just to see what she would do with it. She unwrapped it without uncovering the hair; she then applied the hair onto her closed eyelids; moved the hair away as to examine it at a distance and said: “Indeed I wanted to know what was inside this wrapping. It is the hair of a lady who I don’t know... If she wants to come, be it... I cannot invite her since I don’t know her”.
She did not answer the questions framed by Mr. Sievert but, having placed the wrapping on her open hand, she moved and turned her hand and the wrapping would remain suspended. Then she held it by the tip of her index finger and for a long time she made hand drawn semi circles, saying: “Don’t fall!” and the package remained on the tip of her finger. Later on giving the command “Fall now!” it detached from her, without any movement of the hand which could determine the fall of the package. Turning to the wall she suddenly said: “Now I want to stick you to the wall”. There she placed it where it stayed stuck for about 5 or 6 minutes, having she removed it after that time. A meticulous examination of the paper and the wall could not show any cause for the adherence. It is our duty to clarify that the room was perfectly illuminated which allowed the accurate verification of the above particularities.
The following evening other objects were given to her: keys, coins, cigarette cases, watches, golden and silver rings. All, without exception, remained suspended in her hand. It was noticed that the silver adhered more easily than the other substances as it was difficult to remove the coins from her hand, and such operation caused her some pain.
One of the most curious facts of that kind was the following: Saturday, November 11th, an officer who was present gives her his spade and belt, weighing about 4lb; everything remained suspended by the finger of the medium, swinging there for a long time. What is even not less singular is the fact that all those objects, irrespective of the material, remained suspended. Such a magnetic property was communicated to the persons susceptible to the transmission of the fluid by a simple contact of the hands. We had several examples of this activity.
A captain and horse rider from Zentner, then serving in Bergzabern’s regiment, witnessed these
phenomena and had the idea of placing a compass near the girl, in order to observe the variations. In
the first attempt the needle deviated 15° but then it remained still, although the girl held it in one of
her hands, stroking it with the other. That experience proved that such phenomena could not be
explained by the action of the magnetic fluid or the fact that the magnetic attraction does not happen
to all bodies.
When the little somnambulist prepared to initiate the session, she would habitually call all the persons present to the room. She would only say: “Come, Come!” or even “Give, give!”
Frequently she would only calm down when all, without exception, were by her bed-side. She would then request any object, with solicitude and impatience, and as soon as she had it the object would bond to her fingers. Usually there would be ten, twelve or more people present and each would offer her several objects. She would not allow any object to be taken from her during the sessions. She seemed to prefer the watches: she skillfully opened them, examined the movements, closed and placed them nearby, to examine something else. Finally she returned to each person what was given to her. She examined the objects with her eyes closed and was never mistaken with respect to the owner. If someone reached to get an object that was not his she would send that person away. How do you explain such a spotless and multiple distributions to such a large number of people? They tried to attempt the same thing by having the girl’s eyes open, but that was in vain. Once the session had finished and the strangers left, the raps and scratches that were momentarily interrupted, restarted.
Add to this the fact that the girl did not want anybody by the foot of the bed, near the armoire, where the space between the furniture was of about one foot. Whenever someone was located there, she moved him away by her gestures. If they insisted she would show great inquietude and with imperative gestures would command them to leave the place. Once she warned the audience about never occupying such a forbidden place because, she said, she did not want something unfortunate to happen to someone. This was such a peremptory warning that nobody forgot after that warning.
Following the raps and scratches, a humming sound was added, comparable to the sound of a thick bass cord; something like a whistle mixed with that sound. If someone requested a march or a dance rhythm his request was answered: the invisible musician was very accommodating.
The strangers or someone in the household were individually identified and called by scratches. Everybody easily knew to whom the appeal was directed. Once the appeal was heard, the designated person responded with a “yes” indicating acknowledgement. As a tribute to that person, a piece of music was played sometimes provoking funny situations. If another person that was not the right person responded “yes”, the rapper made that clear by the use of a “no”, expressing his own way that nothing was to be said to that person at that point.
These facts happened on November 10th for the first time and have continued this day.
Here is how the rapping spirit used to designate the persons:
Several nights earlier it was noticed that once requested to do this or that the spirit responded with a dry knock or a prolonged scratch. As soon as the knock was heard the rapper started to execute the order according to the audience’s request. On the other hand, when there was a scratch, he would not execute to the requests. Then a doctor had the idea of taking the first noise as a “yes” and the second as a “no” and since then that interpretation has always been confirmed. It was also noticed that with a sequence of scratches, with heavy or light intensity, the spirit demanded certain things from those who were around. From the observation and giving attention to the mode by which the noise was produced, it was possible to understand the intention of the rapper. Thus, for example, the old Mr. Sänger told us that in a given morning, still at dawn, he heard certain modulated sounds.
When the little somnambulist prepared to initiate the session, she would habitually call all the persons present to the room. She would only say: “Come, Come!” or even “Give, give!”
Frequently she would only calm down when all, without exception, were by her bed-side. She would then request any object, with solicitude and impatience, and as soon as she had it the object would bond to her fingers. Usually there would be ten, twelve or more people present and each would offer her several objects. She would not allow any object to be taken from her during the sessions. She seemed to prefer the watches: she skillfully opened them, examined the movements, closed and placed them nearby, to examine something else. Finally she returned to each person what was given to her. She examined the objects with her eyes closed and was never mistaken with respect to the owner. If someone reached to get an object that was not his she would send that person away. How do you explain such a spotless and multiple distributions to such a large number of people? They tried to attempt the same thing by having the girl’s eyes open, but that was in vain. Once the session had finished and the strangers left, the raps and scratches that were momentarily interrupted, restarted.
Add to this the fact that the girl did not want anybody by the foot of the bed, near the armoire, where the space between the furniture was of about one foot. Whenever someone was located there, she moved him away by her gestures. If they insisted she would show great inquietude and with imperative gestures would command them to leave the place. Once she warned the audience about never occupying such a forbidden place because, she said, she did not want something unfortunate to happen to someone. This was such a peremptory warning that nobody forgot after that warning.
Following the raps and scratches, a humming sound was added, comparable to the sound of a thick bass cord; something like a whistle mixed with that sound. If someone requested a march or a dance rhythm his request was answered: the invisible musician was very accommodating.
The strangers or someone in the household were individually identified and called by scratches. Everybody easily knew to whom the appeal was directed. Once the appeal was heard, the designated person responded with a “yes” indicating acknowledgement. As a tribute to that person, a piece of music was played sometimes provoking funny situations. If another person that was not the right person responded “yes”, the rapper made that clear by the use of a “no”, expressing his own way that nothing was to be said to that person at that point.
These facts happened on November 10th for the first time and have continued this day.
Here is how the rapping spirit used to designate the persons:
Several nights earlier it was noticed that once requested to do this or that the spirit responded with a dry knock or a prolonged scratch. As soon as the knock was heard the rapper started to execute the order according to the audience’s request. On the other hand, when there was a scratch, he would not execute to the requests. Then a doctor had the idea of taking the first noise as a “yes” and the second as a “no” and since then that interpretation has always been confirmed. It was also noticed that with a sequence of scratches, with heavy or light intensity, the spirit demanded certain things from those who were around. From the observation and giving attention to the mode by which the noise was produced, it was possible to understand the intention of the rapper. Thus, for example, the old Mr. Sänger told us that in a given morning, still at dawn, he heard certain modulated sounds.
Although, in the beginning, he had not paid attention to them, he noticed that they would not stop
while he was in bed, andby that, he realized the meaning of “Wake up!” This was how, step by step,
everybody got familiarized with that kind of language and that by certain signs it was possible to
know who the designated persons were.
It was the anniversary of the day on which the rapping spirit manifested for the first time: many changes had taken place in the general state of Filipina Sänger. The raps, scratches and humming sounds continued but a special scream was added which sometimes was similar to a goose, other times to a parrot or any other large bird. At the same time a kind of pecking sound was heard, similar to that of a wood pecker. Over this time, Filipina used to talk a lot during her sleep and, above all, she seemed worried about a bird, similar to a parrot, located at the foot of the bed, screaming and pecking on the wall. When we wanted to hear the parrot it would produce acute noises. Several questions were framed, having screams of the same kind by answers; some persons requested the word “kakatoes” to be pronounced and the word “kakatoes” was distinctly heard, as if pronounced by the bird itself. We shall remain quiet about less releveant facts and limit ourselves to the report of those incidents that are more important, with respect to the alterations that took place in the physical state of the girl.
