The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1863

A distinct publicist to whom we profess the most profound esteem and whose sympathy was conquered by the Spiritist Philosophy was not yet convinced about the utility of the teaching of the Spirits, sent us the following:

“… I believe that humanity already owned the principles that you show, principles that I like and that I defend without the support of the Spiritist communications. This does not mean, , , rest assured, that I deny the help given by the divine lights.

Each one of us receives that help within certain limits according to their good will, self-love and love towards their neighbor and also according to their mission during the passage on Earth.

I don’t know if your communications have given you a single idea, a single principle that had not already been exposed by a number of philosophers, from Confucius to Plato, Moses, Jesus Christ, St. Agostine, Luther, Diderot, Voltaire, Condorcet, Saint-Simon, etc. all helped our humble planet progress. I don’t believe so and if I am mistaken I would appreciate your help in demonstrating my error. Notice that I do not condemn your Spiritist systems but I consider them useless, etc…”

My dear Sir, I will answer your question with a few words. I don’t have your talent or eloquence but I will try to be clear not only for yourself but for our readers to whom my answer may serve as a teaching and that is why I answer through the Spiritist Review.

To begin with I will say that there are two choices : either the communication with the Spirits does exist or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, millions of people that daily communicate with them are victims of an illusion and I myself would have had a singular idea by attributing to them something that could not have been theirs. However, it is useless to discuss this point because you do not dispute that fact. If such a communication does exist then it must have a utility because God does nothing useless. Now, such utility not only sticks out of that teaching but also and above all from the consequences of those teachings as we will see below. You say that those communications do not teach anything new beyond what had already been taught by the philosophers since Confucius; hence your conclusion is that they are useless.

The proverb “there is nothing new under the sun” is perfectly right and Edouard Fourrier clearly demonstrated that in his interesting book Vieux neuf.^[1]

What he said about the works created by the human genius is also true, philosophically speaking, by the very simple reason that the truths are from all times and they must have been revealed in all times to geniuses.

But because an idea has been formulated by someone does it mean that it is useless to have it formulated by someone else later? Haven’t Confucius and Plato enunciated moral principles identical to those of Jesus? Must one then conclude that the doctrine of Jesus was superfluous? If that were the case then very few pieces of work would have real utility since, for the majority of them, one can say that the idea had been thought of before and that it would be enough to go back to the first one.

You, yourself, my dear Sir, that dedicate your talent to the triumph of ideas of progress and freedom, what do you say that has not been said by another hundred others before you? Does it mean that you should go quiet? You don’t think so.

Confucius, for example, proclaims a truth. After him, one, two, three, or hundred others that came after him develop this idea, complement and present it in a different form, and the truth that was hidden in the archives of history and as a privilege of some erudite becomes popular, reaches the masses and becomes a popular belief. What would have happened to the ideas of former philosophers if their ideas had not been retaken second hand by modern writers? How many would know them today? That is how each pushes their own weight.

Let us then suppose that the Spirits had not taught anything new; that they had not revealed any new truths; in short, that they had only repeated all of those ideas professed by the apostles of progress. Then, those principles taught by the voices of the invisible world, in all corners of the planet, in the privacy of the homes, from the palace to the hut, would have not meant anything. Therefore, are the daily and hourly contributions that we see everywhere nothing?

Don’t you think that the masses are more enlightened and impressed by the maxims that come from their relatives and friends instead of those from Socrates and Plato that they never read or that they just know by name?

How can you, my dear Sir, that fights all kinds of abuse neglect similar help, a help that knocks on all doors, challenging all kinds of sorcery and inquisition measures?

Jcm11

This helper alone – you shall one day have the proof – will triumph over all resistances because it fights the abuse in its foundation, supported by the fading faith that it helps to consolidate.

You preach fraternity in eloquent terms and that is great and I admire you for that. But what is fraternity with selfishness? Egotism will always be the stepping stone for the accomplishment of the most generous ideas. There is no lack of old and recent examples to support such proposition. It is then necessary to fight the evil on its foundation, thus combating egotism and pride that have already done so and will abort the best conceived projects. But how can we destroy selfishness under the empire of the materialistic ideas that concentrate the action of man in present life? To someone that expects nothing from this life denial [jcm-need to check definition to ensure follows line of thinking] has no meaning and any sacrifice is silly because it diminishes the short pleasures of this world. Who better than Spiritism gives that unshakable faith in the future? How has Spiritism succeeded against disbelief in such a large number of persons and to dominate so many bad passions but through the material proofs that it provides? And how can Spiritism provide such proofs without the relationships established with those who no longer live on Earth?



So, isn’t that useful to teach people about where they come from, where they are going to and the future that is reserved to them? The solidarity that Spiritism teaches is no longer a simple theory but an unavoidable consequence of the existing relationships between the living ones and the dead, relationships that make fraternity among the living ones not only a moral duty but a necessity because it is related to the interest of their future life.

Weren’t the ideas of a cast systems and the the aristocratic prejudices resulting from pride and selfishness, an obstacle to the emancipation of the masses in all times? Is it enough to say that all men are equal to the privileged ones? Were the Gospels sufficient to persuade the Christian owners of slaves that they were their brothers? Now, who is capable of destroying such prejudices? Who can place all minds on a level plane better than the certainty that among creatures that are in the lowest level of the social hierarchy there are some that have occupied the top of that scale; that among our servants and among those to whom we give the alms there could be relatives, friends, people who had authority over us and finally that those who are on top today may go down to the last step? Is that a sterile teaching to humanity? Is such an idea new? No. More than one philosopher issued that and presented that great justice of God. However, is it useless to give them a positive and evident proof of all that?

Several centuries before Copernicus, Galileo and Newton the thesis of the roundness and the movement of Earth had been established. Those wise geniuses came to demonstrate what the others had only suspected. Therefore there are Spirits that come to demonstrate the great truths that remained like dead words to most people, giving them the basis of a natural law.

Ah! Dear Sir! If you only knew, as I do, how many people that would have been obstacles to the realization of humanitarian ideas changed the way they see things and today, thanks to Spiritism, became its champions, and you would not say that the teaching of the Spirits is useless. You would praise it as the life line of society and would strongly support its propagation.

Was it the teaching of the philosophers that they lacked? No because almost all of them were enlightened people but to them philosophers were dreamers, idealists, conservatives. In fact, they were revolutionaries! It was necessary to touch their hearts and it was the voice of beyond the grave that were heard in their own homes.

Allow me, dear Sir, to stop here today. The abundance of material forces me to analyze the issue from a different point of view in the next issue.

