tentions in them because he sees
them in himself, and as all prudence is from them, he sees this, too,
within him. Then if his life's love is self-love, he comes to take pride
in his own intelligence, ascribes prudence to himself, gathers arguments
in support of it, and thus recedes from acknowledging divine providence.
Much the same happens if love of the world is his life's love, but he
does not then recede to the same extent. It is plain from this that these
two loves ascribe all things to man and to his prudence and when
interiorly examined ascribe nothing to God and to His providence. When
persons who do this happen to hear that the reality is that there is no
such thing as human prudence, but that divine providence alone governs
all things, they laugh at this if they are outright atheists; if they
hold something of religion in remembrance and are told that all wisdom is
from God, they assent on first hearing it, but inwardly in their spirit
deny it. Such especially are priests who love themselves more than God,
and the world more than heaven, or what is the same, worship God for
position's or riches' sake, and yet have been preaching that charity and
faith, all good and truth, all wisdom, too, and in fact prudence are from
God and none of them from man.

[2] In the spiritual world I once heard two priests debating with a
certain royal ambassador about human prudence whether it is from God or
from man, and the debate was heated. The three believed alike at heart,
namely, that human prudence does all and divine providence nothing, but
the priests in their theological zeal at the moment asserted that there
was nothing of wisdom and prudence from man. When the ambassador retorted
that there was nothing of thought then, either, they said "yes, nothing
of thought." But as angels perceived that the three believed alike, they
bade the ambassador, "Put on priestly robes, believe yourself to be a
priest, and then speak." He robed himself, believed he was a priest, and
thereupon declared in a deep voice that never could there be wisdom or
prudence in man save from God. He defended this with the customary
eloquence filled with rational arguments. Then the two priests were told,
"Put off your robes, put on those of political ministers, and believe
that that is what you are." They did so, thought then from their interior
selves, and gave voice to the arguments they had entertained inwardly
before in favor of human prudence and a