215、⑴短暂事物涉及世上的地位和财富，因而涉及荣耀和金钱。短暂事物多种多样，但都可归结为地位和财富。短暂事物是指诸如要么随着时间而消亡，要么随着人在世上生命的结束而终结的那类事物。而永恒事物是指诸如不会随着时间而消亡或停止，因而不会随着世上生命的结束而结束的那类事物。既然一切短暂事物都可归结为地位和财富，如前所述，那么知道下面的事是很重要的：①何为地位和财富，它们来自何处；②为了它们本身而对它们的爱是何性质，为了功用或服务而对它们的爱又是何性质；③这两种爱之间的区别就像天堂与地狱之间的区别；④大多数人很难认识到这两种爱之间的区别。现分别论述这些要点。
①何为地位和财富，它们来自何处。地位和财富的含义历经世代演变，在后世已变得完全不同于上古时代的。在上古时代，地位仅仅涉及父母和子女之间的关系。它们是爱的地位，充满深切的敬意，不是因为子女从父母出生，而是因为他们从父母所获得的教导和智慧；这是第二次的出生，本身是属灵的，因为这是他们灵的出生。在上古时代，地位之义仅在于此；因为那时各部落、宗族和家庭分开居住，不像现在由政府统治。氏族头领是唯一有地位的人。那些时代被古人称为黄金时代。
但那些时代过后，仅仅因为对权力的爱而对掌控的爱逐渐占了上风；与此同时，对那些不愿屈服之人的敌意和仇恨也渗透进来，于是各部落、宗族和家庭就有必要联合起来，组成部落联盟，并指定一个人来管理他们；这个人起初被称为士师或审判官，后来被称为首领或族长，最后被称为国王和皇帝。同时，他们也开始用塔楼、堡垒和城墙来保卫自己。从这些士师或审判官、首领或族长、国王或皇帝，如同从头到身体那样，统治欲或权力欲就像传染病一样蔓延到其他人那里；由此产生了地位尊贵的等级和相应的荣耀崇敬的等级；伴随这一切的，还有对自己的爱和对人自己的谨慎的骄傲。
对财富的爱差不多也是这种情况。在上古时代，当部落和宗族彼此分开居住时，对财富的爱仅限于想要拥有生活必需品，他们从牛羊群，以及给他们提供食物的田地、牧场和园子中获得这些必需品。他们的生活必需品还包括配备各种有用物件的漂亮房子，以及衣服。一个家庭中的父母、子女，男仆和女仆都忙于这些事。
但对掌控的爱进入并破坏了这种社会形态之后，对占有超出其必需品的财富的爱也进来了，并日益膨胀，最终到了渴望占有所有人财富的地步。这两种爱像是有血缘关系，因为想统治一切的人也想占有一切；于是，其他人都成了奴仆，唯独他们是主人。这一点从天主教中那些将自己的统治权甚至提升到天堂，直到主的宝座，并把自己摆在这宝座上的人很清楚地看出来。他们也设法攫取全世界的财富，无止境地扩充他们的宝库。
②为了它们本身而对它们的爱是何性质，为了功用或服务而对它们的爱又是何性质。为了地位和荣耀而对地位和荣耀的爱是自我之爱，严格来说，是出于自我之爱的掌控之爱。为了财富和金钱而对财富和金钱的爱是尘世之爱，严格来说，是对不择手段占有他人财物的爱。但为了功用或服务而对地位和财富的爱是对功用的爱，这爱和对邻之爱是一样的；因为人行动的理由就是他行动的目的，这目的是第一位和首要的，而其它一切则是手段，是次要的。
至于为了地位和荣耀而对地位和荣耀的爱，这爱与自我之爱是一样的，严格来说，与出于自我之爱的掌控之爱是一样的，所以它是对自我重要（self-importance）的爱，而人自己的自我重要感（sense of self-importance）完全是邪恶。这就是为何我们说，人生在一切邪恶之中，他遗传来的东西无非是邪恶。人遗传来的东西就是那包围他，并且他通过自我之爱，尤其通过出于自我之爱的掌控之爱而参与其中的自我感。这是因为陷入这爱的人只关注自己，因而将他的思维和情感沉浸在他自己的自我重要感之中。因此，自我之爱里面有对行恶的爱，因为这个人不爱邻舍，只爱他自己。只爱自己的人会视他人在自己之外，或视之为无足轻重，或无关紧要，与自己相比看不起他们，不拿伤害他们当回事。
这就是为何一个由于自我之爱而具有掌控之爱的人，只想着欺骗邻舍，与其妻通奸，诽谤他，密谋报复、甚至杀害他，向他大发怒气，折磨他等等。人变成这个样子，是因为他与魔鬼结合，被他引领，而魔鬼本身无非是出于自我之爱的掌控之爱。人若被魔鬼，也就是地狱引领，就会被引入这一切邪恶之中，并不断被这些邪恶的快乐牵引。这就是为何凡在地狱里的人都想伤害每个人；而凡在天堂里的人都想帮助每个人。一种中间状态便由这种对立产生，人就处于这种中间状态，并且在其中可以说处于一种平衡；这种平衡能使人要么转向地狱，要么转向天堂。只要赞成自我之爱的邪恶，他就转向地狱；只要把这些邪恶从自己身上逐出，就转向天堂。
我被允许感受出于自我之爱的掌控之爱的快乐是何性质，以及这快乐何等强烈。我被投入其中，以便通过经历了解它。这快乐如此强烈，以至于超过世上的一切快乐。它占据我的整个心智，从核心直到表面；但在我的身体中，我只感到胸部膨胀，有一种令人惬意、愉悦和满足的感觉。我还被允许发觉，一切邪恶的快乐从它涌出，如同水从源泉涌出，如奸淫、报复、欺诈、诽谤，以及总体上行恶的快乐。对不择手段占有他人财物的爱也有一种类似的快乐在里面，这快乐产生各种源于它的欲望。不过，它没有那么强烈，除非它与自我之爱结合。至于不是为了地位和财富，而是为了功用的地位和财富，这不是一种对地位和财富的爱，而是一种对功用的爱，地位和财富作为手段而服务于功用；这是一种天堂之爱，关于这个主题，后面将予以详述。
③这两种爱之间的区别就像天堂与地狱之间的区别。这一点从刚才所述清楚可知；对此，我补充以下内容：在灵里，凡陷入出于自我之爱的掌控之爱的人，无论他们是谁，是大人物还是小人物，都在地狱；凡陷入这爱的人都陷入对各种邪恶的爱；即便没有实际犯下这些邪恶，他们在灵里仍以为它们是可允许的；因此，每当他们自己的地位和尊敬，或对法律的惧怕不再成为障碍，他们就会在身体上犯下它们。此外，出于自我之爱的掌控之爱从至内在隐藏着对神，因而对教会的神性事物，尤其对主的仇恨。即便他们承认神，那也不过是嘴上说说；即便他们承认教会的神性事物，那也只是因为害怕丧失尊敬。这爱之所以把对主的仇恨深深隐藏在它里面，是因为成为神的渴望就在这爱的核心处，因为它只崇拜和尊敬它自己。因此，如果有人崇敬它，以至于说它拥有神性智慧，是世界的神，它就会衷心地爱他。
为了功用而对地位和财富的爱则不然。这是一种天堂之爱，因为它与对邻之爱是一样的，如前所述。功用或服务是指善行，所以发挥功用或履行服务就是行善，发挥功用或履行服务是指帮助并服侍他人。这样做的人虽享有地位和财富，但只把它们视为用来发挥功用或履行服务，因而用来帮助和服侍的一种手段。他们就是主的这些话所指的人：
你们中间谁愿为大，就必作你们的用人；谁愿为首，就必作你们的仆人。（马太福音20:26-27）
他们也是主将天堂的权柄所托付给的人；因为对他们来说，权柄是用来发挥功用或履行服务，或行善的一种手段；当功用或服务，或良善是目的或爱时，它就是主，而不是掌权的他们，因为一切良善皆来自主。
④大多数人很难认识到这两种爱之间的区别。这是因为，那些拥有地位和财富的人也发挥功用或履行服务；但他们不知道他们这样做是为自己还是为功用或服务。这一点尤其难以辨别，因为发挥功用或履行服务的火焰和热情在那些陷入自我之爱和尘世之爱的人里面，比在那些没有陷入自我之爱和尘世之爱的人里面还要多。然而，前者发挥功用或履行服务是为了名或利，因而是为了自己；而那些为了功用而发挥功用，或为了良善而行良善的人，不是凭自己，而是靠着主如此行。
人几乎认识不到两者之间的区别，因为人不知道他是被魔鬼引领，还是被主引领。被魔鬼引领的人发挥功用或履行服务是为了自我和尘世，而被主引领的人发挥功用或履行服务是为了主和天堂。所有避恶如罪的人都是从主发挥功用或履行服务，而所有不避恶如罪的人都是从魔鬼发挥功用或履行服务。因为邪恶就是魔鬼，功用或服务，或良善就是主。这是区分的唯一方法。它们表面看上去很相似，但其内在形式完全不同。一个就像里面含有渣滓的金子，另一个则像里面含有纯金的金子；一个就像人造水果，表面上看似从树上摘下来的水果，其实被涂上了彩蜡，里面却是灰尘或沥青；另一个则像上好的水果，味道鲜美，香气怡人，里面还有种子。
215. (1) Temporal ends have to do with advancements and riches, thus with honors and material gains, in the world. Temporal ends are many, but they all have to do with advancements and riches. By temporal ends we mean either ones that fade in time, or ones that only come to an end with a person's life in the world. By eternal ends, on the other hand, we mean ones which do not fade or come to an end in time, thus not with life in the world.
Since, as we said, all temporal ends have to do with advancements and riches, it is important to know the following, namely, the nature and origin of advancements and riches; the nature of a love of these for their own sake, and the nature of a love of them for the sake of useful ends; the fact that these two loves are as distinct from each other as heaven and hell; and the fact that a person discerns the difference between these loves with difficulty. But regarding these several points individually:
[2] FIRST, the nature and origin of advancements and riches: Advancements and riches in most ancient times were altogether different from what they gradually became thereafter. Advancements in most ancient times were simply the kind that exist between parents and children - advancements of the children that were advancements in love, full of respect and veneration, not because of the children's birth from the parents, but because of the instruction and wisdom gained from them, which was a second birth, in itself spiritual, because it was a birth of their spirit.
This was the only advancement in most ancient times, because tribes, clans and households dwelled separately then, and not under governments as today. It was the head of the family in relation to whom the advancement was made. People of old called those times golden ages.
[3] After those times, however, a love of ruling gradually entered owing simply to the delight of that love. And because there entered at the same time an enmity and hostility toward those who refused to submit, tribes, clans and households out of necessity banded together into confederations, and they set over themselves someone they called at first a judge, then a prince, and finally a king or emperor. And at the same time they also began to fortify themselves with towers, earthworks, and walls.
From the judge, prince, king or emperor - as from the head into the body - a lust to rule spread like a contagion to many others. Degrees of advancement arose as a result, and also honors in accordance with them, and with these a love of self and people's pride in their own prudence.
[4] Something similar happened with a love of riches. In most ancient times, when tribes and clans lived apart from each other, the only love of riches was a desire to possess the necessities of life, which they acquired for themselves by their flocks and herds, and by their farmlands, fields, and gardens, which supplied them with food.
Among their necessities of life were also attractive houses, equipped with implements of every kind, and also garments. Engaged in pursuing and laboring for all these things were parents, children, menservants, and maidservants - those included in the household.
[5] But after a love of ruling entered and destroyed this state of affairs, a love of possessing means beyond the necessities entered also, and it grew to such a height that it wished to possess the means belonging to all others.
These two loves are like blood brothers, as someone who wishes to rule over all things also wishes to possess all things; for thus all others become their servants, and they alone lords.
This is clearly apparent from those in the Roman Catholic world, who have exalted their dominion even into heaven to the Lord's throne, on which they have placed themselves - that they seek out the wealth of the whole world and enlarge their treasuries endlessly.
[6] SECOND, the nature of a love of advancements and riches for their own sake, and the nature of a love of them for the sake of useful ends: A love of advancements and honors for the sake of the advancements and honors is a love of self - properly speaking, a love of ruling from a love of self - and a love of riches and means for the sake of the riches and means is a love of the world - properly speaking, a love of possessing the goods of others by any device.
On the other hand, a love of advancements and riches for the sake of useful ends is a love of useful endeavors, which is the same as love of the neighbor; for the objective for which a person acts is the impelling end, and it is first or primary, while all else are means and are secondary.
[7] As regards a love of advancements and honors for their own sake, which is the same as a love of self - properly speaking, as a love of ruling from a love of self - it is a love of one's native self, and a person's native self is completely evil. That is why we hear it said that a person is born into every evil, and that his heredity is nothing but evil. A person's heredity is his native self, by which he is impelled, and into which he comes by his love of self, and especially by a love of ruling from a love of self. For a person who is impelled by that love regards only himself, and so immerses his thoughts and affections in his native self.
It is owing to this that a love of self has present within it a love of doing evil. That is because the person does not love the neighbor, but himself only. And one who loves himself only views others as apart from him, either as inferior or of no account, regarding them with contempt in comparison with himself, and considering it of no moment to do evil to them.
