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Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1866 > October > Spirits’ Instructions About the Regeneration of Humanity
Spirits’ Instructions About the Regeneration of Humanity
Paris, April 1866 – Mediums Messrs. M. and T. in somnambulistic state
Paris, April 1866 – Mediums Messrs. M. and T. in somnambulistic state
The events precipitated quickly and therefore we no longer say, as in the past: “the times are close”; now we say: “the times have come”. You must not understand these words as in a new flood, or a cataclysm, or a general collapse. Partial convulsions of the globe have always happened, and still do, for they are related to its constitution, but these are not the signs of the times.
However, everything that is said in the Gospel must take place and it does at this time, as you will acknowledge later. But consider the announced signs as figurative, whose spirit, and not the letter, must be understood. All the Scriptures carry great truths under the veil of allegory; the commentators got confused because they fixated on the letter. They lacked the key to understand their true meaning. That key is in the discoveries of science and in the laws of the invisible world that Spiritism reveals to us. From now on, with the help of that knowledge, what was obscure becomes clear and intelligible.
Everything follows the natural order of things, and the immutable laws of God will not be disturbed. Thus, you will not see miracles or prodigies, nor anything supernatural, in the common meaning attached to these words. Do not look at the sky seeking precursors signs there, since you will not see them, and those that announce it will deceive you, but look around you, among men, and you will find them there.
Don’t you feel a blowing wind on Earth, agitating all the Spirits? The world waits, as if taken by a vague presentiment of the approaching storm. Do not believe, however, in the end of the material world; Earth has progressed since its transformation; it must continue to progress, and not be destroyed. But humanity has arrived at one of its periods of transformation, and Earth will elevate in the hierarchy of the worlds.
It is not, therefore, the end of the material world that is in preparation; it is the old world, the world of prejudices, selfishness, pride, and fanaticism that ruins. Some fragments are carried away every day. All will end with the outgoing generation, and the new generation will erect the edifice that the following generations will consolidate and complement. From a world of atonement, Earth is called to one day become a happy world, and to inhabit it will be a reward, instead of a punishment. The kingdom of good will succeed that of evil there.
For humanity to be happy on Earth it is necessary that it is only populated by good Spirits, incarnate and discarnate, that will only want good. Since this time has come, a great emigration takes place at this moment, among those that inhabit it; those that do evil things by the evil things, and that are not touched by good, for no longer being worthy of the transformed Earth, will be excluded, for they would again bring disturbance and confusion and would be an obstacle to progress. They will atone their hardening in inferior worlds, to where they will take their acquired knowledge with the assigned mission of promoting progress in those worlds. They will be replaced by better Spirits on Earth that will establish the kingdom of justice, peace, and fraternity.
Earth, we have already said, must not be transformed by a cataclysm that would annihilate a generation. The current generation will disappear gradually, and the new one will succeed it, without any change in the natural order of things. Hence, everything will apparently take place as usual, with one difference only, and that difference is paramount: part of the Spirits that incarnate here will no longer do. In a newborn child, instead of a lagging Spirit, devoted to evil, a more advanced and dedicated to good Spirit will incarnate. It is, therefore, much more of a new generation of Spirits than a new corporeal generation.
The current period is that of transition. The elements are confounded in two generations. In an intermediary position you watch the departure of one and the arrival of another, and each one is already marked in the world by the characters that are proper to them. The two generations that succeed one another have completely opposite points of view. By the nature of their moral dispositions, but above all by the intuitive and innate disposition, it is easy to distinguish to which each one belongs.
The new generation, that must establish the era of moral progress, is distinguished by a generally premature intelligence and reason, added to the innate feeling of good and the spiritualist beliefs, that is an undoubtful sign of a certain degree of previous advancement. That generation will not be composed exclusively of eminently superior Spirits, but of those that have already progressed and are prepared to assimilate every progressive idea and apt to second the regenerating movement.
The lagging Spirits, on the contrary, are characterized, to begin with, by a revolt against God through the denial of Providence and of every power above humanity; then, the instinctive tendency to degrading passions, to feelings of egotism, pride, hatred, jealousy, greed, and finally the predominance of the attachment to everything that is material.
These are the vices that must be purged from Earth by the removal of those that refuse to mend, because they are incompatible with the rule of fraternity and for the fact that good men will always suffer with their contact. Earth will be free from them and men will march towards a better future without obstacles, a future that is reserved to them down here, as a reward for their efforts and perseverance, while they wait for an even more complete depuration to open the door to superior worlds.
By such migration of Spirits, one must not understand that all those that have fallen behind will be expelled from Earth and relegated to inferior worlds. On the contrary, many will come back here because many have gotten carried away by the circumstances and example; their shell was worse than the core. Once subtracted from the influence of matter and the prejudices of the corporeal world, most of them will see things in a completely different way as from when they were alive, from which you have numerous examples. They are helped with this by the benevolent Spirits that are interested in them, striving to enlighten and show them the false path that they had taken. You can contribute to their betterment yourselves, by your prayers and exhortations, because there is a perpetual solidarity between the living and the dead.
