Year 16 Number 101
 2008



November 15th, 2008


"Unshakable faith is only that which can face reason face to face in every Humankind epoch." 
Allan Kardec






The Three Revelations

The first revelation was personified in Moses, the second in Christ, the third in no one individual. The two first are individuals; the third is collective, which is an essential character of great importance. It is collective in this sense, that it has been made in favor of no one person; consequently, no one can be called the exclusive prophet of it. It has been given simultaneously in all parts of the earth to millions of persons, of all ages, of all faiths, of all conditions, from the lowest to the highest according to the prediction given by the author of the Acts of the Apostles: "In the latter days, saith the Lord, I will send my spirit upon all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." It has not sprung from any one special civilization, but serves as a rallying-point for all. ²

² Our special rôle in the grand movement of ideas which is produced by Spiritism, and which is already operating, is that of an attentive observer who studies facts to seek their cause, and to draw from them definite results. We have confronted all those whom we could possibly gather around us; who have compared and commented upon instructions given by the spirits from all parts of the globe; then we have arranged the whole methodically. In a word, we have studied, and given to the public the fruit of our researches, without attributing to our labors other value than that of a philosophical work deduced from observation and experience, never desiring to put ourselves in the place of a chief of doctrine, or desiring to thrust our ideas upon any one. In publishing them, we have used a common right, and those who have accepted them have done so freely. If these ideas have found numerous sympathizers, it is that they have had the advantage of responding to the aspirations of a great number; of this we are not vain, as their origin belongs not to us. Our greatest merit is that of perseverance and devotion to the cause we have espoused. We have only done that which others also can do. That is why we have made no pretension of being a prophet or Messiah, and do not believe ourselves such. [Remark from Allan Kardec]
The Third Revelation

The third revelation comes at an epoch of emancipation and of intellectual maturity, where developed intelligence cannot agree to play a passive rôle; where man accepts nothing blindly, but wishes to see whiter one conducts him; to know the why and the how of every thing. It claims to be at the same time the product of a teaching, and the fruit of labor, or research, and of free examination.

Spirits teach us only that which is necessary to put us in the way of truth; but they abstain from revealing to man that which he can discover by himself, leaving to him the care of discussing, controlling, and submitting all to the crucible of reason, leaving him often to learn the lesson at his own expense. It gives to him the principal, the materials from which to draw the interest and to put it in use.

[(Excerpts from GENESIS: The Miracles and the Predictions According to Spiritism)
 

 °EDITORIAL


THE DOCTRINE OF THE PLURALITY OF INHABITED WORLDS

 ° THE CODIFICATION


GENESIS: The Miracles and the Predictions According to Spiritism

 ° ELECTRONIC BOOKS


ON MIRACLES AND MODERN SPIRITUALISM by Alfred Russel Wallace

 ° SPIRIT MESSAGES


HEAVEN AND HELL - FEAR OF DEATH

PART SECOND - EXAMPLES [CHAPTERS III]

FULFILLING OUR DUTIES

 ° ARTICLES


SPIRITISM: The Work of Allan Kardec and its Implications for Spiritual Transformation

 ° NEWS, EVENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS


YESTERDAY'S CHILDREN




 
 ° EDITORIAL

THE DOCTRINE OF THE PLURALITY OF INHABITED WORLDS

 BY Camille Flammarion

    Impressed with the value of the providential design of creation, these considerations become more imperious still. 'That our planet was made to be lived in, is incontestable, not only because the beings which people it are here under our eyes, but again because the connexion which exists between these beings and the regions in which they live brings the inevitable conclusion that the idea of habitation is immediately connected with the idea of habitability. Now this fact is an argument in our favor; for, unless we consider the creative power as illogical, or as inconsistent with its real manner of acting, it must be understood that the habitability of the planets imperiously demands their habitation. To what end have they received years, seasons, months, days; and why does not life come forth on the surface of these worlds which enjoy, like ours, the benefits of nature, and which receive, like ours, the rays of the same sun? Why this atmosphere of Venus, which bathes its valleys and mountains? O splendid worlds which float afar from us in the heavens! Would it be possible that cold sterility was ever the immutable sovereign of yonder desolate regions? Would it be possible that this magnificence, which seems to be your appanage, was given to solitary and bare worlds, where the lonely rocks eternally regard each other in sullen silence? Fearful spectacle in its immense immutability; and more incomprehensible than if Death had passed over the Earth in fury, and with a single stroke mowed down the living population which enlightens its surface, thus enveloping in one ruin all the children of life, and leaving it to roll in space like a corpse in an eternal tomb!'

    Thus it is that, under whatever aspect we regard creation, the doctrine of the plurality of inhabited worlds is formed and presented as the only explanation of the final end - as the justification of the existence of material forms - as the crowning of astronomical truths. The summary conclusions which we have just quoted are established, logically and without difficulty, by observed facts; and when, having contemplated the universe under its different aspects, the mind is astonished at not having sooner conceived this striking truth, if feels within itself that the demonstration of such evidence is no longer necessary, and that it ought to accept it, even with no other reasons in its favor than the condition of the terrestrial atom compared with the rest of the immense universe. Humbled by this spectacle, one can but proclaim the luminous truth in a transport, disdaining all researches.

    'Ah! If our sight was piercing enough to discover, where we only see brilliant points on the black background of the sky, resplendent suns which revolve in the expanse, and the inhabited worlds which follow them in their path, if it were given to us to embrace in a general coup d'oeil these myriads of fire-based systems; and if, advancing with the velocity of light, we could traverse from century to century, this unlimited number of suns and spheres, without ever meeting any limit to this prodigious immensity where God brings forth worlds and beings; looking behind, but no longer knowing in what part of the infinite to find this grain of dust called the Earth, we should stop fascinated and confounded by such a spectacle, and uniting our voice to the concert of universal nature, we should say from the depths of our soul: Almighty God! how senseless we were to believe that there was nothing beyond the Earth, and that our abode alone possessed the privilege of reflecting Thy greatness and power!'

Note from the Editor
Extracted from The Wonders of the Heavens by Camille Flammarion
Book V, I. The Plurality of Inhabited Worlds
Charles Scribner & Co., NY, 1871

From the French "La Pluralité des Mondes Habités"
By Norman Lockyer

GEAE's Editorial Council

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 ° THE CODIFICATION

GENESIS: The Miracles and the Predictions According to Spiritism

BY Allan Kardec
Author of "The Spirits' Book," "The Mediums' Book," and "Heaven and Hell."

Translated By The Spirit-Guides of  W. J. Colville
[Colby & Rich, Publishers - 1883 - Boston - USA]

The spiritual doctrine is the result of the collective and concordant teachings of spirits.
Science is called in to make the statements in Genesis agree with the laws of nature.
God proves his greatness and power by the immutability of his laws, and not by their suspension.
For God the past and the future are the present.


CHAPTER I

CHARACTER OF THE SPIRITUAL REVELATION

Part Five

    If this book ("Spirits' Book") has gained the sympathies of the majority,it is because it was the expression of the sentiments of this same majority, and that it responded to its aspirations. It is also because each one found there the confirmation, and a rational explanation of that which he in particular obtained. If it had disagreed with the general teachings of the spirits, it would have received no favor, and would have promptly fallen into oblivion. Now, around whom is one to rally? It is not man, who is nothing by himself, only a master-workman, who dies and disappears, but around an idea which perishes not when it emanates from a source superior to man. This spontaneous concentration of scattered forces has given place to an immense connection, a unique monument to the world, a living picture of the true history of modern Spiritism; reflecting, at the same time, partial works, the multiplication of sentiments which has developed the doctrine, the moral results, the devotion and the weakness, - precious archives for posterity, who will be able to judge men and things by authentic documents.

    In the presence of these exceptional testimonies, what will become in time of all false allegations, defamations of envy and jealousy? From this state of things rises a double current of ideas; some going from the extremity to the center, others returning from the center to the circumference. It is thus that the doctrine has promptly marched towards unity, notwithstanding the diversity of sources from which it has emanated; that the divergent systems have little by little fallen, on account of their isolation,  and failure to obtain the sympathy of the majority. A communion of thought  is now established between different centers. Speaking the same spiritual language, they comprehend and sympathize with one another from one end of the world to the other. The Spiritists have been found to be stronger; they have battled with more courage; they have marched with a more assured step, now that they are no more alone, and have found a support, a link which attaches them to the great family. The phenomena of which they were witnesses are no longer strange, abnormal, contradictory, since they are found to agree with the general laws of harmony; since, glancing at it as a whole, they see the grand humanitarian object. ¹

    But how is one to know if a principle is taught everywhere, or if it is the result of an individual opinion only? Isolated societies not having the knowledge of that which was said elsewhere, it was necessary that a central one should gather all the information, ascertain the opinion of the majority, and send the knowledge to all. ²

    There is no science which has in all its parts proceeded from the brain of one man. All, without exception, are the product of successive observations, leaning upon preceding ones, as upon a known point, in order to arrive at an unknown one. It is thus that the spirits have proceeded with Spiritism. That is why their teaching is gradual. They approach questions only in proportion and in measure, as the principles upon which they ought to lean are sufficiently elaborated, and as opinion is ripe to assimilate them.

