The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1864

Allan Kardec

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A Constantinople newspaper published three articles with the title above last March about, or better said, against Magnetism and Spiritism that both count on many enthusiastic followers in that capital city. As with all criticism in general we uselessly seek serious argumentation while we find an evident proof that the author speaks about something that is unknown to him or that he only knows superficially. He judges Spiritism by appearances; by having heard of; by the reading of some incomplete fragments; by the report of some eccentric reports refuted by Spiritism itself, things that seem sufficient to him to draw up a sentence. As it can be seen it is a new sample of the logic employed by our antagonists. The readings that seem to be most popular are Mr. Mirville, the magic of Mr. Dupotet and the life of Mr. Home but one cannot find serious studies of the Spiritist science or of serious observations.



We are from pretending that anyone that studies Spiritism will necessarily approve it. However, if that person is in good faith she will not move away from the truth even in her denial and will not make us say something in opposition to what we have said; this will necessarily happen if that person is not aware of everything that we said. We would not recognize as a serious critic but only the one that would avoid generalizations and that proposed authoritative arguments against our own and demonstrated, without a possible replica, that the facts that serve as our foundation are either false, created or radically impossible. That is something that has not been done yet by the editor of the Constantinople newspaper or the others.

Spiritism has been attacked in many ways, with all weapons that were considered more lethal. Nothing was spared to annihilate Spiritism, not even slander. There isn’t a single obscure author that has not boasted about having thrown the last stroke of mercy. People of real value count amongst the adversaries who have excavated the arsenal of objections to the lowest level with more eagerness the more was the interest in muffle Spiritism.



Despite everything that was done, however, Spiritism not only stands but expands more and more on a daily basis; it establishes everywhere and the number of followers grows incessantly. That is a notorious fact. What can we conclude from all that? That nothing could have seriously and conclusively been opposed to Spiritism.





Will our opponent from Constantinople be more successful? We seriously doubt since he has not shown better arguments for that. His articles, far from stopping the Spiritist movement in the Orient, can only favor it as happened to all others of the same kind for all of them go around the same circle. That is why we are not worried. We shall limit ourselves to cite some fragments that summarize the author’s opinion.



There isn’t a single objection of his against Spiritism that does not meet a prompt refutation in our books. If we had to counter every absurd created about this subject we would have to repeat ourselves endlessly and that is something useless considering that such criticism without any serious support will definitely help us more than cause any harm.



Side by side with skillful practitioners like the magicians exemplified by Mr. Dupotet, or the mediums, like Mr. Home, comes a different order of members in whose first rows we find Mr. Allan Kardec. This one may be presented as the role model to the whole group of Spiritists whose good faith could not be denied. The Spiritists of Constantinople belong to that artistic and literary school, as we have already said, that operates mainly through their writings in which the Spiritist Review by Mr. Allan Kardec is the most perfect example. Such a doctrine was established by its followers. The theory of the Spirits has no secret to them; hence in the majority of the cases they disdain to resource to the material processes employed by the common mediums. They obtain direct manifestations. Their process, as simple as themselves, consists on the use of a common pencil, like the one used by the first heretic that would show up, through which they enter into immediate relationship with the Spirits and capture their messages. Among other advantages the method allows them to keep their modesty aside and award their own work with the most exaggerated honors, covering themselves with the names of the supposed authors.



Before believing in the accuracy of the mechanical writing medium we would like to see an idiot writing some beautiful page such as has never been dictated by the Spirits that operate through mediumistic ways. The intuition medium is more acceptable but it seems very difficult to us that experience will teach how to separate the thought of the Spirit from that of the medium. As a matter of fact the role played by the latter one may be easily explained. The mediums in their majority are sincere and it is to them rather than operators of the kind of Mr. Home and Mr. Dupotet that the opinion issued by Mr. Count of Gasparin applies with accuracy. As for the opinion of Mr. Mirville there is no place to discuss it here since it has been well verified that no medium, at least in Constantinople, is a witch.



