A few years ago, M. Édouard Schuré had been proclaimed by some as the leader of modern Idealism. But M. Schuré was born a Protestant, and a number of young Catholic writers and poets recently sought to rally around a master who shared their own religious sentiments.

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By agreeing to take on this role, Mr. Charles de Pomairols founded the Spiritualist School, which includes among its adherents Madame la Comtesse d’Avancourt, Mr. Gérard Batdebat, Miss Lya Berger, the Abbé Bourgeois, Maurice Brillant, Francis Caillard, Miss Alice Clerc, Mr. Dominique Combette, Mr. André Delacour, Mr. Victor Favet, Miss Louise Fisquet, Mr. Pierre Gourdon, Mr. André Lafon, Miss Evelyne Le Maire, Mr. François Mauriac, Miss Montaudry, Mr. Noël Nouët, Mr. Achille Paysant, Mr. Armand Praviel, Miss Hélène Séguin, Mr. Jacques Sermaize, Mr. R. Valléry-Radot, Mr. Jean Vézère, Miss Claire Virenque, and others.

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The goal of the Spiritualists is to provoke a reaction against what is coarse and unaesthetic among the followers of Naturalism, and above all, to fight against sensual and immoral literature.

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This does not mean that the partisans of Spiritualism are insensitive to the musical charm of rhythm and the brilliance of imagery in poetry, or to the liveliness, dramatic force, and analytical clarity in the novel. But in their hierarchy of values, morality is placed on the same level as aesthetics. And higher still, above moral literature, they place the divine radiance of noble souls and brave hearts—the celestial illumination of human beauty, the source of all light and wisdom, the flame of lyrical ardor and generous impulses.

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This kind of emotivity—feeling—is, to Spiritualist writers, infinitely superior to mere sensation. The animality that others try to highlight, they instead seek to soften, to veil, if not to banish completely from the horizon of art. Even in realism, art is always a matter of choice. The Spiritualists have made theirs: rejecting base instincts, selfish pleasures, and sensual indulgences that so easily slide into morbid obsession. They prefer ethereal thought, delicate love, religious piety, compassion for the suffering, tenderness, generosity, and devotion.

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The origin of the Spiritualist movement was the publication of Ascension, a novel by Mr. Charles de Pomairols—its very title served as a profession of faith, and the whole story expressed a proud aspiration toward spiritual elevation. Alongside Pomairols’ idealistic poetry and his enthusiastic study of Lamartine, this novel naturally attracted the sympathy of all opponents of prevailing materialism. A small group was formed, soon becoming a League, whose aim was to encourage idealistic tendencies in literature. To this end, the Association of Spiritualist Writers founded an annual competition, with the goal of selecting and presenting to the public a work of literary merit that reflects, in spirit, the doctrines of the association.

Florian Parmentier, “La littérature au temps présent. Histoire de la littérature française de 1885 à nos jours”, Paris, 1914, pp. 261–264