Some time before Christmas the manifestations returned with more energy: the knocks and scratches became more violent and lasted longer. Filipina, more agitated than normal, many times requested not to sleep in her bed but in her parent’s bed; she rolled on the bed vociferating: “I cannot stay here any longer; I will suffocate; they will stick me to the wall; help!” and calm would only reestablish when she was returned to her bed. As soon as she was placed back to her bed, heavy knocks were heard as coming from the attic, as if a carpenter were hamming the roof beams. Sometimes these hits were so strong that they would shake the whole house and people would feel the floor trembling under their feet. On other occasions, similar knocks happened on the walls near the bed. The questions were again and habitually answered by raps and scratches.
The following facts, not less curious, were produced several times:
When the noise was over with the girl resting on her little bed, we often saw her stretched-out hands joined, her eyes closed, her head moving from one side to the other as if something extraordinary was catching her attention. Then she made a lovely smile. It was as if she was talking to someone. She would extend her hands indicating that she was shaking the hands of friends and acquaintances. Later she would fall back in a beseeching position, always joining her hands, moving her head until her face would touch the bed sheets, then straightening up and weeping. She would then sigh, apparently praying with ardor. On such occasions her face would change: she would look pale, having an appearance of a 24 to 25 year old woman. Sometimes this would last for about half an hour, during which period she would only say: ah! ah! Raps, scratches, humming and screams would go silent until she woke up. Then the rapper would make him heard again, trying to play joyful arias so as to dissipate the tough impression left in the audience. The girl would look greatly abated on waking up; she could only raise her arms; the objects which were shown to her could no longer remain suspended by her fingers.
She was interrogated many times by those wishing to understand what had just happened. It was only after insistent requests that she then decided to say that she had seen Christ crucified at Golgotha. The pain of the saint women at the foot of the cross and the crucifixion had produced an indescribable impression on her.
She had also seen a large number of women and virgins dressed in black, as well as little ladies wearing white dresses, following a procession through the streets of a beautiful town and, finally, that she saw herself transported to a large church where she watched a funeral.
Soon after all that Filipina Sänger’s health changed to the point of causing concern. Being up and
lucid, she would wander about and daydream. She would not recognize her parents, neither her
sister nor any other person. She them became deaf for a period of fifteen days.
It was the anniversary of the day on which the rapping spirit manifested for the first time: many changes had taken place in the general state of Filipina Sänger. The raps, scratches and humming sounds continued but a special scream was added which sometimes was similar to a goose, other times to a parrot or any other large bird. At the same time a kind of pecking sound was heard, similar to that of a wood pecker. Over this time, Filipina used to talk a lot during her sleep and, above all, she seemed worried about a bird, similar to a parrot, located at the foot of the bed, screaming and pecking on the wall. When we wanted to hear the parrot it would produce acute noises. Several questions were framed, having screams of the same kind by answers; some persons requested the word “kakatoes” to be pronounced and the word “kakatoes” was distinctly heard, as if pronounced by the bird itself. We shall remain quiet about less releveant facts and limit ourselves to the report of those incidents that are more important, with respect to the alterations that took place in the physical state of the girl.
Some time before Christmas the manifestations returned with more energy: the knocks and scratches became more violent and lasted longer. Filipina, more agitated than normal, many times requested not to sleep in her bed but in her parent’s bed; she rolled on the bed vociferating: “I cannot stay here any longer; I will suffocate; they will stick me to the wall; help!” and calm would only reestablish when she was returned to her bed. As soon as she was placed back to her bed, heavy knocks were heard as coming from the attic, as if a carpenter were hamming the roof beams. Sometimes these hits were so strong that they would shake the whole house and people would feel the floor trembling under their feet. On other occasions, similar knocks happened on the walls near the bed. The questions were again and habitually answered by raps and scratches.
The following facts, not less curious, were produced several times:
When the noise was over with the girl resting on her little bed, we often saw her stretched-out hands joined, her eyes closed, her head moving from one side to the other as if something extraordinary was catching her attention. Then she made a lovely smile. It was as if she was talking to someone. She would extend her hands indicating that she was shaking the hands of friends and acquaintances. Later she would fall back in a beseeching position, always joining her hands, moving her head until her face would touch the bed sheets, then straightening up and weeping. She would then sigh, apparently praying with ardor. On such occasions her face would change: she would look pale, having an appearance of a 24 to 25 year old woman. Sometimes this would last for about half an hour, during which period she would only say: ah! ah! Raps, scratches, humming and screams would go silent until she woke up. Then the rapper would make him heard again, trying to play joyful arias so as to dissipate the tough impression left in the audience. The girl would look greatly abated on waking up; she could only raise her arms; the objects which were shown to her could no longer remain suspended by her fingers.
She was interrogated many times by those wishing to understand what had just happened. It was only after insistent requests that she then decided to say that she had seen Christ crucified at Golgotha. The pain of the saint women at the foot of the cross and the crucifixion had produced an indescribable impression on her.
She had also seen a large number of women and virgins dressed in black, as well as little ladies wearing white dresses, following a procession through the streets of a beautiful town and, finally, that she saw herself transported to a large church where she watched a funeral.
We cannot silence about what happened during this long period.
Filipina’s deafness manifested between noon and three o’clock, having she declared herself that she would become deaf and ill for some time. At times she would recover her hearing for about half an hour, which was a remarkable fact that made her happy. She predicted the moment at which she would go deaf and when she would recover her hearing. One day, as on other occasions, she announced that she would start hearing again at 8:30 pm and that it would last for half an hour. In fact, at the predicted time, she heard again and it lasted until nine o’clock.
During her periods of deafness her looks changed: her face adopted an expression of stupidity, which she lost as soon as her hearing returned to normal. Nothing would then impress her. She would stay seated, staring at the audience without recognizing them. She could not understand anybody but by signs, which she would not respond to, limiting herself to fixate her eyes on the person who was talking to her. There was a time when she grabbed one person by the arm asking while pulling him: “Who are you?” She would remain in such a condition sometimes over one and a half hours, kind of immobilized in bed. She would stare at a given point then roll her eyes from right to left and stop them half open, staring at a fix point. Her whole sensitivity seemed impaired: her heart beat was hardly noticed, showing no reaction to a torch light directed to her eyes. She seemed dead.
Once, lying down and deaf, it happened that she requested a board and a piece of chalk. She then wrote: “At eleven o’clock I will say something but I demand that everybody be calm and quiet”. After those words she added five signs resembling Latin writing but none of those in the room could decipher it. Someone wrote on the board that nobody understood those signs. She responded back in writing: “It is not that you cannot read!” And, further below: “It is not German. It is a foreign language”. Then she turned the board and wrote on its back: “Francisca (her elder sister) will seat at the table and write what I shall dictate”. That was followed by five signs similar to the previous ones and the board was returned to the audience. When noticing that the signs were not understood yet she asked for the board back and wrote: “Those are particular orders”.
Just before eleven o’clock she said: “Stay calm. May all be seated and pay attention!” then at eleven o’clock she fell into a magnetic sleep as usual. A few moments later she started talking for about half an hour, uninterruptedly. Among other things she declared that during the course of that year there would be facts which nobody would understand and that all attempts to explain them would be fruitless.
The pandemonium of the furniture renewed a few times during Ms. Sänger’s deafness, like the inexplicable opening of the windows and the table lamp turned off. One evening two caps that were hanging in the bedroom were thrown on the table of the other room, hitting a cup and spilling the milk on the floor. The pounding on the bed was so violent that it was displaced from its original position; on other occasions the bed was noisily disassembled but the raps were not heard.
Despite the fact that the events were verified by more than one hundred witnesses who attested that the girl remained with her arms extended under the blankets during the occurrence of the phenomena, there were still skeptical people who attributed such events to a girl’s prank who, in their opinion, rapped with her legs or her hands; Captain Zentner then envisaged a way of convincing the skeptical. He sent for two thick blankets from the barracks and placed one on top of the other so that both involved the bed sheets and the mattress; the blankets were very shaggy, being impossible to produce any noise on them by simple friction. Wearing a simple t-shirt and a nightgown, Filipina was placed under the blankets so that once she was covered the raps and scratches started as before, first on the bed, then on the neighboring armoire, according to what the rapper wished to express.
Filipina’s deafness manifested between noon and three o’clock, having she declared herself that she would become deaf and ill for some time. At times she would recover her hearing for about half an hour, which was a remarkable fact that made her happy. She predicted the moment at which she would go deaf and when she would recover her hearing. One day, as on other occasions, she announced that she would start hearing again at 8:30 pm and that it would last for half an hour. In fact, at the predicted time, she heard again and it lasted until nine o’clock.
During her periods of deafness her looks changed: her face adopted an expression of stupidity, which she lost as soon as her hearing returned to normal. Nothing would then impress her. She would stay seated, staring at the audience without recognizing them. She could not understand anybody but by signs, which she would not respond to, limiting herself to fixate her eyes on the person who was talking to her. There was a time when she grabbed one person by the arm asking while pulling him: “Who are you?” She would remain in such a condition sometimes over one and a half hours, kind of immobilized in bed. She would stare at a given point then roll her eyes from right to left and stop them half open, staring at a fix point. Her whole sensitivity seemed impaired: her heart beat was hardly noticed, showing no reaction to a torch light directed to her eyes. She seemed dead.
Once, lying down and deaf, it happened that she requested a board and a piece of chalk. She then wrote: “At eleven o’clock I will say something but I demand that everybody be calm and quiet”. After those words she added five signs resembling Latin writing but none of those in the room could decipher it. Someone wrote on the board that nobody understood those signs. She responded back in writing: “It is not that you cannot read!” And, further below: “It is not German. It is a foreign language”. Then she turned the board and wrote on its back: “Francisca (her elder sister) will seat at the table and write what I shall dictate”. That was followed by five signs similar to the previous ones and the board was returned to the audience. When noticing that the signs were not understood yet she asked for the board back and wrote: “Those are particular orders”.
Just before eleven o’clock she said: “Stay calm. May all be seated and pay attention!” then at eleven o’clock she fell into a magnetic sleep as usual. A few moments later she started talking for about half an hour, uninterruptedly. Among other things she declared that during the course of that year there would be facts which nobody would understand and that all attempts to explain them would be fruitless.
The pandemonium of the furniture renewed a few times during Ms. Sänger’s deafness, like the inexplicable opening of the windows and the table lamp turned off. One evening two caps that were hanging in the bedroom were thrown on the table of the other room, hitting a cup and spilling the milk on the floor. The pounding on the bed was so violent that it was displaced from its original position; on other occasions the bed was noisily disassembled but the raps were not heard.
Despite the fact that the events were verified by more than one hundred witnesses who attested that the girl remained with her arms extended under the blankets during the occurrence of the phenomena, there were still skeptical people who attributed such events to a girl’s prank who, in their opinion, rapped with her legs or her hands; Captain Zentner then envisaged a way of convincing the skeptical. He sent for two thick blankets from the barracks and placed one on top of the other so that both involved the bed sheets and the mattress; the blankets were very shaggy, being impossible to produce any noise on them by simple friction. Wearing a simple t-shirt and a nightgown, Filipina was placed under the blankets so that once she was covered the raps and scratches started as before, first on the bed, then on the neighboring armoire, according to what the rapper wished to express.
It frequently happens that when someone hums the sound of an aria, the rapper follows that rhythm
with sounds that seem to come from two, three or even four instruments: the sounds of scratching,
knocking, whistling and grunting are simultaneously heard, according to the rhythm of the chosen
music. The rapper also frequently asks the audience to sing a song. He designates the person by the
process we already know and when the person understands that he refers to him or her they then
consult the spirit, regarding the desired song. The answer is given by “yes” or “no”. When the
chosen aria is sung it is then perfectly followed by the hums and whistles. After the execution of a
happy song the spirit frequently requested the song “Great God we praise you” or the Napoleon I
song. When asked to play this song or any other on his own, he executed them from start to finish.
The events were thus happening at the Sänger’s house, in day light as well as at night, with the girl up or asleep, until March 4th 1853, when the manifestations initiated a new phase. This day was marked by a fact even more extraordinary than the preceding ones.”
(To be continued in the next issue)
OBSERVATION: The readers will kindly forgive the extension given to these curious details. We thought, however, that the continuation will be read with even more interest. We want to reinforce that these facts do not come from overseas whose distance is an argument to the skeptical, despite everything else. They are not even from beyond the Rhine as they happened near our borders, almost under our eyes, only six years ago.
Filipina Sänger, as seen, was a very complex natural medium. Besides the influence she exerted on the well known phenomena of noises and motions of objects, she was an ecstatic somnambulist. She spoke with the incorporeal beings that she saw; at the same time she saw the audience and talked to them, not always responding back, which proves that at certain times she was isolated. For those who know the effect of emancipation of the soul, the visions that we have described have nothing that cannot be explained.
It is likely that during those moments of ecstasy the girl’s spirit was transported to a distant place, where she watched, perhaps keeping the memory, of a religious ceremony. The memory she maintained on waking up was amazing but the fact is not remarkable on its own. It is noticeable, by the way, that the memory was fuzzy, requiring great insistence to provoke it.
If we carefully observe what happened during her deafness we shall recognize, without difficulty, a cataleptic state. As the deafness was only temporary, it is evident that no alteration was caused into her respective organs. The same happened to the obliteration of her mental faculties, which had nothing of pathological, once it all returned to normal at some point in time. This kind of apparent stupidity was due to a more complete detachment of the soul, whose excursions were undertaken with more freedom, leaving the senses with no more than the organic life.
Just imagine the disastrous effect produced by a therapeutic treatment under such conditions! Phenomena of the same kind may be produced at any time. In such cases we cannot recommend anything but circumspection. An act of imprudence may compromise the health and even the own life of the subject.
The events were thus happening at the Sänger’s house, in day light as well as at night, with the girl up or asleep, until March 4th 1853, when the manifestations initiated a new phase. This day was marked by a fact even more extraordinary than the preceding ones.”
(To be continued in the next issue)
OBSERVATION: The readers will kindly forgive the extension given to these curious details. We thought, however, that the continuation will be read with even more interest. We want to reinforce that these facts do not come from overseas whose distance is an argument to the skeptical, despite everything else. They are not even from beyond the Rhine as they happened near our borders, almost under our eyes, only six years ago.
Filipina Sänger, as seen, was a very complex natural medium. Besides the influence she exerted on the well known phenomena of noises and motions of objects, she was an ecstatic somnambulist. She spoke with the incorporeal beings that she saw; at the same time she saw the audience and talked to them, not always responding back, which proves that at certain times she was isolated. For those who know the effect of emancipation of the soul, the visions that we have described have nothing that cannot be explained.
It is likely that during those moments of ecstasy the girl’s spirit was transported to a distant place, where she watched, perhaps keeping the memory, of a religious ceremony. The memory she maintained on waking up was amazing but the fact is not remarkable on its own. It is noticeable, by the way, that the memory was fuzzy, requiring great insistence to provoke it.
If we carefully observe what happened during her deafness we shall recognize, without difficulty, a cataleptic state. As the deafness was only temporary, it is evident that no alteration was caused into her respective organs. The same happened to the obliteration of her mental faculties, which had nothing of pathological, once it all returned to normal at some point in time. This kind of apparent stupidity was due to a more complete detachment of the soul, whose excursions were undertaken with more freedom, leaving the senses with no more than the organic life.
Just imagine the disastrous effect produced by a therapeutic treatment under such conditions! Phenomena of the same kind may be produced at any time. In such cases we cannot recommend anything but circumspection. An act of imprudence may compromise the health and even the own life of the subject.
____________________
* We shall have the occasion to talk about the indisposition of the child. As after her cure the same effect
was produced, we have an evident proof that they did not depend on her health condition.
**
A somnambulist from Paris had made contact with the young Filipina and, since then, she would
spontaneously fall into a somnambulistic state. On those occasions notable facts took place which we shall
report another time.
Laziness
Moral dissertation dictated by St. Louis to Ms. Ermance Dufaux (May 5th, 1858)
I
Moral dissertation dictated by St. Louis to Ms. Ermance Dufaux (May 5th, 1858)
I
A man left very early in the morning, going to the market place to hire workers. Well, there he saw
two common men sitting down with their arms crossed. He then approached one and said: “What
are you doing?” The man responded: “I have no work.” The one who was looking for workers then
said: “Take your tool and come to my field, by the side of the mountain, where the southern wind
blows; you will cut the heathers and rotate the soil until it gets dark. The task is tough but you shall earn a good salary.” The man of the people took his hoe onto his shoulder, thankful for all that, with all his heart.
Since hearing this, the other worker stood up and said, while approaching the owner: “Sir, let me go and also work in the field.” Having asked both men to follow him, he marched ahead leading the way. Later, arriving at the foothill, he split the work in two and left.
As soon as the owner left, the last worker to be hired set the bushes on fire in his assigned spot on the land, turning the soil with his hoe. The sweat poured from his face under the scorching sun. The other worker imitated him, moaning in the beginning, but soon stopping, sticking the hoe on the ground, sitting by his fellow’s side, watching him.
Sometime during the afternoon, the owner arrives to examine the work. Calling the hard worker he congratulated him saying: “You worked well. Here is your payment.” He then sent him off, giving him a silver coin. The other man approached, demanding his payment, but then the owner said: “Lazy man, my bread will not feed your hunger as you left untouched the piece of land I entrusted you. It is not fair that the one who did nothing be paid as the one who worked well.”
And then he left, not giving the man anything.
blows; you will cut the heathers and rotate the soil until it gets dark. The task is tough but you shall earn a good salary.” The man of the people took his hoe onto his shoulder, thankful for all that, with all his heart.
Since hearing this, the other worker stood up and said, while approaching the owner: “Sir, let me go and also work in the field.” Having asked both men to follow him, he marched ahead leading the way. Later, arriving at the foothill, he split the work in two and left.
As soon as the owner left, the last worker to be hired set the bushes on fire in his assigned spot on the land, turning the soil with his hoe. The sweat poured from his face under the scorching sun. The other worker imitated him, moaning in the beginning, but soon stopping, sticking the hoe on the ground, sitting by his fellow’s side, watching him.
Sometime during the afternoon, the owner arrives to examine the work. Calling the hard worker he congratulated him saying: “You worked well. Here is your payment.” He then sent him off, giving him a silver coin. The other man approached, demanding his payment, but then the owner said: “Lazy man, my bread will not feed your hunger as you left untouched the piece of land I entrusted you. It is not fair that the one who did nothing be paid as the one who worked well.”
And then he left, not giving the man anything.
II
I tell you that neither the strength nor the intelligence of the spirit was given to man to spend his
days in idleness, but to be useful to his neighbors. Well, the one whose hands are empty and the idle
spirit shall be punished, having to restart his job.
Truly I tell you that when his time comes his life will be put aside as something useless. Understand this as a comparison. Who among you, having a fruitless tree in the orchard, will not tell the servant: “Take that tree down and throw it into the fire, for its branches are sterile?”
Well, as the tree will be cut down for its unfruitfulness, also the life of the lazy one will be thrown in the garbage for been sterile as for the good deeds.
Truly I tell you that when his time comes his life will be put aside as something useless. Understand this as a comparison. Who among you, having a fruitless tree in the orchard, will not tell the servant: “Take that tree down and throw it into the fire, for its branches are sterile?”
Well, as the tree will be cut down for its unfruitfulness, also the life of the lazy one will be thrown in the garbage for been sterile as for the good deeds.
Family conversations from beyond the grave
Mr. Morrison, monomaniac
Last March an English newspaper published the following story with respect to Mr. Morrison, who has died recently, leaving behind a fortune of one hundred million francs. According to the paper he was held captive of a singular obsession over the last two years of his life. He thought himself reduced to extreme poverty, having to endure manual work to earn his daily bread. Family and friends alike had acknowledged the uselessness of trying to bring him back to his senses. His conviction was this: he was poor, had not even a cent left and had to work in order to survive. Every morning he was given a hoe and sent to work in his own gardens. Later he was sought to receive his modest daily payment, which he received with pleasure. His spirit would be in peace and his mania satisfied. Had they bothered him and he would have become a really upset man.
We request the Almighty for the permission to communicate with the spirit of Mr. Morrison, who recently died in England, leaving a considerable fortune.
- He is here.
1. Do you remember the state you were in over the last two years of your existence?
- It is always the same.
2. Has your spirit resented the aberration of the faculties during your life, after your death?
- Yes.
St. Louis complements the answer by spontaneously saying: “Detached from the body, the spirit feels, for some time, the compression of the bonds.”
3. Thus your spirit did not recover immediately its faculties in their plenitude, after death?
- No.
4. Where are you now?
- Behind Ermance.
5. Are you happy or unhappy?
- Something is missing.... I don’t know what... I search... Yes, I suffer.
6. Why do you suffer?
- He suffers for the good deeds he did not do (St. Louis’ answer)
7. Why the mania of judging yourself poor when in reality you had such a great fortune? - I was. In reality rich is the one who has no needs.
8. Where did you take the idea from that you had to work to survive? - I was crazy and still am.
9. How have you come to such a crazy state?
- Why does it matter? I had chosen such atonement.
10. What is the origin of your fortune? - Why is it important to you?
11. However, wasn’t your invention supposed to alleviate humanity? - And make me rich.
12. How did you employ your fortune when you were perfectly rational? - With nothing. I believe I enjoyed it.
13. Why would God give you fortune since you would not make it useful to others? - I had chosen the trial.
14. The one who enjoys a fortune acquired by his work is not more excused to be attached to it than the other one who was born in opulence and never experienced necessity?
- Less.
St Louis complements: “That one knows the suffering which he does not alleviate.”
15. Do you remember the existence preceding the one you have just left? - Yes.
16. What were you then? - A worker.
17. You told us that you are unhappy. Do you see an end to the suffering?
- No.
St. Louis adds: “It is too early.”
18. That depends on whom?
- On me. That is what I was told by the one who is here.
19. Do you know the one who is here?
- You call him Louis.
20. Do you know what he was in France of the XIII century?
- No. I only know him through you. I am thankful for what he has taught me.
21. Do you believe in another corporeal existence?
- Yes.
22. If you have to be reborn in the corporeal life, on whom shall your future social position depend?
- On me, I suppose. I have chosen so many times that this can only depend on me.
OBSERVATION: The words “chosen so many times” are characteristic. His present state proves that, despite the numerous existences, he has not progressed much and that for him it is always a restart.
23. Which social position would you choose if you could restart? - Low. Progress is safer. One is only in charge of oneself.
24. (To St. Louis) Wouldn’t there be a feeling of selfishness in the choice of a humble position, where one only carries the burden of oneself?
- Nowhere one has the burden of only oneself. Man responds for all those who surround him and not only for those whose education was entrusted to him, but also for the others. The example does everything wrong.
25. (To Morrison) We thank you for your kind answers and pray that God will give you the strength to endure your trials.
- You helped me. I learned.
OBSERVATION: The state of the spirit is easily recognized from the answers above. They are short and when not monosyllables they have something of somber and vague. A melancholic mad man would not speak differently. That persistence on the aberration of the ideas is a notable fact but which is not constant, or sometimes presents a completely diverse character. We will have the occasion of giving several other examples where the different forms of madness are studied.
The suicide of the samaritan baths
The newspapers have recently published the following fact:
“Yesterday (April 7th, 1858) around 7 pm, a man about fifty years old, decently dressed, showed up at the Samaritan house, asking for a bath. A servant, worried about the customer’s silence for more than two hours, decided to enter the bathroom to make sure that he was okay. He then witnessed a horrific spectacle: the unfortunate man had cut his own throat with a clasp-knife, the bath water tinted by his blood. His identity could not be established and his body was transported to the morgue.”
We thought we could have a useful lesson for our own instruction on talking to the spirit of that man. We then evoked him on April 13th, just six days after his death.
1. I ask the Almighty God to give the permission to the spirit of the person who committed suicide on April 7th, 1858, in the Samaritan baths, to communicate with us.
We thought we could have a useful lesson for our own instruction on talking to the spirit of that man. We then evoked him on April 13th, just six days after his death.
1. I ask the Almighty God to give the permission to the spirit of the person who committed suicide on April 7th, 1858, in the Samaritan baths, to communicate with us.
- Wait.... (after some time): Here he is.
OBSERVATION: In order to understand this answer it is necessary to know that in all regular sessions there is a familiar spirit, of the medium or of the family, who is always present, without the need to call him. It is him who sends for the evoked ones and, according to his more or less elevated condition, serves as a messenger or gives orders to spirits who are their inferior. When our meetings have Mrs. Ermance Dufaux as the interpreter it is always the spirit of St. Louis who voluntarily takes on that task. It was him who gave the answer above.
2. Where are you now?
- I don’t know... Tell me where I am.
3. At Rue Valois 35 (Palais-Royal) in a meeting of persons who occupy with spiritist studies and that are benevolent with you.
- Tell me if I am still alive... I suffocate in the coffin. 4. Who invited you to come to us?
- I feel relieved.
5. What made you commit suicide?
- Am I alive? ... No! I am in my body... You don’t know how much I suffer! ... I suffocate! ... May a compassionate hand come to show me the end!
OBSERVATION: His soul, although separated from his body, is still completely embedded by what we could call the maelstrom of the corporeal matter; the earthly ideas still vivid. He does not believe that he is dead.
6. Why haven’t you left any identification?
- I am abandoned. I fled the suffering to find torture.
