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Rh too much trust in their own strength. Their fall has obliged them to make the discovery that they do not possess this strength, and thus they are cast down and are full of wonder, as if something extraordinary had happened; and they become timid, because that trust in themselves, upon which they had foolishly leant, had given way.

The humble man knows no such experience, for his sole trust is in God. He places no reliance on his own powers. When he falls into any fault he is indeed sorry, but he is neither disquieted nor surprised, for he knows, as the light of truth has clearly manifested to him, that the fall is the result of his own weakness and misery.

NASMUCH as our whole strength for conquering our enemies principally depends upon distrust of self and trust in God, I would furnish you with further counsels, that through the help of God you may attain this grace.

Concerning distrust in self, it is above all important that you should know and be fully persuaded that not all gifts, whether natural or