Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1865

A recent event gave our adversaries an opportunity to renew their attacks against our doctrine with a level of aggression that had never been used before, casting sarcasm and slander upon its followers. Some people may have had their opinion deviated for a short while, but the writing as well as verbal protests were so broad that it is now going back. You all understand that Spiritism is based on unshakable foundations to yield to any attack and that this outbreak will only help to have it better understood and more popularized.


It is proper to all great truths to be baptized by persecution. The animosities raised against Spiritism are the proof of its importance because, if judged useless, people would not pay any attention. In the recent conflict all the Spiritists kept their calm and moderation, the signs of true strength; all received the shock with courage; nobody doubted the result, and rest assured that such attitude, at the same time strong and dignifying, responding to the attacks and acrimony of our detractors, allows us to ponder and think a lot about the opinion. The impartial public makes no mistake. Even not considering the fact and the cause in favor of one or another, a secret sympathy attracts them to the one that remains dignified in the discussion. The comparison is always advantageous. Therefore, the latest events conquered many supporters to Spiritism.


At this opportunity the Spiritist Society of Paris is happy to offer every brother of France and abroad its congratulations and the sincerest thanks. In the new struggles that may occur, it counts on all of you as you can count on the Society.


With our warmest and kind devotion,


In the name of the members of the Society,


The President, Allan Kardec



(Unanimously approved in the session on October 27^th, 1865)

At the time of resuming our works, it is a great satisfaction to all of us, and to me in particular, to meet again. We will undoubtedly meet our spiritual guides also. Let us hope that with their support this will be a great year in results. Allow me, at this opportunity, to address you with a few words.


Since our separation, there was a huge uproar about Spiritism. In fact, I only heard about it when I came back from my retreat in the mountains, where only a few rumors came to my ears. I will not enter the details, superfluous now, and regarding my personal appreciation you know it from what I wrote in the Spiritist Review. I will only add one word. Everything comes to confirm my opinion about the consequences of what happened. I am happy to see that such appreciation is shared by the great majority, if not unanimously by the Spiritists, and I have daily proofs of that in my correspondence. An evident aspect sticks out from the controversy established during the passage of the Davenports brothers: it is the absolute ignorance of the critics about Spiritism. The confusion that they establish between serious Spiritism and charlatanism may, undoubtedly, induce some people to err, but is notable that the very eccentricity of their language led many people to question what is fair about Spiritism, and were greatly surprised of find things much different from magic. Spiritism will therefore win, as I said, by becoming better known and appreciated. Such consequence, that is far from being the result of chance, will certainly speed up the development of the doctrine. We can say that it is a stranglehold whose result will soon be felt. Besides, Spiritism will soon enter a new phase that will certainly draw the attention of those indifferent, and what has just happened will level the field. This will be the realization of the prophetic words of father D…, whose communication was cited in the Spiritist Review: “The educated people will be your most powerful allies”. The are already, and unwillingly, but will be voluntarily later. There are circumstances in preparation that will precipitate that result, and it is with confidence that I say that lately the interests of Spiritism advanced more than one would suppose. Since our separation I learned many things, ladies and gentlemen. Please do not believe that this interruption of our common works made me enjoy the “dolce far niente”[1]. It is true that I did not visit Spiritist Centers, but it does not mean that I saw less and observed less, and for that very reason I worked a lot. The events move rapidly, and as the work I still need to finish is considerable, I must hurry and be ready when the time is right. Given the greatness and seriousness of the events that make us present everything, secondary incidents are insignificant; personal things pass but the fundamental ones stay.


Hence, we must give only relative weight to certain things, and as far as I am concerned, I must push away from my concerns what is secondary and that could delay or veer me off from the main objective. That objective is more and more delineated, and what I learned lately was particularly the means of reaching it more safely and to overcome obstacles.


May God spare me from the presumption of considering myself the only one capable, or better equipped than any one else, or the only one assigned with the mission designed by the Providence. No. Such a thought is far from me. In this great movement of renovation, I have my part in the action. I therefore only talk about what is up to me; what I can then affirm, and without a bigmouth, is that I will not lack courage and perseverance in the role that is assigned to me. I have never yielded, but today that I see the path illuminated by a wonderful clarity, I feel my strength grow. I have never doubted, but thanks to the new lights that God wanted to give me, I am sure, and I say it to all my brothers and with more certainty than ever: Courage, perseverance, because a magnificent success will crown our efforts.


Despite the advanced state of Spiritism, it would be naïve to believe that from now on it will march without obstacles. On the contrary, we must expect new struggles and new difficulties. Thus, we will still have to difficult situations because our adversaries will not lay down their weapons and will fight for every inch of the terrain. But it is in critical moments that the strong hearts and true devotions are known. It is when profound convictions are distinguished from superficial or simulated beliefs. There is no merit in showing courage in times of peace. At this very moment our invisible chiefs count their soldiers and their difficulty is the find those that can support them. To us it is also a means of identifying who is really with us and who is against us.


The tactic of our adversaries at this time – it is never too much to repeat – is to try to divide the followers, throwing the seed of disagreement, exciting true or simulated weaknesses; and, it is necessary to say, they have the support of certain Spirits disturbed by the appearance of a faith that must interconnect peoples in a common feeling of fraternity. Thus, these words from one of our spiritual guides are perfectly true: “Spiritism revolutionizes the visible and the invisible worlds.” Our adversaries have, for some time, aimed at the societies and Spiritist gatherings, where they sow in profusion the seed of disagreement and jealousy. Short-sighted people, blinded by passion, believe to have conquered a great victory when succeeded in cause some local disturbance, as if Spiritism were entrenched somewhere or incarnate in some individuals! It is everywhere, on Earth and in Space! The movement is not driven by men but by the Spirits, the representatives of God. It is irresistible for it is Providential. Hence, it is not a human revolution that may be stopped by material force. Who would then believe to be able to block it by throwing a little pebble under the wagon? A pigmy in the hand of God, to be dragged by the maelstrom.


