Spirits have at times been told that they are nothing, and that the Lord is all in all things, indeed they have even been told and shown what it means that they are nothing [2043-8]. Yet some nevertheless do not want to understand, and some do not understand because their mental imagery is too gross for them to grasp it. For this reason they have repeatedly declared that the doctrine of faith is absurd for saying that they are nothing, and they still think they are everything, that they possess all life and power as their own and in themselves. So in their irritation they have thrown back in reply that the doctrine is absurd for saying they are nothing. They tolerate this less than other tenets of the doctrine of faith, and this is surely due to self-love, though partly with others to ignorance. 1748, 27 June.