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THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
veyed is that of the removal of some sort of fetters, hence, of a gaining, or regaining, of the natural state of freedom, not of the acquisition or attainment of anything foreign, or new. When a judge pronounces judgment of acquittal in favour of a prisoner, the delight of the latter is great, because he instantly experiences, or begins to experience, a complete cessation of all the mental worries which were weighing him down, on the score of the accusation levelled against him; but the fact of his acquittal adds nothing positive to his body, mind or soul, and merely leads him to feel the status quo ante when the troubles and anxieties, consequent on his accusation, arrest and trial, had not imposed their 'fetters' on him. It is true that he did not feel so light-hearted before his accusation as he does afterwards, but the change is due to the manifestation of joy which pushes aside, for the time being, some of the other cares and worries as well. The difference between the old and the new states of liberty, then, is that, while in the former condition its enjoyment was marred by all the other existing cares and worries, in the latter it is emphasized by a sense of release from some of them, at least, for the time being. Thus, delight simply means the natural state of freedom of the soul.
Amongst the men and women of the world, however, delight itself is a short-lived condition, inasmuch as their desires, i.e., ideals and pursuits, seldom leave them time to enjoy the natural joy of being; on the contrary, no sooner than is any particular burden removed from the soul they manage to impose two more on it, in its place, by their ignorant and unnatural living. Thus
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