Allan Kardec-THE Spirit's Book_ The Principles of Spiritist Doctrine (1989)

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ALLAN KARDEC
on from one end of the earth to the other, and among the most serious, honourable, and
enlightened people, would be at least as extraordinary as the phenomena in question.
IV
If the phenomena we are considering had been limited to the movement of objects, they
would have remained, as we have already remarked, within the domain of physical science;
but so far was this from being the case, that they speedily proved to be only the forerunners of
facts of a character still more extraordinary. For it was soon found that the impulsion
communicated to inert objects was not the mere product of a blind mechanical force, but that
it revealed the action of an intelligent cause, a discovery that opened up a new field of
observation, and promised a solution of many mysterious problems. Are these movements
due to an intelligent power? Such was the question first to be answered. If such a power
exists, what is it? What is its nature? What its origin? Is it superhuman? Such were the
secondary questions which naturally grew out of that first one.
The earliest manifestations of intelligence were made by means of the legs of tables, that
moved up and down, striking a given number of times, and replying in this way by "yes" or
"no" to the questions asked. Even here, it must be confessed, there was nothing very
convincing for the incredulous, as these apparent answers might be an effect of chance. But
fuller replies were soon obtained, the object in motion striking a number of blows
corresponding to the number of each letter of the alphabet, so that words and sentences began
to be produced in reply to the questions propounded. The correctness of these replies, their
correlation with the questions asked, excited astonishment. The mysterious being who gave
these replies, when questioned as to its nature, declared itself to be a "spirit" or "genius," gave
itself a name, and stated various particulars about itself. This is a circumstance of noteworthy
importance, for it proves that no one suggested the idea of spirits as an explanation of the
phenomenon, but that the phenomenon gave this explanation of itself. Hypotheses are often
framed, in the positive sciences, to serve as a basis of argument; but such was not the case in
this instance.
The mode of communication furnished by the alphabet being