908、天堂和教会的一切都来自爱之良善，爱之良善来自主，这一点无法看出来，因此也无法得知，除非得到证明。这一点由于无法被看到而无法得知，因为良善不像真理那样进入人的思维；真理在思维中被看到，因为它源于天堂之光，而良善只能被感受到，因为它源于天堂之热；人在反思他正在思考的东西时，很少关注自己的感受，只关注他所看到的。这是因为有学问的人将一切都归于思维，而不是归于情感；从前面(AR 875节)可以看出，教会将一切都归于信，而不是归于爱，而事实上，目前在教会中被称为“信之真理”或“信仰”的真理只是属于爱的良善的形式。由于人在自己的思维中看不到良善，如前所述，良善只能被感受到，并且在各种快乐之下被感受到，而人不关注他在思维中所感受到的东西，只关注他在那里所看到的东西，所以他将他觉得快乐的一切都称为良善，而他觉得邪恶是快乐的，因为如此感觉是他与生俱来的，是从对自我和世界的爱发出的。这就为何人们不知道爱之良善是天堂和教会的全部，只从主那里而存在于人里面，也只从主那里流入一个避开邪恶及其快乐如罪的人。
这就是主的这些话的意思，律法和先知都系于这两条诫命，即：
你要爱神胜过一切，且爱邻如己。(马太福音22:37-40)
此外，我可以肯定地说，人里面没有一丁点本身为真理的真理，除非这真理源于来自主的爱之良善，因而也没有一丁点本身为信仰的信仰，也就是活的、得救和属灵的信仰，除非它源于来自主的仁爱。由于爱之良善是天堂和教会的全部，所以主是照着爱之情感，而不是照着与它们分离的任何思维来安排整个天堂和整个教会的；因为思维是形式上的情感，正如言语是形式上的声音。
908. No one can see or therefore know that everything connected with heaven and the church springs from the goodness of love unless it is demonstrated. It is not known because it is not seen, and the reason is that goodness does not enter a person's thinking as truth does. For truth is seen in thought, because it is illumined by the light of heaven, whereas goodness is only felt, because it exists in response to the warmth of heaven, and when someone reflects on what he is thinking, rarely does he pay attention to what he is feeling, but only to what he sees.
For this reason the learned have attributed everything to thought and not to affection, and the church has attributed everything to faith and not to love, even though the truth that people in the church today call faith or the truth of faith is only a formal expression of the goodness of love, as may be seen in no. 875 above.
Now because a person does not see the goodness in his thinking, inasmuch as goodness, as we said, is only felt, and is felt in the guise of various kinds of delight, and because a person does not pay attention to what he is feeling in his thinking, but only to what he sees in it, therefore he calls good everything that he feels with delight; and he feels evil with delight, because it is inherent in him from birth to do so and emanates from his love of self and the world. That is why people do not know that the goodness of love is everything in heaven and the church, and exists in a person only from the Lord, and why it flows in from the Lord only in someone who refrains from evils and their delights as sins.
[2] This is the meaning of the Lord's declaration that the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments: you shall love God above all things, and the neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40).
Moreover I can assert that a person cannot possess a grain of truth that is in itself true except to the extent that it springs from the goodness of love from the Lord, and so cannot possess a grain of faith that is in itself faith, that is, a living, saving and spiritual faith, except to the extent that it springs from charity from the Lord.
Since the goodness of love is everything in heaven and the church, therefore the whole of heaven and the whole church are set in order in accordance with the affections of people's love, and not in accordance with any of their thinking divorced from those affections. For thought is affection given form, as speech is sound given form.
908. That all the things of heaven and the Church are derived from the good of love, and the good of love is derived from the Lord, cannot be seen, and therefore cannot be known, unless it is demonstrated. The reason why it cannot be known because it is not seen is because good does not enter into a man's thought as truth does, for truth is seen in thought because it is derived from the light of heaven, but good is only felt because it is derived from the heat of heaven, and it is rare for anyone, while reflecting on the things that he is thinking, to pay attention to the things that he is feeling, but [he is only concerned with] the things that he sees. This is because the learned have attributed all things to thought and not to affection; and it may be seen above (875) that the Church has attributed all things to faith and not to love, when yet the truth that is at present in the Church called 'the truth of faith' or 'faith' is only the form of the good that is of love. Now because a man does not see the good in his thoughts, for the good, as was said, is only felt, and is felt under various species of delight; and because the man does not pay attention to what he feels in his thought, but to what he sees there; therefore he calls good all that he feels delightful (ex jucundo), and he feels evil delightful because this has been engendered in him by birth, and proceeds out of the love of self and the world. This is why it is not known that the good of love is everything of heaven and the Church, and that this does not exist in a man except from the Lord, and that it does not inflow from the Lord with any other man but one who flees from evils with their delights as sins.
