Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1866

Do women have a soul? It is well-known that this has not always been considered a certainty, and from what we hear, it was voted on during a Council. Its denial is still a principle of faith to certain peoples. It is also well-known the degree of degradation that such a belief has reduced women in most regions of the Orient. Even considering that the matter is settled today, in the civilized world, in their favor, the prejudice regarding their intellectual inferiority persisted, to the point that a writer from the last century, whose name escapes me, defined a woman like this: “An instrument of pleasures to man”, a more Muslim than Christian definition. From that prejudice came her legal inferiority, still not erased from our legal codes. Due to the power of habit, they have accepted such enslaving condition for a long time, as a natural thing. That is what happens to those that are submitted to remain servants from father to son, believing in the end that their nature is different from that of their masters.

Progress, nonetheless, has elevated the concept of women. They have, many times, imposed themselves by intelligence or genius, and the law, despite the fact of still considering them inferior, gradually let up the laces of tutorship. They can be considered morally emancipated, if not legally. The latter shall be, one day, the result, by the force of things.

A short while ago we could read in the papers that a young lady had just successfully graduated with a bachelor’s degree in a Montpellier’s college. It was said that it was the fourth bachelor’s diploma awarded to a woman. It was not long ago that such a discussion about awarding women that kind of degree was possible or not. Although this can sound like a monstrous anomaly to some, it was acknowledged that the regulations about the matter did not mention women, and therefore they were not legally excluded. After the acknowledgement that they have a soul, came the conquest of the degrees of science, and that is already something. But this partial liberation only results from the development of civility, depuration of habits, or if you wish, of a more accurate sense of justice. It is a kind of concession made to women, and we must say that there is as much haggling as possible.

It would be ridiculous today to discuss if a woman has a soul or not, but another much more serious issue, from another point of view, presents itself here, and whose solution will only be established if the social equality between man and women is established as a natural right or conceded by men. Notice, in passing, that if it is only a concession by men out of condescendence, something that is given today may be retrieved tomorrow, and given the superior physical strength, with some individual exceptions, as a whole men will always have advantage, whereas if the equality is in nature, its acknowledgement will be the result of progress, and once it is recognize it becomes imprescriptible.

Has God created male and female souls and made the former inferior to the latter? That is the whole question. If that is so, then women inferiority is in God’s designs and no human law could interfere with that. If, on the contrary, God created them equal, the inequalities based on ignorance and brute force will disappear with progress and the rule of law.

People can only establish more or less rational hypothesis about that, and these are always controversial. Nothing in the visible world could provide a material proof of how correct or mistaken their opinions are. To be enlightened one would have to return to the source, to the arcane of the extra corporeal world, that was still unknown. Spiritism had the task to solve the issue, no longer through reasoning, but through the facts, be it by the revelations from beyond the grave, be it through the study that is done daily about the condition of the soul, after death. Now, it is very important to mention that such studies are not the works of a single person, neither the revelations come from a single Spirit, but the product of many identical observations, done on a daily basis by thousands of people in all countries, thus providing the powerful sanction of the universal control, upon which all theories of the Spiritist Science are based. Well, here is the result of such observations:

The souls, or Spirits, have no gender. The affections that unite them have nothing of carnal, and for that reason are long lasting, for they are founded on a true sympathy and not subordinated to the vicissitudes of matter. The souls incarnate, that is, are temporarily dressed by a carnal envelope, that to them seems like a heavy garment, from which they are disentangled by death. Through that material envelope the souls contribute to the material progress of the world where there live; the work that they are forced to execute, be it for the conservation of life or the search for their wellbeing, helps their intellectual and moral advancement. The soul arrives more developed at each new incarnation; bring new ideas and the knowledge acquired in its previous existences. That is how the progress of peoples take place. The civilized people of today are the same that lived in the Middle Ages and in barbarian times, having progressed since then; those that are going to live in future centuries are those that live here today, but more advanced intellectually and morally.

Sexual organs only exist in the physical organization. They are necessary to the reproduction of material beings. But since the Spirits are God creation, they do not reproduce through one another, and that is the reason why sexual organizations would be useless in the spiritual world.

The Spirits evolve by the work that they carry out and by the trials that they must endure, like the worker that perfects his art through his own work. Such trials and tasks vary according to their social position. Since the Spirits must evolve in everything and acquire all the knowledge, each one is called to contribute to the many tasks and to go through different kinds of trials. That is why thy are reborn alternatively poor or rich, masters of servants, professionals of thoughts or matter.

Therefore, the principle of equality is based on the very laws of nature, because the one that was great yesterday may return as a little one the next day, and vice-versa. The principle of fraternity is a consequence of that, because we find former acquaintances in our social relationships and the miserable that reaches out to us could be a friend or relative. It is the same reason why the Spirits incarnate in both sexes. The one that was a man may return as a woman and the one that was a woman may return as a man, so that the Spirit may experience the duties of each condition, and be submitted to the respective trials.



Nature created the feminine sex weaker than the other because their duties do not require the same kind of muscular strength and would even be incompatible with masculine rudeness. The feminine body enjoys the gentleness of forms and sensations, remarkably appropriate to the care of maternity. Men and women have special duties that are equally important in the general order of things; they are two elements that complement one another.

By suffering the influence of the physical organization, the character of the Spirit modifies according to the circumstances, yielding to the needs and requirements imposed by that very organization. Such influence does not disappear immediately after the destruction of the material envelope, as the Spirit does not lose immediately their terrestrial likes and habits. Furthermore, it may happen that the Spirit will live several existences in the same sex, leading to the preservation of the mark of one sex or the other.

It is only when the Spirit has achieved a certain degree of advancement and dematerialization that the influence of matter completely fades away, and with that the personality of the sexes. Those that come to us as men or women do so to help us remember the existences in which we knew them. If the influence of material life affects the spiritual one, the same happens when the Spirit moves from the spiritual to the corporeal life. In a new incarnation, the Spirit will bring the character and tendencies that had as a Spirit; if he were advanced, he will be an advanced man; if he were inferior, will be an inferior man. By changing sex, therefore, and in a new incarnation, the Spirit may preserve the tastes, inclinations and the character inherent to the sex that had just been left. That explain certain apparent anomalies observed in the personality of certain men and women. Hence, the only difference between men and women is in the physical organization, that disappears with the death of the body. But there is no such a difference with respect to the soul, the Spirit, the essential being, because there aren’t two species of souls. That is what God wanted in justice to all creatures. Since all have the same principle, God established the true equality.

The inequality only exists temporarily, given the degree of progress; but everyone has the right to the same destiny, that everyone will reach by their own effort because God has not favored anyone to the expenses of others.

Materialism places women in a natural state of inferiority, from which they can only leave by the good will of men. According to that doctrine, there is no soul or if there is any soul it vanishes with death or is lost in the universal whole, what is the same thing. Consequently, the only resource that women have is their weakness placed at the feet of the stronger one. The superiority of some women is a simple exception, bizarre nature, a game of organisms that would not lead to a law.

The common spiritualist doctrine acknowledges the existence of the individual and immortal soul, but it is powerless to demonstrate that there is no difference between men and women, and consequently, there is no natural superiority of one upon the other.

With the Spiritist Doctrine, women’s equality is no longer a speculative theory; it is no longer a concession from the powerful to the weak, but it is a full-right based on the very laws of nature. By revealing these laws, Spiritism opens a new era for the emancipation of women, as it opens to equality and fraternity.

Everyone is free to see things as they will, and since we claim such a freedom to ourselves, we cannot deny that to others. However, because an opinion is free it does not follow that one cannot discuss it, examine its strengths and weaknesses, weigh in its advantages and inconveniences. We say this with respect to the denial of the utility of prayer, that some people would like to convert into a system, building a flagship of a dissident school. Such an opinion can be summarized as this:

“God has established eternal laws to which every being is submitted; we have nothing to ask God for as we do not have to thank God for any special favor, thus it is useless to pray. The fate of the Spirits is determined, and consequently it is useless to pray for them. They cannot change the immutable order of things, and therefore it is useless to ask them for anything. Spiritism is a purely philosophical science; it not only is not a religion, but it must not have any religious character. Every prayer said in gatherings tend to feed superstition and self-righteousness.”

The subject matter of prayer has been sufficiently discussed, and that is why we believe it to be useless to repeat here what has already been said about it. If Spiritism proclaims its freedom it is not for systemic reasons, but for the fact that observation has allowed us to attest its efficacy and its modus operandi. If we understand the laws of fluids, we do understand the power of thoughts and prayer, since the prayer is a thought directed to a given objective.

To some people, the word prayer is only related to a request. That is a serious mistake. With respect to Divinity, the prayer is an act of worshiping, humility and submission that cannot be refuted without underestimating the power and goodness of the Creator. By denying a prayer to God one is refusing to pay tribute to God and still a revolt of human pride.

Regarding the Spirits, the souls of our brothers, prayer is an identification of thoughts, a testimony of sympathy. By repealing it we are repealing the memory of those that are dear to us, since that sympathetic and benevolent memory is a prayer on its own right. As a matter of fact, we know that those in suffering ask for prayers insistently, as a relief to their sufferings. If they ask for them it means that they need them. A refusal is like refusing a glass of water to a thirsty miserable.

In addition to the purely moral action, Spiritism shows us a kind of material effect of prayer, resulting from the fluidic transmission. Its efficacy is demonstrated by experience, in certain diseases, as well as by the theory. By rejecting the prayer, one is hindering the utilization of a powerful support in the relief of corporeal illnesses.

Let us now see the result of such a doctrine and discuss if it has any chance of prevailing.

All peoples pray, from the savage to the civilized. They are led by their instinct and this is what distinguish them from the animals. They, undoubtedly, pray in a more or less rational way, but they do pray. Those that do not pray, out of ignorance or presumption, form an insignificant minority in the world.

Prayer is, therefore, a universal necessity, irrespective of cult or nationality. If a person feels weak, she will feel stronger after praying; if she is said, feels consoled. Removing the prayer is the same as subtracting humanity from its most powerful moral support in hardship.

Through the prayer, the soul elevates, enters into communion with God, identifies itself with the spiritual world and dematerializes, an essential condition to its future happiness. Without the prayer, their thoughts remain on Earth and are even more connected to material things. That is a delay in one’s advancement.

By contesting a dogma, one is opposing the sect that professes it. By denying the efficacy of prayer, one is hurting the intimate feeling an almost unanimous feeling of mankind. Spiritism owns its many sympathies, with significant participation, to heartily felt aspirations that found consolation in prayer.

A doctrine founded on the denial of prayer would be denying itself the general sympathy, the main element of success, because instead of bringing warmth to the soul, it would be reducing it. If Spiritism must gain influence is through the summation of moral satisfaction that it entails.

May those that want novelty in Spiritism, to at any price hold their names as flagships, may they strive to do better than Spiritism does. However, they shall not surpass Spiritism by doing less. The bare tree shall always be less attractive than the one bearing delicious and nutritious fruits. It is based on the same principle that we have always told the adversaries of Spiritism: The only way to have it destroyed is to provide something better, more reassuring, that explains more and that it is more satisfying. Nobody has done that so far.

Hence we can consider the rejection of prayer as an isolated opinion of some believers in the Spiritist manifestations, an opinion that may attract some individuals but will never unite the majority. It would be a mistake to impute such doctrine to Spiritism, since it positively teaches the opposite.

The prayer predisposes reverence and introspection in the Spiritist gatherings, a necessary condition to series communications, as it is well-known. Does it mean that those meetings are religious assemblies? Not at all. A religious feeling is not synonym of religious professionalism; one must even avoid what could give the gatherings such a character. That has been our objective in disapproving prayers and liturgic symbols of any cult. One must not forget that Spiritism must tend to the approximation of multiple beliefs; it is no longer rare to see representatives of different cult in those meetings; thus, nobody must have the arrogance of supremacy. Everyone must pray as they wish, for this is a right of conscience; but, in an assembly founded on the principle of charity, we must abstain from everything that can hurt susceptibility and that tends to feed antagonism, that we must, on the contrary, strive to make disappear. Special prayers in Spiritism do not form a distinct cult because they are not imposed and because everyone is free to pray as thy wish, but they do have the advantage of serving everyone and shocking nobody.

The very principle of tolerance and respect to beliefs of others leads us to say that any sensible person that is led to the temple of a cult whose beliefs that person does not share, must abstain from any exterior sign that may scandalize the attendants; that it must, if necessary, renounce to the use of formalism that cannot compromise one’s conscience. The fact that God must be worshiped in a temple in a more or less logical way is not a reason to shock those that do not believe in such a methodology.

Since Spiritism provides us with a certain number of reassurances and proves a certain number of truths, we said that it could not be replaced by anything else that would provide less and proves less than it does. Let us see if that is at all possible.

The principal authority of the doctrine is the fact that it hasn’t gotten a single principle that is the result of a preconceived idea or of a personal opinion; all of them, without exception, are the result of observation of facts; it was only through the facts that Spiritism got to know the situation and the attributes of the Spirits, as well as the laws, or even better, part of the laws that govern the relationships with the invisible world. This is a point of paramount importance. By the continual observation we build experimental philosophy rather than speculative. Hence, in order to combat the theories of Spiritism, it is not enough to say that they are false; it is necessary to oppose them with facts whose solutions they are impotent to provide.

Even in such a case Spiritism would be held at a higher level because it would be contrary to its own essence to adamantly follow a false idea, always striving to fill the blanks that may eventually appear, since it does not have the pretension of having arrived at the apogee of the absolute truth.

This way of looking at Spiritism is not new; it can be found at all times in our books. Considering that Spiritism does not declare itself stationary nor immutable, it will incorporate all truths that are demonstrated, come from wherever they will, even from its adversaries, and shall never fall behind real progress. It will assimilate those truths, we say, but only when those are clearly demonstrated and not to please someone’s personals desires, or the product of someone’s imagination.

Having this point established, it follows that Spiritism could not lose, unless surpassed by a doctrine that provided more than it does. It has nothing to fear from those that give less, removing what constitutes its own strength and main attraction.

Spiritism may not have said everything yet, however there is a certain amount of truths that were attested by observation and that constitute the opinion of the immense majority of its followers; and if such truths have now conquered he status of articles of faith, here utilizing an expression ironically used by some, it was not by us or anybody else, not even by our guiding Spirits that they were stablished like that, and even less imposed, but by the adhesion of everybody, and therefore everyone may attest them.

Hence, if a sect were formed in opposition to the ideas generally accepted by experience, and admitted in principle, that sect could not attract the sympathy of the majority, whose convictions would be shocked by it. Its transient existence would extinguish with its founder, perhaps even earlier, or at least with the few followers that it could have solicited.

Suppose Spiritism divided in ten or twenty sects. The victorious and long lasting one will naturally be the one that gives more spiritual satisfaction; the one that fulfills more voids of the soul; the one based on the most positive proofs and that positions itself in synchronism with the general opinion.

Now, considering the observation of facts as the starting point of all of those principles, Spiritism cannot be surpassed by a theory; it cannot be overcome since it constantly stays at the level of progressive ideas; it satisfies the aspirations and is supported by the majority; established on such foundations, it is imperishable because that is its strength.

That is also the cause of failure of attempts to stop it. These attempts are based on ideas that are profoundly unappealing to the majority, hence instinctively rejected. By constructing any edifice of hopes on such basis, one is prone to disaster like the one that hangs on a rotten branch of a tree. That is what happens to those that were unable to destroy Spiritism by force and try to destroy it by itself.

Spiritism has just lost one of its most sincere and dedicated followers with Mr. Didier’s death, on Saturday 2^nd, 1865. He was a member of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies since its foundation in 1865, and as well-known, he was the editor of our books about the Doctrine. He attended a session at the Society on the eve, and suddenly died, the following day, at a bus station, a few steps from his home; fortunately, there was a friend nearby that took him home. The funeral took place on December 5^th.

The “Petit Journal” said this, on announcing his death: “More recently Mr. Didier had edited Mr. Allan Kardec and had turned into a follower of Spiritism, out of education or conviction”.

We don’t believe that the extreme education of an editor force him to adopt the opinions of his clients, as he would not become a Jewish by editing the works of a rabbi. Such restrictions are not worthy of a serious writer. Spiritism, like others, is a belief that counts on more than one editor in its ranks. Why would it be stranger to a book seller to be Spiritist, rather than Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Saint-Simonist, Fourierist, or Materialist?

When will you, free thinkers, admit the freedom of conscience to everybody? Would you have the pretension of exploiting intolerance to your own benefit, after fighting it in others? Mr. Didier’s Spiritists’ ideas were well-known, and he never hid them, for he frequently discussed them with the skeptical. His belief was profound and went back many years, and not like the author of the article supposes to be a matter of convenience or education of the editor.

But it is so difficult to these gentlemen, to whom the Spiritist Doctrine is thoroughly contained in the closet of the Davenport’s brothers, to conceive that a man of notorious intellectual value may believe in Spirits! Nonetheless, they will need to get used to such idea because there is more than they think, and it will not be long for them to get proof of that.

“The Grand Journal” registered the event in the following terms: “Mr. Didier has also died; he edited good and beautiful books in his modest store at “Quai des Grands-Augustin”. Lately, Mr. Didier was a follower – and even more notable – a zealous editor of the Spiritist books. The poor man must know now what to make of the doctrines of Mr. Allan Kardec.”

It is sad to see that not even death is respected by the skeptical, and that they even chase the honorable followers with their mockery beyond the grave. What did Mr. Didier think about the doctrine when alive? There is something that demonstrated to him the inefficacy of the attacks suffered by the Doctrine: at the time of his death he was printing the 14^th edition of The Spirits’ Book. What is it that he is thinking now? That there will be great disappointments and more than one defection among its adversaries!

What we can say, in such circumstance, is summarized in the following speech, given at the Parisian Society of Spiritists Studies, on the December 8^th session:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Colleagues,

Another one of our ranks has just returned to the Celestial Home! Our colleague, Mr. Didier, left his mortal remains on Earth to then dress up with the envelope of the Spirits. Although his frail health had endangered his life several times, and despite the fact that the idea of death had nothing of fearful to us, Spiritists, his sudden end, and so unexpectedly on the very day after attending our session, gave us cause of profound emotion.

There is in this somewhat abrupt death a great teaching, or better said, a great warning: the fact that our lives are kept by a thin line that can break when least expected, because death sometimes comes without forewarning. It thus alerts the survivors to be always prepared to respond to the Lord’s call and report the usage of the life that was given to us.

Even though Mr. Didier, personally, did not have a very active role in the works of the Society, where he rarely gave his opinion, he, nonetheless, was one of the most respected members for his seniority, as a founding member, for his diligence, and above all for his position, influence and incontestable services to the cause of Spiritism, as a spreader and editor.

The relationship I had with him over seven years allowed me to appreciate his righteousness, loyalty and special skills. He undoubtedly had, like each one of us, small things that did not please everybody, even eventually an abrupt gesture with which one needed to get used to, but nothing that diminished his distinguished qualities. The best praise he could receive was to tell him that one could to business with him blindfold.

A businessman should look at things with a commercial eye, but he was never greedy. He was great, generous and non-avaricious in his operations; profit alone would not lead him to publish something, however advantageous it might be. In a word, Mr. Didier was not a book dealer that calculated his profit cent by cent, but an intelligent editor, just, mindful and judicious, as it need be to establish a serious business like his. His relationships with the enlightened world, that loved him and cared for him, broadened his horizons and gave his store a seal of seriousness and a place of first order, less by the numbers and more by the specialty of the published books and the commercial respect that he enjoyed for many years.

As for myself, I am glad to have met him in my path, something that I certainly owe to the good Spirits; I sincerely say that Spiritism loses a support and I lose a precious editor that understood the spirit of the Doctrine and had true satisfaction in propagating it. Some people were surprised that I did not give a speech in his funerals. The reasons for my abstention are very simple.







First, his family did not ask for that and I did not know if that would have pleased them. Spiritism reproaches others to try to impose themselves and should not incur in the same mistake. It never imposes itself; it waits for others to come. Besides, I knew that there would be a large crowd and that among them there would be many that were little sympathetic or even hostile to our beliefs. It would have been inconvenient, in such a solemn occasion, to publicly shock contrary opinions, providing our adversaries with a pretext for new aggressions. It could, perhaps, have been a good opportunity to talk about the Doctrine but wouldn’t that neglect the grave moment that had us all gathered, and perhaps a lack of respect to the memory of the departed one? Should we counter those that challenge us before an open tomb? You will agree, ladies and gentlemen, that the occasion would have been badly chosen. Spiritism will always gain more with the strict observation of conveniences than it will lose for letting go opportunities to show itself. Spiritism needs no violence; it aims at the hearts; its means of attraction are kindness, consolation and hope; that is why we find accomplices even among the enemies. Its moderation and conciliating spirit make us bold by contrast. Let us not lose such precious advantage. Let us seek the large number of distressed hearts and souls tormented by doubt. Those will be our most useful supporters; we shall do more proselytes with them than propaganda or exhibition.

I could, undoubtedly, have limited myself to generalities, abstraction made of Spiritism, but such reservation could have been interpreted as fear or denial of our principles. In such cases I can only speak openly or remain silent. This was the path I chose. If it were about a common speech and about a banal subject, it would have been different. But at that moment the words would have a special meaning.

I could also have said the prayer found in the “Gospels According to Spiritism” in favor of those that have just left Earth and that in similar leave a profound impression. But there is another inconvenient here. The priest that followed the body stayed until the end of the ceremony, something that is contrary to common practice; he payed careful attention to the speech given by Mr. Flammarion and perhaps expected a more explicit manifestation, given Mr. Didier’s known positions and his relationships with the Spiritists.

After having said a prayer, enough in his soul and according to his conscience, it would have sounded boastful to hear other words with a summary of principles that are not his, and that is not in the essence of Spiritism. Some people, perhaps, would not have gotten upset by seeing the clear contrast that could have resulted but that had to be conveniently avoided. The prayers privately said by each one of us, and that can be said among us, shall be as much beneficial to Mr. Didier, in case he needs them, as if they were said with ostentation.

Believe me, ladies and gentlemen, that the interests of the Doctrine are in my heart, as much as in any other, and that when I do or do not do something, it is with mature reflection and after having weighed its consequences.

Our colleague, Mrs. R…, requested in the name of some attendants, that I gave a speech. She added that some people that she did not know had just told her that they had come in hopes to hear me. This was, no doubt, flattering to me but those persons were mistaken with respect to my character by believing that stimulating my self-love could drive me to speak to satisfy the curiosity of those that had come for another reason other than paying tribute to the memory of Mr. Didier. Those persons clearly ignore the fact that I greatly dislike imposing myself and do not like self-exhibition. That is what Mrs. R… could have told them, adding that she knew me and liked me enough to be certain that the desire to put myself in evidence would have no influence upon me.

In different circumstances, ladies and gentlemen, I would have considered it a duty and would be glad to pay a public tribute to our colleague, in the name of our Society, represented by a large number of members in the funeral. But, since feelings are more in the heart than in demonstration, there is no doubt that each one of us had already done that on their own. In this very moment in which we are gathered let us pay the tribute among us, a tribute of esteem and consideration that he deserves, hoping that he may wish to return to our circle, as in the past, and continue, as a Spirit, the Spiritist task that he had endeavored as a man.

“I beg you, my dear Mr. Kardec, to insert the following letter in the next issue of our Review. I am certainly insignificant, but nonetheless I have my own appreciation and submit it to your modesty. On another hand when the fight is on, I want to demonstrate that I am by the flag with my woolen insignias.”

Jaubert

Without the obligation placed on us, in such precise terms, one can understand the reasons which would have prevented us from publishing this letter; we would have been content to keep it as an honorable and precious testimony, and to add it to the many causes of moral satisfaction which come to support and encourage us in our hard work, and to compensate for the inseparable tribulations of our task. But, on the other hand, the personal question aside, in this time of outburst against Spiritism, the examples of the courage of public opinion are even more influential when they start from higher ranks. It is useful that the voice of men of heart, of those who, by their character, knowledge and position, command respect and confidence, be heard; and if it cannot overcome the clamor, such protests are not lost either for the present or for the future.

“Carcassonne, December 12^th, 1865

Dear Sir and Professor,

I do not wish to let 1865 end without reporting to you all the good it did to Spiritism. We owe it the Plurality of the Existences of the Soul, by Andre Pezzani; the Plurality of the Inhabited Worlds, by Camille Flammarion, two just born geniuses that stride in the philosophical world.

We owe you a book, not many pages but great in thoughts; the nervous simplicity of your style competes with the robustness of your logic. It contains the germ of the theology of the future; it contains the calmness of the force and the force of the truth. I wish the book entitled Heavens and Hell were published to the millions. Forgive me the praise: I have lived too long to be an enthusiast and adulation bores me.

The year 1865 gives us “Spiritist”, a fantastic novel. Literature has decided to invade our domains. The author has not taken all teachings from Spiritism. It points out the capital, fundamental idea: the demonstration of the immortal soul through the phenomena.

Spiritist, the ignored lover of Guy de Malivert on Earth, just died. She describes her first sensations herself.

“The instinct of nature was still fighting against annihilation, but soon stopped the useless battle, and out of a frail breath, my soul escaped my lips. Human words cannot describe the sensation of a soul freed from its corporeal prison, passing from this life to the next, from time to eternity and from finite to infinity.

My immobile body, already dressed on that dull white, delivered to death, floating upon its funereal casket, surrounded by praying ladies, detached from that like the butterfly from the cocoon, an empty shell, amorphous remains, stretching the young wings to the unknown and suddenly revealed light. A dazzling splendor followed a profound intermittence of shadow, a broadening of horizons, disappearance of limits and obstacles, intoxicating me of an unspeakable ecstasy. An explosion of new sensations made me understand the mysteries, impenetrable to the earthly thoughts and organs. Disentangled from that clay, slave of gravity, making me heavy a short while ago, now launching me with crazy celerity towards the unfathomed ether. No more distances to me; a simple desire made me be wherever I wished. I flew through large circles through the empty blue of space, faster than light, as if taken over the infinity, passing by swarms of souls and Spirits.”

The image unfolds even more beautifully. I do not know if deep inside Mr. Theophile Gautier is a Spiritist; but he certainly pours, to the materialists and skeptical, a healthy beverage in splendidly engraved golden chalices. I still bless the year 1865 for the great anger it contained in its flanks. Make no mistake: The Davenport brothers are less the cause than the pretext for the crusade. Soldiers of all uniforms pointed their rifled guns at us. What have they proven? The strength and resistance of the besieged citadel. I know a very widespread, very esteemed, and quite rightly so, newspaper from the South, which for a long time has bashed Spiritism badly once a month; hence Spiritism resuscitates at least twelve times a year. You will see that they will make it immortal by killing it. I now have only my wishes for a happy new year; my first wishes are for you, sir and dear professor, for your happiness, for your work so bravely undertaken and so earnestly pursued. I wish for the strong union of all Spiritualists. I painfully saw some brief clouds falling onto our horizon. Who will love us if we do not know how to love one another? As you put it very well in the last number of your Review: “Whoever believes in the existence and the survival of souls, and in the possibility of communication between men and the spiritual world, is a Spiritist. Let this definition remain, and on this solid ground we will always agree. And now, if details of doctrine, however important, sometimes divide us, let us discuss them, not as fratricides, but as men who have only one goal: the triumph of reason, and by reason the search for the true and beautiful, the progress of science, the happiness of humanity.

There remain my most ardent and sincere wishes; I offer them to all those who call themselves our enemies: May God enlighten them! Farewell, sir; receive, together with our brothers in Paris the renewed assurance of my affectionate feelings and of my distinguished consideration.”

T. Jaubert, Vice-President of the Tribunal



Any comment on this letter would be superfluous; we will only add one word: men like M. Jaubert honor the flag they carry. His sensible assessment of the work by M. Theophile Gautier spares us from the report that we proposed to make of it this month; we will talk about it in the next issue.

With the title “Second Sight”, several journals reproduced the fact below, among them “La Patrie”, on November 26th, and “l‘Evénement”, on November 28th.

“A young lady from Swabia is soon to arrive in Paris; her mental state goes far beyond the charlatanism of the Davenport and other Spiritists. Luisa B… is sixteen years old, lives with her parents, peasants in a place called B)(ondru (Seine-et-Marne), where they settled after leaving Germany.

Following a tremendous grief for the loss of her sister, Luisa fell in a lethargic sleep that lasted fifty six hours. After that time, she woke up to a strange life, summarized in the following terms:

Luisa suddenly lost her vivacity and joyfulness, but she did not suffer, falling in beatitude, added to a profound calmness. She remains still on a chair the whole day, responding by monosyllables when asked. At night she falls on a cataleptic state, characterized by the stiffness of the limbs and a gazing look. At this time her faculties and senses acquire a sensitivity that goes beyond the limits of human capacity. She has not only a second sight but still a second hearing, that is, she hears words said near her or in a more or less distance place where she concentrates her attention. Any object in her hands acquire a doble image. As everybody else, she feels the shape and appearance of the object; she distinctly sees the inside of the object, its properties and the destination in nature.

Having several plants, metallic and mineral samples submitted to her unconscious appreciation, she provided latent and unexplored properties that take us back to the discoveries of alchemy of the Middle Ages. Luisa experiences a similar effect with respect to the appearance of persons that are touched by her hands. She sees them as they are and as they were at an earlier age. Aging effects of time and diseases disappear before her, and if the person had lost a limb, she still sees that limb.

“The young peasant woman claims that, sheltered from all modifications of the external vital action, the bodily form remains fully reproduced by the nervous fluid. Luisa is transported to places where there are graves, describing, as we mentioned, the persons whose remains were confided to earth. She then experiences spasms and nervous breakdowns, in the same way that she does when approaches places with water and metals, irrespective of the depth. When the young Luisa passes from the ordinary life to what one can call a superior life, she seems to have a thick veil lifted from her eyes.

She explains in a new way that the creation is a permanent object of admiration by her, and despite being illiterate, she finds truly poetic mages and comparisons to express her enthusiasm.

There is no religious concern mixed with such impressions. Her parents carefully hide those uncommon phenomena and do not see them as a theme of speculation. They brought her to Paris because that nervous hyperexcitation has a destructive effect on her body that visibly weakens. The doctors that are attending her recommended to have her brought to the capital, to obtain the support of the masters in the art of healing and to submit to them the phenomena that transcend the ordinary circle of investigation, and whose explanation has not yet been found.”

The phenomena presented by that young woman, the author of the article says, leave the charlatanism of the Davenport brothers well behind. If such phenomena are real, what are their relationship with magic? Why such comparison between dissimilar things, saying that one surpasses the other?

With the intent of twisting the arm of Spiritism, the author unwillingly announces a great truth to support what they want to stain. He states a truly Spiritist fact, that Spiritism acknowledges and accepts as such, while it has never supported the Davenport brothers, and even less presented them as followers and apostles. The journalist gentlemen would have known this, had they taken into account the many protests that came to them from all sides, against the assimilation that they pretended to establish between an essentially moral doctrine and their theatrical exhibitions.

They say that an explanation has not yet been given to the phenomena. It is true when it comes to the official science, but this has no longer been a mystery to the Spiritist science for a long time. However, there is no lack of means to learn about it. The cases of catalepsy, double sight, natural somnambulism, and the strange faculties that develop in those several states, are not rare. Why is science still searching for the explanation? Because science stubbornly searches in the wrong place and where it will never be found, that is in the properties of matter.

Take a man that lives: he thinks, reasons; a second later he dies and gives no sign of intelligence. Thus, he carried something, while thinking, that does not exist anymore because he no longer thinks. What was it that thought? According to you, it was matter. But matter is still there, whole, nothing missing. Why then, matter was thinking a short while ago and no longer thinks? It is undoubtedly disorganized; the molecules have disaggregated; a fiber did perhaps break; something broke and the intellectual activity ceased. There we have the genius, the greatest human ideas and conceptions to the mercy of a fiber, an imperceptible atom, and a whole life of endeavors lost! Nothing left from that whole intellectual baggage, acquired with great effort; the most beautiful mind is just a well construed clock that, once disturbed, is just junk material! Not very logical, not much encouraging. With such a perspective, it would no doubt be better to just eat and drink. But, nonetheless, it is a system.

For you, the soul is just a hypothesis. But doesn’t such hypothesis become true in cases like that of the young lady in question? The soul here is in the open; you do not see it but you see it act and think separated from the material envelope. It transports itself to far away places. It hears and sees, despite the insensitivity of the organs. Can those phenomena that take place beyond the sphere of activity of the body, be explained? Isn’t that a proof that the soul is independent of those organs? How come the soul is not recognized by such evident signs? Fact is that one does need to admit the intervention of the soul in pathological and physiological phenomena, that would then no longer be purely material. Well, how can one acknowledge a spiritual element in the phenomena of life, when one is constantly saying the opposite? They cannot acknowledge that because they would have to recognize that they were mistaken, hardly belied by the very soul that they denied. Therefore, considering that the soul shows itself in many places and with a lot of evidence, they swiftly cover it with a bushel, and the matter goes quiet. That is what happened to hypnotism and many others. God does not wish it to be the same with Luisa B… They minimize it by saying that the phenomena are illusions, that the promoters are insane persons or charlatans.

That is the reason that made them neglect the interesting and plentiful of moral results of the psychological phenomena; that is also the cause of repugnance of Spiritism by materialism; Spiritism that is entirely founded on the ostensive manifestations of the soul, in this life and beyond.

But they will say, the religious party, overcome by materialism, must welcome, with interest, the phenomena that defeats disbelief by the evidence. Why then, instead of transforming it into a weapon, they repeal it? It is for the fact that the soul is indiscrete, presenting itself in a very different state from the system that they built; they would have to retreat from the so called immutable beliefs; it would then be necessary to keep it silent.

But they did not count on a subtlety; they cannot restrain it like a bird in a cage; if they close one door, a thousand others are open. The soul is now heard everywhere, telling us in all corners of the world: this is what we are. Those that preclude it will be really skillful.

Let us go back to our subject. The lady in question presents the very common phenomenon, similar to many, of extension of her senses. This extension, the article says, reaches a level that goes beyond human limits. We need to differentiate two kinds of faculties here: the perceptive faculties, that is, vision and hearing, and the intellectual faculties. The former is activated by exterior agents, whose action reaches the interior; the latter constitute thought that irradiates from within to the exterior. Let us begin by the first ones.

In its normal state, the soul perceives by the senses. Here, the young woman perceives what is beyond the reach of her vision and hearing. She sees inside things, penetrating opaque bodies, describing things that take place far away, and therefore sees differently from what she would see with her eyes, and hears differently from what she would hear with her ears, and all that in a state that the body is characterized by insensitivity.

If it were a single, isolated, exceptional fact, it could be attributed to some natural singularity, a kind of monstrosity, but it is common fact; it happens in identical way, at different levels, in most cases of catalepsy, lethargy, natural and artificial somnambulism, and even in individuals that show every sign of a normal state. It is then produced by the consequence of a law. How could such an important fact have been neglect by science, that considers the movement of attraction of the tiniest particle?

The development of the intellectual faculties is even more extraordinary. Here we have a young peasant, illiterate woman, that has not only expressed herself with elegance, poetry, but also revealed scientific knowledge about things that she ignored, and not less importantly, all that in a particular state, after which she comes back, forgets everything, and returns to her original state of ignorance. In the ecstatic state, however, she recovers the memory with the same skills and knowledge. It is like two different lives to her.

If, according to the materialistic school, the faculties are the direct product of the organs; if, utilizing an expression from that school, “the brain secretes thoughts, like the liver secretes bile”, it then secretes formal knowledge, without the help of a teacher. It is a property not yet know of that organ. Following the same hypothesis, how can one explain such an extraordinary intellectual development, those transcendental faculties, enjoyed off and on, lost and recovered almost instantaneously, with the same brain? Isn’t that a positive proof of the human duality, of the separation of the material from the spiritual principle?

Nothing exceptional yet here: such a phenomenon is as common as that of the extension of sight and hearing. Like this one, it depends on a law.



These are the laws sought by Spiritism and that were found through experience. The soul is the intelligent being; it is the headquarters of every perception and sensation; it thinks and feels on its own; it is individual, distinct, perfectible, pre-existent and survives the body. The body is its material covering, it is the instrument of relationship with the visible world.

When united to the body, it perceives through the senses and transmit its thoughts with the help of the brain. When separate from the body, it perceives directly and thinks more freely. Since the senses have a limited reach, the perceptions through them are limited and somehow damped; once received without an intermediary, they are indefinite and of a remarkable subtlety, for they go beyond every boundary of our material world. For the same reason, thoughts transmitted by the brains are, say, sifted through that organ. The roughness and defects of the instrument stop them, and partially muffle them, like certain transparent bodies partially absorb the light that crosses them. The soul is forced to utilize the brain, like a very good musician must use an imperfect instrument. Freed from such painful support, the soul unfolds all its faculties.

Such is the soul during life and after death. It thus has two states, of the incarnate, or constrained, and discarnate or of freedom. In other words, the corporeal and the spiritual life. The spiritual life is the normal, permanent life of the soul; the corporeal life is transient.

During the corporeal life, the soul is not constantly constrained by the body and that is the key to those physical phenomena that seems so strange, for they transport us to beyond our normal sphere of observations. They were classified as supernatural, although, in reality, they are submitted to perfectly natural laws, but because such laws were unknown to us. Today, and thanks to Spiritism that revealed those laws, the wonderful has disappeared. During the exterior life, the body needs its soul or Spirit as a guide, to drive it in the world, but during the periods of inactivity of the body, the presence of the soul is no longer needed; it detaches partially detaches from the body, remaining connected by a fluidic link that alerts the soul if its presence is required. When separated, it recovers the freedom of action and thoughts, a state that will only be thoroughly enjoyed with the death of the body, when completely separated. Such a condition was truly described by the Spirit of a living person, by comparing it with a captive balloon, and by another, the Spirit of a mentally ill living person, that it was like a duck held by the foot (Spiritist Review, June 1860). Such a state, that we call emancipation of the soul, occurs normally and periodically during the sleep. It is only the body that rests, to recover the material losses; the Spirit, that lost nothing, takes the opportunity to go wherever it wishes. In addition, the emancipation occurs every time that a pathological or simply physiological cause produces the partial or total inactivity of the senses or movement. That is what takes place in catalepsy and lethargy and somnambulism. The detachment, or the freedom of the soul, is the more far reaching the more absolute is the inertia of the body. That is the reason why the phenomenon acquires its greatest development in catalepsy and lethargy. In such states, the soul no longer perceives through the material senses, but through the psychic sense, if we can say so; that is why the perceptions go beyond the ordinary limits. Its thoughts take place without the intermediary of the brain, and for that reason it manifests faculties that are more transcendental than in the normal state.

That is the situation of the young Luisa B… She thus rightly says that “when she passes from the ordinary life to this superior life, it seems that a thick veil is lifted from her eyes.” That is also the cause of the phenomenon of second sight, that is nothing less than the direct sight of the soul; of the far vision, that results from the transport of the soul to the place that it describes; of the somnambulistic lucidity, etc.

When Luisa sees living persons, “aging effects of time and diseases disappear before her, and if the person had lost a limb, she still sees that limb; the body remains completely reproduced by the nervous fluid. If she saw the body she would see it as she sees the fluidic envelope”.

The material body can be amputated, but not the perispirit. What here is called “nervous fluid” is nothing less than the perispirit. She also sees the dead. Something remains from them. What is it that she sees? It cannot be their bodies since they no longer exist; she sees them, however, with a human shape, the same that they had in life. What she sees is the soul dressed on a fluidic body or the perispirit. The souls, therefore, outlive the body; they are not, therefore, abstract creatures, sparks, flames, lost breaths in the immensities of human reservoirs, but real, distinct, individual beings. If she sees the dead like the living ones, it means that the living ones, like the dead, have the same fluidic, imperishable body, while the rough material envelope dissolves with death. She does not see lost souls in the depths of space, but among us, demonstrating the existence of the invisible world around us, where we live unsuspectedly.

Don’t such revelations provide food for serious thought? Who would give such ideas to this young woman? Did she learn them from the Spiritist books? But she cannot read. Socialization with the Spiritists? She has never heard about them. She thus describes all those things spontaneously. Is it a product of her imagination? But she is not alone. Thousands of clairvoyants said and say the same thing every day, and science remains unaware of that. Low and behold, Spiritism has deduced its theory with the help of that universal observation. Science will fail to find the solution to such phenomena while it makes abstraction of the spiritual element, for it contains the key to all these supposedly mysteries. May science admit it, even if only hypothetically, and everything will be easily explained.

Observations of such a kind, with patients like Luisa B…, require a lot of caution and prudence. One must not lose sight of the fact that, in such state of excessive susceptibility, the least commotion may be tragic; the soul, happy for being detached from the body, but still connected by a thread that can irreversibly break. Careless experiments carried out in similar cases can kill.

Mr. Timothée Trimm published, in the Petit Journal, on October 23^rd, 1865, stanzas that were given to him by one of his friends, as being dictated by Alfred de Musset to a lady medium of his acquaintance; as it seems, the madness of Spiritism even reach the friends of those gentlemen that dare not have those friends publicly sent to mental asylums, in particular when such friends are, as in this case, people of notorious intelligence, in position of leadership in the artistic world. There is no doubt that, out of consideration for that friend, he did not gloat much about the origin of those stanzas; he stopped at picturing them as coming from an imaginary environment. Among other things, he said:

“I invent nothing, I just attest them. They sent for the author of Rolla and the Chalice and the Lips from a castle in the outskirts of Paris. He was brought to a table and asked for original stanzas!!! A Spiritist secretary took the enchanted seat; he said that he wrote the message from an immortal… and this is what he showed to the participants.”

The stanzas were not obtained in a castle around Paris, nor at a table but through a regular writing, and also, they had not sent for Alfred de Musset. To the eyes of the author, calling the poet to write something at a table is a common thing in Spiritism. Here is how things truly developed:

Mrs. X… is an educated socialite, but certainly not a poet. She is gifted with a powerful mediumistic faculty of writing and clairvoyance, having given irrefutable proofs of identity of the Spirits communicating through her, in many occasions.

She was spending the beautiful season with her husband, an eager Spiritist, in a small cottage among the dunes of the Department Nord; one evening she was contemplating the blue dome and the distant dune, from the porch of the house, in a solemn silence only broken by the howling of the watch dog; these circumstances must be taken into consideration for they give the verses a contemporary meaning. She suddenly felt agitated, surrounded by a fluidic energy, and without a premeditated destiny, she was led to grab a pen, writing the verses in question, from an impulse and without hesitation, in a few minutes, with the signature of Alfred de Musset, someone that she was not absolutely thinking about. This took place on September 1^st, 1865 and fully reproduced below.



There you are, poor soul,

Day and night, you watch

The sad dune; your only distract

The barking dog, at the moonlight.



When I see you alone and troubled,

Your wet eyes reaching out to the starry

Skies, I remember the sad days

Of cursing the arid property.



As much as you did, I suffered,

Feeling in this great desert

My heart on fire;

Like a pearl, the ocean attire,

All over the universe I searched

For a cry of the soul.



To appease my burning mind,

I traveled under the blue skies from Italy;

Florence and Venice saw me,

Among their bare-breasted daughters,

Dragging my life.



Sometimes the indolent fisherman

Saw me crying like a child

By the beach, stopping out of piety,

Leaving the catch halfway,

The sea carries them away.



Little one, come back to us;

As we rock on our knees

The crying child,

We will take you, by the way,

To the land full of love

Where I stay.



By these verses, written for you,

And despite myself,

I took the burden of this overture,

Affirming to the scientists,

Who laugh at ghosts,

My signature.



A.DE MUSSET



The Petit Journal made several alterations to these stanzas, changing their meanings in a ridiculous way.



In the second stanza, sixth verse, instead of “Au clair de lune”, it became “Au clair de la lune”, that spoils the whole thing, making it gross. The second stanza was removed, breaking the chain of thoughts. In the third stanza, second verse, instead of “ce grand désert”, that portrays that place, they put “le grand désert.” In the sixth stanza, fifth verse, instead of “Dans les terrer pleines d’amour”, that makes sense, it became “Dans les serres pleines d’amour”, that makes none.



These rectifications were requested to the Journal that refused to have them inserted. Nonetheless, the author of the article said: “I invent nothing; I attest.”



With respect to the novel by Mr. Theophile Gautier, entitled Spiritist, the same Spirit gave the following lines to the medium, on December 2^nd, 1865:



Here I am back. Although I had sworn,

Madam, on my great gods, to never rhyme.

It's a sad job to print the works of an author

reduced to a state of mind.



I fled away from you, but a charming Spirit,

speaking of us, risks excite a smile.

I think he knows a lot more than he wants to say,

And that he has found his ghost somewhere.



A ghost! It does really sound strange;

I laughed about it when I was here below;

When I said I didn't believe it, though,

Like a savior, I would have welcomed my good angel.



How much I would’ve liked it, my paled face

Leaning on my hand, at night, by the window;

My crying soul probing the immensities,

Traveling the fields of infinity!



Friends, what to hope for, from a century without belief?

When you have squeezed your most beautiful fruit,

Man will always stumble over a tomb if,

To support him, there is no hope.



But these verses are not his, they will say.

What do I care, after all, the blame of the unrefined!

When I was alive, my mind they hardly occupied;

I would laugh at it, even more so today.



A. DE MUSSET



Here is the opinion of Mr. Junior, one of the editors of the “Monde Illustré”, who is not a Spiritist.



Monde Illustré, December 16^th, 1865.



Mr. T. Gautier received a poem from a lady, signed by Alfred de Musset; its title cold be: The Spiritist lady that requested a poem to her collection. Let it be clear that, since it is related to Spiritism, that the lady pretends to have been an intermediary, an obedient medium that scribbled verses dictated by Alfred de Musset, deceased a few years ago. Nothing new there because, when it comes to infinity, all of those that believe in Spiritism give you plenty of communications more or less interesting. But the stanzas signed by Musset are such that whoever produced it is a poet of first order. It is the style of Musset, his charming language, his gentlemanly boldness, charm and gracious attitude. He is not excessive like in a parody, nor pretentious or forced; and we think that if a master, like T. Gautier, is mistaken, the imitation must be remarkably good. It is interesting that the honorable Mr. Charpentier, the editor of the complete works by Musset, when heard these charming verses that you will soon see, screamed: Thief! Thief!



You are correct by assuming that I do not believe in a single word of those like Allan Kardec or Delaage, but this disturbs and bothers me, for I must suppose these verses are original and that they do belong to the poet of Nights – and this is perfectly admissible because why else would the lady in question have kept them in her drawer? Or, alternatively, an authentic poet would have invented this mystification, and poets do not lose away their copies. What is then the possible solution? I hear a practical person telling me here: “My dear Sir, do you wish a solution? It is in your imagination that exaggerates the importance and excellence of these verses; they are delicate, that is it, and any smart medium that knows Musset a bit will do the trick.”



You are right, Mr. Practical person. This is the case in 99 out of 100 cases. But if you only knew how cold-blooded I am! I read these verses, that I cannot show you yet, I read and read again and affirm that Gautier himself, the great linguist, the great producer of the Poem of a Woman, cannot do a better Musset than this.”



OBSERVATION: There is a fact not considered by the author, and that eliminates the possibility that these verses might have been created by Musset when alive: it is the contemporary aspect and mention of current affairs. As for the medium, she is not a poet or a smart aleck, that is for sure, and her position in society rules out any suspicion of trickery.

An important work of great interest to the Spiritist Doctrine has just been published; we will make it known by the analyses of the brochure.

“New Universal Dictionary, literary pantheon and illustrated encyclopedia”, by Maurice Lachâtre, with the contribution of scientists, artists, and scholars, according to the works of Allan Kardec, Ampere, Andral, Arago, Audouin, Balbi, Becquerel, Berzelius, Biot, Brongnard, Burnouf, Chateubriand, Cuvier, Florens, Gay-Lussac, Guizot, Humboldt, Lamartine, Lamennais, Laplace, Magendie, Michelet, Ch. Nodier, Orfila, Payen, Raspail de Sacy, J. B. Say, Thiers, etc. Two magnificent volumes, in-4 large, three columns, illustrated with twenty thousand figures engraved in wood, and intercalated in the text. Two weekly fascicles of 10 cents each. Each fascicle contains 95,768 letters, that is, half of the content of a volume in-8. The work contains 200 fascicles, per volume, and will not cost more than 40 francs. It is the most comprehensive literary work of our times, with the analysis of more than 400,000 books, and can undoubtedly be considered the most complete repertoire of human knowledge. The New Universal Dictionary is the most accurate, the most thorough and the most progressist of all dictionaries, the only one that embraces all of the special dictionaries of the usual and poetic languages, the synonyms, the ancient language, the grammar issues, Theology, religions, sects and heresies, parties and ceremonies of all peoples, Mythology, Magnetism, Spiritism, philosophical and social doctrines, History, biographies, sciences, Physics, Chemistry, Natural History, Astronomy, inventions, Medicine, Geography, Marine studies, Jurisprudence, Economical Politics, Masonry, Agriculture, Commerce, Domestic Economy of everyday, etc. Docks de la librairie, Boulevard Sebastopol, 38 – Paris.”



The publication presently counts on twenty thousand subscribers. We must, initially, clarify that our name came first due to the alphabetical order and not for preeminence.

All the special terms of the Spiritist vocabulary are found in this vast repertoire, not only with a simple definition but with all the required developments, so much so that it will be a true treaty of Spiritism. Furthermore, every time that a word can lead to a philosophical deduction, the Spiritist idea is placed side by side, as a means of comparison. The work was conceived with a spirit of impartiality; hence it does not present the Spiritist idea less than any other as the absolute truth. It gives the reader freedom to accept or reject it but provides the means for the reader to appreciate it with scrupulous accuracy, instead of truncated, altered or pre-judged. It just says: about this point some think like this; Spiritism explains it in a different way.

A dictionary is not a special treaty about a subject in which the author presents their personal opinions; it is the result of research, with the objective of being consulted, addressed to every opinion. If someone looks for a word there is to know what it really means and not to find the opinion of the editor, that can be fair or not. A Jewish or Muslin person must find there the Hebrew or Muslim idea accurately reproduced, and nobody is forced to share that idea.

The dictionary must not decide if it is good or bad, absurd or rational, because something that is approved by some may be condemned by others; by showing it as it is, the publication does not take any responsibility. If the subject matter is a scientific question that splits the wise minds, like homeopathy and allopathy, for example, the mission is to provide the knowledge about the two systems and not to promote one against the other. Such must be the character of an encyclopedic dictionary; that is the only way it can be consulted with benefit, at all times and by anyone. The universality gives it perpetuity.

That is, and how it should be, the feeling that presided over the part related to Spiritism. The critics may issue their opinion in special books and that is their right. But a dictionary is neutral grounds, where each subject must be presented by its true colors, and where people can find every type of teachings, with the certainty of finding the truth there.

Under these conditions, Spiritism took its place among the philosophical doctrines, in such an important and popular publication, as the New Universal Dictionary; its vocabulary, already accepted by the use, was affirmed, and from now on no other similar work can be published without it, or it will be incomplete. This is one more production of the year 1865, not mentioned by Mr. Vice-President Jaubert in his list.

In support of the above observations, and to provide a sample of how the Spiritist questions are handled in that publication, we mention the explanation given to the word “soul”. After providing a long and impartial development of the multiple theories of the soul, according to Aristotle, Plato, Leibnitz, Descartes and other philosophers, that we cannot reproduce given the extension, the article ends like this:

“ACCORDING TO THE SPIRITIST DOCTRINE, the soul is the intelligent principle that animate the beings of creation and give them the thought, the will and freedom to act. It is immaterial, individual and immortal, but its intrinsic essence is unknown; it cannot be conceived absolutely isolated from matter but through an abstraction. United to the ethereal or fluidic envelope, the perispirit, it constitutes the concrete spiritual being, defined and circumscribed, called Spirit (see SPIRIT, PERISPIRIT). Through metonym, many times the words soul and spirit are used interchangeably; it is said: the suffering souls and the suffering spirits; the happy souls and the happy spirits; evoke the soul or the spirit of someone; but the word soul rather triggers the idea of a principle, of something abstract, whereas the word spirit of an individuality.

The Spirit constitutes the man, united to the material body by incarnation, so that there are three things in a person: the soul, properly speaking, or the intelligent principle; the perispirit, or the fluidic envelope of the soul and the body or the material envelope. The soul, therefore, is a simple being; the spirit is a double being, composed of the soul and perispirit; a person is a triple being, composed of the soul, perispirit and the body. The body, when separated from the soul, is an inert matter; the perispirit, separated from the soul, is a fluidic matter, without life and intelligence. The soul is the principle of life and intelligence; it is therefore a mistake by those persons that, by giving the soul a fluidic, semi-material envelope, pretend that Spiritism makes it a material being.

The true origin of the soul is unknown, because the beginning of things is in the secrets of God, and because mankind, in its current state of inferiority, cannot understand everything. Only systems can be formed about this point. According to some, the soul is a spontaneous creation of Divinity; according to others, it is an emanation, a portion, a spark of the Divine fluid. This is a problem about which only hypotheses can be formulated, because there are pros and cons. The second opinion, however, receives a founded objection: since God is perfect and if the souls are parts of the Divinity, they should also be perfect, given the axiom that the part shares the same nature as the whole. Thus, it would be incomprehensible that the souls were imperfect and had the need to perfect themselves. Notwithstanding the several systems about the intrinsic nature and origin of the soul, Spiritism considers it in the human species; it attests its existence, through the isolation of the soul and its independent action upon matter, during life and after death, it attests also its attributes, its survival and individuality. The individuality stems out from the diversity of ideas and qualities of each one, in the phenomena of communications, diversity that confirms an individual life to each soul.

A not less important fact derives from observation: the soul is essentially progressive and progresses incessantly, in knowledge and morality, for that is observed in all degrees of development. According to the unanimous teaching of the Spirits, the soul is created simple and ignorant, that is, without knowledge, without conscience of good and evil, with the same aptitude to one and the other and to acquire everything. Since creation is unstoppable and to the whole eternity, there are souls that arrived at the top of the scale, while others just blossom to life. But since all had the same starting point, God does not create some better equipped than others, and that agrees with God’s supreme justice. Since a perfect equality presides their formation, the souls progress more or less rapidly, due to their free-will and according to their own work. God, therefore, allows each one the merit of demerit of their actions, and the responsibility increases with the development of the moral sense, so much so that two souls created at the same time, one may get to the destination sooner than the other, if working more actively its own development. But those that stayed behind will equally arrive, although later and through rough trials, because God does not preclude the future to any of God’s children.

The incarnation of the soul in a material body is necessary to its betterment; through the work, necessary to the material existence, intelligence is developed. Since the soul cannot acquire all the moral and intellectual qualities that must lead to the objective, in a single existence, the soul gets there through an unlimited number of existences, on Earth or on other worlds, and in each one moving one step ahead in the path of progress, getting rid of some imperfections. The soul brings to each existence what it has learned on preceding ones. That explain the differences that do exist in innate aptitudes and in the degree of development of races and peoples (see SPIRIT, REINCARNATION).”

The bi-weekly Brussels publication La Discussion, about politics and finance, is not one of those cheerful brochures that both, in shape and form, seek to entertain the lighthearted public. It is a serious journal, accredited specially in the financial world, now in its eleventh year.^[1] The publication of December 31^st, 1865 brings the following article entitled Spiritism According to the Spiritists:

“Spiritists and Spiritism are now two much familiar and frequently employed words, although they were ignored a few months ago. However, most people that use those words keep asking themselves about their precise meaning, not expressing their doubt to others, for everyone wants to pretend to hold the key that solves the charade. Sometimes, though, intrigued by curiosity, the question escapes the lips and each one explains it, satisfying one’s wishes.

Some pretend that Spiritism is the trick of the armoire of the Davenport’s brothers; others say that it is no more than magic and witchcraft from the past, that people want to promote with another name. According to the loose lipped of the neighborhoods, the Spiritists have mysterious conversations with the devil, with whom they had a preestablished compromise.

Finally, by reading the papers, one learns that the Spiritists are all mad, or at least, victims of certain charlatans called mediums. With or without closets, these charlatans give presentations to whoever wants to pay them, and to value even more their trickeries, they pretend to operate under the hidden influence of the Spirits from beyond the grave.

That is what I had learned lately. Considering the disagreement among those ideas I decided to visit the devil, to enlighten myself, to the price of being defeated or being deceived by a medium, and even if I had to lose my mind. I fortunately remembered a friend that I suspected was a Spiritist and sought him to give me the means of satisfying my curiosity. I explain to him all the multiple opinions I had collected, and the objective of my visit. The friend laughed at what he called my ingenuity and gave me, more or less, the following explanation:



Spiritism is not, as it is commonly thought, a recipe to make the tables dance or the execute tricks of deception, and all those that look for the supernatural and wonderful make a mistake. Spiritism is a science, or better saying, it is a spiritualist philosophy that teaches moral.

It is not a religion because it has no dogmas or cult, or priests or articles of faith. It is more than a philosophy because its doctrine is established on the certain proof of the immortality of the soul. The Spiritists evoke the Spirits from beyond the grave to provide such a proof.

The mediums are endowed by a natural faculty that make them capable of becoming intermediaries to the Spirits and produce with them the phenomena that go by miracles or prestidigitation to the eyes of anyone that ignores their explanation. But mediumship is not an exclusive privilege of certain individuals. It is inherent to humankind, although each person has it in different degrees or different forms.

Therefore, to the eyes of someone that knows Spiritism, all these wonders that are attributed to the doctrine are not but phenomena of physical nature, that is, effect whose causes reside in the laws of nature.

The Spirits, however, do not communicate with the living ones with the only objective of demonstrating their existence: they are the ones that daily dictated and developed the spiritualist philosophy.

As a philosophy, it has its system that consists on the revelation of the laws that rule the universe, and in the solution of many philosophical problems, before which and up until now, humanity was impotent to solve. That is how Spiritism demonstrates, among other things, the nature of the soul, its destiny and the cause of its existence on Earth. It unveils he mystery of death; explains the reason for the vices and virtues of man; it tells what man, the world and the universe are. Finally, it gives you the picture of the universal harmony, etc.

This system rests on logical and irrefutable proofs, that have themselves tangible and pure reason as the judge of their truths. Thus, in every theory that it exposes, it acts like a science and does not skip a point unless the preceding one is completely resolved. Spiritism, therefore, does not impose trust because, to be accepted, it only needs the authority of common sense. Once this system is established, a moral teaching is deduced as an immediate consequence.

That moral is nothing else but the Christian moral, the one written in the heart of every human being; it is that of every religion and every philosophy, because it belongs to everyone. But, since it is detached from any fanaticism, any superstition, any spirit of sect or school, it shines in all its purity.

All greatness and beauty of the doctrine comes from that purity, so much so that it is the first time that moral is engulfed in such a splendid and majestic spark.

The objective of every moral teaching is to be practiced; but, for this one, such a condition is an absolute condition, because it calls Spiritists not the ones that accept its precepts, but only those that practice them.

Should I tell you about its doctrines? I do not wish to teach here, and the enunciation of the maxima would necessarily lead me to their development. I will only say this: the Spiritist doctrine teaches us to withstand disgrace without neglecting it; to enjoy happiness without attachment. I would say that it diminishes us without humiliation, as it elevates us but does not make us proud; it places us above material interests, but does not stigmatize them without vilification, because we learn, on the contrary, that every advantage that was granted to us constitute so many other forces entrusted to us and whose employment to our own benefit or to the benefit of others is our responsibility.

Following that responsibility, it follows the penalties for infringing the duties and the rewards to those that carry out their duties. But even these assertions were taken from facts and may be verified to the fullest conviction.

Such is this philosophy in which everything is great because everything is simple; where nothing is obscure for everything is proved; where everything is nice because each issue intimately interests each one of us. Such is this science that projecting a shiny beam of light onto the darkness of reason, suddenly unveils the mysteries that we considered impenetrable, pushing back the horizon of intelligence to infinity. Such is this doctrine that, by improving them, pretend to make its followers happy, opening to humanity a safe path to the moral progress. Such is, finally, the madness that contaminated the Spiritists and the witchcraft that they practice.

That is how my friend ended, with a smile, allowing me, on my request, to visit some Spiritist meetings with him, where the practice adds up to the teachings.

When I got home, I remembered what I had said, like everybody else, against Spiritism, even before I got to know the meaning of that word, and that memory brought me a bitter confusion. I then thought that, despite the severe denials imposed to human pride by the discoveries of modern science, we hardly dreamed, in the times of progress that we live, to profit from the lessons of experience; and that these words written by Pascal, two hundred years ago, will still be very accurate for many centuries to come: “It is a peculiar disease to man to believe that he holds the truth directly; and that is why he is always ready to deny anything that is incomprehensible to him.”

A.Briquel”

As it can be seen, the author of the article wanted to present Spiritism under its true lights, free from the fantasies brought upon it by the criticism, in a word, as it is considered by the Spiritists, and we are glad to say that he achieved that perfectly. In fact, it is impossible to summarize the theme in a clearer and more precise way. We must also congratulate the editors of the journal that showed such spirit of impartiality, that we would like to find in all those that pretend to be liberal and take the position of apostles of free thinking, and welcomed such an explicit profession of faith. Besides, their intention with respect to Spiritism is clearly stated in the following article, published in the issue of January 28^th:

____________________
[1] Editorial room in Brussels, Montagne de Sion, 17; Paris, Rue Bergère, 31. Yearly price in France: 12 francs; 7 francs per semester; each issue with 8 pages, large in-folio: 25 cents.

Letter received from Cazères, and sent on January 7^th, 1866:

“This is a second case of obsession that we dealt with in July last. The obsessed was a twenty-two years old woman; she enjoyed perfect health; yet, she suddenly had an episode of madness. Her parents took her to medical doctors but that was useless since the illness, instead of disappearing, became more acute, so much so that during the crisis it was impossible to contain her. Following the doctors advices, her parents took her in to a psychiatric institution, where her condition showed no improvement. Neither her nor her parents considered Spiritism that was unknown to them; however, they heard about the cure of Jeanne R…, that I mentioned to you, and came to us to know if we could do something for their unfortunate daughter. We said we could not give any guarantee before knowing the true nature of the disease. Our guides, consulted in our first session, told us that the young woman was oppressed by a very rebellious Spirit, but that we would end up bringing him back to the good path and the consequent cure would be a confirmation of that. I then wrote to the parents that lived 35 kilometers away from our town, saying that the young lady would be cured and that the cure would not take long, without specifying the period. We evoked the obsessing Spirit in eight consecutive days and were very fortunate to change his bad inclinations and renounce to his intent of tormenting the victim. The patient was in fact cured, as it was anticipated by our guides. The enemies of Spiritism repeat continuously that the practice of this doctrine leads to mental health hospitals. Well, we say that it brings out those that were in.”

Among thousands of other examples, this fact is a demonstration of the obsessional madness, whose cause is totally different from the pathological madness, before which science will fail while it obstinately denies the spiritual element and its influence upon the physiological organization. This case is very iconic. It shows a young woman that shows such strong signs of madness that it deceives the doctors, and that is cured miles away by persons that had never seen her, without any medication or medical treatment, and just by the moralization of the obsessing Spirit.

There are, therefore, obsessing Spirits whose action can be harmful to reason and health. Isn’t that true that if the mental illness had been provoked by any organic lesion, such a means would have been powerless? If it was objected that this spontaneous cure could have been due to a fortuitous cause, we would respond that if we had only one case to report it would be undoubtedly venturous to deduce such an important principle from that, but the number of cases of cure is very large. They are not the privilege of an individual and repeat daily in several places, undoubtful signs that they rest upon a law of nature.

We have cited many cures of similar kind, notably in February 1964 and January 1865 that contain two eminently instructive reports. Here is another not less characteristic fact, obtained by the group in Marmande:

In a village a few miles from that town, there was a peasant that was taken by such a furious madness that he chased people around, trying to kill them with a pitchfork, and in the absence of people he would attack animals in the area. He used to run incessantly through the fields and would not return home. He became a dangerous presence; it was then easy to obtain an authorization to have him taken into the psychiatric hospital in Cadilac. His family was forced to take such a painful attitude. Before he was taken in, one of the relatives had heard about the cures obtained in Marmande in similar cases and sought Mr. Dombre, then saying:

-Sir, I heard you cure insane people and that is why I came for you.

He then explained the situation and added:

-As you see, we are so sorry to separate the young J… that I would like to see if there isn’t other means of avoiding it.

-My brave friend, said Mr. Dombre, I do not know who gives me such a reputation; it is true that sometimes I was successful in bringing some poor insane ones to their senses, but that depends on the cause of the madness. Although I do not know you, I will nonetheless see if I can be of service.

He then immediately took the relative to the house of his habitual medium, obtaining from the guide the assurance that it was a serious obsession, but that it could stop with perseverance. He then said to the peasant: - Wait a few days before you take your relative to Cadilac; we will deal with the case; come back every other day to tell us how he is doing.

He began working the same day. In the beginning the Spirit, like in similar cases, was not very friendly; step by step he ended up humanizing and finally renounced to the objective of tormenting the poor man. A very particular note is that he declared to not have any hatred against that man; that he was tormented by the need of doing harm, and that he had grabbed him as he would do with any other; that he now acknowledged being wrong, for what he sought God’s forgiveness.

The man came back two days later and said that his relative was calmer but had not returned home yet and still hid in the hedges. In the next visit he said that the man had returned home but was still somber and kept away; he no longer tried to hit anybody. A few days later and he was going to the market and going about his things as usual. It took eight days to have him back to normal and without any physical treatment. It is more than likely that had him been taken in with the insane ones and he would have lost his mind himself.

Cases of obsession are so frequent that it is not exaggeration to say that in the psychiatric institutions more than half of patients only have the appearance of madness, and for that very reason common medication has no effect. Spiritism shows us one of the disturbing causes of physical health, and at the same time it gives us the means of treating it; it is one of its benefits. But how have such causes been recognized, if not by evocations? Evocations, therefore, serve to something, whatever their detractors may say.

It is evident that those that do not admit both the soul and its survival, or if the do admit it they are not aware of the status of the soul after death, they must see the intervention of the invisible beings in such circumstances as a pure fantasy; but the brutal fact of illnesses and their cures is here.

The remote cures without to use of any material agent, in persons that were never seen, could not be credited to imagination. The disease cannot be attributed to Spiritism, since it also reaches the non-believers, as well as children that have no idea about it.

Nonetheless, there is nothing of marvelous here, but natural effects that have always occurred, that were not understood then, and that are explained in simpler ways now that the laws that allow them are known. Don’t we see, among the living ones, bad people tormenting others, weaker ones, to the point of making them sick or killing them, and that without any apparent motive other than the desire of doing harm?

There are two ways of giving peace to the victim: removing the authority of their brutality or developing a good feeling in them. The knowledge that we now have of the invisible world shows us that it is inhabited by the same beings that lived on Earth, some good, some bad. Among the latter there are some that remain bad as a consequence of their moral inferiority, and have not yet eliminated their perverse instincts; they are around us, as when alive, with the only difference that instead of having a material, visible body, they now have a fluidic, invisible one; but they are still the same persons, with a poorly developed moral sense, always seeking opportunities to do harm, subduing those that are their preys and are submitted to their influence. Incarnate obsessing persons became discarnate obsessing Spirits, the more dangerous the more they act in hiding. It is not easy to push them away by force, since they cannot be physically imprisoned. The only means of dominating them is through the moral ascendant, supporting reason and wise advices, by which they improve and are more reachable in the spiritual than in the corporeal state. When convinced to voluntarily stop tormenting, the illness disappears, when caused by obsession. Showers and medications given to patients cannot act upon an obsessing Spirit. That is the whole secret of such cures, for which there is no sacramental words or cabalistic formulas: we talk to the discarnate Spirit, moralizing and educating him as it would have been done when alive. The trick is to take him by his character, carefully driving the instructions given to him as it would be done by an experienced instructor. The whole matter is reduced to this: Are there or are there not obsessing Spirits? We respond to this as we did above: the material facts are here.

People sometimes ask why God would allow the bad Spirits to torment the living ones. We could equally ask why God would allow the living ones to torment each other. We lose the perspective of the analogy, the relationships and connection that do exist between the corporeal world and the spiritual world, composed of the same beings in two different states. That is the key to all phenomena considered supernatural. Obsession should not impress us more than other diseases and events that affect humanity. They are part of the trials and miseries characteristic of the regions in which we are condemned to live in by our inferiority, until we are sufficiently better to deserve to leave it. Men suffer here the consequences of their imperfections, because if they were more perfect, they would not be here.

Most of our readers have, undoubtedly, read in the papers the moving report of a shipwreck in Borysthène, off the coast of Algeria, on December 15^th, 1865. The following passage is an excerpt from a saved passenger’s account of the disaster, published by the Siècle, on January 26^th:

“… At the same time a terrible and undefined crack sound was heard, followed by such violent tremors that I was taken down to the floor. I then heard a seaman screaming: My God, we are lost! Pray for us! We had just hit a rock and the ship had torn apart; water gushed into the hull. The soldiers sitting at the bridge tried their best to save themselves, at any price, screaming dramatically; semi naked passengers jumped from their cabins; the poor women sought any help they could get, begging to be rescued. They prayed desperately, saying goodbye. A businessman had a gun to his own head trying to commit suicide, but his gun was taken by others. The shakes continued; the alarm bell continued to ring but could hardly be heard fifty meters away given the power of the winds. There was screams, roars, prayers; it was truly horrifying, dismal, scary. I have never witnessed such a horrible, overpowering scene. It is terrible to be in that kind of situation, healthy and well but facing certain death! In that supreme and indescribable moment, Mr. Moisset, the vicar, gave everybody the blessings. The tearful voice of the poor priest delivering two hundred and fifty souls to God, unfortunate people to be swollen by the tumultuous waters of the ocean.”

Isn’t there a great teaching in the spontaneity of that prayer, before such an imminent danger? In the middle of that scrambled multitude there was certainly unbelievers that had not thought of God or their souls, but right there, before a death that they considered certain, turned their eyes to the Supreme Being, like the only lifeline. This is because, at the final hour, the most hardened heart involuntarily asks what next. The patient in his dying bed waits up until the last moment, and for that reason defies any supernatural power; most often, when hit by death, he is already unconscious. In the battlefield there is a super excitation that makes people forget the danger; not everyone perishes and there is always a chance of escaping. But in the middle of the ocean, when your ship is swollen, there is no more hope but the help of the forgotten Providence, to whom the atheist is ready to direct his scream for a miracle. But ah! Once the danger is over, many will thank chance and their good luck, ingratitude for which sooner or later they will pay dearly. (The Gospels According to Spiritism, Chap. XXVII, item 8).

In similar circumstance, what is the thought of a sincere Spiritist? “I know, he says, I must fight to preserve my corporeal life; I will therefore do everything I can to avoid danger, otherwise if I voluntarily let it go, it would be a suicide; but if it is God’s will to take me, what does it matter if it is in a way or another, a bit sooner or later? Death does not bring me any apprehension because I know that it is only the body that dies and that it is the entrance to the true life, of the free Spirit, and that I will meet again all the loved ones.”

In his mind he foresees the spiritual life, objective of his aspirations, from which he is kept apart by a few moments only, and to which the death of the body, that attached him to Earth, will finally give him access; instead of suffering, he rejoices, like the prisoner that sees the gates of the prison opening up. He is saddened by one thing only: leaving behind the ones he loves. But he is reassured by the certainty that he will not abandon them; that will be close to them more often and more easily than when alive; that he will be able to see and protect them. If, on the contrary, he escaped death, he will say: “If God still allows me to live on Earth it is for the fact that my task and my trials have not ended yet. The danger I faced is a warning from God for me to be ready to depart at any moment and proceed so that this may happen in the best possible way.” He will then be thankful for the stay and will endeavor to make the best of the opportunity for his own progress.

One of the most curious episodes of this drama is about the passenger that tried to blow his own head, giving the certain death, while there could be an unexpected help with the wreck. What could have led him to such a insensible act? Many will say that he was out of his mind, and that is possible; but he could have been involuntarily moved by an intuition that he was not ware about. Although we do not have any material proof of the true explanation that is given below, the knowledge of the relationships between the multiple existences gives it, at least, a high level of probability. The two communications below were given in the session of the Parisian Society on January 12^th.

I

The prayer is the vehicle of the most powerful spiritual fluids, like a healthy balm to the ulcers of the soul and the body. It attracts all beings to God, and in a certain way, take them out of their lethargic state when forgetting their duties to their Creator. Faithfully said, it provokes in those that hear it the desire to imitate the ones that pray, for the example and words also carry the magnetic fluids of great power. Those said in the wrecked ship by the priest, with the accent of the most touching conviction, and the most sacred resignation, touched the hearts of those unfortunate people that judged their hour had come.

When that man wanted to kill himself, given the certainty of death, the idea came to him for an instinctive repulse of water, because it would be the third time that he would have died in such a way, and he went through some moments of terrible anguish. At the very moment he had the intuition of all his past miseries, that vaguely came to his mind, and that is why he wanted to end differently. He voluntarily drowned twice, dragging his whole family along. The confusing impression that remained of the ordeals gave him the apprehension of that kind of death. Pray for those unfortunate people, my good friends. The prayer of several persons forms a beam that sustains and strengthen the recipient soul. It gives them force and resignation.

St. Benedict, medium Mrs. Dellane

II

It is not uncommon to see people that have not thought of praying for a long time do that when threatened by a terrible and imminent danger. Where does this instinctive propension to get closer to God comes from, at critical times? From the same impulse that makes us get closer to someone that we know can defend us when in great danger. The soothing beliefs of the first years, the wise instructions and advices of the parents, come like in a dream to the memory of those shaking men that moments ago thought God was far away from them, or denied the usefulness of God’s existence. These strong spirits, turned weak, feel the more the anguishes of death the more the time they believed nothing. They thought they had no need for God and that they sufficed themselves. To make them feel the utility of his existence God allowed them to be exposed to a terrible end, without hope of being rescued by any human help. They then remember that they had prayed once and that the prayer dissipates sadness, gives strength to support sufferings with courage and attenuates the final moments of the agonizing. All that comes to the mind of the man in danger, making the one that prayed in the infancy to pray again. He then submits and pray to God from the bottom of the heart, with a lively faith that touches the limits of despair, to have his past errors forgiven. At that supreme moment he no longer thinks of the useless dissertations about the existence of God, for he doubts no more. At that moment he believes, and there you have a proof that the prayer is a necessity of the soul; that if it had no result it would alleviate less and for that reason it would be repeated more times; but fortunately it has a more positive action and it is recognized, as it was demonstrated to us, that the prayer has an immense utility to everyone, both to those that pray and to those to whom it is directed.

What I said is only true to the majority because there are some that, ah, they even do not recover their faith at the last hour; with the emptiness of the soul, they believe that they will fall into the abyss of nothingness, and through a kind of frenzy, they themselves want to precipitate into the void. These are the most unfortunate ones, and you that know all the utility and all the effects of the prayer, pray for them.

André, medium Mr. Charles B.

The Siècle on December 26^th, 1865 brings this:

“The high echelon of the navy has just sent a memo to the maritime cities that make weapons for the Oceania, announcing that for some time now it has been noticed a sharp increase in anthropophagy among the inhabitants of the Great Ocean. The memo advises the captains of merchant ships to take every precaution necessary to preclude their crew from falling victim of such horrible custom. About a year ago the crews of four ships were devoured by the cannibals of New Hebrides Condominium of Jervis or New Caledonia, and all measures must be taken to avoid such dismal disgrace.”

Here is how the journal Le Monde explains this recrudescence of cannibalism:

“We had the cholera, the epizootic^[1], and the chickenpox; vegetables and animals are sick. Here we have an even more painful disease that we learned from the English navy officers: the savages of Oceania, as they say, double down on their anthropophagy. Several horrible cases came to their attention. There is no doubt that our maritime authorities will also take measures because two French ships were attacked, the crews taken and devoured by the savages. It is mind boggling that every effort of civilization has been unsuccessful against such horrors. Who knows the origin of such criminal inspirations? Which commandment has been given to all those pagans, spread out over hundreds and thousands of islands in the immensities of the southern seas? Their monstruous passion seems to be appeased for a moment to resurge to the point of inciting repression and the forces of Earth. It is one of those problems that can only be explained by the Catholic dogma. The spirit of darkness acts with total freedom at certain times. Before these serious events, it agitates, stirs its creatures, support and inspires them. Great events loom. The revolution believes to be the time to crown the edifice; it prepares for the supreme fight; it charges against the key of the temple of the Christian society. It is a serious time, foreseen by nature in its full seriousness.”

We are surprised to not see Spiritism among the causes of the increase in the ferocity of the savages, like a scape goat of every illness of humanity, like Christianity was in former times. Perhaps it is implicitly understood as the works of the spirit of darkness. As the Le Monde says, “only the Catholic dogma can explain.”



We cannot see this as a clear explanation, nor can we see anything in common with the revolutionary spirit of Europe. We even see that dogma as a complication to the problem. The cannibals are men, and nobody doubts it. Now, the Catholic dogma does not admit the pre-existence of the soul, but the creation of a new soul at the time of birth of each body. It then follows that God creates souls there that are men-eaters, and here souls that can become saints. Why such a difference? It is a problem for the Church has never given a solution, however, it is an essential cornerstone. According to that doctrine, the increase in cannibalism can only be explained like this: At that moment, God feels like creating a larger number of cannibal souls. Such solution is weak and particularly not in line with God’s benevolence.

The difficult worsens if we consider the future of those souls. What becomes of them after death? Are the treated in the same way as the others that are conscious of good and evil? That would neither be fair nor rational. Instead of explaining it, the Church is at a stalemate, from which it can only leave by appealing to a mystery, that one cannot try to understand, a kind of non possumus^[2]that eliminates embarrassing questions. To the problem that the Church cannot solve Spiritism finds the simplest and most rational solution, in the law of plurality of existences to which all beings are submitted and that allows their progress. The souls of the cannibals, therefore, are closer to their origin. Their intellectual and moral faculties are still fuzzy and little developed, and for that very reason the animal instincts dominate.

But those souls are not destined to remain eternally in such an inferior state that would preclude them forever of the happiness of the advanced souls. They progress in reasoning, enlighten, depurate, improve and instruct themselves in successive existences. They born again in savage races while they do not surpass the limits of savagery. Once they reach a certain level they leave that state to incarnate in a little more advanced race; from this one to another and successively grow in degree, as a result of the acquired merits and the imperfections that they leave behind, until the level of perfection that the creature is entitled is achieved. The path of progress is denied to no one, so much so that the most delayed soul can aspire to the supreme happiness. But some, given their free-will, the appanage of humanity, work diligently for their own depuration and instruction, to leave behind the material instincts and the primitive diapers, for at every step of the way towards perfection they see more clearly, understand better and are happier. These advance more promptly and enjoy earlier: that is their award. Others, always as a consequence of their free-will, stay longer on their way, like lazy and of bad attitude students, or like negligent workers, arriving later, suffering more: that is their punishment, or if you like, their hell. Thus confirming, through the plurality of existences, the remarkable law of equity and justice that characterizes all works of creation. Have this theory compared to that of the Church about the past and future of the souls and see which one is more rational, more in agreement with the Divine Justice and that better explains social inequalities.

Anthropophagy is, undoubtedly, one of the lowest degrees of the human scale on Earth, because the savage that no longer eats his peer is already progressing. But where does the increase in this bestial instinct come from? We can notice, to begin with, that it is only local, and that cannibalism has, by and large, disappeared from Earth. It is inexplicable without the knowledge of the invisible world and its relationships with the visible one. Through deaths and births, they feed one another, embed one another. Imperfect men cannot provide the invisible world with perfect souls and perverse souls, by incarnating, cannot lead but to bad men. When the catastrophes, the calamities, simultaneously reach a large number of people, there is a mass arrival of souls into the world of the Spirits. Since, according to the law of nature, those souls must be born again, for their own betterment, circumstances may equally drive them back to Earth in swarms. The phenomenon in question, therefore, simply depend on the accidental incarnation in distant places of a larger number of tardy souls, and not on the maliciousness of Satan, nor on a commandment given to the people of Oceania. By helping in the development of the moral sense of those souls, during their life on Earth, a mission to civilized men, they progress. When they return to another corporeal existence to continue to progress, they will make men less evil than they were, more enlightened, of less ferocious instincts, because the progress that is realized is never lost. That is how humanity’s progress takes place gradually.

The journal Le Monde is right by saying that great events are looming. Yes, a transformation takes place in humanity. The first contractions of the birth can already be felt; the corporeal world and the spiritual world agitates, because it is the struggle between what ends with what begins. Who will benefit from such transformation? Since progress is the providential law of humanity, it can only benefit from progress. But the great births are laborious; one cannot remove the heavily rooted weed without agitation and destruction in the soil.

---

[1] Epizootic is a disease spread in non-human animals, similar to an epidemic in humans (T.N.)


[2] Latin, Catholic expression meaning inability to act (T.N.)

The following fact is a continuation of the interesting story of the music and lyrics of Henry III reported in the July 1865 issue of the magazine. Since then Mr. Bach turned into a writing medium, not practicing much due to the resulting fatigue. He only does that when excited by an invisible force, translated into a lively agitation and a trembling hand, from which the resistance is more painful than the exercise. He is a mechanical medium, in the most absolute sense of the word, and has no awareness or recollection of what he writes. One day, in such a state, he wrote this stanza:

“Le roy Henry donne cette grande espinette

A Baldazzarini, très-bon musicien.

Si elle n'est bonne ou pas assez coquette

Pour souvenir, du moins, qu'il la conserve bien.”



“King Henry gives this great harpsichord
to Baldazzarini, a very good musician.
If it is not good or elegant enough
as a gift, may he at least keep it well.”



The explanation to these verses, that made no sense to Mr. Bach, was given to him in the following text.



“King Henry, my lord, that gave me the harpsichord that you have, had written this in a piece of parchment paper to be fixed on the case, and had it sent to me one morning. A few years later, I was traveling with the harpsichord to make music, and fearing that the parchment would come out and get lost, I removed it and in order not to lose it I inserted it in a small niche, to the left of the keyboard, where it still is.”



The harpsichord is the origin of the modern pianos, in its simplicity. It was played in the same way. It was a small clavichord of four octaves, about one and half meters long by forty centimeters wide, with no feet. The strings inside were laid down like in the pianos, played by keys. It was easily transported in a case, like the double basses and cellos. It was played on a table or a tripod. The instrument was then in exhibition in the retrospective museum, at the Champs-Élysées, where the indicated search could not be done. When it was possible, Mr. Bach, with his son, promptly examined all corners of the instrument, but found nothing, then thinking that it was a case of mystification. Yet, for completeness, he disassembled it totally and found, to the left of the keyboard, between two little wooden beams, a groove so narrow that could not be reached by the hand. He examined that dusty spot, full of spider web, and extracted a folded parchment paper, darkened by time, with thirty-one centimeters by seven, on which the following stanza was written, in large characters of the time:





Moy le Roy Henry trois octroys cette espinette
A Baltasarini, mon gay musician,
Mais sis dit mal soñe, ou bien ma moult simplette
Lors pour mon souvenir dans lestuy garde bien.
Henry

I, King Henry III, give this harpsichord
to Baltasarini, my joyful musician,
for good or worse, but much simply
as a memory from me, keep it in the case.
Henry



The parchment has holes on the four corners that are evidently due to the nails that fixed it on the case. Besides, it has several holes regularly aligned and spaced on the borders, apparently made by small nails. It was exhibited in the sessions room at the Society, and we all had the pleasure to examine it, as well as the harpsichord, on which Mr. Bach played and sang the aria that we referred, and that was revealed to him in his dream. The verse dictated verses, as it can be seen, reproduced the same thought as in the original, translated into modern language, and all that before the latter was discovered. The third verse is obscure and contains the word “ma” that seems to have no meaning and not be connected to the main idea, and in the original it is on a thin thread. We tried unsuccessfully to find an explanation for that, and Mr. Bach did not have one either. One day, I was in his house, and he spontaneously got a communication from Baldazzarini, in my presence and in our intention, in the following terms:



“My friend,

I am happy with you; you wrote those verses on my harpsichord; my promised was accomplished and now I am tranquil. (reference to other verses dictated to Mr. Bach and that Baldazzarini had asked to have them written on the instrument). I am to have a word with the wise President that is visiting you.



