329、校长和其他人离开我后，也在那所中学的几个男孩陪我回家。我写东西时，他们在我旁边站了一会儿。这时，他们突然看见一只蟑螂从我纸上窜过去，就惊讶地问道：“这是什么小生物跑得这么快？”我说：“它叫蟑螂，我会告诉你们有关它的奇事。像它这样的小生物照样有肢体和器官，一样不少于一头骆驼的。它有大脑，心脏，气管，感觉器官，运动器官和生殖器官，还有胃、肠等等。其中每一个都是由纤维、神经、血管、肌肉、肌腱和膜构成的结构；而这些结构中的每一个又由更纯粹的结构构成；这些更纯粹的结构深深隐藏起来，是任何眼睛所触及不到的。”
男孩们又说，这个小生物在他们看来就像一个简单物。对此，我说：“然而，它却包含无数事物在里面。我告诉你们这一点，是叫你们能知道，在你们眼前看似一个整体，一个简单物和一个小生物的每个物体，包括你们的行为、情感和思维，都是这样。我向你们保证，每一粒思维、每一滴情感都能无限分割；你们的观念越是被分割，你们就越有智慧。要知道，被分割的每一个事物都会变得越来越复杂，而不是越来越简单；因为它越是被分割，就越来越近地靠近那无限事物在其中的无限者。我所告诉你们的这个事实是新东西，你们闻所未闻。”
我说完这番话后，男孩们离开我回到校长那里，请求他定个时间在学校再提一个问题，一个新的、闻所未闻的问题。校长问：“什么问题？”他们说：“每一个事物越是被分割，就会变得越来越复杂，而不是越来越简单，因为它会越来越近地靠近那无限事物在其中的无限者。”校长答应他会提出这个问题，并说：“我明白这一点，因为我发觉，一个属世观念包含无数属灵观念；事实上，一个属灵观念包含无数属天观念。这就是第三层天的天使所拥有的属天智慧和第二层天的天使所拥有的属灵智慧之间的区别；也是最低层天的天使所拥有的属世智慧和世人所拥有的属世智慧之间的区别。”
329、校长和其余的人离开后，从前在学校中的一些男孩伴我一起回到了家，他们在我写东西时就站在我身旁。突然间他们看到纸上爬过一只蟑螂，他们吃惊地问那是什么。
我说：“那是只蟑螂，我又说在活着的生物中有很多部位和器官。比如，头脑、心脏、气管、感官，运动器官和生殖器官。还有胃等等，每一器官都是由无数的纤维、组织、血管、肌肉、筋腱以及更细小的组织构成。
男孩子们说，那只小蟑螂看上去好象只是由一种物质构成。
我说：“尽管看上去如此，它还是由无数的部分组成。许多看上去是单一的，无法分割的事物也是如此。包括你们的行为动做，思想和情感，我还可以肯定你们的每个想法和情感都是由无限个因素构成的，因此你们是有智慧的。”
“要知道被分割的事物会更具有可分离性，而不会变得更简单。因为越是被分割，事物就越接近无限。你们从来也没听到过这些。”
听我说完这些后，男孩子们回到校长那里请校长什么时候在学校里讲一下从未听过的话题。校长问那是什么话题呢？他们说被分割的事物会越来越接近无限，而不会变得越来越简单。
校长同意了，说：“我知道每个自然的思想中都有无数的精神上的因素，事实上，一个精神性的想法中也有无数的神圣层面上的因素。这就是在第三层天堂中的天使的神圣性的智慧与第二层天堂中以及第一层天堂和人身上的智慧相互不同的原因。”
329. After the headmaster and the others had left me, some boys who had also been in the high-school, accompanied me home, and for a while stood by as I was writing. Then they suddenly caught sight of a cockroach running across my paper. They were surprised and asked, 'What is this little creature that runs so fast?' I told them it was called a cockroach. 'I will tell you extraordinary facts about it,' I said. 'Small creature as it is, it contains as many limbs and organs as a camel. It has a brain, heart, bronchi, organs for sense, movement and reproduction, a stomach, intestines and many more. Each of these is a structure composed of fibres, sinews, blood-vessels, muscles, tendons and membranes; and each of these is made from still simpler structures, which are far beyond the power of any eye to resolve.'
