TheUseofEvil. 21
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willhave begun,forthe process isalong one.
And thatisthe onlywaydesirecan befinally
extirpated. You can only get nd of it by
graduallyrealisingthroughexperiencetheknow-
ledgethatthegratificationof alldesirewhichis
not going upwards is a womb of pain, and
brings forth woe as a child. Nothing but
this experience can get rid of desire; not by
outward compulsion but inward will must the
destruction of desire take place, and this is
wroughtbypain. Henceispain,miscalledan
evil, one of the greatest blessings bestowed
uponman,inorderto turn him from thetran-
sitoryand fix him upon the eternal; for only
by pain can he possibly learn, only out of
disgust with theworld will arise those inward
aspirationswhich shallatlastbegratifiedinthe
visionof '^rulhTHoine.
Do not misunderstand me, for misunder-
standing on this matter is very easy but very
dangerous. Thestageofthefullgratificationof
desirethat I havebeenspeakingof isthestage
oftheSoul'schildhood,ereyet the memoryof
the Soul recalling past suffering following on
gratification, translatesitselfasthevoiceofcon-
science, and warns the lower nature of the
perilof yieldingtodesire. Whenonceexperi-
ence has been sufficient to bring about such