The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1860

The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1860

January

Spiritism in 1860

The Spiritist Review initiates its third year and we are delighted to announce that it does so in the most favorable circumstances. We gladly take the opportunity to express all of our gratitude to the readers for the daily demonstrations of sympathy that we receive from them. That alone would give us great encouragement had we not found in nature itself, and in the objective of our work, enormous moral compensation for the resulting fatigue. The multiplicity of tasks to which we dedicate entirely is such that it is physically impossible for us to respond to all letters of congratulation that come to our hands. Thus, we are forced to respond collectively to their authors, begging them to accept our appreciation. Those letters and the large number of people that give us the honor of coming to us to talk about these serious issues convince us more and more about the progress of the true Spiritism, and by true Spiritism we mean the one understood in all its moral consequences. Not eluded by the actual reach of our work, the simple thought of having contributed by sowing a few grains onto the scale is a kind satisfaction to us because those seeds would have served as a wakeup call to people’s thoughts.

The growing prosperity of The Review is an indication of the benevolence with which it is received. We can only continue our work, following the same guidelines, since it receives the blessings of time, not distancing ourselves from moderation, prudence and courtesy that have always guided us. Leaving to the detractors the sad privilege of calumny and personalism, we shall not follow them in the terrain of hopeless controversy. We say hopeless because it would not lead them to conviction and it is a waste of time to discuss a subject with people who ignore the foundations of what is discussed. We have one thing only to tell them: study first and then we will see. We have better things to do than speaking to those who do not want to listen. As a matter of fact, what does it matter, definitely, the contrary opinion of this or that one? Will such an opinion have so great an influence capable of precluding the natural progress of things? The greatest discoveries had to face the fiercest adversaries, fact that has not discouraged them. Hence, let incredulity hum around us, certain that nothing can veer us off from the route that has been delineated by the seriousness of the subject itself.

We said that the spiritist ideas evolve. In fact, since some time now they have gained immense territory. One would say that they are in the air. Certainly, this is not due to the noise produced by the broad or the small press. If those ideas advance despite everything and against everything else, and despite the ill-will found in certain regions, the fact of the matter is that they are endowed by sufficient vitality. Anyone who takes the burden of studying Spiritism will find such a great moral satisfaction; the future so clear, precise and logically unfolding before them that they will acknowledge that it would be otherwise impossible, even feeling impressed for not having understood it earlier, as if coming from an innermost feeling that had always told them so. Once developed, the Spiritist Science does nothing more than formulating the ideas, retrieving them from the darkness of the deepest self where they have always been.

The future then reveals a clear, precise, perfectly defined objective. It no longer wanders about since its path is clear. No longer a fortunate or disgraceful future which one could not understand and repelled for that very reason. It is a rational future, consequence of the natural laws, capable of withstanding the strictest scrutiny. The human being then feels happy and relieved from the huge burden of uncertainty, and uncertainty is a torment. In spite of anything else, the individual probes the deepness of the future and cannot see it but as eternal. Then comes the comparison between such a future and the briefness and fragility of this Earthly life.

If the future does not offer any certainty it stuns the person, who then bows before the present and refuses nothing to make such idea of the future bearable. His conscience is hopeless when he speaks of good and evil. He says to himself: Good is what makes me happy. Why should I then see goodness somewhere else? Why should I support those in misery? The human being wants to be happy and to be happy one needs to enjoy; enjoy what the others have. The human being wants gold, a lot of gold, sticking to that as to his own life, since gold is the means of having all material pleasures. Why bother with his neighbor’s well-being? What matters is one’s own well-being before anything else. The human being then seeks satisfaction in the present since the possibility of any later satisfaction is unknown in a doubtful future. He then becomes greedy, jealous, selfish, and even with all those pleasures, the person is not happy, yet for life seems too short.

A positive future changes everything: the present is just ephemeral; he sees it goes by with no sadness. He is no longer attracted so much to the material pleasures as they cannot give him but a transient, evanescent satisfaction, leaving emptiness in his heart. He then aspires for a lasting and thus more real happiness. Where can he find it if not in the future? Spiritism frees the individual from the tortures of uncertainty by showing and demonstrating such a future, thus making the individual happy. Well, anything that brings happiness finds followers.

The adversaries of Spiritism attribute its fast propagation to a superstitious fever that takes humanity over through the passion for the extraordinary. However, they should be logical before anything else. We will accept their reasoning, if we can call that reasoning, when they clearly explain why does such a fever hit precisely the educated layers of society, more than the uneducated ones. On our end we say that it is because Spiritism appeals to reason and not to blind faith; that the enlightened classes conduct due diligence, reflect and understand it. Behold, superstitious ideas cannot withstand examination.

As a matter of fact, all of you who attack Spiritism, do you really understand it? Have you studied it, scrutinizing its details, maturely considering all of its consequences? No you did not, a thousand times, you did not. You talk about something that you don’t know. All of your criticism – and I don’t talk about the silly, vulgar and gross diatribes, lacking any reason, bearing no value – I talk about those that at least have the appearance of seriousness; all of your criticism, I was saying, reveal the most absolute ignorance of the subject.

In order to criticize it is necessary to oppose reason against reason, proof against proof. Is that possible without a profound knowledge of the subject? What would you think of someone who intended to criticize a piece of artwork not knowing, at least in theory, the basic rules of drawing and painting; the merits of an opera without knowing music? Do you know the consequences of an ignorant criticism? It is ridiculous and a pure demonstration of lack of common sense. The more elevated the position of the critic; the more he is in evidence, the more his own interest forces circumspection, avoiding the always easy denial of talking about something that is unknown.

That is why the attacks against Spiritism short living, favoring its development instead of precluding it. Those attacks operate as propaganda; they lead to scrutiny and scrutiny can only favor us because we appeal to reason. There isn’t a single article against this Doctrine which has not led to an increase in the number of subscriptions and book sales. Mr. Oscar Comettant’s article (see Le Siècle from October 27th last, and our replica in the Spiritist Review, December 1859) produced the sales of more than fifty samples of the famous Mozart’s Sonata (costs 2 francs net, according to Mr. Comettant’s important and witty observation). The articles of the L’Univers from April 13th and May 28th, 1859 (see our response in the Review in the May and June 1859 issues) oversold the remainder of the first edition of The Spirits’ Book, as well as others. Nonetheless, let us go back to less material things. As long as the opposing arguments are not but of the kind mentioned above, Spiritism shall fear nothing.

We insist that the main source of progress of the spiritist ideas is in the satisfaction given to those dedicated to their serious study, finding in the Doctrine something beyond a futile pastime. Well, since all seeks happiness, it is not surprising that those persons cling to an idea that makes them happy. We said somewhere else that the time of curiosity is over with regards to Spiritism, now replaced by the period of reason and philosophy. Curiosity has its time. Since that time has passed, one objective must replace the other. The same cannot be said about something related to serious thought and philosophy. Spiritism has advanced in particular since the time when people began to understand its reach, in its most subtle essence, for it touches the most sensitive string of the human being: happiness, even still in this world. That is the cause of its propagation; the secret of the strength which shall make it triumph.

All of you who attack Spiritism, do you want a safe way of fighting it successfully? I will give you one: replace it by something better. Find a more logical solution to every issue resolved by Spiritism. Give the individual another assurance, one that makes him happier, but be aware of the reach of the word assurance since the individual will only accept as certain something that seems logical. It is not good enough to say that Spiritism is not that because it is very easy to say so. You must demonstrate not only by denial but also by facts that Spiritism is not, has never been and cannot be it. Finally, prove that the consequences of Spiritism don’t make the individual better through the practice of the purest Evangelical moral, a much acclaimed but rarely practiced moral.

When you have done so, I will be the first to bow before you. Meanwhile, allow me to see your doctrines, the denial of any future, as the source of egotism, a worm which corrodes society, and consequently a true plague. Yes, Spiritism is strong, and it is stronger than you since it is based on the very foundations of religion: God, the soul, the future reward and penalties, all based on the good deeds or evil actions which one may practice. You are supported by incredulity. Spiritism invites the human being to happiness, to hope and true fraternity. You offer people with the nothingness for perspective and selfishness for consolation. Spiritism explains everything while you explain nothing. Spiritism demonstrates through facts, you demonstrate nothing. How would you expect any hesitation between the two doctrines?

In summary, we attest that – and everyone sees and feels like we do – Spiritism has treaded a gigantic step this last year and such a step is a guarantee of the next step for this coming year. It was not only the considerable increase in the number of followers but a remarkable change has taken place in the general opinion, even among those who are indifferent. They say that, bottom line, that there may well be something in Spiritism; that one should not intend to offer a hastily assessment. Those who shrugged their shoulders start to fear the ridicule by connecting their names to a precipitated judgment, which can be denied later. Thus, they prefer to remain silent and wait. There will still be and for a long time, no doubt, people who will try to belittle it since they have nothing to lose with the acknowledgement of posterity, some for their lightheartedness or ill-faith, others out of pure machination.

Nevertheless, we are okay with the idea of being taken to Charenton since we would get there in good company and such a tasteless joke, like many others, is a common place which does not bother us, due to the absolute lack of reason shown by such attacks. The weapon of ridicule, a supposedly frightening weapon, evidently wears out, falling from the hands that manipulate them. Has it lost its power? No, as long as it does not shoot at false targets. Ridicule can only kill what is ridiculous in itself, only having the appearance of seriousness, stimulating the hypocrite, removing their masks. Something that is really serious will only receive minor blows, leaving the battlefield always triumphant. Just observe if a single great idea, attacked by the ignorant and jealous crowd from its inception, has fallen, not standing its ground! Well then, Spiritism is one of the greatest ideas since it touches the most vital issues of human happiness, and one cannot go unpunished for spreading jokes about such a serious matter.

Spiritism is strong because it is founded on the natural laws; responding to its adversaries by recruiting people around the world since its infancy. A few years more and its detractors, impotent to combat it through reason will be so much out of touch and so much isolated that they shall be forced to shut up, opening their eyes to the light.

Magnetism before the Academy

Since it was barred at the main door, Magnetism entered through the window, thanks to a disguise and another name. Instead of saying: I am magnetism, which was not likely to get it through, it then said: My name is Hypnotism (from the Greek “Hypnos”, sleep). Thanks to such a gimmick it finally got in, after twenty long years, but it did not lose much for the wait because it found a way of being introduced by one of the greatest luminaries. He was careful enough to avoid its entourage of passes, somnambulism, and remote visions, and ecstasies which would have been a betrayal. He simply said: you are good and human; your heart is broken by the sight of your neighbor’s agony, in his sickness; you must find a way of mitigating the patient’s pain, hurt by your scalpel; it can be really dangerous. I bring you a simpler way, yet with no drawbacks. I was certain that I would be heard, speaking in the name of humanity. He then wisely added: “I am family; I owe my life to one of you”. He thought, and not without reason, that such an origin wouldn’t do him any harm.

If we lived in the time of the brilliant and poetic Greece, we would say: Magnetism, child of nature and of a mere mortal, was banned from the Olympus because it had hurt Aesculapius privileges, marching by his side, boasting about the ability of healing without his help. It wandered around Earth for a long time, teaching human beings the art of healing in new ways. It unveiled a wealth of wonders to the people, mysteriously hidden in the temples until then, but those whose secrets were revealed, and whose charlatanism was exposed, stone-chased Magnetism, and it was then banned by the gods and abused by people. Nevertheless, it continued to spread its benefits by alleviating humanity, certain that its innocence would be one day recognized, and that justice would be served. It had a child called Hypnotism whose birth was carefully hidden for the fear of persecution. It shared its long exile with the child, a learning period.

When the child was thought to be ready, Magnetism then said:

• Go and present yourself to the Olympus, but be careful not to say that you are my child. Your name and a disguise will facilitate your entry. Aesculapius will introduce you.

• How come father! Aesculapius, your most bloodthirsty enemy! The one who banned you!

• He is the one who will reach out to you!

• But if he recognizes me I shall be expelled.

• Well then! If you are expelled you will come to me and we shall continue our beneficent work amidst human beings, waiting for better days. But, easy now. I have a lot of hope. Aesculapius is not bad. After all, he seeks the progress of Science otherwise he would not deserve to be the god of medicine. As a matter of fact, I might have made a few mistakes myself. Since I felt offended for having my image vilified, I was exalted and insensibly attacked him: I cursed, insulted and called him ignorant. Well, this is not a proper way of treating people and the gods. He was upset with me for a while since his self-love was hurt. Don’t you do what I did my child. Be more sensible and civil, above all. If others are not with you it is their problem and you will be on the right side. Go child and remember that one cannot catch flies with vinegar.

That is how the father spoke. Hypnotism then timidly left to the Olympus; he could feel his heartbeat when he showed up at the sacred door. But, ah surprise! Aesculapius himself shakes his hand and introduces him!

There we have Magnetism in its place then. What to do? Oh! Don’t believe in victory yet; these are still the preliminaries of peace. It is a first hurdle which was taken down, and that is all. An important step, no doubt, but don’t you think that the enemy will acknowledge defeat. Aesculapius himself, the great Aesculapius, who recognized you by your family traces, would greatly impair your defense; hence they would take you to the Charenton. They will say that it is something… but for sure it is not Magnetism… That is fine! We will not play with words. It will be anything that they want but while we wait, it is a fact which will have consequences.

Well, here are the consequences. First they shall deal with the anesthetic point of view only (from the Greek aesthesis, sensitivity, and private, general or partial loss of the ability to feel), and that as a result of the predominance of materialistic ideas, because there are still so many people who insist, for modesty no doubt, to be reduced to the role of a roasting stick, which when broken, is thrown into the scrap yard, without a trace left behind! Thus, they will exam the fact from all angles, even if just out of mere curiosity. They will study the effect of various substances in the production of catalepsy; then, on a given day, they will acknowledge that a finger is sufficient. However, that is not all. Observing the phenomenon of catalepsy there will be the spontaneous occurrence of others. The freedom of thought during the suspension of the organic faculties has already been observed. Thus, thought is independent of the organs and there is in the human being something beyond matter. Strange faculties shall be observed: the vision will acquire unusual amplitude, beyond the boundaries of the senses; all perceptions shall be displaced; in short, a vast field of observations and there will be no lack of observers. The sanctuary is open, and let us keep up with the hope that light will shine from there, unless the Celestial Areopagus denies such an honor to anybody else.

May our readers kindly read the remarkable article published by Mr. Victor Meunier, editor of the Ami des Sciences (Friend of Sciences), about this interesting subject, in the weekly scientific Review Siècle, on December 16th, 1859:

“Animal magnetism, taken to the Academy by Mr. Broca; introduced to the illustrious Society by Mr. Velpeau; experimented with by Messrs. Follin, Verneuil, Faure, Trousseau, Denonvilliers, Nélaton, Azam, Ch. Robin, etc., all medical surgeons, is the great news of the day.”

“The discoveries, like the books, have their destinies. The one we are going to talk about is not new. It is about twenty years old, with no lack of publicity in England, where it was born, nor in France, where at the moment they don’t talk about anything else. A Scottish doctor, Dr. Braid, who discovered it, wrote the book: Neural-hypnotism or the rationale of the nervous sleep, considered in relation to the animal magnetism.” 3

“A renowned English doctor, Dr. Carpenter, carefully analyzed Dr. Braid’s findings in the article “Sleep” found in the Encyclopedia of Anatomy and Physiology. An illustrious French scientist, Mr. Littré, reproduced Dr. Carpenter’s analysis in the second edition of the Manuel de Physiologie, by J. Mueller. Finally, we have dedicated one of our newspapers in the Presse, on July 7th, 1852 to Hypnotism, name given by Dr. Braid to the set of facts which are discussed. The most recent publication regarding this subject is then seven years old. When it all seemed forgotten, it finds this huge repercussion.”

“There are two things in Hypnotism: a group of nervous phenomena and the process by which they are produced.”

“The process formerly employed by Abbot Faria, if I am not mistaken, is of great simplicity.”

“It consists of keeping a shiny object before the eyes of the subject, close to the root of the nose, so that the subject can only see it by crossing the eyes inwardly; the subject must stare at the object in that way. In the beginning the pupils will contract, later they dilate significantly and soon after the cataleptic state is produced. Once the limbs of the subject are raised they remain in that position. This is only one of the phenomena which are produced. We shall talk about the others in due time.”

“Mr. Azam, a substitute professor at the Surgical Clinic of the Bordeaux School of Medicine, having successfully repeated Dr. Braid’s experiments, exchanged ideas with Dr. Paul Broca, who thought that hypnotized patients would be insensitive to the pain of surgical procedures. The letter he has just sent to the Academy of Sciences contains the summary of his experiments in that regard.”