[8] As a result, one who is impelled by a love of ruling from a love of self thinks nothing of cheating his neighbor, of committing adultery with his wife, of slandering him, of plotting vengeance against him to the point of murder, of behaving savagely to him, and other like things. A person derives this characteristic from the fact that the devil himself is nothing other than a love of ruling from a love of self, with which he is allied and by which he is led. And one who is led by the devil, which is to say, by hell, is led into all those evils; and he is led continually by the delights of those evils.
So it is that people in hell all wish to do evil to all, whereas those in heaven wish to do good to all.
That opposition produces between them an intermediate state, which is the state a person on earth is in, and he is held in it as though in an equilibrium, so that he can turn either in the direction of hell or in the direction of heaven. And to the extent he indulges the evils of his love of self, he turns in the direction of hell, while to the extent he rids himself of them, he turns in the direction of heaven.
[9] I have been given to feel the nature and extent of the delight of a love of ruling from a love of self. I was conveyed into it in order to experience it, and it was such as to exceed all other delights that exist in the world. It was a delight of the whole mind, from its inmost constituents to its outmost ones, while in the body it felt altogether as a pleasure and enjoyment swelling the breast. I was also given to sense as well that from that delight, as though from their fountainhead, gushed the delights of all other evils, such as those of adultery, taking vengeance, cheating, slandering - of doing evil in general.
A similar delight is present, too, in a love of possessing the means of others by any device, and in the lusts springing from it, which are its derivatives. But still, not in the same degree, except as conjoined with a love of self.
As regards advancements and riches not for their own sake, but for the sake of useful ends, this is not a love of advancements and riches but a love of useful endeavors, which advancements and riches serve as means. This love is a heavenly one. But more on this subject in subsequent discussions.
[10] THIRD, that these two loves are as distinct from each other as heaven and hell: This is apparent from what we have just said, to which I will add the following, that people impelled by a love of ruling from a love of self, whoever they may be, whether great or small, are all, in respect to their spirit, in hell; and that all people impelled by that love have a love for all evils. If they do not do them, still in spirit they believe them allowable, and so physically do them whenever their position and honor and fear of the law do not stand in the way.
Furthermore, a love of ruling from a love of self also harbors inmostly within it a hatred toward God, consequently toward the Divine elements connected with the church, and especially toward the Lord. If they acknowledge God, they do so with the lips only, and if they acknowledge the Divine elements of the church, they do it for fear of the loss of honor.
The reason this love inmostly harbors a hatred toward the Lord is that inmostly in the love is the wish to be God, for it worships and adores itself alone. Consequently, if someone honors it to the point of declaring it to possess Divine wisdom or to be the object of the world's veneration, it loves that person from the heart.
[11] The case is different with a love of advancements and riches for the sake of useful ends. This love is a heavenly one, because, as we said, it is the same as love of the neighbor.
By useful ends we mean goods, and so by performing useful services we mean doing good deeds; and by performing useful services or doing good deeds we mean serving others and ministering to them.
Even if they have position and wealth, people who do this still regard their position and wealth only as means to performing useful services, thus to serving and ministering.
They are the people meant by these words of the Lord,
... whoever desires to become great among you must be your attendant. And whoever desires to be first... must be your servant. (Matthew 20:26-27)
They are also the people to whom government in heaven is entrusted by the Lord, for to them government is a means of performing useful services or doing good, thus of serving, and when useful services or good deeds are the ends or loves, then it is not the people who govern but the Lord, for all good is from Him.
[12] FOURTH, that a person discerns the difference between these loves with difficulty: That is because most people who have position and wealth also perform useful services, but do not know whether they perform useful services for the sake of themselves or for the sake of the uses served. And still less do they know this because a love of self and the world has present in it more fire and ardor for performing useful services than people do who are not impelled by a love of self and the world. However, the former perform useful services for reputation or for material gain, thus for the sake of self, while those who perform useful services for the sake of the uses served, or do good deeds for the good deeds' sake, do not do them of themselves but from the Lord.
[13] A person can recognize the difference between the two loves with difficulty because a person does not know whether he is led by the devil or by the Lord. One who is led by the devil performs useful services for the sake of himself and the world, whereas one who is led by the Lord performs useful services for the sake of the Lord and heaven. And all those perform useful services from the Lord who refrain from evils as being sins, whereas all those perform useful services from the devil who do not refrain from evils as sins. For evil is the devil, and useful service or good is the Lord.
By this and nothing else is the difference recognized. In outward form the two appear alike, but in their inward form they are totally unalike. One is like gold containing within it slag, while the other is like gold containing pure gold. Or one is like artificial fruit that looks in outward form like fruit from a tree, when in fact it is colored wax containing within it sawdust or resin, while the other is like superb fruit, pleasing in flavor and fragrance, containing within it seeds.
215. 1. Temporal matters involve eminence and wealth, and therefore rank and money, in this world. There are a great many temporal matters, but they all boil down to eminence and wealth. By "temporal matters" I mean things that either die off in time or simply cease when our life on earth is over. By "eternal matters" I mean things that do not die off and stop either in time or at the end of our life on earth.
Since all these temporal matters boil down to eminence and wealth, as just noted, it is important to know the following things: what eminence and wealth are and where they come from; the nature of a love of them for their own sake and the nature of a love of them for the sake of service; and that the difference between them is like the difference between heaven and hell, a distinction of loves that most people find difficult to recognize. But let me discuss these one at a time.
[2] (a) What eminence and wealth are and where they come from. Eminence and wealth were very different in the earliest times from what they gradually became later. In the earliest times, eminence involved simply the relationships between parents and children. It was an eminence of love, full of profound respect, not for parents as the source of birth but for parents as the source of teaching and wisdom, which constitute a second birth, essentially a spiritual one, because it is a birth of their spirit. This was the only kind of eminence in the earliest times, because people were living separately in tribes, families, and households then and not under governments the way we are today. The head of the clan was the one with the eminence. The ancients called this period the Golden Age.
[3] Later, though, a love of being in power simply for the pleasures of power gradually took over; and since it brought with it belligerence and enmity against anyone who was not willing to submit, people necessarily gathered their tribes, families, and households into alliances and appointed someone who was at first called a judge, then a prince, and eventually a king and an emperor. They also began fortifications--towers, earthworks, and walls. From these judges, princes, kings, and emperors, as from a head into the body, the craving for power spread like a contagious disease to the many. This was the beginning of grades of eminence and of corresponding grades of respect. Love for themselves accompanied all this, and pride in human prudence.
[4] Much the same happened with the love for wealth. In the earliest times, when tribes and families lived separately from each other, a love for wealth meant nothing more than having the necessities of life. People acquired these in the form of flocks and herds and in the form of the fields, pastures, and gardens that provided them with food. Their necessities of life also included attractive homes furnished with all kinds of utensils and clothing. The parents, children, servants, and maids in a home were busily engaged with all this.
[5] After a love for being in power took over and destroyed this commonwealth, though, a love for possessing wealth beyond the limits of need took over, culminating in a desire to possess the wealth of everyone else.
