We end in this issue the study of the Revue Spirite
of 1859, a monthly newspaper focused on the
divulgation of Spiritism, founded and directed by Allan
Kardec. This study is based on the translation into the
Portuguese language made by Julio Abreu Filho and
published by EDICEL. The answers to the questions are at
the end of the text for reading.
Questions for discussion
A. What to say to those who say that in the Bible there
are no references to Spiritist communications?
B. Can a still primitive Spirit reincarnate in the bosom
of a more civilized society?
C. Why, having previously lived in the state of a
Spirit, many Spirits are still astonished at what they
see after their bodily death?
D. Do Good Spirits have the habit of flattering people?
Text for reading
215. The Spirit of Charles IX, the former King of France
and the son of Catherine de Medici, asks us to be sweet
and patient with those to whom we teach. Carlos reports
having reincarnated as a slave in America and says that
his mother, after suffering enough, was on another
planet. (P. 388)
216. The Spirit of Rembrand - criticizing sages, who
think they are the only ones to possess all the secrets
of Creation, but do not know where they come from or
where they will go - says that there is not a single
page in the Bible without traces of the relation between
the visible and invisible worlds. (P. 389)
217. The man with a right heart does not have a proud
head, says one Spirit, who warns: There is only one way
that leads to God – to have faith and to love our fellow
men. (P. 390)
218. Mr. V ..., an excellent psychic distinguished by
the purity of his relations with the Spiritist world,
was being tormented by a Spirit who decided to live in
his room. A former drayman, this Spirit belonged to the
lowest class. Consulted by Kardec, a High Spirit says
that there were two ways for the young man to get rid of
the persecutor: the spiritual means, asking God, and the
material means, moving out of his house. (P. 392)
219. The fact proves that there are indeed places
haunted by certain Spirits, who bind themselves to
certain places. (P. 392)
220. Commenting on the subject, Kardec shows how prayer
is useful in such cases and says that these Spirits are
touched by our advice and our prayers.
Why, then, would we refuse to listen to them, when their
repentance and suffering can help to improve them?
(Pages 393 and 394)
221. The Spiritist Society of Paris, at its general
session of 9/30/1859, analyzed the crime committed by a
7-year-old boy, with premeditation and all the
aggravating factors. Interrogated, St. Louis reported
that the Spirit of this child was almost at the
beginning of the human period; there were only two
incarnations on Earth. Belonging to the most backward
tribes of the islands, he was born here in the hope of
progress. (P. 395)
222. In addressing the admission of new members of the
Spiritist Society of Paris, Kardec observed: It is not
enough for them to be in favor of Spiritism in general;
it is necessary that they agree with their way of being.
The homogeneity of principles - says Kardec - is an
essential condition, without which any society could not
survive. (P. 396)
223. In order to communicate with one another, Spirits
do not need words; their thinking suffices. When they
communicate with men, they must translate their thinking
into human signs, that is, into words, which they draw
from the medium's vocabulary they are used to, in a
sense, as from a dictionary. Therefore, it is easier for
the Spirit to express himself in the medium's familiar
language, although he may do so in a language unknown to
him. (P. 398)
224. The Spiritist Society of Paris, regarding the
proposal of two members, unanimously decided: Every
person wishing to be a member of the Society must make a
written request to the president. The application must
be signed by two representatives and the applicant is to
declare: 1. - that he is aware of the rules and will
follow them; 2. – that he has read the works about
Spiritism and he adheres to the principles of the
Society, which are those of The Book of Spirits. (Pages
399 and 400)
225. The Spirit of St. Louis, spiritual President of the
Parisian Society for Spiritist Studies, advises against
an evocation which, according to him, required a great
tranquility of mind, and during that night extensive
administrative affairs were discussed there. (Pages 400
and 401)
226. Someone proposed to mention in the Society Mrs.
Br..., a titular member, who was traveling by ship to
Havana. Consulted, St. Louis advised against the
evocation by informing that Mrs. Br... was very
concerned that night, since the wind was blowing
violently and the instinct of survival occupied her
thoughts. (P. 402)
227. The Parisian Society for Spiritist Studies has
decided that each year, at the renewal of the social
year, the honorary members will be submitted to a new
admission vote, in order to eliminate those who are no
longer in the required conditions. (P. 403)
228. Mr. Les..., in a meeting of the Society, says he
does not understand the astonishment of the Spirits
after death, since, having already lived previously in
the state of Spirit they should not be surprised by
this. He was answered: This astonishment is only
temporary; it depends upon the state of disruption that
follows death, and ceases as the Spirit detaches itself
from matter and recovers its faculties of Spirit. (P.
404)
229. Mr. Van Br ... of The Hague, a fervent adept of
Spiritism, reported to the Spiritist Society of Paris
that his 14-year-old daughter became a good medium, but
her mediumship had bizarre particulars: most of the time
to read what she rights, one has to put the page in
front of a mirror; and frequently the table she uses to
write bends over her like a wallet and stays in that
position until she finishes her work. (Editor’s note:
This incredible mediumship, called specular psychograph,
is very rare and usually only found in great mediums.)
(P. 405)
230. The Spirit of St. Vincent de Paul clarifies some
points related to those who have convulsions and are in
Saint-Médard, and says that the phenomena ceased there
because they were produced by Inferior Spirits, and not
because the earthly authority banned them. In this case,
there was a combination of purposes. (P. 408)
231. Kardec teaches: Good spirits approve of what they
think is good, but they do not praise excessively.
These, like all flattery, are signs of inferiority on
the part of the Spirits. (P. 408)
Answers to the questions
A. What to say to those who say that in the Bible
there are no references to Spiritist communications?
We can say what the Spirit of Rembrand said in a message
published in the Revue, that there is no single page in
the Bible where there are no traces of the relation
between the visible and invisible worlds. (Revue
Spirite, pages. 389 and 390.)
B. Can a still primitive Spirit reincarnate in the
bosom of a more civilized society?
Yes. The Spiritist Society of Paris, in its general
session of 9/30/1859, analyzed the crime committed, with
premeditation and all aggravations, by a 7.5 years old
boy. Asked about the fact, St. Louis reported that the
Spirit of this child was almost at the beginning of the
human period; he had no more than two incarnations on
Earth, and had been born in that environment in the hope
of progress. (Ibid, page 395)
C. Why, having previously lived in the state of a
Spirit, many Spirits are still astonished at what they
see after their bodily death?
This same question was asked by Mr. Les... at a meeting
of the Spiritist Society of Paris. He was then told that
this astonishment is only temporary; it depends upon the
state of disruption that follows death, and ceases as
the Spirit detaches itself from matter and recovers its
faculties of Spirit. (Ibid, page 404.)
D. Do Good Spirits have the habit of flattering
people?
No. Kardec teaches us that Good Spirits approve of what
they think is good, but they do not praise in excess.
These, like all flattery, are signs of inferiority on
the part of the Spirits. (Ibid, page 408)
