SPIRITIST SCALE.

Third order. — IMPERFECT SPIRITS:

General characteristics.

Ninth class. Impure Spirits.

Eighth class.

Frivolous Spirits.

Seventh class.

Pseudo-learned Spirits.

Sixth class. Neutral Spirits.

Second order. — GOOD SPIRITS:

General characteristics.

Fifth class.

Benevolent Spirits.

Fourth class.

Spirits of Science.

Third class.

Spirits of Wisdom.

Second class.

Superior Spirits.

First order. — PURE SPIRITS:

General characteristics.

First class. Single class.

Of all the fundamental principles of the Spiritist Doctrine, one of the most important is, without contradiction, the one that establishes the different orders of Spirits. At the beginning of the manifestations, it was imagined that an entity, by the very fact of being a Spirit, must possess infused knowledge and supreme wisdom, which led many people to believe themselves in possession of an infallible means of divination. This error gave rise to many disillusionments. Experience soon demonstrated that the invisible world is far from containing only Superior Spirits; they themselves inform us that they are not equal either in knowledge or in morality, and that their elevation depends on the degree of perfection they have reached; they have traced the distinctive characters of the different degrees that constitute what we call the Spiritist Scale. From then on, the diversity and contradictions of their language were explained, and it was understood that, among Spirits as among men, in order to know something, it is not enough to address the first one who comes along. This scale thus gives us the key to an immensity of phenomena and apparent anomalies, the perception of which would otherwise be difficult, if not impossible. Moreover, it concerns us personally, since, through our soul, we belong to the spiritual world, to which we return upon leaving corporeal life; it shows us, in this way, the path we must follow in order to reach perfection and the supreme good. From the point of view of practical science, it offers us the means of judging the Spirits who present themselves in the manifestations and allows us to appreciate the degree of confidence that their language should inspire. This study requires attentive and constant observation. Just as we need time and experience to learn to know men, we shall also need all of this to know Spirits. The Spiritist Scale comprises three principal orders, indicated by the Spirits and perfectly characterized. Since each of these orders presents different gradations, we have subdivided them into several classes, designated by the dominant character of the Spirits who belong to them. This classification, moreover, has nothing absolute about it. Each category offers only a distinct character in its ensemble, but from one degree to another the shade fades away, as in the kingdoms of Nature, as in the colors of the rainbow, or even as in the different periods of life. From twenty to forty years of age man undergoes a notable change; at twenty he is a young man; at forty he is a grown man; but between these two phases of life it would be impossible to establish a line of demarcation and to say where one ends and the other begins. The same occurs among the degrees of the Spiritist Scale. We will further point out that Spirits do not always belong exclusively to this or that class; since their progress is realized only gradually and, often, more in one direction than in another, they may unite the characters of several categories, which is easy to recognize by their language and their acts. We begin the scale with the inferior orders, because that is the point of departure of the Spirits who gradually rise from the last to the first categories.

Third Order.

Imperfect Spirits.

General characteristics. — Predominance of matter over Spirit. Propensity to evil. Ignorance, pride, selfishness and all the passions that are their consequence.

They have the intuition of God, but do not understand Him.

Not all are essentially wicked. In some there is more frivolity, thoughtlessness and malice than true wickedness. Some do neither good nor evil; but by the simple fact of not doing good, they already denote their inferiority. Others, on the contrary, take pleasure in evil and are satisfied when they find occasion to practice it. They may ally intelligence to wickedness or to malice; but whatever their intellectual development, their ideas are little elevated and their sentiments more or less abject. Their knowledge of the things of the spirit world is limited, and the little they know of it is confused with the ideas and prejudices of corporeal life. Concerning these things they can give us only false and incomplete notions; nevertheless, the attentive observer finds, in their communications, even imperfect ones, the confirmation of the great truths taught by the Superior Spirits. Their character is revealed by their language. Every Spirit who, in his communications, betrays an evil thought may be classified in the third order; consequently, every evil thought that is suggested to us comes from a Spirit of this order. They see the happiness of the good, and that spectacle constitutes for them an incessant torment, since it makes them experience all the anguish that envy and jealousy can produce. They preserve the memory and the perception of the sufferings of corporeal life, and that impression is often more painful than the reality. They suffer, therefore, truly, for the evils they endured in life and for those they caused to others. And, since they suffer for a long time, they believe that they will suffer forever. God, to punish them, wills that they believe so. They may be divided into four principal groups:

Ninth class. — IMPURE SPIRITS. — They are inclined to evil, of which they make the object of their preoccupations. As Spirits, they give perfidious counsels, instill discord and distrust, and disguise themselves in all manners the better to deceive. They attach themselves to men of character weak enough to yield to their suggestions, in order to lead them to perdition, satisfied that they can retard their advancement, making them succumb in the trials through which they pass.

When they manifest themselves, they are recognized by their language. Triviality and coarseness of expression, in Spirits as in men, is always an indication of moral, if not also intellectual, inferiority. Their communications reveal the baseness of their inclinations, and if they try to delude, speaking with good sense, they are incapable of sustaining the role for long and always end by betraying themselves. Some peoples made of them maleficent divinities; others designate them by the names of demons, evil genii, Spirits of evil.

When incarnated, the living beings whom they animate are inclined to all the vices that generate base and degrading passions: sensuality, cruelty, treachery, hypocrisy, cupidity, envy, sordid avarice. They do evil for the simple pleasure of practicing it, most often without motive and, out of hatred for good, they almost always choose their victims among honest persons. They are scourges to Humanity, whatever the social class to which they belong, and the veneer of civilization does not free them from opprobrium and ignominy. Eighth class. — FRIVOLOUS SPIRITS. — They are ignorant, mischievous, thoughtless and mocking. They meddle in everything, answer everything, without troubling themselves about the truth. They like to cause small vexations and slight joys, to make intrigues, to maliciously lead into error, by means of mystifications and tricks. To this class belong the Spirits commonly designated by the names of goblins, hobgoblins, gnomes, imps. They are under the dependence of the Superior Spirits, who often make use of them, as we do with our servants.

More than others, they appear bound to matter and to be the principal agents of the vicissitudes of the elements of the globe, whether they inhabit the air, the water, the fire, the hard bodies or the entrails of the Earth. They manifest their presence by perceptible effects, such as raps, abnormal movement and displacement of solid bodies, agitation of the air, etc., which has caused them to be given the name of rapping or disturbing Spirits. It is recognized that these phenomena are not due to a fortuitous and natural cause when they have an intentional and intelligent character. All Spirits can produce these phenomena, but in general the elevated Spirits leave them to the inferior Spirits, who are more apt at material things than at intelligent ones. In their communications with men, the language they use is at times witty and facetious, but almost always without depth; they exploit the flaws and the ridiculous side of men and of things, commenting on them in biting and satirical traits. If they take assumed names, it is more out of malice than out of wickedness. Seventh class. — PSEUDO-LEARNED SPIRITS. — Their knowledge is fairly extensive, yet they believe they know more than they really do. Having made some progress from various points of view, their language has a serious character that may deceive as to their capacities and enlightenment;

all this, however, is but a reflection of the prejudices and the systematic ideas they nourished in earthly life. It is a mixture of some truths with the most absurd errors, in the midst of which penetrate presumption, pride, jealousy and obstinacy, of which they have not yet been able to divest themselves.

Sixth class. — NEUTRAL SPIRITS. — They are neither good enough to do good, nor bad enough to do evil. They incline as much toward the one as toward the other and do not rise above the common condition of Humanity, whether with respect to the moral or with regard to the intelligence. They cling to the things of this world, for whose coarse joys they feel longing.

Second Order.

Good Spirits.

General characteristics. — Predominance of Spirit over matter; desire for good. Their qualities and powers for good are in relation to the degree of advancement they have reached: some have science, others wisdom and goodness. The most advanced ally knowledge to moral qualities. Not yet being completely dematerialized, they preserve more or less, according to the category they occupy, the traces of corporeal existence, whether in their language or in their habits, among which are discovered even some of their manias, without which they would be perfect Spirits.

