Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1867

Paris, February 10^th, 1867 – medium Mr. T… in spontaneous sleep


Note: In this session, no previous question had provoked the subject that was discussed. The medium had first dealt with health, then, step by step, he found himself led to the reflections whose analysis we give below. He spoke for about an hour, without a break.



“The progress of Spiritism causes a fear in its enemies that they cannot conceal. In the beginning they played with the turning tables, not thinking that they were caressing a child who was to grow up;… the child grew up… then they had a presentiment of the future, telling themselves that they would soon be right about it… But the child had a hard life, as they say. It resisted all the attacks, anathemas, persecutions, even ridicule. Like certain seeds that the wind carries away, it produced innumerable offspring; … for each one that was destroyed, a hundred others sprouted.



At first they used the weapons of another age against it, those that had once succeeded against new ideas, because those ideas were just scattered glimmers that had difficulty in shining through ignorance, and that had not yet enrooted in the masses… today it is something else; everything has changed: manners, ideas, character, beliefs; humanity is no longer moved by the threats that frighten children; the devil, so dreaded by our ancestors, scares no more: we laugh at it.



Yes, ancient weapons have blunted against the breastplate of progress. It is as if today, an army wanted to attack a cannon guarded stronghold with the arrows, rams, and catapults of our ancestors.



The enemies of Spiritism have seen, by experience, the uselessness of the worm-eaten weapons of the past against the regenerative idea; far from harming it, their efforts only served to accredit it.



To fight with advantage against the ideas of the century, one would have to be at the height of the century; to progressive doctrines, it would be necessary to oppose even more progressive doctrines…; but less cannot prevail against more.



Unable to succeed by violence, they resorted to cunning, the weapon of those who are aware of their weakness... from wolves they became lambs to enter the sheepfold, to sow disorder, division, and confusion. Since they managed to cast disturbance into a few ranks, they prematurely believed themselves masters of the place. The isolated followers, nonetheless, continued their work, and the idea gains ground every day, without much noise… They are the ones that made the noise… Can't you see it breaking through everywhere, in the newspapers, in books, in the theater, and even in the pulpit? It works all consciences; it leads the spirits to new horizons; it is found in the state of intuition, even in those who have not heard of it. This is a fact that no one can deny, and that is becoming more evident every day; isn’t that a proof that the idea is irresistible, and that it is a sign of the times?



To annihilate it is, therefore, an impossible task, because it would have to be annihilated, not on one point, but in the whole world; besides, aren’t the ideas carried on the wings of the wind? How can they be reached? Parcels of goods can be seized at customs; but ideas are elusive.



What to do then? Try to get hold of them, to accommodate them as one pleases… Well! That is the party they have sided with. They said to themselves: Spiritism is the precursor of an inevitable moral revolution; before it is entirely accomplished, let us try to divert it to our own benefit; let us make sure that this is the same as with certain political revolutions; by distorting its spirit, we could convey another course to it.



The plan of campaign is therefore changed… You will see Spiritist meetings forming, whose avowed goal will be the defense of the doctrine, and whose secret goal will be its destruction; so-called mediums will have preordered communications, appropriate to the intended purpose; publications that, under the cloak of Spiritism, will endeavor to demolish it; doctrines that will borrow some ideas from it, but with the intent of supplanting him. This is the struggle, the real struggle that it will have to sustain, and that will be pursued relentlessly, but from which it will emerge victorious and stronger.



What can men do against the will of God? Is it possible to ignore it in the presence of what is happening? Isn’t His finger visible in this progress that defies all attacks, in these phenomena that appear on all sides, like a protest, like belying all denials? ... Aren’t the lives of men, the fate of humanity in His hands? ... Blinds! ... They do not count on the new generation that rises, and that carries away, every day, the departing generation... A few more years, and this one will have disappeared, leaving behind only the memory of its senseless attempts to stop the impetus of the human spirit that walks, walks anyway… They do not count on the events that will hasten the blossoming of the new humanitarian period… without the support that will rise in favor of the new doctrine, and whose powerful voice will impose silence on its detractors, by its authority.



Oh! How the face of the world will be changed for those who will see the beginning of the next century! … How many ruins will they see behind them, and what splendid horizons will open before them! … It will be like the dawn, pushing back the shadows of the night; … Songs of joy will succeed the noises, the uproars, the roaring of the storm; after anguish, men will be reborn to hope… Yes! the twentieth century will be a blessed century, for it will see the new era announced by Christ.”



Note: Here the medium stops, dominated by an ineffable emotion, and as if exhausted with fatigue. After a few minutes of rest, during which he seems to return to the regular state of somnambulism, he resumes:



What was I telling you then? - You told us about the new plan of campaign of the opponents of Spiritism; then you envisioned the new era. – continues.



