THE MEDIUMS’ BOOK

1. Doubt concerning the existence of spirits arises from ignorance of their real nature. People usually imagine spirits to be something apart from the rest of creation, and the reality of whose existence has not been proved. Many think of them as imaginary beings, known to them only through the fantastic tales of their childhood, and regard their authenticity much as they would that of the personages of a romance. Without stopping to inquire whether those tales, divested of absurd accessories, may not have some foundation of truth, they see only their absurdities; and not giving themselves the trouble to peel off the bitter husk in order to get at the kernel, they reject the whole, just as others, shocked at certain abuses in religion, confound the whole subject in the same reprobation.

Whatever ideas we may hold in regard to spirits, the belief in their existence is necessarily founded on that of the existence of an intelligent principle distinct from matter; this belief is therefore incompatible with an absolute negation of such a principle.

We assume then, as the ground-work of our belief, the existence, survival, and individuality of the soul, of which spiritualism is the theoretic and doctrinal demonstration, and spiritism the practical proof. Let us then, for a moment, leave out of sight the fact of spirit-manifestations, properly so called, and let us see to what conclusions we are led by inductive reasoning.

2. If we admit the existence of the soul and its individuality after death, we must necessarily also admit, 1st, that it is of a nature different from that of the body, since, when separated from the body, it enters upon a phase of existence distinct from the destiny of the body ; 2d, that the soul retains, after death, its individuality and self-con- sciousness, and the capacity of feeling happiness and unhappiness, as otherwise it would be an inert being, and its existence would be equivalent to non-existence. These points being admitted, it follows that the soul goes somewhere ; but what becomes of it, and whither does it go? According to the ordinary belief it goes to heaven or to hell ; but where is heaven, and where is hell? People used formerly to say that heaven was '' up on high," and hell, '' down below ; " but what is " up," and what is "down," in the Universe, since we have learned that the earth is round, and that, through the movement of all the stellar bodies, what is " up " now, will be " down " twelve hours hence, and this throughout the immeasurable extent of infinite space? It is true that, by "below," we may likewise understand the "deep places of the earth;" but what has become of those "deep places," since geologists have begun to dig into the interior of the globe?

What has become of those concentric spheres called the "heaven of fire," the " heaven of stars," etc., since we have found out that the earth is not the centre of the universe, and that our sun is only one of the countless myriads of suns which shine in space, and each of which is the centre of a planetary system of its own ? Where is now the earth's importance, lost as it is in this immensity ? and by what unjustifiable privilege shall we assume that this imperceptible grain of sand, distinguished neither by its bulk, its position, nor any peculiarity of attribute, is the only sphere peopled by intelligent creatures? Reason refuses to admit such an inutility of infinitude; and common sense declares that all the other worlds of the universe must be inhabited, and that, being inhabited, they, too, must furnish their contingent to the realm of souls.

To this question we reply that, the doctrine which formerly localised souls being opposed to the data of modern science, another and more logical doctrine assigns to then, as their domain, not any fixed and circumscribed localities, but universal space itself which is thus seen to be one grand system, in the midst of which we live, which environs us unceasingly, and touches us at every point. Is there anything inadmissible in such a theory, anything repugnant to our reason? Assuredly not; on the contrary, our reason tells us that it cannot be otherwise. But, it may next be asked, what becomes of the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, if we rob them of their special localities ? In replying to this objection, we must pause to remark that incredulity, in regard to those rewards and punishments, is ordinarily provoked by the fact of their being presented under inadmissible conditions; and that, if-instead of such conditions, we assume that souls carry their happiness or their misery in themselves, that their lot is always determined by their moral state, that the union of good and sympathetic souls is a source of felicity, and that, according to their degree of purity, is their power of penetrating and discerning things that are still dark to souls of lower degree-all difficulties disappear, and the grand idea of our continuous existence becomes comprehensible and acceptable. Let us assume, still farther, that the degree of each soul's elevation depends on the efforts it makes for its own amelioration during series of existences that serve as the means and tests of its progressive purification, that "angels" are only the souls of men who have attained to the highest degree of excellence; that all can attain to that degree by effort and determination; that those who have attained to that degree are God's messengers, charged to superintend the execution of His designs throughout the universe, and finding their happiness in these glorious missions,-and we surely attribute to the idea of our future felicity an end more useful and more attractive than that of a perpetual state of contemplation which would be only a perpetual state of inutility. Let us assume, yet farther, that (lemons" also are no other than the souls of wicked men, not yet purified, but who have the power to purify themselves like the others, and it must surely be admitted that such a theory is more in conformity with the justice and goodness of God than the assumption that they were created for evil, and predestined to a perpetuity of misery. Is there, we ask, in such a theory, anything opposed to reason, anything, in a word, that the most rigorous logic, or plain common sense, can find any difficulty in admitting?

The souls, then, that people space, are what we call spirits: and spirits are nothing but the souls of men stripped of their envelope of gross terrestrial matter. If spirits were beings apart from ourselves, their existence would be merely hypothetical ; but, if we admit that souls exist, we must also admit that spirits are nothing else than souls, and, if we admit that universal space is peopled by souls, we must equally admit that spirits are everywhere. We cannot deny the existence of spirits without denying the existence of souls.

3. All this, it is true, is only a theory, though one that is more rational than other theories ; but it is something to possess a theory that is not in contradiction with reason or science, and if, moreover, this theory is corroborated by facts, it must be admitted that our position has the double sanction of reason and experience. Such corroborating facts we assert to be furnished by the phenomena of spirit-manifestation, which constitute the irrefragable proofs of the existence and the survival of the soul. With many persons, however, belief ends here; they readily admit the existence of souls, and consequently that of spirits, but they deny the possibility of holding communication with them, "because," they say, " immaterial beings cannot act upon matter." This denial proceeds from ignorance of the real nature of spirits, about which the world in general holds exceedingly false ideas, erroneously regarding them as abstract beings, as something vague and indefinite; which is a great mistake.

Let us, in the first place, consider the spirit in reference to its union with the body. The spirit is the principal being, because it is that which thinks, and which survives the body, the latter being only an envelope, a vestment, of gross matter, that the spirit throws off when it is worn out but, besides this material envelope, the spirit has a second envelope, which is semi-material, and which unites it to the first at death, the spirit casts off the first, but retains the second, to which we give the name perispirit.*

This semi-material envelope, which has the human form, constitutes, for the spirit, a vaporous, fluidic body, which, though invisible to us in its normal state, nevertheless possesses some of the properties of matter. A spirit is therefore not a mathematical point, an abstraction, but is a real being, limited and circumscribed, and lacking only the qualities of visibility and palpability to show its resemblance to human beings. Why then should it not act on matter? Is it because its body is fluidic? But is it not among the most rarified fluids, those which we call "imponderable," as electricity, for example, that man finds his most powerful motors? Does not imponderable light exercise a chemical action on ponderable matter? We do not understand the precise nature of the perispirit but, supposing it to be formed of electrical matter, or of something else equally subtle, why should it not have the same property of action as electricity, when under the direction of a will?

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* See Vocabulary.

4. The existence of the soul and the existence of God, as consequences of each other, being the basis of the edifice of spiritism, it is necessary, before entering on the discussion of this subject, to ascertain whether our reader admits that basis. If to the questions: -

Do you believe in God?
Do you believe you have a soul?
Do you believe in the survival of the soul after death? he responds with a negative, or even if he simply says: -

" I do not know; I should be glad if it were so, but I do not feel sure of it " (a reply that would be usually equivalent to a polite negation, disguised under a gentler form to avoid wounding what he may regard as respectable prejudices), it would be as useless to continue our present argument with such a one, as it would be to demonstrate the properties of light to a blind man who did not believe in the existence of light: because, spirit-manifestations being neither more nor less than effects of the soul's peculiar qualities, it would be useless to reason thereupon with one who denies the soul's existence, and who would require a totally different line of argument from that of the present work. We therefore take it for granted that those who read this book admit the existence and survival of the soul; and if this basis be admitted, not as a mere pro- bability, but as an acknowledged and incontestable fact, the existence of spirits follows as a natural consequence.

5. There still remains the question whether spirits can communicate with men ; in other words, whether they can exchange thoughts with us? But why should they not do so? What is a man, if not a spirit imprisoned in a body? And why should not a free spirit be able to hold converse with a spirit in prison, just as a free man can converse with another who is bound in chains? If you admit the survival of the soul, is it rational not to admit the survival of the soul's affections? Since souls are everywhere, is it not natural to believe that the soul of one who has loved us during life should come near to us, should desire to communicate with us, and should, for that purpose, make use of the means in his power for doing so? Did not his soul, during his earth-life, act upon the matter of which his body was composed? Was it not his soul that directed the movements of his body? Why then, after death, if in sympathy with another spirit still bound to an earthly body, should he not borrow an earthly body in order to manifest his thoughts, just as a dumb man makes use of a man who can speak to express his wishes ?

6. But let us leave out of sight, for the moment, the phenomena which, for us, render this fact incontestable, and let us admit its reality simply as an hypothesis; and considering the question from this point of view, let us ask the incredulous to prove to us, not by mere negation-for their personal opinion is no law-but by arguments based on reason, that such communications can not take place. We will place ourselves on their own ground; and, since they insist on judging of spiritist facts by the laws of matter, we invite them to draw, from the arsenal of physical science, some demonstration, mathematical, chemical, or physiological, and to prove by a plus b (always, however, keeping in mind the principle acknowledged, viz., that of the existence and survival of the soul), -

1st. That the being who thinks in us during life will no longer think after death; 2d. That, if it thinks, it will not think of those whom it has loved;
3d. That, if it thinks of those whom it has loved, it will not desire to communicate with them;
4th. That, if it has the power of being everywhere, it will not have the power of visiting us;
5th. That, if it can visit us, it will not have the power of communicating with us; 6th. That it will not be able to act upon inert matter by means of its fluidic envelope;
7th. That, if able to act upon inert matter, it will not be able to act upon an animated being;
8th. That, if able to act upon an animated being, it will not direct his hand, and make it write;
9th. That, being able to guide a human hand in writing, it will not be able to answer questions, and transmit its own thoughts to the questioner.