These two loves are close relatives. People who want to control others also want to own everything, because this makes others their servants and makes themselves the sole masters. We can see this clearly in those individuals in Catholicism who have exalted their lordship all the way into heaven, to the very throne of the Lord, and have placed themselves upon it. We can see it also in their acquisition of all the wealth in the world and filling their treasuries without limit.
[6] (b) The nature of a love of eminence and wealth for their own sake and the nature of a love of them for the sake of service. A love of eminence and wealth for their own sake is a love for ourselves--strictly speaking, a love of being in control that arises from self-love; and a love of wealth and money for their own sake is a love for this world--strictly speaking, a love of gaining ownership of what belongs to others by fair means or foul. However, a love of eminence and wealth for the sake of service is a love of service. This is the same as a love for our neighbor, since the purpose of our actions is the goal that prompts them. It is the first and primary element, and everything else is intermediate and secondary.
[7] As for a love of eminence and wealth for their own sake (which is identical to love for ourselves, or strictly speaking, to a love of being in control that arises from self-love), it is a love for our own self-importance, and our sense of self-importance is wholly evil. That is why we say that we are born into utter evil and that what we inherit is nothing but evil. What we inherit is the sense of self that encompasses us and that we participate in by virtue of our self-love--especially by our love of being in control because of our self-love. This is because when we are wrapped up in this love we are totally focused on ourselves and therefore immerse our thoughts and feelings in our own sense of self-importance. As a result, within our self-love there is a love of doing harm because we have no love for our neighbor, only for ourselves. When we love only ourselves, we see others only as outside ourselves, either as completely worthless or as simply nothing. We regard them as inferior to ourselves and think nothing of doing them harm.
[8] This is why people who are possessed by a love of being in control because of their self-love think nothing of cheating their neighbors, committing adultery with their neighbors' spouses, slandering their neighbors, plotting vengeance and even murder, torturing their neighbors, and the like. We get these attitudes from the fact that the devil itself is nothing but a love of being in control because of self-love, and we are united to and being led by the devil. When we are being led by the devil, by hell, that is, we are being led into all these evils. We are constantly being led by the pleasures of these evils, which is why all the people who are in hell want to harm everyone, while the people who are in heaven want to help everyone.
From this opposition there arises an intermediate space where we are. We are in a kind of balance in this space so that we can turn either toward hell or toward heaven. As we approve of the evils of self-love we turn toward hell; as we banish them from ourselves we turn toward heaven.
[9] I have been allowed to feel the nature and strength of the pleasure of a love of being in control because of self-love. I was plunged into it in order to know it from experience, and it was so intense that it transcended all the pleasures in the world. It took over my whole mind from center to surface, while in my body it felt congenial and gratifying, a free expansion of my chest. I was also allowed to feel that the pleasures of all kinds of evil deeds bubbled up from it like water from a spring, pleasures in adultery, vengeance, fraud, and slander--in general, pleasures in doing harm.
There is a similar pleasure in the love of possessing what belongs to others by fair means or foul, and this pleasure gives rise to various compulsions that branch off from it. However, it is not so intense unless it is united to self-love.
As for eminence and wealth not for their own sake but for the sake of service, though, this is not a love of eminence and wealth but a love of service, with the eminence and wealth functioning as means. This is a heavenly love, which will be more fully discussed later [217].
[10] (c) The difference between these two loves is like the difference between heaven and hell. This should be clear from what has already been said, to which I may add the following. In spirit, all the people who are caught up in a love of being in control because of their self-love are in hell. It does not matter who they are, whether they are prominent people or ordinary folk. All the people who are caught up in this love are caught up also in a love for all kinds of evil deeds. If they do not actually commit them, they still believe in their spirits that there is nothing wrong with them and therefore do them physically whenever their own eminence and respect, or a fear of the law, does not get in the way.
Beyond this, though, at the center of a love of being in control because of self-love lies a hidden hatred of God and therefore a hatred of the divine values of the church, especially a hatred of the Lord. If they do acknowledge God, it is nothing but words; and if they acknowledge the divine values of the church, it is simply from a fear of losing respect. The reason this hatred of God lies hidden deeply within is that at the center of this love there is a desire to be God, a worship and reverence of no one but themselves. This is why there is a heartfelt love for anyone who respects them to the point of saying that they have divine wisdom and are worldly demigods.
[11] It is different with a love of eminence and wealth for the sake of service. This is a heavenly love because it is the same as a love for our neighbor, as just noted.
"Service" means good actions, so performing services means doing good things; and performing services or doing good things means helping others and serving them. Even though the people who are doing this are eminent and wealthy, they still do not regard their eminence and wealth as anything but means to being helpful and therefore means to service and ministry. These are the people meant by the Lord's statement, "Whoever of you wants to be great, must be your servant; whoever of you wants to be first must be your slave" (Matthew 20:26-27). These are also the people whom the Lord entrusts with authority in heaven. For them, authority is a means of helping or doing good, that is, of serving; and when services or good actions are the goals or the loves, then it is not they who are in authority but the Lord, because everything good comes from him.
[12] (d) This is a distinction of loves that most people find difficult to recognize. This is because most people of eminence and wealth also do helpful things, but without realizing whether they are doing them for the sake of themselves or for the sake of service. It is particularly hard to tell because there is more fire and passion for service in people who love themselves and the world than there is in people who are not caught up in love for themselves and the world. Yet the first are doing helpful things for the sake of their reputation or for profit and therefore for selfish reasons. In contrast, people who are being of service for the sake of service, or doing good for the sake of the goodness itself, are not acting on their own but from the Lord.
[13] It is hard for us to tell the difference because we do not know whether we are being led by the devil or by the Lord. When we are being led by the devil, we are helpful for the sake of ourselves and the world, but when we are being led by the Lord, we are being helpful for the sake of the Lord and heaven. All the people whose helpfulness comes from the Lord are people who are abstaining from evils as sins, while all the people whose helpfulness comes from the devil are people who are not abstaining from evils as sins. Evil comes from the devil, but service, or doing good, comes from the Lord. This is the only way to tell the difference. They look alike outwardly, but their inward form is completely different. One is like a golden object that has slag inside, while the other is like a golden object that is pure gold all the way through. One is like a piece of artificial fruit that looks outwardly like fruit from a tree but actually is colored wax with powder or tar inside, while the other is like fine fruit, appealingly delicious and fragrant, with its seeds within.
215. I. TEMPORAL THINGS RELATE TO DIGNITIES AND RICHES, THUS TO HONOURS AND GAIN IN THE WORLD. There are many temporal things, yet they all relate to dignities and riches. By temporal things are meant such as either perish with time, or come to an end with man's life in this world only; but by eternal things are meant those which do not perish and come to an end with time, and therefore do not end with life in this world. Since, as has been stated, all temporal things relate to dignities and riches it is important to know the following, namely, what dignities and riches are and whence they are; what is the nature of the love of them for their own sake, and what is the nature of the love of them for the sake of uses; that these two loves are distinct from each other as heaven and hell are; and that man hardly knows the difference between these two loves. But these propositions will be treated separately.
