On the Divine Names and the Mystical Theology — trans. C. E. Rolt
The translator’s English as printed (C. E. Rolt). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
24. But perhaps some one will say that human souls are the seat of evil. Now if the reason alleged is that they have contact with evil temptations when they take forethought to preserve themselves therefrom, this is not evil but good and cometh from the Good that turns even evil into good. But if we mean the depravation which souls undergo, in what do they undergo depravation except in the deficiency of good qualities and activities and in the failure and fall therefrom due to their own weakness? Even so we say that the air is darkened around us by a deficiency and absence of the light; while yet the light itself is always light and illuminates the darkness. Hence the evil inhereth not in the devils or in us, as evil, but only as a deficiency and lack of the perfection of our proper virtues.
1 There is a timeless ground in all personalities, and this ground is good. Eckhart and Tauler say that even the souls in hell possess eternally the divine root of their true being. Ruysbroeck says, this divine root does not of itself make us blessed, but merely makes us exist.
24. But perhaps someone will say that human souls are the seat of evil. Now if the reason given is that they come into contact with evil temptations when they take forethought to guard themselves against them, this is not evil but good, and comes from the Good that turns even evil into good. But if we mean the depravation that souls undergo, in what do they undergo depravation except in the deficiency of good qualities and activities, and in the failure and fall from them due to their own weakness? In the same way we say that the air around us is darkened by a deficiency and absence of light, while the light itself is always light and illuminates the darkness. Hence the evil does not inhere in the devils or in us as evil, but only as a deficiency and lack of the perfection of our proper virtues.
1 There is a timeless ground in all personalities, and this ground is good. Eckhart and Tauler say that even the souls in hell eternally possess the divine root of their true being. Ruysbroeck says that this divine root does not of itself make us blessed, but merely makes us exist.