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Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1865 > October
October
New Studies About the Magic or Psychic Mirrors
The clairvoyant of Zimmerwald forestIn the Spiritist Review of 1864 we gave a detailed report of the observations that we had just carried out of a peasant from the Berne Canton, a person that had the skill of seeing far away things in a glass. New visits done this year allowed us to complete those observations and rectify, in certain points, the theory that we had produced about the objects commonly called magic mirrors, or more precisely, psychic mirrors. Since we seek the truth, before anything else, and since we do not pretend to be infallible, whenever we are in error we do not hesitate in acknowledging that. We know nothing sillier than clinging oneself on a wrong opinion. In order to understand what follows, and to avoid repetition, we urge our readers to report to the article mentioned above, containing detailed news about the clairvoyant and his modus operandi.
We will just remind you that the name magic mirror is given to objects of multiple types and shapes, almost always shiny, like glass, bottles and metallic plates, in which certain persons see remote things. We were convinced by a careful observation that such a vision is not but the double sight or the spiritual or psychic sight, independent of the organic sight, for experience daily demonstrates that such a faculty exists without the support of any object, having then concluded in absolute terms that the objects are useless, thinking that the habit of using them made them necessary, and that every individual that sees with their help could perfectly see without them, if wanted. It is here that we are mistaken, as we shall demonstrate.
We must first give a quick report of the observed events since they are the basis of the instructions that were provided.
We then returned to the home of that man, accompanied by Mr. Commander W… that kindly operated as our interpreter, he promptly dealt with our health; he easily and accurately described its location, the cause, the nature and indicated the necessary medication. Next, and without being asked, he talked about our work, the objective and results, as he did the year before, but he did not keep any memory of that; at this time, he went much deeper into the subject, whose reach he seemed to have understood better. He described in detail the evolution of the idea, and the future of our cause, about the issues that may produce this or that result, about the obstacles that we shall face and the means of overcoming them, about the persons that may play a role in favor or against, those whose devotion and honesty we can or cannot count on, describing them physically and morally, demonstrating that he could see them perfectly well. In a word, he gave us remarkable instructions, extensively elaborated and logically motivated, even more remarkable for confirming and completing, for certain aspects, those given to us by our spiritual guides. The parts that we could assess the accuracy left no doubt about his clairvoyance. After the several conversations we had with him he always returned to the same subject, confirming or denying it, never entering into contraction with himself, even on those things that he said the year before, seemingly continued by the current dialogues.
Since this current instruction is absolutely personal and confidential, we abstain from reporting its details. We just mention it due to the important fact that comes out of that and that is reported next. It is undoubtedly of the highest interest to us, but our main objective in seeing that man again was to develop new studies about his skills, to the interest of the Spiritist science.
We attested the fact that his lucidity cannot be forced. He sees what is presented to him and reports it, but he cannot be led to see what he wants to see, nor something that someone is thinking about, although he can read one’s mind. In the main session dedicated to us we uselessly tried to call his attention to other subjects; despite his efforts he said he could not see anything about that in the glass.
When he is dealing with a subject we can ask him questions about it but it is useless to question him about anything else that may occur to us. Yet, sometimes he abruptly changes from the current subject that he is dealing with to another one completely strange; he then goes back to the first one. When he is asked about the reason for that he answers what he sees and that it does not depend on him.
He spontaneously sees absent people when they are directly connected to the object of examination, but not otherwise. His starting point is the consulting person and her home. From there other facts follow. We then uselessly tried the following experiment: one of our Parisian friends that had just sent us a letter wanted to consult with him about the illness of his daughter. We showed him the letter and had him holding it at the bottom of the glass, thinking that the radiation of the fluid would facilitate the vision of that person. He did not do that because the reflex of the white paper bothered him; he said that the person was too far away, however, a few moments earlier he had just described a person whom we were not absolutely thinking about, as her place of residence, four times more distant. But this person was involved in the matter that we were dealing with whereas the other one was completely strange to the subject. The chain of events would lead him to one and not the other.
Hence, his lucidity is not flexible or manageable and absolutely does not align with the will of the questioner. It is not, in any way, ready to satisfy curiosity. In fact, as he reads the mind, his first act is to investigate the intention of the visitor, in case she is unknown. If the intention is not serious, and if the objective is neither moral nor useless, he refuses to speak and dismisses anyone that comes to him seeking what is called their good luck or asking futile or indiscrete questions. In one word, he is a serious clairvoyant and not a foreteller. His clairvoyance, as we said before, is mostly applicable to the springs and the underground natural water courses. He only handles other things as an accessory or out of condescendence. He is ignorant with respect to sciences but due to his lucidity he has a natural sense that frequently replaces acquired knowledge. Here is an example.
One day, in our presence, someone questioned him about the possibility of having a mine in a given place. There is none, he said, because the terrain is not adequate. We made him realize that the source of certain mineral mines sometimes is far away from where they show up, infiltrating through the earthly layers. “It is true, he said, but there are regions where the layers are flat and others where they are vertical. They are vertical in the one that was asked and that is the obstacle.” Where did he get that idea from about the direction of the earthly layers since he had no clue about geology?
We observed him carefully throughout the course of his activities and here is what we noticed: once he is seated, he takes his glass, as described in our previous article, his eyes move back and forth from the bottom of the glass to the assistants and for about fifteen minutes he talks about uninteresting things, after which he then touches the central subject. At that moment his naturally lively and penetrating eyes are semi-closed, then watchful and agitated; the pupils disappear at the top, showing the whites of the eyes. Once in a while, when staring at someone, the pupils are partially seen again to then completely disappear; he continues, however, to look at the bottom of the glass and to the lines that he draws with a piece of chalk. It is obvious that during that trance he does not see through his eyes. With this only exception there is nothing else abnormal about him. His language is that of a serious and righteous man; his language is simple with emphasis like in an ordinary state instead of in a trance. In the evening of our main session we asked the good Spirits, through a writing medium, to give us instruction about the events that he had just witnessed.
Q – What to think of the spontaneous revelations given to us today by the clairvoyant of the forest? A – We wanted to give you a proof of that man’s faculty. We prepared the subject about which he should speak and that is why he could not respond to the other questions you framed. What he told you was just our opinion. You were surprised with what he said. He spoke for us, unknowingly, and right now he no longer remembers what he said, as he did not remember what he said last year because his spark of intelligence cannot get there. He not even understood the reach of his own words; he spoke better than the medium present here because this one would be afraid of saying too much. That is why we utilized him as a more manageable instrument for the instructions that we wanted to give.
Q – He mentioned a person whose moral and physical profile and position seemed to be such a person. Could you confirm that? A. – He said what you needed to know.
Observation: It is therefore evident that at least by accident the mediumship faculty is added to that man’s natural skills, if not in a permanent way; it means that lucidity is personal to him and not a matter of Spirits, but the Spirits may guide that lucidity as they wish in a given case; they inspire what he must say and only allow him to say what needs to be said. Hence, according to the need, he is an unconscious medium. The faculty of distant vision and the ability to see through opaque bodies do not seem extraordinary or incomprehensible to us since it is a sense that we do not enjoy in our normal state. We are exactly like the born-blind that cannot understand the fact that it is possible to understand reality, the shapes and properties of objects without touching them, and do not understand the fact that the luminous fluid is the means that put us in contact with the faraway objects, bringing their images to us. Without the knowledge of the spiritual fluid we cannot understand vision without the support of the eyes. We are true blinds with that regard. Now, the faculty of far sight with the help of the luminous fluid[1] and without the help of the eyes is not more fantastic or more miraculous than that of seeing the celestial bodies thousands of miles away.
Q. – Could you kindly let us know if the glass used by this man is truly useful to him; could he equally see in any other glass, any other object or even without any object, if he wanted to; if the need and specialty of the glass were not due to habit, that leads him to believe that it is indispensable; and finally if the presence of the glass is truly necessary and which effect does that object has upon his lucidness?
A. – When his eyes are focused on the bottom of the glass the shiny reflex acts there first and then upon his nervous system, provoking a kind of somnambulism, or more precisely, awake somnambulism in which the spirit, detached from matter, acquire a clairvoyance or a vision of the soul that you call second sight. There is a certain relationship between the shape of the bottom of the glass and the external shape of his eyes. That is the reason why he cannot easily find a glass that provides the required conditions (see the article published in the issue of October 1864). Even when the glasses are apparently similar there are nuances in the reflecting power, radiation, form and thickness that you cannot realize and that are appropriate to his individual organism. The glass, therefore, is to him a means of developing and focusing his lucidness. It is necessary to him since his lucidness is not permanent and needs to be provoked; it could not be replaced by another object and that same object that produces such effect on him would produce nothing on someone else, even if that person were a clairvoyant. The means of provoking such lucidness vary from individual to individual.
We will just remind you that the name magic mirror is given to objects of multiple types and shapes, almost always shiny, like glass, bottles and metallic plates, in which certain persons see remote things. We were convinced by a careful observation that such a vision is not but the double sight or the spiritual or psychic sight, independent of the organic sight, for experience daily demonstrates that such a faculty exists without the support of any object, having then concluded in absolute terms that the objects are useless, thinking that the habit of using them made them necessary, and that every individual that sees with their help could perfectly see without them, if wanted. It is here that we are mistaken, as we shall demonstrate.
We must first give a quick report of the observed events since they are the basis of the instructions that were provided.
We then returned to the home of that man, accompanied by Mr. Commander W… that kindly operated as our interpreter, he promptly dealt with our health; he easily and accurately described its location, the cause, the nature and indicated the necessary medication. Next, and without being asked, he talked about our work, the objective and results, as he did the year before, but he did not keep any memory of that; at this time, he went much deeper into the subject, whose reach he seemed to have understood better. He described in detail the evolution of the idea, and the future of our cause, about the issues that may produce this or that result, about the obstacles that we shall face and the means of overcoming them, about the persons that may play a role in favor or against, those whose devotion and honesty we can or cannot count on, describing them physically and morally, demonstrating that he could see them perfectly well. In a word, he gave us remarkable instructions, extensively elaborated and logically motivated, even more remarkable for confirming and completing, for certain aspects, those given to us by our spiritual guides. The parts that we could assess the accuracy left no doubt about his clairvoyance. After the several conversations we had with him he always returned to the same subject, confirming or denying it, never entering into contraction with himself, even on those things that he said the year before, seemingly continued by the current dialogues.
Since this current instruction is absolutely personal and confidential, we abstain from reporting its details. We just mention it due to the important fact that comes out of that and that is reported next. It is undoubtedly of the highest interest to us, but our main objective in seeing that man again was to develop new studies about his skills, to the interest of the Spiritist science.
We attested the fact that his lucidity cannot be forced. He sees what is presented to him and reports it, but he cannot be led to see what he wants to see, nor something that someone is thinking about, although he can read one’s mind. In the main session dedicated to us we uselessly tried to call his attention to other subjects; despite his efforts he said he could not see anything about that in the glass.
When he is dealing with a subject we can ask him questions about it but it is useless to question him about anything else that may occur to us. Yet, sometimes he abruptly changes from the current subject that he is dealing with to another one completely strange; he then goes back to the first one. When he is asked about the reason for that he answers what he sees and that it does not depend on him.
He spontaneously sees absent people when they are directly connected to the object of examination, but not otherwise. His starting point is the consulting person and her home. From there other facts follow. We then uselessly tried the following experiment: one of our Parisian friends that had just sent us a letter wanted to consult with him about the illness of his daughter. We showed him the letter and had him holding it at the bottom of the glass, thinking that the radiation of the fluid would facilitate the vision of that person. He did not do that because the reflex of the white paper bothered him; he said that the person was too far away, however, a few moments earlier he had just described a person whom we were not absolutely thinking about, as her place of residence, four times more distant. But this person was involved in the matter that we were dealing with whereas the other one was completely strange to the subject. The chain of events would lead him to one and not the other.
Hence, his lucidity is not flexible or manageable and absolutely does not align with the will of the questioner. It is not, in any way, ready to satisfy curiosity. In fact, as he reads the mind, his first act is to investigate the intention of the visitor, in case she is unknown. If the intention is not serious, and if the objective is neither moral nor useless, he refuses to speak and dismisses anyone that comes to him seeking what is called their good luck or asking futile or indiscrete questions. In one word, he is a serious clairvoyant and not a foreteller. His clairvoyance, as we said before, is mostly applicable to the springs and the underground natural water courses. He only handles other things as an accessory or out of condescendence. He is ignorant with respect to sciences but due to his lucidity he has a natural sense that frequently replaces acquired knowledge. Here is an example.
One day, in our presence, someone questioned him about the possibility of having a mine in a given place. There is none, he said, because the terrain is not adequate. We made him realize that the source of certain mineral mines sometimes is far away from where they show up, infiltrating through the earthly layers. “It is true, he said, but there are regions where the layers are flat and others where they are vertical. They are vertical in the one that was asked and that is the obstacle.” Where did he get that idea from about the direction of the earthly layers since he had no clue about geology?
We observed him carefully throughout the course of his activities and here is what we noticed: once he is seated, he takes his glass, as described in our previous article, his eyes move back and forth from the bottom of the glass to the assistants and for about fifteen minutes he talks about uninteresting things, after which he then touches the central subject. At that moment his naturally lively and penetrating eyes are semi-closed, then watchful and agitated; the pupils disappear at the top, showing the whites of the eyes. Once in a while, when staring at someone, the pupils are partially seen again to then completely disappear; he continues, however, to look at the bottom of the glass and to the lines that he draws with a piece of chalk. It is obvious that during that trance he does not see through his eyes. With this only exception there is nothing else abnormal about him. His language is that of a serious and righteous man; his language is simple with emphasis like in an ordinary state instead of in a trance. In the evening of our main session we asked the good Spirits, through a writing medium, to give us instruction about the events that he had just witnessed.
Q – What to think of the spontaneous revelations given to us today by the clairvoyant of the forest? A – We wanted to give you a proof of that man’s faculty. We prepared the subject about which he should speak and that is why he could not respond to the other questions you framed. What he told you was just our opinion. You were surprised with what he said. He spoke for us, unknowingly, and right now he no longer remembers what he said, as he did not remember what he said last year because his spark of intelligence cannot get there. He not even understood the reach of his own words; he spoke better than the medium present here because this one would be afraid of saying too much. That is why we utilized him as a more manageable instrument for the instructions that we wanted to give.
Q – He mentioned a person whose moral and physical profile and position seemed to be such a person. Could you confirm that? A. – He said what you needed to know.
Observation: It is therefore evident that at least by accident the mediumship faculty is added to that man’s natural skills, if not in a permanent way; it means that lucidity is personal to him and not a matter of Spirits, but the Spirits may guide that lucidity as they wish in a given case; they inspire what he must say and only allow him to say what needs to be said. Hence, according to the need, he is an unconscious medium. The faculty of distant vision and the ability to see through opaque bodies do not seem extraordinary or incomprehensible to us since it is a sense that we do not enjoy in our normal state. We are exactly like the born-blind that cannot understand the fact that it is possible to understand reality, the shapes and properties of objects without touching them, and do not understand the fact that the luminous fluid is the means that put us in contact with the faraway objects, bringing their images to us. Without the knowledge of the spiritual fluid we cannot understand vision without the support of the eyes. We are true blinds with that regard. Now, the faculty of far sight with the help of the luminous fluid[1] and without the help of the eyes is not more fantastic or more miraculous than that of seeing the celestial bodies thousands of miles away.
