Transitory Constitution of Spiritism.

I.

Preliminary considerations. — II.

Extract from the report on the Treasury of Spiritism. — III.

On schisms. — IV.

The head of Spiritism. — V.

Central commission. — Departments of the Central commission. — VI.

Fundamental works of the Doctrine. — VII. Attributions of the Committee. — VIII.

Ways and means. — IX.

Conclusion.

I.

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS.

Spiritism had, like all things, its period of gestation and, so long as all the questions, principal and accessory, that derive from it are not resolved, it can only yield incomplete results. Its purpose was glimpsed, its consequences were sensed in advance, but only in a vague manner. From the uncertainty about points not yet determined, divergences as to the manner of considering them had necessarily to arise; unification had to be the work of time and was effected gradually as the principles came to be elucidated. Only when it has developed all the parts into which it unfolds will the Doctrine form a harmonious whole, and only then will it be possible to judge what Spiritism is. While it was no more than a philosophical opinion, it could count, on the part of its adherents, only on the natural sympathy that the communion of ideas produces; no serious bond could exist among them, for lack of a clearly traced program. This, evidently, was the fundamental cause of the weak cohesion and the instability of the groups and societies that soon formed. For this very reason, we constantly strove, and with all our strength, to dissuade Spiritists from the intention of prematurely founding any special institution based on the Doctrine, before this latter rested on solid foundations. To do so would be to expose themselves to inevitable failures, whose effect would have been disastrous, owing to the impression they would produce on the public and to the discouragement into which they would cast the adherents. Such failures might perhaps delay by a century the definitive progress of the Doctrine, to whose impotence a setback would be imputed that was due, in reality, to imprudence. Through not knowing how to wait, in order to arrive at the exact moment, the over-hasty and the impatient have, in all ages, compromised the best causes. n One must not ask of things anything but what they can give, in proportion as they come into a state of producing. One cannot demand of a child what one can expect of an adult, nor of a tree that has just been planted what it will yield when it is in all its vigor. Spiritism, in the course of elaboration, could yield only individual results; the collective and general results will be the fruit of complete Spiritism, which will successively develop.

Though it has not yet said its last word on every point, it is approaching its completion, and the hour has struck to offer it a strong and durable base, susceptible nonetheless of receiving all the developments that subsequent circumstances may entail, and which offers full security to those who inquire who, after us, will take up its reins.

The Doctrine is, without doubt, imperishable, because it rests on the laws of Nature and because, better than any other, it corresponds to the legitimate aspirations of men. Nevertheless, its diffusion and its definitive establishment can be advanced or delayed by various circumstances, some of which are subordinate to the general march of things, others inherent to the doctrine itself, to its constitution and its organization. It is with the latter that we are going to occupy ourselves especially at this moment.

Although the question of substance is preponderant in everything and always ends by prevailing, the question of form has here capital importance; it could even momentarily prevail and give rise to embarrassments and delays, according to the manner in which it were resolved.

We should, then, have done an incomplete thing and left great difficulties for the future, had we not foreseen those that may arise. With the aim of avoiding them, it was that, with the assistance of the good Spirits who help us in our works, we elaborated a plan of organization, bringing into play the experience of the past, in order to avoid the reefs against which the majority of the doctrines that have appeared in the world have struck. As this plan can lend itself to all the developments that the future holds in reserve, we gave, for that very reason, to this constitution the qualification of transitory. The plan set forth here we conceived a long time ago, because we have always been concerned with the future of Spiritism, it is true, but enough to show that this is not, today, a new conception, and that, working on the theoretical part of the work, we did not neglect the practical side.

Before broaching the question thoroughly, it seems to us useful to recall some passages of the report that we presented to the Society of Paris, on May 5, 1865, concerning the treasury of Spiritism, and which was published in the Review of June 1865. The considerations it contains are directly connected with our subject, of which they are the indispensable preliminaries.

II.

EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT ON THE TREASURY OF SPIRITISM, MADE TO THE SOCIETY OF PARIS, ON MAY 5, 1865.

Much has been said of the profits I drew from my works. Certainly, no serious person really believes in my millions, despite the assertion of those who said they knew from a good source that I led a princely life, had carriages with four horses, and that in my house one trod only on Aubusson carpets. (Review of June 1862). Moreover, notwithstanding what the author of a pamphlet you know said, proving, by hyperbolic calculations, that my budget of receipts surpasses the civil list of the most powerful sovereign of Europe, since, in France alone, twenty million Spiritists are my tributaries (Review of June 1863), there is a fact more authentic than his calculations: it is that I never asked anything of anyone, no one gave me anything for myself personally; in a word, I do not live at anyone's expense, since, of the sums voluntarily entrusted to me in the interest of Spiritism, not a single portion was diverted to my profit. n My immense riches would proceed, then, from my Spiritist works. Although these works have attained unexpected success, it suffices to have a little familiarity with the business of bookselling to know that it is not with philosophical books that one piles up millions in five or six years, when on the sale one has only the author's royalty of a few centimes per copy. But, large or minimal, this profit being the fruit of my labor, no one has the right to meddle in the use I make of it; even were it to rise to millions, no one has anything to do with it, since the purchase of books, as well as the subscription to the Review, is optional and is imposed in no circumstance, not even to attend the sessions of the Society. Speaking commercially, I am in the position of every man who gathers the fruit of his labor; I run the risk of every writer, who may as much triumph as fail. n Even though, in this particular, I have no account to render, I believe it useful to the very cause to which I have devoted myself to give some explanations.

