The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1863

Allan Kardec

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Dear Sir,

In order to fight Spiritism, its adversaries have just envisaged some new tactics that consists of making impalpable spectra and ghosts to appear at the stage, presenting it as if from Spiritism. Such apparitions take place every evening at theater Robin, Boulevard du Temple. Yesterday I watched the second presentation and it was with astonishment that I heard Mr. Robin say to his spectators that he had proposed, through his experiments, to combat the strange belief of certain people that imagine possible to have Spirits moving hands and making tables turn around.

Sir, from my side I have never understood that there could be similarity between these imitations created by physics of entertainment and the actual Spiritist manifestations that are in the laws of nature. Thus, such maneuvers are almost harmless to the followers of Spiritism. However, and considering that one must not allow the good faith of the public to be caught by surprise, I found myself in the obligation of letting you know about these events so that you can dedicate a special article to that in the Spiritist Review, if you find it adequate. As I have the habit of acting openly and not in the shadows I authorize you to use this latter as you wish.

Yours sincerely etc.


Simond, Law student in Paris.



For some time now people talk about a fantastic play that is on at the Theater du Châtelet where by a new and secret process they make impalpable shadow-ghostly forms to appear at the stage. As it seems the secret was unveiled for Mr. Robin exploits it at this time. Since we have not seen it we cannot assess the merit of the imitation. We hope that they are less gross that those imagined by the Girroodd couple, from Canada, that some translate as Girod de Saint-Flour, to simulate the transmission of thought through walls and that would be the hopeless death of the mediums and somnambulists alike. We wish his invention does not bring him the same disaster that it has brought to the latter ones.

Nevertheless Mr. Simond is absolutely right when thinking that such maneuvers are harmless because by the simple fact that something can be imitated it does not follow that such a thing does not exist. False diamonds take nothing out of the fine jewels and artificial flowers do not preclude natural flowers from existing. The intent of demonstrating that certain phenomena do not exist because they can be imitated would undoubtedly be like the one that makes champagne out of Seltzer water wanted to prove with that that champagne and sloth only exist in our imagination.

Imitation has never been more ingenious, more perfect and witty than the double sight by Mr. Robert Houdin. That has not, however, discredited somnambulism. Much to the contrary because after having seen the imitation people wanted to see the original.

Mr. and Mrs. Girroodd had the intention of killing the mediums by making every Spiritist phenomena to look like a deception. Well, since those phenomena are the nightmare of certain persons, they collected the adhesion published in their prospects from several “Spiritophobic” priests and bishops, delighted by the blow swung against Spiritism. But in their happiness those gentlemen had not reflected that such Spiritist phenomena could demonstrate the possibility of miraculous events and that if they can be demonstrated they are not magical tricks and the same could be done to the miracles; that consequently the discredit of ones would be the discredit of the others. One can never think of everything. Will Mr. Girroodd cut a deal with Mr. Robin considering that his tricks are a bit worn out now?

The Indépendence Belge that does not like Spiritism, and we don’t know why exactly, since Spiritism has never done it any harm, when speaking of this new scenic trick in a June issue says: “That is the religion of Mr. Allan Kardec going down the drain. How can Spiritism answer to that now?”

Notice that such a question has been framed many times by all those who pretended to swing the fatal blow against Spiritism, not excluding Father Marouzeau, and Spiritism has not left those cases in a worse condition. We say to the Indépendence that the supposition that it is founded on apparitions is prove of the most complete ignorance about the foundations of Spiritism and that if such a foundation is subtracted then the soul is also subtracted.

If it were demonstrated that the facts of apparitions are a deception then religion would suffer more than Spiritism since three quarters of the most important miracles have only that foundation.

Scenic art is the art of imitation by excellence from the paper chicken to the most sublime virtues and from that one cannot deduce that we should not believe in chickens or in virtues.

This new kind of spectacle, given its originality, will excite public imagination and will be repeated in every theater because it brings money; it will make people talk about Spiritism perhaps even more than the sermons, precisely due to the analogy that the journals will try to establish. One does need to understand that everything that attracts public opinion forcibly leads to the examination even if out of pure curiosity and it is from such examination that the followers come.

The sermons present Spiritism with a serious and terrible aspect, like a monster that is invading the world and threatening the Church in its groundwork. The theaters will address the crowds of curious people so that the ones who don’t hear about Spiritism in the sermons will do in the theaters and the ones that do not go to the theater will hear the sermons. As we can see, there is a place for everyone.

It is really a remarkable thing to see the means utilized by the hidden forces that guide this movement to make it penetrate everywhere, using the very ones who wish to destroy it. It is true that without the sermons on one side and the fallacies of the papers on the other the Spiritist population would be today ten times smaller than it is in fact.

