Examples of the moralizing action of Spiritism.

— We call the attention of those who claim that, without the fear of eternal punishments, Humanity would no longer have any restraint, and that the denial of an eternally personal hell opens the way to all disorders and all immoralities. [References to the Pastoral Letter of the Bishop of Algiers against Spiritism]: This is what the three letters that follow demonstrate to us:

“Montreuil, August 23, 1863.

“Last March I was still what one may call, with the full force of the term, an atheist and a materialist. I did not spare the head of the Spiritist group of our little town, my relative, from jokes and sarcasms; I even advised him to go to the asylum, but he opposed my mockeries with a stoic patience.

“At that same time, during Lent, a preacher spoke from the pulpit against Spiritism. The circumstance aroused my curiosity, for I did not quite see what the Church could have to do with Spiritism. So I set myself to read the little book What Is Spiritism? promising myself not to give in as easily as certain converted materialists had done, and I armed myself at all points, persuaded that nothing could destroy the force of my arguments and in no way doubting a complete victory.

“But, oh prodigy! I had not yet reached the fiftieth page and already I recognized the nullity of my poor battery of arguments. For some minutes I remained as if illuminated; a sudden revolution took place within me, and here is what I wrote to my brother on June 18:

“Yes, as you say, my conversion was providential; it is to God that I owe this sign of great benevolence. Yes, I believe in God, in my soul, in its immortality after death. Before this I had as philosophy a certain firmness of spirit, by which I set myself above the tribulations and accidents of life, but I bent before the numerous moral tortures that the so-called friends had inflicted upon me. The bitterness of such memories poisoned my heart. I brooded over a thousand projects of vengeance and, had I not feared for myself and for my own the public malediction, perhaps I would have given to such projects a deadly execution. But God saved me. Spiritism promptly led me to believe in the fundamental truths of religion, from which the Church had turned me away by the terrible picture of the eternal flames and by wishing to impose as articles of faith dogmas that are in manifest contradiction with the infinite attributes of God. I still remember the terror I experienced in 1814, at seven years of age, upon reading this passage from the Christian Thoughts: “And when a damned soul shall have suffered as many years as there are atoms in the air, leaves in the forests, and grains of sand on the shores of the sea, all this shall be counted as nothing!!!” And it is the Church that dares to utter such a blasphemy! May God forgive her for it!” “I continue my letter, dear Eugène, leaving to the Church the ownership of the infernal empire, over which I have nothing to claim.

“The idea I had formed of my soul has been replaced by that given by the Spirits. The plurality of worlds, like the plurality of existences, no longer being placed in doubt by me, now cause me an indefinable moral satisfaction. The prospect of nothingness, cold and lugubrious, once froze the blood in my veins; today I see myself, in anticipation, inhabiting one of those worlds more advanced morally, intellectually, and physically than our planet, while I await reaching the state of pure Spirit.

“To enjoy the benefits of God and to make myself worthy of them, I promptly forgave my enemies, those who made me suffer intense moral tortures, all in short who offended me, and I abjured every thought of vengeance. Daily I thank God for the high benevolence He showed me, making me come out so quickly from the bad path onto which atheism and materialism had cast me, and I ask Him to grant the same favor to all who, like me, doubted and denied Him. I also ask Him to bring it about that my wife, my children, my neighbor, the relatives, the friends, and the enemies, may equally enjoy the sweetnesses of Spiritism. Finally, I pray for all, for all suffering souls, that God may let them glimpse that His infinite goodness has not closed to them the door of repentance. I also ask of God the forgiveness of my faults and the grace to practice charity in all its breadth. “I now find myself in a state of perfect calm and tranquility regarding the future. The idea of death no longer terrifies me, because I have the unshakable conviction that my soul will survive the body, and an entire faith in the future life. Yet, one single thought pains me: that of abandoning on Earth beings who are so dear to me, with the fear of seeing them unhappy. Ah! this fear, which carries its sorrow, is quite natural, by virtue of the egoism with which the greater part of our poor world is impregnated. But God understands me; He knows that I place all my confidence entirely in Him. I have already experienced the happiness of seeing again our dear Laura last December, a few days after her death. Certainly it is an anticipated effect of His goodness toward me. “Since the date of this letter, my dear sir, my well-being has increased. Formerly, the least vexation irritated me; today, my patience is truly remarkable; it has succeeded violence and exaltation. The victory it won in these days, in a truly harsh trial, comes in support of my assertion. Surely it would not have been so last March. It is, above all, in such circumstances that the Spiritist Doctrine exerts its salutary influence. Those who criticize it say it is full of seductions, and I do not think I attenuate that fine eulogy by finding it full of delights.

