Monomania.

We read in the Gazette de Mons: "An individual stricken with religious monomania, for seven years confined in the establishment of Mr. Stuart and who up to now had shown himself very submissive, succeeded in deceiving the vigilance of the guards and in seizing a knife. Not being able to take the weapon back, the guards informed the director of what was happening. "Mr. Stuart immediately went up to the furious man and, trusting only in his courage, wished to disarm him; but, scarcely had he taken a few steps toward the madman, when the latter rushed forth with the rapidity of lightning and wounded him with repeated blows. Only with great difficulty did they succeed in subduing the assassin. "Of the seven knife wounds that struck Mr. Stuart, one was mortal: the one received in the lower abdomen; and Monday, at half past three o'clock, he succumbed in consequence of the hemorrhage that had originated in that cavity." What would they not have said if that individual had been stricken with Spiritist monomania or even if, in his madness, he had spoken of the Spirits? And yet, this could happen, since there exist diverse religious monomanias, and all the sciences have furnished their contingent.

What could be reasonably concluded against Spiritism, except that, by reason of the frailty of his organization, man can become exalted on this point as on so many others? The means of preventing that exaltation is not to combat the idea; otherwise we would run the risk of seeing renewed the prodigies of the Cévennes. If they should ever organize a crusade against Spiritism, they would see it propagate itself more and more. How, then, can one oppose a phenomenon that has neither time nor place of predilection; that can be reproduced in all countries, in all families, in intimacy, in the most absolute secrecy, even better than in public? The means of preventing the inconveniences – we have already said it in our Practical Instruction, [see The Mediums' Book,] — is to make it become so well known that one sees in it only a natural phenomenon, even in that which it offers of most extraordinary.