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831. (Verse 15) And it was given unto him to give breath to the image of the beast. That this signifies that by conjunction with the Word there was something of spiritual life therein, is evident from the signification of breath, as denoting spiritual life, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the image of the beast, as denoting the doctrine of faith separated from good works, to be taught and believed in the church (see above, n. John 6:63).
[2] Because in what goes before we have treated of celestial love, in which are the angels of the third heaven, we will now say something concerning spiritual love, in which are the angels of the second heaven. Spiritual love is the love of truth, and, in the highest sense, the love of the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord. Thus also it is love to the Lord, but in a lower degree than that in which the celestial angels are. The celestial angels are in love to the Lord from the reception of Divine Good from Him, whereas the spiritual angels are in love to the Lord from the reception of Divine truth from Him. The difference is like that between love in the will and love in the understanding, or like that between a flame and its light. Light with the angels of the third heaven is also derived from something flaming, and the light of the angels of the second heaven from a shining white; but more concerning these things may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140). Their life differs in a similar manner. The life of the angels of the third heaven consists in affections of good, and the life of the angels of the second heaven in the affections of truth. The difference is such that they are easily known from one another by their faces, and also by their speech.
Because spiritual love is the love of truth, and the spiritual angels, as to their life, are affections of truth, therefore they converse about the holy things of heaven and the church differently from the angels of the third heaven, who cannot converse about these things, according to what was said above. But because the celestial angels are perfected in wisdom by hearing, therefore there are intermediate angels, called celestial-spiritual angels, who preach and teach truths in their temples; and these are called houses of God, and are of wood.
[3] The reason why the spiritual angels, from the spiritual love which constitutes their life, are affections of truth, and not affections of good is, that they are reformed and regenerated and become angels in a way different from that of the celestial angels. For the spiritual angels first admit truths into the memory, and thence into the understanding, which is formed by this means; and then they are perfected, so far as they are affected with Divine truths spiritually, that is, for the sake of them, also for the sake of a life according to them. But the celestial angels do not admit truths first into the memory, but directly into the will, and by actions into the life. The latter cannot therefore converse about Divine truths but only will and do them. Whereas the former utter Divine truths, because in their case they are also inscribed on the memory; and thought speaks from the memory.
[4] Yet the spiritual angels do not admit any truth into the memory and thence into the understanding unless they see it. For the angels in that heaven see truths from the light of truth, that is from enlightenment by the Lord, truths in the heavens being spiritual objects, which appear more clearly before the angels there than do natural objects before men in the world. Consequently they do not know that faith is anything else than the acknowledgment of truth, because they see what is true, and cannot comprehend at all how any one can possibly believe any thing which is not seen or understood. For in such case a man does not know whether it be true or false; and a belief in falsity is hurtful. It is evident therefore that intellectual sight with them is spiritual sight.
Those angels are perfected in understanding in proportion as they are in the love of truth for the sake of life and its genuine uses; and in the same proportion truths are implanted in their life and become affections of truth. For truths derive all their essence, and thence their life, from good; thus the understanding comes from the will and its activity; for the understanding is the receptacle of truth, and the will the receptacle of good, their activity perfecting them and affording them a basis. Hence also the truths, of which their understanding is formed, when they become part of the will and thence of the action, are called goods, but spiritual goods, which, because they then belong to their love, enter the life and form it.
From this it is also clear, that the life of every man is from his works; because the affection of the will and the thought of the understanding terminate therein, and thus exist, and without this termination would perish. For the will exists only by becoming active; and if there were no will, the understanding would perish, and there would remain only the faculty of understanding.
