Philosophical character of the Spiritist Society of Paris.

— In response to certain calumnies which the adversaries of Spiritism take pleasure in pouring out against the Society, we have judged it fitting to publish the requests for admission, set forth in the two following letters, accompanying them with a few observations.

To the President of the Society for Spiritist Studies of Paris “Sir, “Would I be permitted to aspire to be admitted as a member of the respectable Society over which you preside?

“I too had the good fortune to come to know Spiritism and to experience, in all its fullness, its beneficial influence. For a long time I was the victim of physical sufferings and, consequently, of the moral suffering that naturally follows, when thought sees as compensation nothing but doubt and uncertainty. The Spirits' Book entered my house like the savior whose benevolent hand draws us out of the abyss, like the physician who heals instantaneously.

“I read and understood; and at once moral suffering gave way to an immense happiness, before which the physical suffering was extinguished, for from then on it appeared to me as nothing but an effect of the divine will and wisdom, which sends us evils only for our greater good.

“Under the influence of this beneficent belief, my physical state has already improved appreciably, and I hope that God will complete his work, because if today I desire the recovery of my health, it is no longer, as formerly, to enjoy life, but to consecrate it solely to good, that is, to employ it exclusively in marching toward the future, working with ardor and by every means within my reach for the good of my fellow beings and, particularly, devoting myself to the propagation of the sublime doctrine which God, in his infinite goodness, sends to poor Humanity to regenerate it. “Glory, then, be rendered to God for the divine light which, in his mercy, he has deigned to send to his blind creatures! And thanks be given to you, sir, whom he chose to bring them the sacred torch!”

“Sir, if you would deign to receive my request, I shall be profoundly grateful to you for its transmission to your distinguished colleagues. I do not have the honor of knowing you personally, for my state of health has always prevented me from visiting you; but Mr. Canu, my friend and your colleague, will answer for me.

“Receive, sir and dear master, the assurance of my respectful sentiments and of my sincere devotion.”

Hermann Hobach.

— “Sir and venerated master, “Confident in your benevolence, I come to address to you a prayer which, if favorably received, would fill me with joy. I have already had the honor of writing to you, some time ago, with the double purpose of expressing to you the sentiments, one might say new, which the serious reading of The Spirits' Book gave rise to in me, and of obeying the sacred duty of thanking the venerated man who extends a helping hand to the wavering courage of the weak of this world, among whose number I still counted myself until quite recently, through ignorance of those sublime principles which, at last, assign to man a task to fulfill, in accordance with his strength and faculties. “You gave to that letter a reply full of kindnesses, by which you invited me to come, as a listener, to attend the general sessions of the Society. Those sessions and the reading of The Mediums' Book only gave me more strength and courage, inspiring in me the desire to take part in a society founded upon the same principles that had just dispelled the disturbance, the lack of coordination, the chaos, which presided over all my actions. I had come to suppose that the key to the enigma of existence must be quite insignificant, for my spirit had not yet made me understand that, outside the material world that surrounded me, there was a spiritual world, marching concomitantly with ours toward progress. “Thus, sir, I again express my happiness, if I am able to demonstrate before the whole world of the incredulous and the skeptics, that the Spiritist Doctrine has worked in me so radical a change in my manner of being that, certainly, this change could, without any exaggeration, be qualified as a miracle, since, opening my eyes to all the good that can be done and is not done, I perceived, above all, an end for our present life and, afterward, that, overburdened with faults of every kind, I saw, at last, that Providence had not let us lack the task, and that for the Spirit a single existence did not suffice to perfect itself, working to dominate first the body, in order then to dominate itself. “If you should judge it fitting to receive me, sir, notwithstanding that I am still very young, as one of the members of the Spiritist Society, I beg of you the kindness to present my request to the council and to affirm to it the honor that the Society would do me in receiving me into its bosom; this would be appreciated by me with the sentiment of the most complete gratitude.

“Receive, sir, the assurance of my profound veneration.”

Paul Albert.

— If such letters honor their authors, they also honor the Society to which they are addressed, and which sees with satisfaction those who ask to enter it, animated by such sentiments. They are a proof that they understand the exclusively moral aim which the Society sets for itself, for they are not moved by a vain curiosity which, moreover, it would not be among our purposes to satisfy. The Society receives only serious persons, and letters such as these, which have just been reported, indicate its true character. It is adepts of this category that it feels happy to recruit, and it is the best answer it can give to the detractors of Spiritism, who strive to present it, as well as its counterparts in the Departments and abroad, which march under the same banner, as dangerous hotbeds for reason and public order, or as a vast speculation. May God grant that the world have no other sources of disturbance! As we have said, modern Spiritism will have its history, which will be that of the phases it will have traversed, of its struggles and its successes, of its defenders, its martyrs, and its adversaries, for posterity must know with what weapons they were served in attacking it; above all, it must know the men of heart who devoted themselves to its cause with entire abnegation, complete material and moral disinterestedness, in order that it may pay them a just tribute of gratitude. For us it is a great joy when we can inscribe a new name, glorious for its modesty, courage, and virtues, in these annals where the prince and the artisan, the rich and the poor, men of all countries and all religions, are intermingled, for there is for good but one caste, a single sect, a single nationality, and one same banner: that of universal fraternity. The Spiritist Society of Paris, the first to be founded and officially recognized, the one which, one might say, gave the impulse, under whose aegis so many other groups and societies were formed; which has become, by the force of things and however restricted the number of its members may be, the center of the Spiritist Movement, since its principles are those of nearly the whole body of adepts, this Society, we were saying, will also have its annals for the instruction of those for whom we are preparing the way, and for the confounding of its calumniators.

It is not only from afar that calumny casts its venom, but even at our doors. Recently someone told us that for a long time he had had the greatest desire to attend some sessions of the Society, but had been prevented because he had been assured that he must pay ten francs. Great was his surprise and, we may say, also his joy, when we told him that such a rumor was the fruit of malevolence; that since the Society has existed, never has a listener paid a centime; that no pecuniary obligation is imposed, under any form and on any title, neither as a subscription to the Spiritist Review, nor as a purchase of books; that none of our mediums is remunerated and all, without exception, give their assistance out of pure devotion to the cause; that the titular and associate members are the only ones to participate in the material expenses; that the corresponding and honorary members bear no charge, the Society limiting itself to providing for the current expenses, restricted as much as possible, and not accumulating money; that Spiritism is an entirely moral thing, which cannot, like all holy things, be an object of exploitation, which we have always repudiated verbally and in writing; that, thus, only a signal malevolence is capable of attributing such ideas to the Society. We will add that the author of that officious information said he had paid his ten francs, which proves that he was not innocent in echoing a false rumor. The Spiritist Society of Paris, by its very position and by the role it plays, will not fail to have, later on, a certain repercussion. It is therefore necessary for our future brothers that its aim and its tendencies not be distorted by the maneuvers of malevolence and, for this, a few individual refutations do not suffice, having effect only in the present and being lost in the multitude. The retractions one obtains are no more than a momentary satisfaction, the memory of which will soon pass. A special, authentic, and durable work is needed, and this work will be done in due time. In the meantime, let us leave our adversaries to discredit themselves by themselves and by falsehood: posterity will judge them.