The Spiritist Robinson Crusoe.

— Who would suspect that the innocent book of Robinson was marked by the principles of Spiritism, and that the youth, into whose hands it is placed without suspicion, could gather there the unwholesome doctrine of the existence of Spirits? We ourselves would still be unaware of it had not one of our subscribers pointed out to us the following passages, which are found in the complete editions, but not in the abridged editions.

This work, in which were seen chiefly curious adventures suited to amuse children, is marked by a lofty moral philosophy and a profound religious sentiment.

One reads on page 161 (edition illustrated by Granville): n “These thoughts inspired in me a sadness that lasted a good while, but at last they took another direction; I felt how much gratitude I owed to heaven, which had prevented me from giving myself over to a peril whose existence I was unaware of. The incident gave rise in me to a reflection that had already come to me a few times, ever since I had recognized how much, in all the perils of life, Providence shows its goodness through dispositions whose purpose we do not understand. Indeed, we often escape the greatest dangers by marvelous ways; often a secret impulse decides us suddenly, in a moment of grave uncertainty, to take such a path and not another, which would have led us to our ruin. “I took it as a law never to resist those mysterious voices that invite us to take such a course, to do or not to do such a thing, even though no reason supports that secret impulse. I could cite more than one example where heeding such warnings had full success, above all in the last part of my stay on that wretched island, not counting many other occasions that must have escaped me and to which I would have paid attention, had my eyes from the first been opened on this point. But it is never too late to be prudent, and I counsel all thoughtful men, whose existence, like mine, has been subjected to extraordinary accidents, even to the most common vicissitudes, never to neglect these intimate warnings of Providence, whatever may be the invisible intelligence that transmits them to us.” On page 284:

“I had often heard very sensible people say that all that is told of phantoms and apparitions is explained by the force of the imagination; that never has a Spirit appeared to anyone whatsoever; but that, by thinking assiduously of those we have lost, they become so present to the thought that, in certain circumstances, we believe we see them, speak to them, hear their answers, and that all this is nothing but an illusion, a shadow, a memory.

“As for me, I cannot say whether at present there exist true apparitions, specters, dead persons who come to wander through the world, or whether the stories told about such facts are founded only on the visions of sick brains, of exalted and disordered imaginations; but I know that mine reached such a point of excitement, threw me into such an excess of fantastic vapors—no matter what name one wishes to give it—that at times I believed I was on my island, in my old castle on the edge of the woods; I saw my Spaniard, the father of Friday, and the condemned sailors I had left in those parts; I even believed I conversed with them, and though quite awake, I gazed at them fixedly, as if they were before me. This happened often enough to frighten me. Once, in my dream, the first Spaniard and the old savage recounted to me, in terms so natural and so forceful, the wicked deeds of the three pirate sailors, which truly astonished me. They told me how those perverse men had tried to murder the Spaniards, and how they had then burned all their provisions, with the intention of making them die of hunger. And this fact, which at the time I could not have known, and which was true, was shown to me so clearly by my imagination that I became convinced of its reality. I even believed it in the continuation of that dream. I listened to the Spaniard’s complaints with deep emotion; I had the three culprits brought before me and condemned them to the gallows. One will see, in its place, what was exact in the dream. But how were such facts revealed to me? By what secret communication of the invisible Spirits had they been brought to me? That I cannot explain. Not everything was literally certain; but the main points were in accordance with reality, and the infamous conduct of those three hardened scoundrels had gone beyond what could be supposed. My dream, in this respect, had much resemblance to the facts. Moreover, when I found myself on the island, I wished to punish them very severely; and had I had them hanged, I would have been justified by divine and human laws.” On page 289:

“Nothing demonstrates more clearly the reality of a future life and of an invisible world than the concurrence of secondary causes with certain ideas that we form inwardly, without having received or given any human communication concerning them.”

[September Review.]

The Spiritist Robinson Crusoe.

(Continuation.)

