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

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ALLAN KARDEC
which they have acquired, and upon the imperfections from which they have still to free
themselves. This classification, however, is by no means absolute. It is only in its totality that
the character of each category is distinctly marked, for each category merges in the one above
it by imperceptible gradations, the peculiarities of the successive categories shading off into
one another at their extremities, as is the case in the various reigns of nature, in the colours of
the rainbow, in the phases of a human life. Spirits may, therefore, be divided into a number of
classes more or less considerable, according to the point of view from which we consider the
subject. It is in this matter as in all other systems of scientific classification. The systems
adopted may be more or less complete, more or less rational, more or less convenient for the
understanding; but, whatever may be their form, they change nothing in regard to the facts of
the science which employs them. That the answers of spirits, when questioned on this point,
should vary as to the number of the categories into which they are divided is, therefore, a
matter of no practical importance. Too much weight has been attributed to this apparent
contradiction by those who forget that disincarnate intelligences attach no importance
whatever to mere conventionalities. For them, the meaning of a statement is the only
important point about it. They leave to us the question of its form, the choice of terms and of
classification,-in a word, all that belongs to the making of systems.
Another thing that should never be lost sight of is the fact that there are among spirits, as well
as among men, some who are very ignorant, and that we cannot be too much on our guard
against a tendency to believe that all spirits know everything simply because they are spirits.
The work of classification demands method. analysis, and a thorough knowledge of the
subject investigated. But those who, in the spirit-world, possess only a small amount of
knowledge, are as incompetent as are ignorant human beings to embrace the whole of any
subject or to formulate a system. They have no idea, or but a very imperfect one, of any sort
of classification. All spirits superior to themselves appear to them to be of the highest order;
for they are as incapable of discriminating the various shades of knowledge, capacity, and
morality by which they are distinguished, as one of our savages would be to discriminate the
various characteristics of civilised men. And even those who are capable of this
discrimination may vary, in their appreciation of details, according to their special point of