[2] First: What dignities and riches are and whence they are. In the most ancient times dignities and riches were totally different from what they by successive stages have become in later times. In the most ancient times dignities were such as exist in the relationship between parents and children. They were dignities of love, full of respect and veneration, not because children received birth from their parents but because they received instruction and wisdom from them. This is a second birth, in itself spiritual, because it was the birth of their spirit. This was the only dignity in the most ancient times; for then tribes, families and households dwelt separately, and not under governments as at the present day. It was the head of the family in whom this dignity was vested. Those times were called by the men of old the Golden Age.
[3] After those times, however, there gradually crept in the love of ruling from the mere delight of that love; and because there arose at the same time enmity and hostility against those who would not submit to be ruled, tribes, families and households from necessity banded themselves together into communities, and set over themselves one whom they at first called judge, afterwards prince, and finally king and emperor. Then also they began to protect themselves by towers, earthworks and walls. From the judge, prince, king and emperor, as from the head into the body, the lust of dominion spread like a contagion among many. From this arose degrees of dignities, and also honours according to them; and with these the love of self and pride in one's own prudence.
[4] The same thing happened in the case of the love of riches. In the most ancient times when tribes and families had dwelling places apart from one another there was no other love of riches than the desire to possess the necessaries of life, which they procured for themselves by means of their flocks and herds, and their lands, fields and gardens from which they derived their living. Among their necessaries of life were also beautiful houses, furnished with useful articles of every kind, and also clothing. Parents, children, men-servants and maid-servants, who formed the household, were engaged in the care and labour connected with all these things.
[5] After the love of dominion had entered and destroyed this state of society there crept in also the love of possessing wealth beyond their necessities; and it grew to such a pitch that it desired to possess the wealth of all others. These two loves are like blood-relations; for he who wishes to rule over all things wishes also to possess all things; thus all others become servants, and they alone masters. This is clearly evident from those within the papal world who have exalted their dominion even into heaven to the throne of the Lord, upon which they have placed themselves. They also seek to acquire the wealth of the whole earth, and to increase their treasures without end.
[6] Second: What the nature of the love of dignities and riches for their own sake is, and what the love of them for the sake of uses. The love of dignities and honours for their own sake is the love of self and this in its essence is the love of ruling from the love of self; and the love of riches and wealth for their own sake is the love of the world, and this in its essence is the love of possessing the goods of others by any device whatever. But the love of dignities and riches for the sake of uses is the love of uses, which is the same as the love of the neighbour; since that for the sake of which a man acts is the end from which he acts, and ranks as first or primary in importance while all other things are means and are secondary.
[7] Moreover, the love of dignities and honours for their own sake, which is the same as the love of self, and in its essence the same as the love of ruling from the love of self, is the love of the proprium; and man's proprium is altogether evil. Therefore it is said that man is born into all evil, and that what he has by heredity is nothing but evil. What man has by heredity is his proprium in which he is and into which he comes through the love of self, and especially through the love of ruling from the love of self; for the man who is in that love regards himself only, and thus immerses his thoughts and affections in his proprium. Hence it is that in the love of self dwells a love of doing evil. The reason for this is that the man does not love his neighbour but himself only; and he who loves himself only sees others as outside himself or as insignificant or of no account, and he despises them in comparison with himself and thinks nothing of inflicting injury upon them.
[8] It is from this cause that he who is in the love of ruling from the love of self thinks nothing of defrauding his neighbour, committing adultery with his wife, slandering him, breathing revenge against him even to death, treating him cruelly, and similar evil doings. Such a man derives his character from the fact that the devil himself with whom he has become conjoined and by whom he is led, is nothing else than the love of ruling from the love of self; and he who is led by the devil, that is, by hell, is led into all these evils; and he is led continually by the delights of these evils. For this reason all who are in hell have the desire to inflict injury upon all; whereas those who are in heaven have the desire to do good to everyone. In consequence of this opposition there exists that intermediate state in which man is placed; and thus he is, as it were, in equilibrium, so that he can turn either to hell or to heaven; and so far as he favours the evils of self-love he turns towards hell, but so far as he removes these evils from himself he turns towards heaven.
[9] It has been granted me to feel the quality of the delight of ruling from the love of self and also how great it is. I was let into it that I might know this. It was such as to surpass all the delights that are in the world. It was a delight possessing the whole mind from its inmost things to its outermost; but in the body it was felt as something pleasant and agreeable with a feeling of elation in the breast. It was also granted me to perceive that from this delight as from their fountain-head there issued the delights of evils of all kinds, as adultery, revenge, fraud, slander, and evil-doing in general. There is a similar delight also in the love of possessing the wealth of others by any device whatever, and from that love, in the lusts which are derived from it; yet not in the same degree unless that love is joined to the love of self. In the case, however, of dignities and riches that are loved not for their own sake but for the sake of uses, this is not a love of dignities and riches, but a love of uses, to which dignities and riches are subservient as means: this is a heavenly love; but more will be said of this in following numbers.
[10] Third: These two loves are distinct from each other, as heaven and hell are. This is clear from what has just been stated; and to it I will add, that all who are in the love of ruling from a love of self whoever they are, whether great or small, are as to their spirit in hell; and that all who are in that love are in the love of evils of all kinds; and if they do not commit them, still in their spirit they believe them to be allowable, and therefore they commit them in the body when dignity and honour and fear of the law do not stand in the way. Further, the love of ruling from the love of self has deeply lodged within it hatred against God, and consequently against the Divine things that pertain to the Church, and especially against the Lord. If they acknowledge God they do so with the lips only; and if they acknowledge the Divine things that pertain to the Church they do so from a fear of losing honour. This love has deeply lodged within it hatred against the Lord, because lying deep within this love is the desire to be God, for it worships and adores itself alone. Therefore, if anyone honours it so far as to say that it has Divine wisdom and is the ruling deity of the world, it whole-heartedly loves him.
[11] It is otherwise with the love of dignities and riches for the sake of uses; for this is a heavenly love, because, as has been said, it is the same as the love of the neighbour. By uses are meant goods; and therefore by doing uses is meant doing goods, and by doing uses or goods is meant serving others and ministering to them. Although those who do so are in the possession of dignity and wealth, still they regard them only as means for performing uses, thus for serving and ministering. Such are meant by these words of the Lord:
Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief ... let him be your servant. Matthew 20:26-27.
Such also are they to whom dominion in heaven is entrusted by the Lord; for to them dominion is the means for performing uses or goods, thus for serving; and when uses or goods are their ends or loves it is not they who rule but the Lord, for all good is from Him.