First of all, I will say that my works are not my exclusive property, which obliges me to buy them from my publisher and pay for them like a bookseller, with the exception of the Review; that the profit is singularly diminished by uncollectible debts and by free distributions, made in the interest of the Doctrine, to persons who, without this, would be deprived of them. A very easy calculation proves that the price of ten volumes lost or donated, which I nonetheless pay for, is sufficient to absorb the profit of a hundred volumes. Let this be said by way of information and in parentheses. Adding everything up and the balance struck, there remains, however, something. Imagine whatever figure you like; what do I do with it? This is what most preoccupies certain people. Whoever formerly saw our dwelling and sees it today will be able to attest that nothing has changed in our manner of living, since I began to occupy myself with Spiritism; it is as simple now as it was formerly. It is therefore certain that my profits, however great they may be, do not serve to give us the pleasures of luxury. Should I, then, have the mania of hoarding in order to have the pleasure of contemplating my money? I believe that my character and my habits have never permitted such a supposition to be made. What do they claim? Since it does not profit me, the more fabulous the sum, the more embarrassing the answer will be. One day they will know the exact figure, as well as its detailed use, and the makers of tales will spare their imagination; today I limit myself to some general data in order to put a curb on ridiculous suppositions. To that end I must enter into some intimate details, but ones that are necessary, and for which I beg your pardon. We have always had something to live on, very modestly it is true, but what would have been little for certain people sufficed for us, thanks to our tastes and habits of order and economy. To our small income there came to be joined, as a supplement, the proceeds of the works I published before Spiritism and those of a modest employment, which I found myself forced to leave when the labors of the Doctrine absorbed all my time.

Drawing me out of obscurity, Spiritism came to cast me into a new path; in a short time I found myself swept along by a movement that I was far from foreseeing. When I conceived the idea of The Spirits' Book, it was my intention not to put myself in any way in evidence and to remain unknown; but, promptly overtaken, this was not possible for me: I had to renounce my taste for seclusion, on pain of abdicating the work undertaken and which grew from day to day; it was necessary to follow its impulse and take up its reins. If my name now has some popularity, assuredly it was not I who sought it, for it is notorious that I owe it neither to propaganda nor to the camaraderie of the press, and that I never took advantage of my connections to launch myself into the world, when it would have been so easy for me. But, as the work grew, a vaster horizon unfolded before me, pushing back its limits; I then understood the immensity of my task and the importance of the work that remained for me to do in order to complete it. Far from terrifying me, the difficulties and obstacles redoubled my energies; I saw the goal and resolved to attain it with the assistance of the good Spirits. I felt that I had no time to lose and I lost none either in useless visits or in idle ceremonies; it was the work of my life: to it I gave all my time, I sacrificed to it my rest, my health, because the future was written before me in irrecusable characters. Without departing from our manner of life, that exceptional position nonetheless did not fail to create for us no less needs, for which my personal resources alone, very limited, would not permit me to provide. It would be difficult for another to imagine the multiplicity of the expenses that that position entails and which, without it, I would have avoided.

Well then, gentlemen! what afforded me a supplement to my resources was the proceeds of my works. And I say it with satisfaction, for it was with my own labor, with the fruit of my vigils that I provided, at least for the greater part, for the material needs of the installation of the Doctrine. Thus, I brought a large share to the treasury of Spiritism. Those who help the propagation of the works cannot, then, say that they labor to enrich me, because the proceeds of the sale of every book, of every subscription to the Review, redound to the profit of the Doctrine and not of the individual. But to provide for the present was not everything: it mattered also to think of the future and to prepare a foundation that, after me, could aid the one who would replace me in the great task he will have to perform. This foundation, concerning which I must still keep silence, is bound up with the property I possess, and it is in view of this that I apply, in improving it, a part of what I earn. As I am far from the millions with which I have been credited, and despite my economies, I very much doubt that my personal resources will permit me to give to that foundation the complement I would wish to assign to it in my lifetime. Once, however, that its realization is in the designs of my spiritual guides, if I myself do not do it, it is probable that, one day or another, it will be done. While I await, I am elaborating the projects on paper. Far be from me, gentlemen, the thought of vaunting myself, even slightly, with what I have just set forth to you. It required the pertinacity of certain diatribes for me to decide, though reluctantly, to break the silence about some facts that concern me. Later, all those that malevolence has been pleased to distort will be brought to light by means of authentic documents; but the time for those explanations has not yet come. The only thing that mattered to me for now was that you should be enlightened with regard to the destination of the funds that Providence causes to pass through my hands, whatever their origin. I consider myself no more than a depositary, even of what I earn and, with all the more reason, of that which is entrusted to me. Someone asked me one day, without curiosity, of course, and out of mere interest in the cause, what I would do with a million, if I had it. I answered him that today its use would be entirely different from what it would have been at the beginning. Formerly I would have made propaganda by a wide publicity; now I recognize that this would be useless, for our adversaries have taken it upon themselves to defray it. Great resources not being placed at my disposal then, the Spirits wished to prove that Spiritism owed its triumphs only to its own strength.

Today, that the horizon has widened, above all that the future has unfolded, needs of a completely different order make themselves felt. A capital like the one you suppose would receive a more useful use. Without entering into details, which would be premature, I will simply say that one part would be destined to convert my property into a special house of Spiritist retreat, whose inhabitants would gather the benefits of our moral doctrine; the other would constitute an inalienable income, destined: 1st to maintain the establishment; 2nd to assure an existence to whoever succeeds me and to those who help him in his mission; 3rd to provide for the current needs of Spiritism, without the risks of occasional aid, as I am obliged to do, since the greater part of its resources derive from my labor, which will have an end. This is what I would do; but if this satisfaction is not granted me, I know that, in one way or another, the Spirits who direct the movement will provide for all needs in due time. This is why I am absolutely not disquieted about it and occupy myself only with what, for me, is the essential: the conclusion of the works that remain for me to finish. This done, I will depart when it pleases God to call me.

III.

ON SCHISMS.

A question that soon presents itself is that of the schisms that may be born within the bosom of the Doctrine. Will Spiritism be preserved from them?

