233、为了揭开圣治的这个奥秘，好叫理性人能在自己的光中看见它，必须逐一解释这几点。
①良善和邪恶无法共存于人的内层，故邪恶之虚假和良善之真理也是如此。人的内层是指他思维的内在或内在思维，他对这内在思维一无所知，直到他进入灵界及其光，死后他就会进入。在自然界，人只有通过外在思维中的爱之快乐和自我检查时所认识到的邪恶本身才能知道这内在思维。因为如前所示，人的内在思维和外在思维联结得如此紧密，以至于它们无法分离。对此，前面可能还有大量说明。之所以采用良善及其真理，邪恶及其虚假这样的术语，是因为良善离了它的真理是无法存在的，邪恶离了它的虚假也是无法存在的。它们是伴侣或配偶，因为良善的生命来自它的真理，真理的生命来自它的良善。邪恶及其虚假也一样。
无需解释，理性人就能明白，邪恶及其虚假和良善及其真理无法共存于人的内层。因为邪恶是良善的对立面，良善是邪恶的对立面，两个对立面无法共存。此外，一切邪恶对良善都有一种与生俱来的憎恨，一切良善都有对保护自己免受邪恶伤害，并与之分离的一种与生俱来的爱。由此可推知，这一个不可能与那一个共存。如果它们真的共存，那么首先会产生冲突和争战，然后导致毁灭。主也以这些话教导了这一点：
凡一国自相分争，就成为荒场；一城一家自相分争，必站立不住。不与我相合的，就是敌我的；不同我收聚的，就是分散的。（马太福音12:25，30）
又：
一个人不能事奉两个主；不是恶这个爱那个，就是依附这个轻视那个。（马太福音6:24）
两个对立面无法共存于一个物质或形式里面，否则这个物质或形式就会被撕碎、摧毁。如果一个推进并接近另一个，那么它们必像两支敌对力量那样不惜一切代价地分离，一个退守在他的营地或堡垒里面，另一个则退守在外面。一个假冒为善者里面的邪恶与良善就是这种情况；他处于这两者，但邪恶在里面，良善在外面，因而两者是分离的，没有混在一起。由此清楚可知，邪恶及其虚假和良善及其真理无法共存。
②主将良善和真理引入人的内层，只能到那里的邪恶及其虚假被移走的程度。这是上述内容的一个必然结果，因为如果邪恶和良善无法共存，那么在邪恶被移走之前，良善是无法被引进来的。“人的内层”这个词是指思维的内在，或内在思维，也就是现在论述的对象。要么主，要么魔鬼必在这些内层里面。改造之后，主在那里；但改造之前，魔鬼在那里。因此，只要一个人让自己被改造，魔鬼就会被逐出；只要他不让自己被改造，魔鬼就会常驻。谁不明白，只要魔鬼在那里，主就不会进来？只要人紧闭人与主一起所在的那扇门，魔鬼就在那里。主在启示录教导，当人以自己的努力打开这扇门时，祂就会进入：
我站在门外叩门，若有听见我嗓音就开门的，我要进到他那里去，我与他，他与我一同坐席。（启示录3:20）
当人通过避开并远离如地狱和恶魔般的邪恶而移走它时，这扇门就打开了；事实上，无论你说邪恶，还是说魔鬼，都是一回事；另一方面，无论你说良善，还是说主，也是一回事；因为主在一切良善里面，而魔鬼在一切邪恶里面。这一切清楚说明了这个问题的真相。
③如果良善及其真理在邪恶及其虚假被移走之前被引入，或被引入的程度超过邪恶及其虚假被移走的程度，那么人就会从良善倒退，回到他的邪恶。这是因为邪恶是更强大的，更强大者会得胜，即便当时不得胜，以后也会得胜。只要邪恶是更强大的，良善就无法被引入内室，只能被引到门厅，因为邪恶与良善无法共存，如前所述。仅在门厅的东西会被它那在内室的仇敌逐出，这意味着离开良善并回到邪恶的情形会出现，这是最糟糕的一种亵渎。
此外，人生命的基本快乐就是爱自己爱世界胜过一切。这种快乐不能立刻，只能逐渐被移走；这种快乐在人里面存留到何等程度，邪恶在他里面就强大到何等程度。这种邪恶决无法被移走，除非自我之爱变成对功用或服务的一种爱，或对权力的爱以功用或服务，而不是以自我为目的；因为那时，功用或服务构成头，自我之爱或对权力的爱首先构成头下面的身体，然后构成行走的双脚。谁看不出，良善必须构成头，并且当它构成头时，主就在那里？良善与功用或服务为一。谁看不出，如果邪恶构成头，魔鬼就在那里？由于人必须接受某种文明道德的良善，甚至接受属灵良善的某种外在形式，所以谁看不出，这些构成脚和脚底，并被踩在下面？
人的生命状态必须翻转过来，在上的应在下，这种翻转不可能立刻实现，因为来自自我之爱和随之对掌权之爱的生命最大快乐，只能逐渐被削弱，并转化为对功用或服务的一种爱。因此，主不能在这邪恶被移走之前引入良善，或引入的程度不能超过它被移走的程度；否则，人就会从良善倒退，回到他的邪恶。
④当人专注于邪恶时，许多真理能被引入他的理解力，并存在他的记忆里，但不会遭到亵渎。这是因为理解力不流入意愿，而是意愿流入理解力；由于理解力不流入意愿，所以许多真理能被理解力接受，并存在记忆里，不会与意愿的邪恶混合，因此圣物不会遭到亵渎。此外，从圣言或讲道学习真理，把它们存在记忆里，并思想它们，是每个人义不容辞的责任。理解力必须利用存于记忆并从记忆进入思维的真理，教导意愿，也就是说，教导人当做什么。因此，这是改造的主要手段。当真理只在理解力中，并由此而在记忆里时，它们不在这个人里面，而是在他外面。
人的记忆好比某些动物的反刍胃，动物首先把食物吞到这胃里；只要食物还在那里，它就不在体内，而在体外。但当动物把食物从胃里提取出来，进行消化吸收时，食物就变成了它们生命的一部分，并滋养身体。不过，人的记忆包含的不是物质食物，而是属灵食物，也就是真理，这些真理本身是知识。只要一个人通过思考，可以说通过反刍或倒嚼把它们从记忆中提取出来，他的属灵心智就会得到滋养。正是人的意愿之爱想要这样做，可以说以自己的方式渴望并促使他把真理提取出来，以提供营养。这爱若是邪恶，就会对不洁之物有一种渴望和饥饿感；但若是良善，就会对洁净之物有一种渴望和饥饿感；它会以各种方式把不适合的东西分离、摒弃并逐出。
⑤然而，主以其圣治最为小心谨慎的是，在一个人貌似凭自己移走他外在人中的邪恶之前，意愿不会从理解力中接受任何东西，或说接受的程度不会超过邪恶被移走的程度。因为凡被意愿接受的东西都会进入这个人，被归给他，以至于成为他生命的一部分。邪恶和良善无法共存于人从意愿所获得的生命本身里面，否则他就会灭亡。另一方面，这两者能共存于理解力中，在那里它们被称为邪恶之虚假和良善之真理，然而，它们不会在一起；否则，人就不能从良善看见邪恶，或从邪恶认识良善。相反，两者在那里就像房子的内外结构那样被区分和分离。当恶人思想并谈论善事时，他是从外在进行思考和谈论；但当他思想并谈论恶事时，却是从内在进行思考和谈论。因此，当他说善事时，他的言语可以说来自房屋的外墙。它好比表面完好，内里却虫蛀腐烂的水果，或好比龙蛋的外壳。
⑥如果过早或过多地接受，那么通过把它们与邪恶和虚假混在一起，意愿就会玷污良善，理解力则会歪曲真理。当意愿专注于邪恶时，它会玷污理解力中的良善；理解力中被玷污的良善就是意愿中的邪恶，因为它会证明，邪恶就是良善，良善就是邪恶；邪恶会向反对它的一切良善如此行。邪恶也会歪曲真理，因为良善之真理反对邪恶之虚假；这一切是由意愿在理解力中行出的，而不是理解力凭自己行出的。在圣言中，对良善的玷污被描述为奸淫，对真理的歪曲被描述为淫乱。这些玷污和歪曲是通过来自沉迷于邪恶的属世人的推理，以及取自圣言字义的表象的确认或支持实现的。
自我之爱是众恶之首，就其玷污良善、歪曲真理的能力而言，它超过其它一切爱。它是通过滥用每个人，无论善人恶人，从主所获得的理性做到这一点的。它甚至能通过证明使邪恶完全看似良善，虚假完全看似真理。当它能利用上千个论据来证明，自然界创造了它自己，然后创造了人类和各种动植物，并且自然通过来自它的内在自我的流注而使人活着、理性思考并智慧地理解时，还有什么是它不能证明的呢？自我之爱之所以如此善于随心所欲地证明一切，是因为它赋予它的外表一种五光十色的灿烂光芒。这种光芒就是属于这爱的变得智慧的荣耀，以及显赫和掌权的荣耀，或说是爱在智慧，因而在地位和权力中的陶醉。
然而，一旦这爱证实这些原则，它就会变得如此盲目，以致它只看到，人是动物，并像动物那样思考；它甚至相信，动物要是能说话，就是另一种形式的人。这爱若出于某种次要原因被引导相信，死后，人的某种东西仍旧活着，就会盲目到相信这也适用于动物；并且死后活着的这某种东西无非是生命的一种微弱呼吸，就像最终回到尸体的烟雾一样；要么，它就是没有视觉、听觉或言语的某种活物，因而又盲又聋又哑，只是四处飞舞并思考。此外还有其它许多疯狂的观点，自然界自身本质上是死的，它利用这些观点激起幻觉。这就是自我之爱所做的事，这爱本身是对人自己的东西的爱，或说对自我重要感的爱；就其都是属世的情感而言，人的自我或自我重要感就像动物的生命；而就其感知而言，由于这些感知来自这些情感，所以它就像一只夜鸟或猫头鹰。因此，凡不断将自己的思维沉浸于自我重要感，或自己的东西之人，都无法从属世之光被提升到属灵之光，并看见关于神，天堂和永生的任何东西。这爱因具有这种性质，然而又如此善于随心所欲地证明一切，故也善于玷污圣言的良善，歪曲圣言的真理，即便出于某种必要性，它不得不承认。
⑦因此，主允许人从内在进入智慧之真理和爱之良善，只要他能保持在其中，直到生命结束。主这样做是为了防止人陷入本章所论述的对圣物的最严重亵渎之中。正是由于这种危险性，主也允许生活上的邪恶和敬拜上的许多异端。关于对这些事的许可，可参看接下来的章节。
233. To disclose, therefore, this secret of Divine providence even so that a rational person may see it in its own light, we must explain one by one the points we have just listed.
FIRST, that the interior constituents in a person cannot contain evil and good at the same time, and thus neither the falsity of evil and the truth of good at the same time: By a person's interior constituents we mean the inner core of his thought, of which a person knows nothing before he comes into the spiritual world and its light, which he does after death. In the natural world it can be discerned only from the delight of his love in the outer realm of his thought, and from the underlying evils when he examines these in himself. For, as we have shown above, the internal level of thought in a person goes hand in hand with the external level of thought, in such a connection that the two cannot be separated. But more on this subject above.
We speak of good and the truth of good, and of evil and the falsity of evil, since good cannot exist without its truth, nor evil without its falsity. For they are bedfellows or married partners, inasmuch as good has life from its truth, and truth has life from its good. It is the same with evil and its falsity.