“O toi Allan Kardec, dont les travaux utiles

Instruisent chaque jour des spirites nouveaux,

Tu ne nous fais jamais des questions futiles;

Aussi les bons Esprits éclairent tes travraux.

Mais il te faut lutter contre les ignorants

Qui, sur notre terre, se croyeyen des savants.

Ne te rebute pas; la fâche est dificile;

Pour lout propagateur fût-ce jamais facile?”



Oh you, Allan Kardec, whose useful works
instruct new Spiritists every day,
never addresses us with useless questions;
May the good spirits, therefore, illuminate your works,
but it is necessary to fight against the ignorant
that, on Earth, believe to be wise.
Do not be discouraged; the task is difficult;
Has it ever been easy to the propagators?



The King used to make fun of my pronunciation in his verses; I always said “ma” instead of mas. Good-bye friend.”

Baldazzarini





That is how the explanation of this word ma was given, without any prior question. It is the Italian word meaning but, sprinkled with jest, by which the king designated Baldazzarini, who, like many of his nation, often pronounced it. So the king, giving this token to his musician, said to him: If it is not good, if it sounds bad, or if my (Baldazzarini) finds it too simple, of too little value, let him keep it in its case, as a memory from me. The word “ma” is surrounded by a rule, like a word in parentheses. We would certainly have sought this explanation for a long time, which could not reflect the thinking of Mr. Bach. since he himself did not understand it. But the Spirit saw that we needed it to complete our report, and he took the opportunity to give it to us without us thinking of asking him, for when Mr. Bach began to write, we did not know, like him, what Spirit was communicating.



One important question was still open, to know if the handwriting on the parchment was, in fact, that of Henry III. Mr. Bach searched the Imperial Library to compare it to the original manuscripts. Some were found, in the beginning, that did not show perfect similarity, but only the same type of letter. With some other pieces, the identity was absolute, both to the body of the text as well as the signature. The difference resulted from the fact that the King’s calligraphy was variable, a circumstance that will be explained later.



There could not be any doubt about the authenticity of that piece, although certain persons, that have a radical opinion about things called supernatural, pretended that it was a very accurate imitation. One must observe that here it is not about a mediumistic writing given by the spirit of the king, but an original manuscript written by the king himself, when alive, and that it is not more supernatural than those that fortuitus circumstances allow to discover every day. The supernatural, if it exists, is only in the way its existence was revealed. It is very true that if Mr. Bach had said that he had found it by chance in his instrument, there would not have been any objection raised.



These events had been reported in the session at the Society, on January 19^th, 1866, in which Mr. Bach was present. Mr. Morin, member of the Society, somnambulistic and very lucid medium, and that in his magnetic sleep sees and communicates with the Spirits, attended the session in a somnambulistic state. During the first part of the session, dedicated to multiple readings, correspondence and to the report of facts, Mr. Morin, that was not involved, seemed to be in mental conversations with invisible beings. He smiled at them and exchanged handshakes. When his turn came, he was asked to name the Spirits that he saw and that he asked them to transmit, through him, whatever they wanted to say for our instruction. Not a single question was addressed to him. We only summarized some of the past events, to give an idea of the development of the session, and to get to the main subject of our concern.



“It would be impossible to name them all, he said, for the number is too large; as a matter of fact, there are many that you do not know and that come here to get instructed. Most of them wanted to speak but yield to those that at this time have more important things to say. To begin with it is by or side our colleague Mr. Didier, the last to depart to the world of he Spirits, that does not miss any of our gatherings, and that I see exactly as I did when alive, with the same physiognomy; one could say that he is here with his material body; he just no longer coughs. He transmits his impressions to me, his opinion about current affairs, and assigns me with the task of transmitting his words. Then comes a young man that committed suicide recently in special circumstances, describing his situation, presenting a phase kind of new, about the state of certain suicide persons after death, given the determining causes of the suicide and their state of mind.



Then comes Mr. B…, a keen Spiritist who died a few days back following a cardiac surgery, and that had immersed in his faith and prayer to endure his long sufferings with courage and resignation. What a recognition I owe to Spiritism, he says. Without it I would certainly had ended my tortures and would be like this young man that you just saw. The thought of suicide occurred to me more than once, but I always rejected it. If not, my fate would have been very sad. Today I am happy, very happy, thanks to our brothers that assisted me with their charitable prayers. If they only knew the healthy and soothing emanations that their heartful prayers cast upon one’s sufferings!

But then, continues the somnambulist, where are you taking me? To a miserable shelter! There is a dying young man there, the chest in pain… misery is absolute: no heat, nothing to eat! His wife, exhausted by fatigue and deprivation, can no longer work… Ah the last and sad resource… She is bald, her hair sold for a few cents… How many days still to live? It is horrible!”



When asked to provide the address of that poor people, he said: “Wait”. He then seems to listen to what he is told; he takes a pencil and writes a name, with the address. On the following morning it was verified and accurately confirmed.



He got over the emotion and his Spirit returned to the place of the session, and spoke further about other people and several things that were highly significant and served as motive of instruction to our spiritual guides, and that we will deal with on another opportunity.



He suddenly exclaimed: “But there are Spirits of all kinds here! Some were princes, kings. There is one that steps forward; has a long and pale face, with a projected goatee, wearing a cap with a spark on top. He asks me to tell you this: - the parchment that you mentioned was, in fact, written by me and I owe you an explanation about it. In my days it was not so easy to write as it is today, particularly to persons in my position. The materials were less adequate and improved; writing was slower, thicker, and heavier; that I how it reflected the impressions of the soul. As you know, my humor was not stable, and depending on the mood the character of my writing changed. That is what explains the difference in the manuscripts that remains. When I wrote that parchment to my musician, and sent him the harpsichord, I was in a good mood. If you look into my manuscripts and find those in which the writing is similar to this one you will be able to identify my state of mind, by the matters that are treated, and you will have another proof of identity.”



Regarding the discovery of this manuscript, mentioned in the Grand Journal on January 14^th, the same journal published the following article on its January 21^st issue:



“Let us get to the bottom of the correspondence issue, mentioning the letter from Mrs. Countess of Martino, with respect to the harpsichord of Mr. Bach. The Countess of Martino is persuaded that the supernatural correspondent of Mr. Bach is an imposter since he should have signed Baldazzarini and not Baltazzarini that is kitchen style Italian.”



To begin with this quarrel about the spelling of a proper name is childish and that the accusation of imposter, in the absence of the invisible correspondent in which the Countess does not believe, falls upon an honorable man, something that is not of very good taste. Second, Baldazzarini, just a musician, a kind of minstrel, could not dominate the Italian language in its purity, in times when one would not pride oneself for being educated. Would the identity of a French person be contested on the ground that he writes kitchen style French, and don’t we see people that cannot correctly write their own name? Based on his origin, Baldazzarini would not be much above the kitchen. But such a criticism falls before a fact: the French, not much familiar with the nuances of the Italian orthography, on hearing that name naturally wrote it the French way. King Henry III himself, in the stanza mentioned above, simply write Baltasarini, although he was not a cook. That is what happened to the ones the sent the report of the event to the Grand Journal. As for the musician, in the several communications that were given to Mr. Bach, and from which we have several originals in our hands, signed Baldazzarini and sometimes Baldazzarrini, as it can be verified. It is not his fault but of those that quickly “Frenchisized” the name, including ourselves in the first place.



It is truly remarkable to see the adversaries of Spiritism clinching onto such childishness, an evident demonstration of their lack of good reasons.

One of our correspondents from the Boulogne-Sur-Mer sends us the following, dated December 24^th, 1865:



“A few days ago I heard that in Équihen, a fishermen’s village near Boulogne, in the house of a very rich farmer by the name L…, events took place with the character of spontaneous physical manifestations, and that reminds us of those of Grandes-Ventes, near Dieppe, of Poitiers, Marseille, etc. Every day, around seven o’clock in the evening, people hear knocks and a lot of noise from objects rolling on the floor. A locked dresser opens, and the clothes are thrown in the middle of the bedroom; the beds, in particular of the daughter of the house, are brusquely undone several times. Although the population was not involved with Spiritism, and even less knew the meaning of those things, they thought the author of that shambles, whose cause had been unsuccessfully investigated and stalked, could well be the brother of Mr. L…, former officer that had died two years ago in Algeria. As it seems, he was promised, by the relatives, that if he would fall in combat, the body would be brought to Équihen. That promise was not kept and that is why they supposed it was the Spirit of that brother that would come daily, for six weeks, to disturb the house and consequently the whole village. The clergy was shaken by the phenomena. Four local priests and from the surrounding region, and later five Redemptorists and three or four nuns came to exorcise the Spirit, but all that uselessly. Since they could not stop the noises, Mr. L… was advised to go to Algeria and find the body of the brother, which he promptly did. Before he left they had the whole family confessing and doing the communion; then they said there was the need to celebrate masses, in particular a sung mass, and then praying masses every day. There was one and then the Redemptorists were in charge of the others. The ladies L… were strictly requested to muffle the noises and tell anyone that came to know about it that the noise was produced by the rats. Besides, they should refrain from publicizing those rumors because that would be a serious offense to God, since there is a sect that tries to destroy religion; that if they heard about it they would try to use it to harm the religion, and in that case they would be liable before God; that it was unfortunate that the word was already out.



From that moment the doors were locked and barricaded, the entry of the backyard carefully locked and the entrance blocked from all those that came to hear the noises every night. But if all doors were locked the same cannot be said of all tongues, and the rats worked so well that they were heard over a radius of about 35 miles^[1]. Jesters said that they had seen the rats chewing pieces of underwear, but not throwing them out of the bedrooms or opening locked doors. They said that the rats were likely of a new species, imported by a foreign ship. We wait impatiently to have them shown to the public.”



The same episode was reported to us by other two correspondents. A first consideration sticks out of all that, the fact that the persons of the clergy, and that were numerous and interested in finding a common cause, had not failed to reveal it, in case it did exist, and even more they would not have prescribed the little lie of the rats, or face the displeasure of God. They, therefore, acknowledge the influence of a hidden power. But why is that exorcism is always impotent in similar cases? For that there is a peremptory explanation, for starters: the exorcism addresses the demons; but the knocking and obsessing Spirits are human beings and not demons; exorcism, therefore, does not reach them. Second, exorcism is an anathema and a threat that irritates the bad Spirit, and not an instruction capable of touching him and re-directing him to the good path. In the present circumstance those gentlemen recognized that it could be the Spirit of the brother that died in Algeria, otherwise they would not have advised to fetch the body so that the promise would be kept; they would not have recommended masses that cannot be celebrated in favor of demons.



What can we then make of the doctrine of those that pretend that only the demons can manifest and that such a power is denied to mankind? If a human Spirit can do it in this case, why he could not do the same in other cases? Why a good and benevolent Spirit cannot communicate through other means, besides violence, to be remembered by the loved ones and give them wise advices?



It is necessary to be consistent with oneself. Say it, with all letters and once for all, that only the demons, without exception: we will believe whatever we want. Or, otherwise, recognize that the Spirits are the souls of people and that among them there are good and bad ones that can manifest.



There is here a special question, from the Spiritist point of view. Why would the Spirits bother with the fact that their bodies are in a place instead of another? The Spirits of a certain elevation do not give importance to this, absolutely, but the least advanced are not detached from matter, to the point of not given importance of terrestrial things, as with many examples given by Spiritism.



But here the Spirit may be driven by another motive, of reminding his brother that he did not keep his promise, a negligence that he could not forgive for lack of resources, since he was rich. He could, perhaps, thought: “Well, my brother is dead, and he will not come to hold his claim, and this will be a large avoided expense.” Or, suppose that the brother held his word and promptly went to Algeria but did not find the body, given the mess in war, and that he had brought another body instead of the brother; the latter would not be less satisfied because the moral duty was accomplished. The Spirits tell us incessantly: “Thought is everything. The form is nothing. Let us not attach to it.”

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[1] Ten leagues in the original = approximately 34.5 miles (T.N.)

How many times have they not said that Spiritism is dead and buried! How many writers have already flattered themselves of having given it the coup de grace, some for having used swear words seasoned with coarse salt, others for having discovered a charlatan under the cover of Spiritist, or some a crude imitation of a phenomenon! Not to mention all the sermons, warrants and brochures from the source, from which the least believed to have thrown the lightning bolt, the appearance of ghosts in theaters greeted with a “hurray” down the line.



“We got the secret of the Spiritists” – screamed the papers over and over again, small, and large, from the Perpignan to the Dunkerque - “they shall never stand up again from this blow!”. Then came the Davenport brothers, apostles, and supreme priests of Spiritism that they did not know, and that no Spiritist knew either. After that Mr. Robin enjoyed the glory of salving France and humanity for the second time, while striving with his theater business. The press built a crown to this courageous defender of common sense, to that wise man that had discovered the threads of Spiritism, like Dr. Jobert (de Lamballe) had discovered the threads of the muscle that raps. The Davenport brothers, however, left without the honors of the war; the muscle that raps drowned, and Spiritism is doing very well. It does evidently demonstrate that it is neither the ghosts of Mr. Robin nor the ropes and tambourines of the Davenports, nor the “Peroneus brevis” muscle.^[1] Therefore it is another failed attack.



But this time, this is the true and good one, and it is impossible to have Spiritism standing up again. It is the “The Event”, “The National Opinion” and “The Grand Journal” that teach us and affirm. A rather bizarre this is that Spiritism likes to reproduce all the facts that are opposed to it, and which, according to its adversaries, must kill it. If they were considered too dangerous it would keep them quiet. Here’s what it is about:



“The renowned English actor Sothem has just published a letter in a Glasgow newspaper that gives the last blow to Spiritism. The paper criticized him for ruthlessly attacking the Davenport brothers and the followers of the occult influences, after having himself entertained sessions of Spiritism in America, with the name Sticart, now his pseudonym in the theater. Mr. Sothem confesses to have frequently showed his friends that he could reproduce all the trickeries of the Spiritists, and even produce more fantastic tricks, but that his experiments had never taken place outside a small circle of friends and acquaintances.



He had never asked anyone to come up with a single cent, since he covered all the expenses himself, after which he joined his friends in a joyful dinner. With the help of a very active American, he obtained the most curious results: the apparition of ghosts, sounds of instruments, the signature of Shakespeare, invisible hands caressing the hair of spectators, slapping them, etc. Mr. Sothem always said that all that magic was the result of ingenious trickeries, skill, and dexterity, without the participation of the Spirits from the other world. In short, the celebrity artist declares that he challenges the Hume, the Davenports and all the Spiritists of the world to make some manifestation that he cannot overcome.



He never thought of making profession out of his skills but just embarrass the swindlers that insult religion and steal money from the public, making believe that they have a supernatural power; that they can communicate with the other world; that they can evoke the soul of the dead. Mr. Sothem does not go around the bushes to give his opinion. He gives things their actual names; to him, a cat is a cat and the Rollets… they are thieves.”



The Davenports had two things against them that our adversaries acknowledge: the theatrical exhibitions and exploitation. Believing in good faith – at least we like to admit it – that Spiritism consists of strong gimmicks from the part of the Spirits, the adversaries expected that the Spiritists would take sides with those gentlemen; they were a little disappointed when they saw the Spiritists, on the contrary, discredit that kind of manifestations as harmful to the principles of the doctrine, demonstrating that it is illogical to admit that the Spirits are always at the service of the first one that shows up, willing to use them to make money.

Certain critics, out of their own initiative, used this argument against the Davenports, unwilling defending the cause of Spiritism. The idea of bringing the Spirits to the stage and turning them into accomplices in their own interest led to a general feeling of repulsion, even in the non-believers, who said: “We do not believe in Spirits but if they do exist that is not how they should present themselves, and we must treat them with more respect.” They did not believe, and correctly so, that Spirits would do a session against a price, from which we can conclude that the exhibition and exploitation of extraordinary things are the worst means of making proselytes. If Spiritism supported such things this would be its weakness. Its adversaries know it so well that they do not let go the tiniest opportunity to touch it, believing to hit the doctrine. Mr. Gérôme, from the “Univers Illustré”, responding to Mr. Blanc de Lalésie (see the December issue of the Spiritist Review) that criticized him for speaking of something that he did not know, said: “I studied Spiritism in practice with the Davenports, and that cost me 15 francs. It is true that the Davenport brothers today work for lesser amounts: one can see the falsehood for 3 or 4 francs, practically the prices of Robin!”



The author of the article about the cataleptic of Swabia, who is not a Spiritist (see the January isse) is careful enough to point out, as a proof of confidence in these extraordinary phenomena, that her parents do not absolutely intend to benefit from the strange faculties of their daughter.



The exploitation of the Spiritist idea is, therefore, and undoubtedly, reason for discredit. The Spiritists deauthorize speculation, and that is why Mr. Sothem was carefully presented as selfless, in hopes of turning him into a successful argument. It is always the same thought that Spiritism lives of the wonderful and trickeries.



May the critics beat the abuse as much as they like; let them unmask deception and the ropes of charlatans, and Spiritism, that does not use any secret process, and whose doctrine is totally moral, can only win by being disentangled from the parasites that utilize it as a stepping stone that stains its character.



Spiritism had adversaries of real value in knowledge and intelligence, that unsuccessfully launched a whole arsenal of argumentation against it. We will see if the actor Sothem will have more success than the others to have it buried. It would have been buried long ago if it were founded on the absurd that have been attributed to it. However, if after charlatanism is dead, and the ridiculous practices are discredited, if it continues to exist, it means that there is something more serious in Spiritism that was not possible to reach.

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[1] See the Spiritist Review issue of June 1859: The rapping muscle. The Monitor and other newspapers announced some time ago that Dr. Jobert (de Lamballe) had been taken ill by a mental disease and was presently in a health facility.

The avidity with which the detractors of Spiritism collect the least news that they believe to be unfavorable to the doctrine expose them to singular mistakes. Their rush in having them published is such that they have no time to verify their accuracy. As a matter of fact, what does it matter the effort! The truth of the matter is secondary; it is essential to exalt the ridicule. Such urgency, sometimes, has its drawbacks, and in any case, it attests a lightheartedness that is far from supporting the criticism.



Formerly, swindlers were called simply escamoteurs; this word fell in discredit and was replaced by conjurors, still reminded a lot the jugglers (glass jugglers). The famous Conte, as it seems, was the first to adorn himself with the title of physicist, obtaining the privilege, in the Restauration, to write in his announcements and on the façade of his theater: Physicist of the King. From there on every schemer would go around fairs giving themselves the title physicist, physics professor, etc., a way of throwing dust onto the eyes of a certain public that, by not knowing better, in good faith place them on the same level as physicists from the Faculty of Sciences.



The art of prestidigitation has made immense progress and one cannot contest the fact that some do practice it with skill, special knowledge, a real talent, and an honest character. But this never goes beyond the art of producing illusion with more or less dexterity, and it is not a serious science with a place at the Institute.^[1]



Mr. Robin acquired, in that regard, a celebrity that had a lot of contribution from the Davenport brothers. Those gentlemen, with or without reason, used to say that they acted with the help of the Spirits. Would it be a new way of attracting curiosity, leaving behind worn out strategies? This is not the place to discuss the matter. In any case, for the simple fact that they pretended to be agents of the Spirits, those that do not admit them absolutely will shout: Wait! Mr. Robin, as a skillful man, quickly benefited from the opportunity. He declares to do the same effect by simple magic. By judging the Spirits dead, the critic boasts victory and proclaim him the winner.



But enthusiasm is blind and sometimes make strange mistakes. There are many Robins in the world, as there are many Martins. Lo and behold, a certain Mr. Robin, professor of physics, has just been elected a member of the Academy of Sciences. There could be no doubt, it must be Mr. Robin, the physicist from the boulevard du Temple, the rival of the Davenport brothers, that destroy the Spirits every night in his theater, and without much more information, a serious newspaper, The National Opinion, publishes the following on its Saturday, January 20^th:



“The events of the week must be wrong. There was, among them, some very curious ones. For example, the election of Charles Robin for the Academy of Sciences. We have defended his candidacy here for a long time, but there was a lot of outcry against it in several places. Fact is that this name, Robin, has something of diabolic. Remember Robin des Bois. Wasn’t Robin the name of the hero of Memories of the Devil? Mr. Robin is a physicist as wise as kind, who tied a sleigh bell onto the neck of the Davenports? The bell grew, grew and grew until it became larger than the large bell in Notre-Dame. The miserable swindlers, deaf by the noise that they produced, had to flee to America and America itself rejects them. Great victory of common sense; defeat of the supernatural! It counted on a vengeance against the Academy of Sciences and made tremendous efforts to exclude such enemy, this illustrious non-believer called Charles Robin. Lo and behold, the supernatural is again defeated at the heart of this thoughtful Academy. Mr. Robin will take a seat on the left side of Pasteur. And we are no longer in the times of sweet fables, in the happy and regretted time in which the shepherd’s crook imposed on Robin sheep!

Ed. About.”



To whom the mystification? We would be tempted to believe that some evil Spirit led the pen of the author of the article.



Here another misunderstanding that, despite being less funny, still demonstrates the lightheartedness with which the critic welcomes, without examination, everything that is believed to be contrary to Spiritism, and that despite everything that has been said, adamantly associates to the Davenport brothers, concluding that everything that is harmful to those gentlemen is also to the Doctrine, which in turn is not more supportive of those that take its name than true physics is not supportive of those that steal the title of physicist.



Several newspapers promptly reproduced the following article from the Franco-American Messenger. They should know, better than anybody else, that not everything that is printed is the word of the Gospel:



“Those poor Davenport brothers could not escape the ridicule that awaits charlatans of all sorts. Believed and praised in the USA, where they have made money, then unveiled and mocked in the capital of France, less easy to endure the humbug, they had to receive, in the very room of their great exploits in New York, the last deserved denial. It has just been given to them, Saturday night, in the presence of a large audience, by their former accomplice, Mr. Fay, in a room of the Cooper Institute.



Mr. Fay revealed everything there, the secrets of the famous armoire, the secret of the ropes and knots and all trickeries successfully employed for so long. Human comedy! When we think that serious and educated people admired and defended the Davenport brothers, and that called Spiritism the falsehoods that might be acceptable during carnival!”



We do not have to defend the Davenports, whose exhibitions we have always condemned as contrary to the principles of the sound Spiritist Doctrine. But, irrespective of the opinion one may have about them, the truth of the matter is that we must say that it was a mistake to infer in that article that they were in NY where they were mocked.



We know from a worthy source that after they left Paris they went to England, where they remain now. Mr. Fay that would have unveiled their secrets is not their brother-in-law, William Fay, that follows them, but a H. Melville Fay, that used to produce similar tricks in America and that is mentioned in their biography, with the recommendation of not confounding them. There is nothing strange about the fact that that gentleman was competing with them and thought convenient to take advantage of their absence to prank and discredit them to his own benefit. Spiritism could not be seen in that fight for the phenomenon. This is what can be gathered from the end of the article, when it says: “When we think that serious and educated people admired and defended the Davenport brothers, and that called Spiritism the falsehoods that might be acceptable during carnival! This statement has an air of censorship addressed to those who confuse so disparate things.



The Davenport brothers offered the detractors of Spiritism occasion or pretext for a formidable upheaval, before which Spiritism stood up calm and impassive, continuing its journey unmoved by the noise around. Something worth noticing is the fact that its followers, far from being scared, unanimously considered such effervescence useful to the cause, certain that Spiritism can only gain from being known. The critic attacked the Davenports with all its weapons, believing that with them they would kill Spiritism. If Spiritism did not scream it is because it was not hurt. What the critic killed was exactly what Spiritism condemns and disapproves: exploitation, public exhibitions, charlatanism, fraudulent maneuvers, gross imitations of natural phenomena that are produced under much different conditions, the abuse of a name that represents a totally moral doctrine, of love and charity. After such a tough punishment we believe that any attempt to find fortune through similar means would be reckless.



It is true that this has led to some confusion in the mind of some persons, a kind of very natural hesitation on those that only heard the censorship with partiality, not separating the true from the false. But a greater good came out of that evil: the desire to get to know that can only be beneficial to the Doctrine.



Thanks to the critics, then, for having done, through the help of the powerful means that they have, what the Spiritists could not have done by themselves. It pushed the matter a few years ahead, and once more convinced its adversaries of their importance. As a matter of fact, the public has heard the name Davenport so much that this begins to be as boring as the scream of Lambert.



It is time for the chronicle to find a new subject to explore.

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[1] That is how the French Academy of Sciences (Est. 1666) was referred to in those days (T.N.)

I

The spiritual fluids play an important role in all Spiritist phenomena, or better, they are the principle of those phenomena. Up until now we limited ourselves in saying that a given effect is the result of a fluidic action, but this general definition, although sufficient in the beginning, is no more, when we want to investigate the details. The Spirits wisely limited their teachings in the beginning; later, they called the attention to the serious issue of fluids, and that was not discussed in one center only. It was practically in all of them. But the Spirits do not bring this science ready to us, as with any other. They put us on the path, give us the material, and it is up to us to study, observe, analyze, and coordinate them, and put them in practice. That is what they did for the constitution of the doctrine and acted in the same way regarding the fluids. We know that they sketched their study in a thousand different places; we find some facts everywhere, some explanations, a partial theory, an idea, but we find the complete works nowhere. Why is that? An impossibility on their side? Absolutely not because what they did with men they could do with the Spirits. But, as we said, there is no way for them to preclude us from the works of intelligence, without which our strength would fade away since it would be more comfortable to have them working for us.



The work, therefore, is left to man whose intelligence, time and life are limited and none of them is supposed to constitute a science. That why there isn’t one that is in all its parts the work of a single man; none that has been led to perfection by its first inventor. Several men and multiple generations brought their contribution of research and observations.



The same with the issue at hand, whose several parts were treated separately, then organized in a methodic body when sufficient material could have been collected. This part of the Spiritist science already shows itself not as an individual and systematic conception of a man or a Spirit, but as the product of multiple observations whose authority is in the agreement among them.



For the reason above, we could not pretend that this is the last word. As we have said, the Spirits gauge their teachings and proportionate them to the maturity of the acquired ideas. We cannot doubt, therefore, that later they bring new observations on the way. But for now, there are elements to form a body that will be gradually complemented. The chain of events forces us to start from the top, so that we can move from what is known to the unknown.



II



Everything is interconnected in the works of creation. In the past the three kingdoms were considered entirely independent of one another, and people would have laughed at whoever pretended to find a correlation between the mineral and the vegetable, and the vegetable and the animal. An attentive observation made the solution of continuity disappear and proved that all bodies form an uninterrupted chain, so much so that the three kingdoms do not survive, in reality, but through the more markedly general characters; but, in their definitive limits, they confound to the point of causing difficulties in the determination of where one ends and the other begins, and in which one certain beings must be allocated. These are, for example, the zoophyte, or animal-plants, as they are called by the fact that they present characteristics that are both animal and plant.



The same applies to the composition of matter. For a long time, the four elements served as the foundation to the natural sciences, but they fell before the discoveries of modern Chemistry, that recognized an indetermined number of simple elements. Chemistry shows us that every material body in nature is formed by a combination of those elements in different proportions. The innumerable properties of the different bodies result from the infinite variety of those proportions. That is how, for example, a molecule of the gas oxygen and two of the gas hydrogen combined form water. Through the transformation in water, both oxygen and hydrogen lose their own properties; in other words, there is no more oxygen and hydrogen, but water. By decomposing the water, both gases return in the same proportion as before. If, instead of one there were two molecules of oxygen, the combination is no longer water but a very corrosive liquid^[1]. Just a simple change in the proportion of combinations to result into a poisonous substance instead of a healthy one. Through a reverse operation, if the elements of a deleterious substance like, for example, the arsenic are simply combined in different proportions, without the addition or elimination of any other substance, it will result harmless, or even healthy^[2]. There is more: several molecules of the same element together will yield different properties, depending on the mode of aggregation and the environment when they are located. The recently discovered ozone[3], in atmospheric air, is an example of that. It has been acknowledged that this substance is nothing more than oxygen, one of the main constituents of air, in a particular state that gives the substance properties that are different from the oxygen itself. Air is still formed by oxygen and nitrogen, but the quality varies depending on the quantity of oxygen in the state of ozone.



Such observations that seem strange to the matter at hand are, nonetheless, connected directly to our subject, as we shall see later. They are, besides, essential as means of comparison. Those compositions and decompositions are artificially obtained in the laboratory, in small scale, but take place spontaneously and in large scale in the great laboratory of nature. Under the influence of heat, light, electricity and humidity, a body decomposes, its elements separate, other combinations take place and new bodies are formed. That is how, the same molecule of oxygen, for example, that is part of our own body, and after its destruction, enters in the composition of a mineral, a plant, or an animated body. In our present bodies, therefore, there are there are the same proportion of elements that were forming parts of a multitude of other bodies. Let us cite an example to make it clearer.



A small seed is sowed onto the ground, it germinates, grows, and becomes a large tree that annually produces leaves, flowers, and fruits. Does it mean that the whole tree was contained in the seed? Certainly not, because it has a much larger amount of matter. Where does this matter come from? From the liquids, salts, and gases that the plant extracted from the earth and the air, that infiltrate in its stem and gradually increase in volume. But wood, flowers and fruits are neither in the ground nor in the air. Those same liquids, salts and gases were decomposed in the process of absorption; their elements suffered new combinations that resulted in sap, wood, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, volatile aromas, etc. These very parts, in turn, will disappear and decompose; their elements will once again mix up in the earth and in the air; then recompose again into substances that are essential to fruitification; reabsorbed, decomposed and once again transformed into sap, wood, bark, etc. In short, matter does not increase or diminishes, it is transformed, and by force of these successive transformations, the proportion of the multiple substances is always the necessary quantity to the needs of nature[4].



As an example, suppose that a given quantity of water is decomposed, in the nurturing process of vegetation, to provide oxygen and hydrogen needed for the multiple parts of the plant; it is a quantity of water that is reduced from the mass; but those parts of the plant, when decomposed, will free up the oxygen and the hydrogen that were contained, and those gases, combining again between themselves, will form a new quantity of water, equivalent to the one that had disappeared.



It is important to point out, at this point, that the man that can artificially trigger the compositions and decompositions that spontaneously take place in nature, is impotent to reconstitute the simplest organized body, even if that is a stalk of herb or a dead leaf. After having decomposed a piece of mineral, one can recompose it in all its parts, as it was before; but after separating the elements of a piece of vegetal or animal, one cannot reconstitute it, and even with more so, give it life. Human power stops at the inert matter: the principle of life is in God’s hands.



Most simple bodies are the so called “ponderable” because their weight can be determined, and that weight is proportional to the sum of molecules contained in a given volume of the material. Others are called “imponderable” since they have no weight to us, and irrespective of the amount accumulated on another body, there is no weight added to the latter. These are: heat, light, electricity, and the magnetic fluid. The latter is just a kind of electricity. Despite their imponderability, those fluids are still very powerful. Heat divides the hardest bodies, reducing them to vapor and yields to evaporated liquids an extraordinary force of expansion. Electricity breaks trees and rocks, bends iron bars, melts metallic parts, and transports huge masses over long distances. Magnetism gives iron the capacity of holding considerable masses. Light does not have that kind of power but exert a chemical action upon most of the bodies, and compositions and decompositions continuously take place under its influence. Without light, vegetables and animals weaken, and fruits have no taste or color.



III



Everything in nature, minerals, vegetables, animals, animated and non-animated, solid, liquid, and gaseous, all are formed by the same elements but combined in such a way to produce the infinite variety of bodies. Today, science goes farther; its investigations gradually lead to the great law of unity. Now it is generally accepted that the bodies considered simple are not, but modifications or transformations of a single element, universal principle called ether, cosmic or universal fluid, that depending on the mode of aggregation of its molecules, and under the influence of particular circumstances, it acquires special properties that form the simple bodies. These combined among themselves, and in several proportions, form, as we said, the innumerable variety of compounded bodies. According to this opinion, heat, light, electricity and magnetism are just modifications of the primitive universal fluid. This fluid, therefore, that with all likelihood is imponderable, would be at the same time the principle of the imponderable fluids and the ponderable bodies.



Chemistry allows us to penetrate the intimate constitution of the bodies, but experimentally it does not go beyond the bodies considered simple. Its analytical means are powerless to isolate the primitive element and determine its essence. There is a huge gap between this element in its absolute purity and the point where the investigations of science ends. Reasoning by analogy, one concludes that between these two extreme points the that fluid must undergo transformations that escape our instruments and material senses. It is in this new field, hitherto closed to exploration, that we will try to penetrate.



IV



Up until now we only have very incomplete ideas about the spiritual or invisible world. We thought the Spirits as beings beyond humanity; the angels were also special creatures, of a more perfect nature. As for the state of the souls after death, the knowledge was not more positive. The more general opinion assumed them to be abstract beings, disperse in space, with no more relationship with the living ones, unless, according to the doctrine of the Church, they were in the beatitude of heavens or in the darkness of hell. Furthermore, since the observations of science stops at the tangible matter, it results in an abyss between the corporeal and incorporeal worlds that seemed to exclude any approximation. This is the chasm that new observations and the study of the still unknown phenomena comes to fulfill, at least partially.



To begin with, Spiritism teaches us that the Spirits are the souls of men that lived on Earth; that they progress incessantly, and that the angels are the same souls or Spirits that arrived at a state of perfection that approach them to the Divinity. Second, it teaches us that the souls move alternately from the state of incarnate to erraticity; that in the latter state they constitute the population of the invisible world, to which they remain connected, until they have acquired the moral and intellectual development in sync with the nature of this globe, after which they leave, moving to a more advanced world.



Humanity supplies souls or Spiritist to the spiritual world, by the death of the body; the spiritual world feeds the corporeal world through births; there is, therefore, an incessant exchange between one and the other world. This constant relationship makes them close-knit because the beings that enter and leave our world are the same. This is the first trace of union, a contact point that already diminishes the distance that seemed to separate the visible from the invisible world.



The intimate nature of the soul, that is, the intelligent principle, the source of thoughts, completely escapes our investigations. But we now know that the soul is surrounded by an envelope or fluidic body that yields the soul a distinct, circumscribed and individual being. The soul is the intelligent principle when considered separately; it is the thinking and acting force, that can only be conceived isolated from matter as an abstraction. The soul, covered by its fluidic envelope, or perispirit, constitutes the being called Spirit, as it constitutes the human being when covered by the corporeal envelope. Although in its state of Spirit it enjoys special properties and faculties, it still belongs to humanity. The Spirits are, therefore, creatures like us, for each one of us becomes Spirit after death, and each Spirit becomes human through birth.



That envelope is not the soul, since it does not think; it is just the outfit. The perispirit, like the body, without the soul is inert matter, deprived of life and sensations. We say matter because, in fact, the perispirit, although of an ethereal and subtle nature, is not less matter than the imponderable fluids, and even more, “matter of the same nature and origin as the roughest and tangible matter”, as we shall soon see.



The soul is not dressed up by the perispirit just in the state of Spirit; the soul is inseparable from that envelope both during incarnation and in erraticity. In incarnation, the perispirit is the link between the soul and the material envelope, the intermediary with which the soul acts upon the organs and perceives the sensations of the exterior things. During life, the perispiritual fluid identifies itself with the body, penetrating all its parts; with death, it detaches from the body; deprived from life, the body dissolves but the perispirit remains always attached to the soul, that is, to the vivifying principle, and does not perish; instead of two envelopes, the soul keeps only one: the lighter one, the one that is in greater harmony with its spiritual state.



Although these principles are elementary to the Spiritists, it was useful to remind them for the comprehension of the subsequent explanations, and the connection of the ideas.



V



Some people contested the utility of the perispiritual envelope of the soul, and consequently its existence. They say the soul does not need an intermediary to act upon the body; and once separated from the body, it is a superfluous accessory.



Our answer, to begin with, is that the perispirit is not an imaginary creation, an invented hypothesis to get to a conclusion; its existence is a fact attested by observation. As for its utility, during life and after death, one must admit that, considering that it does exist, it must serve something. Those that contest its utility are like the one that, by not understanding the functions of certain gears in a mechanism, would conclude that they only serve to unnecessarily complicate the engine. That person does not see that if the tiniest piece were removed, everything would be disorganized. How many things, in the great mechanism of nature, seem useless to the eyes of the ignorant, and even to certain scientists that believe, in good faith, that if the construction of the universe were up to them, they would have done a much better job!



The perispirit is one of the most important gears of the economy. Science has observed it in some of its effects and has alternately called it by the names of vital fluid, nervous fluid or impulse, magnetic fluid, animal electricity, etc., without accounting for its precise nature and properties, and even less for its origin. It was suspected as the envelope of the Spirit after death since the remotest antiquity. All theologies attribute a fluidic body to the beings of the invisible world. St. Paul says, in precise terms, that we are born with a spiritual body (First Epistle to the Corinthians, Chap. XV, verses 35 to 44 and 50).



The same happens to all great truths based on the laws of nature, and from which the men of genius always had an intuition, in all epochs. That is how, since before out time, notable philosophers suspected the roundness of Earth and its movement of rotation, without any demerit to Copernicus and Galileo, even by supposing that they had taken those ideas from their predecessors. Thanks to their work, a theory without proof, something that was only their individual opinion, unknown to the masses, became a scientific truth, practical and popular.



The doctrine of the perispirit is in the same case. Spiritism was not the first one to discover it. But, as with Copernicus in the movement of Earth, Spiritism studied it, demonstrated, and analyzed it, defined, and extracted fruitful results from it. Without the more modern studies, this great truth, as with many others, would still be in the state of dead letter.



VI



The perispirit is the bond that connects the corporeal to the spiritual world. Spiritism show them in such an intimate and constant relationship that the transition from one to the other is almost imperceptible. As with nature, in which the vegetable kingdom is connected to the animal kingdom by semi-vegetable or semi-animal beings, the corporeal state connects to the spiritual one not only by the intelligent principle, that is the same, but also by the fluidic envelope of that very principle that is, at the same time, semi-material and semi-spiritual. The corporeal and spiritual beings are confounded during the earthly life, and act in agreement; the death of the body just separates them. The link of those states is such, and they act one upon the other with such a force that a day will come in which it will be acknowledged that the study of natural history of mankind cannot be complete without the study of the perispiritual covering, that is, without setting one foot onto the domain of the invisible world. Such proximity is still greater when the origin, nature, formation, and properties of the perispirit are observed, observation that naturally results from the study of the fluids.



VII



It is well-known that all animal matter has oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon for constituent principle, combined in different proportions. As we said, those very simple elements have a unique principle that is the universal cosmic fluid. Through their many combinations they form all varieties of substances that form the human body, the only we one that we mention here, although the same is true to the animals and plants. It follows that the human body is not more than a concentration, condensation, or solidification of carbon gas, if you will. In fact, let us suppose the complete disaggregation of all molecules of the body, and there we find oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon again; and in other terms, the body would have been volatized. Returning to their primitive states, these four elements, through a new and more complete decomposition, if our means of analysis would allow, would yield the cosmic fluid. This fluid, as the principle of every matter, is matter on its own right, although in a thoroughly ethereal state.



An analogue phenomenon occurs in the formation of the fluidic body or perispirit: it is equally a condensation of the cosmic fluid around the focus of intelligence, or soul. But the molecular transformation here takes place directly, for the fluid keeps its imponderability and ethereal properties. Both the human and perispiritual body have the same fluid as their source; one and the other are matter, although in two different states. We were then right by saying that the perispirit has the same nature and origin as the grossest matter. As it can be seen, there is nothing supernatural because, by its principle, it is connected to the things of nature, of which it is no more than a variety. Since the universal fluid is the principle of all bodies in nature, animate and inanimate, and consequently, of earth and stones, Moses was right when he said: “And God formed man of the dust of the ground”.^[5] This does not mean that God took a handful of dirt, petrified and modelled the body of man, as one does with a statue of mud, according to the belief of those that take the words of the Bible literally, but instead that the body was formed from the same principles or elements of the earth or that were used to form earth. And Moses adds: “And he gave him a living soul, made in his likeness”. He then makes a distinction between the body and the soul; indicates that this is of different nature, and not matter, but spiritual and immaterial like God. He says: “a living soul”, specifying that it has the principle of life, whilst the body, formed by matter, does not live on its own. The words “in his likeness” mean similarity and not identity. Had Moses seen man as part of Divinity, he would have said: “God animates him by giving him a soul taken out of His own substance” as he said that the body had been taken from earth. These thoughts are an answer to the persons that accuse Spiritism of materializing the soul, because it gives the soul a semi-material envelope.



VIII



In the normal state, the perispirit is invisible to our eyes and impalpable to our feel, as are an infinity of gases and fluids. However, the invisibility, impalpability, and even the imponderability of the perispiritual fluid are not absolute. That is why we say in the normal state. In certain cases, it suffers, perhaps, a greater condensation, or a special molecular modification that makes it momentarily visible or tangible. That is how the apparitions are produced. Even without apparition, some persons feel the fluidic impression of the Spirits, and that is an indication of material nature.



Whatever the way there is an atomic transformation of the fluid, there is no cohesion like in the material bodies; the appearance forms and dissipates instantaneously, explaining the subtle appearances and disappearances. Since the appearances are the product of an invisible material fluid, made visible by the force of a momentarily change in its molecular structure, they are not more supernatural than vapors that alternately become visible or invisible by condensation or rarefaction. We mention vapor as a comparative example, not pretending that there is similarity of cause and effect.



IX



Some people criticized the qualification of semi-material given to the perispirit, saying that something is or is not matter. Admitting that the expression is improper, it would still be necessary to adopt it given the lack of a special word to express this particular state of matter. If there were a more appropriate word to this thing, the critics should have indicated it. The perispirit is matter, as we have just seen, and speaking philosophically, and for its intimate essence; nobody can dispute that; but it does not have the properties of tangible matter, as it is commonly conceived; it cannot be submitted to a chemical analysis, for although it has the same principle as the flesh and the marble, and it may take their appearances, in reality it is neither flesh nor marble. From its ethereal nature, it has, at the same time, the appearance of materiality for its substance, and spirituality, for its impalpability, and the word semi-material is not more ridiculous than semi-double and many others, because one can also say that something is a double or is not.



X



As a universal elemental principle, the cosmic fluid offers two distinct states: the ethereal or imponderable, that we may consider as the normal primitive state, and that of materialization or ponderable, that in a way is consecutive. The intermediary point is the transformation of the fluid into tangible matter. However, here also there is not sudden transition, for we can consider our imponderable fluids as a midterm between the two states. Each of these two states necessarily gives rise to special phenomena. Those of the visible world belong to the latter, and those of the invisible world to the former. Some, called material phenomena, are in the field of science itself; the others, called spiritual phenomena, for being connected to the existence of the Spirits, are the subject of Spiritism. But there are so many points of contact between them that they serve to mutual clarification, and as we said, the study of ones could not be complete without the study of the others. The study of the fluids leads to the explanation of the latter, the subject of a future special work.

---

[1] Note: H₂O₂ is the formula of Hydrogen Peroxide (T.N.)


[2] Arsenic was a common “poison”, the so called “white poison” for its similarity to salt and sugar in appearance, utilized as a murder weapon for generations, even before the nineteenth century. (T.N.)


[3] Ozone, or trioxygen, is an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula O ₃. It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope O ₂, breaking down in the lower atmosphere to O₂. Source Wikipedia (T.N.)


[4] The principle of conservation of mass was proposed by Antoine Lavoisier in 1773 (T.N.)


[5] Genesis 2, 7

Judicial Persecution of the Spiritists – Letter from a Judge



Spiritism counts on several magistrates in its ranks, as we have said multiple times, not only in France but in also in Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany and in most countries abroad. The majority of the detractors of the doctrine, that believe to have the privilege of common sense and hold as insensible those that do not share their skepticism about spiritual things, and we do not say supernatural because Spiritism does not admit it, are surprised to see men of intelligence and worth, in their opinion, falling in such a mistake.

Aren’t the magistrates free to have their opinion, faith, and belief? Don’t we find among them Catholics, Protestants, free-thinkers, Franco-Masons? Who could then incriminate those that are Spiritists? We are no longer in the times when a judge could be burnt for daring say publicly that it is Earth that turns.

Strange thing! There are people that would like to see that time revived to the Spiritists. In the last outcry, haven’t we seen men that call themselves apostles of freedom of speech to point at them as breachers of the law, exciting the crowds to stone them away, stigmatizing them and calling them names in journals and pamphlets? This happened not as a joke but out of true rage, that thanks to the times we live, ended in words. It was necessary to resort to the whole moral strength of the Spiritists, all the moderation that becomes a law in their own belief, to keep calm and cold blood in such circumstances, abstaining from reprisals that could be regrettable. This contrast shocked every impartial person.

Is Spiritism, then, an association, a terrible affiliation that is dangerous to society but obedient to a word of commandment? Do its followers have a pact among themselves? It is only ignorance and ill-faith that can sustain such absurd, considering that their doctrine has no secret to nobody and that they act in daylight.

Spiritism is a philosophy like any other, that is freely accepted if convenient, or repelled if not; that rests on an inalterable faith in God and in the future, and that only obliges its followers to one thing: to see brothers in every human being, irrespective of their belief, and do good, even to those that do us harm. Why, then, a magistrate could not openly declare himself to be a follower, declaring it to be good if he considers it good, as he can declare to be a follower of the doctrine of Aristotle, Descartes, or Leibnitz? Would they be afraid that his judgement would suffer because of that? That he became too indulgent to the followers? Here is naturally the place for some observations about it.



In a country, like ours, where opinions and religions are free by law, it would be a monstrosity to persecute an individual because he believes in Spirits and their manifestations. If a Spiritist would be delivered to the justice it would not be for his belief, as it was done in other times, but having breached the law. Therefore, it would be the fault that was punished and not the belief, and if guilty he would be fairly submitted to the penalties of the law. To incriminate the doctrine, it would be necessary to see if it contains any principle of maxim that would authorize or justify the fault. If, on the contrary, it is found in the doctrine a censorship to that fault, or instructions in the opposite directions, the doctrine could not be responsible for the ones that do not understand or practice it. Well, then! Have the doctrine analyzed with impartiality, and we challenge anyone to find a single word that can serve as support to any single act reprehensible to the eyes of moral, or regarding a neighbor or even that may be interpreted as bad, because everything in the doctrine is clear and unequivocal. Anyone that follows the precepts of the doctrine could not, therefore, suffer judicial persecution, unless the persecution is against the belief itself, and that would be persecution o faith. We are not aware of persecutions of such a kind in France, not even abroad, except for the condemnation followed by the auto-da-fé^[1] in Barcelona, which was a sentence given by the bishop and not by a civil court. And they only burned books. As a matter of fact, why would them persecute persons that only preach order, tranquility, and respect to the law; that practice charity, not only among themselves, as it is done in exclusive sects, but towards everybody; whose main objective is to work for one’s own moral betterment; that reject any hatred and vengeance towards their enemies? Persons that profess such principles cannot be the troublemakers of society. They will not absolutely be the ones to cause disorder, something that led one police chief to say that if all those under his administration were Spiritists he could close shop.

Most persecutions, in similar cases, aim at the illegal practice of medicine, or accusations of charlatanism, prestidigitation or deception, through mediumship.

To begin with we say that Spiritism cannot be responsible for individuals that unduly assume the quality of mediums, as much as the true science cannot be responsible for swindlers that call themselves physicists. A charlatan can, consequently, say that he acts with the help of the Spirits, as a con artist say that he acts with the support of physics. It is a means, like any other, of throwing dust on the eyes. That is too bad for those that allow themselves to be tricked. Second, by condemning the exploitation of mediumship for being contrary to the principles of the doctrine, from a moral point of view, and additionally demonstrating that it must not and it cannot be a profession, and that every medium that takes any advantage of their faculty, directly or indirectly, ostensive or in disguise, by condemning all these Spiritism keeps away even the suspicion of trickery or charlatanism. Considering that the medium is not driven by any material interest, charlatanism does not make sense. The medium that understands the seriousness and the sacred gift would see profanation in utilizing it to serve mundane things, for oneself or others, or by turning it into an object of fun and curiosity. The medium respect the Spirits, in the same way the they would like to be respect when become Spirits, and do not expose them to exhibition. Besides, they know that mediumship cannot be a means of foretelling, and that it cannot help them to uncover treasures or inheritances, nor facilitate success with serendipitous things. The medium will never be a reader of luck, not by money or anything else, and therefore will never be in trouble with the law. As for the healing mediumship, it does exist, it is true. But it is subordinated to restrictive conditions, that exclude the possibility of open office, without suspicion of charlatanism. It is the work of devotion and sacrifice, and not speculation.



When it is practiced with selflessness, prudence, and wisdom, and contained within the limits delineated by the doctrine, it cannot fall before the strokes of the law. The medium, in short, according to the designs of the Providence and under the eyes of Spiritism, may she be an artificer or a princess, since they are found in the palaces and in the shanties, she received a mandate that is accomplished religiously and with dignity. She only sees in her faculty a means of glorifying God and serving her neighbor, and not an instrument to serve her own interests and to satisfy her vanity. She is liked and respected for her simplicity, modesty, and abnegation, something that does not happen to those that make a trampoline out of that mandate.

The rigor of the law does not harm the doctrine, but the abuse, when it reaches the exploiting mediums, those that misuse a real faculty or that simulate a faculty that they do not have. Well, serious Spiritism, without abuse, can only gain consideration with this, and would not support those that could deviate public opinion on their own. By assuming facts and causes, Spiritism would take responsibility for what they do, because those are not true Spiritists, even if they were real mediums.

While persecuting in a Spiritist, or in those that call themselves so, only the acts that are reprehensible to the eyes of the law, the role of the defender is to discuss the action in itself, abstraction made of the belief of the accused. It would be a serious mistake to try to justify the action in the name of the doctrine. On the contrary, he must endeavor to demonstrate that the doctrine is alien to the action. The accused then falls in the common law.

It is incontestable that the broader and more varied the knowledge of a magistrate, the better they are to appreciate the facts under analysis for pronunciation. In a case of legal medicine, for example, it is obvious that the one that is not totally foreign to the science will be able to better judge the value of the argumentation, from both accusation and defense, than another one that ignores its basic principles. In a case where Spiritism would be in question, in these times when it is in the order of the day and may incidentally appear as principal or accessory in a number of cases, there is a real need for the magistrates to know, at least, what it is about, without being taken as Spiritists for that matter. In one of the cases above, they would incontestably know to distinguish the abuse from the truth.

Spiritism by infiltrating more and more among the ideas, and already taking a place among the accepted beliefs, it is not far the day when not a single enlightened person will be allowed to ignore what it is, in the same way that the first principles of science cannot be ignored. Now, since it reaches all scientific and moral issues, many things that seemed strange, at first sight, will be better understood. That is how, for example, the doctor will find the true cause of certain diseases; the artist will collect numerous themes of inspiration; the magistrate and the lawyer will find, in many circumstances, a source of light.

That is how Mr. Jaubert, honorable Vice-President of the Carcassonne Court, conceives it. To him it is more than an additional knowledge: it is a matter of conviction because he understands its moral reach. Although he had never hidden his opinion about it, convinced of being right and of the moralizing power of the doctrine, he wanted to give the authority of his name, now that faith fades away in skepticism, at the very moment when the doctrine was attacked with maximum violence, resolutely defying mockery, and showing his adversaries his indifference towards their sarcasm. Given his position, and the circumstances, the letter that he asked us to have published, and that we inserted in our last January issue, was an act of courage, from which every sincere Spiritist will keep as a precious memory. It will leave its mark in the history of establishment of Spiritism.

The following letter, that we are equally authorized to publish, ranks alongside that of Mr. Jaubert. It is one of those adhesions, frankly explicit and motivated, in which the position of the author gives more weight, for being spontaneous and since we did not have the honor of knowing this gentleman. He judges the doctrine by the simple impression of the works, for he had seen nothing. It is the best answer to the accusation of ineptitude and charlatanism launched against Spiritism and its followers, without distinction.

November 21^st, 1865

“Dear Sir,

Allow me, as a new and keen follower, to testify my whole recognition to you for having initiated me, through your writings, in the Spiritist science. I read The Spirits Book, out of curiosity; but, after an attentive reading, an admiration and total conviction followed, after a mistrustful disbelief. The doctrine that ensues from it, in fact, provides the most logical solution, the most satisfying to reason, of all questions that have seriously concerned thinkers of all times, to define the conditions of the existence of mankind on Earth, to explain the vicissitudes of humanity and determine their final objectives. This remarkable doctrine is incontestably the sanction of the purest and most fecund moral, the demonstrated exaltation of the goodness of God and the sublime works of creation, as well as the safest and strongest basis of the social order. I have not witnessed Spiritist manifestations, but this element of proof, in no way contrary to my religion (Catholic), is not necessary to my conviction. To begin with, I only need to find, in the order of the Providence, the reason for the inequalities of conditions on Earth, in one word, the reason for the material and moral evil. In fact, my reason totally admits, as for justifying the existence of moral and material evil, the soul leaving the hands of the Creator, simple and ignorant, dignified by the free-will, progressing through successive trials and atonements, and only arriving at the sovereign happiness by acquiring the plenitude of its ethereal essence, by the complete liberation from the material bonds, that altering the conditions of beatitude, must have served its progress. In this order of ideas, what is more rational than the Spirits, in their multiple phases of progressive depuration, communicating among themselves, from one world to the other, incarnate or invisible, to enlighten themselves, to help one another, to mutually concur to their advancement, facilitating their trials and entering in the healing path of remorse and return to God! What is more rational, I say, than such a continuity, such a strengthening of family links, friendship and charity, uniting mankind in their passage by this Earth, with the final objective of reuniting them all in a single family in the heart of God!

What a sublime trace of union: love departing from heavens and embracing the whole humanity with its Divine breath, inhabiting the universe, reconducting humanity to God, enjoying the eternal beatitude from which the source is that love! What can be more worthy of the wisdom, justice, and infinite goodness of the Creator! What a grandiose image of the works, whose harmony and immensity is revealed by Spiritism, lifting the tip of the veil that still does not allow mankind to penetrate all mysteries! How much have men restricted the immensurable greatness, placing humanity on an imperceptible spot, lost in space, and only granting to a small group of elected ones, the eternal happiness reserved to all! They thus reduced the Divine artisan to the tiny proportion of their perceptions, of the tyrannic aspirations, cruel and vindictive, inherent to their imperfections.

Finally, it is enough to my reason to find in this doctrine the serenity of the soul, crowning an existence resigned to the providential tribulations of a life, honestly realized by the accomplishment of its duties, and the practice of charity, the firmness of faith, by the solution of doubts that compress the aspirations to God, and finally this total trust in the justice, goodness, and in the merciful and paternal solicitude of the Creator.

Kindly count me, dear Sir, on the number of your brothers in Spiritism, and accept etc.

Bonnamy, Judge of Instruction.”



A communication given by the father of Mr. Bonnamy provoked the following letter. We did not reproduce that communication for its personal and intimate character, but we give below the second letter of general interest.

“Dear Sir and Teacher, a thousand times thank you for having kindly evoked my father. Long time no hear that loved voice. It revives today after being extinct so many years ago! It is a dream coming true to my saddened imagination, a dream conceived under the impression of our painful separation. What a sweet, what a consoling revelation, so full of hopes to me! Yes, I see my father and my mother in the world of the Spirits, watching over me, lavishing on me the benefit of their anxious solicitude with which they surrounded me on Earth. My holy mother, in her tender concern for the future, penetrating me with her fragrance to bring me to God and show me the way of the eternal truths, that sparkled for me in a distant nebulous!

How happy I would be if, according to my father’s wishes of communicating again, his evocation could be considered useful for the progress of the Spiritist science, and join the providential teachings reserved to the works! I would then find, in your journal, the elements of the Spiritist instructions, sometimes mixed up with the sweetness of the family conversations. It is a simple wish, if you will, dear teacher. I take much into account the demands of the mission that you carry out, to make a request out of this wish. I give total authorization for the publication of my letter. I will, in good faith, take the grain of sand to the construction of the Spiritist edifice, happy if, to the contact of my profound belief, the doubts of some were diluted and the skeptical would consider to think more seriously. Allow me, dear teacher, to address some words of sympathy and encouragement to you for your tough undertaking. Spiritism is a providential light house, whose dazzling and fecund light must open all eyes, confound men’s pride, and touch every conscience. Its irradiation will be irresistible. What treasures of consolation, mercy and love you are the distributor!

Yours, etc.

Bonnamy”

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[1] Auto-da-fé, (Portuguese: “act of faith”) , plural autos-da-fé, Spanish auto de fé, a public ceremony during which the sentences upon those brought before the Spanish Inquisition were read and after which the sentences were executed by the secular authorities. (source: Britanica.com, T.N.)

Instruction of Mr. Bonnamy, Father

Human Law



Human law, as with everything else, is submitted to progress; slow, oblivious but constant progress. However remarkable they may be, to certain persons, the former legislations of the Greeks and Romans are far inferior to those that govern the advanced populations of your time! In fact, what is it that we see at the origin of each people? A code of use and social mores drawing its sanction from force and having by driver the most absolute egotism. What was the objective of every primitive legislator? Destroy evil and its instruments for the greater peace of society. Do we care about the criminal? No. Is he spanked to be corrected and to be shown the need for a more moderate behavior with respect to his fellow citizens? Is it for his betterment? Not at all. It is exclusively to preserve society against their actions, a selfish society that mercilessly rejects from its bosom everything that may disturb its tranquility. All the repressions are therefore excessive, and the death penalty is the more generally applied. This is conceivable when the intimate relationship that does exist between the law and the religious principle is considered. Both advance in agreement, towards a unique objective, helping one another.

Does religion sanction all material pleasures, and every satisfaction of the senses? The tough and excessive law wounds the criminal to untangle society from an unwelcome guest. Does religion change, sanctions the life of the soul and its independence of matter? It also reacts upon legislation, demonstrating its responsibility in the future of the transgressor of the law. Hence the assistance of the priest, whatever it is, at the final moments of the condemned man. We hit him again, but we are worried with the being that does not die entirely with the body, and whose spiritual part will receive the punishment that was inflicted to the material element by men.

In the Middle Ages, and since the Christian era, legislation receives from the religious principle an ever more remarkable influence. It loses little of its cruelty, but the absolute and still cruel drives changed completely in direction. Just like science, philosophy and politics, jurisprudence has its revolutions that must not occur but slowly, to be accepted by the generality of the beings they interest. A new institution, to be fruitful, should not be imposed. The art of the legislator is to prepare the minds in such a way as to have it desired and have it considered a benefit… Any innovator, whatever their driving intentions, and however commendable their designs, will be considered a tyrant, of whom it will be necessary to shake out the weight, if willing to impose himself, even if with benefits. Man is essentially free and wants to accept without constraints. Hence the difficulties encountered by men that are too advanced for their time; and hence the persecutions that overwhelm them. They live in the future! With one or two centuries of advancement with respect to the mass of their contemporaries, they can only fail and break against the refractory routine. Thus, in the Middle Ages, they were concerned with the future of the criminal. They thought of their soul, and to facilitate regret, they were threatened with the punishments of hell, the eternal flames inflicted to the guilty ones by an infinitely just and good God! Since they cannot rise to the level of God, and to aggrandize themselves, men reduced God to their meager proportions! They were unease with the future of the criminal; thought of their soul, not for the sake of it, but for a new transformation of egotism, that meant to be appeased with their conscience by reconciling the sinner with God. Bit by bit the inequity of such a system became evident, in the heart and thoughts of a small group. Imminent minds tried premature changes, that nonetheless yielded fruits, creating precedents upon which the transformations that happen in all things today are based.

The law will undoubtedly still be repressive and punish the guilty ones for a long time. We have not arrived yet at the time when the awareness of the fault will be the toughest punishment to the sinner. But, as you see daily, the penalties get lighter; the moralization of the creature is considered; institutions are created to prepare their moral renovation; the correction becomes useful to oneself and to society. The criminal will no longer be the beast to be purged from the world at any price. He will be the stray child whose reason, deviated by the bad passions and by the influence of tough surroundings, will be corrected!

Ah the magistrate and the judge are not the only ones responsible and the only ones to act in such cases. Every heartful man, prince, senator, journalist, writer, legislator, professor, and artisan, all must put hands on and bring their alms to the regeneration of humanity.

Death penalty, an infamous vestige of former cruelty, will disappear by the force of things. Repression that is necessary to the current state, will ease up day by day; and, in a few generations, the only condemnation, the condition of outlaw of an intelligent being will be the last degree of infamy, until the time when, from transformation to transformation, the conscience of each one will be the only judge and executioner of the criminal. And who should we thank for all that work? To Spiritism, that acts through its successive revelations since the beginning of the world, with Islamism, Christianity and Spiritism properly speaking! Its benevolent influence is blindly obvious everywhere, in each period, and there are still creatures blind enough not to recognize it, self-interested enough to take it down and deny its existence. We must feel sorry for them since the fight against an invisible power: the hand of God!

Bonnamy, Father (Medium: Mr. Desliens).

“… Regarding the detachment of the Spirit, that takes place during the sleep to all of us, my spiritual guide exercises me in the vigil state. While the body is dormant, the Spirit travels far away, visits the persons and places that are of their like, returning effortlessly afterwards. The most remarkable thing to me is the fact that while in a cataleptic like state, I am aware of that detachment. I also exercise the reverence that allows me to be pleasantly visited by sympathetic Spirits, incarnate and discarnate. This latter study only takes place at night, around three or four o’clock, and when the resting body awakens. I remain a few moments waiting, like after an evocation. I then feel the presence of the Spirit by a physical impression, and soon an image that allows me to recognize him comes to mind. A mental conversation is established, like in the intuitive communication, and such a kind of conversation has something of nicely intimate. My incarnate brother and sister visit me many times, sometimes followed by my father and mother from the world of the Spirits. A few days ago I received your visit, dear teacher, and given the tenderness of the fluid that penetrated me, I thought it was one of our celestial guardians; just think about my happiness when I recognized your voice in my mind. Lamennais gave us a communication about it and must encourage our efforts. I could not describe to you the joyfulness of this kind of mediumship. If you have some intuitive mediums around you, familiar with the reverence and the mental effort, they can also try. It is evocation, instead of writing, it is talk through which one expresses the ideas, without prolixity. My guide observed, many times, that there was a suffering Spirit, a friend that come to learn or seeking consolations. Yes, Spiritism is a precious benefit: it opens a vast field to charity, and the one that is inspired by good feelings, if not materially, can always help their brother spiritually.”

This mediumship, that we call mental mediumship, is certainly not adequate to convince the skeptical, because it has nothing ostensible, nor it has those effects that reach the senses. It is for the personal satisfaction of those that have it. But it must also be said that it is very much prone to illusion and one must be suspicious of appearances. Regarding the existence of this faculty, we cannot doubt it. We even believe that this must be the most common one, because it is considerable the number of people that, in the vigil state, suffer the influence of the Spirits, and receive the inspiration of a thought that feel not be of their own. The pleasant or unpleasant sensation that one feels in the presence of someone that is met for the first time; the presentiment of proximity of someone; the reading and transmission of thought, are so many other effects due to the same cause and that constitute a kind of mediumship, that must be considered universal, since everybody has it, at least the rudimentary. However, to experience its markedly effects, a special aptitude is necessary, or even better, a degree of sensitivity more or less developed, according to the individuals. From that point of view, as we have said for a long time, we are all mediums, and God has not precluded anybody from the precious advantage of receiving healthy emanations of the spiritual world, that are translated in a thousand and one different ways. But the variety in the human organisms does not allow everyone to receive identical and ostensible effects. After having discussed these issues at the Spiritist Society of Paris, the following instructions were given about it, by multiple Spirits.

I

It is possible to develop the spiritual sense, as we daily see a skill developing through constant work. You know that the communication between the incorporeal world and your senses is constant: it happens every time, every minute, by the law of the spiritual relationships. Dare the incarnates deny here a law of nature itself! You have just heard that the Spirits see and visit one another during the sleep; you have many proofs of that. Why would you like this not to occur in the vigil state? There is no night to the Spirits. No. They are always by your side; the watch you; your loved ones inspire you, excite your thoughts, guide you; they talk to you and exhort you; they protect your works, help to elaborate designs that are half way through, and your still vacillating dreams; they annotate your good resolutions and fight when you fight. These good friends are there, at the end of your incarnations; they play with you in the crib, enlighten you in your studies, and later get involved in all events of your passage here on Earth; they pray when they see you preparing to meet them. No, never deny the daily assistance; never deny your spiritual mediumship, for it is blasphemy against God, and you will be called ungrateful by the Spirits that love you.

H. Dozon, medium Mr. Delanne

II

Yes, this type of spiritual communication is really a mediumship, as you still have, as a matter of fact, others to be attested during your Spiritist studies. It is a kind of cataleptic state, very pleasant to the person that experiments it. It provides all the joys of the spiritual life to the imprisoned soul, that finds an undefined appeal and that would like to feel that all the time. But nonetheless, one must return, and like the prisoner that is allowed to feel the air in an open field, the soul is constrained in the human cell. It is a very pleasant mediumship this one that allows an incarnate Spirit to see the old friends, talk with them, express their earthly impressions, and be able to open the heart in a circle of discrete friends, that do not try to ridicule your confiding, but instead, give you good advices, if useful. Such advices, given in such a way, have more weight to the medium that receives them, because the Spirit that gives them leaves a profound impression in the brain of the receiving medium, and for that reason the medium kept a better memory in her heart of the sincerity and value of those advices. This mediumship does exist in an unconscious state in many people. Know this that near you there is always a sincere friend, always ready to give encouragement to the one whose direction was entrusted to them by the Almighty. No, my friends, you will never lack this kind of support; it is up to you to distinguish the good inspirations from all those that collide in the labyrinth of your consciences. By understanding what comes from your guide, you cannot deviate from the straight path that must be followed by every soul that seeks perfection.

Protector Spirit, medium Mrs. Causse



III

You have already heard that the mediumship would be revealed in different forms. The one called mental by your President is well defined. It is the first degree of the clairvoyant and speaking mediumship. The speaking medium enters into communication with the Spirits, talks with them; the Spirit of the medium sees them, or better saying, foresees them; the medium only transmits what she is told, whereas in the case of the mental medium, if well formed, she can ask questions and receive answers, without the intermediary of the pen or pencil, more easily than the intuitive medium, because here the Spirit of the medium is more detached and a more faithful interpreter. But for that it is necessary a keen desire to be useful, to work towards the good, with a pure feeling, exempt from any thought of self-love and own interest. This is the most subtle and delicate mediumship of all. The tiniest breath of impurity is enough to have it stained. It is only in that condition that the mental medium will obtain proofs of the reality of the communications. You will soon see, appearing around you, oral mediums that will surprise you by their eloquence and logic. Wait, pioneers that are in hurry to see your works prosper; new workers will join your ranks, and this year will see the conclusion of the first great phase of Spiritism, and the beginning of another one, not less important. As for you, dear teacher, God bless your works; may God support you and sustain you in the special favor that you were given, allowing us to guide you and support you in your work, that is also ours.

As the Spiritual President of the Parisian Society, I watch over it, and over every member in particular and pray for the grace and blessings of the Lord to be cast upon all of you.

St. Louis, medium Mrs. Dellane

IV

Certainly, my friends, the mediumship that consists in talking with the Spirits, like with the persons that live the material life, will develop as the detachment of the Spirit takes place more easily, through the habit of revering. The more advanced the incarnate Spirits, the easier those communications will be. As you say, it will not be very important from the point of view of conviction to the skeptical, but it is very soothing to the one that carries it, helping them to dematerialize more and more. Prayer and reverence, this impulse of the soul to her Author, expressing love and recognition, still requesting help, are the two elements of the spiritual life; they cast upon the soul this celestial dew that helps in the development of faculties that are in their latent state.

How unfortunate are those that say the prayer is useless because it does not modify God’s designs! The laws that govern the multiple types of phenomena, no doubt, will not be disturbed by the wishes of one or another, but the only effect of the prayer is to improve the individual, that through this act, elevates the thoughts above material interests, being this the reason why it must not be neglected. Society will finally regenerate by the renovation of the individuals, and God knows that this is needed! You get upset when you think about the vices of the Pagan society, at the time when Jesus Christ brought his humanitarian reformation; but the vices are still present in your time, hidden under more expressive veils of education and politeness.

They no longer have the magnificent temples of the former Greece. But these are in the hearts of people, causing the same devastations among them as those that preceded the Christian era. It is not but with great utility that the Spirits came to remember the teachings given eighteen centuries ago, since you had forgotten them and as such you cannot take advantage of and spread them according to the will of the Divine crucified. You must therefore thank, every one of you that were called to cooperate in the works of the Spirits, and may your selflessness and charity never diminish, because that is how the true Spiritists are known.

Louis of France, medium Mrs. Breul

In the latest issue of the Spiritist Review, last December, we said a few words about this novel, that was edited in feuilleton in the “Moniteur Universel” and that is now published in a book. Unfortunately the space does not allow us to make a detailed analysis, and in particular cite some passages whose ideas are incontestably extracted from the same source as Spiritism; but considering that most of our readers have already read it, it would be superfluous to provide a report here. We will only say that the part attributed to the fantastic is certainly a bit large, and that one must not take every fact by the letter. It is necessary to say that this is not a treaty of Spiritism. The truth is in the bottom line of the ideas and thoughts, that are essentially Spiritists and presented with finesse and enchanting grace, much more than in the facts, whose possibility is sometimes challenged. Despite being a romance, it has great importance, first for the name of the author, and because it is the first work of a writer from the press, where the Spiritist idea is categorically confirmed, and that appears at the time when contradiction seemed to be navigating the wave of attacks against this idea. The form of the romance also had its utility; it was certainly preferred to the strictly doctrinal aspects, in this transition. Thanks to an apparent lightness, he touched everything in the idea. Although Théophile Gautier is one of the favorite authors from the press, the press itself showed an uncharacteristic sobriety about this book. The press did not know if it should have been blessed or censored.

To criticize Théophile Gautier, a friend, a comrade, a writer beloved by the public; to say that he had written an absurd book, it was something difficult; praising the book would be an exaltation of the idea; keeping silence about a popular name would be an insult. The novelistic style kept the embarrassment away; it allowed to say that the author had created a beautiful work of imagination, and not conviction. They talked, but not much. That is how we see skepticism compromising. We noticed something very singular: the day in which the book was released there were cards, in all booksellers, with a small ad publicized abroad. A few days later all the ads had disappeared. In the slim and rare notes in the newspapers we found significant confessions, undoubtedly due to a slipup of the author. The “Courrier du Monde Illustré”, on December 16th, 1865 brings the following: “One must believe that the poet Théophile Gautier, unnoticeably, without professing the doctrine, without even having probed much of these unfathomable questions of Spiritism and somnambulism, just out of the intuition of his poetic genius, hit the nail on the head, fled with the box office and found the “open sesame” of the mysterious evocations, for the book that he published as a feuilleton in the “Moniteur” with the title Spiritist, agitated violently all those that deal with such dangerous questions. The emotion was overwhelming, and to assess its reach is necessary to cover every newspaper of Europe, as we do. The whole Spiritist Germany stood up as one, and like all those that live on the contemplation of an idea and only have their eyes on that idea, one of the most serious institutions of Austria pretends that the Emperor himself ordered this prodigious novel by Théophile Gautier, in a way to deviate France’s attention from matters of politics. First statement, whose reach I do not exaggerate. The second one hurt me for its fantastic side. According to the German periodical, the poet of the Comedy of Death, much agitated as a consequence of a vision, would have gotten very sick and taken to Geneve, and with fever, forced to wait for a hospital bed for several weeks, victim of strange nightmares, glowing hallucinations, a constant toy of errant Spirits. In one morning, they would have found the disperse pages of the Spiritist manuscript, by the foot of his bed.

Not attributing to the inspiration that guided the pen of the author of Avatar, such a fantastic source, we strongly believe that once involved in that subject, the writer of The Romance of a Mummy would have become ecstatic with those visions, and that in the paroxysm he would have designed these remarkable descriptions of Heavens, one of his most beautiful pages. The correspondence that led to the publication of Spiritist is extremely curious. It is a shame that, out of convenience, we did not request one of the letters received by the poet of Enamels and Cameos.”

We do not do literary criticism here, otherwise we could find the catalogue utilized by the author in the article something of doubtful taste, that also seems to fault a bit for lack of clarity. We confess not have understood the phrase of the frog; it is, nonetheless, cited verbatim. This must be, perhaps, attributed to the difficulty of explaining where the renowned novelist found such ideas, and how he dared to present them without a laugh. But, the most important thing is the confession of the sensation produced by such a book throughout Europe. One must acknowledge, therefore, that the Spiritist idea is very lively and spread out; then it is not a miscarriage abort. How many people are placed in the category of cretins or idiots by the stroke of a pen of our adversaries! Fortunately, their judgement is not definitive. Mr. Jaubert, Mr. Bonnamy and many others appeal to the sentence. The author classifies these questions as dangerous. But, according to him and his comrades in criticism, these are nonsense and ridicule novels. Well, how can a nonsensical novel be dangerous to society? It is one of the two: the bottom line is that there is or there isn’t something serious with this. If there isn’t, where the danger? Had we originally listened to the declarations of danger to most of the great truths that shine today, where would we be in terms of progress? Truth is dangerous only to the coward that dare not face it or to those with self-interest.

A not less serious fact, that several papers promptly published, as if it were proved, is that the Emperor had ordered this novel to distract France’s attention from political matters. This is obviously a supposition only, for admitting the reality of the source, it is not presumable that it had been publicized. But this very supposition is a confession regarding the strength of the Spiritist idea, since it acknowledges that a sovereign, the greatest politician of our days, could have considered it suitable to produce such results. Had it been the thought behind the execution of this work, it seems to us that it would have been superfluous due to the fact that the papers were fighting one another for the primacy of attention, with all the noise they made about the Davenport brothers. The clearest thing in all this is the fact that the adversaries of Spiritism cannot understand the prodigious speed of progress of the idea, despite everything they do to have it halted.

Since they cannot deny the fact that becomes more evident every day, they strive to look for the cause everywhere, where it is not, in hopes of attenuating its importance.



In an article entitled “Books of today and tomorrow”, signed by Émile Zola, the Événement, on February 16th, gives a tiny summary of the work in discussion, followed by these remarks:

“A short while ago the Moniteur carried a fantastic piece of news of Théophile Gautier: Spiritist, a book just published by Charpentier bookstore. The book is for the greatest glory of the Davenports; it takes us for a ride in the land of the Spirits, showing the invisible, and revealing the unknown to us. The official journal provided there the bulletin of the other world. But I am suspicious of the faith of Théophile Gautier. He has an ironic bonhomie that smells disbelief miles away. I suspect he entered the invisible for the simple pleasure of describing imaginary horizons his way. The bottom line is that he does not believe a word of the story he tells, but he likes to tell it, and the readers will enjoy reading it. It is, therefore, all for the better, at the highest possible skepticism. Irrespective of what Théophile Gautier writes, it is always picturesque and original poetry. He would be perfect if he did believe in what he says – and this would be perhaps regrettable.”

Singular logic and confession, and even more logic conclusion! If Théophile Gautier believed in what he said in Spiritist, it would be perfect! The Spiritist doctrine then leads to perfection those that assimilate it, from what it follows that if every human being were Spiritist, they would all be perfect. Someone else would have concluded: “Let us hasten to disseminate Spiritism…”, but no: it would be a shame!

How many people repel the Spiritist beliefs not out of fear of becoming perfects, but simply for the fear of having to be forced to mend themselves! The Spirits scare them away because they speak from the other world, and that world causes horror. That is why they cover their eyes and their ears.

The Événement, from February 19th, carries the following article about this book, signed by Zola, like in the preceding matter:

“The novelists, short of imagination, decisively resort to Spiritism, in these times of incessant production, to find new and strange subjects. In my last article I talked about Spiritist, by Théophile Gautier; today I must announce the launch of The Spiritist’s wife, by Ange de Kéraniou, published by Lemer.

Spiritism will perhaps provide the French genius with the marvelous necessary to every well-conditioned epic. The Davenports would then have brought us one of the elements of the epic poem that French literature still waits. Mr. Kéraniou’s book is a bit fuzzy; we do not know if he is laughing or talking seriously; but it is full of curious details that makes it an interesting book to browse through. The Count Humbert de Luzy, emeritus Spiritist, a kind of anti-Christ, that made the tables dance, married a young woman to whom he inspires terrible fear. The young lady, as expected, wants to find a lover. Here is where the story becomes truly original. The Spirits become the guard of honor of the husband, and in two occasions, under desperate circumstances, the save that honor with the help of apparitions and earthquakes. If I were married, I would become a Spiritist.”

The Spiritist idea has definitely made its entry into the press through the novel. She enters ornated: the naked truth would shock those gentlemen. We do not know this new book but through the article above; we, therefore, cannot say anything about it. We can only attest that the author of this critic announces, perhaps without seeing its reach, a great and fecund truth, that arts and literature will find in Spiritism a rich mine to explore. We said long ago: one day there will be the Spiritist art, as there was the Pagan art and the Christian art. Yes, the poet, the writer, the painter, the sculptor, the musician, even the architect will find plenty of sublime inspiration in this new source, when they explore somewhere else other than the bottom of a closet. Théophile Gautier was the first one to enter the field, through a fundamental book full of poetry. He will have followers, no doubt. “Spiritism will perhaps provide the French genius with the marvelous necessary to every well-conditioned epic” – this might already be a result not to be neglected. (see the Spiritist Review, December 1860, Spiritist Art, the Pagan Art and the Christian Art).

This one is not a novel; it is a refutation, from a scientific point of view, of the criticism addressed to the Spiritist phenomena, regarding the Davenport brothers and the similarity that some pretend to exist between those phenomena and the trickery of prestidigitation. The author presents charlatanism, that slips everywhere, and the unfavorable conditions in which the Davenports present themselves, conditions that he does not seek to justify. He examines the phenomena themselves, abstraction made of the persons, and speaks with the authority of a scientist. He vigorously raises the glove thrown by part of the press and stigmatize their eccentricities of language, that he translates under the light of common sense, showing how far it has gone beyond a fair discussion. We may not share the feeling of the author about all points, but we must say that his book is a difficult refutation to refute. Thus, the hostile press in general kept quiet about the subject. The Événement of February 1st brought the following about the matter:

“I have in my hands a book that should have been published in the last Fall. It deals with the Davenports. The book, signed by the pseudonym Hermes, has the title Unknown Natural Forces, and pretends that we should accept the closet and the Davenport brothers, because our senses are weak, and we cannot explain everything in nature. Useless to say that the book was published by the Didier bookstore. I would not speak of these leaves that mistaken the season if they did not contain a violent repository against the Parisian press. Mr. Hèrmes clearly narrates his doings with the Opinion, Temps, France, Fígaro, The Petit Journal, etc. They were cruel and disrespectful, and their ill-faith can only be compared to their foolishness. They did not understand, hence they could not speak. Ignorance, falsehood, and rudeness, those journalists committed all crimes. Mr. Hèrmes is too tough. Louis Ulbach is called “the man in glasses”, an extremely offensive expression. Edmond About, that had asked about the difference between the mediums and Dr. Lapommerais, got plenty of his own back. Mr. Hèrmes declares that “he is not surprised hat certain amateurs of puns had thrown the name of his gracious contradictor in the mud”. Do you feel the subtleness of this wordplay? Mr. Hèrmes finally confesses that he lives in a remote garden and that his only concern is the truth. It would be preferable that he lived in the streets and that he had the whole calm and the whole Christian charity of solitude.”


Isn’t that curious to see these gentlemen give theoretical lessons of calmness and Christian charity to those that they wantonly harm, and not agree that they respond? They will not criticize Mr. Hèrmes, however, for lack of moderation since he does not cite any given name, for excess of consideration. It is true that the citations, grouped in such a way, form an awkward bouquet. Whose fault is this if that bouquet does not exhale a perfume of urbanity and good taste? To have the right to complain about a few somewhat tough appreciations it would be necessary not to provoke them.

Revelations implies an idea of mysticism and marvelous, in its liturgic sense. Materialism rejects it naturally since it supposes the idea of intervention of extra human powers and intelligences. Leaving aside the absolute denial, many people today ask the following questions: There was or there wasn’t a revelation? Is the revelation necessary? By bring the finished truth to mankind, wouldn’t the revelation preclude them from using their own skills, since it spares them the work of research? These objections arise from the false idea that is made of revelation. To begin with, let us take if from its simplest meaning, and follow it to its highest point.

Reveal is to bring about something that is unknown; it is to teach someone something that she doesn’t know. From this point of view, there is a continuous revelation to us, as a way of speaking. What is the role of the teacher to the students, if not that of a revealer? She teaches them what they do not know, what they would not have time or possibility of finding by themselves, for science is the collective work of the centuries, and from a multitude of people, each one bringing their contingent of observations, of which those that came after them take advantage. Teaching is therefore a revelation of certain scientific and moral truths, physical or metaphysical, made by persons that know them to others that ignore them, and without which they would have always ignored. Would it be more logical to leave it up to them to find such truths? Wait for them to invent mechanics so that they can utilize the steam? Could we say that we block the exercise of their skills by revealing to them what others found? Isn’t that the opposite, that by standing on the previous discoveries they arrive at new ones? By teaching the largest possible number of people the largest possible sum of known truths is, consequently, provoking the activity of intelligence, instead of muffling it and precluding progress. Men would remain stationary without it.

But the teacher only teaches what she learned; she is a revealer of second order. The genius teaches what he found himself; he is the primitive revealer. He was the one that brought the light, that gradually vulgarized. Where would humanity be without the revelations of the geniuses that appear from time to time?

But what are the geniuses? Why are they geniuses? Where do they come from? What becomes of them? Let us observe that, in their majority, they bring transcendent skills from birth, innate knowledge that a little work is enough to develop.

They are really part of humanity because they are born, live and die as we do. What is the origin of such knowledge that could not have been acquired in life? One may say, like the materialists, that by chance they have brain material in larger quantity and of better quality. In this case they would not have more merit than a legume that is larger and more tasteful than another. Will others say, with certain spiritualists, that God gave them a soul that is more favorable than that of common people? An also illogical supposition because it would accuse God of partiality.

