The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1859

Allan Kardec

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May

Scenes of the Spirit’s Private Life

In our last number we presented the picture of the spiritual life as a whole. We followed the spirits since they leave behind their physical body and briefly sketched their occupations. Today we propose to show

them in action, therefore we have gathered several intimate scenes in the same picture, whose testimony has been given to us through the com- munications. The multiple family conversations from beyond the grave already published in this Review can give us an idea about the situation of the spirits according to their degree of progress. Here, however, there is a special kind of activity that allows us to get to know the role that they represent among us, despite our own ideas.

The theme of study whose adventures we will report was spontane- ously presented to us, showing great interest although the hero of the story is not one of those superior spirits, inhabitants of unknown worlds, but one of those who are still attached to Earth by nature; a contempo- rary spirit that has given us proofs of his identity. The action takes place around us and each one of us has a role in the story. In addition, this study of the habits of the spirits has the particular interest of showing the prog- ress of the spirits while errant, and the way through which we can help with their enlightenment.

After several unsuccessful experiments, from which his patience has triumphed, one of our friends suddenly became a magnificent psycho- graphic and hearing medium. The other day, while he was busy with the psychography, side by side with one friend of his, he obtained a strange and not very serious answer from a spirit who did not correspond to the serious character of the spirit who was actually being evoked.

Once questioned about that, in the name of God, the spirit then of- fered the name Pierre Le Flamand, a name totally unknown to the me- dium. Since then a series of conversations have been established between the medium and the spirit and later between the spirit and us.

FIRST CONVERSATION

1. Who are you? I don’t know anybody by that name. - I am one of your old colleagues from school.

2. I have no recollection.
- Don’t you remember been beaten up once?

3. It is possible. That happens among school kids. I remember some- thing of that kind but I also remember to have avenged this act. - It was I but I keep no hard feelings.

4. Thank you. But as much as I remember you were a really naughty boy.

- Now you remember. However, I did not change while alive. I was a knucklehead but deep down I was not bad. I would fight the first one who showed up. It was like a necessity to me. Once I’d turned my back the case was forgotten.

5. When and at what age did you die?
- Fifteen years ago. I was about twenty years old.

6. How did you die?
- From a young man’s madness... consequence of my poor judgment...

7. How about your family?
- I had lost my father and mother long ago; I used to live with an uncle, my only relative. If you ever go to Cambrai8 I advise you to look for him. He is an excellent person, who I am very fond of, although he disciplined me severely. But I deserved it.

8. He bears the same name as you do?
- No. There isn’t anybody else with my name in Cambrai. His name is W...; he resides at ... You will see that It is really me who is speaking with you.

NOTE: The fact was confirmed by the medium himself, in a leisure trip sometime later. He found Mr. W... at the referred ad- dress. Mr. W... confirmed that in fact he had a nephew by that name, mischievous and devilish, deceased in 1844, short after having been drafted to the military service. The spirit had not indicated such a circumstance. He did that later, spontaneously, as we will see in due course.

9. Why have you serendipitously come to me?
- It was by accident if you will but I prefer to believe that it was my good nature that brought me to you, since it seems to me that both of us are going to profit from the reestablishment of our relationship... I was here near your neighbor; appreciat- ing the pictures... but not the paintings of saints... suddenly I saw you and came by. I saw you entertained with another spirit and wanted to meddle in the conversation.

10. But why have you answered the questions addressed to the other spirit? This is not proper of an old comrade.
- I was in the presence of a serious spirit who seemed to me that was not willing to respond. I thought that he might answer if I tried to respond in his name but I was not successful. I wanted to force him to speak by not telling the truth.

11. That is not right and it could have yielded unpleasant results had I not noticed the trick.
- You would have noticed, sooner or later.

12. Tell me then how did you get in here?
- That is a good one. Since when we need to ring the bell?

13. Then you can go anywhere and get into any place?
- Of course I can and unannounced! It is not for another reason that we are spirits.

14. However, I did not think that every spirit could attend any meeting they wished to.
- Do you by any means think that your bedroom is a sanctuary and that I am not worthy of it?

15. Do answer my question seriously and stop kidding. Behold that

I have no intention of entertaining jokes and that the mystifying spirits are not welcome here.
- There are meetings of spirits in which we, the idle ones, cannot participate. That is true but it is the superior spirits that block us not you, people. As a matter of fact, when we go to a given place we know very well how to remain quiet and at a distance, if necessary. We listen and then, when we get bored, we leave... Come on! It seems that you are not happy with my visit.

16. The fact is that I do not welcome the first one who shows up and frankly, I was not impressed when you perturbed a serious conversation.
- Don’t be angry... I don’t want to bother you... I am always nice. Next time I will have myself announced.


17. So you died fifteen years ago...
- Let us make it clear. My body is dead, but I, the one talking to you, I am not dead.

NOTE: Even among the frivolous and jester spirits one finds pro- found words. That “I am not dead” contains a whole philosophy.



18. That is how I understand it. By the way, tell me something: The way you are now, can you see me with the same clarity as if when you were in your body?
- I see you even better. I was short sighted. That is why I wanted to get rid of the military service.

19. Then, as I was saying, you have been dead for fifteen years and it seems that you are as crazy as before. Does it mean that you have not progressed?
- I am what I was. Not worse, not better.

20. How do you spend your time?
- I have no other concern but to have fun and to be informed about the events which may have influence over my fate. I see many things. I spend part of the time at my friends’ houses, in the theater... Sometimes I find funny things... If the per- sons only knew that they have company when they think to be alone! Finally, I go in such a way as to make the passage of time as light as possible... I wouldn’t know how long this is going to last, however, I have been like that for a while... Have you seen many cases like that?

21. In short, are you happier now than you were when alive?
- No.

22. What is it that you are missing? You need nothing else; you no longer suffer; you are not afraid of being bankrupt; you go ev- erywhere and see everything; you are not afraid of the human concerns or diseases, or the ailments of age. Wouldn’t that be a happy life?
- I lack the reality of the pleasures. I am not sufficiently el- evated to enjoy a moral happiness. I desire everything that I see and that is my very punishment; I get bored and try to kill time the way I can! And how this lasts... I experience an indefinable qualm. I would rather feel the miseries of life than this anxiety that tortures me.


NOTE: Isn’t that an eloquent picture of the sufferings of the inferior spirits? They envy everything that they see; they have the same desires and don’t enjoy anything in reality; this must be a real torture.

23. You said you would go visiting your friends. Isn’t that a real distraction?
- My friends cannot feel my presence. Besides, they no longer even remember me. That hurts.

24. Don’t you have friends among the spirits?
- Senseless and useless like me; that get bored like me. Their company is not very nice. Those who think and are happy stay away from me.