No, certainly, because it will have, above all in the beginning, to struggle against personal ideas, always absolute, tenacious, refractory to amalgamating with the ideas of others; and against the ambition of those who, in spite of everything, strive to link their names to some innovation; of those who create novelties only to be able to say that they do not think or act like others; or because their self-love suffers from occupying only a secondary position; or, finally, because they see with spite another doing what they have not done and, moreover, triumphing. But, as we have told them hundreds of times: “Who bars your way? Who prevents you from working on your own side? Who forbids you to publish your works? Publicity is open to you as to everyone; give something better than what exists, no one opposes this; be more appreciated by the public, and it will give you the preference.” If, however, Spiritism cannot escape human weaknesses, with which one must always reckon, it can nevertheless neutralize their consequences, and this is the essential thing.

It is to be noted that the various divergent systems, which arose at the origin of Spiritism, on the manner of explaining the facts, gradually disappeared as the Doctrine was completed by means of observation and a rational theory. Today, those primitive systems still count rare partisans. This is a notorious fact, from which one can conclude that the last divergences will be effaced with the integral elucidation of all the parts of the Doctrine. But there will always be dissidents, of prejudiced mind and interested, for one motive or another, in forming a separate band. It is against the pretension of these that the rest must guard themselves. To assure, in the future, unity, one condition becomes indispensable: that all the parts of the whole of the Doctrine be determined with precision and clarity, without anything remaining imprecise. To that end, we proceed in such a manner that our writings do not lend themselves to contradictory interpretations, and we will take care that it always be so. When it is said peremptorily and without ambiguity that two and two are four, no one can claim that it was meant that two and two make five.

Consequently, sects may form alongside the Doctrine, sects that do not adopt its principles or all its principles, but not within the Doctrine, by effect of interpretation of the texts, as so many formed on the meaning of the very words of the Gospel. This is a first point of capital importance.

The second point lies in not departing from the realm of practical ideas. If it is true that the utopia of yesterday often becomes the truth of the following day, let us leave the following day to realize the utopia of yesterday, but let us not encumber the Doctrine with principles that may be considered chimerical and cause it to be repelled by positive men.

The third point, finally, is inherent to the essentially progressive character of the Doctrine. From the fact that it does not lull itself with unrealizable dreams, it does not follow that it immobilizes itself in the present. Supported solely on the laws of Nature, it cannot vary more than these laws; but, if a new law be discovered, it must put itself in accord with that law. It does not behoove it to close the door to any progress, on pain of committing suicide. Assimilating all ideas recognized as just, of whatever order they may be, physical or metaphysical, it will never be surpassed, this constituting one of the principal guarantees of its perpetuity. If, therefore, a sect forms at the side of Spiritism, founded or not on its principles, it is one of two things: either that sect will be with the truth, or it will not be; if it is not, it will fall of itself, under the ascendancy of reason and common sense, as has already happened to so many others, through the centuries; if its ideas are correct, even with regard to a single point, the Doctrine, which seeks only the good and the true wherever they are found, will assimilate them, so that, instead of being absorbed, it will absorb. If some of its adherents come to depart, it is because they will believe themselves capable of doing something better; if they really do something better, it will imitate them; if they do greater good, it will strive to do as much or more, if possible; if they do more evil, it will let them do it, certain that, sooner or later, good prevails over evil and the true will predominate over what is false. This is the only struggle in which it will engage. Let us add that tolerance, fruit of charity, which constitutes the base of Spiritist morality, imposes on it as a duty to respect all beliefs. Wishing to be accepted freely, by conviction and not by constraint, proclaiming liberty of conscience an imprescriptible natural right, it says: If I am right, all will end by thinking as I do; if I am in error, I will end by thinking as the others. By virtue of these principles, casting stones at no one, it will give no pretext for reprisals and will leave to the dissidents all the responsibility for their words and their acts.

The program of the Doctrine will not, then, be invariable, except with reference to the principles that today have passed to the condition of proven truths. With regard to the others, it will admit them, as it has always done, only by way of hypotheses, until they are confirmed. If it is demonstrated to it that it is in error about a point, it will modify itself on that point.

Absolute truth is eternal and, for that very reason, invariable. But who can flatter himself with possessing it all? In the state of imperfection in which our knowledge finds itself, what today appears false to us may tomorrow be recognized as true, in consequence of the discovery of new laws, and this as much in the moral order as in the physical order. Against that eventuality, the Doctrine must never be unprepared. The progressive principle, which it inscribes in its code, will be the safeguard of its perenniality, and its unity will be maintained, precisely because it does not rest on the principle of immobility. Instead of being a strength, immobility becomes a cause of weakness and ruin, for whoever does not follow the general movement; it breaks unity, because those who wish to advance separate themselves from those who obstinately remain behind. But, in following the progressive movement, one must do it with prudence and avoid going headlong to meet the ravings of utopia and of systems. It must be done in time, neither too soon nor too late, and with knowledge of the cause. It is understood that a doctrine resting on such bases must be really strong; it defies all competition and neutralizes the pretensions of its competitors. It is to this point that our efforts tend to lead the Spiritist Doctrine.

Moreover, experience has already proved the correctness of this foresight. Having always marched along this path since its origin, the Doctrine advances constantly, but without precipitation, always verifying whether the ground on which it treads is solid and measuring its steps by the state of opinion. It has done as the navigator who does not proceed without having the sounding line in hand and without consulting the winds.

IV.

THE HEAD OF SPIRITISM.

But who will be charged with maintaining Spiritism on that path? Who will even have the strength? Who will have the time and the perseverance necessary to consecrate himself to the incessant labor that such a task demands? If Spiritism be left to itself, without a guide, is it not to be feared that it will deviate from its route? and that malevolence, with which it will still for a long time be in struggle, will not seek to disfigure its spirit? This is, in effect, a vital question and whose solution is invested with the greatest interest for the future of the Doctrine.

