309、请允许讲述我从灵界的一些人那里所听来的事。他们就是那些以为他们自己的谨慎是一切，圣治什么都不是的人。我告诉他们说，人没有任何属于他自己的东西，除非你非要说，人是这种或那种主体，这种或那种器官，这种或那种形式。但这不是人们通常所理解的那种自我，因为这只是一种属性。事实上，没有人拥有通常意义上所理解的那种自我。那些将一切都归于自己的谨慎（我们甚至可以称他们为过度投入自己的形像）之人会对此大发雷霆，以至于鼻孔冒出火来；他们说：“你说的是悖论和疯狂；如此人岂不是虚无，是虚空，或某种幻想的观念，或一个雕像，一个雕塑吗？”
但我只能回答说，相信以下观点是荒唐和疯狂的：人是自己生命的源头，智慧和谨慎不是从神流入的，而是在人里面，来自仁爱的良善和来自信仰的真理也是。将这些归于人自己被智者称为一种疯狂，而且它也带来一个悖论。此外，如此行的人就像那些住在别人家里，占有别人的财产，却说服自己相信，只要他们住在这里，这些就是他们自己的之人；或像那些将属于他们主人的一切都据为己有的受托人和管家；或像做买卖的仆人，主将才干和银钱赐给他们去做买卖，而他们却不算账，而是把它们据为己有，因而行事像贼一样。
论到这些人，可以说他们是疯狂的，甚至可以说他们是虚无和虚空，是思想的生物，或说严格意义上的空想家，因为他们没有来自主的良善在自己里面，而这良善是生命的实质，或真正的存在，因此他们也没有真理。他们也可称作“死人”，“虚无和虚空”（以赛亚书40:17，23等）。他们是制造偶像者，雕像和雕塑。在下文，我会按下列顺序详述这一切：
⑴什么是人自己的谨慎，什么是非人自己的谨慎。
⑵人基于自己的谨慎会说服自己相信并在自己里面确认：一切良善和真理都来自他自己，并在他自己里面；一切邪恶和虚假同样如此。
⑶人说服自己相信并在自己里面所确认的一切都会留在他里面，成为他自己的。
⑷人若相信（这是真理），一切良善和真理皆来自主，一切邪恶和虚假皆来自地狱，就不会将良善归给自己，视它为有功的，也不会将邪恶归给自己，认为自己对它负有责任。
309. But I will relate what I heard from some people in the spiritual world. They were some of those who believed their own prudence to be everything, and Divine providence nothing.
I remarked that a person has no inherent character, unless you wish to call it his inherent character that he is this or that sort of vessel, or this or that kind of organic being, or this or that form. But that is not, I said, the inherent character I mean, for it is simply his nature. Rather, no person has any inherent character as inherent character is commonly understood.
Those people, who attributed everything to their own prudence, who may also be called self-made in their own image, became so incensed that flames shot from their nostrils, saying, "You are uttering absurdities and insanities! Would a person in that case not be an empty nothing, or a figment of the imagination, or a piece of sculpture or statue?"
[2] I could only answer, however, that it is an absurdity and insane to believe that a person is a form of life of himself, and that wisdom and prudence do not flow in from God, but originate in the person, and so likewise the goodness accompanying charity and the truth accompanying faith. To attribute these to oneself is termed by every wise person an insanity, and it is therefore also an absurdity. Moreover, people who do this are like people who inhabit another's house and property, and while there persuade themselves that they own them. Or they are like stewards and managers who believe all their master's property to be theirs. They are also like the servant overseers to whom their master gave talents and minas to do business with, who did not render an account of them but kept them as their own, and so behaved as thieves. 1
[3] Of all these it can be said that they are insane, indeed that they are empty nothings, and also dreamers, because they do not have in them from the Lord the goodness that is the very essence of life, and so neither any truth. Therefore people of this character are called [in the Word] dead, and also nothing and empty (Isaiah 40:17, 23). And elsewhere, makers of an image, 1and carved images and pillars.
But on this subject, more under the following headings, which we will consider in this order:
(1) What one's own prudence is, and prudence not one's own.
(2) A person's own prudence leads him to persuade himself and affirm within him that all goodness and truth originate from him and in him, and likewise all evil and falsity.
(3) Every persuasion and conviction remains in a person as something his own.
(4) If a person were to believe, as is the truth, that all goodness and truth originate from the Lord, and all evil and falsity from hell, he would not assign goodness to himself and make it deserving of merit, nor assign evil to himself and make himself guilty of it.
