Distinction of the nature of Spirits

I wish to speak to you of the high truths of Spiritism. They are intimately linked to those of morality, and it is therefore important never to separate them. First of all, the point that draws the attention of intelligent beings is the doubt about the very truth of the spirit communications. Truth, the first dignity of the soul, is contained entirely in this point of departure. Let us seek, then, to establish it.

There is no infallible means of distinguishing the nature of Spirits if we abdicate reason, comparison and reflection. These three faculties are more than sufficient to distinguish surely the various Spirits. Free will is the axis upon which the pivot of human intelligence turns; the equilibrium would be broken if the Spirits had only to speak in order to subdue men; in that case their power would equal that of God. It cannot be so. The exchange between humans and the invisible ones resembles Jacob's ladder: if it allows some to ascend, it lets others descend. And all acting upon one another, under the eyes of God, they must march toward Him, in the same spirit of love and of intelligent submission. I have only touched the subject superficially, advising you to deepen it in all its aspects. Lazarus.