The only rational solution to this problem is in the pre-existence of the soul, and in the plurality of the existences. The genius is a Spirit that lived longer, that consequently acquired more and progressed more than those that are less advanced. By incarnating, he brings what he acquired and since he acquired much more than the others, without the need of learning, that is what is called genius. But what he knows is still the result of previous work, and not the result of a privilege. Before being born he was, therefore, a more advanced Spirit; reincarnates so that others may take advantage of what he knows, or to acquire more knowledge.

Men progress by themselves, incontestably, and by the efforts of their intelligence; but left to their own strengths such a progress is very slow, if not helped by more advanced people, as the pupil is by the teachers. All peoples have had the geniuses, that have come at all times to give them an impulse and move them from the inertia.

As the solicitude of God is admitted towards His creatures, why wouldn’t we admit that capable Spirits, for their energy and superiority of their knowledge, would help humanity advance, incarnating by the will of God, aiming at supporting progress in a given direction? That they were assigned with a mission, like the ambassador is assigned by his sovereign? Such is the role of the great geniuses. What is it that they come to do, other than teach mankind truths that are ignored, and that would remain unknown for long periods, providing men with a trampoline with which they can rise more rapidly? Those geniuses, that appear throughout the centuries, like shining stars, leaving behind a long and shiny wake upon humanity, are missionaries, or messiahs if you will. If they only taught what men already know their presence would be completely useless. The new things that they teach, be it in the physical or moral world, are revelations.

If God employs revealers to the scientific truths, with even stronger reason may employ them to the moral truths, that form one of the essential elements of progress. These are the philosophers whose ideas travel through the centuries. In the special meaning of religious faith, the revealers are more generally called prophets or messiahs. Every religion has had their revealers, and although they have all been far from knowing the whole truth, they had a providential meaning because they were appropriate to the time and the environment in which they lived, to the particular condition of the people to whom they spoke and were relatively superior. Despite the mistake of their doctrines, they still shook the minds and for that very reason, sowed the germs of progress that should, one day, expand under the light of Christianity. It is therefore wrong to cast anathema upon them, in the name of an Orthodoxy, for a day will come when all beliefs, so much different in their form, but that rest on a common and fundamental principle – God and the immortality of the soul – will melt in a great and vast unity, when reason triumphs against prejudices.

Unfortunately, and in all times, religions have been instruments of domination. The role of prophet tempted secondary ambitions, giving rise to a multitude of pretense revealers or messiahs, that from the favor of prestige of such name, exploited credulity to satisfy their own pride, greed or laziness, finding it easier to live on the expenses of their victims.

The Christian religion has not been spared of such parasites. In this respect we call your serious attention to Chapter XXI of the Gospel According to Spiritism: “There will be false Christs and false prophets”. The symbolic language of Jesus favored singularly the most contradictory interpretations; each one struggling to distort their meaning, believing to have found the sanction to their personal points of view, many times even to the justification of doctrines most contrary to the spirit of charity and justice, that is its foundation. Such abuse will disappear by the force of things and under the empire of reason. This is not what we have to discuss here. We only point out the two great revelations that are the cornerstones of Christianity: that of Moses and Jesus, because they had a decisive influence onto humanity. Islamism may be considered a derivative of Moses and Christianity. To value the religion that he wanted founded, Mohamed needed the support of a supposed divine revelation.

Are there direct revelations of God to men? This is a question that we dare not answer affirmatively nor negatively, in absolute terms. It is not strictly impossible, but there is no certain proof. What cannot be doubted is that Spirits closer to God by their perfection penetrate God’s thoughts and can transmit them. As for the incarnate revealers, according to their hierarchical order and degree of personal knowledge, they can collect instructions from their own knowledge or receive them from more elevated Spirits, even from direct messengers of God. These may sometimes have been thought as God since they speak in the name of God.

Such kind of communications have nothing of strange to whoever know the Spiritist phenomena, and the way the relationships between the incarnate and discarnate take place. The instructions may be transmitted by several means: by pure and simple inspiration, by the hearing of the word, by the vision of instructor Spirits, in the visions and apparitions, be it in dreams or in the wake state, as there are many examples in the Bible, in the Gospels and in the sacred books of all peoples. Therefore, it is strictly accurate to say that most of the revealers are inspired, clairvoyant or clairaudient mediums. It does not follow from this that every medium is a revealer, and even less direct intermediaries to God and the messengers.

It is only the pure Spirits that receive the word of God with the mission of transmitting it. But now it is known that the Spirits are far from being all perfect, and that there are those that take a false appearance. This is what led St. John say: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God”. (1 John IV, 1).

It is therefore possible to have true and serious revelations, as there are apocryphal and false ones. The essential character of the Divine revelation is that of the eternal truth. Every revelation stained with mistakes or subjected to changes cannot emanate from God, since God cannot consciously deceive or be mistaken. That is how the law of the Decalogue^[2] has all the characters of its origin, whereas the other laws of Moses, essentially transient, sometimes in contradiction with the laws of the Mount Sinai, are the political and personal works of the Hebrew legislator. As the costumes of the people softened the application of these laws faded away whilst the Decalogue stood up as the lighthouse of humanity. Jesus Christ turned it into the foundation of his edifice, while abolishing the other laws. If they were the works of God, Jesus would have avoided touching them. Jesus and Moses are the two great revealers that changed the face of the world, and that is the proof of their Divine mission. A purely human law would not have such a power.

A new and important revelation takes place in the present days. It is the one that shows us the possibility of communication with the beings of the spiritual world. This knowledge is not new, no doubt, but up until now it remained in the state of dead letter, that is, without benefit to humanity. The ignorance of the laws that rule those relationships had it muffled under superstition; man was incapable of extracting any healthy deduction from that; it was reserved to our times to disentangle it from its ridiculous accessories, understand its reach and extract from it the light that should illuminate the path to the future.

Since the Spirits are nothing else but the souls of men, by communicating with them we are not beyond humanity, a paramount circumstance to consider. The men of genius, that were the light beam of humanity, therefore, came from the world of the Spirits and returned there after leaving Earth. Considering that the Spirits may communicate with men, those geniuses may give them instructions in the spiritual form, as they did in their corporeal form; can instruct us after their death, as they did when alive; they are invisible, instead of visible, and that is the whole difference. Their experience and knowledge must not be reduced, and if their word had authority as men, they must not have less for being in the world of the Spirits.

But it is not only superior Spirits that manifest, as Spirits of every order do, and that was necessary to initiate us in the true character of the world of the Spirits, showing it to us in all its facets. Thus, the relationships between the visible and the invisible worlds are more intimate, and the connection is more evident; we see more clearly where we came from and where we are going to. Such is the essential objective of those manifestations. All Spirits, irrespective of the degree that they may have achieved, teach us, therefore, something, but since they are more or less enlightened, it is up to us to discern the good from the bad in their teachings, and make the best of the opportunity. They can all, whoever they are, teach or reveal things to us, things that we ignore and that we would not know without them.

The great incarnate Spirits are powerful individualities, no doubt, but whose action is restricted, and necessarily slow to propagate. If one among them, even if Elijah or Moses, had come in our time to reveal to men the state of the spiritual world, who would have proved the truthfulness of their assertions, in this time of skepticism? Wouldn’t them been looked at as a dreamer or a utopist? And admitting that they were with the absolute truth, centuries would have passed before their ideas would be accepted by the masses. God in His wisdom did not want it to be so. God wished the teaching to be given by the Spirits themselves, and not the incarnate, so as to convince about their existence, and having that taking place around the world, be it to propagate faster or to give a proof of truth in the coincidence of the teachings, so that each person would find the means of convincing oneself. Such are the objective and character of the modern revelation. The Spirits do not come to spare man from the work, the study, and researches; they do not bring any finished science; they leave men to their own strengths in whatever they can find by themselves. This is what the Spiritists know perfectly well today. Experience demonstrated long ago the mistake that attributed all the knowledge and wisdom to the Spirits, and that it would be enough to address the first Spirit that showed up to get to know everything. The Spirits come out of the corporeal humanity and constitute one of its faces; as there are the superior and the vulgar on Earth, many of them know less, scientifically, and philosophically, than certain men. They say what they know, not more, not less. As with men, the most advanced ones can teach us more things, and give us wiser advices than the delayed ones. By asking the Spirits for advice, therefore, is not reaching out to supernatural forces, but asking our fellow human beings, the very ones to whom one would have asked when alive, the parents, the friends, or those individuals that are more enlightened than us. That is what is necessary to persuade and what is ignored by those that, by not having studied Spiritism, make a false idea about the nature of the world of the Spirits and the revelations from beyond the grave. What is, then, the utility of those manifestations, or of this revelation, if you like, if the Spirits don’t know more than we do, or if they do not tell us everything they know? To begin with, as we said, they abstain from giving us what we can obtain by our own work; second, there are things that they are not allowed to reveal, because that is not fit to our level of advancement.

Now, leaving that apart, the conditions of their new existence extend the circle of their perceptions; they see what they did not when on Earth; freed from the hindrances of matter and the worries of the corporeal life, they judge things from a more elevated point of view, and for that very reason, more correctly; their perspicuity embraces a broader horizon; they understand their mistakes, rectify their ideas and disentangle from human prejudices. That is what characterize their superiority above corporeal humanity and because their advices can be, relatively to their degree of advancement, more judicious and more disinterested than those of the incarnate. Their current environment allows them, additionally, to initiate us in things of the future life, things that we ignore and cannot learn in this world where we are.

Up until now man had only hypothesized about the future, and that is why the beliefs were divided into so many and so divergent systems, from the nihilism to the fantastic descriptions of hell and paradise. Today, it is the eyewitnesses, the actors of life beyond the grave themselves that come to tell us about it, and they are the only ones that could do that. Thus, those manifestations served to allow us to get to know the invisible world that is around us, and that we did not suspect. This knowledge alone would have a fundamental importance, supposing that the Spirits were incapable of teaching us anything else. A simple comparison allows to understand the situation better.

A ship loaded with immigrants departs to a long trip; it carries men of every condition, relatives, and friends of those left behind. There is word that the ship sank; not a single trace was left; no news about its fate; all travelers are believed dead and all families begin mourning. Yet, the whole ship, without the loss of a single man, got to an unknown, abundant, and fertile land, where everybody is happy, under a clement sky. But they are ignored. Lo and behold, one day another ship harbors that port and finds the castaway safe and well. The happy news spreads with the speed of light. Everybody says: “Our friends are not lost then?” They thank God. They cannot see them but correspond. They exchange demonstrations of affection, and joyfulness succeeds sadness.

Such is the image of the earthly life and life beyond the grave, before and after the modern revelation. The latter, similarly to the ship, brings us the good news of the survival of the loved ones, and the certainty of finding them one day; there is no more doubt about their fate and ours; dismay fades away before hope.

But other results come to fecund this revelation. God, by judging humanity mature to penetrate the mystery of its destiny, and cold-bloodedly contemplate new wonders, allowed the veil that separated the visible from the invisible world to be lifted. The fact of manifestations has nothing of extra human; it is the spiritual humanity that comes to talk to the corporeal humanity, saying:

“We exist, therefore the void does not exist; observe what we are and see what you are going to be; future belongs to you, as it belongs to us. You were walking in darkness; we came to illuminate your path and clear the way to you; you were wandering about, we showed you the objective. Earthly life was everything to you because you did not see anything beyond; by showing you the spiritual life, we came to tell you: Earthly life is nothing. Your sight ended at the tomb; we show you a splendid horizon beyond. You did not know what you suffered on Earth; now you see the justice of God in your suffering. Good did not have apparent fruits for the future; from now on it will have an objective and will be a necessity. Fraternity was just a beautiful theory; now it is founded on a law of nature. Under the empire of belief that everything ends with life, the immensity is empty, egotism rules among you, and your motto is: “every person for oneself”; with the certainty of the future, the infinite space is infinitely inhabited, emptiness and solitude are not anywhere, solidarity connects all creatures from before and beyond the grave; it is the kingdom of charity, with the maxim: “All for one, one for all”. Finally, at the end of life you used to say an eternal good-bye to the loved ones; now you say: “So long!”.

Such are, in summary, the results of the new revelation. It came to fulfill the void dug by incredulity; cheer up the courage abated by the doubt or by the perspective of the nothingness, giving all things a reason for their existence. Doesn’t such result have importance, considering that the Spirits do not come to solve the problems of science, nor give knowledge to the ignorant or means of enrichment to the lazy one, without work? However, the fruits that man will harvest are not for a future life only; they will be collected on Earth, by the transformation that such new beliefs must necessarily operate upon the character, the tastes, the tendencies, and consequently, upon the costumes and social relationships of every man. By ending the kingdom of egotism, pride and disbelief, they prepare the kingdom of good that the is kingdom of God.

The revelation, therefore, has the objective of allowing man the acquisition of certain truths that he was unable to acquire on his own, and that is aiming at the progress. Those truths are limited, in general, to fundamental principles, destined to guide man in the path of research, and not that of carrying him by the hand; these are guidelines that show the objective. It is up to mankind to study them and deduce their applications. Far from freeing man from the work, these are new elements provided to his activity.

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[1] See Genesis – Miracles and Predictions According to Spiritism, Chap. I


[2] Ten Commandments (T.N.)

Lately we have seen a sect trying to establish itself, with the flag of the denial of prayer. It was initially received by a general feeling of reproach and failed. Men and Spirits united to repel a doctrine that was, at the same time, ingratitude, and revolt against the Providence. This was not difficult, for by shocking the intimate feeling of the majority, it carried its own destroying principle. (Spiritist Review, January 1866).

There is now another way that is probing a different terrain. Its motto is: No communication with the Spirits. It is strange to have such an opinion now preconized by some that in the past exalted the importance and sublimity of the Spiritist teachings, and that felt glorified by what they themselves received as mediums. Will it have more chances of success than the preceding one? This is what we are going to examine in a few words.

This doctrine, if we can give such a name to an opinion that is restricted to a few people, is supported by the following data:

“The Spirits that communicate are only ordinary Spirits that so far have not taught us any new truth, demonstrating their lack of capacity, and staying at moral banalities. The criteria that they try to establish with the agreement of their teaching is delusional, given its insufficiency. It is man that must probe the great mysteries of nature, submitting what they say to the control of reason. Since they do not teach us anything in their communications, we ban them from our meetings. We will discuss among ourselves; we will seek and decide about the principles that must be accepted or rejected, in our own wisdom, without resorting to the approval of the Spirits.”

Notice that it is not about denying the fact of the manifestations, but to establish superiority against the Spirits, in the judgement of man, or of some men; in a word, separating Spiritism from the teaching of the Spirits since the instructions of the latter would be inferior to what human intelligence can do.

Such a doctrine leads to a singular consequence, that would not speak highly of human intelligence compared to the logic of the Spirits. Thanks to the latter we know that the Spirits of higher order belonged to the corporeal humanity that was surpassed by them long ago, like the general that surpassed the class of soldier from which he came. Without the Spirits, we would still believe that the angels are a privileged class and that the demons are creatures predestined to evil for the whole of eternity. “No, they will say, because there were men that fought that idea”. Be it, but what were those men if not incarnate Spirits? What was the influence of their isolated opinion upon the belief of the masses? Ask the first one that arrives if they know at least by name of most of those great philosophers! Whereas, by coming from the Spirits and in all corners of Earth, manifesting to the humblest as well as to the most powerful, the truth propagated with the speed of light.

We can divide the Spirits in two large categories: those that, after achieving the highest degree of the scale, left the material worlds for good, and those that, by the law of reincarnation, still belong to the maelstrom of earthly humanity. Let us admit, hypothetically, that it is only the latter ones that have the right to communicate with men: there are, among them, those that were enlightened during their lives, whose opinion has authority, and that we would be pleased to consult with them if they were still alive.

The doctrine above would result that these very superior men would become nullities or mediocre by passing to the world of the Spirits, incapable of giving us a valuable teaching, whereas we would respectfully bow before them if they presented themselves in flesh and blood in the same meetings, where they refuse to listen to them as Spirits. It also follows that Pascal, for example, is no longer a light once he became Spirit, but if he reincarnate in Peter or Paul, necessarily with the same genius, he would be an oracle, given that he had lost nothing. This consequence is so rigorous that the followers of such a system admit the reincarnation as one of their greatest truths.

Finally, it is necessary to conclude that, in good faith as we suppose, place their intelligence so much above that of the Spirits, will become nullities or mediocre themselves, whose opinion will have no value, so that one would have to believe in what they say when alive, and to not believe tomorrow, when dead, even if they came to say the same thing, and even less so if they said that they were mistaken.

I know that they object the great difficulty of verification of identity. This question was abundantly treated so that it is superfluous to return to that. It is certain that we cannot know, by a material proof, if the Spirit that presents oneself by the name of Pascal is truly that of the great Pascal. What does it matter if he says good things? We must weigh the value of his instructions, not by the form of the language, since we know that it is sometimes marked by the inferiority of the instrument, but by the elevation and wisdom of his thoughts. A great Spirit that communicates through a poorly educated medium is like the skillful calligraphist that utilizes a bad pen. The whole of the writing will show his talent, but the details of the execution that do not depend on him, will be imperfect.

Spiritism has never said that one must refrain from personal judgment, and blindly submit to what the Spirits say; it is the Spirits themselves that tell us to process their words through the crucible of logic, while some incarnate say: “Do not believe in what the Spirits say, but only in what we say.” Now, since individual reason is subjected to error, man is very frequently led to take his own reason and ideas by the only expression of truth, and the one that does not hold the proud pretension of considering his opinion infallible, submits it to the appreciation of the majority. Does it mean that he had resigned to his own opinion? Absolutely not. He is perfectly free to believe that he is the only one that is right, against everybody else, but that will not prevent the opinion of the majority to prevail, and definitely have more authority than the opinion of one or some.

Let us now examine the matter from another point of view. Who made Spiritism? Is it a human, personal conception? Everybody knows that it is the opposite. Spiritism is the result of the teachings of the Spirits, so much so that without the Spirits there wouldn’t be Spiritism. If the Spiritist Doctrine were a simple philosophical theory, born out of a human brain, it would only have the value of a personal opinion; coming out of the universality of the opinion of the Spirits, it has the value of a collective work, and that is the very reason why it propagated in such a small time throughout Earth, each one receiving on their side, or through their intimate relationships, identical instructions, and the proof of the reality of the manifestations.

Well then! It is in the presence of such a positive and material result that one tries to convert the inutility of the teachings of the Spirits into a system.



Let us consider the tact that if they did not have the popularity that they reached, they would not be attacked, and that it is the prodigious spread of these ideas that attracts so many adversaries to Spiritism. Don’t those that today reject the communications look like children that neglect their parents? Isn’t that like utilizing what they taught us to fight them; turning against them, their own parents, the weapons that they gave us? Among the Spirits that communicate, isn’t that of a father, a mother, of the dearest creatures, from whom the most touching instructions are received, the ones that go straight to the heart? Don’t we owe them the fact that we were yanked from incredulity, from the tortures of doubt about the future? Is it the time to neglect the helping hand when we enjoy the benefits?

What can we say of those that taking their opinion as if it were that of everybody, seriously affirm that communications are unwelcome everywhere? A strange delusion, that would be dispelled by looking around them. On their side, what would the Spirits think of meetings that discuss the adequacy of giving them the word, if they may be exceptionally heard, to please those that have the weakness of giving importance to their instructions? There are Spirits there, undoubtedly, before whom they would fall on their knees, if they allowed themselves to be seen. Have you thought of the price that they would pay for such ingratitude?

Since the Spirits have the freedom of communication, irrespective of their degree of knowledge, it then follows a great diversity in the value of the communications, like in the writings of a people in which everybody has the freedom to write, and where certainly not every literary production is a master piece. According to the individual quality of the Spirits, there are therefore good communications by the substance and form, and others, finally, that are worthless both in substance and form. It is up to us to choose.

The act of rejecting them all because some are bad is not more rational than proscribing all publications, given the fact that some writers produce vulgarities. Don’t the best writers, the greatest geniuses have weak productions in their works? Don’t we select their best contributions? Let us do the same with respect to the production of the Spirits; let us take advantage of what is good and reject what is bad; but, to remove the weed let us not remove the good grain.

Let us then consider the world of the Spirits as a doble of the corporeal world, as a portion of humanity and let us say that we must not neglect to hear them, now that they are discarnate, for we would not have done that when incarnate. They are always around us, as before; the whole difference is that they are now behind the curtains and not in front of it.

But, some will ask, what is the reach of the teachings of the Spirits, even the good ones, if they do not go beyond what man can know on his own? Is it certain that they do not teach us anything else? Don’t they see what we cannot see, in their spiritual state? Without them, would we know their state, their way of living, their sensations? Would we know, as we do today, this world where we may perhaps be tomorrow? If that world no longer horrifies us, and if we fearlessly face the passage that leads to that world, don’t we owe this to them? Is that world completely explored? Don’t we see a new face of that world revealed every day? Doesn’t the knowledge of knowing where we are going to, and what we can be after leaving here, doesn’t it signify something? Before, we entered that world groping and shaking, like in a bottomless abyss; that abyss now has a shiny light, and we enter it joyfully. And they dare say that Spiritism taught nothing! (Spiritist Review, August 1865: “What Spiritism teaches”).

Undoubtedly the teaching of the Spirits has limits. One cannot ask for something that cannot be given, what is in their essence, in their providential objective; and it gives a lot to the one that knows what to seek.



But as it is, have we already applied everything? Before asking for more, have we already probed the depth of the horizon that it unveils to us? As for its reach, it is attested by a material, positive, gigantic and unprecedented fact in the archives of history: the fact that even in its birth it already revolutionizes he world and shakes the forces of Earth. What a man would have such a power?

Spiritism tends to the reformation of humanity through charity. It is not, therefore, surprising that the Spirits preach charity incessantly; they will still preach it for as long as necessary to yank out pride and egotism from the heart of man. If some find the communications useless, because they continuously repeat the moral lessons, they must be congratulated for being perfect enough to no longer need them, but they must think that those that are not so much confident in their own merit, and that wish to improve, are not tired of receiving good advices. Do not seek, therefore, to preclude them from such a consolation.

Has such a doctrine a chance to prevail? As we said, the communications of the Spirits provided the foundation of Spiritism. Rejecting them after having them acclaimed is to undermine Spiritism in its basis, subtracting the foundation. That must not be the thought of serious and devoted Spiritists, because it would be absolutely like the one that said Christian and denied the value of the teachings of Jesus, under the pretext that his moral is identical to that of Plato. It was in those communications that the Spiritists found joy, consolation, and hope. It was through them that they understood the need for the good, resignation, submission to the will of God; it is through them that they withstand the vicissitudes of life with courage; it was by them that there is no more true separation between them and the objects of their kindest affections. Isn’t that a mistake to believe that the human heart may renounce to a belief that brings happiness?

We repeat here what we said about the prayer: If Spiritism must gain influence it is through the increase in the sum of moral satisfactions that it provides. May those that believe it to be insufficient as is, endeavor to give more than it does; but it will not be by giving less, by removing what gives its enchantment, its strength and popularity that they will surpass it.

A letter sent to us some time ago spoke of a project for the publication of a periodical with the title “Journal du Spiritisme Indépendant”. Since this idea is evidently the corollary of the other one about Spiritism without Spirits, we will try to place the question in its true terrain.

For starters, what is independent Spiritism? Independent from what? Another has it stated clearly: it is free Spiritism, not only freed from the tutorship of the Spirits, but from every personal direction or supremacy; from every subordination to the instructions of a chief, whose opinion cannot become law for it is not infallible.

This is the easiest thing in the world, since it does exist in reality, considering that Spiritism, by proclaiming the absolute freedom of conscience, does not admit any constraint in matters of belief, and it has never denied anyone the right to believe their own way in matters of Spiritism, as with anything else. From that point of view, we believe to be perfectly independent ourselves, and intend to take advantage of this independence. If there is subordination, it is therefore entirely voluntary; even more, it is not subordination to a man but to an idea that is adopted because it is convenient; that outlives man, if it is fair; that falls with him or before him, if it is false.

In order to free ourselves from somebody else ideas, we must necessarily have our own; we naturally try to make these ideas prevail, without which they would be kept to ourselves; we proclaim, sustain and defend them, because we believe them to be the expression of truth, because we admit good faith and not the exclusive desire to destroy what exists; the objective is to attract the largest possible number of followers, and with that we have the one that does not admit a chief, becomes the chief of the sect, seeking to subordinate the others to his own ideas. The one that says, for example: “We must no longer receive instructions from the Spirits”, isn’t that person issuing an absolute principle? Isn’t him exerting a pressure upon those that want to receive them, persuading them not to? If he establishes this as a condition for a meeting, the supporters of the communications must be excluded, for if they were the majority, they would turn it into a law. If they are admitted but have their wishes denied, this is against their freedom of complaining. “Here the Spirits do not have the word”, and those that wish to hear them will not dare object to the order and will participate. We have always said that an essential condition to every Spiritist gathering is homogeneity, without which there would be dissention. Someone that founded a meeting on the basis of rejecting the communications would be on his own right; it is okay if he only admits those that share his ideas, but he has no right to say that because he doesn’t want it nobody else shouldn’t either. He is certainly free to act as he wishes, but if he claims freedom to himself, he must also want it to others. Considering that he defends his ideas and criticizes that of others, if he is consistent with himself, he must not see with bad eyes the fact that others may defend their own ideas and criticize his.

We generally forget that, above the authority of a single person, there is another one that whoever becomes the representative of an idea must not avoid: the authority of everybody. General opinion is the supreme jurisdiction, that sanctions or defeats the edifice of the systems; nobody can escape the subordination imposed by that. Such a law is not less omnipotent with Spiritism. Whoever harms the feelings of the majority, and has them abandoned, may as well expect to be abandoned by them. That is the reason for the failure of certain theories and certain publications, abstraction made of the intrinsic merits of the latter, about which, sometimes, there is no illusion.

One must not forget that Spiritism is not a feud around an individual, or a group of individual, or a circle, not even a city, but that its representatives are all over the world, and that there is a dominant opinion among them and that it is profoundly believed. By judging that one is strong against everybody because one has the support of a group is an exposure to great deceptions.

Spiritism has two parts: the material facts and that of moral consequences. The first one is necessary as a proof of the existence of the Spirits, and the Spirits started by that one; the second, that derives from the first one, is the only one that can lead to the transformation of humanity by the individual betterment. This betterment is, therefore, the essential objective of Spiritism. That must be the objective of every serious Spiritist. We defined the duties that such a belief imposes, by deducing those consequences from the instructions given by the Spirits. We inscribed the first one on the flag of Spiritism: “There is no salvation but through charity”, a maxim acclaimed as the sun of the future, since its appearance, and that soon traveled around the globe, becoming a word of connection among all those that see in Spiritism more than a material fact. It was welcomed everywhere, as the symbol of universal fraternity, as a guarantee of security in social relationships, as the dawn of a new era where hatred and dissentions must be extinguished. We understood its meaning so well that we are already harvesting the fruits; among those that turned it into a rule of conduct, sympathy and trust rule, the enchantment of social life; we see a brother in every heartfelt Spiritist, whose company makes us happy, for we know that the one that practices charity cannot wish nor do harm.

Was it then by our own authority that we promulgated such a maxim? Had we done it, who would consider it bad? But, no; it follows from the teaching of the Spirits, who collected it from those of Jesus Christ, where it is written with all letters, as the cornerstone of the Christian edifice, but where it remained buried for eighteen centuries. The egotism of men took care of keeping it forgotten, in the shadows, otherwise it would be their own condemnation; they preferred to seek their salvation through more comfortable and less boring practices. Nonetheless, everybody had read and read again the Gospels, and with very few exceptions, nobody saw that great truth left behind in a secondary level. Now, through the teachings of the Spirits, it became known and understood by all. How many truths are contained in the Gospels and that will surge in due time! (The Gospel According to Spiritism, Chap. XV).

By inscribing onto the frontispiece of Spiritism the supreme law of Christ, we open the way for the Christian Spiritism; we then dedicate ourselves to the development of its principles, as well as the characters of the true Spiritist from that point of view. We shall not oppose if others can do better than us, for we have never said: “there is no truth but through us”. Our instructions, therefore, are for those that find them good; they are freely accepted, without embarrassment; we design a route and those who wish will follow it; we give advices to the ones that request them and not to those that believe not need them; we give orders to nobody because we are not qualified for that. As for the supremacy, it is totally moral and in the adhesion of those that share our way of seeing things; since we are not assigned any official role, even by those, we do not solicit or claim any privilege; we do not attribute any title to ourselves, and the only one that we would take with the followers of our ideas is that of brothers in faith. If they consider us their chief it is for the position that our works give us, and not for any decision made. Our position is the one that anybody could have taken before us; our right is the same as everybody else that wish to work as they please, and is prepared to take the risk of public judgement.

What is the aggravating authority that those who wish the independent Spiritism want to free from, considering that there is no formal power or hierarchy closing the door to anyone, and since we do not have any jurisdiction upon them, and if they are pleased to stay away from our route, nobody will force them to get on that route? Have we ever pretended to be a prophet or a messiah? Would them take seriously the titles of supreme priest, sovereign pontiff, and even pope that the critics thought of attributing to us? We not only have never taken them but the Spiritists have never called us such. Is there an ascendent in our writings? The field is open to them, as it is to us, to captivate the sympathies of the public. If there is pressure, it does not come from us, but from the general opinion, that vetoes what is not convenient, and that it is submitted to the ascendent of the general teaching of the Spirits.

It is, therefore, to the latter ones that we must attribute the state of affairs, and it is precisely that that makes them wish to no longer listen to them. Are there instructions given by us? But nobody is forced to submit to them. Can they regret our censorship? We never mention persons, except when we must praise, and our instructions are given in general terms, as development of our principles, for the use of everybody.

On another hand, if they are bad, if our theories are false, how can this obfuscate them? The ridicule, if there is any ridicule, will be on us. Are they so much worried about the interests of Spiritism that they are afraid of seeing it perish in our hands? Are we too radical in our ideas? Are we so stubborn that there is nothing to be done? Oh God! Each one of us has their own defects; ours is to not thing white now, and then black; we have a designed route and we do not veer off from that to please anybody. It is likely that we will be like that to the end.

Is it our wealth that they envy? Where the castles, equities, and servants? Certainly, if we had the fortune attributed to us, it would not have come in our sleep, and many people accumulate millions in a less troublesome labor. What do we do with the money that we earn? Since we do not demand anybody’s report, we are not supposed to give it to anyone; what is certain is that it does not serve our pleasures. With respect to utilizing it to support agents and spies, we return the calumny to its source. We have more important things to worry about than knowing what this one or that one is doing. If they do good, they must not be afraid of any investigation; if they do bad, it is their problem. If there are those that ambition our position, is it in the interest of Spiritism or their own? They should then take it, with all its burdens, and they will not, perhaps, find it an as much pleasant an endeavor as they suppose.

If they think we are badly piloting the boat, who precluded them from taking the rudder before us? And who still preclude them today? Are they sorry for our restrictions to make followers? We wait for them to come to us and we will not seek anybody; we don’t even chase those that leave us, because we know that they cannot hinder the march of things; their personality fades away before the whole. On another hand, we are not too naïve to believe that they are connected to us due to our person; it is evidently for the idea that we represent. It is, therefore, to this idea that we refer the testimonies of sympathy that they kindly give us.

In short, independent Spiritism would be senseless to our eyes, for independence does exist de facto and by right, and there is no discipline imposed to nobody. The field of exploration is open to all; the supreme judge of the tournament is the public; the applause is to the one that can conquer it. Too bad for those that fall before they reach the objective.



Wouldn’t it be, perhaps, to give too much importance to these things, scaring away the followers by making them believe that there are more profound fissures than they really are, when we speak of these divergent opinions, that are definitely reduced to a few individuals, and that they do not form a body anywhere? Isn’t that also to provide arms to the enemies of Spiritism?

It is precisely to prevent such inconvenient that we speak about it. A clear and categoric explanation, that reduces the issue to its fair value, it is much more suited to assure than scare away the followers. They know how to behave and find here the arguments for the replica.

As for the adversaries, they have already exploited the fact many times, and since they exaggerate its reach, it is useful to show the matter to them as is. For a broader answer we refer to the article “Departure of one enemy of Spiritism to the world of the Spirits”, Spiritist Review, October 1865.

This year, at Chartres College, they thought of adding a literature conference to the St. Charlemagne banquet. Two students of Philosophy sustained a controversy whose theme was Spiritism. Here the report made by the Journal de Chartres, on March 11^th, 1866:

“To close the ceremony two students of Philosophy, Mr. Ernest Clement and Mr. Gustave Jumentié, in a lively and animated dialogue, discussed a subject that today has the privilege of seeing many minds falling in love with: that is Spiritism.

J. criticizes his always joyful colleague for his somber and circumspect air, that makes him look like the author of a melodrama, asking him about the origin of such a change.

C. responds that his mind has been taken by a sublime doctrine, Spiritism, that came to confirm in an irrefutable way the immortality of the soul and other concepts of the spiritualist doctrine. It is not a chimera, as the interlocutor pretends; it is a system founded on authentic facts, such as the turning tables, the mediums, etc.

I certainly won’t be so senseless, J. responds, my dear friend, to the point of discuss with you about the insane dreams about which everybody is completely delusional today. And when people just laugh at the face of the Spiritists, I will not, just for a dispute, give your ideas more weight than they deserve, giving them the honor of a serious refutation. The remarkable experiments of the Davenports demonstrated your strength and the faith necessary to your miracles. But fortunately, they received the fair punishment of their trickery. After a few days of a stolen triumph, they were forced to return to their country, and we proved once more that it is only one step between the Capitoline Hill and the Tarpeian Rock.^[1]

I do see, says C., that you are not a supporter of progress. On the contrary, you should feel sorry for the fate of those miserable ones. All sciences had their detractors in the beginning. Wasn’t Fulton^[2] repelled by ignorance and treated as a madman? Haven’t we also seen Lebon^[3], unknown in his land, dying miserably without enjoying the fruits of his work? Yet, the surface of the oceans is crossed today by the steamboat and the gas spreads its powerful light everywhere.

J. – Yes, but those inventions were based on solid foundations; science was the guide of those geniuses and should force the enlightened posterity to repair the mistakes of their contemporary. But what are the inventions of the Spiritist? What is the secret of their science? Everybody can admire and applaud the ingenious mechanism of its little wand…

C. – Still the jokes? Nevertheless, I told you that there are very honest people among the followers of Spiritism, people of profound conviction.

J. – It is true, but what does it prove? That the common sense is not something as common as one thinks, and as the poet of Reason said: A fool always finds an even more fool to be admired by.

C. – Boileau would not have said that if he had seen the turning tables. What do you say about it?

J. – That I have never moved the smallest little table.

C. – It is because you are a profane. A table has never resisted me. I made one move whose weight was 200 kg, with the dishes, serving platters, bottles, …

J. – You could shake St. Charlemagne’s table, if the appetite of the guests had not very prudently empty…

C. – I do not speak of the hats. But I could produce a powerful rotation to the slightest touch.

J. – I am not surprised that your poor head turned to them.

C. – But anyhow, jokes are not reasons; they are the arguments of impotence. You do not prove anything, you refute nothing.

J. – Fact is that your doctrine is nothing, it is a chimera, of a colorless and impalpable gas – I prefer the gas of illumination – an exhalation, a vapor, a smoke. I give my word, my choice is made, I prefer that of champagne. Ah Miguel de Cervantes! Why were you born two centuries earlier? It would be up to your immortal Don Quixote to reduce Spiritism to dust. He held his valuable spear against the windmills. However, it is true that they turned! How would he have cracked the speaking and noisy closets from top to bottom! And you, his faithful shield-bearer, illustrious Sancho Panza, it is your profound philosophy, your sublime moral the only one capable of unmasking these serious theories.

C. – However much you say, Messrs. Philosophers, you deny Spiritism because you do not know that to do with it, for it embarrasses you.

J. – Ah it causes no embarrassment to me, and I do know what I would do if I were heard in this matter. Spiritists, magnetizers, somnambulists, closets, speaking tables, turning hats on the holding heads, I would send them all to spend some time… in the sanatorium.

Some people will be surprised, perhaps scandalized, by seeing students of Chartres College discussing a subject that is considered to be the most serious of modern days, without any weapons other than mockery. Frankly, after the extremely recent adventure of the Davenport brothers, can the young folks be criticized for having fun with that mystification? That age is ruthless.

We could, undoubtedly, using one of their borrowed phrases, teach those smart alecks that the great discoveries, many times, pass by the Tarpeian Rock before they reach the Capitoline, and that for Spiritism the day of rehabilitation may not be far. The newspapers, in turn, announce that a musician from Brussels, that is also Spiritist, affirms to be in touch with the Spirits of every dead composer; that he is going to transmit his inspirations to us, and that we will soon get real post-mortem works from Beethoven, Mozart, Weber, Mendelssohn! Well, be it! The students are too condescending: they wanted to have a laugh and laughed; when the time comes for them to apologize, they will.”



We do not know why such an issue was allowed to be treated in a college ceremony. However, we doubt that it was out of sympathy towards Spiritism, aiming at having it propagated among the students. Some said that it looked like certain common conferences in Rome, in which there is the advocate of God and the advocate of the devil. Anyhow, one must acknowledge that none of the champions was very strong; they would have undoubtedly been more eloquent if they knew the subject better, a subject that they did not study, as it can be seen, with the exception of the articles in the papers about the Davenports.

The fact still has some importance and if the objective was to deviate the youngster from the study of Spiritism, we doubt very much that it was achieved because the youngsters are curious. Up until now the name of Spiritism had not yet crossed the gates of colleges, perhaps only clandestinely, and it was only whispered. Here it is officially now, seating on the benches where it is going far.

Considering that the discussion is allowed, it will be necessary to study it. It is all we want. The reflections in the newspaper are very judicious in that respect.

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[1] The Tarpeian Rock is a steep cliff on the south side of the Capitoline Hill, which was used during the Roman Republic as a site of execution. Murderers, traitors, perjurers, and larcenous slaves, if convicted by the quaestores parricidii, were flung from the cliff to their deaths. The cliff was about 25 meters high. Wikipedia (T.N.)


[2] Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 25, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing a commercially successful steamboat. (Wikipedia, T.N.)




[3] Philippe LEBON (or Lebon) (D'Humbersin) (May 29, 1767 – December 1, 1804) was a French engineer, born in Brachay, France. There is much confusion about his life and accomplishments. His main contributions were improvements to steam engines and industrializing the extraction of lighting gas from wood. He died assassinated in 1804

The czar Paul I, then only the Grand Duke Paul, was in Brussels in a meeting with friends, talking about the so-called supernatural phenomena, when he reported the following fact:^[1]

“One afternoon, or better saying, one evening, I was in the streets of St. Petersburg with Kourakin and two servants. He had spent a long time talking and smoking, when we had the idea of leaving the palace in disguise, to see the city under the moonlight. It was not cold; the days were long; it was one of those sweetest days of our Spring, so pale when compared to those of the South. We were happy; we were not thinking of anything religious or not even serious, and Kourakin was telling me a thousand funny things about the rare passersby that we met. I was in front while one of us followed me; Kourakin was a few steps behind and the other servant followed us a bit further down. The moon was bright to the point of allowing a letter to be read. The shades, in opposition, were long and thick.

When I made a turn on a street, I noticed a tall and slim man, by a door entrance, covered by a mantle, like a Spaniard, wearing a military hat, much pressed onto his eyes. He seemed to be waiting, and when we passed by, he left his hiding place and stood by my left side, without a word or a gesture. It was impossible to distinguish his traces; his steps emitted a strange sound when touching the pavement, like a rock hitting another. I was initially surprised by that encounter; I then felt that everything that he almost touched cooled down gradually. I felt a glacial cold penetrating my limbs, and turning to Kourakin I said:

-This comrade is quite a character!

-Which comrade? He asked.

-Well, this one walking on my left and that makes a lot of noise, I believe.

-Kourakin looked at me with his spooky eyes and assured me that he did not see anyone on my left side.

-What? Don’t you see a man on a mantle between me and the wall?

-Your Highness touch the wall and see that there is no space for anybody between you and the wall.

I reached a little with my arm, and in fact I felt the stone. However, the man was there, always following with his hammer-like steps, syncing with my pace. I then carefully examined him, and saw below that unique hat, the shiniest eye that I had ever seen. The eye looked at me, and fascinated me; I could not avoid it.

-Ah I don’t know what is going on, but it is strange, I said.

I was shivering, but of could and not fear. Bit by bit I felt my heart taken by an impression that cannot be described. The blood froze in my veins. Suddenly a cavernous and melancholic voice came out of that mantle that hid the mouth and called me by my name:

-Paul!

I responded mechanically, driven by an unknown force:

-What do you want?

-Paul, he repeated. This time the tone was more friendly and gloomier. I said nothing, waited and he called again and then abruptly stopped. I was forced to do the same.

-Paul, poor Paul! Poor Prince!

I turned to Kourakin that had also stopped.

-Do you hear? I asked.

-Nothing, my Lord, and you?

I heard; the lament was still sounding in my ears. I made a huge effort and asked that mysterious being who he was and what was it that he wanted.

-Poor Paul! Who am I? I am the one that is interested in you. What is it that I want? I want you not to worry too much about this world, for you will not stay here much longer. Live in fairness if you want to die in piece, and do not neglect remorse, that is the most pungent torture of the great souls.

He went back his way, looking at me with that eye that seemed to escape his head, and as I was forced to stop with him, I was forced to walk with him. He did not talk to me again and I did not feel like talking to him. I followed him because he was the one leading the way, and the walk still lasted over an hour, in silence, and I could not figure out where I passed. Kourakin and the servants could not still get over it. Look at his smile: he still thinks that I dreamed all that.

We final approached the Grand Plaza, between the Newa bridge and the Senators Palace. The man went straight to a point in that square, and I followed him, of course, and he stopped again.

-Good-bye Paul. You will see me here and in other places also.

Then, his hat lifted on its own, as if he had touched it, and I could easily see his face. I stepped back, unwillingly: it was the eagle’s eye, the swarthy front, the severe smile of my grandfather Peter, the Great. Before I could recover from my surprise, from my terror, he was gone.



This is the same place where the Empress erects a monument to the renowned that will soon impress the whole Europe, and that represents the czar Peter on a horseback. The basis of the statue is a huge block of granite. I was not the one that pointed at this place to my mother, chosen, or better saying, guessed by the ghost. I confess that finding that statue there I cannot describe the feeling that took me over. I am afraid of being afraid, even though Prince Kourakin wants to persuade me that I was daydreaming, strolling around the streets. I remember the tiniest details of that vision, since it was a vision, I insist. It feels that I am still there. I returned to the Palace, broken as if I had gone for a long walk, and literally cold on my left side. It took me several hours to warm up in a hot bed, under blankets.”

Later, the Grand Duke regretted having talked about that adventure, and tried to make a mockery out of it, but the concerns that it brought up made he think that there was something serious about it. Once this report was read at the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, but without the intention of framing any question about it, one of the mediums received, spontaneously and without evocation, the following communication:

Parisian Society, March 9^th, 1866 – medium Mr. Morin

“In the new phase that you entered, with the key given by Spiritism, or the revelation by the Spirits, everything must be explained, at least what you are capable of understanding. Clairvoyance was the first mediumship given to man to correspond with the invisible world, cause of so many facts that still today are left without a rational explanation. In fact, when you look over the different ages of humanity, carefully observing all the traditions that existed, you will find, among those that preceded you, creatures that had a relationship with the world of the Spirits. Since the beginning of times, in all peoples, religious beliefs were established upon revelations of visionaries or clairvoyant mediums. Too small on their own, men were always assisted by the invisible that preceded them in erraticity, and abiding by the law of universal reciprocity, they came to bring them the knowledge that they had acquired, through communications sometimes inconsistent, delineating the conduct to be followed for the discovery of truth. The first mediumistic faculty, as I said, was the vision. How many adversaries has it found among the interest of all times! But one must not infer from my words that every vision is the result of true communication; many are the result of hallucinations of weakened minds, or the result of a plan hatched to serve a calculation or to satisfy pride. Believe me, the clairvoyant medium is the most impressionable of all; what he saw is better stored in the mind. From the moment when your Grand Duke^[2], vain and boaster like most of his kind, saw the grandfather appearing to him, since it was in reality a vision that had its reason in the mission that Peter the Great had accepted in favor of his grandson, that consisted on guiding and inspiring him, mediumship was permanent in the Duke and it was only the fear of ridicule that precluded him from telling all visions to his friend. That clairvoyant mediumship was not the only one that he had. He was also endowed by intuition and hearing. However, much pervaded by the principles of his first education, he refused to take advantage of the wise warnings given by his guiding Spirits. It was through auditive mediumship that he had the revelation of his tragic end. Since then his Spirit progressed a lot. Today he would no longer fear the ridicule of believing in a vision, and that is why he comes to tell you: - Thanks to my dear spiritual guides, and to the observation of the facts, I believe in the survival of the soul, in the eternal omnipotence of God, in the constant progression of men and peoples to good, and I am honored that one of my frivolities has given place to a dissertation from which I have everything to win and you have nothing to lose.

Paul

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[1] Extracted from the Grand Journal, March 3^rd, 1866, taken from a book by Mr. Hortensius de Saint Albin, entitled Le Culte de Satan.




[2] Many Russian citizens attended the session in which this communication was given; that has undoubtedly led to the expression your Grand Duke.

Mr. Leymarie, our colleague from the Parisian Society, recently traveled to Corrèze, where he frequently spoke about matters of Spiritism, receiving several mediumistic communications, among which the one below, and that certainly could not be in his thoughts, considering that he had never heard about an individual called Cosnac in this world. This communication is remarkable because it shows the singular position of a Spirit that after two and half centuries after his death, did not believe to be alive, but was under the impression of the ideas and visions of things of his time, not realizing how much they had changed since then.

Tulle, March 7^th, 1866

Two and half centuries ago, unconscious of my position, I constantly saw the fortified castle of my ancestors, the deep moats, the Lord of Cosnac always linked to his King, to his name, to his memories of greatness; there was pages and valets everywhere; men-at-arms leaving for a secret expedition. I follow all that movement, all the noise; I hear the outcry of the prisoners and colonists, of the fearful servants that humbly pass in front of the master’s house; it is all just a dream!...

My eyes opened today, to see everything contrary to my century old dream! I see a large bourgeoise home, but without the lines of defense; everything is calm. The big trees disappeared; one could say that a fairy hand transformed the feudal home and the woodlands that surround it. Why such a change?... Has the name that I carry disappeared then, and with that the good old times?... Ah It is necessary to let my dreams go, my desires, my fictions, because a new world has just been revealed to me. Formerly a bishop, proud of my titles, of my alliances, counselor to the King, I only admitted our personalities, a God creating privileged races, to whom the world belonged, in its own right, a name that should perpetuate, and as the basis of such a system, tyranny and suffering for the servant and the worker.

A few words were enough to wake me up!... An involuntary attraction (in the past I would have called it diabolic) brought me to this one that is writing. He discussed with a priest that utilizes all the arguments that I used in the past, for the defense of the Church, but now he uses new words that explain with simplicity, and should I confess? His reasoning allows my eyes to see and my ears to listen.

Through him I see things as they are, and more remarkable, after having followed him to a place where he defends Spiritism, I go back to the feeling of my existence as a Spirit; I appreciate better, I define better the great laws of truth and justice; I swallow my pride, cause of the cataract that confused my reason and judgment for two-and-half centuries; however, look at the power of habit, the pride of race!



Despite the radical changes that took place in the properties of my grandparents, in the social mores, in the law and in government; despite the conversations with the medium that transmit my thought; despite my visits to the Spiritist groups of Paris, and even the Spirits that prepare for the emigration to more advance worlds, or for earthly incarnations, it took me eight days of thoughts to surrender to the evidence. My resistances fell one by one in this long struggle between the disappearing past and the present that drags us to new hopes, like the old broken armors of our former knights. I come to make an act of faith before the evidence, and I attest that I am the bishop of Cosnac, that I live, and that I feel and judge. While I wait for my reincarnation, I prepare my spiritual weapons; I feel God everywhere and in everything; I am not a demon, I abjure my pried of cast, and in my fluidic covering I pay tribute to the God Creator, the God of harmony that calls all of His children to him, so that later, after a more or less eventful life, they arrive purified to the ethereal spheres, where that magnanimous God allows them to enjoy the supreme wisdom.

De Cosnac

Note: The archbishop of Sens, before the last one, was called Jean-Joseph-Marie-Victoire de Cosnac. He was born in 1764, at the Cosnac Castle, in the Limousin where he died in 1843. The Bulletin of the Archeological Society of Sens, volume 7, page 301, says that he was the eleventh prelate that his family had given to the Church. It is not impossible that a bishop with such a name had lived in the beginning of the seventeenth century.

The stanzas below were taken from the book The New Dogmas, by Mr. Eugène Nus. Although it is not a mediumistic work, the reader will certainly appreciate the reproduction here, given the thoughts so nicely expressed. With the title “The Great Mysteries”, the same author published another remarkable book, that we shall refer to, and in which all the principles of the Spiritist Doctrine are found, as rational solution.

O beloved dead, that this earth

Has seen pass, mingled with us,

Tell us about the great mystery:

where do you live, o beloved dead?



Flamboyant globes, which populate the space,

Sisters of our earth, stars of heavens,

Which of you prepare my place,

With a somber or glorious fate?

Which of you has received the souls

Of those I lost and loved the most?

In a white ray of their sweet flame,

have they descended on my dreamy brain?



Or, attached to earth’s destiny,

By their fate or by their love,

Are they carried away in our atmosphere,

Waiting, up there, for the time to reappear?

Or, even closer, Invisible Spirits,

Are they among us, mingled in our days,

Preaching harmony to delicate hearts,

Weeping softly onto deaf ears?



Oh, profound mystery of the infinite soul!

Long time no hear!

My paled face searched all over,

unable to find the divine secret.

But, o dear dead, wherever you are!

Whether you are near or far,

You shall come to me.

I have often surrendered to your secret voice,

Your warmth warmed my faith.



O beloved dead, that this earth

Has seen pass, mingled with us,

Tell us about the great mystery:

where do you live, o beloved dead?

We were asked to publish the letter below, addressed to the chief-editor of the Journal la Liberté.

“Dear Sir,

It is true that one must fill out the columns of a newspaper, but when that decoration is full of insults addressed to those that do not share the ideas of your editors, at least like the one that wrote such a vulgarity about the Davenport brothers, in the Monday issue, one is allowed to find it bad to give one’s money to those that are not afraid of treating others as fools, ignorant, etc. Well, I am a Spiritist and thank God for that. Thus, rest assured that when my subscription with your journal ends, it will not be renewed. Your paper has a sublime title; therefore, do not belie that title, and know that the word implies respect to everyone’s opinion. Above all, do not forget that freedom and Spiritism are absolutely the same thing. Does such a synonym surprise you? Read, study this Doctrine that seems so dark to you, and you will then be able to do service to Truth and Freedom, that you raise so high but that you offend.

Florentine Blanchard, bookseller in Marennes.”



P.S. If my signature is not much legible to you, the seal that closes the letter will clarify.

Am I a Spiritist? By Sylvain Alquié, from Toulouse; brochure in-12, 50 cents; Bookstore Caillol et Baylac, Rue de la Pomme, 34 – Toulouse.

The author, a new follower, only knew Spiritism by the diatribes of the newspapers, with respect to the Davenport brothers, when the first article published by La Discussion (see the Spiritist Review, February 1866) fell on in his hands in a café, made him it from another perspective and led him to the study. These are the impressions that he describes in his brochure. He revises the reasons that led him to the belief, asking each one: Am I a Spiritist? His conclusion is summarized in the last chapter by these simple words: I am a Spiritist. This brochure, written with elegance, clarity and conviction, is a profession of faith, wisely thought through; it deserves the sympathies of every sincere follower, to whom we believe to be a duty to recommend it, apologizing for the lack of space that precludes us from justifying our appreciation for some citations.

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Letter to Messrs. Directors and Editors of the Anti-Spiritists Journals, by A. Grelez, retired administrative officer. Brochure in-8, price 50 cents. In the main bookstores of Paris and Bordeaux.

This letter, or better saying, these letters from Sétif, Algeria, were published by the Spiritist Union of Bordeaux, in their issues number 34, 35 and 36. It is a clear and succinct description of the principles of the doctrine, in response to the diatribes of certain journalists whose false and unfair appreciations are politely revealed by the author. He certainly did not expect to convert them, but these refutations, multiplied in cheap brochures, have the advantage of enlightening the masses about the true character of Spiritism, showing that it finds serious defenders everywhere, that only need reasoning to fight their adversaries. We must then thank Mr. Grelez and congratulate the Spiritist Union of Bordeaux for having taken the initiative of this publication.

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Spiritist Philosophy, extracted from the divine “The Spirits’ Book”, by Allan Kardec, by Augustin Babin, de Cognac, I volume in-12, 200 pages, price: 1 franc.

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Happiness Guide, or General Duties of Men by the Love of God, by the same. Brochure in-12, 100 pages, price: 60 cents.

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Notions of Astronomy – scientific, psychological, and moral, by the same. Brochure in-12, 100 pages, price: 75 cents. Naudaud et Cie. Bookstore, Forte Desaix, 26 – Angoulême.

Please notice that the epithet “divine” given to The Spirits’ Book is by the author and not by us. It characterizes the way he sees the issue. Mr. Baubin is a long time Spiritist who takes the doctrine seriously, from its moral point of view. These three books are the result of a profound, inalterable conviction, sheltered from fluctuations. He is not an enthusiast, but a man that has collected so much strength, consolation, and happiness from Spiritism, that he considers to be a duty to propagate a belief that is dear to him. His zeal is as much meritorious as selfless. He declares that his books are of public domain, with the condition that nothing is altered, and the price remains fixed. He kindly spared one hundred books for us to distribute for free, for which we beg him to accept here our most sincere appreciation.

How can such a great, powerful, and superior God meddle with the tiniest details, be worried about the smallest acts and minimal thoughts of each individual? Such is the question that is frequently asked.

In this current state of inferiority men can hardly understand an infinite God, because they are limited and circumscribed themselves, and consequently consider God finite and circumscribed as well; by doing so they see God as their own image. The paintings that show God with human traces do not contribute little to feed such mistake in the spirit of the masses, that adore more the form than the thought in God. The most, God is a powerful sovereign, on an inaccessible throne, lost in the immensity of the skies, and since their faculties and perceptions are restrict, they cannot understand that God may directly intervene in the smallest things.

Given the impotence of man to understand the essence of divinity, he can only make an approximate idea, helped but necessarily much imperfect comparisons, but that can at least show the possibility of something that, at first sight, seem impossible.

Consider a fluid that is subtle enough to penetrate all bodies. It is evident that each molecule of this fluid will produce, upon each molecule of the matter with which it is in contact, an action identical to the one that the totality of the fluid would produce. It is what chemistry shows us.

Since it is not intelligent, this fluid acts mechanically only through the material forces. But if we suppose this fluid with some intelligence, endowed by perceptive and sensitive faculties, it will no longer act blindly, but with discernment, with will and freedom; it will see, hear, and feel.

The properties of the perispiritual fluid can give us an idea about it. It is not intelligent by itself, because it is matter, but it is the vehicle of thoughts, of sensations and perceptions of the Spirits; it is due to the subtleness of this fluid that the Spirits penetrate everywhere, scrutinize our thoughts that they see and act from a distance; the superior Spirits owe their gift of ubiquity to this fluid, once they have achieved a certain degree of depuration; they only need a beam of their thoughts sent to multiple points to be able to simultaneously manifest their presence there. The extension of this faculty is subordinated to the degree of elevation and depuration of the Spirit. But the Spirits, however much elevated they are, are limited creatures in their faculties. Their power and the reach of their perceptions, from this point of view, could not approach that of God. They can, however, be used for comparison. What the Spirit can only realize in a restricted horizon, God that is infinite realizes in infinite proportions.



There is still another difference, that the action of the Spirit is momentarily and subordinated to the circumstances, whereas the action of God is permanent; the thought of the Spirit can only embrace a restrict space and time, whilst God embraces the universe and eternity. In short, between the Spirits and God there is the distance between the finite and the infinite.

The perispiritual fluid is not the thought, but the agent and intermediary of that thought. Since it is the fluid that transmits it, it is somehow impregnated, and given our impossibility of isolating the thought, it seems to make one with the fluid, as the sound seems to combine into one with air, so much so that we can, as a way of speaking, materialize it. In the same way that we say that the air becomes sonorous, taking the effect by the cause, we could say that the fluid becomes intelligent.

Regarding the thought of God, be it like that or not, meaning, whether that thought acts directly or through a fluid, to facilitate our understanding, we represented it in the concrete form of an intelligent fluid filling up the whole infinite universe, penetrating every part of creation. The whole nature is embedded in the Divine fluid; everything is submitted to its intelligent action, its providence, its solicitude; not a single being, however tiny it might be, isn’t, in a way, saturated by that fluid.

Thus, we are constantly in the presence of the divinity; there isn’t a single action from our side that can avoid its eyes; our thoughts are in contact with its thoughts and that is the reason why it is said that God reads the most intimate parts of our hearts; we are in God as God is in us, according to the words of Jesus Christ.

To extend solicitude to the tiniest creature, God has no need to look down from the heights of infinity, nor there is a need for God to leave the dwelling of glory, since that dwelling is everywhere. Our prayers do not need to transpose the space, nor do they need to be said in a reverberating voice, because our thoughts are embedded by and incessantly interacting with God’s thoughts.

The image of an intelligent universal fluid is not more than a comparison, but adequate to give a fairer idea of God than the images that represent God as an old man with a long beard, covered by a mantle. We can only apply comparison by using things that we do know; that is why we daily say: the eye of God, the hand of God, the voice of God, the breath of God, and the face of God. In the infancy of humanity, man applies these comparisons verbatim; later, being more capable of abstractions, the creature spiritualizes the material ideas. The idea of an intelligent universal fluid, penetrating everything, as it would be with the luminous fluid, the caloric fluid, the electric fluid^[1], or any other, if they were intelligent, has the objective of explaining the possibility of God being everywhere, to be involved with everything, watching over the blossoming weed as well as the worlds.

The distance between God and us was removed. We understand His presence, and when we address our thought to Him it gives us more confidence, for we can no longer say that God is too far away and that He is too great to be worried about us. But such a thought, very reassuring to the humble and to the good man, is terrifying to the hardened bad and proud one, that had kept God away given the distance, but from now on will feel His influence and power.



Three is nothing that precludes us from admitting a center of action to the principle of sovereign intelligence, irradiating non-stop, inundating the universe with His emanations, like the light of the Sun. But where is this focus? It is likely that it is no more localized in a determined spot than its action. If simple Spirits have the gift of ubiquity, this must be a boundless faculty to God.

Assuming that God fills up the whole universe, it could be hypothetically admitted that such a focus does not need to be transported, and that it may be formed in all places where God’s sovereign will desires, from what it could inferred that God is everywhere and nowhere.

Our reason must be humbled before these fathomless problems. God does exist: we could not doubt it; God is infinitely just and good: it is God’s essence; His solicitude reaches everything: we now understand it; by being permanently in contact with God, we can pray to him, certain that we are heard; God can only wish our wellbeing, hence we must trust God. That is essential. As for the rest, let us wait to be worthy of understanding.

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[1] The modern knowledge of electricity, such as electromagnetic induction and the field theory, were in their early days, thanks to the work of great 19^th century minds such as Michael Faraday and James Maxwell. Maxwell’s field equations set of four papers were first published in 1861, in the Philosophical Magazine in Britain. (T.N.)

Considering that God is everywhere, why can’t we see Him? Do we see Him when we leave Earth? These are also questions that are asked every day. The first one is easy to resolve: Our material organs have limited perceptions, that make the vision of certain things improper, even material things. That is how certain fluids totally escape our vision^[2] and our instruments of analysis. We see the effects of the plague but cannot see the fluid that carries it; we see the bodies moving around by the gravitational force but we do not see that force.

Things of immaterial essence cannot be perceived by the material organs; it is only through the spiritual vision that we can see the Spirits and things of the immaterial world; therefore, it is only our soul that can have the perception of God. Does the soul see God immediately after death? That is what only the communications from beyond the grave can teach us. Through them we know that the vision of God is only the privilege of the more depurated souls, and that consequently very few have the necessary dematerialization after leaving the earthly envelope. A few simple comparisons will allow us to understand this without difficulty.

Someone at the bottom of a vale, surrounded by a thick fog, does not see the Sun; however, through an obscure light, he perceives the presence of the Sun. If he climbs the mountain, and as he moves to higher levels, the fog dissipates, the light becomes more and more lively, but he cannot see yet. When he begins to perceive, the Sun is still hidden, for the minimum mist is enough to fade its shine. It is only after he is completely elevated above the misty layer, in an atmosphere of perfectly pure air, he can see the Sun in all its splendor.

The same happens to someone that had his head covered by multiple veils. In the beginning he cannot see a thing; each veil that is removed allows him to see a stronger flash; it is only when the last veil is removed that he can see things clearly. This also happens to a liquid that carries strange materials. In the beginning it is muddy; after each distillation the transparency increases, until it is completely purified, acquiring a perfect transparency and no longer presents any obstacle to vision.

It is the same with the soul. The perispiritual envelope, although invisible and impalpable to us, it is a true matter to the soul, still too gross to certain perceptions. This envelope spiritualizes, as the soul elevates in morality. The imperfections of the soul are like veils that obfuscate its vision; each imperfection that is removed is one less veil, but it is only after having depurated completely that the soul enjoys the plenitude of its faculties.

Since God is the divine essence, by excellence, He cannot be perceived in all His shine but by the Spirits that have reached the highest degree of materialization. If the imperfect Spirits do not see Him, it is not because they are more far away than the others, considering that every being in nature, like themselves, are embedded in the divine fluid. The blind is exposed to light as we are, but nonetheless they cannot see it. Imperfections are the veils that hide God from the vision of inferior Spirits; when the misty is dissipated they will see Him resplendent. They will not need to climb or seek him in the depths of infinity; since the spiritual life is disentangled from the moral stains that muddied it, they will see God everywhere, even if they are on Earth because God is everywhere.

The Spirit depurates very slowly, and the multiple incarnations are the alembics, where each time some impurities are left at the bottom. By leaving the corporeal envelope, the Spirit does not instantaneously undress from his imperfections; that is the reason why some, after death, do not see God more than they saw when alive. However, as they purify, they have a clearer intuition of God; they may not see Him, but they understand Him better; the light is less fuzzy. Thus, when the Spirits say that God forbids them from answering a given question, it does not mean that God shows up to them or speaks with them to prescribe or block one thing or another. No; but they feel God, receive the emanations from God’s thoughts, as it happens to us when we feel the Spirits that involve us with their fluid, although we do not see them. Hence, no man can see God with the eyes of flesh. If such a favor were given to some, it would only be in the state of ecstasy, when the soul is as much detached from the links of matter as it is possible during the incarnation.

Moreover, such a privilege would only be given to elite souls, incarnate in missions rather than atonements. But, as the Spirits of the highest order shine with a dazzling brilliance, it may be that inferior Spirits, incarnate of discarnate, struck by the splendor around them, would believe to see God Himself. It is like someone that sees a minister, believing to be the sovereign.

What is the appearance of God to those that became worthy of such a gift? Any form? Like a human figure or like a magnificent focus of light? That is what human language is incapable of describing, since we do not have any reference that could give us an idea. We are like blind people to whom someone was trying to explain the sunshine. Our vocabulary is limited to our needs and to the boundaries of our ideas; the vocabulary of the savage could not describe the marvels of civilization; the vocabulary of the most civilized people is too poor to describe the splendors of heavens; our intelligence is too limited to understand them, and our very weak vision would be dazzled by them.

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[1] See Genesis, Chap. II, items 31-37


[2] Even the air is invisible to us, although we feel and know it is there (T.N.)

The Concorde, a journal from Versailles, on February 22^nd, 1866 reports the following episode of a story published in a feuilleton, with the title In Corsica, sketch with a pen.

“A young woman had an aunt that was like her mother and to whom she devoted a filial love. The aunt fell sick and died. The young lady was kept away, but she stood up at the door of the mortuary chapel, crying and praying. Suddenly she seemed to have heard a weak scream, like a muffled moaning. She opened the door precipitously and saw her aunt that had removed the covering cloth, waving at her to approach. She then said, with a weak voice and out of a supreme effort: “Saveria, I was dead a short while ago… yes, dead… I saw the Lord… He allowed me to return for an instant to say a last goodbye and make a final recommendation to you.”

She then renewed a very important advice, that she had given a few days ago, that could affect her future. It was about keeping an absolute secret about a fact whose advertisement could lead to one of those terrible vengeances, so common in this country. After the niece had promised to comply with her will, she added: “Now I can die, because God will protect you as one is protected in such a time, for I will not leave behind me the displeasure of a vengeance fed by a trail of blood and curse… Goodbye my child, bless you”. After these words she expired.”

One of our correspondents, that personally knows the author, asked him if the report was the result of his imagination. “No, re said. It is the truth. I heard the story from Saveria’s mouth when I was in Corsica. I used her own words and even omitted certain details, afraid that people could accuse me of exaggeration.”

Facts of such a nature are not unique; we cited a very remarkable one in the Spiritist Review, August 1863, with the title Mr. Cardon, doctor. They are the evident proof of the existence and independence of the soul, because, if the intelligent principle were inherent to matter, it would extinguish with that. The remaining question is to know if, out of a wish, the soul can momentarily retake the body that it had just left.

One must not attribute the fact above, nor that of doctor Cardon, to a lethargic state. Lethargy is an accidental suspension of movements and nervous sensitivity, presenting the aspect of death, but that is not death, since there is no decomposition and the lethargic live many years after their wakening. Latent vitality retains is full strength, and the soul is not more separated from the body than it is during the sleep. In true death, on the contrary, matter decomposes, vitality is extinct and the perispirit detaches; the work of separation begins even before the consummation of death. While there is no consummation, it is possible to have temporary return to life, as the ones we cited, but always of short duration, considering that the will may delay the definite separation of the perispirit for a few moments, but it is impotent to stop the work of dissolution, when the time comes. Irrespective of the external appearances, one can say that every time that there is a return to life it means that there wasn’t death, in the pathologic meaning of the word. When death is complete, such return are impossible, for this is in opposition to the physiological laws.

In the circumstances that we discuss, therefore, we could rationally admit that death was not consummated. Having this event been reported at the Parisian Society, the guide of one of our usual mediums gave him the following explanation, that we reproduce with every reservation, as something possible, but not materially proved, and as a point of observation.



Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, March 2^nd, 1866 – medium Mr. Morin

In the case that constitutes reason for your discussion, there is a positive fact that is the dead person that spoke with her niece. It is necessary to know if this is a material fact, that is, if there was momentary return to the corporeal life, or if it is of spiritual order; the latter is the true hypothesis because the old lady was really dead. Here is what happened:

Keeling by the door of the mortuary chamber, the young lady had an irresistible impulse that took her to the bed of her aunt that, as I said, was truly dead. It was the strong will of the Spirit of this woman that provoked the phenomenon. Feeling that she was dying without being able to make the recommendation that she badly wanted to make, she asked God, in a last and supreme prayer, to allow her to tell the niece what she wanted to say. With the separation completed, the perispiritual fluid, still impregnated by her desire, involved the young woman, and brought her closer to the remains. There, with God’s permission, she became a clairvoyant and auditive medium; she saw and heard her aunt acting, not with a body, but through the perispirit, still connected to the body, so that there was spiritual, not material, sight and hearing.

The aunt’s recommendation, given in such a time and circumstances that gave the appearance of a resurrection, should vividly impress the young woman, making her understand the importance of the recommendation. Although she had already done that when alive, she wanted to make sure that her niece agreed, to avoid disgraces that could result from her indiscretion. Her will could not have revived her body, opposing the laws of nature, but could give her fluidic covering the appearance of her body.

Ebelman

Mr. Laverdet was one of the priests of the French Church and assistant to Father Châtel. He was a man of great knowledge, and for his elevation of character, enjoyed the appreciation of those that knew him. He died in Paris last November. One of his closest friends, Mr. Monvoisin, the renowned painter of history, a keen Spiritist, willing to receive a few words from beyond the grave, asked us to evoke him. The communication that he gave has, to his friend and his brother, an incontestable seal of identity, and for that matter we conceded to the wishes of those two gentlemen to see it published, and with even more satisfaction for the fact that it is instructive in more than one aspect.


Parisian Society, January 5^th, 1866 – medium: Mr. Desliens

Evocation: Your friend, Mr. Monvoisin, informed us today about your death, and although we did not have the privilege of knowing you in person, we did know your reputation, regarding your contribution in the formation of the French Church. The consideration that you deservedly enjoyed, and the study that you carried out about Spiritism, before your death, added to the wishes of your friend and your brother, accounted for our own desire to communicate with you, God willing. If you wish to give us your impressions as a Spirit, it will make us happy, if you wish to talk about the religious reformation in the cause that you worked and those that hindered its progress, or about the Spiritist Doctrine.

Answer: Dear Sir, I am happy, very happy for the good memory of my dear friend, Mr. Monvoisin. Thanks to him, today I can, in this honorable assembly, express my admiration by the man whose remarkable studies brought happiness to all disinherited and broken hearts by the injustice of men. A reformer myself, I am in the position of appreciating the whole prudence and wisdom of your conduct, dear Sir and teacher, if you allow me to give you such a title.

Not much satisfied with the general tendencies of the orthodox clergy, with their parsimonious way of spreading the light owed to all, I wanted, in partnership with Father Châtel, establish a teaching on new basis, with a character of religion, more associated to the news of the poor classes. In the beginning our objective was commendable, but our endeavor failed in its foundation, its purpose, so that they should come to us more to contradict the established religion than out of intimate conviction. We soon recognized it, but too lightheartedly we accepted with enthusiasm the children that rejected other priests, by lack of sufficient instruction or the necessary formalities. Spiritism proceeds in a totally different way; it is firm and judicious; it does not seek quantity but quality in the followers. It is a serious teaching and not a speculation.



Our reformation, that since the beginning was totally selfless, was soon seen as a means of making fortune, particularly by Father Châtel. It was its ruin. We did not have enough elements of resistance nor we had sufficient planning, fortunately and undoubtedly, to be successful with the endeavor. The first French archbishop had not successor. I did not try to present myself as the chief of a sect that I was the co-founder of second order because, in the first place, I did not approve the tendencies of Father Châtel, tendencies that the poor man atoned and still does in the world of the Spirits. On the other hand, my simplicity rejected it; I abstained and that is why I feel happy today.

We I was approached to return to the interrupted task, the readings of your works, dear Sir, had already launched profound roots in my mind. I understood that it was not only about modifying the way we teach but the teaching itself. Given its nature, our reformation could only have a period; founded on the basis of a fixed idea, upon a human conception, entirely developed and limited in its origin, it should, even with all changes of success, be soon overpassed by progressive seeds whose germination we see today.

Spiritism does not carry such a defect. It marches with progress; it is progress itself and it could not be overtaken by the one that permanently precedes it. By accepting all the new ideas, based on reason and logic, developing them, and giving rise to other unknown ideas, its future is guaranteed. Allow me, dear Sir, to thank you for the pleasure that I experimented by studying the wise teachings under your care. Disturbed by the desire to get to know what was hidden by all the mysteries of nature, by reading it my Spirit was touched by the brightest light.

I know that you reject any personal praise, out of modesty; I also know that those teachings are not of your conception, but the gathering of the instructions of your guides; nonetheless, Spiritism does not owe less to your reservation, to your skills in presenting things at their appropriate time, to your wise slowness, to your permanent moderation; after God and the good Spirits, you must enjoy the recognition that is conferred to you. Despite all diatribes, despite all the sickening and illogical attacks, it is today an opinion that made law, that is accepted by many sensible and serious people, and above any suspicion. It is the works of the future; it is overseen by the Almighty, and it will conquer the support of every intelligent and superior mind, as soon as they acknowledge its true objectives that were disfigured by the adversaries.

Unfortunately, ridicule is a powerful weapon in this country of progress! Several enlightened persons refuse to study certain ideas, even in secrecy, when they have been stigmatized by miserable mockery. But there are things that face all obstacles. Spiritism is one of them, and the time of its victory will come soon. It will unite the whole of France, the whole of intelligent Europe, and the fools and mistaken ones will be those that dare attribute to imagination, facts that are acknowledged by exceptional minds.

As for my current personal state, it is satisfactory; I will say nothing about it; I will just draw your attention to and ask for your prayers to my old colleague, Father Châtel. Pray for him. His lost Spirit, then more elevated, will later give you wise instructions. I thank you again for your benevolence towards me, and remain entirely at your service, if I can be useful at all.

Father Laverdet

Charles-Emmanuel Jean was a good worker, of a kind character, but given to drinking since his youth days. He had fallen in love with a young woman of his acquaintance that did not accept his proposal. She had always rejected him, saying that she would never marry a drunk. He married someone else with whom he had several children, but due to his drinking he never worried about their education and future. He died around 1823 and nobody knew what had become of him. One of his sons followed the footsteps of the father; he moved to Africa and gave no more news. Another one was of a completely different nature; his conduct had always been regular. He started apprenticeship early on, becoming well-liked by his employers as a qualified, laborious, active, and intelligent worker. Through his work and savings, he achieved an honorable position in the industry, and took proper care and educated a large family. He is today a keen and devoted Spiritist.

One day, in a private conversation, he expressed frustration of not having ensured an independent fortune to his children; we tried to appease his conscience, congratulating him, on the contrary, for the way he had accomplished his duty as a father. Since he is a good medium, we prayed for him to get a communication, without appealing to any determined Spirit. He wrote:

-“It is me, Charles-Emmanuel.”

It is my father, he said. Poor father, he is not happy. The Spirit continued:

-Yes, the teacher is right. You did more for your children than I did for you. I, therefore, have a mission to accomplish. Praise God, that gave you the love for your family.

Question (from Mr. Allan Kardec) – Where did your inclination for drinking come from?

Answer – A habit from my father that I inherited. It was a trial that I had to have fought.

Observation: In fact, his father had the same vice, but it is not correct to say that he had inherited; he simply gave in to the influence of a bad example. One cannot inherit defects of character, as it can do to defects of formation. Free-will has total power upon the former and none upon the latter.

Question – What is your current situation in the world of the Spirits?

Answer – I am permanently looking for my children and for the one that made me suffer, that always rejected me.

Q – You must find consolation in your son, Jean, an honored and well-liked man, and that prays for you, although you gave little attention to him.

A – Yes, I know; he has done and still does. That is why I am allowed to talk to you. I am always by his side, trying to mitigate his pains; it is my mission; it will only end when my son comes close to us.

Q – What was your situation, as a Spirit, after death?

A – In the beginning I did not believe to be dead; I drank nonstop; I saw and tried to reach Antoinette, but she fled. I then sought my children that I loved, despite everything, and that my wife did not want to give me. I then revolted, acknowledging my insignificance and impotence, and God condemned me to watch over my son Jean, that never died of an accident because always, and everywhere, I spare him of a violent death.

Observation: In fact, Mr. Jean escaped several times form imminent danger, as if out of a miracle; he escaped from drowning, from fire, from being smashed in the gears of an engine, from exploding with a steam engine; in his youth he was hung by accident, and an unexpected help always saved him at a critical time, something that seems to be due to the vigilance carried out by his father.

Q – You said that God condemned you to watch out for the safety of your son. I do not see a punishment in this; since you love him, this must be, on the contrary, a satisfaction to you. Many Spirits are assigned with the mission of taking care of the incarnate, protecting them, and that is a mission that pleases them to accomplish.

A – Yes, teacher. I should not have neglected my children, as I did. The law of justice now condemns me to repair. I do not do it against my will; I am happy to do that for the love of my son, but the pain that he would feel in the accidents that I save him from, I feel them myself; if he had to go through ten bullets, I would feel that pain as if it happened. That is the punishment that I attracted, by not carrying out the duties of a father before them in my life.

Q (by Mr. Jean) – Do you see my brother Numa, and can you tell me where he is? (the one that was given to drinking and whose fate was unknown).

A – No, I do not see him, but I look for him. Your daughter Jeanne saw him by the coast of Africa, falling into the sea. I was not there to help him. I couldn’t.

Observation: Mr. Jean’s daughter, in a moment of ecstasy, had really seen him falling into the sea, at the time of his disappearance. The punishment of this Spirit offers this particularity: He feels the pains that must be spared from his son. From that, it is understandable that it must be painful; but since he does not complain and consider it to be a fair amends, and that it does not diminishes his affection towards his son, such an atonement is useful.

Do you know, friends, where my communication is from? From a lost gorge, where the houses dispute their foundations with the difficulties accumulated by creation. Climbing houses winding on the slope of almost vertical hills, hanging from the sides of the rocks. Poor dwellings that housed many generations; above the roofs are the gardens where birds sing their prayers. When the first flowers announce the beautiful days, full of air and sun, this music seems to come out of areal layers, and the inhabitant that folds and work the iron, the factory and its discordant noise match their bitter and noisy rhythm with the harmony of the little artists of the good God.

But above those deteriorated, disheveled, original, dislocated houses, there are high mountains with unparalleled greenery; the walker sees the horizon broadening at each step; the villages, the churches seem to came out of the abyss, and this strange, wild, mutable panorama is lost in the distance, dominated by mountains with their summits whitened by the snow.

But I forgot: you must undoubtedly perceive a silvery strip, clear, capricious, transparent like a mirror: it is the Corrèze. Sometimes enclosed between rocks, it is quiet and grave; sometimes she escapes joyful, cheerful, through the meadows, willows and poplars, offering her cup to the lips of numerous flocks, and her beneficial transparency to the frolics of bathers; she purifies the city that is graciously divided.

I love this countryside, with its old houses, its gigantic steeple, it noise, its crown of chestnut trees; I love it because I was born there, because everything that I describe to your benevolent soul is part of the memories of my last incarnation. Beloved relatives, sincere friends always surrounded me with tender care; they helped my spiritual advancement. Having reached grandeur, I owed them my fraternal feelings; my works honored them, and when I come, as a Spirit, to visit the town of my infancy, I cannot help it but to climb the Puy-Saint-Clair, the last home of the citizens of Tulle, greeting the earthly remains of the beloved Spirits.

Strange fantasy! The cemetery is five hundred feet above the city; around, the infinite horizon. We are along among nature, its prestige, and God, the King of all greatness, of all hopes. Our ancestors wanted to bring together their beloved dead to their true dwelling, to tell them: Spirits, fly away! The air around calls you. Come out, resplendent from your prison, so that the enchanting spectacle of this immense horizon prepare you for the wonders that you were called upon to contemplate. If they had such a thought, I approve, because death is not so gloomy as they portray it. To the Spiritists, isn’t that the true life, the desired separation, the welcome of the exiled in the groups of the erratic, where one comes to study, learn, and prepare to the trials?

In a few years, instead of groaning, of mourning, this separation will be a celebration to the incarnate Spirits, when the dead have fulfilled their Spiritists duties, in the true meaning of the word; but they will cry, they will moan for the earthling egotist that had never practiced charity, fraternity, all virtues, all duties so well defined in The Spirits’ Book.

After having spoken about the dead, will you allow me to speak about the living? I am very attached to all hopes, to my country, where there is so much to do, much deserving sincere wishes. Progress, this inflexible leveler, is slow to take root in mountainous regions, it is true, but it knows how to instill itself, in time, with habits and social mores; it dismisses the opposition, one by one, finally allowing glimpses of new light to the pariah of the work, whose body, still leaning over the ungrateful land, is as rough as the tracing of the furrows.

The vigorous nature of those brave inhabitants awaits spiritual redemption. They do not know what it is to think, to judge soundly and to utilize all the resources of the mind; interest alone dominates them in all its harshness; common, heavy nourishment lends itself to that sterility of the spirit; away from the noise of politics, scientific discoveries, they are like oxen, oblivious to their strength, ready to accept the burden, and under the goad, they go to mass, to the cabaret, to the village, not out of interest but habit, sleeping at the sermons, jumping to the discordant sound of a musette^[1], uttering insane shouts, brutally obeying the movements of the flesh.

The priest is careful not to change these old ways and social mores; he talks about faith, the mysteries, passion, always the devil, and that incoherent mix finds an echo, without harmony, in the head of that brave people that vows, make bare feet pilgrimage and indulges in the strangest superstitious social mores.

Thus, when a child is sick, not very open, without intelligence, they hasten to take her to a village called St. Paul; she is first immersed in a privileged, but payed for, water; she is then made to sit on a blessed anvil, and a blacksmith, armed with a heavy hammer, strikes vigorously the anvil; it is said that the commotion, resulting from the repeated blows, infallibly cure the patient. This is called being forged, in St. Paul. Women with a spleen problem will also bathe in the miraculous water and be forged. Judge by this example in a hundred what the teaching of the priests of this region is.

However, take this brute and speak about interest; the cunning peasant, prudent like a savage, defends himself with aplomb and defeats the smartest judges. Shine a little light onto his brain, teach him the first elements of sciences, and you shall have true, healthy, and virile minds, full of good will.

Let the railroads cross this country and immediately you will have a bountiful soil with wine, delicious fruits, selected grain, fragrant truffles, exquisite chestnut, unparalleled vine or mushroom, magnificent woods, inexhaustible coal mines, iron, copper, first-rate cattle, air, greenery, splendid landscapes.



And when so many hopes only ask to flourish, when so many other countries are, like this one, in mortal prostration, let us wish that The Spirits Book penetrates all hearts, and all lost corners of this world. The doctrine that it contains is the only one that can change the minds of the populations, by yanking them away from the absurd pressure of those who ignore the great laws of erraticity, and who want to immobilize human belief in a maze where they themselves have so much difficulty in recognizing one other. So, let us all work with ardor for this desired renovation that must break down all barriers, and create the promised end to the generation that will soon come.

Baluze

Observation: The name Baluze is known to our readers through the excellent communications that he often dictates to his fellow citizen and favorite medium, Mr. Leymarie. It was during a trip by the latter to his homeland that he gave him the above communication. Baluze, a renowned historian, born in Tulle in 1630, deceased in Paris in 1718, published many admired works; he was Colbert's librarian. His biography (Feller's Dictionary) says "men of letters regretted the loss of a profound scholar, and his friends a gentle and generous man." There is a quay in Tulle that bears his name. Mr. Leymarie, who was unaware of the history of St. Paul, inquired about it, and acquired the certainty that these superstitious practices are still in use.

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[1] Kind of oboe common in France of the nineteenth century (T.N.)

Spiritism has just lost one of its most honorable and keen followers, with the death of Mr. Dr. Cailleux, deceased on April 20^th, 1866. We cannot pay a shinier tribute to his memory than the reproduction of an article published on the occasion by the Journal of Montreuil, on April 5^th:

“A good man has just disappeared amidst the general pain. Mr. Cailleux, medical doctor for about thirty years, member of the Municipal Council, member of the Association of Beneficence, doctor of the poor, doctor of the epidemies, died last Friday at 7 pm. An immense crowd formed by all social classes, took him to his final dwelling on Monday. The religious silence, that governed the whole trajectory, gave that sad and magnificent ceremony the character of a public manifestation. That simple funeral, followed by approximately three thousand crying people, or taken by a profound and quiet pain, would have touched the hardest hearts. It was the whole town that came out to pay the last tribute to one of its dearest inhabitants; it was the whole population wanting to carry to the cemetery the one that had sacrificed for them so many times. The poor that Mr. Cailleux had benefited so many times, showed their recognition; many workers took the coffin of their benefactor from the hands of the transporters, and considered to be an honor to carry that precious load to the cemetery!...

