Diatribes.

Certainly some persons expect to find here a response to certain disrespectful attacks, of which the Society, ourselves personally, and the partisans of Spiritism in general, have been victims in recent times. We ask that they refer to the article on spiritist polemic, which heads our issue of last November, in which we made a profession of faith in this regard. We will only add a few words, since we do not occupy ourselves with idle discussions. Those who have time to waste sneering at everything, even at what they do not understand; time for slander, for calumny, or for mockery, let them be satisfied: we will create no obstacle for them. The Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, composed of men honored by their learning and by their positions, both French and foreign, physicians, writers, artists, officials, officers, merchants, etc.; daily receiving the highest social notabilities and corresponding with all parts of the world, is above the pettiness of intrigues, of jealousy, and of self-love; it pursues its labors in calm and recollection, without disquieting itself over jokes in bad taste, which spare not even respectable organizations. As for Spiritism in general, which is one of the forces of Nature, mockery will be destroyed, as has happened against many other things that time has already consecrated. This utopia, this folly, as certain persons call it, has already gone around the world, and no diatribe will impede its march, just as formerly anathemas did not prevent the Earth from turning. Let us, then, let the mockers laugh to their hearts' content, since this is what pleases them; they will do so at the expense of wit. They laugh enough at religion: why would they not laugh at Spiritism, which is only a science? We hope they will render us more services than harm and will make us economize on advertising expenses, because there is not a single one of their articles, however witty they may be, that has not stimulated the sale of some of our books or has not procured for us some subscriptions. Thanks to them, then, for the service they render us involuntarily.

Likewise we have little to say concerning what touches us personally; if those who attack us, whether in an open manner or a disguised one, imagine that they disturb us, they waste their time; if they think to bar our way, they are mistaken in the same fashion, for we ask nothing and aspire only to make ourselves useful, within the limit of the strength God has granted us. However modest our position may be, we content ourselves with what for many would be mediocrity; we do not aspire to position, nor honors, nor fortune; we do not seek the world nor its pleasures; what we cannot have causes us no displeasure, and we regard it with the most complete indifference. Since they do not form part of our tastes, we do not envy those who possess such advantages, if advantages there are, which in our eyes is a problem, inasmuch as the ephemeral pleasures of this world do not assure a better place in the other; on the contrary. Our life is all labor and study, and we consecrate to work even the moments of repose. There is nothing in that to cause envy. Like so many others, we bring our stone to the edifice that is being raised; nevertheless, we would blush if we made of it a step to attain whatever it might be. Let others bring more stones than we; let others work as much and better than we, and we will regard them with sincere joy. What we want, above all, is the triumph of truth, come from where it may, for we do not have the pretension of seeing the light alone; if from this some glory must result, the field is open to all, and we will extend our hand to all who in this rough journey follow us with loyalty, abnegation, and without particular ulterior motives. We knew very well that, openly grasping the banner of the ideas of which we made ourselves propagators and confronting prejudices, we would draw enemies, always ready to hurl poisoned darts against whoever raises his head and puts himself in evidence. There is, however, a capital difference between them and us: we do not wish them the harm they seek to do us, because we comprehend human frailty, and it is only in this that we judge ourselves superior to them; we lower ourselves through envy, through hatred, through jealousy, and through all the petty passions, but we elevate ourselves through the forgetting of offenses: such is the Spiritist morality. Is it not worth more than that of the persons who tear their neighbor to pieces? It was dictated to us by the Spirits who assist us, and by this we can judge whether they are good or bad. Spiritist morality shows us the things above as so grand and those below as so small that we cannot but lament those who voluntarily torture themselves to procure for themselves some ephemeral satisfaction of their self-love.