ourse of favourable circumstances, acquires a
comprehension of this divine plan, and conceives it in its fullest
extent and excellence, he will feel an irresistible attraction towards
such a contemplation, and an ineffable admiration will seize all his
mind; an internal intense desire will spring up in his heart to see it
carried out, nay, to contribute himself to its accomplishment, since the
first tendency is already engrafted on his very nature. In proportion as
this desire extends its roots in the heart of that individual, so will
he make it his exclusive pre-occupation, voluntarily sacrifice to it
every worldly consideration, and so will he feel impelled to devote
himself to promote, promulgate, and bring to universal knowledge those
truths which, as stated, form the essence of revelation; his soul will
become the receptacle of the Divine idea, his tongue and all his body
the organs of its fulfilment; his whole life will be an expression of
the idea which pervades him; he will feel within himself an irresistible
call to constitute himself, of his own authority, and without any regard
to worldly powers, a preceptor to mankind, an adviser and censor of all,
a supporter of right and virtue, a herald of truth, and a defender of
the cause of God; he will defy every obstacle with unbending spirit,
will employ all his powers, physical and moral, to the attainment of his
aim; and sometimes he will end by becoming a martyr to his holy project.
In short, his will becomes identical with the will of God.

XXXIX. Such a man is a prophet. His mind elevated to the highest degree
of intelligence, his heart bent constantly to love what is good, he has
almost assumed a second nature, and he lives upon earth a purely
spiritual life. Of all that surrounds him, nothing is of any value in
his eyes but that which may contribute to the accomplishment of the
Divine design; in all passing events he sees but as many dispositions of
Providence calculated to direct men to the path in which they are called
to walk; the very thoughts which cross his mind, and the wishes which
form themselves in his heart, he regards them not as the productions of
his own soul, but as emanations from the Spirit of God which dwells in
him, and pervades all his being. Such a mode of viewing things is, after
all, not a mere effect of his imagination, but a true reflex of the
influence that actuates this man, an influence springing from the fact
already stated, that