“My return to religion caused here a very great surprise, since, until then, I displayed the most unbridled materialism. By a very logical consequence I am, in my turn, the victim of mockeries and sarcasms, which do not trouble me, for, as you say very judiciously, all this glances off the true Spiritist as water off marble.

“My dear sir, I am going to end my letter, whose prolixity would make you lose precious time. Accept the expression of my lively gratitude for the moral satisfaction, the consoling hope, and the well-being that you have provided me. Continue your holy mission: God has blessed you, sir!”

Roussel, (Adolphe.)

Sworn clerk, former official auction agent.

“P. S. In the interest of Spiritism, you may make of this letter, in whole or in part, whatever use you see fit.”

Observation. – We have already published several letters of this nature, but volumes upon volumes would be needed to publish all those we receive in the same sense and, a fact no less remarkable, is that the majority of them come from persons entirely unknown to us and were provoked by no other influence than the ascendancy of the doctrine.

Here, then, is one of those men who are excommunicated by the Bishop of Algiers; a man who, without the Spiritist Doctrine, would have died in atheism and materialism; who, should he present himself to receive the sacraments of the Church, would be pitilessly repelled. So who brought him to God? The fear of eternal punishments? No, since it was precisely the theory of such punishments that had turned him away from it. Who, then, had the power to calm his exaltation and make of him a gentle and inoffensive man? to make him abjure ideas of vengeance in order to forgive his enemies? Spiritism alone, because in it he drew an unshakable faith in the future; it was this doctrine that you wish to extirpate from your diocese, where, surely, many creatures find themselves in the same situation and which, in your opinion, is a shameful sore for the colony. Whom will they convince that it would have been better for this man to stay where he was? Were it objected that this is an exception, we would answer with thousands of similar examples; and, even were it an exception, we would retort with the parable of the hundred sheep, of which one strayed, leading the shepherd to run in search of it. Refusing him Spiritism, what would you have given him in exchange, to work in that man such a transformation? Always the prospect of eternal damnation, the only one, according to your imagining, capable of eradicating disorder and immorality. Finally, who led him to study Spiritism? A clique of Spiritists? No, since he fled from them; it was a sermon preached against Spiritism. Why, then, was he converted by Spiritism and not by the sermon? It is because, apparently, the arguments of Spiritism were more convincing than those of the sermon. So it has been with all analogous preachings; so it will be with the episcopal ordination of Algiers which, we predict, will have a result completely different from that which they expect. To the author of this letter we will say: “Brother, this kind of confession, which you make before men, is a great act of humility; there is never shame, but grandeur, in recognizing that one was mistaken and confessing one's errors. God loves the humble, for it is to them that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”

— The following letter is an example no less admirable of the miracles that Spiritism can work in consciences; and, here, the result is even more remarkable, for it is not a question of a man of the world, living in an enlightened milieu, whose bad inclinations may be contained, if not by the fear of the future life, at least by that of opinion, but of a man struck by justice, of one condemned to confinement in a penitentiary.

“Sir “I had the satisfaction of reading, of studying some of your excellent works treating of Spiritism, and the effect of this reading was such upon my being that I judged it well to converse with you on the subject; but, so that you may well understand me, I believe it necessary to make known to you the circumstances in which I find myself placed.

“I have the misfortune of having been condemned to six years of confinement, just consequence of my past conduct. Thus, I have no right to complain and, if I relate it, it is for the sake of order.

“Barely a month ago I judged myself lost forever. Why do I today think the contrary, and why does hope flood my heart with light? Is it not because Spiritism, unveiling to me the sublimity of its maxims, made me understand that earthly goods are worth nothing? that true happiness exists only for those who practice the virtues taught by Jesus Christ, virtues that bring us closer to God, our common father? Is it not, also, because, despite having fallen into a state of abjection, despite being discredited by society, I can hope to rehabilitate myself in some way and, from this point of view, prepare my soul for a better life by the practice of virtues and my love for God and for my neighbor? “I do not know whether these are indeed the true causes of the change that has taken place in me; but what I do know is that in all my being something is happening that I cannot define. I am in better dispositions toward the unfortunate who, like me, are placed under the rod of society. I have a certain authority over a hundred of them and I am quite resolved to use it only for good. My moral position seems to me less painful; I consider my sufferings as a just expiation and this idea helps me to bear it. Finally, it is no longer with sentiments of hatred that I regard society; I render it the justice that is due to it.

