The power of the will over the passions (emotions)

Text fully reproduced from the Spiritist Magazine of July 1863, where Kardec graces us with a wonderful reflection on the power of the will and the responsibility of the Spirit. Emphasis and notes ours.

(Extract from the works of the Spiritist Society of Paris)

A young man of twenty-three years old, Mr. A…, from Paris, initiated into Spiritism just two months ago, so quickly assimilated its scope that, without having seen anything, he accepted it in all its moral consequences. They will say that this is not surprising on the part of a young man, and only one thing proves it: levity and unreflective enthusiasm. It is. But let's continue. This thoughtless young man had, as he himself recognizes, a large number of defects, the most prominent of which was an irresistible disposition to anger, from his childhood. For the slightest annoyance, for the most futile causes, when I entered the house and didn't immediately find what I wanted; if a thing was not in its usual place; If what he had ordered wasn't ready within a minute, he would go into a rage, to the point of everything breaking down. It got to the point that one day, in a paroxysm of anger, throwing himself at his mother, he said to her: “Go away, or I’ll kill you!” Then, exhausted by overexcitation, he would fall unconscious. It should be added that neither the advice of his parents nor the exhortations of religion had been able to overcome this indomitable character, which was compensated by vast intelligence, careful instruction and the noblest feelings.

They will say that it is the effect of a bilious-sanguine-nervous temperament, a result of the organism and, consequently, irresistible entrainment. It follows from such a system that if, in his folly, he had committed a murder, it would have been perfectly excusable, because it would have been due to an excess of bile ((Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, in “Mesmer: the negated science of Animal Magnetism”, says that "Galen was wrong to rigidly defend the theory of humours as an authentic doctrine of Hippocrates. He disseminated and developed this theory widely by commenting, exhaustively, on Polybius' treatise On the Nature of Men. According to Galen's interpretation, life was maintained by the balance between the four humors — blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile, which came, respectively, from the heart, brain, liver and spleen. The imbalance would be the disease. According to the natural predominance of one of these humors In the constitution of individuals, we would have different physiological types: sanguine, phlegmatic, bilious or choleric and melancholic. “ To this day, when someone is happy and in a good mood, we say that he is in a good mood, and someone who is angry , we say he is in a bad mood.”)). It also follows that, unless he changed his temperament, changed the normal state of his liver and nerves, this young man would be predestined to all the disastrous consequences of cholera.

─ Do you know a remedy for such a pathological state?

─ None, unless, with time, age can attenuate the abundance of morbid secretions.

─ Now, what Science cannot, Spiritism does, not slowly and by force of a continuous effort, but instantly. A few days were enough to make this young man a gentle and patient being. The acquired certainty of the future life; knowledge of the purpose of earthly life; the feeling of man's dignity, revealed by free will, which places him above the animal; the liability arising therefrom; the thought that most earthly evils are the consequence of our actions; all these ideas, taken up in a serious study of Spiritism, produced a sudden revolution in his brain. It seemed to him that a veil had been lifted over his eyes and life had presented itself to him under another face. Certain that he had in himself an intelligent being, independent of matter, he said: “This being must have a will, whereas matter does not. So he can master matter.” Hence this other reasoning: “The result of my anger was to make me sick and unhappy, and it doesn't give me what I lack, so it's useless, because that's how I didn't progress. She produces evil for me and gives me no good in return. Furthermore, it can drive me to reprehensible and even criminal acts.”

He wanted to win, and he won. Since then, a thousand occasions have arisen that would have infuriated him before, but before them he was impassive and indifferent, much to his mother's astonishment. He felt the blood boil and rise to his head, but, of his own accord, it repressed it and forced it to descend..

A miracle could not have done better, but Spiritism has done many others, which our Magazine would not suffice to record them if we wanted to report all those that are of our personal knowledge, relating to moral reforms of the most inveterate habits. We cite this as a remarkable example of the power of the will and, moreover, because it raises an important problem that only Spiritism can solve.

By the way, Mr. A… asked us if his Spirit was responsible for his movements, or if he was simply influenced by matter. Here is our answer:

Your Spirit is so responsible that, when you seriously wanted it, you stopped the blood movement. Thus, if you had wished to do so before, the attacks would have stopped sooner and you would not have threatened your mother. Besides, who is angry? Is it the body or the Spirit? If the attacks came for no reason, they could be attributed to the blood flow, but, futile or not, they were caused by an annoyance. Now, it is evident that the body was not upset, but the Spirit, which was very susceptible. Annoyed, the Spirit reacted on an irritable organic system, which would have remained at rest, had it not been provoked.

Let's make a comparison. You have a fiery horse. If you know how to direct him, he submits. If you mistreat him, he shoots and knocks you down. Who is missing? Yours or the horse's?

It is evident to me that your spirit is naturally irascible, but as each one carries with him his original sin, that is, a remnant of his former inclinations, it is no less evident that, in your previous existence, you must have been a man of extreme violence that you probably had to pay dearly, perhaps with your life. In erraticity, your good qualities helped you to understand errors. You took the resolution to overcome yourselves, and for this to fight in a new existence. But if you had chosen a soft and lymphatic body, not encountering any difficulties, your Spirit would have gained nothing, which would result in the need to start over. It was for this purpose that you chose a bilious body, in order to have the merit of the fight. Now the victory is won. You have conquered the enemy of your rest and nothing can hinder the free exercise of your good qualities.

As for the ease with which you accepted and understood Spiritism, it can be explained by the same reason. You were a spiritist a long time ago. This belief was innate in you, and materialism was only the result of the false direction given to your ideas. At first muffled, the spiritist idea remained in a latent state and a spark was enough to awaken it. Bless Providence that allowed this spark to arrive at a good time to stop an inclination that perhaps would have caused you bitter grief, while you still have a long career to travel in the path of good.

All philosophies clashed with these mysteries of human life, which seemed unfathomable until Spiritism brought them its torch.

In the presence of such facts, one can still ask what it is for? Are we not in a position to send good omens about the moral future of Humanity when it is understood and practiced by everyone?