se vampires, or to believe that they
are only asleep or torpid; for if they truly are resuscitated, and if
what is told of their return be true--if they speak, act, reason, if
they suck the blood of the living, they must know what passes in the
other world, and they ought to inform their relations and friends of
it, and that is what they do not. On the contrary, they treat them as
enemies; torment them, take away their life, suck their blood, cause
them to die with lassitude.

If they are predestinated and blessed, whence happens it that they
disturb and torment the living, their nearest relations, their
children, and all that for nothing, and simply for the sake of doing
harm? If these are persons who have still something to expiate in
purgatory, and who require the prayers of the living, why do they not
explain their condition? If they are reprobate and condemned, what
have they to do on this earth? Can we conceive that God allows them
thus to come without reason or necessity and molest their families,
and even cause their death?

If these _revenans_ are really dead, whatever state they may be in in
the other world, they play a very bad part here, and keep it up still
worse.

Footnotes:

[611] Gen. xix. 2.

[612] Luke xxiv. 16.

[613] 2 Kings iii. 23.

[614] 2 Kings iv. 19, 20.

CHAPTER LIII.

INSTANCES OF PERSONS RESUSCITATED, WHO RELATE WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN IN
THE OTHER WORLD.

We have just seen that the vampires never speak of the other world,
nor ask for either masses or prayers, nor give any warning to the
living to lead them to correct their morals, or bring them to a better
life. It is surely very prejudicial to the reality of their return
from the other world; but their silence on that head may favor the
opinion which supposes that they are not really dead.

It is true that we do not read either that Lazarus, resuscitated by
Jesus Christ,[615] nor the son of the widow of Nain,[616] nor that of
the woman of Shunam, brought to life by Elisha,[617] nor that
Israelite who came to life by simply touching the body of the same
prophet Elisha,[618] after their resurrection revealed anything to
mankind of the state of souls in the other world.

But we see in the Gospel[619] that the bad rich man, having begged of
Abraham to permit him to send some one to this world to warn his
brethren to lead a better life, and take care not to fall into the
unhappy condition in which he found himself, was a