[2] They then said that this tiny creature still looked to them like a simple substance. 'Yet,' I said, 'it contains countless parts. I tell you this so that you can know that it is the same with every object which looks to you like a unity, simple and reduced to its smallest components, and with your actions as much as your affections and thoughts. I can assure you that every single spark of thought, and every single drop of affection is capable of infinite subdivision; and the more your ideas are divided, the wiser you are. You must grasp that everything which is divided becomes more and more complex, not more and more simple, because by being more and more divided it approaches closer to the infinite, in which all things are infinitely. I can report this to you as a new and hitherto unheard-of fact.'
[3] When I said this, the boys left me and returning to the headmaster asked him to set some time as a problem in the school a new and unheard-of subject. 'What one?' he said. 'Everything,' they said, 'by being more and more divided becomes more and more complex, and not more and more simple, because it approaches closer to the infinite in which all things are infinitely.'
He promised he would set this problem, saying, 'I can see this, because I have grasped that one natural idea contains countless spiritual ideas; indeed, one spiritual idea contains countless celestial ideas. This is the difference between the celestial wisdom of the angels of the third heaven, and the spiritual wisdom of the angels of the second heaven; as it is between this and the natural wisdom of the angels of the lowest heaven, and also of human beings.'
329. After the headmaster and the rest left me, some boys who were also present at the school exercise followed me home, and they stood by me there for a while as I was writing. Suddenly then they saw a cockroach scurrying across my paper, and they asked in astonishment what that little creature was to be so swift.
So I said, "It is called a cockroach, and I will tell you some wonderful things about it. In that living thing, small as it is, there are as many parts and organs as in a camel. It has, for example, a brain, a heart, air passages, sensory organs, motor organs and organs of generation, a stomach, intestines, and many other things; and each one is composed of fibers, ligaments, blood vessels, muscles, tendons, membranes, and each of these of still finer elements, which are too tiny for any eye to see."
[2] The boys then began to say that the little creature still looked to them as though it consisted only of a single substance.
But I said, "Nevertheless it has countless parts within. I tell you this to teach you that it is the same in every phenomenon that appears to your eyes as unitary, single, and irreducible, including your actions, and likewise your affections and thoughts. I can assure you that every particle of your thought and every drop of your affection is divisible to infinity, and according as your ideas are divisible, so are you wise.
"Be advised that everything divided becomes more and more multiple, and not more and more simple, because as something is divided again and again it approaches nearer and nearer to the Infinite in which are all things infinitely. This is something new I am telling you, which you have not heard before."
[3] After I said this, the boys went from me to the headmaster and asked him sometime to pose as a question in the school a new subject, not heard before. He asked what it was. They said that everything divided becomes more and more multiple, and not more and more simple, because it approaches nearer and nearer to the Infinite in which are all things infinitely.
The headmaster then promised to pose it; and he said, "I see it, because I have perceived that a single natural idea has within it a countless number of spiritual ideas - indeed, that one spiritual idea has within it a countless number of celestial ideas. That is the reason for the difference between the celestial wisdom possessed by angels of the third heaven, the spiritual wisdom possessed by angels of the second heaven, and the natural wisdom possessed by angels of the last heaven and likewise by men."
329. After the master teacher and the others left me, some boys who had also been at the scholarly contests followed me home, and they stood near me for a while as I was writing there. They saw a moth running on my paper! And they asked in surprise, "What's that little animal that's so fast?"
"It's called a moth," I said, "and I'll tell you some surprising things about it." I said, "In a living creature that small are as many outer parts and inner parts as there are in a camel! There are brains, heart, windpipe, organs of sense, motion, and reproduction, stomach, intestines, and other things. And each one is woven out of fibers, nerves, blood vessels, muscles, tendons, and membranes. And each of these is woven out of still finer parts that lie deeply hidden, beyond the sight of any eye."
They said the little creature still looked like just an uncomplicated object to them.
I said, "All the same, there are more things inside it than you can count. I say these things so you'll know that it's the same in every object that seems to be one thing, simple and small to you, and in your actions, feelings, and thoughts as well. I can assure you that every scrap of your thoughts and every drop of your feelings can be separated to infinity. And insofar as your ideas can be divided you are wise. Learn this - that everything gets more and more complicated as you take it apart, and not more and more simple, because division after division gets closer and closer to infinity, where everything is infinite. I'm passing this new idea on to you, which was never heard before."
After I said these things the boys went from me to the master teacher and asked him sometime to suggest in the school some new problem never heard before.
He said, "What?"