The tips of the shroud were held by Mr. Lecomte, 1^st adjunct; by Mr. Cosyn, 1^st Municipal Counselor; by Mr. Hacot, member of the Association of Beneficence, and by Mr. Delplanque, medical doctor, and Municipal Counselor. In front of the procession marched the Municipal Council, preceded by the Mayor, Mr. Émile Delhomel. The assembly counted on the presence of Mr. Charbonnier, Vice-Mayor, Mr. Artinet, Imperial Attorney, the Chief of Police, all the authorities of the city and doctors of neighboring towns. Many soldiers that were treated by Mr. Cailleux at the Hospital obtained license to attend the funeral and were mingled with the horde.

When they arrived at the cemetery a worker came out of the crowd, stopped at the tomb, and before the general silence, pronounced these few words: “You were a good man, benefactor of the poor, dying victim of your sublime dedication, receive our last farewell; your memory shall be in our hearts for eternity.” After these words, said with a feeling of gratitude, the crowd left in a religious reverence. The sadness that covered all faces showed well the loss the had just happened to the city of Montreuil. In fact, Mr. Cailleux knew, through his many qualities, to conquer the general appreciation. His whole life had been not but a long series of acts of dedication; he worked up until the last day, never willing to rest, and last Tuesday he still visited several patients in the countryside. When he was told about his advanced age and he was advised to rest from his many fatigues, he would have gladly responded, like Arnaud: “I have the whole eternity to rest.” Every hour of his life was dedicated to the care of his patients and to the consolation of the afflicted. He did not live for himself, but to his fellow human beings, and his whole life may be summarized in these three words: “Charity, devotion, abnegation.”

Lately, when the epidemic reached Étaples and the surrounding neighborhoods, Dr. Cailleux was entirely dedicated to the service of the patients, traveling around the infected villages, visiting the poor, taking care of some, helping others and having consolations to all. He then visited more than 800 patients, entering the unhealthiest homes, sitting by the beside of the dying, directly giving them the medication, never complaining, and on the contrary, keeping a constant sense of humor and a proverbial joy. The patient that saw him felt already alleviated by his joviality, always followed by a witty remark that provoked smiles.

Eight days before his death, Mr. Cailleux visited his patients in Berek, Lefaux, Camiers and Étaples, and the evening later was dedicated to the patients of the city; here what the work of one day meant to him: - So much abnegation would be fatal to him, and he should be the last victim of the scourge. On March 28^th he began with a serious diarrhea… he was about to rest when he was called to see a patient in the countryside. Despite his friends’ advices, he left saying: - I do not want to expose a patient for my fault; if he died, I would be the cause of death. I do nothing more than my duty.

When he returned at night in bad weather the symptoms of the disease manifested again. He went to bed the symptoms worsened; the following day the illness was attested, and he expired the following Friday…

It is horrifying when we think about the terrible pains of a man that know his condition, that knows that he is dying. Mr. Cailleux himself indicated the treatment to two of his colleagues that promptly came to assist him. He knew well that he would not be cured. – if there isn’t a quick improvement soon, he said, I will be gone in twelve hours. He saw himself dying, his vital forces diminishing, extinguishing bit by bit, without being able to stop the march to the grave. His final moments were calm and peaceful, and I could not give a better name to this death than a rest with the Lord. Beati qui moriuntur in Domino.^[1]

A few hours before his death he was asked about the medication that they should use. – Human science, he said, has employed all the medications that are in its power. Now, only God can stop the disease; one must resign to the divine Providence. He then leaned onto the bed, with his eyes fixated in the direction of the skies, as if foreseeing the celestial beatitude, and died without pain, without a groan, in the calmest and sweetest death.

Good man whose life was not but a long devotion, you worked on this Earth; you now enjoy the reward that God spares to all those that have always observed his law. While egotism flourished in the world, you were overflowing in abnegation and charity. Visiting the poor, helping patients, consoling the afflicted, that was your work. Oh, How many families have blessed you! How many parent have their children saved by you in the last epidemic, how many children have you the spared the destructive suffering of orphanage, how many families traveled many miles to come here on Monday to follow you in your final journey, crying at your grave!

Your life was always pure and immaculate; your death heroic; soldier of charity, you succumbed by saving your brothers from death; you fell hurt by the illness that you fought. Such a glorious devotion would soon receive its reward, and the cross of honor that you had much deservedly won would shine on your chest… But God had other plans for you. He prepared more beautiful rewards for you than those of men. He prepared you the happiness that is granted to the faithful servants. Your soul flew away to superior worlds where, separated from this material envelope, free from the bonds that weigh on us in this Earth, now enjoys the perfection and happiness that awaited.

In this happy day, do not forget; think of the many friends that you left on Earth, to whom your separation is cause of profound pain. May Heavens allow us to reunite there one day, there enjoying eternal happiness… That is the hope that reassures us and will give us the strength to withstand your absence with patience…

A.J.”
Verbatim copy by Jules Duval

Allow me to cite, as a complement of this article, some excerpts from the magnificent eulogy given by Victor Hugo one year ago. (below an extract from this speech which we published in the Revue of February 1865). Such words are certainly not written by apostles of nihilism.

The letter, through which we were informed about these events contains this passage:

“Mr. Cailleux, doctor of medicine, president of the Spiritist Group of Montreuil, has just died victim of his devotion during the cholera which devastated our regions. He died as a convinced spiritualist, and the clergy of the city felt it to be their duty, for that reason, to refuse him ecclesiastical burial; but, as you will see from the issue of the newspaper I am sending you, the whole population solemn tribute to his virtues. Nevertheless, the family made arrangements with the bishop to have a funeral service at the church, although there was only a civil burial. The authorization was given, and the service took place on Thursday, April 5th. Spiritism had a great loss with the death of M. Cailleux, and I am convinced that all my brothers in faith will join in my legitimate sorrow. Thanks to his dedication and his enlightened enthusiasm, the doctrine has made such a rapid progress in our regions, both in the city and in the countryside, and the surrounding areas count on several hundred Spiritists. The municipal council of the city of Montreuil decided, unanimously, as proposed by the mayor, that a public monument would be erected at the expenses of the city, as a tribute paid to the memory of this good man.”

The following extract has been sent to us from a communication given by him to his colleagues in Montreuil; we removed what was related to personal matters:

“… You return to the subject of my death. Well! it has been useful to our cause, since it has awakened the sleeping attention of many souls deprived of the truth, and therefore of life. Anything that disappears always leaves a void in the place it occupied; but, know it, this void is only apparent; it only exists to you that are short-sighted, because it is filled in another way. So you lose nothing, I repeat, with my death; on the contrary, you will gain a lot from it, not because in my bodily life I performed miracles of charity, capable of highlighting the doctrine that we profess together, but because, faithful to the Spiritist principles, I was the object of hostile demonstrations which necessarily had to call for opposing manifestations. It is never differently on earth: don’t good and evil always collide each time they meet?

It then follows from all this, that now you are entering a new phase that our good guides had prepared for a long time by their teachings. There will be no disaggregation of the society if you always persist on the feelings with which I see you animated at this time. Do you know what is my reward? It is to see the relative happiness that you experience by the doctrine through which I presented myself, in all circumstances, as the enthusiastic champion. It is difficult for you to conceive of a purer joy. What are the gross joys of your world when compared to that? What are the honors under which you hide the miseries of your souls? What are the pleasures that you seek to astonish your sad returns? What is all that compared to how I feel? Nothing! Less than a fume.

Persevere in your feelings, persevere in them until death.

I saw that you intend to organize yourselves regularly: it is a wise measure; weakness must always guard itself against the snares and surprises of the spirit of evil. Ah! the spirit of evil! it is not Satan. We meet him at every step in the world you elbow one another. You must, therefore, regulate the organization of your sessions, of your evocations, and your studies. Bind to each other through the voluntary bonds of charity, benevolence, and submission. This is the best way to harvest sweet and abundant fruits.

Here is the first communication he gave at the Parisian Society:

April 13^th, 1866 – medium Mr. Morin

Evocation: Dear and venerable Dr. Cailleux! We learned to admire you as a fervent and devoted Spiritist. Undoubtedly called by the Providence to implant the doctrine in your region, you held the flag strong and high, fearlessly facing sarcasm and persecution. Success crowned your effort. It is not only the brother in faith that we salute today, for your departure from Earth, but the good man, the one that did not preach Spiritism through words only, but knew to make it loved and respected through your example, and by the practice of the Christian virtues. Please receive here the expression of our liveliest sympathies, and the hope that you may want to join our meetings sometimes, associating yourself to our works.

You were talking earlier about the tendencies inherent to the human organism. We observe more especially those which have bad instincts, because men are always inclined to beware of what may be harmful to them or cause them some embarrassment; but tendencies for the good often go unnoticed in the eyes of society, because it is much more difficult to find and show the violet than the thistle.

Don’t be surprised if I start this way. As you said earlier, the Spirit is the only one responsible for his actions; he cannot excuse himself by attributing his fault to God; no, good feelings and bad feelings are the result of previous acquisitions. In my life I was instinctively driven towards good, to the relief of my brothers in God, and I decline the honor of all your tributes, for I made no effort to follow the path traced by my heart; I did not have to struggle against opposing instincts; I did nothing but let myself go very slowly on the slope of my pleasing, that said to me very loudly: "Walk!" you are on the right track;”.

And the moral satisfaction of my whole intelligent being was so great, that I was certainly as happy as the miser whose passion is satisfied by contemplating and caressing his gold. I repeat to you, I have no merit in that regard; nevertheless, I thank you for your kind words, which are not heard in vain by those to whom they are addressed. However much elevated the Spirits may be, they are always feel the happiness of a sympathetic thought.





I soon came out of the very natural emotion when coming out from the material life to the life of the Spirits, but the profound belief that I was entering an even more lively world helped me to get back to my senses. I cannot provide a better comparison of my passage from life to death but through a painless annihilation, and without fatigue.

I was awakened, on the other side, by the soothing fluidic touch of my dear parents and spiritual friends. I then saw my poor mortal remains, and I blessed them for their good and faithful services, because they were kind to me, and I had to sustain no serious struggle between Spirit and matter. It was therefore a pleasure to follow my poor body to its resting field, a body that had helped me to avoid that many of my co-incarnate did this trip, that they absolutely did not face as I did.

I forgive all the, from one side or the other, thought they were doing me harm; as for those that refused to pray for me in the sacred temple, I will be more charitable than the charity that they preach: I pray for them. That is how it must be done, my good brothers in belief. Believe me and forgive those that fight against you, for they do not know what they do.

Dr. Cailleux

Observation: The first words in this communication demonstrate that the Spirit was present and had attended the discussions in the session. In fact, a remarkable premature event of incendiary instinct had been discussed, in a four-year-old boy, reported by the Salut Public, from Lyon. The event, that provided material for an important study, will be published in the next issue.

Let us also notice that Mr. Cailleux made abstraction of all the ordinary preambles that the Spirits that have just left Earth make. It is noticeable, in the sequence, that he is not a phrase nor a compliments creator. He says thank you and believes that it is enough for us to understand his thought; he then suddenly enters the subject, as a person that is in his terrain, and does not wish to waste time with useless words; he speaks as if there were no interruption in his life. It is as if Mr. Cailleux had come to visit the Parisian Society.

If he declines the merit of his actions, it is certainly out of modesty. Those that effortlessly do good have arrived at a degree of elevation that makes it natural. If they do not have to struggle today, it is for the fact that they had done it in other circumstance; victory was achieved; those that have to fight bad tendencies are still in the struggle; later, doing good will not cost them any effort, and they will do it without thinking. There is not less merit for having succeeded earlier. Dr. Cailleux is one of those men, that like Dr. Demeure and many others, honor the doctrine that they profess, providing the shiniest contradiction to the detractors of Spiritism.

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[1] Latin for Blessed are those who die in the Lord (T.N.)

Considering the daily weaking of Mr. Allan Kardec’s health, as a consequence of the excessive works that he cannot bear, I see the need to repeat to him, once again, what I have already said many times: you need to rest; the human strength has limits that you, led by the desire to see the progress of the science, many times breach; you are wrong, for acting like that you will not see the march of the doctrine, but you ruin your health and place yourself in a position that is impossible to finish the task that you came to accomplish down here. Your current illness is not but the result of a continuous wear of your vital forces, that do not allow the body the necessary recovery, and a blood pressure resulting from the absolute lack of resting. We support you, no doubt, but with the condition that you do not undo what we do. Why hurry? Haven’t you been told, many times, that it would come at the right time, and that the Spirits in charge of the movement of the ideas would know how to create favorable circumstances, when the time to act is right?

When each Spiritist keeps their forces for the fight, do you believe that it is your duty to exhaust yours? No. You must give the example in everything, and your place will be in the fight, at the time of danger. What would you do if your weakened body no longer allowed your Spirit to utilize the weapons that were placed in your hands by experience and revelation? Believe me, allow to the future the great works destined to complete the one that was sketched in your first publications; your current work, and a few small urgent brochures must absorb your time, and must be the only object of your current concerns.

I do not speak in my name only, for I am here a delegate of all these Spirits that have powerfully contributed to the propagation of the teachings through your wise instructions. They tell you, through me, that the delay that you believe to be harmful to the future of the doctrine, is a necessary measure on more than one aspect, be it for the fact that certain issues are not yet clarified, be it to prepare the Spirits to better understand them. It is necessary that other have prepared the terrain; that certain theories have proved their insufficiency, digging a deeper hole. In short, it is not appropriate at this time; thus, you must spare yourself, because all the vigor of your body and mind will be necessary when the time is right. Up until now Spiritism was the object of many diatribes; it raised many storms! Do you believe that the whole movement is soothed, and all the hatred appeased and reduced to impotence? Make no mistake for the depurating crucible has not expelled all impurities yet; future waits for you with new trials and the last crises will not be less difficult to withstand. I know that your position entails many secondary works, that absorbs the better part of your time. Questions of all kinds are tiresome, and you consider a duty to respond as much as possible. I will do here what you, undoubtedly, would not dare doing yourself.



Addressing the generality of the Spiritists, I will ask, in the interest of Spiritism itself, to spare you from any overload of work, that can absorb time that you must almost exclusively dedicate to the conclusion of the doctrine. If your correspondence suffers a little with this, the teaching will gain. Sometimes we must scarify personal satisfactions to the general interest. It is an urgent measure that every sincere follower must understand and approve.

The immense correspondence that you receive is a precious source of documents and information; it enlightens you abut the true development and real progresses of the doctrine; it is an impartial thermometer; on another hand, you get personal satisfaction there too, that have sustained your courage more than once, when you see the adhesion that your ideas find all over the world. From that point of view, the superabundance is positive, instead of an inconvenience, but with the condition that is should second your works and not preclude them, creating excessive work.

Dr. Demeure

God Dr. Demeure, I thank you for the wise advices. Thanks to my resolution to find help, except in special cases, the ordinary correspondence hardly suffers now and will not suffer in the future. But what to do with the delay in responding to more than five hundred letters that, despite my good will, I cannot have in good standing?

Answer – As they say in commercial language, it is necessary to write them off to the account of profit and loss. Once this is announced in the Spiritist Review, your correspondents will know what to do; they will understand the need and will find it justified by the preceding advices. I repeat that it would be impossible to keep things as they are, any longer. Everything would suffer with this, including your health and the doctrine. One must make sacrifice, when necessary. Getting over with this subject, from now on, and you will be able to freely dedicate to your compulsory work. That is the advice of the one who will always be your devoted friend.

Demeure

Following this wise advice, we beg our correspondents, with whom we are late for a long time, to receive our apologies and our sorrow for not have been able to respond to their kind letters, as we wished. You will all receive here, collectively, the demonstration of our fraternal feelings.

You almost always believe that what you ask in prayer must be carried out by a kind of miracle. This mistaken belief is the source of several superstitious practices and many deceptions. It also leads to the denial of the efficacy of prayer. Considering that your request is not attended to as you wish, you conclude that it is useless, and then, sometimes, you whisper against God’s justice. Others believe that having God established eternal laws, to which every being is submitted, it is not possible to breach them to satisfy the wishes that are addressed to God. And to prevent against such a mistake, or better saying, against the exaggeration of these two points, I propose to give you a few explanations about the acquiescence to prayer.

There is an incontestable truth, that God does not alter or suspends the course of laws that rule the universe to nobody. Without that, the order of nature would be incessantly disturbed by the caprice of the first one to show up. It is therefore true that every prayer than could only be attended by the breach of those laws would remain ineffective. That would be the case, for example, the one whose objective was the return to life of a truly dead man, or the reestablishment of health if the disorder in the physical organization were irremediable.

It is not less true that no attention is given to futile or inconsiderate requests. But rest assured that every pure and selfless prayer is heard, and that the intention is always considered, even when God, in His wisdom, believed not to be proper to have it attended. That is when you must give proof of your humility and submission to His will, saying that God, better than yourself, knows what is best for you.

There are, certainly, general laws to which man is fatally submitted to, but it is a mistake to believe that the smallest circumstances in life are predetermined in an irrevocable way. If that were the case, man would be a machine, without initiative, and consequently, without responsibility. Free-will is one of man’s prerogative. From the moment when man is free to move right or left, acting according to the circumstances, his movements are not regulated like those of a machine. According to the way something is done, or not done, according to one way or another, the events that depend on that follow a different course. Since they are subordinate to the decision of man, they are not inevitable. Fatal are those that do not depend on his will. But every time that man can act, because of his free-will, there is no inevitability.

Man has, therefore, a circle, within which he can move freely. Such freedom of action has the limits of the natural laws that nobody can transpose; or, better said, that freedom, in the sphere of action, is part of those laws. It is necessary, and it is through that freedom that man is called to concur to the general march of things. Since he does it freely, he has the merit for the good that is done, and the demerit for the bad things, for his careless, for his negligence and inactivity. The fluctuations that his will may cause to the events of life, in no way disturb the universal harmony, because those fluctuations are part of the trials assigned to man on Earth. In the limit of things that depend on the will of man, God may therefore, and without breaching His laws, yield to a prayer, when it is fair, and whose realization may be useful; but it frequently happens that God judge its utility and opportunity differently from us, and that is the reason why there isn’t always acquiescence. If God believe to be proper to attend it, it is not by modifying His sovereign designs that it is done, but through means that do not revoke the general order if we can say so. The Spirits, executioners of His will, are then assigned to provoke the circumstances that must lead to the desired result. Such a result almost always requires the help of an incarnate. It is, therefore, that help that the Spirits prepare, inspiring the thought of an action in those that must cooperate; inciting them to go to a point, and not to another; provoking convenient meetings that seem to be to serendipitous. Chance, therefore, no longer exists, not in the assistance that is received, nor in the disgraces that are experienced.

In suffering, prayer is not only a proof of trust and submission to the will of God, that hears it if it is pure and selfless, but still has the effect, as you know, of establishing a fluidic current that carries far away in space the thought of the afflicted one, like the air carries the sound of his voice. That thought reverberates in the sympathetic hearts and these, through an unconscious movement and attracted by a magnetic power, go to the place where their presence may be useful. God, that wishes to help the one that implores, could do it instantaneously on His own, no doubt, but as I have already said, He makes no miracle and things must follow their natural course. God wants men to practice charity and help one another. Through His messengers, He takes the complaint where it can find echo, and good Spirits breathe a good thought there. Although solicited, man has all the freedom, by the simple fact that the source of the thought is unknown. There is no embarrassment. Man, therefore, has all the merit of spontaneity if he yields to the voice that intimately appeals to his sense of duty, and all the demerit if he resists, dominated by an egoistic indifference.

Q – There are cases, like in an imminent danger, in which assistance must be immediate. How can it arrive in time, if one must wait for the good will of a man, and if that good will is absent, given the free-will?

A – You must not forget that the guardian angels, the protecting Spirits, whose mission is to take care of those that are assigned to them, follow them step by step, in a way of speaking. They cannot avoid the apprehension of danger that is part of their trials, but if the consequences of the danger may be avoided, and since they foresaw everything in anticipation, they did not wait for the last minute to prepare the help. If they sometimes reach out to men of bad will it is to try to awake the good feelings in them, but they do not count on them. When, in a critical situation, a person shows up to help, as if it should be, and you say: “It is the Providence that sends her”, you are stating a greater truth than you sometimes realize. If there are pressing cases, others which are less so require a certain time to bring about a combination of favorable circumstances, especially when it is necessary that the Spirits triumph, by inspiration, over the apathy of people whose cooperation is necessary for the result to be obtained. These delays in the fulfillment of desire are tests of patience and resignation; then, when the realization of what one wished arrives, it is almost always by a chain of circumstances so natural, that absolutely nothing detects an occult intervention, nothing accuses the slightest appearance of supernatural; things seem to work out on their own. This must be so for the double reason that the means for the action do not deviate from general laws, and, second, that, if the assistance of the Spirits were too obvious, man would rely on them and as such, would get used to not counting on oneself. This assistance must be understood by thought, in a moral sense, and not in the material senses; man’s belief must be the result of his faith and trust in the goodness of God. Unfortunately, because he has not seen the finger of God performing a miracle for him, he too often forgets the One to whom he owes his salvation, and then glorifies chance; it is ingratitude which, sooner or later, receives its atonement.

A protector Spirit

Those obligations are of two kinds:

Spiritism is an essentially moral science; therefore, those who claim to be its followers cannot, without committing a serious inconsistency, avoid the obligations it imposes. These obligations are of two kinds:

The first concerns the individual who, helped by the intellectual clarity that the doctrine spreads, can better understand the value of each of his acts, better probe all the folds of his conscience, better appreciate the infinite goodness of God, who does not want the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live, and to allow him the possibility of recovering from his falls, gave him the long series of successive existences, bearing the penalty of his past faults in each one, where he can acquire new knowledge and new strength, making him avoid evil and practice what is in accordance with justice and charity.

What to say about the one that enlightened about his duties to God and his brothers, remains proud, greedy, and selfish? Doesn’t it look like that light has blinded him, because he was not prepared to receive it? Since then he marches in darkness, although he is amidst light. He only holds the Spiritist name. The fraternal charity of those that truly see must endeavor to cure him from that intellectual blindness. But, to many that are like that, it will be necessary the light that the tomb brings, because their heart is too attached to material pleasures, and their Spirit is not mature enough to receive light. In a new incarnation they will understand that inferior planets, like Earth, are just a school where the soul begins to develop its faculties and aptitudes, to then apply them to the study of the great principles of the order, justice, love and harmony that rule the relationships between the souls, and the functions that they perform in the direction of the universe.

They will feel that called to such a honorable task, as to become a messenger from the Almighty, human soul must not shame and degrade itself to the contact of the filthy pleasures of voluptuousness; to the dishonorable temptations of greed, that subtracts from some children of God the enjoyment of the goods that were given to all; they will understand that egotism, born out of pride, blinds the soul and makes it violate the rights of justice and humanity, so that it engineers all the evils that turn Earth into a place of pain and atonement. Instructed by the tough lessons of adversity, their Spirit will mature through thoughts, their heart, after being crushed by pain, will become good and charitable. That is how something that seems bad to us, is sometimes necessary to reconduct the hardened ones. These unfortunate latecomers, regenerated by suffering, enlightened by this interior light that we may call the baptism of the Spirit, will carefully watch over themselves, that is, over the movement of their hearts and the use of their skills, to guide them according to the laws of justice and fraternity.

They will understand that they are not only obliged to improve themselves, a selfish thought that precludes the achievement of the objective defined by God, but that the second kind of obligations of the Spiritist, that necessarily results from the first, and the complete, is that of the example, that is the best means of propagation and renovation.

In fact, the one that is convinced about the excellence of the principles that are taught, and that must provide a lasting happiness, if they conform their conduct, that one can only wish to have those principles understood by the whole mankind, if he is truly animated by this fraternal charity that is in the essence of Spiritism. That results in the obligation of modifying one’s conduct according to the belief, and be a living example, as Jesus Christ was for humanity.

Weak sparks coming from the eternal focus of divine love, you will not certainly pretend such a vast radiation as the Verb of God incarnate on Earth, but each one in their sphere of action can spread the benefits of good example. You may have virtue loved, surrounding it by the enchantment of that constant benevolence that attracts, captivate and finally shows that the practice of good is something easy; that generates the intimate happiness of the conscience that is submitted to its rule, for it is the accomplishment of the Divine will that made us say, through the intermediary of your Christ: Be perfect as your father that is in heaven is perfect.

Well, Spiritist is not but the true application of the moral principles taught by Jesus, with the only objective of making it understood by all, so that all can progress more rapidly, so much so that God allows the universal manifestation of the Spirit, coming to explain to you what seemed obscure, teaching you the whole truth. It comes, like the well understood Christianity, to show man the absolute need for interior renovation, by the very consequences of each one of his actions, each one of his thoughts, for not a single fluidic emanation, good or bad, escapes one’s heart or brain without leaving an impression somewhere. The invisible world that surrounds you is that Book of Life where everything is inscribed, with an incredible fidelity, and the Scale of Justice is not but a figure that reveals each one of your actions, each one of your feelings. It is, in a way, the weight that overloads your soul, precluding it from elevating, or that brings the equilibrium between good and evil. Happy is the one whose feelings come out of a pure heart. It spreads around a smooth atmosphere in which virtue is loved and attracts the good Spirits; the humbler the person the greater the power of radiation, and consequently, the more detached from the material influences that attract the soul and prevent it from progressing.

The obligations imposed by Spiritism are then of an essentially moral nature, because they are the consequence of the belief; each one is the judge and the defendant in their own cause; but the intellectual clarities that it brings to the one that truly wants to know thyself and work in one’s advancement are such that they scare the feeble away, and that is why it is rejected by so many people. Others promptly conciliate the reformation that their reason demonstrates to be a necessity with the demands of present society. It results in an a heterogeneous mixture, a lack of unity that makes the present time a transient state. It is very difficult to your poor corporeal nature to eliminate its imperfections to then cover the new man, that is, the man that lives according to the principles of justice and harmony, desired by God. With persevering efforts, nevertheless, you will get there, because the obligations imposed to the conscience, when sufficiently enlightened, has more power than human laws will have, laws that are based on the embarrassment of a religious obscurantism that cannot withstand examination. But if you are more educated and understand better, thanks to the lights from above, you must also be more tolerant and only employ reasoning, as a means of propagation, because any sincere belief is respectable. If your life is a beautiful model in which each one may find good examples and solid virtues, where dignity is allied to a gracious amenity, rejoice because you have understood, at least partially, what Spiritism obliges.

The Salut Public de Lyon, on February 23^rd, 1866 brings:

“The legal issue of homicide monomania, and the incendiary monomania, says the Moniteur Judiciaire, was and will be, with all likelihood, many times still agitated before the jury and superior courts. Regarding incendiary monomania, we can cite a child in Lyon, now with four years of age, son of honest silk workers, residing in Guillotière, that seems to carry the incendiary instinct in its last degree. He had hardly opened his eyes when the vision of flames seemed to entertain him. When he was eighteen months old, he took pleasure in lighting matches; at the age of two he set the four corners of a straw bed-base on fire and destroyed the modest furniture of his parents. Today, when reprimanded, he only responds with threats of fire, and as early as last week he tried to set his parents’ bedroom on fire with pieces of paper and straw. We leave it to the experts to find the causes of such monomania. If it does not disappear with age, what would be the fate of the miserable that is affected by that?”

He author says that he leaves to the experts to find the causes of such monomania. Which experts is he talking about? The doctors, in general, the alienist, the wise men, the phrenologists, the philosophers or theologists? Each one of them will face the issue from their materialistic, spiritualistic, or religious point of view. The materialist, by denying the intelligent principle, distinct from matter, are incontestably the least adequate to thoroughly solve it. By taking the organism as the only source of faculties and inclinations, they turn the man into a machine moved by an irresistible force, without free-will, and consequently, without moral responsibility for their actions. With such a system, every criminal may excuse himself based on his formation, for it did not depend on him to do better. In a society where such a principle was admitted as the absolute truth, there wouldn’t be any guilty person, from a moral point of view, and it would be as illogical to take people to the courts as it would to take animals. Here we only talk about the social consequences of the materialistic doctrine. As for its impossibility of solving every moral problem, that is sufficiently demonstrated.

Could we say, with some, that the hereditary inclinations are like physical defects? Would them be opposed by the innumerable cases of virtuous parents that have instinctively vicious children, and vice-versa? In the specific case that we are dealing with, it is notorious that the child has not inherited his incendiary monomania from any member of his family.

The spiritualists, undoubtedly, will recognize that such an inclination must be due to an imperfection of the soul or Spirit, but will still be blocked by unbearable difficulties, with only the elements that have been available so far.



The proof that the current data from science, philosophy and theology do not provide any solid principle for the solution of problems of that nature; there isn’t a single one that is evident enough, rational enough, to connect to the majority, and that one is reduced to individual opinions, all divergent from one another.

The theologists, that admit the creation of the soul at the same time as the birth of each body, as a dogmatic principle, these are perhaps the ones that will have more difficulties to conciliate those innate perversities with the justice and benevolence of God. According to their theory, here we have a boy with an incendiary instinct, devoted, since his formation, to the crime and its consequences, in the present and future life! How come there are instinctively good and bad boys; God then creates some good and some bad souls? It is the logical consequence. Why such partiality? With the materialistic doctrine the guilty one has the excuse of his body; with that of the Church, he can pass it on to God, saying that it is not his fault since he was created with defects.

Is it surprising at all that there are people that deny God, when He is shown to them as cruel and partial with the creatures? It is the way that most religions represent God that makes non-believers and atheists. If we had, from the beginning, drawn a picture of God reconciled with reason, there wouldn’t be non-believers; it is by the impossibility of accepting God as they do, with the stinginess and human passions that they attribute to Him, that so many people seek the explanations of things elsewhere.

Every time theology, pressed by the inexorable logic of the facts, finds itself in an impasse, it hides behind these words: “Incomprehensible mystery!” Lo and behold! We daily see a tip of veil of what in the past was a mystery, being lifted, and the issue at hand is among them.

This matter is far from being puerile, and it would be a mistake to see an isolated fact here, or if you wish, an anomaly, an oddity of nature, without consequence. It touches every issue of education and moralization of humanity, and for that very reason, the most serious issues of social economy. It is by researching the primary causes of the instincts and innate tendencies that one will discover the most efficient ways of combating the bad and developing the good ones. When such a cause is known, education will have the most powerful moralizing lever it has ever had.

One cannot deny the influence of the environment and example upon the development of the good and bad instincts, for moral contagion is as obvious as physical contagion. However, this influence is not exclusive for one can see the most perverse creatures in the most honorable homes, whereas there are others that come out clean from the mire. There are, therefore, undoubtedly, innate dispositions, and if we doubted it, the fact which concerns us would be an indisputable proof of it. So here is a child who, before knowing how to speak, takes pleasure in the sight of destruction by fire; that, at the age of two, voluntarily sets fire to furniture, and who, at the age of four, understands so much what he is doing that he responds to reprimands with threats of fire. O all of you, doctors and scientists who so eagerly seek out the slightest unusual pathological cases, to make them the subject of your meditations, why don’t you study with the same care these strange phenomena that one can, with reason, qualify as moral pathology! Why don't you try to understand them, to discover their source! Humanity would gain at least as much from it as from the discovery of a nervous system.

Unfortunately, most of those who do not disdain to deal with these questions, do so by speaking of a preconceived idea to which they want to subject everything: the materialist to the exclusive laws of matter, the spiritualist to the idea that he has about the nature of the soul, according to his beliefs. Before concluding, the wisest thing is to study all the systems, all the theories, with impartiality, and see which one best and most logically solves the greatest number of difficulties.



The diversity of innate intellectual and moral aptitudes, independent of education and of any acquisition in the present life, is a notorious fact: it is known. Starting from this fact to arrive at the unknown, we will say that if the soul is created at the birth of the body, it remains evident that God creates souls of all qualities. However, this doctrine being incompatible with the principle of sovereign justice, must necessarily be set aside. But if the soul is not created at the birth of the individual, it is because it existed before. It is in fact in the preexistence of the soul that we find the only possible and rational solution to the question and to all the apparent anomalies of the human faculties.

Children who instinctively have transcendent aptitudes for an art or a science, who possess certain knowledge without having learned it, such as the natural calculators, such as those to whom music seems familiar at birth; those born polyglots, like a lady of whom we will later have occasion to speak, that at nine years old gave lessons in Greek and Latin to her brothers, and at twelve years old read and translated Hebrew; they must have learned these things somewhere; since it is not in this existence, it must have been in another. Yes, man has already lived, not once, but perhaps a thousand times; in each existence his ideas have developed; he has acquired knowledge of which he brings intuition into the next existence and which helps him to acquire new ones. It is the same with moral progress. The vices he got rid of do not reappear; those he has kept reproduce until he has corrected them for good.

In short, man is born as what he has made himself. Those who have lived more, acquired the most and took more advantage, and are more advanced than the others; such is the cause of the diversity of instincts and aptitudes that are noticeable among them; such is also the reason why we see on earth savages, barbarians and civilized men. The plurality of existences is the key to a host of moral problems, and it is for having ignored this principle that so many questions have remained insoluble. Let them just admit it as a hypothesis, if they will, and they will see all the difficulties smooth out.

Civilized man has reached a point where he is no longer satisfied with blind faith; he wants to get to know everything, to know the why and the how of everything; he will, therefore, prefer a philosophy that explains to another that does not explain. Besides, the idea of the plurality of existences, like all great truths, germinates in a crowd of minds, outside Spiritism, and since it satisfies reason, the time is not far off when it will be placed in the ranks of the laws that govern humanity. What shall we say now about the child who is the subject of this article? His current instincts can be explained by his antecedents. He was born an incendiary, as others were born poets or artists, because, without a doubt, he was an incendiary in another existence, and he retained that instinct.

But then, it will be said, if each existence is a progress, the progress is null for him in this one. It's not a reason. From his current instincts, we should not conclude that his progress is zero. Man does not suddenly shed all his imperfections. This child probably had others that made him worse than he would be today; now, had he only taken a step forward, even had only repentance and the desire to improve himself, that would always be progress. If this instinct manifest itself in him so early, it is to call attention early to his tendencies, so that his parents and those who will be responsible for his education will endeavor to suppress them before they have developed. Perhaps he himself asked for it to be so, and to be born into an honorable family, out of the desire to progress.

It is an enormous task to his parents, because he is a stray soul that was entrusted to them to be brought back to the right path, and their responsibility would be significant if they did not do everything that was at their reach, with that objective. If their son were sick, they would take care of him with solicitude. They must look at him as if taken by a serious moral disease, that requires a not less careful attention. According to these considerations, we believe, without vanity, that the Spiritists are the best experts in such cases, precisely because they study the moral phenomena and appreciate them not according to personal ideas, but according to the natural laws.

Having this fact been presented to the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies as a subject of study, the following question was addressed to the Spirits:

What is the origin of the premature incendiary instinct in this boy, and what would be the means of fighting it through education?

Four concurring answers were given. We only cite the following two:

I

Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, Paris April 13^th, 1866 – medium Sr. Br…

You ask about the existence of this boy that shows such a premature inclination for destruction and particularly to fire. Well, his past is horrible, and his present tendencies tell you what he could have done. He came to atone and must fight against his incendiary instincts. It is a great test to his parents that are permanently under the threats of his bad deeds, and do not know how to reprimand that dismal inclination. The knowledge of Spiritism would be a powerful help to them, and God, in His mercy, will allow them such a grace, for it is only through that knowledge that one can expect to improve that Spirit. This boy is an evident proof of the anteriority of the soul in the present incarnation. You know: this strange moral state attracts attention and makes you think. God employs every means to make you get to the knowledge of truth about your origin, your progress and destiny.

A Spirit

II

Medium Ms. Lat…

Spiritism has already played a great role in your world, but what you saw is just the prelude of what you are called to see. When science is silent before certain facts that religion cannot solve either, Spiritism comes to provide the solution. When science fails to your wise men, they sidetrack the issue given the lack of sufficient explanations. In many circumstances the enlightenment of Spiritism could be a powerful support to them, notably in this case of incendiary monomania. To them it is a case of madness because they see every monomania as madness. That is a big mistake. Science cannot do anything here. It is up to the Spiritists to act. You cannot admit that such inclination towards destruction by fire comes from the present life; one must go back further and see, in the perverse inclinations of this boy, a reflex of his past actions. Besides, he is encouraged by those that were his victims, to satisfy his ambition, he did not step back before the fire or the sacrifice of those that could have created an obstacle to him. In a word, he is under the influence of Spirits that have not forgiven him yet for the sufferings that he imposed on them. They expect vengeance. His test is to come out victorious of this fight. But God, in His sovereign justice, placed the remedy side by side with the illness. In fact, the remedy is in his early age and in the good influence of the environment around him. He boy cannot do anything today; it is up to the parents to watch; later he must succeed, and while he is not his own man the fight continues. It would be necessary to have him educated under the principles of Spiritism; he would then find the strength, and by understanding his trial, he would find the will to triumph. Good Spirits in charge of enlightening the incarnate, turn your eyes to this poor child whose punishment is fair; go and help him, guide his thoughts to Spiritism so that can be triumph fast and that the struggle ends with advantages to him.

A Spirit

The Indepéndence Belge, of April 30^th, brings a detailed report of the circumstances that followed the attack on the czar, with the title News from Russia. In addition, it speaks of certain previous indications of the crime, containing the following passage about it:

“It is said that the governor of St. Petersburg, Prince Souwouroff, had received an anonymous letter signed N.N.N., in which they offered to unveil an important mystery, by a piece of important information, requesting a reply in the Gazette de la police. Such answer appeared; it read as follows: “The chancellery of the governor general invites N. N. N. to come tomorrow, between eleven and two o'clock, to give certain explanations. But the anonymous did not show up; he sent a second letter announcing that it was too late, that he was no longer free to go.

The invitation was repeated two days after the attack, but to no avail. Finally, as a last clue, some people have just remembered that three weeks before the attack, the German newspaper Die Gartenlaube published an account of a Spiritist session held in Heidelberg, and in which the Spirit of Catherine II announced that the Emperor Alexander was threatened with great danger.

It is difficult to understand, after all this, how the Russian secret police could not be informed at a time when crime was brewing. Such police, that is very expensive and floods all our circles and our public assemblies with useless spies, was unable not only to discover the plot in time, but even to surround the sovereign with their vigilance, which is elemental and absolutely necessary, especially with a prince who almost always goes out alone, followed by his big dog; who goes for walks in the early hours of the day, without being accompanied by an aide-de-camp on duty. On the very day of the attack, I met the Emperor in the “rue Millonaïa,” at half past nine in the morning; he was completely alone and greeted those who recognized him with cordiality. The street was almost deserted, with rare policing around.”

What is specially remarkable in this article is the reference, without a comment, to the warning given by the Spirit of Catherine II in a Spiritist session. Would they have considered this event among the forewarnings, had they considered the Spiritist communications as buffoonery or delusion? In such a serious matter they would have avoided the intervention of a belief considered ridiculous. It is a new proof of the reaction that takes place in the opinion about Spiritism.


The attack must be taken into account from another point of view. It is well-known that the Emperor owes his salvation to a young peasant called Joseph Kommissaroff that was on his way and disarmed the assassin. It is also known that the latter was rewarded with all sorts of favors. He was made a noble and the gifts that he received assured him with a considerable fortune.

This young man was going to a chapel on the other side of the Neva, at the time of his birthday; the de-icing had started, and circulation had been interrupted; he had, therefore, to change plans. For that reason, he remained on the other side of the riverbank, at the passage of the Emperor that was leaving his Summer gardens. He was meddled with the crowed when he noticed an individual with suspicious attitudes that was trying to approach; he followed and saw him grabbing a pistol and point it at the Emperor; he was quick to act and hit the man’s arm, forcing the shot into the air.

What a fortunate chance, some people will say, that the de-icing happened exactly at that time, impeding Kommissaroff of crossing the Neva! For us, who do not believe in chance, but that everything is submitted to an intelligent direction, we will say that the danger was in the trials of the czar (see The Gospel According to Spiritism, Chap. XXV: Prayer in imminent danger), but that since his time had not come, Kommissaroff had been chosen to preclude the realization of the crime, and that things that seem to be the works of chance were organized to lead to the desired result.

Men are the unconscious instruments of the designs of Providence. It is through them that the Providence carry them out, without the need to resource to prodigies. It suffices the invisible hand that guides them, and nothing escapes the natural order of things.

Some will then say: if that is the case, man is just a machine, and his actions are fatal. No, absolutely not because if man is requested to do something he is not forced to do it; he still keeps the free-will, and hence he can do or not do it, and the hand that guides him remains invisible, precisely to give him more freedom. Kommissaroff, therefore, could well refused to yield to the hidden impulse that guided him to the passage of the Emperor; he could remain indifferent, as many others, to the sight of a man with suspicious attitudes; finally, he could have looked the other way the moment when that man took the pistol from his pocket. But then, if he had resisted to that impulse, would the Emperor have died? Not at all. The deigns of Providence are not subjected to the caprices of a man. The life of the Emperor should have been preserved; given the lack of Kommissaroff, it would have been through another way; a fly could bite the hand of the assassin, forcing him to an involuntary movement; a fluidic current cast upon him could have obfuscated him. If Kommissaroff had not heard the inner voice that unwillingly guided him, he would have just lost the benefit of the action that he was assigned to carry out. That is all that would have resulted. But, if the czar’s fatal time had arrived, nothing could have preserved him. Now, the imminent dangers that we face have precisely the objective of showing us that our lives are on a thin line, that it can break at the moment when we think about it the least, and for that reason, warn us that we must be ready to depart at any time.

But, what that young man instead of someone else? For those that do not see in these events a simple game of chance, everything has a reason to be. There should then be a motive for the choice of that young man, and even if that motive was unknown to us, Providence gives us many proofs of its wisdom for us do not doubt it that such a choice had its utility. Having this issue presented in a Spiritist meeting in the house of a Russian family residing in Paris, a Spirit gave the following explanation.



Paris, May 1^st, 1866 – medium Mr. Desliens

If in the life of the tiniest creature, nothing is left to chance. The may events of your life are determined by your trial: the details are influenced by your free-will. But the whole of the situation was foreseen and agreed previously, by him and by those that God has appointed to his care.

In the present case, things happened within normality. That young man was advanced and intelligent already, and chose to be born in miserable conditions as a test, after having occupied a high social position; having already developed his intelligence and morality, he asked for a humble and obscure condition, to extinguish the last seeds of pride that the spirit of cast had left on him. He chose freely, but God and the good Spirits decided to reward him in the first manifestation of selfless devotion, and you see his reward.

Among honors and fortune, it is up to him now to keep intact the humbleness that was the basis for his new incarnation. Thus, it is still a test, a double test as a man and as a father. As a man, he must resist the intoxication of a great and subtle fortune; as a father, he must preserve the children from the arrogance of the new rich. He can create a remarkable position to them; he can take advantage of his intermediary position to turn them into useful men to their country. Plebeian by birth and noble by the merit of their father, they can, as many that presently incarnate in Russia, work strongly for the fusion of all the heterogeneous elements, for the extinction of slavery that for a long time yet will not be able to be radically eliminated.

In that promotion there is a reward, no doubt, but more than that there is a test. I know that in Russia the rewarded merit meets the appreciation of the great; but there, like elsewhere, the proud new rich, puffed up by his worth, falls victim of mockery; he becomes a plaything of a society that he uselessly tries to imitate. Gold and greatness did not give him the spirit of the world. Neglected and envied by those in the environment where he was born, he is frequently isolated and unhappy in his luxury.

As you see, not everything is pleasant in those sudden elevations, and particularly when achieve such proportions. As for that young man, we hope, given his excellent qualities, that he may know to peacefully enjoy the advantages that resulted from his action, avoiding the tripping stones that could delay his march on the path of progress.

Moki

Observation: In the absence of material proofs about the accuracy of this explanation, it cannot be denied that it is eminently rational and instructive, and as the Spirit that gave it is always characterized by the gravity and elevated reach of his communication, we regard this as having all the characteristics of probability. Kommissaroff’s new position is a very slippery effect to him, and his future depends on the way he will endure this trial, a hundred times more dangerous than the material disgraces that people are forced to resign to, whereas it is much more difficult to resist to the temptations of pride and opulence. What a force couldn’t he extract from the knowledge of and truths taught by Spiritism!

But, as we noticed, the eyes of Providence were not fixated on that young man. By submitting himself to the test, and by the fact of the test, he can, by the chain of event, become an element of progress to his country, helping in the destruction of the prejudices of cast. Thus, everything is connected in the world by the support of the intelligent forces that direct it. Nothing is useless, and the apparently small things may lead to the greatest results, and all that without breaching the laws of nature. What wouldn’t be our awe if we could see the mechanism hidden by our inferiority and material nature! But, if we cannot see it, Spiritism makes it understandable to our thoughts, by revealing its laws, and that is how it elevates us, boosts our faith and our trust in God, and that successfully combats disbelief.

During the last episode we had of illness, in April 1866, we were under the influence of an almost continuous somnolence and absorption; at that time, we dreamed constantly about insignificant things, to which we payed no attention. But, in the evening of April 24^th, the vision offered such a particular character that we were vividly shocked. In a place that brought no recollection to our memory that resembled a street, there was a gathering of individuals chatting in a group; among them, only some were known to me in the dream, but I could not name them. We were looking at this crowd, trying to grasp the subject of the conversation, when suddenly, an inscription showed up at the corner of a wall, in small characters, shinning like fire, and which we were striving to decipher. It was conceived like this: “We discovered that the rubber, rolled under the wheel, makes a league in ten minutes, as long as the road…”. While trying to realize the end of the statement the inscription faded away gradually, and we woke up. Afraid that we could forget those singular words, we then quickly transcribed them.

What could be the meaning of such a vision, that nothing in our thoughts and concerns could have provoked? Since we were not involved with inventions or industrial researches, that could not be a reflex of our own ideas. Besides, what could be the meaning of “rubber rolled under the wheel makes a league in ten minutes”? Was it the revelation of some property of that substance? Would it be called upon to play a role in transportation? Is the intent to make us aware of a discovery? But then, why us instead of especial people, with the opportunity of doing the studies and the necessary experiments? Nonetheless, the dream was very specific, very special to be set aside among the fantasy dreams; it should have an objective, but which one? That is what we tried to discover without success.

During the day and having had the opportunity to consult with Dr. Demeure about our health, we took the opportunity to ask him to tell us if that dream carried anything serious. Here his response:

“The dreams that have besieged you in the last days are the result of the very suffering you are experiencing. Every time there is a weakening of the body there is a tendency to disengage the Spirit; but when the body suffers, the detachment does not happen in a regular and normal way; the Spirit is constantly called back to its position; it results in a kind of struggle, conflict between the material needs and the spiritual tendencies; it also results in interruptions and mixtures that cloud the images, transforming them into bizarre and meaningless settings. The character of dreams is connected, more than one think, to the nature of the illness. It is a study to be made and physicians will find valuable diagnosis in it when they acknowledge the independent action of the Spirit and the important role they play in the economy. If the state of the body reacts onto the Spirit, in turn the state of the Spirit powerfully influences health, and in certain cases, it is as useful to act upon the Spirit as it is upon the body. Well, the nature of the dreams may frequently be an indication of the state of the Spirit. I repeat that it is a study to be made, that has been neglected up until now by science, that only sees the action of matter everywhere, and does not take into account the spiritual element.

The dream that you mentioned, from which you kept such a clear memory, seems to me that it belongs to another category. It contains a remarkable fact that is worthy of attention. It was certainly motivated, but at the moment I could not give you a satisfactory explanation; I could only give you my personal opinion that I am not much certain about. I will seek information from a good source and tomorrow I will inform you about what I learned.”

The following explanation was given the next day:

“What you saw in your dream, and that I am assigned with explaining to you, is not one of those fantastic images provoked by the illness; it is incontestably a manifestation, not of discarnate, but of incarnate Spirits. You should know that during the dream you may encounter known or unknown persons, dead or alive. The latter case was the one that happened in this circumstance. Those that you saw are incarnate persons that do not know one another for the most part, and are involved with inventions tending to improve the means of locomotion, by annihilating, as much as possible, the excess expenditure caused by wear and tear of materials in use today. Some thought about rubber, others about other materials, but what is peculiar is that they wanted to call your attention as a subject of psychological study, about the gathering, in the same place, of the Spirits of different men seeking the same objective. The discovery has nothing to do with Spiritism; it is just the meeting of inventors that we wanted to show you, and the only objective of the inscription was to bring to your attention the main objective of their concern, since there are some that look for other applications of rubber. Rest assured that this occurs many times, and when several men discover a new law or a new element, at the same time, in several points of the globe, their Spirits studied the issue together, during the sleep, and when they woke up, each one worked their own way, putting in place the fruits of their own observations.

Note that these are the ideas of the incarnate, and that do not prejudge the merit of the discovery. It may well be that something useful may come out of all these brains in ebullition, as it is possible that it only results in fantasies. Needless to say that it would be useless to question the Spirits about it, for their mission, as you have said in your books, is not to spare man from the work of research, bringing them finished inventions that would add to so many causes of encouragement of laziness and ignorance. In this great tournament of human intelligence, each one is there on their own, and victory will come to the most skillful, most perseverant and most courageous.”

Question: What to think about discoveries that are attributed to chance? Aren’t there some discoveries that are not the result of any research?

Answer – “Chance, as you know well, does not exist; things that seem to be the most fortuitous to you, have their reason of being, as one must consider the innumerable hidden intelligences that preside over all parts of the whole. If the time has come for a given discovery, the elements are brought to light by those very intelligences. Twenty men, a hundred men will pass by without noticing it; only one will fixate his attention on that. An insignificant fact to the crowd is a ray of light to him. Finding it was not all; the essential part is to know how to implement it. It was not chance that placed it before his eyes, but the good Spirits that told him: “Watch, observe and take advantage if you will”. He then, in moments of freedom of his Spirit, during the sleep of the body, may be placed on the path, and when he wakes up, instinctively, he goes to the place where he can find the thing that he is called to make fruitful by his intelligence.”

Retrospective View of the Various Incarnations of a Spirit
Sleep of the Spirits, by Dr. Cailleux

Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, May 11^th, 1866
medium Mr. Morin



Your warm welcome and good prayers in my favor oblige me to thank you and assure you of my eternal dedication. Since my entry in the true life, I quickly familiarized myself with all the news, in the very kind demands of my current situation. Today I am called from all sides, not like in the past, attending the needs of the sick bodies, but to bring relief to the illnesses of the soul. The task is easy, and today I get to the headboard of those in suffering that call me much faster than in the past. I even can – and this does not impress me – transport myself almost instantaneously, form one point to another, with the same agility that my thoughts move from one subject to the next. I am just admired by the fact that I can do it myself!...

My good friends, I must tell you about something spiritual that happens to me and that I wish to submit to your analysis, so that you can help me acknowledge my mistake, if I am wrong regarding my won appreciation of the matter. You know that as a physician, in my last incarnation, I had worked with great dedication to the study of my profession. Everything related to medicine was a matter of observation to me. I must say, without any pride, that I had acquired some knowledge, perhaps for the fact that I did not always followed the routine. I frequently sought in the psychological what could bring disturbance to the physical; that might be the reason why I knew my profession a little bit better than certain colleagues. Anyhow, here is the case: A few days ago I felt a kind of torpor seizing my Spirit, and while maintaining consciousness, I felt transported in space; when I got to a place that has no name for you, I found myself in a gathering of Spirits that had acquired some celebrity for the discoveries they had made. I was really surprised to find there, among those elders of all ages and names of all times, a perispirit that resembled me. I wondered what it all meant; I addressed to them the questions suggested by my position, but my astonishment was even greater when I heard myself answering. I then turned to them to find myself alone.

Here are my deductions…

Dr. Cailleux

Note: The Spirit stopped there and continued in the next session

The question of fluids, that is the foundation of your studies, played a very important role in the experience that I pointed out to you in the last session. Today I can explain better what happened, and instead of telling you about my own inferences, I can tell you what was revealed to me by the good friends that guide me in the world of the Spirits. When my Spirit underwent a kind of numbness, I was, so to speak, magnetized by the fluid of my spiritual friends; with God’s permission it should lead to a psychological satisfaction, they say, that is my reward, and besides, an encouragement to march on the path that my Spirit has been walking on a good number of existences. I was, therefore, asleep in a spiritual magnetic sleep; I saw the past forming in a fictious present; I recognized individuals that disappeared in the wake of time, or rather, that had been only one individual. I saw a creature starting a medical work; another one later, continuing what had been sketched before and so forth. I even saw, from generation to generation, in less time than it takes to tell you, the formation, growth and the making of a science, of what in the beginning was not more than the first experiments of a mind occupied with the relief of humanity in suffering. I saw all that, and when I got to the last one of those beings that successively had brought a complement to the work, I then recognized myself. Then, it all disappeared, and I became the late Spirit of your poor doctor. Now, this is the explanation. I do not give it to you for vanity, far from that, but mainly to provide you with a subject of study, talking about the spiritual sleep, that clarified by your guides, can only be useful to me since I attend all of your works. I saw, in that sleep, many different bodies that were animated by my Spirit in a certain number of incarnations, and they all worked in the medical field, without ever deviating from the principles that were elaborated by the first one. This last incarnation was not to gain more knowledge but simply to practice what I learned from the theory.

With all that I remain your debtor. But, if you allow, I will come to learn from you and eventually give my own opinion about certain issues.

Dr. Cailleux

Study

There is a double teaching here; to begin with, there is the event of magnetization of a Spirit by other Spirits, and the sleep that follows; second, the retrospective view of the different bodies that were animated by him. There is, therefore, to the Spirits, a kind of sleep, that is an additional point of contact between the spiritual and the corporeal state. It is true that we here talk about a magnetic sleep; but would there be a natural sleep to them, like ours? This would not be surprising when we see Spirits that are so much identified with the corporeal state that they take their fluidic body by a material one, that believe to work as they did on Earth, and that get tired. If they feel fatigue, they must feel the need for resting, and can lie down and sleep, as they believe to work and travel in the railroad. We say that they believe, speaking from our point o view, for everything is relative, and regarding its fluidic nature, things are so real as the material ones are to us. It is only the Spirits of inferior order that have such delusions; the less advanced the more their state approaches the corporeal state. Now, this cannot be the case of Dr. Cailleux, an advanced Spirit that is perfectly aware of his condition. But is not less true that he was conscious of a numbness analogous to the sleep, in which he saw his several individualities. A member of the Society explains this phenomenon in the following way: In the human sleep it is only that body that rests, but the Spirit does not sleep. It must be the same in the spiritual state; the magnetic sleep, or another, must only affect the spiritual body or perispirit, and the Spirit must be in a relatively analogous state of the incarnate Spirit during the sleep of the body, that is, keeping the awareness of their being. The different incarnation of Mr. Cailleux, that his spiritual guides wanted him to see, for his enlightenment, could be presented to him as a memory, in the same way that the images are presented in dreams.

This explanation is perfectly logical. It was confirmed by the Spirits that, by provoking the report of Dr. Cailleux, wanted us to know a new phase of the life beyond the grave.

Question: When something is foreseen by the masses, generally it is said that “it is in the air”. What is the origin of this expression?

Answer: Its origin, like of many things that go unnoticed and that are explained by Spiritism, it is in the intimate and intuitive feeling of reality. The expression is more truthful than one may think. This general pre-sense of approximation of a serious event has two causes: the first comes from the innumerable masses of Spirits that incessantly move around space and that are aware of things in preparation; because of their dematerialization, they are in more condition to follow the unfolding and predict its occurrence. These Spirits, that incessantly rub elbows with humanity, communicate their thoughts through the fluidic currents that connect the corporeal to the spiritual world. Although you do not see them, their thoughts get to you like the aroma of the flowers hidden by the foliage, and you assimilate them unnoticeably. Air is literally crossed by these fluidic currents that sow the idea everywhere, so much so that the expression “it is in the air” is not only an image, but it is positively true. Certain Spirits are more specially assigned by the Providence with the transmission of inevitable things through presentiment to men, aiming at giving them a secret warning, and they accomplish that mission by meddling among men. They are like intimate voices that reverberate in your intimate self.

The second cause of this phenomenon is in the detachment of the incarnate Spirit in the resting of the body. In those moments of freedom, the Spirit gather with fellow Spirits, those with whom there is more affinity; the Spirit absorbs their thoughts, sees what he cannot see with the eyes of the body, reporting his intuition when waking up, as if it were a totally personal idea. This explains how the same idea may appear at the same time, in a hundred different points and in thousands of brains.

As you know, certain individuals are more capable than others to receive the spiritual influx, be it through the direct communication of strange Spirits, be it through the easier detachment of their own Spirit. Many enjoy, in different degrees, the second sight or spiritual vision, a much more common faculty that you think, and that is revealed in a thousand ways; others keep a more or less clear memory of what they saw during the emancipation of the soul. Due to such a skill, they have a more accurate notion of things; it is not a vague presentiment to them, but the intuition, and in some the actual knowledge of the thing, whose realization they foresee and announce. If we ask them how they know, the majority will not be able to explain; some will say that an inner voice told them, others that they had a revealing vision; others still will say that they feel but do not know how. In times of ignorance, and to the eyes of superstitious people, they go by foretellers and witches, although they are only persons endowed by a spontaneous and unconscious mediumship, a faculty that is inherent to human nature, and that has nothing of supernatural, but that cannot be understood by those that do not admit anything outside matter.

Such a faculty has always existed, but it must be noticed that it develops and multiplies under circumstances that excite the activity of the mind, at moments of crises and imminence of important events. Revolutions, wars, persecutions of party and sects have always given rise to many clairvoyants and inspired people that were classified as enlightened.

Dr. Demeure

Observation: The relationships between the corporeal and the spiritual worlds have nothing of surprising if we consider that these two worlds are formed by the same elements, that is, the same individuals that pass alternately from one to the other. The one that is among the incarnate on Earth today, will be among the discarnate of spaces tomorrow and vice-versa. The world of the Spirits, therefore, is not a world aside. It is humanity itself disentangled from its material covering, and that continues its existence with a new form and more freedom. The relationships between these two worlds, in permanent contact, are then part of the natural laws. The ignorance of the law that rules them has been the tripping stone of every philosophy. It is for the lack of knowledge about it that so many problems have remained unsolved. Spiritism, which is the science of those relationships, gives us the only key that can solve them. How many things are no longer mysteries, thanks to Spiritism!

Paris, May 11^th, 1866 – medium Mr. V…



Child, you will leave us shortly,
The humble roof that saw you born,
Running the world, facing its dangers,
And perhaps dying, short of your destiny.
Before fleeing our shore,
O my dear boy, listen once more
The guiding voice of your young age.
Alas, my son, in your path,
Many times by the proud shrub,
Your white hands will be torn,
And its poisonous thorn
Will limp your bruised foot,
More than once in the course.
Never mind! Far from here find the force
In the guiding star that shines your way,
Marching forward, always;
Do not miss the motherland,
The village, the home, faraway,
Dying without regretting your life,
If you were to lose it one day,
Preaching to all for doctrine,
Faith, love and charity,
Of your divine law, the only duty;
Tearing pride away everywhere,
False knowledge and egotism,
Stretching out like a shroud,
On the cradle of Spiritism;
By repeating what the voice
Of all these invisible worlds
Seems to reveal to you, sometimes,
In unspeakable whispers,
By pitying a rude century,
Adding insult to injury,
Calling you a witch,
Or a fortune teller;
By forgiving the contempt,
Trying through the prayer
To gather the many friends
Under the humble and holy banner.
I said: Go, child, farewell;
Your task is heavy and hard,
But believe and trust in your God,
Ease the way for you, He will.

A poet Spirit



In the following session, on May 18^th, the same medium spontaneously wrote the following:

“An answer to a criticism of my verses “To your book”, made a little lightheartedly last Friday, by an unknown person that I do not see here tonight.”

In a mysterious grove,
Hidden by the emerging foliage
Of green lilacs, every year
In the Spring, we could hear
A gracious lark
Sing her beautiful song.
The birds of the neighboring woods
Came every morning,
Placing themselves by her side, in silence,
To better listen to the cadence,
That the pure voice shouted,
Spun, beaded, modulated
With an infinite grace.
The astonished and delighted crowd
Applauded the diva
When, by chance,
A young blackbird came
And began to whistle with rage
A monotonous melody
That we admired without reason.
The lark stopped, suddenly,
Smiled and told the spoiler:
You blackbird, that whistles so well,
You must sing as well.
Could we not, beautiful bird, one day listen to you?
The blackbird did not respond, fleeing away.
Why? You guess… Good night. I’m on my way.

Alfred de Musset

The measure of the work imposed on each incarnate or discarnate Spirit is the certainty of having scrupulously accomplished the mission entrusted to them. Now, each one has a mission to accomplish: this one in large scale, the other in a smaller scale. However, the obligations are relatively all equal and God will ask you to account for the obol he has placed in your hands.

If you earned interest, if you doubled the sum, you would have certainly fulfilled your duty, because you have obeyed the supreme order. If, instead of having increased that obol, you had lost it, it is certain that you had abused the trust that your Creator had placed in you; thus, you will be treated like a thief, because you have taken and not returned; far from increasing, you diminished. Now, if, as I just said, every creature is obliged to receive and to give, how much more, Spiritists, are you obligated to obey this divine law, how much effort must you make to fulfill this duty before the Lord that chose you to share the work and invited you to His table? Remember, brothers, that the gift that is endowed to you is one of the supreme goods of God. Do not take pride in it but strive to deserve such high favor. If the titles that you may receive from a great one on Earth; if their favors are something beautiful to your eyes, how happy would you feel with the gifts of the Lord of the worlds, incorruptible and imperishable gifts that raise you above your brother and will be a source of pure and holy joys!

But do you want to be the only owners? Would you wish, like the selfish, to keep so much happiness and joy to yourself? O No. You were chosen as custodians. The riches that shine before your eyes are not for you but belong to all your brothers. You must, therefore, grow and distribute them. Like the good gardener that preserves and multiplies his flowers, and presents to you the delights of spring in the rigor of winter; like in the sad month of November, roses and lilies are born, so are you assigned with sowing and cultivating flowers of all seasons in your moral field, flowers that will challenge the breath of the Aquilon and the suffocating wind of the desert; flowers that once blossomed on their stems, will never fade away, but shiny and perennial will be the emblem of the everlasting greenery and colors. Human heart is a fertile soil of feelings and affection, a field full of sublime aspirations when cultivated by the hands of charity and religion. O Do not reserve for yourself alone these stems that always yield such sweet fruits! Offer them to your brothers, invite them to come to taste them, to feel the perfume of your flowers, to learn to cultivate your fields. We will assist you; we will find fresh streams that will flow gently, strengthening the exotic plants that are the germs of the celestial earth. Come! We will work with you, we will share your fatigue, so that you also can collect these goods and share them with other brothers in need.



God gives us, and we, grateful for His gifts, multiply them as much as possible. God commands us to improve others and ourselves; we will fulfill our obligations and sanctify His sublime will.

Spiritist, I am addressing you. We have prepared your field; now you must act so that all those in need may enjoy it broadly. Remember that all hatred, all grudges, all enmities must disappear before your duties. Educate the ignorant, help the weak, have compassion on the afflicted, defend the innocent, pity those that are in error, forgive the enemies. All these virtues must grow abundantly in your field, and you must implant them in your brothers. You will reap an ample harvest and will be blessed by your Father that is in heavens!

My dear children, I wanted to tell you all these things to encourage you to withstand with patience all those that, enemies of the new doctrine, seek to denigrate and distress you. God is with you, do not doubt it. The word of our celestial Father has fallen upon your globe as on the day of creation. He sends you a new light, a light full of splendor and truth.

Approach, tightly connect with God, and follow the path that opens before you with courage.

Saint Augustine

This work contains the explanation and interpretation of the Gospels, article per article, with the help of communications dictated by the Spirits. It is a considerable work that has, to the Spiritists, the merit of not being, in any point, in contradiction with the Spiritist doctrine taught in The Spirits’ Book and The Mediums’ Book. The parts correspondents to those that we dealt with in the Gospels According to Spiritism are done in an analogous way. Besides, since we limited ourselves to the moral maxima that, with rare exceptions, are generally clear and could not be interpreted in several ways; thus, it had never been a matter of religious controversy. That is the reason why we started there, to be accepted without dispute, waiting for the rest that the public opinion was familiarized with the Spiritist idea.

The author of that work thought appropriate to follow another path. Instead of proceeding gradually, he wanted to reach the objective in a jump. Therefore, he treated certain questions that we do not think opportune to handle yet, and for which, consequently, we leave the responsibility to him, as to the Spirits that commented them. Consistent with our principle that consists on regulating our march by the development of the opinion, until new order we will not give his theories approval nor disapproval, allowing time to sanction or contradict them. It is therefore appropriate to consider those explanations as personal opinion of the Spirits that formulated them, opinions that may be fair or false, and that, in any case, need the sanction of the universal control, and until a more ample confirmation, they could not be considered a constituent part of the Spiritist Doctrine.

When we handle those questions, we will do it decisively. It means that we would have collected a sufficient amount of documents in the teachings given from all sides, by the same Spirits, so that we can speak affirmatively, and be sure to be in agreement with the majority. That is what we have done every time that it is about the formulation of a principle. We have said a hundred times that the opinion of a Spirit, to us, whatever the name that the Spirit may carry, has only the value of a personal opinion. Our criterion is in the universal agreement, supported by a rigorous logic, to the things that we cannot control with our own eyes. What would be the point of accepting a doctrine as the absolute truth, if it would be later fought by the generality of the Spirits?

I said that the book by Mr. Roustaing does not depart from the principles of The Spirits’ Book and The Mediums’ Book. Our observations are made about the application of those same principles to the interpretation of certain facts. That is how, for example, it gives Jesus Christ a fluidic materialized body, instead of a carnal body, with all the appearances of materiality, making it an agenerate. To the eyes of men that could not have understood its spiritual nature, it must have passed IN APPEARANCE – this expression is incessantly repeated throughout the book – for all vicissitudes of humanity. Here is how the mystery of His birth would be explained: Mary would have had only the appearance of pregnancy. Placed as a premise and cornerstone, this point is the basis that he uses as support to the explanation of every extraordinary and miraculous facts of Jesus’ life.

Undoubtedly, there is nothing materially impossible in this, for whoever knows the properties of the perispiritual covering. Without pronouncing pro or against this theory, we say that it is at least hypothetical, and that if it is one day recognized as a mistake, for lack of foundation, the edifice would collapse. We, therefore, wait for the numerous comments that it will provoke from the part of the Spirits, and that will contribute to clarify the issue. Without pre-judging it, we say that serious objections have already been made to this theory, and that in our opinion, the facts may be perfectly explained without leaving the condition of corporeal humanity.

These observations, subordinated to the sanction of the future, does not at all diminish the importance of the work, that side by side with doubtful things, from our point of view, contains others that are incontestably good and truthful, and will be consulted by the serious Spiritists, with benefit.

If the content of a book is the principal, the form must not be neglected, since it contributes with something to the success. We believe that certain parts are developed too extensively, without benefit of clarity. To us, if it were limited to the strictly necessary, the work could have been reduced to two, or perhaps a single volume, and would have gained popularity.

---

[1] The Four Gospels, followed by the commandments, explained in spirit and truth by the evangelists, assisted by the apostles. Collected and ordered by J.B. Roustaing, attorney in the Imperial Court of Bordeaux, former chief of the order. 3 volumes in-12, price 10.5 francs. In Paris, Central Bookstore, Boulevard des Italiens, 24. In Bordeaux, in all bookstores.

This work contains

Italy has a new Spiritist periodical publication. This is exclusively devoted to the teaching of the Spirits. The first number indeed contains only mediumistic productions, including even the preface and the preliminary speech. Here is the list of topics covered in this issue:

Preface, advice given to the Society for the formation of the newspaper. - Preliminary speech, signed Saint Augustine. - Allegory on Spiritism. - Reverberation of the soul. - Forecasts. - Regret of a suffering Spirit, interview. - Work. - The death of Christ. - Collective prayer. Answer to a proposed question.

All these communications bear an incontestable seal of superiority from the point of view of morality and the elevation of thoughts. This can be judged by the one on Labor that we publish above.

The Spirits will therefore have their journal, and there will certainly not be lack of contributors; but, as with the incarnate, there are Spirits of all degrees of merit; We are counting on the judgment of the editors to make a rigorous choice among these productions from beyond the grave, which can only gain in clarity and interest, if, according to the circumstances, are accompanied by a few comments.

In one of the Spiritist groups of Paris, a medium received recently the following communication from the Spirit of his grandmother:

“My dear son, I am going to speak to you for a moment about the issues of charity that concerned you this morning, on the way to work. The children that are delivered to hired nurses, and the poor women that are forced, in defiance of their pudicity, that is dear to them, to serve in hospitals as experimental material to doctors and medical students, are two great plagues that every good heart must apply themselves to cure, and it is not impossible. May the Spiritists do as the Catholic do. May they save a little bit every week, and capitalizing these resources they will get to serious, great, and truly efficient foundations. The charity that relieves a current illness is a holy charity, that I encourage with all my heart, but the charity that is perpetuated in immortal foundations, like the miseries that they are supposed to alleviate, is an intelligent charity that would make me happy to see it put in practice.

I would like to see a work elaborated with the objective of creating first an establishment of limited proportions. When we see the good result of this first creation, we would then move to another one that would grow gradually, as God wishes it to be, because progress happens in a slow, wise, and calculated march. I repeat that what I am proposing is not difficult; there wouldn’t be a single true Spiritist that would dare fail to respond to the appeal for the relief of their fellow human beings, and the Spiritists are in large number to form, by the accumulation of a weekly amount, a capital that is sufficient for the first establishment to serve the sick women, that would be cared for by women, and who would then no longer hide their sufferings to keep their pudicity.

I deliver these reflections for the meditation of the benevolent persons that attend the session, and I have no doubt that they will bear good fruits. The groups in the country would promptly rally to such a beautiful, and at the same time, so useful and paternal idea. It would, moreover, be a monument to the moral value of Spiritism, so slandered and that will continue to be so for a long time to come.

I said, local charity is good and benefits an individual, but it does not uplift the mind of the masses, like a lasting work. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could repel slander by telling the slanders: “This is what we have done; the tree is recognized by the fruit; a bad tree does not bear good fruits, and the good tree does not bear bad ones.”

Also think of the poor children that leave hospitals to die in mercenary hands, two simultaneous crimes: to give away a weak and helpless child, and the one that sacrificed her mercilessly. May everyone send their prayers to the sad victims of the improvident society and seek a solution to rescue them from their miseries. God wants us to try, giving the means to reach the objective; it is necessary to act. We succeed when we have faith, and faith move mountains. Let Mr. Kardec deals with the matter in his journal, and you will see how it is going to be welcome with dedication and enthusiasm. I said that it was necessary to have a material monument that attested the faith of the Spiritists, like the pyramids in Egypt attest the vanity of the Pharos, but instead of doing foolish things, do works that carry the seal of God Himself. Everybody must understand me, I do not insist.

I leave, my dear child. You good grandmother, as you see, always loves her grandchildren, as I loved you when you were a little child. I want you to love them, as I do, and think about finding a good organization. You can if you wish so, and we will help you, if necessary. I bless you,

Marie G…”



The idea of a central and general relief fund formed among the Spiritist has already been conceived and expressed by persons with excellent intentions, but it is not enough that an idea be great, beautiful and generous; it must, above all, be practical. We have certainly given enough proofs of our devotion to the cause of Spiritism, not to be suspected of indifference about it. Well, it is precisely by force of our very solicitude that we seek to warn against blind enthusiasm. Before undertaking something, it is necessary to assess its pros and cons, avoiding the always unpleasant setbacks, that would certainly be exploited by our adversaries. Spiritism must always march with certainty, and when it sets foot onto something, it must be sure that it is stepping on solid ground. Victory does not always come to the hurried one, but much more surely to the one that waits for the right moment. There are results that can only be the work of time and the infiltration of the idea into the minds of the masses. Let us, therefore, know to wait for the tree to be formed, before demanding an abundant harvest.

For a long time now, we have been proposing that you analyze the question in depth, placing it in its true ground, forewarning against delusions of projects that are more generous than considered, and whose abortion would have unfortunate consequences. The communication given above, about which we were kindly asked to give our opinion, offers a very natural occasion to us. Let us then examine both, the project of centralization of the funds as well as some other institutions and special establishments for Spiritism.

Before anything else, it is appropriate to realize the real state of things. There is no doubt that the Spiritists are in large number, and this number grows incessantly. From that point of view, if offers an unique spectacle, that of an unheard of propagation in the history of the philosophical doctrines, for there isn’t a single one, without exception of Christianity, that has connected so many followers in such a small number of years. This is a notorious fact that confounds even the antagonists. And what is not less characteristic, is the fact that the propagation, instead of taking place in a single center, takes place simultaneously, over the entire surface of the globe, and in thousands of centers. It results that the followers, although in large numbers, still do not form a compact agglomeration anywhere. Such a dispersion, that at first glance seems a sign of weakness, is on the contrary, an element of strength. A hundred thousand Spiritists scattered around a country do more for the propagation of the idea than if they were crowded in a city. Each individuality is a focus of action, a germ that produces offspring; the sprout in turn produces more or less, and the stems that get together little by little, will cover a region more thoroughly than if the action came from a single point. It is as if a handful of seeds were thrown into the wind, instead of all of them been put together in the same hole. Thanks to this number of small centers, the doctrine is less vulnerable than if there were only one, against which its enemies could direct all their power.


An originally compact army that is dispersed by force or by any other cause, is a lost army. Here the case is different. The dissemination of the Spiritists is not a case of dispersion, it is the original state tending to concentration, to form a vast unity. The former is in the end; the latter is in its birth.

To those, therefore, that complain about their isolation in a given place, we say: thank heavens, on the contrary, for having chosen you as the first pioneers of the work in your region. It is up to you to sow the first seeds there; perhaps they will not germinate immediately; perhaps you will not be able to collect the fruits; perhaps you will have even to suffer in your work, but think that one cannot prepare the soil without work, and rest assured that, sooner or later, what you have sown will bear fruits. The harder the endeavor, the more merits you will have, even if you had only cleared the way for those that will come after you.

Without doubt, if the Spiritists were to remain always in isolation, it would be a permanent cause of weakness; but experience proves how much the doctrine is alive, and we know that for each abated branch, ten others are born. Its generalization is, therefore, a matter of time. Well, however fast its march is, there is still the need for sufficient time, and while the work is under way, one must know to wait for the fruit to be ripe before it is picked. This momentary dissemination of the Spiritists, essentially favorable to the propagation of the doctrine, is an obstacle to the execution of collective works of certain importance, given the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of bringing together a large enough number of elements in the same place. It is precisely, some will say, to remove this obstacle, to straighten the links of fraternity among the isolated members of the great Spiritist family, that the creation of central relief fund is proposed. This is certainly a great and generous idea, that seduces at first sight, but have one already thought about the difficulties in the execution?

A first question arises. How far will the action of this fund go? Will it be limited to France, or would it encompass other countries? There are Spiritists in the whole world. Aren’t those of every country, every cast, and every cult our brothers? If the fund, therefore, receives donations from foreign Spiritists, something that would happen infallibly, would it have the right to limit its assistance to only one nationality? Could it conscientiously and charitably ask the sufferer if he is Russian, Polish, German, Spanish or French? Unless it failed in its duty, its objective, it should extend its action from Peru to China. It is enough to think about the complications of such an undertake to see how much chimeric it is.

Suppose it constrained to France, and it would not be a less colossal of an administration, a true ministry. Who would like to take responsibility for the administration of such a fund? For such a management, integrity and devotion would not be enough, it would require a high administrative capacity. Admitting, however, that the first difficulties are overcome, how to exercise an efficient control upon the extent and reality of the needs, over the sincerity about the quality of Spiritist? Such an institution would soon see the surge of millions of followers, or that are said so, but these would not be the ones to fund the budget. From the moment it existed it would be believed to be inexhaustible, and it would soon be incapable of satisfying all the demands of its mandate. Founded upon such a vast scale, we believe it to be impracticable, and from our side we would not lend a hand.

Wouldn’t it also have to fear opposition to its own constitution? Spiritism has just been born, and it does not carry yet an air of holiness everywhere, to be considered shielded from malevolent suppositions. Couldn’t they be mistaken about its intentions in an operation of such a kind? Couldn’t they suppose that it hides another objective, under a cover? In a word, make assimilations that the adversaries could utilize to raise suspicion against it?


Spiritism, by its nature, is not and cannot be either a filiation, or a congregation. It must, therefore, in its own interest, avoid everything that may give it such an appearance. Then, is it necessary that Spiritism remain stationary, out of fear? Isn’t that by acting, they will ask, that Spiritism will show what it is, hence dissipating mistrust and thwarting slander? Not a shade of doubt, but one cannot ask a child for something that requires the strength of adulthood. Far from serving Spiritism, it would compromise and expose it to the blows and mockery of the adversaries and associate its name to chimerical things. It must certainly act, but to the extent of the possible. Let it therefore acquire the necessary forces, and it will then give more than we think. It is not even completely formed in theory yet. How do we want it to give what can only be the result of the complement of the doctrine?

There are, moreover, other aspects that must be considered.

Spiritism is a philosophical belief, and it is enough to sympathize with the fundamental principles of the doctrine to be Spiritist. We speak of true Spiritists, and not those that just put the mask on for interest or other just a little honorable reason. These are not counted since there is not conviction in them. They say they are Spiritists today, in hopes that they will take advantages; they will be adversaries tomorrow, if they do not find what they are looking for, or they will play victims of their fictitious dedication, and will accuse the Spiritists of ingratitude for not supporting them. These would not be the last ones to exploit the fund, to compensate for aborted speculations or to repair disasters caused by their negligence or improvidence and throw stones at it if it did not satisfy them. All that must not seem strange, for every cult counts on similar auxiliaries and witness such comedies playing out.

There is also the considerable mass of Spiritists by intuition; the ones that are Spiritists by tendency and the predisposition of ideas, without a previous study; the indecisive, that still float around, waiting for the necessary elements of conviction. Without exaggeration, we can estimate them in a quarter of the population. It is the great nursery where the followers are recruited, but they cannot be considered yet.

Among the real Spiritists, those that form the true body of followers, there are certain distinctions to be made. In the first line we must put the followers of heart, driven by a sincere faith, that understand the objective and the reach of the doctrine, and accept all the consequences to themselves; their dedication is unfailing and without ulterior motive; the interests of the cause, that are of humanity, are sacred to them, and these will never be sacrificed before an issue of self-love or personal interest. To them, the moral side is not a simple theory; they strive to preach by example; they do not only have the courage of opinion but also take pride on it and know to pay with their person if needed.

Next come those that accept the idea as a philosophy, because it satisfies their reason, but whose moral fiber is not sufficiently touched to comprehend the obligations that the doctrine imposes on those that adopt it. The old man is always there, and the reformation of oneself seems to painstaking a task to them. But since they are nonetheless firmly convinced, propagators and zealous defenders are found among them.

Then there are the lighthearted persons, to whom Spiritism is entirely in the manifestations. To them it is a fact, nothing else. The philosophical side goes unnoticed. The attraction of curiosity is their main drive. They are delighted by the phenomenon and remain cold before a moral consequence.

Finally, there is the very large number of Spiritists, more or less serious, that could not overcome prejudices and the opinions of others, held back by the fear of ridicule, as those whose personal or family considerations and interests, sometimes respectable, are in a way forced to stay away. All those, in short, that for one reason or another, good or bad, do not stand out. Most would ask no better than confessing Spiritist, but they dare not or cannot. This will come later, as they see others doing it and notice that there is no danger. These will be the Spiritists of tomorrow, as others are the Spiritists of the day before. However, we cannot blame them too much since it is necessary a strength of character that not everyone has to defy public opinion, in certain cases. We must then take human weakness into account. Spiritism does not enjoy the privilege of suddenly transforming humanity, and if there is something remarkable is the number of reforms that it has already produced, in such a short time. While with some, where it finds the prepared terrain, it comes in, so to speak, all at once, with others it only penetrates drop by drop, according to the resistance found in character and habits.

All these followers are counted, and however imperfect they might be, they are always useful, although to a limited extent. If they only served, until further notice, to reduce the ranks of opposition, that would already be something. That is one we must not neglect any sincere adhesion, even if partial.

But when it comes to an important collective work, where everyone must bring their contingent of action, such as that of a general fund, for example, it is appropriate to take these considerations into account, because the efficacy of the support that one may expect is proportional to the category to which the followers belong. It is obvious that we cannot rely much on those that do not take the moral side of the doctrine to their heart, and even less on those that dare not show themselves.

There remains, therefore, the followers of the first category. From them, of course, anything can be expected. These are the soldiers of vanguard, those that more frequently do not wait for the call when it comes to give testimonies of abnegation and devotion, but in a financial cooperative, each one contribute according to their means, and the poor can only give their mite. To the eyes of God this mite has a great value, but to the material needs it only has its intrinsic value. Excluding all those whose means of living are limited, the very ones who live on their work, the number of those that could contribute more and in a more efficient way is relatively small.

One observation, at the same time interesting and instructive, is the proportion of the followers according to their categories. Such a proportion has varied significantly and changes according to the progress of the doctrine; but at this moment it could be assessed approximately like this:

1^st category, complete Spiritists of heart and devotion, 10%

2^nd category, incomplete Spiritists, seeking more the scientific than the moral side, 25%

3^rd category, lighthearted Spiritists, only interested in the material facts, 5% (this proportion was the opposite ten years ago)

4^th category, concealed or hidden Spiritists, 60%



Relatively to their social position, two general classes stick out: on one side, those whose fortune is independent; on the other, those that make a living from their work. In 100 Spiritists of the first category there are, on average, 5 rich ones to 95 workers; in the second category, 70 rich to 30 workers; in the third category, 80 rich to 20 workers and in the fourth category, 99 rich ones to 1 worker.


It would therefore be delusional to believe that in such conditions a general fund could satisfy all the needs, while that of the richest banker would not be sufficient. It would not be a few thousand francs that would be needed every year, but millions.


Where does this difference in the proportion of those that are rich, and the others come from? The reason is very simple: the sufferers find in Spiritism a great consolation that helps them to endure the load of the miseries of life; provides them with a reason for such miseries and the certainty of a compensation. Thus, it is not surprising that taking more advantage of the benefits, they appreciate it more and take it more seriously than the happy ones of the world.


People were surprised that, when similar projects came to the public, we did not promptly support and sponsor them. Fact is that we associate ourselves, before anything else, to positive and practical ideas; Spiritism is a very serious thing to us to prematurely engage it in avenues where it could find disappointments. From our side there isn’t carelessness nor cowardice, but prudence, and whenever Spiritism is mature to advance, we will not stay behind. It is not that we believe to have more perspicacity than the others, but that our position, allowing the vision of the whole, allows us to assess the strong and weak points, perhaps better than those that are in a more limited circle. As a matter of fact, we give our opinion and do not pretend to impose it to anybody.