When the adversaries of spiritism shall have proved all this, by reasoning as incontrovertible as that by which Galileo proved that the sun does not turn round the earth, we will admit that their doubts are founded. But as, up to the present time, their whole argument may be summed up in words such as these "I do not believe these things, therefore they are impossible," they will doubtless tell us that it is for us to prove the reality of the manifestations; to which we reply, that we prove them both by facts and by reasoning, and that, if they admit neither the one nor the other, if they deny even what they see themselves, it is for them to prove that our reasoning is false, and that the facts we adduce are impossible.

7. If the belief in spirits and in their manifestations were an isolated exception, the product of a theory, it might, with some show of reason, be attributed to illusion; but how is it that we find this belief in vigour among all peoples, ancient and modern, as well as in the writings recognised as sacred in all known religions? It is, say some critics, because man, in all ages, has sought the marvellous. But what then, is the marvellous ? -That which is supernatural. - How do you define the supernatural ?-That which is contrary to the laws of nature.-Ah! you are, then, sufficiently acquainted with those laws to assign a limit to their action? If so, prove to us that the existence of spirits, and their manifestations, are contrary to the laws of nature; prove they are not, and can not be, a result of natural law. Examine the doctrine of the spiritists, and see whether its chain of reasoning has not all the character of an admirable Jaw, solving all the problems that human philosophies have been unable to solve up to the present day? Thought is one of the attributes of a spirit; the possibility of acting upon matter, of impressing the senses, and, as a natural consequence, of transmitting its thought, has its origin in the soul's physiological constitution, if we may so express it; there is, then, in this alleged fact, nothing supernatural, nothing marvellous. For a man who is dead to revive corporeally, for his scattered members to reunite to reform his body, would certainly be something marvellous, supernatural, fantastic; something that would indeed be a veritable derogation from His own laws that God could only accomplish by a miracle: but we find nothing of the sort in the teachings of spiritism.

8. Nevertheless, there are persons who say : "You, on your side, admit that a spirit can raise a table and retain it in space; is not that contrary to one of nature's laws, viz., the law of gravitation?" Yes, contrary to that law as commonly understood; but do you suppose that nature has revealed to us all its secrets? Before experiment had shown us the ascensional force of certain gases, who could have imagined that a heavy machine, bearing several men, could triumph over the force of attraction, and would not the assertion of such a possibility have appeared incredible? If a man had proposed, a century ago, to send a despatch five hundred leagues, and to receive an answer to it, in the course of a few minutes, he would have passed for a madman; if he had done it, he would have been declared to have the devil at his beck and call, for, in those days, it was only the devil who could travel so quickly. Why, then, may there not be some fluid, as yet unknown to us, possessing the property, under certain circumstances, of counterbalancing the action of density, as hydrogen counterbalances the weight of a balloon? This suggestion, we would remark in passing, is only a comparison, and not an assimilation, arid is brought forward solely to show, by analogy, that the fact assumed is not physically impossible. It is, in truth, precisely when the learned, in their observation of these phenomena, have endeavoured to proceed by the road of assimilation, that they have gone astray. In reality, the fact exists, and all tile negation in the world cannot get rid of it, for denying is not disproving; in our eyes, there is nothing supernatural about it, and this is all we have to say of it for the present.

9. "If the fact be proved," some may say, "we accept it as such ; we even accept the cause which you assign to it, viz., that of an unknown fluid; but what proves the intervention of spirits? That would indeed be marvellous; that would be supernatural!"

To meet this objection, we should have to enter upon a demonstration that would be out of place in the present book, and that would, in fact, be a work of supererogation, since the action of disincarnate spirits, as the cause of the phenomena in question, is affirmed in every branch of its teachings. Nevertheless, to sum up these in a few words, we will say that they are founded, in theory, on this principle, viz., that every intelligent effect must have an intelligent cause, and, in practice, on the fact that the phenomena called spiritist having given proofs of the action of intelligence, must have their cause in something outside of matter; that this intelligence, not proceeding from those who are present at the sitting,-a point fully proved by experience,-must be extraneous to the sitters, and that, as no active agent is visible, this intelligence must be that of some invisible being. It is, then, through repeated observation that we have arrived at the certainty that this invisible being, to which the name of "spirit" has been given, is nothing else than the soul of one who has lived in the body, one whom death has deprived of his gross, visible envelope, leaving him with an ethereal envelope invisible to us in its normal state. The existence of invisible beings once proved, their power over matter results from the very nature of their fluidic envelope; and the action of this power is intelligent, because, at death, those invisible beings only lost their body, but retained their intelligence, which is, in fact, their essence. The existence of spirits is therefore no preconceived theory, no mere hypothesis, invented to explain certain facts; it is a result of experience and of observation, and is the natural consequence of the existence of the soul: to deny their existence is to deny the soul and its attributes. If any one thinks he can give a more rational explanation of the phenomena in question, let him do so, taking care, however, to give a rational explanation of all the facts of the case ; and, when this has been done, we can discuss the merits of both sides of the question.

10. In the eyes of those who regard matter as the sole power in nature, everything which cannot be explained by the laws of matter is marvellous or supernatural; and with such, the marvellous is only another word for superstition. With such minds religion, being founded on the existence of an immaterial principle, is but a tissue of superstitions ; few dare to assert this openly, but many say it in whispers, and think they save appearances by conceding that religion is necessary for the people, and for keeping children in order. To such we would submit the following dilemma; either the religious principle is true, or it is false ; if it be true, it is true for all men, if it be false, it can no more be useful to the ignorant than to the wise.

11. Those who attack spiritism as being "marvellous," really play into the hands of the materialist, since, by denying all extra-material effects, they virtually deny the existence of the soul. Go to the bottom of their thought, examine the tendency of what they assert, and it will generally be found that they reason from materialistic principles, implied, if not openly asserted. Under cover of their pretended rationality, their denial is but the logical consequence of their premiss; they reject all that naturally follows from the soul's existence, because they do not really believe in that existence: for, not admitting the cause, how can they logically admit its effects? Hence they are fettered by a preconceived opinion which unfits them for judging soundly with respect to spiritism, since their starting-point is the negation of all that is not material. For ourselves, as we admit the consequences that flow from the existence of the soul, it follows, as a matter of course, that we have accepted the facts qualified as "marvellous ;" but it does not therefore follow that we are the champion of every dreamer, of every fancy, of all the eccentricities put forth by builders of theories. Those who could so far misunderstand us can know very little of spiritism; but our adversaries do not look at the matter so closely, and the duty of understanding what they are talking about is too often the thing they care least for. According to them, whatever is " marvellous " is absurd ; and, as spiritism is grounded on facts which appear to them to be "marvellous," they jump to the conclusion that spiritism is absurd. Regarding their verdict as being without appeal, they think they have brought out an irrefutable argument when, after having paraded the histories of the convulsionaries of Saint Medard, the fanatics of the Cevennes, and the nuns of Loudun, they point to facts of trickery which no one contests ; but are such histories the gospel of spiritism ? Have spiritists ever denied that charlatans have imitated some of the facts of spirit-manifestation from love of lucre, that some pretended manifestations have been the creation of an overexcited imagination, or that fanaticism has dealt largely in exaggeration? Spiritism is no more answerable for the extravagancies that may have been committed in its name, than is true science for the abuses of ignorant pretenders, or true religion for the excesses of the fanatic. Many critics only judge of spiritism by the fairy tales and popular legends which are, in fact, its fictions ; as well might they judge of history by historical romance.

12. According to the most elementary rules of logic, it is necessary to understand a question before discussing it for the critic's verdict is of no value unless founded on a complete knowledge of his subject ; in that case, and in that alone, his opinion, even if erroneous, may be worthy of consideration but what is it worth in a matter of which he is ignorant ? The true critic should give proof, not only of erudition, but of thorough knowledge of the subject of which he treats, of sound judgement, and unquestionable impartiality ; otherwise we might as 'veil be guided by the opinion of the first organ-grinder we meet with who should take upon himself to criticise Rossini, or that of any mere copyist who might think fit to censure Raphael.

13. Spiritism, then, does not accept all facts reputed to be marvellous or supernatural; so far from doing this, it demonstrates the impossibility of a great number of such, and the absurdity of certain beliefs which constitute, strictly speaking, " superstition." It is true that, in what it does admit, there are things which, to the incredulous, appear to belong to the domain of the marvellous, in other words, of what they regard as superstition; but, let them at least confine themselves to the discussion of these, for, in regard to the others, the spiritist has nothing to say, and the sceptic, in denouncing them to us, would be only "carrying coals to Newcastle." Those who attack us, in regard to abuses which we ourselves repudiate, prove their own ignorance of the matter in question ; and their argumentation is simply thrown away. " lout where," cry some of our opponents, " does the belief of Spiritists stop ?" Read, and mark; and you will know. No knowledge is acquired without time and study ; and spiritism, which involves the profoundest questions of philosophy and of social order, which deals at the same time with the physical man and with the moral man, is in itself a science, a philosophy, which can no more be apprehended in a few hours than any other. For those who are not content to rest on the surface, the study of such a subject is a question, not of hours, but of months and of years. Of what value, then, can be the opinion of those who arrogate to themselves the right of pronouncing judgement upon it, because they have witnessed one or two experiments, undertaken, perhaps, rather as an amusement than as a matter of serious inquiry? Such persons will doubtless affirm that they have not the leisure necessary for such a study; but, when people have not time to inform themselves correctly about any matter, they should refrain from talking about it, and especially from committing themselves to any opinion in regard to it and the higher their position in the world of science, the less excusable are they when they talk about what they do not understand.