[2] A rational person can see without explanation that evil with its falsity cannot exist in a person's interior constituents at the same time as good with its truth. For evil is opposed to good, and good is opposed to evil, and two opposites cannot exist together. Inherent also in every evil is a hatred of good, and inherent in every good is a love of protecting itself against evil and of removing it from itself. It follows from this that one cannot exist together with the other; and if they were to exist together, first a conflict and battle would arise and then destruction ensue. This the Lord also teaches in these words:
Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand... . Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters abroad. (Matthew 12:25, 30)
And elsewhere:
No one can serve two masters (at the same time); for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the one and disregard the other. (Matthew 6:24)
Two opposites cannot exist together in the same substance or form without its being pulled apart and perishing. If one should approach and draw near the other, they would surely separate, like two hostile forces, one of which would withdraw into its camp or fort, while the other remained outside.
Such is the case with evils and goods in a hypocrite. He possesses both, but his evil is within and good round about, so that the two are separate and not commingled.
It is apparent now from this that evil with its falsity and good with its truth cannot exist together.
[3] SECOND, that the Lord cannot introduce good and the truth of good into a person's interior constituents except to the extent that evil and the falsity of evil have been removed there: This is the inevitable consequence of the preceding considerations. For as evil and good cannot exist together, good cannot be introduced before evil has been removed.
We say into a person's interior constituents, and we mean by this the inner core of his thought. It is these constituents we are discussing, which must have in them either the Lord or the devil. The Lord is present there after the person's reformation, and the devil is present there before that. To the extent that a person allows himself to be reformed, therefore, to the same extent the devil is cast out. But to the extent that he does not allow himself to be reformed, to the same extent the devil remains.
Who cannot see that the Lord cannot enter as long as the devil is present there? And the devil is present there as long as a person keeps the entryway closed, in which the person is together with the Lord. The Lord enters when that entryway is by a person's effort opened, as the Lord teaches in the book of Revelation:
... I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20)
The door is opened by a person's removing evil, by refraining and turning away from it as hellish and diabolical. For whether one calls it evil or the devil, the meaning is the same. Conversely, too, whether one calls it good or the Lord, the meaning is the same. For the Lord is inwardly present in all good, and the devil inwardly in all evil.
This makes apparent the truth of this consideration.
[4] THIRD, that if good with its truth were to be introduced sooner or to a greater extent than evil with its falsity has been removed, the person would turn away from the good and go back to his evil: That is because the evil would be stronger, and that which is stronger wins out, if not right away, still later on. As long as evil still prevails, good cannot be introduced into the innermost chambers, but only into the outer courts, since, as we have said, evil and good cannot exist together; and what is present only in the outer courts is removed by its foe which resides in the inner chambers. The result is a turning away from good and a return to evil, which is the worst kind of profanation.
[5] Furthermore, it is the utmost delight of a person's life to love himself and the world above all else. This delight cannot be removed in a moment, but only gradually. Yet the greater the measure of this delight remaining in a person, the more evil prevails in him. And this evil cannot be removed except as self-love becomes a love of useful endeavors, or as a love of ruling exists not for its own sake but for the sake of such endeavors. For then useful endeavors form the head, and self-love or a love of ruling forms first the body below the head, and later the feet on which to walk.
Who does not see that good must form the head, and that when it does, the Lord is present there? Goodness and usefulness are the same thing.
Who does not see that if evil forms the head, the devil is present there? And because civil and moral good still must be embraced, and in outward form also spiritual good, who does not see that this then forms the feet and soles of the feet and is trampled upon?
[6] So, then, since the state of a person's life must be turned upside down in order that what is uppermost may be below, and since this inversion cannot take place in a moment - for life's greatest delight, springing from a love of self and so of ruling, can only gradually be diminished and turned into a love of useful endeavors - therefore the Lord cannot introduce good sooner or to a greater extent than this evil is removed. And if it were to be introduced sooner or to a greater extent, the person would turn away from the good and go back to his evil.