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[1] New old (TN)

Regarding our article last month about the pastoral by Mr. Bishop of Alger several persons asked us if we had sent it to him. We are not aware if someone did it. As for ourselves we did not and here is the reason:

We don’t have the slightest interest in converting Mr. Bishop of Alger to our opinion. He could have seen in such a letter a kind of bravado from our side something that is not in our character. Still once more, Spiritism must be freely accepted instead of violating consciences; it must attract people by the force of reason, accessible to everyone, and by the good fruits that it produces; it must realize these words from Jesus Christ: “In the past heavens were taken by violence; today it is by kindness.”

Mr. Bishop of Alger either stops himself from speaking about an area he knows little to nothing about or he does not. In the first case, he must learn about the issue and do not stop reading the abundant articles about the subject if he does not wish to expose himself to regrettable mistakes. In the second case, it would be useless to try to open the eyes to someone who wishes to keep them shut.

It is a serious mistake to believe that the fate of Spiritism depends on the adhesion of this or that person. It is based on more solid foundations: the acceptance of the masses in which the opinion of the little ones weighs as much as that of the big ones.

It is not a single stone that accounts for the sturdiness of the edifice since a stone can be removed but not all stones that make the foundation. In a matter of such a broad interest the importance of individualities fades away. Each person brings their contribution in action but if some are missing the whole does not suffer for that.

Mr. Bishop of Alger did what he thought was within his own right. We say more: he did well because he acted according to his conscience. If the result is not what he expected it is for the fact that he chose the wrong path. That is all. It is not up to us to change his ideas and that is why we were not supposed to send him our article refuting his assertions. We did not write that for him but to the instruction of the Spiritists of all countries to reassure them with respect to the consequences of a maneuver that is likely to have followers. Hence, never mind the occurrence. The essential was to demonstrate that neither this one nor others will reach their objective: the destruction of Spiritism. As a general thesis in all of our refutations we never aim at the individuals because personal matters die with them. Spiritism sees things from above. It handles issues of principles that outlive the individuals.



In a given time all of the current detractors of Spiritism will be dead. If they were unable to hold their own in life they will even less likely to do so when dead. Much to the contrary more than one, as a Spirit, will acknowledge their mistake and support what they fought against when alive, as did the Bishop of Barcelona that we refer to prayers of every Spiritist according to his own wishes.

Behold more than one adversary is morally dead before their departure! How many articles that were supposed to vanish with the doctrine have survived? One or two years and they were forgotten and those that made more noise just lit a little spark into an already extinct fire. A few more years and they will no longer be remembered and will be sought as rarity.

Will the same happen to the Spiritist ideas? The facts respond to this question. Can one presume that those authors will be followed by more difficult adversaries that will be right against Spiritism? It is unlikely because the current adversaries do not lack either talent or good will or elevated social position. They are plenty of fire and eagerness but what they lack is arguments that may overcome those of the Spiritists and certainly it is not because they do not seek those arguments. With the continually increasing number of Spiritists the number of adversaries will diminish in proportion and these will be forced to accept what is a fact.

As a matter of fact, we have already said that the clergy is not unanimously against Spiritism. We personally know several ecclesiastics much sympathetic to this idea whose consequences they totally accept. Here is a very characteristic proof. The following fact whose authenticity we can guarantee happened very recently.

Two gentlemen were traveling by train. One was a scientist of materialistic and atheist ideas of the highest order and his friend, on the contrary, was very spiritualist. They were having a lively discussion, each one holding their positions. A young priest got on the train at a near station initially hearing the discussion and later on joining in. Addressing the unbeliever he said:

It was the scientist himself that told this story to a friend of ours from whom we learned the case. Here is another not less significant one.

One of our keen followers was visiting one of his uncles, a priest in a village, and found him reading The Spirits’ Book. We transcribe below the report that we were given about the conversation.


We said that the sermon given by Mr. Bishop of Alger had not blocked the progress of Spiritism in that region. The summary of the letters below, among many others, gives us an idea of that:

“Dear venerable master, confirming my previous letter on the occasion of the memo by Mr. Bishop of Alger, I today want to renew the certainty in the unbreakable dedication of every Spiritist in our group to the sacred and sublime Spiritist Doctrine and that we will never be persuaded that it is the works of the devil since it has yanked us from the doubt the cult of matter, makes us better to one another even to our enemies for whom we pray every day. Like in the past, we continue to gather and receive instructions from superior and protector Spirits that assure us that everything that happens is for the better and according to the wise designs of Providence. All of them tell us that the time is near in which great changes take place in people’s beliefs and that Spiritism will operate as a link among them, leading humanity to fraternity…”

Another letter says:

“Mr. Bishop of Alger’s memo provided our priest with content for a deadly sermon against Spiritism, particularly given his eloquence. I am wrong because he created a strong impression onto mockers that saw Spiritism taken so seriously by an ecclesiastic authority telling themselves that there should be something serious there. It prompted them to study it and now they no longer laugh and count among us. As a matter of fact the number of Spiritists continues to grow and several new groups are about to be formed.”

All of our correspondence is in the same direction and does not show a single defection but only persons whose positions depended on the ecclesiastic authority hence avoiding exposure, but that nonetheless deal with Spiritism in their private time or in the silence of their bedrooms. They can make impositions to the outside but cannot control the conscience. The communication below demonstrates that the impulse has not diminished both among people and among the Spirits.

“Setif, September 17^th, 1863

My dear friends, I come to you full of happiness by seeing Spiritism making fast progress and by acquiring new strength everyday amidst the obstacles that are placed on its way. Those forces are not only related to the quantity but to the union, fraternity and charity. Hence, you must have confidence, hope and courage when marching on this avenue of Spiritist progress from which no human force can veer you off. Nevertheless you must be prepared for the fight. Out there the enemies prepare heavy shackles with which they intend to chain and dominate you. What can they do against God’s will that protects you? The foundations of his law shall rise regardless of the obstacles. The servants of the Almighty are full of ardor and zeal. They shall not abate; they shall resist every attack; they shall always walk the path, despite everything; the obstacles and the chains will break as if made of glass. I tell you this, you must worship and pray and reach out to the unfortunate brothers and open the eyes of those who have them closed. May you embrace everyone, without exception, with your arms and hearts!

Spiritists, your mission is beautiful. What is it that can be more reassuring than this pact between the living and the dead? How great a service we can mutually do for one another! You can do a lot by your prayers to God, from the bottom of your hearts, to alleviate the suffering souls, and how soothing is that to the heart of the one that sends those prayers! How touching are the blessings that you have deserved! Still once more, pray and raise your soul to heavens and rest assured that each and every one of your prayers will be heard and will mitigate one pain.