[12] Fourth: Man hardy knows the difference between these two loves. This is because the majority of those who possess dignity and wealth also perform uses; but they do not know whether they perform them for the sake of themselves or for the sake of the uses; and they know this the less because the love of self and the world has in it more of the ardent zeal of performing uses than is the case with those who are not in the love of self and the world. The former, however, perform uses for the sake of fame or gain, thus for the sake of themselves; while those who perform uses for the sake of uses, or goods for the sake of goods, do so not from themselves, but from the Lord.
[13] The difference between these loves can hardly be recognised by man, because man does not know whether he is led by the devil or by the Lord. The man who is led by the devil performs uses for the sake of self and the world; but he that is led by the Lord performs uses for the sake of the Lord and heaven. All those who shun evils as sins perform uses from the Lord, while all who do not shun evils as sins perform uses from the devil; for evil is the devil, and use or good is the Lord. In this way and in no other is the difference recognised. In outer form they both appear alike, but in internal form they are totally unlike. One is like gold within which is dross, but the other is like gold with pure gold within. One is like artificial fruit, which in outer form appears like fruit from the tree, although it is only coloured wax while within is dust or pitch; but the other is like excellent fruit, pleasant to the taste and smell, and containing seeds within.
215. (1) Temporal things relate to dignities and riches, thus to honors and acquisitions in the world. Temporal things are manifold, but they all relate to dignities and riches. Temporal things mean such as either perish with time, or are merely terminated with man's life in the world; but eternal things mean such as do not perish or terminate with time, thus not with life in the world. And since, as has been said, all temporal things have relation to dignities and riches it is important to know the following, namely, what dignities and riches are and whence they are; what the love of them for their own sake is, and what the love of them for the sake of uses is; that these two loves are as distinct from each other as heaven and hell are; that the difference between these two loves can scarcely be known by man. But of these separately.
[2] First: What dignities and riches are, and whence they are. Dignities and riches in the most ancient times were wholly different from what they afterwards gradually became. Dignities in the earliest times were such only as were accorded by children to parents; they were dignities of love, full of respect and veneration, not on account of their birth from them but because of the instruction and wisdom received from them, which was a second birth, in itself spiritual, because it was the birth of their spirit. This was the only dignity in the earliest times; for tribes, families, and households then dwelt apart, and not under general governments as at this day. It was the father of the family to whom this dignity was accorded. By the ancients those times were called the golden ages.
[3] But after those times the love of rule from the mere delight of that love gradually came in; and because enmity and hostility against those who were unwilling to submit entered at the same time, tribes, families, and households necessarily gathered themselves together into general communities, and appointed over themselves one whom they at first called judge, and afterwards prince, and finally king and emperor. At the same time they began to protect themselves by towers, earthworks, and walls. From judge, prince, king, or emperor, as from the head into the body, the lust of ruling spread like a contagion to others; and from this arose degrees of dignity, and also honors according to them; and with these the love of self and the pride of one's own prudence.
[4] Then there was a like change in regard to the love of riches. In the earliest times, when tribes and families dwelt apart from one another, there was no other love of riches than a desire to possess the necessaries of life, which they acquired by means of their flocks and herds, and their lands, fields, and gardens, which furnished them with food. Among their necessaries of life were also suitable houses, furnished with useful things of every kind, and also clothing. The parents, children, servants, and maids in a house, were engaged in the care and labor connected with all these things.
[5] But when the love of rule had entered and destroyed this commonwealth, the love of possessing wealth beyond their necessities also entered, and grew to such a height that it desired to possess the wealth of all others. These two loves are like blood-relations; for he that wishes to rule over all things also wishes to possess all things; for thus all others become servants, and they alone lords. This is clearly evident from those within the papal jurisdiction, who have exalted their dominion even into heaven to the throne of the Lord, upon which they have placed themselves; they also seek to grasp the wealth of all the earth, and to enlarge their treasuries without end.
[6] Secondly: What the love of dignities and riches for their own sake is, and what the love of dignities and riches for the sake of uses is. The love of dignities and honors for the sake of dignities and honors is the love of self, strictly, the love of ruling from the love of self; and the love of riches and possessions for the sake of riches and possessions is the love of the world, strictly, the love of possessing the goods of others by any device whatever. But the love of dignities and riches for the sake of uses is the love of uses, which is the same as love of the neighbor; for that for the sake of which man acts is the end from which he acts, and this is first or chief, while all other things are means and are secondary.
[7] As to the love of dignities and honors for their own sake, which is the same as the love of self, or, strictly, the same as the love of rule from the love of self, it is the love of one's own (proprium), and man's own is all evil. For this reason man is said to be born into all evil, and what he has hereditarily is nothing but evil. What man has hereditarily is his own, in which he is and into which he comes through the love of self, and especially through the love of ruling from love of self; for the man who is in that love looks only to himself, and thus immerses his thoughts and affections in what is his own. Consequently there is in the love of self the love of doing evil; and for the reason that the man loves not the neighbor but himself alone; and he who loves himself alone sees others only as apart from himself, or as insignificant or of no account, and he despises them in comparison with himself, accounting it nothing to inflict evil upon them.
[8] And this is why one who is in the love of ruling from the love of self thinks nothing of defrauding the neighbor, committing adultery with his wife, defaming him, breathing revenge against him even to murder, venting his rage against him, and so on. Man becomes such for the reason that the devil himself, with whom he is conjoined and by whom he is led, is nothing else than a love of ruling from the love of self; and he who is led by the devil, that is, by hell, is led into all these evils; and he is led continually by means of the delights of these evils. For this reason all who are in hell wish to do evil to all, while those who are in heaven wish to do good to all. From the opposition between these an intermediate state arises in which man is, and in it he is as it were in equilibrium, which enables him to turn either to hell or to heaven; and so far as he favors the evils of love of self he turns towards hell, but so far as he rejects those evils from himself he turns toward heaven.
[9] What and how great the delight of the love of ruling from the love of self is it has been granted me to feel. I was let into it that I might know what it is. It was such as to surpass all the delights that there are in the world; it was a delight of the whole mind from its inmosts to its outmosts; but it was felt in the body only as an agreeable and pleasurable sensation in the swelling breast. It was also granted me to perceive that from that delight, as from their fountain, gushed forth the delights of all evils, as adultery, revenge, fraud, defamation, and evil doing in general. There is a like delight in the love of possessing the goods of others by whatever device, and from that love in the lusts derived from it; yet not in the same degree unless that love is conjoined with the love of self. But in regard to dignities and riches not for their own sake but for the sake of uses, this is not a love of dignities and riches, but a love of uses, to which dignities and riches are serviceable as means; this is a heavenly love. But more on this subject hereafter.
