Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1866

How can such a great, powerful, and superior God meddle with the tiniest details, be worried about the smallest acts and minimal thoughts of each individual? Such is the question that is frequently asked.

In this current state of inferiority men can hardly understand an infinite God, because they are limited and circumscribed themselves, and consequently consider God finite and circumscribed as well; by doing so they see God as their own image. The paintings that show God with human traces do not contribute little to feed such mistake in the spirit of the masses, that adore more the form than the thought in God. The most, God is a powerful sovereign, on an inaccessible throne, lost in the immensity of the skies, and since their faculties and perceptions are restrict, they cannot understand that God may directly intervene in the smallest things.

Given the impotence of man to understand the essence of divinity, he can only make an approximate idea, helped but necessarily much imperfect comparisons, but that can at least show the possibility of something that, at first sight, seem impossible.

Consider a fluid that is subtle enough to penetrate all bodies. It is evident that each molecule of this fluid will produce, upon each molecule of the matter with which it is in contact, an action identical to the one that the totality of the fluid would produce. It is what chemistry shows us.

Since it is not intelligent, this fluid acts mechanically only through the material forces. But if we suppose this fluid with some intelligence, endowed by perceptive and sensitive faculties, it will no longer act blindly, but with discernment, with will and freedom; it will see, hear, and feel.

The properties of the perispiritual fluid can give us an idea about it. It is not intelligent by itself, because it is matter, but it is the vehicle of thoughts, of sensations and perceptions of the Spirits; it is due to the subtleness of this fluid that the Spirits penetrate everywhere, scrutinize our thoughts that they see and act from a distance; the superior Spirits owe their gift of ubiquity to this fluid, once they have achieved a certain degree of depuration; they only need a beam of their thoughts sent to multiple points to be able to simultaneously manifest their presence there. The extension of this faculty is subordinated to the degree of elevation and depuration of the Spirit. But the Spirits, however much elevated they are, are limited creatures in their faculties. Their power and the reach of their perceptions, from this point of view, could not approach that of God. They can, however, be used for comparison. What the Spirit can only realize in a restricted horizon, God that is infinite realizes in infinite proportions.



There is still another difference, that the action of the Spirit is momentarily and subordinated to the circumstances, whereas the action of God is permanent; the thought of the Spirit can only embrace a restrict space and time, whilst God embraces the universe and eternity. In short, between the Spirits and God there is the distance between the finite and the infinite.

The perispiritual fluid is not the thought, but the agent and intermediary of that thought. Since it is the fluid that transmits it, it is somehow impregnated, and given our impossibility of isolating the thought, it seems to make one with the fluid, as the sound seems to combine into one with air, so much so that we can, as a way of speaking, materialize it. In the same way that we say that the air becomes sonorous, taking the effect by the cause, we could say that the fluid becomes intelligent.

Regarding the thought of God, be it like that or not, meaning, whether that thought acts directly or through a fluid, to facilitate our understanding, we represented it in the concrete form of an intelligent fluid filling up the whole infinite universe, penetrating every part of creation. The whole nature is embedded in the Divine fluid; everything is submitted to its intelligent action, its providence, its solicitude; not a single being, however tiny it might be, isn’t, in a way, saturated by that fluid.

Thus, we are constantly in the presence of the divinity; there isn’t a single action from our side that can avoid its eyes; our thoughts are in contact with its thoughts and that is the reason why it is said that God reads the most intimate parts of our hearts; we are in God as God is in us, according to the words of Jesus Christ.

To extend solicitude to the tiniest creature, God has no need to look down from the heights of infinity, nor there is a need for God to leave the dwelling of glory, since that dwelling is everywhere. Our prayers do not need to transpose the space, nor do they need to be said in a reverberating voice, because our thoughts are embedded by and incessantly interacting with God’s thoughts.

The image of an intelligent universal fluid is not more than a comparison, but adequate to give a fairer idea of God than the images that represent God as an old man with a long beard, covered by a mantle. We can only apply comparison by using things that we do know; that is why we daily say: the eye of God, the hand of God, the voice of God, the breath of God, and the face of God. In the infancy of humanity, man applies these comparisons verbatim; later, being more capable of abstractions, the creature spiritualizes the material ideas. The idea of an intelligent universal fluid, penetrating everything, as it would be with the luminous fluid, the caloric fluid, the electric fluid^[1], or any other, if they were intelligent, has the objective of explaining the possibility of God being everywhere, to be involved with everything, watching over the blossoming weed as well as the worlds.

The distance between God and us was removed. We understand His presence, and when we address our thought to Him it gives us more confidence, for we can no longer say that God is too far away and that He is too great to be worried about us. But such a thought, very reassuring to the humble and to the good man, is terrifying to the hardened bad and proud one, that had kept God away given the distance, but from now on will feel His influence and power.



Three is nothing that precludes us from admitting a center of action to the principle of sovereign intelligence, irradiating non-stop, inundating the universe with His emanations, like the light of the Sun. But where is this focus? It is likely that it is no more localized in a determined spot than its action. If simple Spirits have the gift of ubiquity, this must be a boundless faculty to God.

Assuming that God fills up the whole universe, it could be hypothetically admitted that such a focus does not need to be transported, and that it may be formed in all places where God’s sovereign will desires, from what it could inferred that God is everywhere and nowhere.

Our reason must be humbled before these fathomless problems. God does exist: we could not doubt it; God is infinitely just and good: it is God’s essence; His solicitude reaches everything: we now understand it; by being permanently in contact with God, we can pray to him, certain that we are heard; God can only wish our wellbeing, hence we must trust God. That is essential. As for the rest, let us wait to be worthy of understanding.

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[1] The modern knowledge of electricity, such as electromagnetic induction and the field theory, were in their early days, thanks to the work of great 19^th century minds such as Michael Faraday and James Maxwell. Maxwell’s field equations set of four papers were first published in 1861, in the Philosophical Magazine in Britain. (T.N.)

Considering that God is everywhere, why can’t we see Him? Do we see Him when we leave Earth? These are also questions that are asked every day. The first one is easy to resolve: Our material organs have limited perceptions, that make the vision of certain things improper, even material things. That is how certain fluids totally escape our vision^[2] and our instruments of analysis. We see the effects of the plague but cannot see the fluid that carries it; we see the bodies moving around by the gravitational force but we do not see that force.

Things of immaterial essence cannot be perceived by the material organs; it is only through the spiritual vision that we can see the Spirits and things of the immaterial world; therefore, it is only our soul that can have the perception of God. Does the soul see God immediately after death? That is what only the communications from beyond the grave can teach us. Through them we know that the vision of God is only the privilege of the more depurated souls, and that consequently very few have the necessary dematerialization after leaving the earthly envelope. A few simple comparisons will allow us to understand this without difficulty.

Someone at the bottom of a vale, surrounded by a thick fog, does not see the Sun; however, through an obscure light, he perceives the presence of the Sun. If he climbs the mountain, and as he moves to higher levels, the fog dissipates, the light becomes more and more lively, but he cannot see yet. When he begins to perceive, the Sun is still hidden, for the minimum mist is enough to fade its shine. It is only after he is completely elevated above the misty layer, in an atmosphere of perfectly pure air, he can see the Sun in all its splendor.

