295. [272.] I later spoke with some of them about their priests, and I saw that there was one class of priests who supposed themselves more learned and educated than the rest. They all live in the west, and when they come to preach, they proceed from the west there a little way into the north and so toward the middle of the city and its churches, a sign that they travel the path of reserve and ignorance; for in the west there live those who are reserved, and close by in the north there those who are ignorant of truth. They appear to themselves to preach in an educated and learned manner because they have as their subject the Divine operation into the actions of people when they have been justified, thus the effort which is the fourth degree of justification, saying that it flows into act in people without their being aware, and that the volition of the person himself is not present, since it is evil. Their listeners complained about them, saying that they did not understand whether these preachers wished them to act of themselves or not, because they could take either meaning from the preachers' ambiguous declarations. I perceived that the preachers wished these sermons of theirs to sound learned in the ears of other preachers and bishops, and that in their presence they did not dare to preach otherwise. On the other hand, there are also preachers living in the south who preach unequivocally that people should refrain from evils as if of themselves and do good things as if of themselves, while knowing at the same time that they do not do so of themselves. Therefore the people of the city love these preachers. They speak in accord with their prayer before the Holy Supper.* * "The way and means to be received as worthy partakers of that Holy Table is First, to examine your lives and Conversations by the rule of God's commandments, and wherein soever ye shall perceive yourselves to have offended either by will, word or deed, there to bewail your own sinfulness, and to confess yourselves to Almighty God, with full purpose of amendment of life; and if ye shall perceive your offences to be such, as are not only against God, but also against your neighbors, then ye shall reconcile yourselves unto them, being ready to make restitution and satisfaction according to the utmost of your power, for all injuries and wrongs done by you to any other, and being likewise ready to forgive others that have offended you, as ye would have forgiveness of your offences of God's hand, for otherwise the receiving of the Holy Communion doth nothing else but increase your damnation. Therefore if any of you be a blasphemer of God, or hinderer or slanderer of His word, or adulterer, or be in malice or envy, or in any other grievous crime, repent you of your sins, or else come not to the Holy Table; lest after the taking of that Holy Sacrament the Devil enter into you, as he entered into Judas, and fill you with all iniquities, and bring you to destruction both of body and soul." (From The Doctrine of Life, no. 5.)