    It is remarkable that, each time particular centers have wished to approach premature questions, they have obtained only contradictory responses, and never conclusive ones. When, however, the favorable moment arrives, the instruction is given universally at nearly the same moment of time. There is, at the same time, between the march of Spiritism and that of the sciences, a capital difference. It is, that the latter have attained their present advancement only after long intervals of time, whilst only a few years have sufficed for Spiritism, not to gain the culminating point, but at least to gather a sum of facts to constitute a doctrine. That is obtained by the innumerable concourse of spirits, who, by the will of God, manifest simultaneously; each one bringing the contingent of their knowledge. The result is, that all parts of the doctrine, instead of being successively elaborated during many centuries, have been concocted almost simultaneously in a few years, and that this has sufficed to group them in order to form a whole. God has willed it thus, firstly, in order that the edifice should progress more rapidly; secondly, in order that it should have a permanent and immediate control in the universality of the teaching, each part having value and authority only by its connection with the whole; all becoming harmonious, finding their place in the general edifice, and each one arriving in due time.

    In confiding, not to one spirit alone, the care of the promulgation of the doctrine, God has willed that the lowest as well as the highest among the spirits, as well as among men, should carry each his stone to the edifice, in order to establish between them a structure of co-operative solidarity, which has failed to all doctrines springing from one source alone. On the other hand, every spirit, the same as every man, having only a limited sum of knowledge, they were incapable of treating ex professo the innumerable questions which Spiritism touches. That is why the doctrine, in order to fulfill the desires of the Creator, could not be the work of one spirit alone, nor of one medium. It could proceed only from the united work of the many, - the one controlled by the other. ³ A later character in the spiritual revelation, which is drawn from the conditions in which it is produced, is that, leaning upon facts, it is, and ever must be, essentially progressive, like all sciences based upon observation. In its essence it is allied to science, which, being a revelation of the laws of nature by a certain order of facts, cannot be contrary to the will of God, the Author of these laws. The discoveries of science glorify, instead of debasing God. They destroy only that which men have built upon the false ideas they have formed of God. Spiritism is based then only upon absolute principle, - that which is demonstrated by proof, or that which results logically from observation. Touching all the branches of social economy, to which it lends the aid of its own discoveries, it will assimilate itself always with all progressive doctrines, of whatever order they may be. It has arrived at a state of practical truth, and discarded the Utopian ideas which would have destroyed it. In ceasing to be that which it is, it would deceive in regard to its origin and its providential object. Spiritism, marching hand in hand with progress, will never be overthrown, because, if new discoveries should demonstrate that it is in error upon a point, it would modify itself in regard to it. If a new truth is revealed, it accepts it.

    What is the utility of the moral doctrine of the spirits, since it is no other than that of Christ? Has man need of a revelation? And can he find all that within himself which is necessary to guide him? God has without doubt given to man a guide in his conscience, which says to him, "Do unto others that which thou wouldst they should do unto you." This moral philosophy is certainly inscribed in the heart of man; but do all know how to read it there? Have men never misconstrued these wise precepts? What have they done with the ethics of Christ? Do those who teach them practice them? Have they not become a dead letter, a beautiful theory, good for others, but not for one's self? Would you reproach a father for repeating a hundred times the same instructions to his child if they did not profit by them? Why should God do less than a father of a family? Why should he not send from time to time special messengers to men, charged with recalling them to their duties, with reinstating them in that "narrow path" from which they have wandered, with opening the eyes of those who are blind to wisdom, as the most advanced men are sent as missionaries to the savage and barbarous? The spirits teach no other morality than that of Christ, for the reason that there is no better. But, then, of what good is this instructions, since it teaches that which we know? One could say the same of the ethical teachings of Christ, which were taught five hundred years before he lived by Socrates and Plato in almost identical words; also by all moralists who repeat the same thing under many forms and words. The spirits come simply to augment the number of moralists, with the difference, that, manifesting themselves everywhere, they are heard in the cottage as well as in the palace by the ignorant as well as the learned. That which the teaching of spirits adds to that of Christ is the knowledge of the laws which bind the living to the dead, which complete the vague ideas which he gave of the soul, its past and future, and which the laws of nature give as sanction to his doctrine.

¹ A significant testimony, as remarkable as touching, of this communion of thought which is established between Spiritists by conformity of belief, are the prayerful demands which come to us from far-distant lands, from Peru to the extremities of Asia, from persons of diverse nationalities and religions, whom we have never seen. Is it not the prelude of the establishment of the one great church which is preparing itself, the proof of the firm stand Spiritism is taking everywhere? It is remarkable that of all the societies formed with the premeditated intention of seceding by proclaiming divergent principles, - as those who, by reason of self-love or otherwise, wishing not to have the appearance of sustaining the common law, have believed themselves strong enough to go alone, to have enough light to pass as counselors, - not one has succeeded in establishing a long-lived or popular idea; all have died out or vegetated in the shade.

How could it be otherwise, since, in order to distinguish themselves, instead of endeavoring to give the greatest amount of benefit to the world, they rejected those principles of the doctrine which give to it the most powerful attraction, those which are the most consoling, encouraging, and rational?

    If they had comprehended the power of the moral elements which alone induce unity, they would not have been rocked in a chimerical illusion; but, mistaking their little circle for the universe, they have seen in the adherents only a society which could easily be overthrown by one entertaining contrary opinions. They strangely misapprehended the essential character of the doctrine, and this error could lead only to deception. In place of destroying unity, they destroyed the connection which could give them strength and life. (See Revue Spirite, April, 1866, pp. 106 and 111; Spiritism without Spirits; Independent Spiritism.)

² Such is the object or our publications, which can be considered as the result of this. All opinions are discussed there; but the questions are arranged as principles only after having received the sanction of the controls, who alone can give them lawful strength and affirmation. That is why we do not accept, without due thought, any one theory; therefore the doctrine proceeding from general instructions is not the product of a preconceived system. It is largely this fact which gives it strength, and assures its future.

³ See in The Gospel according Spiritism, p. 6, and Revue Spirite, April, 1864, p. 90; Authority of the Spiritual Doctrine Universal Control of the Teachings of the Spirits.
Note from the Editor: Parts One, Two, Three, and Four of this Chapter I of Genesis was published on the issues # 97, # 98 , # 99 and # 100
of the Spiritist Messenger.

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 ° ELECTRONIC BOOKS

ON MIRACLES AND MODERN SPIRITUALISM

BY

ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE,

D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S.


REVISED EDITION, WITH CHAPTERS ON
APPARITIONS AND PHANTASMS


LONDON
GEORGE REDWAY
1896

Digitized for Microsoft Corporation by the Internet Archive in 2007.
From University of California Libraries.
May be used for non-commercial, personal, research, or educational purposes, or any fair use.
May not be indexed in a commercial service.
   
"A presumptuous scepticism that rejects facts without examination of their truth, is, in some respects, more injurious than unquestioning credulity." HUMBOLDT.

"One good experiment is of more value than the ingenuity of a brain like Newton's. Facts are more useful when they contradict, than when they support, received theories." Sir HCMPHBY DAVY.

"The perfect observer in any department of science will have his eyes, as it were, opened, that they may be struck at once by any occurrence which, according to received theories, ought not to happen, for these are the facts which serve as clues to new discoveries." Sir JOHN HBRSCHELL.

"Before experience itself can be used with advantage, there is one preliminary step to make which depends wholly on ourselves; it is the absolute dismissal and clearing the mind of all prejudice, and the determination to stand or fall by the result of a direct appeal to facts in the first instance, and of strict logical deduction from them afterwards." Sir JOHN HKBSOHELL.

"With regard to the miracle question, I can only say that the word 'impossible' is not, to my mind, applicable to matters of philosophy. That the possibilities of nature are infinite is an aphorism with which I am wont to worry my friends." Professor HUXLEY.
MIRACLES

AN ANSWER TO THE ARGUMENTS OF HUME,
LECKY, AND OTHERS, AGAINST MIRACLES

(A Paper read before the Dialectical Society in 1871.)


IT is now generally admitted, that those opinions and beliefs in which men have been educated generation after generation, and which have thus come to form part of their mental nature, are especially liable to be erroneous, because they keep alive and perpetuate the ideas and prejudices of a bygone and less enlightened age. It is therefore in the interests of truth that every doctrine or belief, however well established or sacred they may appear to be, should at certain intervals be challenged to arm themselves with such facts and reasonings as they possess, to meet their opponents in the open field of controversy, and do battle for their right to live. Nor can any exemption be claimed in favour of those beliefs which are the product of modern civilisation, and which have, for several generations, been held unquestioned by the great mass of the educated community; for the prejudice in their favour will be proportionately great, and, as was the case with the doctrines of Aristotle and the dogmas of the schoolmen, they may live on by mere weight of authority and force of habit, long after they have been shown to be opposed alike to fact and to reason. There have been times when popular beliefs were defended by the terrors of the law, and when the sceptic could only attack them at the peril of his life. Now, we all admit that truth can take care of itself, and that only error needs protection. But there is another mode of defence which equally implies a claim to certain and absolute truth, and which is therefore equally unworthy and unphilosophical that of ridicule and misrepresentation of our opponents, or a contemptuous refusal to discuss the question at all. This method is used among us even now; for there is one belief, or rather disbelief, whose advocates claim more than Papal infallibility, by refusing to examine the evidence brought against it, and by alleging general arguments which have been in use for two centuries to prove that it cannot be erroneous. The belief to which I allude is, that all alleged miracles are false; that what is commonly understood by the term supernatural does not exist, or if it does, is incapable of proof by any amount of human testimony; that all the phenomena we can have cognisance of depend on ascertainable physical laws, and that no other intelligent beings than man and the inferior animals can or do act upon our material world. These views have been now held almost unquestioned for many generations; they are inculcated as an essential part of a liberal education; they are popular, and are held to be one of the indications of our intellectual advancement; and they have become so much a part of our mental nature that all facts and arguments brought against them are either ignored as unworthy of serious consideration, or listened to with undisguised contempt. Now this frame of mind is certainly not one favourable to the discovery of truth, and strikingly resembles that by which, in former ages, systems of error have been fostered and maintained. The time has,
therefore, come when it must be called upon to justify itself.

