211、为叫人不致灭亡，圣治如此秘密地作工，以致几乎没有人知道它的存在。因为人的自我，也就是他的意愿，决不与圣治行如一体；人的自我对圣治的敌意是与生俱来的；事实上，人的自我就是迷惑我们始祖的蛇；论到这蛇，经上说：
我要把敌意放在你和女人，你的种和她的种之间，它要踹你的头。（创世记3:15）
“蛇”是指各种邪恶；它的“头”是指自我之爱。“女人的种”是指主，所放的“敌意”就在属于人之自我的爱与主，因而在人自己的谨慎与主的圣治之间。因为人自己的谨慎不断抬起头来，而圣治则不断把它压下去。
人若感觉到这一切，就会被激怒，向神大发雷霆，从而灭亡。但只要感觉不到，他可能会迁怒于人，自己，以及命运，却不致灭亡。这就是为何主通过祂的圣治不断在人的自由中引导他；这自由在人看来，似乎就是他自己的。在自由中引导人对抗他自己，就像用千斤顶从地上举起一个沉重而顽固的重物；由于这千斤顶的力量，这种沉重和顽固便感觉不到了。或它就像一个人被企图杀害他的仇敌包围，当时他却毫无察觉，一个朋友悄悄将他引离，后来才揭露他仇敌的企图。
211. The reason Divine providence acts so secretly that scarcely anyone knows of its existence is to prevent mankind from perishing. For a person's native character, which is his will, never acts in accord with Divine providence. A person's native character harbors an innate hostility to that providence. It is, in fact, that serpent which seduced the first parents, concerning which we are told,
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; and it shall trample your head... . (Genesis 3:15)
The serpent is evil of every kind. Its head is love of self. The woman's seed is the Lord. The enmity put between the two is the enmity between the love in a person's native character and the Lord, thus also between a person's own prudence and the Lord's Divine providence. For a person's own prudence is continually raising its head, and Divine providence is continually pressing it down.
[2] If a person were to be conscious of this, he would be angered and enraged at God and would perish. But as long as he is not conscious of it, he may become angry and enraged at people, or at himself, and at fortune, too, without perishing.
For this reason the Lord by His Divine providence continually leads a person in freedom, and freedom appears to a person no otherwise than as his own.
Moreover, to lead someone opposed to oneself in freedom is like raising a heavy and resistant weight from the ground by jackscrews, whose power causes the heaviness and resistance not to be felt. It is also like someone's being in the hands of an enemy who intends to kill him, of which he is at the time unaware, and having a friend lead him away by secret passages and afterward disclose the enemy's intent.
211. There is a reason why divine providence works so subtly that hardly anyone knows it is there--to keep us from dying. That is, our own self-importance, which is what motivates us, never cooperates with divine providence. Our self-importance has an inborn hatred of divine providence. It is actually the serpent that misled our first parents, the serpent of whom it is said, "I will set enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed, and it will trample your head" (Genesis 3:15). "The serpent" is any kind of evil, and "its head" is love for ourselves. "The woman's seed" is the Lord, and "the enmity that is set" is between our love of self-importance and the Lord, and therefore also between our own prudence and the Lord's divine providence. This is because our prudence is constantly trying to raise its head and divine providence is constantly trying to push it down.
[2] If we sensed this, we would be outraged and enraged against God, and we would die. When we do not sense it, though, we get outraged and enraged against others, against ourselves, and against chance, which is not fatal.
This is why the Lord in his divine providence is constantly leading us in our freedom, and to us it seems as though this freedom were our own. Leading us against ourselves in freedom is like lifting a massive and stubborn weight from the ground with jacks and not being able to feel the weight and the resistance because of their strength. Or it is like people surrounded by enemies intent on murder, unaware that a friend is leading them out by unknown paths and will later disclose the plan of their enemies.
