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What should I learn, follow or choose... cansomeone help me there!

Spiritually speaking with Jesus and Kardec!

Lets See: to learn one learns a thing at a time, our life is alearning flow in a relative sequence. Our reasoning follows logically athing after another.

To follow, we should follow Jesus,1 since his morals are the highestand lighter or smooth, 2because it is the morals of love, it is thedoctrine that Jesus brought from the Father who sent him, 3 he taughtlived and exemplified. 4

And as he is our Master he could say:' learn of me... ' 5

To choose, each one has in himself a certain direction, a certainintuition. A certain taste for spiritual things, so that in each step hesees his walk and he evaluates it, and on forth one goes straight ahead

other step6

and one assumes ones spiritual walk by his ownexperience and his conscience guides him, his instinct or intuitiondictates in his heart that there is God and tells him: life doesn't end upin the physical death and his hope occurs to the understanding and hisfaith becomes of the size of a grain of mustard seed which will growmore and more!. 7

Help me there...8 Yes I can help little within the use of reasonaccording to my faith and knowledge of the Spiritist doctrine codified

by Allan Kardec.1 Matthew, 9: 9 - 16: 24.2 John,16: 7-15 - The gospel according to spiritism, XV.3 John, 7: 16.4 John, 13: 15.5 Matthew, 11: 29.6 The Spirits Book, Question, 118 & 612.7 Lucas, XVII: 6.8 The spirits Book, Question, 663.

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Most of our life is learned with rights and wrongs, successes andmistakes, sometimes we get right and others we err, and sometimes inthe spiritual life it is as going to a restaurant of 'self service', weevaluated the great variety of foods and we chose something that welike, but so that we may like comes firstly the experience of I like thisor I don't like this or that, so it is more or less our steps in the spirituallife. Once we grow within of our understanding and our spiritualdegree, since it is' to whosoever hath to him shall be given' 9 of thesame way that God sends us superior Spirits to help us to emancipateourselves from time to time as we grow morally, He also helpsindividually according to our need and apprenticeship in which we maybe, since it doesn't fall' a bird without His knowledge,' 10and He knows'what one needs before we ask Him'.11 Ever for 'In Him we live andhave our being'; 12Let there be faith and trusting for God knows the

multiplicity of stars by name 13 how much more us His Children!This work is a picked out of the Spiritist Doctrine composed of

extracts from here and there of the works of Kardec in reference to theDoctrine and that it allows to be given an incentive to theunderstanding and study of the Doctrine that by itself is involving inGod and soul, whose study of God and soul involves us indirectly inreligion science and philosophy, bringing us a ratiocinated faith,14

which in my opinion answers the urgent questions of a lot of peoplewho are not satisfied with their knowledge and who demand much

more, and make researches until they find satisfaction to theirunderstanding.It is for such people that it is worthwhile passing each other the

little that we may have privately kept in our heart, ideals of betterspiritual feeling. Thence it does give for to see how much we arevaluable, not so much our body although it is a blinding marvel, 15 butsome evaluation of our spirit which is immortal, that it is a moralbeing, that it is an expression of God, thence Jesus said:

'ye are gods. 16

9 Matthew, 13: 12-29 - Luke, 6: 38.10 Matthew, 6: 25, 26.11 Matthew, 6: 32.12 Acts, 17: 28.13 Psalms, 147: 4 - John, 10: 314 The Gospel according to Spiritism, 19: 7.15 Revelation, 15: 3.16 Joo, X: 34, 35 e Salmos, 82: 6.

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Simplifying like this the truth of the value and greatness of ourspirits that although now might be tiny weenie, they have in itself beenplanted the evolution seeds and of progress and little by little throughthe times will get to shine as Spirits of Light, because that is of the Willof God when creating us already see our future, as a farmer whensowing a tree seed already visualizes it and knows how it will growand to be, and as one knows God could not be different in visualizingour future although far distant to us, yes we love Him and we praiseHim for having created us and for His loving us eternally; the spiritist isnot different in his love towards God, and for all of the littlest effects itssensibility arrives to the cause which is God, and In Him hopefullydeposits his faith,

Didn't Jesus say: consider the lilies of the field?' 17

(This Arrangement was Prepared by Antonio Martinho Fernandes, topublish the Spiritism Doctrine gratuitously)

* * * * *

In the book of' POSTHUMOUS WORKS' of Allan Kardec, heexplains to us that actually in practice there are five spiritual choices;we see:

The humanity's five alternativesThey are very few the men who live without inquietude for the day of tomorrow. If, he is disturbed by for

what he will be after a day of twenty-four hours, with stronger reason it is natural to worry with what will be of usafter the clear day of life, because it is not treated anymore of some instants, but of eternity. We will live or we willnot live anymore! There is no compromise; it is a question of life or death; it is the supreme alternative!...

Being interrogated the intimate feeling of the almost universality of men, all will answer: we will Live."That hope is for them a consolation. However, a small minority makes an effort, some time ago above all, inproving them that they will not live. That school made proselytes, it is necessary to admit, and mainly amongthose who fear the responsibility of the future, they find more comfortable to enjoy the present withoutembarrassment, without being disturbed by the perspective of the consequences. But it is not there except the

opinion of the smallest number.If we will live, as we will live? Will we be in what conditions?Here the systems vary with the religious and philosophical faiths. However, all the opinions about man's

future can be reduced to five main alternatives, which we will recapitulate summarily, so that its comparison maybe easier and that each one may discern, with knowledge of cause, the one that seems more rational to him andbest answers to ones personal aspirations and the needs of society. These five alternatives are the ones thatresult of the doctrines of materialism, of pantheism, of deism, of dogmatism, and of Spiritism.

17 Mateus, VI: 28.

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* * * I. Materialistic DoctrineMan's intelligence is a property of the matter he is born and dies with the organism. The man is not

anything before, not anything after the corporal life.Consequences. The man, not being anything but matter, there is not of real and of enviable except the

material joys; the moral affections do not have a future; the moral bows are broken without return in death; the

miseries of life are without compensation; suicide becomes the rational and logical end of an existence, when thesufferings are without hope of a betterment; it is useless to impose oneself an embarrassment to gain ones badinclinations; to live for oneself in the best possible, while one may be here; the stupidity of inconveniencing and ofsacrificing ones rest, ones well-being, for somebody else, that is to say, for beings who are to be annihilated, ontheir turn, and who will never be seen again; social duties without a base, the good and the evil given asconvention things; the social handbrake is reduced to the material power of the civil law.

Note. Maybe it will not be useless to remind here, to our readers, some passages of an article which wepublished on materialism, in the number of the Magazine of August of 1868.

"Materialism, we said, making itself noticed as it had not been made known in any other time, being putas supreme regulator of the Humanity's moral destinies, had for effect to scare the masses for the inevitableconsequences of their doctrines for the social order; for that reason it provoked, in favor of the spiritualistic ideas,an energetic reaction which should prove to it that it is far away from having the sympathies as general as hadsupposed, and that it does a strange illusion to itself waiting one day to impose its laws to the world.

"Certainly, the spiritualistic faiths of the last times are insufficient for this century; they are not in theintellectual level of our generation; they are, on many points, in contradiction with the right data of science; theyleave in the spirit incompatible ideas with the need of the positive which dominates in the modern society; theyhave, besides that, the immense mistake of imposing itself through a blind faith and to proscribe the free exam;thence, without any doubt, the development of incredulity among the largest number; it is very evident that, if menwere not nurtured, from their childhood, except with ideas to be later confirmed by reason, there would not beskeptics. How many people, reconducted to the faith through Spiritism, had told us: If one had always presentedGod, the soul and the future life in a rational way, we never would have doubted!"

