IN ITS SIMPLEST EXPRESSION SUMMARY OF THE SPIRITS’ TEACHINGS and their manifestations

BY Author of The Spirits’ Book Founder of Revue Spiritiste and codifier of Spiritism ______

NEW EDITION

FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE SPIRITIST UNION SPIRITISM IN ITS SIMPLEST EXPRESSION ______

HISTORY OF SPIRITISM.

Around 1848, in the United States, one has called attention to a number of strange phenomena consisting of sounds, raps, and objects moving for unknown reasons. Such phenomena were often spontaneous, and happened with remarkable intensity and persistence, but one has also noticed that they took place especially under the influence of certain people, who became known as mediums, people who could somehow provoke them at will, making the repetition of such experiences possible. To that end, tables were most often used, not because they are particularly special objects, but for their convenience as pieces of furniture around which one could easily and naturally sit. Thus, the table would spin, then move about in all directions, jerk, turn upside down, rise in the air, rap strongly on the floor, etc. This phenomenon got to be known as turning tables or dance of the tables. At first it seemed it could be perfectly explained by an electric or magnetic current, or by the action of some unknown fluid, and such was the first opinion about it. It was soon realized, however, that these phenomena had intelligent effects and obeyed a will; the table would spin to the right or to the left towards a designated person; it would stand or one or two legs at command; it would strike the floor as many times as requested; it would beat to a rhythm, etc. Thus, it became clear that the issue was not purely physical. Following the principle: If every effect has a cause, every intelligent effect must have an intelligent cause, one may conclude that the cause of such a phenomenon had to be an intelligence. What was the nature of that intelligence? That was the question. Tem first hypothesis was that the phenomenon could be a reflection of the intelligence of the medium or his assistants, but experience soon showed that such a thing was impossible, because events took place that were entirely alien to the thought and knowledge of the attendants, and sometimes even contradicted their ideas, their will and their desire; it had, then, to belong to some invisible being. The means to confirm that was utterly simple: it consisted of entering into dialogue with that being, which was accomplished by establishing a number of raps to mean yes and no, or by determining letters of the alphabet. In this way, answers were obtained to several questions asked to that being. Such a phenomenon was named talking boards. All beings that communicated in that way, when asked about their nature, responded they were Spirits and belonged to the invisible world. The same effects were reproduced in several different locations, with the mediation of different people, and observed by extremely serious and enlightened men, rendering it impossible to attribute them to mere illusion. From the United States, the phenomenon spread throughout France and the rest of Europe where, within a few years, the turning tables and talking boards had become fashionable, often as entertainment in fairs, until people grew tired of them and sought new forms of distraction. The phenomenon soon resurfaced under a new light, which removed it from the field of mere curiosity. As the scope of this summary does not allow for a thorough description of all its phases, we will follow describing what is most characteristic of the phenomenon, attracting especial attention from reputable intellectuals. First, it is necessary to remark that the reality of the phenomenon found many opponents; some, disregarding the unbiased and respectful nature of those who experimented it, saw in it mere juggling, a deft magical trick. Those who admit nothing but the material, those who believe only what their eyes can see, those who think everything dies with the body, materialists, in sum: those who call themselves free thinkers, rejected the existence of invisible spirits to the realm of absurd fables; they deemed crazy those who took the phenomenon seriously and made mocking, sarcastic comments about them. Others, unable to deny the facts, and under the influence of a certain order of ideas, attributed the phenomena to the exclusive influence of the devil and thus sought to scare those who were diffident. Currently, however, fear of the devil seems to have lost prestige; it has been discussed and described so often and in so many ways that we have grown familiar with the idea and many have actually said that we ought to seize the opportunity to see what it really is. As a result, with the exception of some jittery women, the announcement of the arrival of the real devil had something appealing to those who had seen it only in paintings and in the theater; to a number of people, that was a powerful incentive; thus, those who so wished to hinder new ideas ended up working against their own purposes, inadvertently becoming more effective publicists the louder they raised their voices. Other critics were no more successful because they could not oppose more than denial to empirical facts and categorical reasoning. The reader of their publications will find proof of ignorance and lack of strict observation of facts throughout, as they fail to present any conclusive demonstration of the impossibility of such phenomena; their whole argument could be summarized as follows: “I do not believe it, so it does not exist; whoever believes it is a fool; only we have the privilege of reason and common sense”. The number of followers attracted by serious or sarcastic criticism cannot be calculated, as everywhere we find solely personal opinion, unfounded by evidence to the contrary. Thus, let us proceed with our presentation. Communication by means of raps was slow and incomplete; one then noticed that with the fitting of a pencil to a movable object –a basket, a drawing board, or another such article on which it was possible to place one’s fingers –, the object would be set in motion and draw characters. Later it was recognized that these objects were just accessories that could be dispensed with; experience showed that the , acting on an inert body to guide it according to its will, could do the same with an arm or a hand to move the pencil. And thus originated the writing mediums, people who would write involuntarily, under the influence of Spirits, whose instruments and interpreters they became. From that moment on, communications had no limits, and the exchange of thoughts could be carried out as readily and easily as between living people. It was a vast field open to exploration, the discovery of a new world: the invisible world had been found, just like the microscope had found the world of the infinitely small. What are those Spirits? What role do they play in the universe? To what end do they communicate with mortals? These were the first questions to be answered. Soon one got to know, from Spirits themselves, that they are not separate beings in creation but the very souls of those who once lived on earth or in other worlds; that these