Organization of Spiritism.

— Up to the present, although very numerous, Spiritists have spread throughout all countries, which is not one of the least salient characteristics of the doctrine. Like a seed carried by the wind, it has taken root in every point of the globe, evident proof that its propagation is not the effect of a clique, nor of a local and personal influence. At first isolated, the adherents today are surprised at their number; and since the similarity of ideas inspires the desire to draw near, they seek to gather together and found societies. Thus, from all parts they ask us for instructions in this regard, expressing the desire to unite with the central Society of Paris. The moment has therefore come for us to occupy ourselves with what may be called the organization of Spiritism. The Mediums' Book (2nd edition) contains important observations on the formation of Spiritist Societies, to which we refer those interested, begging them to meditate carefully upon them. Daily, experience comes to confirm their soundness; we shall recall them succinctly, adding more detailed instructions.

— First, let us speak of the adherents still isolated amid a population hostile to or ignorant of the new ideas. Every day we receive letters from persons who are in this situation and who ask what they can do, in the absence of mediums and of co-participants in Spiritism. They are in the situation in which, only a year ago, the first Spiritists of today's most numerous centers found themselves; little by little the adherents multiplied, and if until recently there were cities where they were counted by isolated units, today they are counted by hundreds of thousands; before long the same thing will happen everywhere; it is a matter of patience. As for what they ought to do, it is very simple. To begin with, they can work on their own account, impregnating themselves with the doctrine through the reading and meditation of the special works; the deeper they go, the more consoling truths they will discover, confirmed by reason. In their isolation, they ought to consider themselves fortunate to have been the first to be favored. But if they limited themselves to gathering from the doctrine a personal satisfaction, it would be a kind of egoism. By reason of their very position, they have a beautiful and important mission to fulfill: that of spreading the light around them. Those who accept this mission without allowing themselves to be stopped by difficulties will be amply rewarded by success and by the satisfaction of having done something useful. Doubtless they will encounter opposition; they will be the target of the mockery and sarcasm of the unbelievers, of the very malevolence of persons interested in combating the doctrine; but where would the merit be, if there were no obstacle to overcome? To those who would be stopped by the puerile fear of what others might think of them, we have nothing to say, no advice to give. But to those who have the courage of their opinion, who are above the petty considerations of the world, we shall say that what they have to do is limited to speaking openly of Spiritism, without affectation, as of a very simple and very natural thing, without preaching it and, above all, without seeking or forcing convictions, nor making proselytes at any cost. Spiritism must not be imposed; one comes to it because one needs it, and because it gives what the other philosophies do not give. It is even fitting not to enter into any explanation with obstinate unbelievers: it would be to give them too much importance and to lead them to think that we depend on them. The efforts made to attract them drive them away and, out of self-love, they grow obstinate in their opposition. This is why it is useless to lose time with them; when the need makes itself felt, they will come of their own accord. While we wait, we must leave them in peace, content in their skepticism which, believe it, often weighs on them more than they let it appear; for, whatever they may say, the idea of nothingness after death has something more frightening, more painful than death itself. But, beside the jesters, there are persons who will ask: “What is this?” Hasten, then, to satisfy them, providing them with explanations according to the nature of the dispositions you find in them. When one speaks of Spiritism in general, one must consider the words pronounced as grains cast at random: many of them fall upon stones and produce nothing; but if a single one falls on fertile ground, you should consider yourself fortunate; cultivate it and be certain that this plant, bearing fruit, will give rise to so many others. For some adherents the difficulty is to answer certain objections; the attentive reading of the works will furnish them the means. To this effect, they may make use of the pamphlet we are about to publish under the title of: Refutation of the Criticisms against Spiritism, from the materialist, scientific and religious point of view. n

— Let us now speak of the organization of Spiritism in the already numerous centers. The incessant increase of adherents demonstrates the material impossibility of constituting, in a city, above all in a populous city, a single society. Besides the number, there is the difficulty of distances which, for many, is an obstacle. On the other hand, it is known that large gatherings are less favorable to fine communications and that the best are obtained in small groups. It is, therefore, on the multiplication of particular groups that we must concentrate our efforts. Now, as we have said, twenty groups of fifteen to twenty persons will obtain more and will do more for the propaganda than a single society of four hundred members. The groups form naturally through the affinity of tastes, sentiments, habits and social position; everyone there knows one another and, as they are private gatherings, one has freedom of number and of choice of those who are admitted to them.

