Ans. The spiritual gas imperceptibly accompanying atmospheric air is especially necessary to fishes.
615. (60.) Creed is alleged to be productive of no obstruction to ascendency in the spiritual world.
Ans. Belief, being an involuntary act of the mind, has no merit or culpability attached to it, excepting so far as it is the consequence or is productive of prejudices; the advance of a spirit is retarded by these defects.
616. (61.) As in the spiritual world there is no necessity, desire, or passion which spirits can gratify by violence or fraud, on what is virtue founded? Where there is no motive or power to do wrong, where is the merit of doing right?
Ans. In the spheres, vice is displayed by the endurance of bad passions; virtue is manifested by love, purity, and the aspiration for improvement.
617. (62.) As the diversities of human character are clearly the results of organization and education, neither of which can be controlled by the human beings whose merit or demerit is the inevitable consequence, how can there be any culpability? It is true that a man can act as he wills; but is not his will the creature of his passions and reason jointly? If his passions be increased, will not reason be less capable of controlling them? and, vice versâ, if his passions be enfeebled or his reason strengthened, will not his passions have less sway? Does it not follow that while we must in self-defence resist or restrain those who cannot govern themselves, should we not commiserate all who have the misfortune to be so badly constituted?
Ans. We are no more able to answer that than you.
618. (63.) When a being virtuously constituted is murdered by one of the opposite character, who is most an object of commiseration? which is most favoured as a creature of God? Is not the difference between these beings analogous to that between the dog and the wolf? Both creatures of God—one is to be extirpated, the other cherished, as an inevitable consequence of the laws of creation?
Ans. The victim is most favoured.