By this faith instilled from childhood and afterward confirmed by preachings, it has come to pass that no one shuns evils from religion, but only fro… - Emmanuel Swedenborg

Every falsity is something we can convince ourselves of, and when we have done so it seems to us to be the truth:

It is important to note, however, that these two loves can be more prevalent among commoners than among the great; more prevalent among the poor than among the wealthy; more prevalent among subjects than among royalty. The latter in each case are born into power and wealth. Over time, the latter come to view their power and wealth much the way people at a somewhat lower level — commanders, governors, admirals, or even impoverished farm workers — view their own households and possessions. It is not the same, though, when monarchs wish to exercise power over nations that are not their own.

People who do not examine themselves are like people with a sickness that closes off their capillaries and therefore corrupts their blood, causing their limbs to go to sleep and atrophy, and resulting in severe chronic diseases because their humors, and therefore the blood that arises from them, are viscous, sticky, irritating, and acidic. People who do examine themselves, however, including the intentions of their will, are like people who are healed from these diseases and regain the vitality they felt when they were young. People who examine themselves in the right way are like ships from Ophir completely filled with gold, silver, and precious stones; before they examined themselves, though, they were like barges loaded down with unclean freight, carting away the filth and excrement from city streets. . . .