6485. I have conversed with good spirits about the Divine Providence and about man's own sagacity, and by means of a representation familiar among them they showed me about this matter, namely, by dust scattered and rare in the atmosphere. They said that relatively to the Divine Providence man's own sagacity is like that speck of dust in comparison with the universal atmosphere, and which is relatively nothing and falls to the ground. They added that those who attribute all things to their own sagacity are like those who wander in dark forests, not knowing the way out, and if they find it they attribute it either to their own sagacity or to fortune. The angels said further that all accidents are of Providence, and that for many reasons Providence acts silently and secretly; and that if it acted openly, man could not possibly be reformed.