The necessity of a superior central direction, vigilant guardian of the progressive unity and of the general interests of the Doctrine, is so evident that it already causes disquiet not to see its conductor arising on the horizon. It is understood that, without a moral authority, capable of centralizing the works, the studies, and the observations, of giving the impulse, of stimulating zeal, of defending the weak, of sustaining wavering spirits, of helping with the counsels of experience, of fixing opinion on uncertain points, Spiritism would run the risk of walking at random. Not only is that direction necessary, but it is also needful that it fulfill conditions of strength and stability sufficient to confront the tempests. Those who admit no authority do not understand the true interests of the Doctrine. If some think they can dispense with all direction, the majority, those who do not believe themselves infallible and do not place absolute confidence in their own lights, feel the need of a point of support, of a guide, even if only to help them walk with security. (See the Review of April 1866: Independent Spiritism).

The necessity of a direction recognized, from whom would the head receive his powers? Will he be acclaimed by the universality of the adherents disseminated throughout the entire world? It is an impracticable thing. If he imposes himself by his own authority, some will accept him, while others will refuse him, and twenty pretenders may arise, raising banner against banner. It would be at once despotism and anarchy. Such an act would be proper to an ambitious man, and no one would be less suitable than an ambitious man, for that very reason proud, to head a doctrine that is based on abnegation, on devotedness, on disinterestedness, on humility. Placed outside the fundamental principle of the Doctrine, he could do nothing else but falsify its spirit. This is what would inevitably happen, if effective measures were not adopted beforehand to prevent that inconvenience. Let us admit, however, that there were a man with all the qualities necessary to the discharge of his mandate and who, by some path, arrived at the supreme direction. Men succeed one another and do not resemble one another; after a good one, a bad one could come. With the individual, the spirit of the direction may change; without evil designs, he may have ways of seeing more or less just; if he undertakes to make his personal ideas prevail, he may lead the Doctrine to go astray, raise dissidences, and the same difficulties will be renewed at each change. One must not forget that Spiritism is not yet in the plenitude of its strength. From the point of view of organization, it is a child that is barely beginning to walk. It behooves, then, above all in the beginning, to forearm it against the obstacles of the path. But, it will be said, will there not come to stand at the head of Spiritism one of the Spirits who, as was announced, must take part in the work of regeneration? It is probable; nevertheless, as those Spirits will not bear on their brow a sign to be recognized; as they will not affirm themselves except by their acts, and, for the most part, will only be recognized after having died, conformably to what they will have produced during life; as, moreover, they will not be perpetual, it becomes necessary to foresee all eventualities.

It is known that they will have a manifold mission; that they will be of all the degrees of the spiritual scale and will be found in the diverse branches of the social economy [organization], where one will exercise influence in favor of the new ideas, according to the particularity of his position; that all, then, will work for the ascendancy of the Doctrine, here and there, some as heads of State, others as legists, others as magistrates, scholars, men of letters, orators, industrialists, etc.; that each will give proof of himself where it falls to him to exercise his activity, from the proletarian to the sovereign, without anything distinguishing them from the common run of men, except their works. If it falls to one of them to take part in the direction, it is probable that he will be placed providentially in the position appropriate to making him arrive there by the legal means that are adopted; apparently fortuitous circumstances will lead him there, without there being on his part any premeditated design, without even his being conscious of his mission. (Spiritist Review: “The messiahs of Spiritism,” February and March 1868.) In such a case, the worst of all heads would be the one who gave himself out as elect of God. As it is not rational to admit that God confides such missions to ambitious or proud men, the characteristic virtues of a true messiah must be, above all, simplicity, humility, modesty, in a word, the most complete material and moral disinterestedness. Now, the mere pretension of being a messiah would constitute the negation of these essential qualities; it would prove, in the one who availed himself of such a title, either foolish presumption, if there be good faith, or signal imposture. Schemers will not be lacking, pseudo-Spiritists, who wish to elevate themselves through pride, ambition, or cupidity; others who flaunt pretended revelations with the help of which they seek to stand out and to fascinate over-credulous imaginations. It is also to be foreseen that, under false appearances, there may be individuals who attempt to seize the helm, with the preconceived idea of making the ship founder, diverting it from its route. The ship will not founder, but it could suffer prejudicial delays that ought to be avoided.

These are, without contestation, the greatest reefs from which Spiritism needs to preserve itself. The more consistency it acquires, the more its adversaries will lay snares for it. It is, therefore, the duty of all sincere Spiritists to annul the maneuvers of intrigue that may be woven, both in the small centers and in the great. They will, in the first place, have to repudiate, in the most absolute manner, anyone who presents himself of his own accord as a messiah, whether as head of Spiritism, or as a simple apostle of the Doctrine. By its fruit one knows the tree; let it be awaited, then, that the tree gives its fruit, in order to decide whether it is good, and let it be seen also whether the fruits have flavor. (The Gospel According to Spiritism, chapter XXI, no. 9, “Characters of the true prophet.”) Someone with whom we were conversing on this subject proposed the following expedient: to have the candidates designated by the Spirits themselves in each Spiritist group or society. Besides the fact that this means would not obviate all the inconveniences, it would present others, peculiar to such a manner of proceeding, which experience has already demonstrated and which it would be superfluous to recall here. One must not lose sight of the fact that the mission of the Spirits consists in instructing us, so that we improve ourselves, but not in overriding our free will. They suggest ideas to us, help with their counsels, principally in what concerns moral questions, but leave to our reasoning the charge of executing material things, a charge of which it does not behoove them to spare us. In their world they have attributions that are not those of Earth; to ask of them what is outside their attributions is to expose oneself to the trickery of frivolous Spirits. Let men content themselves with being assisted and protected by good Spirits; let them not, however, discharge upon them the responsibility that falls to the incarnate. That means, moreover, would raise greater embarrassments than one might suppose, owing to the difficulty of having all the groups participate in such an election. It would be a complication in the gears, and these will show themselves the less susceptible of becoming deranged the more simplified they are.

