Regeneration of the Eastern PeoplesWe received from Syria a very interesting letter on the moral state of the peoples of the East, and the means of cooperating with their regeneration. The particularity of this letter does not allow us to publish it in our Review; we will only say that our honorable correspondent, initiated into the knowledge of the peoples of Europe, considers the question as a profound philosopher, as a man free from all sectarian prejudice, who knows the field and has no illusions about the difficulties presented by such a subject.
He sees in Spiritism, that he has seriously studied, a powerful lever for combating the prejudices that oppose the moral and intellectual emancipation of his compatriots, because of the very ideas that constitute the basis of their beliefs and to which a more rational direction should be given. With a view to contributing to this work, or at least to lay the foundations for that, he conceived a project that he was kind enough to submit to us, asking us to also seek the advice of the Good Spirits.
The communication that was given to us on this subject is instructive to everyone, especially in the current circumstances, being that the reason why we considered appropriate to have it published. It contains a wise appreciation of things, and advice from which others may benefit from time to time, and that by specializing them, they also find their application in the most favorable way of propagating Spiritism.
Paris, September 18th, 1868
“It is not only the East, it is Europe, the whole world is agitated by a silent fermentation that the smallest cause can transform into universal conflagration, when the moment has arrived. As Mr. X rightly says…, it is on ruins that new things have been built, and before the great renovation is a done deal, human work and the intervention of the elements must complete the clearing of the ground of thought from the mistakes of the past. Everything contributes to this immense work; the time of action is fast approaching, and all intelligences must be encouraged to prepare for the struggle. Humanity leaves its diapers behind to put on the outfits of adulthood; it shakes off the centuries-old yoke; the timing, therefore, could not be more favorable. But we must not hide from ourselves that the task is tough, and that more than one craftsman will be crushed by the machine he has set in motion, for not having known how to discover the brake capable of controlling the enthusiasm of the too abruptly emancipated humanity.
To have reason, to have the truth for oneself, to work for the general good, to sacrifice one's own well-being for the interest of all, is good, but it is not enough. One cannot suddenly give all the freedoms to a slave shaped by a severe burden over the centuries. It is only gradually, and by measuring the extent of the edges to the progress of intelligence, and above all the moral progress of humanity, that regeneration can be accomplished. The storm that dispels the deleterious miasmas with which a region is infected, is a useful cataclysm; but the one that breaks all the dikes, and who, obeying no restraint, takes everything down on its way, is deplorable, and without any useful consequence. It increases the difficulties instead of helping to make them disappear.
All those who wish to usefully contribute to the regenerative work, must therefore, and before anything, be concerned with the nature of the elements on which it is possible for them to act, and combine their actions relatively to the character, habits, and beliefs of those who they want to transform. Thus to achieve, in the East, the goal pursued in America and Western Europe by all superior Spirits, it is necessary to follow an identical course as a whole, but essentially different in the details, that is, by sowing education, developing morality, combating the abuses consecrated by time, we will arrive at the same result, wherever we act, but the choice of means, in particular, should be determined by the individuals to whom we will address.
The spirit of reform is blowing throughout Asia; it left bloody wrecks in Syria, in Persia, and in all the neighboring regions; the new idea germinated there, watered with the blood of martyrs; we must take advantage of the momentum given to the intelligences, but avoid relapsing into the faults that provoked those persecutions. Man is not educated by confronting his prejudices head-on, but by turning them around, by modifying the furnishings of his Spirit in such a measured way that he comes to the point of renouncing, on his own, to the errors for which, not long ago, he would have sacrificed his life. We must not tell him: "This is bad, this is good," but lead him to appreciate everything in its true value, through education and by example. New ideas are not imposed on people; to have them accepted, without regrettable disturbance, they must get used to them little by little, by making them recognize its advantages, and only establish them as a principle when one is certain that they will gain a considerable majority
There is much to do in the East, but the action of man alone would be powerless to bring about a radical transformation. The events we are dealing with will contribute in part to this transformation. They will get the Orientals used to a new kind of existence; they will undermine, in their bases, the prejudices that preside over the legislation of the family. It is only after that that the teaching will swing the last blow on them.
We applaud with all our strength the work of Mr. X…, the spirit in which it is conceived; we promise him, moreover, our assistance, and advise him to consult with us whenever he encounters some embarrassing difficulty. Let him hasten to set to work; events move quickly, and his work will hardly be finished when the right moment arrives! May he waste no time and count on our assistance, which is granted to him as well as to all those who unselfishly pursue the accomplishment of the providential designs.
Clélie Duplantier.”