May all sincere Spiritists unite in a sacred communion of thoughts, to face the storm; may all that are convinced of the greatness of the object, put aside petty secondary issues, silence the susceptibilities of the self-love to only see the importance of the results to which the Providence drives humanity.


From that elevated point of view, what becomes of the Davenports’ issue? Nonetheless, despite being secondary, this is a wake-up call. It imposes special duties to all Spiritists, and in particular to us. As well-known, those that confound Spiritism with charlatanism lack knowledge about what Spiritism is. They can undoubtedly learn about it from the books, if they wish to do so. It is not enough to say that it is a beautiful doctrine; it is necessary to have it applied by those that profess it. It is then up to the supporters of the cause to demonstrate it by their behavior, be it in private or in the meetings, avoiding with the maximum care anything that can feed malevolence and produce an unfavorable impression in the skeptical. Anyone that is embedded in the principles of the doctrine can dare defy criticism and will never face the censorship of authority or the severity of the law.


In evidence more than any other, the Parisian Society must give the example. We are all glad to see that it has never failed its duties and for seeing acknowledged its eminently serious character, for the gravity and reverence of its gatherings. It is one more reason to scrupulously avoid the appearances that could compromise the reputation that it had conquered. It is up to each one of us to watch for that, in the own interest of the cause. The function of member or medium must be a title of trust and consideration. I then count on the cooperation of all of our colleagues, each one at the limit of their possibilities. We must not forget that personal issues must fade away before the general interest. The times before us are grave, I repeat, and each one of us will have their mission, little or great. We must be prepared to accomplish that and we shall be accounted for. Please forgive my language somewhat harsh at the beginning of our activities but I am forced by the circumstances.


Ladies and gentlemen, one of our colleagues is physically absent to the roll call. During our recess, Mr. Nant, father of our excellent Spiritist, Mrs. Breul, returned to the spiritual world, from where, God willing, will kindly come to us. We paid him the just tribute in his funerals; we believe appropriate to renovate it today and will be happy if he can momentarily kindly address us with a few words, and in the future join the good Spirits that help us with their advices. Let us beg, ladies and gentlemen, that they may continue to provide us with their assistance.

---

[1] Pleasant idleness (T.N.)

The agitation caused by the Davenport brothers begins to calm down. After the blow swung by the press against them and Spiritism there are only a few shooters left that here and turn fire the last shots, waiting for another subject that may excite public curiosity. Who are the winners? Is Spiritism dead? They will soon find out. Let us suppose that criticism had killed the Davenports, something that is not of our concern. What would be the outcome? What we said in the preceding article. In their ignorance about Spiritism they shot at those gentlemen, exactly like the hunter shots at a cat thinking that it is a hare: the cat is dead but the hare is still running.



It is what happens to Spiritism, that was not nor could be reached by the attacks it receives on its flanks. The critic was then wrong and that could have been avoided had they known Spiritism. There was enough warning. Some writers even confessed the influence of the refutations that came from all sides, and that from the part of the most honorable persons. Shouldn’t that be an eye opener to them? They were, however, walking on a path from which they did not want to back up; they needed to be right at any price. Many of such refutations were sent to us. All of them were distinguished by a moderation that contrasts with the language of our adversaries, and most of them are fair in their appreciation. It is certain that nobody wanted to impose an opinion to those gentlemen, but it is a duty of impartiality to admit corrections, in order to give public opinion the necessary conditions to analyze the pros and cons. Now, since it is more convenient to be right when one is talking to oneself, many of those corrections did not see the light of publicity. Who knows if even their majority were read? We must then be grateful to the newspapers that were less exclusivists. Among them we find the “Journal des Pyrénées-Orientales”, that in its last issue of October 8^th, published the following letter:



“Perpignan, October 5^th, 1865



Dear Mr. Editor,

I do not wish to get into the controversy; I just request your fairness in allowing me, just once, to respond to the open attacks found in the Parisian Letter, published in the last issue of your Journal, against the Spiritists and Spiritism. The true Spiritists, like the true Catholics, do not give public spectacles. They are embedded in the respect of their faith, they aspire for the general progress of everybody, and they do not seek to proselytize on stages. With respect to the Davenport brothers, there would be a lot to say in order to repudiate the errors of the author of those sarcastic attacks. I will just say that since God gave mankind free-will, the act of precluding someone’s belief, or censoring someone’s thoughts is like placing oneself above God, and consequently, a huge sin of pride. When we say that this new science has made immense progress, and that many cities count on large number of followers; that it has its headquarters and presidents, and that its meetings count on the attendance of scholars, renowned people for their positions in the civil and military societies, in law and magistracy, when we say that isn’t the same as saying that Spiritism is based on the truth? If Spiritism is a mistake why are people worried about it? Mistakes have only a short existence, like a will-o-the-wisp that lasts a few hours and disappears. If, on the contrary, it is a truth, however much you try you cannot destroy it. Truth is like light: only the blind ones deny its beauty. Some also say that Spiritism has provoked cases of mental disorder. I say this: Spiritism has not caused madness as well as Christianity and the other cults are not responsible for the cases of mental illnesses that many times are found among the followers of those several religions. Badly informed minds are subjected to enthusiasm and misunderstandings. Let us then leave, once for all, this last argument at the arsenal of the outdated weapons.



I finish this answer by saying that Spiritism came to destroy nothing but the belief in the eternal punishments. It strengths our faith in God; makes it evident that the soul is immortal and that the Spirit depurates and progresses through the reincarnations; it demonstrates that the different social positions have a reason; it teaches us to withstand our trials, whatever they may be; finally, it demonstrates to us that there is only one path leading us to God: the love for good and charity!



With my most sincere thanks and respectful greetings, I have the honor of being your server,

Breux.”



All the refutations that we have before us and that were addressed to the newspapers, protest the confusion that was made between Spiritism and the sessions by the Davenports. If the critics insist in making them the same, it is because the want to do so.


Note: In an article that we must postpone to the next issue given the lack of space, we will examine the most important propositions that stick out from the controversy generated around the Davenport brothers.

