AE 1174 - as of self

AE 1174 [2]
... it is according to a law of the Divine providence that man shall go whithersoever his affection wills....
And yet the Lord leads him as if by the hand, permitting and withholding as far as man is willing to follow in freedom....

[3]
This the Lord does without the man's knowing it, because if man knew it he would disturb the continuity of that process by leading himself. It is enough for man to learn truths from the Word, and by means of truths to know what good is, and from truths and goods what evils and falsities are, in order that he may be affected by truths and goods, and not be affected by falsities and evils.