Q. – Could you kindly let us know if the glass used by this man is truly useful to him; could he equally see in any other glass, any other object or even without any object, if he wanted to; if the need and specialty of the glass were not due to habit, that leads him to believe that it is indispensable; and finally if the presence of the glass is truly necessary and which effect does that object has upon his lucidness?
A. – When his eyes are focused on the bottom of the glass the shiny reflex acts there first and then upon his nervous system, provoking a kind of somnambulism, or more precisely, awake somnambulism in which the spirit, detached from matter, acquire a clairvoyance or a vision of the soul that you call second sight. There is a certain relationship between the shape of the bottom of the glass and the external shape of his eyes. That is the reason why he cannot easily find a glass that provides the required conditions (see the article published in the issue of October 1864). Even when the glasses are apparently similar there are nuances in the reflecting power, radiation, form and thickness that you cannot realize and that are appropriate to his individual organism. The glass, therefore, is to him a means of developing and focusing his lucidness. It is necessary to him since his lucidness is not permanent and needs to be provoked; it could not be replaced by another object and that same object that produces such effect on him would produce nothing on someone else, even if that person were a clairvoyant. The means of provoking such lucidness vary from individual to individual.
Consequences of the preceding explanation
Here we achieved the core of the proposed discussion. The preceding explanation resolves the issue with perfect clarity. Everything is in contained in these words: lucidness is not permanent in that man. The glass is a means of provoking it by the action of radiation upon his nervous system, but it is necessary that the radiation be in accordance with his physical organization. Hence the variety of objects that may produce such effect, according to the individuals prone to receive them. It follows that:
- For those individuals in which the psychic vision is spontaneous or permanent the use of artificial agents is useless;
- Such agents are necessary when that faculty needs to be super excited;
- Since those agents are appropriate to the individuals, what has an effect upon one does not have upon others.
Certain particularities of our clairvoyant find their reason in that explanation. The letter placed underneath the glass disturbed him instead of facilitating, because it modified the characteristics of the reflex that was specific to that glass.
As we said, in the beginning he talks about frivolous things while he stares at the glare. The reason being that the action is not instantaneous and that preliminary conversation, without an apparent objective, is necessary to give him time for the effect to be produced. As much as the lucidness state only develops gradually, it does stops suddenly either. That is why the man continues to see for a few moments, even after having stopped looking at the glass and that is the reason why we thought that the glass was useless. But since the lucidity is a kind of artificial state, from time to time he goes back to the glass to keep it.
The development of that faculty through a material means is understandable to a certain extent. However, how can the image of someone that is far away be presented in the glass? It is only Spiritism that can resolve this question by the explanation about the nature of the soul, its faculties, the properties of its spiritual envelope, its radiation, its power of emancipation and detachment from the body. In the emancipation state the soul enjoys perceptions that are proper, without the support of material organs; the vision is an attribute of the spiritual being; the soul sees by itself, without the need for the eyes, as it hears without the ears. If the organs of the human senses were indispensable to the perceptions of the soul it would follow that, after death, without such organs the soul would be blind and deaf. The complete separation that takes place after death occurs only partially during life and that is when the phenomenon of spiritual vision takes place or, put differently, the double sight, or second sight, or psychic vision, whose power reaches as far as the radiation of the soul.
In the case above the image is not formed in the body of the glass; it is the soul itself that perceives the object where it is, by its own radiation. However, considering that for that man the glass is the provoking agent of the lucid state, the image appears very naturally to him in the direction of the glass. It is absolutely like the one that requires glasses that see far away what cannot be seen with naked eyes. The image of the object is not in the lenses of the binoculars but in their direction. Once the instrument is removed, nothing can be seen. Still with the comparison, the one that enjoys good vision does not require glasses like the one that enjoys a good psychic vision does not require artificial means to have it provoked.
A few years back a doctor discovered that by placing a cap of a bottle or a crystal ball or a shiny metal at the root of the nose and converging light beams to that object for some time the person would fall into a cataleptic state in which some of the faculties that are observed in somnambulists would manifest like, among others, insensitivity and far sight through opaque bodies, and that such a state would gradually disappear after the object was removed. It was obviously a magnetic effect produced by an inert body. What is the physiologic role of the shiny object in that phenomenon? We do not know. But it was attested that such condition may be necessary in the majority of cases but not always and that the same effect is produced on certain individuals with soft objects.
The phenomenon that was named hypnotism caused uproar in the scientific world. There was experimentation. Some were successful, others were not, as it was meant to be since the aptitudes were not the same among all patients. If the object of study were exceptional it would certainly be worth the study. But, regrettably, once it was noticed that it was a secret door for the penetration of magnetism and somnambulism, with a different name in the sanctuary of the official science, hypnotism was no longer studied (see Spiritist Review, January 1860).
Nature, however, never loses its own rights. If the laws are unknown for some time they come back so many times, presenting themselves in so many ways that forces people to have their eyes open. Spiritism is a proof of that. It can be denied, mocked, repelled; it knocks on all doors in a hundred different ways and willing or not it reaches those who did not want to hear about it.
Comparing this to the phenomenon that we were discussing above we can observe a remarkable analogy in the causes and effects. From that we can conclude that the objects commonly called magic mirrors are not but hypnotic agents, infinitely varied in their form and effects, according to the nature and degree of the aptitudes.
Hence, it would be possible that certain persons spontaneously and accidentally gifted with those faculties would regardless suffer the magnetic influence of exterior objects at which they mechanically stare at. Why wouldn’t the reflex of water, a lake, a swamp, a creek or even a celestial body produce the same effect of a glass of water or a bottle upon certain physical organizations conveniently predisposed? But that is a hypothesis that requires confirmation by experience. Besides, that phenomenon is not a modern discovery. It is found, even in our times, amongst the most delayed peoples, with the confirmation that nature is the privilege of times and all places. In the beginning it is accepted as a fact; the explanation comes later, with the advancement of mankind and the understanding of the laws that govern the world.
These are the consequences that seem to logically follow the observed facts.
[1] As we speak the Siècle publishes an interesting romance by Élie Berthet with the title Double Vision. It is timely. About two years ago Mr. Xavier Saintine had published in the “Constitutionnel” a series of facts based on the plurality of existences and on the spontaneous relationships that are established between the living and the dead. That is how literature helps in the promotion of the new ideas. The only thing missing is the word “Spiritism”.
As we said, in the beginning he talks about frivolous things while he stares at the glare. The reason being that the action is not instantaneous and that preliminary conversation, without an apparent objective, is necessary to give him time for the effect to be produced. As much as the lucidness state only develops gradually, it does stops suddenly either. That is why the man continues to see for a few moments, even after having stopped looking at the glass and that is the reason why we thought that the glass was useless. But since the lucidity is a kind of artificial state, from time to time he goes back to the glass to keep it.
The development of that faculty through a material means is understandable to a certain extent. However, how can the image of someone that is far away be presented in the glass? It is only Spiritism that can resolve this question by the explanation about the nature of the soul, its faculties, the properties of its spiritual envelope, its radiation, its power of emancipation and detachment from the body. In the emancipation state the soul enjoys perceptions that are proper, without the support of material organs; the vision is an attribute of the spiritual being; the soul sees by itself, without the need for the eyes, as it hears without the ears. If the organs of the human senses were indispensable to the perceptions of the soul it would follow that, after death, without such organs the soul would be blind and deaf. The complete separation that takes place after death occurs only partially during life and that is when the phenomenon of spiritual vision takes place or, put differently, the double sight, or second sight, or psychic vision, whose power reaches as far as the radiation of the soul.
In the case above the image is not formed in the body of the glass; it is the soul itself that perceives the object where it is, by its own radiation. However, considering that for that man the glass is the provoking agent of the lucid state, the image appears very naturally to him in the direction of the glass. It is absolutely like the one that requires glasses that see far away what cannot be seen with naked eyes. The image of the object is not in the lenses of the binoculars but in their direction. Once the instrument is removed, nothing can be seen. Still with the comparison, the one that enjoys good vision does not require glasses like the one that enjoys a good psychic vision does not require artificial means to have it provoked.
A few years back a doctor discovered that by placing a cap of a bottle or a crystal ball or a shiny metal at the root of the nose and converging light beams to that object for some time the person would fall into a cataleptic state in which some of the faculties that are observed in somnambulists would manifest like, among others, insensitivity and far sight through opaque bodies, and that such a state would gradually disappear after the object was removed. It was obviously a magnetic effect produced by an inert body. What is the physiologic role of the shiny object in that phenomenon? We do not know. But it was attested that such condition may be necessary in the majority of cases but not always and that the same effect is produced on certain individuals with soft objects.
The phenomenon that was named hypnotism caused uproar in the scientific world. There was experimentation. Some were successful, others were not, as it was meant to be since the aptitudes were not the same among all patients. If the object of study were exceptional it would certainly be worth the study. But, regrettably, once it was noticed that it was a secret door for the penetration of magnetism and somnambulism, with a different name in the sanctuary of the official science, hypnotism was no longer studied (see Spiritist Review, January 1860).
Nature, however, never loses its own rights. If the laws are unknown for some time they come back so many times, presenting themselves in so many ways that forces people to have their eyes open. Spiritism is a proof of that. It can be denied, mocked, repelled; it knocks on all doors in a hundred different ways and willing or not it reaches those who did not want to hear about it.
Comparing this to the phenomenon that we were discussing above we can observe a remarkable analogy in the causes and effects. From that we can conclude that the objects commonly called magic mirrors are not but hypnotic agents, infinitely varied in their form and effects, according to the nature and degree of the aptitudes.
Hence, it would be possible that certain persons spontaneously and accidentally gifted with those faculties would regardless suffer the magnetic influence of exterior objects at which they mechanically stare at. Why wouldn’t the reflex of water, a lake, a swamp, a creek or even a celestial body produce the same effect of a glass of water or a bottle upon certain physical organizations conveniently predisposed? But that is a hypothesis that requires confirmation by experience. Besides, that phenomenon is not a modern discovery. It is found, even in our times, amongst the most delayed peoples, with the confirmation that nature is the privilege of times and all places. In the beginning it is accepted as a fact; the explanation comes later, with the advancement of mankind and the understanding of the laws that govern the world.
These are the consequences that seem to logically follow the observed facts.
[1] As we speak the Siècle publishes an interesting romance by Élie Berthet with the title Double Vision. It is timely. About two years ago Mr. Xavier Saintine had published in the “Constitutionnel” a series of facts based on the plurality of existences and on the spontaneous relationships that are established between the living and the dead. That is how literature helps in the promotion of the new ideas. The only thing missing is the word “Spiritism”.
Departure of an enemy of Spiritism to the world of the Spirits
We got a letter from V…
“Some time ago a vicar died in our neighborhood. He was an open enemy of Spiritism but not one of those lighthearted adversaries, as there are so many, that replace the lack of good reasons by slander. He was an educated man, of superior intelligence. He fought Spiritism with talent and without bitterness and with civility. Unfortunately for him, and despite all of his knowledge and unequivocal merit, he was only able to oppose it with the ordinary arguments and found none that could inexorably convince the masses. His constant idea, at least the one that he allowed to transpire, was that Spiritism had a limited time; that its fast propagation was only a transient enthusiasm and that like any other utopic idea, it would fall. We had the idea of evoking him in our small circle. His communication seemed to us to be instructive in several aspects and that is why we sent it to you. In our opinion it has an incontestable aspect of identity. Below the communication:
Question to the guide of the medium: Can you tell us if we can evoke father D…? A. – Yes. He will come but although convinced of the reality of your teachings, convinced by death, he will still try to demonstrate the uselessness of your efforts to propagate them in a more serious way. He is ready to support his points on the momentary dissensions caused by stray brothers and demonstrate the insanity of your doctrine. Hear him out. His language will give you the lead on how to talk to him.
Evocation: Dear Spirit of Mr. D… we hope that with God’s help and the good Spirits you may kindly come to communicate with us. As you can see we bear no feeling of curiosity in our thoughts. By provoking this communication, we wish to take a useful teaching to us and perhaps to you as well. We then appreciate whatever you can tell us.
– You are right in calling me but wrong by supposing that I could deny attending your call. Believe me that my title of enemy of Spiritism is not another reason to keep silence. I have good reasons to talk. My life is a confession, an affirmation of your teachings. I know that and I acknowledge that. I am convinced of the reality of manifestations that I experience today but that is not enough to recognize its excellence and to accept the as correct the objectives that you propose. Yes, the Spirits communicate and not only the demons, as we teach, for obvious reasons. It is useless to elaborate on that for you know as well as I do the reasons that lead us to act like that. The Spirits of all categories certainly communicate; I am a proof of that and although I do not pretend to be superior both in morality and knowledge, knowing well my own worth to know that I am above of those categories of Spirits subject to all sorts of atonement for their vile imperfections. I am not perfect. As anybody else I may have done wrong, but I am proud to acknowledge that. Yes, I was an opinionated man, but I was also a good man in the broad meaning of the term. Hear me out then. The priest may be wrong in fighting you. I do not know what the future reserves and will not enter the discussion of their truly systematic position; but carefully examining all the consequences of an acceptance they cannot but acknowledge that you would could their social ruin or, at least, such an absolute transformation that every privilege and separation from humanity would be nulled. But nobody joyfully renounces to a coveted royalty, to an uncommon prestige that places them above the ordinary, to the richness that although material is not less necessary to them as compared to common people. With Spiritism there is no more clerical oligarchy; the priest is nobody and someone; he is the good man that teaches truth to his brothers; he is the charitable worker that reaches out to the fallen human being; his priesthood is faith; his hierarchy is the merit and his salary is God! That is great and beautiful, but one must also say that sooner or later that is the downfall not of the man that can only gain from such teachings but of the clerical family. One cannot gladly renounce, and I repeat, to the honor and respect that is already enjoyed. You are right, I give you that, however I cannot reproach our attitude before your teachings. I say ‘our’ because I still hold it despite all that I see and all that you can tell me. Let us hypothetically believe that your doctrine is accepted, heard and spread everywhere among the people and the wealthy; among the artists and the scholars; the latter will help you the most but what shall come from that? Here is what I think: You have already experienced divisions. There are two sects among you: the spiritualists of the American school and the Spiritists of the French school. Let us, however, concentrate on the last one alone. Is it unified? No. On one side the purists or ‘Kardecists’ that only admit the truth after a careful examination and the general agreement; it is the main core but it is not alone; several branches have learned from the teachings of the center and separated to form particular sects; others, not entirely separated from the trunk, issue subversive opinions. Each chief of opposition has their followers; the fields are not yet delineated but are in formation and the scission will soon take place. I tell you that Spiritism, like the philosophical doctrines, could not live long. It was born and raised but has reached its peak and is now descending. It gathers followers everyday but like the Theosophy, and the doctrines of Saint-Simon and Fourier, it will also fall, perhaps to be replaced, but it will follow, I truly believe. Nonetheless, its principle does exist: the Spirit. But, doesn’t it bring along its own dangers? Inferior Spirits can also communicate and that is its downfall. Mankind is, before anything else, dominated by passions and these Spirits are used to excite them. Since there is more imperfection than quality in our humanity, it is therefore evident that the evil Spirit shall be victorious, and the only thing Spiritism will be able to do will be to spread disgrace to all. I therefore conclude that Spiritism is good in its essence but bad in its results, hence it is wise to avoid it.
The medium: Dear Spirit, if Spiritism were a human conception, I would agree with you but if you cannot deny the existence of the Spirits you must also acknowledge the power hand of divinity, in the movement driven by the invisible. Now, unless you deny your own teaching when on Earth, you cannot admit that the action of men might be an obstacle to the will of God, the creator. It must be one of two: Spiritism is a human creation and as such, like every human work, it is subject to failure or it is the works of God, manifestation of God’s will and in such a case there is not a single obstacle capable of delaying its development. If you then believe that there are Spirits and that those Spirits communicate to instruct us, this cannot be beyond the will of God otherwise there would be, besides God, an independent power and God consequently would no longer be Almighty. Spiritism could not be destroyed by some dissensions, brought about by human interesses within.
