,angelic ,wisdom about ,,divine ,,providence by ,emanuel ,swedenborg ,translation ,by ,,william ,,frederic ,,wunsch ,standard ,edition ,,swedenborg ,,foundation ,,incorporated ,,new ,,york ,,established ,,in #ahej ,originally published in ,latin at ,amsterdam #agfd ,first ,english translation published in ,u4,s4,a4 #ahea #east ,printing1 #aige 7#eth ,printing ,wunsch ,translation74 ,,isbn #j-hgghe-jei-c 7,student7 #j-hgghe-jfj-g 7,trade7 ,library of ,congress ,catalog ,card ,number #gd-cjdda ,manufactured in the ,united ,states of ,america ,,contents#a ,translator's ,preface ,i4 ,what ,divine ,providence ,is ,,ii4 ,the ,goal of ,divine ,providence ,,iii4 ,the ,outlook of ,divine ,providence ,,iv4 ,providence has its ,laws ,v4 ,its ,regard for ,human ,freedom and ,reason ,,vi4 ,even in the ,struggle against ,evil ,,vii4 ,the ,law of ,noncompulsion ,,viii4 ,the ,law of ,overt ,guidance ,,ix4 ,the ,law of ,hidden ,operation ,x4 ,divine ,providence and ,human ,prudence ,,xi4 ,binding ,time and ,eternity ,,xii4 ,the ,law ,guarding against ,profanation ,,xiii4 ,laws of ,tolerance in the ,laws of ,providence ,,xiv4 ,why ,evil is ,permitted ,,xv4 ,providence ,attends the ,evil and the ,good ,,xvi4 ,providence and ,prudence in the ,appropriation of ,good and ,evil to ,man ,,xvii4 ,the ,salvation of ,all the ,design of ,providence ,,xviii4 ,the ,steadfast ,observance of its ,laws by ,providence ,index of ,scripture ,passages ,subject ,index #a,swedenborg gave neither numbers nor brief captions to the chapters of the book4 ,nor did he prefix a recital of all the propositions and subsidiary propositions to come in the book2 this was the work of the ,latin editor4 ,for this the above1 giving the reader a succinct idea of the book's contents1 is substituted4 ,tr4 ,,translator',s ,,preface ,,the ,book ,the reader will find in this book a firm assurance of ,god's care of mankind as a whole and of each human being4 ,the assurance is rested in ,god's infinite love and wisdom1 the love pure mercy1 the wisdom giving love its ways and means4 ,it is further grounded in an interpretation of the universe as a spiritual-natural world1 an interpretation fully set forth in the earlier book1 ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 on which the present work draws heavily4 ,as there is a world of the spirit1 no view of providence can be adequate which does not take that world into account4 ,for in that world must be channels for the outreach of ,god's care to the human spirit4 ,there also any eternal goal--such as a heaven from the human race--must exist4 ,a view of providence limited to the horizons of the passing existence can hardly resemble the care which the eternal ,god takes of men and women who1 besides possessing perishable bodies1 are themselves creatures of the spirit and immortal4 ,the full title of the book1 ,angelic ,wisdom about ,divine ,providence1 implies that its author1 in an other-world experience1 had at hand the knowledge which men and women in heaven have of ,god's care4 ,who should know the divine guidance if not the men and women in heaven who have obviously enjoyed it8 ,the laws of divine providence1 hitherto hidden with angels in their wisdom1 are to be revealed now 7n4 #gj74 ,as it is presented in this book1 providence seeks to engage man in its purposes1 and to enlist all his faculties1 his freedom and reason1 his will and understanding1 his prudence and enterprise4 ,it acts first of all on his volitions and thinking1 to align them with itself4 ,that it falls directly on history1 its events and our circumstances1 is a superficial view4 ,it is man's inner life which first feels the omnipresent divine influence and must do so4 ,if we cannot be lifted to our best selves and if our aims and outlook cannot be modified for the better1 how shall the world be bettered which we affect to handle8 ,paramount in ,god's presence with all men1 if only in their possibilities1 is ,his providential care4 ,this care1 to which man's inner life is open1 is alert every moment1 not occasional4 ,it is gentle and not tyrannical1 constantly respecting man's freedom and reason1 otherwise losing him as a human being4 ,it has set this and other laws for itself which it pursues undeviatingly4 ,the larger part of the book is an exposition of these laws in the conviction that by them the nature of providence is best seen4 ,is it not to be expected in a universe which has its laws1 and in which impersonal forces are governed by laws1 that the ,creator of all should pursue laws in ,his concern with the lives of conscious beings8 ,to fit a world of laws must not the divine care have its laws1 too8 ,adjustment of thought about divine providence to scientific thought is not the overriding necessity1 for scientific thought must keep adjusting to laws which it discerns in the physical world4 ,in consonance1 religious thought seeks to learn the lawful order in the guidance of the human spirit4 ,do not each and all things in tree or shrub proceed constantly and wonderfully from purpose to purpose according to the laws of their order of things8 ,why should not the supreme purpose1 a heaven from the human race1 proceed in similar fashion8 ,can there be anything in its progress which does not proceed with all constancy according to the laws of divine providence8 7n #ccb7 ,respecting the laws of providence1 it is to be noted that there are more laws than those1 five in number1 which are stated at the heads of as many chapters in the book4 ,further laws are embodied in other chapters4 ,at n4 #bdi7b7 we are told that further laws were presented in nn4 #aia-bac1 #bad-bbj1 and #bba-bcc4 ,in fact1 at n4 #bdc4 there is a reference to laws which follow in even later chapters4 ,in nn4 #aia-bac the law1 partly stated in the heading over the chapter1 comes to full sight particularly at n4 #baj7b71 namely1 that providence1 in engaging human response1 shall align human prudence with itself1 so that providence becomes one's prudence 7n4 #caa;e74 ,in nn4 #bad-bbj the law is that providence employ the temporal goals of distinction and wealth towards its eternal goals1 and perpetuate standing and wealth in a higher form1 for a man will then have sought them not for themselves and handled them for the use they can be4 ,to keep a person from premature spiritual experience1 nn4 #bba-bcc1 is obviously a law of providence1 guarding against relapse and consequent profanation of what had become sacred to him4 ,the paradox of divine foreknowledge and human freedom1 regularly discussed in studies of providence1 receives an explanation which becomes more and more enlightening in the course of the book4 ,the paradox1 probably nowhere else discussed1 of man's thinking and willing to all appearance all by himself1 and of the fact that volition and thought come to him from beyond him1 receives a similar1 cumulative answer4 ,the tension between the divine will and human self-will is a subject that pervades the book2 to that subject the profoundest insights into the hidden activity of providence and into human nature are brought4 ,on the question1 ,is providence only general or also detailed8 the emphatic answer is that it cannot be general unless it takes note of the least things4 ,on miracle and on chance conclusions unusual in religious thought meet the reader4 ,the inequalities1 injustices and tragedies in life which raise doubts of the divine care are faced in a long chapter after the concept of providence has been spread before the reader4 ,what would be the point in considering them before what providence is has been considered8 ,against what manner of providence are the arguments valid8 ,a chapter such as this1 on doubts of providence and on the mentality which cherishes them1 becomes a monograph on the subject1 as the chapter on premature spiritual experience1 with the risk of relapse and profanation1 becomes a monograph on kinds of profanation4 ,coming by revelation and by a lengthy other-world experience on ,swedenborg's part 7in which he learned of the incorrectness of some of his own beliefs1 nn4 #bgi7b71 #bij7 the book1 like others of his1 nevertheless has for an outstanding feature a steady address to the reason4 ,the profoundest truths of the spiritual life1 among them the nature of ,god and the laws and ways of providence1 are not beyond grasp by the reason4 ,sound reason ,swedenborg credits with lofty insights4 ,divine ,providence is a book to be studied1 and not merely read1 and studied slowly4 ,by its own way of proceeding1 it extends an invitation to read1 not straight through1 but something like a chapter at a time4 ,in a new chapter ,swedenborg will recall for the reader what was said in the preceding chapter1 as though the reader had mean-while laid the book down4 ,the revelator proceeds at a measured pace1 carries along the whole body of his thought1 and places each new point in this larger context1 where it receives its precise significance and its full force4 ,it is an accumulation of thought and not a repetition of statements merely that one meets4 ,what has been written earlier cannot be as closely connected with what is written later as it will be if the same things are recalled and placed with both in view 7n4 #aic 7#a774 ,,the ,,translation ,this volume has been translated afresh from the ,latin2 it is not a revision of any earlier edition4 ,greater readableness has been striven for4 ,in the past1 it is generally recognized1 ,latin sentence structure and word order were clung to unnecessarily4 ,the defects in previous translations of ,swedenborg have arisen mainly from too close an adherence to cognate words and to the ,latin order of words and phrases4 ,so wrote the ,rev4 ,john ,c4 ,ager in #ahii in his translator's note in the ,library ,edition of ,divine ,providence4 ,why1 indeed1 should ,english not be allowed its own sentence structure and word order8 ,in addition1 in this translation1 long sentences1 readily followed in an inflected language like ,latin1 have been broken up into short ones4 ,english also uses fewer particles of logical relation than are at home in ,latin4 ,there is more paragraphing1 aiding the eye1 which both ,british and ,american translators have been doing for some years4 ,latin has neither a definite article nor an indefinite article1 and a translator into ,english must decide when to use either or neither4 ,the definite article1 the present translator thinks1 has been overused1 perhaps in a dogmatic tendency to be as precise as can be4 ,when1 for instance1 one is admitted into truths of faith he is certainly not admitted into the truths of faith1 as though he could comprehend them all4 ,the very title of the book changes the impression which it makes as the definite article is inserted or omitted in it4 ,the divine providence seems to single out a theological concept2 divine providence seems more likely to lead the thought to ,god's actual care4 ,swedenborg has his carefully chosen terms1 of course1 like proprium1 which are best kept1 although in the present translation that term is sometimes rendered by an explanatory word and one which1 in the particular context1 is an equivalent4 ,the verb appropriate presents a difficulty1 but has been kept1 partly because of the noun proprium4 ,one could translate rather wordily make--something good or evil--one's own4 ,the ,english word now means take exclusive possession of1 which one can hardly do of good or evil4 ,assimilation is the thought and the act1 and with that in mind the verb appropriate and the noun appropriation can be retained4 ,the unusual locution affection of truth or of good1 which ,mr4 ,ager abandoned1 translating for truth and for good1 has been returned to4 ,much is implied in that phrase which is not to be found in the other wording1 namely1 that we are affected by truth and by good1 and that there is an influx of these into the human spirit4 ,similarly meaningful is another unusual way of speaking in ,english1 of a person's being in faith or in charity1 where we say that he has faith or exercises charity4 ,the thought is that faith and charity1 truth and goodness beckon to us1 to be welcomed and entered into4 ,latin sometimes has a number of words for an idea or an entity1 and the ,english has not1 but when ,english has the richer vocabulary1 why not avail oneself of the variety possible8 ,the ,latin word finis1 for example1 used in so many connections1 can be rendered by one word in one connection and by another in another connection4 ,the goal or the object of providence is plainer than the end of providence4 ,the close of life is common speech4 ,meritorious has been kept in our translations1 for in a restricted field of traditional theology it does mean that virtue1 for example1 earns a reward4 ,to most readers the word will be misleading1 for they will understand it in its usual meaning1 that some act is well-deserving4 ,the former is ,swedenborg's meaning1 which is that an act is done to earn merit1 or is considered to have earned merit4 ,we translate variously according to context to make that meaning clear 7nn4 #cba7aa71 #cbf7h71 #ij74 ,as it is what ,swedenborg has written that is to be translated1 the ,scripture passages which he quotes are translated without an effort to follow the ,authorized ,version1 which he did not know4 ,this is also done when he refers to the book which stands last in our ,bibles2 the name he knew it by1 the ,apocalypse1 is retained4 ,,the ,,subject ,,index ,the rewording in this translation would have necessitated revision of the index long used in editions of ,divine ,providence1 which goes back to an index in ,french done by ,m4 ,le ,boys des ,guays4 ,the opportunity was seized to compile a subject instead of a word index4 ,it is based on an analysis of the contents of the book1 and can serve as a reading guide4 ,it does not usually quote the text1 but sends the reader to it4 ,definitions of a number of terms are embodied in it4 ,the appearance that man thinks1 wills1 speaks and acts all of his own doing is the subject of much of the book1 and this the index shows4 ,the life's love deserves to be a separate entry1 for little of a psychological nature in the book becomes more prominent than the love which forms in the way one actually lives1 and which embodies one's actual belief and thought4 ,single words which have been scattered entries in the index long used--usually ,scripture words of which the correspondential meaning is given--are assembled alphabetically under the entry ,correspondences4 ,a signal feature of ,swedenborg's thought is the unities he perceives4 ,of love and wisdom he says that they can only be perceived as one 7#d7e774 ,so good and truth do not exist apart1 nor charity and faith1 nor affection and thought4 ,these and other pairs of terms are therefore entered in the index2 after references on the two together1 references follow on each term alone4 ,the index1 it is hoped1 will do more than introduce the reader to statements made in the book1 but will carry him into its stream of thought4 ,,wm4 ,f4 ,,wunsch ,angelic ,wisdom about ,,divine ,,providence ,,divine ,,providence ,i4 ,,divine ,,providence ,,is ,,government ,,by ,,the ,,lord',s ,,divine ,,love ,,and ,,wisdom #a4 ,to understand what divine providence is--namely1 government by the ,lord's divine love and wisdom--one needs to know what was said and shown earlier about divine love and wisdom in the treatise about them3 ,in the ,lord divine love is of divine wisdom1 and divine wisdom of divine love 7nn4 #cd-ci72 ,divine love and wisdom cannot but be in1 and be manifested in1 all else1 created by them 7nn4 #dg-ea72 ,all things in the universe were created by them 7nn4 #eb1 #ec1 #aea-aef72 ,all are recipients of that love and wisdom 7nn4 #ee-fj72 ,the ,lord appears before the angels as a sun1 the heat proceeding from it being love1 and the light wisdom 7nn4 #hc-hh1 #hi-ib1 #ic-ih1 #bif-cja72 ,divine love and wisdom1 proceeding from the ,lord1 make one 7nn4 #ii-ajb72 ,the ,lord from eternity1 who is ,jehovah1 created the universe and everything in it from ,himself1 and not from nothing 7nn4 #bhb-bhd1 #bij-bie74 ,this is to be found in the treatise entitled ,angelic ,wisdom about ,divine ,love and ,wisdom4 #b4 ,putting with these propositions the description of creation in that treatise1 one may indeed see that what is called divine providence is government by the ,lord's divine love and wisdom4 ,in that treatise1 however1 creation was the subject1 and not the preservation of the state of things after creation--yet this is the ,lord's government4 ,we now treat of this1 therefore1 and in the present chapter1 of the preservation of the union of divine love and wisdom or of divine good and truth in what was created1 which will be done in the following order3 i4 ,the universe1 with each and all things in it1 was created from divine love by divine wisdom4 ii ,divine love and wisdom proceed as one from the ,lord4 iii4 ,this one is in some image in every created thing4 iv4 ,it is of the divine providence that every created thing1 as a whole and in part1 should be such a one1 and if it is not1 should become such a one4 v4 ,good of love is good only so far as it is united to truth of wisdom1 and truth of wisdom truth only so far as it is united to good of love4 vi4 ,good of love not united to truth of wisdom is not good in itself but seeming good1 and truth of wisdom not united to good of love is not truth in itself but seeming truth4 vii4 ,the ,lord does not suffer anything to be divided2 therefore it must be either in good and at the same time in truth1 or in evil and at the same time in falsity4 viii4 ,that which is in good and at the same time in truth is something2 that which is in evil and at the same time in falsity is not anything4 ix4 ,the ,lord's divine providence causes evil and the attendant falsity to serve for equilibrium1 contrast1 and purification1 and so for the conjunction of good and truth in others4 #c4 7i7 ,the universe1 with each and all things in it1 was created from divine love by divine wisdom4 ,in the work ,divine ,love and ,wisdom we showed that the ,lord from eternity1 who is ,jehovah1 is in essence divine love and wisdom1 and that ,he created the universe and all things in it from ,himself4 ,it follows that the universe1 with each and all things in it1 was created from divine love by means of divine wisdom4 ,we also showed in that treatise that love can do nothing without wisdom1 and wisdom nothing without love4 ,for love apart from wisdom1 or the will apart from understanding1 cannot think anything1 indeed cannot see1 feel or say anything1 so cannot do anything4 ,likewise1 wisdom apart from love1 or understanding apart from will1 cannot think1 see1 feel1 or speak1 therefore cannot do1 anything4 ,for if love is removed from wisdom or understanding1 there is no willing and thus no doing4 ,if this is true of man1 for him to do anything1 it was much more true of ,god--who is love itself and wisdom itself--when ,he created and made the world and all that it contains4 #b ,that the universe1 with each and all things in it1 was created from divine love by divine wisdom may also be established from objects to be seen in the world4 ,take a particular object1 examine it with some wisdom1 and you will be convinced4 ,take the seed1 fruit1 flower or leaf of a tree1 muster your wisdom1 examine the object with a strong microscope1 and you will see marvels4 ,even more wonderful are the more interior things which you do not see4 ,note the unfolding order in the growth of a tree from seed to new seed2 reflect on the continuous effort in all stages after self-propagation--the end to which it moves is seed in which its reproductive power arises anew4 ,if then you will think spiritually1 as you can if you will1 will you not see wisdom in all this8 ,furthermore1 if you can think spiritually enough1 you will see that this energy does not come from the seed1 nor from the sun of the world1 which is only fire1 but is in the seed from ,god the ,creator whose wisdom is infinite1 and is from ,him not only at the moment of creation but ever after1 too4 ,for maintenance is perpetual creation1 as continuance is perpetual coming to be4 ,else it is quite as work ceases when you withdraw will from action1 or as utterance fails when you remove thought from speech1 or as motion ceases when you remove impetus2 in a word1 as an effect perishes when you remove the cause4 #c ,every created thing is endowed with energy1 indeed1 but this does nothing of itself but from ,him who implanted it4 ,examine any other earthly object1 like a silkworm1 bee or other small creature4 ,view it first naturally1 then rationally1 and at length spiritually1 and if you can think deeply1 you will be astounded at all you see4 ,let wisdom speak in you1 and you will exclaim in astonishment1 ,who does not see the divine in such things8 ,they are all of divine wisdom4 ,still more will you exclaim1 if you note the uses of all created things1 how they mount in regular order even to the human being1 and from man to the ,creator whence they are1 and that the connection1 and if you will acknowledge it1 the preservation also of them all1 depend on the conjunction of the ,creator with man4 ,that divine love created all things1 but nothing apart from the divine wisdom1 will be seen in what follows4 #d4 7ii7 ,divine love and wisdom proceed as one from the ,lord4 ,this1 too1 is plain from what was shown in the work ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 especially in the propositions3 ,esse and existere are distinguishably one in the ,lord 7nn4 #ad-ag72 ,infinite things are distinguishably one in ,him 7nn4 #ag-bb72 ,divine love is of divine wisdom1 and divine wisdom of divine love 7nn4 #cd-ci72 ,love not married to wisdom cannot effect anything 7nn4 #dja-djc72 ,love does nothing except in union with wisdom 7nn4 #dji1 #daj72 ,spiritual heat and light1 proceeding from the ,lord as a sun1 make one as divine love and wisdom make one in ,him 7nn4 #ii-ajb74 ,the truth of the present proposition is plain from these propositions1 demonstrated in that treatise4 ,but as it is not known how two distinct things can act as one1 ,i wish now to show that there is no one apart from form1 and that the form itself makes it a unit2 then1 that a form makes a one the more perfectly as the elements entering into it are distinctly different and yet united4 #b ,there is no one apart from form1 and the form itself makes it a unit4 ,everyone who brings his mind to bear on the matter can see clearly that there is no one apart from form1 and if a thing exists at all1 it is a form4 ,for what exists at all derives from form what is known as its character and its predicates1 its changes of state1 also its relevance1 and so on4 ,a thing without form has no way of affecting us1 and what has no power of affecting1 has no reality4 ,it is form which enables to all this4 ,and as all things have a form1 then if the form is perfect1 all things in it regard each other mutually1 as link does link in a chain4 ,it follows that it is form which makes a thing a unit and thus an entity of which character1 state1 affection or anything else can be predicated2 each is predicated of it according to the perfection of the form4 #c ,such a unit is every object which meets the eye in the world4 ,such1 too1 is everything not seen with the eye1 whether in interior nature or in the spiritual world4 ,the human being is such a unit1 human society is1 likewise the church1 and in the ,lord's view the whole angelic heaven1 too2 in short1 all creation in general and in every particular4 ,for each and all things to be forms1 ,he who created all things must be form itself1 and all things made must be from that form4 ,this1 therefore1 was also demonstrated in the work ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 as that ,divine love and wisdom are substance and form 7nn4 #dj-dc72 ,divine love and wisdom are form itself1 thus the one ,self and the single independent existence 7nn4 #dd-df72 ,divine love and wisdom are one in the ,lord 7nn4 #ad-ag1 #ah-bb71 and proceed as one from ,him 7nn4 #ii-ajb1 and elsewhere74 #d ,a form makes a one the more perfectly as the elements entering into it are distinctly different and yet united4 ,this hardly falls into a comprehension not elevated1 for the appearance is that a form cannot make a one except as its elements are quite alike4 ,i have spoken with angels often on the subject4 ,they said that this is a secret perceived clearly by their wiser men1 obscurely by the less wise4 ,they said it is the truth that a form is the more perfect as its constituents are distinctly different and yet severally united4 ,they established the fact from the societies which in the aggregate constitute the form of heaven1 and from the angels of a society1 for as these are different and free and love their associates from themselves and from their own affection1 the form of the society is more perfect4 ,they also illustrated the fact from the marriage of good and truth1 in that the more distinguishably two these are1 the more perfectly do they make a one2 similarly1 of love and wisdom4 ,the indistinguishable is confusion1 they said1 whence comes imperfection of form4 #e ,in various ways they went on to establish the manner in which perfectly distinct things are united and thus make a one1 especially by what is in the human body1 in which are innumerable things quite distinct and yet united1 held distinct by coverings and united by ligaments4 ,it is so with love1 they said1 and all its things1 and wisdom and all its things1 for love and wisdom are not perceived except as one4 ,see further on the subject in ,divine ,love and ,wisdom 7nn4 #ad-bb7 and in the work ,heaven and ,hell 7nn4 #ef and #dhi74 ,this has been adduced as part of angelic wisdom4 #e4 7iii7 ,this one is in some image in every created thing4 ,it can be seen from what was demonstrated throughout the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom and especially at nn4 #dg-ea1 #ee-fj1 #bhb-bhd1 #bij-bie1 #cac-cah1 #cai-cbf1 #cdi-ceg1 that divine love and wisdom which are one in the ,lord and proceed as one from ,him1 are in some image in each created thing4 ,it was shown that the divine is in every created thing because ,god the ,creator1 who is the ,lord from eternity1 produced the sun of the spiritual world from ,himself1 and all things of the universe through that sun4 ,that sun1 which is from ,him and in which ,he is1 is therefore not only the first but the sole substance from which are all things4 ,as this is the one substance1 it is in everything made1 but with endless variety in accord with uses4 #b ,in the ,lord1 then1 are divine love and wisdom1 and in the sun from ,him divine fire and radiance1 and from the sun spiritual heat and light2 and in each instance the two make one4 ,it follows that this oneness is in every created thing4 ,all things in the world are referable1 therefore1 to good and truth1 in fact to the conjunction of them4 ,or1 what is the same1 they are referable to love and wisdom and to the union of these2 for good is of love and truth of wisdom1 love calling all its own1 good1 and wisdom calling all its own1 truth4 ,it will be seen in what follows that there is a conjunction of these in each created thing4 #f4 ,many avow that there is a single substance which is also the first1 from which are all things1 but what that substance is1 is not known4 ,the belief is that it is so simple nothing is more so1 and that it can be likened to a point without dimensions1 and that dimensional forms arose out of an infinite number of such points4 ,but this is a fallacy1 springing from an idea of space4 ,to such an idea there seems to be such a least thing4 ,the truth is that the simpler and purer a thing is1 the more replete it is and the more complete4 ,this is why the more interiorly a thing is examined1 the more wonderful1 perfect1 and well formed are the things seen in it1 and in the first substance the most wonderful1 perfect and fully formed of all4 ,for the first substance is from the spiritual sun1 which1 as we said1 is from the ,lord and in which ,he is4 ,that sun is therefore the sole substance and1 not being in space1 is all in all1 and is in the greatest and least things of the created universe4 #b ,as that sun is the first and sole substance from which all things are1 it follows that in it are infinitely more things than can possibly appear in substances arising from it1 called substantial and lastly material4 ,this infinity cannot appear in derivative substances because these descend from that sun by degrees of two kinds in accord with which perfections decline4 ,for that reason1 as we said above1 the more interiorly a thing is regarded1 the more wonderful1 perfect and well formed are the things seen4 ,this has been said to establish the fact that the divine is in some image in every created thing1 but is less and less manifest with the descent over degrees1 and still less when a lower degree1 parted from the higher by being closed1 is also choked with earthy matter4 ,these concepts cannot but seem obscure unless one has read and understood what was shown in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom about the spiritual sun 7nn4 #hc-agb71 about degrees 7nn4 #agc-bha7 and about the creation of the world 7nn4 #bhb-ceg74 #g4 7iv7 ,it is of the divine providence that every created thing as a whole and in part should be such a one or should become such a one1 or that there be in it something of the divine love and wisdom1 or what is the same1 that there be good and truth in it1 or a union of them4 7,inasmuch as good is of love and truth is of wisdom1 as was said above 7n4 #e71 in what follows we shall at times say good and truth instead of love and wisdom1 and marriage of good and truth instead of union of love and wisdom47 #h4 ,it is evident from the preceding proposition that divine love and wisdom1 which are one in the ,lord and proceed as one from ,him1 are in some image in everything created by ,him4 ,something shall be said now specifically of the one or the union called the marriage of good and truth4 #a4 ,this marriage is in the ,lord ,himself--for1 as we said1 divine love and wisdom in ,him are one4 #b4 ,this marriage is from ,him1 for in all that proceeds from ,him love and wisdom are fully united4 ,the two proceed from ,him as a sun1 divine love as heat1 and divine wisdom as light4 #c4 ,these are received as two1 indeed1 by angels1 likewise by men of the church1 but are made one in them by the ,lord4 #d4 ,in view of this influx of love and wisdom as one from the ,lord with angels of heaven and men of the church1 and in view of their reception of it1 the ,lord is spoken of in the ,word as bridegroom and husband1 and heaven and the church are called bride and wife4 #e4 ,an image and a likeness of the ,lord are therefore to be found in heaven and in the church in general1 and in an angel of heaven and a man of the church in particular1 so far as they are in that union or in the marriage of good and truth4 ,for good and truth in the ,lord are one1 indeed are the ,lord4 #f4 ,love and wisdom in heaven and in the church as a whole1 and in an angel of heaven and a man of the church1 are one when will and understanding1 thus when good and truth1 make one2 or what is still the same1 when doctrine from the ,word and life according to doctrine make one4 #g4 ,how the two make one in man and in all that pertains to him was shown1 moreover1 in ,part ,v of the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 where the creation of man1 and especially the correspondence of will and understanding with heart and lungs1 were treated of 7nn4 #ceh-dcb74 #i4 ,how good and truth1 however1 make one in what is below or outside man1 in both the animal and the vegetable kingdom1 shall be told from time to time in what follows4 ,three points are premised4 ,first1 in the universe and in each and all things of it as created by the ,lord1 there was a marriage of good and truth4 ,second1 after creation this marriage was severed in man4 ,third1 it is the work of divine providence to unite what was severed1 and so to restore the marriage of good and truth4 ,as all three points were established by many things in the work ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 there is no need to substantiate them further4 ,anyone can see from reason1 moreover1 that if there was a marriage of good and truth in each created thing and later it was severed1 the ,lord must be working constantly to restore it1 and that the restoration of it1 and hence the conjunction of the created world with the ,lord through man1 are of divine providence4 #aj4 7v7 ,good of love is good only so far as it is united to truth of wisdom1 and truth of wisdom is truth only so far as it is united to good of love4 ,good and truth have this from their origin1 the one and the other originating in the ,lord1 who is good itself and truth itself and in whom the two are one4 ,hence in angels in heaven and men on earth1 good is not good basically except so far as it is joined to truth1 and truth is not truth basically except so far as it is joined to good4 ,granted that all good and truth are from the ,lord1 then inasmuch as good makes one with truth and truth with good in ,him1 good to be good in itself and truth to be truth in itself must make one in the recipient1 that is1 the angel in heaven or the man on earth4 #aa4 ,it is indeed known that all things in the world are referable to good and truth4 ,for by good is meant what universally embraces and involves all things of love2 and by truth what universally embraces and involves all things of wisdom4 ,still it is not known that good is nothing except when it is joined to truth1 and truth nothing unless it is joined to good4 ,good apart from truth and truth apart from good still seem to be something2 yet they are not4 ,for love 7to which all that is called good pertains7 is the esse of a thing1 and wisdom 7to which all things called truths pertain7 is a thing's existere from that esse 7as was shown in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 nn4 #ad-af74 ,therefore1 as esse is nothing apart from existere1 or existere apart from esse1 good is nothing apart from truth or truth from good4 ,what1 again1 is good which has no relation to anything8 ,can it be called good if it is without affection and perception8 #b ,that which is associated with good1 permitting it to affect and to be perceived and felt1 is referable to truth1 since it has relation to what is in the understanding4 ,tell someone1 not that a given thing is good1 but simply say good--is good anything8 ,it becomes something from what is perceived along with it4 ,this is united with good only in the understanding1 and all understanding has relation to truth4 ,it is the same with willing4 ,apart from knowing1 perceiving and thinking what one wills1 to will is nothing actual2 together with them it becomes something4 ,all volition is of love and is referable to good2 and all knowing1 perceiving and thinking is of the understanding1 and is referable to truth4 ,it is clear1 then1 that to will is nothing actual1 but to will this or that means something4 #c ,so also with a use1 inasmuch as a use is a good4 ,unless a use is addressed to something which makes one with it1 it is not a use1 and thus not anything4 ,a use derives its something from the understanding1 and what is thence conjoined or adjoined to it1 has relation to truth4 ,so a use gets its character4 #d ,from these few things it is plain that good is nothing apart from truth1 nor truth anything apart from good4 ,but if good together with truth and truth together with good are something1 evil with falsity and falsity with evil are not1 for the latter are opposite to the former and the opposition destroys--that is1 destroys the something4 ,but of this in what follows4 #ab4 ,marriage of good and truth may1 however1 be found either in a cause or from the cause in an effect4 ,in a cause the marriage of good and truth is one of will and understanding1 or of love and wisdom4 ,such a marriage is in all that a man wills and thinks and in all his ensuing determinations and purposes4 ,this marriage enters into and in fact produces the effect4 ,but in producing the effect1 good and truth seem distinct1 for then the simultaneous turns successive4 ,when1 for example1 a man wills and thinks about food1 clothing1 shelter1 business or employment1 or about his relationship to others1 first he wills and thinks or comes to his conclusions and intentions all at the same time2 but when these are determined to effects1 truth follows on good1 though in will and thought they continue to make one4 ,in the effects the uses pertain to love or good1 and the ways of performing the uses pertain to understanding or truth4 ,anyone can confirm these general truths by particular instances provided he perceives what is referable respectively to good of love and to truth of wisdom1 and also how differently it is referable in cause and in effect4 #ac4 ,we have said often that love constitutes man's life4 ,this does not mean1 however1 love separate from wisdom or good from truth in the cause1 for love separate or good separate is not an actuality4 ,the love which makes man's inmost life--the life he has from the ,lord--is therefore love and wisdom together2 neither is the love which makes his life as a recipient being separate in the cause1 but only in the effect4 ,for love cannot be understood except from its quality1 which is wisdom2 and the quality or wisdom can exist only from its own esse1 which is love2 thence it is that they are one2 it is the same with good and truth4 ,since truth is from good as wisdom is from love1 it is the two taken together that are called good or love4 ,for love has wisdom for its form1 and good for its form truth1 and form is the source1 and the one source1 of quality4 ,it is plain from all this that good is good only so far as it has become one with its truth1 and truth truth only so far as it has become one with its good4 #ad4 7vi7 ,good of love not united to truth of wisdom is not good in itself but seeming good2 and truth of wisdom not conjoined with good of love is not truth in itself but seeming truth4 ,the fact is that no good1 in itself good1 can exist unless joined with its truth1 and no truth1 in itself truth1 can exist unless it has become joined with its good4 ,and yet good separate from truth is possible1 and truth separate from good4 ,they are found in hypocrites and flatterers1 in evil persons of every sort1 and in such as are in natural but not spiritual good4 ,these can all do well by church1 country1 society1 fellow-citizens1 the needy1 the poor1 and widows and orphans4 ,they can also comprehend truths1 from understanding think them1 and from thought speak and teach them4 ,but the goods and truths are not interiorly such1 that is1 basically goods and truths1 but only outwardly and seemingly such4 ,for such good and truth look to self and the world1 not to good itself and truth itself2 they are not from good and truth2 they are of the mouth and body only1 therefore1 and not of the heart4 #b ,they may be likened to gold or silver which is spread on dross1 rotten wood or mire4 ,when uttered the truths may be likened to a breath exhaled and gone1 or to a delusive light which dies away1 though they appear outwardly like genuine truths4 ,they are seeming truths in those who utter them2 to those hearing and assenting1 and unaware of this1 they may be altogether different4 ,for everyone is affected by what is external according to his internal4 ,a truth1 by whomsoever uttered1 enters another's hearing and is taken up by his mind in keeping with the state or character of his mind4 ,of those in natural good by inheritance1 but in no spiritual good1 nearly the same is true as of those described above4 ,the internal of every good or truth is spiritual4 ,the spiritual dispels falsities and evils1 but the natural left to itself favors them4 ,to favor evil and falsity does not accord with doing good4 #ae4 ,good can be separated from truth1 and truth from good1 and then still appear as good or truth1 for the reason that the human being has a capacity to act which is called liberty1 and a capacity of understanding called rationality4 ,by abuse of these powers a man can appear in externals other than he is in internals2 an evil man can do good and speak truth1 and a devil feign himself an angel of light4 ,but on this see the following propositions in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom3 ,the origin of evil is in the abuse of faculties proper to man1 called liberty and rationality 7nn4 #bdf-bgj72 ,these two faculties are to be found with the evil as well as with the good 7n4 #dbe72 ,love not married to wisdom1 and good not married to truth1 can effect nothing 7n4 #dja72 ,love does nothing except in conjunction with wisdom or understanding1 and it brings wisdom or the understanding reciprocally into conjunction with itself 7nn4 #daj-dab72 ,from power given it by love1 wisdom or understanding can be elevated and can perceive and receive the things of light from heaven 7n4 #dac72 ,love can be raised similarly to receive the things of heat from heaven if it loves its mate1 wisdom1 in that degree 7nn4 #dad1 #dae72 ,else love pulls wisdom or the understanding down from its elevation to act at one with itself 7nn4 #daf-dah72 ,if the two are elevated1 love is purified in the understanding 7nn4 #dai-dba72 ,purified by wisdom in the understanding1 love becomes spiritual and celestial1 but defiled in the understanding it become sensuous and corporeal 7nn4 #dbb-dbd72 ,what is true of love and wisdom and their union is true of charity and faith and their conjunction 7nn4 #dbg-dcj74 ,what charity in heaven is1 see n4 #dca4 #af4 7vii7 ,the ,lord does not suffer anything to be divided2 it must be either in good and at the same time in truth1 or in evil and at the same time in falsity4 ,the ,lord's divine providence has for its goal1 and to this end it labors1 that man shall be in good and at the same time in truth4 ,for then he is his own good and love and his own truth and wisdom2 thereby the human being is human1 for he is then an image of the ,lord4 ,but while he lives in the world he can be in good and at the same time in falsity1 likewise in evil and at the same time in truth1 indeed in evil and at the same time in good1 and thus be double4 ,as the cleavage destroys the ,lord's image in him and thus the man1 the ,lord's divine providence takes care in every least act that this division shall not be4 ,and as it is better for man to be in evil and at the same time in falsity than to be in good and at the same time in evil1 the ,lord permits it1 not as one willing it1 but as one unable to resist because of the end sought1 which is salvation4 #b ,a man can be simultaneously in evil and in truth and the ,lord be unable to prevent it in view of the end1 which is salvation1 for the reason that man's understanding can be raised into the light of wisdom and see truths1 or acknowledge them when he hears them1 while his love remains below4 ,thus a man can be in heaven as to understanding1 while as to his love he is in hell4 ,this is not denied him1 because the two faculties of liberty and rationality1 by virtue of which he is a human being and distinguished from beasts and by which alone he can be regenerated and thus saved1 cannot be taken away4 ,by means of them1 he can act according to wisdom and at the same time according to an unwise love4 ,from wisdom above he can view the love below and also the thoughts1 intentions and affections1 therefore the evils and falsities as well as the goods and truths of his life and doctrine1 without a knowledge and recognition of which he cannot be reformed4 ,we spoke of the two faculties before and shall say more in what follows4 ,what has been said explains how man can be simultaneously in good and truth1 or in evil and falsity1 or in mixtures of them4 #ag4 ,in this world a man can hardly come into one or the other conjunction or union1 that is1 of good and truth or of evil and falsity1 for during his life in the world he is kept in a state of reformation or regeneration4 ,after death1 however1 every man comes into the one union or the other1 because he can then no longer be reformed or regenerated4 ,he remains such as his life was in the world1 that is1 such as his reigning love was4 ,if therefore his was a life of an evil love1 all the truth acquired by him in the world from teacher1 pulpit or ,word is taken away4 ,on the removal of it1 he absorbs the falsity agreeing with his evil as a sponge does water4 ,on the other hand1 if his was the life of a good love1 all the falsity is removed which he may have picked up in the world by hearing or from reading but did not confirm in himself1 and in its place truth congruous with his good is given him4 ,this is meant by the ,lord's words3 ,take 4 4 4 the talent from him1 and give it to him that has ten talents4 ,for to everyone who has1 shall be given until he abounds but from him who has not1 even what he has shall be taken away 7,mt #be3bh1 #bi2 #ac3ab2 ,mk #d3be2 ,lu #h3ah2 #ai3bd-bf74 #ah4 ,after death everyone must be either in good and at the same time in truth or in evil and at the same time in falsity1 for the reason that good and evil cannot be united1 nor can good and the falsity of evil1 nor evil and the truth of good4 ,for these are opposites1 and opposites contend until one destroys the other4 ,those who are at the same time in evil and in good are meant in the ,apocalypse in these words of the ,lord to the church of the ,laodiceans3 ,i know your works1 that you are neither cold nor hot2 would that you were cold or hot2 but because you are lukewarm1 ,i will spue you out of my mouth 7#c3ae1 #af73 also in these words of the ,lord3 ,no man can serve two masters1 for either he will hate the one and love the other1 or cleave to the one and not heed the other 7,mt #f3bd74 #ai4 7 viii7 ,that which is in good and at the same time in truth is something2 that which is in evil and at the same time in falsity is not anything4 ,see above 7n4 #aa7 that what is in good and at the same time in truth is something4 ,it follows that what is at once evil and false is not anything4 ,by not being anything is meant that it is without power and without spiritual life4 ,those at once in evil and in falsity 7all of whom are in hell7 have power indeed among themselves1 for an evil man can do evil and does so in a thousand ways4 ,yet he can do evil to the evil only by reason of their evil2 he cannot harm the good at all2 if1 as sometimes happens1 he does1 it is by conjunction with their evil4 #b ,in this way temptations arise2 they are infestations by evil spirits who are with a man2 so combats ensue by which the good are freed from their evils4 ,since the wicked have no power1 all hell in the ,lord's sight is not only nothing1 but nothing at all in point of power1 as ,i have seen proved by much experience4 ,but it is remarkable that the evil all deem themselves powerful1 and the good all think themselves powerless4 ,this is because the evil ascribe everything to their own power or shrewdness and malice1 and nothing to the ,lord2 whereas the good ascribe nothing to their own prudence1 but all to the ,lord who is almighty4 ,evil and falsity together are not anything for the further reason that they have no spiritual life4 ,the life of the infernals is therefore called death1 not life4 ,since life holds everything1 death has nothing4 #bj4 ,men in evil and at the same time in truths may be likened to eagles flying aloft which1 deprived of their wings1 fall4 ,for after death1 on becoming spirits1 men do the like who have understood and spoken and taught truths and yet have not looked to ,god in their lives4 ,by means of things of the understanding they raise themselves aloft and even enter heaven at times and feign themselves angels of light4 ,but when they are deprived of truths and are cast out1 they fall down to hell4 ,eagles also signify rapacious men with intellectual acumen1 and wings signify spiritual truths4 ,such1 we said1 are those who have not looked to ,god in their lives4 ,to look to ,god in life means simply to think that a given evil is a sin against ,god1 and for that reason not to commit it4 #ba4 7ix7 ,the ,lord's divine providence causes evil and its falsity to serve for equilibrium1 contrast1 and purification1 and so for the conjunction of good and truth in others4 ,it is obvious from the preceding that the ,lord's divine providence continually operates in order that truth may be united in man with good and good with truth1 because that union is the church and heaven4 ,for that union is in the ,lord and in all that proceeds from ,him4 ,from that union1 heaven and the church are called a marriage1 and the kingdom of ,god is likened in the ,word to a marriage4 ,again1 the ,sabbath signified that union and was the holiest observance in the worship of the ,israelitish ,church4 ,from that union also there is a marriage of good and truth in the ,word and in each and all things of it 7on this see ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture1 nn4 #hj-ij74 ,the marriage of good and truth is from the marriage of the ,lord with the church1 and this in turn from the marriage of love and wisdom in ,him1 for good is of love1 and truth of wisdom4 ,it is plain1 then1 that it is the constant aim of divine providence to unite good to truth and truth to good in a man1 for so he is united to the ,lord4 #bb4 ,but many have severed and do sever this marriage1 especially by separating faith from charity 7for faith is of truth and truth is of faith1 and charity is of good and good is of charity71 and in so doing they conjoin evil and falsity in themselves and thus come into and continue in the opposite to good and truth4 ,the ,lord therefore provides that they shall nevertheless serve for uniting good and truth in others1 through equilibrium1 contrast and purification4 #bc4 ,conjunction of good and truth in others is provided by the ,lord through equilibrium between heaven and hell4 ,from hell evil and at the same time falsity constantly exhale1 and from heaven good and at the same time truth4 ,in equilibrium between them1 and so in freedom to think1 will1 speak and act in which he can be reformed1 every man is kept while he lives in the world4 ,on the spiritual equilibrium from which the human being has freedom1 see the work ,heaven and ,hell1 nn4 #ehi-eif1 #eig-fjc4 #bd4 ,conjunction of good and truth is provided by the ,lord through contrast4 ,for the nature of good is not known except by contrast with what is less good and by its contrariety to evil4 ,all perceptiveness and sensitivity arise so2 their quality is thence4 ,all pleasantness is perceived and felt over against the less pleasant and the unpleasant2 all the beautiful by reference to the less beautiful and the unbeautiful2 similarly all good of love by reference to lesser good and to evil2 all truth of wisdom by a sense of lesser truth and of falsity4 ,everything inevitably varies from greatest to least1 and with the same variation in its opposite and with equilibrium between them1 there is contrast degree by degree1 and the perception and sensation of a thing increase or diminish4 ,but be it known that an opposite may either lower or exalt perceptions and sensitivities4 ,it lowers them when it mingles in and exalts them when it does not mingle in1 for which reason the ,lord separates good and evil with man that they shall not mingle1 as exquisitely as ,he does heaven and hell4 #be4 ,conjunction of good and truth in others is provided by the ,lord through purification in two ways2 one through temptations1 and the other through fermentations4 ,spiritual temptations are nothing else than combats against the evils and falsities exhaled from hell and affecting man4 ,by these combats a man is purified from evils and falsities1 and good and truth are united in him4 ,spiritual fermentations take place in many ways1 and in heaven as well as on earth2 but in the world it is not known what they are or how they come about4 ,for evils and their falsities1 let into societies1 act as ferments do in meal or in must1 separating the heterogeneous and conjoining the homogeneous until there is clarity and purity4 ,such fermentations are meant in the ,lord's words3 ,the kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened 7,mt #ac3cc2 ,lu #ab3ba74 #bf4 ,the ,lord provides these uses through the united evil and falsity of those in hell4 ,the ,lord's kingdom1 which extends over hell as well as over heaven1 is a kingdom of uses4 ,it is the ,lord's providence that there shall be no creature and no thing whereby a use is not performed4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,lord',s ,,divine ,,providence ,,has ,,for ,,its ,,object ,a ,,heaven ,,from ,,the ,,human ,,race #bg4 ,heaven does not consist of angels created such to begin with1 nor does hell come from any devil created an angel of light and cast down from heaven4 ,both heaven and hell are from mankind1 heaven consisting of those in the love of good and consequent understanding of truth1 and hell of those in the love of evil and consequent understanding of falsity4 ,this has been made known and sure to me by long-continued intercourse with angels and spirits4 ,see what was said on the subject in the work ,heaven and ,hell 7nn4 #caa-caf72 also in the little work ,the ,last ,judgment 7nn4 #ad-bg71 and in ,continuation about the ,last ,judgment and the ,spiritual ,world 7throughout74 #b ,as heaven is from mankind and is an abiding with the ,lord to eternity1 it must have been the ,lord's purpose in creation2 being the purpose in creation1 it is the purpose of ,his providence4 ,the ,lord created the world not for ,his own sake but for the sake of those with whom ,he would be in heaven4 ,spiritual love by nature desires to give its own to another1 and so far as it can do so is in its esse1 peace1 and blessedness4 ,spiritual love derives this from the ,lord's divine love which is such infinitely4 ,it follows that the divine love and hence divine providence has for its object a heaven consisting of human beings who have become or are becoming angels1 on whom the ,lord can bestow all the blessings and felicities of love and wisdom and do so from ,himself in men4 ,it must be in this way1 for the ,lord's image and likeness are in men from creation1 the image in them wisdom and the likeness love4 ,furthermore1 the ,lord in them is love united to wisdom and wisdom united to love or 7what is the same7 is good united to truth and truth united to good 7this union was treated of in the preceding chapter74 #c ,what heaven is in general or with a number1 and in particular or with an individual1 is not known4 ,nor is it known what heaven is in the spiritual world and what it is in the natural world4 ,yet this knowledge is important1 for heaven is the purpose of providence4 ,i therefore desire to set the subject in some light in this order3 i4 ,heaven is conjunction with the ,lord4 ii4 ,by creation the human being is such that he can be conjoined more and more closely to the ,lord4 iii4 ,the more closely one is conjoined to the ,lord the wiser one becomes4 iv4 ,the more closely one is conjoined to the ,lord the happier one becomes4 v4 ,the more closely one is conjoined to the ,lord the more distinctly does he seem to himself to be his own1 and the more plainly does he recognize that he is the ,lord's4 #bh4 7i7 ,heaven is conjunction with the ,lord4 ,heaven is heaven1 not from the angels but from the ,lord4 ,for the love and wisdom in which angels are and which make heaven are not theirs1 but the ,lord's1 indeed are the ,lord in them4 ,and as love and wisdom are the ,lord's1 and are the ,lord in heaven1 and make the life of angels1 it is plain that their life is the ,lord's1 indeed is the ,lord4 ,the angels themselves avow that they live from the ,lord4 ,hence it is evident that heaven is conjunction with the ,lord4 ,but conjunction with ,him is various and one man's heaven is not another's2 therefore heaven is also according to the conjunction with the ,lord4 ,in the following proposition it will be seen that conjunction is more and more close or more and more remote4 #b ,here let something be said about how the conjunction takes place and what the nature of it is4 ,it is a conjunction of the ,lord with the angels and of the angels with ,him1 therefore is reciprocal4 ,the ,lord flows into the life's love of the angels1 and they receive ,him in wisdom1 thus in turn conjoining themselves with ,him4 ,it must be said1 however1 that it seems to the angels that they conjoin themselves to the ,lord by wisdom2 actually the ,lord conjoins them to ,himself by their wisdom1 for the wisdom is also from the ,lord4 ,it is the same thing if we say that the ,lord conjoins ,himself to the angels by good and they in turn conjoin themselves to the ,lord by truth1 for all good is of love1 and truth1 of wisdom4 #c ,this reciprocal conjunction is an arcanum1 however1 which few can understand unless it is explained4 ,i want therefore to unfold it so far as it can be done by things within one's grasp4 ,we showed in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom 7nn4 #djd1 #dje7 how love unites itself with wisdom1 namely1 through affection for knowing from which comes an affection for truth1 through affection for understanding from which comes perception of truth1 and through affection for seeing what is known and understood1 from which comes thought4 ,into all these affections the ,lord flows1 for they are all derivatives of one's life's love1 and the angels receive the influx in perception of truth and in thought1 for in these the influx becomes apparent to them1 but not in the affections4 #d ,as the perceptions and thoughts appear to the angels to be their own1 although they arise from affections which are from the ,lord1 the appearance is that the angels reciprocally conjoin themselves to the ,lord1 when nevertheless the ,lord conjoins them to ,himself4 ,the affection itself produces the perceptions and thoughts1 for the affection1 which is of love1 is their soul4 ,apart from affection no one can perceive or think anything1 and every one perceives and thinks according to his affection4 ,it is evident that the reciprocal conjunction of the angels with the ,lord is not from them1 but as it were from them4 ,such1 too1 is the conjunction of the ,lord with the church and of the church with ,him1 a union called celestial and spiritual marriage4 #bi4 ,all conjunction in the spiritual world is effected by intent regard4 ,when anyone there thinks of another with a desire to speak with him1 the other is at once present1 and the two come face to face4 ,likewise1 when one thinks of another from an affection of love2 by this affection1 however1 there is conjunction1 but by the other only presence4 ,this is peculiar to the spiritual world2 for there all are spiritual beings4 ,it is otherwise in the natural world where all are physical beings4 ,in the natural world something similar takes place in the affections and thoughts of the spirit2 but as there is space here1 while in the spiritual world space is appearance only1 what takes place here in one's spirit occurs outwardly there4 #b ,we have said so much to make known how conjunction of the ,lord with angels and their seemingly reciprocal conjunction with ,him is effected4 ,all angels turn the face to the ,lord2 ,he regards them in the forehead1 and they regard ,him with the eyes4 ,the reason is that the forehead corresponds to love and its affections1 and the eyes correspond to wisdom and its perceptions4 ,still the angels do not of themselves turn the face to the ,lord1 but ,he faces them toward ,himself1 doing so by influx into their life's love1 by this entering the perceptions and thoughts1 and so turning the angels to ,him4 #c ,there is such a circuit from love to thoughts and under love's impulse from thoughts to love in all the mind's activity4 ,it may be called the circling of life4 ,on these subjects see some things also in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom3 as that ,angels constantly turn the face to the ,lord as a sun 7nn4 #abi-acd72 ,all the interiors of both the mind and the bodies of the angels are likewise turned to the ,lord as a sun 7nn4 #ace-aci72 ,every spirit1 whatever his character1 turns himself likewise to his ruling love 7nn4 #adj-ade72 ,love conjoins itself to wisdom and causes wisdom to be conjoined reciprocally with it 7nn4 #daj-dab72 ,angels are in the ,lord and ,he in them2 and as the angels are only recipients1 the ,lord alone is heaven 7nn4 #aac-aah74 #cj4 ,the ,lord's heaven in the natural world is called the church2 an angel of this heaven is a man of the church who is conjoined to the ,lord2 on departure from this world he also becomes an angel of the spiritual heaven4 ,what was said of the angelic heaven is evidently to be understood1 then1 of the human heaven also which is called the church4 ,the reciprocal conjunction with the ,lord which makes heaven in the human being is revealed by the ,lord in these words in ,john3 ,abide in ,me1 and ,i in you2 444 he who abides in ,me1 and ,i in him1 bears much fruit2 for without ,me ye can do nothing 7#ae3d1 #e1 #g74 #ca4 ,it is plain from this that the ,lord is heaven not only in general with all in heaven1 but in particular with each one there4 ,for each angel is a heaven in least form2 of as many heavens as there are angels1 does heaven in general consist4 ,in substantiation see ,heaven and ,hell 7nn4 #ea-eh74 ,since this is so1 let no one cherish the mistaken idea1 which first visits the thought of so many1 that the ,lord dwells in heaven among the angels or is among them like a king in his kingdom4 ,to the sight ,he is above them in the sun there2 ,he is in them in their life of love and wisdom4 #cb4 7ii7 ,by creation the human being is such that he can be conjoined more and more closely to the ,lord4 ,this becomes evident from what was shown about degrees in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 ,part ,,iii1 especially in the propositions3 ,by creation there are three discrete degrees or degrees of height in the human being 7nn4 #bcj-bce72 ,these three degrees are in man from birth1 and as they are opened1 the man is in the ,lord1 and the ,lord in him 7nn4 #bcf-bda72 ,all perfection increases and mounts with and according to the degrees 7nn4 #aii-bjd74 ,evidently1 then1 man is such by creation that he can be conjoined with the ,lord more and more closely according to these degrees4 #b ,but one must know well what degrees are and that there are two kinds --discrete degrees or degrees of height1 and continuous degrees or degrees of breadth2 also how they differ4 ,it must be known1 too1 that every human being has by creation and hence from birth three discrete degrees or degrees of height1 and that he comes at birth into the first degree1 called natural1 and can grow in this degree continuously until he becomes rational4 ,he comes into the second degree1 called spiritual1 if he lives according to spiritual laws of order1 which are divine truths4 ,he can also come into the third degree1 called celestial1 if he lives according to the celestial laws of order1 which are divine goods4 #c ,these degrees are opened in a person by the ,lord according to his life and actually opened in the world1 but not perceptibly and sensibly until after his departure from the world4 ,as they are opened and later perfected a man is conjoined to the ,lord more and more closely4 ,this conjunction can grow to eternity in nearness to ,god and does so with the angels4 ,and yet no angel can attain or touch the first degree of the ,lord's love and wisdom1 for the ,lord is infinite and an angel is finite1 and between infinite and finite no ratio obtains4 ,man's state and the state of his elevation and nearness to the ,lord cannot be understood without a knowledge of these degrees2 they have been specifically treated of1 therefore1 in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 nn4 #agc-bha1 which see4 #cc4 ,we shall say briefly how man can be more and more closely conjoined to the ,lord1 and then how the conjunction seems closer and closer4 ,how man is more and more closely conjoined to the ,lord3 this is effected not by knowledge alone1 nor by intelligence alone1 nor even by wisdom alone1 but by a life conjoined to them4 ,a man's life is his love1 and love is manifold4 ,in general there are love of good and love of evil4 ,love of evil is love of committing adultery1 taking revenge1 defrauding1 blaspheming1 depriving others of their possessions4 ,in thinking and doing such things the love of evil finds its pleasure and joy4 ,of this love there are as many derivatives1 which are affections1 as there are evils in which it can find expression4 ,and there are as many perceptions and thoughts of this love as there are falsities favoring and confirming such evils4 ,the falsities make one with the evils as understanding makes one with will2 they are mutually inseparable2 the one is of the other4 #b ,inasmuch as the ,lord flows into one's life's love and by its affections into the perceptions and thoughts1 and not the other way about1 as we said above1 it follows that the ,lord can conjoin ,himself more closely to a man only as the love of evil is removed along with its affections1 which are lusts4 ,these lusts reside in the natural man4 ,what a man does from the natural man he feels that he does of himself4 ,for his part1 therefore1 a man should remove the evils of that love2 so far as he does1 the ,lord comes nearer and conjoins ,himself to him4 ,anyone can see from reason that lusts with their pleasures block and close the door to the ,lord and cannot be cast out by the ,lord as long as the man himself keeps the door shut and presses and pushes from outside to keep it from being opened4 ,it is plain from the ,lord's words in the ,apocalypse that a man must himself open the door3 ,behold1 ,i stand at the door and knock2 if anyone hears ,my voice and opens the door1 ,i will come in to him1 and sup with him1 and he with ,me 7#c3bj74 #c ,plainly1 then1 so far as one shuns evils as diabolical and as obstacles to the ,lord's entrance1 he is more and more closely conjoined to the ,lord1 and he the most closely who abhors them as so many dusky and fiery devils4 ,for evil and the devil are one and the same1 and the falsity of evil and satan are one and the same4 ,as the ,lord's influx is into the love of good and into its affections and by these into the perceptions and thoughts1 which have it from the good in which a man is that they are truths1 so the influx of the devil1 that is of hell1 is into the love of evil and its affections1 which are lusts1 and by these into the perceptions and thoughts1 which have it from the evil in which the man is that they are falsities4 #d ,how the conjunction seems closer and closer4 ,the more the evils in the natural man are removed by shunning and turning away from them1 the more closely a man is conjoined to the ,lord4 ,love and wisdom1 which are the ,lord ,himself1 are not in space1 as affection which is of love1 and thought which is of wisdom1 have nothing in common with space4 ,in the measure of the conjunction by love and wisdom1 therefore1 the ,lord seems nearer2 and1 contrariwise1 in the measure of the rejection of love and wisdom1 more distant4 ,there is no space in the spiritual world2 distance and presence there are appearances according to similarity or dissimilarity of the affections4 ,for1 as we said1 affections which are of love1 and thoughts which are of wisdom1 in themselves spiritual1 are not in space 7on this see what was shown in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 nn4 #g-aj1 #fi-gb1 and elsewhere74 #e ,the ,lord's conjunction with a man in whom evils have been put away is meant by the ,lord's words3 ,the pure in heart shall see ,god 7,mt #e3h72 and by the words3 ,he who has my commandments and does them 4 4 4 with him will ,i make an abode 7,jn #ad3ba1 #bc74 ,to have the commandments is to know and to do them is to love1 for it is also said3 he who does my commandments1 he it is that loves ,me4 #cd4 7iii7 ,the more closely one is conjoined to the ,lord the wiser one becomes4 ,as there are three degrees of life in man by creation and so from birth 7see just above1 n4 #cb71 there are specifically three degrees of wisdom in him4 ,these degrees it is that are opened in man according to conjunction1 that is1 according to love1 for love is conjunction itself4 ,love's ascent by degrees1 however1 is only obscurely perceived by man2 but wisdom's ascent is clearly perceived by those who know and see what wisdom is4 ,the degrees of wisdom are perceived because love by its affections enters the perceptions and thoughts1 and these present themselves to the internal mental sight1 which corresponds to the external bodily sight4 ,thus wisdom appears1 but not the affection of love which produces it4 ,it is the same with all a man's deeds2 he is aware how the body does them1 but not how the soul does them4 ,so he perceives how he meditates1 perceives and thinks1 but not how the soul of these mental activities1 which is an affection of good and truth1 produces them4 #b ,there are three degrees of wisdom3 natural1 spiritual1 and celestial4 ,man is in the natural degree of wisdom during his life in the world4 ,this degree can be perfected in him to its height1 but even so cannot pass into the spiritual degree1 for the latter is not continuous with it1 but conjoined to it by correspondences4 ,after death man is in the spiritual degree of wisdom4 ,this degree also is such that it can be perfected to its height1 and yet cannot pass into the celestial degree of wisdom1 because neither is this continuous with the spiritual but conjoined to it by correspondences4 ,plainly1 then1 wisdom can be raised threefold1 and in each degree can be perfected but only to its peak4 #c ,one who understands the elevation and perfecting of these degrees can see to an extent why angelic wisdom is said to be ineffable4 ,so ineffable1 indeed1 is it1 that a thousand ideas in the thought of angels in their wisdom can present only a single idea in the thought of men in their wisdom1 the other nine hundred and ninety-nine ideas being unutterable1 because they are supernatural4 ,many a time have ,i been given to know this by living experience4 ,but1 as was said1 no one can enter into the ineffable wisdom of the angels except by and according to conjunction with the ,lord1 for ,he alone opens spiritual and celestial degrees1 and only in those who are wise from ,him4 ,those are wise from the ,lord who cast the devil1 that is1 evil1 out of themselves4 #ce4 ,but let no one believe that he has wisdom because he knows many things1 perceives them in some light1 and is able to talk intelligently about them1 unless his wisdom is conjoined to love4 ,for it is love that through its affections produces wisdom4 ,not conjoined to love1 wisdom is like a meteor vanishing in the air and like a falling star4 ,wisdom united to love is like the abiding light of the sun and like a fixed star4 ,a man has the love of wisdom when he is averse to the diabolical crew1 that is1 to the lusts of evil and falsity4 #cf4 ,wisdom that comes to perception is perception of truth from being affected by it1 especially perception of spiritual truth4 ,for there is civil1 moral1 and spiritual truth4 ,those who have some perception of spiritual truth from affection by it also have perceptions of moral and civil truth1 for the affection of spiritual truth is the soul of those perceptions4 ,i have spoken with angels at times about wisdom who said that wisdom is conjunction with the ,lord because ,he is wisdom itself1 and that the man who rejects hell comes into this conjunction and comes into it so far as he rejects hell4 ,they said that they picture wisdom to themselves as a magnificent and highly ornate palace into which one mounts by twelve steps4 ,no one arrives at even the first step1 they said1 except from the ,lord by conjunction with ,him2 and according to the measure of conjunction one ascends2 also as one ascends1 one perceives that no man is wise from himself but from the ,lord4 ,furthermore1 they said that the things in which one is wise are to those in which one is not wise like a few drops of water to a large lake4 ,by the twelve steps into the palace of wisdom are meant goods united to truths and truths united to goods4 #cg4 7iv7 ,the more closely one is conjoined to the ,lord the happier one becomes4 ,the like can be said of degrees of happiness as was said 7nn4 #cb and #cd7 of degrees of life and of wisdom according to conjunction with the ,lord4 ,happiness1 that is1 blessedness and joy1 also are heightened as the higher degrees of the mind1 called spiritual and celestial1 are opened with man4 ,after his life in the world these degrees grow to eternity4 #ch4 ,no one who is in the pleasures of the lusts of evil can know anything of the joys of the affections of good in which the angelic heaven is4 ,these pleasures and joys are opposites in internals and hence inwardly in externals1 though superficially they may differ little4 ,every love has its enjoyments2 the love of evil with those in lusts also has1 such as the love of committing adultery1 of taking revenge1 of defrauding1 of stealing1 of acting cruelly1 indeed1 in the worst men1 of blaspheming the holy things of the church and of inveighing against ,god4 ,the fountainhead of those enjoyments is the love of ruling from self-love4 ,they come of lusts which obsess the interiors of the mind1 from these flow into the body1 and excite uncleannesses there which titillate the fibers4 ,the physical pleasure springs from the pleasure which the mind takes in lusts4 #b ,after death everyone comes to know in the spiritual world what the uncleannesses are which titillate the body's fibers in such persons and comes to know the nature of them4 ,in general they are things cadaverous1 excrementitious1 filthy1 malodorous1 and urinous2 for their hells teem with such uncleannesses4 ,these are correspondences1 as may be seen in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom 7nn4 #dbb-dbd74 ,after one has entered hell1 however1 these filthy delights are turned into wretchedness4 ,this has been told in order that it may be understood what heaven's felicity is and its nature1 of which we are now to speak2 for a thing is known from its opposite4 #ci4 ,it is impossible to describe in words the blessedness1 satisfaction1 joy and pleasure1 in short1 the felicity of heaven1 so sensibly perceived there4 ,what is perceived solely by feeling1 cannot be described1 for it does not fall into ideas of thought nor1 therefore1 into words4 ,for the understanding sees only and sees what is of wisdom or truth1 but not what is of love or good4 ,those felicities are therefore inexpressible1 but still they ascend in like degree with wisdom4 ,they are infinitely various1 and each is ineffable4 ,i have heard this1 also perceived it4 #b ,these felicities enter when a man1 of himself and yet from the ,lord1 casts out the lusts of the love of evil and falsity4 ,for these felicities are the happinesses of the affections of good and truth1 the opposites of the lusts of the love of evil and falsity4 ,those happinesses begin from the ,lord1 thus from the inmost1 diffuse themselves thence into things lower even to lowermost things1 and thus fill the angel1 making him a body of delight4 ,such happinesses are to be found in infinite variety in every affection of good and truth1 and eminently in the affection of wisdom4 #dj4 ,there is no comparing the joys of the lusts of evil and the joys of the affections of good4 ,inwardly in the former is the devil1 in the latter the ,lord4 ,if comparisons are to be ventured1 the pleasures of the lusts of evil can only be compared to the lewd pleasures of frogs in stagnant ponds or to those of snakes in filth1 while the pleasures of the affections of good must be likened to the delights which the mind takes in gardens and flower beds4 ,for things like those which affect frogs and snakes affect those in the hells who are in lusts of evil2 and things like those which affect the mind in gardens and flower beds affect those in the heavens who are in affections of good4 ,for1 as was said above1 corresponding uncleannesses affect the evil1 and corresponding cleannesses the good4 #da4 ,plainly1 then1 the more closely one is conjoined with the ,lord the happier one is4 ,this happiness rarely shows itself in the world1 however2 for man is then in a natural state1 and the natural does not communicate with the spiritual by continuity1 but by correspondence4 ,the communication is felt only in a certain repose and peace of mind1 especially after struggles against evil4 ,but when a person puts off the natural state and enters the spiritual state1 as he does on leaving the world1 the happiness described above gradually manifests itself4 #db4 7v7 ,the more closely one is conjoined to the ,lord the more distinctly does he seem to himself to be his own1 and the more plainly does he recognize that he is the ,lord's4 ,the appearance is that the more closely one is conjoined to the ,lord the less one is one's own4 ,this appearance prevails with all the evil4 ,it also prevails with those who from religion believe that they are not under the yoke of the law and that no one can of himself do good4 ,all these inevitably think that to be free only to do good and not to think and will evil is not to be one's own4 ,inasmuch as a man who is conjoined to the ,lord does not will and cannot think or will evil1 they conclude from the look that this is not to be one's own4 ,yet that is the opposite of the truth4 #dc4 ,there is infernal freedom1 and there is heavenly freedom4 ,thinking and willing evil and also speaking and doing it so far as civil and moral laws do not prevent1 is from infernal freedom4 ,but thinking and willing good and speaking and doing it so far as opportunity offers1 is from heavenly freedom4 ,a man perceives as his own what he thinks1 wills1 speaks and does in freedom4 ,the freedom anyone has always comes from his love4 ,the man in an evil love cannot but deem infernal freedom to be real freedom1 and a man in love of the good perceives that heavenly freedom is real freedom2 consequently each regards the opposite of his freedom as bondage4 ,no one can deny that one or the other must be freedom1 for two kinds of freedom opposed to each other cannot both be freedom4 ,furthermore it cannot be denied that to be led by good is freedom and to be led by evil is bondage4 ,for to be led by good is to be led by the ,lord1 but to be led by evil is to be led by the devil4 #b ,inasmuch as all he does in freedom appears to a man to be his own1 coming as it does from what he loves1 and to act from one's love1 as was said1 is to act freely1 it follows that conjunction with the ,lord causes a man to seem free and also his own1 and the more closely he is conjoined to the ,lord1 to seem so much freer and so much more his own4 ,he seems the more distinctly his own because it is the nature of the divine love to want its own to be another's1 that is1 to be the angel's or the man's4 ,all spiritual love is such1 preeminently the ,lord's4 ,the ,lord1 moreover1 never coerces anyone4 ,for nothing to which one is coerced seems one's own1 and what seems not one's own cannot be done from one's love or be appropriated to one as one's own4 ,man is always led in freedom by the ,lord1 therefore1 and reformed and regenerated in freedom4 ,on this much more will be said in what follows2 also see some things above1 n4 #d4 #dd4 ,the reason why the more distinctly a man seems to be his own the more plainly he sees that he is the ,lord's1 is that the more closely he is conjoined to the ,lord the wiser he becomes 7as was shown1 nn4 #cd-cf71 and wisdom teaches and recognizes this4 ,the angels of the third heaven1 as the wisest angels1 perceive this and call it freedom itself2 but to be led by themselves they call bondage4 ,they give as the reason for this that the ,lord does not flow immediately into the perceptions and thoughts of wisdom1 but into the affections of the love of good and by these into the former1 and this influx they perceive in the affection by which they have wisdom4 ,hence1 they say1 all that they think from wisdom seems to be from themselves1 thus seemingly their own1 and this gives reciprocal conjunction4 #de4 ,as the ,lord's divine providence has for its object a heaven from mankind1 it has for its object the conjunction of the human race with ,him 7see nn4 #bh-ca74 ,it also has for its object that man should be more and more closely conjoined to ,him 7nn4 #cb1 #cc72 for thus man possesses a more interior heaven4 ,further1 it has for its object that by the conjunction man should become wiser 7nn4 #cd-cf7 and happier 7nn4 #cg-da71 for he has heaven by and according to wisdom1 and happiness by wisdom1 too4 ,finally1 providence has for its object that man shall seem more distinctly his own1 yet recognize the more clearly that he is the ,lord's 7nn4 #db-dd74 ,all these are of the ,lord's divine providence1 for all are heaven and heaven is its object4 ,,iii4 ,,in ,,all ,,that ,,it ,,does ,,the ,,lord',s ,,divine ,,providence ,,looks ,,to ,,what ,,is ,,infinite ,,and ,,eternal #df4 ,christendom knows that ,god is infinite and eternal4 ,the doctrine of the ,trinity which is named for ,athanasius says that ,god the ,father is infinite1 eternal and omnipotent1 so also ,god the ,son1 and ,god the ,holy ,spirit1 and that nevertheless there are not three who are infinite1 eternal and omnipotent1 but ,one4 ,as ,god is infinite and eternal1 only what is infinite and eternal can be predicated of ,him4 ,what infinite and eternal are1 finite man cannot comprehend and yet can comprehend4 ,he cannot comprehend them because the finite is incapable of what is infinite2 he can comprehend them because there are abstract ideas by which one can see that things are1 though not what they are4 ,of the infinite such ideas are possible as that ,god or the ,divine1 being infinite1 is esse itself1 is essence and substance itself1 wisdom and love themselves or good and truth themselves1 thus is the one ,self1 indeed is veritable ,man2 there is such an idea1 too1 in speaking of the infinite as all1 as that infinite wisdom is omniscience and infinite power omnipotence4 #b ,still these ideas turn obscure to thought and may meet denial for not being comprehended1 unless what one's thought gets from nature is removed from the idea1 especially what it gets from the two properties of nature1 space and time4 ,for these are bound to restrict the ideas and to make abstract ideas seem to be nothing4 ,but if such things can be removed in a man1 as they are in an angel1 what is infinite can be comprehended by the means just mentioned4 ,then also it will be grasped that the human being is something because he was created by infinite ,god who is all2 also that he is a finite substance1 having been created by infinite ,god who is substance itself2 further that man is wisdom inasmuch as he was created by infinite ,god who is wisdom itself2 and so on4 ,for were infinite ,god not all1 and were ,he not substance and wisdom themselves1 man would not be anything actual1 thus would either be nothing or exist only in idea1 as those visionaries think who are called idealists4 #c ,it is plain from what was shown in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom that the divine essence is love and wisdom 7nn4 #bh-ci72 that divine love and wisdom are substance itself and form itself1 the one ,self and the sole underived being 7nn4 #dj-df72 and that ,god created the universe and its contents from ,himself1 and not from nothing 7nn4 #bhb-bhd 74 ,it follows that every creature and above all the human being and the love and wisdom in him1 are real1 and do not exist only in idea4 ,for were ,god not infinite1 the finite would not be2 were the infinite not all1 no particular thing would be2 and had not ,god created all things from ,himself1 nothing whatever would be4 ,in a word1 we are because ,god is4 #dg4 ,we are considering divine providence and at this point how it regards what is infinite and eternal in all that it does4 ,this can be clearly told only in some order4 ,let this be the order3 i4 ,the infinite and eternal in itself is the same as the ,divine4 ii4 ,what is infinite and eternal in itself cannot but look to what is infinite and eternal from itself in finite things4 iii4 ,divine providence looks to the infinite and eternal from itself in all that it does1 especially in saving mankind4 iv4 ,an image of the infinite and eternal offers in an angelic heaven formed from a redeemed mankind4 v4 ,the heart of divine providence is to look to what is infinite and eternal by fashioning an angelic heaven1 for it to be like one human being before the ,lord1 an image of ,him4 #dh4 7i7 ,the infinite and eternal in itself is the same as the ,divine4 ,this is plain from what was shown in many places in the work ,divine ,love and ,wisdom4 ,the concept comes from the angelic idea4 ,by the infinite1 angels understand nothing else than the divine esse and by the eternal the divine existere4 ,but men can see and cannot see that what is infinite and eternal in itself is the ,divine4 ,those can see this who do not think of the infinite from space and of the eternal from time2 those cannot see it who think of infinite and eternal in terms of space and time4 ,those1 therefore1 can see it who think at some elevation1 that is1 inwardly in the rational mind2 those cannot who think in a lower1 that is1 more external way4 #b ,those by whom it can be seen reflect that a spatial infinite is an impossibility1 so likewise a temporal eternity or an eternity from which the world has been4 ,the infinite has no first or final limit or boundaries4 ,they also reflect that there cannot be another infinite from it1 for from it implies a boundary or beginning1 or a prior source4 ,they therefore think that it is meaningless to speak of an infinite and eternal from itself1 for that is like talking of an esse from itself1 which is a contradiction4 ,an infinite from itself could only be an infinite from an infinite1 and esse from itself only esse from esse4 ,such an infinite or esse would either be the same with the infinite or be finite4 ,from these and like considerations1 inwardly seen in the rational mind1 it is plain that there is what is infinite in itself and eternal in itself1 and that they are the ,divine whence are all things4 #di4 ,i know that many will say to themselves1 ,how can anybody grasp anything inwardly and rationally apart from space and time1 and think that it not only exists1 but is also the all and the self from which are all things8 ,but think deeply whether love or any affection of love1 or wisdom or any perception of wisdom1 yes1 whether thought is in space and time1 and you will grasp the fact that they are not4 ,the ,divine1 therefore1 being love itself and wisdom itself1 cannot be conceived of in space and time2 neither1 then1 can the infinite4 ,to see this more clearly ponder whether thought is in time and space4 ,suppose thought is sustained for ten or twelve hours2 may not the length of time seem like one or two hours8 ,may it not seem like one or two days8 ,the seeming duration is according to the state of affection from which the thought springs4 ,if the affection is a joyous one1 in which time is not noticed1 thought over ten or twelve hours seems as though it were one or two hours4 ,the contrary is true if the affection is a sorrowful one1 in which one watches the passage of time4 ,it is evident from this that time is only an appearance according to the state of affection from which the thought springs4 ,the same is true of one's thought of the distance on a walk or a journey4 #ej4 ,since angels and spirits are affections of love and thoughts thence they are not in space or time1 either1 but only in an appearance of them4 ,space and time appear to them in keeping with the states of their affections and their thoughts thence4 ,when one of them1 therefore1 thinks with affection of another1 intently desiring to see or speak with him1 the other is at once present4 #b ,hence1 too1 present with every man are spirits who are in an affection like his--evil spirits with a man in an affection of similar evil1 and good spirits with the man in an affection of similar good4 ,they are as fully present as though he was one of their society4 ,space and time have nothing to do with their presence1 for affection and thought therefrom are not in space and time1 and spirits and angels are affections and thoughts therefrom4 #c ,i have been given to know this by living experience over many years4 ,for ,i have spoken with many on their death1 some in different kingdoms of ,europe1 and some in different kingdoms of ,asia and ,africa1 and all were near me4 ,if space and time existed for them1 a journey and time to make it would have intervened4 #d ,indeed1 every man knows this by some instinct in him or in his mind1 as has been verified to me by the fact that nobody has thought of distances when ,i have reported that ,i had spoken with some person who died in ,asia1 ,africa or ,europe1 for example with ,calvin1 ,luther1 or ,melancthon1 or with some king1 governor or priest in a far region4 ,the thought occurred to no one1 ,how could he speak with those who had lived there1 and how could they come and be present with him1 when lands and seas lay between8 ,so it was plain to me that in thinking of those in the spiritual world a man does not think of space and time4 ,for those there1 however1 there is an appearance of time and space2 see the work ,heaven and ,hell1 nn4 #afb-afi1 #aia-aii4 #ea4 ,from these considerations it may now be plain that the infinite and eternal1 thus the ,lord1 are to be thought of apart from space and time and can be so thought of2 plain1 likewise1 that they are so thought of by those who think interiorly and rationally2 and plain that the infinite and eternal are identical with the ,divine4 ,so think angels and spirits4 ,in thought withdrawn from space and time1 divine omnipresence is comprehended1 and divine omnipotence1 also the ,divine from eternity1 but these are not at all grasped by thought to which an idea of space and time adheres4 ,plain it is1 then1 that one can conceive of ,god from eternity1 but never of nature from eternity4 ,so one can think of the creation of the world by ,god1 but never of its creation from nature1 for space and time are proper to nature1 but the ,divine is apart from them4 ,that the ,divine is apart from space and time may be seen in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom 7nn4 #g-aj1 #fi-gb1 #gc-gf1 and other places74 #eb4 7ii7 ,what is infinite and eternal in itself cannot but look to what is infinite and eternal from itself in finite things4 ,by what is infinite and eternal in itself the ,divine itself is meant1 as was shown in the preceding section4 ,by finite things are meant all things created by the ,lord1 especially men1 spirits1 and angels4 ,by looking to the infinite and eternal from itself is meant to look to the ,divine1 that is to ,himself1 in these1 as a person beholds his image in a mirror4 ,this was shown in several places in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 particularly where it was demonstrated that in the created universe there is an image of the human being and that this is an image of the infinite and eternal 7nn4 #cag1 #cah71 that is1 of ,god the ,creator1 namely1 the ,lord from eternity4 ,but be it known that the ,divine-in-itself is in the ,lord2 whereas the divine-from-itself is the divine from the ,lord in things created4 #ec4 ,but for better comprehension let this be illustrated4 ,the ,divine can look only to the divine1 and can do so only in what has been created by it4 ,this is evident from the fact that no one can regard another except from what is his own in himself4 ,one who loves another regards him from his own love2 a wise man regards another from his own wisdom4 ,he can note whether the other loves him or not1 is wise or not2 but this he does from the love and wisdom in himself4 ,therefore he unites himself with the other so far as the other loves him as he loves the other1 or so far as the other is wise as he is wise2 for