"[...] One thing that always made me sad and many times I saw it happen during the last 25 years when, as President, I directed the work of the" Fraternal Society "is the non interest of the Spiritists in reading the SPIRITIST MAGAZINE, issues 1858 to 1869, in which Allan Kardec outlined the fundamental works of the Spiritist Doctrine, and where we can still feel today his strong faith and his deep conviction, which enlivened him, and which he knew how to communicate so well. Many MISTAKENLY believe that such writings have aged and lost their relevance, and, therefore, are of no interest whatsoever today, due to the tremendous advance of the Doctrine during these last years. THIS IS A BIG AND SAD MISTAKE. The works of Allan Kardec are not old, they have not expired, but they do maintain all their vigor, relevance, clarity, and are updated”. (1)   (Our highlights in capital letters).

Remarkable doctrinal records

Sausse goes on, deeply involved, and his insightful enthusiastic and clear words show that he deeply masters the subject:

"How many judicious teachings, how many wise and insightful advices, how many experienced examples are contained in the first twelve years of the Spiritist Magazine! In my opinion, we have failed when we despise this RICH SOURCE OF TEACHINGS, which we should pay attention to, since they cover all the points of the Doctrine”. In order to document myself on Allan Kardec, I have just gone through those comforting pages written by the Master and in which he daily recorded his judicious and clear thoughts in a precise and methodical manner. In each line one can feel the author’s soul vibrate with enthusiasm, WE CAN FEEL ALLAN KARDEC IRRADIATE and show himself as he always was: good, generous and benevolent towards all, including his enemies. As much as he was attacked, discredited, and slandered, he always maintained himself tolerant and in peace, and using irrefutable arguments to defend the Doctrine against these attacks, but he also ignored the personal and wickedness addressed to his person. (2) (Our highlights in capital letters).

This is someone who read, read over and over, studied and lived deeply the teachings of the precious Revue Spirite Collection (12 volumes) under the safe direction of the Spiritism Encoder from the 1^st of January, 1858, until April, 1869. Although Kardec disembodied on 03.31.1869, he had already prepared in advance the April, 1869, Magazine, (3) such was his discipline, dedication, organization and exemplary work of the master of Lyon.

And Henri Sausse continues in his valuable Allan Kardec’s Biography: "When I read these texts again, I understand Allan Kardec better and admire him even more, and BY COPYING THESE PEARLS, THESE JEWELS, THESE DIAMONDS in the Spiritist Magazine, I will more easily make him known. Therefore, this biography will be an autobiography in which Allan Kardec will come, in some sort of way, to describe himself and prove to be as he always was: a deep thinker, loyal, methodical, a serious and precise writer, an enlightened and faithful Spiritist, friendly and tolerant, always living according to the principles he professed by practicing them himself when he taught them to others”. (Our highlights in capital letters).

Henri Sausse: biographer and writer

Besides the mentioned Biographie d'Allan Kardec, (5), despite some inaccuracies observed in this book by other important Kardec biographers, such as Zeus Wantuil and Francisco Thiesen (FEB – Brazilian Spiritist Federation), the biographer and writer Henri Sausse was the author of several other works, namely:

Biographie de Leon Denis (Leon Denis Biography); Esperance et courage (Hope and courage); Le Spiritisme à Lyon (Spiritism in Lyon); Des preuves?? En voila!! (Evidences?? Here they are!); La reincarnation selon le Spiritisme (Reincarnation According to Spiritism); Les séances du Groupe Amitie (Sessions of the Friendship Group); Memoire adresse au Congres Spirite 1925 (Memory addressed to the Spiritist Congress 1925); Transcendental Spiritisme (Transcendental Spiritism); À la recherche des origines de l'ame humaine (In search of the origins of the human soul), etc.

H. Sausse was a very strong-will man, and determined too, a fighter willing to sacrifice himself. He took part in several Societies, including the "Union Fraternelle of Valence" and the "Union Spirite Francaise", being highly esteemed.

Sausse devoted himself from 1869, to the intensive dissemination of Spiritism, and he was a great admirer of Allan Kardec (1804-1869) and later, of Leon Denis (1846-1927). He also took part in the Spiritist Movement of Lyon, where he became one of the founders of the Societe Spirite Lyonnaise in 1873. For more than 20 years he was a very active president of the Societe pour l'Etude du Fraternelle Spiritisme (Fraternal Society for the Study of Spiritism).

In 1885 he was also a founder of the Federation Spirite Lyonnaise and its General Secretary until 1923. He wrote in the main European Spiritists newspapers.
The above mentioned biographers tell us (in the Biobibliography of Allan Kardec, vol. III, pp. 300-301) that H. Sausse was a trader, and often he faced difficult times, even critical, challenging uncalled-for charges against Spiritists and the Doctrine, besides the persecutions by intransigent opponents, requiring from Henri Sausse heroic testimony.

Revue Spirite: rich source of enlightenment

Indeed, we are very happy when we see that some Spiritist magazines, journals and newspapers open more space in their monthly or bimonthly publications and copy articles of Allan Kardec, published in the Spiritist Magazine, or of his doctrinaire comments on the study and practice of Spiritism.

The tendency is that, due to the translations of the Revue Spirite, up to now three in Portuguese (EDICEL, IDE and FEB), and one in Spanish (EDICEI, in progress), the followers of Spiritism are starting to read and study this magnificent work OVERCOMING THE NON INTEREST, which still prevails in order as an obstacle to studying the works of this valuable Collection.

The 12 volumes of the Spiritist Magazine are valuable doctrinal records, unfortunately still very little studied and consulted by the Spiritists in general, with few exceptions.

Let us end our article, then, with the endorsed word of the biographer of the Lyonnais Master, thanking God and Jesus for the high honor of having known the work of the immortal pages of the said 12 volumes (no less than 4409 pages in the French original) of the essential Collection of the Spiritist Magazine, by Allan Kardec:

"This is the man who gave to Spiritism its beautiful motto: Without charity there is no salvation, motto which he announces and puts into practice too. His only desire, therefore, is to also settle the behavior of those who claim to be Spiritists. My only merit in this new study of Allan Kardec is reduced therefore to a copyist work. Seduced by the truth, the greatness and the beauty of certain teachings of the Master, I thought fit to COPY THEM FROM THE TWELVE VOLUMES, to submit them to my brothers and sisters in faith, with no other intention and no other desire but TO LEAD THEM TO ALSO ADMIRE HIM. (6) (Our highlights in capital letters).

References:

(1) Sausse, Henri. Biography of Allan Kardec. Translation by Evandro Bezerra Noleto. 208 pages. Prologue of the author, page 22, 1^st Edition, Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 2012.
(2 and 4) -------. --------. Prologue, pages 22 to 23.

(3) Kardec, Allan. Spiritist Magazine – Periodico de Estudios Psicologicos (ano 1858). (Journal of Psychological Studies (Year: 1858). Translation from French to Spanish by Enrique Eliseo Baldovino. XC-356 pages. Prologue-homage to Allan Kardec, page III. 1^st Edition, Brasilia: EDICEI, 2005. 

(5) Sausse, Henri. Biographie d'Allan Kardec. The complete edition contains, in addition to the author‘s Prologue, an Introduction by Léon Denis (to the 4th edition, 1927) and also an Introduction by Gabriel Delanne (1910); the 1^st edition (1896), very much shorter, was later included by FEB (Brazilian Spiritist Federation) in the booklet What is Spiritism.as well as briefly, was later included in the FEB booklet What is Spiritualism.

(6) Sausse, Henri. Biography of Allan Kardec. Prologue of the author, page 23.