[7] FOURTH, that when a person is governed by evil, many truths may be introduced into his intellect, and these be stored in his memory, and yet not be profaned: That is because the intellect does not flow into the will, but rather the will into the intellect. And because the intellect does not flow into the will, many truths may be received by the intellect, and these be stored in the memory, and yet not be commingled with evil in the will, so that sacred things are not profaned.
It is, moreover, incumbent on everyone to learn truths from the Word or from preaching and teaching, to commit them to memory, and to think about them. For the intellect must tell the will - that is, the person - what to do, using truths in the memory which come from there into the thought. This is therefore the principal means of reformation.
When truths exist solely in the intellect and so in the memory, they are not in the person but round about him.
[8] A person's memory may be likened to the ruminal stomach of some animals, into which they deposit their food, food which is not assimilated into their body as long as it is there, but remains apart, yet which is incorporated into their life and nourishes the body as they regurgitate it from there and consume it.
Now the food in a person's memory is not material but spiritual, such as is meant by truths, which in themselves are concepts. To the degree that a person by thinking regurgitates these from there, as though chewing them over, to that degree his spiritual mind is nourished. The will's love is what hungers for them and has as though an appetite for them, causing them to be taken in so as to nourish it. If that love is evil, it hungers for and has as though an appetite for unclean food. But if the love is good, it hungers for and has as though an appetite for clean food, and things that are not suitable it separates, rejects, and expels, which it does in various ways.
[9] FIFTH, but that the Lord through His Divine providence provides as much as possible that the will accept nothing from there sooner or to a greater extent than a person as though of himself removes evil in his outer self: For whatever comes from the will enters into a person and is adopted by him so as to become part of his life. And at the core of that life, which a person has from the will, evil and good cannot exist together, for then he would perish. On the other hand, both may exist in the intellect, though not at the same time, being called there falsities of evil and truths of good. Otherwise the person could not from the perspective of good see evil, or from the perspective of evil recognize good. But the two are distinguished and separated in the intellect, like a house into its inner and outer structures. When an evil person thinks and talks about goods, he then thinks and speaks externally, but when he thinks and talks about evils, he does so internally. When he talks about goods, therefore, his speech comes as though from in front of a wall, and may be likened to fruit outwardly attractive that is wormy and rotten within, or else to a dragon's egg still in its shell.
[10] SIXTH, that if it were to do so sooner or to a greater extent, the will would then adulterate the good, and the intellect falsify the truth, by mixing them with evils and the resulting falsities: When the will is caught up in evil, it then adulterates good in the intellect, and adulterated good in the intellect is, in the will, evil, for it persuades that evil is good, and vice versa. Evil deals thus with every good that is opposed to it.
Evil also falsifies truth, because the truth of good is opposed to the falsity of evil. This, too, the will does in the intellect, and not the intellect by itself.
Adulterations of good are described in the Word by cases of adultery, and falsifications of truth by instances of licentiousness there.
These adulterations and falsifications are brought about by reasonings arising from the natural self which is impelled by evil; and they are occasioned also by arguments drawn from appearances in the literal sense of the Word.
[11] Love of self, which is at the head of all evils, excels all other loves in its talent for adulterating goods and falsifying truths, and it accomplishes this by abusing the rationality that every person, both evil and good, has from the Lord. Indeed, through its justifications it can make evil appear altogether as good, and falsity as truth. What is to stop it when it can by a thousand arguments establish that nature created itself, and then created people, animals and plants of every kind; and further, that by an influx from within itself it causes people to live, to think analytically, and to understand wisely?
Love of self excels in its talent for affirming what it will, because its outward facade consists of a certain radiance of light variegated into an assortment of colors. This radiance is that love's glory in being wise, and so also in excelling and ruling.
[12] However, when that love has affirmed the kind of things described, it then becomes so blind that it has no other sight than that the human being is an animal, and that his thinking is like that of an animal - indeed that if an animal also were to have the power of speech, it would be human in a different form.
If induced by some persuasion to believe that some part of the human being lives after death, that love is then so blind as to believe that an animal does too, and that the part that lives after death is only a subtle breath of life, like a vapor, which nevertheless descends again into its corpse, or that it is something living without sight, hearing or speech so as to be blind, deaf and dumb, flitting about and thinking - not to mention many other irrational notions with which nature itself, being in itself without life, inspires its fancy. It is a love of self that occasions this, which in itself is a love belonging to the native self. And as regards its affections, all of which are natural, the human being's inherent nature is not unlike that of the life of an animal, and as regards its perceptions, being the product of those affections, not unlike that of an owl.
Consequently, one who continually immerses his thoughts in his native character cannot be raised from natural light into spiritual light so as to see something of God, heaven, and eternal life.
Because this love is as described, and yet excels in its talent for affirming whatever it pleases, it is able to use the same talent, therefore, to adulterate the goods of the Word and falsify its truths, when compelled by some necessity to confess them.
[13] SEVENTH, that the Lord therefore admits a person no more interiorly into truths of wisdom and into goods of love than the extent to which the person can be maintained in them to the end of his life: The Lord brings this about to keep a person from falling into the most serious kind of profanation of the sacred described in this chapter. It is because of this danger that the Lord also permits evils of life and many heretical forms of worship - the permitting of which will be seen discussed in the following chapters.
233. To uncover this secret of divine providence so that rational people can see it in its own light, I need to explain the points just listed one at a time.
(a) At our deeper levels, good and evil cannot coexist within us, so neither can malicious distortion and beneficent truth. These "deeper levels" mean our inner thought processes, processes of which we are quite unaware until we come into the spiritual world and its light, which happens after death. The only way we can recognize them in this earthly world is by a pleasure of love in our outer thought processes, as well as by recognizing the evils themselves when we practice self-examination. This is because our inner and outer thought processes are so closely connected that they cannot be separated, as already noted--there is a good deal about this above.
I speak of goodness and its truth and of evil and its distortions because goodness cannot exist without its truth or evil without its distortions. They are lovers or spouses, since the life of what is good comes from its truth, and the life of what is true comes from goodness. The same holds true for evil and its distortions.
[2] Rational people need no explanation to see that evil and its distortion cannot coexist with goodness and its truth at our deeper levels. Evil is the opposite of good, and good is the opposite of evil; and two opposites cannot coexist. Every evil harbors an intrinsic hatred for everything good, and everything good has an infinite love for keeping itself safe from evil and banishing it from itself. It then follows that neither can coexist with the other. If they were together, there would be at first a violent battle and eventually destruction. This is what the Lord is telling us when he says, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or home divided against itself will not stand. Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me, scatters" (Matthew 25:30 [Matthew 12:25, 30]). And again, "No one can serve two masters at the same time, for one or the other will be hated or loved" (Matthew 6:24).
Two opposite elements cannot coexist in one substance or form without tearing it apart and destroying it. If one comes too close to the other, they separate at all costs like two enemy forces, one withdrawing within its camp or fortifications and the other withdrawing outside. That is what happens with evil and good qualities in hypocrites. Both qualities are present, but the evil is inside and the goodness is outside so that the two are separated and not mingled.
This enables us to see that evil and its distortions and goodness and its truth cannot coexist.
[3] (b) The Lord can bring into our deeper levels what is good and the truth that comes from it only to the extent that evil and its distortions have been banished. This is simply a corollary of what has just been said, since if evil and good cannot coexist, goodness cannot be brought in until the evil has been moved out.
"Our deeper levels" means our inner thought processes. They are what we are dealing with. This is where either the Lord or the devil must be present. The Lord is there after our reformation and the devil is there before it. To the extent that we let ourselves be reformed, then, the devil is evicted; while to the extent that we do not let ourselves be reformed, the devil stays in residence. Can anyone fail to see that the Lord cannot enter us as long as the devil is there? And the devil is there as long as we keep the door closed where we are together with the Lord. The Lord tells us in the Book of Revelation that he will come in when that door is opened by our efforts: "I am standing at the door and knocking. If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to them and dine with them, and they with me" (Revelation 3:20).