thus they make one4 #b ,it is the same with the ,divine-in-itself4 ,for the ,divine cannot look to itself from another1 that is1 from man1 spirit1 or angel4 ,for there is nothing in them of the ,divine-in-itself from which are all things1 and to look to the ,divine from another in whom there is nothing of the ,divine would be to look to the ,divine from what is not divine1 which is an impossibility4 ,hence the ,lord is so conjoined to man1 spirit1 or angel that all which is referable to the ,divine is not from them but from the ,lord4 ,for it is known that all good and truth which anyone has are not from him but from the ,lord2 indeed that no one can name the ,lord or speak ,his names ,jesus and ,christ except from ,him4 #c ,consequently the infinite and eternal1 which is the same as the ,divine1 looks to all things in finite beings infinitely and conjoins itself with them in the degree in which they receive love and wisdom4 ,in a word1 the ,lord can have ,his abode and dwell with man and angel only in ,his own1 and not in what is solely theirs1 for this is evil2 if it is good1 it is still finite1 which in and of itself is incapable of the infinite4 ,plainly1 the finite cannot possibly look to what is infinite1 but the infinite can look to the infinite-from-itself in finite beings4 #ed4 ,it seems as if the infinite could not be conjoined to the finite because no ratio is possible between them and because the finite cannot compass the infinite4 ,conjunction is possible1 nevertheless1 both because the ,infinite created all things from ,himself 7as was shown in the work ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 nn4 #bhb-bhd71 and because the ,infinite cannot but look in things finite to what is infinite from ,him1 and this infinite-from-,him in finite beings can appear as if it were in them4 ,thereby a ratio is possible between finite and infinite1 not from the finite1 indeed1 but from the infinite in the finite4 ,thereby1 too1 the finite is capable of the infinite1 not the finite being in himself1 but as if in himself from the infinite-from-itself in him4 ,but of this more in what follows4 #ee4 7iii7 ,divine providence looks to the infinite and eternal from itself in all that it does1 especially in saving mankind4 ,the infinite and eternal in itself is the ,divine itself1 or the ,lord in ,himself2 the infinite and eternal from itself is the proceeding ,divine or the ,lord in others created by ,him1 thus in men and angels4 ,this ,divine is identical with divine providence1 for by the divine from ,himself the ,lord provides that all things shall be held together in the order in which and into which they were created4 ,this the ,divine in the act of proceeding accomplishes and consequently all this is divine providence4 #ef4 ,that divine providence in all that it does looks to what is infinite and eternal from itself is evident from the fact that every created thing proceeds from a first1 which is the infinite and eternal1 to things last1 and from things last to the first whence it is 7as was shown in the work ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 in the part in which the creation of the world is treated of74 ,but the first whence anything is1 is inmostly in all the progression1 and therefore the proceeding ,divine or divine providence in all that it does has in view some image of the infinite and eternal4 ,it does so in all things1 in some obviously so that it is perceptible1 in others not4 ,it makes that image evident to perception in the variety1 and in the fructification and multiplication1 of all things4 #b ,an image of the infinite and eternal is apparent in the variety of all things1 in that no one thing is the same as another nor can be to eternity4 ,the eye beholds this in the variety of human faces ever since creation2 in the variety of minds1 of which faces are types2 and in the variety of affections1 perceptions and thoughts1 for of these the mind consists4 ,in all heaven1 therefore1 no two angels or spirits are the same1 nor can be to eternity4 ,the same is true of every object to be seen in either the natural or the spiritual world4 ,plainly1 the variety is infinite and eternal4 #c ,an image of the infinite and eternal is manifest in the fructification and multiplication of all things1 in the vegetable kingdom in the capacity implanted in seeds1 and in the animal kingdom in reproduction1 especially in the family of fishes4 ,were the seeds to bear fruit and the animals to multiply in the measure of ability1 they would fill all the world1 even the universe1 in a generation4 ,obviously there is latent in that ability an endeavor after self-propagation to infinity4 ,and as fructification and multiplication have not failed from the beginning of creation and never will1 plainly there is in that ability an endeavor after self-propagation to eternity also4 #eg4 ,the like is true of human beings as to their affections1 which are of love1 and their perceptions1 which are of wisdom4 ,the variety of either is infinite and eternal2 so1 too1 is their fructification and multiplication1 which is spiritual4 ,no person enjoys an affection and perception so like another's as to be identical with it1 nor ever will4 ,affections1 moreover1 may be fructified and perceptions multiplied without end4 ,knowledge1 it is well known1 is inexhaustible4 ,this capacity of fructification and multiplication without end or to infinity and eternity exists in natural things with men1 in spiritual with the spiritual angels1 and in celestial with the celestial angels4 ,affections1 perceptions and knowledges have this endless capacity not only in general1 but in every least particular4 ,they have it because they exist from the infinite and eternal in itself through what is infinite and eternal from itself4 ,but as the finite has in it nothing of the ,divine1 nothing of the kind1 not the least1 is in the human being as his own4 ,man or angel is finite and only a receptacle1 by itself dead4 ,whatever is living in him is from the proceeding ,divine1 joined to him by contact1 and appearing in him as if it were his4 ,the truth of this will be seen in what follows4 #eh4 ,divine providence regards what is infinite and eternal from itself especially in saving mankind because its object is a heaven from mankind 7as was shown1 nn4 #bg-de71 and therefore it is man's reformation and regeneration or salvation to which it especially looks1 since heaven consists of the saved or regenerate4 ,to regenerate man1 moreover1 is to unite good and truth or love and wisdom in him1 as they are united in the ,lord's proceeding ,divine2 to this especially1 therefore1 providence looks in saving the race4 ,the image of the infinite and eternal is not to be found elsewhere in man than in the marriage of good and truth4 ,this marriage the proceeding ,divine effects4 ,men filled by the proceeding ,divine1 which is called the ,holy ,spirit1 have prophesied1 as we know from the ,word2 men enlightened by it see divine truths in heaven's light2 above all1 angels sensibly perceive the presence1 influx and conjunction1 though they are aware that the conjunction is no more than can be termed adjunction4 #ei4 ,it has not been known that divine providence in all its procedure with man looks to his eternal state4 ,it can look to nothing else because the ,divine is infinite and eternal1 and the infinite and eternal or the ,divine is not in time2 therefore all future things are present to it4 ,it follows that there is eternity in all that the ,divine does4 ,but those who think from time and space perceive this with difficulty1 not only because they love temporal things1 but also because they think from what is on hand in the world and not from what is at hand in heaven2 this is as remote to them as the ends of the earth4 ,those1 however1 who are in the ,divine1 inasmuch as they think from the ,lord1 think from what is eternal as well as from what is at present1 asking themselves1 ,what is that which is not eternal8 ,is not the temporal relatively nothing and does it not become nothing when it is past8 ,the eternal is not so2 it alone is2 its esse has no end4 ,to think thus is to think both from the present and the eternal1 and when a man not only thinks so but lives so1 the proceeding ,divine with him or divine providence looks in all its procedure to the state of his eternal life in heaven and guides to it4 ,in what follows it will be seen that the ,divine looks to the eternal in everybody1 in an evil as well as in a good person4 #fj4 7iv7 ,an image of the infinite and eternal offers in an angelic heaven4 ,among things we need to know about is the angelic heaven4 ,everyone who has any religion thinks about heaven and wishes to go there4 ,yet heaven is granted only to those who know the way to it and walk in that way4 ,we can know the way to an extent by knowing the character of those who constitute heaven and by knowing that no one becomes an angel or comes into heaven unless he brings with him from the world what is angelic4 ,in what is angelic there is a knowledge of the way from walking in it1 and a walking in the way through a knowledge of it4 ,in the spiritual world1 moreover1 there are actually ways leading to every society of heaven or of hell4 ,each sees his own way as if for himself4 ,he does so because a way is there for every love2 the love discloses the way and takes a man to his fellows4 ,no one sees other ways than the way of his love4 ,plain it is from this that angels are nothing but heavenly loves2 otherwise they would not have seen the ways tending to heaven4 ,this will be plainer still when heaven is described4 #fa4 ,every man's spirit is affection and thought therefrom4 ,and as all affection is of love1 and thought is of the understanding1 every spirit is his own love and his own understanding therefrom4 ,when a man is thinking solely from his own spirit1 therefore1 as he does in private meditation at home1 he thinks from the affection belonging to his love4 ,it is clear1 then1 that when a man becomes a spirit1 as he does after death1 he is the affection of his own love and has no other thought than that of his affection4 ,if his love has been one of evil1 he is an evil affection1 which is a lust2 if his love has been one of good1 he is a good affection4 ,everyone has a good affection so far as he has shunned evils as sins1 and an evil affection so far as he has not shunned evils as sins4 ,as all spirits and angels1 then1 are affections1 the whole angelic heaven is nothing but the love of all the affections of good and the attendant wisdom of all the perceptions of truth4 ,since all good and truth are from the ,lord and ,he is love itself1 the angelic heaven is an image of ,him4 ,furthermore1 as divine love and wisdom are human in form1 it also follows that the angelic heaven must be in that form4 ,of this we shall say more in the following section4 #fb4 ,the angelic heaven is an image of the infinite and eternal1 then1 because it is an image of the ,lord1 who is infinite and eternal4 ,the image of ,his infinity and eternity is manifest in heaven's being constituted of myriads and myriads of angels1 and in its consisting of as many societies as there are general affections of heavenly love2 manifest1 again1 in every angel's being distinctly his own affection2 manifest further in that the form of heaven--a unit in the divine sight just as man is a unit--is assembled from so many affections1 general and particular2 also manifest in that this form is perfected to eternity with the increase in numbers1 the greater the number of those entering into the form of the divine love which is the form of forms1 the more perfect the resulting unity4 ,it is plain from all this that the angelic heaven presents an image of the infinite and eternal4 #fc4 ,from the knowledge of heaven to be had from this brief description it is evident that it is an affection of the love of good that makes heaven in a man4 ,but who knows this today8 ,who knows even what an affection of the love of good is1 or that these affections are innumerable1 in fact1 infinite8 ,for1 as was said1 each angel is his own particular affection2 and the form of heaven is the form of all the affections of the divine love there4 ,only one ,being can combine all affections into this form--only ,he who is love and wisdom itself and who is at once infinite and eternal4 ,for throughout that form is what is infinite and eternal2 the infinite is in its unity and the eternal in its perpetuity2 were they removed the form would instantly collapse4 ,who else can combine affections into a form8 ,who else can bring about this unity8 ,the unity can be accomplished only in an idea of the total1 and the total realized only in thought for each single part4 ,myriads on myriads compose that form2 annually myriads enter it and will do so to eternity4 ,all infants enter it and all adults who are affections of the love of good4 ,again from all this the image of the infinite and eternal in the angelic heaven is to be seen4 #fd4 7v7 ,the heart of divine providence is to look to what is infinite and eternal by fashioning an angelic heaven for it to be like one human being before the ,lord1 an image of ,him4 ,see in the work ,heaven and ,hell 7nn4 #ei-hf7 that heaven as a whole is like one man in the ,lord's sight2 that each society of heaven also is2 that as a result each angel is a human being in perfect form2 and that this is because ,god the ,creator1 who is the ,lord from eternity1 is ,man2 also 7nn4 #hg-ajb7 that as a result there is a correspondence of all things of heaven with all things in the human being4 ,the entire heaven as one man has not been seen by me1 for only the ,lord can so behold it2 but that an entire society1 whether large or small1 can appear as one man1 ,i have seen4 ,i was then told that the largest society of all1 which is heaven in its entirety1 so appears1 but to the ,lord alone2 and that this causes every angel to be in full form a human being4 #fe4 ,as all heaven is like one man in the ,lord's view1 it is divided into as many general societies as there are organs1 viscera and members in man1 and each general society into as many less general or particular societies as there are larger divisions in each of the viscera and organs4 ,this makes evident what heaven is4 ,because the ,lord is very ,man and heaven is ,his image1 to be in heaven is called being in the ,lord4 ,see in the work ,divine ,love and ,wisdom that the ,lord is very ,man 7nn4 #aa-ac1 #bhe-bhi74 #ff4 ,from all this the arcanum1 well called angelic1 can in a measure be seen1 that each affection of good and at the same time of truth is human in form4 ,for whatever proceeds from the ,lord gets from ,his divine love that it is an affection of good and from ,his divine wisdom that it is an affection of truth4 ,an affection of truth proceeding from the ,lord appears in angel and man as perception and consequent thought of truth4 ,for we are aware of perception and thought1 but little aware of the affection whence they are1 although all come as one from the ,lord4 #fg4 ,man1 then1 is by creation a heaven in least form and hence an image of the ,lord2 heaven consists of as many affections as there are angels2 and each affection in its form is man4 ,it must then be the constant striving of divine providence that a man may become a heaven in form and an image of the ,lord1 and as this is effected by means of an affection of the good and true1 that he may become such an affection4 ,this is therefore the unceasing effort of divine providence4 ,but its inmost aim is that a man may be here or there in heaven or in the divine heavenly man1 for so he is in the ,lord4 ,but this is accomplished with those whom the ,lord can lead to heaven4 ,as ,he foresees who can be led ,he also provides continually that a man may become amenable2 for thus everyone who suffers himself to be led to heaven is prepared for his own place there4 #fh4 ,we have said that heaven is divided into as many societies as there are organs1 viscera and members in man2 and in these no part can be in any place but its own4 ,as angels are the parts in the divine heavenly man1 and none become angels who were not men in the world1 the man who suffers himself to be led to heaven is continually prepared by the ,lord for his own place there4 ,this is done by the affection of good and truth which corresponds with that place4 ,to this place every angel-man is also assigned on his departure from the world4 ,this is the inmost of divine providence touching heaven4 #fi4 ,on the other hand1 a man who does not permit himself to be led to heaven and allotted a place there is prepared for his own place in hell4 ,of himself a man tends constantly to the depths of hell but is continually withheld by the ,lord4 ,he who cannot be withheld is prepared for a given place in hell1 to which he is assigned on departure from the world4 ,this place is opposite one in heaven2 for hell is the opposite of heaven4 ,so1 as the angel-man according to his affection of good and truth is allotted his place in heaven1 the devil-man according to his affection of evil and falsity is allotted his in hell4 ,the two opposites1 set exactly over against each other1 are kept in connection4 ,this is the inmost of divine providence touching hell4 ,,iv4 ,,there ,,are ,,laws ,,of ,,providence ,,that ,,are ,,unknown ,,to ,,men #gj4 ,men know there is divine providence1 but not what its nature is4 ,this is not known because its laws are arcana1 hitherto hidden in the wisdom of angels4 ,these laws are to be revealed now in order that what belongs to the ,lord may be ascribed to ,him1 and nothing ascribed to man that is not man's4 ,for very many in the world attribute everything to themselves and their prudence1 and what they cannot so attribute they call fortuitous and accidental1 not knowing that human prudence is nothing and that fortuitous and accidental are idle words4 #b ,we say that the laws of divine providence are arcana hidden until now in the wisdom of the angels4 ,they have been hidden because the understanding has been closed in ,christendom in religion's name on divine things1 and has been rendered so dull and averse in these matters that man has not been able because he has not been willing1 or has not been willing because he has not been able1 to understand anything about providence beyond the mere fact that it exists1 or to do more than argue whether it exists or not1 also whether it is only general or also detailed4 ,closed up on divine things in the name of religion1 understanding could advance no further4 #c ,but it is acknowledged in the church that man cannot of himself do good which is in itself good or of himself think truth which is in itself truth4 ,this acknowledgment is at one with divine providence2 these are interdependent beliefs4 ,lest therefore one be affirmed and the other denied and both fail1 what divine providence is must by all means be revealed4 ,it cannot be revealed unless the laws by which the ,lord oversees and governs the volitions and thoughts of the human being are disclosed4 ,the laws enable one to know the nature of providence1 and only one who knows its nature can acknowledge providence1 for then he beholds it4 ,the laws of divine providence1 hitherto hidden with angels in their wisdom1 are therefore to be revealed now4 ,v4 ,,it ,,is ,a ,,law ,,of ,,divine ,,providence ,,that ,,man ,,shall ,,act ,,from ,,freedom ,,according ,,to ,,reason #ga4 ,as is known1 man is free to think and will as he wishes1 but not to speak whatever he thinks or to do whatever he wills4 ,the freedom meant here1 therefore1 is spiritual freedom and natural freedom only as they make one2 for thinking and willing are spiritual1 and speaking and acting are natural4 ,the two are readily distinguishable in man1 for he can think what he does not utter and will what he does not do2 plainly1 spiritual and natural are discriminated in him4 ,he can pass from the former to the latter therefore only on a decision to do so--a decision which can be likened to a door that must first be unfastened and opened4 ,this door1 it is true1 stands open1 as it were1 in those who think and will from reason in accord with the civil laws of the land and the moral laws of society1 for they speak what they think and do what they will to do4 ,but in those who think and will contrary to those laws1 the door stands shut1 as it were4 ,one who watches his volitions and subsequent deeds knows that such a decision intervenes1 sometimes more than once in a single utterance or action4 ,this we have premised for it to be understood that by acting from freedom according to reason is meant to think and will freely and thence to speak and do freely what is according to reason4 #gb4 ,since few know1 however1 that the law above can be a law of divine providence1 principally because a man is also free then to think evil and falsity 7still divine providence is continually leading him to think and will what is good and true71 for clearer perception we must proceed step by step and shall do so in this order3 i4 ,the human being has reason and freedom or rationality and liberty1 and has these two faculties from the ,lord4 ii4 ,whatever a man does in freedom1 whether with reason or not1 provided it is according to his reason1 seems to him to be his4 iii4 ,whatever a man does in freedom according to his thought1 is appropriated to him as his and remains4 iv4 ,a man is reformed and regenerated by the ,lord by means of the two faculties and cannot be reformed and regenerated without them4 v4 ,a man can be reformed and regenerated by means of the two faculties so far as he can be led by them to acknowledge that all truth and good which he thinks and does are from the ,lord and not from himself4 vi4 ,the conjunction of the ,lord with man1 and man's reciprocal conjunction with the ,lord1 is effected by means of these two faculties4 vii4 ,in all the procedure of ,his divine providence the ,lord safeguards the two faculties in man unimpaired and as sacred4 viii4 ,it is therefore of the divine providence that man shall act in freedom according to reason4 #gc4 7i7 ,the human being has reason and freedom or rationality and liberty1 and has these two faculties from the ,lord4 ,man has a faculty of understanding1 which is rationality1 and a faculty of thinking1 willing1 speaking and doing what he understands1 which is liberty2 and he has these two faculties from the ,lord 7see the work ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 nn4 #bfd-bgj1 #dbe1 and above1 nn4 #dc1 #dd74 ,but many doubts may arise about either of the two faculties when thought is given to them2 therefore ,i want to say something at this point just about man's freedom to act according to reason4 #b ,first1 it should be known that all freedom is of love1 so much so that love and freedom are one4 ,as love is man's life1 freedom is of his life1 too4 ,for man's every enjoyment is from some love of his and has no other source1 and to act from the enjoyment of one's love is to act in freedom4 ,enjoyment leads a man as the current bears an object along on a stream4 ,but loves are many1 some harmonious1 others not2 therefore freedoms are many4 ,in general there are three3 natural1 rational1 and spiritual freedom4 #c ,natural freedom is man's by heredity4 ,in it he loves only himself and the world3 his first life is nothing else4 ,from these two loves1 moreover1 all evils arise and thus attach to love4 ,hence to think and will evil is man's natural freedom1 and when he has also confirmed evils in himself by reasonings1 he does them in freedom according to his reason4 ,doing them is from his faculty called liberty1 and confirming them from his faculty called rationality4 #d ,for example1 it is from the love into which he is born that he desires to commit adultery1 to defraud1 to blaspheme1 to take revenge4 ,confirming these evils in himself and by this making them allowable1 he then1 from his love's enjoyment in them1 thinks and wills them freely and as if according to reason1 and so far as civil laws do not hinder1 speaks and does them4 ,it is of the ,lord's divine providence that man is allowed to do so1 for freedom or liberty is his4 ,this natural freedom is man's by nature because by heredity1 and those are in this freedom who have confirmed it in themselves by reasonings from enjoyment in self-love and love of the world4 #e ,rational freedom is from the love of good repute for the sake of standing or gain4 ,the delight of this love is to seem outwardly a moral person4 ,loving this reputation1 the man does not defraud1 commit adultery1 take revenge1 or blaspheme2 and making this his reasoned course1 he also does in freedom according to reason what is sincere1 just1 chaste1 and friendly2 indeed from reason can advocate such conduct4 ,but if his rational is only natural and not spiritual1 his freedom is only external and not internal4 ,he does not love these goods inwardly at all1 but only outwardly for reputation's sake1 as we said4 ,the good deeds he does are therefore not in themselves good4 ,he can also say that they should be done for the sake of the general welfare1 but he speaks out of no love for that welfare1 but from love of his own standing or gain4 ,his freedom therefore derives nothing from love of the public good1 nor does his reason1 which complies with his love4 ,this rational freedom1 therefore1 is inwardly natural freedom4 ,the ,lord's divine providence leaves everyone this freedom too4 #f ,spiritual freedom is from love of eternal life4 ,into this love and its enjoyment only he comes who regards evils as sins and therefore does not will them1 and who also looks to the ,lord4 ,once a man does this he is in this freedom4 ,one can refuse to will and do evils for the reason that they are sins1 only from an interior or higher freedom1 belonging to his interior or higher love4 ,this freedom does not seem at first to be freedom1 yet it is4 ,later it does seem freedom1 and the man acts in real freedom according to true reason1 thinking1 willing1 speaking and doing the good and the true4 ,this freedom grows as natural freedom decreases and serves it2 and it unites with rational freedom and purifies it4 #g ,anyone can come into this freedom if he is willing to think that there is a life eternal1 and that the joy and bliss of life in time and for a time is like a passing shadow to the joy and bliss of life in eternity and for eternity4 ,a man can think so if he will1 for he has rationality and liberty1 and the ,lord1 from whom he has the two faculties1 constantly enables him to do so4 #gd4 7ii7 ,whatever a man does in freedom1 whether with reason or not1 provided it is according to his reason1 seems to him to be his4 ,nothing makes so clear what rationality and liberty are1 which are proper to the human being1 as to compare man and beast4 ,beasts do not have any rationality or faculty of understanding1 or any liberty or faculty of willing freely4 ,they do not have understanding or will1 therefore1 but instead of understanding they have knowledge and instead of will affection1 both of these natural4 ,not having the two faculties1 animals do not have thought1 but instead an internal sight which makes one with their external sight by correspondence4 #b ,every affection has its mate1 its consort1 so to speak4 ,an affection of natural love has knowledge1 one of spiritual love has intelligence1 and one of celestial love1 wisdom4 ,without its mate or consort an affection is nothing1 but is like esse apart from existere or substance without form1 of which nothing can be predicated4 ,hence there is in every created thing something referable to the marriage of good and truth1 as we have shown several times4 ,in beasts it is a marriage of affection and knowledge2 the affection is one of natural good1 and the knowledge is knowledge of natural truth4 #c ,affection and knowledge in beasts act altogether as one4 ,their affection cannot be raised above their knowledge1 nor the knowledge above the affection2 if they are raised1 they are raised together4 ,nor have animals a spiritual mind into which1 or into the heat and light of which1 they can be raised4 ,thus they have no faculty of understanding or rationality1 or faculty of freely willing or liberty1 and nothing more than natural affection with its knowledge4 ,their natural affection is that of finding food and shelter1 of propagating1 of avoiding and guarding against injury1 together with the knowledge needed for this4 ,as this is their kind of existence1 they cannot think1 ,i will this but not that1 or ,i know this but not that1 still less1 ,i understand this or ,i love that4 ,they are borne along by affection and its knowledge without rationality and liberty4 ,it is not from the natural world that they are borne along so1 but from the spiritual world4 ,nothing can exist in the natural world that does not have its connection with the spiritual world3 thence is every cause that accomplishes an effect4 ,on this see also some things below 7n4 #if74 #ge4 ,it is otherwise with man1 who has affections not only of natural love1 but also of spiritual and celestial loves4 ,for man's mind is of three degrees1 as was shown in ,part ,,iii of the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom4 ,man can be raised therefore from natural knowledge into spiritual intelligence and on into celestial wisdom4 ,from the two1 intelligence and wisdom1 he can look to the ,lord1 be conjoined with ,him1 and thereby live to eternity4 ,this elevation as to affection would not be possible did he not from rationality have the power to raise the understanding1 and from liberty the power to will this4 #b ,by means of the two faculties man can think in himself about what he perceives outside him through the senses1 and can also think on high about what he thinks below4 ,anyone can say1 ,i have thought and ,i think so and so1 ,i have willed and ,i will so and so1 ,i understand that this is a fact1 ,i love this for what it is1 and so on4 ,obviously1 man thinks above his thought1 and sees it1 as it were1 below him4 ,this comes to him from rationality and liberty2 from rationality he can think on high1 and from liberty he can will so to think4 ,unless he had liberty to think so1 he would not have the will1 nor the thought from it4 #c ,those1 therefore1 who will to understand only what is of the world and nature and not what moral and spiritual good and truth are1 cannot be raised from knowledge into intelligence1 still less into wisdom1 for they have stifled those faculties4 ,they render themselves no longer men except that they can understand if they wish1 and can also will1 by virtue of the implanted rationality and liberty2 from the two capacities it is that one can think and from thought speak4 ,in other respects1 they are not men but beasts1 and some1 in their abuse of those faculties1 are worse than beasts4 #gf4 ,from an unclouded rationality anyone can see or grasp that without the appearance that it is his own a man cannot be in any affection to know or to understand4 ,every joy and pleasure1 thus everything of the will1 is from an affection of some love4 ,who can wish to know or to understand anything except that an affection of his takes pleasure in it8 ,who can feel this pleasure unless what he is affected by seems to be his8 ,were it not his1 but another's altogether1 that is1 if another from his affection should infuse something into his mind when he himself felt no affection for knowing or grasping it1 would he receive it8 ,indeed1 could he receive it8 ,would he not be like one called a dullard or a clod8 #b ,it should be manifest then that although everything that a man perceives1 thinks1 knows and1 according to perception1 wills and does1 flows into him1 nevertheless it is of the ,lord's divine providence that it seems to be the man's4 ,otherwise1 as we said1 a man would not receive anything and so could be given no intelligence or wisdom4 ,it is known that all good and truth are the ,lord's and not man's1 and yet appear to be man's4 ,as good and truth so appear1 so do all things of the church and of heaven1 and all things of love and wisdom1 and all things of charity and faith2 yet none of them is man's4 ,no one can receive them from the ,lord unless it seems to him that he perceives them for himself4 ,plainly1 the truth of the matter is that whatever a man does in freedom1 whether with reason or not1 provided only that it accords with his reason1 seems to him to be his4 #gg4 ,who cannot from his faculty called rationality understand that a given good is serviceable to society1 and a given evil harmful to society8 ,that1 for example1 justice1 sincerity1 the chastity of marriage are serviceable to it1 and injustice1 insincerity1 and misconduct with the wives of others1 harmful8 ,consequently that these evils are in themselves injuries1 and those goods in themselves benefits8 ,who then cannot make this a matter of his reason if only he will8 ,he has rationality and he has liberty2 the two faculties are bared1 show1 take charge and enable him to perceive and do in the measure that he avoids those evils because they are evils4 ,so far as a man does this he looks on those goods as a friend looks on friends4 #b ,by his faculty called rationality a man can conclude from this what goods are useful to society in the spiritual world and what evils are hurtful there1 if instead of evils he sees sins and instead of goods works of charity4 ,this he can also make a matter of his reason if he will1 since he has liberty and rationality4 ,his rationality and liberty emerge1 become manifest1 take charge and give him perception and power so far as he shuns evils as sins4 ,so far as he does this he regards the goods of charity as neighbor regards neighbor in mutual love4 #c ,for the sake of reception and union the ,lord wills that whatever a man does freely according to reason shall seem to him to be his2 this agrees with reason itself4 ,it follows that a man can from his reason will something on the ground that it means his eternal happiness and can perform it by the ,lord's divine power1 implored by him4 #gh4 7iii7 ,whatever a man does in freedom according to his thought is appropriated to him as his and remains4 ,the reason is that a man's own and his freedom make one4 ,his proprium is of his life1 and what he does from his life he does in freedom4 ,his proprium is also of his love1 for love is one's life1 and what he does from his life's love he does in freedom4 ,we speak of his acting in freedom according to his thought because what is of his life or love he also thinks and confirms by thought1 and what is so confirmed he does in freedom then according to thought4 ,what a man does1 he does from the will by the understanding2 freedom is of the will and thought is of the understanding4 #b ,a man can also act freely contrary to reason1 likewise not freely in accord with reason3 then nothing is appropriated to him--what he does is only of the mouth and body1 not of the spirit or heart2 only what is of the spirit and heart1 when it is also of the mouth and body1 is appropriated4 ,the truth of this can be illustrated by many things1 but this is not the place4 #c ,by being appropriated to man is meant entering his life and becoming part of it1 consequently becoming his own4 ,it will be seen in what follows that there is nothing1 however1 which is man's very own2 it only seems to him as if it were4 ,only this now3 all the good a man does in freedom according to reason is appropriated to him as if it were his because it seems to be his in that he thinks1 wills1 speaks and does it4 ,good is not man's1 however1 but the ,lord's with man 7above1 n4 #gf74 ,how evil is appropriated to man will appear in a section of its own4 #gi4 ,we said that what a man does in freedom in accord with his thought also remains4 ,for nothing that a man has appropriated to himself can be eradicated2 it has been made part of his love and at the same time of his reason1 or of his will and at the same time of his understanding1 and so of his life4 ,it can be put aside indeed1 but not cast out2 put aside1 it is borne from center to periphery1 where it stays2 this is what we mean by its remaining4 #b ,if1 for example1 in boyhood or youth1 a man appropriated an evil to himself by doing it with enjoyment from love of it--a fraud1 blasphemy1 revenge1 or fornication--having done it freely with the assent of thought1 he made it his2 but if later he repents1 shuns it and considers it a sin to be averse from1 and so desists from it freely according to reason1 then the opposite good is appropriated to him4 ,good then takes the center and removes evil to the periphery1 farther according to his aversion and abhorrence for it4 ,still the evil cannot be so thrust out that one can say it is extirpated2 it may indeed in that removal seem extirpated4 ,what occurs is that the man is withheld from the evil by the ,lord and held in good4 ,this can happen with all inherited evil and all a man's actual evil4 #c ,i have seen this verified by the experience of some in heaven who thought they were without evil1 being held in good as they were by the ,lord4 ,lest they should believe that the good in which they were was their own1 they were let down from heaven and let into their evils until they acknowledged that of themselves they were in evil1 and in good only from the ,lord4 ,upon this acknowledgment they were returned to heaven4 #d ,be it known1 therefore1 that goods are appropriated to man only in that they are constantly with him from the ,lord1 and that as a man acknowledges this the ,lord grants that good shall seem to be the man's1 that is1 that it shall seem to him that he loves the neighbor or has charity1 believes or has faith1 does good and understands truth1 thus is wise1 of himself4 ,from this an enlightened person may see the nature and the strength of the appearance in which the ,lord wills man to be4 ,the ,lord wills it for salvation's sake1 for without that appearance no one can be saved4 ,also see what was shown above on the subject 7nn4 #db-de74 #hj4 ,nothing that a person only thinks1 not even what he thinks to will1 is appropriated to him unless he also wills it so that he does it when opportunity offers4 ,for when a man then does it1 he does it from the will by the understanding or from affection of the will by thought of the understanding4 ,if it is something thought only1 it cannot be appropriated1 for the understanding does not conjoin itself to the will1 or the thought of the understanding to the affection of the will1 but the latter with the former1 as we have shown many times in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 ,part ,v4 ,this is meant by the ,lord's words1 ,not that which enters the mouth renders a man unclean1 but that which goes forth from the heart by the mouth renders a man unclean 7 ,mt #ae3aa1 #ag1 #ah1 #ai74 ,in the spiritual sense thought is meant by mouth1 for thought is spoken by it2 affection which is of love is meant by heart2 if the man thinks and speaks from this he makes himself unclean4 ,in ,luke #f3de also by heart an affection of love or of the will is meant1 and by mouth the thought of the understanding4 #ha4 ,evils which a man believes are allowable1 though he does not do them1 are also appropriated to him1 for the licitness in thought is from the will1 as there is assent4 ,when a man deems an evil allowable he loosens the internal bond on it and is kept from doing it only by external bonds1 which are fears4 ,as his spirit favors the evil1 he commits it when external bonds are removed as allowable1 and meanwhile is committing it in spirit4 ,but on this see ,doctrine of ,life for the ,new ,jerusalem1 nn4 #ajh-aac4 #hb4 7iv7 ,a man is reformed and regenerated by the ,lord by means of the two faculties and cannot be reformed or regenerated without them4 ,the ,lord teaches that1 ,unless one is born anew1 he cannot see the kingdom of ,god 7,jn #c3c1e1g74 ,few know what it is to be born anew or regenerated4 ,for most do not know what love and charity are1 therefore what faith is1 either4 ,one who does not know what love and charity are cannot know what faith is because charity and faith make one as good and truth do1 and as affection which is of the will1 and thought which is of the understanding1 do4 ,on this union see the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 nn4 #dbg-dca2 also ,doctrine for the ,new ,jerusalem1 nn4 #ac-bd2 and above1 nn4 #c-bj4 #hc4 ,no one can enter the kingdom of ,god unless he has been born anew for the reason that by heredity from his parents he is born into evils of every kind1 with the capacity of becoming spiritual through removal of the evils2 unless he becomes spiritual1 then1 he cannot enter heaven4 ,to become spiritual from being natural is to be born again or regenerated4 ,three things need to be considered if one is to know how man is regenerated3 the nature of his first state1 which is one of damnation2 the nature of his second state1 which is one of reformation2 and the nature of his third state1 which is one of regeneration4 #b ,man's first state1 which is one of damnation1 is every one's state by heredity from his parents4 ,for man is born thereby into self-love and love of the world1 and from these as fountains into evils of every kind4 ,by the enjoyments of those loves he is led1 and they keep him from knowing that he is in evil1 for the enjoyment of any love is felt to be good4 ,unless he is regenerated1 therefore1 a man knows no otherwise than that to love himself and the world above all things is good itself1 and to rule over others and possess their riches is the supreme good4 ,so comes all evil4 ,for only oneself is regarded with love4 ,if another is regarded with love it is as devil loves devil or thief thief when they are in league4 #c ,those who confirm these loves with themselves and the evils flowing from them1 from enjoyment in them1 remain natural and become sensuous-corporeal1 and in their own thinking1 which is that of their spirit1 are insane4 ,and yet1 as long as they are in the world they can speak and act rationally and wisely1 for they are human beings and so have rationality and liberty1 though they still do this from self-love and love of the world4 ,after death and on becoming spirits1 they can enjoy nothing that they did not enjoy in the world4 ,their enjoyment is that of an infernal love and is turned into the unpleasant1 sorrowful and dreadful1 meant in the ,word by torment and hell-fire4 ,plain it is1 then1 that man's first state is one of damnation and that they are in it who do not suffer themselves to be regenerated4 #d ,man's second state--of reformation--is his state when he begins to think of heaven for the joy there1 thus of ,god from whom he has heaven's joy4 ,but at first the thought comes from the enjoyment of self-love2 to him heaven's joy is that enjoyment4 ,while the enjoyments of that love and of the evils flowing from it rule1 moreover1 he cannot but think that to gain heaven is to pour out prayers1 hear sermons1 observe the ,supper1 give to the poor1 help the needy1 make offerings to churches1 contribute to hospitals1 and the like4 ,in this state a man is persuaded that merely to think about what religion teaches1 whether this is called faith or called faith and charity1 is to be saved4 ,he is so minded because he gives no thought to the evils in the enjoyments of which he is4 ,while those enjoyments remain1 the evils do4 ,the enjoyments of the evils are from the lust for them which continually inspires them and1 when no fear restrains1 brings them to pass4 #e ,while evils remain in the lusts of love for them and so in one's enjoyments1 there is no faith1 piety1 charity or worship except in externals1 which seem real in the world's sight1 but are not4 ,they may be likened to waters flowing from an impure fountain1 which one cannot drink4 ,while a man is such that he thinks about heaven and ,god from religion but gives no thought to evils as sins1 he is still in the first state4 ,he comes into the second state1 which is one of reformation1 when he begins to think that there is such a thing as sin and still more when he thinks that a given evil is a sin1 explores it somewhat in himself1 and does not will it4 #f ,man's third state1 which is one of regeneration1 sets in and continues from the former4 ,it begins when a man desists from evils as sins1 progresses as he shuns them1 and is perfected as he battles against them4 ,then as he conquers from the ,lord he is regenerated4 ,the order of his life is changed2 from natural he becomes spiritual2 the natural separated from the spiritual is in disorder and the spiritual is in order4 ,the regenerated man acts from charity and makes what is of his faith a part of his charity4 ,but he becomes spiritual only in the measure in which he is in truths4 ,everyone is regenerated by means of truths and of a life in accord with them2 by truths he knows life and by his life he does the truths4 ,so he unites good and truth1 which is the spiritual marriage in which heaven is4 #he499 ,man is reformed and regenerated by means of the two faculties called rationality and liberty1 and cannot be reformed or regenerated without them1 because it is by means of rationality that he can understand and know what is evil and what is good1 and hence what is false and true1 and by means of liberty that he can will what he understands and knows4 ,but while the enjoyment of an evil love rules him he cannot will good and truth freely or make them a matter of his reason1 and therefore cannot appropriate them to him4 ,for1 as was shown above1 what a man does in freedom from reason is appropriated to him as his1 and unless it is so appropriated1 he is not reformed and regenerated4 ,he acts from the enjoyment of a love of good and truth for the first time when the enjoyment of love for the evil and false has been removed4 ,two opposite kinds of enjoyments of love at one and the same time are impossible4 ,to act from the enjoyment of love is to act freely and is also to act according to reason1 inasmuch as the reason favors the love4 99 ,this number must be kept though there is no number #hd2 long established references to ,swedenborg's books make it necessary to keep the numbering in the ,latin original4 #hf4 ,because an evil man as well as a good man has rationality and liberty1 the evil man as well as the good can understand truth and do good4 ,the evil man cannot do this in freedom according to reason1 while a good man can2 for the evil man is in the enjoyment of a love of evil1 the good man in the enjoyment of a love of good4 ,the truth which an evil man understands and the good he does are therefore not appropriated to him1 as they are to the good man1 and aside from appropriation there is no reformation or regeneration4 ,with the evil man evils with their falsities occupy the center1 as it were1 and goods with their truths the circumference1 but goods with their truths the center with the good man and evils with their falsities the periphery4 ,in each case what is at the center is diffused to the circumference1 as heat is from a fiery center and cold from an icy one4 ,thus with the wicked the good at the circumference is defiled by evils at the center1 and with the good evils at the circumference grow mild from the good at the center4 ,for this reason evils do not condemn a regenerating man1 nor do goods save the unregenerate4 #hg4 7v7 ,a man can be reformed and regenerated by means of the two faculties so far as he can be led by them to acknowledge that all truth and good which he thinks and does are from the ,lord and not from himself4 ,what reformation and regeneration are has been told just above1 likewise that man is reformed and regenerated by means of the two faculties of rationality and liberty4 ,because it is done by those faculties1 something more is to be said of them4 ,from rationality a man can understand and from liberty he can will1 doing each as of himself4 ,yet he does not have the ability to will good in freedom and to do it in accord with reason unless he is regenerated4 ,an evil man can will only evil in freedom and do it according to his thinking1 which by confirmations he has made to be his reasoning4 ,for evil can be confirmed as well as good1 but is confirmed by fallacies and appearances which then become falsities2 evil so confirmed seems to accord with reason4 #hh4 ,anyone thinking from interior understanding can see that the power to will and the power to understand are not from man1 but from ,him who has power itself1 that is1 power in its essence4 ,only think whence power is4 ,is it not from ,him who has it in its full might1 that is1 who possesses it in and from ,himself8 ,power in itself1 therefore1 is divine4 ,all power must have a supply on which to draw and direction from an interior or higher self4 ,of itself the eye cannot see1 nor the ear hear1 nor the mouth speak1 nor the hand do2 there must be supply and direction from the mind4 ,nor can the mind of itself think or will this or that unless something more interior or higher determines the mind to it4 ,the same is true of the power to understand and the power to will4 ,these are possible only from ,him who has in ,himself the power of willing and understanding4 #b ,it is plain1 then1 that the two faculties called rationality and liberty are from the ,lord and not from man4 ,man can therefore will or understand something only as if of himself1 and not of himself4 ,anyone can confirm the truth of this for himself who knows and believes that the will to good and the understanding of truth are wholly from the ,lord1 and not from man4 ,the ,word teaches that man can take nothing of himself and do nothing of himself 7,jn #c3bg2 #ae3e74 #hi4 ,as all willing is from love and all understanding is from wisdom1 the ability to will is from divine love1 and the ability to understand is from divine wisdom2 thus both are from the ,lord who is divine love itself and divine wisdom itself4 ,hence to act in freedom according to reason has no other source4 ,everyone acts in freedom because1 like love1 freedom cannot be separated from willing4 ,but there is interior and exterior willing1 and a man can act upon the exterior without acting at the same time on the interior willing2 so hypocrite and flatterer act4 ,exterior willing1 however1 is still from freedom1 being from a love of appearing other than one is1 or from love of an evil which the person intends in the love of his inner will4 ,an evil man1 however1 as has been said1 cannot in freedom according to reason do anything but evil2 he cannot do good in freedom according to reason2 he can do good1 to be sure1 but not in the inner freedom which is his own1 from which the outer freedom has its character of not being good4 #ij4 ,a person can be reformed and regenerated1 we have said1 in the measure in which he is led by the two faculties to acknowledge that all good and truth which he thinks and does are from the ,lord and not from himself4 ,a man can make this acknowledgment only by means of the two faculties1 because they are from the ,lord and are the ,lord's in him1 as is plain from what has been said4 ,man can make this acknowledgment1 therefore1 only from the ,lord and not from himself2 he can make it as if of himself2 this the ,lord gives everyone to do4 ,he may believe that it is of himself1 but when wiser acknowledge that it is not of himself4 ,otherwise the truth he thinks and the good he does are not in themselves truth and good1 for the man and not the ,lord is in them4 ,good in which the man is and which is done by him for salvation's sake is self-righteous1 but not that in which the ,lord is4 #ia4 ,few can grasp with understanding that acknowledgment of the ,lord1 and acknowledgment that all good and truth are from ,him1 cause one to be reformed and regenerated4 ,for a person may think1 ,what does the acknowledgment effect when the ,lord is omnipotent and wills the salvation of all8 ,this ,he wills and can accomplish if only ,he is moved to mercy4 ,one is not thinking then from the ,lord1 nor from the interior sight of the understanding1 that is1 from enlightenment4 ,let me say briefly what the acknowledgment accomplishes4 #b ,in the spiritual world where space is appearance only1 wisdom brings about presence and love union1 or the contrary happens4 ,one can acknowledge the ,lord from wisdom1 and one can acknowledge ,him from love4 ,the acknowledgment of ,him from wisdom 7viewed in itself this is only knowledge7 is made by doctrine2 acknowledgment from love is made in a life according to doctrine4 ,this effects union1 the other1 presence4 ,those1 therefore1 who reject instruction about the ,lord remove themselves from ,him1 and as they also refuse life they part from ,him4 ,those who do not reject instruction1 but do refuse life1 are present but still separated--like friends who converse but do not love each other1 or like two one of whom speaks as a friend with the other1 although as his enemy he hates him4 #c ,the truth of this is commonly recognized in the idea that one who teaches and lives well is saved but not one who teaches well but lives wickedly1 and in the idea that one who does not acknowledge ,god cannot be saved4 ,this makes plain what kind of religion it is only to think about the ,lord from faith1 so called1 and not to do something from charity4 ,therefore the ,lord says1 ,why do you call ,me ,lord1 ,lord1 and do not do what ,i say8 ,everyone who comes to ,me and hears my words and does them 44 4 is like a house-builder who has placed the foundation on a rock1 but the man who hears and does not do1 is like a man building a house on the ground without a foundation 7,lu #f3df-di74 #ib4 7vi7 ,the conjunction of the ,lord with man and man's reciprocal conjunction with the ,lord is effected by these two faculties4 ,conjunction with the ,lord and regeneration are one and the same thing1 for a man is regenerated in the measure that he is conjoined with the ,lord4 ,all that we have said above about regeneration can be said therefore of the conjunction1 and all we said about conjunction can be said about regeneration4 ,the ,lord ,himself teaches in ,john that there is a conjunction of the ,lord with man and a reciprocal conjunction of man with the ,lord4 ,abide in ,me1 and ,i in you4 4 4 4 ,he that abides in ,me and ,i in him1 brings forth much fruit 7#ae3d1 #e74 ,in that day you will know that you are in ,me and ,i in you 7#ad3bj74 #b ,from reason alone anyone can see that there is no conjunction of minds unless it is reciprocal1 and that what is reciprocal conjoins4 ,if one loves another without being loved in return1 then as he approaches1 the other withdraws2 but if he is loved in return1 as he approaches1 the other does also1 and there is conjunction4 ,love also wills to be loved2 this is implanted in it2 and so far as it is loved in return it is in itself and in its delight4 ,thence it is plain that if the ,lord loves man and is not in turn loved by man1 the ,lord advances but man withdraws2 thus the ,lord would be constantly willing to meet with man and enter him1 but man would be turning back and departing4 ,so it is with those in hell1 but with those in heaven there is mutual conjunction4 #c ,since the ,lord wills conjunction with man for salvation's sake1 ,he also provides something reciprocal with man4 ,this consists in the fact that the good a man wills and does in freedom and the truth he thinks and speaks from the will according to reason seem to be from himself1 and that the good in his will and the truth in his understanding seem to be his--indeed they seem to the man to be from himself and to be as completely his as though they really were2 there is no difference2 does anyone perceive otherwise by any sense8 ,see above 7nn4 #gd-gg7 on the appearance as of self1 and 7nn4 #gh-ha7 on appropriation as of oneself4 ,the only difference is the acknowledgment which a man ought to make1 that he does good and thinks truth not of himself but from the ,lord1 and hence that the good he does and the truth he thinks are not his4 ,so to think from some love of the will because it is the truth makes conjunction2 for then a man looks to the ,lord and the ,lord looks on the man4 #ic4 ,i have been granted both to hear and see in the spiritual world what the difference is between those who believe that all good is from the ,lord and those who believe that good is from themselves4 ,those who believe that good is from the ,lord turn their faces to ,him and receive the enjoyment and blessedness of good4 ,those who think that good is from themselves look to themselves and think they have merit4 ,looking to themselves1 they perceive only the enjoyment of their own good which is the enjoyment not of good but of evil1 for man's own is evil1 and enjoyment of evil perceived as good is hell4 ,those who have done good but believed it was of themselves1 and who after death do not receive the truth that all good is from the ,lord1 mingle with infernal spirits and finally join them4 ,those who receive that truth1 however1 are reformed1 though no others receive it than those who have looked to ,god in their life4 ,to look to ,god in one's life is nothing else than to shun evils as sins4 #id4 ,the ,lord's conjunction with man and man's reciprocal conjunction with the ,lord is effected by loving the neighbor as one's self and the ,lord above all4 ,to love the neighbor as one's self consists simply in not acting insincerely or unjustly with him1 not hating him or avenging one's self on him1 not cursing and defaming him1 not committing adultery with his wife1 and not doing other like things to him4 ,who cannot see that those who do such things do not love the neighbor as themselves8 ,those1 however1 who do not do such things because they are evils to the neighbor and at the same time sins against the ,lord1 deal sincerely1 justly1 amicably and faithfully by the neighbor2 as the ,lord does likewise1 reciprocal conjunction takes place4 ,and when conjunction is reciprocal1 whatever a man does to the neighbor he does from the ,lord1 and what he does from the ,lord is good4 ,the neighbor to him then is not the person1 but the good in the person4 ,to love the ,lord above all is to do no evil to the ,word1 for the ,lord is in the ,word1 or to the holy things of the church1 for ,he is in these1 too1 and to do no evil to the soul of another1 for everyone's soul is in the ,lord's hand4 ,those who shun these evils as monstrous sins against the ,lord love ,him above all else4 ,none can do this except those who love the neighbor as themselves1 for the two loves are conjoined4 #ie4 ,in view of the fact that there is a conjunction of the ,lord with man and of man with the ,lord1 there are two tables of the ,law1 one for the ,lord and the other for man4 ,so far as man as of himself keeps the laws of his table1 the ,lord enables him to observe the laws of the ,lord's table4 ,a man1 however1 who does not keep the laws of his table1 which are all referable to love for the neighbor1 cannot do the laws of the ,lord's table1 which are all referable to love for the ,lord4 ,how can a murderer1 thief1 adulterer1 or false witness love ,god8 ,does reason not insist that to be any of these and to love ,god is a contradiction8 ,is not the devil such8 ,must he not hate ,god8 ,but a man can love ,god when he abhors murder1 adultery1 theft and false witness1 for then he turns his face away from the devil to the ,lord2 turning his face to the ,lord he is given love and wisdom--these enter him by the face1 and not by the back of the neck4 ,as conjunction is accomplished only so1 the two tables are called a covenant1 and a covenant exists between two4 #if4 7vii7 ,in all the procedure of ,his divine providence the ,lord safeguards the two faculties in man unimpaired and as sacred4 ,the reasons are that without those two faculties man would not have understanding and will and thus would not be human2 likewise that without them he could not be conjoined to the ,lord and so be reformed and regenerated2 and because without them he would not have immortality and eternal life4 ,the truth of this can be seen from what has been said about the two faculties1 liberty and rationality1 but not clearly seen unless the reasons just given are brought forward as conclusions4 ,they are1 therefore to be clarified4 #b ,without those two faculties man would not have understanding and will and thus would not be human4 ,man has will only in that he can will freely as of himself1 and to will freely as of oneself is from the faculty called liberty1 steadily imparted by the ,lord4 ,man has understanding only in that he can understand as of himself whether a thing is of reason or not1 and so to understand is from the other faculty1 called rationality1 steadily imparted to him by the ,lord4 ,these faculties unite in man as will and understanding do1 for because a man can will1 he can also understand2 willing is impossible without understanding2 understanding is its partner and mate apart from which it cannot exist4 ,with the faculty called liberty there is therefore given the faculty called rationality4 ,if1 too1 you take willing away from understanding1 you understand nothing4 #c ,in the measure that you will1 you can understand provided the helps1 called knowledges1 are present or available1 for these are like tools to a workman4 ,we say1 in the measure you will you can understand1 meaning1 so far as you love to understand1 for will and love act as one4 ,this seems like a paradox1 but it appears so to those who do not love or hence will to understand4 ,they say they cannot understand1 but in the following section we shall tell who cannot understand1 and who can hardly understand4 #d ,it is plain without confirmation that unless man had will from the faculty called liberty1 and understanding from the faculty called rationality1 he would not be human4 ,beasts do not have these faculties4 ,beasts seem to be able to will and to understand1 but cannot do so4 ,they are led and moved to do what they do solely by a natural affection1 in itself desire1 which has knowledge for its mate4 ,something civil and moral there is in their knowledge1 but it does not transcend the knowledge1 for they have nothing spiritual enabling them to perceive or to think analytically of what is moral4 ,they can indeed be taught to do something1 but this is natural only1 is assimilated to their knowledge and at the same time to their affection1 and reproduced through sight or hearing1 but never becomes with them anything of thought1 still less of reason4 ,on this see some things above1 n4 #gd4 #e ,without those two faculties man could not be con-joined to the ,lord or reformed and regenerated4 ,this has been shown above4 ,the ,lord resides with men1 whether evil or good1 in these two faculties and conjoins ,himself by them to every man4 ,hence an evil man as well as a good man can understand and has the will of good and the understanding of truth potentially--that he does not possess them actually is owing to abuse of those faculties4 ,the ,lord resides in those faculties in everyone by the influx of ,his will1 namely1 to be received by man and to have an abode with him1 and to give him the felicities of eternal life2 all this is of the ,lord's will1 being of ,his divine love4 ,it is this will of the ,lord which causes what a man thinks1 speaks1 wills and does1 to seem to be his own4 #f ,that the influx of the ,lord's will effects this can be confirmed by much in the spiritual world4 ,sometimes the ,lord fills an angel with ,his divine so that the angel does not know but that he is the ,lord4 ,thus inspired were the angels who appeared to ,abraham1 ,hagar1 and ,gideon1 and who therefore spoke of themselves as ,jehovah2 of whom the ,word tells4 ,so also one spirit may be filled by another so that he does not know but that he is the other2 ,i have seen this often4 ,in heaven it is general knowledge that the ,lord operates all things by willing1 and that what ,he wills takes place4 ,from all this it is plain that it is by those two faculties that the ,lord conjoins ,himself to man and causes the man to be reciprocally conjoined4 ,we told above and shall say more below about how man is reciprocally conjoined by the two faculties and how1 consequently1 he is reformed and regenerated by means of them4 #g ,without those two faculties man would not have immortality or eternal life4 ,this follows from what has been said3 that by the two faculties there is conjunction with the ,lord and also reformation and regeneration4 ,by conjunction man has immortality1 and through reformation and regeneration he has eternal life4 ,as every man1 evil as well as good1 is conjoined to the ,lord by the two faculties every man has immortality4 ,eternal life1 or the life of heaven1 however1 only that man has with whom there is reciprocal conjunction from inmosts to outmosts4 ,the reasons may now be clear why the ,lord1 in all the procedure of ,his divine providence1 safeguards the two faculties in man unimpaired and as sacred4 #ig4 7 viii7 ,it is therefore a law of divine providence that man shall act in freedom from reason4 ,to act in freedom according to reason1 to act from liberty and rationality1 and to act from will and understanding1 are the same4 ,but it is one thing to act in freedom according to reason1 or from liberty and rationality1 and another thing to act from freedom itself according to reason itself or from liberty and rationality themselves4 ,the man who does evil from love of evil and confirms it in himself acts indeed from freedom according to reason1 but his freedom is not in itself freedom or very freedom1 but an infernal freedom which in itself is bondage1 and his reason is not in itself reason1 but is either spurious or false or plausible through confirmations4 ,still1 either is of divine providence4 ,for if freedom to will evil and do it as of the reason through confirmation of it were taken from the natural man1 liberty and rationality and at the same time will and understanding would perish1 and he could not be withdrawn any longer from evils1 be reformed or united with the ,lord1 and live to eternity4 ,the ,lord therefore guards man's freedom as a man does the apple of his eye4 ,through that freedom the ,lord steadily withdraws man from evils and so far as ,he can do this implants goods1 thus gradually putting heavenly freedom in place of infernal freedom4 #ih4 ,we said above that every man has the faculty of volition called liberty and the faculty of understanding called rationality4 ,those faculties1 moreover1 it should be known1 are as it were inherent in man1 for humanness itself is in them4 ,but as was just said1 it is one thing to act from freedom in accord with reason1 and another thing to act from freedom itself and according to reason itself4 ,only those do the latter who have suffered themselves to be regenerated by the ,lord2 others act in freedom according to thought which they make seem like reason4 ,unless he was born foolish or supremely stupid1 every person can attain to reason itself and by it to liberty itself4 ,many reasons why all do not do so will be disclosed in what follows4 ,here we shall only tell to whom freedom itself or liberty itself1 and at the same time reason itself or rationality itself cannot be given and to whom they can hardly be given4 #b ,true liberty and rationality cannot be given to those foolish from birth or to those who become foolish later1 while they remain so4 ,nor can they be given to those born stupid and dull or to any made so by the torpor of idleness1 or by a disease which perverts or entirely closes the interiors of the mind1 or by love of a bestial life4 #c ,genuine liberty and rationality cannot be given to those in ,christendom who utterly deny the ,divine of the ,lord and the holiness of the ,word1 and have kept that denial confirmed to life's close4 ,for this is meant by the sin against the ,holy ,spirit which is not forgiven in this world or in the world to come 7,mt #ab3ca1 #cb74 #d ,liberty itself and rationality itself cannot be given to those who ascribe all things to nature and nothing to the ,divine1 and have made this a conviction by reasonings from visible things2 for these are atheists4 #e ,true liberty and rationality can hardly be given to those who have confirmed themselves much in falsities of religion2 for a confirmer of falsity is a denier of truth4 ,but they can be given to those1 in whatever religion1 who have not so confirmed themselves4 ,on this see what is adduced in ,doctrine for the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture1 nn4 #ia-ig4 #f ,infants and children cannot attain to essential liberty and rationality before they grow up4 ,for the interiors of the mind of man are opened gradually1 and meanwhile are like seeds in unripe fruit1 without ground in which to sprout4 #ii4 ,we have said that true liberty and rationality cannot be given to those who have denied the ,divine of the ,lord and the holiness of the ,word2 to those who have confirmed themselves in favor of nature and against the ,divine2 and hardly to those who have strongly confirmed themselves in falsities of religion2 still none of these have destroyed the faculties themselves4 ,i have heard atheists1 who had become devils and satans1 understand arcana of wisdom quite as well as angels1 but only while they heard them from others2 on returning into their own thought1 they did not understand them1 for the reason that they did not will to do so4 ,they were shown that they could also will this1 did not the love and enjoyment of evil turn them away4 ,this they understood1 too1 when they heard it4 ,indeed they asserted that they could but did not will to be able to do so1 for then they could not will what they did will1 namely1 evil from enjoyment in the lust of it4 ,i have often heard such astonishing things in the spiritual world4 ,i am fully persuaded therefore that every man has liberty and rationality1 and that every man can attain true liberty and rationality if he shuns evils as sins4 ,but the adult who has not come into true liberty and rationality in the world can never do so after death1 for the state of his life remains to eternity what it was in the world4 ,,vi4 ,,it ,,is ,a ,,law ,,of ,,divine ,,providence ,,that ,,man ,,shall ,,remove ,,evils ,,as ,,sins ,,in ,,the ,,external ,,man ,,of ,,himself1 ,,and ,,only ,,so ,,can ,,the ,,lord ,,remove ,,the ,,evils ,,in ,,the ,,internal ,,man ,,and ,,at ,,the ,,same ,,time ,,in ,,the ,,external #ajj4 ,anyone can see from reason alone that the ,lord who is good itself and truth itself cannot enter man unless the evils and falsities in him are removed4 ,for evil is opposed to good1 and falsity to truth1 and two opposites cannot mingle1 but as one approaches the other1 combat arises which lasts until one gives way to the other2 what gives way departs and the other takes its place4 ,heaven and hell1 or the ,lord and the devil1 are in such opposition4 ,can anyone reasonably think that the ,lord can enter where the devil reigns1 or heaven be where hell is8 ,by the rationality with which every sane person is endowed1 who cannot see that for the ,lord to enter1 the devil must be cast out1 or for heaven to enter1 hell must be removed8 #b ,this opposition is meant by ,abraham's words from heaven to the rich man in hell3 ,between us and you a great gulf is fixed1 so that those who would cross from us to you cannot1 nor those over there cross to us 7,lu #af3bf74 ,evil is itself hell1 and good is itself heaven1 or what is the same1 evil is itself the devil1 and good itself the ,lord4 ,a person in whom evil reigns is a hell in least form1 and one in whom good reigns is a heaven in least form4 ,how1 then1 can heaven enter hell when a gulf is fixed between them so great that there is no crossing from one to the other8 ,it follows that hell must by all means be removed for the ,lord to enter with heaven4 #aja4 ,but many1 especially those who have confirmed themselves in faith severed from charity1 do not know that they are in hell when they are in evils4 ,in fact1 they do not know what evils are1 giving them no thought4 ,they say that they are not under the yoke of the law and so the law does not condemn them2 likewise1 that as they cannot contribute to their salvation1 they cannot remove any evil of themselves and furthermore cannot do any good of themselves4 ,it is these who neglect to give some thought to evil and therefore keep on in evil4 ,they are meant by the ,lord under goats in ,matthew #be3cb1 #cc2 #da-df1 as may be seen in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem on ,faith1 nn4 #fa-fh2 to them it is said in verse #da1 ,depart from ,me1 you accursed1 into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels4 #b ,persons who give no thought to the evils in them1 and who do not examine themselves and then desist from the evils1 cannot but be ignorant what evil is1 and cannot but love it then from delighting in it4 ,for one who is ignorant of it loves it1 and one who fails to give it thought1 goes on in it1 blind to it4 ,thought sees good and evil as the eye sees beauty and ugliness4 ,one who thinks and wills evil is in evil1 and so is a person who thinks that it does not come to ,god's sight1 or if it does is forgiven by ,him2 he supposes then that he is without evil4 ,if such persons refrain from doing evil1 they do so not because it is a sin against ,god1 but for fear of the law and for their reputation's sake4 ,in spirit they still do evil1 for it is man's spirit that thinks and wills4 ,as a result1 what a man thinks in his spirit in the world1 he commits when he becomes a spirit on his departure from the world4 #c ,in the spiritual world1 into which everyone comes after death1 the question is not asked what your belief has been or your doctrine1 but what your life has been4 ,was it such or such8 ,for1 as is known1 such as one's life is1 such is one's belief1 yes1 one's doctrine4 ,for life fashions a doctrine and a belief for itself4 #ajb4 ,from all this it is plain that it is a law of divine providence that evils be removed by man1 for without the removal of them the ,lord cannot be conjoined to man and from ,himself lead man to heaven4 ,but it is not known that man ought to remove evils in the external man as of himself and that unless he does so the ,lord cannot remove the evils in his internal man4 ,this is to be presented1 therefore1 to the reason in light of its own in this order3 i4 ,every man has an external and an internal of thought4 ii4 ,his external of thought is in itself such as his internal is4 iii4 ,the internal cannot be purified from the lusts of evil as long as the evils in the external man have not been removed1 for these impede4 iv4 ,only with the man's participation can evils in the external man be removed by the ,lord4 v4 ,therefore a man ought to remove evils from the external man as of himself4 vi4 ,the ,lord then purifies him from the lusts of evil in the internal man and from the evils themselves in the external4 vii4 ,the continuous effort of the ,lord in ,his divine providence is to unite man to ,himself and ,himself to man1 in order to be able to bestow the felicities of eternal life on him1 which can be done only so far as evils1 along with their lusts1 are removed4 #ajc4 7i7 ,every man has an external and an internal of thought4 ,by external and internal of thought the same is meant here as by external and internal man1 and by this nothing else is meant than external and internal of will and understanding1 for will and understanding constitute man1 and as they both manifest themselves in thoughts1 we speak of external and internal of thought4 ,and as it is man's spirit and not his body which wills and understands and consequently thinks1 external and internal are external and internal of his spirit4 ,the body's activity in speech or deed is only an effect from the external and internal of man's spirit1 for the body is so much obedience4 #ajd4 ,as he grows older1 every person has an external and an internal of thought1 or an external and an internal of will and understanding or of his spirit1 identical with external and internal man4 ,this is evident to anyone who observes another's thoughts and intentions as they are revealed in speech or deed1 or who observes his own when he is in company and when he is by himself4 ,for from the external thought one can talk amicably with another and yet in internal thought be hostile4 ,from external thought and from its affection1 too1 a man can talk about love for the neighbor and for ,god when in his internal thought he cares nothing for the neighbor and does not fear ,god4 ,from external thought together with its affection he can talk about the justice of civil laws1 the virtues of the moral life1 and matters of doctrine and the spiritual life1 and yet in private and from his internal thought and its affection speak against the civil laws1 the moral virtues1 and matters of doctrine and spiritual life4 ,so those do who are in lusts of evil but want to appear to the world not to be in them4 #b ,many also1 as they listen to others1 think to themselves1 ,do those speaking think inwardly in themselves as they think in utterance8 ,are they to be believed or not8 ,what do they intend8 ,flatterers and hypocrites notoriously possess a twofold thought4 ,they can be self-restrained and guard against the interior thought's being disclosed1 and some can hide it more and more deeply and bar the door against its appearing4 ,that a man possesses external and internal thought is also plain in that from his interior thought he can behold the exterior thought1 can reflect on it1 too1 and judge whether or not it is evil4 ,the human mind is such because of the two faculties1 called liberty and rationality1 which one has from the ,lord4 ,unless he possessed internal and external of thought from these faculties1 a man could not perceive and see an evil in himself and be reformed4 ,in fact1 he could not speak but only make sounds like a beast4 #aje4 ,the internal of thought comes out of the life's love1 its affections and the perceptions from them4 ,the external of thought is from what is in the memory1 serving the life's love for confirmation and as means to its end4 ,from childhood to early manhood a person is in the external of thought from an affection for knowledge1 which is then his internal2 from the life's love born in one from parents something of lust and hence of disposition issues1 too4 ,later1 however1 his life's love is as he lives1 and its affections and the perceptions from them make the internal of his thought4 ,from his life's love comes a love of means2 the enjoyments of these means and the information drawn thereby from the memory make his external of thought4 #ajf4 7ii7 ,man's external of thought is in itself such as his internal is4 ,we showed earlier that from head to foot a man is what his life's love is4 ,something must be said about his life's love1 for until this is done nothing can be said about the affections which together with perceptions make the internal of man1 or about the enjoyments of the affections together with thoughts which make his external4 ,loves are many1 but two--heavenly love and infernal love--are like lords or kings4 ,heavenly love is love to the ,lord and the neighbor2 infernal love is love of self and the world4 ,these are opposite to each other as heaven and hell are4 ,for a man in love of self and the world wishes well only to himself2 a man in love to the ,lord and the neighbor wishes well to all4 ,these two are the loves of man's life1 though with much variety4 ,heavenly love is the life's love of those whom the ,lord leads1 and infernal love the life's love of those whom the devil leads4 #b ,no one's life's love can be without derivatives1 called affections4 ,the derivatives of infernal love are affections of evil and falsity --lusts1 properly speaking2 and those of heavenly love are affections of good and truth--loves1 strictly4 ,affections1 or strictly lusts1 of infernal love are as numerous as evils are1 and affections1 or properly loves1 of heavenly love are as many as there are goods4 ,love dwells in its affections like a lord in his domain and a king in his realm2 its domain or realm is over the things of the mind1 that is1 of the will and understanding and thence of the body4 ,by its affections and the perceptions from them and by its enjoyments and the thoughts therefrom1 the life's love of man rules him completely1 the internal of the mind by the affections and perceptions from them1 and the external by the enjoyments of the affections and of the thoughts from them4 #ajg4 ,the manner of this rule may be seen to some extent from comparisons4 ,heavenly love with its affections of good and truth and the perceptions from them1 together with the enjoyments of such affections and the thoughts from these1 may be compared to a tree1 notable for its branches1 leaves and fruit4 ,the life's love is the tree2 the branches with their leaves are the affections of good and truth with their perceptions2 and the fruits are the enjoyments of the affections with their thoughts4 ,infernal love1 however1 with its affections or lusts of evil and falsity1 together with the enjoyments of the lusts and the thinking from those enjoyments1 may be compared to a spider and the web spun about it4 ,the love itself is the spider2 the lusts of evil and falsity together with their subtle cunning are the net of threads nearest the spider's post2 and the enjoyments of the lusts together with their crafty schemes are the more remote threads where flies are snared on the wing1 enveloped and eaten4 #ajh4 ,these comparisons may help one to see the connection of all things of the will and understanding or of man's mind with his life's love1 and yet not to see it rationally4 ,rationally it may be seen in this way4 ,everywhere there are three which make one1 called end1 cause and effect4 ,here the life's love is end2 the affections with their perceptions are cause2 and the enjoyments of the affections and consequent thoughts are effect4 ,for as an end passes into effect through a cause1 love passes by its affections to its enjoyments and by its perceptions to its thoughts4 ,the effects are in the enjoyments of the mind and the thoughts thence when the enjoyments are from the will and the thoughts from the attendant understanding1 that is1 when all fully agree4 ,the effects are then part of man's spirit and although they do not come into bodily act are still a deed there when there is this agreement4 ,at the same time they are in the body1 dwelling there with man's life's love and longing for the deed1 which occurs when nothing hinders4 ,the same is true of lusts of evil and evil deeds with those who make evils allowable in spirit4 #b ,as an end unites itself with a cause and by the cause with an effect1 the life's love unites itself with the internal of thought and by this with its external4 ,it is plain then that man's external of thought is in itself what his internal is1 for an end imparts all of itself to the cause and through the cause to the effect4 ,nothing essential is present in an effect which is not in the cause and through the cause in the end1 and as the end is what essentially enters cause and effect1 these are called mediate end and final end respectively4 #aji4 ,sometimes the external of thought seems to be different in itself from the internal4 ,this is because the life's love with its internals about it sets a vicar under it called the love of means1 and directs it to watch and guard against anything of its lusts appearing4 ,this vicar1 with the cunning of its chief1 the life's love1 therefore speaks and acts in accordance with the laws of a kingdom1 the ethical demands of reason1 and the spiritual requirements of the church1 so cunningly1 too1 and cleverly that no one sees that persons are other than they say and act1 and finally the persons themselves1 so disguised1 scarcely know otherwise4 ,such are all hypocrites4 ,such are priests1 also1 who at heart care nothing for the neighbor and do not fear ,god1 yet preach about love of the neighbor and of ,god4 ,such are judges who judge by gifts and friendships while affecting zeal for justice and speaking with reason about judgment4 ,such are traders who at heart are insincere and fraudulent while dealing honestly for the sake of profit4 ,such are adulterers when1 from the rationality every man possesses1 they talk about the chastity of marriage2 and so on4 #b ,the same persons1 when they strip the love of means1 the vicar of their life's love1 of the purple and linen which they have thrown around it and put its house dress on it1 then think exactly the contrary1 and exchanging thought with their best friends who are in a similar life's love1 they speak so4 ,it may be believed that when they have spoken so justly1 honestly and piously from the love of means1 the character of the internal of thought was not in the external of their thought2 yet it was2 hypocrisy is in them1 and love of self and the world is in them1 the cunning of which aims to capture a reputation for the sake of standing or gain through just the outward appearance4 ,this1 the nature of the internal1 is in the external of their thought when they speak and act so4 #aaj4 ,with those in a heavenly love1 however1 internal and external of thought or internal and external man make one when they speak1 and they are aware of no difference4 ,their life's love1 with its affections of good and the perceptions of truth from these1 is like a soul in what they think and then say and do4 ,if they are priests1 they preach out of love to the neighbor and to the ,lord2 if judges1 they judge from justice itself2 if tradesmen1 they deal with honesty2 if they are husbands1 they love the partner with true chastity2 and so on4 ,their life's love also has a love of the means for vicar1 which it teaches and leads to act with prudence and clothes with garments of a zeal for both truths of doctrine and goods of life4 #aaa4 7 iii7 ,the internal cannot be purified from the lusts of evil as long as evils in the external man are not removed1 for these impede4 ,this follows from what has been said above1 that the external of man's thought is in itself what the internal of his thought is and that they cohere as what is not only in the other but also from the other2 one cannot be removed1 therefore1 unless the other is at the same time4 ,this is true of any external which is from an internal1 and of anything subsequent from what is prior1 and of every effect from a cause4 #b ,as lusts together with slynesses make the internal of thought with evil persons1 and the enjoyments of the lusts together with scheming make the external of thought in them1 and the two are joined into one1 it follows that the internal cannot be purified from the lusts as long as the evils in the external man are not removed4 ,it should be known that man's internal will is in the lusts2 his internal understanding in the slynesses2 his external will in the enjoyments of the lusts2 and his external understanding in the sly scheming4 ,anyone can see that lusts and their enjoyments make one1 that slynesses and scheming also do1 and that the four are one series and as it were make a single bundle4 ,from this again it is evident that the internal1 consisting of lusts1 cannot be cast out except on the removal of the external1 consisting of evils4 ,lusts produce evils by their enjoyments1 and when evils are deemed allowable1 as they are when will and understanding agree on it1 the enjoyments and the evils make one4 ,it is well known that assent is deed2 this is also what the ,lord said3 ,if anyone looks on the woman of another to lust after her1 he has already committed adultery with her in his heart 7,mt #e3bh7499 ,the same is true of all other evils4 99 ,the ,greek is simply on a woman and does not have the word here rendered of another4 ,though ,swedenborg quotes the verse several times in his works he seems not to have checked as he usually did beyond the rendering of the ,schmidius ,latin ,bible which he used4 #aab4 ,from this it may now be evident that for a person to be purified from the lusts of evil1 evils must by all means be removed from the external man1 for the lusts have no way out before4 ,if no outlet exists1 they remain within and breathe out enjoyments and so incite man to consent1 thus to deed4 ,lusts enter the body by the external of thought2 when there is consent1 therefore1 in the external of thought they are instantly in the body2 the enjoyment felt is bodily4 ,see in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom 7nn4 #cfb-cgj7 that the body1 thus the whole man1 is what the mind is4 ,this can be illustrated by comparisons1 and by examples4 #b ,by comparisons3 lusts with their enjoyments can be compared to a fire which blazes the more1 the more it is nursed2 the freer its way the more widely it spreads until in a city it consumes houses and in a woods the trees4 ,in the ,word1 moreover1 lusts are compared to fire1 and the evils from them to a conflagration4 ,the lusts of evil with their enjoyments also appear as fires in the spiritual world2 hellfire is nothing else4 ,lusts may also be compared to floods and inundations as dikes or dams give way4 ,they may also be likened to gangrene and abscesses which bring death to the body as they run their course or are not healed4 #c ,by examples3 it is obvious that when evils are not removed in the external man1 the lusts with their enjoyments grow and flourish4 ,the more he steals the more a thief lusts to steal until he cannot stop2 so with a defrauder1 the more he defrauds2 it is the same with hatred and vengeance1 luxury and intemperance1 whoredom and blasphemy4 ,it is notorious that the love of ruling from the love of self increases when left unbridled2 so also the love of possessing things from love of the world2 they seem to have no limit or end4 ,plain it is then that so far as evils are not removed in the external man1 lusts for them intensify2 also that in the degree that evils are given free rein1 the lusts increase4 #aac4 ,a person does not see the lusts of his evil2 he sees their enjoyments1 to be sure1 but still he reflects little on them1 for they divert thought and drive off reflection4 ,unless he learned from elsewhere that they are evils he would call them goods and give them expression freely according to his thought's reasoning2 doing so1 he appropriates them to himself4 ,so far as he confirms them as allowable he enlarges the court of his ruling love1 which is his life's love4 ,lusts constitute its court1 being its ministers and retinue1 as it were1 by which it governs the exteriors of its realm4 ,but such as is the king1 such are the ministers and retinue1 and such is the kingdom4 ,if the king is diabolic1 his ministers and the retinue are insanities1 and the people of his realm are falsities of every kind4 ,the ministers 7who are called wise although they are insane7 cause these falsities to appear as truths by reasonings from fallacies and by fantasies and cause them to be acknowledged as truths4 ,can such a state in a man be changed except by the evils being removed in the external man8 ,then the lusts which cling to the evils are also removed4 ,otherwise no outlet offers for the lusts2 they are shut in like a besieged city or like an indurated ulcer4 #aad4 7iv7 ,only with man's participation can evils in the external man be removed by the ,lord4 ,in all ,christian churches it is an accepted point of doctrine that before coming to the ,holy ,communion a person should examine himself1 see and confess his sins1 and do penitence1 desisting from his sins and rejecting them because they are from the devil2 and that otherwise the sins are not forgiven him and he is damned4 ,the ,english1 despite the fact that they are in the doctrine of faith alone1 nevertheless in the exhortation to the ,holy ,communion openly teach self-examination1 acknowledgment1 confession of sins1 penitence and renewal of life1 and warn those who do not do these things with the words that otherwise the devil will enter into them as he did into ,judas1 fill them with all iniquity1 and destroy both body and soul4 ,germans1 ,swedes and ,danes1 who are also in the doctrine of faith alone1 teach the same in the exhortation to the ,holy ,communion1 also warning that otherwise the communicants will make themselves liable to infernal punishments and eternal damnation