353、对此，我补充两个记事。记事一：
我曾在天使们中间，听他们交谈，他们谈论的话题是聪明和智慧。他们说，人只会感觉这二者在自己里面，因而凡他出于自己的理解所思考，或出于自己的意愿所打算的，都出于他自己。然而，除了从神那里接受属于其理解和意愿之物的官能外，这一切没有一丁点来自这个人自己。因为每个人生来都倾向于爱自己，所以为免他因自我之爱和对自我聪明的骄傲而灭亡，自创造时就规定，这爱要转录到妻子里面；并且爱她男人的聪明和智慧，从而爱这个男人本人的倾向，自她出生就被植入她。因此，妻子不断将她男人对自我聪明的骄傲引到自己这里，在他里面浇灭它，在自己里面激活它，从而将它转化为婚姻之爱，并以满溢的快乐充满这爱。主如此规定是为了防止对自我聪明的骄傲冲昏男人的头脑，致使他以为他的聪明和智慧出于他自己，而非出于主，从而想要吃善恶知识树，进而自以为像神，甚至就是神，正如那蛇，也就是对自我聪明的爱所劝诱的。所以，这个男人（即亚当）吃了那树后就被逐出伊甸园，通往生命树的道路也被基路伯把守。从属灵的角度来理解，伊甸园是指聪明；吃生命树是指从主那里拥有聪明和智慧，吃善恶知识树是指从人自己那里拥聪明和智慧。
353、在此做以下两段陈述。首先：
有一次我在天使中间听到了他们的交谈。他们在谈论才智和智慧。他们认为才智和智慧都是属于人自身的。所以认为人所想的一切和所倾向做的事都是出于他自身。却不知道他们只是有这种接受来自于主的与才智和意愿有关的因素，而才智和意愿没有一点是来自于主的。他们还说人生来就倾向于爱自己。为了使人不在对自己的爱中消亡，从创世时起，男人身上对自己的爱就是被转移到他的妻子身上。女人从生来就有对她丈夫的才智和智慧的爱。这就是为什么妻子会不断地将丈夫才智归到自己身上，将其在丈夫身上消除，并将其转为婚姻之爱。他们说，主这样安排以防止男人过度沉浸在自己的才智之中，并且认为才智和智慧都是来自于自己，而非来自于主——希望吃善恶树的果子并认为自己就是神，正如被蛇教唆的那样，这是象征着对自己的爱。吃了生命树的果子后，人被从乐园中驱赶出来，生命树也由天使看管起为了。（乐园的精神上的含义是指才智。吃生命树的果子精神含义是要自己变得有才智有智慧。）
353. I shall here add two accounts of experiences, of which this is the first.
I was once in the company of angels, listening to their conversation. The subjects they were talking about were intelligence and wisdom. They said that a person cannot but perceive both of these as present in himself, so that anything he thinks with his intellect or intends with his will comes from himself. Yet not a scrap of this is from the person himself, apart from the ability to receive from God intellectual and voluntary matters. Since everyone is by birth inclined to love himself, it has been provided ever since creation, to prevent him perishing from self-love and from pride in his own intelligence, that the man's love should be copied into his wife. She by birth has it implanted in her to love her husband's intelligence and wisdom, and so to love him. A wife therefore continually draws her husband's pride in his own intelligence to herself, and douses it in him, bringing it to life in herself and so turning it into conjugial love, and filling it brim-full with delights. This has been provided by the Lord, to prevent pride in his own intelligence making him so foolish that he believes his intelligence and wisdom come from himself, and not from the Lord, so that he wants to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and so believe himself like God, and even to be God; as the serpent, which was the love of one's own intelligence, persuasively said. Man was therefore after eating of it cast out of the garden, and a cherub was set to guard the way to the tree of life. The garden is spiritually intelligence; eating of the tree of life is spiritually to have intelligence and wisdom from the Lord; and eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is spiritually to have intelligence and wisdom from oneself.