25. Poor man! I am sorry and if I can be useful to you I will be with pleasure.
- If you only knew how these words do me good! It is the first time that I hear that.

26. Couldn’t you find opportunities when watching and listening to good things that would be useful to your progress?
- Yes, but for that it would be necessary that I would take ad- vantage of the lessons. I confess that I prefer to watch the scenes of love and mockery that have not influenced my spirit towards the good. Before coming here I was there, observ- ing pictures that would give me ideas... But let us stop that. However, I was able to resist the temptation of asking for an incarnation in order to enjoy the pleasures that I have abused so much. Now I see how much I would be mistaken. I feel that I did well coming to your house.

27. There you go! I hope that in the future, in case you want my friendship, you will give me the pleasure of not having you ob- serving those pictures which give you bad ideas; that on the con- trary, you may think of those things that you may hear among us, good and useful to you. You will feel good, believe me.
- If it is what you want, I will wish that too.

28. When you go to the theater do you experience the same emotions as from when you were alive?
- Several different emotions. At first those; then I meddle into the conversations and hear very singular things.

29. What is your favorite theater?
- “Les Variétés” – In fact, I frequently go around all of them in the same evening. I also go to the balls and places of amusement.

30. Then you learn at the same time that you have fun, since you can observe a lot in your position.
- Yes but what I enjoy the most is certain conversations. It is really interesting to see the maneuvering of certain people, particularly of those who still want to pretend to be young. Nobody tells the truth with all those words. They paint their hearts very much like the makeup they wear so that nobody understands anybody. I did study their habits.

31. There you go! Don’t you see that we can establish good conversa- tions, like this one, from which we can both benefit?
- Certainly. As you say, first you, then me. You have to attend your bodily needs. I can walk all possible steps to learn with- out any prejudice to my existence.

32. Then you will continue your observations or, as you say, your studies of the habits. So far you have not taken advantage of them. It is necessary that they may serve your enlightenment for which you must carry them out with a serious objective and not to have fun and buy time. You will tell me what you have seen. We will reason together and come to the conclusions aiming at our mutual instruction.
- This is going to be very interesting. Yes, I am at your services, no doubt.

33.That is not all. I would like to offer you an occasion for the prac- tice of a good deed. Do you want that?

- With all my heart! Then, they will say that I can be useful to something. Please go on and tell me what I must do.

34. Slow down! I don’t assign such delicate missions to those that I don’t trust enough. You have good will, no doubt. Will you also have the necessary perseverance? That is the question. It is then necessary that I teach you to know yourself better so that you will know what you are capable of doing and how much I can count on you. We will speak another time.
- You will see.

35. Bye for now!
- So long.


SECOND CONVERSATION


36. Then, my dear Peter, have you given a serious thought to what we discussed the other day?
- More than you think. I have decided to prove to you that I have more value than I show. I feel more at ease since I have something to do. Now I have an objective and no longer feel bored.

37. I spoke about you with Mr. Allan Kardec. I told him about our conversation with which he was very happy. He wants to be in touch with you.
- I know. I was in his house.

38. Who took you there?
- Your thoughts. I came back here after that day; I noticed that you wanted to talk to him about me and then I said to myself: Let us go there first; I will possibly find material for observa- tion and may find an occasion to be useful.

39. I like to see you with such serious thoughts. What was your im- pression of the visit?
- Oh! It was great. I learned things that I did not suspect and that clarify me regarding my future. It is like a light source inside of me. Now I understand everything that I have to gain from my betterment... it is necessary... it is necessary.

40. Could I ask you, without an indiscretion, about what you saw there?
- Certainly. Not only what I saw there but also in other places, however I will only tell you what I want to, what I can...

41. How come? You cannot say everything that you wish to?
- No. Since a few days now I see a spirit that seems to be following me everywhere, that pushes or stops me. One could say that he drives me. I feel an impulse whose origin I ignore but obey, irrespectively. If I want to say or do something inappro- priate he stands before me, looks at me and I silence... I stop.

42. Who is that spirit?
- I don’t know, but he dominates me.

43. Why don’t you ask him?
- I dare not. When I want to speak with him he looks at me and I feel my tongue got tied.

NOTE: It is evident that the word tongue here is used in the figurative sense. The spirits have no articulated language.

44. You must feel if he is good or bad.
- He must be good since he blocks me from saying silly things.
But he is strict... Sometimes he shows rage; some other times he looks at me kindly... I had the intuition that it could be the spirit of my father that wants to go unidentified.

45. It is possible. It seems that he is not very happy with you. Listen. I will give you some news about that. We know that the parents have the mission of educating their children leading them to the good. Consequently they are responsible for their good or evil deeds, ac- cording to the education that they received; hence the parents suf- fer or are happy in the spiritual world. The behavior of the children thus influence, up to a certain degree, the happiness or misfortune of their parents after their death. Since your behavior was not very constructive while on Earth and since you have not done much af- ter your death, your father suffers with all that in case he is blaming himself for not having guided you properly...

- If I did not become a good man it was not due to a lack of reproof, more than once.

46. Perhaps it was the best way of changing you. Nevertheless, his affection for you is always the same and he demonstrates that by getting closer to you, I suppose. He must feel happy with your recent changes. That explains his oscillations between kindness and rage. He wants to help you in the good path that you have just entered and when he sees you resolutely walking that path he will identify himself. Thus, working towards your own happiness you will also work towards his. I would not be surprised if it were him who pushed you here. If he did not do it before was to give you time to understand the hollowness of your existence without accomplishments; he wanted you to feel that sorrow.

- Thank you, thank you! He is here, behind you! He rests his hand on your head, as if dictating the words that you have just said.
47. Let us return to Mr. Allan Kardec.
- I went to his house yesterday. He was busy, writing in his office... He was working on a new book... Ah! He takes good care of us, poor spirits. If we are not known it is not his fault.
48. Was he alone?
- Yes alone – that is, there was no other person with him. However, there was about twenty spirits around him, whis- pering above his head.

49. Has he heard them?
- He heard them so well that he looked around to try to establish the origin of the noises, trying to see if they were not coming from thousands of flies. Then he opened the window to see if that was not coming from the wind or rain.

NOTE: The fact is absolutely exact.


50. Do you recognize any of those spirits?
- No. They are not those in which company I pleased myself. I had the impression that I was an intruder. I remained in a corner of the room, observing.

51. Have the spirits given the impression that they were observing what he was writing?
- I believe so. Two or three in particular whispered what he was writing, giving the impression that they heard the opinion of the others. However, he strongly believed that the ideas were his and seemed happy with that.