for mixing sacred and profane together4 ,these words are read out by the priest in a deep voice to all who are about to observe the ,holy ,supper1 and are listened to by them in full acknowledgment that they are true4 #b ,nevertheless1 after hearing a sermon on the same day about faith alone and to the effect that the law does not condemn them because the ,lord has fulfilled it for them1 and that of themselves they cannot do any good which is not self-righteous and thus that one's works have nothing saving in them1 only faith alone has1 these same persons return home completely forgetting their earlier confession and rejecting it so far as they think along the lines of the sermon4 ,but which is true1 the latter or the former8 ,contrary to each other1 both cannot be true4 ,which is8 ,that there can be no forgiveness of sins1 thus no salvation but only eternal damnation1 apart from self-examination1 the knowledge and acknowledgment1 confession and breaking off of sins1 that is1 apart from repentance8 ,or that such things effect nothing towards salvation inasmuch as full satisfaction for all the sins of men has been made by the ,lord through the passion of the cross for those who have faith1 and that those in faith alone with trust that it is so and with confidence in the imputation of the ,lord's merit1 are sinless and appear before ,god like men with shining faces for having washed8 #c ,it is plain from this that the religion common to all churches in ,christendom is that one shall examine himself1 see and acknowledge his sins and then desist from them1 and that otherwise there is no salvation1 but damnation4 ,this1 moreover1 is divine truth itself1 as is plain from passages in the ,word in which man is bidden to do penitence1 as from the following3 ,john said1 ,do 4 4 4 fruits worthy of repentance 4 4 4 this moment the axe is at the root of the tree2 every tree not giving good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire 7,lu #c3h1 #i74 ,jesus said1 ,unless you do repentance1 you shall all 4 4 4 perish 7,lu #ac3c1e74 ,jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of ,god2 4 4 4 do repentance1 and believe the gospel 7,mk #a3ad1 #ae74 ,jesus sent out the disciples who on going out were to preach that men should repent 7,mk #f3ab74 ,jesus told the apostles that they were to preach repentance and the remission of sins to all peoples 7,lu #bd3bg74 ,john preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins 7,mk #a3d2 ,lu #c3c74 ,think about this also with some degree of understanding2 if you have religion1 you will see that repentance of one's sins is the way to heaven1 that faith apart from repentance is not faith1 and that those in no faith for lack of repenting are in the way to hell4 #aae4 ,those in faith severed from charity who have confirmed themselves in it by ,paul's saying to the ,romans that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law 7#c3bh7 worship that saying quite like men who worship the sun4 ,they become like those who fix their gaze steadily on the sun with the result that the blurred vision sees nothing in normal light4 ,for they fail to see what is meant in the passage by works of the law1 namely1 the rituals described by ,moses in his books1 called law in them everywhere1 and not the precepts of the ,decalog4 ,lest it be thought these are meant1 ,paul explains1 saying at that point1 ,do we not then make the law void through faith8 ,far from it1 rather we establish the law 7verse #ca of the same chapter74 ,those who have confirmed themselves by that saying in faith severed from charity1 looking on it as on the sun1 do not see the passages in which ,paul lists the laws of faith and that these are the very works of charity4 ,what indeed is faith without its laws8 ,nor do they see the passages in which he lists evil works1 declaring that those who do them cannot enter heaven4 ,what blindness has been brought about by this one passage badly understood6 #aaf4 ,evils in the external man cannot be removed without man's cooperation for the reason that it is by divine providence that whatever a man hears1 sees1 thinks1 wills1 speaks and does shall seem to him to be his own doing4 ,apart from that appearance 7as was shown above1 nn4 #ga-ie ff47 there would be no reception of divine truth on man's part1 nor determination to do what is good1 nor any appropriation of love and wisdom or of charity and faith1 hence no conjunction with the ,lord1 no reformation therefore or regeneration1 and thus no salvation4 ,without that appearance1 repentance for sins would clearly be impossible and in fact faith would2 without that appearance1 likewise1 man is not man but is devoid of rational life like the beasts4 ,let him who will1 consult his reason whether it appears otherwise than that man thinks from himself about good and truth1 spiritual as well as moral and civil2 then accept the doctrine that all good and truth are from the ,lord and none from man4 ,must he not then acknowledge as a consequence that man is to do good and think truth of himself1 yet always acknowledge that these are from the ,lord8 ,and acknowledge further that man is to remove evils of himself1 but still acknowledge that he does so from the ,lord8 #aag4 ,many are unaware that they are in evils since they do not do them outwardly1 fearing the civil law and the loss of reputation4 ,thus by custom and habit they practice to avoid evils as detrimental to their standing and interests4 ,but if they do not shun evils on religious principle1 because they are sins and against ,god1 the lusts of evil with their enjoyments remain in them like impure waters stopped up or stagnant4 ,let them probe their thoughts and intentions and they will come on the lusts provided they know what sins are4 #b ,many such1 who have confirmed themselves in faith separated from charity and who believe that the law does not condemn1 pay no attention to sins4 ,some doubt there are sins1 or if so1 that they exist in ,god's sight1 having been pardoned4 ,such also are natural moralists1 who believe that civil and moral life with its prudence accomplishes all things and divine providence nothing4 ,such are those1 also1 who strive with great care after a reputation and a name for honesty and sincerity for the sake of standing and preferment4 ,but those who are such and who at the same time have spurned religion become lustful spirits after death1 appearing to themselves like men indeed1 but to others at a distance like priapi2 and they see in the dark and not at all in the light1 like night-owls4 #aah4 ,proposition v1 that a man ought to remove evils from the external man of himself1 is substantiated then4 ,further explanation may be seen in ,doctrine of ,life for the ,new ,jerusalem under three propositions3 #a4 ,no one can flee evils as sins so as to be averse to them inwardly except by combats against them 7nn4 #ib-ajj72 #b4 ,a man ought to shun evils as sins and fight against them as of himself 7nn4 #aja-ajg72 and #c4 ,if he shuns evils for any other reason than that they are sins1 he does not shun them1 but only keeps them from appearing to the world4 #aai4 7vi7 ,the ,lord then purifies man from the lusts of evil in the internal man and from the evils themselves in the external4 ,the ,lord purifies man from the lusts of evil only when man as of himself removes the evils because ,he cannot do so before4 ,for the evils are in the external man and the lusts in the internal man1 and they cling together like roots and a trunk4 ,unless the evils are removed1 therefore1 no outlet offers2 they block the way and shut the door1 which the ,lord can open only with a man's participation1 as was shown just above4 ,when the man as of himself opens the door1 the ,lord then roots out the lusts4 #b ,a second reason why the ,lord cannot do so sooner is that ,he acts upon man's inmost and by that on all that follows even to outmosts where man himself is4 ,while outmosts1 therefore1 are kept closed by man1 no purification can take place1 but only that activity of the ,lord in interiors which is ,his activity in hell1 of which the man who is in lusts and at the same time in evils is a form--an activity which is solely provision lest one thing destroy another and lest good and truth be violated4 ,it is plain from words of the ,lord in the ,apocalypse that ,he constantly urges and prompts man to open the door to ,him3 ,behold1 ,i stand at the door1 and knock2 if anyone hears my voice and opens the door1 ,i will come in to him1 and sup with him1 and he with ,me 7#c3bj74 #abj4 ,man knows nothing at all of the interior state of his mind or internal man1 yet infinite things are there1 not one of which comes to his knowledge4 ,his internal of thought or internal man is his very spirit1 and in it are things as infinite and innumerable as there are in his body1 in fact1 more numerous4 ,for his spirit is man in its form1 and all things in it correspond to all things of his body4 ,now1 just as man knows nothing by any sensation about how his mind or soul operates on all things of the body as a whole or severally1 so he does not know1 either1 how the ,lord works on all things of his mind or soul1 that is1 of his spirit4 ,the divine activity is unceasing2 man has no part in it2 still the ,lord cannot purify a man from any lust of evil in his spirit or internal man as long as the man keeps the external closed4 ,man keeps his external closed by evils1 each of which seems to him to be a single entity1 although in each are infinite things4 ,when a man removes what seems a single thing1 the ,lord removes infinite things in it4 ,so much is implied in the ,lord's purifying man from the lusts of evil in the internal man and from the evils themselves in the external4 #aba4 ,many believe that a person is purified from evils merely by believing what the church teaches2 some1 by doing good2 others by knowing1 speaking and teaching what is of the church2 others by reading the ,word and books of devotion2 others by going to church1 hearing sermons and especially by observing the ,holy ,supper2 still others1 by renouncing the world and devoting oneself to piety2 others still by confessing oneself guilty of all sins2 and so on4 ,and yet none of these things purifies man at all unless he examines himself1 sees his sins1 acknowledges them1 condemns himself on account of them1 and repents by desisting from them1 and does all this as of himself1 yet with the acknowledgment in heart that he does so from the ,lord4 #b ,until this is done1 the things mentioned above do not avail1 being either self-righteous or hypocritical4 ,such persons appear to the angels in heaven either like pretty courtesans smelling badly of their corruption1 or like unsightly women painted to appear handsome1 or like masked clowns and mimics in the theater1 or like apes in men's clothes4 ,but when evils have been removed1 then all that has just been mentioned becomes the expression of love in such persons1 and they appear as beautiful human beings to the sight of the angels in heaven and as partners and companions of theirs4 #abb4 ,but it should be rightly known that in repenting a man ought to look to the ,lord alone4 ,he cannot be purified if he looks to ,god the ,father alone1 or to the ,father for the sake of the ,son1 or to the ,son as a man only4 ,for there is one ,god and the ,lord is ,he1 for ,his ,divine and ,human is one ,person1 as we have shown in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,lord4 ,in order that the intending penitent may look to ,him alone1 the ,lord instituted the ,holy ,supper1 which confirms the remission of sins in those who repent1 and does so because everyone is kept looking to the ,lord alone in it4 #abc4 7vii7 ,the perpetual effort of the ,lord in ,his divine providence is to conjoin man with ,himself and ,himself with man1 in order to be able to bestow the felicities of eternal life on him1 which can be done only so far as evils with their lusts have been removed4 ,it was shown above 7nn4 #bg-de7 that it is the unceasing effort of the ,lord in ,his divine providence to conjoin man to ,himself and ,himself to man2 that this conjunction is what is called reformation and regeneration2 and that by it man has salvation4 ,who does not see that conjunction with ,god is life eternal and salvation8 ,everyone sees this who believes that men by creation are images and likenesses of ,god 7,ge #a3bf1 #bg7 and who knows what an image and likeness of ,god is4 #b ,what man of sound reason1 thinking from his rationality and wanting to think in freedom1 can believe that there are three ,gods equal in essence and that divine being or essence can be divided8 ,one can conceive and comprehend a ,trine in the one ,god1 however1 just as soul1 body and outgoing life in angel and man are comprehensible4 ,as this ,trine in ,one exists only in the ,lord1 conjunction must be with ,him4 ,use your power of reason together with your liberty of thought1 and you will see this truth in its own light2 but admit first that ,god is1 and heaven1 and eternal life4 #c ,as1 then1 ,god is one1 and the human being was made by creation an image and likeness of ,him1 and inasmuch as by infernal love and its lusts and enjoyments man has come into a love of all evils and thus destroyed the image and likeness of ,god in him1 it follows that it is the continuous effort of the ,lord's divine providence to conjoin man to ,himself and ,himself to man and thus make him an image of ,himself4 ,it also follows that this is to the end that the ,lord may be able to bestow on him the felicities of eternal life1 for such is divine love4 #d ,he cannot bestow them1 however1 nor make man an image of ,himself1 unless man removes sins in the external man as of himself1 because the ,lord is not only divine love but also divine wisdom1 and divine love does nothing except by its divine wisdom and in consonance with it4 ,it is according to divine wisdom that man cannot be conjoined to the ,lord and thus reformed1 regenerated and saved unless he is allowed to act in freedom according to reason1 for so man is man4 ,whatever is according to the ,lord's divine wisdom is also of ,his divine providence4 #abd4 ,to this let me append two arcana of angelic wisdom showing further what divine providence is like4 ,one is that the ,lord never acts on one thing by itself in man1 but on all things at the same time1 and the other is that ,he acts at once from inmosts and outmosts4 ,he never acts on some one thing by itself but on all things together because all things in man are in such connection and from this in such form that they act not as a number but as one4 ,we know that there is such connectedness and by it such organization in man's body4 ,the human mind is in similar form as a result of the connection of all things1 for the mind is the spiritual man and truly the man4 ,hence man's spirit or the mind in the body in its entire form is man4 ,consequently man is man after death equally as he was in the world with the sole difference that he has thrown off the clothing which made up his body in the world4 #b ,as the human form1 then1 is such that all its parts form a community which acts as a whole1 some one thing cannot be moved out of place or altered in state except with adaptation of the rest1 for if it were1 the form which acts as a whole would suffer4 ,hence it is plain that the ,lord never acts on any one thing without acting on all4 ,so ,he acts on the total angelic heaven since in ,his view it is like one man2 so ,he acts on each angel1 for each angel is heaven in least form2 so ,he acts also on each man1 most nearly on all things of man's mind and by these on all things of his body2 for man's mind is his spirit and in the measure of conjunction with the ,lord is an angel1 and the body is obedience4 #c ,it is to be well noted1 however1 that the ,lord does act on each particular thing in man singly1 singularly so1 when acting on all things in man's organization2 even so ,he does not alter the state of any part or of any one thing except suitably to the whole form4 ,but more will be said of this in following numbers where we shall show that divine providence is general because it extends to particulars1 and particular because it is general4 #d ,the ,lord acts from inmosts and outmosts at the same time because only in this way are all things held in connection1 for the intermediate things depend one upon another from inmosts to outmosts and are assembled in outmosts 7it was shown in ,part ,,iii of the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom that all things from the inmost onward are present simultaneously in what is outmost 74 ,for this reason the ,lord from eternity or ,jehovah came into the world and assumed and bore human nature in outmosts4 ,he could thus be at once from firsts in lasts1 and from firsts by lasts govern the whole world and so save whom ,he could save according to the laws of ,his divine providence1 which are also the laws of ,his divine wisdom4 ,for it is true1 as ,christendom knows1 that no mortal could have been saved had the ,lord not come into the world 7see ,doctrine for the ,new ,jerusalem on ,faith1 n4 #ce74 ,for the same reason the ,lord is called ,the ,first and the ,last4 #abe4 ,these angelic arcana have been premised in order that it may be comprehended how the ,lord's divine providence operates to unite man to ,him and ,himself to man4 ,it does not act upon a particular thing by itself in man1 but on all things together and from man's inmost and outmosts simultaneously4 ,man's inmost is his life's love2 the outmosts are in the external of thought2 what is intermediate is in the internal of thought 7what external and internal are like with the wicked was shown earlier72 from which it is plain again that the ,lord cannot act by inmosts and outmosts simultaneously except together with man1 for in the outmosts man and the ,lord are together4 ,wherefore1 as the man acts in outmosts1 which are in his determination1 being within the range of his freedom1 so the ,lord acts from man's inmosts and in what follows from them to the outmosts4 ,man does not know at all what is in the inmosts and in what follows to the outmosts1 therefore is unaware of how the ,lord acts there or what ,he effects there4 ,but as all these things cohere as one with the outmosts1 man does not need to know more than that he should shun evils as sins and look to the ,lord4 ,only so can his life's love1 which by birth is infernal1 be removed by the ,lord and a heavenly life's love be implanted in its place4 #abf4 ,when a heavenly life's love has been implanted by the ,lord in place of an infernal life's love1 affections of good and truth are implanted in place of lusts of evil and falsity2 enjoyments of affections of good are implanted instead of enjoyments of lusts of evil and falsity1 and goods of heavenly love in place of evils of infernal love2 prudence is implanted in place of cunning1 wise thinking in place of malevolent4 ,so a man is born again and becomes a new man4 ,what goods replace evils you may see in ,doctrine of ,life for the ,new ,jerusalem1 nn4 #fg-gc1 #gd-gi1 #hj-hf1 #hg-ia2 likewise that so far as man shuns and is averse to evils as sins so far he loves truths of wisdom1 nn4 #cb-da1 and has faith and is spiritual1 nn4 #db-eb4 #abg4 ,from the exhortations read aloud in all ,christian churches before ,holy ,communion we showed that it is the common religion of all ,christendom that a man should examine himself1 see his sins1 avow them1 confess them before ,god1 and desist from them2 and that this is repentance1 remission of sins and hence salvation4 ,this is also evident from the ,creed named after ,athanasius and received throughout ,christendom which concludes with the words3 ,the ,lord will come to judge the living and the dead2 at whose coming those who have done good will enter into life eternal1 and those who have done evil1 into everlasting fire4 #abh4 ,who does not know from the ,word that everyone is allotted a life after death according to his deeds8 ,open the ,word1 read it1 and you will see this clearly1 but the while remove the thoughts from faith and justification by faith alone4 ,the few passages following are testimony that the ,lord teaches so everywhere in ,his ,word3 ,every tree which does not yield good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire4 ,by their fruits therefore shall you know them 7,mt #g3ai1 #bj74 ,many will say to ,me in that day1 ,lord 4 4 4 have we not prophesied in your name1 4 4 4 and in your name done many mighty things8 ,but ,i shall confess to them then1 ,i know you not1 depart from ,me1 you who work iniquity 7,mt #g3bb1 #bc74 ,everyone who hears my words and does them ,i shall liken to a prudent man who built a house on a rock3 4 4 4 but everyone who hears my words but does not do them shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house on the ground without a foundation 7,mt #g3bd1 #bf2 ,lu #f3df-di74 #b ,the ,son of man will come in the glory of ,his ,father 44 4 and render then to everyone according to his deeds 7,mt #af3bg74 ,the kingdom of ,god shall be taken away from you1 and given to a people bringing forth its fruits 7,mt #ba3dc74 ,jesus said1 ,these are ,my mother and brothers who hear the ,word of ,god and do it 7,lu #h3ba74 ,then shall you begin to stand 4 4 4 and knock at the door1 saying1 ,lord1 4 4 4 open to us1 but replying ,he will say to them1 ,i know not whence you are2 depart from ,me1 all you workers of iniquity 7,lu #ac3be-bg74 ,those who have done good shall go out into the resurrection of life1 but those who have done evil into the resurrection of judgment 7,jn #e3bi74 #c ,we know 4 4 4 that ,god does not hear sinners1 but if a man worships ,god and does ,his will1 him ,he hears 7,jn #i3ca74 ,if you know these things1 blessed are you if you do them 7#ac3ag74 ,he who has ,my commandments and does them1 he it is who loves ,me1 444 and ,i will love him1 4 4 4 and ,i will come to him1 and make an abode with him 7#ad3ae1 #ba-bd74 ,you are ,my friends1 if you do whatsoever ,i command you444 4 ,i have chosen you 4 4 4 that you may bear fruit and that your fruit may remain 7#ae3ad1 #af74 #d ,the ,lord said to ,john1 ,write to the angel of the ,ephesian church1 ,i know your works3 4 4 4 ,i have against you that you have left an earlier charity2 4 4 4 repent1 and do the former works2 else 4 4 4 ,i shall remove your candlestick from its place 7,apoc #b3a1 #b1 #d1 #e74 ,to the angel of the church of the ,smyrneans write1 ,i know your works 7#b3h1 #i74 ,to the angel of the church in ,pergamos write1 4 4 4 ,i know your works1 repent 7#b3ab1 #ac1 #af74 ,to the angel of the church in ,thyatira write1 4 4 4 ,i know your works and charity1 4 4 4 and your later works are more than the first 7#b3ah1 #ai74 ,to the angel of the church in ,sardis write1 4 4 4 ,i know your works1 that you have a name that you are alive1 but you are dead2 4 4 4 ,i have not found your works perfect before ,god2 4 4 4 repent 7#c3a-c74 ,to the angel of the church in ,philadelphia write1 ,i know your works 7#c3g1 #h74 ,to the angel of the church of the ,laodiceans write1 ,i know your works2 4 4 4 repent 7#c3ad1 #ae1 #ai74 ,i heard a voice from heaven saying1 ,write1 blessed are the dead who die in the ,lord from now on2 444 their works follow them 7#ad3ac74 ,a book was opened1 which is the book of life1 and the dead were judged1 444 all according to their works 7#bj3ab1 #ac74 ,lo1 ,i come quickly1 and ,my reward is with ,me1 to give to everyone according to his work 7#bb3ab74 ,these are passages in the ,new ,testament2 #e there are still more in the ,old1 from which ,i shall quote only this one3 ,stand in the gate 4 4 4 of ,jehovah1 and proclaim this word there3 ,thus says ,jehovah ,zebaoth the ,god of ,israel1 ,make your ways good1 and your works2 4 4 4 put not your trust in lying words1 saying1 ,the temple1 the temple1 the temple of ,jehovah is this4 4 4 4 ,thieving and killing and committing adultery and swearing falsely 4 4 4 will you then come to stand before ,me in this house which is called by ,my name and say1 ,we are delivered8 ,when you do those abominable things8 ,has not this house been made a den of robbers8 ,even ,i1 lo1 ,i have seen it1 is the word of ,jehovah 7,je #g3b-d1 #i-aa74 ,,vii4 ,,it ,,is ,a ,,law ,,of ,,divine ,,providence ,,that ,,man ,,shall ,,not ,,be ,,compelled ,,by ,,external ,,means ,,to ,,think ,,and ,,will1 ,,thus ,,to ,,believe ,,and ,,love ,,what ,,pertains ,,to ,,religion1 ,,but ,,bring ,,himself ,,and ,,at ,,times ,,compel ,,himself ,,to ,,do ,,so #abi4 ,this law of divine providence follows from the preceding two1 namely3 man is to act in freedom according to reason 7nn4 #ga-ii72 and is to do this of himself and yet from the ,lord1 thus as of himself 7nn4 #ajj-abh74 ,inasmuch as being compelled is not to act in freedom according to reason and also not to act of oneself1 but to act from what is not freedom and from someone else1 this law of divine providence follows in due order on the first two4 ,everyone knows that no one can be forced to think what he is unwilling to think or to will what he decides not to will1 thus to believe what he does not believe1 least of all what he wills not to believe1 or to love what he does not love and still less what he wills not to love4 ,for the spirit or mind of man enjoys complete freedom in thinking1 willing1 believing and loving4 ,it does so by influx which is not coercive from the spiritual world 7for the human spirit or mind is in that world72 and not by influx from the natural world1 received only when the two agree4 #b ,a man can be driven to say that he thinks and wills1 believes and loves what is religious1 but if this is not a matter of his affection and reasoning or does not become so1 he does not think1 will1 believe or love it4 ,a man may also be compelled to speak in favor of religion and to act according to it1 but he cannot be compelled to think in its favor from any faith or to will in its favor out of love for it4 ,in countries in which justice and judgment are guarded1 one is indeed compelled not to speak or act against religion1 but still no one can be compelled to think and will in its favor4 ,for everyone has freedom to think and to will along with1 and in favor of1 hell or along with1 and in favor of1 heaven4 ,reason1 however1 teaches what either course is like and what lot awaits it1 and by reason the will has the choice and decision4 #c ,plainly1 then1 what is external cannot coerce what is internal2 nevertheless it happens sometimes1 but that it works harm will be shown in this order3 i4 ,no one is reformed by miracles and signs1 for they coerce4 ii4 ,no one is reformed by visions and communication with the dead1 for they coerce4 iii4 ,no one is reformed by threats and penalties1 as these coerce4 iv4 ,no one is reformed in states of no rationality or no freedom4 v4 ,self-compulsion is not contrary to rationality and freedom4 vi4 ,the external man is to be reformed through the internal1 and not the other way about4 #acj4 7i7 ,no one is reformed by miracles and signs1 for they coerce4 ,we have shown above that man has an internal and an external of thought1 and that the ,lord acts into the external by the internal in man and so teaches and leads him2 also that it is of the ,lord's divine providence that man is to act in freedom according to reason4 ,either action would perish in man if miracles were done and he were driven by them to believe4 ,that this is so can be seen rationally in this way3 undeniably miracles induce belief and powerfully persuade a person that what the miracle-doer says and teaches is true1 and at first this engages man's external of thought1 virtually holding it spellbound4 ,but one is deprived by this of the two faculties called rationality and liberty1 thus cannot act in freedom according to reason1 nor can the ,lord then inflow into the external of man's thought through the internal save only to leave man to confirm from his rationality what has been made a matter of his belief by the miracle4 #b ,the state of man's thought is such that from the internal of thought he can see a piece in the external of his thought as in a mirror--for as was said above1 one can behold one's own thought1 which is possible only from more interior thought4 ,beholding the item as in a mirror he can turn it this way and that and shape it to look attractive to him4 ,if there is truth in it1 it may be likened to an attractive and animated maiden or youth4 ,but if a man cannot turn it this way and that and shape it1 but only believe it persuaded of it by a miracle1 then if there is truth in it1 it may be likened to a maiden or youth carved in stone or wood1 in which is nothing alive4 ,it may also be compared to an object which is constantly in view and looked at alone1 keeps one from seeing what is to either side and behind it4 ,it can also be compared to a continual sound in the ear1 which does away with perceiving the harmony of many sounds4 ,such are the blindness and deafness induced on the mind by miracles4 ,it is the same with anything confirmed but not regarded from rationality before it is confirmed4 #aca4 ,plain it is from this that a faith induced by miracles is not faith1 but persuasion4 ,for it has nothing rational in it1 still less anything spiritual1 as it is only external without an internal4 ,this is true of everything a man does from such persuasive faith1 whether he is acknowledging ,god1 worshiping ,him at home or in church1 or doing good deeds4 ,when only a miracle leads a person to acknowledgment of ,god and to adoration and piety1 he acts from the natural and not the spiritual man4 ,for a miracle infuses belief by an external and not an internal way1 thus from the world and not from heaven4 ,the ,lord enters man by an internal way1 by the ,word and by doctrine and preaching from it4 ,as miracles close this way1 no miracles are done today4 #acb4 ,that miracles are of this nature can be clearly established from those performed in the presence of the people of ,judah and ,israel4 ,although they beheld many miracles in the land of ,egypt and later at the ,red ,sea and others in the ,wilderness and particularly on ,mt4 ,sinai when the ,law was promulgated1 nevertheless1 in a month's time while ,moses tarried on that mountain1 they made themselves a golden calf and hailed it as ,jehovah who had led them out of the land of ,egypt 7,ex #cb3d-f74 ,again1 it is plain from the miracles done later in the land of ,canaan2 nevertheless the people fell away time and again from the prescribed worship4 ,it is equally plain from the miracles which the ,lord did before their eyes when ,he was in the world2 yet they crucified ,him4 #b ,miracles were done among the ,jews and ,israelites because they were altogether external men and had been brought into the land of ,canaan merely to represent a church and its eternal verities by the externalities of worship--something a bad man as well as a good man can do4 ,for the externals are rituals which with that people signified spiritual and celestial things4 ,indeed ,aaron1 although he made the golden calf and ordered worship of it 7,ex #cb3b-e1 #ce 71 could still represent the ,lord and ,his work of salvation4 ,as the people could not be brought by the internal things of worship to represent them1 they were brought to do so by miracles--in fact1 were driven and forced to it4 #c ,they could not be led by internals of worship because they did not acknowledge the ,lord although the entire ,word which they had treats of ,him alone4 ,one who does not acknowledge the ,lord cannot receive anything internal in worship4 ,but miracles ceased after the ,lord had manifested ,himself and was received and acknowledged as eternal ,god in the churches4 #acc4 ,the effect of miracles on the good and on the evil differs1 however4 ,the good do not desire miracles1 but believe those in the ,word4 ,if they hear of some miracle1 they regard it only as a slight indication confirming their faith2 for they draw their thought from the ,word and thus from the ,lord1 and not from a miracle4 ,it is different with the evil4 ,they can be driven and compelled1 of course1 to belief1 to worship1 too1 and to piety1 but only for a little while4 ,for their evils are enclosed1 and the lusts of those evils and the enjoyments of the lusts continually press against the outward worship and piety2 and in order that the evils may come out of their confinement and burst forth1 the wicked ponder the miracle1 finally call it ridiculous and a ruse or a natural phenomenon1 and so return to their evils4 ,one who returns to his evils after having worshiped profanes the truths and goods of worship1 and the lot of profaners after death is the worst of all fates4 ,they are meant by the ,lord's words in ,matthew 7#ab3dc-de7 about those whose last state is worse than the first4 ,besides1 if miracles were to be done for those who have no faith from the miracles in the ,word1 they would have to be done constantly and before their eyes4 ,it may be plain from all this why miracles are not done at this day4 #acd4 7ii7 ,no one is reformed by visions or by communication with the dead1 for they coerce4 ,visions are of two kinds1 divine and diabolic4 ,divine visions are effected by representations in heaven2 diabolic by magic in hell4 ,there are also phantasmal visions1 which are illusions of an estranged mind4 ,divine visions1 produced as we said by representative things in heaven1 are such as the prophets had who at the time were not in the body but in the spirit1 for visions cannot appear to anyone in bodily wakefulness4 ,when these came to the prophets1 therefore1 it is remarked that they were in the spirit1 as is plain from the following3 ,ezekiel said1 ,the ,spirit picked me up and carried me to ,chaldea to the captivity in a vision of ,god1 in the spirit of ,god2 so the vision rose over me which ,i saw 7#aa3a1 #bd74 ,again that the ,spirit bore him between earth and heaven and brought him to ,jerusalem in visions of ,god 7#h3c1 #d74 ,he was likewise in visions of ,god or in the spirit when he saw four beasts which were cherubim 7#a and #aj74 ,so1 too1 when he saw a new temple and a new earth1 and an angel measuring them 7#dj-dh 74 ,that he was in visions of ,god then1 he says at #dj3b1 #bf1 and that he was in the spirit at #dc3e4 #b ,zechariah was in a similar state when he saw a horseman among myrtle trees 7#a3h ff7 four horns 7#a3ah7 and a man with a measuring line in his hand 7#b3a-c ff 7 a candlestick and two olive trees 7#d3a ff7 a flying roll and an ephah 7#e3a1 #f7 four chariots coming out between two mountains1 and horses 7#h3a ff74 ,in a like state was ,daniel when he saw four beasts coming up from the sea 7#g3a ff 7 a combat between a ram and a he-goat 7#h3a ff74 ,that he saw these things in the vision of his spirit is stated at #g3a1 #b1 #g1 #ac2 #h3b2 #aj3a1 #g1 #h1 and that the angel ,gabriel was seen by him in a vision at #i3ba4 #c ,john was also in the vision of the spirit when he beheld what he has described in the ,apocalypse1 as when he saw seven candlesticks and the ,son of man in the midst of them 7#a3ab-af7 a throne in heaven1 and ,one sitting on the throne1 and around it four beasts1 which were cherubim 7#d7 the book of life taken by the ,lamb 7#e7 horses coming out from the book 7#f7 seven angels with trumpets 7#h7 the pit of the abyss opened1 and locusts coming out a dragon1 and its battle with ,michael 7#ab7 two beasts1 rising1 one from the sea and the other from the land 7#ac7 a woman seated on a scarlet beast 7#ag7 ,babylon destroyed 7#ah7 a white horse1 and ,one seated on it 7#ai7 a new heaven and a new earth1 and the holy ,jerusalem descending from heaven 7#ba7 the river of the water of life 7#bb74 ,that he saw these in the vision of the spirit is said #a3aj2 #d3b2 #e3a2 #f3a2 #ba3a1 #b4 #d ,such were the visions which appeared from heaven to the sight of the spirit of these men1 but not to their bodily sight4 ,such visions do not occur at this day because if they did1 they would not be understood inasmuch as they are produced by representations the details of which signify internal things of the church and arcana of heaven4 ,daniel also foretold 7#i3bd7 that they would cease when the ,lord came into the world4 ,diabolic visions1 however1 have occurred at times1 incited by fanatical and visionary spirits who in their delirium called themselves the ,holy ,spirit4 ,but those spirits have now been gathered together by the ,lord and cast into a hell separate from the hells of others4 ,there are also phantasmal visions which are merely the illusions of an estranged mind4 ,all this makes clear that no one can be reformed by any visions other than those in the ,word4 #acd r4 ,the fact that no one is reformed by communication with the dead is plain from the ,lord's words about the rich man in hell and ,lazarus in ,abraham's bosom4 ,for the rich man said1 ,i ask you1 father ,abraham1 to send ,lazarus to my father's house1 for ,i have five brothers1 to testify to them lest they also come into this place of torment4 ,abraham said to him1 ,they have ,moses and the prophets2 let them hear them4 ,but he said1 ,no1 father ,abraham1 but if some one will go to them from the dead1 they will repent4 ,he replied1 ,if they do not hear ,moses and the prophets1 they will not be persuaded either if one should arise from the dead 7,lu #af3bg-ca74 ,communication with the dead would have the same result as miracles 7of which just above71 namely1 that a man would be influenced and driven into worship for a short time4 ,but as this deprives a man of rationality and at the same time shuts his evils in1 as was said above1 the captivation or the inward bond is undone1 and the imprisoned evils break out1 with blasphemy and profanation2 this last occurs1 however1 only when spirits introduce something dogmatic from religion1 which is never done by a good spirit1 still less by an angel of heaven4 #ace4 ,nevertheless1 speech with spirits--rarely with angels of heaven--is possible and has been granted to many for ages4 ,when it is granted1 spirits speak with a man in his native tongue and briefly4 ,and those who speak with the ,lord's permission never say anything that takes away the freedom of the reason1 nor do they instruct1 for the ,lord alone teaches man1 doing so by means of the ,word to the man's enlightenment 7of this in numbers to come74 ,i have been given to know this in my own experience4 ,i have spoken with spirits and angels for many years now4 ,no spirit has dared and no angel has wished to tell me1 still less to instruct me1 about things in the ,word or about any of its doctrine4 ,the ,lord alone has taught me1 who revealed ,himself to me and afterwards continued to appear to me as ,he does now1 as the ,sun in which ,he is1 as ,he appears to the angels1 and ,he has enlightened me4 #acf4 7iii7 ,no one is reformed by threats or penalties1 as these coerce4 ,it is known that the external cannot compel the internal1 but the internal can compel the external2 also that the internal refuses to be coerced by the external and turns away4 ,it is likewise known that external enjoyments entice the assent and love of the internal2 and it may also be known that there is a forced internal and a free internal4 ,but all this1 though known1 needs to be lighted up1 for much on being heard is perceived at once to be so1 because it is truth and hence is affirmed1 but if it is not confirmed by reasons1 it can be weakened by arguments from fallacies and finally denied4 ,what we have said is known1 is therefore to be taken up afresh and established rationally4 #b ,first3 ,the external cannot compel the internal1 but the internal can compel the external4 ,who can be forced to believe or love8 ,one can no more be compelled to believe than he can be compelled to think that something is so when he thinks it is not so1 or to love than to will something that he does not will2 belief attaches to thought1 and love to the will4 ,the internal can be compelled1 however1 by what is external not to speak improperly against the laws of a kingdom1 the morals of life or the sanctities of the church4 ,the internal can be compelled to this by threats and penalties and is compelled and should be4 ,but this is not the specifically human internal1 but one which the human being shares with beasts2 they can also be compelled4 ,the human internal resides above this animal internal4 ,here the human internal which cannot be coerced is meant4 #c ,second3 ,the internal refuses to be coerced by the external and turns away4 ,the reason is that the internal wills to be in freedom and loves freedom4 ,for1 as was shown1 freedom attaches to man's love and life4 ,when the internal feels it is being subjected to compulsion1 therefore1 it withdraws as it were into itself1 averts itself1 and regards the compulsion as its enemy4 ,for the love which makes man's life is irritated and causes him to think that he is then not himself and has no life of his own4 ,the internal of the human being is of this nature by the law of the ,lord's divine providence that he shall act from freedom in accord with reason4 #d ,plainly1 then1 it does harm to compel men to divine worship by threats and penalties4 ,some permit themselves to be forced to religion1 some do not4 ,many who do are adherents of ,catholicism2 but this is the case with those in whom there is nothing internal in worship1 but all is external4 ,among those who do not allow themselves to be coerced are many of the ,english nation1 and as a result there is what is internal in their worship and what is external is from the internal4 ,their interiors in respect to religion appear in the light of the spiritual world like bright clouds1 but those of the former like dark clouds4 ,the one and the other appearance is to be seen in that world1 and one who wishes may see it when he enters that world on death4 ,furthermore1 enforced worship shuts one's evils in1 which are hidden then like fire in wood under ashes which keeps stirring and spreading until it bursts into flame4 ,but worship1 not enforced but spontaneous1 does not shut evils in2 these are therefore like a fire that flares up and goes out4 ,thence it is plain that the internal refuses to be forced by the external and turns away4 ,the internal can compel the external because it is like a master and the external like a servant4 #e ,third3 ,external enjoyments entice assent and love from the internal4 ,enjoyments are of two kinds1 of the understanding or of the will4 ,enjoyments of the understanding are also enjoyments of wisdom1 and those of the will also enjoyments of love2 for wisdom belongs to the understanding and love to the will4 ,enjoyments of the body or of the senses1 which are external pleasures1 act as one with the internal enjoyments1 which are enjoyments of the understanding and the will4 ,therefore1 just as the internal is so averse to compulsion by the external as to turn away1 it looks so kindly on enjoyment in the external that it turns to it4 ,assent follows on the part of the understanding1 and love on the part of the will4 #f ,in the spiritual world all children are introduced by the ,lord into angelic wisdom and through this into heavenly love by delightful and charming means1 first by pretty things in the home and the charms of a garden2 then by representations of spiritual things affecting the interiors of their minds with pleasure2 and finally by truths of wisdom and goods of love4 ,thus they are steadily led by enjoyments in due order1 first by the enjoyments of a love of the understanding and of its wisdom1 and then by the enjoyments of the love of the will which is their life's love1 to which all else that has entered through enjoyment is kept subordinate4 #g ,this is done because the will and understanding must all be formed by what is external before they are formed by what is internal1 for they are formed first by what enters by the physical senses1 chiefly the sight and the hearing2 then when a first will and understanding have been formed1 the internal of thought regards them as the externals of its thinking1 and either joins itself to them or separates itself from them1 as they are or are not enjoyable to it4 #h ,it should be well understood1 however1 that the internal of the understanding does not unite itself to the internal of the will1 but it is the latter that unites itself to the former and causes reciprocal union4 ,this is done by the internal of the will1 not at all by the internal of the understanding4 ,hence it is that man cannot be reformed by faith alone1 but by the love of the will which makes a faith for itself4 #i ,fourth3 ,there is a forced internal and a free one4 ,a forced internal is found in those who are in external worship only and in none that is internal4 ,their internal consists of thinking and willing what the external is coerced to4 ,such are persons who worship living or dead men or idols1 or who rest their faith on miracles4 ,no internal is possible with them which is not at the same time external4 ,and yet a forced internal is possible with persons in internal worship2 it may be forced by fear or compelled by love4 ,that forced by fear is found in those who worship for fear of the torment and fire of hell4 ,this internal is not the internal of thought of which we have treated1 however1 but an external of thought called internal here because it partakes of thought4 ,the internal of thought of which we have treated cannot be forced by any fear2 it can be compelled by love and by fear of failing to love4 ,in the true sense fear of ,god is nothing else4 ,to be compelled by love and by the fear of failing in it is self-compulsion1 and self-compulsion1 it will be seen in what follows1 is not contrary to freedom and rationality4 #acg4 ,it is plain then what forced worship and unforced worship are like4 ,forced worship is corporeal1 inanimate1 obscure and sad--corporeal because it is of the body and not of the mind2 inanimate because it has no life in it2 obscure for lack of understanding in it2 and sad because it does not have the joy of heaven in it4 ,but worship not forced and real is spiritual1 living1 seeing and joyful--spiritual1 because spirit from the ,lord is in it2 living1 because life from ,him is in it2 seeing because wisdom from ,him is in it2 and joyful because heaven from ,him is in it4 #ach4 7iv7 ,no one is reformed in states of no liberty or rationality4 ,we showed above that only what a man does in freedom according to reason is made his4 ,this is because freedom belongs to the will and reason to the understanding2 acting in freedom in accord with reason a man acts from the will by the understanding and what is done in the union of the two is appropriated4 ,now1 since the ,lord wills that a man be reformed and regenerated in order that eternal life or the life of heaven may be his1 and none can be reformed or regenerated unless good is appropriated to his will and truth to his understanding as if they were his1 and only that can be appropriated which is done in freedom of the will and in accord with the reason of the understanding1 no one is reformed in states of no freedom or rationality4 ,there are many such states1 but they may be summarized as states of fear1 misfortune1 mental illness1 physical disease1 ignorance1 and intellectual blindness4 ,something will be said of each4 #aci4 ,no one is reformed in a state of fear because fear takes away freedom and reason or liberty and rationality4 ,love opens the mind's interiors but fear closes them1 and when they are closed man thinks little and only what comes to the lower mind or to the senses4 ,all fears that assail the lower mind have this effect4 #b ,we showed above that man has an internal and an external of thought4 ,fear can never invade the internal of thought2 this is always in freedom1 being in a man's life-love4 ,but it can invade the external of thought4 ,when it does1 the internal of thought is closed and thereupon man can no longer act in freedom in accord with his reason1 nor be reformed4 #c ,the fear which invades the external of thought and closes the internal is chiefly fear of losing standing or profit4 ,fear of civil penalties or of outward ecclesiastical penalties does not close the internal1 for the laws respecting them pronounce penalties only on those who speak and act contrary to the civil requirements of the kingdom and the spiritual of the church1 but not on those who think contrary to them4 #d ,fear of infernal punishment invades the external of thought1 to be sure1 but only for some moments1 hours or days2 it is soon restored to its freedom by the internal of thought1 which is man's spirit and life-love and is called thought of the heart4 #e ,fear of losing one's standing or wealth1 however1 does invade man's external of thought1 and when it does1 closes the internal of thought above to influx from heaven and makes it impossible for man to be reformed4 ,this is because everyone's life-love from birth is love of self and the world1 and self-love is at one with the love of position1 and love of the world with the love of wealth4 ,when a man has position or wealth1 therefore1 for fear of losing them he strengthens the means at hand--whether civil or churchly and in either case means to power--which serve him for position and wealth4 ,the man who does not yet have standing or wealth but aspires to them1 does the same1 but for fear he will lose the reputation they give4 #f ,it was said that this fear seizes on the external of thought and closes the internal above to heaven's inflowing4 ,the internal is said to be closed when it makes one completely with the external1 as it is then not in itself but in the external4 #g ,but as the loves of self and the world are infernal loves and the fountain-heads of all evils1 it is plain what the internal of thought in itself is like with men in whom those loves reign and are their life's loves1 namely1 that it is full of lusts of evils of every kind4 #h ,this men do not know who fear loss of place and opulence and are strongly persuaded of their special religion1 most particularly if this promises that they may be worshiped as holy and also as governors of hell2 they can blaze1 as it were1 with zeal for the salvation of souls and yet this is from infernal fire4 ,as this fear especially takes away rationality itself and liberty itself1 which have a heavenly origin1 plainly it makes against the possibility that a man may be reformed4 #adj4 ,no one is reformed in a state of misfortune if he thinks about ,god and implores help only then1 for it is a coerced state2 wherefore1 on coming into a free state he returns to his former state when he thought little if at all about ,god4 ,it is different with those who feared ,god in a state of freedom previously4 ,for by fearing ,god is meant fearing to offend ,him1 and by offending ,him to sin1 and this comes not from fear but from love4 ,does not one who loves another fear to hurt him8 ,and the more he loves him1 the more he fears hurting him8 ,lacking this fear1 love is insipid and superficial1 of the mind only and not of the will4 ,by states of misfortune states of despair in danger are meant1 in battles1 for example1 duels1 shipwreck1 falls1 fires1 threatening or unexpected loss of property1 also of office or standing1 and similar mishaps4 ,to think about ,god only then is not to think from ,god but from self4 ,for then the mind is as it were imprisoned in the body1 so is not in freedom nor possessed then of rationality1 and without these reformation is impossible4 #ada4 ,no one is reformed in a state of mental illness because such illness takes away rationality and thus the liberty of acting in accord with reason4 ,the whole mind is sick and not sane2 the sane mind is rational1 but not a sick one4 ,such disorders are melancholy1 a spurious or a false conscience1 fantasies of different kinds1 mental grief over misfortune1 anxiety and anguish of the mind over a bodily defect4 ,sometimes these are regarded as temptations1 but they are not4 ,genuine temptations have spiritual objects in view and in them the mind is wise1 but these states are concerned with natural objects and in them the mind is disordered4 #adb4 ,no one is reformed in a state of bodily sickness because his reason is not then in a state of freedom2 the state of the mind depends on that of the body4 ,when the body is sick1 the mind is also1 if for no other reason because it is withdrawn from the world4 ,withdrawn from the world it thinks indeed about ,god but not from ,him1 for it is not possessed of freedom of the reason4 ,man has this freedom in being midway between heaven and the world1 thus can think from heaven and from the world1 likewise from heaven about the world and from the world about heaven4 ,so when he is ill and thinks about death and the state of his soul after death1 he is not in the world but is withdrawn in spirit4 ,in this state by itself no one can be reformed1 but he can be strengthened in it if he was reforming before he fell ill4 #b ,it is similar with those who renounce the world and all occupation in it and give themselves only to thoughts about ,god1 heaven and salvation2 on this further elsewhere4 ,if those of whom we were speaking have not been reformed before their illness1 then if they die they become such as they were before their illness4 ,it is vain1 therefore1 to suppose that one can repent or receive some faith in illness2 for no deed accompanies the repentance1 and there is no charity in the faith2 each is oral only and not at all from the heart4 #adc4 ,no one is reformed in a state of ignorance1 for all reformation is by truths and a life according to them4 ,therefore those who do not know truths cannot be reformed1 but if they long for them with affection for them1 after they die they undergo reformation in the spiritual world4 #add4 ,nor can one be reformed in a state of blindness of the understanding4 ,these also have no knowledge of truths or consequently of life1 for the understanding must teach truths and the will must do them2 when the will does what the understanding teaches1 a man has life in accord with truths4 ,when the understanding is blind1 however1 the will also is indifferent and acts in freedom according to one's reason only to do the evil confirmed in the understanding1 and the confirmation is falsity4 ,besides ignorance1 a religion which teaches a blind faith also blinds the understanding2 so does a false doctrine4 ,for just as truths open the understanding1 falsities close it4 ,they close it above and open it below1 and opened only below1 the understanding cannot see truths but only confirm what a man wills1 falsity especially4 ,the understanding is also blinded by lusts of evil4 ,as long as the will is in these1 it moves the understanding to confirm them1 and so far as they are confirmed1 the will cannot be in affections of good1 from these see truths1 and so be reformed4 #b ,take1 for instance1 one who is in the lust of adultery3 his will1 which is in the enjoyment of his love1 moves his understanding to confirm it1 saying1 ,what is adultery8 ,is there any evil in it8 ,does not the like occur between husband and wife8 ,cannot offspring be born of it1 too8 ,cannot a woman receive more than one without harm8 ,how does anything spiritual enter into this8 ,so thinks the understanding which is then the courtesan of the will4 ,so stupid is it made by debauchery with the will that it is unable to see that marital love is spiritual and heavenly love itself1 a reflection of the love between the ,lord and the church from which it is derived2 is in itself sacred and chastity itself1 purity and innocence2 causes men to be forms of love1 since partners can love each other from inmosts and so form themselves into loves2 nor can it see that adultery destroys this form and with it the ,lord's image2 and what is abhorrent1 that the adulterer mingles his life with that of the husband in the wife1 for a man's life is in the seed4 #c ,because this is profane1 hell is called adultery1 and heaven on the other hand is called marriage4 ,furthermore1 the love of adultery communicates with the lowest hell1 but true marital love with the inmost heaven2 the reproductive organs of both sexes also correspond to societies of the inmost heaven4 ,these things are adduced so that it may be known how blinded the understanding is when the will is in the lust of evil1 and that no one can be reformed in a state of blindness of the understanding4 #ade4 7v7 ,self-compulsion is not contrary to rationality and liberty4 ,we have shown that man has an internal and an external of thought2 that they are distinguishable as prior and subsequent or higher and lower2 and that being so distinct they can act separately and also jointly4 ,they act separately when a man speaks and acts from the external of his thought otherwise than he thinks and wills inwardly2 they act jointly when he speaks and acts as he thinks and wills4 ,the latter is common with the sincere1 the former with the insincere4 #b ,inasmuch as the internal and the external of the mind are so distinct1 the internal can even fight with the external and by combat drive it to compliance4 ,conflict arises when the man deems evils to be sins and resolves to desist from them4 ,when he desists1 a door is opened and the lusts of evil which have occupied the internal of thought are cast out by the ,lord and affections of good are implanted in their place4 ,this occurs in the internal of thought4 ,but the enjoyments of evil lust which occupy the external of thought cannot be cast out at the same time2 conflict arises therefore between the internal and the external of thought4 ,the internal wants to cast out those enjoyments because they are enjoyments of evil and do not agree with the affections of good in which the internal now is1 and wants to introduce in their place enjoyments of good which do agree4 ,these are what are called goods of charity4 ,from the disagreement comes the conflict which1 if it grows severe1 is called temptation4 #c ,now as man is man by virtue of the internal of his thought1 for this is his very spirit1 obviously he compels himself when he compels the external of his thought to comply or to receive the enjoyments of his affections or the goods of charity4 ,plainly this is not contrary to rationality and liberty but in accord with them2 rationality starts the combat and liberty follows it up2 liberty itself resides with rationality in the internal man and from that in the external4 #d ,accordingly1 when the internal conquers1 which it does when it has reduced the external to compliance and obedience1 man is given liberty itself and rationality itself by the ,lord1 for he is delivered by the ,lord then from infernal freedom which in itself is enslavement1 is brought into heavenly freedom which is freedom in itself1 and is given association with angels4 ,the ,lord ,himself teaches 7 ,john #h3ca-cf7 that those who are in sins are enslaved and that ,he delivers those who receive truth from ,him through the ,word4 #adf4 ,let an example serve for illustration4 ,a man who has taken pleasure in defrauding and deceiving sees and inwardly acknowledges it to be sin and resolves to desist from it2 with this a battle begins of his internal with the external4 ,the internal man is in an affection for honesty1 but the external still in the enjoyment of defrauding4 ,this enjoyment1 utterly opposed to enjoyment in honesty1 does not give way unless forced to do so and can be forced to do so only by combat with it4 ,when the fight is won1 the external man comes into the enjoyment of a love of honesty1 which is charity4 ,then the pleasure of defrauding gradually turns unpleasant to him4 ,it is the same with all other sins1 with adultery and whoredom1 revenge and hatred1 blasphemy and lying4 ,the most difficult battle of all is with the love of ruling from self-love4 ,a person who subdues this love1 easily subdues all other evil loves1 for this is their summit4 #adg4 ,let it be told briefly how the ,lord casts out lusts of evil occupying the internal man from birth and in their place bestows affections of good when a man on his part removes the evils as sins4 ,it was shown earlier that man possesses a natural1 a spiritual and a celestial mind1 that he is only in the natural mind as long as he is in lusts of evil and their enjoyments1 and that during this time the spiritual mind is closed4 ,but as soon as a man on self-examination confesses evils to be sins against ,god because they are contrary to divine laws and accordingly resolves to desist from them1 the ,lord opens the spiritual mind1 enters the natural by affections of truth and good1 enters the reason1 and by the reason puts into order what is disordered below in the natural4 ,it is this that strikes the man as a battle1 and strikes those who have indulged much in enjoyments of evil as temptation1 for when the order of its thinking is inverted the lower mind suffers pain4 ,inasmuch as the battle is against what is in the man himself and what he feels to be his1 and no one can fight against himself except from a more interior self and from freedom in it1 it follows that the internal man fights against the external and does so from freedom1 and compels the external to obey4 ,this1 then1 is compelling oneself1 and1 clearly1 it is not contrary to liberty and rationality1 but in accord with them4 #adh4 ,everyone desires to be free1 moreover1 and to be rid of the unfree or servitude4 ,the boy under a master wishes to be his own master and thus free2 so every man-servant under his master or maid under her mistress4 ,every girl wishes to leave the paternal home and marry1 to do freely in a home of her own2 and every boy who desires to work1 enter business1 or hold some position wishes to be released from his subordination to others and to be at his own disposal4 ,all of these who serve willingly in order to be free compel themselves1 and in doing so act from freedom according to reason but from an inner freedom1 by which outward freedom is regarded as servant4 ,we add this to confirm the fact that self-compulsion is not contrary to rationality and liberty4 #adi4 ,one reason why man does not wish in like manner to come out of spiritual servitude into spiritual freedom is that he does not know what either is2 he does not have the truths to teach this1 and without them spiritual servitude is believed to be freedom and spiritual freedom to be servitude4 ,a second reason is that the religion of ,christendom has closed the understanding1 and faith alone has sealed it shut4 ,each has built an iron wall around itself in the dogma that theological matters transcend and cannot be approached by the reason1 but are for the blind and not the seeing4 ,so truths that would teach what spiritual liberty is have been hidden4 ,a third reason is that few examine themselves and see their sins1 and one who does not see and quit them is in the freedom that sins have1 which is infernal freedom1 in itself enslavement4 ,to view heavenly freedom1 which is genuine freedom1 from that freedom is like trying to see daylight in pitch darkness or sunshine from under a black cloud4 ,so it happens that it is not known what heavenly freedom is1 or that the difference between it and infernal freedom is like the difference between what is living and what is dead4 #aej4 7vi7 ,the external man is to be reformed by the internal1 and not the other way about4 ,by internal and external man the same is meant as by external and internal of thought1 of which frequently before4 ,the external must be reformed by the internal because the internal flows into the external and not the reverse4 ,the learned world knows that what is spiritual flows into what is natural and not the reverse1 for reason dictates it2 the church knows that the internal man must first be cleansed and made new and the external by it then1 because the ,lord teaches it4 ,he does so in the words3 ,woe to you 4 4 4 hypocrites1 for you make the outside of the cup and platter clean1 but the inside is full of extortion and excess4 ,blind ,pharisee1 cleanse first the inside of the cup and platter that the outside may also be made clean 7,mt #bc3be1 #bf74 ,we have shown in a number of places in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom that reason dictates this4 ,for what the ,lord teaches ,he grants man to see rationally4 ,this a man does in two ways3 in one1 he sees in himself that something is so upon hearing it2 in the other1 he grasps it by reasons for it4 ,seeing in oneself takes place in the internal man1 and understanding through reasoning in the external man4 ,who does not perceive it within himself when he hears that the internal man is to be purified first and the external by it8 ,but one who does not receive the general idea of this by influx from heaven may go astray when he consults the external of this thought2 from it alone no one sees but that outward works of charity and piety are saving apart from the internal4 ,it is so in other things1 as that sight and hearing flow into thought1 and smell and taste into perception1 that is1 that the external flows into the internal1 when the contrary is true4 ,the appearance that what is seen and heard flows into the thought is a fallacy1 for the understanding does the seeing in the eye and the hearing in the ear1 and not the other way about4 ,so it is in all else4 #aea4 ,but something should be said here on how the internal man is reformed and by it the external4 ,the internal man is not reformed solely by knowing1 understanding and being wise1 consequently not by thinking only2 but by willing what these teach4 ,when a person knows1 understands and has the wisdom to see that heaven and hell exist and that all evil is from hell and all good from heaven1 and if he then does not will evil because it is from hell but good because it is from heaven1 he has taken the first step in reformation and is on the threshold from hell to heaven4 ,when he advances farther and resolves to desist from evils1 he is at the second step in reformation and is out of hell but not yet in heaven2 this he beholds above him4 ,there must be this internal for man to be reformed1 but he is not reformed unless the external is reformed as well as the internal4 ,the external is reformed by the internal when the external desists from the evils which the internal sets its will against because they are infernal1 and still further reformed when the external shuns and fights against the evils4 ,thus the internal provides the will1 the external the deed4 ,for unless a man does the deed he wills1 inwardly he does not will it1 and finally he wills not to do it4 #b ,one can see from these few considerations how the external man is reformed by the internal4 ,this is also meant by the ,lord's words to ,peter3 ,jesus said1 ,if ,i do not wash you1 you have no part with ,me4 ,peter said to ,him1 not my feet only but my hands and head4 ,jesus said to him1 he who has been washed has no need except to have his feet washed1 and is entirely clean 7,jn #ac3h-aj74 ,by washing spiritual washing is meant1 which is purification from evils2 by washing head and hands purifying the internal man is meant1 and by washing the feet purifying the external4 ,that when the internal man has been purified1 the external must be1 is meant by this3 ,he who has been washed has no need except to have his feet washed4 ,that all purification from evils is the ,lord's doing1 is meant by this1 ,if ,i do not wash you1 you have no part with ,me4 ,we have shown in many places in ,arcana ,caelestia that with the ,jews washing represented purification from evils1 that this is signified by washing in the ,word1 and that purification of the natural or external man is signified by the washing of feet4 #aeb4 ,since man has an internal and an external and each must be reformed for the man to be reformed1 and since no one can be reformed unless he examines himself1 sees and admits his evils1 and then quits them1 not only the external is to be examined1 but the internal as well4 ,if a man examines only the external he sees only what he has committed to deed1 and that he has not murdered or committed adultery or stolen or borne false witness1 and so on4 ,he examines bodily evils and not those in his spirit2 yet evils of the spirit are to be examined if one is to be capable of reformation4 ,man lives as a spirit after death and all the evils in his spirit persist4 ,the spirit is examined only when a man attends to his thoughts1 above all to his intentions1 for these are thoughts from the will4 ,there the evils exist at their source and roots1 that is1 in their lusts and enjoyments4 ,unless they are seen and acknowledged1 a man is still in evils though he may not have committed them outwardly4 ,that to think with intention is to will and do1 is plain from the ,lord's words3 ,if any one has looked on another's woman to lust after her1 he has already committed adultery with her in his heart 7,mt #e3bh7499 99 ,see footnote at n4 #aaa4 ,such self-examination is of the internal man1 and from it the external man is truly examined4 #aec4 ,i have often marveled that although all ,christendom knows that evils must be shunned as sins and otherwise are not forgiven1 and that if they are not forgiven there is no salvation1 yet scarcely one person among thousands understands this4 ,inquiry was made about this in the spiritual world1 and it was found to be so4 ,anyone in ,christendom knows it from the exhortations1 read out to those who attend the ,holy ,supper1 in which it is publicly stated2 and yet when asked whether they know it1 they reply that they do not know it and have not known it4 ,the reason is that they have paid no attention to it1 and most say they have thought only about faith and salvation by faith alone4 ,i have also marveled that faith alone has closed their eyes so that those who have confirmed themselves in it do not see anything in the ,word when they read it about love1 charity and works4 ,it is as though they spread faith all over the ,word1 as red lead is spread over writing so that nothing underneath shows2 if anything does show1 it is absorbed by faith and declared to be faith4 ,,viii4 ,,it ,,is ,a ,,law ,,of ,,divine ,,providence ,,that ,,man ,,shall ,,be ,,led ,,and ,,taught ,,by ,,the ,,lord ,,out ,,of ,,heaven ,,by ,,means ,,of ,,the ,,word ,,and ,,doctrine ,,and ,,preaching ,,from ,,it1 ,,and ,,this ,,to ,,all ,,appearance ,,as ,,of ,,himself #aed4 ,the appearance is that man is led and taught by himself2 in reality he is led and taught by the ,lord alone4 ,those who confirm the appearance in themselves and not the reality at the same time are unable to remove evils from themselves as sins1 but those who confirm the appearance and at the same time the reality can do so2 for evils are removed as sins apparently by the man1 but really by the ,lord4 ,the latter can be reformed1 but the former cannot4 #b ,all who confirm the appearance in themselves and not the reality also1 are idolaters inwardly1 for they are worshipers of self and the world4 ,if they have no religion they become worshipers of nature and thus atheists2 if they have some religion they become worshipers of men and of images4 ,such are meant now in the first commandment of the ,decalog under those who worship other gods4 ,those1 however1 who confirm in themselves the appearance and also the reality become worshipers of the ,lord1 for ,he raises them out of what is their own1 in which the appearance is1 conducts them into the light in which the reality is and which is the reality1 and gives them to perceive inwardly that they are not led and taught by themselves but by ,him4 #c ,the rational capacity of the two may seem much the same to many1 but it differs4 ,in those who are at once in the appearance and the reality1 it is a spiritual reasoning ability1 but in those in the appearance but not at the same time in the reality it is a natural reasoning ability2 this can be likened to a garden in winter light1 and the spiritual reasoning capacity to a garden in springtime light4 ,but ,if these things more in what follows1 in this order3 i4 ,man is led and taught by the ,lord alone4 ii4 ,he is led and taught by the ,lord alone through and from the angelic heaven4 iii4 ,he is led by the ,lord through influx and taught through enlightenment4 iv4 ,man is taught by the ,lord through the ,word and doctrine and preaching from it1 thus immediately by ,him alone4 v4 ,man is led and taught in externals by the ,lord to all appearance as of himself4 #aee4 7i7 ,man is led and taught by the ,lord alone4 ,this flows as a general consequence from all that was demonstrated in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom2 from what was said in ,part ,i about the ,lord's divine love and wisdom2 in ,part ,,ii about the sun of the spiritual world and the sun of the natural world2 in ,part ,,iii about degrees2 in ,part ,,iv about the creation of the universe2 and in ,part ,v about the creation of the human being4 #aef4 ,man is led and taught by the ,lord alone in that he lives from the ,lord alone2 for his life's will is led1 and his life's understanding is taught4 ,but this is contrary to the appearance1 for it seems to man that he lives of himself1 and yet the truth is that he lives from the ,lord and not from himself4 ,man cannot1 however1 be given a sense-perception of this while he is in the world 7the appearance that he lives of himself is not taken away1 for without it man is not man74 ,this must be established by reasons1 therefore1 which are then to be confirmed from experience and finally from the ,word4 #aeg4 ,that the human being has life from the ,lord alone and not of himself is established by these considerations3 #a4 ,there is an only essence1 substance and form from which all the essences1 substances1 and forms exist that have been created4 #b4 ,the one essence1 substance and form is divine love and wisdom from which is all that is referable to love and wisdom in man4 #c4 ,it is also good itself and truth itself to which all things are referable4 #d4 ,likewise it is life1 from which is the life of all and all things of life4 #e4 ,again the only ,one and very ,self is omnipresent1 omniscient and omnipotent4 #f4 ,this only ,one and very ,self is the ,lord-from-eternity or ,jehovah4 #b #a4 ,there is an only essence1 substance and form from which all the essences1 substances1 and forms exist that have been created4 ,this was demonstrated in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom 7nn4#dd-df74 ,in ,part ,,ii it was shown that the sun of the angelic heaven1 which is from the ,lord and in which ,he is1 is the one sole substance and form from which all that has been created exists1 also that nothing can exist or come into existence except from it4 ,in ,part ,,iii it was shown that all things arise from that sun by derivations according to degrees4 #c ,who does not perceive by the reason and acknowledge that there is some one essence from which is all essence1 or one being from which is all being8 ,what can exist apart from being1 and what can being be from which is all other being except being itself8 ,being itself is also unique and is being in itself4 ,since this is so 7and anyone perceives and acknowledges it by reason1 or if not1 can do so71 what else follows than that this ,being1 the ,divine itself1 ,jehovah1 is all in all in what is or comes to be8 #d ,it is the same if we say there is an only substance from which all things are1 and as there is no substance without form there is a single form from which all things are4 ,we have shown in the treatise mentioned above that the sun of the angelic heaven is that substance and form1 also shown how that essence1 substance and form is varied in things created4 #e #b4 ,the one essence1 substance and form is divine love and wisdom from which is all that is referable to love and wisdom in man4 ,this also was fully demonstrated in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom4 ,whatever appears to live in man is referable to will and understanding in him2 any-one can perceive by the reason and acknowledge that these two constitute his life4 ,what else is ,this ,i will1 or ,this ,i understand1 or ,i love this1 or ,i think this8 ,and as man wills what he loves1 and thinks what he understands1 all things of the will relate to love and those of the understanding to wisdom4 ,as no one has love or wisdom from himself but only from ,him who is love itself and wisdom itself1 they are from the ,lord-from-eternity or ,jehovah4 ,if they were not1 man would be love itself and wisdom itself1 thus ,god-from-eternity1 at which the human reason itself is horrified4 ,can anything exist except from a prior self8 ,or the prior self exist except from one prior to it8 ,and finally from a first or from underived being8 #f #c4 ,it is also good itself and truth itself1 to which all things are referable4 ,everyone possessed of reason agrees and acknowledges that ,god is good itself and truth itself1 likewise that all good and truth are from ,him1 therefore that any good and truth can come only from good itself and truth itself4 ,all this is acknowledged by every rational person when he first hears it4 ,when it is said1 then1 that everything of the will and understanding1 of love and wisdom1 or of affection and thought in a man who is led by the ,lord relates to good and truth1 it follows that all that such a man wills and understands or loves and has for his wisdom1 or is affected by and thinks1 is from the ,lord4 ,hence anyone in the church knows that whatever good and truth a man has in himself is not good and truth except as it is from the ,lord4 ,since this is true1 all that such a man wills and thinks is from the ,lord4 ,it will be seen in following numbers that an evil man can will and think from no other source4 #g #d4 ,the one essence1 substance and form is likewise life1 from which is the life of all and all things of life4 ,this we have shown in many places in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom4 ,at the first hearing the human reason also agrees and acknowledges that all man's life is that of the will and understanding1 for if these are taken away he ceases to live1 or what is the same1 that all his life is one of love and thought1 for if these are taken away he does not live4 ,inasmuch as all of the will and understanding or all of love and thought in man is from the ,lord1 all of his life1 as we said above1 is from ,him4 #h #e4 ,this only ,one and very ,self is omnipresent1 omniscient and omnipotent4 ,this also every ,christian acknowledges from his doctrine and every gentile from his religion4 ,in consequence1 wherever he is1 a man thinks that ,god is there and that he prays to ,god at hand2 thinking and praying so1 men cannot but think that ,god is everywhere1 that is1 omnipresent2 likewise omniscient and omnipotent4 ,everyone praying to ,god1 therefore1 implores ,him from the heart to lead him because ,he can lead him2 thus he acknowledges the divine omnipresence1 omniscience and omnipotence1 doing so in turning his face to the ,lord2 thereupon the truth flows in from the ,lord4 #i #f4 ,this only ,one and very ,self is the ,lord-from-eternity or ,jehovah4 ,in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,lord it was shown that ,god is one in essence and in person and that ,he is the ,lord1 and that the ,divine itself1 called ,jehovah ,father1 is the ,lord-from-eternity2 that the ,divine ,human is the ,son conceived by ,his ,divine from eternity and born in the world2 and that the proceeding ,divine is the ,holy ,spirit4 ,he is called very ,self and only ,one because1 as was said1 the ,lord-from-eternity or ,jehovah is life itself1 being love itself and wisdom itself or good itself and truth itself1 from which are all things4 ,that the ,lord created all things from ,himself and not from nothing may be seen in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom nn4 #bhb-bhd1 #cdi-ceg4 ,so the truth that the human being is led and taught by the ,lord alone is established by reasons4 #aeh4 ,this same truth is established in angels not only by reasons but also by living perceptions1 especially with angels of the third heaven4 ,they perceive the influx of divine love and wisdom from the ,lord4 ,perceiving it and in their wisdom aware that love and wisdom are life1 they declare that they live from the ,lord and not of themselves1 and not only say so but love and will it so4 ,yet they are in the full appearance that they live of themselves1 yes1 more strongly in the appearance than other angels4 ,for as was shown above 7nn4 #db-de7 the more nearly one is united with the ,lord1 the more distinctly does he seem to himself to be his own1 and the more plainly is he aware that he is the ,lord's4 ,for many years now it has been granted me to be in a similar simultaneous perception and appearance1 and ,i am fully convinced that ,i will and think nothing from myself but that it only appears to be from myself2 it has also been granted to love and will it so4 ,the same truth may be established by much else from the spiritual world1 but these two references must suffice now4 #aei4 ,it is plain from the following passages in the ,word that life is the ,lord's alone4 ,i am the resurrection and the life2 he who believes in ,me1 though he die1 shall live 7,jn #aa3be74 ,i am the way and the truth and the life 7,jn #ad3f74 ,the ,word was ,god 4 4 4 and in ,him was life2 and the life was the light of men 7,jn #a3a1 #d74 ,the ,word in this passage is the ,lord4 ,as the ,father has life in ,himself1 so has he given the ,son to have life in ,himself 7,jn #e3bf74 ,from the following it is clear that man is led and taught by the ,lord alone3 ,without ,me you can do nothing 7,jn #ae3e74 ,a man cannot receive anything unless it is given him from heaven 7,jn #c3bg74 ,a man cannot make one hair white or black 7,mt #e3cf74 ,by hair in the ,word the least of all is signified4 #afj4 ,it will be shown in what follows in an article of its own that the life of the wicked has the same source2 now this will merely be illustrated by a comparison4 ,heat and light flow in from the sun of the world alike to trees bearing bad fruit and to trees bearing good fruit1 and they are alike quickened and grow4 ,the forms into which the heat flows make the difference1 not the heat in itself4 ,it is the same with light1 which is turned into various colors according to the forms into which it flows4 ,the colors are beautiful and gay or ugly and sombre1 and yet it is the same light4 ,it is so with the influx of spiritual heat which in itself is love1 and with spiritual light which in itself is wisdom1 from the sun of the spiritual world4 ,the forms into which they flow cause diversity1 but not in itself that heat which is love or that light which is wisdom4 ,the forms into which these flow are human minds4 ,it is clear from these considerations that man is led and taught by the ,lord alone4 #afa4 ,what the life of animals is1 however1 was shown above 7nn4 #gd1 #if71 namely that it is a life of merely natural affection with its attendant knowledge1 and a mediated life corresponding to the life of human beings in the spiritual world4 #afb4 7ii7 ,man is led and taught by the ,lord alone through the angelic heaven and from it4 ,we say through the angelic heaven and from it1 but that ,he does so through the angelic heaven is the apparent fact1 while from it is the reality4 ,the ,lord seems to lead and teach through the angelic heaven because ,he appears above that heaven as a sun1 but the reality is that ,he does so from heaven because ,he is in heaven as the soul is in man4 ,for the ,lord is omnipresent and not in space1 as was shown above4 ,therefore distance is an appearance according to conjunction with ,him1 and the conjunction is according to the reception of love and wisdom from ,him4 ,since no one can be conjoined to the ,lord as ,he exists in ,himself ,he appears to angels at a distance as a sun2 nevertheless ,he is in the angelic heaven as the soul is in man4 ,he is similarly in every society of heaven and in every angel1 for man's soul is not only the soul of man as a whole but also of every part of him4 #b ,it is according to the appearance that the ,lord governs all heaven and through it the world from the sun which is from ,him and in which ,he is 7about the sun see ,part ,,ii of the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom71 and everyone is allowed to speak according to the appearance1 cannot1 in fact1 do otherwise4 ,everyone who is not in wisdom itself is also allowed to think that the ,lord rules each and all things from ,his sun and rules the world through the angelic heaven4 ,angels of the lower heavens think from the appearance1 but those of the higher heavens speak indeed in keeping with the appearance but think from the reality1 namely1 that the ,lord rules the universe from the angelic heaven1 that is1 from ,himself4 #c ,one can illustrate by the sun of the world that simple and wise speak alike but do not think alike4 ,all speak from the appearance that the sun rises and sets4 ,despite speaking so the wise think it stands still1 which is again the reality1 as the other is the appearance4 ,the same thing can be illustrated from appearances in the spiritual world1 for space and distance appear there but are dissimilarities of affections and of resulting thoughts4 ,the same is true of the ,lord's appearing in ,his sun4 #afc4 ,we shall say briefly how the ,lord leads and teaches everyone from the angelic heaven4 ,in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom and above in the present treatise1 also in the work ,heaven and ,hell1 published in ,london in the year #ageh1 it has been made known from things seen and heard that the angelic heaven appears before the ,lord as one man1 and each society of heaven likewise1 and it is from this that each angel or spirit is a human being in complete form4 ,it was also shown in the treatises mentioned that heaven is not heaven from anything belonging to the angels but from their reception of divine love and wisdom from the ,lord4 ,hence it may be evident that the ,lord rules the whole angelic heaven as one man1 and since heaven is itself man1 it is the very image and likeness of the ,lord and the ,lord rules it as the soul rules its body4 ,since all mankind is ruled by the ,lord1 it is ruled by the ,lord not through heaven1 but from heaven1 consequently by ,him1 for ,he is heaven1 as we have said4 #afd4 ,this is an arcanum of angelic wisdom1 however1 and therefore cannot be comprehended by man unless his spiritual mind has been opened2 for such a man1 who is united with the ,lord1 is an angel4 ,from what has preceded he can comprehend the following3 #a4 ,men as well as angels are in the ,lord and the ,lord in them according to their conjunction with ,him1 or1 what is the same1 according to their reception of love and wisdom from ,him4 #b4 ,each of them has a place allotted to him in the ,lord1 thus in heaven1 according to the nature of the conjunction or the reception of ,him4 #c4 ,each in his place has a state of his own distinct from that of others and draws his portion from what is had in common according to his situation1 function and need1 quite as each part does in the human body4 #d4 ,everyone is brought into his place by the ,lord according to his life4 #e4 ,every human being is introduced from infancy into this divine man whose soul and life is the ,lord1 and within it and not outside of it is led and taught from ,his divine love according to ,his divine wisdom2 but as a man is not deprived of freedom1 he can be led and taught only in the measure of his receptiveness as of himself4 #f4 ,those who are receptive are conducted to their places through an infinite maze by winding paths1 much as the chyle is carried through the mesentery and the lacteal vessels there to its cistern1 and from this into the blood by the thoracic duct1 and so to its place4 #g4 ,those who are not receptive are parted from those within the divine man1 as excrement and urine are removed from man4 ,these are arcana of angelic wisdom which man can comprehend to some extent2 there are many more which he cannot4 #afe4 7iii7 ,man is led by the ,lord through influx and taught through enlightenment4 ,man is led through influx by the ,lord because being led and flowing in are spoken of love and the will2 and he is taught by the ,lord through enlightenment because being taught and enlightened are spoken of wisdom and the understanding4 ,it is known that every person is led by himself from his own love and according to it by others1 and not by his understanding4 ,he is led by his understanding and according to it only as his love or his will prompts the understanding1 and then it can be said that his understanding is led also4 ,even then the understanding is not led1 but the will which prompts it4 ,the term influx is used because it is commonly said that the soul flows into the body2 influx is spiritual and not physical1 as we showed above1 and man's soul or life is his love or will4 ,for another reason1 influx is comparatively like the flow of the blood into the heart and from the heart into the lungs4 ,we showed in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom that the heart corresponds to the will and the lungs correspond to the understanding1 and that the conjunction of the will with the understanding is like the flowing of the blood from the heart to the lungs4 #aff4 ,man is taught1 however1 through enlightenment2 being taught and being enlightened are said of the understanding4 ,for the understanding or man's internal sight is enlightened by spiritual light quite as the eye or man's external sight is by natural light4 ,the two are also taught similarly2 the internal sight1 however1 which is that of the understanding1 by spiritual objects1 and the external sight or the sight of the eye by natural objects4 ,there is spiritual light and natural light1 one like the other in outward appearance1 but dissimilar in internal appearance4 ,for natural light comes from the sun of the natural world and so is in itself dead1 but spiritual light1 which is from the sun of the spiritual world1 is in itself living4 ,this light1 not nature's1 enlightens the human intellect4 ,natural and rational light comes from it and not from nature's light1 and is here called natural and rational because it is spiritual-natural4 #b ,there are three degrees of light in the spiritual world3 celestial1 spiritual and spiritual-natural4 ,celestial light is a flaming1 ruddy light and is the light of those who are in the third heaven2 spiritual light is a gleaming white light and is the light of those in the middle heaven2 and spiritual-natural light is like daylight in our world4 ,this is the light of those who are in the lowest heaven and of those in the world of spirits1 which is intermediate between heaven and hell2 with the good in that world it is like the light of summer on earth and with the evil like winter's light4 ,it should be known1 however1 that light in the spiritual world has nothing in common with light in the natural world2 they are as different as what is living and what is lifeless4 ,it is plain1 then1 from what has been said that it is spiritual light and not the natural light before our eyes that enlightens the understanding4 ,man does not know this1 not having known anything hitherto about spiritual light4 ,in the work ,heaven and ,hell we have shown 7nn4 #abf-adj7 that spiritual light has its origin in divine wisdom and truth4 #afg4 ,having spoken about the light of heaven1 we should say something about the light of hell4 ,this also is of three degrees4 ,the light in the lowest hell is like that from fiery coals2 in the middle hell like that from the flame of a hearth2 and in the highest hell like that from candles and to some like moonlight at night4 ,all this is spiritual light and not natural1 for all natural light is dead and extinguishes the understanding4 ,as has been shown1 those in hell possess the faculty of understanding called rationality2 rationality itself comes from spiritual light and not from natural light4 ,the spiritual light which they have in rationality is turned1 however1 into infernal light1 as the light of day is into the dark of night4 #b ,nevertheless1 all those in the spiritual world1 whether in the heavens or the hells1 see in their own light as clearly as man sees in his by day4 ,this is because everyone's eyesight