69# 人依神性秩序生活至何等程度，便依托神性全知拥有关乎良善与真理的同等智慧，盖其缘由在于：一切爱慕良善之情、一切通晓真理之智，亦即凡属爱之良善、凡属智慧之真理，皆本源出于上帝。
此一道理，基督教界诸教会皆同心共认。由是可明，人无从于内里持有任何智慧之真理，除非由上帝赐下领受；盖上帝自有全知，即是无限完备之智慧。
人心智之内分三层级，一如天使天堂亦划分为三层级；是以人之心智既可被抬升，层层递进趋于高层，亦能被沉降，层层跌落至低层。人被举升至高层至何等地步，便能获致同等程度之智慧，以其得以进入天堂之光；此事非凭人力，唯独赖上帝方能成就。人愈向高层提升，便愈为完整本真之人；反之，人愈沉降至低层，便愈陷溺于地狱虚妄昏暗之光，愈失却人之本性，沦为兽类之属。
是以人得以直立双足、面向天堂，且可仰首直视天顶；而走兽四足贴地，身躯与大地平行，整张脸面俯向尘土，若非勉力强抬，无从举目望向天堂。
【2】人若举升心智仰观上帝，承认一切智慧真理皆出自祂，同时恪守神性秩序度日，则可比作立身高塔之人，俯瞰下方人烟稠密之城邑，一并洞见街巷之间所发生诸事。
倘使人于内心执持己见，认定一切智慧真理皆发自自身内在自然之光、亦即源于一己之身，其人便如同栖身高塔之下洞穴之人，仅能经由洞内小孔遥望同一城郭；目力所及，唯有城中一处屋舍之墙垣，以及墙面砖石彼此叠合之形貌。
由是观之，凡自上帝汲取智慧之人，如同飞鸟高翔天际，遍览园囿、林木、村落间万物，飞向一切适配自身功用之物。
若人只于自身求索智慧相关事理，且不信此等事理本源仍出自上帝，便如同大黄蜂贴地低飞，一见粪堆便径直钻入，沉溺其间秽臭而自以为乐。
一切世人存活于物质世间之时，皆行走于天堂与地狱二者之间；是以人处于平衡之中，自有自由抉择之权柄，既可抬眼向上仰望上帝，亦能俯首向下凝望地狱。
人若仰观上帝，便承认一切智慧皆源于祂；这般之人，就其内在的灵而论，实实在在与天堂天使同在。
但凡俯首向下凝望地狱之人 —— 一切居于邪恶所生伪谬之中者皆是如此 —— 就其内在的灵而论，实实在在与地狱魔鬼共处。
69# 人越照着神序生活，就越从神性全知中拥有关于良善和真理的智慧，因为对良善的一切爱和关于真理的一切智慧，或一切爱之良善和一切智慧之真理，都来自主。基督教界的所有教会都宣称事实就是如此。由此可知，若不从神那里，人不能从内层处于任何智慧之真理，因为神拥有全知，即无限的智慧。人的心智和天使天堂一样，分为三个层级，因而既可以被提升到较高、甚至更高的层级，也可以下降到较低、甚至更低的层级。此外，只要它被提升到较高层级，它在智慧上就会被提升，因为它被提升到了天堂之光，只有神才能做到这一点。只要心智被如此提升，它就成为一个人；但只要它下降到较低层级，它就陷入地狱的幻光，并且不是一个人，而是一个野兽。这就是为何人会站直，仰脸朝天，甚至将脸朝向天顶；而野兽却平行于地面站立，脸朝下看，不能朝天看，除非艰难地朝天看。
人把心智提升到神那里，承认一切智慧之真理都来自祂，同时照秩序生活，就像一个人站在高塔上俯瞰人口稠密的城市，看到下面城市街道上所发生的一切。但人确认相信一切智慧之真理都来自他自己里面的属世之光，即来自他自己，就像一个人留在塔脚的洞穴里，透过塔上的裂缝去看同一座城市，却只看到那城中一座房子的墙壁，看到它是如何用砖块砌成的。此外，人从神那里获取智慧，就像一只在高处飞翔的鸟儿俯瞰花园、树林和田野或农场里的一切，飞向对它有用的任何东西。然而，人从自己那里获取诸如属于智慧的那类东西，又不相信它们来自神，就像一只紧贴地面飞行的黄蜂，一看到粪堆就停在上面，并以它的恶臭为快乐。每个人只要活在世上，就行走在天堂与地狱中间，由此处于平衡，从而拥有要么向上看神，要么向下看地狱的选择自由或自由意志。他若向上看神，就会承认一切智慧都来自神，在灵里实际上与天堂里的天使同在；但他若向下看（如凡处于来自邪恶的虚假之人所行的），在灵里实际上与地狱里的魔鬼同在。
69. The more we follow the divine design in the way we live, the more wisdom about goodness and truth we receive from God's omniscience. This is because all love for goodness and all wisdom about truth come from God. To put it another way, all the goodness of love and all the truth belonging to wisdom come from God - all the churches in the Christian world profess that it is so. Therefore we cannot inwardly have any true wisdom except from God, because God has omniscience, that is, infinite wisdom.