"Of the fact that a principle receives bad or false application, Does it follow that it needs to be rejected?There are spiritual things, as of legislation and of all social institutions, which it is necessary to adapt them to thetime under penalty of their succumbing. But, instead of presenting a better thing than the old spiritualism,materialism prefers to suppress everything, what spares it from seeking, and it seems more comfortable to thosewhom the idea of God and of the future importunes them. What would one think of a doctor who, thinking a

convalescent's regime is not quite substantial for his temperament prescribes him to eat nothing at all?"What one admires to find, in most of the materialists of the modern school, it is the intolerance spirit,

taken to their last limits, they who demand, continually, the right of freedom of conscience!..."... There is, at this time, of the part of a certain party, a revolt against spiritualistic ideas in general, in

which Spiritism is naturally involved. What is sought it is not a better and fairer God; it is the God matter, lessuncomfortable because there are no accounts to be rendered to Him.

Nobody objects, to that party, the right of having their own opinion, of discussing the contrary opinions;but what one would not know to grant them is the pretension, at least singular for men who place themselves asapostles of freedom, of impeding, to others, to have faith to their own way and discuss doctrines that they do notshare. Intolerance by intolerance.

One is not worth more than the other..."

* * *

II. Pantheist doctrineThe intelligent principle or soul, independent of the matter, at birth is exhausted of the whole universal; it

individualized itself in each being during life, and, in death, it returns to the common mass, as rain drops in theOcean.

Consequences. Without individuality, and without conscience of himself, the being is as if he did not exist;the moral consequences of this doctrine are exactly the same as the one of the materialistic doctrine.

Note. A certain number of pantheists admit that the soul, exhausted at birth in the whole universal, itconserves his individuality for an indefinite time, and that it does not return to the mass except after having arrivedto the last degree of perfection. The consequences of this variety of beliefs are absolutely the same ones that the

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pantheist doctrine so said, because it is perfectly useless to give oneself to the work to acquire some knowledge,of which it should lose conscience relatively being annihilated after a short time; if the soul, usually, refuses toadmit similar conception, how much would it be more sorely affected, thinking that, in the instant in which itreached knowledge and supreme perfection, it would be that in which would be condemned to lose the fruit of hislabors, losing his own individuality.

* * *

III. Deist DoctrineDeism understands two categories very different of believers: the independent deists and the providential

deists.The independent deists believe in God; they admit all his attributes as creator. God, they say, established

the general laws which govern Universe, but those laws, once been made, work by themselves, and his authordoes not occupy himself with them anymore. The creatures do what they want or what they can do, without beendisturbed by them . There is no, providence; God, not being in charge of us, nothing has to be thanked to him, norasked to him.

Those who deny all intervention of the providence in man's are as children that believe to be enoughreasonable to liberate themselves from protection, of the pieces of advice and of their parents' protection, or thatthey would think that their parents are not obliged to be in charge of them anymore, since they placed them in theworld.

Under the excuse of glorifying God, very great, they say, for Him to lower unto his creatures, they make ofhim a great selfish person and they lower him at the level of the animals which abandon their progenitors to theelements.

This belief is the result of pride; it is always the thought of being submitted to a superior force that offendsthe self-respect and of which tries to free itself. While some refuse that force absolutely, others consent inrecognizing its existence, but they condemn it to the nullity.

There is an essential difference among the independent deists of which we have just spoken, and theprovidential deist; this latter, with effect, believes not only in the existence and in the creative power of God, in theorigin of things; believes even more in his incessant intervention in the creation and asks for it, but does not admitthe external cult and the current dogmatism.

* * *

IV. Dogmatic DoctrineThe soul, independent of the matter, is created at birth of each being; and preserves his individuality after

death; his luck is, since that moment, irreversibly fastened; his further progresses are null; he will be,consequently, for all the eternity, intellectual and morally, what was during life. Being the condemned bad toperpetual punishments and irreversibly in hell, of that stands out, for them, the complete uselessness ofrepentance; God seems, like this, to refuse leaving them the opportunity to repair the evil that they may havedone. The good ones are rewarded by the vision of God and the perpetual contemplation in Heaven. The caseswhich can deserve, for the eternity, Heaven or Hell, are left for the decision and the judgment of fallible men towhom it is given to absolve or to condemn.

(Note. If it was objected, to this last proposition, that God judges ultimately, one could wonder which is thevalue of the decision pronounced by men, once it can be revoked.)

The convicts' definitive and absolute separation and of the elect ones.Uselessness of the moral aids and of the consolations for the convicts. Angels' creation or exempt souls

of every work to arrive to perfection, etc., etc.

Consequences. This doctrine leaves without solution the serious following problems:1st - Where the innate dispositions come from, intellectuals and moral, which make causes for men to be

born good or bad, intelligent or idiots?

2nd - Which is the children's luck who die in a tender age?Why do they enter in the happy life without the work to which another are subject to for long years?

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Why are they rewarded without having been able to do good, or private of happiness without they havingmade bad acts?

3rd- Which is the luck of the cretin and of the idiots, who do not have conscience of their actions?

4th - Where the justice of poverty is and of the illnesses from birth, once they are not resulted from anyaction of the present life?

5th - Which is the savages' luck and of all who die unavoidably in the state of moral inferiority, where theyfind themselves put by the very Nature, if it is not given them to progress later on?

6th - Why does God create souls more favored, some more of the others?

7th - Why he calls to himself, prematurely, those who could have improved themselves if they had livedfor a longer time, from the moment that it is not given them to move forward after death?

8th - Why did God create angels, near to perfection without work, while other creatures are submitted tothe hard tasks, in the which they have more chances of succumbing than to come out victorious? etc., etc.

V.Spiritist DoctrineThe intelligent principle is independent of the matter. The individual soul preexists and survives the body.The same starting point for all of the souls, without exception; everyone is created simple and ignorant, and theyare submitted to the indefinite progress. No privileged creature is more favored some more than the others; theangels are beings who reached perfection after they had past, as other creatures, through all of the degrees of theinferiority. The souls, or Spirits, progress more or less quickly in virtue of his free will, through his own work andhis good will. The spiritual life is the normal life; the corporal life is a temporary phase of the life of the Spirit,during which he covers, momentarily, a material wrapper which he undresses in death.

The Spirit progresses in the corporal state and in the spiritual state.The corporal state is necessary to the Spirit until he reaches a certain degree of perfection: in him it

developed through work in which he is subject for his own needs, and he acquires special practical knowledge. Asingle corporal existence being insufficient to make him acquire all perfections, he retakes a body as frequently asit be necessary for him, and, on each time, he arrives, he comes with the progress which he had reached in hisprevious existences and in the spiritual life. When he has acquired in the world all that in it could be acquired, heleaves it to go to other worlds more advanced, intellectual and morally, less and less material, and much like thiscontinually until perfection, of which the creature is susceptible.

The happy or unhappy state of the Spirits is inherent to their moral progress; their punishment is theconsequence of their hardening in badness, so that, persevering in evil, they are punished by themselves; but thedoor of the regret is never closed to them, and they can, when they want, to return to the road of goodness and tothe arriving, with time, to all of the progresses.

The children that die in tender age can be more or less advanced, because they have already lived inprevious existences, where they could make some good or to commit bad actions.

Death does not liberate them of the proofs which they should suffer, and they resume, in useful time, anew existence on Earth, in superior worlds, according to their degree of elevation.

The soul of the cretin and of the idiot one is of the same nature as any incarnated one; frequently, theirintelligence is superior, and they suffer the inadequacy of the environment, which they have to enter inrelationship with their existence companions, as the mute persons suffer for not been able to speak. They abused

their intelligence, in their previous existences, and they accepted, voluntarily, to be reduced to the impossibility tobe able to expiate the evil which they may have committed, etc., etc.

Spiritist belief. PreambleThe Humanity's ills come from the imperfection of men: it is by their addictions that they themselves harm

each other. While men are vicious, they will be unhappy, because the struggle of interests engenders, continually,poverty.

Good laws contribute, without a doubt, for the improvement of the social state, but they are impotent toassure the Humanity's happiness, because they do not do except compressing bad passions, without annihilating

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happiness is for the strongest and the smartest; suicide, the logical end of the one that, after resources andmeasures, does not expect anything else, and he can not remove himself from the mire. A society founded onnihilism, would take in itself the germ of the next dissolution.

