424、(19)在理解力里面并被理解力玷污的爱变得属世、感官和肉体化。与属灵之爱分离的属世之爱是属灵之爱的对立面。原因在于，属世之爱就是对自我的爱和对世界的爱，而属灵之爱是对主的爱和对邻舍的爱；对自己和世界的爱向下、向外观看，而对主的爱向上、向内观看。因此，当属世之爱与属灵之爱分离时，它就无法被提升到人的自我之上，仍沉浸在自我之中，并照着它热爱自我的程度而深陷其中。这时，如果理解力上升，并通过天堂之光看见诸如属于智慧的那类事物，这属世之爱就会把智慧拽回来，在它的自我里面与智慧结合，在那里要么弃绝智慧事物，要么歪曲它们，要么把它们放在自己周围，以便为了名声而谈论它们。
属世之爱怎样能通过层级上升，并变得属灵和属天，就怎样能通过层级下降，变得感官和肉体化。它甚至会下降到喜欢统治的地步，但不是出于对功用的爱，只是出于对自己的爱。正是这种爱被称为魔鬼。那些陷入这种爱的人，能像那些处于属灵之爱的人一样说话和行动；但他们如此行要么是出于记忆，要么是出于一种独自被提升到天堂之光的理解力。然而，他们的所言所行，好比表面亮丽，里面却完全腐烂的水果；或好比外壳完好，里面完全被虫蛀空的杏仁。
在灵界，人们将这类言行称为幻想；在那里，被称为塞壬※的淫妇就利用幻想装出美丽的样子，穿上体面的衣服；然而，当这些幻想被驱散时，她们看上去就像幽灵；那些伪装成光明天使的人还像魔鬼。因为当肉体之爱把它的理解力从高处拉回来时，如当人独自一人，照自己的爱思考时的情形，他就会思想反对神，支持自然；反对天堂，支持世界；反对教会的真理和良善，支持地狱的邪恶和虚假；因而反对智慧。
由此可以看出那些被称为肉体人的人是何性质。他们在理解力方面不是属肉体的，但在爱方面是。也就是说，他们当着其他人的面谈论时，在理解力方面不是属肉体的；但他们在灵里自言自语时，却是属肉体的。他们因在灵里具有这种性质，故死后在爱和理解力两方面变成被称为肉体灵的灵人。那些在世上出于对自己的爱而拥有一种极强烈的统治欲，同时在理解力的提升上又超越其他人的人，此时其身体看上去就像埃及木乃伊，其心智则又粗俗又愚蠢。如今在这个世界上，有谁知道这爱本身竟具有如此性质呢？不过，还有一种出于对功用的爱而对统治的爱，但不是出于为了自己而对功用的爱，仅仅是出于为了公共利益而对功用的爱。区分这两种爱是很困难的，然而，它们之间的区别就像天堂与地狱之间的区别一样(对统治的这两种截然不同的爱之间的区别可见于《天堂与地狱》一书，551-565节)。
注：塞壬，古希腊传说中半人半鸟的女海妖，惯以美妙的歌声引诱水手，使他们的船只或触礁或驶入危险水域。
424, 19. Love that has been polluted in and by our discernment becomes limited to nature, our senses, and our bodies. An earthly love separated from spiritual love is opposed to spiritual love. This is because earthly love is love for ourselves and love for the world, and spiritual love is love for the Lord and love for our neighbor. Love for ourselves and for the world looks downward and outward, and love for the Lord looks upward and inward. So when an earthly love is separated from spiritual love, it cannot be raised away from our self-absorption. It remains immersed in it and even mired in it, to the extent that it loves it. If our discernment does rise up and see elements of wisdom in heaven's light, then our love drags it back down and unites it to itself in its self-absorption. There it either discards the elements of wisdom or distorts them or arranges them outside itself so that it can mouth them for the sake of reputation.
Just as an earthly love can rise up by levels and become spiritual and heavenly, it can also go down by levels and become sensory and physical. It goes down to the extent that it loves being in control with no love of service, simply for love of ourselves. This is the love that we call demonic.