The same happens to someone that had his head covered by multiple veils. In the beginning he cannot see a thing; each veil that is removed allows him to see a stronger flash; it is only when the last veil is removed that he can see things clearly. This also happens to a liquid that carries strange materials. In the beginning it is muddy; after each distillation the transparency increases, until it is completely purified, acquiring a perfect transparency and no longer presents any obstacle to vision.

It is the same with the soul. The perispiritual envelope, although invisible and impalpable to us, it is a true matter to the soul, still too gross to certain perceptions. This envelope spiritualizes, as the soul elevates in morality. The imperfections of the soul are like veils that obfuscate its vision; each imperfection that is removed is one less veil, but it is only after having depurated completely that the soul enjoys the plenitude of its faculties.

Since God is the divine essence, by excellence, He cannot be perceived in all His shine but by the Spirits that have reached the highest degree of materialization. If the imperfect Spirits do not see Him, it is not because they are more far away than the others, considering that every being in nature, like themselves, are embedded in the divine fluid. The blind is exposed to light as we are, but nonetheless they cannot see it. Imperfections are the veils that hide God from the vision of inferior Spirits; when the misty is dissipated they will see Him resplendent. They will not need to climb or seek him in the depths of infinity; since the spiritual life is disentangled from the moral stains that muddied it, they will see God everywhere, even if they are on Earth because God is everywhere.

The Spirit depurates very slowly, and the multiple incarnations are the alembics, where each time some impurities are left at the bottom. By leaving the corporeal envelope, the Spirit does not instantaneously undress from his imperfections; that is the reason why some, after death, do not see God more than they saw when alive. However, as they purify, they have a clearer intuition of God; they may not see Him, but they understand Him better; the light is less fuzzy. Thus, when the Spirits say that God forbids them from answering a given question, it does not mean that God shows up to them or speaks with them to prescribe or block one thing or another. No; but they feel God, receive the emanations from God’s thoughts, as it happens to us when we feel the Spirits that involve us with their fluid, although we do not see them. Hence, no man can see God with the eyes of flesh. If such a favor were given to some, it would only be in the state of ecstasy, when the soul is as much detached from the links of matter as it is possible during the incarnation.

Moreover, such a privilege would only be given to elite souls, incarnate in missions rather than atonements. But, as the Spirits of the highest order shine with a dazzling brilliance, it may be that inferior Spirits, incarnate of discarnate, struck by the splendor around them, would believe to see God Himself. It is like someone that sees a minister, believing to be the sovereign.

What is the appearance of God to those that became worthy of such a gift? Any form? Like a human figure or like a magnificent focus of light? That is what human language is incapable of describing, since we do not have any reference that could give us an idea. We are like blind people to whom someone was trying to explain the sunshine. Our vocabulary is limited to our needs and to the boundaries of our ideas; the vocabulary of the savage could not describe the marvels of civilization; the vocabulary of the most civilized people is too poor to describe the splendors of heavens; our intelligence is too limited to understand them, and our very weak vision would be dazzled by them.

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[1] See Genesis, Chap. II, items 31-37


[2] Even the air is invisible to us, although we feel and know it is there (T.N.)

The Concorde, a journal from Versailles, on February 22^nd, 1866 reports the following episode of a story published in a feuilleton, with the title In Corsica, sketch with a pen.

“A young woman had an aunt that was like her mother and to whom she devoted a filial love. The aunt fell sick and died. The young lady was kept away, but she stood up at the door of the mortuary chapel, crying and praying. Suddenly she seemed to have heard a weak scream, like a muffled moaning. She opened the door precipitously and saw her aunt that had removed the covering cloth, waving at her to approach. She then said, with a weak voice and out of a supreme effort: “Saveria, I was dead a short while ago… yes, dead… I saw the Lord… He allowed me to return for an instant to say a last goodbye and make a final recommendation to you.”

She then renewed a very important advice, that she had given a few days ago, that could affect her future. It was about keeping an absolute secret about a fact whose advertisement could lead to one of those terrible vengeances, so common in this country. After the niece had promised to comply with her will, she added: “Now I can die, because God will protect you as one is protected in such a time, for I will not leave behind me the displeasure of a vengeance fed by a trail of blood and curse… Goodbye my child, bless you”. After these words she expired.”

One of our correspondents, that personally knows the author, asked him if the report was the result of his imagination. “No, re said. It is the truth. I heard the story from Saveria’s mouth when I was in Corsica. I used her own words and even omitted certain details, afraid that people could accuse me of exaggeration.”

Facts of such a nature are not unique; we cited a very remarkable one in the Spiritist Review, August 1863, with the title Mr. Cardon, doctor. They are the evident proof of the existence and independence of the soul, because, if the intelligent principle were inherent to matter, it would extinguish with that. The remaining question is to know if, out of a wish, the soul can momentarily retake the body that it had just left.

One must not attribute the fact above, nor that of doctor Cardon, to a lethargic state. Lethargy is an accidental suspension of movements and nervous sensitivity, presenting the aspect of death, but that is not death, since there is no decomposition and the lethargic live many years after their wakening. Latent vitality retains is full strength, and the soul is not more separated from the body than it is during the sleep. In true death, on the contrary, matter decomposes, vitality is extinct and the perispirit detaches; the work of separation begins even before the consummation of death. While there is no consummation, it is possible to have temporary return to life, as the ones we cited, but always of short duration, considering that the will may delay the definite separation of the perispirit for a few moments, but it is impotent to stop the work of dissolution, when the time comes. Irrespective of the external appearances, one can say that every time that there is a return to life it means that there wasn’t death, in the pathologic meaning of the word. When death is complete, such return are impossible, for this is in opposition to the physiological laws.

In the circumstances that we discuss, therefore, we could rationally admit that death was not consummated. Having this event been reported at the Parisian Society, the guide of one of our usual mediums gave him the following explanation, that we reproduce with every reservation, as something possible, but not materially proved, and as a point of observation.



Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, March 2^nd, 1866 – medium Mr. Morin

In the case that constitutes reason for your discussion, there is a positive fact that is the dead person that spoke with her niece. It is necessary to know if this is a material fact, that is, if there was momentary return to the corporeal life, or if it is of spiritual order; the latter is the true hypothesis because the old lady was really dead. Here is what happened:

Keeling by the door of the mortuary chamber, the young lady had an irresistible impulse that took her to the bed of her aunt that, as I said, was truly dead. It was the strong will of the Spirit of this woman that provoked the phenomenon. Feeling that she was dying without being able to make the recommendation that she badly wanted to make, she asked God, in a last and supreme prayer, to allow her to tell the niece what she wanted to say. With the separation completed, the perispiritual fluid, still impregnated by her desire, involved the young woman, and brought her closer to the remains. There, with God’s permission, she became a clairvoyant and auditive medium; she saw and heard her aunt acting, not with a body, but through the perispirit, still connected to the body, so that there was spiritual, not material, sight and hearing.

The aunt’s recommendation, given in such a time and circumstances that gave the appearance of a resurrection, should vividly impress the young woman, making her understand the importance of the recommendation. Although she had already done that when alive, she wanted to make sure that her niece agreed, to avoid disgraces that could result from her indiscretion. Her will could not have revived her body, opposing the laws of nature, but could give her fluidic covering the appearance of her body.