The human mind is divided into three levels, just as the angelic heaven is. The mind has the capability of being raised to a higher level and to another level higher still. Then again the mind can be brought down to a lower level and to another level lower still. As our minds are raised to the higher levels, we come into wisdom, because we come into the light of heaven. The mind cannot be raised except by God. The more our minds are raised to heaven, the more human we are. The more our minds are brought down to the lower levels, the more we come into the faint, deceptive light of hell. There we are not human, we are animals. (This is why people stand upright on their feet and look with their faces toward the sky, and are even capable of looking directly overhead. Animals, however, stand on their feet with their bodies parallel to the ground, looking down to the ground with their whole head, and only with difficulty can they raise their heads toward the sky.)
[2] If we lift our minds to God and acknowledge that all true wisdom comes from him, and we also follow the divine design in the way we live, we are like someone standing at the top of a tall building, who looks out on a crowded city below and watches what is happening in the streets. If, however, we are utterly convinced that all true wisdom comes from ourselves, from our own earthly light, we are like someone at the bottom of that same tall building who lurks in a room below ground looking at the same city through little holes in the wall, able to see the wall of only one of the houses in the city and to examine how its bricks are mortared.
When God is the source we draw on for wisdom, we are like a bird flying high, looking around at everything in the gardens, forests, and villages, and flying toward whatever we need. When we ourselves are the source we draw on for things related to wisdom without believing that those things actually come from God, we are like a hornet that flies near the ground and, on seeing a dunghill, lands there and enjoys the stench.
As long as we are living in the world, we all walk midway between heaven and hell. Therefore we are in an equilibrium. We can freely choose to look either upward to God or downward to hell. If we look upward to God, we recognize that all wisdom is from God and that in our spirits we are actually with angels in heaven. If we look downward (as we inevitably do if we have false thinking from an evil heart), in our spirits we are actually with devils in hell.
69. The reason why the wisdom about good and truth a person has from Divine omniscience is in proportion to the extent to which he lives according to the Divine order, is that all love of good and all wisdom about truth, in other words, all the good of love and all the truth of wisdom, come from God. This is borne out by the confession of all the churches in Christendom. It follows from this that a person cannot have inwardly any truth of wisdom except from God, since God has omniscience, that is, infinite wisdom. The human mind is, like the heaven of the angels, divided into three degrees; so it can be raised to a higher degree and one higher still, or be depressed to a lower degree and one lower still. To the extent, however, that it is raised to higher degrees, it enters into wisdom, because it enters to that extent into the light of heaven, and this could not be brought about except by God. To the extent it is raised into that light, a person is truly human; but to the extent that it sinks to the lower degrees, it comes into the deceptive light of hell, and the person is to that extent not human, but an animal. This is why man stands erect on his feet, with his face upturned to heaven, able to raise it to the zenith; and why an animal stands on its feet parallel to the ground, and fully faces that, so that it can only with difficulty lift its gaze to heaven.