[10] Thirdly: These two loves are distinct from each other as heaven and hell are. This is clear from what has just been said; to which I will add, that all who are in a love of ruling from a love of self, whoever they are, whether great or small, are in hell as to their spirits; and that all who are in that love are in the love of all evils, and if they do not commit them, in their spirit they believe them to be allowable, and therefore they do them in the body when dignity and honor and fear of the law do not hinder. And what is more, the love of ruling from the love of self inmostly conceals in itself hatred against God, consequently against the Divine things pertaining to the church, and especially against the Lord. If they acknowledge God it is only with the lips; and if they acknowledge the Divine things of the church it is from a fear of the loss of honor. Such a love has inmostly stored up in it hatred against the Lord, for the reason that there is inmostly in it a desire to be God, since it worships and adores itself alone. Therefore if any one honors it so far as to say that it possesses Divine wisdom and is the deity of the world, it heartily loves him.
[11] It is not so with the love of dignities and riches for the sake of uses; this is a heavenly love, being the same, as has been said, as love of the neighbor. By uses goods are meant; and therefore doing uses means doing goods, and doing uses or goods means serving others and ministering to them. Although such enjoy dignity and wealth they regard them only as a means for performing uses, thus for serving and ministering. Such are meant by these words of the Lord:-
Whosoever will become great among you must be your minister; and whosoever will be first must be your servant (Matthew 20:26-27).
To such also dominion in heaven is entrusted by the Lord; because to such, dominion is a means for doing uses or goods, thus for serving; and when uses or goods are the ends or loves it is the Lord and not they that rule, for all good is from the Lord.
[12] Fourthly: The difference between these loves can scarcely be made known to man. For most of those who possess dignity and wealth also perform uses; but they do not know whether they do this for their own sake or for the sake of the uses; and this is still less known because there is more of the fire and ardor of doing uses in love of self and the world than there is in those who are not in the love of self and the world; but the former perform uses for the sake of reputation or gain, thus for the sake of self; while those who perform uses for the sake of uses, or goods for the sake of goods, do this from the Lord, and not from self.
[13] The difference between these can scarcely be recognized by man, because man does not know whether he is led by the devil or by the Lord. He that is led by the devil performs uses for the sake of self and the world; but he that is led by the Lord performs uses for the sake of the Lord and heaven; and all who shun evils as sins perform uses from the Lord, while all who do not shun evils as sins perform uses from the devil; since evil is the devil, and use or good is the Lord. In this and in no other way is the difference recognized. In external form they appear alike, but in internal form they are wholly unlike. One is like gold within which is dross, the other is like gold with pure gold within. One is like artificial fruit, which in external form appears like fruit from a tree, although it is colored wax containing within it dust or bitumen; while the other is like excellent fruit, pleasing in taste and smell, and containing seeds within.
215. I. Quod temporaria se referant ad dignitates et divitias, ita ad honores et lucra, in mundo. Sunt multa temporaria, sed usque omnia se referunt ad dignitates et divitias; per temporaria intelliguntur illa quae vel cum tempore pereunt, 1vel quae cum vita hominis in mundo solum desinunt; per aeterna autem intelliguntur, quae non cum tempore, ita non cum vita in mundo pereunt et desinunt. Quoniam, ut dictum est, omnia temporaria se referunt ad dignitates et divitias, interest scire haec sequentia, nempe, Quid et unde dignitates et divitiae sunt: qualis amor illarum propter illas est, et qualis amor illarum propter usus: quod bini illi amores inter se distincti sint sicut infernum et coelum: quod discrimen illorum amorum aegre ab homine sciatur: sed de singulis his distincte.
[2] PRIMO: Quid et unde dignitates et divitiae; dignitates et divitiae fuerunt prorsus aliae antiquissimis temporibus, quam factae sunt postea successive: 2dignitates antiquissimis temporibus non aliae fuerunt, quam quales sunt inter parentes et liberos, quae dignitates [liberorum] fuerunt dignitates amoris, plenae respectu et veneratione, non propter nativitatem ex illis, sed propter instructionem et sapientiam ex illis, quae erat 3altera nativitas, in se spiritualis, quia erat spiritus illorum: haec sola dignitas fuit antiquissimis temporibus, quia tunc habitarunt gentes, familiae, et domus seorsim, et non sub imperiis sicut hodie: paterfamilias erat, apud quem illa dignitas erat: haec tempora a veteribus dicta fuerunt Saecula aurea.
[3] At post illa tempora successive invasit amor dominandi ex solo jucundo amoris illius; et quia tunc simul invasit inimicitia et hostilitas contra illos, qui non se submittere volebant, ex necessitate congregaverunt se gentes, familiae et domus in Caetus, et sibi praefecerunt, quem principio vocabant judicem, et postea principem, et demum regem et imperatorem: et quoque tunc coeperunt se munire per turres, aggeres, et muros. Ex judice, principe, rege ac imperatore, ut a capite in corpus, invasit sicut contagium libido dominandi in plures; inde gradus dignitatum orti sunt, et quoque honores secundum illas; et cum illis amor sui, et fastus propriae prudentiae.
[4] Simile factum est cum amore divitiarum: antiquissimis temporibus, quando gentes et familiae inter se distincte habitabant, non fuit alius amor divitiarum quam quod possiderent necessaria vitae, quae sibi comparaverunt per greges et armenta, perque agros, campos et hortos, ex quibus illis erat victus: inter necessaria vitae illorum, erant etiam domus decorae, omnis generis utensilibus ornatae, et quoque vestes: in studio et opera omnium illorum, fuerunt parentes, liberi, famuli, ancillae, qui in domo.
[5] At postquam amor dominandi invasit, et hanc Rempublicam destruxit, etiam amor possidendi opes ultra necessitates invasit, et crevit in fastigium, ut possidere omnium aliorum opes vellet. Sunt illi bini amores sicut consanguinei, qui enim vult dominari super omnia, vult etiam possidere omnia, nam sic omnes fiunt servi, et illi soli domini: hoc patet manifeste ex illis in Gente pontificia, qui dominatum suum exaltaverunt usque in coelum ad thronum Domini, super quo se posuerunt, quod etiam conquirant totius terrae opes, ac thesauros amplificent absque fine.
[6] SECUNDO: Qualis amor dignitatum et divitiarum propter illas est: et qualis amor dignitatum et divitiarum propter usus est: amor dignitatum et honorum propter dignitates et honores, est amor sui, proprie amor dominandi ex amore sui, ac amor divitiarum et opum propter divitias et opes, est amor mundi, proprie amor possidendi aliorum bona quacunque arte: amor autem dignitatum et divitiarum propter usus, est amor usuum, qui idem est cum amore proximi, nam id propter quod homo agit, est finis a quo, et est primum seu primarium, et reliqua sunt media et sunt secundaria.