— The system of the multiplication of groups also has as its result, as we have said on various occasions, the prevention of conflicts and rivalries of supremacy and of direction. Each group is naturally directed by the head of the house, or by the one designated for that purpose; there is, properly speaking, no official director, because everything takes place within the family. The master of the house, as such, has all the authority to maintain good order. With a society properly so called, there is need of a special place, an administrative staff, a budget, in a word, a complication of bureaucracies, which the ill will of a few ill-intentioned dissidents could compromise.

— To these considerations, developed at length in The Mediums' Book, we shall add one which is preponderant. Spiritism is not yet viewed with good eyes by all the world. It will soon be understood that it is of great interest to favor a belief that makes men better and is a guarantee of social order. But until they are well convinced of its beneficial influence upon the spirit of the masses and of its moralizing effects, the adherents must expect that, whether through ignorance of the true object of the doctrine, or in view of personal interest, embarrassments will be raised against them; not only will they be ridiculed, but, when they see the weapons of ridicule weakened, they will be slandered. They will be accused of madness, of charlatanism, of irreligion, of sorcery, in order to incite fanaticism against them. Madness! Sublime madness this, which makes one believe in God and in the future of the soul. For those who believe in nothing, indeed, it is madness to believe in communication between the dead and the living; madness that is making the tour of the world and reaching the most eminent men. Charlatanism! They have a peremptory answer: disinterestedness, for charlatanism is never disinterested. Irreligion! They, who as soon as they become Spiritists become more religious than before. Sorcery and commerce with the devil! They, who deny the existence of the devil and recognize only God as the sole Almighty Lord, sovereignly just and good. Singular sorcerers these, who would renounce their lord and act in the name of his antagonist! In truth the devil should not be very pleased with his adherents. But good reasons are not the least preoccupation of those who wish to provoke disputes; when someone wishes to kill his dog, he says it is rabid. Fortunately the Middle Ages cast their last and pale gleams upon our century. As Spiritism comes to deal it the coup de grâce, it is not surprising to see it attempt a supreme effort. But let us be calm, the struggle will not be long. Nevertheless, let not the certainty of victory make us imprudent, for an imprudence could, if not compromise, at least delay the success. For these reasons, the constitution of numerous societies would perhaps encounter obstacles in certain localities, which would not occur with family gatherings.

— Let us add yet another consideration. Societies properly so called are subject to numerous vicissitudes. A thousand causes, dependent or not on their will, may lead to dissolution. Thus, let us suppose that a Spiritist society has gathered all the adherents of a single city and that, by some circumstance, it ceases to exist; behold the members dispersed and disoriented. Now, if instead of this there are fifty groups, in case some disappear, there will always remain others, and others will form; they are so many hardy plants which, in spite of everything, continue to sprout. Do not have in the field only one great tree; the lightning may strike it down. Have a hundred, and the same lightning will not reach them all; the smaller they are, the less exposed they will be.

Thus, everything militates in favor of the system we propose. When a first group, founded anywhere, becomes very numerous, let it do as the bees: let it, like swarms departing from the mother hive, found new hives which, in their turn, will form others. They will be so many centers of action radiating in their respective circle, and more powerful for the propaganda than a single society.

— Admitted, then, in principle the formation of groups, there remains the examination of several important questions. The first of all is uniformity in the doctrine. This uniformity would not be better guaranteed by a compact society, for the dissidents would always have the facility of withdrawing, forming a group apart. Whether the society be one or fractioned, uniformity will be the natural consequence of the unity of basis that the groups adopt. It will be complete in all who follow the line traced in The Spirits' Book and in The Mediums' Book. One contains the principles of the philosophy of the science; the other, the rules of the experimental and practical part. These works are written with sufficient clarity, so as not to give occasion to divergent interpretations, an essential condition of every new doctrine.

