180、⑵人若清楚看见圣治，就会干扰它行进的秩序和进程，败坏并毁掉它。为了使理性人和属世人都能清楚明白这一点，必须按以下顺序举例来说明：
①外在与内在如此紧密相连，以至于它们在它们所行的一切事上都行如一体。
②人仅在一些外在的事上与主合作；他若真的同时在内在的事上也这样，就会败坏并毁掉圣治行进的整个秩序和进程。然而，如前所述，我需要举例说明这一点。
①外在与内在如此紧密相连，以至于它们在它们所行的一切事上都行如一体。在此以人体的某些部位为例来说明这一点。整个人体及其每个部位都有外在和内在；外在被称为皮肤、膜和鞘，而内在是由各种神经纤维和血管交织构成的形式。包围它们的鞘通过它自身的延伸而进入一切内层，甚至进入最内层；因此，外在，也就是鞘，与一切内在，也就是由纤维和血管构成的器官形式结合在一起。由此可推知，外在怎样作用或被作用，内在也怎样作用或被作用；因为它们都不断联结在一起。
以人体普遍的鞘为例，如胸膜，也就是普遍的胸鞘，或心鞘和肺鞘，从解剖学的视角来检查它；或你若没有做过解剖学研究，就请教解剖学专家；你会被告知，这种普遍的鞘通过各种盘绕和它自身的延伸，变得越来越纤细，从而进入肺脏的最内层，甚至进入最小的支气管支，进入作为肺脏起始的小气囊；更不用说它随后通过气管进入朝向舌头的喉了。由此可见，最外层和最内层之间有一个持续的联结；所以最外层怎样作用或被作用，来自最内层的内层就怎样作用或被作用。这就是为何当这最外在的鞘，就是胸膜充血，或发炎或溃烂时，肺就从其最内层衰竭。如果疾病不断恶化，那么肺的一切活动都会停止，这个人就会死亡。
整个人体处处都是这种情况，如腹膜，也就是所有腹部内脏的总鞘；还有包围几个器官的鞘，如胃、肝、胰、脾、肠、肠系膜、肾及两性生殖器官的鞘。任取其中一个腹部内脏，仔细检查它，你就会明白，或求问精通解剖学的人，你就会获知。以肝为例，你会发现这个器官的鞘与腹膜，并通过鞘与它的最外层之间有一个联结；因为来自鞘的持续延伸通过嵌入直达内层，并以这种方式继续直达最内层；所有部分通过这些手段被如此捆绑在一起，以至于当鞘作用或被作用时，整个形式以同样的方式作用或被作用。其它器官也一样，这是因为在每个形式中，总体和细节，或普遍物和具体物都通过奇妙的联结而行如一体。后面（181节）会看到，适用于与动作和行为有关的身体形式及其运作的，也适用于与意愿和理解力的运作有关的属灵形式，适用于它们状态的变化和演变。既然人与主在一些外在的事上合作，并且人不会丧失照理性行动的自由，那么可推知，主只能照着祂与人于外在所做的而于内在进行作用。因此，如果人不避开并远离如罪的邪恶，思维和意愿的外在，连同它们的内在会一起变得败坏并遭到削弱；比较像胸膜受到被称为胸膜炎的疾病攻击，这种病会造成身体死亡。
②人若同时意识到内在过程，就会败坏并毁掉圣治的整个秩序和进程。这一点也可通过人体的例子来说明。人若知道大小脑如何通过神经纤维运作，这些纤维如何影响肌肉，肌肉如何产生动作，并利用这种知识按他控制自己行为的方式控制这些过程，岂不把它们都败坏并毁掉吗？
一个人若知道胃如何消化，周围的器官如何汲取它们所需的份，造血，并把它输送出去，以供应生命的一切运作，像管理外在事务，如吃喝那样管理这些事，岂不把它们都败坏并毁掉吗？他在管理看似单个事物的外在时，都无不以奢侈和放纵来毁掉它，那么若叫他控制无限的内在事务，会发生什么事呢？因此，为防止人的意愿以某种方式进入内在并掌控它们，除了构成覆盖物或包裹它们的肌肉外，内在完全不受他的意志支配；他甚至不知道它们如何运作，只知道它们在运作。
其它器官也一样。如，人若真的控制眼睛的内部运作去看、耳朵的内部运作去听、舌头的内部运作去尝、皮肤的内部运作去感觉、心脏的内部运作去跳动、肺脏的内部运作去呼吸、肠系膜的内部运作去分配乳糜、肾脏的内部运作去分泌、生殖器官的内部运作去繁衍、子宫的内部运作去完善胚胎等等，岂不以无数种方式败坏并毁掉其中圣治行进的秩序吗？众所周知，人会有意识地做外在的事；也就是用眼睛去看，用耳朵去听，用舌头品尝，用皮肤感觉，用肺脏呼吸，使妻子怀孕等等。对他来说，知道这些外在过程，并为了身心健康而管理好它们，难道还不够吗？如果连这一切都做不好，那么他若真的控制内在过程，会出现什么状况呢？由此明显可知，一个人若真的清楚看见圣治，就会干扰它行进的秩序和进程，败坏并毁掉它。
180. (2) If a person were to clearly see Divine providence, he would inject himself into the order and course of its progression, and upset and destroy it. For this to enter clearly into the perception of the rational and at the same time natural person, it must be illustrated by examples, under the following headings:
1. External matters have such a connection with internal ones that in every operation they act in concert.
2. A person is present together with the Lord only in some external matters, and if he were to be present at the same time in internal ones, he would upset and destroy the whole order and course of the progression of Divine providence.
But, as we said, let this be illustrated by examples.
[2] FIRST, that external matters have such a connection with internal ones that in every operation they act in concert: Let the illustration by examples be made here by considering some of the components that exist in the human body.