Answer: You may perhaps be right, my young friend (the medium was a young man) but I keep what I said. I stop any discussion about it. Leaving that aside I am available to any other question that you may have.
The medium: Then, considering that you have allowed, and not proceeding with a subject that may be painful to you right now, we beg you to describe your passage from this life to the one you live now, telling us about a possible confusion and if we can be of any service to you, given your current condition.
Answer: I cannot but acknowledge the excellence of these principles that you teach mankind, about death and the affection given to totally unknown creatures. But… in any case, my dear young man, I will respond to your question. I will not abuse your time and will satisfy your wishes in a few words. I confess that at the time of death I was uptight. Was it matter that made me be sorry for leaving this life? Was it ignorance of the future? I will not hide it, for I was afraid! You asked if I was disorderly. What do you mean by that? If you mean that the violent action of separation took me to a kind of mental lethargy, from which I came out as if from a painful sleep, yes, I was confused. But if you mean a disturbance in intelligence, memory and self-awareness, no. I did not experience that. Nonetheless, the disturbance does happen to certain creatures; may be to me as well, but I do not believe so. I do believe though that such phenomenon must not occur immediately after death. It is true that I was surprised by seeing the existence of the Spirit as you teach but that is not confusion. Here is how I understand that disturbance and how I experienced that. If I were not sure about of my own beliefs; if I had any doubt in my soul about everything I believed until then; If I had experienced a big change in the way I saw things, that would disturb me. In my opinion such disturbance should not occur just after death. If I believe in my reason tells me, at death the creature remains as before passing… It is only later, when isolation and the changes that gradually take place around us is modify their opinion, when the creature experiences a mental commotion, when the primitive assurances shake, and the real confusion begins. You asked if you could be useful to me in any way. My religion tells me that prayer is good; your belief says that too. Therefore, pray for me and be certain of my gratitude. Despite the differences between us it will be a pleasure to come a few times to talk to you.
Father D…”
Our correspondent was right when saying that this communication had a useful instruction. In fact, it is instructive in several ways and our readers will easily understand the serious teachings that come out of that, without the need for our highlights. We see a Spirit here that fought our doctrines when alive and had exhausted the arguments carried by his profound knowledge. Recently deceased, as a Spirit, recognizing the fundamental truths that support us, and yet persisting on his position and for the same motives. It is incontestable that if he had found stronger arguments to combat us, in his spiritual and more lucid state, he would have used them. Far from that, he seems to be afraid of seeing things more clearly, he presents changes in his thoughts that are all connected to earthly ideas that he still carries. He is afraid of the future and therefore, he dares not to face it. We will respond as if he were living and written the message he dictated after his death. We address both the man and the Spirit, responding to those that share his thoughts and that could use the same arguments against us. We then say:
Mr. Priest, although you had been our declared and militant adversary on Earth, none of us thinks the same about you and never thought so when you were alive, first because our faith turns tolerance into law and to us every idea is respectable, when sincere. Freedom of conscience is one of our principles; we wish it to others as we wish it to ourselves. Only God can judge the validity of people’s beliefs and no one has the right to say anathema in the name of God. Freedom of conscience does not exclude discussion and refutation but charity commands not to curse anyone. Second, we do not like you less since your opposition caused no harm to the doctrine. You unwillingly served the cause of Spiritism, as every one that attacks it, helping to promote it and demonstrating, especially due to your personal qualifications, the insufficiency of the weapons used to fight it. Allow me now to discuss a few of your propositions.
One seems to fail logic to me. It is when you say that “Spiritism, fundamentally good, is bad for its results.” I believe you must have forgotten when Jesus said this maxim, that became proverbial by the force of truth: “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.”[1] One cannot understand that something essentially good would cause any harm. In another passage you say that the danger of Spiritism is in the manifestation of the bad Spirits, that will exploit human passions to serve evil. Here we have one of the theses that you supported when alive. But side by side with the bad Spirits we have the good ones that stimulate good, whereas according to the doctrine of the Church the power of communication is only given to the demons. If you then consider Spiritism dangerous because it admits the communication of the bad Spirits as well as the good ones, then the doctrine of the Church is much more dangerous because it only admits the bad ones.
As a matter of fact, it was not Spiritism that invented the manifestation of the Spirits, nor it is the cause of their communication. It only attests a fact that has occurred in all times for it is in nature. Spiritism can only cease to exist when the Spirits can no longer manifest. If such manifestation brings about any danger, we must blame nature for that and not Spiritism. Is the science that explains electricity responsible for the damages caused by lightning? Certainly not. It explains the causes and provides the means of deviating them. It is the same with Spiritism. It explains the causes of a bad influence that may unsuspectedly act upon a person, indicating the means of protection against it, whereas by ignoring it the person would still suffer the effect and follow unaware of them.
The influence of the bad Spirits is part of the scourge to which mankind is exposed down here, like the diseases and disasters of all kinds, because we are in a planet of atonement and testing, where we must work for our moral and intellectual advancement. Bod God’s benevolence always places the remedy by the illness; God gave mankind intelligence to find it. That is the result of the progress of sciences. Spiritism comes to indicate the medicine to one of those disasters. It teaches that to avoid and neutralize the influence of the bad Spirits, one must become better, dominate one’s bad inclinations and practice the virtues taught by Jesus Christ: humility and charity. Would you call that bad result?
The manifestation of the Spirits is a positive fact, acknowledged by the Church. Experience today demonstrates that the Spirits are the souls of people and that is the reason why there are so many imperfect ones. If that fact comes to contradict certain dogmas, Spiritism is as much to blame as Geology that demonstrates that Earth was not built in six days. The mistake is in the dogmas that are not in agreement with nature. By these manifestations, as by the discoveries of science, God wishes to lead us to more truthful beliefs. Hence, when we deny progress, we ignore God’s will; it is blasphemy against God to attribute all that to the devil. Trying, in good or bad faith, to keep a belief against the evidence and turn a knowingly false principle into the basis of a doctrine is the same as supporting a house on a rotten foundation. The strut breaks gradually, and the house falls apart.
You say that the opposition of the Church to Spiritism is understandable and that you approve it because it would be the end of clergy, whose separation from the ordinary people would be destroyed. You say: “With Spiritism there is no more clerical oligarchy; the priest is nobody and someone; he is the good man that teaches truth to his brothers; he is the charitable worker that reaches out to the fallen human being; his priesthood is faith; his hierarchy is the merit and his salary is God! That is great and beautiful, but one must also say that sooner or later that is the downfall not of the man that can only gain from such teachings but of the clerical family. One cannot gladly renounce, and I repeat, to the honor and respect that is already enjoyed. But nobody joyfully renounces to a coveted royalty, to an uncommon prestige that places them above the ordinary, to the richness that although material is not less necessary to them as compared to common people” What now! Would the clergy be motivated by such petty feelings? Would it be ignorance of these words by Jesus: “My kingdom is not of this world”,[2] to the point of sacrificing the interest of truth for the satisfaction of pride, ambition and human passions? He then would not believe in that kingdom promised by Jesus since he prefers the earthly one. He therefore would have his supporting point in heavens, just by appearance and to give him prestige, but just to protect his earthly interests. We prefer to believe that it can be the drive of some of their followers but not that of majority. Otherwise his kingdom would be very near its end and his words would be his sentence, because only the celestial kingdom is eternal whereas those on Earth are fragile and unstable. You go to far, Mr. Priest, in your forecasts about the consequences of Spiritism, farther than me and my writings. Not sharing your thoughts on this, I will just say that for the fact that everyone presents it, the inevitable result will be the transformation of society; it will create a new order of things, new habits, new needs; it will modify beliefs, social relationships; it will do, from a moral point of view, what all great discoveries of science and technology do from a material point of view. Such transformation scares you out and that is why, by presenting it, you keep you away from your thoughts; you do not want to believe in that; in one word, you close your eyes so that you cannot see, and shut your ears so that you cannot hear. There are many like that on Earth. However, if such a transformation is in God’s designs, it will take place, do what they will. One would have to accept that in good will or be forced to accept it, like those from the old regimen had to accept the consequences of the Revolution that they also denied and declared impossible, before its realization.
Whoever told them that in less than a quarter of a century every privilege would have been abolished; that a recent born boy would not become a colonel by birth; that an entire regiment could no longer be bought like a herd of oxen, that the soldier could become a general and the last plebeian a minister; that the rights would be the same to everyone, that the peasant would have voice in the important businesses of the country, side by side with the farmer, they would have shaken their heads out of disbelief! However, if you one them had slept for forty years, like Epimenedes,[3] he would have believed to have awaken in another world. It is the fear of the future that makes you say that Spiritism will only have one turn. You try to create an illusion, trying to prove it to yourself, and you ended up believing in good faith because that calms you down. But what is the reason that you present? The least concluding of all, as it is easy to demonstrate.
Ah if you demonstrated unequivocally that Spiritism is a utopia, that is based on a mistaken fact, on a false basis, illusive and hopeless, you would then be right. But, on the contrary, you affirm the existence of the principle and even the excellence of that principle. You acknowledge, and with you the whole Church, the reality of the material fact that is its foundation: the manifestations. Can such a fact be annihilated? No, as one cannot annihilate the movement of Earth.
Considering that it is part of nature, it shall be always produced. Such a fact, misunderstood in the past, but better studied and understood in our days, brings inevitable consequences. If you cannot annihilate it, you are forced to endure its consequences. Follow it step by step in its ramifications and you will inexorably arrive at a transformation in the ideas. Now, a change in the ideas forcibly brings a change in the order of things. (refer to What is Spiritism).
On another hand, Spiritism do not step on people’s intelligence; it does not impose a blind belief; it wishes faith to be supported by understanding. This is the main point, Mr. Priest, of our disagreement. Spiritism gives total freedom of examination of any point, based on the principle that since truth is one, sooner or later it must prevail upon falsehood, and that a principle based on error falls by the force of things. False ideas, when discussed, show their weak spots and fade away before logic. Divergences like these are inevitable in the beginning; they are even necessary because they help the depuration and the establishment of the fundamental idea. It is preferable that they are produced since the beginning for the true doctrine will disentangle sooner. That is why we always tell the followers: Do not worry about contradicting ideas that are issued or published. See how many have been born dead! How many writings are no longer talked about! What is it that we seek? The success of our ideas at any price? No, but the triumph of truth. If, among the contrary ideas, some are more truthful than ours, they shall succeed, and we must follow them; if they are false, they cannot withstand the decisive control of the universal teachings of the Spirits, the only criteria of the surviving idea. The assimilation that you establish between Spiritism and other philosophical doctrines lacks accuracy. It was not people that made Spiritism what it is and what is going to be later; it is the Spirits by their teachings. People only make it move and coordinate the material that is provided. That teaching is not complete yet and what has been given so far can only be considered as the landmarks of the science. It can be compared to the four rules of math and we are still in the equations of first degree. That is why many people still do not understand its importance and reach. But the Spirits regulate the teachings and depend on nobody to make it move slower or faster than they wish; they neither follow those in a hurry nor they fall behind the slow ones.
Spiritism is not the works of a single Spirit or a single man. It is the work of the Spirits in general. If follows that the opinion of a given Spirit about a principle is only considered, by the Spiritists, as an individual opinion, that can be fair or false and only has value when sanctioned by the teaching of the majority, given in several points of the world. It was this universal teaching that made Spiritism what it is and will make it what it is going to be. Before such a powerful criterion, every false idea necessarily falls, as does every particular theory that is the product of systematic ideas, be it from one person or one isolated Spirit. There is no doubt that a false idea may gather some followers, but it will never prevail against what is taught everywhere. Spiritism that has just been born and raises question of the highest importance, does bring ebullition to several imaginations. Each one sees things their own way. Hence the surge of systems in its infancy, the majority of which have already disappeared by the force of the general teaching. The same applies to those that are not with the truth because the divergent teaching of a Spirit given to a medium will always be opposed to the teaching of millions of Spirits given to millions of mediums. That is why certain exotic theories only lived a few days and never left the small circle where they were produced. Deprived from the general sanction, they do not find echo nor sympathy in the masses, and if they also shock logic and common sense, they then provoke repulsion that precipitates their downfall.
Spiritism, therefore, has an element of stability and unity that comes from its own nature and origin, something that is not proper to any purely human conceived philosophical doctrine; it is the shield that will shatter any attempt to have it destroyed or divided. Such divisions can only be partial, momentary and circumscribed.
You mentioned sects that, in your opinion, divide the Spiritists, then concluding that the ruin of the doctrine is near. But you forgot all that divided Christianity since its inception, that made it bleed and still divide it, and whose number is not less than three hundred and sixty today. However, despite the profound dissidences about the fundamental dogmas, Christianity stood up, a proof that it is independent of those controversies. Why then you wish that Spiritism, connected to Christianity in its foundation, only divided in secondary issues that are daily clarified, would suffer with the divergence of a few personal opinions, when it has such a powerful universal control as an aggregator?
Hence, even if Spiritism today were divided into twenty sects, something that is not and shall not be, this would not have any consequence because it is the work of delivery. If the divisions were driven by personal ambitions, by persons dominated by the idea of becoming heads of sects, or by the exploration of the idea to serve their self-love, or their personal interests, there is not doubt that they would be the least dangerous. Personal ambitions die with the individuals and if the truth was not with those that wanted to rise up, their ideas will die with them and perhaps even before that. Truth, however, cannot die.
You are right, Mr. Priest, when saying that there will be ruins with Spiritism, but not as you think. The ruins will be of every mistaken idea that surges and boils. If they are all wrong, they will all fall, and that is inevitable; but if there is only one that is true, that will infallibly survive.
Two very marked opinions, that we could really call sects, were formed a few years back, from the teachings of two Spirits masked by venerable names, captivating the trust of a few people. Today nobody talks about that. What caused the downfall? The common sense and logic of the masses on one side, the general teachings of the Spirits in agreement with that very logic.
Will you contest the value of such universal control, by the fact that the Spirits are the souls of people, and therefore equally subject to error? You would then be in contradiction with yourself. Don’t you agree that a general council has more authority than that of a particular council, given that it is more numerous and that its opinion prevails onto the opinion of individual priests, each bishop and even that of the Pope? That the majority creates the laws in people’s assemblies? Isn’t that reasonable to expect that the Spirits that govern the world by the order of God also had their councils, their assemblies? Do you deny the Spirits the sanction of truth but you accept that among people? Do you forget the fact that if there are inferior Spirits among them, these are not the ones called upon by God to deliver the interests of Earth, but the superior Spirits, those that overpassed the obstacles of humanity and whose number is incalculable? And how do they bring the instruction of the majority to us? Is it by the voice of a single Spirit, a single person? No, but as I said, by millions of Spirits and millions of people. Does it happen in a single center, in one city, one country, one cast, in a privileged nation as in the past with the Israelites? No, it happens everywhere, in all countries, at the home of the rich as of the poor. How could you expect that the opinion of a few individuals could prevail against such a formidable ensemble of voices? Believe me, Mr. Priest, such a universal sanction is much worth the same as an ecumenic council.
Spiritism is strong precisely because it is based on that sanction and not on isolated opinions. Does it proclaim itself as immutable in its current teachings, saying that there is nothing more to be taught? No, because up until now it has followed, and will follow in the future, the progressive teaching that is appropriate, and that is a source of strength to Spiritism because it will never distant itself from progress.
