Different orders of Spirits.

— A capital point in the Spiritist Doctrine is that of the differences existing among the Spirits, under the twofold point of view, intellectual and moral; its teaching, in this respect, has never varied; no less important, however, is to know that they do not eternally belong to the same order and that, in consequence, these orders do not constitute distinct species: they are different degrees of development. The Spirits follow the progressive march of Nature: those of the inferior orders are still imperfect; after being purified, they reach the superior orders; they advance in the hierarchy as they acquire the qualities, experience, and knowledge they lack. In the cradle, the child does not resemble what it will be in mature age; nevertheless, it is always the same being. The classification of the Spirits is based on their degree of advancement, on the qualities they have already acquired, and on the imperfections of which they will still have to divest themselves. This classification, moreover, has nothing absolute about it; only in its ensemble does each category present a definite character. From one degree to another the transition is imperceptible and, at the extreme limits, the shades fade away, as in the kingdoms of Nature, in the colors of the rainbow, or, likewise, as in the different periods of the life of man. A greater or smaller number of classes may therefore be formed, according to the point of view from which the question is considered. Here happens what happens with all systems of scientific classification, which may be more or less complete, more or less rational, and more or less convenient for the intelligence; whatever they may be, however, they in no way alter the bases of Science. Thus, it is natural that, when questioned on this point, the Spirits should have diverged as to the number of the categories, without this having any value whatever. Nevertheless, there has been no lack of those who seized upon this apparent contradiction, without reflecting that the Spirits attach no importance to what is purely conventional; for them, the thought is everything; they leave to us the form, the choice of terms, the classifications — in a word, the systems. Let us make yet one more consideration that must never be lost from sight: that among the Spirits, just as among men, there are very ignorant ones, so that the precautions taken against the tendency to believe that, because they are Spirits, all must know everything, will never be too many. Any classification requires method, analysis, and a thorough knowledge of the subject. Now, in the world of the Spirits, those who possess limited knowledge are, as on this orb, the ignorant, those unfit to grasp a synthesis, to formulate a system; even those who are capable of such an appreciation may show themselves divergent as to the particulars, in accordance with the points of view in which they find themselves, especially if it is a question of a division that presents no absolute stamp. Linnaeus, Jussieu, and Tournefort each had his method, without Botany, in consequence, having undergone any modification. The reason is that none of them invented the plants, nor their characters. They merely observed the analogies, according to which they formed the groups or classes. It was thus that we also proceeded. We did not invent the Spirits, nor their characters; we saw and observed them, we judged them by their words and acts, and then we classified them by their resemblances. It is what each one would have done in our place. Nevertheless, we cannot claim the whole of this work as being our own. If the table that we give below was not textually traced by the Spirits, and if the initiative is ours, all the elements that compose it were drawn from their teachings; there remained for us only to formulate the material arrangement.

The Spirits, in general, admit three principal categories, or three great divisions. In the last, that which lies at the lower part of the scale, are the imperfect Spirits who must still traverse all, or nearly all, the stages; they are characterized by the predominance of matter over the Spirit and by the propensity to evil. Those of the second are characterized by the predominance of the Spirit over matter and by the desire for good: they are the good Spirits. The first, finally, comprises the pure Spirits, those who have reached the supreme degree of perfection. This division seemed to us perfectly rational and with well-affirmed characters; there remained for us only to bring into relief, by means of subdivisions in sufficient number, the principal shades of the whole. This is what we did, with the concurrence of the Spirits, whose benevolent instructions never failed us.

With the aid of this table, it will be easy to determine the order, as well as the degree of superiority or of inferiority, of those who may enter into relations with us and, consequently, the degree of confidence or of esteem they deserve. Besides, it interests us personally because, as we belong, by our soul, to the spirit world, into which we shall reenter upon leaving our mortal envelope, it shows us what remains for us to do in order to arrive at perfection and at the supreme good. We shall, however, observe that the Spirits do not belong, exclusively, to this or that class. Their progress being always gradual and often more pronounced in one direction than in another, it may happen that many unite in themselves the characters of several categories, which their acts and language make it possible to appreciate. Spirit Scale.

