416、(15)否则，爱或意愿会把智慧或理解力从它的高处拉下来，以使它与自己行如一体。爱可以是属世的，也可以是属灵的。一个处于属世之爱，同时处于属灵之爱的人是一个理性的人。然而，一个只处于属世之爱的人虽能像一个属灵人那样理性思考，却不是一个理性的人。因为即便他把自己的理解力提升到天堂之光，从而提升到智慧，但属于智慧，也就是天堂之光的事物却不属于他的爱。他的爱的确实现这种提升，却是出于对名誉、荣耀和物质利益的渴望。但当他发现，他没有从这种提升中得到任何这一类的东西时(如当他照着自己的属世之爱独自思考时的情形)，就不爱属于天堂之光或智慧的事物了；因此，他会把自己的理解力从它的高处拉下来，以使它与自己行如一体。
例如：当理解力因被提升而处于智慧的状态时，爱就会明白何为公义，何为诚实，何为贞洁，甚至明白何为真正的爱。属世之爱能凭着它理解并沉思天堂之光中的事物的能力明白这一切，甚至能谈论和传讲它们，还能把它们描述为道德美德，同时描述为属灵美德。但当理解力没有被提升时，爱若只是属世的，就看不到这些美德，它看到的不是公义，而是不公义；不是诚实，而是斯诈；不是贞洁，而是淫乱等等。这时，它若想起当它的理解力处于提升状态时它所说的话，可能会嘲笑它们，认为它们仅仅是用来迷惑人们灵魂的手段。由此可见当如何理解“爱若不热爱智慧，就是它在同一层级的配偶，就会把它从它的高处拉下来，以使它与自己行如一体”。爱若热爱在同一层级的智慧，就能被提升(可参看414节)。
416, 15. Otherwise, love or volition pulls wisdom or discernment back from its height so that they act in unison. There is earthly love and there is spiritual love. When we are engaged in earthly love and spiritual love together, then we are rational people. When we are engaged solely in earthly love, though, we can think just as rationally as spiritual people, but we are not really rational individuals. We do lift our discernment up into heaven's light, into wisdom, but the matters of wisdom or heaven's light are not objects of our love. It is our love that is making this happen, but behind it is a desire for respect, praise, and profit. However, once we realize that we are not getting any benefit from this elevation (as we do realize when we are thinking to ourselves on the basis of our earthly love), then we have no love for matters of heaven's light or wisdom. So our love then pulls our discernment down from its height so that the two will act in unison.
For example, when our discernment is filled with wisdom because it has been lifted up, then our love sees what justice, honesty, and chastity are, even what real love is. Earthly love can see this because of its ability to understand and ponder things in heaven's light. It can even talk about, preach, and describe these as both moral and spiritual virtues. When our discernment is not lifted up, though, then if our love is merely earthly it does not see these virtues. It sees injustice as justice, deception as honesty, lust as chastity, and so on. If we do think about the matters we discussed when our discernment was at its height, then we may make fun of them and think that they serve us only to ensnare people's minds.
We can therefore tell how to understand the statement that unless love loves its spouse, wisdom, to that degree, it pulls it down from its height so that they act in unison. (On love's ability to be lifted up if it does love wisdom to that degree, see 414 above.)
416. (15) Otherwise love or the will draws wisdom or the intellect back from its elevated state into union with itself. Love may be natural, and love may be spiritual. A person who is prompted by a natural love and at the same time a spiritual love is a rational person. However, one who is prompted by a natural love only, although he is able to think rationally just as well as a spiritual person, still is not a rational person. For even if he elevates his intellect into the light of heaven, thus to wisdom, still such matters as are matters of wisdom or of the light of heaven are not ones of his love. It is his love, indeed, that prompts the elevation, but from an affection for honor, glory and material gain. But when he perceives that he does not receive anything of the kind from that elevation, which is the case when he thinks to himself in accord with his natural love, he then does not love those matters that are matters of the light of heaven or of wisdom, and he therefore draws his intellect back from its elevated state into union with itself.
[2] So for example, when the intellect from being elevated is in a state of wisdom, love then sees what justice is, what honesty is, what chastity is, indeed what genuine love is. A natural love is capable of seeing this as a result of its ability to understand and view matters in the light of heaven. Indeed, it can speak, preach and describe them as moral and at the same time spiritual virtues. However, when the intellect is not in an elevated state, then, if the love is merely natural, it does not see those virtues, but sees, instead of justice, injustice; instead of honesty, deceit and deception; instead of chastity, lasciviousness; and so on. If it then thinks about the matters it spoke of when its intellect was in an elevated state, it may laugh at them and think of them only as means that serve it for captivating minds.
It can be seen from this how the statement is to be interpreted that unless love loves its partner wisdom in the same degree, it draws it back from its elevated state into union with itself. (The fact that love can be elevated if it loves its partner in the same degree may be seen in no. 414 above.)