Ebelman

Mr. Laverdet was one of the priests of the French Church and assistant to Father Châtel. He was a man of great knowledge, and for his elevation of character, enjoyed the appreciation of those that knew him. He died in Paris last November. One of his closest friends, Mr. Monvoisin, the renowned painter of history, a keen Spiritist, willing to receive a few words from beyond the grave, asked us to evoke him. The communication that he gave has, to his friend and his brother, an incontestable seal of identity, and for that matter we conceded to the wishes of those two gentlemen to see it published, and with even more satisfaction for the fact that it is instructive in more than one aspect.


Parisian Society, January 5^th, 1866 – medium: Mr. Desliens

Evocation: Your friend, Mr. Monvoisin, informed us today about your death, and although we did not have the privilege of knowing you in person, we did know your reputation, regarding your contribution in the formation of the French Church. The consideration that you deservedly enjoyed, and the study that you carried out about Spiritism, before your death, added to the wishes of your friend and your brother, accounted for our own desire to communicate with you, God willing. If you wish to give us your impressions as a Spirit, it will make us happy, if you wish to talk about the religious reformation in the cause that you worked and those that hindered its progress, or about the Spiritist Doctrine.

Answer: Dear Sir, I am happy, very happy for the good memory of my dear friend, Mr. Monvoisin. Thanks to him, today I can, in this honorable assembly, express my admiration by the man whose remarkable studies brought happiness to all disinherited and broken hearts by the injustice of men. A reformer myself, I am in the position of appreciating the whole prudence and wisdom of your conduct, dear Sir and teacher, if you allow me to give you such a title.

Not much satisfied with the general tendencies of the orthodox clergy, with their parsimonious way of spreading the light owed to all, I wanted, in partnership with Father Châtel, establish a teaching on new basis, with a character of religion, more associated to the news of the poor classes. In the beginning our objective was commendable, but our endeavor failed in its foundation, its purpose, so that they should come to us more to contradict the established religion than out of intimate conviction. We soon recognized it, but too lightheartedly we accepted with enthusiasm the children that rejected other priests, by lack of sufficient instruction or the necessary formalities. Spiritism proceeds in a totally different way; it is firm and judicious; it does not seek quantity but quality in the followers. It is a serious teaching and not a speculation.



Our reformation, that since the beginning was totally selfless, was soon seen as a means of making fortune, particularly by Father Châtel. It was its ruin. We did not have enough elements of resistance nor we had sufficient planning, fortunately and undoubtedly, to be successful with the endeavor. The first French archbishop had not successor. I did not try to present myself as the chief of a sect that I was the co-founder of second order because, in the first place, I did not approve the tendencies of Father Châtel, tendencies that the poor man atoned and still does in the world of the Spirits. On the other hand, my simplicity rejected it; I abstained and that is why I feel happy today.

We I was approached to return to the interrupted task, the readings of your works, dear Sir, had already launched profound roots in my mind. I understood that it was not only about modifying the way we teach but the teaching itself. Given its nature, our reformation could only have a period; founded on the basis of a fixed idea, upon a human conception, entirely developed and limited in its origin, it should, even with all changes of success, be soon overpassed by progressive seeds whose germination we see today.

Spiritism does not carry such a defect. It marches with progress; it is progress itself and it could not be overtaken by the one that permanently precedes it. By accepting all the new ideas, based on reason and logic, developing them, and giving rise to other unknown ideas, its future is guaranteed. Allow me, dear Sir, to thank you for the pleasure that I experimented by studying the wise teachings under your care. Disturbed by the desire to get to know what was hidden by all the mysteries of nature, by reading it my Spirit was touched by the brightest light.

I know that you reject any personal praise, out of modesty; I also know that those teachings are not of your conception, but the gathering of the instructions of your guides; nonetheless, Spiritism does not owe less to your reservation, to your skills in presenting things at their appropriate time, to your wise slowness, to your permanent moderation; after God and the good Spirits, you must enjoy the recognition that is conferred to you. Despite all diatribes, despite all the sickening and illogical attacks, it is today an opinion that made law, that is accepted by many sensible and serious people, and above any suspicion. It is the works of the future; it is overseen by the Almighty, and it will conquer the support of every intelligent and superior mind, as soon as they acknowledge its true objectives that were disfigured by the adversaries.

Unfortunately, ridicule is a powerful weapon in this country of progress! Several enlightened persons refuse to study certain ideas, even in secrecy, when they have been stigmatized by miserable mockery. But there are things that face all obstacles. Spiritism is one of them, and the time of its victory will come soon. It will unite the whole of France, the whole of intelligent Europe, and the fools and mistaken ones will be those that dare attribute to imagination, facts that are acknowledged by exceptional minds.

As for my current personal state, it is satisfactory; I will say nothing about it; I will just draw your attention to and ask for your prayers to my old colleague, Father Châtel. Pray for him. His lost Spirit, then more elevated, will later give you wise instructions. I thank you again for your benevolence towards me, and remain entirely at your service, if I can be useful at all.

Father Laverdet

Charles-Emmanuel Jean was a good worker, of a kind character, but given to drinking since his youth days. He had fallen in love with a young woman of his acquaintance that did not accept his proposal. She had always rejected him, saying that she would never marry a drunk. He married someone else with whom he had several children, but due to his drinking he never worried about their education and future. He died around 1823 and nobody knew what had become of him. One of his sons followed the footsteps of the father; he moved to Africa and gave no more news. Another one was of a completely different nature; his conduct had always been regular. He started apprenticeship early on, becoming well-liked by his employers as a qualified, laborious, active, and intelligent worker. Through his work and savings, he achieved an honorable position in the industry, and took proper care and educated a large family. He is today a keen and devoted Spiritist.

One day, in a private conversation, he expressed frustration of not having ensured an independent fortune to his children; we tried to appease his conscience, congratulating him, on the contrary, for the way he had accomplished his duty as a father. Since he is a good medium, we prayed for him to get a communication, without appealing to any determined Spirit. He wrote:

-“It is me, Charles-Emmanuel.”

It is my father, he said. Poor father, he is not happy. The Spirit continued:

-Yes, the teacher is right. You did more for your children than I did for you. I, therefore, have a mission to accomplish. Praise God, that gave you the love for your family.

Question (from Mr. Allan Kardec) – Where did your inclination for drinking come from?

Answer – A habit from my father that I inherited. It was a trial that I had to have fought.

Observation: In fact, his father had the same vice, but it is not correct to say that he had inherited; he simply gave in to the influence of a bad example. One cannot inherit defects of character, as it can do to defects of formation. Free-will has total power upon the former and none upon the latter.

Question – What is your current situation in the world of the Spirits?

Answer – I am permanently looking for my children and for the one that made me suffer, that always rejected me.

Q – You must find consolation in your son, Jean, an honored and well-liked man, and that prays for you, although you gave little attention to him.

A – Yes, I know; he has done and still does. That is why I am allowed to talk to you. I am always by his side, trying to mitigate his pains; it is my mission; it will only end when my son comes close to us.

Q – What was your situation, as a Spirit, after death?