7. You still have the same motives to remain incognito? - Yes, don’t stick a hot spear in a bleeding wound.
8. Can you tell us your name, age, profession and address? - Not at all. No! ...
9. Did you have a family, a wife, and children? - I was abandoned. Nobody loved me.
10. What have you done for not being loved by anybody?
- How many like me! ... A man can be abandoned at the heart of his own family when no one loves him.
11. Have you experienced any hesitation to commit suicide? - I was thirsty of death... I longed for the rest.
12. How come the idea of the future did not make you renounce that plan? - I no longer believed in the future; I was hopeless. Future is hope.
13. Which reflections you made by feeling the extinction of life?
- I did not make any; I felt... But life did not extinguish... my soul is bonded to the body... I did not die... However, I feel the worms devouring me.
14. Which feeling did you experience once death was complete? - Is it complete?
15. Was it painful the moment when life extinguished?
- Less painful than later. Then, only the body suffered.
St. Louis continued.
- - A: The spirit unloaded a burden that oppressed him. He felt the ecstasy of the pain.
- - Q to St. Louis: Is this state what always follows suicide?
- - A: Yes. The spirit of the person who commits suicide remains attached to the body until
the end of his life. Natural death is the weakening of life. Suicide suddenly interrupts it. - - Q: Will this state be the same in every accidental death which abbreviates the duration of the natural life, irrespective of one’s will?
- - A: No. What do you understand by suicide? The spirit can only be blamed for his actions.
OBSERVATION: We had prepared a series of questions which we proposed to address to the spirit of that man, about his new existence. Based on his answers they lost their meaning. It was evident to us that he had no consciousness of the situation. The only thing he could describe to us was his suffering.
Such doubt about death is very common among the recently dead and mainly on those who, during life, did not elevate their souls above matter. At first sight it is a bizarre phenomenon, but explained very naturally.
Such doubt about death is very common among the recently dead and mainly on those who, during life, did not elevate their souls above matter. At first sight it is a bizarre phenomenon, but explained very naturally.
If we ask a person taken for the first time to somnambulism if they are asleep the answer is almost always no, and the answer is logic. It is the questioner who badly formulates the question, using an improper term. The idea of sleep, in the common language, is connected to the suspension of all sensitive faculties. Well, the somnambulist, who thinks and sees; that is aware of his moral freedom, doesn’t believe that he sleeps and, with effect, he doesn’t sleep in the conventional use of the term. That is why he responds that he is not asleep, until he familiarizes with this new way of understanding things. The same happens with a man that has just died. For him death was the “nothing”. Well, as it happens to the somnambulist, he sees, feels and speaks. Thus, for him life continues, and he says so, until he has acquired consciousness of his new state.
Confessions of Louis XI
Third article
Extracted from the story of his life, dictated by himself to Ms. Ermance Dufaux (see March and May issues)
The poisoning of the Duke of Guyenne
Third article
Extracted from the story of his life, dictated by himself to Ms. Ermance Dufaux (see March and May issues)
The poisoning of the Duke of Guyenne
(...) then I engaged with Guyenne. Odet d’Aidies, the Lord of Lescun, who had quarreled with me,
conducted the war preparations with a wonderful vivacity. It was with great effort that he fed the
warlike ardor of my brother Charles, the Duke of Guyenne. He had to combat a fearful adversary in
my brother’s spirit: Lady Thouars, Charles’ lover.
That woman was not trying anything else but to take advantage of the power she exerted over the young Duke, aiming at deviating him from the war as she did not ignore that the war’s objective was her lover’s wedding. Her secret enemies had affected her by praising the beauty and brilliant qualities of the bride. This was enough to persuade her that her disgrace was certain if that princess married the Duke of Guyenne. Sure about my brother’s passion, she resorted to tears, prayers and to every extravagance of a woman lost in such a situation. The coward Charles gave in and communicated his new resolutions to Lescun. Lescun immediately communicated the Duke of Brittany and others also interested: they became alarmed and sent representations to my brother. That did nothing but deepen him once again in his irresolution.
That woman was not trying anything else but to take advantage of the power she exerted over the young Duke, aiming at deviating him from the war as she did not ignore that the war’s objective was her lover’s wedding. Her secret enemies had affected her by praising the beauty and brilliant qualities of the bride. This was enough to persuade her that her disgrace was certain if that princess married the Duke of Guyenne. Sure about my brother’s passion, she resorted to tears, prayers and to every extravagance of a woman lost in such a situation. The coward Charles gave in and communicated his new resolutions to Lescun. Lescun immediately communicated the Duke of Brittany and others also interested: they became alarmed and sent representations to my brother. That did nothing but deepen him once again in his irresolution.
The favorite, however, and not without much difficulty, was able to dissuade him of the war and
marriage again. Since then the death of the favorite was decided by all princes.
Afraid that my brother would attribute her death to Lescun, whose antipathy towards Mrs. Thouars was known to him, they decided to conquer Jean Faure Duversois, a Benedictine monk, my brother’s confessor and Abbot of Saint-Jean d’Angély. This man was one of the greatest enthusiasts of Mrs. Thouars and nobody ignored his hatred for Lescun, whose political influence he envied.
It was unlikely that my brother would attribute to him the death of his lover since that priest was one of her favorites who deserved the greatest trust. Since his thirst for greatness was the only thing that attached him to the favorite, he was easily corrupted.
For a long time I tried to seduce the Abbot but he always rejected the offers. However, he always left the impression that I would attain my goal. He easily noticed the situation he would find himself in by doing the service the princes requested from him, as he knew that it would not be difficult to them to get rid of an accomplice. On another hand he was aware of my brother’s instability and was afraid of becoming his victim.
Compromising his safety with his interests, he decided to sacrifice his young master. Taking such a side he had as many chances of success as failure. To the princes, the death of the young Duke of Guyenne should be the result of an error or an unforeseen accident. Even when attributed to the Duke of Brittany and his accomplices, the favorite’s death would go unnoticed, so to speak, as nobody would discover the motives that gave it real importance from a political point of view.
Admitting that they could be accused of my brother’s death, they would be exposed to the greatest dangers, once it would have been my duty to severely punish them. They knew that I did not lack good will and that the people could turn against them. Then the Duke of Burgundy, not knowing what happened in Guyenne, would have been forced to become my ally, or to be accused of complicity. Even in this latest hypothesis, everything would have moved in my favor. I could have said that my brother, the reckless, was a traitor criminal, leading the Parliament to condemn him to death, by his assassination. Such condemnations, pronounced by such a high tribunal, always had great results, especially when of an incontestable legitimacy.
It is easy to see how much interest the princes had to manipulate the Abbot. On another hand, there was nothing easier than secretly eliminating him.
But with me the Abbot of Saint-Jean had more chances of impunity. His service to me was of the greatest importance, particularly at that point in time, as the formidable association which was forming, having the Duke of Guyenne at the center, should infallibly loose me. The only means of destroying it was with the death of my brother, which represented my salvation. He aspired the favors of Tristan, the hermit, thinking that by this he would be above him or, at least, he would share my good graces and my trust in him.
In fact, the princes had been imprudent enough to leave incontestable proofs of their guilt in his hands: these were multiple texts, written in very vague terms, not being difficult to replace my brother’s name by his favorite, appearing between the lines. Giving me those documents he pushed away any doubt with respect to my innocence; he thus subtracted the only danger for being on the princes’ side and, proving that I wasn’t by any means involved in the poisoning, he would no longer be my accomplice, exempting me from any interest in killing him.
Afraid that my brother would attribute her death to Lescun, whose antipathy towards Mrs. Thouars was known to him, they decided to conquer Jean Faure Duversois, a Benedictine monk, my brother’s confessor and Abbot of Saint-Jean d’Angély. This man was one of the greatest enthusiasts of Mrs. Thouars and nobody ignored his hatred for Lescun, whose political influence he envied.
It was unlikely that my brother would attribute to him the death of his lover since that priest was one of her favorites who deserved the greatest trust. Since his thirst for greatness was the only thing that attached him to the favorite, he was easily corrupted.
For a long time I tried to seduce the Abbot but he always rejected the offers. However, he always left the impression that I would attain my goal. He easily noticed the situation he would find himself in by doing the service the princes requested from him, as he knew that it would not be difficult to them to get rid of an accomplice. On another hand he was aware of my brother’s instability and was afraid of becoming his victim.
Compromising his safety with his interests, he decided to sacrifice his young master. Taking such a side he had as many chances of success as failure. To the princes, the death of the young Duke of Guyenne should be the result of an error or an unforeseen accident. Even when attributed to the Duke of Brittany and his accomplices, the favorite’s death would go unnoticed, so to speak, as nobody would discover the motives that gave it real importance from a political point of view.