    This is the more necessary, because the doctrine, whether true or false, actually rests upon a most unsafe and rotten foundation; for I propose to show that the best arguments hitherto relied upon to prove it are, one and all, fallacious, and prove nothing of the kind. But a theory or belief may be supported by very bad arguments, and yet be true; while it may be supported by some good arguments, and yet be false. But there never was a true theory which had no good arguments to support it. If, therefore, all the arguments hitherto used against miracles in general can be shown to be bad, it will behove sceptics to discover good ones; and if they cannot do so, the evidence in favour of miracles must be fairly met and
judged on its own merits, not ruled out of court as it is now.

    It will be perceived, therefore, that my present purpose is to clear the ground for the discussion of the great question of the so-called supernatural. I shall not attempt to bring arguments either for or against the main proposition, but shall confine myself to an examination of the allegations and the reasonings which have been supposed to settle the whole question on general grounds.

    One of the most remarkable works of the great Scotch philosopher, David Hume, is An Inquiry concerning Human Understanding, and the tenth chapter of this work is On Miracles, in which occur the arguments which are so often quoted to show that no evidence can prove a miracle. Hume himself had a very high opinion of this part of his work, for he says at the beginning of the chapter, "I flatter myself that I have discovered an argument which, if just, will with the wise and learned be an everlasting check to all kinds of superstitious delusion, and consequently will be useful as long as the world endures; for so long, I presume, will the accounts of miracles and prodigies be found in all history, sacred and profane."
DEFINITION OF THE TERM "MIRACLE."

    After a few general observations on the nature of evidence and the value of human testimony in different cases, he proceeds to define what he means by a miracle. And here at the very beginning of the subject we find that we have to take objection to Hume's definition of a miracle, which exhibits unfounded assumptions and false premises. He gives two definitions in different parts of his essay. The first is, "A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature." The second is, "A miracle is a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity, or by the interposition of some invisible agent." Now both these definitions are bad or imperfect.; The first assumes that we know all the laws of nature"; that the particular effect could not be produced by some unknown law of nature overcoming the law we do know; it assumes also, that if an invisible intelligent being held an apple suspended in the air, that act would violate the law of gravity. The second is not precise; it should be "some invisible intelligent agent," otherwise the action of galvanism or electricity, when these agents were first discovered, and before they were ascertained to form part of the order of nature, would answer accurately to this definition of a miracle. The words "violation" and "transgression" are both improperly used, and really beg the question by the definition. How does Hume know that any particular miracle, is a violation of a law of nature? He assumes this without a shadow of proof, and on these words, as we shall see, rests his whole argument.

    Before proceeding further, it is necessary for us to consider what is the true definition of a miracle, or what is commonly meant by that word. A miracle, as distinguished from a new and unheard-of natural phenomenon, supposes an intelligent superhuman agent, either visible or invisible. It is not necessary that what is done should be beyond the power of man to do. The simplest action, if performed independently of human or visible agency, such as a teacup lifted in the air at request as by an invisible hand and without assignable cause, would be universally admitted to be a miracle, as much so as the lifting of a house into the air, the instantaneous healing of a wound, or the instantaneous production of an elaborate
drawing. It is true that miracles have been generally held to be, either directly or indirectly, due to the action of the Deity; and some persons will not, perhaps, admit that any event not so caused deserves the name of miracle. But this is to advance an unprovable hypotheses, not to give a definition. It is not possible to prove that any supposed miraculous event is either the direct act of God or indirectly produced by Him to prove the divine mission of some individual, but it may be possible to prove that it is produced by the action of some invisible preterhuman intelligent being. The definition of a miracle I would propose is therefore as follows: "Any act or event necessarily implying the existence and agency of superhuman
intelligences," considering the human soul or spirit, if manifested out of the body, as one of these superhuman intelligences. This definition is more complete than that of Hume, and defines more accurately the essence of that which is commonly termed a miracle.
THE EVIDENCE OF THE REALITY OF MIRACLES.

    We now have to consider Hume's arguments. The first is as follows:

    "A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined. Why is it more than probable that all men must die; that lead cannot of itself remain suspended in the air; that fire consumes wood, and is extinguished by water; unless it be, that these events are found agreeable to the laws of nature, and there is required a violation of these laws, or, in other words, a miracle, to prevent them? Nothing is esteemed a miracle, if it ever happened in the common course of nature. It is no miracle that a man seemingly in good health should die on a sudden; because such a kind of death, though more unusual than any other, has yet been frequently observed to happen. But it is a miracle that a dead man should come to life; because that has never been observed in any age or country. There must, therefore, be an uniform experience against every miraculous event, otherwise the event would not merit that appellation. And as an uniform experience amounts to a proof, there is here a direct and full proof, from the nature of the fact, against the existence of any miracle; nor can such a proof be destroyed, or the miracle rendered credible, but by an opposite proof which is superior."

    This argument is radically fallacious, because if it were sound, no perfectly new fact could ever be proved, since the first and each succeeding witness would be assumed to have universal experience against him. Such a simple fact as the existence of flying fish could never be proved, if
Hume's argument is a good one; for the first man who saw and described one would have the universal experience against him that fish do not fly, or make any approach to flying; and his evidence being rejected, the same argument would apply to the second, and to every subsequent witness; and thus no man at the present day who has not seen a flying fish alive, and actually flying, ought to believe that such things exist.

    Again, painless operations in a state produced by mere passes of the hand, were, in the first half of the present century, maintained to be contrary to the laws of nature, contrary to all human experience, and therefore incredible. On Hume's principles they were miracles, and no amount
of testimony could ever prove them to be real. Yet these are now admitted to be genuine facts by most physiologists, who even attempt, not very successfully, to explain them. But miracles do not, as assumed, stand alone single facts opposed to uniform experience. Reputed miracles abound
in all periods of history; every one has a host of others leading up to it; and every one has strictly analogous facts testified to at the present day. The uniform opposing experience, therefore, on which Hume lays so much stress, does not exist. What, for instance, can be a more striking miracle than the levitation or raising of the human body into the air without visible cause, yet this fact has been testified to during a long series of centuries.

    A few well-known examples are those of St. Francis d'Assisi, who was often seen by many persons to rise in the air, and the fact is testified by his secretary, who could only reach his feet. St. Theresa, a nun in a convent in Spain, was often raised into the air in the sight of all the
sisterhood. Lord Orrery and Mr. Valentine Greatrak both' informed Dr. Henry More and Mr. Glanvil that at Lord Conway's house at Ilagley, in Ireland, a gentleman's butler, in their presence and in broad daylight, rose into the air and floated about the room above their heads. This is related by Glanvil in his Sadducismus Triumphatus. A similar fact is related by eye-witnesses of Ignatius de Loyola; and Mr. Madden, in his life of Savonarola, after narrating a similar circumstance of that saint, remarks, that similar phenomena are related in numerous instances, and that the evidence upon which some of the narratives rest is as reliable as any human testimony can be. Butler, in his Lives of the Saints, says that many such facts are
related by persons of undoubted veracity,- who testify that they themselves were eye-witnesses of them. So we all know that at least fifty persons of high character may be found in London who will testify that they have seen the same thing happen to Mr. Home. I do not here adduce
this testimony as proving that the circumstances related really took place; I merely bring it forward now to show how utterly unfounded is Hume's argument, which rests upon the assumption of universal testimony on the one side, and no testimony on the other.
THE CONTRADICTORY NATURE OF HUME'S STATEMENTS.

    I now have to show that in Hume's efforts to prove his point, he contradicts himself in a manner so gross and complete, as is, perhaps, not to be found in the works of any other eminent author. The first passage I will quote is as follows:-

    "For, first, there is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education, and learning, as to secure us against all delusion in themselves; of such undoubted integrity, as to place them beyond all suspicion of any design to deceive others; of such credit and reputation in the eyes of mankind, as to have a great deal to lose in case of their being detected in any falsehood; and at the same time attesting facts performed in such a public manner, and in so celebrated a part of the world, as to render the detection unavoidable; all which circumstances are requisite to give us a full assurance in the testimony of men."

