Persecutions.

— Considering that mockery has worn itself out against the armor of Spiritism, and serving more to spread it than to discredit it, its enemies are trying another means which, we foretell, will not yield better results and will probably make even more proselytes; this means is persecution. We say it will do more for a very simple reason: it is that, in taking Spiritism seriously, its importance grows extraordinarily. And besides, the more a cause makes us suffer, the more we cling to it. No doubt people will recall the beautiful communications given about the martyrs of Spiritism, which we published in the Review of last April. This phase was announced by the Spirits long ago. They said:

“When they see the impotence of the weapon of ridicule, they will try that of persecution; there will no longer be bloody martyrs, but many will suffer in their interests and in their affections; they will seek to disunite families, to reduce the adepts to hunger, to harass them with pinpricks, sometimes more painful than death. But there too they will find strong and devoted souls, who will know how to face the miseries of this world, in view of a better future. Remember the words of the divine Savior: “Blessed are the afflicted, for they shall be comforted.” Be reassured: the era of persecution, which you will soon enter, will be of short duration, and your enemies will reap only shame, for the weapons they employ against you will turn against them.”

— The foretold era has begun. From various quarters lamentable acts are revealed to us, committed by the ministers of a God of peace and charity. We will not speak of the violences done to conscience, expelling from the Church those whom Spiritism leads to it. As this means yielded more or less negative results, they sought others more effective. We could cite localities where persons who live by their work were threatened with having their resources cut off; others, where the adepts were singled out for public execration, being persecuted by street urchins; others where they expel from the schools the children whose parents devote themselves to Spiritism; another, where a poor teacher was dismissed and reduced to misery, because he had The Spirits’ Book in his house. From this last one we received a moving prayer in verse, imbued with the noblest sentiments and the most sincere piety. Let us add that a benevolent Spiritist extended a charitable hand to him; let us add also that, in such circumstances, he was the victim of an infamous betrayal, on the part of a man in whom he had confided and who had seemed enthusiastic about that book. In a small town where Spiritism counts numerous partisans, a missionary said from the pulpit, during the last Lent: “I hope that in the audience there are only good faithful, and that there are no Jews, nor Protestants, nor Spiritists.” It seems he trusted very little in his own word, to convert those who had come to hear him with the aim of enlightening themselves. In a commune, near Bordeaux, they wished to prevent more than five Spiritists from gathering, under the pretext that the law was opposed to it, obliging a higher authority to restore legality. From this small vexation it resulted that today three quarters of that commune are Spiritists. In the Department of Tarn-et-Garonne the Spiritists of various localities wished to gather and were accused of conspiracy against the government. That ridiculous accusation fell very quickly, as it had to, and provoked laughter.

— On the other hand we were told that a magistrate had said: “Ah, would that everyone were a Spiritist! Our courts would have less to do and public order would have nothing to fear.” He thus expressed a great and profound truth, since one is already beginning to perceive the moralizing influence that Spiritism exercises over the masses. Is it not a marvelous result to see men, under the influence of this belief, renounce drunkenness, habits of libertinage, degrading excesses, and suicide? Violent men become quiet, affable, peaceful, and good fathers of families? Men who blasphemed the name of God praying fervently and approaching the altars piously? And it is precisely such men that you expel from the Church! Ah! pray to God that, should He still reserve days of trial for Humanity, there may be many Spiritists, for these have learned to forgive their enemies and consider it the first duty of the Christian to extend a hand to them in the moment of danger, instead of treading on their neck.

— A bookseller from the Charente wrote us the following:

“I did not fear to announce my Spiritist opinions openly; I set aside worldly pettiness, without worrying whether what I did would or would not harm my business. However, I was far from expecting what happened to me. If the harm had been limited to a few annoyances, it would be little. But, ah! thanks to those who understand religion poorly, I became the black sheep of the flock, the plague of the neighborhood; I am pointed out as the precursor of the antichrist. They used every influence, even calumny, to bring me down, to drive away my customers, in a word, to ruin me. Ah! the Spirits speak to us of persecutions, of martyrs of Spiritism. I do not pride myself on it, but surely I am among the victims. It is true that my family suffers from it; I have, however, the consolation of a wife who shares my Spiritist ideas. I am eager for my children to be of an age to understand this beautiful doctrine; I make a point of enlightening them in this beautiful belief. May God preserve for me the possibility – whatever they do to take it from me – of instructing them and preparing them so that they, in turn, may struggle, if need be. The facts you related in your May review have a striking analogy with what happened to me. Like the author of the letter, I was mercilessly repelled from the confessional; above all the vicar wanted me to renounce my Spiritist ideas; because of that imprudence, he will never see me at the religious ceremonies. If I commit a wrong, I leave the responsibility to its author.”

— We extract the following passages from a letter that was sent to us from a village of the Vosges. Although we are authorized to reveal the name of the author and the locality, we will not do so for reasons of propriety, which everyone will understand; but we have the letter in hand to use it as we see best. The same applies to all the facts we present and which, according to their greater or lesser importance, will later form part of the history of the establishment of Spiritism.

