13. The quality of spirits is known from their language; that of spirits who are truly good and of superior degree is always dignified, noble, logical, free from contradictions; it breathes wisdom, benevolence, modesty, and the purest morality; it is concise and without verbiage. Among inferior, ignorant, and pretentious spirits, the dearth of ideas is almost always accompanied by a superabundance of words. Every false statement, every maxim at variance with true morality, every piece of unwise advice, every gross, trivial, or merely frivolous expression, and, finally, every trace of malevolence, presumption, or arrogance, are incontestable signs of inferiority on the part of the communicating spirit.
Spirits of high degree confine their action to the giving of intelligent communications with a view to our instruction; physical manifestations are more especially the work of spirits of lower degree, commonly designated as rapping spirits; just as, among ourselves, feats of muscular strength and agility are performed by tumblers rather than by scientific men. It would be absurd to suppose that spirits possessing a high degree of elevation would spend their time in performances of that kind. (What is Spiritism? Chap. II, Nos. 37, 38, 39, 40, 60. “The Spirits’ Book,” Book Second, Chap. I, Different Orders of Spirits; Spirit Hierarchy. “The Mediums’ Book,” Part Second, Chap. XXXIV; Identity of Spirits; Distinguishing between Good and Evil Spirits)
What fair-minded man could see in these statements any shred of logic attributing an “unworthy part” to spirits of elevated degree? Spiritism not only does not confound the various ranks of spirit- elevation, but, moreover – while the Church attributes to demons a degree of intelligence equal to that of the angels – it has ascertained from the observation of facts, that the lower orders of spirits are stupid and ignorant, that their moral horizon is narrow, their mental acuity slight, their idea of the economy of things false and incomplete, so that they are incapable of solving certain problems; and that they are consequently unable to perform the marvels with which demons are credited by the Church and by common belief.