Others, however are the feelings of those who have faith in the future; who knows that nothing of what hehas acquired in knowledge and in morality is not lost for him; that the work of today will bring fruits tomorrow; thathe himself will take part of those future generations more advanced and happier. He knows that, working forothers, he will work for himself. His vision does not stop in Earth: it embraces the infinite of the worlds which willbe his home some day; he glimpses the glorious place that will be his share, as of all beings who have reachedperfection. With faith in the future life, the circle of ideas enlarges itself; the future is for him; the personal progresshas an objective, an effective usefulness. Of the continuity of the relationships among men, solidarity is born;fraternity is founded on a natural law and about the interest of everyone.

The belief in the future life, therefore, it is the element of progress, because it is the stimulant of the Spirit:only it can give courage in tests, because it supplies reason, the perseverance in fight against evil, because itshows an objective. It is, therefore, in consolidating that belief in the spirit of the masses which is necessary to becalled upon.

However, that belief is innate in man; all of religions proclaim it; why did it not give, until this day, theresults which one should expected of it? It is that, in general, it is presented in unacceptable conditions to thereason. Just as they show it, it breaks up all of the relationships with the present; since one leaves Earth, hebecomes strange to the Humanity; no solidarity would exist between the dead and the living; progress is purelyindividual working for the future, one does not work except for himself, one does not think except in himself, and

still for a vague objective that has nothing defined, nothing of positive on which the thought can rest with safety; itis, finally, because it is beforehand a hope rather than a material certainty. Of that it results in some theindifference, in others the mystic exaltation that, isolating man of the Earth, it is essentially harmful to theHumanity's real progress, because it neglects the cares of the material progress, to which Nature causes him aduty to compete.

However, for incomplete that the results might be, they are not less real. How many men wereencouraged and sustained in the road of goodness by that vague hope!

How many did stop on the ramp of evil for fear of committing the future? How many noble virtues has notthat belief developed! Let us not disdain the beliefs of the past, although imperfect that they might be, when theylead to goodness: they are in relationship with the Humanity's advanced degree.

But the Humanity progressing, they want beliefs in harmony with the new ideas. If the elements of faithstay stationary, and are outdated for the Spirit, they lose every influence, and the goodness they produced intimes past cannot continue, because they are not anymore to the height of the circumstances.

So that the doctrine of the future life may take, from now on, the fruits which one should expect from it, itis necessary, before anything else, that it should satisfy the reason completely; that may answer the idea that onemay have had of wisdom, of the justice and of the kindness of God; that cannot receive any denial of science; it isnecessary that the future life leaves no doubt in the Spirit, nor uncertainty; that be as positive as the present life,of which is the continuation, as the day tomorrow is the continuation of the previous day; it is necessary that onemay see it, that one may understand it, that one may touch it, so to speak, with a finger; it is necessary, finally,that the solidarity of the past, of the present and of the future, through the different existences, may be evident.

Such is the idea which Spiritism gives of the future life; it is what gives it strength, it is because that is nota human conception, which would not have the merit except of being more rational, but without more certaintythan the others. It is the result of the studies done on the examples supplied by different categories of Spirits whocome in manifestations, which has allowed exploring the life extracorporeal in all of their phases, from the highestto the basest scale of the beings. The episodes of the future life are not, therefore, one more theory, a hypothesismore or less probable, but a result of observations; they are the very inhabitants of the invisible world who come

to describe their state, and it is such situation that the most fertile imagination could not have guessed, if it wasnot presented to the observer's eyes.Giving the material evidence of the existence and of the immortality of the soul, giving us initiation in the

mysteries of birth, of death, of the future life, of the universal life, turning us tangible the inevitable consequencesof good and of evil, the Spiritist Doctrine does, better than all the other ones, to emphasize the need of individualimprovement. Through it man knows where he comes from, where he is going, why he is on Earth; goodness hasan objective, a practical usefulness; it does not form a man only for the future, it forms him also for the present, forthe society; for his own moral improvement, men prepare on Earth the kingdom of peace and of fraternity.

The Spiritist Doctrine is so, the most powerful element moralist, in him whom it addresses, at the sametime, to the heart, to the intelligence and the personal interest well understood. For its very essence, Spiritism

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touches in all branches of the physical knowledge, metaphysicians and of morals; the subjects that it embracesare countless; however, they can be summarized in the following points that, being considered as acquired truths,they constitute the program of the spiritist beliefs. " ().

* * * * *

From The Spirits Book 18

In IntroductionOn the study ofSpiritist Doctrine

VIThe beings who thus enter into communication with us designate themselves, as we have said, by the

name of spirits or genie, and as having belonged, in many cases at least, to men who have lived upon the earth.They say that they constitute the spiritual world, as we, during our earthly life, constitute the corporeal world.

We will now briefly sum up the most important points of the doctrine which they have transmitted to us, in

order to reply more easily to the objections of the incredulous."God is eternal, immutable, immaterial, unique, all-powerful, sovereignty just and good."He has created the universe, which comprehends all beings, animate and inanimate, material and

immaterial."The material beings constitute the visible or corporeal world, and the immaterial beings constitute the

invisible or spiritual world, that is to say, the spirit-world, or world of spirits."The spirit-world is the normal, primitive, eternal world, pre-existent to, and surviving, everything

else."The corporeal world is only secondary; it might cease to exist, or never have existed, without changing

the essentiality of the spiritual world."Spirits temporarily assume a perishable material envelope, the destruction of which, by death, restores

them to liberty."Among the different species of corporeal beings, God has chosen the human species for the incarnation

of spirits arrived at a certain degree of development; it is this which gives it a moral and intellectual superiority toall the others."The soul is an incarnated spirit, whose body is only its envelope."There are in man three things -(1.) The body, or material being, analogous to the animals, and animated

by the same vital principle; (2.) The soul, or immaterial being, a spirit incarnated in the body; (3.) The link whichunites the soul and the body, a principle intermediary between matter and spirit.

"Man has thus two natures.: by his body he participates in the nature of the animals, of which it has theinstincts; by his soul, he participates in the nature of spirits.

"The link, or perisprit, which unites the body and the spirit, is a sort of semi-material envelope. Death isthe destruction of the material body, which is the grossest of man's two envelopes; but the spirit preserves hisother envelope, viz., the perisprit, which constitutes for him an ethereal body, invisible to us in its normal state,but which he can render occasionally visible, and even tangible, as is the case in apparitions.

"A spirit, therefore, is not an abstract, undefined being, only to be conceived of by our thought; it is a real,circumscribed being, which, in certain cases, is appreciable by the senses of sight, hearing, and touch.

"Spirits belong to different classes, and are not equal to one another either in power, in intelligence, inknowledge, or in morality. Those of the highest order are distinguished from those below them by their superiorpurity and knowledge, their nearness to God, and their love of goodness; they are "angels" or "pure spirits." The

18 Editora Federao Esprita Brasileira,. 76 edio, 1995. Edio especialmente cedidapelo Ncleo Esprita Caminheiros do Bem Departamento Editorial: LAKE - LivrariaALLAN KARDEC Editora Rua Monsenhor Anacleto, 199 - Brs Fones: 229-0935, 229-0526 e 229-1227 CEP 03003 - Cx. Postal 15.190 So Paulo - Brasil

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other classes are more and more distant from this perfection; those of the lower ranks are inclined to most of ourpassions, hatred, envy, jealousy, pride, etc.; they take pleasure in evil. Among them are some who are neithervery good nor very bad, but are teasing and troublesome rather than malicious are often mischievous andunreasonable, and may be classed as giddy and foolish spirits.

"Spirits do not belong perpetually to the same order. All are destined to attain perfection by passingthrough the different degrees of the spirit-hierarchy. This amelioration is effected by incarnation, which is imposedon some of them as an expiation, and on others as a mission.

Material life is a trial which they have to undergo many times until they have attained to absoluteperfection; it is a sort of filter, or alembic, from which they issue more or less purified after each new incarnation.

