334. All that we have said of reunions in general applies to regularly-constituted societies, which, be sides, have to contend with some special difficulties, which are born of the very tie that unites the members.
Advice on their organization having been asked of us" several times, we will here recapitulate it in a few words.
Spiritism, but lately born, is still too diversely ap preciated, too little understood in its essence, by a great number of believers, to afford a powerful bond between the members of what may be called an association.
This bond may exist between those who perceive its moral end, understand it, and apply it to themselves. Between those who see only facts more or less curious, there can be no serious bond ; putting facts above principles, a simple divergence in the manner of view ing them may be a cause of division. It is not the same with the first mentioned, for there cannot be two ways of looking at moral questions : also, it must be remarked, that wherever they meet a reciprocal confi dence attracts them to each other ; the mutual benev olence that reigns among them banishes the uneasi ness and constraint born of sensitiveness, of the pride that is offended at the least contradiction, of the ego tism that takes everything to itself. A society where such sentiments reign supreme, where all are united for the purpose of being instructed by the teachings of the spirits, and not in the hope of seeing things more or less interesting, or to make one's own opinion pre vail, — such a society, we say, would not only contain the elements of life, but would be indissoluble. Again, the difficulty of bringing together numerous homoge neous elements for this purpose, moves us to say that, in the interest of study, and for the good of the thing even, spirit reunions should be multiplied in small groups, rather than in large agglomerations. These groups, corresponding, visiting, transmitting their ob servations, may now form the nucleus of the great spiritist family, that will, some day, bring together all opinions, and unite all men in one sentiment of frater nity, sealed by Christian charity.