The door is opened when we banish evil by abstaining and turning from it as hellish and demonic--it is one and the same thing if you say "evil" or "the devil." By the same token, it is one and the same thing if you say "goodness" or "the Lord"; because within everything good there is the Lord, and within everything evil there is the devil. This illustrates the truth of the matter.
[4] (c) If what is good and its truth were brought in before evil and its distortions were removed, or to a greater extent than they were removed, then we would backslide from the goodness and return to our evil. This is because the evil would be stronger, and whatever is stronger wins, eventually if not immediately. Once evil has won, the goodness cannot gain entrance to the inner suite but only to the vestibule, because evil and good cannot coexist, as just noted. Anything that is restricted to the vestibule will be evicted by its enemy who lives in the suite, which means that there will be a departure from goodness and a return to evil, which is the worst kind of profanation.
[5] Further, the essential pleasure of our life is to love ourselves and the world more than anything else. This pleasure cannot be taken away instantly, only gradually; and to the extent that any of this pleasure stays with us, evil is stronger. The only way this evil can be taken away is for our love for ourselves to become a love of service, or for our love of power for our own sake to become a love of power for the sake of service. This makes service the head and for the first time makes love for ourselves, or for power, the body beneath the head, and eventually the feet we walk on. Can anyone fail to see that goodness should be the head, and that when it is, the Lord is present? Goodness and service are the same thing. Can anyone fail to see that if evil is the head, the devil is present, and that since we still need to accept some civic and moral good and even some outward form of spiritual good, these are our feet and their soles, and are trodden down?
[6] Our state of life has to be inverted, then, so that what is on top is on the bottom, and this inversion cannot be accomplished instantly. What gives us the most pleasure of all is what comes from our love for ourselves and therefore for power; and this fades and turns into a love of service only gradually. So the Lord cannot introduce goodness before this evil is removed, or to a greater extent than it is removed. If he did, then we would backslide from the goodness and return to our evil.
[7] (d) When we are absorbed in evil, much that is true can be introduced into our minds and stored in our memory without being profaned. This is because our discernment does not flow into our volition but our volition does flow into our discernment; and since our discernment does not flow into our volition, all kinds of truths can be accepted into our minds and stored in our memories without becoming mixed in with the evils in our volition; so sacred things are not profaned. It is up to us to learn truths from the Word or from sermons, to store them in memory, and to think about them. Our discernment then draws on these truths in our memory, truths we have thought about, to teach our volition, that is, to tell us what we should do. This is our primary means of reformation. As long as these truths are only in our discernment and therefore in our memory, they are not really in us but are outside of us.
[8] We might compare our memory to the ruminatory stomach that some animals have. What they eat goes there; and as long as it is there, it is not really in their body but is outside it. Only as they take it out and ingest it does it become part of their life and nourish their body. The contents of our memory are not physical foods, of course, but spiritual ones. This means that they are truths, essentially thoughts. To the extent to which we have taken them out by thinking, by ruminating, so to speak, our spiritual mind is nourished. It is our volition's love that wants this, that is in its own way hungry, and impels us to draw truths out for our nourishment. If that love is evil, then it has a longing and a kind of hunger for unclean thoughts. On the other hand, if it is good it has a longing and a kind of hunger for clean thoughts; and if thoughts are unsuitable it sets them aside, dismisses them, and evicts them by various means.
[9] (e) The Lord in his divine providence, however, takes the greatest care that we do not accept it into our volition before we have, in our apparent autonomy, banished evils from our outer self, or do not accept it to a greater extent than we have banished our outer evils. That is, whatever we take into ourselves willingly becomes part of us, part of our life; and in our actual life, the life we derive from our volition, evil and good cannot coexist. That would destroy us. However, we can have both in our discernment. We can have there what we call malicious distortions and beneficent truths, but not at the same time. Otherwise, we would not be able to see what is evil from the perspective of goodness or to recognize what is good from the perspective of evil. However, they are marked off and separated there like the inside and the outside of a house. When evil people think and say good things, they are thinking and speaking outwardly, but when they think and say evil things, then they are thinking and speaking inwardly. If they say something good, then, it is like talking from the wall. They are like fruit that is superficially attractive but wormy and rotten inside, or like the shell of a dragon's egg.
[10] (f) If this were done too early or too fully, then our volition would adulterate the goodness and our discernment would falsify the truth by mingling them with what is evil and with what is false. When our volition is focused on something evil, it adulterates whatever is good in our discernment, and this adulterated good in our discernment is evil in our volition. It convinces us that evil is good and the reverse. Evil does this to everything good that opposes it. Evil also distorts anything that is true, because the truth that is inspired by goodness opposes the distortion that comes from evil. Our volition does this in our discernment as well: our discernment does not do so on its own.
The Word describes adulteration of what is good as adultery and the distortions of truth as promiscuity. This adulteration and distortion are accomplished through specious reasoning by that earthly self that is bent on evil as well as through finding support in the way things seem to be described in the literal sense of the Word.
[11] Our love for ourselves, the head of all our evils, is more adept than any other love at adulterating what is good and distorting what is true. It does this by misusing the rationality that the Lord gives to the worst and the best of us alike. It can actually rationalize things so that something evil seems perfectly good and something false seems perfectly true. What is beyond its power, when it can marshal a thousand arguments to prove that Nature created itself and then created humanity, animals, and plants of all kinds, and that Nature then infused something from within itself to enable us to live, think analytically, and discern wisely?
The reason our love for ourselves is so good at proving whatever it wants to is that it endows its outer surface with a kind of bright, multicolored radiance. This radiance is the love's reveling in wisdom and therefore in rank and power.
[12] However, once this love has become convinced of all this, it is so blind that all it can see is that people are animals and think like animals. It even believes that if animals could only talk, they would be humans in a different form. If for some secondary reason this love has been led to believe that some aspect of us goes on living after death, it is so blind that it also believes that this is true of animals as well, and that what goes on living after death is nothing but some tenuous breath of life, like a mist that eventually returns to its corpse. Either that, or it is something alive with no sight, hearing, or voice--blind, then, and deaf and mute, just flying around and thinking. There are many other crazy notions as well that the material world itself, which is essentially dead, breathes into our hallucinations.
This is what our love for ourselves does, a love that in and of itself is our love for self-importance; and as far as its desires are concerned, which are all centered on this physical world, our sense of self-importance is very much like animal life. In respect to the perceptions that are prompted by these desires, our love for ourselves is very much like an owl. If we constantly immerse our thinking in our sense of self-importance, then, we cannot be raised from earthly light into spiritual light to see anything of God, heaven, or eternal life.
Since this is the nature of this love, and since it is so ingenious at proving whatever it wants to, it is just as ingenious at adulterating whatever is good in the Word and falsifying whatever is true in the Word if by some necessity it is constrained to confess them.
[13] (g) This is why the Lord does not grant us inner access to the truths that wisdom discloses and the good that love does except as we can be kept in them to the end of our life. The Lord does this to prevent us from falling into the worst kind of profanation of what is holy, the kind I have been discussing in this section. It is because of this danger that the Lord allows evil kinds of living and many heretical kinds of religion. The next sections will deal with the Lord's tolerance of such things.
