and neither can I; but one thing about it I can understand, and this
I will tell you. Just as every joyous ray of light and heat comes to
us from the sun, so all wisdom, all goodness, all beauty, all joy,
flow forth from God, and are His, alone. Our very souls would go out
of existence like the flames of a lamp when the oil is spent, if,
for the least fraction of a second, He ceased to give us life. This
truth that I am teaching you now is not mine, nor yours; it is only
a tiny stream flowing from the fountains of His infinite wisdom, and
would be the truth, all the same, if we had never been born, or
never learned to see it. The good and joyous feelings in your heart,
too, are also from God, just as the truth is, though they seem to
you more as if they were your own. You must never think of them as
your own, never; but thank God for them very gratefully and humbly,
for they are His fruits that grow in the garden of your father, the
Garden of Eden."

"Why do you call it the Garden of Eden?"

"Because, by the Garden of Eden, is signified the state of those who
live in obedience to God; and by the beauty and pleasantness of the
garden we are taught that, when we receive goodness and truth from
God, we, at the same time, receive happiness from Him, because He is
infinitely happy, as well as infinitely good, and when His spirit
fills our hearts, we are happy too. Happiness comes with goodness,
just as the flowers and songs of birds come with summer."

"Then are all good people happy? I thought not."

"It is true, there are many trials in this world, but do you not see
that if we were good we should acknowledge that God sent them as