What has just been said about the creation of a general and central relief fund, is naturally applicable to the projects of foundation of hospitals and other outfits. Now, the utopia here is even more evident. If it is easy to sketch a project on paper, it is not the same when it is time for the execution. Building an edifice ad hoc is already huge, and when it would be ready, it would be necessary to provide it with sufficient and capable personnel, and afterwards ensure its maintenance, for such endeavors cost a lot and yield nothing. It is not only large capital that is required but large returns as well.


Let us admit, however, that by force of perseverance and sacrifice, a small model is created, as they say; how small wouldn’t be the needs that it could satisfy, relatively to the masses and the spread of sufferers in a vast territory! It would be a drop of water in the ocean, and if there are so many difficulties to a single project, even in a small scale, it would be much worse if they were to be multiplied. Money employed in such a way, therefore, would benefit only a few individuals, whereas if it were judiciously shared, it would help the lives of many in need.


It would be a model, an example, be it, but why strive to create chimeras when things do exist, ready-made, organized, with powerful means that individuals will never possess? These establishments are not ideal; there is abuse, they do not attend every need, that is evident, however, when they are compared to what they were less than a century ago, we attest an immense difference and a constant progress. One can see improvements every day. We cannot doubt, therefore, that new progresses will take place with time, by the force of things. The Spiritist ideas must infallibly speed up the reform of every abuse, because better than the others, they penetrate mankind with the feeling of duty; wherever they penetrate, abuse will fall and progress stand. Hence, one must strive to propagate them; that is the practical and possible thing to do; that is the true lever, an irresistible lever when it has acquired a sufficient strength by the complete development of the principles, and by the number of serious followers.


Judging the future by the present, we can affirm that Spiritism would have led to the reform of many things long before the Spiritists would be able to finish the first establishment of the kind that we are talking about, if they ever do, even if everyone had to give a penny a week. Why then spending their energy in superfluous efforts, instead of concentrating them on an accessible point, and that can certainly lead to the objective? A thousand followers gained to the cause, spread over a thousand different places, will speed up more the march of progress than an edifice.


The Spirit that dictated the message above says that Spiritism must stand and show what it is by a lasting monument to charity. But what would be the point of a monument to charity if charity were not in the heart? Spiritism carries out a work that is more durable than a monument of stone; it is the doctrine and its consequences to good and humanity. It is for this that everyone must work with all their strengths, for it will last longer than the pyramids of Egypt.


The fact that this Spirit is mistaken about this point, as we believe, does not deprive her from any of her qualities. The Spirit is incontestably driven by excellent feelings, but a Spirit may be very good, without being an infallible assessor of all things; not every good soldier is necessarily a good general.


A project of a less chimerical realization is the formation of mutual aid societies among the Spiritists of the same locality. But, even here, it is not possible to avoid some of the difficulties that we pointed out: the lack of agglomeration and the still small budget of those with whom one may count on for an effective support. Another difficulty stems out of the false assimilation that is made of the Spiritists to certain classes of individuals. Each profession as a perfectly marked delimitation. One can easily establish a society of mutual aid for the individuals of the same profession, among persons of the same cult, because they are distinguished by something characteristic, and because of their position, up to a certain point official and recognized. This is not the case with the Spiritists that are not registered as such anywhere, and whose belief is not attested by any title. There are Spiritists of all social classes, in all professions, in all cults, and nowhere do they constitute a distinct class. Since Spiritism is a belief founded on an intimate conviction, that is not anybody’s business, we only know the ones that stick their heads out or that attend the groups, and not the considerable number of those that, without hiding, do not take part in any regular meeting. That is why, despite the assurance that the number of followers is high, it is difficult to get to the necessary budget, when it comes to a collective operation.


Regarding the societies of mutual help, there is another consideration. Spiritism does not form, and must not form a distinct class, since it addresses everybody; from its principle, it must extend its charity indistinctly, without questioning about belief, for all men are brothers. If it creates institutions of exclusive charity to its followers, it will be forced to enquiry the one that seeks assistance: “Are you one of us? What are the proofs? If not, we cannot do anything for you.” It would then deserve the criticism of intolerance that Spiritism addresses to others. No, to do good the Spiritist must not probe the conscience and the opinion, and even when facing an enemy of his faith, but unfortunate, he must reach out to the limit of his capacities. By acting like this Spiritism will show what it is and will prove that it is more worthy than what is opposed to it.


The societies of mutual aid multiply everywhere and in every working class. It is an excellent institution, a prelude to the kingdom of fraternity and solidarity that we are lacking. The benefit the Spiritist members as well as everybody else. Why founding them for the latter only, excluding the former? We must help to propagate them because they are useful; to make them better, have the Spiritist influence permeating there, making them more beneficial to them and to the doctrine. In the name of the evangelical charity inscribed in its flag; in the name of the interests of Spiritism, we incite you to avoid everything that may create obstacles between them and society. Now that moral progress tends to diminish the ones that divide the peoples, Spiritism must not erect them; it essence is to penetrate everywhere; its mission is to better everything that exists; it would fail if it isolated itself. Since the beneficence must be individual, in this case wouldn’t its action be more limited than if it were collective? Collective beneficence has incontestable advantages, and far from criticizing, we encourage it. Nothing easier than practicing it in the groups, collecting the elements of a mutual relief fund through regular contributions of facultative donations. But then, acting within a limited circle, the control of true needs is easy; the knowledge that is possible to have about them allows a fairer and more fruitful distribution. With a small and well distributed budged, given with discernment, more real services may be done than with a large budget that is given without knowledge of cause, and serendipitously, so to speak. It is, therefore, necessary to be aware of certain details, if one does not want to spend its resources pointlessly. It is understandable that such caution would be impossible when operating in large scale. No red tape here, no need for administrative personnel. A few persons of good will, that is all. We can only encourage with all our heart the collective benevolence in the Spiritist groups. We know some of them in Paris, in the country and abroad, that are founded, if not exclusively, at least partially, with that objective, and whose organization is second to none. Dedicated members visit the homes, enquiring about the sufferings and taking what sometimes is more valuable than the material help: consolations and encouragement. May they be honored because they deserve Spiritism! May each group act like this in their sphere of activities, and all together will realize a greater sum of benefits than a central fund four times richer.

The “Moniteur” on April 16^th, 1866 brought the quinquennial report addressed to the Emperor, by the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce and Public Affairs, about the state of mental alienation in France. The very extensive, wise, and meticulously made report, demonstrates the seriousness of the government when dealing with this serious question of humanity. The precious documents that it contains indicate a careful observation. They are of our interest, even more so when are a formal and authentic contradiction of the accusations raised by the adversaries of Spiritism, designated by them as a preponderant cause of insanity. We extracted the most important passages of the report.



It is true that such documents attest a considerable growth in the number of alienated, but we will see that this has nothing to do with Spiritism. In 1835 this number was 10,539 in special shelters, and 30,229 in 1861; it is an increase of 19,700 cases in 26 years, or 750 cases per year, on average, as it can be seen in the table below, showing January 1^st of each year:

The report attests, moreover, this fundamental point: the increase was progressive, year over year, between 1835 and 1846, and since then it decreased, as illustrated in the table below:



From 1836 to 1841: annual increase of 5.04%

From 1841 to 1846: annual increase of 5.94%

From 1846 to 1851: annual increase of 3.71%

From 1851 to 1856: annual increase of 3.87%

From 1856 to 1861: annual increase of 3.14%



The Minister says:

“Given the deceleration, also verified in the admissions, as I will demonstrate later, it is likely that the really exceptional growth of the population of our mental health institutions will soon end. The number of patients that our institutions could shelter properly was 31,500 in 1860. The effective number of patients admitted in the same period was 30,239. The number of available places, therefore, was only 1,321. From the point of view of the classification of their illnesses, the patients under treatment on January 1^st of each year, from 1856 to 1861 was (only years for which the classification was done):^[1]

It results from these documents, first, that the increase in insanity attested since 1835 is approximately twenty years before the advent of Spiritism in France, where the involvement with the turning tables began in 1852 more of an entertainment than a serious thing, and the philosophical part starting in 1857. Second, that increased followed a regular rate, year over year, from 1835 to 1846; from 1847 to 1861 it decreased year by year, and the reduction was stronger from 1856 to 1861, precisely the period in which Spiritism initiated its development. It was also precisely in this period that brochures were published and that the newspapers hastened to repeat that the institutions of mental illnesses were full of insane Spiritists, to the point that several had to enlarge their footprint; that they accounted for more than forty thousands. How could that be if the report attests a maximum number of 30,339? What was the source of more accurate information used by those gentlemen, other than the official authorities? The provoked an inquiry: here they have it as detailed as possible, and one can see if they are right.

What equally sticks out from the report is the number of idiotic and cretin that account for a considerable part in the general number, and the annual increase of that component, that cannot evidently be attributed to Spiritism.

Regarding the prevalent causes of insanity, they were thoroughly investigated, however, Spiritism does not show in the report neither nominally nor by allusion. Would it have gone unnoticed if, as some pretend, it had filled up the mental institutions?

We do not believe that the one can attribute to the Minister the idea of having spared the Spiritist, by abstaining of mentioning them, if he had space to do so. Nonetheless, certain figures would refute any preponderance of Spiritism in the state of things. Otherwise the psychological causes would surpass the number of physical causes, whereas it is the opposite that is verified. The number of patients considered incurable would not be four to five times more than the number of those presumably curable, and the report would not say that 4/5 of the patients maintained in the institutions do not offer any chance of cure.

Finally, considering the development carried out by Spiritism every day, the Minister would not have said that, due to the slowdown that was observed, it is likely that the entirely exceptional increase in the population of the institutions will soon end.

In short, this report is the most peremptory answer that can be given to those that accuse Spiritism of being the predominant cause of insanity. Here it is not about hypotheses and reasonings, it is about authentic numbers opposed to imaginary figures; material facts opposed to false allegations of its detractors, interested in discredit Spiritism before public opinion.

---

[1] The terms idiot, imbecile, moron, and their derivatives, such as idiotic, were formerly used as technical descriptors in medical, educational, and regulatory contexts. These uses were broadly rejected by the close of the 20th century and are now considered offensive. (Merriam-Webster dictionary, T.N.)


[2] Notice that the sum does not add up. We preferred to keep the numbers as in the original since we do not know if the error is in the total or in the parts. (Translation to Portuguese – Editor).

Death of Joseph Méry


A man of talent, rare intelligence, poet and distinct scholar, Mr. Joseph Méry died in Paris on June 17^th, 1866, at the age of 67 ½. Although he was not a confess follower of Spiritism, he belonged to the large class of those that may be called unconscious Spiritists, that is, who intuitively carry the fundamental ideas of Spiritism. Given that, we can, without veering off from our specialty, dedicate a few lines that will not be useless to our instruction.

It would be superfluous to repeat here the information that most newspaper published on the occasion of his death, about his life and his work. We will only reproduce the following passage from the Siècle (June 19^th), because it is a fair tribute to the character of the man. After having enumerated his literary pieces of work, the author of the article paints him like this:

“Joseph Méry was prodigal in conversation; brilliant talker, improvisor of stances and rhymes, he sowed witty and paradoxical phrases, with a tireless vein; and a particularity that honors him, he had never deprived anyone from a smart comment, a joke, and was always benevolent with everybody. It is one of the most beautiful praises that can be done to a writer.”

We said that Mr. Méry was a Spiritist by intuition. He not only believed in the soul and its survival, in the spiritual world that surrounds us, but also in the plurality of the existences, and such a belief to him was the result of memories. He was persuaded to have lived in Rome, under Augustus, in Germany, in India, etc. Certain details were so much present in his memory that he described accurately places that he had never seen. That is the faculty that is mentioned by the article above when the author says: “His inexhaustible imagination created regions that he had not seen, guessed the social mores, describing the inhabitants with a fidelity all the more marvelous for he possessed it without knowing it.”

We cited the most important facts about him in the Spiritist Review, November 1864, with the title Memories of previous existences, reproducing the biographic article published by Mr. Dangeau, in the Literary Journal, on September 25^th, 1864, followed by some of our thoughts. Such a faculty was perfectly known to his comrades in literature. What did they think about it? To some, it was just a singular effect of imagination, but since Mr. Méry was a well-liked man, of a simple and righteous character, that was knowingly incapable of an imposture (the accuracy of certain local descriptions, as a matter of fact, had been acknowledged), and they could not rationally call him insane, many said that there could be something truthful in all that. Thus, these events were remembered in one of the speeches given in his funeral. Now, if they had considered it as an aberration of his mind, they would have remained quiet about it. It is therefore, in the presence of an immense crowd of colleagues of the elite of literature and press, in a serious and solemn ceremony, one of those that demand much respect, that it was said that Mr. Méry remembered having lived in other times, and proved it by facts. This must give food for thought, particularly considering that it is outside Spiritism, and many people adopt the idea of the plurality of the existences as the most rational. Facts of such a nature, with respect to Mr. Méry, and being of the most remarkable particularities of his life, and having repercussion on the occasion of his death, can only accredit him.

Well, what are the consequences of such a belief, abstraction made of Spiritism? If we admit that he has already lived once, we can and must even have lived several times, and may live again after this life. If we lived many times, it cannot be with the same body, therefore, there is an intelligent principle in us that is independent of matter, that keeps its individuality. It is, as it can be seen, the denial of the materialistic and pantheistic doctrines. Considering that this principle, this soul, by re-living on Earth, may keep the intuition of its past, it must not lose itself in the infinity, after death, as it is commonly believed; he must, in the interval of his corporeal existences, remain in the environment where men live; having to retake new existences in this same humanity, he must not lose sight of that; must continue his experiences. Here we then have acknowledged the spiritual world that surrounds us and amidst which we live.

In this world live, naturally, our relatives and friends who must continue to have an interest in us, as we are interested in them, and that are not lost to us since they exist and may be near us. That is what is forcibly believed and that must be the consequences for those that admit the principle of the plurality of the existences, and that is what Mr. Méry believed. What does Spiritism do more? It calls those same invisible beings Spirits, and says that, since they are around us, they can manifest their presence and communicate with the incarnate. When the rest was admitted, is this so senseless?

As we see, the distance that separates Spiritism from the innermost believe of several people is very small. The fact of manifestations is just an accessory and a practical confirmation of the fundamental principle, admitted in theory. Why then some that admit the basis, reject what must serve as proof? For the false idea that they make of it. But those that take the burden of studying it in depth, soon recognize that they are closer to Spiritism than they thought, and that their majority are Spiritists without knowing; they only need the name. That is why one can see so many Spiritist ideas everywhere by the same ones that impugn the name and why those very ideas are so easily accepted by certain persons. When it is only about a matter of words, one is very close to an understanding.

Spiritism enters the world through an infinite number of doors, by touching everything. Some are brought to it by the fact of manifestations; others by the misfortune that strikes them, and against which they find in this doctrine the only consolation; others by the philosophical and religious idea; others, finally, by the principle of the plurality of the existences. Méry, contributing to give credibility to this principle in a certain environment, perhaps do more for the propagation of Spiritism than if he were a an openly confess Spiritist.

It is precisely at the time when this great law of humanity is affirmed through the facts and by the testimony of an honorable man, that the Court of Rome, in turn, has just deauthorized it, putting the Plurality of the Existences of the Soul in the index, by Pezzani (Journal le Monde, June 22^nd, 1866). Such a measure will inevitably have the effect of drawing attention to the issue, provoking its analysis. The plurality of the existences is not a simple philosophical opinion; it is a law of nature that no anathema can preclude from existing, and with which, sooner or later, theology will have to agree with. It is a certain excess to hasten to condemn a law, in the name of the Divinity, a law that like every other that rule the world, is the work of the Divinity.

We are afraid that it will soon happen to this condemnation the same that happened to the ones that were cast upon the movement of Earth and its periods of formation. The following communication was obtained in the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, on June 22^nd, 1866 by the medium Mr. Desliens.

Question – Mr. Méry, we did not have the privilege of knowing you but knew your reputation; your talents and the deserved esteem that surrounded you lead us to the expectation of finding, in the conversations we are going to have with you, one instruction that we will happily take advantage of, every time you want to come to us. The questions that today we would like to address you with, if the short time after your death allows you to respond, are these:

1^st – How did your passage take place from this life to the other, and what were your impression when entering the spiritual world?

2^nd – Did you know Spiritism when alive? What did you think about it?

3^rd – Is what they say about your previous existences correct? Which influence those memories had on your earthly life and your writings? We believe to be superfluous to ask if you are happy in your new position. The goodness of your character and your honorability allow us to expect that.

Answer: Gentlemen, I am extremely touched by the testimony of sympathy that you have just give me, contained in the words of your honorable President. I am happy to attend your call, because my current condition assures me of the reality of a teaching whose intuition I carried from birth, and also because you think about what is left of Méry, the novelist, and in the future of my living and intimate part, in my soul finally, whereas my many friends, when they left me, they thought, above all, in the personality that had just abandoned them. They said their last good-bye, wishing that earth was light to me! What is left of Méry to them? A little bit of dust, and books whose merit I am not called to pronounce about… Not a word about my new life!

They remembered by theories like one of the singularities of my character; the imposition of my convictions like a magnetic effect, an enchantment that would disappear with my absence; but the Méry that survived the body, this intelligent being that today is conscious of his life of yesterday, and that who thinks about his life of tomorrow, what have they said?... Nothing!... He did not even think… The joyful novelist, sometimes so happy, sometimes so sad, departed; they gave him a teardrop, a memory! Eight days from now and they will no longer think of him, and the experiences of war will make them forget the return of the poor exile to his homeland.

Insensible! Long ago they said: “Méry is sick; he is weaking; he is getting old.” How mistaken!... I was moving towards youth, believe me; it is the child that cries when entering life that advances to the old age; the mature man that dies meets again with the eternal youth beyond the grave!

Death was an ineffable sweetness to me! My poor body, worn out by the disease, had a few final convulsions and nothing else, but my Spirit bit by bit left its diapers and floated, still prisoner, already aspiring for the infinity!... I was freed without trouble, disturbance; I had no surprises because the tomb no longer had any veil to me. I got to a known place; I knew that devoted friends were waiting for me in that shore, for it was not the first time that I had travelled that path.

As I used to tell my surprised audience, I knew the Rome of the Caesars; I commanded, as a subordinate conqueror, in this Gaul that I recently inhabited as a citizen; I helped to conquer your country, to enslave your proud predecessors, then I left to recharge my forces in the source of intellectual life, to choose new trials and new means of progress. I have seen the riverbanks of Ganges, and those of the rivers in China; I have assimilated those civilizations, so different from yours, and yet so great, so advanced in their kind. I lived in the scorching hot zone and in the temperate climates, I studied habits here and there, warrior, poet, writer, and philosopher in turn, a dreamer always…



This last life to me was like a summary of all the preceding ones. I recently acquired; just yesterday I was spending the treasures of observations and studies, accumulated over a series of existences. Yes, I was a Spiritist by heart and mind, if not by reason. Pre-existence was a fact to me, reincarnation a law, Spiritism a truth. As for the matters of detail, I confess in good faith to have not cared about much. I believed in the survival of the soul, in the plurality of the existences, but never tried to investigate it the soul could, after having left the mortal body, free, maintain relationships with those that are still bonded to the chain. Ah Victor Hugo said it right: “Earth is nothing other than the galleys of the sky!” We sometimes break our chains, but to take it back. We only get out of here, of course, by leaving it up to our guards to untie the links that bond us to the trial, when the time is right.

I am happy, very happy, because I have the conscience of having lived well!

Forgive me, gentlemen, it is still Méry, the dreamer, speaking with you, and allow me to come back to a meeting in which I feel at ease. There must be something to learn from you, and if you wish to receive me among your invisible listeners, I will be gladly among you, listening, learning, and speaking if the occasion presents itself.

Identity of the Spirits in Private Meetings


Why the Spirits evoked by a feeling of affection, many times refuse to provide with incontestable proofs of their identity? It is understandable the whole value associated to the identity from the part of the Spirits that are dear to us. Such a feeling is very natural, and it seems that for the fact that the Spirits can communicate it must be very easy for them to attest their personality. The lack of material proof, to certain persons and even more so to those that do not know the mechanism of mediumship, that is, the law of relationships between Spirits and men, it is a cause of painful uncertainty. Although we have already treated this question several times, we will examine it again, to respond to some questions that are addressed to us.

We have nothing to add to what has been said about the identity of the Spirits that come exclusive for our instruction, and that had left Earth some time ago. We know that it cannot be attested in absolute terms, and that we must limit ourselves to judging the value of the language.

The identity cannot be verified with certainty except for Spirits that departed recently, whose character and habits reflect from their words. For those, the identity is revealed in a thousand details. The proof, sometimes, sticks out from material, characteristic facts, but more frequently from nuances of the language itself and a number of little details that, although not much evident, are not less significant.

Communications of this kind often contain more proofs than one think, and that we discover with more attention and less prevention. Most of the time, unfortunately, people are not satisfied with what the Spirit wants or can give; they want proof their own way; ask them to say this or do that; that they remember a name or a fact, and that in a given time, without thinking about the obstacles that sometimes oppose to that, and paralyze their good will. Then, after obtaining what they wished, they frequently want more. They think that it is not concluding enough; after one fact, they request another, and another. In short, they never have enough to be convinced. It is when the Spirit, often fatigued by such insistence, stops completely communicating, expecting that the conviction will come by other means. But very often also, their abstention is imposed by a superior will, as a punishment to the very demanding claimer, and also as a test to his faith, because if after a few disappointments and the failure to obtain what he wants and by the way he wants, if he ended up abandoning the Spirits, these in turn would abandon him, leaving him overwhelmed by his anguishes and in the tortures of doubt, fortunate when his abandonment does not have more serious consequences.

However, in a number of cases, the material proofs of identity are independent from the will of the Spirit and the desire that the Spirit has to provide them. This is due to the nature or to the state of the instrument through which the Spirit communicates. There is an infinite variety of nuances in the mediumistic faculty that make the medium apt or improper for the obtainment of these or those effects, that at first sight seem identical, but that depend on different fluidic influences. The medium is like an instrument of many strings, who cannot emit sound through missing cords.

Here a remarkable example:

We know a medium that may be placed among those of first order, as much for the nature of the instructions that he receives as for the skills in communicating with almost all Spirits, without distinction. Time and again, in private evocations, he received irrefutable proofs of identity, by reproducing the language and character of persons that he had never known. Some time ago he made an evocation, for a person that had just suddenly lost several children, evoking one of the last ones, a girl. The communication reflected the character of the girl perfectly and was even more satisfactory because it responded to a question of the father about her position as a Spirit. However, those were only psychological proofs, in a way. The father thought that another child could have responded the same thing; he wanted something that only the daughter could say; he was surprised, above all, for the fact that she called him father, instead of the family nickname that she gave him, and that was not a French name, considering that if she said one word she could also say the other. Having the father asked the reason why, here is the response given by the guide of the medium about it:

“Although entirely detached, your little child would not have the conditions to make you understand, because she cannot make the medium repeat the terms that are familiar to you in the transmission. She obeys a law, when communicating, but she does not understand it sufficiently to explain its mechanism. Mediumship is a faculty whose nuances vary to infinity, and the mediums that typically handle philosophical matters, only rarely obtain, and always spontaneously, these particularities that allow the positive identification of the personality of the Spirit. When mediums of that kind request a proof of identity, with the desire of satisfying the evoker, the cerebral fibers of the medium become tense due to the desire and are no longer flexible enough for the Spirit to move them at will. It follows that characteristic words cannot be reproduced. The thought remains, but the form no longer exists. There isn’t, therefore, anything strange in the fact that your daughter called you father, instead of providing you with the familiar qualification that you expected. Through a special medium you will obtain results that will satisfy you. All that is needed is patience.”

After a few days, that gentleman was in a group of one of our members, and obtained by tiptology and in the presence of the first medium, not only the name that he wanted, and without having asked for that in particular, but also other facts of remarkable accuracy. Thus, the faculty of the first medium, however developed and flexible it was, was not adequate to this kind of mediumistic production. He could reproduce the words that are the translation of the transmitted thought, and not the terms that require special work. For that reason, the whole communication reflected the character and the disposition of ideas of the Spirit, but without characteristic material signs. A given medium is not the appropriate mechanism to every effect. As we cannot find two persons that are physically and psychologically identical, there aren’t two mediums whose faculties are identical.

It is noticeable that the proofs of identity almost always come spontaneously, at the time when one thinks the least about it, whereas they are rarely given when requested. A caprice from the part of the Spirit? No; there is a material cause, as follows:

The fluidic dispositions that establish the relationships between the Spirit and the medium offer nuances of extreme subtleness, unappreciable by our senses and that vary from a moment to the next in the same medium. Often, an effect that is not possible at a given time, will be in one hour, one day or a week later, because the dispositions or the energy of the fluidic currents would have changed. It happens here what happens in photography, in which a simple variation of light direction or intensity is enough to favor or preclude the reproduction of the image. Does a poet create verses at will? No. He needs inspiration; if he is not in favorable conditions, however much he digs up the brain nothing will be obtained. Ask him why. In the evocations, when the Spirit is left at ease, he makes use of the disposition that he finds in the medium, taking advantage of the appropriate moment. But when these dispositions do not exist, he cannot do better than the photographer with the absence of light. Despite his desire, therefore, he cannot always instantaneously satisfy a request for proofs of identity. That is why it is preferable to wait for them instead of requesting them.

Besides, one must consider that the fluidic relationships that must exist between the Spirit and the medium never establish completely since the first time, for the assimilation only happens gradually and with time. From that it follows that, initially, the Spirit always has a difficulty that influences the clarity, accuracy and development of the communications, whereas when the Spirit and the medium are used to one another, when their fluids are identified, the communications happen naturally, because there is no more resistance to overcome.

That shows how many considerations must be given to the analysis of the communications. It is for not doing it, and for not knowing the laws that rule those types of phenomena that frequently the impossible is demanded. It is absolutely like someone that did not know the laws of electricity and became surprised that the telegraph could experience variations and interruptions, then concluding that electricity does not exist.

The fact of verification of identity of certain Spirits is an accessory, in the vast universe of results that Spiritism encompasses. If such verification were impossible, it would not pass a prejudgment against the manifestations in general, nor against the moral consequences that derive from them. One would have to feel sorry for those that precluded themselves from the consolations that they give, for the fact that they did not get a personal satisfaction, for this would be the same as sacrificing the whole for the part.

In a provincial group, a Spirit presented with the name “Saint Joseph, saint, three times saint”, giving rise to the following question to be framed:

Can a Spirit, even canonized in life, give oneself the qualification of saint, without failing humility, that is one of the appanages of true holiness, and when invoked, agrees that such a title be given? Shouldn’t a Spirit that takes that name, for this reason, be considered suspect?

“You must reject him immediately, for the same would apply to a great captain that would introduce to you pompously, exhibiting his many achievement in arms, before providing his name, or a poet that would start by boasting about his talents. You would see in such words a dislocated pride. That is how it must be with men that had some virtues on Earth and that were considered worthy of canonization. If they present themselves to you with humility, believe in them; if they come preceded by their holiness, thank them and you shall not miss anything. The incarnate is not holy for the fact that he was canonized: Only God is saint because only God enjoys all perfections. Look at the superior Spirits that you know by the sublimity of their teachings. They did not dare call themselves saints; they simply use the qualification Spirits of Truth.”

This answer requires some rectifications. Canonization does not imply holiness in the absolute sense, but only a certain degree of perfection. To some, the qualification of saint became a kind of banal title, becoming an integral part of the name, to distinguish them from their homonyms or given to them by habit. Saint Augustin, Saint Louis, Saint Thomas may, therefore, precede the word to their signature without doing it out of pride, that would be much more dislocated in superior Spirits, because, better than the others, they give no importance to the distinctions conferred by men. It would be the same with the titles of nobility or military ranks. Certainly, the one that was a duke, a prince or a general on Earth, is no longer in the world of the Spirits. Nonetheless, they could use those qualifications in their signatures, without any consequence to their character. Some sign like this: the one that was Duke of something on Earth. The feeling of the Spirit is revealed by the whole set of communications and the unequivocal signs in his language. That is how we cannot be mistaken about someone that starts like this: “Saint Joseph, saint, three times saint”. This is enough to reveal an impostor Spirit, decorated with the name of Saint Joseph. Thus, he could see that, thanks to the knowledge of the principles of the doctrine, his roguery did not find believers in the circle where he wanted to sneak in.

The Spirit that dictated the communication above, is therefore too absolute with respect to the qualification of saint, and is not right when saying that superior Spirits simply call themselves Spirits of truth, a qualification that would not be less than disguised pride with another name, and that could lead to error if taken to the letter, because none can boast about having the absolute truth, nor the absolute holiness.

The qualification of Spirit of Truth belongs to only one and may be considered as a name. It is specified in the Gospel. As a matter of fact, that Spirit communicates rarely and only in special occasions. It is necessary to remain vigilant against those that unduly decorate themselves with such a title. They are easy to recognize by the verbosity and vulgarity of their language.

One of our correspondents from Lyon writes the following to us:

“I was surprised with the fact that the Spirit of Dr. Cailleux was taken into a magnetic state to see his several past existences unfolding before him (Spiritist Review, June 1866). This seems to indicate that the Spirit in question did not know them, because in The Spirits’ Book, I read that “after death, the soul sees and embraces in a glance the picture of his past existences (item 243). Doesn’t this fact seem to indicate a contradiction?”

There isn’t any contradiction there, on the contrary, the fact comes to confirm the possibility for the Spirit to get to know their past existences. The Spirits’ Book is not a complete treaty of Spiritism; it presents the foundations and the fundamental points that must be successively developed by the study and observation. It says that, in principle, the soul sees, after death, its past migrations, but it does not say when and how that takes place. Here the details of application that must be subordinated to the circumstances. It is known that in delayed Spirits the vision is limited to the present, or a bit more, like on Earth. It develops with intelligence and as they acquire conscience of their condition. Moreover, we should not believe that, even when considering advanced Spirits, like Dr. Cailleux, for example, as soon as they enter the spiritual world everything is clearly shown to them, as if in a live change of decoration; that would not be the case even if they constantly had the panorama of space and time before their eyes. As for their previous existences, they see them as a memory, as we see through our thoughts what we did in previous years: the scenes of our infancy, the social positions that we had. That memory is more or less accurate and confusing, sometimes null, according to the state of the Spirit, and according to the judgement of the Providence, if it is convenient to fade or revive it, as a reward, punishment or lesson. It is a big mistake to believe that the aptitudes, the faculties, and perceptions are the same to all Spirits. As with the incarnation, they have moral and what we can call material perceptions, that vary according to the individuals.

If Dr. Cailleux had said that the Spirits cannot know their past existences, this would be a contradiction, for it would be the denial of an admitted principle. Far from that, he affirms the fact; it is only that for him things happened in a different way compared to others, undoubtedly by motives of utility to him, and to us it is a motive of teaching, since it shows us one side of the spiritual world. Mr. Cailleux had died recently; his past existences, therefore, could not be pictured clearly yet in his memory. Let us observe, furthermore, that it was not a simple recollection; it was the actual vision of the individualities that he had animated; the image of his former perispiritual forms presented to him. Now, the magnetic state that he found himself in was probably necessary to produce the phenomenon.

The Spirits’ Book was written in the origin of Spiritism, in a time when we were far from having done all the practical studies that were done later. The posterior observations came to develop and complement the principles, whose germs where cast by that book, and it is worth noticing that even today they have only been confirmed, without ever being contradicted in the fundamental points.

Spiritist Poetry

Prayer for the Spirits

Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, May 4^th, 1866 – medium Mr. V…




I am really touched to see you, dear child,

At my submissive orders, pray while evoking me,

And blame the deceptive logic loudly

And the vain arguments of a proud party,

Who claims that the Spirit performs a duty

Coming to your voice, so happy to be able to,

by obeying the law, leave faster and run away

from the world he inhabits, the boring stay.

Flying away at last, to these borderless shores,

May the shadow and lament of the dead sadden no more.

These are big words and phrases, pompous.

But if he comes to reveal the wonderful beauties,

Unknown worlds, open horizons

Of times, teaching it, in long lessons,

The beginning and the end of your immortal soul,

The greatness of your God, His power, eternal,

His infinite justice and His sublime love,

Noble mocker, be frank: Would you say that in return thereof,

If He ever asks you for a short prayer,

He is too demanding, when on earth, frequently,

To have or pay for a small favor,

He is seeing begging, trampling modesty,

And supplicant for a long time, like a poor beggar,

With a sigh, the bread that should nourish his life, eager!

Oh! believe me, dear child, misfortune! three times misfortune!

To the one who always, forgetting the pain

And the tears of blood of this invisible terrain,

Listening to our voices and unmoved remains,

And don't come to his knees,

Pray for us, to the God of his.

Casimir Delavigne

Muhammad and Islamism

Prayer for the Spirits

Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, May 4^th, 1866 – medium Mr. V…




There are sometimes, opinions in which we believe and that move on to the state of accepted ideas, about people and things, however erroneous they may be, because we believe it to be more convenient to accept them ready and finished. That is the case with Muhammad and his religion, from which one knows almost only the legendary side. The antagonism of beliefs, be it by the spirit of party or ignorance, thought to be appropriate to point out to the points that are more susceptible to criticism, many times and on purpose leaving in the shadow the most favorable parts.

As for the impartial and disinterested public, one must say in their favor that they missed the necessary elements to judge by themselves. The books that could have enlightened them, written in a language only known to scientists, were inaccessible to them; and since the public had no direct interest, they took the word for what they were told, without asking. It resulted that many times people made a false or ridicule idea about the founder of Islamism, based on prejudices that found no contradiction in the discussion.

The perseverant and conscientious works of some wise modern orientalists, such as Caussin de Perceval, in France, Dr. W. Muir, in England, G. Weil and Sprenger, in Germany, today allow the question to be faced by its true prism.^[1] Thanks to them, Muhammad is shown completely different from the popular tales. The considerable place that his religion occupies today in humanity, and its political influence today, make this study a necessity. The diversity of religions was, for a long time, one of the main causes of antagonism among the peoples. At the moment when they have a manifest tendency to come together, making the barrier that separate them disappear, it is useful to know what, in their beliefs, can favor or delay the application of the great principle of universal fraternity. From all religions, Islamism is, at first glance, the one that seems to contain the greatest obstacles to the approximation. From that point of view, as it can be seen, this subject should not be indifferent to the Spiritists, and that is the reason why we believe it to be necessary to be treated here.



We always misjudge a religion when we take our personal beliefs as our exclusive starting point, because then it is difficult to keep ourselves away from a feeling of partiality in the appreciation of the principles. To understand its strong and weak points it is necessary to see it from a more elevated point of view, embracing all its causes and effects. If we refer to the environment where it originated, we will almost always find there, if not a complete justification, at least a reason for being. Above all, it is necessary to penetrate the first thought of the founder and the motives that guided him. Far from us the intention of absolving Muhammad from all his faults, as well as his religion that hurts the most vulgar common sense; but we owe it to the truth that it would also be as little logical to judge that religion based on what fanaticism made out of it, as it would be to judge Christianity for the way some Christians practice it. It is quite certain that if the Muslims followed in spirit the Koran that the Prophet gave them as a guide, they would be, in more than one aspect, quite different from what they are. However, this book, so sacred to them that they only touch it with respect, it is read and read again incessantly; enthusiasts even know it by heart. But how many understand it? The comment it, but from the point of view of preconceived ideas, from which they make it a matter of conscience to deviate; so, they only see what they want to see. In fact, the figurative language allows to find there all that one wants and the priests that, there as elsewhere, rule with a blind faith, do not seek what could bother them. It is not, therefore, the doctors of the law that must be inquired about the spirit of the law of Muhammad.

Christians also have the Gospel, much more explicit than the Koran, as a moral code, something that did not preclude them from torturing and burning thousands of victims, in the name of this very Gospel, converting a law full of charity into a weapon of intolerance and persecution. Can we demand that semi barbaric people make a healthier interpretation of sacred scriptures than civilized Christians do?

To appreciate the works of Muhammad it is necessary to go back to the source, get to know the man and the people he had assigned himself the mission of regenerating, and only then we will understand that for the environment where he lived, his religious code was a real progress.

Let us look at the region first.

In immemorial times, Arabia[2] was inhabited by several tribes, almost all nomadic, eternally at war against each other, supplementing with plunder the little wealth provided by painful work in a scorching climate. The herds were their main resources; some dedicated to commerce made by caravans that originated in the South, going to Syria of Mesopotamia. Since the center of the peninsula was almost inaccessible, the caravans hardly moved away from the coast; the main ones went to Hijaz, a region that forms, in the shores of the Red Sea, a narrow strip of five hundred leagues long, separated from the center by a mountain chain, an extension of that of Palestine. The Arabic word “hidjaz” means barrier, and it was said of the chain of mountains that separate this region from the rest of Arabia. Hijaz and Yemen, to the South, are the most fertile regions; the center is an almost vast desert.

Those tribes had established markets to which all parts of Arabia converged. Common businesses were regulated there; enemy tribes exchanged their war prisoners, and many times resolved their differences by arbitration. Strangely enough, these tribes barbarous as they were, loved poetry. In these meeting places, during their leisure time in the intervals between meetings, there were challenges between the most skillful poets of each tribe. The contest was judged by the crowds and it was a great honor for the tribe to conquer victory. The poetry of exceptional merit was transcribed in golden letters and fixated on the sacred walls of Kaaba, in Mecca, that originated the name “Moudhahabat” or golden poems.

As it took some time to go to these markets and return safely, there was four months in the year when fighting was forbidden, and caravans and travelers could not be disturbed. Fighting in those reserved months was regarded as a sacrilege that resulted in the most terrible retaliations. The check points to the caravans, where there was water and trees, gradually became cities, and the main ones in Hedjaz are Mecca and Yathrib, today Medina.

Most of the tribes claimed to be descendent of Abraham. This patriarch, therefore, was highly considered among them. Their language, given the similarity with Hebrew, truly attested an identity of origin between the Arabic and the Jewish people. But it does no appear less certain that the south of Arabia had its indigenous inhabitants.

Among those populations there was a belief, held to be true, that the famous Zamzam well, in the Mecca valley, was the one that gushed out the angel Gabriel, when Hagar, lost in the desert, was about to die of thirsty with her son Ismael. Tradition also held that Abraham, coming to see his exiled son, had built with his own hands, not far from that well, the Kaaba, a nine-room squared house, nine cubits^[3] high, by thirty two cubits long and thirty two cubits wide. This house, that was religiously maintained, became a place of devotion and a duty to visit, and transformed into a temple. The caravans stopped there naturally, and the pilgrims took advantage of their company to travel more safely. Thus, pilgrimages to Mecca have existed since immemorial times. Muhammad just consecrated them and turned compulsory an already established custom. For that he had a political objective that we will see later.

In one of the external angles of the temple was encrusted the famous black stone, brought from heavens by the angel Gabriel, as it is said, to mark the starting point of the seven turns that the pilgrims must make around the Kaaba. It is claimed that, originally, that stone was dazzlingly white, but it was blackened by the touch of the sinners. In the words of the travelers that saw it, it is not more than six inches high by eight inches long. It would appear that it is a simple piece of basalt, or perhaps an aerolite^[4], that would explain its celestial origin, according to popular beliefs.

Built by Abraham, the Kaaba had no closing door and was at the ground level. It was destroyed by the eruption of a torrent around the year 150 of the Christian era, and reconstructed and elevated above ground level, to have it sheltered from similar incidents. About fifty years later, a tribal chief from Yemen covered it with a precious fabric and had it fitted with a door and a lock, to keep safe the precious gifts constantly accumulated by the pity of the pilgrims.

The veneration of the Arabs for the Kaaba and the territory that surrounded it was so great that they had not dared building houses there. That much respected area, called the Haram, embraced the whole valley of Mecca, whose circumference is about fifteen leagues. The honor of keeping this revered temple was much envied; the tribes competed for it and frequently such attribution was a conquered right. In the fifth century, Cossayy, chief of the Coraychites tribe, fifth predecessor of Muhammad, then became the Lord of Haram, invested of religious and civil power, and had a palace built around the Kaala, allowing those of his tribe to establish there. That is how the city of Mecca was founded. It seems that he was the first one to place a wooden covering on top of the Kaaba. Today the Kaaba is in the area of a Mosque, and Mecca is a city of about forty thousand inhabitants, after having had a hundred thousand, as it is said.

In the beginning, the religion of the Arabs consisted on the adoration of a unique God, whose will man must thoroughly submit to. Such religion, that was that of Abraham, was called Islam, and those that professed it were called Muslims, that is, submitted to the will of God. But, little by little pure Islam degenerated in pure idolatry; each tribe had their own gods and idols that were excessively defended with arms, to demonstrate the superiority of their power. These were frequently the causes or pretexts of long and bitter wars among them. The faith of Abraham had, therefore, disappeared among those peoples, despite the respect that they preserved of his memory, or at least, it had been disfigured so much that, in reality, it no longer existed.

The veneration towards the objects considered sacred had gone down to the most absurd fetishism; the worship of matter had replaced that of the spirit. Supernatural powers were attributed to the most vulgar objects, consecrated by superstition to an image, a statue; having thought abandoned the principle by its symbol, piety became only a serious of meticulous exterior practices, the slightest violation of which was regarded as a sacrilege.

Nonetheless, in certain tribes there were still some worshipers of the only God, men of piety that practiced the most complete submission to the supreme will and condemned the cult of the idols. They were called Hanyfes. These were the true Muslims, that had preserved the pure faith of Islam. But they were in small numbers and had little influence upon the minds of the masses.

Long ago Jewish colonies had established in the Hejaz and had conquered a certain number of proselytes to Judaism, mainly among the Hanyfes. Christianity also had its representatives and propagators there in the first centuries of our era, but neither of these beliefs produced profound and lasting roots there. Idolatry had become the dominant religion. It suited better for its diversity, turbulent independence, and the infinite division of tribes, that practiced it with the most violent fanaticism. To triumph over this political and religious anarchy it was necessary a man of genius, capable of imposing himself by his energy and determination, skillful enough to take into account the social mores and character of those peoples, and whose mission was raised to their eyes by the prestige of his qualities of prophet. That man was Muhammad.

Muhammad was born in Mecca, on August 27^th, 570 of the Christian era, in the so called year of the elephant. He was not, as commonly thought, a man of obscure condition. On the contrary, he belonged to a powerful and considered family of the Coraychite tribe, one of the most important in Arabia and one that then dominated in Mecca. He comes down from a direct line of Ismael, son of Abraham and Agar. His last predecessors, Cossayy, Abd-Menab, Hachim and Abd-el-Moutalib, his grandfather, had distinguished themselves by excellent qualities and high functions that they had fulfilled. His mother, Amina, was from a noble Coraychite family, and also descended from Cossayy. His father, Abd-Allah, died two months before his birth; he was then raised with much love by his mother that left him orphan when he was six years old; then by his grandfather Abd-el-Moutalib who loved him very much and often liked to predict high destinies for him; he died two years later. Despite the position that his family had occupied, Muhammad spent his infancy and youth much close to misery; his mother had left him, as the only inheritance, a flock of sheep, five camels and a faithful black slave, that had taken care of him and to whom he maintained a strong attachment. After the death of his grandfather, he was taken in by his uncles whose flocks he shepherded until the age of twenty; he also followed them in their fighting expeditions against other tribes; however, being of a kind a pacific mood, he did not take an active part in them, without, however, fleeing or being afraid of danger, limiting himself to collect the arrows. When he reached to heights of his glory, he liked to remember that Moses and David, both prophets, had also been shepherds like him.

He had a meditative and dreamy spirit; his character was a premature strength and maturity, of extreme righteousness, of a perfect selflessness and irreproachable morals, that gave his comrades such a trust in him that he was nicknamed El-Amin, “the sure man, the faithful man”. Although young and poor, he was summoned to the assemblies of the tribe for the most important businesses. He took part of an association formed by the most important Coraychite families, to prevent disorders of war, protect the weak and making them do justice. He always prided himself for having contributed with that, and in the last years of his life he always saw himself bound by the oath he had taken on this subject in his youth. He used to say that he was always ready to respond to the appeal of the most obscure man in the name of that oath, and that he did not want, even for the most beautiful horses of Arabia, to fail in the faith that he had sworn. By this oath, the associates swore, before a vengeful deity, that they would take the defense of the oppressed, and that they would seek the punishment of the guilty, as long as there was a drop of water in the ocean.

Physically, Muhammad was a little above average height, of strong built; his head was large; his physiognomy was pleasant, but not beautiful; he had an air of calm and tranquility, marked by a smooth seriousness.

At the age of twenty-five he married his cousin Khadidja, a rich widow that was at least fifteen years older than him; he conquered her trust for the intelligence and integrity with which he had conducted in one of his caravans. She was a superior woman. It was a constantly happy marriage that only ended with her death at the age sixty-four. Muhammad was then forty-nine years old and that loss was the cause of profound pain to him. His habits changed after Khadida’s death. He married several women; he had twelve or thirteen legitimate marriages, leaving nine widows after his death. This was, incontestably, a capital mistake, whose consequences we will see later.

Until he was forty years old, nothing sticks out from his pacific life. There was only one single fact that brought him out of obscurity. He was then thirty fives years old. The Coraychites decided to rebuild the Kaaba that risked collapsing. It took a lot of work to appease the differences that arouse from family rivalries, through a division of work for their desired participation. Those conflicts reappeared with extreme violence when time had come to reinstall the famous black stone. Nobody wanted to yield to their rights. The works had been interrupted and they rushed to arms from all sides. They agreed on a proposal by the oldest man to rely on the decision of the first person that would come into the room of deliberations: it was Muhammad. When they saw him, everybody shouted: “El Amin”, “El Amin” – the firm and faithful man; they waited for his assessment. By his presence of mind, he resolved the issue. He spread his mantle on the ground and placed the stone on it, then asked the four main chiefs of tribes to each hold a corner of the mantle and raise it, all together, up to the height that the stone should occupy, that is four or five feet above ground. He then took it and placed it with his own hands. The assistants declared satisfied and peace was restored.

Muhammad liked to walk around Mecca, and every year, during the sacred months of truce, he used to retire to mount Hira, in a small cave, where he indulged in meditation. He was forty years old when in one of his retreats he had a vision in his sleep. The angel Gabriel appeared to him, showing him a book that he was advised to read. Muhammad resisted that order three times, only agreeing to read to escape the embarrassment that he felt. When he woke up, he felt, he said, that “a book had been written in his heart.” The meaning of this expression is obvious. It means that he had received the inspiration of a book. Later, however, it was taken literally, as it often happens to things that are said in figurative language.

Another event demonstrates to what errors of interpretation ignorance and fanaticism may lead. Somewhere in the Koran, Muhammad says: “Have we not opened your heart and lifted the burden from your shoulders?” These words, related to an accident that happened when Muhammad was still a boy, gave rise to a fable propagated among the believers and taught by the priests, as a miraculous fact, that two angels opened the belly of the child and removed a black spot from his heart, a sign of the original sin. Should Muhammad be accused for this absurd or those that did not understand him?

So, it is with a host of ridiculous tales on which he is accused of having based his religion. That is why we do not hesitate to say that an enlightened and impartial Christian is better able to give a sound interpretation of the Koran than a fanatic Muslim.

Be that as it may, Muhammad was profoundly disturbed by his vision, that he promptly told his wife. On returning to mount Hira, in a very agitated state, he thought to be possessed by evil Spirits and to avoid the danger he dreaded he would jump from the top of a rock, when he heard a voice that seemed to come from heavens, that said: “O Muhammad, you are the messenger of God; I am the angel Gabriel!” Then, he raised his eyes and saw the angel, in a human form, that gradually disappeared in the horizon. That new sight only increased his confusion. He told Khadidja who tried to calm him down; but, unsure herself, she sought her cousin Varaka, an old man, famous for his wisdom and converted to Christianity who said to her: “If what you are telling me is true, your husband was visited by the great Nâmous, that once visited Moses, and he will be a prophet to this people. Announce it to him and calm him down.” Sometime later Varaka, having met Muhammad, had him telling his visions, and repeated the words he said to his wife, adding: “They will treat you as an impostor and will chase you away; they will fight you violently. May I live up to that time so that I can assist you in that struggle!”

What results from this and many other facts is that Muhammad’s mission was not a premeditated calculation from his part; it was confirmed by others before it was confirmed by him. It took him a long time to be convinced, but from the time he was persuaded he took it very seriously. He wished for a new apparition o the angel to be convinced, and that took two years according to some, and six months, according to others. This interval of uncertainty and hesitation is called “fitreh” by the Muslims. During that whole period his mind was taken by the liveliest perplexities and tremors. He thought he was about to lose his mind and that was also the opinion of some of those around him. He was subjected to lapses and syncop that modern writers, without other proofs beyond their personal opinion, attributed to epileptic attacks and that could rather be effect of an ecstatic, cataleptic or spontaneous somnambulistic state. In these moments of extracorporeal lucidity, as it is known, strange phenomena were frequently produced, phenomena that Spiritism perfectly accounts for.

To the eyes of certain persons, he would be crazy; others saw in those phenomena, singular to them, something of supernatural that placed man above humanity. When the action of the Providence is admitted in human affairs, says Mr. Barthelemy Sainte-Hilaire (page 102), one must not refuse to find it in these dominating intelligences that appear from time to time to enlighten and guide the rest of men.”

The Koran is not a book written by Muhammad with a cool head and in a continual manner, but the register made by his friends of the words he said when he was inspired. In those moments, in which he was not the master, he fell on an extraordinary and scary state; sweat flown from his forehead; hi eyes turned bloody red; he moaned and the crises often ended by a syncope that lasted more or less long, and that sometimes happened amidst the crowd, and even when riding his camel or at home. The inspiration was irregular and instantaneous, and he could not foresee when he would be seized.

From what we know today of this state, from a number of analogous examples, it is likely that, particularly in the beginning, he was not aware of what he said, and that if his word had not been collected, they would have been lost. Later, however, when he took the role of reformer seriously, it is obvious that he spoke with more knowledge of cause, and that he had mixed the product of his own thoughts with the inspirations, according to the places and circumstances, the passions or feelings that agitated him, given the objective that wanted to achieve, perhaps in good faith believing that he spoke in the name of God.

These detached fragments, collected at various times, adding up to 114, form in the Koran the chapters called “suratas”. They remained scattered during his life, and only after his death is that they were gathered in an official body of doctrine, by the care of Abu-Becr and Omar. From those sudden inspirations, collected as they occurred, resulted an absolute lack of order and method. The most diverse subject matters are treated there without any order, sometimes in the same surata, and present such a confusion and numerous repetitions that a sequential reading is painful and tedious, to whoever that is not a faithful.

According to the vulgar belief, which has become an article of faith, the pages of the Koran were written in heaven and brought ready-made to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel, because in a passage it is said: "Your Lord is mighty and merciful, and the Koran is a revelation from the master of the universe. The faithful Spirit (the angel Gabriel) brought it from above, and placed it in your heart, O Muhammad, that you may become an apostle.” Muhammad expresses himself in the same way with regard to the book of Moses and the Gospel; he says (sura III, verse 2): “He sent down the Pentateuch and the Gospel from above, to serve as guidance for men”; Meaning by that that these two books had been inspired by God to Moses and to Jesus, as He had inspired him the Koran.

His first sermons were secret for two years, and in that period he was associated to about fifty followers among family and friends. The first ones converted to the new faith were Khadidja, his wife, Ali, his adopted child for ten years, Zeid Varaka and Abu-Becr, his closest friend that should be his successor. He was forty-three years old when he started preaching publicly, and from that moment on the prediction made by Varaka came true. His religion, founded on the unity of God and the reform of certain abuses, and being the collapse of idolatry and of those that lived on that, the Corayshites, guardians of the Kaaba and the national cult, rose up against him. First, they treated him as deranged; then they accused him of sacrilege and stirred up the people. He was persecuted and the persecution became so violent that his followers had to seek refuge in the Abyssinia on two occasions. Nevertheless, he always opposed the attacks with calm, cold-blood, and moderation. His sect grew and his adversaries, seeing that they could not eliminate it by force, decided to discredit it by slander. He was not spared by mockery and ridicule. As it was seeing, there were many poets among the Arabs; they handled satire very well and their verses were read with eagerness. It was the means employed by malevolent criticism, and they did not fail to use it against him. Since he resisted it all, his enemies finally resourced to a plot to kill him, and he just escaped the danger that threatened him by fleeing. It was when he sought refuge in Yathrib, later called Medina (Medinet-en-Nabi, the city of the prophet), in 622, and the Hegira or the era of the Muslims dates from that time. He had sent all of his followers from Mecca to that city, in anticipation and in small groups to avoid suspicion, being the last one to leave with Abu-Becr and Ali, his most devoted disciples, when he learned that the others were safe.

At that time a new phase begins in the life of Muhammad. From a simple prophet that he was, he was forced to become a warrior.

(continues in the next issue)

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[1] Mr. Barthélemy Saint-Hilaire, from the Institute, summarized these works in an interesting book entitled Muhammad and the Koran, I volume in-12, price 3.5 francs, Didier Bookstore.


[2] The name Saud Arabia was established in 1932 only (T.N.)


[3] One cubit is equivalent to about 45 cm. It is one of the oldest units of measurement, based on the distance between the elbow and the tip of the fingers.




[4] A stony meteorite (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, T.N.)

There are sometimes,

A work entitled The Prophets of the Past, by Mr. Barbey d'Aurévilly, contains the praise of Joseph de Maistre and Bonald, because they remained ultramontane^[1] all their life, while Chateaubriand is blamed and Lamennais insulted and presented in a hateful manner. The following passage shows the mindset in which the book was conceived.

“In this world, where the spirit and the body are united by an indissoluble mystery, the corporeal punishment has its spiritual reason of being, because man is not responsible for duplicating the creation. Now, instead of burning the writings of Luther, whose ashes fell on Europe like a seed, if they had burned Luther himself the world would be saved, at least for a century. Burned Luther, they will scream, but I am not essentially attached to the stake, as long as the error is suppressed in its momentary manifestation and in its continuous manifestation, that is, the man that said it and wrote it and that calls it the truth. It is too much for the lambs of anarchy that only freedom bleats! A man of genius, the most positive since Machiavelli, and that was not absolutely Catholic, but on the contrary, somewhat liberal, used to say with the brutality of a necessary decision: “My policy is that of killing two men when necessary to save three.” Well, killing Luther it would not be three saved to the price of two; it would be thousands of men to the price of only one. Moreover, there is more than saving the blood of men, there is respect to the conscience and intelligence of mankind. Luther distorted both. Then, when there is a teaching and a social faith – it was Catholicism then – it is necessary to protect and defend it or perish one day or another as a society. Hence the courts and institutions to identify crimes against faith and teachings. The inquisition is, therefore, a logical necessity of any society.”

If the principles that we have just mentioned were not more than the personal opinion of the author, they would not need more concern than many other eccentricities, but he does not speak in his name only, and the party for which he is the spokesperson does not reproach him, giving at least a tacit approval. As a matter of fact, this is not the first time that these doctrines are preconized publicly in our days, and it is very certain that still today they constitute the opinion of a certain class of people. If people are not touched enough it is because society has much conscience of its strength to be afraid.

Everybody understands that such anachronisms are harmful, before anything else, to those that practice them, because the dig up a more profound abyss between past and present; enlighten the masses and keep them alert.

As it can be seen, the author does not disguises his thoughts and is not cautionary on his speech; here he goes straight to the point, without subterfuges: “Luther should have been burnt; all the authors of heresies should have been burnt for the greater glory of God and for the salvation of religion.” He is clear and precise.

It is sad that a religion has such an expedient as the basis of its authority and stability; it is a demonstration of little confidence in its moral ascendency. If its basis is the absolute truth, it must challenge all the contrary arguments; like with the Sun, it must suffice to show up to dissipate darkness. Every religion that comes from God has nothing to fear from the caprice or malice of men; its strength comes from reasoning, and if a man had the power to overthrow it, it would be one of two things, either that it would not be the work of God or that man would be more logical than God, so that his arguments would prevail against those of God.

The author would rather have burnt Luther than his books, because, he says, their ashes fell on Europe like a seed. He agrees, therefore, that the auto-da-fé of the books benefit more than harm the idea that one wants to destroy. This is a great and profound truth attested by experience. Thus, burn the man seems more efficient to him, because, in his opinion, it is to stop the evil at the source. But, does he believe that the ashes of the man are less fecund than those of the books? Has he given any thought to all the offspring produced by four hundred thousand heretics burnt by the Inquisition, not accounting for the even greater number of those that perished in other tortures? Burnt books only give ashes but human victims yield blood that produce indelible stains that fall on those who spill it. It was that blood that fed the fever of incredulity that torments our century, and if the faith is extinguished, it is because they wanted to cement it by blood and not by the love of God. How to love a God that has his children burnt? How can we believe in his goodness if the smoke of the victims is an incense that pleases him? How to believe in his infinite power if he needs the arm of man to make his authority prevail by destruction?

It is not religion, they will say, but abuse. In fact, if this were the essence of Christianity three would be nothing to envy Paganism, even regarding human sacrifice, and the world would not have gained much with the exchange. Yes, it is certainly abuse; but when the abuse is the works of leaders that have authority, that turn it into a law and present it as the most holy orthodoxy, it is not surprising that the poorly educated masses will later on confound everything in the same disapproval. However, it was precisely the abuse that gave rise to the reforms, and those that advocated them are reaping what they sowed.

It is remarkable that ninety percent of the three hundred and sixty something sects that divided Christianity since its origin had the objective of coming closer to the principles of the Gospels, from which it is rational to conclude that if they had not distanced themselves from them, these sects would not have been formed. Which weapons were used? Always by iron, fire, proscriptions, and persecutions. Sad and poor means of convincing! It was in blood that we wanted to suffocate them. In the absence of reasoning, force may overpower individuals, destroy, and disperse them, but it cannot annihilate the idea. That is why we see them reappearing incessantly, with some variants, with other names and other leaders.

The author of this book, as we saw, is in favor of heroic remedies. However, since he is afraid that the idea of burning may lead to “screaming” in our century, declaring “I am not essentially attached to the stake, as long as the error is suppressed in its momentary manifestation and in its continuous manifestation, that is, the man that said it and wrote it and that calls it the truth.” Thus, as long as the man disappears, it does not matter how.

We know that resources are not lacking; the end justifies the means. So much for the manifestation of the moment; but to have the error destroyed in its continuous manifestation, it is necessary to eliminate all the followers that are not willing to surrender willingly. We can see that this takes us far. Moreover, if the means is hard, it is infallible to get rid of any opposition.

Such ideas, in the present century, can only be imports and reminisces of previous existences. As for the lambs bleating freedom, that is an anachronism, a memory of the past. In fact, in the past the lambs could only bleat, but today the lambs became rams; they no longer bleat freedom: they take it.

However, let us see if burning Luther, they would have stopped the movement of which he had been the instigator. The author does not seem to be quite sure about it, since he says: “The world was saved, at least for a century.” A century of respite, that is all that would have been gained! And why? Here is the answer:

If the reformers only expressed their personal opinions, they would reform absolutely nothing at all because they would not find echoes. A man alone is powerless to move the masses if the masses are inert and do not feel any fiber vibrating in them. It is noticeable that the great social renovations never arrive suddenly; like volcanic eruptions, they are preceded by precursor symptoms. The new ideas germinate, boil in many heads; society is agitated by a kind of frisson, that has it in the expectation of something. That is the time when the true reformers arrive, that are then seeing not as a representative of an individual idea, but of a vague, collective idea to which the reformer gives a precise and concrete shape, and he only succeeds because he finds the minds ready to receive it.

That was the position of Luther. But Luther was neither the first nor the only promoter of the reform. Before him there were apostles like John Wycliffe, Jean Huss, Jerome of Prague. The two latter ones were burnt by the order of the Council of Constance; the Hussites were persecuted after a ferocious war, defeated, and massacred. The men were destroyed but not the idea that was later retaken with another form and modified in some details by Luther, Calvino, Zwingli, and others, from what we can conclude that if Luther had been burnt this would not have served any purpose, and not even given a century of break because the idea of reform was not only in Luther’s mind, but in thousands of others, from which men were to emerge, capable of sustaining it. It would have been only one more crime, without benefit to the cause that had provoked it. This is so much true that when a current of ideas crosses the world, nothing can stop it.

By reading those words, one would believe that they were written during the fever of religious wars, and not in times when doctrines are judged with the calm of reason.

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[1] Advocating supreme Papal authority in matters of faith and discipline (T.N.)

“L’Evenement” from February 19^th contains the following article:

“Strange and still inexplicable events took place last year in Auxerre, shaking the population. The followers of Spiritism saw in them manifestations of their doctrine, and the clergy considered them as new examples of possession. They spoke of exorcism, as if returned to the beautiful times of the Ursulines of Loudun. The person in the center of all that uproar was Cantianille B… A priest from the Cathedral of Sens, Father Thorey, authorized by his bishop, witnessed those apparent breaches of the natural laws. Today that priest publishes the result of his observations with the title Marvelous Relationships of Mrs. Cantianille B… with the Supernatural World. He brings us a proof of his work and we gladly point out to a passage that is curious on various aspects.

In the preface, after having exposed the plan of the book, the author adds:

May the reader, after browsing these pages, do not rush their judgement. These facts will undoubtedly seem incredible to you, but I beg you to remember that both, Cantianille and I, have affirmed the truthfulness of these facts under oath. In the report below there is no exaggeration or invented at will; everything there is perfectly accurate. Besides, those events, those prodigious manifestations of the superior world, repeat everyday and every time I wish, and we ask not to be believed based on our simple statement. On the contrary, we insistently ask to have them studied; that competent men may meet with the sole wish of truth and prepared to seek it with loyalty. All these marvelous things will be reproduced before their eyes and as many times are necessary to convince them. We commit ourselves.

May the Spirits with broad ideas consider this book as good news!

In the book Mrs. Cantianille B… tells how she became a member and president of a society of Spirits in 1840, during her passage through a religious monastery: - Ossian, a Spirit of second order, came to pick me up in the monastery, as usual, and I soon saw myself transported to the middle of a meeting. He placed me on a throne where my apparition was welcomed by the nosiest applause. They made me take the ordinary oath: - I swear to offend God through all possible means and do not step back before anything to make hell defeat heavens. I love Satan. I hate God. I want the fall of heavens and the kingdom of hell!...



After that, each one came to congratulate and encourage me, to be strong before the trials that I had to go through. I promised.

Those screams, that uproar, the interest of each one, the music and the rays of light that illuminated the room, everything electrified me, intoxicated me!... I then screamed in a strong voice: - I am ready; I am not afraid of your trials; go and see if I am worthy to be among you.

Soon the noise stopped, the light disappeared. – Go, said a voice. I moved without hesitation through a narrow corridor, for I felt each side as a strong wall, and those walls seemed to get closer and closer. I thought I would be smashed, and I became terrified. I wanted to go back but at the same time I felt on Ossian’s arms. He exerted such a strong pressure upon my whole body that I screamed. – Shut up, he said, or you are dead. Danger brought my courage back… No, I will not shout any more, I will not back down.

And making a superhuman effort I cover that corridor like a bolt, that became narrower and darker at every step. Despite my efforts, my fear redoubled, and I would perhaps flee, when suddenly earth gave way under my feet and I fell on an abyss whose depth I could not appreciate. I was momentarily stunned by that fall, without being discouraged though. An infernal thought had just crossed my mind. – Ah they want to terrify me!... They will see if I am afraid of demons… I then stood up to seek an exit. But then… flames showed up from all sides!... They approached me as if to burn me… and amidst that fire the Spirits screaming, howling, so terrifying!

-What do you want from me? I asked Ossian.

-I want you to be the president of our association… I want you to help us hate God; I want you to swear to be ours, for us and with us, everywhere and forever!

As soon as I promised that, the fire was suddenly out.

-Do not run away from me, he said, I bring you happiness and greatness. Look.

I saw myself surrounded by the associates, in the middle of the room that they had decorated even more in my absence. A sumptuous feast was served. Then, I was given the place of honor, and in the end, when everybody was warmed by the wine and liquors, and super excited by the music, I was appointed president.

The one that had delivered me pointed out, in a few words, the courage that I had shown in those terrible trials, and amidst a thousand bravos, I accepted the fatal title of president. I was, therefore, heading thousands of people that were attentive to the minor signal. I only had one thought: deserve their trust and submission. Unfortunately, I was too successful.”

The author is right when he says that the followers of Spiritism may see manifestations of their doctrine in these facts. That is because, in fact, Spiritism for those that studied it elsewhere, and not in the school of Messrs. Davenport and Robin, is a revelation of a new principle, a new law of nature, that gives us the reason for something that, in the absence of a better explanation, was conventionally attributed to imagination. That principle is in the extra corporeal world, intimately connected with our existence. The one that does not admit the individual soul, and independent from matter, rejecting the a priori cause, cannot understand its effects. However, these effects jump incessantly before our eyes, innumerable and positive.



Following them step by step in their succession, one can get to the source. That is what Spiritism does, always proceeding through observation, going back from the effect to the cause, and never through a preconceived theory.

This is a point of paramount importance, on which we cannot stress enough. Spiritism has not adopted the existence of the Spirits as a starting point, nor that of the invisible world, as a gratuitous supposition, except to proof that existence later, but on the observation of the fact, and from the observed facts it concluded the theory. Such observation led it not only to acknowledge the existence of the soul as a principal being, since the intelligence and sensations reside in it and it survives the body, but also that phenomena of a particular order take place in the sphere of activities of the soul, incarnate or discarnate, beyond the perception of the senses. Since the action of the soul is essentially connected to the action of the organism during life, it is a vast and new field of exploration, open to psychology and physiology, and in which science will find what it uselessly seek for so long.

Spiritism, therefore, found a fecund principle, but it does not follow that it can explain everything. The knowledge of the laws of electricity gave the explanation of the effects of lightning. Nobody treated this matter with more know-how and lucidity than Arago, however, in the so common phenomenon of lightning there are effects that he declares, knowledgeable as he is, that he cannot explain, like for example of the forked lightning. Does he deny them, because of that? No, because he has much common sense, and as a matter of fact, one cannot deny a fact. What does he do? He says: Let us observe and wait to be more advanced. Spiritism does not act differently. It confesses ignorance about something that it does not know, and expecting to know, it seeks and observes.

The visions of Mrs. Cantianille belong to that category of questions about which, in a certain way, one can only, until more ample information, try an explanation. We believe to find it in the principle of the fluidic creations by thought.

When the object of the visions is a positive, real thing, whose existence is verified, its explanation is very simple: the soul sees, by the effect of its radiation, what the eyes of the body cannot see. Had Spiritism explained only this, and it would already have lifted the veil of many mysteries. But the issue gets complicated when the visions, like those of Mrs. Cantianille, are purely fantastic. How can the soul see what does not exist? Where do those images come from that for those that see them, they have the thorough appearance of reality? They say it is the effect of imagination. Be it, but these effects have a cause. What does such a power of imagination consist of? How and upon what does it act? If a fearful person hears the noise of mice at night, she is terrified and imagine to hear the steps of thieves; if she takes a shadow or a vague form by a living being that chases her, there we have the true effects of imagination.

But in the visions of the kind that are handled here, there is something else, because it is no longer just a false idea, it is an image with its forms and colors, so clear and accurate that could be drawn. However, they are no more than delusion! Where does it come from? To understand what happens in such circumstance, it is necessary to move away from our exclusively material point of view and penetrate the incorporeal world through our thought; identify ourselves with its nature and the special phenomena that must take place in an environment that is completely different from ours. Down here we are like the spectator that gets surprised by a scenic effect because he cannot understand its mechanism, but if he goes behind the scenes, everything will be understood. Everything is tangible matter in our world; in the invisible world, everything is intangible matter, if we can say so, that is, intangible to us since we can only perceive through material organs, but tangible to the beings of that world, that perceive through spiritual senses.



Everything is fluidic in that world, people and things, and fluidic things are also real there as the material ones are real to us. This is a first principle.

The second principle is in the modifications that thought imprint onto the fluidic element. We can say that it models it at will, as we model some clay and from that we make a statue. The difference is in the fact that since matter is compact and resistant, to manipulate it one needs a strong instrument, whereas the ethereal matter suffers the action of one’s mind, effortlessly. Under such an action, it is susceptible to take all forms and appearances. That is how we see Spirits that are not much dematerialized presenting themselves with objects in their hands that they had when alive; dressing with the same clothes; wearing the same ornaments and taking the same appearance at will. The Queen of Oude, whose communication we published in the Spiritist Review, March 1858 issue, always saw herself with her jewelry and used to say that they had not left her. One thought is enough for that, and frequently they are not aware of the way it happens, as with the living ones that lots of people walk, see, and hear without being able to say how and why. The same happened to the Zouave of Magenta (Spiritist Review, August 1859), that said to wear the same outfit, and when asked where he had gotten it, since it had been left in the battle field, he answered: that is with my tailor.

We cited many facts of that kind, among them the man with the snuffing box (August 1859), and Pierre Legay (November 1864) that paid for his bus ticket. These fluidic creations may, sometimes, take momentarily visible and tangible appearances to the living ones, because, in reality, they are due to a transformation of the ethereal matter. The principle of the fluidic creations seems to be one of the most important laws of the incorporeal world.

By partially enjoying the faculties of a free Spirit in moments of emancipation, the incarnate soul may produce analogous effects. That could be the cause of the so-called fantastic visions. When the Spirit is strongly focused on an idea, its thought may create a corresponding fluidic image, that for him has all the appearances of reality, as in the case of Pierre Legay’s money, although the thing itself does not exist.

That is, undoubtedly, the case that happened to Mrs. Cantianille. As she worried about the descriptions that she had heard being made about hell, the demons and their temptations, the pacts through which they take over the souls, the tortures of the disgraced ones, her thoughts created a fluidic image that was only real to her. We can place the visions of Sister Elmerich in the same category, when affirmed to have seen all the scenes of the Passion, and found the chalice in which Jesus had drunk, as well as other objects similar to the ones used in the present day mass, that certainly did not exist in those days, and that she provided a detailed description. When she said that she had seen all that, she acted in good faith, because she had really seen them, by the eyes of the soul, but a fluidic image, created by her thought.

All visions have their principle in the perceptions of the soul, as the corporeal sight has its own in the sensitivity of the optical nerve. But they vary in their cause and objective. The more underdeveloped the soul, the more susceptible it is to create delusion about what it sees. Their imperfections make them susceptible to error. The more dematerialized are those whose perceptions are more expanded and accurate. But however imperfect they may be, these faculties are not less useful to the study.

If this explanation does not offer an absolute certainty, at least it has the evident character of probability. It demonstrates one thing, above all, that the Spiritists are not as credulous as their detractors pretend them to be, and do not agree with everything that seems wonderful. All visions are, therefore, far from being articles of faith to them; but irrespective of what they are, delusion or reality, they are effects that cannot be denied. They have them studied and try to understand them, without the pretension of knowing everything, and explaining everything. They only affirm something when it is demonstrated by evidence, for it would be as much inconsequent to accept everything as it would be to deny it.

Having lost a seven-year-old child, and having become a medium, the mother had that very child as a guide. One day she asked him the following question:

- Dear and beloved son, a Spiritist friend of mine does not understand and does not admit that you can be the spiritual guide of your mother, because she existed before you and, undoubtedly, must have had a guide, even if that was during the time that we were fortunate to have you by our side. Can you give us some explanations?

Answer from the Spirit of the child – Why do you want answers for everything that seems incomprehensible to you? The one that seems the most advanced to you in Spiritism is just in the first steps of the doctrine, and does not know more than this one or that one that seems capable of everything and capable of giving you explanations. I existed much long before my mother, and in another existence, I had an eminent position due to my intellectual capability. But I was taken by an immense pride, and during several consecutive existences I was submitted to the same trial, without being able to succeed, until I got to this life by your side. However, since I was already advanced, my departure should serve your advancement, to you, so much late in the spiritual life. God called me before the end of my career, considering my mission more beneficial to you as a Spirit than as an incarnate.

During my latest staying on Earth my mother had her guardian angel by her side, but temporarily, for God knew that I was supposed to be her spiritual guide, and that I would lead her more efficiently to the path from which she was so much distant. The guide that she had then was called to another mission when I came to take his place by her side. Ask those that you know are more advanced than you if this explanation is logical and good, because it is possible that, being my opinion, I may be mistaken. Finally, this will be clarified if you ask. Many things are still hidden from you and will be clarified later. Do not wish to go too deep because the confusion in your thoughts arises from this constant concern. Be patient, because as with a mirror that gets foggy with a slight breath and clears up bit by bit, your tranquil and calm Spirit will achieve that degree of understanding necessary to your advancement. Courage, then, good parents; march with confidence and one day you will praise the time of the terrible trial that brought you to the path of the eternal happiness, without which you would still have many unfortunate existences to live.





Observation: This boy had a rare premature intelligence for his age. Although in good health, he seemed to foresee his near end. He used to be happy in cemeteries and without ever having heard about Spiritism, in which his parents did not believe, he often asked if, when he was dead, he would be able to come back to the loved ones. He aspired death with happiness and used to say that when he died, his mother should not suffer because he would return to her side. In fact, it was the death of three children in a few days that led the parents to seek consolation in Spiritism. They found plenty of consolation and their faith was rewarded by the possibility of talking to their children all the time because the mother became an excellent medium in a very short time, having her own son as a guide, a Spirit that reveals a great superiority.

Why all mothers that cry for their children and would be happy to communicate with them, cannot do it? Why their vision is denied, even in dreams, despite their wishes and fervent prayers?

Besides the lack of special gift that, as it is known, is not given to everybody, there are sometimes other reasons whose utility the wisdom of Providence appreciates better than we do. Such communications could have inconvenient to highly impressionable individuals; certain persons could abuse them and pledge to them with an excess that would be harmful to their health. Pain, in similar cases, is undoubtedly natural and legitimate; but sometimes it takes to an unreasonable point. Such communications frequently revive the pain in persons of weak character, instead of appeasing them, and for that matter they are not always allowed to receive them, even by other mediums, until they became calmer and controlled to dominate their emotion. The lack of resignation, in such cases, is almost always a cause of delay.

Moreover, it is necessary to say that the impossibility of communicating with the Spirits that we love the most, when we can do it with others, is frequently a test of faith and perseverance, and in certain cases a punishment. The one that has such a favor denied must tell oneself that it is undoubtedly deserved. One must seek the cause in oneself and not attribute it to indifference or forgetfulness of the loved one. Finally, there are temperaments that, despite the moral strength, could suffer through the exercise of mediumship with certain Spirits, even if sympathetic, according to the circumstances.

Let us admire the solicitude of the Providence in everything, watching the minimum details, and let us know to submit to His will without moaning, because the Providence knows better than we do what is useful and what is harmful. It is like a good father that does not give the son everything that he wishes.

The same reasons apply to the dreams. The dreams are the memories of what the soul saw in a state of detachment during the sleep. Now, such a memory may be blocked. But what we do not remember is not lost to the soul, for that fact. The sensations felt during the excursions of the soul, in the invisible world, leave vague impressions when we wake up, and we remember thoughts and ideas, whose origins are many times unsuspected. We could, therefore, have seen the loved ones during the sleep, had spent time with them, but we do not keep the memory. We then say that we did not dream. But, if the bereaved being cannot manifest in any positive way, he or she will not be less close to those that attract them by their sympathetic thoughts. They see and hear their words, and their presence is often guessed through a kind of intuition, an intimate sensation, and sometimes even through certain physical impressions. The certain that the person is not in the void; that is not lost in the depth of space or in the abyss of hell; that the person happier, now free from the corporeal sufferings and the tribulations of life; that they will be seen, after a momentary separation, more beautiful, more resplendent, under their imperishable spiritual envelope, and not under their carnal carapace, that is the immense consolation that is denied by those that believe that everything ends with life; that is what Spiritism gives.

In reality one cannot understand the enchantment that can be found in the idea of the nothingness for oneself and for the loved ones, and in the obstinacy of certain persons in rejecting even the hope that it can be different, and the means of acquiring its proof. Tell an agonizing patient: “Tomorrow you will be cured; you will still live many years, happy and healthy”, and that person will accept the foreboding with joy. Isn’t the thought of a limitless spiritual life, exempt from diseases and the concerns of life, much more satisfactory?

Well, Spiritism does not give only hopes about it, but a certainty. That is why the Spiritists see death in a completely different way from the skeptical.

Question: If the Spirits or souls improve indefinitely, according to Spiritism, they must become infinitely perfected or pure. Why aren’t they like God when they get to that point? That is not in line with justice.

Answer: Man is a singular creature! Always finds his horizon very limited. Wants to understand everything, grasp everything, and know everything! Wants to penetrate the unfathomable, neglecting the study of what is of immediate reach; wants to understand God, judge His actions, making Him fair or unfair; says how he wants God to be, unsuspecting that God is all that and much more!... But, miserable worm, have you ever understood absolutely what surrounds you? Do you know the law that has the flower colored and perfumed by the vivifying kisses of the sun? Do you know how you are born, how you live and why your body dies?... You see facts but the causes remain surrounded by a veil that is impenetrable to you, and you wanted to judge the principle of all things, the primary cause, and finally God! There are many other studies much more necessary to the development of your being, that deserve all your attention!...

When you solve a problem of algebra you go from the known to the unknown, and to understand God, this insoluble problem of so many centuries, you want to address Him directly! Do you have all the necessary elements to establish the equation? Aren’t you lacking a document to judge your Creator in the last instance? Will you ever believe that the universe is limited to this little grain of sand lost in the immensity of spaces, where you move more imperceptible than the tiniest infusoria where the universe is a drop of water? However, let us reason and see why, according to your current knowledge, God would be unfair by not allowing himself to be ever achieved by His creature.

In all sciences there are axioms or irrefutable truths, that are admitted as fundamental basis. The mathematical sciences, and all sciences in general, are based on the axiom that the part can never equal the whole. Man, a creature of God, according to this principle, can therefore never, according to this principle, reach the one that created him.

Suppose that an individual must travel a road of infinite length; an infinite length, weigh that expression carefully. There you have the position of man with respect to God, considered as his objective. However little we walk, you will say, the sum of the years and centuries in the march will allow us to reach the end. It is a mistake! Whatever you do in one year, one century, in one million centuries will always be a finite quantity; another similar stretch and we can only add a finite quantity, and so forth. Now, for the most novice mathematician, the sum of finite quantities will never be an infinite quantity. The contrary would be absurd because in such a case the infinite could be measured, and this would lead to infinity losing its property of infinite. Man will always and incessantly progress but always in a finite quantity; the sum of his progress will only be a finite perfection, that could not reach God, the infinite in everything. There isn’t, therefore, an injustice from the part of God because His creatures can never equal Him. The nature of God is an unsurpassable obstacle to such an objective of the Spirit; His justice could not allow it for that fact that if a given Spirit was equal to God that Spirit would be God Himself. If there are two Spirits with the same infinite power in all senses and one is identical to the other, they will combine into only one and there will be only one God. One of them, therefore, should lose their individuality, and that would be a more evident injustice than that of not being able to achieve an end that is infinitely distant, approaching it constantly. God knows well what He does, and man is too small to allow himself to question His decisions.

Moki

Observation: If there is an unfathomable mystery to man, that is the principle and the end of all things. The vision of infinity gives him vertigo. To understand it there is the need of knowledge, intellectual and moral development that he is still far from having, despite the pride that makes him believe that he has gotten to the top of human scale. Regarding certain ideas, he is in the position of a child that wanted to do differential and integral calculus, before knowing the four operation. As he advances towards perfection, his eyes will open to light, dissipating the fog that has them covered. By working his betterment in the present, he will arrive earlier than if getting lost in conjectures.

Le Salut Public, Lyon July 3^rd, 1866, in the news from Paris, reads:

“Lord Granville, during his stay in Paris, told a few friends that Queen Vitoria seemed more concerned than she had ever been seen any time in her life, due to the Austro-Prussian conflict. The honorable Lord, President of the private council of her British Majesty, added that the Queen believed to obey the voice of the deceased Prince Albert, sparing nothing to avoid a war that would throw the whole Germany in the bonfire. It was under that constant impression that she wrote several times to the King of Prussia, as well as to the Emperor of Austria, and that she would have written an autograph letter to the Empress Eugenia, begging her to join her efforts in favor of peace.”

This fact confirms what we published in the Spiritist Review, March 1864 with the title A Queen that was a medium. There it was said, according to a correspondence form London, reproduced by several newspapers, that Queen Victoria communicated with the Spirit of Prince Albert, and used to take his advices in certain circumstances, as she did when he was alive. We refer to that article for the details of the fact, and for the reflections that it aroused. Moreover, we can affirm that Queen Victoria is not the only crowned head or near the crown that sympathizes with the Spiritist ideas, and every time we said that the doctrine had followers in the highest degrees of the social scale, we did not exaggerated.

It was frequently asked why the sovereigns, convict of the truth and the existence of this doctrine, did not consider it to be a duty to openly support it, with the authority of their names. The sovereigns are perhaps the least free men; more than simple individuals, they are submitted to the demands of the world, and obliged, for reasons of State, to certain maneuvers. We would not allow ourselves to cite Queen Victoria, regarding Spiritism, if other newspapers had not taken the initiative, and because the fact was not belied, nor there was any complaint, then we assessed we could do it without inconveniences. There will certainly come a day when the sovereigns will confess to be Spiritists, as they confess to be Protestant, Greek or Roman Catholic. While we wait, their sympathy is not as sterile as one would believe, because in certain countries, if Spiritism is not officially blocked and persecuted, as Christianity was in Rome, it owes it to high influences. Before it is officially protected, it must be happy for being tolerated, by accepting what is given and do not ask much or take the risk of receiving nothing. Before being an oak, it is just a reed, and if the reed does not break, it is for the fact that it folds with the wind.

The centuries rolled over the abyss of time

Without pity, flowers, fruits, cold winters, sweet springs,

And death passed without knocking

On the door that hides the treasure she secretly takes away.

Life, o death! The hand that your hand guides,

Tired of knocking, can’t you tomorrow

Suspend the blows a little? Does she still want

To disturb the banquet of life?

But if you keep coming, every time of the day,

Seeking the dead among us to fill up your stay,

The universe is too little for your deep chasms,

Or your vortex is bottomless to the poor victims.

O death! You see the virgin weep without crying,

You wither the flowers that were to adorn her,

Not allowing the forehead to be encircled by the crown

Of roses and lilies given by her spouse,

O death! You do not hear the screams of the poor child,

And come mercilessly to harm her at birth,

Not allowing her eyes to know the mother

That gave her heavens by giving her Earth.

O death! You do not hear the wishes of this old man,

Begging the favor, at the time of departure,

Of kissing the son and blessing the daughter,

To fall asleep faster and die more peacefully.

But, cruel! Tell me what happens to the dead

That leave our banks and go to your shores?

Would they still suffer the pains of earth

In this eternity of time, and the prayer,

Couldn’t she at least alleviate them one day?