233. In order, therefore, that this interior truth (arcanum) of the Divine Providence may be so revealed that the rational man may see it in his own light, the points that have just been presented shall be explained one by one. First: Evil and good cannot exist together in man's interiors, and consequently neither can the falsity of evil and the truth of good. By man's interiors is meant the internal of his thought; but of this he knows nothing before he comes into the spiritual world and its light, which happens after death. In the natural world this can be known only from the delight of his love in the external of his thought and from evils themselves when he examines them in himself; for, as was shown above, the internal of thought in man is so closely connected with the external of thought that they cannot be separated; but concerning this more may be seen above. The terms good and the truth of good, also evil and the falsity of evil, are used because good cannot exist apart from its truth, nor evil apart from its falsity; as they are bedfellows or consorts, for the life of good is from its truth, and the life of truth is from its good; and the same is true of evil and its falsity.
[2] It may be seen by the rational man without explanation that evil with its falsity cannot exist in man's interiors and at the same time good with its truth; for evil is the opposite of good, and good is the opposite of evil, and two opposites cannot exist together. Moreover, there is in all evil an inherent hatred of good, and there is in all good an inherent love of protecting itself against evil and removing it from itself. Therefore it follows that one cannot be together with the other. If they were together there would arise first conflict and combat, and then destruction, as the Lord also teaches in these words:
Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself standeth not (A.V. shall not stand) ...
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Matthew 12:25, 30);
and in another place,
No one can at the same time serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other ... Matthew 6:24.
Two opposites cannot exist together in one substance or form without its being torn asunder and destroyed. If one should advance and draw near to the other they would certainly keep themselves apart like two enemies, one of whom would retire within his camp or fortifications, and the other would remain outside. This happens with the evil and the good in a hypocrite. He harbours both, but the evil is within and the good is without, and thus the two are separate and are not mingled. From this it is now clear that evil with its falsity and good with its truth cannot exist together.
[3] Second: Good and the truth of good can be introduced by the Lord into man's interiors only so far as the evil and the falsity of evil there have been removed. This is a necessary consequence of what has gone before; for as evil and good cannot exist together good cannot be introduced before evil has been removed. The term man's interiors is used, and by these is meant the internal of thought; and in these, which are now being considered, either the Lord or the devil must be present. The Lord is there after reformation, but the devil is there before it; therefore, so far as man suffers himself to be reformed the devil is cast out; but so far as he does not suffer himself to be reformed the devil remains. Everyone may see that the Lord cannot enter so long as the devil is there; and he is there so long as man keeps the door closed, where man acts together with the Lord. That the Lord enters when that door is opened by man himself (medio homine) He teaches in Revelation:
I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20.
The door is opened by man's removing evil, which he does by shunning and turning away from it as infernal and diabolical. For whether you say evil or the devil it is the same; and, on the other hand, whether you say good or the Lord it is the same, for the Lord is within all good, and the devil is within all evil. From these considerations the truth of the matter is evident.
[4] Third: If good with its truth were introduced there before or in a greater measure than evil with its falsity is removed, man would depart from good and return to his evil. This is because evil would prove the stronger, and what is the stronger conquers, if not at the time yet afterwards. So long as evil continues to prevail good cannot be introduced into the innermost chambers of the mind, but only into the outer courts, because, as has been said, evil and good cannot exist together; and what is only in the outer courts is removed by its enemy in the inner apartments. Consequently there is a departure from good and a return to evil; and this is the worst kind of profanation.
[5] Moreover, the very delight of a man's life is to love himself and the world above all things. This delight cannot be removed in a moment, but only gradually, and so far as any of this delight remains evil prevails in him; and this evil can only be removed as the love of self becomes the love of uses, or as the love of ruling has for its end not self but uses. Thus uses constitute the head, the love of self or of ruling constituting first the body under the head and afterwards the feet upon which it walks. Everyone sees that good must constitute the head; and that when it does, the Lord is there; for good and use are one. Who does not see that if evil constitutes the head the devil is there? And as civil and moral good, and spiritual good also in its external form, must still be accepted, who does not see that these now constitute the feet and the soles of the feet upon which the man treads?
[6] The state of the man's life must be inverted so that what is above may be below; and this reversal cannot be effected in a moment, for what is the greatest delight of life, arising from the love of self and the consequent love of rule, can only be reduced gradually and converted into the love of uses. Therefore, good cannot be introduced by the Lord before or in a greater measure than the evil is removed. If it were so introduced man would depart from the good and return to his evil.
[7] Fourth: When man is in evil many truths may be introduced into his understanding, and these may be stored up in his memory, and yet not be profaned. This is because the understanding does not flow into the will, but the will into the understanding; and as it does not flow into the will many truths may be received by the understanding and stored up in the memory, and yet not be mingled with the evil of the will; and thus what is holy may not be profaned. Moreover, it is incumbent upon everyone to learn truths from the Word or from preaching, to lay them up in the memory and to ponder over them. For from the truths that are in the memory and that enter the thought from the memory the understanding must teach the will, that is, must teach the man what to do. This, therefore, is the principal means of reformation. When truths are only in the understanding and from it in the memory, they are not in the man, but outside of him.
[8] Man's memory may be compared to the ruminatory stomach of certain animals in which they deposit their food; and so long as it is there it is not in but outside of their body; but as they bring it up from this stomach and consume it, it becomes part of their life and the body is nourished. Now in man's memory the food is not material but spiritual, namely, truths, which in them selves are knowledges; and in the degree that man draws these from the memory by thinking, a process akin to ruminating, his spiritual mind is nourished. The will's love has a longing, an appetite as it were, for these truths and causes them to be drawn out and serve as nourishment. If that love is evil it has this longing or appetite for unclean things; but if the love is good it has this longing or appetite for clean things, and what is not suitable it separates, removes and casts out; and this is done in various ways.
[9] Fifth: The Lord, however, by His Divine Providence takes the greatest care that the will may not receive these from the understanding sooner or in a greater measure than man as of himself removes evil in the external man. For what is received by the will enters into the man and is appropriated by him and becomes part of his life; and in the life itself which man has from the will, evil and good cannot exist together, for in this case he would perish. The two, however, may be in the understanding and are there called falsities of evil and truths of good, yet they are not mingled; otherwise man would not be able to distinguish evil from good and to recognise good from evil; but they are distinguished there and separated like the inner and outer apartments of a house. When a wicked man thinks and says what is good he thinks and speaks exteriorly, but interiorly when he thinks and says what is evil; therefore, when he says what is good his speech comes, as it were, from an inner all of a house. It may be likened to fruit that is fair on the outside, but worm-eaten and rotten within, and to a dragon's egg, regarded from the shell only.
[10] Sixth: If the will should receive them sooner or in greater measure it would then adulterate the good and the understanding would falsify the truth by mingling them with evils and falsities. When the will is in evil it adulterates good in the understanding; and good adulterated in the understanding is evil in the will, for it proves that evil is good and that good is evil. Evil acts thus with all good, which is opposite to itself. Evil also falsifies truth, for the truth of good is opposite to the falsity of evil; and this is done in the understanding by the will but not by the understanding from itself. In the Word adulterations of good are described by adulteries and falsifications of truth by whoredoms. These adulterations and falsifications are effected by reasonings from the natural man, which is in evil, and also by confirmations from the appearances of the sense of the Letter of the Word.
[11] The love of self, which is the head of all evils, surpasses other loves in its ability to adulterate goods and falsify truths; and it does this by the misuse of the rationality which every man, wicked as well as good, has from the Lord. It can indeed by confirmations make evil to appear exactly like good and falsity like truth. There is nothing it cannot do when it can prove by a thousand arguments that nature first created itself and then created men, beasts and plants of every kind; and also that by influx from its inner self nature causes men to live, to think analytically and to understand wisely. Self-love excels in its ability to prove whatever it desires because outwardly it presents the appearance of a certain splendour, flashing beams of variously coloured light. This splendour is the glory of being wise which pertains to that love, and thus also of being eminent and dominant.