211. The reason why the Divine Providence operates so secretly that scarcely anyone knows of its existence is that man may not perish. For man's proprium, that is his will, in no wise acts as one with the Divine Providence, against which man's proprium has an inborn enmity; for it is the serpent that seduced our first parents of which it is said,
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head. Genesis 3:15.
The serpent is evil of every kind, its head is self-love; the seed of the woman is the Lord; the enmity that is put, is between the love of man's proprium and the Lord, and thus between man's own prudence and the Divine Providence of the Lord. For man's own prudence is continually raising that head, and the Divine Providence is continually putting it down.
[2] If man felt this he would be enraged and exasperated against God, and would perish; but while he does not feel this he may be enraged and exasperated against men, and against himself and also against fortune, without perishing. Hence it is that the Lord by His Divine Providence continually leads man in freedom, and the freedom appears to him to be none other than his own; and to lead man in freedom in opposition to himself is like lifting up a heavy and resisting weight from the ground by means of screws, through the power of which the weight and the resistance are not felt; or it is like what happens to a man in the company of an enemy who intends to kill him, an intention he is not aware of; and a friend leads him away by unknown paths and afterwards discloses to him his enemy's intention.
211. The Divine providence, in order that man may not perish, works so secretly that scarcely any one knows of its existence. For man's own (proprium), which is his will, in no wise acts as one with the Divine providence; man's own has an inborn enmity against it; in fact, man's own is the serpent that seduced the first parents, of which it is said:-
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; and it shall bruise thy head (Genesis 3:15).
"The serpent" is evil of all kinds; its "head" is love of self; "the Seed of the woman" is the Lord; the "enmity," that is put, is between the love belonging to man's own and the Lord, and thus between man's own prudence and the Lord's Divine providence. For man's own prudence is continually raising its head, and the Divine providence is continually putting it down.
[2] If man felt this he would be provoked and enraged against God, and would perish; but as long as he does not feel it he may be provoked and enraged against men and with himself, and also against fortune, but this does not destroy him. In this way the Lord by His Divine providence continually leads man in freedom, and the freedom always appears to man to be that which is his own. And to lead man in freedom in opposition to himself, is like raising a heavy and resisting weight from the earth by means of screws, through the power of which the weight and resistance are not felt; or it is like a man in company with an enemy who intends to kill him, which at the time he does not know, and a friend leads him away by unknown paths, and afterwards discloses his enemy's intention.
211. Quod Divina 1Providentia tam occulte operetur, ut vix aliquis 2sciat quod sit, est ne homo pereat; nam proprium hominis, quod est voluntas ejus, nusquam unum agit cum Divina Providentia; est Proprio hominis inimicitia innata contra illam; est enim illud serpens qui seduxit primos parentes, de quo dicitur, "Inimicitiam 3ponam inter te et inter mulierem, et inter semen tuum et inter semen ejus, et Hoc conculcabit tibi caput," Genesis 3:15; serpens est malum omnis generis, caput ejus est amor sui, semen mulieris est Dominus, inimicitia quae est posita, est inter amorem proprii hominis et inter Dominum, ita quoque inter propriam prudentiam hominis et inter Divinam Providentiam Domini; nam propria prudentia continua est in exaltatione capitis istius, et Divina Providentia est continua in depressione ejus.
[2] Si homo hoc sentiret, irasceretur et exacerbaretur contra Deum, ac periret; at dum non sentit illud, potest irasci et exacerbari contra homines, et contra semet, et quoque contra fortunam, per quae non perit. Inde est, quod Dominus per Divinam suam Providentiam jugiter ducat hominem in libero, ac liberum non aliter apparet homini quam sicut ejus proprium: et ducere oppositum sibi in libero, est sicut pondus grave et renitens subducere e terra per helices, per quarum vires gravitas et renisus non sentitur: et est sicut quis apud hostem est, in cujus animo est illum trucidare, 4quod tunc nescit, et amicus illum per ignotas vias educit, et postea animum hostis detegit.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: Diviua
2 Prima editio: allquis
3 Prima editio: "Inimicitiom
4 Prima editio: trudicare,