souls, after leaving the envelope of the body, inhabit and move across the space. It was no longer possible to doubt that fact after they recognized in the group friends and relatives with whom they could communicate; when they came to give proof of their existence, to show that only their bodies had died, that their soul or their Spirit still lived, and that they were here, close to us, watching and observing as before, surrounding with care those they loved and whose memory was sweet satisfaction to them. In general, one has an entirely false idea of the Spirits; they are not, as many would imagine, abstract, vague, indefinite beings, or something like a glow or a flame; instead, they are very real beings, with individuality and defined form. The following explanation provides a general idea: The human being is composed of three essential parts: 1) the soul or Spirit, intelligent principle in which thought, will, and moral sense reside; 2) the body, heavy and coarse material covering that establishes the spirit’s relationship with the exterior world; 3) the , light fluidic envelope which serves as intermediate bond and link between the Spirit and the body. When the external covering is worn out and can no longer function, the Spirit sheds it and is set free, like a fruit or a tree that sheds its bark. In short, it abandons the body as one would abandon a garment that no longer fits; this is what we call death. Therefore, death is nothing but the destruction of the coarse covering of the Spirit: only the body dies, the spirit lives on. In life, the Spirit is somehow constrained by the bonds of the matter to which it is linked, which sometimes hampers its capabilities; the death of the body frees the Spirit from such bonds; disencumbered of it, the Spirit recovers its freedom, like a butterfly that leaves its chrysalis. It leaves, however, only the material body; it keeps the perispirit, which is a sort of ethereal body to it, light, imponderable to us, and most typically of human form. In its normal state, the perispirit is invisible, but the Spirit may submit it to some modifications to make it temporarily available to sight or even touch, as occurs with condensed vapor; it is thus that they may sometimes show themselves to us in apparitions. With the help of the perispirit, the Spirit acts on inert matter to produce the diverse phenomena of noise, movement, writing, etc. Raps and movements are means for the Spirits to attest their presence and make themselves noticed, in the same way one would knock on the door to let people know of one’s presence. There are some who go beyond moderate noises, producing blasts that are similar to cracking dishes, doors opening and closing, furniture falling. With the aid of conventions for raps and movements, they could express their thoughts, but writing provides the fastest, most comprehensive, and most convenient means of communication and, therefore, is favored. Just like they can guide the hand to form characters, Spirits can also control it to make drawings, write music, play a piece in an instrument; in short, in the absence of their own bodies, which they no longer have, they use the body of the medium to show themselves to people in a sensible way. Spirits may also manifest themselves in several other ways, by means of sight or hearing. Some people, known as hearing mediums, have the capacity to hear them, and they can talk to Spirits; others see them: they are seeing mediums. Spirits who manifest themselves to sight generally take a similar form to the one they had while living, though in a vaporous way. On other occasions, such a form is identical to that of a living being, to the point of causing complete delusion; the Spirit can be mistaken for a flesh-and-blood person, with whom it is possible to have conversations and shake hands, oblivious of the fact that one is interacting with a Spirit until it suddenly disappears. Permanent and general sight of Spirits is extremely rare, but individual apparitions are quite frequent, especially at the time of death; the freed Spirit seems to be eager to meet friends and relatives again, as if to let them know that it has just left the earth and that it is still alive. By examining one’s memories, it is possible to recognize that several such authentic facts, which at first went unnoticed, took place not only during a night’s sleep, but also in broad day light while one was completely awake. In the past, such facts were reckoned uncanny and supernatural, and they were attributed to magic and witchcraft; nowadays, unbelievers allege they are a product of fancy; nevertheless, since the spiritist science gave us the key, we know how they take place and we understand they do not exceed the order of natural phenomena. One often believes that Spirits, just because they are spirits, must hold supreme wisdom and science: this is a mistake experience did not take long to discover. Among communications established by Spirits, some carry sublime depth, eloquence, wisdom and morality, transpiring nothing but goodness and kindness; on the other hand, there are others which are extremely vulgar, frivolous, trite, and even crude, by means of which the Spirit reveals the most wicked instincts. It is evident that both may not come from the same source and that, as there are good Spirits, there are also evil ones. Spirits are nothing more than the souls of human beings, and thus they cannot naturally reach perfection once they leave their bodies; until they evolve, they keep the imperfections of their corporeal life; this is why we see all sorts of good and evil, wisdom and ignorance. Spirits generally communicate gladly, as to them it is fulfilling to know they have not been forgotten; they willingly describe their impressions of leaving the earth, their new condition, the nature of their joys and pains in the world they now inhabit; some are extremely happy, while others are miserable, and some suffer terrible torment depending on how they spent their lives and on the good or bad, fruitful or unfruitful use they made of them. The observation of all phases of their new existence, in relation to the position they had on Earth, the way they died, their character and habits as human beings, allows us to reach if not complete at least fairly accurate understanding of the invisible world so we can envisage our future state and anticipate the fortunate or unfortunate fate that awaits us. The instructions given by Spirits of a higher order regarding all matters of interest for humanity, their responses to the questions they are posed, after careful compilation and coordination, constitute a science, a moral and philosophical doctrine known as Spiritism. Spiritism is, therefore, the doctrine based on the existence, manifestations, and teachings of the spirits. This doctrine is thoroughly exposed in the Spirits’Book, in its philosophical aspect, in , in its practical and experimental aspect, and in The Gospel According to Spiritism, in its moral aspect. From the analysis of these works, as presented below, it is possible to judge the variety, scope, and importance of the themes the doctrine comprises. As we have seen, Spiritism had its point of departure in the mundane phenomenon of the turning