216、⑵永恒事物涉及与天上的爱和智慧有关的属灵荣耀和财富。由于自我之爱的快乐，也就是恶欲的快乐，被属世人或唯物主义者称为良善，并且他确信这一观念，即：它们就是良善，所以他称荣耀和财富为神性赐福。但当这属世人或唯物主义者看到，恶人和善人一样名声显赫、财运亨通，尤其看到善人被人看不起，生活穷困，而恶人却得享荣华富贵时，心里就会想：“为何会这样？这不可能是神的旨意。因为如果神的旨意（译注：即圣治）掌管一切，它会将荣耀和财富堆到善人身上，用穷困和蔑视苦待恶人，这样就会驱使恶人承认神和神的旨意是真实存在的。”
然而，属世人或唯物主义者若不被属灵人光照，也就是说，若同时不是属灵的，就不会明白：荣耀和财富可能是赐福，也可能是诅咒；当为赐福时，它们来自神；当为诅咒时，它们来自魔鬼。此外，众所周知，魔鬼也给予荣耀和财富，因为魔鬼由此被称为世界的王。由于人们不知道荣耀和财富什么情况下是赐福，什么情况下是诅咒，所以我需要按下列顺序进行解释：①荣耀和财富要么是赐福，要么是诅咒。②当荣耀和财富是赐福时，它们是属灵和永恒的；但当它们是诅咒时，就是短暂和转瞬即逝的。③系诅咒的荣耀和财富，之于系赐福的荣耀和财富，如同无有之于万有，或非真实的东西之于真实的东西。
216. (2) Eternal ends have to do with spiritual honors and riches, which are those of love and wisdom, in heaven. Since the natural person calls the delights of a love of self good - even delights which are those of lusts for evil - and is also persuaded that they are good, he therefore calls honors and riches Divine blessings. However, when the same natural person sees that evil people, just as much as good people, are raised to positions of honor and advanced to circumstances of wealth, and even more when he sees good people held in contempt and living in poverty while evil people enjoy acclaim and wealth, he thinks to himself, "What is this? It cannot be the work of Divine providence, for if Divine providence directed everything, it would heap honors and riches on the good and afflict the evil with poverty and contempt, and so force the evil to acknowledge the existence of God and Divine providence."
[2] But unless the natural person is enlightened by his spiritual self, that is, unless he is at the same time spiritual, he does not see that honors and riches may be blessings, and that they may also be curses, and that when they are blessings they are from God, and when they are curses, from the devil. People know that honors and riches may also be from the devil, for it is on that account that he is called the prince of the world.
Now because no one knows in what circumstances honors and riches are blessings, and in what circumstances they are curses, this must be stated, but under the following series of headings:
1. Honors and riches are blessings, and they are curses.
2. When honors and riches are blessings, they are spiritual and eternal, but when they are curses, they are temporary and transient.
3. In comparison to honors and riches that are blessings, honors and riches that are curses are as nothing compared to everything, or as that which in itself has no reality compared to that which in itself is real.
216. 2. Eternal matters involve spiritual rank and money, which have to do with love and wisdom, in heaven. Since materialists call the pleasures of self-love good (these pleasures are also the pleasures of compulsions to evil) and convince themselves that they are good, they call rank and money divine blessings. However, when materialists see that just as many evil as good people are raised to high rank and advanced in wealth, and even more when they see good people living in disgrace and poverty and evil people living in splendor and wealth, they think to themselves, "What is going on here? This cannot be the work of divine providence, because if it were managing everything, it would supply the good with high rank and money and humble the evil with poverty and disgrace. This would make the evil admit that God and divine providence are real."
[2] However, unless materialists are enlightened by their spiritual selves--that is, unless they are spiritual as well as materialistic--they do not see that rank and money may be either blessings or curses and that they are blessings when they come from the Lord and curses when they come from the devil. We know that the devil can give us rank and money because the devil is called "the Prince of This World."
Since people do not know under what circumstances rank and money are blessings and under what circumstances they are curses, I need to explain it, but in the following sequence. (a) Rank and money may be either blessings or curses. (b) When rank and money are blessings, they are spiritual and eternal, but when they are curses, they are temporal and transient. (c) The relationship between the rank and money that are curses and the rank and money that are blessings is like a relationship of nothing to everything, or of something unreal to something real.