“First he had to be assured about the reality of Hypnotism, which he did without difficulties. Visiting a patient, a lady about forty years old, somewhat hysterical, who had fallen ill due to a light indisposition, Dr. Broca pretended to be examining her eyes, holding a golden flask at about fifteen centimeters from the root of her nose, asking her to stare at it. About three minutes later her eyes were reddish, her facial traces immobile, her answers slow and difficult, but perfectly rational. Dr. Broca raised the patient’s arm and it remained in that position; he moved her fingers to the most extreme positions and those fingers would stay there; he pinched her skin at several points, with certain force, and as it seems the patient felt nothing. Catalepsy, insensitivity! Dr. Broca did not continue since he had already learned from that patient what he wanted to know. A scrub of the eyes and some cold air blown on the forehead brought the patient back to her normal state. She had no recollection of what had just happened. The information about the hypnotic insensitivity to surgical procedures was still missing.”

“Among the patients from Necker Hospital, under Dr. Follin’s responsibility, there was a 24 year-old poor lady victimized by extensive burns on her back and on both sides of her inferior limbs, presenting an extremely painful abscess in one leg. Any minor movement would produce excruciating pain. Worn out by the pain and afraid of the treatment, the unfortunate lady was horrified by the prospects of the required surgery. She was the one, according to Dr. Follin, that Dr. Broca decided to use as the subject to complement the test of hypnotism.”

“She was placed on a bed by the window, informed that she would fall asleep. After two minutes her pupils were dilated. Her left arm was raised, almost vertically above the bed, remaining still in that position. After four minutes her responses were slow and almost painful, but perfectly reasonable. Fifth minute: Dr. Follin pinches the skin of the left arm and the patient does not react; a new and more profound pinch, leading to some bleeding, still with no reaction. Then the right arm was lifted, remaining in the air. The blankets are then removed and her inferior limbs separated, allowing access to the seat of the abscess. The patient consents, and calmly says that they are going to hurt her. The abscess is open and she releases a weak scream. It was the only indication of reaction, lasting less than a second. Not the slightest shake of facial muscles or limbs, not a single agitation of arms, always vertically raised above the bed. The eyes somehow deep, always wide open, the face showing the immobility of a mask…”

“Once raised, her left foot remains in the air. The shiny object is removed, and the catalepsy persists. She has her left arm pinched for the third time, blood runs and she feels nothing. The arm is in that position for thirteen minutes already.”

“Finally, a rub of the eyes and some fresh air blown or her forehead and the young lady is almost immediately awake. Once relaxed, her arms and the left leg immediately fall on the bed. She rubs her eyes, recovers consciousness, recalls nothing and is surprised for having had gone through the surgical procedure. The experience had lasted between 18 to 20 minutes. The period of anesthesia lasted between 12 to 15 minutes.”

“These are, in short, the essential facts reported by Dr. Broca to the Academy of Sciences. Those are no longer isolated facts. A large number of surgeons from our hospitals had the honor of repeating it, and have successfully done so. Dr. Broca’s objective and that of his illustrious colleagues was, and should be, surgery related. We hope that hypnotism may have every advantage of the anesthetics, not showing their inconveniences. However, Medicine is not in our domain and to avoid moving beyond its boundaries, our Review should not consider the fact but under the physiological point of view.”

“After verifying Dr. Braid’s veracity about the essential point, one must certainly verify everything that may be related to such a singular state, called Hypnotism. The phenomena attributed to that state might be classified as:”

“Exaltation of sensitivity – The sense of smell is raised to a degree of sensitivity at least equal to that observed in animals of best sensitivity. Hearing also becomes far reaching. The tactile ability, particularly with respect to temperature, assumes an incredible subtleness.”

“Suggested feelings – Once the face, the body or limbs of the patient are placed in a given position, adequate to the expression of a particular feeling and soon the corresponding mental state is induced. Thus, having the hand of the subject placed on top of the head the subject spontaneously stretches, inclining the body backwards; the attitude is of pure pride. If at that point in time the subject’s head is bent forward, slightly bending the body and the limbs, pride is then replaced by the most profound humbleness. Slightly spreading the corners of the mouth as in a smile, the subject quickly shows happiness. Bad mood overcomes all that state immediately after the eyebrows are made to converge downwards.”

“Provoked ideas – Take the subject’s hand above the head; fold the fingers over the palm of the hand and the idea of climbing, swinging or pulling a rope is suggested. If, on the contrary, the fingers are folded but the arm is let down, the idea of lifting a weight is suggested. If the arm is stretched horizontally and the fist is made, the idea of boxing is suggested (the scene takes place in London).”

“Increase in muscular strength – If one wishes to suggest an extraordinary strength onto a group of muscles it is enough to suggest to the patient the idea of an action which requires such strength, ensuring the subject that the action can be easily performed, if the subject so wishes. Dr. Carpenter says: - We saw a patient hypnotized by Dr. Braid, showing a remarkable lack of muscular development, lifting a fourteen kilograms weight with his pinky, turning that weight around his head, certain that it was as light as a feather.” We stop for now with the indication of that program. Let the facts speak; the reflections will follow.

February

Bibliography - Countess Mathilde de Canossa

This is the title of a legendary romance published in Rome in 1858, by Rev. Father Bresciani, from the Company of Jesus,* author of The Jew of Verona. The subject of the book is the story of the former Canossa family, in the style of Walter Scott. That is why the author dedicated the book to the current descendent from that renowned family, the Marquis Otavio de Canossa, potentate of Verona and valet of H.M. Emperor of Austria. The events take place in the middle ages. The witches and wizards represent great roles in the story and the demoniac scenes are described with such an accuracy which would make the Scottish romancers jealous. The author seems less accurate to us in his appreciation of the modern spiritist phenomena of the talking tables, of magnetism and somnambulism. Well, here is what can be read in its Chapter X, page 170:

“More than one of my readers, and probably the majority of them, could be surprised by seeing all these devilish apparatuses in the preceding chapters, all the exorcism, witchcraft, hallucinations, and fantastic outbreaks which would fit well in the late night stories and wet-nurse tales.”

“Who would still believe these days in necromancers, witches, enchantments, fascination, potions, and dealings with the devil? Would you be willing to return to the fairy tales from Martin del Rio,** the gauche superstitions of the people and the ghetto ladies, from legends which give the shivers to the chubby peasants who fear the headless mule and keep the chicken boys awake, in the name of the werewolf? Really, my friend, this is the time to get rid of these futilities. That is somehow the language that I seem to hear.”

“I will respond to that before neglecting old beliefs, everyone must question their own conscience, frankly asking if one is not at least as much credulous as any of one’s predecessors. Let us make no mistake: what is the meaning of this swarm of magnetizers, mediums, dancing, speaking and prophetic tables; somnambulists who see through the walls, reading through their elbows, who see before them something that is done twenty, thirty and forty miles away; who read and write without knowing the alphabet; that not knowing a single word in medicine, describe pathological cases, indicating their causes and prescribing the medication, in the right dose, with all Greek-Arabic terms of the scientific vocabulary? What are those interrogatories of spirits; those answers of dead and buried people; those prophecies of future events? Who evokes those shadows? Who makes them speak? Who allows them to see a non-existent future? Who leads them to blaspheme against God, against the saints from heavens, against the sacraments of the Church?”

“Now brave people, speak up! Why these distorted and nervous looks? – Ah! You shall end up telling me, who knows! Mysteries of nature, unknown laws, power of lucidity, occult sense of the human body! Subtleness of the magnetic fluid, of the nervous influx, of the optical and acoustic waves; secret virtues excited by electricity or magnetism in the brain, blood, muscle fibers, in all vital components; supreme power and strength of will and imagination.”

“My friends, these are foolish things, meaningless words, empty phrases, ambiguous deviations, enigmas which you don’t understand yourselves. The whole difference between us and our predecessors is that to deny one mystery we forge a hundred of others. While a cat was a cat, and devil the devil to those good people, we have the pretension of accrediting nature with powers that nature does not have and cannot have.”

“Our elders, wiser and more sincere, would straight forwardly say that there were supernatural events and very honestly associated them to the devil. However, less familiar than we are with the natural phenomena, they have sometimes and undoubtedly taken for a prodigious effect when they are in the natural order of things, whereas our contemporary, much more enlightened, cannot see in a good number of charlatanism from the magnetizers mysterious effect of the secret laws of nature, and the really diabolic events as nothing more than magic tricks, more or less subtle.”

“However, the better Christians of the good old times knew very well that the bad spirits, evoked through certain signs, conjurations, certain pacts, would show up, answer questions, hallucinating imagination, impressing people in a thousand ways, and particularly doing as much harm as possible to those who would speak to them. You must then confess, in good faith, that even in our days, and in a larger number than before, we have our necromancers, charmers and witches, with the difference that our ancestors were horrified by all that witchcraft; that these were secretly practiced in the darkness of the caves, in the forests, and that many would regret and then confess, seeking penance. In our days, instead, they are openly practiced in the gorgeous theaters of gold and lights, before curiosity, in the presence of young ladies, children and their mothers, without any scruple, thus frequently making fun of the superstitions of the middle ages.”

“Believe me. Human beings have wished to deal with the devil at all times, and that astute spirit conforms to all transformations, although people would not send him back to the abyss, feeding some sort of commerce. In the former centuries of idolatry he was with the oracles and foretellers; he would appear under the form of a dove, magpie, rooster, snake, and even sang fatidic songs. In the middle ages he used to show up pedantically to the barbarians, under terrible disguises and after monstrous conjurations.”

“If sometimes he would diminish himself to the point of finding dwelling in someone’s hair, in little flasks, in potions drunk by the lovers and given by the witches, he would still inspire great horror. Today, instead, he is given to civilizing the century. He enjoys the elegant world, the lively soirees, frequently sleeping over with the somnambulists, using the planchettes to write. In reality, isn’t he kind? He is careful not to scare anyone; he dresses like the Americans, the English, the Parisians, the Germans; he is really kind, with his beard and fine Italian mustache; he is the real deal of the theaters and it would be really awkward if he did not present an irreproachable distinction. Behold! He has become such a good apostle that he talks politely to that lady who still goes to the mass and if she was told: “- Watch out! There are things which are not natural and could not be natural. There is something of treacherous in it. The good Christians do not get into that!” – She would laugh at you and respond with an air of superiority: “- What the hell! All that is very natural; I am Christian too but not stupid.”

“Meanwhile, given a proper occasion, he will magnetize your twenty year old daughter, and out of her magnetic intuition, make her foretell distant facts and secrets of the future.”

“I leave you to that and to think if that naughty devil is not laughing his head off at that good Christian!”

We leave to the readers the task of assessing the judgment passed by Father Bresciani. You will, like us, uselessly look for authoritative arguments against the spiritist ideas or any demonstration of untruthfulness of those ideas. He no doubt thinks that those ideas deserve no refutation and that a breath is sufficient to destroy them. However, it seems to us that similarly to most adversaries, he arrives to a consequence in opposition to his expectations, since he does not unequivocally demonstrate that those things are not possible. Considering that Father Bresciani is a man of undisputed talent and superior instruction we think that since his objective was to combat the spirits, he should have gathered the most lethal weapons against them, from what we conclude that if he does not say much against them the fact is that he has nothing else to say; that if he does not give proofs it is because he has none to oppose to those ideas, otherwise he would not have left them in his back pocket.

In all that argumentation, the mostly ridiculed are not the spirits but the devil himself, who is treated a bit too much gentlemanly, and not like something that is taken seriously. We are then forced to believe, before such a polished style, that the author does not believe in the devil more than in spirits. However, if he is the only agent of all manifestations, as intended, then it is necessary to acknowledge that he represents a more entertaining than frightening role, being much more capable of exciting curiosity than fear. As a matter of fact, up until now this is the result of everything that has been said and written against Spiritism. Thus, it has done us more service than harm.

According to the majority of the critics, the fact of the manifestations has no relevance. It is a short living mania, a game, and the author does not seem to have faced it in a more serious way. If that is the case, why bother? Let it be and another pastime will be in fashion tomorrow, and Spiritism will experience the same that happened to the Potichomania: the duration of two seasons. By throwing stones at it one gives the impression that it is feared because one only tries to knock down something that gives reason for fear; if it is an utopia, an illusion, why then fighting the windmills? It is true, they say, that the devil sometimes mingles with these things, but then there would be no need for so many authors, like the one above, painting the devil with such pinkish colors, and leading the ladies to be willing to get to know him.

Has Father Bresciani thoroughly examined the subject? Has he pondered the reach of all of his words? Kindly allow us the doubt. When he says: “What are those answers of dead and buried people? Who allows them to see a non-existent future?” Our question is if it was a Christian or a materialist the person who wrote similar things. Even a materialist would speak of the dead with more respect. – “Who leads them to blaspheme against God?” – Where are those blasphemies? The author, attributing everything to the devil, has certainly supposed those blasphemies or he would otherwise know that the most unlimited trust in God’s benevolence is the foundation of Spiritism; that everything that is done in Spiritism is done so in the name of God; that even the most perverse spirits speak of God with fear and respect and the good ones do so with reverence and love. Where is the blasphemy? – However, how should we interpret these words: “…we have the pretension of accrediting nature with powers that nature does not have and cannot have!” – Our more sensible elders would treat them simply as devilish tricks. Thus it is wiser to attribute the natural phenomena to the devil than to God. While we proclaim the infinite power of the Creator, Father Bresciani gives limit to them; nature, which summarizes the Divine work, does not have and cannot have other powers beyond those that we know. As for those which we ignore it is wiser to attribute them to the devil that would then be more powerful than God. One needs to ask on which side is the blasphemy or the greater respect to the Supreme Being. Finally, the devil takes all forms. Isn’t he very kind? He dresses like the Americans, the English, the Parisians; he is really kind with his beard and fine Italian mustaches and it would be really awkward not to recognizing in him an almost irreproachable distinction. We don’t know if the Italian gentlemen will be flattered for being taken by naughty devils. Who are those nice ladies that turn the kind devils into an attraction and that before the charitable warning that there may be something treacherous in all this they say:

“What the hell! I am not that stupid!”

If it is a natural flagrant, we then ask in which world, “l’entier ou le demi monde”,*** those ladies use such beautiful expressions? We regret the fact that the author had not obtained his knowledge about Spiritism from more serious sources, for he would not speak so lightheartedly. While more peremptory arguments are not opposed to Spiritism, its followers may then sleep in peace.

_______________________________________

* One volume, in-8, translated from the Italian – J. B. Pélagaud & Co., Rue des Saints Pères, 57 – Paris, price 3.5 fr

** Del Rio was a Jesuit scholar born in Anvers, 1551 and deceased in 1608. The author refers to his work Disquisitiones Magicoe.

*** Expression created by Dumas meaning the underground world (demi-monde), the outlawed world – Kardec employs a wordplay when counter l’entier (the whole world) to le demi (the mid world or underground world) – (RT)

Story of a Naughty Spirit

Society, December 9th, 1859 –
First session

Mr. de la Roche, regular member, communicates the following fact of his personal knowledge:

Strange noises and several manifestations took place in a small house near Castelnaudary, leading people to believe that it was haunted by a bad genie. Hence, in 1848 it was exorcized and a large number of images of saints were placed inside the house. Since then, Dr. D…, who wanted to live in the house had some renovations done and requested that the images be removed. He died in that house a few years later, of a sudden death. His son who still lives there or at least who was there up to not long ago, had his face slapped by an invisible hand when entering a bedroom. Since he knew that he was completely alone in the house, he had no doubt that it had come from an occult power. He no longer wishes to stay there and wants to move out for good. There is a story that goes around in the region which says that a terrible crime was committed in that house.

Once questioned about the possibility of evoking the author of that slap, St. Louis responded positively. The spirit was then evoked, showing signs of violence. The medium was taken by great agitation, breaking seven or eight pencils, throwing some onto the audience, tearing off a piece of paper on which he had furiously doodled meaningless characters.

All efforts to calm him down resulted useless. Since he was requested to respond to the questions he wrote with difficulty an almost undecipherable no.

1. (to St. Louis) – Could you kindly give us some information about that spirit, since he cannot or he does not wish to give it himself? – A. It is a spirit of the worst class, a kind of monster. We made him come here but we cannot force him to write, despite everything that we told him. He has his free-will, which has been badly used.

2. Has he died long ago? – A. Look for information. He was the one who committed the crime whose legend goes around in the region.