Footnotes:
1. Matthew 25:14-29, Luke 19:12-26.
2. Habakkuk 2:18.
309. Allow me, though, to pass on something I have heard from people in the spiritual world. These were people who believed that their own prudence was everything and that divine providence was nothing. I told them that nothing is really ours unless we want to call "ours" the fact that we are one kind of subject or another, or one kind of organ or another, or one kind of form or another--that no one has any "self" as people usually understand the word "self." It is only a kind of attribute. No one actually has the kind of self that is usually meant by the term. These people who credited everything to their own prudence (we could even call them overly invested in their own image) flared up so violently that fire came from their nostrils. "You're talking paradoxes and madness," they said. "Surely this would reduce us to nothing, to emptiness. We would be some idea or hallucination, or some sculpture or statue."
[2] All I could say in response was that the real paradox and madness was believing that we are the source of our own life and that wisdom and prudence do not flow into us from God but are within us, believing that this is true of the good that comes from caring and the truth that comes from faith. Any wise person would call this claim madness, and it leads into a paradox as well. Further, this is like people who are living in someone else's house, with someone else's possessions, and convincing themselves that they own them as long as they are living there. Or they are like trustees and stewards who claim as their own everything that actually belongs to their superior, or like the servants to whom the Lord gave greater or lesser sums for business but who claimed them as their own instead of rendering an account of them and therefore acted like thieves [Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27].
[3] These are the people we could describe as out of their minds, as nothing and empty. We could also describe them as strict idealists, because they do not have within themselves that goodness from the Lord that is the actual substance of life, so they have no truth either. They could also be called dead, then, and nothing, and empty (Isaiah 40:17, 23, and elsewhere). They are makers of idols, sculptures, and statues.
There is more on this below, though, which will be presented in the following sequence.
1. What our own prudence is and what the prudence is that is not our own.
2. On the basis of our own prudence, we adopt and justify the conviction that we are the source and the locus of everything that is good and true as well as of everything that is evil and false.
3. Everything we adopt and justify becomes virtually a permanent part of us.
4. If we believed that--as is truly the case--everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false comes from hell, then we would not claim the goodness as our own and make it self-serving or claim the evil as our own and make ourselves guilty of it.
309. I will here relate what I heard from some in the spiritual world. They were among those who believe their own prudence to be everything and the Divine Providence nothing. I said that man has not any proprium of his own, unless you choose to call that his proprium which consists in being this or that kind of subject, or this or that kind of organ, or this or that kind of form. This, however, is not the proprium that is meant, but is merely a description of its quality. No man in fact has any proprium in the sense in which this is commonly understood. Those who ascribed all things to their own prudence, and who may be called examples of self-ownership (proprietarii in imagine sua), so flared up at this that flames appeared to issue from their nostrils as they declared, "You are uttering absurd and insane words. Would not a man in such a case be an empty nonentity? Would he not be a mere phantasmal figment of the mind, or a graven image or a statue?"
[2] To this I could only answer that it is absurd and insane to believe that man is life from himself, and that wisdom and prudence do not flow in from God but are in man, consequently also the good that belongs to charity and the truth that belongs to faith. To attribute these to oneself is called insanity by every wise man, and thus it is absurd. Moreover, persons doing so are like those who occupy the house and property of another, and being in possession persuade themselves that these are their own; or they are like stewards and estate managers who believe all their master's property to be their own; or like serving men to whom their master gave large and small sums to trade with, but who rendered no account of them and kept them as their own, and so acted as thieves.
[3] Of such it may be said that they are spiritually insane, indeed that they are empty nonentities and also idealists, 1since they have not in themselves from the Lord any good which is the being (esse) itself of life, nor consequently any truth. Therefore, such are even called dead, and also nothing and vanity (Isaiah 40:17-23); and elsewhere, image-makers, graven images and statues. However, more will be said concerning these in what follows, and will be considered in this order:
I. What one's own prudence is, and what prudence not one's own is.
II. Man from his own prudence persuades himself and confirms in himself that all good and truth originate from himself and are in himself; and in like manner all evil and falsity.
III. Everything of which man has persuaded himself and which he has confirmed in himself remains with him as his own.
IV. If man believed, as is the truth, that all good and truth originate from the Lord, and all evil and falsity from hell, he would not appropriate good to himself and account it meritorious, nor would he appropriate evil to himself and account himself responsible for it.
