Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1867

When the novel Mirette appeared, the Spirits said these remarkable words at the Parisian Society:



“The year 1866 presents the new philosophy in all its forms; but it is still the green stem that encloses the ear of wheat and waits to show it until the heat of spring has made it ripen and open. 1866 prepared, 1867 will mature and achieve. The year opens under the auspices of Mirette, and it will not pass without seeing the appearance of new publications of the same kind, and more serious still, in the sense that the novel will become philosophy and that philosophy will be made history.” (Spiritist Review, February 1867).”



They had already said previously that several serious works were being prepared on the philosophy of Spiritism, in which the name of the doctrine would not be timidly concealed, but highly avowed and proclaimed, by men whose name and social position would give weight to their opinion; and they added that the first would probably appear towards the end of the present year.



The book we are announcing fully realizes that vision. It is the first publication of its kind where the question is considered in all its parts and with all its greatness; we can, therefore, say that it inaugurates one of the phases of the existence of Spiritism. What characterizes it is that it is not a banal adherence to the principles of the doctrine, a simple profession of faith, but a rigorous demonstration, in which the followers themselves will find new insights. By reading this dense argumentation, if we can say so, to the minutiae, and by a methodical sequence of ideas, we will undoubtedly wonder by which strange extension of the word we could apply to the author the epithet of mad. If it is a madman that argues like this, we could say that madmen sometimes shut the mouths to supposedly wise people. It is a formal plea in which we recognize the lawyer who wants to reduce the reply to its last limits; but we also recognize there the one who studied his cause seriously and scrutinized it in its most minute details. The author does not limit himself to expressing his opinion: he shows its foundation and gives the reason for everything; this is why he has appropriately titled his book: The Reason of Spiritism.



By publishing this work, without covering his personality with the slightest veil, the author proves that he has the true courage of his opinion, and the example he gives is a tribute to the recognition of all Spiritists. The point of view that he took is mainly that of the philosophical, moral, and religious consequences, those that constitute the essential goal of Spiritism and make it a humanitarian work.



Here is how he expresses himself in the preface.



“It is in the vicissitudes of human affairs, or rather it seems fatally reserved for any new idea, to be badly welcomed when it appears. Since, most frequently, its mission is to overturn preceding ideas, it meets great resistance from human understanding.



The man who has lived with prejudices only welcomes the newcomer with suspicion, who tends to modify, to even destroy combinations and ideas established in his mind, to force him, in a word, to put himself back to work, to run after the truth. Besides, he also feels humiliated in his pride for having lived in error.



The repulsion that the new idea inspires is even more accentuated, when it brings along obligations and duties, when it imposes a stricter line of conduct.



Finally, it encounters systematic, ardent, relentless attacks when it threatens established positions, and especially when it is faced with fanaticism or opinions deeply rooted in the tradition of centuries.



The new doctrines, therefore, always have many detractors; they even often have to undergo persecution, that made Fontenelle say: "That if he held all the truths in his hand, he would be careful not to open it."



Such were the disfavor and the perils that awaited Spiritism when it appeared in the world of ideas. Insults, mockery, calumny did not spare it; and, perhaps, the day of persecution will also come. The followers of Spiritism were treated as illuminated, hallucinated, fools, madmen, and to this flow of epithets that seemed to contradict and exclude one another, finally were added those of impostors, charlatans, and finally, Satan's envoys.



The qualification of madman is what seems more especially reserved to any promoter or propagator of new ideas. That is how the first to say that earth revolves around the sun was called a madman.



The famous navigator who discovered a new world was a madman as well. He was still a madman, by the Areopagus of science, the one that found the power of steam; and the enlightened assembly received, with a disdainful smile, Franklin's dissertation on the properties of electricity and the theory of the lightning rod.



Wasn’t the divine regenerator of mankind, also called a madman, the authorized reformer of the law of Moses? Did he not atone, by ignominious torture, the inoculation of earth with the benefits of divine morality?



Didn't Galileo atone, as a heretic, in a cruel sequestration and by the most bitter moral persecutions, the glory of having been the first to have the initiative of the planetary system whose laws Newton was to promulgate?



