900. They were extremely surprised whenever I have said that I can do nothing from myself, when yet they had often seen how many duties had been done, from me. And when I repeated that these had not been done by me, but through me, so that I seem to myself to have performed them, when yet I had not performed even the least particle from myself, but it was the Lord, then they were still more surprised. It struck them as a paradox, whereas it is a truth that can never be contradicted, and is not contradicted by any of the angels, but corroborated. And after they had heard the corroborations from heaven, they seemed to themselves to believe it is so. But they do not believe it, because they neither see, nor understand.
900. Spirits were greatly astonished whenever I said that I can do nothing from myself, when yet they often saw that many changes have been effected from me; and they were still more astonished when I again said that they were not effected by me, but through me, so that it seemed to me that I did them, when yet I did not even the least thing from myself, but it was the Lord. This came to them as a paradox, but still it is a truth which can never be contradicted, nor is it contradicted by any of the angels, but confirmed; and when those spirits heard the confirmations from heaven, they seemed to themselves to believe that it was so, but they do not believe, because they neither perceive nor understand.
900. Mirantur quam maxime, quoties dixi, quod nihil ex me facere possum, cum tamen viderint saepe, quod vires plures factae sint ex me, dumque iterum dixi, quod non factae sint a me, sed per me, sic ut videar mihi ea operatus, cum tamen ne minimum quidem ex me operatus sim, sed Dominus, tunc adhuc magis mirantur, id iis ut paradoxon obvenit, sed usque est veritas, quae nusquam contradici potest, nec ab ullo angelorum contradicitur; sed confirmatur, quumque audiverint confirmationes a coelo, tunc videbantur sibi credere quod ita sit, sed non 1
credunt, quia non percipiunt, nec intelligunt.
Footnotes:
1. The Manuscript has non non