Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies.

— Gentlemen and dear colleagues, The Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies began its fifth year on April 1, 1862, and, we must admit, it never did so under better auspices. This fact is important not merely from our personal point of view, but is characteristic above all from the point of view of the doctrine in general, for it proves, in an evident manner, the intervention of our spiritual guides. It would be superfluous to recall the modest origin of the Society [see the Review of May 1858 and July 1859,] as well as the circumstances, in a certain way providential, of its constitution, circumstances to which an eminent Spirit, then in power and later withdrawn to the world of the Spirits, told us that he himself had powerfully contributed. [see A superior officer killed at Magenta.]

You will recall, gentlemen, that the Society had its vicissitudes; it had within its bosom elements of dissolution, stemming from the time when people were recruited too easily, and its existence even came, on a certain occasion, to be compromised. At that moment I called into question its real usefulness, not as a mere gathering, but as a constituted society. Wearied by adversities, I was resolved to withdraw; I hoped that, once free of the obstacles sown in my path, I would work better on the great undertaking begun. I was dissuaded from my intent by numerous spontaneous communications, given to me from different places. Among others, there is one whose substance now seems useful for me to make known to you, because events justified the predictions. It was conceived thus:

“The Society formed by us with your concurrence is necessary; we want it to subsist and it will subsist, notwithstanding the ill will of some, as you will recognize later on. When an evil exists, it is not cured without a crisis. So it is from the small to the great: in the individual as in societies; in societies as in peoples; in peoples as it will be in Humanity. We say that our Society is necessary. When it ceases to be so in its present form, it will be transformed, like all things. As for you, you can neither nor should withdraw. However, we do not intend to subjugate your free will; we only say that your withdrawal would be an error that one day you would regret, because it would hinder our designs…”

Since then, two years have passed and, as you see, the Society has fortunately overcome that passing crisis, all of whose vicissitudes were pointed out to me, and one of whose results was to give us a lesson of experience, which we turned to account, besides provoking measures that we can only applaud. Disencumbered of the preoccupations inherent in its former state, the Society was able to pursue its studies freely; its progress was also rapid and it grew visibly, I will not say numerically, although it is more numerous than ever, but in importance. Eighty-seven members, participating in the annual dues, figured on the list of the year that has ended, not counting the honorary and corresponding members. It would have been easy for it to double, and even triple, that number, had it aimed at revenue; it would have sufficed to surround admissions with fewer difficulties. Now, far from diminishing those difficulties, it increased them, because, being a Society of studies, it did not wish to depart from the principles of its institution and because it never made an issue of material interests. Not seeking to hoard, it was indifferent to it whether it was a little more, or a little less numerous. Its preponderance does not derive at all from the number of its members; it lies in the ideas it studies, that it elaborates and disseminates; it does not engage in active propaganda; it has neither agents nor emissaries; it asks no one to come to it and, what may seem extraordinary, it is to that very reserve that it owes its influence. In this regard, here is its reasoning: If the Spiritist ideas were false they would not take root, for every false idea has but a passing existence; but, if they are true, they will prevail in spite of everything, through conviction; to impose them would be the worst means of propagating them, because every imposed idea is suspect and betrays its weakness. True ideas must be accepted by reason and by good sense; where they do not germinate it is because the season is not yet propitious; one must wait and limit oneself to casting the seed to the wind, for, sooner or later, some will fall on less arid ground. The number of the Society's members is thus a very secondary question; because today, less than ever, it could not have the pretension of absorbing all the adherents; its objective, through conscientious studies, made without prejudices and without partisanship, is to elucidate the various parts of the Spiritist science, to research the causes of the phenomena and to gather all the observations, capable of clarifying the problem so important, so throbbing with interest, of the state of the invisible world, of its action upon the visible world and of the innumerable consequences that result therefrom for Humanity. By its position and by the multiplicity of its relations, it finds itself in the most favorable conditions to observe well and amply. Its end is, then, essentially moral and philosophical; but what, above all, has given credit to its works is the calm, the gravity that it applies to them; it is that there everything is discussed coldly, without passion, as people who in good faith seek to enlighten themselves ought to do; it is because they know that it occupies itself only with serious things; it is, finally, the impression that the numerous foreigners, often coming from distant countries, carried away of the order and dignity of the sessions they attended.

— Thus, the line it has followed bears its fruits. The principles it professes, based on conscientious observations, today serve as a rule to the immense majority of Spiritists. You have seen fall, successively, the majority of the systems that arose in the beginning, and only a few still retain rare partisans. This is incontestable. Which, then, are the ideas that grow and which are the ones that decline? It is a question of fact. The doctrine of reincarnation was the most controverted of the principles and its adversaries spared nothing to open a breach, not even insults and coarseness, the supreme argument of those who lack good reasons. It did not for all that cease to make its way, because it rests on an inflexible logic; because without this lever we are confronted with insurmountable difficulties; finally, because nothing more rational was found to replace it.

