3.

When we consider the present state of society, we are tempted to regard its transformation as a miracle. Well then! it is a miracle that Spiritism can and must accomplish, because it lies within the designs of God, by means of the watchword: Outside charity there is no salvation. Let society take this maxim as its motto and conform its conduct to it, in place of the one that is the order of the day: Well-ordered charity begins with oneself, and everything will change. The whole question consists in getting it accepted.

You well know, gentlemen, that the word charity has a very broad meaning. There is charity in thoughts, in words, in actions; it does not consist solely of almsgiving. One is charitable in thoughts by being indulgent toward the failings of one's neighbor; charitable in words by saying nothing that may harm another; charitable in actions when one assists one's neighbor to the measure of one's strength. The poor man who shares his crust of bread with another poorer than himself is more charitable and has more merit in the eyes of God than the one who gives of his surplus, depriving himself of nothing.

Whoever harbors against his neighbor feelings of hatred, of animosity, of envy, of rancor, is lacking in charity. Charity is the antithesis of egoism; the former is the abnegation of personality, the latter is the exaltation of personality. The one says: For you first, for me afterward; and the other: For me first, for you if anything is left. The first is wholly contained in these words of Christ: “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” In a word, it applies without exception to all social relations. We must agree that, if all the members of a society acted in conformity with this principle, there would be fewer disappointments in life. As soon as two men are together, they contract, by that very fact, reciprocal duties; if they wish to live in peace, they will be obliged to make mutual concessions to one another. These duties increase with the number of individuals; the agglomerations form a collective whole that also has its respective obligations. You therefore have, besides the relations of individual to individual, those of city to city, of country to country. These relations can have two motives that are the negation of one another: egoism and charity, for there is also national egoism. With egoism, personal interest prevails, each one lives for himself, seeing in his fellow man only an antagonist, a rival who may compete with us, whom we may exploit or who may exploit us; the one who will do everything possible to arrive before us: victory belongs to the cleverest, and society—a sad thing to say—often consecrates this victory, which causes it to divide into two principal classes: the exploiters and the exploited. From this results a perpetual antagonism, which makes of life a torment, a veritable hell. Substitute charity for egoism and everything will change; no one will seek to do harm to his neighbor; hatreds and jealousies will be extinguished for lack of fuel, and men will live in peace, helping one another instead of tearing one another apart. If charity replaces egoism, all social institutions will be founded upon the principle of solidarity and reciprocity; the strong will protect the weak, instead of exploiting them. It is a fine dream, they will say; unfortunately it is nothing but a dream; man is egoistic by nature, by necessity, and will always be so. If this were so, which would be very sad, one may well ask with what purpose Christ came to us to preach charity to men; it would be tantamount to preaching to the animals. Let us nevertheless examine the question.

Is there progress from the savage to the civilized man? Is there not a daily effort to soften the customs of savages? But to what end, if man is incorrigible? Strange peculiarity! You hope to correct savages and you think that civilized man cannot improve himself! If civilized man had the pretension of having reached the last limit of the progress accessible to the human species, it would suffice to compare the customs, the character, the legislation, the social institutions of today with those of former times. And yet the men of former times, they too believed they had reached the last rung. What would a great lord of the time of Louis XIV have answered if he had been told that he might have at his disposal an order of things better, more equitable, more humane than the one then in force? That this more equitable regime would be the abolition of the privileges of castes and the equality of the great and the small before the law? The bold man who spoke thus would perhaps have paid dearly for his temerity. From this we conclude that man is eminently perfectible, and that those who are most advanced today may appear as backward, within a few centuries, as the men of the Middle Ages are in relation to us. To deny the fact would be to deny progress, which is a law of Nature.

