The Echo from Beyond the Tomb,

In one of the latest issues of the Review, [see Foreign new journals,] we announced the appearance of a new Spiritist publication in the Portuguese language, in Bahia (Brazil), under the title L'Écho Spirite d'Outre-Tombe (The Echo from Beyond the Tomb, monitor of Spiritism in Brazil). We had the first issue of that journal translated, in order that our readers may acquaint themselves with it with perfect knowledge of the matter.

The Echo from Beyond the Tomb appears six times a year, in booklets of 56 quarto pages, under the direction of Mr. Luiz Olympio Telles de Menezes, to whom we hasten immediately to address lively congratulations, for the courageous initiative of which he gives us proof. Indeed, great courage of opinion is needed to create in a refractory country such as Brazil an organ destined to popularize our teachings. The clarity and conciseness of the style, the elevation of the sentiments expressed therein, are for us a guarantee of the success of that new publication. The introduction and the analysis that Mr. Luiz Olympio makes, of the manner in which the Spirits revealed their existence to us, seemed to us quite satisfactory. Other passages, referring more especially to the religious question, give us occasion for some critical reflections. For us, Spiritism must not tend toward any determined religious form. It is and must continue to be a tolerant and progressive philosophy, opening its arms to all the disinherited, whatever the nationality and conviction to which they belong. We are not unaware that the character and belief of those to whom the Echo from Beyond the Tomb addresses itself must lead Mr. Luiz Olympio to handle certain susceptibilities. But we believe, from experience, that the best way to reconcile all interests consists in avoiding the treatment of questions that it falls to each one to resolve, and in striving to popularize the great teachings that find a sympathetic echo in all hearts called to the baptism of regeneration and to infinite progress. The following passages, extracted from The Echo from Beyond the Tomb, will prove, better than long commentaries, the ardent desire of Mr. Luiz Olympio, to contribute efficaciously and rapidly to the propagation of our principles: n “The phenomenon of the manifestation of the Spirits is marvelous, arising and becoming widespread everywhere.

“Known since the most remote antiquity, we see it today, in the full nineteenth century, renewed and observed for the first time in northern America, in the United States, where it occurred through unusual movements of various objects, through noises, through truly extraordinary raps!

“From America, it passed rapidly to Europe and there, principally in France, after a few years it left the domain of curiosity and entered the vast field of Science.

“New ideas, emanating then from thousands of communications, obtained from the revelations of the Spirits who manifested themselves, whether spontaneously or by evocation, gave rise to the birth of an eminently philosophical doctrine that, in a few years, went around the Earth and penetrates all nations, recruiting, in each of them, so great a number of proselytes that today they are counted in the millions.

“The idea of Spiritism was conceived by no one; consequently, no one is its author.

“If the Spirits had not manifested themselves spontaneously, Spiritism certainly would not exist. Therefore, Spiritism is a question of fact, and not of opinion, the denials of incredulity not being able to prevail against that fact.

“The rapidity of its propagation proves abundantly that it is a great truth that, necessarily, must triumph over all oppositions and over all human sarcasms; and this is not difficult to demonstrate, if we observe that Spiritism makes its adepts principally in the enlightened class of society.

“It is noted, however, that these manifestations have always occurred preferably under the influence of certain persons endowed with a special faculty and designated under the name of mediums: a marvelous faculty that, before the astonished eyes of Humanity, proves in an indubitable manner the omnipotence, the infinite goodness, and the mercy of God, supreme creator of all things.

“And, nevertheless, Spiritism is the exclusive privilege of no one. Any person, in the intimacy of his family, may find a medium in one of his relatives, and then he will be able, if he wishes, to make his own observations; but he must not make them with precipitation, in his own manner, nor circumscribe them to the circle of his preventions or of his prejudices, and then emphatically conclude with the negation of that which, by some circumstance, could not be well studied and, consequently, remained ill understood; this is rather a proof of frivolity than of wisdom. “The employment of a few hours of observation is also not sufficient for Spiritism, as concerns the Doctrine, to be duly understood; on the contrary, it requires, like any other science, besides good will, a long and serious study. And let no one think that, because it is a question of fact, it is possible to learn much from having witnessed one or another, in isolation; because an isolated fact is not always perfectly comprehensible except after the observation of others, which have the most intimate connection with the former, without which it may seem incredible and even contradictory. It is necessary, then, to consult and study the known works, in order to know how to appraise the facts that present themselves to our observation and thus be able to understand their reason for being. “The marvelous phenomenon of the communication of the Spirits and of their action in the visible world is no longer a novelty. It is demonstrated to be a consequence of the immutable laws that govern the worlds. It is a fact that has occurred since the appearance of the first man and that has been perpetuated among all peoples, in all times and under various characters, the archives of History, whether sacred or profane, where numerous facts of Spiritist manifestations are recorded, giving the most complete testimony of that truth. “The advantages that society draws from Spiritism are of the greatest importance, considering that this sublime and providential doctrine, which contributes so efficaciously to the happiness of man, exercises upon it a powerful action, both scientific and moralizing.

“The scientific action of Spiritism is revealed by the luminous explanations and by the clear and precise definitions that it gives of all phenomena, regarded as supernatural; it is revealed also by the palpable proofs that it gives us of the pre-existence, of the individuality, and of the immortality of the thinking being, demonstrating in the most evident manner the causes of the moral inequalities of the visible and invisible world and, therefore, the moral responsibility of souls, as well as the future penalties and rewards. “The moralizing action of Spiritism is demonstrated when we consider that egoism, that cancerous sore of Humanity, engendered by materialism, formal negation of every religious principle, finds itself profoundly shaken by this celestial dawn, which the Almighty, in his infinite mercy, deigned to send to the Earth as the precursor of that new and blessed Era, in which men, better understanding their reciprocal duties, will willingly fulfill the salutary precepts of Jesus: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your understanding. All that you would have men do to you, do also to them.” “Spiritism is also the precursory dawn of a new era, because by its resplendent light the shadows of incredulity are dissipating, making faith and hope little by little insinuate themselves into the heart of those who did not possess those virtues.

“If, then, Spiritism incontestably produces good fruits, because it gives hope and faith; if, in fact, faith and hope bring the incredulous to sound beliefs, it is logical, and more than logical, it is evident that Spiritism, working miracles upon the conscience, diffuses a beneficent doctrine that satisfies at the same time the spirit and the heart, because it is a system of philosophical truths based upon the Gospel, which the good Spirits, faithful messengers of God, come to confirm for us. It is the sword of the Archangel that comes to fell the trees and the shrubs of incredulity, confounding the materialists and the atheists. “Spiritism must, therefore, walk with brow lifted high, because it comes to destroy these errors and, at the same time, to pour consoling and vivifying balm into the sores of Humanity.”

[A. DESLIENS.]

[1] Translator's note: As this is a translation of a translation, there are slight discrepancies as to form in the translated passage compared with the Brazilian original, existing in the Library of Rare Works of the FEB in Brasília.