is formed to receive the light in which it finds itself4 ,thus the eyesight of the angels of heaven is formed to receive the light in which they see1 and the sight of the spirits of hell is formed to receive their light2 this is comparatively like that of birds of night and bats1 which see objects at night and in the evening as clearly as other birds see them by day1 for their eyes are formed to receive their light4 #c ,the difference between the one light and the other appears very clearly1 however1 to those who look from one to the other4 ,when1 for instance1 an angel of heaven looks into hell he sees only thick darkness1 and when a spirit of hell looks into heaven he sees only thick darkness there4 ,for heavenly wisdom is like thick darkness to those in hell2 in turn1 infernal insanity is like thick darkness to those in heaven4 ,it is plain from all this that such as a man's understanding is1 such is the light he has1 and that after death everyone comes into his own light1 for he sees in no other4 ,in the spiritual world1 moreover1 where all are spiritual even to the body1 the eyes of all are formed to see by their own light4 ,everyone's life-love fashions an understanding for itself and thus a light1 also1 for love is like the fire of life and from this comes the light of life4 #afh4 ,as few know anything about the enlightenment in which the understanding of a man is who is taught by the ,lord1 something will be said of it4 ,there is inner and outer enlightenment from the ,lord1 and inner and outer enlightenment from oneself4 ,inner enlightenment from the ,lord consists in man's perceiving on first hearing something whether it is true or not2 outer enlightenment consists in thought from this4 ,inner enlightenment from oneself is simply from confirmation and outer enlightenment merely from information4 ,we will say something of each4 #b ,by inner enlightenment from the ,lord a rational person perceives about many things the moment he hears them whether they are true or not2 for example1 that love is the life of faith or that faith lives by love4 ,by interior enlightenment a person also perceives that a man wills what he loves and does what he wills1 consequently that to love is to do2 again1 that a man wills and does whatever he believes from love1 and therefore to have faith is also to do2 and that the impious man cannot have love for ,god or faith then in ,him4 ,by inner enlightenment a rational man also perceives the following truths at once on hearing them3 ,god is one2 ,he is omnipresent2 all good is from ,him2 all things have relation to good and truth2 all good is from good itself and all truth from truth itself4 ,a man perceives these and other similar truths inwardly in himself on hearing them and does so because he possesses a rationality which is in heaven's enlightening light4 #c ,outer enlightenment is enlightenment of one's thought from this inner enlightenment4 ,one's thought is in this enlightenment so far as it remains in the perception it has from inner enlightenment and so far as it possesses knowledge of good and truth1 for it gets from this knowledge reasons confirming it4 ,thought from outer enlightenment sees a matter on both sides2 on the one1 it sees reasons which confirm it1 and on the other1 the appearances that weaken it2 it dispels these and assembles the reasons4 #d ,inner enlightenment from oneself1 however1 is quite different4 ,by it one regards a matter on one side only1 and having confirmed it sees it in light apparently like that just spoken of1 but it is a wintry light4 ,for example1 a judge who judges unjustly in view of gifts or gain1 once he has confirmed the judgment by law and reason sees in it nothing but justice4 ,some judges see the injustice but not wanting to see it1 they keep it out of sight and blind themselves and so do not see4 ,the same is true of a judge who renders judgments out of friendship1 or to gain favor1 or on account of relationship4 #e ,such persons act in the same way in anything they have from a man in authority or from the mouth of a celebrity or have hatched from self-intelligence2 they are blind reasoners1 for they see from the falsities which they confirm2 falsity closes the sight1 just as truth opens it4 ,they do not see any truth in the light of truth nor justice from a love for it but from the light of confirmation1 which is an illusory light4 ,they appear in the spiritual world like headless faces or like faces resembling human faces on wooden heads1 and are called reasoning animals for rationality is potential in them4 ,those have outer enlightenment from themselves who think and speak solely from information impressed on the memory2 of themselves they can hardly confirm anything4 #afi4 ,such are the differences in enlightenment and consequently in perception and thought4 ,there is actual enlightenment by spiritual light1 but it is not manifest to one in the natural world because natural light has nothing in common with spiritual light4 ,this enlightenment has sometimes been manifested to me in the spiritual world1 however1 visible in those enlightened by the ,lord as a luminosity around the head1 aglow with the color of the human face4 ,with those in enlightenment from themselves the luminosity was not around the head but around the mouth and over the chin4 #agj4 ,besides these kinds of enlightenment there is another in which it is revealed to one in what faith1 intelligence and wisdom he is2 he perceives this in himself1 such is the revelation4 ,he is admitted into a society where there is genuine faith and true intelligence and wisdom4 ,there his interior rationality is opened1 from which he sees the nature of his own faith1 intelligence and wisdom1 even to avowing it4 ,i have seen some as they returned and heard them confessing that they had no faith although in the world they had believed they had much faith and markedly more than others2 they said the same of their intelligence and wisdom4 ,some were in faith alone and in no charity1 and some in self-intelligence4 #aga4 7iv7 ,man is taught by the ,lord through the ,word and doctrine and preaching from it1 thus immediately by the ,lord alone4 ,we said and showed above that man is led and taught by the ,lord alone1 and from heaven but not through heaven or any angel there4 ,as it is by the ,lord alone1 it is done immediately and not mediately4 ,how this takes place will be told now4 #agb4 ,it was shown in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,sacred ,scripture that the ,lord is the ,word and that all the doctrine of the church is to be drawn from the ,word4 ,inasmuch as the ,lord is the ,word the man who is taught from the ,word is taught by the ,lord alone4 ,this is comprehended with difficulty and will be clarified in this order3 #a4 ,the ,lord is the ,word because the ,word is from ,him and about ,him4 #b4 ,also because the ,word is divine truth together with divine good4 #c4 ,to be taught from the ,word is to be taught from ,him1 therefore4 #d4 ,that this is done mediately through preaching does not take away its immediacy4 #b ,first3 ,the ,lord is the ,word because it is from ,him and about ,him4 ,no one in the church denies that the ,word is from the ,lord1 but that it is about ,him alone1 while not denied1 is not known4 ,this was shown in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,lord1 nn4 #a-g1 #cg-dd1 and in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,sacred ,scripture1 nn4 #fb-fi1 #hj-ij1 #ih-ajj4 ,inasmuch as the ,word is from the ,lord alone and treats of ,him alone1 a man is taught by the ,lord when he is taught from the ,word1 for it is the divine ,word4 ,who can communicate what is divine and implant it in the heart except the ,divine ,himself from whom it is and of whom it treats8 ,therefore1 in speaking of ,his union with ,his disciples ,he says that they are to abide in ,him and ,his words in them 7,jn #ae3g 71 that ,his words are spirit and life 7,jn #f3fc71 and that ,he makes ,his abode with those who keep ,his words 7,jn #ad3bj-bd74 ,to think from the ,lord therefore is to think from the ,word1 and as it were1 through the ,word4 ,it was shown in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,sacred ,scripture from beginning to end that all things of the ,word have communication with heaven1 and as the ,lord is heaven1 this means that all things of the ,word have communication with the ,lord ,himself4 ,the angels of heaven indeed have communication2 this1 too1 is from the ,lord4 #c ,second3 ,the ,lord is the ,word because it is divine truth together with divine good4 ,the ,lord teaches that ,he is the ,word by these words in ,john3 ,in the beginning was the ,word1 and the ,word was with ,god1 and the ,word was ,god 4 4 4 and the ,word was made flesh and dwelt among us 7#a3a1 #ad74 ,this passage has been understood hitherto to mean only that ,god teaches men through the ,word and has been explained as an hyperbole1 with the implication that the ,lord is not the ,word itself4 ,this is because expositors did not know that the ,word is divine truth together with divine good or1 what is the same1 divine wisdom together with divine love4 ,that these are the ,lord ,himself was shown in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 ,part ,i1 and that they are the ,word in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,sacred ,scripture1 nn4 #a-hf4 #d ,we will say briefly in what way the ,lord is divine truth together with divine good4 ,each human being is human not because of face and body but from the good of his love and the truths of his wisdom2 and because a man is a man from these1 he is also his own good and his own truth or his own love and his own wisdom2 without these he is not a human being4 ,but the ,lord is good itself and truth itself or1 what is the same1 love itself and wisdom itself2 and these are the ,word which in the beginning was with ,god and was ,god and which was made flesh4 #e ,third3 ,to be taught from the ,word1 then1 is to be taught by the ,lord ,himself4 ,for it means that one is taught from good itself and truth itself or from love itself and wisdom itself1 and1 as we have said1 these are the ,word4 ,but everyone is taught according to an understanding agreeing with his love2 what goes beyond this does not remain4 ,all who are taught by the ,lord in the ,word are instructed in a few truths while in the world but in many when they become angels4 ,for the interiors of the ,word1 which are divine spiritual and divine celestial1 are implanted at the time1 but are not consciously possessed until a man on his death is in heaven where he is in angelic wisdom which1 compared with human wisdom1 thus his earlier wisdom1 is ineffable4 ,that divine spiritual and divine celestial things which constitute angelic wisdom are present in each and all things of the ,word see ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,sacred ,scripture1 nn4 #e-bf4 #f ,fourth3 ,that this teaching is done mediately through preaching does not take away the immediacy4 ,inevitably the ,word is taught mediately by parents1 teachers1 preachers1 books and particularly by reading4 ,still it is not taught by them but by the ,lord through them4 ,preachers1 aware of this1 say that they speak not from themselves but from the spirit of ,god and that all truth like all good is from ,god4 ,they can speak it and bring it to the understanding of many1 but not to anyone's heart2 and what is not in the heart passes away from the understanding2 by heart a man's love is meant4 ,from this it is plain that man is led and taught by the ,lord alone and immediately by ,him when he is taught from the ,word4 ,this is a supreme arcanum of angelic wisdom4 #agc4 ,we have shown in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,sacred ,scripture 7nn4 #ajd-aac7 that those outside the church who do not have the ,word still have light by means of it4 ,man has light by means of the ,word and from the light has understanding1 and both the wicked and the good have understanding4 ,it follows that from light in its origin there is light in its derivatives which are perceptions and thoughts on whatever subject4 ,the ,lord says that without ,him men can do nothing 7,jn #ae3e72 that a man can receive nothing unless it is given him from heaven 7,jn #c3bg72 and that the ,father in the heavens makes ,his sun to rise on the evil and the good1 and sends rain on the just and on the unjust 7,mt #e3de74 ,in the ,word in its spiritual sense by sun here1 as elsewhere1 is meant the divine good of divine love and by rain the divine truth of divine wisdom4 ,these are extended to the evil and the good1 to the unjust and the just1 for if they were not1 no one would possess perception and thought4 ,it was shown above that there is only one ,life from which all have life4 ,but perception and thought are part of life2 they are therefore from the same fountain from which life springs4 ,it has been shown many times before that all the light which forms the understanding is from the sun of the spiritual world1 which is the ,lord4 #agd4 7v7 ,man is led and taught in externals by the ,lord to all appearance as of himself4 ,this is so of man's externals1 but not inwardly4 ,no one knows how the ,lord leads and teaches man inwardly1 just as no one knows how the soul operates so that the eye sees1 the ear hears1 the tongue and mouth speak1 the heart circulates the blood1 the lungs breathe1 the stomach digests1 the liver and the pancreas distribute1 the kidneys secrete1 and much else4 ,these processes do not come to man's perception or sensation4 ,the same is true of what the ,lord does in the infinitely more numerous interior substances and forms of the mind4 ,the ,lord's activity in these is not apparent to man1 but many of the effects are1 as well as some of the causes producing the effects4 ,it is in the externals that man and the ,lord are together1 and as the externals make one with the internals1 cohering as they do in one series1 no disposition can be made by the ,lord except in keeping with the disposition made in the externals with man's participation4 #b ,everyone knows that man thinks1 wills1 speaks and acts to all appearance as of himself1 and everyone can see that without this appearance man would have no will and understanding1 thus no affection and thought1 also no reception of any good and truth from the ,lord4 ,it follows that without this appearance there would be no rational conception of ,god1 no charity and no faith1 consequently no reformation and regeneration1 and therefore no salvation4 ,plainly1 this appearance is granted to man by the ,lord for the sake of all these uses and particularly that he may have the power to receive and reciprocate so that the ,lord may be united to him and he to the ,lord1 and that through this conjunction the human being may live forever4 ,this is appearance as it is meant here4 ,,ix4 ,,it ,,is ,a ,,law ,,of ,,divine ,,providence ,,that ,,man ,,shall ,,not ,,perceive ,,or ,,feel ,,any ,,of ,,the ,,activity ,,of ,,divine ,,providence1 ,,and ,,yet ,,should ,,know ,,and ,,acknowledge ,,providence #age4 ,the natural man who does not believe in divine providence thinks to himself1 ,what can divine providence be when the wicked are promoted to honors and gain wealth more than the good1 and many such things go better with those who do not believe in divine providence than with the good who believe in it8 ,indeed1 infidels and the impious can inflict injuries1 loss1 misfortune and sometimes death on the believing and pious1 doing so1 too1 by cunning and malice4 ,he thinks therefore1 ,do ,i not see in full daylight1 as it were1 in actual experience that crafty schemes prevail over fidelity and justice if only a man can make them seem trustworthy and just by a clever artfulness8 ,what is left except necessities1 consequences and the fortuitous in which there is no semblance of divine providence8 ,does not nature have its necessities1 and are not consequences causes arising from natural or civil order1 while the fortuitous comes1 does it not1 from unknown causes or from none8 ,so the natural man thinks to himself who attributes all things to nature and nothing to ,god1 for one who ascribes nothing to ,god ascribes nothing to divine providence either2 ,god and divine providence make one4 #b ,but the spiritual man speaks and thinks within himself quite otherwise4 ,although he does not perceive the course of divine providence by any thought or feel it from any sight of it1 he still knows and acknowledges providence4 ,inasmuch as the appearances and resulting fallacies just mentioned have blinded the understanding1 and this can receive sight only when the fallacies which have induced the blindness and the falsities which have induced the darkness are dispelled1 and since this can be done only by truths which have the power to dispel falsities1 these truths are to be disclosed1 and for distinctness let it be in this order3 i4 ,if man perceived or felt the activity of divine providence he would not act in freedom according to reason1 nor would anything appear to be his own doing4 ,it would be the same if he foreknew events4 ii4 ,if man saw divine providence plainly1 he would inject himself into the order and tenor of its course1 and pervert and destroy them4 iii4 ,if man beheld divine providence plainly he would either deny ,god or make himself god4 iv4 ,man can see divine providence on the back and not in the face2 also in a spiritual1 not a natural state4 #agf4 7i7 ,if man perceived or felt the activity of divine providence he would not act in freedom according to reason1 nor would anything appear to be his own doing4 ,it would be the same if he foreknew events4 ,in given articles we made evident to the understanding that it is a law of providence that man should act in freedom according to reason2 also that all which a man wills1 thinks1 speaks and does shall seem to be his own doing2 that without this appearance a man would have nothing of his own nor be his own man4 ,he would thus have no selfhood and nothing could be imputed to him1 and in that case whether he did good or evil would not matter1 and whether he believed in ,god or was under the persuasion of hell would be immaterial2 in a word1 he would not be a human being4 #b ,we have now to show that man would have no liberty to act according to reason and there would be no appearance of self-activity if he perceived or felt the activity of divine providence1 for if he did he would also be led by it4 ,the ,lord leads all men by ,his divine providence and man only seemingly leads himself1 as was shown above4 ,if1 therefore1 man had a lively perception or sense of being led1 he would not be conscious of living life and would be moved to make sounds and act much like a graven image4 ,if he were still conscious of living he would be led like one bound in manacles and fetters or like a yoked animal4 ,who does not see that man would have no freedom then8 ,and without freedom he would be without reason1 for one thinks from and in freedom2 whatever he does not so think seems to him to be not from himself but from someone else4 ,indeed if you consider this interiorly you will perceive that he would not possess thought1 still less reason1 and hence would not be a human being4 #agg4 ,the ,lord's divine providence is constantly seeking to withdraw man from evils4 ,if a man perceived or felt this constant activity and yet was not led like one bound1 would he not struggle against it continually and then either quarrel with ,god or mingle himself in divine providence8 ,if he did the latter he would also make himself ,god2 if he did the former he would free himself from constraint and deny ,god4 ,manifestly two forces would constantly be acting then against each other1 the force of evil from man and the force of good from the ,lord4 ,when two opposites act against each other1 one of them conquers or they both perish4 ,in this instance if one conquers they both perish4 ,for the evil1 which is man's1 does not let in good from the ,lord in a moment1 nor does good from the ,lord cast out evil from man in a moment2 if either was done in a moment no life would be left to man4 ,these and many other harmful results would follow if man manifestly perceived or felt the operation of divine providence4 ,this will be demonstrated clearly by examples in what follows4 #agh4 ,man is not given a foreknowledge of events for the same reason1 namely1 that he may be able to act in freedom according to reason4 ,it is well known that man wants what he loves effected1 and he guides himself to this end by reasoning4 ,it is also known that what a man meditates in his reason comes from his love of giving it effect through thought4 ,if1 then1 he knew the effect or the eventuality by divine prediction1 his reason would become inactive and with it his love2 for love along with reasoning ends with the effect1 to begin anew4 ,it is reason's very enjoyment to envision with love the effect in thought1 not after it is attained but before it is1 not in the present but as future4 ,so man has what is called hope1 which rises and declines in the reason as he beholds or awaits the event4 ,the enjoyment is fulfilled in the event and then is forgotten along with thought about the event4 ,the same thing would occur with an event that was foreknown4 #b ,the human mind dwells always in the trine called end1 cause and effect4 ,if one of these is lacking1 the mind is not possessed of its life4 ,an affection of the will is the initiating end2 the thought of the understanding is the efficient cause2 and bodily action1 utterance or external sensation is the effect from the end by means of the thought4 ,anyone sees that the human mind is not possessed of its life when it is only in an affection of the will and in naught besides1 or when it is only in an effect4 ,the mind has no life from one of these separately1 therefore1 but from the three together4 ,the life of the mind would diminish and depart if an event were foretold4 #agi4 ,as a foreknowledge of future events takes away humanness itself1 which is action in freedom in accord with one's reason1 no one is given to know the future2 but everyone is allowed to form conclusions by the reason about the future2 the reason is then fully in its own life4 ,accordingly man does not know his lot after death or know any event until he is on it4 ,for if he knew1 he would no longer think from his inner self how he should act or live so as to meet it1 but would think only from his exterior self that he was meeting it4 ,this state closes the interiors of his mind where the two faculties of his life1 liberty and reason1 especially reside4 ,a desire to know the future is born with most persons but has its origin in a love of evil4 ,it is taken away1 therefore1 from those who believe in divine providence2 and trust that the ,lord disposes their lot is given them4 ,therefore they do not desire to know it beforehand lest they inject themselves in some way into divine providence4 ,the ,lord teaches this in many sayings in ,luke 7#ab3ad-dh74 #b ,much from the world of the spirit can confirm that this is a law of divine providence4 ,on entering that world after death most persons desire to know their lot4 ,the answer they receive is that if they have lived well their lot is in heaven and if wickedly it is in hell4 ,but as all1 including the wicked1 fear hell they ask what they should do and believe to get into heaven4 ,they are answered that they are to do and believe as they will1 but know that one does not do good or believe truth in hell1 only in heaven4 ,as you can1 seek what is good and true1 thinking truth and doing good4 ,everyone is thus left to act in freedom according to reason in the spiritual world as he is in the natural world2 but as one has acted in this world he acts in that1 for everyone's life remains to him and so his lot awaits him1 for this is his life's lot4 #ahj4 7ii7 ,if man saw divine providence plainly he would inject himself into the order and tenor of its course and pervert and destroy them4 ,to bring this distinctly to the perception of the rational man and also of the natural man1 it will be illustrated by examples in this order3 #a4 ,external things are so connected with internal things that they make one in all that is done4 #b4 ,the human being joins the ,lord only in some external things and if he did in internal things also1 he would pervert and destroy the whole order and tenor of the course of divine providence4 ,as we said1 these points will be illustrated by examples4 #b ,first3 ,external things are so connected with internal things that they make one in all that is done4 ,let this be illustrated by examples from several things in man's body4 ,everywhere in it are things external and internal4 ,the external are called skins1 membranes and coverings2 the internal are forms variously composed and woven of nerve fibres and blood vessels4 ,the covering over these enters into them by extensions from itself even to the inmost1 so that the external or the covering unites with the internals or the organic forms of fibres and vessels4 ,it follows that the internals act and are acted on as the external acts or is acted on4 ,for they are all constantly bound up together4 #c ,take such a common covering in the body as the pleura1 for example1 which covers the chest cavity and the heart and lungs4 ,examine it in an anatomical view1 or if you do not know anatomy consult anatomists1 and you will learn that this general covering by various circumvolutions and finer and finer extensions from itself enters into the inmost parts of the lungs1 even into the smallest bronchial branches and into the sacs themselves which are the beginnings of the lungs1 not to mention its subsequent progress by the trachea into the larynx and toward the tongue4 ,from this it is plain that there is a constant connection of the outmost with inmosts2 the interiors from the inmosts on therefore act and are acted upon as the external acts or is acted on4 ,for this reason when that outmost covering1 the pleura1 is congested1 inflamed or ulcerated1 the lungs labor from their inmost parts2 if the disease grows worse1 all action of the lungs ceases and the man dies4 #d ,the same is true everywhere else in the body4 ,for instance it is true of the peritoneum1 the general covering of all the abdominal viscera1 also of the coverings on such organs severally as the stomach1 liver1 pancreas1 spleen1 intestines1 mesentery1 kidneys1 and the organs of generation in both sexes4 ,choose any one of these viscera1 examine it yourself or consult those skilled in the science1 and you will see or hear4 ,take the liver1 for example2 you will find there is a connection between the peritoneum and that organ and by its covering with its inmost parts4 ,for the covering puts out constant extensions from itself and insertions towards the interiors and thus continues to inmosts and as a result the whole is bound together4 ,the entire form acts or is acted upon in such manner as the covering acts or is acted upon4 ,the same is true of the rest of the organs4 ,for what is general and what is particular or the universal and the singular in a form act together by a marvelous connection4 #e ,you will see below that what occurs in natural forms and their processes1 which relate to motion and actions1 occurs similarly in spiritual forms and in the changes and variations of their state1 which relate to activities of the will and the understanding4 ,inasmuch as man joins the ,lord in certain external activities and no one is deprived of the liberty of acting according to reason1 the ,lord can act in internals only as1 together with man1 ,he does in externals4 ,if man does not shun and turn away from evils as sins1 therefore1 the external and at the same time the internal of his thought and will are infected and destroyed1 comparatively as the pleura is by the disease in it called pleurisy1 of which the body dies4 #f ,second3 ,if man were in internals at the same time he would pervert and destroy the whole order and tenor of divine providence4 ,examples from the human body will illustrate this also4 ,if man knew all the workings of the two brains into the fibres1 of the fibres into the muscles and of the muscles into actions1 and by this knowledge were to have the disposition of them as he disposes his deeds1 would he not pervert and destroy all8 #g ,if man knew how the stomach digests1 and how the surrounding organs take their portion1 work the blood and distribute it where needed for life1 and if he had the disposing of these as he has of external activities1 such as eating and drinking1 would he not pervert and destroy all8 ,when he cannot handle the external1 seemingly a single thing1 without destroying it by luxury and intemperance1 what would he do if he had the disposal of the internals1 infinite in number8 ,lest man enter into them by any volition and have control of them1 things internal are therefore taken entirely away from the will except for the muscles1 which are a covering2 moreover1 how these act is not known1 only that they do4 #h ,the same can be said of other organs4 ,to give examples3 if man had the disposing of the interiors of the eye for seeing1 those of the ear for hearing1 or the tongue for tasting1 those of the skin for feeling1 those of the heart for systolic action1 of the lungs for breathing1 of the mesentery to distribute the chyle1 or of the kidneys for secretion1 the interiors of the organs of generation for propagation1 or those of the womb for perfecting an embryo1 and so on1 would he not pervert and destroy the ordered course of the divine providence in them in innumerable ways8 ,as we know1 man is in externals1 for example sees with the eye1 hears with the ear1 tastes with the tongue1 feels with the skin1 breathes with the lungs1 impregnates a wife1 and so on4 ,is it not enough for him to know the externals and dispose them for health of body and mind8 ,when he cannot do this1 what would happen if he disposed internals also8 ,it may be plain from this that if man saw divine providence plainly1 he would inject himself into the order and tenor of its course and pervert and destroy them4 #aha4 ,the like occurs in the spiritual things of the mind to what occurs in the natural things of the body for the reason that all things of the mind correspond to all things of the body4 ,for the same reason the mind actuates the body in externals and generally does so completely4 ,it moves the eyes to see1 the ears to hear1 the mouth and tongue to eat and drink1 also to speak1 the hands to do1 the feet to walk1 the generative organs to propagate4 ,the mind not only moves the externals in these ways but the internals1 too1 in their whole series1 outmosts from inmosts and inmosts from outmosts4 ,thus while moving the mouth to speak1 it moves lungs1 larynx1 glottis1 tongue and lips at the same time1 each separately to its especial function1 and the face suitably also4 #b ,it is clear then that the same can be said of the spiritual forms of the mind as was said of the natural forms of the body1 and the same can be said of the spiritual activities of the mind as was said of the natural activities of the body4 ,consequently the ,lord orders the internals as a man does the externals1 in one way if the man orders the externals of himself and in another if he orders them under the ,lord and at the same time as of himself4 ,the mind of man is also in its total organization a man1 for it is his spirit which appears after death altogether as a human being as in the world2 hence there are similar things in mind and body4 ,thus what has been said about the conjunction of externals with internals in the body is to be understood of the conjunction of externals with internals in the mind1 with the sole difference that the latter is spiritual and the former is natural4 #ahb4 7 iii7 ,if man beheld divine providence plainly he would either deny ,god or make himself god4 ,the merely natural man says to himself1 ,what is divine providence8 ,is it anything else or more than an expression which people get from a priest8 ,who sees anything of it8 ,is it not by prudence1 wisdom1 cunning and malice that all things are done in the world8 ,is not all else necessity or consequence8 ,and does not much happen by chance8 ,does divine providence lie concealed in this8 ,how can it do so in deceptions and schemes8 ,yet it is said that divine providence effects all things4 ,then let me see it and ,i will believe in it4 ,can one believe in it until he sees it8 #b ,so speaks the merely natural man1 but the spiritual man speaks differently4 ,acknowledging ,god he also acknowledges divine providence and sees it1 too4 ,he cannot make it manifest1 however1 to anyone whose thought is on nature only and from nature1 for such a person cannot raise his mind above nature1 see anything of divine providence in its phenomena1 or come to conclusions about providence from nature's laws1 which are also laws of divine wisdom4 ,if1 therefore1 he beheld divine providence plainly1 he would sink it in nature and thus not only enshroud it in fallacies but profane it4 ,instead of acknowledging it he would deny it1 and one who denies divine providence in his heart denies ,god also4 #c ,either one thinks that ,god governs all things or that nature does4 ,he who thinks that ,god does thinks that they are ruled by love itself and wisdom itself1 thus by life itself2 but he who thinks that nature governs all1 thinks that all things are ruled by nature's heat and light1 although these in themselves are dead1 coming as they do from a dead sun4 ,does not what is itself alive govern what is lifeless8 ,can what is dead govern anything8 ,if you think that what is lifeless can give life to itself1 you are mad2 life must come from life4 #ahc4 ,it does not seem likely that if a man saw divine providence and its activity plainly he would deny ,god2 it would seem that he could not but acknowledge it and thus acknowledge ,god4 ,yet the contrary is true4 ,divine providence never acts in keeping with the love of man's will1 but constantly against it4 ,for the human being by force of his hereditary evil is ever panting for the lowest hell1 but the ,lord in ,his providence is constantly leading him away and withdrawing him from it1 first to a milder hell1 then away from hell1 and finally to ,himself in heaven4 ,this activity of divine providence is perpetual4 ,if1 then1 man saw or felt this withdrawing and leading away1 he would be angered1 consider ,god his enemy1 and deny ,him on account of the evil of his selfhood4 ,in order that man may not know of it1 therefore1 he is held in freedom and thereby does not know but that he leads himself4 #b ,but let examples serve for illustration4 ,by heredity man wants to become great and also rich4 ,in the measure in which these loves are not checked he wants to become still greater and richer and finally the greatest and richest2 even so he would not rest1 but would want to become greater than ,god ,himself and possess heaven itself4 ,this lust is hidden deep in hereditary evil and consequently in man's life and in the nature of his life4 ,divine providence does not remove this evil in a moment2 if it were removed in a moment man would cease to live2 but divine providence removes it quietly and gradually without man's knowing of it4 ,it does this by letting man act according to the thinking which he deems rational2 then by various means1 rational and also civil and moral1 it leads him away and withdraws him so far as he can be withdrawn in freedom4 ,nor can evil be removed from anyone unless it comes out and is seen and acknowledged2 it is like a wound which heals only when opened4 #c ,if1 therefore1 man knew and saw that the ,lord in ,his divine providence works in this way against his life's love1 the source of his highest enjoyment1 he could not but go in the opposite direction1 be enraged1 rebel1 say harsh things1 and finally1 on account of his evil1 brush aside the activity of divine providence1 denying it and so denying ,god4 ,he would do this especially if he saw success thwarted or saw himself lowered in standing or deprived of wealth4 #d ,but it is to be known that the ,lord in no wise leads man away from seeking position and acquiring wealth1 but leads him away from the lust of seeking position solely for the sake of eminence or for his own sake1 and also from acquiring wealth for its own sake or just to have it4 ,leading the man away1 ,he introduces him into the love of uses so that he may regard eminence not for his own sake but for the sake of uses1 thus as attached to uses and only so to himself1 and not as attached to him and then to the uses2 the same applies to wealth4 ,at many places in the ,word the ,lord ,himself teaches that ,he continually humbles the proud and exalts the humble2 what ,he teaches in it is also of ,his divine providence4 #ahd4 ,any other evil in which man is by heredity is dealt with in like manner1 such as adultery1 fraud1 vengeance1 blasphemy and other similar evils1 none of which can be removed except as freedom to think and will them is left to man for him to remove them as if of himself4 ,nevertheless he can do this only as he acknowledges divine providence and prays that it may be done by it4 ,apart from this freedom and from divine providence at the same time1 the evils would be like poison shut in and not driven out1 which would spread quickly and consign all parts to death1 or would be like disease of the heart itself1 from which the whole body soon dies4 #ahe4 ,the truth of what has been said cannot be better known than from human lives after death in the spiritual world4 ,very many who had become great or wealthy in the natural world and in their eminence or riches had regarded themselves alone1 at first speak of ,god and divine providence as though they had acknowledged them at heart1 but seeing divine providence clearly then and their final lot under it1 namely1 for them to enter hell1 they unite with devils there and not only deny ,god then but also blaspheme ,him4 ,finally they reach such madness that they acknowledge the more powerful among devils as their gods and desire nothing more ardently than to become gods themselves4 #ahf4 ,man would go contrary to ,god and also deny ,him if he saw the activities of ,god's divine providence plainly1 for the reason that man is in the enjoyment of self-love and this enjoyment constitutes his very life4 ,therefore when man is held in the enjoyment of his life he is in his freedom1 for freedom and the enjoyment make one4 ,if1 then1 he should perceive that he is continually being led away from his enjoyment1 he would be enraged as against one who wanted to destroy his life and would hold him to be an enemy4 ,lest it happen1 the ,lord in ,his divine providence does not appear manifestly1 but leads man by it as silently as a hidden stream or favorable current does a vessel4 ,consequently man does not know but that he is steadily in his own1 for his freedom and his proprium make one4 ,hence it is plain that freedom appropriates to him what divine providence introduces1 which would not take place if providence were manifest4 ,to be appropriated means to become of one's life4 #ahg4 7iv7 ,man can see divine providence on the back and not in the face2 also in a spiritual state but not in a natural4 ,to see divine providence on the back but not in the face means after it acts and not before4 ,to see it in a spiritual state and not in a natural is to see it from heaven and not from the world4 ,all who receive influx from heaven and acknowledge divine providence1 especially those who have become spiritual through reformation1 on beholding events taking a wonderful course see providence as it were from an interior acknowledgment and confess it4 ,these do not wish to see it in the face1 that is1 before it eventuates1 fearing that their volition may intrude on something of its order and tenor4 #b ,it is otherwise with those who do not admit any influx from heaven but only from the world1 especially with those who have become natural by confirming appearances in themselves4 ,they do not see anything of divine providence on the back1 that is1 after it eventuates1 but wish to behold it in the face or before it eventuates2 and as divine providence works by means1 and these are provided through man or the world1 they attribute providence1 whether they look it in the face or on the back1 to man or to nature1 and so confirm themselves in the denial of it4 ,they make this ascription of it because their understanding is closed above1 that is1 to heaven1 and open only below1 that is1 to the world2 one cannot see divine providence in a worldly outlook1 only in a heavenly4 ,i have wondered sometimes whether they would acknowledge divine providence if their understanding was opened above and they were to see as in the light of day that nature in itself is dead1 and human intelligence in itself nothing1 and that it is by influx that either appears to have being4 ,i perceived that those who have confirmed themselves in favor of nature and of human prudence would not make the acknowledgment because the natural light flowing in from below would immediately extinguish the spiritual light flowing in from above4 #ahi499 ,the man who has become spiritual by acknowledgment of ,god1 and wise by rejection of the proprium1 sees divine providence in the world as a whole and in each and all things in it4 ,looking at natural things1 he sees it2 at civil things1 he sees it2 at spiritual things1 he sees it2 and in things simultaneous as well as successive4 ,he sees it in ends1 causes1 effects1 uses1 forms1 things great and small4 ,above all he sees it in the salvation of men1 as that ,jehovah gave the ,word1 taught men by it about ,god and about heaven and hell and eternal life1 and ,himself came into the world to redeem men and save them4 ,man sees these and many other things and divine providence in them from spiritual light in natural light4 99 ,the ,latin original has no number #ahh4 #b ,the merely natural man1 however1 sees none of these things4 ,he is like a man who sees a magnificent temple and hears a preacher enlightened in divine things1 but once home asserts that he saw only a stone building and heard nothing but sounds made4 ,again1 he is like a near-sighted man who steps into a garden remarkable for fruits of every sort and who reports on getting home that he saw only woods and trees4 ,moreover1 when such persons1 having become spirits after death1 are taken up into the angelic heaven where all objects are in forms representative of love and wisdom1 they see none of them1 not even that they exist4 ,i have seen this happen with a number who denied the ,lord's divine providence4 #aij4 ,many constant things exist1 created that inconstant things may exist4 ,such constants are the ordained changes in the rising and setting of sun1 moon and stars2 their obscurations by interpositions called eclipses2 the heat and light from them2 the seasons of the year1 called spring1 summer1 autumn and winter2 the times of the day1 morning1 noon1 evening and night2 also atmospheres1 waters and lands1 viewed in themselves2 the vegetative force in the plant kingdom1 that and the reproductive in the animal kingdom2 likewise what is constantly produced when these forces are set in action in accord with the laws of order4 ,these and many more things existing from the creation are provided so that infinitely varying things may exist1 for what varies can exist only in what is constant1 fixed and certain4 #b ,examples will illustrate this4 ,the varieties of vegetation would not be possible unless sunrise and sunset and the resulting heat and light were constant4 ,harmonies are infinitely varied1 and would not exist unless the atmospheres were constant in their laws and the ear in its form4 ,varieties of vision1 which are also infinite1 would not exist unless the ether in its laws and the eye in its organization were constant2 equally so1 colors1 unless light was constant4 ,the same is true of thoughts1 words and actions1 which are of infinite variety too2 they could not exist1 either1 unless the organic forms of the body were constant4 ,must not a house be steady for a variety of things to be done in it by a person8 ,so must a temple be for the various acts of worship1 preaching1 instruction and devout meditation to be possible in it4 ,so in much else4 #c ,as for the varieties found in the constant1 fixed and certain1 they go on to infinity and have no end2 no one thing in the whole universe or in any part of it is ever precisely the same as another1 nor can be in the progress of things to eternity4 ,who disposes these varieties which proceed to infinity and eternity so that they have order unless it is ,he who created what is constant to the end that they may exist in it8 ,and who can dispose the infinite varieties of life among men but ,he who is life itself1 that is1 love itself and wisdom itself8 ,except by ,his divine providence1 which is like a continual creation1 can the infinite affections of men and their thoughts thence and thus the men themselves be disposed so as to make one8 ,evil affections and the thoughts from them to make one devil which is hell1 and good affections and the thoughts from them one ,lord in heaven8 ,we have said and shown several times before that the whole angelic heaven is like one man in the ,lord's sight1 an image and likeness of ,him1 and all hell over against it like one monstrous man4 ,this has been said because some natural men seize on arguments for their madness in favor of nature and of one's own prudence from even the constant and fixed which must exist for the variable to exist in it4 ,x4 ,,there ,,is ,,no ,,such ,,thing ,,as ,,one',s ,,own ,,prudence2 ,,there ,,only ,,appears ,,to ,,be ,,and ,,it ,,should ,,so ,,appear2 ,,but ,,divine ,,providence ,,is ,,universal ,,by ,,being ,,in ,,the ,,least ,,things #aia4 ,that there is no such thing as one's own prudence is contrary to appearances and therefore to the belief of many4 ,because it is1 one who believes1 on the strength of the appearance1 that human prudence does all things1 cannot be convinced except by reasons to be had from a more profound investigation and to be gathered from causes4 ,the appearance is an effect1 and causes disclose how it arises4 ,by way of introduction something will be said about the common faith on the subject4 ,contrary to the appearance the church teaches that love and faith are not from man but from ,god1 so also wisdom and intelligence1 therefore prudence also1 and in general all good and truth4 ,when this teaching is accepted1 one must also agree that there is no such thing as one's own prudence1 but there only appears to be4 ,prudence comes only from intelligence and wisdom and both of these only from the understanding and its grasp of truth and good4 ,all this is accepted and believed by those who acknowledge divine providence1 but not by those who only acknowledge human prudence4 #b ,now1 either what the church teaches is true1 that all wisdom and prudence are from ,god1 or what the world teaches1 that they are from man4 ,can these views be reconciled in any other way than this1 that what the church teaches is the truth1 and what the world teaches is the appearance8 ,for the church establishes its teaching from the ,word1 but the world its teaching from the proprium2 and the ,word is ,god's1 and the proprium is man's4 ,because prudence is from ,god and not from man a ,christian in his devotions1 prays ,god to lead his thoughts1 purposes and actions1 and also adds that by himself he cannot4 ,again1 seeing someone doing good1 he says the person has been led to it by ,god2 and so about much else4 ,can anyone speak so unless he inwardly believes it8 ,to believe it inwardly comes from heaven4 ,but when a man deliberates and gathers arguments in favor of human prudence he can believe the contrary1 and this is from the world4 ,the internal faith prevails with those who acknowledge ,god in their hearts2 the external faith with those who do not acknowledge ,him at heart1 however much they may with the lips4 #aib4 ,we said that a person who believes1 on the strength of the appearance1 that human prudence does all things1 can be convinced only by reasons to be had from a more profound investigation and gathered from causes4 ,in order1 then1 that the reasons gathered from causes may be plain to the understanding1 let them be put forward in due order as follows3 i4 ,all man's thoughts are from affections of his life's love2 there are and can he no thoughts apart from them4 ii4 ,the affections of the life's love are known to the ,lord alone4 iii4 ,through ,his divine providence the ,lord leads the affections of the life's love of man and at the same time the thoughts1 too1 from which human prudence comes4 iv4 ,by ,his divine providence the ,lord assembles the affections of all mankind into one form--the human form4 v4 ,heaven and hell1 which are from mankind1 are therefore in such a form4 vi4 ,those who have acknowledged nature alone and human prudence alone make up hell1 and those who have acknowledged ,god and ,his divine providence make up heaven4 vii4 ,all this can be effected only as it appears to man that he thinks from himself and disposes by himself4 #aic4 7 i 7 ,all man's thoughts are from affections of his life's love2 there are and can be no thoughts apart from them4 ,it has been shown above in this treatise and also in the one entitled ,angelic ,wisdom about ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 ,parts ,i and ,v particularly1 what the life's love and the affections and the thoughts from them are essentially1 and what the sensations and actions arising from them in the body are4 ,inasmuch as these are the causes from which human prudence issues as an effect1 something needs to be said about them here also4 ,for what has been written earlier elsewhere cannot be as closely connected with what is written later as it will be if the same things are recalled and placed with both in view4 #b ,earlier in this treatise1 and in that just mentioned about ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 it was shown that in the ,lord are divine love and wisdom2 that these two are life itself2 that from the two man has will and understanding1 will from the divine love and understanding from the divine wisdom2 that heart and lungs in the body correspond to these two2 that this may make plain that as the pulsation of the heart along with the respiration of the lungs rules the whole man as to the body1 so the will together with the understanding rules him as to his mind2 that thus there are two principles of life in everyone1 one natural and the other spiritual1 and that the natural principle of life is the heartbeat1 and the spiritual is the will of the mind2 that each adjoins a consort to itself with which it cohabits and performs the functions of life2 and that the heart joins the lungs to itself1 and the will the understanding to itself4 #c ,now1 as the soul of the will is love1 and the soul of the understanding is wisdom1 both of them from the ,lord1 love is the life of everyone and is such life as it has in union with wisdom2 or what is the same1 the will is the life of everyone and is such life as it has in conjunction with the understanding4 ,more on the subject may be seen above in this treatise and especially in ,angelic ,wisdom about ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 ,parts ,i and ,v4 #aid4 ,it was also demonstrated in the treatises mentioned that the life's love produces subordinate loves from itself1 called affections2 that these are exterior and interior2 and that taken together they make one dominion or kingdom as it were1 in which the life's love is lord or king4 ,it was also shown that these subordinate loves or affections adjoin consorts to themselves1 each its own1 the interior affections consorts called perceptions1 and the exterior consorts called knowledges1 and each cohabits with its consort and performs the functions of its life4 ,in each instance1 it was shown1 the union is like that of life's very being with life's coming forth1 which is such that the one is nothing without the other2 for what is life's being unless it is active and what is life's activity if it is not from life's very being8 ,the conjunction in life1 it was likewise shown1 is like that of sound and harmony1 of sound and utterance1 too1 in general like that of the heart's pulsation and the respiration of the lungs1 a union1 again1 such that one without the other is nothing and each becomes something in union with the other4 ,union must either be in them or come about by them4 #b ,consider1 for example1 sound4 ,one who thinks that sound is something if there is nothing distinctive in it is much mistaken4 ,it also corresponds to affection in man1 and as something distinctive is always in it the affection of a person's love is known from the sound of his voice in speaking1 and his thought is known from the varied sounds which speech is4 ,hence the wiser angels perceive just from the sound of his voice a man's life's love together with some of the affections which are its derivatives4 ,this has been remarked that it may be known that no affection is possible without its thought1 and no thought without its affection4 ,more on the subject can be seen above in this treatise and in ,angelic ,wisdom about ,divine ,love and ,wisdom4 #aie4 ,inasmuch as the life's love has its enjoyment1 and its wisdom its pleasure1 and likewise every affection1 which is essentially a lesser love derived from the life's love like a stream from its source or a branch from a tree or an artery from the heart1 therefore every affection has its enjoyment and the perception or thought from it its pleasure4 ,consequently these enjoyments and pleasures make man's life4 ,what is life without joy and pleasure8 ,it is not animated at all1 but inanimate4 ,reduce enjoyment and pleasure and you grow cold and torpid2 take them away and you expire and die4 ,vital heat comes from the enjoyments of the affections and the pleasures of the perceptions and thoughts4 #b ,as every affection has its enjoyment and the thought thence its pleasure1 it may be plain whence good and truth are and what they are essentially4 ,whatever is the enjoyment of one's affection is one's good1 and one's truth is what is pleasant to the thought from that affection4 ,for everyone calls that good which he feels in the love of his will to be enjoyable1 and calls that truth which he then perceives in the wisdom of his understanding to be pleasant4 ,the enjoyable and the pleasant both flow out from the life's love as water does from a spring or blood from the heart2 together they are like an element or the atmosphere in which man's whole mind is4 #c ,the two1 enjoyment and pleasure1 are spiritual in the mind and natural in the body1 and in each make man's life4 ,from this it is plain what it is in man that is called good1 and what it is that is called truth2 likewise what it is in man that is called evil and false2 whatever destroys the enjoyment of his affection is evil to him1 and what destroys the pleasure of his thought thence is false to him4 ,it is plain1 moreover1 that evil on account of the enjoyment in it and falsity on account of the pleasure in it may be called good and truth and believed to be good and truth4 ,goods and truths are indeed changes and variations of state in the forms of the mind1 but they are perceived and have life only through the enjoyments and pleasures they have to give4 ,this is noted to make known what affection and thought are in their life4 #aif4 ,inasmuch as it is not the body but man's mind that thinks and that does so from the enjoyment of one's affection1 and inasmuch as man's mind is his spirit which lives after death1 man's spirit is nothing else than affection and thought therefrom4 ,it is altogether plain from spirits and angels in the spiritual world that thought cannot exist apart from affection1 for they all think from the affections of their life's love2 the enjoyments of these affections attend each as his atmosphere1 and all are united by these spheres exhaled from the affections by their thoughts4 ,the character of each one is known also by the sphere of his life4 ,it may be seen from this that all thought is from an affection and is the form of that affection4 ,the same applies to the relationship between will and understanding1 good and truth1 and charity and faith4 #aig4 7ii7 ,the affections of the life's love of man are known to the ,lord alone4 ,man knows his thoughts and his intentions in them because he sees them in himself1 and as all prudence is from them1 he sees this1 too1 within him4 ,then if his life's love is self-love1 he comes to take pride in his own intelligence1 ascribes prudence to himself1 gathers arguments in support of it1 and thus recedes from acknowledging divine providence4 ,much the same happens if love of the world is his life's love1 but he does not then recede to the same extent4 ,it is plain from this that these two loves ascribe all things to man and to his prudence and when interiorly examined ascribe nothing to ,god and to ,his providence4 ,when persons who do this happen to hear that the reality is that there is no such thing as human prudence1 but that divine providence alone governs all things1 they laugh at this if they are outright atheists2 if they hold something of religion in remembrance and are told that all wisdom is from ,god1 they assent on first hearing it1 but inwardly in their spirit deny it4 ,such especially are priests who love themselves more than ,god1 and the world more than heaven1 or what is the same1 worship ,god for position's or riches' sake1 and yet have been preaching that charity and faith1 all good and truth1 all wisdom1 too1 and in fact prudence are from ,god and none of them from man4 #b ,in the spiritual world ,i once heard two priests debating with a certain royal ambassador about human prudence whether it is from ,god or from man1 and the debate was heated4 ,the three believed alike at heart1 namely1 that human prudence does all and divine providence nothing1 but the priests in their theological zeal at the moment asserted that there was nothing of wisdom and prudence from man4 ,when the ambassador retorted that there was nothing of thought then1 either1 they said yes1 nothing of thought4 ,but as angels perceived that the three believed alike1 they bade the ambassador1 ,put on priestly robes1 believe yourself to be a priest1 and then speak4 ,he robed himself1 believed he was a priest1 and thereupon declared in a deep voice that never could there be wisdom or prudence in man save from ,god4 ,he defended this with the customary eloquence filled with rational arguments4 ,then the two priests were told1 ,put off your robes1 put on those of political ministers1 and believe that that is what you are4 ,they did so1 thought then from their interior selves1 and gave voice to the arguments they had entertained inwardly before in favor of human prudence and against divine providence4 ,upon this the three1 believing alike1 became warm friends and set out together on the path of one's own prudence1 which leads to hell4 #aih4 ,it was shown above that man can have no thought except from some affection of his life's love and that the thought is nothing other than the form of the affection4 ,now1 man sees his thought but cannot see his affection1 which he feels2 it is therefore from sight which dwells on the appearance1 and not from affection which does not come into sight but into feeling1 that he concludes that one's own prudence does all things4 ,for affection shows itself only in a certain enjoyment of thought and in pleasure ever reasoning about it4 ,this pleasure and enjoyment make one with the thought in those who1 from self-love or love of the world1 believe in one's own prudence4 ,the thought glides along in its enjoyment like a ship in a river current to which the skipper does not attend1 attending only to the sails he spreads4 #aii4 ,man can indeed reflect on what his external affection finds enjoyable when it is also an enjoyment of a bodily sense1 but he still does not reflect that that enjoyment comes from the enjoyment of his affection in thought4 ,for example1 when a lecher sees a lewd woman his eyes light with a lascivious fire and from this he feels a physical pleasure2 he does not1 however1 feel his affection's enjoyment or that of the lust in his thought1 only a strong desire more nearly physical4 ,the same is true of the robber in a forest at sight of travelers and of the pirate at sea on sighting vessels1 and so on4 ,obviously a man's enjoyments govern his thoughts1 and the thoughts are nothing apart from them2 but he thinks he has only the thoughts1 when nevertheless these are affections put into forms by his life's love so that they appear in the light2 for all affection has heat for its element and thought has light4 #b ,the external affections of thought manifest themselves in bodily sensation1 and sometimes in the thought of the mind1 but the internal affections of the thought from which the external exist never make themselves manifest to man4 ,of these he knows no more than a rider asleep in a carriage does of the road or than one feels the rotation of the earth4 ,now1 when man knows nothing of the things beyond number that take place in the interiors of his mind1 and the few external things which come to the sight of his thought are produced from the interiors1 and the interiors are governed by the ,lord alone through ,his divine providence and the few external by the ,lord also together with man1 how can anyone assert that one's own prudence does all things8 ,were you to see just one idea laid open1 you would see astounding things1 more than tongue can tell4 #c ,it is clear from the endless things in the body that there are so many things in the mind's interiors that the number cannot be given1 and nothing of them comes to sight or sense except only a much simplified action4 ,yet to the action thousands of motor or muscular fibres contribute1 and thousands of nerve fibres1 thousands of blood-vessels1 thousands of cells in the lungs which must cooperate in every action1 thousands in the brains and in the spinal cord1 and many more things still in the spiritual man which is the human mind1 in which all things are forms of affections and of perceptions and thoughts from the affections4 ,does not the soul1 which disposes the interiors1 dispose the actions also which spring from them8 ,man's soul is nothing else than the love of his will and the resulting love of his understanding2 such as this love is the whole man is1 becoming so according to the disposition he makes of his externals in which he and the ,lord are together4 ,therefore1 if he attributes all things to himself and to nature1 self-love becomes the soul2 but if he attributes all things to the ,lord1 love to the ,lord becomes the soul2 this love is heavenly1 the other infernal4 #bjj4 ,inasmuch as the enjoyments of his affections1 from inmosts down through interiors to exteriors and finally to outermost things in the body1 bear man along as wave and wind bear a ship2 and inasmuch as nothing of this is apparent to man except what takes place in the outermost things of the mind and the body1 how can he claim for himself what is divine on the strength merely of the fact that those few outermost things seem to be his own8 ,even less should he claim what is divine for himself1 knowing from the ,word that a man can receive nothing of himself unless it is given by heaven2 and knowing from reason that this appearance has been granted him in order to live as a human being1 see what is good and evil1 choose between them1 and appropriate his choice to himself that he may be united reciprocally with the ,lord1 be reformed1 regenerated and saved1 and live forever4 ,it has been stated and shown above that this appearance has been granted to man in order that he may act in freedom according to reason1 thus as of himself1 and not drop his hands and await influx4 ,from all this it follows that proposition iii to be demonstrated has been confirmed3 ,through ,his divine providence the ,lord leads the affections of the life's love of man and at the same time the thoughts1 too1 from which human prudence comes4 #bja4 7iv7 ,by ,his divine providence the ,lord assembles the affections of all mankind into one form--the human form4 ,in a subsequent paragraph it will be seen that this is the universal effort of divine providence4 ,those who ascribe everything to nature deny ,god at heart1 and those who ascribe everything to human prudence1 at heart deny divine providence2 the one cannot be separated from the other4 ,yet both groups for their reputation's sake and for fear of losing it profess in words that divine providence is universal1 but say its details fall to man and in their aggregate are grasped by human prudence4 #b ,but consider3 what is universal providence when the details are taken from it8 ,is it anything but just an expression8 ,for that is called universal which consists of the total of details as what is general does of particulars4 ,if1 then1 you remove details1 what is the universal except something empty1 thus like a surface with nothing underneath or an aggregate without content8 ,if it should be said that divine providence is a universal government but nothing is governed but only held in connection and items of the government are handled by others1 can this be called a universal government8 ,no king has such a government4 ,for if a king gave his subjects the government of everything in his kingdom1 he would no longer be king1 but would only be called king2 he would have the standing in name only and not in fact4 ,in the case of such a king one cannot speak of government1 still less of universal government4 #c ,god's providence is called man's prudence4 ,as universal prudence cannot be said of a king who has only kept the name so that the kingdom may be called a kingdom and be held together1 so one cannot speak of universal providence if human beings provide everything by their own prudence4 ,the same is true of the terms universal providence and universal government in reference to nature when they mean that ,god created the universe but endowed nature to produce everything from herself4 ,what is universal providence then but a metaphysical term1 and nothing but a term8 ,many of those who attribute everything produced to nature and everything accomplished to human prudence and yet profess orally that ,god created nature1 regard divine providence as an empty expression4 ,but the reality is that divine providence is in the least things of nature and of human prudence also and is thereby universal4 #bjb4 ,the ,lord's divine providence is universal by being in the least things in that ,he created the universe in order that an infinite and eternal creation might come about from ,him1 and it does as ,he forms a heaven from mankind which in ,his sight is like one humanity1 ,his image and likeness4 ,we showed above 7nn4 #bg-de7 that heaven formed of human beings is such in ,his sight2 that this was the purpose of creation2 and that the divine regards what is infinite and eternal in all that it does 7nn4 #df-fi74 ,the infinite and eternal to which the ,lord looks in forming ,his heaven from mankind is the growth of it to infinity and eternity and thus ,his dwelling constantly in the purpose of ,his creation4 ,this infinite and eternal creation the ,lord provided for in creating the universe and ,he pursues it steadily in ,his divine providence4 #b ,can anyone who knows and believes from the church's doctrine 99 that ,god is infinite and eternal be so lacking in reason that he does not agree on hearing it that ,god can then regard only what is infinite and eternal in the great work of ,his creation8 ,to what else can ,he look from ,his infinite being8 ,to what else in mankind of which ,he forms ,his heaven8 ,what else can divine providence then have for its end than the reformation and salvation of mankind8 ,no one can be reformed by himself through his prudence2 he is reformed by the ,lord through ,his divine providence4 ,consequently1 unless the ,lord leads man every least moment the man lapses from the way of reformation and perishes4 99 ,it is the doctrine of all churches in ,christendom that ,god the ,father1 ,god the ,son and ,god the ,holy ,spirit is infinite1 eternal1 uncreated and omnipotent1 as may be seen in the ,athanasian ,creed4 #c ,every change or variation in the state of the human mind means a change or variation in a series of things present and to come2 what then of progress to eternity8 ,the situation is like that of an arrow shot from a bow1 which if it deviated from the target in the least on being aimed would deviate widely at a thousand feet or more4 ,the like would happen if the ,lord did not lead the states of the human mind every least moment4 ,the ,lord does so according to the laws of ,his divine providence2 it is according to them that it seems to man he leads himself2 but the ,lord foresees how he leads himself and constantly acts in adaptation4 ,in what follows it will be seen that laws of tolerance are also laws of divine providence1 that every man can be reformed and regenerated1 and that no other predestination is possible4 #bjc4 ,since every man lives forever after death and is allotted a place either in heaven or in hell according to his life1 and heaven and hell must each be in a form to act as a unit1 as we said before1 and since no one can be allotted a place in that form other than his own1 humanity in all the world is under the ,lord's guidance and everyone is led by the ,lord from infancy to the close of life in the least things1 and his place is foreseen and provided4 #b ,clearly then1 the ,lord's divine providence is universal by being in the least things1 and it is an infinite and eternal creation that ,he has provided for ,himself in creating the world4 ,man does not espy this universal providence1 and if he did1 it would look to him like scattered heaps and collections of material for building a house such as passersby see1 while the ,lord beholds rather a magnificent palace1 constantly building and enlarging4 #bjd4 7v7 ,heaven and hell are in the form described4 ,that heaven is in the human form has been made known in the work ,heaven and ,hell1 published in ,london in #ageh 7nn4 #ei-ajb71 also in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 and here and there in the present treatise4 ,i therefore omit further confirmation4 ,hell is said to be in the human form also1 but it is in a monstrous human form1 like that of the devil1 by whom hell in its entirety is meant4 ,hell is in the human form inasmuch as those who are in it were born human beings too2 they also possess the two human faculties of liberty and rationality1 though they have misused liberty by willing and doing evil1 and rationality by thinking and confirming evil4 #bje4 7vi7 ,those who have acknowledged nature alone and human prudence alone make up hell1 and those who have acknowledged ,god and ,his divine providence make up heaven4 ,all who lead an evil life1 inwardly acknowledge nature and human prudence alone4 ,this acknowledgment lies hidden in all evil1 however the evil may be veiled by good and truth1 which are borrowed raiment1 or like wreaths of perishable flowers1 put around the evil lest it appear in its nakedness4 ,that all who lead an evil life1 inwardly acknowledge nature and human prudence alone is not known because of this general covering hiding it from view4 ,the source and cause of their acknowledgment1 however1 may make clear that they acknowledge nature and one's own prudence4 ,we shall say1 therefore1 whence man's own prudence is and what it is2 then whence divine providence is and what it is2 next who they are respectively1 and of what character1 who acknowledge divine providence and who acknowledge man's own prudence2 and lastly show that those who acknowledge divine providence are in heaven and that those who acknowledge man's own prudence are in hell4 #bjf4 ,whence man's own prudence is and what it is4 ,it is from man's proprium1 which is his nature and is called his soul from his parent4 ,this proprium is self-love and the accompanying love of the world1 or it is love of the world and the accompanying self-love4 ,self-love by nature regards self only and others as cheap or of no account4 ,if it regards any it does so as long as they honor and do it homage4 ,inmostly in that love1 like the endeavor in seed to fructify and propagate1 there lies hidden the desire to become great and if possible a king and then possibly a god4 ,a devil is such1 for he is self-love itself2 he adores himself and favors no one unless he also adores him2 another devil like himself he hates1 because he in turn wants alone to be adored4 ,since no love is possible without its consort and the consort of love or of the will in man is called the understanding1 when self-love breathes itself into its consort1 the understanding1 it becomes pride there1 which is the pride of self-intelligence1 and from this comes man's own prudence4 #b ,inasmuch as self-love wants to be the one lord of the world and thus a god1 the lusts of evil which are derived from it have their life from it1 so have the perceptions of the lusts1 which are schemes2 likewise the enjoyments of the lusts1 which are evils1 and the thoughts of the lusts1 which are falsities4 ,all these are like slaves and ministers of their lord1 responding to his every nod1 unaware that they do not act but are acted upon2 they are actuated by self-love through the pride of self-intelligence4 ,hence man's own prudence because of its origin lies concealed in every evil4 #c ,the acknowledgment of nature alone is also hidden in it1 for self-love has closed the window overhead through which heaven is plain and the side windows1 too1 in order not to see or hear that the ,lord alone governs all things1 that nature in herself is lifeless1 and that man's proprium is infernal and consequently love of it is diabolical4 ,with the windows shuttered1 self-love is in darkness1 builds itself a hearth fire at which it sits with its consort1 and the two reason amicably in favor of nature as against ,god and in favor of man's own prudence as against divine providence4 #bjg4 ,whence and what divine providence is4 ,it is the divine activity in the man who has removed self-love4 ,for1 as was said1 self-love is the devil1 and lusts with their enjoyments are the evils of his kingdom1 which is hell4 ,on the removal of self-love the ,lord enters with the affections of neighborly love1 opening the overhead window and then the side windows1 thus enabling man to see that there is a heaven1 a life after death and eternal happiness4 ,by the spiritual light and at the same time the spiritual love which then flow in1 the ,lord causes him to acknowledge that ,god governs all things by ,his divine providence4 #bjh4 ,who and of what nature those in each group are4 ,those who acknowledge ,god and ,his divine providence are like the angels of heaven1 who are averse to being led by themselves and love to be led by the ,lord4 ,it is a sign that they are led by the ,lord that they love the neighbor4 ,those1 however1 who acknowledge nature and one's own prudence are like the spirits of hell1 who are averse to being led by the ,lord and love to be led by themselves4 ,if they were powerful persons in a kingdom or prelates in the church they want to dominate all things4 ,if they were judges1 they pervert judgment and exercise power over the laws4 ,if they were learned1 they apply scientific information to confirm nature and man's proprium4 ,if they were merchants they act like robbers1 and if husbandmen like thieves4 ,all are enemies of ,god and scoffers at divine providence4 #bji4 ,it is amazing that when heaven is opened to such men and they are told that they are insane1 and this is made plain to their very perception by influx and enlightenment1 still they angrily shut heaven away from them and look to the earth beneath which is hell4 ,this is done with such men while they are still outside hell4 ,it makes plain how mistaken those are who think1 ,if ,i see heaven and hear angels speaking with me1 ,i shall acknowledge4 ,their understanding makes the acknowledgment1 but if the will does not at the same time1 they still do not acknowledge4 ,for the love of the will inspires in the understanding what it wills 7it is not the other way about72 indeed1 it destroys everything in the understanding which is not from itself4 #baj4 ,all this can be effected only as it appears to man that he thinks from himself and disposes by himself4 ,in what precedes we have shown fully that unless it seemed to man that he lives of himself and thus thinks and wills1 speaks and acts of himself1 he would not be man4 ,consequently1 unless he could in his own prudence make the disposition of all pertaining to his function and life1 he could not be led and guided by divine providence4 ,he would be like one with his hands hanging limp1 his mouth open1 his eyes shut1 holding his breath in expectation of influx4 ,he would divest himself of the human which he has from the perception and sensation that he thinks1 wills1 speaks and acts as it were of himself4 ,at the same time he would divest himself of the two faculties1 liberty and rationality1 distinguishing him from the beasts4 ,above in this treatise and in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom it was shown that without this appearance a man would not have the power to receive or reciprocate nor have immortality then4 #b ,if then you desire to be led by divine providence1 use prudence as a servant and minister that faithfully dispenses his master's goods4 ,this prudence is the talent given to the servants to trade with1 of which they were to give account 7,lu #ai3ac-bh2 ,mt #be3ad-ca74 ,it seems to man to be his own1 and he believes it is his own as long as he holds shut up within him the bitterest enemy ,god and divine providence have1 the love of self4 ,this dwells in the interiors of every man by birth2 if you do not recognize it 7and it wishes not to be recognized71 it dwells securely and guards the door lest man open the door and the ,lord cast it out4 ,the door is opened by man through shunning evils as sins as if of himself with the acknowledgment that he does so from the ,lord4 ,with this prudence divine providence acts as one4 #baa4 ,divine providence operates so secretly that scarcely anyone is aware it exists in order that man may not perish4 ,for man's proprium1 which is his will1 never acts at one with divine providence1 against which it has an inborn enmity4 ,the proprium is the serpent which seduced the race's parents of which it is said1 ,i will put enmity between you and the woman1 and between your seed and her ,seed1 and ,it shall bruise your head 7,ge #c3ae74 ,the serpent is evil of every sort2 its head is self-love4 ,the seed of the woman is the ,lord1 and the enmity set is between the love of man's proprium and the ,lord1 thus between man's own prudence and the ,lord's divine providence4 ,for man's own prudence is constantly exalting that head1 and divine providence is constantly abasing it4 #b ,if man felt this1 he would be enraged and wrought-up against ,god and would perish4 ,while he does not feel it1 he may be enraged and wrought-up against others or himself or against fortune without perishing4 ,therefore the ,lord leads man by ,his divine providence in freedom always1 and the freedom seems to man to be utterly his own4 ,to lead a man freely in opposition to himself is like raising a heavy and resisting weight from the ground by means of screws through the power of which weight and resistance are not felt4 ,and it is as though someone is unknowingly with an enemy who means to kill him and a friend leads him away quietly and only afterwards tells him the enemy's intention4 #bab4 ,who does not talk of fortune8 ,who does not acknowledge it by speaking of it and know something of it by experience8 ,yet who knows what it is8 ,one cannot deny that it is something1 for it exists and occurs1 and a thing cannot exist and occur without being caused2 but the cause of this something1 fortune1 is not known4 ,lest fortune be denied merely because the cause is unknown1 consider dice or playing cards and play yourself or ask the players2 do any deny that fortune exists8 ,for they play with it and it plays with them surprisingly4 ,who can repulse it if it opposes him8 ,does it not laugh then at prudence and wisdom8 ,when you shake the dice or shuffle the cards1 does fortune not seem to know and direct the turns and twists of the wrists in favor of one player rather than another for some cause8 ,can the cause have any other source than divine providence in outermost things where it works along with human prudence in a wonderful way1 constant or changeful1 concealing itself at the same time8 #b ,we know that pagans of old acknowledged ,fortune and built a temple to her1 as ,italians did at ,rome4 ,it has been granted me to learn many things which ,i am not permitted to make public about this fortune1 which1 as was said1 is divine providence in outmosts4 ,these made it plain to me that fortune is not an illusion of the mind nor a sport of nature nor something without a cause1 for this has no reality1 but is visible evidence that divine providence is over the least things in human thought and action4 ,as divine providence occurs in these least things which are insignificant and trifling1 why should it not in the significant and important matters of peace and war in the world and of salvation and life in heaven8 #bac4 ,i know1 however1 that human prudence bears the rational faculty its way more than divine providence does its way1 for the latter does not show itself and the former does4 ,it can be accepted more readily that there is only one life1 namely ,god1 and that all men are recipients of life from ,him1 as we have shown many times1 yet this amounts to saying that prudence is from ,him1 for prudence is part of life4 ,what man1 speaking in favor of nature and of human prudence in his reasoning1 is not speaking from the natural or external man8 ,and what man1 speaking in favor of divine providence and of ,god in his reasoning1 is not speaking from the spiritual or internal man8 ,but1 ,pray1 write two books1 ,i say to the natural man1 and fill them with plausible1 likely and lifelike reasons which in your judgment are solid ones1 the one book in favor of one's own prudence1 and the other in favor of nature4 ,then hand them to any angel4 ,i know he will write down on them these few words3 ,all this is appearance and fallacy4' ,,xi4 ,,divine ,,providence ,,looks ,,to ,,what ,,is ,,eternal1 ,,and ,,to ,,the ,,temporal ,,only ,,as ,,this ,,accords ,,with ,,the ,,eternal #bad4 ,that divine providence looks to what is eternal and to the temporal only so far as this makes one with the eternal1 will be demonstrated in this order3 i4 ,the temporal has to do with distinction and wealth1 thus with standing and gain1 in the world4 ii4 ,the eternal has to do with spiritual standing and abundance1 of love and wisdom1 in heaven4 iii4 ,the temporal and the eternal are separated by man1 but are united by the ,lord4 iv4 ,the uniting of temporal and eternal is the ,lord's divine providence4 #bae4 7i7 ,the temporal has to do with distinction and wealth1 thus with standing and gain1 in the world4 ,many things are temporal1 but they are all related to distinction and wealth4 ,by the temporal is meant all that either perishes in time or at least comes to an end with man's life in the world4 ,by the eternal is meant all that does not perish or come to an end in time and thus not with life in the world4 ,since1 as we said1 all that is temporal concerns distinction and wealth1 it is important to know the following3 what1 and whence1 distinction and wealth are2 the nature of the love of them for themselves and the nature of the love of them for the sake of use2 that these two loves are distinct from each other1 as hell and heaven are2 and that man hardly knows the difference between them4 ,but of these points one by one4 #b ,first3 ,what1 and whence1 distinction and wealth are4 ,distinction and wealth in the most ancient times were quite different from what they gradually became later4 ,distinction in those times existed only in the relation of parents and children and was one of love1 a love full of respect and veneration1 accorded the parents not because of birth from them1 but because of the instruction and wisdom received from them1 which was a second birth of the children1 in itself spiritual1 being of their spirit4 ,this was the sole distinction in most ancient days because tribes1 families1 and households dwelt separately and not like today under governments4 ,the distinction attached to the head of the family4 ,men of old called the times golden ages4 #c ,but after those times the love of ruling1 just out of enjoyment of that love1 crept in by stages1 and as enmity and hostility did so at the same time towards those who were unwilling to submit1 tribes1 families1 and households congregated of necessity in communities and set over themselves one whom they called judge at first1 then prince1 and finally king and emperor4 ,they also began to protect themselves by towers1 earthworks and walls4 ,the lust of ruling spread like a contagion to many from the judge1 prince1 king or emperor as from the head into the body1 and as a result degrees of distinction arose and prestige according to them1 and self-love also and pride in one's own prudence4 #d ,the same thing happened with the love of riches4 ,in the most ancient days when tribes and families lived by themselves1 there was no other love of riches than to possess the necessaries of life which they provided for themselves from flocks and herds and from the lands1 fields and gardens which supplied their food4 ,suitable houses1 furnished with useful articles of every kind1 and clothing were also among their necessities of life4 ,parents1 children and male and female servants1 making up the household1 engaged in the care and labor for all these necessities4 #e ,but after the love of dominion entered and destroyed this state of society1 the love of having means beyond what was needed crept in also and grew to the extreme of wanting to possess the wealth of all other men4 ,the two loves are like blood relatives1 for one who wants to rule over all things1 also wants to possess all things2 for then all others become servants1 and they alone masters4 ,this is clearly evident from those in the papist world who have exalted their dominion even into heaven1 to the ,lord's throne1 on which they have placed themselves1 and who at the same time seek the wealth of the whole earth and want to enlarge their treasury endlessly4 #f ,second3 ,the nature of the love of distinction and wealth for their own sake and for usefulness' sake respectively4 ,the love of distinction and standing for their own sake is self-love--strictly1 the love of ruling from self-love2 and the love of riches and wealth for their own sake is love of the world--more precisely1 the love of possessing the goods of others by whatever device4 ,but the love of distinction and riches for usefulness' sake is love of the use1 which is the same as love to the neighbor2 for that for the sake of which a man acts is the purpose from which he acts1 and is first or primary1 and all else is means and secondary4 #g ,as for the love of distinction and standing1 identical with self-love and strictly with the love of ruling from self-love1 it is the love of the proprium2 and man's proprium is all evil4 ,hence it is said that man is born into all evil and that what he has by heredity is nothing but evil4 ,what he has by heredity is his proprium in which he is and into which he comes through self-love and especially through the love of ruling from self-love2 for one who is in that love regards only himself and thus immerses his thoughts and affections in his proprium4 ,hence a love of evil-doing is present in self-love4 ,the reason is that he does not love the neighbor but only himself2 and one who loves himself only1 sees others as outsiders or as mean or nothing worth1 despises them1 and does not hesitate to do them injury4 #h ,for this reason one who is in the love of ruling from the love of self thinks nothing of defrauding his neighbor1 committing adultery with his wife1 slandering him1 breathing vengeance on him even to the death1 treating him cruelly1 and other such deeds4 ,this a man gets from the fact that the devil himself1 with whom he is conjoined and by whom he is led1 is nothing else than the love of ruling from self-love4 ,one who is led by the devil1 that is1 by hell1 is led into all these evils and is constantly led by enjoyments of these evils4 ,hence all who are in hell want to do evil to all1 but those in heaven want to do well by all4 ,from this opposition there results the intermediate state in which man is and in it is in equilibrium1 as it were1 so that he can turn towards hell or towards heaven4 ,so far as he favors the evils of self-love he turns towards hell1 and so far as he removes them from him he turns towards heaven4 #i ,it has been granted me to feel the nature and also the strength of the enjoyment of ruling from the love of self4 ,i was let into it that ,i might know4 ,it was such as to exceed all worldly enjoyments4 ,it was an enjoyment of the whole mind from its inmosts to its outmosts1 but felt in the body only as pleasure and gratification1 making the chest swell4 ,it was also granted me to perceive that there issued from this enjoyment as from their fountainhead the enjoyments of evils of all kinds1 such as adultery1 revenge1 fraud1 slander1 and evil-doing in general4 ,there is a similar enjoyment in the love of possessing the wealth of others by whatever ruse1 and from this love in the lusts derived from it2 yet not the same degree of enjoyment unless this love is conjoined with self-love4 ,as for distinction and riches sought not for themselves but for usefulness' sake1 this is not love of them but love of uses2 distinction and wealth serve it as means4 ,this love is heavenly4 ,but of it more in what follows4 #aj ,third3 ,these two loves are distinct from each other1 as heaven and hell are4 ,this is plain from what has just been said1 to which ,i will add the following4 ,all who are in the love of ruling from self-love1 whoever they are and whether they are great or small1 are in hell in spirit4 ,they are also in the love of all evils4 ,if they do not commit them1 still in their spirit they believe that they are allowable1 and when honor1 standing1 or fear of the law do not deter1 they commit them physically4 ,what is more1 the love of ruling from self-love hides hatred of ,god deeply within itself1 consequently of divine things which are of the church and especially of the ,lord4 ,if such men acknowledge ,god it is with the lips only1 and if they acknowledge the divine things of the church1 it is for fear of losing standing4 ,this love hides hatred of the ,lord deeply within it because deep in it is the desire to be ,god1 for it worships and adores itself alone4 ,hence if anyone honors it1 even to saying that it possesses divine wisdom and is the god of the world1 it loves him with all the heart4 #aa ,it is otherwise with the love of distinction and wealth for usefulness' sake2 this love is heavenly1 for1 as was said1 it is the same as love of the neighbor4 ,by uses goods are meant1 and by doing uses doing good is meant1 and by doing uses or good1 serving and helping others is meant4 ,although those doing so may possess distinction and wealth1 they regard these only as means for doing uses1 thus for serving and helping4 ,they are meant in these words of the ,lord3 ,whoever would be great among you1 must be your minister2 and whoever would 4 4 4 be first1 must be your servant 7,mt #bj3bf1 #bg74 ,it is these also whom the ,lord entrusts with ruling in heaven4 ,for ruling is to them the means of doing uses or good1 thus of serving2 and when uses or good deeds are their purpose and their love1 they do not rule2 the ,lord does1 from whom is all that is good4 #ab ,fourth3 ,man hardly knows the difference between the two loves4 ,for most men of distinction and wealth also