They understand God and the infinite, and they already enjoy the happiness of the good. They are happy by the good they do and by the evil they prevent. The love that unites them is, for them, a source of ineffable bliss, which is disturbed neither by envy, nor by sorrows, nor by remorse, nor by any of the evil passions that torment imperfect Spirits. All of them, however, still have to pass through trials, until they attain absolute perfection. As Spirits, they arouse good thoughts, turn men away from the path of evil, protect in life those who become worthy of that protection, and neutralize the influence of imperfect Spirits over those to whom it is not agreeable to suffer it. When incarnated, they are good and benevolent toward their fellow beings. They are not moved by pride, nor by selfishness, nor by ambition. They experience no hatred, rancor, envy or jealousy, and they do good for good's sake. To this order belong the Spirits designated, in vulgar beliefs, by the names of good genii, protecting genii, Spirits of good. In epochs of superstition and ignorance, they were elevated to the category of beneficent divinities. They may likewise be divided into four principal groups:

Fifth class. — BENEVOLENT SPIRITS. — Their dominant quality is goodness. It pleases them to render service to men and to protect them, but their knowledge is limited. They have progressed more in the moral sense than in the intellectual sense.

Fourth class. — SPIRITS OF SCIENCE. — They are distinguished especially by the breadth of their knowledge. They are less preoccupied with moral questions than with scientific questions, for which they have greater aptitude;

but they regard Science only from the point of view of its utility, and never dominated by any passions proper to imperfect Spirits.

Third class. — SPIRITS OF WISDOM. — The moral qualities of the most elevated order constitute their distinctive character. Without possessing unlimited knowledge, they are endowed with an intellectual capacity that affords them sound judgment about men and things.

Second class. — SUPERIOR SPIRITS. — They unite science, wisdom and goodness. Their language always exhales benevolence; it is, invariably, dignified, elevated and, at times, sublime. Their superiority makes them more apt than others to give us the most just notions about the things of the incorporeal world, within the limits of what man is permitted to know. They communicate willingly with those who seek the truth in good faith and whose soul is already sufficiently detached from earthly bonds to understand it.

However, they keep away from those who are impelled solely by curiosity or from those who are turned away from the practice of good by the influence of matter.

When, by exception, they incarnate on Earth, it is to fulfill a mission of progress, and they then offer us the type of the perfection to which Humanity can aspire in this world. First Order.

Pure Spirits.

General characteristics. — No influence of matter.

Absolute intellectual and moral superiority, in relation to the Spirits of the other classes.

First class. — SINGLE CLASS. — They have traversed all the degrees of the scale and have divested themselves of all the impurities of matter. Having attained the sum of perfection of which the creature is susceptible, they have no more to suffer trials, nor expiations. No longer being subject to reincarnation in perishable bodies, they realize eternal life in the bosom of God.

They enjoy an unalterable happiness, since they are subject neither to the necessities nor to the vicissitudes of material life. But this happiness is not that of monotonous idleness, spent in perpetual contemplation. They are the messengers and the ministers of God, whose orders they execute for the maintenance of universal harmony. They command all the Spirits who are inferior to them, assist them in perfecting themselves and designate their missions to them. To assist men in their afflictions, to incite them to good or to the expiation of the faults that turn them away from supreme happiness, constitutes for them a welcome occupation. They are sometimes designated by the names of angels, archangels or seraphim. Men can place themselves in communication with them, but quite presumptuous would be the one who claimed to have them constantly at his orders.

It is erroneously that certain persons designate them as uncreated Spirits.

If they were uncreated Spirits, they would be so from all eternity, like God. If, in the Universe, beings could exist independently of the will of God, God would not have omnipotence. Some Spirits have made use of this expression, but not in this sense; they were referring to Spirits who will no longer incarnate and who, from this point of view, will no longer be created as men. The term is improper, for it leads to a false interpretation.

Such is the inconvenience of clinging to the letter without investigating the thought.

(See Angel.)

[1] [In the Spiritist Scale published in the definitive version of The Spirits' Book, the class of Rapping and Disturbing Spirits was included at the beginning of the 3rd order, thus making 10 classes and not nine as indicated here.]