[12] However, when self-love has proved such things it then becomes so blind as only to see that man is a beast and that man and beast think by a similar process; indeed, that if a beast could also speak it would be a man in another form. If it were induced by some sort of persuasion to believe that something of man lives after death, it is then so blind as to believe that the beast also lives after death; and that this something that lives after death is only a subtle exhalation of life, like a vapour, which constantly sinks back to its own corpse; or that it is something vital without sight, hearing and speech, and thus is blind, deaf and dumb, hovering about and thinking; entertaining besides many other insane ideas with which nature, although in itself dead, inspires this phantasm created by self-love. Such is the effect of self-love, which viewed in itself is the love of the proprium; and man's proprium in respect of its affections, which are all natural, is not unlike the life of a beast; while in respect to its perceptions, because they spring from these affections, it is not unlike a bird of night. Therefore, he who continually immerses his thoughts in his proprium cannot be raised out of natural into spiritual light and see anything of God, of heaven and of eternal life. Since this love is of such a nature, and yet excels in its ability to confirm what it pleases, it has a like ability to adulterate the goods of the Word and to falsify its truths, even while it is constrained by a form of necessity to confess them.
[13] Seventh: Therefore the Lord admits man interiorly into the truths of wisdom and into the goods of love only so far as he can be kept in them right on to the end of his life. The Lord does this in order that man may not fall into that most grievous kind of profanation of what is holy which has been treated of in this chapter. On account of this danger also the Lord permits evils of life and many heresies in worship; and concerning the permission of these things something will be seen in the sections that follow.
233. Therefore, to so unfold this arcanum of the Divine providence that a rational man may see it in its own light, the points that have now been presented must be explained one by one. First: Good and evil cannot be in man's interiors together, neither, therefore, the falsity of evil and the truth of good together. The interiors of man mean the internal of his thought, of which he knows nothing until he comes into the spiritual world and its light, which he does after death. In the natural world this can be known only from the delight of his love in the external of his thought, and from evils themselves while he is examining them in himself; for, as has been shown above, the internal of thought in man coheres with the external of thought in so close a connection that they cannot be separated. But of this more will be said. The terms good and truth of good, also evil and falsity of evil are used because good cannot exist apart from its truth, nor evil apart from its falsity; for they are bedfellows or consorts; for the life of good is from its truth, and the life of truth is from its good. The same is true of evil and its falsity.
[2] That evil with its falsity and good with its truth cannot be in man's interiors together the rational man can see without explanation; for evil is the opposite of good, and good is the opposite of evil, and two opposites cannot exist together. Moreover, there is inherent in all evil a hatred of good, and there is inherent in all good a love of protecting itself against evil and of separating it from itself; from which it follows that one cannot be together with the other; and if they were together there would arise first a conflict and combat, and then destruction; as the Lord also teaches in these words:-
Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself standeth not. He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth (Matthew 12:25, 30).
And again:-
No one can serve two masters at the same time; for either he will hate the one and love the other [or he will hold to the one and despise the other] (Matthew 6:24).
Two opposites cannot exist together in one substance or form without its being torn asunder and destroyed. If one should approach and come near to the other they would surely separate like two enemies, one keeping himself within his camp or his fortifications, and the other keeping outside of them. This is true of the evil and of the good in a hypocrite; he is in both, but the evil is within and the good is without, and thus the two are separated and are not mixed together. From all this it is clear that evil with its falsity and good with its truth cannot exist together.
[3] Secondly: Good and truth of good can be brought into a man's interiors by the Lord only so far as evil and the falsity of evil there have been removed. This is a necessary consequence of the foregoing; since, if evil and good cannot exist together good cannot be brought in until evil has been removed. The term man's interiors is used, meaning the internal of thought, which is now under consideration. Either the Lord or the devil must be in these interiors. The Lord is there after reformation, but the devil is there before it; consequently, so far as man suffers himself to be reformed the devil is cast out; but so far as he does not suffer himself to be reformed the devil remains. Who cannot see that it is impossible for the Lord to enter so long as the devil is there? And he is there so long as man keeps the door closed, which is where man and the Lord are together. That the Lord enters when that door is opened by man's instrumentality He teaches in the Apocalypse:-
I stand at the door and knock; if any one hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with Me (Apocalypse 3:20).
The door is opened by man's removing evil by shunning and turning away from it as infernal and diabolical; for whether you say evil or the devil it is the same; and on the other hand, whether you say good or the Lord it is the same; for the Lord is within all good, and the devil is within all evil. This makes clear the truth of this matter.
[4] Thirdly: If good with its truth were to be brought in before or to a greater extent than evil with its falsity is removed, man would recede from good and return to his evil. And for this reason, that evil would be the stronger, and the stronger conquers, if not at the time then afterwards. So long as evil is the stronger, good cannot be brought into the inmost apartments but only into the entrance hall; because evil and good, as has been said, cannot exist together, and what is only in the entrance hall is removed by the enemy that is in the inner rooms; and in consequence there is a receding from good and a return to evil, which is the worst kind of profanation.
[5] Furthermore, the essential delight of man's life is to love himself and the world above all things. This delight cannot be removed instantly, but only gradually; and so much as there is of this delight remaining in man so far evil prevails in him. And there is no way in which this evil can be removed except that the love of self become a love of uses, or the love of rule come to have uses as its end and not self; for then uses constitute the head, and the love of self or love of ruling constitutes first the body beneath the head, and then the feet on which it walks. Who does not see that good must constitute the head, and that when it does the Lord is there? Good and use are one. Who does not see that if evil constitutes the head the devil is there? And as civil and moral good, and spiritual good also in external form, must be accepted, who does not see that this then constitutes the feet and the soles of the feet, to be walked upon?
[6] Since, then, the state of man's life must be reversed, so that what is above shall be below, and this reversal cannot be effected instantly, for the greatest delight of life, which is from love of self and consequent love of dominion, can only gradually be weakened and turned into a love of uses, therefore good can be brought in by the Lord no faster or to a greater extent than this evil is removed; and if it were man would recede from good and return to his evil.
[7] Fourthly: When man is in evil many truths may be brought into his understanding, and these may be stored up in the memory, and yet not be profaned. This is because the understanding does not flow into the will, but the will flows into the understanding; and as the understanding does not flow into the will many truths may be received by the understanding and stored up in the memory, and not be mixed with the evil of the will, consequently holy things will not be profaned. Moreover, it is incumbent upon every one to learn truths from the Word or from preaching, to lay them up in the memory and to think about them. For from the truths that are in the memory, and that come from it into the thought the understanding must teach the will, that is, must teach the man what to do. Therefore this is the chief means of reformation. When truths are in the understanding only, and from it in the memory, they are not in the man, but outside of him.
[8] Man's memory may be compared to the ruminating stomach of certain animals, into which they first receive their food; and so long as it is there it is not within but without the body; but when they draw the food out of the stomach and eat it it becomes a part of their life, and the body is nourished. But man's memory contains spiritual not material foods, that is, truths, which in themselves are knowledges. So far as a man by thinking, or as it were by ruminating, draws these from the memory, his spiritual mind is nourished. The will's love is what longs for, and as it were has an appetite for these, and causes them to be imbibed and to furnish nourishment. If that love is evil it longs for and as it were has an appetite for things unclean; but if good it longs for and has an appetite for things clean; and what is not suitable it separates, dismisses, and casts forth, which is done in various ways.
[9] Fifthly: But the Lord by His Divine providence takes the greatest care that the will shall receive from the understanding only so fast as, and to the extent that, man as if of himself removes evils in the external man. For what is received by the will comes into the man and is appropriated to him and comes to be of his life; and in the life itself, which man has from the will, evil and good cannot be together, if they were he would perish; but the two can be in the understanding, where they are called falsities of evil and truths of good, yet they are not together; if they were man would be unable from good to see evil or from evil to know good; but they are there distinguished and separated, like a house into inner and outer parts. When an evil man thinks and talks about good things he thinks and speaks exteriorly, but interiorly when he thinks and speaks about evil things; therefore when he says good things his speech comes as it were from the outer wall of the house. It may be likened to fruit fair on the surface, but wormy and rotten within; or to the shell of a dragon's egg.