— There is, however, a system that, more than ever, is taking hold today: the diabolical system. In the impossibility of denying the manifestations, a party claims to prove that they are the exclusive work of the devil. The obstinacy with which they defend such an idea reveals that they are not very convinced of being right, whereas the Spiritists are not at all disturbed by that show of forces, letting them spend themselves. At this moment it attacks on all flanks: discourses, little brochures, thick volumes, newspaper articles. It is a general attack to demonstrate what? That those facts, which in our opinion bear witness to the power and the goodness of God, would attest, on the contrary, to the power of the devil; thus, it is deduced that the devil is more powerful than God, since he alone can manifest himself. Attributing to the devil all that is good in the communications, they take away the good from God to pay homage to the demon. We judge ourselves more respectful toward the Divinity. Besides, as we have already said, the Spiritists are little disturbed by this uproar, which will have the effect of destroying, a little sooner, the prestige of Satan.

— Without the employment of material means, and although restricted numerically by its own will, the Society of Paris did not fail to carry out a considerable propaganda through the force of example; the proof of this is the incalculable number of Spiritist groups that are formed by the same processes, that is, in accordance with the principles it professes; it is the number of regular societies that are organized and want to place themselves under its patronage, existing in several cities of France and abroad, in Algeria, in Italy, in Austria, in Mexico, etc. What did we do for this? Did we go in search of them? Did we solicit? Did we send emissaries, agents? Absolutely not; our agents are the works. The Spiritist ideas spread in a locality; at first they scarcely echo there; then, little by little, they gain ground; the adherents feel the need to gather, less to make experiments than to converse about a subject that interests them. Hence the thousands of private groups, which may be called familial. Of these, some acquire greater numerical importance. They ask us for counsel and, thus, imperceptibly there forms that network, which has already planted markers at every point of the globe.

— Naturally, gentlemen, there is fitting here a very important observation on the nature of the relations that exist between the Society of Paris and the gatherings or societies founded under its auspices, and which it would be an error to regard as branches. The Society of Paris has, over those, no other authority than that of experience; but, as I have already said on another occasion, it does not meddle in their affairs; its role limits itself to official counsels, when solicited. The bond that unites them is, then, purely moral, founded on sympathy and on the similitude of ideas; between them there is no affiliation, no material solidarity; the only watchword is the one that ought to unite all men: charity and love of neighbor, a peaceful watchword that leaves no room for doubts.

— The greater part of the Society's members reside in Paris; however, it counts some who reside in the provinces or abroad and, although they attend only exceptionally, some have never come to Paris since its foundation, but have the honor of belonging to its ranks. Besides the members properly speaking, it has correspondents, but their relations are purely scientific; they only aim to keep it abreast of the Spiritist movement in the various localities and furnish me with documents for the history of the establishment of Spiritism, whose materials I am gathering. Among the adherents, there are some who distinguish themselves by their zeal, by their abnegation and by their devotion to the cause of Spiritism; who pay personally, not in words, but in deeds. The Society feels happy to give them a particular testimony of sympathy, conferring upon them the title of honorary members.

— In the last two years the Society has grown in reputation and in importance; but its progress is marked by the nature of the communications it receives from the Spirits. Indeed, for some time now, its communications have acquired proportions and developments that have far surpassed our expectation; they are no longer, as formerly, brief fragments of banal morality, but dissertations, in which the highest questions of philosophy are treated with an amplitude and a depth that make of them true discourses. This is what the majority of the Review's readers have observed.

— I feel happy to report another progress, with respect to the mediums. Never, at any other time, have we seen so many of them, participating in our works, for we have come to have fourteen communications in the same session. Nevertheless, more precious than the quantity, is the quality, whose importance may be judged by the instructions that are given to us. Not everyone appreciates mediumship from the same point of view. Some evaluate it by the effect; for these, the swift mediums are the most notable and the best. For us, who, before all else, seek instruction, we give more value to that which satisfies the thought than to that which contents the eyes. Thus, we prefer a useful medium, with whom we learn something, to an admirable medium, with whom we learn nothing. From this point of view we have no reason to lament and we ought to thank the Spirits for having fulfilled the promise they made, not to leave us unprovided. Wishing to enlarge the circle of their teachings, they also had to multiply the instruments.