— THIRD ORDER. — IMPERFECT SPIRITS.

General characteristics. — Predominance of matter over the spirit. Propensity to evil. Ignorance, pride, egoism, and all the passions that are consequent upon them.

They have the intuition of God, but they do not comprehend 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 rejoice when an occasion to practice it presents itself to them.

In them intelligence may be allied to wickedness or to malice; whatever, however, the degree of intellectual development they may have attained, their ideas are little elevated and their sentiments more or less abject.

They have restricted knowledge of the things of the spirit world, and the little they know is mingled with the ideas and prejudices of corporeal life. Concerning these things, they can give us only false and incomplete notions; nevertheless, in their communications, even imperfect ones, the attentive observer finds the confirmation of the great truths taught by the superior Spirits.

In the language they use their character is revealed. 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 this spectacle constitutes for them an incessant torment, because it makes them experience all the anguishes that envy and jealousy can cause.

They retain the remembrance and the perception of the sufferings of corporeal life, and this impression is often more painful than the reality. They suffer, therefore, truly, for the ills they endured in life and for those they occasioned to others. And, as they suffer for a long time, they believe that they will suffer forever. God, in order to punish them, wills that they so believe.

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, blow upon discord and distrust, and mask themselves in every manner 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, content with succeeding in retarding their advancement, by making them succumb in the trials through which they pass.

In the manifestations, they make themselves known by their language. The triviality and coarseness of expressions, in Spirits, as in men, is always an indication of moral, if not also intellectual, inferiority. Their communications express the baseness of their inclinations and, if they attempt to deceive, speaking with good sense, they do not succeed in sustaining the role for long and always end by betraying themselves.

Some peoples raised them to the rank of maleficent divinities; others designate them by the names of demons, evil genii, Spirits of evil.

When incarnated, the living beings that they constitute show themselves prone to all the vices that engender vile and degrading passions: sensuality, cruelty, felony, hypocrisy, cupidity, sordid avarice. They do evil for pleasure, most often without motive, and out of hatred of good, almost always choosing their victims among honest persons. They are scourges to Humanity, whatever the social rank to which they may belong, and the veneer of civilization does not shield 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 annoy, to lead maliciously into error, by means of mystifications and trickery. To this class belong the Spirits commonly called sprites, goblins, gnomes, imps. They are under the dependence of the superior Spirits, who often employ them, as we do with our servants.

More than others, they seem attached to matter and to be the principal agents of the vicissitudes of the elements of the globe, whether they live in the air, in the water, in the fire, in solid bodies, or in the bowels of the Earth. They often manifest their presence by perceptible effects, such as raps, the abnormal movement and displacement of solid bodies, the agitation of the air, etc., which earned them the name of rapping or disturbing Spirits. It is recognized that such phenomena are not due to a fortuitous and natural cause when they have an intentional and intelligent character. All the Spirits can produce these phenomena, but the elevated Spirits in general leave these attributions to the inferior ones, more apt at material things than at intelligent ones. In their communications with men, the language they make use of is at times witty and facetious, but almost always without depth. They exploit the failings and the ridiculous side of men and of things, commenting on them in mordant and satirical strokes. If they take supposed names, it is more out of malice than out of wickedness.

Seventh class. — PSEUDO-LEARNED SPIRITS. — They dispose of rather extensive knowledge, but they believe they know more than they really do. Having realized some progress under various points of view, their language assumes a stamp of seriousness, susceptible of deceiving with respect to their capacities and lights. But, in general, this is nothing more than a reflection of the prejudices and systematic ideas they nourished in terrestrial life. It is a mixture of some truths with the most absurd errors, through which there penetrate the presumption, the pride, the jealousy, and the obstinacy, of which they have not yet been able to divest themselves. Sixth class. — NEUTRAL SPIRITS. — Neither good enough to do good, nor wicked enough to do evil. They incline as much toward the one as toward the other and do not surpass the common condition of Humanity, whether in what concerns the moral, or in what touches the intelligence. They cling to the things of this world, of whose coarse joys they feel longing.