[2] A person who lifts up his mind towards God, and acknowledges that all the truth of wisdom comes from Him, and at the same time lives in accordance with order, resembles someone standing on a lofty tower watching a densely populated city below him and seeing what goes on in its streets. But a person who convinces himself that all the truth of wisdom comes from his own natural enlightenment, that is, from himself, resembles someone living in a cellar under that tower, watching the same city through narrow holes; he can see no more than the wall of one house in the city, and study how the bricks in it hold together. Again, a person who draws wisdom from God is like a bird flying high, spying out everything in the gardens, woods and villages round about, and flying towards things that can be of service. But a person who derives what belongs to wisdom from himself, without believing that this still comes from God, is like a hornet flying close to the ground, and, when it sees a dunghill, flying up to it and taking pleasure in its stench.
[3] Every person, as long as he lives in the world, treads a path mid-way between heaven and hell; and he is in equilibrium, that is, he has free will to look up to God or down to hell. If he looks up to God, he acknowledges that all wisdom comes from God, and his spirit is really present among the angels in heaven. The person who looks down, as everyone does whose evil puts him under the power of falsities, is in his spirit really among the devils in hell.
69. From the Divine omniscience man has wisdom respecting what is good and true to the extent that he lives in accordance with the Divine order, because all love of good and all wisdom of truth, or all good of love and all truth of wisdom, are from God. That this is so is in accordance with the confession of all the churches in the Christian world. From this it follows that man cannot be interiorly in any truth of wisdom except from God, since God has omniscience, that is infinite wisdom. The human mind, like the angelic heaven, is divided into three degrees, and may therefore be lifted up into a higher and still higher degree or be let down into a lower and still lower degree; but so far as it is lifted up into the higher degrees it is lifted up into wisdom, because into the light of heaven; and this God only can do. Moreover, so far as the mind is thus lifted up it becomes a man; while so far as it is let down into the lower degrees it enters the delusive light of hell, and is not man but a beast. This is why man stands erect upon his feet and turns his face heavenward, and can raise it to the zenith, while a beast stands upon its feet in a position parallel with the earth, and turns its whole face in that direction; nor can it without difficulty raise its face heavenward.
[2] The man who lifts his mind to God and acknowledges that all the truth of wisdom is from God, and at the same time lives in accordance with order, is like one who stands upon a lofty tower and sees beneath him a populous city and all that is being done in its streets. But the man who confirms in himself the belief that all truth of wisdom is from the natural light in himself, that is, is from himself, is like one who remains in a cavern beneath that tower and looks through holes at the same city, seeing nothing but the wall of a single house in that city, and how its bricks are joined. Again, the man who derives wisdom from God is like a bird flying aloft, which looks around upon all things in the gardens, woods, and fields, and flies to those things that are of use to it; while the man who derives such things as pertain to wisdom from himself, with no added belief that they are from God, is like a hornet flying near the ground, which, seeing a dunghill, settles upon it and finds enjoyment in its stench. Every man, so long as he is living in the world, walks midway between heaven and hell, and is thereby in equilibrium, and thus in freedom of choice either to look upwards to God or downwards to hell. If he looks upwards to God he acknowledges that all wisdom is from God, and in spirit he is actually with the angels in heaven; while he who looks downward (as everyone does who is in falsities from evil) is in spirit actually with the devils in hell.
69. A man is in wisdom concerning good and truth from the Divine omniscience as far as he lives according to Divine order, because all the love of good and all the wisdom of truth, that is, all the good of love and all the truth of wisdom, are from God. This accords with the confession of all the churches in the Christian world; and it follows that a man cannot be interiorly in any truth of wisdom unless from God, because omniscience, that is, infinite wisdom, belongs to God. The human mind is divided into three degrees, like the angelic heaven, and can therefore be raised to a higher and still higher degree, and it can also be brought down to a lower and still lower degree. Moreover, so far as it is raised to the higher degrees it is exalted in wisdom, because so far it is raised into the light of heaven, and this can only be effected by God. So far as it is thus raised, it is a man, but so far as it is brought down to the lower degrees it sinks into the delusive light of hell, and becomes not a man, but a beast. For this reason also a man stands erect upon his feet, and looks with his face towards heaven, even directing it to the zenith. A beast on the other hand stands on its feet in a position parallel with the ground, looking full face downwards, and cannot look upwards except with difficulty.