Up to the present these works serve as regulator to the immense majority of Spiritists, and everywhere they are received with unequivocal sympathy; those who wished to depart from them were able to recognize, by their isolation and by the decreasing number of their partisans, that they did not have general opinion in their favor. This assent of the majority has a considerable weight; it is a judgment that could not be suspected of personal influence, considering that it is spontaneous and pronounced by thousands of persons who are completely unknown to us. One proof of this assent is that we have been asked to translate them into various languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, Italian, Polish, Russian and even into the Tartar language. We can, therefore, without presumption, recommend their study and practice to the various Spiritist gatherings, and this with all the more reason as they are the only ones, up to the present moment, in which the science is treated in a complete manner. All those that have been published on the subject have addressed only a few isolated points of the question. Moreover, we have not the least pretension of imposing our ideas; we emit them because it is a right of ours. Those to whom they are suited adopt them; the others reject them, because it is also a right that belongs to them. Thus, the instructions we give are naturally destined for those who walk with us, for those who honor us with the title of their Spiritist leader; in no way do we pretend to regulate those who wish to follow another path. We submit the doctrine we profess to general appreciation. Now, we have found many adherents to give us confidence and to console us for a few isolated dissidences. The future, moreover, will be the judge in the last instance. With the present men there will disappear, by the force of things, the susceptibilities of wounded self-love, the causes of jealousy, of ambition, of unsuccessful material hopes. No longer considering persons, one will see only the doctrine and the judgment will be impartial. What new ideas have there been which, at their birth, did not have more or less interested contradictors? What propagators of these ideas were not the target of the arrows of envy, above all if success crowned their efforts? But let us return to our subject.

— The second point is the constitution of the groups. One of the first conditions is homogeneity, without which there would be no communion of thoughts. A gathering cannot be stable, nor serious, if there is no sympathy among those who compose it; and there cannot be sympathy among persons who have divergent ideas and who make a muffled opposition, when not an open one. Far be it from us to say by this that discussion should be stifled; on the contrary, we recommend the scrupulous examination of all communications and of all phenomena. Let it, then, be well understood that each one can and ought to express his opinion; but there are persons who discuss in order to impose theirs, and not to enlighten themselves. It is against the spirit of systematic opposition that we rise up; against preconceived ideas, which do not yield even before the evidence. Such persons are incontestably a cause of disturbance, which must be avoided. In this respect, Spiritist gatherings are in exceptional conditions. What they require above all is recollection. Now, how can one be recollected if, at every moment, one is distracted by an acrimonious polemic? If, among those present, a sentiment of bitterness reigns and when we feel around us beings whom we know to be hostile and on whose countenance is read sarcasm and disdain for all that does not entirely agree with them?

— We traced the character of the principal varieties of Spiritists in The Mediums' Book (no. 28). Such distinction being important to the subject that occupies us, we have judged it our duty to recall it.

One may place in the first rank those who believe purely and simply in the manifestations. For them Spiritism is no more than a science of observation, a series of more or less curious facts; the philosophy and the morality are accessories with which they occupy themselves little and whose scope they do not even suspect. We call them experimenting Spiritists.

There come next those who see in Spiritism something more than mere facts; they understand its philosophical scope; they admire the morality deriving from it, but do not practice it; they grow rapturous before the fine communications, as before an eloquent sermon, which they hear but do not profit from. The influence upon their character is insignificant or nil; they in no way change their habits and would not deprive themselves of a single pleasure: the miser is always a miser, the proud man always full of himself, the envious and the jealous always hostile. For them Christian charity is only a fine maxim and the goods of this world draw them in their esteem above those of the future. They are the imperfect Spiritists.

Beside these there are others, more numerous than one thinks, who do not limit themselves to admiring the Spiritist morality, but who practice it and accept it in all its consequences. Convinced that earthly existence is a passing trial, they endeavor to take advantage of these short instants to march in the path of progress, striving to do good and to repress the evil inclinations; their relations are always secure, because their conviction keeps them away from every evil thought. In all things charity is their rule of conduct. They are the true Spiritists, or, better, the Christian Spiritists.

— If what precedes is well understood, it will also be understood that a group formed exclusively of elements of this last class would be in better conditions, because it is among persons who practice the law of love and of charity that a serious fraternal bond can be established. Among men for whom morality is no more than a theory, the union would not be durable; as they impose no curb upon pride, upon ambition, upon vanity and upon egoism, they will not impose one upon their words either; they will wish to be the first, when they ought to humble themselves; they will be irritated by contradictions and will have no scruple in sowing disturbance and discord. Among true Spiritists, on the contrary, there reigns a sentiment of confidence and of reciprocal benevolence; they feel at ease in this sympathetic environment, whereas there is constraint and anxiety in a heterogeneous environment.