They said, "That everything gets more and more complicated as you take it apart, and not more and more simple, because it gets closer and closer to infinity, where everything is infinite."
He promised to propose it and said, "I see this, because I've noticed that one worldly idea is a vessel containing innumerable spiritual ideas. In fact, one spiritual idea is a container of innumerable heavenly ideas. That makes the difference between the celestial wisdom that the angels of the third heaven have, and the spiritual wisdom that the angels of the second heaven have, and between the worldly wisdom that the angels of the lowest heaven, and also men, have."
329. After the Chief Teacher and the rest had left me, some boys who also had been in the gymnastic sport followed me home and there, for a time, stood by me while I was writing. And lo, they saw a cockroach running over my paper and asked in surprise, "What is that little creature which runs so fast?" I said, "It is called a cockroach, and I will tell you marvels about it." I then said: "In that living creature, small as it is, there are as many members and viscera as in a camel. It has brains, hearts, pulmonary tubes, organs of sense, of motion, and of generation, a stomach, intestines, and many other things; and each of them is a contexture of fiber, nerves, blood-vessels, muscles, tendons, membranes; and each of these a contexture of things still purer which lie deeply hidden beyond the reach of any eye."
[2] The boys then said that to them this little living thing seemed nothing more than a simple substance. To this I said: "Nevertheless, there are innumerable things within it. I tell you this, that you may know that it is the same in every object which appears before you as a one, a simple, a mite. It is the same also in your actions, affections, and thoughts. I can assure you that every grain of your thought, and every drop of your affection is divisible to infinity, and that so far as your ideas are divisible you are wise. Know then, that everything divided is more and more multiple, and not more and more simple; for when divided again and again, it approaches nearer and nearer to the infinite in which are all things infinitely. This that I tell you is something new and never before heard of."
[3] After I had said this, the boys went from me to the Chief Teacher and asked him if, in the gymnasium, he would at some time propose as a problem something new and unheard of. He asked, "What?" They said: "That everything divided is more and more multiple and not more and more simple, because it approaches nearer and nearer to the Infinite in which are all things infinitely."
He promised to propose it, and said: "I see this because I have perceived that a single natural idea is the containant of innumerable spiritual ideas; yea, that a single spiritual idea is the containant of innumerable celestial ideas. Hence the distinction between celestial wisdom, in which are the angels of the third heaven, and spiritual wisdom in which are the angels of the second heaven; and also between [the latter and] natural wisdom in which are the angels of the ultimate heaven and also men."
329. After the head teacher and the others had left me, some of the boys who had attended the exercises in the school followed me home and stood beside me for a while as I wrote. They saw a moth suddenly dart across my paper, and asked in surprise, "What swift little animal is that?" I said, "It is called a moth. I will tell you some marvellous things about it. In this creature, small as it is, there are as many members and viscera as there are in a camel - brains, heart, air passages, organs of sense, of motion and of generation, a stomach, intestines, and many more. Each one of these is woven together of fibers, nerves, blood-vessels, muscles, tendons and membranes. Each of these in turn is woven together of still purer things which lie deeply hidden from any and every eye."
[2] They remarked that the little creature nevertheless looked to them like a simple substance.
"And yet there are innumerable things in it," I replied. "I tell you this that you may know that the same thing is true of every object which looks to you like one simple and least thing, whether in what you do or in your affections and thoughts. I can assure you that every particle of your thought and every drop of your affection is divisible even to infinity. Indeed you are wise in so far as your ideas are divisible! Know that everything divided is more and more manifold and not more and more simple, because being divided over and over it approaches nearer and nearer to the infinite, in which are all things infinitely. I tell you something new and unheard of."
[3] Upon this, the boys left me to go to the head teacher and requested him to propose sometime as a problem in the school something "new and unheard of." He asked, "What?"
They said, "That everything divided is more and more manifold and not more and more simple, because it approaches nearer and nearer to the infinite, in which are all things infinitely."
He promised to do so, and remarked, "I see this, because I have perceived that one natural idea contains innumerable spiritual ideas; indeed, one spiritual idea contains innumerable celestial ideas. Hence the difference between celestial wisdom in which the angels of the third heaven are, and spiritual wisdom in which the angels of the second heaven are; and also between these and natural wisdom in which the angels of the lowest heaven and also men are."