In the meantime, they dispute the land foot by foot. They have almost given up the weapons of another age, whose ineffectiveness has been recognized; they are now trying those that are all powerful in this century of selfishness, pride, and greed: gold, the seduction of self-love. With those that are inaccessible to fear, they exploit vanity, and the earthly needs. One that resisted the threat, sometimes lends a complacent ear to flattery, to the lure of material well-being ... They promise bread to those who have none, work to the craftsman , clientele to the merchant, promotion to the employee, honors to the ambitious, if they renounce their beliefs; they are hurt in their position, in their means of existence, in their affections, if they are rebellious; then the glamor of gold produces its ordinary effect on some. Among them there are, necessarily, some weak characters that succumb to temptation. There are some who fall into the trap in good faith, because the hand that manipulates it hides ... There are also many that yield to the harsh necessity, but who think, nonetheless; their renunciation is only apparent; they bend, but to stand up at the first opportunity ... Others, those who have a higher degree of the true courage of faith, resolutely face the danger; these always succeed, because they are supported by the good Spirits… Some, Ah! … But these have never been Spiritists of heart… prefer the gold of the earth to the gold of heavens; they remain apparently attached to the doctrine, and under this cloak, they only serve better the cause of its enemies… it is a sad exchange that they are making there, for which they will pay dearly!



In times of cruel trials that you are going to go through, happy are those over whom the protection of the good Spirits will extend, for it will have never been more necessary! … Pray for the stray brothers, so that they take advantage of the short moments of respite that are granted to them, before the justice of the Almighty weighs on them… When they see the storm breaking out, more than one will cry for mercy! But they will be answered: What have you done with our teachings? Haven’t you, mediums, written your own condemnation a hundred times? ... You have had the light, and you have not taken advantage of it; we gave you shelter, why did you desert it? So, suffer the fate of those you have preferred. If your heart had been touched by our words, you would have remained steadfast in the path of good that was laid out for you; if you had had faith, you would have resisted the seductions offered to your self-esteem and vanity. Did you therefore believe that you could impose it on us, as on men, by false appearances? Know this, if you have doubted it, that there is not a single movement of the soul that does not have its repercussion in the spiritual world.



Do you believe that it is for nothing that clairvoyance develops in so many people? That it is to offer a new food to curiosity, that so many mediums today spontaneously fall asleep, in the ecstatic sleep? No, think again. This faculty, that has been announced to you for a long time, is a characteristic sign of the times that have come; it is a prelude to the transformation, for as you have been told, it must be one of the attributes of the new generation. That generation, more purified morally, will also be physically; mediumship, in all forms, will be somewhat general, and communion with the Spirits a state, so to speak, normal.



God sends this seeing faculty, in these times of crisis and transition, to give His faithful servants a way to thwart the plots of their enemies, for the evil thoughts, that are believed to be hidden in the shadows of the folds of consciences, reflect in these sensitive souls, like in a mirror, and reveal themselves. He who exhales only good thoughts is not afraid of being known. Happy is the one that can say: read in my soul as in an open book.”





Observation: Spontaneous somnambulism, that have already talked about, is in fact only a form of clairvoyance mediumship, the development of which has been announced for some time, as with the appearance of new mediumistic skills. It is remarkable that, in all times of general crisis or persecution, there are more people endowed with this faculty than in ordinary times; there were many at the time of the revolution; the Calvinists of the Cévènes,^[1] hunted down like wild beasts, had many seers who warned them of what was happening in the distance; they were, for this fact, and ironically, qualified as enlightened; today we begin to understand that sight at a distance and independent of the organs of vision may well be one of the attributes of human nature, and Spiritism explains it by the expansive faculty and properties of the soul. Facts of this kind have multiplied so much that we are less astonished; what once seemed a miracle or spell to some, is now considered a natural effect. It is one of the thousand ways by which Spiritism penetrates, so that, if it is stopped at one source, it emerges through other exits.

This faculty is thus not new, but it tends to generalize, undoubtedly for the reason indicated in the communication above, but also as a means of proving to the unbelievers the existence of the spiritual principle. According to the Spirits it would even become endemic, that would naturally be explained by the moral transformation of humanity, a transformation that must bring about modifications in the organism that will facilitate the expansion of the soul.



Like other mediumistic faculties, this one can be exploited by charlatanism. It is, therefore, good to be on guard against deception that could, for any reason whatsoever, try to simulate it, and to ensure, by all possible means, the good faith of those who claim to possess it. Besides the material and moral selflessness, and the notorious honorability of the person, that are the first guarantees, it is advisable to observe carefully the conditions and the circumstances in which the phenomenon occurs, and to see if they offer anything suspicious.

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[1] The Camisards, the French Huguenots of the 18^th Century (T.N.)

“When, following a terrible humanitarian convulsion, the whole society moved slowly, overwhelmed, crushed, and ignoring the cause of its depression, a few privileged beings, a few old veterans of good, pooling their experience regarding the difficulty in doing it, adding the respect that their conduct and their position should have aroused, resolved to seek to deepen the causes of this general crisis that touches each one in particular.



