Moral cure of the incarnate.

— We often see Spirits of an evil nature yield very readily under the influence of moralization and improve. We can act in the same way upon the incarnate, but with much more labor. Why is the moral education of disincarnate Spirits easier than that of the incarnate?

This question was prompted by the following fact. A young man, blind for twelve years, had been taken in by a devoted Spiritist, intent on curing him through magnetism, for the Spirits had said that the cure was possible. But the young man, instead of showing himself grateful for the kindness of which he was the object, and without which he would have been left without shelter and without bread, showed only ingratitude and bad behavior, giving proof of the worst character.

— When consulted on the matter, the Spirit Saint Louis replied:

“Like many others, this young man is punished where he sinned and bears the penalty of his bad conduct. His infirmity is not incurable, and a spiritual magnetization, practiced with zeal, devotion and perseverance, would certainly succeed, aided by a medical treatment intended to correct his tainted blood. There would already be a noticeable improvement in his sight, which is not yet completely extinguished, if the bad fluids by which he is surrounded and saturated did not oppose an obstacle to the penetration of the good fluids, which are, in a certain way, repelled. In the state in which he finds himself, the magnetic action will be powerless, as long as he does not free himself, by his own will and his own improvement, from these pernicious fluids. “It is, then, a moral cure that must be obtained, before seeking the physical cure. Only a serious return upon himself will be able to render effective the care of his magnetizer, which the good Spirits will devote themselves to seconding. Otherwise, it must be expected that he will lose the little light that remains to him and that he will suffer new and more terrible trials.

“Act, then, upon him as you do with the bad disincarnate Spirits whom you wish to lead back to good. He is not under the action of an obsession: it is his nature that is evil and, moreover, he has become perverted in the environment in which he lived. The bad Spirits who beset him are attracted only by the likeness existing between them; as he improves, they will withdraw. Only then will the magnetic action have all its efficacy. Give him advice; explain to him his position; let several sincere persons unite in thought to pray, in order to attract salutary influences toward him. If he profits from them, he will not be slow to experience their good effects, for he will be rewarded by a more perceptible one in his position.”

— This instruction reveals to us an important fact, that of the obstacle opposed by the moral state, in certain cases, to the cure of physical ills. The above explanation is of an incontestable logic, but it could not be understood by those who see everywhere only the exclusive action of matter. In the case at hand, the moral cure of the patient encountered serious difficulties; this is what motivated the above question, proposed at the Spiritist Society of Paris.

Six answers were obtained, all agreeing perfectly with one another. We shall cite only two, to avoid useless repetitions. We have chosen those in which the question is treated with more development.

I.

— Since the disincarnate Spirit manifestly sees what is happening and the terrible examples of life, it understands all the more quickly what stimulates it to believe or to act. This is the reason why it is not rare for us to see disincarnate Spirits discourse wisely on questions which, in life, were far from moving them.

Adversity ripens thought. This expression is true above all for disincarnate Spirits, who see at close range the consequences of their past life.

Negligence and prejudice, on the contrary, triumph in incarnate Spirits; the seductions of life and, even, its disillusionments, give them a misanthropy or a complete indifference toward men and toward divine things. The flesh makes them forget the Spirit; some, essentially honest, do good while avoiding evil, out of love for good, but the life of their soul is almost nil; others, on the contrary, regard life as a comedy and forget their role as men; others, finally, completely brutalized and on the lowest rung of the human species, seeing nothing beyond, not even sensing anything, give themselves over, like animals, to barbarous crimes and forget their origin. Thus, both the one and the other, by life itself, are dragged along, whereas disincarnate Spirits see, listen and repent with more goodwill.

Lamennais. n (Medium: Mr. A. Didier.)

II.

— How many problems and questions there are to resolve before the humanitarian transformation in accordance with Spiritist ideas is realized! that of the education of incarnate Spirits, from the moral point of view, is among this number. The disincarnate are freed from the bonds of the flesh and no longer suffer its inferior conditions, whereas men, chained to a matter that is imperious from the personal point of view, let themselves be dragged along by the state of trials in which they are immersed. It is to the difference between the various situations that one must attribute the difficulty experienced by the initiating Spirits and by the men charged with improving rapidly, and within a few weeks, the creatures entrusted to them. The Spirits, on the contrary, to whom matter no longer opposes its laws, nor any longer furnishes the means of satisfying their bad appetites and who, consequently, no longer have insatiable desires, are more apt to accept the advice given to them. Perhaps they will reply with this question, which has its importance: Why do they not heed the advice of their guides of space and instead await the teachings of men? Because it is necessary that the two worlds, visible and invisible, react upon one another and that the action of humans be useful to those who have lived, as the action of most of these is beneficial to those who live among you. It is a double current, a double action, equally satisfying to these two worlds, which are united by so many bonds. This is what I judge I ought to answer to the question raised by your president.

Erasto. n (Medium: Mr. d’Ambel.)

[1]

[v. Lamennais.]

[2] [v.

Erasto.]