268- (1). By what signs can we distinguish the superiority or inferiority of spirits?

"By their language; just as you distinguish a well-bred man from a sensible one. We have already said that superior spirits never contradict themselves, and only say what is good; they have no other desire than good; it is the aim of all their thoughts and actions.

 

"Inferior spirits are still under the influence of earthly ideas; their discourse betrays their ignorance and imperfection. Superiority of knowledge, and calmness of judgement, are the exclusive apanage of superior spirits."

 

2. Is the scientific knowledge possessed by a spirit always a sign of his elevation?

"No, for if he is still under the influence of matter, he will have retained your vices and your prejudices. There are people in your world who are excessively proud and jealous; do you suppose that they lose these faults directly, on quitting it? No; there remains with them, after their departure from your world, especially in the case of those whose passions were strong, a kind of atmosphere which envelops them, and keeps all those bad things in them just as they were before.

 

"Spirits who are partially advanced are even more to be dreaded than those who are simply bad, because they often combine intelligence with craftiness and pride. By their partial knowledge, they impose on the unsuspecting and the ignorant, who unhesitatingly accept their false and deceptive theories; and, although these errors cannot eventually prevail against the truth, they none the less do harm for a time, for they fill many mediums with false ideas, and thus impede the progress of Spiritism. Enlightened spiritists, as well as mediums, should do their utmost to separate truth from falsehood."

 

3. Many protecting spirits designate themselves by the name of saints or other known personages; what are we to conclude in regard to this point?

 

"All the saints and other personages whose names are known to you would fail to furnish a protector for every man. There are, among spirits, comparatively few whose names are known on earth, for which reason, spirits frequently decline to give any name at all; but as you always want a name, they sometimes, to satisfy you, take some name that you already know and respect."

 

4. Should not this borrowing of names be regarded as a fraud?

"It would be such if (done by an evil spirit as a means of deception; but when it is done by good spirits for a good purpose, it is permitted among spirits of the same order, because there is, among them, solidarity and similarity of thought."

 

5. So, then, when a protecting spirit calls himself Saint Paul, for example, it is not certain that he is the soul of that apostle?

"Certainly not; for there are thousands of persons who have been told that their guardian-angel is Saint Paul, or some other well-known personage; but what does it matter to you, if your spirit-protector is of the same rank and character as Saint Paul? As I said just now, you want a name; and spirits therefore take one by which they may be evoked and recognised by you, just as you take baptismal names to distinguish you from the other members of your family. They might take the names of the archangels, Raphael, Michael, &c, without its being of any consequence.

 

"Besides, the more elevated a spirit is, the wider does his radiation extend; so that a protecting spirit of high rank may really have many thousands of incarnates under his guardianship. You, upon the earth, have lawyers who take charge of the affairs of hundreds of families; why should spirits of high degree be less able to take the moral direction of men, than are your lawyers, to look after your worldly interest?"

 

6. Why do the spirits who communicate with us so frequently assume the name of saints?

"They identify themselves with the mental habits of those to whom they speak, and take the names which are most likely to impress each man according to his belief."

 

7. Do superior spirits, when evoked, always come in person, or do they, as some persons suppose, send proxies charged to transmit their thoughts?

"They come in person when they are able to do so; but, it unable, they send a proxy."

 

8. Is the proxy always sufficiently enlightened to answer as well as the spirit who sends him would have done?

"Superior spirits always choose, as their proxies, those who are able to represent them truly. Besides, the higher spirits are, the more intimately are they united in thought; for them, personality is therefore comparatively indifferent, and it ought to be so with you. Do you imagine that there are no other spirits capable of giving you valuable instruction than those whose names are known upon the earth? You are all too prone to fancy yourselves the sole denizens of the universe, and to see nothing beyond the limits of your little world you are too much like savages who, never having quitted their island, suppose it to be the whole of the world."

 

9. We can understand that it should be so, in regard to any important matter; but why do elevated spirits permit inferior ones to assume their names for the purpose of misleading?

