It was not according to the will of God that this man should be visited with so terrible an affliction as to be delivered wholly into the hands of Satan. The secret source of his calamity, which had made him a fearful spectacle to his friends and a burden to himself, was in his own life. The pleasures of sin had fascinated him, the path of dissipation had looked bright and tempting, he had thought to make life a grand carnival. He did not dream of becoming a disgust and terror to the world and the reproach of his family. He thought his time could be spent in innocent folly; but once on the downward path, his feet rapidly descended till he had broken the laws of health and morality. Intemperance and frivolity chained his senses, the fine qualities of his mind were perverted, and Satan stepped in and took absolute control of him. {2SP 179.2}

Det var ikke i overensstemmelse med Guds behagelige vilje, at dette menneske skulle hjemsøges så forfærdelig, eller at han helt kom under Satans herredømme. Den hemmelige årsag til den ulykke, der havde gjort ham til et udskud for hans venner og en byrde for ham selv, lå i hans eget liv. Syndens fornøjelser havde bedåret ham, udsvævelsens sti havde forekommet ham lys og tillokkende. Han havde søgt at gøre livet til en stor forlystelse. Han drømte ikke om, at han ville blive til væmmelse og forfærdelse for verden og til skam for sin familie. Han mente, at han kunne tilbringe sin tid med uskyldig dårskab. Men da han engang kom på syndens sti, gled hans fødder hurtig ned ad, idet han overtrådte sandhedens og moralens love. (180) Umådelighed og letsindighed fængslede hans sans, sjælens ædlere egenskaber blev fornærede, og Satan trådte til og fik fuldkomment herredømme over ham.