Those can then return with the ones that are going to be happy, for this is a reward to them. What does it matter what they had been or done, if they are driven by better feelings! Far from being hostile to progress and society, they will be useful helpers because they will belong to the new generation. Hence, there will only be a definitive exclusion to the fundamentally rebel Spirits, those that become deaf to the voice of good and reason, more by egotism and pride than ignorance. But these ones are not devoted to an eternal inferiority and a day will come when they will repudiate their past and open their eyes to light. Pray, therefore, for these hardened ones, so that they mend while there is time, because the day of atonement is near. Most of them, unfortunately, by neglecting the voice of God, will persist in their blindness, and their resistance will mark the end of their kingdom through terrible struggles. In their raving, they will rush to their own loss, giving rise to destruction that will generate a multitude of scourges and calamities, so that they will unwillingly accelerate the arrival of the era of renovation.
And as if the destruction was not moving fast enough, we will see suicides multiplying in an incredible proportion, even among children. Madness will have never struck a greater number of men that even before death, will be erased from the living. These are the true signs of the times. And all this will be achieved by the sequence of events, as we have said, without any breach of the laws of nature.
However, in the somber cloud that involves you and where the storm roars, notice the appearance of the first rays of light of the new era! Fraternity casts its foundations in all corners of the globe and the peoples reach out to one another; barbarism acquires familiar habits before contact with civilization; prejudices of race and sect, that have shed rivers of blood, disappear; fanaticism and intolerance loose ground, while the freedom of consciousness penetrates the social more, becoming a right. Ideas ferment everywhere; illnesses are faced with remedies, but many wanders around without a compass, lost in utopias. The world lives an immense labor that will last a century. In this still confusing work, one can nonetheless see a dominating tendency towards one objective: the unity and uniformity that predispose fraternity.
These are still the signs of times. But, while the others are those of the agony of the past, the latter are the first gasps to the just born child, the precursors of the dawn that the incoming century will see stand, because then the new generation will be in full power. As much as the appearance of the nineteenth century differs from that of the eighteenth century, on certain points of view, the twentieth century will be different from the nineteenth, from other points of view.
One of the distinctive characters of the new generation will be the innate faith, not the exclusive and blind faith that divides men, but a reasoned faith, that clarifies and strengthens, that unite and confound them in a common feeling of love to God and then neighbor. The last vestiges of incredulity and fanaticism will disappear with the generation that ends, equally contrary to moral and social progress.
Spiritism is the path that leads to the renovation because it destroys the two greatest obstacles that are opposed to that: incredulity and fanaticism. It provides a solid and enlightened faith; it develops all the feelings and ideas that correspond to the views of the new generation, and that is why it is innate and does exist in an intuitive state in the hearts of its representatives. The new era will, therefore, see it grow and prosper by the very force of things. It will constitute the basis of all beliefs, the supporting point of every institution. But until then, how many struggles it will have to face against its two greatest enemies, fanaticism, and incredulity, that strangely enough, join hands to bring it down. They have a presentiment of their future and their own ruin, and that is why they fear it, for they already see it planting the flag that must unite all peoples, on the ruins of the old and selfish world. They read their own condemnation in the Divine maxim: there is no salvation apart from charity because it is the symbol of the new fraternal alliance proclaimed by Christ.[1] These words appear to them as the fateful words of the feast of Baltazar. And yet, they should bless this maxim, because it spares them from all retaliation on the part of those they persecute. But no, a blind force pushes them to reject the only thing that could save them.
But what can they do against the ascendancy of public opinion, that repudiates them? Spiritism will emerge triumphant from the struggle, have no doubt, because it is in the laws of nature, and therefore imperishable. See by what multitude of means the idea spread and penetrates everywhere. Believe further that such means are not fortuitous, but providential, for something that seems to harm it, at first sight, is precisely what helps it spread. It will soon see the rise of champions among the most well positioned and respected men, that will support it with the authority of their name and example, imposing silence to its detractors, because these will dare not treat them as mad people. Those men study it in silence and will show up when time is right. Until then, it is useful that they stay away. You will soon also see the arts getting ideas from it, as from a fertile source, translating the discovered horizons in their thoughts, through paintings, music, poetry, and literature. You have already been told that one day there would be a Spiritist art, as there was the Pagan and Christian art, and that is a great truth, for the greatest geniuses will be inspired by it. You will soon see their first sketches and later it will occupy the place that is adequate.
Spiritists, future is yours and of all those of heart and devotion. Fear not the obstacles since none will be able to block the designs of the Providence. Work tirelessly and thank God for placing you in the frontline of the new phalanx. It is a place of honor that you have requested yourself, and that you must be worthy of by your courage, perseverance, and devotion. Fortunate the ones that succumb in this fight against force; but, in the world of the Spirits, shame on those that succumb for being weak or pusillanimous. As a matter of fact, the struggles are necessary to strengthen the soul; the contact of evil makes us better appreciate the advantages of good. Without the struggles that stimulate the faculties, the Spirit would indulge in an indifference that would be fatal to their own advancement. The struggles against the elements develop physical forces and intelligence; the ones against evil develop moral forces.
