AE 714, 715 - Falsities; AE 716 - Little By Little He Saves Us

 AE 714 [16, 28]

. . . truth falsified is mere falsity,
and good adulterated is mere evil . . ..

. . . when the good of charity and love
is not implanted by the life of a person
there is evil in place of it,
and where there is evil
there is falsity.

AE 715 [1, 2]

. . . what is contrary to what is holy is profane.

Be it known that the craftiness meant by
"the head of the dragon"
is a craftiness in perverting
the truths and goods of the Word
by means of reasonings from fallacies
and sophistries (fallacious arguments),
also from things persuasive,
by which the understanding is fascinated,
thus by inducing upon falsities
the appearance that they are true.

AE 716 [3]

. . . it is to be known
that falsities from evils have no power
against truth from good;
for truth from good is from the Lord,
and the Lord has all power by His Divine truth.
. . . a person is in evil and in the falsities from them
hereditarily from his parents,
and afterwards from actual life,
especially at the end of the church;
and these falsities from evil
cannot be expelled from a person in a moment,
but little by little;
for if they were expelled in a moment
a person would expire,
because they constitute his life.

. . . the Lord by His Divine truth might instantly
cast out the falsities of evil that are with a person,
but this would be to cast the person
instantly into hell;
for these falsities must first be removed,
and so far as they are removed,
so far there is a place
for implanting truths from good,
and a person is reformed.