52. Was that all?
- Then a group of about eight or ten people came in and joined Mr. Kardec in another room. They were talking. Asking questions that he responded, explained.

53. Do you know those persons?
- No. The only thing I know is that they seemed to be important for one was always referred to as Prince and the other Duke. The spirits also arrived in a large crowd. There was at least a hundred from which some had a kind of crown of fire. The others remained at a distance, listening.

54. And you, what did you do?
- I was listening too. Mostly observing. Then I had the idea of doing something useful to Mr. Kardec. When I am success- ful I will tell you about it. Then I left the meeting strolling around the streets, enjoying myself around the shops, med- dling with the crowds.

55. Then, instead of going about your business you were wasting your time?
- I did not waste it since I stopped a crime.

56. Ah! Then you are also involved with police matters?
- Why not? I was walking by across from a closed store when I noticed that there was something strange happening inside; I went in and saw a very agitated young man, walking up and down as if deciding to break into the cashier. There were two spirits with him, whispering into his ears: Come on, you coward! The drawer is full; you will have a lot of fun, etc. The other had a delicate face, nice and noble, something of celes- tial and good in his looks. He said: leave, leave now! While whispering the words: prison, dishonor.

The man hesitated. Once he approached the counter I po- sitioned myself in front of him, so as to impede him. The bad spirit asked why I was getting involved. I told him that I wanted to stop the young man from doing something wrong that could lead him to the dungeons. Then the good spirit approached me and said: “He needs to suffer the temptation; it is a trial. If he fails, it will be his fault.” The thief would triumph after the bad spirit had employed a disgusting but successful trick: He led the man to see a bottle on the table. It was liquor. He inspired in the man the idea of drinking it to have the courage. The unfortunate man is lost, I thought... Let us try so save something at least. I have no resource other than informing the owner... Quick! In a split second I was there. He was about to initiate a card game with his wife; I had to find a way of making him go downstairs.

57. If he were a medium you could have him writing that he was about to be mugged. Do you think that he would at least believe in spirits?
- He was not spirited enough to understand that.

58. I did not know that you were skillful in word playing.
- If you interrupt me I will say no more. I provoked a violent sneeze in that man. He felt like taking a snuff and then no- ticed that he had left the container in the store. He woke his son up who was snoring at a corner of the room, sending him to fetch the box. That was not what I wanted... the boy stood up complaining. I whispered to the mother the words: do not wake the boy up, you can go and fetch it yourself. He finally made the decision and went... I followed him to speed him up. Once he got to the store he noticed the lights on and heard a noise. He was afraid, his legs trembling; I forced him forward. Had he suddenly entered he would have trapped the thief. Instead, the stupid started screaming thief, thief! The criminal escaped but in the rush and altered by the alcohol he left his hat behind. When the shop owner entered the store there was nobody inside...What is going to happen to the hat? That is not up to me. That man is in trouble. Thanks to me there was no time for the crime to be perpetrated, the businessman was saved by fear. This was not enough to stop him from saying, when he went back upstairs, that he had confronted a six-foot tall man. Look at this, he said. If I did not have the idea of taking a snuff! Had I not stopped you from sending the child, said the woman. Let us agree that both of us had a premonition. It was a real luck! Now you, my dear, you can thank me!

59. You are brave my dear Peter. I congratulate you. Don’t feel dis- couraged by people’s ungratefulness. You will experience it many times now that you are prepared to serve them, even among those who believe in the intervention of the spirits.
- Yes, I know. The ungrateful will be paid with ingratitude.

60. I now see that I can count on you and that you will become really serious.
- You will see that later it will be me who will teach you moral.

61. I do need that as any person does and receives the good advices with good will, coming from wherever. I told you that I wanted you to do a good deed. Are you ready?
- And do you doubt it?

62. One of my friends seems to be on the verge of great deceptions if he continues in the current path; his illusions may lose him. I would like to have you helping him to return to the good path, by any means that could strongly impress him. Do you understand my thought?
- Yes. You want me to produce some good manifestation to him, like an apparition for example. But that does not de- pend on me. However, I can eventually and as long as I have permission for that, give him patent signs of my presence, as you know.

NOTE: The medium to whom this spirit seems to be linked feels his presence by a very strong impression, even when he is not willing to contact him. He acknowledges his presence by a kind of shivers in his arms, back and shoulders. The effects, however, are sometimes more energetic. In our gathering in my house, on March 24th last, this spirit answered the questions through another medium. We were talking about his physical strength. Suddenly, as if wanting to give a proof of that, he grabbed one of the attendees by the leg, which was violently shaken and thrown to the other side of the room, stunned.


63. Do as you please, or better, as you can. I warn you that he has some mediumistic capability.
- Even better to my plans.

64. What are your plans?
- I will study the situation, to start with. I will check the spirits who surround him and if there is any way of doing something with them. I will announce my presence at his house, as I did with you. I will be questioned and will respond: “It is me, Pierre Le Flamand, spiritual messenger. I come to be at your service and I heard that you entertain certain ideas that are transforming your mind, already making you turn your back to your friends. It is my duty to warn you, in your own interest, that your ideas are far from useful to your future happiness. You have Le Flamand’s word. I can assure you that I visit you with the best of the intentions. Be afraid of the spirits’ wrath and even further, God’s wrath; and believe in the words of your servant who wishes to affirm that his mis- sion is for the general well-being.
If I am kicked out I will return three times. Then I will see what needs to be done. Is that okay?

65. Well done my friend. Say no more or less.
- Word by word.

66. But if you are asked about who has assigned you with that mis- sion, what will you say?
- Superior spirits. For good, I may not say the whole truth.

67. You are mistaken. Since it is good, it is always by inspiration of the good spirits. Thus, your conscience may be at peace since the bad spirits will never lead us to do good things.
- It is clear.

68. I thank you and congratulate you for your good resolution. When do you want me to evoke you to present the results of your mission?
- I will let you know.

(Continue in the next issue)




Music from Beyond the Grave

Mozart

The spirit of Mozart has just dictated a piece of a sonata to our ex- cellent medium, Mr. Bryon-Dorgeval. As a means of assessing the work, the medium had the piece heard by several artists, not indicating its origin, but only asking for their opinion about the piece. Each of them acknowledged, without hesitation, Mozart’s style. The piece was executed in the session of the Society on April 8th last, in the presence of several knowledgeable persons, of Ms. Davans, Chopin’s pupil and distinguished pianist, who kindly provided us with her service.

As an element of comparison, Ms. Davans executed beforehand a sonata that Mozart had composed when alive. Everyone unanimously agreed, not only with the similarity of styles, but also with the superior- ity of the spirit’s composition. Then the same pianist executed a piece of Chopin with his typical talent.