A few pages farther on we find this passage:-

    "There surely never was a greater number of miracles ascribed to one person than those which were lately said to have been wrought in France upon the tomb of Abbe Paris, the famous Jansenist, with whose sanctity the people were so long deluded. The curing of the sick, giving hearing to the deaf, and sight to the blind, were everywhere talked of as the usual effects of that holy sepulchre. But what is more extraordinary, many of the miracles were immediately proved upon the spot, before judges of unquestioned integrity, attested by witnesses of credit and distinction, in a learned age, and on the most eminent theatre that is now in the world. Nor is this all. A relation of them was published and dispersed everywhere; nor were the Jesuits, though a learned body, supported by the civil magistrate, and determined enemies to those opinions in whose favour the
miracles were said to have been wrought, ever able distinctly to refute or detect them. Where shall we find such a number of circumstances
agreeing to the corroboration of one fact? And what have we to oppose to such a cloud of witnesses, but the absolute impossibility, or miraculous nature of the events which they relate? And this, surely, in the eyes of all reasonable people, will alone be regarded as a sufficient refutation."

    In the second passage he affirms the existence of every single fact and quality which in the first passage he declared never existed (as shown by the italicised passages), and he entirely changes his ground of argument by appealing to the inherent impossibility of the fact, and not at all
to the insufficiency of the evidence. He even makes this contradiction still more remarkable by a note which he has himself given to this passage, a portion of which is as follows:-

    "This book was writ by Mons. Montgeron, councillor or judge of the Parliament of Paris, a man of figure and character, who was also a martyr to the cause, and is now said to be somewhere in a dungeon on account of his book. . . .
    "Many of the miracles of Abbe Paris were proved immediately by witnesses before the officiality or bishop's court at Paris, under the eye of Cardinal Noailles, whose character for integrity and capacity was never contested, even by his enemies.
    "His successor in the archbishopric was an enemy to the Jansenists, and for that reason promoted to the see by the court. Yet, twenty-two rectors or cures of Paris, with infinite earnestness, press him to examine those miracles, which they assert to be known to the whole world, and indisputably certain; but he wisely forebore. . . .
    "All who have been in France about that time have heard of the reputation of Mons. Herault, the lieutenant of police, whose vigilance, penetration, activity, and extensive intelligence have been much talked of. The magistrate, who, by the nature of his office, is almost absolute, was invested with full powers on purpose to suppress or discredit these miracles; and he frequently seized immediately, and examined the witnesses and subjects to them; but never could reach anything satisfactory against them.
    "In the case of Mademoiselle Thibaut he sent the famous De Sylva to examine her, whose evidence is very curious. The physician declares that it was impossible that she could have been so ill as was proved by witnesses, because it was impossible she could in so short a time have recovered so perfectly as he found her. He reasoned like a man of sense, from natural causes; but the opposite party told him that the whole was a miracle, and that his evidence was the very best proof of it. ...
    "No less a man than the Duc de Chatillon, a duke and peer of France, of the highest rank and family, gives evidence of a miraculous cure performed upon a servant of his, who had lived several years in his house with a visible and palpable infirmity.
    "I shall conclude with observing, that no clergy are more celebrated for strictness of life and manners than the regular clergy of France, particularly the rectors or cures of Paris, who bear testimony to these impostures.
    "The learning, genius, and probity of the gentlemen, and the austerity of the nuns of Port-Royal, have been much celebrated all over Europe. Yet they all give evidence for a miracle wrought on the niece of the famous Pascal, whose sanctity of life, as well as extraordinary capacity, is well known. The famous Racine gives an account of this miracle in his famous history of Port-Royal, and fortifies it with all the proofs which a multitude of nuns, priests, physicians, and men of the world, all of them of undoubted credit, could bestow upon it. Several men of letters, particularly the
Bishop of Tournay, thought this miracle so certain, as to employ it in the refutation of Atheists and Freethinkers. The Queen-regent of France, who was extremely prejudiced against the Port-Royal, sent her own physician to examine the miracle, who returned an absolute convert. In short, the supernatural cure was so incontestable, that it saved for a time that famous monastery from the ruin with which it was threatened by the Jesuits. Had it been a cheat, it had certainly been detected by such sagacious and powerful antagonists, and must have hastened the ruin of the contrivers."

    It seems almost incredible that this can have been written by the great sceptic David Hume, and written in the same work in which he has already affirmed that in all history no such evidence is to be found. In order to show how very remarkable is the evidence to which he alludes, I think it well to give one of the cases in greater detail, as recorded in the original work of Montgeron, and quoted in William Howitt's History of the Supernatural:-

    "Mademoiselle Coirin was afflicted, amongst other ailments, with a cancer in the left breast, for twelve years. The breast was destroyed by it and came away in a mass; the effluvia from the cancer was horrible, and the whole blood of the system was pronounced infected by it. Every physician pronounced the case utterly incurable, yet, by a visit to the tomb, she was perfectly cured; and, what was more astonishing, the breast and nipple were wholly restored," with the skin pure and fresh, and free from any trace of scar. This case was known to the highest people in the realm. When the miracle was denied, Mademoiselle Coirin went to Paris, was examined by the royal physician, and made a formal deposition of her cure before a public notary. Mademoiselle Coirin was daughter of an officer of the royal household, and had two brothers in attendance on the person of the king. The testimonies of the doctors are of the most decisive kind. M. Gaulard, physician to the king, deposed officially, that, 'to restore a nipple actually destroyed, and separated from the breast, was an actual creation, because a nipple is not merely a continuity of the vessels of the breast, but a particular body, which is of a distinct and peculiar organisation.' M. Souchay, surgeon to the Prince of Conti, not only pronounced the cancer incurable, but, having examined the breast after the cure, went of himself to the public notary, and made a formal deposition 'that the cure was perfect; that each breast had its nipple in its natural form and condition, with the colours and attributes proper to those parts.' Such also are the testimonies of Seguier, the surgeon of the hospital at Nanterre; of M. Deshieres, surgeon to the Duchess of Berry; of M. Hequet, one of the most celebrated surgeons in France; and numbers of others, as well as of public officers and parties of the greatest reputation, universally known; all of whose depositions are officially and fully given by Montgeron."

    This is only one out of a great number of cases equally marvellous, and equally well attested, and we therefore cannot be surprised at Hume's being obliged to give up the argument of the insufficiency of the evidence for miracles and of the uniform experience against them, the wonder being that he ever put forth an argument which he was himself able to refute so completely.

    We have now another argument which Hume brings forward, but which is, if possible, still weaker than the last. He says:-

    "I may add, as a fourth reason, which diminishes the authority of prodigies, that there is no testimony for any, even those which have not been expressly detected, that is not opposed by an infinite number of witnesses; so that not only the miracle destroys the credit of testimony, but the testimony destroys itself. To make this the better understood, let us consider that, in matters of religion, whatever is different is contrary; and that it is impossible the religions of ancient Rome, of Turkey, and Siam, and of China, should, all of them, be established on any solid foundation. Every miracle, therefore, pretended to have been wrought in any of these religions (and all of them abound in miracles), as its direct scope is to establish the particular system to which it is attributed; so has it the same force, though more indirectly, to overthrow every other system. In destroying a rival system, it likewise destroys the credit of those miracles on which that system was established; so that all the prodigies of different religions are to be regarded as contrary facts; and the evidences of these prodigies, whether weak or strong, as opposite to each other. According to this method of reasoning, when we believe any miracle of Mahomet or his successors, we have for our warrant the testimony of a few barbarous Arabians. And, on the other hand, we are to regard the authority of Titus Livius, Plutarch, Tacitus, and, in short, of all the authors and witnesses, Grecian, Chinese, and Roman Catholic, who have related any miracle in their particular religion; I say, we are to regard their testimony in the same light as if they had mentioned that Mahometan miracle, and had in express terms contradicted it, with the same certainty as they have
for the miracle they relate."

    Now this argument, if argument it can be called, rests upon the extraordinary assumption that a miracle, if real, can only come from God, and must therefore support only a true religion. It assumes also that religions cannot be true unless given by God. Mr. Hume assumes, therefore, to know that nothing which we term a miracle can possibly be performed by any of the probably infinite number of intelligent beings who may exist in the universe between ourselves and the Deity. He confounds the evidence for the fact with the theories to account for the fact, and most illogically and unphilosophically argues, that if the theories lead to contradictions, the facts themselves do not exist.

    I think, therefore, that I have now shown that 1. Hume gives a false definition of miracles, which begs the question of their possibility. 2. He states the fallacy that miracles are isolated facts, to which the entire course of human testimony is opposed. 3. He deliberately and absolutely contradicts himself as to the amount and quality of the testimony in favour of miracles. 4. He propounds the palpable fallacy as to miracles connected with opposing religions destroying each other.
Next: AN ANSWER TO THE ARGUMENTS OF HUME, LECKY, AND OTHERS AGAINST MIRACLES
[MODERN OBJECTIONS TO MIRACLES.]
Note from the Editor: The second Essay comprised in this book, The Scientific Aspect of the Supernatural, was translated into Portuguese by Jáder dos Reis Sampaio and published by Publicações Lachâtre, under the title of O Aspecto Científico do Sobrenatural.

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 ° SPIRIT MESSAGES

HEAVEN AND HELL
Or
The Divine Justice Vindicated in the Plurality of Existence

Concerning

The passage from the earthly life to spirit-life,
future rewards and punishments,
angels and devils, etc.

Followed by numerous examples of the state of the soul,
during and after death.