The Bahia Daily on September 26^th and 27^th, 1865 publishes two articles that are the translation to Portuguese of those published six years ago by Dr. Déchambre, in the Gazette Médicale in Paris. The second edition of The Spirits’ Book had just been published and that was the subject of a kind of semi burlesque report done by Dr. Déchambre. By the way, he demonstrates with history and citations that the phenomena of the turning and vibrating tables are mentioned by Theocritus, with the name “Kosskinomanteia” which means foretelling with the use of a crucible, used for divination those days; he then concluded, with the common logic of our adversaries, that if the phenomenon was not ours it could not hold any truth. We must acknowledge that this is a singular argument from a man of positive sciences. We regret the fact that Mr. Déchambre’s erudition was unable to take him further back because he would have find it in the old Egypt and in the Indies. We will one day return to this article that we had lost sight of and that was missing in our collection. While we wait, we ask Mr. Déchambre if we are expected to reject modern medicine and physics for the fact that their rudiments are mixed up with the superstitious practices of antiquity and middle ages. If the modern chemistry of our days was not originated in the alchemy and modern astronomy in judicious astrology. Why then the Spiritist phenomena, that are not but natural phenomena, could not be also found in the primitive practices and beliefs? Considering that this article, just reproduced and without comments, proves nothing from the part of the Brazilian newspaper, showing a systematic hostility against the doctrine. It is even likely that since they did not know the doctrine, they found in that article an accurate appreciation. This is demonstrated by their interest in publishing in the following issue, on September 28^th, the refutation sent by the Spiritists of Bahia, reproduced below:

“Dear Mr. Editor,

Since you act in good faith with respect to the Spiritist doctrine, we beg you to kindly publish in your Daily paper a passage from The Spirits’ Book, by Mr. Allan Kardec, that has already reached its thirteenth edition, so that your readers may appreciate the article that you reproduced from the Gazette Médicale of Paris, in its fair value. The article was published, against this very doctrine, more than six years ago by Dr. Déchambre and it is acknowledged that the referred doctor is not faithful in the citations that he made of The Spirits’ Book, just trying to depreciate that doctrine.

Yours sincerely and thankfully,

Luis Olympio Telles de Menezes, Jose Alvarez do Amaral, Joaquim Carneiro de Campos”



A lengthy excerpt from the Introduction to The Spirits’ Book is provided as an answer and refutation. The literal citation of the Spiritist books is, in fact, the best refutation to the deformations carried out by certain critics of the doctrine. The doctrine justifies itself, and that is the reason it suffers those attacks. One does not wish to convince the adversaries that the doctrine is good because, most of the time, this is a waste of time since, truth be told, they have all the freedom to believe it is bad; all one must do is to demonstrate that the doctrine says the opposite of what people make believe it does. It is up to the impartial public judge if it is good or bad. As despite everything they may do, the doctrine daily recruits new partisans, a demonstration that it does not displeases everybody and that the arguments that are opposed are powerless to discredit it. From this article we can see that it does not have nationality and that it goes around the world.

We know the accusations that victimized the first Christians in Rome. There was no crime that they could not perpetrate, there was no public disgrace that was not of their responsibility, voluntarily or involuntarily, according to their enemies, for their influence was detrimental. In a few centuries it will be hard to believe that strong minds of the nineteenth century tried to resuscitate such ideas about the Spiritists, blaming them for every disturbance of society, comparing their doctrine to a plague and stimulating persecution. This is printed history; these words fell from more than one evangelical chair, but what is even more surprising is that we find them in the newspapers that believe to be the champions of total freedom, and in particular the freedom of conscience. We already have a very curious collection of such kind of thing, that later I intend to convert in a book for the greater glory of the authors and the edification of posterity. We then thank those that can help us to enrich that collection, sending us everything that they know that has been done or will be done with that respect. Comparing those documents of the history of Spiritism with the history of the first centuries of the Church, we are surprised to find identical expressions and thoughts there. The only thing missing is the beasts of the circle, something that, nonetheless, is a progress.

Considering then that Spiritism is an eminently contagious plague, for it invades all classes of society with an incredible speed, it has a certain analogy with cholera. Some critics, therefore, provocatively called it Spirito-morbus in this last battle; it would come as no surprise if they had accused Spiritism of having imported the plague because we can detect two opposing sides join forces to combat it. From what we heard, in one year the had a coin produced with the face of St. Benedict that one must just wear to avoid the contagious contact of a Spiritist. We were not told if such procedure cures the ones that were already affected. There is certainly an analogy between Spiritism and cholera. It is the fear that both cause on certain persons. Let us, however, consider the situation from a more serious point of view. Here what was sent to us from Constantinople: “… The newspapers informed you about the terrible plague that reached our city and its suburbs, and whose devastation begins to attenuate. Some supposedly well-informed people say that the number of those affected is about 70 thousand, others say near 100 thousand. In any case we were terribly tested, and you can imagine the adversities and general grieving of our population. It is in these sad moments of hardship that the Spiritist belief and faith encourage people. We have all given the most truthful testimony of that.

Who knows we shouldn’t thank this calmness of the soul, this persuasion of immortality, the certainty of future existences in which the creatures are compensated on the basis of their merit and degree of advancement; who knows, I ask, if it is not due to such beliefs, foundation of this beautiful doctrine, that all of us, Spiritists of Constantinople, in large number, as you know, must be spared by the plague that fell and still falls around us? I say this mainly because it has been attested, here and elsewhere, that fear is the most predisposing element of cholera, like ignorance unfortunately becomes a source of contagion…

“Repos Filho, Attorney.”



It would be certainly an absurd to believe that the Spiritist faith is a certificate of guarantee against the cholera. But since it has been demonstrated that fear weakens the body and the mind, making people more susceptible of being affected by contagious illnesses, it is obvious that any factor that may strengthen them is a means of protection. This is so much understood these days that people avoid, be in reports or material confirmations, anything that may affect imagination through a dismal aspect.