416. (xv) Otherwise love or the will draws wisdom or the understanding back from its elevation, so that it may act in unison with itself There is natural love and there is spiritual love. A man who is in natural love and at the same time in spiritual love is a rational man; but a man who is in natural love alone is not a rational man, although he can think rationally precisely like a spiritual man; he does certainly raise his understanding to the very light of heaven, thus to wisdom, but yet the treasures of wisdom or of heavenly light do not belong to his love. His love does this, it is true, but from a desire for honour, glory, and gain. Yet when he perceives, as he does when he reflects within himself from his own natural love, that he gains nothing of the kind from that elevation, he does not then love the things of heavenly light or wisdom; consequently he immediately draws back the understanding from its elevation so that it may act as one with himself. For instance: when the understanding by elevation is in wisdom, then love sees the qualities of justice, sincerity, chastity, yea and of genuine love. The faculty of understanding and seeing things in heavenly light enables love to see this, and furthermore, to talk and preach about them and to depict them as moral and also spiritual virtues. When, however, the understanding is not raised, love; if it is merely natural, does not see those virtues, but instead of them, injustice, frauds, lust, and so forth. If it then contemplates what it had said when its understanding was in a state of elevation, it may ridicule them, and think only that they may serve it for captivating men's souls. From these things it can be established how it is to be understood that love, if it loves not its partner, wisdom, in that degree draws it back from its elevation, so that it may act as one with itself. That love can be raised, if it loves wisdom in that degree, may be seen above (414).
416. (15) Otherwise love or the will draws down wisdom, or the understanding, from its elevation, that it may act as one with itself. There is natural love and there is spiritual love. A man who is in natural and in spiritual love both at once, is a rational man; but one who is in natural love alone, although able to think rationally, precisely like a spiritual man, is not a rational man; for although he elevates his understanding even to heavenly light, thus to wisdom, yet the things of wisdom, that is, of heavenly light, do not belong to his love. His love, it is true, effects the elevation, but from desire for honor, glory and gain. But when he perceives that he gains nothing of the kind from that elevation (as is the case when he thinks with himself from his own natural love), then he does not love the things of heavenly light or wisdom; consequently he then draws down the understanding from its height, that it may act as one with himself. For example: when the understanding by its elevation is in wisdom, then the love sees what justice is, what sincerity is, what chastity is, even what genuine love is. This the natural love can see by its capacity to understand and contemplate things in heavenly light; it can even talk and preach about these and explain them as at once moral and spiritual virtues. But when the understanding is not elevated, the love, if it is merely natural, does not see these virtues, but instead of justice it sees injustice, instead of sincerity deceit, instead of chastity lewdness, and so on. If it then thinks of the things it spoke of when its understanding was in elevation, it can laugh at them and speak of them merely as serviceable to it in captivating the souls of men. From all this it can be seen how it is to be understood that love, unless it loves wisdom, its consort, in that degree, draws wisdom down from its elevation, that it may act as one with itself. That love is capable of elevation if it loves wisdom in that degree, can be seen above (n. 414).
416. XV. Quod amor seu voluntas alioquin retrahat sapientiam seu intellectum a sua elevatione, ut secum unum agat. Est amor naturalis et est amor spiritualis; homo qui in amore naturali et simul spirituali est, est homo rationalis; at qui in solo amore naturali est, ille potest rationaliter cogitare prorsus sicut homo spiritualis, sed usque non est homo rationalis; elevat enim suum intellectum usque ad lucem Coeli[,] ita ad sapientiam, sed usque illa quae sapientiae seu lucis coeli sunt, non sunt ejus amoris: ejus amor quidem hoc facit, sed ex affectione honoris, gloriae et lucri; verum cum percipit, quod non aliquid tale ex elevatione illa recipiat, quod fit quando secum ex suo amore naturali cogitat, tunc non amat illa quae lucis coeli seu sapientiae sunt, quare tunc retrahit intellectum a sua altitudine, ut secum unum agat. 1
[2] Ut pro exemplo, cum Intellectus ex elevatione in sapientia est, tunc amor videt quid justitia, quid sinceritas, quid castitas, imo quid genuinus amor[;] hoc potest naturalis amor videre per facultatem suam intelligendi ac intuendi res in luce coeli; imo potest loqui, praedicare et describere illa ut virtutes morales et simul spirituales: at vero cum intellectus non in elevatione est, tunc amor, si mere est naturalis, non videt illas virtutes, sed pro justitia injustitiam, pro sinceritate fraudes, pro castitate lasciviam, et sic porro; si tunc cogitat de illis, de quibus loquutus est cum intellectus ejus fuit in elevatione, potest ridere illa, et cogitare solum, quod illa ei inserviant pro captandis animis. Ex his constare potest, quomodo intelligendum est, quod amor nisi amat conjugem sapientiam in eo gradu, retrahat illam ab elevatione, ut secum unum agat. Quod amor possit elevari, si amat Sapientiam in eo gradu, videatur supra 414.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: agat,