BEING THE PRACTICAL CONFIRMATION OF "THE SPIRITS' BOOK"

BY Allan Kardec

Translated from the Sixtieth Thousand - By Anna Blackwell
[London: Trubner & Co., Ludgate Hill - 1878]

Part First - Doctrine

CHAPTER II

  FEAR OF DEATH

Causes of the Fear of Death

Part Two

    6. Attachment to the things of the earthly life is also kept up, even in the minds of many of those who believe most firmly in the reality of a future life, by the impressions they have retained of the teachings to which they were subjected in their childhood.

    The pictures of the future life presented by the Church are not, it must be confessed, either attractive or consoling. On the one hand, we are shown the contortions of the damned, who expiate, in endless tortures and unquenchable flames, their momentary errors; ages after ages passing over them without hope of deliverance or pity, and (what is even more incredible,) repentance itself being of no avail in their case; - on the other hand, we see the sufferings of the souls who are languishing in purgatory, and who are awaiting their deliverance, not from their own efforts for their own improvement, but from the compassionate efforts of the living who pray for them or have them prayed for by others. These two classes are represented as constituting the immense majority of the population of the other world; and above them hovers the very small minority of the elect, absorbed, throughout eternity, in contemplative beatitude; an eternal uselessness which - though undoubtedly preferable than annihilation - is, nevertheless, only a wearisome monotony, and accordingly, in the paintings which represent the blessedness of the elect, the faces of the latter usually wear an expression much more suggestive of dullness than of felicity.

    Such a view of the future life corresponds neither to our aspirations nor to the idea of progressiveness which we instinctively regard as a necessary element of happiness. It is difficult to imagine that the ignorant savage, whose moral sense is as yet undeveloped, should find himself, simply because he has received baptism, on a level with him who, through long years of effort, has raised himself to a high degree of knowledge and of practical morality. Still less conceivable is it that the child who has died in infancy, before acquiring the consciousness of itself and of its actions, should enjoy the same privileges, simply as the result of its having undergone a ceremony in which its will took no part. Considerations of this nature cause uneasiness in the minds even of fervent believers, whenever they reflect seriously on the doctrines which, as children, they were drilled into accepting.

    7. The progress which men  so laboriously accomplish is the earthly life, having nothing to do, according to  the Church, with their future happiness, the belief that they can easily secure that happiness by means of ceremonies and outward observances - and that they can even purchase their future felicity with money, without any thorough reformation of their character and habits - tends to attach them still more strongly to the worldly enjoyments. Many a man who believes in a future life, after the fashion we are now considering, says to himself, in his secret heart, that, since his future welfare can be secured by observing certain forms of by making bequests that entail upon him no privation during his lifetime, it would be superfluous to impose upon himself any sacrifice for the sake of others, and that the true plan is for each, while thus ensuring his own salvation, to secure for himself, at the same time, the largest possible share of the good things of the present life.

    Assuredly, such is not the thought of all men, for there are many grand and noble exceptions to the common rule; but it cannot be denied that such is the thought of the majority of mankind, especially among the unenlightened masses, and that the idea commonly entertained, in regard to the conditions of happiness in the other world, tends to keep up their attachment to the things of the present one, and, consequently, acts as a powerful stimulus to selfishness.

    8. It is to be remarked, yet further, that all our social usages concur to make men cling to the earthly life, and to shrink from the passage which leads from this world to the other one. Death is surrounded by lugubrious ceremonies, far more suggestive of sorrow than of hope; it is always portrayed under a repulsive aspect, never as a sleep of transition; all the emblems employed to indicate it allude to the destruction of the body, and show it as a hideous and fleshless specter; none of the symbols employed for this purpose represent death as the deliverance of the soul, joyous and radiant, from terrestrial bondage. The departure for a happier state of existence is accompanied only by the lamentations of the survivors, as though the greatest possible misfortune had befallen those who have gone before us; their weeping friends bid them an eternal farewell, as though they were never again to behold of them, and grieve to think of their being deprived of the joys of this lower sphere, as though the other life did not offer enjoyments far greater than those of earth. "What a misfortune," it is often said, "to die, when he who is taken is young, rich and happy, and with a brilliant future before him!" The idea that such a one can be a gainer by the change scarcely crosses the mind of any of those whom he has quited, so vague, misty, gloomy, and void of hopefulness is the idea generally entertained in regard to the world of souls. Men will doubtless be slow in getting rid of their prejudices concerning death; but they will succeed in doing so as their knowledge of the spirit-life becomes clearer, firmer, and more enlightened.

    9. The common belief, moreover, locates souls in imaginary regions, scarcely accessible to human thought, where they become strangers for those whom they have left behind them upon the earth; the Church itself places an impassable barrier between them and the latter, for it declares that ll connection between them is at an end, and that all communication between them is impossible. If they are in hell, all hope of seeing them again is lost to their friends for ever, unless, indeed, for those among the latter who incur the same doom; if they are among the elect, they are entirely absorbed in their own contemplative beatitude. All these suppositions make so wide a separation between the dead and the living that the severance between them seems to be entire and for ever; and people would therefore prefer to keep those whom they love beside them upon the earth, even though in a state of suffering, rather than see them go away, even though to "Heaven!" Besides, is it conceivable that one can be really happy even in "Heaven," if he has to see his child, his father, his mother, his friend, burning for ever in unquenchable fire?
Why Spiritists are not afraid of Death

    10. The spiritist theory of life changes entirely our views of the future. The life to come is no longer a hypothesis, but a fact; the state of the soul, after death, is no longer a matter of theory, but a result of observation. The veil is lifted, and the spirit-world appears to us in all its activity and reality. It is not men who have discovered that world, through some ingenious conception of their imagination, or through some ingenuous conception of their imagination, or through some successful induction of their reason; it is the inhabitants of that world who come, in their own persons, to describe to us the state of being in which they find themselves! We see them at every degree of spirit-life, in every phase of happiness or of unhappiness; we contemplate all the incidents of the life beyond the grave. It is this knowledge of the nature and details of life in the spirit-world that enables the spiritist to contemplate death with calmness, and gives serenity to his last moments upon the earth. What sustains him is not a mere hope, but a certainty; he knows that the future life is only a continuation of his present life, but under more favorable conditions, and he looks forward to it with as much confidence as that with which he looks forward to a new sunrise after a dark and stormy night. This confidence of the spiritist is a result of the facts which he has witnessed, and of the accordance of those facts with reason, with the justice and goodness of God, and with the deepest inspirations of the human mind.

    For the spiritist, the soul is not an abstraction; for he knows, through repeated observation, that it possesses and ethereal body which makes of it a real and definite being, susceptible of being conceived of as such by our thought; and this knowledge suffices, of itself, to fix our ideas in regard to its individuality, aptitudes, and perceptions. Our remembrance of those who are dear to us reposes, henceforth, on something real; we no longer represent them to ourselves as so many fugitive flames, offering nothing of their former personality to our thought; on the contrary, we see them under a concrete form which shows them to belong to the category of living beings. Moreover, instead of regarding them as being lost to view, as formerly, in the depths of space, the spiritist knows that they are beside us and around us; for he has learned that the corporeal world and the spirit-world are in close and perpetual connection, and that they act, and re-act, incessantly upon each other. Doubt, in relation to the future life, being no longer possible to him, he has no longer any reason to be afraid of death; he beholds its approach with perfect equanimity; for he knows that the dissolution of his fleshly body will be for him a deliverance, the opening of a door through which he will pass, not into the yawning abyss of annihilation, but into a higher and happier state of existence.


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Part Second - Examples

CHAPTER III

[Spirits in a Middling Condition]

MADAME ANNA BELLEVILLE
    Died at the age of thirty-five, after a long and very painful illness. Vivacious, witty, endowed with rare intelligence, of clear judgment, and high moral excellence, a devoted wife and mother, she also possessed uncommon strength of character, and a mind so fertile in resources that she was never at a loss to decide as to what was best to be done in the most critical moments of her life. Without rancor for those of whom she had most cause to complain, she was always ready to profit by any opportunity of doing them a kindness. Having been intimately acquainted with her for many years, we had followed with interest all the phases of her life and all the incidents of its close.
    An accident led to the terrible disease which carried her off, after keeping her, for three years, confined to her bed, a prey to the most frightful sufferings, which she bore, to the last, with heroic courage, and in the midst of which her natural gaiety never abandoned her. She believed firmly in the existence of the soul and of the future life; but she did not think much about them; all her thoughts were concentrated on the present life, to which she was strongly attached, without, however, having any dread of death, and without caring for material enjoyments, but, on the contrary, living very simply, and easily doing without whatever she had not the means of procuring; but she had an instinctive taste for the commodious and the beautiful, and she displayed this taste in the smallest details. She longed to live, less for herself than for her children, to whom she felt herself to be necessary; for their sake, she clung to life with extraordinary tenacity. She knew something of spiritism, but without having made it a subject of study; she took a certain amount of interest in its doctrines, and yet it failed to give her a fixed basis of conviction concerning the future. She regarded it as being true, but it made no deep impression on her mind. The good which she did was prompted by a natural, spontaneous tendency on her part, and not by any thought of the rewards and penalties of the future.
    Her life had been, for a long time, despaired of, and those about her were prepared to witness her departure at any moment; she herself no longer cherished any illusion in regard to her state of health. One day, her husband being absent, she felt her strength leaving her, and understood that her hour had come; her sight became clouded, her mind became confused, and she experienced all the distress of the separation. But the idea of dying before her husband returned was very painful to her. Rousing all the energy she could muster, she said to herself, "No, I will not die!" As she formed this resolution, she felt her life coming back to her, and she recovered the full possession of her faculties. When her husband returned, she said to him, "I was dying, but I determined to wait until you came back to me, for I have still a good many things to say to you." This struggle between life and death was kept up by her for three months, which lapse of time was, in her case, only a prolonged and most painful dying.
   

