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The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1860
The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1860
January
Spiritism in 1860The 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.
Spirit on one Side, Body on the Other
Dialogue with the Spirit of a Living Person
Our distinct colleague, the Count of R…C… sent us the letter below,
dated November 23rd last:
“Mr. President:
I heard that doctors, enthusiasts of their art and willing to contribute
with the progress of Science, thus becoming useful to humanity, have officially
given their bodies in will, to be used by the scalpel of the anatomical
theaters. The experiment that I witnessed of the evocation of a living
person (session of the Society on October 14th, 1859) did not seem very
instructive to me, since it dealt with something very personal: establishing
the communication between a living father with the deceased daughter.
I thought that what the doctors did for the human body a member of
the Society could well do for the soul, of a still living person, being at your
disposal for a test of such a kind. You could perhaps obtain new clarifications
with respect to the isolation of the body and the soul, by preparing
the questions before hand, avoiding personal issues. Taking advantage of
an illness that keeps me at home I herewith offer myself as a subject for
investigation, if you wish to do so. Then, come next Friday and in the absence of any hold up, I will be ready at 9 pm so that you can evoke
me… etc.”
We took the offer from Mr. Count de R…C…, with as much enthusiasm
as we thought that he would be at our disposal, helping with our
investigations out of his own admission. On another hand, his education,
his superior intelligence – which one must say in-passing that it did
not preclude him from being an excellent spiritist – and the experience
he had acquired in his journeys around the world as a Captain of the
Imperial Navy, justified our expectations of a more judicious appreciation
of his condition. The wait did not let us down. We then established
two dialogues with him as follows, one on November 25th, the second on
December 2nd, 1859.
Society, November 25th, 1859
1. Evocation – A. I am here.
2. At this moment are you aware of your desire to be evoked? – A.
Perfectly.
3. Where are you here? – A. Between you and the medium.
4. Do you see us as well as when you attend our sessions in person? –
A. More or less, but a bit vague. I am not totally asleep.
5. How can you be conscious of your individuality here now when
your body is in bed? A. At this moment my body is just an accessory.
It is me who is here.
OBSERVATION: It is me who is here is a remarkable answer. For
him the body is not the essential part of his being. The essential
part is the spirit that constitutes him, and his spirit and the body
are two distinct things.
6. Can you move back and forth from here to the house at will and
instantaneously? - A. Yes.
7. Going back home and returning here are you aware of the distance
that is covered? Do you see the objects in your path? – A. I
could but I neglect that since it would be of no interest.
8. Is your state now similar to that of a somnambulist? – A. Not
entirely. My body sleeps, meaning that it is more or less inert. The
somnambulist does not sleep. His organic faculties are modified
but not eliminated.
9. The spirit of a living person when evoked, could that spirit prescribe
medications, like that of a somnambulist? – A. If that spirit
knows the medication or is in contact with another spirit that
does know the medication, yes; on the contrary, no.
10. The recollection of your corporeal life, is that clearly present in
your current memory? A. Very clear.
11. Could you mention one of your most important activities of the
day? – A. I could but I will not do that. I am sorry for having
proposed such a question (he had requested that such a question
be framed, as a proof).
12. Is it as a spirit that you regret having requested such a question? – A.
As a spirit.
13. Why do you regret that? – A. Because I understand better how fair
it is, in the majority of the cases, that such revelations be made.
14. Can you describe your bedroom? – A. I certainly can; and also
the porter’s.
15. Then, kindly describe one of them. – A. I said I could but it
doesn’t mean that I want.
16. What is the disease that keeps you at home? – A. The gout
17. Is there a remedy for gout? If there is could you prescribe it considering
that you would do a great service? – A. I could but I will
not do that. The remedy would be worse than the disease.
18. Worse or not, could you prescribe it with the condition that
it would not be used? – A. There are several, among them the
colchicum.
OBSERVATION: Once he was awake the Count acknowledged
to have never heard about the use of that plant as a specific medication
for gout.
19. In your present state would you see a friend in harms’ way and
could you go to help him? – A. I could. I would give him inspiration
if he were able to hear that and even with more reason if he
were a medium.
20. Considering that we evoked you based on your own desire, and
that you placed yourself at our disposal for the investigation,
kindly describe to us, in the best possible and comprehensible
way, the state in which you find yourself now. – A. I am in the
happiest and most satisfactory state that one can experience. Have
you had a dream one day in which the warmth of the bed made
you believe that you were smoothly swinging in air, or on the
peak of a lukewarm wave, without any concern with the movements;
unaware of your heavy and cumbersome limbs, moving or
dragging around; In short, without any need to satisfy, not feeling
the spur of hunger or thirst? I am in such a state near you, and I
only gave you a tiny sample of what I feel.
21. Does your body suffer any physiological modification now due to
the absence of the spirit? – A. No way. I am in the state that you
call first dream, a deep and heavy sleep that we all experience,
when we move away from the body.
OBSERVATION: The sleep, which was not complete at the beginning
of the evocation, had been gradually established as a consequence
of the detachment of the spirit, leaving the body in a
profound resting state.
22. If your body were suddenly awake at the time when your spirit
is here, what would happen? – A. What is sudden to the human
being is too slow to the spirit, who has always time to be warned.
23. The happiness which you describe and that you enjoy in your free
state, would that keep any relationship with the pleasant sensations
experienced at the initial moments of asphyxia? Mr. S…,
who involuntarily had the satisfaction of experiencing that, is addressing
this question to you. – A. He is not entirely wrong. In
the death by asphyxia there is an instant analogous to the one that
he describes, with the difference that the spirit loses its lucidity,
whereas here lucidity is considerably amplified.
24. Is your spirit connected to your body by any kind of link? – A.
Yes, and I am perfectly aware of that.
25. What can you compare such a link to? – A. Nothing that you
know. It would have the appearance of a phosphorescent light to
you, in case you could see it, but which causes no sensation.
26. Does such a light affect you in the same way? Would that have the
same shades that you see through the eyes? – A. Absolutely since
the eyes operate as windows to the mind.
27. Do you hear the sounds with the same distinction? – A. More
distinctly since I hear sounds which escape you.
28. How do you transmit your thought to the medium? – A. I act
upon his hand, to give it direction, facilitated by an action on the
brain.
29. Are you served by the words that the medium has in his brain or
do you indicate the words that he writes. – A. One and the other,
according to the conveniences.
29.a In case you were served by a medium who ignores your language
and his language were foreign to you, like for example Chinese,
how could you transmit your message? – A. That would be more difficult
and perhaps impossible. At any rate it would only be possible
with a flexibility and malleability which are difficult to find.
30. A spirit whose body was dead would experience the same difficulty
to communicate through a medium that was completely
strange to his language when alive? – A. Perhaps less, although it
might always exist. I can assure you that depending on the case
the spirit provides the medium with his expressions or employs
theirs.
31. Does your presence here cause fatigue to your body? – A.
Absolutely.
32. Does your body dream? – A. No. That is why it does not experience
fatigue. The person that you talked about experienced sensations
through the organs which were transmitted to the spirit.
That is what caused fatigue. I experience nothing like that.
OBSERVATION: He refers to a person that was spoken about
at the moment when in a similar situation she said that the body
experienced fatigue, comparing the spirit to a captive balloon,
whose jolts are transmitted to the supporting pole.
The day after Count de R…C… said that he had a dream
in which he was at the Society, between the medium and us.
It is evidently a memory of the evocation. It is likely that he
was not dreaming at the time of the question, since he responded
negatively. It is also possible, and more likely, that as
the dream is a recollection of the spirit’s activities, in reality
it is not the body that dreams since the body does not think.
He then responded negatively, not knowing that when awake
his spirit would remember. If the body had dreamed while the
spirit was absent the spirit would have had a double action.
Well, he could not be simultaneously at the Society and at his
house.
33. Is your spirit in the same state as it will be when you are dead? –
A. More or less the same thing, with the exception of the link that
attaches it to the body
34. Are you aware of your previous existences? – A. Vaguely. That is
another difference that I forgot. After the complete disconnection
which follows death, the recollections are much more precise. At
this moment they are more complete than in the waking state but
not sufficient for me to specify them in a more intelligible way.
35. In case your writings were shown to you when you wake up would
you be aware of the answers that you have just given? – A. I could
identify some of my thoughts but many others would not find
any echo in my mind when awake.
36. Could you exert such a powerful influence over the body to the
point of waking him up? – A. No.
37. Could you respond to a mental question? – A. Yes.
38. Do you see us in spirit or physically? – A. One and the other.
39. Could you visit your father’s brother who they say is in an island
of the Oceania, and as a seaman precisely identify the position of
the island? – A. I can’t do any of that.
40. What do you think now of your endless work and its objective?
A. I think that I must continue the work, with the same objective.
It is all I can say.
OBSERVATION: He had asked to have this question addressed
to him, with respect to an important task he had initiated about
the Navy.
41. We would be delighted if you wanted to address a few words to
your colleagues, a kind of short speech. – A. Since I have the opportunity
I take it to attest, based on my faith in the future of
the soul, that the gravest mistake that the individual can make is
to search for proofs and more proofs. This is at most forgiving in
those people who initiate in the knowledge of Spiritism. Haven’t
they repeated thousands of times that it is necessary to believe
since one understands and loves justice and truth, and that if we
satisfied one of those puerile questions, the one who intends to make them to be convinced would frame others on the day after
and that you would irremediably waste a precious time, turning
the spirits into foretellers? I understand it now much better than
when awake and can give you a wise advice, for the time when
you wish to obtain such results. Those who want to get involved
with such manifestations much speak to the rapping spirits and
to the turning since they have nothing better to do. Forgive me
for the lecture but I need it as I need others and I am not upset
for giving it to myself.
Second session, December 2nd, 1859
42. Evocation. – A. I am here.
43. Are you deeply asleep? – A. Not much but that will still come.
44. In your particular case now, do you consider it to be useful to
make the evocation in the name of God, as if you were the spirit
of a dead person? – A. Why not? Do you believe that just because
I am not dead God is indifferent to me?
45. If at the moment that you are here your body was pinched, not
strongly enough to wake you up but sufficiently to be felt, would
your spirit feel it? – A. My body would not feel it.
46. Would your spirit be aware of the fact? – A. The spirit wouldn’t
have the slightest idea; but notice that you talk about a light sensation
and without much importance both to the body and to the
spirit.
47. With respect to light, you said that you feel it as if in the waking
state, since your eyes are like windows through which light gets
to the brain. We understand that regarding the light perceived
by the body but at this moment it is not the body that sees. Do
you still see through a specific spot or through the whole being?
A. It is very difficult to explain. The spirit perceives the sensations
without the intermediation of the organs and has no circumscribed
spot to feel them.
48. I insist once more with the question relatively to the objects and space
around you if they present the same colors as when you are awake. –
A. To me, yes, since my organs do not deceive me. However, certain
spirits would find large differences in all that. You, for example, perceive
the sounds and colors in a very different way.
49. Do you feel the smells? – A. Also better than you do.
50. Do you establish a distinction between light and obscurity? – A.
Distinction yes, but for me it is not the same as for you. I see perfectly
well in the darkness.
51. Does your vision penetrate the opaque bodies? – A. Yes.
52. Could you go to another planet? – A. That depends.
53. Depends on what? – A. On the planet.
54. Which planet could you go to? – A. To those on the same level of
evolution as Earth, or similar.
55. Do you see the other spirits? – A. Many and still.
OBSERVATION: Someone that knows him in the intimacy and
that was present at the session said that such expression was very
familiar. Thus, that person saw in this as in the general form of
the language a proof of his identity.
56. Do you see them here? – A. Yes.
57. How do you confirm their presence? By a given form? – A.
Through their form, that is, their perispirit.
58. Do you eventually see your children and can you talk to them? –
A. I see and talk to them very frequently.
59. You said: At this moment the body is a simple accessory to me. It
is me who is here. This me, is it bounded, limited; has it any form?
In a word, how do you see yourself? – A. It is always the perispirit.
60. Then, the perispirit is a body to you? – A. There is no doubt about
it.
61. Does your perispirit imitate the shape of your material body and
does it seem to you that you are here with your body? – A. Yes to the first question, no to the second. I am perfectly aware that I am
here with my luminous fluidic body only.
62. Could you punch me? – A. Yes, but you would feel nothing.
63. Could you do that in a perceptible way? – A. That is possible but
I cannot do it here.
64. If, while you are here, your body died, what would you feel? – A.
I would be there before that.
65. Would you be detached more promptly as if you had died under
normal circumstances? – A. Very much! I wouldn’t go in but to
close the door, after having left.
66. You said you have the gout. Don’t you agree with your doctor
who is present here and seems to believe that you suffer neuralgic
rheumatism? What is your opinion about it? – A. I think that as
long as you are so well informed, that should be enough.
67. (The doctor) What is the basis of your belief in gout? – A. It is
my opinion. I may be wrong, particularly if you are so sure about
your diagnosis.
68. (The doctor) Could it be the case that there is a complication of
gout and rheumatism? – A. Then we would be both right. We
could only embrace one another.
OBSERVATION: The audience laughed at this answer.
69. When you see us laughing, does it make you laugh? – A. To the
laughter. Can’t you hear me?
70. You said that the colchicum is an efficient medication against the
gout. Where did you take such an idea from, if you did not know
it when awake? – A. I used it in former times.
71. Then it was on another existence? – A. Yes, and it harmed me…
72. If you were asked an indiscrete question, would you feel embarrassed
to answer it? – A. Oh! That is strong. Try me.
73. In your state, do you have complete free-will? – A. More than
you do.
OBSERVATION: Experience has demonstrated in many occasions
that the spirits separated from the body have their own will
and only say what they want. Better understanding the reach of
things they are still more sensible than when awake. When they
say something is because they consider that to be useful.
74. Would you have the freedom of not having come to us when we
evoked you? – A. Yes, with the risk of suffering the consequences
of such attitude.
75. What would those consequences be? – A. If I refuse to be useful
to my fellow human beings, particularly when I have perfect
awareness of my actions, I am free but I am punished.
76. Which kind of punishment would you receive? – A. I would have
to explain God’s code to you and this would take a long time.
77. If at this very moment someone insulted you, saying things that
you would not accept if awake, which kind of feelings would you
have? – A. Indifference.
78. Then you would not try to retaliate? – A. No.
79. Do you have any idea of the position you shall have when you are
definitely among the spirits? – A. No. That is not allowed.
80. Do you believe that, in your present state, the spirit may predict
the death of the body? – A. Sometimes, if I had to die suddenly,
there would always be time to return to the body.
Family Advices
Your readers certainly remember the article published last September
under the title A Spiritist Family. The following communications are
very similar to those. In fact, these are advices given in a private meeting,
by an eminently superior and benevolent spirit. They are distinguished by
the kindness and sweetness of the style, by the profoundness of thoughts
and also by nuances of extreme compassion, appropriate to the age and
character of the persons to whom they were addressed. Mr. Rabache, a
businessman from Bordeaux, who served as an intermediary, has kindly
authorized their publication. We can only congratulate the mediums who
received similar communications. It is a demonstration that they have
happy sympathies in the invisible world.
Pechbusque Castle, November 1859
FIRST SESSION
The guardian spirit of the family was asked if he could give a few advices
to the members who were present. He responded:
Yes, may they have trust in God and seek enlightenment in the eternal
and immutable truths taught by the book of nature. It contains the
whole law of God and those who can read and understand only follow the
true path of wisdom. May they never neglect anything that will be seen
since everything has a teaching in itself and must elevate and approach
the soul to God through reason. Try to distinguish the good from the evil in everything that may harm intelligence: the former is to be practiced;
the latter is to be avoided. Before passing any judgment on anything may
they turn their thoughts to God who will then guide them to the good
path and WILL NEVER FAIL THEM!
SECOND SESSION
Good evening my children. If you love me then strive to enlighten yourselves.
Gather frequently with that thought and unite your thoughts. It is
an excellent way since we only exchange things that we believe are good to
you. We are ashamed of the bad things, thus they are kept in secret or they
are only communicated to those who we wish to turn into accomplices.
Good thoughts are distinguished from the bad ones because the former
can be unceremoniously transmitted to everyone whereas the latter could
not be communicated but to a few only. When a given thought crosses
your mind, in order to assess its value, ask yourself if you can make it
public without inconveniences and if it would not cause harm to anyone.
If your conscience authorizes you don’t be afraid for your thought is good.
Give good advices to one another and always think of the well-being of
the one to whom you give the advice and not yours. You will be rewarded
by the satisfaction that you will feel for being useful. The union of hearts
is the most fecund source of happiness. If a large number of people are
unhappy it is because they only seek happiness for themselves. Happiness
escapes them precisely because they think to be able to find it in selfishness
only. I say happiness and not fortune because up until now this has
only served as support to injustice and the objective of life is justice. Well,
if justice were practiced among human beings, the most fortunate one
would be the one who had done the highest number of good deeds. Then,
my children, if you want to become rich, do practice many good actions.
Never mind the worldly things. It is not the satisfaction of flesh that one
must seek but that of the soul. The former is ephemeral; the latter, eternal.
It is enough for now. Mediate about these advices and try to practice
them. Such is the path of salvation.
THIRD SESSION
Yes, my children, here I am. Have trust in God, who never abandons those
who do the good. What you consider wrong-doing frequently is so only with
respect to your prejudices. Also, sometimes the real evil comes from a discouragement
caused by a difficulty, which the calmness of spirit and thought
would have avoided. Thus, think and as I have already told you, report everything
to God. Whenever you experience any grief, far from giving in to
sadness, on the contrary, resist and make all efforts to triumph, thinking that
nothing is achieved without work and that very often success is followed by
difficulties. Invoke the support of the benevolent spirits. As they teach you,
they cannot do the good deeds in your place, nor obtain something to you
from God, since each one must conquer perfection to which we are all destined,
but they can inspire goodness in you, suggest a convenient attitude and
help you with their presence. They don’t manifest ostensively but privately.
Listen to the voice of your conscience, keeping in mind my preceding advices.
Trust in God, be calm and have courage.
FOURTH SESSION
Good evening my children. Yes, it is necessary to continue the sessions,
until a medium shows up replacing the one who is leaving us. His mission
as an initiator among you has been accomplished. Continue what you
have started, because you too shall one day serve to the propagation of
truth, which at this very moment is proclaimed all over the world by the
manifestations of the spirits. Be persuaded, my children, that what is generally
understood as spirit on Earth is only spirit to you. After the separation
of that spirit or soul from the dense body that surrounds it, as you see
it, there is no more body because your material eyes can no longer see it,
but it is still matter to those more elevated than that body. I will make a
very imperfect comparison to you, my children, but which may give you
an idea of the transformation that you improperly call death. Imagine a
caterpillar that you see every day. Once the time is over for its existence in such a state, the caterpillar becomes the chrysalis; spending sometime in
that state and then, when time is up, it leaves the cocoon behind, giving
rise to the butterfly which flies away. Well, the caterpillar, by leaving behind
her gross nature, represents human’s death. The butterfly represents
the soul, which rises up. The caterpillar drags on the ground, the butterfly
flies into the skies. It changed matter but it is still material. If the caterpillar
could think, it would not see the butterfly; however, it would have left
the rotten cocoon of the chrysalis. Thus, the body cannot see the soul, but
the soul, surrounded by matter, is conscious of its existence and even the
materialist sometimes feels it inside. Then, his pride precludes him from
agreeing and he remains with his science without belief, not elevating,
until the doubt arrives. Then, it is not the end, although there is a greater
in-fight, but it is only a matter of time, because my friends don’t you forget,
all children of God were created to achieve perfection. Fortunate are
those who waste no time in their journey. Eternity is made of two periods:
the trials, which could be called incubation, and the emergence or entry
into the real life, that you call the happiness of the elected ones.
FIFTH SESSION
My dear children, I see with satisfaction that you begin to think about the
advices I give you. I know that there is a lot to think about simultaneously,
given the current development of your intelligences. However, I must take
the present opportunity since in a short while it will no longer be available
to me and it was necessary to excite your imagination, suggesting
the means of moving on with the sessions until some of you may replace
the current medium. I hope that these few sessions, which I urge you to
consider carefully, may have been sufficient to awake in you the desire to
acquire a deeper knowledge about this vast field of investigation. As a rule
of thumb you should never try to simply satisfy a vain curiosity, but to
seek enlightenment and improvement. It is useless to try to establish the
difference between what I am going to teach you and what you already
know. Every time you receive teachings ask yourself if it is fair and if it does correspond to the requirements of your conscience and equity. When
the answer is positive don’t bother to find out if it is in agreement with
what you have been told before. What does it matter? What is important
is what is just, thoughtful and impartial. Anything that attends these conditions
comes from God. Obey a good conscience; only do useful things;
avoid everything that is useless, essentially not being a bad person, since
doing something useless is already bad. Avoid scandals, even if in the
path of your own betterment. There may be circumstances in which the
simple observation of your changes may produce a negative effect. That
is why, for example, someone who had been incarcerated in the darkness
of the dungeons cannot afford sudden daylight without harming their
eyes. Hence, may your progress never be a reason for investigation, unless
advised by wisdom. May you improve continually, and may this only be
seen when time is right. Those to whom I give this advice understand it,
without the need for a more explicit explanation. Their consciences will
tell them. Thus, courage and perseverance! These are the only rules of
success.
OBSERVATION: The last advice could not have general application.
It is evident that the spirit had a special objective, as he said it himself.
Otherwise we could be mistaken with respect to the meaning and reach
of his words.
Java Stones
Brussels, December 9th, 1859
“Mr. Director,
I read the report of Ida Pfeiffer in the Spiritist Review about
the fallen stones of Java, in the presence of a Dutch high ranking
officer, to whom I was closely connected in 1817; he had lent
me his pistols and was my witness in my first duel. His name
was Michiels, from Maastricht, who became a general in Java.
The letter describing the fact added that the fallen stones, in the
isolated house belonging to the Chéribon district, lasted not less
than twelve days, and neither the General’s guard nor the general
himself have discovered anything during the time he spent
there. The stones, a kind of pumice stone, seemed to be created in
the air, a few feet away from the ceiling. The general had several
baskets filled up with them. The villagers would come for them,
looking for amulets and remedies. The fact is very well known
in Java since it is frequently repeated, particularly the siri spits.
Several boys were stone-chased in the open field, but were not hit.
One could say that these were mocking spirits who were having
fun by scaring people. Evoke the spirit of general Michiels and he
will perhaps explain the fact. Dr. Vanden Kerkhove, who lived
in Java for a long time, has mentioned to me, as I do to you, that the Review is getting more and more interesting by the day, more
moralizing and in high demand in Brussels.”
Yours, etc…
Jobard
The well-known character of Mrs. Ida Pfeiffer and the trait of veracity
of all of her reports leave no doubt as for the reality of the phenomena
above, but one must understand the importance added to the fact by
the letter sent by Mr. Jobard, and considering the education of the main
witness in charge of verifying the phenomena, who would not have any
interest in accrediting the fact if it were regarded as false. To begin with,
the spongy like nature of that rain of stones could lead to the belief in a
volcanic or atmospheric origin, leading the skeptical to say that superstition
had taken the place of a natural phenomenon. If we only had the testimony
of the Javanese such hypothesis would be founded and the stones,
falling in the open field, would undoubtedly support such hypothesis.
However, general Michiels and Dr. Vanden Kerkhove were not
Malang, and their statements certainly hold value. To this very strong
argument it is necessary to add that the stones would not fall in the open
air only, but in a room where, as it seems, they were formed a few feet
from the ceiling. It is the General that states so. Well, we don’t believe that
atmospheric debris has ever been seen formed in the closed environment
of a room. Even by admitting the volcanic or meteorological cause the
same could not be applied to the siri spiting, never spilled by volcanos, at
least to our knowledge. Keeping this hypothesis aside, by the nature of the
phenomena itself, the amount of substances that were formed remains to
be known. The explanation can be found in our August 1859 issue about
the “Furniture from beyond the grave”.
Correspondence
Toulouse, December 17th, 1859
“Dear Sir,
I have just read your response to Mr. Oscar Comettant, whose
article I had also read. If that skeptical editor and gauche teaser
was not convinced by the good arguments you gave him, he could
at least acknowledge the civility of your style, totally absent in
his prose. The vulgar stresses that he used to color the evocations
seems to have come from the red-tailed spirit; the regrets with
which he mentioned the 2 francs paid for the sonata deserved that
the Society reimbursed him for the 2 francs. Have in mind, Mr.
Allan Kardec, that I am too a very passionate spiritist to just let go
an article in which I am cited and questioned without an answer.
As for myself, I also wrote to Mr. Oscar Comettant. On the very
day I got your journal, he received the following letter:
“Sir,
I had the pleasure of reading your feuilleton Varieties, from
Friday. Since you question me, and as I am cited by name, allow
me to make some observations with that regard, which you
will accept as I have accepted your witty parentheses where you
painted the report about the evocations of Mozart and Chopin.
What is it that you want to mock with such a humorous article?
Is it Spiritism? You will make a big mistake in believing that you can harm it. In France, people mock first, later they assess and
confer the honor of the jokes to the truly serious and great things,
with the freedom of doing so after the required analysis.
If Mr. Ledoyen is as greedy as you wish to make believe, he
must appreciate your intention of ensuring the success of one of his
most modest publications in an 11-column editorial. It is the first
time that such an important article is written about Spiritism in a
great journal. I see by this almost luridly article that Spiritism is
already taken seriously by its enemies, and I tell you in confidence,
that the spirits have said that they have used the enemies for the
triumph of their cause. Thus, the best thing to do is to remain on
guard if you do not wish to become an unintentional apostle.
You cannot see in Spiritism anything different from moral
and commercial charlatanism. As for ourselves, future guests of
Charenton, we found in Spiritism the solution to many problems
that have puzzled humanity for many centuries, as follows:
the thoughtful acknowledgment of God in all His material and
spiritual works; the evident individuality and immortality of the
soul, demonstrated by the manifestation of the spirits; the comprehension
of God’s justice, studied in the multiple incarnations
of the spirits, etc…,. Had one taken the burden of carrying out an
in-depth study of these subjects and one could see that they are
above all sarcasms and mockery. However much you take us by
dreamers and hallucinated people, instead of the “eppur si muove”
from Galileo, we say: Yet, God is there!
Please accept …
Brion Dorgeval
First bass, Comic Opera,
Toulouse Theater
(ex-employee of Mr. Carvalho)”
OBSERVATION: We are not aware if Mr. Oscar Comettant has published
this answer or ours. Nevertheless, attacking without admitting
defense is not a loyal fight.
“Brussels, December 23rd, 1859
My dear colleague,
I want to submit to you some ethnographic reflections about
the world of the spirits, with the intention of reestablishing a
much generalized opinion, very wrong in my view, regarding the
state of the human being after his transition to the spiritual world.
People mistakenly think that an imbecile, an ignorant, a rude
person, becomes immediately a genius, a wise person, a prophet,
once their material envelope is left behind. It is a similar mistake
to someone who would admit that a criminal will become
an honest person when released from the shackles; a silly person
becomes an expert or a fanatic turns into a rational person just
because the frontier has been transposed.
Not at all! We take every moral accomplishment with us, the
character, the knowledge, the vices and virtues. We do not carry
what is related to the material world. The limping, the cross-eyed
and the hunchbacked are no longer so, but the villains, the stingy
and the superstitious, still are. We should not be impressed by the
fact that we hear spirits asking for prayers; willing that others may
do the peregrinations which they had promised and even that
others find the money that they had hidden with the objective of
giving it to the person to whom they wanted to give, pointing to
that person correctly, as long as they are still alive.
In short, the spirit that had a desire, a plan, an opinion, a
belief when on Earth, wants to see them come true. Therefore,
Hahnemann exclaimed: “Courage my friends, my doctrine triumphs.
What a satisfaction to my soul!”
As for Dr. Gall, you know what he thinks of your Science, as
Lavater, Swedenborg and Fourier, who told me that his students
had truncated his doctrine, willing to skip the phase of guarantee,
which he congratulates me to carry over.
In short, all spirits who profess a religion, idolatry or a
schism, out of conviction, persist on the same beliefs until theyare enlightened by the study and by reflection. That is the subject
of my concerns at this point. It is evidently a logical spirit that
dictates it because one hour ago my only thought was to go to bed
and finish the excellent little book by Mrs. Henry Gaugain about
the Bretons’ prejudices against the new inventions.
By keeping up with your studies you will recognize that the
world beyond the grave is not a photographic image of this world,
which as you know has spirits as perverse as the devil and as bad
as the demons. It will come as no surprise that good people may
be deceived of avoiding any dealings with these spirits. This precludes
people from the presence of the good and great spirits, who
are not so rare up there as they are down here, coming from all
times and all places, willing to give good advice and to do good
deeds.
On the other hand you know well how irritably and repulsively
the bad ones respond to a forced appeal. Nevertheless, the
greatest and rarest of them all, the one that comes only three
times during the life time of a globe, the Divine Spirit, the Saint
Spirit, he does not attend the evocations of the pneumatography
mediums: he only comes when he wishes to do so – spiritus flat
ubi vult – which does not mean that others are not sent before
him to pave his way.
Hierarchy is a universal law – everything is like everything –
as a matter of fact, similarly to what happens to us. False human
respect is what mostly delays the progress of the good doctrines,
hindered by persecution.
Magnetism would have triumphed long ago if instead of saying:
Mr. X, Mr. N., if one had only given the name and address of
the persons, with reference, as the English say. Instead, they ask:
who is this hidden Mr. M? He is apparently a liar. How about
this Mr. J? He is a scoundrel. What would one say about this Mr.
F.? He is a faker, or even better, someone unworthy of any trust
since he hides himself and he is masked so as to deceive and to do bad things. Now that the academies admit magnetism and
somnambulism, cousin-brothers of Spiritism, it is necessary that
their adepts be prepared to sign off in total agreement. The fear of
what is going to be said is a coward and bad feeling. The action of
testifying to what one has seen, to what one believes, is no longer
considered a trait of courage. Thus you must advise your followers
to do what I always do: sign off.
Jobard
OBSERVATION: We agree with Mr. Jobard in all points. His initial observations
about the state of the spirits are accurate. Regarding the second
point, like him we wait for the moment when the fear for what is going
to be said will not stop anybody. However, what else to expect? One must
acknowledge human weakness. Some starts, and Mr. Jobard will hold the
merit of having started. Rest assured that others will follow when they
feel that they can expose their feet without the fear of being bitten. Time
is needed for all that. Well, time goes faster than Mr. Jobard may think.
The reservation we keep with respect to the publication of the names
obeys reasons of convenience, for what we so far congratulate ourselves;
but while we wait we attest a fast progress in the courage of opinion.
We daily see people that, not long ago, would hardly declare themselves
spiritists, openly doing it today in social gatherings, sustaining the thesis
of their doctrine, with no concern whatsoever for the rude epithets with
which they are awarded. It is a huge step. The rest will come next. Here
is what I said, to begin with: a few years more and a new change will take
place; very soon the same that happened to magnetism will also happen
to Spiritism. Up until recently one would only acknowledge being a
magnetizer if behind the walls of a closed room. Today it is an honorific
title. When convinced that Spiritism does not burn, people will declare
themselves spiritists with no more fear than those that say they are phrenologists,
homeopaths, etc. We are living in a transient period and the
transitions don’t ever take place suddenly.
Bulletin of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies
Friday, December 2nd, 1859
(Private Session)
The minutes of the November 25th session were read.
REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION:
Letters received from Mr. L. Benardacky, from St. Petersburg and from
Ms. Elisa Johnson, from London, who request to be admitted as regular
members of the Society.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
Reading of two communications carried out by Mr. Bouche, former Rector
of the Academy, a writing medium, given by the spirit of the Duchess of
Longueville, with respect to her presence as a spirit in Port-Royal-desChamps.
These two communications are remarkable by their elevation of
thoughts. They demonstrate that certain spirits have pleasure in revisiting
the places where they lived, feeling delighted by the memories. No doubt
that the more dematerialized, the less they give importance to the worldly
things, but some remain still connected to them for a long time after death, and it seems that they continue their work in this world, or at least
they demonstrate certain interest by that.
STUDIES:
1st – Evocation of Mr. Count Desbassyns de Richemont, deceased
in June 1859, who professed the spiritist ideas for over ten years.
The evocation confirms the influence of these ideas on the release
of the spirit after death.
2nd – Evocation of Sister Martha, deceased in 1824.
3rd – Second evocation of Count R…C…, member of the
Society, in bed due to an illness, followed by questions addressed
to him about the momentary separation of the spirit from the
body, during the sleep (published in this number).