Understand that the more people you guide to imitate you the more powerful the aggregated prayers will be. Take your fellow human being by the hand and lead them to the true route where your seeds will grow. Preach the good doctrine, the doctrine of Jesus, the one taught by the divine Master in his own communications, repeating and confirming the doctrine of the Gospels. Those who live will see remarkable things, I assure you.

Is it necessary to respond to that memo through the press?

My God! Allow me to tell you what I think. They established a route. They had it swept so that the people can walk there with comfort and in larger numbers. Hence the multitude comes here, packing the place. You must understand my somewhat enigmatic language. Your duty is to demonstrate that they have opened the door instead of closing it.

St. Joseph”

OBSERVATION: This communication was obtained by a worker, an absolutely illiterate medium that could hardly sign his name. Since he became a medium he wrote some but with difficulty. One cannot suspect that the communication above was the work of his imagination.

The passage below is in a letter sent to us:

“I have just had a discussion with the priest here about the Spiritist Doctrine. Talking about reincarnation he asked me to explain which body the Spirit of Elijah would take in the day of the final judgment announced by the Church, before Jesus Christ: will it be the first or the second? I did not know how to respond. He smiled and said that we, the Spiritists, are not strong.”

We don’t know which one of you provoked the discussion. At any rate it is not prudent to engage in a controversy when we don’t have the strength to sustain it. If the initiative was from the part of our correspondent we remind you of what we have endlessly repeated that “Spiritism addresses those that do not believe or that are in doubt and not the ones that have their faith and to whom it is enough; that it does not ask anyone to resign to their beliefs to adopt ours” and for that matter it is consistent with the principles of tolerance and freedom of conscience that it professes.

For that reason we could not approve attempts made by certain persons to convert the clergy of any belief to our ideas. We then repeat to every Spiritist: Receive with dedication all of those that have good will; illuminate those who seek light for you shall not be successful with those who believe to have it; do not force anyone’s faith, both clergy or lay persons, for it is like seeding in an infertile land; have the light out so that the ones who wish to see may see; show the fruits of the tree and feed the hungry ones and not the ones that are plentiful.

If the members of the clergy come to you with sincere intentions and without hidden thoughts do as you do to the other brothers: instruct the ones who wish that but do not try by force to bring the others who have their consciences compromised, trying to make them think like you; leave them with their faith as you wish that you left with yours; finally show them that you know how to practice the charity taught by Jesus.

If they were the first to attack then one has the right to respond and refute. If they opened the field that it is okay to follow without, however, losing moderation like Jesus exemplified to the disciples. If our adversaries do that by themselves then we must allow them such a sad privilege that is never a demonstration of true force.

If we have ourselves entered the avenue of controversy some time ago and if we picked the glove thrown by a few members of the clergy, justice should be made in the acknowledgement that we have never fed an aggressive controversy. Had they not been the first to attack their names would have never been pronounced by us. We have always neglected the injuries and personalism that we addressed to us but it was our duty to defend our attacked brothers and our doctrine when indignantly disfigured for they have even said from the pulpit that it preached adultery and suicide. We have already said and repeat here that such a provocation is awkward because it forcibly leads to the examination of certain questions that it would have been better to have left alone since once the field is open nobody can foresee where it is going to end. But fear is a bad adviser.

Having said that let us try to respond to the question posed by the priest above. If his counterpart were not as strong as he is in theology, he himself does not look so strong to us with respect to the Gospels. His question sends us back to the one proposed to Jesus by the Sadducee. All he had to do was to refer to the answer given by Jesus that we take the liberty of reminding him since he does not know.

That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. Finally, the woman died. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

Jesus replied, “You are thinking about this in the wrong way because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[1] He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Mathew XXII 23:32.

Since after resurrection men will be like angels in heavens and since angels have no material body but an ethereal and fluidic body, then men will not resurrect in flesh and blood. If John the Baptist was Elijah he is not but one soul that had two envelopes left in different times on Earth and he will not present himself either like one or the other but with the ethereal envelope that is adequate to the invisible world.

If the words of Jesus do not seem clear enough to you refer then to those of Paul that we mention below. They are even more explicit. Do you doubt that John the Baptiste had been Elijah? Read Mathew XI: 13-15 as: ^“For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

There is no mistake here. The terms are clear and categorical and to misunderstand it is necessary to have no ears or to keep them shut. Since those words constitute a positive affirmation, it must be one out of two: Jesus told the truth or he was mistaken. In the first hypothesis reincarnation is attested by him; in the second case he casts doubt upon all of his teachings since he was mistaken in one point he could be in all of them. You must pick one.

Now, Mr. Priest, allow me, in turn, to ask you a question that will certainly be easy for you to respond. You know that the book of Genesis establishes six days for creation, not only of Earth but for the whole universe: the sun, the moon, etc. That did not account for the discoveries of Geology and Astronomy and Joshua did not take universal gravitation into account. It seems to me that the dogma of the resurrection of flesh did not take into account Chemistry.

True, Chemistry is a diabolical science, as all others, that turn clear what some wanted to keep fuzzy but irrespective of its origin it teaches us a positive thing and that is that our body, like every organic substance animal and vegetal, is composed of multiple elements from which these are the main ones: oxygen, azote (nitrogen) and carbon. Besides, it teaches us – and notice that it is from experimentation – that those elements disperse with death and enter the composition of other bodies so much so that after certain time the whole body is absorbed.

It is also attested that the terrain, where there is abundance of decomposing organic material, are the most fertile and is the vicinity of cemeteries that the bad believers attribute the proverbial fecundity of the gardens of village priests.

Let us then suppose, Mr. Priest, that potatoes are planted in the proximity of a grave. Those potatoes will feed out of the gases and salts resulting from the decomposition of a dead body; the potatoes will feed chickens; you will eat the chickens, enjoying it so much that your own body will contain molecules of the dead individual and that will still be his although traveled through intermediaries. You will then have parts that belong to others. Now, when you both pass on the day of the final judgment each one with their body, how is it going to be? Will you keep what is his and he shall claim what belongs to him or will you still have something from the potato and the chicken.

It is a question at least as serious as the one about the resurrection of John the Baptist with the body of John or that of Elijah. I do that with great simplicity but imagine the embarrassment if, as it does happen, you have in your portions of hundreds of individuals. That is the meaning of resurrection of the flesh. Another different one is the resurrection of the Spirit that does not carry its remains. See below what St. Paul says.