3. Who was he when alive? – A. You shall find out yourself.

4. Is he the one haunting the house these days? – A. No doubt since that is how I had him coming here.

5. Then the exorcisms have not expelled him? – A. No way.

6. Has he had any participation in the subtle death of Mr. D…? – A. Yes.

7. How come? – A. Through fear.

8. Was he the one who slapped Mr. D… son’s face? – A. Yes.

9. Could he have done the same on some of us? – A. No doubt. He wishes he could.

10. Why hasn’t he done so? – A. He was not allowed.

11. Would there be a means of dislodging him from that house? How? – A. If they want to disentangle from the obsession of similar spirits it is easy, by praying for them. That is what is always forgotten. People prefer to scare them away with formulas of exorcism which greatly entertains them.

12. Passing the idea of praying for this spirit to those involved, and us praying as well, would it then be possible to dislodge him? – A. Yes. However, notice that I said pray and not having someone else praying.

13. Is this spirit susceptible to improvement? – A. Why not? Aren’t they all, this one like the others? Yet, one must be prepared to face difficulties. However perverse the spirit may be, the retribution of evilness by goodness will end up touching him. Let us pray in principle and then evoke him after a month. You will notice the changes which will take place.

14. This is an unfortunate and suffering spirit. Could you describe the kind of sufferings that he endures? – A. He is persuaded that he shall be in his present condition forever. He constantly sees himself at the very moment when he committed the crime. Any other memory has been erased and any communication with another spirit has been banned. When he is on Earth he can only be at that house and when he is in space he only has darkness and loneliness.

15. In which world did he live before his last incarnation? What was his race? – A. He had an existence among the most ferocious and savage tribes, and before that he came from a planet inferior to Earth.

16. In case he reincarnates, which category of individuals will he be around? – A. That will depend on him and on his regrets.

17. In his next corporeal life could he become a righteous man? – A. That would be difficult; regardless of his efforts, it will be hard to avoid a tempestuous life.

OBSERVATION: Mrs. X…, a clairvoyant medium attending the session, saw that spirit at the moment when he was asked to write: he shook the medium’s arm; his looks were terrifying; he was wearing a shirt covered in blood and held a dagger in his hand. Mr. and Mrs. F… who were present as observers, since they were not members yet, carried out the recommendation in favor of the suffering spirit since the first evening, praying for him. Multiple communications were obtained from him and from his victims. We present them below in the order that they were received, together with the ones obtained at the Society about the same subject. In addition to the interest of this dramatic story there is a teaching which will escape nobody. Second session, at the house of Mr. F…

18. (to the familiar spirit) – Can you tell us something about the spirit of Castelnaudary? – A. Evoke him.

19. Is he evil? – A. You shall see.

20. What should we do? – A. Don’t talk to him if you have nothing to say.

21. If we talk to him to say that we are sorry for his suffering, will that do any good to him? – A. Compassion is always good to the unfortunate ones.

22. Evocation of the spirit of Castelnaudary. – A. What do you want from me?

23. We called you in order to be useful to you. – A. Oh! Your compassion is good to me because I suffer… Oh! How much I suffer! ... May God have mercy on me! … Forgive me… Forgive me…

24. Will our prayers be beneficial to you? – A. Yes. Pray, pray.

25. It is okay then! We will pray for you. – A. Thank you! At least you do not curse me.

26. Why didn’t you want to write at the Society when you were invited in? – A. Oh! Malediction!

27. Malediction for whom? – A. For me who ruthlessly atone for the crimes in which my free-will only had a small participation.

OBSERVATION: By saying that his free-will had a small participation in his crimes he wants to attenuate them, as it was verified later.

28. Will you be forgiven if you repent? – A. Oh! Never!

29. Don’t be desperate. – A. Eternal sufferings, such is my destiny.

30. What is it that makes you suffer? – A. What is most horrific! You cannot understand.

31. Have they prayed in your favor since last night? – A. Yes, but I suffer even more.

32. How come? – A. How do I know? OBSERVATION: This circumstance was explained later.

33. Should anything be done regarding the house where you installed yourself? – A. No! No! Say no more about that…. Forgive me God! I have suffered enough! 34. Do you have to stay there? – A. That is my penalty.

35. Will that be so as you may have your crimes permanently before your eyes? – A. That is the case

36. Don’t be desperate. Everything may be forgiven after repentance. – A. No! There is no forgiveness for Cain.

37. Then you killed your brother? – A. We are all brothers.

38. Why did you want to do harm to Mr. D…? – A. Enough! Please, that is enough! 39. Good-bye then. Have faith on God’s mercy! – A. Pray! Third session

40. Evocation – A. I am near you.

41. Do you begin to have hope? – A. Yes, I have a lot of regret.

42. What was your name? – A. You shall know later.

43. For how long have you been suffering? – A. For 200 years.

44. When have you committed your crime? – A. In 1608.

45. Can you repeat the dates to confirm them? – A. It is useless. Once is enough. Good-bye, I will talk to you tomorrow. A force drags me!

Fourth session

46. Evocation – A. Thanks Hugo! (Mr. F… first name)

47. Would you like to speak about what happened in Castelnaudary? – A. No. You make me suffer when you speak about it. It is not generous of you.

48. You know well that if we speak about it, it is with the objective of clarifying you regarding your condition and not to make it worse. Then, speak and have no fear. How could you allow yourself to commit such a crime? – A. A moment of madness.

49. Was there any premeditation? – A. No.

50. This cannot be true. Your sufferings demonstrate that you are guiltier than you say. You know that only through regret you can mitigate your fate and not through lies. Come on! Be honest. – A. Well then! If it is needed, then be it!

51. Was it a man or a woman that you killed? – A. A man.

52. How did you kill Mr. D…? – A. I showed up to him, visibly. My appearance is so horrifying that the simple sight killed him.

53. Did you do that on purpose? – A. Yes.

54. Why? – A. He wanted to challenge me and I would do it again if I were tried.

55. If I was supposed to live in that house would you do me any harm? – A. Oh! No. Certainly not! You have pity on me and wish me well.

56. Has Mr. D… died instantly? – A. No. He was taken by fear but only died two hours later.

57. Why have you only slapped Mr. D… son? – A. Having killed two men was more than enough. Fifth session, at the Society on December 16th, 1859

58. Questions addressed to St. Louis – The spirit who has communicated with Mr. and Mrs. F… is really that of Castelnaudary? – A. Yes.

59. How could he communicate with them so promptly? – A. He didn’t have any knowledge about the Society yet. He was not sorry and repentance means everything.

60. Is the information given by him about the crime correct? – A. It is up to you to verify that and to get along with him.

61. He said that the crime was committed in 1608 and that he died in 1659. Hence he is in that state for 200 years. – A. That will be explained to you later.

62. Could you explain his type of penalty? – A. It is atrocious to him. As you know, he was condemned to stay at the place of the crime, unable to divert his thoughts to anything else but the crime, always before him, and he considers himself condemned eternally to such a torture.

63. Is he immersed in darkness? – A. Darkness when he wants to move away from the place of exile.

64. What is the most terrible kind of punishment that a spirit can endure in such a case? – A. It is not possible to describe the moral tortures as punishment of certain crimes. Even the one who suffers them would have difficulties to explain. But the most horrible is the certainty of condemnation without an appeal.

65. He has been in such a condition for two centuries. Does he assess time as he did when alive, that is, time seems to last longer or shorter? – A. It seems longer to him. There is no sleep.

66. We were told that there is no time to the spirit and that a century is a spot in eternity to them. Shouldn’t that be the same to all? – A. Certainly not. It is like that only to the spirits who have arrived at a high elevation but to the inferior spirits time is sometimes longer, especially when they suffer.

67. This spirit is severely punished for his crime. Well, you told us that before that existence he had lived among barbarians. He must have done things then at least as atrocious as his latest crime. He was punished in the same way? – A. He was less punished because he was more ignorant and did not understand as much the reach of things.

OBSERVATION: All observations confirm this fact, strictly according to God’s justice, that the penalties are proportional not to the nature of the fault but to the level of intelligence of the guilty one and the ability to understand the harm that has been done. Hence, an apparently not so serious fault could be more severely punished on a civilized person than a barbarian act by a savage.

68. Is the state of this spirit what is ordinarily called “damned”? – A. Certainly, and there are cases even more terrible. The sufferings are far from being the same to everyone, even on similar crimes, since they vary depending if the spirit is more or less accessible to regret. For him the house where he committed the crime is his hell; others carry it on themselves, tormented by the passions which cannot be satisfied.

OBSERVATION: In fact we have seen some greedy spirits suffering before the sight of gold which became a mere illusion to them; proud spirits tormented by the envy of seeing others awarded by an honor which should be theirs; people who held positions of command on Earth, humiliated by the invisible power embarrassing them to obey and by the vision of their subordinates who no longer bow before them; atheists suffering the anguishes of uncertainty, finding themselves completely isolated in the enormity of space, not finding a single being to clarify them. In the world of the spirits if there is joy in all virtues, there are penalties to all faults and those which are not reached by humans’ law will be by those of God.

69. Despite his inferiority this spirit feels the good effect of prayer. We have seen the same with other spirits equally perverse and of a brute nature. How come the more enlightened spirits, of a more developed intelligence, show complete absence of good feelings; they laugh at most sacred things; In short, nothing touches them and they never give up on their cynicism? – A. The prayer has effect only on a remorseful spirit. The spirit that is rebellious against God, just out of pride, and persists on his deviations, still making them worse like the unfortunate spirits, to them prayer cannot do and will not be able to do anything, but only when a ray of regret manifests in them. The inefficacy of prayer is a punishment to them. The prayer only relieves those who are not totally hardened.

70. When we see a spirit inaccessible to the effects of prayer, is there a reason for us to abstain from praying for him? – A. No, not at all, for sooner or later he will overcome his rudeness and wake up to healthier thoughts. Sixth session – at the house of Mr. F…

71. Evocation – A. I am here.

72. Then, now you can leave Castelnaudary at will? – A. I am allowed because I am taking your good advices.

73. Do you feel any relief? – A. I begin to have hope.

74. If we could see you how would your appearance be? – A. You would see me with a shirt and without the dagger.

75. Why would you no longer have the dagger? What have you done to that? – A. I curse it. God spares me from such a vision.

76. If Mr. D… Jr. was to return to the house, would you still cause him any harm? – A. No because I am regretful.

77. And if he still wanted to challenge you? – A. Oh! Don’t ask me that. I could not control myself. This would be beyond my strengths… I am just a wretched one.

78. Mr. D… Jr.’s prayers would be more beneficial than the others to you? – A. Yes, since it was him that I hurt the most.

79. That is it then, we will continue to do whatever we can for you. – A. Thank you. At last I found charitable souls in you.

Seventh session

80. Evocation of the murdered man. – A. I am here. 81. What was your name in life? – A. My name was Pierre Dupont

82. What did you do for living? – A. I was a butcher in Castelnaudary, where my brother murdered me on May 6th, 1608; by Charles Dupont, my elder brother, with a dagger, in the middle of the night.

83. What was the cause of the crime? – A. My brother thought that I was courting a woman that he was fond of and that I saw often, but he was mistaken since I had never given any thought to that.

84. How did he kill you? – A. I was asleep. He cut my throat and then my heart. I woke up, tried to fight but succumbed.

85. Have you forgiven him? – A. Yes, at the time of his death, 200 years ago.

86. How old was he when he died? – A. He was 80 years old.

87. He was not punished when alive? – A. No.

88. Who was accused of your death? – A. Nobody. Over those confusing times no one would give attention to these things. It would be useless.

89. What happened to the woman? – A. Soon after she was killed by my brother, in my house.

90. Why did he kill her? – A. Broken heart. He had married her before my death. Eighth session

91. Why he does not speak about the murder of that woman? – A. Because my death is the worst to him.

92. Evocation of the murdered woman. – A. I am here.

93. What was your name in those days? – A. Marguerite Aeder, Mrs. Dupont.

94. For how long were you married? – A. For five years.

95. Pierre told us that his brother was suspicious of criminal relationship between the two of you. Is that true? – A. There was no criminal relationship between Pierre and I. Don’t you believe in that.

96. How long after the death of his brother Charles murdered you? – A. Two years later.

97. What was his motive? – A. Jealousy and his intention of keeping my money.

98. Could you describe the circumstances of the crime? – A. He grabbed me and hit me in the head with his butcher’s knife, at my place of work.

99. How come he was not prosecuted? – A. What for? In those dismal days it was all chaos.

100. Had Charles’ jealousy any foundation? – A. Yes, but that did not authorize him to commit such a crime since we are all sinners in this world.

101. For how long had you been married when Pierre died? – A. For three years.

102. Could you tell us the exact date of your death? – A. Yes, May 3rd, 1610.

103. What was thought of Pierre’s death? – A. It was made believe that it was murder after robbery.

OBSERVATION: Whatever may be the authenticity of the reported facts, which seem difficult to control, there is a remarkable thing: the precision and accuracy of the dates and all events. Such a circumstance is in itself a curious subject for study, if we take into account the fact that the three spirits were evoked at different times and show no contradiction. What seemed to confirm their words is the fact that the main offender in the case, evoked by another medium, gave identical answers.

Ninth session

104. Evocation of Mr. D… - A. I am here.

105. We would like to ask you about some details of the circumstances of your death. Could you give us that? – A. In good will.

106. Did you know that a spirit haunted the house you were living in? – A. Yes, but I wanted to challenge him and I was wrong. It would have been better if I had prayed for him.

OBSERVATION: One can see from this that the means generally employed by us to get rid of the unwelcome spirits are not the most efficient. Our threats excite them more than intimidate. Benevolence and commiseration have more power than the use of coercive means, which irritate them, or the use of formulas which are laughed at.

107. How did that spirit appear to you? – A. When I came home he was visible, staring at me. I could not escape. He became my horror and I expired under the horrifying sight of that spirit which I had neglected and to whom I had shown so little charity.

108. Couldn’t you cry for help? – A. Impossible. My time had come and that is how I should die.

109. What was his appearance? – A. A furious spirit, ready to devour me.

110. Was your death painful? – A. Terribly.

111. Did you die suddenly? – A. No. It was two hours later.

112. What were your thoughts when you felt dying? – A. I could not think; I was taken by an indescribable horror.

113. Was the apparition visible till the end? – A. Yes, it did not leave my poor spirit for a single moment.

114. When your poor spirit was freed, were you aware of the cause of your death? – A. No. It was the end. It was only later that I understood.

115. Could you tell us the date of your death? – A. Yes, it was August 9th, 1853 (the precise date has not been verified yet but it seems more or less accurate). Tenth session, at the Society on January 13th, 1860 When this spirit was evoked on December 9th, St. Louis gave the advice of having him evoked again after one month, in order to assess the progress which might have happened in that interval. It has already been possible to verify, through the communications of Mr. and Mrs. F…, the changes in his thoughts, thanks to the influence of prayers and the good advices. After a little bit more than a month after his first evocation he was evoked again at the Society, on January 13th.

116. Evocation. – A. I am here.

117. Do you remember been called here about a month ago? – A. How could I forget?

118. Why couldn’t you write on that occasion? – A. I didn’t want to.

119. Why didn’t you? – A. Ignorance and rudeness.

120. Have your ideas changed since then? – A. A lot. Several among you have been compassionate and prayed for me.

121. Do you confirm all the information given by you and your victims? – A. If I did not confirm them it would be the same as saying that it was not me who provided them… and it was me.

122. Can you foresee the end of your punishment? – A. Oh! Not yet, but knowing that they will not last forever, thanks to your intervention, it is already much more than I deserve.

123. Describe your situation before our first evocation. Please understand that we ask that as a means of our instruction and not as an item of curiosity. – A. I have already told you that I wasn’t aware of anything and just had the ability of moving in space where everything was darkness and solitude. I could not give you an idea of the meaning of all that because I have never understood it myself. As long as I was elevated in the air it was all black and empty around me; I don’t know what that was. Today I experience much more remorse but, as the communications demonstrate to you, I am no longer forced to stay in that lethal house; I am allowed to wander around Earth and try to learn from my observations. Now I understand better the enormity of my mistakes. If I suffer less on one side, on the other side the tortures increase through remorse, but at least I have hope now.

124. If you had to take a corporeal existence what would your choice be? – A. I have not seen enough, nor given enough thought to know.

125. Do you see your victims? – A. Oh! May God keep me!

OBSERVATION: It has always been said that the presence of the victims is one of the torments of the offender. This spirit had not seen them yet because he was in isolation and in darkness, which was a punishment in itself, but he fears their presence and that is perhaps a complement to his punishment.