Although man has progressed from the moral point of view, it must be agreed that this progress has been realized chiefly in the intellectual sense. Why? Here again is one of those problems that it was given to Spiritism alone to explain, showing us that morality and intelligence rarely walk side by side; while man takes a few steps in one of them, he lags behind in the other. Later, however, he regains the ground he had lost, and the two forces end by balancing each other in successive incarnations. Man has reached a period in which the sciences, the arts, and industry have attained a limit hitherto unknown; if the enjoyments he derives from them satisfy material life, they leave a void in the soul; man aspires to something better: he dreams of better institutions; he wants life, happiness, equality, justice for all. But how to attain all this with the vices of society and, above all, with egoism? Man therefore feels the need of good in order to be happy; he understands that only the reign of good can give the happiness to which he so aspires. This reign he has a presentiment of, for, instinctively, he has faith in the justice of God, and a secret voice tells him that a new era is about to begin. How will this come about? Since the reign of good is incompatible with egoism, egoism must be destroyed. Now, who can destroy it? The predominance of the sentiment of love, which leads men to treat one another as brothers and not as enemies. Charity is the base, the cornerstone of the whole social edifice; without it man will only build upon the sand. Let the efforts and, above all, the examples of all men of good will concur, then, to propagate it; let them not be discouraged if they see a resurgence of the evil passions. These are the enemies of good and, seeing its advance, they hurl themselves against it; but God has permitted that, by their own excesses, they should destroy themselves. The paroxysm of an evil is always the sign that it is reaching its end.

I have just said that without charity man builds only upon the sand. An example will make us understand this better.

Some well-intentioned men, touched by the sufferings of a part of their fellow beings, believed they had found the remedy for the evil in certain systems of social reform. With slight differences, the principle is more or less the same in all of them, whatever the name given to them. Communal life because it is the least costly; community of goods, so that all may have their share; participation of all in the common work; no great riches, but, also, no destitution. This was very seductive for whoever, having nothing, already saw the purse of the rich man enter into the common fund, without reckoning that the totality of riches, placed in common, would create a general destitution, instead of a partial destitution; that the equality established today would be broken tomorrow by the mobility of the population and by the difference between aptitudes; that the permanent equality of goods presupposes the equality of capacities and of labor. But this is not the question; it does not enter into my considerations to examine the positive and negative side of these systems. I set aside the impossibilities I have just cited and I propose to consider them from another point of view that, it seems to me, has not yet occupied anyone and that relates to our subject. The authors, founders, or promoters of all these systems, without exception, had in view nothing but the organization of material life in a manner profitable to all. The aim is praiseworthy, no doubt. It remains to be seen whether, in this edifice, there is not lacking the only base that could consolidate it, granting that it were practicable.

Community is the most complete abnegation of personality. Each one having to give of himself personally, it requires the most absolute devotion. Now, the motive of abnegation and devotion is charity, that is, love of neighbor. But we recognize that the foundation of charity is belief; that the lack of belief leads to materialism and materialism leads to egoism. A system that, by its nature and for its stability, requires moral virtues in the most supreme degree, ought to take its point of departure in the spiritual element. Well then! since the material side is its exclusive aim, not only is the spiritual element not taken into consideration, but several systems are founded upon a materialist doctrine highly avowed, or upon pantheism, a kind of disguised materialism, a veritable adornment of the fine name of fraternity. But fraternity, like charity, is neither imposed nor decreed; it must be in the heart, and it will not be a system that will cause it to be born, if it is not there; otherwise the system will collapse and give way to anarchy. Experience is there to prove that neither ambitions nor cupidity are stifled. Before making the thing for men, men must be formed for the thing, as workmen are trained before a task is entrusted to them. Before building, one must make sure of the solidity of the materials. Here the solid materials are men of heart, of devotion, and of abnegation. Egoism, love, and fraternity are, as we have already said, empty words; how, then, under the empire of egoism, can one found a system that requires abnegation in a degree all the greater inasmuch as it has, as its essential principle, the solidarity of all toward each and of each toward all? Some have left their native soil to go and found, at a distance, colonies under the regime of fraternity; they wished to flee the egoism that crushed them, but egoism followed them, and there, where they now are, they have found exploiters and exploited, for charity is wanting in them. They imagined that it was sufficient to lead the greatest possible number of creatures, without thinking that, at the same time, they were carrying the gnawing worms of their institution, ruined all the more rapidly because they had in themselves neither sufficient moral strength nor sufficient material strength. What they lacked was not numerous arms, but solid hearts. Unfortunately, many did not follow them, for, having done nothing elsewhere, they believed themselves freed from certain personal obligations. They saw only a seductive goal, without perceiving the thorny route to reach it. Disappointed in their hopes, recognizing that, before enjoying, it was necessary to work much, to sacrifice much, and to suffer a great deal, they had discouragement and despair as their prospect. You know what happened to the majority. Their error is to have wished to construct an edifice beginning with the roof, before having laid solid foundations. Study History and the cause of the fall of the most flourishing States, and everywhere you will see the hand of egoism, of cupidity, and of ambition.