We could not let the opportunity of evoking both composers escape, then having the following conversation:


1. You know for sure the reason why we called you. - Your call pleases me.

2. Do you acknowledge as yours the piece that we have just heard? - Yes, very much so. I recognize it perfectly well. The medium who served as my interpreter is a friend that has not betrayed me.

3. Which one do you prefer?
- The second one, no doubt.

4. Why?
- The sweetness and charm are more tender and lively in that one.

NOTE: These are the qualities indicated by others in the piece.

5. Can the music in the world where you live compare to ours?
- You would have difficulty understanding it. We enjoy senses that you still don’t have.

6. We were told that there is a natural, universal harmony in your world that we do not know here.
- It is true. You create music on Earth; here, the whole nature produces melodious sounds.

7. Could you play piano?
- No doubt I could. But I don’t want to. It would be useless. 8. It would, however, be a powerful means of conviction.
- Aren’t you convinced?

NOTE: Everyone knows that the spirits do not submit themselves to trials. They frequently and spontaneously do what we have not asked them to do. As a matter of fact, this type of manifesta- tion would fall in the category of the physical manifestations, not proper of the superior spirits.



9. What do you think about the recent publication of your letters?
- They vivified my memory a lot.


10. Your memories are in everyone’s memory. Could you describe the effect that these letters had on public opinion?
- Yes. They made me more loved. People got more connected to me as a man than before.

NOTE: The person that framed the last questions, in reality strange to the Society, confirmed that as the actual opinion produced in public opinion.

11. We would like to question Chopin. Would that be possible? Yes. He is sadder and more somber than I am.


Chopin
12. (After the evocation) – Could you tell us about your situation as a spirit?
- Still errant.

13. Do you miss your Earthly life?
- I am not unhappy.

14. Are you happier than before?
- Yes, a little.

15. You say a little, meaning that there isn’t much difference. What is it missing so that you can be even happier?
- I say a little for what I could have been, since with my intelligence I could have advanced more than I did.

16. Do you expect to achieve the happiness you miss now?
- It will certainly come but new trials will be needed.

17. Mozart said that you are more somber and sad. Why so?
- Mozart told the truth. I get sad because I did not accomplish a committed assignment and do not have the courage to restart.


18. How do you see your musical compositions?
- I have them in high account. However, we do it better among us here, particularly when we have more resources.

19. Who are the members of your orchestra?
- We have legions of musicians at our service that play our com- positions with a thousand more talents than any one among you. These are complete musicians. They use their throats as instruments, so to speak, supported by instruments similar to organs that retain incredible accuracy and sound quality that I believe you cannot begin to comprehend.

20. Are you really an errant spirit?
- Yes. That is, I do not exclusively belong to any planet.

21. How about your musicians, are they errant as well?
- Errant like me.


22. (To Mozart) could you kindly explain what Chopin has just said? We do not understand that execution of music by the errant spirits.
- I understand your surprise. However, we have already said that there are particular worlds destined to errant beings, worlds that can be temporarily inhabited, a kind of bivouac or makeshift resting camp to these spirits, fatigued by a long erraticity, an always somewhat painful state.

23. (To Chopin) do you recognize one of your students here?
- Yes. It seems.

24. Could you kindly watch the execution of a piece of your composition?
- That would give me great pleasure, particularly having it ex- ecuted by a person that has kept a good memory of me. Please transmit my appreciation to him.


25. Can you give us your opinion about Mozart’s music?
- I like it very much. I consider Mozart my master.

26. Would you share that opinion with respect to today’s music?
- Mozart said that music was better understood in his time than nowadays. That is true. I will object, however, that there still are true artists.



NOTE: The fragment of sonata dictated by the spirit of Mozart has just been published. It may be acquired from the office of the Spiritist Review or from the bookstore of Mr. Ledoyen, Palais Royal, Galerie d’Orleans, 31. Price 2 francs – it will be posted against a mail order of that amount.



Intermediate or Transient Worlds

We saw in one of the answers given in the previous article that, as it seems, there would be worlds destined to errant spirits. Such an idea was not in the mind of any of the attendees and nobody would have thought of that except from the spontaneous revelation given by Mozart, what can be a proof that the spiritist communications may be independent of all preconceived ideas. Aiming at obtaining a more profound knowl- edge in that field, we submitted it to another spirit, outside of the Society, and through another medium, who had no knowledge about the subject.

1. (To St. Augustine) – Are there worlds which serve as stations to errant spirits or like resting places, as we were told?
- There are but they represent different degrees, that is, occupy an intermediary position among the worlds, according to the nature of the spirits that seek them, enjoying a greater or a lesser well being there.

2. Can the spirits that inhabit those worlds leave them at will?
- Yes. The spirits that inhabit them can leave and go where they please. Imagine them as migrating birds that can land on an island in order to recover their energies so as to move on with their destinies.

3. Do the spirits progress while inhabiting such intermediate worlds? - Certainly. Those who gather like that do it for their instruc- tion and more easily obtain permission to go to better places, achieving the position of the elected ones.

4. Such worlds, for their special nature, are eternally reserved to errant spirits?
- No. Their situation is transient.

5. Are they simultaneously inhabited by corporeal beings?
- No.

6. Is their constitution similar to other planets?
- Yes, but their constitution is sterile.

7. Why that sterility?
- Those who inhabit them need nothing.

8. Such sterility is permanent and due to their special nature?
- No. They are temporarily sterile.

9. Then such worlds lack natural beauties?
- Nature is translated by the beauties of the immeasurable that are not less remarkable than those which you call natural beauties.

10. Are there worlds like that in our planetary system?
- No.

11. Since this is a transient state, will Earth one day be in such a state?
- It has already been.

12. In which period?
- During its formation.

NOTE: Once more this communication confirms that nothing is useless in nature. Everything has an objective, a destiny; there is no emptiness, everything is inhabited; life is everywhere. Thus, during the long series of centuries that passed before human beings appeared on Earth; during those slow periods of transition, confirmed by the geological layers; even before the formation of the first organic beings, over that shapeless form; in that aridchaos where the elements were mixed together, there was no absence of life. Beings that did not have our needs, or the physical sensations, took refuge here. It was God’s will that even in that imperfect state, Earth was useful for something. Who then would dare say that among those thousands of globes that move in space, only one, and one of the smallest among all, lost in the crowd, would have the exclusive privilege of being inhabited? What would then be the utility of the others? Would God have created them to please our eyes? This is an absurd supposi- tion, incompatible with the wisdom that shines from all of God’s works. Nobody can dispute the fact that there is in this idea of the worlds, still inadequate to the material life, but inhabited by living beings appropriate to the environment, something of gran- diose and sublime, in which perhaps there is the solution to many problems.



