2410. That 'he lingered' means reluctance caused by the nature of evil is clear from what has been stated above in 2406; for the evil that is within man reacts all the time against the good which comes from the Lord. Evil arising from what is hereditary and from his own actions clings to man in each one of his thoughts, indeed in the least parts of thoughts. This evil drags him down, but the Lord withholds him and uplifts him by means of the good that He implants. In this way man is kept suspended between evil and good, and therefore if for one fraction of a moment the Lord did not withhold him from evils he would of himself rush in a downward direction, all the more so in this state which the member of the Church whom Lot at this point represents is experiencing than in the previous state. The present state is a state when he starts to think and act not so much from good as from truth, and so is somewhat removed from good.