216. II. ETERNAL THINGS RELATE TO SPIRITUAL HONOURS AND WEALTH, WHICH PERTAIN TO LOVE AND WISDOM IN HEAVEN. As the delights of self-love, which are also the delights of the lusts of evil, are called goods by the natural man, and as he also confirms himself in the opinion that they are goods, he therefore calls honours and wealth Divine blessings. But when the natural man sees that the wicked as well as the good are raised to honours and advanced to wealth, and still more when he sees the good despised and in poverty and the wicked in glory and opulence, he thinks within himself, "Why is this? It cannot be of the Divine Providence. For if that governed all things it would heap honours and wealth upon the good and afflict the wicked with poverty and contempt, and would thus compel the wicked to acknowledge that there is a God and Divine Providence."
[2] The natural man, however, unless enlightened by the spiritual man, that is, unless he is at the same time spiritual, does not see that honours and wealth may be blessings and may also be curses, and that when they are blessings they are from God, and when they are curses they are from the devil. Moreover, it is well known that honours and wealth are bestowed by the devil, for from this he is called the prince of the world. Since then it is not known when honours and wealth are blessings and when they are curses, it shall be set forth in the following order:
1. Honours and wealth are blessings and they are curses.
2. When honours and wealth are blessings they are spiritual and eternal, but when they are curses they are temporal and fleeting.
3. Honours and wealth that are curses, in comparison with those that are blessings, are as nothing compared with everything, or as that which in itself has no existence compared with that which has existence in itself.
216. (2) Eternal things relate to spiritual honors and possessions which pertain to love and wisdom in heaven. As the delights of the love of self, which are also delights of the lusts of evil, are called good by the natural man, and he confirms himself in the idea that they are good, therefore he calls honor and possessions Divine blessings. But when this natural man sees that the evil as well as the good are exalted to honors and advanced to wealth, and still more when he sees the good despised and in poverty, and the evil in glory and opulence, he thinks to himself, "Why is this? It cannot be of the Divine providence. For if that governed all things it would heap honors and possessions upon the good, and would afflict the evil with poverty and contempt, and thus drive the evil to the acknowledgment that there is a God and a Divine providence."
[2] But the natural man, unless enlightened by the spiritual man, that is, unless he is at the same time spiritual, does not see that honors and possessions may be blessings and also may be curses, and that when they are blessings they are from God, and when they are curses they are from the devil. Also that honors and possessions may be from the devil is confessed, for from this he is called the prince of the world. Since, then, it is not known when honors and possessions are blessings and when they are curses it shall be told, and in the following order: (1) Honors and possessions are blessings and they are curses. (2) When honors and possessions are blessings they are spiritual and eternal, but when they are curses they are temporal and perishable. (3) Honors and possessions that are curses, compared with honors and possessions that are blessings, are as nothing to everything, or as that which in itself is not to that which in itself is.
216. II. Quod Aeterna se referant ad honores et opes spirituales, quae sunt amoris et sapientiae, 1in Coelo. Quoniam naturalis homo jucunda amoris sui, quae etiam sunt jucunda concupiscentiarum mali, vocat bona, et quoque confirmat quod sint bona, ideo honores et opes vocat benedictiones Divinas; at cum naturalis ille homo videt, quod mali aeque ac boni ad honores evehantur et ad opes promoveantur, 2et magis cum videt quod boni in contemtu et in paupertate sint, et mali in gloria et opulentia, secum cogitat, 3quid hoc; non potest esse Divinae Providentiae, nam si illa regeret omnia, accumularet bonos honoribus et opibus, et afflictaret malos paupertate et contemtu, et sic adigeret malos ad agnoscendum, quod Deus et quod Divina Providentia sint.
[2] Sed naturalis homo nisi illustratus a spirituali homine, hoc est, nisi simul spiritualis sit, non videt quod honores et opes possint esse Benedictiones; et quoque quod possint esse Maledictiones, et quod cum benedictiones sunt, a Deo sint, et quod cum maledictiones sunt, a diabolo sint; quod etiam dentur honores et opes a diabolo, notum est, nam ex eo vocatur ille princeps mundi. Nunc quia nescitur ubinam honores et opes sunt benedictiones, ac ubinam sunt maledictiones, dicendum est; sed in hoc Ordine. 1. Quod honores et opes sint benedictiones, et quod sint maledictiones. 2. Quod honores et opes, quando sunt benedictiones, sint spirituales ac aeternae, at quod dum sunt maledictiones, sint temporariae et caducae. 3. Quod honores et opes, quae sunt maledictiones, respective ad honores et opes quae sunt benedictiones, sint sicut non aliquid ad omne, ac sicut quod in se non est, ad id quod in se est.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: sapienriae,
2 Prima editio: promoveantnr,
3 Prima editio: cogitat,