Thus, we say that the imitations, even admitting them as perfect as possible, cannot do any harm. We even say that they are useful. As a matter of fact, here is Mr. Robin producing remarkable things to his spectators by any given process and saying that they are the same as those of Spiritism produced by mediums. Some in the audience will say: “Since it is possible to do the same with Spiritism let us study it, let us learn how to become a medium and we can see it done at home whenever we wish and for free.” Among these there will be many who will acknowledge the serious side of the issue and that is how unwillingly they serve the interests that they wish to harm.

Serious people are afraid that these antics will deceive certain persons about the true character of Spiritism. That is undoubtedly the bad side but the inconvenience is not important since the number of those who are going to be trick is tiny. The ones who say: “That is all it is about!” will sooner or later will have the opportunity to recognize that it is something else. And while they wait the idea spreads, we get familiarized with the word that penetrates everything with a burlesque name; they pronounce it with confidence and when the word is everywhere the thing is close too.

Be it a maneuver of the adversaries of Spiritism or simply an individual action to reinforce someone’s income we must admit that it is clumsy.

It would be wiser from the part of Mr. Robin and his associates to deny any analogy with Spiritism or magnetism because the claim of parity is the acknowledgment of competition – we speak of their commercial interests – exciting people’s imagination to see the competition and acknowledge that they can both be forgotten.

Since we are trailing the terrain of ineptitudes this is one more as there have been many others. We regret to place them side by side with those of Mr. Robin and Mr. Girroodd but it is the analogy of results that takes us there. In fact, considering that the dignitary of the Church did not think that they were diminishing themselves by sponsoring a conjurer against Spiritism they cannot be caught by surprise if they find a sermon about it.

A corresponding member of Bordeaux writes:

Dear master, I have just received a letter from my sister that lives in a little town of B… She was desperate for not having anybody to talk to about Spiritism when the adversaries of our dear doctrine came to rescue her. Some people had just heard about it and sought the Carmelite to find out. The latter, not happy by just veering them off, preached four sermons about it whose main conclusions are the following:

The mediums are possessed by the devil. They only act selfishly and use their power to find treasures and precious objects that were lost but when they find a sacred relic you see them twisting in horrible convulsions. The times predicted in the Gospels are here. The mediums are not but false prophets announced by Jesus. Their boss will soon be the anti-Christ. They will make remarkable miracles and prodigies and through that they will attract three quarter of the population of the globe to their cause which will be the sign of the times because Jesus will ride a celestial cloud and his breath will throw them onto the flames of hell.”

The result was that the whole city was shaken. People talk about Spiritism everywhere. People are not satisfied with the explanations of the priest and want to know more and my sister that had nobody to talk, receives more than thirty visits on given days. She always refers them to The Spirits’ Book that will soon be in every hand and many of those who already have it say that it has no similarity to the picture painted by the priest because he said the opposite. We now count of several serious followers thanks to those sermons without which Spiritism would not have penetrated into those remote regions.”

Weren’t we right when we said that it was inept? Aren’t we right by wishing so well to adversaries that work so much for us? But that is not the last one. We wait for the greatest of all, the one that will crown the work. They have been engineering a serious one for a year now, one that we prefer not to reveal because it is necessary that it reaches its end but whose consequences we will one day see. About two years ago we asked one of our spiritual guides what would be the means that would take Spiritism to the country side. The answer was:

  • Through the Cures[1]
  • That will happen voluntarily or involuntarily from their side?
  • In the beginning involuntarily, then voluntarily. They will soon make a propaganda that you cannot evaluate. Don’t you worry about anything! The Spirits watch and know what they are doing.

The first part of the prediction, as we can see, occurs in the best possible way. In fact, all phases that have been covered by Spiritism were announced to us and all those who still have to be covered are equally announced and every day witnesses an event.

It is in vain that they try to dissuade people from Spiritism presenting it with horrible colors. As we can see the effect is quite the opposite of the expected. For every ten people that are veered off there are another hundred that become connected. This demonstrates the existence of an irresistible attraction on itself, not to mention that of the prohibited fruit. That brings us the memory of the following anecdote:

One day a landowner brought home a barrel of excellent wine but because he was afraid of his servant’s betrayal he attached a label to the barrel with these large letters: Horrible vinegar. Well, the barrel had a small leak and one of them had the curiosity of trying it out with the tip of his hand, concluding that it was a good vinegar. The word spread and soon each servant would come to collect some of the vinegar until the whole barrel was empty. As the owner used to give them cheap booze to drink they said: “this is not close to the horrible vinegar”!

However much they say that Spiritism is a vinegar they cannot make those who taste it to believe that it is not sweet. Now the ones who taste it will tell the others and soon everyone will want it.





[1] Church title, see for example The Cure of Ars (T.N.)


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