Observations:
1st: The way in which the transformation takes place is very simple, and as it is seen, it is thoroughly moral, does not deviate in any way from the laws of nature. Why then the nonbelievers reject these ideas if they have nothing of supernatural? This is because, according to them, the law of vitality ceases with the death of the body, whereas for us it continues, without interruption; they restrict its action and we extend it. That is why we say that the phenomena of spiritual life are not outside of the laws of nature. To them the supernatural begins where the appreciation by the senses ends.
2nd: Whether the Spirits of the new generation are new and better Spirits, or improved old Spirits, the result is the same. As long as they carry better dispositions, it is always a renovation. The incarnate Spirits, therefore, form two categories according to their natural dispositions: that of the lagging Spirits, that leave, and that of progressive Spirits, that arrive. The condition of society and social mores in a people, a race or in the whole world will, therefore, be in proportion to the state of the category that is predominant.
To simplify the issue, let us consider a people, in any given state of advancement, composed of twenty million soul, for example. For the renovation of Spirits in the same proportion of extinctions, isolated or in mass, there was necessarily a time when the generation of lagging Spirits outnumbered that of progressive Spirits, that were only rare representatives, without influence, and whose efforts to make good and progressive ideas dominate were neutralized. Now, since some leave and others arrive, at a given time the two forces are even and their influence counterbalance. Later, the newcomers form majority and their influence become preponderant, although still hindered by the former; these continue to diminish and will end up disappearing, while the others multiply; there will be a time when the influence of the new generation will be exclusive.
We are witnessing this transformation, the conflict which results from the struggle of contrary ideas which seek to establish themselves; some march with the flag of the past, others with that of the future. If we examine the present state of the world, we will recognize that earthly humanity, taken as a whole, is still far from the intermediate point where the forces will be balanced; that peoples, considered separately, are at a great distance from each other in this scale; that a few have touched this point, but none has surpassed it yet. Moreover, the distance that separates them from the extreme points is far from being equal in duration, and once the limit is crossed, the new road will be traveled with all the more speed, as a host of circumstances will smooth it out.
Thus, the transformation of humanity is accomplished. Without emigration, that is without the departure of the lagging Spirits who must not return, or who must return only after they have improved, terrestrial humanity would not therefore remain stationary indefinitely, because the most lagging spirits advance on their side; but it would have taken centuries, and perhaps thousands of years, to achieve the result that half a century will suffice to achieve.
A vulgar comparison will make it easier to understand what happens in this circumstance. Let us suppose a regiment composed in the great majority of tempestuous and undisciplined men. These will constantly create disorder that the severity of the penal law will often have difficulty in repressing. These men are the strongest, because they are in greater number; they support, encourage, and stimulate each other by example. The few good ones have no influence; their advices are overlooked; they are scorned, mistreated by the others, and suffer from this contact. Isn't this the image of today's society?
Suppose that these men are withdrawn from the regiment one by one, ten by ten, one hundred by one hundred, and that they are replaced, as they go, by an equal number of good soldiers, even by those that have been expelled, but who have amended; after a while we will still have the same regiment, but transformed; good order will have succeeded disorder. That is how it is going to be with the regenerated humanity. The great collective departures are not only intended to activate exits, but to transform the minds of the masses more quickly by ridding them of bad influences, and to give more ascendancy to new ideas.
It is because many, despite their imperfections, are ripe for this transformation, that many leave to reinstruct from a purer source. If they remained in the same environment and under the same influences, they would have persisted in their opinions and in their way of seeing things. A stay in the spiritual world is enough to open their eyes because they see there what they could not see on earth. The unbeliever, the fanatic, the absolutist, will therefore be able to come back with innate ideas of faith, tolerance, and freedom. On their return, they will find things changed, and will experience the ascendancy of the new environment in which they will be born. Instead of opposing new ideas, they will be their auxiliaries.
The regeneration of humanity does not therefore absolutely need the complete renewal of Spirits: all that is needed is a modification in their moral dispositions; this modification takes place in all those who are predisposed to it, when they are withdrawn from the pernicious influence of the world. Those who come back then are not always other Spirits, but often the same Spirits thinking and feeling differently.
When this improvement is isolated and individual, it goes unnoticed, and it has no explicit influence on the world. The effect is quite different when it operates simultaneously on large masses; for then, according to the proportions, the ideas of a people or of a race can be profoundly modified in a generation. This is what we almost always notice after great calamities that decimate populations. Destructive scourges destroy only the body, but do not reach the Spirit; they activate the back-and-forth movement between the bodily world and the spiritual world, and consequently the progressive movement of incarnate and discarnate Spirits.