Friday, December 9th, 1859
(General Session)
Reading of the minutes of the December 2nd session.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
Mr. de la Roche reports remarkable communications that took place at a
house in Castelnaudary. The facts are described in a note which precedes
the report of the evocation, to be published.
STUDIES:
1st – Evocation of the king of Kanala (New Caledonia), already
evoked on October 28th, then writing with some difficulty, promising
to practice and return to write in a more intelligible way. He
gives curious explanations about the utilized mode of improvement
(to be published with the first evocation).
2nd – Evocation of the spirit of Castelnaudary. He manifests
through signs of intense wrath, incapable of writing anything. Seven
or eight pencils are broken, violently thrown onto the audience; the
medium’s arm is brutally shaken. St. Louis provides interesting explanations
about the condition and the nature of this spirit that, he says,
is of the worst kind and in one of the most unfortunate situations (to
be published with all other communications about the subject).
3rd – Four spontaneous communications are simultaneously
obtained: the first from St. Vincent de Paul, through Mr. Roze;
the second, from Charlet, through Mr. Didier junior, which is a
continuation of the work initiated by the same spirit; the third
from Mélanchthon, through Mr. Colin; the fourth from a spirit
who called himself Mikael, protector of children, by Mrs. Boyer.
Friday, December 16th, 1859
(Private Session)
Minutes of the previous session were read.
ADMISSIONS:
Mr. Benardacky from St. Petersburg and Ms. Elisa Johnson, from London,
introduced on December 2nd, are admitted as regular members.
REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION:
Mr. Forbes, from London, Engineering Officer, and Mrs. Forbes, from
Florence, send us letters requesting to be admitted as regular members of
the Society. Report and decision adjourned to the December 30th session.
Six officials are designated to split the works of the general sessions
until April 1st, without the need of designating one per session. In addition
they will have the task of indicating any infraction of the regulations
by the audience, then ignoring the requirements of the Society, so that
their sponsoring members may be warned.
As proposed by Mr. Allan Kardec, the Society decides that the Bulletin of
the sessions will be published in a supplement of the Review from now on, so
that its publication does not interfere with the regular matters of the journal.
As a consequence of that addition, each number will receive an addition of
about four pages, whose costs will be covered by the Society.
Mr. Leourd proposes that when there are five sessions in one
month, the fifth session should be of private character, which was adopted.
The same member further proposes that when a new member
is admitted they should be officially introduced to the other members
of the Society, so that they would not come as strangers, which was
also approved.
Mr. Thiry observes that many suffering spirits request the help of
prayers in order to mitigate their pain, but since we can lose track of them,
he proposes that their names be remembered in each session (adopted).
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – A letter received from Mr. Jobard, from Brussels, confirming
in details the fact of the Java manifestations, described by Mrs.
Pfeiffer and published in the December issue of the Review. He
obtained them from the Dutch general himself, to whom he was
associated, and being in charge of watching the house where those
things happened, and consequently an eyewitness. Published in
this number.
2nd – Reading of a communication of the spirit from
Castelnaudary, obtained by Mr. and Mrs. Forbes, attendees of the
last session. Circumstantial and interesting details of that spirit
are provided and also about the events which took place in the
referred house. Several other communications obtained about the
subject matter will be added and published when ready.
3rd – Reading of some news about Mrs. Xavier, clairvoyant
medium. That lady does not see the spirits at will but only when
they spontaneously present themselves to her, while she is not
in a somnambulistic or ecstatic state. Yet, at certain times she enters into a peculiar state, requiring calmness and reverence, to
the point that when questioned about what she is seeing, such a
state dissipates immediately and she no longer sees anything. In
the meantime, as she keeps a complete memory of everything
she can report it later. That is how she saw Sister Martha on the
very day that she was evoked, not leaving space for any doubt
regarding her identity. She also saw the spirit of Castelnaudary
in the last session, dressing a ragged shirt, holding a dagger in
his bloody hand, violently shaking the medium’s arm during his
writing attempts, as well as each time that St. Louis apparently
commanded him to write. He held a kind of stupid smile on his
face. Then, when told about the prayers it seems that he did not
understand in the beginning but soon after the explanation given
by St. Louis, he fell on his knees. The king of Kanala showed up
but with the head of a white man. He had blue eyes, mustache
and white sideburns, black hands, steel bracelets, a blue outfit
and the chest covered by a number of objects that she could not
distinguish. “Such appearance, someone said, is due to the fact
that before his latest existence he had been a French solider, during
the time of Louis XV. It was a consequence of his relatively
advanced state. He requested to return among his people, so that
as a chief he could bring ideas of progress. His form and the half
civilized, half savage appearance are supposed to show, in a different
way, the forms that the spirit can give to the perispirit, with
an educational objective and as an indication of the several states
he had experienced.”
Mrs. Xavier also saw the evoked spirits coming, responding
to the evocation and to the questions which had nothing negative
in their objective, then following St. Louis orders, and leaving so
that other spirits around could answer in turn, when the questions
then assumed an insidious direction.
“May the greatest of good-faiths and honesty dictate the questions,
and not a single dissimulated thought escape us” – added
the spirit questioned by the lady’s husband. “Never try to achieve your objectives through tortuous paths for you shall infallibly
miss them by doing so.”
She saw a fluidic crown around the medium’s head, as if
blocking the access of uncalled spirits for the communication,
since the answers should be sincere. However, once the crown
was removed, she saw several intruders disputing the vacant place.
Finally, she saw the spirit of Count R… in the form of a luminous
heart, upside-down, attached to a fluidic cord coming from
outside. We were told that it was to teach us that the spirit could
give the perispirit the appearance they wish. Then, it could have
presented her with the inconvenience of meeting an incarnated
sprit. Such inconvenience diminished or disappeared later.
STUDIES:
1st – Evocation of Charlet.
2nd – Three spontaneous communications, received simultaneously:
the first from St. Augustine, through Mr. Roze. It explains
the mission of Christ and confirms a very important point
explained by Arago, about the formation of the globe; the second
from Charlet, through Mr. Didier junior, continuing the work
already initiated; the third, from Joinville, signed in old orthographic
style: Amy de Loys, by Ms. Huet.
Friday, December 23rd, 1859
(General Session)
Reading of the minutes and works of the December 16th session.
REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION:
Letters received from Mr. Demange and from Mr. Soive, both Parisian
traders, requesting to become regular members. Report and decision adjourned
to the December 30th session.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Reading of a private evocation, carried out by Mrs. B…,
from the spirit that communicated spontaneously through her at
the Society, using the name Paul Miffet, at the moment of his
incarnation. This evocation, which presents an interesting picture
of the reincarnation and the physical and moral situation
of the spirit at the initial moments of the corporeal life, will be
published.
2nd – Letter from Mr. Paul Netz, about the facts which determined
the ownership of the ruins of the Vauvert castle, by
Chartreux, a castle located in the neighborhood of the Paris
Observatory, during the times of Louis IX. They say that diabolic
scenes have taken place in that castle, then stopping when
the monks were installed there. Once questioned about it, St.
Louis declares that he knew about the story but that it was pure
charlatanism.
STUDIES:
1st – Several moral questions addressed to St. Louis about the state
of suffering spirits. These will be published.
2nd – Evocation of John Brown.
3rd – Three spontaneous communications: the first by Mr. Roze
and signed by the Spirit of Truth, with several advices to the Society;
the second from Charlet, through Mr. Didier Junior, continuing the
work; the third about the spirits who preside over the flowers, by
Mrs. B…
Allan Kardec
February
Bulletin of the Parisian Society of Spiritist StudiesFriday, December 30th, 1859
(Private Session)
Minutes of the December 23rd session were read.
The Society decides that in every private session, following the reading of the minutes, the list containing the names of participants of the preceding general session will be read, with an indication of the regular members who have introduced them, and that an exhortation shall be made to point out the inconveniences caused by persons strange to the Society. Hence the list with the names of the attendees of the previous session was read.
(Private Session)
Minutes of the December 23rd session were read.
The Society decides that in every private session, following the reading of the minutes, the list containing the names of participants of the preceding general session will be read, with an indication of the regular members who have introduced them, and that an exhortation shall be made to point out the inconveniences caused by persons strange to the Society. Hence the list with the names of the attendees of the previous session was read.
These are the newly admitted regular members, as from written request
and verbal report:
1st – Mr. Forbes from London, Engineer officer, who was introduced
on December 16th.
2nd – Mrs. Forbes, born Countess Passerini Corretesi, from
Florence, introduced on December 16th *
3 rd – Mr. Soive, a businessman from Paris, introduced on
December 23rd. ** 4th – Mr. Demange, a businessman from Paris, introduced on
December 23rd.
Reading of three new letters requesting admission. Report and decision
adjourned to January 6th.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Letter from Mr. Brion Dorgeval, with the answer sent to Mr. Oscar Comettant, regarding an article from the latter published in the Siècle (see January issue of the Review).
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Letter from Mr. Brion Dorgeval, with the answer sent to Mr. Oscar Comettant, regarding an article from the latter published in the Siècle (see January issue of the Review).
2nd – Letter received from Mr. Jobard, from Brussels, with fair
observations about the moral state of the spirits. He regrets the fact
that the adepts of Spiritism are generally designated by their initials.
He believes that more explicit indications would contribute to the
progress of the Science. As a consequence he invites all adepts to sign
their names, as he does himself (see the January issue).
This last observation from Mr. Jobard is strongly endorsed
by a large number of members, who authorize to mention their
names in all references related to them.
Mr. Allan Kardec states that the fear for what is going to
be said diminishes daily and that there are only a few people
these days that would be afraid of confessing their opinion about
Spiritism. The bad taste epithets given to them become ridiculous
common place, laughed at when so many people from the
elites associate their names to the Doctrine, and one can already
foresee the time when the force of opinion will impose silence to
sarcasm. However, it is one thing to have the courage of opinion in conversations and another thing is to cast their names publicly.
Among the persons who sustain the cause of Spiritism with
more energy there are many who don’t like to have their names
in evidence, for that very reason, rather than anything else. Such
scruples, which don’t imply lack of courage, must be respected.
When extraordinary facts take place anywhere it is understandable
that it would not be very pleasant to the persons involved
to become a target of public curiosity and bothered by the unwelcome.
We should undoubtedly be grateful to those who are
above such prejudices but we should not lightheartedly censor
those who have very legitimate reasons not to expose themselves.
STUDIES:
1st – Questions addressed to St. Louis about the spirits who preside
over the flowers, regarding the communication received by
Mrs. B… An interesting explanation will be published on the
subject.
2nd – Other questions were framed about the spirit of the
animals.
3rd – Two spontaneous and simultaneous communications:
the first one by the Spirit of Truth, through Mr. Roze, with some
advices to the Society; the second, by Fénelon, through Ms. Huet.
Friday, January 6th, 1860
(Private Session)
Minutes of the December 30th session were read.
The following were admitted as regular members after written requests
and verbal report:
1st – Mr. Ducastel, a property owner from Abbéville, introduced
on December 30th.
2nd – Mrs. Deslandes, from Paris, introduced on December 30th.
3rd – Mrs. Rakowska, from Paris, introduced on December 30th.
A request for admission was read.
Letter received from Mr. Poinsignon, from Paris, congratulating the
Society over the New Year’s celebration, and wishing it well for the propagation
of Spiritism.
A letter recently received from Mr. Demange, thanking for his admission.
He ensures the Society about his active cooperation.
Analysis of several issues related to the administrative business of the
Society.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – News received about D. Péra, a prior from Armilly who died
30 years ago. A study shall be carried out about that.
2nd – Letter from Mr. Lussiez, from Troyes, with judicious
reflections about the moralizing influence of Spiritism over the
working classes.
3rd – Letter received from Mrs. P…, from Rouen, informing
to have received remarkable communications, as a medium, in
total agreement with The Spirits’ Book. Besides, the letter contains
reflections which indicate a very healthy appreciation of the
spiritist ideas from the part of the author.
4th – Letter received regarding Ms. Désirée Godu, a healing
medium from Hennebon. It is a known fact that Ms. Godu’s
work is that of devotion and pure philanthropy.
STUDIES:
1st – Several questions addressed to St. Louis for clarification and
development of earlier communications.
2nd – Ms. Dubois, medium and regular member of the Society,
having received a communication from a spirit who calls himself Chateaubriand, requests clarification. Another spirit communicates
with that very name, refusing identification in the name of
God. Confesses his fraud, apologizes and gives curious information
about his life. Then, the true Chateaubriand gives a brief and
spontaneous communication, promising a more elaborated one
in due course.
Friday, January 13th, 1860
(General Session)
Reading of the minutes from the January 6th, session.
Reading of three new requests for membership. Analysis and report
adjourned to the January 20th session.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Letter from Mr. Maurice, from Tell, Ardèche, reporting
extraordinary facts which took place in a house in Fons, near
Aubenas, and that somehow resemble those which happened in
Java.
2nd – Letter from Mr. Albert Ferdinand, from Beziers, reporting
three remarkable personal facts which demonstrate the physical
action that the spirits may exert upon certain mediums.
3rd – Letter from Mr. Crozet, from Havre, a corresponding
member of the Society, informing about a communication received
jointly with Mr. Sprenger, from a mockery spirit. That
spirit, a Navy captain deceased six months prior, explains with
remarkable accuracy and lucidity the tricks of the “besigue”
card game, indicating how the players may win or lose (to be
published).
4th – The spirit of a dancer. Mr. and Mrs. Netz, members of
the Society, since some time now receive communications from
a spirit that shows up dancing constantly, that is, making a table
dance, following the perfectly recognizable rhythm of a polka, a mazurka, a square dance, a waltz in two or three tempos, etc. He
never wanted to write, only responding through raps. He even
said through such a means that he was Peruvian, native Indian,
deceased 56 years ago at the age of 35; that really enjoyed drinking
“spirits” when alive, and who now attends public balls where
he has a lot of fun. He never comes to communicate before 10 pm
and only on certain days. He says that he communicates through
Mrs. Netz but he cannot do it without the support of Mr. D…,
a medium of physical effects, thus he needs both present at the
same time. Therefore, Mr. D… had never attracted him to his
house and Mrs. Netz cannot do it if she is alone.
5th – Reading of a spontaneous communication sent by Mr.
Rabache, from Bordeaux, in continuation of those published under
the title “Family advices”.
6th – Mrs. Forbes reads three spontaneous communications
received by her husband about filial love, paternal love and patience.
Those communications, remarkable by their high morality
and simplicity of language, may be classified in the category
of intimate advices.
STUDIES:
1st – The spirit from Castelnaudary was evoked, who had already
been evoked on December 9th. See the complete report under the
title “Story of a naughty spirit”.
2nd – Evocation of the dancer spirit. He does not wish to write
but raps the rhythm of several rhythms with the pencil, agitating
the medium’s arm in synchronism. St. Louis gives some explanations
about his character and confirms the preceding information.
3rd – Questions about the manifestations of Fons, near
Aubenas. The answer is that there is something truthful about
the facts, but they should not be accepted unconditionally and
that we should prevent against exaggeration above all.
4th – Evocation of D. Péra, prior of Armilly. He provides important
details about his situation and character.
5th – Two spontaneous communications: the first through
Mr. Roze, from a spirit named Estelle Riquier who had led an
unworthy life, failed her duties as a mother and wife; the second
through Mr. Forbes, containing advices about rage.
Friday, January 20th, 1860
(Private Session)
Reading of the minutes of the January 13th session.
Following the written request and verbal reports, the following persons
are admitted as regular members:
1st – Mr. Kratzoff, from Saint Petersburg, introduced on January
13th.
2nd – Mr. Julien, from Belfort, High-Rhine, introduced on
January 13th.
3rd – Mr. Count Alexander Stenbock Fermor, from Saint
Petersburg, introduced on January 6th.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Reading of a spontaneous communication received by
Mr. Pécheur, member of the Society.
2nd – New details about the dancer spirit. Mrs. Netz, writing
medium, having questioned another spirit, received more
information, among them the fact that he was very rich when
alive; that he died in a hunting accident, when completely alone.
Having questioned the dancer spirit about these facts and with
the support of the other medium, she obtained identical answers
through knocks. Behold, Mrs. Netz had not communicated the
first written answers to the other medium. On another hand, she is not the one operating as a medium now. Besides, she had formulated
the questions insidiously, possibly leading to adverse answers.
Hence there was independence of thoughts from one side
to the other, and the agreement of the answers is a characteristic
fact. Another equally curious fact is that the dancer’s favorite medium
one day was taken by involuntary movements in the streets,
making him walk rhythmically. If he wanted to resist he could
stop those movements but as long as he let go, his legs would follow
the flair of a dancer. It was nothing much ostensive, sufficient
to call other people’s attention. This leads to the understanding
that spirits of different orders and not so much well meaning, like
the spirit that just wanted to have fun, could produce more violent
movements over certain human bodies, similar to those seen
in the convulsive and jerky persons.
3rd – Report of a spontaneous communication from the spirit of
a living person, made by Mr. G…, a writing medium, given to him
personally. The spirit described circumstantial details completely ignored
by the medium, whose accuracy was verified. Mr. G… did
not know that person, having seen him only once during a visitation
and never again. He only knew his family name. Well, the spirit
also signed his name, perfectly correct. Such circumstance, added
to other indications of time and place given by the spirit, constitute
evidence of identity. Mr. Count de R… comments that such kind
of communications may sometimes entail some indiscretion, asking
if the person involved would be happy if aware of the conversation.
The following answers were given:
1 – If the communicating person came in spirit it was out of
their own will, considering that Mr. G… was not thinking of him
and did not call him;
2 – Once detached from the body the spirit has free-will, only
responding to what they wish to;
3 – In such a state the spirit is more sensible than in the waking
state, since the spirit sees the reach of things in a broader way.
If that spirit had seen any inconvenience in his words he would
not have said that;
4th – Reading of a communication from Lyon, addressed to
the Society, saying among other things:
“The transformation of humanity is prepared by the incarnation
of better spirits on Earth, those who will form a new generation,
dominated by the love of good; that the wicked people who
keep their eyes closed to the light will reincarnate with a new
phalanx of simple and ignorant spirits, sent by God to the works
of formation of a new world, inferior to planet Earth. They will
not be able to meet their brothers and sisters from Earth but only
after hard work through which they will then reach their level, after
this generation is passed, because the bad spirits will not have
the right to witness such beautiful transformation.”
Mr. Theubet observes that the communication apparently
blesses the principle of a backwards march, contrary to everything
that has been taught.
A long and profound discussion is then established. It can
be summarized as follows: The spirit may fall from the current
position but not with respect to the acquired knowledge and virtues.
The principle of non-retrogress must be understood from
the moral and intellectual standpoint, that is, the spirit cannot
lose what has already been acquired in intelligence and morality
and would not return to the state of spiritual infancy. In other
words, the spirit cannot become more ignorant or worse than before,
fact that does not preclude the spirit from incarnating in a
tougher and inferior position and among more ignorant spirits,
if deserved. A very inferior spirit who would reincarnate among
a civilized people would be out of place and would not be able
to keep up with his class. Returning to the savage in a new existence
such a spirit would only be recovering his own position,
which could have been left a bit too early, but the ideas acquired
during his passage among the enlightened people would not be lost. The same must happen to those individuals who are going
to support the formation of a new world. Finding out of place in
a better Earth they shall then move to a world compatible with
their moral state.
STUDIES:
1st – A black person from the ship Constant is evoked; he had
already been evoked on September 30th, 1859. He gives new explanations
about the circumstances that followed his death.
2nd – Three spontaneous communications: the first from
Chateaubriand, through Mr. Roze; the second from Plato, through
Mr. Colin; the third from Charlet, through Mr. Didier junior, in
continuation of his work about the nature of the animals.
_______________________________________
* The original shows December 23rd as the introduction date but the correct date is
December 16th, according to the respective minutes (see the January 1860 issue) – (NT).
** The original shows December 16th as the introduction date but the correct is December 23rd, according to the respective minutes (see the January 1860 issue) – (NT).
** The original shows December 16th as the introduction date but the correct is December 23rd, according to the respective minutes (see the January 1860 issue) – (NT).
Globule Spirits
The desire to see the spirits is a very natural thing and we know only a
few people who would not like to have such a faculty. Unfortunately
it is one of the scarcest, particularly the permanent one. The spontaneous
apparitions are very frequent but accidental, and almost always motivated
by a totally personal circumstance, based on the relationships that might
have existed between the person that sees and the spirit that shows up.
One thing is to serendipitously see a spirit and another is to see them
habitually and under normal, ordinary conditions. Well, as a matter of
fact, that is what constitutes the faculty of the clairvoyant mediums. It
results from a special aptitude whose cause is still unknown, and that can
be developed but which would be hopelessly provoked in case there is no
natural predisposition. Thus, it is necessary to remain vigilant against the
illusions which can be originated from the desire of having such a faculty,
and which have given place to so many strange systems. We must fight
the scaring theories since these have been the reason for the attacks to the
manifestations, particularly when those theories demonstrate ignorance
with respect to the facts, as much as we must try to destroy ideas which
indicate more enthusiasm than thought, and that for this very reason do
more harm than good by being exposed to ridicule.
The theory of the visions and apparitions is perfectly understood today.
We have developed it in several articles particularly in the December
1858 and February and August 1859 issues of the Review and in our The Mediums’ Book, or experimental Spiritism. We shall not repeat it here but
will remind a few essential points only, before coming to the analysis of
the globule spirits system.
The spirits may be seen in several ways, being the human form the
most common. Their apparition generally happens under a misty and
diaphanous form, sometimes vague and not well defined. It often starts
from a whitish spark whose boundaries are gradually delineated. On other
occasions the lines are more accentuated and the tiniest details of the face
are drawn with such an accuracy which allows their exact description. On
those occasions a painter could portray them as easily as done with a living
person. The attitude and looks are the same that the spirit had when
alive. Since the spirit may give any appearance to the perispirit, which is
the ethereal body, the spirit may show up under the appearance in which
they are more easily recognizable. Therefore, although the spirit no longer
carries any disease which they might have endured as a living person, the
spirit may appear limping, limbless or hunchback if that is considered
suitable for identification. As for their outfit these are generally made of
some sort of floating tunics, at least that is the appearance of the superior
spirits who keep nothing of the worldly things. However, the vulgar spirits,
our acquaintances, almost always wear the type of clothes that they
wore in the last period of their lives. They frequently show the typical
traits of their social classes. The superior spirits always show a beautiful,
noble and serene face whereas the inferior spirits have a vulgar physiognomy,
a mirror which reflects the more or less ignoble passions that moved
them. They sometimes even show traces of their crimes or sufferings. A
remarkable thing is the fact that, exception made to some particular circumstances,
the least defined areas are the inferior limbs while the head,
arms and chest are always clearly outlined.
We said that the apparition has something of diaphanous, despite its
distinctiveness. In some cases one can compare them to the image reflected
on a mirror without tin, which does not preclude us from seeing
the objects behind it. That is how the clairvoyants commonly see them.
They see the spirits come and go, circulate around the living ones, giving the impression, at least the vulgar spirits, that they take active part into
what happens around them, listening and showing interest for what is
being discussed, depending on the subject. Sometimes they can be seen
approaching people, whispering ideas, influencing them, consoling or
showing happiness or sadness, depending on the result. In short, it is the
replica or the reflex of the corporeal world, with its passions, vices or
virtues, many virtues which our material nature would hardly allow us
to understand. Such is this occult world that populates the space that surrounds
us, in which we live unsuspectedly, as we live among the myriads
of the microscopic world.
However, it can also be that the spirit takes an even more distinct
shape with all traces of a solid human body, to the point of producing
a complete illusion and make believe that one is before a corporeal being.
Finally, the tangibility may become real, that is, such body may be
touched; its resistance may be felt and even its temperature, as if from an
animated body, despite the fact that it may disappear with the speed of
light. Although the apparition of these beings, designated by the name
agénères, is very rare, it is always accidental and of short duration. They
could not become habitual guests of a house under such appearance.
It is a well-known fact that among the exceptional faculties irrefutably
demonstrated by Mr. Home there was the appearance of tangible hands,
which can be touched on one side and on the other those hands can hold,
grab and even leave impressions on the skin. We say that the tangible
apparitions are very rare but the ones which occurred lately confirm and
explain those recorded by History, relatively to persons which showed
up after death, showing the same appearance as their corporeal form. As
a matter of fact, however extraordinary such phenomena may seem, the
supernatural aspect disappears as long as the explanation is known and it
is then clear that far from being a derogation of the natural laws, the apparitions
are their application.
When the spirits take the human form it is impossible to be mistaken.
That is not the case when they take other appearances. We will not discuss
certain terrestrial images reflected by the atmosphere, which have fed the superstition of ignorant people, but of some other effects about which
even educated people could be mistaken. That is precisely when we have
to be vigilant against the illusion, avoiding exposing ourselves by taking
some purely natural physical phenomena by spirits.
The air does not always present a perfect cleanness, and there are situations
in which the molecular currents and agitation produced by heat are
perfectly visible. The agglomeration of these particles forms small masses
which seem to navigate in space, giving rise to the singular system of spirits
in the form of globules. The cause of such appearance is in the air but it
can also be in the eye. The vitreous humor has imperceptible spots which
may have lost their transparency. These spots are like opaque bodies in
suspension, following the liquid’s motions and undulation. They produce
the effect of small discs in the air and at a distance, due to the phenomenon
of refraction and amplification, varying from 1 to 10 millimeters in
diameter. We saw people absorb those discs by familiar spirits that followed
them everywhere, and they saw figures in the nuances of the optical
formations, out of their own enthusiasm. A simple observation carried out
by these persons will bring them back to the terrain of reality. Those discs
or medallions, they say, not only follow them but track all their moves:
they show up on the right, on the left, up and down, or stop, according to
the motion of the head. Such coincidence proves by itself that the seat of
the appearance is in us and not outside, further demonstrated by the fact
that the wavy like movements are always within a certain angle; however,
as they do not follow the sudden changes in the line of sight, it gives the
impression that they have certain independence. The cause of that effect
is very simple. The opaque or semi-opaque spots of the vitreous humor,
primary cause of the phenomenon as we said, are kept in suspension, with
a constant tendency to drop down. When there is an upward movement
it is because they were required by the ascending motion of the eye; at
that point if the eye stays put the disc is seen to slowly move downwards
and then stop. It has extreme mobility since an imperceptible motion of
the eye is sufficient to make it sweep the full angle of sight, in the region
where the image is projected.
The same can be said about the sparks sometimes produced in more
or less compact rays, by the contraction of the muscle of the eye, which
are likely due to the phosphorescence or natural electricity of the iris,
since these are generally limited to the circular circumference of the organ.
Similar illusions cannot arise but from an incomplete observation.
Those who have seriously studied the nature of the spirits by all means
given by the practical science will understand how puerile these illusions
are. If those airy globules were spirits we would have to acknowledge that
they would be reduced to a purely mechanical role, considering that they
are intelligent and free beings, a role which would be painfully boring to
inferior spirits, let alone the idea that we have about the superior spirits.
The only signs that may really ensure the presence of the spirits are
the intelligent ones. As long as the images which we have just mentioned
above have not demonstrated independent, spontaneous movements,
even if with a human form, we are only seeing physiological or optical
phenomena. The same observation applies to all kinds of manifestations,
particularly the noises, raps, and any uncommon motion of inert bodies,
which can be produced by a thousand and one reasons. We repeat: while
an effect is not intelligent on its own and independent from people’s intelligence,
we must examine it twice before attributing it to the spirits.
Special Mediums
Experience daily demonstrates how large the variety of the mediumship
faculty is. However, it also proves that the multiple nuances of
that faculty are due to special and not yet defined gifts, abstraction made
of the quality and knowledge of the manifesting spirit. The nature of
the communication is always relative to the spirit’s nature, bearing the
hallmark of their elevation or inferiority, their knowledge or ignorance.
However, having equal merit from a hierarchical point of view, there is
an incontestable tendency to dedicate to one thing, rather than the other.
For example, the rapping spirits are almost never away from the physical
manifestations and those who give intelligent manifestations are poets,
musicians, painters, moralists, doctors, wise spirits, etc. We speak of a
middle order of spirits, because when the spirits arrive at a certain level the
skills merge in the unity of perfection. Nevertheless, besides the skills of
the spirit, there is the medium who is more or less an adequate instrument
to the spirit, more or less flexible, to whom the medium offers particular
qualities which we cannot appreciate.
Let us make a comparison: a skillful musician has several violins in
hand which are all good to the public but among which the seasoned
artist sees a great difference; he detects nuances of subtle delicacy which
lead him to pick some and reject others, nuances which he understands
out of pure intuition and that he cannot define. The same happens to the
mediums: among mediums of similar qualities regarding the mediumistic strength, the spirit will prefer this one to the other, according to the type
of communication they want to give. Thus, for example, we see people
writing remarkable poetry as mediums although under ordinary circumstances
they could never write a single verse. Others who are poets, on
the contrary only write prose, despite their wishes. The same applies to
painting, music, etc. There are mediums that without having scientific
knowledge have a very special skill to receive scientific communications;
others to receive historical studies; others operate as interpreters to moralizing
spirits. In short, whatever the flexibility of the medium, the communications
that are more easily received have a particular characteristic.
There are some that even stay close to a given circle of ideas and when they
move away from that circle we then have incomplete, terse and sometimes
false communications. In addition to the medium’s skills, the spirits still
communicate more or less voluntarily through this or the other medium,
according to their sympathies. Thus, despite the equality of skills, the
same spirit will be much more elaborated through certain mediums, by
the simple fact that it is more convenient to them.
It would therefore be a mistake to think that just because there is a
medium that writes very easily that one can obtain good communications
of all kinds through his mediumship. The first condition to obtain good
communications is, no discussion there, to be sure about the source of
the communication, that is, about the qualities of the spirit who transmit
them, but it is not less necessary to be aware of the qualities of the
instrument that is offered to the spirit. Hence, it is necessary to study the
nature of the medium as one studies the nature of the spirit since these
are the two essential elements to obtain satisfactory results. A third condition,
representing an equally important role, is the intention, the intimate
thought, the more or less worthy feeling of the person that interrogates
the spirit. And that makes sense. A good communication can only proceed
from a good spirit. In order to transmit such communication the
spirit requires a good medium. Then a suitable objective is needed so that
the spirit may wish to transmit it. The spirit that can read our thoughts,
judges if the question deserves an answer and if the person who frames the question is worthy of receiving that answer. Otherwise the spirit will
not waste any time by sowing good seeds on stones, and it is then that the
joker spirits and the spirits of levity have fun, since they have no compromise
with the truth and are not very courteous and generally show little
scruples regarding the ends and the means.
From the above, it is clear that there must be spirits specially involved,
by their likes or reason, with alleviating the sufferings of humanity, and
that simultaneously there must be mediums that are more capable than
others to operate as their intermediaries. Well, since those spirits act exclusively
for the general well-being, they must seek certain moral qualities in
their interpreters, besides the skills which may be considered physiological,
among which are the highest devotion and altruism. Greed has been
and will always be a reason for rejection from the good spirits and a cause
of attraction to the others. Will common sense accept that the good spirits
would engage into all sorts of machinations of material interest, being at
the services of the first one to show up with the intention of exploiting
them? The spirits do not want to be exploited, whoever they may be, and
if some seem to agree, even anticipating certain mundane wishes, they
almost always have the intention of carrying out a mystification which
will make them laugh later, like someone who would laugh after having
tricked very credulous people. As a matter of fact, it is useful that some
people may burn their fingers so that they may learn that one should not
make fun of serious things.
Such is the case that we must speak about, one of those privileged mediums
that the healing spirits seem to have taken as their direct protégé.
Ms. Désirée Godu, a resident of Hennebon, in Morbihan, who enjoys a
truly remarkable faculty, in all aspects, that she utilizes with the keenest
abnegation. We have already mentioned a few words in a report of the
sessions of the Society, but the importance of the issue deserves a special
article, that we will have the pleasure of dedicating to her in our next
number. Keeping aside the interest on the study of every rare faculty, we
shall always consider the promotion of goodness as our duty and it is only
fair to those who do it.
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.
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
Estelle RiquierSociety, January 13th, 1860
I am consumed by boredom, grief, and despair. Guilty wife, cruel mother, I abandoned the sacred joys of my family; the matrimonial dwelling beautified by the presence of two little angels from heavens. Dragged by the paths of addiction, by a limitless egotism, pride and vanity, a woman with no heart, I conspired against the sacred love of the one who God and people had given me as the support of my life. He hopelessly sought the refuge of death against my coward abandonment and dishonor.