Without charity, there is no stable human institution; and there can be no possible charity or fraternity, in the true acceptation of the word, without belief. Apply yourselves, then, to developing these sentiments which, growing greater, will destroy the egoism that is killing you. When charity has penetrated the masses, when it has become transformed into the faith, into the religion of the majority, then your institutions will become better by the very force of things; the abuses, arising from personalism, will disappear. Teach charity, then, and, above all, preach by example: it is the anchor of salvation of society. It alone can realize the reign of good on Earth, which is the reign of God; without it, whatever you do, you will only create utopias, from which only disappointments will result for you.

If Spiritism is a truth, if it must regenerate the world, it is because it has charity as its base. It does not come to overthrow religions nor to establish a new one; it proclaims and proves truths common to all, the base of all religions, without concerning itself with details. It comes to destroy only one thing: materialism, which is the negation of all religion; it comes to cast down only one temple: that of egoism and of pride; but it comes to give a practical sanction to these words of Christ, which are his whole law: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Do not be astonished, then, that it should have for adversaries the worshippers of the golden calf, whose altars it comes to destroy. It naturally has against it those who find its morality inconvenient, those who would willingly have made a pact with the Spirits and their manifestations, if these had condescended to amuse them; if it had not come to humble their pride, to preach to them abnegation, disinterest, and humility. Let them say and do; things will not fail to follow their march, because they lie within the designs of God. By its powerful revelation, Spiritism comes, then, to hasten the social reform. Its adversaries will certainly laugh at this pretension and yet it has nothing presumptuous about it. We have demonstrated that incredulity, the mere doubt in relation to the future, leads man to concentrate himself upon the present life, which very naturally develops the sentiment of egoism. The only remedy for the evil is to concentrate attention upon another point and to confound it, so to speak, so that it may modify its habits.

By proving in a patent manner the existence of the invisible world, Spiritism leads, of necessity, to a very different order of ideas, because it broadens the moral horizon limited to the Earth. The importance of corporeal life diminishes as that of spiritual life increases; placing us naturally at another point of view, what seemed to us a mountain appears to us no larger than a grain of sand. The vanities, the earthly ambitions become puerilities, childish toys in presence of the grandiose future that awaits us. Attaching ourselves less to earthly things, the less will we satisfy ourselves at the expense of others, whence a diminution in the sentiment of egoism.

Spiritism does not limit itself to proving the invisible world. By the examples it unfolds before our eyes, it shows it to us in its reality and not such as the imagination had made it be conceived; it reveals it to us peopled with beings happy or unhappy, but it proves that only charity, the sovereign law of Christ, can assure happiness. On the other hand, we see earthly society tearing itself apart mutually under the empire of egoism, whereas it would live happy and peaceful under the dominion of charity. With charity everything is, then, a benefit for man: happiness in this world and in the other. It is no longer a matter, according to the expression of a materialist, of a fool's sacrifice, but, according to the expression of Christ, of money lent at a hundredfold. With Spiritism man understands that he has everything to gain if he does good, and everything to lose if he practices evil. Now, between the certainty—I will not say the chance—of losing or gaining, the choice cannot be doubtful. Thus, the propagation of the Spiritist idea tends, necessarily, to make men better toward one another. What it does today upon individuals, it will do tomorrow, in relation to the masses, when it is divulged in a general manner. Let us strive, then, to propagate it in the interest of all. I foresee an objection that, according to these ideas, may be raised: that the practice of good would be an interested calculation. To this I answer that the Church, promising the joys of heaven or threatening with the flames of hell, itself leads men by hope and by fear; that Christ himself affirmed that what one gives in this world will be returned a hundredfold. Truly, there will be greater merit in doing good spontaneously, without thinking of its consequences; but not all men have yet reached that stage, and it is better to practice good with that stimulus than not to practice it at all.