329. After the chief teacher and the rest had left me, some of the boys who also were at the exercises in the gymnasium, followed me home and stood by me there for a time while I was writing. And lo! they saw a moth running over my paper, and asked in surprise, 'What is this so swift little animalcule?' I said, 'It is called a mite. And I will tell you wonderful things about it. In so small a living thing there are as many members and viscera as in a camel-there are brains, heart, pulmonary organs, organs of sense, of motion, and of generation, a stomach, intestines, and many other things; and each one of these is woven together of fibers, nerves, blood-vessels, muscles, tendons, and membranes; and each of these is woven together of still purer things that lie deeply hidden beyond the reach of every eye.'
Then they said, 'Yet the little living thing appears to us only as a simple substance.'
And I said, 'Nevertheless, there are innumerable things within it. I tell you this that you may know that it is similar with every object that appears before you as one simple and least thing, as well in your actions as in your affections and thoughts. I can assure you that every single grain of thought, and every drop of your affection is divisible, even ad infinitum, and that in so far as your ideas are divisible you are wise. Know, that everything divided is more and more manifold, and not more and more simple, because being divided and divided it approaches nearer and nearer to the infinite, in which all things are infinitely. This is a new thing that I relate to you, before unheard of.'
Having listened to these things the boys went from me to the chief teacher and requested of him that he would sometime propose in the gymnasium something new and unheard of as a problem. He asked, 'What?'
They said, 'That everything divided is more and more manifold, and not more and more simple, because it approaches nearer and nearer to the infinite, in which all things are infinitely.'
He promised to propose it, and said, ‘I see this, because I have perceived that one natural idea is the containant of innumerable spiritual ideas; yea, that one spiritual idea is the containant of innumerable celestial ideas. Hence the difference between celestial wisdom, in which the angels of the third heaven are, and spiritual wisdom in which the angels of the second heaven are; and also between natural wisdom in which the angels of the ultimate heaven and also men are.'
329. Postquam Archididascalus et reliqui a me abiverunt, aliqui pueri, qui etiam in Ludo Gymnasiaco fuerunt, sequebantur me domum, et ibi paulum adstiterunt mihi scribenti; et ecce tunc videbant blattam currentem super charta mea, et mirati quaesiverunt quid hoc animalculum tam velox; et dixi, quod dicatur Blatta, et de illa vobis dicam mirabilia; et dixi, quod in tam parvulo vivo sint totidem membra et viscera, quae in Camelo; ut quod sint cerebra, corda, fistulae pulmonales, organa sensuum, motuum, et generationum, ventriculus, intestina, et plura; ac singula contexta ex fibris, nervis, vasis sanguineis, musculis, tendinibus, membranis, et haec singula ab adhuc purioribus, quae alte intra aciem omnis oculi latent:
[2] dicebant tunc, quod usque parvulum hoc vivum appareat illis non aliter quam sicut substantia simplex; et dixi, "sunt tamen intus innumerabilia; haec dico, ut sciatis, quod simile sit in omni objecto quod coram vobis apparet sicut unum, simplex, et minimum, tam in actionibus quam in affectionibus et cogitationibus vestris; possum asseverare vobis, quod unaquaevis mica cogitationis, et unaquaevis stilla affectionis vestrae, sit dividua usque ad infinitum, et quod sicut ideae vestrae dividuae sunt, ita vos sapiatis: scitote, quod omne divisum sit plus et plus multiplex, et non plus et plus simplex, quia divisum et divisum propius et propius accedit ad Infinitum, 1in quo infinite omnia sunt; hoc novum prius inauditum vobis refero."
[3] His dictis, pueri a me abiverunt ad Archididascalum, et illum rogaverunt, ut in Gymnasio aliquando proponeret aliquod novum inauditum ut problema, et dixit, quid; dixerunt, quod omne divisum sit plus et plus multiplex, et non plus et plus simplex, quia propius et propius accedit ad infinitum, in quo infinite omnia sunt; et spopondit quod proponeret; et dixit, "hoc video, quia percepi, quod una idea naturalis sit continens innumerabilium idearum spiritualium; imo quod una idea spiritualis sit continens innumerabilium idearum coelestium; inde est discrimen inter Sapientiam coelestem in qua sunt Angeli tertii Coeli, et inter Sapientiam Spiritualem in qua sunt Angeli secundi Coeli, ut et inter Sapientiam naturalem, in qua sunt Angeli ultimi Coeli, et quoque homines."
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: infinitum,