The problem is, then, that of constituting a central direction, in conditions of strength and stability, that place it beyond all fluctuations; that correspond to all the needs of the cause and oppose an insurmountable barrier to the plots of intrigue and ambition. Such is the aim of the plan of which we are going to give a rapid sketch.

V.

CENTRAL COMMISSION.

During the period of elaboration, the direction of Spiritism had to be individual; it was necessary that all the constitutive elements of the Doctrine, issuing, in the state of embryos, from a multitude of foci, should be directed toward a common center, in order to be there examined and collated, so that a single thought should preside over their coordination, in order to establish unity in the whole and harmony among all the parts. Were it not so, the Doctrine would have resembled those hybrid edifices, designed by several architects, or a mechanism whose wheels do not engage with precision one into another. We have already said it, because it is an incontestable truth, today clearly demonstrated: the Doctrine could not come out, from a single center, completely structured, in the same way that the whole of astronomical science could not come out, entirely constituted, from a single observatory. Any center that attempted to raise it exclusively on its own observations would do an incomplete thing and would find itself, with regard to an infinity of points, in contradiction with the others. If a thousand centers wished each to make its own doctrine, there would not be two alike in all points. If they were in accord as to the foundations, they would inevitably differ as to the form. Now, as there are many people who attend more to the form than to the substance, the sects would be as many as the different forms. Only from the whole and the comparison of all the partial results could unity result. This is why the concentration of the works was necessary. (Genesis, chapter I, “Character of the Spiritist revelation,” no. 51 and following.) But, what was of advantage for a certain time would later become an inconvenience. Today, that the work of elaboration is concluded, in what concerns the fundamental questions, that the general principles of the Science are established, the direction, from individual that it had to be in the beginning, must become collective, firstly, because a moment will come when its weight will exceed the strength of one man and, secondly, because a body of individuals, to each of whom falls but one vote and who can do nothing without mutual concurrence, presents a greater guarantee than a single individual, capable of abusing his authority and of wishing his personal ideas to predominate. Instead of a single head, the direction will be confided to a central commission or permanent superior council — the name matters little — whose organization and attributions are defined in such a manner as to give no room for arbitrariness. That commission will be composed, at most, of twelve titular members, who must, for that effect, fulfill certain indispensable conditions, and of an equal number of councilors. It will complete itself, according to rules equally determined, so as to avoid all favoritism, as vacancies occur in its bosom through deaths or other causes. A special provision will establish the manner in which the first twelve will be appointed. Each member will preside in turn during one year, and the one who fulfills this function will be designated by drawing of lots.

Purely administrative will be the authority of the president. He will direct the deliberations of the commission, will watch over the execution of the works and over the dispatch of business; but, outside the attributions that the constitutive statutes confer on him, he will be able to take no decision without the concurrence of the commission. Therefore, there will be no possibility of abuses, nor nourishment for ambition, nor pretexts for intrigues or jealousies, nor shocking supremacy.

The central commission, or superior council, will be, then, the head, the true head of Spiritism, a collective head, that will be able to do nothing without the assent of the majority and, in certain cases, without that of a congress or general assembly. Sufficiently numerous to be enlightened by means of discussion, it will not be so much as to cause confusion.

The congresses will be constituted by delegates of the particular societies, regularly constituted, and placed under the patronage of the commission by their adhesion and by the conformity of their principles.

For the community of adherents, the approval or the disapproval, the consent or the refusal, the decisions, in sum, of a constituted body, representing collective opinion, will necessarily have an authority that they would never have, if they emanated from a single individual, who represents only a personal opinion. It is frequent that one person rejects the opinion of another, in the understanding that he would humble himself, were he to submit to that opinion, and accepts without difficulty that of many.

It is well understood that here it is a question of moral authority, in what regards the interpretation and application of the moral principles of the Doctrine, and not of any disciplinary power. That authority will be, in matters of Spiritism, what that of an academy is, in matters of Science.

For the outside public, a constituted body has greater ascendancy and preponderance; against the adversaries, above all, it presents a force of resistance and disposes of means of action that an individual could not count on; the former struggles with infinitely greater advantages. An individuality is subject to being attacked and annihilated; the same does not occur with a collective entity.

There is, equally, in a collective entity, a guarantee of stability, that does not exist when everything falls upon a single head. As soon as the individual finds himself impeded by some cause, everything is paralyzed. The collective entity, on the contrary, perpetuates itself incessantly. Although it lose one or several of its members, nothing is imperiled.

The difficulty, they will say, will consist in gathering, in a permanent manner, twelve persons who are always in accord.

The essential thing is that they be in accord with respect to the fundamental principles. Now, this will constitute an absolute condition for their being admitted to the direction, as for that of all who are to participate in it. On the pending questions of detail, it matters little that they diverge, since it is the opinion of the majority that will prevail. To the one whose manner of seeing is correct, good reasons with which to justify it will not be lacking. If any, vexed at not succeeding in having his ideas predominate, withdraws, things would not for that fail to follow their course, and there would be no reason to deplore his departure, since he would have given proof of a proud susceptibility, little Spiritist, and which could become a source of disturbances. The most common cause of separateness among co-interested parties is the conflict of interests and the possibility of some supplanting others, to their own profit. This cause cannot exist, from the moment when the harm of one will in no way profit the others; since all are jointly responsible and can only lose, instead of gain, by disunion. This is a question of detail foreseen in the organization.

Let us admit that among the members of the commission there is a false brother, a traitor, whom the enemies of the cause have won over to themselves: what will he manage to do, disposing only of his vote in the decisions? Let us suppose that, by impossibility, the whole commission takes a bad path: there the congresses will be to bring it back to order.

The oversight of the acts of the administration will belong to the congresses, which will be able to decree censure or an accusation against the central commission, for infraction of its mandate, for violation of the established principles, or for measures prejudicial to the Doctrine. This is why there will be an appeal from the commission to the congress, in the circumstances in which it is judged that the responsibility of the former is gravely compromised.

The congresses being a curb on the commission, in their approval the latter draws new strength. It is thus that the collective head depends, in the final analysis, on general opinion and cannot, without risk to itself, depart from the straight path.

When the commission is organized, we will form part of it as a simple member, giving it our collaboration, without claiming, for ourselves, either supremacy, or title, or any privilege.

[DEPARTMENTS OF THE CENTRAL COMMISSION.]

To the general attributions of the commission will be annexed, as local dependencies:

1st A library, where all the works that interest Spiritism may be found gathered and which may be consulted on the premises, or lent out for reading;

2nd A museum, where the first works of Spiritist art may be collected, the most notable mediumistic works, the portraits of the adherents to whom the cause owes much for the devotedness they have demonstrated, those of the men to whom Spiritism renders homage, although strangers to the Doctrine, as benefactors of Humanity, great genius missionaries of progress, etc. n 3rd A dispensary destined for free medical consultations and for the medical treatment of certain afflictions, under the direction of a licensed physician;

4th A fund for relief and providence, on practical conditions;

5th An asylum;

6th A society of adherents, that holds regular sessions.

VI.

FUNDAMENTAL WORKS OF THE DOCTRINE.

Many people lament that the fundamental works of the Doctrine have a price so elevated for a great number of readers, and they think, with reason, that if popular editions were made at low cost, they would be much more widespread, by which the Doctrine would gain.

We are completely in agreement; but, in the present state of things, the conditions under which they are published do not permit them to be so otherwise. We hope to arrive one day at that result, with the help of a new combination connected with the general plan of organization. But that operation can only be realized if undertaken on a vast scale; on our part alone it would require capital that we do not possess, and material labors that our works, which require all our meditations, do not permit us to give. It is for this reason that the commercial part properly so called was neglected or, better said, sacrificed to the establishment of the doctrinal part. What mattered, above all, was that the works be made and the bases of the Doctrine laid. Once organized through the constitution of the central commission, our works will become the property of Spiritism, in the person of that same commission, which will manage them and take care of their publication, by the means most appropriate to popularizing them. It will also have to take care that they be translated into the principal foreign languages.

The Review has been, until now, and could not but be, a personal work, since it formed part of our doctrinal works, constituting the annals of Spiritism. It was through its medium that all the new principles were elaborated and delivered to study. It was, then, necessary that it preserve its individual character, in order that unity be established.

We were, on diverse occasions, solicited to make it circulate more frequently; however flattering, however, that desire was to us, we could not attend to it, firstly, because the material time did not permit us that increase of labor and, secondly, because it mattered that it not lose its essential character, which is not that of a newspaper properly so called.

Today, that our personal work approaches its term, the needs are no longer the same; the Review will become, like our other works, made and to be made, collective property of the commission, which will take its direction, for the greater advantage of Spiritism, without our, for that reason, renouncing to lend it our collaboration.

To complete the doctrinal work, there remain for us to publish several works, which do not form the least difficult part, nor the least painful. Although we already dispose of all the elements to execute it and the program of each is traced down to the last chapter, we could devote to them more careful attention and accelerate them, if, the central commission being instituted, we were free of other cares that absorb a great part of our time.

VII.

ATTRIBUTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE.

These will be the principal attributions of the central commission:

1st To take care of the interests of the Doctrine and of its propagation; to maintain its unity, by the conservation of the integrity of the established principles; to provide for the development of its consequences;

2nd The study of the new principles, susceptible of entering into the body of the Doctrine;

3rd The concentration, in its power, of all the documents and information that interest Spiritism;

4th The correspondence;

5th The maintenance, the consolidation, and the extension of the bonds of fraternity among the adherents and the particular societies of the diverse countries;

6th The direction of the Review, which will be the official newspaper of Spiritism and to which another periodical publication may be joined;

7th The examination and appreciation of the works, of the newspaper articles, and of all the writings that interest the Doctrine; the refutation of the attacks, if they appear;

8th The publication of the fundamental works of the Doctrine, on the conditions most favorable to their vulgarization; the elaboration and publication of those of which we will give the plan and which we will not have time to execute in our present existence; the support that the publications that are of profit to the cause may need;

9th The foundation and conservation of the library, of the archives, and of the museum;

10th The administration of the relief fund, of the dispensary, and of the asylum;

11th The administration of the material affairs;

12th The direction of the sessions of the Society;

13th The oral teaching;

14th The visits and instructions to the particular reunions and societies that place themselves under its patronage;

15th The convocation of the congresses and general assemblies.

These attributions the members of the commission will distribute among themselves, according to the specialty of each, they being, if need be, assisted by a certain number of auxiliaries or of simple employees.

In consequence, among the members of the commission there will be:

A secretary-general for the correspondence and the minutes of the sessions of the commission;

An editor-in-chief for the Review and the other publications;

A librarian-archivist, charged, besides, with the examination and the critical appreciations of the works and newspaper articles;

A director of the relief fund, also charged with the direction of the dispensary, with the visits to the sick and the needy, and with everything that refers to beneficence. He will be seconded by a beneficence commission chosen within the Society, and formed of charitable persons of good will;

An administrator-accountant, charged with the affairs and the material interests;

A special director for the affairs concerning the publications;

Orators for the oral teaching, charged, moreover, with visiting the societies of the Departments and there giving instructions. They may be taken from among the auxiliary members and the adherents of good will who, for that purpose, will receive a special mandate.

Whatever the subsequent extension of the affairs and of the administrative personnel, the commission will always be limited to the same number of titular members.

Until now we have had to suffice more or less alone for this program. For this very reason, some of its parts were neglected or could only be sketched, and those that are more especially within our competence had to suffer inevitable delays, owing to the necessity of occupying ourselves with so many things, when time and strength have limits and a single one would absorb the time of one man.

