第八章：论灵魂若反思超自然事物的知识，可能由此在灵魂中造成的恶。说明这些恶有多少种。
Chapter VIII: Of the evils which may be caused in the soul by the knowledge of supernatural things, if it reflect upon them. Says how many these evils are.
属灵之人若留心并反思这些形式和观念，也就是借那些以超自然方式经过其心灵的事物而印刻在他里面的形式和观念，便有陷入五种恶的危险。
The spiritual man incurs the risk of five kinds of evil if he pays heed to, and reflects upon, these forms and ideas which are impressed upon him by the things which pass through his mind in a supernatural way.
2. 第一，他常常受欺骗，把一事误认为另一事。第二，他很可能陷入某种僭妄或虚荣，并暴露在这种堕落的危险中。第三，魔鬼有许多机会借上述领受欺骗他。第四，他在盼望中与神联合受到妨碍。第五，在大多数情况下，他对神的判断是低下的。
2. The first is that he is frequently deceived, and mistakes one thing for another. The second is that he is like to fall, and is exposed to the danger of falling, into some form of presumption or vanity. The third is that the devil has many occasions of deceiving him by means of the apprehensions aforementioned. The fourth is that he is hindered as to union in hope with God. The fifth is that, for the most part, he has a low judgment of God.
3. 关于第一种恶，显然，属灵之人若留心并反思这些形式和概念，就必然常常在判断它们时受欺骗；因为对于自然地经过其想象的事物，没有人能有完全的理解，也不能对它们有完善而确定的判断；那么，对于超自然事物，他就更不能如此，因为这些事物超出我们的理解能力，并且很少发生。因此，他常常会以为那仅仅来自自己想象的事属于神；也常常会以为出于神的是出于魔鬼，出于魔鬼的是出于神。并且，他里面常常会留下关于他人或自己的善恶的形式和观念的深刻印象，以及呈现在他面前的其他形象；他会认为这些都是最确定而真实的，其实并非如此，而是极大的虚假。另一些则是真实的，他却判断为虚假；不过这种错误我认为较为安全，因为它容易出于谦卑。
3. As to the first evil, it is clear that, if the spiritual man pays heed to these forms and notions, and reflects upon them, he must frequently be deceived in his judgment of them; for, as no man can have a complete understanding of the things that pass through his imagination naturally, nor a perfect and certain judgment about them, he will be much less able still to have this with respect to supernatural things, which are above our capacity to understand, and occur but rarely. Wherefore he will often think that what comes but from his fancy pertains to God; and often, too, that what is of God is of the devil, and what is of the devil is of God. And very often there will remain with him deap-seated impressions of forms and ideas concerning the good and evil of others, or of himself, together with other figures which have been presented to him: these he will consider to be most certain and true, when in fact they will not be so, but very great falsehoods. And others will be true, and he will judge them to be false, although this error I consider safer, as it is apt to arise from humility.
4. 即使他在这些事的真伪上没有受骗，他也很可能在其大小或性质上受骗，以为小事是大事，大事是小事。至于其性质，他可能把自己想象中的东西认为是这个或那个，其实却是完全不同的东西；他可能如以赛亚所说，「以暗为光，以光为暗」，或「以苦为甜，以甜为苦」。以赛亚书 v, 20。最后，即使他在一件事上判断正确，若在下一件事上不走迷，也算是奇事；因为，虽然他可能不愿运用自己的判断来评判这些事，但若他在留心这些事时运用判断，这就足以使某种恶因此附着于他，至少是被动地附着；若不是这种恶，也会是我们不久将要谈到的另外四种恶之一。
4. And, even if he be not deceived as to their truth, he may well be deceived as to their quantity or quality, thinking that little things are great, and great things, little. And with respect to their quality, he may consider what is in his imagination to be this or that, when it is something quite different; he may put, as Isaias says, darkness for light, and light for darkness, or bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. Isaias v, 20. And finally, even though he be correct as to one thing, it will be a marvel if he goes not astray with respect to the next; for, although he may not desire to apply his judgment to the judging of them, yet, if he apply it in paying heed to them, this will be sufficient to make some evil to cling to him as a result of it, at least passively; if not evil of this kind, then of one of the four other kinds of which we shall shortly speak.
5. 因此，属灵之人若要避免陷入这种在判断上受欺骗的恶，就不应渴望运用自己的判断，以便知道自己状态或感受的性质，或某某异象、观念或感受的性质；他也不应渴望知道它，或留心它。他只应为了把这些事告诉自己的灵修神师，并受他教导如何使记忆倒空这些领受，才渴望这样做。因为无论这些事本身的性质如何，它们都不能像人在万物的空虚与弃绝中所行的最小一个活泼信心和盼望之举那样，帮助他爱神。
5. It behoves the spiritual man, therefore, lest he fall into this evil of being deceived in his judgment, not to desire to apply his judgment in order to know the nature of his own condition or feelings, or the nature of such and such a vision, idea or feeling; neither should he desire to know it or to pay heed to it. This he should only desire in order to speak of it to his spiritual father, and to be taught by him how to void his memory of these apprehensions. For, whatever may be their intrinsic nature, they cannot help him to love God as much as the smallest act of living faith and hope performed in the emptiness and renunciation of all things.