"On quitting the body, the soul re-enters the world of spirits from which it came, and from which it willenter upon a new material existence after a longer or shorter lapse of time, during which its state is that of anerrant or wandering spirit.

"Spirits having to pass through many incarnations, it follows that we have all had many existences, andthat we shall have others, more or less perfect, either upon this earth or in other worlds.

"The incarnation of spirits always takes place in the human race; it would be an error to suppose that thesoul or spirit could be incarnated in the body of an animal.

"A spirit's successive corporeal existences are always progressive, and never retrograde; but the rapidityof our progress depends on the efforts we make to arrive at perfection.

"The qualities of the soul are those of the spirit incarnated in us; thus, a good man is the incarnation of agood spirit, and a bad man is that of an unpurified spirit.

"The soul possessed its own individuality before its incarnation; it preserves that individuality after itsseparation from the body.

"On its re-entrance into the spirit world, the soul again finds there all those whom it has known upon theearth, and all its former existences eventually come back to its memory, with the remembrance of all the good andof all the evil which it has done in them,

________________________________________________________________________ There is. between this doctrine of re-incarnation and that of metempsychosis, as held by certain sects, a

characteristic difference, which is explained in the course of the present work."The incarnated spirit is under the influence of matter; the man who surmounts this influence, through the

elevation and purification of his soul, raises himself nearer to the superior spirits, among whom he will one day beclassed. He who allows himself to be ruled by bad passions, and places all his delight in the satisfaction of hisgross animal appetites, brings himself nearer to the impure spirits, by giving preponderance to his animal nature.

"Incarnated spirits inhabit the different globes of the universe.

"Spirits who are not incarnated, who are errant, do not occupy any fixed and circumscribed region; theyare everywhere, in space, and around us, seeing us, and mixing with us incessantly; they constitute an invisiblepopulation, constantly moving and busy about us, on every side.

"Spirits exert an incessant action upon the moral world, and even upon the physical world; they act bothupon matter and upon thought, and constitute one of the powers of nature, the efficient cause of many classes ofphenomena hitherto unexplained or misinterpreted, and of which only the spiritist theory can give a rationalexplanation.

'Spirits are incessantly in relation with men. The good spirits try to lead us into the right road, sustain usunder the trials of life, and aid us to bear them with courage and resignation; the bad ones tempt us to evil: it is apleasure for them to see us fall, and to make us like themselves.

"The communications of spirits with men are either occult or ostensible. Their occult communications aremade through the good or bad influence they exert on us without our being aware of it; it is our duty to distinguish,by the exercise of our judgment, between the good and the bad inspirations that are thus brought to bear upon us.

Their ostensible communications take place by means of writing, of speech, or of other physical manifestations,and usually through the intermediary of the mediums who serve as their instruments."Spirits manifest themselves spontaneously, or in response to evocation. All spirits may be evoked: those

who have animated the most obscure of mortals, as well as those of the most illustrious personages, andwhatever the epoch at which they lived; those of our relatives, our friends, or our enemies; and we may obtainfrom them, by written or by verbal communications, counsels, information in regard to their situation beyond thegrave, their thoughts in regard to us, and whatever revelations they are permitted to make to us.

Spirits are attracted by their sympathy with the moral quality of the parties by whom they are evoked.Spirits of superior elevation take pleasure in meetings of a serious character, animated by the love of goodnessand the sincere desire of instruction and improvement.

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Their presence repels the spirits of inferior degree who find, on the contrary, free access and freedom ofaction among persons of frivolous disposition, or brought together by mere curiosity, and wherever evil instinctsare to be met with. So far from obtaining from spirits, under such circumstances, either good advice or usefulinformation, nothing is to be expected from them but trifling, lies, ill-natured tricks, or humbugging; for they oftenborrow the most venerated names, in order the better to impose upon those with whom they are incommunication.

"It is easy to distinguish between good and bad spirits. The language of spirits of superior elevation isconstantly dignified, noble, characterized by the highest morality, free from every trace of earthly passion; theircounsels breathe the purest wisdom, and always have our improvement and the good of mankind for their aim.The communications of spirits of lower degree, on the contrary, are full of discrepancies, and their language isoften commonplace, and even coarse. If they sometimes say things that are good and true, they more often makefalse and absurd statements, prompted by ignorance or malice. They play upon the credulity of those whointerrogate them, amusing themselves by flattering their vanity, and fooling them with false hopes. In a word,instructive communications worthy of the name are only to be obtained in centers of a serious character, whosemembers are united, by an intimate communion of thought and desire, in the pursuit of truth and goodness.

The moral teaching of the higher spirits may be summed up, like that of Christ, in the gospel maxim, 'Dounto others as you would that others should do unto you;' that is to say, do good to all, and wrong no one. Thisprinciple of action furnishes mankind with a rule of conduct of universal application, from the smallest matters tothe greatest.

____________________________________________________________________

Vide, in connection with the statements of this paragraph, the qualifying explanations and practicalcounsels of

The Mediums' Book - TRANS.

They teach us that selfishness, pride, sensuality, are passions which bring us back towards the animalnature, by attaching us to matter; that he who, in this lower life, detaches himself from matter through contempt ofworldly trifles, and through love of the neighbour, brings himself back towards the spiritual nature; that we shouldall make ourselves useful, according to the means which God has placed in our hands for our trial; that the strongand the powerful owe aid and protection to the weak; and that he who misuses strength and power to oppress hisfellow-creature violates the law of God. They teach us that in the spirit-work nothing can be hidden, and that thehypocrite will there be un-masked, and all his wickedness unveiled; that the presence, unavoidable and perpetual,of those whom we have wronged in the earthly life is one of the punishments that await us in the spirit-world; andthat the lower or higher state of spirits gives rise in that other life to sufferings or to enjoyments unknown to us

upon the earth."But they also teach us that there are no unpardonable sins, none that cannot be effaced by expiation.

Man finds the means of accomplishing this in the different existences which permit him to advance progressively,and according to his desire and his efforts, towards the perfection that constitutes his ultimate aim.

Such is the sum of spiritist doctrine, as contained in the teachings given by spirits of high degree. Let usnow consider the objections that are urged against it.().

* * * * *

From Heaven and Hell 19

Chapter, III: 4-10

Heaven

19 Allan Kardec Heaven and Hell translated by Anna Blackwell, edition LAKE - LivrariaAllan Kardec Editora

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4. - Mans opinions are always proportioned to his knowledge; and the discovery of the constitution of theworld around him, like all the other great discoveries of the human mind, has necessarily given a new direction tohis ideas. It was inevitable that, through the action of his newly- acquired knowledge, his primitive creeds shouldundergo considerable modification; heaven has been ousted from its former place, for the region 23 of stars, beingboundless, can no longer be assigned as its locality. Where, then, is heaven? To this question none of thereligions of the world can furnish an answer.

Spiritism has come to resolve this enigma showing us what the true destiny of the human beings is. Startingwith the nature of humans and the attributes of God, we arrive at the conclusion; that is to say, starting the knownwe arrive at the unknown, via logical deduction, without mentioning the direct observations that Spiritism permits usto realize.

5. - With the aid of the knowledge thus derived, we have ascertained that man is a compound being,consisting of a body and a spirit; that the spirit is the principal element of this compound existence, its reasoningand intelligent element; that the body is merely a material envelope which is temporally assumed by the spirit for theaccomplishment of his mission upon the earth and the execution of the labors that are necessary for hisadvancement. The body, warn out, is destroyed, and the spirit outlives its destruction. Without the spirit, the body isonly a mass of inert matter, like an instrument deprived of the arm that made it act.. Without the body, the spirit isstill itself; that is to say, the essential element of the compound being called man, viz., life and intelligence. Onquitting his material envelope the spirit returns to the spirit-world, which he had quitted in order to incarnate himselfin a corporal body.