14. We sum up our preceding remarks in the following propositions: -

1st. All spiritist-phenomena imply, as their principle, the existence of the soul, its survival of the body, and the manifestations which result therefrom.

2d. These phenomena, occurring in virtue of natural law, are neither "marvellous" nor "supernatural," in the ordinary sense of those words.

3d. Many facts are only reputed to be "supernatural" because their cause is unknown; spiritism, by assigning to them a cause, brings them within the domain of natural phenomena.

4th. Among the facts commonly called "supernatural," there are many which spiritism shows to be impossible, and which it therefore relegates into the category of superstitions.

5th. Although spiritism recognises a foundation of truth in many popular beliefs, it by no means accepts all the fantastic stories created by the imagination.

6th. To judge of spiritism by pretended facts, the reality of which it does not admit, is to give proof of ignorance, and to deprive such judgement of all weight.

7th. The explanation of the causes of facts acknowledged by spiritism, and the ascertainment of their moral consequences, constitute a new science and a new philosophy, requiring serious, persevering, and careful study.

8th. Spiritism can only be conclusively disproved by one who should have thoroughly studied it and sounded its deepest mysteries with the patient perseverance of a conscientious observer; one as well versed in every branch of the subject as the most ardent of its adherents; one acquainted with all the facts of the case, and with every argument that could be opposed to him, and which he must refute, not by denials, but by arguments still more conclusive; one, in short, who can give, of admitted facts, a more rational explanation than is given by spiritism. But such a critic has yet to be discovered.

14. We sum up our preceding remarks in the following propositions: -

1st. All spiritist-phenomena imply, as their principle, the existence of the soul, its survival of the body, and the manifestations which result therefrom.

2d. These phenomena, occurring in virtue of natural law, are neither "marvellous" nor "supernatural," in the ordinary sense of those words.

3d. Many facts are only reputed to be "supernatural" because their cause is unknown; spiritism, by assigning to them a cause, brings them within the domain of natural phenomena.

4th. Among the facts commonly called "supernatural," there are many which spiritism shows to be impossible, and which it therefore relegates into the category of superstitions.

5th. Although spiritism recognises a foundation of truth in many popular beliefs, it by no means accepts all the fantastic stories created by the imagination.

6th. To judge of spiritism by pretended facts, the reality of which it does not admit, is to give proof of ignorance, and to deprive such judgement of all weight.

7th. The explanation of the causes of facts acknowledged by spiritism, and the ascertainment of their moral consequences, constitute a new science and a new philosophy, requiring serious, persevering, and careful study.

8th. Spiritism can only be conclusively disproved by one who should have thoroughly studied it and sounded its deepest mysteries with the patient perseverance of a conscientious observer; one as well versed in every branch of the subject as the most ardent of its adherents; one acquainted with all the facts of the case, and with every argument that could be opposed to him, and which he must refute, not by denials, but by arguments still more conclusive; one, in short, who can give, of admitted facts, a more rational explanation than is given by spiritism. But such a critic has yet to be discovered.

15. We have, in the foregoing argument, pronounced the word miracle; a short observation on this subject will not be out of place in a chapter treating of the "marvellous."

The word miracle, in its primitive acceptation, and by its etymology, signifies something extraordinary, something admirable or wonderful; but this word, like many others, has lost its original meaning, and has come to be understood, in common parlance, as an ad of the Divine power, contrary to the known laws of nature. This is, in fact, its usual acceptation ; and it is no longer applied. to common things which surprise us and of which the cause is unknown, except as a metaphor. It is not our intention to examine, in this place, whether God may see fit, under certain circumstances, to act in opposition to the laws established by Himself; our object is solely to show that spirit-phenomena, extraordinary as they are, derogate in no degree from those laws, that they have no "miraculous" character, and are not even "marvellous" or "supernatural." A miracle cannot be explained ; spirit-phenomena, on the contrary, explain themselves, and in the most rational manner ; they are, therefore, not miracles, but simply effects which occur in virtue of general laws. A miracle has quite another character; it is something unusual, isolated. If a fact can be made to recur, so to say, at will, and through different people, that fact is no miracle.

Science works miracles daily in the eyes of the ignorant. In former times, any man who knew more than his neighbours passed for a sorcerer, and, as people then believed that all unusual knowledge came from the devil, they generally burned him; but now that we have become so much more civilised, we content ourselves with consigning such a one to the madhouse.

For a man who is really dead, as we remarked above, to be recalled to life by Divine intervention, would be a veritable miracle, because it would be contrary to the laws of nature. But if the man's death were only apparent, if there were still within him some remains of latent vitality, and if a physician, or a magnetiser, should intervene and restore him to life, it would be, to men of science, a natural phenomenon; but, in the eyes of the ignorant vulgar, it would pass for a miracle, and its author would either be stoned by the mob, or venerated by it, according to circumstances. If, in some rural district, a natural philosopher, with the aid of an electrical machine, should strike down a tree, as though by lightning, the new Prometheus would certainly be regarded as being armed with diabolical power (and here let us remark, in passing, that old Prometheus would seem to have got the start of Franklin); but the arresting of the movement of the sun, or rather of the earth, by Joshua, would indeed be a miracle, for we know of no magnetiser sufficiently powerful to accomplish such a prodigy. Of all the spirit phenomena one of the most extraordinary, without doubt, is that of direct writing, demonstrating, as it does, the power of the occult intelligences by whom it is effected; but it is no more miraculous than any of the other phenomena due to the action of those invisible agents, because the occult beings who people space are one of the powers of nature, and exercise an incessant action on the material world, as well as on the moral world.

Spiritism, by enlightening us in regard to this power, gives us a key to a host of things hitherto unexplained, and that are inexplicable by any other theory; things which, in the olden times, have passed for prodigies. Spiritism, like magnetism, reveals to us a law, the effects of which, if not wholly unknown, have been hitherto imperfectly understood; a law of which, while its effects were known, the world was ignorant, and the ignorance of which engendered superstition. This law being known, the marvellous disappears ; and phenomena, formerly regarded as miraculous or super natural, are brought into the category of natural things. Spiritists no more perform miracles by making a table to rap, or the so-called dead to write, than does the physician when he restores a sick man to health, or the electrician, when he produces artificial lightning. Whoever should pretend to perform miracles by the aid of spiritism would prove himself an ignoramus or a charlatan by the mere fact of such a pretension.

16. Spirit-phenomena, like magnetic phenomena, before their cause is known, may well pass for prodigies ; and those who, imagining themselves to have a monopoly of reason and common sense, refuse to admit the possibility of anything they do not understand, have naturally made these reputed prodigies the object of their raillery. And since religion asserts various facts of a similar character, those who thus scoff at the one, not unfrequently disbelieve the other. But spiritism, giving a rational explanation of many of the facts formerly held by science to be impossible, comes to the aid of religion, by proving the possibility or certain occurrences which are not the less extraordinary for not being miraculous, and in regard to which we see that God is not less great, nor less powerful, for not having violated His own laws. What discussions have been excited by the levitations of St Cupertin! Yet the suspension in the air of heavy bodies is a fact explained by spirit-laws; and Mr Home and other mediums known to us have frequently repeated the phenomenon manifested by St Cupertin. This phenomenon, therefore, is now included within the order of natural occurrences.

17. Among the facts of spiritism, we must give a prominent place to apparitions, because they are of such frequent occurrence. That of La Salette, which sets the clergy themselves at loggerheads, is no new thing for us. We cannot affirm that the fact asserted really took place, because we have no sufficient proof of its having done so; but we regard it as possible, because thousands of recent facts of a similar character are known to us, and because we can perfectly explain how such a phenomenon might take place. Let the reader only refer to the theory that we give, further on, concerning apparitions, and he will see that the phenomenon referred to is as simple and as probable as are a great number of other physical phenomena which are only regarded as prodigies because no key has yet been found to them. The identity of the personage said to have been seen at La Salette is another question; for that identity is by no means proved. We simply aver that such an apparition may have presented itself; more than this we are not competent to allege, and we leave every one free to form his own judgement. Spiritism has not to occupy itself with the matter. All we say is, that tile facts of spiritism reveal to us new laws, and give us the key to a multitude of things which used to be considered supernatural; and that, as many things, which used to pass for miraculous, find a logical solution in spiritism, we need be in no haste to deny what we do not understand.

Spirit-phenomena are sometimes contested because they appear to contradict known laws, and people therefore cannot see how they are to be accounted for. Give them a rational explanation of these things, and their doubt ceases. Explanation is the true means of conviction; and we constantly see those who have never witnessed any spirit-phenomena as fully convinced of the reality of those phenomena as we are ourselves, because they have read, and have comprehended their possibility. Were we to believe nothing that we had not beheld with our own eyes, the sum of our convictions would be reduced to a minimum.

18. A very natural and praiseworthy desire of all spiritists, a desire which cannot be too much encouraged, is to make proselytes. It is with a view to facilitate their task, that we propose here to suggest to them the surest method, in our opinion, of attaining this end, and of sparing themselves the labour of making efforts that may prove of no avail.

