3388. I spoke with them concerning persuasion, which is of such a nature, that when man is persuaded that evil is good, [and] false is true, then when he hears others, he can hear attentively, and then seem to himself to be persuaded, from well-connected arguments, and eloquent speech, the affection of sound, yet, when it is finished, knows nothing that [the speaker] said: only he praises him for speaking well: like those who assemble in congregations, and praise the lecture, and so for many years; but still, as they are in the persuasion of the evil and false, their life is not at all reformed, nor do they know at all what things are spoken. - 1748, September 27.