Spiritist PoetryInspiration of a nonbeliever with respect to
The Spirits’ BookBy Dr. Niéger, December 27
th, 1864
Like the unfortunate victim of a wreckage
Amidst the debris, swimming for his life,
Broken by fatigue, optimism is vanished,
Seeking land, no longer in sight,
Last hope is praying for his soul;
When suddenly sees through the waves, there is light!
From an unknown land, the edges appear,
The nearly dead strength recovers,
Soon stepping onto the safe hangar,
Promptly sends the Lord a prayer,
Feeling his faith just reborn,
Promises the Savior to his law conform!
That is how I felt when reading your works,
In my devastated chest, courage returns.
Always concerned with unveiling the secrets
Of the human body, only defects I found,
But I had never seen the unknown cause,
Always, always escaping my grasp.
Your book, new horizons to my sight,
Suddenly new objective to my work.
I then saw myself on the wrong path;
From my heart, doubt expelled by faith.
When man leaves the hands of the Creator
It cannot be to fall in disgrace,
For a sacred law of the same God
Governs the fate of the infinite space!
That law is called progress
Around which mankind must unite.
What a wonderful image on brilliant pages
In the book that follows human ages!
Mankind seeking its well-being
First through manual labor.
Instinct is the only guiding
Force that later on becomes the mastermind!
Taken by the sacred fire
The Spirit now inspires,
Leaving behind a defeated evil.
Firmly marches the field
At gigantic strides!
The fragile boat sails
Away, brave men inside
Facing the rage of the waters that unveil.
Success! Waves retrieved
Oceans dominated,
Next come the skies
The old dream to fly.
With the laws of the universe known
Man shall soon dominate the planet,
A new King shown!
That is not the whole endeavor,
Steam is now compressed
And man rides the dragon in vapor!
Hard work in a toy revealed.
The trace of genius is all over,
Death dominated, life is reborn!
The advance seems to be over.
But the inflexible law
Demands even more.
Soon the master of Earth
From the clouds shall claim the thunder
Transforming its fury in docile instrument.
The bolt becomes a humble servant.
Human knowledge sees no bounds.
The universe is the God given grounds.
It is now time to seek, by a personal struggle,
The wonderful relationships between body and soul!
It is up to him, moving away from the beaten path,
To bring up the shine of a diamond unknown,
For so long hidden from his sight.
Let us then raise the glossy symbol
With no delay let us face the great and ample
Mine open to our efforts: love and prayer.
The sacred words on our banner!
Under this aegis, friends, let us continue our work.
If one day we have to succumb to the fight,
Oh Lord, May at least our fall
Inspire our sons with courage and faith,
Ensuring the reign of your law, after all!