Christ forgave the adulterous woman and the regretful Magdalene. The adulterous woman had loved and Magdalene repented. But I, miserable one, I sold dearly a false love which I had never felt. I sowed pleasure and did not harvest but neglect. The horrible misery and cruel hunger brought an end to a hateful life… and I did not regret! And I, miserable and infamous, oh! How often have I employed my influence as a spirit, leading poor women to the vice, women that I saw virtuous and in good health, enjoying the happiness which I had neglected? Will God ever forgive me? Perhaps, if the disgust inspired in you doesn’t prevent you from praying for the unfortunate Estelle Riquier.
OBSERVATION: The following questions were addressed to this uncalled spirit, and unknown to the audience.
1. When have you died? – A. Fifty years ago.
2. Where did you live? – A. In Paris.
3. What was your husband’s social echelon? – A. Middle class.
4. How old were you when you died? – A. I was 32.
5. How have you come spontaneously to communicate with us? – A. It was allowed for your instruction and to serve as an example.
6. Did you have any education? – Yes.
7. We hope that God will take into account the honesty of your confession and your regret. We wish God may be merciful to you and send good spirits to clarify you regarding the means of repairing your past. – A. Oh! Thank you, thank you! May God hear you!
OBSERVATION: Several people informed us that they consider a duty to pray for the suffering spirits that we have indicated and who ask for help. We wish these charitable thoughts may spread among our readers. Some received the spontaneous visit of the spirits to whom they addressed their good wishes, who came to thank them.
I am consumed by boredom, grief, and despair. Guilty wife, cruel mother, I abandoned the sacred joys of my family; the matrimonial dwelling beautified by the presence of two little angels from heavens. Dragged by the paths of addiction, by a limitless egotism, pride and vanity, a woman with no heart, I conspired against the sacred love of the one who God and people had given me as the support of my life. He hopelessly sought the refuge of death against my coward abandonment and dishonor.
Christ forgave the adulterous woman and the regretful Magdalene. The adulterous woman had loved and Magdalene repented. But I, miserable one, I sold dearly a false love which I had never felt. I sowed pleasure and did not harvest but neglect. The horrible misery and cruel hunger brought an end to a hateful life… and I did not regret! And I, miserable and infamous, oh! How often have I employed my influence as a spirit, leading poor women to the vice, women that I saw virtuous and in good health, enjoying the happiness which I had neglected? Will God ever forgive me? Perhaps, if the disgust inspired in you doesn’t prevent you from praying for the unfortunate Estelle Riquier.
OBSERVATION: The following questions were addressed to this uncalled spirit, and unknown to the audience.
1. When have you died? – A. Fifty years ago.
2. Where did you live? – A. In Paris.
3. What was your husband’s social echelon? – A. Middle class.
4. How old were you when you died? – A. I was 32.
5. How have you come spontaneously to communicate with us? – A. It was allowed for your instruction and to serve as an example.
6. Did you have any education? – Yes.
7. We hope that God will take into account the honesty of your confession and your regret. We wish God may be merciful to you and send good spirits to clarify you regarding the means of repairing your past. – A. Oh! Thank you, thank you! May God hear you!
OBSERVATION: Several people informed us that they consider a duty to pray for the suffering spirits that we have indicated and who ask for help. We wish these charitable thoughts may spread among our readers. Some received the spontaneous visit of the spirits to whom they addressed their good wishes, who came to thank them.
Present Time
Society, January 20th, 1860
You are guided by the true Genius of Christianity, as I told you. Christ himself presides over every work in progress, opening up the era of renovation and betterment predicted by your spiritual guides. In fact, if you look to the contemporary events, beyond the spiritist manifestations, you will undoubtedly recognize the precursor signs inexorably demonstrating that the time has come.
Communications are established among all peoples and the material barriers are knocked down. The moral obstacles opposed to their union; the political and religious prejudices will quickly fade away and the kingdom of fraternity will then be definitely established and everlasting. Behold, - something incredible to us - the sovereigns themselves, as if guided by invisible hand, from now on are taking the initiative of the reforms; and the reforms which spontaneously come from the top are faster and more long-lived than those which forcibly come from the bottom. Despite the prejudices of childhood and education, and the cult of the past, I have foreseen the current times. I am happy for that and even more so for having come to tell you: “Courage brothers! Work for you and your family’s future. Work for your personal improvement, before anything else, and you will enjoy in your new existence a happiness which is as much difficult to imagine as it is to me to explain it to you.
Chateaubriand
You are guided by the true Genius of Christianity, as I told you. Christ himself presides over every work in progress, opening up the era of renovation and betterment predicted by your spiritual guides. In fact, if you look to the contemporary events, beyond the spiritist manifestations, you will undoubtedly recognize the precursor signs inexorably demonstrating that the time has come.
Communications are established among all peoples and the material barriers are knocked down. The moral obstacles opposed to their union; the political and religious prejudices will quickly fade away and the kingdom of fraternity will then be definitely established and everlasting. Behold, - something incredible to us - the sovereigns themselves, as if guided by invisible hand, from now on are taking the initiative of the reforms; and the reforms which spontaneously come from the top are faster and more long-lived than those which forcibly come from the bottom. Despite the prejudices of childhood and education, and the cult of the past, I have foreseen the current times. I am happy for that and even more so for having come to tell you: “Courage brothers! Work for you and your family’s future. Work for your personal improvement, before anything else, and you will enjoy in your new existence a happiness which is as much difficult to imagine as it is to me to explain it to you.
Chateaubriand
The Bells
Obtained by Mr. Pécher Society, January 13th, 1860
Can you tell me why have I always liked the sound of bells? The reason is that the soul of a person who thinks or suffers always tries to withdraw when feeling that mute happiness which awakes in us the vague memories of a past existence. That sound is a translation of Christ’s words that have been vibrating in the air for eighteen centuries. It is the voice of hope. How many hearts has it comforted! How much strength has it given to the believing humanity! The divine voice has terrified those people who were great in their times. They were scared of that because the truth that they had subdued made them tremble. Christ showed that to everyone. They killed the Christ but not the idea. His sacred word had been understood. It was immortal and yet how often has your heart been taken by doubt! How often has the individual accused God of unfairness! He exclaimed: My God, what have I done? Has disgrace followed me since birth? Am I then destined to follow this avenue which breaks my heart? There seems to be a fatality chained to my feet. I feel the strength failing me. I will break this life. At this point in time God shines a ray of hope onto your heart. A friendly hand removes the blindfold of materialism from your eyes and a voice from heavens tells you: Look at that bright light in the horizon. It is a sacred fire from God. That flame must illuminate and purify the world. It must make that light penetrate human’s heart and from there break the darkness that covers his eyes. Some people pretended to have brought you light only to produce a mist which lost you in the straight path. Don’t be blind, you to whom God shows the light. It is Spiritism that allows you to lift the tip of the veil which covered your past. Look at what you were and think. Bow before our Creator’s justice. Glorify God for giving you the courage to persist in your chosen trials. Christ said: “…for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” Such an absolutely spiritist thought contains the mystery of your sufferings. May hope in God’s benevolence give you courage and faith! Always listen to that voice which vibrates in your hearts. It is up to you to understand with wisdom and elevate your soul with fraternal thoughts. May the wealthy reach out to the unfortunate ones, since the wealth was not given for their personal pleasures, but to be God’s helper and God shall have you reporting to him the use you gave to that richness. Your virtues are the only wealth acknowledged by God; the only one which you shall carry when leaving this world. Let the false scholars talk, those who call you crazy. It may well be that tomorrow they will request your prayers since God will judge them.
From your daughter, who loves you and prays for you.
Can you tell me why have I always liked the sound of bells? The reason is that the soul of a person who thinks or suffers always tries to withdraw when feeling that mute happiness which awakes in us the vague memories of a past existence. That sound is a translation of Christ’s words that have been vibrating in the air for eighteen centuries. It is the voice of hope. How many hearts has it comforted! How much strength has it given to the believing humanity! The divine voice has terrified those people who were great in their times. They were scared of that because the truth that they had subdued made them tremble. Christ showed that to everyone. They killed the Christ but not the idea. His sacred word had been understood. It was immortal and yet how often has your heart been taken by doubt! How often has the individual accused God of unfairness! He exclaimed: My God, what have I done? Has disgrace followed me since birth? Am I then destined to follow this avenue which breaks my heart? There seems to be a fatality chained to my feet. I feel the strength failing me. I will break this life. At this point in time God shines a ray of hope onto your heart. A friendly hand removes the blindfold of materialism from your eyes and a voice from heavens tells you: Look at that bright light in the horizon. It is a sacred fire from God. That flame must illuminate and purify the world. It must make that light penetrate human’s heart and from there break the darkness that covers his eyes. Some people pretended to have brought you light only to produce a mist which lost you in the straight path. Don’t be blind, you to whom God shows the light. It is Spiritism that allows you to lift the tip of the veil which covered your past. Look at what you were and think. Bow before our Creator’s justice. Glorify God for giving you the courage to persist in your chosen trials. Christ said: “…for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” Such an absolutely spiritist thought contains the mystery of your sufferings. May hope in God’s benevolence give you courage and faith! Always listen to that voice which vibrates in your hearts. It is up to you to understand with wisdom and elevate your soul with fraternal thoughts. May the wealthy reach out to the unfortunate ones, since the wealth was not given for their personal pleasures, but to be God’s helper and God shall have you reporting to him the use you gave to that richness. Your virtues are the only wealth acknowledged by God; the only one which you shall carry when leaving this world. Let the false scholars talk, those who call you crazy. It may well be that tomorrow they will request your prayers since God will judge them.
From your daughter, who loves you and prays for you.
Family Advices
(Continuation – read at the Society on January 20th, 1860 – see January issue of the Review)
My dear children, in my preceding instructions I advised you with calmness and courage; however, not all of you show them as you should. You must consider that apologies do not mitigate pain. On the contrary, it tends to increase it. A good advice, a good word, a smile, a simple gesture gives strength and courage. A drop of tear softens the heart instead of hardening it. Cry, if your heart drives you to that but may it happen in solitude and not in the presence of those who need all of your energy or strength which a single tear or a sigh of sadness may diminish and weaken. We all need encouragement and nothing better than a friendly voice, a benevolent look, and a word from the heart. When I advised you to get together it was not to gather your tears and sufferings; it was not to drive you to the prayers which only demonstrate good intention but to unite your thoughts, your collective endeavors; so that you could mutually advise one another, and as a group you must try to triumph over the obstacles instead of sharing your sadness. A beggar will ask God for his subsistence in vain since it shall not fall from heavens. He must work and however little he may get that will have a greater value than all prayers. Useful work is the most pleasing prayer to God, whatever the work is. I repeat: the prayer only demonstrates a good intention, a good feeling; however it only produces a moral effect, because it is all moral. It is excellent as a consolation to the soul because the soul that sincerely prays finds relief to their moral sufferings. Outside of these effects and those which come from the prayers, as I have explained to you on other instructions, you must wait for nothing, since you will meet deception. Then, follow exactly my advices. Do not be content in asking God to help you. You must help yourselves and that is how you will demonstrate the authenticity of your prayers. In fact, it would be too easy to just ask for something in your prayers to have it granted. It would be the greatest stimulus to laziness and to the neglect of the good deeds. I could elaborate even further about it but it would be too much for you. Your level of advancement does not accommodate it. Think about this instruction, as about the preceding ones, for those are intended to occupy your minds for a long time. They have the embryonic teachings of everything which you shall learn in the future. Follow my previous advices.
Allan Kardec
My dear children, in my preceding instructions I advised you with calmness and courage; however, not all of you show them as you should. You must consider that apologies do not mitigate pain. On the contrary, it tends to increase it. A good advice, a good word, a smile, a simple gesture gives strength and courage. A drop of tear softens the heart instead of hardening it. Cry, if your heart drives you to that but may it happen in solitude and not in the presence of those who need all of your energy or strength which a single tear or a sigh of sadness may diminish and weaken. We all need encouragement and nothing better than a friendly voice, a benevolent look, and a word from the heart. When I advised you to get together it was not to gather your tears and sufferings; it was not to drive you to the prayers which only demonstrate good intention but to unite your thoughts, your collective endeavors; so that you could mutually advise one another, and as a group you must try to triumph over the obstacles instead of sharing your sadness. A beggar will ask God for his subsistence in vain since it shall not fall from heavens. He must work and however little he may get that will have a greater value than all prayers. Useful work is the most pleasing prayer to God, whatever the work is. I repeat: the prayer only demonstrates a good intention, a good feeling; however it only produces a moral effect, because it is all moral. It is excellent as a consolation to the soul because the soul that sincerely prays finds relief to their moral sufferings. Outside of these effects and those which come from the prayers, as I have explained to you on other instructions, you must wait for nothing, since you will meet deception. Then, follow exactly my advices. Do not be content in asking God to help you. You must help yourselves and that is how you will demonstrate the authenticity of your prayers. In fact, it would be too easy to just ask for something in your prayers to have it granted. It would be the greatest stimulus to laziness and to the neglect of the good deeds. I could elaborate even further about it but it would be too much for you. Your level of advancement does not accommodate it. Think about this instruction, as about the preceding ones, for those are intended to occupy your minds for a long time. They have the embryonic teachings of everything which you shall learn in the future. Follow my previous advices.
Allan Kardec
March
Bulletin of the Society of Spiritist StudiesFriday, 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.
(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.
The Pre-Adamites
A letter that we have received contains the following passage:
“It must be forcibly admitted that the teaching of the spirits is absolutely founded on Christ’s moral and even much more developed than that found in the Gospels, since you show the application of what is sometimes just found as general principles. Regarding the existence of the spirits and their relationship with the human beings, to me it is not cause of any doubt. I would be convinced just by the testimony of the fathers of the Church, if I did not have the proof of my own experience. Hence, I do not raise any objection with that respect. The same cannot be said to certain points of your Doctrine, evidently contrary to the text of the Scriptures. At this point in time I shall limit myself to a single question relative to the first human being. You say that Adam was neither the only one nor the first to have inhabited Earth. In that case one would have to admit that the Bible is mistaken, since the starting point would be controversial. Notice the consequence of all that! I confess that such thought has made me confused. However, since I support the truth before anything else and faith has nothing to gain if based on a mistake, I ask you to kindly provide some clarification that, if your free time allows. And if you can bring peace to my conscience I will duly appreciate it.”
“It must be forcibly admitted that the teaching of the spirits is absolutely founded on Christ’s moral and even much more developed than that found in the Gospels, since you show the application of what is sometimes just found as general principles. Regarding the existence of the spirits and their relationship with the human beings, to me it is not cause of any doubt. I would be convinced just by the testimony of the fathers of the Church, if I did not have the proof of my own experience. Hence, I do not raise any objection with that respect. The same cannot be said to certain points of your Doctrine, evidently contrary to the text of the Scriptures. At this point in time I shall limit myself to a single question relative to the first human being. You say that Adam was neither the only one nor the first to have inhabited Earth. In that case one would have to admit that the Bible is mistaken, since the starting point would be controversial. Notice the consequence of all that! I confess that such thought has made me confused. However, since I support the truth before anything else and faith has nothing to gain if based on a mistake, I ask you to kindly provide some clarification that, if your free time allows. And if you can bring peace to my conscience I will duly appreciate it.”
Response
The issue of Adam as the first man and the origin of humanity is not the
only one where religious beliefs have to change. There was a time when
Earth’s movements seemed so much opposed to the Scriptures that the
simple theory served as an excuse to almost all forms of persecution, and
yet Joshua did not hinder the Earth from turning by stopping the Sun.
Earth turns, despite the anathemas, and today nobody denies that without
hurting logic and reason.
By excavating the archives of Earth, Science has acknowledged the
timeline for the appearance of the living creatures on Earth’s surface. The
observation leaves space to no doubt with respect to the organic species
which belong to each period, and that order is in agreement with what is
found in the book of Genesis, with the difference that instead of having
miraculously left God’s hand in a few hours, the works were carried out
always following God’s wishes but according to the forces of the natural
laws, in a few million years. Will that diminish God or make God less
powerful? Will God’s works be less sublime for not having been instantaneous?
No, absolutely not. It would be necessary to have a very petty idea
of God in order to not recognize God’s omnipotence in the eternal laws
established by God to govern the worlds.
As Moses did, science places human beings at the last moment of
creation of the living beings, but Moses places the universal floods in
the year 1654 of the world, while Geology tells us that the great cataclysm
happened before humans, since there is no trace of human’s presence
in the primitive layers of Earth up to that time, or even of other
animals of the same category from a physical stand point. Yet, nothing
demonstrates that it would be impossible. Several discoveries have already
brought doubt about it. It is then possible that at any time there could be
certainty about such pre-existence of the human race. It is still to be determined
if the geological cataclysm whose traces are found everywhere is
the same as Noah’s flood. Well, the law of formation of fossil layers would
not allow them to be mixed up since the first one goes back perhaps a hundred thousand years. From the moment when traces of human’s presence
are found before the great catastrophe it will then be demonstrated
that Adam was not the first man, or that his creation is lost in the darkness
of the ages. Against evidence there is no possible argument. The
theologians should then accept the fact as done with the movements of
Earth and the six periods of creation. In reality the existence of humans
before the geological floods is still hypothetical but that is of less importance.
Supposing that humans had appeared on Earth for the first time
4,000 years before Christ, and that 1,650 years later the whole human
race was destroyed, with the exception of only one person, it means that
the inhabitation of Earth can only date from Noah’s time, that is 2,350
years before our time. Now, when the Hebrews immigrated to Egypt in
the XVIII century AC they found a well-inhabited country with a very
advanced civilization. History proves that India and other regions were
also flourishing in those days. Hence it would be necessary that between
the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries AC, that is, in a period of 600
years, not only the descendants of a single man could have inhabited all
known and immense regions of those days, supposing that the others were
not, but also that in such a short interval of time, the whole human race
could have been elevated from the most absolute ignorance of the primitive
state to the highest degree of intellectual development, in opposition
to every anthropological laws. On another hand, everything is explained
once the pre-existence of humans is accepted; Noah’s flood as a partial
catastrophe, confused with the geological cataclysm, and Adam who had
lived 6,000 years ago as having populated an uninhabited region. Again,
nothing could prevail against the evidence of facts. Thus it would be sensible
not to take a position too lightly, against doctrines which sooner or
later, and as many others have, may show a lack of reason and then lay
blame on those who combat them. Far from losing out, is when religious
ideas aggrandize with Science. It is the way of not giving rise to skepticism,
by showing a vulnerable side.
What would become of religion if it remained engrained against evidence;
if it persisted with the anathema against all who would not accept the text of the Scriptures? The result of that would be the impossibility
to be a Catholic without believing in the movement of the Sun, in the six
days of creation and 6,000 years of Earth. One can only wonder about
what would be the remaining number of Catholics these days. Will you
also proscribe those who do not take the letter of the text regarding the
allegory of the tree and its fruit, Adam’s rib, the serpent, etc.? Religion
shall always be strong by marching shoulder to shoulder with Science,
for it shall be connected to the enlightened layer of the population. That
is the only way of denying the prejudice of superficial people that makes
religion to be considered an antagonist of progress. If at any time – should
God disallow that – religion would repel the evidence of facts and would
then send serious people away, provoking a schism, since nothing can
prevail against evidence.
Therefore the high Theology, which counts on the support of knowledgeable
people, admits reasonable interpretation to several controversial
points. It is only regrettable the fact that those interpretations are reserved
to the privileged, continuing to teach by the book in schools. The result
is that those books initially accepted by the children, are later repelled
when they arrive at the age of reason. Since they don’t have anything else
for compensation, they just reject everything, adding up to the number
of absolute skepticism. Much to the contrary, you must give children only
what reason can admit later, and the developing reason will only strengthen
that on the pre-established foundations. We believe that we do a real
service to the true interest of religion by speaking like that. Religion shall
always be respected if it is in agreement with reality and when not turned
into allegories whose truthfulness cannot be accepted by common sense.
A Healing Medium
Ms. Désirée Godu, from Hennebon (Morbihan)
We refer our readers to the previous month’s article about the special mediums. The explanations that will be given below about Ms. Désirée Godu will be better understood – her faculty has a seal of remarkable specialty.
We refer our readers to the previous month’s article about the special mediums. The explanations that will be given below about Ms. Désirée Godu will be better understood – her faculty has a seal of remarkable specialty.
About eight years ago she went successively through all phases of
mediumship. In the beginning she was a powerful medium of physical
effects, then she turned into clairvoyant, hearing, speaking, writing medium
and finally all of her faculties concentrated on healing people, which
seems to be her mission and that she accomplishes with a boundless devotion.
Let us see below the comments from Mr. Pierre, a professor from
Lorient, who shares these details with us, responding to the questions that
we addressed to him.
“Ms. Désirée Godu is twenty five years old, belonging to a distinct
and respectable family in Lorient. Her father is a former officer of the
military, a Knight of the Legion of Honor, and her mother a patient and
laborious lady, who helps her daughter the best she can in her painstaking
but sublime mission. For about six years the patriarchal family has been
giving away alms of prescribed medication, and sometimes everything
necessary to the treatment of the poor as well as the rich who seek their
help. Their relationship with the spirits started at the time of the turning tables. During that time she lived in Loirent and for months the only
subject of conversation in town was the wonders operated by Ms. Godu
with the tables, always complacent and kind under her hands. It was a
privilege to be admitted into the sessions with the table in her house and
they would hardly accept anyone. Always simple and modest she never
sought the spotlight. Slander however, did not spare her, as expected.
Christ himself was mocked although he only did and taught good things.
Is it surprising that there are Pharisees when there are men who still don’t
believe anything? That is the fate of whoever shows any superiority, of
being exposed to the attacks of mediocre jealousy and envy. It doesn’t
take them much to knock down anyone who raises their head above the
crowds, not even the poison of calumny. The debunked hypocrite never
forgives but God is just and the more the righteous man is mistreated, the
brightest his rehabilitation is and the most humiliating is the shame of his
enemies. Posterity will avenge them.”
“While waiting for her true mission which is said would begin in two
years, her guardian spirit proposed to heal all kinds of diseases, which she
accepted. He now uses her own organs to communicate, instead of rapping
on the table, and often against her will. When the spirit speaks, her
tone of voice is no longer the same, her lips barely moving.”
“Ms. Godu went through regular schooling but the main part of her
education could not have been given by human beings. When she agreed
to become a healing medium the spirit followed a methodic process of
instruction and the only thing that she could see were hands. A mysterious
spirit would then lay books, pictures and drawings before her eyes,
explaining the functionality of the whole human body, the properties of
plants, the effects of electricity, etc. She is not a somnambulist. She is
never put to sleep. She is very awake and able to penetrate the illness of
her patients with her eyes. The spirit indicates the medication that she
generally prepares and applies, treating the most revolting wounds with
the dedication of a charitable sister. They began by giving her the composition
of certain preparations which healed skin rash and wounds of
lesser importance and in a few days, aiming at slowly adapting her to all the dreadful and repulsive miseries which would come before her eyes,
putting her finesse and kindness to the toughest tests. Do not imagine
her as a suffering, weak person. She enjoys “mens sana in corpore sano” in
all its plenitude.
Far from having someone else to treat the patients directly, she is the
one that puts her hands on all, and she is suffice to do all, thanks to
her resolute constitution. She knows how to inspire endless hope onto
the patients. Her heart finds consolation to all ailments and her hands
provide medicine to all sufferings. She is naturally outgoing and happy.
Her joyfulness is contagious like her faith that instantly act upon her patients.
I saw many people leaving her place with tears in their eyes, tears of
thoughtful admiration, appreciation and joy. The house is never empty on
Thursdays, open market day, and every Sunday from six am to five or six
pm. Work is a prayer to her and she does that consciously. Before treating
the ill she used to spend entire days sewing clothes to the poor and newly
born, employing ingenious ways of ensuring that the donations would get
to their destination anonymously so that the left hand never knew what
the right hand did. She got a large number of authentic certificates from
priests, authorities and celebrities, attesting her cures which in other times
would be considered miraculous.”
We know that there is no exaggeration in the report above by the testimony
of trustworthy people, giving us the satisfaction of pointing out to the
use made by Ms. Godu of an exceptional faculty given to her. We hope
that the praises which we have the pleasure of reproducing here will not
affect her modesty, which doubles the worth of her good deeds, and that
she will not listen to the suggestions of pride. Pride is the major obstacle to
a large number of mediums and we have seen many whose transcending
gifts were annihilated or perverted, as soon as they listened to that tempting
devil. The best intentions cannot hinder its traps, and it is precisely
against the good ones that pride charges its weapons, since prides takes satisfaction by showing who is stronger. Pride sneaks in with such skills
that the heart is frequently and unsuspectedly full of that. Thus, pride is
the last defect that we confess to ourselves, similarly to those fatal diseases
which one carries in a latent state, whose real seriousness misleads the
person up to the last moment. That is why it is so difficult to get rid of it.
As long as the medium has a gift, however little importance it may have,
the medium is sought, praised, flattered. This becomes a terrible touchstone
to the medium, for the medium ends up by feeling indispensable if
the person is not profoundly simple and modest. That is disgraceful to
the medium, particularly if persuaded that he or she only communicates
with good spirits. The medium can hardly acknowledge that he was deceived
thus he often writes or hears his own condemnation or censorship,
not believing that he is the target of such a thing. Well, it is precisely
that blindness which holds the medium hostage. The deceiving spirits
take advantage of that to fascinate, dominate, and subjugate the medium
more and more, to the point of making him accept the falsest things as
truthful. That is how the precious gift received from God is lost, a gift
only given to the benefit of their brothers and sisters, because the good
spirits leave as soon as someone prefers to listen to the bad ones. Someone
that has chosen to be highlighted shall be so by the force of things and
the spirits will know well how to rescue them from obscurity, if that is
useful, whereas there will frequently be only disappointments to the one
who is tormented by the need of having everybody talking about him.
From what we know about the character of Ms. Godu it gives us a firm
assurance that she is above these little weaknesses, and that she will never
compromise the mission that has been assigned to her, as many others
have done so far.
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
Dr. Vignal
Dr. Vignal, a regular member of the Society, offered to be the subject of study regarding the evocation of the spirit of a living person, as it was carried out with Count R… He was evoked in the session of February 3rd, 1860.
1. (To St. Louis) – Can we evoke Dr. Vignal? – A. No problem, since he is prepared.
2. Evocation. – A. I am here. I attest it in the name of God, what I would not do if responding by someone else.
3. Although alive, do you think it is necessary that the evocation be done in the name of God? – A. Doesn’t God exist to the living ones as much as to the dead?
4. Can you see us as clearly as when you attend our sessions? – A. A little bit more clearly.
5. Where are you located in here? – A. Where my action is naturally required: to the right, a little bit behind the medium.
6. Were you aware of the distance covered in order to come from Sully to our place? Did you see the path when you travelled? – A. Not more than the vehicle that brought me.
7. Can we offer you a chair? – A. You are very kind. I am not as tired as you are.
8. How do you verify your individuality here? – A. Like the others. OBSERVATION: He refers to what has been already said in similar cases, that is, the spirit verifies its individuality through the perispirit which represents the body.
9. However, we would appreciate if you gave the explanation yourself. – A. What you ask is a repetition.
10. Since you do not wish to repeat what has already been said is that because you think in the same way? – A. That is clear enough.
11. Your perispirit is then a kind of limited and bounded body to you? – A. That is evident. It is not necessary to say.
12. Can you see your body sleeping? – A. Not from here. I saw it when I left. I felt like laughing.
13. How is the relationship established between your body in Sully and your spirit here? – A. As I told you, through the fluidic cord.
14. Would you describe, in the best possible way so that we understand, how you see yourself, apart from your body? – A. That is very easy. I see myself as in the waking state or even better, since the comparison is fairer, I see myself like we see ourselves in our dreams. I have my body but I am aware that it is organized in a different and lighter way when compared to the other. I don’t feel the weight or the force of gravity which bonds me to Earth when I am awake. In other words, and as I told you, I am not tired.
15. Do the shades of light appear to you in the same way as in the normal state? – A. No. Light gets the addition of a tone that is not perceptible by your dense senses. However, you must not conclude that the colors perceived by the optical nerve are different to me. Red is red and so far. Having said that some objects that I did not see in darkness during my waking state I can see now, as they are luminous in their own right. That is how total darkness absolutely does not exist to the spirit although it is possible to establish a difference between what is clear and what is not clear to you.
16. Is your vision unrestricted or limited to the focused object? – A. Neither one thing nor the other. I absolutely don’t know the kind of changes that may take place to a spirit who is entirely free. As for myself, I know that the material objects are seen in their interior; that my vision goes through them. However, I cannot see all over the place and from a distance.
17. Would you like to be submitted to an experiment, as a trial, not based on curiosity but to our own instruction? – A. Absolutely not. That is strictly forbidden to me.
18. The idea was to have you reading the question that comes to my hand and responding, without my verbal interrogation. – A. I could but I repeat it is forbidden to me.
19. How can you be aware of what is prohibited to you? – A. Through the transmission of thoughts from the spirit who forbids me.
20. Here is the question then: Can you see yourself in a mirror? – A. No. What do you see in the mirror? The reflection of a material object. I am not material. I can only produce the reflection through the operation that makes the perispirit visible.
21. As a consequence, the spirit which assumes the condition of an agénère, for example, could it be seen in a mirror? – A. Certainly.
22. At this point in time could you assess the healthy or unhealthy condition of a person as well as you would in your normal state? – A. With more confidence.
23. Could you give a consultation, if someone requested? – A. I could but I don’t want to compete with the somnambulists and the benevolent spirits that guide them. When I am dead perhaps I shall not refuse that.
24. Is your current state identical to your state after your death? – A. No. I will have certain perceptions which are much more accurate. Don’t forget that I am still attached to matter.
25. Could your body die while you are here, without you knowing? – A. No. We die this way every day.
26. That is understandable with respect to a natural death, always preceded by some symptoms but what if someone hits you and instantly kills you, how would you know? – A. I would be ready to receive the blow, before the arm would come down.
27. What is the need that your spirit would have to return to the body if there is nothing else that can be done? – A. It is a very wise law, which without it, when we are out of the body, we are often reluctant to return to it and that would be made as an excuse for suicide… hypocritically.
28. Suppose your spirit was not here but at home, wandering around while the body slept. Would you be able to see everything that was going on? – A. Yes.
29. In that case, suppose that someone was doing something bad, like a relative or a stranger. Could you be a witness of the fact? – A. No doubt; but not always free to oppose that action. However, it does happen more frequently than you think.
30. Which type of impression would this bad action have on you? Would that affect you as much as if you were a living witness? – A. Sometimes more, sometimes less, according to the circumstances.
31. Would you feel the desire for revenge? – A. Not to revenge but to impede the action.
OBSERVATION: It results from what has just been said, and as a matter of fact, it is a consequence of what we already know, that the spirit of a living person that is asleep knows perfectly well what goes on around them. Anybody who intended to take advantage of the sleep to practice a bad action against that person is mistaken when believing that the action is unseen. Even the sleeping person’s obliviousness after waking up should not be counted on once the person may have kept a very strong intuition of the event, sometimes inspiring suspicion. The dreams of presentiment are nothing else but more or less accurate memories of what was seen during the sleep. Again, we have one more of the moral consequences of Spiritism; given the conviction of this phenomenon may perhaps be a barrier for many people. Here is a fact that supports that truth. One day a person receives a rude and anonymous letter. All efforts were employed to find out who the sender was. One must admit that the enigma was solved during the sleep since the very next day, after waking up and not having even dreamed, all thoughts were directed to someone who was not even under suspicion and after verification the fact was confirmed.
32. Let us go back to your sensations and perceptions. How do you see things, through what? – A. Through my whole being.
33. Do you hear sounds, and where? – A. It is the same thing since perception is transmitted to the spirit through its imperfect organs and it must be clear to you that when the spirit is free, it has numerous perceptions that you cannot understand.
34. (Someone rings a bell) – Did you hear the sound perfectly well? – A. Better than you do.
35. If you were made to hear music that was out of tune, would that cause the same impression on you as in your waking state? – A. I did not say that sensations are analogous. There is a difference but the perception is much more thorough.