— SECOND ORDER. — GOOD SPIRITS.

General characteristics. — Predominance of the spirit over matter; desire for good. Their qualities and powers for good are in relation with the degree of advancement they may have attained; some have science, others wisdom and goodness. The more advanced ally knowledge to the moral qualities. Not being yet completely dematerialized, they retain more or less, according to the category they occupy, the traces of corporeal existence, whether in the form of language or in the habits, among which are discovered even some of their manias. Otherwise, they would be perfect Spirits. They comprehend God and the infinite and already enjoy the happiness of the good. They are happy for the good they do and for the evil they prevent. The love that unites them is for them a source of ineffable bliss, which is troubled neither by envy, nor by remorse, nor by any of the evil passions that constitute the torment of the imperfect Spirits. All, 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 show themselves worthy of protection, and neutralize the influence of the imperfect Spirits over those to whom it is not agreeable to suffer it.

When incarnated, they are kindly and benevolent toward their fellows. They are moved neither by pride, nor by egoism, or ambition. They experience no hatred, rancor, envy, or jealousy, and they do good for the sake of good.

To this order belong the Spirits designated, in vulgar beliefs, by the names of good genii, protecting genii, Spirits of good. In epochs of superstitions and of ignorance, they have been raised to the rank of beneficent divinities.

They may, likewise, be divided into four principal groups:

Fifth class. — BENEVOLENT SPIRITS. — Goodness is in them the dominant quality. It pleases them to render service to men and to protect them. Limited, however, is their knowledge. 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 preoccupy themselves less with moral questions than with those of a scientific nature, for which they have greater aptitude. Nevertheless, they regard Science only from the point of view of its utility, and are never dominated by any passions proper to the imperfect Spirits.

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

Second class. — SUPERIOR SPIRITS. — These unite in themselves science, wisdom, and goodness. From the language they employ there is always exhaled benevolence; it is a language invariably dignified, elevated, and, very often, sublime. Their superiority makes them more apt than the others to give us the most just notions about the things of the incorporeal world, within the limits of what it is permitted to man to know. They communicate willingly with those who seek the truth in good faith and whose soul is already sufficiently detached from terrestrial bonds to comprehend it. They withdraw, however, from those whom only curiosity impels, or who, through the influence of matter, are diverted from the practice of good. When, by exception, they incarnate on Earth, it is to fulfill a mission of progress and, then, they 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 orders.

First class. — SOLE CLASS. — The Spirits who compose it 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 no longer have 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 unalterable happiness, because they are not submitted to the necessities, nor to the vicissitudes, of material life. This happiness, however, is not that of a monotonous idleness, passing 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 the work of their perfecting, and assign them their missions. To assist men in their afflictions, to urge them on to good or to the expiation of the faults that keep them distanced from supreme happiness, constitutes for them a most pleasing occupation. They are designated at times by the names of angels, archangels, or seraphim. Men may put themselves into communication with them, but extremely presumptuous would be he who pretended to have them constantly at his orders. n

— WANDERING OR INCARNATED SPIRITS.

As to their intimate qualities, the Spirits belong to different orders, which they traverse successively as they purify themselves. As to their state, they may be incarnated, that is, united to a body in any world whatever; or wandering, that is, divested of the material body and awaiting a new incarnation in order to improve themselves.

The wandering Spirits do not form a special category; it is one of the states in which they may find themselves.

The wandering state, or that of erraticity, does not constitute inferiority for the Spirits, for in it we may find them of all degrees. Every Spirit who is not incarnated is, by that very fact, wandering, with the exception of the pure Spirits who, having no more incarnation to suffer, are in their definitive state.

Incarnation being but a transitory state, erraticity is, in truth, the normal state of the Spirits, and this state is not, necessarily, an expiation for them. They are happy or unhappy according to their degree of elevation and according to the good or evil they may have practiced.

[1] Translator's Note: Classification modified later by Allan Kardec, upon the appearance of the 2nd French edition (definitive) of The Spirits' Book, in 1860 — See Book II, Chap. II, items 101 to 113.