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Concerning this fourth evil there is not much to be
said, since it has already been treated again and
again in this third book, wherein we have proved how,
in order that the soul may come to union with God in
hope, it must renounce every possession of the
memory; for, in order that its hope in God may be
perfect, it must have naught in the memory that is
not God.
And, as we have likewise said, no form or figure
or image or other kind of knowledge that may come to
the memory can be God, neither can be like Him,
whether it be of heaven or of earth, natural or
supernatural, even as David teaches, when he says:
'Lord, among the gods there is none like unto
Thee.'[511]
2. Wherefore, if the memory desires to pay heed to
any of these things, it hinders the soul from
reaching God; first, because it encumbers it, and
next because, the more the soul has of possession,
the less it has of hope. Wherefore it is needful for
the soul to be stripped of the distinct forms and the
knowledge of supernatural things, and to become
oblivious to them, so that the memory may cause no
hindrance to its union with God in perfect hope. |