VIII.

WAYS AND MEANS.

It is to be lamented, without doubt, that we have to enter into considerations of a material order, in order to attain an aim wholly spiritual. We must, however, observe that the very spirituality of the work is bound up with the question of terrestrial Humanity and of its well-being; that it is no longer only a matter of the emission of some philosophical ideas, but of founding something positive and durable, for the extension and the consolidation of the Doctrine, which must be made to produce the fruits that it is susceptible of giving. To imagine that we are still in the times when a few apostles could set out on the road with a traveling staff, without troubling to know where they would lodge, nor what they would eat, would be to nourish an illusion that bitter disappointment would very quickly destroy. For someone to do anything serious, he must submit to the necessities imposed by the customs of the epoch in which he lives, and those necessities are very diverse from those of the times of patriarchal life. The very interest of Spiritism requires, then, that the means of action be appreciated, in order not to be forced to stop midway. Let us appreciate them, therefore, since we are in a century in which it is necessary to calculate everything. They are in great number, as is seen, the attributions of the central commission, to require a real administration. Each of its members having active and assiduous functions, if it were constituted only of men of good will, the works would be prejudiced, since no one would have the right to censure the negligent. For the regularity of the works and the normality of the dispatch of business, it becomes necessary to count on men of whose assiduity one can be certain and who do not consider their functions as simple acts of obliging. The more independence they are masters of, by their personal resources, the less they will let themselves be bound by assiduous occupations; if they do not dispose of time, they will not be able to consecrate it to those functions. It matters, then, that they be remunerated, as well as the administrative personnel. By this the Doctrine will gain in strength, in stability, in punctuality, at the same time that it will constitute a means of rendering services to persons who have need of it. An essential point, in the economy of all provident administration, is that its existence not depend on occasional proceeds that may be wanting, but on resources that are certain, regular, in such a manner that its march, whatever may happen, not be embarrassed. It behooves, then, that the persons who are called to lend it their concurrence should not feel disquieted as to the future that awaits them. Now, experience demonstrates that one ought to consider essentially uncertain the resources that have only as their base the proceeds of quotas or contributions, always optional, whatever the commitments contracted, and always difficult to collect. To base permanent and regular expenses on occasional resources would imply a lack of foresight, which one would later have to deplore. Less grave are, without doubt, the consequences, when it is a matter of temporary foundations, destined to last as long as they can; here, however, it is a question of the future. The lot of an administration like this one cannot remain subordinate to the hazards of a commercial business; it must be, from its outset, if not so flourishing, at least as stable as it will be a century from now. The more solid its base, the less exposed it will be to the blows of intrigue. In such a case, the most ordinary prudence dictates that the resources be capitalized, in an inalienable form, in proportion as they are obtained, in order to constitute a perpetual income, sheltered from all eventualities. The administration regulating its expense by the income it obtains, its existence cannot, in any case, find itself compromised, since it will always dispose of the means to function. It can, in the beginning, organize itself on a smaller scale; the number of members of the commission may be limited provisionally to five or six, the personnel and the administrative expenses reduced to the minimum possible, save in order to provide for development through the increase of the resources and of the needs of the cause, considered indispensable. Personally, and although an active member of the central commission, we will in no way weigh on its budget, neither by honoraria, nor by travel expenses, nor by any other cause. If we have never asked anything of anyone for ourselves, still less would we do so in this circumstance. Our time, our life, all our physical and intellectual strength belong to the Doctrine. We declare, then, formally, that no portion of the resources at the disposal of the commission will be diverted to our profit.

We will give it, on the contrary, our contribution:

1st By relinquishing, in its favor, what our works produce, made and to be made;

2nd By donating to it movable and immovable assets.

Thus, we make vows for the realization of our plan, in the interest of the Doctrine, and not in order to conquer there a position of which we have no need. It was to prepare the ways of this installation that until today we consecrated the proceeds of our works, as we said above. If our personal means do not permit us to do more, at least we will have the satisfaction of having laid the first stone.

Let us figure then that, in one way or another, the central commission, at a given time, is in a condition to function, which presupposes an income of 25 to 30,000 francs. Restricting, in the beginning, its expenses, the resources of every kind at its disposal, in capital and occasional proceeds, will constitute the General Treasury of Spiritism, which will be the object of a rigorous accounting. The obligatory expenses regulated, the excess of the income will go to augment the common capital. Proportionally, with the resources of that capital it is that the commission will provide for the diverse expenses profitable to the development of the Doctrine, without its ever making personal application of it, nor a source of speculation for any of its members. Moreover, the use of the funds and the bookkeeping will be submitted to the verification of special commissioners, designated, for that effect, by the congresses or general assemblies. The commission will have as one of its first cares to occupy itself with the publications, as soon as it is possible, without waiting until it can do so with the help of the income. The funds destined to this will not, in reality, be more than an advance, since they will return to the treasury, by virtue of the sale of the works, whose proceeds will revert to the common capital. It is a matter of administration.

To give to this institution a legal existence, sheltered from all contestation, to give it, besides, the right to acquire, receive, and possess, it will be constituted, if it be judged necessary, by authentic act, in the form of an anonymous commercial company, for ninety-nine years, indefinitely renewable, with all the stipulations necessary so that it may never depart from its aim, and that the funds may not be diverted from their destination.

Without here entering into details that would be superfluous and premature, we must, however, say a few words about two institutions accessory to the commission, in order that one not be mistaken as to the sense we attach to them; we wish to speak of the relief fund and of the house of retreat.

The creation of a general relief fund is impracticable and presents serious inconveniences, as we have already demonstrated in a special article. (Review of July 1866). The commission ought not, then, to take a path that it would have to abandon at the end of a short time, nor to undertake anything that it is not certain of being able to realize. It must be positive and not lull itself in chimerical illusions. That is the means of marching for a long time and with security. For that, it behooves it to remain always within the limits of the possible.