Considering that we are still in the terrain of questions here you is another one, Mr. Priest, that we hear from unbelievers. It is certainly strange to the subject that we are discussing but it is brought up by one of the events that we mentioned above. Still according to the book of Genesis, God created the world in six days and rested in the seventh. That rest is what makes the Sunday in the canonical law. If, then, as demonstrated by Geology, instead of those six days, it represent millions of years, instead of twenty four hours, how long will the resting day last? In terms of importance this question has as much value as the other two.

You must not believe, Mr. Priest, that these observations are the result of neglect to the sacred scriptures. No, on the contrary, we perhaps pay more tribute to them than you. By considering the allegorical form, we seek the spirit of the text that vivifies; we then find great truths in them and through that we lead the unbelievers to believe and respect them whereas by adhering to the letter that kills you make them say absurd things and the number of skeptical increase.

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[1] Exodus 3:6 (TN)

The communication below was obtained in the session at the Parisian Society on October 9^th, 1863:

“How many days have passed, my children, since I was fortunate enough to be with you! Thus, it is a great joy to be here at my dear Parisian Society.

What is the subject matter today? The majority of the moral questions were already handled by skillful pens. Yet they are so very close to me and their scope is so broad that I will still find some seeds of truth to sow. Besides, even if I just repeat what has already been said by others, it may perhaps bring about new teachings considering that good words, like the good seeds, always produce good fruits.

For us the sacred books are inextinguishable flames and the great apostle Paul that has formerly contributed so much to the establishment of Christianity from his powerful speeches and that left monumental writings that will serve, not less powerfully, to the expansion of Spiritism.

I do not ignore the fact that your religious adversaries invoke his testimony against you but that does not preclude the illustrious illuminated individuals from Damascus to support you and to be with you. You can rest assured.

The breath that airs from his works; the sacred inspiration that animates his teachings, far from being hostile to the doctrine it is, on the contrary, full of predictions regarding what is happening today. That is how in his first words to the Corinthians there isn’t a single person, even if a saint, a prophet and that could transport mountains that can be proud of being a true disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like the Spiritists and before them he was the first to proclaim the maxim that is your glory: there is no salvation but through charity!

But that is not the only side that connects him to the doctrine that we taught you and that you now propagate. Highly intelligent, he had foreseen what God had spared to the future and notably this transformation, this regeneration of the Christian faith that you are called upon to lay profoundly onto the modern Spirit, describing in the aforementioned epistle and unquestionably the main mediumistic faculties that he names the blessed gifts of the Saint Spirit.



Ah my dear! That saint contemplates, with an undisguisable sadness, the degree of shame in which those who speak in his name fall and proclaim ‘urbi et orbi’^[1] that in the past God gave to Earth all the truths that the planet could take.

This apostle had said, however, that in his time there were not more than one science and imperfect prophecies. Well, the one that was sorry for such a situation knew that for that very reason they both would perfect in the future. Isn’t that the absolute condemnation of all of those that condemn progress? Isn’t that the hardest strike against those that pretend that Jesus and the apostles, the fathers of Church and above all the reverends in the company of Jesus would have given Earth all the philosophical and religious science that it deserved? Fortunately, the apostle himself took care of belying it in anticipation.

My dears, in order to assess the ones that fight you in their fair value all you must do is to study the arguments of the controversy, their heated words and the sorrow that pain inflicted like those of Rev. Father Pailloux; may the flames be extinguished and that the Saint Inquisition no longer work ‘ad maorem Dei gloriam.’^[2]

My brothers, you have charity, they have intolerance and for that we can only feel sorry. That is why I invite you to pray for those poor ones that are lost so that the Saint Spirit that they invoke so much may finally illuminate their consciences and their hearts.

François-Nicolas Madeilene

We add the following words of St. Paul to this remarkable communication, taken from the first letter to the Corinthians:

But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? With what body do they come?” You fool! What you sow is not made alive unless it dies. When you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. Then God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. All flesh is not the same flesh. There is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies. The glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. One star differs from another star in glory. So too is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

- Now this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:35-44 and 50.

Now what else can that spiritual body be since it is not the animal body; it is the fluidic body whose existence is demonstrated by Spiritism, the perispirit that covers the soul after death! The Spirit experiences some confusion with death and for some time the Spirit loses consciousness of oneself and later recovers the awareness and is reborn for the intelligent life. In one word the Spirit resuscitates with the spiritual body.

The last paragraph about doomsday positively contradicts the doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh because it says: “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”. Thus, the dead will not resurrect with in flesh and blood and won’t need to gather their scattered bones but will have their celestial body that is not the animal body.

If the author of Catéchisme philosophique^[3] had given more thoughts to these words he would have avoided making the remarkable mathematical calculation that every person that died since Adam’s days would fit perfectly well in Josapha’s Valley after their resurrection.

Therefore St. Paul established in principle and in theory what Spiritism now teaches about the state of mankind after death. But St. Paul was not the only one to present the truths taught by Spiritism. The Bible, the Gospels, the apostles and the Fathers of the Church are full of them so much so that denying Spiritism is the same as denying their own authority and upon which religion is founded. Attributing all of the teachings to the devil is the same as saying anathema to the majority of the holy authors.

Thus, Spiritism does not come to destroy but on the contrary to reestablish all things, that is to assign the true meaning to all things.

We said that there is no spirit possession in the absolute sense when a spirit communicates through a body but that the spirit can only be subjugated [jcm – please check this as I tried to clarify this sentence so that audience can understand what is next in the paragraph]. We changed our opinion about this absolute statement because now we have been shown that there can be true possession, that is, replacement although partial of an incarnate Spirit by another errant^[1] Spirit.

Here we have a fact that demonstrates that and that presents the phenomenon in its whole simplicity.

One day there were several people in the house of a lady that happen to be a somnambulist medium. She suddenly starts behaving in an masculine way. Her voice changes and addressing one of the persons present she says: “Ah my dear friend, I am so happy to see you!” Caught by surprise they asked her about the meaning of all that. The lady continues: “How come my dear friend you don’t recognize me? Ah that is true. I am covered in mud! I am Charles Z…” When the name was heard they remembered a gentleman that had died months ago from a stroke on the side of the road. He had fallen in a ditch from where he had been taken out all covered in mud.

He says that he wanted to talk to his old friend and took the opportunity when the Spirit of Mrs. A…, the somnambulist, was away from the body and he then took her place. The scene in fact repeated for several days after that and every time Mrs. A… impersonated the characteristic masculine attitudes of Mr. Charles, stretching against the back of the chair, crossing his legs, twisting the mustache, passing the hands of the hair in such a way that if it weren’t by the clothes one could believe to be in the presence of Mr. Charles. However, there was no transfiguration as seen on other occasions. These are some of his responses.