— This is part of the nature of things and we invent nothing in this regard. Does it follow from this that, in the formation of groups, one ought to demand perfection? It would be simply absurd, because it would be to demand the impossible and, on this point, no one could pretend to be part of it. Having as its object the improvement of men, Spiritism does not come to recruit those who are perfect, but those who strive to be so, putting into practice the teaching of the Spirits. The true Spiritist is not the one who has reached the goal, but the one who seriously desires to attain it. Whatever his antecedents may be, he will be a good Spiritist provided that he recognizes his imperfections and is sincere and persevering in the purpose of amending himself. For him Spiritism is a true regeneration, because it breaks with the past; indulgent toward others, as he would wish them to be toward himself, from his mouth there will come no malevolent or offensive word against anyone. He who, in a gathering, departed from propriety, would prove not only a lack of civility and of urbanity, but a lack of charity; he who took offense at contradiction and pretended to impose his person or his ideas, would give proof of pride. Now, neither the one nor the other would be on the path of true Christian Spiritism. He who thinks he has a more just opinion will make others accept it better through persuasion and gentleness; bitterness, on his part, would be a very bad business.

— Simple logic demonstrates, then, to whoever knows the laws of Spiritism, which are the best elements for the composition of truly serious groups [no. 10], and we do not hesitate to say that they are the ones who exert the greatest influence on the propagation of the doctrine. By the consideration they require, by the example they give of its moral consequences, they prove its gravity and impose silence on the mockery which, when it attacks the good, is more than ridiculous, because it is odious. But what would you have an unbelieving critic think, when he attends experiments whose participants are the first to amuse themselves with them? He leaves there a little more incredulous than he entered.

— We have just indicated the best composition of the groups. But perfection is no more possible in groups than in individuals. We indicate the objectives and say that the closer we approach them, the more satisfactory the results will be. Sometimes we let ourselves be dominated by circumstances, but it is in the elimination of obstacles that we must concentrate all our care. Unfortunately, when we create a group, we are very little rigorous in the choice, because, before all else, we wish to form a nucleus. To be admitted to it, most of the time a simple desire or some adhesion to the most general ideas of Spiritism suffices. Only later do we perceive that we have made admission too easy.

— In a group there are always stable and floating elements. The first is composed of assiduous persons, who form the base; the second, of those who are admitted temporarily and accidentally. It is essential to pay scrupulous attention to what concerns the composition of the stable element; in this case, one must not hesitate to sacrifice quantity for quality, because it is this that gives impulse and serves as regulator. The floating element is less important, because one is always free to modify it at will. One must not lose sight of the fact that Spiritist gatherings, like, moreover, all gatherings in general, draw the forces of their vitality from the base on which they rest; in this particular, everything depends on the point of departure. He who has the intention of organizing a group in good conditions ought, before all else, to assure himself of the concurrence of a few sincere adherents, who take the doctrine seriously and whose character, conciliatory and benevolent, is known. Once this nucleus is formed, even if of three or four persons, precise rules will be established, whether for admissions, or for the holding of sessions and for the order of the work, rules to which the newcomers will have to conform. These rules may undergo modifications according to circumstances, but there are some which are essential.

— Unity of principles being one of the important points, it cannot exist in those who, not having studied, cannot have a formed opinion. Thus, the first condition to impose, in case we do not wish to be interrupted at every instant by objections or idle questions, is prior study. The second is a categorical profession of faith and a formal adhesion to the doctrine of The Spirits' Book, besides other special conditions judged suitable. This as regards the titular and directing members. For the attendees, who generally come to acquire a little more knowledge and conviction, one may be less rigorous; nevertheless, as there are those who could cause disturbance with inappropriate observations, it is important to assure oneself of their dispositions. It is necessary, above all and without exception, to keep away the curious and whoever is attracted by a frivolous motive.

— The order and the regularity of the work are equally essential things.

We consider it of great utility to open each session with the reading of a few passages of The Mediums' Book and of The Spirits' Book.

