2430. Such an operation of spirits into people on earth who trust in themselves and their own prudence does exist, as I have been given to find out by countless experiences, so it is a truth that should be believed. Nevertheless it is still nothing but a permission that evil spirits should thus persuade people, and when the person is such as to believe all their counsels firmly, they tend toward the person's own ruin and that of the community. For the things that come from evil spirits as if from ourselves all tend toward destruction.