There is no doubt that the Spiritist may die from cholera as anybody else, because their bodies are not more immortal than the others, and because when it is time, one must depart, be it through this cause or another. Cholera is one of those causes whose only particularity is to take a large number of people at the same time, and that produces more commotion. It is a mass departure, instead of in isolation, that is the difference. But the positiveness of the Spiritists about the future, and in particular, the knowledge they have about that future, that responds to all of their aspirations and satisfy reason, make them not to absolutely feel sorry for leaving Earth, considered a momentary exile. While the skeptical only sees the void at the time of death, or questions what is going to be next, the Spiritist knows that with death she is only undressing from a material envelope, subjected to the vicissitudes of life, but she will continue to be the same person, as an ethereal body, inaccessible to pain; will enjoy new and better perceptions; will meet again the loved ones that wait at the portal of the true and imperishable life.

As for the material possessions, she knows that they are no longer needed and that the pleasures that they proportionated will be replaced by others, purer and more desirable, that do not leave behind pain or sorrow. She then leaves them behind joyfully and effortlessly, feeling sorry for those that remain on Earth and will need them further down the road. It is like someone that becomes rich and leaves the old rags behind for the unfortunate ones. She then says to the friends left behind: Don’t be sorry; do not cry my death; instead, congratulate me for being freed from the material concerns and for entering in the radiant world where I shall wait for you.

Anyone who read and gave some thought to our book Heavens and Hell According to Spiritism, particularly the chapter about the anxieties of death, will understand the moral strength that the Spiritists acquire with their belief, before the plague that devastates populations. Will it follow that the Spiritists will neglect the necessary precautions before similar cases and lower their heads when facing danger? Absolutely not. They must act following every practice recommended by prudence and a rational hygiene, because they are not fatalists, and because, although they do not fear death, they must not seek it. Therefore, neglecting the sanitary measures necessary to avoid it would be a suicide, whose consequences they know well enough to expose themselves to that. They consider a duty to take care of their health, because health is needed for the accomplishment of their social duties. If they seek to prolongate their corporeal life that is not for their attachment to Earth but to have more time to progress, improve and depurate, leaving the “old man” behind and acquiring a larger summation of merits for their spiritual life.

But, if despite every effort, they must succumb, they take their cross without complaining, knowing that any progress bears its fruits, that nothing that is acquired in intelligence and morality is lost, and that if they did not diminish themselves to the eyes of God, they will always be better in the other world than in this one, even if they did not reach the first place. They simply say: We go a little bit earlier to where we would go a little bit later. Won’t such thoughts put us in better mental conditions than those recommended by science? To the non-believer or to the skeptical, death is all terror because they lose everything and expect nothing. What can a materialist doctor say to sooth the fear of death in his patients? Nothing but what one of them said to a cholera patient: “Well, there is always hope while we are not dead; after that, we definitely only die once and it all goes fast; when dead, everything is over; no more suffering.” Everything is over when one is dead, that is the ultimate consolation that is given.

The Spiritist doctor, on the contrary, tells the one about to die before him: “My friend, I will apply all the resources of science to bring your health back and to keep you around as much as possible. We will succeed and that is what I hope for. Man’s life, however, is in the hands of God, that calls us when our trial here is over. If the time of your liberation is come, rejoice, like the prisoner that is about to leave prison. Death disentangles us from the body that makes us suffer and takes us to the true life, a life exempt from disturbances and miseries. If you must leave, don’t believe that you are lost for your relatives and friends that stay behind. No, you will not be less among them; you will see them and hear them better than you can do now. You will advise, guide and inspire them for good. If God wishes to call you, be thankful for the conquered freedom; if God prolongates your passage here, be thankful for the time given to finish the work. When in doubt, submit yourself to God’s will, without complaints.”

Aren’t such words adequate to bring serenity to the soul, and wouldn’t such serenity support the efficacy of the medication, whilst the perspective of the void would throw the moribund into anxiety and desperation? Spiritism has still another more material influence, in addition to the spiritual one. It is a well-known fact the excesses of all kinds are among the causes that most predispose to the attacks of the current epidemy. The doctors, therefore, recommend sobriety in everything, a healthy prescription that many people have a hard time to follow. Admitting that they do, it is undoubtedly an important point, but will a momentary abstinence instantaneously repair the physical disorders caused by intense abuse, that weakens the body and for that very reason make it more accessible to illnesses? Besides cholera, don’t we know how overindulgence is deleterious in hot climates and where yellow fever is endemic? Well, then! Following their beliefs and the way they see the objective of the present life and the result of a future life, the Spiritist completely modifies their behavior. Instead of living to eat they eat to live; no more excesses; does not live like a cenobite; everything is useful, but nothing is abused. This must certainly be a strong consideration to add up to the one given by our corresponding member from Constantinople. This is, therefore, one of the results of the doctrine, upon which skepticism casts contempt and sarcasm, calls is madness and that brings disturbance to society. Keep your skepticism, if you will, but respect a belief that makes people better and happier.

If the belief in that nothing ends with death is madness; that we enter a better life after death, exempt from concerns; that we return to the circle of the loved ones; or even the belief that after death, we are not thrown into the eternal flames, without hope to leave it, something that would not be better than the nothingness, and that we are not lost in the idle and beatific contemplation of infinity, may God wish that every person is mad like that for there would be much less crime and suicides. Many communications were given about the cholera; several were done at the Parisian Society or in our private circle. We only give two, combined in a single one, to avoid repletion and because they summarize the dominating thought.