And death responded: “In this somber space

Where, free, I fixed my dark empire,

Prayer is powerful and it is God that inspire

My subjects and me. When I come, in the evening,

On my bloody throne, pompously sitting,

I look at the skies and I am the first

To quietly recite the prayer for my dead.

Listen child, listen: “O almighty God,

From heavens, on them, on me, casually fling

A look of pity. May a ray of hope

Finally illuminate the places where pain is weeping.

Show us, Oh God, the land of forgiveness,

This borderless shore, this beach, nameless,

The land of the elected, the eternal homeland,

Where you created the eternal life for all.

Make each one of us, in front of your will,

Bow with respect; before the majesty

Of your secret designs, bend and worship;

Curve before your name and stand up still,

In exclamation: Lord! If you banned me

From the home of the living, if you punished me

In the abode of the dead, before you I confess

Having deserved more; knock, knock and don’t stop,

I will suffer without ever moaning,

And my eyes can never cry enough

To wash the indelible stain of the past,

always shamelessly attached to the present.

I will take your blows, I will carry my cross,

Not cursing, for a single day, your fair laws,

And when you believe my ordeal is over,

Lord, if you make my shadow pale,

The goods it lost when in prison,

The breeze, the sun, the clean air, the freedom,

Rest and peace, before you I pledge

To pray on my side, in my new shore,

For the brothers yielding to the weight of the chains,

That keep them nailed to the bottom of their hells, in pain;

Their weeping shadows, on the borders of the other side, sheer

Silence, looking at mine, fleeting,

Running away, saying: courage friends,

I will keep in heavens what I promised here.

Casimir Delavigne



We have already published poetry received by this medium in the issues of June and July with the title To your book and The prayer for the Spirits. Mr. Vavasseur is literally a medium of verses, for he very rarely receives communications in prose, and although very educated and knowledgeable about the rules of poetry, he has never created it himself.

People will ask what do we know about it, and who can tell that what is said to be supposedly mediumistic is not the product of his personal composition? We believe, first of all, because he says so and we consider him incapable of deceiving, and second, because mediumship for him is completely disinterested, there wouldn’t be any reason for him to do a useless work and represent a comedy that is unworthy of an honest character.

There is no doubt that it would be more evident, and above all more extraordinary, if he were completely illiterate, as it is found in certain mediums, but the knowledge that he has would not produce his faculty, since it is demonstrated by other means.

How to explain, for example, the fact that if he wants to compose something from his own, a simple sonnet, he obtains nothing, whereas without seeking it, and without a premeditated intention, he writes texts of significant length, suddenly, and more rapidly and more correctly than we would write prose, about an improvised subject, in which nobody thought about? Which poet is capable of such endeavor, that is renewed almost daily? We could not doubt it, because the excerpts that we cited, and many others, were written before our eyes, at the Society or in different groups, in the presence of a sometimes-large assembly.

May all the jugglers that intend to discover the supposed wires of the mediums, imitating some more or less rough physical effects, come therefore to challenge certain writing mediums, treating even through simple prose, instantaneously and without preparation or correction, the first subject matter that shows up and the most abstract questions! It is a test to which no detractor has ever submitted to.

Apropos, we remember that six or seven years ago a writer and journalist, whose name sometimes appears in the press and among the scorners of Spiritism, came to us, disguised as an intuitive writing medium, offering his support to the Society. We told him that before accepting his kind offer, we needed to get to know the extent and nature of his faculty. We then invited him to a private session of exercise, in which we had four or five mediums. These just took the pencil and started writing in a speed that stunned him. He doodled three or four lines, with many erasures, and complained of a headache that disturbed his faculty. He promised to come back, but we never saw him again. As it seems, the Spirits only assist him with a fresh head and in his office.

It is true that improvisers showed up, like the deceased Eugène de Pradel, that captivated the listeners for their facility. People were surprised that they did not publish anything. The reason is very simple. What seduced hearing was not bearable for reading; they were just an arrangement of words coming out of an abundant source, where a few witty traces shined exceptionally, but whose content was empty of serious and profound ideas and strewn with revolting errors. That is not the reproach that can be made of the verses that we quoted, although obtained as much fast as those of verbal improvisation. If the were the result of a personal work, it would be a singular humility from the part of the author to attribute the merit to someone else, depriving oneself of the honor that could come out of it.

Although the mediumship of Mr. Vavasseur is recent, he already has an important collection of poetry of real merit, that he intends to publish. We promptly announced that work before it comes out, and we have no doubt, it will be read with great interest.

Spiritist Cantata

Lyrics by Mr. Herczka and music by Mr. Armand Toussaint, from Brussels, followed by piano. This piece is not considered mediumistic product, but the works of an artist inspired by his Spiritist faith. Competent persons that heard its execution, agree to confer it a real merit, worth of the subject. We have said many times that a well understood Spiritism will be a fecund source to arts, where poetry, painting, sculpture and music will gather new inspirations. There will be the Spiritist Art as there was the Pagan Art and the Christian Art.

(sale in benefit of the poor – price 1.5 francs, paid postage to France. On sale in Brussels, at the headquarters of the Spiritist Society, rue de la Montagne, 51; in Paris, in the office of the Spiritist Review.)

The Davenport brothers have just spent some time in Brussels, where they peacefully gave their performances; we have numerous correspondents in that country, and neither through them nor through the newspapers we have heard that those gentlemen had been the subject of regrettable scenes as those that happened in Paris. Would the Belgians give the Parisians lessons of urbanity? One could believe it, by comparing the two situations. What is evident is that there was a preconceived idea in Paris, an organized conspiracy against them, and the proof of that is that they were attacked before people knew what they would do, even before they had started. They can boo those that fail, who do not do what they announced, it is a right acquired with the purchase of a ticket everywhere. But to scoff, insult and mistreat them, break their instruments even before they enter the scene, that would not be allowed against the last tearaway of the fair. Irrespective of the way those gentlemen are considered, such behavior has no excuse in a civilized people.

What are they accused of? For presenting themselves as mediums? For pretending to operate with the help of the Spirits? If it were, from their part, a fraudulent way of attracting the curiosity of the public, who would have the right to complain? The Spiritists could feel sorry for the exhibition of a respectable thing. Well, who complained? Who shouted against the scandal, the imposture and profanation? It was precisely those that do not believe in the Spirits.

But, among those that scream stronger that there aren’t Spirits, that there is nothing beyond man, there are some that after hearing so much about the manifestations, end up perhaps not believing but may fear that there is something. The fear that the Davenport brothers could prove it has clearly unleashed a true rage against them, which, if one were certain that they were nothing but skillful conjurers, the rage wouldn’t have more meaning than against the first illusionist that appeared. Yes, we are convinced that the fear of seeing them victorious was the main cause of such hostility, that preceded their public appearance, and prepared the means of aborting their first exhibition.

But the Davenport brothers were only a pretext; personally, they were not the target, but Spiritism that they thought could get a sanction, and for the great disappointment of its adversaries, enjoys the effects of slander through its prudent reservation from which it has never moved away, despite all the efforts made to force it to do so. To many people it is a nightmare. It would be necessary to know it very little to believe that those gentlemen, putting themselves in conditions that Spiritism disapprove, could operate as their helpers. Nonetheless, they served the cause by making people talk about it on the occasion, and the critic, unwillingly, reached out, provoking the exam of the doctrine.

It is noticeable that all the uproar created around Spiritism is the work of the very ones that wanted to muffle it. Whatever had been done against it, Spiritism never cried. It was the adversaries that cried out, as if believing that they were already dead.

We extracted from the Office de Publicité, a Brussels’ newspaper that is said to have a circulation of 25,000 copies, the following passages from two articles published in the last July 8^th and 22^nd issues about the Davenport brothers, as well as two letters of refutation, fairly inserted in the same newspaper. Although a bit worn out, the subject still has its instructive side.

“It is quite true that everything happens and that one must not say: “Fountain, I will not drink your water.” If I were told that I would never see the wardrobe of the Davenport brothers, nor the renowned wizards, I would have sworn that this has no importance, because it is enough to hear that someone is a sorcerer to take away any curiosity about him. Witchcraft and the supernatural have no more stubborn enemy than me. I would not go to see a miracle when it was shown for free; these things inspire aversion in me, as much as the two headed calves, the bearded woman, and all monsters. I find the rapping Spirits and the wise tables stupid, and there is no superstition that makes me run to the end of the world. Now think if with such dispositions I could have joined the crowd of the Davenport brothers, when it was said that they kept an irregular trade with the Spirits! I also admit that the idea of unmasking the trickery or breaking their wardrobe proving that they were not witches, would not have occurred to me either, because, by doing so, I would have given proof that I had believed myself in their art and apparatuses. It would have seemed infinitely simpler to reject, from the beginning, that hypothetical witchery, and suppose that they must be very skillful creatures in their works, for having deceived so many people. As for the understanding, I would not have bothered. Since the Spirits are not involved, what would be the point? And if there were Spirits poor enough in the other world to play the role of their accomplices, would that still be worth it?

I read over time with great attention, although I had something better to do with my time, the majority of the books used by the Spiritists and I found there everything that was necessary to satisfy the need of a new religion, but not what could convert me to this old novelty. Having consulted all the Spirits, whose answers are cited, they said nothing that had not been said before them, and in better terms than what they repeated. They taught us that we must love good and hate evil, that truth is the opposite of lie, that the soul is immortal, that man must incessantly strive to improve and that life is a test, all known things for thousands of years, for a revelation that was useless to evoke so many illustrious dead, and even personalities that however renowned they might be, they made the mistake of having never existed. I do not speak of the Wandering Jew, but imagine if I evoke Don Quixote and that he comes back, wouldn’t that be the last joke?

I had only one objection about the Davenport brothers once they were just skillful sorcerers. That objection was summed-up in that having Spiritism kept away, in good will and mutual agreement, their exercises could just be a mediocre amusement. It is unlikely that I would have the idea of watching them if, given the gracious offer to go there, I had not considered that the chronicle obliges, that not everything is rosy in this life and the chronicler must go where the public is, and be bothered a little as a compensation.

Having decided to do things conscientiously, to begin with I went to the room of the Artistic and Literary Circle where they were busy putting up the famous wardrobe. I saw it still incomplete, at day light, stripped from all its “poetry”. If solitude and the shadows of night are necessary to the ruins, the trickery of the prestidigitators needed the gas light, the credulous crowd, and the distance.

But the Davenport brothers are good players and put their cards on the table. We could see and anybody could get inside. An American worker calmly assembled the wardrobe; the guitars, Basque drums, the strings, the bells were there, mixed up with chests, clothes, pieces of rugs, wrapping cloths; everything left to the reach of anybody, as a challenge to curiosity. All that seemed to say: turn, turn again, examine, search, touch, shake! You will know nothing.

There isn’t anything more insolently simple than the wardrobe. It is a cabinet that absolutely has no appearance of having been made to house Spirits. It seemed to be walnut to me. It has three doors instead of two in front, and it seems tired of the trips it made and assaults it suffered. I glanced at it, not too close, for open as it was, I imagined that such a mysterious piece of furniture must smell stale, like the magic spinet in which Mozart was hidden as a child.

I formally declare that unless I put my laundry or clothes there, I would not know that to do with the wardrobe of the Davenport brothers. Each thing its function. I saw it again at night, isolated on the stage, in front of the ramp; it already had a monumental appearance. The room was packed, as it had never been in the days when Mozart, Beethoven and their performers alone paid for the evening. The most beautiful public that one can have: the kindest, the wittiest, the prettiest women of Brussels, then the Counselors of the Court of Cassation, judicial and literary presidents; all the academies, senators, ministers, representatives, journalists, artists, contractors, cabinetmakers, “that was like a bouquet of flowers”. The honorable Mr. Rogier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was at this evening, accompanied by a former President of the Chamber. Mr. Vervoort that having returned to human grandeur, only preserved the presidency of the Circle, a charming Royalty, as a matter of fact. I felt quite reassured after this sight. One of the best painters, Mr. Robie, echoed my thoughts, by saying: “You see! Austria and Prussia may fight as much as they wish. As long as the European crisis does not disturb our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Belgium may sleep in peace.” That seemed peremptory to me, you will judge, and knowing that Mr. Rogier attended the show of the Davenport brothers smiling, you will sleep soundly. It is the best thing for you to do.

I saw all the exercises of the Davenport brothers and I absolutely did not try to understand their mystery. All I can say, without thinking the least in diminishing their success, is that it is impossible to me to feel pleasure in these things. They do not interest me. The Davenport brothers were tied up in my presence; it was said that they were tied up very well; then they put flour in their hands and locked them in the wardrobe, dimed the light and I heard a big noise of guitars, bells and Basque drums in the dresser. Suddenly the cabinet opened – a drum rolled violently up to my feet and the Davenport brothers showed up untied, waving to the public, shaking off the flour from their hands. They got a lot of applause; that it!

-Finally, how do you explain this?

-There are people in the Circle that explains it very well. As for myself, however much I try, I do not have absolutely any wish to understand. They untied themselves, that is all, and the trick of flour was well done. I find the preparations long; the noise annoying and everything not much entertaining. And no Spirit, not in the singular, not in the plural.

-Then, don’t you believe?

-Yes, I believe in the boredom I had.

-And Spiritism, don’t you believe?

-That is Sganarelle’s question to Don Juan. You will soon ask if I believe in the Bourru Monk. I will respond, like Don Juan, that I believe that two plus two is four and four plus four is eight. I still don’t know that after seeing what happens in Germany and elsewhere I wouldn’t be forced to make reservations.

-So, are you an atheist?

-No. Without modesty, I am the most religious person on Earth.

-Therefore, you believe in God, in the immortality of the soul, in…

-I do. It is my happiness and my hope.

-And everything is reconciled with your four plus four is eight!

-Precisely. That is everything. Turkish is a beautiful language.

-Do you go to the masses?

-No, but I do not preclude you from going. The bird on the branch, the worm shining on the grass, the globes in space and my heart full of worship sing the mass to me day and night. I love God with passion and without fear. What do you want me to do with this, with religions and other varieties of Davenportism?

-How about Spiritism? And Allan Kardec?

-I believe Mr. Allan Kardec, that would to much better if using his real name, is as much a good citizen as you and me. His moral does not differ from the common moral, that is enough to me. As for his revelations, I like them as much as I do the wardrobe of the Davenports, with our without guitars. I read the revelation of the Spirits; their style is not to the level of Bossuet, and except for the citations made to illustrious men, it is heavy and sometimes common. I wouldn’t like to write as the strongest of the group does. My editor would say that the pasta is good but we must not abuse. Spiritism has supernatural and dogmas and I am suspicious of this floured party. I said this five years ago, speaking about the doctrine because it is a doctrine: it has everything that is needed to establish a new religion. I would be better to be simply religious and do not go beyond the revelations of the universe. I see this religion emerge. It is already a sect, and a considerable one, for you cannot evaluate the number and seriousness of the letters that I have already received, for having dealt with Spiritism lately. It has its fanatics, it will have its intolerant, and its preachers, because the dogma requires the intermediary action and the Spirits have their classes and preferences. Therefore, if there is ten percent to gain with this new dogma, a clergy will be seen. I believe it will inherit Catholicism given its seducing aspects. Just wait for the smarty ones to mix there, and the prophets and privileged evokers will surge through the mystery of the thing, that is kind and poetic, like the weed in the wheat field. Below you have two letters addressed to me. They come from loyal, simple and convict persons. That is why I publish them.



To Mr. Bertram.

Four years ago, I was what can be called a frank latecomer; a since Catholic, I believed in the miracles, in the devil, in the Papal infallibility. Therefore, I would have accepted Pio IX encyclic without discussion, with all its consequences in the political life. But you will ask, what is the objective of such a confession from an unknown person? My word, Mr. Bertram, I will tell you with the risk of exciting your teasing vein, or to make you run to the end of the world. One day, in Antwerp, I saw a little table (vulgarly called speaking table) that answered to my mental question in my native language, unknown to the attendees; there was, among them, strong minds, masons that did not believe even in God nor in the soul. The event made them think; they read with great interest the works of Mr. Allan Kardec; I did the same, in particular when several priests had assured me that such phenomena were exclusive works of the… devil, and I assure you that I do not regret the time it took me, much to the contrary. I not only found in those books a rational and very natural solution to the phenomenon above, but also an explanation to many questions, many problems that had appeared to me before. You found in them matter for a new religion; but do you believe, Mr. Bertram, that it would be too bad if that occurred? Is Catholicism so much associated to the needs of our society that it cannot be renovated nor replaced advantageously? Or do you believe that humanity may do without every religious belief? Liberalism proclaims beautiful principles, but it is mostly skeptical and materialistic. In such condition it would never attract the masses to itself, as the same applies to the ultramontane Catholicism. If Spiritism one day is called to become a religion, it will be the natural religion, well developed and understood, and certainly not new. It is, as you say, an old novelty. But it is also a neutral ground, where all opinions, both political and religious, will one day walk hand in hand.

In any case, since I became a Spiritist, some gossip has it that I am accused of having become a free thinker. It is true that since then, as with the strong minds that I mentioned above, I no longer believe in the supernatural and in the devil; but, instead, we all believe a bit more in God, in the immortality of the soul, in the plurality of the existences; children of the nineteenth century, we perceive a safe road and want to push the car of progress through that, instead of delaying it. See, therefore, that Spiritism still has good things, for it can operate such changes.

And now, returning to the Davenport brothers, it would be a mistake to avoid the experiments or conclude with a preconceived idea against them, for the simple fact that they are new. The more extraordinary the facts that are presented to us, the more they deserve to be observed conscientiously and without preconceived ideas, because who would be able to brag about knowing all the secrets of nature? I have never seen the Davenport brothers, but I read what the French press wrote about them and was surprised by the ill-faith placed in the case. The amateurs can take advantage of reading Des forces naturelles inconnues (the unknown natural forces) by Hermes (Paris, Didier 1865). It is a refutation, from the point of view of science, of the criticism addressed to them. If it is true that those gentlemen do not introduce themselves as Spiritists and do not know the doctrine, Spiritism must not come out in their defense. All that can be said is that facts similar to the ones they present are possible, obeying a natural law that is now known, and by the intervention of inferior Spirits. It is only that up until now these facts had not been produced in such unfavorable condition, at fixed time and with such regularity. I hope, Sir, that you will welcome these disinterested observations and that you may accommodate them in your newspaper. May they be able to elucidate an issue that is more interesting to your readers than you may suppose.

Your subscriber,

H. Vanderyst.”



Here it is, published! I will not be accused of putting the “candle under the basket.”^[1]

To begin with I do not have a basket; moreover, without the shadow of mockery, I do not see much light here. I have never objected to the Spiritist moral; it is pure. The Spiritists are honest and benefactors. Their donations to the nurseries proved that to me. If they get attached to their superior and inferior Spirits, I do not have a problem with that. It is a matter between their instinct and their reason.

The letter has a post scriptum that says: “Allow me to draw your attention to the book that has just been honored in the Index: The plurality of the existences of the soul, by Pezzani, attorney, where this question is treated outside of the Spiritist revelation.”

Let us move on to the next letter:



(a letter with the same intent as the preceding one follows, ending as below):

“I have the conviction that when the press strives to develop everything beautiful that Spiritism contains, the world will make immense moral progress. Making perceptible to mankind that each one carries inside the true religion, the conscience; allowing one to be in the presence of oneself to respond for one’s actions before the Supreme Being, that is important! Wouldn’t that be the destruction of materialism that harms the world so much? Wouldn’t that be a barrier against pride, ambition, and envy, things that make man unhappy? Teach man that he must do good to deserve his reward; there are certainly men that are convinced about all that, but how many with respect to the total? And all that may be taught to man. From my side, I evoked by father and thanks to the obtained answers, doubt is no longer possible.

If I were fortunate enough to handle the pen as you do, I would treat Spiritism as if called to bring a soothing and pleasant moral. My first article would be entitled Spiritism, or the destruction of fanaticism. The fall of the Jesuits and of all those that live out of human credulity. All these ideas are drawn from the excellent book of Mr. Allan Kardec. How much I would enjoy having you seeing Spiritism the way I do! How good would you do to the moral! But, my dear Bertram, how could you find supernatural and witchery in Spiritism? I do not believe it to be more extraordinary to communicate with our parents and friends that passed to the other world, through the fluid that allows us to contact them, than to communicate with our brothers from this world through fabulous distances, by the electric wire!

**

Everything published without observation or comments, only to demonstrate that Spiritism in Belgium has ardent followers in their faith. Positively, the sect makes progress and Catholicism will soon have to count on that.

The Parisian press did not show ill-faith to the Davenport brothers. What it made very clear is that they no longer claim pretension to the supernatural. They no longer hold exhibitions at fifty francs per head, as far as I know. However, I believe that the persons that wanted to pay such price for a spot would not be badly received. To conclude, I affirm that to me their experiments do not seem cut to exert great influence upon the future of human societies.

Bertram”



After the two letters that we have just read, there is little to say about the article. Their moderation contrasts with the acrimony of the majority of what was written about the same subject in the past. At least the author does not contest the right of opinion to the Spiritists, that he respects although he does not share. Inline with certain apostles of progress, he acknowledges that the freedom of conscience is everybody’s right. It is already something. He even agrees that the Spiritists have good things and are in good faith. He attests, finally, the progresses of the doctrine and confesses that it has an enticing side. We will, therefore, only make a few observations.

Mr. Bertram even considers us as good a citizen as he is, and we are thankful, but he adds that we would do better by using our true name. From our side we allow us to ask him why he signs his articles with Bertram, instead of Eugène Landois, that subtracts nothing from his personal qualities, for we know that he is the main organizer of the nursery Saint-Josse-Tennoode, to which he devotes the most commendable solicitude. If Mr. Bertram had read the Spiritist books with such attention as he says, he would know if the Spiritists are so silly to evoke the Wandering Jew and Don Quixote; he would know that Spiritism accepts and rejects; he would not try to present it as a religion, because, by the same token, all philosophies would be religions, for it is part of its essence to discuss the basis of all religions: God and the nature of the soul. Finally, he would understand that if one day Spiritism became a religion, it would not be able to become intolerant nor deny its principle that is the universal fraternity, without distinction of sect and belief; without renouncing to its moto: there is no salvation outside charity, the most explicit symbol of love towards the neighbor, of tolerance and freedom of conscience. Spiritism never says: “there is no salvation outside Spiritism”. If a religion would be based on Spiritism with the exclusion of its principles, it would no longer be Spiritism.

Spiritism is a philosophical doctrine that touches every humanitarian issue. By the profound modifications that it brings to the ideas, it leads to facing things from another point of view, and from there, to the future, inevitable changes in the social relationships. It is a fecund mine where the religions, as sciences, and the civilian institutions, will reap elements of progress. But because it touches in certain religious beliefs, it does not constitute a new cult, as it is not a particular system of politics, legislation, or social economy. It temples, ceremonies and priests are in the imagination of its detractors and in those that fear to see it becoming a religion.

Mr. Bertram criticizes the style of the Spirits and places his own much higher: it is his own right and we do not contest it. We do not challenge either his opinion that in matters of moral, the Spirits do not teach us anything new. This demonstrates one thing, that men are the most to blame for practicing it so little. Is it therefore surprising that God, in His solicitude, repeats it in so many ways? If, by that point of view, the teaching of the Spirits is so useless, that of Christ was equally so because it only developed the commandments of the Sinai. The writings of all moralists are also useless, for the only thing they do is to repeat the same thing in different terms. With such a system, how many people, how much work would be useless, not including the chroniclers that, given their condition, must not invent anything.

One must forcibly acknowledge, therefore, that the moral of the Spirits is as old as the world, what does not come as a surprise if we take into account that the moral is God’s law and this law must exist since eternity and that the creature cannot add anything to the works of the Creator. But, isn’t there anything new in the way of teaching? Up until now the moral code had only been promulgated by a few individuals; it was reproduced in books that not everybody reads or understands. Well then! This very code is taught today not by a few men but by millions of Spirits, that were men, in all countries, in each family, and in a way, to everyone.

Would you believe that someone that was indifferent after reading a book, that treated the maxims that the same contain as a common place, wouldn’t be impressed if his father, his mother or a loved one that he respects comes to say, even in a style inferior to Bossuet: “I am not lost to you, as you thought; I am here by your side, I see and hear you, I know you better when alive, because I read your thoughts. To be happy in the world where I am, here is the code of conduct to be followed; such action is good, the other is bad, etc.” As you see, it is a direct teaching, or if you prefer, a new means of publicity, even more efficient because it goes directly to the heart; because it costs nothing; because it addresses everyone, from the small to the great, from the poor to the rich, from the ignorant to the educated, and because it challenges human despotism that would like to impose it a barrier.

But you may ask, is that possible? Isn’t that an illusion? Such doubt would be natural if those communications were made to a single privileged person, for there wouldn’t be any proof that it may be mistaken. But when thousands of individuals receive similar messages every day, in all countries, is it sensible to believe that they are all mistaken? If the teachings of Spiritism were only contained exclusively in the Spiritist books, it would not have conquered one percent of the followers that it has. Those books do no more than summarize and coordinate that teaching, and what constitute its success is the fact that each person finds the confirmation of what they contain in their inner self.

One will be right by saying that the teaching of the Spirits is superfluous when it is demonstrated that men are sufficiently good to have it dismissed. Until then, there is no surprise in seeing it repeated in all forms and all tones.

What do I care, you say, Mr. Bertram, that there are or there aren’t Spirits! It is possible that this is indifferent to you, but that is not the same with everybody. It is absolutely as if you said: “Why do I care that there are inhabitants in America and that the electric cable demonstrates that to me!” Scientifically it is only the proof of the existence of the invisible world; morally it is a lot, because the confirmation of the existence of the Spirits populating the space, that we thought uninhabited, is the discovery of a whole world, the revelation of the future and destiny of mankind, a revolution in their beliefs. Now, if the thing exists, every denial will not be able to preclude it form existing. Its inevitable results are well deserved of our concern. You are a man of progress and do you repel an element of progress; a means of improving humanity, of cementing fraternity among men; a discovery that leads to the reformation of the social abuse, against which you constantly claim? You believe in your immortal soul, and don’t you absolutely worry about knowing what becomes of it, what becomes of your parents and friends? Frankly, this is not much rational. You say that it is not the in the Davenport’s wardrobe that you are going to find it. We agree. We have never said that that is Spiritism. However, in that same wardrobe, precisely because with or without reason, they made the Spirits intervene, that made them talk about the Spirits, even those that did not believe in them. From that, studies and researches that would not have been made if those gentlemen had presented themselves as simple prestidigitators.

If the Spirits were not in their wardrobe, they could well provoke the means of having a lot of people to come out of their indifference. You can see that you, yourself, inadvertently, were led to sow the idea among your numerous readers, something that you would not have done without that famous wardrobe.

As for the new truths that stand out from the Spiritist revelations, beyond moral, we recommend the article published in the Spiritist Review, January 1865 with the title Instructions by the Spirits.

---

[1] Matthew 5:15 – “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket” (T.N.)

It is an attested fact that since when Spiritism became the target of the critic, it has demonstrated the most complete ignorance of its principles, even the most elemental ones. The critic demonstrated that abundantly, making Spiritism say precisely the opposite of what it says, attributing it with ideas that are in opposition to the ones that it professes. Since Spiritism is just a fantasy to the critic, it said to oneself: “Spiritism must say this and that.” In a word, the critic judged by what they imagined Spiritism could be, and not by which it really is. It would be undoubtedly easy for the critic to clarify itself. However, that would require reading, studying, and deepening the investigation of a purely philosophical doctrine, analyze the idea, the reach of the words. However, that is a serious work and does not pleases everybody and is tiresome to some. Most writers, finding in the writings of their comrades a ready-made judgment, according to their skeptical ideas, accepted the substance without further examination, limiting themselves to point out to some of their formal variations. That is how the falsest ideas propagated like echoes in the press, and consequently in part of the public. This, however, could not last long. The Spiritist Doctrine, that has nothing hidden, that is clear, precise, without allegories or ambiguities, without abstract formulas, should end up being better known. The very violence with which it was attacked should provoke its examination. That is what happened, and that is what provokes the reaction that is observed today. It does not mean that all of those that study it, even seriously so, must became its apostles. Certainly not, but it is impossible that a careful study, done without preconceived ideas, does not at least attenuate the prevention that had been conceived, if not completely dissipate it. It was evident that the hostility driven towards Spiritism should lead to this result. That is why we were never worried about it.

Given the fact that Spiritism makes less noise at this time, some people think that there is stagnation in its progressive march. But then, there is no value in the turnaround of opinion that is taking place? Is it an insignificant conquest to be seen with less evil eyes? Since the beginning Spiritism has attracted those that, so to speak, had these ideas in a state of intuition. It had only to show itself to be eagerly accepted. That is what explains its rapid numeric growth. Today, that it has harvested what was ripe, it acts upon the refractory mass. The work takes longer, and the means of action are different and appropriate to the nature of the difficulties, but with the fluctuations of opinion, one feels that the mass is shaken by the ax of the Spirits that strike it incessantly in a thousand ways. Progress is not less real for being less apparent. It is like a construction work that raises rapidly and that seems to stop when the work happens inside.

As for the Spiritists, the first moment was that of enthusiasm. But a state of super excitation cannot be permanent; a calmer state followed the expansive, exterior movement; faith is also lively, although colder and more reasoned, and for that very reason more solid. Effervescence has given way to a softer intimate satisfaction, better appreciated every day, by the serenity given by the unshakable trust in the future.

Spiritism, therefore, today begins to be judged from another point of view. It is no longer seen as strange or ridiculous because they know it better. The Spiritists are no longer pointed at, like curious animals. If many people still reject the fact of manifestations that they cannot reconcile with the idea that they make of the invisible world, they no longer contest the philosophical reach of the doctrine. Be its moral old or new, it still is a moral doctrine that can only stimulate the practice of good by those that profess it. That is what is acknowledged by those that know it. Now, everything that is censored in the Spiritists is the fact that they believe in the communication of the Spirits, but that small weakness as excused in favor of the rest. In this case, it is up to the Spirits to show if they exist.

The article by Mr. Bertram, from Brussels, cited above, seems to be the expression of the feeling that tends to propagate in the world of the mockers mentioned there, and will develop as Spiritism becomes better known.

The following article deals with the same subject but reveals a more complete conviction. It is extracted from the Soleil of May 5^th.

“At the same time that The Apostles appeared, by Mr. Ernest Renan, Mr. J.B. Roustaing, enlightened follower of Spiritism, published through the Central Bookstore a considerable work entitled The Four Gospels, followed by commandments explained in spirit and truth by the evangelists assisted by the apostles. The Parisian mass almost only knows, in matters of Spiritism, the gallimaufry of some deceivers that uselessly try to abuse the credulity of an incredulous public. These charlatans were booed, what is well deserved; but the Spiritists, full or ardor and faith, continued their experiments and their rapid propaganda.

In Paris, the most serious things are treated the same way as the most futile ones. It is here that in most cases it is enquired if it is a god, a table, or a basin. The brief experiments tried between two cups of tea by two adulterous women and a few pretentious youngsters were enough to the curiosity of the Parisians. It the table gave signs that it would move, they laughed a lot; if, on the contrary, the table remained firm, they laughed even more, and that is how the issue was deepened. This was different with the more thoughtful population of the country. The minimum result animated the proselytes, exciting their enthusiasm. The Spirits of their relatives responded to their expectation, and each one of them, talking to the soul of their deceased father or brother, became convinced of having lifted the veil of death, that from thereafter could not cause them fear. If there has ever being a reassuring doctrine, this is the one: the preserved individuality beyond the grave, the formal promise of another life that is, in fact, the continuation of the previous one. The family survives and love does not die with the person; there is no separation. Every night, in the South or in the West of France, the attentive Spiritist gatherings become more abundant. They pray, evoke, and believe. Persons that cannot write, write; their hand is guided by the Spirit.

Spiritism is not a social danger. Thus, it can spread without the opposition of barriers. If Spiritism were persecuted it would have its martyrs, like Babism in Persia. Besides the more serious mediumistic answers there are indications and advices that provoke smiles. The author of The Four Gospels, Mr. Roustaing, attorney at the Imperial Court of Bordeaux, is not naïve nor a dilletante, and in his preface there is the following communication: “It is time for you to give publicity to this work. We do not establish limits; employ your time with wisdom and ponderation to spare your energy. The publication can start in the next month of August; from now on, work as promptly as possible, but without going beyond human forces, so that the publication is finished in the month of August 1866.”

Signed: Moses, Matthews, Mark, Luke and John, assisted by the apostles.”

The reader becomes surprised for not seeing Moses, Matthews, Luke and John taking their advice to the extreme by adding: - You will have the book printed at the house Lavertujon, Rue des Treilles 7, in Bordeaux, and will have it for sale at the Central Bookstore, Boulevard des Italiens 24, in Paris.

We also stopped at the passage that recommends the author to not go beyond human forces. Would the author then have surpassed it without such a paternal recommendation by the Messrs. Moses, Matthews, Mark, Luke, and John?

Without initially talking about Spiritism, Mr. Renan makes several references to this new doctrine, whose importance he seems to not ignore. The author of the Apostles remembers on page 8, a fundamental passage of St. Paul that establishes: 1^st – the reality of the apparitions; 2^nd – the long duration of the apparitions. Mr. Renan meddles with Spiritism only once. On page 22, second note, he says:

To conceive the possibility of similar illusions, it is enough to refer to the scenes of our days, in which gathered persons unanimously acknowledge to hear inexistent noises, and that in perfect good faith. The wait, the effort of imagination, the disposition to believe, sometimes innocent complacencies, explain those among the phenomena that are not the direct product of fraud.

These complacencies, in general, come from convinced persons, animated by a feeling of benevolence, that does not want that the session ends badly, and wish to spare embarrassment to the owners of the house. When you believe in miracles, you always help it without noticing. Doubt and denial are impossible in that kind of meetings. It would be painful for the believers and for those that invited. That is why such experiments give result in a small group and generally fail before a paying public, and always fail with scientific commissions.

Here, as elsewhere, the book of Mr. Renan lacks good reasons. With a smooth and enchanting style, replacing logic by poetry, Apostles should be called The Last Abencerrages. The references to useless documents, the false proofs that overloads the book give it every appearance of childishness with which it was conceived. There is no mistaking it.

Mr. Renan says that Mary of Magdala, crying by the foot of the tomb, had a vision, a simple vision. Who told him? She thought she heard a voice. How does he know she really didn’t hear it? All the affirmations contained in the work have more or less the same force.

If the Spiritists can only offer their good faith for explanation, Mr. Renan does not even have that resource. Here we can only comment the book by Mr. Roustaing; we do not have the right to discuss it, any more than see where it leads us. As a matter of fact, this would not be the place to enter into consideration that the reader does not seek in our columns. The work is serious, the style is clear and firm. The author did not fall in the ordinary deviation of the commentators, that are frequently more obscure than the text itself that they want to clarify. Spiritism that had its catechism, will have from now on its annotated code and its course of jurisprudence. It will only lack the proof of the martyrdom.

Aurélien Scholl

It is not only in our country that the newspapers, we wouldn’t say sympathize yet, but are humanized with Spiritism to which they begin to acknowledge the right of citizenship. The Progrès Colonial, a journal of Port Louis, Mauritius Island, on June 15^th, 1866 reads:

“Every day we receive two or three of these Spiritist communications, but if we have abstained from reproducing them up until now, it is for the fact that we are not yet prepared to dedicate a space to this extraordinary thing called Spiritism. May our naturally curious readers have a little bit of patience, for they will not wait long. If we publish this small text signed Lazarus, it is for the fact that it is about this poor Georges, so miserably deceased and buried.

Sir,

Today I read a correspondence inserted in your journal, signed “A eyewitness”, reporting how the body of the miserable G. Lemeure was buried. For a long time, Sir, I new that if misery is not a vice, it is at least one of the greatest misfortunes that there is in the world. However, what I did not want to admit was that men were worships of the golden calf, to the point of not respecting anymore everything that is most solemn, great, and most sacred to us: death!... Thus, poor George, of a calm, honest and modest character, condemned to live in the greatest poverty, enduring the trials of this world with courage and even with joviality, always ready serve his neighbor, you had to die like that, isolated, far from the ones that loved you and that may perhaps be sorry for you; and to humiliate your shadow, it is still necessary that men dig a hole for you in the earth, alone, alone with nothingness! As if your poverty had made you unworthy of sharing a sacred land with your fellow citizens. Besides, you were not even given the charity of a four-piece plank coffin! Despite all that, you are very happy, thinks this good humanity, for resting on the cold and damp earth, forgotten by all! Moreover, what does it matter to them that your body rotten there, without a single friend shedding a tear there, or laying a flower or bringing a memory? I stop here, because I am still outraged that one has not even followed the formalities established in similar circumstances with the most unfortunate ones. In every civilized country, they give twenty-four hours for the relatives of a dead person, found by the authorities, to come to recognize and claim him. If nobody has come at the end of that interval, the person is then buried in a sacred land, always observing the respect that is due to death. But here, one abstains from such formalities, and if you cannot pay for the expenses of the coffin, one is content to throw you to any corner, like a beast, covering you with two or three handfuls of dust.

I repeat, Sir, misery is a great scourge.

Lazarus”

The following fact was reported by the Evénement, on August 2^nd, 1866:

“A few days ago the inhabitants of the region neighboring Church of Saint-Médard were very shaken by a singular, mysterious event that gave rise to the most dismal reports and commentaries.

Demolitions are taking place around the church; most houses were built in the area of a cemetery associated to the story of supposed miracles, that in the beginning of the eighteenth century motivated a decree by the government, on January 27^th, 1733, ordering the closure of that cemetery, that then had the following epigram written on its door the next day:

-By the order of King… God is prohibited of making miracles in this place.

However, the houses respected by the demolishing hammer, were devastated every night by a hail of stones, sometimes very large, that broke the glasses and fell on the roofs that were damaged. Despite the most active researches, nobody found out the origin of the projectiles. It was even said that the dead of the cemetery, disturbed in their rest by the demolitions, thus manifested their discontent. But less credulous people, believing that those stones that continued to fall every night, were thrown by a living creature, demanded the intervention of Mr. Cazeaux, police chief, that established a surveillance by his agents.

While they were exercising it, the stones did not appear, but as soon as they stopped, they fell again, even more abundantly. They did not know what to do to solve that mystery when Mrs. X…, owner of a house at Censier road, declared to the police chief that, for being scared with the event, she had consulted with a somnambulist. She revealed to me, said the woman, that the stones were thrown by a young woman that had an illness on the head. Precisely my maid, the sixteen-year-old Felicia F…, had herps in that part of the body. Although the police chief gave no importance to this indication, he agreed to question Felicia, thus obtaining a full confession. Acting by the inspiration of a Spirit that had appeared to her, she had amassed a large quantity of stones in an attic, and every night she would wake up to throw part of the stones through the window of the attic onto the neighboring houses. On the assumption that the girl could be mentally ill, the police chief had her sent to the Prefecture so that she could be examined by specialized doctors.”


This fact demonstrates that one must avoid attributing all events of this sort to a hidden cause, and when there is a material cause it is always discovered, and that does not prove anything against the possibility of another origin, in certain cases, that can only be assessed by the whole circumstances, like in the case of Poitiers. Unless the hidden cause is demonstrated by evidence, doubt is the wiser party. It is, therefore, convenient to exercise caution.

One must suspect, above all, the traps prepared by malevolence with the objective of enjoying the mystification of the Spiritists. The fixated idea of the majority of the adversaries is that Spiritism is entirely the physical phenomena and that it cannot live without it; that this is the only objective of the Spiritists’ faith, being this the reason why the believe to be able to kill it by discrediting the effects, be it by simulating them or by inventing them in ridiculous conditions. Their ignorance of Spiritism makes them unnoticeably miss the fundamental side of the question, that is the moral and philosophical point of view.

Some, however, know very well this side of the doctrine; but since it is unassailable, they charge onto the other more vulnerable one, and that is more easily prone to charlatanism. They would like to make the Spiritists to be seen as superstitious and credulous admirers of the fantastic, blindly accepting everything. It comes as a great disappointment to them not to see the Spiritists ecstatic before the smallest fact with the appearance of supernatural, and finding them, with respect to certain phenomena, even more skeptical than those that do not know Spiritism. Now, it is precisely because they know it that they are aware of what is possible and what is not, and do not see the action of the Spirits in everything.

In the event mentioned above it is very curious to see the true cause revealed by a somnambulist. It is the consecration of the phenomenon of lucidity. As for the young woman that said to have acted by the impulse of a Spirit, it is certain that it was not her knowledge of Spiritism that gave her such an idea. Where has it come from? It is quite possible that she would be under the domain of an obsession that was taken for madness, as always. It that is so, she will not be cured with medication. We have seen many times, in similar cases, persons speaking spontaneously of Spirits, because they see them, and it is then said that they are hallucinated.

We suppose she is in good faith, because we have no reason to be suspicious of her. Unfortunately, however, there are facts whose nature arouse mistrust. We remember a woman that simulated mental illness when she left a meeting to which she had been admitted, the only one that she had attended. After been immediately taken to a mental hospital, she soon confessed having received fifty francs to represent a comedy. It was the time when they were trying to propagate the idea that mental institutions were overcrowded with Spiritists. This woman allowed herself to be seduced by some money; others may yield to other influences. We do not mean that this is the case of this young woman; we only wanted to show that when one wants to degrade something, all means are good. It is to the Spiritists one more reason to be on guard, observing everything scrupulously. As a matter of fact, if everything that is secretly plotted demonstrates that the struggle has not ended and that is necessary to double vigilance and firmness, it is equally a proof that not everyone looks at Spiritism like a chimera.

Side by side with the deaf war, there is the open warfare, more generally waged by the mocking incredulity. This has evidently changed. The increasing number of events; the adhesions of persons whose good-faith and reason cannot be suspected; the impassibility of the Spiritists, as well as their calm and moderation before the storms raised against them, has given food for thought. The press registers Spiritists facts daily. If there are some true facts among them, there are others evidently invented by the needs of the cause of opposition. It no longer denies the phenomena but tries to make them ridiculous by exaggeration. It is a very inoffensive tactic because today it is not difficult, in certain matters, to play the part of unlikelihood. The American newspapers do not fall behind in the inventions about it, and ours promptly imitate them. That is how most of them repeated the following story in the last month of March:

United States: A man by the name Dr. Hughes, was executed in Cleveland, Ohio, that at the time of his death gave a speech, revealing an extraordinary firmness and sharpness of mind. He took advantage of the occasion to make a dissertation, that lasted less than half an hour, about the utility and justice of the death penalty. Such a maximum penalty, he said, is simply ridiculous. What is the advantage of taking my life? None. It will certainly not be my example that will discourage others of a crime. Do I remember having fired that pistol shot? Today I have absolutely no recollection of that. I can accept that Ohio’s law may reach me fairly, but I say, at the same time, that it is silly and useless. If you pretend that this rope that will be tied around my neck, and tighten until I die, will prevent murder, I say that your thought is silly and vain, because the state of mind of John W. Hughes, when he committed murder, there isn’t any example on this Earth that could have precluded a man from doing what I did, whoever that man is. I bow before the state law, with the thought that taking my life is as useless as it is cruel. I hope that my ordeal does not remain as an example of death penalty, but as an argument that proves its uselessness.

After that, Hughes made an examination of conscience, and elaborated a lot about religion and the immortality of the soul. His theories, in these serious matters, are not positively orthodox, but at least attest a singular cold blood. He also spoke of Spiritualism, or better saying, of Spiritism. He said:

-“I know, from my own experience, that there is an incessant communication between those that leave this life and those that remain. Today I will face the supreme legal penalty, but at the same time, I have the certainty that I will be with you after my execution, as I am now. My judges and my executioners will always see me before their eyes, and you that came here to see me dying, there isn’t a single one of you that will not see me again in flesh and blood, dressed in black, carrying my own premature grief, as much in your sleep as in the hours of your daily occupations. Goodbye, ladies, and gentlemen. I hope none of you will do what I did. If there is, however, someone that is in the same mental state that I was when I committed the crime, it certainly will not be the memory of this day that will preclude that. Goodbye.”

After that screed, the trap door of the gallows fell, and Dr. Hughes hanged. But his words had produced a profound impression upon the audience, that resulted in singular effects. Here is what we found about it in the Herald of Cleveland:

“In the gallows, with the rope around his neck, Dr. Hughes said that he would be with those that heard him, as he was before his death, and we can say that he took his words seriously. Among those persons that had visited him before his execution, there was an honest German butcher. This man cannot take Dr. Hughes out of his mind, since the interview with the prisoner. Day and night, nonstop, he sees prisons, gallows, hanging men. He no longer sleeps or eat and doesn’t take care of his family or his business, and such a vision almost killed him last night. He had just entered the stables to treat the animals when he saw Dr Hughes, standing near his horse, dressed in the same black clothes that he wore when he left our planet, appearing to enjoy perfect health. The poor butcher screamed terrified, a scream from another world, and fell on his back. He was promptly helped and lifted; his eyes were vague, the face livid and the lips trembling, and with a panting voice he asked, after recovering consciousness, if Dr Hughes was still there. He said that he had just seen him, and that if he were no longer in the stables, he could not be far. It took a lot of effort to calm him down and take him home. The sight continued to chase him and the last information we have is that he could not calm down from his agitated state.


But here it is what is even more curious. The butcher is not the only one to whom Dr Hughes appeared after dying. Two days after the execution, all prisoners saw him with their own eyes, entering the prison and walking around the aisles. He looked perfectly fine, dressed in black as in the gallows; he always passed his hand on the neck and produced a guttural sound that vibrated between the teeth. He climbed the stairs that led to his cell, got inside, sat down, and began writing verses. That is what the prisoners said and nothing in this world could convince them that they had been victims of an illusion.”


This case still has its instructive side, by the words of the patient. It is true, with respect to the main subject, but since he thought to be appropriate to speak of Spiritualism or Spiritism in his last speech, the story teller thought appropriate to inflate the report with cases of apparitions that only existed in his pen, except the first one, of the butcher that seems to be real.

Tom, the blind, is not a novel about a ghost, but an incredible phenomenon of intelligence. Tom is a black, seventeen-year-old young man, born blind, supposedly gifted by a wonderful musical instinct. The Harpers Weekly, illustrated newspaper of New York, dedicates a long article to him, from which we extracted the following passages:

“Since less than two years, he translated everything that had reached his years into songs, and the accuracy and easiness with which he captured a melodic fragment was such that he could execute his part just by hearing the first notes of a music. He soon started following with the second voice, although he had never heard, but an instinct told him that he should sing a similar thing. He heard a piano for the first time when he was four years old. When the instrument arrived, he was playing in the back yard as he usually did. The first vibration of the string attracted him to the living room. He was allowed to pass his fingers on the keyboard, just to satisfy his curiosity and do not deny his innocent pleasure of making some noise. Once, after mid-night, he was in the living room where he had learned to enter. The piano had not been closed and the ladies of the house were awakened by the sound of the instrument. To their great surprise, they heard Tom playing one of their pieces, and in the morning, he was still found at the piano. He was then allowed to play as much as he wished. He made such remarkable and speedy progress that the piano became the echo of everything that he heard. He then developed new and prodigious skills, up until then unknown in the musical world, and whose monopoly, it seems, God had reserved to Tom. He was less than five when, after a storm, he composed what he called: “What the wind, the thunder and the rain tell me.”

In Philadelphia, seventy music teachers spontaneously signed off a declaration that ends like this: “In fact, by any kind of musical examination, execution, composition and improvisation, he demonstrated a power and a capacity that put him among the most remarkable phenomena whose memory had been kept by the history of music. The signees believe it to be impossible to explain such prodigious results by any hypothesis that may be given by the laws of Art or Science.”

Today the plays the most difficult music of the great composers with a subtlety of touch, a power and an expression rarely heard. In the next Spring he must go to Europe.”

Here is the explanation given about this through the medium Mr. Morin, in a Spiritist meeting in Paris, in the house of Princess O…, on May 13^th, 1866, in which we were present. It may serve as a guide in all similar cases.


“Not so fast in believing in the arrival of the famous blind black musician. His musical skills are much exalted by the great propagators of news, that are not stingy when it comes to imaginary facts, destined to satisfy the curiosity of their subscribers. You must be suspicious of reproductions, and above all the hypothetical or real borrowings from your journalists of their overseas colleagues. Many trial balloons are released with the objective of having the Spiritists falling in the trap, and in hopes of dragging Spiritism and its followers through the domain of ridicule. Therefore, be on your guard and never comment an event without being previously well informed and without having asked for the opinion of your guides.

You cannot imagine all the gimmicks employed by slayers of new ideas, to surprise a misstep, a fault, a palpable absurd made by the Spirits of their too confident proselytes. Traps are lay down to the Spirits everywhere; they are improved every day; young and old alike are on the prowl, and the most beautiful day of their lives would be the one to catch the chief in error, with the hands on the sack of ridicule. They have such self-confidence that they rejoice in anticipation; but there is an old proverb that says: - one must not sell the skin of the bear before killing it. Spiritism, however, their pet peeve, still stands, and could well allow them to wear their shoes off before being reached. It is with their heads down that the will, one day, burn incense before of the altar of truth that will soon be recognized by everybody.

By advising you to keep your reservation, I do not pretend that the deeds and gestures attributed to that blind man are impossible, but you must not believe in them before having seen them, and specially, heard them.”

Ebelmann



Such a prodigy, even giving a lot of room to exaggeration, would be the most eloquent defense in favor of the rehabilitation of the black race, in a country where the prejudice of color is so deeply rooted, and if it cannot be explained by the known laws of science, it would be more clearly and more rationally by reincarnation, not of a black in a black, but of a white in a black, because such an instinctive premature faculty could only be the intuitive memory of knowledge acquired in a previous life.

But then, it will be said, it will be a regression of the Spirit, to pass from the white to the black race? Decline of social position, no doubt, that is seen every day, when a rich person is born poor or a master becomes a servant, but not regression of the Spirit, since the aptitudes and acquisitions would have been preserved. Such a position would be a test or an atonement; perhaps even a mission, demonstrating that that race is not doomed to an absolute inferiority by nature. We reason here on the hypothesis of the reality of the fact and for similar cases that may appear.

The two following facts are from the same factory and do not need another remark in addition to what has just been given. The first, reported by the Soleil on July 19^th, is supposedly of American origin; the second, extracted from the Événement of April, is supposed to be Parisian. The Spirits will incontestably be the most hardened unbelievers. As for the others, curiosity could well lead more than one to seek the thing that is said to produce so many wonders.

“The rapping Spirits and others seemed to have settled in Tauton, and that have chosen the house of an unfortunate doctor of that town for theater of their adventures. The basement, the halls, the rooms, the kitchen and even the attic of the professional are haunted at night by the shadows of all those that he sent to a better world. These are screams, moaning, curses, bloody ironies, according to the Spirit of the shadows that sometime does not have a shadow of Spirit.

-Your last potion killed me, says a cavernous voice.

-Allopathic, you are not worth a Homeopathist.

-I am your victim 299, the last one, says another apparition. At least make a cross when you reach 300.

And so forth. The life of the poor doctor is no longer bearable.”



The second anecdote is also witty:

“It is Sunday evening, during this dreadful thunderstorm which yesterday’s newspapers enumerated the devastations. A horse-drawn carriage was descending the avenue de Neuilly through rain and lightning; inside were four people; they had dined together in a very amiable and very hospitable house, near the park of Neuilly, and enlivened by this pleasant evening, the four travelers, heedless of the storm, engaged in a rather light conversation. They talked badly about women, even slandered them somewhat. The name of a young person was brought up, and someone expressed doubts about the nationality of the victim, insinuating that it was certainly not born in Nanterre. Suddenly, a thunderbolt makes the doors shiver, a lightning strike flashes the whole car and the rain lashes the windows, almost shattering them. Illuminated by the lightning, the four travelers then saw, standing in front of them in the car, a fifth traveler - it was a woman, dressed in white, a specter, an angel. The apparition vanished with the lightning, then as if the phantom wanted to protest against the calumny that was directed against the young absent woman, a rain of orange blossoms fell on the four companions of journey and covered them with balmy fog. There was, indeed, a medium among the four travelers.

Nothing forces you to believe this incredible story, and I don't believe a word of it myself. It was one of the four travelers that told me and confirms it to me. It seemed original to me, that's all! "

The Petit Journal of May 14^th, 1866 reads:

“Mr. Émile Gaboriau, commenting the fact attributed to the husband that had murdered his wife while dreaming, tells in the Pays, this dramatic episode that we are going to read:

But low and behold, it is stronger, and I must say that I believe in the fact, whose authenticity was attested to me by the hero himself. The hero, my college mate, is an engineer in his thirties, a man of wit and talent, of methodical character and cold temperament. While traveling in Brittany, two years ago, he had to spend the night in an isolated hostel, a few hundred yards form a mine that he intended to visit the next day.

He was worn out. He went to bed early and soon fell asleep. Soon he was dreaming. He had just been put in chart of the exploration of that neighboring mine. He was watching the workers when the owner arrived.

That brutal and ill-educated man criticized him for staying out, arms crossed, when he should be inside, busy making the plan.

-It is okay, I will go down, responded the young engineer.

He, in fact, went down, walked the galleries, and sketched a plan. When the task was over, he jumped on a basket that should bring him back up. The basket was suspended by a huge cable. The mine was extraordinarily deep, and the engineer assessed that the ascent would take well a quarter of an hour. He then made himself as comfortable as possible. He climbed for two or three minutes when, raising his eyes serendipitously, he thought he had seen that the cable that held his life was cut a few feet above his head, too high for him to reach it. At first his fear was such that he almost fainted. He then tried to recover, reassuring himself. Could he be mistaken, had he not seen badly? He had to appeal to all his courage to dare look again. No, he was not wrong. The cable had been damaged by the friction of the rock and slowly, but visibly, it was unraveling. At that point it was not thicker than one inch in diameter. The unfortunate one felt lost. A mortal cold froze him up to the marrow. He wanted to scream; impossible. Besides, what for? He was then halfway through. At the bottom, at a vertiginous depth, he noticed the lights of the workers, less shiny than glowworms in the grass. Above he saw the opening of the well, so tight that it seemed less narrow than the diameter of a bottleneck. He was always going up, and one by one the hemp threads were cracking. And there was no way to avoid the horrible fall, for, he saw it, he felt it, the cable would break well before the basked reached the top.

His anguish was such that he thought of ending the ordeal by jumping. He hesitated when the basket reached the surface. He was saved. He jumped to the ground with a formidable scream. The scream woke him up. The horrible adventure was only a dream. But he was in terrible state, bathed in sweat, hardly breathing, incapable of the slightest movement. He finally rang the bell and they came for his aid. But the persons in the hostel almost refused to recognize him. His black hair had turned grey. On the foot of the bed was, sketched by him, the plan of the mine that he did not know. The plan was of a marvelous accuracy.”

We have no other guarantee of authenticity of this fact than the report above. Without prejudging anything about it, we say that everything that is reported is possible. The plan of the mine, sketched by the engineer during his sleep, is no different that the works carried out by the somnambulists. To do it accurately he had to see it. Since he could not see with the eyes of the body, he saw it with the eyes of the soul. His Spirit explored the mine during the sleep; the plan is the material proof. As for the danger, it is evident that there was nothing real about it; it was just a nightmare. What is remarkable is the fact that under the impression of an imaginary danger, his hair turned gray.

This phenomenon is explained by the fluidic links that the impressions of the soul transmit to the body, when the former is away from the latter. The soul was not aware of such separation; the perispirit took the place of the material body, as it many times happens after death, with certain Spirits that still believe to be alive, imagining themselves still occupied with their regular businesses. The Spirit of the engineer, although alive, was on an analogous situation; it was all so real in his mind, as if he were in his body of flesh and blood. Hence the horror that he experimented by feeling close to be thrown in the abyss.

Where has such a fantastic image come from? He created it himself, through his thoughts, a fluidic image in which he was the actor, exactly like Mrs. Cantianille and Sister Elmérich that we mentioned in our preceding number. The difference is in their usual occupations. The engineer naturally thought of the mines, whereas Mrs. Cantianille in her nunnery thought of hell. She undoubtedly believed to be in a state of mortal sin, for some breach of the rule, carried out by the instigation of the demons; by exaggerating its consequences she already saw herself dominated by them. The words: “I only got to deserve very well their trust” demonstrates that her conscience was not appeased. Moreover, the image that she makes of hell is somewhat seducing to certain persons, for those that admit to say blasphemy against God and praise the devil, and that have the courage to challenge the flames, are rewarded by entirely mundane pleasures. In this image it was possible to notice a reflex of the Masonic tests, that had been shown to her as the hall of hell. As for Sister Elmérich, her concerns are milder. She is satisfied with the beatitude and veneration of holy things; her visions, therefore, are their reproductions.

In the vision of the engineer, there are two distinct parts: the first real and positive, attested by the accuracy of the mine plan; the second purely fantastic: that danger that he run. This may perhaps be the effect of a real accident of that kind in which he had been the victim in his preceding life. It might have been provoked as a warning for him to take the necessary precautions. Overseeing the direction of the mine, after such a warning, would not neglect the cautionary measures. That is an example of the impression that one may preserve from sensations experienced in another existence.

We do not know if we have already cited it elsewhere; without time to dig it up, we bring it back with the risk of repeating it, in support of what we want to say.

A lady of our acquaintance had been educated in a boarding school in Rouen. When the students went out to the church or at leisure, at a certain point of the road she was taken by an extraordinary idea and apprehension: she felt like she was going to fall into an abyss, and that repeated every time she passed that place, during the whole time she was in the boarding school. She had left the Rouen for more than twenty years and having returned a few years ago she had the curiosity of going to see again the house where she had lived. When passing by the same street she experienced the same sensation. Later, having become a Spiritist, and having this fact come back to her memory, she requested an explanation and she was told that in the past, in that same place, there were gullies with deep wells full of water; that she was part of a group of ladies that joined efforts to defend the town against the English and that they had been thrown in those wells, where they had perished. This event is reported in the history of Rouen.

Thus, many centuries later, the terrible impression of that catastrophe had not yet faded away from her Spirit. If she no longer had the same material body, she had the same fluidic body or perispirit that had received the first impression, and that reacted in her present body. A dream, therefore, could trace the image back to her and produce an emotion like that of the engineer.

How many things the principle of the perpetuity of the Spirit and the bond that links the Spirit to matter teach us! The newspapers may have never, perhaps, in denying Spiritism, reported so many facts in support of the truths that it proclaims.

Clairvoyance in Children

One of our correspondents writes from Caen:

“A few days ago I was at hotel St. Peter in Caen. I was drinking a glass of beer and reading a newspaper. The little girl of the house, of approximately four years old, was sitting at the stairs, eating cherries. She did not notice that I saw her that seemed entirely entertained in a conversation with invisible beings, to whom she offered cherries. It all seemed that way: the physiognomy, the gestures, the inflexions of the voice. She soon turned roughly and said:

-You will not have it, because you are not nice.

-This is for you, she said to another one.

-What is it that you throw at me? She asked a third one.

One would say that she was surrounded by other children. She sometimes extended her hand offering what she had, sometimes her eyes followed objects that were invisible to me, that made her sad or laugh. That little scene lasted more than half a hour and the conversation only ended when the little one noticed that I was observing her. I know that children many times have fun with sidetracks of this kind, but here it was completely different; the face and the gestures reflected real impressions that were not those of a representation. I thought that it was undoubtedly about a clairvoyant medium in her infancy, and said to myself, that if every mother had been initiated in the laws of Spiritism, they would then collect many cases of observation, and would understand may facts that go unnoticed, whose knowledge could be useful to the education of their children.”

It is regrettable that our correspondent did not have the idea of question the little girl about the persons she was talking to. He could have ensured if the conversation had really been with invisible beings. In such a case it could have produced an important instruction, since our correspondent is a Spiritist and very enlightened, and could have usefully addressed those questions. Nevertheless, many other facts demonstrate that the clairvoyant mediumship, if it is not general, it is at least very common in children, and that is providential. When the child leaves the spiritual world, her guides come to take her to the port of disembark onto the earthly world, as they come to get her on the return. They appear to them in their first moments so that there isn’t too much of a rough transition; they then fade away progressively, as the child grows and can act on her own free-will. She is then left to her own strength, disappearing from her eyes, without losing sight of her. The girl above, instead of being, as our correspondent believes, a clairvoyant medium that begins, she could well be declining, and no longer enjoy such a faculty for the rest of her life. (See Spiritist Review, February 1865: Spirits Instructors of Childhood).

The times established by God have come, we are told from all sides, in which great things are going to happen for the regeneration of humanity. In which sense should these prophetic words be understood? To the unbelievers they have no importance. To their eyes these are just an expression of a puerile belief, without foundation. To most believers it has something of mystic and supernatural, that seems to be a precursor of a collapse of the natural laws. Both interpretations are equally wrong; the first for implying the denial of Providence and because the facts demonstrate the truth of these words; the second because they do not announce the breach of the laws of nature but its realization.

Let us, therefore, seek a more rational meaning.

Everything is harmony in the works of creation; everything reveals a providence that contradicts neither the smallest nor the greatest things. Therefore, to begin with, we must rule out any caprice, for it is irreconcilable with the Divine wisdom; second, if our times are set for the realization of certain things, it is for that fact that they make sense in the general march. Having said that, we say that our globe, as everything that exists, is submitted to the law of progress. It progresses physically by the transformation of the elements that compose it, and morally by the depuration of its inhabiting incarnate and discarnate Spirits. These two progresses follow one another and march in parallel because the perfection of the dwelling is proportional to the inhabitant. The globe has suffered physical transformation, attested by science, and that have made it gradually inhabitable by more perfected beings; morally, humanity progresses by the development of intelligence, moral sense, and softening of social mores. While the globe improves under the domain of material forces, men contribute to that by the efforts of intelligence. They improve inhospitable regions, advance communications, and make the soil more productive.

This doble progress takes place in two ways: one that is slow, gradual, and imperceptible; the other through more sudden changes, with a faster ascending movement taking place in each one, marking by distinct characters the progressive movement of humanity. Such movements, subordinated in the detail to men’s free-will, are, in a way, fatal as a whole, because they are submitted to the laws, as those that yield germination, growth and maturation of plants, given that progress is the objective of humanity, despite the delay of some individualities. That is why the progressive movement is, sometimes, partial, that is, limited to a race or a nation, and other times general.

The progress of humanity, therefore, takes place due to a law. Since all laws of nature are the eternal works of the Divine wisdom and prescience, everything that is the effect of such laws is the result of the will of God, and not the result of an accidental and whimsical will, but that of an immutable will.



Then, when humanity is mature enough to transpose a step, we can say that the times established by God have come, as we can also say that in a given season they have arrived for the maturation and harvest of fruits.

Considering that the progressive movement of humanity is inevitable, because it is part of nature, it does not follow that God is indifferent to that, and that after having established the laws, he had entered a state of inertia, allowing things to go by themselves. His laws are eternal and immutable, no doubt, but since His own will is eternal and constant, and His thought animates everything without interruption, and since His thought, that penetrates everything, is the intelligent and permanent force that keeps everything in harmony, if that thought stopped acting a single moment, the universe would be like a clock without its regulating rocker arm. Thus, God oversees incessantly His laws, and the Spirits that inhabit space are His ministers in charge of the details, according to the assignment compatible with their degree of development.

The universe is, at the same time, an incommensurable mechanism led by a not less incommensurable number of intelligences, and an immense government in which each intelligent being has its part of the action under the sovereign eye of the Lord, whose unique will keeps the unity of the whole. Under the empire of this vast regulating power, everything moves, everything works in a perfect order. What seems disturbance to us, constitute partial and isolated movements that only seem irregular to us because our sight is circumscribed. If we could embrace the whole, we would see that such irregularities are just apparent and that they are in harmony with the whole.

The forecast of progressive movements of humanity is not at all surprising to the dematerialized beings, that see the target to which everything tend, some of whom get the direct thought of God and judge, by the partial movements, the time in which there could be a general movement, as we foresee the time for a tree to bear fruits, and like the astronomers calculate the time for an astronomical phenomenon based on the time that remains for a given globe to complete its revolution.

But all those that announce such phenomena, the authors of almanacs that predict eclipses and tides, are not certainly the ones capable of doing the necessary calculations. They are simple repeaters. Thus, there are secondary Spirits, whose vision is limited, and that just repeat what the superior Spirits thought appropriate to reveal to them.

Humanity has realized incontestable progresses up until now. For its intelligence, mankind has achieved results that had never been done before in terms of sciences, arts, and material comfort. There remains still a grandiose result to be achieved: have charity, fraternity, and solidarity reigning among all, to ensure their moral well-being. Men could not have it done with their beliefs, their broken institutions, remains of former times, good for a certain period, sufficient for a transient state, but that having given what it was capable of, today they would be stagnation. That is what happens to a boy, whose motivations of childhood are powerless when it comes to a mature age. It is no longer just the development of intelligence that is necessary to men, but the elevation of feelings, and for that it is necessary to destroy everything that could super excite pride and selfishness in them.

That is the period that they will enter and that will mark one of the main phases of humanity. That phase, that is currently in preparation, is the necessary complement of the current phase, as the mature age is the complement of youth. It could, therefore, be predicted in anticipation, and that is why we say that the times marked by God have come. Such time is not about a partial change, a limited renovation of a country, a people, or a race. It is the universal movement that takes place in terms of moral progress. A new order of things tends to be established, and those that oppose to that the most, work for that, nevertheless.



Future generation, disentangled from the scum of the old world, and formed by more depurated elements, will be driven by ideas and feelings completely different from the feelings that drive the present generation, moving away at gigantic steps. The old world will die and live in history, like the medieval times today, with their barbaric social mores and superstitious beliefs.

Besides, everyone knows that the present order of things is lacking. After having, in a way, exhausted material comfort, that is a product of intelligence, if follows that the complement of that well-being can only be the moral development. The more one advances, the more one feels what is lacking, without, however, being able to clearly define it; it is the effect of the intimate work that takes place for the regeneration; one has wishes and aspirations that are like the presentiment of a better state.

But such a radical change, like the one that is taking place, cannot happen without commotion; there is inevitable struggle between ideas, and in the struggle, there is the possibility of success or failure. However, since the new ideas are those of progress, and progress is in the laws of nature, they can only overcome the backward-looking ideas. Temporary disruptions will forcibly arise from this conflict, until the terrain is cleared from the obstacles that are opposed to the construction of the new social edifice.

It is, therefore, form the struggle of ideas that the announced grave events will take place, and not from cataclysms and purely material catastrophes. The general cataclysms followed the periods of formation of Earth; today it is no longer the guts of Earth that agitates, but those of humanity.

Humanity is a collective being, in which the moral revolutions that take place are the same as those in each individual, with the difference that some take place year over year, and the others century after century. Following their evolution through times, one can see the life of the several races marked by periods that give each one a particular character.

Side by side with partial movements, there is a general movement that gives the whole humanity an impulse; but the progress of each part of the whole is relative to their degree of advancement. Such would be a family formed by several children, in which the youngest is in the crib and the oldest is ten years old, for example. After ten years, the oldest one will be a twenty-year-old man, and the youngest will be only ten, and although grown, he will still be a child, but in due time he will become a man. That is what happens to the several fractions of humanity; the younger advance, but they could not leap to the same level as the older ones. By becoming adult, humanity has new needs, ampler and more elevated aspirations; it understands the emptiness of the ideas that lulled it, the insufficiency of its institutions for its happiness, no longer finding in such state of things the legitimate satisfactions that it demands, and for that reason humanity shakes the diapers and moves forward, pushed by an irresistible force towards the unknown, seeking new and less limited horizons. And at the time when it finds itself suffocated in its material sphere, when intellectual life thrives, when the feeling of spirituality expands, that certain men, pretense philosophers, expect to fill the emptiness with the doctrines of nihilism and materialism! Strange aberration! These very men that pretend to take it forward, strive to keep it in the narrow circle of matter, from which humanity aspires to leave; they block its vision of an infinite life, and say by pointing at the grave: Nec plus ultra.^[1]

The progressive march of humanity occurs in two different ways, as we said: one is gradual, slow, imperceptible, if we consider less remote epochs, translated into successive improvements in social mores, laws, uses, and that we only notice with time, like the changes provoked on the surface of the globe by the currents of water; the other one, by a relatively sudden and fast movement, similar to a torrent breaking the dikes, making it cover in a few years what would otherwise be done in centuries. It is then a moral cataclysm that shortly devours the institutions of the past, succeeded by a new order of things that is established bit by bit, as calm returns and becomes definitive.

To someone that lives enough to embrace the two sides of the new phase, it seems that a new world has come out of the ruins of the old one; the character, the social mores, the uses, everything has changed. It is for the fact that new men, or better saying, regenerated men have arrived. The ideas sustained by the extinguishing generation give rise to the one that stands up.

Humanity has arrived to one of these periods of transformation, or moral growth, if you will. It passes from adolescence to a mature age. Past can no longer suffice to its new aspirations and needs; it can no longer be driven by the same means; it no longer allows elusions and gimmicks. Matured reason requires more substantial food. Present is ephemeral; it feels that its destiny is ampler, that the material life is excessively restricted to completely contain it. That is why it looks back at the bast and forward, to the future, to discover the mystery of its own existence, seeking a reassuring safety net.

Anyone that has meditated about Spiritism and its consequences, and do not restrict it to the production of some phenomena, understands that it opens a new path to humanity, unfolding the horizons of infinity. Initiating in the mysteries of the invisible world, it shows one’s true role in the creation, an eternally active role, both in the spiritual and in the corporeal state. Man no longer walks blindly. He knows where he comes from, where he is going to and why he is on Earth. Future shows him how it truly is, free from the prejudices of ignorance and superstition; to him, it is no longer a hope, it is rather a tangible truth, as certain as the succession of days and nights. He knows that his being is not limited to an existence of a few instants, whose duration is submitted to the whims of chance; that the spiritual life is not interrupted by death; that he has already lived and will live again, and that everything that is acquired in perfection by work is not lost; he finds the reason for what he is today in previous existences, and from what he does today he can conclude what, one day, he is going to be.

With the thought that individual activity and cooperation in the general works of civilization are limited to the present life, and that we were nothing and will be nothing, what does it matter to man the future progress of humanity? What does it matter that peoples are better governed in the future, that they are happier, more enlightened, and better to one another? Considering that there is no benefit to be taken from this, isn’t such progress lost to him? What good does it make to him to work for those that will come afterwards, if he is never going to meet them; if they are new beings, that later will also fall in the void? Under the empire of the denial of an individual future, everything forcibly reduces to the meager proportions of the moment and personality.

But, the certainty of the perpetuity of the spiritual being, on the contrary, what amplitude of thoughts does it give to man! What strength and courage aren’t acquired against the vicissitudes of material life? What more rational, more grandiose, more worth of the Creator than such a law, according to which the spiritual life, and the material life, are two ways of life that alternate for the accomplishment of progress! What more just and reassuring than the idea of beings progressing incessantly, first through the generations in the same world, then from world to world, up to perfection, without solution of continuity!

Every action, therefore, has an objective, for working for everyone one is working for oneself, and vice-versa, so that neither individual progress, nor general progress are ever sterile, because they benefit both future individualities and generations, that are nothing else but the past individualities that have achieved a higher degree of advancement. The spiritual life is the normal and eternal life of the Spirit, and the incarnation is only a temporary form of its existence. Except for the exterior outfit, there is, therefore, identification between the incarnate and discarnate; they are the same individualities in two different forms, one time belonging to the visible world, another to the invisible one, being in one or in another, concurring in both to the same objective with the means that are appropriate to their condition. The consequence of this law is the perpetuity of the relationships among the beings. Death does not separate them and does not end the relationships of sympathy, as it does not end their reciprocal duties. From that, the solidarity of all for one and one for all; from that, also, the fraternity. Men will not live happily on Earth unless both these feelings have been housed in their hearts and social mores, because then their institutions will be subjected to them. This will be one of the main results of the transformation that takes place.

But how to reconcile the duties of solidarity and fraternity with the belief that men become strange to one another forever with death? By the law of perpetuity of relationships of all beings, Spiritism seats this principle on the very laws of nature. It makes it not only a duty, abut a necessity. By the law of plurality of existences, man is connected to what has been done and what is going to be done by the men of past and future; he can no longer say that he has nothing in common with the ones that die, for one and the others are incessantly in this and in the other world, to climb together the ladder of progress and to provide mutual support. Fraternity is no longer restricted to a few individuals, gathered by chance during the ephemeral duration of a life; it is eternal, like the life of the Spirit, universal, like humanity, that constitutes a great family whose members are all in solidarity with one another, irrespective of the period in which they lived.

Such are the ideas that emerge from Spiritism, and that it will arouse among all men when it is universally spread, understood, taught, and practiced. Fraternity, with Spiritism, synonym of the charity preached by Christ, is no longer an empty word. It has its reason of existence. From the feeling of fraternity arises that of reciprocity and social duties from man to man, people to people, race to race. The most beneficial institutions for the well-being of all will inevitably come from these two well understood feelings.

Fraternity must be the cornerstone of the new social order. But there will not be real, solid and effective fraternity if it is not supported by an unshakable foundation, and such foundation is faith, not the faith in this or that particular dogma, that change with time and by which peoples throw stones at one another, and for anathemizing they entertain antagonism, but faith in the fundamental principles that everybody can accept: God, the soul, the future, the indefinite individual progress, the perpetuity of the relationships among the beings. When men are convinced that God is the same to all, that this sovereignly just and good God cannot wish anything unfair, and that evil comes from men and not from Him, they will then see one another as children of the same Father and hold hands. That is the faith given by Spiritism and that will be, from now on, the pivot around which humankind will move, irrespective of their ways of worshiping and their particular beliefs, that Spiritism respects but does not have to deal with. It is only from this faith that the moral progress may come because it is the only one that provides a logical sanction to the legitimate rights and duties. Without it, the right is what is given by force; the duty is a human code imposed by constraint. What is man without that faith? A little bit of matter that dissolves, an ephemeral being that just passes. Without that faith the genius himself is only a spark that shines momentarily, to disappear forever, and certainly this is not much of a praise before his own eyes.

With such a thought, where are really rights and duties? What is the objective of progress? It is only this faith that makes man feel his dignity by the perpetuity and progression of his own being, not a meager future, restricted to his own personality, but grandiose and splendid; his thought raises him above Earth; he feels growing, believing that he has his role to play; that this universe is his domain that he will be able to travel through one day, and that death will not transform him in a nullity or on a useless being to him and to the others.

The intellectual progress carried out until now, in the largest proportions, is a great step and marks the first phase of humanity whose regeneration cannot be achieved by that progress alone; while man is dominated by pride and selfishness, he will utilize his intelligence and knowledge to the benefit of his passions and personal interests, being this the reason why he applies them to the improvement of means of disserving and destroying others. It is only moral progress that can ensure men’s happiness on Earth by breaking the bad passions; it is only that progress that can establish concord, peace, and fraternity among men. That is what is going to destroy the barriers between peoples; that will drop prejudices of cast and shut the antagonisms of sect, teaching men to see one another as brothers, called to help one another and not have some exploiting others. It is still moral progress, here seconded by the progress of intelligence, that will confound men in the same belief, established on the eternal truths, not subjected to discussions, and for that very reason accepted by all. The unity of belief will be the most powerful bond, the most solid foundation of the universal fraternity, broken by religious disputes that have divided peoples and families in all times, that make people see enemies in their fellow citizens, that need to be fought, kept away and exterminated, instead of brothers that need to be loved.

Such a state of things requires a radical change in the feeling of masses, a general progress that could only take place by moving away from the circle of narrow and shallow ideas that stimulate egotism. Noble men have strived to drive humanity through this path, in several periods, but the still too young humanity remained deaf, and their teachings were like the good seed that fell on the rock. Humanity now is more mature to look up higher than it has done, to assimilate ampler ideas and understand what had not been understood.

The generation that disappears will carry along its prejudices and mistakes; the generations that appears, strengthened in a more depurated source, driven by healthier ideas, will impose the ascending movement to the world, regarding the moral progress that must mark a new phase of humanity. Such a phase is already revealed by unequivocal signs, by attempts of useful reforms, by the great and generous ideas that come to light and begin to find echo. That is how we see the foundation of many protecting, civilizing and emancipating institutions, by the impulse of men evidently predestined to the works of regeneration, and the penal laws daily acquire a more humane feeling. The prejudices of race soften out and the peoples begin to see each other as members of a great family. By the uniformity and facility of the means of transportation, they suppress the barriers that divided them in all parts of the world, gathering in universal committees for peaceful tournaments of intelligence. But such reforms lack a basis for its development, complement and consolidation, a more general moral predisposition to fructify and be accepted by the masses. This is not less a characteristic sign of the times, the prelude of what is going to take place in a larger scale, as the time is right.

A not less characteristic sign of the period in that we enter is the evident reaction that takes place in the spiritualist ideas. An instinctive repulsion manifests against the materialistic ideas, whose representatives become less abundant and less absolute. The spirit of incredulity that had taken the masses, ignorant or enlightened, making them reject both the form and substance of any belief, was like a sleep, after which one feels the need to breathe a more vivifying air. Involuntarily, one seeks something, a supporting point, a hope, where it was empty before.

In this great regenerating movement, Spiritism plays a considerable role, not the ridiculous spiritism invented by a mocking critic, but the philosophical Spiritism, that is understood by those that take the burden of finding the almond inside the shell. By the proof that it brings about the fundamental truths, Spiritism fulfills the emptiness that incredulity engineers in the ideas and beliefs; by the certainty that it provides in a future according to the justice of God, that can be admitted by the strictest reason, it alleviates the bitterness of life and prevents the dismal effects of despair. By revealing the new laws of nature, it gives the key of misunderstood phenomena, and unsolved problems, up until now, killing, at the same time, incredulity, and superstition. For Spiritism there is neither the supernatural nor the marvelous; everything happens in the world due to immutable laws.



Far from replacing an exclusivism by another, it stands as the absolute champion of freedom of conscience; it combats fanaticism in all forms and cut it in its root, proclaiming salvation to all good men, and the possibility to the more imperfect ones to arrive at perfection, by their own efforts, atonement and reparation, a perfection that is the only one that leads to supreme happiness. Instead of discouraging the weak, it encourages them, showing the end that can be achieved.

It does not say: There is no salvation outside Spiritism, but says with Christ: There is no salvation outside charity, a principle of union and tolerance, that will unite men in a common feeling of fraternity, instead of dividing them into enemies sects. By this other principle: There is no unshakable faith but the one that can look at reason face to face in all ages of humanity – it destroys the empire of a blind faith, that annihilates reason, and the passive obedience that numbs; it emancipates man’s intelligence and lifts his morale.

By being consistent, it does not impose itself; it says what it is, what it wants, what it gives, and waits for people to come freely, voluntarily; it wants to be accepted by reason and not by force. It respects all sincere beliefs, and only combats incredulity, egotism, pride and hypocrisy, that are the ulcers of society and the most serious obstacles to moral progress; but it does not cast anathema to anyone, not even to its enemies, for it is convinced that the path of good is open to the most imperfect ones that sooner or later will enter it.

If we suppose the majority of men pervaded by such feelings, we can easily imagine the changes that they will bring to social relations: charity, fraternity, benevolence to all, and tolerance with all beliefs, such will be its motto. This is evidently the objective to which humanity tends, the object of its aspirations, its desires, without realizing the means to achieve them; it tries, gropes along, but it is stopped by the active forces of inertia of prejudices, and by beliefs that are stationary and refractory to progress. These are the resistances that need to be overcome and that is the task of the new generation. Those that will follow the natural course of things will acknowledge that everything seems to be predestined to clear the way. Humanity will count on its favor with the double power of the number and the ideas, besides experience.

Thus, the new generation will march towards the realization of all humanitarian ideas, compatible with its own degree of advancement. Spiritism, by seeking the same objective and carrying out its plans, will meet humanity in the same terrain, where instead of competitors they will be collaborators, helping one another. Men of progress will find a powerful lever in the Spiritist ideas, and Spiritism will find in the new men Spirits absolutely prepared to welcome it. In such a state of things, what can those that wish to create obstacles do?

It is not Spiritism that creates the social renovation, it is the maturity of humanity that makes such a renovation a necessity. By its moralizing power, by its progressive tendencies, by the amplitude of its vision, by the generality of questions that it embraces, Spiritism, more than any other doctrine, apt to second the regenerating movement. That is why it is its contemporary. It came when it could be useful, for time has come for Spiritism as well. Earlier on it would have found unsurpassable obstacles; it would have inevitably succumbed, for the fact that men were satisfied with what they had and had not yet felt the need for what Spiritism brings. Today, born with the fermenting movement of the ideas, it finds the terrain ready to receive it. Tired of doubt and uncertainty, terrified by the abyss that opens before their eyes, the minds receive it like the lifeline of salvation, and a supreme consolation.

By saying that humanity is mature for the regeneration, this does not mean that all individuals are on the same level, but many intuitively carry the germ of the new ideas that circumstances will make sprout; they will then appear more advanced that it seemed, enthusiastically following the impulse of the majority. There are, however, those that are fundamentally refractory, even among the most intelligent, that will certainly not join, at least in this existence, some out of good faith and conviction, others out of interest.

Those whose material interests are linked to the present state of things, and that are not sufficiently advanced to free themselves from that, to whom the general well-being touches less than that of their own, those cannot see the tiniest reforming movement without apprehension. Truth to them is a secondary issue, or better saying, the whole truth is in what does not cause them any disturbance; to their eyes, every progressive idea is subversive and that is why they attack them ruthlessly and carry out a bloodthirsty war.

Too intelligent not to see in Spiritism an auxiliar to those ideas and their feared elements of transformation, and since they do not feel to be up to that, they strive to destroy it; if they thought it was worthless and meaningless, they wouldn’t care. We have already said somewhere else: “The bigger an idea, the more adversaries it encounters, and its importance may be measured by the violence of the attacks that it suffers.”

The number of latecomers is, undoubtedly, still large, but what can they do against the growing wave other than throwing stones at it? This wave is the generation that is rising, while they are disappearing everyday with the generation that extinguishes at a fast pace. Until then they will defend the ground, foot by foot. There is, therefore, an inevitable struggle, but an unequal struggle, because it is the decrepit past, that is falling apart, against the youthful future; that of stagnation against progress; that of the individual against the will of God, for their time has come.

Note. - The reflections above are the development of the instructions given by the Spirits on the same subject, in a large number of communications, either to us or to other persons. The one we publish below is the summary of several interviews we had through two of our frequent mediums, in an ecstatic somnambulistic state, and who, upon awakening, do not retain any memory. We methodically coordinated the ideas to give them a better sequence, removing all unnecessary details and accessories. The thoughts have been accurately reproduced, and the words are also as literally as it was possible to capture by hearing them.

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[1] Nothing beyond (T.N.)

The events precipitated quickly and therefore we no longer say, as in the past: “the times are close”; now we say: “the times have come”. You must not understand these words as in a new flood, or a cataclysm, or a general collapse. Partial convulsions of the globe have always happened, and still do, for they are related to its constitution, but these are not the signs of the times.

However, everything that is said in the Gospel must take place and it does at this time, as you will acknowledge later. But consider the announced signs as figurative, whose spirit, and not the letter, must be understood. All the Scriptures carry great truths under the veil of allegory; the commentators got confused because they fixated on the letter. They lacked the key to understand their true meaning. That key is in the discoveries of science and in the laws of the invisible world that Spiritism reveals to us. From now on, with the help of that knowledge, what was obscure becomes clear and intelligible.