(Evocation; the day after her death.)
   
    Thanks, dear Friends, for thinking of me; but you have always been to me like parents. Rejoice with me; for I am happy. Assure my poor husband of this, and watch over my children. I went to them as soon as my deliverance had take place.
    Q. It would appear that the confusion has not lasted long in your case, since you reply to us with so much clearness.
    A. You know how much I suffered, and that I bore my sufferings with resignation. My trial is ended. I cannot say that I am, as yet, completely disengaged; but I no longer suffer, and this is, for me, such an immense relief! This time, I am, indeed, throughly cured; but I still need the help of your prayers, that I may be able, afterwards, to come and work with you.
    Q. What could have been the cause of your long sufferings?
    A. A terrible past.
    Q. Can you tell us about that past?
    A. Oh, let me forget it for awhile; I have paid such a heavy price for it!
   
(A month after her death.)
    Q. As you must now be completely freed and better able to describe your situation, we should be very glad to receive some more explicit statement from you. Can you tell us what was the cause of your prolonged death agony? For you were, for three months, between life and death.
   A. Thanks, dear Friends, for your remembrance and your prayers! How much good they have done me, and how powerfully they contributed to my release! I still need to be supported; continue to pray for me. You understand what prayer should be! Your prayers are no common-place forms, like those of so many who know nothing of the effect of a true prayer. My sufferings were great; but they are amply rewarded; and I am permitted to be often with my children, whom I quited with so much regret!
   I prolonged my sufferings by my own determined wish to live; my ardent desire to remain with my children caused me to cling to matter with the clutch of a drowning man; I stiffened myself in my resolve, and I would not abandon the unhappy body from which it was, nevertheless, necessary for me to tear myself away, and which was, for me, the instrument of such dreadful torture. Such was the true cause of my long death-struggle. My illness, and the sufferings I endured, were an expiation of the past, one more debt paid off and done with.
    Ah, dear Friends, if I had hearkened to you, how very different would be my present life! What consolation I should have had in my last moments, and how much easier this separation would have been to me, if, instead of opposing it, I had given myself up, confiding in the will of God, to the current that was carrying me away! But, instead of looking forward to the future that was awaiting me, I looked only to the present that I was quitting!
    When I come back upon the earth, I promise you I shall be a spiritist! What an immense unfolding! I often come to your meetings, to listen to the instructions that are given you. If I could have understood all this while I was upon the earth, my sufferings would have been greatly lessened; but my hour had not come. I now comprehend the goodness of God and His justice; but I am not yet sufficiently advanced not to still occupy myself with the things of the earthly life; my children, especially, draw me back to the earth, no longer to spoil them, but to watch over them and to lead them to follow the road traced out by spiritism. Yes, my Friends; I have still serious anxieties; one, especially, for my children's future depends upon it.
    Q. Can you tell us anything of the past that you deplore?
    A. I am quite ready to make my confession! I had been, in a former life, indifferent to suffering, I had seen my mother suffer without feeling any pity for her; I treated her sufferings as only imaginary. As she was not obliged to keep her bed, I fancied that she did not really suffer, and I laughed at her misery. You see how Providence punishes!
(Six months after her death.)

    Q. Now that a tolerably long time has elapsed since you quited your terrestrial envelope, be kind enough to depict to us your situation and your occupations in the spirit-world.
    A. During my terrestrial life, I was what is considered, in a general way, a good woman; but I prized my own comfort above everything else. Although I was naturally compassionate, I am not sure that I should have been capable of making any painful sacrifice to relieve another's misfortune. At present, all that is changed; I am still me, but the me of other days has undergone modifications. I have made some gains; I see that there are no other differences of rank and condition, in the spirit-world, than those of personal merit, where the charitable, though poor, is above the haughty rich who humiliated him in giving him alms. I watch especially over those who are afflicted with family-troubles, the loss of relatives, or of fortune; my mission is to console and to encourage them, and I am happy in doing so. 
ANNA

    An important question is suggested by the foregoing facts, viz., Can a human being, by an effort of the will, delay the definitive separation of the soul and the body?
Reply of the spirit of Saint Louis
   
    This question, if replied to in the affirmative and without restriction, might give rise to erroneous suppositions. An incarnated spirit may, under certain circumstances, prolong his corporeal existence in order to finish the giving of some directions which he considers to be absolutely necessary; he may be allowed to do so, as in the case referred to, and in many others. But this prolongation could only be, in any case, of short duration, for no man can be allowed to invert the order of nature, or to effect a real return to the earthly life, when the latter has reached its appointed term. Moreover, you must not infer, from the possibility of such an action, that it could be general, or that every individual would be able to prolong his own existence in this way. As a trial for the spirit, or in the interest of a mission to be accomplished, the worn-out organs may receive a supplement of vital fluid which allows of their adding a few instants to the corporeal manifestation of thought; but such cases are the exceptions and not the rule. You must regard such a momentary prolongation of life not as a derogation from the unchangeableness of the laws of God, but as a consequence of the freedom of the human soul, which, at the last moment, is conscious of the mission that has been imposed upon it, and would fain, in defiance of death, accomplish what it has not been able to finish. It may also be, in some cases, a punishment inflicted on a spirit who doubts the fact of a future life; such a prolonging of vitality bringing with it a prolongation of suffering.
SAINT LOUIS.

    Some surprise may be felt at the rapidity with which the disengagement of this spirit was effected, notwithstanding her attachment to the earthly life; but it must be remembered that this attachment was neither sensual nor material; it was even, in some sense, a virtuous feeling, for it was prompted by anxiety for the welfare of her children, who were very young. The lady in question, it must also be remembered, was a spirit of considerable advancement both in intelligence and in morality; one degree more and she would have been among the "happy spirits." In her case, therefore, the perispiritic links had nothing of the tenacity which result from the spirit's self-identification with material things; it may be said, moreover, that, her physical life being weakened by her long illness, her soul was only held to the body by a few threads; it was these threads that she tried to prevent from breaking. But she was punished for this resistance by the prolongation of her sufferings, which were due to the nature of her illness and not to any difficulty of disengagement; and therefore, when the latter had taken place, the mental confusion was of short duration.

    Another point, equally important, that is rendered evident by the results of this evocation - as in the greater number of evocations of any given spirit, made at various times, more or less distant from the moment of death - is the change which gradually takes place in the ideas of the spirit, and of which we are able to follow the progress; in the case now under notice, this change is shown, not by the awakening of better feelings, but by a more correct appreciation of the facts of existence. The progress of the soul after death is, therefore, a fact proved by experience; life in flesh is the practical application of the progress thus made by the soul in the other world, the test of its new resolves, the alembic in which it accomplishes a new degree of its purification.

    If the soul progresses after death, it is clear that its fate is not irrevocably fixed at death; for the fixation of its fate would be, as we have already shown, the negation of progress. It being impossible that fixation and progress can exist simultaneously, we mus accept, of these two alternatives, the one which has the double sanction of reason and of experience.

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  FULFILLING OUR DUTIES

Spirit Communication received by Alysia Pape

         
          Being a Spiritist is so hard at times, since we know what we are supposed to do because of our Spiritist beliefs. We feel duty bound to them. 

The good spirits and our guardian angels watch over us, yet they can only do so much unless we help ourselves. Once we go in the opposite direction (making poor choices), they have limitations on how much they can help. They step back, to a certain extent, and let us learn from our own actions. They can more readily help those that help themselves. If things seem to be going wrong in your life make sure you’ve got your Spiritist responsibilities all covered and if it doesn’t get better then maybe you were meant to go through it as a trial or test. But, you always have to do the best you possibly can or you suffer the consequences. Worse, you may fall into a deep pit of self-pity and it can take a lot of time to get yourself out.

[Published on the October Newsletter 2008 of the Spiritist Society of Florida]

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 ° ARTICLES

SPIRITISM: The Work of Allan Kardec and its Implication for Spiritual Transformation

BY Alexander Moreira-Almeida
 

Despite the growing discussion about  science-spirituality relationships, there remains many problems in integrating spirituality and scientific knowledge. This debate has often been characterized by radicalism and mutual denial. As another consequence of the contemporary emphasis on rationality and empirically based knowledge, building a strong and acceptable base to support the spiritual aspect of life as well as ethics has remained a huge challenge.

Although the current debate on science and spirituality has discussed several important topics, it usually does not touch the scientific investigation of certain claims about the spirit (its existence, survival after bodily death, reincarnation, etc.). However, this was not always the case. During the 19th century, through the vehicles of spiritualism, spiritism, and psychical research, many researchers tried to use a scientific approach to investigate spiritual experiences. Of special interest among these three related groups was the investigation of evidence that suggested the personality’s survival after death (Aubrée & Laplantine, 1990; Gauld, 1968; Kardec, 1860; Myers, 1903). The scientific investigation of the existence of a non-physical or spiritual realm, a fundamental claim of many, if not most, spiritual traditions (Hufford & Bucklin, 2006), was a main goal of those investigators.