126. During your long isolation, say, your captivity, did you feel any remorse? – A. Not in the least and that is why I suffered so much. I only began to feel it, despite my will, when the circumstances for my evocation were provoked, to which I owe the beginning of my liberation. Thank you all who had mercy on me and enlightened me.

OBSERVATION: This evocation was not casual. Since it was supposed to be useful to that unfortunate creature, the spirits who cared for him noticing that he was beginning to understand the enormity of his crimes, judged that the time had come to provide him with efficient help, and then created the favorable circumstances. It is an occurrence that we have seen repeated often. On a related matter, we were asked what would have become of him if we could not have been able to evoke him, as well as all other suffering spirits that cannot be evoked either, and of whom nobody thinks. The answer is that God’s avenues for the salvation of the beings are countless. Evocation may be a means of supporting it but certainly it is not the only one. God forgets nobody. As a matter of fact, the collective prayers may also have influence upon spirits who are accessible to regret.

Spontaneous Communications

March

Bulletin of the Society of Spiritist Studies

Friday, January 27th, 1860
(General Session)

Minutes of the January 20th session read and approved. A request for admission was received. Its reading, analysis and approval were postponed to the next private session.

MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:

1st – Letter from Mr. Hinderson Mackenzie, from London, member of the Royal Antiques Society, with very interesting details about the use of metallic or crystal balls, as a means of obtaining spiritist communications. This is what he uses with the support of a special clairvoyant medium, according to the advices of one of his friends, who has used this method for thirty-five years, with the most complete and conclusive experiences. The medium sees the answers to the questions on a kind of mirror surface, producing welldeveloped communications, occasionally obtained so quickly that it is hard to follow him.

2nd – Reading of an article from the Siècle of January 22nd, from which the following passage is extracted: “The tables spoke, turned and danced well before the American cult which pretends to have originated them. That ball dance of chairs was already famous in Rome, in the first centuries of our era, and here is how Tertulian expressed it in Chapter XXIII of the Apologetic, when talking about the mediums of his time: “If the magicians are supposed to make ghosts appear, evoke the soul of the dead, and force children’s mouth to act like oracles; if these charlatans imitate a large number of miracles which, as it seems, are due to the circles and connections established among individuals; if they provoke sleep, if they make conjurations, if they command liar spirits and demons, the tables and chairs that prophesize are a common fact, etc.”

Regarding that, it is necessary to notice that modern Spiritists have never pretended to have invented or discovered the manifestations. On the contrary, they constantly reinforce the antiquity and universality of the spiritist phenomena and that very antiquity is an argument in favor of the Doctrine, demonstrating that its principle is in nature and that it is not a product of a systematic combination. Those who intend to impose such idea onto the Doctrine demonstrate that they speak without the knowledge of its fundamentals, otherwise they would know that modern Spiritism is based on the undisputable fact that it is present in all times and among all peoples.

STUDIES:

1st – Questions raised about the phenomena of the metallic or crystal balls as a means of obtaining communications. The answer is: “The theory of such phenomenon cannot be explained yet; we need some previous knowledge to understand that, which will come on their own time and will be the result of future observations. That shall happen in due time.”

2nd – New evocation of Urbain Grandier, who confirms and complements certain historical facts and that in addition provides explanations which come to support what have already been said about planet Saturn.

3rd – Two spontaneous essays obtained simultaneously: the first from Abelard, by Mr. Roze; the second from John, the Baptist, by Mr. Colin.

Next, and since it was requested that an unfortunate spirit who had asked for help through prayers would come to communicate spontaneously, one of the mediums wrote the following: “Bless your heart for having accepted to pray in favor of this evoked useless and unclean spirit, who is still and so shamefully attached to his miserable wealth. You receive the sincere thanks of Father Crépin.”

Friday, February 3rd, 1860

(Private Session)

The minutes of the January 27th session were approved. Reading of the names of the observers who attended the last general assembly. No inconvenience was noted due to their presence.

Dr. Gotti, director of the Homeopathic Institute of Genoa (Piedmont), is accepted as a corresponding member. Reading of two new requests for admission, postponed to the next session.

MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:

1st – Mr. Allan Kardec announces that a lady from the countryside who is a subscriber of the Review, sent him the amount of ten thousand francs to be utilized in favor of Spiritism. She received an unexpected inheritance which she never counted on thus she wishes that it be shared by the Spiritist Doctrine to whom she owes supreme consolations and her learning about the true conditions of happiness in this life and in the next. She says in her letter: “You made me understand Spiritism, showing me its true objective. Only Spiritism could triumph over the doubts and uncertainties which were a source of indescribable anxiety to me. I used to take life lightheartedly, cursing the stones in my path. I now see clearly around me and before me. The horizon has widened and I march firmly, confident in the future, not bothering with the thorns on the way. I wish that this meager offering can help you to share with others the blessed light which made me so happy. Use it as you will. I don’t want a receipt or any expense report. The only thing I require is the strictest anonymity.”

Mr. Allan Kardec adds: “I shall respect the veil of modesty covering this person and will endeavor to correspond to her generous intentions. I cannot see a better way of using such a donation but in providing the Society with the necessary means of installation to give it more favorable conditions to its works.”

A member voices his opinion that he is sorry for this person’s anonymity since the Society cannot pay her back with tributes of gratitude.

Mr. Allan Kardec replies that since the donation has no other specific application other then Spiritism in general, he will take care of it, in the name of all serious followers of Spiritism. He insists in the qualification of “serious followers”, considering when one cannot put their name to that, who cannot understand its elevated moral consequences, only seeing in Spiritism the subject of phenomena and experimentation, and even less to take advantage of that or leading others to do as well.

2nd – Mr. President entrusted the office of the Society with a sealed letter sent by Dr. Vignal, a regular member, which can only be opened at the end of March next.

3rd – Mr. Netz sends an issue of the periodical Illustration, reporting an apparition. The fact will be the object of a special study.

STUDIES:

1st – An observation about visions on certain bodies, like glasses, crystal or metallic balls, and etc., discussed in the last session, was presented. Mr. Allan Kardec thinks that the expression “magic mirror” commonly given to such objects must be carefully avoided. He proposes that they should be called “psychic mirrors”. In the opinion of several members of the assembly, the name “psychographic mirrors” would correspond better to the nature of the phenomenon.

2nd – Dr. Vignal, who offered to be the subject of study about the spirits of living persons, is evoked. He answers the questions with perfect lucidity. Two other spirits, the one of Castelnaudary and that of Dr. Cauviere, communicate simultaneously through another medium, resulting in a very instructive exchange of observations. At the end the doctors provide an essay each, showing their renowned and elevated capacity (publication follows).

3rd – Two other spontaneous essays: the first one from Mr. Francisco de Sales, by Mrs. Mallet; the second by Mr. Colin, signed by Moses, Plato and later Julian.

Friday, February 10th, 1860

(General Session)

The minutes of the February 3rd session were approved.

A letter with a request for admission was received; the issue is to be handled in the next private session.

MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:

The following note is transmitted by Mr. Soive, requesting that an evocation be carried out if considered useful: “A certain Mr. T…, 35 years old, residing at the Boulevard of the Hospital, was pursued by the persistent thought of having involuntarily killed a friend during a quarrel. Despite everything that was done to persuade him, showing his living friend to him, he thought that it was a ghost. Then, while tormented by the remorse of an imaginary crime, he killed himself by asphyxiation”

The evocation of Mr. T… will be done, time allowing.

STUDIES:

1st – Five spontaneous and simultaneous essays: the first through Mr. Roze, signed by Lammenais; the second by Ms. Eugenie, signed by Staël; the third by Mr. Colin, signed by Fourier; the fourth by Ms. Huet, from a spirit who says that will give his name later, announcing a series of communications; the fifth trough Mr. Didier Junior, signed by Charlet.

2nd – After reading Fourier’s essay, the president makes an observation to those persons strange to the Society, and who may not know its procedures, about the fact that this communication, in principle, seems to require comments; that among the manifesting spirits there are those of all levels; that their communications reflect their personal ideas, which are not always entirely just. Following the advice given to the Society, those communications are received as an expression of individual opinions, keeping the Society of its own prerogative of judging them, submitting them to the control of logic and reason. The understanding is that the Society does not take as the final word that everything coming from the spirits is of the essence. The spirit is revealed by the communication, if good or bad, of Science or ignorance. The communications are objects of study to the Society which accepts what is good and rejects what is bad.

3rd – Evocation of Ms. Indermuhle, from Berne, deaf-mute from birth, who is alive and thirty two years old. The evocation is of great interest from a scientific as well as moral point of view, given the sagacity and accuracy of the answers, indicating an advanced spirit.

4th – Evocation of Mr. T… who was mentioned earlier. He gives signs of great agitation, breaking several pencils before sketching a few lines, showing difficulty. The confusion of his mind is evident; he initially insisted on the fact that he had killed his friend; he ends up agreeing that it was a persistent thought, adding however that if he did not kill he had felt like doing it, and if he did not do it, it was for lack of courage only. St. Louis gives some explanations about the situation of that spirit and the consequences of his suicide. This evocation shall be repeated later, when the spirit is more separated from the body.

Friday, February 17th, 1860

(Private Session)

The minutes of the February 10th session were read and approved.

The following persons were admitted as regular members, after a written request and favorable opinion: Mrs. de Regnez, from Paris; Mr. Indermuhle de Wytenbach, from Berne; Mrs. Lubrat, from Paris.

Two new requests for membership were read, decision postponed to the next private session.

Mr. Allan Kardec transmits the following to the Society, regarding the donation:

“If the lady benefactor does not request an expense report regarding the use of the donated funds, I must not allow on my end that the use of those funds not be submitted to a control. That amount will account for the first contribution to a special fund which shall have nothing in common with my personal businesses, being the object of a separate bookkeeping, named Spiritism Fund. This fund will be augmented in the future by funds from other sources, and it will be exclusively destined to the needs of the Doctrine and the development of the spiritist studies. One of my first actions will be the creation of a special library, thus providing for what the Society currently lacks for its normal operation, as I have already said.

Hence, I have asked several colleagues to take over the control of the funds, attesting on the due dates which will be determined, the application of those funds. The committee will be formed by Mr. Solichon, Mr. Thiry, Mr. Levent, Mr. Mialhe, Mr. Krafzoff and Mrs. Parisse.”

The communications received in the previous session were read. The Society then dealt with several other administrative matters.

Spontaneous Physical Manifestations - The Baker of Dieppe

The phenomenon through which the spirits may manifest their presence has a twofold nature, namely the physical and the intelligent manifestations. Through the former, the spirits attest their action upon matter. Through the latter, they reveal a more or less superior mind, according to their degree of depuration. One and the other may be spontaneous or provoked. Those who are provoked when impelled by want and obtained with the support of persons bestowed with special gifts, such as the mediums. They are spontaneous when they occur naturally, without any participation of free-will and frequently in the absence of any knowledge or spiritist belief. Belonging to this classification are certain phenomena that cannot be explained by ordinary physical causes; however we must not rush, as said before, in attributing to the spirits everything that is uncommon and not well understood. It is never too much to insist on this point so that we are on guard against the effects of the imagination, and often fear.

When an extraordinary phenomenon is produced – we repeat – the first thought must be that it has a natural cause since it is the most frequent and most likely. That applies to mainly noises and certain movements of objects. In such cases it is necessary to seek the cause and it is more than likely we find that it was something very simple and common.

Furthermore, we say that the true and only real sign of intervention of the spirits is the intentional and intelligent characteristic of the produced effects, when the impossibility of a human intervention is thoroughly demonstrated. In such cases, following the axiom that every effect has a cause, and that every intelligent effect must have an intelligent cause, it becomes clear that if the cause is not in the ordinary agents of the material effects, it shall then be beyond those agents; that if the acting intelligence is not human, it must be outside the domains of humanity.

• Then there are extra human intelligences?

• It seems likely. If certain things are not and cannot be the work of human beings, then they must be the work of someone else. Well, if that someone else is not a human being, it seems that it must necessarily be outside humanity; if we cannot see it then it must be invisible. It is decisive reasoning which is easier to understand than that of Mr. de la Palisse.

• Then, what are those intelligences? Angels or demons? And as invisible entities, can they act upon visible matter?

• That is what is perfectly known to those who study the Spiritist Science, which like the other sciences one cannot understand in a blink of an eye and cannot be summarized in a few lines.

We will counter such a question with this one only: How can your thoughts, which are immaterial, move your body, which that is material, at will? We believe that they will not be puzzled by this problem and if they reject the explanation given by Spiritism to such a common question it means that they have something more logical to offer. However, so far we don’t know that explanation.

Let us move on to the facts that have motivated those observations.

Several newspapers, like the Opinion Nationale from February 14th last, and the Journal de Rouen, from the 12th of the same month, report the following fact, according to the Vigie de Dieppe.

The Journal de Rouen reports the following:

“The La Vigie de Dieppe reproduces the following letter from its correspondent in Grandes-Ventes. We have already mentioned part of the facts described today in our Friday issue, but the emotion caused by those extraordinary events in our column lead us to reveal new details contained in the correspondence.”

“Today we laugh at the more or less fantastic stories of the good old times and in our days the pretense witches don’t enjoy much respect. They are not more accepted in Grandes-Ventes than elsewhere. However, our old popular prejudices still have some adepts among those villagers. The truly extraordinary event which we have just witnessed comes just in time to strengthen their superstitious belief.”

“Yesterday, in the morning, Mr. Gouber, one baker from our village, his father who works for him and a young trainee who is about sixteen to seventeen years old, were starting their daily routine when they noticed that several objects had spontaneously left their original places to be thrown into the dough blending machine. Thus, they had to remove pieces of coal, a couple of weights, a pipe and a candle from the dough. Despite their astonishment they carried on with their duties, to the point of having kneaded the dough when suddenly a large piece of about two kilograms escaped from the young helper’s hand and was thrown a few meters away. This was the prelude and a kind of signal to a strange disturbance. It was about nine o’clock and up until noon it was positively impossible to stay near the oven area and the wine cellar next to it. Everything was turned, knocked down, broken. The bread, which was thrown away with the trays, was completely lost. More than thirty wine bottles were broken, and while the crank of the water-well turned on its own at high speed, the ember, the shovels, the trestle and the weights jumped in the air, executing the most diabolic evolutions.”

“At noon the noise stopped gradually and a few hours later, when everything was back to normal and the objects were placed back into their places, the owner was then able to reestablish his work routine.”

“Such an event has caused Mr. Goubert a loss of at least one hundred francs.”

The Opinion Nationale adds the following to those facts:

“On reproducing such a singular story we would be causing harm to our readers had we invited them to be on guard against the supernatural facts which were reported. There you have, we know well, a story which is not from our times and which may shock some of the wise readers of the Vigie, but however verisimilar it may look, it is not less truthful, and hundreds of people may attest its accuracy if needed.”

We confess to not understand well the thoughts of the reporter who seems to contradict himself. On another hand he tells the readers to be on guard against the supernatural facts reported in the letter, ending by saying “however verisimilar it may look, it is not less truthful, and hundreds of people may attest its accuracy if needed.” It has to be either true or false. If it is false then there is nothing else to say but if it is true, as attested by the “Opinion Nationale”, the fact reveals something very serious to be taken lightheartedly. Let us keep aside the issue of spirits and let us see a physical phenomenon only. Isn’t that extraordinary enough to deserve the attention of serious observers? Then, may the scientists get to work and rummage through the archives of science to provide us with a reasonable and undeniable explanation, showing the causes of the events. If they cannot, we must agree that they don’t know all the secrets of nature. Furthermore, if only Spiritism provides the solution then it is necessary to choose between the theory that explains and the other one which explains nothing.

When events of such a nature are reported our first approach, even before questioning about its reality, is to examine if they are possible or not, according to what we know from the theory of the physical manifestations. We mention some, demonstrating their absolute impossibility, notably the story told in the February 1859 issue of the Review, extracted from the Journal des Debats, under the title “My friend Hermann”, to which certain points of Spiritism might have given an appearance of likelihood. From that point of view, the phenomena that took place with the baker of Dieppe have nothing of more extraordinary than many others which were perfectly verified and whose complete solution is provided by the Spiritist Science. Hence, if the facts were not true, to our eyes they would still be possible.

We asked one of our reliable correspondents from Dieppe to investigate the reality of the facts. Here is his answer:

“Today I can give you all the information you want since I received it from a trustworthy source. The report from the “Vigie” is the exact truth. It is useless to report all the facts. It seems that some individuals of science came from far away to learn about the events that they couldn’t explain unless using the principles of the Spiritist Science. As for our peasants, they are confused. Some say that it is the work of witchcraft. Others say that the cause is the fact that the cemetery has changed places and constructions were built on top of it. The experts, known by their own as those who know everything, particularly if in the military, ended up by saying: For God’s sake! I don’t know how it can be. It is useless to tell you that they attribute a large portion of the events to the devil. In order to explain all those events to the people it would be necessary to try to initiate them into the true Spiritist Science. It would be the only means of eradicating from them the belief in witches and in all superstitions that will still be the greatest obstacle to their moralization for a long time to come.”