“I am certain that these are the causes that reacted upon my spirit and that, in the future, will make of me – I cherish that sweet hope – a man loving and serving God and his neighbor, practicing charity and his duties. And to whom shall I render thanks for this happy metamorphosis, which from a bad man will have made a man loving virtue? First to God, to whom we must refer everything, and then to your excellent writings. Thus, sir, allow me to tell you, this letter has for its object to assure you of all my gratitude.

“But why must my Spiritist education remain unfinished? Doubtless God wills it so; may His will be done! I will not leave you ignorant, sir, of the name of the excellent creature to whom I owe what I now know: it is Mr. Benoit, who, having noticed in me a desire to repair my past, saw fit to initiate me into the Spiritist Doctrine; unfortunately I am going to lose him, for his new position will no longer permit him to come and see me. It is a great misfortune for me and I do not conceal it from you, because to his counsels he joined his example. He too owes his progress to the doctrine. He said to me: “Until I had been enlightened by Spiritism, as soon as I finished my meal I would go to the café and there, many times, I forgot not only my duties toward my little family, but also toward my employer. The time I thus spent I now employ in reading Spiritist books, a reading I do aloud, so that my family may also profit from it. And believe me, added Mr. Benoit, this is worth more, it is the beginning of true, of the only happiness.” “I beg you to forgive my temerity and, above all, the length of this letter, and believe me, etc.”

D…

— This Mr. Benoit is a simple workman. He had been instructed in Spiritism by a lady of the town, of whom he had spoken to the prisoner. The latter, before the departure of his instructor, sent her the following letter:

“Madam, “Surely it is great temerity on my part to dare to address these lines to you, but I count on your kindness to be forgiven, principally by reason of the causes that lead me to act. First, I have to thank you, Madam, but to thank you from the deepest of my heart, with all my soul, for the good you have done me, permitting Mr. Bennoit to instruct me in Spiritism, this sublime doctrine called to regenerate the world, and which so well knows how to demonstrate to man what he owes to God, to the family, to society, to himself; which, by proving that not all ends in this life, stimulates him and gives him the means to prepare for himself another life. I believe I have profited from the useful teachings I received, because I experience a sentiment that leaves me in better dispositions toward my fellow beings and makes me always have my thought turned toward heaven. Is it a beginning of faith? I hope so. Unfortunately Mr. Benoit is going to depart and, with him, the hope of instructing myself. “I know that you are kind, that you have thought of continuing to give me the means to enlighten myself; I beg you on my knees to continue the work begun; it will be counted to you by God, for you have the hope of making, from an unfortunate man lost in the vices of the world, a virtuous man, a man worthy of this name, of his family, and of society. Awaiting the day when, free, I shall be able to give my proofs, I will bless you as my Spirit on this Earth; I will associate you with my prayers and a day will come when I too shall be able to teach my family to bless you, to venerate you, for you will have given back to them a son, an honest brother. It is impossible to be otherwise when one serves God sincerely. I conclude, then, Madam, asking that you be, on Earth, my good Spirit and that you direct me on the good path. What you do will be counted as a good work. As for me, I promise to be docile to your teachings. “I end, etc.”

Observation. – A simple workman, this Mr. Benoit was a recent example of the moralizing effect of Spiritism and, in his turn, already brings to the good path a strayed soul; he gives back to the family, to society an honest man instead of a criminal, a good work to which a charitable lady contributed, unknown to both, but animated by the sole desire to do good. And all this is done in the shadow, without pomp, without ostentation, and only with the testimony of conscience.

Spiritists, here are some of those miracles of which you ought to be proud, which you can all work and for which you need no exceptional faculty, for the desire to do good suffices. If Spiritism has such power over corrupted souls, what is not to be hoped for the regeneration of Humanity, when it shall have become a common belief and each one shall employ it in his sphere of action!

All you who throw stones against Spiritism and say that it fills the houses of the insane, give, then, in its place something that produces more than it does. By the fruit the quality of the tree is known. Judge, then, Spiritism by its fruits and set about producing better ones; then you will be followed. A few more years and you will see many other prodigies; not signs in the sky to strike the eyes, as the Pharisees asked, but prodigies in the hearts of men, of which the greatest will be to close the mouths of the detractors and open the eyes of the blind, for it is necessary that the predictions of the Christ be fulfilled, and they shall all be fulfilled.