It is one of these general movements that is taking place at this time, and which must bring about the reshuffle of humanity. The multiplicity of the causes of destruction is a characteristic sign of the times, for it must hasten the hatching of new germs. It is the autumn leaves that fall, and to which will succeed new leaves full of life; for humanity has its seasons, just as individuals have their ages. The dead leaves of humanity fall carried away by gusty winds, but to be reborn livelier, under the same breath of life, that does not extinguish, but purifies itself.
For the materialist, destructive plagues are calamities without compensation, without useful results, since, according to them, those calamities annihilate the creatures, without return. But for the one who knows that death destroys only the envelope, calamities do not have the same consequences, and do not cause the slightest fear, because they understand the purpose, and also know that men do not lose more by dying together than in isolation, because in one way or another, it is always necessary to get there.
The nonbelievers will laugh at these things and will treat them as chimeras. But, irrespective of what they say, they will not escape the common law. They will fall, like the others, when it is their turn, but then, what is going to happen to them? Nothing, they say, but despite themselves, they will, one day, be forced to open their eyes.
Note. - The following communication was addressed to us, during the trip we have just made, from one of our dear invisible protectors; although of personal character, it is also connected with the great question that we have just discussed and which it confirms. For that reason, we thought appropriate to place it here, so that people persecuted for their Spiritists beliefs will find useful encouragement in that message.
Paris, September 1st, 1866
“It has been a long time since I have indicated my presence in your meetings by giving a communication signed by my name; believe not, dear master, that it was through indifference or forgetfulness, but I saw no need to manifest myself, and I left it to others, more worthy, to give you useful instructions. However, I was there, and I followed with the greatest interest the progress of this dear doctrine to which I owe the happiness and calmness of the last years of my life. I was there, and my good friend Mr. T… has assured you of this, more than once, during his hours of sleep and ecstasy. He envies my happiness, and he also longs to come to the world I inhabit now, when he contemplates it, shining in the starry sky, and thinks about his tough trials.
I also endured very painful ones; thanks to Spiritism, I supported them without complaint, and I bless them now, since I owe them my advancement. May he be patient; tell him that he will come here one day, but that he must first come back to earth again to help you in the conclusion of your task. But then, how much everything will be changed! You will both think of yourselves in a new world.
My friend, while you can, rest your work-weary mind and brain; amass material strength, for soon you will have a lot to spend on. Events, which will now quickly follow one another, will require your standing; be firm in body and mind, to be in a condition to fight with benefit. It will then be necessary to work tirelessly. But, as you have already been told, you will not be alone to bear the burden; serious helpers will show up when the time is right. So, listen to the advice of the good doctor Demeure, and beware of any unnecessary or premature fatigue. Moreover, we will be there to advise and warn you.
Beware of the two extreme parties which are agitating Spiritism, either to restrict it to the past, or to precipitate its course forward. Appease the harmful ardor, and do not allow yourself to be stopped by the procrastination of the fearful, or, what is more dangerous but unfortunately very true, by the suggestions of enemy envoys.
Walk with a firm and sure step, as you have done so far, not worrying about what is said from right or left, following the inspiration of your guides and your reason, and you will not risk to allow the carriage of Spiritism to derail. Many push this envied chariot, to precipitate its downfall. Blind and presumptuous! It will pass, despite the obstacles, and it will leave in the abyss its enemies and the envious ones only, embarrassed for having served its triumph.
The phenomena arise already and will arise from all sides in the most varied aspects. Healing mediumship, incomprehensible illnesses, physical effects inexplicable by science, everything will come together in the near future to ensure our definitive victory, to which new defenders will contribute.
But how many struggles will still have to be sustained, and how many victims! Not bloody, no doubt, but stricken in their interests and in their affections. More than one will fade under the weight of hostilities, unleashed against all that bear the name of Spiritist. But also, happy the ones who will have been able to maintain their firmness in the face of adversity! They will be well rewarded, even here on earth, materially. The persecutions are the tests of sincerity of their faith, courage, and perseverance. Their trust in God will not be in vain. All the sufferings, all the vexations, all the humiliations they will have endured for the cause will hold value, none of which will be lost; the good Spirits watch over them and count them, and they will know well how to separate sincere from fictitious devotion. If the wheel of fortune momentarily betrays them and plunges them into the dust, soon it will raise them higher than ever, making them public, and destroying the obstacles piled up in their path. Later, they will rejoice for having paid their tribute to the cause, and the greater the tribute, the greater their share.
In these times of trials, you will have to lavish your strength and steadfastness to all; all will also need encouragement and advice. It will also be necessary to close the eyes to the defections of the lukewarm and the cowards. On your own account, you will also have a lot to forgive...
But I will stop here, because if, on one side, I can give you an idea of all the events, I am not allowed to specify anything. All I can tell you is that we will not fall in the struggle. One can surround truth with the shadows of error, but it is impossible to asphyxiate it; its flame is immortal, and it will shine sooner or later.