[Today the GOSPEL, which at the time had not yet been published, composes with the other two]. By this means, one will always have present in memory the principles of the science and the means of avoiding the reefs encountered at every step in practice. Thus, attention will be fixed upon a number of points, which often escape one in a private reading and will be able to give occasion to comments and instructive discussions, in which the Spirits themselves may take part.

No less important is to gather and copy out fair all the communications obtained, in order of dates, with the indication of the medium who served as intermediary. This last mention is useful for the study of the kind of faculty of each one. But it often happens that one loses sight of these communications, which thus become a dead letter; this discourages the Spirits who had given them, with a view to the instruction of the attendees. It is necessary, then, to make a special collection of the most instructive ones and to proceed to their rereading from time to time. Frequently these communications are of general interest and are not given by the Spirits merely for the instruction of a few or to be relegated to the archives. Thus, it is useful that, for publicity, they be brought to the knowledge of all. We shall examine this question in an article we shall publish in our next number [see Publicity of Spiritist Communications], indicating the simplest, most economical and, at the same time, most appropriate manner of attaining the objective.

— As one sees, our instructions are destined exclusively for groups formed of serious and homogeneous elements; for those who wish to follow the route of moral Spiritism, aiming at the progress of each one, the essential and sole end of the doctrine; in short, for those who wish to accept us as guide and take into account the counsels of our experience. It is incontestable that a group formed under the conditions we indicate will function with regularity, without hindrances and in a profitable manner. What one group can do, others can also do. Let us suppose, then, in a city, any number of groups, constituted on the same bases; there will necessarily be among them unity of principles, since they follow the same banner; sympathetic union, since they have for maxim love and charity. In a word, they are the members of a single family, among whom there would be no competition, nor rivalry of self-love, since all are animated by the same sentiments for the good.

— Meanwhile, it would be useful for there to be among them a point of connection, a center of action. According to the circumstances and localities, the various groups, setting aside every personal question, could designate for such purpose the one who, by his position and relative importance, would be most apt to give Spiritism a salutary impulse. If necessary, and if it were needful to deal with susceptibilities, a central group, formed by the delegates of all the groups, would take the name of directing group. In the impossibility of corresponding with all, with this one we would have more direct relations. In certain cases we could also designate a person, charged more especially with representing us.

Without prejudice to the relations which, by the force of things, will be established among the groups of a single city that walk by an identical path, an annual general assembly could gather the Spiritists of the various groups in a family festival, which would be, at the same time, the festival of Spiritism. Discourses would be pronounced and the most notable communications, or those appropriate to the circumstance, would be read.

What is possible among the groups of a single city is equally so among the directing groups of various cities, provided that, among them, there is communion of views and of sentiments, that is, provided that they can establish reciprocal relations. We shall indicate the means for this when we speak of the manner of publicity.

— As one sees, all this is of very simple execution and without bureaucracy; but everything depends on the point of departure, that is, on the composition of the primitive groups. If formed of good elements, they will be so many good roots that will give good fruit. If, on the contrary, they are formed of heterogeneous and antipathetic elements, of doubtful Spiritists, more preoccupied with the form than with the substance, who consider morality as an accessory and secondary part, one must expect irritating polemics, which lead to nothing, personal pretensions, frictions of susceptibilities and, in consequence, conflicts that are the precursors of disorganization. Among true Spiritists, such as we have defined them, who see the essential object of Spiritism in morality, which is the same for all, there will always be abnegation of personality, condescension and benevolence and, consequently, security and stability in the relations. This is why we have insisted so much on the fundamental qualities.

— Perhaps it will be said that these severe restrictions are an obstacle to propagation. This is a mistake. Do not imagine that, by opening the door to the first who came along, you would be making more proselytes; experience is there to prove the contrary. You would be assailed by the multitude of the curious and the indifferent, who would come there as to a spectacle. Now, the curious and the indifferent are a hindrance, and not auxiliaries. As for the unbelievers, whether by system, or by pride, however much you show it to them, they will treat it only with mockery, because they will not understand it and do not wish to take the trouble to understand. We have already said it, and we would never repeat it too much: the true propagation, that which is useful and profitable, is made by the moral ascendancy of the serious gatherings. If there were only these, the Spiritists would be even more numerous than they are, because, it must be recognized, many were turned away from the doctrine because they attended only futile gatherings, without order and without gravity. Be, then, serious, in every acceptation of the word, and serious persons will come to you: they are the best propagators, because they speak with conviction and preach as much by example as by word.

