252、⑵属灵层级打开的属世人的性质。这一点从前面所述清楚可知；对此，需要补充的是，当属灵层级在属世人里面被打开时，属世人就是一个完整的人，因为这时，他既与天上的天使有联系，同时也与世界上的人有联系，在两个世界上都生活在主的保护之下。属灵人通过圣言从主那里接受命令，并通过属世人执行这些命令。属灵层级打开的属世人并不知道他出于其属灵人思考和行动，因为他似乎凭自己如此行，而事实上，他不是凭自己，而是凭主如此行。属灵层级打开的属世人也不知道他通过其属灵人而在天堂，事实上，他的属灵人就在天上的天使中间，有时甚至能被天使看见；不过，他因将自己拉回到他的属世人中，故在那里短暂停留后就消失不见了。属灵层级打开的属世人同样不知道，主正以成千上万的智慧奥秘和成千上万的爱之快乐充满他的属灵心智，等他死后成为一位天使时，就会进入这些事物。属世人之所以不知道这些事，是因为属世人和属灵人之间的交流是通过对应实现的；通过对应实现的交流唯因真理在光中被看见的事实而在理解力中被感知，唯因功用是出于情感来完成的事实而在意愿中被感知。
252, 2. What an earthly-minded person is like whose spiritual level has been opened. This you can see from what has already been said [251]; but I need to add that an earthly-minded person is a complete person when the spiritual level has been opened within. Once that happens, we are actually in the company of angels in heaven at the same time that we are in the company of people on earth, living under the watchful care of the Lord in both realms. Spiritual-minded people derive their imperatives from the Lord through the Word and carry them out by means of their earthly selves.
Earthly-minded individuals whose spiritual level has been opened do not realize that they are thinking and acting from their spiritual selves. They seem to themselves to be acting on their own, though in fact it is not on their own but from the Lord. Earthly-minded people whose spiritual level has been opened do not realize that they are in heaven because of their spiritual selves, either, even though their spiritual selves are surrounded by heaven's angels. Sometimes such people are even visible to angels, but since they are drawn back to their earthly selves, they vanish in a little while.
Earthly people whose spiritual level has been opened do not realize that their spiritual minds are filled with thousands of hidden treasures of wisdom and with thousands of love's joys as gifts from the Lord. They do not realize that they will begin to participate in this wisdom and joy after they die, when they become angels. The reason earthly-minded people are not aware of all this is that communication between our earthly and our spiritual selves takes place by correspondences, and communication by correspondences is perceived in our discernment only as seeing truths in the light, and in our volition only as being helpful because we enjoy it.
252. (2) The nature of the natural person in whom the spiritual degree has been opened. This is apparent from the foregoing discussion. To it must be added that the natural person is a complete person when the spiritual degree in him has been opened. The reason is that he is then affiliated with angels in heaven, and is at the same time in association with people in the world, and he lives in respect to both worlds under the Lord's guidance. For his spiritual self receives commandments from the Lord through the Word and executes them by means of his natural self.
The natural person who has the spiritual degree in him opened does not know that he thinks and acts from his spiritual self; for it appears as though he thinks and acts of himself, when in fact he does so not of himself but from the Lord.
[2] Neither does the natural person whose spiritual degree has been opened know that through his spiritual self he is in heaven, when in fact his spiritual self is surrounded by angels of heaven. Sometimes he even becomes visible to the angels; but because he returns to his natural self, after a short time there he disappears.
The natural person in whom the spiritual degree has been opened also does not know that his spiritual mind is filled by the Lord with a thousand secrets of wisdom and with a thousand delights of love, and that he comes into them after death when he becomes an angel.
The reason the natural person does not know these things is that the communication between his natural self and his spiritual self occurs by means of correspondences, and communication by means of correspondences is not perceived in the intellect other than by his seeing truths in a state of light, and in the will other than by his performing useful services with affection.