tables; nonetheless, as such facts are more appealing to the eyes than to the intellect, as they raise more curiosity than a feeling, satisfied curiosity, its appeal gradually decreased because we could not understand it. The same did not occur when theory came to explain its cause; especially when we realized that, from those turning tables, which had so amused us, stemmed a moral doctrine that spoke to the soul, dissipating the anguish of doubt, fulfilling all aspirations left vague by incomplete education on the future of humanity, serious people embraced the new doctrine as a bounty and, thereafter, instead of losing force, it has advanced exceptionally fast; in a few years, it spread all over the world and, particularly among enlightened people, it gained a number of fans who multiply everyday and in remarkable numbers, so we can say today that Spiritism has reached legitimacy; it is founded on bases which challenge the efforts of opponents who are more or less engaged in denying it; witness relentless attacks and criticism against the doctrine: this is a fact learned from experience and whose opponents have never been able to explain; according to Spiritists, if it is disseminated despite criticism it is because it is correct and because its explanations are preferable to those of its deniers. Spiritism, however, is not a modern discovery; the facts and principles on which it is founded date back to remote ages, as we find its traces in the beliefs of all peoples, in all religions, in most texts by sacred and secular writers; it is only that the facts, inaccurately observed, were often interpreted according to the superstitious ideas of ignorance, a full assessment of their implications lacking. Indeed, Spiritism is based on the existence of Spirits, but, as spirits are no more than human souls, there have been Spirits for as long as there have been people; Spiritism has not discovered or invented them. If souls or spirits can communicate with the living, it is because that is part of nature and, thus, they have always done so; therefore, always and everywhere we can find evidence of these manifestations, which are particularly abundant in biblical narratives. The modern aspects are the logical explanation of facts, the more thorough understanding of the nature of Spirits, of their role and their way of action, the revelation of our future state, in sum, its constitution as science and doctrine and its various applications. Ancient people knew the principle; Modern people know the details. In the old age, the study of such phenomena was a privilege of certain castes that revealed their mysteries only to those who were initiated; in the Middle Age, those who were ostensibly involved with such phenomena were considered sorcerers and burnt to death; nowadays, however, there are mysteries to nobody, nobody is burnt; everything takes place in broad daylight and anyone can get information about and practice Spiritism, because mediums are all over the world. The very doctrine taught by the Spirits is no novelty anymore; fragments of it can be found in the thought of most Indian, Egyptian, and Greek philosophers, and its entirety is in the teachings of Christ. So what is the role of Spiritism? It confirms new testimonies, demonstrates unknown or misunderstood truths with fact and restores the actual meaning of facts that have been misinterpreted. Indeed, Spiritism teaches nothing new; then is what it does nothing but clearly and irrefutably proving the existence of the soul, its survival beyond the body, its individuality after death, its immortality, its future pains and rewards? So many people believe in these facts, but they believe so in vague uncertainty, with an underlying voice in their hearts that says: “What if, however, it were not so!” How many have not been led to disbelief because the future was presented to them under a light their reason could not admit! Is it nothing for the wavering believer to be able to say to himself: “Now I am sure!”, for the blind to see the light? By means of facts and logic, Spiritism dissolves the anxiety of doubt and restores faith in those who have gone astray; by reveling the existence of the invisible world around us, and in the midst of which we live unsuspectingly, it shows, through the example of those who lived, the conditions for our future joy or misery; it explains the cause of our suffering on earth and the means to alleviate it. Its dissemination will result in the inescapable demise of materialist doctrines which cannot resist evidence. Human beings, convinced of the greatness and importance of their future, eternal life in contrast with their fleeting life on earth, intellectually rise above petty human concerns; aware of the cause and reason of their misery, they endure it with patience and resignation, as they understand suffering is part of the path of improvement. The example of those who come from beyond the grave to describe their joys and pains, demonstrating the reality of a future life, also shows that God's justice leaves no wickedness without punishment and no virtue without reward. Moreover, communication with deceased loved ones brings sweet consolation, as it proves not only that they live on, but also that they are less distant from us than if they were living in a foreign country. Briefly stated, Spiritism eases the bitterness of life's sorrows, appeases despair and torments of the soul, dissipates uncertainty and fear of the future and suppresses suicidal feelings; therefore, it brings happiness to those who embrace it. This is the secret of its fast propagation. From a religious point of view, Spiritism is based on the fundamental truths of every religion: God, the soul, immortality, future punishments and rewards; it is, however, independent of any particular cult. Its goal is to prove those who deny or doubt it that the soul exists and that it survives the body, that, after death, it endures the consequences of the good or evil practiced during the life of the body; i.e., facts that are common to all religions. As a belief in spirits, Spiritism is also like any other religion, as it is common to all people, since wherever there are humans, there will be souls or spirits; their manifestations span the ages and are reported in all religions without exception. One can, therefore, be Greek or Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish or Muslim and still believe in the manifestations of the spirits and, consequently, be a Spiritist; witness the fact that Spiritism has adherents in all sects1. In a moral sense, Spiritism is essentially Christian as it teaches the development and application of the Christ’s morality, which is the purest of all and whose superiority no one disputes, an irrefutable proof that it is God’s law; morality, however, is for everyone’s use. Because it is independent of any cult, Spiritism prescribes no specific cults and holds no particular dogmas; it is not a special religion, since it has no priests, pastors or temples. To those who ask if they act well by keeping one or another practice, it answers: If you believe your conscience is committed to this practice, engage in it: God always takes intention into account. In sum: Spiritism imposes itself on no one, it is