They say that the persons who do good without premeditated design and, so to speak, without realizing the fact, have no merit at all, since they made no effort to do it. This is an error. Man attains nothing without effort. He who does it spontaneously in this existence, had to struggle in the preceding one, and good ended by becoming identified with him; that is why everything seems natural to him; good is in them as in other persons there are ideas, which, they too, had their source in a prior labor. This is yet another of the problems that Spiritism comes to resolve. The men of good also had the merit of the struggle; for them the victory is already won; the others still have to conquer it. That is why, like children, they need a stimulus, that is, a goal to attain, or, if you like, a prize to win.

Another more serious objection is this: if Spiritism produces all these results, the Spiritists must be the first to profit from them. Abnegation, devotion, disinterest, indulgence toward others, absolute abstention from every word or every act that may harm one's neighbor; in a word, charity in its purest acceptation must be the invariable rule of their conduct. They must know neither pride, nor jealousy, nor envy, nor rancor, nor foolish vanities, nor the puerile susceptibilities of self-love; they must do good for the sake of good, with modesty and without ostentation, practicing this maxim of Christ: “Let not your left hand know what your right hand gives,” so that these verses of Racine may not be applied to them: A benefit cast in one's face is always worth an offense.

Finally, the most perfect harmony must reign among them. Why, then, are examples cited that seem to contradict the efficacy of these fine maxims?

At the beginning of the Spiritist manifestations, many accepted them without foreseeing their consequences; the greater part saw in them only effects more or less curious; but when from them issued a severe morality, rigorous duties to fulfill, many felt themselves without strength to practice it and to conform to it. They lacked courage, devotion, abnegation, humility; in such individuals the corporeal nature prevailed over the spiritual. They believed, but they recoiled before the execution. There were, then, in the origin, only Spiritists, that is, believers; philosophy and morality opened to this science a new horizon, creating the practicing Spiritists; some remained in the rear, the others advanced.

The more morality became sublimated, the more it brought out the imperfections of those who would not follow it, just as a brilliant light makes the shadows stand out; it was a mirror: some would not look at themselves in it, or, believing they recognized themselves in it, preferred to throw the stone at whoever showed it to them. Such is still the cause of certain animosities; but I am happy to say: they are exceptions, little shadows upon an immense canvas, incapable of altering its brilliance. They belong for the most part to what we might call the Spiritists of the first formation. As for those who formed themselves afterward and form themselves daily, the great majority accepted the Doctrine precisely because of its morality and its philosophy. That is why they strive to practice it.

To claim that all should become perfect would be to misunderstand the nature of Humanity; but, even though they had divested themselves of only a few parts of the old man, it would still be a progress, which must be taken into account. Inexcusable in the eyes of God are only those who, being duly enlightened, did not profit from it as they should have. Of these, certainly, a severe accounting will be demanded, the consequences of which they will suffer already here on Earth, as we have seen numerous examples. But, alongside these, in many others a true metamorphosis has been wrought. They found in the Spiritist belief the strength to overcome the evil inclinations long since rooted, to break with old habits, to silence resentments and enmities, to make the social distances smaller. They ask miracles of Spiritism: these are the ones it produces.

Thus, by the force of things, Spiritism will have as its inevitable consequence moral improvement; this improvement will lead to the practice of charity, and from charity will be born the sentiment of fraternity. When men are imbued with these ideas, they will conform their institutions to them, and it is thus that they will realize, naturally and without upheavals, all the desirable reforms. It is the base upon which they will lay the edifice of the future.

