Allan Kardec-THE Spirit's Book_ The Principles of Spiritist Doctrine (1989)

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THE SPIRITS’ BOOK
the first is limited, and does not afford to every one the possibility of raising himself to the highest rank
whereas the second is unlimited, and ensures to every one the possibility of attaining to supreme degree.
120. Do all spirits pass by the road of evil to arrive at good?
"Not by the road of evil, but by that of ignorance."
121. How is it that some spirits have followed the road of good, and others the road of evil
"Have they not their free-will? God has not created any spirits bad; He has created them
simple and ignorant, that is to say, possessing an equal aptitude for good and for evil. Those
who become bad become so of their own free-will."
122. How can spirits, at their origin, when they have not yet acquired self-consciousness,
possess freedom of choice between good and evil? Is there in them any principle, any
tendency, which inclines them towards either road rather than towards the other?
"Free-will is developed in proportion as the spirit acquires the consciousness of himself.
Freedom would not exist for the spirit if his choice were solicited by a cause independent of
his will. The cause which determines his choice is not in him, but is exterior to him, in the
influences to which he voluntarily yields in virtue of the freedom of his will. It is this choice
that is represented tinder the grand figure of the fall of man and of original sin. Some spirits
have yielded to temptation; others have withstood it."
- Whence come the influences that act upon him?
"From the imperfect spirits, who seek to take possession of him and to dominate him, and
who are happy to see him succumb. It is this temptation that is allegorically pictured as
Satan."
- Does this influence act upon a spirit only at its origin?
"It follows him through all the phases of his existence as a spirit, until he has acquired such
thorough self-command that evil spirits renounce the attempt to obsess him."
123. Why has God permitted it to be possible for spirits to take the wrong road?
"The wisdom of God is shown in the freedom of choice which He leaves to every spirit, for
each has thus the merit of his deeds."
124. Since there are spirits who, from the beginning, follow unswervingly the right path, and
others who wander into the