1 Note to the new edition: the word “sect” must be read in the context of the time when the text was written, meaning the same as religious movement or current. not intended for those who have a faith or whose faith is sufficient; rather, it is for the immense majority of wavering believers and unbelievers. Spiritism does not take people away from the Church, as they are already morally detached from it. It helps them walk three fourths of the way into the Church; the remainder is up to the Church itself. Spiritism indeed opposes certain beliefs like eternal punishment, the material fire of hell, the devil's personality, etc. However, is it not also true that such beliefs, imposed as absolute truths, have always been disputed by unbelievers? If, by providing a rational explanation for such dogmas, Spiritism restores faith in those who have abandoned it, is it not helping religion? As a venerable clergyman once said: ''Spiritism makes one believe in something. Now, it is always better to believe in something than nothing''. As Spirits are nothing but souls, one cannot deny the existence of Spirits without denying the soul. If one admits to the existence of souls or Spirits, the question is then reduced to its purest expression: Can the souls of the dead communicate with the living? Spiritism proves this assertion with material facts; what proof can be given to the contrary? If it is true, all denials in the world will not render it false, as it is not a system or theory but a law of nature; against the laws of nature, human desire is powerless; it must willingly or unwillingly accept their consequences and adjust beliefs and habits accordingly.

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SUMMARY OF THE TEACHINGS OF THE SPIRITS.