In the whole and in every part there are external and internal components. The external components there are called skins, membranes, and integuments. The internal ones are forms variously composed and woven of neural fibers and blood vessels. The surrounding integument enters by offshoots from itself into all the interior constituents, even to the inmost. Thus the external component, which is the integument, unites itself with all the internal components, which are the organic forms of fibers and vessels.
From this it follows that as the external component acts or is acted upon, so the internal ones also act or are acted upon. For all are forever bound up together.
[3] Simply take some common integument in the body, as for example the pleura, which is the common integument of the breast or of the heart and lungs, and examine it with an anatomist's eye. Or if this is not one of your pursuits, consult anatomists and you will learn that this common integument, by various wrappings around and then by offshoots from itself, slenderer and slenderer, enters into the inmost constituents of the lungs, even into the smallest bronchial branches, and into the tiny sacs themselves which are the initial origins of the lungs - not to mention its progression afterward through the trachea into the larynx toward the tongue.
From this it is apparent that there is a constant connection of the outmost component with the inmost ones. Consequently as the outmost one acts or is acted upon, so the inner components stemming from the inmost ones also act or are acted upon.
It is because of this that when that outmost integument, namely the pleura, is either congested or inflamed, or filled with ulcers, the lungs labor from their inmost constituents; and if the ailment worsens, all action of the lungs may slacken and the person die.
[4] The case is everywhere else the same throughout the body, as with the peritoneum, the common integument of all the abdominal viscera; and also with the integuments surrounding each one of these, as in the case of the stomach, liver, pancreas, spleen, intestines, mesentery, and kidneys, and with the reproductive organs in both sexes. Take any one of these and examine it yourself and you will see, or else consult experts in that science and you will be told. Take, for instance, the liver, and you will discover that there is a connection of the peritoneum with the integument of that organ, and through the integument with its inmost constituents. For there are constant offshoots extending from the integument that penetrate toward the organ's interior constituents and so continue to the inmost ones, and as a result they are all so bound up together that when the integument acts or is acted upon, the whole structure similarly acts or is acted upon.
It is the same with the rest of the organs. The reason is that in every structure the general and particular components, or the universal and individual ones, by a marvelous conjunction act in concert.
[5] In spiritual forms and in the changes and variations in their states, which relate to operations of the will and intellect, the same kind of thing happens as in the case of natural forms and their operations, which relate to motions and actions, as we will see below.
