147、让我简要提一下主如何逐出自出生以来就占据内在人的恶欲，并且当一个人貌似凭自己移走如罪的邪恶时，祂又如何赐下对良善的情感以取代它们。前面（75，139节）说明，人有一个属世心智，一个属灵心智和一个属天心智；只要一个人完全陷入恶欲及其快乐，他就仅处于属世心智；在此期间，属灵心智是关闭的。然而，一旦一个人在检查之后承认邪恶是反对神的罪，因为它们违反神性律法，因而决心停止邪恶，主就会打开属灵心智，并通过对真理和良善的情感进入属世心智。主也进入理性，并从那里依次排列它下面的属世心智中违反秩序的事物。这就是那使人觉得就像一场争战的东西；对那些沉迷于邪恶快乐的人来说，它看上去就像试探。因为当他的思维模式被翻转过来时，一种心灵的悲伤是实实在在存在的。由于这场争战反对的是实际在人里面的东西，就是他感觉属于他自己的东西，而且人只能从一个内在自我并出于那里的自由与自己争战，所以可推知，在这种时候，内在人与外在人争战，而且是在自由中进行争战的，并强迫外在人服从。因此，这就是自我强迫；显而易见，这并不违背理性和自由，而是与它们一致。
147. We must briefly relate also how the Lord casts out the lusts for evil which occupy the internal self from birth, and in their stead introduces affections for good, when a person as if of himself puts away evils as being sins.
We have previously shown that a person has a natural mind, a spiritual mind, and a celestial mind. We have shown, too, that a person exists in his natural mind alone as long as he is caught up in lusts for evil and their delights, and that meanwhile the spiritual mind is closed. However, as soon as a person after investigation acknowledges evils to be sins against God, because they are contrary to Divine laws, and resolves therefore to desist from them, the Lord then opens his spiritual mind and enters into his natural mind through affections for truth and good. He also enters into the person's rational faculty and from it disposes into order those elements which below it in the natural mind are contrary to order.
This is what appears to a person as combat, and in people who have indulged much in delights of evil, as temptation or trial. For a person experiences grief of heart when the pattern of his thoughts is being turned around.
Now, because the battle is waged against things that are in the person himself and that the person feels as his own, and because no one can do battle against himself unless he does so from an interior self and in a state of freedom there, it follows that it is the internal self that then does battle against the external self, that it does so in a state of freedom, and that it compels the external self to a state of compliance. This, then, is what it is to compel oneself. It is apparent that it is not contrary to freedom and rationality, but in accord with them.
147. Let me briefly mention how the Lord expels the compulsions to evil that besiege our inner self right from our birth, and how he provides desires for what is good in their place when we use our apparent autonomy to put away evils as sins.
I have already explained [75, 139] that we have an earthly mind, a spiritual mind, and a heavenly mind, and that we are wholly locked into our earthly mind as long as we are caught up in our compulsions to evil and their pleasures. During all this our spiritual mind is closed. However, as soon as we look into ourselves and realize that our evils are sins against God because they are against divine laws, and therefore try to refrain from them, the Lord opens our spiritual mind and comes into our earthly mind by way of its desires for what is true and good. He comes also into our rational processes and from there rearranges the things in our lower, earthly mind that have been in disorder. This is what feels to us like a battle, or like a temptation if we have indulged in these evil pleasures a great deal. There is actually a psychological pain when the pattern of our thoughts is being inverted.
This is a battle against things that are actually within us, things that we feel are part of us; and we cannot fight against ourselves except from a deeper self, and only because of a freedom there. It then follows that the inner self is fighting against the outer self at such times, is doing so in freedom, and is forcing the outer self to obey. This is self-compulsion; and we can see that it is not inconsistent with our freedom and rationality, but quite in accord with them.
147. It will also be briefly stated how the Lord casts out lusts of evil, which beset the internal man from birth, and how He bestows in their place affections of good when a man as of himself removes evils as sins. It was shown before that man has a natural mind, a spiritual mind and a celestial mind; and that he is in the natural mind alone, as long as he is in the lusts of evil and their delight; and that during this time the spiritual mind is closed. But as soon as he, after self-examination, acknowledges evils to be sins against God because they are contrary to Divine laws, and therefore desires to desist from them, the Lord opens the spiritual mind, and enters into the natural mind through affections for truth and good; and He also enters into the rational, and from it disposes in order the things that are contrary to order below it in the natural. This appears to man as a combat and, with those who have indulged much in the delights of evil, as temptation; for there arises grief in the mind (animus) when the order of its thoughts is inverted. Now since the combat is against the things that are in the man himself and that he feels as his own, and no one can fight against himself unless from an interior self and from freedom there, it follows that the internal man then fights against the external, and fights from freedom and forces the external to obedience. This, then, is compelling oneself; and it is clear that this is not contrary to liberty and rationality, but is in accordance with them.
147. It shall also be stated briefly how the Lord casts out the lusts of evil which occupy the internal man from birth, and how He imparts in their stead affections for good whenever a man as if from himself puts away evils as sins. It has been shown before that man has a natural mind, a spiritual mind, and a celestial mind; and that so long as a man is in the lusts of evil and in their enjoyments he is in the natural mind alone, and the spiritual mind is closed. But as soon as a man after examination acknowledges evils to be sins against God, because they are contrary to Divine laws, and resolves in consequence to refrain from them, the Lord opens his spiritual mind and enters into his natural mind through affections for truth and good, and He also enters into the rational, and from it arranges in order the things that are contrary to order below it in the natural. This is what appears to man as combat; and in those that have indulged much in the enjoyments of evil it appears as temptation, for there is grief of mind when the order of his thoughts is being reversed. And as there is a combat against the things that are in the man himself and that he feels to be his own, and as one can fight against himself only from an interior self and from freedom there, it follows that the internal man then fights against the external, and fights from freedom, and compels the external to obedience. This, therefore, is compelling one's self; and this, evidently, is not contrary to liberty and rationality, but in accordance with them.
147. Paucis etiam tradetur, quomodo Dominus ejicit concupiscentias mali, quae internum hominem a nativitate obsident, et loco illarum indit affectiones boni, quando homo sicut a se removet mala ut peccata: ostensum prius est, quod homini sit mens naturalis, mens spiritualis, et mens coelestis; et quod homo in sola mente naturali sit, quamdiu in concupiscentiis mali et illarum jucundis est, et quod tamdiu mens spiritualis clausa sit; ut primum vero homo post explorationem agnoscit mala ut peccata contra Deum, quia contra leges Divinas, ac ideo vult desistere ab illis, tunc Dominus aperit spiritualem mentem, ac intrat in naturalem per affectiones veri et boni, ac intrat in rationale, et ex illo disponit in ordinem illa, quae inferius in naturali contra ordinem sunt: hoc est quod apparet homini sicut pugna, et apud illos qui multum indulserunt jucundis mali, ut tentatio; fit enim dolor animo, cum invertitur ordo cogitationum 1ejus. Nunc quia est pugna contra illa quae in ipso homine sunt, et quae homo sentit sicut sua, et nemo potest contra se pugnare nisi ex interiori se, et nisi ex libero ibi, sequitur quod internus homo tunc pugnet contra externum, et quod ex libero, et quod cogat externum ad obedientiam; hoc itaque est cogere seipsum: quod hoc non sit contra libertatem et rationalitatem, sed secundum illas, patet.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: cogitationum