Spiritist Society of Paris, mediums: Mr Desliens and Mr. Morin

“Considering that the cholera is the subject of the day and that everyone has a medicine to indicate in order to keep the disease away, I shall allow myself, if you will, to give my advice as well, although it seems unlikely to me that you should fear its fearful effect. Nonetheless, to prevent a lack of means when the time comes, I offer you the little I know. Despite what they say, it is not immediately contagious, and those that are in a region where the disease is spread, must not be afraid of helping those that are affected. There isn’t a universal medication against this disease, be it preventative or curative, taking into account the fact that the illness changes in several ways, here depending on the temperament of the individuals, there depending on their education and habits, or on the climatic conditions, and that leads to good results of a give medication with certain persons and not with others. One can say that each outbreak requires investigation, according to the location, requiring a different medication. That is why ice and theriac were helpful in depleting the illness in a large number of cases, in certain regions, during the outbreaks of 1832 and 1849, the same could lead to unsuccessful treatments in other times and other countries. There are, therefore, several good medications and none is specific. That diversity of results has confused and will still confuse science, making it difficult for us as well to indicate a remedy that is good to all, because the very nature of the disease does not allow it. There are, nonetheless, general rules that resulted from observation whose guidelines should be closely followed. The best preservative is in the careful hygiene, wisely recommended in every instruction given about it, consisting in cleanness and in sweeping away any possible cause of infection and insalubrity, and in the avoidance of any excess. Besides, one must keep from changing feeding habits, except for the avoidance of debilitating things. It is also recommended to avoid colds, sudden transitions of temperature or any strong substance that may lead to physical disturbance. You know that fear is many times worse than the illness in similar cases. Unfortunately, one cannot impose cold-blood, but you, the Spiritists, do not need advice about this since you face death fearlessly and with a faith-given calmness. In case of a spell one must not neglect the first symptoms. Heat, food, abundant transpiration, friction and rice water with a few drops of laudanum are inexpensive medications with positive action, when added to mental strength and tranquility. Considering that the lack of doctors may sometimes lead to difficulty in finding laudanum, is such cases one may use any other soothing substance, like lettuce juice, but in small doses. In fact, one may just boil a few leaves of lettuce in rice water. In these events, trust in God and in oneself is the first healthy approach. Now that your physical health is sheltered, let me mention your spiritual temperament that seems to be attacked by a different kind o epidemy. Have no fear here for this disease can only affect those that do not live a truly spiritual life and that are already dead. All of those that devoted to the doctrine, without a hidden agenda, will find, on the contrary, the necessary strength to fructify the teachings that we consider a duty to pass on to you. Persecution, whatever it is, is useful. It exposes the strong minds and encourages the feeble hearts that, through the struggle, will succeed and mature with our advices, then becoming serious and wise people. Have courage then! Move on fearlessly, following the path that was designed to you and you may always count on my support, to the limit of my own forces.”

Dr. Demeure

We received the following letter from Kharkov, Russia:

“By writing to you, Mr. President, I dare expect that Spiritism may shed some light upon this, up until now, inexplicable fact, and that I believe to be of great interest. I got it from an eye witness, a close relative of the person in question. Here is what I was told:

All members of the R… family were noticeable by their original character and inclinations. I will only mention the two brothers, Alexandre and Voldemar. Both held very impressive eye expressions, impossible to describe. We used to play around together in our childhood, and even jokingly I could not bear their staring eyes. I mentioned that to my father who then said that he also had felt the same discomfort and advised me to avoid it. As it seems, Voldemar was not the family’s favorite. When the time was right both brothers joined the University of Kazan. Voldemar soon stunned his teachers and colleagues for his strange attitudes; he frequently bullied his own brother that he had chosen for his mockeries. His joy was short living. He died, at the age of sixteen, in his brother’s arms. His brother is the one we are going to talk about. Although with less intensity, Alexandre also had that fascinating magnetism in his eyes, something that was shocking in his brothers. He did not show the same brilliance either, but he was determined and was quick to learn. His brother’s death caused a huge impression in him, turning him into a different person. Six weeks after the fact he kept his eyes closed, did not change or wash under any circumstance, so much so that his clothes decomposed and ragged on his own body. He was then to the countryside by his mother. He was entrusted to an uncle that promised to help him forgot his whole misery. The uncle then warned him that he would not spare any means to make him change such attitude in his house. Alexandre soon became reasonable; he did not offer any resistance to his uncle’s commands but secretly sent for his mother to come and rescue him from that executioner. His mother attended his wishes. Once away from his uncle, his bizarre behavior started again and intensified. Among other things, he demanded to have the Church’s bell ringing at meal time. They thought he had some sort of mental illness so that he was taken in to a hospital in Kazan. Something strange happened. He changed again, completely. He seemed perfectly normal in his acts and words. The doctors thought it was a family feud and no longer observed him closely. On one occasion, at night, when everybody was asleep, he dressed like a doctor and found his way out of the hospital, passing by the doorman in disguise, walking 30 versts^[1] to reach his farm.

He then went to a kind of hen shed, undressed completely and claimed that the only thing he needed in his life was that one squared toise.^[2]

His mother uselessly begged him to change his mind; in vain people tried to persuade him to allow them to build a shelter for his tent. He remained adamant; he only wanted an old servant by his side, a person that had always been with him and that had always shown a dog like fidelity. Since nothing was achieved his father ordered all the peasants to move to a place 7 versts away; he then left as well, calling the place a “lost village”. They thought they should lease out the property and organized a committee for that but Alexander that was always forewarned dressed up, even without underwear, and came out to meet everybody. He responded to every question with common sense and accuracy, so much so that the committee that thought they were dealing with a mad person, left in disappointment. All that happened in 1842 and up until now Alexander remains in the same state. He remains standing, no clothes, in a shanty place without doors and windows, exposed to the environment and in a region where the winter temperature goes down to 30°C below zero. He eats a little of grape jelly that is brought to him once a day in a clay bowl; he catches in the air the food that is thrown to him with a spoon, like an animal, communicating with growling, no longer using human language. For keeping his head down for such a long time, he can no longer raise it; his feet widened a lot so that he can no longer walk. He, sometimes, allows himself to be tucked in with a sheepskin. There is nothing extraordinary about his appearance with the exception of his eyes. He is neither fat nor slim. His face shows he is suffering. Once he was asked why such a behavior, to which he answered: “- don’t mention that; I lack the will.” Nothing more. What did he mean by lack of will? Was that a pledge? He sometimes pronounces the name of the dead brother; on other occasions he asks: “- When will this end?”. He does not follow any precept from his religion. A piece of his hair had been sent to a somnambulist in London. The answer was that he had the illness of Nebuchadnezzar. Yet, he is not mad. Something extraordinary is that besides such animal life there is intelligent life in him. He continues to be interested in everything that happens around the world. He receives many newspapers but since his shelter is dimly lit, he allowed people next to his place and have someone else reading them for him. They do that from the same place where his mother used to read for him but since she is now dead, she was replaced by a hired reader. The task force in charge of studying the case obtained the details below that only confused the case. D…, Alexander’s college mate, said that when they were together, he learned that he was in love with the wife of a pharmacist that was really beautiful and virtuous. Alexander rode his horse daily, just to ride by her window and have the pleasure of eventually seeing her from afar. That summarized their affair. Everyday, nonetheless, a sealed letter was delivered to him and if there were anybody else in the room, he promptly concealed it in a drawer. D... was persuaded that they contained love messages and was not interested in knowing the contents. Later, when the investigation began, only two of those letters were found since he had burnt all others, supposedly those that he received while in college. The first letter was somewhat in the following terms: “– Yesterday a strange thing happened. I was coming back from the Russian Switzerland (name of a touristic spot around Kazan), walking through the fields of Ars when I heard a scream for help. I screamed back and dashed into the place from where I heard the cry; when I got there, I saw a fenced cemetery. The figure of a young man appeared on the fence, vividly thanking my intervention, saying that he had been attacked by thieves that ran away when they heard me. (Note: there was a fabric manufacturing plant in Ars that was shuttered due to the lack of orders and some workers turned into thieves as an alternative to the lack of job.)

