第三十七章：论意志的喜乐必须如何借圣像被引向神，使灵魂不因它们走入歧途，也不被它们妨碍。
Chapter XXXVII: Of how the rejoicing of the will must be directed, by way of the images, to God, so that the soul may not go astray because of them or be hindered by them.
正如圣像若按通常方式、合宜地使用，对于记念神和圣人，并推动意志进入虔敬，大有益处；照样，如果在与圣像有关的超自然事件发生时，灵魂不能按自己走向神的旅程所适宜的方式行事，它们也会导致巨大的错误。因为魔鬼极容易抓住不谨慎的灵魂，并阻碍他们属灵真理道路的方法之一，就是利用异常而超自然的事件；他借圣像给出这类事件的例子，包括教会所使用的物质而有形的圣像，也包括他惯常在想象中固定下来的、与某位圣人或其圣像相关的形象，把自己装作光明的天使，好行欺骗。因为就在我们拥有、为使我们得安慰和帮助的那些方法中，狡猾的魔鬼设法隐藏自己，好在我们最没有准备的时候捕捉我们。因此，良善的灵魂必须始终对善事怀有最大的疑虑，因为恶事本身就带着自己的见证。
Just as images are of great benefit for remembering God and the saints, and for moving the will to devotion when they are used in the ordinary way, as is fitting, so they will lead to great error if, when supernatural happenings come to pass in connection with them, the soul should not be able to conduct itself as is fitting for its journey to God. For one of the means by which the devil lays hold on incautious souls, with great ease, and obstructs the way of spiritual truth for them, is the use of extraordinary and supernatural happenings, of which he gives examples by means of images, both the material and corporeal images used by the Church, and also those which he is wont to fix in the fancy in relation to such or such a saint, or an image of him, transforming himself into an angel of light that he may deceive. For in those very means which we possess for our relief and help the astute devil contrives to hide himself in order to catch us when we are least prepared. Wherefore it is concerning good things that the soul that is good must ever have the greatest misgivings, for evil things bear their own testimony with them.
2. 因此，为避免灵魂在这方面可能遭遇的一切恶——即它被阻碍而不能向上飞升到神那里，或以不配而无知的方式使用圣像，或借自然或超自然的方法被圣像欺骗；这些都是我们上文已经触及的事——同样也是为了洁净意志在圣像中的喜乐，并借它们把灵魂引向神（教会正是为此推荐使用圣像），我愿在此只提出一条警告，这条警告足以应付一切；这警告就是：既然圣像作为动因，引我们想到不可见之事，我们就必须努力只把动因、情感和意志的喜乐安放在它们事实上所代表的对象上。因此，忠信的灵魂在看见圣像时，务要谨慎，不要愿意让自己的感官被它吸收；无论这圣像是有形的还是想象的，无论制作得美丽与否，装饰得华贵与否，无论它所引起的虔敬属于感官还是属于灵，无论它是否产生超自然显现，都是如此。灵魂绝不可看重这些偶然因素，甚至不可注视它们，而必须把心思从圣像提升到圣像所代表的对象，把自己意志的甘甜和喜乐，连同灵的祷告和虔敬，都集中于神，或集中于被呼求的圣人；因为属于活的实在和属于灵的东西，不应被感官和画出来的对象所篡夺。灵魂若这样行，就不会受欺骗，因为它不会看重圣像可能对它说的任何话，也不会使自己的感官或灵被占据到不能自由走向神的地步，也不会对一尊圣像比对另一尊更有信心。并且，若某尊圣像借超自然方法使灵魂产生虔敬，如今反会更丰盛地如此行，因为灵魂如今会以自己的情感直接走向神。因为无论何时神赐下这些恩惠和其他恩惠，他都是借着使意志喜乐的情感倾向于那不可见者而赐下；他也愿意我们如此行，就是在这些可见的感官事物方面，消灭官能的能力和甘甜。
2. Hence, in order to avoid all the evils which may happen to the soul in this connection, which are its being hindered from soaring upward to God, or its using images in an unworthy and ignorant manner, or its being deceived by them through natural or supernatural means, all of which are things that we have touched upon above; and in order likewise to purify the rejoicing of the will in them and by means of them to lead the soul to God, for which reason the Church recommends their use, I desire here to set down only one warning, which will suffice for everything; and this warning is that, since images serve us as a motive for invisible things, we must strive to set the motive and the affection and the rejoicing of our will only upon that which in fact they represent. Let the faithful soul, then, be careful that, when he sees the image, he desire not that his senses should be absorbed by it, whether the image be corporeal or imaginary, whether beautifully made, whether richly adorned, whether the devotion that it causes be of sense or of spirit, whether it produce supernatural manifestations or no. The soul must on no account set store by these accidents, nor even regard them, but must raise up its mind from the image to that which it represents, centering the sweetness and rejoicing of its will, together with the prayer and devotion of its spirit, upon God or upon the saint who is being invoked; for that which belongs to the living reality and to the spirit should not be usurped by sense and by the painted object. If the soul do this, it will not be deceived, for it will set no store by anything that the image may say to it, nor will it occupy its sense or its spirit in such a way that they cannot travel freely to God, nor will it place more confidence in one image than in another. And an image which would cause the soul devotion by supernatural means will now do so more abundantly, since the soul will now go with its affections directly to God. For, whensoever God grants these and other favours, He does so by inclining the affection of the joy of the will to that which is invisible, and this He wishes us also to do, by annihilating the power and sweetness of the faculties with respect to these visible things of sense.