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

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ALLAN KARDEC
"The spirit, regaining possession of himself, shows himself such as he was before his
incarnation.
"You know not the secrets hidden under the seeming innocence of children. You know
neither what they are, nor what they have been, nor what they will be; and nevertheless you
love and cherish them as though they were a part of yourselves, and to such a degree, that the
love of a mother for her children is reputed to be the greatest love that one being can have for
another. Whence comes the sweet affection, the tender benevolence, that even strangers feel
for a child ? Do you know its origin? No; but I will now explain it to you.
"Children are beings sent by God into new existences, and, in order that they may not be able
to reproach Him with having been unduly severe to them, He gives them all the external
appearances of innocence; even in the case of a child of the worst possible nature, its
misdeeds are covered by its unconsciousness of the quality of its acts. This apparent
innocence does not constitute for children any real superiority over what they previously
were; it is merely the image of what they ought to be, and, if they are not such, it will be on
themselves alone that the punishment will fall.
"But it is not merely for themselves that God has given to children this appearance of
innocence; it is given to them also, and especially, in view of their parents, whose love is so
necessary to them in their weakness: for this love would be greatly diminished by the sight of
a harsh or cross-grained nature, whereas, believing their children to be good and gentle, they
give them all their affection, and surround them with the most minute and delicate care. But,
when children no longer need this protection, this assistance, which has been given them
during fifteen or twenty years, their real character and individuality reappears in all its nudity.
He who is really good remains good; but, even then, his character reveals many traits and
shades that were hidden during his earlier years.
"You see that God's ways are always for the best; and that, for the pure in heart, they are
easily explicable.
"Get it well into your minds that the spirit of the child who is born among you may have
come from a world in which he has acquired habits totally different from yours; how would it
be possible for this new being, coming among you with passions, inclinations, tastes, entirely
opposed to yours, to accommodate