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

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CHAPTER IV
THE VITAL PRINCIPLE
1. ORGANIC AND INORGANIC BEINGS - 2. LIFE AND DEATH
- 3. INTELLIGENCE AND INSTINCT.
Organic and Inorganic Beings
Organic beings are those which have in themselves a source of activity that produces the phenomena of
life. They are born, grow. reproduce their own species, and die. They are provided with organs specially
adapted to the accomplishment of the different acts of their life, to the satisfaction of their needs, and to
their preservation. They include men, animals, and plants.
Inorganic beings are those which possess neither vitality nor the power of spontaneous movement, and
are formed by the mere aggregation of matter; as minerals, water, air etc.
60. Is the force which unites the elements of matter in organic and inorganic bodies the
same?
"Yes; the law of attraction is the same for all."
61. Is there any difference between the matter of organic and inorganic bodies?
"The matter of both classes of bodies is the same, but in organic bodies it is animalised."
62. What is the cause of the animalisation of matter?
"Its union with the vital principle."
63. Does the vital principle reside in a special agent, or is it only a property of organised
matter; in other words, is it an effect or a cause?
"It is both. Life is an effect produced by the action of an agent upon matter; this agent,
without matter, is not life, just as matter cannot become alive without this agent. It gives life
to all beings that absorb and assimilate it."
64. We have seen that spirit and matter are two constituent elements of the universe. Does the
vital principle constitute a third element?
"It is, undoubtedly, one of the elements necessary to the constitution of the universe; but it
has its source in a special modification