In this issue, we continue the study of the Revue Spirite of 1858, a monthly newspaper focused on the divulgation of Spiritism, founded and directed by Allan Kardec. This study is based on the translation into the Portuguese language made by Julio Abreu Filho and published by EDICEL. The answers to the questions are at the end of the text for reading.
Questions for discussion
A. How can we see if a Spirit is Enlightened?
B. Do mystifications have a purpose?
C. What are the causes of the contradictions in the language of the Spirits?
D. How does the Spirit of St. Vincent de Paul define Charity?
Text for reading
123. The Revue informs about other phenomena that occurred in Bergzabern and it says that the government of the Palatinate is concerned with these events and proposed to Sanger to put his daughter in a health home in Frankenthal. It occurs that the presence of Filipina gave place there to the same prodigies of Bergzabern. (Page 194)
124. Celima, who was a drummer in Beresina, communicates by blows and transmits strange information. (Page 195 and 196)
125. The Spirit understands that it will not be able to purify itself sufficiently until it has taken another body. (Page 199)
126. Kardec reminds us that the Spirits are recognized by their language. The Superior Spirits are always worthy and in harmony with the sublimity of their thoughts: never does trivia tarnish their pureness. (Page 201)
127. Father Ambrose confirms that he has been mystified, but clarifies that he cannot always prevent men and Spirits from having fun. (Page 202)
128. Referring to this, Kardec says: We have been told several times that the trickery of certain Spirits is a test for our ability to judge. It is a kind of temptation allowed by God, so that man gets used to distinguish the true from the false. (Page 203)
129. A distinguished calligrapher, named Mr. Bertrand, reveals how painful is the situation of those who on Earth are very attached to matter. (Page 206)
130. Jobard, director of the Royal Museum of Industry in Brussels, tells Kardec that there is a perfect coincidence between the answers given by the Spirits to both: Kardec in Paris and to him in Brussels. (Page 206)
131. The idea that life is a tuning of souls, trial and atonement, is great and consoling, states Jobard. (Page 207)
132. Marius M. of Bordeaux states that the description of Jupiter published in the Revue is identical to that which he himself obtained eighteen months ago. (Page 212)
133. Kardec comments on the letter of Marius M. and says that Spiritism is a brotherly bond that should lead to the practice of true Christian Charity all who understand it in its essence. (Page 213)
134. Although Spiritism is in Nature and has been known and practiced since the High Antiquity, Kardec says that in no other age has it been so widely spread as presently. (Page 216)
135. The Spiritist scale, drawn by the Spirits themselves and according to the observation of the facts, gives us the key to all the apparent anomalies of the language of the Spirits. (Page 219)
136. When we have learned to know them, we will judge them by their language and their principles, and their contradictions will not surprise us any longer. (Page 222)
137. Serious Spirits, when they think it is convenient, avoid shocking the deep-rooted ideas and express themselves according to time, place, and people. (Page 224)
138. Anger, violence, sourness, and harsh language are never a sign of true superiority. (Page 224)
139. Serious Spirits never contradict themselves: their language is always the same with the same people. (Page 225)
140. The causes of the language contradictions of the Spirits are as follows: 1) ignorance of the Spirits; 2) trickery produced by Lower Spirits; 3) personal failures of the Psychic; 4) insistence in obtaining an answer that the Spirit refuses to give; 5) the very will of the Spirit, who speaks according to the time, place and persons; 6) insufficiency of human language to express the things of the incorporeal world; 7) particular interpretation given to a word or explanation. (Page 225)
141. St. Vincent de Paul says that all eternal happiness is contained in this maxim: "Love one another." The soul can only rise to the spiritual regions by devoting itself to its neighbor. (Page 226)
142. I wish that the reading of the Gospel be done with more personal dedication, says St. Vincent de Paul. "Your sins come from the way you willingly abandon this summary of the Divine Laws”. (Page 226)
143. The same Spirit states that Charity is the fundamental virtue that sustains the whole building of the Earthly Virtues. (Page 227)
144. Charity, he says, is the eternal anchor of salvation in all worlds: it is the purest emanation of the Creator himself; it is his own virtue, given to creatures. (Page 228)
145. The Revue tells us the story of the battering Spirit of Dibbelsdorf; these events occurred from December 1761 onwards and were published in 1811 by the preacher Capelle. (Page 229)
146. Similar to the Hydesville phenomena, the raps began in the room occupied by Antonio Kettelhut. (Page 229)
147. Victorien Sardou writes about the dwellings in Jupiter and defends himself of the critics he received because of the subject. (Page 234)
148. According to Sardou, the dwellings on Jupiter are floating. (Page 239)
149. With Spiritism, says Kardec, all materialistic or pantheistic philosophies fall by themselves. It is not possible to doubt God any longer, as well as the existence of the soul, its individuality and immortality. (Page 246)
150. With eight months of existence, the Revue had subscribers in all parts of the world, namely: England, Scotland, Holland, Belgium, Prussia, Russia, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, China, Mexico, Canada, United States, and so on. (Page 246)
151. The disclosure of Spiritism in Europe was done without the support of the press, which even despised it and, when it did mention it, it was to make a fool of Spiritism, and consider that its followers should go to the asylum. (Page 247)
152. Only Mr. Home deserved from the press the honor of some more or less serious references. (Page 247)
153. The Revue says that in the United States there were then 18 Spiritist newspapers, of which ten were published weekly and some were of a large format. (Page 248)
Answers to the proposed questions
A. How can we see if a Spirit is Enlightened?
We can see this through their language. The way the Superior Spirits express themselves is always in a dignified manner and their thoughts are always sublime; never does trivia tarnish its pureness. (Revue Spirite de 1858, Page 201).
B. Do mystifications have a purpose?
Father Ambrose confirms that he has been mystified, but clarifies that he cannot always prevent men and Spirits from having fun. Referring to this, Kardec says: We have been told several times that the trickery of certain Spirits is a test for our ability to judge. It is a kind of temptation allowed by God, so that man gets used to distinguish the true from the false. (Revue Spirite de 1858, Page 202 and 203).
C. What are the causes of the contradictions in the language of the Spirits?
Kardec says that the serious Spirits never contradict themselves; their language is always the same with the same people. The causes of the contradictions that we sometimes find in the language of the Spirits can be summarized as follows: 1) ignorance of the Spirits; 2) trickery produced by Lower Spirits; 3) personal failures of the Psychic; 4) insistence in obtaining an answer that the Spirit refuses to give; 5) the very will of the Spirit, who speaks according to the time, place and persons; 6) insufficiency of human language to express the things of the incorporeal world; 7) particular interpretation given to a word or explanation. (Revue Spirite de 1858, Page 225).
D. How does the Spirit of St. Vincent de Paul define Charity?
St. Vincent de Paul says that Charity is the fundamental virtue that sustains the whole building of the Earthly Virtues. Charity, he says, is the eternal anchor of salvation in all worlds: it is the purest emanation of the Creator himself; it is his own virtue, given to creatures. All eternal happiness is contained in this maxim: "Love one another." The soul can only rise to the spiritual regions by devoting itself to its neighbor. (Revue Spirite de 1858, Pages 226 to 228).