We will finish with one final observation.

We have heard from some people that they did not want to have anything to do with Spiritism for fear of attracting the spirits, thus provoking manifestations of the kind that we have just reported.

We don’t know Mr. Goubert, the baker, but we believe that we are able to ensure that neither he nor his son and helper have ever gotten involved with the spirits. It is actually remarkable to notice that the spontaneous manifestations preferably take place among people that have no idea about Spiritism, an evident proof that the spirits come without an invitation. We will also say: the profound knowledge of this Science is the best way of preventing us from the inopportune spirits, since it shows the only rational means of keeping them away.

Our correspondent is perfectly right by saying that Spiritism is a remedy against superstition. In fact, isn’t that superstitious to believe that those strange phenomena are due to the change of a cemetery location? Superstition does not consist on the belief in a fact, when verified, but on the irrational cause attributed to the fact. Superstition is present above all in the belief in the pretense means of foretelling, in the effect of certain rituals, in the virtue of the talismans, in the cabalistic days and times, etc… things whose ridicule are demonstrated by Spiritism.

Studies about the Spirits of Living Persons

Bibliography Siamora, the Druid Lady or Spiritism in the XV Century *

By Clément de la Chave

The spiritist ideas fill the works of a large number of former and current writers, and many contemporaries would be surprised if we demonstrated to them, from their own writings, that they are spiritists without knowing it. Spiritism can then find arguments in its own adversaries that seem to have been involuntarily led to provide Spiritism with armaments. Thus, holy as well as profane writers present an open field in which there is plenty to be sowed and harvested. That is what we intend to do one day.

We shall then see if the critics will still consider it to be appropriate to send the daring celebrity names in literature, arts, sciences, philosophy and theology to the asylums. The author of the little book that we are speaking about is not one of those who can be named spiritist without knowing it. On the contrary, he is a serious and educated follower, who took the burden of summarizing the fundamental truths of the Doctrine in a less arid than scholarly way, with the added attractiveness of a semi-historical romance.

In fact, we find the dauphin in the book that later became Louis XI and some characters of his time, with a taste of the costumes of those days. Siamora, last child of the former Druid Lady, preserved the traditions of her ancestors’ cult, but illuminated by the truths of Christianity. In an article in the April 1858 issue of The Spiritist Review we saw the level reached by the Gallic priests with respect to the spiritist philosophy. Hence, there is no contradiction when such ideas come from the mouth of their descendent. On the contrary, it is the evidence of a little known truth and the current author deserves recognition from the modern spiritists. We can evaluate that through the citations below. In a moment of ecstasy the young novice Edda speaks with Siamora in the following terms: “My familiar angel shows up to me in the form of my good angel. He offers himself to guide me through the painful paths of this world. Human beings, he says, are bad only because they ignore their spiritual nature; because they reject this subtle agent, this divine stream that God had spread around for their happiness in creation, making them equal and brothers. Human beings are then able to heal, appealing to this subtle agent of creation, extracting from that a powerful help.” 

“It is at the time of death that each person comes before to me! How sad! What a sorrow! What a bitter despair! Those perverse creatures love no more. Siamora! Each person carries his or her virtues and vices to the grave. Heavy or lightly loaded with their faults, the soul elevates more or less since they have kept much or just a little of that subtle agent, love, the substance of God that attracts similar substances and repels those which derive from a contrary principle, depending on the empathies.”

“The soul of a bad man remains errant down here, blowing its pestilent essence onto everyone. It contains the joy of evil and the pride of vices. We call that devil; he is called astray brother in heaven. Nevertheless, from every compassionate heart, Siamora, a gentle mist rises and despite his own will, the devil’s soul is saturated by that; it thus renovates, getting rid of its corruption… That soul then starts to perceive the idea of God which was not possible before. Since the soul carries the exact image of the body, although spiritual, it then joins the other ones, impregnated by the vices and imperfections, and the soul becomes denser and cannot see.”

“In that invisible world above ours, Siamora, where I struggle to stand, a shiny cloud hazes my eyes. Thousands of souls, celestial spirits, come and go. They move up and down, like snowflakes, spread around and run all over the place, dragged by the impulsive force of the winds. From their spiritual essence the angels come down to us, saying peaceful words to some, insinuating the divine belief in others; inspiring the search for science in this one; stimulating in someone else the instinct of goodness and beauty, and the one who has been taken over by the taste for great and noble things has already been touched by God’s finger. Every person has his mentor, his council, and his magnet. The rope of salvation has been thrown to everyone. It is up to us to grab it.” 

“That bad man, or even better, that devil-soul, whose eyes begin to open to the contact of pure air, goes on crying for his crime and begging to have it expiated by his suffering. Alone and helpless, what will he do? A charitable angel approaches and says: awry brother, come to life with me. Here is hell, the place of suffering where each one of us regenerates. Come. I shall support you. Let us do some good so that the balance of good and bad is over for you, now let us lean towards the good side.”

“That is how, Siamora, the moment of death comes to all people. I see them elevating more or less in heaven, reentering life, suffering again, depurating, dying and elevating again in heaven, incessantly. They don’t reach the dwelling of the only God yet but only through long lasting pilgrimages in other worlds, much more wonderful and perfect than this one, they shall forcibly depurate and get there.”

______________________________________________
* One vol. In-18, price 2 francs, Vannier bookseller and publisher, Rue Notre Dame-desVictoires, 52 – 1860.

Spontaneous Essays - The Genie of the Flowers

April

Bulletin of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies

Friday, February 24th, 1860
(General Session)

MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:

1st – Letter from Dieppe confirming all points of the spontaneous manifestations which took place in the house of a baker from Grandes-Ventes, near Dieppe, and reported in La Vigie (published in our March issue);

2nd – Letter from Mr. M. from Teil d’Ardèche, providing new information about manifestations which took place at Fons Castle, near Aubenas;

3rd – Letter from Baron Tscherkassoff, containing circumstantial and authentic details about a very extraordinary fact of spontaneous manifestation by a rapping spirit, which took place at the beginning of the century, with a manufacturer in St. Petersburg (to be published below);

4th – A report was given of an event of tangible apparition, having all the characteristics of an agénère (temporarily materialized spirit), which occurred last January 15th, in the village of Brix, near Valognes. The fact was transmitted to Mr. Ledoyen by someone acquainted with him and that verified its accuracy (published below);

5th – A text was read about a Muslim tradition regarding prophet Esdras, extracted from the “Moniteur” on February 15th 1860, based on a fact of mediumship.

STUDIES:

1st – Spontaneous essay by Charlet, received by Mr. Didier Junior, confirming the work already initiated;

2nd – Evocation of Mr. Jules-Louis C…, deceased on January 30th last, in the Val-de-Grâce hospital, as a consequence of a cancer which had destroyed part of his face and jaw;

This evocation was carried out following the wishes of one of his friends who was attending the session and another person who was a family friend. It is educational, above all, regarding the changes in our way of thinking after death, since Mr. C… was openly materialistic when alive.

3rd – St. Louis is asked if it would be possible to call the spirit that manifested in the house of the baker of Dieppe. He responds that he cannot, for reasons that would be understood later.

Friday, March 2nd, 1860

(Private Session)

Several administrative matters are analyzed and discussed.

Study and appreciation of several spiritist communications obtained at the Society and outside of the sessions.

Once asked to provide a spontaneous essay, St. Louis writes the following through Ms. Huet:

“Here I am my friends, ready to give you my advices as I have been doing so far. Beware of the bad spirits who may mingle among you, seeking to disseminate disunion. Unfortunately those who wish to become useful for the accomplishment of a task always find obstacles. They don’t find a generous person but someone willing to achieve a given intent. Have no fear. You shall triumph over all obstacles through patience and a firm attitude against voices that want to impose themselves. Regarding the multiple communications attributed to me, these are sometimes from another spirit that uses my name. I give few communications outside of the Society that I have taken under my sponsorship. I do appreciate these meetings, particularly devoted to me. It is only here that I like to give warnings and advices. Thus, beware of other spirits that sometimes use my name. May peace and union be among you! This is my wish in the name of God who created good. St. Louis

A member of the Society makes the following observation: “How come an inferior spirit may take over the name of a superior spirit without the latter’s consent? This can only happen with an evil intent. Then, why would the good spirits allow it to happen? If they cannot oppose that, does it mean that they are less powerful than the evil ones?

This was answered as follows: There is something more powerful than the good spirits: God. God may allow the bad spirits to manifest in order to help them to advance, and even more, to test our patience, our faith, our confidence, our resolve to resist to temptation, and above all to exercise our perspicacity in distinguishing between the true and false. It is up to us to have the will of keeping them away, proving to them that we are not toys in their hands. If they have authority over us, that is only due to our own weakness. Pride, jealousy and all human evil passions constitute their strength, giving them domination. We know out of experience that their obsession ends when they don’t succeed and tire of trying. Then, it is up to us to show them that they are wasting their time. If God wishes to test us, then no spirit can oppose that. Thus, the obsession of malevolent or mischievous spirits neither stems from their power nor from the weakness of the good ones, but from a will that is above them all. The greater the fight, the more merit we have, if we win.

Friday, March 9th, 1860

(Private Session)

The project containing proposed changes to the regulations of the Society are to be introduced as such.

Mr. Allan Kardec presents the following observations with that respect:

“Considerations about the objective and character of the Society

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Some people seem mistaken with respect to the true objective and character of the Society; allow me to remind you of that, in a few words.

The objective of the Society is clearly defined in its own title and in the preamble of the existing bylaws; that objective is essentially, and one may say, exclusively, the study of the Spiritist Science. What we want, before anything else, is not to convince ourselves, since we are already convinced, but to get instructed and learn what we still don’t know. In order to get there we need to position ourselves in the most favorable way; since those studies require calmness and reverence we want to avoid anything that may cause disruption. Such is the consideration that must prevail in the appreciation of the measures that we adopt.

Starting from that principle, the Society then is in no way a vehicle of propaganda. There is no doubt that each one of us wishes the dissemination of the ideas that are considered useful; in order to achieve that each one contributes in the circle of their relationships and according to their own capacities. Yet it would be false to believe that it is necessary to gather in society, and even more false to believe that the Society is the pillar without which Spiritism would be in jeopardy.

Since the Society is regularly established, it proceeds with more order and method than if marching serendipitously; but, besides all that, the Society is not more preponderant than thousands of free societies or private gatherings that do take place in France and abroad. Still once more, what it wants is instruction; that is why it does not admit in its heart but serious persons, animated by the same desire, considering that the antagonism of principles is a cause of disturbance. I mean a systematic antagonism about the fundamental basis, since the Society would not be able to put away the discussion of details without contradicting itself. If it has adopted certain general principles it is not due to a narrow spirit of exclusivism; the Society has seen it all, studied and compared it all, and only after all that that an opinion was formed based on experience and reason; only future can tell if the Society is right or wrong.

Meanwhile it seeks no supremacy and only those who don’t know the Society may suppose a ridicule pretension of absorbing all adepts of Spiritism or to be positioned as the universal regulator. If it did not exist, each one of us could learn independently, and instead of one meeting only we could perhaps have ten or twenty, that is the whole difference. We don’t impose our ideas to anyone; those who adopt them, it is because they find them fair; those who come to us believe that there is an opportunity to learn here but this is not like affiliation, since we neither form a sect nor a party; we gather for the study of Spiritism like others do for the study of Phrenology, History and other Sciences; and as our gatherings are not based on any material interest, we don’t mind that others are formed right beside us; truly, it would be the same as attributing us with very petty, narrow and puerile ideas if thought that we would see them with jealous eyes, and those who wanted to create rivalries would be showing for that very reason how little they understand the true spirit of the Doctrine; we would regret one thing only: that they don’t know us well enough to suppose that we are accessible to the ignoble feeling of envy. It is understandable that mercenary and rival companies which may be harmed by competition see each other with suspicious eyes; however, if these gatherings only aim at, as they should, an exclusively moral interest, if there is no commercial consideration intermingled with them, I then ask how they can be harmed by multiplicity. Some will certainly say that if there is no material interest on one side, there is self-love on the other, the desire to destroy the neighbor’s moral credit; but such a drive would be even more ignoble. If that were the case – certainly contrary to God’s wishes – we would only have to feel sorry for those moved by such thoughts. Do you want to overtake your neighbor? Do better than him; that is a noble and dignified fight, when it is not stained by envy and jealousy.

That is, ladies and gentlemen, an essential point which should not be out of sight, that we neither form a sect nor a society of propaganda, or a corporation with a common interest; if we ceased existing, Spiritism would suffer no damage and other twenty societies would be formed from our remains. One must understand that the roots of Spiritism are not in our Society but in the whole world. There is something more powerful than them, more influential than all societies: it is the Doctrine which reaches the heart and reason of those who understand it; and particularly of those who practice it.

These principles, ladies and gentlemen, tell us the true character of our regulations, which have nothing in common with the bylaws of a corporation; there is no contract bonding one to the others; outside our sessions we have no reciprocal obligation but to behave as educated people. Those who don’t find in these meetings what they expected to find have total freedom to leave, and I would not even conceive the idea of having them around since what we do here is not suitable to them. It would not be logical that they would come here to waste their time.

In every meeting one needs rules to maintain the good order; our regulation is then nothing but a word of order with the objective of establishing the organization of our sessions, keeping the relationship among the attendees civil and adequate, necessary to preside over every assembly of people of good manners, abstraction made of the conditions which are inherent to the specialty of our activities, since we don’t deal exclusively with human beings but also with the spirits that, as you know, are not all good spirits and that one must be on guard against the falsehood of some. Among them there are some very astute ones who can even push us towards a dangerous avenue, just for the hatred of good; it is up to us to exercise prudence and perspicacity to frustrate them, a fact that forces us to take special precautions.

Keep in mind, ladies and gentlemen, the way by which the Society was formed. I used to receive in my house people in “petit comité” (small groups); as that number grew, people said: a larger place is in order. In order to have a larger place it will be necessary to pay for it and we then had to share the costs. It was also said: one needs order with the séances; we cannot admit the first one who shows up; then we need rules; and that is the whole story of the Society. It is very simple, as you see. The idea of founding an institution had not crossed anybody’s mind, or the occupation with any other business outside the studies, and I even declare very formally that if in any case the Society wanted to go beyond that objective I would not follow it.

What I have done, others are equally free to do the same on their side and at will, following their own tastes, ideas and particular viewpoints; and these different groups may understand each other perfectly well and coexist like good neighbors. As it is physically impossible to gather all adepts of Spiritism in the same place, unless a public area was used for the assemblies, those different groups must be fractions of a larger whole but not rival sects; and a given group, if becoming too large, may be subdivided like the swarms of bees. These groups already exist in large numbers and multiply every day. Well, it is precisely against such multiplicity that the ill faith of the enemies of Spiritism shall breakdown, for the obstacles would have the unavoidable effect, and by the force of things, of multiplying the private gatherings. By that, one must acknowledge that there is among certain groups a kind of rivalry, or even antagonism; what is the cause of that? Oh my god! That cause is in human fragility, in the spirit of pride that one wishes to impose; it is above all in the still incomplete knowledge of the true principles of Spiritism. Each one defending their principles like the Greek cities defended their gods in the former times who, one must recognize, were no one else but the more or less good spirits. Those dissidences only exist because there are people ready to judge before they have seen the whole picture or who judge from the standpoint of their restrict personalities; they shall fade away as many have already done so, while the Science is being formulated; truth is definitely one and it shall come out of the impartial assessment of the different opinions. Under the expectation that light will shine upon all points, who shall be the judge? Reason, you will say; but when two persons contradict one another, each one invokes their reason; what will be the superior reason to decide between those two reasons?

Without discussing the more or less pompous language, a form which the imposter and pseudo-clever spirits know well how to use in order to seduce by appearances, we start from the principle that good spirits give only good advices, those of union and concord; that their language is always simple, modest and full of benevolence, exempt of acrimony, arrogance and presumption, in short, that everything in them breathes the purest charity. Charity - that is the true criterion to judge the spirits and to judge oneself. Whoever finds a germ of rancor against their brother or sister when digging up their most inner soul, even a simple bad wish, may say to oneself that a bad spirit is soliciting them, since the maxim of Christ is forgotten: “you will be forgiven as you have forgiven.”