[5] Because their love is the love of truth, therefore they acknowledge as their neighbour truth in act, which is called spiritual good, thus the good of the church, the good of the society in which they are, the good of fellow-citizens in the society; consequently also moral good, which is called sincerity; and civil good, which is called justice. Their love towards their neighbour consists therefore also in exercises, which are works. All these also love uses, and are intent on works, by which their thoughts are kept as it were at home, and free from idleness, which is, as it is also called, the devil's pillow. They know that none can be kept in spiritual love but those who perceive delight in works, these being fixed in their own affection; the rest are in every [affection] and so in none; for they wander whither pleasures and desires carry them. The angels of the second heaven also, like the angels of the third heaven, dwell apart in societies; but the societies of the latter are above those of the former, on account of the influx of celestial love into spiritual love, for the latter derives its essence from celestial love by mediate and immediate influx from the Lord.
[6] In the spiritual heaven there are magnificent palaces, in which everything within shines with precious stones and decorations, in forms such as cannot be equalled by any painting in the world, nor described in words. For art there is in its own art, especially that of architecture. From that heaven several arts in the world derive their laws and harmonies; this is the cause of their various forms of beauty. The silver found among those who dwell beneath those heavens, is given by the Lord from that heaven, but gold from the third heaven. For silver corresponds to spiritual good, which in its essence is truth; and gold corresponds to celestial good. The spiritual angels are clothed in garments of fine linen and silk, which, in general, are shining. And because the spiritual heavens correspond to the eyes, there are also in many places paradise-like scenes, rainbow-coloured, and appearances also of ineffable beauty. They do not know any thing there about the sense of the letter of the Word, but only about its spiritual sense, in which sense they possess the Word, which is read by every one. In that heaven, justice, sincerity, verity, chastity, and the several praiseworthy virtues of moral life prevail. Those heavens constitute the royalty of the Lord, but the higher heavens, where the celestial angels are, constitute the priesthood of the Lord; for His royalty is Divine truth, and His Priesthood is Divine Good.
831. Verse 15. And it was given unto him to give breath to the image of the beast, signifies that by being conjoined with the Word there was something of spiritual life therein. This is evident from the signification of "breath," as being spiritual life (of which presently); also from the signification of "the image of the beast," as being the doctrine of faith separated from good works, which would be taught and believed in the church (See above, n. John 6:63).
[2] As celestial love in which are the angels of the third heaven has been treated of in what precedes, I will now say something about spiritual love, in which are the angels of the second heaven. Spiritual love is the love of truth, and in the highest sense the love of the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; thus it is also love to the Lord, but in a lower degree than that in which the celestial angels are. The celestial angels are in love to the Lord from the reception of Divine good from Him, while the spiritual angels are in love to the Lord from the reception of Divine truth from Him. The difference is like that between love in the will and love in the understanding, or like that between a flame and its light. Moreover light with the angels of the third heaven is derived from what is flaming, while the light of the angels of the second heaven is derived from what is bright white (but for more respecting this see in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 126-140). Their life differs in like manner. The life of the angels of the third heaven consists in the affections of good, and the life of the angels of the second heaven in the affections of truth. The difference is such that they are easily distinguished by their faces and by their speech. As spiritual love is love of truth, and spiritual angels in respect to their life are affections of truth, they speak about the holy things of heaven and the church, unlike the angels of the third heaven, who cannot speak about these things, as has been said above. And as the celestial angels are perfected in wisdom by hearing, there are intermediate angels, who are called celestial-spiritual angels, who preach and teach truths in their temples, which are called houses of God, and are of wood.
[3] Spiritual angels, from the spiritual love that constitutes their life, are affections of truth, and not affections of good, because they are reformed and regenerated and become angels in a way different from that of celestial angels. For spiritual angels admit truths first into the memory, and from that into the understanding, which is thus formed by these truths; and then they are perfected so far as they are spiritually affected by Divine truths, that is, on account of them and for the sake of a life according to them. But celestial angels do not first admit truths into the memory, but immediately into the will, and through acts into the life; consequently they are not able to speak about Divine truths, but they simply will and do them; while spiritual angels speak about Divine truths, because with them they are inscribed on the memory; and thought speaks from the memory.