Everything follows the natural order of things, and the immutable laws of God will not be disturbed. Thus, you will not see miracles or prodigies, nor anything supernatural, in the common meaning attached to these words. Do not look at the sky seeking precursors signs there, since you will not see them, and those that announce it will deceive you, but look around you, among men, and you will find them there.

Don’t you feel a blowing wind on Earth, agitating all the Spirits? The world waits, as if taken by a vague presentiment of the approaching storm. Do not believe, however, in the end of the material world; Earth has progressed since its transformation; it must continue to progress, and not be destroyed. But humanity has arrived at one of its periods of transformation, and Earth will elevate in the hierarchy of the worlds.

It is not, therefore, the end of the material world that is in preparation; it is the old world, the world of prejudices, selfishness, pride, and fanaticism that ruins. Some fragments are carried away every day. All will end with the outgoing generation, and the new generation will erect the edifice that the following generations will consolidate and complement. From a world of atonement, Earth is called to one day become a happy world, and to inhabit it will be a reward, instead of a punishment. The kingdom of good will succeed that of evil there.

For humanity to be happy on Earth it is necessary that it is only populated by good Spirits, incarnate and discarnate, that will only want good. Since this time has come, a great emigration takes place at this moment, among those that inhabit it; those that do evil things by the evil things, and that are not touched by good, for no longer being worthy of the transformed Earth, will be excluded, for they would again bring disturbance and confusion and would be an obstacle to progress. They will atone their hardening in inferior worlds, to where they will take their acquired knowledge with the assigned mission of promoting progress in those worlds. They will be replaced by better Spirits on Earth that will establish the kingdom of justice, peace, and fraternity.

Earth, we have already said, must not be transformed by a cataclysm that would annihilate a generation. The current generation will disappear gradually, and the new one will succeed it, without any change in the natural order of things. Hence, everything will apparently take place as usual, with one difference only, and that difference is paramount: part of the Spirits that incarnate here will no longer do. In a newborn child, instead of a lagging Spirit, devoted to evil, a more advanced and dedicated to good Spirit will incarnate. It is, therefore, much more of a new generation of Spirits than a new corporeal generation.

The current period is that of transition. The elements are confounded in two generations. In an intermediary position you watch the departure of one and the arrival of another, and each one is already marked in the world by the characters that are proper to them. The two generations that succeed one another have completely opposite points of view. By the nature of their moral dispositions, but above all by the intuitive and innate disposition, it is easy to distinguish to which each one belongs.

The new generation, that must establish the era of moral progress, is distinguished by a generally premature intelligence and reason, added to the innate feeling of good and the spiritualist beliefs, that is an undoubtful sign of a certain degree of previous advancement. That generation will not be composed exclusively of eminently superior Spirits, but of those that have already progressed and are prepared to assimilate every progressive idea and apt to second the regenerating movement.

The lagging Spirits, on the contrary, are characterized, to begin with, by a revolt against God through the denial of Providence and of every power above humanity; then, the instinctive tendency to degrading passions, to feelings of egotism, pride, hatred, jealousy, greed, and finally the predominance of the attachment to everything that is material.

These are the vices that must be purged from Earth by the removal of those that refuse to mend, because they are incompatible with the rule of fraternity and for the fact that good men will always suffer with their contact. Earth will be free from them and men will march towards a better future without obstacles, a future that is reserved to them down here, as a reward for their efforts and perseverance, while they wait for an even more complete depuration to open the door to superior worlds.

By such migration of Spirits, one must not understand that all those that have fallen behind will be expelled from Earth and relegated to inferior worlds. On the contrary, many will come back here because many have gotten carried away by the circumstances and example; their shell was worse than the core. Once subtracted from the influence of matter and the prejudices of the corporeal world, most of them will see things in a completely different way as from when they were alive, from which you have numerous examples. They are helped with this by the benevolent Spirits that are interested in them, striving to enlighten and show them the false path that they had taken. You can contribute to their betterment yourselves, by your prayers and exhortations, because there is a perpetual solidarity between the living and the dead.

Those can then return with the ones that are going to be happy, for this is a reward to them. What does it matter what they had been or done, if they are driven by better feelings! Far from being hostile to progress and society, they will be useful helpers because they will belong to the new generation. Hence, there will only be a definitive exclusion to the fundamentally rebel Spirits, those that become deaf to the voice of good and reason, more by egotism and pride than ignorance. But these ones are not devoted to an eternal inferiority and a day will come when they will repudiate their past and open their eyes to light. Pray, therefore, for these hardened ones, so that they mend while there is time, because the day of atonement is near. Most of them, unfortunately, by neglecting the voice of God, will persist in their blindness, and their resistance will mark the end of their kingdom through terrible struggles. In their raving, they will rush to their own loss, giving rise to destruction that will generate a multitude of scourges and calamities, so that they will unwillingly accelerate the arrival of the era of renovation.

And as if the destruction was not moving fast enough, we will see suicides multiplying in an incredible proportion, even among children. Madness will have never struck a greater number of men that even before death, will be erased from the living. These are the true signs of the times. And all this will be achieved by the sequence of events, as we have said, without any breach of the laws of nature.

However, in the somber cloud that involves you and where the storm roars, notice the appearance of the first rays of light of the new era! Fraternity casts its foundations in all corners of the globe and the peoples reach out to one another; barbarism acquires familiar habits before contact with civilization; prejudices of race and sect, that have shed rivers of blood, disappear; fanaticism and intolerance loose ground, while the freedom of consciousness penetrates the social more, becoming a right. Ideas ferment everywhere; illnesses are faced with remedies, but many wanders around without a compass, lost in utopias. The world lives an immense labor that will last a century. In this still confusing work, one can nonetheless see a dominating tendency towards one objective: the unity and uniformity that predispose fraternity.

These are still the signs of times. But, while the others are those of the agony of the past, the latter are the first gasps to the just born child, the precursors of the dawn that the incoming century will see stand, because then the new generation will be in full power. As much as the appearance of the nineteenth century differs from that of the eighteenth century, on certain points of view, the twentieth century will be different from the nineteenth, from other points of view.

One of the distinctive characters of the new generation will be the innate faith, not the exclusive and blind faith that divides men, but a reasoned faith, that clarifies and strengthens, that unite and confound them in a common feeling of love to God and then neighbor. The last vestiges of incredulity and fanaticism will disappear with the generation that ends, equally contrary to moral and social progress.

Spiritism is the path that leads to the renovation because it destroys the two greatest obstacles that are opposed to that: incredulity and fanaticism. It provides a solid and enlightened faith; it develops all the feelings and ideas that correspond to the views of the new generation, and that is why it is innate and does exist in an intuitive state in the hearts of its representatives. The new era will, therefore, see it grow and prosper by the very force of things. It will constitute the basis of all beliefs, the supporting point of every institution. But until then, how many struggles it will have to face against its two greatest enemies, fanaticism, and incredulity, that strangely enough, join hands to bring it down. They have a presentiment of their future and their own ruin, and that is why they fear it, for they already see it planting the flag that must unite all peoples, on the ruins of the old and selfish world. They read their own condemnation in the Divine maxim: there is no salvation apart from charity because it is the symbol of the new fraternal alliance proclaimed by Christ.^[1] These words appear to them as the fateful words of the feast of Baltazar. And yet, they should bless this maxim, because it spares them from all retaliation on the part of those they persecute. But no, a blind force pushes them to reject the only thing that could save them.

But what can they do against the ascendancy of public opinion, that repudiates them? Spiritism will emerge triumphant from the struggle, have no doubt, because it is in the laws of nature, and therefore imperishable. See by what multitude of means the idea spread and penetrates everywhere. Believe further that such means are not fortuitous, but providential, for something that seems to harm it, at first sight, is precisely what helps it spread. It will soon see the rise of champions among the most well positioned and respected men, that will support it with the authority of their name and example, imposing silence to its detractors, because these will dare not treat them as mad people. Those men study it in silence and will show up when time is right. Until then, it is useful that they stay away. You will soon also see the arts getting ideas from it, as from a fertile source, translating the discovered horizons in their thoughts, through paintings, music, poetry, and literature. You have already been told that one day there would be a Spiritist art, as there was the Pagan and Christian art, and that is a great truth, for the greatest geniuses will be inspired by it. You will soon see their first sketches and later it will occupy the place that is adequate.

Spiritists, future is yours and of all those of heart and devotion. Fear not the obstacles since none will be able to block the designs of the Providence. Work tirelessly and thank God for placing you in the frontline of the new phalanx. It is a place of honor that you have requested yourself, and that you must be worthy of by your courage, perseverance, and devotion. Fortunate the ones that succumb in this fight against force; but, in the world of the Spirits, shame on those that succumb for being weak or pusillanimous. As a matter of fact, the struggles are necessary to strengthen the soul; the contact of evil makes us better appreciate the advantages of good. Without the struggles that stimulate the faculties, the Spirit would indulge in an indifference that would be fatal to their own advancement. The struggles against the elements develop physical forces and intelligence; the ones against evil develop moral forces.



Observations:

1^st: The way in which the transformation takes place is very simple, and as it is seen, it is thoroughly moral, does not deviate in any way from the laws of nature. Why then the nonbelievers reject these ideas if they have nothing of supernatural? This is because, according to them, the law of vitality ceases with the death of the body, whereas for us it continues, without interruption; they restrict its action and we extend it. That is why we say that the phenomena of spiritual life are not outside of the laws of nature. To them the supernatural begins where the appreciation by the senses ends.

2^nd: Whether the Spirits of the new generation are new and better Spirits, or improved old Spirits, the result is the same. As long as they carry better dispositions, it is always a renovation. The incarnate Spirits, therefore, form two categories according to their natural dispositions: that of the lagging Spirits, that leave, and that of progressive Spirits, that arrive. The condition of society and social mores in a people, a race or in the whole world will, therefore, be in proportion to the state of the category that is predominant.

To simplify the issue, let us consider a people, in any given state of advancement, composed of twenty million soul, for example. For the renovation of Spirits in the same proportion of extinctions, isolated or in mass, there was necessarily a time when the generation of lagging Spirits outnumbered that of progressive Spirits, that were only rare representatives, without influence, and whose efforts to make good and progressive ideas dominate were neutralized. Now, since some leave and others arrive, at a given time the two forces are even and their influence counterbalance. Later, the newcomers form majority and their influence become preponderant, although still hindered by the former; these continue to diminish and will end up disappearing, while the others multiply; there will be a time when the influence of the new generation will be exclusive.

We are witnessing this transformation, the conflict which results from the struggle of contrary ideas which seek to establish themselves; some march with the flag of the past, others with that of the future. If we examine the present state of the world, we will recognize that earthly humanity, taken as a whole, is still far from the intermediate point where the forces will be balanced; that peoples, considered separately, are at a great distance from each other in this scale; that a few have touched this point, but none has surpassed it yet. Moreover, the distance that separates them from the extreme points is far from being equal in duration, and once the limit is crossed, the new road will be traveled with all the more speed, as a host of circumstances will smooth it out.

Thus, the transformation of humanity is accomplished. Without emigration, that is without the departure of the lagging Spirits who must not return, or who must return only after they have improved, terrestrial humanity would not therefore remain stationary indefinitely, because the most lagging spirits advance on their side; but it would have taken centuries, and perhaps thousands of years, to achieve the result that half a century will suffice to achieve.

A vulgar comparison will make it easier to understand what happens in this circumstance. Let us suppose a regiment composed in the great majority of tempestuous and undisciplined men. These will constantly create disorder that the severity of the penal law will often have difficulty in repressing. These men are the strongest, because they are in greater number; they support, encourage, and stimulate each other by example. The few good ones have no influence; their advices are overlooked; they are scorned, mistreated by the others, and suffer from this contact. Isn't this the image of today's society?

Suppose that these men are withdrawn from the regiment one by one, ten by ten, one hundred by one hundred, and that they are replaced, as they go, by an equal number of good soldiers, even by those that have been expelled, but who have amended; after a while we will still have the same regiment, but transformed; good order will have succeeded disorder. That is how it is going to be with the regenerated humanity. The great collective departures are not only intended to activate exits, but to transform the minds of the masses more quickly by ridding them of bad influences, and to give more ascendancy to new ideas.

It is because many, despite their imperfections, are ripe for this transformation, that many leave to reinstruct from a purer source. If they remained in the same environment and under the same influences, they would have persisted in their opinions and in their way of seeing things. A stay in the spiritual world is enough to open their eyes because they see there what they could not see on earth. The unbeliever, the fanatic, the absolutist, will therefore be able to come back with innate ideas of faith, tolerance, and freedom. On their return, they will find things changed, and will experience the ascendancy of the new environment in which they will be born. Instead of opposing new ideas, they will be their auxiliaries.

The regeneration of humanity does not therefore absolutely need the complete renewal of Spirits: all that is needed is a modification in their moral dispositions; this modification takes place in all those who are predisposed to it, when they are withdrawn from the pernicious influence of the world. Those who come back then are not always other Spirits, but often the same Spirits thinking and feeling differently.

When this improvement is isolated and individual, it goes unnoticed, and it has no explicit influence on the world. The effect is quite different when it operates simultaneously on large masses; for then, according to the proportions, the ideas of a people or of a race can be profoundly modified in a generation. This is what we almost always notice after great calamities that decimate populations. Destructive scourges destroy only the body, but do not reach the Spirit; they activate the back-and-forth movement between the bodily world and the spiritual world, and consequently the progressive movement of incarnate and discarnate Spirits.



It is one of these general movements that is taking place at this time, and which must bring about the reshuffle of humanity. The multiplicity of the causes of destruction is a characteristic sign of the times, for it must hasten the hatching of new germs. It is the autumn leaves that fall, and to which will succeed new leaves full of life; for humanity has its seasons, just as individuals have their ages. The dead leaves of humanity fall carried away by gusty winds, but to be reborn livelier, under the same breath of life, that does not extinguish, but purifies itself.

For the materialist, destructive plagues are calamities without compensation, without useful results, since, according to them, those calamities annihilate the creatures, without return. But for the one who knows that death destroys only the envelope, calamities do not have the same consequences, and do not cause the slightest fear, because they understand the purpose, and also know that men do not lose more by dying together than in isolation, because in one way or another, it is always necessary to get there.

The nonbelievers will laugh at these things and will treat them as chimeras. But, irrespective of what they say, they will not escape the common law. They will fall, like the others, when it is their turn, but then, what is going to happen to them? Nothing, they say, but despite themselves, they will, one day, be forced to open their eyes.

Note. - The following communication was addressed to us, during the trip we have just made, from one of our dear invisible protectors; although of personal character, it is also connected with the great question that we have just discussed and which it confirms. For that reason, we thought appropriate to place it here, so that people persecuted for their Spiritists beliefs will find useful encouragement in that message.

Paris, September 1^st, 1866

“It has been a long time since I have indicated my presence in your meetings by giving a communication signed by my name; believe not, dear master, that it was through indifference or forgetfulness, but I saw no need to manifest myself, and I left it to others, more worthy, to give you useful instructions. However, I was there, and I followed with the greatest interest the progress of this dear doctrine to which I owe the happiness and calmness of the last years of my life. I was there, and my good friend Mr. T… has assured you of this, more than once, during his hours of sleep and ecstasy. He envies my happiness, and he also longs to come to the world I inhabit now, when he contemplates it, shining in the starry sky, and thinks about his tough trials.

I also endured very painful ones; thanks to Spiritism, I supported them without complaint, and I bless them now, since I owe them my advancement. May he be patient; tell him that he will come here one day, but that he must first come back to earth again to help you in the conclusion of your task. But then, how much everything will be changed! You will both think of yourselves in a new world.

My friend, while you can, rest your work-weary mind and brain; amass material strength, for soon you will have a lot to spend on. Events, which will now quickly follow one another, will require your standing; be firm in body and mind, to be in a condition to fight with benefit. It will then be necessary to work tirelessly. But, as you have already been told, you will not be alone to bear the burden; serious helpers will show up when the time is right. So, listen to the advice of the good doctor Demeure, and beware of any unnecessary or premature fatigue. Moreover, we will be there to advise and warn you.

Beware of the two extreme parties which are agitating Spiritism, either to restrict it to the past, or to precipitate its course forward. Appease the harmful ardor, and do not allow yourself to be stopped by the procrastination of the fearful, or, what is more dangerous but unfortunately very true, by the suggestions of enemy envoys.

Walk with a firm and sure step, as you have done so far, not worrying about what is said from right or left, following the inspiration of your guides and your reason, and you will not risk to allow the carriage of Spiritism to derail. Many push this envied chariot, to precipitate its downfall. Blind and presumptuous! It will pass, despite the obstacles, and it will leave in the abyss its enemies and the envious ones only, embarrassed for having served its triumph.

The phenomena arise already and will arise from all sides in the most varied aspects. Healing mediumship, incomprehensible illnesses, physical effects inexplicable by science, everything will come together in the near future to ensure our definitive victory, to which new defenders will contribute.

But how many struggles will still have to be sustained, and how many victims! Not bloody, no doubt, but stricken in their interests and in their affections. More than one will fade under the weight of hostilities, unleashed against all that bear the name of Spiritist. But also, happy the ones who will have been able to maintain their firmness in the face of adversity! They will be well rewarded, even here on earth, materially. The persecutions are the tests of sincerity of their faith, courage, and perseverance. Their trust in God will not be in vain. All the sufferings, all the vexations, all the humiliations they will have endured for the cause will hold value, none of which will be lost; the good Spirits watch over them and count them, and they will know well how to separate sincere from fictitious devotion. If the wheel of fortune momentarily betrays them and plunges them into the dust, soon it will raise them higher than ever, making them public, and destroying the obstacles piled up in their path. Later, they will rejoice for having paid their tribute to the cause, and the greater the tribute, the greater their share.

In these times of trials, you will have to lavish your strength and steadfastness to all; all will also need encouragement and advice. It will also be necessary to close the eyes to the defections of the lukewarm and the cowards. On your own account, you will also have a lot to forgive...

But I will stop here, because if, on one side, I can give you an idea of all the events, I am not allowed to specify anything. All I can tell you is that we will not fall in the struggle. One can surround truth with the shadows of error, but it is impossible to asphyxiate it; its flame is immortal, and it will shine sooner or later.

Widow F…”



Note: We postponed the continuation of our study about Muhammad and Islamism to the next issue due to the sequence of ideas and for the understanding of the deductions it was necessary that the study was preceded by the article above.

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[1] See The Gospel According to Spiritism, Chap. XV

The “Écho de l’Aisne”, from August 1^st, 1866 reads:

“The only thing that is talked about in the countryside is the wonders produced in Camp Châlons by a young Spiritist Zouave that makes miracles every day. Large convoys of sick persons get to Châlons, and incredible thing, a good number of them return healed. In these last days, a paralytic that came by car, after having been seen by the young Spiritist, found himself completely cured and returned home joyfully on foot.

Explain, if you can, these facts that are quite prodigious; still, they are correct and affirmed by a large number of intelligent and trustworthy people.

Reanud.”



This article was literally reproduced by the “Presse Illustrée”, on Augst 6^th. The “Petit Journal”, on August 17^th, recounts the facts in the following terms:

“After having been able to visit the imperial quarter, that I believe you have already described to your readers, that is to say the best, and at the same time, the simplest dwelling that a sovereign can have, even if for a few days only, I spent my evening chasing after the magnetizer Zouave. This Zouave, a simple musician, has been the hero of the camp and its surroundings for three months. He is a lean, dark little man with deep-set eyes, with the physiognomy of a whirling dervish^[1]. Incredible things are told of him, and I am forced to speak to you only about what is said, because from superior orders he had to interrupt the public sessions he was giving at the Hotel de la Meuse. People came from ten leagues around; he received twenty-five to thirty patients at a time, and at his voice, at his sight, at his touch, at least that is what is said, the deaf suddenly heard, the dumb spoke, and the handicapped went away with the crutches under their arms. Is all this really true? I do not know. I chatted with him for an hour. His name is Jacob, he is simply Burgundian, expresses himself easily, seemed to me to be the most convinced and the most intelligent. He has always refused any kind of remuneration and doesn't even like to be thanked. In addition, he promised me a manuscript which was dictated to him by a Spirit. No need to tell you that I will let you know as soon as it is delivered to me, if the Spirit has any spirit at all.

René de Pont-Jest. "

Finally, the “Écho de l’Aisne”, after having cited the fact in its August 1^st issue, comments it on the 4^th as below:

“In the last Wednesday's issue, you said that in our regions there was only talks of cures accomplished in the camp of Châlons by a young Spiritist Zouave. I think I am doing the right thing, asking you to cut it off, because a real army of patients is heading towards the camp every day; those that return satisfied engage others to imitate them; those, on the contrary, that have gained nothing, don’t stop the criticism or mockery.

Between these two extreme opinions, there is a cautious reservation that a “good number of patients” must take as a rule of conduct, as a guide to what they can do. There is nothing marvelous, nothing miraculous in these 'marvelous cures', in these 'miracles', as ordinary people call them. At first glance, they cause astonishment because they are not common; but since nothing that is accomplished is done without a cause, we sought what produces such facts, and science has explained them.

Strong psychological impressions have always had the power of acting upon the 'nervous system'; the cures obtained by the Spiritist zouave only relate to diseases of that system. At all times, in antiquity as in modern times, cures have been reported by the sheer force of the influence of imagination, an influence observed in a great number of cases; there is, therefore, nothing extraordinary that today the same causes produce the same results.

It is therefore only patients of the ‘nervous system’ that it is possible to ‘go, see and hope’.

X.”



Before any other comment we will make a quick observation about this last article. The author attests the facts and explains them in his own way. According to him, those cures have nothing of marvelous or miraculous. We are in perfect agreement about this point, for Spiritism clearly states that it does not make miracles; that all facts, without exception, that are produced through mediumistic influence, are due to a natural force and occur as a result of a law that is as natural as the one that allows a telegram to be transmitted from one side of the Atlantic to the other, in a few minutes. Before the discovery of the law of electricity, a similar event would have been taken as the miracle of the miracles. Let us suppose, for a moment, that Franklin, even more initiated than he was in the properties of the electric fluid, had laid a metallic wire through the Atlantic, establishing an instantaneous correspondence between Europe and America, without indicating the process; what would have been thought of him? They would have, incontestably, screamed miracle; they would have attributed a supernatural power to him; to the eyes of many, he would be a witch with the devil under his orders. The knowledge of the law of electricity reduced the supposed prodigy to the proportions of the natural effects. The same happens to many other phenomena.





But, do we know all laws of nature, and the properties of all fluids? Isn’t that possible that an unknown fluid, as the electricity was for a long time, be the cause of unexplained effects, producing results onto the economy that are impossible to science, with the support of the limited means at its disposal? Well! This is the whole secret of the mediumistic cures, or better saying, there is no secret, for Spiritism only has secrets to those that do not take the burden of studying it. These healings are simply based on a fluidic action directed by thought and will, instead of a metallic wire. The key is to know the properties of this fluid, the conditions in which it can act, and to know how to direct it. In addition, there is the need of a human instrument sufficiently provided with this fluid, and capable of giving it sufficient energy.

This faculty is not the privilege of an individual; for the fact that it is in nature, many have it but to very different degrees, as everyone can see, but to a greater or lesser distance. Among those who are endowed with it, a few act knowingly, like the Zouave Jacob; others, without their knowledge, and without realizing what is happening with them; they know they heal, and that's all; ask them how, and they know nothing. If they are superstitious, they will attribute their power to some occult cause, to the virtue of some talisman or amulet which, in fact, is useless. It is so with all unconscious mediums, and the number is large. Many people are themselves the primary cause of effects that surprise them, but that they cannot explain. Among the most obstinate deniers, many are mediums without knowing it.

The newspaper in question says: “the cures obtained by the Spiritist zouave only relate to diseases of that system. At all times, in antiquity as in modern times, cures have been reported by the sheer force of the influence of imagination, an influence observed in a great number of cases; there is, therefore, nothing extraordinary." By saying that Mr. Jacob has cured only nervous affections, the author advances a little lightly, because the facts contradict this assertion. But let us admit that this is the case; these kinds of affections are innumerable, and these are precisely the ones for which science is most often forced to admit its impotence; if by some means it can be overcome, isn't that an important result? If such means is in the influence of the imagination, what does it matter! Why neglect it? Isn't that better to heal by the imagination than not to heal at all?

It seems difficult to us, however, that the imagination alone, even if excited to the highest degree, can make a handicapped walk and straighten a stiff limb. In any case, since, according to the author, cures of nervous diseases have always been achieved by the influence of imagination, doctors are more inexcusable for persisting in using powerless means, when experience shows them others that are effective. The author, unwillingly, puts them on trial.

But, he says, Mr. Jacob doesn't cure everyone. It is possible, and even correct, but what does it prove? That he does not have a universal healing power. The man who would have this power would be the equal of God, and the one who would claim to possess it would be a presumptuous fool. If only four or five patients, out of ten, recognized incurable by science, would be cured, this would suffice to prove the existence of the faculty. Are there many doctors who can do the same? We have known Mr. Jacob personally for a long time as a writing medium, and eager propagator of Spiritism; we knew that he had made some partial attempts at the healing mediumship, but it seems that this faculty took on a rapid and considerable development in him during his stay at the camp at Châlons. One of our colleagues from the Parisian Society, Mr. Boivinet, who lives in the Department of Aisne, kindly sent us a very detailed account of the facts which are of his personal knowledge. His in-depth knowledge of Spiritism, combined with a character free from exaltation and enthusiasm, enabled him to appreciate things in a healthy way. His testimony, therefore, has for us all the value of an honorable, impartial, and enlightened man, and his account has all the desirable authenticity. We therefore take the facts attested by him as true as if we had personally witnessed them. The extent of these documents does not have them published in full in this journal, but we have coordinated them for future use, limiting ourselves, for today, to citing the most essential passages:

“…Wishing to fully justify the confidence you have in me, I inquired, both by myself and by quite honorable and trustworthy people, about the well-established cures operated by Mr. Jacob. These people are not, in fact, Spiritists, which rules out from their testimony any suspicion of partiality in favor of Spiritism.

I reduce by a third the estimates of Mr. Jacob regarding the number of patients received by him; but it seems to me that I am below, perhaps well below the truth, estimating this figure at 4,000, of which a quarter has been cured and three quarters relieved. The crowd was such that the military authority moved in, forbidding visits in the future. I, myself, learned from the station manager that the railroad transported masses of sick people to the camp every day. As to the nature of the diseases over which he has more particularly exercised his influence, it is impossible for me to say. It is mainly the sick that have approached him, and these are, consequently, the ones that account for his satisfied clients; but many other sufferers could present themselves to him successfully.

This is how in Chartères, a village very close to the one I live in, I saw and saw again a man of about fifty years of age who, since 1856, vomited everything that he ate. By the time he went to see the Zouave, he was very ill, and was vomiting at least three times a day. When Mr. Jacob saw him, he said: “You are healed!” And during the session invited him to eat and drink. The poor peasant, overcoming his apprehension, drank and ate and did not feel bad. For more than three weeks he has not experienced the slightest discomfort. The cure was instantaneous. Needless to say that Mr. Jacob did not give him any medication and did not prescribe any treatment. It was only his fluidic action, like an electric shock, that had been sufficient to restore the organs to their normal state.”

Observation: This man is one of those of crude nature, who hardly gets excited. If, then, a single word had sufficed to overexcite his imagination, to the point of instantly curing his chronic gastritis, it would be necessary to agree that the phenomenon would be even more surprising than the cure, and would indeed deserve some attention.

“The daughter of the owner of the Hôtel de la Meuse, in Mourmelon, had a sickness in her breast, and was weak to the point of not being able to leave her bed. The Zouave invited her to get up, which she was able to do immediately; to the amazement of the many spectators, she went downstairs unaided, and went for a walk in the garden with her new doctor. Since that day, this young girl has been doing well. I'm not a doctor, but I don't think that's a nervous disease.

Mr. B ..., manager of a boarding school, who jumps at the idea of the intervention of Spirits in our affairs, told me that a lady, a long time sick of the stomach, had been cured by the Zouave, and had since then noticeably gained about twenty pounds”.

Observation: Would this gentleman, to whom the idea of the intervention of the Spirits exasperates, therefore be very sorry if, when he died, his own Spirit could come to assist the persons that are dear to him, to heal them, and to prove to them that he is not lost to them?

“As for the sick themselves, the results obtained on them are more astounding, because the eye immediately appreciates the result. In Tréloup, a village 7 or 8 kilometers from here, a seventy-year-old man was crippled and could do nothing. Getting out of his chair was almost impossible. The healing was complete and instantaneous. Yesterday I heard about it again. I was told: Well! I saw Father Petit; he was harvesting!

A woman from Mourmelon had her leg crippled, immobilized; her knee was pulled back to his stomach. Now she is walking around and is doing well.

The day the Zouave was banned, a mason walked through Mourmelon in exasperation, and wanted, he said, “to knock out those who prevented the medium from working.” This mason had both wrists drawn towards the inside of his arms. His wrists move like ours today, and he earns two francs more a day.

How many people were carried in and were able to leave alone, having immediately regained the use of their limbs! A five-year-old, brought from Reims, who had never walked, walked straight away.

The following fact was, so to speak, the starting point of the faculty of the medium, or at least of the public exercise of this faculty that became notorious:

Arriving at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre and heading towards the camp, the regiment of Zouaves was gathered in the public square. Before breaking ranks, the band performed a piece. Among the spectators was a little girl in a small stroller pushed by her parents. The Zouave’s attention was drawn to this girl by one of his comrades. When the music finished, he walked towards her, and addressing the parents he said: "So this child is sick?" he asked them.

She cannot walk, he was told; for the past two years she has had her leg clamped in an orthopedic device. So, take this device off, she doesn't need it. This was done, not without some hesitation, and the little girl walked on. So, they went to the cafe, and the father, as if overjoyed, wanted the lemonade man to set up his shop, so that the Zouaves could drink it.

I am now going to tell you how the medium proceeded, that is to say, I will tell you about a session, which I did not attend, but which I was told in detail by different patients.

The Zouave brings in his patients. The size of the room regulates their number. That is why, as it is claimed, he had to move from the Hotel de l'Europe, where he could only admit eighteen people at a time, to the Hotel de la Meuse, where he could admit twenty-five or thirty. They enter. Those who live in more distant regions are usually invited to go first. Some people want to talk: “Silence!”, he says; those who speak, will be kicked out!” After ten to fifteen minutes of silence and general immobility, he addresses a few patients, rarely questions them, but tells them what they are feeling. Then, walking along the large table around which the sick are seated, he speaks to all, but without order; he touches them, but without gestures reminiscent of those of magnetizers; then he sends them away, saying to some: “You are healed, go away;” To others: "You will heal without doing anything; you have only weakness;" To a few, but rarely: "I can do nothing for you.” If they want to thank him, he answers very militarily that he does not need to be thanked and sends them away. Sometimes he says: “Your thanks must be addressed to the Providence.”

On the 7th of August, an order from the marshal interrupted the course of the sessions. As soon as it was banned, and given the enormous influx of patients to Mourmelon, unprecedented means had to be employed regarding the medium. Since he had committed no fault and always observed discipline very precisely, he could not be imprisoned. A personal guard was attached to him, with orders to follow him everywhere and prevent anyone from approaching him. They have, I was told, tolerated all these healings while the word Spiritism was not pronounced, and I do not believe that it was Mr. Jacob that pronounced it. It would be from that moment that they used rigor against him.

So, where does the dread caused by the mere name of Spiritism come from, even when it only does good, consoles the afflicted and relieves suffering humanity? For my part, I believe that some people are afraid that it will do too much good.



In the first days of September, M. Jacob was kind enough to come and spend two days with me, in fulfillment of a possible promise he had made to me at the Châlons camp. The pleasure I had in receiving him was increased tenfold by the services he was able to render to a good number of unfortunate people. Since his departure, I have kept myself informed almost daily of the condition of the patients he treated, and I give you the results of my observations below. To be accurate as in a statistical statement, and with respect to further information, if necessary, I enter them here by name. (there follows a list of 30 and a few names, with designation of age, disease, and outcome.)

Mr. Jacob is sincerely religious. "What I do," he said to me, "does not surprise me. I would do much more amazing things that I wouldn't be more surprised, because I know that God can do whatever He wants. One thing only surprises me, and that is to have had the immense favor of being the instrument that He chose. Today we are surprised with what I do, but who knows if in a month, in a year, there will not be ten, twenty, fifty mediums like me and stronger than me? Mr. Kardec, who seeks and must seek to study facts like those happening here, should have come; today or tomorrow, I can lose my faculty, and it would be a lost study for him; he must make a point of being the historian of such facts.”

Observation:

We would have been happy, no doubt, to be a personal witness of the facts reported above, and we would probably have gone to Camp Châlons if we had had the possibility and if we had been informed in advance. We only learned about it indirectly from the newspapers, while we were traveling, and we admit that we do not have absolute confidence in their stories. We would have a lot to do if we had to go and check for ourselves all that they report of Spiritism, or even all that is brought to our attention in our correspondence. We could only go there with the certainty of not being disappointed, and when M. Boivinet's report reached us, the camp was interdicted. Besides, the observation of these facts would not have taught us anything new, for we believe we understand them; it would therefore have been simply a question of ascertaining the reality of it; but the testimony of a man like M. Boivinet, to whom we had sent a letter for M. Jacob, with a request to inform us of what he would have seen, was completely sufficient for us. We therefore only missed the pleasure of having personally seen M. Jacob at work, which could, we hope, take place elsewhere than at Camp Châlons.

We have therefore only spoken of Mr. Jacob's healings because they are genuine; had they appeared suspicious to us, or tainted with charlatanism and a ridiculous boastfulness that would have made them more harmful than useful to the cause of Spiritism, we would have abstained, despite what could have been said, and as we have done in many other circumstances, not willing to turn ourselves into the editor responsible for some eccentricity, and not supporting the ambitious and interested views which are sometimes hidden under the appearances of devotion. That is why we are cautious in our assessments of people and things, and why our Spiritist Review does not turn into a censer for the benefit of anybody.

But here we deal with something serious, fruitful in results, and fundamental from the double point of view of the fact, and of the fulfillment of one of the forecasts of the Spirits. For a long time, indeed, they announced that the healing mediumship would develop in exceptional proportions, so as to draw the general attention, and we congratulate Mr. Jacob for being one of the first to provide the example; but here, as in all kinds of manifestations, the person, for us, disappears before the main question.

Considering that the gift of healing is not the result of work, study, or acquired talent, the one who possesses it cannot take credit for it. We praise a great artist, a scientist, because they owe what they are to their own efforts; but the best endowed medium is only a passive instrument, that the Spirits use today, and which they can leave tomorrow. What would Mr. Jacob be if he lost his faculty, something that he wisely foresees? What he was before: the musician of the Zouaves; while, whatever happens, the scientist will always have science and the artist, the talent. We are happy to see Mr. Jacob sharing these ideas, therefore it is not to him that these reflections are addressed. He will also be of our opinion, we do not doubt it, when we say that what is a real merit in a medium, what one can and should rightly praise, is the use they make of their faculty; it is the zeal, the devotion, the selflessness with which they place it at the service of those to whom it can be useful; it is again modesty, simplicity, abnegation, benevolence which breathe in their words and that all their actions justify, because these qualities belong to the medium in their own right. Therefore, it is not the medium that must be raised on a pedestal, since tomorrow they can descend from it: it is the good man who knows how to make himself useful without ostentation and without benefit for his vanity.

The development of healing mediumship will inevitably have consequences of a high importance, which will be the subject of a special and in-depth examination in a future article.

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[1] See whirling Muslim monks of Istanbul at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gG8YAUqVIs&ab_channel=pavdb092 (T.N.)

Muhammad and Islamism

(2^nd Article – See August 1866)



It was in Medina that Muhammad had the first mosque built, on which he worked with his own hands, and that he organized a regular worship; he preached there for the first time in 623. All the measures taken by him bore witness to his solicitude and foresight: "A characteristic feature both of man and of his time," says Mr. Barthélemy Saint-Hilaire, is the choice that Muhammad had to make of three poets from Medina, officially charged with defending him against the satires of the poets of Mecca. It was probably not that self-esteem was more excitable in him than it should be, but in a witty and lively nation these attacks had a resonance analogous to that of the newspapers can have today, and they were very dangerous."

We have said that Muhammad was forced to become a warrior; indeed, he was by no means belligerent, as he had proved in the first fifty years of his life. However, barely two years had elapsed since his stay in Medina, when the Coraishites of Mecca, united with the other hostile tribes, came to besiege the city. Muhammad had to defend himself; since that time a war period began for him that lasted ten years, and during which he proved to be a skillful tactician. Among a people to whom war was the normal state, that only knew the right of force, the leader of the new religion needed the prestige of victory to establish his authority, even over his partisans. Persuasion had little sway over those ignorant and turbulent populations; too much leniency would have been taken for weakness. In their minds, a strong God could only be manifested through a strong man, and Christ with his unalterable gentleness would have failed in those regions.

Muhammad was therefore a warrior by force of circumstances, much more than by his character, and he will always have the merit of not having been the provocateur. Once the struggle had begun, he had to win or perish; on this condition alone, he could be accepted as the messenger of God; his enemies had to be struck down to be convinced of the superiority of his God over the idols they worshiped. Except for one of the first battles in which he was wounded, and the Muslims defeated, in 625, his arms were consistently victorious, and within a few years he brought the whole of Arabia under his rule. When he saw his authority seated and idolatry destroyed, he went triumphantly to Mecca, after ten years of exile, followed by nearly a hundred thousand pilgrims, and there made the famous pilgrimage called farewell, of which the rites are scrupulously preserved by the Muslims. He died the same year, two months after his return to Medina, on June 8, 632, at the age of sixty-two.



Muhammad must be judged by authentic and impartial history, not by the ridiculous legends that ignorance and fanaticism have spread about him, or by the paintings of him by those who had an interest in discrediting him by presenting him as a bloodthirsty and cruel ambitious man. Neither should he be held responsible for the excesses of his successors who wanted to conquer the world to the Muslim faith, saber in hand. No doubt there were great spots in the last period of his life; one can reproach him for having in some circumstances abused the right of the victor, and for not always having acted with all the desirable moderation. However, aside from a few acts that our civilization condemns, it must be said, in his defense, that he was much more often human and lenient towards his enemies than vindictive, and that he has repeatedly given proof of a true greatness of soul. It must also be recognized that in the midst of his successes, and when he had reached the highest point of his glory, he was, until his last day, withdrawn into his role of prophet, without ever usurping a despotic temporal authority; he made himself neither king nor potentate, and never, in his private life, he stained himself with any act of cold barbarism, nor of base greed; he has always lived with simplicity, without pomp and luxury, showing himself to be kind and benevolent to everyone. This is history.

If we look back to the time and the environment in which he lived, if we consider especially the persecutions of which he and his family were the object, the relentlessness of his enemies, and the acts of barbarism that they committed against his supporters, can we be surprised that in the intoxication of his victory he sometimes used reprisals? Can we reproach him for having established his religion by iron, among a barbarian people who fought him, when the Bible records, as glorious facts of faith, butcheries of such atrocity that we are tempted to take them for legends? When, a thousand years after him, in the civilized countries of the West, Christians, who had for guide the sublime law of Christ, charging onto peaceful victims, smothering heresies by the pyres, tortures, massacres, and in waves of blood?

If the warlike role of Mahomet was a necessity for him, and if this role can excuse him from certain political acts, it is not the same with respect to other aspects. Until the age of fifty, and as long as his first wife Khadidja lived, fifteen years older than himself, his morals were irreproachable; but from that moment his passions knew no restraint, and it was undoubtedly to justify the abuse he made of them that he consecrated polygamy in his religion. This was his gravest fault, for it was a barrier he raised between Islamism and the civilized world; his religion, therefore, has not been able, after twelve centuries, to cross the boundaries of certain races. It is also the side by which its founder belittles himself the most in our eyes; men of genius always lose their prestige when they allow themselves to be dominated by matter; on the contrary, they grow all the more as they rise above the weaknesses of humanity.

However, moral disruption was such at the time of Muhammad that a radical reform was very difficult among men used to indulge their passions with bestial brutality; we can therefore say that by regulating polygamy, he set limits to disorder and stopped much more serious abuses; but polygamy will nonetheless remain the gnawing worm of Islamism, because it is contrary to the laws of nature. Through the numerical equality of the sexes, nature itself has drawn the limit of unions. By allowing four legitimate women, Muhammad did not think that, for his law to reach the universality of men, the female sex would have to be at least four times more numerous than the male sex.

Despite its imperfections, Islamism was nonetheless a great blessing at the time when it appeared and for the country where it originated, for it founded the cult of the unity of God on the ruins of idolatry. It was the only religion possible for those barbarous peoples from whom one should not ask too great sacrifices to their ideas and their habits. They needed something as simple as the nature in the which they lived; the Christian religion had too many metaphysical subtleties; also all the attempts made during five centuries to implant it in these regions, had completely failed; Judaism itself, too argumentative, had made few proselytes among the Arabs, although the Jews themselves were quite numerous. Superior to those of his race, Muhammad understood the men of his time; to rescue them from the abasement in which they were kept by coarse beliefs descended to stupid fetishism, he gave them a religion appropriate to their needs and their character. This religion was the simplest of all: "Belief in a unique God, almighty, eternal, infinite, present everywhere, magnanimous and merciful, creator of heavens, of the angels and of the earth, Father of man, whom he watches over and fills with goods; rewarding and avenging in another life, where he awaits us to reward or punish us according to our merits; seeing our most secret actions, and presiding over the entire destiny of his creatures that he does not abandon for a single moment, neither in this world nor in the next; the most humble submission and absolute confidence in his holy will” - these are the dogmas.

A for worshiping, it consists of prayer repeated five times a day, fasting and mortifications in the month of Ramadan, and in certain practices, many of which had a hygienic purpose, but which Muhammad turned into a religious obligation, such as daily ablutions, abstention from wine, intoxicating liquors, from the flesh of certain animals, and which the faithful make it a matter of conscience to observe in the most minute details. Friday was adopted as the holy day of the week, and Mecca indicated as the point to which all Muslims should turn when praying. Public service in mosques consists of common prayers, sermons, reading and explanation of the Koran. Circumcision was not instituted by Muhammad but preserved by him; it was already practiced from immemorial times among the Arabs. The prohibition against reproducing by painting or sculpture any living being, men or animals, was made with a view to destroying idolatry and preventing it from being renewed. Finally, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which every believer must accomplish at least once in their life, is a religious act; but he had another goal at that time, a political goal, that of bringing together by a fraternal bond the various enemy tribes, by uniting them in a common feeling of piety in the same holy place.

From a historical point of view, the Muslim religion admits the Old Testament in its entirety up to and including Jesus Christ, whom it recognizes as a prophet. According to Muhammad, Moses and Jesus were messengers of God to teach the truth to men; the gospel, like the law of Sinai, is the word of God; but Christians have twisted its meaning. He declares, in explicit terms, that he brings neither new beliefs nor new worship, but that he comes to re-establish the worship of the one God professed by Abraham. He speaks only with respect for the patriarchs and prophets that preceded him: Moses, David, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jesus Christ; of the Pentateuch, the Psalms and the Gospel. These are the books which preceded and prepared the Koran. Far from hiding the borrowings he makes from them, he boasts of them, and their greatness is the basis of his. One can judge of his feelings and the character of his instructions by the following fragment of the last speech which he delivered in Mecca during the farewell pilgrimage, shortly before his death, and preserved in the work of Ibn- Ishâc and Ibn-Ishâm:

“O peoples! listen to my words; because I do not know if, in another year, I will be able to find myself again with you in this place. Be human and fair to each other. May the life and property of each be inviolable and sacred to others; let him who has received a deposit return it faithfully to who gave it to him. You will appear before your Lord, and he will hold you accountable for your actions. Treat women well, they are your helpers, they cannot do anything on their own. You have taken them as an asset which God has entrusted to you, and you have taken possession of them with divine words.

O peoples! listen to my words and fix them in your minds. I have revealed everything to you; I leave you a law which will preserve you forever from error, if you remain faithfully attached to it; a clear and positive law, the book of God and the example of his prophet.

O peoples! listen to my words and fix them in your minds. Know that every Muslim is the brother of the other; that all Muslims are brothers among themselves, that you are all equal among yourselves, and that you are but a family of brothers. Beware of injustice; no one should commit it to the detriment of his brother: it would entail your eternal loss.

O God! have I completed my message and completed my assignment? - The crowd surrounding him replied, "Yes, you did." And Muhammad exclaimed: O God, deign to receive this testimony! "

Here is now the judgment passed on Muhammad, and the influence of his doctrine, by one of his historiographers, Mr. G. Weil, in his German work entitled: Muhammad der Prophet, pages 400 and following:

“The doctrine of God and of the holy destinies of man, preached by Muhammad in a country which was given to the most brutal idolatry, and that hardly had an idea of the immortality of the soul, all the more must reconcile us with him, in spite of his weaknesses and his faults, that his particular life could not exert on his followers any wicked influence. Far from ever giving himself as a model, he always wanted to be regarded as a privileged being, whom God allowed to be placed above the common law; and, indeed, he has been viewed more and more in this special role.

We would be unjust and blind if we did not recognize that his people owe him something yet more true and good. He united, in one great nation, the innumerable tribes of Arabs hitherto enemies among themselves, fraternally believing in God. Instead of the most violent arbitrariness, of the law of force, and of individual struggle, he established an unshakeable law, which, despite its imperfections, still forms the basis of all the laws of Islamism. He limited the vengeance of blood that before him extended to the most distant relatives, limiting it to the one alone whom the judges recognized as a murderer. He did relevant services, above all to the fair sex, not only by protecting girls against the atrocious custom which often allowed them to be immolated by their fathers, but also by protecting women against the parents of their husbands, who inherited them as a material thing, and by defending them against the mistreatment of men. He restricted polygamy, allowing believers only four legitimate wives, instead of ten, as was customary, especially in Medina. Without having fully emancipated the slaves, he served them good and useful in many ways. For the poor, he not only always recommended beneficence towards them, but he formally established a tax in their favor, and he gave them a special share in the booty and in the tribute. By prohibiting gambling, wine and all intoxicating drinks, he has prevented many vices, many excesses, many quarrels and many disorders.

Although we do not regard Muhammad as a true prophet, because he used violent and impure means to propagate his religion, because he was too weak to submit himself to the common law, and because he called himself the seal of the prophets, while declaring that God could always replace what He had given with something better, he has the merit, nevertheless, of having spread the most beautiful doctrines of the Old and of the New Testament onto a people not enlightened by any ray of faith, and as such he must appear, even to non-Mohammedan eyes, as an envoy of God.”

As a complement to this study, we will quote some textual passages from the Koran, borrowed from Savary's translation:

“In the name of the merciful and magnanimous God. - Praise the God, ruler of the worlds. - Mercy is his share. - He is the king on the day of judgment. - We adore you, Lord, and we implore your assistance. - Lead us in the path of salvation, - in the path of those whom you have filled with your bounties; - of those who did not deserve your anger and preserved themselves from error. (Introduction, Sura I)

O mortals, worship the Lord who created you and your fathers, so that you may fear him; who gave you the earth for a bed, and the sky for a roof; who sent down the rain from the heavens to produce all the fruits that you eat. Do not give an associate to the Highest; you know it. (Sura II, v. 19 and 20)

Why don't you believe in God? You were dead, he gave you life; he will extinguish your days, and he will rekindle the torch. You will return to him. - He created all that is on the earth for your refuge. Then looking up to the firmament, he formed the seven heavens. His science embraces the universe. (Sura II, v. 26, 27).

East and West belong to God; wherever you look you will recognize his face. He fills the universe with his vastness and his science. - He formed the earth and the heavens. Does he want to produce any work? He says: “Be done; And the work is done. - The ignorant say: "If God does not speak to us, or if you do not show us a miracle, we will not believe." Thus spoke their fathers; their hearts are alike. We have brought forth enough wonders for those who have faith. (Sura II, v. 109 to 112).

God will only demand of each of us according to their strength. Each will have their good works in their favor, and against them the evil they have done. Lord do not punish us for mistakes made by forgetting. Forgive us our sins; do not place on us the burden that our fathers carried. Do not charge us beyond our strength. Show forgiveness and indulgence for your servants. Have compassion on us; you are our help. Help us against the unfaithful nations. (Sura II, v. 296).

O God, supreme King, you give and take away the crowns and the power at your pleasure. You raise and you lower humans to your will; the good is in your hands: you are the Almighty. - You change day into night, and night into day. You bring out life from the bosom of death, and death from the bosom of life. You pour your infinite treasures on those you like. (Sura III, v. 25 and 26).

Do you not know how many peoples we have wiped out from the face of the earth? We gave them a more stable empire than yours. We sent the clouds to pour rain over their fields; we made rivers flow there. Their crimes alone caused their ruin. We replaced them with other nations. (Sura VI, v. 6).

It is to God that you owe the night's sleep and the morning awakening. He knows what you are doing during the day. He lets you fulfill the course of life. You will reappear before him, and he will show you your works. - He rules over his servants. He gives you, as guardians, angels charged with ending your days at the prescribed time. They carefully execute the order of heaven. - You will then return to the God of truth. Isn't it up to him to judge? He is the most accurate of judges. - Who delivers you from the tribulations of the earth and the seas, when, invoking him in public or in the secret of your hearts, you cry out: "Lord, if you remove these evils from us, we will be grateful? - It is God who delivers you from it. It is his kindness that relieves you from the pain that oppresses you; and then you go back to idolatry. (Sura VI, v. 60 to 64).

All the secrets are revealed to his eyes; great is the Almighty. - The one who speaks in secret, the one who speaks in public, the one who envelops himself in the shadows of the night and the one who appears in broad daylight, are also known to him. - It is he who makes lightning shine in your eyes, to inspire you with fear and hope. It is he who raises the rain-laden clouds. - Thunder celebrates his praises. The angels tremble in his presence. He launches lightning, and it strikes the marked victims. Men dispute with God, but he is the strong and the powerful. - He is the true invocation. Those who implore other gods will not be heard. They resemble the traveler who, pressed by thirst, stretches out his hand towards the water he cannot reach. The invocation of the infidels is lost in the night of error. (Sura XIII, v. 10-15).

Never say, “I'll do this tomorrow,” without adding, “If it's God's will. Raise your thoughts to him, when you have forgotten something, and say, "Perhaps he will enlighten me and make me know the truth." (Sura XVIII, v. 23).

If the waves of the sea turned into ink to describe the praises of the Lord, they would be exhausted before they had celebrated all His wonders. Another similar ocean would not suffice yet. (Sura XVIII, v. 109).

Whoever seeks true greatness finds it in God, the source of all perfections. Righteous speeches ascend to his throne. He exalts good works; he rigorously punishes the villain who plots perfidy.

No, Heaven never revokes the judgment he issued. - Have they not traveled the earth? Have they not seen the deplorable end of the peoples who before them walked in the ways of iniquity? These people were stronger and more powerful than they are. But nothing in the heavens and on the earth can oppose the will of the Highest. Science and strength are his attributes. - If God punished men from the moment they are guilty, it would not remain an animated being on earth. He differs the punishments until the marked term. - When the time is right, he distinguishes the actions of his servants. (Sura XXXV, v. 11, 41 to 45).

These quotes are enough to show the deep feeling of piety which animated Muhammad, and the great and sublime idea he had of God. Christianity could claim this image. Muhammad did not teach the dogma of absolute fatality, as is generally believed. Such belief, with which Muslims are imbued and which paralyzes their initiative in many circumstances, is only a false interpretation and a false application of the principle of submission to the will of God, pushed beyond its rational limits; they do not understand that this submission does not exclude the exercise of human faculties, and they lack the correction of the maxim: “help yourself, and heaven will help you.”

The following passages relate to specific points of doctrine.

God has a son, say Christians. Far from him this blasphemy! Everything in heavens and on earth belongs to Him. All beings obey his voice. (Sura II, v. 110).

O you who have received the scriptures, do not go beyond the bounds of faith; speak only the truth of God. Jesus is the son of Mary, the envoy of the Highest and his Word. He sent it down to Mary's womb; it is his breath. Believe in God and in his apostles; but do not say that there is a trinity in God. He is one: this belief will be more certain for you. Far from having a son, he alone rules heaven and earth; He is self-sufficient. - The Messiah will not be ashamed for being the servant of God, nor will the angels who surround his throne and obey him. (Sura IV, v. 169, 170).

Those who uphold the trinity of God are blasphemers; there is only one God. If they do not change their beliefs, a painful torment will be the price of their impiety. (Sura V, v. 77).

The Jews say that Ozai is the son of God. Christians say the same of the Messiah. They speak like the infidels who came before them. Heaven will punish their blasphemies. - They call lords their pontiffs, their monks, and the Messiah son of Mary. But it is recommended that they serve one God: there is no other. Anathema to those they associate with their cult. (Sura IX, v. 30, 31).

God has no children; he does not share the empire with another God. If this were so, each of them would want to appropriate their creation and rise above their rival. Praise be Highest! Far from him these blasphemies! (Sura XXII, v. 93).

Declare, O Muhammad, what heaven has revealed to you. - The assembly of geniuses, having listened to the reading of the Koran, exclaimed: "Here is a marvelous doctrine. - It leads to true faith. We believe in it, and we do not equalize God. - Glory to his Supreme Majesty! God has no wife; he did not give birth. (Sura LXXII, v. 1 to 4).





Say, “We believe in God, in the book that was sent to us, in what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and to the twelve tribes. We believe in the doctrine of Moses, Jesus, and the prophets; we make no difference between them, and we are Muslims. (Sura II, v. 130).

There is no God except the living and eternal God. - He sent you the book which contains the truth, to confirm the truth of the Scriptures which preceded him. Before him, he sent down the Pentateuch and the Gospel to serve as guides for men; he sent the Quran from heaven. - Those who deny the divine doctrine should expect only torture; God is mighty, and vengeance is in his hands. (Sura III, v. 1, 2, 3).

There are those who say, "We swore to God that we will not believe in any prophet, unless his offering is confirmed by fire from heaven." - Answer them: "You had prophets before me; they worked miracles, and the very one you're talking about. Why then have you stained your hands with their blood, if you are telling the truth?” - If they deny your mission, they treated the apostles who preceded you in the same way, although they were endowed with the gift of miracles and they had brought the book that enlightens (the Gospel) and the book of psalms (Sura III, v. 179-181).

We inspired you, as we inspired Noah, the prophets, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the tribes, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon. We gave the Psalms of David. (Sura IV, v. 161).”



In many other places, Muhammad speaks in the same way and with the same respect for the prophets, Jesus and the Gospel; but it is evident that he misunderstood the meaning attached to the Trinity, and to the quality of son of God which he takes literally. If this mystery is incomprehensible to so many Christians, and if it has raised so many comments and controversies among them, one should not be surprised that Muhammad did not understand it. In the three persons of the Trinity he saw three gods, and not one God in three distinct persons; in the son of God he saw procreation; now, the idea which he had of the Supreme Being was so great, that the slightest parity between God and any being, and the idea that he could share his power, seemed a blasphemy to him. Jesus has never called himself God, and never spoke of the Trinity, for these dogmas appeared to him to move away from the very words of Christ.

He saw in Jesus and the Gospel the confirmation of the principle of the unity of God, a goal which he himself pursued; this is why he held them in great esteem, while he accused the Christians of having strayed from this teaching, by splitting God and deifying his messiah. So, he said he was sent after Jesus to bring men back to the pure unity of the divinity. The whole dogmatic part of the Koran is based on this principle which it repeats at every step.

Having Islamism its roots in the Old and the New Testaments, it is a derivation from it; we can consider it as one of the many sects born out of the dissidences which arose from the origin of Christianity concerning the nature of Christ, with the difference that Islamism, formed outside Christianity, outlived most of these sects, and today has one hundred million followers.









Muhammad fought, at any price and in his own nation, the belief in several gods, to re-establish there the abandoned worship of the unique God of Abraham and Moses; The anathema which he launched against the infidels and the ungodly, had for object, above all, the gross idolatry professed by those of his race, but he struck the Christians in consequence. This is the cause of the contempt of Muslims for anything that bears the name of Christian, despite their respect for Jesus and the Gospel. This contempt has turned into hatred by the influence of fanaticism, maintained and overexcited by their priests. Let us also say that, for their part, Christians are not without reproach, and that they themselves have fueled this antagonism with their own aggressions.

While blaming the Christians, Muhammad did not have hostile feelings for them, and in the Koran itself he recommends to be careful with them, but fanaticism has included them in the general proscription of idolaters and infidels whose presence must not stain the sanctuaries of Islamism, which is why the entry of mosques, Mecca and holy places is forbidden to them. It was the same with the Jews, and if Muhammad severely punished them in Medina, it was because they had joined forces against him. In fact, nowhere in the Koran does one find the extermination of Jews and Christians set up as a duty, as it is generally believed. It would therefore be unjust to blame him for the evils caused by the unintelligent zeal and excesses of his successors.

We have inspired you to embrace the religion of Abraham, who recognizes the unity of God and who adores only his supreme majesty. - Use the voice of wisdom and the force of persuasion to call men to God. Fight with the weapons of eloquence. God knows perfectly well those who are astray and those who walk by the torch of faith. (Sura XVI, v. 124, 126).

If they accuse you of imposture, answer them: “I have my works on my side; let yours speak for you. You will not be responsible for what I do, and I am innocent of what you do. (Sura X, v. 42).

When will your threats be fulfilled? ask the infidels. Mark us a term if you are truthful. Answer them: “The heavenly treasures and vengeance are not in my hands; God alone is its dispenser. Each nation has its fixed term; she could neither hasten it nor delay it for a moment. (Sura X, v. 49, 50).

If your doctrine is denied, know that the prophets who came before you suffered the same fate, although miracles, tradition, and the enlightening book (the Gospel) attest to the truth of their mission. (Sura XXXV, v. 23).

The blindness of the infidels surprises you, and they laugh at your astonishment. - In vain do you want to instruct them: their hearts reject instruction. - If they saw miracles, they wouldn't care; - they would attribute them to magic. (Sura XXXVII, v. 12 to 15).

These are not the orders of a bloodthirsty God who orders extermination. Muhammad does not make himself the executor of His justice; its role is to instruct; to God alone belongs to punish or reward in this world and in the next. The last paragraph seems to be written for the Spiritists of today, since men are the same, always, and everywhere.

Pray, give alms; the good that you do, you will find with God, because he sees your actions. (Sura II, v. 104).

It is not enough, to be justified, to turn one's face towards the East and the West; one must also believe in God, in the last day, in the angels, in the Koran, in the prophets. For the love of God, one must help our loved ones, the orphans, the poor, travelers, captives, and those who ask. We must pray, keep our promises, patiently endure adversity and the evils of war. These are the duties of true believers. (Sura II, v. 172).

An honest word and the forgiveness of offenses are preferable to the alms given by injustice. God is rich and merciful. (Sura II, v. 265).

If your debtor is having trouble paying you, give them time; or, if you want to do better, forgive him the debt. If you knew! (Sura II, v. 280).

Revenge must be proportionate to the injury; but the generous man who forgives has his reward assured with God, who hates violence. (Sura XLII, v. 38).

Fight your enemies in the war of religion, but do not attack first; God hates aggressors. (Sura II, v. 186).

Certainly, the Muslims, Jews, Christians and Sabeans^[1], who believe in God and the Last Judgment, and will do good, will receive the reward from his hands; they will be free from fear and punishment. (Sura V, v. 73).

Do not do violence to men because of their faith. The path of salvation is quite distinct from the path of error. Whoever abjures the worship of idols for the sake of the holy religion will have seized an unshakeable pillar. The Lord knows and hears everything. (Sura II, v. 257).

Argue with Jews and Christians only in honest and moderate terms. Confuse those of them who are ungodly. Say: We believe in the book that has been revealed to us and in your scriptures. Our God and yours are one. We are Muslims. (Sura XXIX, v. 45).

Christians will be judged according to the Gospel; those who judge them otherwise will be prevaricating. (Sura V, v. 51).

We gave the Pentateuch to Moses. It is in its light that the Hebrew people must walk. Do not hesitate to meet the guide of the Israelites in heaven. (Sura XXXII, v. 23).

If the Jews had faith and fear of the Lord, we would erase their sins; we would bring them into the garden of delights. The observance of the Pentateuch, the Gospel and the divine precepts would give them the enjoyment of all goods. There are some among them who walk in the right way, but most of them are ungodly. (Sura V, v. 70).

Say to Jews and Christians: “Let’s end our disputes; let us admit only one God and let us not give him an equal; that none of us have any other Lord than him. If they refuse to obey, tell them, "At least you will bear witness that we are believers." (Sura III, v. 57).

These are certainly maxims of charity and tolerance that we would like to see in all Christian hearts!

We sent you to a people that has been preceded by other peoples, to teach them our revelations. They do not believe in the merciful. Tell them, “He is my Lord; there is no God but him. I put my trust in his goodness. I will appear in court again. (Sura XIII, v. 29).



We have brought to men a book in which science shines, that should enlighten the faithful and provide them with divine mercy. - Are they waiting for the fulfillment of the Koran? On the day when it is fulfilled, those who will have lived in the forgetfulness of its maxims will say: "The ministers of the Lord preached the truth to us. Where will we find intercessors now? What hope do we have of returning to earth to correct ourselves? They have lost their souls, and their illusions have vanished. (Sour. VII, v. 50, 51).

The word return implies the idea of having already come; that is, to have lived before the present existence. Muhammad expresses this clearly when he says elsewhere: "You will reappear before him and he will show you your works." You will return to the God of truth. This is the basis of the doctrine of the pre-existence of the soul, whereas, according to the Church, the soul is created at the birth of each body. The plurality of earthly existences is not indicated in the Koran as explicitly as in the Gospel; however, the idea of reliving on earth entered the mind of Muhammad, since such would be, according to him, the desire of the guilty to correct themselves. He therefore understood that it would be useful to be able to start a new existence.

When asked: Do you believe what God has sent from heaven? They respond, “We believe the scriptures that we have received”; And they reject the true book, that came later to put the seal on their sacred books. Tell them, “Why did you kill the prophets if you had faith? (Sura II, v. 85).

Muhammad is not the father of any of you. He is the messenger of God and the seal of the prophets. The science of God is infinite. (Sura XXXIII, v. 40).



By making himself the seal of the prophets, Muhammad announces that he is the last, the conclusion, because he has spoken the whole truth; after him, there will not be others. This is an article of faith among Muslims. From an exclusively religious point of view, it has fallen into the error of all religions which believe themselves to be irremovable, even against the progress of the sciences; but for him it was almost a necessity in order to strengthen the authority of his word among a people whom he had had so much difficulty in converting to his faith. From a social point of view, it was a mistake, because the Koran being a civil law as much as a religious one, it posed a stopping point to progress. This is the cause that has made and will still make the Muslim peoples stationary for a long time to come, and refractory to innovations and reforms that are not in the Koran. This is an example of the downside of confusing what must be distinct. Muhammad did not take human progress into account; this is a fault common to almost all religious reformers. On the other hand, he had to reform not only the faith, but the character, the customs, the social habits of his peoples; he had to base his reforms on the authority of religion, as did all legislators of primitive peoples; the difficulty was great, no doubt; however, he leaves a door open for interpretation and modification, saying that “God can always replace what he has given with something better. "

It is forbidden for you to marry your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your paternal and maternal aunts, your nieces, your nannies, your nursing sisters, the mothers of your wives, the daughters entrusted to your guardianship and the daughters from women with which you would have lived together. Do not marry the daughters of the children that you have fathered, nor two sisters. You are prohibited from marrying married women, except those who have fallen into your hands as slaves. (Sura IV, v. 27 et seq.).

These prescriptions can give an idea of the immorality of those peoples; to be obliged to prohibit such abuses, they had to exist.





Wives of the Prophet, stay in your homes. Do not adorn yourself lavishly, as in the days of idolatry. Pray and give alms. Obey God and his apostle. He wants to remove the vice from your hearts. You are of the Prophet's family, and you must be pure. - Zeid repudiated his wife. We have united you with her, so that the faithful have the freedom to marry the wives of their adopted sons, after repudiation. The divine precept must have its execution. - O prophet, it is permissible for you to marry the women whom you will have endowed, the slaves that God has made fall into your hands, the daughters of your uncles and aunts who fled with you, and any faithful woman that gives you her heart. It is a privilege that we grant you. - You shall not add to the present number of your wives; you will not be able to change them by others whose beauty would have struck you. But you are still allowed to hang out with your slave women. God is watching everything. (Sura XXXIII, v. 37, 49, 52).

It is here that Muhammad truly descends from the pedestal on which he was mounted. We regret to see him fall so low after having risen so high, and having God intervene to justify the privileges he granted himself for the satisfaction of his passions. He gave believers four legitimate wives, while he himself had thirteen. The legislator must be the first subject of the laws he makes. It is an indelible stain that he threw on himself and on Islamism.

Strive to earn the Lord's indulgence, and possession of paradise, the extent of which is equal to heaven and earth, a dwelling prepared for the righteous, - for those who give alms in prosperity and in adversity, and who, masters of the their anger, know how to forgive their fellows. God loves beneficence. (Sura III, v. 127, 128).

God has promised the faithful, who have practiced virtue, entrance to the gardens where rivers flow. They will stay there forever. The Lord's promises are true. What could be more infallible than his word? (Sura IV, v. 121).

They will inhabit eternally the dwelling that God has prepared for them, the gardens of delight watered by rivers, places where sovereign beatitude will reign. (Sura IX, v. 90).

The gardens and the fountains will be the share of those who fear the Lord. They will enter with peace and security. - We will remove envy from their hearts. They will rest on beds, and they will have brotherly benevolence for one another. - Fatigue will not approach the abode of delights. Their possession will not be taken from them. (Sura XV, v. 45 to 48).

The Gardens of Eden will be the house of the righteous. Gold bracelets adorned with pearls, and silk clothes will form their adornment. - Praise the God, they will cry; he removed the pain from us; he is merciful and compassionate. - He introduced us to the Eternal Palace, home of his magnificence. Neither fatigue nor pain approach this asylum. (Sura XXXV, v. 30, 31, 32).

The inhabitants of paradise will drink long drafts from the cup of happiness. - Lying on silk beds, they will rest near their wives, under delicious shade. - They'll find all the fruits. All their desires will be fulfilled. (Sura XXXVI, v. 55, 56, 57).

True servants of God will have chosen food - delicious fruits, and they will be served with honor. - The gardens of delights will be their refuge. - Full of mutual benevolence, they will rest on couches. - They will be offered cups filled with pure water, - limpid and delicious taste, - which will not cloud their reason, and will not intoxicate them. - Near them will be virgins with modest looks, large black eyes and whose complexion will be the color of ostrich eggs. (Sura XXXVII, v. 39 to 47).

We will say to believers who have professed Islamism: Enter the garden of delights, you and your wives; open your hearts to joy. – They will drink in gold cups. The heart will find in this stay all that it can desire, all that can enchant the eye, and these pleasures will be eternal. - Here is the paradise that your works have given you. - Feed on the fruits that grow there abundantly. (Sura XLIII, v. 69 to 72).



Such is this famous paradise of Muhammad that has been mocked so much, and that we will certainly not try to justify. We will only say that he was in harmony with the mores of those peoples, and that he should flatter them much more than the prospect of a purely spiritual state, however splendid it was, because they were too attached to matter to understand it and appreciate its value; they needed something more substantial, and we can say that they were served as desired. It will undoubtedly be noticed that the rivers, the fountains, the abundant fruits, and the shades played a great part there, because this is what is lacking especially among the inhabitants of the desert. Soft beds and silk clothes, for people accustomed to sleeping on the ground and dressed in coarse camel-skin blankets, must also have a great appeal. However ridiculous all this may seem to us, let us think of the environment where Muhammad lived, and do not blame him too much, since with the help of this bait, he was able to draw a people out of barbarism and make them a great nation.

In a future article we will examine how Islamism can join the great family of civilized humanity.

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[1] Ancient Arabian people of South Arabia (Wikipedia, T.N.)

The last session of the Spiritist Society in Paris, before the holidays, was one of the most remarkable of the year, be it by the number and reach of the obtained communications, or by the production of a spontaneous phenomenon of mediumistic somnambulism. Around the middle of the session, Mr. Morin, member of the Society and one of the customary mediums, slept spontaneously under the influence of the Spirits, something that had never happened to him before. He then spoke with passion and eloquence about a very serious matter, of great interest, that we will deal with in the future.

The reopening session, on Friday, October 5^th, presented a similar phenomenon, but in larger proportions. There were thirteen mediums at the table. In the first part, two of them, Mrs. C… and Mr. Vavasseur, slept, like Mr. Morin had done, without any provocation and without anybody thinking about it, under the influence of the Spirits. Mr. Vavasseur is the poet medium, that receives poetry with great facility, from which we have published several samples. Mr. Morin was also about to sleep. Here is what happened during their sleep, that lasted almost one hour.

Mr. Vavasseur said, with a grave and solemn voice: "All will, all magnetic action, is and must remain foreign to this phenomenon. No one should talk to my sister or to me.” Speaking of his sister, he referred to Mrs. C…, or his spiritual sister, because they are in no way related. Then, addressing Mr. Morin, placed at the other end of the table, and extending his hand towards him with an imperative gesture: "I forbid you to sleep." Mr. Morin, in fact, almost asleep, awoke of his own accord. Express recommendation is further made for nobody to touch either of the two mediums.

Mr. V. continued: “Ah! I can feel a bad fluid current here that tires me out… Sister, are you in pain too? – Mrs. C…, Yes. – Mr. V. Look! society is in large number tonight. Do you see – Mrs. C ... Not very clearly yet. - Mr. V… I want you to see. – Mrs. C… Oh! Yes, many Spirit! – Mr. V… Yes, there are many of them; they are uncountable! But, look, in front of you; see a more luminous Spirit, with a more brilliant halo… He seems to smile at us with benevolence! I am told that he is my benefactor (Saint Louis)… Come on, let's walk; let's both go to him… Oh! I have many faults to repair… (addressing the Spirit): Dear Spirit! when I was born, my mother gave me your name. Since then, I remember, that poor mother used to say to me every day: “Oh! my child, pray to God; pray to your guardian angel; especially pray to your patron. Later, I forgot everything… everything! Doubt, disbelief, pursued me; in my error I have misunderstood you, I have misunderstood the goodness of God ... Today, dear Spirit, I come to ask you for forgetting the past and for forgiveness in the present! O Saint Louis, you see my pain and my regret, forget and forgive. (These last words were said with a heart-breaking accent of despair).



Mrs. C… “We must not cry, brother… Saint Louis forgives and blesses you… Good Spirits have no resentment against those who abandon their mistakes. He forgives you; I tell you! O! this Spirit is good! See, he is smiling at us. (Raising his hand to his chest.) Oh! how it hurts to suffer like this!"

Mr. V… “He's talking to me… Listen! Courage,” he said to me, “work with your brothers. The year which begins will be fertile in great events. Around you will emerge great geniuses, poets, painters, literati. The era of the arts follows the era of philosophy. If the first has worked wonders, the second will perform miracles. (Mr. V… speaks with extraordinary vehemence; he is in the supreme degree of ecstasy.)

Mrs. C… “Calm down, brother; you set too much fire on it, and it hurts you; calm down."

Mr. V… (continuing): “But there begins the mission of your society, a very great and very beautiful mission for those who understand it… Home of the Spiritist doctrine, it must defend and propagate its principles by all means that it disposes. Besides, its President will know what needs to be done.

“Now, sister, he's going away; he still smiles at us; he waves goodbye… Come on, let's go up, sister; you must watch a splendid spectacle, a spectacle that the earthly eye has never seen… never, never!… Go up… go up… I want to! (Silence.) What do you see? Look at this Army of Spirits! There they are the poets that surround us… O! sing too, sing! Your songs are the songs of heaven, the hymn of creation! Sing! And their whispers caress my ears… and their chords put my mind to sleep… Can't you hear?”

Mrs. C… “Yes, I hear… They seem to say that with the Spiritist year that begins, a new phase begins for Spiritism… a brilliant phase, of triumph and joy for the sincere hearts, of shame and confusion for the proud and the hypocrites! For these, disappointments, neglect, oblivion, misery; for others, glorification."

Mr. V… “They have already said it, and it is true."

Mrs. C… “Oh! What a party! what magnificence! what a dazzling splendor! My eyes can barely sustain the glow of it. What sweet harmony is heard and penetrates the soul! See all these good Spirits that are preparing the triumph of the doctrine under the guidance of superior Spirits and the great Spirit of Truth! How resplendent they are, and how costly to them to come back and live in a globe like ours! It is painful, but this entails progress."

Mr. V… “Listen! Listen! Listen, I tell you!"

Mr. V… begins the following improvisation in verse. It was the first time that he did mediumistic poetry verbally. Up until now, communications of this kind had always been given spontaneously, in writing.


It was a stormy evening,

The sea rolled its dead,

Throwing to the shore

In gloomy accords! ...

A child, still young,

Standing on a rock,

Waiting for the dawn

Light to walk,

To go to the beach,

Seeking his sister,

Saved from the wreck,

Or… with a dazzled heart.

Could he, on the shore,

See her, as before,

Smiling and naive,

Rushing to his voice?

On that horrible night,

On those rhythmic waves,

The invisible hand

That separated them,

Will it bring them together again?

It was a hope, in vain!

The dawn was out, stunning,

But… it didn't show him anything.

Nothing ... just the sad wreckage

Of a destroyed ship!

Nothing ... but the wave that washes away

What was soiled at night!

The wave, with mystery,

Raising and sliding,

Foamy and light,

The threatening chasm

That hid its victims,

Stifled her cries,

Wanting its crime

To excuse the waves

To the plaintive breeze!

The child, tired of looking,

Running around the shore,

Couldn't walk anymore ...

Exhausted, out of breath,

Lame… bruised… broken…

Barely standing,

Resting on the scorching face,

Of an almost bare rock,

In prayer,

When a passing stranger,

Surprised, looks at him,

Praying with faith.

- Oh! child,

God bless you,

Stand up, he said!

This God that sees your tears,

Brought me here

To calm your scares,

And reach out to you!

Be afraid no more.

My home is yours

My family is yours

Your misfortune is mine.

Come, why you suffer, I must hear!

I will open my heart to you

And hope I will soon

Calm your fear.



(Addressing Mrs. C…) – Do you see? He stops… But he must continue… Yes, he approaches… The sounds are more distinct… I hear… ah!



This poor child… it's me!

This stranger… (addressing Mr. Allan Kardec) it's you,

Dear and honorable master!

You who made me know Two words:

Eternity And… Immortality!

Two names: one God, the other, soul!

One home, the other flame!

And you, my dear friends,

Gathered in this place,

You are the family

Where now quietly,

I must end my days!

Oh! Love each other always!



He's running away… Casimir Delavigne! Oh! dear Spirit… again! He is fleeing! Come on, I am not strong enough to attend this divine concert… Yes, it's so beautiful… it's exceedingly beautiful!



Mrs. C… He would speak again if you wanted, but your elation prevented him. Here you are, broken, bruised, panting; you can no longer speak.



Mr. V… Yes, I can feel it; it is still a weakness (with a strong feeling of regret), and I must wake you up!… too soon… Why not stay in this place forever? Why go back to earth again? Come on, since it is necessary, sister, it is necessary to obey without complaint… Wake up, I want you to wake up. (Mrs. C… opens her eyes) For my side, you can wake me up by waving your handkerchief. I am suffocating! air! air!”


These words, and especially the verses, were said with such an intonation, an outpouring of feeling and a warmth of expression of which only the most dramatic and moving scenes can give an idea. The emotion of the assembly was general, because we felt that it was not declamation, but the soul itself, freed from the matter, that spoke ...



Mr. V ..., exhausted by the fatigue, is forced to leave the room, remaining out for a long time, under the influence of a semi-sleep, from which he only comes out little by little, by himself, not wishing for any help.

These events confirm the predictions of the Spirits concerning the new forms which mediumship would soon take. The state of spontaneous somnambulism, in which both speaking and seeing mediumship develops, is in fact a new faculty, in the sense that it seems destined to generalize; it is a particular mode of communication, and that is more meaningful now than before.



Moreover, this phenomenon is much more to serve as a complement to the instruction of the Spiritists than for the conviction of the unbelievers who would see only a comedy in that. The enlightened Spiritists alone can, not only understand it, but discover in it the proofs of sincerity or charlatanism, as in all other kinds of mediumship; only they can extract what is useful from it, deduce its consequences for the progress of the science in which it makes them penetrate earlier. Also, these phenomena are generally only produced in the intimacy, and there, besides the fact that the mediums would have no interest in simulating a faculty that does not exist, the deception would soon be exposed.



The nuances of observation are here so delicate and so subtle that they require continual attention. In this state of emancipation, the sensitivity and the impressionability are so great that the faculty can only develop in all its brilliance under an entirely sympathetic fluidic influence; a contrary current suffices to alter it like the breath that tarnishes the mirror. The painful sensation felt by the medium makes him fold onto himself, like the sensitive plant at the approaching hand. His attention then turns in the direction of this unpleasant current; he penetrates the thought that is its source, he sees it, he reads it, and the more he feels it unfriendly, the more it paralyzes him. That gives an idea of the effect produced by hostile thoughts! Thus, these kinds of phenomena do not absolutely lend themselves to public exhibitions, where curiosity is the dominant feeling, when it is not that of malevolence. They require, moreover, on the part of the witnesses, an excessive prudence, because it should not be forgotten that, in these moments, the soul only holds to the body by a fragile bond, and that a shock can, at least, cause serious disturbances to the organization; an indiscreet and brutal curiosity may have the most dismal consequences; this is why excessive precaution is never too much.



When M. V., at the onset, says that "all will, all magnetic action, is and must remain foreign to this phenomenon," he makes it clear that the action of Spirits alone is the cause, and that no one could provoke it. The recommendation not to speak to either one was intended to leave them entirely in their ecstasy. Questions would have had the effect of stopping the outpouring of their Spirit, bringing them down to earth, and diverting their thoughts from the main object. The exaltation of sensitivity also made it necessary to recommend not to touch them. The contact would have produced a painful commotion and harmful to the development of the faculty.



We can understand, from this, why the majority of scientists called upon to observe phenomena of this kind are disappointed; it is not because of their lack of faith, as they claim, that the effect is refused by the Spirits: it is they themselves who, by their moral dispositions, produce a contrary reaction; instead of placing themselves in the conditions of the phenomenon, they want to place the phenomenon in their own condition. They would like to find there the confirmation of their anti-spiritualist theories, because for them, it is the only truth, and they are annoyed, humiliated for being denied by the facts. So, not getting anything, or getting only things that contradict their way of seeing, instead of revising their concepts, they prefer to deny, or to say that it is only an illusion. And how could it be otherwise with people that do not accept spirituality? The spiritual principle is the cause of the phenomena of a particular order; To seek the cause outside of this principle is to seek that of lightning outside of electricity. Not understanding the special conditions of the phenomenon, they experiment on the patient as on test tube with chemical products; they torture him as if it were a surgical operation, at the risk of compromising his life or his health.



Ecstasy, which is the highest degree of emancipation, demands all the more precautions since, in this state, the Spirit, intoxicated by the sublime spectacle before its eyes, generally asks for nothing better than to stay where it is, and quit earth altogether; often he even makes an effort to break the last bond which chains him to his body, and if his reason were not strong enough to resist temptation, he would gladly let himself go. It is then that we must come to his aid with a strong will and by pulling him out of this state. We understand that there is no absolute rule here, and that we must act according to the circumstances.



In this respect, one of our friends offers us an interesting subject for study.



It has unsuccessfully been tried to hypnotize him in the past; for some time now he has spontaneously fallen into hypnotic sleep under the influence of the slightest cause; it suffices that he writes a few mediumistic lines, and sometimes a simple conversation. In his sleep he has perceptions of a very elevated order; he speaks eloquently and delves into the most serious questions with remarkable logic. He sees Spirits perfectly, but his lucidity presents different degrees through which he passes alternately; the most ordinary is that of a semi-ecstasy. At certain times, he gets excited, and if he experiences a strong emotion, which is frequent, he cries out with a sort of horror, and this often in the middle of the most interesting conversation: Awake me immediately, something that would be unwise not to do so. Fortunately, he showed us the way of waking him up instantaneously, and that consists in blowing his forehead strongly, since the magnetic passes producing only a very slow null effect.



Here is the explanation given to us about his faculty, by one of our guides, using another medium.



“Mr. T's Spirit is hampered in his development by the material test that he has chosen. The tool that is his instrument, his body, in his current state, is not manageable enough to allow him to assimilate the necessary knowledge, or to use what he possesses himself, in the waking state. When he is asleep, the body is no longer an obstacle, becoming only the spokesperson of his own Spirit, or of those with which it is in relation.

The material fatigue, inherent to his occupation, and the relative ignorance that he endures in this incarnation, since he only knows, in terms of science, what he has taught himself, all that disappears to make room for a lucidity of mind, a breadth of reasoning, and an exceptional eloquence that are the result of a previous development of the Spirit. The purpose of the frequency of his ecstasies is simply to familiarize his body to a state which, for a certain period, and for a special purpose later, may in some way become normal. When he asks to be awakened promptly, it is for his desire to accomplish his mission without failing. Under the spell of the sublime images that are offered to him and of the environment in which he finds himself, he would like to set free from the earthly ties and remain definitively among the Spirits. His reason, and his duty that keeps him down below here, fight such a desire; and for fear of letting himself be dominated, succumbing to temptation, he cries out for you to wake him up."



Considering that these phenomena of spontaneous mediumistic somnambulism must multiply, the preceding instructions are intended to guide the groups where they could occur, in the observation of the facts, and to make them understand the need to use the most extreme caution in such cases. What must absolutely be avoided is to make it an object of experimentation and curiosity.



The Spiritists will be able to draw great lessons from them, suitable for enlightening and strengthening their faith, but, we repeat, they would be of no benefit to the unbelievers. The phenomena intended to convince the latter, and that may occur in broad daylight, are of another order, and among them, some will take place, and are already occurring, apparently at least, outside Spiritism; the word Spiritism frightens them; having this word not being pronounced, it will be one more reason for them to take deal with it; The Spirits are therefore wise when they sometimes change the label.



As for the special utility of this mediumship, it is in the tangible proof that it provides of the independence of Spirit, by its isolation from matter. As we have said, manifestations of this kind enlighten and strengthen the faith; they put us in more direct contact with the spiritual life. Who is the lukewarm or uncertain Spiritist that would remain indifferent in the presence of facts that make him, so to speak, touch the future life with his finger? Who is the one who could still doubt the presence and the intervention of the Spirits? What is the heart hardened enough not to be moved at the sight of the future, unfolding before him, and that God, in His goodness, allows him to foresee?