Widow F…”
Note: We postponed the continuation of our study about Muhammad and Islamism to the next issue due to the sequence of ideas and for the understanding of the deductions it was necessary that the study was preceded by the article above.
[1] See The Gospel According to Spiritism, Chap. XV
However, everything that is said in the Gospel must take place and it does at this time, as you will acknowledge later. But consider the announced signs as figurative, whose spirit, and not the letter, must be understood. All the Scriptures carry great truths under the veil of allegory; the commentators got confused because they fixated on the letter. They lacked the key to understand their true meaning. That key is in the discoveries of science and in the laws of the invisible world that Spiritism reveals to us. From now on, with the help of that knowledge, what was obscure becomes clear and intelligible.
Everything follows the natural order of things, and the immutable laws of God will not be disturbed. Thus, you will not see miracles or prodigies, nor anything supernatural, in the common meaning attached to these words. Do not look at the sky seeking precursors signs there, since you will not see them, and those that announce it will deceive you, but look around you, among men, and you will find them there.
Don’t you feel a blowing wind on Earth, agitating all the Spirits? The world waits, as if taken by a vague presentiment of the approaching storm. Do not believe, however, in the end of the material world; Earth has progressed since its transformation; it must continue to progress, and not be destroyed. But humanity has arrived at one of its periods of transformation, and Earth will elevate in the hierarchy of the worlds.
It is not, therefore, the end of the material world that is in preparation; it is the old world, the world of prejudices, selfishness, pride, and fanaticism that ruins. Some fragments are carried away every day. All will end with the outgoing generation, and the new generation will erect the edifice that the following generations will consolidate and complement. From a world of atonement, Earth is called to one day become a happy world, and to inhabit it will be a reward, instead of a punishment. The kingdom of good will succeed that of evil there.
For humanity to be happy on Earth it is necessary that it is only populated by good Spirits, incarnate and discarnate, that will only want good. Since this time has come, a great emigration takes place at this moment, among those that inhabit it; those that do evil things by the evil things, and that are not touched by good, for no longer being worthy of the transformed Earth, will be excluded, for they would again bring disturbance and confusion and would be an obstacle to progress. They will atone their hardening in inferior worlds, to where they will take their acquired knowledge with the assigned mission of promoting progress in those worlds. They will be replaced by better Spirits on Earth that will establish the kingdom of justice, peace, and fraternity.
Earth, we have already said, must not be transformed by a cataclysm that would annihilate a generation. The current generation will disappear gradually, and the new one will succeed it, without any change in the natural order of things. Hence, everything will apparently take place as usual, with one difference only, and that difference is paramount: part of the Spirits that incarnate here will no longer do. In a newborn child, instead of a lagging Spirit, devoted to evil, a more advanced and dedicated to good Spirit will incarnate. It is, therefore, much more of a new generation of Spirits than a new corporeal generation.
The current period is that of transition. The elements are confounded in two generations. In an intermediary position you watch the departure of one and the arrival of another, and each one is already marked in the world by the characters that are proper to them. The two generations that succeed one another have completely opposite points of view. By the nature of their moral dispositions, but above all by the intuitive and innate disposition, it is easy to distinguish to which each one belongs.
The new generation, that must establish the era of moral progress, is distinguished by a generally premature intelligence and reason, added to the innate feeling of good and the spiritualist beliefs, that is an undoubtful sign of a certain degree of previous advancement. That generation will not be composed exclusively of eminently superior Spirits, but of those that have already progressed and are prepared to assimilate every progressive idea and apt to second the regenerating movement.
The lagging Spirits, on the contrary, are characterized, to begin with, by a revolt against God through the denial of Providence and of every power above humanity; then, the instinctive tendency to degrading passions, to feelings of egotism, pride, hatred, jealousy, greed, and finally the predominance of the attachment to everything that is material.
These are the vices that must be purged from Earth by the removal of those that refuse to mend, because they are incompatible with the rule of fraternity and for the fact that good men will always suffer with their contact. Earth will be free from them and men will march towards a better future without obstacles, a future that is reserved to them down here, as a reward for their efforts and perseverance, while they wait for an even more complete depuration to open the door to superior worlds.
By such migration of Spirits, one must not understand that all those that have fallen behind will be expelled from Earth and relegated to inferior worlds. On the contrary, many will come back here because many have gotten carried away by the circumstances and example; their shell was worse than the core. Once subtracted from the influence of matter and the prejudices of the corporeal world, most of them will see things in a completely different way as from when they were alive, from which you have numerous examples. They are helped with this by the benevolent Spirits that are interested in them, striving to enlighten and show them the false path that they had taken. You can contribute to their betterment yourselves, by your prayers and exhortations, because there is a perpetual solidarity between the living and the dead.