perform uses1 yet do not know whether they do so for their own sake or for the sake of usefulness4 ,they know this the less because love of self and the world has more fire and ardor for doing uses than have those who are not in love of self and the world4 ,the former do uses1 however1 for the sake of fame or gain1 thus for their own benefit2 but the latter1 doing so for the sake of usefulness and what is beneficial1 act not from themselves but from the ,lord4 #ac ,the difference between the two loves can scarcely be recognized by man1 for he is ignorant whether he is being led by the devil or by the ,lord4 ,led by the devil he does uses for his own sake or the world's2 led by the ,lord1 he does them for the sake of the ,lord and of heaven4 ,all who shun evils as sins do uses from the ,lord2 all who do not shun evils as sins do uses from the devil1 for evil is the devil1 and use or good is the ,lord4 ,only so is the difference in question recognizable4 ,outwardly the two loves look the same2 inwardly they are wholly unlike4 ,one is like gold with dross in it1 the other like gold with pure gold in it4 ,one is like artificial fruit1 looking outwardly like the fruit of a tree1 but is colored wax with dust or pitch in it2 the other is like noble fruit1 flavorsome and fragrant1 with seeds in it4 #baf4 7ii7 ,the eternal has to do with spiritual standing and wealth1 of love and wisdom1 in heaven4 ,as the natural man calls the enjoyments of self-love1 which are also the enjoyments of the lusts of evil1 good1 and confirms that they are goods1 he calls distinction and wealth divine blessings4 ,but when the natural man sees the wicked as well as the good raised to distinction and prospered1 and still more when he beholds the good despised and poorly off and the wicked honored and affluent1 he thinks to himself1 ,why is this8 ,it cannot be by divine providence4 ,for if providence governed everything1 it would lavish distinction and wealth on the good and inflict contempt and poverty on the wicked1 and thus drive the wicked to acknowledge there is a ,god and divine providence4 #b ,but unless he is enlightened by the spiritual man1 that is1 is at the same time spiritual1 the natural man does not see that distinction and wealth can be blessings but also curses1 and that when they are from ,god they are blessings1 and when they are from the devil they are curses4 ,it is well known1 moreover1 that the devil bestows distinction and wealth2 it is on this account that he is called the prince of the world4 ,as it is not known when distinction and wealth are blessings and when they are curses1 let it be told in this order3 #a4 ,distinction and wealth are blessings and are curses4 #b4 ,when they are blessings they are spiritual and eternal2 when they are curses they are temporal and ephemeral4 #c4 ,distinction and wealth which are curses1 compared with those which are blessings1 are as nothing compared with everything or as that which has no existence in itself compared with that which has4 #bag4 ,the three points are now each to be clarified4 #a4 ,distinction and wealth are blessings and are curses4 ,common experience attests that both the pious and the impious1 or the just and the unjust1 that is1 the wicked and the good1 gain distinction and wealth1 and yet it is undeniable that the impious and unjust1 that is1 the wicked1 enter hell1 and the pious and just1 that is1 the good1 enter heaven4 ,as this is true1 distinction and wealth or standing and means are either blessings or curses1 blessings with the good and curses with the evil4 ,it was shown in the work ,heaven and ,hell1 published in ,london in the year #ageh1 that rich and poor and great and small are found in both heaven and hell 7nn4 #ceg-cfe74 ,it is plain from this that distinction and wealth with those now in heaven were blessings in the world1 and with those now in hell were curses in the world4 #b ,if he will think about the matter with reason1 anyone can know when distinction and wealth are blessings or curses1 namely1 that they are blessings with those who do not set their heart on them1 and curses with those who do4 ,one sets the heart on them in loving oneself in them1 and one does not set the heart on them when he loves uses and not himself in them4 ,above 7n4 #bae7 we told what the difference between the two loves1 and the nature of it1 is4 ,it is to be added that distinction and wealth seduce some and not others4 ,they do so when they excite the loves in man's proprium1 that is1 self-love1 which is the love found in hell and is called the devil 7as remarked above71 and they do not seduce if they do not excite that love4 #c ,both the wicked and the good come to distinction and are prospered in means because the wicked as well as the good perform uses4 ,the wicked perform uses for the sake of their personal standing and gain2 the good do so for the sake of the standing and profit of the work which they do4 ,the good regard the standing and profit of their work as principal causes of action1 and personal standing and gain as instrumental causes2 but the wicked regard their personal standing and gain as the main incentives and the standing and gain of their work as the instrumental4 ,yet who does not see that a person1 whatever his function or standing1 is to serve the affairs which he administers1 and not they him8 ,who does not see that a judge is to serve justice1 a magistrate the common welfare1 a king his kingdom1 and that it is not to be the other way around8 ,according to the laws of a kingdom1 a man is invested therefore with distinction and standing in keeping with the eminence of the work he does4 ,moreover1 who does not see that the difference between the two loves is like that between what is principal and what is instrumental8 ,one who ascribes to himself personally the eminence of a position appears in the spiritual world1 when this inversion is pictured1 as himself inverted1 feet up and head down4 #d ,second3 ,when distinction and wealth are blessings they are spiritual and eternal1 but when they are curses they are temporal and ephemeral4 ,there are distinction and wealth in heaven as there are in the world4 ,for governments and hence administrations and functions exist there1 trade also and hence wealth1 for there are societies and communities4 ,all heaven is divided into two kingdoms1 one called the celestial kingdom and the other the spiritual kingdom4 ,each kingdom is divided into innumerable societies1 larger and smaller1 all of which with all in them are arranged according to differences of love and of wisdom thence1 the societies of the celestial kingdom according to differences of celestial love1 which is love to the ,lord1 and the societies of the spiritual kingdom according to differences of spiritual love1 which is love to the neighbor4 ,inasmuch as there are such societies1 and all who are in them were men in the world and hence retain the loves they cherished in the world1 with the one difference that they are spiritual beings now1 and that distinction and wealth are spiritual in the spiritual kingdom and celestial in the celestial kingdom1 therefore those have greater distinction and abundance than others who have greater love and wisdom4 ,and to them distinction and wealth in the world were blessings4 #e ,the nature of spiritual distinction and wealth may then be plain--they attach to one's function and not to one's person4 ,the distinguished person in the spiritual world indeed enjoys magnificence and glory like those of kings on earth1 yet does not regard the distinction itself as anything but rather the uses in the administration and discharge of which he is engaged4 ,each also receives the honors of his high post but ascribes them not to himself but to the uses1 and as all uses are from the ,lord1 he ascribes the honors to the ,lord as their source4 ,such are the spiritual distinction and wealth which are eternal4 #f ,it is quite otherwise with those to whom eminence and wealth were curses in the world4 ,having attributed these to themselves and not to uses1 and not wanting the uses to control them but wanting to control the uses1 which they regarded as uses only as they served their own standing and honor1 they are in hell and are base slaves1 despised and wretched4 ,their distinction and wealth are gone1 therefore are called temporal and fleeting4 ,the ,lord teaches about both sorts in the words3 ,do not lay up treasures for yourselves on earth1 where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal2 but lay up treasures for yourselves in heaven1 where neither moth nor rust corrupts and where thieves do not break through and steal2 for where your treasure is 4 4 4 your heart also is 7,mt #f3ai-ba74 #g ,third3 ,the distinction and wealth which are curses1 compared with those which are blessings1 are as nothing compared with everything or as that which has no existence in itself compared with that which has4 ,everything that perishes and comes to nothing is inwardly nothing in itself4 ,outwardly1 indeed1 it is something and appears to be much and to some everything while it lasts2 but inwardly in itself it is not4 ,it is like a surface with nothing beneath or like an actor in kingly robes when the play is over4 ,but what remains to eternity is something in itself perpetually1 thus everything1 and it truly is1 for it does not cease to be4 #bah4 7iii7 ,the temporal and the eternal are separated by man1 but are united by the ,lord4 ,for all that is man's is temporal1 and he may therefore be called temporal1 but all things that are the ,lord's are eternal1 and so the ,lord is called eternal4 ,temporal things are such as come to an end and perish1 eternal things are such as do not4 ,anyone can see that the two can be united only by the infinite wisdom of the ,lord1 thus by ,him and not by man4 ,to make it known1 however1 that the two are separated by man and united by the ,lord1 this is to be demonstrated in the following order3 #a4 ,what temporal things are and what eternal are4 #b4 ,the human being is in himself temporal and the ,lord in ,himself eternal1 and only the temporal can proceed from man1 and only the eternal from the ,lord4 #c4 ,temporal things separate eternal things from themselves1 while eternal things join temporal things to themselves4 #d4 ,the ,lord joins man to ,himself by means of appearances4 #e4 ,he does so by correspondences also4 #bai4 ,these points will be clarified and established one by one4 ,first3 ,what temporal things are and what eternal are4 ,the temporal are all things that are proper to nature and from nature proper to man4 ,space and time especially are proper to nature1 both of them having a limit or termination4 ,things thence derived and proper to man are all things of his own will and understanding1 thus of his affection and thought and especially of his prudence2 it is well known that these are finite and limited4 ,eternal things1 however1 are all that are proper to the ,lord and from ,him seemingly proper to man4 ,what is proper to the ,lord is all of it infinite and eternal1 thus timeless1 endless and without limit2 what is seemingly proper to man thence is also infinite and eternal2 but nothing of this is actually proper to man1 but the ,lord's alone in him4 #b ,second3 ,the human being is in himself temporal and the ,lord in ,himself eternal1 and only the temporal can proceed from man1 and from the ,lord only the eternal4 ,man1 we said1 is in himself temporal and the ,lord in ,himself eternal4 ,since only what is in a person can proceed from him1 nothing can proceed from man except what is temporal1 and nothing from the ,lord except what is eternal4 ,for the infinite cannot proceed from the finite2 that it can is a contradiction4 ,the infinite1 however1 can proceed from the finite1 still not from the finite but from the infinite by the finite4 ,in turn1 what is finite cannot proceed from the infinite2 this is also a contradiction2 it can be produced from the infinite and this is creation and not proceeding4 ,on this subject see ,angelic ,wisdom about ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 from beginning to end4 ,if then the finite proceeds from the ,lord1 as it does in many ways with man1 it proceeds not from the ,lord but from man1 and can be said to do so from the ,lord by man1 because it so appears4 #c ,this may be clarified by these words of the ,lord3 ,let your communication be1 ,yea1 yea1 ,nay1 nay1 what is more than these comes of evil 7,mt #e3cg74 ,such is the speech of all in the third heaven4 ,for they never reason about divine things whether a thing is so or not1 but see in themselves from the ,lord whether or not it is4 ,to reason about divine things whether they are so or not comes from the reasoner's not seeing them from the ,lord1 but wanting to see them from himself1 and what one sees from oneself is evil4 ,but still the ,lord desires man to think and speak about things divine1 also to reason about them1 in order that he may see whether or not they are so4 ,such thought1 speech and reasoning may be said to be from the ,lord in man provided the end is to see the truth1 although they are from the man until he sees and acknowledges the truth4 ,meanwhile it is from the ,lord alone that he can think1 speak and reason2 for he does so from the two faculties1 called liberty and rationality1 which are his from the ,lord alone4 #d ,third3 ,temporal things separate eternal things from themselves1 while eternal things join temporal things to themselves4 ,that temporal things separate eternal things from themselves means that man1 who is temporal1 does so from the temporal in himself2 and that eternal things join temporal things to themselves means that the ,lord1 who is eternal1 does so from what is eternal in ,himself1 as was said above4 ,in what precedes we showed that there is a conjunction of the ,lord with man and a conjunction in turn of man with the ,lord1 but the reciprocal conjunction of man with the ,lord is not man's doing but the ,lord's2 also that man's will goes counter to the ,lord's will or1 what is the same1 man's own prudence goes counter to divine providence4 ,from these circumstances it follows that man puts the eternal things of the ,lord aside by force of the temporal things in him1 but the ,lord joins ,his eternal things to man's temporal1 that is1 ,himself to man and man to ,him4 ,as these points have been treated many times in what precedes1 there is no need to confirm them further4 #e ,fourth3 ,the ,lord joins man to ,himself by means of appearances4 ,for it is an appearance that of himself man loves the neighbor1 does good1 and speaks truth4 ,unless this appeared to man to be so1 he would not love the neighbor1 do good1 or speak truth1 and therefore would not be conjoined with the ,lord4 ,since love1 good and truth are from the ,lord1 plainly the ,lord joins man to ,himself by means of the appearance4 ,this appearance1 and the ,lord's conjunction with man and man's with the ,lord1 have been treated above at length4 #f ,fifth3 ,the ,lord unites man to ,himself by means of correspondences4 ,he does this by means of the ,word1 the sense of the letter of which consists wholly of correspondences4 ,in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture1 from beginning to end1 it was shown that by means of that sense there is a conjunction of the ,lord with man and a reciprocal conjunction of man with the ,lord4 #bbj4 7iv7 ,the conjunction of the temporal and the eternal in man is the ,lord's divine providence4 ,as this cannot come at once to the perception of the understanding or before being reduced to order and then unfolded and demonstrated according to that order1 let this be the order in considering it3 #a4 ,it is by divine providence that man puts off the natural and temporal through death and puts on the spiritual and eternal4 #b4 ,through ,his divine providence the ,lord joins ,himself with natural things by means of spiritual and to temporal by means of eternal in accordance with uses4 #c4 ,the ,lord joins ,himself to uses by means of correspondences1 and so by means of appearances according as man confirms these4 #d4 ,this conjunction of temporal and eternal is divine providence4 ,all this will be placed in clearer light by explanation4 #b ,first3 ,it is of divine providence that man puts off the natural and temporal through death and puts on the spiritual and eternal4 ,natural and temporal things are the outermost and lowest things which man first enters1 as he does on being born1 to the end that he may be introduced then into interior and higher things2 for the outmost and lowest things are containants1 and these are in the natural world4 ,for this reason no angel or spirit was created such at once1 but all were born as men first and then were introduced into interior and higher things4 ,thus they have an outmost and lowest which in itself is fixed and stable1 within and by which the interiors can be held in connection4 #c ,man first puts on the grosser substances of nature2 his body consists of them2 but he puts these off by death1 retaining the purer substances of nature nearest to the spiritual1 which then are his containants4 ,moreover1 all interior or higher things are together in the outmost and lowermost1 as was shown earlier in passages on the subject4 ,every activity of the ,lord is therefore from topmost and outmost simultaneously and so is in fullness4 ,but as the farthest and outmost things of nature as they are in themselves cannot receive the spiritual and eternal things for which the human mind was formed1 and yet man was born to become spiritual and live forever1 man puts them off and retains only those interior natural things which suit and harmonize with the spiritual and celestial and serve to contain them4 ,this is effected by the rejection of the temporal and natural outmosts1 which is the death of the body4 #d ,second3 ,through ,his divine providence the ,lord joins ,himself with natural things by means of spiritual things and to temporal by means of eternal in accordance with uses4 ,natural and temporal things are not only those proper to nature1 but also those proper to men in the natural world4 ,at death man puts off both of these and puts on the spiritual and eternal things corresponding to them4 ,that he puts these on according to uses has been shown in much that precedes4 ,the natural things proper to nature relate in general to time and space and in particular to things visible on earth4 ,these man leaves behind at death and instead receives spiritual things which are similar in outward aspect or appearance but not in their inward aspect and actual essence4 ,this also was considered above4 #e ,temporal things proper to men in the natural world in general are related to distinction and wealth and in particular to human needs such as food1 clothing and habitation4 ,these are also put off at death and left behind2 things are put on and received that are similar in outward aspect or appearance but not in their internal aspect and essence4 ,all these get their inward aspect and essence from the uses made of temporal things in the world4 ,uses are the goods which are called goods of charity4 ,it is evident1 then1 that the ,lord through ,his divine providence unites spiritual and eternal things to natural and temporal things according to uses4 #f ,third3 ,the ,lord joins ,himself to uses by means of correspondences1 and thus by means of appearances according as man confirms these4 ,as this must seem obscure to those who have not yet acquired a clear idea of correspondence and appearance1 what these are must be illustrated by examples and explained4 ,all the sayings of the ,word are outright correspondences of spiritual and celestial things1 and being correspondences are also appearances1 that is1 are all divine goods of divine love and divine truths of divine wisdom which in themselves are naked1 but are clothed upon by the ,word's literal meaning4 ,they therefore appear as a man would clothed1 if his clothing corresponded to the state of his love and wisdom4 ,obviously1 then1 if one confirms appearances in himself1 he mistakes the clothing for the man1 whereupon appearance becomes fallacy4 ,it is otherwise if he seeks truths and sees them in the appearances4 #g ,inasmuch as all uses or truths and goods of charity1 which a man renders to the neighbor may be rendered either according to the appearance or according to the verities of the ,word1 he is in fallacies if he renders them according to the appearances he has confirmed1 but renders them as he should if he does so in accord with the verities4 ,this may make plain what is meant when the ,lord is said to join ,himself to uses through correspondences and thus through appearances according to the confirmation of these by man4 #h ,fourth3 ,this conjunction of temporal and eternal is divine providence4 ,this is to be illustrated by two instances in order to bring it before the understanding in some light4 ,the one instance is that of eminence and standing1 and the other that of riches and wealth4 ,these are all natural and temporal in outward form but spiritual and eternal in inward form4 ,distinction with its standing is natural and temporal when a man has regard in them only to himself personally and not to the common welfare and to the uses4 ,for he is bound then to think inwardly that the community exists for his sake and not he for its sake4 ,it is like a king's thinking that the kingdom and all its members exist for his sake1 and not he for the sake of kingdom and people4 #i ,the identical distinction1 however1 along with the standing it brings1 is spiritual and eternal when man considers that he exists for the sake of the common well-being and for uses1 and not these for his sake4 ,doing this1 he is in the truth and essence of the distinction and of the standing it brings4 ,but doing as described above1 he is in the correspondence and appearance2 if then he confirms these1 he is in fallacies and has conjunction with the ,lord only as those have who are in falsities and evils therefrom1 for fallacies are falsities with which evils unite themselves4 ,such men have indeed done uses and good but from themselves and not from the ,lord1 thus have put themselves in the ,lord's place4 #aj ,the same is true of riches and wealth2 for these also are natural and temporal1 and spiritual and eternal4 ,they are natural and temporal with those who have regard only to them and to themselves in them and who find all their pleasure and enjoyment in them4 ,but they are spiritual and eternal with those who regard good uses in them and take an interior pleasure and enjoyment in uses4 ,the outward pleasure and enjoyment in such men also becomes spiritual1 and the temporal becomes eternal4 ,they are therefore in heaven after death and in palaces there1 the useful designs of which are resplendent with gold and precious stones4 ,they look on these things1 however1 as the shining and translucent external of inward things1 namely1 of uses1 in which they take a pleasure and enjoyment which are the happiness and joy of heaven4 ,the opposite is the lot of those who have looked on riches and wealth just for the sake of riches and wealth and for their own sake1 thus on the externalities and on nothing inward2 thus on appearance and not on the essential reality4 ,when they put off the externalities1 as they do on dying1 they come into their internals1 and as these are not spiritual1 they cannot but be infernal2 they must be one or the other and cannot be spiritual and infernal at the same time4 ,the lot of these men then is poverty instead of riches and wretchedness instead of wealth4 #aa ,by uses not only the necessities of life are meant1 such as food1 raiment and habitation for oneself and one's own1 but also the good of one's country1 community and fellow-citizens4 ,business is such a good when it is the end-love and money is a mediate1 subservient love1 as it is only when the businessman shuns and is averse to fraud and bad practices as sin4 ,it is otherwise when money is the end-love and business the mediate1 subservient love4 ,for this is avarice1 which is a root of evils 7on this see ,lu #ab3ae and the parable on it1 verses #af-ba74 ,,xii4 ,,man ,,is ,,not ,,admitted ,,inwardly ,,into ,,truths ,,of ,,faith ,,and ,,goods ,,of ,,charity ,,except ,,as ,,he ,,can ,,be ,,kept ,,in ,,them ,,to ,,the ,,close ,,of ,,life #bba4 ,it is well known in ,christendom that the ,lord wills the salvation of all1 and also is almighty4 ,from this many conclude that ,he can save everyone and saves those who implore ,his mercy1 especially those who implore it by the formula of the received faith that ,god the ,father may be merciful for the sake of the ,son1 particularly if they pray at the same time that they may receive this faith4 ,that it is quite otherwise1 however1 will be seen in the last chapter of this treatise where it will be explained that the ,lord cannot act contrary to the laws of ,his divine providence because that would be acting against ,his divine love and wisdom1 thus against ,himself4 ,there1 too1 it will be seen that such immediate mercy is impossible1 for man's salvation is effected by means1 and he can be led in accordance with these means only by ,him who wills the salvation of all and is at the same time almighty1 thus by the ,lord4 ,these means are what are called laws of divine providence4 ,among them is this1 that man is not admitted inwardly into truths of wisdom and goods of love except as he can be kept in them to the close of life4 ,to make this plain to the reason1 it is to be explained in this order3 i4 ,man may be admitted into wisdom about spiritual things and also into love of them and still not be reformed4 ii4 ,if he recedes from them afterwards and turns to what is the contrary1 he profanes holy things4 iii4 ,there are many kinds of profanation1 but this kind is the worst of all4 iv4 ,the ,lord therefore does not admit man interiorly into truths of wisdom and at the same time into goods of love except as man can be kept in them to the very close of life4 #bbb4 7i7 ,man may be admitted into wisdom about spiritual things and also into love of them and still not be reformed4 ,this is because he possesses rationality and liberty2 by rationality he can be raised into an almost angelic wisdom1 and by liberty into love not unlike angelic love4 ,but such as the love is1 such is the wisdom2 if the love is celestial and spiritual1 the wisdom becomes so1 but if the love is diabolical and infernal1 the wisdom is likewise4 ,outwardly1 and so to others1 it may seem to be celestial and spiritual1 but in inward form1 namely in its essence1 it is diabolical and infernal2 not as manifested1 but as it is within one4 ,that it is of this nature men do not see1 for they are natural1 see and hear naturally1 and the outward form is natural2 but angels do see it1 for they are spiritual1 see and hear spiritually1 and the inward form is spiritual4 #b ,from this it is plain that man can be admitted into wisdom about spiritual things and also into love of them and still not be reformed2 he is admitted only into a natural love of them1 not into a spiritual4 ,this is for the reason that man can admit himself into a natural love1 but the ,lord alone can admit him into a spiritual love1 and those admitted into this are reformed1 but those admitted only into the natural love are not4 ,for the most part the latter are hypocrites1 and many are of the ,order of ,jesuits who inwardly do not believe in the divine at all1 but play outwardly with divine things like actors4 #bbc4 ,it has been granted me by much experience in the spiritual world to know that man possesses in himself the faculty of apprehending arcana of wisdom like the angels themselves4 ,for ,i have seen fiery devils who not only understood arcana of wisdom when they heard them1 but who spoke them1 too1 out of their rationality4 ,but the moment they returned to their diabolical love they did not understand them1 but in place of them the contrary1 which was insanity1 and this they called wisdom4 ,in fact1 ,i was allowed to hear them laugh at their insanity when they were in a state of wisdom1 and at wisdom when they were in an insane state4 ,one who has been of this character in the world1 on becoming a spirit after death is usually brought into states of wisdom and insanity by turns1 for him to distinguish the one from the other4 ,but although such men see from the wisdom that they are insane1 when the choice is given them1 as it is to each1 they betake themselves into the state of insanity1 love it and feel hatred for the state of wisdom4 ,the reason is that their inward nature has been diabolical and their outward seemingly divine4 ,they are meant by devils who affect to be angels of light1 and by the man in the house of the nuptials who was not dressed in a wedding garment and was cast into outer darkness 7,mt #bb3aa-ac74 #bbd4 ,who cannot see that it is the internal from which the external exists and that consequently the external has its essence from the internal8 ,and who does not know by experience that the external can appear out of accord with the essence it has from the internal8 ,it does so obviously with hypocrites1 flatterers and dissemblers4 ,that a person can outwardly feign to be other than himself is manifest from actors and mimics4 ,they know how to represent kings1 emperors and even angels in tone of voice1 speech1 face and gesture as though they were really such1 when they are nevertheless only actors4 ,we allude to this because man can similarly act the deceiver in spiritual things as well as civil and moral1 and that many do is well known4 #b ,when the internal in its essence is infernal1 and the external in its form appears to be spiritual and yet has its essence1 as we said1 from the internal1 the question arises where in the external that essence is hidden4 ,it does not show in gesture1 voice1 speech or face1 yet is interiorly hidden in all four4 ,that it is1 is plain from the same in the spiritual world4 ,for when man passes from the natural world to the spiritual1 as he does at death1 he leaves his externals behind along with his body and retains his internals1 which he has stored up in his spirit4 ,if his internal was infernal1 he then appears as a devil1 such as he was as to his spirit during life in the world4 ,who does not acknowledge that everyone leaves external things behind with the body and enters into internal things on becoming a spirit8 #c ,to this ,i will add that in the spiritual world there is a communication of affections and of thoughts from them1 which results in no one's being able to speak except as he thinks2 likewise1 everyone changes facial expression and reflects his affection1 and thus shows in his face what he is4 ,hypocrites are allowed sometimes to speak otherwise than they think1 but the tone of the voice sounds utterly out of harmony with their interior thoughts1 and they are recognized by the discord4 ,it may be evident from this that the internal lies hidden in the tone of voice1 the speech1 the face and gesture of the external1 and that it is not perceived by men in the world1 but plainly by angels in the spiritual world4 #bbe4 ,it is plain from this that while he lives in the natural world man may be admitted into wisdom about spiritual things and into love of them also1 and that this happens or can happen with the merely natural as well as with those who are spiritual1 with this difference1 however1 that the latter are reformed by these means and the former are not4 ,it may seem1 also1 that the former love wisdom1 but they do so only as an adulterer loves a noble woman1 that is1 as mistress1 speaking caressingly to her and giving her beautiful garments1 but saying of her privately to himself1 ,she is only a vile harlot whom ,i will make believe that ,i love because she gratifies my lust2 if she should not1 ,i would cast her away4 ,the internal man of the unreformed lover of wisdom is this adulterer2 his external man is the woman4 #bbf4 7ii7 ,if man recedes from these later and turns to what is contrary1 he profanes holy things4 ,there are many kinds of profanation of what is holy1 of which in the following section1 but this is the gravest of all4 ,those who profane in this way become no longer human beings after death2 they live indeed1 but are continually in wild fantasies4 ,they seem to themselves to soar aloft and while they remain there they sport with fantasies which they see as realities4 ,no longer human1 they are referred to not as he or she but it4 ,in fact1 when they come to view in heaven's light they look like skeletons1 some like skeletons of the color of bone1 others like fiery skeletons1 and still others like charred ones4 ,the world does not know that profaners of this kind become like this after death1 and the reason is that the cause is unknown4 ,the real cause is that when man first acknowledges and believes divine things and then lapses and denies them1 he mixes the holy with the profane4 ,once they are mixed1 they cannot be separated without destroying the whole4 ,that these things may be perceived more clearly1 they are to be disclosed in due order as follows3 #a4 ,whatever a man thinks1 speaks and does from the will1 whether good or evil1 is appropriated to him and remains4 #b4 ,the ,lord in ,his divine providence constantly foresees and disposes that evil shall be by itself and good by itself1 and thus may be separated4 #c4 ,this cannot be done1 however1 if man first acknowledges and lives according to truths of faith and afterwards recedes and denies them4 #d4 ,then he mixes good and evil to the point that they cannot be separated4 #e4 ,since good and evil in anyone must be separated1 and in such a person cannot be1 he is destroyed in all that is truly human4 #bbg4 ,these are the causes that lead to such enormity1 but as they are obscure as a result of ignorance of them1 they are to be explained so that they will be plain to the understanding4 #a4 ,whatever man thinks1 speaks and does from the will1 whether good or evil1 is appropriated to him and remains4 ,this was explained above 7nn4 #gh-ha72 for man has an external or natural memory and an internal or spiritual memory4 ,on the latter memory are written each and all things that he thought1 spoke or did from his will in the world1 so fully that nothing is lacking4 ,this memory is his book of life1 which is opened after death and according to which he is judged4 ,much more about this memory is reported from experience in the work ,heaven and ,hell 7nn4 #dfa-dfe74 #b #b4 ,the ,lord in ,his divine providence constantly foresees and disposes that evil shall be by itself and good by itself1 and thus may be separated4 ,everyone is both in evil and in good1 for he is in evil from himself and in good from the ,lord2 he cannot live without being in both4 ,if he were in himself alone and thus in evil alone1 he would not possess anything living2 nor would he if he were in the ,lord alone and thus in good alone4 ,in the latter case he would be like one suffocated and gasping for breath or like one dying in agony2 in the former case he would be devoid of life1 for evil apart from good is dead4 ,therefore everyone is in both1 with the difference that in the one instance he is inwardly in the ,lord and outwardly as if in himself1 and in the other inwardly in himself and outwardly as if in the ,lord4 ,the latter man is in evil1 the former in good1 and yet each is in good and evil both4 ,the wicked man is in both because he is in the good of civil and moral life and outwardly1 in some measure1 in the good of spiritual life1 too1 besides being kept by the ,lord in rationality and liberty1 making it possible for him to be in good4 ,this is the good by means of which everyone1 even a wicked man1 is led by the ,lord4 ,it may then be seen that the ,lord keeps evil and good apart1 so that one is interior and the other exterior1 and thus provides against their being mingled4 #c #c4 ,this cannot be done1 however1 if man first acknowledges and lives according to truths of faith and then later recedes and denies them4 ,this is plain from what has just been said1 that all which a man thinks1 speaks and does from the will is appropriated to him and remains2 and that the ,lord in ,his divine providence constantly foresees and disposes that good shall be by itself and evil by itself1 and so can be separated4 ,they are also separated by the ,lord after death4 ,those who are inwardly evil and outwardly good are deprived of the good and left to their evil4 ,the reverse occurs with the inwardly good who outwardly like other men have acquired wealth1 sought distinction1 delighted in the mundane1 and indulged some lusts4 ,good and evil have not been commingled by them1 however1 but are separate1 like internal and external2 they have resembled the evil in many ways outwardly but not inwardly4 ,evil is separate from good in the evil1 too1 who have appeared outwardly like the good for piety1 worship1 speech and deeds1 although wicked inwardly4 ,with those1 however1 who have first acknowledged and lived by truths of faith and then lived contrary to them and rejected them and particularly if they have denied them1 good and evil are no longer separate1 but mixed4 ,such a person has appropriated both good and evil to himself1 and thus combined and mixed them4 #d #d4 ,he then mixes good and evil to a point where they cannot be separated4 ,this follows from what has just been said4 ,and if evil cannot be separated from good and good from evil1 a person can be neither in heaven nor in hell4 ,everyone must be in one or the other2 he cannot be in both2 for so he would be now in heaven and now in hell2 and in heaven he would act in hell's favor and in hell act in heaven's favor4 ,he would thus destroy the life of all around him1 heavenly life among the angels and infernal life among the devils2 as a result everyone's life would perish4 ,for everyone must live his own life2 no one lives a life foreign to his own1 still less one opposed to it4 ,hence1 in every man after death1 when he becomes a spirit or a spiritual being1 the ,lord separates good from evil and evil from good1 good from evil in those who are inwardly in evil1 and evil from good in those inwardly in good4 ,this accords with ,his own words3 ,to every one who has1 shall be given1 that he may abound1 and from him who has not1 shall even what he has be taken away 7,mt #ac3ab2 #be3bi2 ,mk #d3be2 ,lu #h3ah2 #ai3bf74 #e ,fifth3 ,since good and evil in anyone must be separated and in such a person cannot be1 he is destroyed in all that is truly human4 ,as was shown earlier1 everyone has what is truly human from rationality1 in that he can see and know what is true and good if he wishes1 and from liberty1 enabling him to will1 think1 speak and do it4 ,but this liberty has been destroyed along with their rationality in those who have commingled good and evil in themselves1 for they cannot from good see evil1 nor from evil recognize good2 the two make one in them4 ,hence they no longer possess rationality in any efficacy or power1 nor any liberty4 ,for this reason they are like the sheerest wild fantasies1 as we said above1 and no longer look like men but like bones covered with skin1 and therefore when mentioned are referred to not as he or she but it4 ,such is the lot of those who have commingled sacred and profane in the manner we have described4 ,there are several kinds of profanation which are not of this character1 however2 of them in a later section4 #bbh4 ,no one can profane holy things in the way described who is ignorant of them4 ,for one who is ignorant of them cannot acknowledge them and then deny them4 ,those1 therefore1 who are outside ,christendom and know nothing of the ,lord or of redemption and salvation at ,his hands do not profane the holiness of this in not accepting it or even by speaking against it4 ,the ,jews do not profane its sanctity1 for from infancy they have no desire to receive and acknowledge it4 ,it would be otherwise if they received and acknowledged it and afterwards denied it4 ,this seldom occurs1 however2 for many among them acknowledge it outwardly but deny it inwardly and are like hypocrites4 ,but those who first accept and acknowledge and later lapse and deny1 are the ones who profane holy things by mingling them with profane4 #b ,it is beside the point here that holy things are accepted and acknowledged in infancy and childhood1 as they are by every ,christian4 ,for what pertains to faith and charity is not accepted and acknowledged at that age from any rationality and liberty1 that is1 in the understanding from the will1 but only by the memory and from confidence in the teacher2 and if the life is in accord it is so by blind obedience4 ,if1 however1 on coming into the exercise of his rationality and freedom1 which one does gradually in growing up to youth and manhood1 a man acknowledges truths and lives by them only later to deny them1 he does mingle the holy with the profane and 7as was said above7 from being human becomes a monster4 ,on the other hand1 if a man is in evil after attaining rationality and freedom1 that is1 after becoming his own master1 even in his early manhood1 but later acknowledges truths of faith and lives by them and remains in them also to the close of life1 he does not commingle the holy and the profane4 ,the ,lord then severs the evils of his earlier life from the good of his later life1 as is done with all who repent4 ,of this more will be said in what follows4 #bbi4 7iii7 ,there are many kinds of profanation of what is holy1 but this kind is the worst of all4 ,in the widest sense by profanation all impiety is meant1 and by profaners1 therefore1 all the impious who at heart deny ,god1 the holiness of the ,word1 and consequently the spiritual things of the church which are essentially holy1 and who also speak of them impiously4 ,we are not now treating of such profaners but of those who profess ,god1 uphold the holiness of the ,word1 and acknowledge the spiritual things of the church 7yet most persons do so with the lips only74 ,these commit profanation for the reason that holiness from the ,word is in them and with them1 and this which is in them1 part of their understanding and will1 they profane4 ,but in the impious who deny the ,divine and divine things1 there is nothing holy which they can profane2 they are profaners1 of course1 but still not profane as the others are4 #bcj4 ,the profanation of what is holy is meant in the second precept of the ,decalog1 ,you shall not profane the name of your ,god1 and that it ought not to be profaned is meant in the ,lord's ,prayer by ,hallowed be ,thy name4 ,hardly anyone in ,christendom understands what is meant by ,god's name4 ,the reason for this is that in the spiritual world names are not what they are in this world2 everyone has a name in accord with the character of his love and wisdom4 ,as soon as he enters a society or into fellowship with others he is named according to his character4 ,this can be done in spiritual language1 which is such that it can give a name to everything1 for each letter in the alphabet signifies some one thing1 and the several letters combined in a word1 making a person's name1 involve the whole state of the subject4 ,this is among the wonders in the spiritual world4 #b ,from this it is plain that by the name of ,god in the ,word1 ,god with all the divine in ,him and proceeding from ,him is signified4 ,and as the ,word is the divine proceeding1 it is ,god's name1 and as all the divine things which are called the spiritual things of the church are from the ,word1 they1 too1 are ,god's name4 ,it may be seen then what is meant in the second commandment of the ,decalog by ,you shall not profane the name of ,god 7,ex #bj3g72 and in the ,lord's ,prayer by ,hallowed be ,thy name 7,mt #f3i74 ,the name of ,god and of the ,lord has a like signification in many passages in the ,word of either ,testament1 as in ,mt #g3bb2 #aj3bb2 #ah3e1 #bj2 #ai3bi2 #ba3i2 #bd3i1 #aj2 ,jn #a3ab2 #b3bc2 #c3ag1 #ah2 #ab3ac1 #bh2 #ad3ad-af2 #af3bc1 #bd1 #bf1 #bg2 #ag3f2 #bj3ca2 besides other passages1 and in very many in the ,old ,testament4 #c ,one who knows this significance of name can know what is signified by these words of the ,lord3 ,whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward2 whoever receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward 4 4 4 and whoever will give one of these little ones to drink a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple 4 4 4 shall not lose a reward 7,mt #aj3da1 #db74 ,one who understands by the name of a prophet1 of a righteous man and of a disciple only a prophet1 a righteous man and a disciple knows only the sense of the letter in that passage4 ,nor does he know what is signified by a prophet's reward1 a righteous man's reward1 or by the reward given a disciple for a cup of cold water1 when yet by the name and reward of a prophet the state and happiness of those who are in divine truths is meant2 by the name and reward of a righteous man is meant the state and happiness of those in divine goods2 by a disciple is meant the state of those who are in a measure of the spiritual things of the church1 and by a cup of cold water is meant a measure of truth4 #d ,that the nature of a state of love and wisdom or of good and truth is meant by name is also made evident by these words of the ,lord3 ,he who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep2 the porter opens to him1 and the sheep hear his voice2 he calls his own sheep by name1 and leads them out 7,jn #aj3b1 #c74 ,to call the sheep by name is to teach and lead everyone who is in the good of charity according to the state of his love and wisdom2 by the door the ,lord is meant1 as verse #i makes plain3 ,i am the door2 if a man enters by ,me1 he will be saved 7,jn #aj3i74 ,it is clear from this that for one to be saved the ,lord ,himself is to be approached2 one who does so is a shepherd of the sheep and one who does not is a thief' and a robber 7so the first verse of the chapter74 #bca4 ,profanation of what is holy is predicated of those who know truths of faith and goods of charity from the ,word and also acknowledge them in some measure1 not of those who do not know them1 nor of those who impiously reject them altogether4 ,therefore what now follows is said of the former1 not of the latter2 by the former many kinds of profanation1 lighter and graver1 are committed1 but they may be summed up in the seven following4 ,a first kind of profanation on their part is making jokes from the ,word or about the ,word1 or of and about the divine things of the church4 ,some do this from a bad habit1 picking names or expressions from the ,word and mingling them with unseemly and sometimes filthy speech4 ,this cannot be done without some contempt being added for the ,word4 ,yet the ,word in each and all things is divine and holy2 every expression in it stores in its bosom something divine and by means of it gives communication with heaven4 ,this kind of profanation is lighter or more grave according to one's acknowledgment of the sacredness of the ,word and to the unseemliness of the comment into which it is brought by those who jest about it4 #b ,a second kind of profanation by those under discussion is that while they understand and acknowledge divine truths1 they live contrary to them4 ,those who only understand profane more lightly1 and those who also acknowledge profane more seriously2 for the understanding only teaches quite as a preacher does1 but does not of itself unite with the will1 but acknowledgment does1 for one cannot acknowledge anything without the consent of the will4 ,still this union with the will varies and the profanation is according to the measure of it in living contrary to acknowledged truths4 ,thus if one acknowledges that revenge and hatred1 adultery and fornication1 fraud and deceit1 blasphemy and lying are sins against ,god and yet commits them1 he is therefore in the more grievous of this kind of profanation4 ,for the ,lord says3 ,the servant who knows his lord's will and does not do it1 shall be beaten with many strokes 7,lu #ab3dg74 ,and again1 ,if you were blind1 you would not have sin1 but you say1 ,we see2 therefore your sin remains 7,in #i3da74 ,but it is one thing to acknowledge apparent truths and another to acknowledge genuine truths4 ,those who acknowledge genuine truths and yet do not live by them appear in the spiritual world to be without the light and warmth of life in voice and speech1 as though they were so much inertness4 #c ,a third kind of profanation is committed by those who apply the sense of the letter of the ,word to confirm evil loves and false principles4 ,this is because the confirmation of falsity is the denial of truth1 and the confirmation of evil is a rejection of good4 ,in its bosom the ,word is nothing but divine truth and good4 ,but this does not appear in the lowest sense or sense of the letter in genuine truths1 except where the ,lord and the very way of salvation are taught1 but in clothed truths1 called appearances of truth4 ,that sense can therefore be seized upon to confirm heresies of many kinds4 ,but one who confirms evil loves does violence to divine goods1 and one who confirms false principles does violence to divine truths4 ,the latter violence is called falsification of truth and the former adulteration of good2 both are meant by bloods99 in the ,word4 ,for a spiritual holiness1 which is also the spirit of truth proceeding from the ,lord1 is in every particular of the sense of the letter of the ,word4 ,this holiness is injured when the ,word is falsified and adulterated4 ,it is plain that this is profanation4 99 ,plural in the ,hebrew1 especially of blood that has been shed4 ,both is emphatic here1 and for the significance of the plural see ,arcana ,caelestia1 n4 #cgd;e and ,apocalypse ,explained1 n4 #cbi7bg74 #d ,a fourth kind of profanation is committed by those who utter pious and holy things and also counterfeit affections of a love for them in tone and manner1 and yet at heart do not believe and love them4 ,most of these are hypocrites and ,pharisees who are deprived after death of all truth and good and thereupon are sent into outer darkness4 ,those who have confirmed themselves by this kind of profanation against the ,divine and against the ,word and thus against the spiritual things of the ,word1 sit in outer darkness dumb1 unable to speak1 wanting to babble pious and holy things as they did in the world1 but unable to do so4 ,for in the spiritual world everyone is compelled to speak as he thinks4 ,a hypocrite1 however1 wants to speak otherwise than he thinks1 but there is impediment in the tongue as a result of which he can only mumble4 ,hypocrisies are lighter or more grave in the measure of the confirmation against ,god and of the outward rationalizing in favor of ,god4 #e ,a fifth kind of profanation is committed by those who ascribe to themselves what is divine4 ,these are meant by ,lucifer in ,isaiah #ad2 and by ,lucifer ,babylon is meant1 as is plain from verses #d and #bd of that chapter1 where the fate1 too1 of such profaners is described4 ,the same profaners are also meant and described in the ,apocalypse 7chapter #ag7 under the harlot seated on the scarlet beast4 ,babylon and ,chaldea are mentioned at many places in the ,word2 by ,babylon profanation of good is meant and by ,chaldea profanation of truth2 the one and the other committed by those who ascribe to themselves what is divine4 #f ,a sixth kind of profanation is committed by those who acknowledge the ,word but deny the divine of the ,lord4 ,in the world they are called ,socinians and some ,arians4 ,the lot of both is that they invoke the ,father and not the ,lord and keep praying the ,father1 some of them for the sake of the ,son1 that they may be admitted to heaven1 but in vain1 until they lose hope of salvation4 ,they are then sent down to hell among deniers of ,god4 ,they are meant by those who blaspheme the ,holy ,spirit and who will not be forgiven in this world or that to come 7,mt #ab3cb74 ,for ,god is one in person and essence1 in ,him is the ,trinity1 and this ,god is the ,lord4 ,since the ,lord is heaven also and thus those in heaven are in the ,lord1 those who deny the divine of the ,lord cannot be admitted to heaven and be in the ,lord4 ,it was shown above that the ,lord is heaven and that those in heaven are therefore in ,him4 #g ,the seventh kind of profanation is committed by those who first acknowledge and live by divine truths and then recede from them and deny them4 ,this is the worst kind of profanation because holy things are mixed by them with profane to the point where they cannot be separated4 ,yet they must be separated for one to be either in heaven or in hell1 and as this cannot be accomplished with them1 all that is human1 either of the understanding or of the will1 is rooted out1 and they become1 as we said1 no longer human beings4 ,almost the same occurs with those who acknowledge the divine things of the ,word and of the church at heart but immerse them entirely in their proprium1 which is a love of ruling over all things1 of which much has been said before4 ,after death1 when they become spirits1 they do not want to be led by the ,lord but by themselves4 ,when loose rein is given their love1 they want to rule not only over heaven but over the ,lord1 too2 and as they cannot do this1 they deny the ,lord and become devils4 ,it should be known that the life's love1 which is one's reigning love1 remains with everyone after death and cannot be taken away4 #h ,profaners of this class are meant by the lukewarm1 of whom it is written in the ,apocalypse3 ,i know your works1 that you are neither cold nor hot2 would that you were cold or hot2 but because you are lukewarm1 and neither cold nor hot1 ,i will spue you out of my mouth 7#c3ad1 #ae1 #af74 ,this manner of profanation is also described by the ,lord in ,matthew3 ,when the unclean spirit goes out from a man1 he walks through dry places1 seeking rest but finds none4 ,then he says1 ,i will return to the house whence ,i came out4 ,when he returns and finds it empty1 swept and garnished for him1 he goes and gathers to him seven other spirits worse than himself1 and they enter and dwell there2 and the last state of the man is worse than the first 7#ab3dc-de74 ,the conversion of the man is described by the unclean spirit's going out of him2 his reverting to his former evils when things good and true have been cast out1 is described by the return of the unclean spirit with seven worse than himself into the house garnished for him2 and the profanation of the holy by what is profane is described by the last state of that man being worse than the first4 ,the same is meant by this passage in ,john1 ,jesus said to the man healed in the pool of ,bethesda3 ,sin no more1 lest something worse befall you 7#e3ad74 #i ,that the ,lord provides that man shall not acknowledge truths inwardly and afterwards leave them and become profane1 is meant by these words3 ,he has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart1 that they should not see with their eyes and understand with their heart1 and be converted1 and ,i should heal them 7,jn #ab3dj74 ,lest they should be converted1 and ,i should heal them signifies lest they should acknowledge truths and then depart from them and thus become profane4 ,for the same reason the ,lord spoke in parables1 as ,he ,himself says 7,mt #ac3ac74 ,the ,jews were forbidden to eat fat and blood 7,lev #c3ag1 #g3ac1 #be 72 this signifies that they were not to profane holy things1 for fat signifies divine good and blood divine truth4 ,in ,matthew the ,lord teaches that once converted a man must continue in good and truth to the close of life3 ,jesus said3 ,whosoever perseveres to the end1 shall be saved 7#aj3bj2 similarly ,mk #ac3ac74 #bcb4 7iv7 ,the ,lord therefore does not admit man interiorly into truths of wisdom and at the same time into goods of love except as man can be kept in them to the close of life4 ,to demonstrate this we must proceed by steps for two reasons2 one1 because it concerns human salvation1 and the other1 because a knowledge of the laws of permission 7to be considered in the next chapter7 depends on a knowledge of this law4 ,it concerns human salvation1 because1 as has just been said1 one who first acknowledges what is divine in ,word and church and subsequently departs from them profanes what is holy most grievously4 ,in order1 then1 that this arcanum of divine providence may be revealed so that the rational man can see it in his own light1 it is to be unfolded as follows3 #a4 ,evil and good cannot exist together in man's interior being1 consequently neither can the falsity of evil and the truth of good4 #b4 ,good and the truth of good can be introduced into man's interior being only so far as evil and the falsity of evil there have been removed4 #c4 ,if good with its truth were introduced there before or further than evil with its falsity is removed1 man would depart from the good and go back to his evil4 #d4 ,when man is in evil many truths may be introduced into his understanding and kept in memory1 and yet not be profaned4 #e4 ,but the ,lord in ,his divine providence takes the greatest care that they are not received from the understanding by the will sooner or more largely than man as of himself removes evil in the external man4 #f4 ,should it welcome them sooner or in larger measure1 the will would adulterate good and the understanding would falsify truth by mingling them with evils and falsities4 #g4 ,the ,lord therefore admits man inwardly into truths of wisdom and goods of love only so far as man can be kept in them to the close of life4 #bcc4 ,in order1 then1 that this arcanum of divine providence may be disclosed so that the rational man will see it in his light1 the points made will be explained one by one4 #a4 ,evil and good cannot exist together in man's interior being1 consequently neither can the falsity of evil and the truth of good4 ,by man's interiors the internal of his thought is meant4 ,of this he knows nothing until he comes into the spiritual world and its light1 which happens on death4 ,in the natural world it can be known only by the enjoyment of his love in the external of his thought1 and from evils themselves as he examines them in himself4 ,for the internal of thought in man is so closely connected with the external of thought that they cannot be separated 7of this more may be seen above74 ,we say good and truth of good1 and evil and falsity of evil because good cannot exist apart from its truth nor evil apart from its falsity4 ,they are bedfellows or partners1 for the life of good is from its truth and the life of truth is from its good2 the same is to be said of evil and its falsity4 #b ,the rational man can see without explanation that evil with its falsity and good with its truth cannot exist in man's interiors at the same time4 ,for evil is the opposite of good and good the opposite of evil2 two opposites cannot coexist4 ,implanted in all evil1 moreover1 is a hatred for good1 and implanted in all good the love of protecting itself against evil and removing it from itself4 ,consequently one cannot be where the other is4 ,if they were together conflict and combat would start and destruction ensue1 as the ,lord teaches also in these words3 ,every kingdom divided against itself is desolated1 and every city or house divided against itself does not stand 4 4 4 ,whoever is not with me is against me1 and whoever does not gather with me disperses 7,mt #be3cj72 and in another place1 ,no one can serve two masters at the same time3 for either he will hate the one and love the other 4 4 4 7,mt #f3bd74 ,two opposites are impossible in one substance or form without its being torn apart and destroyed4 ,if one should advance and approach the other1 they would keep apart like two enemies1 one retiring to his camp or fort1 and the other posting himself outside4 ,this happens with evil and good in a hypocrite2 he harbors both1 but the evil is inside and the good outside and so the two are separate and not mingled4 ,it is plain then that evil with its falsity and good with its truth cannot coexist4 #c #b4 ,good and the truth of good can be introduced into man's interiors only so far as evil and the falsity of evil there have been removed4 ,this is a necessary consequence from what has preceded1 for as evil and good cannot exist together1 good cannot be introduced before evil has been removed4 ,we say man's interiors and mean by these the internal of thought2 and in these1 now being considered1 either the ,lord or the devil must be present4 ,the ,lord is there after reformation and the devil before reformation4 ,so far as man suffers himself to be reformed1 therefore1 the devil is cast out1 but so far as he does not suffer himself to be reformed the devil remains4 ,anyone can see that the ,lord cannot enter as long as the devil is there1 and he is there as long as man keeps the door closed where man acts together with the ,lord4 ,the ,lord teaches in the ,apocalypse that ,he enters when that door is opened by man's mediation3 ,i stand at the door1 and knock2 if anyone hears my voice1 and opens the door1 ,i will come in to him1 and sup with him1 and he with ,me 7#c3bj74 ,the door is opened by man's removing evil1 fleeing and turning away from it as infernal and diabolical4 ,whether one says evil or the devil1 it is one and the same1 in turn whether one says good or the ,lord1 for within all good is the ,lord and within all evil is the devil4 ,from these considerations the truth of this proposition is plain4 #d #c4 ,if good with its truth were introduced before or further than evil with its falsity is removed1 man would depart from the good and go back to his evil4 ,this is because evil would be the stronger1 and what is stronger conquers1 eventually if not then4 ,as long as evil is stronger1 good cannot be introduced into the inner chambers but only into the entry hall2 for evil and good1 as we said1 cannot exist together1 and what is in the entry hall is removed by its enemy in the chamber4 ,thus good is receded from and evil is returned to1 which is the worst kind of profanation4 #e ,furthermore1 it is the enjoyment of man's life to love himself and the world above all else4 ,this enjoyment cannot be removed in a moment1 but only gradually4 ,in the measure in which it remains in man1 evil is stronger in him and can be removed only as self-love becomes a love of uses1 or as the love of ruling is not for its own sake but for the sake of uses4 ,uses then make the head1 and self-love or the love of ruling is at first the body under the head and finally the feet1 on which to walk4 ,who does not see that good should be the head1 and that when it is1 the ,lord is there8 ,good and use are one4 ,who does not see that when evil is the head1 the devil is there8 ,as civil and moral good and1 in its external form1 spiritual good1 too1 are still to be received1 who does not see that these then constitute the feet and the soles of the feet1 and are trodden on8 #f ,inasmuch1 then1 as man's state of life is to be inverted so that what is uppermost may be lowermost1 and the inversion cannot be instantaneous1 for the chief enjoyment of his life1 coming of self-love and the love of ruling1 can be diminished and turned into a love of uses only gradually1 the ,lord cannot introduce good sooner or further than this evil is removed2 done earlier or further1 man would recede from good and return to his evil4 #g #d4 ,when man is in evil many truths may be introduced into his understanding and kept in memory1 and still not be profaned4 ,this is because the understanding does not flow into the will1 but the will into the understanding4 ,as the understanding does not flow into the will1 many truths can be received by the understanding and held in memory and still not be mingled with the evil in the will1 and the holy thus not profaned4 ,moreover1 it is incumbent on everyone to learn truths from the ,word or from preaching1 to lay them up in the memory and to think about them4 ,for by truths held in the memory and entering into the thought1 the understanding is to teach the will1 that is1 the man1 what he should do4 ,this is therefore the chief means of reformation4 ,truths that are only in the understanding and thence in the memory are not in man but outside him4 #h ,man's memory may be compared to the ruminatory stomach of certain animals in which they put their food2 as long as it is there1 it is not in but outside their body2 as they draw it thence and consume it1 it becomes part of their life1 and their body is nourished4 ,the food in man's memory is not material but spiritual1 namely truths1 rightly knowledges2 so far as he takes them thence by thinking1 which is like ruminating1 his spiritual mind is nourished4 ,it is the will's love that has the desire and the appetite1 so to speak1 and that causes them to be taken thence and to be nourishing4 ,if that love is evil1 it desires or has an appetite for what is unclean1 but if good1 for what is clean1 and sets aside1 rejects and casts out what is unsuitable2 this is done in various ways4 #i #e4 ,but the ,lord in ,his divine providence takes the greatest care that truths are not received from the understanding by the will sooner or more largely than man as of himself removes evil in his external man4 ,for what is from the will enters man1 is appropriated to him1 and becomes part of his life1 and in that life1 which is man's from the will1 evil and good cannot exist together1 for so he would perish4 ,the two may1 however1 be in the understanding1 where they are called falsities of evil and truths of good1 and without being mingled2 else man could not behold evil from good or know good from evil2 but there they are distinguishable and separated like the inner and outer sections of a house4 ,when a wicked man thinks and speaks what is good1 he is thinking and speaking externally to himself1 but inwardly when he thinks and speaks what is evil2 his speech1 therefore1 when he speaks what is good1 comes off a wall1 as it were4 ,it can be likened to fruit fair outside but wormy and decayed inside1 or to the shell1 especially1 of a serpent's egg4 #aj #f4 ,should the will welcome truths sooner or in larger measure1 it would adulterate good and the understanding would falsify truth by mingling them with evils and falsities4 ,when the will is in evil1 it adulterates good in the understanding1 and good adulterated in the understanding is evil in the will1 for it confirms that evil is good and good is evil4 ,so evil deals with all good1 which is its opposite4 ,evil also falsifies truth1 for truth of good is the opposite of the falsity of evil2 this is done in the understanding by the will1 and not by the understanding alone4 ,adulterations of good are depicted in the ,word by adulteries and falsifications of truth by whoredoms4 ,these adulterations and falsifications are effected by reasonings from the natural man which is in evil1 and also by confirmations of appearances in the sense of the letter of the ,word4 #aa ,the love of self1 the head of all evils1 surpasses other loves in the ability to adulterate goods and falsify truths1 and it does this by misuse of the rationality which every man1 wicked as well as good1 enjoys from the ,lord4 ,by confirmations it can in fact make evil look exactly like good and falsity like truth4 ,what can it not do when it can prove by a thousand arguments that nature created itself and then created human beings1 animals and plants of every kind1 and also prove that by influx from within itself nature causes men to live1 to think analytically and to understand wisely8 ,self-love excels in ability to prove whatever it desires because a certain glamour of varicolored light overlays it4 ,this glamour is the vainglory of that love in being wise and thus also of being eminent and dominant4 #ab ,and yet1 when self-love has proved such things1 it becomes so blind that it sees man only as a beast1 and that man and beast both think1 and if a beast could also speak1 conceives it would be man in another form4 ,if it were induced by some manner of persuasion to believe that something of the human being survives death1 it then is so blind as to believe that the beast also survives2 and that the something which lives after death is only a subtle exhalation of life1 like a vapor1 constantly falling back to its corpse1 or is something vital without sight1 hearing or speech1 and so is blind1 deaf and dumb1 soaring about and cogitating4 ,self-love entertains many other insanities with which nature1 in itself dead1 inspires its fantasy4 ,such is the effect of self-love1 which regarded in itself is love of the proprium4 ,man's proprium1 in respect of its affections which are all natural1 is not unlike the life of a beast1 and in respect of its perceptions1 inasmuch as they spring from these affections1 is not unlike a bird of night4 ,one who constantly immerses his thoughts in his proprium1 therefore1 cannot be raised out of natural light into spiritual light and see anything of ,god1 heaven or eternal life4 ,since the love of the proprium is of this nature and yet excels in the ability to confirm whatever it pleases1 it has a similar ability to adulterate the goods of the ,word and falsify its truths1 even while it is constrained by some necessity to confess them4 #ac #g4 ,the ,lord therefore does not admit man inwardly into truths of wisdom and goods of love except as man can be kept in them to the close of life4 ,the ,lord does this lest man fall into that most serious kind of profanation of which we have treated in this chapter4 ,in view of that peril the ,lord also tolerates evils of life and many heresies in worship1 the tolerance of which will be the subject of the following chapter4 ,,xiii4 ,,laws ,,on ,,permission ,,are ,,also ,,laws ,,of ,,divine ,,providence #bcd4 ,there are no laws of permission per se or apart from the laws of divine providence2 rather they are the same4 ,hence to say that ,god permits something does not mean that ,he wills it1 but that ,he cannot avert it in view of the end1 which is salvation4 ,whatever is done for the sake of that end is in accord with the laws of divine providence4 ,for divine providence1 as was said1 constantly travels in a different direction from that of man's will and against his will1 always intent on its objective4 ,at each moment of its activity or at each step in its progress1 as it perceives man straying from that end1 it directs1 turns and disposes him according to its laws1 leading him away from evil and to good4 ,it will be seen in what follows that this cannot be done without the tolerance of evil4 ,furthermore1 nothing can be permitted for no cause1 and the cause can only be in some law of divine providence1 explaining why it is permitted4 #bce4 ,one who does not acknowledge divine providence at all does not acknowledge ,god at heart1 but nature instead of ,god1 and human prudence instead of divine providence4 ,this does not appear to be so because man can think and speak in two ways4 ,he can think and speak in one way from his inner self and in another from his outer self4 ,this capability is like a hinge that lets a door swing either way1 in one direction as one enters1 in the other as one leaves2 or like a sail which can take a ship one way or the other as the skipper spreads it4 ,those who have confirmed themselves in favor of human prudence to the denial of divine providence see nothing else as long as they are in this way of thinking1 no matter what they see1 hear or read1 nor can they1 for they accept nothing from heaven but only from themselves4 ,as they draw their conclusions from appearances and fallacies alone and see nothing else1 they can swear that prudence is all4 ,if they also recognize nature only1 they become enraged at defenders of divine providence1 except that they think when these are priests they are simply pursuing their teaching and office4 #bcf4 ,we will enumerate now some things that are tolerated and yet are in accord with laws of divine providence1 by which1 however1 the merely natural man confirms himself in favor of nature and against ,god and in favor of human prudence and against divine providence4 ,for instance he reads in the ,word that3 #a4 ,adam1 wisest of men1 and his wife allowed themselves to be led astray by the serpent1 and ,god did not avert this in ,his divine providence4 #b4 ,their first son1 ,cain1 killed his brother ,abel1 and ,god did not speak to him and dissuade him but only afterwards cursed him4 #c4 ,the ,israelites worshiped a golden calf in the wilderness and acknowledged it as the god that had brought them out of ,egypt1 yet ,jehovah saw this from ,mt4 ,sinai near by and did not warn against it4 #d4 ,david numbered the people and as a consequence a pestilence befell them in which so many thousands of them perished2 ,god sent the prophet ,gad to him not before but after the deed and denounced punishment4 #e4 ,solomon was allowed to establish idolatrous worship4 #f4 ,after him many kings were allowed to profane the temple and the sacred things of the church4 #g4 ,and finally that nation was permitted to crucify the ,lord4 ,one who hails nature and human prudence sees nothing but what contradicts divine providence in these and many other passages of the ,word4 ,he can use them as arguments in denial of providence1 if not in his outward thought nearest to speech1 still in his inner thought1 remote from it4 #bcg4 ,every worshiper of self and nature confirms himself against divine providence3 #a4 ,when he sees such numbers of wicked in the world and so many of their impieties and how some glory in them1 and sees the men go unpunished by ,god4 #b4 ,he confirms himself the more against divine providence when he sees plots1 schemes and frauds succeed even against the devout1 just and sincere1 and injustice triumph over justice in the courts and in business4 #c4 ,he confirms himself especially on seeing the impious advanced to honors and becoming leaders in the state or in the church1 abounding1 too1 in riches and living in luxury and magnificence1 and on the other hand sees worshipers of ,god despised and poor4 #d4 ,he also confirms himself against divine providence when he reflects that wars are permitted and the slaughter of so many in them and the looting of so many cities1 nations and families4 #e4 ,furthermore1 he reflects that victories are on the side of prudence and not always on the side of justice1 and that it is immaterial whether a commander is upright or not4 ,besides many other things of the kind1 all of which are permissions according to laws of divine providence4 #bch4 ,the same natural man confirms himself against divine providence when he observes how religion is circumstanced in various nations4 #a4 ,some are totally ignorant of ,god2 some worship the sun and moon2 others idols and monstrous graven images1 dead men also4 #b4 ,he notes especially that the ,mohammedan religion is accepted by so many empires and kingdoms4 #c4 ,he notes that the ,christian religion is found only in a very small part of the habitable globe1 called ,europe1 and is divided there4 #d4 ,also that some in ,christendom arrogate divine power to themselves1 want to be worshiped as gods1 and invoke the dead4 #e4 ,and there are those who place salvation in certain phrases which they are to think and speak and not at all in good works which they are to do2 likewise there are few who live their religion4 #f4 ,besides there are heretical ideas2 these have been many and some exist today1 like those of the ,quakers1 ,moravians and ,anabaptists1 besides others4 #g4 ,judaism also persists4 ,as a result1 one who denies divine providence concludes that religion in itself is nothing1 but still is needed to serve as a restraint4 #bci4 ,to these more arguments can be added today by which those who think interiorly in favor of nature and of human prudence alone can still further confirm themselves4 ,for example3 #a4 ,all ,christendom has acknowledged three ,gods1 not knowing that ,god is one in essence and in person and that ,he is the ,lord4 #b4 ,it has not been known before this that there is a spiritual sense in each particular of the ,word from which it derives its holiness4 #c4 ,again1 ,christians have not known that to avoid evils as sins is the ,christian religion itself4 #d4 ,it has also been unknown that the human being lives as such after death4 ,for men may ask themselves and one another1 ,why does divine providence1 if it exists1 reveal such things for the first time now8 #bdj4 ,all the points listed in nn4 #bcf-bci have been put forward in order that it may be seen that each and all things which take place in the world are of divine providence2 consequently divine providence is in the least of man's thoughts and actions and thereby is universal4 ,but this cannot be seen unless the points are taken up one by one2 therefore they will be explained briefly in the order in which they were listed1 beginning with n4 #bcf4 #bda4 ,the wisest of human beings1 ,adam and his wife1 allowed themselves to be led astray by the serpent1 and ,god in ,his divine providence did not avert this4 ,this is because by ,adam and his wife the first human beings created in the world are not meant1 but the people of the ,most ,ancient ,church1 whose new creation or regeneration is described thus3 their creation anew or regeneration in ,genesis #a by the creation of heaven and earth2 their wisdom and intelligence by the ,garden of ,eden2 and the end of that church by their eating of the tree of knowledge4 ,for the ,word in its bosom is spiritual1 containing arcana of divine wisdom1 and in order to contain them has been composed throughout in correspondences and representations4 ,it is plain then that the men of that church1 who at first were the wisest of men but finally became the worst through pride in their own intelligence1 were led astray not by a serpent but by self-love1 meant in ,genesis by the serpent's head1 which the ,seed of the woman1 namely1 the ,lord1 was to trample4 #b ,who cannot see from reason that other things are meant than those recorded literally like history8 ,for who can understand that the world could be created as there described8 ,the learned therefore labor over the explanation of the things in the first chapter1 finally confessing that they do not understand them4 ,so of the two trees placed in the garden or paradise1 one of life and the other of knowledge1 the latter as a stumbling-block4 ,again1 that just by eating of this tree they transgressed so greatly that not only they but their posterity--the whole human race--became subject to damnation2 further1 how any serpent could lead them astray2 besides other things1 as that the woman was created out of a rib of her husband2 that they recognized their nakedness after the fall and covered it with fig leaves2 that coats of skin were given them to cover the body2 and that cherubim with a flaming sword were stationed to guard the way to the tree of life4 #c ,all this is representative1 describing the establishment1 state1 alteration and finally destruction of the ,most ,ancient ,church4 ,the arcana involved1 contained in the spiritual sense which fills the details1 may be seen explained in ,arcana ,caelestia1 on ,genesis and ,exodus1 published at ,london4 ,there it may also be seen that by the tree of life the ,lord is meant as to ,his divine providence1 and by the tree of knowledge man is meant as to his own prudence4 #bdb4 ,their first son1 ,cain1 killed his brother ,abel1 and ,god did not speak to him and dissuade him1 but only afterwards cursed him4 ,as the ,most ,ancient ,church is meant by ,adam and his wife1 as we have just said1 the two essentials of a church1 love and wisdom or charity and faith are meant by their first sons1 ,cain and ,abel4 ,love and charity are meant by ,abel1 and wisdom and faith and in particular wisdom separate from love1 and faith separate from charity1 are meant by ,cain4 ,wisdom as well as faith when separate is of such a nature that it not only rejects love and charity1 but also destroys them and thus kills its brother4 ,it is well known in ,christendom that faith apart from charity does so2 see ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,faith4 #b ,the curse on ,cain portends the spiritual state into which those come after death who separate faith from charity or wisdom from love4 ,but lest wisdom or faith should perish1 a mark was put on ,cain lest he be slain1 for love cannot exist without wisdom1 nor charity without faith4 ,as almost the same thing is represented by this as by eating of the tree of knowledge1 it follows next after the account of ,adam and his wife4 ,moreover1 those in faith separate from charity are in intelligence of their own2 those who are in charity and thence in faith are in intelligence from the ,lord1 thus in divine providence4 #bdc4 ,the ,israelites worshiped a golden calf in the wilderness and acknowledged it as the god that had brought them out of ,egypt1 yet ,jehovah saw this from ,mt4 ,sinai near by and did not warn against it4 ,this occurred in the desert of ,sinai near the mountain4 ,it is in accordance with all the laws of divine providence recounted so far and with those to follow that ,jehovah did not restrain the ,israelites from that atrocious worship4 ,this evil was permitted them that they might not all perish4 ,for the children of ,israel were brought out of ,egypt to represent the ,lord's church2 they could not represent it unless the ,egyptian idolatry was first rooted out of their hearts4 ,this could not be done unless it was left to them to act upon what was in their hearts and then to remove it on being severely punished4 ,what further is signified by that worship1 by the threat that they would be entirely rejected1 and by the possibility that a new nation might be raised from ,moses1 may be seen in ,arcana ,caelestia on ,exodus #cb1 where these things are spoken of4 #bdd4 ,david numbered the people and as a consequence a pestilence befell them in which so many thousands of them perished2 ,god sent the prophet ,gad to him not before but after the deed and denounced punishment4 ,one who confirms himself against divine providence may have various thoughts about this also and ponder especially why ,david was not admonished first and why the people were so severely punished for the king's transgression4 ,that he was not warned first is in accord with the laws of divine providence already adduced1 especially with the two explained at nn4 #abi-aec and #aed-agd4 ,the people were so severely punished for the king's transgression and seventy thousand smitten by the pestilence not on account of the king but on account of themselves1 for we read ,the anger of ,jehovah kindled still more against ,israel2 therefore ,he incited ,david against them saying1 ,go1 number ,israel and ,judah 7#b ,sa #bd3a74 #bde4 ,solomon was allowed to establish idolatrous forms of worship4 ,for he was to represent the ,lord's kingdom or church in all varieties of religion in the world4 ,for the church established with the ,israelitish and ,jewish nation was a representative church2 all of its judgments and statutes represented the spiritual things of a church1 which are its internals4 ,the people represented the church1 the king the ,lord1 ,david the ,lord to come into the world1 ,solomon the ,lord after ,his coming4 ,as the ,lord after the glorification of ,his humanity had all power over heaven and earth 7as ,he said1 ,mt #bh3ah71 ,solomon as representative of ,him appeared in glory and magnificence1 was wise beyond all earthly kings1 and also built the temple4 ,moreover1 he permitted and set up the forms of worship of many nations1 by which the various religions of the world were represented4 ,his wives1 who numbered seven hundred and his concubines who numbered three hundred 7#a ,kgs #aa3ac71 had a similar signification1 for wife in the ,word signifies the church and concubine a form of religion4 ,hence it may be evident why it was granted ,solomon to build the temple1 by which the ,divine ,humanity of the ,lord 7,jn #b3ai1 #ba7 is signified and the church1 too2 and why he was allowed to establish idolatrous forms of worship and to take so many wives4 ,see ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,lord 7nn4 #dc1 #dd7 that in many places in the ,word the ,lord who was to come into the world is meant by ,david4 #bdf4 ,after ,solomon many kings were allowed to profane the temple and the sacred things of the church4 ,this was because the people represented the church and the king was their head4 ,the ,israelitish and ,jewish nation was of such a nature that they could not represent the church for long1 for at heart they were idolaters2 they therefore relapsed gradually from representative worship1 perverting all things of the church1 even to devastating it finally4 ,this was represented by the profanations of the temple by the kings and by the people's idolatries2 the full devastation of the church was represented by the destruction of the temple1 the carrying off of ,israel1 and the captivity of ,judah in ,babylon4 ,such was the cause of this toleration2 and what is done for some cause is done under divine providence according to one of its laws4 #bdg4 ,that nation was permitted to crucify the ,lord4 ,this was because the church with that nation was entirely devastated and had become such that they not only did not know or acknowledge the ,lord1 but hated ,him4 ,still1 all that they did to ,him was according to laws of ,his divine providence4 ,see in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,lord 7nn4 #ab-ad7 and in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,faith 7nn4 #cd1 #ce7 that the passion of the cross was the last temptation or battle by which the ,lord fully conquered the hells and fully glorified ,his ,humanity4 #bdh4 ,so far the points listed at n4 #bcf have been explained1 involving passages in the ,word by which the naturally minded reasoner may confirm himself against divine providence4 ,for1 as was said1 whatever such a man sees1 hears or reads he can make into an argument against providence4 ,few persons1 however1 confirm themselves against divine providence from incidents in the ,word1 but many do so from things before their eyes1 listed at n4 #bcg4 ,these are to be explained now in like manner4 #bdi4 ,every worshiper of self and of nature confirms himself against divine providence when he sees so many impious in the world and so many of their impieties and how some glory in them1 yet sees the impious go unpunished by ,god4 ,all impieties and all gloryings in them are permissions1 of which the causes are laws of divine providence4 ,each human being can freely1 indeed very freely1 think what he wills1 against ,god as well as in favor of ,god4 ,one who thinks against ,god is rarely punished in the natural world1 for he is always in a state to be reformed then1 but is punished in the spiritual world1 which is done after death1 for then he can no longer be reformed4 #b ,that laws of divine providence are the causes of tolerance is clear from the laws set forth above1 if you will recall and examine them4 ,they are3 that man shall act in freedom according to reason 7of this law above1 nn4 #ga-gi72 that he shall not be forced by external means to think and will1 thus to believe and love what is of religion1 but bring himself and sometimes compel himself to do so 7nn4 #abi-aec72 that there is no such thing as one's own prudence1 but there only appears to be and it should so appear1 but divine providence is universal from being in the least things 7nn4 #aia-bac72 divine providence looks to what is eternal1 and to the temporal only as this makes one with the eternal 7nn4 #bad-bbj72 man is not admitted inwardly into truths of faith and goods of charity except as he can be kept in them to the close of life 7nn4 #bba-bcc74 #c ,that the laws of divine providence are the causes of tolerance will also be evident from the following1 for one thing from this3 evils are tolerated because of the end1 which is salvation4 ,again from this3 that divine providence is continual with the wicked as well as with the good4 ,and finally from this3 the ,lord cannot act contrary to the laws of ,his divine providence because to do so would be to act contrary to ,his divine love and wisdom1 thus contrary to ,himself4 ,brought together1 these laws can make the causes manifest why impieties are tolerated by the ,lord and are not punished while they exist in the thought only and rarely1 too1 while they exist in intention1 thus in the will but not in act4 ,yet its own punishment follows every evil2 it is as if its punishment were inscribed on an evil1 and the impious man suffers it after death4 #d ,these considerations also explain the next point1 listed at n4 #bcg3 ,the worshiper of self and of nature confirms himself still more against divine providence when he sees plots1 schemes and frauds succeed even against the devout1 just and sincere1 and injustice triumph over justice in the courts and in business4 ,all the laws of divine providence have requirements2 and as they are the causes why such things are permitted1 it is plain that for man to live as a human being and be reformed and saved1 these things can be removed from him by the ,lord only through means4 ,the ,word and1 in particular1 the precepts of the ,decalog are the means with those who acknowledge all kinds of murder1 adultery1 theft and false witness to be sins4 ,with those who do not acknowledge such things as sins1 they are removed by means of the civil laws and fear of their penalties and by means also of the moral laws and fear of disrepute and consequent loss of standing and wealth4 ,by the latter means the ,lord leads the evil1 but only away from doing such things1 not from thinking and willing them4 ,but by the former means ,he leads the good1 not only away from doing them1 but from thinking and willing them1 too4 #bej4 ,the worshiper of self and of nature confirms himself against divine providence on seeing the impious advanced to honors and becoming leaders in the state and in the church1 abounding1 too1 in riches and living in luxury and magnificence1 and on the other hand sees worshipers of ,god despised and poor4 ,a worshiper of self and of nature believes that standing and riches are the greatest and the one felicity possible1 thus felicity itself4 ,if he has some thought of ,god as a result of worship begun in childhood1 he calls them divine blessings1 and as long as he is not elated by them he thinks that there is a ,god and worships ,him4 ,but in the worship there lurks a desire1 of which he is unaware then1 to be advanced by ,god to still higher standing and to still greater wealth4 ,if he attains them1 his worship tends more and more to externalities until it slips away and at last he makes little account of ,god and denies ,him4 ,the same thing occurs if he is cast down from the standing and loses the riches on which he has set his heart4 ,what1 then1 are standing and riches to the wicked but stumbling blocks8 #b ,to the good they are not1 for these do not set their heart on them1 but on the uses or goods for rendering which standing and wealth serve as means4 ,hence only a worshiper of self and of nature can confirm himself against divine providence because the impious are advanced to honors and become leaders in the state and in the church4 ,moreover1 what is greater or less standing1 or greater or less wealth8 ,is this not in itself imaginary8 ,is one person more blessed and happier than another for it8 ,is a great man's standing1 or even a king's or an emperor's1 not regarded in a year's time as a commonplace1 no longer exalting his heart with joy but quite possibly becoming worthless to him8 ,have those with standing a larger measure of happiness than those with little standing or even the least standing1 like farmers and their hands8 ,may not these enjoy more happiness when it is well with them and they are content with their lot8 ,what is more unquiet at heart1 more often provoked1 or more violently enraged than self-love8 ,it happens as often as it is not honored to suit the haughtiness of its heart or as something does not succeed at its beck and wish4 ,what1 then1 is standing except an idea1 unless it attaches to the office or the use8 ,can the idea exist in any other thought than thought about