Admitting that they could be accused of my brother’s death, they would be exposed to the greatest dangers, once it would have been my duty to severely punish them. They knew that I did not lack good will and that the people could turn against them. Then the Duke of Burgundy, not knowing what happened in Guyenne, would have been forced to become my ally, or to be accused of complicity. Even in this latest hypothesis, everything would have moved in my favor. I could have said that my brother, the reckless, was a traitor criminal, leading the Parliament to condemn him to death, by his assassination. Such condemnations, pronounced by such a high tribunal, always had great results, especially when of an incontestable legitimacy.
It is easy to see how much interest the princes had to manipulate the Abbot. On another hand, there was nothing easier than secretly eliminating him.
But with me the Abbot of Saint-Jean had more chances of impunity. His service to me was of the greatest importance, particularly at that point in time, as the formidable association which was forming, having the Duke of Guyenne at the center, should infallibly loose me. The only means of destroying it was with the death of my brother, which represented my salvation. He aspired the favors of Tristan, the hermit, thinking that by this he would be above him or, at least, he would share my good graces and my trust in him.
In fact, the princes had been imprudent enough to leave incontestable proofs of their guilt in his hands: these were multiple texts, written in very vague terms, not being difficult to replace my brother’s name by his favorite, appearing between the lines. Giving me those documents he pushed away any doubt with respect to my innocence; he thus subtracted the only danger for being on the princes’ side and, proving that I wasn’t by any means involved in the poisoning, he would no longer be my accomplice, exempting me from any interest in killing him.
There was still the need to prove that he wasn’t himself involved in all that. This was a lesser of a
problem. For starters he was confidently under my protection; besides, the princes did not have
proofs of his culpability and he could back fire the accusations, as slander.
Once all that was taken into account, he sent me an envoy that pretended to have spontaneously come to tell me that the Abbot of Saint-Jean was unhappy with my brother. I immediately saw the advantage I could take from such an event and fell in the trap prepared by the shrewd Abbot. Not suspecting that the envoy could have been sent by him, I dispatched one of my trustworthy spies. Saint-Jean represented so well his role that my envoy was deceived. Based on his report I wrote to the Abbot in order to conquer him. He showed a lot of qualms but, although with some difficulty, I triumphed. He agreed to be in charge of the poisoning of my brother. I was so perverted that I did not hesitate in committing such a horrific crime.
Henri de la Roche, the Duke’s squire, was in charge of preparing the peach that would be offered by the Abbot himself to Mrs. Thouars. While enjoying a lunch at the table with my brother, the beauty of that fruit was notable. She drew the prince’s attention and shared it with him. They had just eaten when Mrs. Thouars felt excruciating pain in her stomach, soon expiring amidst terrible sufferings. My brother experienced the same symptoms but with much less violence.
It may perhaps seem strange that the Abbot had used such means to poison his master. Truly, the minor incident could spoil his plan. It was, however, the only one authorized by prudence as it admitted the possibility of a mistake. Touched by the quality of the peach, it was natural that Mrs. Thouars called the attention of his lover and offered him half. He, therefore, could not refuse eating it. Admitting that he would eat only a small piece, this would be sufficient to provoke the initial symptoms needed. ; a posterior poisoning could determine his death, as a consequence of the first one.
The princes were taken by horror as soon as they heard about the dismal poisoning of the favorite. They were not in the least suspicious of the Abbot’s premeditation. They only thought of giving the young lady’s death and the disease of her lover a natural appearance. None of them took the initiative of trying an antidote to the unfortunate prince, afraid of association. In fact such an attitude would indicate knowledge about the poison and, consequently, that someone was accomplice in the crime.
Thanks to his youth and strength of temper, Charles resisted longer to the poison. His physical sufferings did nothing but drive him back to his old projects with more intensity. Afraid that his illness could diminish the zeal of his officers, he wanted them to renew their oaths of fidelity. As he demanded that they should swear allegiance to him, against everything and everyone, even against me, some of them, on fearing death which seemed close, refused to obey, changing sides to my court.
OBSERVATION: In the previous issues we saw interesting details given by Louis XI with respect to his death. The fact we have just reported is not less notable from a historical point of view as well as with respect to the phenomenon of manifestations. In fact, we only had difficulty regarding the choice: the life of this King, as dictated by himself, is incontestably the most complete that we have and, we can say, the most impartial. The state of the spirit of Louis XI allows him to appreciate things in their just value today. By the three chosen fragments one can see how he passes judgment onto himself. He explains his politics better than any of his historians. He does not acquit himself for his behavior and, in his death, so sad and common to such a powerful monarch, a few hours earlier, he sees an anticipated punishment.
As for the phenomenon of manifestations, this work offers a special interest. It proves that the spiritist manifestations can enlighten us about history, as long as we know how to position ourselves in favorable conditions. We hope that the publication of Louis XI life, as well as the not less interesting of Charles VIII, equally concluded, may soon be placed side by side with that of Joan of Arc.
Once all that was taken into account, he sent me an envoy that pretended to have spontaneously come to tell me that the Abbot of Saint-Jean was unhappy with my brother. I immediately saw the advantage I could take from such an event and fell in the trap prepared by the shrewd Abbot. Not suspecting that the envoy could have been sent by him, I dispatched one of my trustworthy spies. Saint-Jean represented so well his role that my envoy was deceived. Based on his report I wrote to the Abbot in order to conquer him. He showed a lot of qualms but, although with some difficulty, I triumphed. He agreed to be in charge of the poisoning of my brother. I was so perverted that I did not hesitate in committing such a horrific crime.
Henri de la Roche, the Duke’s squire, was in charge of preparing the peach that would be offered by the Abbot himself to Mrs. Thouars. While enjoying a lunch at the table with my brother, the beauty of that fruit was notable. She drew the prince’s attention and shared it with him. They had just eaten when Mrs. Thouars felt excruciating pain in her stomach, soon expiring amidst terrible sufferings. My brother experienced the same symptoms but with much less violence.
It may perhaps seem strange that the Abbot had used such means to poison his master. Truly, the minor incident could spoil his plan. It was, however, the only one authorized by prudence as it admitted the possibility of a mistake. Touched by the quality of the peach, it was natural that Mrs. Thouars called the attention of his lover and offered him half. He, therefore, could not refuse eating it. Admitting that he would eat only a small piece, this would be sufficient to provoke the initial symptoms needed. ; a posterior poisoning could determine his death, as a consequence of the first one.
The princes were taken by horror as soon as they heard about the dismal poisoning of the favorite. They were not in the least suspicious of the Abbot’s premeditation. They only thought of giving the young lady’s death and the disease of her lover a natural appearance. None of them took the initiative of trying an antidote to the unfortunate prince, afraid of association. In fact such an attitude would indicate knowledge about the poison and, consequently, that someone was accomplice in the crime.
Thanks to his youth and strength of temper, Charles resisted longer to the poison. His physical sufferings did nothing but drive him back to his old projects with more intensity. Afraid that his illness could diminish the zeal of his officers, he wanted them to renew their oaths of fidelity. As he demanded that they should swear allegiance to him, against everything and everyone, even against me, some of them, on fearing death which seemed close, refused to obey, changing sides to my court.
OBSERVATION: In the previous issues we saw interesting details given by Louis XI with respect to his death. The fact we have just reported is not less notable from a historical point of view as well as with respect to the phenomenon of manifestations. In fact, we only had difficulty regarding the choice: the life of this King, as dictated by himself, is incontestably the most complete that we have and, we can say, the most impartial. The state of the spirit of Louis XI allows him to appreciate things in their just value today. By the three chosen fragments one can see how he passes judgment onto himself. He explains his politics better than any of his historians. He does not acquit himself for his behavior and, in his death, so sad and common to such a powerful monarch, a few hours earlier, he sees an anticipated punishment.
As for the phenomenon of manifestations, this work offers a special interest. It proves that the spiritist manifestations can enlighten us about history, as long as we know how to position ourselves in favorable conditions. We hope that the publication of Louis XI life, as well as the not less interesting of Charles VIII, equally concluded, may soon be placed side by side with that of Joan of Arc.
Henri Martin
His opinion about extra-corporeal communications
His opinion about extra-corporeal communications
We see here certain distinguished writers shrugging their shoulders to the simple enunciation that a
story was written by the spirits. They say:
- How come the beings of the other world may control our knowledge, control us, Earth’s scholars? Come on! Is it possible?