We have already said that spiritism is a new science, a new philosophy; he who wishes to understand it should therefore, as the first condition of doing so, lay himself out for serious work, with the full persuasion that this science, like every other, is not to be attained by making a play of it. Spiritism, as we have said, touches on every question that interests humanity; its field is immense, and it is especially in the vastness and importance of its consequences that the experimenter will find this to be true. A belief in spirits is undoubtedly its basis; but this belief no more suffices to make an enlightened spiritist, than the belief in God suffices to make a theologian. Thus, let us see what might be the most suitable way to proceed in its teaching in order to most effectively bring about conviction.

Adherents need not be frightened by the word "teaching"; it is not solely the product of the lecture stand or podium, but it also occurs in simple conversation. Every person who tries to persuade another by means of explanations or experiences teaches. What we want is for the teaching effort to produce results, and that is why we believe our task should be that of providing a few words of advice that may be equally beneficial to those who want to learn by themselves. They will find the means herein to most surely and quickly reach their goal.

19. It is generally supposed that, in order to convince, it is sufficient to demonstrate facts. Such would indeed appear to be the most logical method; nevertheless, experience shows us that it is not always the best, for one often meets with persons whom facts the most irrefragable do not convince in the slightest degree. The reason of this failure we shall now try to make apparent.

In spiritism, the question of spirit-communications is secondary and consequential; it is not the starting-point. Spirits being nothing else than the souls of men, the proper ground for argument is the existence of the soul. But how can we get the materialist to admit that beings exist outside the material world, when he believes that he himself is nothing but matter? How can he believe in spirits outside himself, when he does not believe that he has a spirit within himself? In vain will you urge the most conclusive arguments on such a one ; he will contest them all, because he does not admit the principle which is their basis. All methodical teaching should proceed from the known to the unknown; what the materialist knows about, is matter; take your stand, then, on matter, and endeavour, above all things, while bringing his mind on to your standpoint, to convince him that there is in himself something beyond the laws of matter; in a word, before trying to make him a spiritist try to make him a spiritualist;* but, for that purpose, you must appeal to quite a different order of facts, and adduce arguments of a very different character. To talk to a man of spirits, before he is con- vinced that he has a soul, is to begin where you should end ; for he cannot admit the consequence, if he do not admit the premiss. You should, before undertaking to convince the incredulous, even by facts, make sure of their Opinion respecting the soul, that is to say, ascertain whether they believe in its existence, in its survival of the body, in its individuality after death; if their answer be negative, to speak of spirits would be trouble thrown away. This is the rule; we do not say there are no exceptions to it, but, in the exceptional cases, there is probably some other cause which renders your interlocutor less recalcitrant.

20. We must especially distinguish two classes among the materialists. In the first class we may place those who are so theoretically. With these, it is not doubt, but negation, absolute, and rational from their point of view; in their eyes, man is only a machine, which goes as long as it is wound up, but of which the spring wears out; a being of which, after death, nothing remains but the carcase. The number of such thinkers being happily very limited, it seems hardly necessary to insist upon the deplorable effects which the generalisation of such a doctrine would exert on social order; we have been sufficiently explicit in regard to this point in The Spirits' Book (147 and Conclusion, III.)

In saying that the incredulous cease to doubt when met by a rational explanation, we must except those ultramaterialists who deny all power and intelligence outside of matter; pride renders the majority of these obstinate, and they persist in their denials from personal vanity; they resist all proofs, because they do not wish to have to change an Opinion expressed by them. With such persons you can do nothing, not even when they feign sincerity, and say: "Let me see, and I will believe." Others, more frank, say plainly: "If I saw, I should not believe."

21. The second class of materialists, and by far the most numerous (for materialism is a sentiment contrary to nature), comprehends those who are such through indifference, and, so to say, for want of something better; they are not materialists from conviction, and they would rejoice to be able to believe, for their state of uncertainty is a torment to them. In such men, there is a vague aspiration after the future, but this future has been represented to them under aspects that their reason could not accept; hence their doubt1 and, as the consequence of their doubt, their unbelief. With such

persons, incredulity is not theoretic; present to them a theory which is rational, and they will accept it gladly; such men can understand us, for they are nearer to us than they think. With the first class, speak not of revelation, of angels, or of "paradise," for they would not understand you, but, placing yourself on their own ground, prove to them, first of all, that the laws of physics are not able to explain everything; the rest will come in due time. It is altogether different with the incredulity which is not a foregone conclusion; in such cases, belief is not absolutely null, there is a latent germ, stifled by creeds, but which a ray of light may vivify; such doubters are like a blind man whose eyes you may open, and who will rejoice to behold the day, or like a ship wrecked mariner, who will seize the plank of safety you hold out to him.

22. Besides the materialists, properly so called, there is a third class of the incredulous, who, though spiritualists, at least in name, are none the less troublesome to deal with on that account; they are the incredulous through ill-will. They find it unpleasant to believe, because it would trouble their enjoyment of material pleasures; they fear to see in spiritism the doom of their ambition, of their selfishness, of the human vanities which are their delight; they shut their eyes, that they may not see, and stop their ears, that they may not hear. We can only pity them.

23. A fourth category may be called the incredulous through interest or dishonesty. They know well what spiritism really is, but they outwardly condemn it from motives of personal interest. Of these, there is nothing to be said, as, with them, there is nothing to be done. If the thorough materialist deceives himself, he has at any rate the excuse of sincerity, and may be brought round by showing him his error; with the others, it is a resolution against which all argument fails. Time will open their eyes and show them, perhaps to their cost, where their interest really lay ; for, as they cannot hinder the current of truth, they will, at length, be swept away by the torrent, together with the artificial interests which they desired to secure.

24. Besides these different categories of opponents, there is an infinity of shades, among which we may enumerate those who are incredulous from cowardice, and to whom courage will come when they see that others do not injure themselves by avowing their belief; the incredulous from religious scruples, who will learn, through enlightened study, that spiritism rests upon the fundamental bases of religion, that it respects all beliefs, and that one of its effects is to produce religious sentiments where they did not formerly exist and to fortify them where they were formerly wavering; the incredulous from pride, from a spirit of contradiction, from carelessness, from levity, etc., etc.

25. We cannot omit one other class which we will call the incredulous from disappointment. This class comprehends those who have passed from an exaggerated confidence to incredulity, because their expectations have been deceived; discouraged in consequence, they have abandoned the whole thing, and cast it altogether aside. They are like people who deny that probity exists, because they have been taken in. This, also, is the result of an imperfect knowledge of spiritism. When a person is hoaxed by spirits, it is generally because he has asked them something they could not, or might not, tell; or because he was not sufficiently enlightened on the subject to discern truth from imposture. Many people, it is to be remarked, see in spiritism only a new mode of divination; they fancy that spirits may be made to tell their fortunes, and, accordingly, flippant and mocking spirits amuse themselves at their expense, preparing for them mystifications and disappointments to which serious and prudent persons would not have laid themselves open.

26. A very numerous class, perhaps the most numerous of all, is one which we cannot place under the head of opponents, viz., those who are undecided. These are generally spiritualists, in principle; with the greater number of them there is a vague intuition of spiritist ideas, and an aspiration after something which they cannot define. Such persons only require methodical instruction spiritism is, for these, like a sunrise; it is the brightness of day which dissipates the mists of night; they hail it with eagerness, because it delivers them from the agony of uncertainty.

27. If from these, we turn to consider the different categories of believers, we remark those who are spiritists without being aware of it; they are, properly speaking, a variety of the preceding class. Without ever having heard of the spiritist theory, they have an innate sentiment of the grand principles which it embraces; and this sentiment is found reflected, in certain passages of their writings or their words, so clearly that they might almost be supposed to be completely initiated. We find numerous examples of this class among writers, both sacred and profane; among poets, orators, moralists, and philosophers, both ancient and modern.

28. Among those whom direct study has convinced, we may distinguish: -

1st. Those who believe purely and simply in the manifestations. For these, spiritism is a simple science of observation, a series of facts more or less curious; they may be called experimental Spiritists.

2nd. Those who see in spiritism something more than its peculiar phenomena, and perceive its philosophical bearing; they admire its morality, but do not practise it, and its influence on their character is slight or null; they change none of their habits, and do not deprive themselves of a single enjoyment; the covetous man remains sordid, the proud man remains full of himself, the envious and the jealous remain the same. For them, Christian charity is only a beautiful ideal; they are inconsistent spiritists.

3rd. Those who are not content with admiring the morality of spiritist doctrine, but who accept it practically, with all its consequences. Convinced that terrestrial life is only a brief trial, they strive to profit by its passing moments, and to advance, on the road of progress by which alone they can reach a higher degree in the hierarchy of the world of spirits, through activity in doing good, and in repressing their evil tendencies. Intercourse with such is always safe, for their convictions preserve them from all thought of evil, and charity is in all things their rule of conduct. They may be classed as true spiritists, or better yet, as Christian spiritists.

4th. Lastly, there are the excited spiritists. The human race would be perfect, if it took tip only the right side of a thing. Exaggeration is always hurtful; in Spiritism, it engenders a too blind confidence in everything that proceeds from the invisible world ; a confidence which sometimes becomes puerile, causing people to accept, too easily, and unreasoningly, what reflection and examination would have shown them to be absurd or impossible. Unfortunately, enthusiasm finds it hard to reflect, and is apt to get dazed. Such adherents are more hurtful than useful to the cause of spiritism ; they are unfit to convince, because their judgement is distrusted ; they become the easy dupes, either of spirits who hoax them, or of men who practise on their credulity. If they alone had to suffer the consequences of their blindness, the latter would be less regrettable ; but, unhappily, such persons unintentionally put arms into the hands of the incredulous, more desirous of opportunities for railing than of conviction, and prompt to impute, to all, the absurdities of the few.