In the Spiritist Review of March 1867 we cited some passages from the adventures of Robinson, drawn from an evidently Spiritist thought. We owe to the kindness of one of our correspondents in Antwerp our acquaintance with the complement of this story, in which the principles of Spiritism are expressed and affirmed in a far more explicit manner and which is not found in any of the modern editions. The complete work, translated from the original English edition, comprises three volumes and forms part of a collection of more than thirty volumes, entitled: Imaginary Voyages, Dreams, Visions, and Cabalistic Romances, n printed in Amsterdam in 1787. The title also shows that it is to be found in Paris, rue et hôtel Serpente. The first two volumes of this collection contain the voyages properly speaking of Robinson; the third volume, which our Antwerp correspondent saw fit to entrust to us, has for its title: Serious and Important Reflections of Robinson Crusoe. n The translator says in his preface:

— “Here at last is the enigma of the adventures of Robinson Crusoe; it is a kind of bourgeois Telemachus, whose aim is to lead common men to virtue and wisdom, through events accompanied by reflections. Yet there is something more in the story of Robinson than in the adventures of Telemachus; it is not a mere romance, it is rather an allegorical history, of which each incident is an emblem of some particularities of the life of our author. I say no more on this point, because he himself treated it thoroughly in his preface, which I translated from the English, and whose reading I strongly advise to all those hurried men who have grown accustomed to skipping all the preliminary discourses of books. “The work here given to the public, and which constitutes the third volume of Robinson Crusoe, is completely different from the two preceding parts, although it tends toward the same end. To tell the truth, the author here puts the finishing touch to his project of reforming men and of exhorting them to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the excellence of their nature. He is not content with having given them instructions wrapped in fables; he thinks it well to extend his precepts and to give them in a direct manner, so that nothing in them may escape the discernment of the great number of readers who do not have enough genius to separate the soul of the allegory from the body that envelops it.”

— This volume comprises two parts. In the first, Robinson, returning to the calm life of home, gives himself over to meditations suggested by the vicissitudes of his agitated existence; these reflections are marked by lofty morality and profound religious sentiment, in the manner of the following:

Page 301 — “Let us confess, if you will, that we cannot understand the immutability of Nature and of the actions of God, and that it is absolutely impossible for us to reconcile it with that variety of Providence which, in all its actions, appears to us in an entire and perfect liberty to form new designs every day, to change events to this side or that, as it pleases sovereign wisdom. Because we cannot reconcile these things, can one conclude that they are absolutely incompatible? It would be the same as maintaining that the nature of God is entirely incomprehensible because we do not comprehend it, and that, in Nature, every phenomenon into which we do not penetrate is impenetrable. Where is the philosopher who dares boast of understanding the cause that turns a magnetized needle toward the pole, and the manner in which the magnetic virtue is communicated by a simple touch? Who will tell me why this virtue cannot be communicated except to iron, and why the needle is not attracted by gold, by silver, and by other metals? What secret commerce is there between the magnet and the north pole, and by what mysterious force does the needle that has been rubbed turn toward the south pole, as soon as one has crossed the equinoctial line? We understand nothing of these operations of Nature and yet our senses assure us of the reality of those operations, in the most incontestable manner in the world. Unless we carry skepticism to the highest degree of absurdity, we must confess that there is nothing contradictory in these phenomena, although it is impossible for us to reconcile them together and although they are incomprehensible, since we do not comprehend them. “Why does our wisdom not incite us to follow the same method of reasoning with regard to the object of the question? It is natural to believe, despite this appearance of change that we discover in the acts of providence, despite those designs that seem to destroy one another and rise one upon the ruins of the other, that nothing is more real than the immutability of Nature and of the decrees of God. What is more reckless than to allege the weakness and the small reach of reason as a proof against the existence of things? Nothing is more bizarre than to reason precisely within the limits of our spirit, with regard to the finite objects of Physics, and to pay no attention to the nature of our soul, when it is a matter of the operations of an infinite being, so superior to our weak lights. “If, then, it is reasonable to believe that divine Providence is free in its actions, and that, directed by its own sovereignty, it follows, in the ordinary course of human things, those methods that it judges suitable, it is our duty to bind a close commerce with that active part of providence, which influences our conduct directly, without entangling our spirit in vain discussions about the manner in which that providence influences our affairs, and about the aim it proposes to itself.

“Entering into this correspondence with this active virtue of the wisdom of God, we must examine its ways, insofar as they may appear accessible to our penetration and to our researches; we must pay the same attention to the secret voice that I have already taken care to describe, as to that clear and strong voice that speaks to us of the events most apt to strike us.

“Whoever does not make a serious study of penetrating the meaning of that secret voice, which offers itself to his attention, deliberately deprives himself of a great number of useful counsels and strong consolations, of which he sometimes feels the need on the path he must travel in this world.

“What a consolation it is for those who heed that voice, to see at every moment that an invisible and infinitely powerful power occupies itself with preserving and administering their interests! With this religious attention, it is impossible not to take account of this protection, not to reflect on the unforeseen solutions that every man finds in the variety of the incidents of human life, evidently without seeing that he owes it not to his own prudence, but solely to the efficacious help of an infinite power, which favors him because it loves him.”