If we were supposed to defend the Spiritist against such hateful accusations like the ones that we repeal here we would only need to mention some teachings given by the Spirits to demonstrate its complete naivety:



- The different planets that circulate in space are inhabited like our Earth. The astronomical observations lead us to think that the environs of their respective inhabitants are very different requiring different physical organizations but the perispirit accommodates to the varieties of kinds allowing the Spirit to incarnate on the surface of different planets;

- The moral, intellectual and physical state of those worlds constitute a progressive series in which our Earth does not occupy the first or the last position; it is, nonetheless, one of the most material and least advanced planets. There are some in which evil is unknown; where arts and sciences have arrived to a degree of perfection that we cannot understand; where their physical organization is not subjected to sufferings or diseases; where people live in peace, not harming one another, exempt of pains and concerns.


Tonight I will see people on the moon with my new instruments, says King Afonso in one passage. The Spiritists were more successful and saw them but it is not certain that they envy the destiny of the lunatics. We thought that there isn’t anything that can preclude them from already enjoying that globe.



From all the above one can see the result of the wonderful and supernatural in Spiritism. In order to destroy it completely all we need is to examine the facts that we have just mentioned without preconceived ideas of finding there highly reproachable practices of witchcraft or the action of a fluid whose existence is denied by the scientists.



Anyone that would attend their sessions not subjected to accept the facts by what they pretend to be, Mr. Home and Mr. Dupotet like all players of the same type, will evidently be interested mystifying persons. Their actions will be at most comparable to those of Mr. Bosco with respect to their skills and the latter adds honesty which does not allow to carry the comparison any further. Very different from the magicians that we just mentioned, mediums like Mr. Allan Kardec and generally the mediums of Constantinople, are on the contrary mystified. All of their efforts only lead to the belief of a total mystification of themselves. Despite all the good-will that one may have towards them it is really impossible to take any of their practices seriously. However one must regret the fact that honest persons spend most of their time practicing mistakes that to them become a reality. However inoffensive their mistakes seem to be they can only produce fatal results since they take the place of truth. It is in that aspect that they are reproachable.”



The Spiritists of Constantinople responded themselves through two articles that were published in that newspaper in its numbers 21 and 22 last March. One is from a medium that reports the process through which his mediumship developed and overcame his disbelief. The other one reproduced below is in the name of everyone.



Mr. Editor,

Your newspaper has just published three lengthy articles entitled: - Spiritism in Constantinople, and for that we ask you to provide us with space to respond with the lines below:



True Spiritism in Constantinople



The Spiritist Doctrine that is based on the belief of an infinitely just and good God, the infinite love; that indicates as the objective to the Spirits created by that very God the path to the ever growing perfection and as a punishment in their spiritual state a most complete perception of that objective, feeling sorry for having moved away from that path, at the same time that the need to restart the ascending march through new incarnations… The Doctrine that teaches the purest moral, the very doctrine exposed so well by Jesus Christ in these simple words: Love one another… Such a doctrine of love, we must say out loud, can very well go without those manifestations that the author of the article – Spiritism in Constantinople – just qualify as mystifications after having promised to explain them beyond Spiritism.





But those manifestations, very much attested today, and whose proof is found in almost every page of mankind’s history, are allowed to continue by God in order to provide everybody the proof of solidarity that exists between incarnate and discarnate Spirits so that ones can help the others and vice versa and that the spiritual being when called to the eternal life may reach the providential objective established by creation more easily and more safely.



If the facts from which such theories stem out and that are the foundation of the Spiritist Doctrine may very well be taken by mystification by certain persons but they should indicate the reasons why and what would be even better to propose other more rational and particularly truer theories.



Now, they may call truth sorcery, witchcraft, prestidigitation and other even more ridiculous names and yet they shall not preclude such truth to propagate and extend its beneficent rays onto the whole mankind.



