On the nourishment of man.

The sacrifice of flesh was severely condemned by the great philosophers of antiquity. The elevated Spirit revolts at the idea of blood and, above all, at the idea that blood is pleasing to the Divinity. And note well that here it is by no means a matter of human sacrifices, but solely of animals offered in holocaust. When the Christ came to announce the Good News, he did not ordain the sacrifice of blood: he occupied himself solely with the Spirit. The great sages of antiquity likewise had a horror of these kinds of sacrifices, and they themselves fed only on fruits and roots. On Earth the incarnates have a mission to fulfill; they have a Spirit, which must be nourished by the Spirit, and a body, which must be fed by matter; but the nature of the matter influences the density of the body and, in consequence, the manifestations of the Spirit, which is easily understandable. Temperaments strong enough to live as the anchorites do well, because the forgetting of the flesh leads more easily to meditation and to prayer. But to live thus would generally require a nature more spiritualized than yours, which is impossible under terrestrial conditions. And since, above all, Nature never acts senselessly, it is impossible for man to submit himself with impunity to such privations. One can be a good Christian and a good Spiritist and eat to one's liking, provided that it be reasonable. It is a somewhat frivolous question for our studies, but no less useful and profitable. Lamennais. n Allan Kardec.

Paris. — Typ. de Cosson et Ce rue du Four-Saint-Germain, 43.

[1] [v.

Lamennais.]