29. The methods for convincing vary according to the individuals to be acted on; for what persuades one does not touch another. One man is convinced by physical manifestations, another by intelligent communications, but the greater number, by reasoning. It may even be said that, for most of those who are not previously prepared by reasoning, physical phenomena have but little weight. The more extraordinary these phenomena are, and the more they diverge from ordinary experience, the more opposition do they encounter; and this, for the very simple reason, that we are naturally prone to doubt whatever has not a rational sanction; each man regarding such a matter from his Own point of view, and interpreting it in his own way. Thus the materialist attributes such phenomena to some purely physical action, or to trickery; the ignorant and superstitious attribute them to some diabolical or supernatural agency; while a preliminary explanation has the effect of disarming prejudice, and of showing, if not their reality, at least, their possibility. Those, who begin by seeking for explanation, comprehend before they have seen ; for them, when they have acquired the certainty that the phenomena are possible, the conviction of their reality is easily arrived at.

30. Is there any use in trying to convince an obstinate unbeliever? We have said that this depends upon the cause and the nature of his incredulity ; it often happens that the persistence with which persons attempt to convert an unbeliever only serves to puff him up with an exaggerated sense of his importance, and thus renders him all the more obstinate. If a man cannot be convinced either by reasoning or by facts, it is evident that he has still to undergo the affliction of incredulity; we must leave to Providence the care of bringing him into more favourable circumstances. There are too many people ready for the light, for us to lose time Over those who only desire to shut it out. Make your advances, then, rather to those who are favourably inclined, of whom the number is greater than is generally supposed. Address yourselves to these; for their example will accomplish more than words. The true spiritist will never fail to be doing good ; his delight is to give consolation, to calm despair, and to forward the work of moral re- formation. Therein lies his mission ; therein will he find his true joy. Spiritism is in the air ; it scatters benefits by its very nature, because it renders happy those who profess it. When its obstinate adversaries feel its influence around them in the homes of their friends, they will comprehend their own isolation, and will be forced into silence or acceptance.

31. To proceed in the study of spiritism as is done in the other sciences, it would be necessary to pass experimentally through the whole series of spirit-phenomena, beginning with the simplest, to arrive in succession at the more complicated ; but this cannot be done, because it would be impossible to go through a regular course of experimentation, in spiritism, as we do in physics or chemistry. In the natural sciences, we operate on brute matter, manipulating it at will, and with almost a certainty of producing a given effect; in spiritism, on the contrary, we have to deal with intelligences who have their liberty, and who constantly prove to us that they are not subject to our commands. It is consequently necessary to await the occurrence of the phenomena, holding ourselves in readiness to observe them as they occur; and we therefore assert that whoever should dare to assert that he can obtain any given phenomena at his pleasure can be only an ignoramus or an impostor: for these phenomena, being independent of our will, may fail to be manifested when they are wanted, or may present themselves under quite a different aspect from that which we may desire. Let us add, that, in order to obtain them, we must have the co-operation of persons endowed with special faculties, and that these faculties are infinitely varied, according to the aptitude of each individual; and, as the same medium rarely possesses all these faculties, a new difficulty is thus created, since, in order to go through such a course of experimental spiritism, we should require to have always at hand a complete assortment of mediums, which is evidently impossible.

The way to obviate this inconvenience is very simple, viz., to commence with the theory. In this way, all the phenomena are passed in review and explained, the inquirer gets at the gist of the matter, and understands the possibilities of the case and the conditions under which the phenomena may occur, as well as the obstacles that may be met with. Thus, whatever may occur will find him prepared, and nothing can take him by surprise. This plan offers yet another advantage, inasmuch as it spares the practical investigator a vast number of disappointments because, being forewarned of difficulties, he is able to keep on his guard, and to avoid having to gain experience at his own expense.

It would be difficult for us to compute the number of those who have come to us since we have been occupied with spiritism ; and how many of these have we seen, who have remained indifferent or incredulous in presence of the most evident facts, and who have only been convinced by rational explanation ; how many others who had been predisposed to conviction by reasoning; how many, in fine, who were already persuaded of the truth of spiritism, though they had seen nothing, because they had read and had understood the rationale of the matter! We therefore say, from our own experience, that the best method of acquiring a knowledge of spiritism is to bring reasoning to bear on the subject, first of all and afterwards to confirm reasoning by experiment.

32. The preliminary study of the theory has a further advantage in that it immediately shows the grandeur of this science's purpose and scope. People who begin by seeing a table turn or strike are more inclined to mockery because they hardly imagine that from a table can arise a doctrine meant to regenerate humanity. We have always noticed that those who believe before they have seen, but because they have read and comprehended, far from being superficial, are on the contrary the most thoughtful; being more attached to the substance than to the form, they see the philosophical part as the fundamental, and the phenomena per se are the accessory. They have said that even if there were no phenomena, there would still be a philosophy that alone solves the problems that until now have been unsolvable; the only one that gives the most rational theory of man's past and future, and they prefer a doctrine that explains matters to those that do not explain or that explain badly. Whoever thinks about it understands very well that the manifestations could be disregarded, and the doctrine would still subsist. The manifestations corroborate and confirm the doctrine but are not its essential foundation. The serious observer does not reject them; on the contrary, he waits for favorable circumstances that will allow him to witness them. The proof of what we are saying is that before hearing about the manifestations, many people had the intuition of this doctrine which only embodied their ideas in a coherent whole.

33. It would not, however, be strictly correct to assert that those who commence by the study of the spiritist theory are without the corroboration of facts. On the contrary, they have an abundance of facts confirmatory of this theory, in the numerous cases of Spontaneous manifestation, concerning which we shall speak in succeeding chapters; a class of facts of which there are few persons who have not had some cognisance in their own experience, although they may have paid but little attention to them. Facts of this kind have great weight when supported by unexceptionable testimony, because, in such cases, there can be no suspicion of preparation or collusion. Even if the spiritist phenomena did not exist, the spontaneous phenomena would none the less be facts; and if the only result of the spiritist theory were to explain as it does the spontaneous phenomena that have occurred in all ages, its value would evidently be very great.

34. The reader, however, would greatly mistake our views if he supposed that we would counsel him to neglect the modern manifestations, for it is through them that we have been led to the theory in question. It is true that we have had to devote ourselves assiduously, during several years, to collating the results of innumerable observations, in working out this theory to its completion; but, inasmuch as these manifestations have served us, and serve us daily, for the elucidation of the views we have arrived at, it would be impossible for us to underrate their importance, especially in writing a book with the object of making them known. What we would say is, that, unless we reason upon them, the phenomena themselves do not suffice to determine conviction; that a preliminary explanation, by disarming prejudices, and by showing that there is nothing in those phenomena contrary to reason, paves the way for the admission of their reality. This is so true, that, of ten persons new to the subject who may assist at an experimental "séance," however satisfactory it may be in the eyes of those who are convinced already, nine of them will leave the room without being convinced, and some of them even more incredulous than they were before, because the experiment has not come up to their expectations. Quite otherwise will it be with those who are able to estimate correctly what they see, thanks to a theoretic knowledge of the subject, previously obtained. For these, the "séance" is a means to an end, and nothing takes them by surprise, not even failure, because they know the conditions under which the phenomena occur, and that it is useless to ask for what cannot be had. Knowledge gained in advance of facts puts us in a position to estimate aright even the anomalies presented by them, and to seize a multitude of details and shades, often of the most delicate nature, which for us are so many sources of conviction, but which would not be appreciated, nor even noted, by the uninstructed observer. For these reasons we admit to our experimental "séances" only those who have sufficient preparatory knowledge to understand what may occur in them; so fully persuaded are we that any others would only lose their time, and make us lose ours.

35. To those who would desire to acquire the pre liminary knowledge by reading our works, we would advise the following order:

— First. What is Spiritism ? This tract, of a hun dred pages only, is a summary exposition of the prin ciples of the spirit doctrine, a general glance, which permits us to embrace the whole in a brief outline. In a few words we see the end, and can judge of its range. Above all, here may be found answers to the principal questions, or objections, which novices are disposed to make.

This first, which calls for little time, is an introduc tion which facilitates a more profound study.

Second. The Book on Spirits. It contains the doctrine complete, dictated by the spirits themselves, with all its philosophy, and all its moral consequences ; it is the destiny of man unvailed, the initiation into the nature of spirits, and into the mysteries of the life beyond the grave. In reading this it will be seen that Spiritism has a serious aim, and is not a frivolous pastime.

Third. The Book on Mediums, intended to direct in the practice of manifestations, by the knowledge of the proper means of communicating with spirits ; it is a guide either for mediums or invocators, and is the complement of the Book on Spirits.

Fourth. The Spirit Reviewed. This is a varied col lection of facts, of theoretic explanations and detached fragments, which complete what is said in the two preceding works, and of which it is in some sort the application. It may be read at the same time, but will be more profitable and more intelligible, particularly after the Book on Spirits.

36. When the strange phenomena of spiritism were first produced, or, to speak more correctly, when they began to be renewed in these latter days, the first sentiment they excited was doubt in regard to their reality, and, still more so, in regard to their cause. Since their reality has been proved by unexceptionable testimony and by experiments that any One may try for himself; each observer interprets them in his own way, in accordance with his own ideas, beliefs, or prejudices ; hence have arisen various theories, which a comparative observation will enable us to estimate at their true value.