[10] Sixthly: If it should receive faster or more, the will would adulterate good and the understanding would falsify truth by mixing them with evils and with falsities therefrom. When the will is in evil it adulterates good in the understanding; and good adulterated in the understanding is evil in the will, for it proves that evil is good, and that good is evil; evil does this with all good which is opposite to itself. Evil also falsifies truth, for the truth of good is opposite to falsity of evil; and this is done by the will in the understanding, and not by the understanding from itself. In the Word adulterations of good are depicted by adulteries and falsifications of truth by whoredoms. These adulterations and falsifications are effected by reasonings from the natural man, which is in evil, also by confirmations drawn from the appearances of the sense of the letter of the Word.
[11] The love of self, which is the head of all evils, surpasses all other loves in its ability to adulterate goods and falsify truths; and it does this by a misuse of the rationality that every man, both the evil man and the good man, has from the Lord. By its proofs it can even make evil to appear wholly like good, and falsity like truth. What can it not do when it can prove by a thousand arguments that nature created itself, and that it then created men, beasts, and plants of all kinds; also that by influx from its inner self nature causes men to live, to think analytically, and to understand wisely? Self-love excels in its ability to prove whatever it will because its outer surface is a kind of splendor of light variegated in different colors. This splendor is the glory of being wise that pertains to that love, and also thereby of being eminent and dominant.
[12] But when it has established these principles this love becomes so blind as not to see but that than is a beast, and that man and beast think in the same way, and even that if a beast could speak it would be a man in another form. If it can be led by any persuasion to believe that something of man lives after death, it is then so blind as to believe that the same is true of the beast; and that this something that lives after death is only a subtle exhalation of life, like a vapor, which still settles back to its corpse; or that it is something vital without sight, hearing, or speech, thus is blind, deaf, and dumb, flitting about and thinking; besides many other insanities, with which nature itself, which in itself is dead, inspires the fancy. This the love of self does, which viewed in itself is the love of one's own (proprium); and man's own in respect to its affections, which are all natural, is not unlike the life of a beast; while in respect to its perceptions, because they are from these affections, it is not unlike a bird of night. Consequently whoever continually immerses his thoughts in what is his own cannot be raised out of natural into spiritual light and see anything of God, of heaven, and of the eternal life. Because this love is such, and nevertheless excels in its ability to confirm whatever it pleases, it has also a like ability to adulterate the goods of the Word, and to falsify its truths, while from a kind of necessity it is kept in a confession of them.
[13] Seventhly: Therefore the Lord admits man interiorly into the truths of wisdom and into the goods of love only so far as he can be kept in them to the end of his life. This the Lord does that man may not fall into that most grievous kind of profanation of what is holy which has been treated of in this chapter. It is because of this danger that the Lord permits evils of life and many heresies in worship. Of the permissions of these something will be seen in the sections following.
233. Ut itaque hoc Arcanum Divinae Providentiae detegatur, usque ut homo rationalis id in sua luce videre possit, singillatim explicanda sunt illa, quae nunc allata sunt. PRIMUM. Quod in interioribus apud hominem non possit malum et simul bonum esse, et inde nec falsum mali et simul verum boni: per interiora hominis intelligitur internum cogitationis ejus, de quo homo non aliquid scit, priusquam in mundum spiritualem et ejus lucem venit, quod fit post mortem; in mundo naturali id cognosci potest solum ex jucundo amoris ejus in externo cogitationis suae, et ex ipsis malis, dum illa apud se explorat; nam, ut supra ostensum est, internum cogitationis cum externo cogitationis apud hominem in tali nexu cohaeret, ut non separari possint; sed de his supra plura. Dicitur bonum et verum boni, ac malum et falsum mali, quoniam bonum non dari potest absque suo vero, nec malum absque suo falso, sunt enim consortes tori seu conjuges, nam vita boni est a suo vero, et vita veri a suo bono; simile est cum malo et ejus falso.
[2] Quod in interioribus hominis non possit malum cum suo falso et simul bonum cum suo vero esse, a rationali homine absque explicatione videri potest, est enim malum oppositum bono, ac bonum oppositum malo, et duo opposita non possunt simul esse: est etiam omni malo insitum odium contra bonum, et omni bono est insitus amor tutandi se contra malum, et id a se removendi: ex quo sequitur, quod unum cum altero non possit simul esse; et si simul forent, primum oriretur conflictus et pugna, et dein destructio: quod etiam Dominus his verbis docet, "Omne Regnum divisum contra seipsum desolatur, et omnis civitas aut domus divisa contra seipsam non consistit. Quisquis non est Mecum, contra Me est, et quisquis non congregat Mecum, dispergit," Matthaeus 12:25, 30: 1et alibi, "Nemo potest duobus dominis simul servire, nam aut unum odio habebit, et 2alterum amabit [aut uni adhaerebit et alterum negliget,] 3Matthaeus 6:24. Duo opposita non dari possunt in una substantia aut forma simul, quin distraheretur et periret; si accessisset 4et appropinquavisset unum ad alterum, omnino se separarent, sicut bini hostes, quorum unus intra sua castra aut intra sua munimenta, et alter extra illa, se reciperet: ita fit cum malis et bonis apud hypocritam; hic in utrisque est; sed malum est intra et bonum est extra, et sic duo illa separata, et non commixta. Ex his nunc patet, quod malum cum suo falso, et bonum cum suo vero, non possint simul esse.
[3] ALTERUM. Quod a Domino in interiora hominis non possit inferri bonum ac verum boni, nisi quantum ibi remotum est malum et falsum mali; hoc est ipsum consequens antecedentium; nam cum malum et bonum non possunt simul esse, non potest inferri bonum, priusquam malum remotum est. Dicitur in interioribus hominis, per quae intelligitur internum cogitationis; de his agitur, in quibus vel erit Dominus vel erit diabolus; est Dominus ibi post reformationem, et est diabolus ibi ante illam; quantum itaque homo patitur se reformari, tantum diabolus ejicitur, at quantum non patitur se reformari, tantum diabolus remanet: quis non videre potest, quod Dominus non intrare possit, quamdiu ibi diabolus est, et tamdiu ibi est, quamdiu homo tenet portam clausam, in qua homo cum Domino simul est; quod Dominus intret, quando porta illa medio homine aperitur, docet Dominus in Apocalypsi, "Consisto ad januam et pulso; si quis audiverit vocem meam, et aperuerit januam, ingrediar ad illum, et coenabo cum illo, et ille Mecum," 3:20; janua aperitur per quod homo removeat malum fugiendo et aversando illud sicut infernale et diabolicum; nam sive dicatur malum sive diabolus, idem est; ac vicissim, sive dicatur Bonum sive Dominus, idem est; nam in omni bono intus est Dominus, et in omni malo intus est diabolus. Ex his patet veritas hujus rei.
[4] TERTIUM: si bonum cum suo vero inferretur prius aut plus quam remotum est malum cum suo falso, homo 5recederet a bono, ac rediret ad suum malum; causa est, quia praevaleret malum, et quod praevalet, hoc vincit, si non tunc usque postea; dum adhuc malum praevalet, non potest bonum inferri in intima conclavia, sed solum in atria, quoniam, ut dictum est, malum et bonum non possunt simul esse, et quod solum in atriis est, hoc removetur ab hoste ejus, qui in conclavibus est; inde fit recessio a bono et reditio ad malum, quod est pessimum prophanationis genus.
