The paper Monde Illustré from February 7th, 1863 carries the drama of a family that understandably moved Florence’s society. The author begins the narrative as follows:
“Here is the story. He was a seventy-two-year old man; she was a twenty years old young lady. He had married her three years ago… Do not be disgusted! The old Count from Viterbo was absolutely alone, without any family at all, something very strange to a millionaire. Amalia had family but no millions. He almost saw her at birth and to compensate things and having a good and kind heart he told her mother: “Allow me to paternally marry Amalia. She will take care of me for a few years and then…”
The weeding took place. Amalia understands her duties; she takes good care of the old man sacrificing all the pleasures of her age. Since the Count turned blind and paraplegic she spent long hours of the day making him company, reading to him, telling him stories, distracting and enchanting his days. “How kind my dear daughter!” he used to say many times, taking her by the hand, pulling her in to deposit on her head the respectful kiss of his thankfulness and acknowledgement.
One day, however, he notices that Amalia remains distant; that although always assiduous and solicit she seems to be afraid of seating by his feet. A suspicion crosses his heart. One evening when she was reading for him he took her by the arm and pulled her towards him by the waist, producing a horrible scream and falling onto her feet, exhausted by the emotion and rage. Amalia loses it; she climbs the stairs to the second floor and throws herself out of the window, falling down and shattering her body on the ground. The old man out survives the catastrophe six hours only.”
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People will ask which relationship this story may have with Spiritism. Is that the intervention of some foolish Spirits? – The relationship is in the deductions that Spiritism teaches us to make out of apparently vulgar things of life. When the skeptical or indifferent only sees reason for irony or moves on carelessly the Spiritist observes and finds a teaching there, going back to the providential causes, probing the consequences to a future life according to the examples that are offered by the relationships from beyond the grave, by the justice of God.
In the event reported above instead of a simple and pleasant anecdote between him, the old man, and her, the young lady, Spiritism sees two victims. Since the interest towards the unfortunate ones does not stop at this present life but follows the future life in which it believes, it questions then if there isn’t a double punishment for a double fault and if both aren’t punished for their sins. Spiritism sees a suicide and since it knows that such a crime is always punished it questions the degree of responsibility incurred by the one that commits it.
Those who believe that Spiritism only deals with gnomes and fantastic apparitions, with dancing tables and rapping Spirits, if you took the burden of studying it you would know that Spiritism touches all moral issues. Those Spirits that seem laughable to you and that are, however, only the souls of people, they give to those that observe their manifestations a proof that the observer herself is a Spirit, momentarily linked to a body. The observer sees in death not the end of life but the door of a prison that opens up to the prisoner that regains freedom. Learns that the vicissitudes of corporeal life are the consequences of one’s own imperfections, that is, atonement for the past and present, trials for the future. From that the observer is then led not to see the events as out of blind chance but from the hands of Providence. For that observer the fair sentence: “… he will repay each person according to what he has done” finds application not only beyond the grave but also on Earth. That is why everything that happens around has its reason to be and its value. The observer studies to take advantage and improve one’s own behavior aiming at the future that is a demonstrated reality. Such a person analyzes the disgraces that affect her and learns to no longer accuse luck or fatality for something that is owned to oneself.
These comments have the sole objective of showing that Spiritism deals with much more serious things that the rapping Spirits and we now return to our subject. Since the fact was made public it is allowed to appreciate it although we will not name anyone.
If we examine the thing from a purely mundane point of view the majority of people will only see the very natural consequence of a disproportional union and will throw at the old man the stone of ridicule as the only funeral prayer. Others will accuse the young lady of ingratitude for having betrayed the trust of the generous man that wanted to make her rich. To the Spiritist, however, it has a more serious side because the Spiritist seeks a teaching there.
The question we ask ourselves is then if the action of the old man was not more out of selfishness than generosity by imprisoning a young lady, almost a child, to his late days by indissoluble links to an age in which one thinks first about retirement instead of enjoying the world? Wouldn’t it be a terrible imposition of sacrifice to her making her pay dearly for the promised fortune? There is no true generosity without selflessness. As for the young lady, she could not accept those links but with the perspective of seeing them broken soon for she had no real affection towards the old man. Hence, there was calculation from both sides and such calculation proved wrong. God did not allow one or the other to enjoy that. One was inflicted by disillusion, the other by shame that killed them both.
It still remains the responsibility of suicide that never goes unpunished but that many times finds attenuating circumstances. The young lady’s mother in trying to encourage her had said: “With that great fortune you will bring happiness to the poor man that you love. While you wait, honor and respect that great heart that wanted to turn you into his heir during the time that he still has.”
The mother wanted to touch her; but to enjoy the benefits of that great heart that would have been greater by donating without interest, it would be necessary to speculate about the duration of his life. The lady made a mistake by giving in but the mother made an even bigger mistake by exciting her and she will be the one that will have a greater responsibility for the daughter’s suicide.
That is how the one that kills oneself to escape misery is guilty for the lack of courage and resignation, but even much guiltier still is the one that is the primary cause of that act of despair. That is what Spiritism teaches through the examples exposed to the eyes of those that study the invisible world.
As for the mother, her punishment begins in this life, first with the terrible death of her daughter whose image may perhaps persecute her and bring her a lot of remorse, then for the inutility of the sacrifice that she provoked because with the death of the husband six hours after his wife, his whole fortune will now go to the hands of collateral third parties, without any benefit to her.
The papers are full of cases of that kind, honorable or reproachable, that may offer subject matter for serious moral studies, like the one we just reported. It is an inextinguishable source of observation and education to the Spiritists. Spiritism provides the means of finding details that go unnoticed by the careless ones and even more by the skeptical that only see in them facts more or less spicy not looking for the causes or consequences. To the groups it is a fecund element of work to which the protector Spirits will not fail in providing their appreciation.