The new era begins, and with that Spiritism (this word was created; all that remains is to make it understood and to learn its meaning). Impassive time moves on, and Spiritism, that is no longer just a word, no longer needs to be understood: it is understood! ... But, a few veteran Spiritists, these creators, these missionaries, are still at the forefront of the movement… Their small battalion is very small in number, but patience! … it is gradually gaining members, and it will soon be an army: the army of veterans of good! Because, in general, Spiritism, at its beginning, in its first years, has almost always touched only hearts already worn out by the friction of life, hearts that had suffered and paid for, those that carried the principles of the beautiful, good, and great.



Descending successively from the old age to the middle age, from the middle age to adulthood and from adulthood to adolescence, Spiritism has infiltrated all ages, as all hearts, all religions, all sects, everywhere! Assimilation was slow, but steady! … And today, have no fear that this Spiritist flag will fall, held by a firm and sure hand, from the beginning; for today, the young phalanxes of the Spiritists battalions do not cry out, like their adversaries: "Make way for the young." No, they don't say, “Come out, old folks, to let the young ones take over.” They only ask for a place at the feast of intelligence, for the right to sit down next to their predecessors, and to bring their contribution to the great whole. Today, the youth is strengthening; it brings its contribution to the mature age in exchange for the experience of the latter, in the great law of reciprocity, and the consequences of the collective work for science, morality, good; because, ultimately, if science progresses, for whose benefit does it progress? Aren’t the human bodies that benefit from all the elucidations, all the problems solved, all the inventions made? That benefits everyone, just as if you progress in morality, it benefits all Spirits. So today, young people and old people are equal before progress and must fight side by side for its realization.



The battalion has become an army, an invulnerable army, but that must fight, not one but thousands of adversaries united against it. So, youngsters, bring with confidence the ardor of your convictions, and you, older ones, bring your wisdom, your knowledge of men and things, your experience without illusion.



The army is at the battle front. Your enemies are numerous, but they are not in front of you, face to face, chest to chest; they are everywhere, by your side, in front, behind, among you, in the very heart of your heart, and you have to fight them with your good will only, your loyal consciences and your tendencies for good. Of these united armies, one has a name: pride; the others: ignorance, fanaticism, superstition, laziness, vices of all kinds.



And your army, that must fight head-on, must also know how to fight, because you will not be one against one, but one against ten! … What a great victory to conquer! … Well! If you all fight together, with the hope of succeeding, fight yourselves first, overcome your bad tendencies; hypocrites, acquire sincerity; lazy, become workers; proud, be humble; extend your hand to loyalty, dressed in a ragged blouse, and all, in solidarity, take and keep the commitment to do to others what you would like to have them done to you. So, let us not cry make way for the young, but make way for all that is beautiful, good, all that tends to approach the Divinity.



Today, they are beginning to take it into account, this poor Spiritism that was said to be stillborn; one sees in it a serious enemy, but why is that? … One did not fear it, in the beginning, that weak child; they laughed at its powerless efforts; but today that the child has become a man, it is feared, because it has the strength of a mature age; it is because it has gathered around it persons of all ages, of all social positions, of all degrees of intelligence, who understand that wisdom, the acquired knowledge, may as well reside in the heart of a twenty-year old man, as in the brain of a man of sixty.



Thus, today this poor Spiritism is feared, dreaded; one does not dare to come in front, to measure oneself against it; they take the detours, the road of cowards! ... They do not come to say in daylight: you do not exist; they come among its supporters, speak like them, do like them, applaud and approve everything they do, when they are with them, to fight them and betray them when they have turned their back. Yes, this is what they are doing today! In the beginning, they said upfront what they thought of the sickly child, but today they dare no more, because it has grown up, and yet it has never shown its teeth.



If I am told to tell you this, although it is always painful to me, it is because it was useful; nothing, not a word, not a gesture, not a pitch of voice takes place without a reason, and without bringing their contribution to the general balance. The post office there is much smarter and more complete than that of your Earth; every word meets its goal, has its address, without an envelope, whereas among you, a letter without an envelope will never arrive.”



Observation: The above communication is, as we see, an application of what was said in the previous one, on the effect of clairvoyance, and it is not the only time that we have had the chance to observe the services that this faculty is called upon to render. This is not to say that blind faith should be added to all that can be said in such a case; there would be as much imprudence in believing the first comer, without reservation, as in despising the warnings that can be given by this way. The degree of confidence that can be added to it depends on the circumstances; this faculty needs to be studied; above all, we must act with caution, and beware of a hasty judgment.



As to the substance of the communication, its coincidence with what was given five months before, by another medium, and in another environment, is a fact worthy of notice, and we know that similar instructions are given in different centers. It is therefore prudent to be cautious with people on whose sincerity one does not have every reason to believe. The Spiritist, no doubt, have only highly avowed principles; they have nothing to hide; but what they have to fear is to see their words distorted and their intentions disguised; these are the traps set for their good faith by people who plead the false in order to know the true; who, under the appearances of a too exaggerated zeal to be sincere, attempt to lead groups into a compromising path, either to cause them embarrassment, or to do a disservice to the doctrine.