1. God is the supreme intelligence, the primary cause of all things. God is eternal, unique, immaterial, immutable, almighty, supremely just and good. He must be infinite in all His perfections since, if even one of His attributes could be deemed imperfect, He would not be God. 2. God created the matter, which constitutes the worlds; He also created intelligent beings called Spirits, which are in charge of managing these material worlds in accordance with the immutable laws of creation and which, by their nature, may be improved. By improving themselves, they get closer to Divinity. 3. The Spirit itself is the intelligent principle; its inner nature is unknown to us; it is immaterial to us, as it bears no resemblance to what we call matter. 4. Spirits are individual beings; they have an ethereal, imponderable envelope called perispirit, a kind of fluidic body similar in form to the human body. They inhabit space, move about it in the speed of lightning and constitute the invisible world. 5. The origin and the means of creation of the Spirits are unknown to us; all we know is that they are created simple and ignorant, i. e., without knowledge of good and evil but equally capable because God, in His justice, would not liberate some from the work imposed on others in order to reach perfection. They are initially in a sort of infancy, without personal will and perfect consciousness of their existence. 6. Free will and ideas develop concurrently in Spirits; God tells them: “You can all aspire to supreme bliss after you acquire the knowledge you lack and fulfill the task I assign to you. Therefore, work to improve yourselves; this is the aim: you can reach it by following the laws I engraved in your conscience”. As a consequence of their free will, some spirits take the shortest path, which is that of good while others take the longest one, which is that of evil. 7. God did not create evil; He established laws which are always good because He is supremely good. Whoever faithfully follows these laws is perfectly happy; Spirits, however, have free will and do not always follow God’s laws; evil is a consequence of their transgression. One can then say that goodness is everything which is in accordance with God's law while evil is everything which violates it. 8. In order to contribute as agents of divine power in the work of material worlds, Spirits temporarily assume material bodies. By the work required in their corporeal lives, Spirits improve their intelligence and, by following God's law, they achieve the merits which shall lead to eternal bliss. 9. Incarnation was not initially imposed on the Spirit as a punishment; it is necessary for its development and for the accomplishment of God’s works, and everyone must go through it, whether one chooses the path of good or evil; those who take the good path advance more quickly and, therefore, complete their journey in less time and less painful conditions. 10. Incarnated spirits constitute mankind, which is not circumscribed to earth but inhabits all worlds across space. 11. The human soul is an incarnated Spirit. To help in the accomplishment of its task, God gave it, as helpers, animals that are submitted to it and whose character and intelligence are adequate to its needs. 12. The improvement of the Spirit is a consequence of its own effort; unable to acquire all moral and intellectual qualities that lead to its goal in one corporeal existence only, the Spirit achieves it in a succession of existences, advancing a few steps in the path of development in every one of them. 13. In each corporeal existence the Spirit must fulfill a task that is adequate to its development; the harder and more daunting the task, the greater the merit in fulfilling it. Each existence is also a test that brings the Spirit closer to its objective. The number of existences in unknown. It depends on the Spirit’s will to reduce it by means of active work for moral development; it also depends on the will of the worker, who must accomplish the task of reducing the number of days necessary for the fulfillment of the task. 14. When an existence is misused, the Spirit does not profit from it, and it has to begin a new life under more or less painful conditions, as consequence of its negligence and ill will; that is how, in life, one may be obliged to do tomorrow what was left undone yesterday and to do again what one did wrong. 15. Spiritual life is the normal life of the Spirit; it is eternal. Corporeal life is transitory and fleeting; it is but a moment in eternity. 16. During the intervals of its lives, the spirit is errant. This state has no definite duration; In it the spirit is happy or sad according to the good or bad use of its previous life; The spirit studies the causes which quickened or delayed its progress, and takes proper decisions which it will try to put into practice in its next incarnation. It also chooses the most adequate tests for its improvement. Sometimes, however, the spirit makes a mistake and falls, not fulfilling as a man the decisions it has taken as a spirit. 17. The guilty Spirit is punished by means of moral suffering in the world of the Spirits and of physical pain in corporeal life. Its afflictions result from its mistakes, that is, from the violations it committed against God’s law; thus, they are concurrently an expiation of the past and a trial for the future: this is how the proud may have a life of humiliation, the tyrant, one of servitude, the erring rich, one of poverty. 18. There are worlds appropriate to different degrees of Spirit advancement, where corporeal existence is found in very different conditions. The less advanced a spirit is, the heavier and more material the bodies in which it incarnates will be; as the Spirit purifies itself, it advances to morally and physically superior worlds. Earth is neither the first nor the last, but one of the least evolved. 19. Guilty spirits incarnate in the least developed worlds, where they pay for their sins and for the afflictions of material existence. These worlds are actual purgatories to them, but it depends only on themselves to leave, by means of work for moral advancement. The earth is one of these worlds. 20. God is supremely just and good, He does not condemn His creatures to perpetual punishment for temporary sins; He always offers them means to progress and repair the wrongs they have done. God forgives, but He demands repentance, reparation and return to goodness; thus, the duration of the punishment is contingent on the persistence of the Spirit in evil; therefore, punishment is eternal for those who forever remain in the wrong path; however, when a glimmer of repentance penetrates the guilty heart, God extends His mercy. The eternity of the punishment must also be understood in relative rather than absolute sense. 21. When Spirits incarnate, they bring along everything they learned in their previous existences; this is why people instinctively show special aptitudes, good or bad inclinations which seem innate. Bad natural inclinations are the remnants of the Spirit’s imperfection, which it has not been able to completely forsake; they are also traces of mistakes it made and the actual original sin. In every existence it must cleanse itself of some impurities. 22. The ability to forget previous existences is a blessing that God, in His grace, bestowed on us to spare people of their most painful memories. In every new existence, a man is that which he shaped for himself in previous lives; it is, for him, a fresh start; he knows his current weaknesses; he knows such weaknesses are a continuation of the ones he had before; he can deduce from them the wrongs he has done, and that is enough for him to work on his personal improvement. If he once had weaknesses he no longer has, then there is no need to worry about them; he has enough to work on with his present imperfections. 23. If the soul has still not lived, that is because it was created at the same time as the body; following this premise, it can have no relation with those that preceded it. One could wonder, then, how God, who is supremely just and good, could have imputed on it the guilt of the father of the human race, tainting it with an original sin it did not commit. Saying, on the other hand, that it brings, when it is reborn, imperfections from previous existences, that it suffers in the present existence consequences of past sins, we provide a logical explanation for the original sin which anyone can understand and admit, because the soul is only responsible for its own actions. 24. The diversity of innate, moral and intellectual skills is proof that a soul has lived before; if it had been created concurrently with the present body, it would not be consistent with God’s grace to create some more advanced than others. Why are there savages and civilized men, good and bad people, fools and wise men? Saying that some have lived more than others and acquired more experience explains it all. 25. If the current existence were the only one and it alone were to determine the future of the soul for the rest of eternity, what would be the fate of children who die young? Having done no good or evil, they do not deserve rewards or punishment. According to Christ’s word, each person being rewarded in accordance with their deeds, they do not have the right to the perfect bliss of angels, nor do they deserve to be deprived of it. Saying that, in the next existence, they will be able to accomplish what they could not do in the existence that came to a premature end excludes all exceptions. 26. For the same reason, what would be the fate of fools and idiots? Oblivious of good and evil, they have no responsibility for their actions. Would God be good and just if He created stupid souls in order to condemn them to a miserable, unrewarded existence? If we admit, on the other hand, that the souls of the fool and the idiot are Spirits being punished in inappropriate bodies for the expression of their thoughts, in which they live like men bound by powerful chains, nothing will be inconsistent with God’s justice. 27. In its successive incarnations, the Spirit, after gradually surrendering its impurities and working to become more advanced, reaches the end of its corporeal existences; it then starts belonging to the order of pure Spirits or angels, and enjoys a life full of God and the most perfect bliss for the rest of eternity. 28. Since men are on earth to pay for their sins, God, as a good father, would not leave them to their own fate, without any guidance. They have, above all, their protective Spirits or guardian angels, which look after them and strive to guide them in the right direction; men also have Spirits in mission on Earth, higher spirits periodically incarnated amidst men to make the path clearer through their work and to help humankind progress. Although God engraved His law in our conscience, He deemed necessary to formulate it explicitly; first, He sent Moses; however, Moses’ laws were appropriate for the people of his time; he spoke to them about life on earth only, about mundane rewards and punishments. Christ came later to complement Moses’ laws with a more elevated lesson: about the plurality of existences2, spiritual life, punishments and moral rewards. Moses led them by fear, Christ did so with love and charity. 29. Spiritism, now better understood, adds evidence to theory for the skeptics; it proves the future by means of obvious facts; it clearly and positively states what Christ said in parables; it explains ignored or misinterpreted truths; it reveals the existence of the invisible or Spirits’ world, and introduces people to the mysteries of ; it opposes materialism, which is an insurgence against God’s power; finally, it establishes the kingdom of charity and solidarity announced by Christ. Moses ploughed, Christ sowed, Spiritism has come to harvest. 30. Spiritism is not a new light, but a brighter light, as it comes from all parts of the world through those who have lived. Clarifying what was once obscure, it puts an end to misinterpretation and works to unite all people in a single belief, because there is only one God and His laws are the same for everyone; it marks, then, the times heralded by Christ and the prophets. 31. The evils that afflict humanity on Earth are caused by pride, selfishness and all bad passions. By the contact of their vices,