People involved in this kind of love can talk and behave like people involved in spiritual love, but at such times they are operating either out of memory or out of a discernment that has lifted itself into heaven's light. The things they say and do, though, are like fruit that looks lovely on the outside but is nothing but rot inside, or like almonds whose shells look intact but which have been completely eaten away by worms inside. In the spiritual world they summon up illusions that enable prostitutes (called "sirens" there) to look beautiful and to dress in attractive clothing. Once the illusions are taken away, though, they look like ghosts. They are like demons, too, who make themselves into angels of light; for when that physical love drags its discernment down from its height (which happens when we are alone) and thinks from its own love, then it thinks against God and for nature, against heaven and for the world, against the true and good values of the church and for the false and evil values of hell. That is, it thinks against wisdom.
This shows what the people we call "physical" are like. They are not physical as far as their discernment is concerned, but they are as far as their love is concerned. That is, they are not mentally physical when they speak in public, but they are when they talk with themselves in spirit. Further, since they are like this in spirit, after death they are like this in both respects, in both love and discernment. They become the spirits called "physical spirits." People who in this world absolutely loved being in control because of their self-absorption and were also intellectually a cut above others look physically like Egyptian mummies, and are crude and foolish mentally. Is there anyone in the world these days who knows that this is what this love is really like?
However, there is a love for being in control because of a love of service--a love of service not for the sake of ourselves but for the common welfare. It is hard, though, to tell this from the other kind, even though the difference between them is like the difference between heaven and hell. On the difference between these two kinds of love for being in control, see Heaven and Hell 531-565 [551-565].
424. (19) Love defiled in and by the intellect becomes natural, sensual and carnal. Natural love separated from spiritual love is opposed to spiritual love. The reason is that natural love is a love of self and love of the world, while spiritual love is a love of the Lord and love of the neighbor; and a love of self and the world looks downward and outward, while a love of the Lord looks upward and inward. Consequently when natural love has been separated from spiritual love, it cannot be elevated from a person's native character, but remains immersed in it, and to the extent that it loves it, mired in it. If the intellect then ascends and sees by the light of heaven such matters as are those of wisdom, the natural love draws it back and unites it with itself in its native character, and there either rejects those matters belonging to wisdom, or falsifies them, or places them round about it in order to give voice to them for the sake of its reputation.
[2] As natural love can by degrees ascend and become spiritual and celestial, so it can also by degrees descend and become sensual and carnal. And it does descend to the extent that it loves dominion, not from any love of useful service, but solely from a love of self. This is the love we call the devil.
People who are caught up in this love can speak and act in the same way as people who are prompted by spiritual love. But they do so then either from memory, or from an intellect elevated by itself into the light of heaven. Still, however, the things they say and do are comparatively like fruits that appear on the surface beautiful, but which inside are completely rotten. Or they are like almonds that appear from their shells to be without blemish, but which inside are completely eaten away by worms.
People in the spiritual world term such words and actions beguilements, which licentious women, called sirens in that world, use to put on the appearance of beauty and to array themselves in seemly garments, but yet who, when the beguilement is dispelled, appear as specters. Such people are also like devils who feign themselves angels of light. For when that carnal love draws its intellect back from its elevated state, which happens when the person is alone, and the person then thinks in accordance with his love, he then thinks in opposition to God on the side of nature, in opposition to heaven on the side of the world, and in opposition to the truths and goods of the church on the side of the falsities and evils of hell - thus in opposition to wisdom.
[3] One can see from this the character of people whom we call carnal. For they are not carnal in respect to their intellect, but are carnal in respect to their love. That is to say, they are not carnal in respect to their intellect when they speak in the company of others, but are when they speak to themselves in the spirit. And because they are of such a character in the spirit, therefore after death they become in respect to both, both their love and their intellect, spirits who are called carnal spirits. Those who possessed in the world a supreme love of ruling from a love of self, and had enjoyed at the same time an elevation of the intellect beyond that of others, then appear in body like Egyptian mummies, and in mind gross and foolish.
Who knows in the world today that this love is, in itself, of such a character?
But still there exists a love of ruling from a love of useful service, not from a love of useful service for the sake of self, but from a love of useful service for the sake of the common good. A person can hardly distinguish the one from the other, yet the difference between them is as that between heaven and hell. (The differences between these two distinct loves of ruling may be seen in the book Heaven and Hell, nos. 551-565.)