Those can then return with the ones that are going to be happy, for this is a reward to them. What does it matter what they had been or done, if they are driven by better feelings! Far from being hostile to progress and society, they will be useful helpers because they will belong to the new generation. Hence, there will only be a definitive exclusion to the fundamentally rebel Spirits, those that become deaf to the voice of good and reason, more by egotism and pride than ignorance. But these ones are not devoted to an eternal inferiority and a day will come when they will repudiate their past and open their eyes to light. Pray, therefore, for these hardened ones, so that they mend while there is time, because the day of atonement is near. Most of them, unfortunately, by neglecting the voice of God, will persist in their blindness, and their resistance will mark the end of their kingdom through terrible struggles. In their raving, they will rush to their own loss, giving rise to destruction that will generate a multitude of scourges and calamities, so that they will unwillingly accelerate the arrival of the era of renovation.
And as if the destruction was not moving fast enough, we will see suicides multiplying in an incredible proportion, even among children. Madness will have never struck a greater number of men that even before death, will be erased from the living. These are the true signs of the times. And all this will be achieved by the sequence of events, as we have said, without any breach of the laws of nature.
However, in the somber cloud that involves you and where the storm roars, notice the appearance of the first rays of light of the new era! Fraternity casts its foundations in all corners of the globe and the peoples reach out to one another; barbarism acquires familiar habits before contact with civilization; prejudices of race and sect, that have shed rivers of blood, disappear; fanaticism and intolerance loose ground, while the freedom of consciousness penetrates the social more, becoming a right. Ideas ferment everywhere; illnesses are faced with remedies, but many wanders around without a compass, lost in utopias. The world lives an immense labor that will last a century. In this still confusing work, one can nonetheless see a dominating tendency towards one objective: the unity and uniformity that predispose fraternity.
These are still the signs of times. But, while the others are those of the agony of the past, the latter are the first gasps to the just born child, the precursors of the dawn that the incoming century will see stand, because then the new generation will be in full power. As much as the appearance of the nineteenth century differs from that of the eighteenth century, on certain points of view, the twentieth century will be different from the nineteenth, from other points of view.
One of the distinctive characters of the new generation will be the innate faith, not the exclusive and blind faith that divides men, but a reasoned faith, that clarifies and strengthens, that unite and confound them in a common feeling of love to God and then neighbor. The last vestiges of incredulity and fanaticism will disappear with the generation that ends, equally contrary to moral and social progress.
Spiritism is the path that leads to the renovation because it destroys the two greatest obstacles that are opposed to that: incredulity and fanaticism. It provides a solid and enlightened faith; it develops all the feelings and ideas that correspond to the views of the new generation, and that is why it is innate and does exist in an intuitive state in the hearts of its representatives. The new era will, therefore, see it grow and prosper by the very force of things. It will constitute the basis of all beliefs, the supporting point of every institution. But until then, how many struggles it will have to face against its two greatest enemies, fanaticism, and incredulity, that strangely enough, join hands to bring it down. They have a presentiment of their future and their own ruin, and that is why they fear it, for they already see it planting the flag that must unite all peoples, on the ruins of the old and selfish world. They read their own condemnation in the Divine maxim: there is no salvation apart from charity because it is the symbol of the new fraternal alliance proclaimed by Christ.[1] These words appear to them as the fateful words of the feast of Baltazar. And yet, they should bless this maxim, because it spares them from all retaliation on the part of those they persecute. But no, a blind force pushes them to reject the only thing that could save them.
But what can they do against the ascendancy of public opinion, that repudiates them? Spiritism will emerge triumphant from the struggle, have no doubt, because it is in the laws of nature, and therefore imperishable. See by what multitude of means the idea spread and penetrates everywhere. Believe further that such means are not fortuitous, but providential, for something that seems to harm it, at first sight, is precisely what helps it spread. It will soon see the rise of champions among the most well positioned and respected men, that will support it with the authority of their name and example, imposing silence to its detractors, because these will dare not treat them as mad people. Those men study it in silence and will show up when time is right. Until then, it is useful that they stay away. You will soon also see the arts getting ideas from it, as from a fertile source, translating the discovered horizons in their thoughts, through paintings, music, poetry, and literature. You have already been told that one day there would be a Spiritist art, as there was the Pagan and Christian art, and that is a great truth, for the greatest geniuses will be inspired by it. You will soon see their first sketches and later it will occupy the place that is adequate.
Spiritists, future is yours and of all those of heart and devotion. Fear not the obstacles since none will be able to block the designs of the Providence. Work tirelessly and thank God for placing you in the frontline of the new phalanx. It is a place of honor that you have requested yourself, and that you must be worthy of by your courage, perseverance, and devotion. Fortunate the ones that succumb in this fight against force; but, in the world of the Spirits, shame on those that succumb for being weak or pusillanimous. As a matter of fact, the struggles are necessary to strengthen the soul; the contact of evil makes us better appreciate the advantages of good. Without the struggles that stimulate the faculties, the Spirit would indulge in an indifference that would be fatal to their own advancement. The struggles against the elements develop physical forces and intelligence; the ones against evil develop moral forces.