self and the world1 and does it not really mean that the world is all and eternity nothing8 #c ,something shall be said now why divine providence permits the impious at heart to be promoted to standing and to acquire wealth4 ,the impious or the evil can render services as well as the pious or good1 indeed with more fire1 for they regard themselves in the use and their standing as the use4 ,as self-love mounts1 therefore1 the lust of doing service for one's glory is fired4 ,there is no such fire with the devout or good unless it is kindled incidentally to their standing4 ,therefore the ,lord governs the impious at heart who have standing by their desire for a name and arouses them to perform uses to the community or their country1 their society or city1 and their fellow citizen or neighbor4 ,with such persons this is the ,lord's government which is called divine providence1 for the ,lord's kingdom is one of uses1 and where only a few perform uses for uses' sake providence brings it about that worshipers of self are raised to higher offices1 in which each is incited by his love to do good4 #d ,suppose an infernal kingdom in the world 7though there is none7 where self-love alone rules1 which is itself the devil1 would not everyone perform uses with the zeal of self-love and for the enhancement of his glory more than in another kingdom8 ,the public good is borne on the lips of them all1 but their own benefit in the heart4 ,and as each relies on what rules him in order to become greater1 and aspires to be greatest1 how can he see that ,god exists8 ,a smoke like that of a conflagration envelops him through which no spiritual truth can pass with its light4 ,i have seen that smoke around the hells of such men4 ,light a lamp and inquire how many in present-day kingdoms aspire to eminence who are not loves of self and the world4 ,will you find fifty in a thousand who are loves of ,god1 among whom1 moreover1 only a few aspire to eminence8 ,since so few are loves of ,god and so many are loves of self and the world and since the latter perform more uses by their ardor1 how can one confirm himself against divine providence because the evil surpass the good in eminence and opulence8 #e ,this is borne out also by these words of the ,lord3 ,the lord praised the unjust steward because he had acted prudently2 for the sons of this age are more prudent in their generation than the sons of light in their generation4 ,so ,i say to you1 ,make friends for yourselves of the unjust mammon that when you fail they may receive you into eternal habitations 7,lu #af3h1 #i74 ,the meaning in the sense of the letter is plain4 ,but in the spiritual sense by the mammon of injustice are meant knowledges of good and truth which the evil possess and employ solely to acquire standing and wealth for themselves4 ,it is of these knowledges that the good or the children of light are to make friends for themselves and it is these knowledges that will conduct them into eternal homes4 ,the ,lord also teaches that many are loves of self and the world1 and few are loves of ,god1 in these words3 ,wide is the gate1 and broad is the way1 which leads to destruction1 and many there be who enter it1 but narrow and strait is the way which leads to life1 and there are few who find it 7,mt #g3ac1 #ad74 ,it may be seen above 7n4 #bag7 that eminence and riches are either curses or blessings1 and with whom they are the one or the other4 #bea4 ,the worshiper of self and of nature confirms himself against divine providence when he reflects that wars are permitted and the slaughter in them of so many men and the plundering of their wealth4 ,it is not by divine providence that wars occur1 for they entail murder1 plunder1 violence1 cruelty1 and other terrible evils which are diametrically opposed to ,christian charity4 ,yet they cannot but be permitted because the life's love of mankind1 since the time of the most ancient people1 meant by ,adam and his wife 7n4 #bda71 has become such that it wants to rule over others and finally over all1 and also to possess the wealth of the world and finally all wealth4 ,these two loves cannot be kept in fetters1 for it is according to divine providence that everyone is allowed to act in freedom in accordance with reason1 as may be seen above 7nn4 #ga-ig72 and apart from permissions man cannot be led from evil by the ,lord and consequently cannot be reformed and saved4 ,for unless evils were allowed to break out1 man would not see them1 therefore would not acknowledge them1 and thus could not be induced to resist them4 ,evils cannot be repressed1 therefore1 by any act of providence2 if they were1 they would remain shut in1 and like a disease such as cancer and gangrene1 would spread and consume everything vital in man4 #b ,for from birth man is like a little hell between which and heaven there is perpetual discord4 ,no one can be withdrawn from his hell by the ,lord unless he sees he is in it and desires to be led out of it4 ,this cannot be done apart from tolerations the causes of which are laws of divine providence4 ,as a result1 minor and major wars occur1 the minor between owners of estates and their neighbors1 and the major between sovereigns of kingdoms and their neighbors4 ,except for size the only difference is that the minor conflicts are held within limits by a country's laws and the major by the law of nations2 each may wish to transgress its laws1 but the minor cannot1 and while the major can1 still the possibility has limits4 #c ,hidden in the stores of divine wisdom are several causes why the major wars of kings and rulers1 involving murder1 looting1 violence and cruelty as they do1 are not prevented by the ,lord1 either at their beginning or during their course1 only finally when the power of one or the other has been so reduced that he is in danger of annihilation4 ,some of the causes have been revealed to me and among them is this3 all wars1 although they are civil in character1 represent in heaven states of the church and are correspondences4 ,the wars described in the ,word were all of this character2 so are all wars at this day4 ,those in the ,word are the wars which the children of ,israel waged with various nations1 ,amorites1 ,moabites1 ,philistines1 ,syrians1 ,egyptians1 ,chaldeans and ,assyrians4 ,moreover1 it was when the children of ,israel1 who represented the church1 departed from their precepts and statutes and fell into evils represented by other peoples 7for each nation with which the children of ,israel waged war represented a particular evil71 that they were punished by that nation4 ,for instance1 when they profaned the sanctities of the church by foul idolatries they were punished by the ,assyrians and ,chaldeans because ,assyria and ,chaldea signify the profanation of what is holy4 ,what was signified by the wars with the ,philistines may be seen in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,faith 7nn4 #ej-ed74 #d ,wars at the present day1 wherever they may occur1 represent similar things4 ,for all things which occur in the natural world correspond to spiritual things in the spiritual world1 and all spiritual things are related to the church4 ,it is not known in the world which kingdoms in ,christendom represent the ,moabites1 the ,ammonites1 the ,syrians1 the ,philistines1 the ,chaldeans and the ,assyrians or others1 with whom the children of ,israel waged war2 yet there are nations that do so4 ,moreover1 the condition of the church on earth and what the evils are into which it falls and for which it is punished by wars1 cannot be seen at all in the natural world1 for only externals are manifest here and these do not constitute the church4 ,this is seen1 however1 in the spiritual world where internal conditions appear and in these the church itself consists4 ,there all are united according to their various states4 ,conflicts between them correspond to wars1 which on both sides are governed by the ,lord correspondentially in accordance with ,his divine providence4 #e ,the spiritual man acknowledges that wars on earth are ruled by the ,lord's divine providence4 ,the natural man does not1 except that at a celebration of a victory he may thank ,god on his knees for having given the victory1 and except for a few words on going into battle4 ,but when he returns into himself he ascribes the victory either to the prudence of the general or to some counsel or incident in the midst of the fighting which escaped notice and yet decided the victory4 #f ,it may be seen above 7n4 #bab7 that divine providence1 which is called fortune1 is in the least things1 even in trivial ones1 and if you acknowledge divine providence in these you will certainly do so in the issues of war4 ,success and happy conduct of war1 moreover1 are in common parlance called the fortune of war1 and this is divine providence1 to be found especially in a general's judgments and plans1 although he may at the time and also afterwards ascribe all to his own prudence4 ,this he may do if he will1 for he has full freedom to think in favor of divine providence or against it1 indeed in favor of ,god or against ,him2 but let him know that no judgment or plan is from himself2 it comes either from heaven or from hell1 from hell by permission1 from heaven by providence4 #beb4 ,a worshiper of self and of nature confirms himself against divine providence when he thinks1 as he sees it1 that victories are on the side of prudence and not always on the side of justice1 and that it is immaterial whether a commander is upright or not4 ,victories seem to be on the side of prudence and not always on the side of justice1 because man judges by the appearance and favors one side more than the other and can by reasoning confirm what he favors4 ,nor does he know that the justice of a cause is spiritual in heaven and natural in the world1 as was said just above1 and that the two are united in a connection of things past and of things to come1 known only to the ,lord4 #b ,it is immaterial whether the commander is an upright man or not because1 as was established above 7n4 #bej71 the evil as well as the good perform uses1 and by their zeal more ardently than the good4 ,this is so especially in war because the evil man is more crafty and cunning in devising schemes than a good man1 and in his love of glory takes pleasure in killing and plundering those whom he knows and declares to be the enemy4 ,the good man has prudence and zeal for defense and rarely for attacking4 ,this is much the same as it is with spirits of hell and angels of heaven2 the spirits of hell attack and the angels of heaven defend themselves4 ,hence comes this conclusion that it is allowable for one to defend his country and his fellow-citizens against invading enemies even by iniquitous commanders1 but not allowable to make oneself an enemy without cause4 ,to have the seeking of glory for cause is in itself diabolical1 for it comes of self-love4 #bec4 ,the points made above 7n4 #bcg7 by which the merely natural man confirms himself against divine providence have now been explained4 ,the points which follow 7n4 #bch7 about the varieties of religion in many nations1 which also serve the merely natural man for arguments against divine providence1 are to be clarified next4 ,for the merely natural man says in his heart1 ,how can so many discordant religions exist instead of one world-wide and true religion when 7as was shown above1 nn4 #bg-de7 divine providence has a heaven from mankind for its purpose8 ,but pray1 listen3 all human beings who are born1 however numerous and of whatever religion1 can be saved if only they acknowledge ,god and live according to the precepts of the ,decalog1 which forbid committing murder1 adultery1 theft1 and false witness because to do such things is contrary to religion and therefore contrary to ,god4 ,such persons fear ,god and love the neighbor4 ,they fear ,god inasmuch as they think that to do such things is to act against ,god1 and they love the neighbor because to murder1 commit adultery1 steal1 bear false witness and covet the neighbor's house or wife is to act against one's neighbor4 ,heeding ,god in their lives and doing no evil to the neighbor1 they are led by the ,lord1 and those whom ,he leads are also taught about ,god and the neighbor in accordance with their religion1 for those who live in this way love to be taught1 but those living otherwise have no such desire4 ,loving to be taught1 they are also instructed by angels after death when they become spirits1 and willingly receive such truths as the ,word contains4 ,something about them may be seen in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture 7nn4 #ia-ig and #ajd-aac74 #bed4 ,the merely natural man confirms himself against divine providence when he observes the religious conditions in various nations and notes that some people are totally ignorant of ,god1 some worship the sun and moon1 and some worship idols and graven images4 ,those who argue from these facts against divine providence are ignorant of the arcana of heaven2 these arcana are innumerable and man is acquainted with hardly any of them4 ,among them is this3 man is not taught from heaven directly but mediately 7this may be seen treated above1 nn4 #aed-agd74 ,because he is taught mediately1 and the ,gospel could not through the medium of missionaries reach all who dwell in the world1 but religion could be spread in various ways to inhabitants of the remote corners of the earth1 this has been effected by divine providence4 ,for a knowledge of religion does not come to a man from himself1 but through another who has either learned it from the ,word or by tradition from others who have learned it1 for instance that ,god is1 heaven and hell exist1 there is a life after death1 and ,god must be worshiped for man to be blessed4 #b ,see in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture 7nn4 #aja-ajc7 that religion spread throughout the world from the ,ancient ,word and afterwards from the ,israelitish ,word1 and 7nn4 #aad-aah7 that unless there had been a ,word no one could have known about ,god1 heaven and hell1 life after death1 and still less about the ,lord4 ,once a religion is established in a nation the ,lord leads that nation according to the precepts and tenets of its own religion1 and ,he has provided that there should be precepts in every religion like those in the ,decalog1 that ,god should be worshiped1 ,his name not be profaned1 a holy day be observed1 that parents be honored1 murder1 adultery and theft not be committed1 and false witness not be spoken4 ,a nation that regards these precepts as divine and lives according to them in religion's name is saved1 as was just said 7n4 #bec74 ,most nations remote from ,christendom regard these laws not as civil but as divine1 and hold them sacred4 ,see in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,life from the ,precepts of the ,decalog1 from beginning to end1 that a man is saved by a life according to these precepts4 #c ,also among the arcana of heaven is this3 in the ,lord's sight the angelic heaven is like one man whose soul and life is the ,lord4 ,in each particular of his form this divine man is man1 not only as to the external members and organs but as to the more numerous internal members and organs1 also as to the skins1 membranes1 cartilages and bones2 but in that man all these1 both external and internal1 are not material but spiritual4 ,further1 the ,lord has provided that those who cannot be reached by the ,gospel but only by some form of religion shall also have a place in this divine man1 that is1 in heaven1 by constituting the parts called skins1 membranes1 cartilages and bones1 and like others should be in heavenly joy4 ,for it does not matter whether their joy is that of the angels of the highest heaven or of the lowest heaven1 for everyone entering heaven comes into the highest joy of his own heart2 joy higher still he does not endure2 he would suffocate in it4 #d ,a peasant and a king may serve for comparison4 ,a peasant may reach the height of joy when he steps out in a new suit of homespun wool or seats himself at a table with pork1 a piece of beef1 cheese1 beer and fiery wine on it4 ,he would feel constricted at heart if he was clothed like a king in purple1 silk1 gold and silver1 or if a table was set for him on which were delicacies and costly viands of many kinds with noble wine4 ,it is plain from this that the last as well as the first find heavenly happiness1 each in his measure1 those outside ,christendom also1 therefore1 provided they shun evils as sins against ,god because these are contrary to religion4 #e ,few are entirely ignorant of ,god4 ,if they have lived a moral life they are instructed after death by angels and receive what is spiritual in their moral life 7see ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture1 n4 #aaf74 ,the same is true of those who worship sun and moon1 believing that ,god is there4 ,they know no better1 therefore it is not imputed to them as a sin1 for the ,lord says1 ,if you were blind 7that is1 if you did not know71 you would have no sin 7,jn #i3da74 ,but there are many who worship idols and graven images even in the ,christian world4 ,this1 to be sure1 is idolatrous1 yet not with all4 ,there are those for whom graven images serve as a means of exciting thought about ,god1 for by an influx from heaven one who acknowledges ,god desires to see ,him1 and these1 unable to raise the mind above the sensuous as those do who are inwardly spiritual1 rouse it by means of statue or image4 ,those who do so and do not worship the image itself as ,god are saved if they also live by the precepts of the ,decalog from religious principle4 #f ,it is plain1 then1 that as the ,lord desires the salvation of all1 ,he has also provided that everyone who lives well may have a place in heaven4 ,see in the work ,heaven and ,hell1 published at ,london1 #ageh 7nn4 #ei-ajb 71 in ,arcana ,caelestia 7nn4 #eeeb-eefi7 and above 7nn4 #bja-bjd7 that heaven in the ,lord's sight is like one man2 that heaven accordingly corresponds to each and all things in man2 and that there are also those who represent skin1 membranes1 cartilages and bones4 #bee4 ,the merely natural man confirms himself against divine providence when he sees the ,mohammedan religion accepted by so many empires and kingdoms4 ,the fact that this form of religion is accepted by more kingdoms than ,christianity is may be a stumbling-block to those who give thought to divine providence and at the same time believe that no one can be saved unless he has been born a ,christian1 thus where the ,word is1 by which the ,lord is known4 ,that form of religion is no stumbling-block1 however1 to those who believe that all things are of divine providence4 ,these ask in what the providence consists and find it is in this1 that ,mohammedanism1 acknowledges the ,lord as ,son of ,god1 the wisest of men and a very great prophet who came into the world to teach men2 most ,mohammedans consider ,him to be greater than ,mohammed4 #b ,that form of religion was called forth in the divine providence to destroy the idolatries of many nations4 ,to make this fully known we will pursue some order2 first1 something on the origin of idolatries4 ,previously to that form of religion the worship of idols was general in the world4 ,this was because the churches before the ,lord's advent were all representative churches4 ,the ,israelitish church was of this character4 ,in it the tabernacle1 ,aaron's garments1 the sacrifices1 all things of the temple in ,jerusalem1 the statutes also1 were representative4 ,moreover1 the ancients had a knowledge of correspondences1 which is the knowledge of representations--it was the chief knowledge of their wise men4 ,this knowledge was cultivated especially in ,egypt and was the origin of ,egyptian hieroglyphics4 ,by that knowledge the ancients knew what animals of every kind signified and what trees of every kind signified1 as they did what mountains1 hills1 rivers and fountains signified1 as well as sun1 moon and stars4 ,as all their worship was representative1 consisting of sheer correspondences1 they worshiped on mountains and hills and in groves and gardens1 regarded fountains as sacred1 and in adoration of ,god faced the rising sun4 ,furthermore1 they made graven images of horses1 oxen1 calves and lambs1 and of birds1 fish and serpents1 and placed them in their houses and elsewhere1 arranged according to the spiritual things of the church to which they corresponded or which they represented4 ,they placed similar objects in their temples1 too1 to put them in mind of the holy things they signified4 #c ,later1 when the knowledge of correspondences had been lost1 their posterity began to worship the graven images themselves1 as holy in themselves1 not knowing that their forefathers had seen no holiness in them1 but only that they represented holy things by correspondences and thus signified them4 ,so arose the idolatries which filled the whole world1 ,africa and ,europe as well as ,asia with its adjacent islands4 ,in order that all these idolatries might be uprooted1 of the ,lord's divine providence it was brought about that a new religion1 adapted to the genius of ,orientals1 should start up1 in which there would be something from each ,testament of the ,word1 and which would teach that the ,lord had come into the world and was a very great prophet1 wisest of all1 and ,son of ,god4 ,this was done through ,mohammed1 from whom the religion is called the ,mohammedan religion4 #d ,of the ,lord's divine providence this religion was raised up and1 as we said1 adapted to the genius of ,orientals1 in order that it might destroy the idolatries of so many peoples and give them some knowledge of the ,lord before they passed into the spiritual world4 ,this religion would not have been accepted by so many kingdoms or had the power to uproot idolatries1 had it not suited and met the ideas and thinking of them all4 ,it did not acknowledge the ,lord as ,god of heaven and earth1 for the ,orientals acknowledged ,god the ,creator of the universe1 but could not comprehend that ,he came into the world and assumed human nature1 quite as ,christians do not comprehend this1 who therefore separate ,his divine from ,his humanity in their thinking and place ,his divine near the ,father in heaven and ,his humanity they know not where4 #e ,hence it may be seen that the ,mohammedan religion arose under the ,lord's divine providence and that all adherents of it who acknowledge the ,lord as ,son of ,god and live according to the precepts of the ,decalog1 which they also have1 shunning evils as sins1 come into a heaven called the ,mohammedan heaven4 ,this heaven1 like others1 is divided into three1 the highest1 middle and lowest4 ,those who acknowledge the ,lord to be one with the ,father and thus the one ,god are in the highest heaven2 in the next heaven are those who renounce a plurality of wives and live with one2 and in the lowest are those who are being initiated4 ,more about this religion may be seen in ,continuation about the ,last ,judgment and the ,spiritual ,world 7nn4 #fh-gb71 where the ,mohammedans and ,mohammed are treated of4 #bef4 ,the merely natural man confirms himself against divine providence when he sees that the ,christian religion exists only in a small part of the habitable world1 called ,europe1 and there is divided4 ,the ,christian religion exists only in the small part of the habitable world called ,europe because it was not adapted to the genius of ,orientals as was a mixed one like the ,mohammedan religion1 as was just shown2 and an unadapted religion is not received4 ,for example1 a religion which ordains that it is unlawful to take more than one wife is not received but rejected by those who for ages have been polygamists4 ,this is true of other ordinances of the ,christian religion4 #b ,nor is it material whether a smaller or a larger part of the world has received this religion1 as long as there are people with whom the ,word is4 ,for those who are outside the church and do not possess the ,word still have light from it1 as was shown in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture1 nn4 #ajd-aac4 ,it is a marvel that where the ,word is reverently read and the ,lord is worshiped from it1 ,he is present with heaven4 ,the reason is that ,he is the ,word and the ,word is divine truth which makes heaven4 ,the ,lord therefore says3 ,where two or three are gathered in my name1 there am ,i in the midst of them 7,mt #ah3bj74 ,europeans can bring this about with the ,word in many parts of the habitable globe1 for they trade the world over and read or teach the ,word everywhere4 ,this seems like fiction and yet is true4 #c ,the ,christian religion is divided because it is from the ,word and the ,word is written in sheer correspondences and these in large part are appearances of truth in which1 nevertheless1 genuine truths lie concealed4 ,as a church's doctrine is to be drawn from the sense of the letter of the ,word which is of this character1 disputes1 controversies and dissensions were bound to arise over the understanding of the ,word1 but not over the ,word itself or the ,divine itself of the ,lord4 ,for it is acknowledged everywhere that the ,word is holy and that the ,lord possesses the divine1 and these two are essentials of the church4 ,those1 therefore1 who deny the ,divine of the ,lord and are called ,socinians have been excommunicated from the church1 and those who deny the holiness of the ,word are not regarded as ,christians4 #d ,to this let me add a remarkable item about the ,word from which one may conclude that inwardly the ,word is divine truth itself and inmostly the ,lord4 ,when a spirit opens the ,word and touches his face or dress with it1 just from the contact his face or garment shines as brightly as the moon or a star1 in the sight of all1 too1 whom he meets4 ,it is evidence that there is nothing holier in the world than the ,word4 ,that the ,word is written throughout in correspondences may be seen in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture1 nn4 #e-bf2 that the church's doctrine is to be drawn from the sense of the letter of the ,word and confirmed thereby1 nn4 #ej-fa2 that heresies can be wrested from the sense of the letter of the ,word1 but that it is harmful to confirm them1 nn4 #ia-ig2 that the church is from the ,word and is such as is its understanding of the ,word1 nn4 #gf-gi4 #beg4 ,the merely natural man confirms himself against divine providence because in many kingdoms where the ,christian religion is accepted there are those who arrogate divine power to themselves1 want to be worshiped as gods1 and also invoke dead men4 ,to be sure1 they say that they have not arrogated divine power to themselves and do not wish to be worshiped as gods4 ,yet they say that they can open and close heaven1 remit and retain sins1 and so save and condemn men1 and this is what is divine itself4 ,divine providence has no other purpose than reformation and hence salvation2 this is its unceasing activity with everyone4 ,and salvation can be effected only by acknowledgment of the divine of the ,lord and by confidence that ,he brings salvation as man lives according to ,his commandments4 #b ,who cannot see that the usurpation of divine power is the ,babylon described in the ,apocalypse and the ,babel spoken of here and there in the ,prophets8 ,it is also ,lucifer in ,isaiah #ad1 as is plain from verses #d and #bb of that chapter1 where are the words3 ,you shall speak this parable about the king of ,babel 7verse #d72 7,then71 ,i will cut off the name and remnant of ,babel 7verse #bb72 it is plain from this that this ,babel is ,lucifer1 of whom it is said3 ,how you have fallen from heaven1 #j ,lucifer1 son of the morning6 444 ,for you have said in your heart1 ,i will ascend into heaven1 ,i will exalt my throne above the stars of ,god2 ,i will also sit on the mount of the congregation1 at the sides of the north2 ,i will ascend above the heights of the clouds2 ,i will be like the ,most ,high 7,isa #ad3ab-ad74 ,it is well known that the same persons invoke the dead and pray to them for help4 ,we make the assertion because such invocation was established by a papal bull1 confirming the decree of the ,council of ,trent1 in which it is openly said that the dead are to be invoked4 ,yet who does not know that only ,god is to be invoked1 and not any dead person8 #c ,it shall be told now why the ,lord has permitted such things4 ,can one deny that ,he has done so for the sake of the end in view1 namely salvation8 ,for men know that there is no salvation without the ,lord4 ,therefore it was necessary that the ,lord should be preached from the ,word and that the ,christian ,church should be established by this means4 ,this could be done1 however1 only by leaders who would act with zeal and no others offered than those who burned with zeal out of self-love4 ,at first this fire aroused them to preach the ,lord and teach the ,word4 ,from this their first state ,lucifer is called the son of the morning 7#ad3ab74 ,but as they saw that they could dominate by means of the sanctities of the ,word and the church1 the self-love by which they were first aroused to preach the ,lord broke out from within and finally exalted itself to such a height that they transferred all the ,lord's divine power to themselves1 leaving ,him none4 #d ,this could not be prevented by the ,lord's divine providence1 for if it had been they would have declared that the ,lord is not ,god and that the ,word is not sacred and would have made themselves ,socinians and ,arians1 so would have destroyed the whole church4 ,but1 whatever its rulers are1 the church continues among the people submissive to them4 ,for all in this religion who approach the ,lord and shun evils as sins are saved2 therefore many heavenly societies are formed from them in the spiritual world4 ,it has also been provided that there should be a nation among them that has not bowed to the yoke of such domination and that regards the ,word as holy2 this noble nation is the ,french nation4 #e ,but what was done8 ,when self-love exalted its dominion even to the ,lord's throne1 removing ,him and setting itself on it1 that love1 which is ,lucifer1 could not but have profaned all things of the ,word and the church4 ,lest this should happen1 the ,lord in ,his divine providence took care that they should recede from worship of ,him1 invoke the dead1 pray to graven images of the dead1 kiss their bones and kneel at their tombs1 should ban the reading of the ,word1 appoint holy worship in masses not understood by the common people1 and sell salvation for money4 ,for if they had not done this1 they would have profaned the sanctities of the ,word and the church4 ,for1 as was shown in the preceding section1 only those profane holy things who know them4 #f ,lest1 too1 they should profane the most ,holy ,supper it is of the ,lord's divine providence that they divide it1 giving the bread to the people and drinking the wine themselves4 ,for the wine of the ,supper signifies holy truth and the bread holy good2 but divided the wine signifies truth profaned and the bread good adulterated4 ,it is also of the ,lord's divine providence that they should render the ,holy ,supper corporeal and material and give it the prime place in religion4 ,anyone who gives these particulars his attention and reflects on them in some enlightenment of his mind can see the amazing action of divine providence for the protection of the sanctities of the church and for the salvation of all who can be saved and are ready to be snatched from the fire1 so to speak1 from which they must be snatched4 #beh4 ,the merely natural man confirms himself against divine providence because some among those who profess the ,christian religion place salvation in certain phrases which they are to think and speak and not at all in good works which they are to do4 ,we showed in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,faith that these are such as make faith alone saving and not the life of charity1 thus such as separate faith from charity4 ,it was also shown that these are meant in the ,word by ,philistines1 dragon and goats4 #b ,that such doctrine has been permitted is also of divine providence lest the divine of the ,lord and the sanctity of the ,word should be profaned4 ,the divine of the ,lord is not profaned when salvation is placed in these words3 ,that ,god the ,father may have mercy for the sake of the ,son1 who suffered the ,cross and made satisfaction for us4 ,for men do not then address the divine of the ,lord but have in mind ,his human nature1 which they do not acknowledge to be divine4 ,nor do they profane the ,word1 for they do not attend to the passages in which love1 charity1 deeds and works are mentioned4 ,all this1 they say1 is involved in the faith expressed in the saying quoted4 ,those who confirm this tell themselves1 ,the law does not condemn me1 neither then does evil1 and good does not save because good done by me is not good4 ,they are therefore like those who do not know any truth from the ,word and consequently cannot profane it4 ,only those confirm the faith expressed in that saying who from self-love are in the pride of their own intelligence4 ,nor are these ,christians at heart2 they only desire to be looked on as such4 #c ,it shall now be shown that the ,lord's divine providence is nevertheless acting constantly to save those with whom faith separated from charity has become an article of religion4 ,although this faith has become an article of their religion1 by the ,lord's divine providence each knows that it is not faith that saves1 but a life of charity with which faith makes one4 ,for all churches in which that religion is accepted also teach that there is no salvation unless man examines himself1 sees and acknowledges his sins1 repents1 desists from them1 and begins a new life4 ,this is read out with much zeal in the presence of all who come to the ,holy ,supper4 ,in addition they are told that unless they do so1 they mingle the holy with the profane and cast themselves into eternal condemnation4 ,indeed1 in ,england they are told that unless they do so the devil will enter them as he did ,judas and destroy them soul and body4 ,it is plain1 then1 that everyone in the churches in which faith alone is accepted is nevertheless taught that evils are to be shunned as sins4 #d ,furthermore1 everyone who is born a ,christian is aware that evils are to be shunned as sins because the ,decalog is put into the hands of every boy and girl and is taught by parents and teachers4 ,the citizens of a kingdom and especially the common people are examined by the priest on the ,decalog alone1 which is recited from memory1 for what they know of the ,christian religion1 and are also admonished to do what is commanded in it4 ,at such times they are not told by the priest that they are not under the yoke of that law1 or that they cannot do what is commanded because they cannot do anything good of themselves4 ,again1 the ,athanasian ,creed has been accepted throughout the ,christian world and what is said at its close is also acknowledged1 namely1 that the ,lord will come to judge the living and the dead1 and then those who have done good will enter everlasting life and those who have done evil will enter everlasting fire4 #e ,in ,sweden1 where the religion of faith alone has been received1 it is also plainly taught that faith is impossible apart from charity or good works4 ,this is pointed out in an ,appendix on things to be remembered1 inserted in all copies of the ,psalms1 and called ,impediments or ,stumbling ,blocks of the ,impenitent 7,obotferdigas ,foerhinder71 where are these words1 ,those who are rich in good works thereby show that they are rich in faith1 because when faith is saving it acts through charity4 ,for justifying faith is never found alone and separate from good works1 quite as no good tree is without fruit1 nor the sun without light and heat1 nor water without moisture4 #f ,these items have been adduced to make known that although a religious formula about faith alone has been accepted1 nevertheless goods of charity1 which are good works1 are taught everywhere and that this is by the ,lord's divine providence1 lest the common people be led astray by the formula4 ,i have heard ,luther1 with whom ,i have spoken at times in the spiritual world1 execrate faith alone and heard him say that when he established it he was warned by an angel of the ,lord not to do it2 but that he thought to himself that if he did not reject works1 separation from ,catholicism would not be accomplished4 ,therefore1 contrary to the warning1 he established that faith4 #bei4 ,the merely natural man confirms himself against divine providence in that there have been so many heresies in ,christendom and still are1 such as ,quakerism1 ,moravianism1 ,anabaptism1 and more4 ,for he may think to himself1 ,if divine providence is universal in the least things and has the salvation of all for its object1 it would have seen to it that one true religion should exist on the globe1 not one divided and1 still less1 one torn by heresies4 ,but use reason and think more deeply if you can4 ,can man be saved without being reformed first8 ,for he is born into love of self and the world1 and as these loves do not have any love of ,god and the neighbor in them except for the sake of self1 he is also born into evils of every kind4 ,is there love or mercy in those loves8 ,does the man make anything of defrauding or defaming or hating another even to death1 or of committing adultery with his wife1 or of being cruel to him out of revenge1 the while having the desire in mind to get the upper hand of all and to possess the goods of all others1 thus regarding others in comparison with himself as insignificant and of little worth8 ,to be saved1 must he not first be led away from these evils and thus be reformed8 ,as has been shown above in many places1 this can be accomplished only in accordance with many laws of divine providence4 ,for the most part these laws are unknown and yet they come of divine wisdom and at the same time of divine love1 and the ,lord cannot act contrary to them1 for to do so would result in destroying man1 not in saving him4 #b ,look over the laws which have been set forth1 bring them together1 and you will see4 ,according to those laws there is no direct influx from heaven but one mediated by the ,word1 doctrine and preaching2 and since the ,word1 to be divine1 had to be composed wholly in correspondences1 inevitably there are dissensions and heresies4 ,the tolerance of them is also in accord with the laws of divine providence4 ,furthermore1 when the church itself has taken for essentials what pertains only to the understanding1 that is1 to doctrine1 and not what pertains to the will1 that is1 to life1 and what pertains to life is not made the essentials of a church1 then man is in complete darkness for understanding and wanders like one blind1 striking against things constantly and falling into pits4 ,for the will must see in the understanding and not the understanding in the will1 or what is the same1 the life and its love must lead the understanding to think1 speak and act1 and not the reverse4 ,were the reverse true1 the understanding might out of an evil and even diabolical love seize on what comes by the senses and demand that the will do it4 ,what has been said may show whence dissensions and heresies come4 #c ,yet it has been provided that everyone1 in whatever heresy he may be intellectually1 may still be reformed and saved if he shuns evils as sins and does not confirm heretical falsities in himself4 ,for by shunning evils as sins the will is reformed and through it the understanding is1 which emerges for the first time then out of obscurity into light4 ,there are three essentials of the church3 acknowledgment of the divine of the ,lord1 acknowledgment of the holiness of the ,word1 and the life which is called charity4 ,everyone's faith is according to the life which is charity2 from the ,word he has a rational perception of what life should be2 and from the ,lord he has reformation and salvation4 ,had these three been regarded as the church's essentials1 intellectual differences would not have divided it but only varied it as light varies colors in beautiful objects and as various insignia of royalty give beauty to a king's crown4 #bfj4 ,the merely natural man confirms himself against divine providence in that ,judaism still continues4 ,that is1 after all these centuries the ,jews have not been converted although they live among ,christians and do not1 in keeping with prophecies in the ,word1 confess the ,lord and acknowledge ,him to be the ,messiah1 who1 as they think1 was to lead them back to the land of ,canaan2 but they steadfastly persist in denying ,him and yet it is well with them4 ,those who take this view1 however1 and thus call divine providence in question1 do not know that by ,jews in the ,word all who are of the church and acknowledge the ,lord are meant1 and by the land of ,canaan1 into which it is said that they are to be led1 the ,lord's church is meant4 #b ,but the ,jews persist in denying the ,lord because they are such that1 if they received and acknowledged the divine of the ,lord and the holy things of ,his church1 they would profane them4 ,therefore the ,lord said of them3 ,he has blinded their eyes1 and hardened their heart2 that they should not see with their eyes1 nor understand with their heart1 and be converted1 and ,i should heal them 7,jn #ab3dj2 ,mt #ac3ad2 ,mk #d3ab2 ,lu #h3aj2 ,isa #f3i1 #aj74 ,it is said1 lest they should be converted1 and ,i should heal them because if they had been converted and healed they would have committed profanation1 and according to the law of divine providence treated above 7nn4 #bba-bcc7 no one is admitted interiorly into truths of faith and goods of charity by the ,lord except so far as he can be kept in them to the close of life2 were he admitted1 he would profane what is holy4 #c ,this nation has been preserved and dispersed over much of the earth for the sake of the ,word in its original language1 which they hold more sacred than ,christians do4 ,the ,lord's divine is in every particular of the ,word1 for it is divine truth joined with divine good coming from the ,lord4 ,by it the ,lord is united with the church1 and heaven is present1 as was shown in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture 7nn4 #fb-fi74 ,the ,lord and heaven are present wherever the ,word is read as sacred4 ,this is the end which divine providence has pursued in the preservation and in the dispersal of the ,jews over much of the world4 ,on the nature of their lot after death see ,continuation about the ,last ,judgment and the ,spiritual ,world 7nn4 #gi-hb74 #bfa4 ,these then are the objections listed above at n4 #bch by which the natural man confirms himself against divine providence1 or may do so4 ,still other objections1 listed at n4 #bci1 may serve the natural man for arguments against divine providence2 they may occur to the minds of others1 too1 and excite doubts4 ,they are the following4 #bfb4 ,doubt may be raised against divine providence in that the whole of ,christendom worships one ,god under three persons1 that is1 three ,gods1 and has not known hitherto that ,god is one in person and in essence1 in whom is the ,trinity1 and that this ,god is the ,lord4 ,one who reasons about divine providence may ask1 ,are not three persons three ,gods if each person by himself is ,god8 ,who can think of it otherwise8 ,in fact1 who does8 ,athanasius himself could not2 therefore it is said in the ,creed which bears his name3 ,although in ,christian verity we ought to acknowledge each ,person as ,god and ,lord1 yet by ,christian faith it is not allowable to affirm or to name three ,gods or three ,lords4 ,this can only mean that we ought to acknowledge three ,gods and ,lords1 but it is not allowable to affirm or name three ,gods and three ,lords4 #b ,who can possibly have a perception of one ,god unless ,he is one in person8 ,if it is said that such a concept is possible if one thinks of the three as having one essence1 does one1 indeed can one1 have any other idea than that they are thus of one mind and agree1 and yet are three ,gods8 ,thinking more deeply1 one asks oneself1 ,how can the divine essence1 which is infinite1 be divided8 ,further1 how can divine essence from eternity beget another and produce still another who proceeds from them both8 ,it may be said that it is to be believed and not thought about2 but who does not think about what he is told must be believed8 ,how else can there be any acknowledgment which in its essence is faith8 ,was it not because of the concept of ,god as three persons that ,socinianism and ,arianism arose1 which prevail in the hearts of more persons than you suppose8 ,belief in one ,god and that this ,god is the ,lord makes the church1 for in ,him is the divine trinity4 ,the truth of this may be seen in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,lord1 from beginning to end4 #c ,but what is thought of the ,lord today8 ,is it not thought that ,he is ,god and ,man1 ,god from ,jehovah the ,father of whom ,he was conceived and ,man from the ,virgin ,mary from whom ,he was born8 ,who thinks that ,god and ,man in ,him1 or ,his ,divine and ,his ,human1 are one person1 and are one as soul and body are8 ,does anyone know this8 ,ask the learned in the church and they will say that they have not known it4 ,yet it is part of the doctrine of the church received throughout ,christendom1 as follows3 ,our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 is ,god and ,man2 and although ,he is ,god and ,man yet there are not two1 but there is one ,christ4 ,he is one because the divine took to itself the human2 indeed ,he is altogether one1 for ,he is one ,person1 since as soul and body make one man1 so ,god and ,man is one ,christ4 ,this comes from the ,faith or ,creed of ,athanasius4 ,the learned have not known it because on reading this they have thought of the ,lord not as ,god but only as ,man4 #d ,when they are asked if they know from whom the ,lord was conceived1 whether from ,god the ,father or from ,his own ,divine1 they reply that ,he was conceived from ,god the ,father1 for this is according to ,scripture4 ,are the ,father and ,he not one then1 like soul and body8 ,who can think that ,he was conceived from two ,divines1 and if from ,his own that this was ,his ,father8 ,if you ask them further what their idea of the ,lord's ,divine and of ,his ,human is1 they will say that ,his ,divine is from the essence of the ,father and ,his ,human from the essence of ,his mother1 and that ,his ,divine is with the ,father4 ,then1 when they are asked where ,his ,human is1 they have no answer1 for they separate ,his ,divine and ,his ,human in their thinking and make ,his ,divine equal to the ,divine of the ,father and ,his ,human like the human of another man1 unaware that in doing this they separate soul and body2 nor do they see the flaw in this1 that then a rational man would have been born from a mother alone4 #e ,as a result of the fixed idea that the ,lord's humanity was like that of another man1 it has come about that a ,christian can with difficulty be led to think of a ,divine ,human1 even when it is said that the ,lord's soul or life from conception was and is ,jehovah ,himself4 ,now sum up the reasons and consider whether there is any other ,god of the universe than the ,lord alone1 in whom is the ,divine itself1 ,source of all1 called the ,father2 the ,divine ,human1 called the ,son2 and the proceeding ,divine1 called the ,holy ,spirit2 and thus that ,god is one in person and essence1 and that this ,god is the ,lord4 #f ,you may persist and remark that the ,lord ,himself spoke of three in ,matthew3 ,go and make disciples of all nations1 baptizing them in the name of the ,father1 the ,son and the ,holy ,spirit 7#bh3ai74 ,but it is plain from the preceding verse and the one following that the ,lord said this in order to make it known that the ,divine ,trinity was in ,him1 now glorified4 ,for in the preceding verse ,he said that all power in heaven and on earth was given ,him1 and in the following verse that ,he would be with men to the end of the age1 speaking of ,himself alone and not of three4 #g ,now1 why did divine providence permit ,christians to worship the one ,god under three persons1 that is1 worship three ,gods1 and not know until now that ,god is one in essence and person1 in whom is the ,trinity and that this ,god is the ,lord8 ,man and not the ,lord was the cause4 ,the ,lord had taught it plainly in ,his ,word1 as is clear from all the passages cited in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,lord1 and has also taught it in the doctrine of all the churches1 in which it is said that ,his ,divine and ,his ,human are not two but one ,person united like soul and body4 #h ,the first reason why men divided the ,divine and the ,human and made the ,divine equal to the ,divine of ,jehovah the ,father and the ,human equal to the human of another man1 was that the church after its rise fell away into ,babylonianism4 ,this took to itself the ,lord's divine power1 and in order that it should be called human and not divine power made the ,lord's human like that of another man4 ,when later the church was reformed and faith alone was received as the one means of salvation--faith that ,god the ,father has mercy for the sake of the ,son--the ,lord's ,human could be viewed in no other way4 ,for no one can approach the ,lord and acknowledge ,him at heart as ,god of heaven and earth unless he lives by ,his precepts4 ,in the spiritual world1 where everyone is bound to speak as he thinks1 no one can so much as mention the name ,jesus if he has not lived as a ,christian in the world2 this is by divine providence lest ,his name be profaned4 #bfc4 ,to make what has just been said clearer ,i will add what was set forth in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,lord 7towards the end1 nn4 #fj1 #fa71 which is as follows3 ,that ,god and ,man in the ,lord1 according to the ,creed1 are not two but one ,person1 altogether one as soul and body are1 appears clearly in many sayings of the ,lord1 as that the ,father and ,he are one2 that all things of the ,father are ,his and all ,his the ,father's2 that ,he is in the ,father and the ,father in ,him2 that all things are given into ,his hand2 that ,he has all power2 that ,he is ,god of heaven and earth2 that one who believes on ,him has eternal life2 and that the wrath of ,god abides on one who does not believe on ,him2 and further1 that both the ,divine and the ,human were taken up into heaven2 and that as to both ,he sits at the right hand of ,god1 that is1 is almighty2 besides the numerous passages in the ,word about ,his ,divine ,human which were quoted abundantly above4 ,they all testify that ,god is one both in person and in essence1 and in ,him is the ,trinity1 and that this ,god is the ,lord4 #b ,these things about the ,lord are published now for the first time because it is foretold in the ,apocalypse1 chapters #ba and #bb1 that at the end of the former church a new church is to be established in which this will be the chief doctrine4 ,this church is meant in those chapters by the ,new ,jerusalem into which only one who acknowledges the ,lord alone as ,god of heaven and earth can enter2 this church is therefore called the ,lamb's wife'4 ,i can also report that all heaven acknowledges the ,lord alone and that one who does not is not admitted to heaven1 for heaven is heaven from the ,lord4 ,this very acknowledgment made in love and faith causes men to be in the ,lord and ,lord in them1 as ,he teaches in ,john3 ,in that day you will know that ,i am in my ,father1 and you in me and ,i in you 7#ad3bj72 again in the same3 ,abide in me1 and ,i in you2 444 ,i am the vine1 and you are branches2 he who abides in me and ,i in him1 bears much fruit2 for without me you can do nothing2 unless a man abides in me1 he is cast out 7#ae3d-f1 also #ag3bb1 #bc74 #c ,this has not been seen from the ,word before1 because if it had been1 it would not have been received4 ,for the last judgment had not been accomplished yet1 and prior to it the power of hell prevailed over the power of heaven4 ,man is in the midst between heaven and hell2 had this been seen before1 therefore1 the devil1 that is1 hell1 would have plucked it from men's hearts and furthermore would have profaned it4 ,the predominance of hell was completely broken by the last judgment which has been accomplished now2 since that judgment1 thus today1 every man who wishes enlightenment and wisdom is able to have it4 #bfd4 ,a doubt may be raised against divine providence in that it has been unknown hitherto that in each particular of the ,word there is a spiritual meaning from which it has its holiness4 ,one may raise this doubt about divine providence1 asking1 why has this been revealed for the first time now1 and why has it been revealed through any one at all and not through a church leader8 ,but it is at the ,lord's good pleasure whether it should be a leader or a leader's servant2 ,he knows the one and the other4 ,however1 that sense of the ,word has not been disclosed before because #a4 ,if it had been1 the church would have profaned it and thereby profaned the holiness itself of the ,word4 #b4 ,neither were the genuine truths1 in which the spiritual sense of the ,word resides1 revealed by the ,lord until the last judgment was accomplished1 and a new church1 meant by the ,holy ,jerusalem1 was about to be established by the ,lord4 ,these reasons will be examined separately4 #b #a4 ,the spiritual sense of the ,word was not disclosed earlier because if it had been1 the church would have profaned it and thereby would have profaned the holiness itself of the ,word4 ,not long after it was established1 the church was turned into ,babylon1 and later into ,philistia4 ,babylon acknowledges the ,word1 to be sure1 and yet esteems it lightly1 asserting that the ,holy ,spirit inspires its own highest judgment just as much as it did the prophets4 ,they acknowledge the ,word for the vicarship founded on the ,lord's words to ,peter1 but esteem it lightly because it does not accord with their teaching4 ,it is therefore taken from the people also and hidden in monasteries where few read it4 ,if1 therefore1 the spiritual sense of the ,word had been revealed1 in which the ,lord is present together with all angelic wisdom1 the ,word would have been profaned not only1 as it is now1 in its lowermost expression in the sense of the letter1 but in its inmosts1 too4 #c ,philistia1 by which faith separated from charity is meant1 would have profaned the spiritual sense of the ,word also1 because1 as we have shown before1 it puts salvation in certain formulas which are to be thought and spoken1 and not in good works which are to be done4 ,it thus makes saving what is not saving and also removes the understanding from what is to be believed4 ,what would they do with the light in which the spiritual sense of the ,word is8 ,would that not be turned into darkness8 ,when the natural sense is1 why not the spiritual sense8 ,does any one of them who has confirmed himself in faith separate from charity and in justification by this faith alone1 want to know what good of life is1 what love to the ,lord and towards the neighbor is1 what charity is and what the goods of charity are1 what good works are and what it is to do them1 or in fact what faith is essentially and what genuine truth is1 constituting it8 ,they compose volumes1 establish in them only what they call faith1 and declare that all the things just mentioned are present in that faith4 ,it is clear from this that if the spiritual sense of the ,word had been revealed earlier1 it would come to pass according to the ,lord's words in ,matthew3 ,if your eye is evil1 your whole body will be full of darkness4 ,if then the light that is in you is darkness1 how great is that darkness 7 #f3bc74 ,in the spiritual sense of the ,word by eye the understanding is meant4 #d #b4 ,neither were the genuine truths in which the spiritual sense of the ,word resides1 revealed by the ,lord until after the last judgment was accomplished1 and a new church1 meant by the ,holy ,jerusalem1 was about to be established by the ,lord4 ,the ,lord foretold in the ,apocalypse that after the last judgment was effected genuine truths were to be revealed1 a new church was to be established1 and the spiritual sense of the ,word would be disclosed4 ,in the small work1 ,the ,last ,judgment1 and later in the ,continuation of that work1 it was shown that the last judgment has been accomplished and that this is meant by the heaven and earth which would pass away 7,apoc #ba3a74 ,that genuine truths are then to be revealed is foretold in these words in the ,apocalypse3 ,and he that sat upon the throne said1 ,behold1 ,i make all things new 7#aa3e2 also #ai3ag1 #ah2 #ba3ah-ba2 #bb3a1 #b74 ,at #ai3aa-af it was predicted that the spiritual sense of the ,word was to be revealed2 it is meant by the white horse on which ,he who sat was called the ,word of ,god and was ,lord of lords and ,king of kings 7on this see the little work ,the ,white ,horse74 ,that by the ,holy ,jerusalem a new church is meant which was to be established then by the ,lord may be seen in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about the ,lord 7nn4 #fb-fe74 #e ,it is clear1 then1 that the spiritual sense of the ,word was to be revealed for a new church which should acknowledge and worship the ,lord alone1 hold ,his ,word sacred1 love divine truths and reject faith separated from charity4 ,more about this sense of the ,word may be seen in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture 7nn4 #e-bf and following numbers72 what the spiritual sense of the ,word is 7nn4 #e-bf72 that a spiritual sense exists in all of the ,word in general and in detail 7nn4 #i-ag72 that by virtue of the spiritual sense the ,word is divinely inspired and holy in every expression 7nn4 #ah1 #ai72 that until now the spiritual sense has been unknown1 and why it was not revealed before 7nn4 #bj-be72 and that henceforth that sense will be open only to one who is in genuine truths from the ,lord 7n4 #bf74 #f ,it may be evident from these propositions that it is by the ,lord's divine providence that the spiritual sense has lain concealed from the world until the present day and been kept meanwhile in heaven with the angels1 who draw their wisdom from it4 ,this sense was known and treasured among ancient peoples who lived before ,moses1 but when their descendants converted the correspondences1 of which their ,word and hence their religion solely consisted1 into various idolatries1 and the ,egyptians converted them into magic1 by the ,lord's divine providence this sense was closed up1 first with the ,israelites and then with ,christians for the reasons given above1 and is now opened for the first time for the ,lord's new church4 #bfe4 ,doubt may arise against divine providence in that it has been unknown hitherto that to shun evils as sins is the ,christian religion itself4 ,that this is the ,christian religion itself was shown in ,doctrine of ,life for the ,new ,jerusalem1 from beginning to end2 and as faith separated from charity is the one obstacle to its being received1 that also was treated of4 ,we say that it has not been known that to shun evils as sins is the ,christian religion itself1 for it is unknown to nearly everyone2 yet everyone does know it1 as may be seen above 7n4 #beh74 ,nearly all are ignorant of it because faith separate has obliterated knowledge of it4 ,for this faith declares that it alone saves and not any good work1 that is1 any good of charity2 also that men are no longer under the yoke of the law1 but are free4 ,those who have frequently heard such teaching no longer give thought to any evil of life or any good of life4 ,everyone1 moreover1 is inclined by nature to embrace such teaching1 and once he has done so he no longer thinks about the state of his life4 ,this is why it is not known that shunning evils as sins is the ,christian religion itself4 #b ,that this is unknown was disclosed to me in the spiritual world4 ,i have asked more than a thousand newcomers from the world whether they knew that to shun evils as sins is religion itself4 ,they said that they did not and that it was a new idea which they had not heard before1 but had heard that they cannot of themselves do good and that they are not under the yoke of the law4 ,when ,i inquired whether they knew that a man must examine himself1 see his sins1 repent and begin a new life and that otherwise sins are not remitted1 and if sins are not remitted1 men are not saved2 and when ,i reminded them that this was read out in a deep voice to them each time they observed the ,holy ,supper1 they replied that they paid no attention to that but only to this1 that they have remission of sins by the sacrament of the ,supper and that faith effects the rest without their knowing it4 #c ,i asked again1 ,why have you taught your children the ,decalog8 ,was it not that they might know what evils are sins to be shunned8 ,was it only that they might know and believe1 but do nothing8 ,why is it said that this is new8 ,to this they could only reply that they know and yet do not know1 and that they never think of the sixth99 commandment when they commit adultery1 or about the seventh when they steal or defraud secretly1 and so on1 and still less that such acts are contrary to divine law1 thus contrary to ,god4 99 ,swedenborg follows the numbering of the ,commandments customary with ,lutherans1 as with ,roman ,catholics4 #d ,when ,i recalled to them many things from the teachings of the churches and from the ,word confirming the fact that to avoid and be averse to evils as sins is the ,christian religion's very self and that one who does so has faith1 they fell silent4 ,they were convinced of it1 however1 when they saw that all were examined as to their life and judged according to their deeds1 and no one was judged according to faith apart from life1 for everyone has faith according to his life4 #e ,christendom in large part has not known this because by a law of divine providence everyone is left to act in freedom according to reason 7on this1 above1 nn4 #ga-ia and nn4 #aja-abh72 and by another law no one is taught directly from heaven but by means of the ,word and by doctrine and preaching from it2 there are besides all the laws on permission which are also laws of divine providence4 ,on these see above1 n4 #beh4 #bgd499 ,a doubt may be raised against divine providence in that it has not been known before that a man lives as a human being after death and that this has not been disclosed before4 ,it has been unknown because with those who do not shun evils as sins the belief lies hidden that man does not live after death4 ,it is of no moment therefore to them whether one says that man lives after death or will rise again on the day of the last judgment4 ,if belief in resurrection happens to visit one1 he tells himself1 ,i shall fare no worse than others2 if ,i go to hell ,i shall have the company of many and also if ,i pass to heaven4 ,yet all in whom there is any religion have an implanted recognition that they will live as human beings after death4 ,only those infatuated with their own intelligence think that they survive as souls but not as human beings4 99 ,so numbered in the ,latin original4 ,it may be seen from the following that anyone in whom is any religion has an implanted recognition that he lives after death as a human being3 #a4 ,who thinks otherwise when he is dying8 #b4 ,what eulogizer1 mourning the dead1 does not exalt them to heaven and place them among the angels conversing with them and sharing their joy8 ,some men are deified4 #c4 ,who among the common people does not believe that when he dies1 if he has lived well he will enter a heavenly paradise1 be arrayed in white1 and enjoy eternal life8 #d4 ,what priest does not speak so to the dying8 ,and when he speaks so he believes it1 provided he does not think of the last judgment at the time4 #e4 ,who does not believe that his little ones are in heaven and that after death he will see his wife1 whom he has loved8 ,who thinks that they are spectres1 still less souls or minds hovering in the universe8 #f4 ,who contradicts when something is said about the lot or state of those who have passed from time into eternal life8 ,i have told many what the state or lot of various persons is and have never heard anyone protest that their lot is not yet determined but will be at the time of the judgment4 #g4 ,when one sees angels in paintings or statuary does he not recognize them as such8 ,who thinks then that they are bodiless spirits or airy entities or clouds1 as do some of the erudite8 #h4 ,papists believe that their saints are human beings in heaven and others elsewhere are2 so do ,mohammedans of their dead2 more than others ,africans do1 and many other peoples do4 ,why then do not ,reformed ,christians believe it1 who know it from the ,word8 #i4 ,moreover1 as a result of the recognition implanted in everyone1 some men aspire to the immortality of renown4 ,the recognition is given that turn in them and makes heroes and brave men of them in war4 #aj4 ,inquiry was made in the spiritual world whether this knowledge is implanted in all men2 it was found that it is in a spiritual idea attached to their internal thought1 not in a natural idea attached to their external thought4 ,it is plain from all this that doubt should not be thrown on the ,lord's divine providence on the supposition that only now has it been disclosed that the human being continues such after death4 ,it is only the sensuous in man that wants to see and touch what is to be credited4 ,one who does not raise his thinking above it is in the dark of night about the state of his own life4 ,,xiv4 ,,evils ,,are ,,tolerated ,,in ,,view ,,of ,,the ,,end1 ,,which ,,is ,,salvation #bge4 ,if man were born into the love for which he was created1 he would not be in evil1 in fact would not know what evil is4 ,for one who has not been in evil and is not in it1 cannot know what it is2 told that this or that is evil1 he would not believe it4 ,this is the state of innocence in which ,adam and his wife ,eve were2 that state was signified by the nakedness of which they were not ashamed2 the knowledge of evil subsequent to the fall is meant by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil4 ,the love for which the human being was created is love to the neighbor1 to wish him as well as one does oneself and even better4 ,he is in the enjoyment of this love when he serves his neighbor quite as parents do their children4 ,this is truly human love1 for in it is what is spiritual1 distinguishing it from the natural love of brute animals4 ,were man born into this love1 he would not be born into the darkness of ignorance as everyone is now1 but into some light of the knowledge and hence of the intelligence soon to be his4 ,to be sure1 he would creep on all fours at first but come erect on his feet by an implanted striving4 ,however much he might resemble a quadruped1 he would not face down to the ground but forward to heaven and come erect so that he could look up4 #bgf4 ,when love of the neighbor was turned into self-love1 however1 and this love increased1 human love was turned into animal love1 and man1 from being man1 became a beast1 with the difference that he could think about what he sensed physically1 could rationally discriminate among things1 be taught1 and become a civil and moral person and finally a spiritual being4 ,for1 as was said1 man possesses what is spiritual and is distinguished by it from the brute animal4 ,by it he can know what civil evil and good are1 also what moral evil and good are1 and if he so wills1 what spiritual evil and good are also4 ,when love for the neighbor was turned into self-love1 however1 man could no longer be born into the light of knowledge and intelligence but was born into the darkness of ignorance1 being born on the lowest level of life1 called corporeal-sensuous4 ,from this he could be led into the interiors of the natural mind by instruction1 the spiritual always attending on this4 ,why one is born on the lowest level of life known as corporeal-sensuous1 therefore into the darkness of ignorance1 will be seen in what follows4 #b ,anyone can see that love of the neighbor and self-love are opposites4 ,neighborly love wishes well to all from itself1 but self-love wishes everyone to wish it well2 neighborly love wants to serve everyone1 but self-love wants all to serve it2 love of the neighbor regards everyone as brother and friend1 while love of self regards everyone as its servant1 and if one does not serve it1 as its enemy2 in short1 it regards only itself and others scarcely as human beings1 esteeming them at heart less than one's horses and dogs4 ,thinking so meanly of others1 it thinks nothing of doing evil to them2 hence come hatred and vengeance1 adultery and whoredom1 theft and fraud1 lying and defamation1 violence and cruelty1 and similar evils4 ,such are the evils in which man is by birth4 ,that they are tolerated in view of the end1 which is salvation1 is to be shown in this order3 i4 ,everyone is in evil and must be led away from it to be reformed4 ii4 ,evils cannot be removed unless they appear4 iii4 ,so far as they are removed they are remitted4 iv4 ,the toleration of evil is therefore for the sake of the end in view1 namely1 salvation4 #bgg4 7i7 ,everyone is in evil and must be led away from it to be reformed4 ,the church knows that there is hereditary evil in man and that as a result he is in the lust of many evils4 ,thence it is that he cannot do good of himself1 for evil does only such good as has evil in it2 the evil inwardly in it is that one does good for one's own sake and thus only for the sake of appearances4 ,it is known that hereditary evil comes from one's parents4 ,it is said to come from ,adam and his wife1 but this is an error2 for everyone is born into hereditary evil from his parent1 and the parent from his parent1 and so on2 thus it is transmitted from one to another1 is augmented and becomes an accumulation1 and is passed to one's progeny4 ,there is therefore nothing sound in man but all is evil4 ,who feels that it is evil to love himself above others8 ,who1 then1 knows that this is an evil1 though it is the head of evils8 #b ,inheritance from parents1 grandparents and great-grandparents is plain from much which is known in the world1 from the fact1 for instance1 that households1 families and even nations are distinguishable by the face2 the face is also a type of the mind which in turn accords with the affections of one's love4 ,sometimes1 too1 the features of a grandfather recur in a grandson or a great-grandson4 ,from the face alone ,i know whether a person is a ,jew or not2 likewise of what stock certain persons are2 others no doubt know also4 ,if the affections which spring from love are thus derived from parents and transmitted by them1 evils are1 for these spring from affections4 ,but it shall be told how the resemblance comes about4 #c ,everyone's soul comes from his father and is only clothed with the body by one's mother4 ,that the soul is from the father follows not only from what has been said above1 but from many other indications1 too2 also from this1 that the child of a black man or ,moor by a white or ,european woman is black1 and vice versa2 and especially in that the soul is in the seed1 for impregnation is by the seed1 and the seed is what is clothed with a body by the mother4 ,the seed is the primal form of the love in which the father is--the form of his ruling love with its nearest derivatives or the inmost affections of that love4 #d ,these affections are enveloped in everyone with the honesties of moral life and with the goodnesses partly of civil and partly of spiritual life1 which are the external of life even with the evil4 ,an infant is born into this external life and is therefore lovable1 but coming to boyhood and adolescence he passes from that external to the inner life and at length to his father's ruling love4 ,if this has been evil and not been moderated and bent by various means by his teachers1 it becomes his ruling love as it was his father's4 ,still the evil is not eradicated1 but put aside2 of this in what follows4 ,plainly1 then1 everyone is in evil4 #bgg r4 ,it is plain without explanation that man must be led away from evil in order to be reformed4 ,for one who is in evil in the world is in evil after he has left the world4 ,not removed in the world1 evil cannot be removed afterwards4 ,where a tree falls1 it lies4 ,so1 too1 when a man dies his life remains such as it has been4 ,everyone is judged according to his deeds1 not that these are recounted1 but he returns to them and acts as before4 ,death is a continuation of life with the difference that man cannot then be reformed4 ,for reformation is effected in full1 that is1 in what is inmost and outmost1 and what is outmost is reformed suitably to what is inmost only while man is in the world4 ,it cannot be reformed afterwards because as it is carried along by the man after death it falls quiescent and conforms to his inner life1 that is1 they act as one4 #bgh4 7ii7 ,evils cannot be removed unless they appear4 ,this does not mean that man must do evils in order for them to appear1 but that he must examine himself1 his thoughts as well as his deeds1 and see what he would do if he did not fear the laws and disrepute--see especially what evils he deems allowable in his spirit and does not regard as sins1 for these he still does4 ,to enable him to examine himself1 man has been given understanding1 and an understanding separate from his will1 in order that he may know1 comprehend and acknowledge what is good and what is evil1 likewise see the character of his will or what it loves and desires4 ,to see this his understanding has been given higher and lower or interior and exterior thought1 so as to see from the higher or interior what his will prompts in the lower or exterior thinking3 he sees this quite as he does his face in a mirror4 ,when he does and knows what is sin1 he is able1 on imploring the ,lord's help1 not to will it but to shun it1 then to act contrary to it1 if not freely1 then by overcoming it through fighting it1 and finally to become averse to it and abominate it4 ,then first does he perceive and also sense that evil is evil and good is good4 ,this1 now1 is self-examination--to see one's evils1 acknowledge them1 confess them and thereupon desist from them4 #b ,but as few know that this is the ,christian religion itself1 and these alone have charity and faith and are led by the ,lord and do good from ,him1 something will be said of those who fail to examine themselves but still think that they possess religion4 ,they are #a4 ,those who confess themselves guilty of all sins but do not search out any one sin in themselves4 #b4 ,those who neglect the search on religious principle4 #c4 ,those who in absorption with the mundane give no thought to sins and hence do not know them4 #d4 ,those who favor them and therefore cannot know them4 #e4 ,with all these1 sins do not appear and therefore cannot be removed4 #f4 ,finally1 the reason1 so far unknown1 will be made plain why evils cannot be removed apart from their being searched out1 appearing1 being acknowledged1 confessed and resisted4 #bgh r4 ,but these points will be considered one by one1 for they are fundamentals of the ,christian religion on man's part4 ,first1 of those who confess themselves guilty of all sins1 but do not search out any one sin in themselves4 ,they say1 ,i am a sinner4 ,i was born in sin4 ,from head to foot there is nothing sound in me4 ,i am nothing but evil4 ,good ,god1 be gracious to me1 pardon1 cleanse and save me4 ,make me to walk in purity and in a right path2 and more of the kind4 ,and yet the man does not examine himself and hence does not know any evil1 and no one can shun what he is ignorant of1 still less fight against it4 ,after his confessions he also thinks that he is clean and washed1 when nevertheless he is unclean and unwashed from the head to the sole of the foot4 ,for the confession of all sins is the lulling of them all to sleep and finally blindness to them4 ,it is like a generality devoid of anything specific1 which amounts to nothing4 #b ,second3 ,those who omit the search in consequence of their religion4 ,they are especially those who separate charity from faith4 ,they say to themselves1 ,why should ,i search out evil or good8 ,why evil1 when it does not condemn me8 ,why good1 when it does not save me8 ,faith alone1 thought and uttered with trust and confidence1 justifies and purifies from all sin1 and when once ,i am justified1 ,i am whole in the sight of ,god4 ,i am indeed in evil1 but ,god wipes it away the moment it is committed and it no longer appears2 and much else4 ,but who does not see1 if he opens his eyes1 that these are empty words1 without reality because nothing of good is in them8 ,who cannot think and speak so1 with trust and confidence1 too1 even when he is thinking of hell and eternal condemnation8 ,does he want to know anything further about either truth or good8 ,of truth he says1 ,what is truth except that which confirms this faith8 and of good1 ,what is good except what is in me from this faith8 ,and that it may be in me ,i will not do it as from myself1 for that would be self-righteous and what is self-righteous is not good4 ,so he neglects all until he does not know what evil is2 what then is he to search out and see in himself8 ,is it not his state then that a pent-up fire of lusts of evil consumes the interiors of his mind and lays them waste even to the entrance8 ,he is on guard only at the door to keep the fire from appearing4 ,after death the door is opened and the fire appears for all to see4 #c ,third3 ,those absorbed with the mundane give no thought to sins1 hence do not know of any4 ,these love the world above all things and welcome no truth that would lead them away from any falsity in their religion4 ,they tell themselves1 ,what is this to me8 ,it is not to my way of thinking4 ,so they reject truth on hearing it and if they listen to it smother it4 ,they do much the same on hearing sermons2 they retain some sayings but not any of the substance4 ,dealing in this way with truths they do not know what good is1 for truth and good act as one2 and from good which is not linked with truth one does not recognize evil except as one calls it good also1 which is done by rationalizing from falsities4 ,it is these who are meant by the seed which fell among thorns1 of whom the ,lord said3 ,other seeds fell among thorns2 and the thorns sprang up and choked them 444 ,these are they who hear the ,word1 but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the ,word so that it become unfruitful 7,mt #ac3g1 #bb2 ,mk #d3g1 #ah1 #ai2 ,lu #h3g1 #ad74 #d ,fourth3 ,those who favor sins and therefore cannot know them4 ,these acknowledge ,god and worship ,him with the usual ceremonials and assure themselves that a given evil1 which is a sin1 is not a sin4 ,for they color it with fallacies and appearances and thus hide its enormity4 ,then they indulge it and make it their friend and familiar4 ,we say that those who acknowledge ,god do this1 for others do not regard an evil as a sin1 for one sins against ,god4 ,but let examples illustrate this4 ,a man makes an evil not to be a sin when in coveting wealth he makes some kinds of fraud allowable by reasoning which he devises4 ,so does the man who confirms himself in plundering those who are not his enemies in a war4 #e ,fifth3 ,sins do not appear in these men1 therefore cannot be removed4 ,all evil which does not come to sight nurses itself2 it is like fire in wood under ashes or like matter in an unopened wound2 for all evil which is repressed increases and does not stop until it destroys all4 ,lest evil be repressed1 therefore1 everyone is allowed to think in favor of ,god or against ,god and in favor of the sanctities of the church or against them1 without being punished for it in the world4 ,of this the ,lord says in ,isaiah3 ,from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness2 wound1 and scar1 and fresh bruise2 they have not been pressed out1 nor bound up1 nor softened with oil4444 ,wash you1 make you clean1 remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes2 cease to do evil1 learn to do good4 4 4 4 ,then if your sins have been as scarlet1 they shall be white as snow2 if they have been red like crimson1 they shall be like wool4 4 4 4 ,but if you refuse and rebel1 you shall be devoured by the sword 7,isa #a3f1 #af1 #ag1 #ah1 #bj74 ,to be devoured by the sword signifies to perish by falsity of evil4 #f ,sixth3 ,the cause1 hidden so far1 why evils cannot be removed apart from their being searched out1 appearing1 being acknowledged1 confessed and resisted4 ,in preceding pages we have mentioned the fact that all heaven is arranged in societies according to affections of good1 and all hell in societies according to the lusts of evil opposite to the affections of good4 ,each person as to his spirit is in some society1 in a heavenly one if in an affection of good1 but in an infernal one if in some lust of evil4 ,while living in the world man does not know this and yet as to his spirit he is in some society2 otherwise he cannot live2 and by it he is governed by the ,lord4 ,if he is in an infernal society1 he cannot be led out of it by the ,lord except according to the laws of divine providence1 among which is this also1 that a man shall see that he is there1 want to leave1 and make the effort himself to do so4 ,one can do this while in the world but not after death1 for then he remains forever in the society in which he put himself in the world4 ,it is for this reason that man is to examine himself1 see and avow his sins1 do repentance1 and thereupon persevere to the close of life4 ,i might substantiate this to full belief by much experience1 but this is not the place to document the experience4 #bgi4 7iii7 ,so far as evils are removed they are remitted4 ,it is an error of the age to believe #a4 ,that evils are separated and in fact cast out from man when they are remitted2 and #b4 ,that the state of man's life can be changed in a moment1 even to its opposite1 so that from wicked he becomes good1 and consequently can be led from hell and be transported straightway to heaven1 and this by the ,lord's sheer mercy4 #c4 ,but those who believe and suppose so1 do not know at all what evil and good are and nothing at all about the state of man's life4 #d4 ,moreover1 they are wholly unaware that affections1 which are of the will1 are nothing other than changes and variations of the state of the purely organic substances of the mind2 and that thoughts1 which are of the understanding1 also are2 and that memory is the permanent state of these changes4 ,when one knows these things1 one can see clearly that an evil can be removed only by successive stages1 and that the remission of an evil is not complete removal of it4 ,but all this has been said in summary form and unless the items are demonstrated may be assented to and yet not comprehended4 ,what is not comprehended is as indistinct as a wheel spun around by the hand4 ,the points made above are therefore to be demonstrated one by one in the order in which they were set forth4 #b ,first3 ,it is an error of the age to believe that evils are separated and in fact cast out when they are remitted4 ,it has been granted me to learn from heaven that no evil into which man is born and which he has made actual in him is separated from him1 but is removed so as not to appear4 ,earlier ,i shared the belief of most persons in the world that when evils are remitted they are cast out and are washed and wiped away as dirt is from the face by water4 ,it is not like this with evils or sins4 ,they all remain4 ,when they are remitted on repentance1 they are thrust from the center to the sides4 ,what is in the center1 being directly under view1 appears as in the light of day1 and what is to one side is in shadow and at times in the darkness of night4 ,inasmuch as evils are not separated but only removed1 that is1 thrust to one side1 and as man can go from ,the center to the periphery1 he can return1 as it may happen1 to his evils1 which he supposed had been cast out4 ,for the human being is such that he can go from one affection to another and sometimes to the opposite1 and thus from one center into another2 the affection in which he is at the time makes the center1 for he is then in the enjoyment and light of it4 #c ,some who are raised after death into heaven by the ,lord1 for they have lived well1 have carried with them1 however1 the belief that they are clean and rid of sins1 therefore are not in a state of guilt4 ,in accord with their belief they are clothed at first in white garments1 for white garments signify a state purified from evils4 ,but after a time they begin to think1 as they did in the world1 that they are washed1 as it were1 from all evil1 and to glory that they are no longer sinners like other men4 ,this can hardly be kept from being an elation of mind and a contempt of others in comparison with oneself4 ,in order1 therefore1 that they may be delivered from their imaginary belief1 they are sent down from heaven and let back into the evils which they pursued in the world2 they are also shown that they are in hereditary evils of which they had not known4 ,when they have been led in this way to realize that their evils have not been separated from them but only put aside1 thus that in themselves they are impure1 indeed nothing but evil1 and that they are withheld from evils and held in goods by the ,lord1 and that this only seems to be their doing1 they are raised again into heaven by the ,lord4 #d ,second3 ,it is an error of the age to believe that the state of man's life can be changed in a moment1 so that from wicked he can become good1 and consequently can be led from hell and transported at once to heaven1 and this by the ,lord's direct mercy4 ,those who separate charity and faith and place salvation in faith alone1 commit this error4 ,for they suppose that merely to think and speak formulas of that faith1 if it is done with trust and confidence1 justifies and saves one4 ,many think it is done instantly1 too1 and if not previously1 can be done in the last hour of one's life4 ,these are bound to believe that the state of man's life can be changed in a moment and that he can be saved by direct mercy4 ,but in the last chapter of this treatise it will be seen that the ,lord's mercy is mediated1 that man cannot become good in a moment from being wicked1 and can be led from hell and transported to heaven only by the continual activity of divine providence from infancy to the very close of life4 ,here it need only be said that all the laws of divine providence have the salvation and reformation of the human being for their object1 in other words1 the inversion of his state1 which by nativity is infernal1 into the opposite1 which is heavenly4 ,this can only be done progressively as man recedes from evil and its enjoyment and comes into good and its enjoyment4 #e ,third3 ,those who believe in an instantaneous change do not know at all what evil and good are4 ,for they do not know that evil is the enjoyment of the lust of acting and thinking contrary to divine order1 and good is the enjoyment of the affection for acting and thinking in accord with divine order4 ,they do not know1 either1 that myriads of lusts enter into and compose each individual evil and myriads of affections enter into and compose each individual good1 and that these myriads are in such order and connection in man's interiors that it is impossible to change one without changing all at the same time4 ,those who are ignorant of this may believe or suppose that evil1 which seems to them to be a single entity1 can be easily removed1 and that good1 which also seems to be a single entity1 can be introduced in its place4 ,not knowing what evil and good are1 they cannot but suppose that there is such a thing as instantaneous salvation and such a thing as direct mercy4 ,that these are not possible will be seen in the last chapter of this treatise4 #f ,fourth3 ,those who believe in instantaneous salvation and unmediated mercy do not know that affections1 which are of the will1 are nothing other than changes of state in the purely organic substances of the mind2 that thoughts1 which are of the understanding1 are nothing other than changes and variations in the form of those substances2 and that memory is the persisting state of the changes and variations4 ,everyone acknowledges1 on its being said1 that affections and thoughts exist only in substances and their forms1 which are the subjects2 existing in the brain which is full of substances and forms1 they are called purely organic forms4 ,no one who thinks rationally can help laughing at the fancies of some that affections and thoughts do not have substantive bases1 but are exhalations given shape by heat and light1 like images apparently in the air or ether4 ,for thought can no more exist apart from a substantial form than sight can apart from its form1 the eye1 or hearing apart from its form1 the ear1 or taste apart from its form1 the tongue4 ,if you examine the brain1 you will see innumerable substances and fibres1 also1 and see1 too1 that everything in it is organized4 ,what more is needed than this ocular proof8 #g ,but one may ask1 ,what are affection and thought then8 ,a conclusion can be reached from each and all things in the body4 ,in it are many viscera1 each fixed in its place1 and all performing their several functions by changes and variations of state and form4 ,it is well known that they are engaged in their own activities--the stomach1 the intestines1 the kidneys1 the liver1 the pancreas1 the spleen1 the heart and the lungs1 each in its particular activity4 ,all the activities are maintained from within1 and to be actuated from within means that it is by changes and variations of state and form4 ,it may be plain then that the activities of the purely organic substances of the mind are similar1 the one difference being that those of the organic substances of the body are natural1 but of the mind are spiritual2 plainly1 also1 the two make one by correspondences4 #h ,the nature of the changes and variations of state and form in the organic substances of the mind1 which are affections and thoughts1 cannot be shown to the eye4 ,it may1 however1 be seen as in a mirror by the changes of state in the lungs on speaking and singing4 ,there is correspondence1 moreover2 for the sound of the voice in speaking and singing1 and the articulations of the sound which are the words of speech and the modulations of song1 are produced by means of the lungs2 sound corresponds to affection1 and speech to thought4 ,sound and speech are produced also from affection and thought4 ,this is done by changes and variations in the state and form of the organic substances of the lungs1 and from the lungs through the trachea or windpipe in the larynx and glottis1 and then in the tongue1 and finally in the lips4 ,the first changes and variations in the state and form of the sound occur in the lungs1 the second in trachea and larynx1 the third in the glottis by the different openings of its orifice1 the fourth in the tongue by its various positions against palate and teeth1 and the fifth in the lips by the various modifications of form in them4 ,it may be evident1 then1 that these consecutive changes and variations in the state of organic forms produce the sounds and their articulations which are speech and song4 ,inasmuch1 then1 as sound and speech are produced from no other source than the affections and thoughts of the mind 7for they exist from them and are never apart from them71 clearly the affections of the will are changes and variations in the state of the purely organic substances of the mind1 and the thoughts of the understanding are changes and variations in the form of those substances1 quite like those in the substances of the lungs4 #i ,since affections and thoughts are simply changes of state in the forms of the mind1 memory is nothing other than the