It is by no permission of theirs that this is done; does not the same thing occur among your selves? Those who thus deceive will be punished; you may be sure of that, and also that their punishment will be in proportion to the extent of their imposture. On the other hand, if you were not imperfect, you would have only good spirits around you, and therefore, if you are deceived, it is because you are imperfect, and for that imperfection, and consequent deception, you alone are to blame. God permits that it should be thus, in order both to test you, and to enlighten your judgement by teaching you to distinguish truth from error; if you cannot do this, it is because you are not yet sufficiently advanced, and need to learn further lessons from experience."

 

10. Are spirits of little advancement, but who are animated with good intentions and the desire to progress, sometimes delegated to supply the place of a superior spirit, in order to give them the opportunity of practising the art of communication?

"This never occurs in the great spiritist centres; I mean in those whose meetings are conducted in view of general ends. The spirits who present themselves in such centres always do so of their own accord, and some of them come as you say, to exercise themselves in communicating; and it is for this reason that many of the communications received, though good in point of morality, show intellectual inferiority on the part of their writers. Spirits are only delegated for communications of little importance, such as may be called personal."

 

11. Very weak spirit-communications sometimes contain a few extremely good passages; how are we to explain this anomaly, which would seem to indicate the simultaneous action of spirits of various degrees of advancement?

"Inferior or foolish spirits often take upon themselves to transmit a sentence, without much comprehension of what they are writing about. Are all who write in your world really superior people? No; good and evil spirits do not consort together; it is in the uniform goodness of a communication that the action of superior spirits is shown."

 

12. When spirits lead men into error, is it always done intentionally?

" No; there are well-intentioned spirits who are still ignorant, and are themselves deceived; when they have discovered their own insufficiency, they become more prudent, and restrict their statements to what they know."

 

13. When a spirit makes a false communication, is it always done with a malevolent intention?

"No; when not himself in error upon the subject he speaks of; a spirit may be frivolous; and may be simply amusing himself by mystifying, without any ulterior aim."

 

14. Since some spirits can deceive by their language, can they also assume a false appearance to the perceptions of a seeing medium?

"This is sometimes done, but it is more difficult, and is never allowed to occur except for some important object that the evil spirits themselves do not understand, being employed in such cases by higher spirits as instruments for giving a needed lesson. The seeing medium may see frivolous and lying spirits, as others hear them, or write under their influence. Frivolous spirits may take advantage of the existence of this faculty in a medium to deceive him by false appearances; but this depends upon the qualities of the medium's spirit."

 

15. Do good intentions suffice to preserve us from deception, or are serious inquirers also liable to be deceived?

 

"The more serious a man is, the less liable is he to be deceived; but every man has some weakness that may attract mocking spirits. People sometimes think themselves strong who are not so in reality; others are unconsciously influenced by pride or prejudice. You do not always take sufficient account of these conditions, which give so dangerous a handle to deceiving spirits, who know that, by flattering your vanity or your prejudices, they are pretty sure to succeed in getting hold of you."

 

16. Why does God permit evil spirits to communicate, and to use this permission for evil ends?

"The communications of the very worst spirits may furnish you with a lesson; it is for you to learn it, and to turn the experience to your profit. Is it not necessary for you to receive all sorts of communications, in order that you may be taught to distinguish between good and evil spirits, and also to hold up a mirror to yourselves?"

 

17. Can spirits, by their communications, inspire unjust suspicions, and thus set friends at variance?

"Perverse and jealous spirits can do everything that men do in the way of evil; and you must therefore be constantly on your guard against them. When superior spirits have to find fault, they do so with prudence and moderation; they never speak ill of any one; when they warn, they do so with gentleness. If, in the interest of both parties, they desire that two persons should cease to meet, they bring about some apparently fortuitous incident that will keep them apart in a natural way. Language calculated to excite trouble and distrust is always that of an evil spirit, whatever the name he assumes. You should therefore exercise the utmost circumspection in regard to anything that a spirit may say against any of you, especially if a good spirit has previously spoken well of the same party; you should also distrust yourselves and your prejudices. Accept, of spirit communications, only what is good, generous, rational, and approved alike by your intellect and your conscience."

 

18. It would appear, from the facility with which evil spirits interfere with communications, that we can never be certain of the truth of any of them?

