selfishness., That is the infernal fire in the heart. For he who is utterly selfish—whose heart is filled with the love of himself alone, and who consequently is indifferent to the welfare of others,—has in his heart the germ of every bad passion; for Self-love, as often before shown, is the root of all evil. The reason that it is essential evil, is, because it is the exact opposite of essential goodness—the exact opposite of God. For God is essential Goodness, or, which is the same thing, essential Love;—not the love of Himself, but the love of others out of Himself and distinct from Himself, namely, His creatures. His Infinite delight is to bless them and do them good: this is the consequence of His Divine nature, which is Love. The angels of heaven, who are all in His image and likeness, are of a like character: their heavenly delight is to do good to each other and to men—to all who come within their influence. This proceeds from the heavenly nature which they receive from the Lord, and which, like His, is also love. Just so with men on earth: we all acknowledge men to be good and worthy of our esteem and affection, just in the degree in which they partake of the same quality, love; not self-love, but love to others—kindness, disinterestedness, benevolence. And just in that degree are they truly men, for just so far are they in the Divine image and likeness, which is the standard of a man: and they are also preparing to become, hereafter, angels of heaven.
But what, now, on the other hand, is the state of one who is utterly selfish, whose bosom is filled with the love of himself alone? who has no love of others, no nobleness, no disinterestedness; all whose plans and calculations are for his own good and his own ad-