Gentlemen, we do not force you to believe; not even shall we make the least effort to subtract you from such an illusion. In the interest of your future glory, we invite you to write your names with indestructible characters as footnote of this modest sentence: All adepts of Spiritism are senseless, as only we are assigned the judgment of the extension of God’s power. This said so as posterity do not forget them. Posterity itself will see if they shall have a place side by side with those who, not long ago, were repelled by men and to whom Science and public acknowledgement now build statues.
Here you have, however, a writer whose high capacity everyone recognizes, risking himself to be taken by an empty head; He also holds the flag of the new ideas about the relationships between the physical and the extra-corporeal world. In Henri Martin’s Histoire de France, volume 6, page 143, we read the following, regarding Joan of Arc:
“... there is in humanity an exceptional order of moral and physical facts that apparently do not comply with the ordinary laws of nature: these are the states of ecstasy and somnambulism, artificial or spontaneous, with all the admirable phenomena of perturbation of the senses, of partial or total insensitivity of the body, exaltation of the soul, of perceptions beyond all conditions of normal life. The facts that this class were judged under points of view completely in opposition. Once the common relationships of organs are disturbed, the physiologists classify the ecstatic and somnambulist states as diseases. They admit the phenomena which they can describe in the pathology but deny everything else, that is, all that seems to be outside of the laws of Physics. Disease becomes madness to their eyes when hallucinations of the senses and visions of objects only seen by the visionary are added to the alteration of the organ’s actions.
“A renowned physiologist sustained with austerity that Socrates was a lunatic because he thought he could talk to his demon.”
- How come the beings of the other world may control our knowledge, control us, Earth’s scholars? Come on! Is it possible?
Gentlemen, we do not force you to believe; not even shall we make the least effort to subtract you from such an illusion. In the interest of your future glory, we invite you to write your names with indestructible characters as footnote of this modest sentence: All adepts of Spiritism are senseless, as only we are assigned the judgment of the extension of God’s power. This said so as posterity do not forget them. Posterity itself will see if they shall have a place side by side with those who, not long ago, were repelled by men and to whom Science and public acknowledgement now build statues.
Here you have, however, a writer whose high capacity everyone recognizes, risking himself to be taken by an empty head; He also holds the flag of the new ideas about the relationships between the physical and the extra-corporeal world. In Henri Martin’s Histoire de France, volume 6, page 143, we read the following, regarding Joan of Arc:
“... there is in humanity an exceptional order of moral and physical facts that apparently do not comply with the ordinary laws of nature: these are the states of ecstasy and somnambulism, artificial or spontaneous, with all the admirable phenomena of perturbation of the senses, of partial or total insensitivity of the body, exaltation of the soul, of perceptions beyond all conditions of normal life. The facts that this class were judged under points of view completely in opposition. Once the common relationships of organs are disturbed, the physiologists classify the ecstatic and somnambulist states as diseases. They admit the phenomena which they can describe in the pathology but deny everything else, that is, all that seems to be outside of the laws of Physics. Disease becomes madness to their eyes when hallucinations of the senses and visions of objects only seen by the visionary are added to the alteration of the organ’s actions.
“A renowned physiologist sustained with austerity that Socrates was a lunatic because he thought he could talk to his demon.”
“The mystics respond by not only stating that the extraordinary phenomena of magnetic
perception are real, subject about which they find numerous auxiliaries and numerous witnesses
outside mysticism, but by also sustaining that the vision of the ecstatic have real objects,
certainly not seen by the eyes of the body, but by those of the spirit. Ecstasy is the bridge
between the visible and invisible worlds to them; the memory and the promise of a better
existence, from where we fell and have to re-conquer.”
“Which side should History and Philosophy take in such a debate?”
“History could not precisely determine the limits neither the extension of the phenomena, nor of the ecstatic and somnambulist faculties, but attest that they happen everywhere; that men have always given credit to them; that they have exerted a considerable action over humanity’s destinies; that they have manifested not only among the contemplative but also among the most powerful geniuses and the majority of the great initiated men; however unreasonable the ecstatic may be, there is nothing in common between the digressions of madness and the visions of so many others; that the visions may be connected to certain laws; that the ecstatic of all times and all places have something that maybe called a common language, the language of the symbols, from which poetry is not more than a derivative, language which expresses, more or less constantly, the same idea and the same feelings through the same images.”
“It might be reckless to conclude something in the name of Philosophy. Nevertheless, after acknowledging the moral importance of those phenomena, however obscure, its law and objective may be; after distinguishing them in two degrees, one inferior, which is nothing beyond a strange extension or inexplicable dislocation of the actions of the organs, and the other superior, which is a prodigious exaltation of the moral and intellectual powers, the philosopher could, as it seems to us, sustain that the illusion of the inspired one consists in considering as revelation done by exterior beings, angels, saints or genies, the interior revelations of this infinite personality, which is inside us, and that, sometimes, among the best and the greatest, manifest through latent forces which almost incommensurably go beyond the faculties of our current condition. In one word, in academic language, they are to us facts of subjectivity; in the language of the old mystic philosophies and of the most advanced religions, these are revelations of the Mazdean ferouer *, of the good demon (of Socrates), of the guardian angel, of this other self which is nothing more than the eternal self, in full possession of itself, gliding above the self, immersed in the shades of life. It is the figure of the magnificent Zoroastrian symbol, represented everywhere in Persepolis and Ninive: the winged ferouer or the celestial self, gliding above the earthly person.”
“Denying the action of the exterior beings over the inspired ones; not seeing in their pretense manifestations more than a form given to the ecstatic intuitions by the beliefs and environment of their time; looking for the solution of the problem in the depths of the human personality, it is not absolutely to doubt the Divine intervention in the great phenomena and in the great existences. The author and support of the whole life, however much essentially independent may it be from each creature and from the whole creation; the more distinct may its absolute personality be from our contingent being, it is not an exterior being, that is, strange to us, and it is not from the exterior that it speaks to us. When the soul dives into itself, it is there that it finds Him and, in all salutary inspiration, our freedom associates to his Providence. Here, as in everything, it is necessary to predict the double danger of incredulity and badly clarified piety: one sees nothing but illusions and purely human impulses; the other refuses to admit any portion of illusion, of ignorance or of imperfection, where it only sees the finger of God, as if God’s envoys were no longer men, men of a certain time and a certain place, and as if the sublime lightning which trespasses their soul deposits in them the universal Science and the absolute perfection. In the more evidently providential inspirations, men’s mistakes combine with God’s truth. The infallible being communicates its infallibility to nobody.”
“We hope that this digression will not be considered superfluous. We should position ourselves about the character and about the work of that inspired one who, to the highest degree of testimony of the extraordinary faculties that we mentioned above, applied them to the most brilliant mission of the modern times. It was necessary to attempt to produce an opinion adequate to the level of the category of exceptional beings to which Joan of Arc belongs.”
“Which side should History and Philosophy take in such a debate?”
“History could not precisely determine the limits neither the extension of the phenomena, nor of the ecstatic and somnambulist faculties, but attest that they happen everywhere; that men have always given credit to them; that they have exerted a considerable action over humanity’s destinies; that they have manifested not only among the contemplative but also among the most powerful geniuses and the majority of the great initiated men; however unreasonable the ecstatic may be, there is nothing in common between the digressions of madness and the visions of so many others; that the visions may be connected to certain laws; that the ecstatic of all times and all places have something that maybe called a common language, the language of the symbols, from which poetry is not more than a derivative, language which expresses, more or less constantly, the same idea and the same feelings through the same images.”
“It might be reckless to conclude something in the name of Philosophy. Nevertheless, after acknowledging the moral importance of those phenomena, however obscure, its law and objective may be; after distinguishing them in two degrees, one inferior, which is nothing beyond a strange extension or inexplicable dislocation of the actions of the organs, and the other superior, which is a prodigious exaltation of the moral and intellectual powers, the philosopher could, as it seems to us, sustain that the illusion of the inspired one consists in considering as revelation done by exterior beings, angels, saints or genies, the interior revelations of this infinite personality, which is inside us, and that, sometimes, among the best and the greatest, manifest through latent forces which almost incommensurably go beyond the faculties of our current condition. In one word, in academic language, they are to us facts of subjectivity; in the language of the old mystic philosophies and of the most advanced religions, these are revelations of the Mazdean ferouer *, of the good demon (of Socrates), of the guardian angel, of this other self which is nothing more than the eternal self, in full possession of itself, gliding above the self, immersed in the shades of life. It is the figure of the magnificent Zoroastrian symbol, represented everywhere in Persepolis and Ninive: the winged ferouer or the celestial self, gliding above the earthly person.”
