646. Moreover, there exists nothing whatever affecting the senses, whether it be outward or inward, which they do not strive to reproduce. They imitate whatever they see and feel, and counterfeit it as if it were real, when yet it is only the outer [appearance], and artificial. Therefore it requires the highest degree of good judgment to tell apart what is true and what is counterfeit; nor can these ever be distinguished except through belief in the Lord, and thus by the Lord, Who gives the ability to discern. The same is true in the life of the body when such demons are present and try to lead people on earth astray. 1748, 5 February.
646. Moreover there is nothing whatever that affects the senses, whether exteriorly or interiorly, upon which spirits do not strive to induce a similar shape, so that they imitate anything whatever that they see and feel, and counterfeit it as if it were the essential thing itself, when, nevertheless, it is only something external and fictitious. It is, therefore, a matter of the greatest prudence to distinguish between what is true and what is counterfeit; and they can never be distinguished except through faith in the Lord, and thus from the Lord, Who gives the ability to discern between things that are similar. The same is true in the life of the body when such genii are present and try to seduce man. 1748, Feb. 5.
646. Praeterea nihil quicquam datur sensibile, sive exterius sive interius quod non 1
studeant [ei] inducere speciem similem, sic ut imitentur quicquid usquam videant et sentiant, ac mentiantur sicut esset essentiale, cum tamen solum est externum, et fictitium, quare summa prudentia est, distinguere inter verum et simulatum, nec distingui potest usquam, nisi per fidem in Dominum, et sic a Domino, Qui dat discernere similia, similiter in vita corporis, cum tales genii adsunt, et seducere hominem tentant. 1748, 5 Febr.
Footnotes:
1. = quin