[4] And yet spiritual angels admit no truth into the memory and from it into the understanding with themselves unless they see it; for the angels in that heaven see truths from the light of truth, thus by enlightenment from the Lord; for in the heavens truths are spiritual objects, and appear more clearly before the angels there than natural objects do before men in the world; consequently they know 1that faith is nothing else than the acknowledgment of truth because it is seen to be true; and they cannot at all comprehend how a faith in anything that is not seen or understood can exist in anyone, for in that case a man does not know whether it be true or false, and faith in what is false is harmful. From this it is clear that with spiritual angels intellectual sight is spiritual sight. These angels are perfected in understanding so far as they are in the love of truth for the sake of life and its genuine uses; and in the same measure truths are implanted in their life and they become affections of truth. For as truths derive all their essence and all their life from good, so the understanding derives all its essence and life from the will and its activity; for the understanding is the receptacle of truth, and the will the receptacle of good, and their activity fills and establishes them. Thence also the truths of which their understanding is formed, when they come to be of the will and thence of the action are called goods, but spiritual goods; and because they then come to be of their love they enter the life and form it. From this also it is clear that the life of every man is from his works, since in them the affection which is of the will, and the thought which is of the understanding, terminate and thus have existence; and unless they are terminated they perish. For the will has no existence unless it becomes active; and when there is no will the understanding perishes, and there remains merely the faculty to understand.
[5] Because their love is the love of truth they acknowledge as the neighbor truth in act, which is called spiritual good, thus the good of the church, the good of the society in which they are, the good of the fellow-citizens in the society, and thus also the moral good which is called integrity, and the civil good which is called justice. Therefore their love towards the neighbor consists in exercises, which are works. Moreover, all in the spiritual heaven love uses, and are intent on works, by which their thoughts are kept as it were at home, and withheld from idleness, which is, as it is also called the devil's pillow. They know that only those who perceive delight in works can be kept in spiritual love; such are in their fixed affection; but others are in every affection and thus in none, for they wander wherever pleasures and cupidities carry them. Again, the angels of the second heaven, like the angels of the third heaven, dwell in distinct societies, but the societies of the third heaven are above those of the second, because celestial love flows into spiritual love; for spiritual love derives its essence from celestial love by influx mediate and immediate from the Lord.
[6] In the spiritual heaven there are magnificent palaces, in which all things within shine with precious stones and decorations in such forms as cannot be equaled by any painting in the world, nor expressed in words. For art there, especially that of architecture, is in its own art. From that heaven many arts in the world derive their laws and harmonies, from which come their forms of beauty. The silver that is found among those who dwell beneath these heavens is given by the Lord from that heaven, but the gold from the third heaven; for silver corresponds to spiritual good, which is in its essence truth; and gold corresponds to celestial good. The spiritual angels are clothed in garments of fine linen and silk, generally in shining garments. And as the spiritual heavens correspond to the eyes, there are paradisiacal scenes, as also in many places rainbow colored appearances and these also are of ineffable beauty. They know nothing there about the sense of the letter of the Word, but only about its spiritual sense, for they have the Word in that sense, which is read by everyone. In that heaven, justice, integrity, verity, chastity, and the other praiseworthy virtues of moral life reign. These heavens constitute the royalty of the Lord, while the higher heavens, where the celestial angels are, constitute the priesthood of the Lord; for His royalty is Divine truth, and His priesthood is Divine good.