Now because a person is present together with the Lord in some external operations, and because the freedom to act in accordance with his reason is not taken from anyone, it follows that the Lord can act in a person's internal components no otherwise than as He does in concert with the person in the person's external components. Consequently, that if a person does not refrain from and become averse to evils as sins, the external component of his thought and will would be corrupted and subverted, and at the same time then their internal component, comparatively as the pleura is by its disease called pleurisy, from which the body dies.
[6] SECOND, that if a person were to be present at the same time in internal matters, he would upset and destroy the whole order and course of Divine providence: This, too, we will illustrate by examples taken from the human body.
If a person were to be conscious of all the operations of the cerebrum and cerebellum into fibers, of the fibers into the muscles, and of the muscles into actions, and if in consequence of that consciousness he were to direct them all as he does his actions, would he not upset those operations and destroy them all?
[7] If a person were to know how the stomach digests, how the surrounding viscera each take their portion, process the blood, and distribute it to meet all life's needs, and if he were to be engaged in directing these operations as he is in directing his external activities, such as his eating and drinking, would he not upset and destroy them all? When he cannot direct the external activity, which seems so simple, without destroying it with prodigality and intemperance, what then would be the case if he were also to direct the internal operations, which are beyond number? For that reason, to keep a person from entering into these operations with any volition and subjecting them to his control, they have been totally removed from his will, except for the muscles, which form the covering, and he does not know even how these operate; only that they do.
[8] It is the same with the rest of the organs - as for example, if a person were to direct the inner workings of the eye to see, the inner workings of the ear to hear, the inner workings of the tongue to taste, the inner workings of the skin to feel, the inner workings of the heart to rhythmically beat, the inner workings of the lungs to breathe, the inner workings of the mesentery to distribute the chyle, the inner workings of the kidneys to secrete, the inner workings of the reproductive organs to procreate, the inner workings of the womb to perfect the fetus, and so on - would he not in numberless ways upset and destroy in these the order of Divine providence in its progression?
Everyone knows that a person is occupied with external operations, as in his seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, tasting with the tongue, feeling with the skin, breathing with the lungs, impregnating his wife, and so on. Is it not enough for him to be conscious of these external operations and to direct them for the health of his body and mind? When he cannot do this, what would be the case if he were also to direct internal ones?
It can now be seen from this that if a person were to clearly see Divine providence, he would inject himself into the order and course of its progression, and upset and destroy it.
180. 2. If we saw divine providence clearly, we would interfere with the orderly sequence of its processes and distort and destroy it. If these matters are to get through clearly to rational comprehension and to materialistic people, I need to illustrate them with examples in the following sequence. (a) Outward things are so closely connected to inward things that they act as a single entity in everything they do. (b) We cooperate with the Lord only in some outward matters. If we did so in inner ones at the same time, we would corrupt and destroy the whole orderly sequence of divine providence.
However, as already stated, I need to illustrate this with examples.
[2] (a) Outward things are so closely connected to inward things that they act as a single entity in everything they do. This can be illustrated here by some features of the human body. There are inner and outer components of the whole body and of every part of it. The outer components are called skins and membranes and envelopes, while the inner are the forms that are variously composed and woven of nerve fibers and blood vessels. The envelope that surrounds them penetrates throughout the inner forms to their very center through extensions from itself; so the outer component, which is the envelope, unites itself to everything inside it, which comprises the forms organized from fibers and vessels. It follows from this that as the outer component acts or is acted upon, the inner ones act or are acted upon as well. There is a constant binding together of all the elements.
[3] Take just one of the body's general envelopes as an example, say the pleura, the general envelope of the chest cavity or of the heart and lungs, and look at it with the anatomist's eye--or if that is not your field, check with anatomists, and you will be told that by various circlings and extensions from itself, more and more delicate, this general envelope reaches deep into the lungs, even to the smallest bronchial passages and the tiny sacs that are the beginnings of the lungs, not to mention their further extension into the trachea and the larynx toward the tongue. We can see from this that there is a constant connection between the outermost and the innermost things; so if the outermost things act or are acted upon, the deeper things act or are acted upon from the very center. This is why the lungs labor from their very center when their outermost covering, the pleura, is flooded, inflamed, or afflicted with sores; and if the problems get too serious, all the action of the lungs ceases and the individual dies.