A – In the beginning I did not believe to be dead; I drank nonstop; I saw and tried to reach Antoinette, but she fled. I then sought my children that I loved, despite everything, and that my wife did not want to give me. I then revolted, acknowledging my insignificance and impotence, and God condemned me to watch over my son Jean, that never died of an accident because always, and everywhere, I spare him of a violent death.

Observation: In fact, Mr. Jean escaped several times form imminent danger, as if out of a miracle; he escaped from drowning, from fire, from being smashed in the gears of an engine, from exploding with a steam engine; in his youth he was hung by accident, and an unexpected help always saved him at a critical time, something that seems to be due to the vigilance carried out by his father.

Q – You said that God condemned you to watch out for the safety of your son. I do not see a punishment in this; since you love him, this must be, on the contrary, a satisfaction to you. Many Spirits are assigned with the mission of taking care of the incarnate, protecting them, and that is a mission that pleases them to accomplish.

A – Yes, teacher. I should not have neglected my children, as I did. The law of justice now condemns me to repair. I do not do it against my will; I am happy to do that for the love of my son, but the pain that he would feel in the accidents that I save him from, I feel them myself; if he had to go through ten bullets, I would feel that pain as if it happened. That is the punishment that I attracted, by not carrying out the duties of a father before them in my life.

Q (by Mr. Jean) – Do you see my brother Numa, and can you tell me where he is? (the one that was given to drinking and whose fate was unknown).

A – No, I do not see him, but I look for him. Your daughter Jeanne saw him by the coast of Africa, falling into the sea. I was not there to help him. I couldn’t.

Observation: Mr. Jean’s daughter, in a moment of ecstasy, had really seen him falling into the sea, at the time of his disappearance. The punishment of this Spirit offers this particularity: He feels the pains that must be spared from his son. From that, it is understandable that it must be painful; but since he does not complain and consider it to be a fair amends, and that it does not diminishes his affection towards his son, such an atonement is useful.

Do you know, friends, where my communication is from? From a lost gorge, where the houses dispute their foundations with the difficulties accumulated by creation. Climbing houses winding on the slope of almost vertical hills, hanging from the sides of the rocks. Poor dwellings that housed many generations; above the roofs are the gardens where birds sing their prayers. When the first flowers announce the beautiful days, full of air and sun, this music seems to come out of areal layers, and the inhabitant that folds and work the iron, the factory and its discordant noise match their bitter and noisy rhythm with the harmony of the little artists of the good God.

But above those deteriorated, disheveled, original, dislocated houses, there are high mountains with unparalleled greenery; the walker sees the horizon broadening at each step; the villages, the churches seem to came out of the abyss, and this strange, wild, mutable panorama is lost in the distance, dominated by mountains with their summits whitened by the snow.

But I forgot: you must undoubtedly perceive a silvery strip, clear, capricious, transparent like a mirror: it is the Corrèze. Sometimes enclosed between rocks, it is quiet and grave; sometimes she escapes joyful, cheerful, through the meadows, willows and poplars, offering her cup to the lips of numerous flocks, and her beneficial transparency to the frolics of bathers; she purifies the city that is graciously divided.

I love this countryside, with its old houses, its gigantic steeple, it noise, its crown of chestnut trees; I love it because I was born there, because everything that I describe to your benevolent soul is part of the memories of my last incarnation. Beloved relatives, sincere friends always surrounded me with tender care; they helped my spiritual advancement. Having reached grandeur, I owed them my fraternal feelings; my works honored them, and when I come, as a Spirit, to visit the town of my infancy, I cannot help it but to climb the Puy-Saint-Clair, the last home of the citizens of Tulle, greeting the earthly remains of the beloved Spirits.

Strange fantasy! The cemetery is five hundred feet above the city; around, the infinite horizon. We are along among nature, its prestige, and God, the King of all greatness, of all hopes. Our ancestors wanted to bring together their beloved dead to their true dwelling, to tell them: Spirits, fly away! The air around calls you. Come out, resplendent from your prison, so that the enchanting spectacle of this immense horizon prepare you for the wonders that you were called upon to contemplate. If they had such a thought, I approve, because death is not so gloomy as they portray it. To the Spiritists, isn’t that the true life, the desired separation, the welcome of the exiled in the groups of the erratic, where one comes to study, learn, and prepare to the trials?

In a few years, instead of groaning, of mourning, this separation will be a celebration to the incarnate Spirits, when the dead have fulfilled their Spiritists duties, in the true meaning of the word; but they will cry, they will moan for the earthling egotist that had never practiced charity, fraternity, all virtues, all duties so well defined in The Spirits’ Book.

After having spoken about the dead, will you allow me to speak about the living? I am very attached to all hopes, to my country, where there is so much to do, much deserving sincere wishes. Progress, this inflexible leveler, is slow to take root in mountainous regions, it is true, but it knows how to instill itself, in time, with habits and social mores; it dismisses the opposition, one by one, finally allowing glimpses of new light to the pariah of the work, whose body, still leaning over the ungrateful land, is as rough as the tracing of the furrows.

The vigorous nature of those brave inhabitants awaits spiritual redemption. They do not know what it is to think, to judge soundly and to utilize all the resources of the mind; interest alone dominates them in all its harshness; common, heavy nourishment lends itself to that sterility of the spirit; away from the noise of politics, scientific discoveries, they are like oxen, oblivious to their strength, ready to accept the burden, and under the goad, they go to mass, to the cabaret, to the village, not out of interest but habit, sleeping at the sermons, jumping to the discordant sound of a musette^[1], uttering insane shouts, brutally obeying the movements of the flesh.

The priest is careful not to change these old ways and social mores; he talks about faith, the mysteries, passion, always the devil, and that incoherent mix finds an echo, without harmony, in the head of that brave people that vows, make bare feet pilgrimage and indulges in the strangest superstitious social mores.

Thus, when a child is sick, not very open, without intelligence, they hasten to take her to a village called St. Paul; she is first immersed in a privileged, but payed for, water; she is then made to sit on a blessed anvil, and a blacksmith, armed with a heavy hammer, strikes vigorously the anvil; it is said that the commotion, resulting from the repeated blows, infallibly cure the patient. This is called being forged, in St. Paul. Women with a spleen problem will also bathe in the miraculous water and be forged. Judge by this example in a hundred what the teaching of the priests of this region is.

However, take this brute and speak about interest; the cunning peasant, prudent like a savage, defends himself with aplomb and defeats the smartest judges. Shine a little light onto his brain, teach him the first elements of sciences, and you shall have true, healthy, and virile minds, full of good will.

Let the railroads cross this country and immediately you will have a bountiful soil with wine, delicious fruits, selected grain, fragrant truffles, exquisite chestnut, unparalleled vine or mushroom, magnificent woods, inexhaustible coal mines, iron, copper, first-rate cattle, air, greenery, splendid landscapes.



And when so many hopes only ask to flourish, when so many other countries are, like this one, in mortal prostration, let us wish that The Spirits Book penetrates all hearts, and all lost corners of this world. The doctrine that it contains is the only one that can change the minds of the populations, by yanking them away from the absurd pressure of those who ignore the great laws of erraticity, and who want to immobilize human belief in a maze where they themselves have so much difficulty in recognizing one other. So, let us all work with ardor for this desired renovation that must break down all barriers, and create the promised end to the generation that will soon come.