353. To this I will append two narrative accounts. Here is the first:
I was once in the midst of angels and overheard their conversation. They were talking about intelligence and wisdom, saying that a person has no other perception than that these are both in him, consequently that whatever he thinks with his intellect and intends from his will is from him - even though not a bit of it is from the person, beyond a capacity to receive those things having to do with the intellect and will from God. Moreover, because every person is inclined from birth to love himself, they said, to keep a person from perishing from love of self and a conceit in his own intelligence, it has been provided from creation that that love in a man be transferred to his wife, and that it be implanted in her from birth to love the intelligence and wisdom of her husband and thus the man. That is why a wife continually draws her husband's conceit in his own intelligence to herself, extinguishing it in him and causing it to live in her, thus turning it into conjugial love and filling it with gratifications beyond measure. This has been provided by the Lord, they said, to keep a man from becoming so infatuated with his own intelligence that he believes himself to be intelligent and wise from himself rather than from the Lord, thus wishing to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and suppose himself on that account to be like God, and also God Himself, as said and urged by the serpent, which symbolized the love of one's own intelligence. After eating of the tree, man was therefore expelled from Paradise, and a cherub guarded the way to the tree of life. 1(Paradise, in its spiritual meaning, is intelligence. To eat of the tree of life is, spiritually, to be intelligent and wise from the Lord. And to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is, spiritually, to be intelligent and wise from self.)
Footnotes:
1. See Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1-24.
353. I add to these things two stories. This first:
Once I was among angels and listened to them talking. Their conversation was about intelligence and wisdom - that a person does not notice but what both intelligence and wisdom are in himself and thus that what he thinks by intellect and intends by will is from himself, when yet not a shred of it is from the person, except the ability to receive from the Lord the things that have to do with intellect and will. And every person tends toward selflove from birth, so it was provided from creation that, to keep man from being destroyed by self - love and the pride of his own intelligence, that love in a man would be transferred into a wife, and from birth it is implanted in her to love her husband's intelligence and wisdom, and thus her husband. So a wife is always attracting to herself her husband's pride in his own intelligence, quenching it in him and giving it life in herself, and in this way turning it into the love in marriage, and filling it with immeasurable pleasantness.
The Lord provides this so that a man's pride in his own intelligence will not make him such a fool as to think he understands and is wise by himself and not due to the Lord, and in this way eat from the Tree of Knowing Good and Bad, and, because of that, think he is like God and also is a god - as the serpent, who was love of one's own intelligence, said and persuaded. For this, man was thrown out of Paradise after he ate, and the way to the Tree of Life was guarded by angels.
Spiritually, paradise is intelligence. To eat from the Tree of Life, spiritually, is to understand and be wise from the Lord. But to eat from the Tree of Knowing Good and Bad, spiritually, is to understand and be wise on your own.
353. To the above I will add two Memorable Relations. First: I was once in the midst of angels and heard their discourse. It was a discourse on intelligence and wisdom, to the effect that a man perceives no otherwise than that both are in himself, and thus that whatever he thinks from his understanding and intends from his will is from himself, When yet not the least thing thereof is from the man except the faculty of receiving from God the things which pertain to his understanding and will. And because from birth every man has the inclination to love himself, therefore, lest he perish by reason of the love of self and the pride of self-intelligence, it was provided from creation that that love should be transcribed into the wife, and that, implanted in her from birth, should be the inclination to love the intelligence and wisdom of her man and thus the man himself. Therefore, a wife continually draws her man's pride of self-intelligence to herself, extinguishing it in him and vivifying it in herself, and so turning it into conjugial love, a love which she fills with amenities beyond measure. This is provided by the Lord lest the pride of self-intelligence so greatly infatuate man that he believes himself to be intelligent and wise from himself and not from the Lord, and thus desires to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He would then believe himself to be like God and even, according to the speech and persuasion of the serpent - the love of self-intelligence - to be God. Therefore, after eating, the man was cast out of paradise and the way to the tree of life was guarded by a cherub. Spiritually understood, paradise is intelligence; eating of the tree of life is understanding and being wise from the Lord, and eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is understanding and being wise from one's self.