We walked together towards downtown holding a very interesting and lively conversation. I still cannot tell you what it was all about, but I will when we meet again. We then got to my unknown acquaintance’s house and we spent the afternoon there. He indicated to me a place where he used to go every day at a certain time and said that I could see him there if I wanted. What is really strange is that when I returned to my own house, I could not remember the street and the house that I had just visited, although I know perfectly well the town where I live for four years now. I then decided to meet that person again at the place that was indicated. I will go to his house again and this time I will certainly remember.”

There was no signature. Here the second letter, a continuation of the previous one, but this time shorter:

“I some the unknown person at the indicated place; he invited me to his house; we spent the afternoon together but on returning home I totally forget the street and the house again.”

No signature. Having the handwriting examined carefully it seemed that it was from one of his comrades that laughed at that when he saw the letters, saying that he had never written such things.

The investigation ends here. It seems that there is a huge mystery in all this and that such mystery is only known by three persons. First, his mother, then the old servant lady that was always by his side and finally his sister. The two first ones are dead; the third one lives in the same village as Alexander with her husband. She visits him every day and remains there for three or four hours. What would they talk about? Will the brother forget the growling and return to human language? Nobody knows that. It is remarkable that such a singular phenomenon be little known. It has never been published by any newspaper and yet it happens very near Kazan where there is a university, there are scientists and doctors. It is true that it was investigated in the beginning, but it seems to me that it was soon discouraged. Still, it seems a vast field of research for science, not to mention the psychological aspect. It is a contemporary fact that can be attested by anyone.

Could Spiritism, that explains everything, give an explanation to this phenomenon? I dare not ask you for a written answer since I know you time is precious. I just ask you to give your opinion in the Spiritist Review, in case you consider it worthwhile.

Yours truly, etc.”



There is one thing that sticks out from this report. It is the fact that this young man is not mad, in the scientific meaning of the term; he enjoys fool reason, when he wishes. What could be the cause of such eccentricity at that age? We believe that it will still be a long time before science uncovers that with its essentially material resources. However, there is something that is not a simple mania: the assimilation of sounds and gestures of animals. It is true that we have seen individuals abandoned in the woods since early age that live like beasts, adopting their howling and gestures by imitation. But that is not the case.



This young man did serious studies, lives in his own land in a village; he is daily in contact with human beings. Therefore, in this case it is not a question of habit and isolation. The somnambulist of London said it was an illness like that of Nebuchadnezzar. But what is that disease? Isn’t the story of that King a legend? Is it possible that a man turn into a beast? If we, however, compare the biblical report to the current fact of Alexander R… we will find more than a common point between them. Something that happens today may have happened in the past and the King of Babylon may have been hit by something similar. If then that King, dominated by a similar influence, left his palace, like Alexander R… left his castle; if he lived and screamed like him, like animals, they could have then said, in the language of those days, that he was transformed into a beast. It is true that it kills the miracle. But how many more miracles now fall before the laws of nature that are discovered every day? Religion gains from this if something that was miraculous is now considered natural. When the adversaries of Spiritism say that it resuscitates the supernatural and the superstitious, they demonstrate ignorance regarding the first words because, on the contrary, Spiritism comes to demonstrate that certain facts considered mysterious are not but natural effects.

After reading the subject above in the Parisian Society, as an object of study, it was requested that a medium evoked the Spirits to provide an explanation. The three communications below were obtained. One from the dead brother, Voldemar; the second from the protecting Spirit of the two brothers, and the third from a spiritual guide of another medium.



Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, October 13^th, 1865
Medium: Mr. Desliens

I

Here I am! What do you want? How come you get involved into private family business? Know this: nobody has ever offended me and remained unpunished; watch my wrath when you try to scavenge a secret that is none of your business! Do you want the keys that explain the reasons why my brother was led to do such things? You must know that it is all on me that punished him for his lack of faith and for his guilt towards me. We were united by a terrible link of death! He should have honored his word and he did not; he was a coward! May he suffer for the injury that would not find shelter in me! As my accomplice in the action, he should have followed in the ordeal. Why did he hesitate? He suffers today as a punishment for his hesitation. Since I could not force him to follow me, at least immediately, I employed the magnetic force that I have at a high degree, forcing him to abandon his own will and yield to mine. Is he suffering? Even better! Each one of his moans gives me a kick of pleasure. Are you happy with my civility? Are you happy with my explanations? No. Do you want to moralize me? But who are you to give me sermons? Are you a priest? No. Then, how come do you want me to listen to you? I want to hear nothing and I am going back to the place that I should not have left. He understands his issues now. His will may react upon matter! Damn you if you allow him to escape from my domination!

