The Duality of Man Proved by Somnambulism

— Without recalling here the numerous phenomena that stand out from experimental Spiritism, proving, to satiety, the independence of the Spirit and of matter, we will call attention to a common fact, from which, as far as we know, all the consequences have not been drawn and which, nevertheless, is capable of impressing every serious observer. We mean to speak of what occurs in natural or artificial somnambulism, in the strange faculties that develop in cataleptics, in the no less strange phenomenon of double sight, today perfectly proven, even by the incredulous, but whose cause they did not seek, though it would have been worth the trouble. The following letter, addressed to us by a distinguished physician of the Tarn, proves by what chain of ideas a man who reflects can pass from incredulity to belief, merely with the aid of reasoning and of observation made in good faith.

— “Sir, “Confounded in the mass of the distrustful and the incredulous, the reading of The Spirits’ Book produced in me a most vivid impression. The sweet satisfaction that remained with me from its reading gave birth to the very natural desire to believe, without any restriction, in all the teachings given by the Spirits in that book. In order to attain such an objective I wished to ascertain for myself the reality of the communications, for which I made efforts to become a medium; as I did not succeed, I had to stop the research. Weary of living in uncertainty, I resolved to refer myself to the observations of others; but, by nature, as I do not let myself be easily convinced, I felt the need to know, in order to be able to judge of their reality. After having gone through the first four years of the Spiritist Review and, principally, after having noted with what precautions the numerous facts are related there; after verifying that the manifestations of the Spirits and their communications are always attested by honorable persons, disinterested and worthy of faith, it is no longer possible to retain any doubt as to their authenticity. “Nevertheless, once the communications were admitted, it still fell to me to form an idea of the degree of confidence that ought to be granted to the revelations, above all those which constitute the basis of the spiritist philosophy. In this appreciation, the flames of hell could not stop me, unless I denied the infinite goodness of God. The difference among religions likewise created no obstacles to my logic, considering that, sowing good, the most elementary good sense says that one cannot reap evil. But there still remained to me the capital point of reincarnation. On this, somnambulism was of great value to me and, if it does not entirely resolve the question, in my opinion it renders it so probable that a very great dose of ill will would be needed not to admit it. First of all, if the existence of the soul were not already sufficiently demonstrated by the manifestations and communications of the Spirits, it would be clearly proved by vision at a distance and through opaque bodies, which is explained only by this means. Next, and setting aside the faculties of the soul detached from matter, such as vision at a distance, the transmission of thought, etc., somnambulism leads us to the discovery in the sensitive subject of knowledge much more extensive than that which he possesses while awake. It results from this fact that the soul must be older than the body, because, if created at the same time as the latter, it could not have knowledge different from that acquired during the existence of the body. “But, after having ascertained that the soul is older than the body, one feels no repugnance in granting it other incarnations, because if the present existence is not the beginning, nothing proves that it is the last; on the contrary, they become very natural and even indispensable. There is more: the somnambulist in the waking state generally retains no remembrance of what he said or did during sleep; yet, during sleep he recognizes without difficulty all that he did, not only during the preceding sleeps, but also while awake. Is this not the exact picture of the existence of the soul in its numerous wandering and incarnate states, with its remembrances and forgettings?

“A son of the people, my instruction, extremely mediocre and acquired by myself, dates back only to a third of my age, which is forty-two years. Thus, it seems to me that a pen, however little experienced it might be, would bring out much more clearly, in this regard, the truths that I have tried to discover. Meanwhile, however imperfect these comparisons may be, they sufficed to determine my conviction and I would feel happy if you judged them worthy of being able to exercise the same influence upon others.

“Although my conviction is of very recent date, it has begun to produce fruits and, independently of the happy modifications that it has already brought to my manner of being, it is for me the source of very sweet consolations. These happy changes are due solely to the knowledge of your works. Thus, sir, I beg you to deign to accept the eternal gratitude of one who, in the future, wishes to be counted in the number of your most fervent adherents.”

G…

— Vision at a distance, the impressions felt by the somnambulist, according to the place he is going to visit, prove that a part of his being is transported. Now, since it is not his material, visible body, which has not changed place, it can only be the fluidic body, invisible and sensitive. Is this not the most patent fact of the double corporeal and spiritual existence? But, without speaking of this singular faculty, which is not general, it suffices to observe what occurs in the most common somnambulists. Duality manifests itself in a no less evident manner, as our correspondent observes, in the phenomenon of forgetting upon awakening. There is no one who, having observed the magnetic effects, has not ascertained the instantaneousness of such forgetting. A somnambulist speaks, his conversation is perfectly connected and rational; he is awakened suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, even of a word, which he does not finish; afterward, if one asks him what he has just said, if one reminds him of the word begun, he will answer that he said nothing. If thought were the product of cerebral matter, why such forgetting, since the matter is always there and is always the same? Why does a single instant suffice to change the course of ideas? But what is still more characteristic is the perfect recollection, in a new sleep, of what was said and done in a preceding sleep, sometimes with a year’s interval. This fact alone would prove that, alongside the life of the body, there is the life of the soul, and that the soul can act and think in an independent manner. If it can manifest such independence during the life of the body, whose hindrances it more or less suffers, with all the more reason will it be able to do so when it enjoys its entire liberty. The consequences drawn from these phenomena by our correspondent to prove the anteriority of the soul and the plurality of existences are perfectly logical. The somnambulic phenomena, like so many others, seem brought by Providence to set us on the path of the mystery of thought. Nevertheless, Science does not deign to take them into consideration; to see them, it will not turn its eyes away from a polyp, a mushroom, or a nerve fiber. It is true that the soul does not show itself at the point of a scalpel, nor under a magnifying glass; but, as one judges the cause by the effects, the effects of the soul are at every instant before your eyes and you do not look at them; you would walk a hundred leagues to observe an astronomical phenomenon without practical utility, whereas you have only sarcasms and disdain when it is a question of the phenomena of the soul, which are within your reach, and which interest all of Humanity, in its present and in its future.

If official science scarcely renounces its prejudices, it would be unjust to let the responsibility fall upon all the learned. Among them there manifests itself a movement of good augury, in relation to the new ideas; the individual and tacit adhesions are numerous; but, perhaps, more than others, they still fear putting themselves forward. It will suffice for some eminent figures to raise the banner in order to silence the scruples of others, to impose silence upon the jokers, and to make the interested aggressors reflect. It is what we shall not be long in seeing.