[4] It is much the same everywhere throughout the body, with the peritoneum, for example, the general envelope of all the inner organs of the abdominal cavity, and with the envelopes around each organ--the stomach, liver, pancreas, spleen, intestines, mesentery, kidneys, and reproductive organs of both sexes. Take any one of these and either examine it yourself and you will see this, or check with someone skilled in the field and you will be told this. Take the liver, for example, and you will find that there is a connection of the peritoneum with the envelope of that organ, and a connection through that envelope with its innermost regions. There are actually constant extensions from it that reach inward toward the depths, causing continuations to the very center. This results in everything being bound together in such a way that when the envelope either acts or is acted upon, the whole form either acts or is acted upon in the same way.
It is the same with the other organs. This is because in every form, what is general and what is specific, or what is inclusive and what is individual, act as a single entity by virtue of their wonderful interconnection.
[5] We will see later [181] that what holds true for physical forms and their workings, which have to do with motion and action, holds true also for spiritual forms, and applies to their changes and variations of state, which have to do with the workings of our volition and discernment.
Since we are cooperating with the Lord in certain outward workings, and since we are not deprived of the freedom to act rationally, it follows that the Lord can act within us only in keeping with what we are doing outwardly. So if we do not abstain and turn from evils as sins, the outer component of our thought and volition is corrupted and weakened, together with their inner components, much the way the pleura suffers from the disease called pleuritis, which leads to the death of the body.
[6] (b) If we were conscious of inner processes at the same time, we would corrupt and destroy the whole orderly sequence of divine providence. This too can be illustrated by examples from the human body. If we knew all the ways the two hemispheres of our brains act through our nerve fibers, how these fibers affect our muscles, and how our muscles produce actions, and used this knowledge to control these processes the way we control our actions, would we not corrupt and destroy them all?
[7] If we knew how our stomachs digest, how the organs around it draw out what they need, make up our blood, and send it out for all the tasks of our lives--if we knew all this, and in our management of it behaved the way we do in outward matters like eating and drinking, would we not corrupt and destroy them all? If we cannot manage the outward realm, which seems so simple, without destroying it by our self-indulgence and excess, what would happen if we had control of inner matters, which are infinite? So to prevent us from intruding our will into these inner matters and taking control of them, they are completely exempt from our volition, except for the muscles that enclose them. We do not even know how they work; we know only that they do.
[8] It is the same with other processes. If we controlled the inner workings of our eyes for seeing, the inner workings of our ears for hearing, those of our tongues for tasting, of our skin for feeling, of our hearts for contracting, of our lungs for breathing, of our mesentery for the distribution of chyle, of our kidneys for separating elements, of our reproductive organs for generation, of our wombs for perfecting the embryo, and so on, would we not find countless ways to corrupt and destroy the orderly processes of divine providence in them? We know that we do outward things consciously--we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, taste with our tongues, feel with our skin, breathe with our lungs, impregnate our wives, and so on. It is enough that we are conscious of these external processes and manage them for the health of body and mind. If we cannot do this, what would happen if we had control of the inner processes as well?
This shows that if we saw divine providence clearly, we would interfere with the orderly sequence of its processes and corrupt and destroy it.
180. II. IF A MAN SAW CLEARLY THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE HE WOULD INTERPOSE IN THE ORDER AND TENOR OF ITS COURSE, AND WOULD PERVERT AND DESTROY THAT ORDER. In order that this may come within the clear perception of the rational man and also of the natural man it may be illustrated by examples and in this order:
1. There is such a connection between external and internal things that they make one in every operation.
2. Man is associated with the Lord only in certain externals; and if he were at the same time in internals he would pervert and destroy the whole order and tenor of the course of the Divine Providence;
but as has just been said, it will be illustrated by examples.