But these manifestations have another more practical, more current utility, because more than others, they will be of a nature to raise courage in the hard times that we have to go through. It is at the time of turmoil that we will be happy to feel invisible protectors near us; it is then that we will know the worth of this knowledge that raises us above humanity and the miseries of Earth, that appeases our sorrows and our apprehensions, by making us see only what is great, imperishable and worthy of our aspirations. It is a timely help that God sends to His faithful servants, and it is yet another sign that the times have come. Let us know how to use it for our advancement. Let us thank God for allowing us to be enlightened in time, and feel sorry for the unbelievers, for depriving themselves of this immense and supreme consolation, for the light has been shed for all. Through the voice of the Spirits that speak throughout Earth, He makes a last appeal to the hardened ones; let us implore His indulgence and mercy for the blind.



Ecstasy is, as we have said, a higher state of disengagement, of which the somnambulistic state is one of the first degrees, but that does not imply, in any way, the superiority of the Spirit. The most complete release is, undoubtedly, the one that follows death. However, now we see the Spirit preserving his imperfections, his prejudices, committing errors, deceiving oneself, manifesting the same inclinations. It is for the fact that good and bad qualities are inherent to the Spirit, and do not depend on external causes. The external causes can paralyze the faculties of the Spirit, that recovers them in the state of freedom, but they are powerless to give him those that he does not have. The flavor of a fruit is in the fruit itself; whatever we do, wherever we place it, if it is inherently tasteless, we won't make it tasty. That is how it is with the Spirit. If a complete detachment after death does not make him perfect, much less can he become so in a partial separation.



Ecstatic release is a physiological state, an obvious indicator of a certain degree of advancement of the Spirit, but not of absolute superiority. Moral imperfections, which are due to the influence of matter, disappear with this influence, which is why we generally observe in somnambulists and ecstatic more elevated ideas than in the waking state; but those that depend on the very quality of the Spirit continue to manifest themselves, sometimes even with less restraint than in the normal state; the Spirit, freed from all constraints, sometimes gives free rein to feelings that, as a man, he tries to conceal from the eyes of the world. Of all the evil tendencies, the most persistent and the ones that we confesses the least to ourselves, are the radical vices of humanity: pride and selfishness that give rise to jealousy, the petty susceptibilities of self-esteem, the exaltation of personality that are often revealed in the state of somnambulism. It is not the release that gives birth to them, it only uncovers them; from latent they become sensitive as a result of the freedom of the Spirit. We must not, therefore, expect to find any kind of infallibility, neither moral nor intellectual, in somnambulists and ecstatic; the faculty they enjoy may be altered by imperfections in their Spirit. Their words can reflect their thoughts and feelings; they can also suffer the effects of obsession, just as well as in the ordinary state, and be, on the part of the lighthearted or malicious Spirits, the plaything of the strangest illusions, as experience demonstrates.



It would therefore be a mistake to believe that visions and revelations of ecstasy can only be the expression of truth; like with all other manifestations, they must be subjected to the crucible of good sense and reason, to distinguish between good and bad, what is rational and what is illogical. If these kinds of manifestations are multiplying, it is much less with the objective of giving us extraordinary revelations, than to provide us with new subjects for study and observation on the faculties and properties of the soul, and to give us a new proof of its existence and its independence from matter.

First, we need to make some corrections to our account of Mr. Jacob's cures. We heard from Mr. Jacob himself that the little girl that he healed on arriving at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, was not in the public square; that's where he saw her, but the healing took place in her parents' house where he brought her in. It doesn't change the result; but this circumstance gives the action a less eccentric character.

Mr. Boivinet writes the following to us:

“Concerning the proportion of cured patients, I meant that out of 4,000, a quarter did not experience any results, and that of the remaining 3,000, a quarter was healed and three quarters relieved. From another passage of the article one might believe that I have attested the healing of stiff limbs; I meant that Mr. Jacob had straightened stiff limbs, rigid as if they were stiff, but no more than that; it does not mean that there was a cured ankylosis; I ignore that. As for the stiffened limbs that, given the pain, partially paralyze the capacity of movement, I have lastly observed three cases of instantaneous cure; the next day, one of the sick was absolutely cured; another one had freedom of movement with a residual pain which, as he told me, he would gladly live with forever. I did not see the third patient again."

It would have been remarkable if the devil did not come and meddle in this affair. Another person wrote to us from one of the localities where the rumor of Mr. Jacob's healings had spread:

“Great emotion here in the town and in the presbytery. The servant of the priest, having met Mr. Jacob twice, in the only street of the village, is convinced that he is the devil, and that he is chasing her. The poor woman took refuge in a house where she almost had a nervous attack. It is true that the red outfit of the Zouave could have made her believe that he was coming out of hell. It seems that they are preparing a crusade against the devil here, to dissuade the sick from being cured by him."

Who could have given the idea to this woman that Mr. Jacob was the devil in person, and that the healings are a trick on his part? Weren’t the poor of a certain city told that they should not receive the bread and the alms of the Spiritists, because it was a seduction of Satan? And elsewhere, that it was better to be an atheist than to come back to God by the influence of Spiritism, because that was still a ruse of the devil? In any case, by attributing so many good things to the devil, they do whatever it takes to rehabilitate him with public opinion. What is even more strange is that such ideas are still fed to populations a few leagues from Paris. So, what a reaction when the light shines on these fanaticized brains! One must admit that there are some very clumsy people.

Let us return to our subject: general considerations about healing mediumship.

We have already said, and it is never too much to repeat, that there is a radical difference between the healing mediums and those that obtain medical prescriptions from the part of the Spirits. The latter are not at all different from the ordinary writing mediums, except for the nature of the communication. The former only cure by the fluidic action, in longer or shorter time, sometimes instantaneously, with the use of any medication. The healing power is totally on the depurated fluid to which they serve as conductors. The theory of this phenomenon was sufficiently explained to demonstrate that it enters in the order of the natural laws, and that there isn’t anything of miraculous. It is the result of a special aptitude, as independent from one’s will as all other mediumistic faculties; it is not a talent that may be acquired; nobody can transform oneself in a healing medium, as one can become a doctor. The healing gift is inherent to the medium, but the exercise of the faculty can only take place with the support of the Spirits, so that if the Spirits no longer wish to utilize him, he is therefore like an instrument without a musician, and obtains nothing. He can, consequently, lose the faculty instantaneously, which then excludes the possibility of making a profession out of it.

Another point to consider is that since this faculty is based on natural laws, it has limits outlined by those very laws. It is understandable that the fluidic action may give sensitivity to an existing organ; dissolve or get rid of an obstacle to the movement or perception; cicatrize an ulcer, because then the fluid becomes a true therapeutic agent; but it is evident that it cannot repair the absence or the destruction of an organ, something that would be a true miracle. Thus, sight could be restored to a person blind by amaurosis, ophthalmia, cloudy vision or cataract, but not the one that had the eyes gouged out. There are, therefore, fundamentally incurable diseases, and it would be an illusion to believe that the healing mediumship would relieve humanity from all its illnesses.

Besides, one must also consider the variety of nuances presented by such mediumship, that is far from being uniform in all that have it. It presents itself in many different aspects. Based on the degree of development of the power, the action is faster or slower, extensive, or circumscribed. A given medium is successful with certain diseases, in certain persons, under certain circumstances, and completely fails in apparently identical cases. It seems also that, in some, the healing gift extends to the animals. There is a true chemical reaction taking place in this phenomenon, like the one produced by certain medications. The fluid acts as the therapeutic agent, and its action varies according to the properties received from the qualities of the personal fluid of the medium; now, owing to the temperament and the constitution of the latter, this fluid is impregnated with various elements that give it special properties; to provide material comparison, it can be more or less charged with animal electricity, be acid or alkaline, with ferruginous elements, sulphureous, solvents, astringents, caustics, etc.; this results in a different action depending on the nature of the organic ailment; this action can therefore be energetic, all powerful in certain cases, and null in others. That is how the healing mediums can have specialties; this one will heal pains or straighten a limb but will not restore sight to a blind person, and vice versa. Only experience can reveal the specialty and the extent of the aptitude; but we can say, in principle, that there aren’t universal healing mediums, for the reason that there aren’t perfect men on earth, whose power is unlimited.

The action is quite different in the obsession, and the power to heal does not imply the power to free the obsessed. The healing fluid acts in some way materially on the affected organs, while, in the obsession, it is necessary to act morally on the obsessing Spirit; one must have authority over him to make him let go. These are therefore two distinct abilities that are not always present in the same person. The help of the healing fluid becomes necessary when the obsession is complicated by organic affections, and this is quite frequent. So, there may be powerless healing mediums for the obsession, and vice versa.



Healing mediumship does not come to supplant medicine and physicians; it simply comes to prove to them that there are things they do not know and invites them to study them; that nature has laws and resources they ignore; that the spiritual element, that they ignore, is not a chimera, and when they take it into account, they will open up new horizons to science and succeed more often than they do. If this faculty were the privilege of an individual only, it would go unnoticed; it would be regarded as an exception, an effect of chance, the supreme explanation that explains nothing, and ill will could easily stifle the truth. But when they see the facts multiplying, they will be forced to recognize that they can only occur by virtue of a law; that if ignorant men succeed where scientists fail, it is because scientists do not know everything. This in no way affects science that will always be the lever and the result of intellectual progress; only the self-esteem of those who circumscribe it within the limits of their knowledge and materiality, can suffer.

Of all the mediumistic faculties, popularized healing mediumship is the one that is called upon to produce the most sensations, because there are sick people everywhere and in great numbers, and it is not curiosity that attracts them, but the overwhelming need for relief; more than any other, it will triumph over disbelief, as well as fanaticism, which sees the intervention of the devil everywhere. The multiplicity of facts will necessarily lead to the study of the natural cause, and from there to the destruction of the superstitious ideas of bewitching, occult power, amulets, etc. If we consider the effects produced around Camp Châlons by a single individual, and the multitude of suffering people from ten leagues around, we can assess what it would be if ten, twenty, a hundred individuals performed under the same conditions, either in France or in foreign countries. If you tell these patients that they are the plaything of an illusion, they will answer you by showing their straightened leg; that they are victims of charlatans, and they will say that they have not paid anything, and that they have not been sold any drugs; if you tell them that their trust has been abused, and they will say that they have not been promised anything.

It is also the faculty that most escapes the accusation of charlatanism and deception; it defies mockery, for there is nothing laughable in a cured patient whom science had abandoned. Dishonesty can roughly simulate most of the mediumistic effects, and skepticism always seeks strings in them; but where will the strings of healing mediumship be found? One can apply certain tricks to imitate the mediumistic effects, and the most real effects can, in the eyes of some people, pass for skillful tricks, but what would someone that wanted to imitate the qualities of a healing medium do? One of two things: he either heals or he does not heal. There is no simulation that can produce a cure.

Healing mediumship, moreover, completely escapes the law on the illegal practice of medicine since it does not prescribe any treatment. What penalty could be applicable to the one that heals by his influence alone, assisted by prayer, who, moreover, does not ask for anything as a payment for his services? Now, prayer is not a pharmaceutical substance. It is, in your opinion, something silly; but if the cure is at the end of this silliness, what will you say? A silliness that cures is more valuable that medications that don’t.

Mr. Jacob was prohibited from receiving sick people at the camp, and from going to their homes, and if he submitted by saying that he would not resume the exercise of his faculty, until the ban was officially lifted, it is for the fact that, being a soldier, he wanted to be a scrupulous observer of discipline, however harsh it was. In this he acted wisely, for he proved that Spiritism does not lead to insubordination; but this is an exceptional case here. Since this faculty is not the privilege of an individual, by what means could it be prevented from spreading? If it spreads, willingly or not, it will have to be accepted with all its consequences.

Considering that the healing mediumship is based on an organic disposition, many people possess at least its germ, that remains in a latent state, for lack of exercise and development. It is a faculty that many aspire, rightly so, and if all those who wish to possess it asked for it with fervor and perseverance by prayer, and for an exclusively humanitarian purpose, it is probable that, from this contest, more than one would emerge a true healing medium.

We should not be surprised to see people who, at first glance, do not seem worthy of it, favored by this precious gift. It is because the assistance of the good Spirits is available to everyone, to open to all the path of good; but it ceases if one does not know how to make oneself worthy of it, by improving. It is here like with the gifts of fortune, that do not always come to the most deserving one; it is then a test by the use that is made of it; fortunate the ones that emerge victorious.

By the nature of its effects, healing mediumship essentially requires the co-operation of purified Spirits who cannot be replaced by inferior Spirits, while there are mediumistic effects, for the production of which the elevation of Spirits is not a necessary condition, and which, for this reason, are obtained almost in all circumstances. Certain Spirits, even less scrupulous than others, as for these conditions, prefer mediums with whom they find sympathy; but the worker is recognized by the work.

There is, therefore, an absolute necessity for the healing medium to conquer the cooperation of the superior Spirits if he wants to preserve and develop their faculty, otherwise, instead of growing, it declines and disappears by the estrangement of the good Spirits. The first condition for this is to work on one’s own purification, so as not to alter the beneficial fluids that one is responsible for transmitting. This condition cannot be fulfilled without the most complete material and moral selflessness. The first is the easiest, the second is the rarest, because pride and selfishness are the most difficult feelings to uproot, and several causes contribute to over-arousing them in mediums. As soon as one of them is revealed with a somewhat transcendent faculty - we are speaking here of mediums in general, writers, seers, and others - he is sought after, flattered, and more than one succumbs to this temptation of vanity. Soon, forgetting that without Spirits there would be nothing, he regards himself as indispensable, and the sole interpreter of the truth; he denigrates other mediums and believes himself above advices. The medium that behaves like that is lost, because the Spirits take it upon themselves to prove to him that they can do without him, by making other better assisted mediums emerge. By comparing the series of communications of the same medium, we can easily judge whether it is growing or degenerating. How many, unfortunately, we have seen, in all genres, falling sadly and deplorably on the slippery slope of pride and vanity! We can, therefore, expect to see the emergence of a multitude of healing mediums; in their number, several will remain dried fruits, and will disappear, after having shone a transient spark, while others will continue to rise.

Here is an example that one of our correspondents told us about, six months ago. In a department of the south, a medium who had revealed himself as a healer, had operated several remarkable cures, and great hopes were placed on him. His faculty presented peculiarities that, in a group, they had the idea of doing a study on this subject. Here is the response that was obtained from the Spirits, and that was transmitted to us on the occasion; it can be used for the instruction of all.

“X…, in fact, possesses the faculty of a healing medium, remarkably developed; unfortunately, like many others, he exaggerates its scope too much. He is an excellent boy, full of good intentions, but an excessive pride, and an extremely short sight of men and things, will quickly collapse. His fluidic power, that is considerable, well used and aided by moral influence, could produce excellent results. Do you know why many of his patients experience only a momentary well-being, that disappears when he is no longer there? It is for the fact that he acts by his presence alone, but that he leaves nothing in the mind to succeed over the sufferings of the body.

When he is gone, nothing remains of him, not even the thought, that follows the patient of whom he no longer thinks, while the mental action could, in his absence, continue the direct action. He believes in his fluidic power, which is real, but whose action is not persistent, because it is not corroborated by moral influence. When he succeeds, he is more satisfied with being noticed than with having healed; and yet he is sincerely disinterested, for he would blush to receive the least remuneration; although he is not rich, he has never dreamed of making a profit out of it; what he wants is to make people talk about him. He also lacks the kindness of heart, that attracts. Those that come to him are shocked by his ways, which do not produce sympathy, and the result is a lack of harmony that impairs the assimilation of the fluids. Far from calming and appeasing bad passions, he excites them, while believing that he is doing what is necessary to destroy them, and this for lack of discernment. He is a distorted instrument; he sometimes gives harmonious and good sounds, but the whole can only be, if not bad, at least unproductive. He is not as useful to the cause as he could be, and he frequently harms it, because, for his character, the results are badly appreciated. He is one of those that preach a doctrine of meekness and peace with violence.

Question: So, do you think he will lose his healing power?

Answer: I am convinced of that, or else he would have to make a serious comeback, which, unfortunately, I do not believe he is capable of. Advice would be superfluous, because he is persuaded that he knows more than everyone else; he might appear to be listening to them, but he wouldn't follow them. He thus doubly loses the benefit of an excellent faculty."

The event justified the forecast. We have since learned that this medium, after a series of failures from which his self-esteem had suffered, had given up on new attempts at healing.

The power of healing is independent of the will of the medium; this is a fact attested by experience; what depends on him are the qualities which can make this power fruitful and lasting. These qualities are, above all, dedication, self-sacrifice, and humility; egoism, pride and greed are stopping points against which the finest faculty breaks.

The true healing medium, the one who understands the holiness of his mission, is moved by the unique desire for good; he sees in the gift he possesses only a means of making himself useful to his fellows, and not a stepping stone to rise above others and stand out. He is humble of heart, that is, in him humility and modesty are sincere, real, without ulterior motive, and not in words that are often contradicted by actions. Humility is sometimes a cloak under which pride is sheltered, but that cannot deceive anyone. He seeks neither shine, nor fame, nor celebrity, nor the satisfaction of his vanity; there is neither bragging nor boastfulness in his manners; he does not show off the cures he obtains, while the proud enumerates them with complacency, often amplifies them, and ends up by persuading himself that he has done everything he says.

Happy with the good he does, he is no less happy with what others can do; not believing himself to be the first or the only one capable, he neither envies nor denigrates any medium. Those who have the same faculty are for him brothers who contribute to the same end; he says to himself that the more there will be, the greater the good will be.

His confidence in his own strength does not go so far as to presume to believe himself infallible, and even less universal; he knows that others can as much and even more than him; his faith is in God more than in himself, for he knows that he can do everything through Him and nothing without Him. That is why he does not promise anything except with God's permission.

To the material influence, he joins moral influence, a powerful auxiliary that doubles his strength. By his benevolent words, he encourages, raises morale, arouses hope and confidence in God. It is already a part of the healing, for it is a consolation that disposes to receive the beneficent fragrance, or to put it better, the benevolent thought is itself a healthy fragrance. Without moral influence, the medium has only the fluidic, material, and in a way, brutal action, insufficient in many cases.

Finally, to the one that possesses the qualities of the heart, the patient is attracted by a sympathy that predisposes to the assimilation of fluids, while pride, the lack of benevolence, shock and make one experience a feeling of repulsion that paralyzes this assimilation.

Such is the healing medium loved by the good Spirits. Such is also the measure which can be used to judge the intrinsic value of those who will reveal themselves, and the extent of the services that they will be able to render to the cause of Spiritism. This is not to say that they are only found in these conditions, and that whoever does not combine all these qualities cannot temporarily render partial services, which would be wrong to reject; the evil is for him, because the more he moves away from the ideal model, the less he can hope to see his faculty develop, and the closer he is to its decline; good Spirits attach themselves only to those who prove themselves worthy of their protection, and the fall of the proud is, sooner or later, his punishment. Selflessness is incomplete without moral selflessness.

The Spiritist Society of Paris, in its re-opening session on October 5^th, opened a subscription on behalf of the flooded. A first payment of 300 fr. was done in its name at the offices of the “Moniteur Unviersal.” Subscriptions will continue to be received at the office of the Spiritist Review.

The revelations made to Louis XVIII by a peasant from Beauce, shortly after the second return of the Bourbons, had a great impact in that time, and even today its memory is not erased; but few people know the details of this incident, to which Spiritism alone can now give the key, as to all events of this kind. It is a subject of study, even more interesting, since the facts, almost contemporary, are of a perfect authenticity and attested by official documents. We are going to give a summary of them, but sufficient to make them appreciated.

Thomas-Ignace Martin was a small farmer from the Bourg de Gallardon, located four leagues from Chartres. Born in 1783, he was, therefore, thirty-three years old when the events that we are going to report took place. He died on May 8^th, 1834. He was married, father of four young children, and enjoyed the reputation of a perfect honest man, in his commune. Official reports paint him as a sensible man, though very naïve, owing to his ignorance of the most vulgar things; of a gentle and peaceful character, never meddled with any intrigue; of a perfect righteousness in all things, and of a complete selflessness, of which he had given numerous proofs, hence ruling out any idea of ambition on his part. So, when he returned to his village after his visit to the king, he resumed his usual occupations as if nothing had happened, even avoiding talking about what had happened to him.

When he left to Paris, the director of the Charenton home had all the trouble in the world to get him to accept 25 francs for his travel expenses. The following year, his wife being pregnant with a fifth child, a distinguished person for her position, and who was aware of their meager resources, made a proposal of 150 francs through a third party, to provide for the needs in that circumstance. Martin refused, saying: "It can only be because of these things that have happened to me that I am offered money, because without that, they would not talk about me, they would not even know me. But since it is not from me, I must not receive anything for it. Thus, you will thank this person very much, because, although I am not rich, I do not want to receive anything.” On other occasions, he refused larger sums that you put him in a comfortable situation.

Martin was simple, but neither credulous nor superstitious; he practiced his religious duties scrupulously, but without exaggeration or ostentation, and just within the limits of what was strictly necessary, visiting his parish priest at most once a year. There was, therefore, in him neither bigotry nor religious excitement. Nothing in his habits or in his character was prone to excite his imagination. He was pleased to see the return of the Bourbons, but without being involved in politics in any way and without mingling with any party. Entirely dedicated to the work in the fields, since his childhood, he read neither books nor newspapers.



It is easy to understand the importance of this information about Martin's character in the case at hand. The moment a man is moved neither by interest, nor by ambition, nor by fanaticism, nor by superstitious credulity, he acquires serious rights of confidence. However, here is a summary of how the events happened to him.

On January 15^th, 1816, at half past two in the afternoon, he was alone, busy, spreading manure in a field three-quarters of a league from Gallardon, in a very deserted region, when suddenly a man appeared to him, of about five feet one or two inches, slender of body and face, delicate and very white, dressed in a Levite^[1] or frock coat of golden color, totally closed and hanging down to the feet, with shoes tied with cords and a round, tall hat. This man said to Martin:

“You must go find the king, tell him that his person is in danger, as well as that of the princes; that bad people are still trying to overthrow the government; that several writings or letters have already circulated in some provinces of their states on this subject; that it is necessary that he make an accurate and general inquiry in all states, and especially in the capital; that he must also reinstate the day of the Lord, so that he may be sanctified; that this holy day is ignored by a large part of his people; that he must stop public works on those days; that he order public prayers for the conversion of the people; let him stimulate them to penance; that he abolish and annihilate all the disorders that take place in the days that precede the holy Lent: without all these things, France will fall into new misfortunes.”

Martin, a little surprised at such a sudden appearance, replied: "But you can go and find others than me to do a commission like that. Imagine that I would speak to the king with hands like that (imprints of manure)!”

- No, replied the stranger, it is you who will go.

"But," resumed Martin, "since you know so much about it, you may well go and find the king yourself and tell him all this; why are you talking to a poor man like me who can't explain himself? - It will not be me who will go, said the stranger to him, it will be you; pay attention to what I tell you, and you will do whatever I command you.

After these words, Martin saw him disappear more or less like this: his feet seemed to rise from the ground, his head lowered and his shrinking body finally disappeared at belt height, as if it would have evaporated in the air. Martin, more frightened of this way of disappearing than of the sudden appearance, wanted to go away, but he could not; he remained, unwillingly, and having set to work, his task, that was supposed to last two and a half hours, lasted only one hour and a half, redoubling his astonishment.

Certain recommendations that Martin had to make to the king may be found childish, especially concerning the observance of Sunday, considering the means, apparently supernatural, employed to transmit it to him, and the difficulties that such an approach was to encounter. But it is probable that this was only a sort of passport to arrive at him, for the main object of the revelation, which was of a much higher seriousness, was not to be known, as it will be seen later, but at the time of the interview. The main thing was that Martin could reach the king, and for that the intervention of some members of the high clergy was necessary; now, we know the importance that the clergy gives to the observance of Sunday; how could the sovereign not surrender when the voice of heaven was about to be heard by a miracle? It was, therefore, advisable to favor Martin, instead of discouraging him. However, things are far from having worked out on their own.

Martin hastened to tell his brother what had happened to him, and they both went to tell the parish priest, Mr. Laperruque, who tried to dissuade Martin and put it to the account of his imagination. On the 18^th, at six o'clock in the evening, Martin had gone down to the cellar to look for potatoes, when the same individual appeared to him standing, beside him, while he was on his knees, busy collecting them; terrified he left his candle there and fled. On the 18^th, a new apparition at the entrance of a fruit press, and Martin escaped in the same way.

On Sunday, January 21^st, Martin entered the church at the hour of Vespers; as he was taking the holy water, he saw the stranger who was also taking it, and followed him to the entrance up to his bench; throughout the service he was very collected and Martin noticed that he had neither a hat on his head nor in his hands. When he left the church, he followed him to his house, walking by his side, hat on his head. When they arrived at the gate, he suddenly found himself face to face with the man who said: “Accomplish your mission, and do as I tell you; you will not be at ease until your mission is accomplished.” As soon as he said these words he disappeared, but this time Martin did not see him fainting gradually, as he did the first time, neither this time nor in the following appearances. On January 24^th, another apparition in the attic, followed by these words: “Do what I command you, it is time."

Note these two modes of disappearance: the first, which could not be the result of a bodily being in flesh and blood, was undoubtedly intended to prove that it was a fluidic being, foreign to material humanity, something to be ratified 50 years later and explained by Spiritism, whose doctrines it confirmed, at the same time as it provided a subject for study.

We know that in recent times, incredulity has sought to explain the apparitions by optical effects, and when artificial phenomena of this kind appeared in some theaters, produced by a combination of mirrors and lights, this was a general cry in the press, saying: “Here is finally the secret of all apparitions discovered! It is with the help of such means that this absurd belief has spread throughout time, and that credulous people have been fooled by subterfuges!”

We have refuted, as it should have been, (Spiritist Review, July 1863) this strange explanation, worthy of the famous cracker muscle, of Doctor Jobert de Lamballe, who accused all Spiritists of insanity, and who has himself, unfortunately, languished for several years in a house of the mentally ill; but we ask, in the case in question here, by whom and how devices of this nature, necessarily complicated and bulky, could have been arranged and operated in a field, isolated from any house, and where Martin was absolutely alone, not noticing anything? How could these same devices, which operate in the dark, using artificial lights, produce an image in direct sunlight? How could they have been transported instantly to the cellar, to the attic, places generally not very well equipped, in a church, and from the church to follow Martin home, without anyone noticing a thing? These kinds of artificial images are seen by all spectators; how would it be that in church, and on leaving church, Martin alone saw the individual? Will it be said that he saw nothing, but that, in good faith, he was the plaything of a hallucination? This explanation is contradicted by the material fact of the revelations made to the king, and which, as we will see, could not be known beforehand to Martin. There is a positive, material result in this, that is not in the field of illusions.

The priest of Gallardon, to whom Martin faithfully gave an account of his appearances, and who took an exact note of them, thought it to be his duty to report it to his bishop in Versailles, to whom he sent a detailed letter of recommendation. There, Martin repeated everything he had seen, and, after various questions, the bishop instructed him to ask the stranger, on his part, if he appeared again, his name, who he was, who had sent him, recommending that he tell his priest everything.

A few days after Martin's return, the priest received a letter from his bishop, in which he testified to him that the man he had sent appeared to have great lucidity about the important subject in question. From this moment a constant correspondence was established between the bishop and the priest of Gallardon. For his part, Monseigneur, given the gravity of the first apparition, felt it to be his duty to make it a ministerial and police affair; consequently, he sent every report he received from the priest to Mr. Decazes, Minister of General Police.

1.On Tuesday, January 30^th, the stranger appeared to Martin again and said: “Your mission has started well, but those who have it in their hands are not taking care of it; I was present, though invisible, when you made your statement; you were told to ask my name and where I came from; my name will remain unknown, and he who sent me (pointing to the sky) is above me.”

- “How do you always address yourself to me, replied Martin, for a mission like this, I that am only a peasant? There are so many witty people.”

"It is to bring down pride," said the stranger, pointing to the earth; “for you, you should not take pride in what you have seen and heard, because pride is extremely displeasing to God; practice virtue; attend the services that are done in your parish on Sundays and holidays; Avoid cabarets and bad companies where all kinds of impurities are committed and where all kinds of bad speech are held. Do not haul on Sundays and holidays.”

During the month of February, the stranger appeared several more times to Martin, and said to him, among other things, these words: - "Persist, oh my friend, and you will succeed." You will appear before disbelief, and you will confound it; I still have something else to tell you that will convince them, and they will have nothing to answer. - Hurry up with your mission, nothing is done of everything I told you; those who have the matter in hand are intoxicated with pride; France is in a state of delirium; it will be given over to all kinds of misfortunes. - You will meet the king; you will tell him what I have announced to you; he will be able to admit his brother and his nephews with him. When you will be before the king I will reveal to you things which were secret from the time of his exile, but the knowledge of which will not be given to you until you are taken into his presence."

In the meantime, the Comte de Breteuil, Prefect of Chartres, received a letter from the Minister of General Police inviting him to verify "whether these appearances, given as miraculous, were not rather a game of the imagination of Martin, a real illusion of his elated mind, or finally if the alleged unknown envoy, could not be Martin himself, were not to be severely examined by the police, and then handed over to the courts."

On March 5^th, Martin received a visit from his stranger who told him: “You will soon appear before the first magistrate of your department; you must report things as they are announced to you; we must not have regard for quality or dignity."

Martin had not been informed that he had to go to the Prefect; this is, therefore, no longer a simple communication on a vague thing, it is the forecast of a fact that is going to be realized. This was repeated over and over again during the course of these events; Martin was always informed by his stranger of what would happen to him, of the people in whose presence he was going to be, of the places where he would be taken. Well, this is not the result of illusion and chimerical ideas. As soon as the individual says to Martin: tomorrow you will see such and such a person, or you will be taken to such and such a place, and the thing happens, it is a positive fact that cannot come from the imagination.

The next day, March 6^th, Martin, accompanied by the priest, went to Chartres to see the Prefect. The latter spoke first, at length and in particular with the priest, then having been introduced to Martin, he said to him: "But if I put you in the shackles and in prison for making such announcements, would you continue to say what you say? "As you wish," replied Martin, without fear; “I can only tell the truth.”

"But," continued the Prefect, "if you appeared before an authority superior to my own, for example, before the minister, would you sustain what you have just told me?"

“Yes, sir,” replied Martin, “and before the king himself.”

The prefect, surprised by so much assurance, combined with so much simplicity, and still more by the strange tales that the priest had told him, decided to send Martin to the minister. The next day, March 7^th, Martin left for Paris escorted by Mr. André, lieutenant of the gendarmery, who had orders to watch all his steps and not to leave him, day, and night. They lodged at rue Montmartre, hotel de Calais, in a room with two beds. On Friday, March 8^th, Mr. André took Martin to the headquarters of the police. Entering the courtyard, the stranger appeared to him and said: “You are going to be questioned in several ways; have no fear or worry but tell it like it is.” After these words he disappeared.

We will not report here all the interrogations that the minister and his secretaries subjected Martin to, without allowing himself to be intimidated by threats, or disconcerted by the traps that were set for him to put him in contradiction with himself, confusing his interrogators with his answers full of meaning and composure. Having Martin described his stranger, the minister said: “Well! you won't see him anymore, because I just had him arrested.

- “Hey!” replied Martin, “how were you able to make him stop, since he immediately disappears like lightning?” – “If it disappears for you, continued the Minister, he does not disappear for everyone.” And addressing one of his secretaries:

“Go see if that man I said to put in jail is still there."

A few moments later the secretary returned and gave this answer:

“Monsignor, he is still there. - Well! said Martin, if you had him put in prison, you will show him to me, and I will recognize him well; I have seen him enough times for that.”

Next came a man who carefully examined Martin's head, parting his hair to the right and to the left; the minister turned them over and over again, presumably to see if he had some sign of insanity, to which Martin was content to say:

“Look as much as you want, I've never been sick in my life.”

Returning to the hotel, in the evening, Martin said to Mr. André: "But the minister told me that he had put the man who appeared to me in prison. So, he released him, for he appeared to me since and said: “You were questioned today, but they don't want to do what I said. The one you saw this morning wanted you to believe that I had been arrested; you can tell him that he has no power over me and that it is time for the king to be warned.” Mr. André immediately went to report to the police, while Martin, without worry, went to bed and fell asleep peacefully.

The next day, the 9th, Martin had gone downstairs to ask for the lieutenant's boots, and the stranger appeared to him in the middle of the stairs and said: "You are going to have a visit from a doctor who is coming to see if you are struck by imagination and if you've lost your mind; but those who send it to you are crazier than you.”

The same day, in fact, the famous alienist, Dr. Pinel, came to visit him, and subjected him to an interrogation appropriate to this kind of information. "Despite his skill," the report says, "he has been unable to acquire any improbable indication of alienation. His research only resulted in a simple conjecture of the possibility of hallucination and intermittent mania."

It seems that, for some people, it does not take more to be accused of madness: it is enough not to think like them; that is why those who believe in something from the other world pass for fools in the eyes of those who believe in nothing.

After Dr. Pinel's visit, the stranger appeared to Martin and said: “You must go and speak to the king; when you are in his presence, I will inspire you what you have to say to him. I am using you to break down pride and disbelief. They are trying to dismiss the matter, but if you do not reach your goal, it will be revealed in other ways."

On March 10^th, Martin was alone in his room when the stranger appeared to him and said:

“I told you that my name would remain unknown, but considering such a great disbelief, it is necessary to have my name revealed. I am angel Raphael, a renowned angel by God. I have the power to harm France with all kinds of misfortunes.”

At these words, Martin was seized with fear and felt a kind of tension

Another day, Mr. André, having gone out with Martin, met an officer of his friends with whom he spoke for an hour, in English, that Martin naturally did not understand. The next day, the stranger, whom he now calls the angel, said to him: “Those who were with you yesterday talked about you, but you did not understand their language; they said you were coming to speak to the king, and one said that when he returned to his country, the other would give him news, to find out how things had happened. Mr. André, to whom Martin reported on all his conversations with the stranger, was very surprised to learn that what he had said in English, so as not to be understood by him, was revealed.

Although Doctor Pinel's report did not conclude for madness, but only for a possibility of hallucination, Martin was, nonetheless, taken to the mental home des fous de Charenton, where he remained from March 13^th until April 2^nd. There, he was carefully watched and subjected to special study by the specialists. They also made inquiries in his hometown, on his antecedents and those of his family, and despite all these investigations, they did not find the least appearance or predetermining cause of madness. To pay homage to the truth, it must be said that he was constantly treated there with great respect, on the part of Mr. Royer-Collard, chief director of the house, and the other doctors, and that he was not subjected to any of the treatments in use in these kinds of institutions. If he was placed there, it was much less as a measure of sequestration than to make it easier to observe his real state of mind.

During his stay at Charenton, he had fairly frequent visits from his stranger, that had no remarkable peculiarity, except the one in which he said to him: "There will be discussions: some will say that it is an imagination, others that it is an angel of light, and others that it is an angel of darkness; I allow you to touch me. Then, said Martin, he took my right hand and squeezed it; he opened his frock coat in front, and when it was open, it seemed to me brighter than the rays of the sun, and I could not see; I was forced to put my hand in front of my eyes. When he closed his frock coat, I saw nothing shiny anymore; it seemed to me like before. This opening and closing took place without any movement on his part.”



Another time, as he was writing to his brother, he saw the stranger next to him, dictating part of his letter, recalling the predictions he had already made on the misfortunes with which France was threatened. Here Martin is then both, a clairvoyant medium and a writer.

Whatever care was taken not to publicize this affair too much, it still caused a certain sensation in the high official ranks; it is probable, however, that it would have ended, if the Archbishop of Reims, Grand Chaplain of France, then Archbishop of Paris and Cardinal of Périgord, had not been interested in it. He spoke about it to Louis XVIII and offered to receive Martin. The king told him that he had not heard of it yet, so true is it that sovereigns are often the last to know what is going on around them and what interests them the most. Accordingly, he ordered that Martin be introduced to him.

On April 2^nd, Martin was taken from Charenton to the Minister of General Police. While he was waiting for the moment to be received, his stranger appeared to him and said: “You are going to speak to the king, and you will be alone with him; have no fear of appearing before the king; for what you have to say to him, the words will come to your mouth.” It was the last time he saw it.

The minister gave him a very warm welcome and told him that he was going to have him taken to the Tuileries.

It is generally believed that Martin came to Paris on his own, presented himself at the castle, insisting on speaking to the king; that after being rejected, he returned to the charge with such persistence that Louis XVIII, having been informed, ordered him to be admitted. Things turned out quite differently, as we can see. It was not until 1828, four years after the king's death, that he made known the secret peculiarities that were revealed to him, and that made a deep impression on him, for such was the essential purpose of that visit, and that the other alleged motives were, as we have said, only a means of arriving at him.

His stranger had him ignoring these things until the last moment, for fear that an indiscretion, wrested by the artifice of the interrogations, would cause the project to fail, which would inevitably have taken place.

After his visit to the king, Martin went to say goodbye to the director of Charenton, and left immediately for his home, where he resumed the usual course of his work, without ever taking credit for what had happened to him.

The goal we set out for ourselves in this story was to show the points by which it relates to Spiritism; since the particularities revealed to Louis XVIII are foreign to our subject, we will refrain from reporting them. We will only say that they had to do with the most private family matters; they moved the king to the point of making him cry a lot, and he later declared that what had been revealed to him was known only to God and to himself. They had the consequences of causing the coronation to be renounced, the preparations for which had already been ordered.^[2]

We will only bring back, from this interview, a few passages from the account written in 1828, by dictation of Martin himself, and in which the character and simplicity of the man are depicted.

“We arrived at the Tuileries around three o'clock, and without anyone saying anything. We got as far as Louis XVIII's first valet, to whom the letter was handed, and who, after having read it, said to me: Follow me. We stopped for a few moments because Mr. Decazes was with the king. When the minister came out, I entered, and before I said a word, the king told the valet to leave and close the doors.

The king was seated at his table, opposite to the door; there were quills, papers, and books. I greeted the king by saying:

-Sire, I greet you.

-The king said to me: Hello Martin.

-And then I said to myself: So, he knows my name well.

-You know, Sire, surely, why I am coming.

-Yes, I know that you have something to tell me, and I was told that it was something that you could only say to me; sit down.

-So, I sat down in an armchair that was placed opposite to the king, so that there was only the table between us. So, I asked him how he was. The king said to me:

-I am a little better than in the past few days; and you, how are you?

-I'm fine. What is the subject of your trip?

-And I said to him: You can call, if you want, your brother and his sons. The king interrupted me by saying:

-It is useless, I will tell them what you have to say to me.

-After that, I told the king about all the apparitions I had had, and that are in the report.

-I know all this, the Archbishop of Reims told me everything. But it seems to me that you have something to tell me, in private, and in secret.

-And then I felt the words that the angel had promised me would come to my mouth, and I said to the king: The secret that I have to tell you is that ... (Details follow that like the instructions given in the continuation of the conversation, on certain measures to be taken and the manner of governing, could only be inspired at this very moment, for they are out of reach of Martin's level of education).

-It was to this story that the king, struck with astonishment and deeply moved, said: “O my God! Oh my God! this is quite true; it is only God, you, and I, who know this; promise me to keep the greatest secrecy on all these communications.

-And I promised him. After that I said to him: take care of not being crowned, because if you tried it, you would be struck by death in the ceremony of the coronation. At the moment, and until the end of the conversation, the king still cried.

When I had finished, he told me that the angel who had appeared to me was the one who led the young Tobias to Rages and who made him marry; then he asked me which of my hands the angel had squeezed. I replied, “This one,” pointing to the right. The king took it from me, saying: "Let me touch the hand that the angel shook. Always pray for me. - "Of course, Sire, that I, my family, as well as the priest of Gallardon, have always prayed for the affair to succeed.

I greeted the king, saying to him:

-“I wish you good health. I have been told that once my mission to the king had been accomplished, I should ask your permission to return to my family, as it has also been announced to me that you will not refuse me, and that no pain or harm would happen to me.

-Nothing will happen to you; I gave orders to send you back. The minister will give you supper and bed, and papers for your return tomorrow.

-But I would be happy if I returned to Charenton to say goodbye to them and to get a shirt that I left there.

-Wasn’t it a problem to be in Charenton? Were you okay there?

-No problem at all; and of course, if I did not feel good there I would not ask to return.

-Well, since you wish to return there, the minister will have you taken there on my behalf.



I returned to join my driver that was waiting for me, and we went together to the Minister's house.

Done at Gallardon, March 9^th, 1828.

Signed: Thomas MARTIN.



Martin's interview with the king lasted at least 55 minutes.

If since his visit with the king, Martin has not seen his stranger again, the demonstrations have nonetheless continued in another form; from a clairvoyant medium, he became a hearing medium. Here are some fragments of letters he wrote to the former priest of Gallardon:



January 28^th, 1821

“Dear priest, I am writing to you to let you know of something that has happened to me. Last Tuesday, January 23^rd, when plowing the field, I heard a voice speaking to me, without seeing anyone, and I was told: “Son of Japheth! stop and pay attention to the words addressed to you.” At the same time, my horses stopped without my having said anything, because I was very surprised. This is what I was told:

“In this great region a great tree is planted, and on the same stump another is planted which is inferior to the first; the second tree has two branches, one of which was shattered, and immediately afterwards it was withered by a furious wind, and this wind did not stop blowing. In place of this branch, another branch emerged, young, tender, which replaces it; but this wind, that is always agitated, will rise one day with such uproar that… and after this appalling catastrophe, the peoples will be in the last desolation. Pray, my son, for these days to be shortened; invoke the sky that the fatal wind, blowing out of the north-west, be barred by powerful barriers, and that its progress be not untoward. These things are obscure to you, but others will easily understand them."

That, sir, is what happened to me on Tuesday, around one in the afternoon; I don't understand anything about it; you will tell me if you understand something. I haven't told anyone about any of this, not even my wife, because the world is bad. I was determined to keep all this in silence; but I made up my mind to write to you today, because that night I could not sleep, and I have always kept these words in my memory, and I beg you to keep them a secret, because the world would mock them. Sir, I have been called a son of Japheth; I don't know anyone in our family who bears this name; we may well have been mistaken; I may have been taken for someone else.

February 8^th, 1821

I had forbidden you to speak about what I had told you; I was wrong, because it cannot remain hidden. It must necessarily pass in front of the great and foremost of the State, so that they can see the danger with which they are threatened, because the wind of which I spoke to you before, is shortly going to cause terrible disasters, because this wind is always blowing around the tree; if they are not careful, it will soon be unrooted. At the same time, the other tree, with what comes out of it, will experience the same fate. Yesterday, the same voice came to speak to me, and I saw nothing.



February 21^st, 1821

“Sir, I had a great fright this morning. It was nine o'clock; I heard a great noise near me, and I saw nothing, but I heard a voice, after the noise, and I was told, "Why were you afraid? fear not; I am not coming to do you any harm. You are surprised to hear and see nothing, do not be surprised: things must be discovered; I am using you to send you, as I am sent. The philosophers, the unbelievers, the ungodly, do not believe that we see their steps, but they must be confused ... Remain quiet, continue to be what you have been; your days are numbered, and not a single one will escape you. I forbid you to bow down to me because I am only a servant, like you. - Sir, this is what I was told; I do not know who the person speaking to me is; his voice is quite strong and very clear. I had the thought to speak, but I did not dare, because I do not see anyone.”

It remains to be known what is the identity of the Spirit that has manifested; was it really the angel Raphael? There is every reason to doubt it, and there would be much to be said against that opinion; but, in our opinion, this is a very secondary question; the important fact is that of the manifestation, of which there can be no doubt, and of which all the incidents had their reason for being, for the proposed result, and today they have their instructive side.

A fact that undoubtedly has escaped no one is Martin’s word, about a sum that was offered to him: As the thing does not come from me, he said, I should not receive anything for it. Here we then have a simple peasant, an unconscious medium, that fifty years ago, when we were far from thinking of Spiritism, has by himself the intuition of the duties imposed by mediumship, of the holiness of its mandate; his common sense, his natural loyalty, makes him understand that what comes from a celestial source, and not from him, should not be paid for.

We may be astonished at the difficulties that Martin encountered in fulfilling the task assigned to him. Why, it will be said, did the Spirits not send it directly to the king? Those difficulties, those delays, as we have seen, had their usefulness. He had to go through Charenton, where his mental health was subjected to the most rigorous investigations of official science, and a not very credulous one, so that it was found that he was neither mad nor elated. As it was seen, the Spirits succeeded over obstacles set up by men, but as men have their free will, they could not prevent them from setting obstacles.

Note, on this subject, that Martin made no effort, so to speak, to reach the king; circumstances brought him there, almost in spite of himself, and without his needing to insist much; however, these circumstances were obviously led by the Spirits, by acting on the thoughts of the incarnates, because Martin’s mission was serious and had to be accomplished.

It is the same in all analogous cases. Besides the question of prudence, it is obvious that, without the difficulties that exist to reach them, the sovereigns would be assaulted by would-be revealers.

In recent times, how many people have believed themselves to be called to such missions, that were not but the result of obsessions, in which their pride was played with, unwillingly, and that could only lead to mystifications! To all those who have sought our opinion, in such a case, we have always said, by showing them the obvious signs by which the lying Spirits betray themselves: "Be careful not to take any step that would inevitably lead to your confusion. Rest assured that if your mission is real, you will be able to accomplish it; that if you must be at a given time in a given place, you will be led there, without your knowledge, by circumstances that will appear to be the result of chance. Be assured, moreover, that when a thing is in the plans of God, it must happen, and that He does not subordinate the realization of it to the good or the bad will of men. Beware of missions assigned and advocated in advance, because they are only bait for pride; missions are revealed by facts. Also, beware of predictions at fixed days and times because they are never made by serious Spirits.” We were fortunate enough to stop more than one, in which the events gave proof of the prudence of such advices.

There is, as we see, more than one similarity between these facts and those of Joan of Arc, not that there is any comparison to be made as to the importance of the results achieved, but as to the cause of the phenomenon, which is exactly the same, and up to a point, to the purpose. Like Joan of Arc, Martin was warned by a being of the spiritual world, to speak to the king to save France from peril, and like her too, it was not without difficulties that he reached him. There is, however, between the two manifestations this difference that Joan of Arc simply heard the voices advising her, while Martin constantly saw the individual who spoke to him, not in a dream or in an ecstatic sleep, but with the appearance of a living creature, as would an “agenerate”.^[3]

But from another point of view, the facts that happened to Martin, although less striking, are nonetheless of great significance, as proof of the existence of the spiritual world and of its relations with the corporeal world, and for being contemporary and of an indisputable notoriety, they cannot be placed in the rank of legendary stories. By their repercussion, they served as milestones to Spiritism that was, a few years later, to confirm their possibility by a rational explanation, and by the law that rules their occurrence, making them pass from the domain of the marvelous to those of natural phenomena. Thanks to Spiritism, there isn’t a single phase, presented by Martin’s revelation, that cannot be fully understood.

Martin was an unconscious medium, endowed with an aptitude used by the Spirits, like an instrument, to arrive at a determined result, and this result was far from being entirely in the revelation made to Louis XVIII. The Spirit that manifested to Martin, perfectly characterizes him by saying, "I am using you to break down pride and disbelief." This mission is that of all mediums destined to prove, by facts of all kinds, the existence of the spiritual world, and of a power superior to humanity, for such is the providential goal of the manifestations. We will add that the king himself was an instrument in this case; it required a position as high as his, the difficulty of reaching him, for the affair to have repercussions, and the authority of an official thing. The minute investigations to which Martin was subjected to, could only add to the authenticity of the facts, for all these precautions would not have been taken for a private individual; the thing would have gone almost unnoticed, while it is still remembered today, and provides authentic proof in support of the Spiritist phenomena.

---

[1] A loose man’s garment (Wiktionary.org, T.N.)


[2] The circumstantial details and supporting evidence can be found in a book entitled: The past and the future explained by the extraordinary events that happened to Thomas Martin, plowman of Beauce. - Paris, 1832, at BRICON, bookseller, rue du Vieux-Colombier, 19; Marseille, same house, rue du Saint-Sépulcre, 17. This out-of-print work is very rare today.




[3] Not generated (T.N.)

Healing mediumship is the order of the day, and anything related to this issue is of topical interest. We borrow from La Vérité de Lyon, of October 21^st, 1866, the following article on the healings of Prince de Hohenlohe, which caused a great sensation in the time. This piece is part of a series of very informative articles on healing mediums.

On this subject, we are happy to note that the La Vérité, that is in its fourth year, successfully continues the course of its wise and interesting publications, that throws light on the history of Spiritism, showing it to us everywhere, in antiquity as in modern times. If, on certain points, we do not share all the opinions of its main editor, Mr. A P…, we nonetheless recognize that, through his laborious research, he renders the cause a real service, that all serious Spiritists appreciate.

Indeed, proving that the current Spiritist doctrine is only the synthesis of universally widespread beliefs, shared by men whose words are authoritative, and that were our first teachers in philosophy, is to show that it is not sitting on the fragile basis a single opinion. What do the Spiritists want, if not to find as many supporters as possible to their beliefs? It must, therefore, be for them a satisfaction, at the same time as a blessing of their ideas, to find some even before them. We have never understood that men of good sense have been able to conclude against modern Spiritism, that it is not the first inventor of the principles that it proclaims, while this is precisely what accounts for a part of its strength, and must accredit it.

Denying its seniority to denigrate it, is to show oneself to be supremely illogical, and very clumsy, since it has never given itself the credit for the first discovery. It is, therefore, to grossly misunderstand the feelings that drives the Spiritists, by supposing that these have very narrow ideas, and for having a very silly pretension in believing that they are molesting them, by objecting that what they profess was known before them, while they are the first ones to dig into the past, to discover there the traces of the antiquity of their beliefs, which they trace back to the first ages of the world, because they are founded on the laws of nature, that are eternal.

No great truth has come out of the brain of an individual; all, without exception, had precursors who had a presentiment of them or glimpsed at some parts of them; Spiritism is, therefore, honored to count its own by the thousands, and among them the most righteously recognized men; by bringing them to light is to show the infinite number of points by which it is linked to the history of humanity.



But Spiritism is not found complete anywhere; its coordination as a body of doctrine, with all its consequences and applications, its correlation with the positive sciences, is an essentially modern work, but everywhere we find its scattered elements, mixed with superstitious beliefs that had to be sorted out; if we put together the ideas that are found disseminated in most ancient and modern philosophers, in sacred and profane writers, the innumerable and infinitely varied facts that have occurred in all ages, and that attest to the relationships between the visible and invisible world, we would succeed in constituting Spiritism as it is today: this is the argument invoked against it by certain detractors. Was it how Spiritism did it? Is it a compilation of ancient ideas rejuvenated in form? No, it has emerged entirely from recent observations, but far from believing itself to be lessened by what has been said and observed before it, it is strengthened and enhanced by them.

A history of Spiritism before the present time is still to be done. A work of this nature, done conscientiously, written with precision, clarity, without superfluous and tedious elaborations which would make it difficult to read, would be an eminently useful work, a precious document for consultation. It would be rather a work of patience and erudition than a literary work, and that would consist mainly in the quotation of the passages of the various writers that emitted thoughts, doctrines or theories that are found in the Spiritism of today. Whoever does this work conscientiously will have deserved well of the doctrine.

Let us return to our subject, from which we have deviated somewhat unwillingly, but not perhaps without utility.

Modern Spiritism has not discovered or invented the healing mediumship and the healing mediums, any more than other Spiritist phenomena. Since healing mediumship is a natural faculty subject to a law, like all the phenomena of nature, it must have occurred at various times, as attested by history, but it was reserved to our time, with the help of the new knowledge that we have, to give it a rational explanation, and to bring it out of the realm of the marvelous. The Prince of Hohenlohe offers us an example of this, that is more remarkable since the facts took place before there was any question of Spiritism and mediums. Here is the summary given by the newspaper La Vérité:

In the year 1829 a holy priest, the Prince of Hohenlohe, came to Würzburg, a considerable town in Bavaria. The infirm and the sick went to ask him to obtain their healing from heaven, with the help of his prayers. He called the divine graces upon them, and soon a great number of these unfortunate people were suddenly healed. The rumors of these wonders resounded in the distance. Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, a large part of Europe learned about it. Many writings were published, perpetuating its memory. Among the authentic and trustworthy testimonies that certify the reality of the facts, it suffices to transcribe a few here, whose whole body provides a convincing proof.

To begin with, here is an extract from what M. Scharold, counselor of the Legation at Würzburg and witness to a large part of the things he reports, has written on the subject.

“For two years, a seventeen-year-old princess, Mathilde de Schwartzemberg, daughter of the prince of that name, had been in Mr. Haine's nursing home in Würzburg. It was impossible for her to walk. In vain the most famous doctors of France, Italy and Austria had exhausted all the resources of their art to cure the princess of such illness. Only Mr. Haine, who had helped himself with the knowledge and experience of the famous physician, Mr. Textor, had succeeded in putting her in a condition to stand up, after a lavished care given to the patient; and she herself, by making an effort, had succeeded in executing some movements as if to walk, but without really walking. Well! on June 20^th, 1821, she suddenly got out of bed, and walked very freely.



This is how it happened. Prince de Hohenlohe went in the morning, around ten o'clock, to pay a visit to the princess, who lives with M. de Reinach, dean of the chapter. When he entered her apartment, he asked her, as if in a conversation, in the presence of her governess, if she had any firm faith that Jesus Christ could cure her of her illness. Given her answer that she was deeply convinced of it, the prince told the pious patient to pray from the bottom of her heart, and to put her trust in God.

When she stopped praying, the prince gave her his blessings, and said to her: “Come, princess, get up; now you are healed, and you can walk without pain…”. Everyone in the house was called immediately. They did not know how to express their astonishment for such a rapid and incomprehensible recovery. Everyone fell on their knees in the deepest emotion, singing praises to the Almighty. They congratulated the princess on her happiness and joined their tears to those that joy made flow from her eyes.

This news, spreading through the city, caused astonishment. Crowds were rushing to ascertain the event with their own eyes. On June 21^st, the princess had already appeared in public. We cannot describe her own astonishment, for seeing herself coming out of her state of cruel suffering.

On the 25^th, the Prince of Hohenlohe gave another notable example of his gift. The wife of a blacksmith, in the rue Semmels, could no longer hear even the blows of the biggest hammers in her forge. She went to see the prince in the courtyard of the Hung presbytery, and begged him to rescue her. While she was on her knees, he placed his hands on her head, and prayed for her for some time, his eyes raised to the sky; he then took her by the hand and raised her up. What an astonishment to the spectators when this woman got up and said that she heard the church clock ticking! As she returned home, she never stopped telling everyone who asked, what had just happened to her.

On the 26^th, an illustrious person (the Prince Royal of Bavaria) was instantly healed of a disease that, according to the rules of medicine, would have taken a long time and a great deal of pain. This news brought great joy to the hearts of the people of Würzburg.

The Prince of Hohenlohe was also successful in the cure of a patient that he had tried to cure twice, but each time he had obtained only a slight relief. This healing took place in the person of a sister-in-law of Mr. Broili, a trader. She had long been afflicted by a very painful paralysis. The house echoed with shouts of joy.

On the same day, the sight was restored to the widow Balzano, who for several years had been completely blind. I have convinced myself of this fact.

As soon as I left the spectacle of this touching scene, I witnessed another cure, operated in the house of General D ... A young woman was so severely crippled in her right hand, that she could not use or extend it. She immediately gave proof of her perfect recovery by carrying a heavy chair with that very hand.

On the same day, a handicapped, whose left arm was completely wasted, was completely healed. Two paralytics were then cured soon after. It was also complete and faster still.

On the 28^th, I saw for myself how promptly and positively the Prince of Hohenlohe cured children. He had one brought from the country, that could only walk on crutches. A few minutes later, this child was running without crutches in the street, full of joy. In the meantime, a mute child, who could only make a few inarticulate sounds, was brought to the prince. A few minutes later, the child began speaking.

Soon after, a poor woman carried her little daughter on her back, crippled on both legs. She placed her at the prince's feet. A moment later he returned the child to her mother, who then saw her daughter running and jumping with joy.

On the 29^th, a woman from Neustadt, paralytic and blind, was brought to him on a dray. She had been blind for twenty-five years. About three o'clock in the afternoon, she presented herself at the castle of our city, to implore the help of the prince of Hohenlohe, as he entered the hall that is built in the form of a large tent. She fell on the prince's feet, begging him, in the name of Jesus Christ, to help her. The prince prayed for her, gave her his blessing, and asked her if she firmly believed that she could recover her sight, in the name of Jesus. As she answered yes, he told her to get up. She moved away. But as soon as she had moved a few steps away, her eyes opened. She saw, and gave all the proofs she was asked about the faculty that she had just recovered. All the witnesses of this healing, among whom were a great number of lords of the court, were dazzled in awe.

The cure of a woman at the Civil Hospital, that had been brought to the prince, is no less astonishing. This woman, called Elisabeth Laner, daughter of a shoemaker, had her tongue so strongly affected that she would sometimes go a fortnight without being able to articulate a single syllable. Her mental faculties had suffered greatly. She had almost lost the use of her limbs, so that she was in her bed like a lump. Well! this poor woman went to the Hospital today, without anyone's help. She enjoys all her senses, as she enjoyed twelve years ago, and her tongue is so loose, that no one in the hospice is as talkative as she is.

In the afternoon of the 30^th, the prince gave an extraordinary example of healing. A dray, around which thousands of spectators had gathered, had come from Musmerstadt. In that cart there was a poor student, arms and legs crippled in a terrible way. The prince, begged by this unfortunate man to relieve him, came to the cart. He prayed for about five minutes, with his hands folded and raised to the sky; he spoke several times with the student and finally said to him: "Stand up, in the name of Jesus Christ.” The student did get up, but with a pain that he couldn't hide. The prince tells him not to lose confidence. The unfortunate man that, a few minutes before, could not move his arms or legs, then stood upright and perfectly free on his cart. Then, turning his eyes towards the sky, with the kindest expression of gratitude, he exclaimed: "O God! you have rescued me!” The spectators could not hold back their tears.

The miraculous healings carried out in Würzburg, by the Prince of Hohenlohe, could provide subjects for more than a hundred ex-voto paintings.”



One will notice the striking analogy that exists between these facts of cures and those that we have witnessed. Mr. de Hohenlohe was in the best conditions for the development of his faculty, so he kept it until the end. Since, at that time, its true origin was unknown, it was considered a supernatural gift, and Mr. de Hohenlohe as working miracles. But why is it regarded by hundreds of people, for some as a gift from heaven, and for others as a satanic work? We do not know of any healing medium that has claimed to have derived his power from the devil; all, without exception, operate only by invoking the name of God, and declare that they cannot do anything without His will. Even those that ignore Spiritism, and act by intuition, recommend prayer in which they recognize a powerful helper. If they acted out of the devil, denying him would be an ingratitude from their part, and the devil is neither modest enough nor selfless enough, to leave to the one he seeks to fight the merit of the good he does, because that would be losing his supporters instead of recruiting them. Have you ever seen a merchant boasting of his neighbor's merchandise to his customers, at the expenses of his own, urging them to go to his store? Truly, we are right to laugh at the devil, because we make him a very foolish and a very stupid being.

The following communication was given by the Prince of Hohenlohe, at the Parisian Society.



Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, October 1866 – medium Mr. Desliens.

Gentlemen, I come among you with more pleasure, as my words can become a useful subject of instruction for all. A weak instrument of Providence, I have been able to contribute to the glorification of His name, and I come in good will among those whose main goal is to behave according to His laws, and to advance as much as possible in the path of perfection. Your efforts are commendable, and I will consider myself very honored to sometimes attend your proceedings. Let us now come to the manifestations that provoked my presence among you.

As you have rightly said, the faculty I was gifted with was simply the result of mediumship. I was an instrument; the Spirits acted, and, if I could do anything, it was certainly only by my great desire to do good and by the intimate conviction that everything is possible with God. I believed! And the healings that I obtained made my faith grow constantly.

Like all mediumistic faculties, that contribute today to the popularization of the Spiritist teaching, healing mediumship was exercised in all times, and by individuals belonging to different religions. - God sows His most advanced servants everywhere, to make them milestones of progress among those that are the furthest from virtue, and I would even say, especially among them… Like a good father that loves all his children equally, His solicitude extends to all, but more particularly to those that need the most support to move forward.

That is how it is not rare to meet men, endowed with extraordinary faculties for the crowd, among the simple ones; and by this word I mean those whose purity of feelings has not been tarnished by pride and selfishness. It is true that the faculty can also exist in unworthy people, but it is and can only be temporary; it is a strong means of opening their eyes: too bad to them if they persist in keeping them closed.

They will return to the darkness from which they came out, in a procession of confusion and ridicule, if God does not punish them, even in this life, for their pride and their obstinacy in ignoring His voice.

No matter what an individual's inner belief, if his intentions are pure, and if he is fully convinced of the reality of what he believes, he can do great things, in the name of God. Faith transports mountains: it gives sight to the blind and spiritual understanding to those who previously wandered in the darkness of routine and error.

As for the best way to exercise the faculty of a healing medium, there is only one: It is to remain modest and pure, and to report to God and to the powers that direct the faculty, all that is accomplished.

Those that lose the instruments of Providence do not believe themselves to be simply instruments; they want their merits to be partly due to the choice that has been made of their person; pride intoxicates them and the precipice opens under their feet.

Raised in the Catholic religion, imbued with the holiness of its maxims, having faith in its teaching like all my contemporaries, I considered the manifestations of which I was the object to be miracles. Today, I know that it is quite natural, and that it can, and it must accommodate with the immutability of the laws of the Creator, so that His greatness and His justice remain intact.

God could not work miracles! ... because that would then be to presume that the truth is not strong enough to assert itself, and on the other hand, it would not be logical to demonstrate the eternal harmony of laws of nature by disturbing them with facts at odds with their essence.

As for acquiring the faculty of healing medium, there is no method for this; everyone can acquire this ability to some extent, and by acting in the name of God each will heal. The privileged will increase in number as the doctrine is popularized, and, it is quite simple, since there will be more individuals driven by pure and selfless feelings.

Prince Hohenlohe

Several newspapers have talked about of a young girl endowed with the singular faculty of attracting furniture, and other objects placed within a certain distance from her, and of lifting, by the simple contact, a chair on which a person is seated. The Petit Journal of November 4^th contained the following article on this subject:

“Dinan's white magpie is no more surprising, as a phenomenon, than the magnetic young woman indicated in the following correspondence.

“Sir,

I come to point out to you a fact that could be of great interest to your readers; if you wanted to take the burden of checking it, you would find ample material for many articles.

A young girl, Ms. Dumesnil, aged thirteen, possesses a fluid of extraordinary attractive force, that brings all wooden objects around her to her; thus, the chairs, the tables and all that is made of wood instantaneously come towards her; this faculty was revealed in this young girl about three weeks ago; until now this extraordinary phenomenon, and that we have not yet been able to explain, has only manifested itself to people around this young girl, the neighbors, etc., who have noticed the fact for some days; the surprising faculty of this young girl has spread and I was told that she is in the process of dealing with an entrepreneur that intends to show this phenomenon publicly.

As of yesterday, she contacted a great personage to whom she had been pointed out; publicity will soon take over this event, and I hasten to warn you so that you have the upper hand. This young girl works as a burnisher and lives with her parents, that are poor people.

In hopes that you will explain this inexplicable mystery to us, please receive my sincere greetings.

Brunet, employee, Christofle House, Rue de Bondy 56.”



“I do not know any more than you do, my dear correspondent, in matters of magnetic science, and I regard as a simple curiosity your charmer of oak, beech and mahogany, that I advise not to burn this winter in the fireplace ... only charcoal ... ".

This is certainly a strange phenomenon, well worthy of attention, and that must have a cause. If demonstrated that it is not the result of any trick, that is easy to verify, and if the known laws are powerless to explain it, it is obvious that it reveals the existence of a new force; the discovery of a new principle can lead to fruitful results. What is, at least as surprising as this phenomenon, is to see men of intelligence having only contemptuous indifference and bad taste mockery for such facts. However, there was no question of Spirits or Spiritism.

What belief can be expected from people that have none, who seek none and desire none? What serious study can we hope for? Isn't it a waste of time to try to convince them, to unnecessarily use the forces that one could better use with people of good will, who are not lacking? We have always said it: With biased people, who don't want to see or hear, the best thing to do is to leave them alone and prove to them that we have no need for them. If anything is to succeed over their disbelief, the Spirits will know how to find it, and employ it when the time is right.

Coming back to the young girl, her parents, who are in a precarious position, seeing the sensation she produced and the interest of notable people that she attracted, they said to themselves that there was in it, undoubtedly, a source of fortune for them. We should not blame them, because, ignoring even the name of Spiritism and mediums, they could not understand the consequences of an exploitation of such a kind. Their daughter was a phenomenon for them; they, therefore, resolved to release it on the boulevards, among the other phenomena. They did better; it was taken to the Grand-Hôtel, a more suitable place for the productive aristocracy. But, unfortunately, the golden dreams vanished soon!

The phenomena only occurred at rare intervals and in such an irregular manner that it was necessary to abandon the splendid production almost immediately and return to the studio. So, put on display such a capricious ability, that is lacking just when the spectators, who have paid for their seats, are gathered, and wait to be given for their money! As a matter of fact, it is better, for speculation, to have a child with two heads, because at least he is always there. What to do if they don't have strings to replace the invisible actors? The most honorable act is to retire. It appears, however, from a letter published in a newspaper, that the young girl has not entirely lost her power, but that it is subject to such intermittences that it becomes difficult to seize the favorable moment.

One of our friends, an enlightened Spiritist and a profound observer, was able to witness the phenomenon, and was poorly satisfied with the result. “I believe,” he told us, “in the sincerity of these people, but for unbelievers, the effect is not occurring, at this moment, in conditions that defy all suspicion. Knowing that the thing is possible, I do not deny; I attest my impressions. Since I caught the so-called physical effects mediums in the act of fraud, I realized the maneuvers by which one can simulate certain effects, and abuse people who do not know the conditions of the real effects, so that I only assert with good knowledge of cause, not trusting eyes. In the interest of Spiritism itself, my first care is to examine whether fraud is possible, helped by skills, or whether the effect may be due to a vulgar material cause. Besides, he added, one defends oneself here from being a Spiritist, to act by the Spirits and even to believe in them."

It should be noted that since the misadventure of the Davenport brothers, all exhibitors of extraordinary phenomena reject any participation of the Spirits in their affairs, and they are doing well; Spiritism can only gain by not being involved in these displays. It is one more service rendered by these gentlemen, because it is not by such means that Spiritism will recruit proselytes.

Another observation is that whenever it is a question of some spontaneous manifestation, or of some phenomenon attributed to an occult cause, they generally hire, as experts, people, sometimes scientists, that do not know the basics of what they must observe, and that come with a preconceived idea of denial. Who is in control of deciding whether there is intervention of the Spirits, or a spiritual cause?

Precisely people who deny spirituality, who don't believe in Spirits and don't want them to exist. Their answer is known a priori. They avoid taking the advice of anyone who is simply suspected of believing in Spiritism, because, first, that would be to accredit the thing, and second, that they would fear a solution contrary to the one they want. They do not think that an enlightened Spiritist alone is able to judge the circumstances in which Spiritist phenomena can occur, as a chemist alone is able to know the composition of a body, and that, in this respect, the Spiritists are more skeptic than a lot of people; that far from accrediting an apocryphal phenomenon, out of complacency, they have every interest in signaling it as such, and in unmasking the fraud.

However, a teaching emerges from this: the very irregularity of the events is a proof of sincerity; if they were the result of some artificial means, they would come at the right time. This is the reflection made by a journalist that was invited to go to the Grand-Hotel; there were a few other notable guests that day, and, despite the two hours of waiting, the young girl did not produce the slightest effect. “The poor girl,” said the journalist, “was sorry, and her face betrayed concern. Rest assured, he said, not only does this failure not discourage me, but it leads me to believe your sincere story. If there was any quackery or something in your case, you wouldn't have missed your point. I will come back tomorrow.

He returned, in fact, five times in a row without further results; the sixth time she had left the hotel. "From which I conclude," adds the journalist, "that poor Ms. Dumesnil, after having built beautiful castles at the expense of her electromagnetic virtues, had to resume her place in the polishing workshops of Mr. Ruolz.”

The facts having been established, it is certain that there was a special organic disposition in her, that lent itself to this kind of phenomenon; but, all subterfuge aside, it is certain that if her faculty had depended on her organism alone, she would have had it always at her disposal, as it happens to the electric fish. Since her will, her most ardent desire, were powerless to produce the phenomenon, there was, therefore, in this event, a cause which was foreign to her. What is this cause? Obviously, the one that governs all the mediumistic effects: the assistance of the Spirits, without whom the best endowed mediums obtain nothing. Ms. Dumesnil is an example that they are not at the orders of anyone. Ephemeral as her faculty may have been, she has done more for the conviction of certain people than if she had performed on days and times set at her command, before the public, like in conjuring tricks.

Nothing, it is true, ostensibly attests to the intervention of the Spirits in this circumstance, for there are no intelligent effects, if it is not the helplessness of this young girl to act at will. The faculty, as in all mediumistic effects, is inherent to her; the exercise of the faculty can depend on a foreign will. But, even admitting that the Spirits have nothing to do with that, it is, nonetheless, a phenomenon intended to draw attention to the fluidic forces that govern our organism, and that so many people persist in denying.

If this force were purely electric here, it would however denote an important modification in electricity since it acts on wood, to the exclusion of metals. That alone would be well worth studying.

Whatever one says and whatever one does, the Spiritist ideas are in the air; they come to light in a thousand ways, in the form of novels or in philosophical thoughts, and the press welcomes them, provided the word Spiritism is not pronounced. We couldn’t quote all the thoughts that the press registers every day, thus doing Spiritism without knowing it.

What does it matter the name if the thing is here! One day, these gentlemen will be quite astonished to have done Spiritism, as Mr. Jourdain was to have spoken in prose. Many people rub shoulders with Spiritism without suspecting it; they are on the edge, while they think they are far from it. With the exception of the pure materialists, that are certainly minority, it can be said that the ideas of the Spiritist philosophy run around the world; what many still reject are the mediumistic manifestations, some by system, others for having observed badly, they have experienced disappointments; but since the manifestations are facts, sooner or later they will have to be accepted. They refuse to be Spiritists, only by the false idea that they attach to this word. That those who do not arrive by the wide door may arrive there by a back door, the result is the same; today the impetus has been given, and the movement cannot be stopped.

On the other hand, as announced, a multitude of phenomena occur that seem to deviate from the known laws, and confuse science in which they uselessly seek an explanation; to ignore them when they have a certain notoriety would be difficult; now, these phenomena, that present themselves under the most varied aspects, by the force of multiplying, end up arousing the attention, and little by little, familiarize them with the idea of a spiritual power apart from the material forces. It is always a means of arriving at the goal; the Spirits strike from all sides and in a thousand different ways, so that the blows always strike ones or the others.

Among the Spiritist ideas that we find in various journals, we will cite the following:

In the speech delivered by Mr. d'Eichthal, one of the editors of Le Temps, on November 11^th, at the tomb of Mr. Charles Duveyrier, the speaker expressed himself as follows:

“Duveyrier died in a profound calm, full of confidence in God and faith in the eternity of life, proud of his long years devoted to the elaboration and development of a belief that must redeem all men from misery, disorder and ignorance, certain of having paid his debt, of having returned to the generation that followed him more than he had received from the one that had preceded him; he stopped like a valiant worker, his task completed, leaving it to others to continue it. If his mortal remains did not pass through the sacred temples to reach the field of resting, it is not out of an unjust disdain for the immortal beliefs, but it is because none of the formulas that would have been pronounced on his remains would have conveyed the idea he had of the future life. Duveyrier did not desire, did not believe he was going to heaven, to enjoy endless personal bliss, while the majority of men would remain condemned to hopeless sufferings; full of God and alive in God, but linked to humanity, it is in the midst of humanity that he hoped to live again, in order to contribute eternally to this work of progress that is constantly bringing it closer to the divine ideal.“ - (Le Temps, Nov. 14, 1866.)

Mr. Duveyrier had belonged to the Saint-Simonian sect; it is the belief of which we spoke above, and to the development of which he had devoted several years of his life; but his ideas about the future of the soul closely resembled, as we see, those taught by the Spiritist doctrine. However, we should not infer from these words: "It is in the midst of humanity that he hoped to live again," that he believed in reincarnation; he had no firm idea about this point; by this, he meant that the soul, instead of losing itself in the infinite, or of absorbing itself in a useless beatitude, remained in the sphere of humanity, to whose progress it contributed by its influence.

But this idea is also precisely what Spiritism teaches; it is that of the invisible world that surrounds us; souls live among us, as we live among them. Mr. Duveyrier was, therefore, unlike most of his colleagues in the press, not only deeply spiritualist, but three-quarters Spiritist; what did he need to be completely? Probably to have known what Spiritism was, because he possessed the fundamental bases: the belief in God, in the individuality of the soul, its survival and its immortality; in his presence among men after death, and on his action on them. What else does Spiritism say? That these same souls reveal their presence by direct action, and that we are constantly in communion with them; it comes to prove, by facts, what for Mr. Duveyrier and many others, was only in the state of theory and hypothesis

It is understandable that those who believe only in tangible matter, reject everything, but it is more surprising to see spiritualists rejecting the proof of what constitutes the basis of their belief. The one that thus retraced the thoughts of Mr. Duveyrier, on the future of the soul, Mr. d'Eichthal, his friend and his comrade in Saint-Simonism, who probably shared his opinions to a certain extent, he is, nonetheless, a declared opponent of Spiritism; he hardly suspected that what he was saying, in praising Mr. Duveyrier, was quite simply a declaration of Spiritist faith.

The following words, from Mr. Louis Jourdan, of the Siècle, to his son, were reproduced by the Petit Journal, on September 3^rd, 1866.

“I feel you alive, of a life superior to mine, my Prosper, and when my last hour strikes, I will console myself for leaving those we have loved together, thinking that I will find you and join you. I know that this consolation will not come to me without effort; I know that it will have to be conquered by working courageously for my own improvement, as for that of others; I will, at least, do everything in my power to deserve the reward I aspire: to find you. Your memory is the lighthouse that guides us, and the fulcrum that supports us through the darkness that surrounds us. We see a luminous point towards which we are walking resolutely; this point is where you live, my son, with all those that I have loved below here, and who left before me for their new life.”

What could be more deeply Spiritist than these sweet and touching words! Mr. Louis Jourdan is even closer to Spiritism than Mr. Duveyrier, because, for a long time, he has believed in the plurality of terrestrial existences, as we could see from the quotation we made in the Spiritist Review of December 1862, page 374.^[1] He accepts the Spiritist philosophy, but not the fact of manifestations, that he does not absolutely reject, but on which he is not sufficiently enlightened. It is, however, a rather serious phenomenon, regarding its consequences, since it is the only that can explain so many misunderstood things that happen before our eyes, to deserve to be studied in depth by an observer such as him; for, if the relations between the visible world and the invisible world exist, it is a whole revolution in the ideas, in beliefs, in philosophy; it is light cast onto a multitude of obscure questions; it is the annihilation of materialism; it is, finally, the sanction of his dearest hopes with regard to his son. What elements would the men, that make themselves the champions of progressive and emancipatory ideas, draw from the doctrine, if they knew all that it contains for the future! There will emerge, no doubt, those who will understand the power of this lever and will know how to put it to good use.

The “Événement” of November 4^th reported the following anecdote, about the famous composer Glück.

“During the first performance of Iphigénie, on April 19^th, 1774, attended by Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette, she wanted to crown her former music teacher herself. After the performance, Glück, summoned to the king's box, was so moved that he could not utter a word and barely had the strength to thank the Queen with his eyes. On seeing Marie-Antoinette, who was wearing a ruby necklace that evening, Glück straightened up: Great God! he cried, save the Queen! save the Queen! some blood! some blood! - Where? cried people from all sides. - Some blood! some blood! in the neck! cried the musician. Marie-Antoinette was trembling. Quickly a doctor, she said, my poor Glück is going mad. - The musician had fallen into an armchair. Some blood! some blood! he whispered… Save the Archduchess Marie… save the Queen! "The unfortunate maestro takes your necklace for blood," said the King to Marie-Antoinette; he has a fever. - The queen put her hand to her neck; she tore off the necklace, and seized with terror, she threw it away from her. Glück was carried away unconscious.”

The author of the article finishes like this:

“Here, dear reader, is the story that the German musician told me at the Opera, and that I reread the next day in a biography of the immortal author of Alceste. Is it true? Is this fantasy? I do not know. But would it not be possible that men of genius, whose minds, soaring above humanity, had at certain times of inspiration, that mysterious faculty that is called second sight? (Albert Wolff.)”

Mr. Albert Wolff has thrown more than one arrow at Spiritism and the Spiritists, and here he is, of his own accord, admitting the possibility of a second sight, and, what is more, of foresight by second sight. He probably does not suspect the consequences of recognizing such a faculty. Another one that rubs shoulders with Spiritism without realizing it, without perhaps daring to admit it to himself, and who nevertheless throws stones at it. If he were told that he is a Spiritist, he would jump out of indignation and exclaim: Me! believe in the Davenport brothers! because for most of these gentlemen, Spiritism is entirely in the trick of the ropes.

We remember that one of them, to whom a correspondent reproached for speaking about Spiritism, without knowing it, replied in his journal: “You are wrong; I studied Spiritism at the school of the Davenport brothers, and the proof is that it cost me 15 francs.” We believe to have quoted the fact somewhere in the Review. What more can we ask of them? They don't know any more.

Le Siècle of August 27^th, 1866 quoted the following words by Mrs. George Sand, about the death of Mr. Ferdinand Pajot:

“The death of Mr. Ferdinand Pajot is a most painful and regrettable fact. This young man, gifted with remarkable beauty and belonging to an excellent family, was also a man of generous heart and ideas. We have been able to appreciate him each time we have invoked his charity for the poor around us. He gave generously, perhaps more than his resources allowed him to do, and he gave spontaneously, with confidence, with joy. He was sincere, independent, good as an angel. Married for a short time to a charming young woman, he will be missed as he deserves. I want to give him, after this cruel death, a tender and maternal blessing: illusion if you will, but I believe that we enter better into the life that follows this one, when we arrive there escorted by esteem and the affection of those we have just left."

Madame Sand is even more explicit in her book “Mademoiselle de la Quintinie.” We read, on page 318: "Monsieur l'Abbé, when you want us to take a step towards your church, start by showing us an assembled council decreeing the hell of eternal punishments, with lies and blasphemy, and you will have the right to cry out to us: “Come to us, all of you who want to know God. "

Page 320: “To ask God to extinguish our senses, to harden our hearts, to make the most sacred bonds to us hateful, is to ask him to deny and destroy his work, to retrace his steps by making us hateful, to come back ourselves, making us retrograde towards lower existences, below the animal, below the plant, perhaps below the mineral.”

Page 323: "However, whatever may be your fate among us, one day you will see clearly beyond the grave, and, as I no more believe in endless punishments, and in trials without fruit, I announce to you that we meet somewhere where we will get along better, and where we will love each other instead of fighting; but, no more than you, I do not believe in the impunity of evil and the efficacy of error. So, I believe that you will atone, for the hardening of your heart, by great heartbreaks in some other existence.”

Alongside these eminently Spiritist thoughts, that only lack the name that is persistently refused, we sometimes still find others, a little less serious, that recall the good time of the somewhat witty mockery, under which they thought to be able to suffocate Spiritism. It can be judged by the following samples, that are like the lost rockets from the fireworks display.

Mr. Ponson de Terrail, in his Dernier mot de Rocambole, serialized in the Figaro, expresses himself as follows:

“However, the English would overcome the Americans when it comes to superstitions. The turning tables, before bringing happiness to a hundred thousand imbeciles, spent several seasons in London and received the most courteous hospitality there. Little by little the gravedigger's tale had circled around Hampstead, a town famous for its donkeys and donkey farmers, and the bigwigs of the place had not hesitated for a single moment to decide that the cottage was haunted by Spirits at night.”

M. Ponson du Terrail, who so generously grants a patent of imbecility to a hundred thousand individuals, naturally thinks he has more wit than them, but he does not believe he has a Spirit in him, otherwise it is probable that he would not send them to the land of donkeys.

But what connection, he will no doubt say, can there be between turning tables and the sublime thoughts you cited earlier? There is, we will answer, the same relation that exists between your body when it waltzes and your mind that makes it waltz; between the frog dancing in the Galvani dish, and the transatlantic telegraph; between the falling apple and the law of gravity that governs the world. If Galvani and Newton had not meditated on these phenomena, so simple and so vulgar, we would not have today all that industry, the arts and the sciences have drawn from them. If a hundred thousand imbeciles had not sought the cause that turns the tables, we would still be ignorant today of the existence and the nature of the invisible world that surrounds us; we would not know where we came from before we are born, and where we are going when we die. Among those hundred thousand fools, many might still believe in horned demons, eternal flames, magic, wizards, and spells. The revolving tables are, to sublime thoughts on the future of the soul, what the germ is to the tree that has sprung from it: they are the rudiments of the science of man.

We read in the Écho d'Oran, of April 24^th, 1866:

“Something has just happened in El-Afroun that has painfully affected our population. One of the oldest inhabitants of our village, Mr. Pagès, has just died. You know that he was imbued with the ideas - I was going to say follies - of Mr. Allan Kardec, and that he professed Spiritism. Apart from this extravagance, he was a perfect honest man, esteemed by all who knew him. Also, we were very astonished to learn that the priest refused to bury him, under the pretext that Spiritism is contrary to Christianity. Isn't there in the Gospel: "Return good for evil," and if this poor Mr. Pagès is guilty of having believed in Spiritism, wasn’t that one more reason to pray for him! "

M. Pagès, whom we had known, by correspondence, for a long time, wrote this to us:

“Spiritism has made a whole different man out of me; before knowing it, I was like many others; I believed in nothing, and yet I suffered at the thought that by dying, all is over for us. Sometimes, I was deeply discouraged, and I wondered what the point was of doing good. Spiritism made me feel like the effect of a curtain that rises, to show us a magnificent decoration. Today I see clearly; the future is no longer in doubt, and I am very happy about it; to tell you the happiness I experience is impossible for me; it seems to me that I am like a condemned man, to whom one comes to say that he will not die, and that he is going to leave his prison to go to a beautiful country to live in freedom. Isn't that, dear sir, the effect it should have? Courage came back to me with the certainty of living forever, because I understood that what we gain in good from it is not wasted; I understood the usefulness of doing good; I understood the fraternity and solidarity that unite all men. Under the influence of this thought, I strove to improve myself. Yes, I can tell you without vanity, I have corrected myself of many faults, although I still have many left. I now feel that I will die in peace, because I know that I will only change a bad outfit that bothers me, for a new one in which I will be more comfortable."

Here then is a man who, in the eyes of certain people, was reasonable, sensible when he believed in nothing, and who is accused of madness on the sole fact of having believed in the immortality of his soul through Spiritism; and it is these same people, that believe neither in the soul nor in prayer, that threw stones at him for his beliefs when alive, and that persecute him with their sarcasm until after his death, and that invoke the Gospel against the act of intolerance and the refusal of prayers that he was the object, he who believed in the Gospel and in prayer only through Spiritism!

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[1] Kardec refers to the article Charles Fourier, Louis Jourdan and reincarnation, Spiritist Review, December 1862