Wait a little more, Mr. Priest, and before a quarter of a century you will see Spiritism much less divided than Christianity is today, after eighteen centuries.
You mistakenly concluded by the instability of the doctrine based on the fluctuations that you noticed in the society and in the Spiritist gatherings. Spiritism is not a speculative theory, based on a preconceived idea. It is a matter of fact, and consequently, of personal conviction. Anyone that may admit the fact and its consequences is Spiritism without the need to take part in any society. One can be a perfect Spiritist without it. The future of Spiritism is in its own principle, an imperishable principle, because it is in nature and not in the meetings, many times taking place in unfavorable condition, composed of heterogenous elements, and consequently subordinated to several eventualities.
The societies are useful but not is indispensable, and all of them could cease to exist without affecting the march of Spiritism, considering that the largest number of followers are not in their circles. They represent much more the believers that seek sympathetic centers than the non-believers. The serious and well managed societies are particularly important to neutralize the bad impression left by those where Spiritism is badly represented or disfigured. The Spiritist Society of Paris is not an exception to the rule for it does not claim any monopoly. It does not consist on the greater or smaller number of followers but on the idea that it represents. Such idea is independent of any meeting and whatever happens the propagating element will replace it if needed. Therefore, one can say that the Parisian Society is everywhere where the same principles are professed, from the orient to the occident, and that if it disappeared materially the idea would outlive. Spiritism is an infant that grows and whose initial steps are naturally dithering; but like the premature children, it shows signs of strength early on. That is why certain persons are afraid and would like to have it muffled in the crib. If it had arrived as weak as you suppose it would not have caused such resistance, nor would it have raised so much hostility, and you yourself would not have tried to fight against it. Let the child grow then, and you shall see what will become of the adult. You predicted its near end but several incarnate and discarnate made their predictions otherwise. Hear them out and their predictions that have been taking place unstoppably for the last ten years and repeat all over the world.
“Spiritism has come to fight disbelief that is a disaggregating element of society, replacing the blind faith, that fades away, by the reasoned faith, that vivifies. It carries the regenerating element of humanity and will be the compass of future generations. Like all other great renovating ideas, it must fight against the opposition of interests that it will harm and ideas that it will bring down. All kinds of obstacles will be produced; all kinds of weapons will be used against it, loyal and disloyal, that people will believe to be adequate to have it destroyed. Its first steps will be on heathers and thorns. Its followers will be denigrated, ridiculed, betrayed, scorned and persecuted; they shall find disappointment and deception. Happy are the ones whose faith is not shaken in these terrible days; who have fought and suffered for the triumph of truth, because they will be rewarded for their courage and perseverance. Yet, Spiritism will continue its march through traps and hindrances; it is unshakable, like everything else that is in God’s will, because it is supported by the laws of nature that are eternal like God, whereas everything else that is contrary to those laws shall fail. Through the light that it shines upon obscure and controversial points of the Scriptures, it shall lead mankind to the unit of belief. Giving the laws of nature for the basis of the principles of equality, freedom and fraternity, it will lay the foundation of the kingdom of the true Christian charity, the very kingdom of God on Earth, predicted by Jesus Christ. Many still reject it because they do not know it or do not understand it; when they acknowledge that it does realize the dearest hopes for the future of humanity, they will embrace it like St. Paul with Christianity, and it will find defenders among the adversaries of the last hour. From the multitude strong souls will rise and hold in their hands the cause and the authority of their word will bring silence to the detractors. The struggle shall still last a long time, because the super excited human passions by pride and material interests cannot be suddenly appeased. Those passions shall disappear with people, and before this century terminates the new faith will acquire a prominent place among the civilized peoples, and the era of regeneration will mark the next century.”
[1] Matthew 7:18 (T.N.)
[2] John, 18:36 (T.N.)
[3] Epimenides of Cnossos was a semi-mythical 7th or 6th century BC Greek seer and philosopher-poet (Wikipedia, T.N.)
“Some time ago a vicar died in our neighborhood. He was an open enemy of Spiritism but not one of those lighthearted adversaries, as there are so many, that replace the lack of good reasons by slander. He was an educated man, of superior intelligence. He fought Spiritism with talent and without bitterness and with civility. Unfortunately for him, and despite all of his knowledge and unequivocal merit, he was only able to oppose it with the ordinary arguments and found none that could inexorably convince the masses. His constant idea, at least the one that he allowed to transpire, was that Spiritism had a limited time; that its fast propagation was only a transient enthusiasm and that like any other utopic idea, it would fall. We had the idea of evoking him in our small circle. His communication seemed to us to be instructive in several aspects and that is why we sent it to you. In our opinion it has an incontestable aspect of identity. Below the communication:
Question to the guide of the medium: Can you tell us if we can evoke father D…? A. – Yes. He will come but although convinced of the reality of your teachings, convinced by death, he will still try to demonstrate the uselessness of your efforts to propagate them in a more serious way. He is ready to support his points on the momentary dissensions caused by stray brothers and demonstrate the insanity of your doctrine. Hear him out. His language will give you the lead on how to talk to him.
Evocation: Dear Spirit of Mr. D… we hope that with God’s help and the good Spirits you may kindly come to communicate with us. As you can see we bear no feeling of curiosity in our thoughts. By provoking this communication, we wish to take a useful teaching to us and perhaps to you as well. We then appreciate whatever you can tell us.
– You are right in calling me but wrong by supposing that I could deny attending your call. Believe me that my title of enemy of Spiritism is not another reason to keep silence. I have good reasons to talk. My life is a confession, an affirmation of your teachings. I know that and I acknowledge that. I am convinced of the reality of manifestations that I experience today but that is not enough to recognize its excellence and to accept the as correct the objectives that you propose. Yes, the Spirits communicate and not only the demons, as we teach, for obvious reasons. It is useless to elaborate on that for you know as well as I do the reasons that lead us to act like that. The Spirits of all categories certainly communicate; I am a proof of that and although I do not pretend to be superior both in morality and knowledge, knowing well my own worth to know that I am above of those categories of Spirits subject to all sorts of atonement for their vile imperfections. I am not perfect. As anybody else I may have done wrong, but I am proud to acknowledge that. Yes, I was an opinionated man, but I was also a good man in the broad meaning of the term. Hear me out then. The priest may be wrong in fighting you. I do not know what the future reserves and will not enter the discussion of their truly systematic position; but carefully examining all the consequences of an acceptance they cannot but acknowledge that you would could their social ruin or, at least, such an absolute transformation that every privilege and separation from humanity would be nulled. But nobody joyfully renounces to a coveted royalty, to an uncommon prestige that places them above the ordinary, to the richness that although material is not less necessary to them as compared to common people. With Spiritism there is no more clerical oligarchy; the priest is nobody and someone; he is the good man that teaches truth to his brothers; he is the charitable worker that reaches out to the fallen human being; his priesthood is faith; his hierarchy is the merit and his salary is God! That is great and beautiful, but one must also say that sooner or later that is the downfall not of the man that can only gain from such teachings but of the clerical family. One cannot gladly renounce, and I repeat, to the honor and respect that is already enjoyed. You are right, I give you that, however I cannot reproach our attitude before your teachings. I say ‘our’ because I still hold it despite all that I see and all that you can tell me. Let us hypothetically believe that your doctrine is accepted, heard and spread everywhere among the people and the wealthy; among the artists and the scholars; the latter will help you the most but what shall come from that? Here is what I think: You have already experienced divisions. There are two sects among you: the spiritualists of the American school and the Spiritists of the French school. Let us, however, concentrate on the last one alone. Is it unified? No. On one side the purists or ‘Kardecists’ that only admit the truth after a careful examination and the general agreement; it is the main core but it is not alone; several branches have learned from the teachings of the center and separated to form particular sects; others, not entirely separated from the trunk, issue subversive opinions. Each chief of opposition has their followers; the fields are not yet delineated but are in formation and the scission will soon take place. I tell you that Spiritism, like the philosophical doctrines, could not live long. It was born and raised but has reached its peak and is now descending. It gathers followers everyday but like the Theosophy, and the doctrines of Saint-Simon and Fourier, it will also fall, perhaps to be replaced, but it will follow, I truly believe. Nonetheless, its principle does exist: the Spirit. But, doesn’t it bring along its own dangers? Inferior Spirits can also communicate and that is its downfall. Mankind is, before anything else, dominated by passions and these Spirits are used to excite them. Since there is more imperfection than quality in our humanity, it is therefore evident that the evil Spirit shall be victorious, and the only thing Spiritism will be able to do will be to spread disgrace to all. I therefore conclude that Spiritism is good in its essence but bad in its results, hence it is wise to avoid it.
The medium: Dear Spirit, if Spiritism were a human conception, I would agree with you but if you cannot deny the existence of the Spirits you must also acknowledge the power hand of divinity, in the movement driven by the invisible. Now, unless you deny your own teaching when on Earth, you cannot admit that the action of men might be an obstacle to the will of God, the creator. It must be one of two: Spiritism is a human creation and as such, like every human work, it is subject to failure or it is the works of God, manifestation of God’s will and in such a case there is not a single obstacle capable of delaying its development. If you then believe that there are Spirits and that those Spirits communicate to instruct us, this cannot be beyond the will of God otherwise there would be, besides God, an independent power and God consequently would no longer be Almighty. Spiritism could not be destroyed by some dissensions, brought about by human interesses within.
Answer: You may perhaps be right, my young friend (the medium was a young man) but I keep what I said. I stop any discussion about it. Leaving that aside I am available to any other question that you may have.
The medium: Then, considering that you have allowed, and not proceeding with a subject that may be painful to you right now, we beg you to describe your passage from this life to the one you live now, telling us about a possible confusion and if we can be of any service to you, given your current condition.
Answer: I cannot but acknowledge the excellence of these principles that you teach mankind, about death and the affection given to totally unknown creatures. But… in any case, my dear young man, I will respond to your question. I will not abuse your time and will satisfy your wishes in a few words. I confess that at the time of death I was uptight. Was it matter that made me be sorry for leaving this life? Was it ignorance of the future? I will not hide it, for I was afraid! You asked if I was disorderly. What do you mean by that? If you mean that the violent action of separation took me to a kind of mental lethargy, from which I came out as if from a painful sleep, yes, I was confused. But if you mean a disturbance in intelligence, memory and self-awareness, no. I did not experience that. Nonetheless, the disturbance does happen to certain creatures; may be to me as well, but I do not believe so. I do believe though that such phenomenon must not occur immediately after death. It is true that I was surprised by seeing the existence of the Spirit as you teach but that is not confusion. Here is how I understand that disturbance and how I experienced that. If I were not sure about of my own beliefs; if I had any doubt in my soul about everything I believed until then; If I had experienced a big change in the way I saw things, that would disturb me. In my opinion such disturbance should not occur just after death. If I believe in my reason tells me, at death the creature remains as before passing… It is only later, when isolation and the changes that gradually take place around us is modify their opinion, when the creature experiences a mental commotion, when the primitive assurances shake, and the real confusion begins. You asked if you could be useful to me in any way. My religion tells me that prayer is good; your belief says that too. Therefore, pray for me and be certain of my gratitude. Despite the differences between us it will be a pleasure to come a few times to talk to you.
Father D…”
Our correspondent was right when saying that this communication had a useful instruction. In fact, it is instructive in several ways and our readers will easily understand the serious teachings that come out of that, without the need for our highlights. We see a Spirit here that fought our doctrines when alive and had exhausted the arguments carried by his profound knowledge. Recently deceased, as a Spirit, recognizing the fundamental truths that support us, and yet persisting on his position and for the same motives. It is incontestable that if he had found stronger arguments to combat us, in his spiritual and more lucid state, he would have used them. Far from that, he seems to be afraid of seeing things more clearly, he presents changes in his thoughts that are all connected to earthly ideas that he still carries. He is afraid of the future and therefore, he dares not to face it. We will respond as if he were living and written the message he dictated after his death. We address both the man and the Spirit, responding to those that share his thoughts and that could use the same arguments against us. We then say:
Mr. Priest, although you had been our declared and militant adversary on Earth, none of us thinks the same about you and never thought so when you were alive, first because our faith turns tolerance into law and to us every idea is respectable, when sincere. Freedom of conscience is one of our principles; we wish it to others as we wish it to ourselves. Only God can judge the validity of people’s beliefs and no one has the right to say anathema in the name of God. Freedom of conscience does not exclude discussion and refutation but charity commands not to curse anyone. Second, we do not like you less since your opposition caused no harm to the doctrine. You unwillingly served the cause of Spiritism, as every one that attacks it, helping to promote it and demonstrating, especially due to your personal qualifications, the insufficiency of the weapons used to fight it. Allow me now to discuss a few of your propositions.
One seems to fail logic to me. It is when you say that “Spiritism, fundamentally good, is bad for its results.” I believe you must have forgotten when Jesus said this maxim, that became proverbial by the force of truth: “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.”[1] One cannot understand that something essentially good would cause any harm. In another passage you say that the danger of Spiritism is in the manifestation of the bad Spirits, that will exploit human passions to serve evil. Here we have one of the theses that you supported when alive. But side by side with the bad Spirits we have the good ones that stimulate good, whereas according to the doctrine of the Church the power of communication is only given to the demons. If you then consider Spiritism dangerous because it admits the communication of the bad Spirits as well as the good ones, then the doctrine of the Church is much more dangerous because it only admits the bad ones.
As a matter of fact, it was not Spiritism that invented the manifestation of the Spirits, nor it is the cause of their communication. It only attests a fact that has occurred in all times for it is in nature. Spiritism can only cease to exist when the Spirits can no longer manifest. If such manifestation brings about any danger, we must blame nature for that and not Spiritism. Is the science that explains electricity responsible for the damages caused by lightning? Certainly not. It explains the causes and provides the means of deviating them. It is the same with Spiritism. It explains the causes of a bad influence that may unsuspectedly act upon a person, indicating the means of protection against it, whereas by ignoring it the person would still suffer the effect and follow unaware of them.
The influence of the bad Spirits is part of the scourge to which mankind is exposed down here, like the diseases and disasters of all kinds, because we are in a planet of atonement and testing, where we must work for our moral and intellectual advancement. Bod God’s benevolence always places the remedy by the illness; God gave mankind intelligence to find it. That is the result of the progress of sciences. Spiritism comes to indicate the medicine to one of those disasters. It teaches that to avoid and neutralize the influence of the bad Spirits, one must become better, dominate one’s bad inclinations and practice the virtues taught by Jesus Christ: humility and charity. Would you call that bad result?
The manifestation of the Spirits is a positive fact, acknowledged by the Church. Experience today demonstrates that the Spirits are the souls of people and that is the reason why there are so many imperfect ones. If that fact comes to contradict certain dogmas, Spiritism is as much to blame as Geology that demonstrates that Earth was not built in six days. The mistake is in the dogmas that are not in agreement with nature. By these manifestations, as by the discoveries of science, God wishes to lead us to more truthful beliefs. Hence, when we deny progress, we ignore God’s will; it is blasphemy against God to attribute all that to the devil. Trying, in good or bad faith, to keep a belief against the evidence and turn a knowingly false principle into the basis of a doctrine is the same as supporting a house on a rotten foundation. The strut breaks gradually, and the house falls apart.
