46、由此可见，那些坚持认为自然界凭自己存在之人的想法何等感官化！也就是说，他们在属灵之事上的思考何等依赖于身体感官及其盲目性！他们凭眼睛思考，却不能凭理解力思考。凭眼睛思考关闭理解力，凭理解力思考则打开眼睛。这种人根本不能思想存在与显现本身，不能思想它是永恒的、非受造的和无限的；也不能思想生命，只能将它想像为某种转瞬即逝、化为虚无的东西；同样无法以其它任何方式思想爱与智慧，完全不明白它们是自然界一切事物的起源。爱和智慧是自然万物的起源，这一点是无法看出来的，除非根据在其系列和秩序中的功用，而不是根据它的某些形式，也就是仅仅眼睛看到的物体来看待自然界。因为功用唯独来自生命，其系列和秩序唯独来自爱和智慧；而形式只是服务于这些功用的容器而已。因此，如果只关注形式，就不可能在自然界中看到一丝生命，更看不到爱与智慧的任何事物，因而看不到神的一丝踪影。
46. All this shows how sensually people are thinking when they say that nature exists in its own right, how reliant they are on their physical senses and their darkness in matters of the spirit. They are thinking from the eye and are unable to think from the understanding. Thinking from the eye closes understanding, but thinking from understanding opens the eye. They are unable to entertain any thought about inherent reality and manifestation, any thought that it is eternal, uncreated, and infinite. They can entertain no thought about life except as something volatile that vanishes into thin air, no other thought about love and wisdom, and no thought whatever about the fact that they are the source of everything in nature.
The only way to see that love and wisdom are the source of everything in nature is to look at nature on the basis of its functions in their sequence and pattern rather than on the basis of some of nature's forms, which register only on our eyes. The only source of nature's functions is life, and the only source of their sequence and pattern is love and wisdom. Forms, though, are vessels of functions. This means that if we look only at forms, no trace is visible of the life in nature, let alone of love and wisdom, and therefore of God.
46. It can be seen from this how sensually - that is to say, how much from the bodily senses and their opaqueness in spiritual matters - those people think who maintain that nature exists of itself. They think from the eye, and are unable to do so from the intellect. Thought from the eye closes the intellect, whereas thought from the intellect opens the eye.
People of that sort cannot conceive of being and expression in itself, and of its being eternal, uncreated and infinite. Nor can they conceive of life except as some aerial entity fading away into nothingness. They also cannot think in any other way of love and wisdom, and are utterly incapable of seeing that they are the origin of all things of nature.
That love and wisdom are the origin of all things of nature cannot be seen unless nature is regarded in terms of the uses it serves in their series and succession, and not in terms of some of its forms, which are objects only of the eye. For useful endeavors spring only from life, and their series and succession from wisdom and love, while forms are the vessels serving those uses. Consequently if one regards only the forms, it is impossible to see anything of life in nature, still less anything of love and wisdom, and so neither anything of God.
46. From these considerations it can be established how sensually, that is, how much from the senses of the body and their darkness in spiritual things, those people think who declare that Nature is from herself. They think from the eye and cannot think from the understanding. Thought from the eye closes the understanding, but thought from the understanding opens the eye. Those men cannot think at all concerning Esse and Existere in itself, and that it is Eternal, Uncreate and Infinite. Neither can they think at all concerning life except as a volatile thing going away into nothingness, nor can they think otherwise about Love and Wisdom, and certainly not that from Love and Wisdom are all things of Nature. Neither can it be seen that from these are all things of Nature unless Nature is regarded in its series and order from uses, and not from some of its forms which are objects of the eye alone. For uses are from life alone, and their series and order from wisdom and love, while forms are containants of uses. Consequently, if forms alone are regarded, nothing of life, still less of love and wisdom, and thus nothing of God can be seen in Nature.
46. From all this it can be seen how sensually (that is, how much from the bodily senses and their blindness in spiritual matters) do those think who maintain that nature is from herself. They think from the eye, and are not able to think from the understanding. Thought from the eye closes the understanding, but thought from the understanding opens the eye. Such persons cannot think at all of Esse and Existere in itself, and that it is Eternal, Uncreate, and Infinite; neither can they think at all of life, except as a something fleeting and vanishing into nothingness; nor can they think otherwise of Love and Wisdom, nor at all that from these are all things of nature. Neither can it be seen that from these are all things of nature, unless nature is regarded, not from some of its forms, which are merely objects of sight, but from uses in their succession and order. For uses are from life alone, and their succession and order are from wisdom and love alone; while forms are only containants of uses. Consequently, if forms alone are regarded, nothing of life, still less anything of love and wisdom, thus nothing of God, can be seen in nature.
46. Ex his constare potest, quam sensualiter, hoc est, ex corporis sensibus, et ex eorum tenebris in spiritualibus, cogitant illi, qui dicunt Naturam a se esse; cogitant ex oculo, et non possunt ex intellectu; cogitatio ex oculo occludit intellectum, at cogitatio ex intellectu aperit oculum: illi non aliquid cogitare possunt de Esse et Existere in se, quodque hoc sit Aeternum, Increatum et Infinitum; nec possunt aliquid cogitare de Vita nisi sicut de volatili abeunte in nihilum, nec aliter de Amore et Sapientia, et prorsus non quod ab illis sint omnia naturae. Quod ab illis sint omnia naturae, nec videri potest, nisi natura spectetur ex Usibus in sua serie et in suo ordine, et non si ex aliquibus ejus formis, quae sunt solius oculi objecta; usus enim non sunt nisi quam ex vita, ac eorum series et ordo ex sapientia et amore, at formae sunt usuum continentia; quare si spectantur solum formae, non potest in natura videri aliquid vitae, minus aliquid amoris et sapientiae, ita non aliquid Dei.