[2] First: There is such a connection between external and internal things that they make one in every operation. This will be illustrated here by examples taken from several parts of the human body. In the whole body and in every part there are both externals and internals; its externals are called skins, membranes, and sheaths (or coverings); while the internals are forms variously composed and interwoven of nerve fibres and blood vessels. The surrounding sheath by offshoots from itself enters into all the interiors even to the inmost parts; and thus the external, which is a sheath, unites itself with all the internals, which are organic forms composed from fibres and vessels. From this it follows that as the external acts or is acted upon so the internals act or are acted upon; for there is a continuous binding together of them all.
[3] Take some common sheath in the body, the pleura for example which is the common sheath of the chest, or of the heart and lungs, and examine it with an anatomical eye; or if you have not made a study of anatomy, consult anatomists. You will learn that this common sheath, by various circumvolutions, and then by continuations from itself becoming finer and finer, enters into the innermost parts of the lungs, even into the tiniest bronchial branches and into the very minute sacs which are the beginnings of the lungs; not to mention its subsequent progress through the trachea to the larynx towards the tongue. From these things it is clear that there is a continuous connection between the outer-most things and the inmost. Therefore, just as the outermost acts or is acted upon so also the interiors from the inmost things act or are acted upon. This is the reason that, when this outermost sheath, the pleura, becomes congested or inflamed or ulcerated, the lungs labour from their inmost parts; and if the disease grows worse, all action of the lungs ceases and the man dies.
[4] It is the same everywhere else in the whole body; as with the peritoneum, the common sheath covering all the abdominal viscera, and also with the sheaths surrounding the several organs as the stomach, the liver, the pancreas, the spleen, the intestines, the mesentery, the kidneys, and the organs of generation in both sexes. Take any one of these viscera, and either examine it yourself and you will see, or consult those skilled in this science and you will learn. Take for instance the liver, and you will find that there is a connection between the peritoneum and the sheath of that organ and through the sheath with its inmost parts; for there are continual extensions from the sheath, and insertions towards the interior parts, and in this way continuations to the inmost parts. Hence there is a binding together of the whole so that when the sheath acts or is acted upon the whole form acts or is acted upon in like manner. It is the same with the rest of the organs, because in every form the general and the particular, or the universal and the singular, by wonderful conjunction act as one.
[5] It will be seen below that in spiritual forms and in the changes and variations of their state, which have relation to the operations of the will and the understanding, the same course is followed as in natural forms and in their operations, which have relation to motion and action. Now since man is associated with the Lord in certain external operations, and since no one is deprived of the liberty of acting according to reason, it follows that the Lord can only act in internals as He acts together with man in externals. Therefore, if man does not shun and turn away from evils as sins, the external of his thought and will and at the same time the internal become vitiated and are destroyed, comparatively as the pleura is affected by its disease called pleurisy, which causes the death of the body.
[6] Second: If man were at the same time in internals he would pervert and destroy the whole order and tenor of the Divine Providence. This also may be illustrated by examples from the human body. If man knew all the workings of both brains into the fibres, of the fibres into the muscles, and of the muscles into actions, and from his knowledge of these things were to dispose all things as he disposes his actions, would he not pervert and destroy them all?
[7] If man knew how the stomach digests, how the surrounding viscera absorb their own portion, work upon the blood, and distribute it for all the needs of life, and if he had the disposing of these as he has of external things, such as eating and drinking, would he not pervert and destroy them all? When he is unable to dispose the external, which appears to be a single thing, without destroying it by luxury and intemperance, what would he do if he had the disposition of the internals, which are infinite in number? Therefore man's internals, lest he should enter into them by the exercise of his will and gain control of them, are entirely removed from the scope of the will, with the exception of the muscles which constitute the covering; and, moreover, it is not known how these act; it is only known that they do act.
[8] It is the same with the other organs; as, for example, if man had the disposing of the interiors of the eye for seeing, the interiors of the ear for hearing, the interiors of the tongue for tasting, the interiors of the skin for feeling, the interiors of the heart for systolic action, the interiors of the lungs for breathing, the interiors of the mesentery for distributing the chyle, the interiors of the kidneys for secretion, the interiors of the organs of generation for propagating, the interiors of the womb for perfecting the embryo, and so on, would he not in innumerable ways pervert and destroy in them the order of the course of the Divine Providence? It is known that man is in externals, as, for example, that he sees with the eye, hears with the ear, tastes with the tongue, feels with the skin, breathes with the lungs, contributes to propagation, and so on. Is it not enough for him to know about the externals and to dispose them for the health of body and mind? When he is unable to do this, what would happen if he also had the disposing of the internals? Hence it may now be evident that if man saw clearly the Divine Providence he would interpose in the order and tenor of its course, and pervert and destroy that order.
180. (2) If man clearly saw the Divine providence he would intrude himself into the order and tenor of its course, and would pervert and destroy it. To bring this clearly to the perception of the rational man and of the natural man it must be illustrated by examples in this order: (1) Externals are so connected with internals as to make one in every operation. (2) Only in certain externals is man associated with the Lord; and if he were at the same time in the internals he would pervert and destroy the whole order and tenor of the course of the Divine providence. But, as has been said, this shall be illustrated by examples.
[2] First: Externals are so connected with internals as to make one in every operation. In illustration of this by examples take certain parts of the human body. In the whole body and in every part there are both externals and internals; the externals are called skins, membranes, and sheaths, the internals are forms variously composed and interwoven of nerve fibers and blood vessels. The surrounding sheath, by continuations from itself, enters into all the interiors even to the inmosts; thus the external, which is a sheath, conjoins itself with all the internals, which are the organic forms, made of fibers and vessels. From this it follows that as the external acts or is acted upon so the internal acts or is acted upon; for there is a perpetual bundling together of them all.
[3] Take some general sheath in the body, the pleura, for example, which is the general sheath of the chest, or of the heart and lungs, and examine it with an anatomical eye; or if you have not made anatomy a study, consult anatomists; and you will learn that this general sheath, by various circumvolutions and then by continuations from itself, becoming finer and finer, enters into the inmosts of the lungs, even into the smallest bronchial branches, and into the follicles that are the beginnings of the lungs; not to mention its subsequent progress through the trachea to the larynx towards the tongue. From all this it is evident that there is a constant connection between the outermosts and the inmosts; consequently as the outermost acts or is acted upon so the interiors from the inmosts act or are acted upon. For this reason, when this outermost sheath, the pleura, is congested or inflamed or ulcerated, the lungs labor from their inmosts; and if the disease grows worse all action of the lungs may cease and the man die.
[4] It is the same everywhere else in the whole body; as with the peritoneum, which is the general sheath of all the abdominal viscera; also the sheaths surrounding the several organs, as the stomach, liver, pancreas, spleen, intestines, mesentery, kidneys, and the organs of generation in either sex. Take any one of these abdominal viscera, and either examine it yourself and you will see, or ask those skilled in anatomy and you will learn. Take, for instance, the liver, and you will find that there is a connection between the sheath of that organ and the peritoneum, and through the sheath with its inmosts; for there are perpetual extensions from the sheath, with insertions towards the interior parts, and in this way continuations to the inmosts; and by these means all the parts are so bundled together that when the sheath acts or is acted upon the whole form acts or is acted upon in like manner. It is the same with the other organs; and this is because in every form the general and the particular, or the universal and the special, by wonderful conjunction, act as one.
[5] It will be shown below that in spiritual forms and in the changes and variations of their state, which have relation to the operations of the will and the understanding, the same order prevails as in natural forms and their operations, which have relation to motion and action. Since, then, man is associated with the Lord in certain external operations, and since no one is ever deprived of the liberty of acting in accordance with reason, it follows that the Lord cannot act otherwise in internals than as He acts with man in externals. If man, therefore, does not shun and turn away from evils as sins, not only does the external of the thought and will become vitiated and destroyed, but the internals of them at the same time; comparatively as the pleura is attacked by its disease called pleurisy, which causes the death of the body.
[6] Secondly: If man should be at the same time in the internals he would pervert and destroy the whole order and tenor of the Divine providence. This, too, may be illustrated by examples from the human body. If man knew all the workings of both brains into fibers, of fibers into muscles, and of muscles into actions, and from this knowledge were to direct all things as he does his actions, would he not pervert and destroy them all?
