17. Virtue cannot be taught but comes as a gift from God to those who possess it.
This is almost be Christian doctrine of grace; but if virtue is a gift from God, then it is a favour and we may ask why it is not conceded to all. On the other hand, if it is a gift then there is no merit on the part of those who possess it. Spiritism is more explicit in saying that those who possess a virtue have acquired it through their own efforts during successive lives, by ridding themselves, little by little, of their imperfections. Grace is a force which God gives to a well meaning man or woman so that he or she may expunge their badness and so be able to practise good.
