Example 8 - MR. FÉLICIEN.

— He was a wealthy man, educated, a poet of wit, possessing a sound character, obliging and pleasant, of perfect integrity. False speculations compromised his fortune, and, it not being possible for him to repair it on account of his advanced age, he yielded to discouragement, hanging himself in December 1864, in his bedroom.

He was neither a materialist nor an atheist, but a man of a somewhat superficial cast of mind, attaching little importance to the problem of life beyond the grave. Knowing him intimately, we evoked him, four months after the suicide, inspired by the affection we bore him.

— Evocation.

— I weep for the Earth, on which I had disappointments, yet lesser ones than those I have experienced here. I, who dreamed of marvels, am below the reality of my ideal.

The world of Spirits is quite promiscuous, and to make it bearable a good sorting would be needed. I can scarcely believe it. What a sketch of Spiritist manners one could draw here! Balzac himself, being in his element, would draw such a sketch only in a crude manner. I have not glimpsed him, however…

Where can those great Spirits be who so energetically denounced the vices of Humanity! They must, like me, have dwelt about here before rising to more elevated regions. It pleases me to observe this curious pandemonium, and so I remain about here.

Although the Spirit declares to us that he finds himself in a quite promiscuous society and, consequently, one of inferior Spirits, his language surprised us, given the manner of death, to which, moreover, he makes no reference. Apart from that, everything else reflected his character. Such a circumstance left us in doubt as to the identity.

Have the kindness to tell us how you died… — A. How did I die? By the death I myself chose, the one that pleased me most, it being worthy of note that I meditated a long time on that choice with the aim of ridding myself of life.

In spite of that, I confess that I did not gain much: — I freed myself from material cares, only to find them graver and more painful in the condition of a Spirit, of which I do not even foresee the end.

(To the medium's guide). Was it indeed the Spirit of Mr. Félicien who answered? This almost carefree language becomes suspect when it concerns a suicide… — A. Yes. However, by a sentiment justifiable in his position, he did not wish to reveal to the medium his manner of death. It was for that reason that he disguised the phrase, ending nonetheless by confessing it in the face of the direct question you put to him, and not without anguish.

The suicide makes him suffer greatly, and so he turns away, as much as possible, all that recalls to him his ill-fated end.

(To the Spirit). Your disincarnation moved us all the more, as we foresaw its sad consequences, besides the esteem and intimacy of our relations. Personally, I have not forgotten how obliging and good you were to me. I would be happy if I could give you proof of my gratitude, by doing something useful for you. — A. Yet I could not otherwise escape the embarrassments of my material position.

Now, I have need only of prayers; pray, above all, that I may see myself free of these horrid companions who are here beside me, beleaguering me with cries, smirks, and infernal jeers. They call me a coward, and rightly so, for it is cowardice to renounce life.

It is the fourth time I have succumbed to that ordeal, in spite of the formal promise not to fail… Fatality!…

Ah! Pray… What a torment is mine! How unhappy I am! By praying, you do more for me than I could do for myself when on Earth; 5 but the trial, before which I have failed so many times, is there portrayed, indelible, before me! It must be attempted anew, in due time… Shall I have the strength? Ah! to begin life over so many times; to struggle for so long only to succumb to events, is dispiriting, even here! That is why I lack strength.

They say we can obtain it through prayer… Pray for me, for I too wish to pray.

This particular case of suicide, though carried out in ordinary circumstances, presents a special aspect. It shows us a Spirit who has succumbed many times to the ordeal, which is renewed at each existence and which will be renewed until he has the strength to resist.

Thus is confirmed the fact that there is no benefit in suffering whenever we fail to reach the aim of the incarnation, it being necessary to begin it over again until we come out victorious from the campaign.

— To the Spirit of Mr. Félicien. — Hear, I beg you, hear and meditate upon my words.

What you call fatality is merely your weakness, for if fatality existed man would cease to be responsible for his acts.

Man is always free, and in that freedom lies his greatest and most beautiful privilege; God did not wish to make of him an obedient and blind automaton.

If that freedom makes him fallible, it also makes him perfectible, and only through perfection can he attain supreme happiness.

Pride alone can lead man to attribute to destiny his earthly misfortunes, when the truth is that such misfortunes proceed from his own negligence.

You have a very plain example of this in your last incarnation, for you had everything that was needful for human happiness on Earth: wit, talent, fortune, deserved regard; no ruinous vices, but, on the contrary, appreciable qualities… How, then, did your position become so compromised?

Solely through your own improvidence. You must agree that, had you acted with more prudence, contenting yourself with the much that had already fallen to you, rather than seeking to increase it without need, ruin would not have come about.

There was in this no fatality, since you could have avoided such an occurrence.

Your ordeal consisted of a chain of circumstances that were to give you, not the necessity, but the temptation of suicide; 10 unhappily, in spite of your talent and learning, you did not know how to master those circumstances, and you now suffer the consequences of your weakness.

That trial, as you rightly sense, must be renewed yet again; in your next incarnation you will have to face events that will suggest to you the idea of suicide, and so it will always be until you have wholly triumphed.

Far from accusing fate, which is your own work, admire the goodness of God, who, instead of condemning irremissibly for the first fault, always offers the means of repairing it.

Thus, you will suffer, not eternally, but for as long as you relapse into the error.

It depends upon you, in the spiritual state, to make the resolution sufficiently energetic to manifest to God a sincere repentance, earnestly soliciting the support of the good Spirits. You will then return to Earth, armored in resistance to all temptations.

Once that victory is achieved, you will walk in the way of happiness more swiftly, since in other respects your progress is already considerable.

As you see, there is still a step to take, for which we will help you with our prayers. These will be fruitless only if you do not second them with your own efforts.

A. Oh! thank you! Oh! thank you for such good exhortations. Of them I have all the greater need, as I am more unhappy than I let it appear. I will profit from them, I assure you, in the preparation for my next incarnation, during which I will do all I can not to succumb. It is already hard for me to endure the ignoble milieu of my exile.

Félicien.