Bond between Body and Spirit

One of our lady friends, Mrs. Schutz, perfectly attached to this world, who does not seem to be willing to leave it soon, was evoked in her sleep, giving us more than once proof of perspicacity while in that state.

One day, or better, one evening, after a long conversation, she said: “I am fatigued. I need some rest. I am going to sleep. My body needs that.”

I then responded: “Your body can rest. I do not wish to cause you any harm by talking to you. It is your spirit that is here, not your body. You could then entertain my questions without hurting your body.”

She replied: “You are wrong. My spirit separates a little bit from my body, but it is like a captive balloon, tied by ropes. When the balloon suffers the bumps of the turbulent winds, the pole feels the effects trans- mitted by the ties. My body represents the pole to my spirit, with the difference that it experiences sensations unknown to the pole and such sensations significantly fatigue the brain. That is why my body requires some rest, as does my spirit.”

According to the lady’s own declaration, she had never thought of that explanation before, which showed perfectly well the existing relation- ships between the body and the spirit, whilst the latter enjoys partial free- dom. We knew well that the absolute separation only happens after death and even some time later. However, that connection had never been so clearly and impressively described to us. Thus, we congratulate that lady who, even in her sleep, has demonstrated to bear such a lively spirit. For us, however, it was not more than an ingenious comparison. The image has lately taken the proportions of reality.

While visiting us Mr. R..., a former resident minister of the USA, together with the King of Naples, a knowledgeable man in matters of Spiritism, asked if we had already observed any distinction between the spirit of a living person and that of a deceased one, as it relates to the phe- nomena of the apparitions. In short, when a spirit appears spontaneously, be in the vigil state or during the sleep, if we have any means of recogniz- ing if the person is dead or alive. Learning that we had no means other than asking the spirit, he then said that he knew a clairvoyant medium in England endowed by a great faculty, who says that every time a spirit of a living person shows up to him, he notices a shiny trail, starting at the chest of the apparition, traveling through space and not blocked by any material obstacle, terminating at the body. It is a kind of umbilical cord that unites the momentarily separated parts of the living being. He had never seen such a thing when there was no corporeal life. That is how he recognizes when the spirit is of a dead or living person.

The comparison made by Mrs. Schutz came to mind, thus we took it as a confirmation of the fact that we have just reported. However, we will make an observation with that regard.

It is a known fact that the separation, at the time of death, is not sudden. The perispirit detaches gradually while the perturbation stands, keeping some affinity with the body. Couldn’t that be the case that the bond observed by the medium, described above, was present at the very moment of death, or a few moments later, as it frequently happens? In that case the presence of the cord would not be an indication that the person is alive.

Mr. R... could not tell us if the medium had made such an observa- tion. In any case it is not less important, shinning a new light onto what we can call the physiology of the spirits.





L’Univers (The Universe) Article – A Rebuttal

In their latest April 13th edition, the journal The Universe brings an article authored by Abbot Chesnel, in which the problem of Spiritism is extensively discussed. We would have left it without an answer as done to so many others to which we gave no importance, had it been one of those gross diatribes from their authors revealing the most absolute ignorance about the subject.

We have the satisfaction of acknowledging that the article by Abbot Chesnel was written in a completely different way. By the moderation and convenience of the language he deserves an answer, even more so since the article contains a serious mistake and may give a false idea of Spiritism as a whole, as well as impact the character and objective of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies.

Below is the transcript of the original article:

“Everybody knows the spiritualism of Mr. Cousin that is based on the philosophy destined to gradually replace religion. Under the same title, we have today a body of revealed doctrines that gradually becomes complete. It is a really simple cult but of wonderful efficacy as it would allow the devotees to be in a real sensitive and almost permanent communication with the supernatural world.”


“Such a cult has periodical meetings, initiated by the evocation of a canonized saint. As soon as the faithful attest the presence of St. Louis, King of France, they ask him to prohibit the entry of the evil spirits in the temple, then reading the minutes of the previous meeting. Then, invited by the President, a medium is called to the podium, near the Secretary in charge of annotating the questions addressed by one of the experts and the answers given by the evoked spirit. The assembly intensely watches the scene of necromancy, sometimes very lengthy, and once the session is over people leave more convinced than ever about the truths of spiritualism. During the interval between two sessions members do not forget to keep in close but private contact with the spirits who are more accessible or dear to them. There are many mediums and almost no secret in the other life which the mediums don’t end up by penetrating.”

“Once revealed to the faithful, those secrets are no longer kept away from the public. The Spiritist Review published every month and with regularity, does not deny subscription to the profane and to whoever may wish to be able to acquire the books containing the revealing texts, with their authentic comments.”

“We would be led to believe that a religion that consists uniquely in the evocation of the dead would be very hostile to the Catholic Church which has always prohibited the practice of witchcraft. But such petty feelings, however natural they may seem, are strange to the hearts of the spiritualists, as they say. They are worthy of the message of the Gospel and its Author. They acknowledge that Jesus lived, acted, spoke and suf- fered as told by our four Evangelists. The Evangelical Doctrine is true but that revelation, of which Jesus was the instrument, far from exclud- ing progress, must be completed. Spiritualism is what is going to give the Gospels the missing robust interpretation and the complementation waited for eighteen centuries.”

“Besides, who can establish limits to the progress of Christianity as taught, interpreted and developed as it is by the souls not bonded to mat- ter, strange to the Earthly passions, to our human interests and prejudic- es? The infinite itself unfolds before us. Well, infinite is boundless and all indications are that the revelation of infinite will proceed uninterrupted. As the centuries move on, revelations will be added to revelations with their endless mysteries, whose extension and profundity seem to increase since they are freed from the obscurity which surrounded them up until now.”

“Thus, spiritualism is a religion since it places us in an intimate rela- tionship with the infinite, broadening Christianity even further; it is eas- ily recognized as the most elevated, the purest and most perfect religious form, from past to present. However, boosting Christianity is a difficult task that cannot be accomplished without removing the barriers behind which it remains entrenched. The rationalists respect no wall. Less ardent and better informed, the spiritualists only find two barriers whose rupture seems indispensable to them: the authority of the Catholic Church and the dogma of the eternal penalties.”

“Is this life the only trial that the individual has to endure? Will the tree forever remain where it has fallen? Is the state of the soul, after death, definitive, irrevocable and eternal? No, answers the spiritualist necro- mancy. Nothing ends with death. Everything restarts. Death is a starting point of a new incarnation, of a new life, a new experience.”