353. I append two Memorabilia.
I. I was once 1among some angels, listening to their conversation. It was about intelligence and wisdom. "A man does not perceive but that both these are in himself. Thus whatever he thinks from the understanding or intends from the will he thinks is from himself, when yet not the least thereof is from the man, but only the faculty of receiving from God the things which are of the understanding and of the will. Inasmuch as every man is inclined by birth to love himself, therefore lest he perish from love of himself and conceit of his own intelligence, provision was made from creation that this, the man's love, should be transcribed into the wife, and that in her there should be implanted by birth a love for the intelligence and wisdom of her man and thus for the man. By this means the wife continually takes to herself the man's pride in his intelligence, extinguishing it with him and vivifying it with herself. She thus turns it into marital love and fills it with pleasures beyond measure. This is provided by the Lord in order that the man's conceit of his own intelligence may not infatuate him until he believes he is intelligent and wise of himself and not from the Lord. For this is to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and to believe oneself like God and even to be God, as the serpent (which is the love of one's own intelligence) said and persuaded. After eating of that tree man was therefore cast out of paradise, and the way to the tree of life was guarded by a cherub."
A paradise, spiritually, is intelligence; to eat of the tree of life, spiritually, is to understand and have wisdom from the Lord; and to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, spiritually, is to understand and be wise of one's self.
Footnotes:
1. These Memorabilia with slight changes occur again in True Christian Religion 663.
353. To this I will add two Relations. First: I was once in the midst of angels, and heard their discourse. The discourse was on the subject of intelligence and wisdom: 'That a man does not perceive but that both are in himself, and thus that whatever he thinks from the understanding or intends from the will is from himself, when yet not the least of it is from the man, except the faculty of receiving from God the things that are of the understanding and of the will. And because every man from birth is inclined to love himself, lest from love of himself and conceit of his own intelligence man should perish, it was provided from creation that this love of man should be transcribed into the wife, and that it be implanted from birth in her, that she shall love the intelligence and wisdom of her man, and thus the man, by which means the wife continually attracts the man's pride in his own intelligence to herself, and extinguishes it with him and vivifies it with herself, and so turns it into conjugial love, and fills it with amenities beyond measure This is provided by the Lord in order that conceit of his own intelligence may not infatuate the man to such a degree that he would believe that he is intelligent and wise of himself, and not from the Lord, and thus eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and thence believe himself like God, and even a God, as the serpent (which is the love of one's own intelligence) said and persuaded; for which the man after eating was cast out of paradise, and the way to the tree of life was guarded by a cherub.'
A paradise, spiritually, is intelligence; to eat of the tree of life, spiritually, is to understand and have wisdom from the Lord; and to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, spiritually, is to understand and be wise of one's self.
353. His adjiciam duo Memorabilia; Primum hoc. Quondam fui in medio Angelorum, et audivi sermonem illorum; sermo erat de Intelligentia et Sapientia, quod homo non percipiat aliter, quam quod utraque sit in se, et sic quod quicquid cogitat ex intellectu et intendit ex voluntate, sit ex se; cum tamen ne hilum ejus ex homine est, praeter quam facultas recipiendi illa, quae intellectus et voluntatis sunt, a Deo; et quia omnis homo ex nativitate inclinat ad amandum se, ne homo ex amore sui, et ex fastu propriae intelligentiae pereat, a creatione provisum est, ut ille Amor viri transcriptus sit in uxorem, et huic a nativitate implantatum sit ut amet intelligentiam et sapientiam sui viri, et sic virum; quare uxor continue attrahit fastum propriae intelligentiae sui viri ad se, ac exstinguit illum apud illum, et vivificat illum apud se, et sic vertit illum in amorem conjugialem, ac implet illum amaenitatibus supra modum; hoc provisum est a Domino, ne fastus propriae intelligentiae infatuet virum usque adeo, ut credat se intelligere et sapere ex se, et non a Domino, et sic velit edere ex arbore scientiae boni et mali, et inde se credere similem Deo, et quoque Deum, sicut serpens, qui erat amor propriae intelligentiae, dixit et persuasit; quare homo post esum ejectus est e Paradiso, et per Cherubum custodita est via ad Arborem vitae: Paradisus spiritualiter est intelligentia; Edere ex Arbore vitae spiritualiter est intelligere et sapere ex Domino; ac Edere ex arbore scientiae boni et mali spiritualiter est intelligere et sapere ex se.