That is why Spiritism has propagated so fast over the whole planet Earth and why, despite criticisms like the ones in those articles, it does not preclude to count its followers by the millions.



The Spiritists of Constantinople”



We send our congratulations to the Spiritists of Constantinople, both in our personal name and in the name of the members of the Spiritist Society of Paris, with our sincere felicitation to your well-deserved response that showed simultaneously worthiness and moderation.



The letter below was sent to us by Mr. Repos, lawyer and President of the Spiritist Society of Constantinople, witnessing well his dedication to the cause of the doctrine so much so that we consider it to be our duty and sincere pleasure to have it published so that the Spiritists from all countries can be aware that they can count on the fellowship of brothers from the capital of the East. We take the opportunity to also remember another town in the Orient, Smyrna. They also deserve everyone’s sympathy.



Constantinople, June 15th 1864.



Dear Master and much honored brother in Spiritism,

In time I received your letter dated April 8th that gave me great pleasure as well as to our Spiritist brothers to whom I reported in one of our sessions. I am united to all Spiritists of Constantinople to send our most fraternal feelings to you and to all Spiritists that are member of the Parisian Society. We thank you for the encouragement that you give us and take it as a stimulus to fight for our great cause. Rest assured that we will not fail in the mission that we have undertaken and that all of our efforts will tend to the propagation of truth, love to good and to the intellectual emancipation of the other fellow human beings, our brothers in God, even if we have to sustain the most bloodthirsty battles against our enemies. If there are men that are servile and coward enough to dare fight the truth there are also those that are sufficiently independent and courageous to defend it, therefore obeying the feelings of justice and fraternal love that make a human being a true son of God. It was with great attention that I read the interesting details in your letter with respect to the progress of Spiritism in France and elsewhere. We hope that in the future the idea propagates more and more and that is what we eagerly wish to all of our earthly brothers from all countries and regions. The powerful ray of revelation shines everywhere. Blind is the one that does not see and unwise is the one that denies it and senseless the one that fights against it trying to kill it at its very source. Doesn’t its pure and pristine water come from the eternal spring, spreading the fecund and soothing dew upon the whole Earth that must be regenerated? No human power will then be able to stop it…Don’t we know, in fact, that when a there is a little water break somewhere any effort to stop it will force many others to appear in all directions and in all levels of the social fabric? It is so true that God’s will is omnipotent and that there is no obstacle capable of making opposition to that will or be prepared to be taken down and smashed by the shiny wagon of justice and truth.



Dear Master, I was assigned with the pleasant task of congratulating you in my name and in the name of every Spiritist in the East by the condemnation of your books by the Saint Inquisition of minds, I mean the so called condemnation of the index. Rejoices with all of us your brothers if your work raise great rage that could not harm you but on the contrary only had them unmasked and exposed to ridicule. That trial has already been declared null and the declaration endorsed by the public opinions of all countries.



I am sure you have received the Constantinople papers that I sent you where you could find the articles against Spiritism and the Spiritists. Have you seen our two little answers? What is your opinion? They produced good effect over here and now Spiritism is talked about more than ever before. We look forward to hearing from you in helping us to fight malice and lies, the only resource of the enemies of our doctrine.



The quiet persecution that you have announced has started here. One of our brothers lost his job for his sympathy towards Spiritism, others are attacked and threatened in their dearest family interests or means of survival by the most tenebrous maneuvers of the eternal enemies of light who dare say that Spiritism is the works of the darkness! They are so wrong if that is how they believe to be able to destroy it. Persecution, far from stopping, entails the growth of any idea that comes from above. If speeds up the blossom and maturity because it is the compost that fertilizes; it demonstrates the uselessness of any means that attempts to destroy such idea. Was Christianity muffled by the blood of the martyrs?



So long, dear Master. Kindly believe in my most sincere dedication to you and to our Spiritist brothers of Paris to whom please extend my compliments.

A.Repos Son, Lawyer.”

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