4425. HOW IT IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD THAT WE MUST NOT JUDGE CONCERNING OTHERS; SOCIETY; THE INTERIORS. I have spoken frequently with spirits as to what is meant by the precept that we are not to judge concerning others, and it was agreed that everyone may judge concerning another as to what regards his civil life, and also his moral [life] so far as it concerns the civil. It is proper for one to know what connections may be safely entered into, and how much trust is to be reposed in another; what is suitable to be done, and what not; for there are pretenders, deceivers, hypocrites, adulterers, and evil men of all kinds; there are wise men, and fools, and those who value nothing of the public [good], but prefer themselves, and all varieties of character; consequently, without reflection, thought, and thus judgment with one's self, no one would ever be able to live in civil life. It is especially [necessary to judge] whether this or that man is useful for discharging public offices, and so forth; in which it is not possible to distinguish without judgment with one's self concerning another.