Observations:
1st: The way in which the transformation takes place is very simple, and as it is seen, it is thoroughly moral, does not deviate in any way from the laws of nature. Why then the nonbelievers reject these ideas if they have nothing of supernatural? This is because, according to them, the law of vitality ceases with the death of the body, whereas for us it continues, without interruption; they restrict its action and we extend it. That is why we say that the phenomena of spiritual life are not outside of the laws of nature. To them the supernatural begins where the appreciation by the senses ends.
2nd: Whether the Spirits of the new generation are new and better Spirits, or improved old Spirits, the result is the same. As long as they carry better dispositions, it is always a renovation. The incarnate Spirits, therefore, form two categories according to their natural dispositions: that of the lagging Spirits, that leave, and that of progressive Spirits, that arrive. The condition of society and social mores in a people, a race or in the whole world will, therefore, be in proportion to the state of the category that is predominant.
To simplify the issue, let us consider a people, in any given state of advancement, composed of twenty million soul, for example. For the renovation of Spirits in the same proportion of extinctions, isolated or in mass, there was necessarily a time when the generation of lagging Spirits outnumbered that of progressive Spirits, that were only rare representatives, without influence, and whose efforts to make good and progressive ideas dominate were neutralized. Now, since some leave and others arrive, at a given time the two forces are even and their influence counterbalance. Later, the newcomers form majority and their influence become preponderant, although still hindered by the former; these continue to diminish and will end up disappearing, while the others multiply; there will be a time when the influence of the new generation will be exclusive.
We are witnessing this transformation, the conflict which results from the struggle of contrary ideas which seek to establish themselves; some march with the flag of the past, others with that of the future. If we examine the present state of the world, we will recognize that earthly humanity, taken as a whole, is still far from the intermediate point where the forces will be balanced; that peoples, considered separately, are at a great distance from each other in this scale; that a few have touched this point, but none has surpassed it yet. Moreover, the distance that separates them from the extreme points is far from being equal in duration, and once the limit is crossed, the new road will be traveled with all the more speed, as a host of circumstances will smooth it out.
Thus, the transformation of humanity is accomplished. Without emigration, that is without the departure of the lagging Spirits who must not return, or who must return only after they have improved, terrestrial humanity would not therefore remain stationary indefinitely, because the most lagging spirits advance on their side; but it would have taken centuries, and perhaps thousands of years, to achieve the result that half a century will suffice to achieve.
A vulgar comparison will make it easier to understand what happens in this circumstance. Let us suppose a regiment composed in the great majority of tempestuous and undisciplined men. These will constantly create disorder that the severity of the penal law will often have difficulty in repressing. These men are the strongest, because they are in greater number; they support, encourage, and stimulate each other by example. The few good ones have no influence; their advices are overlooked; they are scorned, mistreated by the others, and suffer from this contact. Isn't this the image of today's society?
Suppose that these men are withdrawn from the regiment one by one, ten by ten, one hundred by one hundred, and that they are replaced, as they go, by an equal number of good soldiers, even by those that have been expelled, but who have amended; after a while we will still have the same regiment, but transformed; good order will have succeeded disorder. That is how it is going to be with the regenerated humanity. The great collective departures are not only intended to activate exits, but to transform the minds of the masses more quickly by ridding them of bad influences, and to give more ascendancy to new ideas.
It is because many, despite their imperfections, are ripe for this transformation, that many leave to reinstruct from a purer source. If they remained in the same environment and under the same influences, they would have persisted in their opinions and in their way of seeing things. A stay in the spiritual world is enough to open their eyes because they see there what they could not see on earth. The unbeliever, the fanatic, the absolutist, will therefore be able to come back with innate ideas of faith, tolerance, and freedom. On their return, they will find things changed, and will experience the ascendancy of the new environment in which they will be born. Instead of opposing new ideas, they will be their auxiliaries.
The regeneration of humanity does not therefore absolutely need the complete renewal of Spirits: all that is needed is a modification in their moral dispositions; this modification takes place in all those who are predisposed to it, when they are withdrawn from the pernicious influence of the world. Those who come back then are not always other Spirits, but often the same Spirits thinking and feeling differently.
When this improvement is isolated and individual, it goes unnoticed, and it has no explicit influence on the world. The effect is quite different when it operates simultaneously on large masses; for then, according to the proportions, the ideas of a people or of a race can be profoundly modified in a generation. This is what we almost always notice after great calamities that decimate populations. Destructive scourges destroy only the body, but do not reach the Spirit; they activate the back-and-forth movement between the bodily world and the spiritual world, and consequently the progressive movement of incarnate and discarnate Spirits.
It is one of these general movements that is taking place at this time, and which must bring about the reshuffle of humanity. The multiplicity of the causes of destruction is a characteristic sign of the times, for it must hasten the hatching of new germs. It is the autumn leaves that fall, and to which will succeed new leaves full of life; for humanity has its seasons, just as individuals have their ages. The dead leaves of humanity fall carried away by gusty winds, but to be reborn livelier, under the same breath of life, that does not extinguish, but purifies itself.
For the materialist, destructive plagues are calamities without compensation, without useful results, since, according to them, those calamities annihilate the creatures, without return. But for the one who knows that death destroys only the envelope, calamities do not have the same consequences, and do not cause the slightest fear, because they understand the purpose, and also know that men do not lose more by dying together than in isolation, because in one way or another, it is always necessary to get there.
The nonbelievers will laugh at these things and will treat them as chimeras. But, irrespective of what they say, they will not escape the common law. They will fall, like the others, when it is their turn, but then, what is going to happen to them? Nothing, they say, but despite themselves, they will, one day, be forced to open their eyes.
Note. - The following communication was addressed to us, during the trip we have just made, from one of our dear invisible protectors; although of personal character, it is also connected with the great question that we have just discussed and which it confirms. For that reason, we thought appropriate to place it here, so that people persecuted for their Spiritists beliefs will find useful encouragement in that message.
Paris, September 1st, 1866
“It has been a long time since I have indicated my presence in your meetings by giving a communication signed by my name; believe not, dear master, that it was through indifference or forgetfulness, but I saw no need to manifest myself, and I left it to others, more worthy, to give you useful instructions. However, I was there, and I followed with the greatest interest the progress of this dear doctrine to which I owe the happiness and calmness of the last years of my life. I was there, and my good friend Mr. T… has assured you of this, more than once, during his hours of sleep and ecstasy. He envies my happiness, and he also longs to come to the world I inhabit now, when he contemplates it, shining in the starry sky, and thinks about his tough trials.
I also endured very painful ones; thanks to Spiritism, I supported them without complaint, and I bless them now, since I owe them my advancement. May he be patient; tell him that he will come here one day, but that he must first come back to earth again to help you in the conclusion of your task. But then, how much everything will be changed! You will both think of yourselves in a new world.
My friend, while you can, rest your work-weary mind and brain; amass material strength, for soon you will have a lot to spend on. Events, which will now quickly follow one another, will require your standing; be firm in body and mind, to be in a condition to fight with benefit. It will then be necessary to work tirelessly. But, as you have already been told, you will not be alone to bear the burden; serious helpers will show up when the time is right. So, listen to the advice of the good doctor Demeure, and beware of any unnecessary or premature fatigue. Moreover, we will be there to advise and warn you.
Beware of the two extreme parties which are agitating Spiritism, either to restrict it to the past, or to precipitate its course forward. Appease the harmful ardor, and do not allow yourself to be stopped by the procrastination of the fearful, or, what is more dangerous but unfortunately very true, by the suggestions of enemy envoys.
Walk with a firm and sure step, as you have done so far, not worrying about what is said from right or left, following the inspiration of your guides and your reason, and you will not risk to allow the carriage of Spiritism to derail. Many push this envied chariot, to precipitate its downfall. Blind and presumptuous! It will pass, despite the obstacles, and it will leave in the abyss its enemies and the envious ones only, embarrassed for having served its triumph.
The phenomena arise already and will arise from all sides in the most varied aspects. Healing mediumship, incomprehensible illnesses, physical effects inexplicable by science, everything will come together in the near future to ensure our definitive victory, to which new defenders will contribute.
But how many struggles will still have to be sustained, and how many victims! Not bloody, no doubt, but stricken in their interests and in their affections. More than one will fade under the weight of hostilities, unleashed against all that bear the name of Spiritist. But also, happy the ones who will have been able to maintain their firmness in the face of adversity! They will be well rewarded, even here on earth, materially. The persecutions are the tests of sincerity of their faith, courage, and perseverance. Their trust in God will not be in vain. All the sufferings, all the vexations, all the humiliations they will have endured for the cause will hold value, none of which will be lost; the good Spirits watch over them and count them, and they will know well how to separate sincere from fictitious devotion. If the wheel of fortune momentarily betrays them and plunges them into the dust, soon it will raise them higher than ever, making them public, and destroying the obstacles piled up in their path. Later, they will rejoice for having paid their tribute to the cause, and the greater the tribute, the greater their share.
In these times of trials, you will have to lavish your strength and steadfastness to all; all will also need encouragement and advice. It will also be necessary to close the eyes to the defections of the lukewarm and the cowards. On your own account, you will also have a lot to forgive...
But I will stop here, because if, on one side, I can give you an idea of all the events, I am not allowed to specify anything. All I can tell you is that we will not fall in the struggle. One can surround truth with the shadows of error, but it is impossible to asphyxiate it; its flame is immortal, and it will shine sooner or later.
Widow F…”
Note: We postponed the continuation of our study about Muhammad and Islamism to the next issue due to the sequence of ideas and for the understanding of the deductions it was necessary that the study was preceded by the article above.
[1] See The Gospel According to Spiritism, Chap. XV