----中文待译----
1153. And fine flour and wheat.- That these signify worship from truths and goods that are from a spiritual origin, profaned, is evident from the signification of fine flour, which denotes truth from a spiritual origin, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of wheat, which denotes good from a spiritual origin (concerning which see above, n. 374, 375). The reason why these things also signify worship is, that the meat offering, which, together with the sacrifices, was offered up upon the altar, was composed of them, similarly the wine and oil; for the meat offerings were prepared with oil, and the drink offerings with wine. On account of the gathering in of these things, festivals also were instituted in which they rejoiced on account of their produce. Fine flour signifies truth from spiritual good, because it is prepared from wheat, which signifies spiritual good, as truth is derived from good.
[2] Since this truth of the church was signified by fine flour, therefore the quantity to be used in the cakes that were called the meat offerings and were offered with the sacrifices upon the altar, was prescribed (concerning which see Exodus 29; Levit. 5-7, 13; Numbers 18, 28, 29). Similarly the quantity of fine flour in the cakes of proposition, or shew-bread, was prescribed (Leviticus 23:17; chap. 24:5), for it was commanded, that "the meat offering which was to be offered upon the altar should be prepared from fine flour, and oil and frankincense poured thereon" (Leviticus 2:1). On account of this signification of fine flour, when Abraham spoke with the three angels, he said to Sarah his wife, "Hasten and knead three measures of fine flour, and make cakes" (Genesis 18:6).
[3] Fine flour also signifies the truth of good from a spiritual origin in Ezekiel:
"Fine flour, honey, and oil hast thou eaten, whence thou art become exceeding beautiful, and hast prospered unto a kingdom. My bread which I gave thee, fine flour, honey, and oil, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast set before" idols "for an odour of rest" (16:13, 19).
This treats of Jerusalem, by which the church as to doctrine is signified; and in that chapter its quality at its beginning is described, and what it became afterwards. Fine flour and oil signify truth and good from a spiritual origin, while honey signifies good from a natural origin. By becoming exceedingly beautiful is signified to become intelligent and wise; by prospering unto a kingdom is signified even to become a church, a kingdom signifying a church. By setting those things before idols for an odour of rest, is signified the idolatrous worship into which the true worship of the church was afterwards converted.
[4] By the meal of barley, however, truth from a natural origin is signified, for barley signifies natural good just as wheat signifies spiritual good.
Thus in Isaiah,
"Take thee a mill-stone and grind flour, make thyself bare" (47:2).
This refers to Babel. By taking a millstone and grinding flour is signified to falsify the truths of the Word, and by making herself bare or naked is signified to adulterate the goods of the Word.
In Hosea,
"They sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind; he hath no standing corn, the blade shall yield no meal, and if it do yield, strangers shall devour it" (8:7).
Here also meal (farina) signifies truth from a natural origin.
[5] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- The fifth law of the Divine Providence is, That man should not know from feeling and perception in himself how good and truth from the Lord enter by influx, and how evil and falsity enter by influx from hell; nor see how the Divine Providence operates in favour of good against evil; for in such case man would not act as of himself from freedom according to reason. It is sufficient for him to know and acknowledge these things from the Word, and from the doctrine of the church. This is meant by the Lord's words in John:
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (3:8);
and also by these words in Mark:
"The kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed upon the earth, and should sleep and rise night and day; but the seed springeth up and groweth he knoweth not how; for the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, at length the full corn in the ear; and when the fruit is brought forth, he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come" (4:26-29).
The reason why man does not perceive the operation of the Divine Providence in himself is, that such perception would take away his freedom, and consequently the power of thinking as if from himself, and with it also all the enjoyment of life, so that a man would be like, an automaton, in which there is no power of reciprocation as means by which conjunction is effected; and he would also be a slave, and not a free man.
[6] The reason why Divine Providence moves so secretly, that scarcely any vestige of it appears, although it operates in the most minute things of man's thought and will that regard his eternal state, is, that the Lord continually desires to impress His love on him, and His wisdom by means of it, and thus to create him into His image. The Lord, therefore, acts upon man's love, and from it upon his understanding, and not from his understanding upon his love. Love together with its affections, which are manifold and innumerable, is not perceived by man except by a most general feeling, and consequently in so small a degree as scarcely to amount to anything; and yet man is to be led from one affection of his loves into another, according to the connection in which they are from order, so that he may be reformed and saved, which is incomprehensible, not only to men, but also to the angels.
[7] If man knew any thing of these secret operations (arcana) he could not be withdrawn from leading himself, even though it were continually from heaven into hell, notwithstanding that he is constantly led by the Lord from hell towards heaven; for from himself he constantly acts in opposition to order, but the Lord constantly acts according to it. For, in consequence of the nature derived from his parents, man is in the love of himself, and in the love of the world, and consequently from a feeling of delight he perceives the whole of these loves as good; and still those loves as ends must be removed. This is effected by the Lord by an infinity of ways which appear like labyrinths, even before the angels of the third heaven.
[8] From these considerations it is evident, that it would be of no advantage to a man to know any thing of this from feeling and perception, but that on the contrary it would be hurtful to him, and would destroy him for ever. It is sufficient for him to be acquainted with truths, and by means of them with the nature of good and evil, and to acknowledge the Lord and His Divine government in every thing; then so far as he knows truths, and by means of them sees what good and evil are, and does truths as if from himself, so far the Lord, by love, introduces him into wisdom and the love of wisdom, conjoining wisdom with love, and making them one because they are one in Himself. The ways by which the Lord leads man may be compared with the vessels through which his blood flows and circulates; and also with the fibres and their foldings within and without the viscera of the body, especially in the brain, through which the animal spirit (spiritus animalis) flows and imparts life.
[9] Man is not aware how all these things enter by influx and flow through him; and yet he lives, provided he knows and does what is conducive to his well being. But the ways by which the Lord leads him are much more complicated and intricate, both those by which He leads man through the societies of hell, and away from them, and those by which He leads man through the societies of heaven, and interiorly into them. This, therefore, is what is meant by the words: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou knowest not whence it cometh and whither it goeth" (John iii.), also, by the seed springing up and growing, a man knowing not how (Mark 4:27). Of what importance is it for a man to know how the seed grows, provided he knows how to plough the earth, to harrow it, to sow the seed, and when he reaps the harvest, to bless God?
1153. And fine flour and wheat signifies profaned worship from truths and goods that are from a spiritual origin. This is evident from the signification of "fine flour," as being truth from a spiritual origin (of which presently); also from the signification of "wheat," as being good from a spiritual origin (See n. 374, 375). These also signify worship because the meal offering was composed of them, which was offered with the sacrifices upon the altar the same as the wine and the oil; for the meal offerings were prepared with oil and the drink offerings with wine. And because of the crops of these they had rejoicings in festivals which were instituted to celebrate their harvests. "Fine flour" signifies truth from spiritual good because it is prepared from wheat, which signifies spiritual good, as truth comes from good.
[2] As this truth of the church was signified by "fine flour," it was prescribed what quantity of it should be used in the cakes that were called the meal offerings, which were offered with the sacrifices upon the altar (respecting which see Exodus 29; Leviticus 5 - Leviticus 7, 23; Numbers 18, 28, 29); also the quantity of fine flour in the show bread (Leviticus 23:17; 24:5); for it was commanded that the meal offering that was to be offered on the altar should be prepared from fine flour, and oil and frankincense poured thereon (Leviticus 2:1). Because of this signification of "fine flour," when Abraham talked with the three angels he said to Sarah his wife:
Hasten, knead three measures of flour, of fine flour, and make cakes (Genesis 18:6).
[3] "Fine flour" also signifies the truth of good from a spiritual origin in Ezekiel:
Thou didst eat fine flour, honey, and oil, whence thou didst become exceeding; beautiful, and didst prosper even to a kingdom. My bread which I gave thee, fine flour, honey, and oil, with which I fed thee, thou didst offer before idols as an odor of rest (Ezekiel 16:13, 19).
This is said of Jerusalem, which signifies the church as to doctrine, and in that chapter is described what it had been in its beginning and what it became afterwards. "Fine flour and oil" signify truth and good from a spiritual origin, and "honey" good from a natural origin. "Thou didst become exceeding beautiful" signifies to be intelligent and wise; "to prosper even to a kingdom" signifies even to becoming a church, "kingdom" being the church; "to offer these to idols as an odor of rest" signifies the idolatrous worship into which the true worship of the church was afterwards changed.
[4] But "flour" from barley signifies truth from a natural origin, for "barley" signifies natural good, as "wheat" signifies spiritual good. Thus in Isaiah:
Take the millstone and grind flour, make thyself bare (Isaiah 47:2).
This is said of Babylon. "To take a millstone and grind flour" signifies to falsify the truths of the Word, and "to make oneself bare" signifies to adulterate the goods of the Word. In Hosea:
They sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind; he hath no standing corn, the blade shall yield no flour; and if perchance it do, strangers shall devour it (Hosea 8:7).
Here, too, "flour" signifies truth from a natural origin.
(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith)
[5] 5. The fifth law of the Divine providence is, That from sense and perception in himself man cannot know how good and truth flow in from the Lord, and how evil and falsity flow in from hell; nor can he see how the Divine providence operates in favor of good against evil; if he did he could not act from freedom according to reason as if from himself. It is sufficient for him to know and acknowledge this from the Word and from the doctrine of the church. This is what is meant by the Lord's words in John:
The wind bloweth where it willeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh or whither it goeth; so is everyone that is born of the spirit (John 3:8).
Also by these words in Mark:
The kingdom of God is like a man that casteth seed upon the earth and then sleepeth and riseth night and day; but the seed springeth up and groweth up when he knows it not, for the earth beareth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, at length the full corn in the ear; and when the fruit is produced, he putteth in the sickle because the harvest is at hand (Mark 4:26, 29).
[6] Man does not perceive the operation of the Divine providence within him, because that would take away his freedom, and thus his ability to think as if of himself, and with it every delight of life; thus man would be like an automaton, in which there is no reciprocal, and by that, conjunction; also he would be a slave and not free. The Divine providence moves so secretly that scarcely a trace of it is seen, although it acts upon the most minute things of man's thought and will, which regard his eternal state, chiefly for the reason that the Lord continually wills to impress His love on man, and through it his wisdom, and thus create him into His image. Consequently the operation of the Lord is into man's love and from that into his understanding, and not the reverse. Love with its affections, which are manifold and innumerable, is perceived by man only by a most general feeling, and thus so slightly that there is scarcely anything of it; and yet that man may be reformed and saved he must be led from one affection of love into another according to their connection from order, a thing that no man and even no angel can at all comprehend.
[7] If a man should learn anything of these arcana, he could not be withheld from leading himself; and in this he would be continually led from heaven into hell, while the Lord's leading is continually from hell towards heaven. For from himself man constantly acts against order, while the Lord acts constantly according to order; for man, from the nature derived from his parents, is in the love of self and the love of the world, and consequently perceives from a feeling of delight everything belonging to those loves as good; nevertheless, those loves as ends must be removed; and this is done by the Lord in infinite ways, that appear like a labyrinth even before the angels of the third heaven.
[8] All this makes clear that man would find no help at all in knowing anything about this from sense or perception, but it would do him harm instead, and would destroy him forever. It is sufficient for man to know truths, and by means of truths to know what is good and what is evil, and to acknowledge the Lord and His Divine auspices in every least thing. Then so far as he knows truths, and by means of them what is good and evil, and does what is good as if from himself, so far the Lord leads him from love into wisdom, conjoining love to wisdom and wisdom to love, and making them to be one, because they are one in Himself. These ways by which the Lord leads man may be compared to the vessels through which the blood in man courses and circulates, also the fibers and their foldings within and without the viscera of the body, especially in the brain, through which the animal spirit flows and gives life.
[9] How all these things flow in and flow through, man knows nothing; and yet he lives if only he knows what he needs to do and does it. But the ways by which the Lord leads man are far more complicated and inexplicable, both those by which the Lord leads man through the societies of hell and away from them, and also those by which he leads him through the societies of heaven and interiorly into them. This, therefore, is what is meant by "the wind bloweth where it willeth, and thou knowest not whence it cometh and whither it goeth" (John 3:8), also by "the seed springeth up and groweth up, the man knoweth not how" (Mark 4:27). Moreover, of what consequence is it for a man to know how seed grows up, provided he knows how to plow and harrow the land, to sow the seed, and when he reaps his harvest to bless God?
1153. "Et similam et triticum." - Quod significet cultum ex veris et bonis quae ex origine spirituali sunt, profanatum, constat ex significatione "similae", quod sit verum ex origine spirituali (de qua sequitur); et ex significatione "tritici", quod sit bonum ex origine spirituali (de qua [supra] , n. 374 [a-d] 375 [a, b]); quod haec quoque significent cultum, est quia ex illis conficiebatur minchah, quae una cum sacrificiis super altari adolebatur, similiter vinum et oleum: minchae enim cum oleo conficiebantur, et libamina cum vino; et quoque ex proventu illorum laetabantur in festis, quae propter collectiones eorum instituta sunt.
Quod "simila" seu "similago" significet verum ex bono spirituali, est quia illa fit ex tritico, per quod significatur bonum spirituale, sicut verum fit ex bono.
[2] Quoniam id verum ecclesiae significatum est per "similam, "
Ideo ordinabatur quantum ex illa sumeretur in placentis, quae vocabantur minchae, quae una cum sacrificiis super altari offerebantur (de quo 29; Levit. 5, 6, 7, 23; Num. 18, 28, 29);
Tum quantum similae in panibus propositionis (Leviticus 23:17; 24:5):
Mandatum enim est quod minchah, quae super altari offerenda erat, conficeretur ex similagine, super qua oleum et thus (Leviticus 2:1).
Quia id per "similam" significabatur, ideo Abrahamus, quando locutus est cum tribus angelis, dixit Sarae uxori suae,
"Festina, tria sata farinae similaginis pinse, et fac placentas" (Genesis 18:6).
[3] Per "similam" etiam significatur verum boni ex origine spirituali apud Ezechielem,
"Similam, mel et oleum comedisti, unde pulchra facta es valde admodum, et prosperata es usque ad regnum. .... Panem meum, quem dedi tibi, similam, mel et oleum, quibus cibavi te, tu dedisti coram idolis "in odorem quietationis" (16:13, 19):
haec de Hierosolyma, per quam significatur ecclesia quoad doctrinam, et in eo capite describitur qualis fuerat in principio, et qualis facta est postea; per "similam et oleum" significatur verum et bonum ex origine spirituali, et per "mel" bonum ex origine naturali; per quod "pulchra facta sit valde admodum" significatur quod intelligens et sapiens; per quod "prosperata sit ad regnum" significatur usque ut fieret ecclesia ("regnum" est ecclesia); per "dare illa idolis in odorem quietationis significatur cultus idololatricus, in quem cultus ecclesiae verus postea conversus est.
[4] Per "farinam" autem ex hordeo significatur verum ex origine naturali, "hordeum" enim significat bonum naturale, sicut "triticum" bonum spirituale:
– Ut apud Esaiam,
"Sume molam, et mole farinam, ...denuda te" (47:2):
haec de Babele; et per "sumere molam et molere farinam" significatur falsificare vera Verbi; et per "denudare se" significatur adulterare bona Verbi.
Apud Hoscheam,
"Ventum serunt et procellam metunt, seges stans non illi, germen non faciet farinam; et si forte fecerit, alieni comedent" (8:7);
etiam hic per "farinam" significatur verum ex origine naturali.
[5] (Continuatio de Fide Athanasiana, et de Domino.)
(5) Lex Quinta Providentiae Divinae est, Ut homo ex sensu et perceptione in se, non sciat quomodo influit bonum et verum a Domino, et quomodo influit malum et falsum ab inferno: nec ut videat quomodo providentia Divina operatur pro bono contra malum, sic enim homo non ex libero secundum rationem ageret sicut ex se: satis est ut sciat et agnoscat illa ex Verbo et ex doctrina ecclesiae. – Hoc intelligitur per Domini verba apud Johannem,
"Spiritus ubi vult spirat, et vocem ejus audis, atque non scis unde venit aut quo abit: sic est omnis qui generatus est a spiritu" (3:8);
et quoque per haec apud Marcum,
"Regnum Dei est quemadmodum homo qui projicit semen super terram, dormit dein, et surgit nocte et die; semen vero germinat et crescit dum nescit ipse; ultronea enim terra fructum fert, primum gramen, dein spicam, tandem plenum frumentum in spica; et cum productus est fructus, immittit falcem, quia institit messis" (4:26-29).
[6] Quod homo non percipiat operationem Divinae providentiae in se, est quia id tollit liberum ejus, et inde facultatem cogitandi sicut a se, et cum illa etiam omne vitae jucundum; ita foret homo sicut automaton, in quo non reciprocum, et per quod conjunctio; et quoque foret servus et non liber. Quod providentia Divina tam occulte vadat ut vix aliquod vestigium ejus appareat, tametsi singularissima cogitationis et voluntatis hominis, quae spectant ejus statum aeternum, operatur, est principalis causa quia Dominus continue vult indere homini suum amorem, et per illum suam sapientiam, et sic illum creare in Sui imaginem; idcirco operatio Domini est in amorem hominis, 1
ac ab illo in intellectum ejus, et non vicissim: amor cum ejus affectionibus, quae sunt multiplices et innumerabiles, ab homine non percipitur nisi quam communissimo sensu, et inde tam parum ut ejus vix aliquid; et tamen homo ducendus est ab una amorum affectione in alteram secundum nexum in quo ex ordine sunt, ut reformari et salvari possit, quod incomprehensibile est non modo homini sed etiam angelo:
[7] si homo aliquid de illis arcanis resciret, non potuisset retrahi a ducendo se Ipsum etiam in eo, quod foret continue a caelo in infernum, cum tamen ille a Domino continue ducitur ab inferno ad caelum; homo enim a se constanter agit contra ordinem, Dominus autem constanter agit secundum ordinem; est enim homo in amore sui et in amore mundi ex natura a parentibus, et inde omne illorum amorum ex sensu jucundi percipit sicut bonum; et usque illi amores ut fines removendi sunt, quod a Domino fit per infinitas vias, quae apparent sicut labyrintheae etiam coram angelis tertii caeli.
[8] Ex his patet quod prorsus nihil juvet hominem, ut aliquid de eo ex sensu et perceptione sciat, sed quod ei noceret, et illum destrueret in aeternum. Satis est ut homo sciat vera, et per illa quid bonum et quid malum, et agnoscat Dominum, ac Ipsius Divinum auspicium in singulis; tunc quantum scit vera, et per illa quid bonum et malum, et facit illa sicut a se, tantum Dominus per amorem introducit illum in sapientiam, ac amorem sapientiae et sapientiam amori conjungit, ac facit ut unum sint, quia in Ipso unum sunt. Illae viae, per quas Dominus ducit hominem, comparari possunt cum vasis per quae sanguis apud hominem vadit et circulat; tum etiam cum fibris et earum plexibus intra et extra viscera corporis, imprimis in cerebro, per quas fluit spiritus animalis, et animat.
[9] Quomodo omnia illa influunt et perfluunt, nescit homo; et tamen vivit, modo scit et facit quid sibi conducit. Viae autem, per quas Dominus ducit hominem, sunt multo plus implexae et inextricabiles, tam illae per quas Dominus ducit hominem per societates inferni, et ab illis, quam illae per quas ducit hominem per societates caeli et in illas interius. Hoc itaque est quod intelligitur per quod
"spiritus quo vult spiret, et non scis unde venit, et quo vadit" (Joh. 3 2
);
tum etiam, per quod
"semen germinet et crescat, dum nescit homo" (Marc. 4
[27]);
quid etiam refert ut sciat homo quomodo semen crescit dummodo scit terram arare, occare, serere, et dum metit, benedicere Deo?
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.
2. The editors made a correction or note here.