Temptation of christ

"It is because of the necessity of controlling and transmuting all the lower qualities of the nature that the years of probationship are so essential. During this period of battle with self, the sincere student gets hold of the threads of his life and begins to make the adjustments necessary before the actual spiritual work can begin. It is not by destroying the lower nature that man becomes virtuous; it is by the transmutation and regeneration of every base quality and attitude that he achieves divinity. This gradual process of self conquest ultimately brings the disciple to the state of complete self-control. From that point attainment is not so difficult, for having controlled self, he is the master of the universe."

-The Spiritual Centers in Man; An Essay on the Fundamental Principles of Operative Occultism (1929) by Manly P. Hall

-Artwork: Temptation of Christ (1865) by Gustav Dore