You say that the opposition of the Church to Spiritism is understandable and that you approve it because it would be the end of clergy, whose separation from the ordinary people would be destroyed. You say: “With Spiritism there is no more clerical oligarchy; the priest is nobody and someone; he is the good man that teaches truth to his brothers; he is the charitable worker that reaches out to the fallen human being; his priesthood is faith; his hierarchy is the merit and his salary is God! That is great and beautiful, but one must also say that sooner or later that is the downfall not of the man that can only gain from such teachings but of the clerical family. One cannot gladly renounce, and I repeat, to the honor and respect that is already enjoyed. But nobody joyfully renounces to a coveted royalty, to an uncommon prestige that places them above the ordinary, to the richness that although material is not less necessary to them as compared to common people” What now! Would the clergy be motivated by such petty feelings? Would it be ignorance of these words by Jesus: “My kingdom is not of this world”,[2] to the point of sacrificing the interest of truth for the satisfaction of pride, ambition and human passions? He then would not believe in that kingdom promised by Jesus since he prefers the earthly one. He therefore would have his supporting point in heavens, just by appearance and to give him prestige, but just to protect his earthly interests. We prefer to believe that it can be the drive of some of their followers but not that of majority. Otherwise his kingdom would be very near its end and his words would be his sentence, because only the celestial kingdom is eternal whereas those on Earth are fragile and unstable. You go to far, Mr. Priest, in your forecasts about the consequences of Spiritism, farther than me and my writings. Not sharing your thoughts on this, I will just say that for the fact that everyone presents it, the inevitable result will be the transformation of society; it will create a new order of things, new habits, new needs; it will modify beliefs, social relationships; it will do, from a moral point of view, what all great discoveries of science and technology do from a material point of view. Such transformation scares you out and that is why, by presenting it, you keep you away from your thoughts; you do not want to believe in that; in one word, you close your eyes so that you cannot see, and shut your ears so that you cannot hear. There are many like that on Earth. However, if such a transformation is in God’s designs, it will take place, do what they will. One would have to accept that in good will or be forced to accept it, like those from the old regimen had to accept the consequences of the Revolution that they also denied and declared impossible, before its realization.
Whoever told them that in less than a quarter of a century every privilege would have been abolished; that a recent born boy would not become a colonel by birth; that an entire regiment could no longer be bought like a herd of oxen, that the soldier could become a general and the last plebeian a minister; that the rights would be the same to everyone, that the peasant would have voice in the important businesses of the country, side by side with the farmer, they would have shaken their heads out of disbelief! However, if you one them had slept for forty years, like Epimenedes,[3] he would have believed to have awaken in another world. It is the fear of the future that makes you say that Spiritism will only have one turn. You try to create an illusion, trying to prove it to yourself, and you ended up believing in good faith because that calms you down. But what is the reason that you present? The least concluding of all, as it is easy to demonstrate.
Ah if you demonstrated unequivocally that Spiritism is a utopia, that is based on a mistaken fact, on a false basis, illusive and hopeless, you would then be right. But, on the contrary, you affirm the existence of the principle and even the excellence of that principle. You acknowledge, and with you the whole Church, the reality of the material fact that is its foundation: the manifestations. Can such a fact be annihilated? No, as one cannot annihilate the movement of Earth.
Considering that it is part of nature, it shall be always produced. Such a fact, misunderstood in the past, but better studied and understood in our days, brings inevitable consequences. If you cannot annihilate it, you are forced to endure its consequences. Follow it step by step in its ramifications and you will inexorably arrive at a transformation in the ideas. Now, a change in the ideas forcibly brings a change in the order of things. (refer to What is Spiritism).
On another hand, Spiritism do not step on people’s intelligence; it does not impose a blind belief; it wishes faith to be supported by understanding. This is the main point, Mr. Priest, of our disagreement. Spiritism gives total freedom of examination of any point, based on the principle that since truth is one, sooner or later it must prevail upon falsehood, and that a principle based on error falls by the force of things. False ideas, when discussed, show their weak spots and fade away before logic. Divergences like these are inevitable in the beginning; they are even necessary because they help the depuration and the establishment of the fundamental idea. It is preferable that they are produced since the beginning for the true doctrine will disentangle sooner. That is why we always tell the followers: Do not worry about contradicting ideas that are issued or published. See how many have been born dead! How many writings are no longer talked about! What is it that we seek? The success of our ideas at any price? No, but the triumph of truth. If, among the contrary ideas, some are more truthful than ours, they shall succeed, and we must follow them; if they are false, they cannot withstand the decisive control of the universal teachings of the Spirits, the only criteria of the surviving idea. The assimilation that you establish between Spiritism and other philosophical doctrines lacks accuracy. It was not people that made Spiritism what it is and what is going to be later; it is the Spirits by their teachings. People only make it move and coordinate the material that is provided. That teaching is not complete yet and what has been given so far can only be considered as the landmarks of the science. It can be compared to the four rules of math and we are still in the equations of first degree. That is why many people still do not understand its importance and reach. But the Spirits regulate the teachings and depend on nobody to make it move slower or faster than they wish; they neither follow those in a hurry nor they fall behind the slow ones.
Spiritism is not the works of a single Spirit or a single man. It is the work of the Spirits in general. If follows that the opinion of a given Spirit about a principle is only considered, by the Spiritists, as an individual opinion, that can be fair or false and only has value when sanctioned by the teaching of the majority, given in several points of the world. It was this universal teaching that made Spiritism what it is and will make it what it is going to be. Before such a powerful criterion, every false idea necessarily falls, as does every particular theory that is the product of systematic ideas, be it from one person or one isolated Spirit. There is no doubt that a false idea may gather some followers, but it will never prevail against what is taught everywhere. Spiritism that has just been born and raises question of the highest importance, does bring ebullition to several imaginations. Each one sees things their own way. Hence the surge of systems in its infancy, the majority of which have already disappeared by the force of the general teaching. The same applies to those that are not with the truth because the divergent teaching of a Spirit given to a medium will always be opposed to the teaching of millions of Spirits given to millions of mediums. That is why certain exotic theories only lived a few days and never left the small circle where they were produced. Deprived from the general sanction, they do not find echo nor sympathy in the masses, and if they also shock logic and common sense, they then provoke repulsion that precipitates their downfall.
Spiritism, therefore, has an element of stability and unity that comes from its own nature and origin, something that is not proper to any purely human conceived philosophical doctrine; it is the shield that will shatter any attempt to have it destroyed or divided. Such divisions can only be partial, momentary and circumscribed.
You mentioned sects that, in your opinion, divide the Spiritists, then concluding that the ruin of the doctrine is near. But you forgot all that divided Christianity since its inception, that made it bleed and still divide it, and whose number is not less than three hundred and sixty today. However, despite the profound dissidences about the fundamental dogmas, Christianity stood up, a proof that it is independent of those controversies. Why then you wish that Spiritism, connected to Christianity in its foundation, only divided in secondary issues that are daily clarified, would suffer with the divergence of a few personal opinions, when it has such a powerful universal control as an aggregator?
Hence, even if Spiritism today were divided into twenty sects, something that is not and shall not be, this would not have any consequence because it is the work of delivery. If the divisions were driven by personal ambitions, by persons dominated by the idea of becoming heads of sects, or by the exploration of the idea to serve their self-love, or their personal interests, there is not doubt that they would be the least dangerous. Personal ambitions die with the individuals and if the truth was not with those that wanted to rise up, their ideas will die with them and perhaps even before that. Truth, however, cannot die.
You are right, Mr. Priest, when saying that there will be ruins with Spiritism, but not as you think. The ruins will be of every mistaken idea that surges and boils. If they are all wrong, they will all fall, and that is inevitable; but if there is only one that is true, that will infallibly survive.
Two very marked opinions, that we could really call sects, were formed a few years back, from the teachings of two Spirits masked by venerable names, captivating the trust of a few people. Today nobody talks about that. What caused the downfall? The common sense and logic of the masses on one side, the general teachings of the Spirits in agreement with that very logic.
Will you contest the value of such universal control, by the fact that the Spirits are the souls of people, and therefore equally subject to error? You would then be in contradiction with yourself. Don’t you agree that a general council has more authority than that of a particular council, given that it is more numerous and that its opinion prevails onto the opinion of individual priests, each bishop and even that of the Pope? That the majority creates the laws in people’s assemblies? Isn’t that reasonable to expect that the Spirits that govern the world by the order of God also had their councils, their assemblies? Do you deny the Spirits the sanction of truth but you accept that among people? Do you forget the fact that if there are inferior Spirits among them, these are not the ones called upon by God to deliver the interests of Earth, but the superior Spirits, those that overpassed the obstacles of humanity and whose number is incalculable? And how do they bring the instruction of the majority to us? Is it by the voice of a single Spirit, a single person? No, but as I said, by millions of Spirits and millions of people. Does it happen in a single center, in one city, one country, one cast, in a privileged nation as in the past with the Israelites? No, it happens everywhere, in all countries, at the home of the rich as of the poor. How could you expect that the opinion of a few individuals could prevail against such a formidable ensemble of voices? Believe me, Mr. Priest, such a universal sanction is much worth the same as an ecumenic council.
Spiritism is strong precisely because it is based on that sanction and not on isolated opinions. Does it proclaim itself as immutable in its current teachings, saying that there is nothing more to be taught? No, because up until now it has followed, and will follow in the future, the progressive teaching that is appropriate, and that is a source of strength to Spiritism because it will never distant itself from progress.
Wait a little more, Mr. Priest, and before a quarter of a century you will see Spiritism much less divided than Christianity is today, after eighteen centuries.
You mistakenly concluded by the instability of the doctrine based on the fluctuations that you noticed in the society and in the Spiritist gatherings. Spiritism is not a speculative theory, based on a preconceived idea. It is a matter of fact, and consequently, of personal conviction. Anyone that may admit the fact and its consequences is Spiritism without the need to take part in any society. One can be a perfect Spiritist without it. The future of Spiritism is in its own principle, an imperishable principle, because it is in nature and not in the meetings, many times taking place in unfavorable condition, composed of heterogenous elements, and consequently subordinated to several eventualities.
The societies are useful but not is indispensable, and all of them could cease to exist without affecting the march of Spiritism, considering that the largest number of followers are not in their circles. They represent much more the believers that seek sympathetic centers than the non-believers. The serious and well managed societies are particularly important to neutralize the bad impression left by those where Spiritism is badly represented or disfigured. The Spiritist Society of Paris is not an exception to the rule for it does not claim any monopoly. It does not consist on the greater or smaller number of followers but on the idea that it represents. Such idea is independent of any meeting and whatever happens the propagating element will replace it if needed. Therefore, one can say that the Parisian Society is everywhere where the same principles are professed, from the orient to the occident, and that if it disappeared materially the idea would outlive. Spiritism is an infant that grows and whose initial steps are naturally dithering; but like the premature children, it shows signs of strength early on. That is why certain persons are afraid and would like to have it muffled in the crib. If it had arrived as weak as you suppose it would not have caused such resistance, nor would it have raised so much hostility, and you yourself would not have tried to fight against it. Let the child grow then, and you shall see what will become of the adult. You predicted its near end but several incarnate and discarnate made their predictions otherwise. Hear them out and their predictions that have been taking place unstoppably for the last ten years and repeat all over the world.
“Spiritism has come to fight disbelief that is a disaggregating element of society, replacing the blind faith, that fades away, by the reasoned faith, that vivifies. It carries the regenerating element of humanity and will be the compass of future generations. Like all other great renovating ideas, it must fight against the opposition of interests that it will harm and ideas that it will bring down. All kinds of obstacles will be produced; all kinds of weapons will be used against it, loyal and disloyal, that people will believe to be adequate to have it destroyed. Its first steps will be on heathers and thorns. Its followers will be denigrated, ridiculed, betrayed, scorned and persecuted; they shall find disappointment and deception. Happy are the ones whose faith is not shaken in these terrible days; who have fought and suffered for the triumph of truth, because they will be rewarded for their courage and perseverance. Yet, Spiritism will continue its march through traps and hindrances; it is unshakable, like everything else that is in God’s will, because it is supported by the laws of nature that are eternal like God, whereas everything else that is contrary to those laws shall fail. Through the light that it shines upon obscure and controversial points of the Scriptures, it shall lead mankind to the unit of belief. Giving the laws of nature for the basis of the principles of equality, freedom and fraternity, it will lay the foundation of the kingdom of the true Christian charity, the very kingdom of God on Earth, predicted by Jesus Christ. Many still reject it because they do not know it or do not understand it; when they acknowledge that it does realize the dearest hopes for the future of humanity, they will embrace it like St. Paul with Christianity, and it will find defenders among the adversaries of the last hour. From the multitude strong souls will rise and hold in their hands the cause and the authority of their word will bring silence to the detractors. The struggle shall still last a long time, because the super excited human passions by pride and material interests cannot be suddenly appeased. Those passions shall disappear with people, and before this century terminates the new faith will acquire a prominent place among the civilized peoples, and the era of regeneration will mark the next century.”
[1] Matthew 7:18 (T.N.)
[2] John, 18:36 (T.N.)
[3] Epimenides of Cnossos was a semi-mythical 7th or 6th century BC Greek seer and philosopher-poet (Wikipedia, T.N.)
The Davenport Brothers
The Davenport brothers, that right now attract so much attention, are two young man, one twenty-four years old and the other twenty-five years old, born in Buffalo, New York, giving public displays as mediums. Their skills are, however, limited to physical effects, being the most remarkable one the event in which they are tightly tied up with ropes and released instantaneously by an invisible force, despite all precautions taken to verify that they cannot do it on their own. This is added to other more common phenomena such as the transportation of objects through space, the spontaneous sound produced by musical instruments, the apparition of illuminated hands, people being touched by invisible hands, etc.
The Didiers, editors of The Spirits’ Book, have just published their biography, with a detailed description of the effects that are produced by them and that, except for the tight ropes, share many similar points with those produced by Mr. Home. The commotion caused by their presence in England and in Paris gives this book a strong contemporaneous seal. The book was not written by them but by their English biographer, Dr. Nichols, that limited himself to the report of the events and the documentation provided by them; the French editors, however, had the great idea of adding to the publication two of our brochures: Summary of the Laws of the Spiritist Phenomena and Spiritism in its Simplest Expression, with a large number of explanatory notes in the body of the text.[1] One can then find appropriate teachings about the case of those gentlemen whose detail we cannot provide now since we must look at the issue from a different perspective.
We say only that their aptitude to produce those phenomena presented itself spontaneously since their childhood. For several years they traveled around the main northern American cities where they acquired their reputation. In September 1864 they came to England where they produced vivid interest. They were both acclaimed and denigrated, ridiculed and even scorned by the press and the public. In Liverpool were subjected to the most outrageous malevolence to the point of seeing their own personal safety endangered. The opinions about them were greatly divided: some considered them no more than skillful con men; others thought they were acting in good faith and could admit a hidden cause to the phenomena; but to summarize they did not conquer much support to the Spiritist idea there. In that essentially religious country, natural commonsense repudiated the idea that spiritual beings would reveal their presence through theatrical exhibitions and demonstration of force. Since the Spiritist Philosophy was not much known there, the public confused Spiritism with such demonstrations and built a more contrary than favorable opinion about the doctrine. It is true that in France Spiritism began by the turning tables but in much different conditions. Mediumship revealed itself all over the place, in all social classes with people of all ages and gender, immediately ruling out the idea of charlatanism; anybody could attest it directly, in the intimacy of their homes, through repetitive observations, the reality of events linked to a powerful interest beyond the material effects that were not much appealing to reason but they saw their moral and philosophical consequences. If, instead, that kind of primitive mediumship were the privilege of a few isolated individuals with the need of promoting it on stages, buying faith, and nobody would have heard of the Spirits long ago. Faith is born out of a moral impression. Anything that is prone to produce a bad impression repels faith, instead of exciting it. There would be much less believers in Spiritism today if the phenomenon had been always presented that way. The non-believer, naturally predisposed to mockery, cannot be led to take seriously something that I surrounded by circumstances that do not impose respect or trust. Shallow criticism forms opinion based on a first unfavorable impression, confounding good and bad in the same reproach. Very few convictions were formed in public demonstrations whereas the immense majority came out of intimate gatherings, where the notorious honorability of the members could inspire trust and defy any suspicion of fraud.