That relief fund cannot and ought not to be more than a local institution, of circumscribed action and whose prudent organization serves as a model to those of the same kind that the particular societies may come to create. It is by their multiplicity that they will render effective services and not by the centralization of the means of action.

It will be fed: 1st by the portions, destined to it, drawn from the income of the general treasury of Spiritism; 2nd by the special donations that are made to it. It will capitalize the sums it receives, so as to constitute for itself a revenue. It is with that income that it will render the temporary or lifelong relief and fulfill the obligations of its mandate, stipulated in the regulation of its constitution.

The project of an asylum, in the complete acceptation of the term, will not be able to have execution right from the beginning, owing to the capital that such a foundation would require and, moreover, because it is necessary to give the administration time to consolidate itself and to act with regularity, before complicating its attributions with undertakings that may miscarry. It would be imprudence to attempt many things, before being certain of disposing of the means of execution. This will be easily understood, as soon as one thinks of all the particulars inherent to establishments of that kind. It is fitting, without doubt, to nourish good intentions, but, above all, it is needful to be able to realize them. IX.

CONCLUSION.

Such are the principal bases of the organization that we propose to give to Spiritism, if circumstances permit us. We have had to develop the motives somewhat at length, in order to make known its spirit. The details will be the object of a minute regulation, in which all the cases will be foreseen so as to remove all the difficulties of execution.

Consistent with the principles of tolerance and of respect for all opinions, that Spiritism professes, we do not pretend to impose this organization on anyone, nor to constrain whoever it may be to submit to it. Our aim is to establish a first bond among the Spiritists, who have desired it for a long time and lament their isolation. Now, that bond, without which Spiritism, remaining in the state of individual opinion, without cohesion, can only exist on the condition of being linked to a center by a communion of views and of principles. That center is not an individuality, but a focus of collective activity, acting in the general interest and in which personal authority is effaced. If it did not exist, what would have been the point of connection of the Spiritists disseminated in different countries? Not being able to communicate their ideas, their impressions, their observations to all the other particular centers, they too scattered, and often without consistency, they would have remained isolated and, by this, the diffusion of the Doctrine would have suffered. There was needed, then, a point where all should arrive and from which everything could radiate. The development of the Spiritist ideas, far from rendering that center useless, would make its necessity be felt better, because the need of drawing together and of forming a sheaf will be all the greater the more considerable the number of adherents. But what will be the extent of the circle of activities of that center? Is it destined to govern the world and to become the universal arbiter of truth? If it had that pretension, it would be to understand badly the spirit of Spiritism which, for the very reason that it proclaims the principles of free examination and of liberty of conscience, repudiates the idea of erecting itself into an autocracy; from the beginning it would enter upon a fatal path.

Spiritism has principles that, by reason of being founded on the laws of Nature, and not on metaphysical abstractions, tend to become, and will certainly one day become, those of the universality of men. All will accept them, because they will be palpable and demonstrated truths, as they accepted the theory of the movement of the Earth; but to claim that Spiritism everywhere be organized in the same manner, that the Spiritists of the entire world will be subject to a uniform regime, to a same manner of proceeding, that they should await the light from a fixed point, toward which they should fix their gaze, would be a utopia as absurd as to claim that all the peoples of the Earth will one day form but a single nation, governed by a single head, ruled by the same code of laws, and submitted to the same customs. If there are general laws that can be common to all peoples, those laws will always be, in the details of application and of form, appropriate to the habits, to the characters, and to the climates of each. Thus it will be with organized Spiritism. The Spiritists of the entire world will have common principles, that will link them to the great family by the sacred bond of fraternity, but whose application may vary according to the regions, without, for this, the fundamental unity being broken, without forming dissident sects that hurl at one another the stone and the anathema, which would be anti-Spiritist in a high degree. There may, then, be formed, and inevitably will be formed, general centers in different countries, without other bond than the communion of belief and moral solidarity, without subordination of one to the other, without that of France, for example, having the pretension of imposing itself on the American Spiritists and reciprocally. The comparison of the observatories, which we cited above, is perfectly just. There are observatories at different points of the globe; all, whatever the nation to which they belong, are based on the general and recognized principles of Astronomy, which, for this, does not render them tributary to one another; each regulates its works as it understands; they communicate to one another their observations, and each puts at the service of Science the discoveries of its confreres. The same will occur with the general centers of Spiritism; they will be the observatories of the invisible world, that will exchange what they have of good and applicable to the customs of the regions where they are established, for their aim is the good of Humanity, and not the satisfaction of personal ambitions. Spiritism is a question of substance; to attach oneself to the form would be a puerility unworthy of the grandeur of the subject. This is why the diverse centers, that are in the true spirit of Spiritism, ought to extend to one another the fraternal hand and unite in the combat against their common enemies: incredulity and fanaticism. [1] Translator's note: Admitting greater or lesser developments, this article is inserted in Posthumous Works, second part: “Constitution of Spiritism — Statement of motives.”

[2] We treated especially the question of Spiritist institutions in an article of the Review of July 1866, to which we refer the reader for greater developments.

[3] Those sums amounted at that time to the total of 14,100 francs, whose use, exclusively in favor of the Doctrine, is justified by the accounts.

[4] To those who asked why we sold our books, instead of donating them, we answered that we would do so, if we had found a printer who would print them for us for nothing, a merchant who would furnish us paper free, booksellers who would demand no commission to undertake distributing them, a postal administration that would transport them out of philanthropy, etc. While we wait, and as we do not have millions to subsidize those charges, we are obliged to give them a price.

[5] The future museum already possesses eight pictures of great dimension, which only await a suitable place; true masterpieces of art, especially executed in view of Spiritism, by an artist of renown, who generously donated them to the Doctrine. It is the inauguration of Spiritist art, by a man who allies to sincere faith the talent of the great masters. In due time we will make their detailed description.