52Kardec’s interest in explaining this phenomenon arises from cases he had knowledge of personally, such as: a) The Convulsionaries of St. Medard: Father Francis Fâris died in 1727 and was buried at St. Medard Cemetery. His brother built him a little tomb to which the poor came to pray. A few cures were produced there, which were considered miraculous, and some convulsions occurred, which were considered dangerous and silly. The cemetery was closed in 1732 (see La Revue Spirit, Nov. 1859); b) The Ursuline Nuns of London, 1632-34: Several nuns of the convent, including the Mother Superior, were seized with violent convulsions, symptoms of catalepsy and demonic possession. Blasphemies and obscenities poured from their mouths and were believed to have come from the Devil. (Nandor Fodor. Encyclopedia of Psychic Science) – Tr.
481- Do spirits play any role in the phenomena produced among individuals called convulsionaries?
“Yes, a very large one, as does magnetism, its primary source. But charlatanism has frequently exploited and exaggerated the phenomena, thereby making them appear to be ridiculous.”
– In general, of what nature are the spirits who concur in these types of phenomena?
“They are little-evolved. Do you believe that evolved spirits would enjoy such things?”
482- How can the abnormal state of convulsionaries and hysterical persons suddenly extend to an entire population?
“By sympathetic effect. Mental dispositions are communicated more easily in certain cases. You are not such a stranger to the effects of magnetism that you cannot understand this fact and the role certain spirits play in it through their sympathy with those who cause it.”53
53 The Spirits are referring to Kardec’s extensive studies of magnetism to which he dedicated himself before Spiritism. – Tr.
Among the remarkable faculties noted in convulsionaries, we easily recognize some of which somnambulism and mesmerism offer numerous examples. Such are, among others: physical insensitivity, mind reading, empathetic transmission of pain, etc. Thus, it cannot be doubted that such individuals-in-crisis are in a type of awakened somnambulistic state caused by the influence they exert on one another. They are both magnetizers and magnetized at the same time without even realizing it.
483- What is the cause of the physical insensitivity displayed both among certain convulsionaries and among other individuals submitted to the most atrocious tortures?
“Among some, it is an exclusively magnetic effect, acting on the nervous system in the same manner as certain substances. Among others, the exaltation of thought deadens sensitivity because life seems to have withdrawn from the body in order to be transferred to the spirit. Don’t you know that when the spirit is intensely concerned with something, the body does not feel, hear or see?”
In cases of torture, fanatic exaltation and enthusiasm often offer an example of calmness and composure, in which acute pain could not have been overcome unless one were to accept the fact that sensitivity had been neutralized by some kind of anesthetic effect. We know that frequently, in the heat of combat, a grave wound is often not felt at all, whereas under normal circumstances an ordinary scratch causes tears.
Since these phenomena depend on a physical cause and the action of certain spirits, one may ask how, in some cases, it rested on civil authorities to put a stop to them. The reason is simple. The action of spirits here is secondary; they do nothing more than take advantage of a natural disposition. The authorities did not suppress the disposition itself, but rather the cause that maintained and excited it – which then went from active to latent. They had reason to act this way because the event resulted in abuse and scandal. We know, furthermore, that such intervention is powerless when the action of spirits is direct and spontaneous.
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