[7] Quod ad amorem dignitatum et honorum propter illas, qui idem est cum amore sui, proprie cum amore dominandi ex amore sui, est amor proprii, et proprium hominis est omne malum; inde est, quod dicatur quod homo nascatur in omne malum, et quod haereditarium ejus non sit nisi quam malum; haereditarium hominis est proprium ejus, in quo est, et in quod venit per amorem sui, et praecipue per amorem dominandi ex amore sui; nam homo, qui in illo amore est, non spectat nisi semet, et sic in proprium suum immergit suas cogitationes et affectiones: inde est, quod amori sui insit amor malefaciendi; causa est, quia non amat proximum, sed se solum; et qui se solum amat, non videt alios quam extra se, vel sicut viles, vel sicut nihili, quos contemnit prae se, quibus inferre malum nihili 4pendit:
[8] ex eo est, quod qui 5in amore dominandi ex amore sui est, nihili pendat proximum 6defraudare, cum ejus uxore adulterari, illum blasphemare, vindictam contra illum usque ad necem spirare, in illum saevire, et similia alia: hoc trahit homo ex eo, quod ipse diabolus non aliud sit, quam amor dominandi ex amore sui, cum quo conjunctus est, et a quo ducitur; et qui ducitur a diabolo, hoc est, inferno, ducitur in omnia illa mala; ac ducitur continue per jucunda istorum malorum: inde est, quod omnes qui in inferno sunt, velint omnibus malefacere, at qui in coelo sunt, velint omnibus benefacere. Ex oppositione illa, existit id quod in medio est, in quo est homo, et est in illo sicut in aequilibrio, ut possit se vel ad infernum vel ad coelum vertere; et quantum favet malis amoris sui, tantum se convertit ad infernum, at quantum removet illa a se, tantum se convertit ad coelum.
[9] Datum est mihi sentire, quale et quantum est jucundum amoris dominandi ex amore sui; missus sum in illum, cognoscendi causa, et fuit tale, ut excederet omnia jucunda quae in mundo sunt; erat jucundum totius mentis ab intimis ad ultima ejus, in corpore autem non aliter sentiebatur quam sicut volupe et lubens intumescente pectore; et quoque datum est sentire, quod ex illo jucundo sicut ex suo fonte scaturirent jucunda omnium malorum, ut adulterandi, vindicandi, defraudandi, blasphemandi, in genere malefaciendi. 7Simile jucundum etiam in est amori possidendi aliorum opes quacunque 8arte, et ex illo concupiscentiis, quae sunt derivationes; sed tamen non in illo gradu, nisi sit conjunctus cum amore sui. Quod autem dignitates et divitias non propter illas, sed propter usus, attinet, non est amor dignitatum et divitiarum, sed amor usuum, cui dignitates et divitiae inserviunt pro mediis; hic amor est coelestis: sed de hoc plura in sequentibus.
[10] TERTIO. Quod bini illi amores inter se distincti sint sicut infernum et coelum, patet a nunc dictis, quibus haec adjiciam, 9quod omnes qui in amore dominandi ex amore sui sunt, quoad spiritum in inferno sint, quicunque sint, sive magni sive parvi; et quod omnes qui in illo amore sunt, in amore omnium malorum sint, quae si non faciunt, usque in spiritu suo licita credunt, et inde corpore faciunt, quando non dignitas et honor, ac timor legis obstant: et quod plus est, amor dominandi ex amore sui intime in se recondit odium contra Deum, consequenter contra Divina quae Ecclesiae sunt, ac imprimis contra Dominum; si agnoscunt Deum, hoc faciunt solum ore, et si Divina Ecclesiae, hoc faciunt ex timore jacturae honoris. Causa, quod ille amor intime recondat 10odium contra Dominum, est quia intime in illo amore est, quod velit esse Deus, se solum enim colit et adorat; inde est, quod si quis illum honorat, usque eo, ut dicat quod ei Divina Sapientia sit, et quod sit Numen orbis, illum corde amet.
[11] Aliter est cum amore dignitatum et divitiarum propter usus; hic amor est coelestis, quia, ut dictum est, est idem cum amore proximi. Per usus intelliguntur bona, et inde per facere usus intelligitur facere bona; et per facere usus seu bona, intelligitur servire aliis ac ministrare illis; hi tametsi in dignitate et in opulentia sunt, usque dignitatem et opulentiam non spectant aliter quam ut media ad faciendum usus, ita ad serviendum et ad ministrandum. Hi sunt qui intelliguntur per haec Domini verba, "Quisquis voluerit inter vos magnus fieri, esse debebit vester minister; et quisquis voluerit esse primus, esse debebit vester servus," Matthaeus 20:26, 1127: hi etiam sunt, quibus dominatio in Coelo a Domino concreditur, est enim illis dominatio medium faciendi usus seu bona, ita serviendi, et cum usus seu bona sunt fines seu amores, tunc non illi dominantur, sed Dominus, nam omne bonum est ab Ipso.
[12] QUARTO. Quod discrimen illorum [amorum] aegre ab homine sciatur, est quia plerique, qui in dignitate et in opulentia sunt, etiam usus faciunt, sed non sciunt num usus faciant propter se aut num propter usus; et eo minus, quia amori sui et mundi inest plus ignis et ardoris faciendi usus, quam illis qui non in amore sui et mundi sunt; sed priores faciunt usus propter famam aut propter lucrum, ita propter se; sed qui faciunt usus propter usus, seu bona propter bona, illi non a se faciunt illa sed a Domino.
[13] Discrimen inter illos aegre ab homine potest cognosci, 12ex causa, quia homo nescit, num ducatur a diabolo, vel num a Domino; ille qui ducitur a diabolo, usus facit propter se et mundum, at qui ducitur a Domino, usus facit propter Dominum et coelum, et omnes illi usus faciunt a Domino, qui fugiunt mala ut peccata, at omnes illi usus faciunt a diabolo, qui non fugiunt mala ut peccata, malum enim est diabolus, ac usus seu bonum est Dominus: inde et non aliunde cognoscitur discrimen: utrumque in externa forma apparet simile, sed in interna forma sunt prorsus dissimilia; unum est sicut aurum, in quo intus est scoria, at alterum sicut aurum in quo intus est purum aurum: et est unum sicut fructus arte factus, qui apparet in externa forma sicut fructus ex arbore, cum tamen est cera colorata, in qua intus est pulvis aut bitumen; at alterum sicut fructus nobilis, sapore et odore amaenus, in quo 13intus sunt semina.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: pereunt;
2. Prima editio: successive:
3. Prima editio: est
4. Prima editio: nihili
5. Prima editio: qni
6. Prima editio: proximum
7. Prima editio: malefaciendi, ut videtur
8. Prima editio: quacunqoe
9. Prima editio: adjiciam;
10. Prima editio: reeondat
11. Prima editio: 26 (absque interpuncto)
12. Prima editio: cognosci;
13. Prima editio: qao