There is, then, the corporeal world, composed of spirits incarnated in corporeal bodies, and the spirit world,composed of spirits who have put off their corporeal body. The beings of the corporeal world, in virtue of theirmaterial envelope, are attached to the earth or to some similar globe; the spirit world is everywhere, around us andin space, and has no boundaries or limits of any kind. In virtue of the fluidic nature of the body envelope. The beingsthat compose that world instead of creeping laboriously upon the ground transport themselves through space withthe rapidity of thought. The death of the body is the rupture of the bonds that held them captive.

6. - Spirits are created simple and ignorant, but with the aptitude for acquiring all knowledge, and forprogressing in every direction, through the exercise of their free will. Through the progress achieved by them, theyacquire new knowledge, new faculties, new perceptions, and, as a consequence of these, new enjoymentsunknown to spirits of less advancement; they see, hear, feel, and comprehend, what more backward spirits canneither see, hear, feel, nor comprehend. The happiness of each spirit is in proportion to the amount of progressaccomplished by him; so that, of two spirits, one may be more or less happy than the other, simply as a

consequence of his greater or less degree of moral and intellectual advancement, and this, without their being intwo different places. They may be close to one another, and yet one of them may be in utter darkness, while theother is in the midst of respondent light; just as a blind man and one who sees may be in the same place, and yetthe former will be unconscious of the splendors seen by the latter, who perceives the objects which are invisible forthe former. The happiness and unhappiness of the spirits being inherent in the qualities possessed by them., theyfind that happiness or unhappiness wherever they may be, on the surface of the earth, in the midst of incarnates, orin space.

A commonplace comparison will render this difference of situation more comprehensible. If, of two men whoare at a concert, one is a trained musician possessing a good ear for music, while the other knows nothing of musicand has only a defective ear, the first will derive enjoyment from the concert, while the other will remain unmoved,simply because one of them perceives and understands what makes no impression upon the perceptions of theother. It is thus with all the enjoyments experienced by spirits, those enjoyments being proportioned to their aptitudefor perceiving them. The spirit-world is full of splendors, harmonies, and sensations that spirits of low degree, who

are still under the influence of materiality, do not perceive, and which are only perceptible, and accessible, to spiritsof greater purity.

7. - Progress, among spirits, is only achieved as the fruit of their own labor; but, has they have their free will,they labor more or less actively for their own advancement, according to their will; they thus hasten or retard theirown progress, and consequently, their own happiness. While some of them advance quickly, others stagnate forlong ages in the lower ranks. Thus, spirits are always the artisans of their own situation, whether happy or unhappy,conformably with the words of Christ, each according to his works. A spirit who remains behind has, therefore,only himself to thank for his backwardness; in the same way, he who advances has all the merit of his advancementand the happiness he has conquered appears to him all the greater in consequence.

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Perfect felicity is the lot only of the spirits who have attained to perfect purity, in other words, of those whomwe designate as Pure-spirits. (Vide The spirits Book question, 100 and sequence.)

Happiness is only obtained by spirits in proportion as they progress in intelligence and morality. Intellectualprogress and moral progress are rarely achieved together, and at the same time; but what a spirit fails toaccomplish in one lifetime he accomplishes in another, so that his advancement in each of those two branches ofprogress is equalized in the long run. It is for this reason that we so often find highly intelligent men who are butslightly advanced in morality, and vise versa.

8. - Incarnation is necessary to the double progress, intellectual and moral, that has to be accomplished bya spirit; it ensures his intellectual progress by compelling him to employ his activity in the various pursuits of theearthly life, and it ensures his moral progress by making him feel the need which men have for one another. Sociallife is the touchstone that reveals the good or bad qualities of a spirit. Kindness, malevolence, gentleness, violence,charity, selfishness, generosity, avarice, humility, pride, sincerity, hypocrisy, loyalty. And treachery - in a word, allthat constitutes human goodness and human badness - find their motive, aim, and stimulus, in the relations of eachman with his fellows. If it were possible for a man to live alone, he would have neither vices nor virtues; for, thoughisolation may preserve from evil, it also annuls the possibility of goodness.

9. - A single corporeal existence is manifestly insufficient to enable a spirit to acquire all the goodness helacks, and rid himself of all the evil that is in him. Would it be possible, for an instant, for a savage to attain, in asingle incarnation, to the intellectual and moral level of the most advanced European? It is physically impossible for

to do so. Must he, then, remain eternally in ignorance and barbarism, deprived of the enjoyments that can only bereached through the development of the intellectual and moral faculties? The simplest common sense suffices toshow us that such a supposition would be the negation, both of the justice and goodness of God and of the law ofprogress, which is the law of nature. And it is for this reason that God, being supremely just and good, grants to thespirit of each man as many successive experiences as he needs for attaining to the perfection which is in the aim ofhis being.

In each existence, a spirit brings with him, under the form of natural aptitudes, all intuitive knowledge, ofintelligence, and of morality, all the gains that have been made by him in his previous existences. Thus each newexistence takes him on a step further upon the road of progress.

Incarnation is inherent to the condition of the inferiority of the spirit. It is no longer necessary when inferiorityis overcome and there is continued progress in the spiritual state or in the physical existences of more advancedworlds that do not maintain earthly materialization.

10. - In the intervals between his successive incarnations, a spirit return, for a longer or shorter time, intothe spirit-world, where he is happy or unhappy, according to the good, or the evil, he has done in his previouslives. The life of the spirit-world is the normal state of the spirit, the definite state towards which he is tending; for itis his spirit that is undying, while the state of incarnation is one of transition and of passage. It is especially in thespirit-state that he reaps the fruit of the progress accomplished by him during incarnation; it is also in that statethat he prepares for a new struggle with ignorance and evil, and forms the resolutions which he will strive to putinto practice in his next return to the discipline of human life.

The spirit progresses also in erraticity, in which state he acquires special knowledge that he could notacquire upon the earth, and modifies the ideas acquired by him through his subjection to the actions of matter.The state of incarnation and the spirit-state are for him the source of two kinds of progress, each of which isequally necessary to his advancement; and it is in order that he may reap the special benefits of each that he ismade to alternate between these two modes of existence. ().

* * * * *

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From the Mediums Book 20

PART FIRST - PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.__________

CHAPTER, I: 1-5

DO SPIRITS EXIST?1. Doubt concerning the existence of spirits arises from ignorance of their real nature. People usuallyimagine spirits to be something apart from the rest of creation, and the reality of whose existence has not beenproved. Many think of them as imaginary beings, known to them only through the fantastic tales of their childhood,and regard their authenticity much as they would that of the personages of a romance. Without stopping to inquirewhether those tales, divested of absurd accessories, may not have some foundation of truth, they see only theirabsurdities; and not giving themselves the trouble to peel off the bitter husk in order to get at the kernel, theyreject the whole, just as others, shocked at certain abuses in religion, confound the whole subject in the samereprobation.

Whatever ideas we may hold in regard to spirits, the belief in their existence is necessarily founded onthat of the existence of an intelligent principle distinct from matter; this belief is therefore incompatible with anabsolute negation of such a principle.

We assume then, as the ground-work of our belief, the existence, survival, and individuality of the soul, of

which spiritualism is the theoretic and doctrinal demonstration, and spiritism the practical proof. Let us then, for amoment, leave out of sight the fact of spirit-manifestations, properly so called, and let us see to what conclusionswe are led by inductive reasoning.

2. If we admit the existence of the soul and its individuality after death, we must necessarily also admit,1st, that it is of a nature different from that of the body, since, when separated from the body, it enters upon aphase of existence distinct from the destiny of the body ; 2d, that the soul retains, after death, its individuality andself-consciousness, and the capacity of feeling happiness and unhappiness, as otherwise it would be an inertbeing, and its existence would be equivalent to non-existence. These points being admitted, it follows that the soulgoes somewhere ; but what becomes of it, and whither does it go? According to the ordinary belief it goes toheaven or to hell ; but where is heaven, and where is hell? People used formerly to say that heaven was '' up onhigh," and hell, '' down below ; " but what is " up," and what is "down," in the Universe, since we have learned thatthe earth is round, and that, through the movement of all the stellar bodies, what is " up " now, will be " down "twelve hours hence, and this throughout the immeasurable extent of infinite space? It is true that, by "below," wemay likewise understand the "deep places of the earth;" but what has become of those "deep places," sincegeologists have begun to dig into the interior of the globe?