[2] These are the things that are understood by the Lord's words, that the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments:
Thou shalt love God above all things, and the neighbour as thyself. Matthew 22:37-40 [Schm. 35-38].
And I can firmly assert that not a grain of truth that in itself is truth is given with a man except so far as it is derived from the good of love from the Lord; and consequently not a grain of faith that in itself is faith, that is, a living, saving and spiritual faith, except so far as it is derived from the charity that is from the Lord. Since the good of love is everything of heaven and the Church, therefore the entire heaven and the entire Church have been arranged by the Lord in accordance with the affections of love, and not in accordance with anything of thought separated from them; for thought is affection in form, just as speech is sound in form.
908. That all things of heaven and of the church are from the good of love, and the good of love is from the Lord, cannot be seen, and therefore it cannot be known, unless it be demonstrated. The reason why it is not known in consequence of its not being seen, is, because good does not enter into the thought of man like truth, for truth is seen in the thought, because as it is from the light of heaven, but good is only felt, because it is from the heat of heaven, and it rarely happens that anyone, while reflecting upon what he thinks, attends to what he feels, but only to what he sees. This is the reason why the learned have attributed all things to thought and not to the affection; and why the church has attributed all things to faith, and not to love, when, nevertheless, the truth, which at this day in the church is said to be of faith, or is called faith, is only the form of good which is of love, see above, (875). Now because man does not see good in his thought, for good, as was said, is only felt, and is felt under various species of delight, and because man does not attend to the things which he feels in thought, but to those which he sees there, therefore he calls all that good which he feels delightful, and he feels evil as delightful, because this is ingenerate from birth, and proceeds from the love of self and the world. This is the reason why it is not known that the good of love is the all of heaven and of the church, and that this in man is only from the Lord, and that it does not flow from the Lord into any but such as shun evils with their delights as sins.
[2] That is what is meant by the Lord's words, that the Law and the Prophets hang upon these two commandments:
Thou shalt love God above all things, and the neighbor as thyself, (Matthew 22:35-40).
And I can assert, that there does not exist a grain of truth, which in itself is truth in man, except so far as it is from the good of love from the Lord; and therefore neither is there a grain of faith, which in itself is faith, that is, a living, saving, and spiritual faith, except so far as it is from charity which is from the Lord. Since the good of love is the all of heaven and the church, therefore the whole heaven and the whole church are arranged by the Lord according to the affections of love, and not according to anything of thought separated from them; for thought is affection in form; as speech is sound in form.
908. Quod omnia Caeli et Ecclesiae sint ex bono amoris, et bonum amoris ex Domino, non videri potest, et inde nec sciri, nisi demonstretur. Quod non sciatur quia non videtur, est quia bonum non intrat cogitationem hominis sicut verum; verum enim in cogitatione videtur, quia est ex luce Caeli, at bonum modo sentitur, quia est ex calore Caeli; et raro aliquis, dum reflectit super illa quae cogitat, attendit ad illa quae sentit, sed quae videt: haec causa est quod eruditi attribuerint cogitationi omnia et non affectioni, et quod Ecclesia attribuerit fidei omnia et non amori; cum tamen verum, quod hodie in Ecclesia vocatur fidei vel fides, est modo forma boni quod est amoris (875). Nunc quia homo non videt bonum in cogitatione sua, bonum enim ut dictum est modo sentitur, et sentitur sub varia specie jucundi, et quia homo non attendit ad ea quae in cogitatione sentit, sed quae ibi videt, ideo omne id vocat bonum quod ex jucundo sentit; et ex jucundo sentit malum, quia hoc ingeneratum est ex nativitate, et procedit ex amore sui et mundi. Haec causa est, quod nesciatur quod bonum amoris sit omne Caeli et Ecclesiae, et quod hoc in homine non sit nisi a Domino, et quod non influat a Domino apud alium quam qui fugit mala cum jucundis eorum ut peccata. Haec sunt quae intelliguntur per Domini verba, quod Lex et Prophetae pendeant a duobus mandatis his,
"Amabis Deum" super omnia, "et proximum sicut te ipsum," (Matthaeus 22:35-40); 1
et asseverare possum, quod non detur granum veri quod in se verum est, apud hominem, nisi quantum id est ex bono amoris a Domino; et inde nec granum fidei quae in se est fides, hoc est viva, salutifera et spiritualis, nisi quantum id est ex charitate quae a Domino. Quoniam bonum amoris est omne Caeli et Ecclesiae, ideo universum Caelum et universa Ecclesia a Domino ordinata sunt secundum affectiones amoris, et non secundum aliquid cogitationis separatae ab illis; cogitatio enim est affectio in forma, sicut loquela est sonus in forma.
Footnotes:
1. 35-40 pro "35 ad 38"