Thus, if there is rivalry between two spiritist groups the truly good spirits could not take the side of the one who had said anathema against the other since a sensible person could never believe that envy, rancor, malevolence, in short, every feeling against charity could stem from a pure source. Look and find the side in which there is more practical charity and not in words and you shall recognize effortlessly on which side the good spirits are, and consequently from whom one is more likely to expect the truth.

Such considerations, ladies and gentlemen, far from keeping us away from our subject, they place us on the right terrain. The regulations, seen from that perspective, totally lose their character of contract, assuming a much more modest one, that of simple disciplinary rule.

Every meeting, whatever their objective, must forearm against an obstacle which is the disordered characters that seem to have been born to spread disturbance and fissure everywhere; disorder and contradiction are their element. The spiritist sessions, more than the others, must fear them since the best communications are only obtained in calmness and reverence, incompatible with their presence and that of the sympathetic spirits that they bring along.

In summary, we must strive to remove all causes of disorder and interruption; keeping good relationships among us, which the sincere spiritists should give the example, more than others; we must oppose to any movement of the Society away from its objective, by not dealing with questions which are not in its scope, or paying the price to degenerate into an arena of personalism and controversy. Furthermore, we need to look for simplification in our procedures, facilitating the execution of the works. The more complicated the procedures the more we will have causes for disturbance; relaxation will come in by the sheer force of things and from relaxation to anarchy is only one step away.”

Friday, March 16th, 1860

(Private Session)

Regulations are discussed and modified.

Friday, March 23rd, 1860

(Private Session)

The persons are indicated and the whole Committee nominated.

STUDIES:

Two spontaneous essays were obtained, the first one from the spirit of Charlet, through Mr. Didier Jr.; the second through Mrs. Boyer, from a spirit who said to have been forced to come, accused for having tried to break the harmony, spreading disruption, provoking envy and rivalry among those who should be united. The spirit acknowledges his guilt on some of the charges. Such spontaneous confession, he says, is part of the punishment imposed on him.

Varieties

Spontaneous Essays

Communications Read at the Society

May

Story of Lord of Corasse’s Familiar Spirit

We owe the news below to the kindness of one of our subscribers, taken from the chronicles of Froissard, demonstrating that the spirits are not a modern discovery. We ask our readers to allow us to report it in the style of those days (XIV century). It would lose originality if transcribed into our modern language.

The battle of Juberoth is a famous one among the chronicles of the old days. It happened during the war between John, king of Castela, and Diniz, king of Portugal, in the fight to conquer the latter’s kingdom. The Castelans and the Bearneses were broken into pieces. The fact reported by Froissard on that occasion is most interesting. One reads in the Chap. XVI, Book III of his chronicles, that on the very next day after the battle, Count Foix was informed about the event, a fact that was inconceivable those days, given the distances between the places. It is Count Foix’s squire that tells Froissard the fact in question:

“During the whole Sunday, and the whole Monday and Tuesday, Count Foix, in his Ortais castle, showed such a tough, hard expression on his face that nobody heard a word from him; during those three days he would not leave his quarters either, or even speak to his knight or his squire, however close they might be. Even those who did speak to him, he sent them away, not addressing them with even a single word in those three days. Tuesday evening he called his brother, Arnold-William, and told him in a low voice:

• Our people had a battle that made me mad because they were attacked on their journey, like I told them when they left.

Arnold-William, a very sensible man and shrewd knight, who knew his brother’s ways and condition, remained silent, and the Count who wanted to try his courage for he had put up with his boredom for a long time, spoke again and said in a louder voice than the first time:

• For God’s sake, Sir Arnold, that is how I tell you, and we shall soon have news, but the country of Béarn has never lost so much, since a hundred years up to now, as it has lost this time in Portugal.

The many knights and squires who were present and who saw and heard the Count, dared not to speak.

Then, ten days later, the truth was known through those who had been there at work and who were told first and then to everyone who wanted to listen, all things, in the shape and form as they had happened in Juberoth. That reinforced the Count’s and the country’s sorrow, for those who had already lost their brothers, fathers, sons and friends.

• Holy Mary! I said to the squire who told me that story, and how come Count Foix knew all that on the very next day, without presumption?

• By his faith, he said, he can feel things well, as he demonstrated.

• Then he is a fortuneteller, I said; or he has squires who ride the winds or he must have some sort of art.

The squire laughed and said:

• He needs to know it through some sort of necromancy. We know nothing in this land how he uses it, but through his imagination (by supposition).

• Then, I told the squire, the imagination that you mentioned, kindly let me know about it and I will be grateful to you. If it is something to go quiet about then I will shut up and nobody under any circumstance will ever hear that from me.

• I beg you, the squire said, since I would not want others to know that I told you.

• He then took me to a corner of the Ortais castle and started his report, by saying:

• Some twenty years back a Baron by the name Raymond reined over this country as the Lord of Corasse. Corasse, which is a town seven leagues away from this city of Ortais, as you know. The Lord of Corasse, in the days I refer to, had a lawsuit in Avignon, before the Pope, about the church’s tithe in his city, against a priest from Catalonia who was really wealthy and claimed to have rights over those tithes from Corasse, well worth an annual income of a hundred florins and the so called rights he proved and demonstrated. By a definite sentence, Pope Urban V condemned the baron in general council, passing judgment in favor of the priest. With the latest sentence of the Pope, the baron rode his horse for many days until he got to Bearn to show his seal and letters to take possession to his right to the tithe.

The Lord of Corasse came forward and told the vicar: Master Peter or Master Martin, such was his name, do you think that I must lose my inheritance because of your letters? I don’t see you so smart to take it or to take things which are mine because if you do so you risk your life. Go somewhere else to claim benefits because you shall have nothing from my inheritance. I forbid you once and for all. The priest suspected the baron who was cruel and no longer dared to persevere. Thus, he decided to return to Avignon as he did. However, when he was preparing to leave he came to the presence of the Lord of Corasse and said: Through your power and not rights, you subtract me from my church’s dues and knowingly you are making a huge mistake. I am not as strong in this country as you are but know this, before I go, I shall send you a measure that you shall fear more than me. The Lord of Corasse gave no importance to the threats and said: Go to God, go, do as you will; I have no fear, dead or alive; as from your words I shall not lose my inheritance. The priest then left and returned, God knows where to, Catalonia or Avignon, and did not forget what he had said to the Lord of Corasse when he was about to leave, because when the baron least expected, asleep in his bed with his wife in his castle, about three months later, invisible messengers came and started to scramble everything in their path and seemed that they would destroy everything hitting very hard and making so much noise in the Lord’s bedroom that his lady who was present was terrified. The baron heard all that very well but said nothing because he did not want to give away the courage of a scared man; thus, he was smart enough to face all events. The violent noise and turmoil in several parts of the castle lasted a long time, and then stopped. In the morning everybody came to the master when he woke up and asked: Sir, have you heard what we heard last night? The Lord of Corasse was touched by that but said no. What have you heard, he asked. Then they mentioned the violent turmoil in the castle that turned down and broke the china in the kitchen. He laughed and said that they were dreaming and what happened was caused by the wind. For God’s sake, the lady said, I also heard that very well. Then night came again and the violent turmoil was back and the noise was such and the knocks so hard on the walls and windows of the bedroom that it seemed that everything was about to be brought to the ground. The baron left his bed and could not find what he wanted. He then asked: Who is knocking like that on my bedroom’s door? He then got the answer: It is me. Who sent you, asked the night? It was the vicar of Catalonia, to whom you caused great harm because you subtracted him from his rights to your benefits. I shall not leave you in peace until you pay his dues and he is satisfied. The baron then asked: what is your name, since you are such a good messenger. My name is Orthon. The baron replied, Orthon, the service of a vicar does no good to you. He shall make you suffer. If you can believe me I beg you to leave me alone and do me service and I will be very grateful to you. Orthon responded promptly, approaching the baron and saying: Would you like that? Yes, replied the baron, but do no harm to anyone. Nobody, said Orthon, my only power is to wake you up and keep the others awake. Do as I say, said the baron, and we shall come to an agreement, and forget that naughty vicar, who bears no good, but pity on you; thus, be at my service. Since it is your wishes, said Orthon, it is also my wishes.

Then that Orthon was so much connected to the Lord of Corasse that he came to see him often at night; and in his sleep his pillow was pulled or knocks were heard on the walls and windows of his room that kept him awake. The baron would tell him: Orthon, allow me to sleep. I shall not do that before giving you the news. The baron’s lady was so afraid that her hair was bristled and she hid under the blankets. Then the baron asked, what is the news? I came from England, Hungary or another country said Orthon. I left yesterday and these things happened.

The Lord of Corasse then knew what was going on around the world through Orthon; and he kept that messenger for five years; and he could not go quiet and he would say to Count Foix in a manner, by the way I am going to tell you. In the first year the Lord of Corasse came several times to the Count in Ortais and he would say: Sir, such a thing happened in England, or in Germany or in another country; and the Count would be impressed after having verified that it was all true, and how he could have known such things. And the Count insisted so much that one day the Lord of Corasse told him how and through whom he would receive the news. Once the Count learned the truth he was happy and said: Lord of Corasse, do your best to please him; I wish I had such a messenger. That costs you nothing and by such a means you really do know what goes around the world.

The baron responded: Yes, Sir, I will do that.

That is how Orton served the Lord of Corasse for a long time. I don’t know if that Orthon had more than one Lord but every week he would come to visit the Lord of Corasse two or three times, and would tell him of the events he had learned about other countries that he had been visiting, and the Lord of Corasse would report them to Count Foix, who was immensely pleased.

One time the Lord of Corasse and the Count exchanged ideas about this when the Count asked:

• Lord of Corasse, haven’t you ever seen your messenger?

• By my faith, not even once. • It is wonderful, said the Count; if he were so close to me as he is to you I would have asked him to appear to me; and I ask you to take on that task and let me know of his looks and ways. You said that he speaks Gascon as well as you and I do.

• By my faith, said the Lord of Corasse, it is true. He speaks as well and nice as we both do. And by my faith I will try to see him, since this is your advice.

It then happened that the Lord of Corasse, as other nights, was in bed with his wife, who was used to hearing Orthon and was no longer scared. Then Orthon arrived and pulled the Lord of Corasse’s pillow, while he was profoundly asleep. The Lord of Corasse woke up and asked:

• Who is that?

• It is I, answered Orthon.

• Where did you come from?

• I come from Prague, in the Bohemia.

• It is a long time since I have heard from you. How are you?

• Sixty days, replied Orthon.

• And you came back so soon?

• Yes, by God; I move as fast as the wind, or faster.

• You then have wings?

• No, he said. • Then, how can you fly so fast?

• Never mind, responded Orthon.

• I would be more pleased if I could see you.

• It is enough that I bring you certain news when you hear me.

• For God’s sake, said the Lord of Corasse, I would like you better if I could see you.

• Since you wish to see me that will be the first thing you will see tomorrow morning, as soon as you are out of bed.

• That is enough, said the Lord of Corasse. Off you go now, you are dismissed tonight.

• When the morning broke the Lord of Corasse got up. The lady was so scared that she fell sick and said that she would not get up but the Lord insisted that she should.

• My Lord, she said, I would see Orthon and I don’t want to see him, God willing.

• I want to see him, said the Lord. He then left his bed gracefully but saw nothing that would make him say: I saw Orthon. The day passed and the night came. When the Lord of Corasse was in bed again Orthon came and started speaking again, as usual.

• Leave, said the Lord of Corasse, since you are a liar; you should have shown yourself to me and you did not do it.

• Yes I did. • No you didn’t.

• Haven’t you seen anything when you left your bed, asked Orthon?

• The Lord of Corasse stopped and gave some thought to that and remembered.

• Yes, he said, when I got up I saw two pieces of straw moving around on the floor.

• It was I, said Orthon; it was the form I took.

• That is not good enough to me; I wish you can take another form so that I can see and recognize you.

• You ask so much that I shall leave and you shall loose me because you ask too much.

• You will not leave me; if I had seen you once I would not ask to see you again.

• Well then, you shall see me tomorrow and be aware of the first thing that you see after leaving your room.

The next day came and at the third hour the Lord of Corasse got up, got dressed and as soon as he left the bedroom he went to a place from which he could see the castle’s patio; he looked around and the first thing he saw was a gilt, the largest female pig he had ever seen; however, it seemed so skinny that it was only skin and bones; it had long, fallen, stained ears and a long, sharp and pointed nose. The Lord of Corasse was spellbound by that pig. As he did not have a good impression, he immediately called for his servants:

• Hurry, let the dogs out; I want to see that gilt killed and devoured.

The servants rushed to release the dogs and send them onto the gilt that screamed gazing at the Lord of Corasse, who was leaning over the balcony but could no longer see her since she disappeared; nobody knew what had become of her. The Lord of Corasse returned to his room, thinking of Orthon. I supposed I have just seen Orthon, my messenger. I regret to have let the dogs out onto him. It will be a pity if I no longer see him for he told me several times that I would lose him as soon as I recognized him. He told the truth. He never returned to the castle since the incident and the baron died the following year.

• Is it true, I asked the squire, that Count Foix had been served by such a messenger?

• Truth be said, the opinion of several people from Béarn is that it is so because nothing happens in the region and beyond, if it is not his wishes or endeavor unless he is not aware or had not taken care. Thus, it was with good knights and squires of this country that he was in Portugal. His grace and celebrity were of his great advantage for he did not lose the value of a golden or silver spoon at home or anything else without taking notice.”

Family Conversations from Beyond the Grave - Voltaire and Frederic

Jardin

Society, Paris, November 25th, 1859

The Journal de la Nievre reports: “A dismal accident occurred last Saturday at the train station. A sixty two year old man named Mr. Jardin was hit by the shafts of a carriage in the courtyard, as he was leaving the station. He exhaled his last breath a few hours later. That man’s death revealed one of the most extraordinary stories to which we would not have given any credit if were not supported by the trustworthy testimony of witnesses who attested to its authenticity. Here is what we were told:


Before his employment with the tobacco market in Nevers, Jardin lived in Cher, village of Saint-Germain-des-Bois, where he was a tailor. His wife had died in that village five years earlier, victimized by pneumonia. He then left the village of Saint-Germain and moved to Nevers eight years ago. A hard working and righteous man, Jardin was a devout Christian, strongly dedicated to religious practices; he had a kneeling bench in his bedroom that he used for his prayers. Friday night, alone with his daughter, he suddenly announced a secret premonition that his end was near.
• Listen, he told her, these are my last wishes: when I am dead you shall send the key to my kneeling bench to Mr. B… so that he can come and pick up whatever is inside and take to my coffin.


Surprised by this sudden recommendation, the daughter asked what could be found in the kneeling bench because she couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. He refused to respond in the beginning but as she insisted, he made the strange revelation that what was inside the kneeling bench was the remains of her late mother!


He told her that before leaving Saint-Germain-des-Bois he went to the cemetery at night. Everybody was asleep in the village; he was feeling really alone; he then went to the grave of his wife and with a shovel he excavated it until he found the remains of what had once been his companion. He would never be separated from her precious remains, thus he collected the bones and stored them in his kneeling bench.


The daughter, a little bit scared by the strange disclosure, but still suspicious that he could not be serious, she eventually promised to attend to his last wishes convinced that he wanted to make fun of her and that on the very next day he would give a logical explanation to his fantastic enigma. The following Saturday arrived and Jardin went to his office as usual. One hour later he was sent to the train station to pick up some bags of tobacco, destined to supply the market. He had just left the station when he was then hit straight in the chest, by the unnoticed shafts of a carriage that was parked among the heaps of other vehicles at the station parking area. He was knocked down by the violence of the impact and taken home unconscious. He recovered his senses after the application of some emergency care. The first responders wanted to remove his clothes to thoroughly examine the wounds but he strongly opposed; they insisted and he refused once again. Despite his refusal the responders decided to undress him when all at once, he suddenly subsided: he was dead.


The body was placed on a bed. What a surprise when those present removed his clothes to find a leather bag tied up around his chest, sitting on his heart. A doctor who was called in to attest the death cut the bag in two pieces, from which a dry hand fell!


Keeping in mind what her father had told her the day before, the daughter of Mr. Jardin advised Mr. B… and Mr. J… who were carpenters. The kneeling bench was opened and a schako (French military hat, round and tall) of the National Guard was found. On the bottom of the schako there was a dead person’s head, still with the hair in place; then they noticed the bones of a skeleton; it was the remains of Mrs. Jardin. Last Sunday Jardin’s body was taken to the grave. In order to attend the sexagenarian’s wishes, the remains of his wife were placed in his coffin and on top of his heart, the dry hand which had felt his heart beat for eight years, if we can say so.” 


