In this issue, we begin the study of the book, Spiritism in its simplest expression, published in 1862 by Allan Kardec. The present work is based on the translation into Portuguese made by Salvador Gentile. 

Preliminary issues 

A. Why did Kardec write this book?
 
According to the Encoder of the Spiritist Doctrine himself, the purpose of the work was to briefly disclose the History of Spiritism and offer enough information about the Doctrine of the Spirits, so that its moral and philosophical object could be understood. (Spiritist Magazine of January, 1862).

B. What were the “dancing tables”?

Through an invisible agent, phenomena of varied physical effects took place: the rotation of the table and its movements in all directions, jolts, falls, liftings, and violent blows, and so on. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

C. Why were they called “talking tables”?

In order to discover which was the invisible agent that produced the phenomena of the tables that danced, there was only one way: to establish a way to enter into conversation with the supposed agent, which was done, initially, by means of a number of agreed taps meaning “yes” or “no”, or by designating the letters of the alphabet, and thus obtaining answers to the various questions that were addressed to it. This was the phenomenon known as the talking tables. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism). 

Text for reading 

1. When Kardec announced the publication of this work, he wrote in the Revue Spirite: "The purpose of this publication is to offer a resume of the History of Spiritism, as well as an ideal of ​​the Doctrine of the Spirits, so that its moral and philosophical purposes can be understood. By using a clear and simple style, we tried to make it understood by all. We count on the zeal of all true Spiritists to spread this information”. (Spiritist Magazine of January, 1862).

2. Around 1848, in the USA, several strange phenomena called the attention of people, such as noises, taps and objects moving with no known cause. These phenomena often occurred spontaneously, with a singular intensity and persistence; however, it was also noted that they occurred more particularly under the influence of certain persons, called psychics, and who could somehow originate them at will, and this allowed them to repeat these experiences (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

3. It used tables; not that this object is more favorable than another, but only because it is the most comfortable piece of furniture and because we sit more easily around a table than around any other piece furniture. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

4. Firstly, there was a rotation of the table, followed by movements in all directions, by jolts, tipping, liftings, and violent blows and so on. This phenomenon was called at the beginning the “spinning table” or “table dancing”. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

5. Until then the phenomenon could be perfectly explained by an electric or magnetic current, or by the action of an unknown fluid, and this was even the opinion at the time. But in these phenomena, intelligent effects were soon recognized. Thus, the movement obeyed the will; the table went to the right or left to a designated person, and according to the order it went on one or two of its feet, with a number of requested taps, with a beat, and so on. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

6. Therefore, it was evident that the cause was not purely physical, and according to the axiom: if every effect has a cause, every intelligent effect must have an intelligent cause, it was concluded that the cause of this phenomenon should be caused by some intelligence. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

7. What was the nature of this intelligence? Here was the question. The first thought was that this might be a reflection of the intelligence of the medium or the assistants, but experience soon proved impossible, because things were obtained completely strange to the thinking and knowledge of the people present and even in contradiction with his ideas, will and desire; it could only belong to an invisible being. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

8. The way to assure this was very simple: it was a question of starting a conversation, which was done by using a number of agreed blows meaning “yes” or “no”, or by designating the letters of the alphabet, and like this they obtained answers to the various questions that were addressed to this intelligence. This was the phenomenon called the “talking tables”. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

9. All beings who communicated in this way, questioned about their nature, declared themselves to be Spirits and belong to an invisible world. Since these same effects were produced in a great number of different places, and by different persons, and being observed, moreover, by very serious and very enlightened men, it was not possible that it were the plaything of an illusion. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

10. From America, this phenomenon passed to France and to the rest of Europe, where, for some years, the dancing and talking tables were the fashion and became the fun of the salons; then, they were put aside, to move on to another distraction. Soon the phenomenon presented itself in a new aspect that made it leave the domain of simple curiosity. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

11. We say preliminarily that the reality of the phenomenon has encountered numerous contradictors; some, without taking into account the disinterest and the honorability of the experimenters, saw in it but cheating, a skillful game of recklessness. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

12. Those who admit nothing outside the world of matter, who believe only in the visible world, who think that everything dies with the body, the materialists, in a word: those who qualify themselves as strong spirits, rejected the existence of the invisible Spirits in the class of absurd stories and dismissed as crazy those who took the thing seriously, and overwhelmed them with sarcasm and mockery. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

13. Others, not being able to deny the facts, and under the rule of a certain order of ideas, attributed these phenomena to the exclusive influence of the devil and sought, by this means, to frighten the timid. But today the fear of the devil has singularly lost its prestige. It turned out that, apart from a small number of shy women, the announcement of the arrival of the true devil had something spicy for those who saw him only in paintings and in the theater. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

14. For many people it was a powerful stimulant, so that those, who wanted by this means to set a barrier to new ideas, went against their purpose, and became, without wanting it, the most efficient agents in spreading the new ideas as they screamed louder and louder. The other critics were not more successful, because they could only oppose denials to the facts verified, and to the categorical reasoning. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

15. Read what they published. Everywhere you will find the evidence of ignorance and the lack of serious observation of the facts, and nowhere a peremptory demonstration of its impossibility; their arguments are resumed to: "I do not believe. Therefore, it does not exist, and all those who believe are crazy, only we have the privilege of reason and common sense". (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

16. The number of followers made by serious or by boasted criticism is inestimable, because everywhere only personal opinions were found, void of evidence in the contrary. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

17. Communications by means of taps were slow and incomplete; it was recognized that by adapting a pencil to a moving object: basket, drawing board, or other, on which the fingers were placed, this object set in motion and traced characters. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

18. Later it was recognized that these objects were but accessories that could be dispensed; experience showed that the Spirit, acting on an inert body to direct it at will, could likewise act on the arm or hand to lead the pencil. Thus the writing mediums appeared, that is to say, people writing in an involuntary way under the impulse of Spirits, of which they were the instruments and the interpreters. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

19. From that moment onwards, communications were no more limiting, and the exchange of thoughts could be made as quickly and as well as among the living. It was a vast field open to exploration, the discovery of a new world: the world of the invisible, as well as of the microscope had discovered the world of the infinitely small. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

20. Who are these Spirits? What role do they play in the Universe? For what purpose do mortals communicate? These were the first questions to be solved. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

21. They themselves soon let us know that they are not separate beings in Creation, but the very souls of those who lived on Earth or on other worlds; that these souls, after divesting themselves of their bodily wrappings, people and travel through space. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

22. No longer could there be any doubt, because among them were relatives and friends, who came to prove their existence and show that only the body is dead, but their soul or Spirit lives eternally, and they can see us as when they were alive and surround with their solicitude those they loved and their memory and this is a sweet contentment for them. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism). (To be continued on the next issue).