State of Spiritism in 1863.

— For Spiritism, the year that has just passed was no less fruitful than the preceding ones, distinguishing itself, however, by several particular traits. More than all the others, it was marked by the violence of certain attacks, a characteristic sign whose significance escaped no one. Everyone says: If they grow angry, it is because they are afraid; if they are afraid, it is because there is something serious.

Since, however, it is today well established that these aggressions advanced Spiritism instead of halting it, the attacks will naturally diminish with time; but one must not underestimate this apparent calm, nor believe that the enemies of Spiritism will soon take advantage of it; it is therefore necessary to persuade ourselves that the struggle is not over, but that there will be a change of tactics. This is why we tell Spiritists to watch unceasingly over what is happening around them, and to remember what we said in last December's issue, concerning the period of struggle, the underground war, and the conflicts; let them not be surprised if the enemy insinuates himself even into their ranks; God permits it in order to test the faith, the courage, and the perseverance of His true servants. Henceforth the aim will be to seek every possible means of compromising Spiritism, in order to discredit it; to induce the groups, under the appearance of zeal and the pretext that they must go forward, to occupy themselves with matters foreign to the object of the doctrine; to deal with political or other questions, capable of provoking irritating discussions and sowing division, all with the pretext of calling for their closure. The moderation of the Spiritists is what surprises and most thwarts the adversaries; they will do everything to draw them out of it, even provocation; but the Spiritists will know how to foil these maneuvers by their prudence, as they have already done on more than one occasion, and not to fall into the snares that will be laid for them; moreover, they will see the instigators entangle themselves in their own threads, for it is impossible that, sooner or later, they should not let themselves be discovered. It will be a more difficult moment to pass through than that of open warfare, where one sees the enemy face to face; but the rougher the trial, the greater will be the triumph.

— Moreover, this campaign has had an immense result: that of proving the impotence of the weapons directed against Spiritism; the most capable men of the opposing party entered the lists; all the resources of argumentation were employed and, Spiritism having suffered no harm, everyone became convinced that no peremptory reason could be opposed to it; the greatest proof of the lack of good reasons was their resorting to the sad and ignoble expedient of calumny. Yet, however much they wished to make Spiritism say the opposite of what it says, the doctrine is there, written in terms so clear that they defy all false interpretation, which is why the odium of the calumny falls back upon those who employ it and convinces them of their impotence. Here is a considerable fact in the year that is ending; and even if we had obtained only this result, we ought to be satisfied. But there are others, no less positive.

— The year 1863 is marked, above all, by the increase in the number of groups and societies, formed in a host of localities where there were none yet, both in France and abroad, an evident sign of the number of adherents and of the diffusion of the doctrine. Paris, which had remained in the rear, finally yields to the general impulse and begins to move. Daily, private gatherings form, with an eminently serious aim and in excellent conditions. The Society over which we preside sees with joy vigorous shoots multiply around it, capable of spreading the good seed. The private groups, when well directed, are very useful for the initiation of new adherents. By reason of the extent of its relations, the principal Society, being the center of convergence of all parts of the world, neither can nor should occupy itself with anything but the development of the science and general questions, which absorb all its time; it must necessarily abstain from everything that is elementary and personal. The private groups thus come to fill the gap that, of necessity, the Society leaves in practice, which is why the latter encourages and seconds with its counsel and its moral support the persons who devote themselves to this work of propagation. If, for a few moments, it was possible to conceive a certain apprehension regarding the effects of some dissidences in the manner of viewing Spiritism, there is a fact capable of dispelling it completely: it is the ever-growing number of Societies that, in all countries, place themselves spontaneously under the patronage of the one in Paris and raise its banner. It is well known that the doctrine expounded in The Spirits' Book is today the point toward which the immense majority of adherents converge; the maxim Outside charity there is no salvation has united all those who see the moral side of Spiritism, because there are not two ways of interpreting it and it satisfies all aspirations. Since the constitution of Spiritism into a body of doctrine, many isolated systems have already fallen, and the few traces they still leave have no influence on general opinion. The solid foundations on which it rests will triumph effortlessly over the divisions that the adversaries will not fail to stir up, because these latter cannot count on Spirits to protect their work, and make use of the enemies themselves to ensure success. It would have been an unprecedented fact had a doctrine been able to establish itself without dissidence and, if we can be astonished at anything regarding Spiritism, it is to see unity form so promptly.

— Be that as it may, Spiritism has not yet penetrated everywhere, and in many places it is scarcely known even by name. The rare adherents found there attribute this to two causes: the first, to the character of the populations, very absorbed by material interests; the second, to the absence of contrary preaching. This is why they appeal, with all their strength, for sermons of the kind that were preached elsewhere, or some noisy manifestation of hostility, which would draw attention and arouse curiosity. Yet let them be patient: since it is necessary that all should arrive there, the Spirits will know perfectly well how to come to their aid by other means.

— But the most characteristic sign of the year 1863 was the movement that occurred in opinion concerning the Spiritist Doctrine; it is surprising with what ease the principle is accepted by persons who until recently would have repelled it and held it up to ridicule. The resistances — we speak of those that are not systematic and self-interested — diminish appreciably. Several writers of good faith are cited who waged a fierce struggle against Spiritism, and who today, dominated by their social milieu, without confessing themselves vanquished, renounce a struggle they consider useless. It is that the need for a moral transformation makes itself felt more and more; the ruin of the old world is imminent, because the ideas it advocates are no longer on a level with that which intelligent Humanity has reached. Everything seems to lead it onward and, in the rear, new horizons are vaguely glimpsed; one feels that something better than what exists is needed, and it is sought in vain in the present world; something circulates in the air like a precursory electric current, and everyone waits; but everyone also says that it is not Humanity that must retreat.

Another fact no less significant, which many have noted, and which is a consequence of the present state of mind, is the prodigious number of writings, serious or light, made outside of and, probably, without knowledge of Spiritism, in which Spiritist thoughts are found. The principle of the plurality of existences, above all, has a manifest tendency to enter into the opinion of the masses and into modern philosophy; many thinkers are led to it by the logic of facts, and before long this belief will become popular; evidently, these are the precursors of the adoption of Spiritism, whose ways are thus prepared and whose path is smoothed. These ideas are sown on various sides, in writings that pass into all hands, making their acceptance ever easier.

— The state of Spiritism in 1863 may be summed up thus: violent attacks; multiplication of writings for and against; movement in ideas; notable extension of the doctrine, but without external signs capable of producing a general sensation; the roots spread, the shoots grow, awaiting the tree's development of its branches. The moment of its maturity has not yet come.

Among the publications that, in this past year, came to take part in the struggle and to contribute to the defense of Spiritism, we place in the first rank the journals Ruche, of Bordeaux, and Vérité, of Lyon, whose editors deserve the recognition and encouragement of all true Spiritists, for the perseverance, devotion, and disinterestedness of which they have given proof. In the most numerous Spiritist center of France, and perhaps of the whole world, the Vérité has established itself as a formidable athlete, by its articles of so tight a logic that they leave no room for criticism. By every indication, Spiritism will soon have a new and important organ in Italy, which, like its elders in France, will march in common accord with the great principles of the doctrine.