424. (xix) Love, defiled in and by the understanding, becomes natural, sensual, and corporeal. Natural love separated from spiritual love is the opposite of spiritual love. The reason is that natural love is the love of self and of the world, and spiritual love is love to the Lord and to the neighbour; and love of self and the world looks downward and outward, and love to the Lord looks upward and inward. Consequently, when natural love is separated from spiritual love, it cannot be elevated from man's proprium, but remains immersed in it, and so far as it loves it, is firmly attached to it. Then if the understanding ascends and sees by the light of heaven such things as are of wisdom, it drags the wisdom down and unites it to itself in its proprium and there either rejects the things of wisdom, or falsifies them, or encircles itself with them to be spoken of for reputation's sake. Just as natural love can ascend by degrees and become spiritual and celestial, so also it can descend by degrees and become sensual and corporeal; and the descent is to the extent that it loves to dominate from no love of use, but solely from the love of self. It is this love which is called the devil. Those who are in this love can speak and act exactly like those who are in spiritual love; but, at the time they do so, it is either from the memory or from the understanding raised by itself into the light of heaven. Nevertheless their speech and actions may be compared to fruit outwardly good but rotten within, or almonds whose shells look sound but are worm-eaten within. In the spiritual world they call these things phantasies, by means of which harlots, who are there called sirens, make themselves look beautiful and adorn themselves with becoming dresses, but when the phantasy is dissipated they look like ghosts, and are like the devils who make themselves angels of light. For when that corporeal love drags its understanding down from its elevation, as it does when alone, and then thinks from its own love, it thinks against God in favour of nature, against heaven in favour of the world, and against the true and good things of the Church in favour of the false and evil things of hell, and thus against wisdom. From these things it can be established what is the character of those called corporeal men, for they are not corporeal in respect of the understanding, but are corporeal in respect of love; that is, they are not corporeal in understanding when speaking in company, but when communing with themselves in spirit; and because they are such in spirit, after death, in respect of both love and understanding, they become what are known as corporeal spirits. Those who in the world had been in the supreme love of ruling from self love, and at the same time had excelled others in elevation of the understanding, then appear in body like Egyptian mummies, and in mind gross and foolish. Who in the world today knows that this love in itself is of such a character? Nevertheless a love of ruling from a love of use is possible, but only from a love of use for the sake of the general good, not for the sake of self. But man can hardly distinguish the one from the other and yet the difference between them is like that between heaven and hell. The difference between these two loves of ruling may be seen in the work on HEAVEN AND HELL (551-565).
424. (19) Love, when defiled in the understanding and by it, becomes natural, sensual, and corporeal. Natural love separated from spiritual love is the opposite of spiritual love; because natural love is love of self and of the world, and spiritual love is love to the Lord and love to the neighbor; and love of self and the world looks downward and outward, and love to the Lord looks upward and inward. Consequently when natural love is separated from spiritual love it cannot be elevated above what is man's own, but remains immersed in it, and so far as it loves it, is glued to it. Then if the understanding ascends, and sees by the light of heaven such things as are of wisdom, this natural love draws down such wisdom, and joins her to itself in what is its own; and there either rejects the things of wisdom or falsifies them or encircles itself with them, that it may talk about them for reputation's sake. As natural love can ascend by degrees and become spiritual and celestial, in the same way it can descend by degrees and become sensual and corporeal, and it does descend so far as it loves dominion from no love of use, but solely from love of self. It is this love which is called the devil. Those who are in this love are able to speak and act in the same manner as those who are in spiritual love; but they do this either from memory or from the understanding elevated by itself into the light of heaven. Nevertheless, what they say and do is comparatively like fruit that appears beautiful on the surface but is wholly rotten within; or like almonds which from the shell appear sound but are wholly worm-eaten within. These things in the spiritual world are called fantasies, and by means of them harlots, there called sirens, make themselves appear handsome, and adorn themselves with beautiful garments; but when the fantasy is dissipated the sirens appear like ghosts, and are like devils who make themselves angels of light. For when that corporeal love draws its understanding down from its elevation, as it does when man is alone and thinks from his own love, then he thinks against God in favor of nature, against heaven in favor of the world, and against the truths and goods of the church in favor of the falsities and evils of hell; thus against wisdom. From this the character of those who are called corporeal men can be seen: for they are not corporeal in understanding, but corporeal in love; that is, they are not corporeal in understanding when they converse in company, but are so when they hold converse with themselves in spirit; and being such in spirit, therefore after death they become, both in love and in understanding, spirits that are called corporeal. Those who in the world had been in a supreme love of ruling from the love of self, and had also surpassed others in elevation of understanding, then appear in body like Egyptian mummies, and in mind gross and silly. Who in the world at the present day is aware that this love in itself is of such a nature? Yet a love of ruling from love of use is possible, but only from love of use for the sake of the common good, not for the sake of self. It is difficult, however, for man to distinguish the one love from the other, although the difference between them is like that between heaven and hell. The differences between these two loves of ruling may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell (n. 551-565).