Those conversations were very entertaining. Mr. Charles had been a Bohemian and he acts as such. Given to material things, he was little advanced as a Spirit but naturally good and benevolent. He had no bad intention by taking over the body of Mrs. A… so that the lady suffered nothing with the situation so much so that she allowed that in good will. It should be mentioned that she had never met that gentleman and could not know about his habits. It is important also to mention that the assistants did not think of him hence the scene was not provoked and he came to them spontaneously.

This possession is evident here and is even more evident from the details where the list is long. That is, however, an innocent possession and without inconveniences. That is not the case when involving a bad and ill-intentioned Spirit because it may have consequences that are the more serious the more tenacious the Spirits are and many times it becomes difficult to free the patient from that fall their victims.

Here is a recent example that we observed in person and that was object of serious study at the Parisian Society of Paris:

Ms. Julia was a maid, born in Sabia, at the age of twenty-three, very kind and uneducated that for some time was the subject to fits of natural somnambulism that lasted whole weeks. In that state she continued her normal work and nobody would suspect her situation. She even worked better. Her lucidity was remarkable. She described distant places and events with perfect accuracy.

For about six months she has become the prey of crises of a strange kind that always happened in the somnambulistic state and that it had somehow became her normal state. She contorted, rolled on the floor as if taking part in a fight with someone that was trying to strangle her and in fact she presented all the symptoms of strangulation. That fantastic creature ended up by winning, took her by the hair, hit her on the face, and swore at her and called her names, like Fredegunda, infamous regent, dirty and vile creature stained by all sorts of crimes, etc. She crushed the feet on the ground and took her clothes off. Strange thing, she called herself Fredegunda and hit her on her own arms, breast and face. “Here, take it. Is it enough Fredegunda? You want to suffocate me but you will not succeed; you want to come to my box but I will expel you.”

My box was the term that she used to represent her own body. Nobody could describe the horrible expression on her face when she mentioned the name Fredegunda, grinding her teeth, and the tortures that she suffered in those moments.

One day, to get rid of her enemy, she took a knife and used it against herself but she was helped in time to avoid this situration. Another strange thing is that she never took any of the assistants by the name Fredegunda. The duality was always on her. Her fury was always against herself when the Spirit was in her and against an invisible Spirit when he was away from her. To everyone else she was kind and benevolent even at times of great exasperation. These truly frightening crises sometimes lasted for hours and repeated several times per day. When she succeeded in beating Fredegunda, she would fall in prostration and abated and she would only gradually recover but left in a state of weakness with difficulty to speak. Her health was profoundly compromised; she denied herself food and would go up to eight days without eating. The best food would have a terrible taste to her and consequently be refused. She used to say that it was the work of Fredegunda who did not want her to eat.

We said above that the girl had no education. In her vigil state she had never heard about Fredegunda or her character or her role. In the somnambulistic state, on the contrary, she knew everything perfectly well and sayed that she lived on her time. She had not been a Brunehaut as initially thought but someone else related to that court. Another not less essential observation is that up to the beginning of the crises Ms. Julia had never been involved with Spiritism whose name was unknown to her. Even today in her vigil state she ignores and rejects it. It is only in the somnambulistic state that she knows about it and after she started being treated. Thus, everything she said was spontaneous.

Given such a strange situation some attributed her state to a nervous breakdown; others think it is a special case of madness and one must forcibly acknowledge that, at first sight, the last opinion seemed plausible.

A medical doctor said that in the current state of science there was nothing that could explain those phenomena and that there wasn’t any medication to cure her. Nonetheless, persons experience in Spiritism easily acknowledged that she was the victim of subjugation at the most serious level and that it could be deadly to her.

There is no doubt that someone who had only seen her in a crisis and had only considered the singularity of her words and actions would certainly say that she is mad and would recommend the treatment given to the mentally ill that, undoubtedly, would make her actually mad. But such an opinion should yield to the facts. When awake her conversation is that proper to her condition and compatible with her lack of education. Her intelligence is really common. However, in the somnambulistic state everything is completely different. When she is calm she reasons with sense, fairness and profundity. It is strange that madness can give someone more discernment and intelligence.

Only Spiritism can explain this apparent abnormality. In her vigil state her soul or Spirit is compressed by organs that do not allow her but limited development. In her somnambulistic state the soul emancipates, partially freed from the material chains, enjoying the ampleness of her faculties. At the moments of crises her words and actions are only eccentric to those that don’t believe in the action of the invisible world. Since it is just the effect and not the cause that is the reason why the obsessed, subjugated and possessed are taken by mad people. In the homes of the mentally ill at all times there have always been pseudo mad people of that kind that would have been easily cured had they not adamantly been seen as physically ill.

Given that situation and considering that Ms. Julia had no resources of her own, a family of true and sicnere Spiritists agreed in taking her to work for them but in her situation, she would be more of an embarrassment than a service and one would need true devotion to take care of her. But those persons were well rewarded first for the pleasure of doing a good deed and then by the satisfaction of having powerfully contributed to her cure that is complete today. It was a double cure because Ms. Julia not only recovered but her enemy was converted to the best feelings.

Here is what we witnessed in one of those terrible fights that lasted no more than two hours when we were then able to observe the phenomenon in its tiniest details and, in which, we acknowledged a thorough analogy with the possesses of Morzine.^[2] The only difference is that in Morzine the possessed acted against people that reproached them and that they spoke of the devil that they had in them because they had been persuaded that it was the devil. In Morzine, Ms. Julia would have called Fredegunda by the name of devil.

In a next article we will expose the details of the several phases of this cure and the means that were employed for that. In addition, we will refer to the amazing instructions given by the Spirits about it as well as the important observations that it entailed with respect to magnetism.

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[1] Spirit living in the spiritual world, between incarnations (TN)


[2] See the articles entitled “Studies about the possesses of Morzine” in the Spiritist Magazine, December 1862 and January, February, April and May 1863

The first period of Spiritism, characterized by the turning or dancing tables, was that of curiosity. The second was the philosophical, marked by the appearance of The Spirits’ Book. Since that time Spiritism took a completely different character. Its objective and expansion were foreseen, faith and consolation were found and the speed of its progress was such that no doctrine philosophical or religious can offer such example. However, like with every new idea, it found the more ferocious adversaries the greater the idea was because any new great idea will hurt interests. It is necessary that this idea take its place and those affected by that cannot see it with good eyes. Besides the interested parties, there are those that systematically or without any precise reason are born against everything that is new.