This effort involved numerous high level scientists and scholars who provided many contributions to topics such as the dialogue between religion and science, between faith and reason and even a new approach to metaphysics. However, these works are virtually unknown by contemporary authors in those fields.

Despite often dealing with the same subject (spiritual/psychic experiences), spiritualism, spiritism and psychical research frequently differed from each other regarding views of science, research methods, and success in formulating a comprehensive theory. Spiritism, developed by Allan Kardec (1804-1869),  developed a more inclusive philosophical system based on a research program of spiritual experiences. Stressing a rational and empirical investigation, Spiritism developed a theory of the self, including its survival after death—the  concepts of reincarnation and unlimited spiritual evolution that formed the basis for a new empirical foundation of ethics, i.e. the founding of moral precepts on experimentally observed facts. Studies in Spiritism also could contribute to topics such as metaphysics, the science and religion dialogue and the rediscovery of human meaning and purpose. However, these implications of Spiritism have not been the subject of systematic study. The relatively few academic studies of Spiritism usually focus largely on the religious aspect that became prominent in the spiritist movement later in its history. Currently, the principal ideas of Spiritism have led to a developing social movement spawning study groups, healing centers, charity institutions and hospitals utilized by millions of people in dozens of countries, most of them found in Brazil (Aubrée & Laplantine, 1990; CEI, 2008; Moreira-Almeida & Lotufo Neto, 2005; Stoll, 2003).

Spiritism has become an important social force in Brazil, with a large interest in assisting poor people, health care, and religious issues (Aubrée & Laplantine, 1990; Sampaio, 2003). However, we will focus our present discussion on the philosophical aspects of Spiritism and its potential contribution to the current academic dialogue on science and spirituality. The purpose of this paper is to introduce into the contemporary debate some contributions of Spiritism to the religion and science dialogue and its relevance to spiritual transformation and a foundation for ethics. To better provide readers with a first hand contact with Kardec’s original ideas, we will base our paper largely on direct quotations form Kardec’s writings on Spiritism. ¹ 

Development of Spiritism

Allan Kardec (1804-1869) was one of the first scholars to propose a scientific investigation of psychic/spiritual phenomena, but his research work is not well known. He was a French scholar who worked mainly as an educator and writer. By the middle of the 19th century, a strong interest in mediumistic phenomena ² began in the United States, quickly spread to Europe and then became worldwide, becoming known as modern spiritualism (Gauld, 1968). In 1855, Kardec started an investigation of mediumistic experiences. His purpose was to submit these experiences to scientific investigation (Kardec, 1890; Moreira-Almeida, 2008).

During his initial investigation, Kardec posed and tested several hypotheses to explain mediumistic phenomena: fraud, hallucinations, a new physical force, somnambulism (including unconscious mental activity and clairvoyance), thought reflection (including telepathy and super-psi), disincarnate spirits and several other theories. He accepted that fraud, hallucination, unconscious cerebration and thought reflection could explain many phenomena regarded as mediumistic. However, when mediumistic phenomena were studied as a whole (taking into account all kinds of observed mediumistic experiences), the best explanation would be the spiritist hypothesis—a spiritual origin for the phenomena (Kardec 1859,1860,1861; Moreira-Almeida, 2008).  Evidence produced by mediums convinced Kardec that personalities that had survived death could be the source of mediumistic communications (some of this evidence is listed below).

1. Mediums providing accurate information (e.g. personal information about some dead person) unknown to themselves and to any sitter at the mediumistic séance
2. Mediums showing unlearned skills such as:

a) illiterate mediums who produce mediumistic writing
b) writing with calligraphy similar to the alleged communicating personality
when alive
c ) speaking or writing in a language unknown to the medium (xenoglossy
and xenography)

3. Mediumistic communications showing a wide range of personal psychological characteristics (such as character, humor, conciseness, choosing of words, likes, dislikes, etc) related to the alleged communicating personality.

After Kardec became convinced that mediums could put him in touch with spirits (human personalities who survived bodily death), Kardec worked to develop a scientific research program to study this subject and called it Spiritism, defined by him as “a science that deals with the nature, origin, and destiny of spirits, and their relation with the corporeal world” (Kardec, 1859:6):

“Spiritism has not discovered nor invented the spirit, but was the first to demonstrate its existence by undeniable proofs. It has studied it, analyzed it, and made evident its action” (Kardec, 1868:12). 
Spirituality and Science: Spirits as components of the natural world

Spiritism does not accept miracles or the supernatural. According to Spiritism, spirits (like matter) are components of the natural world, thus regulated by natural laws and suitable to scientific investigation. Kardec stressed that considering the interaction between both elements of universe (matter and spirits) would make it much easier to understand and accept many phenomena, mainly those described by spiritual traditions:

“Spirit and matter are the two elements, or forces, governing the universe. (…) Spiritism, in demonstrating the existence of the spiritual world and its relations with the material world, provides the key to a multitude of hitherto unknown phenomena, which have been considered as inadmissible by a certain class of thinkers” (Kardec, 1868:3).

According to Kardec, we should be “on guard against the exaggeration from both credulity and skepticism” (Kardec, 1858:2). He stressed that we should be very careful in attributing to spirits all sorts of phenomena that are unusual or that we do not understand: 

“I cannot stress this point enough, we need to be aware of the effects of imagination (…). When an extraordinary phenomenon is produced – we insist – the first thought should be about a natural cause, because it is the most frequent and the most probable” (Kardec, 1860:77). 

Kardec, despite being a contemporary of positivism, developed epistemological and methodological guidelines for his investigation that are in several aspects in line with later developments in philosophy of science throughout the 20th century. He advocated, and actually used, research methods appropriate to the subject matter he was interested in investigating, namely, the spiritual element. Thus, for instance, he pointed out the relevance of well-attested reports of spontaneous cases, in contrast with a misplaced attempt to mimicking physics, which, in many cases, appeals to quantitative measurements and laboratory experiments. Kardec also stressed that just collecting experimental data is not enough to make a science, for which it is essential to develop a comprehensive, logically consistent theory. In his pioneering exploration of the new field, he succeeded in allying a sense of rigor to a salutary openness to the novel (Kardec 1859; 1860,1861; Chibeni 1999; Moreira-Almeida, 2008).

Kardec often emphasized the need for a comprehensive and diversified empirical basis for spiritual experiences. To enlarge the range of observed phenomena, he asked that reports of mediumistic manifestations of several sorts be sent to him (Kardec, 1858:6). He reported having received “communications from almost a thousand serious spiritist centers, scattered over highly diversified areas of the Earth” (Kardec, 1864:8). Fernandes (2004), investigating the amplitude of Kardec’s correspondence, surveyed Kardec’s publications on Spiritism and found published references to contacts related to Spiritism from 268 cities in 37 countries (in Africa, Asia, Europe, and from the three Americas).

“Spiritism proceeds in the same way as the positive sciences ³, by using the experimental method 4. When facts of a new kind are observed, facts that cannot be explained by known laws, it observes, compares and analyzes them. Reasoning then from the effects to the causes, it discovers the laws which govern them. Then it deduces their consequences and seeks for useful applications. Spiritism proposes no preconceived theory (...) Thus, it is rigorously correct to say that Spiritism is an experimental science, not the product of imagination. The sciences have not made real progress before they adopted the experimental method. This method has hitherto been taken as applicable only to matter, but in truth it is equally applicable to metaphysical things.” (Kardec, 1868:10-1). 
In his revolutionary approach to spirituality, Kardec frequently compared mediums to microscopes, since both were instruments that revealed and put humankind in contact with an invisible world that, despite being previously ignored, have always had a strong impact on human lives (Kardec,1860:421). Following Kardec`s analogy, the empirical observations provided by mediums and microscopes would allow the investigator to “see” how these invisible worlds are, making possible to formulate and to test hypothesis regarding the natural laws governing them.

Based on his investigations, Kardec developed a comprehensive theoretical framework to account for the whole body of observed phenomena. This resulted in the spiritualist philosophy called Spiritism. As a philosophical system, Spiritism has many concepts that have been proposed by other philosophies and religions. Some of Spiritism’s core concepts are: survival of consciousness after death, communication between incarnate and discarnate minds (mediumship), reincarnation, and unlimited spiritual evolution. According to Kardec, a scientific basis and the coordination of these concepts in a single theory were the main difference between Spiritism and previous philosophies that hold similar notions.

A new ground for ethics

Kardec strongly stressed the ethical implications of his studies. Spiritism neither has any ritual nor claims to be the only way to spiritual evolution and happiness. However, Kardec proposed that Spiritism could provide a much larger perspective to evaluate consequences of a behavior. Through Spiritism, one would be able to evaluate the long-run consequences of our actions, not just during one terrestrial life, but also at postmortem and in future lives.

This represents a crucial reinforcement of an approach to ethics known as “utilitarianism”, whose main exponents were Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill (18th and 19th centuries). In this approach moral norms are not taken on the basis of authority, pure intellection, but as following from a scientific appraisal of the consequences of human actions with regard to the attainment of happiness of the whole of humankind.

“Spiritism has, furthermore, a particularly strong moralizing power, to the extent in which it clearly shows [...] the consequences of good and bad actions, which become so to speak palpable” (Kardec, 1868:21).

