541. When a battle is being fought, are there spirits who assist and support each party?

"Yes, and who stimulate their courage."

The ancients represented the gods as taking part with such and such a people. Those gods were nothing else than spirits represented under allegorical figures.

542. In every war, the right is only on one side. How can spirits take the part of the one which is in the wrong?

"You know very well that there are spirits who seek only discord and destruction; for them war is war; they care little whether it be just or unjust."

543 Can spirits influence a general in the planning of a campaign?

"Without any doubt spirits can use their influence for this object, as for all other conceptions."

544. Could hostile spirits suggest to him unwise combinations in order to ruin him?

"Yes; but has he not his free-will? If his judgement do not enable him to distinguish between a good idea and a bad one, he will have to bear the consequences of his blindness, and would do better to obey than to command."

545. May a general sometimes be guided by a sort of second-sight, an intuitive perception that shows him, beforehand, the result of his combinations?

"It is often thus with a man of genius; this kind of intuition is what is called 'inspiration,' and causes him to act with a sort of certainty. It comes to him from the spirits who direct him, and who act upon him through the faculties with which he is endowed."

546. In the tumult of battle, what becomes of the spirits of those who succumb? Do they continue to take an interest in the struggle after their death?

"Some of them do so; others withdraw from it."

In the case of those who are killed in battle, as in all other cases of violent death, a spirit, during the first few moments, is in a state of bewilderment, and as though he were stunned. He does not know that he is dead; and seems to be taking part in the action. It is only little by little that the reality of his situation becomes apparent to him.

547. Do the spirits of those who had fought against each other while alive still regard one another as enemies after death; and are they still enraged against one another?

"A spirit, under such circumstances, is never calm. At the first moment, he may still be excited against his enemy, and even pursue him; but, when he has recovered his self-possession, he sees that his animosity has no longer any motive. But he may, nevertheless, retain some traces of it for a longer or shorter period, according to his character,"

– Does he still perceive the clang of the battle field?

"Yes; perfectly."

548. When a spirit is coolly watching a battle, as a mere spectator, does he witness the separation of the souls and bodies of those who fall, and how does this phenomenon affect him?

"Very few deaths are altogether instantaneous. In most cases, the spirit whose body has just been mortally struck is not aware of it for the moment; it is when he begins to come to himself that his spirit can be seen moving beside his corpse. This appears so natural, that the sight of the dead body does not produce any disagreeable effect. All the life of the individual being concentrated in his spirit, the latter alone attracts the attention of the spirits about him. It is with him that they converse, to him that orders are given."