About Instinct - Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies – medium Mrs. Costel“I will teach you about the true meaning of good and evil that is frequently confounded by the spirit. Evil is a revolt of the instincts against the conscience, this inner and delicate measure that is the moral measure. What are the borders that separate it from good that is surrounded by evil all over the place? Evil is not complex; it is unique and comes out of the primitive being that wishes the satisfaction of the instincts to the price of the duties. The instinct develops in the animal man to care for his own wellbeing and preservation; it is the only source of evil since it is still rougher and more violent in certain people, pushing them to take what they want and accumulate what they have. The instinct that is blindly obeyed by animals, their actual virtue, must be continuously fought by the person that wishes to move up higher, replacing the unpolished utensil of need by the finely carved arms of intelligence.
Note, however, that instinct is not always bad and humanity eventually owes it sublime inspirations. Examples exist in cases where maternity and certain acts of dedication where safety replaces thoughts. My daughter, your objection is precisely the cause of the error that leads to the downfall of people who are ready to ignore the truth, always absolute in its consequences. Regardless of the good results of a bad cause, the examples must never lead to conclusions that go against premises that were established by reason. Instinct is bad because it is purely human and humanity must think of nothing else but of unloading those instincts and leaving the flesh to elevate the spirit. If evil walks shoulder to shoulder with good it is for the fact that its principle frequently leads to results opposed to itself and that go unnoticed by frivolous and sensation driven people.
Nothing truly good can come out of instinct. This sublime impulse is not devotion as an isolated inspiration is not genius. The true progress of humanity is its struggle and triumph against its very essence. Jesus was sent to Earth to demonstrate that humanely. He unveiled the truth, this beautiful spring hidden under the sand of ignorance. Keep the purity of the divine gift away from your mistakes. Believe me that those who are only good and devout just out of their instincts are bad since they are blindly dominated by something that can suddenly throw them off the cliff.
Lazarus
NOTE: Despite our respect for the spirit of Lazarus who has given us so many beautiful pages we take the liberty of disagreeing with his last propositions. One can say that there are two kinds of instinct: the animal and the moral. The first, as Lazarus says well, is organic; it is given to living beings for their conservation and that of their descendants. It is blind and almost unconscious because the Providence wanted to give a counter weight to its indifference and negligence. The same does not apply to the moral instinct that is a privilege of the humanity. It can be defined as this: An innate propensity to do good or bad. Now, such propensity is due to the more or less advanced state of the spirit. A person whose spirit is already purified does good without premeditation and as a very natural thing and being praised for that a cause of surprise. Hence it is not fair to say “those who are only good and devout just out of their instincts are bad since they are blindly dominated by something that can suddenly throw them off the cliff”. The ones who are instinctively good and sincere demonstrate an already realized progress; those who do so intentionally, progress is still to take place and for that reason there is struggle between the two feelings. In the first group the difficulty has been defeated; in the second group it must be defeated. The first group is like someone that can read and do so effortlessly, almost unnoticeably; the second one is like someone that works on the spelling. Should one have less merit than the other just because it is late?
