To the Readers of The Spiritist ReviewThree years in existence were enough to let the readers of this Review
know about the mind frame that presides over its publication. The
best proof of your support is in the constant increase in the number of
subscriptions, notably augmented in this last period. However, the testimonies
of sympathy and satisfaction that we receive every day are infinitely
more precious to us. Their approval gives us the encouragement to
continue our task, bringing to our work every improvement whose utility
has been demonstrated by experience. As we did in the past, we will continue
with the rational study of the principles of science, from the philosophical
and moral stand point, without neglecting the facts; however,
when citing facts we don’t stop at the simple narrative, perhaps entertaining,
but certainly sterile if we don’t add the research of possible causes and
the deduction of their consequences. Hence we address serious people,
who are not satisfied by seeing things only but who want to understand
them, before anything else. The succession of facts are otherwise empty, if
we do not fall into tedious repetition because they all roll more or less inside
the same circle, and we would not tell anything new to our readers by
saying that in this or that house people are making the tables turn more
or less just fine. For us facts have another character: they are not stories
but subjects of study, and those of simpler appearance may sometimes give rise to the most interesting observations. Things here behave like in
ordinary science in which a small piece of leaf contains as many mysteries
to the observer as a gigantic tree. That is why we take much more into
account the instructive side of the facts than the entertaining side, dedicating
our attention to those that can teach us something, irrespectively
of how strange they may be.
Despite the considerable number of subjects that we have already discussed,
we are far from having strained the series of all that are related
to Spiritism, because the more we advance in that science, the more the
horizon is enlarged. The subjects whom are still to be investigated will
provide material for a long time to come, not counting the new ones. We
have been pushing them off on purpose for a long time now so that they
can be discussed, as the state of art of the current knowledge allows for the
better understanding of their reach. That is why, for example, today we
give much more space to the spontaneous spiritist dissertations because
most of their instructions can be much better appreciated than in a time
when only the first elements of the science were known. Years ago they
would be analyzed on their literary merit only and a number of profound
and useful thoughts would go unnoticed, because they were dealing with
matters still unknown or not much understood. The method has not been
excluded by the diversity of matters and the lack of organization is just apparent
since each thing has its determined place. Variety calms the spirit
down but logical order facilitates understanding.
We struggle to avoid turning our Review into something lackluster.
We certainly do not have the pretension of making something perfect but
we do hope that our intention is at least taken into account.
NOTICE: The subscribers that do not wish to receive The Review
late in 1861 please renew your membership before January 1st next.