“According to the German pantheism, God is not the being but the eternal being to be. However God may be, the human being has no other destiny to the Parisian spiritualists but the progressive or regressive state, according to the merits and works. The moral or religious law has a true sanction in the other lives, where the good ones are rewarded and the bad ones punished but for a more or less lengthy period of time, of years or centuries, but not for the whole eternity.”

“Would spiritualism be the mystical form of mistake envisaged by the theologian Mr. Jean Reynaud? Perhaps!”

“Would it be possible to go further and say that between Mr. Reynaud and the new sectaries there is a closer connection than that of an identity of doctrines? Maybe still. But such question, due to a lack of sound infor- mation, will not be definitely resolved here.”

“What is important, much more than the relationship or the he- retical alliances of Mr. Jean Reynaud, is the confusion of ideas whose manifestation is the progress of spiritualism; ignorance with respect to religion is what allows so much extravaganza; the frivolity with which really distinguished people accept such revelations from the other world, having no merit whatsoever, even that of the novelty.”

“It is necessary to go back to Pythagoras and to the Egyptian priests to discover the origins of the contemporary spiritualism. We will find them by browsing the archives of the animal magnetism.”

“Since the XVIII century, necromancy represented an important role in the practice of magnetism. Several years before hearing about the rap- ping spirits of America, certain French magnetizers obtained the confir- mation of the doctrines condemned by the Church, as they said, from the mouth of the dead or the demons, and specially the mistakes of Origen relative to the future conversion of the bad angels and the outcasts.”

“It is also necessary to say that the spiritualist medium, while exer- cising his functions, is not much different from the subject in the hands of the magnetizer, and the circle which surrounds the revelations of the former does not go even beyond what blurs the vision of the latter.”

“The teachings obtained by public curiosity about private matters, through necromancy, generally do not teach anything that is not already known. The answer of the spiritualist medium is obscure in points that our own personal research could not clarify; it is clear and precise in those that are well-known to us; it remains quiet with respect to every- thing which escapes our studies and efforts. In one word, as it seems the medium has a magnetic vision of our soul, but does not uncover any- thing already written there. Such interpretation, apparently very simple, is however subjected to several difficulties. In fact, it presupposes that one soul may be able to read what is in the deepest of another soul, with- out the support of signs and independently of the will of someone who would become an open and perfectly readable book to the first who shows up. Well, the good and bad angels do not naturally enjoy such privilege among themselves in their mutual relationships or with us. It is only God who can immediately penetrate and scrutinize the inner souls of the most stubbornly shut to God’s light.”


“If the so called strangest spiritualist facts are authentic, it is then necessary to resort to other principles to explain them. We generally for- get that the facts refer to an issue that strongly concerns the heart or the intelligence; which has led to extensive research and about which we fre- quently speak outside of the spiritualist environment. Under such condi- tions, which should not be neglected, certain knowledge of things which are of our own interest does not go beyond the natural limits of the spirits’ power.”

“At any rate, the spectacle offered to us these days is nothing more than an evolution of magnetism, struggling to become a religion.”

“Under the dogmatic and polemic format given by Mr. Jean Reynaud, the new religion incurred in the condemnation of the Périgueux Council, whose authority, as everybody remembers, was gravely denied by the culprit.”

“Given the mystic format that it now takes place in Paris, it deserves to be investigated, at least as a sign of the current times in which we live. Spiritualism has attracted a number of people, among which there are some distinctly well known around the world. The power of seduction that the spiritualism exerts; its slow but uninterrupted progress, witnessed by trustworthy people; the boasted pretensions; the problems it presents; the harm it can cause to the souls, all those are, no doubt, many listed reasons to attract the attention of Catholics. Let us be careful in not at- tributing more importance to the new sect than it deserves. Nevertheless, in order to avoid the exaggeration which amplifies everything, let us not be tricked by the denial of all things.”

Nolite omni spiritui credere, sed probate spiritus si ex Deo sint, quo- niam multi pseudoprophetae prodierunt in mundum. I John, 4:1.”

L’Abbé François Chesnel


Mr. Abbot,

Your article published in L’Univers, with respect to Spiritism,

contains several mistakes which need to be rectified and, no doubt, are originated from an incomplete study of the subject. In order to refute them all it would be necessary to refer to the basis, to all points of the theory, as well as to the facts that substanti- ate them. I do not intend to do here and will limit to the main points.

You were right by saying that the spiritist ideas have attracted a certain number of people, among which some are distinctly known in the world. This fact, whose truthfulness goes much beyond your imagination, undeniably deserves the attention of serious people, since so many celebrities known for their notable intelligence, knowledge and social positions do not fall in love with an idea which has no foundation. The natural conclusion is that there must be something concrete here to assess.

You will certainly object that certain doctrines, religions, and social activities have found followers lately in the heart of the in- tellectual aristocracy. This situation has not spared them from ridicule. Thus, people of intelligence may be dragged by utopias.

In response I will say that the utopias are short lived. Reason will prevail, sooner or later. That is what is going to happen to Spiritism, if proven a utopia. However, if it is the truth, it will then triumph over every opposition and sarcasm, and I will even say, over all persecutions, if these still belong to our century, and the detractors will waste their time. Whatever the price, the oppo- nents will have to accept it, as so many other things were accepted against the protests that were raised in the name of reason. Is Spiritism true? The future will tell. It seems, however, that there is already an announcement; such is the speed of propagation of these ideas. Also carefully notice that it is not within the ignorant and illiterate classes that the acknowledgment takes place. It is, on the contrary, among the educated people.


It is still important to consider that all philosophical doc- trines are the work of people, whose ideals are more or less grandi- ose, more or less just. They all have a leader uniting all those who share the same principle.

Who is the author of Spiritism? Who has envisaged such a theory, right or wrong? It is true that it was necessary to coordi- nate, formulate and explain it. But who has conceived the initial idea? Nobody did. Or even better, everybody, since everybody could see and those who did not see was because they did not want to see or wanted to see it their own way, not breaking the circle of their preconceived ideas, what led them to see and judge poorly. Spiritism derives from observations that can be carried out by everyone, observations which are the privilege of nobody, thus explaining its propagation. Spiritism is not the result of any individual system, a circumstance that distinguishes it from all other philosophical doctrines.

Those revelations from the other world, you say, don’t even have the merit of novelty. Would merit demand novelty? Who has ever declared that Spiritism is a modern discovery? Those com- munications, as a consequence of nature and produced by the will of God, are part of the immutable laws with which God governs the world. Consequently, they must have existed since the hu- man being exists on Earth. That is why we find it in the remotest antiquity, among all peoples, both in their profane as well as in their sacred history. The ancestry and universality of such a be- lief are arguments in its favor. The conclusion that this would be unfavorable to the doctrine is, before anything else, lack of logic.