Baluze

Observation: The name Baluze is known to our readers through the excellent communications that he often dictates to his fellow citizen and favorite medium, Mr. Leymarie. It was during a trip by the latter to his homeland that he gave him the above communication. Baluze, a renowned historian, born in Tulle in 1630, deceased in Paris in 1718, published many admired works; he was Colbert's librarian. His biography (Feller's Dictionary) says "men of letters regretted the loss of a profound scholar, and his friends a gentle and generous man." There is a quay in Tulle that bears his name. Mr. Leymarie, who was unaware of the history of St. Paul, inquired about it, and acquired the certainty that these superstitious practices are still in use.

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[1] Kind of oboe common in France of the nineteenth century (T.N.)

Spiritism has just lost one of its most honorable and keen followers, with the death of Mr. Dr. Cailleux, deceased on April 20^th, 1866. We cannot pay a shinier tribute to his memory than the reproduction of an article published on the occasion by the Journal of Montreuil, on April 5^th:

“A good man has just disappeared amidst the general pain. Mr. Cailleux, medical doctor for about thirty years, member of the Municipal Council, member of the Association of Beneficence, doctor of the poor, doctor of the epidemies, died last Friday at 7 pm. An immense crowd formed by all social classes, took him to his final dwelling on Monday. The religious silence, that governed the whole trajectory, gave that sad and magnificent ceremony the character of a public manifestation. That simple funeral, followed by approximately three thousand crying people, or taken by a profound and quiet pain, would have touched the hardest hearts. It was the whole town that came out to pay the last tribute to one of its dearest inhabitants; it was the whole population wanting to carry to the cemetery the one that had sacrificed for them so many times. The poor that Mr. Cailleux had benefited so many times, showed their recognition; many workers took the coffin of their benefactor from the hands of the transporters, and considered to be an honor to carry that precious load to the cemetery!...

The tips of the shroud were held by Mr. Lecomte, 1^st adjunct; by Mr. Cosyn, 1^st Municipal Counselor; by Mr. Hacot, member of the Association of Beneficence, and by Mr. Delplanque, medical doctor, and Municipal Counselor. In front of the procession marched the Municipal Council, preceded by the Mayor, Mr. Émile Delhomel. The assembly counted on the presence of Mr. Charbonnier, Vice-Mayor, Mr. Artinet, Imperial Attorney, the Chief of Police, all the authorities of the city and doctors of neighboring towns. Many soldiers that were treated by Mr. Cailleux at the Hospital obtained license to attend the funeral and were mingled with the horde.

When they arrived at the cemetery a worker came out of the crowd, stopped at the tomb, and before the general silence, pronounced these few words: “You were a good man, benefactor of the poor, dying victim of your sublime dedication, receive our last farewell; your memory shall be in our hearts for eternity.” After these words, said with a feeling of gratitude, the crowd left in a religious reverence. The sadness that covered all faces showed well the loss the had just happened to the city of Montreuil. In fact, Mr. Cailleux knew, through his many qualities, to conquer the general appreciation. His whole life had been not but a long series of acts of dedication; he worked up until the last day, never willing to rest, and last Tuesday he still visited several patients in the countryside. When he was told about his advanced age and he was advised to rest from his many fatigues, he would have gladly responded, like Arnaud: “I have the whole eternity to rest.” Every hour of his life was dedicated to the care of his patients and to the consolation of the afflicted. He did not live for himself, but to his fellow human beings, and his whole life may be summarized in these three words: “Charity, devotion, abnegation.”

Lately, when the epidemic reached Étaples and the surrounding neighborhoods, Dr. Cailleux was entirely dedicated to the service of the patients, traveling around the infected villages, visiting the poor, taking care of some, helping others and having consolations to all. He then visited more than 800 patients, entering the unhealthiest homes, sitting by the beside of the dying, directly giving them the medication, never complaining, and on the contrary, keeping a constant sense of humor and a proverbial joy. The patient that saw him felt already alleviated by his joviality, always followed by a witty remark that provoked smiles.

Eight days before his death, Mr. Cailleux visited his patients in Berek, Lefaux, Camiers and Étaples, and the evening later was dedicated to the patients of the city; here what the work of one day meant to him: - So much abnegation would be fatal to him, and he should be the last victim of the scourge. On March 28^th he began with a serious diarrhea… he was about to rest when he was called to see a patient in the countryside. Despite his friends’ advices, he left saying: - I do not want to expose a patient for my fault; if he died, I would be the cause of death. I do nothing more than my duty.

When he returned at night in bad weather the symptoms of the disease manifested again. He went to bed the symptoms worsened; the following day the illness was attested, and he expired the following Friday…

It is horrifying when we think about the terrible pains of a man that know his condition, that knows that he is dying. Mr. Cailleux himself indicated the treatment to two of his colleagues that promptly came to assist him. He knew well that he would not be cured. – if there isn’t a quick improvement soon, he said, I will be gone in twelve hours. He saw himself dying, his vital forces diminishing, extinguishing bit by bit, without being able to stop the march to the grave. His final moments were calm and peaceful, and I could not give a better name to this death than a rest with the Lord. Beati qui moriuntur in Domino.^[1]

A few hours before his death he was asked about the medication that they should use. – Human science, he said, has employed all the medications that are in its power. Now, only God can stop the disease; one must resign to the divine Providence. He then leaned onto the bed, with his eyes fixated in the direction of the skies, as if foreseeing the celestial beatitude, and died without pain, without a groan, in the calmest and sweetest death.

Good man whose life was not but a long devotion, you worked on this Earth; you now enjoy the reward that God spares to all those that have always observed his law. While egotism flourished in the world, you were overflowing in abnegation and charity. Visiting the poor, helping patients, consoling the afflicted, that was your work. Oh, How many families have blessed you! How many parent have their children saved by you in the last epidemic, how many children have you the spared the destructive suffering of orphanage, how many families traveled many miles to come here on Monday to follow you in your final journey, crying at your grave!

Your life was always pure and immaculate; your death heroic; soldier of charity, you succumbed by saving your brothers from death; you fell hurt by the illness that you fought. Such a glorious devotion would soon receive its reward, and the cross of honor that you had much deservedly won would shine on your chest… But God had other plans for you. He prepared more beautiful rewards for you than those of men. He prepared you the happiness that is granted to the faithful servants. Your soul flew away to superior worlds where, separated from this material envelope, free from the bonds that weigh on us in this Earth, now enjoys the perfection and happiness that awaited.

In this happy day, do not forget; think of the many friends that you left on Earth, to whom your separation is cause of profound pain. May Heavens allow us to reunite there one day, there enjoying eternal happiness… That is the hope that reassures us and will give us the strength to withstand your absence with patience…

A.J.”
Verbatim copy by Jules Duval

Allow me to cite, as a complement of this article, some excerpts from the magnificent eulogy given by Victor Hugo one year ago. (below an extract from this speech which we published in the Revue of February 1865). Such words are certainly not written by apostles of nihilism.