36. Do you perceive odors? – A. No doubt, in the same manner as with the other senses.
OBSERVATION: It could then be said that the matter which surrounds the spirit operates like a buffer which dampens the sharpness of perception. Once separated from matter the spirit has the perception without intermediaries, being able to detect nuances which escape someone who received them through means which are denser than the perispirit. It then follows that the unfortunate spirits may experience pains that, although not physical from our stand point, are more pungent than the corporeal pains and that the happy spirits may feel pleasures which are incomprehensible to our sensations.
37. If you had savory dishes before your eyes, would you feel tempted to eat them? – A. The desire would be a distraction.
38. Suppose that your body is hungry while you are here. What would be the effect of seeing those foods, have on you? – A. This would make me leave to satisfy an irresistible need.
39. Could you tell us how you feel when you leave your body to come here or when you leave us and return to your body? How do you perceive that? – A. That would be very difficult. I come in as I leave, without noticing, or better saying, not aware of how the phenomenon occurs. However, don’t believe that when the spirit enters the body it is imprisoned like in a room. The spirit constantly irradiates to the outside in such a way that one can say that the spirit is more frequently outside than inside. It is only the union which is more intimate and the links are tighter.
40. Do you see other spirits? – A. Those who want to be seen by me.
41. How do you see them? – A. Like I see myself.
42. Do you see them here, around us? – A. In a crowd.
43. Evocation of Charles Dupont (the spirit of Castelnaudary) – A. I am here and attend to your request.
44. Are you more relaxed today as compared to the last time you were called? – A. Yes. I am advancing on a good path.
45. Do you now understand that your penalties shall not last forever? – A. Yes.
46. Do you foresee the end of your suffering? – A. No. For my punishment, God does not allow me to see the end of that.
47. (To Dr. Vignal) Do you see the spirit that has just responded to us? – A. Yes. It is not a nice vision.
48. Can you describe him? – A. I see him as he showed up before with the difference that he no longer holds the dagger or has blood on him; his looks show more sadness than the ferocious brutalization of his first apparition.
49. When awake are you aware of the image that was portrayed of that spirit? – A. Yes, and I am also more informed.
50. When you see a spirit how do you know that his body is dead or alive? – A. By the fluidic cord.
51. How do you assess the morale condition of that spirit? – A. His morale has been sad; but he is improving.
52. (To Charles Dupont) – You hear what is said about you. That must encourage you to persevere in the path of progress that you have already entered. – A. Thank you. That is what I try to do.
53. Do you see the spirit of the doctor who we were talking to? – A. Yes.
54. How do you see him? – A. I see him with an envelope less transparent than the other spirits.
55. How can you say that he is still alive? – A. The common spirits have no apparent form. This one has a human form; he is surrounded by a misty like matter that reproduces his earthly human form. The spirits of the dead no longer have that envelope, once they are free.
56. (To Dr. Vignal) – If we evoke a mad person, how would you recognize it? – A. I would not recognize if his madness were recent since it would not have had an influence upon the spirit; however, if the spirit had been alienated for a long time, matter could have a certain influence on him, thus I would see some signs which would allow me to recognize as I do when awake.
57. Can you describe to us the causes of madness? – A. These are simply an alteration, a perversion of the organs, which no longer perceive things in a regular way, transmitting false sensations, thus leading the spirit to act against his own will.
OBSERVATION: It does frequently happen that certain persons, whose spirits are perfectly healthy, show in their limbs and in other parts of the body certain involuntary movements, independent of their will, like the so called nervous twitches. It is easy to understand that if those alterations took place in the brain instead of arms or face, the transmission of the thought would suffer its influence. The impossibility of driving or controlling such emissions constitutes madness.
58. After the last answer by Dr. Vignal, the medium who served as interpreter to Charles Dupont wrote spontaneously: - Those spirits of mad persons are recognized among us because they move around, in all directions, without a firm idea, not even of God or prayers. They need time to settle in. Signed: Cauvière Since nobody thought of calling this spirit, Mr. Belliol asked if he would be the spirit of Dr. Cauvière from Marseille, who had been his professor. – A. Yes, it is me, deceased one and a half years ago.
OBSERVATION: Mr. Belliol recognized Dr. Cauvière’s signature. Later it was possible to compare it with an original signature, attesting the perfect identity between the two.
59. (To Mr. Cauvière) – Why have you honored us with your unexpected visit? – A. It is not the first time that I have come here. Today I found a favorable occasion to communicate with you and so I did.
60. Do you see your colleague Dr. Vignal who is here as a spirit? – A. Yes, I see him.
61. How would you know that he is still alive? – A. Due to his wrapping body which is less transparent than ours.
62. This answer agrees with the one that has just been given by Charles Dupont and that seemed to have gone beyond his intelligence. Was it you who answered? – A. I could influence him since I was here.
63. What is your state as a spirit? – A. I have not reincarnated yet but I am advanced as a spirit although I was far from the belief in what you call Spiritualism on Earth. It was necessary to get educated where I am here. However, my intelligence, which has been improved by the study promptly, enlightened me.
64. In case you agree we will ask you a question prepared to Dr. Vignal, requesting the answer from each one of you, with the help of your individual interpreters. How do you see now the difference between the spirit of the animals and humans? Dr. Vignal’s answer: It is not much easier for me to perceive that than in my waking state. My current thought is that the spirit sleeps in the animal, like it is morally numb, and that it painfully wakes up in a human being. Mr. Cauvière’s answer: The spirit of a human being is called to a greater task of perfection than that of the animals. The difference is substantial since there is only instinctive existence in the latter ones. Later that instinct may perfect.
65. Can such betterment get to the point of a human spirit? – A. It can but after having passed through many existences as animal on Earth as well as in other planets.
66. Can you kindly, both of you, write a spontaneous essay to us, about a subject of your choice?
Dr. Vignal, a regular member of the Society, offered to be the subject of study regarding the evocation of the spirit of a living person, as it was carried out with Count R… He was evoked in the session of February 3rd, 1860.
1. (To St. Louis) – Can we evoke Dr. Vignal? – A. No problem, since he is prepared.
2. Evocation. – A. I am here. I attest it in the name of God, what I would not do if responding by someone else.
3. Although alive, do you think it is necessary that the evocation be done in the name of God? – A. Doesn’t God exist to the living ones as much as to the dead?
4. Can you see us as clearly as when you attend our sessions? – A. A little bit more clearly.
5. Where are you located in here? – A. Where my action is naturally required: to the right, a little bit behind the medium.
6. Were you aware of the distance covered in order to come from Sully to our place? Did you see the path when you travelled? – A. Not more than the vehicle that brought me.
7. Can we offer you a chair? – A. You are very kind. I am not as tired as you are.
8. How do you verify your individuality here? – A. Like the others. OBSERVATION: He refers to what has been already said in similar cases, that is, the spirit verifies its individuality through the perispirit which represents the body.
9. However, we would appreciate if you gave the explanation yourself. – A. What you ask is a repetition.
10. Since you do not wish to repeat what has already been said is that because you think in the same way? – A. That is clear enough.
11. Your perispirit is then a kind of limited and bounded body to you? – A. That is evident. It is not necessary to say.
12. Can you see your body sleeping? – A. Not from here. I saw it when I left. I felt like laughing.
13. How is the relationship established between your body in Sully and your spirit here? – A. As I told you, through the fluidic cord.
14. Would you describe, in the best possible way so that we understand, how you see yourself, apart from your body? – A. That is very easy. I see myself as in the waking state or even better, since the comparison is fairer, I see myself like we see ourselves in our dreams. I have my body but I am aware that it is organized in a different and lighter way when compared to the other. I don’t feel the weight or the force of gravity which bonds me to Earth when I am awake. In other words, and as I told you, I am not tired.
15. Do the shades of light appear to you in the same way as in the normal state? – A. No. Light gets the addition of a tone that is not perceptible by your dense senses. However, you must not conclude that the colors perceived by the optical nerve are different to me. Red is red and so far. Having said that some objects that I did not see in darkness during my waking state I can see now, as they are luminous in their own right. That is how total darkness absolutely does not exist to the spirit although it is possible to establish a difference between what is clear and what is not clear to you.
16. Is your vision unrestricted or limited to the focused object? – A. Neither one thing nor the other. I absolutely don’t know the kind of changes that may take place to a spirit who is entirely free. As for myself, I know that the material objects are seen in their interior; that my vision goes through them. However, I cannot see all over the place and from a distance.
17. Would you like to be submitted to an experiment, as a trial, not based on curiosity but to our own instruction? – A. Absolutely not. That is strictly forbidden to me.
18. The idea was to have you reading the question that comes to my hand and responding, without my verbal interrogation. – A. I could but I repeat it is forbidden to me.
19. How can you be aware of what is prohibited to you? – A. Through the transmission of thoughts from the spirit who forbids me.
20. Here is the question then: Can you see yourself in a mirror? – A. No. What do you see in the mirror? The reflection of a material object. I am not material. I can only produce the reflection through the operation that makes the perispirit visible.
21. As a consequence, the spirit which assumes the condition of an agénère, for example, could it be seen in a mirror? – A. Certainly.
22. At this point in time could you assess the healthy or unhealthy condition of a person as well as you would in your normal state? – A. With more confidence.
23. Could you give a consultation, if someone requested? – A. I could but I don’t want to compete with the somnambulists and the benevolent spirits that guide them. When I am dead perhaps I shall not refuse that.
24. Is your current state identical to your state after your death? – A. No. I will have certain perceptions which are much more accurate. Don’t forget that I am still attached to matter.
25. Could your body die while you are here, without you knowing? – A. No. We die this way every day.
26. That is understandable with respect to a natural death, always preceded by some symptoms but what if someone hits you and instantly kills you, how would you know? – A. I would be ready to receive the blow, before the arm would come down.
27. What is the need that your spirit would have to return to the body if there is nothing else that can be done? – A. It is a very wise law, which without it, when we are out of the body, we are often reluctant to return to it and that would be made as an excuse for suicide… hypocritically.
28. Suppose your spirit was not here but at home, wandering around while the body slept. Would you be able to see everything that was going on? – A. Yes.
29. In that case, suppose that someone was doing something bad, like a relative or a stranger. Could you be a witness of the fact? – A. No doubt; but not always free to oppose that action. However, it does happen more frequently than you think.
30. Which type of impression would this bad action have on you? Would that affect you as much as if you were a living witness? – A. Sometimes more, sometimes less, according to the circumstances.
31. Would you feel the desire for revenge? – A. Not to revenge but to impede the action.
OBSERVATION: It results from what has just been said, and as a matter of fact, it is a consequence of what we already know, that the spirit of a living person that is asleep knows perfectly well what goes on around them. Anybody who intended to take advantage of the sleep to practice a bad action against that person is mistaken when believing that the action is unseen. Even the sleeping person’s obliviousness after waking up should not be counted on once the person may have kept a very strong intuition of the event, sometimes inspiring suspicion. The dreams of presentiment are nothing else but more or less accurate memories of what was seen during the sleep. Again, we have one more of the moral consequences of Spiritism; given the conviction of this phenomenon may perhaps be a barrier for many people. Here is a fact that supports that truth. One day a person receives a rude and anonymous letter. All efforts were employed to find out who the sender was. One must admit that the enigma was solved during the sleep since the very next day, after waking up and not having even dreamed, all thoughts were directed to someone who was not even under suspicion and after verification the fact was confirmed.
32. Let us go back to your sensations and perceptions. How do you see things, through what? – A. Through my whole being.
33. Do you hear sounds, and where? – A. It is the same thing since perception is transmitted to the spirit through its imperfect organs and it must be clear to you that when the spirit is free, it has numerous perceptions that you cannot understand.
34. (Someone rings a bell) – Did you hear the sound perfectly well? – A. Better than you do.
35. If you were made to hear music that was out of tune, would that cause the same impression on you as in your waking state? – A. I did not say that sensations are analogous. There is a difference but the perception is much more thorough.
36. Do you perceive odors? – A. No doubt, in the same manner as with the other senses.
OBSERVATION: It could then be said that the matter which surrounds the spirit operates like a buffer which dampens the sharpness of perception. Once separated from matter the spirit has the perception without intermediaries, being able to detect nuances which escape someone who received them through means which are denser than the perispirit. It then follows that the unfortunate spirits may experience pains that, although not physical from our stand point, are more pungent than the corporeal pains and that the happy spirits may feel pleasures which are incomprehensible to our sensations.
37. If you had savory dishes before your eyes, would you feel tempted to eat them? – A. The desire would be a distraction.
38. Suppose that your body is hungry while you are here. What would be the effect of seeing those foods, have on you? – A. This would make me leave to satisfy an irresistible need.
39. Could you tell us how you feel when you leave your body to come here or when you leave us and return to your body? How do you perceive that? – A. That would be very difficult. I come in as I leave, without noticing, or better saying, not aware of how the phenomenon occurs. However, don’t believe that when the spirit enters the body it is imprisoned like in a room. The spirit constantly irradiates to the outside in such a way that one can say that the spirit is more frequently outside than inside. It is only the union which is more intimate and the links are tighter.
40. Do you see other spirits? – A. Those who want to be seen by me.
41. How do you see them? – A. Like I see myself.
42. Do you see them here, around us? – A. In a crowd.
43. Evocation of Charles Dupont (the spirit of Castelnaudary) – A. I am here and attend to your request.
44. Are you more relaxed today as compared to the last time you were called? – A. Yes. I am advancing on a good path.
45. Do you now understand that your penalties shall not last forever? – A. Yes.
46. Do you foresee the end of your suffering? – A. No. For my punishment, God does not allow me to see the end of that.
47. (To Dr. Vignal) Do you see the spirit that has just responded to us? – A. Yes. It is not a nice vision.
48. Can you describe him? – A. I see him as he showed up before with the difference that he no longer holds the dagger or has blood on him; his looks show more sadness than the ferocious brutalization of his first apparition.
49. When awake are you aware of the image that was portrayed of that spirit? – A. Yes, and I am also more informed.
50. When you see a spirit how do you know that his body is dead or alive? – A. By the fluidic cord.
51. How do you assess the morale condition of that spirit? – A. His morale has been sad; but he is improving.
52. (To Charles Dupont) – You hear what is said about you. That must encourage you to persevere in the path of progress that you have already entered. – A. Thank you. That is what I try to do.
53. Do you see the spirit of the doctor who we were talking to? – A. Yes.
54. How do you see him? – A. I see him with an envelope less transparent than the other spirits.
55. How can you say that he is still alive? – A. The common spirits have no apparent form. This one has a human form; he is surrounded by a misty like matter that reproduces his earthly human form. The spirits of the dead no longer have that envelope, once they are free.
56. (To Dr. Vignal) – If we evoke a mad person, how would you recognize it? – A. I would not recognize if his madness were recent since it would not have had an influence upon the spirit; however, if the spirit had been alienated for a long time, matter could have a certain influence on him, thus I would see some signs which would allow me to recognize as I do when awake.
57. Can you describe to us the causes of madness? – A. These are simply an alteration, a perversion of the organs, which no longer perceive things in a regular way, transmitting false sensations, thus leading the spirit to act against his own will.
OBSERVATION: It does frequently happen that certain persons, whose spirits are perfectly healthy, show in their limbs and in other parts of the body certain involuntary movements, independent of their will, like the so called nervous twitches. It is easy to understand that if those alterations took place in the brain instead of arms or face, the transmission of the thought would suffer its influence. The impossibility of driving or controlling such emissions constitutes madness.
58. After the last answer by Dr. Vignal, the medium who served as interpreter to Charles Dupont wrote spontaneously: - Those spirits of mad persons are recognized among us because they move around, in all directions, without a firm idea, not even of God or prayers. They need time to settle in. Signed: Cauvière Since nobody thought of calling this spirit, Mr. Belliol asked if he would be the spirit of Dr. Cauvière from Marseille, who had been his professor. – A. Yes, it is me, deceased one and a half years ago.
OBSERVATION: Mr. Belliol recognized Dr. Cauvière’s signature. Later it was possible to compare it with an original signature, attesting the perfect identity between the two.
59. (To Mr. Cauvière) – Why have you honored us with your unexpected visit? – A. It is not the first time that I have come here. Today I found a favorable occasion to communicate with you and so I did.
60. Do you see your colleague Dr. Vignal who is here as a spirit? – A. Yes, I see him.
61. How would you know that he is still alive? – A. Due to his wrapping body which is less transparent than ours.
62. This answer agrees with the one that has just been given by Charles Dupont and that seemed to have gone beyond his intelligence. Was it you who answered? – A. I could influence him since I was here.
63. What is your state as a spirit? – A. I have not reincarnated yet but I am advanced as a spirit although I was far from the belief in what you call Spiritualism on Earth. It was necessary to get educated where I am here. However, my intelligence, which has been improved by the study promptly, enlightened me.
64. In case you agree we will ask you a question prepared to Dr. Vignal, requesting the answer from each one of you, with the help of your individual interpreters. How do you see now the difference between the spirit of the animals and humans? Dr. Vignal’s answer: It is not much easier for me to perceive that than in my waking state. My current thought is that the spirit sleeps in the animal, like it is morally numb, and that it painfully wakes up in a human being. Mr. Cauvière’s answer: The spirit of a human being is called to a greater task of perfection than that of the animals. The difference is substantial since there is only instinctive existence in the latter ones. Later that instinct may perfect.
65. Can such betterment get to the point of a human spirit? – A. It can but after having passed through many existences as animal on Earth as well as in other planets.
66. Can you kindly, both of you, write a spontaneous essay to us, about a subject of your choice?
Mr. Cauvière’s Essay
Dear good friends, I am so happy for being able to speak a little bit with you that I wish to give you an advice, not particularly you who are believers but those whose faith is still faltering or those who have no faith and reject it. It is true that I cannot see all my living comrades here, and who would not believe me. Nevertheless I would tell them that when alive I stubbornly rejected the truth, although I felt it in my inner most being. The majority of them do as I did: through a false self-love they don’t want to agree with what they sometimes experience. They are mistaken because indecision makes us suffer on Earth, particularly when the time comes to leave it behind. Thus, get instructed! Have good faith! You shall be happier in your world as in the world where I am now. If you truly wish, I shall come other times to talk to you.
Cauvière
Dear good friends, I am so happy for being able to speak a little bit with you that I wish to give you an advice, not particularly you who are believers but those whose faith is still faltering or those who have no faith and reject it. It is true that I cannot see all my living comrades here, and who would not believe me. Nevertheless I would tell them that when alive I stubbornly rejected the truth, although I felt it in my inner most being. The majority of them do as I did: through a false self-love they don’t want to agree with what they sometimes experience. They are mistaken because indecision makes us suffer on Earth, particularly when the time comes to leave it behind. Thus, get instructed! Have good faith! You shall be happier in your world as in the world where I am now. If you truly wish, I shall come other times to talk to you.
Cauvière
Dr. Vignal’s Essay
What is the benefit of Astronomy and why does it matter the time taken by a bullet to travel from Earth to the Sun? That is how very dignified persons think, people who do not see in Science any other application but that of industry or their self-serving wealth. However, without Astronomy, how could you adopt the remarkable system which we are developing now, instead of any other introduced by ignorant and jealous spirits? If Earth was, like it was formerly thought, the central point of the Universe; if the numerous suns which populate space were not but simply shiny dots hanging on a crystal dome, which arguments would you have to make you admit the past and future of the spirit? Astronomy, on the contrary, comes to demonstrate that the planetary life around our Sun is reflected back into everything that composes the nebula that encompasses our world; that all these planets are organized differently from each other and consequently life condition is not the same on each of them. You are then led to ask if God creates instantaneously and the spirit which must animate each body; what would be the reason then for its creation here and not elsewhere, on Earth and not in another world, in this particular condition and not in another! Thus, a stern logic leads you to admit the plurality of the worlds, the pre-existence of the soul and the reincarnation as expressions of the greatest truth. Astronomy is then useful since it gives you the necessary conditions to receive the sublime truths that shall unfold to you by the inexorable progress of Spiritism and Science. Helped by industry, Astronomy is meant to lead you to the discovery of other wonders beyond those that you only had a glimpse so far. From now on Astronomy and Theology are sisters and shall march hand in hand.
Vignal, by Arago
What is the benefit of Astronomy and why does it matter the time taken by a bullet to travel from Earth to the Sun? That is how very dignified persons think, people who do not see in Science any other application but that of industry or their self-serving wealth. However, without Astronomy, how could you adopt the remarkable system which we are developing now, instead of any other introduced by ignorant and jealous spirits? If Earth was, like it was formerly thought, the central point of the Universe; if the numerous suns which populate space were not but simply shiny dots hanging on a crystal dome, which arguments would you have to make you admit the past and future of the spirit? Astronomy, on the contrary, comes to demonstrate that the planetary life around our Sun is reflected back into everything that composes the nebula that encompasses our world; that all these planets are organized differently from each other and consequently life condition is not the same on each of them. You are then led to ask if God creates instantaneously and the spirit which must animate each body; what would be the reason then for its creation here and not elsewhere, on Earth and not in another world, in this particular condition and not in another! Thus, a stern logic leads you to admit the plurality of the worlds, the pre-existence of the soul and the reincarnation as expressions of the greatest truth. Astronomy is then useful since it gives you the necessary conditions to receive the sublime truths that shall unfold to you by the inexorable progress of Spiritism and Science. Helped by industry, Astronomy is meant to lead you to the discovery of other wonders beyond those that you only had a glimpse so far. From now on Astronomy and Theology are sisters and shall march hand in hand.
Vignal, by Arago
Ms. Indermuhle
Born deaf-mute, currently 32 years old, living in Berne (Session of February 10th, 1860)
1. (To St. Louis) – Can we establish communication with the spirit of Ms. Indermuhle? – A. Yes, you can.
2. Evocation. – A. I am here and I say so in the name of God.
3. (To St. Louis) – Can you tell us if the spirit who responds is actually that of Ms. Indermuhle? – A. I can positively assure you. Are you so advanced and believe that if it were another spirit responding it would be more embarrassing? The affirmation demonstrates that she is here. It is up to you to ensure a good communication by the nature and objective of your questions.
3a. (To Ms. Indermuhle) * – Do you really know where you are now? – A. I know perfectly well. Do you think I was not informed about it?
4. How can you respond to us here if your body is in Switzerland? – A. Because it is not the body that responds. As a matter of fact, and as you know, my body is absolutely incapable of doing that.
5. What is your body doing right now? – A. It is asleep.
6. Is your body healthy? – A. Yes, very healthy. OBSERVATION: Ms. Indermuhle’s brother who was attending the session confirmed that she was really healthy.
7. How long did it take you to get here from Switzerland? – A. A time that you cannot perceive.
8. Where you aware of the directions taken to come here? – A. No.
9. Are you surprised for being here in this meeting? – A. My first answer demonstrates the opposite.
10. What would happen if your body woke up while you are here? – A. I would be there.
11. Is there any link between your spirit that is here and your body there? – A. Yes, without it how could I be informed that I should return?
12. Do you see us clearly? – A. Yes, perfectly well.
13. Do you understand that you can see us but we cannot see you? – A. Yes, no doubt.
14. Can you hear the sound that I produce now by knocking? – A. I am not deaf here.
15. How could you know since you cannot compare with a memory from when you are awake? – A. I was not born yesterday.
OBSERVATION: The memory of the sensation of noise comes from existences in which she was not deaf. The answer is perfectly logical.
16. Would the sound of music give you pleasure? – A. The more pleasure the longer it lasts. Sing something for me.
17. We are sorry for not being able to do it now and for not having here an instrument to give you such a pleasure. It seems to us however that since your spirit separates from the body every day during your sleep, it must be transported to places where you can hear music. – A. That rarely happens to me.
18. How can you respond in French since you are German and you ignore our language? – A. Thought has no language. I transmit it to the medium’s guide who then translates it to the language that he is familiar with.
19. Who is the guide that you are talking about? – A. The familiar spirit of the medium. That is how you can receive communications from foreign spirits and that is how the spirits speak all languages.
OBSERVATION: Thus, the answers would often reach us only from third parties. The interrogated spirit transmits their thought to the familiar spirit, this one to the medium and the medium translates it, speaking or writing. Now, since the medium may be assisted by spirits more or less good, this explains why in several occasions the thought of the interrogated spirit may be altered. Hence, St. Louis said that the presence of the evoked spirit is not always enough to ensure the integrity of the answers. It is up to us to analyze and judge if they are logical and in agreement with the level of the spirit. As a matter of fact, according to Ms. Indermuhle, this triple channel would only happen with foreign spirits.
20. What is the origin of the illness that has affected you? – A. A voluntary cause.
21. Why on Earth would all six siblings be equally affected? – A. For the same reason as I am.
22. Then, it was voluntarily that you all chose the same trial? We believe that such a gathering in the same family must happen as a trial to the parents. Is that a good reason? – A. It is close to the truth.
23. Do you see your brother here? – A. What a question!
24. Are you happy for seeing him? – A. Same answer.
OBSERVATION: It is a known fact that the spirits don’t like to repeat themselves. Our language is so slow to them that they avoid anything that seems useless. This is a peculiarity that characterizes the serious spirits. The lighthearted, mocking, obsessing and pseudo-wise spirits are generally talkative and verbose. Like those people with no foundation, they speak and say nothing; the words replace the thoughts that they believe by imposing phrases with redundant words and an obscure style.
25. Would you like to tell him anything? – A. May he receive my most sincere appreciation for his good thoughts in bringing me here where I am now, fortunately in touch with good spirits, although some are not so worthy. I have learned a lot and shall not forget what I owe him.
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* The number 3 appears repeated in the original - NT
Born deaf-mute, currently 32 years old, living in Berne (Session of February 10th, 1860)
1. (To St. Louis) – Can we establish communication with the spirit of Ms. Indermuhle? – A. Yes, you can.
2. Evocation. – A. I am here and I say so in the name of God.
3. (To St. Louis) – Can you tell us if the spirit who responds is actually that of Ms. Indermuhle? – A. I can positively assure you. Are you so advanced and believe that if it were another spirit responding it would be more embarrassing? The affirmation demonstrates that she is here. It is up to you to ensure a good communication by the nature and objective of your questions.
3a. (To Ms. Indermuhle) * – Do you really know where you are now? – A. I know perfectly well. Do you think I was not informed about it?
4. How can you respond to us here if your body is in Switzerland? – A. Because it is not the body that responds. As a matter of fact, and as you know, my body is absolutely incapable of doing that.
5. What is your body doing right now? – A. It is asleep.
6. Is your body healthy? – A. Yes, very healthy. OBSERVATION: Ms. Indermuhle’s brother who was attending the session confirmed that she was really healthy.
7. How long did it take you to get here from Switzerland? – A. A time that you cannot perceive.
8. Where you aware of the directions taken to come here? – A. No.
9. Are you surprised for being here in this meeting? – A. My first answer demonstrates the opposite.
10. What would happen if your body woke up while you are here? – A. I would be there.
11. Is there any link between your spirit that is here and your body there? – A. Yes, without it how could I be informed that I should return?
12. Do you see us clearly? – A. Yes, perfectly well.
13. Do you understand that you can see us but we cannot see you? – A. Yes, no doubt.
14. Can you hear the sound that I produce now by knocking? – A. I am not deaf here.
15. How could you know since you cannot compare with a memory from when you are awake? – A. I was not born yesterday.
OBSERVATION: The memory of the sensation of noise comes from existences in which she was not deaf. The answer is perfectly logical.
16. Would the sound of music give you pleasure? – A. The more pleasure the longer it lasts. Sing something for me.
17. We are sorry for not being able to do it now and for not having here an instrument to give you such a pleasure. It seems to us however that since your spirit separates from the body every day during your sleep, it must be transported to places where you can hear music. – A. That rarely happens to me.
18. How can you respond in French since you are German and you ignore our language? – A. Thought has no language. I transmit it to the medium’s guide who then translates it to the language that he is familiar with.
19. Who is the guide that you are talking about? – A. The familiar spirit of the medium. That is how you can receive communications from foreign spirits and that is how the spirits speak all languages.
OBSERVATION: Thus, the answers would often reach us only from third parties. The interrogated spirit transmits their thought to the familiar spirit, this one to the medium and the medium translates it, speaking or writing. Now, since the medium may be assisted by spirits more or less good, this explains why in several occasions the thought of the interrogated spirit may be altered. Hence, St. Louis said that the presence of the evoked spirit is not always enough to ensure the integrity of the answers. It is up to us to analyze and judge if they are logical and in agreement with the level of the spirit. As a matter of fact, according to Ms. Indermuhle, this triple channel would only happen with foreign spirits.
20. What is the origin of the illness that has affected you? – A. A voluntary cause.
21. Why on Earth would all six siblings be equally affected? – A. For the same reason as I am.
22. Then, it was voluntarily that you all chose the same trial? We believe that such a gathering in the same family must happen as a trial to the parents. Is that a good reason? – A. It is close to the truth.
23. Do you see your brother here? – A. What a question!
24. Are you happy for seeing him? – A. Same answer.
OBSERVATION: It is a known fact that the spirits don’t like to repeat themselves. Our language is so slow to them that they avoid anything that seems useless. This is a peculiarity that characterizes the serious spirits. The lighthearted, mocking, obsessing and pseudo-wise spirits are generally talkative and verbose. Like those people with no foundation, they speak and say nothing; the words replace the thoughts that they believe by imposing phrases with redundant words and an obscure style.
25. Would you like to tell him anything? – A. May he receive my most sincere appreciation for his good thoughts in bringing me here where I am now, fortunately in touch with good spirits, although some are not so worthy. I have learned a lot and shall not forget what I owe him.
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* The number 3 appears repeated in the original - NT
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.
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
The Genie of the Flowers(Session on December 23rd, 1859 – medium Mrs. de Boyer)
I am Hettani, one of the spirits who supervises the formation of flowers, the diversity of their perfumes. It is I, or I should say, it is us since we are many thousands of spirits that decorate the fields and gardens; who give the horticulturist the taste for flowers. We could not teach the mutilation that they sometimes employ but we teach them to vary the perfumes, making even more beautiful what is already so pleasing. However, it is mainly the flowers that bloom naturally that have all of our attention; they are our favorite ones, since everything that is alone needs help, and that’s why we take care of them better.
We are also in charge of spreading their perfumes. We take to the exile a memory of his homeland by bringing to his prison the aroma of the flowers that ornamented his patrimonial garden. To someone truly in love, we take the perfume of the flowers offered by his bride; To the ones that cry, a remembrance of those who are no longer blossoming on their graves, the roses and violets that recall their virtues. Who among you does not owe us such kind emotions?
Who has not shivered yet before the contact with a beloved aroma? I suppose you are surprised by hearing that there are spirits dedicated to all this. However, it is absolutely true. We have never and perhaps shall never incarnate among you. Yet, some have been human but not many among the spirits of the elements. Our mission is nothing on your planet Earth. We progress like you do but it is particularly in the superior planets that we are happy. In Jupiter our flowers issue harmonious sounds and we build the airy dwellings that hummingbird nests are the only ones which may give you a slight comparison. I will give you a description of some of those flowers for the first time, flowers which are not only magnificent but sublime and worthy of housing superior spirits. Good bye. May a perfume of charity animate you! The virtues themselves have their perfume.
We are also in charge of spreading their perfumes. We take to the exile a memory of his homeland by bringing to his prison the aroma of the flowers that ornamented his patrimonial garden. To someone truly in love, we take the perfume of the flowers offered by his bride; To the ones that cry, a remembrance of those who are no longer blossoming on their graves, the roses and violets that recall their virtues. Who among you does not owe us such kind emotions?
Who has not shivered yet before the contact with a beloved aroma? I suppose you are surprised by hearing that there are spirits dedicated to all this. However, it is absolutely true. We have never and perhaps shall never incarnate among you. Yet, some have been human but not many among the spirits of the elements. Our mission is nothing on your planet Earth. We progress like you do but it is particularly in the superior planets that we are happy. In Jupiter our flowers issue harmonious sounds and we build the airy dwellings that hummingbird nests are the only ones which may give you a slight comparison. I will give you a description of some of those flowers for the first time, flowers which are not only magnificent but sublime and worthy of housing superior spirits. Good bye. May a perfume of charity animate you! The virtues themselves have their perfume.
Questions about the Genie of the Flowers
(Society, December 30rd, 1859 session – medium Mr. Roze)
1. (To St. Louis) – The other day we had a spontaneous communication from a spirit who said to preside over the flowers and their perfumes. Are there really spirits that can be seen as genies of the flowers? – A. Such expression is poetic and well applied to the case, but in reality it would be false. Make no mistake; the spirit only presides over the work assigned by God in the whole creation. That is how you should understand that communication.
