John Tauler · 9 of 121

Secondly, of the work and knowledge of grace. · 63.

This also is of grace, that man recognises what injury lies in sin. Such injury lies in it that no one can speak of it; for it robs man of all good, not only of natural good, but also of spiritual good. For sin degrades nature from its nobility and debases it to the ignoble, which all creatures hate; nay, even the devil hates it, and yet he can never be clear of it, and that is his hell. People say it is human to sin but it is not human, but devilish; for sin maketh of man a devil. For those who live conscious of it, in mortal sin, these are not men but devils, and are even more wicked than devils. For if the devil could come back he would not remain in sins; but these men, though they came back, they would do the same evil, therefore are they worse than devils. An inclination to sin is indeed human, for man has this from Adam’s fall. But his actual sinning he does from an evil will, and is not from nature, for it is rather against nature. For nature is destroyed thereby, and degraded from its nobility. Whosoever wishes to come to a proper nature, must do it through virtues, and not through vices. For nature desires good and not evil, and whenever evil happens, it is a suffering to nature. In fact, nature is created for good and not for evil, and therefore it hateth all evil. As now sin is evil, sin is hated by nature. That men should love sin is not of nature, but it is of devilish wickedness, and it is worse than the devil. For the devil hateth sin naturally, and yet the fact of his loving it unnaturally, this maketh him a devil. Sin does alike; it maketh all who love it into devils.