In the last Spring, after exploring England, the Davenport brothers came to Paris. Some time before their arrival, a person came to see us on their behalf, asking us to support them in our Spiritist Review. It is a well-known fact that we are not easily enthusiastic, even with things that are familiar to us, and with even more reason with things that are unknow to us. We were then unable to promise an anticipated support, given our habit of only talking about things that we knew. Public opinion was divided in France as well as in England. In France they were only known from the contradictory reports in the papers. Hence, we could not censor them prematurely since this could be injustice, nor could we approve them, since the could have taken advantage of that. That was the reason for our abstention.
On their arrival they went to live in Gennevilliers’ Castle, near Paris, where they stayed for several months, without giving any public appearance. We do not know the reason for that absence. In recent days they gave some private sessions that were reported by the papers in a kind of picturesque way. Their public session was finally announced to September 12th, to take place at the Hertz theater. The outcome of that deplorable session is well-known; it renovated, in a lesser scale, the tumultuous events of Liverpool, in which one of the spectators jumped on the stage and broke a device used by the brothers and showing a board he said: “Here is the trick!”. Such outrageous attitude, unacceptable in a civilized country, led to the turmoil. The session was interrupted, and money returned to the public. However, since many tickets had been donated, the box office had a deficit of seventy francs, indicating that seventy spectators had come for free and left the theater with ten francs more in their pockets, undoubtedly to compensate for their expenses to attend the meeting. The controversy that was established about the Davenport brothers offers several teaching opportunities that we will examine.
The first question asked by the Spiritists themselves was this: Are those gentlemen mediums or not? All the facts reported in their biography enter the circle of mediumistic possibility, considering that analogous and notoriously authentic effects were produced many times under the influence of serious mediums. If the facts themselves are admissible, we must acknowledge that the circumstances in which they are produced lead to suspicion. The first one that shocks upfront is the need for dimly light, something that evidently facilitates fraud. But that alone would not constitute a strong objection. The mediumistic effects have absolutely nothing of supernatural; all of them, without exception, are due to the combination of fluids of the medium and the Spirit; those fluids, although imponderable, are nonetheless subtle matter. There is, therefore, a cause and effect that are in a certain way material; that led us to always say that since the Spiritist phenomena are based on the laws of nature, they have nothing of miraculous. As with many other phenomena, they only seem miraculous because their laws are unknown. The marvelous and the supernatural have disappeared now that those laws are known, giving place to reality. Therefore, there isn’t a single Spiritist that attribute miraculous skills to oneself. That is what critics would known if they took the burden of studying what they criticized.
Going back to the issue of darkness, it is also known that there are chemical combinations that cannot take place in the light; that there are combinations and chemical decompositions that are excited by light. Considering that every Spiritist phenomenon is the result of fluidic combination, as we said, and since those fluids are material, it wouldn’t be strange that in certain cases light would work against them.
A more serious objection is the timing to produce the phenomena, with scheduled day and time and at will. Such submission to the wishes of individuals is contrary to everything that is known about the nature of the Spirits, and the selective repetition of a given phenomenon must be rightfully considered suspicious, even when there is selflessness, and with more reason when related to profitable public exhibitions that make reason reject the idea that Spirits could submit themselves to that. Mediumship is a natural aptitude, inherent to the medium, like the ability to produce sound is inherent to a musical instrument; but as the instrument requires the musician to produce sound, the medium requires Spirits to produce mediumistic effects. The Spirits come when they wish and when they can, resulting that the best equipped medium sometimes obtains nothing. In that case it is like an instrument without the musician. That happens every day; it happened to Mr. Home that frequently would go for months without producing anything, despite his own will, even if in the presence of a sovereign.
If follows, therefore, from the very essence of mediumship, and that can be established as an absolute principle, that a medium is never certain that a given effect will be produced because that does not depend on her. Affirming the opposite would be total ignorance of the most elementary principles of the Spiritist science. In order to promise the production of a given phenomenon with a set time one needs to possess material resources that do not come from the Spirits. Is it the case with the Davenport brothers? We don’t know. Judgment can be passed by those that followed their experiences.
There was talk of proposed challenges and bets for the best magic. The Spirits are not con artists and a serious medium would never fight anyone, let alone a deceiver. The latter has his own means, the former is a passive instrument of a foreign, free and independent will and that cannot be controlled by anybody. If the con man says that he does more than the medium, let him do so. He is right because he acts with certainty; entertains the public and that is his purpose; he boasts about it and that is his role; he promotes it and that is a necessity for his position. The serious medium that knows to have no personal merit in what is done, is modest; cannot be proud of something that is not the product of his own talent or promise something that does not depend on oneself.
The mediums, however, do something else. Through them the good Spirits inspire charity and benevolence to all; they teach mankind to see everyone as brothers, without distinction of cast or sect; to forgive those that cause them harm; to overcome bad inclinations; to withstand the miseries of life with patience; to face death fearlessly for the certainty of a future life. They give consolation to those in suffering, courage to the weak, hope to the ones that did not believe, etc. What they do not teach is the magic of the deceivers nor that of the Davenports.
The inherent conditions of mediumship, therefore, cannot be submitted to regularity and punctuality, conditions that are necessary to scheduled sessions that must satisfy the public at any price. If, however, the Spirits supported such kind of manifestation, something that is not radically impossible, since there are Spirits at all possible level of advancement, those could only be of low classes because it would be totally absurd to think that other class of Spirits would come to have fun by making exhibitions. But even in that hypothetical case the medium would still depend on that Spirits that could leave the medium when their presence was more necessary and lead the presentation or consultation to failure. Since the theater goer must be compensated, if the Spirits do not show up, they must then be forgotten; with some skill it is easy to make the change. That is what commonly happens to mediums that were originally bestowed with real faculties but insufficient for the proposed objective.
Of all Spiritist phenomena, the physical effects are the ones that better facilitates imitation. Although the real manifestations have a distinct character and are only produced under determined conditions, the imitation may approach reality to the point of eluding people, particularly persons that do not know the laws that govern the true phenomena. But for the fact that they can be imitated it would be illogical to conclude that they do not exist as much as it would be illogical to conclude that there aren’t true diamonds for the fact that there are false ones.
We make no personal assumption here. We provide the principles based on reason and experience from where we come to this conclusion: that a scrupulous examination carried out with a thorough knowledge of the Spiritist phenomena is the only one capable of distinguishing deception from real mediumship. We add that the best of all guarantees is the respect and consideration associated to the medium, her morality and notorious honorability, her absolute moral and material altruïsm. Nobody disagrees that in such circumstances the quality of the individual constitutes precedent that impresses favorably because they rule out the suspicion of fraud.
We do not judge the Davenport brothers and far from us to doubt their honorability. But besides their moral quality that we have no reason to suspect, we must confess that they present themselves in conditions that are not much favorable to attest their condition of mediums, and that it is an enormous frivolity from the part of the critics that raise them to the position of apostles and priests of the doctrine. The objective of their voyage to Europe is clearly defined in this passage of their biography:
“I believe, without a doubt, that the Davenport’s brothers left New York on August 27th, bringing along a helper, Mr. Willian Fay, who was attending Mr. Willian Davenport’s illness; the former should not be confused with Mr. H. Melleville Fay, that as it seems was discovered in Canada by some sort of authority trying to produce some sort of similar effects. They were followed by Mr. Palmer, a well-known person in the business world as an agent in the world of theater and classical singing, to whom the commercial side of the enterprise was entrusted, thanks to his experience.”
It is then clear that it was a business enterprise, managed by a businessman, an agent of theatrical events. The facts reported in the biography are, as we heard, are possible in mediumistic terms; the age and the circumstances in which they began rule out the idea of charlatanism; it all tends to demonstrate that those young men were in fact mediums of physical effects, as there are many in their country and where the exploitation of such faculty became habit and does not surprise public opinion. What we cannot attest, since we do not have any proof of that, is the possible augmentation of their natural gifts, as other exploiting mediums did to increase their prestige and compensate for the lack of flexibility of those very gifts.
If we admit, however, the truthfulness of those faculties, we would say that they were eluded with respect to the European reception, since they were presented as a spectacle of curiosity, and in conditions much contrary to the principles of religious and philosophical Spiritism. The enlightened and sincere Spiritists that abound, particularly in France, could not welcome them in such conditions, neither to accept them as apostles, even considering that they are sincere. As for the non-believers, whose number is so large and still dominate the press, the occasion was perfect for them to exercise their vein of mockery, so that they could not let it go. Those gentlemen then opened the door to the widest criticism, giving people the same right of those that purchase any kind of ticket. There is no doubt that if they had presented themselves in a more serious manner the reception would have been different; they would have shut the mouth of the detractors. A medium is strong when able to say this courageously: “How much did you pay to come here and who invited you; God bestowed me a gift that can be withdrawn at God’s will, like the vision or the spoken word. I only use if for good, in the interest of truth and not to satisfy curiosity or my own interests. My only reward is the work of devotion; I do not try even to satisfy self-love for that faculty does not depend on me. I consider it a sacred thing since it puts me in communication with the spiritual world, allowing me to give faith to the non-believers and consolation to those in suffering. To me it is a sacrilege to trade with that because I do not have the right to sell the assistance of the Spirits that come to me for free. Considering that I take no advantage, I therefore have no interest in deceiving you.” A medium that can say so is strong, we repeat. It is a answer without replica and that always imposes respect.
In this present case the critic was malevolent; it was unfair and injurious and embraced all the Spiritists and all mediums in the same reproach, not sparing the most disrespectful labels, regardless of the amount of damage it might cause and that it would reach the most respectable families. We will not repeat the expressions that were used and that only dishonor the ones that produce them. Every sincere belief is respectable and all of you that constantly scream about the freedom of conscience as a natural right, at least respect those of others. You can discuss opinions, for that is your right, but calumny has always been the worst argument and never of a good cause.
Not all the press shares that deviation of civility; there are some, among the critics of the Davenport brothers, whose character does not exclude education and moderation, and that are fair. The one we are going to cite, points out precisely the weak spot that we mentioned above. It was taken from the “Courrier de Paris du Monde Illustré”, on September 16th, 1865, signed by Neuter.
“A first objection seemed enough to me to demonstrate that the good young men that gave a public display at the Hertz theater were skillful in tricks completely strange to the superior worlds. This objection is taken from the very regularity with which they exploited their supposedly miraculous power. Since they gave guarantees that it was the Spirits that came to manifest publicly in their benefit, the Davenports treated them as servants and with the same familiarity that the director of a play treats his chorus girls. They never asked if their super-human accomplices were tired, if the date was convenient to them, if the heat bothered them, and yet the scheduled a precise day and time, expecting that the fluidic beings were available and played their roles at that moment, executing their musical jokes with the precision of a musician to whom their concert-café yields the fee of 1 franc.
They did not ask their super-human accomplices if the day was good for them, if they were tired, if it was not too hot and still scheduled a fixed date and time, and it was expected that the fluidic beings were okay at that moment, that they played their role on time, executed their little musical tricks with the precision of a musician to whom the café-concert would pay a one franc fee!
Seriously, that is a petty idea of the spiritual world, presenting it like that to us, like a village of commanded genies, commissioned elves that go to a given city attending a signal of their master. No rest to the super terrestrial actors! When a sudden illness of the show-off gives him the right of rescheduling the spectacle, the souls of the Davenports lot are slaves that must attend at any time. It is hard to live in fantastic planets to become reduced to such a degree of slavery. And what is the task attributed to those unfortunate souls from beyond the grave? Make their hands – the hands of souls – pass through the cracks of an armoire. Take them down to the exhibition level of jesters! Make them play guitars, those grotesque instruments refused even by the wandering minstrels in search of a few cents!”
Isn’t that in fact like touching a sore spot? If only Mr. Neuter knew that Spiritism says precisely the same thing, although in a less witty way, he would then have said: “But this is not Spiritism!” absolutely in the same way, when he sees a charlatan, he says: “This is not medicine.” Since neither science nor religion support abuse, Spiritism does not support those that use its name either. The bad impression that the author had was not of the persons of the Davenports but from the condition that they place themselves before the public and from the ridiculous idea that they pass of the spiritual world, something that even non-believers are shocked to see displayed on the stage. That was the impression of critics in general, translated by him in a kind of polite way. This will always be the case when the mediums are not ready to respect the belief that they profess. The hardship of the Davenports is a lucky strike to the adversaries of Spiritism that, in turn, hurry to boast victory and ridicule the followers as much as they can, screaming at them that their belief is mortally wounded, as if Spiritism was incarnate in the Davenports brothers. Spiritism is incarnate in nobody. It is in nature and nobody can preclude its march, because those that try, in fact, work to make it progress. Spiritism is not about tying someone with ropes, nor it is about this or that physical experimentation. Spiritism has never sponsored those gentlemen, nor has it presented them as cornerstones of the doctrine that they did not even know, hence it cannot be belied by their adversity. Their failure is not a blow against Spiritism but against those that exploit Spiritism.
It must be one of the two: they either are con men or true mediums. If they are charlatans, we must thank all the others that helped to unmask them; with that regards we owe Mr. Robin special thanks for in the present case he does a great service to Spiritism that would have suffered if people believed in their frauds. Every time the press pointed out abuse, exploitation or maneuvers to compromise the doctrine, the sincere Spirits, far from regretting it they applauded. If they are true mediums, the conditions in which they present themselves does not produce a favorable impression and cannot be useful to the cause. In one case or the other Spiritism has no interest in taking sides in their favor.
Now, what is going to be the result of such uproar? Here it is: the chronicle that was starving in these days of tropical heat gains a subject with that, quickly grabbing it to fulfil their lacking columns of political and theatrical news. Mr. Robin finds there an excellent publicity for his theater of conjurers, something that he exploited skillfully, and we wish him well since there he speaks of the Spiritists and Spiritism every day. With that criticism loses some of its consideration, given the eccentricity and lack of civility of the controversy. Materially speaking perhaps, the least benefited are the Davenports, whose speculation is markedly compromised.
Spiritism is evidently the one that should benefit the most. Its followers understand it so well that they are not absolutely moved by the situation and wait the result with confidence. In the country side where they are affected by the mockery of the adversaries even more than in Paris, they simply respond: Wait and soon you shall see who is going to be dead and buried. With that, Spiritism in principle will gain immense popularity and shall become known, at least by name, by many people that had never heard of it. But among them many do not limit themselves to the name. Their curiosity is excited by the fury of the attacks; they want to know what is behind such a doctrine, that some say is ridiculous; they will search at the source and when they see that they were just making fun and will tell themselves that is it not something bad. Spiritism will then gain for being better understood, judged and appreciated.
It will also gain by putting in evidence the sincere and devout followers with whom it can count on, separating them from the superficial followers. The adversaries will still try to exploit the circumstances to bring divisions or defections, true or simulated, using it as support to destroy Spiritism. After having failed from all other means, this is their ultimate way out; however, it will also fail, only separating the dead branches from the trunk, branches that produced no sap and hence reenergizing the tree.