Many doubted its vitality in the first years and for that reason they did not give Spiritism much attention. But when they saw it growing, despite everything; when they saw it reaching every layer of the social fabric and in all corners of the world; when they saw it taking its place among beliefs and becoming powerful for the number of followers, those interested in the maintenance of old ideas were then seriously alarmed. Then I real crusade was thrown against it giving rise to the period of struggle in which the Act of Faith of Barcelona on October 9^th, 1861 was somehow a sign. Up until then it was the object of sarcasm and disbelief that laughs at everything and in particular to something that is unknown, even the most sacred things and there isn’t a new idea that can escape that. It is its test of fire. But the others don’t laugh. They see it with anger, an obvious and characteristic sign of the importance of Spiritism. From that moment the attacks started to show an unseen character of violence. The order was given: ferocious sermons, orders, anathemas, excommunications, persecution to individuals, books, brochures and articles in newspapers. Nothing was left untouched, not even slander.

We are then fully in the period of struggle that has not ended. After the uselessness of the open attacks they are going to try the underground war that begins to show and organize. An apparent calmness will be felt but it is just the calmness that anticipates the storm; but after the storm comes the rainbow.

Spiritists, have no fear because the end is not doubtful. The fight is necessary and the success will be bright. I have said and repeat: I see the end; I know when and how it is going to be achieved. If I say that with such a confidence it is because I have reasons for that but prudence requires that I remain quiet but one day you will know them. All I can tell you is that powerful supporters will come to shut the mouth of more than one detractor. Nonetheless it will be a lively fight and if there are victims of their faith in the conflict may they rejoice as the first Christian martyrs did from which there are many among you to encourage you and give you examples and may they remember these words from Jesus:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” “(Mathew 5: 10-12)

Don’t these words seem to have been said to today’s Spiritists as to the apostles of those days? This is because Jesus’ words have that character in particular: they are for all times because his mission was for the future as much as for the present.

The struggle will determine a new phase of Spiritism and will lead to the fourth period that will be the religious period. Then there will be the fifth, the intermediary period, a natural consequence of the preceding one, and that later on will receive its characteristic denomination. The six and last period will be that of social renovation that will open the era of the twentieth century. In that period all the obstacles to the new order of things wished by God for the transformation of Earth will be gone. The new generation embedded in the new ideas will use its power to pave the way to the one that must inaugurate the definitive victory of union, peace and fraternity among all, confounded in in common belief by the practice of the evangelical law.

That is how the words of Christ will be confirmed for all must be accomplished and many realize at this time because the predicted times have come. But it is useless to look for those signs from heaven taking appearance by reality. Those signs are around you and come from all places.

It is remarkable that the communications given by the Spirits had a special character in each period: in the first they were frivolous and lighthearted; in the second were serious and instructive; since the third they presented the struggles and their several nuances. The majority of the ones obtained today in the multiple centers have the intent of forewarning the followers against the maneuvers of their adversaries. Thus, instructions are given everywhere about it as everywhere an identical result is announced.

The coincidence about that point of view as for many others is not one of the less significant facts. The situations if fully summarized in the two following communications whose veracity the Spiritists have already acknowledged.

Paris, August 14^th, 1863



“The struggle waits for you, my dear children. That is why I invite all of you to imitate the gladiator of previous times and get ready. The forthcoming years are full of promises but also of anxieties. I do not come to say: the day of the battle is tomorrow! No, because the time of the fight is not certain yet but I come to warn you so that you are ready for any eventuality. Up until now Spiritism only found an easy and almost flowery path whereas from now on the attacks in your direction will have a totally different character: time has come when God will appeal everyone, when he is going to judge his faithful servers and give each one the part that they have deserved.

You shall not be physically tortured as in the first days of the Church; there will not be killing flames like in the Middle Ages but they will torture you morally; there will be traps, armed by friendly hands; they will act in the shadows and you will receive the blows not knowing who sent them towards you and you will be hurt and your chest injured by the poisoned arrows of slander.

Your pain will lack nothing; there will be defections in your ranks and supposedly Spiritists lost in pride and vanity will allege independence, saying: We are the ones in the right path!

They will try to sow bad weeds onto the groups provoking the formation of dissident groups; they will entice your mediums taking them to a bad path, deviating them from the serious groups; intimidation will be used against some, fascination against others; all weaknesses will be exploited. Besides, don’t forget that some saw in Spiritism a role to play, an important role, and today they are deluded in their ambitions. These will be promised a new way, something that otherwise they cannot find. Then, with money, so powerful in the last century, won’t they find accomplices to represent undignified comedies to discredit and ridicule the doctrine?

These are the trials that wait for you, my dear, but from which you shall exit triumphant if you beg for the Almighty help from the bottom of your heart. That is why I repeat with my whole heart: My dear, embrace one another and be vigilant because it is your Golgotha that follows and if you are not crucified in flesh and blood you will in your interests and in your affections and in your honor! It is a serious and solemn time. You must then leave behind the petty discussions, all the puerile concerns, every idle question and any vain pretension of prominence and self-love.

Be concerned with the great interests that are in your hands and for which the Lord will make you accountable. Unite so that the enemy will find your ranks compact and unbreakable. You have an unequivocal password, touch stone with which you can recognize your true brothers, for that word means abnegation and devotion and summarizes all of the duties of a true Spiritist. Courage and perseverance, my children! Know that God oversees and judges you. Remember also that your spiritual guides will not abandon you down while you walk the right path.

As a matter of fact, all this war will only have a period and will turn against those who thought to create arms against the doctrine. Triumph, and no longer the bloody holocaust, will irradiate the Spiritist Golgotha.

So long my dear children. Greetings to all!”

Erastus, disciple of the apostle St. Paul



One of the maneuvers predicted above has just come true from what we heard. A letter tells us that a young lady had attended a meeting only once left her home and moved in to the house of a strange person from where she was taken to a home of the mentally ill, as if taken by the Spiritist madness; her relatives were only informed afterwards, when everthing had already happened. Twenty days later the family was granted authorization to see her when she was then criticized for having left them. She then confessed that she was promised money to pretend madness. Even at that time the attempts to convince her to leave and come home were useless.

If that is how Spiritist mad people are recruited the means is more dangerous to those that employ it than to Spiritism. When someone reaches out to such a gimmick to defend their own causes, it is the most positive proof that they are out of good arguments.

We then tell the Spiritists: When you see similar things rejoice instead of becoming sad for they are signs of a near triumph. In fact, there is something else that must encourage you: our ranks grow not only in number but also in moral strength and you have already seen more than one renowned person to come out and resolutely defend Spiritism and with grab the glove thrown by our adversaries with a strong hand.