This transformation is inevitable, because it is in conformity with the law of progress; but, if it only follows the natural march of things, its realization may yet take a long time. If we believe in the revelation of the Spirits, it lies within the designs of God to activate it, and we are in the times predicted for this. The concordance of the communications in this respect is a fact worthy of note; from all sides it is said that we are approaching the new era and that great things are about to be accomplished. Nevertheless, it would be an error to believe that the world is threatened by a material cataclysm. Examining the words of Christ, it is evident that in this, as in many other circumstances, he spoke in an allegorical manner. The renewal of Humanity, the reign of good succeeding the reign of evil are quite remarkable things that can be realized without there being any need to engulf the world in a universal shipwreck, nor to make extraordinary phenomena appear, nor to abrogate the natural laws. It is always in this sense that the Spirits have expressed themselves. The Earth having reached the time marked for it to become a happy abode, thus rising in the hierarchy of worlds, it suffices for God to no longer permit imperfect Spirits to reincarnate here; that he remove from here those who, through pride, incredulity, and evil instincts, constitute an obstacle to progress and disturb the good harmony, as you yourselves proceed in an assembly in which you need to have peace and tranquility and from which you remove those who may bring disorder to it; as malefactors are expelled from a country, being banished to distant regions; that in the race, or rather, to make use of the words of Christ, in the generation of Spirits sent in expiation to the Earth, there disappear those who have remained incorrigible, in order that they may be replaced by a generation of more advanced Spirits. For this, a single generation of men suffices and the will of God, who can, by means of unexpected events, though very natural ones, activate their departure from here. If, then, as has been said, the greater part of the children who are born today belong to the new generation of better Spirits, and each day the worst departing never to return again, it is evident that, in a given time, there will be a complete renewal. What will happen to the exiled Spirits? They will go to inferior worlds, where they will expiate their hardening through long centuries of terrible trials, for they too are rebel angels who scorned the power of God and revolted against his laws, which Christ had come to remind them of. n Be that as it may, nothing is done abruptly in Nature. The old leaven will still leave, for some time, traces that will be effaced little by little. When the Spirits tell us, and they do so everywhere, that we are approaching that moment, do not believe that we are witnesses of a visible transformation; they mean to signify that we are at the moment of transition; that we are present at the departure of the old and the arrival of the new, who will come to found a new order of things, that is, the reign of justice and of charity, which is the true reign of God, predicted by the prophets, and whose ways Spiritism comes to prepare.

As you see, gentlemen, we are already far indeed from the turning tables, and yet only a few years separate us from that cradle of Spiritism! Whoever had been bold enough then to predict what it is today would have passed for a madman in the eyes of the very adepts. Seeing a small seed, who could have understood, if he had not seen it, that from it would come an immense tree? Seeing the child born in the stable of a poor village of Judea, who could have imagined that, without pomp and without worldly power, his simple voice would shake the world, assisted only by a few ignorant fishermen, poor like Him? It is the same with Spiritism which, issued from a humble and common phenomenon, already extends roots in all directions, whose branches will soon shelter the entire Earth. It is that things go quickly, when God wills it; and who would not see in this the finger of God, considering that nothing happens without his will?

Seeing the irresistible march of things, you may also say, as the crusaders of old said, marching to the conquest of the Holy Land: God wills it! but with this difference: they marched with iron and fire in hand, whereas you have for a weapon only charity which, instead of inflicting mortal wounds, pours a salutary balm upon aching hearts. And, with this peaceful weapon, which shines before the eyes like a divine ray, and not like a murderous iron, which sows hope, and not fear, you will have, within a few years, led to the fold of faith more straying sheep than several centuries of violence and oppression did. It is with charity as its guide that Spiritism marches to the conquest of the world.

Is it a chimera, a fantastic dream, the picture I have drawn for you? No; reason, logic, experience, all say that it is a reality.