These results, and several others that we abstain from listing, are inevitable and we would not be surprised by learning that it was the Spirits themselves that provoked all that uproar to reach such object more promptly.
[1] See bibliographic bulletin
The Didiers, editors of The Spirits’ Book, have just published their biography, with a detailed description of the effects that are produced by them and that, except for the tight ropes, share many similar points with those produced by Mr. Home. The commotion caused by their presence in England and in Paris gives this book a strong contemporaneous seal. The book was not written by them but by their English biographer, Dr. Nichols, that limited himself to the report of the events and the documentation provided by them; the French editors, however, had the great idea of adding to the publication two of our brochures: Summary of the Laws of the Spiritist Phenomena and Spiritism in its Simplest Expression, with a large number of explanatory notes in the body of the text.[1] One can then find appropriate teachings about the case of those gentlemen whose detail we cannot provide now since we must look at the issue from a different perspective.
We say only that their aptitude to produce those phenomena presented itself spontaneously since their childhood. For several years they traveled around the main northern American cities where they acquired their reputation. In September 1864 they came to England where they produced vivid interest. They were both acclaimed and denigrated, ridiculed and even scorned by the press and the public. In Liverpool were subjected to the most outrageous malevolence to the point of seeing their own personal safety endangered. The opinions about them were greatly divided: some considered them no more than skillful con men; others thought they were acting in good faith and could admit a hidden cause to the phenomena; but to summarize they did not conquer much support to the Spiritist idea there. In that essentially religious country, natural commonsense repudiated the idea that spiritual beings would reveal their presence through theatrical exhibitions and demonstration of force. Since the Spiritist Philosophy was not much known there, the public confused Spiritism with such demonstrations and built a more contrary than favorable opinion about the doctrine. It is true that in France Spiritism began by the turning tables but in much different conditions. Mediumship revealed itself all over the place, in all social classes with people of all ages and gender, immediately ruling out the idea of charlatanism; anybody could attest it directly, in the intimacy of their homes, through repetitive observations, the reality of events linked to a powerful interest beyond the material effects that were not much appealing to reason but they saw their moral and philosophical consequences. If, instead, that kind of primitive mediumship were the privilege of a few isolated individuals with the need of promoting it on stages, buying faith, and nobody would have heard of the Spirits long ago. Faith is born out of a moral impression. Anything that is prone to produce a bad impression repels faith, instead of exciting it. There would be much less believers in Spiritism today if the phenomenon had been always presented that way. The non-believer, naturally predisposed to mockery, cannot be led to take seriously something that I surrounded by circumstances that do not impose respect or trust. Shallow criticism forms opinion based on a first unfavorable impression, confounding good and bad in the same reproach. Very few convictions were formed in public demonstrations whereas the immense majority came out of intimate gatherings, where the notorious honorability of the members could inspire trust and defy any suspicion of fraud.
In the last Spring, after exploring England, the Davenport brothers came to Paris. Some time before their arrival, a person came to see us on their behalf, asking us to support them in our Spiritist Review. It is a well-known fact that we are not easily enthusiastic, even with things that are familiar to us, and with even more reason with things that are unknow to us. We were then unable to promise an anticipated support, given our habit of only talking about things that we knew. Public opinion was divided in France as well as in England. In France they were only known from the contradictory reports in the papers. Hence, we could not censor them prematurely since this could be injustice, nor could we approve them, since the could have taken advantage of that. That was the reason for our abstention.
On their arrival they went to live in Gennevilliers’ Castle, near Paris, where they stayed for several months, without giving any public appearance. We do not know the reason for that absence. In recent days they gave some private sessions that were reported by the papers in a kind of picturesque way. Their public session was finally announced to September 12th, to take place at the Hertz theater. The outcome of that deplorable session is well-known; it renovated, in a lesser scale, the tumultuous events of Liverpool, in which one of the spectators jumped on the stage and broke a device used by the brothers and showing a board he said: “Here is the trick!”. Such outrageous attitude, unacceptable in a civilized country, led to the turmoil. The session was interrupted, and money returned to the public. However, since many tickets had been donated, the box office had a deficit of seventy francs, indicating that seventy spectators had come for free and left the theater with ten francs more in their pockets, undoubtedly to compensate for their expenses to attend the meeting. The controversy that was established about the Davenport brothers offers several teaching opportunities that we will examine.
The first question asked by the Spiritists themselves was this: Are those gentlemen mediums or not? All the facts reported in their biography enter the circle of mediumistic possibility, considering that analogous and notoriously authentic effects were produced many times under the influence of serious mediums. If the facts themselves are admissible, we must acknowledge that the circumstances in which they are produced lead to suspicion. The first one that shocks upfront is the need for dimly light, something that evidently facilitates fraud. But that alone would not constitute a strong objection. The mediumistic effects have absolutely nothing of supernatural; all of them, without exception, are due to the combination of fluids of the medium and the Spirit; those fluids, although imponderable, are nonetheless subtle matter. There is, therefore, a cause and effect that are in a certain way material; that led us to always say that since the Spiritist phenomena are based on the laws of nature, they have nothing of miraculous. As with many other phenomena, they only seem miraculous because their laws are unknown. The marvelous and the supernatural have disappeared now that those laws are known, giving place to reality. Therefore, there isn’t a single Spiritist that attribute miraculous skills to oneself. That is what critics would known if they took the burden of studying what they criticized.
Going back to the issue of darkness, it is also known that there are chemical combinations that cannot take place in the light; that there are combinations and chemical decompositions that are excited by light. Considering that every Spiritist phenomenon is the result of fluidic combination, as we said, and since those fluids are material, it wouldn’t be strange that in certain cases light would work against them.
A more serious objection is the timing to produce the phenomena, with scheduled day and time and at will. Such submission to the wishes of individuals is contrary to everything that is known about the nature of the Spirits, and the selective repetition of a given phenomenon must be rightfully considered suspicious, even when there is selflessness, and with more reason when related to profitable public exhibitions that make reason reject the idea that Spirits could submit themselves to that. Mediumship is a natural aptitude, inherent to the medium, like the ability to produce sound is inherent to a musical instrument; but as the instrument requires the musician to produce sound, the medium requires Spirits to produce mediumistic effects. The Spirits come when they wish and when they can, resulting that the best equipped medium sometimes obtains nothing. In that case it is like an instrument without the musician. That happens every day; it happened to Mr. Home that frequently would go for months without producing anything, despite his own will, even if in the presence of a sovereign.
If follows, therefore, from the very essence of mediumship, and that can be established as an absolute principle, that a medium is never certain that a given effect will be produced because that does not depend on her. Affirming the opposite would be total ignorance of the most elementary principles of the Spiritist science. In order to promise the production of a given phenomenon with a set time one needs to possess material resources that do not come from the Spirits. Is it the case with the Davenport brothers? We don’t know. Judgment can be passed by those that followed their experiences.
There was talk of proposed challenges and bets for the best magic. The Spirits are not con artists and a serious medium would never fight anyone, let alone a deceiver. The latter has his own means, the former is a passive instrument of a foreign, free and independent will and that cannot be controlled by anybody. If the con man says that he does more than the medium, let him do so. He is right because he acts with certainty; entertains the public and that is his purpose; he boasts about it and that is his role; he promotes it and that is a necessity for his position. The serious medium that knows to have no personal merit in what is done, is modest; cannot be proud of something that is not the product of his own talent or promise something that does not depend on oneself.
The mediums, however, do something else. Through them the good Spirits inspire charity and benevolence to all; they teach mankind to see everyone as brothers, without distinction of cast or sect; to forgive those that cause them harm; to overcome bad inclinations; to withstand the miseries of life with patience; to face death fearlessly for the certainty of a future life. They give consolation to those in suffering, courage to the weak, hope to the ones that did not believe, etc. What they do not teach is the magic of the deceivers nor that of the Davenports.
The inherent conditions of mediumship, therefore, cannot be submitted to regularity and punctuality, conditions that are necessary to scheduled sessions that must satisfy the public at any price. If, however, the Spirits supported such kind of manifestation, something that is not radically impossible, since there are Spirits at all possible level of advancement, those could only be of low classes because it would be totally absurd to think that other class of Spirits would come to have fun by making exhibitions. But even in that hypothetical case the medium would still depend on that Spirits that could leave the medium when their presence was more necessary and lead the presentation or consultation to failure. Since the theater goer must be compensated, if the Spirits do not show up, they must then be forgotten; with some skill it is easy to make the change. That is what commonly happens to mediums that were originally bestowed with real faculties but insufficient for the proposed objective.
Of all Spiritist phenomena, the physical effects are the ones that better facilitates imitation. Although the real manifestations have a distinct character and are only produced under determined conditions, the imitation may approach reality to the point of eluding people, particularly persons that do not know the laws that govern the true phenomena. But for the fact that they can be imitated it would be illogical to conclude that they do not exist as much as it would be illogical to conclude that there aren’t true diamonds for the fact that there are false ones.
We make no personal assumption here. We provide the principles based on reason and experience from where we come to this conclusion: that a scrupulous examination carried out with a thorough knowledge of the Spiritist phenomena is the only one capable of distinguishing deception from real mediumship. We add that the best of all guarantees is the respect and consideration associated to the medium, her morality and notorious honorability, her absolute moral and material altruïsm. Nobody disagrees that in such circumstances the quality of the individual constitutes precedent that impresses favorably because they rule out the suspicion of fraud.
We do not judge the Davenport brothers and far from us to doubt their honorability. But besides their moral quality that we have no reason to suspect, we must confess that they present themselves in conditions that are not much favorable to attest their condition of mediums, and that it is an enormous frivolity from the part of the critics that raise them to the position of apostles and priests of the doctrine. The objective of their voyage to Europe is clearly defined in this passage of their biography:
“I believe, without a doubt, that the Davenport’s brothers left New York on August 27th, bringing along a helper, Mr. Willian Fay, who was attending Mr. Willian Davenport’s illness; the former should not be confused with Mr. H. Melleville Fay, that as it seems was discovered in Canada by some sort of authority trying to produce some sort of similar effects. They were followed by Mr. Palmer, a well-known person in the business world as an agent in the world of theater and classical singing, to whom the commercial side of the enterprise was entrusted, thanks to his experience.”
It is then clear that it was a business enterprise, managed by a businessman, an agent of theatrical events. The facts reported in the biography are, as we heard, are possible in mediumistic terms; the age and the circumstances in which they began rule out the idea of charlatanism; it all tends to demonstrate that those young men were in fact mediums of physical effects, as there are many in their country and where the exploitation of such faculty became habit and does not surprise public opinion. What we cannot attest, since we do not have any proof of that, is the possible augmentation of their natural gifts, as other exploiting mediums did to increase their prestige and compensate for the lack of flexibility of those very gifts.
If we admit, however, the truthfulness of those faculties, we would say that they were eluded with respect to the European reception, since they were presented as a spectacle of curiosity, and in conditions much contrary to the principles of religious and philosophical Spiritism. The enlightened and sincere Spiritists that abound, particularly in France, could not welcome them in such conditions, neither to accept them as apostles, even considering that they are sincere. As for the non-believers, whose number is so large and still dominate the press, the occasion was perfect for them to exercise their vein of mockery, so that they could not let it go. Those gentlemen then opened the door to the widest criticism, giving people the same right of those that purchase any kind of ticket. There is no doubt that if they had presented themselves in a more serious manner the reception would have been different; they would have shut the mouth of the detractors. A medium is strong when able to say this courageously: “How much did you pay to come here and who invited you; God bestowed me a gift that can be withdrawn at God’s will, like the vision or the spoken word. I only use if for good, in the interest of truth and not to satisfy curiosity or my own interests. My only reward is the work of devotion; I do not try even to satisfy self-love for that faculty does not depend on me. I consider it a sacred thing since it puts me in communication with the spiritual world, allowing me to give faith to the non-believers and consolation to those in suffering. To me it is a sacrilege to trade with that because I do not have the right to sell the assistance of the Spirits that come to me for free. Considering that I take no advantage, I therefore have no interest in deceiving you.” A medium that can say so is strong, we repeat. It is a answer without replica and that always imposes respect.
In this present case the critic was malevolent; it was unfair and injurious and embraced all the Spiritists and all mediums in the same reproach, not sparing the most disrespectful labels, regardless of the amount of damage it might cause and that it would reach the most respectable families. We will not repeat the expressions that were used and that only dishonor the ones that produce them. Every sincere belief is respectable and all of you that constantly scream about the freedom of conscience as a natural right, at least respect those of others. You can discuss opinions, for that is your right, but calumny has always been the worst argument and never of a good cause.
Not all the press shares that deviation of civility; there are some, among the critics of the Davenport brothers, whose character does not exclude education and moderation, and that are fair. The one we are going to cite, points out precisely the weak spot that we mentioned above. It was taken from the “Courrier de Paris du Monde Illustré”, on September 16th, 1865, signed by Neuter.
“A first objection seemed enough to me to demonstrate that the good young men that gave a public display at the Hertz theater were skillful in tricks completely strange to the superior worlds. This objection is taken from the very regularity with which they exploited their supposedly miraculous power. Since they gave guarantees that it was the Spirits that came to manifest publicly in their benefit, the Davenports treated them as servants and with the same familiarity that the director of a play treats his chorus girls. They never asked if their super-human accomplices were tired, if the date was convenient to them, if the heat bothered them, and yet the scheduled a precise day and time, expecting that the fluidic beings were available and played their roles at that moment, executing their musical jokes with the precision of a musician to whom their concert-café yields the fee of 1 franc.
They did not ask their super-human accomplices if the day was good for them, if they were tired, if it was not too hot and still scheduled a fixed date and time, and it was expected that the fluidic beings were okay at that moment, that they played their role on time, executed their little musical tricks with the precision of a musician to whom the café-concert would pay a one franc fee!
Seriously, that is a petty idea of the spiritual world, presenting it like that to us, like a village of commanded genies, commissioned elves that go to a given city attending a signal of their master. No rest to the super terrestrial actors! When a sudden illness of the show-off gives him the right of rescheduling the spectacle, the souls of the Davenports lot are slaves that must attend at any time. It is hard to live in fantastic planets to become reduced to such a degree of slavery. And what is the task attributed to those unfortunate souls from beyond the grave? Make their hands – the hands of souls – pass through the cracks of an armoire. Take them down to the exhibition level of jesters! Make them play guitars, those grotesque instruments refused even by the wandering minstrels in search of a few cents!”
Isn’t that in fact like touching a sore spot? If only Mr. Neuter knew that Spiritism says precisely the same thing, although in a less witty way, he would then have said: “But this is not Spiritism!” absolutely in the same way, when he sees a charlatan, he says: “This is not medicine.” Since neither science nor religion support abuse, Spiritism does not support those that use its name either. The bad impression that the author had was not of the persons of the Davenports but from the condition that they place themselves before the public and from the ridiculous idea that they pass of the spiritual world, something that even non-believers are shocked to see displayed on the stage. That was the impression of critics in general, translated by him in a kind of polite way. This will always be the case when the mediums are not ready to respect the belief that they profess. The hardship of the Davenports is a lucky strike to the adversaries of Spiritism that, in turn, hurry to boast victory and ridicule the followers as much as they can, screaming at them that their belief is mortally wounded, as if Spiritism was incarnate in the Davenports brothers. Spiritism is incarnate in nobody. It is in nature and nobody can preclude its march, because those that try, in fact, work to make it progress. Spiritism is not about tying someone with ropes, nor it is about this or that physical experimentation. Spiritism has never sponsored those gentlemen, nor has it presented them as cornerstones of the doctrine that they did not even know, hence it cannot be belied by their adversity. Their failure is not a blow against Spiritism but against those that exploit Spiritism.
