11

Justice and natural rights. — Love of neighbor. — Right of property. (Questions 442 to 452.)

Does man’s need to live in society entail particular obligations for him? [Question 877.]

“Yes, and the first of all is to respect the rights of his fellow men. He who respects those rights will always act with justice. In your world, where so many men do not practice the law of justice, each one uses reprisals, and it is this that causes disturbance and confusion in your society.”

a. In what does justice consist? [Question 875.]

“Justice consists in the respect for the rights of each one. Social life establishes rights and imposes reciprocal duties.”

Since man may deceive himself as to the extent of his right, what must he do to know the limit of that right? [Question 878.]

“The limit of the right that he recognizes in his fellow man, in identical circumstances and reciprocally.”

a. But if each one attributes to himself rights equal to those of his fellow man, what becomes of subordination to superiors? Would it not be the anarchy of all powers? [Question 878 a.]

“Natural rights are the same for all men, from the least to the greatest. God did not make some of purer clay than others, and all are equal before Him. These rights are eternal. Those that man has established perish with his institutions. Moreover, each one well feels his strength or his weakness and will always know how to have a certain deference toward those who deserve it by their virtues and wisdom. It is important to emphasize this, so that those who think themselves superior may know their duties, in order to deserve those deferences. Subordination will not be compromised when authority is conferred upon wisdom.” God imprinted in the heart of man the rule of true justice, by making each one see his rights respected. Jesus gave you this rule: Do unto others what you would like others to do unto you.

In uncertainty as to how to proceed in relation to his fellow man, in a given circumstance, man must ask himself how he would like others to proceed toward him, in an identical circumstance. God could not have given him a surer guide than his own conscience.

What would be the character of the man who practiced justice in all its purity? [Question 879.]

“That of the truly just man, after the example of Jesus, because he would also practice love of neighbor and charity, without which there is no true justice.”

a. What is the true meaning of the word charity, as Jesus understood it? [Question 886.]

“Benevolence toward all, indulgence for the imperfections of others, forgiveness of offenses.”

Love and charity are the complement of the law of justice, for to love one’s neighbor is to do him all the good that is possible to us and that we would wish to be done to us. Such is the meaning of these words of Jesus: Love one another as brothers.

Jesus also said: Love even your enemies. Now, is the love of enemies not contrary to our natural tendencies, and does enmity not arise from the lack of sympathy among Spirits? [Question 887.]

“Without doubt one cannot have for one’s enemies a tender and passionate love. That is not what Jesus meant to say. To love one’s enemies is to forgive them and to return evil to them with good. He who acts thus becomes superior to his enemies, whereas, through vengeance, he places himself beneath them.” 129

What is the first of all the natural rights of man? [Question 880.]

“That of living. For this reason no one has the right to attack the life of his fellow man, nor to do whatever might compromise his existence.”

What is to be thought of almsgiving? [Question 888.]

“The man condemned to beg for alms degrades himself morally and physically; he becomes brutalized.”

a. So do you condemn almsgiving? [Question 888 a.]

“No; it is not almsgiving that is reprehensible, but the manner in which it is habitually given. The man of good, who understands charity according to Jesus, goes to meet the unfortunate one, without waiting for him to extend his hand.”

b. Are there not men reduced to mendicancy by their own fault? [Question 889.]

“Without doubt; but if a good moral education had taught them to practice the Law of God, they would not have fallen into the excesses that brought about their ruin. It is on this, above all, that the improvement of your globe depends.” One must distinguish almsgiving, properly speaking, from beneficence. The one who begs is not always the most needy. The fear of a humiliation holds back the truly poor man, who often suffers without complaining. It is this man whom the truly humane man knows how to go and seek out, without ostentation.

Does the right to live confer upon man the right to accumulate goods that will guarantee him repose when he can no longer work? [Question 881.]

“Yes, but he must do so as a family, like the bee, by means of honest labor, and not accumulate, like the selfish man. Even some animals give him the example of foresight.”

Does man have the right to defend the goods he has accumulated by his labor? [Question 882.]

“Did not God say: You shall not steal? And Jesus: Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s?”

That which man accumulates by means of honest labor constitutes his legitimate property, which he has the right to defend, because the property that results from labor is a natural right as sacred as that of working and living.

Is the desire to possess natural? [Question 883.]

“Yes, but when man desires only for himself and for his personal satisfaction, it is pure selfishness.”

a. Yet is the desire to possess not legitimate, since he who has the means to live does not become a burden to anyone? [Question 883 a.]

“Yes, for the one who sets limits to his desires. There are, however, insatiable men, who accumulate goods useless to anyone, or only to glut their passions, because they received a deficient education and let themselves be dragged along by bad example. Do you think God approves of this? He, on the contrary, who gathers through labor, with a view to helping his fellow men, practices the law of love and charity, and God blesses his labor.”

What is the character of legitimate property? [Question 884.]

“Only that property is legitimate which was acquired without harm to another.”

The law of love and of justice forbids that we do unto others what we would not wish to be done unto us, thereby condemning the acquisition of goods by any means contrary to it.

Is the right of property unlimited? [Question 885.]

“Without doubt, everything that is legitimately acquired constitutes property. But, as we have already said, human legislation is imperfect and sanctions many conventional rights that natural justice reproves. That is why men reform their laws, as progress is effected and as they better understand justice. What in one century seems perfect appears barbarous in the following century.” [129] T. N.: For greater details on the subject, see The Gospel According to Spiritism, chapter XII, items 3 and 4.