You then say that the faculty of the mediums is not much dif- ferent from that of the subjects in the hands of the magnetizers, or in other words, of the somnambulist. Let us even admit that there is a perfect identity. What would be the cause of that remarkable somnambulistic clairvoyance, which finds no obstacle in matter or distance, and that occurs without the support of the organs of vision? Wouldn’t that be the most patent demonstration of the existence and individuality of the soul, the axle of religion?

If I were a clergyman and wanted to give a sermon, prov- ing that there is something in us more than the body, I would undeniably demonstrate it through the phenomena of natural or artificial somnambulism. If mediumship is nothing but a variety of somnambulism, its effects are not less worthy of observation. I would find in them an additional proof in favor of my thesis and would use it as a new weapon against atheism and materialism.

All of our faculties are the works of God. The greater and the more wonderful they are, the more they attest God’s power and benevolence.

As for myself who has carried out special studies about som- nambulism for thirty five years; who has considered somnam- bulism as a not less profound faculty than so many others of mediumship, I assure you, as everyone else who does not pass judgment by just analyzing one face of the problem, that the me- dium is endowed by a particular faculty which does not allow it to be confused with that of the somnambulist and that the complete independence of the medium’s thought is demonstrated by facts of ample evidence to anyone who is properly positioned with the required conditions to observe with impartiality.

Abstractions are made by direct written communications. Has a somnambulist ever made a single thought come out of an inert body? Which one has ever produced visible and even tan- gible apparitions? Which one has ever been able to maintain a heavy body suspended in the air without a supporting point? Was it through a somnambulistic effect that a medium can draw the portrait of a young lady, deceased eighteen months prior, who the medium had never met before and whose picture was recognized by her father who was present at my house, fifteen days ago, in the presence of twenty eye witnesses? Would it be through an ef- fect of somnambulism that a table accurately responds to framed questions and even to mental questions? We can certainly admit that the medium was magnetized. It would be difficult to believe that the table, however, was somnambulistic.

You say that the medium cannot speak with clarity unless it is about known things. How to explain the following fact and hundreds of others of the same kind, that have happened multiple times and of my personal knowledge?

One of my friends, an excellent psychographic medium, en- quiries a spirit about a person with whom he had lost contact for over fifteen years, asking if that person would still be alive. “Yes”, responded the spirit: “the person is still alive, living in Paris, num- ber... street...” My friend goes there and finds the person at the indicated address.

Is it an illusion? Could it be that his own thought had sug- gested such an answer? If in certain cases the answer may coincide with the thought, would that be rational to conclude that it is a general law?

In that respect, as with everything else, the hasty judgments are always dangerous, for they can be refuted by facts that were not analyzed.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Abbot, my intention is not to provide a course in Spiritism here, nor to discuss if it is right or wrong. As it has already been said, it would be sufficient to remind you about several facts that I have mentioned in the Spiritist Review as well as the explanations given in my many texts.

I then come to the part of your article, Your Most Reverend, which seems most important to me.

You gave the title to your article: “A New Religion in Paris”. Supposing that this would really be the character of Spiritism, you would have made there your first mistake, since Spiritism is far from been circumscribed to Paris. It counts on millions of adepts spread in all five continents, and Paris was not its primitive focus.


Second, is Spiritism a religion? It is easy to demonstrate the opposite.

Spiritism is based on the existence of an invisible world, formed by incorporeal beings that inhabit space, and who are not but the souls of those who lived on Earth or in other worlds, where they have left their material envelopes. We gave those be- ings the name, or even better, they gave themselves the name of spirits. These beings surround us continuously, exerting a power- ful influence onto human beings, despite people’s will. They play a very active role in the moral world, and to a certain degree, in the physical world. Thus, Spiritism belongs to nature and one can say that, from a certain point of view, Spiritism is a force of nature, like electricity is another and the universal gravitation is a third one.

Spiritism unveils invisible worlds, as the microscope has re- vealed the world of the infinitely small, whose existence we did not suspect. Therefore, the phenomena whose source is the invis- ible world must have been produced and were produced at all times, as well covered by the history of all peoples. It was only people that in their ignorance have attributed such phenomena to causes more or less hypothetical, allowing a free path to imagina- tion in that respect, as done to all phenomena whose causes were imperfectly known.

A better observed Spiritism since its popularization comes to shed light onto a large number of problems that were unsolved or poorly solved hitherto. Its true character is then of a science and not of a religion and the proof is that it counts on people of all beliefs in its rows, people who have not renounced to their con- victions because of that: fervent Catholics who practice all duties of their cult; Protestants of all sects; Jewish, Muslims and even Buddhists and Brahmans. There is everything but materialists and atheists since these ideas are incompatible with the spiritist principles.

Hence, Spiritism is founded on general principles indepen- dent of every dogmatic question. It is true that it has moral consequences, like all philosophical sciences. Such consequences are compatible with Christianity because from all doctrines, Christianity is the most enlightened and the purest, reason why from all religious sects in the world, the Christians are the ones more capable of comprehending Spiritism in its true essence.

Spiritism then is not a religion. Otherwise it would have its cult, its temples, and its ministers.

There is no doubt that every person may transform their own beliefs into a religion and interpret the existing religions at will, but from this to the constitution of a new church there is a great distance and I believe it to be imprudent to follow such an idea.

In summary, Spiritism deals with the observation of the facts and not with the particularities of this or that belief; with the research of the causes; with the explanation that the facts may give to the known phenomena, from a moral as well as a physical point of view, not imposing any cult to its adepts, the same way that Astronomy does not impose a cult to the stars, nor the pyro- technics a cult to the fire.

Even more: as Sabianism was born from a poorly understood Astronomy, the badly understood Spiritism in ancient times was the source of Polytheism. Today, thanks to the lights of Christianity, we can assess Spiritism more appropriately. Spiritism positions us better against the wrong systems, originated by igno- rance. And religion itself can find in Spiritism the tangible proof of many truths contested by certain opinions. Thus, marching against the opinion of most philosophical sciences, one of its ef- fects is to lead back to the religious ideas those who have deviated by an exaggerated skepticism.

The Society to which you refer has its objective expressed in the title itself. The denomination Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies is not similar to any sect. It has such a diverse character that its regulations prohibit the discussion of religious questions. It is classified in the category of the scientific societies because its objective is to study and deeply analyze every phenomena result- ing from the relationship between the visible and the invisible worlds. It has its President, Secretary, Treasurer, as all societies do. It does not invite the public to its sessions in which there is no speech or any other thing that characterizes a cult. It proceeds with its activities with calm and privacy, first because it is a necessary condition to the observations and second because those who no longer live on Earth knowingly deserve respect. The Society evokes them in the name of God because it believes in God, in its omnipotence, and knows that nothing is done in this world with- out God’s permission. It opens the sessions with a general appeal to the good spirits, since it knows that there are good as well as bad spirits, thus assuring that the latter ones do not fraudulently meddle into the received communications, leading to mistakes.