The adversaries of spiritism have imagined that, in this divergence of Opinion, they find an argument against it. They say : "The spiritists themselves are at variance !" This is but a poor argument, for every new science is necessarily uncertain, until the facts which will settle a question have been brought together and arranged in their proper order. It is only in proportion as accumulated facts explain one another, that premature conclusions are got rid of and unity is established, at least in regard to fundamental points, if not in every detail. Spiritism could not escape the common law, and, from its very nature, was especially liable to give rise to a diversity of interpretations. But even in this respect, we can confidently assert that it has proceeded faster than any of the other sciences, its elders, in all of which we find that opposite opinions are held by minds of the highest order.

37. In enumerating the theories hostile to spiritism, we will begin with those that may be called theories of negation; but, as we have discussed these theories in the Introduction to The Spirits' Book and in the Conclusion of that work, as also in our short summary entitled What is Spiritism? we shall, in this place, merely recapitulate, in a few words, the most important of them.

Spirit-phenomena are of two sorts, viz.: the physical, and the intelligent. Those who do not admit the existence of spirits, because they admit of nothing outside of matter, naturally deny the indications of intelligence in the phenomena referred to. As regards the physical effects, they comment upon these from their own stand-point; and their arguments may be summed up under the four following heads: -

38. System of Charlatanism. Among our antago nists many attribute these effects to fraud, because some of them have been imitated. This supposition would transform all spiritists into dupes, all mediums into cheats, without regard to the position, the charac ter, knowledge, and reputation of the persons. If this deserved an answer, we might say that certain phe nomena of physics have also been imitated by jugglers, and that it proves nothing against the real science. Besides, there are persons whose characters are beyond all suspicion of fraud, and one must be wanting in every vestige of good breeding and urbanity to dare to say to them that they are the accomplices of char latanism. In a very respectable parlor, a gentleman, otherwise well bred, having permitted himself to make a reflection of this nature, the lady of the house said to him, " Since you are not content, sir, your money will be returned to you at the door," and, with a ges ture, made him understand what he would better do. Is that to say that there are no abuses in it ? To think that we must admit men to be perfect.

Everything is abused, even the most sacred things ; why, then, should not Spiritism be abused ? But the bad use that may be made of a thing should cause no prejudice against the thing itself; the only way by which we can judge of men's sincerity is by the mo tives from which they act. Where there is no specula tion, charlatanism can find no place.

39. Theory of weak-mindedness. Some of our opponents put aside all suspicion of trickery, but assert that those who are not deceivers are themselves deceived; which is only a more civil way of Saying that we are simpletons. When unbelievers are less choice in their forms of expression, they say plainly that those who believe in spiritism are mad thus assuming to themselves the exclusive possession of mental soundness. This charge of insanity is the grand argument of those who can find no good reason for their opposition. But the frequency of this charge has made it so ridiculous that we need not waste our time in refuting it. Spiritists, moreover, care but little for the attacks of their adversaries. They take their lot bravely, consoling themselves with the knowledge that plenty of people, of incon- testable merit, are their companions in misfortune. It must really be admitted that their madness, if such it be, is a madness of a very singular character, for it lays hold, most often, of the enlightened classes, among which spiritism counts, at the present period, the immense majority of its adherents. If among the number, a few eccentric ones are to be found, such exceptions prove no more against spiritism than religious madness proves against religion, than music-madness proves against music, or than the fact that men have lost their wits in the study of mathematics proves against the truth of that great science. All ideas have had their fanatics; and that judgement must be obtuse indeed which confounds the exaggeration of a thing with the thing itself. For a more ample treatment of this subject, we refer the reader to our pamphlet What is Spiritism? and to The Spirits' Book (Introduction § XV.).

40. Theory of hallucination. Another opinion, less offensive, inasmuch as it bears on its surface a colour of scientific discrimination, attributes these phenomena to illusion of the senses. Those who hold it say: "The observer may be a very respectable person; but he thinks he sees what he does not see. When he sees a table rise up and remain in the air, without anything to rest upon, the table does not really move at all; he sees it in the air by a sort of mirage, or by some effect of refraction, like that by which we see a star, or an object in the water, Out of its true position." Such an illusion would be possible in point of fact, but witnesses of these phenomena are able to prove their objective nature, by passing under the suspended table, which would be difficult, if it had not quitted the floor. On the other hand, it often happens that the table is broken in its fall to the floor; can such a breakage be the effect of an optical illusion? A well-known physiological cause may undoubtedly make us believe that we see a thing turn which does not move; or a man attacked with vertigo may fancy himself to turn when he is stationary; but when several persons are witnesses to the same fact, can it be alleged that all such persons are the victims of illusion ?

41. Theory of the cracking-muscle. If the theory of illusion is inapplicable in regard to the evidence of sight, when several persons see the same thing, it is equally inapplicable in regard to that of hearing, when the same sounds are heard by a whole assembly; for, under such circumstances, it is evidently impossible to attribute them to a deception of the senses. All idea of illusion must therefore be regarded as exploded ; while, on the other hand, observation has proved that these. occurrences are not due to any fortuitous or physical cause.

It is true that a learned surgeon * has declared that the "spirit-rap" is produced by voluntary or involuntary contractions of the short tendon of the muscle of the instep. He enters into elaborate anatomical details, to show the way in which the mechanism of this tendon is made to produce those raps, to imitate the beating of a drum, and even to reproduce the rhythm of well-known tunes; from all of which he deduces the conclusion that people who believe they hear raps in a table are dupes, either of a mystification or of a delusion. Unfortunately for the author of this pretended discovery, his theory is far from being able to explain all the facts of the case. It is to be remarked, in the first place, that the persons who rejoice in the singular faculty of cracking at pleasure the short muscle of their instep, or any other muscle, and of playing tunes by this means, are exceedingly rare; while the faculty of obtaining raps in a table is a very common one, and those who possess it do not usually possess the muscular gift in question. In the second place, the learned surgeon has forgotten to explain how this muscle can be made to crack by a person who does not move. and how muscle-cracking, by one who is isolated from the table, can produce in it vibrations that are as sensible to the touch as to the ear; how the sounds thus produced can be repeated at the will of the company, on different parts of the table, on the other furniture, against the walls, the ceiling, etc. ; how, in fine, the action of that muscle can be extended to a table that is not touched, and make it move. But this pretended explanation, even if it explained the phenomena of the rappings, could not explain any of the other modes of communication. We therefore conclude that the learned gentleman has proclaimed a verdict without having examined the matter in dispute, and must be allowed to regret that scientific men should be in a hurry to give, in regard to what they do not understand, explanations disproved by the facts of the Case; whereas they, of all men, should be the most circumspect in laying down the law in regard to new subjects, because their knowledge has pushed back, for them, the barriers which separate the known and the unknown.



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* M. Jobert (de Lamballe). In strict justice it should be said that this discovery is due to M. Schiff; but to the great surgeon belongs the honour of bringing it, with its consequences, before the Academy of Medicine, for the purpose of felling all "spirit-rappers" with this terrible cudgel. Vide, for details of the onslaught alluded to, the Revue Spirite, for June 1859.

42. Theory of physical causes. We now emerge from the sphere of absolute negation. The reality of the phenomena being admitted, the first thought which naturally suggested itself, to those who recognised them as real, was to attribute them to magnetism, to electricity, or to some sort of fluidic action; in a word, to some purely physical cause. In this there was nothing irrational; and that explanation would have been generally adopted, if the phenomena had been limited to purely mechanical effects. A circumstance which even seemed to corroborate this view was the fact, that, in certain cases, the power increased in proportion to the number of the sitters ; each person might thus be considered as constituting one of the elements of a human electric battery. As previously remarked, the characteristic of a true theory is its capability of accounting for all the facts to which it refers ; if contradicted by a single fact, the theory is seen to be erroneous or incomplete and this is just the case with the theory now cited. The phenomena observed were found to give signs of intelligence, by conforming to the will of the sitters and responding to their thought; thus proving that they proceeded from the action of an intelligent cause. This point ascertained, the phe- nomena could no longer be regarded as merely physical, or as being due to the action of a purely physical cause. The theory of the exclusive action of a physical agent as their source was thenceforth necessarily abandoned, and is no longer upheld except by people who argue à priori, and without having investigated. The chief point, therefore, is to obtain proof of intelligence in the phenomena we are about to consider; and this proof will certainly be obtained by all who take the pains to investigate for themselves.

43. Theory of reflexion. Proofs of intelligence being recognised in the phenomena, there remained the necessity of ascertaining the source of this intelligence. Some thought it might be that of the medium, or of those present, reflecting itself, like the light, or like sonorous vibrations. The suggestion was plausible; experience alone could decide its value. And here let us remark that this theory is anti-materialistic; for if the intelligence of those present could thus reproduce itself, it must be admitted that there is in man a principle distinct from his organism.

If the thought expressed in the communications thus made had been always that of the persons present, the theory of reflexion would have been confirmed; but, even in that case, would riot such phenomena have been of the deepest interest? Would not thought, exerting a reflex action on an inert body, and translating itself into sounds and movements, be something Very remarkable? something worthy to excite the curiosity of scientific men? Why has such a subject been disdained by those who wear themselves out in searching after the properties of a nervous fibre?