— There is, however, a point still more important, without which such teaching would have produced only a few fruits, or none. We know that the Spirits are far from possessing sovereign science and that they can be mistaken; that, many times, they emit their own ideas, correct or false; that the superior Spirits want our judgment to perfect itself in discerning the true from the false, that which is rational from that which is illogical. This is why we never accept anything whatsoever with closed eyes. Hence, there could be no profitable teaching without discussion. But how to discuss communications with mediums who do not admit the slightest controversy, who take offense at a critical observation, at a mere comment, and become vexed when they are not applauded for the things they receive, even those riddled with the coarsest scientific heresies? This pretension would have no place if what they write were the product of their intelligence; it is ridiculous, since they are no more than passive instruments, for they resemble an actor who would feel hurt should we find bad the verses he must recite. As his own spirit is not liable to be wounded by a criticism that does not reach it, it is, consequently, the communicating Spirit who feels offended and transmits to the medium his impression. By this very fact the Spirit betrays his influence, because he wants to impose his ideas through blind faith, and not through reasoning; or, what amounts to the same thing, because he alone wishes to reason. From this it results that the medium, who finds himself in such dispositions, is under the dominion of a Spirit who merits little confidence, since he exhibits more pride than knowledge. We know, too, that the Spirits of this category generally turn the mediums away from the centers where they are not accepted without reservations. This imperfection, in mediums thus affected, is an enormous obstacle to study. If we sought only the effect, this would have no importance for us; but as we seek instruction, we cannot exempt ourselves from discussing, even at the risk of displeasing the mediums. As you know, formerly some withdrew for this motive, though unconfessed, and because they did not succeed in imposing themselves before the Society as exclusive mediums and as infallible interpreters of the celestial powers. In their eyes, the obsessed are those who do not bow before their communications. Some carry their susceptibility to the point of being scandalized by the priority given to the reading of the communications received by other mediums. When is it that a communication is preferred to theirs? One understands the malaise imposed by such a situation. Fortunately, in the interest of the Spiritist science, not all are thus and I hasten to take advantage of the occasion to, in the name of the Society, thank those who today render us their concurrence with such zeal and devotion, without calculating effort or time and who, not taking sides for their communications, are the first not to flee from the controversy they may provoke.

— In sum, gentlemen, we can only congratulate ourselves on the state of the Society, from the moral point of view; there is no one who has not observed a notable difference in the dominant spirit, in comparison to what it was in the beginning, and each one instinctively feels the impression, translated in many circumstances by positive facts. It is incontestable that there reigns there less malaise and constraint, while a sentiment of mutual benevolence makes itself felt. It seems that the bungling Spirits, seeing their impotence to sow distrust, took the wise course of withdrawing. We can also only applaud the happy idea of several members, to organize private gatherings in their homes. They have the advantage of establishing more intimate relations; moreover, they are centers for a number of people who cannot come to the Society. There they can have a first initiation; they can make numerous observations that, afterward, converge upon the common center. Finally, they are laboratories for the formation of mediums. I thank most sincerely the people who honored me by offering me their direction, but this was materially impossible for me. I even much regret not being able to be there as much as I would wish. You know my opinion regarding the private groups; thus, I make wishes for their multiplication, in the Society or outside it, in Paris or elsewhere, because they are the most active agents of the propaganda.

— From the material point of view, our treasurer has explained to you the Society's situation. You know perfectly well, gentlemen, that our budget is very simple; as we do not seek to capitalize, it suffices that there be equilibrium between the assets and the liabilities.

Let us ask, then, the good Spirits and, in particular, our spiritual president, Saint Louis, to continue to render us their benevolent protection, granted so ostensibly until today and of which we shall strive more and more to make ourselves worthy.

It remains for me, gentlemen, to call your attention to an important matter. I wish to speak of the employment of the ten thousand francs that were sent to me about two years ago by a subscriber of the Spiritist Review, who wished to keep his anonymity. You certainly recall that this donation, to be employed in the interest of Spiritism, was delivered to me personally, without special formalities, without a receipt and without my having to render accounts to anyone whatsoever.

Communicating this happy circumstance to the Society, I declared, at the session of February 17, 1860, that I did not intend to avail myself of that proof of confidence and that, for my own satisfaction, I desired that that fund be submitted to a control. And I added: “This sum will form the first fund of a special fund, under the name of the Fund of Spiritism [see Report of the Fund of Spiritism.] and which will have nothing in common with my personal affairs. It will be subsequently increased with the sums that may reach it from other sources and destined exclusively to the needs of the doctrine and to the development of the Spiritist ideas. One of my first cares will be to supply what is materially lacking to the Society for the regularity of its works, and for the creation of a special library [see Publicity of the Spiritist communications]. I have asked several colleagues to accept the control of this fund and to verify, on dates that will be determined subsequently, the useful employment of this fund.” This commission, today partially undone by circumstances, will be completed when it is necessary; then, all the documents will be furnished to it. While we await this, and in view of the absolute liberty that was granted to me, I judged it convenient to apply this sum to the development of the Society. It is to you, gentlemen, that I judge I ought to render accounts of the situation, both to discharge myself personally, and for your edification.