2 Gospel of St. Matthew, ch. XVII, v. 10 and following. St. John, ch. III, v. 2 and following. people become reciprocally unhappy and punish themselves by means of one another. If charity and humility replace selfishness and pride, they shall seek not to hurt anymore: they shall respect everybody’s rights and harmony and justice shall thrive among them. 32. But how can one destroy selfishness and pride, which seem innate in the human heart? Selfishness and pride are in the hearts of human beings because human beings are spirits who, from the beginning, took the path of evil and were exiled on earth as punishment for their vices; this is also the original sin of which many have not been cleansed. Through Spiritism, God makes a final call for the practice of the law taught by Christ: the law of love and charity. 33. As the earth reaches the time of becoming a home of peace and happiness, God does not wish incarnated bad spirits to keep causing trouble that brings harm to the good ones; therefore, they must disappear. They must pay for their insensitivity in less advanced worlds, where they will once again work for improvement in a series of existences that shall be even more miserable and painful than the one they had on earth. In these worlds, they will form a new, more enlightened race, whose task will be to make less advanced beings in these worlds progress, with the help of the knowledge they acquired. They will not move onto a better world until they have earned it, and so on until they reach complete purification. While earth was a purgatory to them, these worlds will be hell, but a hell from which hope is never banished. 34. While the exiled generation rapidly disappears, a new generation arises whose beliefs will be based on Christian Spiritism. We are now witnessing this transition, prelude to the moral renovation whose advent is marked by Spiritism.

