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 Spiritist position about religion and its fundamental basis?
B. How should the Spiritist researcher act?
C. What did Goethe's Spirit say about Werther, one of his most famous works?
D. Can the Spirits of white people reincarnate as blacks?
Text for reading
79. Spiritism is based on the existence of an invisible world, formed of incorporeal beings and which are nothing other than the souls of those who lived on Earth and other worlds. Thus, Spiritism belongs to Nature and its true feature is that of a science. (P. 148)
80. Spiritism does not deny God, the soul, free will, penalties and future rewards. Far from it, Spiritism proves, not by reasoning, but by facts, these fundamental foundations of religion, whose most dangerous enemy is materialism. (P. 150)
81. Don Fernando Guerrero, writing from Lima (Peru), says that one day he decided to read some passages from The Book of Spirits to a tribe of aborigines that inhabit the eastern slope of the Andes: the natives understood perfectly what was read to them and even made very judicious observations on the content of the work. The idea of reviving on Earth, for example, seemed to them absolutely natural. (P. 151)
82. Kardec says that we are, in spite of ourselves, the agents of the Spirits' will for what goes on in the world, both in the general interest and in the individual. (P. 153)
83. There are people who do not fear death but are afraid of the dark; they do not fear thieves, but they do not go alone to the cemetery at night. It is because the Spirits are close to them and their contact gives them an impression that results in an inexplicable fear. (P. 153)
84. The Revue reports the curious discovery made by Mr. Jobert de Lamballe about the rhythmic muscular contraction of the small right lateral peroneal, which at the time seemed to contradict the raps phenomenon. (P. 155)
85. The fact spread everywhere, but of course, if it could explain the sounds of typology, it was insufficient to explain the lifting of the table without any contact, its movement through the room, its fall and the beats with its feet, facts well known and proven at the time. (P.161)
86. The Revue reports that before Jobert, in 1854, Dr. Rayer, a well-known physician, presented to the Institute a German citizen, whose ability, in his view, gave the key to all knockings and raps. (P. 164)
87. Speaking of the scientists' opinion regarding Spiritism, Kardec states that no one can be a judge of his own case, that the sages are not infallible and that, therefore, his judgment is not the last instance. (P. 165)
88. If we want to build a house, will we consult an astronomer? If we are sick, will we call an architect? The common sciences rest on the properties of matter, which we can handle at will; The Spiritist science has as its agents intelligences that are independent, possess free-will and do not submit to our whims. (P. 165)
89. It is not for the Spirits to come down to us; we who must rise to them, what we will achieve by study and observation. Spirits like assiduous and conscientious observers. (P. 168)
90. In the eyes of the attentive and active observer the phenomena multiply. What makes the naturalist want to study the habits of an animal? Does he order the animal to do this or that, so that he can study it? No, because he knows he will not be obeyed. He watches, waits, and observes in passing. (P. 169)
91. Simple common sense shows us that with even greater reason it must be like this with the Spirits, who are intelligences far more independent than that of the animals. (P. 169)
92. Kardec evokes Alexander Humboldt, who died in May 1859, and says that in people such as Humboldt, who die of natural death and by the gradual extinction of their vital forces, the Spirit recognizes itself more readily than in those whose life is abruptly interrupted by an accident. (P. 170)
93. Humboldt says that the future of Spiritism will be great, but the path will be painful. Certainly it will be accepted, one day, in scientific circles, but this is not imperative. "Take care, rather, to establish your first precepts in the hearts of the unfortunate ones who fill your world: it is the balm that calms despair and gives hope," asserts Humboldt. (P. 173)
94. Everything is a transition in Nature, says Humboldt, for this very reason nothing is similar, although everything binds. Plants do not think and thus have no will. Oysters that open, like all zoophytes, do not think; they have only a natural instinct. (P. 174)
95. Goethe, evoked by Kardec, explains that his intuition about the influence of evil Spirits on man was caused from a memory. He had an almost exact reminder of a world where he saw the practice of the influence of Spirits on material beings. (P. 176)
96. Goethe says that on Earth he remembered a previous life and regrets the end of Werther, one of his most famous works, because he made and caused many misfortunes, for which he felt responsible and for which, although he was sorry, he still suffered with this. (P. 177)
97. Kardec evokes Father Cesar, a black man who was born in Africa and was taken to Louisiana at the approximate age of 15, where he died in February 1859 at the age of 138. The Spirit says he is happier now because his Spirit was now free from the humiliations to which black-skinned people were subjected at the time. (P. 179)
98. Answering Kardec, St. Louis says that black-skinned ethnics will disappear from the Earth, because they were made for different latitude. (P. 179)
99. Do whites reincarnate in black bodies? St. Louis says yes. When, for example, a master has mistreated a slave, he may ask as an atonement to live in a body of a negro, in order to suffer in turn what he made him suffer and thereby to advance and obtain the forgiveness of God. (P. 180)
100. Kardec reports the case of Major Georges Sydenham's apparition to Captain V. Dyke, published in London in 1682. It had been agreed between the two that the one who died first would visit the other, and that is what happened. (P. 185)
Answers to the proposed questions
A. What is the Spiritist position about religion and its fundamental basis?
Spiritism does not deny them, that is, it does not deny God, the soul, free will, penalties and future rewards. Far from this, Spiritism proves by facts, not only by reasoning, the reality of the fundamental foundations of religion. (Revue Spirite, 150).
B. How should the Spiritist researcher act?
He must act as the naturalist who proposes to study the habits of an animal. Obviously, he does not order the animal to do this or that, because he knows he will not be obeyed. So, he watches, waits, and observes closely. This is the way to proceed with the Spirits, who like conscientious and continuous observers. The elements of the Spiritist research are, therefore, study and observation, because simple common sense shows us that, in the same manner as the naturalist does in relation to animals, we must act more strongly with the Spirits, who are much more independent intelligences . (Cited above, pages 168 and 169).
C. What did Goethe's Spirit say about Werther, one of his most famous works?
The famous writer said that he regretted the end of Werther, because he did and caused many misfortunes, and that he felt responsible and for which, although he was sorry, he still suffered. (Cited, page 177)
D. Can the Spirits of white people reincarnate as blacks?
St. Louis says yes and explains that when, for example, a master mistreated a slave, he may ask as atonement to live in a body of black skin, in order to suffer in turn what he caused others to suffer and, by this means, get the forgiveness of God. (Cited above, page 180)
