3010. About spirits who want to believe they are the Lord
There was a spirit with me who was sitting on my head for about the space of an hour, and at first nothing else could be discerned than that he was good. He spoke few words, but from his thought neither was there anything evil. Finally when he spoke, he now and then brought into my mind that he was the Lord, which I could sense in the beginning from a few things, because he had stood on my head, also because this is common with those who are the Lord's, by whom a sense of the Lord's presence is also imparted, because the Lord [does this] through them. But this spirit had taken this up as a trick, and in fact to the point of bringing himself to that conviction, so that he was able to think he was the Lord. But because such spirits had been with me before [2990], and there had been a contrary perception of them, which I was not given to discern on this occasion, nevertheless I was inspired to realize that he was evil. So I spoke with him as with an evil spirit, at which he said angrily that he had been able before to allure many good
3010. CONCERNING SPIRITS WHO WISH THAT THEY MAY BE BELIEVED TO BE THE LORD.
There was a spirit with me who stood on my head about the space of an hour, nor could anything else be perceived in the beginning, than that he was good; he spoke little, but [that was] from [his] thought, and not at all evil. At length when he spoke, he occasionally introduced into my perception that he was the Lord, which I could perceive from a few things in the beginning, because he stood upon my head; also, because this is common with those who are of the Lord, whereby is also insinuated perception of the Lord's presence, because the Lord [speaks] through them. But this spirit assumed this as an artifice [by art]; and, indeed, so thus he induced in himself the persuasion, so that he could suppose himself to be the Lord; but inasmuch as such have been with me previously, and within themselves have a dissimilar [contrary] perception; which, however, was not then granted me to discern, [and] still it was given to know that [this one] was evil, therefore I spoke with him, as with an evil spirit, whereat he was angry and said,
3010. De spiritibus, qui se credi volunt Dominum esse
Erat spiritus apud me, qui capiti meo horae spatio circiter insistebat, nec aliquid principio percipi potuit quam quod esset bonus, pauca loquutus, sed ex cogitatione nec aliquid mali; tandem cum loquutus, passim inferebat perceptioni meae, quod esset Dominus, quod a paucis principio percipi potuit, quia super capite stetit, tum quia hoc commune est iis, qui sunt Domini, a quibus perceptio praesentiae Domini quoque insinuatur, quia Dominus per eos; sed hic spiritus hoc ut artificiale sibi assumsit, et quidem ita ut quoque ad persuasionem sibi id induxerit, sic ut putare posset quod Dominus, sed quia prius tales apud me fuerunt [2990] in se dissimilis [erat] perceptio, quae tamen mihi tunc non data ut discernerem, usque datum ut scirem quod malus, quare cum eo sicut cum malo spiritu loquutus, quo 1
indignatus dixit, quod tali arte et tali persuasione potuerit
(3011.) prius plures bonos spiritus ad se allicere, et persuadere iis quod esset missus Domini sic angelus, quod quoque persuasione simili tentabat, sed incassum, quia detectus; ex quibus constare potest, quod dentur spiritus, qui cum persuasione inducere possint, quod procedant a Domino, et in societatem secum allicere plures spiritus, qui probi sunt, non aliter scientes, cum tamen mali sunt, et quidem insani, sicut ei quoque dicere datum, quod putaret se esse Dominum, cum vesana persuasione, quo non 2
vesanius potest esse; nunc in mentem venit, quod tales sint quidam enthusiastae, etiam Quakeri, qui quoque tales post mortem, ut persuasi sint, quod spiritus sanctus cum iis loquutus, quia putant ex Domino [eum], qui se Dominum esse persuadet; cum tamen hoc non est indicium praesentiae Domini, sed [indicium] est veritas fidei de Domino.
Footnotes:
1. The Manuscript has quod
2. The Manuscript has no