AR 692 [2]
We will briefly describe the nature of self-love.
Its accompanying delight
surpasses every other delight in the world,
for it consists of nothing but lusts for evils,
and every one of the lusts produces its own delight.
Every person is born into this delight,
and because it impels the person's mind
to focus its thought continually on itself,
it draws the mind away from
thinking about God and the neighbor
except from the perspective of self
and with a focus on self.
As a consequence,
if God does not favor the person's lusts,
he becomes angry with God,
as he becomes angry with the neighbor
who does not favor them.
As this delight grows,
it causes the person
to be unable to elevate his thought above himself,
but instead draws it down to a level beneath him,
for it immerses the mind
in the inherent nature of his body.
As a result the person becomes gradually sensual,
and a sensual person
speaks in a lofty and elevated tone
about worldly and civic matters,
but he can speak about God and Divine matters
only from memory.
If he is a politician,
he acknowledges nature as responsible for creation,
his own prudence as his guide,
and denies God's existence.
If he is a priest,
he speaks about God and Divine matters from memory,
even in a lofty and elevated tone;
but at heart he little believes them.
No comments:
Post a Comment