In this world a deformed man may gaze upon a beautiful object without becoming beautiful thereby; the poor man gazes upon the rich man, but remains as poor as ever; and the ignorant man gazes upon the philosopher, and nevertheless remains as ignorant as before. Not so in heaven. The vision of God has a transforming power; that is, it has the power of communicating to the beholder attributes which he had not before, or possessed only in the germ. Thus the soul, because she sees God as He is, is filled to overflowing with all knowledge; she becomes beautiful with the beauty of God, rich with his wealth, holy with his holiness, and happy with his own unutterable happiness. In a word, by the vision of God, she is made a partaker of the divine nature, and, like a very god, she shines unto all eternity in the divine brightness. A diamond, carefully cut and perfectly polished, glitters and shines in the sun with exceeding brilliancy. It not only reflects the light, but also absorbs it into itself, so as to shine even in the dark with the light it has absorbed. It actually becomes, as it were, a little sun, shining with its own light. It is thus become a partaker of the sun's nature, while it retains its own peculiar diamond nature and individuality. This is an image of what takes place in the Beatific Vision. While she was in this world, God had polished that soul, by the sacraments and by sufferings; and now that she is in His presence, and sees him as he is, she shines and sparkles in his light with unspeakable splendor. She reflects and absorbs the divine light and beauty of God. She is like God, because she sees Him as he is; she is made a partaker of the divine nature, while she retains her own human nature and personal identity. But, let us again hear Lessius. Speaking of this communication of the divine nature to man, he says "This communication begins in this life, by the gifts of grace, especially faith, hope, and charity. By these virtues we are not only made like to God, but God is also united to us. It is perfected, however, in the next life by the gifts of glory--namely, the light of glory, the vision of the Divinity, beatific love, and beatific joy. For, by these, we attain our highest similitude to God, and become perfectly sons of God, shining like the Divinity, and exhibiting in ourselves the most excellent image of the most Holy Trinity. For by the light of glory we are made like the Father; by the vision of the Divine Essence and the Divine Persons, we become like the Son; by beatific love we are made like the Holy Ghost; by joy we become like the Godhead in beatitude, and thus the participation of the divine beatitude is completed in us."* * De Perf. Divin., lib. xiv. c. 1.