111. 3. Our inner nature cannot be cleansed from compulsions to evil as long as the evils in our outer nature are not banished, because these outer evils stand in the way. This follows from what I have already said [ 106-110] about the essential nature of our outer thought processes being determined by the nature of our inner thought processes and about their being consistent with each other, the way things are when one is not only within the other but also derives from it, so that one cannot be removed unless the other is as well. That is the way it is with any outward thing that comes from an inner cause, any consequence from some precedent, and any result from some means.

[2] Now, since compulsions combine with their deviousness to make up the inner thought processes of evil people, and since the pleasures of those compulsions combine with their intrigues to make up their outer thought processes, and since these two processes are so united that they function in unison, it follows that our inner nature cannot be cleansed from its compulsions as long as the evil deeds in our outer character are not banished. We need to realize that what lies within our compulsions is our volition, and what lies within our deviousness is the discernment of our inner self; while what lies within the pleasures of our compulsions is our outer volition, and what lies within the intrigues of our deviousness is our outer discernment.

We can all see that our compulsions and their pleasures form a single whole, and that our deviousness and its intrigues form a single whole, and that these four occur in a single sequence and come together in a kind of sheaf. Then we can also see that the only way to get rid of an inner nature that is made up of compulsions is by getting rid of an outer nature that is made up of evil deeds. It is our compulsions that bring forth the evil deeds through their pleasures; but once the evil deeds are considered permissible (which happens when our volition and discernment agree), then the pleasures and the evil deeds make a single whole. We know that consent is the same as action--this is what the Lord says in Matthew 5:28: "If anyone has looked at someone else's wife so as to lust for her, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart." It is the same with our other evils.