Footnotes:
1. Clearly this word is not used in its modern sense, but describes those who trust only their own ideas.
309. But I will relate what I have heard from some in the spiritual world. They were among those who believed their own prudence to be everything, and the Divine providence to be nothing. I said that man has nothing that is his own unless you choose to say that his being this or that kind of a subject, or his being this or that kind of an organ, or this or that kind of a form, is his own. But this is not the own that is meant, for this is merely what he is. In fact, no man, according to the common understanding of his own has any thing his own. Those who had ascribed all things to their own prudence, and who might be called owners in their very image, so blazed up at this that flame appeared from their nostrils, saying, "You are uttering contradictions and insanities; would not a man thus be nothing and emptiness, or an idea or fantasy, or a graven image or statue?"
[2] But I could only answer that it is absurd and insane to believe that man is life from himself, and that wisdom and prudence do not flow in from God, but are in man, as well as the good that belongs to charity and the truth that belongs to faith. To attribute these to oneself is called by every wise man an insanity, consequently it is absurd; moreover, those who do this are like those who occupy the house and property of another, and as soon as they are in possession persuade themselves that they are the owners; or they are like overseers and stewards who believe all things belonging to their lord to be theirs; or like business servants to whom their lord has given talents and pounds to trade with, and who render no account but keep them as their own, and thus act as thieves.
[3] Of all these it can be said that they are insane, and even that they are nothings and vanities, and are merely creatures of thought (idealistoe), since they do not have in them from the Lord that good which is the very being of life, thus neither the truth. Therefore such are called "dead," and "nothings and vanities" (Isaiah 40:17, 23), and elsewhere, "formers of an image," and "graven images," and "statues." But of all this more in what follows, which will be considered in this order:-
(1) What one's own prudence is, and what prudence not one's own is.
(2) Man from his own prudence persuades himself and corroborates in himself that all good and truth are from himself and in himself; likewise all evil and falsity.
(3) Everything that a man has adopted by persuasion and confirmation remains in him as his own.
(4) If man believed, as is the truth, that all good and truth are from the Lord, and all evil and falsity from hell, he would not appropriate good to himself and make it meritorious, nor appropriate evil to himself and make himself guilty of it.
309. Sed referam quid a quibusdam in Mundo spirituali audivi; erant ex illis, qui crediderunt propriam prudentiam esse omne, ac Divinam Providentiam non aliquid: dixi, quod non aliquod proprium homini sit, nisi velis id vocare proprium ejus, quod tale aut tale subjectum sit, seu tale aut tale organum, seu talis aut talis forma, sed hoc non est proprium quod intelligitur, est enim modo quale; at quod nulli homini aliquod proprium sit sicut proprium communiter intelligitur: illi, qui prudentiae propriae addixerunt omnia, qui etiam vocari possunt proprietarii in imagine sua, excanduerunt ita, ut appareret flamma ex naribus, dicentes, loqueris paradoxa et insana; annon sic foret homo nihil et inane, vel foret idea et phantasia, vel foret sculptile aut statua;
[2] sed non potui aliter respondere, quam quod paradoxon et insanum sit credere, quod homo sit vita ex se, quodque sapientia et prudentia non influat a Deo, sed quod sint in homine, ita quoque bonum quod charitatis et verum quod fidei est; haec sibi attribuere, ab omni sapiente vocatur insanum, et inde quoque est paradoxon; ac insuper sunt sicut illi, qui alterius domum et possessionem inhabitant, et cum in illis sunt, persuadent sibi quod suae sint; aut sicut oeconomi et dispensatores, qui omnia domini sui credunt esse sua: et sicut servi ministratores, quibus Dominus dedit talenta et minas ad negotiandum, [quod] non rationem redderent, sed retinerent ut sua, et sic fures agerent;
[3] de his et illis dici potest quod insaniant, imo quod nihili et inanes, tum quod idealistae sint, quia bonum, quod est ipsum Esse vitae, non apud se a Domino habent, ita nec verum; quare tales etiam vocantur mortui, et quoque nihili et inanes, Esajas 40:17, 23; et alibi, formatores imaginis, tum sculptilia et statuae. Sed de his plura in sequentibus, quae in hoc ordine lustrentur. 1. Quid Prudentia propria, et quid Prudentia non propria. 2. Quod homo ex prudentia propria persuadeat 1sibi et confirmet apud se, quod omne bonum et verum sit a se et in se, similiter omne malum et falsum. 3. Quod omne persuasum 2et confirmatum permaneat sicut proprium apud hominem. 4. Quod si homo crederet sicut veritas est, quod omne bonum et verum sit a Domino, ac omne malum et falsum ab inferno, non appropriaret sibi bonum, et id meritorium faceret, nec appropriaret sibi malum, et se reum ejus faceret.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: persvadeat
2 Prima editio: persvasum