 “What Spiritism adds to the Christian moral is the knowledge of the principles governing the relationships  between alive and dead men, thus completing the vague notions he gave of the soul, its past and future. It thereby grounds the Christian doctrine on the very laws of nature. [...] Charity and fraternity become thus a social necessity. Heretofore, man does by conviction what he before did by pure sense of duty, and he does it better” (Kardec, 1868:30-1).

A call for spiritual transformation

Kardec stressed that an experimental demonstration of survival after death would have a high impact on humanity: 

“The very possibility of communicating with the beings inhabiting the spiritual world has very important, incalculable consequences. [...] It represents a complete revolution in our ideas” (Kardec, 1868:13). 

“Had Spiritism just eliminated man’s doubt concerning future life, it would already made more in behalf of his moral amelioration than all disciplinary laws, capable of bridling him in certain circumstances, but which does not really transform him to the better” (Kardec, 1868:19-20).

Reincarnation would also have large implications: 

“The plurality of existences (…) is one of the most important laws revealed by Spiritism, since it shows the reality of this law and its need for progress. This law explains a lot of apparent anomalies of human life; differences in social position, premature deaths that, without reincarnation, would make useless to the souls such short existences; the inequality of moral and intellectual abilities, by the antiquity of the soul who has progressed and learned more or less, and who, being reborn, brings what has acquired in his previous lives” (Kardec, 1868:19). 

The cognitive framework provided by Spiritism would be a strong call to spiritual transformation: 

“Communication with the beings of the world beyond the grave enables us to see and to comprehend the life to come, initiates us into the joys and sorrows that await us therein according to our deserts, and thus brings back to spiritualism those who had come to see in man only matter, only an organised machine; we are therefore justified in asserting that the facts of Spiritism have given the death-blow to materialism. Had Spiritism done nothing more than this, it would be entitled to the gratitude of all the friends of social order; but it does much more than this, for it shows the inevitable results of evil, and, consequently, the necessity of goodness. (…) the future is no longer for them a vague imagining, a mere hope, but a fact, the reality of which is felt and understood when they see and hear those who have left us lamenting or rejoicing over what they did when they were upon the earth. Whoever witnesses these communications begins to reflect on the reality thus brought home to him, and to feel the need of self-examination, self-judgment, and self-amendment” (Kardec, 1860:421-2). 
Conclusion

Despite being virtually absent from the academic debate on the relationship between spirituality and science, Spiritism has developed several contributions to the field that may provide new insights on the religion and science dialogue. A major aspect of Spiritism is the project of pursuing a fact-grounded scientific investigation of topics previously considered metaphysical.

Most of spiritist ideas discussed here are not new, Kardec did not create them, but they were submitted to experimental investigation and organized into a comprehensive theory through Spiritism. By proposing an investigation of spirituality based on a rational analysis of facts, Spiritism aims to provide a basis for spirituality in the contemporary world, by fostering the pursuit of ongoing spiritual transformation.

References

Aubrée, M. & Laplantine, F. (1990). La table, le livre et les esprits (The table, the book, and the spirits). Paris: Éditions Jean-Claude Làttes.

Chibeni, S. S. “The spiritist paradigm”, Human Nature, vol. 1, n. 2,  pp. 82-87, January 1999. Available at: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/8482/artigos/paradigm.htm

Fernandes, W. L. N. (2004). Allan Kardec e os mil núcleos espíritas de todo o mundo com os quais se correspondia em 1864... Retrieved from: http://www.spiritist.org/larevistaespirita/mil.htm

Gauld, A. (1968). The founders of psychical research. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 

Hess, D. J. (1991). Spirits and Scientists: Ideology, Spiritism, and Brazilian Culture. Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press. 

Hufford, David J & Bucklin, M. A. (2006). The Spirit of Spiritual Healing in the United States. In: Koss-Chioino, J. D. & Hefner, P. Spiritual Transformation and Healing. Lanham: Altamira. 

Kardec, A. (1858). Introduction. Revue Spirite - Journal d’Études Psychologiques 1(1), 1-6. Available at:                                                http://pagesperso-orange.fr/charles.kempf/rs140.htm  

Kardec, A. (1859/1999). What is Spiritism? Philadelphia: Allan Kardec Educational Society. 

Kardec, A. (1860). Manifestations physiques spontanées. Revue Spirite - Journal d’Études Psychologiques 3(1), 77-81. 

Kardec, A. (1860/1996) The spirits’ book. 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro: FEB. Available at: http://www.usspiritistcouncil.com/PDF/spirits_book.pdf  

Kardec, A. (1861/1986) The mediums’ book. Rio de Janeiro: FEB. Available at: http://www.usspiritistcouncil.com/PDF/medium_book.pdf  

Kardec, A. (1864/1987) The gospel according to the Spiritism. London: The Headquarters Publishing Co Ltd. Available at: http://www.usspiritistcouncil.com/PDF/gospe_according_to_spt.pdf  

Kardec, A. (1868) La genese, les miracles et les predictions selon le spiritisme. Paris: Union Spirite Française et Francophone. Available at: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/charles.kempf/Livres/gs.htm

Kardec, A. (1890/1927). Oeuvres Posthumes. Paris: Union Spirite Française et Francophone. Available at:                                                                http://pagesperso-orange.fr/charles.kempf/posthume/OP6.pdf

Moreira-Almeida, A. (2008). Allan Kardec and the development of a research program in psychic experiences. Proceedings of the Parapsychological Association & Society for Psychical Research Convention. Winchester, UK. pp.136-151. 

Myers, F. W. H. (1903/2001). Human personality and its survival of bodily death. Charlottesville: Hampton Roads Publishing. 

Sampaio, J. R. (2004). Voluntários: um estudo sobre a motivação de pessoas e a cultura em uma organização do terceiro sector (Volunteers: a study about people's motivation and the culture of a third sector organization). PhD dissertation. Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade. Universidade de São Paulo. São Paulo. 

Stoll, S. J. (2003). Espiritismo à Brasileira. São Paulo: Edusp; Curitiba: Editora Orion.


¹ Always when available, quotations were extracted from published English versions of Kardec’s works. Otherwise, I translated from the French original. When necessary to improve fidelity to French originals, I amended quotations from published English versions.

² Mediumship is the alleged human faculty that would allow people called mediums to be in contact with discarnate spirits.

³ “Positive science” means, in the philosophical parlance of that time, inquiry thoroughly based on facts (Kardec, 1864a).

4 “Experimental method” should not  be taken as simply laboratory method, but research method based on empirical observations, i.e. on every kind of fact attestable by carefull observation
Note from the Editor: This article was originally published on The Global Spiral, an e-publication of Metanexus Institute, on 2008.09.02.

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 ° NEWS, EVENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS
 
YESTERDAY'S CHILDREN

Rebecca Stafford



     The book and movie Yesterday's Children is one of the best mainstream examples we have of a true-story based on our never-ending life. The story is captivating, moving, and uplifting. It tells the real-life story of Jenny Cockell, and architect who is happily married, has a teenage son, then discovers at age 42 she is pregnant. Jenny's life was very typical. She had a close relationship with her mother, she and her husband owned their own business and they had financial concerns over their teenage son going away to college on the West Coast.

    Jenny began having vivid dreams right around the time she found she was pregnant. The dreams were reoccurring and intense. She was able to determine that her dreams occurred in Ireland, even as far as street names and the names of the people she was dreaming about. It was so strong, she felt as though she was the person in the dreams. Her husband, Doug, was not a believer in reincarnation, as Jenny was not either. He was a good and loving husband, but dismissed her dreams and strange feelings as caused by the pregnancy. Jenny's mother, Margaret, was very supportive of her to investigate the cause of her thoughts and dreams. Margaret stated she did not believe certain things when it came to life after death, but she wanted Jenny to find and explanation for herself by exploring options even if they were not traditional views for her. As a child, Jenny had drawn pictures and maps of an area she never knew, but thanks to her mother who had saved the drawings as keepsakes, she was able to later recognize the images from her dreams which would later corroborate her memories.

    Jenny studied life after death books and soon visited a doctor who helped her find the root of her thoughts through hypnosis. The goal was to determine whether or not her dreams were thoughts or memories from a previous life. Jenny's journey led her, her son and later her husband on a trip to Ireland to further investigate the information she gathered from her dreams. The answers she found to the past allowed her to live in peace in her present life.

    The book and movie contain many of the Spiritist precepts that we study in Allan Kardec's works. The moral of Jenny Cockell's story is that God is good and just as understood in the first chapter of The Spirits' Book. His plan allows for us to live and be happy in each of our lives. Where one life seems to end, it is merely the beginning of our next chapter. God's mercy and our free will together allow us to achieve that which we seek with the most earnestness. Peace, forgiveness, comfort. This was shown in Jenny's story, as her deepest, most unconscious need was to make sure her  (Mary's) children were okay after her death. Her love allowed a son to release guilt and brought joy with a reunion of brothers and sisters. God's  perfection - by design - is meant to enable us to trust in Him - that no matter our situation, we are always surrounded by good spirits who share our affinity for spiritual evolution. In this life, we all have at least one spirit who agreed to share this journey in order to keep us on task. This is God's love. We are never alone - physically or spiritually - from the goodness God already has allocated for us.

Note from the Editor: Text extracted from the April 2008's issue of The Spiritist Magazine, the official publication of the International Spiritist Council.
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