I insist, above all, that it be well understood the material impossibility of using this fund on expenses whose urgency makes itself felt more and more, by reason of the very extent of the works that Spiritism demands.

— As you know, gentlemen, the Society keenly felt the inconveniences of not having a special place for the sessions and where its archives could be at hand. For works such as ours one needs, so to speak, a consecrated place, where nothing can disturb the recollection. Each one deplored the necessity in which we found ourselves of gathering in a public establishment, in disharmony with the seriousness of our studies. In this way, I judged I was doing a useful thing, providing it with the means of having a more convenient place at its disposal, with the help of the funds I had received.

On the other hand, the progress of Spiritism brings to my house an ever greater number of visitors, national and foreign, a number that may be reckoned at twelve hundred to fifteen hundred per year, it being preferable to receive them at the very seat of the Society, concentrating in it all the affairs and all the documents relating to Spiritism.

As for myself, I will add that, consecrating myself entirely to the doctrine, it became in a certain way necessary, in order to avoid loss of time, that I should have there my domicile or, at least, a lodging. For me personally there was not the slightest necessity, for I have at home an apartment that costs me nothing, more agreeable in every respect, and where I dwell as much as my occupations permit me. A second apartment would have been a useless and onerous expense. Thus, without Spiritism, I would be tranquilly at home, on Avenue Ségur, and not here, obliged to work from morning to night and, many times, from night to morning, without even being able to rest a little, which would be quite necessary for me. You know that I am alone to carry out a task whose extent people scarcely imagine, and which necessarily increases with the development of the doctrine.

— This apartment unites the desirable advantages by its internal arrangements and its central situation. Without having anything sumptuous, it is very convenient; but the Society's resources being insufficient to pay the rent in full, I found myself forced to complete it with the funds of the donation. Without this the Society would have to remain in the precarious, cramped and uncomfortable situation in which it formerly found itself. Thanks to this supplement, it was possible to imprint upon its works developments promptly welcomed by public opinion, in a manner advantageous and profitable for the doctrine. It is, then, the past employment and the future destination of the funds of the donation that I judge I ought to communicate to you.

The rent of the apartment costs 2,500 francs per year and, with the accessories, 2,530 francs. The contributions amount to 198 francs, totaling 2,728 francs. The Society pays for its part 1,200 francs; there remains, then, to complete, a difference of 1,528 francs.

The contract was made for three years, six or nine, counting from April 1, 1860. Calculating it for only six years at 1,528 francs, we have 9,168 francs, to which we must add 900 francs for the purchase of furniture and installation expenses; for donations and various assistance, 80 francs. Total of the expenses: 10,148 francs, without counting the unforeseen, to be paid with the capital of 10,000 francs.

Therefore, at the end of the contract, that is, four years from now, there will be an excess of expense. You see, gentlemen, that we cannot divert the smallest sum, if we wish to reach the end. What shall we do, then? That which God and the good Spirits wish, and let me not be disturbed, as the latter told me.

I wish to stress that the amount destined to the purchase of the material and to the installation expenses does not exceed 900 francs, a sum that I spent strictly from the capital. If we had had to acquire all the furniture existing here – I refer only to the reception pieces – there would have been need of three or four times more and, then, the Society, instead of six years of contract, would have only three years of rent. It is, then, my personal furniture that constitutes the greater part and that, owing to use, is wearing out severely.

In sum, this sum of 10,000 francs, which some judged inexhaustible, finds itself almost entirely absorbed by the rent which, before all else, it was important to guarantee for a certain time, without it having been possible to divert a part for other ends, principally for the purchase of ancient and modern works, French and foreign, necessary for the formation of a great Spiritist library, as was my project. This single objective would not have cost less than 3,000 to 4,000 francs.

From this it results that, except for the rent, all the expenses, such as travels and a number of outlays necessary to Spiritism, and which come to no less than 2,000 francs per year, are personally in my charge, a sum that is by no means unimportant in a restricted budget, which is balanced only at the cost of order, economy and even of privations.

Do not believe, gentlemen, that I wish to win merits; in acting thus, I know that I serve a cause, beside which material life is nothing and for which I am ready to sacrifice mine. Perhaps one day I shall have imitators; besides, I am well recompensed by the sight of the results obtained. I lament only one thing: the smallness of my resources does not permit me to do more. With sufficient means of execution, well employed, with order and on things truly useful, we would advance half a century in the definitive establishment of the doctrine.