What has become of those concentric spheres called the "heaven of fire," the "heaven of stars,"etc., sincewe have found out that the earth is not the centre of the universe, and that our sun is only one of the countlessmyriads of suns which shine in space, and each of which is the centre of a planetary system of its own ? Where isnow the earth's importance, lost as it is in this immensity? And by what unjustifiable

privilege shall we assume that this the means and tests of its progressive purification, that "angels" areonly the souls of men who have attained to the highest degree of excellence; that all can attain to that degree byeffort and determination; that those who have attained to that degree are God's messengers, charged tosuperintend the execution of His designs throughout the universe, and finding their happiness in these gloriousmissions,-and we surely attribute to the idea of our future felicity an end more useful and more attractive than thatof a perpetual state of contemplation which would be only a perpetual state of inutility. Let us assume, yet farther,that (lemons" also are no other than the souls of wicked men, not yet purified, but who have the power to purifythemselves like the others, and it must surely be admitted that such a theory is more in conformity with the justice

and goodness of God than the assumption that they were created for evil, and predestined to a perpetuity ofmisery. Is there, we ask, in such a theory, anything opposed to reason, anything, in a word, that the most rigorouslogic, or plain common sense, can find any difficulty in admitting?

20 The Medums Book Edited by FEB..Edio especialmente cedida pelo Ncleo EspritaCaminheiros do Bem Departamento Editorial: LAKE - Livraria Allan Kardec Editora RuaMonsenhor Anacleto, 199 - Brs Fones: 229-0935, 229-0526 e 229-1227 CEP 03003 -Cx. Postal 15.190 So Paulo - Brasil

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The souls, then, that people space, are what we call spirits: and spirits are nothing but the souls of menstripped of their envelope of gross terrestrial matter. If spirits were beings apart from ourselves, their existencewould be merely hypothetical ; but, if we admit that souls exist, we must also admit that spirits are nothing elsethan souls, and, if we admit that universal space is peopled by souls, we must equally admit that spirits areeverywhere. We cannot deny the existence of spirits without denying the existence of souls.

3. All this, it is true, is only a theory, though one that is more rational than other theories ; but it issomething to possess a theory that is not in contradiction with reason or science, and if, moreover, this theory iscorroborated by facts, it must be admitted that our position has the double sanction of reason and experience.Such corroborating facts we assert to be furnished by the phenomena of spirit-manifestation, which constitute theirrefragable proofs of the existence and the survival of the soul. With many persons, however, belief ends here;they readily admit the existence of souls, and consequently that of spirits, but they deny the possibility of holdingcommunication with them, "because," they say, " immaterial beings cannot act upon matter." This denial proceedsfrom ignorance of the real nature of spirits, about which the world in general holds exceedingly false ideas,erroneously regarding them as abstract beings, as something vague and indefinite; which is a great mistake.

Let us, in the first place, consider the spirit in reference to its union with the body. The spirit is theprincipal being, because it is that which thinks, and which survives the body, the latter being only an envelope, avestment, of gross matter, that the spirit throws off when it is worn out but, besides this material envelope, thespirit has a second envelope, which is semi-material, and which unites it to the first at death, the spirit casts off thefirst, but retains the second, to which we give the nameperisprit.*

This semi-material envelope, which has the human form, constitutes, for the spirit, a vaporous, fluidic

body, which, though invisible to us in its normal state, nevertheless possesses some of the properties of matter. Aspirit is therefore not a mathematical point, an abstraction, but is a real being, limited and circumscribed, andlacking only the qualities of visibility and palpability to show its resemblance to human beings. Why then should itnot act on matter? Is it because its body is fluidic? But is it not among the most rarified fluids, those which we call"imponderable," as electricity, for example, that man finds his most powerful motors? Does not imponderable lightexercise a chemical action on ponderable matter? We do not understand the precise nature of the perisprit but,supposing it to be formed of electrical matter, or of something else equally subtle, why should it not have thesame property of action as electricity, when under the direction of a will?

* See Vocabulary.4. The existence of the soul and the existence of God, as consequences of each other, being the basis of

the edifice of spiritism, it is necessary, before entering on the discussion of this subject, to ascertain whether ourreader admits that basis. If to the questions: -

Do you believe in God?

Do you believe you have a soul?Do you believe in the survival of the soul after death? he responds with a negative, or even if he simply

says: -" I do not know; I should be glad if it were so, but I do not feel sure of it " (a reply that would be usually

equivalent to a polite negation, disguised under a gentler form to avoid wounding what he may regard asrespectable prejudices), it would be as useless to continue our present argument with such a one, as it would beto demonstrate the properties of light to a blind man who did not believe in the existence of light: because, spirit-manifestations being neither more nor less than effects of the soul's peculiar qualities, it would be useless toreason thereupon with one who denies the soul's existence, and who would require a totally different line ofargument from that of the present work. We therefore take it for granted that those who read this book admit theexistence and survival of the soul; and if this basis be admitted, not as a mere probability, but as anacknowledged and incontestable fact, the existence of spirits follows as a natural consequence.

5. There still remains the question whether spirits can communicate with men ; in other words, whether

they can exchange thoughts with us? But why should they not do so? What is a man, if not a spirit imprisoned in abody? And why should not a free spirit be able to hold converse with a spirit in prison, just as a free man canconverse with another who is bound in chains? If you admit the survival of the soul, is it rational not to admit thesurvival of the soul's affections? Since souls are everywhere, is it not natural to believe that the soul of one whohas loved us during life should come near to us, should desire to communicate with us, and should, for thatpurpose, makeuse of the means in his power for doing so? Did not his soul, during his earth-life, actupon thematter of which his body was composed? Was it not his soul that directed themovements of his body? Why then,after death, if in sympathy with another spirit still bound to an earthly body, should he not borrow an earthly bodyin order to manifest histhoughts, just as a dumb man makes use of a man who can speak to express his wishes ?

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* * * * *

From Genesis 21

Chapter, IV: 1-9

The scientific note in Genesis1. - The history of the origin of nearly all ancient nations is mingled with that of their religion that is why

their first books have been religious Works; and as all religions are allied to the spirit of things, which is allied tothat of humanity, they have founded upon the arrangement and formation of the universe explanations limited bythe knowledge of the times, and the founders of their systems. The result is that the first religious books havebeen the first scientific treatises, as they have also been the only code of civil laws.

2. - In primitive times, means of observation being very imperfect, the first theories upon the system of theuniverse were stained with grave errors upon; but, if opportunities for investigation had been as complete as theyare today, men would not have known how to make advantage of them. They could only be the fruit of successivedevelopments, and repeated studies of the laws of nature. By measure, as man has advanced in the knowledge

of these laws, he has penetrated the mysteries of nature, and rectified ideas which he had conceived concerningthe origin of things.

3. - Man has been impotent to solve the problem of creation until science has given him the key to it. Ithas been necessary that astronomy should open the doors of boundless space, and permit him to gaze into theinfinite depths; that by the power of calculation he could determine with rigorous precision the movement, position,the volume, the nature, and the role of the celestial bodies, that natural physics should reveal to him the laws ofgravitation, of heat, of light, and of electricity; but chemistry should teach of the transformation of metal. Andmineralogy of the materials which form the surface of the globe; that geology should teach man to read interrestrial beds the gradual formation of the same globe, and that botany, zoology, paleontology, anthropology,should come to initiate him into the science of the affiliation and succession of organized beings. By the aid ofarcheology he has been able to trace the progress of humanity through the ages. All sciences, in a word,complete one another: they carry their indispensable contingent for the knowledge of the history of the world.Without them man would have for his guide only his first hypothesis.

Before man was in possession of these means of investigation, all commentators on Genesis whosereason rebelled at material impossibilities, continued to revolve in the same circle of ideas, with no power todepart from them. Science has come to the rescue by attacking the old edifice of belief, opening a way wherebythe whole aspect has changed entirely. Once the conducting thread is found, the difficulties are promptly met. Inplace of an imaginary Genesis, we have a positive, and in some respect an experimental Genesis. The field of theuniverse is extended into the infinite. We behold that the Earth and the stars form themselves gradually inobedience to the eternal and immutable law, which testifies far more fully to the grandeur of God than amiraculous creation suddenly originating from nothing by a sudden act of divinity after ages of inaction.

Since it is impossible to comprehend Genesis without the help of science, one can say most truthfully thatit is science who has been elected to constitute the true Genesis according to the laws of nature.

4. - Have we reached in the nineteenth century a sufficient power of scientific attainment to solve all thedifficulties of the problem of Genesis?

No, assuredly not; but one thing is certain, that all the principal errors are destroyed, and the most

essential foundation laid for undeniable principles. The yet uncertain points are, properly speaking, only minuteportions, which, whatever the future may bring forth, cannot impair the whole. Notwithstanding all the resources ofwhich it has been able to avail itself, there is an important element still waiting, without which the work can neverbe complete.

5. - Of all the ancient histories of the creation of the world and the human race that which approachesnearest to modern scientific revelation, notwithstanding the errors which it contains - some of the latter being nowdistinctively point out by the finger of science - is incontestably that of Moses. Some of these errors are such more

21 Allan Kardec, Genesis Edited by Spiritist Alliance for Books

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From'what is Spiritism'OF

ALLAN KARDEC

PreamblePeople who don't have of the Spiritism but a superficial knowledge, are naturally taken to do certain

inquiries, to the which ones a complete study would give, without a doubt, the solution. But time and, frequently,the will, lack in them for consecrating themselves to the continuous observations. They should want, beforeundertaking that task, to know at least what it is about and if it is worthwhile to occupy themselves on it.

It seems to us useful, then, to present, in a restricted picture, the answer to some of the fundamentalsubjects which are daily asked from us. That will be, for the reader, a first initiation and, for us, time gained for thedismissal of repeating the same thing constantly.

The first chapter contains, under the form of dialogues, answers to the objections more common of thepart of those that ignore the first foundations of the Doctrine, as well as the refutation of the main arguments oftheir opponents. That form seemed to us more convenient, because it does not have the aridity in the dogmaticway.

The second chapter is consecrated to the summary exhibition of the parts of the practical andexperimental science, on which ones, in the lacking of a complete instruction, the inexperienced observer shouldtake his attention to judge with cause knowledge. It is in some way the summary of The Mediums Book.Objections are born, the more frequently, of false ideas that are done, prior, on what are not known. To correctthose ideas is to fore advance to the objections: such it is the object of this small writing.

The third chapter can be considered as the summary of The Spirits Book. It is the solution, for the SpiritistDoctrine, of a certain number of problems of the highest interest of psychological order, moral and philosophical,which are put daily, and to the which no philosophy gave, as yet, satisfactory solutions. That one searches tosolve them through another theory, and without the key which Spiritism offers us, and one will see that they arethe most logical answers and that they satisfy best to ones reason.

This summary is not only useful for the beginners who in it will be able, in little time and without mucheffort, to exhaust the most essential notions, but it is also for the followers to which it supplies the means to

answer to the first objections which do not stop occurring to him, and, of another part, because here they will findgathered, in a restricted picture, and under a same exam, the principles which they should not ever lose of view.

To answer, from now on and summarily, to the subject formulated in the title of this booklet, we will saythat:

Spiritism is at the same time an observation science and a philosophical doctrine. As practical science,he consists of the relationships that can be establish with the Spirits; as philosophy, it understands all of the moralconsequences that elapse of those relationships.

One can define it like this:Spiritism is a science which deals of the nature, of the origin and of the destination of the Spirits, and of

their relationships with the corporeal world. "

* * *

From the spirits BookChapter, V

Considerations about Plurality

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Of Existences

PLURALITY OF EXISTENCES223. "The dogma of reincarnation," it is sometimes objected, "is not new; it is a resuscitation of the

doctrine of Pythagoras." We have never said that spiritist doctrine was of modern invention; on the contrary, as

the inter-communication of spirits with men occurs in virtue of natural law, it must have existed from the beginningof time, and we have always endeavored to prove that traces of this inter-communication are to be found in theearliest annals of antiquity. Pythagoras, as is well known, was not the author of the system of metempsychosis;he borrowed it from the philosophers of Hindustan and of Egypt, by whom it had been held from time immemorial.The idea of the transmigration of soul was, therefore, in the earliest ages of the world, a general belief, equallyadmitted by the common people and by the most eminent thinkers of that period.

By what road did this idea come to them? Did it reach them through revelation or through intuition?In regard to this point we know nothing; but it may be safely assumed that no idea could thus have

traversed the successive ages of the worlds, and have commanded the assent of the highest intellects of thehuman race, if it had not been based on some solid ground of truth and reason. The antiquity of this doctrineshould therefore be considered as an argument in its favour, rather than as an objection. But, at the same time, itmust not be forgotten that there is, between the antique doctrine of metempsychosis and the modern doctrine ofreincarnation, this capital difference, viz., that the spirits who inculcate the latter reject absolutely the idea that thehuman soul can pass into an animal, and vice versa.

The spirits, therefore, who now proclaim the dogma of the plurality of our corporeal existences reassert adoctrine which had its birth in the earliest ages of the world, and which has maintained its footing to the presentday in the convictions of many minds; but they present this dogma under an aspect which is more rational, moreconformable with the natural law of progress, and more in harmony with the wisdom of the Creator, through thestripping away of accessories added to it by superstition. A circumstance worthy of notice is the fact that it is not inthis book alone that the doctrine in question has been inculcated by them of late years; for, even before itspublication, numerous communications of a similar nature had already been obtained in various countries, andtheir number has since been greatly increased.

It may here be asked, why it is that the statements of all spirits are not in unison in regard to this subject?To this question we shall recur elsewhere.

Let us, for the present, examine the matter from another point of view, entirely irrespective of anyassumed declarations of spirits in regard to it. Let us put the latter entirely aside for the moment; let us supposethem to have made no statement whatever in regard to it; let us even suppose the very existence of spirits not to

have been surmised. Placing ourselves a moment on neutral ground, and admitting, as equally possible, thehypotheses of the plurality and of the unity of corporeal existences, let us see which of these hypotheses is mostin harmony with the dictates of reason and with the requirements of our own interest.

There are persons who reject the idea of reincarnation simply because they do not like it, declaring thattheir present existence has been quite enough for them, and that they have no wish to recommence a similar one.Of such persons we would merely inquire whether they suppose that God has consulted their wishes and opinionsin regulating the universe ? Either the law of reincarnation exists, or it does not exist. If it exists, no matter howdispleasing it may be to them, they will be compelled to submit to it; for God will not ask their permission toenforce it. It is as though a sick man should say, "I have suffered enough today; I do not chose to suffer-to-morrow." No matter what may be his unwillingness to suffer, he will nevertheless be obliged to go on suffering, notonly on the morrow, but day after day, until he is cured. In like manner, if it be their destiny to live againcorporeally, they will thus live again, they will be reincarnated. In vain will they rebel against necessity, like a childrefusing to go to school, or a condemned criminal refusing to go to prison. They will be compelled to submit to

their fate, no matter how unwilling they may be to do so. Such objections are too puerile destitution, has to enduremany privations through the smallness of his means, and says to him, "Here is an immense fortune, of which youmay have the enjoyment, on condition that you work hard during one minute." The laziest of men, in response tosuch an offer, would say, without hesitation, "I am ready to work for one minute, for two minutes, for an hour, for awhole day if necessary! What is a day's labour in comparison with the certainty of ease and plenty for all the restof my life?"

But what is the duration of a corporeal life in comparison with eternity? Less than a minute; less than amoment.

We sometimes hear people bring forward the following lug argument: -"God, who is sovereignty good,cannot impose upon man the hard necessity of recommencing a series of sorrows and tribulations." But would

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there be more kindness in condemning a man to perpetual suffering for a few moments of error than in giving himthe means of repairing his faults?

