1. How does it happen that souls forget their paternal divinity? Having
a divine nature, and having originated from the divinity, how could
they ever misconceive the divinity or themselves? The origin of their
evil is "audacity,"[216] generation, the primary diversity, and the
desire to belong to none but themselves.[217] As soon as they have
enjoyed the pleasure of an independent life, and by largely making use
of their power of self-direction, they advanced on the road that led
them astray from their principle, and now they have arrived at such an
"apostasy" (distance) from the Divinity, that they are even ignorant
that they derive their life from Him. Like children that were separated
from their family since birth, and that were long educated away from
home finally lose knowledge of their parents and of themselves, so our
souls, no longer seeing either the divinity or themselves, have become
degraded by forgetfulness of their origin, have attached themselves
to other objects, have admired anything rather than themselves, have
like prodigals scattered their esteem and love on exterior objects,
and have, by breaking the bond that united them to the divinities,
disdainfully wandered away from it. Their ignorance of the divinity
is therefore caused by excessive valuation of external objects, and
their scorn of themselves. The mere admiration and quest after
what is foreign implies, on the soul's part, an acknowledgment of
self-depreciation. As soon as a soul thinks that she is worth less than
that which is born and which perishes, and considers herself as more
despicable and perishable than the object she admires, she could no
longer even conceive of the nature and power of the divinity.
CONVERSION IS EFFECTED BY DEPRECIATION OF EXTERNALITIES, AND
APPRECIATION OF THE SOUL HERSELF.
Souls in such conditions may be converted to the Divinity, and raised
to the supreme Principle, to the One, to the First, by being reasoned
with in two ways. First, they may be led to see the worthlessness of
the objects they at present esteem;[218] then they must be reminded of
the origin and dignity of the soul. The demonstration of the latter
point logically precedes that of the former; and if clearly done,
should support it.