Voldemar R…



II

Do not try, at least for now, to impel this poor senseless mind to listen to you. He could not do it and your words would only excite his brutal rage. I come in his place to give you some explanations that will shed some light onto the somber drama that was authored by these two players in another existence. At this time they atone, suffering the consequences of the criminal action whose details I cannot elaborate today. You must only know that from those two, Alexander reported to Voldemar under another name and in another time, in a social condition that you can presume from a few words that are in the report that you read. Think about the passage in which Alexander demanded that the bell rang at the beginning of his meals and you are on the right path. As I said, subordinated to Voldemar and instigated by him, he did a number of things whose responsibility are shared by both today and that are the source of their sufferings. Alexander was, and still is, a feeble and vacillating character that was easily dominated when there was an opportunity. Regarding anybody else he was arrogant, despotic and brutal. In short, he was under the domination of his brother. What both did will be revealed to you later, in this study. Let us move to the results.

They vowed to never betray one another or to move away from each other, and in addition Voldemar reserved the right, to cast the full weight of his strong will power onto his accomplice. You saw that he had transformed him into the main target of his jokes, in the fragments of existences that they shared. Highly intelligent individuals, they had previously formed a scary allegiance against society, by the association of their bad tendencies. Voldemar was retrieved back, by design of the Providence that thus prepared the way for the renovation of both creatures. Alexander pledged to follow his brother in the grave but his affection to one person mentioned in the report and the fatigue for carrying a load that he was painstakingly carrying made him fight back. His brother could not kill him physically but did so mentally, surrounding him by a beam of influences that determined the cruel obsession whose consequences you know. The somnambulist that classified his illness as the disease of Nebuchadnezzar was not far from the truth as it might be thought because Nebuchadnezzar was an obsessed mind that was convinced that he was a beast. It is therefore an obsession that does not exclude, as you know, the intelligence and does not definitely annihilates it. It is one of the most remarkable cases whose study may be beneficial to all. Tonight, this matter would take us a long way given all the necessary explanations. I will stop at this point, asking you to gather your spiritual forces to evoke Voldemar. Since he fears him, with reason, in his absence the brother recovers his energy and may be able to free himself. That is why he rejects to leave him and exerts a continual magnetic action.

The guide of both.

Paulowitch



III

(Medium: Mrs. Delanne)

My beloved brothers, certain facts reported in the Scriptures are overlooked by many as fables to children. They were disdained because they were not understood, and people refused to give them credit. Despite that, once undressed from its allegoric meaning, the bottom line is true, and only Spiritism could decode them. Events of several kind are going to take place not only with the Spiritists but with everybody and all over the world, compelling scientists to study and be convinced, despite what some people say, that Spiritism teaches new things because it is through Spiritism that one will have the explanation of what has remained misunderstood up until now. Weren’t you told that obsession would take new forms? This is an example. The punishment of Nebuchadnezzar is not, therefore, a fable. He was not, as you rightfully said, transformed into a beast; but he was, as in the case that you discuss now, for some time deprived of his intellectual skills, and that in conditions that approached him to the beasts and transformed the powerful tyrant in an object of pity to all. God hit his pride.

All these issues are related to fluids and magnetism. There is obsession and subjugation in this young man. He is very lucid as a Spirit and his brother exerts an irresistible magnetic influence; he easily attracts him out of his body when there is no friend or sympathetic person near to refrain him. He then suffers when detached; to him it is also a punishment and that is when he howls ferociously.

Don’t be so quick in condemning what is written in the sacred books, as does the majority that only sees the letter and not the Spirit. You are better enlightened every day and new truths shall be unveiled before your eyes for you are far from having exhausted every application of what you know about Spiritism.

St. Benedict



If follows from this eminently rational explanation that this young man is enduring an obsession, or better said, a terrible subjugation, like that of King Nebuchadnezzar. Does it destroy God’s justice that had punished the monarch of pride? Absolutely not for we know that obsessions are at the same time trial and atonement. Thus, God could punish him by placing him under the influence of a maleficent Spirit that impelled him to behave like an animal without transforming him in a beast. The first of those punishments is natural and is explained by the law of relationships between the visible and the invisible word; the other one is anti-natural, fantastic and does not explain itself. One presents itself as a reality in our days, in the different forms of obsession; the other is only found in fairy tales. Finally, one is accepted by reason, the other does not.

From the point of view of Spiritism, this fact offers an important theme for study. Obsession is presented in a new way regarding the form and the determining cause, but it has nothing remarkable after what we see every day. St. Benedict is totally right when he says that we are far have exhausted all the applications of Spiritism and of having understood everything it can explain to us. As it is, it offers us a rich mine to explore, helped by the laws that we are taught. Before we say that it is stationary, let us take advantage of what it can teach us.

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[1] Obsolete Russian unit of length; 1 verst = approximately 1km or 0.66 miles


[2] Obsolete unit of measure, approximately 1.8x1.8 m² or 6x6 ft²

We got the following text from one of our Paris subscribers:

“When I read the October issue of the Spiritist Review it reported me to a passage of the Bible that contains a similar fact as that of the clairvoyant of the forest of Zimmerwald. It goes like this:

Genesis 44:4-5 They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’”

Genesis 44:14-15 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?”

The kind of mediumship that you described existed amongst the Egyptians and Jewish.”

C… Attorney



This is in fact very true. Joseph was gifted with the art of divination, that is, to be able to see hidden things, and he used a drinking goblet, like the clairvoyant of Zimmerwald used his glass. If mediumship is a demoniac faculty, here we have one of the most respectable characters of the sacred antiquity believing to act through the devil. If he was with God and our mediums with the devil then the devil does the same as God, and consequently equals God’s power. They are then surprised to serious people sustaining such a thesis that destroys their own doctrine.

Spiritism, therefore, did not discover nor invented the mediums, but discovered and explains the laws of mediumship. It is then the true key to the comprehension of the New as well as the Old Testament where there are plenty of similar facts. The lack of such a key led to so many contradictory comments about the Scriptures, explaining nothing. Disbelief increased incessantly regarding these facts and invaded the Church itself. From now on they shall be admitted as natural phenomena for they happen repeatedly in our days through now known laws. We are then right to say that Spiritism is a positive science that destroys the last vestige of the supernatural.