— The second part, entitled: Vision of the Angelic World, n contains the account of facts that belong more particularly to the order of Spiritist facts, from which we take the following passages:

Page 359 – “In my opinion, the Spirit that appeared to Saul must have been a good Spirit, who was called the angel of a man, as appears from what that servant girl in the Acts of the Apostles said, on seeing Peter before the door, having come miraculously out of prison. If one takes the matter in this way, it confirms my idea as regards the commerce of pure Spirits with the Spirits enclosed in bodies and as regards the advantages that men can draw from such commerce. — Those who claim that it was an evil Spirit must, at the same time, suppose that God can make use of the devil as of a prophet, place in the mouth of falsehood the truths that he judges good to reveal to men, and admit that he preaches to the transgressors of his law the justice of the punishments he has resolved to inflict on them. I do not know what artifice these interpreters made use of to escape all the disadvantages of such an opinion; for my part, I do not find that it befits the divine majesty to lend to Satan its Spirit of Truth and to make of him a preacher and a prophet.” Page 365 — “The most direct effects of our commerce with the pure intelligences, and which seemed to me so perceptible that it is impossible to deny them, are: dreams, certain voices, certain noises, warnings, presentiments, fears, an involuntary sadness.”

Page 380 — “It seems to me that you examine with much attention the nature of dreams and the proofs that can be drawn from them of the reality of the world of Spirits. But I beg you to tell me what you think of the dreams that come to us while awake, of transports, ecstasies, visions, noises, voices, and presentiments? Do you not see that they are even stronger proofs of the same truth, since they strike us at a time when our reason is mistress of itself, and when its light is not enveloped in the vapors of sleep?”

Page 393 — “I also saw, as in a single glance, the manner in which these evil Spirits exercise their power; to what point it extends, what obstacles they must overcome, and what other Spirits oppose the success of their abominable designs…

“…Although the devil has in his service an infinite number of faithful ministers, who neglect nothing to execute his projects, there is not only an equal number, but an infinitely greater one of Angels and of good Spirits, who, armed with a superior power, watch from a place much more elevated, over his conduct and make every effort to make his machinations fail. This discovery makes one see still more clearly that he could do nothing except by subtlety and by cunning, sustained by an extraordinary vigilance and attention, for he suffers the humiliation of seeing himself at every instant thwarted and crossed in his designs by the prudent activity of the good Spirits, who have the power to punish and rebuke him, as a man does to a watchdog that lies in wait for passers-by to throw itself upon them.” Page 397 – “In my opinion, inspirations are nothing else but discourses that are imperceptibly whispered into our ear, either by the good angels who favor us, or by those insinuating devils who continually lie in wait for us, to make us fall into some trap or other. The only way to distinguish the authors of these discourses is to be on guard as to the nature of these inspirations and to examine whether they tend to lead us to good or to evil.”

Page 401 – “It is infinitely better for us that a thick veil hides from us that invisible world, as much as the conduct of Providence in relation to the future. Divine goodness manifests itself even in the conversations of the Spirits and in the warnings they give us, by their being effected in an allegorical manner, by inspirations and by dreams, and not in a direct, clear, evident manner. Those who desire a more distinct vision of future things do not know what they long for; and if their desires were granted, perhaps they would find their curiosity cruelly punished.” Page 408 — “Upon awakening one morning, with a quantity of distressing thoughts in her spirit, she felt strongly in her soul a kind of voice, which said to her: Write them a letter. This voice was so intelligent and so natural that, had I not been certain of being alone, I would have thought the words had been pronounced by some human creature. For several days they were repeated to her at every moment; finally, walking about in the room where she had hidden herself, seized with somber and melancholy thoughts, she heard them again and answered aloud: To whom, then, do you want me to write? And the voice replied to her immediately: Write to the judge. These words were again repeated to her several times, leading her, finally, to take up the pen and prepare herself to write a letter, without having in her spirit any idea necessary to her purpose; but, dabitur in hoec hora [it shall be given in that hour], etc. Thoughts and expressions did not fail her; they ran from the pen with such abundance and such facility that she was truly astonished, conceiving the strongest hopes of an excellent success.” Page 413 — “Meanwhile, the most reasonable thing one can imagine about this is that these Spirits give us, on those occasions, all the lights they are in a condition to give us, and that they tell us what they know or, at least, all that their master and ours permit them to communicate to us. If they did not have a real and sincere design to favor us and to safeguard us against the misfortune that hovers over our head, they would say absolutely nothing; consequently, if their warnings are not more considerable and better developed, surely it must not be in their power to give us others more useful.” Page 416 — “Since we have presentiments that are verified by experience, it is necessary that there be Spirits instructed as to the future; that there be a place for the Spirits where future things unfold to their penetration, and we could do no better than to believe the news that comes to us from there. The duty of paying attention to these presentiments is not the only consequence to be drawn from this truth; there are others that may be of a very considerable usefulness to us:

“1st It explains to us the nature of the world of Spirits and proves to us the certainty of our soul after death;

“2nd It makes us see that the direction of Providence, in relation to men and to future events, is not so hidden from the inhabitants of the spiritual world as it is from us;

“3rd From this we may conclude that the penetration of the Spirits freed from matter is of a much greater extent than that of the Spirits enclosed in bodies, since the former know what is to happen to us, while we ourselves are unaware of it.

“The persuasion of the existence of the world of Spirits can be useful to us in many different ways. We are masters to draw, above all, great advantages from the certainty, in which we are, that they know how to unveil the future and to communicate to us the lights they have up there, so as to make us watch over our conduct, avoid misfortunes, think of our interests, and even await death with a firm soul and a spirit prepared to receive it with courage and with a Christian firmness. It would also be a sure means of enlarging the sphere of our lights and of leading us to reason rightly about the true value of things.” Page 427 — “If such a use (repentance and reform of an evil conduct) were made of the real apparitions of the devil, I am convinced that it would be the means of expelling him forever from the invisible world. It is very natural to believe that he would pay us very rare visits, if he were persuaded, by his experience, that they would lead us to virtue, far from making us fall into traps. At the least, he would never come to see us on his own initiative, for, to decide upon it, he would need a superior force.”

Page 457 — “My conversion comes directly from heaven. The light that enveloped St. Paul on the road to Damascus did not strike him more vividly than the one that dazzled me. It is true that it was not accompanied by any voice from heaven, but I am certain that a secret voice spoke efficaciously to my soul; it made me understand that I was exposed to the wrath of that power, of that majesty, of that God whom before I had renounced with every imaginable impiety.”

Page 462 — “In a word, similar accidents are of great force to convince us of the influence of divine Providence in human affairs, however small they may be in appearance, of the existence of an invisible world, and of the reality of the commerce of the pure intelligences with the Spirits enclosed in bodies. I hope to have said nothing on this delicate subject that might lead my readers to absurd and ridiculous fancies. At least I can protest that I had no such purpose, and that my intention was solely to excite in the hearts of men respectful sentiments toward the divinity and docility to the warnings of the good Spirits who take an interest in what concerns us.” Observation. – It is nearly a century since Daniel de Foë, the author of Robinson, wrote these things, which, even in their expressions, one would say were taken from the modern Spiritist Doctrine. In a second communication, given at the Society of Paris, after the reading of these fragments, he explained his beliefs on this point, saying that he belonged to the sect of the theosophists, a sect that, indeed, professed these same principles. Why, then, did this doctrine not take on the extension it has today? There are several reasons for this: 1st – the theosophists kept their doctrines almost secret; 2nd – the opinion of the masses was not ripe to assimilate them; 3rd – it was necessary that a succession of events give another course to ideas; 4th – it was necessary that incredulity prepare the ways and that, by its development, it make felt the void that it digs beneath the steps of Humanity and the need for something to fill it; 5th – Finally, Providence had not judged that it was yet time to make general the manifestations of the Spirits; it was the generalization of this order of phenomena that popularized the belief in Spirits, and the doctrine that is its corollary. Had the manifestations remained the privilege of a few individuals, Spiritism would still not have emerged from its place of origin; it would still be, for the masses, in the state of theory, of personal opinion, without consistency. It was the practical sanction that each one found in the manifestations, provoked or spontaneous, from one end of the world to the other, that popularized the doctrine and gave it an irresistible force, in spite of those who combat it.

Although the theosophists had little repercussion and only barely emerged from obscurity, their works were not lost to the cause; they sowed germs that were only to bear fruit later, but which formed men predisposed to the acceptance of Spiritist ideas, as did the sect of the “Swedenborgians” [see Swedenborg]

and, later, that of the “Fourierists.” [see Charles Fourier and Profession of Faith of a Fourierist.] It is to be noted that never does an idea somewhat great suffer a brusque interruption in the world. Often it launches its trial balloons many centuries before its definitive emergence. It is the gestation.

[1] [Robinson Crusoe - Google Books.]

[2] [Voyages imaginaires, songes, visions et romans cabalistiques - Google Books.]

[3] Réflexions sérieuses et importantes de Robinson Crusoé - Google Books.]

[4] [Vision du monde angélique - Google Books.]