252. (ii) The character of the natural man in whom the spiritual degree has been opened is clear from what has been said above. And to those things it must be added that the natural man is a complete man when the spiritual degree has been opened within him, for he is then associated with angels in heaven and at the same time with men in the world, and in regard to both, lives under the Lord's protection. For the spiritual man draws out commands from the Lord through the Word, and executes them by means of the natural man. The natural man whose spiritual degree has been opened does not know that he thinks and acts from his spiritual man, for he seems to do so from himself, when yet he does it not from himself but from the Lord. Neither does the natural man whose spiritual degree has been opened know that through his spiritual man he is in heaven, when yet his spiritual man is in the midst of the angels of heaven, and sometimes is even visible to the angels, but because he withdraws himself into his natural man, after a brief stay there he is no longer seen. Nor does the natural man in whom the spiritual degree has been opened know that his spiritual mind is being filled by the Lord with thousands of arcana of wisdom, and with thousands of the delights of love, and that he will come into these after death when he becomes an angel. The reason the natural man does not know these things is because communication between the natural and the spiritual man is effected by correspondences, and communication by correspondences is not perceived in the understanding except by the fact that truths are seen in light, and in the will except by the fact that uses are performed out of affection.
252. (2) The character of the natural man in whom the spiritual degree is opened. This is obvious from what has been said above; to which it may be added, that a natural man is a complete man when the spiritual degree is opened in him, for he is then consociated with angels in heaven and at the same time with men in the world, and in regard to both, lives under the Lord's guidance. For the spiritual man imbibes commands from the Lord through the Word, and executes them through the natural man. The natural man who has the spiritual degree opened does not know that he thinks and acts from his spiritual man, for it seems as if he did this from himself, when yet he does not do it from himself but from the Lord. Nor does the natural man whose spiritual degree has been opened know that by means of his spiritual man he is in heaven, when yet his spiritual man is in the midst of angels of heaven, and sometimes is even visible to them; but because he draws himself back to his natural man, after a brief stay there he disappears. Nor does the natural man in whom the spiritual degree has been opened know that his spiritual mind is being filled by the Lord with thousands of arcana of wisdom, and with thousands of delights of love, and that he is to come into these after death, when he becomes an angel. The natural man does not know these things because communication between the natural man and the spiritual man is effected by correspondences; and communication by correspondences is perceived in the understanding only by the fact that truths are seen in light, and is perceived in the will only by the fact that uses are performed from affection.
252. II. Qualis Naturalis homo est, apud quem spiritualis Gradus apertus 1 est, patet a supradictis; quibus addendum est, quod Naturalis homo sit plenus homo, dum spiritualis Gradus apud illum apertus est; est enim tunc consociatus Angelis in Coelo, et simul consociatus hominibus in Mundo, et quoad utrumque vivit sub auspicio Domini; spiritualis enim homo haurit mandata per Verbum a Domino, et illa per naturalem hominem exsequitur. Naturalis homo, cui Gradus spiritualis apertus est, non scit quod cogitet et agat ex spirituali suo homine, apparet enim sicut ex se, cum tamen non ex se sed ex Domino.
[2] Naturalis homo cujus gradus spiritualis apertus est, nec scit quod per spiritualem suum hominem in Coelo sit, cum tamen spiritualis ejus homo in medio Angelorum Coeli est[;] quandoque etiam Angelis apparet, sed quia retrahit se ad naturalem suum hominem, post brevem moram ibi disparatur. Naturalis homo apud quem spiritualis Gradus apertus est, nec scit quod spiritualis ejus Mens impleatur millenis arcanis sapientiae, et millenis jucunditatibus amoris a Domino, et quod in illa post mortem veniat, cum fit angelus: causa quod naturalis homo illa non sciat, est quia communicatio inter hominem naturalem et spiritualem fit per correspondentias, et communicatio per correspondentias non percipitur aliter in intellectu quam quod videantur vera in luce, et in voluntate quam quod praestentur usus ex affectione.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: ap[upside down "e"]rtus