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

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ALLAN KARDEC
himself many of the disappointments of the earthly life. The richest of men is he who has the
fewest needs.
"You envy the enjoyments of those who appear to you to be the favourites of fortune, but do
you know what is in store for so many of them ? If they use their wealth only for themselves,
they are selfish, and, in that case, a terrible reverse awaits them. Instead of envying, you
should pity them. God sometimes permits the wicked to prosper, but his prosperity is, not to
be envied, for he will pay for it with weeping and gnashing of teeth. If a righteous man
undergoes misfortune, it is a trial from which, being bravely borne, he will reap a rich reward.
Remember the words of Jesus: 'Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.'"
927. Superfluities are certainly not indispensable to happiness, but it is otherwise in regard
to the necessaries of life. Is it not, then, really a misfortune to be deprived of these?
"A man is really unfortunate only when deprived of what is necessary to life and to bodily
health. If this privation be the result of his own misconduct, he has only himself to blame for
it; if it be the fault of others, a heavy responsibility will rest with those who have caused it."
928. By our special aptitudes, God evidently shows to each of us our special vocation. Are
not many of the ills of life attributable to our not following that vocation?
"Yes. It often happens that parents, through pride or avarice, force their children from the
path traced out for them by nature; but they will be held responsible for the results of this
misdirection."
- You would then approve of the son of some high personage making himself a cobbler, for
instance, if he were endowed with a natural aptitude for cobbling?
"You must not go off into absurdities and exaggerations. Civilisation has its necessities. Why
should the son of a man occupying a high position make himself a cobbler, if able to do
something more important? Such an one might always make himself useful, according to the
measure of his faculties, without running counter to common sense. For instance, if he were
not fitted to make a good lawyer, he might be a good engineer, a mechanician, etc."
The placing of people in positions for which they are naturally unfit is assuredly one of the most frequent
causes of failure and disappointment.