In this issue, we continue the study of the Revue Spirite of 1859, 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. What is the purpose of mediumship?
B. The magnetic power of the magnetizer depends on what?
C. Can the Spirits see in the dark?
D. He died, he rested. Does this idea correspond to reality?
Text for reading
26. Kardec says that we are all more or less mediums, but it was agreed to give this designation to those who have patent manifestations, i.e., optional manifestations. (P. 61)
27. Of all sorts of mediumship, the most common and easiest to acquire by practice is psychograph. (P. 61)
28. The role of the intuitive medium is the same as that of an interpreter between us and the Spirit, and the difficulty lies in distinguishing the medium's thoughts from those suggested to him. (P. 62)
29. Far from us, says Saint Louis, to despise the mediums of physical effects. They have their reason for being and render undisputed services to the Spiritist Science. However, when a medium possesses a gift that puts him in contact with superior beings, we do not understand why he gives it up, or wishes others, except due to ignorance. (P. 64)
30. Mediumship is a given power to do well. Good Spirits move away from anyone who wants to turn it into a ladder for purposes other than the designs of Providence. (P. 65)
31. At Saint-Etienne, a girl could change into the features, the voice and the gestures of dead relatives she did not even know. Evoked, St. Louis explains that, in the transfiguration, the body never changes, but it has different appearances and suffers a kind of obstruction, hidden by the perispirit. (P. 68)
32. Man, says Kardec, is demeaned by envy, hatred, jealousy, and all petty passions, but rises by forgetting offenses; this is the spiritual moral. (P. 72)
33. The Spirit of Paul Gaimard, a former Navy doctor, speaks of the importance of the moral efforts a man makes in his life. (P. 73)
34. He says that in erraticity the Spirit is more a master of himself, he is more aware of his strength; the flesh weighs, becomes obscure and hampered. (P. 74)
35. Kardec reminds that all Spirits say that in the state of erraticity they search, study, observe, in order to make the choice of their tests. (P.75)
36. The Spirit of Mrs. Reynaud, who had been a remarkable lucid somnambulist, says that her lucidity did not have the readiness and precision that it has now in her actual condition of disembodied. (P. 77)
37. The chain of existences, she says, is formed of followed and continuous rings, and no interruption suspends its course: earthly life is the continuation of the preceding celestial life and the prelude to the next. (P. 77)
38. Ms. Reynaud also says that it is possible to be a good somnambulist without possessing a high-order Spirit. (P. 78)
39. Saying that it is the Spirit who sees, Mrs. Reynaud informs that she now sees better than when in a somnambulistic state, for she can see the inner part of man, even in the dark. (P. 79)
40. The magnetic fluid, says the same Spirit, emanates from the nervous system, but the nervous system takes it out of the atmosphere, its main source. The magnetic power of the magnetizer depends not only on his physical constitution, but much of his character. (P. 80)
41. Therefore, the most essential qualities for the magnetizer are his heart, the always firm and good intentions, and his detachment. (P. 80)
42. The Revue copies the famous case of the Athens spectrum, which appeared to the philosopher Atenodoro, told by Pliny the Younger. (P. 87)
43. Evoked by Kardec, Pliny says that detachment/disinterest in the world we live in is a rare thing: "In every two hundred men you will find only one or two really disinterested". Kardec nodded. (P. 90)
44. It is said that none of those who died came back to give us information. Kardec says that this is a mistake, and the mission of Spiritism is precisely to clarify us about this future, making us touch it and see it, no longer by reasoning, but by the facts. (P. 92)
45. The Spirit sees without the aid of our light and hears without the need of the vibrations of the air; this is why there is no darkness for it. (P. 93)
46. The permanent and indefinite sensations, no matter how pleasant they are, would become tiring in time, if it were not possible for them to withdraw from them; so the Spirit has the power to interrupt them. (P. 94)
47. The Spirit can therefore cease to see, to hear, and to feel such and such things, according to its will, but in reason of its level of superiority, because there are things that the lower Spirits cannot avoid. (P. 94)
48. As the Spirits do not need sound vibrations to injure their ears, they understand each other through the simple transmission of thought, as we sometimes understand each other through a simple glance. (PP 94 and 95)
49. When the Spirit enters its new life, it needs some time to recognize itself, because everything there seems strange and unknown. (P. 95)
50. It is a mistake to think that the Spiritist life is an idle life; on the contrary, it is essentially active and everyone has tasks there. (P. 97)
51. A remarkable thing is that, even among the most common Spirits, feelings are generally purer as Spirits than as men. The Spiritist life makes them aware of their faults, and with few exceptions, they bitterly regret the evil they have done before. (P. 99)
52. There is, however, what can be called the scum of the Spiritist world, made up of impure Spirits, whose only concern is evil. (P. 100)
53. To prevent fraud in Spiritist meetings, it is necessary to carefully observe the circumstances and, above all, to take into account the character and condition of the people, their objectives and their interests. (P. 102)
Answers to the proposed questions
A. What is the purpose of mediumship?
Mediumship is a gift given to do well, and the Good Spirits withdraw from whoever intends to use it as a ladder for purposes other than those of Providence. (Revue Spirite, P.65)
B. The magnetic power of the magnetizer depends on what?
It depends on his physical constitution and much of his character. That is why the most essential qualities for the magnetizer are his heart, and his always good and firm intentions, as well as his detachment/disinterest. (Cited above, P. 80)
C. Can the Spirits see in the dark?
Yes. They see without our light and listen without the need of the vibrations of the air; this is why there is no darkness for them. Moreover, they have the power to interrupt the perceptions and sensations they desire, and may fail to see, hear, feel such or such things, according to their will, but this is due to their level of superiority, because there are things that the lower Spirits cannot avoid. (Cited above, Pages 93 and 94)
D. He died, he rested. Does this idea correspond to reality?
No. It is a mistake to think that the Spiritist life is an idle life; it is, on the contrary, essentially active and all have occupations there. (Cited above, P. 97)