The letter, through which we were informed about these events contains this passage:

“Mr. Cailleux, doctor of medicine, president of the Spiritist Group of Montreuil, has just died victim of his devotion during the cholera which devastated our regions. He died as a convinced spiritualist, and the clergy of the city felt it to be their duty, for that reason, to refuse him ecclesiastical burial; but, as you will see from the issue of the newspaper I am sending you, the whole population solemn tribute to his virtues. Nevertheless, the family made arrangements with the bishop to have a funeral service at the church, although there was only a civil burial. The authorization was given, and the service took place on Thursday, April 5th. Spiritism had a great loss with the death of M. Cailleux, and I am convinced that all my brothers in faith will join in my legitimate sorrow. Thanks to his dedication and his enlightened enthusiasm, the doctrine has made such a rapid progress in our regions, both in the city and in the countryside, and the surrounding areas count on several hundred Spiritists. The municipal council of the city of Montreuil decided, unanimously, as proposed by the mayor, that a public monument would be erected at the expenses of the city, as a tribute paid to the memory of this good man.”

The following extract has been sent to us from a communication given by him to his colleagues in Montreuil; we removed what was related to personal matters:

“… You return to the subject of my death. Well! it has been useful to our cause, since it has awakened the sleeping attention of many souls deprived of the truth, and therefore of life. Anything that disappears always leaves a void in the place it occupied; but, know it, this void is only apparent; it only exists to you that are short-sighted, because it is filled in another way. So you lose nothing, I repeat, with my death; on the contrary, you will gain a lot from it, not because in my bodily life I performed miracles of charity, capable of highlighting the doctrine that we profess together, but because, faithful to the Spiritist principles, I was the object of hostile demonstrations which necessarily had to call for opposing manifestations. It is never differently on earth: don’t good and evil always collide each time they meet?

It then follows from all this, that now you are entering a new phase that our good guides had prepared for a long time by their teachings. There will be no disaggregation of the society if you always persist on the feelings with which I see you animated at this time. Do you know what is my reward? It is to see the relative happiness that you experience by the doctrine through which I presented myself, in all circumstances, as the enthusiastic champion. It is difficult for you to conceive of a purer joy. What are the gross joys of your world when compared to that? What are the honors under which you hide the miseries of your souls? What are the pleasures that you seek to astonish your sad returns? What is all that compared to how I feel? Nothing! Less than a fume.

Persevere in your feelings, persevere in them until death.

I saw that you intend to organize yourselves regularly: it is a wise measure; weakness must always guard itself against the snares and surprises of the spirit of evil. Ah! the spirit of evil! it is not Satan. We meet him at every step in the world you elbow one another. You must, therefore, regulate the organization of your sessions, of your evocations, and your studies. Bind to each other through the voluntary bonds of charity, benevolence, and submission. This is the best way to harvest sweet and abundant fruits.

Here is the first communication he gave at the Parisian Society:

April 13^th, 1866 – medium Mr. Morin

Evocation: Dear and venerable Dr. Cailleux! We learned to admire you as a fervent and devoted Spiritist. Undoubtedly called by the Providence to implant the doctrine in your region, you held the flag strong and high, fearlessly facing sarcasm and persecution. Success crowned your effort. It is not only the brother in faith that we salute today, for your departure from Earth, but the good man, the one that did not preach Spiritism through words only, but knew to make it loved and respected through your example, and by the practice of the Christian virtues. Please receive here the expression of our liveliest sympathies, and the hope that you may want to join our meetings sometimes, associating yourself to our works.

You were talking earlier about the tendencies inherent to the human organism. We observe more especially those which have bad instincts, because men are always inclined to beware of what may be harmful to them or cause them some embarrassment; but tendencies for the good often go unnoticed in the eyes of society, because it is much more difficult to find and show the violet than the thistle.

Don’t be surprised if I start this way. As you said earlier, the Spirit is the only one responsible for his actions; he cannot excuse himself by attributing his fault to God; no, good feelings and bad feelings are the result of previous acquisitions. In my life I was instinctively driven towards good, to the relief of my brothers in God, and I decline the honor of all your tributes, for I made no effort to follow the path traced by my heart; I did not have to struggle against opposing instincts; I did nothing but let myself go very slowly on the slope of my pleasing, that said to me very loudly: "Walk!" you are on the right track;”.

And the moral satisfaction of my whole intelligent being was so great, that I was certainly as happy as the miser whose passion is satisfied by contemplating and caressing his gold. I repeat to you, I have no merit in that regard; nevertheless, I thank you for your kind words, which are not heard in vain by those to whom they are addressed. However much elevated the Spirits may be, they are always feel the happiness of a sympathetic thought.





I soon came out of the very natural emotion when coming out from the material life to the life of the Spirits, but the profound belief that I was entering an even more lively world helped me to get back to my senses. I cannot provide a better comparison of my passage from life to death but through a painless annihilation, and without fatigue.

I was awakened, on the other side, by the soothing fluidic touch of my dear parents and spiritual friends. I then saw my poor mortal remains, and I blessed them for their good and faithful services, because they were kind to me, and I had to sustain no serious struggle between Spirit and matter. It was therefore a pleasure to follow my poor body to its resting field, a body that had helped me to avoid that many of my co-incarnate did this trip, that they absolutely did not face as I did.

I forgive all the, from one side or the other, thought they were doing me harm; as for those that refused to pray for me in the sacred temple, I will be more charitable than the charity that they preach: I pray for them. That is how it must be done, my good brothers in belief. Believe me and forgive those that fight against you, for they do not know what they do.

Dr. Cailleux

Observation: The first words in this communication demonstrate that the Spirit was present and had attended the discussions in the session. In fact, a remarkable premature event of incendiary instinct had been discussed, in a four-year-old boy, reported by the Salut Public, from Lyon. The event, that provided material for an important study, will be published in the next issue.

Let us also notice that Mr. Cailleux made abstraction of all the ordinary preambles that the Spirits that have just left Earth make. It is noticeable, in the sequence, that he is not a phrase nor a compliments creator. He says thank you and believes that it is enough for us to understand his thought; he then suddenly enters the subject, as a person that is in his terrain, and does not wish to waste time with useless words; he speaks as if there were no interruption in his life. It is as if Mr. Cailleux had come to visit the Parisian Society.

If he declines the merit of his actions, it is certainly out of modesty. Those that effortlessly do good have arrived at a degree of elevation that makes it natural. If they do not have to struggle today, it is for the fact that they had done it in other circumstance; victory was achieved; those that have to fight bad tendencies are still in the struggle; later, doing good will not cost them any effort, and they will do it without thinking. There is not less merit for having succeeded earlier. Dr. Cailleux is one of those men, that like Dr. Demeure and many others, honor the doctrine that they profess, providing the shiniest contradiction to the detractors of Spiritism.

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[1] Latin for Blessed are those who die in the Lord (T.N.)

Considering the daily weaking of Mr. Allan Kardec’s health, as a consequence of the excessive works that he cannot bear, I see the need to repeat to him, once again, what I have already said many times: you need to rest; the human strength has limits that you, led by the desire to see the progress of the science, many times breach; you are wrong, for acting like that you will not see the march of the doctrine, but you ruin your health and place yourself in a position that is impossible to finish the task that you came to accomplish down here. Your current illness is not but the result of a continuous wear of your vital forces, that do not allow the body the necessary recovery, and a blood pressure resulting from the absolute lack of resting. We support you, no doubt, but with the condition that you do not undo what we do. Why hurry? Haven’t you been told, many times, that it would come at the right time, and that the Spirits in charge of the movement of the ideas would know how to create favorable circumstances, when the time to act is right?

