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The perfection of the intellect consists in the knowledge of truth, for it is in this form that the image of God is impressed upon it. Knowledge is power and satisfaction; and much more so is that knowledge which regards the highest divine truths. Truth has its opposite, which is forever contending against it for the mastery during the present life; and, in proportion to the dignity and benefits of truth, its opposites, error and falsehood, are injurious and horrible. Even in mundane matters falsehood is an evil and the source of further evils; and still more is this the case in the spiritual sphere, where it contradicts the truth concerning the highest of all objects, God, and the truths that are the root of right living and our future salvation. Error is never a mere matter of speculative opinion. The evil tree must produce evil fruits. Ideas are the basis of action, they live and fructify, they survive all violence, and produce their effects good or bad. The intelligence which rules our lives cannot be misinformed and perverted without producing far-reaching effects. One error will generate others indefinitely; and, although truth is immortal, it is long before it can overtake and extinguish a well established falsehood. Never consider that any falsity is a trivial matter. False belief may indeed at times be involuntary and therefore free from guilt, but it is not the less a product of the father of lies, and the ancestor of a long line of evils. Watch most carefully against its smallest encroachment.