Experience alone could show whether the theory of reflexion was right or wrong; and experience has shown it to be wrong, for experience proves, by the most positive facts, that the thought expressed may be not only alien to that of the persons present but in opposition to it, contradicting their preconceived ideas, and disappointing their expectation. When he who thinks white gets black for an answer, it is difficult for him to believe that the answer comes from himself. A great point is often made, by opponents, of the similarity sometimes observable between the thought expressed and that of the persons in the circle; but what does this prove, if not that those present may think like the intelligence which communicates with them? It was never asserted that they are always of an opposite opinion. When, in conversation, your interlocutor expresses a thought analogous to your own, do you say that the thought comes from you? How, again, can reflexion of thought explain the production of writing by persons who do not know how to write? replies of the widest philosophical scope obtained through illiterate persons? answers given to questions propounded mentally, or spoken in a language unknown to the medium? and a thousand other facts, leaving no doubt as to the independence of the intelligence which manifests itself? The theory of reflexion can only be held by those whose observation is of the most superficial and limited character.

If the presence of an outside intelligence is morally proved by the nature of the answers given, it is physically proved by the fact of direct writing ; that is to Say, writing produced spontaneously, without pen or pencil, without contact, and in spite of all the precautions taken to render trickery impossible. The intelligent character of such a phenomenon being undeniable, that phenomenon must be due to something else than fluidic action; and the spontaneousness of the thought expressed, often disappointing our expectation and wandering away from the questions presented, renders it impossible for us to attribute its manifestation to any reflex action on the part of the persons present.

The theory of reflexion is particularly impolite in certain cases; as when, at a party of honourably-minded persons, communications are unexpectedly produced of a coarse, frivolous, or otherwise objectionable character. It would be paying a very poor compliment to such persons, to assert that such communications come from them; and it is probable that, in such a case, each of them would promptly repudiate the implication. (See The Spirits' Book, Introduction § XVI.)

44. System of the Collective Soul. This is a variation of the preceding. According to this system, the soul alone of the medium is manifested ; . but it is identified with that of several others living, either present or absent, and forms a collective whole, unit ing the aptitude, intelligence, and knowledge of each. Though the tract in which this theory is put forth be entitled the light *, it seems to us to be of a very obscure style. We confess to have hardly compre hended it, and speak of it only from memory. It is, besides, like many others, an individual opinion, which has made few proselytes. The name Emah Tirpse is that taken by the author to designate the collective being he represents. He takes for motto, There is nothing hidden that shall Hot be known. This propo sition is evidently false, for there are many things that man cannot and ought not to know : it would be very presumptuous in him to pretend to penetrate into the secrets of God.

* This theory, since known as that of "unconscious cerebration", was first broached in a pamphlet entitled, Communion. Light of the Spirits . By EMA TIRPSE,Å a collective soul writing through the medium of a planchette. Devroye. Brussels. 1858.

45. Somnambulic System. This system has had more partisans, and even yet counts some. Like the preceding it admits that all the intelligent communica tions have their source in the soul or spirit of the me dium ; but in order to explain his aptitude to treat of subjects beyond his knowledge, instead of supposing a multiple soul, it attributes his power to a temporary excitement of the mental faculties, to a kind of. som nambulistic or ecstatic state, which exalts and devel ops his intelligence. It cannot be denied that some cases are influenced by this cause ; but after having seen a great number of mediums, any one will be con vinced that it will not solve all the facts, and that it forms the exception, and not the rule. It might be thought so if the medium had always the air of an inspired or ecstatic person —an appearance that he certainly could always simulate, if he wished to act a part ; but how believe in inspiration, when the medium writes like a machine, without having the least con sciousness of what he is writing, without the least emotion, without thinking of what he is doing, laugh ing or talking of one thing and another. Excite ment may be imagined in the case of ideas, but it is not easy to understand how it can make a person write who does not know how to write, and still less when the communications are transmitted by rappings, or by the aid of a planchette or a basket. We shall see, at the end of this work, the part we must assign to the influence of the medium's ideas ; but the cases in which a foreign intelligence is revealed by incontesta ble signs, are so numerous and so evident, that they can leave no doubt in this respect. The defect of the greater number of the theories broached by spiritists is the drawing of general conclusions from isolated cases.

46. Pessimist theory. Here we enter upon a new order of ideas. The intervention of an extraneous intelligence having been proved, the easiest method for learning the nature of this intelligence would undoubtedly have been to ask it what it was.* But some persons, not considering such a method of proceeding as offering a sufficient guarantee of the truthfulness of the reply, preferred to set the whole down to the devil; only the devil, or demons, according to their ideas, having the power of communicating with mankind. Although this theory has but few partisans now-a-days, it did, nevertheless, for a short time, obtain a certain amount of credit, from the character of those who advocated it. It must, however, be borne in mind that the partisans of the demoniac theory ought not to be ranged among the adversaries of Spiritism, but quite the contrary. Whether the beings who make themselves known to us are demons or angels, they are extra-human beings; therefore, the admission of the possibility of demoniacal manifestations is a virtual admission of the possibility of communicating with the invisible world, or, at least, with a part of that world.

The theory of the exclusive communication of demons, however irrational, was evidently not incredible so long as spirits were looked upon as created beings, beyond the pale of humanity; but since it has been known that spirits are neither more nor less than the souls of deceased men and women, that theory has lost credit. The result of such an explanation came to this, viz., that all souls are demons, though they should be those of a father, a son, or a friend, and that we, too, on dying, shall also become demons, which is neither flattering nor consoling; nor would it be easy to persuade a mother that the cherished child whom she has lost, and who comes after death to proffer tokens of its identity and affection, is a tool of Satan. It is true that, among spirits, there are some who are no better than what are called demons, but the reason of this is very simple, viz., that there are in this world some very bad men, and that death does not change these into good spirits all at once. The gist of the question under con- sideration is this -Are bad spirits the only ones able to communicate with us? To those who would answer this query in the affirmative, we beg to address the following questions : -

1st. Are there good and evil Spirits?

2d. Is God more powerful than bad spirits, or than "demons," if this be your mode of expression?

3d. If we affirm that the bad spirits alone communicate, we say, in other words, that good spirits cannot do so; if this be so, it must be so by the will of God, or contrary to that will. If it be contrary to God's will, it proves that bad spirits are more powerful than God; if it be by God's will, why, in His goodness, does He not permit good spirits to counterbalance the influence of the others?

4th. What proof have you of the impotence of good spirits in this respect?

5th. When reference is made to the wisdom of some of the communications, you reply that the devil assumes all sorts of masks, in order to deceive. We know by experience that there are hypocritical spirits, whose language wears a false varnish of excellence; but do you admit that ignorance can counterfeit knowledge, or an evil nature counterfeit virtue, without letting out something that betrays the fraud?

6th. If the devil alone has the power of communicating, he being the enemy of God and men, how is it that he advises us to pray to God, to submit ourselves to His will, to bear without murmuring the tribulations of life, to desire neither honours nor riches, to practise charity and all the maxims of Christ; in a word, to do all we possibly can to destroy the devil's empire? If it be the devil who gives such counsels, it must be admitted, that, far from being so cunning as he is represented to be, he must be particularly short-sighted, thus to furnish arms against himself. *

7th. If spirits communicate with us, it must be by the permission of God; and when we find that there are both bad and good communications, is it not more reasonable to suppose that God permits the one in order to try us, and the other, in order to counsel us for our good?

8th. What would you think of a father who should leave his child at the mercy of pernicious examples and evil counsels, and who should prevent him from holding inter- course with persons who might turn him from evil? Can you believe that God would do what no good father, what no good man, would do?

9th. All religions recognise, as authentic, certain manifestations of saints, angels, etc., by apparitions, visions, and oral communications. Is not this recognition contradictory to the doctrine of the exclusive communication of demons?

We believe that some persons have held this theory in all honesty; but we also think that others have upheld it in order to dissuade people from the study of spiritism, because of the evil communications to which we are exposed. By saying that the devil alone manifests, they hope to frighten people, much as they would say to a child " Don't touch that; it bums I" The intention may be praiseworthy, but the means employed are a failure; for the prohibition itself excites curiosity, and few are deterred by fear of the devil people want to see him, if only to find out what he is like, and are quite astonished to find him not so black as he had been painted.

May not another reason for this exclusive attribution of the phenomena in question to the devil be found in the persuasion of certain persons that whoever differs with them in opinion must be in the wrong, and that, as the views expressed by some spirits are not in accordance with their own, those views can only be put forth by the devil?

If a Mussulman should hear a spirit speak against the Koran, he would assuredly think it was a bad spirit; it would be the same with the Jew, in regard to certain points of the law of Moses. As for the Catholics, we have heard one affirm that the spirit who communicated could only be the devil, because he differed with him in regard to the temporal power of the Pope, although the spirit had exhorted to charity, tolerance, love of the neighbour, and abnegation of the things of this world, all of which are in accordance with the teachings of Christ.

Spirits being nothing but the souls of men, and men being imperfect, it follows that there are spirits equally imperfect, and whose character is reflected in their words. That there are some who are evil, astute, and profoundly hypocritical, is an incontestable fact, and against these it is necessary to be on our guard; but, should we renounce society, because there are wicked men in the world? God has given us reason and judgement, in order that we may appreciate spirits as well as men. The best way to guard one’s self against the annoyances that may result from the practice of spiritism is not to interdict it, but to understand it. Imaginary danger does not frighten every one, and such fear is soon got rid of; but the clear setting forth of a reality is comprehensible by all.



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* Vide The Spirits' Book, 128, et seq.

47. Optimist theory. While some persons see in these phenomena only the action of demons, others only see that of good spirits; they suppose that souls, being disengaged from matter by death, see everything without a veil, and must therefore possess all science, and the highest wisdom. Their blind confidence in this supposed superiority of the beings of the invisible world has been a Source of deception to many persons, who have learned at length, and to their cost, to distrust certain spirits as well as certain men.