PRINCIPLES EXTRACTED FROM THE TEACHINGS OF THE SPIRITS

35. The primary aim of Spiritism is the improvement of people. One must seek only what may help in moral and intellectual progress. 36. The real Spiritist is not the one who believes in manifestations, but the one who puts the teachings of the Spirits to good use. It is futile to believe if belief does not help advance in the path of progress and if it does not make us better to one another. 37. Selfishness, pride, vanity, ambition, greed, hatred, jealousy, envy, and calumny are weeds of the soul whose stems one needs to pull every day and whose remedy is charity and humility. 38. Belief in Spiritism only brings benefits to those of whom one can say: He is better today than he was yesterday. 39. The importance attributed by a person on mundane goods is inversely proportional to his or her faith in spiritual life; doubt regarding the future is what leads people to seek joys in this world, satisfying individual passions to the detriment of fellow human beings. 40. Afflictions suffered on earth are remedies to the soul; they save it for the future in the same way a painful surgery saves the life of a patient and restores his health. That is why Christ said: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted”. 41. In your afflictions, look down and not up; think of those who suffer even more than you. 42. Despair is natural for those who believe everything ends with corporeal life: it is absurd for those who have faith in the future. 43. Man is often the architect of his own suffering; if he seeks the source of his sorrows, he shall find that they derive primarily from heedlessness, pride, greed, and, consequently, from his violation of God’s laws. 44. Prayer is an act of worship. To pray to God is to think of Him, to get closer to Him, to communicate with Him. 45. Those who pray with passion and trust are stronger against the temptations of evil, and God sends good Spirits to help them. That aid will never be denied, if only one asks sincerely. 46. The essential is not to pray a lot, but to pray well. Some people believe the merit lies in the length of the prayer, while turning a blind eye on their own flaws. Prayer is to them an incumbency, a usage of their time, rather than a survey of themselves. 47. He who asks God to forgive his sins shall only be absolved when he changes his behavior. Noble actions are the best prayer, as acts speak louder than words. 48. Prayer is recommended to all good Spirits; furthermore, it is necessary for all flawed Spirits as a means to alleviate their suffering. 49. Prayer cannot change the precepts of Providence; however, when suffering Spirits notice someone is concerned about them, they feel less hopeless; they are less miserable; it gives them more courage and raises desire to elevate themselves by means of repentance and reparation; it may divert their thought away from evil. This is how it can not only ease, but also abbreviate their sorrows. 50. People must pray according to their own beliefs and as they deem appropriate, because form is nothing, thought is everything; sincerity and purity of intention are essential; a good thought is worth more than many words mechanically reproduced without involvement of the heart. 51. God made strong and powerful people so they could support those who are weaker; the strong who oppresses the weak is damned by God; he is often punished in this life, regardless of the future. 52. Wealth is a good whose owner is only the beneficiary, since he does not take it to the grave; he will be strictly held accountable for the use made of it. 53. Wealth is a more challenging test than poverty because it tempts to abuse and excess, and it is harder to be moderate than to be resigned. 54. The ambitious who triumphs and the wealthy who rejoices in material pleasures are more worthy of compassion than envy, as we must consider the return. Spiritism, by the terrible examples of people who once lived and now reveal the fate they had, shows the truth of Christ’s words: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted”. 55. Charity is the supreme law of Christ: “Love one another like brothers and sisters – love your neighbor as yourself; forgive your enemies; do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself”; all this is summarized in the word charity. 56. Charity is not only in philanthropy, for there is charity in thoughts, words, and actions. Charitable in thought is the one who forgives the flaws of his neighbor; charitable in words is the one who says nothing that might hurt his neighbor; charitable in actions is the one who helps his neighbor to the best of his ability. 57. The poor who shares his bread with someone who is even poorer is more charitable and has more merit to the eyes of God than the one who gives something he can spare, without depriving himself of anything. 58. Whoever nourishes feelings of animosity, envy, hatred and resentment against his fellow human beings has no charity; he lies if he says to be a Christian and he offends God. 59. People of all castes and sects3 and of all skin colors, you are brothers and sisters because God calls you to Him; extend your hands, whatever your way of worshiping Him, and do not curse, as cursing is a violation of the law of charity professed by Christ. 60. With selfishness, people are in perpetual struggle; with charity, they shall be in peace. Charity, taken as the foundation of your institutions, can grant you happiness in this world; besides, according to Christ’s word, only charity can grant future happiness, as it implicitly comprises all virtues that may lead to perfection. With true charity, as taught and practiced by Christ, selfishness, pride, hatred, envy, and slander cease to exist; untoward attachment to the goods of this world disappears. That is the reason why Christian Spiritism exhorts the following principle: WITHOUT CHARITY THERE IS NO SALVATION.