Texts of irresistible logic daily show them that the Spiritists are not mad. Our readers know the excellent refutation to the sermons of Rev. Letiece by a Spiritist of Metz. Now we have the not less interesting one given by the Spiritists of Villenave de Rions (Gironde), about the sermons of Father Nicomède. The Verité of Lyon is known for its profound articles. The November 22^ndnumber in particular deserves special attention. The Ruche de Bordeaux enlightens with new supporters as capable as dedicated. Finally, if there are many aggressors there aren’t fewer defenders. Hence, Spiritists, have courage, confidence and perseverance because it is alright and according to what had been predicted.

The communication below develops one of the phases of the serious issue that we have just discussed and cannot but forearm the Spiritists about the difficulties that will accumulate in this period.

Family gathering, February 25th, 1863

Medium Mr. d’Ambel



There is currently a reoccurrence of obsession, the result of the struggle that the new ideas must inevitably face against incarnate and discarnate adversaries. Obsession, skillfully exploited by the enemies of Spiritism, is one of the most dangerous tests to be faced by the doctrine before it is established in a more stable way in the heart of the masses hence it must be fought by all possible means, and in particular by the judiciousness and energy of your earthly spiritual guides.

Mediums show up from all sides with a supposed mission, called up, as they say, to carry the flag of Spiritism and plant it in the ruins of the old world, as if we had come to destroy but we are here to build.

There isn’t a single person, however mediocre they might be, that had not yet a Spirit telling them, like Macbeth: ‘You will also be king’, and that does not consider themselves destined to a very special apostolic mission.

There aren’t many private and even familiar meetings in which there hasn’t been at least one soul that thinks a lot of herself, believing to be indispensable to the success of the cause; too pretentious to just accept the task of a normal worker that brings their stone to the building. Ah my friends! That is too much dedication for very little result! Almost every new medium is submitted to that temptation in the beginning. Some resist to that but many fail at least for some time until the time when after successive falls they come to be dissuaded.

Why does God allow such a difficult test if not to demonstrate that good and progress can never establish in your hearts without work and without the combat; if not to make the triumph of truth shinier by the difficulties of the struggle? What is it that certain Spirits want through the exaltation of pride and self-love but to hinder progress? They will unsuspectedly be the instruments of trials to give evidence to the good and the bad servants of God. A Spirit reveals the secret of transmutation of metals to one, like that medium in R…; another one reveals events that will supposedly take place like to Mr…, establishing the period, dates and the persons that will be involved in the drama; a mystifying Spirit teaches the secrets of diamond formation; to others they indicate hidden treasures, easy fortune, wonderful discoveries, glory and honor, etc. In one word, people’s ambitions and greed are skillfully exploited by mean Spirits. That is why you see those unfortunate obsessed persons everywhere, preparing to take their place in the Capitol, with such a serious and arrogant face that saddens any impartial observer.

What is the result of all of those fallacious promises? Deception, annoyance, ridicule and sometimes bankruptcy, fair punishment to the lazy pride that believes to have been chosen to do everything better than anyone, neglecting advices and forgetting the true principles of Spiritism.

Modesty is the hallmark of the mediums chosen by the good Spirits as much as pride, self-love and say mediocrity are the characters of those inspired by inferior Spirits. The former neglect communications that keep them away from the truth as much as the latter sustain the superiority of what they receive against everybody else even if that is an absurd.

It results that and according to the words given at the Parisian Society by its spiritual President, St. Louis, a true Tower of Babel is about to be erected among you. In fact, one does need to be blind or deluded in order to not acknowledge the crusade that has been launched against Spiritism by the natural adversaries of any progressive and freeing doctrine, added by the spiritual crusade directed by all of those pseudo wise Spirits, false great men, false religious and false brothers in erraticism, entering in a common cause with the earthly enemies, amidst the multitude of mediums that they have fanaticized and to whom they dictate so many false statements.

But look at what is left out of all that foundation established by ambition, self-love and envy. How many haven’t you seen falling and how many will you still see! I tell you this that every edifice that is not founded on the truth, the only solid foundation, will fall because only the truth can challenge the times and triumph over utopias.

Sincere Spiritists, have no fear for the momentary chaos. Time is not far when truth, yanked from the veils that some intend to cover it, will come out shinier than ever and its clarity will illuminate the whole world, sending its detractors back to the shadows, those who had their moment of evidence for their own confusion.

Therefore, my friends, you must defend yourselves not only against the attacks and slander of your living adversaries, but also from the dangerous maneuvers of your adversaries in the spiritual world. Strengthen yourselves through healthy studies and in particular by the practice of love and charity and recharge yourself in your prayers. God always illuminates those that dedicate themselves to the promotion of truth when acting in good faith and without any personal ambition.

Besides, Spiritists, what does it matter to you, mediums that in the end are just instruments? What you must take into account is the actual value and reach of the teachings that you receive; it is the moral purity that you are taught; it is the clarity and accuracy of the truths that are revealed to you; it is, finally, the instructions that correspond to the legitimate aspirations of elevated souls and are in agreement with the general and immutable laws of logic and universal harmony.

Inferior Spirits that take the place of apostles before their obsessed, as you know, have no scruples in taking the most venerable names; hence it would be outrageous that I, one of the last disciples of the Spirit of Truth, would be sorry for having had my modest name used by them; I then repeat what I incessantly said to my medium two years ago: Never assess a mediumistic communication by the name that signs it but only by its intrinsic content. It is urgent that you be forearmed against every publication of suspicious origin that appear now and will appear in the future, against all of those that would not have a clear and honest attitude, and rest assured that many will be produced in the fields of the enemy, in the visible as well as in the invisible world, with the objective of spreading disagreement among you.

It is up to you to be caught in that since you have all the elements need to assess them. Be you must also know that every Spirit that announces oneself as a superior Spirit and in particular with an infallibility second to none, that Spirit is, on the contrary, the opposite to everything that he announces so pretentiously.

Since the time when the kind Spirit Francois-Nicolas Madeleine alleviated part of my spiritual burden I was able to evaluate the whole Spiritist work and do the moral statistics of the workers that help in the vine of the Lord. Ah! If so many imperfect Spirits sneak in the mission that we carry I am even more sorry to attest that among our best supporters on Earth many have fallen before the weight of their tasks and gradually returned to the paths of their old weaknesses, so much so that the great ethereal souls that advised them were, since then, replaced by less pure and less perfect Spirits.

Ah! I know that virtue is difficult but we don’t ask for and we don’t want the impossible. Good will is enough to us when followed by the desire to do the best.