— From the essentially serious character of the gatherings one must not infer that physical manifestations should be systematically proscribed. As we said in The Mediums' Book (no. 326), they are of incontestable utility, from the point of view of the study of phenomena and for the conviction of certain persons; but, in order to be able to draw profit from this double point of view, one must exclude every frivolous thought. A gathering that possessed a good medium of physical effects and that occupied itself with this kind of manifestation with order, method and gravity, whose moral condition offered every guarantee against charlatanism and fraud, could not only obtain notable things, from the phenomenal point of view, but would produce much good. Thus, we advise not to disdain this kind of experimentation, in case one has suitable mediums available, organizing, for this effect, special sessions, independent of those directed toward moral and philosophical communications. Powerful mediums of this category are rare; but there are phenomena which, notwithstanding their commonness, are no less interesting and conclusive, because they prove, in an irrefutable manner, the independence of the medium. Of this number are the communications by alphabetical typtology which, often, gives the most unexpected results. The theory of these phenomena is necessary to explain the manner in which they operate, for it is rare that they lead to a profound conviction those who do not understand them. It has, besides, the advantage of making known the normal conditions under which they can be produced and, consequently, of avoiding useless attempts and permitting the discovery of fraud, should this insinuate itself in any part. They were mistaken in imagining that we were systematically opposed to physical manifestations; we have advocated and shall always advocate the intelligent communications, above all those which have moral and philosophical scope, because only they tend toward the essential and definitive object of Spiritism; as for the others, we have never contested their utility, but we rise up against the deplorable abuse that is made, or can be made, of them, against the exploitation made by charlatanism, against the bad conditions under which they are frequently carried out, and which lend themselves to ridicule; we have said and we repeat that physical manifestations are the beginning of the science, and that one does not advance by remaining at the ABC; that, if Spiritism had not emerged from the turning tables, it would not have grown as it grows and perhaps today it would no longer even be spoken of. This is why we strove to make it enter into the philosophical path, certain that, addressing itself more to the intelligence than to the eyes, it would touch the heart and would not be a caprice of fashion. It is on this sole condition that it could make the tour of the world and implant itself as a doctrine. Now, the result has surpassed, and by much, our expectation. We attribute to physical manifestations only a relative importance, and not an absolute one. In the optic of certain persons, there is our error, inasmuch as they make of it an exclusive occupation and see nothing else. If we do not personally occupy ourselves with the phenomena it is because they would teach us nothing new and we have more essential things to do. On the contrary, far from censuring those who occupy themselves with them, we encourage them, provided they do so under truly profitable conditions. Whenever we know of gatherings of this kind, deserving of all our confidence, we shall be the first to recommend them to the attention of the new adherents. Such is, on the subject, our categorical profession of faith.

— We said at the beginning that various Spiritist circles asked to unite with the Society of Paris; they even used the word to affiliate. In this regard, an explanation is necessary.

The Society of Paris was the first to be regularized and legally constituted. By its position and by the nature of its work, it had a great part in the development of Spiritism and, in our opinion, justifies the title of Initiating Society, which certain Spirits gave it. Its moral influence made itself felt far off and, although restricted, numerically speaking, it has the consciousness of having done more for the propaganda than if it had opened its doors to the public. It formed itself with the sole object of studying and deepening the Spiritist science. For this it needs neither a numerous audience, nor many members, for it knows very well that the true propaganda is made by the influence of the principles; as it is moved by no material interest, a numerical surplus would be more harmful than useful to it. Thus, it will see with pleasure private gatherings multiply around it, formed in good conditions, and with which it could establish relations of confraternity. It would be neither consistent with its principles, nor equal to its mission, if it could conceive the shadow of envy; whoever judged it capable of this would prove that he does not know it. These observations are sufficient to show that the Society of Paris could not have the pretension of absorbing the other Societies that might form, in Paris or elsewhere, by the same usual procedures. The word affiliation would be, then, improper, because it would suppose on its part a kind of material supremacy, to which it absolutely does not aspire, and which would even have drawbacks. As an initiating and central Society, it can establish with the other groups or societies relations that are purely scientific, its role being limited there; it exerts no control over those societies, which in no way depend on it and remain entirely free to constitute themselves as they see fit, without having to render accounts to anyone, and without the Society of Paris having to meddle in any of their affairs. Thus, the foreign societies may form themselves on the same bases, declare that they adopt the same principles, without depending on that of Paris except through the concentration of the studies, of the counsels they may ask of it and that it will have pleasure in giving. Moreover, the Society of Paris does not pride itself on being, more than the others, sheltered from the vicissitudes. If, so to speak, it held them in its hands and if, by some cause, it ceased to exist, the lack of a point of support would result in disturbance. The groups or societies should seek a point of support more solid than in a human institution, fragile by nature; they should draw their vitality from the principles of the doctrine, which are the same for all and which survive all of them, whether or not these principles are represented by a constituted society.