[7] If a man knew how the stomach digests, how the surrounding viscera absorb each its portion, elaborate the blood, and distribute it for every operation of life, and if he had the ordering of these things as he has of external things, such as eating and drinking, would he not pervert and destroy them all? When he is unable to order the external, that appears like a single thing, without destroying it by luxury and intemperance, what would he do if he had also the ordering of the internals, which are infinite? This is why the internals, lest man's will should in some way enter into them and get control of them, are wholly exempt from his volition, except the muscles, which constitute the covering; and he does not know even how these act, he only knows that they act.
[8] It is the same with the other organs; as, for example, if man were to have the ordering of the interiors of the eye for seeing, of the interiors of the ear for hearing, of the interiors of the tongue for tasting, of the interiors of the skin for feeling, of the interiors of the heart in its beating, of the interiors of the lungs in breathing, of the interiors of the mesentery in distributing the chyle, of the interiors of the kidneys in their work of secretion, of the interiors of the organs of generation in propagating, of the interiors of the womb in perfecting the embryo, and so on, would he not in numberless ways pervert and destroy in them the order of the course of the Divine providence? Every one knows that man is in the externals; that is, he sees with the eye, hears with the ear, tastes with the tongue, feels with the skin, breathes with the lungs, contributes to propagation, and so on. Is it not sufficient for him to know about the externals, and to order them for the health of body and mind? If he cannot do this, what would happen if he had also the ordering of the internals? From all this it is evident that if a man clearly saw the Divine providence he would intrude himself into the order and tenor of its course, and would pervert and destroy it.
180. II. Quod si homo manifeste videret Divinam Providentiam, inferret se ordini et tenori progressionis ejus, ac perverteret et destrueret illum: ut haec in perceptionem rationalis et quoque naturalis hominis distincte veniant, illustranda sunt per exempla, in hoc ordine, 1. Quod externa talem nexum cum internis habeant, ut in omni operatione unum faciant. 2. Quod homo sit modo in quibusdam externis cum Domino, et si simul in internis esset, perverteret et destrueret omnem ordinem et tenorem progressionis Divinae Providentiae: sed, ut dictum est, haec per exempla illustrentur.
[2] PRIMUM: Quod externa talem nexum cum internis habeant, ut in omni operatione unum faciant: illustratio per exempla fiat hic per aliqua quae in corpore humano sunt: in toto et in omni parte sunt externa et interna; externa ibi vocantur cutes, membranae, et involucra; interna sunt formae varie compositae et contextae ex fibris nerveis et vasis sanguineis: involucrum quod ambit per exsertiones a se intrat in omnia interiora usque ad intima; ita externum, quod est involucrum, cum omnibus internis, quae sunt formae organicae ex fibris et vasis, se conjungit: ex quo sequitur, quod sicut externum agit seu agitur, etiam interna agant seu agantur, est enim omnium confasciculatio perpetua.
[3] Sume modo in corpore aliquod involucrum commune, ut pro exemplo PLEURAM, 1quae est commune involucrum Pectoris, seu Cordis et Pulmonis, et lustra illam oculo anatomico, et si hoc non tui studii est, consule anatomicos, et audies, quod commune hoc involucrum per varias circumvolutiones et dein per exsertiones a se, tenuiores et tenuiores, intret in intima pulmonum, usque in minimos ramos bronchiales, et in ipsos folliculos, qui sunt pulmonum initia: ut non memorem ejus progressionem postea per tracheam in laryngem versus linguam: ex quibus patet, quod connexio perpetua sit extimi cum intimis, quare sicut extimum agit aut agitur, ita quoque interiora ab intimis agant aut agantur: quae causa est, quod cum extimum illud involucrum, quod est Pleura, 2vel inundatur vel inflammatur, vel ulceribus oppletur, pulmo ab intimis laboret, et si labes ingravescit, remittatur omnis actio pulmonis, et moriatur homo.