1. Evocation – A. I am here.


2. Who has warned you that we wanted to talk to you? – A. I know nothing; I was attracted here.


3. Where were you when we called you? – A. Near a man that I like, accompanied by my wife.


4. How could you have had the premonition of your death? – A. I was warned by the one I missed so much. God had allowed it from her prayers.


5. Was your wife then was always near you? – A. She had never left.


6. Was the cause of her presence the remains preserved by you? – A. Not at all but I believed so.


7. Thus, had you not preserved her remains she would still be by your side? – A. Isn’t thought more powerful to attract the spirit than the remains which have no importance?


8. Have you immediately met your wife, at the time of your death? – A. It was her who came to receive me and to enlighten me.



9. Were you immediately aware of yourself? – A. In a short time, I had an intuitive faith in the immortality of the soul.


10. Your wife must have had other existences, prior to the last one. How could she have forgotten them to be entirely dedicated to you? – A. She stayed by my side as a guide in my corporeal existence, without the need to renounce her former affections. When we say that we never abandon an incarnated spirit you must understand that what we mean, is that we shall be closer to that spirit more frequently than the others. The speed of our movement allows for that as easily as a conversation that you may hold with several speakers.


11. Do you remember your previous existences? – A. Yes. In my last one I was a poor peasant, without education; prior to that, however, I was a sincere and devoted religious person.


12. Wouldn’t the extraordinary affection dedicated to your wife have its cause in former relationships of prior existences? – A. No.


13. Are you happy as a spirit? – A. One cannot be more, you must understand that.


14. Can you define your current happiness and tell us about its cause? – A. I should not have the need to tell you this: I loved and missed a dear spirit; I loved God; I was honest; I found what I missed. These are the elements of happiness to the spirit.


15. What do you do as a spirit? – A. When I was called here I told you that I was near a man that I liked. I was trying to inspire in him the desire for the good, as always do the spirits that God deems worthy. We also have other occupations that cannot be revealed yet.


16. We thank you for your kindness in attending our call. – A. I also thank you.

Varieties

New York’s Library

The Courier from the United States reports: “A New York paper publishes a very curious fact already known by a certain number of people and about some very interesting comments that have been made for several days. The spiritualists see in that fact one more example of manifestations from the other world. Sensible people don’t go that far to find the explanation, and clearly acknowledge symptoms that characterize hallucination. That is also the opinion of Dr. Cogswell, hero of this adventure.


Dr. Cogswell is the chief librarian of the Astor Library. His dedication to the final stages of construction of a complete catalogue of the library has him using hours of work which should actually been dedicated to his sleep. That is how he has the occasion of visiting rooms alone where so many volumes sit on the shelves. About fifteen days ago, around eleven o’clock at night, he was passing by one side room full of books when he saw, with great surprise, a well-dressed man standing and apparently examining the titles of the books with great attention. In the beginning he thought it was a thief, he then backed up and carefully examined the intruder. His surprise became even livelier when he recognized the visitor as Dr. … who had lived near Lafayette-Place, who had died and was buried six months earlier. Dr. Cogswell does not believe much in apparitions and fears them even less. Nonetheless, he thought it to be appropriate to treat the ghost with consideration and raising his voice he said: - Doctor, how come you have perhaps never visited this library when alive and you come to visit it after your death? The ghost kindly looked at the librarian and disappeared without responding, leaving him still perplex in his contemplation.
• A singular hallucination, Dr. Cogswell said to himself. I might have eaten something spoiled over dinner.


He then returned to work and later went to bed and slept uneventfully. On the next day, at the same time, he felt like visiting the library again. He found the ghost at the same spot as the night before. He addressed him with the same words and got the same outcome.
• That is curious, he thought. I must come back tomorrow.


However, before returning, Dr. Cogswell examined the shelves that seemed to have the ghost’s attention and out of a singular coincidence he identified a large number of both old and new books about necromancy. Hence, the next day and a third time he meets the deceased doctor again, and now varying the question he said:
• It is the third time I meet you doctor. Tell me if any of these books trouble your resting so that I can have it removed from the collection.


The ghost did not respond as it had not on previous occasions but it disappeared definitely and the persistent librarian returned to the same place, at the same time on several occasions, not finding him ever again. Yet, advised by friends to whom he had told the story, as well as doctors who he had consulted with, he decided to take a break and travel to Charlestown where he spent a few weeks, before resuming the painstaking task that he had imposed upon himself and whose fatigue, no doubt, had caused the hallucination that we have just described.” 


Observation: A first observation about the article: the nonchalance with which the detractors of Spiritism attribute to themselves the monopoly of common sense. “The spiritualists, says the author, see in that fact one more example of manifestations from the other world. Sensible people don’t go that far to find the explanation, and clearly acknowledge symptoms which characterize hallucination.” Thus, according to this author, only people that think like him are sensible people; the others don’t have common sense, even if they are doctors, and Spiritism can count them to the thousands. Strange modesty, really, the one that uses the maxim: Nobody is right but only my friends and us.


We still wait for a clear and accurate definition, a physiological explanation of hallucination. However, in the absence of that, there is a meaning that is related to the word. In the mind of those who use that term it means illusion. Well, illusion means lack of reality. According to them it is a purely fantastic image produced by imagination, under some sort of overly excited cerebral. We don’t deny the fact that in certain cases it may well be so. What remains to be determined is if every event of that kind occurs under the same conditions. From the examination of the above case it seems that Dr. Cogswell was perfectly calm, as he declares himself, and that no moral or physiological cause had disturbed his mind. On another hand, and even admitting his temporary illusion, it is still necessary to explain how come such an illusion had lasted for so many days in a roll, at the same time of the day and in similar circumstances, since this is not the character of hallucination, per say. Had his brain been impressed by a given material cause on the first day, it is obvious that the cause had ceased after a few moments when the apparition vanished. How could such a material impression be identically reproduced over a period of three consecutive days, with 24-hour intervals? It is regrettable, the fact that the author disregarded this when providing explanations because, no doubt, he must have excellent reasons since he is part of the group of sensible people.


Nevertheless, we agree that in the case above there is no positive proof of reality and that, strictly speaking, we can admit that the same aberration of the senses could have repeated. However, would the same thing happen when the apparitions are followed by events of some sort of material nature? For example, when well alert people (and not in their dreams) see their absent relatives or friends, who they were not thinking of, coming to announce their passing to them, at the time of their death, can it be said to be a result of imagination?


If the fact of death was not real there would undeniably be an illusion; but when the event confirms the prediction, and that is very frequent, how is it possible that the only thing admitted is silly ghost stories? Besides, if it were an isolated or rare fact one could believe in a game of chance. However, as we have been saying, the examples are uncountable and perfectly confirmed. It is up to the “hallucinationists” to bring us an irrefutable explanation and we will then see if their reasons are more demonstrable than ours. In particular we would like to have them demonstrating to us, especially if they consider themselves the owners of common sense and do admit that we have a soul which outlives the body, we would like to have them demonstrating, we were saying, the material impossibility that the soul that must be somewhere, cannot be around us, seeing us, hearing and communicating with us.

The Betrayed Bride

The following fact was reported by the “Gazetta dei Teatri” from Milan, on March 14th, 1860:


“A young man was totally in love with a lady who loved him back and whom he was going to marry when, yielding to an ill-fated desire, he abandoned his wife-to-be for a woman who was unworthy of true love. The unfortunate and abandoned young lady begged and cried but all was useless. Her fickle boyfriend remained impervious to her appeals. So desperate, she went to his house and died before his eyes as a consequence of a poison that she had ingested. Facing the cadaver and after witnessing the death that he had caused, he is then taken by a terrible reaction and tries to kill himself. However, he survives, but his conscience always blames him of this crime. Since that fatal episode, each day at dinner time, his fiancée appears at the door of his bedroom, in the image of a frightening skeleton. However much he tried to become distracted, change his habits, travel, visit with joyful friends, forget about the time, nothing worked. Wherever he was, the ghost would always appear at the appointed time. In a short time, he lost a lot of weight and his health became compromised to the point that the doctors gave up on being able to save him.


A medical doctor, who was his friend, after having experimented with several medications and studied the case very seriously, had the following idea: hoping to demonstrate to him that he was a victim of an illusion, he sought a real skeleton and stored it in the room next door; then, having invited his friend for dinner, at 4 o’clock which was the usual time of the vision, he brought in the skeleton by the use of pulleys which were fixed nearby. The doctor thought that he was successful when his friend, taken by a sudden horror, exclaimed:
• Oh, like one was not enough! Now it is two!


He then fell dead; a fulminating death.”


Observation: Reading this story, which we report on in good faith to the Italian newspaper, the hallucinationists, from where we have taken the information, one can easily say, and with reason, that this was an obvious cause for cerebral super-excitation, that produced an illusion on the shocked person. In fact there is nothing that demonstrates the reality of the apparition that could be attributed to a mind weakened by a violent shock. As for ourselves, who knew so many analogue and attested facts, we shall say that it is possible and that, in any case, the in-depth knowledge of Spiritism would have given the doctor a more efficient way of treating his friend. The means would have been the evocation of the young lady at different times, speaking to her, be it directly or through a medium; asking her what could have been done in order to please her and obtain her forgiveness; praying to a guardian angel to intercede on her behalf for reflection; and since she definitely loved him, she would certainly forget his mistakes had he shown a sincere regret and sorrow, instead of a simple horror which was his likely dominant feeling. Perhaps, she would have stopped to appear to him in such a terrible form, taking the gracious form she had when alive or she would simply no longer appear to him. She would have certainly told him good things which would have reestablished his calmness and balance. The certainty that they would never really be separated; that she watched over him and that they would reunite one day, all would have given him courage and acceptance. It is a result that we have often seen. The spirits that show up spontaneously always have an objective. In such cases the best thing to do is to ask what their wishes are. If they are suffering, it is necessary to pray for them and do what we can to please them. If the apparition has a permanent character, like an obsession, it almost always stops when the spirit is satisfied. If the spirit manifests with obstinacy, visually or through any disturbing means that cannot be taken by an illusion; if the spirit is ill-behaved and acts malevolently, that spirit is generally more tenacious, a fact which justifies even further perseverance and sincere prayers in its favor. However, one must be really persuaded that there are no sacramental words in such cases, or even cabalistic formulas or exorcisms that may have any influence. The more mischievous these spirits are the more they laugh at the inspired terror and importance given to their presence. They enjoy being called devils or demons and thus take names like Asmodeu, Astaroth, Lucifer and other diabolical qualification, multiplying their perniciousness, whereas they simply leave when they notice that they waste their time with people that are not mistaken and just pray for God to have mercy on them.

Superstition

The Siècle from April 6th, 1860 reports:


“Mr. Felix N…, a gardener from an area near Orléans, was said to have the talent of exempting conscripts from the draft lottery, in other words making them get an non-chosen number. He promised a certain Frederic Vincent P…, a young winemaker from Saint-Jean-de-Braye, a conscription number that he wanted, for a compensation of 60 francs that he would have to pay, 30 in advance and 30 after the draft lottery. The secret consisted of praying three Our Father and three Hail Mary for nine days. In addition, the sorcerer indicated that if he gracefully did his part, the actions would greatly influence the conscript, hindering him from sleeping on the very last night but yielding his release instead. Unfortunately the enchantment did not work. The conscript slept as usual and picked number 31, which made him a soldier. Since these facts occurred two more times the secret was out and the sorcerer, Felix N… was prosecuted.”


Spiritism’s adversaries accuse it of promoting superstitious ideas. However, what is the commonality between the doctrine that teaches the existence of the invisible world communicating with the visible one and facts of nature that were just reported, true superstitious facts? Where has anyone seen Spiritism teaching such absurdities? Had those who attack it, dedicated themselves to its serious study before judging it so lightheartedly, they would then know that Spiritism not only condemns all witchcraft practices but it also demonstrates its uselessness. Hence and as we have reiterated often, the serious study of Spiritism tends to destroy all superstitious practices. In the majority of the popular beliefs there is almost always some truth but it is typically altered or modified. That is how the genie and fairy tales are founded, on the idea of the existence of good and bad spirits, protecting or malevolent; that all stories of apparitions are based on the very real spiritist visible and even tangible manifestations. Such phenomenon, perfectly explained and verified now, enter into the category of natural phenomena, a consequence of the eternal laws of creation. But people are rarely satisfied with the truth that seems too simple. People tend to coat it with all fantasies created by imagination, falling then in the zone of absurd. Those who are interested in exploiting those same beliefs come next, adding a self-serving fantastic reputation. This explains the crowd of fortunetellers, witches and sorceress against whom the law is fairly enforced.


The true, rational Spiritism is then not more responsible for their abuse than Medicine is by the ridiculous formulas and practices employed by charlatans or ignorant people. Once more, before judging Spiritism, give yourself time to study it seriously.


It is conceivable that there might be some truth in certain beliefs, but one may ask about the origin of the belief in something like the facts described above, such as a wide spread belief in our countryside, as one knows it. It seems to us, at first sight, that one has in its origin an intuitive feeling about invisible beings and their inclination to attribute to them a power that they often do not have. The existence of deceiving spirits hanging out around us by force of our planet’s inferiority, like pesky insects in a swamp, who amuse themselves at the expense of credulous people, predicting their utopian futures, always suitable to flatter their tastes and desires, is a fact from which we have demonstrated daily by today’s mediums. These things that happen before our eyes have happened in all times as a means of communication according to the time and place required for that reality. With the help of charlatanism and greed, reality has turned into a superstitious belief.

Spontaneous Essays

The Mediums

I am happy for seeing your punctuality to the meeting that I have scheduled with you. God’s benevolence shall be upon you and our guardian angels will always help you with their advice and will protect you against the influence of the bad spirits, if you know how to listen to their voices and to close your heart to pride, vanity and envy. God has tasked me with a mission to be accomplished together with the mediums. The more grace you receive from the Almighty, the more danger you incur. Such danger is more significant the more it comes from the favors that you have received from God. The faculties enjoyed by the mediums attract people’s praise: the compliments, the flattery, those are the burdens. The very mediums who should keep in mind their primitive condition, those are the ones who forget it; they do more: they attribute to themselves a merit that in fact is a God given gift. What happens then? The good spirits abandon them; they become playful toys in the hands of deceiving spirits once they no longer have the good compass to guide them. The more capable they are, the more they are led to believe that their gift is their merit, up until the time when God, in order to punish them, withdraws that gift which can only be disastrous to them. It would never be too much to remind you that you should entrust yourselves to your guardian angel, so that it can help you to be on guard against the cruelest of your enemies: your pride.



Remember that without the support of your Divine Master, you who are fortunate to serve as intermediaries between human beings and the spirits, if you had not taken advantage of that light, the more favored you had been, the more severely punished you shall be. I am glad because I believe that this communication that you should take to the Society will yield fruits, and all mediums who gather at the Society will be on guard against the hurdle on which they would stumble. Pride is that hurdle, as I said.
Joan of Arc


Notice: We are pleased to announce to our readers the reprint of the book “The Story of Joan of Arc”, dictated by her. This book will appear soon in Mr. Ledoyen’s bookstore. We will talk about that again later.

June

Bulletin of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies

Notice:

Starting from next July 15th, the office of The Spiritist Review as well as Mr. Allan Kardec’s residence will be transferred to Rue Sainte-Anne, 59 – Passage Sainte-Anne.

Friday, May 4th, 1860

(Private Session)

Minutes from the April 17th session were read. By suggestion and proposal of the Committee, and after the reading of the minutes, the Society accepts among full members:

1st – Mr. Achille R…, employed in Paris;

2nd – Mr. Serge de W…, from Moscow.

MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:

1st – Letter from Mrs. P…, medium from Rouen, stating that several suffering spirits who were evoked at the Society have spontaneously gone there to say thank you for prayers on their behalf. Since she has recovered her mediumistic faculty, she has only worked with suffering spirits. She was told that her mission is mainly to alleviate their pain.

2nd – A spontaneous essay received by Mrs. L…, a medium member of the Society, about vanity given by a familiar spirit was read. To be published below.

3rd – Letter from Mr. Bénardacky, from Brussels, with a communication received about the formation of Earth by incrustation from several planetary bodies, and the state of catalepsy of Earth’s first inhabitants and other living creatures. This communication occurred regarding a phenomenon of voluntary catalepsy that seemingly took place with some inhabitants of India and Central Africa. The phenomenon consisted of certain individuals being buried alive, in exchange for a payment of a certain amount of money, and after several months they were retrieved from the grave, returning to life.