2. That spirit is called Hettani. How come a name was given if the spirit had never incarnated? – A. It is a fiction. The spirit does not preside in particular over the formation of flowers. The elemental spirit, before moving on to the animal series, focuses their fluidic action onto vegetal creation. Such spirit has not incarnated yet; they only act under the direction of more elevated intelligences that have already lived enough to acquire the necessary knowledge for their mission. It was one of those that communicated.
He gave you a poetic mix of actions from two classes of spirits who act upon the vegetal creation.
3. Since that spirit had not lived yet, even in the animal life, how can it be so poetic? – A. Read again. OBSERVATION: See the observation made after question 24, in the article about Ms. Indermuhle.
4. Thus, the spirit that communicated is not the one who animates the flower? – A. No, no. I clearly told you that: He guides.
5. Has the spirit that talked to us been incarnated? – A. Yes he did.
6. The spirit which gives life to plants and flowers, does that spirit think and does it have its own self awareness? – A. They neither think nor have instinct.
2. That spirit is called Hettani. How come a name was given if the spirit had never incarnated? – A. It is a fiction. The spirit does not preside in particular over the formation of flowers. The elemental spirit, before moving on to the animal series, focuses their fluidic action onto vegetal creation. Such spirit has not incarnated yet; they only act under the direction of more elevated intelligences that have already lived enough to acquire the necessary knowledge for their mission. It was one of those that communicated.
He gave you a poetic mix of actions from two classes of spirits who act upon the vegetal creation.
3. Since that spirit had not lived yet, even in the animal life, how can it be so poetic? – A. Read again. OBSERVATION: See the observation made after question 24, in the article about Ms. Indermuhle.
4. Thus, the spirit that communicated is not the one who animates the flower? – A. No, no. I clearly told you that: He guides.
5. Has the spirit that talked to us been incarnated? – A. Yes he did.
6. The spirit which gives life to plants and flowers, does that spirit think and does it have its own self awareness? – A. They neither think nor have instinct.
Happiness (Stael)
(Society, February 10th 1860 session – medium Ms. Eugenie)
What is the objective of each individual on Earth? It is happiness, at any price. What is it that determines a different route to everyone? Each one of us expects to find happiness in a place or on something that is particularly pleasing: some look for glory, others richness and others still seek distinction. The majority looks for fortune that is the most powerful means of getting everything else in our days. Fortune is a pedestal to everything. Nevertheless, how many see such aspiration of happiness fulfilled? Very few do. Ask each of those who get there if they have achieved the proposed objective. Are they happy? Everyone will respond that not yet since all desires grow in proportion to those that have been satisfied. If there are so many people interested in Spiritism today it is because they have seen the illusion in everything else and try Spiritism like they have tried wealth and glory before. If God has placed such a great need for happiness in our hearts it is because it must exist somewhere. Yes, trust God, but know that everything that comes from God must be divine like God and the so much expected happiness must not be material. Come to us, all of you who suffer. Come to us, all of you who need hope because when you lack everything else on Earth, we have here more than you need.
Desperate mothers, crying over a tomb, come here! The angel, for whom you cry, shall speak with you, will protect and inspire resignation in you, soothing the penalties that you must withstand on Earth. All of you, who have insatiable need for knowledge, come to us since we are the only ones capable of feeding your spirit. Come and we will find the proper relief to every pain. However abandoned you may seem to be, there are spirits who love you and are ready to demonstrate so. I speak for all of them. I wish for you to come, to be advised by us, for I am certain that you shall leave with hope in your heart.
Stael
Note: One moment later the spirit wrote again, and spontaneously:
More than once there is a smile on the lips of certain listeners, which may escape the medium but does not escape the spirits. However, have no fear. Those who laugh the most are the ones who will believe more later on. We forgive you because you may regret your irony one day. I am sure, ladies, if there was a loved one who you lost near you, to vivify their memory your smile of incredulity would change to a sigh and you would become happy or anxious. Take your time. Your day will come and your heart that is your most sensitive cord shall touch you. I know that.
Stael
Desperate mothers, crying over a tomb, come here! The angel, for whom you cry, shall speak with you, will protect and inspire resignation in you, soothing the penalties that you must withstand on Earth. All of you, who have insatiable need for knowledge, come to us since we are the only ones capable of feeding your spirit. Come and we will find the proper relief to every pain. However abandoned you may seem to be, there are spirits who love you and are ready to demonstrate so. I speak for all of them. I wish for you to come, to be advised by us, for I am certain that you shall leave with hope in your heart.
Stael
Note: One moment later the spirit wrote again, and spontaneously:
More than once there is a smile on the lips of certain listeners, which may escape the medium but does not escape the spirits. However, have no fear. Those who laugh the most are the ones who will believe more later on. We forgive you because you may regret your irony one day. I am sure, ladies, if there was a loved one who you lost near you, to vivify their memory your smile of incredulity would change to a sigh and you would become happy or anxious. Take your time. Your day will come and your heart that is your most sensitive cord shall touch you. I know that.
Stael
The Spirits’ Book, Second Edition
Entirely restructured and considerably augmented
WARNING ABOUT THIS SECOND EDITION
I
n the first edition of this book we announced a supplemental part. It
should be composed by all questions not yet incorporated in the first edition
or originated by posterior events and new studies. However, since these
questions are related to the parts already treated, forming their development,
their isolated publication would not show continuity. We preferred to wait
for the reprint of the book to gather everything, taking the opportunity to
give a more methodic order to the distribution of the subjects, eliminating
everything that had double meaning. This reprint may thus be considered a
new book once the principles did not suffer any alteration except some corrections
that are more additions and clarifications than true modifications in
reality. Such compliance with the issued principles, despite the diversity of the
sources from where they were obtained, is an important fact for the establishment
of the Spiritist Science. Our own correspondence demonstrates that
total identical communications have been obtained in several places, if not in
the form, at least in the content; well before the publication of the book, came
the confirmations and then the organization of them. On its side History
demonstrates that the majority of these principles were professed by the most
eminent people of former and modern times, who have sanctioned them.
To the Readers of The Review Unsigned Letters
We sometimes receive letters signed by “one of your subscribers”, “one
of your readers”, “one of your followers”, etc. without any other
denomination. The majority contains reports of facts, spiritist communications
or questions requiring answers or even with a request for the evocation
of certain persons. We believe it to be our duty to warn the readers,
subscribers or non-subscribers that every non-authenticated letter is like
a non-received letter to us and as such, no attention is given to them. We
have great reservation in our reports with respect to the publication of
people’s names because we understand the difficulty of certain positions.
This is the reason why we only cite those who give us authorization. But
that is not the case regarding these communications. They remain in the
basket up until the time they can be read, since our works are multiplied
daily, not allowing us to bother with something that might not be serious.
Allan Kardec
Allan Kardec
April
Bulletin of the Parisian Society of Spiritist StudiesFriday, February 24th, 1860
(General Session)
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
(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.
Formation of Earth Theory of Planetary Incrustation
Our wise comrade from Brussels, Mr. Jobard, sends the text below regarding
our article about the pre-adamites, published in last month’s
issue of the Review:
“Allow me some thoughts about the creation of the world, with the
objective of rehabilitating the Bible to our eyes and to the eyes of the free
thinkers. God created the world in six days, four thousand years before
the Christian era. That is what is contested by the geologists, based on
the study of fossils and on the thousands of incontestable indications of
antiquity that throw Earth’s origin to thousands of millions of years back.
Nevertheless, the Scriptures tell the truth and so do the geologists, and it
is a simple peasant that shows the agreement, teaching us that our Earth
is nothing but an incrusted planet, very modern, composed of materials
very ancient.”
“After the elevation of the unknown planet, reaching maturity or harmony
with what was around in the place that we occupy today; Earth’s
soul received a command to gather its satellites in order to form the current
globe, according to the rules which governed everything. Only four
of those globes consented with the proposed formation; only the Moon insisted in its autonomy, as the globes also have their free-will. In order
to proceed with such a fusion, Earth’s soul stroked those globes with an
attractive magnetic ray, thus bringing the vegetable, animal and hominid
components of the community into a cataleptic state. The sole witness
of that operation was Earth’s soul and the great celestial messengers who
helped in that enormous endeavor, opening their globes and sharing their
innards. Once the fusion was achieved the waters flowed over the voids
left by the absence of the Moon, from whom one was supposed to expect
a better appreciation of its interests.”
“The atmospheres blended and the awakening, or the resurrection of
the germs from the cataleptic state, started. The human being was the last
one to be retrieved from his hypnotic state, finding himself surrounded
by luxuriant vegetation of the terrestrial paradise and the animals which
peacefully grazed around him. Would you believe that all this could have
happened in six days, considering such powerful workers to whom God
had assigned the task! Planet Asia brought us the yellow race, the oldest
civilization; planet Africa the black race; planet Europa the white race and
planet America the red race. The Moon would certainly have brought us
the green or blue race.”
“Thus, certain animals from which only the remains are found would
have never lived here in our current Earth but would have been dislocated
from their aged worlds. The fossils that are found in climates where they
could not have survived certainly lived in different zones in their original
globes. Those remains are found on our Poles while in their planets they
would have lived around the Equator. Besides, those huge masses whose
existence we cannot conceive in the air, used to live on the bottom of the
oceans under the pressure of a medium that facilitated their locomotion.
Future studies of the seas will bring us other remains, other germs which
will wake up from their long lethargy, showing us unknown species of
plants, animals and autochthones, contemporary of the floods, and you
will be surprised by discovering new islands in the middle of the oceans
populated by plants and animals which cannot come from anywhere, nor
can they be transported by the winds or by the waves.”
“Our Science which contests the Bible will end up by restituting its
merit as it was forced to do regarding the rotation of Earth, since it is not the
Bible that is in error but those who do not understand it. Here is the proof:”
“Joshua stopped the sun by saying: Sun, stand still…! Well, it is still
since then because you will find nowhere that he had ordered the Sun to
move again; and since the defeat of the Amalekites, if night succeeds day,
it is necessary that Earth moves. Then it is not Galileo but the inquisitors
who must be reprimanded for not having taken the Bible literally.”
“The existence of the biblical unicorn was also denied and two have
just been killed in the Tibetan mountains. The apparition of the spectrum
of Saul was denied and thank God you are about to convince the
skeptical. Let us always remember this warning from the Scriptures: “Noli
esse incredulous sicut equus et mulus, quibus non est intellectus”.
“Kind and respectful regards to the author of the Ethnology of the
Spiritual World.”
Jobard
The theory of Earth’s formation by the incrustation of several planetary
bodies was already given on several occasions by certain spirits and
through mediums who did not know one another. We do not support that
doctrine, which we must confess, has not been sufficiently studied yet
so that we can speak about it, but we recognize that it deserves a certain
examination. The ideas that it suggests are nothing but hypothesis until
more positive findings may come to confirm or deny them. Meanwhile it
is a milestone which can lead to great discoveries, guiding our researches
and scientists who may perhaps one day find in them the solution to many
problems.
Nevertheless, certain critics will say: “Don’t you trust the spirits? Do
you have doubts about their assertions? Since they are intelligences no
longer attached to matter, can they not remove all doubts of Science and
shed light where there is darkness?”
This is a serious issue that is related to the foundation of Spiritism and
that we cannot solve at this point without repeating what we have already
said with that regard. We shall only add a few words in order to justify
our reservations. To begin with, we will respond by saying that we would
very easily become people of lessor knowledge if we limited ourselves to
only enquiry the spirits in order to know everything that is unknown to
us now. God wishes that we acquire knowledge through work and God
has not assigned the spirits with the task of bringing us that preprocessed
knowledge, favoring our idleness. Next, one must consider that humanity,
like the individuals, has its infancy, adolescence, youth and maturity.
Since the spirits have been assigned by God to instruct human beings,
they must then provide teachings that facilitate the development of human
beings’ intelligence. They will not say everything to everyone, and
before sowing they expect the terrain to be ready for the seeds so that they
can bear fruits. That is why certain truths which we are told today were
not taught to our parents, who also questioned the spirits; furthermore,
that is why truths for which are not mature yet will only be taught to
those who will come after us. Our mistake is to consider ourselves to be
on the summit when in reality we are only half way through.
Let us say in passing that the spirits have two ways of instructing
human beings. They can do it by communicating directly with human
beings, a fact that has always happened at all times, as demonstrated by
sacred as well as profane history, and they can also incarnate among human
beings to accomplish missions of progress. Such are those righteous
individuals and geniuses that show up from time to time, like lighthouses
to humanity, making it advance a few steps. Observe what happens when
those individuals come before the time is right for the propagation of the
ideas that they want to spread: they go ignored in life but their teachings
remain. These are stored in the world’s archives, like the precious grain
that is spared, reaching the ground the day when it can fructify.
From the above it is understandable that if the time were not right to
disseminate certain ideas we would then hopelessly interrogate the spirits.
They cannot say but that which they are permitted. There is however another reason that everyone who has some experience with the spiritual
world understands well.
It is not good enough to be a spirit in order to reach the universal science;
otherwise death would make us almost equal to God. As a matter
of fact, simple common sense refuses to accept that the spirit of a savage,
of an ignorant or evil person, when separated from the body, would be
on the same level as that of the virtuous individual. That would not be
rational. Hence, there are advanced spirits and others more or less delayed,
who still need to pass through several stages, go through numerous filters
before leaving behind all their imperfections. As a consequence, all varieties
of moral and intelligence existing among human beings are also found
in the spiritual world, and some others. Now, experience demonstrates
that the bad ones communicate as much as the good ones. Those who
are openly bad are easily identified but there are also the pseudo-wise
ones, the false wise, the presumptuous, the systematic and the hypocrites.
These are the most dangerous ones since they bear a serious appearance,
of wisdom and science, towards which they always proclaim the most absurd
things amidst some truths and good teachings. They are not afraid
of using respectable names in order to better deceive. Separate the true
from the false; discover the occult deception out of a cascade of beautiful
words; unmask the imposters, that is, without a doubt, one of the greatest
difficulties of the Spiritist Science. A long experience is required in order
to overcome that; get to know every trap used by the low class spirits; exercise
a lot of prudence; see things with the most undisturbed cold blood
and particularly abstain yourself from the blinding enthusiasm. With
time, experience and a little bit of finesse one can easily figure them out,
even under the coverage of the most pretentious language.
Unfortunate, however, is the medium that judges them infallible, deluded
by the communications that they receive. The dominant spirit may
fascinate them to the point of leading them to believe to be sublime something
that is sometimes absurd and obvious to everyone else but them.
Let us return to the subject. The theory of the formation of Earth by
incrustation is not the only one given by the spirits. In which one should we believe? This demonstrates that outside the moral world, which cannot
have two interpretations, one must not accept scientific theories from
the spirits, unless with great reservation, because and once more they do
not have the mission of bringing us the final Science; they are far from
knowing everything, particularly with respect to the beginning of things;
finally, it is necessary to suspect the systematic ideas, that some among
them want to make prevail and to which they have no scruples in associating
a divine origin. Examining those communications cold-bloodedly
and especially without prevention; pondering all words with maturity,
we easily find out the signs of a suspicious origin, incompatible with the
character of the spirit with whom we supposedly speak.
These are sometimes such clear scientific heresies that one would need
to be blind or very ignorant to miss them. Well, how can one admit that
a superior spirit may make such absurd mistakes? Other times these are
trivial expressions of ridicule, puerile forms, and a thousand other signals
which betray the inferiority of the spirit to anyone who is not fascinated.
What sensible person could ever believe that a doctrine contrary to
the most positive findings of science could be originated from a wise
spirit, even when bearing the name Arago? How can one believe in the
goodness of a spirit who gave advices that were contrary to charity and
benevolence, even when signed by an apostle of beneficence? In addition,
it is a profanity to mix venerable names with communications which show
evident traces of inferiority. The more respected the names, the more they
must be taken carefully and the more one must be aware of the risks of
being deceived by mystification.
In summary, the important criterion taught by the spirits is logic.
God gave us reason and the capacity to judge so it can serve us. The good
spirits recommend it to us and we can use it to give proof of their superiority.
The others take great care. They want to be given credit for their
words, for they know they stand to lose if there is serious examination.
As seen, we have many reasons for not accepting lightheartedly every
theory given by the spirits. When a theory shows up, we position ourselves
in the role of the observer. We make abstraction of the spiritist origin, not allowing ourselves to be obfuscated by the light of pompous names.
We examine that theory as if coming from a simple mortal and see if it
is rational, if it encompasses everything, if it solves all challenges. That is
how we proceeded with the doctrine of the reincarnation, which was not
promptly adopted by us, although coming from the spirits, but only after
we had acknowledged that such theory, and only that theory, could solve
what no other doctrine could have ever done before, and abstraction made
of all material proofs which are daily given to us and many others about
that theory. Hence, never mind the contradictors, even if these are spirits.
As long as the theory is logic, according to God’s justice; than nothing
else more satisfactory can be presented to us, we will not bother with that
more than we would with those who state that the Earth does not turn
around the Sun – because there are spirits that defend this idea and consider
themselves shrewd – or those who say that human beings came from
another world, perfectly formed, riding the back of a winged elephant.
We agree even less with the point of view about the formation and
particularly the population of Earth. That is why, since the beginning,
we said that for us the issue was not sufficiently clarified, as seen from a
purely scientific point of view. We just say that, at first glance, the theory
of incrustation did not seem completely unfounded and, not supporting
or denying it, we say that this is a subject for examination. In fact, once
the physiological characters of the diverse human races are studied, it is
not possible to attribute them with a common origin, because the black
race is not a bastardization of the white race. Yet, adopting the Biblical
text, which yields all human beings descending from Noah’s family, two
thousand and four hundred years before the Christian era, one would
have to admit not only that such family populated the whole Asia, Europe
and Africa in a few centuries but that they had become black. We know
well the kind of influence that the climate and habits may have upon the
human body. A scorching Sun darkens the skin but it has never been seen,
even under the most intense tropical conditions, white families procreating
black children, without crossing races. Hence, it seems evident to us
that the primitive races on Earth came from different origins. What is the principle? That is the question, and up until there is material proof, one is
not allowed to make more than assumptions about the subject. Therefore,
it is up to the individuals of Science to identify those which are more in
agreement with the facts already attested by Science. Without examining
how the welding and fusion of several planetary bodies was possible for
the formation of our globe, we must recognize that it is not impossible
and then this could explain the simultaneous presence of heterogeneous
races, so much different in their habits and languages, that each part of
the globe would have carried their germs or embryos; and that perhaps,
who knows, the already formed individuals. Under such assumption, the
white race would have come from a different world than the one which
would have brought the black race. In all cases the fusion would not have
taken place without a general cataclysm, yielding the survival of a few
individuals only. Thus, according to this theory, our globe would be very
old for its constituent parts, and very new for its agglomeration. As seen,
this theory does not contradict the geological periods that would date
back to an undetermined period, prior to the fusion. Nevertheless, and
whatever Mr. Jobard says, if things took place in such a way, it seems difficult
that such events had happened and particularly that the equilibrium
of such a chaos could have taken place in six days of 24 hours. The motion
of the inert matter is submitted to eternal laws that cannot be breached
by miracles.
One must still explain the meaning of Earth’s soul since nobody can
attribute some sort of will to matter. The spirits have always said that
some of them have special assignments. Agents and God’s ministers manage,
according to their degree of elevation, events of physical as well as
moral nature. Thus, since some of them watch over individuals, of whom
they become familiar spirits or protectors, others take under their sponsorship
groups of individuals, communities, cities, peoples and even globes.
Earth’s soul must then be understood as the spirit called upon by its mission
of managing her and making her advance. The governing spirit of a
world must necessarily be of a superior order, and the more elevated the
more advanced that world is.
If we insisted on several points that could seem strange to the subject,
it was precisely due to the fact that they are related to an eminently controversial
scientific issue. It must be strongly stated to those who judge
things without knowing them that Spiritism, is far from taking everything
that comes from the invisible world as an article of faith and that,
contrary to what they intend to say, Spiritism is not founded on blind
belief, but on reason.
If all adepts of Spiritism do not keep the same circumspection, it is
not the Science’s fault but of those who do not endeavor to study it further.
Likewise, it would not be more logical to pass judgment based on the
exaggeration of a few individuals than to condemn religion based on the
opinion of a few fanatics.
Letters from Dr. Morhéry about Ms. Désirée Godu
We spoke about the remarkable faculty of Ms. Désirée Godu as a
healing medium and we could have cited authentic witnesses that
we have in our possession. However, here is a testimony of incontestable
reach. It is not one of those attestations that are provided somehow lightheartedly.
It is the result of serious observations by a knowledgeable man,
eminently capable of assessing things from both points of view of Science
and Spiritism. Dr. Morhéry sent us the two following letters, whose publication
the readers will appreciate.
“Plessis-Bloudet, near Loudéac (Côtes-du-Nord)
“Mr. Allan Kardec,
“Although overloaded right now by my regular activities, as a
corresponding member of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies
I see it as my duty to inform you about an unexpected event
which is certainly of interest to all our colleagues.”
“You have praised Ms. Désirée Godu, from Hennebon, in
the last issues of your Review. You said that after she had been
a clairvoyant, hearing and writing medium, the young lady had
become a healing medium in the past few years. That is how
she came to me, requesting my support as a medical doctor, to demonstrate the efficacy of her medication, which I believe
it could be called spiritist. In the beginning I thought that her
motives where the threats against her and the obstacles created
to her medical practice for the fact that she was not certified.
She told me, however, that her guiding spirit, working with her
for six years, had advised her to do so, as a necessary condition
from the point of view of Spiritism. In any case I found it to be
my duty and in the interest of humanity to accept her generous
proposal, but I had doubts if she would accomplish that.
Although not knowing her in person or even having never seen
her, I learned that the devout young lady had never wanted to
be away from her family but in one exceptional circumstance
at the age of 17, in order to accomplish an important mission.
I was nicely surprised when I saw her coming to my house led
by her mother who left the next day, leaving her with profound
sadness. Such sadness, however, was mitigated by the courage of
her resignation. Ms. Godu has been living with my family for 10
days already, and she has become the focus of much joy, despite
her nerve-racking occupation. “Since her arrival I have already
attested 75 cases of several diseases, against which the medical
resources had failed in most of them. We have amaurosis fugax,
severe ophthalmic disorders, paralysis and all that reject to any
treatment, scrofulous, the scabby, cataracts and terminal cancer,
all cases that are duly registered; the nature of the disease is established
by me, she indicates the dressings, and all procedures
are followed as in a regular clinical treatment room.”
“Time was not enough for my peremptory pronunciation
about the healings operated by Ms. Godu. However, I can already
affirm that I am impressed by the revolutionary results that she
obtains with the application of her ointments whose effects vary
to the infinity through an action which I could not explain, based
on the ordinary rules of Science. I also saw with pleasure that she would cure fevers without the use of any chemicals or balms, by
simple infusion of flowers or leaves of several plants.”
“I particularly follow with great interest her treatment of a
third degree cancer. This cancer has been identified and unsuccessfully
treated by several colleagues, as always, and it is the focus
of great concern by Ms. Godu, who is very preoccupied by
it. I sincerely wish that her efforts be rewarded with success and
that she can heal that indigent which she treats with zeal beyond
praise. If she does, then other success cases are naturally expected
and she will be doing a huge service to humanity, curing such a
terrible and atrocious disease.”
“I know that several comrades may be laughing at my own
expectations. Why bother if those hopes come true! I have already
been criticized for helping a person whose intentions are not contested
but whose healing skills are denied by the majority since
she was not formally trained in the academia.”
“I shall respond to that by saying that it was not the Faculty
which discovered the vaccine but simple shepherds; it was not
the Faculty that found the bark of Peru but the native Indians
of that country. The Faculty attests the facts, groups and classifies
them, forming the precious basis of teaching, but it does not
exclusively produce them. Some silly people, and unfortunately
there are some here as everywhere else, judge themselves witty,
calling Ms. Godu a witch. She is certainly a very kind and useful
witch for she neither inspires fear nor the desire to have her sent
to burn at the stake.”
“To the others who see her as an instrument of the devil
I will respond by boldly saying: if the devil comes to Earth to
cure the incurable, the abandoned and indigent, one must then
conclude that the devil has finally converted and deserves our
thanks. Besides, I doubt very much that among those who speak
of her in such a way, there are many who would not prefer to be cured by her hands instead of dying in the hands of the doctors.
Let us then be open to goodness from whatever source it
may come and let us not attribute its merit to the devil without
authentic proofs. It is more rational and according to the good
moral to attribute the good to God and just say grace. I believe
that you and all other colleagues will share my point of view.
As a matter of fact, whether or not this becomes a reality, there
will always remain something for Science. I am not a man who
forgets certain employed means which are neglected these days.
They say that Medicine has made enormous progress. Yes, it has
done so to Science but not to the art of healing. We learn a lot
and forget a lot too. The human spirit is like the ocean: it cannot
encompass everything; when a beach is taken another one
is left behind. I will come back to this subject and let you know
about this curious experience. I give serious attention to this. If
she triumphs, it will be a brilliant manifestation, against which
it will be impossible to fight, because nothing stops those who
suffer and seek cure. I am determined to fight whatever is necessary
with that objective, including ridicule which is so much
feared in France.”
“I take the opportunity to send you my inaugural thesis. If
you take the burden of reading it you will easily understand how
much I was prepared to accept Spiritism. That thesis was defended
when Medicine had been taken by the most profound materialism.
It was a protest against such a current which dragged us
towards organic Medicine and mineral Pharmacology, so much
abused. How much health had not been devastated by the abusive
use of mineral substances that in case of reaction amplifies
the disease and in case of improvement it still leaves traces in our
organism!”
Yours sincerely,
Morhéry
March 20th, 1860
“Sir,
In my last letter I indicated that Ms. Désirée Godu had come
to practice her healing skills before me. This is to bring you some
more news.”
“I started my observations with a large number of patients
since February 25th, almost all of them indigent and incapable of
finding adequate treatment. Some have diseases of little importance
but the majority suffers from illnesses which would resist
the ordinary means of treatment. I have logged 152 cases of several
disorders since February 25th. Unfortunately in our land, and
particularly the indigent and sick, follow their own caprices and
have no patience to follow a stable and methodical treatment. As
soon as they experience some improvement they consider themselves
cured and do nothing else. This sometimes happens to my
own patients and it should necessarily happen to Ms. Godu’s too.”
“As I said before, I don’t want to pre-judge or affirm anything,
except the results attested by experience. Later I shall
report the whole thing and point out the most remarkable observations.
However, I already want to express my admiration for
seeing cures which were obtained outside conventional practices.”
“I saw three intermittent, resistant fevers, cured without the
use of cinchona, one of which had resisted to all means employed
by me.”
“Ms. Godu also cured three cases of paranitium and two
sub-aponeurotic inflammations of the hand in a few days. That
really impressed me.”
“I can also attest, the not yet complete cure but already advanced
treatment of one of our most intelligent workers, Pierre Le
Boudec, from Saint-Hérve, who has been deaf since he was 18.
He was as astonished as I was when after three days of treatment
he could hear the birds singing and the voice of his children. I saw him this morning and all indications are that he will soon be
completely cured.”
“The one who attracts most attention among our patients is a
so called Mr. Bigo, a worker from Saint-Caradec, who has cancer
in his lower lip for two years now. The cancer achieved its last
degree. His inferior lip is partially destroyed; the gum and the
sublingual glandules are cancerous and the bone of his inferior
jaw is also affected by the disease. His condition was desperate
when he came to the house. His pain was excruciating. He hasn’t
been able to sleep for the past six months. Surgery was not recommended
given the advanced stage of the disease. A cure seemed
impossible to me and I frankly declared it to Ms. Godu, warning
her about an inevitable defeat. My opinion did not change the
prognosis. I still cannot believe in the cure of such an advanced
cancer. However, I must declare that since the application of the
first ointment, the patient experiences some relief and since that
day, February 25th, he sleeps and eats well; he is confident again;
the wound has visibly changed in appearance and if that pattern
continues, despite my personal opinion, I am forced to expect a
cure. If that comes true, it will be the greatest phenomenon of
cure which one could attest. It is necessary to wait and be patient,
like Mr. Bigot. Ms. Godu addresses him with special care.
Sometimes she changes the bandages every half hour. He is her
favorite destitute.”
“There is nothing else to say. I could report rumors and gossips,
and comments about witchcraft, but since foolishness is inherent
to humanity, I don’t bother trying to cure it.”
With my respect,
Morhéry
OBSERVATION: As it can be seen from the two letters above, Mr. Morhéry
was not led by enthusiasm. He observes things cold-bloodedly, and as an enlightened
man, without illusions. He shows extreme good faith, leaving aside his medical pride. He is not afraid of confessing that nature may not need
him, inspiring an uneducated young lady with the means of healing, that he
had not found in the Faculty or in his own brain, and not feeling humiliated
by that. His knowledge about Spiritism teaches him that it is possible, without
breaching the laws of nature. He understands it, since such a faculty is a
simple phenomenon more developed in Ms. Godu than in others. One can
say that this young lady is to the art of healing as Joan of Arc was to the the
art of military. Well-informed about the two essential points – Spiritism as the
source, Medicine as the control – Mr. Morhéry puts aside his self-love and any
personal feelings, positioning himself in the best place to judge impartially,
and we congratulate Ms. Godu for her resolution in choosing him to be her
sponsor. The readers will certainly appreciate the fact that we will keep them
informed about future observations.
Varieties
The Manufacturer of St. PetersburgHis countryman Baron Gabriel Tscherkassoff, who lives in Cannes and who attests to its authenticity, transmitted the following facts of a spontaneous manifestation to our colleague, Mr. Kratzoff, from St. Petersburg. As a matter of fact, it seems that the facts are very well known and were a sensation in its day.
“In the beginning of the century there was a rich artisan in St. Petersburg that employed a large number of workers in his workshops. I can’t remember his name but I believe he was English. He was a rightful, decent, humane person, not only enjoying the good returns of his products but also ensuring the moral as well as physical well being of his workers who, in turn, offered the example of good behavior and an almost fraternal agreement. According to Russian costumes, still existent in our days, food and lodging were covered by the employer, where they occupied the upper floors and the attic of the same house. One morning several workers could not find their clothes after waking up, clothes they had set beside their beds before going to sleep. Nobody thought of robbery. They unsuccessfully questioned one another, suspecting that the most malicious ones could be tricking the group. Finally, thanks to their searches, all missing objects were found in the cellar, in the fireplaces and even on top of the roof. The boss warned everyone since nobody would confess wrongdoing. On the contrary, everyone protested innocence.”
“Some time later the same thing happened again. There was new recommendations, new protests. It gradually began to happen every night and the owner was really upset because he saw his work suffering and the threat of his workers leaving the house where, they said, supernatural things were taking place. Following the owner’s advice, a nightly watch was organized by the employees themselves in order to catch the offender, but it was unsuccessful. On the contrary, things changed from bad to worse. The workers had to climb dimly lit stairs to get to their rooms. When they would arrive, several of them received blows on the head and had their faces slapped. Whenever they tried to defend themselves they would only find emptiness, while the violence of the blows gave them the impression that they were dealing with a solid creature. This time the owner advised them to form two groups: one should stay on the top of the stairwell, the other on the bottom. Following that procedure the bad guy could not escape and would receive the deserved correction. However, the owner’s strategy failed once again. The two groups were badly beaten and one accused the other. The complaints became violent and as it reached the highest possible level of disagreement among the workers, the owner was even considering moving or shutting down the whole operation.”
“One evening he sat, sad and full of thoughts, surrounded by his family. Everyone was feeling disheartened when suddenly a huge noise was heard in the room next door, which was used as his office. He stood up promptly, looking for the cause of that noise. The first thing he saw was an open desk with a lit oil lamp. However, he had just closed that desk and put the light out. He approached the desk and saw a glass inkpot and a pen that did not belong to him and a sheet of paper on which he read still in fresh ink: “Have the wall in such a place taken down (above the stairwell). There you will find human remains which you will have buried in sacred land.” The owner grabbed the piece of paper and rushed to the police.”
“The day after they tried to identify the origin of the inkpot and the pen. They were shown to the neighbor who had their business on the ground floor and confirmed that the pieces were his. Once questioned about the person to whom he had given them, he said: “Last night I had already closed shop when I heard knocks on the window; I opened and saw a man whose looks were not familiar, who said: “I need you to give me an inkpot and a pen. I will pay for that.” I gave him the objects and he threw a large copper coin which I heard falling on the ground but I could not find it.”
“The wall was demolished at the indicated spot and there they found the human remains which were duly buried and everything went back to normal. The origin of that skeleton was never known.”