48. The unispiritist or monospiritist theory, a variety of the optimist theory, consisting in the belief that one single spirit communicates with men, and that this Spirit is Christ, the Protector of the Earth. But as some communications are very trivial, while others are coarse, malevolent, and wicked, it would be a profanation to suppose that they emanate from the Spirit of Goodness. If those who hold this belief had never received any but irreproachable communications, we could understand their illusion; but the majority of them acknowledge that they have received some very bad ones, which they explain by saying, that the Good Spirit has wished to test them by dictating absurdities. Thus, while some attribute all communications to the devil, who says good things to tempt us, others think that Jesus alone manifests Himself; and that He says evil things to test us. Between two opinions so opposed to each other, who, or what, shall decide? Evidently, common sense and experience. We say experience, because such exclusive ideas can only be held by those who have seen and observed very little.

When we bring forward, in opposition to these ideas, facts of identity, attesting the presence of relations, friends, or acquaintances, whether through written mani- festations, by vision, or otherwise, they reply that these are always produced by the same spirit, who is the devil according to some, Christ according to others, and who is thus seen to assume all forms; but they do not tell us why other spirits cannot communicate, nor why the Spirit of Truth should deceive us, by presenting Himself under false appearances; for instance, deceiving a poor mother, by making her believe, through a lie, that He is the child for whom she weeps. Reason refuses to admit that a holy and exalted spirit could stoop to play such a comedy. Besides, does not the denial of the possibility of all other communications rob spiritism of its most precious attribute, the consolation of the afflicted? But the theory alluded to is too irrational to bear serious examination.

49. The multispiritist or polyspiritist theory. All the explanations we have passed in review, not excepting those of the negative order, are grounded on the observation of certain facts; but of facts that have been seen isolatedly and interpreted wrongly. If a house is red on one side and white on the other, those who have only seen one side will affirm it to be red, or white, according to the side they have seen. Both will be right, and both wrong; but he who has seen the house on both sides will say that it is red and white, and he alone will be right. So it is with spiritism; what is said of it may be true in certain respects, and may yet be false if we generalise what is only partial, if we take for a rule what is only an exception, or regard as a whole what is only a part. It is for this reason we say that whoever would study spiritism seriously must see much of it, and for a long time together; time alone will give him opportunities for seizing upon details, for remarking delicate shadings, and for observing a multitude of characteristic facts which will be for him so many rays of light; but, if he stops at the surface, he exposes himself to the danger of forming an opinion that will be premature, and consequently erroneous. Let us now proceed to sum up the general principles that have been deduced from the widest observation and study of the phenomena we are considering, and that may be regarded as forming the general basis of spiritist belief; all other interpretations being merely the expression of individual opinions: -

1st. Spirit-phenomena are produced by extra-corporeal intelligences ; that is to say, by spirits.

2nd. Spirits constitute the invisible world ; they are everywhere; the infinity of space is peopled by them; they are always around us, and we are always in intimate union with some of them.

4th. Spirits are not beings of a different order from ourselves ; they are the souls of those who have lived upon the earth or in other worlds, and who have thrown off their corporeal body : whence it follows that the souls of men are spirits in flesh, and that we, on dying, become spirits.

5th. Spirits are of every degree of goodness and of badness, of knowledge and of ignorance.

6th. Spirits are submitted to the law of progress, and all will arrive at perfection ; but, as they possess free-will, they arrive at perfection more or less rapidly, according to the amount of effort and determination put forth by them.

7th. Spirits are happy or Unhappy, in proportion to the good or the evil which they have done during their earthly life, and the amount of progress they have made. Perfect, unmixed felicity is the heritage of those spirits alone who have arrived at the supreme degree of perfection.

8th. All spirits, under certain conditions, can manifest themselves to men; the number of those able to communicate with us is unlimited.

10th. The superiority or inferiority of Spirits is shown by their language; the good give only good Counsels, and say only what is good: everything about them attests their elevation. Bad Spirits deceive, and their statements usually bear the stamp of ignorance and imperfection.

50. Theory of the material soul. This theory consists solely in a special opinion, with regard to the nature of the soul, according to which, the soul and the perispirit are not two distinct things; or, to speak more strictly, the perispirit is nothing more than the soul itself, purifying itself gradually by successive transmigrations, as alcohol becomes purified by repeated distillations; while the spiritist doctrine regards the perispirit as being only a fluidic envelope of the soul or spirit. The perispirit being matter, although of very etherealised nature, the soul would be, according to this view, of a physical nature, more or less material according to the degree of its purification.

This view of the nature of the soul and the perispirit does not invalidate any of the fundamental principles of spiritist doctrine, for it makes no change in the soul's destiny nor in the conditions of its future happiness, the soul and the perispirit forming a whole, under the name of spirit, as the germ and the surrounding matter form one, under the name of fruit; the difference consisting in the consideration of the whole being as homogeneous, instead of being formed of two distinct parts.

This question, as we see, is of little consequence ; and we should not have touched upon it, had we not met with persons inclined to regard, as the beginning of a new school, what is really nothing more than a mere interpretation of words. The opinion now referred to is held by very few; but were it even more general, it would not make any separation among spiritists, any more than do, among natural philosophers, the two theories of the emission and undulation of light. Those who endeavour to sow dissension, by attributing an undue importance to details, prove that they attach more value to accessories than to the thing itself, and that they are urged to discussion by imperfect spirits, for elevated spirits never breathe acrimony and discord. For this reason, we would urge all true spiritists to be on their guard against suggestions tending to disunion among them. Let us attach no more importance to details than they deserve, and let us think more of essentials, on which we are agreed, than of minor points, in regard to which any differences of opinion are comparatively unimportant. This view of the matter having been thus clearly set forth, we nevertheless consider it to be our duty to state, in a few words, our reason for regarding the soul and the perispirit as being two distinct entities. The fact of this distinction is asserted by the enlightened spirits whose instructions have directed us in our labours, and who have never varied in this respect (we say "enlightened spirits," because there are among spirits many who know no more, or know even less, than men know) ; while the contrary theory has its rise in a merely human conception. We have neither invented nor imagined the perispirit; its existence was revealed to us by spirits, and observation has confirmed the statements thus made to us (The Spirits' Book, 93). Its existence is shown moreover, by the sensations of the spirits themselves (The Spirits' Book, 257) and above all by the phenomena of tangible apparitions, which would imply, according to the other opinion, the aggregation and subsequent disintegration of the constituents of the soul itself. It would imply, still further, that matter, palpable to the senses, is itself the intelligent principle ; a supposition no more rational than that which should confound the body with the soul, or our coat with our body. As to the particular nature of the soul, that is unknown to us. When it is stated to be immaterial the statement must be taken in a relative sense, and not absolutely, for absolute immateriality would be nothingness, whereas the soul, or spirit, is something. But we must necessarily admit that its essence is of so subtle a nature as to have no analogy with what we call matter; and that, from this point of view, we may call it immaterial (The Spirits' Book, 23, 82).

51. The following is the answer given by a spirit to a question on this subject: -

"What some call 'the perispirit' is the same as what others call the soul's 'fluidic envelope.' It is formed of the fluid which gives perfectibility to our senses, and extension to our view and our ideas. I speak of elevated spirits, for, as regards inferior spirits, the fluids inherent in them are altogether earthly, and therefore material, as you see; hence their sufferings of hunger, cold, etc., sufferings that the higher spirits cannot feel, because, with them, the terrestrial fluids are purified around the seat of their consciousness, that is to say, their soul. The soul, in order to progress, always requires an agent, for the soul without an agent is nothing, or rather, I should say, cannot be conceived of by you. The perispirit, for us, spirits in the state of erraticity, is the agent by which we communicate with you, whether indirectly, by means of your body, or, by means of your perispirit, directly with your soul; hence the infinite diversity of mediums and communications. As for the scientific explanation of the pen spirit, that is to say, the definition of its essence, that is quite another thing. Let the moral aspect of the question suffice to you for the present beyond that, any inquiry would involve disquisitions upon the nature of fluids, inexplicable for you at this time, because your physical sciences are not yet sufficiently advanced. But science will ascertain this point, in time, with the aid of light derived from spiritism. The perispirit can vary and change indefinitely; the soul is thought, and its nature does not change. Do not attempt to go any further in this direction ; for the nature of the soul is a point that cannot be explained. Do you suppose that we are not seeking, just as you are? You are searching after the perispirit; we, meanwhile, are searching after the soul. Therefore, wait.

LAMENNAIS."

If spirits who may be considered as advanced have not yet been able to fathom the essential nature of the soul, how, indeed, can we hope to do so? The endeavour to scrutinise the principle of things which, as is remarked in The Spirits' Book (17, 49), are beyond the scope of our present faculties, is but a loss of time. To attempt to pry into things which are nut yet within the reach of humanity, by the aid of spiritism, is to turn it from its true object ; it is to act like the child, who would fain know as much as the man. Let us use spiritism for our moral improvement; that is the essential point ; the rest is too often but sterile Curiosity, prompted by pride, the satisfaction of which would not advance us a single step; for the only true method of advancement is to become better. The spirits who have dictated the book which bears their name have proved their wisdom by restricting their teachings, as regards the principle of things, within limits that we are not yet able to overstep; leaving to presumptuous spirits, with their theorisings, the responsibility of premature and erroneous statements, specious, but hollow, which will one day disappear in the light of reason, as so many merely human lucubrations have already done. Spirits have only given us such information as is necessary to enable us to comprehend the future which awaits us, and thus to encourage us in well-doing.