Mr. Arnauld d’A…, member of the Society and old friends with the counselor to the late King of Abyssinia, who has resided for a long time in that country, mentions two facts of his knowledge, one of which occurred in England and the other in India, that seem to confirm the possibility of voluntary catalepsy of short duration, but he informs us that he has never heard about facts similar to those described by Mr. Bénardacky. Mr. d’A… who was familiar with the habits and language of those countries, and observed them as a scientist, is impressed by the facts and surprised that such information would not have come to his attention; from what one can assume there might have been exaggeration.

STUDIES:

1st – A question is raised about the possible evocation of Mr. JulesLouis C…, who died at the Val-de-Grace hospital, in exceptional circumstances, already evoked on February 24th (see number from April 1860, Bulletin of the Society, February 24th, Studies #2). The question was motivated by the presence of one person of his family who is very interested in the evocation and in the consideration of his current state of progress. St. Louis informs us that the spirit prefers to be called in a more intimate session.

2nd – Questions about the theory of the formation of Earth and about the cataleptic state of the living beings in their origin, regarding the communication from Mr. Bénardacky. A large number of observations are made by several members.

3rd – Study about the phenomenon reported in the previous session, of a dog that recognized his evoked owner. The spirit Charlet intervenes spontaneously in the subject and develops a theory about why this might happen based on the facts. This is published below.

Friday, May 11th, 1860

(General Session)

Minutes of May 4th session were read.

MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:

1st – Letter from Mr. Rabache, sent from Liverpool, in which he reports a spontaneous communication given to him by Adam Smith, without any evocation; he then shows the conversation that follows with answers given in English, while the questions were framed in French. In the conversation Adam Smith criticizes the point of view that served as basis for his economic theory. He says that if he were to write his book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments today, he would give these, as a general principle: innate conscience, having for motive, exceptional love.

2nd – A letter from Mr. Bénardacky, complementing the communications obtained about catalepsy.

Note: St. Louis in a private session and once questioned about the value of such communications, confirms several parts, but adds the following through the medium Mr. T…:

“You can study these things but I advise you not to publish it yet. Several other texts, which will be given to you later, brought by the circumstances, are necessary. You take the risk of making serious mistakes by publishing it now, mistakes that you will have to reconsider later and that would be embarrassing and cause harm to Spiritism. Thus, be very sensible with respect to anything that is related to scientific theories since that is exactly what you have to fear from the pseudo-wise and imposter spirits. Remember what has been often said to you: the spirits do not have the mission of bringing you a finished science or to unveil all things before it is time, something that must result from the individual’s work and ingenuity. Concentrate on your own betterment. God shall take your heart and your humbleness into account rather than a knowledge that is frequently covered by curiosity in its most part. It is by practicing God’s laws, practicing them, understand it well, that you shall deserve to be favored by communications from the truly superior spirits, who are never mistaken.”

It is impossible to ignore the profoundness and the elevated wisdom of such advice. That language, simultaneously simple and sublime, marked by extreme benevolence, shows a significant contrast to the callous and arrogant or the swagger of spirits who want to impose themselves.

3rd – Reading of news sent by Mr. T…, with the description of a very superior world, to which his spirit was transported during sleep. It seems that such a world has many analogies with those attributed to Jupiter, but to an even higher degree.

STUDIES:

1st – Two spontaneous essays, one received by Ms. Parisse and signed by Louis, and another received by Mr. Didier Junior, signed by Gérard de Nerval.

2nd – Questions related to Mr. T… vision, addressed to St. Louis. The vague and incoherent answers indicate the evident interference of a deceiving spirit.

3rd – Evocation of Adam Smith, regarding his letter to Mr. Rabache. Questions about his current positions compared to those found in his books. He confirms what he said to Mr. Rabache, relatively to the error in the principle which served as basis for his moral considerations.

Friday, May 18th, 1860

(Private Session)

Reading of the minutes and works of previous session.

Under the advice and proposal from the Committee, and after a verbal report, the Society accepted as members: 1st – Mr. B…, merchant in Paris; 2nd – Mr. C…, trader in Paris.

MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:

1st – Reading of the following communication, received in a private session, with respect to the works of the previous session, through the medium Mrs. S…:

• Why didn’t St. Louis communicate last Friday through Mr. Didier, allowing a deceiving spirit to speak?

• St. Louis was present but did not want to speak. As a matter of fact, haven’t you recognized that it was not him? That is enough. You were not deceived since you recognized the imposture.

• Could you ask him? He is here.

• St. Louis, could you give us the reason for your abstention?

• You are upset with what happened but you must know that nothing happens without a reason. Sometimes there are things whose objectives you don’t understand; that seem evil to you, at first sight, because you are very impatient, but you shall acknowledge its wisdom later. Hence, remain calm and do not be upset with anything. We can distinguish those who are sincere and we take care of them.

• If it was a lesson that you wanted to give us I would understand it when we are in our small group; but in the presence of strangers, who then had a bad impression, it seems to me that evil prevails over good.

• You are mistaken by seeing things that way. Evil is not what you think and I assure you that there were people to whom that backlash was a proof of your good faith. In reality, sometimes good comes out of bad. When you see a gardener cutting beautiful branches of a tree you deplore the fact that the greenery has been sacrificed and it seems bad to you. However, once those parasite branches are cut-off, the fruits blossom even more beautiful and tasty. That is the good. You then realize that the gardener was wiser and more cautious than you supposed. By the same token, if a limb is cut-off from a patient, the loss of the member is bad; but, if the patient gets better after the amputation, that is the good since it may have saved a life. Give some serious thought to that and you will understand.

• That is very fair. But how come after we appeal to the good spirits, in order to have the imposter spirits kept away, our appeal is not attended?

• It is attended, have no doubt! However, are you sure that such appeal is originated from the bottom of the heart of all attendees, or that there isn’t someone that out of a less charitable or malevolent thought may attract bad spirits to your environment, by desire? That is why we tell you incessantly: Be united, good and benevolent to one another. Jesus said: Whenever you gather in my name, I will be among you. Do you think that it is good enough to pronounce his name for that? Make no mistake and be convinced that Jesus goes nowhere unless invited by pure hearts, together with those who practice his precepts, because these are the ones who truly gather in his name. He does not go to the proud ones, or the ambitious, or hypocrites, or those who gossip about their brothers. These are the ones that he means when he says: shall not enter the Kingdom of God.

• I understand that the good spirits leave when their advice is not listened too. However, if there are ill-intended people among the attendees, is that a reason to punish the others?

• I am surprised by your persistence. It seems to me that I have explained it very well to someone that wishes to understand. Do I need to repeat that you must not bother with these things which are negligible before the great edifice of the Doctrine under construction? Would you believe that your house is about to collapse because a tile has fallen from the roof? Do you have any doubt about our power, our benevolence? No! Let us then act and rest assured that every thought, good or bad, has an echo in the heart of the Eternal.

• You said nothing about the general invocation we make at the beginning of each session. Could you give us your thoughts?

• You must always appeal to the good spirits; the format, as you know, is insignificant. Thought is everything. You are surprised by what happened. However, have you examined well the faces of those who hear you when you make such invocation? Haven’t you seen a sarcastic smile from certain lips, more than once? Which spirits do you think such persons may carry along? These are spirits that, like them, laugh at the most sacred things. That is why I tell you not to receive the first person to show up; avoid the curious ones and those who do not come to learn. Everything shall happen in due course and nobody can prejudge God’s designs. I truly tell you that those who laugh at these things today shall not laugh much longer.

St. Louis

2nd – A note addressed by Mr. Jobard, from Brussels, about the evocation of Mr. Ch. de Br…, deceased not long ago.

3rd – Reading of a communication received by the medium Ms. L…, member of the Society, with interesting explanations about the story of the spirit and the little dog. To be published below.

4th – Another spontaneous essay by the same medium about sadness and grief.

5th – Letter from Mr. B…, science professor, about the theory given to him of fixed times for the manifestation of the spirits. Such theory is considered by all, without exception, as the result of an obsession by spirits who are systematic and ignorant. Experience and reason demonstrate to the exhaustion that it does not deserve a serious examination.

6th – Report of a curious fact, related to a portrait painted under the influence of a natural intuitive mediumship. Mr. T…, artist, who had lost his father at an age where he could not have kept any memory of his features. Together with other members of the family he regretted the fact of not having any picture of his father. One day in his studio a vision appeared to him, or even better, an image was formed in his mind; he then reproduced it on the canvas. It took him several sessions to accomplish the execution and the image came back to him on every occasion. He then had the intuition that it was the image of his father but he spoke to no one. When the portrait was finished he showed it to his relatives who recognized his father without hesitation.

STUDIES:

1st – Four spontaneous essays received simultaneously: first by Ms. Huet, from the spirit that began to write his memories; the second by Ms. S…, about The Fantasy, by Alfred de Musset; the third by Ms. Stephanie S…, from a familiar spirit deceased a few years back, whose name when alive was Gustave Lenormand. That is a not much advanced spirit, joyful and witty, but very good and obliging, considered as a friend of the house by several families that he visits. One day he said that he would come to hunt down the bad spirits. The fourth essay by Ms. Parisse was signed by Louis.

2nd – Evocation of Mr. B…, professor of science that we mentioned above, a living person designated by another spirit as capable of providing information about Francois Bayle, a seventeenth century doctor that some people want to write his biography. The result of the evocation tends to demonstrate that Bayle who is dead and Mr. B…, who is alive, are both the same person. In fact the latter gives the required information and provides several explanations of the highest interest. To be published.

Friday, May 25th, 1860

(General Session)

Reading of the minutes and works of previous session.

MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:

1st – Letter from Dr. Morhéry, with an appreciation, from a scientific point of view, about the medication employed by Ms. Désirée Godu under his supervision. Published below.

2nd – Reading of a spontaneous essay by the medium Ms. L…, about human misery.

3rd – Reading of a series of very remarkable communications received by several members of the Russian W… family in private sessions. To be published.

4th – Reading of a private evocation carried out in a private session from the medium Ms. Duret, deceased on May 1st, in Sétif, Algeria. It contains important consideration about the mediums.

STUDIES:

1st – Evocation of Ms. Duret; series of communications.

2nd – Evocation of Charles de Saint-G…, mentally challenged, age 13. It contains interesting revelations about the state of that spirit, before and during his incarnation. To be published below.

3rd – Study about Mr. V…, a Navy officer, still alive, who has kept a precise memory of his life and death in the period of St. Bartholomew. To be published.

Spiritism in England

In the beginning Spiritism found a resistance in England that rightfully surprised us. We cannot say that, like everywhere else, it has found isolated support but its progress was infinitely slower than in France. Would it be the case, as some have claimed, that the English, colder, more positive and less enthusiastic than us, are less carried away by imagination? Would they be less attracted to the supernatural? If that were the case, we should be surprised and with more reason that Spiritism has had its main focus in the United States, where the positivism of material interests rules completely. Wouldn’t it be more rational that it had appeared in Germany, but at the same time, doesn’t it seem that Russia takes the lead as the classical land of legends?

The opposition found by Spiritism in England has nothing to do with the national character but with the influence of religious ideas of certain dominating sects, more strictly attached to the letter than to the spirit of their dogmas. They were shaken by a doctrine that at first sight, seemed to be contrary to their beliefs. However, this could not have lasted long in the minds of a critical, enlightened nation, where free examination finds no obstruction and the freedom of assembly is an absolute right. They had to surrender before the evidence of facts. Well then, it was precisely because the English have judged and appreciated it cold-bloodedly and without enthusiasm that they have understood its full reach.

When the fundamental truth was observed, that spiritist ideas are founded on Christian ideas and far from contradicting, they continue to corroborate, explain to one another, completely satisfy religious scruples; having accommodated the conscience, there was nothing else opposed to the progress of the new ideas, which propagated with incredible speed in that country. There as elsewhere, it is still in the enlightened echelon of society that the larger number of followers and most zealous adepts are found. This is an irrefutable argument, which cannot be disputed. Mediums multiply and numerous centers are created, to which high clergy members associate themselves, openly proclaiming their convictions. Will the adversaries say that the fever of the supernatural has triumphed over the English composure? Be it as it will, there is a notorious fact: their ranks get enlightened daily, despite their sarcasm.

The development of the spiritist ideas in England gave rise to specialized publications. They now have a very interesting monthly periodical published in London since May 1st under the title: The Spiritual Magazine, from which we extracted the report below.

A Seed of Madness

The Journal de la Haute-Saône has recently reported the following fact: “People have seen dethroned kings buried in the ruins of their palaces; unfortunate gamblers renouncing their life after losing fortunes; however, an owner committing suicide in order not to outlive the expropriation of a field, that is perhaps something which we have never been seen before the following case. A landowner of Saint-Loup received a communication indicating that one of his fields would be expropriated on May 14th by the East Railroad Company. The information touched him profoundly. He could not bear the idea of losing his field. This situation caused him to show signs of mental insanity. He left his house on May 2nd at three o’clock in the morning and drowned in the river Combeauté.”

It is a difficult fact to see people committing suicide for such a futile cause. Such an unreasonable act can only be explained by a mental derangement. But what has produced that derangement? Certainly it was not the belief in spirits. Was it the expropriation of the field? In that case why don’t all of those who face dispossession go mad? Some may say that it is because not everyone has such a weak mind. You then admit a natural predisposition for madness. It could not be different since the same cause does not always produce the same effect, and we have already said that often, when responding to those who accuse Spiritism for provoking madness.

They should explain if there were mad people before dealing with spirits and if there are mad people only among those who believe in spirits! A physical cause or a violent moral commotion will only produce instantaneous madness. Beyond that if we examine the antecedents there will always be symptoms that a fortuitous cause may develop. Madness then assumes the character of main concern. The mad person talks about his concerns but the cause of madness is not that concern; it is, somehow, a form of manifestation.

Thus, when there is a predisposition for madness, the one who is concerned with religion will have a religious madness; love will produce a passionate madness; ambition will produce the madness of honors and wealth, etc. In the case mentioned above it would be absurd to see anything other than a simple effect that any other cause would have produced, since there was predisposition. Now, we go further: we say out loud that if that landowner, so sensitive to his field had profoundly incorporated the principles of Spiritism he would not have gone mad or drowned. Two disgraces would have been avoided, as shown by many examples. The reason for that is obvious. A relative moral weakness is the primary cause of madness, yielding the individual incapable of resisting the shock of certain impressions, among which and at least in three quarter of the cases, sorrow, despair, disappointment and all tribulations of life. Providing people with the necessary strength to see these things with indifference is the same as mitigating people’s most frequent cause of madness and suicide. Well, such strength is found in a well-understood Spiritist Doctrine.

Facing the greatness of the future that Spiritism patently demonstrates and unveils before our eyes, life tribulations become so ephemeral that they slide over our souls like the water over the marble, leaving no trace behind. The true spiritist is not more attached to matter than required by life’s needs. However, if he lacks something he shows resignation since he knows that he is there in-passing and that a much better fate waits for him. Thus, he is no more upset by that than if he had found a stone on his path. If the gentleman above was instilled by these ideas what would had become of the field before his eyes? The annoyance would be insignificant or null and an imaginary disgrace would not have dragged him to a real disgrace. In summary, one of the effects, and we can say one of the benefits of Spiritism, is to give the soul the strength that it lacks in many circumstances, and that is how it can reduce the causes of madness and suicide.

From the above, one can see that the simplest fact may be a source of teaching to anyone willing to give thought to that. It is by showing the applications of Spiritism in the most vulgar cases that one shall understand its whole sublimity. Isn’t that the true philosophy?

Muslim Tradition

The following text was extracted from the clever and remarkable book by Mr. Géraldy Saintine, published under the title “Three years in Judea”.

“When the Sultan of Babel Bakhtunnassar (Nebuchadnezzar) was sent by God to punish the children of Israel, who had abandoned the doctrine of unity, he stripped the temple from all precious objects which were there. He kept for himself the throne of Solomon with its supports, the two pure golden lions animated by witchcraft and defending the gates, and then distributed the rest of the pillage to the several kings of the court. The King of Roum received Adam’s costumes and Moses’ stick; the King of Antakie got the throne of Belkis and the wonderful peacock whose stoned tail formed a rich dossal around the throne; the King of Andalucía received the golden table of the Prophet. A stone safe containing the Torah was among the treasures but nobody paid any attention to that, although it was the most precious of all assets. It was then left behind to the caprices of bandits from around town, stealing everything in their path; and the repository of God’s word disappeared in that huge chaos.”