“Denying the action of the exterior beings over the inspired ones; not seeing in their pretense manifestations more than a form given to the ecstatic intuitions by the beliefs and environment of their time; looking for the solution of the problem in the depths of the human personality, it is not absolutely to doubt the Divine intervention in the great phenomena and in the great existences. The author and support of the whole life, however much essentially independent may it be from each creature and from the whole creation; the more distinct may its absolute personality be from our contingent being, it is not an exterior being, that is, strange to us, and it is not from the exterior that it speaks to us. When the soul dives into itself, it is there that it finds Him and, in all salutary inspiration, our freedom associates to his Providence. Here, as in everything, it is necessary to predict the double danger of incredulity and badly clarified piety: one sees nothing but illusions and purely human impulses; the other refuses to admit any portion of illusion, of ignorance or of imperfection, where it only sees the finger of God, as if God’s envoys were no longer men, men of a certain time and a certain place, and as if the sublime lightning which trespasses their soul deposits in them the universal Science and the absolute perfection. In the more evidently providential inspirations, men’s mistakes combine with God’s truth. The infallible being communicates its infallibility to nobody.”
“We hope that this digression will not be considered superfluous. We should position ourselves about the character and about the work of that inspired one who, to the highest degree of testimony of the extraordinary faculties that we mentioned above, applied them to the most brilliant mission of the modern times. It was necessary to attempt to produce an opinion adequate to the level of the category of exceptional beings to which Joan of Arc belongs.”
_________________________
* In the avestica religion the supernatural being corresponds to the genies of the Romans or the guardian
angels of the Catholic Church.
Varieties - the magnetic banquets
On May 23rd, Mesmer’s24 birthday, two annual banquets were held with the presence of the top-
notch dignitaries from Paris and foreign delegates. We have always questioned the fact that such
commemorative solemnity is celebrated in two rival banquets, where each group drinks to the
health of the other and where a toast to the union is unsuccessfully made.
At that point in time, one has the impression that they are about to reconcile. Why then such a rupture among men who dedicate themselves to the good of humanity and to the cult of truth? Doesn’t truth show up under the same light to them? Will they have two different ways of understanding the good of humanity? Are they divided with respect to the principles of their Science? Absolutely. They have the same beliefs and the same master that is Mesmer. If that master attends their appeal, as we believe so, he must suffer with the discord among his disciples.
Fortunately, that disunion will not unleash wars like those that covered the world with blood, in the name of Christ, for the eternal shame of the ones who named themselves Christians. Nevertheless, however much inoffensive it may be, this war is not less regrettable, although limited to the strikes of the pen and to the isolated drinking. We would like to see good men united by a common feeling of fraternity. With that, the magnetic Science would benefit in progress and consideration.
Once the two sides are not divided by doctrinaire divergences, what then explains their antagonism? We cannot discover the cause except in the susceptibilities inherent to our nature, from which not even superior men are exempt. The genie of disagreement has agitated its torch at all times. From the spiritist point of view, this means that the inferior spirits, envious of men’s happiness, find easy access among them. Happy are those who have enough moral strength to repel their suggestions.
We were given the honor of being invited to both meetings. As they were held simultaneously, and as we are nothing more than a very much incarnated spirit, not having the gift of ubiquity, we could only satisfy one of those kind invitations.
We went to the meeting presided by Dr. Duplanty.
It is necessary to say that the adepts of Spiritism do not constitute the majority there. However, we were pleased to verify that, with the exception of some flicks given to the spirits in the verses sung by Mr. Julio Lovi and the not less amusing sung by Sr. Fortier, who had the honor of a replay, the Spiritist Doctrine did not suffer inconvenient criticism from anybody, considering the fertility of some adversaries, despite their self-praised education. Far from that, in a remarkable and deservedly applauded speech, Dr. Duplanty proclaimed, loud and clear, the respect that we must have for the sincere beliefs, even when we don’t share them. Without declaring himself pro or con Spiritism, he wisely observed that the phenomena of magnetism, on revealing to us a hitherto unknown power, must make us even more circumspect with respect to the phenomena that can still reveal and that, at least, it would be imprudence to deny the ones we don’t understand or have not yet attested, mainly when supported by the authority of honored men, whose lights and loyalty could not be doubted. These are wise words for which we thank Mr. Duplanty. They singularly contrast with those of certain adepts of Magnetism that inconsiderately shed ridicule onto a Doctrine which they confessedly ignore, forgetting that on other occasions they were also targeted by sarcasm; that they were sent to the hospices and attacked by the skeptical as enemies of religion and common sense. Now that Magnetism has been rehabilitated by the forces of circumstances; that one does not make fun of it; that we can fearlessly confess ourselves as magnetizers, it is not much dignified and charitable to use those reprisals against a sister Science which can only give them a beneficial support. We don’t attack men, they say; we only laugh at something that seems to ridicule, while we wait for the light to be brought upon us. In our opinion, the magnetic Science, which we have professed for 35 years, should be inseparable from seriousness. It seems that there is no lack of pasture to their satirical energy in this world, not having the need to target serious things. They forget that the same language was used against them; that they themselves accused the incredulous for their lightheartedly judgment and said, as we do now, in turn: “Patience! They who laugh last laugh better!”
At that point in time, one has the impression that they are about to reconcile. Why then such a rupture among men who dedicate themselves to the good of humanity and to the cult of truth? Doesn’t truth show up under the same light to them? Will they have two different ways of understanding the good of humanity? Are they divided with respect to the principles of their Science? Absolutely. They have the same beliefs and the same master that is Mesmer. If that master attends their appeal, as we believe so, he must suffer with the discord among his disciples.
Fortunately, that disunion will not unleash wars like those that covered the world with blood, in the name of Christ, for the eternal shame of the ones who named themselves Christians. Nevertheless, however much inoffensive it may be, this war is not less regrettable, although limited to the strikes of the pen and to the isolated drinking. We would like to see good men united by a common feeling of fraternity. With that, the magnetic Science would benefit in progress and consideration.
Once the two sides are not divided by doctrinaire divergences, what then explains their antagonism? We cannot discover the cause except in the susceptibilities inherent to our nature, from which not even superior men are exempt. The genie of disagreement has agitated its torch at all times. From the spiritist point of view, this means that the inferior spirits, envious of men’s happiness, find easy access among them. Happy are those who have enough moral strength to repel their suggestions.
We were given the honor of being invited to both meetings. As they were held simultaneously, and as we are nothing more than a very much incarnated spirit, not having the gift of ubiquity, we could only satisfy one of those kind invitations.
We went to the meeting presided by Dr. Duplanty.
It is necessary to say that the adepts of Spiritism do not constitute the majority there. However, we were pleased to verify that, with the exception of some flicks given to the spirits in the verses sung by Mr. Julio Lovi and the not less amusing sung by Sr. Fortier, who had the honor of a replay, the Spiritist Doctrine did not suffer inconvenient criticism from anybody, considering the fertility of some adversaries, despite their self-praised education. Far from that, in a remarkable and deservedly applauded speech, Dr. Duplanty proclaimed, loud and clear, the respect that we must have for the sincere beliefs, even when we don’t share them. Without declaring himself pro or con Spiritism, he wisely observed that the phenomena of magnetism, on revealing to us a hitherto unknown power, must make us even more circumspect with respect to the phenomena that can still reveal and that, at least, it would be imprudence to deny the ones we don’t understand or have not yet attested, mainly when supported by the authority of honored men, whose lights and loyalty could not be doubted. These are wise words for which we thank Mr. Duplanty. They singularly contrast with those of certain adepts of Magnetism that inconsiderately shed ridicule onto a Doctrine which they confessedly ignore, forgetting that on other occasions they were also targeted by sarcasm; that they were sent to the hospices and attacked by the skeptical as enemies of religion and common sense. Now that Magnetism has been rehabilitated by the forces of circumstances; that one does not make fun of it; that we can fearlessly confess ourselves as magnetizers, it is not much dignified and charitable to use those reprisals against a sister Science which can only give them a beneficial support. We don’t attack men, they say; we only laugh at something that seems to ridicule, while we wait for the light to be brought upon us. In our opinion, the magnetic Science, which we have professed for 35 years, should be inseparable from seriousness. It seems that there is no lack of pasture to their satirical energy in this world, not having the need to target serious things. They forget that the same language was used against them; that they themselves accused the incredulous for their lightheartedly judgment and said, as we do now, in turn: “Patience! They who laugh last laugh better!”
Erratum
In the No 5 issue (May, 1858), a typo disfigured a proper name that lost its meaning because of that. In the article “Family Conversations from Beyond the Grave – Mozart – Second Article”, instead of Poryolise, read Pergolèse.
ALLAN KARDEC