Saint John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ, had also been sacrificed in the vengeance of the culprits whose crimes he branded.



The apostles, depositaries of the teachings of the divine Messiah, had to seal the holiness of their mission with their blood. And wasn’t the reformed religion persecuted in turn, and after the massacres of Saint Bartholomew, didn’t it have to endure the dragonnades?

Finally, going back to the ostracism inspired by other passions, we see Aristide exiled, and Socrates condemned to drink hemlock.



Without a doubt, thanks to the gentle manners that characterize our century, protected by our institutions and the enlightenment that put a brake on fanatic intolerance, the pyres will no longer be raised to purify the Spiritist doctrines by the flames, whose paternity they intend to take back to Satan. But they too must expect the most hostile outcry and attacks from keen adversaries.



However, this militant state could not weaken the courage of those who are driven by a deep conviction, of those who have the certainty of holding in their hands one of those fruitful truths that constitute, in their development, a great benefit to humanity.



But, whatever may be the antagonism of ideas or doctrines that Spiritism will give rise to; whatever the perils that it must open under the feet of the followers, the Spiritist cannot leave this lamp under the bushel, and refuse to give it all the brilliance it entails, the support of his convictions and the sincere testimony of his conscience.



Spiritism, revealing to man the economy of his organization, initiating him in the knowledge of his destinies, opens an immense field to his mediations. Thus, the Spiritist philosopher, called to focus his investigations onto these new and splendid horizons, has by only limits the infinite. He attends, in a way, the supreme council of the Creator. But enthusiasm is the pitfall that he must avoid, especially when he casts his eyes on the man that has grown so tall, and yet proudly makes himself so small. He is, therefore, only enlightened by the lights of a sensible reason, and by taking a cold and severe logic as guide, that he must direct his peregrinations in the domain of the divine science, whose veil has been lifted by the Spirits.



This book is the result of our own studies and our mediations on this subject that, from the outset, seemed to us of capital importance, and to have consequences of the highest gravity. We acknowledged that these ideas have deep roots, and we saw the dawn of a new era for society in them; the speed with which they spread is an indication of their imminent admission among the accepted beliefs. Because of their very importance, we were not satisfied with the assertions and arguments of the doctrine; not only have we made sure of the reality of the facts, but we have scrutinized, with meticulous attention, the principles that result from them; we have sought their reason with cold impartiality, without neglecting the not less conscientious study of the objections, raised by the antagonists; like a judge who listens to both opposing sides, we have carefully weighed the pros and cons. It is, therefore, after having acquired the conviction that the contrary allegations do not destroy anything; that the doctrine rests on serious bases, on a rigorous logic, and not on chimerical reveries; that it contains the germ of a healthy renewal of the social state, that is quietly undermined by incredulity; that it is, finally, a powerful barrier against the invasion of materialism and demoralization, that we thought we should give our personal appreciation, and the deductions that we have drawn from a careful study.



Having, therefore, found a reason for the principles of this new science that has come to rank among human knowledge, we have named our book: The Reason for Spiritism. This title is justified by the point of view from which we have approached the subject, and those who read us will readily recognize that this work is not the product of thoughtless enthusiasm, but of a carefully and coldly considered examination.



We are convinced that whoever, without the prejudices of a systematic opposition, carry out, as we have done, a conscientious study of the Spiritist doctrine, will regard it as one of the things that concerns the future of humanity in the highest degree.



By giving our support to this doctrine, we are using the right to freedom of conscience that cannot be contested by anyone, whatever their belief; even more so, this freedom must be respected when it has for objective the principles of the highest morality that lead men to the practice of the teachings of Christ, and by that very fact, are the safeguard of the social order.



The writer who devotes his pen to outlining the impression that such teachings have left in the sanctuary of his conscience, must be careful not to confuse the rants hatched in his terrestrial horizon, with the luminous lines that originated from the sky. If there remain obscure or hidden points in his explanations, points that are not yet given to him to know, it is because, in the views of the divine wisdom, they remain reserved to a higher degree in the ascending scale of his progressive purification and perfectibility.