My friends, relaxation is pernicious in everything because much will be demanded to those that after having elevated themselves by the renunciation of their own individuality have fallen back to the cult of matter, and even allowed themselves to be driven by selfishness and self-love. Yet we pray for them and condemn nobody because we all must remember the magnificent teaching of Christ: ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’

Your followers count to the millions today. The false masks of the brothers that was recently mentioned by your momentary President fall all over. I am not recommending that your ranks may only accept the spotless and white sheep; no because the sinners are the ones that more than anybody else have the right to find refuge against their own imperfections. I advise you to be suspicious of the others, the dangerous hypocrite to whom we are tempted to place our trust in principle and at first sight. They show strict behavior and a serious and dignifying behavior to the eyes of the crowds that says: ‘These are respectable people!’ Nonetheless, perfidy and immorality sometimes hide under that appearance.

They are accessible, helpful, full of amenities; they sneak into places; voluntarily invade privacy; listen behind doors and pretend to be deaf to be able to hear even better; the present disagreements and excite and feed them; they move between opposing fields and ask about each one. What is it that this one is doing? What is the bread winning activity of the other one? Who is this person? Do you know the family? Then you see them quietly moving in the shadows and spreading little maleficence that they were able to collect, carefully poisoning them with lively slander. ‘These are rumors in which we don’t believe’, they say, bud then add: ‘Where there is smoke there is fire’, etc.

You must add the hypocrite of the spiritual world to these hypocrites of incarnation and then, my dear friends, you can see how much I am right in advising you to act, from now on, with extreme reservation and to watch out for any and every reflected enthusiasm and imprudent action.

I said you live in a time of crisis, even more difficult given malevolence, but from which you shall come out stronger, with firmness and perseverance.

The number of mediums today is incalculable and it is sad to see that some consider themselves the only ones called upon to spread the truth to the world and rejoice before banalities that they consider real monuments, poor deluded people that lower their heads under the arches of triumph, as if the truth had waited for their arrival before being announced.

Neither the strong, nor the weak, neither the educated nor the ignorant had that exclusive privilege, because it was through the intermediary of a thousand unknown voices that the truth had spread and it is exactly because of that unanimity that it was duly acknowledged.

You must count those voices; count those that listen; count in particular those whose hearts are touched by them if you want to know in which side the truth is.

Ah! If all mediums had faith! I would be the first to bow before them. But most of the time they don’t have but only the faith in themselves, such is the size of pride on Earth! No, their faith is not the one that moves mountains and that make someone walk on the water! It is the case to repeat here the maxim from the Gospel that has served as my theme since the first day I made myself heard among you: ‘For many are invited but few are chosen.’

In short, there are publications on the right, on the left, on all sides, pros and cons in all senses and in all forms; exaggerated criticism from people that know nothing about it; heated sermons from people that are afraid; to summarize I say that Spiritism is in the order of the day. I shake every brain and agitates every conscience, an exclusive privilege of great things. Everyone presents that it carries the principle of renovation that some vow to support and others fear.

But what is going to be left after all this? What shall come out of this Babel tower? A huge thing: the vulgarization of the Spiritist idea and the true doctrine!

The conflict is unavoidable because mankind is stained by a lot of pride and selfishness to accept any new truth without opposition. I even say that the conflict is necessary because it is the friction that dismount false ideas pointing out to the strength of those that resist.

Amidst this avalanche of mediocrity, impossibilities and surreal utopias the splendid truth shall spread in its greatness and magnificence.

Erastus

Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, November 20^th, 1863

Medium Mrs. Costel



“Duty is a moral obligation, first before oneself and then before the others. It is the law of life and it is found in the tiniest details as much as in the most elevated acts. I will only speak of the moral duty and not of those imposed by profession. In the order of feelings, duty is very difficult to realize because it is in opposition to the seductions of instinct and heart. Its victories bear no witnesses and its defeats have no repression.

The intimate duty of a person is given to one’s free-will. The goad of conscience, that guardian of inner probity, warns and sustain it but it is frequently powerless before the sophisms of passion. The accomplished duty of heart elevates mankind but how can one measure that? Where does it start? Where does it end? It begins exactly where you threaten the happiness and the rest of your neighbor and ends at the border that you would not like to see transposed against yourself.

God created everyone equal for the pain. Great or small, ignorant or enlightened, all suffer for the same causes so that each one can judiciously assess the harm that can be caused. The same criteria do not exist for the good, infinitely more varied in its expressions.

The equality before pain is a sublime providence of God that wishes his creatures, instructed by the experience, do not do harm to one another by alleging ignorance. Duty is a practical summary of all moral speculations; it is the bravery of the soul that faces the anguishes of the combat; it is austere and simple, ready to yield to the many complications and inflexible before temptations. Anyone that does their duty loves God more than the creatures and the creatures more than oneself. That person is at the same time judge and slave in the same cause.

Duty is the most beautiful laurel of reason. It stems from that like the son from the mother. A person must love duty not because it prevents the miseries of life from which humanity cannot escape but because it gives the necessary strength for the development of the soul. No one can send away the chalice of atonement.

Duty is painful in its sacrifices and evil is bitter in its results but those pains, almost equal, have completely different results: one is healthy like the drugs that recover health, the other is harmful like the parties that ruin the body. Every superior stage of humanity has a greater and more radiant duty. There is never an end to the moral obligation of the creature to God. It must reflect the virtues of the Eternal that does not accept an imperfect sketch but he wishes the shine of greatness of his work resplendent before his eyes.

Lazarus

Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, July 4^th, 1862

Medium A. Didier



“Animal sacrifice was severely condemned by the philosophers of antiquity. An elevated Spirit rejects the idea of blood and particularly the idea that blood pleases God. Notice that we don’t talk about human sacrifice but to the sacrifice of animals offered in holocaust.

When Jesus came to announce the Good News, he did not order the sacrifice of blood because he was only concerned with the Spirit. The great wise men of antiquity also were horrified with this kind of sacrifice and they only ate fruits and roots.

Those incarnate on Earth have a mission to accomplish. Their Spirit must be fed by the Spirit and the body must be fed by matter but the nature of the matter influences – easily understood – the density of the body and consequently the manifestations of the Spirit.

Those that have a temperament strong enough to live like the anchorite do good by avoiding meat because they can then be more easily led to meditation and prayer. However, in order to live like that one would need a more spiritual nature than yours and that is impossible given the terrestrial condition and, most importantly, nature never acts against common sense and hence it is impossible to mankind to go unpunished by submitting to such deprivation.

It is possible to be a good Christian and a good Spiritist and eat as one wishes within reason. It is a kind of side question to our studies but not less useful and benficial.

Lamennais