[2] The man who raises his mind to God and acknowledges that all the truth of wisdom is from Him, and at the same time lives according to order, is like one who, standing upon a lofty tower, sees below him a populous city and all the activity of its streets. The man, however, who confirms in his own mind that all the truth of wisdom is from the natural light (lumen) within him, and thus from himself, is like one who remains in a cave at the foot of that tower, looking through clefts in it towards the same city, but who sees nothing there except the wall of one house, and how the bricks are built into it. Moreover, the man who derives wisdom from God, is like a bird flying on high, which surveys everything in the gardens, woods, and farms beneath, and flies towards whatever can be of use to its wants. The man, however, who derives from himself such things as pertain to wisdom, believing they can in no way be of God, is like the hornet which, flying close to the ground, lights upon the first dung-hill it sees, and delights in its stench. Every man while he lives in the world walks midway between heaven and hell. Consequently he is in equilibrium, and has freedom of will to look upward to God or downward to hell. If he looks upward to God, he acknowledges that all wisdom is from Him, and as to his spirit he actually is in the company of angels in heaven; but he who looks downward, as every one does who lives in falsity from evil, is as to his spirit actually in the company of devils in hell.
69. Quod homo tantum in sapientia de bono et vero ex Divina Omniscientia sit, quantum secundum Divinum ordinem vivit, est causa, quia omnis amor boni et omnis sapientia veri, seu omne bonum amoris et omne verum sapientiae, est a Deo; quod ita sit, etiam est secundum confessionem omnium Ecclesiarum in Christiano Orbe; ex quibus sequitur, quod homo non possit in ullo vero sapientiae interius esse, nisi a Deo, quia Deo Omniscientia est, hoc est, infinita sapientia. Mens humana distincta est in tres gradus, quemadmodum Coelum Angelicum, et inde potest in superiorem et superiorem gradum elevari, et quoque potest in inferiorem et inferiorem deferri, quantum autem in gradus superiores elevatur, tantum in sapientiam, quia tantum in lucem coeli, et hoc non potest fieri nisi a Deo; et quantum illuc elevatur, tantum est homo, at quantum in gradus inferiores defertur, tantum in lucem fatuam inferni, et tantum non est homo sed bestia; homo etiam ideo stat erectus super pedibus, et facie spectat versus coelum, et hanc potest elevare ad zenith, at bestia ideo stat super pedibus in situ paralelo cum terra, ac toto vultu illuc spectat, nec potest nisi cum aegritudine illum extollere ad coelum.
[2] Homo, qui ad Deum elevat mentem suam, et agnoscit quod omne verum sapientiae ab Ipso sit, et simul secundum ordinem vivit, est sicut qui in excelsa turri stat, et videt populosam civitatem infra se, et simul quicquid ibi in plateis agitur; at homo, qui confirmat apud se, quod omne verum sapientiae sit ex naturali lumine apud se, ita a se, est sicut qui in caverna sub illa turri moratur, et per foramina ibi ad eandem urbem spectat; is non nisi quam parietem unius domus in illa urbe videt, et quomodo lateres ibi cohaerent. Porro homo, qui sapientiam haurit ex Deo, est sicut avis volans in alto, et circumspicit omnia quae 1 in hortis, sylvis et villis sunt, et advolat ad illa quae ejus usus sunt; at homo qui talia quae sapientiae sunt haurit ex se, absque fide quod illa usque sint a Deo, est sicut crabro, qui volat juxta humum, et ubi videt sterquilinium, involat, et in ejus nidore se jucundat.
[3] Omnis homo, quamdiu vivit in Mundo, ambulat in medio inter Coelum et Infernum, et inde est in aequilibrio, et sic in libero arbitrio spectandi sursum ad Deum aut deorsum ad infernum; si spectat sursum ad Deum, agnoscit quod omnis sapientia a Deo sit, et is quoad spiritum suum actualiter cum Angelis in Coelo est; at qui deorsum spectat, quod facit omnis ille qui in falsis ex malo est, is quoad spiritum suum actualiter cum diabolis in Inferno est.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: que.