424. XIX. Quod Amor conspurcatus in Intellectu et ab illo fiat naturalis, sensualis et corporeus. Amor naturalis separatus ab amore spirituali, est oppositus amori spirituali; causa est, quia amor naturalis est amor sui et amor mundi, et amor spiritualis est amor Domini et amor proximi: et amor sui et mundi spectat deorsum et extrorsum, et amor Domini spectat sursum et introrsum; quare quando amor naturalis separatus est ab amore spirituali, non potest elevari a proprio hominis, sed manet ei immersus, et quantum illud amat, ei agglutinatus; et tunc si Intellectus ascendit, et ex luce coeli videt talia quae sapientiae sunt, retrahit illam, et conjungit illam secum in suo proprio, et ibi vel rejicit illa quae sapientiae sunt, vel falsificat illa, vel ponit illa circum se, ut loquatur illa ob famam.
[2] Quemadmodum Amor naturalis potest per gradus ascendere, et fieri spiritualis et coelestis, ita quoque potest per gradus descendere et fieri sensualis et corporeus; et tantum descendit, quantum amat dominium ex nullo amore usus, sed ex solo amore sui; hic amor est, qui vocatur diabolus. Illi qui in eo amore sunt, possunt similiter loqui et agere sicut illi qui in amore spirituali sunt; sed tunc vel ex memoria, vel ex intellectu a se elevato in lucem coeli; sed usque illa quae loquuntur et agunt, sunt comparative sicut fructus superficietenus apparentes pulchri, qui intus plane putres sunt; aut sicut amygdalae crustatenus apparentes integrae, sed intus a vermibus plane corrosae: haec in Mundo spirituali appellant phantasias, per quas scorta, quae ibi vocantur Sirenes, inducunt sibi pulchritudinem, et ornant se vestibus decoris, sed tamen remota phantasia apparent ut spectra; et [hi] sunt sicut diaboli, qui se lucis angelos faciunt; nam cum amor ille corporeus ab elevatione retrahit intellectum suum, quod fit 1 cum solus est, et tunc ex amore suo cogitat, tunc contra Deum pro natura, contra Coelum pro mundo, et contra vera et bona Ecclesiae pro falsis et malis inferni, cogitat, ita contra sapientiam.
[3] Ex his constare potest, quales sunt qui vocantur homines corporei; non enim sunt corporei quoad intellectum, sed sunt corporei quoad amorem, hoc est, non sunt corporei quoad intellectum, dum loquuntur in caetu, sed cum loquuntur secum in spiritu; et quia in 2 spiritu tales sunt, ideo post mortem quoad utrumque, tam amorem quam intellectum, fiunt spiritus qui vocantur spiritus corporei: illi tunc, qui in summo amore dominandi ex amore sui in mundo fuerunt, et simul in intellectus elevatione supra alios, apparent quoad corpus sicut mumia aegyptiaca, et quoad mentem crassi et fatui. Quis hodie in Mundo scit, quod ille amor in se talis sit. Sed usque datur amor dominandi ex amore usus, sed ex amore usus non propter se, sed propter commune bonum: at homo aegre potest distinguere hunc ab illo, sed usque inter illos discrimen est, quale inter coelum et infernum. Discrimina inter binos illos amores dominandi, videantur in Opere DE COELO ET INFERNO 551-565 3 .
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: sit
2. Prima editio: iu
3. Prima editio: 531