[4] Simile est ubivis alibi in toto corpore, ut cum PERITONAEO communi involucro omnium viscerum abdominis; tum etiam cum involucris circum unumquodvis, ut cum Ventriculo, Hepate, Pancreate, Liene, Intestinis, Mesenterio, Renibus, cumque organis generationis in utroque sexu; sume ex his aliquod et lustra vel ipse et videbis, vel consule peritos illius scientiae, et audies; ut sume Hepar, et deprehendes quod connexio Peritonaei sit cum involucro illius visceris, et per involucrum cum intimis ejus, sunt enim perpetuae exsertiones inde et insertiones versus interiora, et sic continuationes ad intima, et inde confasciatio omnium, quae talis est, ut dum involucrum agit vel agitur, tota forma similiter agat vel agatur. Simile est cum reliquis: causa est, quia in omni forma commune et particulare, seu universale et singulare, per mirabilem conjunctionem unum agunt.
[5] Quod similiter in formis spiritualibus ac in illarum status mutationibus et variationibus, quae se ad operationes voluntatis et intellectus referunt, sicut in formis naturalibus et illarum operationibus, quae se ad motus et actiones referunt, fiat, infra videbitur. 3Nunc quia homo in quibusdam externis operationibus una cum Domino est, et non aufertur alicui libertas agendi secundum rationem, sequitur quod Dominus non aliter possit agere in internis, quam sicut una cum homine in externis: quare [quod] si homo non fugit et aversatur mala ut peccata, vitiaretur et labefactaretur externum cogitationis et voluntatis, 4et simul tunc internum earum, comparative sicut Pleura 5a morbo suo qui vocatur Pleuritis, 6ex quo corpus emoritur.
[6] ALTERUM, Quod si homo simul in internis esset, perverteret et destrueret omnem ordinem et tenorem Divinae Providentiae: hoc quoque illustretur per exempla ex humano corpore: si homo sciret omnes operations 7utriusque Cerebri in fibras, fibrarum in musculos, et musculorum in actiones, et ex scientia illorum disponeret omnia sicut disponit actiones, annon perverteret et destrueret omnia.
[7] Si homo sciret quomodo ventriculus digerit, viscera circum circa hauriunt suum pensum, sanguinem elaborant, et illum distribuunt ad omne opus vitae, et in illis disponendis esset 8sicut est in externis, ut quod edat et bibat, annon perverteret 9et destrueret omnia; cum non potest externum, quod sicut unum apparet, disponere, quin luxurie et intemperantia perdat illud, quid tunc si etiam disponeret interna, quae infinita sunt; quare interna, ne homo aliqua voluntate intraret in illa, et sui juris faceret, prorsus a voluntate ejus exemta sunt, praeter musculos, qui faciunt indumentum, et quoque ignoratur quomodo hi agunt, et solum scitur quod agant.
[8] Simile est cum reliquis, ut si homo disponeret interiora oculi ad videndum, interiora auris ad audiendum, interiora linguae ad gustandum, interiora cutis ad sentiendum, interiora cordis ad systolice agendum, interiora pulmonis ad respirandum, interiora mesenterii ad distribuendum chylum, interiora renum ad secernendum, interiora organorum generationis ad prolificandum, interiora uteri ad perficiendum embryonem, et sic porro, annon infinitis modis perverteret et destrueret in his ordinem progressionis Divinae Providentiae; quod homo in externis sit, notum est, ut quod oculo videat, aure audiat, lingua gustet, cute sentiat, pulmone respiret, uxorem impraegnet, et si porro: satisne est, ut sciat externa, et disponat illa ad sanitatem corporis et mentis; cum hoc non potest, quid fieret, si quoque interna disponeret. Ex his nunc constare potest, quod si homo manifeste videret Divinam Providentiam, inferret 10se ordini et tenori progressionis ejus, ac perverteret et destrueret illum.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: PLEVRAM,
2 Prima editio: Plevra,
3 Prima editio: videcitur.
4 Prima editio: voluntatis,
5 Prima editio: Plevra
6 Prima editio: Plevritis,
7 Prima editio: operatioees
8 Prima editio: esser
9 Prima editio: pervertetet
10 Prima editio: inferrer