Think of a man standing at night inside his house, with all the doors closed; and then suppose that he opens a window just at the moment when there is a sudden flash of lightning. Unable to bear its brightness, at once he protects himself by closing his eyes and drawing back from the window.

So it is with the soul that is enclosed in the realm of the senses; if ever he peeps out through the window of the intellect, he is overwhelmed by the brightness, like lightning, of the pledge of the Holy Spirit. Unable to bear the splendor of unveiled light, at once he is bewildered in his intellect and he draws back entirely upon himself, taking refuge, as in a house, among sensory and human things.