Facts of such a nature must have happened at all times and it can be seen that they were not provoked by the spiritist knowledge. It is understandable that in remote centuries or among ignorant people they have given rise to all kinds of superstitious assumptions.
“In the beginning of the century there was a rich artisan in St. Petersburg that employed a large number of workers in his workshops. I can’t remember his name but I believe he was English. He was a rightful, decent, humane person, not only enjoying the good returns of his products but also ensuring the moral as well as physical well being of his workers who, in turn, offered the example of good behavior and an almost fraternal agreement. According to Russian costumes, still existent in our days, food and lodging were covered by the employer, where they occupied the upper floors and the attic of the same house. One morning several workers could not find their clothes after waking up, clothes they had set beside their beds before going to sleep. Nobody thought of robbery. They unsuccessfully questioned one another, suspecting that the most malicious ones could be tricking the group. Finally, thanks to their searches, all missing objects were found in the cellar, in the fireplaces and even on top of the roof. The boss warned everyone since nobody would confess wrongdoing. On the contrary, everyone protested innocence.”
“Some time later the same thing happened again. There was new recommendations, new protests. It gradually began to happen every night and the owner was really upset because he saw his work suffering and the threat of his workers leaving the house where, they said, supernatural things were taking place. Following the owner’s advice, a nightly watch was organized by the employees themselves in order to catch the offender, but it was unsuccessful. On the contrary, things changed from bad to worse. The workers had to climb dimly lit stairs to get to their rooms. When they would arrive, several of them received blows on the head and had their faces slapped. Whenever they tried to defend themselves they would only find emptiness, while the violence of the blows gave them the impression that they were dealing with a solid creature. This time the owner advised them to form two groups: one should stay on the top of the stairwell, the other on the bottom. Following that procedure the bad guy could not escape and would receive the deserved correction. However, the owner’s strategy failed once again. The two groups were badly beaten and one accused the other. The complaints became violent and as it reached the highest possible level of disagreement among the workers, the owner was even considering moving or shutting down the whole operation.”
“One evening he sat, sad and full of thoughts, surrounded by his family. Everyone was feeling disheartened when suddenly a huge noise was heard in the room next door, which was used as his office. He stood up promptly, looking for the cause of that noise. The first thing he saw was an open desk with a lit oil lamp. However, he had just closed that desk and put the light out. He approached the desk and saw a glass inkpot and a pen that did not belong to him and a sheet of paper on which he read still in fresh ink: “Have the wall in such a place taken down (above the stairwell). There you will find human remains which you will have buried in sacred land.” The owner grabbed the piece of paper and rushed to the police.”
“The day after they tried to identify the origin of the inkpot and the pen. They were shown to the neighbor who had their business on the ground floor and confirmed that the pieces were his. Once questioned about the person to whom he had given them, he said: “Last night I had already closed shop when I heard knocks on the window; I opened and saw a man whose looks were not familiar, who said: “I need you to give me an inkpot and a pen. I will pay for that.” I gave him the objects and he threw a large copper coin which I heard falling on the ground but I could not find it.”
“The wall was demolished at the indicated spot and there they found the human remains which were duly buried and everything went back to normal. The origin of that skeleton was never known.”
Facts of such a nature must have happened at all times and it can be seen that they were not provoked by the spiritist knowledge. It is understandable that in remote centuries or among ignorant people they have given rise to all kinds of superstitious assumptions.
Tangible Apparition
Last January 14th Mr. Lecomte, a farmer from the village of Brix, in the district of Valognes, was visited by an individual who was said to be one of his old comrades, with whom he had worked at the Port of Cherburg, and whose death goes back two and half years. The apparition wished to ask Lecomte to have a mass celebrated in his name at the Church. On the 15th the apparition showed up again. Lecomte, less afraid this time, effectively recognized his old comrade. Still disturbed, he did not know what to answer though. The same thing happened again on January the 17th and 18th. It was only on the 19th that Lecomte said:
• Since you want a mass, where do you want it celebrated? Will you attend it?
• I want, responded the spirit, that the mass be celebrated at St. Savior Chapel, in eight days. I will be there. And he added: I haven’t seen you for a long time and it was far away for me to come and see you. That was what he said and then he left with a handshake.
Mr. Lecomte did not fail his promise. The mass was celebrated on the 27th at the St. Savior Chapel and he saw his old comrade kneeling on the steps of the altar, near the vicar. Nobody else had seen him and although he had asked the priest and the assistants, they did not see him as well. Since then Lecomte was no longer visited, returning to his usual tranquility.
OBSERVATION: According to this report, whose authenticity is attested by a trustworthy source, it is not related to a simple vision but to a tangible apparition, since the deceased friend of Lecomte had shaken his hand. The incredulous will say that it was a hallucination. However, we still wait for their clear, logical and truly scientific explanation of the strange phenomena that they designate by that name, with the only objective, as it seems to us, of denying any solution.
Mr. Lecomte did not fail his promise. The mass was celebrated on the 27th at the St. Savior Chapel and he saw his old comrade kneeling on the steps of the altar, near the vicar. Nobody else had seen him and although he had asked the priest and the assistants, they did not see him as well. Since then Lecomte was no longer visited, returning to his usual tranquility.
OBSERVATION: According to this report, whose authenticity is attested by a trustworthy source, it is not related to a simple vision but to a tangible apparition, since the deceased friend of Lecomte had shaken his hand. The incredulous will say that it was a hallucination. However, we still wait for their clear, logical and truly scientific explanation of the strange phenomena that they designate by that name, with the only objective, as it seems to us, of denying any solution.
Spontaneous Essays
The Angel of Children(Society, medium Mrs. de Boyer)
My name is Michael. I am one of the spirits assigned to guard the children. What a kind mission! What happiness it gives to the soul! The protection of children, you will ask! Don’t they have their mothers, the good angels designated to shelter them? Why would there still be the need for a spirit to watch over them? However, how about those who no longer have their mothers? Don’t they exist in a large number?
And how about the mother, doesn’t she, sometimes need help? Who wakes her up in her first sleep? Who makes her foresee the danger, creating relief when the pain is great? It is us, always us. We turn the naughty child away from the cliff; we keep the dangerous animals and the wild fire away from her, fire that could burn her beautiful hair. Our mission is gentle! We are still the ones who inspire in them compassion towards the poor, sweetness, goodness. Not one of them, even the worst of them, could disturb us. There is always a time when their little hearts are open to us. How many of you will be impressed by that mission. However, don’t you always say that there is a God to the children, particularly to the poor children? No, not a God, but angels, friends. Otherwise, how could you explain these miraculous rescues? There are still many other powers whose existence you don’t even suspect. There is the spirit of flowers, of perfumes; a thousand and one others whose more or less elevated missions would seem charming and privileged to you, after your tough life of trials. I will invite them to come to you. At this point in time I am rewarded by a life entirely dedicated to children. Married at a young age to a man who had many, I was not fortunate to have my own children. Entirely dedicated to them, the good and sovereign God has allowed me to guard the children. Smooth and sacred mission, I repeat, whose efficacy the mothers present here could not deny. Good-bye, I will go now to the bedside of my little protected ones. The time of sleep is my time, and it is necessary that I visit all those lovely closed eyelids. Make no mistake, the good angel who watches over them is not an allegory but a truth.
Advices
(Society, November 25th, medium Mr. Roze)
In the old days you would have been crucified, burnt at the stake, tortured. The force was diminished; the fire extinguished and the instruments of torture broken. The terrible weapons of ridicule; so powerful against the lies and weaken the will against the truth. Its fiercest enemies retracted into an impenetrable circle. In fact, denying the reality of our manifestations would be the same as denying the revelation that is the foundation of all religions. Attributing it to the devil, pretending that the evil spirit has come to comfort you; cultivate the Gospel, urging you towards the good; to practice all virtues, it is simply and happily only to prove that the spirit does not exist. Every divided kingdom shall perish. Bad spirits will remain. A good tree never produces bad fruits; a bad tree never produces good fruits. You have nothing better to tell them but what Christ used to tell his oppressors when they formulated the same accusations against him, begging for God’s forgiveness since they didn’t know what they were doing.
The Spirit of Truth
(Another essay dictated to Mr. Roze, and read at the Society)
France carries the banner of progress and she must guide the other nations. That is demonstrated by previous and current events. You were chosen to be the mirror which must receive and reflect the Divine light, which must illuminate Earth, up until now soaked in the darkness of ignorance and lies. However, if you are not animated by the love to thy neighbor and by a boundless devotion; if the desire of knowing and propagating the truth, whose paths you must open to posterity, is not the only motive driving your works; if the slightest shade of pride, selfishness and material interest find shelter in your hearts, we shall only be served by you like the artisan that temporarily uses a defective instrument. We will come to you up until the time when we have found or stimulated a center richer than you are in virtues, more sympathetic to the phalanx of spirits sent by God to reveal the truth to the people of good will. Give some serious thoughts to that. Dig deep into your hearts, probe their most intimate thoughts and vigorously expel the bad passions which keep us away, otherwise you must leave before risking the work of your brothers and sisters by your presence or by the presence of the spirits that you bring along with you.
In the old days you would have been crucified, burnt at the stake, tortured. The force was diminished; the fire extinguished and the instruments of torture broken. The terrible weapons of ridicule; so powerful against the lies and weaken the will against the truth. Its fiercest enemies retracted into an impenetrable circle. In fact, denying the reality of our manifestations would be the same as denying the revelation that is the foundation of all religions. Attributing it to the devil, pretending that the evil spirit has come to comfort you; cultivate the Gospel, urging you towards the good; to practice all virtues, it is simply and happily only to prove that the spirit does not exist. Every divided kingdom shall perish. Bad spirits will remain. A good tree never produces bad fruits; a bad tree never produces good fruits. You have nothing better to tell them but what Christ used to tell his oppressors when they formulated the same accusations against him, begging for God’s forgiveness since they didn’t know what they were doing.
The Spirit of Truth
(Another essay dictated to Mr. Roze, and read at the Society)
France carries the banner of progress and she must guide the other nations. That is demonstrated by previous and current events. You were chosen to be the mirror which must receive and reflect the Divine light, which must illuminate Earth, up until now soaked in the darkness of ignorance and lies. However, if you are not animated by the love to thy neighbor and by a boundless devotion; if the desire of knowing and propagating the truth, whose paths you must open to posterity, is not the only motive driving your works; if the slightest shade of pride, selfishness and material interest find shelter in your hearts, we shall only be served by you like the artisan that temporarily uses a defective instrument. We will come to you up until the time when we have found or stimulated a center richer than you are in virtues, more sympathetic to the phalanx of spirits sent by God to reveal the truth to the people of good will. Give some serious thoughts to that. Dig deep into your hearts, probe their most intimate thoughts and vigorously expel the bad passions which keep us away, otherwise you must leave before risking the work of your brothers and sisters by your presence or by the presence of the spirits that you bring along with you.
The Spirit of Truth
Ostentation
(Society, December 16th, 1860 – Medium Ms. Huet)
In a beautiful spring afternoon a rich and generous man was sitting in his living room. He happily smelled the aroma of garden flowers while complacently tallying all the good deeds he had done that year. He could not avoid giving an almost despicable look at the house of one of his neighbors who gave but an almost insignificant contribution to the construction of the local church. As for me, he said, I gave more than a thousand francs to that work; I deliberately threw a 500 franc bill into the basket that the young Duchess circulated in favor of the poor; I gave much more to the beneficent parties, to all kinds of raffles and I believe God will be thankful for so much I have done. Ah! I forgot the small alms that I lately gave to an unfortunate widow who has a large family, still raising an orphan. However, what I gave her is so small that this is certainly not what is going to open the doors of heaven to me.
• You are mistaken, he suddenly heard from a voice that made him turn his head: that is the only one accepted by God; here is the proof. At the same time a hand erased everything he had listed on the piece of paper with all his good deeds, leaving the last one only, the voice and the paper went back into heaven.
Hence it is not the alms given with ostentation that is the best, but the one given with humility of heart.
Joinville, Amy de Loys.
In a beautiful spring afternoon a rich and generous man was sitting in his living room. He happily smelled the aroma of garden flowers while complacently tallying all the good deeds he had done that year. He could not avoid giving an almost despicable look at the house of one of his neighbors who gave but an almost insignificant contribution to the construction of the local church. As for me, he said, I gave more than a thousand francs to that work; I deliberately threw a 500 franc bill into the basket that the young Duchess circulated in favor of the poor; I gave much more to the beneficent parties, to all kinds of raffles and I believe God will be thankful for so much I have done. Ah! I forgot the small alms that I lately gave to an unfortunate widow who has a large family, still raising an orphan. However, what I gave her is so small that this is certainly not what is going to open the doors of heaven to me.
• You are mistaken, he suddenly heard from a voice that made him turn his head: that is the only one accepted by God; here is the proof. At the same time a hand erased everything he had listed on the piece of paper with all his good deeds, leaving the last one only, the voice and the paper went back into heaven.
Hence it is not the alms given with ostentation that is the best, but the one given with humility of heart.
Joinville, Amy de Loys.
Love and Freedom
(Society, January 27th, 1860 – Medium Mr. Roze)
God is love and freedom and it is through love and freedom that the spirit moves closer to God. Through love the spirit develops new relationships that get him closer to the unity in each existence; through freedom the spirit chooses the good that gets him closer to God. Be eager to spread the new faith but may the sacred eagerness that animates you never cast any harm upon the freedom of others! You must avoid mounting a kind of worn out and almost yielded resistance by insisting too much before a terrible and proud incredulity. The reign of coercion and oppression is over; it is time for reason, freedom and fraternal love. From now on, it is no longer by force and fear that the earthly powers will acquire the right of governing the moral, spiritual and material needs of its people but by love and freedom.
God is love and freedom and it is through love and freedom that the spirit moves closer to God. Through love the spirit develops new relationships that get him closer to the unity in each existence; through freedom the spirit chooses the good that gets him closer to God. Be eager to spread the new faith but may the sacred eagerness that animates you never cast any harm upon the freedom of others! You must avoid mounting a kind of worn out and almost yielded resistance by insisting too much before a terrible and proud incredulity. The reign of coercion and oppression is over; it is time for reason, freedom and fraternal love. From now on, it is no longer by force and fear that the earthly powers will acquire the right of governing the moral, spiritual and material needs of its people but by love and freedom.
Abelardo
Immortality
(Society, February 3rd, 1860 – Medium Ms. Huet)
How can an intelligent person not believe in the immortality of the soul and consequently in a future life other than that of Spiritism? What should become of that immense love that a mother devotes to her children, the great care since their infancy, and the enlightened dedication of a father to the education of a beloved son? All annihilated at the time of separation or death? Would we then be like animals whose instincts are undoubtedly remarkable but which no longer take care of their offspring beyond the time necessary to attend their maternal needs?
When that time has come parents abandon their children and it is all over: the body is raised, there is no soul. However, the individual would not have a soul, an immortal soul! How about the sublime genius that can only be compared to God, since it comes from God, that genius that generates prodigies, that creates masterpieces, all that would be annihilated by the individual’s death? What Profanation absurdity! One cannot destroy in such a way those God given things. Raphael, Newton, Michelangelo and so many other sublime geniuses still illuminate the world with their spirit, although their bodies no onger exist. Make no mistake; they live and shall live forever. As for the communication with you, that is more difficult to admit by the vast majority of people. It is only through the study and observation that they can be ensured of such possibility.
Fénelon
How can an intelligent person not believe in the immortality of the soul and consequently in a future life other than that of Spiritism? What should become of that immense love that a mother devotes to her children, the great care since their infancy, and the enlightened dedication of a father to the education of a beloved son? All annihilated at the time of separation or death? Would we then be like animals whose instincts are undoubtedly remarkable but which no longer take care of their offspring beyond the time necessary to attend their maternal needs?
When that time has come parents abandon their children and it is all over: the body is raised, there is no soul. However, the individual would not have a soul, an immortal soul! How about the sublime genius that can only be compared to God, since it comes from God, that genius that generates prodigies, that creates masterpieces, all that would be annihilated by the individual’s death? What Profanation absurdity! One cannot destroy in such a way those God given things. Raphael, Newton, Michelangelo and so many other sublime geniuses still illuminate the world with their spirit, although their bodies no onger exist. Make no mistake; they live and shall live forever. As for the communication with you, that is more difficult to admit by the vast majority of people. It is only through the study and observation that they can be ensured of such possibility.
Fénelon
Parable
(Society, December 9th, 1859 – Medium Mr. Roze)
An old ship was hit by a terrible storm in its last journey. In addition to a large number of passengers, the ship transported to its final destination several foreign merchandise accumulated by the greed and cupidity of their owners. Danger was imminent. There was chaos aboard. The shipmasters refused to throw the load overboard. The orders were ignored since crew and passengers alike had lost their trust in them. It was time to consider abandoning ship. Three lifeboats were lowered. The most inexperienced, stunned and impatient rushed to the first one, swiftly rowing towards a dim light seen ashore. They soon fell in the hands of a group of castaways who took over the boat and then hastily collected the precious belongings, ruthlessly mistreating them.
The second group, more insightful, was able to distinguish a liberating lighthouse amidst the misleading lights that illuminated the horizon. They confidently allowed themselves to be dragged by the caprice of the waves, wrecking the boat against the coral reefs at the foothill of the lighthouse that kind of stared at them permanently. They felt their ruin and the loss of their properties as much as they had yearned their salvation.
The third group, less numerous but shrewd and sensible, carefully guided the boat through the wreckage, saving bodies and goods, not suffering except for fatigue after the trip.
Thus, don’t be content by only avoiding the bright lights of the shipwrecked and the bad spirits; but know how to avoid the mistakes of the idle ones, those who lost their goods and become shipwrecked at the port. Know how to navigate your ship through the wreckage of all passions and you shall happily get to the port of eternal life, carrying the wealth of virtues acquired in all your journeys.
St. Vincent de Paul
An old ship was hit by a terrible storm in its last journey. In addition to a large number of passengers, the ship transported to its final destination several foreign merchandise accumulated by the greed and cupidity of their owners. Danger was imminent. There was chaos aboard. The shipmasters refused to throw the load overboard. The orders were ignored since crew and passengers alike had lost their trust in them. It was time to consider abandoning ship. Three lifeboats were lowered. The most inexperienced, stunned and impatient rushed to the first one, swiftly rowing towards a dim light seen ashore. They soon fell in the hands of a group of castaways who took over the boat and then hastily collected the precious belongings, ruthlessly mistreating them.
The second group, more insightful, was able to distinguish a liberating lighthouse amidst the misleading lights that illuminated the horizon. They confidently allowed themselves to be dragged by the caprice of the waves, wrecking the boat against the coral reefs at the foothill of the lighthouse that kind of stared at them permanently. They felt their ruin and the loss of their properties as much as they had yearned their salvation.
The third group, less numerous but shrewd and sensible, carefully guided the boat through the wreckage, saving bodies and goods, not suffering except for fatigue after the trip.
Thus, don’t be content by only avoiding the bright lights of the shipwrecked and the bad spirits; but know how to avoid the mistakes of the idle ones, those who lost their goods and become shipwrecked at the port. Know how to navigate your ship through the wreckage of all passions and you shall happily get to the port of eternal life, carrying the wealth of virtues acquired in all your journeys.
St. Vincent de Paul
Spiritism
(Society, February 3rd, 1860 – Medium Mrs. M)
Spiritism is called upon to clarify the world but needs a certain time to advance. It has existed since creation but only acknowledged by a few persons since in general the masses don’t bother to give any thought to spiritist questions. Now, with the help of this pure doctrine, there will be a new light. God who does not wish to keep His children in ignorance allows the more elevated spirits to come to support us, countering the spirits of darkness who try to embrace the world. Human pride shades reason, leading to many mistakes. Simple and kind spirits are necessary to spread the light and mitigate all evils. Courage! Stay with this God pleasing work for it is useful to His greater glory and great good shall come from that for the salvation of the souls.
Francis de Sales
Spiritism is called upon to clarify the world but needs a certain time to advance. It has existed since creation but only acknowledged by a few persons since in general the masses don’t bother to give any thought to spiritist questions. Now, with the help of this pure doctrine, there will be a new light. God who does not wish to keep His children in ignorance allows the more elevated spirits to come to support us, countering the spirits of darkness who try to embrace the world. Human pride shades reason, leading to many mistakes. Simple and kind spirits are necessary to spread the light and mitigate all evils. Courage! Stay with this God pleasing work for it is useful to His greater glory and great good shall come from that for the salvation of the souls.
Francis de Sales
Philosophy
(Society, February 3rd, 1860 – Medium Mr. Colin)
Write this: Human beings! What is that? Where do they come from? Where are they going? God? Nature? Creation? The world? Their past and future eternity! Nature’s limit, relationships between the infinite and the private being? Passage from infinite to the finite? – These are questions that people should have framed, when for the first time and still a child, they saw with the eyes of reason the mysterious march of the celestial bodies above their head; Earth below their feet, alternatively dressed up in fancy clothes in the shaking wind of spring or covered by the mantle of mourning, under the cold breath of winter; thinking and feeling they saw themselves suddenly thrown into this vital maelstrom between yesterday, the day of their birth, and tomorrow, the time of their death. These are questions asked by all people, at all times and in all schools, still enigmas to the future generations. Nevertheless, these questions deserve the attention of investigative spirits of your century, the genius of your country. Thus, if you had one person, ten people among you, aware of the high importance of their apostolic mission, willing to leave a stamp of their passage on Earth, as a milestone to posterity, I would tell them this: for a long time you have come to terms with the errors and prejudices of your time; the period of physical and material manifestations is over to you; what you call experimental evocations can no longer teach you much since in the majority of cases there is only curiosity at play. However, the philosophical era of the Doctrine is near. Do not remain attached to the rotting pillars any longer, but courageously enter the heavenly sanctuary, firmly raising the flag of modern philosophy, in which you fearlessly will inscribe: mysticism, rationalism. Be eclectic in modern eclecticism; do as the ancients did, supported by the historical, mystical and legendary tradition, always observing the revelation though, an illuminating torch that we have all missed, resorting to the lights of the superior spirits, missionary devoted to the march of the human spirit. Those spirits, however elevated they may be, they don’t know everything. Only God does. Besides, they cannot reveal everything that is known to them. Where would the individual’s free will be then, his responsibility, merit and demerit, and also the sanctioning of punishment or reward? Yet, I can provide you with the guidelines containing some fundamental principles. Hence, listen to this:
1st – The soul has the power of separating from matter;
2nd – The soul can elevate well above intelligence;
3rd – Such state is beyond reason;
4th – It can put people in touch with everything that escapes their senses;
5th – Human beings can incite it by praying to God, by a constant struggle, reducing their soul to the state of pure essence, so to speak, denying sensitive and exterior activity; in a word, by abstracting everything that there is varied multiple, indecisive, chaotic, of exteriority inside the soul;
6th – There is up until now a completely ignored force in the very self of the individual. Thus, search for that.
(Society, February 3rd, 1860 – Medium Mr. Colin)
Write this: Human beings! What is that? Where do they come from? Where are they going? God? Nature? Creation? The world? Their past and future eternity! Nature’s limit, relationships between the infinite and the private being? Passage from infinite to the finite? – These are questions that people should have framed, when for the first time and still a child, they saw with the eyes of reason the mysterious march of the celestial bodies above their head; Earth below their feet, alternatively dressed up in fancy clothes in the shaking wind of spring or covered by the mantle of mourning, under the cold breath of winter; thinking and feeling they saw themselves suddenly thrown into this vital maelstrom between yesterday, the day of their birth, and tomorrow, the time of their death. These are questions asked by all people, at all times and in all schools, still enigmas to the future generations. Nevertheless, these questions deserve the attention of investigative spirits of your century, the genius of your country. Thus, if you had one person, ten people among you, aware of the high importance of their apostolic mission, willing to leave a stamp of their passage on Earth, as a milestone to posterity, I would tell them this: for a long time you have come to terms with the errors and prejudices of your time; the period of physical and material manifestations is over to you; what you call experimental evocations can no longer teach you much since in the majority of cases there is only curiosity at play. However, the philosophical era of the Doctrine is near. Do not remain attached to the rotting pillars any longer, but courageously enter the heavenly sanctuary, firmly raising the flag of modern philosophy, in which you fearlessly will inscribe: mysticism, rationalism. Be eclectic in modern eclecticism; do as the ancients did, supported by the historical, mystical and legendary tradition, always observing the revelation though, an illuminating torch that we have all missed, resorting to the lights of the superior spirits, missionary devoted to the march of the human spirit. Those spirits, however elevated they may be, they don’t know everything. Only God does. Besides, they cannot reveal everything that is known to them. Where would the individual’s free will be then, his responsibility, merit and demerit, and also the sanctioning of punishment or reward? Yet, I can provide you with the guidelines containing some fundamental principles. Hence, listen to this:
1st – The soul has the power of separating from matter;
2nd – The soul can elevate well above intelligence;
3rd – Such state is beyond reason;
4th – It can put people in touch with everything that escapes their senses;
5th – Human beings can incite it by praying to God, by a constant struggle, reducing their soul to the state of pure essence, so to speak, denying sensitive and exterior activity; in a word, by abstracting everything that there is varied multiple, indecisive, chaotic, of exteriority inside the soul;
6th – There is up until now a completely ignored force in the very self of the individual. Thus, search for that.
Moses, Plato, and later Julian
Communications Read at the Society
(By Mr. Pêcheur)
My friend, don’t you know that the person who follows the path of progress is always faced by ignorance and envy? Envy is the dust lifted by your steps. Your ideas cause revolt to certain people because they don’t understand them or muffle the voice of their conscience with their pride, which proclaims in turn: what you repeal now shall one day be brought back to you by your judge. It is God’s hand reaching out to you to remove you from the quagmire in which you were thrown into by your own passions. Listen to the voice of reason for a moment. Consider that you live in the century of money, dominated by the self; that the love for things dries your heart out, overloading your conscience with your faults, and even crimes which must be confessed. Unfaithful people who call themselves skillful, your skills will wreck you. You shall be offered no help. You turned a blind eye to the misfortunes of others and you shall go down without a tear dropped on your behalf. Stop! There is still time. May regret get into your hearts; may it be sincere and God shall forgive you. Look for the unfortunate ones, who dare not to complain, slowly killed by their misery, and the poor relieved by your gestures will have your name in their prayers; they shall bless the hand that may perhaps save their daughter from dying of hunger and dishonoring shame. Disgrace will fall upon you if your ears are deaf to their voices. God told you, through the sacred mouth of Christ: love your neighbor as yourself. Hasn’t God given you reason to judge between good and evil? Hasn’t God given you a heart to have pity on the sufferings of your equals? Don’t you feel that you are suppressing the voice of charity and progress by suppressing your own conscience? Don’t you feel as if you are dragging an empty body? Don’t you feel as if nothing beats in your chest, making your walk in uncertainty?
As you have fled the light and your eyes have become of the flesh, you are filled with darkness and fear that agitates you. You search, but it is too late to leave this road that is crumbling under your feet. Fear that you cannot define, you judge as superstitious. You pretend to be generous, hoping to redeem your selfish life; you give alms with the fear that you will snatch it back, but God knows what drives you. You cannot deceive God. Your life shall end hopelessly and you won’t be able to push it back by a single day. It shall end, despite your wealth, ambitioned in anticipation by your children, since you have given them the example. Like you, they have a unique love for gold, their only dream of happiness. When that time of justice comes, you will have to face the supreme and forgotten Judge.
Your daughter
My friend, don’t you know that the person who follows the path of progress is always faced by ignorance and envy? Envy is the dust lifted by your steps. Your ideas cause revolt to certain people because they don’t understand them or muffle the voice of their conscience with their pride, which proclaims in turn: what you repeal now shall one day be brought back to you by your judge. It is God’s hand reaching out to you to remove you from the quagmire in which you were thrown into by your own passions. Listen to the voice of reason for a moment. Consider that you live in the century of money, dominated by the self; that the love for things dries your heart out, overloading your conscience with your faults, and even crimes which must be confessed. Unfaithful people who call themselves skillful, your skills will wreck you. You shall be offered no help. You turned a blind eye to the misfortunes of others and you shall go down without a tear dropped on your behalf. Stop! There is still time. May regret get into your hearts; may it be sincere and God shall forgive you. Look for the unfortunate ones, who dare not to complain, slowly killed by their misery, and the poor relieved by your gestures will have your name in their prayers; they shall bless the hand that may perhaps save their daughter from dying of hunger and dishonoring shame. Disgrace will fall upon you if your ears are deaf to their voices. God told you, through the sacred mouth of Christ: love your neighbor as yourself. Hasn’t God given you reason to judge between good and evil? Hasn’t God given you a heart to have pity on the sufferings of your equals? Don’t you feel that you are suppressing the voice of charity and progress by suppressing your own conscience? Don’t you feel as if you are dragging an empty body? Don’t you feel as if nothing beats in your chest, making your walk in uncertainty?
As you have fled the light and your eyes have become of the flesh, you are filled with darkness and fear that agitates you. You search, but it is too late to leave this road that is crumbling under your feet. Fear that you cannot define, you judge as superstitious. You pretend to be generous, hoping to redeem your selfish life; you give alms with the fear that you will snatch it back, but God knows what drives you. You cannot deceive God. Your life shall end hopelessly and you won’t be able to push it back by a single day. It shall end, despite your wealth, ambitioned in anticipation by your children, since you have given them the example. Like you, they have a unique love for gold, their only dream of happiness. When that time of justice comes, you will have to face the supreme and forgotten Judge.
Your daughter
Conscience
Each person has in one’s innermost self what you call an interior voice. It is what the spirits calls conscience, a severe judge overseeing all actions of your life. When the individual is alone one hears that conscience and ponders things in their fair value. The person is sometimes ashamed of oneself. At that moment one acknowledges God but ignorance, that fatal advisor, pushes the person away, dressing one up with the mask of pride. It shows itself full of emptiness, seeking to deceive you by its arrogance. But the righteous person does not hold a proud head; one thoughtfully listens to the words of wisdom; one feels that God is everything. The person seeks enlightenment in the book of nature, written by the Creator’s hand. One’s spirit elevates, expelling from one’s body the material passions which frequently veer oneself off course. That dragging passion is a dangerous guide.
Stay strong my friend and let the skeptical laugh since one’s laughter shall end. The human being becomes a believer at the time of one’s death. My friend, keep God in your thoughts, the only one who will not deceive you. Keep in mind that there is only one path leading to God: faith and love to one’s fellow being.
Each person has in one’s innermost self what you call an interior voice. It is what the spirits calls conscience, a severe judge overseeing all actions of your life. When the individual is alone one hears that conscience and ponders things in their fair value. The person is sometimes ashamed of oneself. At that moment one acknowledges God but ignorance, that fatal advisor, pushes the person away, dressing one up with the mask of pride. It shows itself full of emptiness, seeking to deceive you by its arrogance. But the righteous person does not hold a proud head; one thoughtfully listens to the words of wisdom; one feels that God is everything. The person seeks enlightenment in the book of nature, written by the Creator’s hand. One’s spirit elevates, expelling from one’s body the material passions which frequently veer oneself off course. That dragging passion is a dangerous guide.
Stay strong my friend and let the skeptical laugh since one’s laughter shall end. The human being becomes a believer at the time of one’s death. My friend, keep God in your thoughts, the only one who will not deceive you. Keep in mind that there is only one path leading to God: faith and love to one’s fellow being.
Your daughter
Dwelling of the Elected
Ones (By Mrs. D…)
Your thoughts are absorbed by earthly things. If you want to listen to us you must forget them. Let us try to talk from a higher level. May your spirit elevate to those regions, the dwelling of the elected ones by the Lord. Behold the worlds that await all mortals, whose places are set according to the merits they have earned. What happiness is found by those dedicated to the sacred things, to the great teachings given in the name of God! Oh men! How little you are compared to the spirits parted from matter, who inhabit the spaces by the glory of the Lord! Happy are those invited to dwell the worlds where matter is not but a word; where everything is ethereal and translucent; where disagreements are no longer heard. Heavenly music is the only noise that clears the senses, so perfect capturing the tiniest sounds, of which are called harmony! How graceful are all those creatures so much loved by God! What a subtleness when moving about those enchanted regions, their refuge! No more disagreements, envy or hatred there; love has become the link destined to unite them all. Such a love which fulfills their hearts, the end in itself, summarizes faith, love and charity.
A friend
(Another, by the same medium)
Your obliviousness afflicted me. Don’t leave me any more for such a long time without calling me. I feel prepared to speak with you and give you advice. Be careful and don’t believe everything the other spirits might tell you; they could perhaps lead you to the wrong path. Before anything else, be sensible so that your God given mission is not denied to you, and do as follows: help to bring to people’s attention the revelation about the existence of the spirits around them. Not everyone is ready to understand and appreciate the elevated reach of these things, whose knowledge God only allows to the elected ones. There shall be a day in which this Science, full of greatness and consolation, will be shared by the whole human race, when there will no longer be a single skeptical. People will then have a hard time to understand how such a tangible truth could have ever been disputed by the simplest of the mortals. In truth, I tell you that half a century will not go by without having the ears and eyes of everyone open to this great truth: that the spirits circulate in space and occupy different worlds, according to their merit before God’s eyes; that the true life is in death and that the individual needs to redeem many times before obtaining the eternal life, achieved by everyone in more or less centuries of suffering, according to their more or less faith before the teachings of the Lord.
Ones (By Mrs. D…)
Your thoughts are absorbed by earthly things. If you want to listen to us you must forget them. Let us try to talk from a higher level. May your spirit elevate to those regions, the dwelling of the elected ones by the Lord. Behold the worlds that await all mortals, whose places are set according to the merits they have earned. What happiness is found by those dedicated to the sacred things, to the great teachings given in the name of God! Oh men! How little you are compared to the spirits parted from matter, who inhabit the spaces by the glory of the Lord! Happy are those invited to dwell the worlds where matter is not but a word; where everything is ethereal and translucent; where disagreements are no longer heard. Heavenly music is the only noise that clears the senses, so perfect capturing the tiniest sounds, of which are called harmony! How graceful are all those creatures so much loved by God! What a subtleness when moving about those enchanted regions, their refuge! No more disagreements, envy or hatred there; love has become the link destined to unite them all. Such a love which fulfills their hearts, the end in itself, summarizes faith, love and charity.
A friend
(Another, by the same medium)
Your obliviousness afflicted me. Don’t leave me any more for such a long time without calling me. I feel prepared to speak with you and give you advice. Be careful and don’t believe everything the other spirits might tell you; they could perhaps lead you to the wrong path. Before anything else, be sensible so that your God given mission is not denied to you, and do as follows: help to bring to people’s attention the revelation about the existence of the spirits around them. Not everyone is ready to understand and appreciate the elevated reach of these things, whose knowledge God only allows to the elected ones. There shall be a day in which this Science, full of greatness and consolation, will be shared by the whole human race, when there will no longer be a single skeptical. People will then have a hard time to understand how such a tangible truth could have ever been disputed by the simplest of the mortals. In truth, I tell you that half a century will not go by without having the ears and eyes of everyone open to this great truth: that the spirits circulate in space and occupy different worlds, according to their merit before God’s eyes; that the true life is in death and that the individual needs to redeem many times before obtaining the eternal life, achieved by everyone in more or less centuries of suffering, according to their more or less faith before the teachings of the Lord.
A friend
The Spirit and the Trial
(By Mrs. Netz)
The individual’s freedom is totally individual. One was born free but such a freedom is sometimes one’s disgrace. Moral freedom, physical freedom, it all goes together but often lacks discernment, what you call common sense. If a person has spirit but lacks discernment it is as if one had nothing because what shall be done of the spirit if it cannot be governed; if the necessary intelligence to lead the spirit is not there; if the individual thinks to be walking the good path when in reality one is in a swamp; if one always thinks to be right when in reality one is wrong? Discernment may take the place of the spirit but the spirit can never replace discernment. It is a necessary quality and when we don’t have it we must make every effort to acquire it.
(By Mrs. Netz)
The individual’s freedom is totally individual. One was born free but such a freedom is sometimes one’s disgrace. Moral freedom, physical freedom, it all goes together but often lacks discernment, what you call common sense. If a person has spirit but lacks discernment it is as if one had nothing because what shall be done of the spirit if it cannot be governed; if the necessary intelligence to lead the spirit is not there; if the individual thinks to be walking the good path when in reality one is in a swamp; if one always thinks to be right when in reality one is wrong? Discernment may take the place of the spirit but the spirit can never replace discernment. It is a necessary quality and when we don’t have it we must make every effort to acquire it.
A familiar spirit
The Skeptical
(By Mrs. L…)
Your doctrine is beautiful and sacred. The groundwork has been laid and firmly positioned. All you have to do now is to move forward. The path before you is ample and majestic. Blessed will be the one who arrives at the port. The more proselytes you have made the more shall be counted in your favor. But the doctrine must not be coldly embraced for that. One needs eagerness, which shall double since God is always with you when you do good deeds. Those that you bring with you shall be the other sheep to add to the herd. Poor stray sheep! Believe me, the most doubtful, the most atheist, as well as the most skeptical always have a little spot in their hearts which they would like to hide from themselves. Very well! That is the spot that you must look for, that you must find, the vulnerable side that is necessary to attack. It is a small gap intentionally left open by God, facilitating to God’s creature the means of coming back to God’s heart.
St. Benedict
(By Mrs. L…)
Your doctrine is beautiful and sacred. The groundwork has been laid and firmly positioned. All you have to do now is to move forward. The path before you is ample and majestic. Blessed will be the one who arrives at the port. The more proselytes you have made the more shall be counted in your favor. But the doctrine must not be coldly embraced for that. One needs eagerness, which shall double since God is always with you when you do good deeds. Those that you bring with you shall be the other sheep to add to the herd. Poor stray sheep! Believe me, the most doubtful, the most atheist, as well as the most skeptical always have a little spot in their hearts which they would like to hide from themselves. Very well! That is the spot that you must look for, that you must find, the vulnerable side that is necessary to attack. It is a small gap intentionally left open by God, facilitating to God’s creature the means of coming back to God’s heart.
St. Benedict
The Supernatural
(By Mr. Rabache, from Bordeaux)
My children, your father did well in calling your attention to the phenomena produced in your séances for some days now. Assessing them on the basis of the instructions of certain sectarian spirits, ignorant where they rule, that these things are supernatural. Don’t believe that my children. Nothing that has happened is supernatural. If it were, your common sense would tell you that it would only happen outside of nature and then it could not be seen. In order that your eyes or the other senses may be able to perceive something, it is totally necessary that such a thing be natural. Once you give some thought to that, you will see that there is not a single serious spirit who may lead you to believe in supernatural things. Having stated that, I don’t mean that there are not things which may appear as such to your intelligence but the only reason for that is that you don’t understand them yet. When a given fact seems to escape what you consider natural be aware of that laziness of spirit which would lead you to believe that it is supernatural. Make the effort to understand it. That is why intelligence was given to you. What good would it do to you if you were to be satisfied by the teachings and beliefs of your predecessors only? It is necessary that each one puts their intelligence at the service of progress which is the collective work of everybody. Since you are gifted with intelligence, think; since you have discernment – and you have it for a reason – analyze and judge. Do not accept pre-judgment but make sure that the subject has passed through the crucible of reason. Be skeptical while you are not sure but never deny something that you do not understand. Give serious examination. Only the lazy, the indifferent one accepts as true or false everything they see as accepted or denied. Finally, my children do your outmost to become serious and useful so as to accomplish the mission assigned to you. It is never too early to get involved with the good and to do good deeds. Thus, start early to get involved with serious things. Time of futility is always too long and useless to your progress that you must always keep in mind. The earthly things are nothing; they only serve to help your transition to another state, which shall be more perfect the better you have prepared it.
Your grandmother
(By Mr. Rabache, from Bordeaux)
My children, your father did well in calling your attention to the phenomena produced in your séances for some days now. Assessing them on the basis of the instructions of certain sectarian spirits, ignorant where they rule, that these things are supernatural. Don’t believe that my children. Nothing that has happened is supernatural. If it were, your common sense would tell you that it would only happen outside of nature and then it could not be seen. In order that your eyes or the other senses may be able to perceive something, it is totally necessary that such a thing be natural. Once you give some thought to that, you will see that there is not a single serious spirit who may lead you to believe in supernatural things. Having stated that, I don’t mean that there are not things which may appear as such to your intelligence but the only reason for that is that you don’t understand them yet. When a given fact seems to escape what you consider natural be aware of that laziness of spirit which would lead you to believe that it is supernatural. Make the effort to understand it. That is why intelligence was given to you. What good would it do to you if you were to be satisfied by the teachings and beliefs of your predecessors only? It is necessary that each one puts their intelligence at the service of progress which is the collective work of everybody. Since you are gifted with intelligence, think; since you have discernment – and you have it for a reason – analyze and judge. Do not accept pre-judgment but make sure that the subject has passed through the crucible of reason. Be skeptical while you are not sure but never deny something that you do not understand. Give serious examination. Only the lazy, the indifferent one accepts as true or false everything they see as accepted or denied. Finally, my children do your outmost to become serious and useful so as to accomplish the mission assigned to you. It is never too early to get involved with the good and to do good deeds. Thus, start early to get involved with serious things. Time of futility is always too long and useless to your progress that you must always keep in mind. The earthly things are nothing; they only serve to help your transition to another state, which shall be more perfect the better you have prepared it.
Your grandmother
May
Bulletin of the Parisian Society of Spiritist StudiesFriday, March 30th 1860
(Private Session)
ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES:
(Private Session)
ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES:
Mr. Ledoyen (treasury) presents the financial balance sheet of the
Society for the second semester of the fiscal year, ending on March
30th, 1860. The balance sheet was approved.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Mr. Chuard from Lyon pays tribute to the Society with two brochures,
the first containing a sacred ode to the immortality of the soul, and
the second a satire to societies in partnerships. The Society thanks the
author and although one of the brochures in particular is strange to the
objectives of its works, both shall be kept in the library.
2nd – Reading of three letters from Mr. Morhéry about the cures operated
by Ms. Godu, healing medium who moved to his house and became
sponsored by him. Mr. Morhéry, as a man of Science, observes the effects
of the treatments practiced by that young lady in several patients under
their responsibility. He records the results in a detailed chart as done in a regular clinical treatment room, having even attested prodigious results
in a short time.
Mr. President adds that the Society has two reasons to be interested in
Ms. Godu. Besides the sympathy naturally provoked by the examples of
charity and altruism, so rare in our days, from the spiritist point of view
the young lady offers precious matter for study since she is gifted with an
exceptional faculty. We would be interested in a medium of physical effects
that produced extraordinary phenomena; we could not see with less
interest a medium whose faculties benefit humanity and that reveals, in
addition, a new force of nature.
3rd – Letter from Mr. Count of R…, regular member who left for
Brazil and is now stranded at the Port of Cherbourg due to inclement
weather. He asks the Society to evoke him in this current session, if
possible.
Mr. T… observes that the same person has already been evoked twice
and that a third time seems superfluous.
Mr. Allan Kardec answers that since the objective of the Society is
the study, the same person may offer useful observations in a third experiment,
as much as in the first and second. As a matter of fact, the spirit is
more lucid and explicit the more it communicates and, in a certain way,
identifies with the medium that is used as an instrument. In the present
case this is not to satisfy a caprice or a vain curiosity. The Society does not
seek entertainment or attraction in the communications. The intention is
instruction. Well, since Mr. de R… is presently in a completely different
situation as compared to that of previous evocations, it can give rise to
new observations.
St. Louis was consulted about the opportunity of the evocation, responding
that it could not be produced at this time.
STUDIES:
1st – Two spontaneous essays, one from St. Louis, by Ms. Huet,
and another by Charlet, by Mr. Didier Junior.
2nd – Multiple questions addressed to St. Louis about the
spirit who communicated spontaneously in the last session, bearing
the name Being, by Ms. de Boyer, accused of trying to spread
disruption and disagreement and of having interfered with multiple
communications. An interesting teaching came out of the
answers about the way the spirits interact with one another.
3rd – Mr. R… proposes the evocation of one of his friends,
who has been missing since 1848 and from whom none have
heard. Considering the late hours the evocation was adjourned to
a forthcoming session.
The Society decides that there will be no session on Good Friday, April 6th.
From April 20th onwards the sessions shall take place at the new headquarters
of the Society, located at Rue Saint-Anne 59, Passage de Saint Anne.
Friday, April 13th
(Private Session)
ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES:
Approval of four new members, as regular members.
The Society confers the title of honorary members to five previously
approved members.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
Since Mrs. D…, member of the Society, travelled to Dieppe, she extended
her trip to Grandes-Venters, where she heard directly from Mr. Goubert,
the baker, the confirmation of every fact reported in our March issue, even
adding more details. She attested, by the examination of the places, that
particularly with respect to certain facts a fraud was just impossible. From
the information she obtained it seems that the phenomena were caused by
the presence of a young man who was working for the baker for some time
already and thanks to whom similar events took place at other places of employment
as well. Since the phenomena occurred regardless of the medium’s will, he can be classified in the category of natural or involuntary mediums.
Nothing else has been reported since he left Mr. Goubert’s house.
STUDIES:
1st – Spontaneous essays obtained by three different mediums
2nd – Evocation of Mr. Vogel, a traveler who was murdered in
Africa. The evocation did not yield the expected results. The spirit
claims to be suffering, requesting prayers that may help him to come
out of his current disturbed state. He says that he can elaborate later.
Mr. Allan Kardec proposes an in-depth and detailed study
of certain spontaneous messages and others that could be commented
on and analyzed as is done with literary works. Such a
study would have the double advantage of practicing the appreciation
of the value of the spiritist communications followed by the
consequent dissuasion of deceiving spirits who would see their
words ultimately controlled by reason and repelled if showing
any suspicious content, eventually realizing they had wasted their
time. As for the serious spirits, these could be recalled to provide
explanations and further developments about points of their communications
that may still need clarification.
The Society approves the proposal.
Friday, April 20th, 1860
(Private Session)
CORRESPONDENCE:
1st – Letter from Mr. J…, a regular member from Saint-Étienne.
The letter contains fair appreciation of Spiritism, demonstrating
that the author understands its true principles.
2nd – Letter from Mr. L…, a worker from Troyes, with reflections
about the moralizing influence of Spiritism over the working classes. He invites the serious followers to take on the
burden of propagating it in their circles, in the interest of order,
aiming at the revival of fading religious feelings, which has given
place to skepticism, the ulcer of our century, and to the denial of
all moral responsibilities.
These two gentlemen have already declared on other occasions
that they have never seen anything in terms of practical
Spiritism and yet they are not less firmly convinced, just
considering the philosophical reach of the Spiritist Science. The
President calls the attention to the fact that every day he sees
similar examples, not from people who believe blindly, but on
the contrary, from those who think and endeavor to understand.
To those, the philosophical part is the main part as it explains
what no other philosophy has done so far. The manifestations
are an accessory.
3rd – Letter from Mr. Dumas, from Sétif, Algeria, member
of the Society, transmitting new interesting details about facts
that he had witnessed. In particular he mentions a medium who
presents a singular faculty, of spontaneously entering into a kind
of somnambulistic state, without having been magnetized, every
time that an evocation is carried out through him; he then writes
or speaks, giving answers to framed questions.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Mrs. R…, a corresponding member of the Society from
Jura, reports a curious personal fact. It is about a clock which goes
back to family traditions and which seems to be submitted to a
singular and intelligent influence, under certain conditions.
2nd – Reading of a communication given in another spiritist
meeting, signed by Joan of Arc. It contains excellent advices to
the mediums about the causes that can annihilate or pervert their
mediumistic faculties (published below).
3rd – Mr. Col… starts reading a communication given to
him in private and signed by St. Luke, the evangelist. Noticing
that the evocation deals with several questions of religious dogmas
he stops reading due to the rules that prohibit the discussion
of such subjects. Mr. Col… adds that since the evocation does
not have an orthodox character he did not see any inconvenience
in reading it.
The President objects that the answers always presuppose
questions. Well then, orthodox or not, the answers always give
place to the supposition that the Society is involved with questions
which should otherwise be vetoed. Another observation
reinforces these reasons: it is the fact that among the members,
there are those coming from different religious denominations;
what may seem orthodox to some may not be to others, which
is already a reason for abstention. As a matter of fact, the bylaws
prescribe the previous analysis of every communication obtained
outside of the Society. Such measures must be strictly observed.
STUDIES:
Evocation of Mr. Royer’s friend, Mr. B…, who had disappeared from his
home since June 25th, 1848. He provides some information about his accidental
death during the turmoil of that period. Mr. Royer acknowledges
his identity from the language and some private details.
Friday, April 27th, 1860
(General Session)
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Letter from Dr. Morhéry with new studies about the cures
obtained with the help of Ms. Godu, through what one may call
intuitive medicine (published below).
2nd – Regarding the healing medicine, Mr. C…, one of the
attendees at the session and invited by the President, provides information
of the highest relevance about the healing powers in
certain South Asian communities. An Indian born, natural from
the Hindustan, Mr. C… witnessed a number of facts of that nature
which he took for granted in those days. Today he finds the
key to those phenomena in Spiritism and magnetism. The healing
communities would make broad use of certain plants. Often,
however, they touched and rubbed the patient while acting under
the influence of occult voices that would guide them.
3rd – A curious fact of a circumstantial intuition of a previous
existence. The person involved describes the fact in a letter
addressed to one friend who read it, saying that since her childhood
she keeps the precise memory of having succumbed during
the massacres of St. Bartholomew, even recollecting details of her
death, of places and so forth. The circumstances do not allow the
assumption of an exalted imagination since such memory goes
back to a period in which no one was involved with spirits or
reincarnation.
4th – Mr. Georges G…, from Marseille, reports the following
fact: A youngster died eight months ago and his family, which
has three medium sisters, evoke him almost daily, using a basket.
Each time that the spirit is called, a little dog that he was very
fond of, hops on the table, sniffing the basket and growling. The
first time it happened the basket wrote: “My brave little dog that
recognizes me.” Mr. G… says: I can assure you about the reality
of these facts. I did not see them myself but the persons who told
them to me and who have witnessed them several times are very
good and serious spiritists to give me any doubt. I ask myself after
all that if the perispirit, although not tangible, would have any
kind of aroma or if certain animals would be endowed by some
sort of mediumship.
A special study will be carried out later about this interesting
subject to see whether or not other not less interesting facts may
be able to shed some light on this subject.
5th – Verification of the presence of a bad spirit brought to
a private session by a visitor, from which one can infer the influence
exerted by the presence of certain persons under certain
circumstances.
6th – Readings of a private evocation carried out by Mr. Allan
Kardec of one of the main convulsionaries of Saint-Médard, deceased
in 1830, and in the presence of her own daughter, who
confirmed the identity of the evoked spirit. The evocation provides
an elevated teaching, with particular interest regarding the
special circumstances in which it was carried out (to be published).
STUDIES:
1st – Spontaneous essay obtained through Mrs. P…
2nd – Evocation of Stevens, comrade of Georges Brown
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.
• 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.
• 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.”
Correspondence
Report of a letter from Dr. Morhéry about several cures obtained by
the medication prescribed by Ms. Désirée Godu.
Plessis-Boudet, near Loudéac, Côtes-du-Nord, April 25th, 1860
Dear Mr. Allan Kardec,
Plessis-Boudet, near Loudéac, Côtes-du-Nord, April 25th, 1860
Dear Mr. Allan Kardec,
Today I want to do as I promised and report the cases of
cured patients with the help of Ms. Godu. As you realize, I will
not mention them all since it would take a long time. I made
my choices not based on the seriousness but on the variety of
their diseases. I avoided repeating cases or mentioning those of
little importance. Please notice Sir that Ms. Godu has not wasted
any time. Since her arrival in Plessis-Boudet we have visited more
than 200 patients and have the satisfaction of curing almost all of
those who were patient enough to follow the prescriptions. I don’t
speak of the cancer patients since those are in good terms. I will
wait for positive results before any pronunciation. We also have
a large number of patients under treatment and gave preference
to those considered incurable. Then, I expect to have new cure
cases to report to you soon. It is particularly in the rheumatic affection
cases, in the paralysis, sciatic, ulcers, bone deviations, and
wounds of all kinds that her system of treatment seems to yield
better results.
I can assure you Sir that I have learned many useful things
that I totally ignored before my contact with Ms. Godu. Every
day she teaches me something new, both in the treatment as well
as in the diagnosis. As for prognosis, I don’t know how she does
that. However, she is never wrong. One cannot explain such a
vision simply based on ordinary Sciences. You Sir, however, can
understand that very well. I end by declaring that I certify as
true and sincere all the observations that follow attached with my
signature.
Yours sincerely,
Morhéry, doctor in medicine
1st Observation, case #5 (February 23rd, 1860) – François Langle, paper
delivery man. Diagnosis: three-day-fever for six months. Fever had resisted
treatment with sulfate of quinine administered to the patient by
myself on several occasions; he was cured in five days with simple infusion
of multiple plants and the patient is better than ever. I could mention ten
similar cures.
2nd Observation, case #9 (February 24th, 1860) – Mrs. R… from
Loudéac, 32 y.o. Diagnosis: inflammation and chronicle intumescence
of the tonsils; violent headache; sore back bone; general prostration, null
appetite. The illness started by shivers and deafness; it lasted two years.
Prognosis: a serious case, of difficult prospects, since the illness resists to
the best possible treatments. The patient is now cured. She only continues
the treatment to avoid recurrence.
3rd Observation, case #13 (February 25th, 1860) – Pierre Gaubichais,
from the village of Ventou-Lamotte, 23 y.o. Diagnosis: palmar aponeurosis
inflammation. Prognosis: serious but not incurable case. The cure
was obtained in less than fifteen days. We have four or five similar cases.
4th Observation, case #18 (February 26th, 1860) – François R…, from
Loudéac, 27 y.o. Diagnosis: white tumor, scar on the left knee; fistula in
the posterior side of thigh, just above articulation. Patient carries disease
since he was 10 y.o. Prognosis: very serious and incurable case. The illness resisted best applied treatment for six years. Patient was treated by balms
prepared by Ms. Godu and took several plant infusions. He can now be
considered cured.
5th Observation, case 23 (February 25th, 1860) – Jeanne Gloux, a
worker from Tierné-Loudéac. Diagnosis: very intense whitlow for days.
The patient was completely cured in fifteen days, only with balms prepared
by Ms. Godu. Sore disappeared since second application. We have
three similar cases.
6th Observation, case #12 (February 25th, 1860) – Vincent Gourdel,
weaver from Lamotte, 32 y.o. Diagnosis: acute eye inflammation as a
consequence of intense shingles. Inflammation of conjunctive and foggy
cornea manifesting on the left eye; presenting general inflammatory state.
Prognosis: serious and intense affection. Patient can lose left eye in about
10 days. Treatment: application of balms over the affected eye. Today
the inflammation is cured and the fogged eye is gone, but the treatment
moves on to fight the shingles which seems of periodic and of herpetic
nature.
7th Observation, case #31 (February 27th, 1860) – Marie-Louise
Rivière, newsstand worker from Lamotte, 24 y.o. Diagnosis: long lasting
rheumatism in the right hand, with complete impairment and paralysis
of the phalanges; could not work. Unknown cause – Prognosis: very difficult
cure, if not impossible. She was cured in 20 days into the treatment.
8th Observation, case #34 (February 28th, 1860) – Jean-Marie Le
Berre, a 19 y.o. homeless from Lamotte. Diagnosis: Splitting headache,
insomnia, frequent hemorrhagic episodes through the nose; inward deviation
of right knee, outward deviation of leg. Patient in really poor condition.
Prognosis: Incurable. Treatment: topic application of extracts and
balms from Ms. Godu. The limb is now fixed and the cure is more or less
complete. As a precautionary measure, the patient is still under treatment.
9th Observation, case #50 (February 28th, 1860) – Marie Nogret from
Lamotte, 23 y.o. Diagnosis: inflammation of the pleura and diaphragm;
inflamed and enlarged tonsils; palpitation, dizziness, asphyxia. Prognosis:
Although the patient is strong, her condition is very serious. She could not walk two steps. Treatment: infusions of several plants. Improvement on
the very next day, and total cure in the period of eight days.
10th Observation, case #109 (March 12th, 1860) – Pierre Le Boudu,
from the community of Saint-Hervé. Diagnosis: deafness since the age
of 18, after typhoid fever. Prognosis: Incurable and resistant to any treatment.
Treatment: injections and infusions of several plants prepared by
Ms. Godu. The patient now can hear the noise of his own watch which
bothers him given the sensitivity of his ear.
11th Observation, case #132 (March 18th, 1860) – Marie Le Maux,
from Grâces, 10 y.o. Diagnosis: rheumatism presenting hardening of
joints, particularly knees. The child could only walk with the help of
crutches. Prognosis: a very serious case, if not incurable. Treatment: topic
extracts with balms prepared by Ms. Godu. Cure achieved in less than 20
days. Today the child walks without the support of crutches or walking
sticks.
12th Observation, case #80 (March 19th, 1860) – Hélène Lucas, a 9
y.o. homeless child from Lamotte. Diagnosis: lump formation and permanent
swelling of the tongue, sticking out about 5 to 6 cm beyond the
lips, seemingly strangled; the tongue shows a rough appearance, the lower
teeth spoiled by the tongue. The child needs to move the tongue sideways
using one hand and with the other she pushes the food into her
mouth. She presents this condition since she was two and half years old.
Prognosis: a very serious case, considered incurable. The tongue has now
retrieved and the patient is almost completely cured.
Morhéry
One can see from the above observations that those reports are not
like those vulgar certificates, solicited by greed, in which complacence
competes with ignorance. These are the observations of a professional
who puts aside his self-esteem and frankly acknowledges his insufficiency
before the infinite resources of Mother Nature, who has not given him
her last word from the academic benches. He recognizes that the young
lady, without any special instruction, has taught him more than certain
books written by men, as she reads directly from the book of nature. As a sensible man he prefers to save a patient through apparently irregular
means than letting the patient die according to the rules. And he does not
feel humiliated.
We propose to carry out a serious study in a future article, from a
theoretical point of view, about such intuitive faculty that is more frequent
than supposed, more or less developed, through which Science will
be able to obtain precious insights, when people no longer consider themselves
wiser than the Lord of the Universe.
We learned from a very educated gentleman from Hindustan, India,
about precious news regarding the practice of intuitive medicine among
the Indians, adding to the theory and testimony of well observed and
authentic facts.
Family Conversations from Beyond the Grave - Voltaire and Frederic
JardinSociety, 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.
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.
A Convulsionary
Following circumstances that gave us contact with the daughter of one of the main convulsionaries of Saint-Médard, it was possible to collect some particulars information about that sect. Thus, there is no exaggeration regarding the reports of torture that these fanatics voluntarily submitted themselves to. It is well known that one of the mortifications consisted of the person’s submission to the crucifixion and all sufferings of the passion of Christ. The person, who we are speaking about and who had died in 1830, still had holes in her hands caused by the nails that were used to suspend her on the cross and on her side, the marks of wounds left by spears. She carefully hid those stigmas of fanaticism, always avoiding having to explain them to her children. In the history of the Convulsionaries, she is known by a pseudo name that shall not be mentioned by reasons that will be revealed in due course. The following conversation took place in the presence of her daughter, who requested the evocation. Private details that bear no interest to strangers were removed, details which gave the daughter an incontestable proof of identity.
1. Evocation. – A. I wanted to speak with you for a long time.
2. What were the reasons that led you to wish to speak with me? – A. I can appreciate your work, despite what you may think of my beliefs.
3. Do you see your daughter here? It was she, above all, who wanted to speak with you and we will be delighted to take the opportunity for our own instruction. – A. Yes, a mother always sees her children.
4. Are you happy as a spirit? A. – Yes and no, since I could have done better. But God takes my ignorance into account.
5. Do you remember perfectly well your latest existence? – A. I would have a lot to tell you but pray for me so that I am allowed to do that.
6. Have the tortures that you inflicted on yourself elevated you and made you happier as a spirit? – A. They did not do me harm but did not help me to advance in intelligence.
7. I kindly ask you to be accurate. My question refers to the fact, if that was taken into account in terms of your merit? – A. I would say that you have an item in The Spirits’ Book which provides the general answer. As for myself, I was a poor fanatic. Note: Reference to question 726 in The Spirits’ Book, related to voluntary sufferings.
8. That item states that the merit of the voluntary sufferings is in proportion to the resulting utility to others. The suffering of the Convulsionaries, I believe, did not have another objective other than a purely personal one. – A. It was generally personal, and if I had never mentioned it to my children it was because I vaguely understood that it was not the true path.
Observation: Here the spirit of the mother responds in anticipation to her daughter’s thoughts who wanted to ask why, when alive, she avoided to speak about it with her children.
9. What was the cause of the state of crisis in the Convulsionaries? – A. Natural disposition and overly excited fanaticism. I would never have wanted to have my children dragged towards that fatal cliff, which I recognize as such better still today. She then added, spontaneously responding to her daughter’s reflections who had not, however, formulated the question: I did not have an education but the intuition of many prior existences.
10. Among the phenomena produced by the convulsionaries did some of them have similar somnambulistic effects, like, for example, mind reading, far vision, and intuition of languages? Did magnetism represent any role on that? – A. Many do, and several priests have been magnetized, without people’s consent.
11. Where did the scars that you had in the hands and other parts of the body come from? – A. Poor trophies to our victories, that served nobody and that sometimes excited passions. You must understand me. Observation: It seems that, in the practice of the Convulsionaries, there were things of great immorality that had revolted the honest heart of this lady, and later when the fanatical fever was over, they led her to disgust everything that brought those memories back to her. It is no doubt one of the reasons that made her not want to talk about it with her children.
12. Were there real cures over Deacon Pâris’ grave? – A. Oh! What a question! You know well that no, or very little, particularly to you.
13. Have you seen Pâris, after your death? – A. I don’t occupy my time thinking about him since I have come to the world of the spirits. I blame him for my mistake.
14. How did you see him when you were alive? – A. As an envoy of God’s and that is why I criticize him for the bad things he did in the name of God.
15. However, isn’t he innocent of the foolish things done in his name after his death? – A. No because he himself did not believe his teachings. I did not understand that when alive as I understand it now.
16. Is it true that, as a spirit, he was indifferent to the manifestations which took place on his grave, as he said? – A. He deceived you.
17. Therefore, he excited fanaticism? – A. Yes, and he still does.
18. What do you do as a spirit? – A. I endeavor to enlighten myself and that is why I said I wanted to come to you.
19. Where are you here? – A. Near the medium, with a hand on his arm or shoulder.
20. If we could see you how would you be seen? – A. My daughter would see her mom, like when she was alive. As for you, you would see me in spirit; in words, I don’t know how to say.
21. Kindly explain yourself. What do you mean when you say that I would see you in spirit? – A. A transparent human form, according to the depuration of the spirit.
22. You said that you had other existences. Do you remember them? – A. Yes, I told you so and from my answers you can see that I had many.
23. Could you tell us which one preceded the one we know about? – A. Not tonight and not through this medium. Through the gentleman if you like. Note: She designates one of the assistants that had started to write as a medium, explaining her sympathy towards him, saying that she knew him from a preceding existence.
24. Would you be upset if I publish this conversation in the Review? – A. No. It is necessary that evil be known; but don’t call me… (Her nickname). I hate that name. Call me the great master, if you like.
Observation: We don’t mention the name that she was known by out of respect for her and because it brings her painful memories.
25. We thank you for coming and for the explanations given to us. – A. I am the one to thank you for having provided my daughter with the occasion of meeting her mother, and me with the opportunity of doing some good.
1. Evocation. – A. I wanted to speak with you for a long time.
2. What were the reasons that led you to wish to speak with me? – A. I can appreciate your work, despite what you may think of my beliefs.
3. Do you see your daughter here? It was she, above all, who wanted to speak with you and we will be delighted to take the opportunity for our own instruction. – A. Yes, a mother always sees her children.
4. Are you happy as a spirit? A. – Yes and no, since I could have done better. But God takes my ignorance into account.
5. Do you remember perfectly well your latest existence? – A. I would have a lot to tell you but pray for me so that I am allowed to do that.
6. Have the tortures that you inflicted on yourself elevated you and made you happier as a spirit? – A. They did not do me harm but did not help me to advance in intelligence.
7. I kindly ask you to be accurate. My question refers to the fact, if that was taken into account in terms of your merit? – A. I would say that you have an item in The Spirits’ Book which provides the general answer. As for myself, I was a poor fanatic. Note: Reference to question 726 in The Spirits’ Book, related to voluntary sufferings.
8. That item states that the merit of the voluntary sufferings is in proportion to the resulting utility to others. The suffering of the Convulsionaries, I believe, did not have another objective other than a purely personal one. – A. It was generally personal, and if I had never mentioned it to my children it was because I vaguely understood that it was not the true path.