“I am not very well versed in literature to treat worthily the subject with which I am occupied. Nevertheless, I will try to make myself understood, provided you overlook the imperfection of style and composition, because for months I have ardently longed to correspond with you, ever since my son sent me the precious books of instruction of the Spiritist Doctrine and of the mediums.

“In the early evening, returning from the field, I caught sight of the books the postman had brought. I hastened to dine and go to bed, keeping a candle lit at the bedside, thinking to read until sleep came to close my eyes. But I read the whole night through with such avidity that I had not the slightest desire to sleep.”

There follows the enumeration of the causes that had led him to absolute religious incredulity and which we do not mention out of respect. “All these considerations passed daily through my spirit; chagrin had taken hold of me; I had fallen into a very harsh state of skepticism; then, in my sad solitude of weariness and despair, I was resolved to put an end to my so unhappy days by suicide.

“Ah! Sir! I do not know whether anyone could ever form an idea of the effect produced upon me by the reading of The Spirits’ Book. Confidence was reborn, the love of God took hold of my heart, and I felt as if a divine balm spread throughout my whole being. Ah! I said to myself, all my life I sought the truth and the justice of God and found only abuses and lies; and now, in old age, I have the happiness of finding that truth so desired. What a change in my situation which, from so sad, became so blessed! Now I find myself continually in the presence of God and of His blessed Spirits, my creator, protectors, faithful friends. I believe that the most beautiful poetic expressions would be insufficient to depict so pleasant a situation. When my weak chest permits it, I seek to divert myself by intoning hymns and canticles which, it seems, are more agreeable to them. In short, I am happy, thanks to Spiritism. Lately I wrote to my son that, by sending me those books, he made me happier than if he had endowed me with the most brilliant fortune.” There follows a detailed account of trials of mediumship, made in the town, among various adepts, with the results obtained. Among those were some mediums, one of whom seems remarkable. They called parents and friends, who came to give them incontestable proofs of identity, and superior Spirits, who gave them excellent counsels.

“All these evocations reached the ears of the vicar, through loose-tongued persons who, for the most part, distorted them. On the 18th of last May, while giving catechism lessons to his pupils of the first communion, the vicar poured out thousands of insults against the house of C… (one of the principal adepts) and against me. Then he said to the son of C…: “I do not want you; but in two years you will be strong enough to earn your living. I advise you to leave your parents, for they are not capable of giving you good examples.” Here is a fine catechism! In the afternoon sermon he climbed the pulpit on purpose, to repeat the discourse he had made to the pupils a little before, saying with much volubility that we did not acknowledge hell; that we would not hesitate to devote ourselves to theft and plunder to enrich ourselves at others’ expense; that we gave ourselves to the sorceries and superstitions of the Middle Ages, and a thousand other invectives. “Incidentally, I wrote a letter to the imperial prosecutor of M…; but before sending it I wished to consult the Spirit of Saint Vincent de Paul at the first meeting. That good Spirit made the medium write the following: “Remember these words of the Christ: Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” After this, I burned the letter.

“The noise of this doctrine spreads through all the surrounding hamlets. Many have asked me for and ordered books, but I do not have them; all who understand reading a little want to read, passing them from hand to hand.”

“After having read The Spirits’ Book and The Mediums’ Book, my first care was to make experiments to see whether I could be a medium. Having obtained nothing during eight days, I wrote to my son and informed him of the failure. As a magnetizer resided with him, the latter proposed that I write a letter, which he would magnetize, and with it I could make the evocation of my dead one. The poor magnetizer did not imagine that he was furnishing me with the whip to lash him. With this I became an audient medium; I placed myself again in position to write and immediately they said in my ear: “They are trying to deceive your son.” For three consecutive days, with a progressive force, this warning came to my ear and diverted the attention I should pay to what I was doing. I wrote to my son about the matter, warning him to distrust that man. By return of post he answered me, reproaching me for the doubts I had raised against that man, who enjoyed all his confidence. A few days later I received from him a new letter, couched in different language, saying that he had expelled the wretched scoundrel who, feigning honesty, made use of his supposed quality to better conquer his victims. In expelling him, he showed him my letter which, from a distance of a hundred leagues, had painted him so well.”

— This letter dispenses with commentary. One sees that the vicar’s sermon produced an effect among the villagers, as elsewhere. If, in such a circumstance, it was the devil who took the name of Saint Vincent de Paul, the vicar ought to be grateful to him. Have we not reason to say that the very adversaries make the propaganda and, without wishing it, serve our cause? Let us say, however, that facts of this nature constitute exceptions, and not the rule; at least we prefer to think so. We know many distinguished ecclesiastics, who deplore these things as impolitic and imprudent. If some lamentable acts are pointed out to us, they also show us a good number of a truly evangelical character. A priest said to one of his penitents, who consulted him about Spiritism: “Nothing happens without the permission of God; thus, such things happen only by His will.” A dying man sent for a priest and said to him: “Father, for fifty years I had no longer frequented the churches and had forgotten God. It was Spiritism that led me back to Him, which is why I sent for you before dying. Will you give me absolution? – My son, answers the priest, the designs of God are impenetrable; give Him thanks for having sent you this plank of salvation; die in peace.” We could cite countless similar cases.