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

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ALLAN KARDEC
scarcely held to deserve a single glance by those who judge it merely by its title, as the
monkey in the fable judged of the nut by its husk, But put aside all thought of the origin of
this book; suppose it to be the work of a man, and say, in truth and honesty, whether, after
having carefully read it, you find in it anything to laugh at?
II
Spiritism is the most formidable opponent of materialism, and it is therefore not surprising
that it should have the materialists for adversaries; but as materialism is a doctrine which
many of those who hold it hardly dare to avow, they cover their opposition with the mantle of
reason and science, Their shafts are especially aimed at the marvellous and the supernatural,
which they deny; and as, according to them, Spiritism is founded on the marvellous and the
supernatural, they declare that it can be nothing more than a ridiculous delusion.
Strange to say, some of those who are most incredulous in regard to Spiritism deny the
possibility of its phenomena in the name of religion, of which they often know as little as they
do of Spiritism. They do not reflect that, in denying, without restriction, the possibility of the
"marvellous" and the "supernatural," they deny religion, for religion is founded on revelation
and miracles; and what is revelation if not extra-human communications? All the sacred
writers, from Moses downwards, have spoken of this order of communications. And what are
miracles if not facts of a character emphatically marvellous and super-natural, since they are,
according to liturgical acceptation, derogations from the laws of nature, so that, in rejecting
the marvellous and the supernatural, they reject the very basis of all religions ? But it is not
from this point of view that we have to consider the subject. Belief in spirit-manifestation
does not necessarily settle the question of miracles; that is to say, whether God does, or does
not, in certain cases, derogate from the eternal laws that regulate the universe; it leaves, in
regard to this question, full liberty of belief to all. Spiritism says, and proves, that the
phenomena on which it is based are supernatural only in appearance, that they only appear to
some persons to be such, because they are unusual, and out of the pale of facts hitherto
known; and that they are no more supernatural than all the other phenomena which