It must be one of the two: they either are con men or true mediums. If they are charlatans, we must thank all the others that helped to unmask them; with that regards we owe Mr. Robin special thanks for in the present case he does a great service to Spiritism that would have suffered if people believed in their frauds. Every time the press pointed out abuse, exploitation or maneuvers to compromise the doctrine, the sincere Spirits, far from regretting it they applauded. If they are true mediums, the conditions in which they present themselves does not produce a favorable impression and cannot be useful to the cause. In one case or the other Spiritism has no interest in taking sides in their favor.
Now, what is going to be the result of such uproar? Here it is: the chronicle that was starving in these days of tropical heat gains a subject with that, quickly grabbing it to fulfil their lacking columns of political and theatrical news. Mr. Robin finds there an excellent publicity for his theater of conjurers, something that he exploited skillfully, and we wish him well since there he speaks of the Spiritists and Spiritism every day. With that criticism loses some of its consideration, given the eccentricity and lack of civility of the controversy. Materially speaking perhaps, the least benefited are the Davenports, whose speculation is markedly compromised.
Spiritism is evidently the one that should benefit the most. Its followers understand it so well that they are not absolutely moved by the situation and wait the result with confidence. In the country side where they are affected by the mockery of the adversaries even more than in Paris, they simply respond: Wait and soon you shall see who is going to be dead and buried. With that, Spiritism in principle will gain immense popularity and shall become known, at least by name, by many people that had never heard of it. But among them many do not limit themselves to the name. Their curiosity is excited by the fury of the attacks; they want to know what is behind such a doctrine, that some say is ridiculous; they will search at the source and when they see that they were just making fun and will tell themselves that is it not something bad. Spiritism will then gain for being better understood, judged and appreciated.
It will also gain by putting in evidence the sincere and devout followers with whom it can count on, separating them from the superficial followers. The adversaries will still try to exploit the circumstances to bring divisions or defections, true or simulated, using it as support to destroy Spiritism. After having failed from all other means, this is their ultimate way out; however, it will also fail, only separating the dead branches from the trunk, branches that produced no sap and hence reenergizing the tree.
These results, and several others that we abstain from listing, are inevitable and we would not be surprised by learning that it was the Spirits themselves that provoked all that uproar to reach such object more promptly.
[1] See bibliographic bulletin
Funeral of a Spiritist
The speech below was given by us during the funeral of Mr. Nant, one of our colleagues from the Parisian Society of September 23rd, 1865. We had it published following a request by the family and because given the circumstances reported in the preceding article, it shows where the true doctrine is.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Spiritist Society of Paris, and all of you our brothers in belief that are present here; Only a month ago we came here to pay our last respects to one of our former colleagues, Mr. Dozon.[1] The departure of another brother brings us back here today. Mr. Nant, member of the Society, has just delivered his mortal remains to earth, now coating the brilliant envelope of the Spirits. Have we come to say the last farewell, using the acclaimed expression? No, because we know that death is not only the entry point of the new life but just a separation of a few moments and that the emptiness that it leaves at home is just apparent. Oh, sweet and sacred belief, that incessantly shows us the loved ones by our side. If it were an illusion it should be blessed because it fills our hearts with consolation! But no, it is not an empty hope; it is a reality, daily attested by the relationships established between the dead and the living one, according to the flesh. Blessed therefore the science that shows us the tomb as the throne of freedom, teaching us to face death without fear. Oh, my brothers! Let us be sorry for those who are still blinded by the veil of disbelief. Those are the ones that suffer terrible apprehension before death. The ones that survive see it as more than a separation; it is the eternal destruction of their loved ones. For the one that sees the last our approaching, it is the abyss of emptiness, opening before their eyes, a terrible thought that legitimates anguish and desperation.
What a difference to the one that not only believe in a future life but understands it and identifies oneself with that! He no longer marches with anxiety towards the unknown, but with the confidence towards the new paths that opens before his eyes. He presents them, calmly counting the seconds that still separate him, like the traveler that approaches the end of the journey and knows that he will find rest and the warmth welcome of friends. That was the case with Mr. Nant; his life was that of a good man by excellence; his death was that of the righteous and true Spiritist. His faith in the teachings of our doctrine was sincere and enlightened; he drank immense consolations in that faith during his life; he found resignation for the sufferings that brought him to this end, and a shiny calmness at his last moments. He offered us a touching example of conscious death; he followed the progress of the separation with lucidity, without commotions, and when he felt that the last link had ruptured, he blessed those around; then he held the hands of his ten-year-old grandson and placed them onto his own eyes, shutting them. He exhaled his last breath a few seconds later and said: Ah, I see! His grandson then taken by a violent emotion fell asleep, induced by the Spirits. In his ecstasy he saw the soul of his grandfather followed by several other Spirits, rising in space, but still connected to the corporeal envelope by the fluidic cordon. Thus, as the doors of the earthly life closed before him, those of the spiritual world opened and whose splendors the foresaw. What a sublime and touching spectacle! Why his witnesses were not those that make so much fun of this science that reveals such consoling mysteries to us? They would have greeted it with respect, instead of ridicule. Let us forgive them if they throw irony and slander; they do not know it and search for it where it is not!
As from our side, let us say grace to the Lord that wanted to remove from our eyes the veil that separates us from a future life, because death is only terrible to those that foresee nothing beyond. By teaching us where we come from, where to go next and why we are on Earth, Spiritism has given us immense benefit, giving us courage, resignation and hope.
Dear Mr. Nant, we follow you in our thoughts in the world of the Spirits, where you are going to harvest the fruit of your terrestrial trials and the virtues that you exemplified. Receive our good-bye up to the moment when we shall be allowed to meet again.
You have undoubtedly seen our brother that preceded you not long ago, Mr. Dozon, that certainly follows you now. We join him in the prayer that we are going to say to God, in your favor.
(here it is said the prayer that is found in the Gospels According to Spiritism, for those that have just left Earth)
Note: At the time of the printing of this current issue of the Spiritist Review we learned that Mr. Nant, through his will, left 2,000 francs to be applied in the propagation of Spiritism.
[1] Mr. Dozon, author of Revelations from beyond the grave, 4 vol., deceased in Passy, Paris, August 1st, 1865
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Spiritist Society of Paris, and all of you our brothers in belief that are present here; Only a month ago we came here to pay our last respects to one of our former colleagues, Mr. Dozon.[1] The departure of another brother brings us back here today. Mr. Nant, member of the Society, has just delivered his mortal remains to earth, now coating the brilliant envelope of the Spirits. Have we come to say the last farewell, using the acclaimed expression? No, because we know that death is not only the entry point of the new life but just a separation of a few moments and that the emptiness that it leaves at home is just apparent. Oh, sweet and sacred belief, that incessantly shows us the loved ones by our side. If it were an illusion it should be blessed because it fills our hearts with consolation! But no, it is not an empty hope; it is a reality, daily attested by the relationships established between the dead and the living one, according to the flesh. Blessed therefore the science that shows us the tomb as the throne of freedom, teaching us to face death without fear. Oh, my brothers! Let us be sorry for those who are still blinded by the veil of disbelief. Those are the ones that suffer terrible apprehension before death. The ones that survive see it as more than a separation; it is the eternal destruction of their loved ones. For the one that sees the last our approaching, it is the abyss of emptiness, opening before their eyes, a terrible thought that legitimates anguish and desperation.
What a difference to the one that not only believe in a future life but understands it and identifies oneself with that! He no longer marches with anxiety towards the unknown, but with the confidence towards the new paths that opens before his eyes. He presents them, calmly counting the seconds that still separate him, like the traveler that approaches the end of the journey and knows that he will find rest and the warmth welcome of friends. That was the case with Mr. Nant; his life was that of a good man by excellence; his death was that of the righteous and true Spiritist. His faith in the teachings of our doctrine was sincere and enlightened; he drank immense consolations in that faith during his life; he found resignation for the sufferings that brought him to this end, and a shiny calmness at his last moments. He offered us a touching example of conscious death; he followed the progress of the separation with lucidity, without commotions, and when he felt that the last link had ruptured, he blessed those around; then he held the hands of his ten-year-old grandson and placed them onto his own eyes, shutting them. He exhaled his last breath a few seconds later and said: Ah, I see! His grandson then taken by a violent emotion fell asleep, induced by the Spirits. In his ecstasy he saw the soul of his grandfather followed by several other Spirits, rising in space, but still connected to the corporeal envelope by the fluidic cordon. Thus, as the doors of the earthly life closed before him, those of the spiritual world opened and whose splendors the foresaw. What a sublime and touching spectacle! Why his witnesses were not those that make so much fun of this science that reveals such consoling mysteries to us? They would have greeted it with respect, instead of ridicule. Let us forgive them if they throw irony and slander; they do not know it and search for it where it is not!
As from our side, let us say grace to the Lord that wanted to remove from our eyes the veil that separates us from a future life, because death is only terrible to those that foresee nothing beyond. By teaching us where we come from, where to go next and why we are on Earth, Spiritism has given us immense benefit, giving us courage, resignation and hope.
Dear Mr. Nant, we follow you in our thoughts in the world of the Spirits, where you are going to harvest the fruit of your terrestrial trials and the virtues that you exemplified. Receive our good-bye up to the moment when we shall be allowed to meet again.
You have undoubtedly seen our brother that preceded you not long ago, Mr. Dozon, that certainly follows you now. We join him in the prayer that we are going to say to God, in your favor.
(here it is said the prayer that is found in the Gospels According to Spiritism, for those that have just left Earth)
Note: At the time of the printing of this current issue of the Spiritist Review we learned that Mr. Nant, through his will, left 2,000 francs to be applied in the propagation of Spiritism.
[1] Mr. Dozon, author of Revelations from beyond the grave, 4 vol., deceased in Passy, Paris, August 1st, 1865
Varieties
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy
Mr. Delanne, known by many readers already, has an eight-year-old son. The boy hears about Spiritism all the time in his family and sometimes attend sessions directed by his father and his mother; he was then initiated in the doctrine since an early age and impresses by his knowledge of the principles of the doctrine. No surprise there since it is an echo of the ideas that cradled him. But that is not the object of the current article. This is just an introduction of the theme that we will report and that fits in the current events.
Mr. Delanne’s meetings are serious and managed in a perfect order, as must be the case to all others that wish to collect fruits. Although the written communications come in first place there, they also utilize as an accessory and complement instruction, physical manifestations and tiptology, but always with a serious teaching objective and never out of curiosity.
Directed with method and reverence and always supported by some theoretical explanations, those gathering are in the desired condition to lead to conviction by the impressions that they cause. These are the conditions in which physical manifestations are really useful; they speak to the soul and impose silence to mockery. We feel in the presence of a phenomenon of profound meaning and that keeps playfulness at a distance. If that kind of frequently abused manifestation was always presented in such a manner, instead of an entertainment and pretext to ask silly questions, the critics would not have called it charlatanism. Unfortunately, this is what people frequently allow to happen.
Mr. Delanne’s son attended those manifestations many times and influenced by the good example, considered them a serious thing. One day he was in the house of an acquainted person, playing with his five-year-old cousin and two boys, one seven and the other four years old. A lady that lived on the ground floor invited them in and offered them chocolate candies. The children did not refuse that, as one can imagine.
The lady then asked Mr. Delanne’s son:
-What is your name, my dear?
-My name is Gabriel, man.
-What does your father do?
-My father is a Spiritist, mam.
-I don’t know that profession.
-But mam, it is not a profession; my father is not payed for that, he does it without self interest and to do good to people.
-My young man, I don’t know what you mean.
-How come? Haven’t you heard of turning tables?
-Well my friend, it would be nice to have your father here to make them turn.
-It is not necessary mam, I can do it and make them turn.
-Can you then do it and show me how to proceed?
-With pleasure mam.
Having said that he sat near a little table and had his three little friends joining him; he seriously had them all placing their hands on the table. Gabriel then made an evocation with a very serious ton and with reverence. He had hardly finished when the table lifted in the air and knocked with energy. You may enquire, man, who is coming to answer through the table. The neighbor asked and the table spelled the following words: Your father. The woman’s face became paled by the emotion. She continued. Then, father, should I send the letter that I have just written? Yes, rightly so, said the table.
-To prove that it is you, my good father, can you tell me how long have you been dead? The table immediately knocked eight marked times. The number eight years was correct.
-Can you tell me your name and the city where you died? The table spelled the two names.
-The lady wept and she could no longer continue, terrified by the revelation and dominated by emotion.
This fact notably defies any suspicion of preparation of an instrument, preconceived idea and charlatanism. The two spelled out names can not be considered the works of chance either. We doubt very much that this lady would have had such an impression in the sessions of the Davenports, or in any other of the same kind. Besides this is not the first time that mediumship reveals in children, in the intimacy of their families. Isn’t that the accomplishment of those prophetic words: Your sons and daughters will prophesy (Acts, II:17)
Mr. Delanne’s meetings are serious and managed in a perfect order, as must be the case to all others that wish to collect fruits. Although the written communications come in first place there, they also utilize as an accessory and complement instruction, physical manifestations and tiptology, but always with a serious teaching objective and never out of curiosity.
Directed with method and reverence and always supported by some theoretical explanations, those gathering are in the desired condition to lead to conviction by the impressions that they cause. These are the conditions in which physical manifestations are really useful; they speak to the soul and impose silence to mockery. We feel in the presence of a phenomenon of profound meaning and that keeps playfulness at a distance. If that kind of frequently abused manifestation was always presented in such a manner, instead of an entertainment and pretext to ask silly questions, the critics would not have called it charlatanism. Unfortunately, this is what people frequently allow to happen.
Mr. Delanne’s son attended those manifestations many times and influenced by the good example, considered them a serious thing. One day he was in the house of an acquainted person, playing with his five-year-old cousin and two boys, one seven and the other four years old. A lady that lived on the ground floor invited them in and offered them chocolate candies. The children did not refuse that, as one can imagine.
The lady then asked Mr. Delanne’s son:
-What is your name, my dear?
-My name is Gabriel, man.
-What does your father do?
-My father is a Spiritist, mam.
-I don’t know that profession.
-But mam, it is not a profession; my father is not payed for that, he does it without self interest and to do good to people.
-My young man, I don’t know what you mean.
-How come? Haven’t you heard of turning tables?
-Well my friend, it would be nice to have your father here to make them turn.
-It is not necessary mam, I can do it and make them turn.
-Can you then do it and show me how to proceed?
-With pleasure mam.
Having said that he sat near a little table and had his three little friends joining him; he seriously had them all placing their hands on the table. Gabriel then made an evocation with a very serious ton and with reverence. He had hardly finished when the table lifted in the air and knocked with energy. You may enquire, man, who is coming to answer through the table. The neighbor asked and the table spelled the following words: Your father. The woman’s face became paled by the emotion. She continued. Then, father, should I send the letter that I have just written? Yes, rightly so, said the table.
-To prove that it is you, my good father, can you tell me how long have you been dead? The table immediately knocked eight marked times. The number eight years was correct.
-Can you tell me your name and the city where you died? The table spelled the two names.
-The lady wept and she could no longer continue, terrified by the revelation and dominated by emotion.
This fact notably defies any suspicion of preparation of an instrument, preconceived idea and charlatanism. The two spelled out names can not be considered the works of chance either. We doubt very much that this lady would have had such an impression in the sessions of the Davenports, or in any other of the same kind. Besides this is not the first time that mediumship reveals in children, in the intimacy of their families. Isn’t that the accomplishment of those prophetic words: Your sons and daughters will prophesy (Acts, II:17)