— The role of the Society of Paris being clearly defined, in order to avoid any mistake or false interpretation, the relations it may come to establish with the foreign societies become extremely simplified; they are limited to moral, scientific relations and of mutual benevolence, without any subjection; they will exchange the result of their observations, whether through publications, or through correspondence. In order for the Society of Paris to be able to establish these relations it is necessary, of necessity, that it be designated by the foreign societies, which will walk on the same path and adopt the same banner; it will inscribe them on the list of its correspondents. If there are several groups in a city, they will be represented by the central group, of which we spoke in paragraph 18.

— We shall now indicate some works to which the various societies could concur in a profitable manner. Later we shall indicate others.

It is known that the Spirits, not all possessing sovereign knowledge, may consider certain principles from their personal point of view and, consequently, will not always be in agreement. The best criterion of truth lies naturally in the concordance of the principles taught on various points, by different Spirits and by means of mediums strangers to one another. In this manner was composed The Spirits' Book. But there still remain many important questions to be resolved in this way, whose solution will have more authority when obtained by a great majority. Thus, the Society of Paris will be able to address, occasionally, questions of this nature to all the corresponding groups which, through their mediums, will ask the solution of their spiritual guides.

Another work consists in bibliographical researches. There exists a great number of ancient and modern works, in which one finds testimonies more or less direct in favor of the Spiritist ideas. A collection of these testimonies would be very precious, but it is almost impossible for it to be made by a single person. It becomes easy, on the contrary, if each one gathers a few elements in his readings and studies and transmits them to the Society of Paris, which will coordinate them.

— In the present state of things this is the only possible organization of Spiritism. Later the circumstances may modify it, but nothing should be done untimely; it is already much that in so short a time the adherents have multiplied to reach this result. There is in this simple disposition a panorama that can extend to infinity, through the simple disposition of the gears. Let us not, then, seek to complicate them, fearing to encounter obstacles. Those who wish to testify to us their confidence may be certain that we shall not leave them in the rear and that everything will come in its time. Only to them, as we said, do we address ourselves in these instructions, without the pretension of imposing ourselves on those who do not walk with us.

It has been said, out of pure malice, that we wished to make a school in Spiritism. And why would we not have that right? Did not Mr. de Mirville attempt to found a demoniacal school? [see the article: Scarcity of Mediums.] Why should we be obliged to follow in the wake of this one or that one? Have we not the right to have an opinion, to formulate it, publish it and proclaim it? If it finds so numerous adherents it is that, apparently, they do not judge it devoid of common sense. But in the eyes of certain people there is our error, for they do not pardon us for having arrived before them and, above all, for having triumphed. Let it be, then, a school, since they wish it so. For us it will be a glory to inscribe on the frontispiece: School of Moral, Philosophical and Christian Spiritism; and to it we invite all those who have for device love and charity. To those who adhere to this banner, all our sympathies; our concurrence will never be lacking.

Allan Kardec.

[1] Translator's Note: Was this pamphlet really published? At least it does not appear in the list of Spiritist works by Allan Kardec, set out in chapter I, volume III (pages 15 to 20), of the bibliographical research of Zêus Wantuil and Francisco Thiesen. (ALLAN KARDEC, 2nd ed. Rio [de Janeiro]: FEB. 1982).