permanent state of those changes4 ,for all changes and variations of state in organic substances are such that once they are habitual they become permanent4 ,so the lungs are habituated to produce certain sounds in the trachea1 to vary them in the glottis1 articulate them by the tongue1 and modify them by the mouth2 once these organic activities have become habitual1 they are settled in the organs and can be reproduced4 ,these changes and variations are infinitely more perfect in the organs of the mind than in those of the body1 as is evident from what was said in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom 7nn4 #aii-bjd71 where we showed that all perfections increase and ascend by and according to degrees4 ,more on this will be seen below 7n4 #cai74 #bhj4 ,it is also an error of the age to suppose that when sins are remitted they are taken away4 ,this is the error of those who believe that their sins are pardoned by the sacrament of the ,holy ,supper although they have not removed them from themselves by repentance4 ,those also commit this error who believe that they are saved by faith alone2 those also who believe that they are saved by papal dispensations4 ,all these believe in unmediated mercy and instant salvation4 ,but when the statement is reversed it becomes truth1 that is1 when sins are removed they are also remitted4 ,for repentance precedes pardon1 and aside from repentance there is no pardon4 ,therefore the ,lord bade ,his disciples3 ,that they should preach repentance for the remission of sins 7,lu #bd3bg1 #dg71 and ,john preached ,the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins 7,lu #c3c74 ,the ,lord remits the sins of all2 ,he does not accuse and impute2 but ,he can take sins away only in accordance with laws of ,his divine providence4 ,for when ,peter asked how often he was to forgive a brother sinning against him1 whether seven times1 the ,lord said to him3 ,that he should forgive not only seven times1 but seventy times seven 7,mt #ah3ba1 #bb74 ,what then will the ,lord not do1 who is mercy itself8 #bha4 7iv7 ,thus the permission of evil is for the sake of the end1 namely1 salvation4 ,it is well known that man has full liberty to think and will but not to say and do whatever he thinks and wills4 ,he may think as an atheist1 deny ,god and blaspheme the sanctities of ,word and church4 ,he may even want to destroy them utterly by word and deed1 but this is prevented by civil1 moral and ecclesiastical laws4 ,he therefore cherishes this impiety and wickedness inwardly by thinking1 willing and even intending to do it1 but not doing it actually4 ,the man who is not an atheist also has full liberty to think many evil things1 things fraudulent1 lascivious1 revengeful and otherwise insane2 he also does them at times4 ,who can believe that unless man had full liberty1 he not only could not be saved but would even perish utterly8 #b ,now let us have the reason for this4 ,everyone from birth is in evils of many kinds4 ,they are in his will1 and what is in the will is loved4 ,for what a man wills inwardly he loves1 what he loves he wills1 and the will's love flows into the understanding where it makes its pleasure felt and thereupon enters the thoughts and intentions4 ,if1 therefore1 he were not allowed to think in accord with the love in his will1 which is hereditarily implanted in him1 that love would remain shut in and never be seen by him4 ,a love of evil which does not become apparent is like an enemy in ambush1 like matter in an ulcer1 like poison in the blood1 or corruption in the breast1 which cause death when they are kept shut in4 ,but when a person is permitted to think the evils of his life's love1 even to intend doing them1 they are cured by spiritual means as diseases are by natural means4 #c ,it will be told now what man would be like if he were not permitted to think in accord with the enjoyment of his life's love4 ,no longer would he be man1 for he would lose his two faculties called liberty and rationality in which humanness itself consists4 ,the enjoyment of those evils would occupy the interiors of his mind to such an extent that it would burst open the door4 ,he could then only speak and commit the evils2 his unsoundness would be manifest not only to himself but to the world2 and at length he would not know how to cover his shame4 ,in order that he may not come into this state1 he is permitted to think and to will the evils of his inherited nature but not to say and commit them4 ,meanwhile he is learning civil1 moral and spiritual things4 ,these enter his thoughts and remove the unsoundness and he is healed by the ,lord by means of them1 only to the extent1 however1 of knowing how to guard the door unless he also acknowledges ,god and implores ,his aid for power to resist the unsoundness4 ,then1 so far as he resists it1 he does not let it into his intentions and eventually not even into his thoughts4 #d ,since man is free to think as he pleases to the end that his life's love may emerge from its hiding-place into the light of his understanding1 and since he would not otherwise know anything of his own evil and consequently would not know how to shun it1 it is also true that it would increase in him so much that recovery would become impossible in him and hardly be possible in his children1 were he to have children1 for a parent's evil is transmitted to his offspring4 ,the ,lord1 however1 provides that this may not occur4 #bhb4 ,the ,lord could heal the understanding in every man and thus cause him to think not evil but good1 and this by means of fears of different kinds1 miracles1 conversations with the dead1 or visions and dreams4 ,but to heal the understanding alone is to heal man only outwardly1 for understanding with its thought is the external of man's life while the will with its affection is the internal4 ,the healing of the understanding alone would therefore be like palliative healing in which the interior malignity1 closed in and kept from issuing1 would destroy first the near and then the remote parts till all would become mortified4 ,the will itself must be healed1 not by the influx of the understanding into it1 for that is impossible1 but by means of instruction and exhortation from the understanding4 ,were the understanding alone healed1 man would become like a dead body embalmed or covered by fragrant spices and roses which would soon get such a foul odor from the body that they could not be brought near anyone's nostrils4 ,so heavenly truths in the understanding would be affected if the evil love of the will were shut in4 #bhc4 ,man is permitted1 as was said1 to think evils even to intending them in order that they may be removed by means of what is civil1 moral and spiritual4 ,this is done when he considers that they are contrary to what is just and equitable1 to what is honest and decorous and to what is good and true1 contrary therefore to the peace1 joy and blessedness of life4 ,by these three means the ,lord heals the love of man's will1 in fear at first1 it is true1 but with love later4 ,still the evils are not separated from the man and cast out1 but only removed in him and put to the side4 ,when they are and good has the center1 evils do not appear1 for whatever has the central place is squarely under view and is seen and perceived4 ,it should be known1 however1 that even when good occupies the center man is not for that reason in good unless the evils at the side tend downward or outward4 ,if they look upward or inward they have not been removed1 but are still trying to return to the center4 ,they tend downward and outward when man shuns his evils as sins and still more when he holds them in aversion1 for then he condemns them1 consigns them to hell1 and makes them face that way4 #bhd4 ,man's understanding is the recipient of both good and evil and of both truth and falsity1 but not his will4 ,his will must be either in evil or in good2 it cannot be in both1 for it is the man himself and in it is his life's love4 ,but good and evil are separate in the understanding like what is internal and what is external4 ,thus man may be inwardly in evil and outwardly in good4 ,still1 when he is being reformed1 the two meet1 and conflict and combat ensue4 ,this is called temptation when it is severe1 but when it is not severe a fermentation like that of wine or strong drink occurs4 ,if good conquers1 evil with its falsity is carried to the side1 as lees1 to use an analogy1 fall to the bottom of a vessel4 ,the good is like wine that becomes generous on fermentation and like strong drink which becomes clear4 ,but if evil conquers1 good with its truth is borne to the side and becomes turbid and noisome like unfermented wine or unfermented strong drink4 ,comparison is made with ferment because in the ,word1 as at ,hosea #g3d1 ,luke #ab3a and elsewhere1 ferment signifies falsity of evil4 ,,xv4 ,,divine ,,providence ,,attends ,,the ,,evil ,,and ,,the ,,good ,,alike #bhe4 ,in every person1 good or bad1 there are two faculties one of which makes the understanding and the other the will4 ,the faculty making the understanding is the ability to understand and think1 therefore is called rationality4 ,the faculty making the will is the ability to do this freely1 that is1 to think and consequently to speak and act also1 provided that it is not contrary to reason or rationality2 for to act freely is to act as often as one wills and according as one wills4 ,the two faculties are constant and are present from first to last in each and all things which a man thinks and does4 ,he has them not from himself1 but from the ,lord4 ,it follows that the ,lord's presence in these faculties is also in the least things1 indeed the very least1 of man's understanding and thought1 of his will and affection too1 and thence of his speech and action4 ,if you remove these faculties from even the very least thing1 you will not be able to think or utter it as a human being4 #b ,it has already been shown abundantly that the human being is a human being by virtue of the two faculties1 enabled by them to think and speak1 and to perceive goods and understand truths1 not only such as are civil and moral but also such as are spiritual1 and made capable1 too1 of being reformed and regenerated2 in a word1 made capable of being conjoined to the ,lord and thereby of living forever4 ,it was also shown that not only good men but evil also possess the two faculties4 ,these faculties are in man from the ,lord and are not appropriated to him as his1 for what is divine cannot be appropriated but only adjoined to him and thus appear to be his1 and this which is divine with the human being is in the least things pertaining to him4 ,it follows that the ,lord governs the least things in an evil man as well as in a good man4 ,this government of ,his is what is called divine providence4 #bhf4 ,inasmuch as it is a law of divine providence that man shall act from freedom according to reason1 that is1 from the two faculties1 liberty and rationality2 and a law of divine providence that what he does shall appear to be from himself and thus his own2 and also a law that evils must be permitted in order that man may be led out of them1 it follows that man can abuse these faculties and in freedom according to reason confirm whatever he pleases4 ,he can make reasonable whatever he will1 whether it is reasonable in itself or not4 ,some therefore ask1 ,what is truth8 ,can ,i not make true whatever ,i will8 ,does not the world do so8 ,anybody can do it by reasoning4 ,take an utter falsity and bid a clever man confirm it1 and he will4 ,tell him1 for instance1 to show that man is a beast1 or that the soul is like a small spider in its web and governs the body as that does by threads1 or tell him that religion is nothing but a restraining bond1 and he will prove any one of these propositions until it appears to be truth4 ,what is more easily done8 ,for he does not know what appearance is or what falsity is which in blind faith is taken for truth4 #b ,hence it is that a man cannot see this truth1 namely1 that divine providence is in the very least things of the understanding and the will1 or what is the same1 in the very least things of the thoughts and affections of every person1 wicked or good4 ,he is perplexed especially because it seems then that evils are also from the ,lord1 but it will be seen in what follows that nevertheless there is not a particle of evil from the ,lord but that evil is from man in that he confirms in him the appearance that he thinks1 wills1 speaks and acts of himself4 ,in order that these things may be seen clearly1 they will be demonstrated in this order3 i4 ,divine providence is universal in the least things with the evil as well as the good1 and yet is not in one's evils4 ii4 ,the evil are continually leading themselves into evils1 but the ,lord is continually leading them away from evils4 iii4 ,the evil cannot be fully withdrawn from evil and led in good by the ,lord so long as they believe their own intelligence to be everything and divine providence nothing4 iv4 ,the ,lord rules hell through opposites2 and rules the evil who are in the world1 in hell as to their interiors1 but not as to their exteriors4 #bhg4 7i7 ,divine providence is universal in the least things with the evil as well as the good1 and yet is not in one's evils4 ,it was shown above that divine providence is in the least things of man's thoughts and affections4 ,this means that man can think and will nothing from himself1 but that everything he thinks and wills and consequently says and does1 is from influx4 ,if it is good1 it is from influx out of heaven1 and if evil1 from influx out of hell2 or what is the same1 the good is from influx from the ,lord and the evil from man's proprium4 ,i know that it is difficult to grasp this1 because what flows in from heaven or from the ,lord is distinguished from what flows in from hell or from man's proprium1 and yet divine providence is said to be in the least of man's thoughts and affections1 even so far that he can think and will nothing from himself4 ,it appears like a contradiction to say that he can also think and will from hell and from his proprium4 ,yet it is not1 and this will be seen in what follows1 after some things have been premised which will clarify the matter4 #bhh4 ,all the angels of heaven confess that no one can think from himself but does so from the ,lord1 while all the spirits of hell say that no one can think from any other than himself4 ,these spirits have been shown many times that no one of them thinks or can think from himself1 but that thought flows in2 it was in vain1 however2 they would not accept the idea4 ,but experience will teach1 first1 that everything of thought and affection even with spirits of hell flows in from heaven1 but that the inflowing good is turned into evil there and truth into falsity1 thus everything into its opposite4 ,this was shown in this way3 a truth from the ,word was sent down from heaven1 was received by those uppermost in hell1 and by them sent to lower hells1 and on to the lowest4 ,on the way it was turned by stages into falsity and finally into falsity the direct opposite of the truth4 ,those with whom it was so changed thought the falsity of themselves seemingly and knew no otherwise2 still it was truth1 flowing down from heaven on the way to the lowest hell1 which was thus falsified and perverted4 ,i have heard of this several times4 ,the same thing occurs with good2 as it flows down from heaven1 it is changed step by step into the evil opposite to it4 ,hence it was plain that truth and good1 proceeding from the ,lord and received by those who are in falsity and evil1 are completely altered and so transformed that their first form is lost4 ,the like happens in every evil person1 for as to his spirit he is in hell4 #bhi4 ,i have often been shown that no one in hell thinks from himself but through others around him1 and these do not1 but through others still4 ,thoughts and affections make their way from one society to another1 but no one is aware that they do not originate with himself4 ,some who believed that they thought and willed of themselves were dispatched to another society and held there1 and communication was cut off with the societies around to which their thoughts usually extended4 ,then they were told to think differently from the spirits of this society1 and compel themselves to think to the contrary2 they confessed that they could not4 #b ,this was done with a number and with ,leibnitz1 too1 who was also convinced that no one thinks from himself1 but from others1 nor do these think from themselves1 but all think by an influx from heaven1 and heaven by an influx from the ,lord4 ,some1 pondering this1 said that it was amazing1 and that hardly anyone can be led to credit it1 for it is utterly contrary to the appearance1 but that they still could not deny it1 for it was fully demonstrated4 ,nevertheless1 astonished as they were1 they said that they are not in fault then in thinking evil2 also that it seems then as if evil is from the ,lord2 and1 again1 that they do not understand how the one ,lord can cause all to think so diversely4 ,the three points will be explained in what follows4 #bij4 ,to the experiences cited this is also to be added4 ,when it was granted me by the ,lord to speak with spirits and angels1 the foregoing arcanum was at once disclosed to me4 ,for ,i was told from heaven that like others ,i believed that ,i thought and willed from myself1 when in fact nothing was from myself1 but if it was good1 it was from the ,lord1 and if evil from hell4 ,that this was so1 was shown me to the life by various thoughts and affections which were induced on me1 and gradually ,i was given to perceive and feel it4 ,therefore1 as soon as an evil afterwards entered my will or a falsity into my thought1 ,i investigated the source of it4 ,i inquired from whom it came4 ,this was disclosed to me1 and ,i was also allowed to speak with those spirits1 refute them1 and compel them to withdraw1 thus to take back their evil and falsity and keep it to themselves1 and no longer infuse anything of the kind into my thought4 ,this has occurred a thousand times4 ,i have remained in this state for many years1 and still do4 ,yet ,i seem to myself to think and will from myself like others1 with no difference1 for of the ,lord's providence it should so appear to everyone1 as was shown above in the section on it4 ,newly arriving spirits wonder at this state of mine1 seeing as they do only that ,i do not think and will from myself1 and am therefore like some empty thing4 ,but ,i disclosed the arcanum to them1 and added that ,i also think more interiorly1 and perceive whether what flows into my exterior thought is from heaven or from hell1 reject the latter and welcome the former1 yet seem to myself1 like them1 to be thinking and willing from myself4 #bia4 ,it is not unknown in the world that all good is from heaven and all evil from hell2 it is known to everyone in the church4 ,who that has been inaugurated into the church's priesthood does not teach that all good is from ,god1 and that man can receive nothing of himself except it be given him from heaven8 ,and also that the devil infuses evils into the thoughts and leads astray and incites one to commit evils8 ,therefore a priest who believes that he preaches out of a holy zeal1 prays that the ,holy ,spirit may teach him1 and guide his thoughts and utterances4 ,some say that they have sensibly perceived being acted upon1 and when a sermon is praised1 reply piously that they have spoken not from themselves but from ,god4 ,therefore when they see someone speak and act well1 they remark he was led to do so by ,god2 on the other hand1 seeing someone speak and act wickedly1 they remark he was led to do so by the devil4 ,that there is talk of the kind in the church is known1 but who believes that it is so8 #bib4 ,everything that a man thinks and wills1 and consequently speaks and does1 flows in from the one ,fountain of life1 and yet that one ,fountain of life1 namely1 the ,lord1 is not the cause of man's thinking what is evil and false4 ,this may be clarified by these facts in the world of nature4 ,heat and light proceed from the sun of the world4 ,they flow into all visible subjects and objects1 not only into subjects that are good and objects that are beautiful1 but also into subjects that are evil and objects that are ugly1 producing varying effects in them4 ,they flow not only into trees that bear good fruit but into trees that bear bad fruit1 and into the fruits themselves1 quickening their growth4 ,they flow into good seed and into weeds1 into shrubs which have a good use and are wholesome1 and into shrubs that have an evil use and are poisonous4 ,yet it is the same heat and the same light2 there is no cause of evil in them2 the cause is in the recipient subjects and objects4 #b ,the same warmth that hatches eggs in which a screech-owl1 a horned owl1 and a viper lie acts as it does when it hatches those in which a dove1 a bird of paradise and a swan lie4 ,put eggs of both sorts under the hen and they will be hatched by her warmth1 which in itself is innocent of harm4 ,what has the heat in common then with what is evil and noxious8 ,the heat flowing into a marsh or a dung-hill or into decaying or dead matter acts in the same way as it does when it flows into things flavorsome and fragrant1 lush and living4 ,who does not see that the cause is not in the heat but in the recipient subject8 ,the same light gives pleasing colors in one object and displeasing colors in another2 indeed1 it grows brighter in white objects and becomes dazzling1 and dims in those verging on black and becomes dusky4 #c ,there is what is similar in the spiritual world4 ,there are heat and light in it from its sun1 which is the ,lord1 and they flow from the sun into their subjects and objects4 ,now the subjects and objects are angels and spirits1 in particular their volitional and mental life1 and the heat is divine love going forth1 and the light is divine wisdom going forth4 ,the light and heat are not the cause of the different reception of them by one and another4 ,for the ,lord says1 ,he makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good1 and sends rain on the just and the unjust 7,mt #e3de74 ,in the highest spiritual sense by the sun the divine love is meant1 and by the rain the divine wisdom4 #bic4 ,let me add to this the view of the angels on will and understanding in man4 ,this is that there cannot be a grain of will or of prudence in man that is his own4 ,they say that if there were1 neither heaven nor hell would continue in existence1 and all mankind would perish4 ,the reason they give is that myriads of human beings1 as many as have been born since the creation of the world1 constitute heaven and hell1 of which the one is under the other in such an order that each is a unit1 heaven one comely humanity1 and hell one monstrous humanity4 ,if the individual had a grain of will and intelligence of his very own1 that unity could not exist1 but would be torn apart4 ,upon this that divine form would perish1 which can arise and remain only as the ,lord is all in all and men are nothing besides4 ,a further reason1 they say1 is that to think and will actually from one's own being is the divine itself1 and to think and will from ,god1 is the truly human4 ,the very divine cannot be appropriated to anyone1 for then man would be ,god4 ,bear the above in mind1 and if you wish you will have confirmation of it by angels when on death you come into the spiritual world4 #bid4 ,it was stated above 7n4 #bhi7 that when some were convinced that no one thinks from himself but from others1 nor the others from themselves1 but all by influx through heaven from the ,lord1 they remarked in their astonishment that then they are not in fault when they do evil1 also that then it seems evil comes from the ,lord1 nor do they comprehend how the ,lord can cause them all to think so differently4 ,since these three notions cannot but flow into the thoughts of those who regard effects only from effects and not from causes1 they need to be taken up and explained by what causes them4 #b ,first3 ,they are not in fault then in doing evil4 ,for if all that a person thinks flows into him from others1 the fault seems to be theirs from whom it comes4 ,yet the fault is the recipient's1 for he receives what inflows as his own and neither knows nor wants to know otherwise4 ,for everyone wants to be his own1 to be led by himself1 and above all to think and will from himself2 this is freedom itself1 which appears as the proprium in which every person is4 ,if he knew1 therefore1 that what he thinks and wills flows in from another1 it would seem to him that he was bound and captive and no longer master of himself4 ,all enjoyment in his life would thus perish1 and finally his very humanness would perish4 #c ,i have often seen this evidenced4 ,it was granted some spirits to perceive and sense that they were being led by others4 ,thereupon they were so enraged that they were reduced almost to mental impotence4 ,they said that they would rather be kept bound in hell than not to be allowed to think as they willed and to will as they thought4 ,this they called being bound in their very life1 which was harder and more intolerable than to be bound bodily4 ,not being allowed to speak and act as they thought and willed1 they did not call being bound4 ,for the enjoyment of civil and moral life1 which consists in speaking and acting1 itself restrains and at the same time mitigates that4 #d ,inasmuch as man does not want to know that he is led to think by others1 but wants to think from himself and believes that he does so1 it follows that he himself is in fault1 nor can he throw off the blame so long as he loves to think what he thinks4 ,if he does not love it1 he breaks his connection with those from whom his thought flows4 ,this occurs when he knows the thought is evil1 therefore determines to avoid it and desist from it4 ,he is then also taken by the ,lord from the society in that evil and transferred to a society free of it4 ,if1 however1 he recognizes the evil and does not shun it1 fault is imputed to him1 and he is responsible for the evil4 ,therefore1 whatever a man believes that he does from himself is said to be done from the man1 and not from the ,lord4 #e ,second3 ,it then seems as if evil is from the ,lord4 ,this may be thought to be the conclusion from what was shown above 7n4 #bhh71 namely1 that good flowing in from the ,lord is turned into evil and truth into falsity in hell4 ,but who cannot see that evil and falsity do not come of good and truth1 therefore not from the ,lord1 but from the recipient subject or object which is in evil and falsity and which perverts and inverts what flows into it1 as was amply shown above 7n4 #bib74 ,the source of evil and falsity in man has been pointed out frequently in the preceding pages4 ,moreover1 an experiment was made in the spiritual world with those who believed that the ,lord could remove evils in the wicked and introduce good instead1 thus move the whole of hell into heaven and save all4 ,that this is impossible1 however1 will be seen towards the end of this treatise1 where instantaneous salvation and unmediated mercy are to be treated of4 #f ,third3 ,they do not comprehend how the one ,lord can cause all to think so diversely4 ,the ,lord's divine love is infinite1 likewise ,his divine wisdom4 ,an infinity of love and wisdom proceeds from ,him1 flows in with all in heaven1 thence with all in hell1 and from heaven and hell with all in the world4 ,thinking and willing therefore cannot lack in anyone1 for what is infinite is limitless4 ,the infinite things that issue from the ,lord flow in not only universally but also in least things4 ,for the divine is universal by being in least things1 and the divine in least things constitutes what is called universal1 as was shown above1 and the divine in something least is still infinite4 ,hence it may be evident that the one ,lord causes each person to think and will according to the person's nature and does so in accordance with laws of ,his providence4 ,it was shown above 7nn4 #df-fi7 and also in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom 7nn4 #ag-bb71 that everything in the ,lord1 or proceeding from ,him1 is infinite4 #bie4 7ii7 ,the evil are continually leading themselves into evils1 but the ,lord is continually leading them away from evils4 ,the nature of divine providence with the good is more readily comprehended than its nature with the evil4 ,as the latter is now under consideration1 it will be set forth in this order3 #a4 ,in every evil there are innumerable things4 #b4 ,an evil man of himself continually leads himself more and more deeply into his evils4 #c4 ,divine providence with the evil is a continual tolerance of evil1 to the end that there may be a continual withdrawal from it4 #d4 ,withdrawal from evil is effected by the ,lord in a thousand most secret ways4 #bif4 ,in order1 then1 that divine providence with the evil may be seen clearly and therefore understood1 the propositions just stated are to be explained in the order in which they were presented4 ,first3 ,in every evil there are innumerable things4 ,to man's sight an evil appears to be a single thing4 ,hatred does1 and revenge1 theft and fraud1 adultery and whoredom1 pride and presumption1 and the rest4 ,it is unknown that in every evil there are innumerable things1 exceeding in number the fibres and vessels in the human body4 ,for an evil man is a hell in least form1 and hell consists of myriads and myriads of spirits1 each of whom is in form like a man1 but a monstrous one1 in whom all the fibres and vessels are inverted4 ,a spirit himself is an evil which appears to him as one thing1 but in it are innumerable things1 as numerous as the lusts of that evil4 ,for everyone1 from head to foot1 is his own evil or his own good4 ,since an evil man is such1 plainly he is one evil composed of countless different evils1 all severally evils1 and called lusts of evil4 ,it follows that all these1 one after another1 must be cured and changed by the ,lord for man to be reformed1 and that it can be done only by the ,lord's divine providence1 step by step from man's first years to his last4 #b ,every lust of evil1 when it is visually presented1 appears in hell like some noxious creature1 a serpent1 a cockatrice1 a viper1 a horned owl1 a screech-owl1 or some other2 so do the lusts of evil in an evil man appear when he is viewed by angels4 ,all these forms of lust must be changed one by one4 ,the man himself1 who appears as to his spirit like a monstrous man or devil1 must be changed to appear like a comely angel1 and each lust of evil changed to appear like a lamb or sheep or pigeon or turtle dove1 as affections of good in angels appear in heaven when they are visually represented4 ,changing a serpent into a lamb1 or a cockatrice into a sheep1 or an owl into a dove1 can be done only gradually1 by uprooting evil together with its seed and implanting good seed in its place4 ,this can only be done1 however1 comparatively as is done in the grafting of trees1 of which the roots with some of the trunk remain1 but the engrafted branch turns the sap drawn through the old root into sap that produces good fruit4 ,the branch to be engrafted in this instance is to be had only from the ,lord1 who is the tree of life2 this is also in keeping with the ,lord's words in ,john #ae3a-g4 #c ,second3 ,an evil man from himself continually leads himself more deeply into his evils4 ,he does so from himself because all evil is from man1 for1 as was said1 he turns good1 which is from the ,lord1 into evil4 ,he leads himself more and more deeply into evil for the reason1 essentially1 that as he wills and commits evil1 he enters more and more interiorly and also more and more deeply into infernal societies4 ,hence the enjoyment of evil increases1 too1 and occupies his thoughts until he feels nothing more agreeable4 ,one who has entered more interiorly and deeply into infernal societies becomes like one bound by chains4 ,so long as he lives in the world1 however1 he does not feel his chains2 they seem to be made of soft wool or smooth silken threads4 ,he loves them1 for they titillate2 but after death1 from being soft1 those chains become hard1 and from being pleasant become galling4 #d ,that the enjoyment of evil grows is known from thefts1 robberies1 plunderings1 revenge1 tyranny1 lucre1 and other evils4 ,who does not feel a heightening of enjoyment in them as he succeeds in them and practices them uninhibited8 ,a thief1 we know1 feels such enjoyment in thefts that he cannot desist from them1 and1 a wonder1 he loves one stolen coin more than ten that are given him4 ,it would be similar with adultery1 had it not been provided that the power to commit this evil decreases with the abuse1 but with many there still remains the enjoyment of thinking and talking about it1 and if nothing more1 there is still the lust of touch4 #e ,it is not known1 however1 that this heightening of enjoyment comes from a man's entering into infernal societies more and more interiorly and deeply as he perpetrates evils from the will as well as from thought4 ,if the evils are only in the thoughts1 and not in the will1 he is not yet in an infernal society having that evil2 he enters it when the evils are also in the will4 ,then1 if he also thinks the evil is contrary to the precepts of the ,decalog and regards these precepts as divine1 he commits the evil of set purpose and by so doing plunges to a depth from which he can be brought out only by active repentance4 ,it is to be understood that everyone as to his spirit is in the spiritual world1 in one of its societies1 an evil man in an infernal society and a good man in a heavenly society2 sometimes1 when in deep meditation one also appears there4 ,moreover1 as sound and1 along with it1 speech spread on the air in the natural world1 affection and thought with it spread among societies in the spiritual world2 there is correspondence1 too1 affection corresponding to sound and thought to speech4 #g ,third3 ,divine providence with the evil is a continual tolerance of evil1 to the end that there may be a continual withdrawal from it4 ,divine providence with evil men is continual permission because only evil can issue from their life4 ,for whether he is in good or in evil1 man cannot be in both at once1 nor by turns in one and the other unless he is lukewarm4 ,evil of life is not introduced into the will and through this into the thought by the ,lord but by man1 and this is named permission4 #h ,inasmuch as everything which an evil man wills and thinks is by permission1 the question arises1 what in this case divine providence is1 which is said to be in the least things with every person1 evil or good4 ,it consists in this1 that it exercises tolerance continually for the sake of its objective1 and permits what helps to the end and nothing more4 ,it constantly observes the evils that issue by permission1 separates and purifies them1 and rejects what is unsuitable and discharges it by unknown ways4 ,this is done principally in man's interior will and through it in his interior thought4 ,divine providence also sees to it constantly that what must be rejected and discharged is not received again by the will1 since all that is received by the will is appropriated to the man2 what is received by the thought1 but not by the will1 is set aside and banished4 ,such is the constant divine providence with the evil2 as was said1 it is a continual tolerance of evil to the end that there may be continual withdrawal from it4 #i ,of these activities man knows scarcely anything1 for he does not perceive them4 ,the chief reason why he does not1 is that the evils come from the lusts of his life's love1 and are not felt to be evils but enjoyments1 to which one does not give thought4 ,who gives thought to the enjoyments of his love8 ,his thought floats along in them like a skiff carried along by the current of a stream2 and he perceives a fragrant air which he inhales with a deep breath4 ,only in one's external thought does one have a sense of the enjoyments1 but even in it he pays no attention to them unless he knows well that they are evil4 ,more will be said on this in what follows4 #aj ,fourth3 ,withdrawal from evil is effected by the ,lord in a thousand most secret ways4 ,only some of these have been disclosed to me1 and only the most general ones4 ,for instance1 the enjoyments of lusts1 of which man knows nothing1 are let by clusters and bundles into the interior thoughts of his spirit and thence into his exterior thoughts1 where they appear in a feeling of pleasure1 delight or longing1 and mingle with his natural and sensuous enjoyments4 ,there the means to separation and purification and the ways of withdrawal and unburdening are to be found4 ,the means are chiefly the enjoyments of meditation1 thought and reflection on ends that are uses4 ,such ends are as numerous as the particulars and details of one's business or occupation4 ,just as numerous are the enjoyments of reflection on such an end as that one shall appear to be a civil and moral and also a spiritual person1 no matter what interposes which is unenjoyable4 ,these enjoyments1 being those of one's love in the external man1 are the means to the separation1 purification1 expulsion and withdrawal of the enjoyments of the lusts in the internal man4 #aa ,take1 for example1 an unjust judge who regards gain or friendship as the end or use of his office4 ,inwardly he is constantly in those ends1 but outwardly must act as one learned in the law and just4 ,he is constantly in the enjoyment of meditation1 thought1 reflection and intent to bend and turn a decision and adapt and adjust it so that it may still seem to be in conformity with the laws and resemble justice4 ,he does not know that his inward enjoyment consists in craftiness1 defrauding1 deceit1 clandestine theft1 and many other evils1 and that this enjoyment1 made up of so many enjoyments of the lusts of evil1 governs each and all things of his external thought1 in which he enjoys appearing just and sincere4 ,into the external enjoyment the internal enjoyment is let down1 the two are mingled as food is in the stomach1 and thereupon the internal enjoyments are separated1 purified1 and withdrawn4 ,still this is true only of the more grievous enjoyments of the lusts of evil4 #ab ,for in an evil man the only separation1 purification and withdrawal possible is of the more grievous evils from the less grievous4 ,in a good man1 however1 separation1 purification and withdrawal is possible not only of the more grievous evils but also of the less grievous4 ,this is effected by the enjoyments of the affections of what is good and true1 and of what is just and sincere1 affections into which one comes so far as he regards evils as sins and therefore avoids and is averse to them1 and still more as he fights against them4 ,it is by these means that the ,lord purifies all who are saved4 ,he purifies them by external means also1 such as fame and standing and sometimes wealth1 but put into these means by the ,lord are the enjoyments of affections of good and truth1 by which they are directed and fitted to become enjoyments of love for the neighbor4 #ac ,if one saw the enjoyments of the lusts of evil assembled in some form1 or perceived them distinctly by some sense1 he would see and perceive that they are too numerous for definition4 ,for hell in its entirety is nothing but the form of all the lusts of evil1 and no one lust in it is quite similar to or the same as another1 nor can be to eternity4 ,of these countless lusts man knows scarcely anything1 and even less how they are connected with one another4 ,yet the ,lord in ,his divine providence continually allows them to come forth1 for them to be drawn away1 and this is done in perfect order and sequence4 ,for the evil man is a hell in miniature1 and the good man a heaven in miniature4 #ad ,the withdrawal from evils1 which the ,lord effects in a thousand highly secret ways1 may best be seen and concluded about from the secret activities of the soul in the body4 ,man knows that he examines the food he is about to eat1 perceives what it is by its odor1 hungers for it1 tastes it1 chews it1 and by the tongue rolls it down into the esophagus and so into the stomach4 ,but then there are the hidden activities of the soul of which he knows nothing1 for he has no sensation of them4 ,the stomach rolls about the food it receives1 opens and breaks it up by solvents1 that is1 digests it1 and offers fit portions to the little mouths opening in it and to veins which imbibe it4 ,some it sends to the blood1 some to the lymphatic vessels1 some to the lacteal vessels of the mesentery1 and some down to the intestines4 ,then the chyle1 conveyed through the thoracic duct from its cistern in the mesentery1 is carried to the vena cava1 and so to the heart4 ,from the heart it is carried into the lungs1 from them through the left ventricle of the heart into the aorta1 and from this by its branches to viscera throughout the body and also to the kidneys4 ,in each organ separation and purification of the blood are effected and removal of the heterogeneous1 not to mention how the heart sends its blood up to the brain after purification in the lungs1 which is done by the arteries called carotids1 and how the brain returns the blood1 now vivified1 to the vena cava just above where the thoracic duct brings in the chyle1 and so back again to the heart4 #ae ,these and countless other activities are secret operations of the soul in the body4 ,man has no sense of them1 and unless he is acquainted with the science of anatomy1 knows nothing of them4 ,yet similar activities take place in the interiors of the human mind4 ,nothing can take place in the body except from the mind1 for man's mind is his spirit1 and his spirit is equally man2 the sole difference being that what is done in the body is done naturally1 while what is done in the mind is done spiritually2 there is all similarity4 ,plainly1 then1 divine providence operates with every man in a thousand hidden ways1 and its incessant care is to cleanse him1 since its purpose is to save him4 ,plainly1 too1 nothing more is incumbent on man than to remove evils in the outward man2 the ,lord sees to the rest1 when ,he is implored4 #big4 7iii7 ,the evil cannot be fully withdrawn from evil and led in good by the ,lord so long as they believe their own intelligence to be everything and divine providence nothing4 ,it would seem that man could withdraw himself from evil provided he thought that this or that was contrary to the common good1 or to what is useful1 or to national or international law1 and this an evil as well as a good man can do if by birth or through practice he is such that he can think clearly within himself1 analysing and reasoning4 ,but even then he is not capable of withdrawing himself from evil4 ,the faculty of understanding and of perceiving1 even abstractly1 has indeed been given everyone by the ,lord1 to the evil as well as to the good1 as has been shown above in many places1 and yet man cannot deliver himself from evil by means of this faculty4 ,for evil comes of the will1 and the understanding influences the will only with light1 enlightening and instructing4 ,if the heat of the will1 that is1 man's love1 is hot with the lust of evil1 it is cold towards the affection of good1 therefore does not receive the light but either repels or extinguishes it1 or by some fabricated falsity turns it into evil4 ,the light is then like winter light1 which is as clear as the light in summer and remains as clear even when it flows into frozen trees4 ,but this can be seen better in the following order3 #a4 ,when the will is in evil1 one's own intelligence sees only falsity1 and neither desires to see1 nor can see1 anything else4 #b4 ,if then one's own intelligence is confronted with truth1 it either turns away from it or falsifies it4 #c4 ,divine providence continually causes man to see truth1 and also gives him affection for perceiving and receiving it4 #d4 ,through this means man is withdrawn from evil1 not by himself1 but by the ,lord4 #bih4 ,for these things to be made apparent to the rational man1 whether he is evil or good1 thus whether he is in the light of winter or in the light of summer 7for colors appear the same in them71 they are to be explained in due order4 ,first3 ,when the will is in evil1 one's own intelligence sees only falsity1 and neither desires nor is able to see anything else4 ,this has often been demonstrated in the spiritual world4 ,everyone1 on becoming a spirit1 which takes place after death when he puts off the material body and puts on the spiritual1 is introduced by turns into the two states of his life1 the external and the internal4 ,in the external state he speaks and acts rationally1 quite as a rational and wise man does in the world2 he can also instruct others in much that pertains to moral and civil life1 and if he has been a preacher he can also give instruction in the spiritual life4 ,but when he is brought from this external state into his internal state1 and the external is put to sleep and the internal awakes1 the scene changes if he is evil4 ,from being rational he becomes sensuous1 and from being wise he becomes insane4 ,for he thinks then from the evil of his will and its enjoyments1 thus from his own intelligence1 and sees only falsity and does nothing but evil1 believing that evil is wisdom and that cunning is prudence4 ,from his own intelligence he believes himself to be a deity and with all his mind sucks up nefarious ways4 #b ,i have often seen instances of such insanity4 ,i have also seen spirits introduced into these alternating states two or three times within an hour1 and it was granted them to see and also acknowledge their insanities4 ,nevertheless they were unwilling to remain in a rational and moral state1 but voluntarily returned to their internal sensuous and insane state4 ,they loved this more than the other because the enjoyment of their life's love was in it4 ,who can believe that an evil man is such beneath his outward appearance and that he undergoes such a transformation when he enters on his internal state8 ,this one experience makes plain the nature of one's own intelligence when one thinks and acts from the evil of one's will4 ,it is otherwise with the good4 ,when they are admitted from their external state into their internal state1 they become still wiser and still more moral4 #c ,second3 ,if then one's own intelligence is confronted with truth1 it either turns away from it or falsifies it4 ,the human being has a volitional and an intellectual proprium4 ,the volitional proprium is evil1 and the intellectual proprium is falsity derived from evil2 the latter is meant by the will of man and the former by the will of the flesh in ,john #a3ac4 ,the volitional proprium is in essence self-love1 and the intellectual proprium is the pride coming of that love4 ,the two are like married partners1 and their union is called the marriage of evil and falsity4 ,into this union each evil spirit is admitted before he enters hell2 he then does not know what good is2 he calls his evil good1 because that is what he feels to be enjoyable4 ,he also turns away from truth then and has no desire to see it1 because he sees the falsity which accords with his evil as the eye beholds what is beautiful1 and hears it as the ear hears what is harmonious4 #d ,third3 ,divine providence continually causes man to see truth and also gives him affection for perceiving and receiving it4 ,for divine providence acts from within and flows thence into the exteriors1 that is1 flows from what is spiritual into what is in the natural man1 by the light of heaven enlightening his understanding and by the heat of heaven quickening his will4 ,the light of heaven in essence is divine wisdom1 and the heat of heaven in essence is divine love4 ,from divine wisdom nothing can flow but truth1 and from divine love nothing but good4 ,with good the ,lord bestows an affection in the understanding for seeing and also perceiving and receiving truth4 ,man thus becomes man not only in external aspect but in internal aspect1 too4 ,everyone desires to appear a rational and spiritual man1 and knows he so desires in order that others may believe him to be truly man4 ,if then he is rational and spiritual in external form only1 and not at the same time in his internal form1 is he man8 ,is he different from a player on the stage or from an ape with an almost human face8 ,may one not know from this that only he is a human being who is inwardly what he desires others to think he is8 ,one who acknowledges the one fact must admit the other4 ,man's own intelligence can induce the human form only on externals1 but divine providence induces it on internals and thence on externals4 ,when it has been so induced1 a man does not only appear to be a man2 he is one4 #e ,fourth3 ,through this means man is withdrawn from evil1 not by himself1 but by the ,lord4 ,when divine providence gives man to see truth and to be affected by it1 he can be withdrawn from evil for the reason that truth points the way and dictates2 doing what truth dictates1 the will unites with truth and within itself turns it into good1 for it becomes something one loves1 and what is loved is good4 ,all reformation is effected through truth1 not without it1 for without truth the will continues in its evil1 and should it consult the understanding1 is not instructed1 rather the evil is confirmed by falsities4 #f ,with regard to intelligence1 this seems to the good man as well as to an evil man to be his and proper to him4 ,like an evil man1 he is also bound to act from intelligence as if it were his own4 ,but one who believes in divine providence is withdrawn from evil1 and one who does not believe in it is not withdrawn2 he believes who acknowledges that evil is sin and desires to be withdrawn from it1 and he does not believe who does not so acknowledge and desire4 ,the difference between the two kinds of intelligence is like that between what is believed to exist in itself and what is believed not to exist in itself but to appear as if it did4 ,it is also like the difference between an external without an internal similar to it and an external with a similar internal4 ,thus it is like the difference between impersonations of kings1 princes or generals by mimes and actors through word and bearing1 and actual kings1 princes or generals4 ,the latter are such in fact as well as outwardly1 but the former only outwardly1 and when the exterior is laid off1 are known only as comedians1 actors or players4 #bii4 7iv7 ,the ,lord governs hell by means of opposites1 and those in the world who are evil ,he governs in hell as to their interiors but not as to their exteriors4 ,one who does not know the character of heaven and hell cannot know at all that of man's mind2 his mind is his spirit which survives death4 ,for the mind or spirit of man is altogether in form what heaven or hell is4 ,the only difference is that one is vast and the other very small1 or one is archetype and the other a copy4 ,as to his mind or spirit1 accordingly1 the human being is either heaven or hell in least form1 heaven if he is led by the ,lord1 and hell if he is led by his proprium4 ,inasmuch as it has been granted me to know what heaven and hell are1 and it is important to know what the human being is in respect to his mind or spirit1 ,i will describe both heaven and hell briefly4 #cjj4 ,all who are in heaven are nothing other than affections of good and thoughts thence of truth1 and all who are in hell are nothing other than lusts of evil and imaginations thence of falsity4 ,these are so arranged respectively that the lusts of evil and the imaginings of falsity in hell are precisely opposite to the affections of good and the thoughts of truth in heaven4 ,therefore hell is under heaven and diametrically opposite1 that is1 the two are like two men lying in opposite directions1 or standing1 invertedly1 like men at the antipodes1 only the soles of their feet meeting and their heels hitting4 ,at times hell also appears to be so situated or inverted relatively to heaven1 for the reason that those in hell make lusts of evil the head and affections of good the feet1 while those in heaven make affections of good the head and lusts of evil the soles of the feet2 hence the mutual opposition4 ,when it is said that in heaven there are affections of good and thoughts of truth from them1 and in hell lusts of evil and imaginations of falsity from them1 the meaning is that there are spirits and angels who are such4 ,for everyone is his affection or his lust1 an angel of heaven his affection and a spirit of hell his lust4 #cja4 ,the angels of heaven are affections of good and thoughts thence of truth because they are recipients of divine love and wisdom from the ,lord2 for all affections of good are from the divine love and all thoughts of truth are from the divine wisdom4 ,but the spirits of hell are lusts of evil and the imaginations thence of falsity because they are in self-love and their own intelligence1 and all lusts of evil come of self-love and imaginations of falsity from one's own intelligence4 #cjb4 ,the ordering of affections in heaven and of lusts in hell is marvelous1 and is known to the ,lord alone4 ,they are each distinguished into genera and species1 and are so conjoined as to make a unit4 ,as they are distinguished into genera and species1 they are distinguished into larger and smaller societies1 and as they are so conjoined as to make a unit1 they are conjoined as all things in man are4 ,hence in its form heaven is like a comely man1 whose soul is divine love and wisdom1 thus the ,lord1 and hell in its form is like a monstrous man1 his soul self-love and self-intelligence1 thus the devil4 ,no devil is sole lord there2 self-love is so called4 #cjc4 ,but that the nature of heaven and of hell respectively may be better known1 instead of affections of good let enjoyments of good be understood1 and enjoyments of evil instead of lusts of evil1 for no affections or lusts are without their enjoyments1 and enjoyments make one's life4 ,these enjoyments are distinguished and conjoined as we said affections of good and lusts of evil are4 ,the enjoyment of his affection fills and surrounds each angel1 the enjoyment common to a society of heaven fills and surrounds each society1 and the enjoyment of all the angels together or the most widely shared enjoyment fills and envelops heaven as a whole4 ,similarly1 the pleasure of his lust fills and envelops each spirit of hell1 a common enjoyment every society in hell1 and the enjoyment of all or the most widely shared enjoyment fills and envelops all hell4 ,since1 as was said1 the affections of heaven and the lusts of hell are diametrically opposite to each other1 plainly a heavenly joy is so unenjoyable to hell that it is unbearable1 and in turn an infernal joy is so unenjoyable to heaven that it is unbearable1 too4 ,hence the antipathy1 aversion and separateness4 #cjd4 ,as these enjoyments constitute the life of each individual and of all in general1 they are not sensed by those in them1 but the opposite enjoyments are sensed when brought near1 especially if they are turned into odors2 for every enjoyment corresponds to an odor and in the spiritual world may be converted into it4 ,then the general enjoyment in heaven is sensed as the odor of a garden1 varied according to the fragrance of flowers and fruits2 the general enjoyment in hell is sensed as the odor of stagnant water1 into which filth of various sorts has been thrown1 the odor varied according to the stench of the things decaying and reeking in it4 ,while ,i have been given to know how the enjoyment of a particular affection of good is sensed in heaven1 and the enjoyment of some lust of evil in hell1 it would take too long to relate it here4 #cje4 ,i have heard many newcomers from the world complain that they had not known that their destiny would be according to the affections of their love4 ,to these1 they said1 they had given no thought in the world1 much less to the enjoyments of the affections1 for they loved what they found enjoyable4 ,they had believed that each person's lot would be according to his thoughts from his intelligence1 especially according to thoughts of piety and of faith4 ,but they were answered1 that they could have known1 if they wished1 that evil of life is unacceptable to heaven and displeasing to ,god1 but acceptable to hell and pleasing to the devil1 and the other way about1 that good of life is acceptable to heaven and pleasing to ,god1 but unacceptable to hell and displeasing to the devil2 consequently that evil in itself is malodorous and good is fragrant4 ,as they might have known this if they wished1 why did they not shun evils as infernal and diabolical1 but indulge in them merely because they were enjoyable8 ,aware now that the enjoyments of evil smell so foully1 they might also know that those full of them cannot enter heaven4 ,upon this reply they betook themselves to those who were in similar enjoyments1 for only there could they breathe4 #cjf4 ,from the idea of heaven and hell just given1 it may be evident what the nature of man's mind is4 ,for1 as was said1 man's mind or spirit is either a heaven or a hell in least form1 that is1 his interiors are nothing other than affections and thoughts thence1 distinguished into genera and species1 like the larger and smaller societies of heaven or hell1 and so connected as to act as a unit4 ,the ,lord governs them as ,he does heaven or hell4 ,that the human being is either heaven or hell in least form may be seen in the work ,heaven and ,hell1 published at ,london in #ageh4 #cjg4 ,now to the subject proposed1 that the ,lord governs hell by means of opposites1 and those in the world who are evil ,he governs in hell as to their interiors but not as to their exteriors4 ,on the first point1 that the ,lord governs hell through opposites1 it was shown above 7nn4 #bhh1 #bhi7 that the angels of heaven are not in love and wisdom1 or in the affection of good and thence in thought of truth from themselves1 but from the ,lord1 likewise that good and truth flow from heaven into hell where good is turned into evil and truth into falsity because the interiors of the minds of those in heaven and in hell respectively are turned in opposite directions4 ,inasmuch then as all things in hell are the opposite of all things in heaven1 the ,lord governs hell by means of opposites4 #b ,the second point1 that the ,lord governs in hell those in the world who are evil4 ,this is for the reason that the human being as to his spirit is in the spiritual world and in some society there1 in an infernal society if he is evil1 in a heavenly one if he is good4 ,for his mind1 which in itself is spiritual1 cannot be anywhere but among spiritual beings1 of whom he becomes one after death4 ,this has also been stated and demonstrated above4 ,a man is not there1 however1 in the same way as a spirit is who has been assigned to the society1 for man is constantly in a state to be reformed1 and therefore1 if he is evil1 is transferred by the ,lord from one infernal society to another according to his life and the changes in it4 ,but if he permits himself to be reformed1 he is led out of hell and elevated to heaven1 and there1 too1 he is carried from one society to another until his death1 after which this does not take place as he is then no longer in a state to be reformed1 but remains in the state which is his from his life4 ,when a person dies1 therefore1 he is assigned his place4 #c ,thirdly1 the ,lord governs the evil who are in the world in this way as to their interiors1 but in another way as to their exteriors4 ,the ,lord governs the interiors of man's mind in the manner just stated1 but governs the exteriors in the world of spirits1 which is between heaven and hell4 ,the reason is that commonly man is different in externals from what he is in internals4 ,he can feign outwardly to be an angel of light and yet inwardly be a spirit of darkness4 ,his external is therefore governed in one way1 and his internal in another2 as long as he is in the world1 his external is governed in the world of spirits1 and his internal in either heaven or hell4 ,on death one also enters the world of spirits first1 therefore1 and comes into his external1 which he puts off there2 having put it off1 he is conducted to the place assigned as his4 ,what the world of spirits is and its nature may be seen in the work ,heaven and ,hell1 published at ,london in #ageh1 nn4 #dba-ece4 ,,xvi4 ,,divine ,,providence ,,appropriates ,,neither ,,evil ,,nor ,,good ,,to ,,anyone1 ,,but ,,one',s ,,own ,,prudence ,,appropriates ,,both #cjh4 ,almost everyone believes that man thinks and wills1 hence speaks and acts1 from himself4 ,who of himself can believe otherwise8 ,for the appearance that he does is so strong that it differs not at all from actually thinking1 willing1 speaking and acting from oneself1 which is impossible4 ,in ,angelic ,wisdom about ,divine ,love and ,wisdom it was shown that there is only one life and that men are recipients of life2 also that the human will is the receptacle of love1 and the human understanding the receptacle of wisdom2 love and wisdom are the one life4 ,it was also demonstrated that by creation and steadily therefore by divine providence this life appears in the human being quite as though it sprang from him and hence was his own1 but that this is the appearance so that man can be a receptacle4 ,it was also shown above 7nn4 #bhh-bid7 that no one thinks from himself but from others1 nor the others from themselves1 but all from the ,lord1 an evil person as well as a good person4 ,we showed further that this is well known in ,christendom1 especially to those who not only say but also believe that all good and truth1 all wisdom and thus all faith and charity are from the ,lord1 also that all evil and falsity are from the devil or hell4 #b ,one can only conclude from all this that everything which a man thinks and wills flows into him4 ,and since all speech flows from thought as an effect from its cause1 and all action flows similarly from the will1 it follows that everything which one speaks and does also flows in1 albeit derivatively or indirectly4 ,it is undeniable that all which one sees1 hears1 smells1 tastes or feels flows in2 why not then what he thinks and wills8 ,can there be any difference other than this1 that entities in the natural world flow into the organs of the external senses or of the body1 while entities in the spiritual world flow into the organic substances of the internal senses or of the mind8 ,hence as the organs of the external senses or of the body are receptacles of natural objects1 so the organic substances of the internal senses or of the mind are receptacles of spiritual objects4 ,as this is man's situation1 what then is his proprium8 ,it cannot consist in his being such or such a receptacle1 for then it would only be the man's manner of reception1 not the life's proprium4 ,no one understands by proprium anything else than that he lives of himself and consequently thinks and wills of himself2 but that there is no such proprium and indeed cannot be with anyone follows from what was said above4 #cji4 ,but let me relate what ,i have heard from some in the spiritual world4 ,they were of those who believe that one's own prudence is everything and divine providence nothing4 ,i remarked that man has no proprium unless you want to call it his proprium that he is such or such a subject or organ or form4 ,this is not the proprium that is meant1 however1 for it is only descriptive of the nature of man4 ,no man1 ,i said1 has any proprium as the word is commonly understood4 ,at this those who ascribed everything to their own prudence and who may be called the very picture of proprietorship1 flared up so that flames seemed to come from their nostrils as they said1 ,you speak paradox and insanity6 ,would man not be an empty nothing then8 ,or an idea or fancy8 ,or a graven image or statue8 #b ,to this ,i could only reply that it is paradox and insanity to believe that man has life of himself1 and that wisdom and prudence1 likewise the good of charity and the truth of faith1 do not flow in from ,god but are in man4 ,to attribute them to oneself every wise person calls insane and also paradoxical4 ,those who attribute them to themselves are like tenants of another's house and property who persuade themselves by living there that it is their own2 or like stewards and administrators who consider all that their master owns to be theirs2 or like servants in business to whom their master gave talents and pounds to trade with1 but who rendered no account to him but kept all as theirs and thus behaved like robbers4 #c ,it may be said of such that they are insane1 indeed are nothing and empty1 likewise are idealists1 since they do not have in them from the ,lord good which is the esse itself of life1 thus do not have truth1 either4 ,they are also called dead therefore and nothing and empty 7,isa #dj3ag1 #bc71 and elsewhere makers of images1 graven images and statues4 ,more about them in what follows1 to be done in this order3 i4 ,what one's own prudence is1 and what prudence not one's own is4 ii4 ,by his own prudence man persuades himself and confirms in himself that all good and truth are from him and in him2 similarly all evil and falsity4 iii4 ,all that a man is persuaded of and confirms remains with him as his own4 iv4 ,if man believed1 as is the truth1 that all good and truth are from the ,lord1 and all evil and falsity from hell1 he would not appropriate good to himself and consider it merited1 nor appropriate evil to himself and make himself responsible for it4 #caj4 7i7 ,what one's own prudence is1 and what prudence not one's own is4 ,those are in prudence of their own who confirm appearances in themselves and make them truths1 especially the appearance that one's own prudence is all and divine providence nothing--unless it is something universal1 which it cannot be without singulars to constitute it1 as was shown above4 ,they are also in fallacies1 for every appearance confirmed as truth becomes a fallacy1 and so far as they confirm themselves by fallacies they become naturalists and to that extent believe nothing that they cannot perceive by one of the bodily senses1 particularly that of sight1 for this especially acts as one with thought4 ,they finally become sensuous4 ,if they confirm themselves in favor of nature instead of ,god1 they close the interiors of their mind1 interpose a veil as it were1 and then do their thinking below it and not at all above it4 ,such sense-ridden men were called serpents of the tree of knowledge by the ancients4 ,it is also said of them in the spiritual world that as they confirm themselves they at length close the interiors of their mind to the nose1 for the nose signifies perception of truth1 of which they have none4 ,what their nature is will be told now4 #b ,they are more cunning and crafty than others and are ingenious reasoners4 ,they call cunning and craftiness intelligence and wisdom1 nor do they know otherwise4 ,they look on those who are not like themselves as simple and stupid1 especially those who worship ,god and acknowledge divine providence4 ,in respect of the interior principles of their minds1 of which they know little1 they are like those called ,machiavellians1 who make murder1 adultery1 theft and false witness1 viewed in themselves1 of no account2 if they reason against them it is only out of prudence not to appear to be of that nature4 #c ,of man's life in the world they think it is like that of a beast1 and of his life after death that it is like a vital vapor which1 rising from the body or the grave1 sinks back again and dies4 ,from this madness comes the notion that spirits and angels are airy entities1 and with those who have been enjoined to believe in everlasting life that the souls of men also are4 ,they therefore do not see1 hear or speak1 but are blind1 deaf and dumb1 and only cogitate in their particle of air4 ,the sense-ridden ask1 ,how can the soul be anything else8 ,the external senses died with the body1 did they not8 ,they cannot be resumed before the soul is reunited with the body4 ,inasmuch as they could comprehend the state of the soul after death only sensuously and not spiritually1 they have fixed upon the state described2 otherwise their belief in everlasting life would have perished4 ,above all1 they confirm self-love in themselves1 calling it the fire of life and the incentive to various uses in the kingdom4 ,being of this nature1 they are their own idols1 and their thoughts1 being fallacies and from fallacies1 are images of falsity4 ,indulging in the enjoyments of lusts1 they are satans and devils2 those who confirm lusts of evil in themselves are satans1 and those who live them are called devils4 #d ,it has also been granted me to know the nature of the most crafty sensuous men4 ,their hell is deep down at the back1 and they want to be inconspicuous4 ,therefore they appear to hover about there like spectres1 which are their fantasies1 and they are called genii4 ,some were sent out from that hell once for me to learn what they are like4 ,they immediately addressed themselves to my neck below the occiput and thus entered my affections1 not wanting to enter my thoughts1 which they adroitly avoided4 ,they altered my affections one by one with a mind to bend them imperceptibly into their opposites1 which are lusts of evil2 and as they did not touch my thought at all they would have bent and inverted my affections without my knowledge1 had not the ,lord prevented it4 #e ,such do they become who do not believe that there can be any divine providence1 and who search only for cupidities and cravings in others and thus lead them along until they dominate them4 ,they do this so secretly and artfully that one does not know it1 and they remain the same on death2 therefore they are cast down into that hell as soon as they enter the spiritual world4 ,seen in heaven's light they appear to be without a nose1 and it is remarkable that although they are so crafty they are more sense-ridden than others4 #f ,the ancients called a sensuous man a serpent1 and such a man is more cunning and crafty and a more ingenious reasoner than others2 therefore it is said1 ,the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field 7,ge #c3a71 and the ,lord said3 ,be prudent as serpents and simple as doves 7,mt #aj3af74 ,the dragon1 too1 called that old serpent and the devil and satin1 is described as ,having seven heads and ten horns1 and on his heads seven crowns 7,apoc #ab3c1 #i74 ,craftiness is signified by the seven heads2 the power to persuade by fallacies is meant by the ten horns2 and holy things of the ,word and the church which have been profaned are signified by the seven crowns4 #caa4 ,from the description of one's own prudence and of those who are in it1 the nature of prudence not one's own and of those who are in it may be seen4 ,those have prudence not their own who do not confirm in themselves that intelligence and wisdom are from man4 ,they ask1 ,how can anyone be wise of himself or do good of himself8 ,when they speak so1 they see in themselves that it is so1 for they think interiorly4 ,they also believe that others think similarly1 especially the learned1 for they are unaware that any-one can think only exteriorly4 #b ,they are not in fallacies by any confirmation of appearances4 ,they know and perceive1 therefore1 that murder1 adultery1 theft and false witness are sins and accordingly shun them on that account4 ,they also know that wickedness is not wisdom and cunning is not intelligence4 ,when they hear ingenious reasoning from fallacies they wonder and smile to themselves4 ,this is because with them there is no veil between interiors and exteriors1 or between the spiritual and the natural things of the mind1 as there is with the sensuous4 ,they therefore receive influx from heaven by which they see these things4 #c ,they speak more simply and sincerely than others and place wisdom in life and not in talk4 ,relatively they are like lambs and sheep while those who are in their own prudence are like wolves and foxes4 ,or they are like those living in a house who see the sky through the windows while those who are in prudence of their own are like persons living in the basement of a house who can look out through the windows only on what is down on the ground4 ,again they are like persons standing on a mountain who see those who are in prudence of their own as wanderers in valleys and forests4 #d ,hence it may be plain that prudence not one's own is prudence from the ,lord1 in externals appearing similar to prudence of one's own1 but totally unlike it in internals4 ,in internals prudence not one's own appears in the spiritual world as man1 while prudence which is one's own appears like a statue1 which seems living only because those who are in such prudence still possess rationality and freedom or the capacity to understand and to will1 hence to speak and act1 and by means of these faculties can make it appear that they also are men4 ,they are such statues because evils and falsities have no life2 only goods and truths do4 ,by their rationality they know this1 for if they did not they would not feign goods and truths2 hence in their simulation of them they possess a vital humanness4 #e ,who does not know that a man is what he is inwardly8 ,consequently that he is a man who is inwardly what he wishes to appear to be outwardly1 while he is a copy who is a man outwardly only and not inwardly4 ,think1 as you speak1 in favor of ,god and religion1 of righteousness and sincerity1 and you will be a man1 and divine providence will be your prudence2 you will perceive in others that one's own prudence is insanity4 #cab4 7ii7 ,by his own prudence man persuades himself and confirms in himself that all good and truth are from him and in him2 similarly all evil and falsity4 ,rest the argument on the parallel between natural good and truth and spiritual good and truth4 ,ask what truth and good are to the sight of the eye4 ,is not what is called beautiful truth to it1 and what is called enjoyable good to it8 ,for enjoyment is felt in beholding what is beautiful4 ,what are truth and good to the hearing8 ,is not what is called harmonious truth to it1 and what is called pleasing good to it8 ,for pleasure is felt in hearing harmonies4 ,it is the same with the other senses4 ,what natural good and truth are is plain1 then4 ,consider now what spiritual good and truth are4 ,is spiritual truth anything other than beauty and harmony in spiritual matters and objects8 ,and is spiritual good anything other than the enjoyment and pleasure of perceiving the beauty and harmony8 #b ,let us see now whether anything different is to be said of the one from what is said of the other1 that is1 of the spiritual from what is said of the natural4 ,of the natural we say that what is beautiful and enjoyable to the eye flows in from objects1 and what is harmonious and pleasing to the ear flows in from musical instruments4 ,is something different to be said in relation to the organic substances of the mind8 ,of these it is said that the enjoyable and pleasing are in them1 while it is said of eye and ear that they flow in4 ,if you inquire why it is said that they flow in1 the one answer possible is that distance appears between the objects and the organs4 ,but when one asks why it is said that in the other case they are indwelling1 the one possible answer is that no distance appears between the two4 ,consequently1 it is the appearance of distance that results in believing one thing about what one thinks and perceives1 and another thing about what one sees and hears4 ,but this becomes baseless when one reflects that the spiritual is not in space as the natural is4 ,think of sun or moon1 or of ,rome or ,constantinople3 do you not think of them apart from distance 7provided the thought is not joined to the experience gained by sight or hearing78 ,why then persuade yourself that because there is no appearance of distance in thought1 that good and truth1 as also evil and falsity1 are indwelling1 and do not flow in8 #c ,let me add to this an experience which is common in the spiritual world4 ,one spirit can infuse his thoughts and affections into another1 and the other not know that it is not his own thinking and affection4 ,this is called in that world thinking from and in another4 ,i have witnessed it a thousand times and also done it a hundred times2 and it seemed to occur at a considerable distance4 ,as soon as the spirits learned that another was introducing the thoughts and affections1 they were indignant and turned away1 recognizing then1 however1 that to the internal thought or sight no distance is apparent unless it is disclosed1 as it may be1 to the external sight or the eye2 as a result it is believed that there is influx4 #d ,i will add to this experience an everyday experience of mine4 ,evil spirits have often put into my thoughts evils and falsities which seemed to me to be in me and to originate from me1 or seemed to be my own thought4 ,knowing them to be evils and falsities1 ,i searched out the spirits who had introduced them1 and they were detected and driven off4 ,they were at a great distance from me4 ,it may be manifest from these things that all evil with its falsity flows in from hell and all good with its truth flows in from the ,lord1 and that both appear to be in man4 #cac4 ,the nature of men who are in prudence of their own1 and the nature of those in prudence not their own and hence in the divine providence1 is depicted in the ,word by ,adam and his wife ,eve in the ,garden of ,eden where were two trees1 one of life and the other of the knowledge of good and evil1 and by their eating of the latter tree4 ,it may be seen above 7n4 #bda7 that in the internal or spiritual sense of the ,word by ,adam and ,eve1 his wife1 the ,most ,ancient ,church of the ,lord on this earth is meant and described1 which was more noble and heavenly than subsequent churches4 #b ,following is what is signified by other particulars4 ,the wisdom of the men of that church is signified by the ,garden of ,eden2 the ,lord in respect to divine providence is signified by the tree of life1 and man in respect to his own prudence is meant by the tree of knowledge2 his sensuous life and his proprium1 which in itself is self-love and pride in one's own intelligence1 and thus is the devil and satan1 is signified by the serpent2 and the appropriation of good and truth with the thought that they are not from the ,lord and are not the ,lord's1 but are from man and are his1 is signified by eating of the tree of knowledge4 ,inasmuch as good and truth are what is divine with man 7for everything of love is meant by good1 and everything of wisdom by truth71 if man claims them as his1 he cannot but believe that he is as ,god4 ,therefore the serpent said3 ,in the day you eat of it1 your eyes will be opened1 and you will be as ,god1 knowing good and evil 7,ge #c3e74 ,so do those in hell believe1 who are in self-love and thence in the pride of their own intelligence4 #c ,condemnation of self-love and self-intelligence is meant by the condemnation of the serpent2 the condemnation of the volitional proprium is meant by the condemnation of ,eve and the condemnation of the intellectual proprium by the condemnation of ,adam2 sheer falsity and evil are signified by the thorn and thistle which the earth would produce for ,adam2 the loss of wisdom is signified by the expulsion from the ,garden2 the ,lord's care lest holy things of the ,word and the church be violated is meant by guarding the way to the tree of life2 moral truths1 veiling men's self-love and conceit1 are signified by the fig leaves with which ,adam and ,eve covered their nakedness2 and appearances of truth1 in which alone they were1 are signified by the coats of skin with which they were later clothed4 ,such is the spiritual understanding of these particulars4 ,let him who wishes remain in the sense of the letter1 only let him know that it is so understood in heaven4 #cad4 ,the nature of those who are infatuated with their own intelligence can be seen from their fancies in matters of interior judgment1 as1 for example1 about influx1 thought and life4 ,their thinking about influx is inverted4 ,they think that the sight of the eye flows into the internal sight of the mind or into the understanding1 and that the hearing of the ear flows into the internal hearing1 which also is the understanding4 ,they do not perceive that the understanding from the will flows into the eye and the ear1 and not only constitutes those senses but also employs them as its instruments in the natural world4 ,as this is not according to the appearance1 they do not perceive even if it is only said that the natural does not flow into the spiritual1 but the spiritual into the natural4 ,they still think1 ,what is the spiritual except a finer natural8 ,and again1 ,when the eye beholds something beautiful or the ear hears something melodious1 of course the mind1 which is understanding and will1 is delighted4 ,they do not know that the eye does not see of itself1 nor the tongue taste1 nor the nose smell1 nor the skin feel of itself1 but that it is the man's mind or spirit which has the perceptions in the sensation and which is affected according to its nature by the sensation4 ,indeed1 the mind or spirit does not sense things of itself1 but does so from the ,lord2 to think otherwise is to think from appearances1 and if these are confirmed1 from fallacies4 #b ,regarding thought1 they say that it is something modified in the air1 varied according to topic1 and widened by cultivation2 thus that the ideas in thoughts are images appearing1 meteor-like1 in the air2 and that the memory is a tablet on which they are imprinted4 ,they do not know that thought goes on in purely organic substances just as much as sight and hearing do4 ,only let them examine the brain1 and they will see that it is full of such substances2 injure them and you will become delirious2 destroy them and you will die4 ,but what thought and memory are see above at n4 #bgi end4 #c ,regarding life1 they know it only as an activity of nature1 which makes itself felt in different ways1 as a live body bestirs itself organically4 ,if it is remarked that nature is alive then1 they deny this1 and say it enables to life4 ,if one asks1 ,is life not dissipated then on the death of the body8 they reply that life remains in a particle of air called the soul4 ,asked ,what then is ,god8 ,is ,he not life itself8 they keep silence and do not want to utter what they think4 ,asked1 ,would you grant that divine love and wisdom are life itself8 they answer1 ,what are love and wisdom8 ,for in their fallacies they do not see what these are or what ,god is4 ,these things have been adduced that it may be seen how man is infatuated by prudence of his own because he draws all conclusions then from appearances and thus from fallacies4 #caf499 ,by one's own prudence one is persuaded and confirmed that all good and truth are from man and in man1 because a man's own prudence is his intellectual proprium1 flowing in from self-love1 which is his volitional proprium2 proprium inevitably makes everything its own2 it cannot be raised above doing so4 ,all who are led by the ,lord's divine providence are raised above the proprium and then see that all good and truth are from the ,lord1 indeed see that what in the human being is from the ,lord is always the ,lord's and never man's4 ,he who believes otherwise is like one who has his master's goods in his care and claims them himself or appropriates them--he is no steward1 but a thief4 ,as man's proprium is nothing but evil1 he also immerses the goods in his evil1 by which they are destroyed like pearls thrown into dung or into acid4 99 ,so numbered in the ,latin original4 #cag4 7 iii7 ,all that a man is persuaded of and confirms remains with him as his own4 ,many believe that no truth can be seen by man without confirmations of it1 but this is false4 ,in civic and economic matters in a kingdom or republic what is useful and good can be seen only with some knowledge of its numerous statutes and ordinances2 in judicial matters only with knowledge of the law2 and in natural subjects1 like physics1 chemistry1 anatomy1 mechanics and others1 only on acquaintance with those sciences4 ,but in purely rational1 moral and spiritual matters1 truths appear in light of their own1 if man has become somewhat rational1 moral and spiritual through a suitable education4 ,this is because everyone as to his spirit1 which is what thinks1 is in the spiritual world and is one among those there1 consequently is in spiritual light1 which enlightens the interiors of his understanding and1 as it were1 dictates4 ,for spiritual light in essence is the divine truth of the ,lord's divine wisdom4 ,thence it is that man can think analytically1 form conclusions about what is just and right in matters of judgment1 see what is honorable in moral life and good in spiritual life1 and see many truths1 which are darkened only by the confirmation of falsities4 ,man sees them almost as readily as he sees another's disposition from his face or perceives his affections from the sound of his voice1 with no further knowledge than is implanted in one4 ,why should not man in some measure see from influx the interiors of his life1 which are spiritual and moral1 when there is no animal that does not know by influx all things necessary to it1 which are natural8 ,a bird knows how to build its nest1 lay its eggs1 hatch its young and recognize its food1 besides other wonders which are named instinct4 #cah4 ,how this state is changed1 however1 by confirmations and consequent persuasions will be told now in this order3 #a4 ,there is nothing that cannot be confirmed1 and falsity is confirmed more readily than truth4 #b4 ,truth does not appear when falsity has been confirmed1 but falsity is apparent from confirmed truth4 #c4 ,the ability to confirm whatever one pleases is not intelligence but only ingenuity1 to be found in the worst of men4 #d4 ,confirmation may be mental and not at the same time volitional1 but all volitional confirmation is also mental4 #e4 ,confirmation of evil both volitional and intellectual causes man to believe that one's own prudence is everything and divine providence nothing1 but not confirmation solely intellectual4 #f4 ,everything confirmed by the will and at the same time by the understanding1 remains to eternity1 but not what has been confirmed only by the understanding4 #b ,touching the first1 that there is nothing that cannot be confirmed1 and that falsity is confirmed more readily than truth4 ,what1 indeed1 cannot be confirmed when atheists confirm that ,god is not the ,creator of the universe but that nature is her own creator2 that religion is only a restraint and is for simple and common folks2 that man is like the beast and dies like one2 that adultery and secret theft1 fraud and deceitful schemes are allowable1 and that cunning is intelligence and wickedness is wisdom4 ,everyone confirms his heresy4 ,volumes are filled with confirmations of the two heresies prevalent in ,christendom4 ,assemble ten heresies1 however abstruse1 ask an ingenious man to confirm them1 and he will confirm them all4 ,if you regard them then solely from the confirmations of them1 will you not be seeing falsities as truth8 ,since all that is false lights up in the natural man from its appearances and fallacies1 but truth lights up only in the spiritual man1 plainly falsity can be confirmed more readily than truth4 #c ,for it to be known that everything false and everything evil can be confirmed even to the point that what is false seems true and what is evil seems to be good1 take for example the confirmation that light is darkness and darkness is light4 ,a man may ask3 ,what is light in itself'8 ,is not light only something which appears in the eye according to the eye's condition8 ,what is light when the eye is closed8 ,do not bats and owls have eyes to see light as darkness and darkness as light8 ,i have heard it said that some persons see in like manner1 and that infernal spirits1 despite being in darkness1 see one another4 ,does one not have light in his dreams in the middle of the night8 ,is darkness not light1 therefore1 and light darkness8 ,it can be replied1 ,what of that8 ,light is light as truth is truth1 and darkness is darkness as falsity is falsity4 #d ,take a further example3 confirmation that the crow is white4 ,may its blackness not be said to be only a shading which is not the real fact8 ,its feathers are white inside1 its body1 too2 and these are the stuff of which the bird is made4 ,as its blackness is a shading1 the crow turns white as it grows old--some such have been seen4 ,what is black in itself but white8 ,pulverize black glass and you will see that the powder is white4 ,when you call the crow black1 therefore1 you are speaking of the shadow and not of the reality4 ,the reply can be1 ,what of it8 ,all birds should be called white then4 ,contrary as they are to sound reason1 these arguments have been recited to show that it is possible to confirm falsity that is directly opposite to truth and evil that is directly opposite to good4 #e ,second3 ,truth does not appear when falsity has been confirmed1 but falsity is apparent from truth confirmed4 ,all falsity is in darkness and all truth in light4 ,in darkness nothing is seen1 nor indeed is it known what anything is except by contact with it1 but it is different in the light4 ,in the ,word falsities are therefore called darkness1 and those who are in falsities are said to walk in darkness and in the shadow of death4 ,in turn1 truths are called light in it1 and those who are in truths are said to walk in the light and to be the children of light4 #f ,there is much to show that when falsity has been confirmed1 truth does not appear1 but when truth has been confirmed1 falsity is apparent4 ,for instance1 who would see a spiritual truth unless the ,word taught it8 ,would there not be darkness that could be dispelled only by the light in which the ,word is1 and only with one who wishes to be enlightened8 ,what heretic can see his falsities unless he welcomes the genuine truth of the church8 ,until then he does not see them4 ,i have talked with those who confirmed themselves in faith apart from charity and who were asked whether they saw the frequent mention in the ,word of love and charity1 works and deeds1 and keeping the ,commandments1 and the declaration that the man who keeps the ,commandments is blessed and wise1 but the man who does not is foolish4 ,they said that on reading these things they saw them only as matters of faith1 and passed them by with their eyes closed1 so to speak4 #g ,those who have confirmed themselves in falsities are like men who see streaks on a wall1 and at twilight fancy that they see the figure of a horseman or just of a man1 a visionary image which is dissipated when the daylight floods in4 ,who can sense the spiritual uncleanness of adultery except one who is in the cleanliness of chastity8 ,who can feel the cruelty of vengeance except one who is in good from love to the neighbor8 ,what adulterer or what avenger does not sneer at those who call enjoyment in such acts as theirs infernal but the enjoyments of marital love and neighborly love heavenly8 ,and so on4 #h ,third3 ,the ability to confirm whatever one pleases is not intelligence but only ingenuity1 to be found in the worst of men4 ,some show the greatest dexterity in confirmation1 who know no truth and yet can confirm both truth and falsity4 ,some of them remark1 ,what is truth8 ,is there such a thing8 ,is not that true which ,i make true8 ,in the world they are believed to be intelligent1 and yet they are only daubing a wall499 ,only those are intelligent who perceive truth to be truth and who confirm it by verities constantly perceived4 ,little difference may be seen between the latter and the former because one cannot distinguish between the light of confirmation and the light of the perception of truth4 ,those in the light of confirmation