Footnotes:
1. The Latin has "no sciunt" for "sciunt."
831. [Vers. 15.] "Et datum ei dare spiritum imagini bestiae." Quod significet quod per conjunctionem cum Verbo aliquid vitae spiritualis inesset, constat ex significatione "spiritus", quod sit vita spiritualis (de qua sequitur); et ex significatione "imaginis bestiae", quod sit doctrina fidei separatae a bonis operibus, quae doceretur et crederetur in ecclesia (de qua supra, n. 827 [a]); inde sequitur, quod per "dare spiritum imagini bestiae", significetur quod per conjunctionem ratiociniorum ex naturali homine cum Verbo aliquid vitae spiritualis inesset; sed quale vitae, dicetur in sequentibus. Quod per "spiritum" significetur vita spiritualis, est quia per "spiritum" in supremo sensu significatur Divinum Verum procedens a Domino, et inde applicate ad homines, qui id recipiunt, significatur vita spiritualis (videatur supra, n. 183): vita spiritualis est eadem cum vita ex Divinis veris; et quia Verbum est Divinum Verum, et inde ex illo est vita spiritualis homini, ideo quando ratiocinia ex naturali homine pro fide separata a vita, conjuncta sunt cum Verbo, et inde facta est doctrina pro ecclesia, inest ei aliquid vitae spiritualis; nam omnia quae in Verbo sunt, in se spiritualia sunt, et dant vitam spiritualem illis qui ei student, secundum receptionem corde: quare Dominus dicit,
"Verba, quae Ego loquor vobis, spiritus sunt et vita sunt" (Johannes 6:63).
[2] Quoniam in antecedentibus actum est de amore caelesti, in quo sunt angeli tertii caeli, velim nunc aliquid dicere de amore spirituali, in quo sunt angeli secundi caeli. Amor spiritualis est amor veri, ac in supremo sensu amor Divini Veri quod procedit a Domino; ita quoque amor in Dominum, sed in inferiori gradu quam in quo sunt angeli caelestes: hi, nempe angeli caelestes, in amore in Dominum sunt ex receptione Divini Boni ab Ipso; illi autem, nempe angeli spirituales, in amore in Dominum sunt ex receptione Divini Veri ab Ipso; differentia est sicut inter amorem voluntate et inter amorem intellectu, aut sicut inter flammam et ejus lucem; etiam lux apud angelos tertii caeli trahit a flammeo, et lux apud angelos secundi caeli trahit a candido (sed plura de his videantur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 126-140). Similiter differt vita illorum: vita angelorum tertii caeli consistit in affectionibus boni, et vita angelorum secundi caeli in affectionibus veri; illa differentia talis est ut probe internoscantur ex faciebus, et quoque ex loquelis. Quoniam amor spiritualis est amor veri, et illi quoad vitam suam sunt affectiones veri, ideo illi loquuntur de sanctis caeli et ecclesiae secus ac angeli tertii caeli, qui de illis non loqui possunt, ut supra dictum est; at quia usque angeli caelestes perficiuntur sapientia per auditionem, ideo sunt angeli intermedii, qui vocantur angeli caelestes spirituales, qui praedicant et docent vera in templis illorum, quae vocantur Domus Dei, et sunt ex ligno.
[3] Quod angeli spirituales, ex amore spirituali qui facit vitam illorum, sint affectiones veri, et non affectiones boni, est quia illi per aliam viam reformantur et regenerantur, ac fiunt angeli, quam angeli caelestes; angeli enim spirituales primum admittunt vera in memoriam, et inde in intellectum, qui sic ab illis formatur; et tunc quantum afficiuntur Divinis veris spiritualiter, hoc est, propter illa, tum propter vitam secundum illa, tantum perficiuntur; angeli autem caelestes non primum admittunt vera in memoriam, sed statim in voluntatem, et per actus in vitam: inde hi non loqui possunt de Divinis veris, sed solum volunt et faciunt illa; illi autem loquuntur Divina vera, quia inscripta etiam sunt memoriae apud illos, et cogitatio ex memoria loquitur.