"Two manufacturers had each a workman no might hope to become some day the partner of hisemployer. But it happened that both workmen made so very bad a use of their day that they merited dismissal.One of the manufacturers drove away his unfaithful workman, despite his supplications; and this workman, beingunable to obtain any other employment, died of want. The other said to his workman-'You have wasted a day; youowe me compensation for the loss you have thus caused me. You have done your work badly; you owe mereparation for it. I give you leave to begin it over again. Try to do well, and I will keep you in my employ, and youmay still aspire to the superior position which I had promised you."

Need we ask which of the manufacturers ',as shown himself to be the most humane? And would God,who is clemency itself, be more inexorable than a just and compassionate man?

The idea that our fate is decided forever by a few years of trial, and notwithstanding the fact that it wasnot in our power to attain to perfection while we remained upon the earth. Fills the mind with anguish; while thecontrary idea is eminently consoling, for it leaves us hope.

Thus, without pronouncing for or against the plurality of existences, without admitting either hypothesis inpreference to the other, we assert that, if the matter were left to our own choice, there is no one who would preferincurring a sentence against which there should be no appeal. A philosopher has said that "if God did not exist, itwould be necessary to invent Him for the happiness of the human race;" the same might be said in regard to theplurality of existences. But, as we have already remarked, God does not ask our permission in the establishmentof providential ordering; He does not consult our preferences in the matter.

Either the law of reincarnation exists, or it does not exist; let us see on which side is thebalance of probabilities, considering the matter from another point of view, but still leaving out of sight all

idea of any statements that have been made by spirits in regard to it, and examining the question merely asmatter of philosophic inquiry.

If the law of reincarnation do not exist, we can have but one corporeal existence; and if our presentcorporeal life be our only one, the soul of each individual must have been created at the same time as his body;unless, indeed, we assume the anteriority of the soul, in which case we should have to inquire what was the stateof the soul before its union with the body, and whether this state did not constitute an existence of some kind orother. There is no middle ground. Either the soul existed before its union with the body, or it did not. If it existed,what was its condition? Was it possessed of self-consciousness? If not, its state must have been nearlyequivalent to non-existence. If possessed of individuality, it must have been either progressive or stationary; ineither case, what was its degree of advancement on uniting itself to the body? If, on the contrary, it be assumed,according to the general belief, that the soul is born into existence at the same time as the body-or that, previous

to the birth of the body, it possesses only negative faculties-we have to propose the following questions: -1. Why do souls manifest so great a diversity of aptitudes independently of the ideas acquired by

education?2. Whence comes the extra-normal aptitude for certain arts and sciences displayed by many children

while still very young, although others remain in a state of inferiority, or of mediocrity, all their life?3. Whence do some individuals derive the innate or intuitive ideas that are lacking in others?4. Whence do some children derive the precocious instincts of vice or of virtue, the innate sentiments of

dignity or of baseness,Which often contrast so strikingly with the situation into which they are born?5. Why is it that some men, independently of education, are more advanced than others?6. Why is it that among the races which people the globe some are savage and others civilized? If you

took a Hotentote baby from its mother's breast, and brought it up in our most renowned schools, could yousucceed in making of it a Laplace or a Newton?

What is the philosophy or the theosophy that can solve these problems? Either the souls of men areequal at their birth, or they are unequal. If they are equal, why these inequalities of aptitude? Will it be said thatthese inequalities depend on the corporeal organization of each child? But such a doctrine would be the mostmonstrous and the most immoral of hypotheses; for, in that case, man would be a mere machine, the sport ofmatter; he would not be responsible for his actions, but would have the right to throw all the blame of hiswrongdoing on the imperfections of his physical frame. If, on the other hand, souls are created unequal, God musthave created them so; but, in that case, why is this innate superiority accorded to some and denied to others?And would such partiality be consistent with the justice of God, and the equal love He bears to all His creatures?

Admit, on the contrary, a succession of existences, and everything is explained. Men bring with them, attheir birth in flesh, the amount of intuition they have previously acquired. They are more or less advanced,

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But I declare to you that Elias has already come, and they did not know him, but have made him sufferas they listed. It is thus that they will put to death the Son of Man.' Then His disciples understood that He spoketo them of John the Baptist. (St Matthew, chap. xvii.)

Since John the Baptist is declared by Christ to have been Elias, it follows that the spirit or soul of Eliasmust have been reincarnated in the body of John the Baptist.

But whatever may be our opinion in regard to reincarnation whether we accept it or whether we reject it,it is certain that we shall have to undergo it, if it really exists, notwithstanding any belief of ours to the contrary.The point which we here desire to establish is this, viz., that the teaching of the spirits who proclaim it iseminently Christian, that it is founded on the doctrines of the immortality of the soul, of future rewards andpunishments, of the justice of God, of human free-will, and the moral code of Christ; and that, therefore, itcannot be anti-religious.

We have argued the matter, as we remarked above, without reference to statements made by spirits;such statements being, for many minds, without authority. If we, and so many others. have adopted thehypothesis of the plurality of existences, we have done so not merely because it has been proclaimed by spirits,but because it has appeared to us to be eminently rational, and because it solves problems that are insoluble bythe opposite hypothesis. Had it been suggested to us by a mere mortal, we should, therefore, have adopted itwith equal confidence, renouncing, with equal promptitude, our preconceived opinions on the subject; for whenan opinion has been shown to be erroneous, even self-love has more to lose than to gain by persisting inholding it. In like manner, we should have rejected the doctrine of reincarnation, even though proclaimed byspirits, if it had appeared to us to be contrary to reason, as, indeed, we have rejected many other ideas which

spirits have sought to inculcate, for we know, by experience, that we can no more give a blind acceptance toideas put forth by spirits than we can to those put forth by men.

The principal merit of the doctrine of reincarnation is, then, to our minds, that it is supremely rational.But it has also in its favour the confirmation of facts-facts positive and, so to say, material, which are apparent toall who study the question with patience and perseverance, and in presence of which all doubt as to the realityof the law in question is impossible. When the appreciation of these facts shall have become popularized, likethose which have revealed to us the formation and rotation of the earth, they who now oppose this doctrine willbe compelled to renounce their opposition.

To sum up: - We assert the doctrine of the plurality of existences is the only one which explains what,without this doctrine, is inexplicable; that it is at once eminently consolatory and strictly conformable with themost rigorous justice; and that it is the anchor of safety which God in His mercy has provided for mankind.

The words of Jesus Himself are explicit as to the truth of this last assertion; for we read in the 3dchapter of the Gospel according to St John that Jesus, replying to Nicodemus, thus expressed Himself:-

"Verily, verily, I tell thee that, if a man be not born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."And when Nicodemus inquires, "How can a man be born when he is old ? Can he enter again into his

mother's womb and be born a second time?" Jesus replies, "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, hecannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the spirit is spirit. Be notamazed at what I have told thee; you must be born again." (Vide Resurrection of the Body, No. 1010.) ()

* * * * *

From THE SPIRITS BOOK.22

God and Infinity

CHAPTER IGOD

22 Edited by FEB. Edio especialmente cedida pelo Ncleo Esprita Caminheiros doBem Departamento Editorial: LAKE -

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"You have a proverb which says, 'The workman is known by his work.' Look around you,

and, from the quality of the work, infer that of the workman."We judge of the power of intelligence by its works as no human being could create that which is

produced by nature, it is evident that the first cause must be Intelligence superior to man.Whatever may be the prodigies accomplished by human intelligence, that intelligence itself must have a

cause and the greater the results achieved by it, the greater must be the cause of which it is the effect. It is this

Supreme Intelligence that is the first cause of all things; whatever the name by which mankind may designate it.()

* * * * *NB. - Should occur to someone a strong desire to further a

better vision of Spiritism, Doctrine codified by Allan Kardec, dosearch out in a library or book shop.

The works of Allan Kardec; I am sure they are available atsomewhere.

Go on and good luck!

The End

what should it

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