"Yes; since you have your reason for judging of them. When you read a letter, you can tell, by the letter itself, whether it comes from a low ruffian or well-bred man, from a fool or a philosopher; why can you not do the same when spirits write to you? If you receive a letter from a friend at a distance, what proof  have you that it is from him? His writing and the tone of his letters,' you will say. But are there not forgers who imitate all sorts of writing? Are there not knaves who pry into every one's affairs? And yet are there not indications in regard to which you cannot be mistaken? It is the same with regard to spirits. Imagine yourself to be reading a letter from a friend, or the work of some author; and judge all spirit communications in the same way."

 

19. Could superior spirits, if they would, prevent evil ones from borrowing false names?

"Certainly they could; but the worse spirits are, the greater is their obstinacy, and they often resist the injunctions laid upon them. You must know, too, that there are persons in whom superior spirits take more interest than they do in others, and whom, when they judge it to be necessary, they protect from lies; against incarnates who are thus protected, deceptive spirits are powerless."

 

20. What is the motive of this partiality?

"It is not partiality but justice; good spirits interest themselves thus on behalf of those who profit by their advice, and who labour in earnest for their own amelioration. Such persons are their favourites, and are seconded by them they trouble themselves but little about those whose good resolutions end in words."

 

21. How is it that God permits spirits to commit sacrilege by falsely assuming venerated names?

"You might as well ask why God permits men to lie and blaspheme. Spirits, like men, can use their free will for good or for evil; and the justice of God does not fail in regard to either."

 

22. Are any formulas efficacious in driving away deceptive spirits?

"Formulas are materialities; an earnest thought, directed towards God, is more effectual."

 

23. Some spirits have said that they have the power of executing graphic signs that cannot be imitated, and by means of which their identity may be recognised with absolute certainty; is this true?

"Superior spirits have no other signs for proving their identity than the superiority of their ideas and language. Any spirit can imitate a physical sign. As to inferior spirits, they betray themselves in so many ways that you must be blind to be taken in by them."

 

24. Cannot deceptive spirits simulate the thought of their superiors?

"They could only counterfeit the thought of those above them as theatrical scenery counterfeits nature."

 

25. It is, then, easy to detect fraud by attentive observation?

"Certainly; spirits only take in those who allow themselves to be deceived. But you must have the eyes of the diamond-dealer to distinguish the true gem from the false one; and he who does not know how to do this for himself must go to a lapidary."

 

26. Some persons who are weak enough to be imposed upon by pompous language, and who pay more attention to words than to ideas, take false or commonplace statements for something sublime; how are such persons, who are not even competent to judge of the works of men, to judge of those of spirits?

"When such persons are modest, they recognise their insufficiency, and do not trust to their own judgement; when they are proud, and think themselves clever, they incur the consequences of their vanity. There are persons who, though simple and but little educated, are less liable to deception than others who possess intellect and knowledge, but who are vain and self-conceited; for spirits, by flattering the passions of the latter, do just what they please with them."

 

27. Do evil spirits sometimes betray themselves in their communications by involuntary physical signs?

"The skilful ones do not; the unskilful ones often do. Every useless or puerile manifestation or injunction is a certain indication of inferiority; elevated spirits do nothing uselessly."

 

28. Many mediums distinguish between good and evil spirits by the agreeable or painful impressions they experience on their approach. Are disagreeable impressions, such as convulsive agitation, or uneasiness of any kind, always a proof of the evil nature of the manifesting spirits?

"The medium feels the state of the spirit who comes to him. When a spirit is happy, he is tranquil, light-hearted,calm; when a spirit is unhappy, he is agitated and feverish, and this nervous agitation naturally affects the nervous system of the medium. It is the same with yourselves upon the earth; the good man is calm and self-possessed, the wicked man is restless and agitated."

 

Remark - The nervous impressionability of different mediums varies so greatly that no absolute rule can he laid down in regard to it; and in judging of medianimic manifestations, as of everything else, we must take the circumstances of each case into account. The painful and disagreeable character of an impression is sometimes an effect of contrasting fluids; for if, when an evil spirit is manifesting, the medium sympathises with him, he will he the medium sympathises with him, he will he be slightly agitated, or not at all.