XLV. De Fallacia.

XLV. De Fallacia.

But the fourth image signifies deception, which accompanies impiety here; for when a man is wicked, he resorts to deception, and each lie is carefully built upon, with truth cast aside. What is surrounded by such a dense darkness that you can hardly discern any distinction among its parts is thickened by infidelity, and it has no goodness or righteousness in itself, because there is no integrity found in it; instead, it is filled only with the shadows of death. But you can hardly recognize it as a deformed and monstrous shape of humanity in the same darkness, since it lacks the beauty of truth and the grace of justice in all its words and actions; it walks only in the shadows of death, devoid of any goodness, so that now it has certain paths and now uncertain ones, because the diligence of love, in which God is seen, is not found in it, but rather a fruitless and deceptive illusion that is continually perfected through men in other men. And this stands over a certain dry and hard black foam, emitting many flames of fire, because it is a deception, resting on the illusion of words, showing no strength in those who possess it; it appears barren without the greenness of justice, harsh without the sweetness of kindness, and dark without the brightness of virtues, because in it there is no serenity, but a flame of anger that brings forth many injuries, just as it also shows above in its speech. The truth is restrained by a true response; and to be truthful, people are reminded. For those who love lies don't only assist in this, but also labor for others; when they have entangled themselves with them, they break forth into many lies; as the prophet David, truly imbued with my spirit, shows by saying: