----中文待译----
238. And miserable and poor. That this signifies that neither do they know that these have neither knowledges of truth nor knowledges of good, is evident from the signification of misery, or miserable, as being those who are destitute of the knowledges of truth; and from the signification of poor, as being those who are without the knowledges of good. That the terms miserable and poor have such signification is evident from many passages in the Word, and moreover from this consideration, that spiritual misery and poverty are nothing else but a defect of the knowledges of truth and good, for when such defect exists, the spirit is both miserable and poor; but when these knowledges are possessed, the spirit is rich and opulent; therefore by riches and wealth in the Word are signified spiritual riches and wealth, which are the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good, as was shown above (n. 236).
[2] Miserable and poor are terms used in many passages in the Word; but when the spiritual sense of these terms is not known, it is believed that only those are meant who are miserable and poor as to the things of the world; when nevertheless these are not meant, but those who are not in truths and goods and in the knowledges thereof. Indeed, by the miserable are meant those who are not in truths because not in the knowledges of them, and by the poor, those who are not in goods because they are not in the knowledges thereof. Because truths and goods, are meant by these two expressions, therefore in many places both are mentioned, as in David:
"I am miserable and poor, Lord, remember me" (Psalms 40:17; 70:5).
Again:
"Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, answer; for I am miserable and poor" (Psalms 86:1).
That by the miserable and poor are not meant those who are so as to worldly riches, but as to spiritual riches, is clear, because David spoke this concerning himself; therefore he also said, "Jehovah, incline thine ear, and answer."
[3] Again:
"The wicked make bare the sword, and bend their bow, to cast down the miserable and poor" (131; and that by bow is signified doctrine in both senses, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 2686, 2709.)
[4] Again:
The wicked "persecuted the miserable and poor, and the dejected in heart to slay him" (Psalms 109:16).
In Isaiah:
"The fool speaketh foolishness, and his heart doeth iniquity to practise hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul, and to make him who thirsteth for drink to faint. He deviseth wicked devices to destroy the miserable with words of falsehood, even when the poor speaketh judgment" (32:6, 7).
In this passage, also, by the miserable and poor are meant those who are destitute of the knowledges of truth and good; therefore it is said that the wicked deviseth wicked devices to destroy the miserable with words of falsehood, even when the poor speaketh judgment; words of falsehood denote falsities, and to speak judgment denotes what is right. Because such are here treated of, it is also said that they practise hypocrisy and utter error against Jehovah, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause him that thirsteth for drink to faint. To practise hypocrisy and to utter error denotes to do evil from falsity, and to speak falsity from evil; to make empty the soul of the hungry denotes to deprive of the knowledges of good those who desire them, and to cause the thirsty to faint for drink is to deprive of the knowledges of truth those who desire them. Again:
"The miserable shall have joy in Jehovah, and the poor of men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel" (29:19).
By the miserable and poor are here also signified those with whom there is a deficiency of truth and good, and who, nevertheless, desire them; of these it is said that they "shall have joy in Jehovah, and exult in the Holy One of Israel," and not of those who are miserable and poor as to worldly wealth.
[5] From these considerations it is evident what is signified by the miserable and poor in other passages in the Word, as in the following:
"The poor shall not always be forgotten; and the hope of the miserable shall not perish for ever" (Arcana Coelestia 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314.) On this account also it is said in what follows: "And blind and naked;" for by the blind are meant those who have no understanding of truth, and by the naked those who have no understanding and will of good. Also, in the verse following, it is said, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed;" for by gold tried in the fire is meant the good of love, and by white raiment the truths of faith. And further, it is said, "That the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see," by which is meant lest the evils and falsities should be seen. The case is the same in other passages; but that such a marriage exists in every part of the Word, none can see but those who are acquainted with its internal sense.
238. And miserable and poor, signifies that they do not know that they have neither knowledges of truth nor knowledges of good. This is evident from the signification of "miserable" or "pitiable," as meaning those who are in no knowledges of truth; and from the signification of "poor" as meaning those who are in no knowledges of good. That this is the meaning of "miserable" and "poor" is evident from many passages in the Word, and also from this, that spiritual misery and poverty are nothing else than a lack of the knowledges of truth and good, for the spirit is then miserable and poor; but when the spirit possesses these it is rich and wealthy; therefore also "riches" and "wealth" in the Word signifies spiritual riches and wealth, which are the knowledges of truth and good (as was shown just above, n. 236).
[2] "Miserable and poor" are terms used in many passages in the Word. He who is ignorant of the spiritual sense of the Word believes that by these no others are meant than the miserable and poor in the world. These, however, are not meant, but those who are not in truths and goods and in the knowledges thereof; and by the "miserable" indeed, those who are not in truths because not in the knowledges of truths, and by the "poor" those who are not in goods because not in the knowledges of goods. As these two, truths and goods, are meant by these two expressions, the two in many places are mentioned together; as in the passages that now follow. In David:
I am miserable and poor, Lord, remember me (Psalms 40:17; 70:5). Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, answer me, for I am miserable and poor (Psalms 86:1).
The "miserable and poor" here mean evidently those who are miserable and poor, not in respect to worldly riches but in respect to spiritual riches, as David says this of himself; therefore he also said, "Jehovah, incline thine ear, and answer me."
[3] In the same:
The wicked draw out the sword and bend their bow, to cast down the miserable and poor (131; and that "bow" signifies doctrine in both senses, see Arcana Coelestia 2686 Arcana Coelestia 2686[1-8], 2709)
[4] So in another place in the same:
The wicked man hath persecuted the miserable and poor and the broken in heart, to slay them (Psalms 109:16).
In Isaiah:
The fool speaketh folly, and his heart doeth iniquity to practice hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul, and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want. He counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment (Isaiah 32:6-7).
Here likewise "the miserable and poor" mean those who are destitute of the knowledges of truth and good; therefore it is said that "the wicked counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by the words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment;" "by the words of a lie" means by falsities, and "to speak judgment" is to speak what is right. Because such are treated of, it is also said that he "practices hypocrisy and speaketh error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want." "To practice hypocrisy and to speak error" is to do evil from falsity, and to speak falsity from evil; "to make empty the hungry soul" is to deprive those of the knowledges of good who long for them, and "to make him who thirsteth for drink to want" is to deprive those of the knowledges of truth who long for them. In the same:
The miserable shall have joy in Jehovah, and the poor of men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 29:19).
Here also "the miserable and poor" signify those who are in lack of truth and good and yet long for them; of these, and not of those who are miserable and poor in respect to worldly wealth, it is said that they "shall have joy in Jehovah, and shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."
[5] From this it can be seen what is signified by the "miserable and poor" in other passages of the Word, as in the following. In David:
The poor shall not always be forgotten; and the hope of the miserable shall not perish for ever (Psalms 9:18).
In the same:
God shall judge the miserable of the people, He shall save the sons of the poor. He shall deliver the poor when he crieth, and the miserable. He shall spare the weak and the poor, and the souls of the poor He shall save (Psalms 72:4, 12-13).
In the same:
The miserable shall see, they that seek Jehovah 1shall be glad. For Jehovah heareth the poor (Arcana Coelestia 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314.)
For the same reason it is said in what follows, "and blind and naked;" for by "the blind" one who is in no understanding of truth is meant, and by "the naked" one who is in no understanding and will of good. So in the following verse, "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried by fire, and white garments that thou mayest be clothed;" for by "gold tried by fire" the good of love is meant, and by "white garments" the truths of faith. And further, "That the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see," which means, lest evils and falsities be seen. So also elsewhere. But that there is such a marriage in the particulars of the Word, none but those who know its internal sense can see.
Footnotes:
1. For "Jehovah" the Hebrew has "God."
238. "Et miserabilis et pauper." - Quod significet quod nec sciant quod illis non sint cognitiones veri nec cogitionibus boni, constat ex significatione "miseri" seu "miserabilis", quod sit qui in nullis cognitionibus veri est; et ex significatione "pauperis", quod sit qui in nullis cognitionibus boni est.
Quod "miser" et "pauper" illa significent, constat ex pluribus locis in Verbo; et praeterea ex eo, quod miseria et paupertas spiritualis non aliud sit quam defectus cognitionum veri et boni, nam tunc spiritus miser et pauper est: at vero cum illas possidet, est dives et opulentus; quare etiam per "divitias" et "opes" in Verbo significantur divitiae et opes spirituales, quae sunt cognitiones veri et boni (ut mox supra, n. 236, ostensum est).
[2] Multis in locis in Verbo dicitur "miser et pauper": qui non scit sensum spiritualem Verbi, credit quod non alii per illos intelligantur, quam qui in mundo miseri et pauperes sunt; cum tamen illi non intelliguntur, sed ii qui non in veris et bonis sunt, inque eorum cognitionibus; et quidem per "miseros" illi qui non in veris sunt quia non in cognitionibus eorum, et per "pauperes" illi qui non in bonis sunt quia non in cognitionibus eorum. Quia duo illa, nempe vera et bona, intelliguntur per duo illa nomina, ideo in multis locis utrumque dicitur; ut in sequentibus:
- Apud Davidem,
"Ego miser et pauper, Domine memento mei" (Psalms 40:18 [B.A. 17); Psalms 70:6 [B.A. 5]);
apud eundem,
"Inclina Jehovah aurem tuam et responde, quia miser et pauper ego" (Psalms 86:1);
quod per "miserum et pauperem" non intelligantur miser et pauper quoad divitias mundanas, sed quoad divitias spirituales, patet, quoniam David de se hoc loquitur; quare etiam dixit, "Jehovah, inclina aurem et responde."
[3] Apud eundem,
"Gladium nudant impii, et tendunt arcum suum, ad dejiciendum miserum et pauperem" (Psalms 37:14);
quod per "miserum et pauperem" etiam hic intelligantur qui spiritualiter tales sunt, sed usque desiderant cognitiones veri et boni, patet, nam dicitur quod "impii nudent gladium et tendant arcum"; per "gladium" enim significatur falsum pugnans contra verum et conans destruere illud, et per "arcum" doctrina falsi contra doctrinam veri; inde est quod dicatur quod hoc faciant "ad dejiciendum miserum et pauperem." (Quod per "gladium" significetur verum pugnans contra verum, et in opposito sensu falsum pugnans contra verum, videatur supra, n. 131; et quod per "arcum" significetur doctrina in utroque sensu, in Arcanis Caelestibus, n. 2686, 2709.)
[4] Similiter alibi apud eundem,
Impius "persecutus est miserum et pauperem, ac dejectum corde ad interficiendum" (Psalms 109:16):
apud Esaiam,
Stultus stultitiam loquitur, et cor ejus facit iniquitatem ad faciendum hypocrisin, et ad loquendum contra Jehovam errorem, ad evacuandum animam esurientem, ac potum sitientem deficere faciat;... ipse facinora consulet ad perdendum miseros per verba mendacii, quando etiam loquitur pauper judicium" (32:6, 7);
hic per "miseros et pauperes" similiter intelliguntur illi qui destituti sunt cognitionibus veri et boni; quare dicitur quod improbus "facinora consulat ad perdendum miseros per verba mendacii", etiam "pauperem qui loquitur judicium"; per "verba mendacii" est per falsa, et "loqui judicium" est rectum: quia de his agitur, etiam dicitur quod "faciat hypocrisin, et loquatur contra Jehovam errorem, ad evacuandum animam esurientem, et potum sitientem deficere faciat"; "facere hypocrisin et loqui errorem", est facere malum ex falso ac loqui falsum ex malo; "evacuare animam esurientem" est deprivare cognitionibus boni illos qui desiderant eas, et "deficere facere potum sitientem" est deprivare cognitionibus veri illos qui desiderant eas.
Apud eundem,
"Habebunt miseri in Jehovah gaudium, et pauperes hominum in Sancto Israelis exultabunt" (29:19);
per "miseros et pauperes" etiam hic significantur qui in defectu veri et boni sunt, et tamen in desiderio ad illa; de his dicitur, quod "habituri gaudium in Jehovah et exultaturi in Sancto Israelis", et non de miseris et pauperibus quoad opes mundanas.
[5] Ex his constare potest quid significatur per "miseros et pauperes" in aliis locis in Verbo; ut in sequentibus:
- Apud Davidem,
"Non in perpetuum oblivioni tradetur pauper, ac spes miserorum peritura in aeternum" (Psalms 9:19 [B.A. 18]):
apud eundem,
Deus "judicabit miseros populi, servabit filios pauperis;... liberabit pauperem clamantem et miserum;... parcet tenui et pauperi; et animas pauperum salvabit" (Psalms 72:4, 12, 13);
apud eundem,
Videbunt miseri, laetabuntur quaerentes 1
Deum, ... quia exaudit Jehovah pauperes" (Psalm 69:33, 34 [B.A. 32 33]);
apud eundem,
"Jehovah... eripit miserum a validiori... et pauperem a spoliantibus illum" (Psalms 35:10);
apud eundem,
"Miser et pauper laudant nomen tuum" (Psalms 74:21; - Psalms 109:22);
apud eundem,
"Scio quod Jehovah facturus sit litem miseri, et judicium pauperum" (Psalms 140:13 [B.A. 12]);
et quoque alibi (Ut Esaias 10:2; Jeremias 22:16; Ezechiel 16:49; 18:12; 22:29; Amos 8:4; Deuteronomius 15:11; 24:14). Quod uterque, nempe "miser" et "pauper" in allatis locis nominetur, est quia est secundum stylum Verbi ut ubi dicitur de vero etiam dicatur de bono, ac in opposito sensu ubi de falso etiam de malo, quia unum faciunt et sicut conjugium; quare "miseri" et simul "pauperes" nominantur; per "miseros" enim intelliguntur qui in defectu cognitionum veri, et per "pauperes" qui in defectu cognitionum boni. (Quod tale conjugium sit in propheticis Verbi paene ubivis, videatur in Arcanis Caelestibus, n. 683, 793, 802, 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 2
4138, 3
5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314.) Inde etiam est quod
sequatur, "et caecus et nudus"; per "caecum" enim intelligitur qui in nullo intellectu veri, et per "nudum" qui in nullo intellectu et voluntate boni: tum in versu sequente, "Suadeo tibi emere a Me aurum exploratum igne, et vestimenta alba ut induaris"; per "aurum" enim "exploratum igne" intelligitur bonum amoris, et per "vestimenta alba" vera fidei: et adhuc, "ne appareat pudor nuditatis tuae, et collyrio inunge oculos tuos ut videas", per quae intelligitur ne videantur mala et falsa: ita quoque alibi. Sed quod tale conjugium sit in singulis Verbi, non videre possunt alii quam qui sciunt sensum internum ejus.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.
2. The editors made a correction or note here.
3. The editors made a correction or note here.