When each Spiritist keeps their forces for the fight, do you believe that it is your duty to exhaust yours? No. You must give the example in everything, and your place will be in the fight, at the time of danger. What would you do if your weakened body no longer allowed your Spirit to utilize the weapons that were placed in your hands by experience and revelation? Believe me, allow to the future the great works destined to complete the one that was sketched in your first publications; your current work, and a few small urgent brochures must absorb your time, and must be the only object of your current concerns.

I do not speak in my name only, for I am here a delegate of all these Spirits that have powerfully contributed to the propagation of the teachings through your wise instructions. They tell you, through me, that the delay that you believe to be harmful to the future of the doctrine, is a necessary measure on more than one aspect, be it for the fact that certain issues are not yet clarified, be it to prepare the Spirits to better understand them. It is necessary that other have prepared the terrain; that certain theories have proved their insufficiency, digging a deeper hole. In short, it is not appropriate at this time; thus, you must spare yourself, because all the vigor of your body and mind will be necessary when the time is right. Up until now Spiritism was the object of many diatribes; it raised many storms! Do you believe that the whole movement is soothed, and all the hatred appeased and reduced to impotence? Make no mistake for the depurating crucible has not expelled all impurities yet; future waits for you with new trials and the last crises will not be less difficult to withstand. I know that your position entails many secondary works, that absorbs the better part of your time. Questions of all kinds are tiresome, and you consider a duty to respond as much as possible. I will do here what you, undoubtedly, would not dare doing yourself.



Addressing the generality of the Spiritists, I will ask, in the interest of Spiritism itself, to spare you from any overload of work, that can absorb time that you must almost exclusively dedicate to the conclusion of the doctrine. If your correspondence suffers a little with this, the teaching will gain. Sometimes we must scarify personal satisfactions to the general interest. It is an urgent measure that every sincere follower must understand and approve.

The immense correspondence that you receive is a precious source of documents and information; it enlightens you abut the true development and real progresses of the doctrine; it is an impartial thermometer; on another hand, you get personal satisfaction there too, that have sustained your courage more than once, when you see the adhesion that your ideas find all over the world. From that point of view, the superabundance is positive, instead of an inconvenience, but with the condition that is should second your works and not preclude them, creating excessive work.

Dr. Demeure

God Dr. Demeure, I thank you for the wise advices. Thanks to my resolution to find help, except in special cases, the ordinary correspondence hardly suffers now and will not suffer in the future. But what to do with the delay in responding to more than five hundred letters that, despite my good will, I cannot have in good standing?

Answer – As they say in commercial language, it is necessary to write them off to the account of profit and loss. Once this is announced in the Spiritist Review, your correspondents will know what to do; they will understand the need and will find it justified by the preceding advices. I repeat that it would be impossible to keep things as they are, any longer. Everything would suffer with this, including your health and the doctrine. One must make sacrifice, when necessary. Getting over with this subject, from now on, and you will be able to freely dedicate to your compulsory work. That is the advice of the one who will always be your devoted friend.

Demeure

Following this wise advice, we beg our correspondents, with whom we are late for a long time, to receive our apologies and our sorrow for not have been able to respond to their kind letters, as we wished. You will all receive here, collectively, the demonstration of our fraternal feelings.

You almost always believe that what you ask in prayer must be carried out by a kind of miracle. This mistaken belief is the source of several superstitious practices and many deceptions. It also leads to the denial of the efficacy of prayer. Considering that your request is not attended to as you wish, you conclude that it is useless, and then, sometimes, you whisper against God’s justice. Others believe that having God established eternal laws, to which every being is submitted, it is not possible to breach them to satisfy the wishes that are addressed to God. And to prevent against such a mistake, or better saying, against the exaggeration of these two points, I propose to give you a few explanations about the acquiescence to prayer.

There is an incontestable truth, that God does not alter or suspends the course of laws that rule the universe to nobody. Without that, the order of nature would be incessantly disturbed by the caprice of the first one to show up. It is therefore true that every prayer than could only be attended by the breach of those laws would remain ineffective. That would be the case, for example, the one whose objective was the return to life of a truly dead man, or the reestablishment of health if the disorder in the physical organization were irremediable.

It is not less true that no attention is given to futile or inconsiderate requests. But rest assured that every pure and selfless prayer is heard, and that the intention is always considered, even when God, in His wisdom, believed not to be proper to have it attended. That is when you must give proof of your humility and submission to His will, saying that God, better than yourself, knows what is best for you.

There are, certainly, general laws to which man is fatally submitted to, but it is a mistake to believe that the smallest circumstances in life are predetermined in an irrevocable way. If that were the case, man would be a machine, without initiative, and consequently, without responsibility. Free-will is one of man’s prerogative. From the moment when man is free to move right or left, acting according to the circumstances, his movements are not regulated like those of a machine. According to the way something is done, or not done, according to one way or another, the events that depend on that follow a different course. Since they are subordinate to the decision of man, they are not inevitable. Fatal are those that do not depend on his will. But every time that man can act, because of his free-will, there is no inevitability.

Man has, therefore, a circle, within which he can move freely. Such freedom of action has the limits of the natural laws that nobody can transpose; or, better said, that freedom, in the sphere of action, is part of those laws. It is necessary, and it is through that freedom that man is called to concur to the general march of things. Since he does it freely, he has the merit for the good that is done, and the demerit for the bad things, for his careless, for his negligence and inactivity. The fluctuations that his will may cause to the events of life, in no way disturb the universal harmony, because those fluctuations are part of the trials assigned to man on Earth. In the limit of things that depend on the will of man, God may therefore, and without breaching His laws, yield to a prayer, when it is fair, and whose realization may be useful; but it frequently happens that God judge its utility and opportunity differently from us, and that is the reason why there isn’t always acquiescence. If God believe to be proper to attend it, it is not by modifying His sovereign designs that it is done, but through means that do not revoke the general order if we can say so. The Spirits, executioners of His will, are then assigned to provoke the circumstances that must lead to the desired result. Such a result almost always requires the help of an incarnate. It is, therefore, that help that the Spirits prepare, inspiring the thought of an action in those that must cooperate; inciting them to go to a point, and not to another; provoking convenient meetings that seem to be to serendipitous. Chance, therefore, no longer exists, not in the assistance that is received, nor in the disgraces that are experienced.

In suffering, prayer is not only a proof of trust and submission to the will of God, that hears it if it is pure and selfless, but still has the effect, as you know, of establishing a fluidic current that carries far away in space the thought of the afflicted one, like the air carries the sound of his voice. That thought reverberates in the sympathetic hearts and these, through an unconscious movement and attracted by a magnetic power, go to the place where their presence may be useful. God, that wishes to help the one that implores, could do it instantaneously on His own, no doubt, but as I have already said, He makes no miracle and things must follow their natural course. God wants men to practice charity and help one another. Through His messengers, He takes the complaint where it can find echo, and good Spirits breathe a good thought there. Although solicited, man has all the freedom, by the simple fact that the source of the thought is unknown. There is no embarrassment. Man, therefore, has all the merit of spontaneity if he yields to the voice that intimately appeals to his sense of duty, and all the demerit if he resists, dominated by an egoistic indifference.