Spiritists! You are the pioneers of this great work; make yourselves worthy of the glorious mission, whose first fruits you already gather. Preach by words, but, above all, preach by example; bring it about that, on seeing you, they cannot say that the maxims you teach are empty words in your mouth. After the example of the apostles, work miracles, for God has granted you the gift. Not miracles to strike the senses, but miracles of charity and of love. Be good toward your brothers, be good toward everyone, be good toward your enemies! After the example of the apostles, cast out the demons, since you have power for it, for they swarm around you: they are the demons of pride, of ambition, of envy, of jealousy, of cupidity, of sensuality, who breathe in all the evil passions and sow among you the apples of discord. Cast them out of your hearts, so that you may have the strength necessary to cast them out of the hearts of others. Work these miracles and God will bless you, and future generations will bless you, as those of now bless the first Christians, many of whom live again among you to assist and concur in the crowning of the work of Christ. Work these miracles and your names will be inscribed gloriously in the annals of Spiritism. Do not dim this brilliance by sentiments and acts unworthy of true Spiritists, of Christian Spiritists. Divest yourselves, as soon as possible, of all that may still remain in you of the old leaven. Consider that from one moment to another, tomorrow perhaps, the angel of death may come to knock at your door and say to you: God calls you to render him an account of what you have made of his word, of the word of his Son, which He had repeated by the good Spirits. Remain, then, always ready to depart and do not act like the imprudent traveler who is caught off guard. Make your provisions in advance, that is, provisions of good works and of good sentiments, for unhappy is the one whom the fatal moment surprises with hatred, envy, or jealousy in his heart; they will have as their escort the evil Spirits, who will rejoice at the misfortunes that await him, because those misfortunes would be their work. And you know, Spiritists, what those misfortunes are: the very ones who suffer them come to you to describe their sufferings. To those who, on the contrary, present themselves pure, the good Spirits will come to extend their hand, saying to them: Brothers, welcome to the celestial abodes, where songs of joy await you! Your adversaries may laugh at your beliefs in the Spirits and in their manifestations, but they will not laugh at the qualities that these beliefs give; they will not laugh when they see enemies forgiving one another, instead of hating one another, peace reborn among relatives who were divided, the unbeliever of former times offering prayers, the violent and choleric man showing himself gentle and peaceful, the debauchee transforming himself into a good father of a family, the proud man who has become humble, the egoist practicing charity; they will not laugh when they perceive that they no longer have to fear the vengeance of their enemies who have become Spiritists; the rich man will not laugh when he verifies that the poor man will no longer envy his fortune, and the poor man will bless the rich man who has become more humane and more generous, instead of being jealous of him; the masters will no longer laugh at their subordinates and will no longer harass them when they observe that they have made themselves more scrupulous and more conscientious in the fulfillment of their duties. Finally, the employers will encourage their servants and administrators, when they see them, under the empire of the Spiritist faith, more faithful, more devoted, and more sincere. All will say that Spiritism is good for something, even if it be only to safeguard their personal interests: so much the worse for those who will not see further. Under the empire of this same faith, the soldier is more disciplined, more humane, easier to lead; he has the sentiment of duty and obeys more through reason than through fear. This is what all the leaders imbued with these principles observe, and they are numerous. That is why they strive that no hindrance be opposed to the propagation of these ideas among their subordinates. This, gentlemen who laugh, is what Spiritism produces, this utopia of the nineteenth century, partially still, it is true, but whose influence is already recognized and they will soon understand that they have everything to gain by its promulgation; that its influence is a guarantee of security for social relations, being the most powerful curb upon the evil passions, upon the disorderly effervescences, showing the bond of love and of fraternity that must unite the great to the small and the small to the great. Bring it about, then, by your example, that one may soon be able to say: May it please God that all men be Spiritists at heart!

Dear Spiritist brothers, I come to show you the route, to make you see the goal. May my words, however weak they may be, allow you to understand its grandeur! But others will come after me, who will show it to you as well, and whose voice, more powerful than mine, will have for the nations the resounding blast of the trumpet. Yes, my brothers, Spirits, messengers of God to establish his reign on Earth, will soon appear among you and you will know them by their wisdom and by the authority of their language. At their voice, the unbelievers and the impious will be seized with admiration and stupor, and will bow their heads, for they will not dare to treat them as madmen. My brothers, I cannot yet reveal to you all that the future prepares for you! But the time is approaching when all the mysteries will be unveiled, to confound the wicked and glorify the just.