______Unbelievers! You may laugh at the spirits, mock those who believe in their manifestations; laugh, then, if you dare, at this principle they teach and which is your own safeguard, since if charity were to disappear from earth, people would destroy each other and you might well be among the first victims. The time is coming when this principle, unabashedly professed in the name of the Spirits, will be a guarantee of safety and a bond of trust in every person who carries it in the heart.

3 Note to the new edition: the word “sect” must be read in the context of the time when the text was written, meaning the same as religious movement or current. A spirit once said: ''They laughed at the turning tables; they will never laugh at the philosophy and morality stemming from them”. In fact, not many years have gone by since these first phenomena entertained the curious and the idle. This morality, they say, is old-fashioned: “The spirits should be spirited enough to offer something new” (A witty sentence repeated by more than one critic). All the better! Saying it is old-fashioned proves that it survives the ages and that men are all the guiltier for not having put it into practice, as the only real truths are those that are eternal. Spiritism comes to remind them of this morality, not through an isolated revelation to a sole person, but through the voice of the Spirits, which, like the last trumpet, tells humanity: “Believe that all those you call dead are more alive than yourselves, since they can see what you cannot see and they can hear what you cannot hear; recognize, in those who come communicate with you, relatives, friends, and all people you once loved on earth and who you believed to be forever lost”. Woe to those who believe everything ends with the body, for they shall be utterly disillusioned. Woe to those who are uncharitable, for they shall bear what they made others bear! Listen to the voices of those who suffer and say: “We suffer because we ignored God's power and doubted His infinite mercy; we suffer out of our pride, selfishness, greed, and all bad passions we were unable to restrain; we suffer for all evil we have done to our fellow beings because we neglected charity”. Unbelievers! Tell me whether a doctrine that teaches such things is worthy of derision, tell me whether it is good or bad! Solely from the perspective of social order, tell me if people who decide to follow it will be happy or unhappy, better or worse! ______TABLE OF CONTENTS ______

Pages

SPIRITISM IN ITS SIMPLEST EXPRESSION...... 3

HISTORY OF SPIRITISM...... 3

SUMMARY OF THE TEACHINGS OF THE SPIRITS...... 12

PRINCIPLES EXTRACTED FROM THE TEACHINGS OF THE SPIRITS...... 19

TABLE OF CONTENTS...... 23