[5] Praeterea ipsum jucundum vitae hominis est amare seipsum et mundum super omnia; hoc jucundum non potest momento removeri, sed successive; at quantum ex hoc jucundo apud hominem remanet, tantum ibi praevalet malum; et hoc malum non aliter removeri potest, quam ut amor sui fiat amor usuum, seu ut amor dominandi non sit propter se sed propter usus, sic enim usus faciunt caput, et amor sui seu dominandi primum facit corpus sub capite, ac postea pedes super quibus ambulet: quis non videt quod bonum facturum sit 6caput, et quod cum bonum facit caput, Dominus ibi sit; bonum et usus unum sunt: quis non videt, quod si malum facit caput, diabolus ibi sit, et quia usque bonum civile et morale, et in externa forma etiam bonum spirituale, recipiendum est, quod hoc tunc faciat pedes et plantas, et proculcetur.
[6] Cum itaque status vitae hominis invertendus est, ut quod supra est infra sit, et haec versura non dari potest momento, jucundissimum enim vitae, quod est ex amore sui et inde dominii, non potest nisi quam successive diminui, et verti in amorem usuum, quapropter non potest a Domino inferri bonum prius et plus quam quantum hoc malum removetur; et si prius et plus, homo recederet a bono, et rediret ad suum malum.
[7] QUARTUM. Quod cum homo in malo est, intellectui ejus possint inferri multa vera, et haec in memoria recondi, et tamen non prophanari: causa est, quia intellectus non influit in voluntatem, sed voluntas in intellectum; et quia non influit in voluntatem, multa vera ab intellectu recipi possunt, et illa recondi in memoria, et tamen cum malo voluntatis non commisceri, proinde sancta non prophanari: et quoque cuivis incumbit, ut vera ex Verbo, aut ex praedicationibus, discat, in memoria reponat, ac de illis cogitet; intellectus enim ex veris quae in memoria sunt, et inde in cogitationem veniunt, docebit voluntatem, hoc est, docebit hominem, quid faciet; hoc itaque est principale medium reformationis: quando vera solum in intellectu, et inde in memoria sunt, non sunt in homine, sed extra illum.
[8] Memoria hominis comparari potest cum alvo ruminatorio quorundam animalium, in quem immittunt escas suas, quae quamdiu ibi sunt, non in corpore eorum sunt, sed extra illud, at sicut desumunt illas inde et devorant, fiunt vitae illorum, et nutritur corpus: at in memoria hominis non sunt escae materiales, sed spirituales, quae intelliguntur per vera, et in se sunt cognitiones; quantum inde homo desumit illa cogitando, quasi ruminando, tantum mens ejus spiritualis nutritur: amor voluntatis est qui desiderat, et quasi appetit, et facit ut hauriantur, et nutriant; si amor ille malus est, desiderat et quasi appetit immunda; si autem bonus, desiderat et quasi appetit munda, et illa quae non conveniunt, separat, amandat, et ejicit, quod fit variis modis.
[9] QUINTUM: Sed quod Dominus per Divinam suam Providentiam quam maxime prospiciat, ne prius et plus inde recipiatur a voluntate, quam quantum homo sicut a se removet malum in externo homine; nam quod a voluntate, hoc in hominem 7venit, ac ei appropriatur, ac fit vitae ejus; et in ipsa vita, quae homini est ex voluntate, non potest malum et bonum simul esse, sic enim periret; at in intellectu potest utrumque esse, quae ibi vocantur falsa mali aut vera boni, attamen non simul; alioquin non potuisset homo videre malum a bono, ac cognoscere bonum a malo; sed distinguuntur et separantur ibi sicut domus in interiora et exteriora; cum malus homo cogitat et loquitur bona, tunc exterius cogitat et loquitur, at cum mala, tunc interius, quare cum loquitur bona, fit loquela ejus sicut ex pariete, et comparari potest cum fructu superficietenus pulchro, qui intus vermiculosus et putris est, et quoque cum ovo draconis crusta tenus.
[10] SEXTUM: Quod si prius et plus, tunc voluntas adulteraret bonum, ac intellectus falsificaret verum, commiscendo illa cum malis et inde falsis: cum voluntas est in malo, tunc illa in intellectu adulterat bonum, ac adulteratum bonum in intellectu est in voluntate malum, confirmat enim quod malum sit bonum, et vicissim; malum ita facit cum omni bono, quod sibi oppositum est: malum etiam falsificat verum, quia verum boni est oppositum falso mali; hoc quoque facit voluntas in intellectu, et non intellectus ex se. Adulterationes boni in Verbo describuntur per adulteria, et falsificationes veri per scortationes ibi. Adulterationes et falsificationes illae fiunt per ratiocinia ex naturali homine qui in malo est, et quoque fiunt per confirmationes ex apparentiis sensus literae Verbi.
[11] Amor sui, qui est caput omnium malorum, praepollet aliis amoribus ingenio adulterandi bona et falsificandi vera, et hoc facit per abusum rationalitatis, quae cuivis homini tam malo quam bono a Domino est; imo potest per confirmationes facere, ut malum prorsus appareat sicut bonum, ac falsum sicut verum: quid non potest, cum potest mille argumentis confirmare, quod natura seipsam creaverit, et quod illa dein creaverit homines, bestias et vegetabilia omnis generis: tum quod per influxum ex interiori se faciat ut homines vivant, analytice cogitent, et sapienter intelligant. Quod amor sui praepolleat ingenio confirmandi quicquid vult, est quia ultimam superficiem ejus facit quidam splendor lucis in varios colores variegatae; hic splendor est amoris istius gloria sapiendi, et sic quoque eminendi et dominandi.
[12] At cum amor ille talia confirmaverat, tunc fit tam caecus, ut non videat aliter quam quod homo sit bestia et quod cogitent similiter, imo quod si bestia quoque loqueretur, foret illa homo sub alia forma: si adduceretur ex quadam persuasione 8credere, quod aliquid hominis vivat post mortem, tunc tam caecus est, ut credat quod etiam bestia, et quod hoc aliquid vivens post mortem sit modo subtilis vitae halitus, sicut vapor, qui usque relabitur ad cadaver suum, vel quod sit aliquod vitale absque visu, auditu et loquela, ita caecum, surdum et mutum, volitans et cogitans; praeter plures insanias, quas ipsa natura, quae 9in se mortua est, phantasiae ejus inspirat; hoc facit amor sui, qui in se spectatus est amor proprii, et proprium hominis 10quoad affectiones, quae omnes sunt naturales, non est absimile vitae bestiae, et quoad perceptiones, quia ex illis affectionibus sunt, non absimile est noctuae: quare qui continue immergit cogitationes proprio suo, non potest elevari e luce naturali in lucem spiritualem, et videre aliquid Dei, coeli, et vitae aeternae. Quia hic amor talis est, et usque ingenio confirmandi quodcunque lubet, praepollet, ideo etiam simili ingenio potest adulterare bona Verbi, et falsificare vera ejus, dum ex quadam necessitate tenetur confiteri illa.
[13] SEPTIMUM: Quod ideo Dominus non interius immittat hominem in vera sapientiae et in bona amoris, nisi quantum homo in illis potest teneri usque ad finem vitae: hoc facit Dominus, ne homo in gravissimum illud genus prophanationis sancti, de quo in hoc Articulo actum est, incidat; propter id periculum etiam Dominus permittit mala vitae, et plura haeretica cultus; de quorum permissione videbitur in sequentibus Paragraphis.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: 25:30
2 Prima editio: aut
3 sic 18 hujus transactionis, et sic quoque Sebastian Schmidt apud Biblia Sacra translata ex linguis originalibus (Argentorati, 1696)
4 Prima editio: acessisset
5 Prima editio: bomo
6 facturum sit ubi in prima editione faciet
7 Prima editio: hominem,
8 Prima editio: persvasione
9 Prima editio: qu["ea" inverted]
10 Prima editio: homlnis