What does it prove? It proves that we are not atheists. But in no way it implies that we are experts of a religion. The person who described what happens among us would be convinced had that person followed our works, particularly if not assessed so lightheartedly and perhaps with a less prejudiced and passionate spirit. Hence, the facts themselves object to the qualification of a new sect that you give to the Society, certainly for not knowing it better. You finish the article by calling the attention of Catholics to the harm Spiritism causes to the souls. If the consequences of Spiritism were the denial of God, of the soul, of its individual- ity after death, of human’s free will, of the future penalties and rewards, it would be a profoundly immoral doctrine. Far from that, Spiritism demonstrates those fundamental bases of religion by the facts and not by reasoning, foundations whose most dan- gerous enemy is materialism. Even further, by the consequences Spiritism teaches to withstand with resignation the miseries of this life; it mitigates despair and teaches people to love one another like brothers and sisters, according to the Divine precepts of Jesus. If you only knew, as I do, how many tough incredulous Spiritism has led back to the path; how many victims it has saved from suicide by the perspective of fate reserved to those who ab- breviate their lives, contrary to God’s law; how much hatred it has abated, bringing the enemies closer! Is it what you call do harm to the souls? No. You cannot think like that and it gives me pleasure to suppose that you would evaluate it differently had you only known it better. You will say that religion can do all that. Far from me to dispute it but do you believe that it would be better to those who were rebels when found Spiritism to be left in an absolute incredulity? If Spiritism has triumphed over that incre- dulity; if it presented them with clarity what was darkness before; if it made evident what was doubtful to them, where is the harm? As for myself I will say that instead of losing souls Spiritism has saved them.


Sincerely,


ALLAN KARDEC

The Spirits’ Book among the South American Natives

We know that The Spirits’ Book has sympathetic readers all over the world, but we wouldn’t imagine to find it among the natives of South America, had it not been for a letter that came to our hands from Lima, a few months ago, whose thorough translation seemed to us appro- priate to publish, considering the significant fact contained in that letter and its easily understandable reach. The letter has a comment that spares us from any reflection.

“Your Excellency Mr. Allan Kardec,
Forgive me for not writing in French. I can read but cannot write correctly and intelligently in French.

For more than ten years now I visit, with a certain frequency, the natives that inhabit the eastern side of the Andes, in those American regions of Peru. The Spirits’ Book that I purchased in one of those trips to Lima follows me in my solitude. Do not be surprised when I tell you that I read it with enthusiasm and that I continuously re-read it. Also, I would not bother wasting your time with so little if I did not have certain information that should be of your interest and if I did not wish to receive your advice. I have no doubt that your human feelings are in agree- ment with the sublime principles of your book.

Those native people which we call savages are less ignorant than generally assumed. If one says that they live in huts and not in palaces; that they don’t know our arts and sciences; that they ignore the etiquette of the civilized world, then they will be true savages. However, with respect to their intelligence, we find among them ideas of a remarkable fairness; a great finesse of ob- servation, as well as noble and elevated feelings. They understand things with a marvelous ability and have an incomparably less slothful spirit as the peasants of Europe. They despise whatever seems useless to them, with respect to the simplicity, which is suf- ficient to their life style. The tradition of independence is always alive among them, explaining their insurmountable aversion to- wards their conquerors. However, whilst showing hatred towards the race in general, they get attached to the individuals who in- spire in them an absolute trust. It is to that trust that I owe the blessings of sharing their intimacy. When I am among them I feel safer than in some large cities. When I leave them they become sad and make me promise that I will return. When I return it is party time all over the tribe.


Such explanations were necessary for the following reason:

I told you that I had The Spirits’ Book in hands. One day I had this idea of translating to them a few passages, which very surprisingly to me they understood better than I supposed, given their very judicious observations.

Here is an example.

The idea of reincarnating on Earth seems absolutely natural to them. One day, one of them asked me: “When we die, can we be reborn among the white people?”
- Certainly, I said.

- Then you may well be one of our relatives?

- It is possible.

- That is certainly why you are good to us and we love you.

- It is also possible.

- Then, when we meet a white man we should not do any harm to him since he could be one of our brothers.

You will for sure be impressed, as I am, by such a conclusion from a native and the feeling of fraternity that grew in him. As a matter of fact the idea of spirits is not new among them. It is pres- ent in their beliefs and they are convinced that it is possible to talk to their deceased relatives who come to visit them. The important thing is to take advantage of that and to try and moralize them. I do not think it would be impossible since they still do not have the vices of our civilization.

That is why I need your advices and your experience. As I see it, there is no reason to suppose that we can only influence the ig- norant by talking to their senses. I do think, on the contrary, that it would only be a way of keeping them with those narrow ideas, developing in them the tendency towards superstition. I believe that reason, when we learn to position ourselves on the level of the intelligences which will always have a more lasting influence.

I wait for your response, with most cordial...etc.

DON FERNANDO GUERRERO


Spiritist Axioms and Select Thoughts

When you wish to study the skills of a medium do not just evoke the first spirit that comes to mind through this individual, since we have never said that the medium is capable of serving all spirits, and a frivolous spirit may well snatch the name of the evoked spirit. You should preferably evoke a known spirit since that one will always attend; you will then assess that spirit based on the language, being in a better condition to assess the nature of the communications received by the medium.

The incarnate spirits act on their own, according to their good or bad nature. They can also act under the influence of non-incar- nate spirits, of which they become instruments for the good or evil, or for the accomplishment of something. Hence, irrespective of us, we are the agents of the spirits with respect to what hap- pens in the world, in the general as well as in the specific sense. Thus, we always find someone who encourages us to doing or not doing something. We typically think that things have happened by chance when, in the majority of the cases, it is the spirits who impel us towards one another, because such gatherings must lead to a given result.

Incarnate in different social positions, the spirits are like actors who dress up like everybody else, but when playing their roles they wear all kinds of outfits, and represent all characters, from the King to the homeless person.
There are people who are not afraid of death, which they have faced a hundred times, but who experience a certain fear of darkness. They are not afraid of thieves but in the solitude, at a cem- etery, at night, they fear something. It is the presence of the spirits around them, whose contact produces an impression of inexplicable fear.
The origins attributed to us by certain spirits, through the supposed revelation of past existences, are often a means of seduction and a temptation to our pride, flattered by the fact of having been this or that character.

ALLAN KARDEC

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