Observation: Here the spirit of the mother responds in anticipation to her daughter’s thoughts who wanted to ask why, when alive, she avoided to speak about it with her children.
9. What was the cause of the state of crisis in the Convulsionaries? – A. Natural disposition and overly excited fanaticism. I would never have wanted to have my children dragged towards that fatal cliff, which I recognize as such better still today. She then added, spontaneously responding to her daughter’s reflections who had not, however, formulated the question: I did not have an education but the intuition of many prior existences.
10. Among the phenomena produced by the convulsionaries did some of them have similar somnambulistic effects, like, for example, mind reading, far vision, and intuition of languages? Did magnetism represent any role on that? – A. Many do, and several priests have been magnetized, without people’s consent.
11. Where did the scars that you had in the hands and other parts of the body come from? – A. Poor trophies to our victories, that served nobody and that sometimes excited passions. You must understand me. Observation: It seems that, in the practice of the Convulsionaries, there were things of great immorality that had revolted the honest heart of this lady, and later when the fanatical fever was over, they led her to disgust everything that brought those memories back to her. It is no doubt one of the reasons that made her not want to talk about it with her children.
12. Were there real cures over Deacon Pâris’ grave? – A. Oh! What a question! You know well that no, or very little, particularly to you.
13. Have you seen Pâris, after your death? – A. I don’t occupy my time thinking about him since I have come to the world of the spirits. I blame him for my mistake.
14. How did you see him when you were alive? – A. As an envoy of God’s and that is why I criticize him for the bad things he did in the name of God.
15. However, isn’t he innocent of the foolish things done in his name after his death? – A. No because he himself did not believe his teachings. I did not understand that when alive as I understand it now.
16. Is it true that, as a spirit, he was indifferent to the manifestations which took place on his grave, as he said? – A. He deceived you.
17. Therefore, he excited fanaticism? – A. Yes, and he still does.
18. What do you do as a spirit? – A. I endeavor to enlighten myself and that is why I said I wanted to come to you.
19. Where are you here? – A. Near the medium, with a hand on his arm or shoulder.
20. If we could see you how would you be seen? – A. My daughter would see her mom, like when she was alive. As for you, you would see me in spirit; in words, I don’t know how to say.
21. Kindly explain yourself. What do you mean when you say that I would see you in spirit? – A. A transparent human form, according to the depuration of the spirit.
22. You said that you had other existences. Do you remember them? – A. Yes, I told you so and from my answers you can see that I had many.
23. Could you tell us which one preceded the one we know about? – A. Not tonight and not through this medium. Through the gentleman if you like. Note: She designates one of the assistants that had started to write as a medium, explaining her sympathy towards him, saying that she knew him from a preceding existence.
24. Would you be upset if I publish this conversation in the Review? – A. No. It is necessary that evil be known; but don’t call me… (Her nickname). I hate that name. Call me the great master, if you like.
Observation: We don’t mention the name that she was known by out of respect for her and because it brings her painful memories.
25. We thank you for coming and for the explanations given to us. – A. I am the one to thank you for having provided my daughter with the occasion of meeting her mother, and me with the opportunity of doing some good.
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 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.
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.
Pneumatography or Direct Writing
Mr. X…, one of our most renowned scholars, was at the house of Ms. Huet last February 11th, with a group of six people who were acquainted with spiritist manifestations for a long time already. Mr. X… and Ms. Huet sat face to face around a little table chosen by Mr. X… He took a piece of paper from his pocket, completely blank, folded it four times and marked it with an almost imperceptible sign, but sufficient to be identified. He put the piece of paper on the table covered by his white handkerchief. Ms. Huet put her hands over the handkerchief. Mr. X… did the same, asking the spirits to provide a direct manifestation, with an enlightening objective. Mr. X… directed his request to Channing to be evoked for that. Ten minutes had passed when he raised the handkerchief and retrieved the piece of paper in which there was a phrase written on one side, written with difficulty, almost illegible, but showing the outline of these words: God loves you. On the other side it read: God on the external angle, and Christ at the end of the paper. This last word was written in such a way that it showed a hinged mark on the folded paper. A second trial was carried out under the same conditions and after fifteen minutes the paper contained on its lower surface, written in bold characters, the following English words: God loves you, and below it read: Channing. At the end of the piece of paper it read in French: Faith in God. Finally, on the back of the same page there was a cross with a sign similar to a reed, both drawn with a red substance. Once the experiment was over Mr. X… expressed to Ms. Huet his desire to obtain more elaborated explanations from Channing, through her mediumship as a writing medium. The following dialogue was established between him and the spirit:
Mr. X…, one of our most renowned scholars, was at the house of Ms. Huet last February 11th, with a group of six people who were acquainted with spiritist manifestations for a long time already. Mr. X… and Ms. Huet sat face to face around a little table chosen by Mr. X… He took a piece of paper from his pocket, completely blank, folded it four times and marked it with an almost imperceptible sign, but sufficient to be identified. He put the piece of paper on the table covered by his white handkerchief. Ms. Huet put her hands over the handkerchief. Mr. X… did the same, asking the spirits to provide a direct manifestation, with an enlightening objective. Mr. X… directed his request to Channing to be evoked for that. Ten minutes had passed when he raised the handkerchief and retrieved the piece of paper in which there was a phrase written on one side, written with difficulty, almost illegible, but showing the outline of these words: God loves you. On the other side it read: God on the external angle, and Christ at the end of the paper. This last word was written in such a way that it showed a hinged mark on the folded paper. A second trial was carried out under the same conditions and after fifteen minutes the paper contained on its lower surface, written in bold characters, the following English words: God loves you, and below it read: Channing. At the end of the piece of paper it read in French: Faith in God. Finally, on the back of the same page there was a cross with a sign similar to a reed, both drawn with a red substance. Once the experiment was over Mr. X… expressed to Ms. Huet his desire to obtain more elaborated explanations from Channing, through her mediumship as a writing medium. The following dialogue was established between him and the spirit:
• Are you here, Channing?
• I am here. Are you satisfied?
• Have you addressed the things you wrote to me in particular or to everybody else?
• I wrote a phrase whose meaning applies to all people. The experiment of writing in English however, is particularly to you. As for the cross, it is the symbol of faith.
• Why have you done it in red?
• In order to ask you to have faith. I could not write it because it would be too long; then I used the symbol.
• Is the red then the symbolic color of faith?
• Certainly. It is the representation of baptism by blood.
Observation: Ms. Huet does not speak English and thus the spirit wanted to give another proof that his thoughts were foreign to the manifestation. He did that spontaneously and from his own initiative, but it is more than likely that if one had requested more proof, it would not have been there. It is well known that the spirits do not like to be used as instruments in experiments. The most patent proofs are sometimes given when least expected and when the spirits act freely, they sometimes give more than if they were asked. Whether they have the heart to show their independence, or for the fault of not being able to produce certain phenomena as a contest of circumstances which cannot always be produced by our will. It is never too much to repeat that the spirits have their own free will and want to demonstrate to us that they are not submitted to our caprices. That is why they rarely yield to curiosity.
The phenomena, whatever their nature, are never at our services with any certainty, and no one can guarantee that they will be produced at a given moment and at will. Any person who wishes to observe them must be patient and wait and this is frequently a test of perseverance from the part of the spirits, assessing the observer and the actual intention. The spirits give no importance to the entertainment of curiosity and do not bind themselves but to those who demonstrate their real desire for instruction, doing whatever is necessary to achieve that, without any commercialization of their time and effort.
The simultaneous production of signs in characters of different colors is an extremely curious fact, but it is not more supernatural than all others. We have an account of that in the article Pneumatography or direct writing in The Spiritist Review, August 1859. The supernatural disappears giving place to a simple phenomenon explained by the general laws of nature, and that would be called the physiology of the spirits.
• I am here. Are you satisfied?
• Have you addressed the things you wrote to me in particular or to everybody else?
• I wrote a phrase whose meaning applies to all people. The experiment of writing in English however, is particularly to you. As for the cross, it is the symbol of faith.
• Why have you done it in red?
• In order to ask you to have faith. I could not write it because it would be too long; then I used the symbol.
• Is the red then the symbolic color of faith?
• Certainly. It is the representation of baptism by blood.
Observation: Ms. Huet does not speak English and thus the spirit wanted to give another proof that his thoughts were foreign to the manifestation. He did that spontaneously and from his own initiative, but it is more than likely that if one had requested more proof, it would not have been there. It is well known that the spirits do not like to be used as instruments in experiments. The most patent proofs are sometimes given when least expected and when the spirits act freely, they sometimes give more than if they were asked. Whether they have the heart to show their independence, or for the fault of not being able to produce certain phenomena as a contest of circumstances which cannot always be produced by our will. It is never too much to repeat that the spirits have their own free will and want to demonstrate to us that they are not submitted to our caprices. That is why they rarely yield to curiosity.
The phenomena, whatever their nature, are never at our services with any certainty, and no one can guarantee that they will be produced at a given moment and at will. Any person who wishes to observe them must be patient and wait and this is frequently a test of perseverance from the part of the spirits, assessing the observer and the actual intention. The spirits give no importance to the entertainment of curiosity and do not bind themselves but to those who demonstrate their real desire for instruction, doing whatever is necessary to achieve that, without any commercialization of their time and effort.
The simultaneous production of signs in characters of different colors is an extremely curious fact, but it is not more supernatural than all others. We have an account of that in the article Pneumatography or direct writing in The Spiritist Review, August 1859. The supernatural disappears giving place to a simple phenomenon explained by the general laws of nature, and that would be called the physiology of the spirits.
Spiritism and Spiritualism
The following statement by Cardinal Donnet was given in a recent speech in the Senate: “But today, like in former times, it is true to say with an eloquent publicist, in humankind, that Spiritualism is represented by Christianity.”
It would certainly be a strange mistake if we thought that the celebrity speaker in that particular event had understood Spiritualism in the sense of spirits’ manifestations. The word was employed there in its true meaning, and the speaker could not have expressed it in a different way, unless he had made use of a paraphrase because there was no other term to express the same thought. If we had not provided the source of our citation, people might certainly think that we had extracted it from an American spiritualist, about Spiritism, equally represented by Christianity, in its most sublime expression. According to that, would it be possible that a future scholar, giving a free interpretation to the words of Cardinal Donnet, would try to demonstrate to our descendants that in 1860 a Cardinal had publicly professed the manifestation of the spirits, before the French Senate?
Don’t we see in this fact a new proof that there is the need for a different word for each thing, so that we can understand one another? How many endless philosophical arguments haven’t we had due to the multiple meanings of the words! The inconvenience is even worse with the translations, from which the biblical texts show more than one example. If in Hebrew the word day and period were not expressed in the same way, we would not have been mistaken about the meaning of the words in the book of Genesis, regarding the duration of the formation of the earth, and science would not have been cursed for a lack of understanding, when it demonstrated that the formation of the planet could not have been accomplished in a period of six times 24 hours.
The following statement by Cardinal Donnet was given in a recent speech in the Senate: “But today, like in former times, it is true to say with an eloquent publicist, in humankind, that Spiritualism is represented by Christianity.”
It would certainly be a strange mistake if we thought that the celebrity speaker in that particular event had understood Spiritualism in the sense of spirits’ manifestations. The word was employed there in its true meaning, and the speaker could not have expressed it in a different way, unless he had made use of a paraphrase because there was no other term to express the same thought. If we had not provided the source of our citation, people might certainly think that we had extracted it from an American spiritualist, about Spiritism, equally represented by Christianity, in its most sublime expression. According to that, would it be possible that a future scholar, giving a free interpretation to the words of Cardinal Donnet, would try to demonstrate to our descendants that in 1860 a Cardinal had publicly professed the manifestation of the spirits, before the French Senate?
Don’t we see in this fact a new proof that there is the need for a different word for each thing, so that we can understand one another? How many endless philosophical arguments haven’t we had due to the multiple meanings of the words! The inconvenience is even worse with the translations, from which the biblical texts show more than one example. If in Hebrew the word day and period were not expressed in the same way, we would not have been mistaken about the meaning of the words in the book of Genesis, regarding the duration of the formation of the earth, and science would not have been cursed for a lack of understanding, when it demonstrated that the formation of the planet could not have been accomplished in a period of six times 24 hours.
Spontaneous Essays
Different Orders of Spirits
Private communication obtained by Mrs. D…, member of the Society, from her deceased husband.
Listen to me, dear friend, if you want me to tell you great things. Don’t you see the direction taken by certain events and the progress that the sacred works can achieve by that? Listen to the elevated spirits, but watch out and do not confuse them with those who try to impose themselves with a language that is more pretentious than profound. Do not mix your thoughts with theirs. Would it be admissible that the inhabitants of Earth could see things from the same standpoint as the spirits detached from matter and who are obedient to our Lord’s laws? Do not mix all spirits in the same group for they come from very different orders. The study of Spiritism teaches you, but on this side, how much you still have to learn! There is a multitude of individuals on Earth whose intelligences are not similar. Some among them are closer to the animals than to human beings, whereas there are others so much superior that one is tempted to say that they are closer to God, a kind of blasphemy which must be translated by the idea that they carry a spark from those celestial clarities, planted into their hearts by our Divine Master. Well then! Whatever is the diversity among all intelligences of the human race, be assured that such diversity is still infinitely greater among the spirits. There are spirits in such a level of inferiority that you cannot find any similar among people, however there are those sufficiently purified to get closer to God, contemplating God in all God’s glory. Submitted to God’s will, their only wish is to satisfy and please God. These are called upon to circulate around the globes or to stop over according to the conveniences for the execution of the great designs of the Creator, and to some God says: Go, reveal my power to these elemental beings whose intelligences can now understand it. To others God says: Travel around those worlds so that the superior beings that inhabit them, guided by your teachings, may add new greatness to the ones that have already been revealed to them. May all be instructed and learn since there will come a day when the clarities from above will no longer be shaded but will shine forever.
Your friend
The two messages below were obtained in a small and intimate circle in Luxemburg, sent to us by our colleague Mr. Solichon, who was present. We regret the fact that our activities have not allowed us yet to go to those meetings, to which we were kindly invited. We will be happy to be able to attend them since we know that they are presided by a feeling of true Christian charity and reciprocal benevolence.
Private communication obtained by Mrs. D…, member of the Society, from her deceased husband.
Listen to me, dear friend, if you want me to tell you great things. Don’t you see the direction taken by certain events and the progress that the sacred works can achieve by that? Listen to the elevated spirits, but watch out and do not confuse them with those who try to impose themselves with a language that is more pretentious than profound. Do not mix your thoughts with theirs. Would it be admissible that the inhabitants of Earth could see things from the same standpoint as the spirits detached from matter and who are obedient to our Lord’s laws? Do not mix all spirits in the same group for they come from very different orders. The study of Spiritism teaches you, but on this side, how much you still have to learn! There is a multitude of individuals on Earth whose intelligences are not similar. Some among them are closer to the animals than to human beings, whereas there are others so much superior that one is tempted to say that they are closer to God, a kind of blasphemy which must be translated by the idea that they carry a spark from those celestial clarities, planted into their hearts by our Divine Master. Well then! Whatever is the diversity among all intelligences of the human race, be assured that such diversity is still infinitely greater among the spirits. There are spirits in such a level of inferiority that you cannot find any similar among people, however there are those sufficiently purified to get closer to God, contemplating God in all God’s glory. Submitted to God’s will, their only wish is to satisfy and please God. These are called upon to circulate around the globes or to stop over according to the conveniences for the execution of the great designs of the Creator, and to some God says: Go, reveal my power to these elemental beings whose intelligences can now understand it. To others God says: Travel around those worlds so that the superior beings that inhabit them, guided by your teachings, may add new greatness to the ones that have already been revealed to them. May all be instructed and learn since there will come a day when the clarities from above will no longer be shaded but will shine forever.
Your friend
The two messages below were obtained in a small and intimate circle in Luxemburg, sent to us by our colleague Mr. Solichon, who was present. We regret the fact that our activities have not allowed us yet to go to those meetings, to which we were kindly invited. We will be happy to be able to attend them since we know that they are presided by a feeling of true Christian charity and reciprocal benevolence.
Remorse and Regret
I feel happy for seeing you all united by the same faith and by the love of God Almighty, our Divine Lord. May God always guide you in the good path and help you to become worthy of God’s benefits. Always love one another like brothers and sisters; help one another and may the love to thy neighbor never be a meaningless word. Remember that charity is the most beautiful of all virtues and the most pleasing to God, not only that charity which gives the two cents to the miserable ones, but the charity which has pity on our brothers’ sufferings; that makes you share their moral pains, alleviate the burden that oppresses them, thus relieving them and making their lives easier. Remember that sincere repentance obtains pardon to all faults; such is the greatness of God. Remorse has nothing in common with repentance. Remorse, brothers, is already the prelude of punishment. Repentance, charity and faith shall lead you to the happiness reserved to the good spirits. Go and listen to the words of a superior spirit loved by God. Pray and open your hearts to the lessons that you shall learn from them.
A Guardian Angel
I feel happy for seeing you all united by the same faith and by the love of God Almighty, our Divine Lord. May God always guide you in the good path and help you to become worthy of God’s benefits. Always love one another like brothers and sisters; help one another and may the love to thy neighbor never be a meaningless word. Remember that charity is the most beautiful of all virtues and the most pleasing to God, not only that charity which gives the two cents to the miserable ones, but the charity which has pity on our brothers’ sufferings; that makes you share their moral pains, alleviate the burden that oppresses them, thus relieving them and making their lives easier. Remember that sincere repentance obtains pardon to all faults; such is the greatness of God. Remorse has nothing in common with repentance. Remorse, brothers, is already the prelude of punishment. Repentance, charity and faith shall lead you to the happiness reserved to the good spirits. Go and listen to the words of a superior spirit loved by God. Pray and open your hearts to the lessons that you shall learn from them.
A Guardian Angel
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.
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 StudiesNotice:
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.
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.
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 Talkative Spirit
Spending a few weeks in Worcester I casually found a lady at the house
of a local banker, from whom I heard such an impressive story that I
needed more than one witness to give her credit. I questioned the banker
about that lady that he knew for more than thirty years. “She is so truthful,
he added, and her righteousness is so very broadly known that I have
no doubt about the authenticity of her story. This lady enjoys a spotless
reputation, of irreproachable behavior, having a strong and intelligent personality,
highly educated.” He then thinks that it is impossible that she
would try to deceive others or that she would be mistaken. He had heard
her telling the story multiple times, always in a precise and clear way, so
much so that he felt embarrassed. He refused to admit such facts but, on
the other hand, he dared not to doubt her good faith.
My own observations led me to confirm everything that I learned
about that lady. There was in her manners, her air, even the sound of
her voice, something that seemed incapable of deceiving, carrying the
conviction of truth. Thus, it was impossible to me to consider her dishonest,
even more so when she spoke about these things with an evident
distress. The banker had warned me that it would be very difficult to
make her talk about the subject since, in general, she was used to the
fact that people would laugh rather than believe in her. It must be said
in addition, that neither her nor the banker knew about Spiritism or had
heard about it.
Here are the facts reported by the lady:
“Around 1820 we left our Suffolk house and moved to …, a sea port
in France. Our family consisted of my parents, a sister, a twelve-year-old
brother and an English butler. The house was located in an isolated region,
far from the city, in the middle of the beach. There was no other
house or construction nearby. One night my father saw a man wrapped in
a large overcoat, sitting on a fragment of rock, a few yards from the door.
My father approached to greet him but since he received no answer back,
he then returned. Before coming inside he had the idea of looking back
again but to his amazement there was nobody there. He got even more
surprised when he went back and carefully examined the surroundings,
near the rock, finding no vestige of the stranger who was sitting there a
moment earlier, and there was no shelter where he could have hidden.
When my father came to the house he said: - “My children, I have just
seen an apparition”. We of course laughed our heads off, as one can easily
understand.
Nevertheless, that very night and in several others which followed,
we heard strange noises at several places of the house: sometimes it was a
moaning coming from below our windows, on other occasions it seemed
that someone was scratching the windows, or even that several persons
were climbing on the roof. Several times we opened the windows, asking
out loud: Who is that? But we never got an answer. A few days later we
heard noises in the bedroom where my sister and I were sleeping. She was
twenty years old and I was eighteen then. We woke everybody up in the
house but nobody listened to us. We were censored and called crazy. The
noises ordinarily sounded like knocks; they would sometimes last twenty
or thirty minutes; sometimes one per minute.
In the end, our parents, who were forced to admit that it was not our
imagination, also heard the noises outside as well as inside. They then remembered
the apparition. In any case we were not that scared and ended
up getting used to all the noise.
One evening when there was the usual knocking, I had the idea of
asking: - if that is a spirit then knock six times. I immediately heard six raps, one by one. The noises became so familiar with time that we not
only were no longer afraid but they also became more pleasant.
I will now tell you the more curious part of the story, and I would
hardly do that if all members of my family had not witnessed that thing.
My brother who was then a boy and is now a renowned professional can
attest it to you if necessary, in all its details.
Besides the raps in our bedroom we began hearing something like a
human voice, mainly in the living room. The first time we heard it my
sister was playing the piano; we were singing a love song when the voice
started following us. You can imagine our surprise. We could not doubt
the reality because shortly later the voice started to talk to us, clearly and
intelligibly, meddling into our conversation from time to time. It was a
low voice, with a slow, very solemn and distinct tone. The spirit always
spoke in French. He said his name was Gaspard but never responded when
we wanted to question him about his personal story; he never explained
why he had established communication with us either. We thought he was
Spanish but I cannot remember where we got such an idea. He used to
call every member of the family by their given name; he sometimes recited
poems and constantly tried to get feelings of Christian morality across to
us, never going into issues of dogmas though. He seemed to want to make
us understand the grandiosity of virtue, the beauty of harmony among
the members of a family.
One time, my sister and I had a slight argument, we then heard the
voice saying: M… is wrong; S… is right. Since we knew him he always
gave us advice. On one occasion my father was very distressed because
he thought that he had lost certain documents that he needed to find.
Gaspard told him where the documents were placed, in our old house
in Suffolk. The papers were sought and found exactly where he had
indicated.
Things continued to be like that for another three years. Every member
of the family, including the servants, had heard the voice. The presence
of the spirit, since we had no doubt about it, was always a reason for
great joy among us; he was simultaneously considered a companion and a protector. One day he said: I will not be with you for a few months. In
fact his visits stopped for several months. One evening we heard that dear
voice saying: I am here with you. It would be difficult to describe our
happiness.
Up until that point we had heard but never seen him. One evening
my brother said: Gaspard, I would like very much to see you. And the
voice responded: I will satisfy you. You shall see me if you please, go to
the other side of the square. My brother left but soon returned saying:
I saw Gaspard; he wore a large overcoat and a wide brim hat; I looked
underneath the hat and he smiled. – Yes, said the voice entering the conversation,
it was me.
He suddenly left us but in a very kind way. We returned to Suffolk
and there, like in France, Gaspard continued to talk to us for several
weeks after our arrival. One evening he said: I will leave for good; a disgrace
would come upon you if I stayed by your side in this land where our
communications would be badly understood and misinterpreted.
Since then, the lady added with a sad tone, like from someone speaking
of a loved one who had departed by death, since then we have no
longer heard Gaspard’s voice.”
There you have the facts as we were told. All those things make me
think and perhaps they do to your readers too. I don’t intend to give any
explanation, any opinion. I will only say that I thoroughly trust the good
faith of the person from whom we heard it, and I subscribe with my name
below it, as a warrantor of the accuracy of the report.
S.C. Hall
The Spirit and the Little Dog
(Society, May 4th, 1860 – Medium Mr. Didier)
Mr. G. G… from Marseille transcribes the following fact to us:
“A young man died eight months ago and his family, in which
there are three sisters who are mediums, evoke him every day, using
a basket. Every time that the spirit is called, a dog, which the young
man was very fond of, hops on the table, smells the basket, and yelps.
The first time it happened the basket wrote: “My brave little dog that
recognizes me.”
“I have not witnessed the fact myself but the persons from whom I
heard the story did see it and those are good spiritists and very serious
people, so I cannot doubt their honesty. I asked myself if the spirit had
kept sufficient material particles to reach the dog’s sniffing capability or
if the dog was able to see the spirit. It is a problem that seems useful to
investigate further in case it is not solved yet.”
1. Evocation of Mr. … deceased eight months ago, who was just
mentioned above. – A. I am here.
2. Do you confirm the fact relative to your little dog, which comes
to smell the basket which is used for your evocations, apparently
recognizing you? – A. Yes.
3. Could you tell us what is it that attracts the dog to the basket? –
A. The extreme subtleness of the senses that may lead the dog to
guess the presence of the spirit or even see it.
4. Does the dog see or feel you? – A. The smell above all and the
magnetic fluid.
Charlet
Observation: Charlet, the painter, gave a series of remarkable
communications to the Society about animals, which we will
publish soon. That was certainly the reason why he had spontaneously
interfered with the present communication.
5. Since Charlet wants to intervene in the current issue we ask him
to provide us with some explanations about it. – A. Gladly. The
fact is perfectly trustworthy, and consequently natural. I speak in
general because I don’t have the details of the case you are discussing.
A dog is endowed by a very particular organization. They
understand humans: that is enough. They feel them, following
them in all of their actions, bearing the curiosity of a child; they
love humans and even dedicate entirely to them – and you have
examples to confirm what I am saying. Dogs must be – I am not
positive, please understand that well – but they must be one of
those animals which come from a more advanced world to support
humans in their sufferings, serve and protect them. I have
just mentioned moral qualities that dogs certainly have. As for
their sensitive faculties these are extremely delicate. Every hunter
knows the subtleness of a dog’s sniff. Besides that quality the dog
understands almost all actions of humans; understands the meaning
of their death. Why wouldn’t they perceive the presence of
their soul or even see them?
Charlet
The next day Mrs. Lesc…, a medium also member of the Society,
received the following explanation about the same subject:
“The fact cited at the Society is true; although once the spirit is
disconnected from the body it does not have any of its odors. The dog
sniffed the presence of its owner. When I say sniffed I mean that its
organs detected his presence but the nose did not feel or the eyes did
not see; however, the whole dog’s body was somehow warned about the
owner’s presence, and that warning was passed to the dog mainly by
the will expressed by the souls of those who evoked the dead person.
Human wishes reach and warn the instinct of the animals, particularly
of the dogs, before any exterior sign reveals those wishes. The dog is in
direct communication with us, the spirits, through their nervous fibers,
almost as much as they are with men. The dog perceives the apparitions;
it is aware of the difference between them and the real or Earthly things,
and they are very afraid of them. The dog howls to the moon, according
to the vulgar expression; it also does so when it feels death coming. In
these two cases, and in many others, the dog is intuitive. I shall add that
its vision is less developed than its sensations. It sees less than it feels.
The electric fluid penetrates the dog almost routinely. The fact which
served me as a starting point, therefore not surprising, since at the time
when the wish for calling his owner was out, the dog felt his presence
almost as quickly as the spirit heard it and responded to the call which
was addressed to him.”
George, a familiar spirit
The Spirit of an Idiot
(Society, May 25th, 1860)
Charles de Saint-G…, is a living thirteen year old mentally challenged
boy, whose intellectual faculties are so much inexistent that he does
not even recognize his parents and can barely feed himself. All his organs
have completely stopped from any further development. Some people
thought that this could be an interesting subject for a psychological study.
1. (to St. Louis) – Could you tell us if we can evoke the spirit of that
child? – A. Yes you can evoke him as if he were dead.
2. Your response makes us suppose that we can make the evocation
at any time. – A. Yes, his soul is attached to the body by material
links but not by spiritual links. His soul can always disengage.
3. Evocation of Ch. de Saint-G… – A. I am a poor spirit, bounded
to Earth like a bird held by the foot.
4. In your present condition as a spirit, are you aware of your almost
nullity in this world? – A. Certainly. I feel my imprisonment well.
5. When your body sleeps and your spirit is free are your thoughts
as lucid as if you were in your normal state? – A. When my unfortunate
body is asleep I am a little bit freer to elevate to heavens
to which I aspire.
6. Do you have a painful feeling as a spirit with respect to your corporeal
condition? – A. Yes because it is a punishment.
7. Do you remember your previous existence? – A. Oh, Yes! That is
the cause of my current exile.
8. What was that existence? – A. A libertine youngster at the time
of Henry III.
9. You said that your current condition is a punishment. Then, you
have not chosen that? – A. No.
10. How can this present existence serve to your progress considering
your oblivious state? – A. It is not oblivious to God who has
imposed that to me.
11. Can you foresee the duration of the present existence? – A. No; a
few years more and I will return to my homeland.
12. What have you done as a spirit between the previous and current
existences? – A. Since I was a frivolous spirit, God imprisoned me.
13. In your waking state, are you aware of what goes on around you,
despite the limitation of your organs? – A. I see and understand
but my body does not see or understand.
14. Can we offer you with anything useful? – A. Nothing.
15. (to St. Louis) – May the prayers for an incarnated spirit have the
same efficacy as those in favor of an errant spirit? – A. The prayers
are always good and pleasant to God. In the current position of
this unfortunate spirit they cannot serve; they will be useful later
since God puts them in reserve.
Observation: Nobody can neglect the elevated moral teaching that
results from this evocation. Besides, it also confirms what has always been
said about the mentally challenged. Their moral handicap does not mean
a handicap of the spirit that, apart from their material body, enjoys all its
faculties. The limitation of the organs is just an obstacle to the free manifestation
of the faculties; it does not annihilate them. It is like a strong
man whose limbs are tied up by a strong rope. It is a well-known fact
that in certain regions, far from being a reason for neglect, the mentally challenged are surrounded by careful benevolence. Wouldn’t such a feeling
be originated from the intuition of the true state of these miserable
creatures, deserving more attention, the more their spirit which understand
their condition, must suffer by seeing themselves as an outcast of
society?
Family Conversations from Beyond the Grave - Mrs. Duret
Writing medium, deceased on May 1st, 1860 in Sétif, Algeria, evoked
first at the house of Mr. Allan Kardec on May 21st, then at the
Society, on May 25th.
1. Evocation. – A. I am here.
2. We know each other by name, but not in person, since we have
never met. Do you recognize me? – A. Oh! Very well.
3. Have you come to visit me after your death? – A. No, not yet, but
I knew that you would call me.
4. As a medium and already perfectly acquainted with Spiritism,
I thought that you could give us instructive explanations, better
than others, about different points of the science. – A. I will
respond the best I can.
5. This first evocation, in a certain way, aims only at establishing
our relationship and to put us in touch. As for the questions, since
they are of general interest, I prefer to address them to you at the
Society. Thus, I ask you if you could kindly attend the invitation to come. – A. Yes, gladly so. I will respond and ask God to illuminate
me.
6. There are five mediums here. Is there anyone who you might have
preference for in order to act as your interpreter? – A. That is indifferent
to me as long as it is a good medium.
7. Have you ever been deceived by spirits as a medium in your communications?
– A. Ah, often! There are only a few mediums that
have not, more or less.
Note: Next day Mrs. Duret manifested spontaneously and revealed
disappointment for not having been asked a higher number
of questions the night before.
8. If I did not do that, as I said, I was reserving them for the Society.
I just wanted to make sure that I could count on you. – A. What
is done in your house is also useful to the Society. It is sometimes
convenient to take advantage of the moment when the spirit
wants to communicate since the circumstances are not always favorable
to them.
9. Which circumstances may be favorable to them? – A. There are
many that are of your knowledge but you need to know that it
does not always depend on the spirit. Sometimes the spirit may
need to be assisted by others who may not be always available at
the moment.
10. Since you have come spontaneously, I must understand that you
are in one of those adequate moments and I will use you, if you
wish so. You said that you were often deceived as a medium. Do
you see now the spirits that deceived you? – A. Yes. I see them
very well. They wanted to interfere here too but I see them clearly.
I am no longer a toy in their hands. Hence I repel them.
11. You also said that there are only a few mediums that have never
been deceived. What does it depend on? – A. It depends a lot on
the medium and on the one who interrogates.
12. Kindly explain it more clearly. – A. I mean that it is always possible,
whenever there is the will, to be undisturbed by the bad
spirits and that the first condition for that is not to attract them
by weaknesses or faults. How much could I tell you about it! Ah!
If the mediums only knew how much harm they are in when they
give opportunity to the malevolent spirits!
13. Is it only in the spiritual world that they are doing harm? – A. Yes,
and also in the world o