While there is yet time, clothe yourselves, then, in the white tunic: stifle all discords, for discords belong to the reign of evil, which is about to end. May you all merge into one same family and give to one another, from the bottom of your hearts and without premeditated thought, the name of brothers. If, among you, there are dissensions, causes of antagonism; if the groups, which must all march toward a common goal, are divided, I lament it, without concerning myself with the causes, without examining who committed the first errors, and I place myself, without hesitation, on the side of the one who has more charity, that is, more abnegation and true humility, for the one to whom charity is lacking is always in error, even though covered with some kind of reason, since God curses whoever says to his brother: Raca. The groups are collective individuals who must live in peace, like the individuals, if they are truly Spiritists; they are the battalions of the great phalanx. Now, what would become of a phalanx whose battalions divided themselves? Those who looked upon the others with jealous eyes would prove, by that alone, that they are under a bad influence, since the Spirit of good cannot produce evil. As you well know, the tree is recognized by its fruits. Now, the fruit of pride, of envy, and of jealousy is a poisoned fruit that kills whoever feeds on it. What I say of dissensions among the groups, I say equally for those that might exist among individuals. In such a circumstance, the opinion of impartial persons is always favorable to the one who gives proofs of greater grandeur and generosity. Here on Earth, where no one is infallible, reciprocal indulgence is a consequence of the principle of charity that leads us to act toward others as we would like others to act toward us. Now, without indulgence there is no charity, without charity there is no true Spiritist. Moderation is one of the characteristic signs of this sentiment, as acrimony, as rancor is its negation; with acrimony and a vengeful spirit the best causes are spoiled, but with moderation we always act within the precepts of good right. If, then, I had to give an opinion in a divergence, I would concern myself less with the cause and more with the consequence. The cause, above all in quarrels of words, may be the result of a first impulse, of which one is not always master; the subsequent conduct of the two adversaries is the result of reflection: they act in cold blood, and it is then that the true normal character of each one is forged. A bad head and a good heart often walk together, but rancor and a good heart are incompatible. My measure of appreciation would be, then, charity, that is, I would observe the one who spoke less ill of his adversary, who was more moderate in his recriminations. It is with this measure that God will judge us, for He will be indulgent toward whoever has been indulgent and inflexible toward whoever has been inflexible. The path traced by charity is clear, infallible, and without ambiguity. One might define it thus: “Sentiment of benevolence, of justice, and of indulgence toward one's neighbor, based on what we would wish our neighbor to do unto us.” Taking it as a guide, we can be sure of not straying from the right path, from the one that leads to God; whoever desires, in a sincere and serious manner, to work for his own improvement, must analyze charity in its most minute details and conform his conduct to it, for it applies to all the circumstances of life, small or great. When we are in doubt as to what course to take, in the interest of another, it suffices that we interrogate charity and it will always answer in a just manner. Unfortunately we listen, most of the time, to the voice of egoism.

Probe, then, the recesses of your soul, to tear from it the last vestiges of the evil passions, if any still remain; and if you feel some resentment against someone, hasten to smother it and say: Brother, let us forget the past; the evil Spirits had separated us: may the good ones reunite us! If he refuses the hand you extend to him, oh! then lament it, for God, in his turn, will say to him: Why do you ask forgiveness, you who did not forgive? Take care, then, that these fatal words may not be applied to you: It is too late!

Such are, dear Spiritist brothers, the counsels I have to give you. The confidence you have been good enough to grant me is a guarantee that they will produce good fruits. The good Spirits who assist you tell you the same things every day, but I deemed it a duty to present them together, in order to better bring out their consequences. I come, then, in their name, to remind you of the practice of the great law of love and of fraternity that must soon govern the world and make peace and concord reign in it, under the standard of charity toward all, without distinction of sects, of castes, nor of colors.

With this standard, Spiritism will be the link that will bring together the men divided by beliefs and by worldly prejudices; it will overthrow the strongest barriers that separate the peoples: national antagonism. Under the shadow of this banner, which will be its point of concentration, men will become accustomed to seeing brothers in those whom they saw only as enemies. From now until then there will still be struggles, because evil does not easily abandon its prey, and material interests are tenacious. Doubtless you will not see with the eyes of the body the realization of this work, to which you contribute, although that moment is not very distant; moreover, the first years of the next century must mark this new era, whose ways the end of this one prepares. But you will enjoy, with the eyes of the Spirit, the good that you will have done, as the martyrs of Christianity rejoiced seeing the fruits produced by the blood they shed. Courage, then, and perseverance. Do not rise up against the obstacles: a field does not become fertile without sweat. Just as a father, even in old age, builds a house for his children, believe that you are building, for future generations, a temple to universal fraternity, in which the only victims immolated will be egoism, pride, and all the evil passions that have bloodied Humanity. [1] Translator's Note: See the Spiritist Review, January 1862, FEB Ed.: “Essay of interpretation on the doctrine of the fallen angels,” p. 15-29.