Q – There are cases, like in an imminent danger, in which assistance must be immediate. How can it arrive in time, if one must wait for the good will of a man, and if that good will is absent, given the free-will?

A – You must not forget that the guardian angels, the protecting Spirits, whose mission is to take care of those that are assigned to them, follow them step by step, in a way of speaking. They cannot avoid the apprehension of danger that is part of their trials, but if the consequences of the danger may be avoided, and since they foresaw everything in anticipation, they did not wait for the last minute to prepare the help. If they sometimes reach out to men of bad will it is to try to awake the good feelings in them, but they do not count on them. When, in a critical situation, a person shows up to help, as if it should be, and you say: “It is the Providence that sends her”, you are stating a greater truth than you sometimes realize. If there are pressing cases, others which are less so require a certain time to bring about a combination of favorable circumstances, especially when it is necessary that the Spirits triumph, by inspiration, over the apathy of people whose cooperation is necessary for the result to be obtained. These delays in the fulfillment of desire are tests of patience and resignation; then, when the realization of what one wished arrives, it is almost always by a chain of circumstances so natural, that absolutely nothing detects an occult intervention, nothing accuses the slightest appearance of supernatural; things seem to work out on their own. This must be so for the double reason that the means for the action do not deviate from general laws, and, second, that, if the assistance of the Spirits were too obvious, man would rely on them and as such, would get used to not counting on oneself. This assistance must be understood by thought, in a moral sense, and not in the material senses; man’s belief must be the result of his faith and trust in the goodness of God. Unfortunately, because he has not seen the finger of God performing a miracle for him, he too often forgets the One to whom he owes his salvation, and then glorifies chance; it is ingratitude which, sooner or later, receives its atonement.

A protector Spirit

Those obligations are of two kinds:

Spiritism is an essentially moral science; therefore, those who claim to be its followers cannot, without committing a serious inconsistency, avoid the obligations it imposes. These obligations are of two kinds:

The first concerns the individual who, helped by the intellectual clarity that the doctrine spreads, can better understand the value of each of his acts, better probe all the folds of his conscience, better appreciate the infinite goodness of God, who does not want the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live, and to allow him the possibility of recovering from his falls, gave him the long series of successive existences, bearing the penalty of his past faults in each one, where he can acquire new knowledge and new strength, making him avoid evil and practice what is in accordance with justice and charity.

What to say about the one that enlightened about his duties to God and his brothers, remains proud, greedy, and selfish? Doesn’t it look like that light has blinded him, because he was not prepared to receive it? Since then he marches in darkness, although he is amidst light. He only holds the Spiritist name. The fraternal charity of those that truly see must endeavor to cure him from that intellectual blindness. But, to many that are like that, it will be necessary the light that the tomb brings, because their heart is too attached to material pleasures, and their Spirit is not mature enough to receive light. In a new incarnation they will understand that inferior planets, like Earth, are just a school where the soul begins to develop its faculties and aptitudes, to then apply them to the study of the great principles of the order, justice, love and harmony that rule the relationships between the souls, and the functions that they perform in the direction of the universe.

They will feel that called to such a honorable task, as to become a messenger from the Almighty, human soul must not shame and degrade itself to the contact of the filthy pleasures of voluptuousness; to the dishonorable temptations of greed, that subtracts from some children of God the enjoyment of the goods that were given to all; they will understand that egotism, born out of pride, blinds the soul and makes it violate the rights of justice and humanity, so that it engineers all the evils that turn Earth into a place of pain and atonement. Instructed by the tough lessons of adversity, their Spirit will mature through thoughts, their heart, after being crushed by pain, will become good and charitable. That is how something that seems bad to us, is sometimes necessary to reconduct the hardened ones. These unfortunate latecomers, regenerated by suffering, enlightened by this interior light that we may call the baptism of the Spirit, will carefully watch over themselves, that is, over the movement of their hearts and the use of their skills, to guide them according to the laws of justice and fraternity.

They will understand that they are not only obliged to improve themselves, a selfish thought that precludes the achievement of the objective defined by God, but that the second kind of obligations of the Spiritist, that necessarily results from the first, and the complete, is that of the example, that is the best means of propagation and renovation.

In fact, the one that is convinced about the excellence of the principles that are taught, and that must provide a lasting happiness, if they conform their conduct, that one can only wish to have those principles understood by the whole mankind, if he is truly animated by this fraternal charity that is in the essence of Spiritism. That results in the obligation of modifying one’s conduct according to the belief, and be a living example, as Jesus Christ was for humanity.

Weak sparks coming from the eternal focus of divine love, you will not certainly pretend such a vast radiation as the Verb of God incarnate on Earth, but each one in their sphere of action can spread the benefits of good example. You may have virtue loved, surrounding it by the enchantment of that constant benevolence that attracts, captivate and finally shows that the practice of good is something easy; that generates the intimate happiness of the conscience that is submitted to its rule, for it is the accomplishment of the Divine will that made us say, through the intermediary of your Christ: Be perfect as your father that is in heaven is perfect.

Well, Spiritist is not but the true application of the moral principles taught by Jesus, with the only objective of making it understood by all, so that all can progress more rapidly, so much so that God allows the universal manifestation of the Spirit, coming to explain to you what seemed obscure, teaching you the whole truth. It comes, like the well understood Christianity, to show man the absolute need for interior renovation, by the very consequences of each one of his actions, each one of his thoughts, for not a single fluidic emanation, good or bad, escapes one’s heart or brain without leaving an impression somewhere. The invisible world that surrounds you is that Book of Life where everything is inscribed, with an incredible fidelity, and the Scale of Justice is not but a figure that reveals each one of your actions, each one of your feelings. It is, in a way, the weight that overloads your soul, precluding it from elevating, or that brings the equilibrium between good and evil. Happy is the one whose feelings come out of a pure heart. It spreads around a smooth atmosphere in which virtue is loved and attracts the good Spirits; the humbler the person the greater the power of radiation, and consequently, the more detached from the material influences that attract the soul and prevent it from progressing.

The obligations imposed by Spiritism are then of an essentially moral nature, because they are the consequence of the belief; each one is the judge and the defendant in their own cause; but the intellectual clarities that it brings to the one that truly wants to know thyself and work in one’s advancement are such that they scare the feeble away, and that is why it is rejected by so many people. Others promptly conciliate the reformation that their reason demonstrates to be a necessity with the demands of present society. It results in an a heterogeneous mixture, a lack of unity that makes the present time a transient state. It is very difficult to your poor corporeal nature to eliminate its imperfections to then cover the new man, that is, the man that lives according to the principles of justice and harmony, desired by God. With persevering efforts, nevertheless, you will get there, because the obligations imposed to the conscience, when sufficiently enlightened, has more power than human laws will have, laws that are based on the embarrassment of a religious obscurantism that cannot withstand examination. But if you are more educated and understand better, thanks to the lights from above, you must also be more tolerant and only employ reasoning, as a means of propagation, because any sincere belief is respectable. If your life is a beautiful model in which each one may find good examples and solid virtues, where dignity is allied to a gracious amenity, rejoice because you have understood, at least partially, what Spiritism obliges.