Nevertheless, let us hasten to say this, every convinced and conscientious man, by devoting his meditations to the diffusion of a fruitful truth, for the happiness of humanity, dips his pen in the celestial atmosphere where our globe is immersed, and undoubtedly receives the spark of inspiration.”



The indication of the title of the chapters will reveal the framework embraced by the author.



1. Definition of Spiritism. 2. Principle of good and evil. 3. Union of the soul with the body. 4. Reincarnation. 5. Phrenology. 6. Original sin. 7. Hell. 8. Mission of Christ. 9. Purgatory. 10. Heavens. 11. Plurality of the inhabited globes. 12. Charity. 13. Duties of man. - 14. Perispirit. 15. Necessity of the revelation. 16. Timeliness of revelation. 17. Angels and demons. 18. The predicted times. 19. Prayer. 20. Faith. 21. Response to the scorners. 22. Response to unbelievers, atheists, and materialists. 23. Appeal to the clergy.



We are sorry that the lack of space does not allow us to reproduce as many passages as we would have liked. We will limit ourselves to a few quotes.



Chap. III, page 41. - “The reciprocal and indispensable utility of soul and body, for their respective cooperation, therefore, constitutes the reason of their union. It constitutes, moreover, to the spirit, the militant conditions in the path of progress, where it is called to conquer its intellectual and moral personality.



How do these two principles normally accomplish, in man, the goal of their destination? When the Spirit is faithful to his divine aspirations, he restricts the animal and sensual instincts of the body, and reduces them to their providential action, in the work of the Creator; it develops, it grows. It is the perfection of the work itself that takes place. He arrives at happiness, the last term of which is inherent to the supreme degree of perfectibility.



If, on the contrary, abdicating the sovereignty that he is called to exercise over the body, he yields to the calls of the senses, and if he accepts their conditions of earthly pleasures as the sole goal of his aspirations, he distorts the reason of being of his existence, and far from accomplishing his destinies, he remains stationary; attached to this earthly life that, however, should have been only an accessory condition, since it could not be his end, the Spirit, from the leader that he was, becomes subordinate; he insanely accepts the earthly happiness that his senses experience, and that they propose to satisfy, thus stifling in him the intuition of the true happiness that is reserved. This is his first punishment."





In chapter XII, about hell, page 99, we find this remarkable appreciation of death and the destructive scourges:



Could it be, by enumerating the plagues that bring terror and fear, suffering and death on earth, that one would think that one could give proof of the manifestations of the divine anger?



Know then, reckless evokers of celestial vengeances, that the cataclysms to which you point out, far from having the exclusive character of a punishment inflicted on humanity are, on the contrary, an act of divine mercy, that closes to humanity the abyss into which its disorders precipitated it, and opens for it the avenue of progress that must bring it back to the path she must follow to ensure its regeneration.



What are these cataclysms, if not a new phase in the existence of man, a happy era, marking for peoples and humanity the providential point of their advancement?



Know then that death is not an evil; beacon of the existence of the Spirit, it is always, for it comes from God, the sign of his mercy and his benevolent assistance. Death is only the end of the body, the end of an incarnation, and in the hands of God, it is the annihilation of a corrupting and vicious environment, the interruption of a fatal current, from which, in a solemn moment, the Providence extract man and peoples.



Death is only a break in the earthly trial; far from harming man, or rather the Spirit, it calls him to recollect himself in the invisible world, either to recognize his faults and regret them, or to enlighten and prepare himself, by firm and healthyresolutions, to resume the trial of earthly life.



Death only freezes a man with fear because, being too identified with earth, he has no faith in his grand destiny, of which earth is only the painful workshop where his purification must be accomplished.



Hence, stop believing that death is an instrument of anger and vengeance in the hands of God; know, on the contrary, that it is both the expression of his mercy and his justice, either by stopping the wicked in the path of iniquity, or by shortening the time of trials or exile of the just on Earth.



