The Revue Spirite of 1862

Part 13

We continue in  this issue the study of the Revue Spirite corresponding to the year of 1862. The condensed text of the mentioned volume will hereby be presented in sixteen parts, based on the translation of Julio Abreu Filho and published by EDICEL.

Issues for discussion

A. What did Galileo's Spirit say about God?

B. How did St. Augustine see study and its importance?

C. Who was Apollonius of Tiana?

Text for reading

135. Invited to visit the Lyon and Bordeaux groups, Kardec says he would gladly accept the invitation. (Pages 273 to 275)

136. To the Spiritists of Bordeaux, Kardec asks that there be no banquet, since he will go there in a pastoral character and his preference is that he be given a simpler reception, according to his habits and his principles. (Pages 275 and 276)

137. "Pilgrimages of the Soul" and "The Guardian Angel" are the titles of the poems presented by B. Joly and Dulcis, the latter during a session of the African Spiritist Society. (Pages 277 to 279)

138. Galileo, using Mr. Camille Flammarion as a medium, transmitted three communications attached under the general heading of "Uranographic Studies". Kardec informs that the three were the initiation of a young medium. (Editor’s Note: These communications would later form Chapter VI of "The Genesis", the last work written by Kardec). (Pages 280 to 283)

139. Here is a brief summary of Galileo's information: I - The first principle, the first cause is God: before this venerated name everything bows down and the ethereal harp of the Heavens vibrates its strings of gold. II - Says the modern naturalist: "Nature is the external throne of divine power." To such a definition I shall add this: "Nature is the effective power of the Creator." III - Space is infinite and so I say because it is impossible to oppose it any limit. (Pages 280 to 382)

140. Saint Augustine says - regarding the vacation period of the Spiritist Society of Paris - that for the diligent Spiritist there is no established hours to study, because all his life is not more than one hour, and it is still too short for the work to which he is dedicated: the intellectual development of human creatures. (Page 283)

141. In a communication to the Spiritist centers that he was going to visit, Kardec asks that the questions be elaborated in advance, since during the meetings many do not know what to ask or are silent because they are shy or have difficulty in formulating their thoughts. (P. 285)

142. Kardec writes about Apollonius, of Tiana, a Greek city of Cappadocia, Asia Minor, where he would have been born two or three years before Jesus and died at the age of 96. Son of one of the richest citizens of Tiana, Apollonius followed the precepts taught by Pythagoras and it is attributed to him, among other things, the gift of healing, foreknowledge, vision at a distance, the power to read the thought, to cast out demons and to move suddenly from one place to another. (Pages 287 to 298)

143. After recalling the phrases spoken by Apollonius of Tiana and some facts of his life, Kardec concludes the article by stating that the great philosopher served as a union between paganism and Christianity and perhaps this was his mission in our world. (P. 298)

144. The Revue transcribes a report published in "Abeille Agenaise", dated May 25, 1862, referring to an article entitled Spiritist Conversations, in which Mr. Cazenove de Pradine presents a summary of Spiritism and classifies it as an evil doctrine. Mr. Dombre de Marmande wrote to the aforementioned newspaper, contesting the criticism, but his letter was not published, on the grounds that the newspaper could not propagate these ideas, which it considered to be essentially dangerous (Pages 298 to 301)

145. The Spiritist Society of Paris conferred the title of honorary member to Mr. Dombre, of Marmande, and to other confreres who had been providing effective and distinguished services to the cause of Spiritism. Dombre, grateful, accepted, the title that was granted to him and Kardec, following, paid a tribute to him in a well-deserved homage. (Pages 301 to 304) (Continues on next issue.)

Answers to the issues

A. What did Galileo's Spirit say about God?

Making use of Mr. Camille Flammarion as a medium, Galileo said that the first principle, the first cause is God and that before this revered name everything bows down and the ethereal harp of the Heavens vibrates its golden strings. (Revue Spirite of 1862, pages 280 to 283)

B. How did St. Augustine see study and its importance?

St. Augustine observed that for the diligent Spiritist there are no designated hours to study, for his whole life is but an hour, and still very short for the work he is engaged in: the intellectual development of human creatures. (Ibid, page 283).

C. Who was Apollonius of Tiana?

Apollonius, from Tiana, a Greek city of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, was said to have been born, according to Kardec, two or three years before Jesus and died at the age of 96. Son of one of the richest citizens of Tiana, Apollonius followed the precepts taught by Pythagoras and is attributed to him, among other things, the gift of healing, foreknowledge, vision at a distance, the power to read the thought, to cast out demons and to move suddenly from one place to another. (Ibid, pages 287-298).

Translation:

Eleni Frangatos - eleni.moreira@uol.com.br