229. By the side of this picture let us place that of the truly good medium —him in whom we may have confidence. Let us first suppose facility of execution so great as to permit the spirits to communicate freely, without being hampered by any difficulty of a material kind. This being given, what is most necessary to consider is, the nature of the spirits who habitually assist him ; and for that it is not the name that must be looked to, but the language. He should never lose sight of the fact that the sympathies he encourages among the good spirits will be in proportion to his withdrawal from the bad. Knowing that his faculty is a gift accorded to him for use in good, he seeks not self-laudation, he takes no merit for it to himself. He accepts the good communications made to him as a favor, of which he should endeavor to render himself worthy by kindness, benevolence, and modesty. The former prides himself on his relations with superior spirits ; the latter becomes more humble in conse quence, always believing himself beneath such favor.