And you, ministers of Christ, who from the pulpit of truth proclaim the wrath and vengeance of God, and seem, by your eloquent descriptions of the fantastic furnace, to fan its inextinguishable flames to devour the miserable sinner; you who, from your authorized lips, let fall this terrifying epigraph: “Never! - Always! Have you forgotten the instructions of your divine Teacher?”





We will also quote the following passages from the chapter on the original sin:



“Instead of creating the perfect soul, God wanted it to get there only by long and constant efforts, that she should succeed in freeing herself from this state of native inferiority and gravitate towards her august destinies. To achieve these ends, shetherefore must break the links that attach her to matter, resisting the enticement of the senses, with the alternative of her supremacy over the body, or the obsession exerted on her by the animal instincts. It is from these earthly ties that it is important to free herself, and that constitute the very conditions of her inferiority; these are no other than the so-called original sin, the alveolus that veils her divine essence. The original sin thus constitutes the primitive ascendancy that the animal instincts must have first exercised over the aspirations of the soul. Such is the state of man that Genesis wanted to represent, under the naive figure of the tree of the science of good and evil. The intervention of the tempting serpent is no other than the desires of the flesh and the solicitation of the senses; Christianity has blessed this allegory as a real fact, connected to the existence of the first man; and it is on this fact that it based the dogma of redemption.



Seen from this point of view, it must be admitted, the original sin must have been, and indeed was, that of all posterity of the first man, and it will be so for a long series of centuries, until the complete liberation of the Spirit from the constraints of matter; an emancipation that undoubtedly tends to be realized, but that has not yet been achieved in our days.



In a word, the original sin constitutes the conditions of human nature bearing the first elements of its existence, with all the vices it has engendered.



The original sin is selfishness and pride that preside over all acts of man’s life; It is the demon of envy and jealousy that gnaw at his heart; It is the ambition that disturbs his sleep; It is the greed that cannot be satisfied by his voracity for profit; It is the love and thirst for gold, this essential element to satisfy all the demands of luxury, comfort and well-being, that pursues the century with such ardor.



Here is the original sin proclaimed by Genesis, and that man has always concealed in himself; it will not be erased until the day when, aware of his high destinies, man abandons, in accordance with the lesson of the good La Fontaine, the shadow for the prey; the day when he will renounce the mirage of the earthly happiness, to turn all his aspirations towards the real happiness that is reserved for him.



May man, therefore, learn to make himself worthy of his title of leader among all created beings, and of the ethereal essence emanating from the very heart of his creator, and of which he is molded. May he be strong to fight against the tendencies of his earthly envelope, whose instincts are foreign to his divine aspirations, and cannot constitute his spiritual personality; may his sole purpose always be to gravitate towards the perfection of his final end, and the original sin will no longer exist for him."



Mr. Bonnamy is already known to our readers, who were able to appreciate the firmness, the independence of his character, and the elevation of his feelings, by the remarkable letter that we published from him in the Spiritist Review, March 1866, in the article entitled: Spiritism and the magistrature. Today, through a work of great significance, he comes resolutely to lend the support and authority of his name to a cause that, in his conscience, he considers that of humanity.



Among the already numerous followers that Spiritism has in the judiciary, Mr. Jaubert, Vice-President of the Carcassonne Court, and Mr. Bonnamy, investigating judge in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, are the first who have openly displayed the flag; and they did it, not on the day after victory, but at the time of the struggle, when the doctrine is under attack from its adversaries, and when its followers are still under the blow of persecution. The current and future Spiritists will know how to appreciate it and will not forget it. When a doctrine receives the votes of men so highly considered, it is the best response to the diatribes of which it may be the object.



Mr. Bonnamy's work will mark in the archives of Spiritism, not only as the first one of its kind, but above all for its philosophical importance. The author examines the doctrine, he discusses the principles from which he draws the quintessence, completely disregarding any personality, excluding any thought of coterie.

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[1] One volume in-12; price 3 francs, by post 3.5 francs. International bookshop, 15 Boulevard Montmartre in Paris.