seem also to be in the light of the perception of truth4 ,yet the difference is like that between illusory light and genuine4 ,in the spiritual world illusory light is such that it turns into darkness when genuine light flows in4 ,there is such illusory light with many in hell2 on being brought out into genuine light they see nothing at all4 ,it is evident1 then1 that to be able to confirm whatever one pleases is only ingenuity1 which the worst of men may have4 99 ,cf4 ,ezekiel #ac3aj1 #aa and ,arcana ,caelestia n4 #gci7b71 ,apocalypse ,explained nn4 #bcg7e7 and #fdd7be74 ,tr4 #i ,fourth3 ,confirmation may be mental and not at the same time volitional1 but all volitional confirmation is also mental4 ,let an example serve to illustrate this4 ,those who confirm faith separate from charity and yet live the life of charity1 and in general those who confirm a falsity of doctrine and yet do not live according to it1 are in intellectual confirmation but not at the same time volitional4 ,on the other hand1 those who confirm falsity of doctrine and live according to it are in volitional and at the same time in intellectual confirmation4 ,for the understanding does not flow into the will1 but the will into the understanding4 ,hence it is plain what falsity of evil is1 and what falsity not of evil is4 ,falsity which is not of evil can be conjoined with good1 but falsity of evil cannot be4 ,for falsity which is not of evil is falsity in the understanding but not in the will1 while falsity of evil is falsity in the understanding which comes of evil in the will4 #aj ,fifth3 ,confirmation of evil1 both volitional and intellectual1 but not confirmation only intellectual1 causes man to believe that his own prudence is everything and divine providence nothing4 ,many confirm their own prudence in themselves on the strength of appearances in the world1 and yet do not deny divine providence2 theirs is only intellectual confirmation4 ,but in others1 who deny divine providence at the same time1 there is volitional confirmation2 this1 together with persuasion1 is found chiefly in worshipers of nature and also in worshipers of self4 #aa ,sixth3 ,everything confirmed by the will and at the same time by the understanding remains to eternity1 but not what is confirmed only by the understanding4 ,for what pertains to the understanding alone is not within man but outside him2 it is only in the thought4 ,nothing enters man and is appropriated to him except what is received by the will2 then it comes to be of his life's love4 ,this1 it will be shown in the next number1 remains to eternity4 #cai4 ,everything confirmed by both the will and the understanding remains to eternity because everyone is his own love1 and love attaches to the will2 also because everyone is his own good or his own evil1 for that is called good or evil which belongs to the love4 ,since man is his own love he is also the form of his love1 and may be called the organ of his life's love4 ,it was stated above 7n4 #bgi7 that the affections of man's love and his resulting thoughts are changes and variations of the state and form of the organic substances of his mind4 ,what these changes and variations are and their nature will be explained now4 ,some idea of them may be obtained from the alternating expansions and compressions or dilations and contractions in the heart and lungs1 called in the heart systole and diastole1 and in the lungs respirations4 ,these are reciprocal extensions and retractions or expansions and contractions of their lobes4 ,such are the changes and variations in the state of the heart and lungs4 ,such changes and variations occur in the other viscera of the body and in their parts1 too1 by which the blood and the animal juices are received and transmitted4 #b ,similar changes and variations take place in the organic forms of the mind1 which1 as we showed above1 are the substances underlying man's affections and thoughts4 ,there is a difference4 ,their expansions and compressions or reciprocal activities in comparison have so much greater perfection that they cannot be described in words of natural language1 but only in words of spiritual language1 which can sound only as saying that the changes and variations are vortical gyrations in and out1 after the manner of perpetually winding spirals wonderfully massed into forms receptive of life4 #c ,now to tell the nature of these purely organic substances and forms in the evil and in the good respectively3 in the good the spiral forms travel forward1 in the evil backward2 the forward-traveling are turned to the ,lord and receive influx from ,him2 the retrogressive are turned towards hell and receive influx from hell4 ,it should be known that in the measure in which they turn backward these forms are open behind and closed in front2 and on the other hand in the measure in which they turn forward1 they are open in front and closed behind4 #d ,this can make plain what kind of form or organ an evil man is and what kind of form or organ a good man is1 and that they are turned in opposite directions4 ,as the turning once established cannot be twisted back it is plain that man remains to eternity such as he is at death4 ,the love of man's will is what effects this turning1 or is what either converts or inverts1 for1 as was said above1 each person is his own love4 ,hence1 on death1 everyone goes the way of his love1 the man in a good love to heaven1 and the man in an evil love to hell1 nor does he rest except in that society where his ruling love is4 ,marvelous it is that each knows the way2 it is as though he scents it4 #cbj4 7iv7 ,if man believed1 as is the truth1 that all good and truth are from the ,lord and all evil and falsity from hell1 he would not appropriate good to himself and consider it merited1 nor evil and make himself responsible for it4 ,this is contrary to the belief of those who have confirmed in themselves the appearance that wisdom and prudence come from man and do not flow in according to the state of the organization of the mind1 treated of above 7n4 #cai74 ,it must therefore be demonstrated1 and to be done clearly1 it will be done in this order3 #a4 ,one who confirms in himself the appearance that wisdom and prudence are from man and thus in him as his1 must take the view that otherwise he would not be a man1 but either a beast or a statue2 yet the contrary is true4 #b4 ,to believe and think1 as is the truth1 that all good and truth are from the ,lord and all evil and falsity from hell1 seems impossible1 yet is truly human and hence angelic4 #c4 ,so to believe and think is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the divine of the ,lord and that evils are sins1 but possible for those who make these two acknowledgments4 #d4 ,those who make the two acknowledgments alone reflect on the evils in themselves1 and so far as they flee them and are averse to them1 they send them back to hell from which they come4 #e4 ,so divine providence appropriates neither evil nor good to anyone1 but one's own prudence appropriates both4 #cba4 ,these propositions will be explained in the order proposed4 ,first3 ,one who confirms in himself the appearance that wisdom and prudence are from man and thus in him as his1 must take the view that otherwise he would not be a man1 but either a beast or a statue2 yet the contrary is true4 ,it comes from a law of divine providence that man is to think as it were from himself and act prudently as of himself1 but still acknowledge that he does so from the ,lord4 ,it follows that one who thinks and acts prudently as of himself and acknowledges at the same time that he does so from the ,lord1 is a man1 but that person is not who confirms in himself the idea that all he thinks and does is from himself4 ,neither is he a man who1 knowing that wisdom and prudence are from ,god1 keeps awaiting influx4 ,this man becomes like a statue1 the other like a beast4 ,one who waits for influx is obviously like a statue2 he is sure to stand or sit motionless1 his hands dropped1 his eyes closed or1 if open1 unblinking1 and neither thinking nor breathing4 ,what life has he then8 #b ,plainly1 too1 one who believes that everything he thinks and does is from himself is not unlike a beast4 ,for he thinks only from the natural mind which man has in common with beasts1 and not from the spiritual1 rational mind which is the truly human mind2 for this mind acknowledges that ,god alone thinks from ,himself and that man does so from ,god4 ,therefore one who thinks only from the natural mind knows no difference between man and animal except that man speaks and a beast makes sounds1 and he believes they die alike4 #c ,something further is to be said about those who await influx4 ,they receive none1 except for a few who desire it with the whole heart4 ,these at times receive some response through a living perception in thought or by tacit utterance but rarely by an explicit one1 and this then is that they should think and act as they determine and are able1 and that one who acts wisely is wise and one who acts foolishly is foolish4 ,they are never instructed what to believe or do1 in order that human rationality and liberty may not perish1 that is1 in order that everyone shall act in freedom according to reason in all appearance as of himself4 ,those who are told by influx what they are to believe or do are not being instructed by the ,lord1 nor by any angel of heaven1 but by some spirit1 an ,enthusiast1 ,quaker or ,moravian1 and are being misled4 ,all influx from the ,lord is effected by enlightenment of the understanding and by an affection of truth1 and passes by the latter into the former4 #d ,second3 ,to believe and think1 as is the truth1 that all good and truth are from the ,lord and all evil and falsity from hell1 seems impossible1 yet is truly human and hence angelic4 ,to believe and think that all good and truth are from ,god seems possible1 if no more is said1 for it falls in with a theological belief contrary to which it is not allowable to think4 ,but to believe and think also that all evil and falsity are from hell seems impossible1 for in that belief man would not think at all4 ,but man still thinks as from himself though it is from hell1 for the ,lord grants to everyone that his thought1 wherever it is from1 shall appear to be his own in him4 ,else man would not live as a human being1 nor could he be led out of hell and brought into heaven1 that is1 be reformed1 as we have shown many times4 #e ,therefore the ,lord also grants man to know and consequently to think that when he is in evil he is in hell1 and that if he thinks evil he thinks from hell4 ,he likewise grants him to think of the means by which he can escape from hell and not think from hell1 but enter heaven and in heaven think from the ,lord1 and ,he grants man the freedom to choose4 ,from all this it may be seen that man can think evil and falsity as if from himself and also think that this or that is evil or false2 consequently that it is only an appearance that he does so of himself1 an appearance without which he would not be man4 ,to think from truth is what is human itself and consequently angelic itself2 it is a truth that man does not think from himself1 but is granted by the ,lord to think from himself to all appearance4 #f ,third3 ,so to believe and think is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the divine of the ,lord and that evils are sins1 but possible to those who make the two acknowledgments4 ,it is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the divine of the ,lord1 for the ,lord alone gives man to think and will2 and those who do not acknowledge the divine of the ,lord1 being separated from ,him believe that they think for themselves4 ,it is impossible also to those who do not acknowledge evils to be sins1 for they think then from hell1 and in hell everyone supposes that he thinks from himself4 ,that it is possible1 however1 to those who make the two acknowledgments can be seen from what was set forth fully above 7nn4 #bhh-bid74 #g ,fourth3 ,only those who live in the two acknowledgments reflect on the evils in themselves1 and so far as they shun and are averse to them1 they send them back to hell from which they come4 ,all know or can know that evil is from hell and good is from heaven4 ,who then cannot know that so far as man shuns and is averse to evil he shuns and is averse to hell8 ,he can know then1 too1 that so far as he shuns and is averse to evil1 he wills and loves what is good1 and consequently is so far released from hell by the ,lord and led to heaven4 ,every rational person may see these things provided he knows that heaven and hell exist1 where good and evil have their respective origins4 ,if1 now1 he reflects on the evils in him1 which is the same thing as examining himself1 and shuns them1 he disengages himself from hell1 puts it behind him1 and brings himself into heaven1 where he beholds the ,lord before him4 ,man does this1 we say1 but he does it as of himself and from the ,lord now4 ,when a man acknowledges this truth out of a good heart and in a devout faith1 it lies inwardly hidden in all that he thinks and does afterwards as of himself4 ,it is like the prolific force in a seed which remains in it even until new seed is produced1 and like the pleasure in one's appetite for food the wholesomeness of which one has learned2 in a word1 like heart and soul in all he thinks and does4 #h ,fifth3 ,so divine providence appropriates neither evil nor good to anyone1 but one's own prudence appropriates both4 ,this follows from all that has been said4 ,good is the objective of divine providence2 it purposes good in all its activity1 therefore4 ,accordingly1 it does not appropriate good to anyone1 for then this would become self-righteous2 nor does it appropriate evil to anyone1 for so it would make him responsible for evil4 ,but man does both by his proprium1 for this is nothing but evil4 ,the proprium of the will is self-love and that of the understanding is the pride of self-intelligence1 and of these comes man's own prudence4 ,,xvii4 ,,every ,,man ,,can ,,be ,,reformed1 ,,and ,,there ,,is ,,no ,,predestination as commonly understood99 99 ,see n4 #ccj - ,tr4 #cbb4 ,sound reason dictates that all are predestined to heaven and none to hell1 for all are born human beings and consequently ,god's image is in them4 ,god's image in them consists in their ability to understand truth and to do good4 ,the ability to understand truth comes from the divine wisdom1 and the ability to do good from the divine love4 ,this ability1 which is ,god's image1 remains in any sane person and is not eradicated4 ,hence it is that he can become a civil and moral man1 and one who is civil and moral can also become spiritual1 for the civil and moral is a receptacle of what is spiritual4 ,he is called a civil man who knows and lives according to the laws of the kingdom of which he is a citizen2 he is called a moral man who makes those laws his ethics and his virtues and from reason lives by them4 #b ,let me say how civil and moral life is the receptacle of spiritual life4 ,live these laws not only as civil and moral laws but also as divine laws1 and you will be a spiritual man4 ,there is hardly a nation so barbarous that it has not by law prohibited murder1 adultery1 theft1 false witness and damage to what is another's4 ,the civil and moral man keeps these laws that he may be1 or seem to be1 a good citizen4 ,if he does not consider them divine laws also he is only a civil and moral natural man1 but if he considers them divine also1 he becomes a civil and moral spiritual man4 ,the difference is that the latter is a good citizen both of an earthly kingdom and of a heavenly1 while the former is a good citizen only of the earthly kingdom and not of the heavenly4 ,they are distinguishable by the good they do4 ,the good done by civil and moral natural men is not in itself good1 for man and the world are in it2 the good done by civil and moral spiritual men is in itself good1 because the ,lord and heaven are in it4 #c ,from all this it may be seen that every person1 because he is born able to become a civil and moral natural being1 is also born able to become a civil and moral spiritual man4 ,he has only to acknowledge ,god and not commit evils because they are against ,god1 but do good because good is siding with ,god4 ,then spirit enters into his civil and moral actions and they live2 otherwise there is no spirit in them and hence they are not living4 ,therefore the natural man1 however much he acts like a civil and moral being1 is spoken of as dead1 but the spiritual man is spoken of as living4 #d ,of the ,lord's divine providence every nation has some religion1 and primary in every religion is the acknowledgment that ,god is1 else it is not called a religion4 ,every nation that lives its religion1 that is1 does not do evil because this is contrary to its ,god1 receives something spiritual in its natural life4 ,who1 on hearing a ,gentile say he will not do this or that evil because it is contrary to his ,god1 does not say to himself1 ,is this person not saved8 ,it seems1 it cannot be otherwise4 ,sound reason tells him this4 ,on the other hand1 hearing a ,christian say1 ,i make no account of this or that evil4 ,what does it mean to say that it is contrary to ,god8 one says to himself1 ,this man is not saved1 is he8 ,it would seem1 he cannot be4 ,sound reason dictates this also4 #e ,should someone say1 ,i was born a ,christian1 have been baptized1 have known the ,lord1 read the ,word1 observed the ,sacrament of the ,supper1 what does this amount to when he does not count as sins murder1 or the revenge breathing it1 adultery1 stealing1 false witness1 or lying1 and different sorts of violence8 ,does such a person think of ,god or of eternal life8 ,does he think they exist8 ,does sound reason not dictate that such a man cannot be saved8 ,this has been said of a ,christian1 for a ,gentile in his life gives more thought to ,god from religion than a ,christian does4 ,but more is to be said on these points in what follows in this order3 i4 ,the goal of creation is a heaven from mankind4 ii4 ,of divine providence1 therefore1 every man can be saved1 and those are saved who acknowledge ,god and live rightly4 iii4 ,man himself is in fault if he is not saved4 iv4 ,thus all are predestined to heaven1 and no one to hell4 #cbc4 7i7 ,the goal of creation is a heaven from mankind4 ,it has been shown above and in the work1 ,heaven and ,hell 7,london1 #ageh71 that heaven consists solely of those who have been born as human beings4 ,since heaven consists of no others1 it follows that the purpose of creation is a heaven from mankind4 ,this has been shown above 7nn4 #bg-de71 it is true1 but will be seen more clearly still with explanation of the following3 #a4 ,everyone is created to live forever4 #b4 ,everyone is created to live forever in a blessed state4 #c4 ,thus every person has been created to enter heaven4 #d4 ,the divine love cannot but will this1 and the divine wisdom cannot but provide it4 #cbd4 ,one can see from these points that divine providence is none other than predestination to heaven and cannot be altered into anything else4 ,we must now demonstrate1 therefore1 in the order proposed1 that the goal of creation is a heaven from the human race4 ,first3 ,everyone has been created to live to eternity4 ,in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom1 ,parts ,,iii and ,v1 it was shown that there are three degrees of life in man1 called natural1 spiritual and celestial1 that they are actually in everyone1 and that in animals there is only one degree of life1 which is like the lowest degree in man1 called the natural4 ,the result is that by the elevation of his life to the ,lord man is in such a state above that of animals that he can comprehend what is of divine wisdom1 and will what is of divine love1 in other words1 receive what is divine2 and he who can receive what is divine1 so as to see and perceive it within him1 cannot but be united with the ,lord and by the union live to eternity4 #b ,what would the ,lord do with all the created universe if ,he had not also created images and likenesses of ,himself to whom ,he could communicate ,his divine8 ,what would ,he exist for1 otherwise1 except to make this and not that or bring something into existence but not something else1 and this merely to be able to contemplate from afar only incidents and constant changes as on a stage8 ,what would there be divine in these unless they were for the purpose of serving subjects who would receive the divine more intimately and see and sense it8 ,the divine is of an inexhaustible glory and would not keep it to itself1 nor could4 ,for love wants to communicate its own to another1 indeed to impart all it can of itself4 ,must not divine love do this1 then1 being infinite8 ,can it impart and then take away8 ,would that not be to give what will perish1 what in itself is nothing1 coming to nothing when it perishes8 ,what really is is not in it4 ,but divine love imparts what really is or what does not cease to be1 and this is eternal4 #c ,in order that a man may live forever1 what is mortal with him is taken away4 ,this mortal of his is his material body1 which is taken away by its death4 ,his immortal1 which is his mind1 is thus laid bare and he becomes a spirit in human form2 his mind is this spirit4 ,ancient sages and wise men perceived that man's mind cannot die4 ,they asked how the mind could die when it is capable of wisdom4 ,few today know the interior idea they had in this4 ,it was the idea1 slipping into their general perception from heaven1 that ,god is wisdom itself1 of which man partakes1 and ,god is immortal or eternal4 #d ,since it has been granted me to speak with angels1 ,i will say something from experience4 ,i have spoken with those who lived many ages ago1 with some who lived before the ,flood and some who lived after it1 with some who lived at the time of the ,lord and with one of ,his apostles1 and with many who lived in the centuries since4 ,they all seemed like men of middle age and said that they do not know what death can be unless it is condemnation4 ,further1 all who have lived well1 on coming into heaven1 come into the state of early manhood in the world and continue in it to eternity1 even those who had been old and decrepit in the world4 ,women1 too1 although they had become shrunken and old1 return into the bloom and beauty of their youth4 #e ,that man lives after death to eternity is manifest from the ,word1 where life in heaven is called eternal life1 as in ,mt #ai3bi1 #be3df2 ,mk #aj3ag2 ,lu #aj3be1 #ah3cj2 ,jn #c3ae1 #af1 #cf1 #e3bd1 #be1 #ci1 #f3bg1 #dj1 #fh1 #ab3ej2 also called simply life 7,mt #ah3h1 #i2 ,jn #e3dj1 #bj3ca74 ,the ,lord also told ,his disciples1 ,because ,i live1 you will live also 7,jn #ad3ai71 and concerning resurrection said that ,god is ,god of the living and not ,god of the dead1 and that they cannot die any more 7,lu #bj3ch1 #cf74 #f ,second3 ,everyone is created to live forever in a blessed state4 ,this naturally follows4 ,he who wills that man shall live forever also wills that he shall live in a blessed state4 ,what would eternal life be without this8 ,all love desires the good of another4 ,the love of parents desires the good of their children1 the love of the bridegroom and the husband desires the good of the bride and the wife1 and love in friendship desires the good of one's friends4 ,what then must divine love desire6 ,what is good but enjoyment1 and divine good but eternal blessedness8 ,all good is so named for its enjoyableness or blessedness4 ,true1 anything one is given or possesses is also called good1 but again1 unless it is enjoyable1 it is a barren good1 not in itself good4 ,clearly1 then1 eternal life is also eternal blessedness4 ,this state of man is the aim of creation2 that only those who come into heaven are in that state is not the ,lord's fault but man's4 ,that man is in fault will be seen in what follows4 #g ,third3 ,thus every person has been created to come into heaven4 ,this is the goal of creation1 but not all enter heaven because they become imbued with the enjoyments of hell1 the opposite of heavenly blessedness4 ,those who are not in the blessedness of heaven cannot enter heaven1 for they cannot endure doing so4 ,no one who comes into the spiritual world is refused ascent into heaven1 but when one ascends who is in the enjoyment of hell his heart pounds1 his breathing labors1 his life ebbs1 he is in anguish and torment and writhes like a snake placed near a fire4 ,this happens because opposites act against each other4 #h ,nevertheless1 having been born human beings1 consequently with the faculties of thought and volition and hence of speech and action1 they cannot die1 but they can live only with those in a similar enjoyment of life and are sent to them1 those in enjoyments of evil to their like1 as those in enjoyments of good are to their like4 ,indeed1 everyone is granted the enjoyment of his evil provided that he does not molest those who are in the enjoyment of good4 ,still1 as evil is bound to molest good1 for inherently it hates good1 those who are in evil are removed lest they inflict injury and are cast down to their own places in hell1 where their enjoyment is turned into joylessness4 #i ,but this does not alter the fact that by creation and hence by birth man is such that he can enter heaven4 ,for everyone who dies in infancy enters heaven1 is brought up there and instructed as one is in the world1 and by the affection of good and truth is imbued with wisdom and becomes an angel4 ,so could the man become who is brought up and instructed in the world2 the same is in him as in an infant4 ,on infants in the spiritual world see the work ,heaven and ,hell1 ,london1 #ageh 7nn4 #cbi-cde74 #aj ,this does not take place1 however1 with many in the world because they love the first level of their life1 called natural1 and do not purpose to withdraw from it and become spiritual4 ,the natural degree of life1 in itself regarded1 loves only self and the world1 for it keeps close to the bodily senses1 which are to the fore1 also1 in the world4 ,but the spiritual degree of life regarded in itself loves the ,lord and heaven1 and self and the world1 too1 but ,god and heaven as higher1 paramount and controlling1 and self and the world as lower1 instrumental and subservient4 #aa ,fourth3 ,divine love cannot but will this1 and divine wisdom cannot but provide it4 ,it was fully shown in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom that the divine essence is divine love and wisdom1 and it was also demonstrated there 7nn4 #ceh-cgj7 that in every human embryo the ,lord forms two receptacles1 one of the divine love and the other of the divine wisdom1 the former for man's future will and the latter for his future understanding1 and that in this way the ,lord has endowed each human being with the faculty of willing good and the faculty of understanding truth4 #ab ,inasmuch as man is endowed from birth with these two faculties by the ,lord1 and the ,lord then is in them as in what is ,his own with man1 it is manifest that ,his divine love cannot but will that man should come into heaven and ,his divine wisdom cannot but provide for this4 ,but since it is of the ,lord's divine love that man should feel heavenly blessedness in himself as his own1 and this cannot be unless man is kept in the appearance that he thinks1 wills1 speaks and acts of himself1 the ,lord can therefore lead man only according to the laws of ,his divine providence4 #cbe4 7ii7 ,of divine providence1 therefore1 every man can be saved1 and those are saved who acknowledge ,god and live rightly4 ,it is plain from what has been demonstrated above that every human being can be saved4 ,some persons suppose that the ,lord's church is to be found only in ,christendom1 because only there is the ,lord known and the ,word possessed4 ,still many believe that the ,lord's church is general1 that is1 extends and is scattered throughout the world1 existing thus with those who do not know the ,lord or possess the ,word4 ,they say that those men are not in fault and are without means to overcome their ignorance4 ,they believe that it is contrary to ,god's love and mercy that any should be born for hell who are equally human beings4 #b ,inasmuch as many ,christians1 if not all1 have faith that the church is common to many--it is in fact called a communion--there must be some very widely shared things of the church that enter all religions and that constitute this communion4 ,these most widely shared factors are acknowledgment of ,god and good of life1 as will be seen in this order3 #a4 ,acknowledgment of ,god effects a conjunction of ,god and man2 denial of ,god causes disjunction4 #b4 ,each one acknowledges ,god and is conjoined with ,him in accord with the goodness of his life4 #c4 ,goodness of life1 or living rightly1 is shunning evils because they are contrary to religion1 thus to ,god4 #d4 ,these are factors common to all religions1 and by them anyone can be saved4 #cbf4 ,to clarify and demonstrate these propositions one by one4 ,first3 ,acknowledgment of ,god brings conjunction of ,god and man2 denial of ,god results in disjunction4 ,some may think that those who do not acknowledge ,god can be saved equally with those who do1 if they lead a moral life4 ,they ask1 ,what does acknowledgment accomplish8 ,is it not merely a thought8 ,can ,i not 'acknowledge ,god when ,i learn for certain that ,god there is8 ,i have heard of ,him but not seen ,him4 ,let me see ,him and ,i will believe4 ,such is the language of many who deny ,god when they have an opportunity to argue with one who acknowledges ,god4 ,but that an acknowledgment of ,god conjoins and denial disjoins will be clarified by some things made known to me in the spiritual world4 ,in that world when anyone thinks of another and desires to speak with him1 the other is at once present4 ,the explanation is that there is no distance in the spiritual world such as there is in the natural1 but only an appearance of distance4 #b ,a second phenomenon3 as thought from some acquaintance with another causes his presence1 love from affection for another causes conjunction with him4 ,so spirits move about1 converse as friends1 dwell together in one house or in one community1 meet often1 and render one another services4 ,the opposite happens1 also2 one who does not love another and still more one who hates another does not see or encounter him2 the distance between them is according to the degree in which love is wanting or hatred is present4 ,indeed1 one who is present and recalls his hatred1 vanishes4 #c ,from these few particulars it may be evident whence presence and conjunction come in the spiritual world4 ,presence comes with the recollection of another with a desire to see him1 and conjunction comes of an affection which springs from love4 ,this is true also of all things in the human mind4 ,there are countless things in the mind1 and its least parts are associated and conjoined in accord with affections or as one thing attracts another4 #d ,this is spiritual conjunction and it is the same in things large and things small4 ,it has its origin in the conjunction of the ,lord with the spiritual world and the natural world in general and in detail4 ,it is manifest from this that in the measure in which one knows the ,lord and thinks of ,him from knowledge of ,him1 in that measure the ,lord is present1 and in the measure in which one acknowledges ,him from an affection of love1 in that measure the ,lord is united with him4 ,on the other hand1 in the measure of one's ignorance of the ,lord1 in that measure ,he is absent2 and so far as one denies ,him1 so far is ,he separated from one4 #e ,the result of conjunction is that the ,lord turns man's face towards ,himself and thereupon leads him2 the disjunction results in hell's turning man's face to it and it leads him4 ,therefore all the angels of heaven turn their faces towards the ,lord as the ,sun1 and all the spirits of hell avert their faces from the ,lord4 ,it is plain from this what the acknowledgment of ,god and the denial of ,god each accomplish4 ,those who deny ,god in the world deny ,him after death also2 they have become organized as described above 7n4 #cai72 the organization induced in the world remains to eternity4 #f ,second3 ,everyone acknowledges ,god and is conjoined with ,him according to the goodness of his life4 ,all who know something of religion can know ,god2 from information or from the memory they can also speak about ,god1 and some may also think about ,him from the understanding4 ,but this only brings about presence if a man does not live rightly1 for despite it all he can turn away from ,god and towards hell1 and this takes place if he lives wickedly4 ,only those who live rightly can acknowledge ,god with the heart1 and these the ,lord turns away from hell and towards ,himself according to the goodness of their life4 ,for these alone love ,god2 for in doing what comes from ,him they love what is divine4 ,the precepts of ,his law are divine things from ,him4 ,they are ,god because ,he is ,his own proceeding divine4 ,as this is to love ,god1 the ,lord says3 ,he who keeps my commandments is he who loves me 4 4 4 ,but he who does not keep my commandments does not love me 7,jn #ad3 #ba1 #bd74 #g ,here is the reason why there are two tables of the ,decalog1 one having reference to ,god and the other to man4 ,god works unceasingly that man may receive what is in ,his table1 but if man does not do what he is bidden in his own table he does not receive with acknowledgment of heart what is in ,god's table1 and if he does not receive this he is not conjoined4 ,the two tables were joined1 therefore1 to be one and are called the tables of the covenant2 covenant means conjunction4 ,one acknowledges ,god and is conjoined to ,him in accord with the goodness of his life because this good is like the good in the ,lord and consequently comes from the ,lord4 ,so when man is in the good of life there is conjunction4 ,the contrary takes place with evil of life2 it rejects the ,lord4 #h ,third3 ,goodness of life1 or living rightly1 is shunning evils because they are contrary to religion1 thus to ,god4 ,that this is good of life or living rightly is fully shown in ,doctrine of ,life for the ,new ,jerusalem1 from beginning to end4 ,to this ,i will only add that if you do good aplenty1 build churches for instance1 adorn them and fill them with offerings1 spend money lavishly on hospitals and hostels1 give alms daily1 aid widows and orphans1 diligently observe the sanctities of worship1 indeed think and speak and preach about them as from the heart1 and yet do not shun evils as sins against ,god1 all those good deeds are not goodness4 ,they are either hypocritical or done for merit1 for evil is still deep in them4 ,everyone's life pervades all that he does4 ,goods become good only by the removal of evil from them4 ,plainly1 then1 shunning evils because they are contrary to religion and thus to ,god is living rightly4 #i ,fourth3 ,these are factors common to all religions1 and anyone can be saved by them4 ,to acknowledge ,god1 and to refrain from evil because it is contrary to ,god1 are the two acts that make religion to be religion4 ,if one is lacking1 it cannot be called religion1 for to acknowledge ,god and to do evil is a contradiction2 so it is1 too1 to do good and yet not acknowledge ,god2 one is impossible apart from the other4 ,the ,lord has provided that there should be some religion almost everywhere and that these two elements should be in it1 and has also provided that everyone who acknowledges ,god and refrains from doing evil because it is against ,god shall have a place in heaven4 ,for heaven as a whole is like one man whose life or soul is the ,lord4 ,in that heavenly man are all things to be found in a natural man with the difference which obtains between the heavenly and the natural4 #aj ,it is a matter of common knowledge that in the human being there are not only forms organized of blood vessels and nerve fibres1 but also skins1 membranes1 tendons1 cartilages1 bones1 nails and teeth4 ,these have a smaller measure of life than those organized forms1 which they serve as ligaments1 coverings or supports4 ,for all these entities to be in the heavenly humanity1 which is heaven1 it cannot be made up of human beings all of one religion1 but of men of many religions4 ,therefore all who make these two universals of the church part of their lives have a place in this heavenly man1 that is1 heaven1 and enjoy happiness each in his measure4 ,more on the subject may be seen above 7n4 #bed74 #aa ,that these two are primary in all religion is evident from the fact that they are the two which the ,decalog teaches4 ,the ,decalog was the first of the ,word1 promulgated by ,jehovah from ,mount ,sinai by a living voice1 and also inscribed on two tables of stone by the finger of ,god4 ,then1 placed in the ark1 the ,decalog was called ,jehovah1 and it made the holy of holies in the tabernacle and the shrine in the temple of ,jerusalem2 all things in each were holy only on account of it4 ,much more about the ,decalog in the ark is to be had from the ,word1 which is cited in ,doctrine of ,life for the ,new ,jerusalem 7nn4 #ec-fa74 ,to that ,i will add this4 ,from the ,word we know that the ark with the two tables in it on which the ,decalog was written was captured by the ,philistines and placed in the temple of ,dagon in ,ashdod2 that ,dagon fell to the ground before it1 and afterward his head1 together with the palms of the hands1 torn from his body1 lay on the temple threshold2 that the people of ,ashdod and ,ekron to the number of many thousands were smitten with hemorrhoids and their land was ravaged by mice2 that on the advice of the chiefs of their nation1 the ,philistines made five golden hemorrhoids1 five golden mice and a new cart1 and on this placed the ark with the golden hemorrhoids and mice beside it2 with two cows that lowed before the cart along the way1 they sent the ark back to the children of ,israel and by them cows and cart were offered in sacrifice 7#a ,sa #e and #f74 #ab ,to state now what all this signified3 the ,philistines signified those who are in faith separated from charity2 ,dagon signified that religiosity2 the hemorrhoids by which they were smitten signified natural loves which when severed from spiritual love are unclean1 and the mice signified the devastation of the church by falsification of truth4 ,the new cart on which the ,philistines sent back the ark signified a new but still natural doctrine 7chariot in the ,word signifies doctrine from spiritual truths71 and the cows signified good natural affections4 ,hemorrhoids of gold signified natural loves purified and made good1 and the golden mice signified an end to the devastation of the church by means of good1 for in the ,word gold signifies good4 ,the lowing of the kine on the way signified the difficult conversion of the lusts of evil of the natural man into good affections4 ,that cows and cart were offered up as a burnt offering signified that so the ,lord was propitiated4 #ac ,this is how what is told historically is understood spiritually4 ,gather all into a single conception and make the application4 ,that those who are in faith severed from charity are represented by the ,philistines1 see ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,faith 7nn4 #di-ed71 and that the ark was the most holy thing of the church because of the ,decalog enclosed in it1 see ,doctrine of ,life for the ,new ,jerusalem 7nn4 #ec-fa74 #cbg4 7iii7 ,man himself is in fault if he is not saved4 ,as soon as he hears it any rational man acknowledges the truth that evil cannot issue from good nor good from evil1 for they are opposites2 consequently only good comes of good and only evil of evil4 ,when this truth is acknowledged this also is3 that good can be turned into evil not by a good but by an evil recipient2 for any form changes into its own nature what flows into it 7see above1 n4 #bib74 ,inasmuch as the ,lord is good in its very essence or good itself1 plainly evil cannot issue from ,him or be produced by ,him1 but good can be turned into evil by a recipient subject whose form is a form of evil4 ,such a subject is man as to his proprium4 ,this constantly receives good from the ,lord and constantly turns it into the nature of its own form1 which is one of evil4 ,it follows that man is in fault if he is not saved4 ,evil is indeed from hell but as man receives it from hell as his and appropriates it to himself1 it is the same whether one says that evil is from man or from hell4 ,but whence there is an appropriation of evil until finally religion perishes will be told in this order3 #a4 ,every religion declines and comes to an end in the course of time4 #b4 ,it does so through the inversion of ,god's image in man4 #c4 ,this takes place through a continual increase of hereditary evil over the generations4 #d4 ,nevertheless the ,lord provides that everyone may be saved4 #e4 ,it is also provided that a new church shall succeed in place of the former devastated church4 #cbh4 ,these points are to be demonstrated in the order given4 ,first3 ,every religion declines and comes to an end in the course of time4 ,there have been several churches on this earth1 one after another1 for wherever mankind is1 a church is4 ,for1 as was shown above1 heaven1 which is the goal of creation1 is from mankind1 and no one can enter heaven unless he is in the two universal marks of the church which1 as was shown just above 7n4 #cbf71 are the acknowledgment of ,god and living aright4 ,it follows that there have been churches on this earth from the most ancient times to the present4 ,these churches are described in the ,word1 but not historically except the ,israelitish and ,jewish church4 ,there were churches before it which are only described in the ,word under the names of nations and persons and in a few items about them4 #b ,the first1 the ,most ,ancient ,church1 is described under the names of ,adam and his wife ,eve4 ,the next church1 to be called the ,ancient ,church1 is described by ,noah1 his three sons and their posterity4 ,this church was widespread and extended over many of the kingdoms of ,asia3 the land of ,canaan on both sides of the ,jordan1 ,syria1 ,assyria and ,chaldea1 ,mesopotamia1 ,egypt1 ,arabia1 ,tyre and ,sidon4 ,these had the ,ancient ,word 7,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture1 nn4 #aja-ajc74 ,that this church existed in those kingdoms is evident from various things recorded about them in the prophetical parts of the ,word4 ,this church was markedly altered by ,eber1 from whom arose the ,hebrew church1 in which worship by sacrifices was first instituted4 ,from the ,hebrew church the ,israelitish and ,jewish church was born and solemnly established for the sake of the ,word which was composed in it4 #c ,these four churches are meant by the statue seen by ,nebuchadnezzar in a dream1 the head of which was of pure gold1 the breast and arms of silver1 the belly and thighs of brass1 and the legs and feet of iron and clay 7,da #b3cb1 #cc74 ,nor is anything else meant by the golden1 silver1 copper and iron ages mentioned by ancient writers4 ,needless to say1 the ,christian church succeeded the ,jewish4 ,it can be seen from the ,word that all these churches declined in the course of time1 eventually coming to an end1 called their consummation4 #d ,the consummation of the ,most ,ancient ,church1 brought about by the eating of the tree of knowledge1 meaning by the pride of one's own intelligence1 is depicted by the ,flood4 ,the consummation of the ,ancient ,church is depicted in the various devastations of nations mentioned in the historical as well as the prophetical ,word and especially by the expulsion of the nations from the land of ,canaan by the children of ,israel4 ,the consummation of the ,israelitish and ,jewish church is understood by the destruction of the temple at ,jerusalem and by the carrying away of the people of ,israel into permanent captivity and of the ,jewish nation to ,babylon1 and finally by the second destruction of the temple and of ,jerusalem at the same time1 and by the dispersion of that nation4 ,this consummation is foretold in many places in the ,prophets and in ,daniel #i3bd-bg4 ,the gradual devastation of the ,christian church even to its end is pictured by the ,lord in ,matthew 7#bd71 ,mark 7#ac7 and ,luke 7#ba71 but the end itself in the ,apocalypse4 ,hence it may be manifest that in the course of time a church declines and comes to an end2 so does a religion4 #e ,second3 ,every religion declines and comes to an end through the inversion of ,god's image in man4 ,it is known that the human being was created in the image and after the likeness of ,god 7,ge #a3bf71 but let us say what the image and the likeness of ,god are4 ,god alone is love and wisdom2 man was created to be a receptacle of both love and wisdom1 his will to be a receptacle of divine love and his understanding a receptacle of the divine wisdom4 ,these two receptacles1 it was shown above1 are in man from creation1 constitute him1 and are formed in everyone in the womb4 ,man's being an image of ,god thus means that he is a recipient of the divine wisdom1 and his being a likeness of ,god means that he is a recipient of the divine love4 ,therefore the receptacle called the understanding is an image of ,god1 and the receptacle called the will is a likeness of ,god4 ,since1 then1 man was created and formed to be a receptacle1 it follows that he was created and formed that his will might receive love from ,god and his understanding wisdom from ,god4 ,he receives these when he acknowledges ,god and lives according to ,his precepts1 receiving them in lesser or larger measure as by religion he has some knowledge of ,god and of ,his precepts1 consequently according to his knowledge of truths4 ,for truths teach what ,god is and how ,he is to be acknowledged1 also what ,his precepts are and how man is to live according to them4 #f ,the image and likeness of ,god have not been destroyed in man1 but seem to have been2 they remain inherent in his two faculties called liberty and rationality1 of which we have treated above at many places4 ,they seem to have been destroyed when man made the receptacle of divine love1 namely1 his will1 a receptacle of self-love1 and the receptacle of divine wisdom1 namely1 his understanding1 a receptacle of his own intelligence4 ,doing this1 he inverted the image and likeness of ,god and turned these receptacles away from ,god and towards himself4 ,consequently they have become closed above and open below1 or closed in front and open behind1 though by creation they were open in front and closed behind4 ,when they have been opened and closed contrariwise1 the receptacle of love1 the will1 receives influx from hell or from one's proprium2 so does the receptacle of wisdom1 the understanding4 ,hence worship of men arose in the churches instead of the worship of ,god1 and worship by doctrines of falsity instead of worship by doctrines of truth1 the latter arising from man's own intelligence1 and the former from love of self4 ,thence it is evident that religion falls away in the course of time and is ended by the inversion of ,god's image in man4 #g ,third3 ,this takes place as a result of a continual increase of hereditary evil over the generations4 ,it was said and explained above that hereditary evil does not come from ,adam and his wife ,eve by their having eaten of the tree of knowledge1 but is derived and transmitted successively from parents to offspring4 ,thus it grows by continual increase from generation to generation4 ,when evil increases so among many1 it spreads to many more1 for in all evil there is a lust to lead astray1 in some burning with anger against goodness--hence a contagion of evil4 ,when the contagion reaches leaders1 rulers and the prominent in the church1 religion has become perverted1 and the means of restoring it to health1 namely truths1 become corrupted by falsifications4 ,as a result there is a gradual devastation of good and desolation of truth in the church on to its end4 #h ,fourth3 ,nevertheless the ,lord provides that everyone may be saved4 ,he provides that there shall be religion everywhere and in it the two essentials for salvation1 acknowledgment of ,god and ceasing from evil because it is contrary to ,god4 ,other things1 which pertain to the understanding and hence to the thinking1 called matters of faith1 are provided everyone in accord with his life1 for they are accessory to life and if they have been given precedence1 do not become living until they are subsidiary4 ,it is also provided that those who have lived rightly and acknowledged ,god are instructed by angels after death4 ,then those who were in the two essentials of religion while in the world accept such truths of the church as are in the ,word1 and acknowledge the ,lord as ,god of heaven and of the church4 ,this last they receive more readily than do ,christians who have brought with them from the world an idea of the ,lord's human nature parted from ,his divine4 ,it is also provided by the ,lord that all are saved who die as infants1 no matter where they have been born4 #i ,furthermore1 every person is given the opportunity after death of amending his life if possible4 ,all are instructed and led by the ,lord by means of angels4 ,knowing now that they live after death and that heaven and hell exist1 they at first receive truths4 ,but those who did not acknowledge ,god and shun evils as sins when in the world soon show a distaste for truths and draw back1 and those who acknowledged truths with the lips but not with the heart are like the foolish virgins who had lamps but no oil and begged oil of others1 also went off and bought some1 but still were not admitted to the wedding4 ,lamps signify truths of faith and oil signifies the good of charity4 ,it may be evident then that divine providence sees to it that everyone can be saved and that man is himself in fault if he is not saved4 #aj ,fifth3 ,it is also provided that a new church shall succeed in place of a former devastated church4 ,it has been so from the most ancient days that on the devastation of a church a new one followed4 ,the ,ancient ,church succeeded the ,most ,ancient2 the ,israelitish or ,jewish ,church followed the ,ancient2 after this came the ,christian ,church4 ,and this1 it is foretold in the ,apocalypse1 will be followed by a new church1 signified in that book by the ,new ,jerusalem descending from heaven4 ,the reason why a new church is provided by the ,lord to follow in place of a former devastated church may be seen in ,doctrine of the ,new ,jerusalem about ,sacred ,scripture 7nn4 #ajd-aac74 #cbi4 7iv7 ,thus all are predestined to heaven1 and no one to hell4 ,in the work ,heaven and ,hell 7,london1 #ageh7 we showed at nn4 #ede-eej that the ,lord casts no one into hell2 the spirit himself does this4 ,so it happens with every evil and impious person after death and also while he is in the world1 with the difference that while he is in the world he can be reformed and can embrace and avail himself of the means of salvation1 but not after departure from the world4 ,the means of salvation are summed up in these two3 that evils are to be shunned because they are contrary to the divine laws in the ,decalog and that it be acknowledged that ,god exists4 ,everyone can do both if he does not love evils4 ,for the ,lord is constantly flowing into his will with power for shunning evils and into his understanding with power to think that ,god there is4 ,but no one can do the one without doing the other2 the two are joined together like the two tables of the ,decalog1 one relating to ,god and the other to man4 ,in accordance with what is in ,his table the ,lord enlightens and empowers everyone1 but man receives power and enlightenment so far as he does what he is bidden in his table4 ,until then the two tables appear to be laid face to face and to be sealed1 but as man acts on the biddings in his table they are unsealed and opened out4 #b ,today is not the ,decalog like a small1 closed book or document1 opened only in the hands of children and the young8 ,tell someone farther along in years1 ,do not do this because it is contrary to the ,decalog and who gives heed8 ,he may give heed if you say1 ,do not do this because it is contrary to divine laws1 and yet the precepts of the ,decalog are the divine laws themselves4 ,experiment was made with a number in the spiritual world1 who at mention of the ,decalog or ,catechism rejected it with contempt4 ,this is because in the second table1 which is man's1 the ,decalog teaches that evils are to be shunned1 and one who does not do so1 whether from impiety or from the religious tenet that deeds effect nothing1 only faith does1 hears mention of the ,decalog or ,catechism with disdain1 as though it was a child's book he heard mentioned1 no longer of use to adults4 #c ,these things have been said in order that it may be known that a knowledge of the means by which one can be saved is not lacking to anyone1 nor power if he wants to be saved4 ,it follows that all are predestined to heaven and no one to hell4 ,since1 however1 a belief in a predestination not to salvation but to damnation has prevailed with some1 and this belief is damaging and cannot be broken up unless one's reason sees the insanity and cruelty in it1 it is to be dealt with in this order3 #a4 ,predestination except to heaven is contrary to divine love and its infiniteness4 #b4 ,predestination other than to heaven is contrary to divine wisdom and its infiniteness4 #c4 ,that only those born in the church are saved is an insane heresy4 #d4 ,that any of mankind are condemned by predestination is a cruel heresy4 #ccj4 ,that it may be apparent how damaging the belief is in predestination as this is commonly understood1 these four arguments are to be taken up and confirmed4 ,first3 ,predestination except to heaven is contrary to divine love and its infiniteness4 ,in the treatise ,divine ,love and ,wisdom we demonstrated that ,jehovah or the ,lord is divine love1 is infinite1 and is the esse of all life2 also that the human being was created in ,god's image after ,god's likeness4 ,as everyone is formed in the womb by the ,lord into that image and after that likeness1 as was also shown1 the ,lord is the heavenly ,father of all human beings and they are ,his spiritual children4 ,so ,jehovah or the ,lord is called in the ,word1 and so human beings are4 ,therefore ,he says3 ,do not call your father on earth your father1 for ,one is your ,father1 who is in the heavens 7,mt #bc3i74 ,this means that ,he alone is the ,father with reference to the life in us1 and the earthly father is father of the covering on life1 which is the body4 ,in heaven1 therefore1 no one but the ,lord is called ,father4 ,and from many passages in the ,word it is clear that those who do not pervert that life are said to be ,his sons and to be born from ,him4 #b ,plainly1 then1 the divine love is in every man1 an evil man as well as a good man1 and the ,lord who is divine love cannot act otherwise than a father on earth does with his children1 infinitely more lovingly because divine love is infinite4 ,furthermore1 ,he cannot withdraw from anyone because everyone's life is from ,him4 ,he appears to withdraw from those who are evil1 but it is they who withdraw1 while ,he still in love leads them4 ,thus the ,lord says3 ,ask1 and it shall be given you2 seek and you will find2 knock and it shall be opened to you 4 4 4 ,what man of you1 if his son shall ask bread1 will give him a stone8 ,if you1 then1 who are evil1 know how to give good things to your children1 how much more shall your ,father1 who is in heaven1 give good things to those who ask ,him 7,mt #g3g-aa71 and in another place1 ,he makes ,his sun to rise on the evil and the good1 and sends rain on the just and unjust 7,mt #e3de74 ,it is also known in the church that the ,lord desires the salvation of all and the death of no one4 ,it may be seen from all this that predestination except to heaven is contrary to divine love4 #c ,second3 ,predestination other than to heaven is contrary to divine wisdom1 which is infinite4 ,by its divine wisdom divine love provides the means by which every man can be saved4 ,to say that there is any predestination except to heaven is therefore to say that divine love cannot provide means to salvation1 when yet the means exist for all1 as was shown above1 and these are of divine providence which is boundless4 ,the reason that there are those who are not saved is that divine love desires man to feel the felicity and blessedness of heaven for himself1 else it would not be heaven to him1 and this can be effected only as it seems to man that he thinks and wills of himself4 ,for without this appearance nothing would be appropriated to him nor would he be a human being4 ,to this end divine providence exists1 which acts by divine wisdom out of divine love4 #d ,but this does not do away with the truth that all are predestined to heaven and no one to hell4 ,were the means to salvation lacking1 it would2 but1 as was demonstrated above1 the means to salvation have been provided for everyone1 and heaven is such that all of whatever religion who live rightly have a place in it4 ,man is like the earth which produces fruits of every kind1 a power the earth has as the earth4 ,that it also produces evil fruits does not do away with its capability of producing good fruits2 it would if it could only produce evil fruits4 ,or1 again1 man is like an object which variegates the rays of light in it4 ,if the object gives only unpleasing colors1 the light is not the cause1 for its rays can be variegated to produce pleasing colors4 #e ,third3 ,that only those who have been born in the church are saved is an insane heresy4 ,those born outside the church are human beings equally with those born within it2 they have the same heavenly origin1 and like them they are living and immortal souls4 ,they also have some religion by virtue of which they acknowledge ,god's existence and that they should live aright4 ,one who acknowledges ,god and lives aright becomes spiritual in his measure and is saved1 as we showed above4 ,it may be protested that they have not been baptized1 but baptism does not save any who are not washed spiritually1 that is1 regenerated1 of which baptism is a sign and reminder4 #f ,it is also objected that the ,lord is not known to them and that there is no salvation without ,him4 ,but salvation does not come to a person because the ,lord is known to him1 but because he lives according to the ,lord's precepts4 ,moreover1 the ,lord is known to everyone who acknowledges ,god1 for ,he is ,god of heaven and earth1 as ,he ,himself teaches 7,mt #bh3ah and elsewhere74 ,furthermore1 those outside the church have a clearer idea about ,god as ,man than ,christians have1 and those who have a concept of ,god as ,man and live rightly are accepted by the ,lord4 ,they also acknowledge ,god as one in person and essence1 differently from ,christians4 ,they also give thought to ,god in their lives1 for they regard evils as sins against ,god1 and those who do this regard ,god in their lives4 ,christians have precepts of religion from the ,word1 but few draw precepts of life from it4 #g ,roman ,catholics do not read the ,word1 and the ,reformed who are in faith apart from charity do not attend to those utterances in it which concern life1 only to those which concern faith1 and yet the ,word as a whole is nothing else than a doctrine of life4 ,christianity obtains only in ,europe2 ,mohammedanism and ,gentilism are found in ,asia1 the ,indies1 ,africa and ,america1 and the people in these parts of the globe are ten times more numerous than those in the ,christian part1 and in this part few put religion in life4 ,what then is more mad than to believe that only these latter are saved and the former condemned1 and that a man has heaven on the strength of his birth and not on the strength of his life8 ,so the ,lord says3 ,i say to you1 many will come from the east and the west1 and recline with ,abraham1 ,isaac and ,jacob in the kingdom of heaven2 but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out 7,mt #h3aa1 #ab74 #h ,fourth3 ,that any of mankind are condemned by predestination is a cruel heresy4 ,for it is cruel to believe that the ,lord1 who is love itself and mercy itself1 suffers so vast a throng of persons to be born for hell or so many myriads of myriads to be born condemned and doomed1 that is1 to be born devils and satans1 and that ,he does not provide out of ,his divine wisdom that those who live aright and acknowledge ,god should not be cast into everlasting fire and torment4 ,the ,lord is still the ,creator and the ,savior of all men and wills the death of no one4 ,it is cruel therefore to believe and think that a vast multitude of nations and peoples under ,his auspices and care should be handed over as prey to the devil by predestination4 ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,lord ,,cannot ,,act ,,contrary ,,to ,,the ,,laws ,,of ,,divine ,,providence ,,because ,,to ,,do ,,so ,,would ,,be ,,to ,,act ,,contrary ,,to ,,his ,,divine ,,love ,,and ,,wisdom1 ,,thus ,,contrary ,,to ,,himself #cca4 ,it was shown in ,angelic ,wisdom about ,divine ,love and ,wisdom that the ,lord is divine love and wisdom1 and that these are being itself and life itself from which everything is and lives4 ,it was also shown that they proceed from ,him1 so that the proceeding divine is the ,lord ,himself4 ,paramount in what proceeds is divine providence1 for this is constantly in the end for which the universe was created4 ,the operation and progress of the end through means is what is called divine providence4 #b ,inasmuch as the proceeding divine is the ,lord ,himself and paramount in it is divine providence1 to act contrary to the laws of ,his divine providence is to act contrary to ,himself4 ,one can also say that the ,lord is providence just as one says that ,god is order1 for divine providence is the divine order with reference primarily to the salvation of men4 ,as order does not exist without laws1 for they constitute it1 and each law derives from order that it1 too1 is order1 it follows that ,god1 who is order1 is also the law of ,his order4 ,similarly it is to be said of divine providence that as the ,lord is providence ,himself1 ,he is also the law of ,his providence4 ,hence it is clear that the ,lord cannot act contrary to the laws of ,his divine providence because to do so would be to act contrary to ,himself4 #c ,furthermore1 there is no activity except on a subject and on the subject by means2 action is impossible except on a subject and on it by means4 ,man is the subject of divine providence2 divine truths by which he has wisdom1 and divine goods by which he has love1 are the means2 and by these means divine providence pursues its purpose1 which is the salvation of man4 ,for he who wills the purpose1 wills the means4 ,therefore when he who wills the purpose pursues it1 he does so through means4 ,but these things will become plainer on being examined in this order3 i4 ,the activity of divine providence to save man begins at his birth and continues to the close of his life and afterwards to eternity4 ii4 ,the activity of divine providence is maintained steadily out of pure mercy through means4 iii4 ,instantaneous salvation by direct mercy is impossible4 iv4 ,instantaneous salvation by direct mercy is the flying fiery serpent in the church4 #ccb4 7i7 ,the activity of divine providence to save man begins at his birth and continues to the close of his life and afterwards to eternity4 ,it was shown above that a heaven from mankind is the very purpose of the creation of the universe2 that this purpose in its operation and progress is the divine providence for the salvation of man2 and that all which is external to man and available to him for use is a secondary end in creation--in brief1 all that is to be found in the three kingdoms1 animal1 vegetable and mineral4 ,when all this constantly proceeds according to laws of divine order fixed at the first of creation1 how can the primary end1 which is the salvation of the human race1 fail to proceed constantly according to laws of its order1 which are the laws of divine providence8 #b ,observe just a fruit tree4 ,it springs up first as a slender shoot from a tiny seed1 grows gradually into a stalk1 spreads branches which become covered with leaves1 and then puts forth flowers and bears fruit1 in which it deposits fresh seed to provide for its perpetuation4 ,this is also true of every shrub and of every herb of the field4 ,do not each and all things in tree or shrub proceed constantly and wonderfully from purpose to purpose according to the laws of their order of things8 ,why should not the supreme end1 a heaven from the human race1 proceed in similar fashion8 ,can there be anything in its progress which does not proceed with all constancy according to the laws of divine providence8 #c ,as there is a correspondence of man's life with the growth of a tree1 let us draw the parallel or make the comparison4 ,his infancy is relatively like the tender shoot of the tree sprouting from seed out of the ground2 his childhood and youth are like the shoot grown to a stalk with its small branches2 the natural truths with which everyone is imbued at first are like the leaves with which the branches are covered 7leaves signify precisely this in the ,word72 man's first steps in the marriage of good and truth or the spiritual marriage are like the blossoms which the tree puts forth in the springtime2 spiritual truths are the petals in these blossoms2 the earliest signs of the spiritual marriage are like the start of fruit2 spiritual goods1 which are goods of charity1 are like the fruit 7they are also signified in the ,word by fruits72 the procreations of wisdom from love are like the seed and by them the human being becomes like a garden or paradise4 ,man is also described in the ,word by a tree1 and his wisdom from love by a garden2 nothing else is meant by the ,garden of ,eden4 #d ,true1 man is a corrupt tree from the seed1 but still a grafting or budding with shoots taken from the ,tree of ,life is possible1 by which the sap drawn from the old root is turned into sap producing good fruit4 ,the comparison was drawn for it to be known that when the progression of divine providence is so constant in the growth and rebirth of trees1 it surely must be constant in the reformation and rebirth of human beings1 who are of much more value than trees2 so the ,lord's words3 ,are not five sparrows sold for two farthings1 yet not one of them is forgotten by ,god8 ,but even the hairs of your head are all numbered2 fear not therefore2 you are of more value than many sparrows4 ,which of you moreover can by taking thought add a cubit to his stature8 44 4 if then you are unable to do what is least1 why do you take thought for the rest8 ,consider the lilies1 how they grow 4 4 4 ,if then ,god so clothed the grass1 which is in the field today and is cast into an oven tomorrow1 how much more will he clothe you1 #j men of little faith8 7,lu #ab3 #f1 #g1 #be-bh74 #ccc4 ,the activity of divine providence for man's salvation is said to begin with his birth and continue to the close of his life4 ,for this to be understood1 it should be known that the ,lord sees what a man's nature is and foresees what he wills to be and thus what he will be4 ,for him to be man and thus immortal1 his freedom of will cannot be taken away4 ,the ,lord therefore foresees his state after death and provides for it from the man's birth to the close of his life4 ,with the evil ,he makes the provision by permitting and withdrawing from evils1 in the case of the good by leading to good4 ,divine providence is thus continually acting for man's salvation1 but more cannot be saved than are willing to be saved1 and those are willing who acknowledge ,god and are led by ,him4 ,those are not willing who do not acknowledge ,god and who lead themselves4 ,the latter give no thought to eternal life and to salvation1 the former do4 ,the ,lord sees the unwillingness but still ,he leads such men1 and does so in accordance with the laws of ,his divine providence1 contrary to which he cannot act1 for to act contrary to them would be to act contrary to ,his divine love and wisdom1 and this is to act contrary to ,himself4 #b ,inasmuch as the ,lord foresees the states of all after death1 and also foresees the places in hell of those who do not desire to be saved and the places in heaven of those who do desire to be saved1 it follows that ,he provides their places for the evil by the permitting and withdrawing of which we spoke1 and their places for the good by leading them4 ,unless this was done steadily from birth to the close of life neither heaven nor hell would remain standing1 for apart from this foresight and providence neither would be anything but confusion4 ,it may be seen above 7nn4 #bjb1 #bjc7 that everyone has his place provided for him by the ,lord through this foresight4 #c ,a comparison may throw light on this4 ,if a javelin thrower or a marksman should aim at a target1 from which a line was drawn straight back for a mile and should err in aim by only a finger's breadth1 the missile or the bullet at the end of the mile would have deviated very far from the line4 ,so would it be if the ,lord did not1 at every moment and even the least fraction of a moment1 look to what is eternal in foreseeing and making provision for one's place after death4 ,but this the ,lord does3 the entire future is present to ,him1 and the entire present is to ,him eternal4 ,that divine providence looks in all it does to what is infinite and eternal1 may be seen above1 nn4 #df-di1 #bad ff4 #ccd4 ,as was said also1 the activity of divine providence continues to eternity1 for every angel is being perfected in wisdom to eternity1 each1 however1 according to the degree of affection of good and truth in which he was when he left this world4 ,it is this degree that is perfected to eternity2 what is beyond that is outside the angel and not in him1 and what is external to him cannot be perfected in him4 ,this perfecting is meant by the ,good measure1 pressed down and shaken together and running over which will be given into the bosom of those who forgive and give to others 7,lu #f3cg1 #ch71 that is1 those who are in the good of charity4 #cce4 7ii7 ,the activity of divine providence is maintained steadily out of pure mercy through means4 ,divine providence has means and methods4 ,its means are the things by which man becomes man and is perfected in will and understanding2 its methods are the ways this is accomplished4 ,the means by which man becomes man and is perfected in understanding are collectively called truths4 ,in the thought they become ideas1 are called objects of the memory1 and in themselves are forms of knowledge from which information comes4 ,all these means1 viewed in themselves1 are spiritual1 but as they exist in what is natural1 they seem by reason of their covering or clothing to be natural and some of them seem to be material4 ,they are infinite in number and variety1 and more or less simple or composite1 and also more or less imperfect or perfect4 ,there are means for forming and perfecting natural civil life2 likewise for forming and perfecting rational moral life2 as there are for forming and perfecting heavenly spiritual life4 #b ,these means advance1 one kind after another1 from infancy to the last of man's life1 and thereafter to eternity4 ,as they come along and mount1 the earlier ones become means to the later1 entering into all that is forming as mediate causes4 ,from these every effect or conclusion is efficacious and therefore becomes a cause4 ,in turn what is later becomes means2 and as this goes on to eternity1 there is nothing farthest on or final to make an end4 ,for as what is eternal is without end1 so a wisdom that increases to eternity is without end4 ,if there were an end to wisdom for a wise man1 the enjoyment of his wisdom would perish1 which consists in the perpetual multiplication and fructification of wisdom4 ,his life's enjoyment would also perish2 in its place an enjoyment of glory would succeed1 in which by itself there is no heavenly life4 ,the wise man then becomes no longer like a youth but like an old man1 and at length like a decrepit one4 #c ,although a wise man's wisdom increases forever in heaven1 angelic wisdom cannot approximate the divine wisdom so much as to touch it4 ,it is relatively like what is said of a straight line drawn about a hyperbola1 always approaching but never touching it1 and like what is said about squaring a circle4 ,hence it may be plain what is meant by the means by which divine providence acts in order that man may be man and be perfected in understanding1 and that these means are called by the common term truths4 ,there are an equal number of means by which man is formed and perfected as to his will4 ,these are called collectively goods4 ,by them man comes to have love1 by the others wisdom4 ,the conjunction of love and wisdom makes the man1 for what he is is in keeping with the nature of this conjunction4 ,this conjunction is what is called the marriage of good and truth4 #ccf4 ,the methods by which divine providence acts on and through the means to form and perfect the human being are also infinite in number and variety4 ,they are as numerous as the activities of divine wisdom from divine love to save man1 and therefore as numerous as the activities of divine providence in accordance with its laws1 treated of above4 ,that these methods are most secret was illustrated above by the activities of the soul in the body1 of which man knows so little it is scarcely anything--how1 for instance1 eye1 ear1 nose1 tongue and skin sense things2 how the stomach digests2 how the mesentery elaborates the chyle and the liver the blood2 how the pancreas and the spleen purify the blood1 the kidneys separate it from impure humors1 the heart collects and distributes it1 and the lungs purify it and pass it on2 how the brain refines the blood and vivifies it anew2 besides innumerable other things which are all secret1 and of which one can scarcely know4 ,clearly1 the hidden activities of divine providence can be entered into even less2 it is enough to know its laws4 #ccg4 ,divine providence acts in all things out of pure mercy4 ,for the divine essence is itself pure love2 this love acts through divine wisdom and its activity is what is called divine providence4 ,this pure love is pure mercy because #a4 ,it is active with all men the world over1 who are such that they can do nothing of themselves4 #b4 ,it is active with the evil and unjust and the good and just alike4 #c4 ,it leads the former in hell and rescues them from it4 #d4 ,it strives with them there perpetually and fights for them against the devil1 that is1 against the evils of hell4 #e4 ,to this end pure love came into the world and endured temptations even to the last of them1 which was the passion of the ,cross4 #f4 ,it acts continually with the unclean to make them clean and with the unsound to make them sound in mind4 ,thus it labors incessantly out of pure mercy4 #cch4 7iii7 ,instantaneous salvation by direct mercy is impossible4 ,we have just shown that the activity of divine providence to save man begins at his birth and continues to the close of his life and afterwards to eternity2 also that this activity is continually pursued out of pure mercy through means4 ,it follows that there is neither instantaneous salvation nor unmediated mercy4 ,but as many1 not thinking from the understanding about things of the church or of religion1 believe that they are saved by immediate mercy and hence that salvation is instantaneous1 and yet this is contrary to the truth and in addition is a pernicious belief1 it is important that it be considered in due order3 #a4 ,belief in instantaneous salvation by direct mercy has been assumed from man's natural state4 #b4 ,this belief comes from ignorance of the spiritual state1 which is completely different from the natural state4 #c4 ,the doctrines of all churches in ,christendom1 viewed interiorly1 are opposed to instantaneous salvation by direct mercy1 but external men of the church nevertheless maintain the belief4 #b ,first3 ,belief in instantaneous salvation by direct mercy has been assumed from man's natural state4 ,from his state the natural man does not know otherwise than that heavenly joy is like worldly joy and that it flows in and is received in the same way2 that1 for example1 it is like a poor man's becoming rich and from a sad state of poverty coming into a happy one of plenty1 or like a lowly person's being raised to honors and passing thus from contempt to renown2 or like one's going from a house of mourning to happy nuptials4 ,as these states can be changed in a day and as there is a like idea of man's state after death1 it is plain whence it comes that instantaneous salvation by direct mercy is believed in4 #c ,in the world1 moreover1 many can join in one group or in one civic community and enjoy the same things1 yet all differ in mind2 this is true of the natural state4 ,the reason is that the external of one person can be accommodated to that of another1 no matter how unlike their internals are4 ,from this natural situation it is also concluded that salvation is merely admission among angels in heaven1 and that admission is by direct mercy4 ,it is also believed1 therefore1 that heaven can be given to the evil as well as to the good1 and that their association then is similar to that in the world1 with the difference that it is filled with joy4 #d ,second3 ,this belief comes from ignorance of the spiritual state1 which is altogether different from the natural state4 ,the spiritual state1 which is man's state after death1 has been treated of in many places above4 ,it has been shown that everyone is his own love1 that no one can live with others than those who are in a like love1 and that if he comes among others he cannot breathe his own life4 ,for this reason everyone comes after death into a society of his own people1 that is1 who are in a like love1 and recognizes them as relatives and friends1 and what is remarkable1 on meeting and seeing them it is as if he had known them from infancy4 ,spiritual relationship and friendship bring this about4 ,what is more1 in a society no one can dwell in any other house than his own4 ,everyone in a society has his own home1 which he finds prepared for him as soon as he enters the society4 ,he may be in close company with others outside his home1 but he cannot dwell elsewhere4 ,again1 in somebody else's apartment one can sit only in his own place2 seated elsewhere he becomes frustrated and mute4 ,and it is remarkable that on entering he knows his own place4 ,this is as true in temples he enters and in any companies in which people gather4 #e ,it is plain from this that the spiritual state is altogether different from the natural state1 and is such that no one can be anywhere but where his ruling love is to be found4 ,for there the enjoyment of one's life is1 and everyone desires to be in the enjoyment of his life4 ,a man's spirit cannot be anywhere else because that enjoyment constitutes his life1 his very breathing1 in fact1 and his heartbeat4 ,it is different in the natural world2 there man's external is taught from infancy to simulate in look1 speech and bearing other enjoyments than those of his internal man4 ,accordingly1 no conclusion can be formed about man's state after death from his state in the natural world4 ,for after death everyone's state is spiritual and is such that he cannot be anywhere except in the enjoyment of his love1 an enjoyment that he has acquired in the natural world by his life4 #f ,hence it is quite plain that no one who is in the enjoyment of hell can be admitted into the enjoyment of heaven1 commonly called heavenly happiness1 or what is the same1 no one who is in the enjoyment of evil can be admitted into the enjoyment of good4 ,this can be concluded still more plainly from the fact that after death no one is denied going up to heaven2 he is shown the way1 has the opportunity given him1 and is admitted1 but as soon as he enters heaven and inhales its enjoyment1 he begins to feel constricted in his chest and racked at heart1 and falls into a swoon1 in which he writhes as a snake does brought near a fire4 ,then with his face turned away from heaven and towards hell1 he flees headlong and does not stop until he is in a society of his own love4 ,hence it may be plain that no one reaches heaven by direct mercy4 ,consequently1 just to be admitted is not enough1 as many in the world suppose4 ,nor is there any instantaneous salvation1 for this presupposes unmediated mercy4 #g ,when some who had believed in the world in instantaneous salvation by direct mercy became spirits1 they wanted their infernal enjoyment or enjoyment of evil changed by both divine omnipotence and divine mercy into heavenly enjoyment or enjoyment in the good4 ,as they ardently desired this1 permission was given for it to be done by angels1 who proceeded to remove their infernal enjoyment4 ,but as this was the enjoyment of their life's love and consequently their life1 they thereupon lay as if dead1 devoid of all feeling and movement2 nor could any life be breathed into them except their own1 because all things of mind and body which had been turned backward could not be reversed4 ,they were therefore revived by letting in the enjoyment of their life's love4 ,they said afterwards that in that state they had experienced something dreadful and horrible1 which they did not care to divulge4 ,there is a saying in heaven1 therefore1 that it is easier to change an owl into a turtle-dove or a serpent into a lamb than an infernal spirit into an angel of heaven4 #h ,third3 ,the doctrines of all churches in ,christendom1 viewed interiorly1 are opposed to instantaneous salvation by direct mercy1 but still some external men of the church maintain the idea4 ,viewed interiorly1 the doctrines of all the churches teach life4 ,is there a church whose doctrine does not teach that man ought to examine himself1 see and acknowledge his sins1 confess them1 repent and then live a new life8 ,who is admitted to ,holy ,communion without this admonition and precept8 ,inquire and you will be assured of it4 ,is there a church whose doctrine is not based on the precepts of the ,decalog8 ,the precepts of the ,decalog are precepts of life4 ,what man of the church1 in whom there is anything of the church1 does not1 on hearing it1 acknowledge that he who lives rightly is saved and he who lives wickedly is condemned8 ,in the ,athanasian ,creed1 which is also the doctrine received in the whole ,christian world1 it is therefore said3 ,the ,lord will come to judge the quick and the dead2 and then those who have done good will enter into eternal life1 and those who have done evil into everlasting fire4 #i ,it is clear1 then1 that the doctrines of all churches1 when viewed interiorly1 teach life1 and teaching life they teach that salvation is according to the life4 ,man's life is not breathed into him in a moment but is formed gradually1 and it is reformed as the man shuns evils as sins1 consequently as he learns what sin is1 recognizes and acknowledges it1 does not will it but desists from it1 and also learns the helps that come with a knowledge of ,god4 ,by all these means man's life is formed and reformed1 and they cannot be given on the instant4 ,for hereditary evil1 in itself infernal1 has to be removed1 and good1 in itself heavenly1 implanted in its place4 ,because of his hereditary evil man may be compared to an owl as to the understanding and to a serpent as to the will1 but when he has been reformed1 he may be compared to a dove as to the understanding and to a sheep as to the will4 ,instantaneous reformation and hence salvation would be like changing an owl at once into a dove or a serpent at once into a sheep4 ,who that knows anything about man's life does not see the impossibility of this8 ,salvation is impossible unless the owl and serpent nature is removed and the nature of the dove and sheep implanted instead4 #aj ,moreover1 it is common knowledge that every intelligent person can become more intelligent than he is1 and every wise man wiser than he is1 and that intelligence and wisdom in man may increase and do so in some men from infancy to the close of life1 and that man is thus continually perfected4 ,why should not spiritual intelligence and wisdom increase as well8 ,these rise by two degrees above natural intelligence and wisdom1 and as they ascend become angelic intelligence and wisdom1 which are ineffable4 ,these in turn increase to eternity with the angels4 ,who cannot understand1 if he will1 that what is being perfected to eternity cannot possibly be made perfect in an instant8 #cci4 ,thence it is evident now that all who give thought to salvation for their life's sake do not think of an instantaneous salvation by immediate mercy4 ,their thought is about the means to salvation1 on and by which the ,lord acts in accord with the laws of ,his divine providence1 and thus by which man is led by the ,lord out of pure mercy4 ,those1 however1 who do not think of salvation for their life's sake presume an instantaneousness in salvation and an immediacy in mercy1 as do those who1 separating faith from charity 7charity is life71 presume that faith can be instantaneous1 at the final hour of death1 if not earlier4 ,those do this1 too1 who believe remission of sins without any repentance to be absolution from sins and thus salvation1 when attending the ,holy ,supper4 ,so again those do who trust to indulgences of monks1 their prayers for the dead1 and the dispensations they grant by the authority which they claim over the souls of men4 #cdj4 7iv7 ,instantaneous salvation by unmediated mercy is the flying fiery serpent in the church4 ,by a flying fiery serpent evil aglow with infernal fire is meant1 as it is by the flying fiery serpent in ,isaiah3 ,rejoice not1 all ,philistia1 that the rod which smote you is broken1 for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a basilisk1 whose fruit is a flying fiery serpent 7#ad3bi74 ,evil of the kind is flying about in the church when belief is put in instantaneous salvation by immediate mercy1 for this #a4 abolishes religion2 #b4 induces security2 and #c4 charges condemnation to the ,lord4 #b ,first3 ,it abolishes religion4 ,two things are the essentials and at the same time the universals of religion1 namely1 acknowledgment of ,god1 and repentance4 ,neither has meaning for those who believe that they are saved out of mercy alone no matter how they live4 ,what need then to do more than cry1 ,have mercy on me1 ,o ,god8 ,in all else pertaining to religion they are in darkness1 even loving the darkness4 ,in regard to the first essential of the church1 which is an acknowledgment of ,god1 they only think1 ,what is ,god8 ,who has seen ,him8 ,if told that ,god is1 and is one1 they say that ,he is one2 if told there are three1 they also say there are three1 but the three must be called one4 ,such is their acknowledgment of ,god4 #c ,touching the church's second essential1 namely1 repentance1 they give this no thought1 nor thought to any sin1 and finally do not know that there is such a thing as sin4 ,then they hear and drink in with pleasure that the law does not condemn them because a ,christian is not under its yoke4 ,if only you say1 ,have mercy on me1 #j ,god1 for the sake of the ,son1 you will be saved4 ,this is repentance in their life4 ,if1 however1 you take away repentance1 or what is the same thing1 separate life from religion1 what is left except the words1 ,have mercy on me8 ,they are therefore sure to maintain that salvation is instantaneous1 accomplished by these words1 even if uttered at the hour of death1 if not before4 ,what does the ,word become to them then but an obscure and cryptic utterance issuing from a tripod in a cave1 or like an incomprehensible response from the oracle of an idol8 ,in a word1 if you remove repentance1 that is1 sever life from religion1 what is human nature then but evil aglow with infernal fire or a flying fiery serpent in the church8 ,for without repentance man is in evil1 and evil is hell4 #d ,second3 ,by the belief in instantaneous salvation out of pure mercy alone security of life is induced4 ,security of life arises either from the belief of the impious man that there is no life after death1 or from the belief of one who separates life from salvation4 ,although the latter may believe in eternal life1 he still thinks1 whether ,i live rightly or wickedly1 ,i can be saved1 for salvation is by outright mercy1 and ,god's mercy is universal1 for ,he does not desire the death of anyone4 ,if it occurs to him that mercy should be implored in the words of the traditional faith1 he can think that this can be done1 if not earlier1 just before death4 ,everyone who feels this security1 makes light of adultery1 fraud1 injustice1 acts of violence1 blasphemy and revenge1 and gives a free rein to body and spirit for committing all these evils2 nor does he know what spiritual evil1 or the lust of evil1 is4 ,should he hear something about it from the ,word1 it is like something falling on ebony and rebounding1 or falling into a ditch and being swallowed up4 #e ,third3 ,by this belief condemnation is charged to the ,lord4 ,if the ,lord can save anybody out of pure mercy1 who is not going to conclude that if man is not saved1 it is not he but the ,lord who is in fault8 ,if it is asserted that faith is the medium of salvation1 what man cannot have this faith8 ,for it is only a thought1 and this can be imparted1 along with confidence1 in any state of the spirit withdrawn from the mundane4 ,man may also declare ,i cannot acquire this faith of myself4 ,hence if it is not vouchsafed him and he is condemned1 what else can he think except that the ,lord is in fault who could have given him the faith but would not8 ,would this not amount to calling the ,lord unmerciful8 ,moreover1 in the fervor of his belief he may ask1 ,how can ,god see so many condemned in hell when ,he can save them all in an instant from pure mercy8 ,and more such things1 which can only be called an atrocious indictment of the ,divine4 ,from the above it may be evident that belief in instantaneous salvation out of sheer mercy is the flying fiery serpent in the church4 #f ,excuse the addition of what follows to fill the remainder of the sheet4 ,certain spirits were permitted to ascend from hell who said to me1 ,you have written much from the ,lord2 write something from us1 too4 ,i asked1 ,what shall ,i write8 ,they said1 ,write that every spirit1 good or evil1 has his own enjoyment2 a good spirit is in the enjoyment of his good1 and an evil spirit in the enjoyment of his evil4 ,i then asked1 ,what is your enjoyment8 ,they answered that it was the enjoyment of committing adultery1 stealing1 defrauding and lying4 ,again ,i inquired1 ,what is the nature of those enjoyments8 ,they replied1 ,by others they are perceived as offensive odors from excrement and as the putrid smell from dead bodies and as the reeking stench from stagnant urine4 ,i then said1 ,do you find them enjoyable8 ,most enjoyable1 they said4 ,i remarked1 ,then you are like unclean beasts which live in such filth4 ,they replied to this1 ,if we are1 we are2 but such things are delightful to our nostrils4 #g ,i asked1 ,what more shall ,i write from you8 ,they said1 ,write this4 ,everyone is allowed to be in his own enjoyment1 even the most unclean1 as it is called1 provided he does not infest good spirits and angels1 but as we could not but infest them1 we were driven off and cast into hell1 where we suffer fearful things4 ,i asked1 ,why did you infest the good8 ,they replied that they could not help it2 a fury seems to seize them when they see an angel and feel the divine sphere around him4 ,then ,i said1 ,so you are also like savage beasts6 ,on hearing this1 a fury came over them which appeared like the fire of hate1 and lest they inflict some injury1 they were drawn back into hell4 ,on enjoyments sensed as odors or as stenches in the spiritual world1 see above 7nn4 #cjc-cje1 #cbd74