Suppose that the books from antiquity that explain the pagan theogony and the mythology had been lost. Could we understand today the meaning of the innumerable inscriptions that are discovered every day and that are more or less related to those beliefs? Could we understand the objectives and motives of the structures of monuments whose ruins we contemplate today? Would we understand the statues and inscriptions? Certainly not. Without the knowledge of mythology, it would all be dead letter to us, like the cuneiform scripture and the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Mythology is then the key for the reconstruction of history through a fragment of stone, like Cuvier reconstructed pre-diluvian animals from a bone. Just because we no longer believe in the fables of pagan divinities, will it follow that we must neglect mythology. Anyone that supported this would be considered barbarian.

Well, then! Spiritism, as a belief in the existence and manifestation of the souls, as a means for their communication; magnetism, as a means of cure; somnambulism, as the double sight, all these were mingled with all theogonies of the pas, even the Judaic theogony, and later on the Christian; this leads to a number of monuments and inscriptions that still persist. Spiritism that at the same time embraces magnetism and somnambulism, is a light shed onto Archeology and the study of antiquity. We are even convinced that it is a fecund source for the understanding of the hieroglyphs because those beliefs were much spread out in Egypt and its study was part of the mysteries hidden to the commoners. Here some facts that support this statement:

One of our friends, a wise Archeologist that lives in Africa, and who is also an enlightened Spiritist, a few years ago found in the outskirts of Setif, a tomb inscription whose meaning was unintelligible with the knowledge of Spiritism. We remember seeing in the Louvre, a long time ago, an Egyptian painting that portrayed a sleeping person and another one standing up with arms and hands stretching towards the first one, looking at that person as if positively applying a magnetic pass. One could say that it was a drawing based on the little vignette that in former times Mr. Baron Dupotet use to place on the headings of his Journal of Magnetism. The reason for that painting was unmistakable to any magnetizer. Any person that had no knowledge of magnetism would find that image meaningless. This fact alone would demonstrate, as if there weren’t many more, that in former times the Egyptians were skillful in magnetization and that they applied that more or less as we do. Hence, it was part of their culture and therefore stamped in a public monument. Without modern magnetism that gave us the key to certain allegories, we would not know it.

Another Egyptian painting, also in the Louvre, portrayed a standing mummy, surrounded by small layers of linen; a body of the same shape and size, but without the linen, was detached in the middle, as if coming out of the mummy, and another individual placed in front seemed to reach out to that body. We did not know Spiritism then and asked ourselves the meaning of all that.

Today it is clear that the allegoric painting represents the soul separating from the body, but keeping its human appearance; the detachment is facilitated by the action of another incarnate or discarnate person, as we are taught by Spiritism.

Believe not in Spiritism, if that is your wish. Consider it to be a fantasy. Nobody will impose it. Study it, as you do to mythology, just for learning and laughing at people’s beliefs, and you will then see how many horizons will open up before you, regardless of how serious you are.

Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, October 13^th, 1865

Medium: Mr. Leymarie



When I left my bodily envelope, people delivered several speeches at my grave, all impregnated by the same idea. Sonnez, my friend, go and enjoy the eternal rest. Soul, a priest said, rest in the divine contemplation. Friend, a third one would say, sleep in peace after a well lived life. It was the eternal rest, coming out of so many touching farewells. The eternal rest! What was it that people understood by such expression and by the same words repeated so many times every time some one disappeared from Earth, towards the unknown?

Ah! Friends, you believe we rest. What a strange mistake! It is your way of understanding resting. Look around you; do you see rest? At this very moment the trees will leave behind their enchanting dresses; everything vibrates in this season; nature seems to be preparing for death, and yet, if we search we will find life in preparation under such apparent death. Everything depurates in this terrestrial laboratory: the sap and the flower, the insect and the fruit, everything that will embellish and fertilize.

That mountain, that seems to be on an eternal immobility, does not rest. The infinite number of molecules that form the mountain carry out a tremendous task. Some of them tend to separate, others to aggregate, and that slow transformation that may be surprising, at first, causes admiration to the researcher that finds multiple instincts and mysteries to explore. And if this Earth agitates in its own crucible it is to prepare the air and the atmosphere that sustain the whole nature. It follows the path of millions of planets that you see in space, whose daily movements and continual work obey the sovereign will. Their evolution follows a mathematical formulation and it contains other elements that make you act; let us do it! Believe it! Those elements work for your own depuration, your own perfection. Yes, perfection because that is the eternal word. Perfection is the objective and to achieve it atoms, molecules, sap, minerals, trees, animals, people, planets and Spirits endeavor in this general movement, impressive by its diversity and for the fact that it is harmony. All tendencies lead to the same objective and that objective is God, the center of every attraction.

My mission was not accomplished after my departure from Earth; I seek and work every day; my expanded mind embraces better the managing power; I feel better by doing good and like myself, legions of innumerable Spirits prepare the future.

Do not believe in an eternal rest! Those that use such words do not understand its emptiness. All of you that hear me out, can you stop your thoughts, can you force them to rest? No. Even the vagabond seeks and always seeks, pleasing the kind and useful charlatans that deny Spiritism and its power. Spiritism does exist and we will prove that, even better when the time comes. We shall teach them, the apostles of disbelief, that a person is not a serendipitous aggregation of atoms, later destroyed by chance. We shall teach them that there is a soul that radiates by its free-will, owner of its own destiny, elaborating in the terrestrial Gehenna^[1]the power of action upon other lives and other trials.

Sonnez

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[1] Gehenna is a small valley in Jerusalem. In the Hebrew Bible, Gehenna was initially where some of the kings of Judah sacrificed their children by fire. Thereafter, it was deemed to be cursed. In rabbinic literature, Gehenna is a destination of the wicked. (Wikipedia, TN)

In preparation, to be publish in a few days

The Gospel According to Spiritism,

3^rd Edition revised, corrected and modified
by Allan Kardec



This edition resulted in a complete reshuffling of the work. Besides some additions, the main changes consist in a clearer, more accommodating and methodic classification of the subject matters, making it easier to read and search.

The Davenport Brothers
A philosophical study
by Ernest Altony

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