[4] At spirituales angeli non admittunt aliquod verum in memoriam, et inde in intellectum apud se, nisi videant illud; angeli enim in illo caelo vident vera ex luce veri, ita ex illustratione a Domino; sunt enim vera in caelis objecta spiritualia, quae clarius coram angelis ibi apparent quam objecta naturalia coram hominibus in mundo; quare illi 1
sciunt quod fides non aliud sit quam agnitio veri quia vident quod verum sit, et prorsus non capiunt quod dari possit apud aliquem fides alicujus rei non visae, seu intellectae; sic enim non scit homo num verum sit aut num falsum, ac fides falsi est damnosa: inde patet quod visus intellectualis apud illos sit visus spiritualis. Angeli illi perficiuntur intellectu, quantum in amore veri sunt propter vitam et ejus genuinos usus, ac tantum implantantur vera vitae illorum, ac fiunt affectiones veri; trahunt enim vera omnem suam essentiam et inde vitam a bono, ita intellectus a voluntate et ejus activo; intellectus enim est receptaculum veri, et voluntas est receptaculum boni, et activum eorum complet et fundat; inde etiam vera, ex quibus formatus est intellectus eorum, quando fiunt voluntatis, et inde actus, vocantur bona, sed bona spiritualia; quae quia tunc fiunt amoris illorum, intrant vitam, et formant illam. Ex his quoque patet quod vita cujusvis hominis sit ex operibus ejus, quia affectio quae voluntatis et cogitatio quae intellectus in illis terminantur, et sic existunt; quae nisi terminatae sunt, pereunt: voluntas enim non existit nisi activa fiat; et si non voluntas est, perit intellectus, et remanet solum facultas intelligendi.
[5] Quia amor eorum est amor veri, ideo pro proximo agnoscunt verum actu, quod vocatur bonum spirituale; ita bonum ecclesiae, bonum societatis in qua sunt, bonum concivium in societate, proinde etiam bonum morale quod vocatur sincerum, et bonum civile quod vocatur justum: quare amor eorum erga proximum etiam consistit in exercitiis, quae sunt opera; omnes etiam ibi usus amant, ac intendunt operibus, per quae cogitationes suas tenent quasi domi, et detinent ab otio, quod est, sicut etiam vocatur, pulvinar diaboli. Sciunt quod non alii possint in amore spirituali teneri quam qui jucundum in operibus percipiunt; hi in sua affectione stata sunt, reliqui in omni et sic in nulla, nam divagantur quo voluptates et cupiditates illos ferunt. Angeli secundi caeli etiam, sicut angeli tertii caeli, habitant distincti in societates; at horum societates sunt supra illorum, propter influxum amoris caelestis in amorem spiritualem; nam amor spiritualis trahit suam essentiam ab amore caelesti, per influxum mediatum et immediatum a Domino.
[6] Sunt in caelo spirituali palatia magnifica, in quibus intus omnia fulgent lapidibus pretiosis, et decoramentis in talibus formis ut non aequari possint aliqua pictura in mundo, nec exprimi verbis; ars enim ibi in sua arte est, imprimis architectonica: ex illo caelo trahunt plures artes in mundo suas leges et harmonias, unde pulchritudines. Argentum, quod apud illos qui infra illos caelos habitant invenitur, datur a Domino ex illo caelo, at aurum ex caelo tertio; nam argentum correspondet bono spirituali, quod in sua essentia est verum, et aurum correspondet bono caelesti. Angeli spirituales vestibus ex bysso et serico, in genere splendentibus, induti sunt: et quia caeli spirituales correspondent oculis, ibi sunt paradisiaca, tum visa iridea in multis locis, quae etiam ineffabilis pulchritudinis sunt. Non sciunt aliquid ibi de sensu litterae Verbi, sed de sensu spirituali ejus, in quo sensu illis est Verbum, quod ab unoquovis legitur: ibi justitia, sinceritas, veritas, castitas, et plures moralis vitae laudes regnant. Illi caeli constituunt regium Domini; at caeli superiores, ubi sunt angeli caelestes, constituunt sacerdotium Domini; nam regium Ipsius est Divinum Verum, ac sacerdotium Ipsius est Divinum Bonum.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.